USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume III > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43
(II) Henry (2), son of Henry (1) Nearhoof, the German immi- grant, was born on his father's farm in Warriors Mark township, Hunt- ingdon county, Pennsylvania. After his father's death he, being the only heir, inherited the extensive estate, and he at once began to farm it. He erected the brick house, in 1810, still standing in good condition. He was one of the successful and wealthy men of his day, and a meni- ber of the Lutheran church. He died on the homestead and is buried at Cross Roads. He married, but the maiden name of his wife is unknown. Children: I. George, lived and died in Warriors Mark township, a farmer. 2. John, went west and died in Illinois. 3. An- drew, died in Bald Eagle Valley, Blair county. 4. Jacob, of whom fur- ther. 5. Margaret, married Alexander Bratton ; died in Warriors Mark township. 6. Mary, married George Crane; died in Juniata Valley. 7. Henry, a farmer, lived and died in Warriors Mark township.
(III) Jacob, son of Henry (2) Nearhoof, was born on the Nearhoof
1292
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
homestead, in 1803, died in the place of his nativity in 1876. He bought a portion of his father's homestead, and erected new buildings, since destroyed. He spent his entire life here, devoting it to his family and his farming interests. He had other landed property in Blair county, Pennsylvania, and was one of the prosperous men of his locality. He was a progressive farmer and introduced many improved methods of farming. He was a loyal Democrat, voting with and working with the party at all times. Both he and his wife were members of the Church of the Brethren. He married Catharine Grazier, born in 1806, died in 1899, when past ninety-three. She was the daughter of Michael and Mary (Beck) Grazier. Michael Grazier was one of the numerous sons of Yost Kressner, anglicized into Joseph Grazier, who came from Germany prior to 1800. Michael Grazier was born in Huntingdon county, there married and died. He was a farmer near Tyrone, but in Huntingdon county. He was one of the best and most thorough farm- ers in the township, and grew rich tilling the soil. He was a lifelong Democrat, working actively for the party. Children of Michael and Mary (Beck) Grazier : Daniel, a farmer, died in Warriors Mark town- ship; Samuel, a farmer, died in same township; Jeremiah, a farmer, died in same township; Joseph, a farmer, died in same township; Chris- tina, married Henry Krider, died in same township; Nancy, married James Bell, died in Tyrone; Susan, married Caleb Guyer, died in Ty- rone; Catharine, married Jacob Nearhoof. Children of Jacob and Cath- arine (Grazier) Nearhoof: I. David, a farmer; died in Blair county. 2. Mary, married Ross Williams, died in Blair county. 3. Abednego, a farmer, died in Huntingdon county. 4. Jeremiah, a farmer, died in Huntingdon county. 5. Michael, a farmer, died in Blair county. 6. Joseph, died while yet a young man. 7. Martha, died in infancy. 8. Lavina, twin of Martha, died in infancy. 9. Nancy Jane, died un- married while yet a young woman. 10. Wesley, died while yet a young man. II. James Bell, of whom further. 12. Levi, a farmer, lives on homestead. 13. Ellen Salina, married William Burket, lives at War- riors Mark township. 14. Miles, lives in Blair county.
(IV) James Bell, son of Jacob and Catharine (Grazier) Nearhoof, was born May 15, 1843, in Warriors Mark township, on the Nearhoof homestead. He received his education in the common schools of the day, and was reared on the homestead in a deeply religious atmosphere.
1293
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
He early learned the carpenter's trade, and followed it for fourteen years, during which time he assisted, or managed, in the erection of many of the handsomest houses and buildings in that section of Penn- sylvania. After fourteen years' experience with the square, hammer and saw he decided to engage in the family occupation of farming. He purchased eighty acres, which was wild land, cleared and improved, erected thereon substantial buildings which are still in use, and re- mained there for thirty-five years. The property grew in value, as it was on the main pike to Tyrone, and in 1906 Mr. Nearhoof was in- duced to sell it for a handsome sum. He retired from farming, built a handsome modern home in the village of Warriors Mark, and has since lived in the village. He enlisted in 1863 in Company E, Forty- sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served for three months in the civil war. He is a Republican, works for the party, and has been school director and road supervisor. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Near- hoof commands the respect of those who know him for his honesty and uprightness.
