USA > Pennsylvania > Armstrong County > Armstrong County, Pennsylvania her people past and present, embracing a history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I > Part 68
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
produce business, of which he has made so John M. Shick, son of Jacob, was born pronounced a success. He makes a specialty July 4, 1840, in what is called Sugar valley, of handling apples, potatoes and hay, by the carload only. in Red Bank township, near Hawthorn. He was educated in the schools of the township, and worked for his father on the farm until
Mr. Shafer is a Republican and has been very active in the work of the party. He twenty-one years old. He remained on the was a member of the county committee for twelve years, and served three years as judge of election. He is a member of the Evan- gelical Church at New Salem, in Red Bank township, Armstrong county. farm and took care of his father and crippled sister, and he inherited the farm from his father, continuing to follow farming all his life. His first marriage was to Sophia Miller, daughter of Christopher Miller, and they had children : Amanda married Jacob George, of Red Bank township; Ambrose, at Pittsburgh, married Della Hoch, who is deceased; Lydia
On May 18, 1888, Mr. Shafer married Elizabeth Shick, who was born in Red Bank township Oct. 2, 1869, daughter of John M. Shick, and there received her education. She died when two years old; Elizabeth, who was remained at home until her marriage. Mr. born in the old log house on the farm, married and Mrs. Shafer have had children born as follows: Grace, Nov. 18, 1889 (married to Charles Kunselman, of Mahoning township; they have one child, Percy William, born Nov. 8, 1911) ; Harry Calvin, July 23, 1891 (mar- ried Ocie Kunselman, and they have one child, Martha. Elizabeth, born March 16, 1913) ; Dessie Pearl, Feb. 12, 1893 (died April 24, 1895) ; Boyd D., Oct. 9, 1894; Elsie May, Sept. 13, 1896; Katie Ruth, March 16, 1898; William Reed, April 11, 1901 (died April I, 1913) ; Perry Paul, Oct. 22, 1903; Ruby Estella, Feb. 23, 1904; Charles Theodore, Jan. 29, 1906; Nellie Aldine and Della Geraldine, twins, Dec. 8, 1907; Clarence Armour, Sept. 28, 1910.
Jacob Shick, grandfather of Mrs. Shafer, was a farmer, and came to this section from Northumberland county, settling in Sugar valley, Red Bank township, where he bought a tract of 140 acres. He cleared the land, built a log house and barn, and carried on general farming all the rest of his life. To him and his wife Elizabeth ( Mohney ), daugh- ter of Adam Mohney, were born the follow- ing children : Rebecca married Lewis Mohney, of Clarion county (both are de- ceased) ; Adam married Mary Kunselman, of Red Bank township (both are deceased) ; John M. is mentioned below; Christopher, of Red Bank township, married Sarah Lankard, who is deceased; Susanna married Jacob Miller, of Mahoning township (both are de- ceased) ; Frederick married Sarah Kunsel- man, of Detroit; Elizabeth died aged sixty- two years; Tina married Jacob Wineburg, of Michigan (both are deceased) ; Annie mar- ried Adam Mohney, and both are deceased. The father lived to the age of eighty-two years; the mother died in the house built by him. He was a Democrat, and a member of the Steinmetz Lutheran Church, near Haw- thorn, Clarion county, Pennsylvania.
Harvey G. Shafer; Elsie married William Gruber, of Red Bank township; Theodore died in infancy. The mother of these died in 1873, and is buried at the Brick Church at Hawthorn. She was a Lutheran in religion. Mr. Shick subsequently married (second) Sophia Rinard, daughter of Reuben and Angeline (Gruber) Rinard, and they had the following children: Angeline May married Calvin Copenhaver, of Pierce, Red Bank township; Clara married Raymond Trout- man, of Red Bank township; Jesse, of Red Bank township, married Amanda Rearick; Charles, of Red Bank township, married Carrie Boddorf ; Earl, of Red Bank township, this county, married Pearl Huffman; Cather- ine married Ralph Shaffer, of Red Bank, Armstrong county ; Orpha and Irene live at home; Alva is now (1913) twenty-one years old.
Mr. Shick was formerly a Democrat in poli- tics, later becoming a Republican. He was active in township affairs, serving as school director, overseer of the poor and treasurer. He was a member of the Evangelical Church, to which Mrs. Shick also belongs, and he was one of the foremost workers in the church, holding the offices of trustee, elder, steward and class leader. He went out among the people and held prayer meetings, and his devo- tion was rewarded by excellent results. Mr. Shick died in February, 1910, and is buried in the Union cemetery at Hawthorn.
