USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 22
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 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
Lynn E. Stancliff remained on the old home farm where he was reared until the year of 1886, receiving meanwhile a public school train- ing, and then learning the blacksmith's trade in West Mill Creek under the instructions of J. M. Shenk he in 1890 entered the service of the late W. L. Scott and for nine years was foreman in charge of all black- smithing, wagon work and plumbing, etc., on the Algeria farm, where he made his home. In the fall of 1898 he opened a country blacksmith shop on the corner of Twenty-sixth street and Brown's avenue, the site of his present large manufactory, and in the winter of 1906 he began enlarging his shop by the building of a paint and wood shop, while two years later, in 1908, he erected the present building for the L. E. Stan- cliff carriage works. This is a three story structure, forty by one hun- dred and twenty-five feet in dimensions, and they manufacture on a large scale carriages, wagons and sleighs, also having a blacksmithing and horse shoeing department, and do general repair work on vehicles of all kinds. The works furnish employment to fourteen skilled opera- tives, and as above stated this is the largest establishment of its kind in Erie county.
Mr. Stancliff married Clara E. Geist, who was born in Mill Creek township, Erie county, to Jacob and Mary Ann (Evans) Geist. Jacob Geist is the oldest citizen of Mill Creek township, having been born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on November 30, 1817, and he is a son of Andrew Geist, one of the earliest of the pioneers of Mill Creek township, whither he had moved from Lancaster county when his son Jacob was seventeen years of age. When he came to this county he bought one hundred acres of land, paying four dollars an acre, and this same land in 1907 was sold by his grandchildren at one thousand dol- lars an acre. Mary Ann, the wife of Jacob Geist, was born in Lan- caster county in 1826, a daughter of another of the pioneers of Mill
148
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Creek township, Erie county. She died in the year of 1869. The chil- dren of Jacob and Mary Ann Geist were: Mary Ann, who married Jacob Zaun and died in May of 1904; Thomas, who died in 1891; Matilda, who married Amos Northrup; Frank, who died in 1905; John, who has never married; Alvin, who married Flora Mason and lives in Girard: Edward, who married Addie Kreider; Seth, who married Cora Feisler ; and Clara E., who became the wife of Mr. Stancliff. Two children, Harry E. and Ervin, both attending school, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stancliff. He has served as a member of the school board of Mill Creek township for six years, being for four years the chairman of the board, and he is a member of the Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Men's Exchange in Erie. His politics are Republican, and he is a member of both the fraternal order of Odd Fellows and of the Simpson Methodist Episcopal church.
JAMES McBRIER, one of the honored sons of Pennsylvania, a man of progressive ideas, fine attainments and one who has made the most of his opportunities in life, has risen to a foremost place among the representa- tives of the industrial interests of northwestern Pennsylvania. The pres- ident of the Ball Engine Works, a former vice president of the Lake Car- riers Association, a member of the board of directors of both the Erie Trust Company and the First National Bank and prominent in municipal affairs, such in part are the life and achievements of James McBrier.
He was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, a son of William and Mary (McMasters) McBrier. The father was a native of the north of Ireland, but coming to the United States when a young man he was for many years engaged in the lumber business in Allegheny City and at other points in Pennsylvania. The son James received his educational training and his start in business life in his native city. He became associated in business with his father when a young man, and after the latter's death he successfully carried on large interests. In 1872, while yet in bus- iness in Allegheny City, he with several other gentlemen established a wholesale lumber business in Erie, and in 1878 he located permanently in this city. In 1887 he became interested in the Ball Engine Works, being made president of the company in the same year, and he has ever since continued at the head of that large and important industry. He was for many years largely interested in the lake trade, at one time owning three large freight steamers, and is now heavily interested as a stock holder in steamship companies, and as above stated was for a time the vice presi- dent of the Lake Carriers Association. In his native Allegheny City he was prominent in municipal affairs and served as president of the com- mon council two years, and was a member of the select council for sixteen years, while for twelve years he was president of the body. He is a mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade in Erie.