He married (first) in 1865, Mary C., daughter of Martin Weston. She died in 1895. He married (second) in 1900, Juniata Miller, born in Warriors Mark township, daughter of Vincent Miller. Children by first marriage : 1. Wilber, an employee of the Pennsylvania railroad at Altoona, Pennsylvania; married Rosa Ale; three children: Harvey, Owen and Viola. 2. Burton, rural free delivery carrier in Warriors Mark township. 3. Elmer, a farmer of Warriors Mark township; mar- ried May Goodman; three children: Catherine, Clarence and Helen. 4. Oscar, an employee of the Pennsylvania railroad at Altoona, Penn- sylvania ; married Lorena Wise: two children: Frances W. and Es- ther B.
The Parker family of Juniata Valley, Pennsylvania, is PARKER of English descent. The immigrant ancestor, David Parker, came from Devonshire, England, to America, in the sailing vessel, "The Good Fortune," Captain Green, in 1692, and landed in Massachusetts. Later he drifted into Delaware, and thence to New Jersey. Some of his descendants moved to the colony of Penn- sylvania soon after the death of William Penn.
1294
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
Ezra D. Parker, son of E. Southard and Isabella (Wilson) Parker, was born August 15, 1872, in Mifflintown, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, where the family was among the first and most influential in that sec- tion. He was educated in the fine public schools in Mifflin and Wash- ington, D. C., and finished at the Mt. Herman school. At the age of nineteen, being ambitious to enter the business world for himself, he accepted the position of bookkeeper in the Columbian National Bank of Washington. He remained here for some time, making an enviable record for himself as an accurate and painstaking worker. His next position was in the National Metropolitan Bank, which he held until 1909, at the same time he was manager of the Clearing House. He returned to Juniata county in 1909, settled on a fine farm of three hun- dred and fifty acres, known as Wilson Heights. Here he does general farming and stock raising, and in the few years that he has owned it he has converted it into one of the show places in that section of the country. He is one of the leading men of the township, progressive, democratic, simple in manner and cordial toward all. He is a member of the Masonic order, at Washington, D. C., Lafayette Lodge, No. 19. Both he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is a Democrat in politics, but has never asked for office. He married, June 30, 1897, Jennie, daughter of William Banks. Children: Southard, born May 30, 1898, attending Lewistown Academy; Helen, born Au- gust 26, 1900, attending school at Mifflintown.
Elmer Addison Smith, of Huntingdon county, Pennsyl-
SMITH vania, is one of the solid citizens of that section of the state. On the paternal side he is of English extraction, while on the distaff he descends from a German Palatine emigrant.
(I) Samuel P. Smith was born and reared in Union township, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. He remained in that locality nearly all of his life, and was a farmer by occupation, owning a large amount of land. In his day he was a prominent man, and for thirty years held the office of justice of the peace. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In his later years he voted the Re- publican ticket, or as soon as that party was organized. He married Catherine Swoope, also born and reared in Union township. Among his nine children, all of whom are living, was Ralph, of whom further.
1295
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
(II) Ralph, son of Samuel P. and Catherine (Swoope) Smith, was born in Union township, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. He is a general farmer on a large scale, owns four hundred acres of land, much of it under cultivation, and raises grain, stock and quantities of fruit. He is a Republican. Ile has served as school director and has held other local offices; is clerk of the county home, and a stockholder and director of the National Bank of Three Springs, Pennsylvania. With his family he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is well and favorably known in his community. In 1871 he married Amanda, daughter of Jacob and - (Shock) Fisher, both of whom are of German descent, and moved from Lebanon to Union township, where he purchased one hundred and eighty acres of land and there farmed for years. He and his family were members of the Lutheran church. Children of Ralph and Amanda (Fisher) Smith: Albert, died in infancy; Elmer Addison, of whom further; Lottie E., married Dr. Lane, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one child, Harrison; Byron, married -- Clement, and is a farmer in Barree township, Hunting- don county ; Denver C., a farmer in Cass township, Huntingdon county : Beulah May, married Ebert Evans, a farmer in Crow Creek Valley ; Carrie A., married William Morris, an electrician in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(III) Elmer Addison, son of Ralph and Amanda ( Fisher) Smith, was born August 10, 1874, in Cass township, Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania. He received his education in the public schools of the town- ship, and at an early age engaged in farming. He purchased ninety- eight acres of land in Cass township and brought it to a high state of fertility. In 1910 he sold this farm and bought two hundred acres, of which one hundred and sixty-eight are tillable. He has the place well stocked, and takes great pride in his animals. He does successful general farming, and has one of the show places in Huntingdon county. He is a public-spirited and able man, and commands the re- spect of his neighbors. He also combines dairying with his farming, although not on an extensive scale. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he of the Patrons of Husbandry, Lodge No. 935. He supports the Republican ticket with his vote. He married, October 12, 1893, Ella M. Wright, born October 23, 1873. daughter of J. Frank and Lydia (Apgar) Wright, a farmer by occupa-
1296
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
tion. Mr. Wright is a veteran of the civil war, having enlisted in 1861 in Company F, Second Pennsylvania Regiment. He was one of five brothers who served the Union cause, the others being Henry, Levi, Abraham and Caleb. Children of Elmer Addison and Ella M. (Wright) Smith: Edna M., born in March, 1895; Lillian A., January 2, 1897; Chester C., November 3, 1899; Freeman, January 2, 1902, deceased ; Robert L., November 21, 1906; Ebert M., September 27, 1909.