In 1860 Mr. McBrier was married to Mary E. White, who traces her ancestry in America to the Mayflower, the Hon. D. N. White, her father, at one time being proprietor of the Pittsburg Commercial Gasette. The children of Mr. and Mrs. McBrier are : David N., the vice president of the Ball Engine Works; Harry L .; Frederick, the secretary of the same body; Mary Louise; and Lucy, the wife of Alexander Jarecki, of Erie. Mr. McBrier is a member of both the Masonic order and of the Presbyterian church.
149
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
GUSTAVE C. KRACK is one of the well known citizens and business men of West Erie, and member of the firm of Gustave Krack and Son, the leading sheet metal workers of the city. He was born in Wurtem- berg, Germany, October 20, 1868, son of Gustave and Matilda (Bausch) Krack. The family came direct to Erie in 1884. Both Gustave C. and his father learned the tinner's trade in the old country, where for at least six generations the oldest son of the family followed the same occupa- tion. Upon coming to Erie, the father worked first at the Car Works, and then with Conrad Flickinger, continuing with the latter until 1900. The son, however, not having thoroughly mastered his trade in Germany, completed it after coming to Erie. He then worked as a journeyman in various large cities of the country, returning to Erie in 1895. In 1900, he and his father formed the firm of Gustave Krack and Son, and engaged in business in a small shop at the rear of their resi- dence, No. 1025 West Eighteenth street. The business developed so rap- idly that it became necessary to occupy larger quarters, and in 1906 they erected their present plant at Nos. 1018-1020 West Eighteenth street. There they operate the largest factory in their line in the city, and, be- sides their specialty of sheet metal, manufacture warm air furnaces; ventilation, exhaust, blast and blow pipings; skylights, metal ceilings, cornices, slate, tin and steel roofing and gutters.
Gustave C. Krack is vice president of the Erie Builders' Exchange, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Men's Ex- change. He also belongs to the I. O. O. F., the Elks and the Erie Maen- nerchor. Besides Gustave C., the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Krack were; Matilda, who married George Neth of Erie; William, connected with Gustave Krack and Son; Amelia; Albert E., also with Gustave Krack & Son ; and Bertha, a trained nurse in the New York City Hospital. The members of the family residing in Erie, are all identified with St. John's Lutheran church.
HENRY F. PETRIE. The son of an old and substantial pioneer and himself occupying a portion of an old and well known family estate, Henry F. Petrie, of Harbor Creek township, was born at Gospel Hill, September 25, 1870. He is a son of Frederick and Barbara (Weislogel) Petrie, both of whom were German born, the father being a native of Hesse Darmstadt and the mother of Baden. The father emigrated to the United States in 1855 locating at once in Erie county. Six years later he married and lived on different farms in this locality and in 1877 pur- chased eighty-five acres which comprises his present homestead of sixty acres. Since 1896 the elder Mr. Petrie has lived in comfort and compar- ative retirement in Erie, on Myrtle street.
Henry F. Petrie, of this sketch, is the fourth in a family of three boys and five girls, and made his home with his parents until he was twenty-six years of age. On March 25, 1897, he married Miss Nellie E. Gray, and their child is Florence May Petrie, born July ?, 1900. The wife was a native of Harbor Creek township, born March 7, 1874, daugh- ter of John H. and Lucia (Richmond) Gray. As to the parents, the father was born in Harbor Creek township while the mother was a native of Venango township. The grandparents of Mrs. Henry Petrie were Thomas and Esther (Hall) Gray, the grandfather being a native of county Latham, Ireland, and the grandmother of the state of Connecti- cut. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Petrie lived for eight years on the paternal homestead after which the husband bought twenty-
150
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
five acres of the old farm upon which he built a comfortable and modern residence. On this land he conducts general farming and has one of the attractive country places of the locality. He also has strong local influence in religious affairs, having been an active trustee of the Methodist church since 1901 and steward since 1905 and is also prominent in Sunday school work. In politics he is a Republican and is actively identified with the Protected Home Circle, known as Good Cheer Lodge, No. 137, of Erie,
ARMIN J. BAUR. For a number of years the name Baur has been associated in Erie with the charms of floral beauties and fragrancies ; and it is a reputation which anyone might covet. The greenhouse of the Baur Floral Company on west Twenty-sixth street, and its elegant dis- play parlors in the Majestic Theatre building are both beauty spots and fascinating resorts, which stamp their proprietors as leaders in their line in northern Pennsylvania. Armin J. Baur, the moving spirit in the enter- prise, is a native of Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, born April 4, 1878, son of Rev. C. A. and Philipina (Blass) Baur. both deceased. The father was a native of Germany ; was educated at the University of Heidelberg, and came to the United States in the late sixties, at that time beginning his ministry in the German Lutheran church. His calling took him all over the central middle Atlantic states, his charges being in many of the larger cities of that section. He retired from the ministry in 1896, located in Erie, and there died in the spring of 1905. His wife, who died in 1898, was born in Germany and belonged to the well known Blass family of Erie.
Armin J. Baur began to learn the florist business in Pittsburg, after which he travelled in the eastern cities and as far west as Colorado Springs. In 1896, he came to Erie from that city to associate himself with his brother, Gustave H. The latter was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1880, and travelled with Armin in the west. In Erie they first worked at the old Henry Niemeyer greenhouses on west Twenty-sixth street and Brown's avenue, this business being originally established about 1885. In 1903, the brothers leased the plant and formed the Baur Floral Com- pany, entirely remodeling the old plant and in the summer of 1908 begin- ning the erection of one of the largest and most up-to-date greenhouses in this part of the state, and covering 112,000 square feet of floor space. The main building is constructed almost entirely of steel, concrete and glass, and the plant has its own water works as well as gas and coal heat- ing systems. While the Baur Floral Company does a large general busi- ness, it makes a specialty of growing the Orchid, the American Beauty rose. Poinsettias, Hydrangeas, ferns, etc. The brothers have a large cut flower trade throughout the northern section of the state, and their elegant retail store and show room in the Majestic, is presided over by a younger brother-William Otto-who was born in Cullman, Alabama, in 1888. They make a specialty of interior decorations for parties, receptions, etc., and have a large business among the best people of the city. Mr. Armin Baur is the inventor, patentee and manufacturer of the Baur Carnation Clip, a device for binding together split Carnations, which is the only thing of the kind in existence.
Armin J. Baur married Miss Esther Arnold, of Youngsville, Penn- sylvania, and to them one daughter has been born-Catherine. He is a member of the Society of American Florists, of the American Carna- tion Society and of the Erie Chamber of Commerce, his fraternal rela- tions being with the I. O. O. F. and Royal Arcanum.
151
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
CAPTAIN THOMAS J. BOYD. A well known citizen of Erie is Captain Thomas J. Boyd, who has made that place his residence since 1849. He was born in 1848, and is the son of Jeffrey and Mary Boyd, both natives of Ireland, who emigrated to America in 1849. Jeffrey and Mary Boyd had children as follows: Thomas J., Michael, Jeffrey and Mary. The last-named is now Mrs. O'Hara, of Niagara, New York.
Captain Boyd was reared and educated in Erie, and in 1869 began his career on Lake Erie, his first employment being as fireman; step by step, as opportunity offered, he advanced in knowledge and skill, study- ing navigation first-hand, until in 1871 he was able to pass the rigid gov- ernment examination, becoming master mariner. From that date until 1900 he served as master of a tug, and was part owner of the following tugs : "Wm. E. Scott," "Erie," "America," and "Erastus Day." These tugs were purchased by the trust, in 1900. In 1908 Captain Boyd be- came interested in the Builders Supply & Sand Company, with which he is still connected. The company owns and operates the steamer "America," of which he is captain. This boat is known as a "sand sucker," that is, it sucks sand from the bottom of the lake, and it is this sand which the company furnishes to the builders of Erie.
Captain Boyd is a member of the Knights of Columbus, also of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He married, in 1871, May Golden, and to them have been born eleven children, eight of whom are living, namely : Thomas J. Jr., Marcella, Minnie, Helen, Leo, Joseph, Gilbert and Mildreth. Thomas J. Jr., is a marine engineer employed on the great lakes.
JOHN J. BAXTER. A public spirited and highly esteemed citizen of Erie, John J. Baxter has been a resident of this city for upwards of forty years, and as a skilful carpenter and pattern maker is actively identified with its mechanical industries. During the Civil war, he bore arms in support of the cause of the Union, and has since been equally as valiant in championing every enterprise and project of benefit to his country. A son of the late Henry Baxter, he was born, December 27, 1846, in Uti- ca, New York. At six years of age he accompanied his parents to Chi- cago, Illinois. Here they lived three years and they then moved to Rock Island, remaining there three years. After the father's death the family moved to New York state and subsequently to Michigan.