KELLY Albert Thompson Kelly, while a native born son of Hunt- ingdon county, descended from Ohio parentage, the earlier family, however, having been Pennsylvanians of Irish descent. His grandfather married Margaret McKee, born in Ohio. After his marriage he lived at Ætna Furnace, Pennsylvania, Kankakee, Illinois, Smith's Ferry, Pennsylvania, finally settling in East Liverpool, Ohio, where he engaged in the oil business until his death. Children : Joseph McKee, of whom further; Celeste, married and moved to Cali- fornia and there died; Josephine, married Rev. George Cable, and died in Minnesota; Jay, died in youthful manhood.
(II) Joseph McKee Kelly was born in the state of Ohio, and there grew to manhood and received his education. He followed the for- tunes of his father, engaging with him in the oil business in Pennsyl- vania, Illinois, and Ohio, finally settling with him in East Liverpool, where he became a leading man of affairs. Besides his oil interests he was president of the Union Building and Loan Association, vice-presi- dent of the First National Bank, secretary and treasurer of the East Liverpool Cemetery Association. He was ambitious not for wealth, but to be of service to his fellowman. Public-spirited, generous and very charitable, he lived a life of usefulness and gained an enviable repu- tation for uprightness and true manliness. He was a Republican in politics, but never sought or accepted public office. He was for several years a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of East Liverpool, and was especially helpful in the erection of the new church built by that congregation. He died January 26, 1910. He married, in Lisbon, Ohio, Sarah Elizabeth Thompson, born in Milroy, Mifflin county, Penn- sylvania, died in June, 1892, daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Cooper) Thompson. Samuel Thompson was a tanner by trade, and a well-to- do farmer of Eden Hill, Huntingdon county. He had children: Lydia,
قتكـ
Sidney Thompson. M. D.
I297
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
the only living member of her family, never married; Sarah Elizabeth, married Joseph MeKee Kelly; Mary, married Harry Nivling, and died at Sioux City, Iowa; Alfred, a soldier of the civil war, dying soon after the close of the war from disease contracted in the army; Caroline, second wife of Joseph M. Kelly, died in East Liverpool, Ohio; Emma, married John Sample, and died near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; John, died in Bellwood, Pennsylvania. Children of Joseph McKee and Sarah Elizabeth Kelly: Alleen, died aged thirty-seven years, unmarried; Al- fred T., of whom further; John Charles, of East Liverpool; Dorothy, married W. H. Vodrey, and resides in East Liverpool; George Har- rington, of Cleveland, Ohio.
(III) Alfred Thompson, son of Joseph McKee and Sarah E. (Thompson) Kelly, was born at Eden Hill, Spruce Creek township. Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, April 16, 1866. He was educated in the public schools, Oberlin College and Princeton University, being graduated from the latter institution with the degree of B. A., class of 1890. After leaving the university he entered the service of the First National Bank of East Liverpool, continuing until 1908, when ill health caused his retirement. He came to Huntingdon county, purchasing a farm in Spruce Creek township, but only lived four months to enjoy his country estate, dying July 16, 1909. He possessed talents of a high order, was a business man of ability and a citizen whose life was beyond reproach. He was interested in the development of a literary spirit in' East Liverpool, and was especially active in the Cosmopolitan Club, of which he was president. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian.