A native of New York state, Henry Baxter was a natural-born me- chanic, and early became familiar with the workings of all kinds of machinery. His inclinations turned him towards railroading, and he gradually filled positions of minor importance until he became a loco- motive engineer, in which capacity he won distinction for running the engine that drew the first passenger train to make a trip on what is now the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway and that time known as the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad. He was subsequently killed while on duty. He married Jane Van Slyke, also a native of New York state, and they became the parents of six children, namely : G. W .; John J., of this brief sketch; J. N .; Lottie; Nancy ; and Charles, deceased. The mater- nal grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Brought up in Illinois, John J. Baxter attended the common schools of his neighborhood, and while conning his books absorbed, unconscious- ly, mayhap, practical lessons in patriotism and loyalty to home and coun- try. In the fall of 1864, seeing the pressing need of more men at the front, he enlisted, October 15, in Company I, Twenty-eighth Michigan
152
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Twenty-third Corps, First Division, Second Brigade, of the Department of Cumberland. On Jan- uary 18, 1865, his regiment was attached to the Army of Ohio, and he took part in various battles fought on North Carolina soil, including one at Wise's Forks, on March 8 and 9; at Kinston on March 14, when he received a slight wound in the head, at Goldsboro, at Raleigh, and was present at the surrender of Johnston. Mr. Baxter subsequently served with his command on provost duty, being with his command in the Dis- trict of Raleigh, in August, 1865; in the Wilmington District, in Octo- ber, 1865; and in the District of Newbern, in January, 1866. On June 5, 1866, he was honorably discharged from service, with an honorable record for bravery and fidelity as a soldier.
Soon after his return from war, Mr. Baxter located in Erie, Penn- sylvania, coming here July 3, 1866, and has since made this his home. He was for a number of years employed by the Western Union Tele- graph Company, and helped to erect the first telegraph wires in this vicin- ity, the line bringing Erie in touch with other great centers. In 1871, Mr. Baxter enlisted in Company B, Seventeenth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania, and on January 14, 1873, was made corporal of his company ; was promoted to sergeant October 21, 1873; made first ser- geant August 4, 1874; second lieutenant March 30, 1880; and on August 27, 1880, received his commission as captain of his company. During the Pittsburg riots, Mr. Baxter was on duty with the Seventh Division, patroling Kingston on August 2; at Wilkesbarre on August 4; and in Scranton from August 4 until August 10, when he was discharged from service. Since settling in Erie, Mr. Baxter has followed the carpenter's trade, principally, and as a man of honor and integrity stands well among the well known and highly esteemed residents of the city.
On February 19, 1872, Mr. Baxter married Catherine Quien, who was born in Erie, September 17, 1846. Her parents, George and Cather- ine (Redding) Quien, were born in Alsace, France, their births occurring in 1814, and both came to this country when young, about 1828, and were here married. Mr. Quien was a ship builder by trade, and carried on a substantial business. To him and his wife eleven children were born, of whom five are living, as follows: Elizabeth, Catherine, Sophia, Wil- liam and Gustave. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter have three children, William H. Baxter Gustave A. Baxter and Annie S. Baxter. Mr. Baxter is a member, and past commander of Erie Post No. 67, G. A. R., in which he has filled all of the offices. He takes great interest in educational affairs, and for six years served as superintendent of the Erie School buildings.
WILLIAM H. SMITH. Ranking high among the keen, progressive and enterprising men that are closely associated with the advancement of the mercantile interests of Erie is W. H. Smith, who for the past twenty years has owned and managed a meat market at 924 Parade street. He is a connoisseur in meats, keeping in stock the best to be obtained, and cutting and putting it up so artistically and scientifically as to attract patronage, and at the same time give evidence of his superior knowledge of the details connected with his trade. A son of John Smith, he was born March 6, 1857, in Erie, and was here brought up and educated.