Mr. Kelly married, November 7, 1900, Sarah Culbertson Thomp- son, born in Spruce Creek township, Huntingdon county, daughter of Dr. Sidney and Lusetta (Isett) Thompson and granddaughter of Robert and Saralı (McManigal) Thompson, early settlers of Mifflin county, of Scotch-Irish parentage. Dr. Sidney Thompson was born in Milroy, Pennsylvania, and obtained a university education, graduating from Princeton, class of 1854. He then entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated M.D., class of 1856. He located in Spruce Creek township, Huntingdon county, where he practiced until his death in 1888. He was a skillful, beloved physician, accomplishing great good in his community. His practice was very large, his death resulting from overwork. His wife, Lusetta
1298
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
Isett, born in Spruce Creek township, survives him, never having remar- ried. Both were communicants of the Presbyterian church; children: Bertha, married Perry R. Moore, of Toledo, Iowa; Sidney Carlton, of Toledo, Iowa; Sarah Culbertson, widow of Alfred Thompson Kelly, now residing at Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania; Mary Belle, married R. W. Bailey and resides in Brooklyn, New York; Virginia W., resides in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Children of Alfred Thompson and Sarah C. (Thompson) Kelly: Sidney Thompson, born May 21, 1903; Robert Allen, born March 26, 1905, died aged eighteen months; Edward Isett, born January 14, 1907.
The Zooks of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania (and in 1880 ZOOK there were thirty-eight families of the name in that county), descend from Moritz Zook (or Zug), a grandson of Hans Zook (Zug), born in Switzerland, a Mennonite minister exiled to Germany. Moritz Zook came to America from Pfaltz, Germany, in 1742, settling in Lancaster county, now Center township, Berks county. He later moved to Whiteland, Chester county, where he died. He left five sons-John, Christian, Henry, Abraham, Jacob; and a daughter Fanny.
(II) John, son of Moritz Zook came to Mifflin county in 1793, with his brother Christian, and both lived their lives there. John had sons: John, Abraham, Christian, Joseph, Jacob, David and Shem: also five daughters. The sons all married and left issue, except Jacob.
(III) David, son of John Zook, came to Kishacoquillas valley with his parents, and there married Elizabeth King. Children: Levi, lived in Lancaster county, married a Stillfoss; Joel, married Catherine Ke- heagy; Enoch, of whom further; Simeon and Simon, twins, the first married Rebecca Hertzler, the second married Rebecca King. Two daughters of David Zook married and settled nearby; the other two married and moved to Lancaster county. David Zook reared his family on a farm of over five hundred acres, which he cleared with the aid of his sons, and there both he and his wife died.
(IV) Enoch, son of David and Elizabeth (King) Zook, was born in Kishacoquillas valley, in 1818, died January 16, 1888. He was edu- cated in the primitive schools of that day, but acquired a good education. He was a farmer, and never left the old homestead, of which he inher-
1299
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
ited a part. At the age of thirty years he was chosen minister of the Amish Mennonite Church of Union township, and for forty years, until his death, held that relation to the congregation. He married Mary, daughter of Yost and Elizabeth (Beiler) Hertzler. Children: I. David Hertzler, of whom further. 2. Enoch A., resides in Union town- ship, one mile north of Belleville, a farmer; married (first) Rachel Hooley, (second) Lydia Blank. 3. Yost, died aged twenty-one years. 4. Abner Y., a farmer of the Kishacoquillas valley, and a landowner in California and North Dakota; unmarried. 5. Israel T., married and lived on the homestead until twenty-five years old, and then joined an Amish Mennonite colony and moved to North Dakota, where he now resides. 6. Salome, married Christian Detweiler, and died fifteen years later in Knoxville, Tennessee. 7. Nancy, lived her life of sixty years in the valley, unmarried. 8. Sarah, lived at the homestead until her father's death, then married J. H. Peachy, an agriculturist and an edu- cator, now a member of the Pennsylvania legislature.
(V) David Hertzler, son of Enoch and Mary (Hertzler) Zook, was born at the homestead in Union township, Mifflin county, Pennsyl- vania, and died there. He attended the public school, later finishing his education at Kishacoquillas Seminary. At the age of eighteen years he began teaching and for the succeeding ten years taught during the win- ter terms. He served for twenty-five years as school director, and al- though devoted to his Mennonite religion and a progressive and trusted leader of his people, he was also deeply interested in the cause of edu- cation and in political affairs, filling many town offices. He was mar- ried at the old Hooley homestead to Elizabeth, daughter of John C. and Elizabeth (Hertzler) Hooley, and settled on a portion of the Zook homestead, which Mr. Zook later purchased and there resided until death. His widow survives him, still residing at the homestead. Her father, John C. Hooley, was born, lived and died on the "Pike" between Reedsville and Belleville, a farmer and large landowner. His father, John Hooley, was an early settler, and died on the same farm as his son John C. Both were members of the Amish Mennonite church, and John C. a progressive and helpful citizen in the establishment of schools and in public affairs. Children of John C. Hooley: I. David, lives in La Grange county, Indiana, a farmer. 2. Levi, a farmer of Michigan. 3. Stephen, the owner of the original Hooley homestead and now living
1300
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
near there retired. 4. Joseph, now living at West Liberty, Ohio, a farmer. 5. Leah, married (first) - ---- Kaufman, (second) Jonathan Zook, and died in Missouri. 6. Kate, married Peter Y. King, a farmer of Mifflin county. 7. Mary, deceased, married Jacob Zook. 8. Eliza- beth, of previous mention, married David H. Zook. 9. Rachel, de- ceased, married Enoch A. Zook. 10. Sarah, unmarried and residing with her brother Stephen. II. Fannie, resides with her brother Ste- phen and sister Sarah. Children of David H. and Elizabeth Zook : I. Thomas Edwin, of whom further. 2. Reuben, married Sarah King, and lives on the homestead. 3. Mary, married Levi D. Kaufman, a farmer of the Kishacoquillas valley. 4. Stephen, a farmer of Logan county, Ohio. 5. Nellie, resides with her widowed mother on the home- stead. 6. Fannie, died in infancy.