John Smith was born in Germany, and came to this country when young. Learning the trade of a carpenter, he followed it in Erie during his active career, becoming widely known as a trustworthy workman,
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTON, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
John JBrew
153
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
and a valued citizen. He married Mary Gerhart, who came to Erie from Germany when a child, and into their household eight children were born, as follows: Sophia; John; George; William H., of this brief biography ; Mrs. Minnie Fister; Mrs. Josephine Camp; Mrs. Melia Fitzner; and Mrs. Annie Cook.
Trained to habits of industry and thrift from his early youth, Wil- liam H. Smith entered the employ of a butcher when a boy and contin- ued work at that trade for twenty years, obtaining a practical knowledge of the business in its every detail. In 1889, embarking in business on his own account, Mr. Smith purchased his present establishment on Parade street, and has since built up an extensive and remunerative bus- iness, being the leading meat dealer in this part of the city. He has a very large trade, handling on an average six beeves a week, and one thousand pounds of sausage of his own manufacture.
Mr. Smith married, in July, 1882, Annie Deamer, and of the seven children born of their union six are living, namely: Edward, Carrie, Helen, Alkey, Norman, and Margaret.
JOHN T. BREW. The Brews, father and son, are among the best known railroad men (classed in the working force) in the history of the Pennsylvania Railroad in western Pennsylvania. The latter, John T. Brew, is now assistant trainmaster, located at Erie, and is further, one of the most prominent Democrats and public men of the city and county. Born at Wellsville, New York, on the 14th of December, 1866, he is a son of George and Bridget (Quinlan) Brew, the father, a native of Scotland and the mother, of Ireland. Having spent all his mature life in railroad work, George Brew died at Spring Creek, Warren county, Pennsylvania, in 1902, aged seventy-seven years, and the mother passed away at Corry, Erie county, in the year 1906, sixty-five years old.
When John T. Brew was an infant of one year the family settled at Petroleum Centre, Pennsylvania, and about ten years later removed to Spring Creek. It was at that locality, when he was only fourteen years of age, that the youth commenced his lifelong career in railroading, and his entire training and continuous progress has been in the service of the Pennsylvania Company. During the earlier years he devoted only the summer months to his railroad work, attending school the balance of the year, and thus managing to graduate with credit from the Corry high school in 1886. On June 1, 1889, he became a resident of Erie, and continued with the Pennsylvania Company in various capacities until the organization of the Chamber of Commerce, when he was elected its secretary. But he only held that position for six weeks, resigning it to accept his present office as assistant trainmaster of the company in whose employ he has been for a virtual lifetime.
Mr. Brew's prominence as a Democrat and a citizen of public affairs commenced in 1895, when he was elected to a seat in the Common Council of Erie. He thus served for three successive years (one year as president), and from 1900 to 1904 was a member of the Select Council, holding the presidency of the latter in 1902 and 1903. For two years he was chairman of the city campaign committee, handling the funds in the contest which resulted in the election of Mr. Saltsman for mayor by two thousand majority. In 1897 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the mayoralty. Mr. Brew has been a delegate to numerous state and county conventions of his party, and in 1908 served as a delegate-at- large to the national convention which nominated Bryan. Outside of his
154
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
political and public relations to the community, he is an active member of the Erie Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade; a loyal and leading promoter of various fraternities and a stanch Catholic, being identified with St. Peter's cathedral. He is especially prominent in the Knights of Columbus, having been deputy for five years of the district which embraces Erie, Crawford, Warren, Venango and Forest counties, and at Reading. Pennsylvania, May 12th, 1909, at the State Convention was elected to the highest office of the order in the state. State Deputy in charge of one hundred and six councils in the state of Pennsylvania. He also belongs to the Elks. Maccabees and C. M. B. A. Married to Ella J. Cooney, of Irvineton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Brew's wife is the daughter of John Cooney, a well-known merchant and justice of the peace of that place. The children of the union are as follows: George Willi, a graduate of the Erie high school ( class of '08) and now a student at the Pennsylvania State College ; Paul Edward, still a student in the city high school ; Mary, who died in infancy ; John Vincent, Mary Colum- bia and Eugene James Brew.
FRANK H. PAYNE. Deserving representation in this publication as one of those alert and progressive "captains of industry" who are aiding materially in forwarding the commercial prestige of the city of Erie, Frank H. Payne is the incumbent of the responsible office of manager of the Metric Metal Works of the American Meter Company, the strongest corporation of its kind in the world.
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.