(VI) Thomas Edwin, eldest son of David Hertzler and Elizabeth (Hooley) Zook, was born at the homestead in Union township, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1868. He was educated in the public schools, and through boyhood and youthful manhood worked at farm- ing in the Kishacoquillas valley. At the age of twenty-five years he entered the employ of the Kishacoquillas Valley railroad, then in course of construction, continuing four years, working part of this period as fireman. In 1899 he formed a partnership with Israel Z. Hertzler and started at Belleville a small machine and buggy repair shop in a build- ing thirty by forty feet, the two partners constituting the entire working force for the first two years. The business had then grown to a re- spectable size and was rapidly extending to other towns when their little shop burned to the ground. They at once rebuilt on a much larger scale, adding a foundry in the place of the buggy repair department. The new building was seventy by forty feet, and equipped with one mo- tor. The product of the plant was principally farm tools and imple- ments for the local trade and a general line of farm repair work. The reputation of the firm extended, however, beyond local limits, and re- quiring much more than the partners could raise they incorporated, February II, 1909, with fifteen thousand dollars capital, the Hertzler & Zook Company, with Thomas E. Zook, president; R. K. Yoder, vice- president; Israel Zook Hertzler, secretary and treasurer. This proving insufficient to meet the demands of a largely increased business, on August 6, 1912, the capital stock was increased to fifty thousand dol-
130I
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
lars. More ground was purchased and new buildings have been erected until now the plant consists of a machine shop two-story sixty by forty feet, foundry seventy by forty feet, painting and erecting building two- story forty by sixty feet, shipping and store room thirty-five by sixty feet pattern building one-story, thirty by forty feet, an office building, and several smaller buildings required for storage of material. The plant keeps constantly employed about fifty men and the output is shipped to every state in the Union, to South America and Hawaii. The special- ties manufactured are: Grain drills, wood-sawing machinery of many kinds, feed mills, stoves and numerous farm tools and implements. The success attending the operation of this plant is based upon the excel- lence of their articles of manufacture and the wise executive manage- ment of Messrs. Zook and Hertzler, who from a little two-man repair shop have developed a large and prosperous business, extending over half the world. This is a wonderful result to accomplish in less than twenty-five years and speaks in loudest praise of the founders and prin- cipal members of the present company. Mr. Zook is a Republican in politics, but has never accepted public office, devoting himself entirely to his private business concerns. He is a member of the Amish Men- nonite church, the faith of many generations of his family, and his wife was also a member. He married, March 29, 1907, Saralı M. Yoder, born in Juniata county, daughter of Moses P. and Sarah Yoder, who came to Mifflin county when Sarah M. was an infant. She died without issue, May 3, 1912.
HERTZLER The well-known and prosperous manufacturing firm, Hertzler & Zook Company, of Belleville, Pennsyl- vania, of which Israel Zook Hertzler is secretary and treasurer, is fully described in the preceding sketch, devoted to its presi- dent, Thomas E. Zook. The Hertzler genealogy begins with Jacob Hertzler (Swiss, Hurshler), born of Swiss parents in Switzerland in 1703. He grew to manhood in his mountain home, became a farmer, and a minister of the Amish Mennonite church. He married, but his wife died early, leaving him a son John, of further mention. He mar- ried (second) Catherine --- , and moved to the German Palatinate, now Bavaria, part of the German Empire. He resided there several years, but finally was driven by religious persecution to seek a home in
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.