ROBERT WALTER SMITH, author of a "History of Armstrong County," published in 1883, after his death, was born at Litch- field, N. H., June 16, 1816, at the residence of his grandfather, Judge Parker. His great- grandfather, Capt. Ebenezer Smith, was one of the guards in charge of Major Andre pre- ceding his execution. His grandfather, Rev. David Smith, was at the time of his death the oldest graduate of Yale College in the
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United States. His father, Rev. David Smith, Peter, who came with his father to Kittan- also a Yale graduate, was for a number of ning township, Armstrong county, at an early years a missionary to the Tuscarora Indians, day (in 1806 one George Peter Schaeffer was and there among the savages our subject elder in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burrell township, and the same year was as- sessed in that township with 400 acres) ; Eliz- abeth Christina; Susanna Margaret; and John Philip. The father was a member of the State militia at the time the Revolution- ary war broke out, and he served in that con- flict and in the border warfare against the Indians. He came to Kittanning, Armstrong county, before the opening of the nineteenth century, and brought with him a slave he owned, "Black Tom," who continued to live with the family until he died of old age; he is buried in the Schaeffer Church grave- yard at Brick Church, in Burrell township. acquired the taste for aboriginal history which led him to take up the work later in life. Rob- ert was educated by his father and entered Hamilton College, Stockbridge, N. Y., from which he graduated in 1837. He then read law in the office of Darius Pecet, a noted law- yer of Warsaw, N. Y. For a time Mr. Smith was principal of the Red Hood Seminary, then removed to Carlisle, Pa., and in 1846 came to Kittanning. Soon after his arrival he became a partner with the late Judge Buf- fington, the elder, and after a time opened an office of his own. He was the first county superintendent of schools, being appointed in 1856, serving altogether for six years. From 1863 to 1876 he was editor of the Union Free Press, was burgess of Kittanning, and held several other offices of trust in the gift of his fellow townsmen.
John Philip Schaeffer, son of Anthony, married Catherine Zerfaus (sometimes spelled Zerfoss), daughter of John Zerfaus, who served as a private in the war of the Revolution, and won considerable notice be- cause of his encounter with an English officer. At one battle the Americans were retreat- ing, and as John Zerfaus was crossing a fence he was struck across the head with a saber by an English officer; in retaliation Zerfaus shot him in the leg, and both were sent to the English hospital, where the officer compli- mented the young man upon his pluck. John Zerfaus came to Kittanning township and his descendants are numerous.
Mr. Smith was a man of studious habits, a good speaker, and was the founder and sup- porter of the lecture courses of the days be- fore the Civil war. His lectures were the foundation of his history, and he put all of his energies, most of his time and part of his life into the self-imposed task, but was never able to see the result of his labors in print. He worked without expectation of pecuniary reward, but the task was practically complete at his death and the work now stands as a monument to one who did the best he could with limited opportunities. He died Dec. 6, 1881, at the home of his brother, at Bronx-
Frederick Schaeffer, son of John Philip Schaeffer, was born in Kittanning township, where he became a prosperous farmer, and died in 1896. llis wife passed away about ville, N. Y., at the age of sixty-four. He ten years before. They were the parents of labored on his history almost to the last. He nine children: John B., Daniel W., Absalom, was never a great lawyer, but it is said Jackson, William W., George, Anna K. (wife that there were none who excelled him in of John Cook), Mary (wife of Henry Hare)
knowledge of the details of the law, and his book is practically an immense abstract of the titles of the lands in Armstrong county.
JOHN SCOTT SCHAEFFER, attorney at law, and one of the influential citizens of Kittanning, was born in that city Feb. 25. 1871, son of Daniel W. and Maria ( Scott) Schaeffer and grandson of Frederick Schaef- fer.
Anthony Schaeffer, the first of the family in this country, came here from Germany in the middle of the eighteenth century and first settled in Northampton county, Pa. He married Catherine Reeg, who had been his sweetheart in Germany, and who had come is a member of the G. A. R. at Kittanning, the to this country two years before him, and they had children: Eva Catherine: George the Royal Arcanum, and of the National Ge-
and Levina (wife of James Heighley ).
Daniel W. Schaeffer, son of Frederick Schaeffer, is a painter by trade, and resides in Kittanning, where he has a good business in that line. During the Civil war he served as a private in Battery D, 112th Regiment, 2d Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, which was as- signed to the Army of the Potomac. For two years he saw some very hard service, taking part in the battles of Chapin's Farm, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, and sicge of Petersburg, besides many skirmishes. At the close of the war he was detailed to take the census of the colored population of the South, to find out the percentage of colored blood in them. He Society of Sons of the American Revolution,
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ographic Society. Politically he is a Repub- upon which he was born Oct. 9th, 1857. He lican, and his religious connection is with the has an up-to-date farm, and also operates in Lutheran Church, in which he has been for oil and gas. many years a successful Bible class teacher. Conrad Hellam (as he spelled the name), Three children were born to his marriage grandfather of Cyrus Helm, was the first of with Maria Scott: John S., Charles F. and Harry S., the last named deceased.
Mrs. Maria ( Scott) Schaeffer was born
May 4, 1848, at Kittanning, daughter of John later to a location west of the mountains, in and Barbara (Streeper ) Scott, the latter a Armstrong county, securing about two hun-
native of Philadelphia, Pa .; her father, John Streeper, was in the iron business. John Scott, father of Mrs. Schaeffer, was a car- penter by trade, and engaged as a contract- or and builder in Kittanning. He served in the Seminole war in Florida. His father, Isaac Scott, was a prominent man of Kit- tanning in his day, one of the early postmasters at that borough. He was an aide to his rel- ative, Gen. Winfield Scott, in the war of 1812: he was a large powerful man. His wife's maiden name was Spangler.
John S. Schaeffer was graduated from Kit- tanning high school in 1888, and from Thiel College, Greenville, Pa., in 1892, graduating from both institutions ahead of his classes. For the following two years he was professor of English at Wagner Memorial Lutheran College, of Rochester, N. Y., and the next three years he served very ably as superin- tendent of schools at Elizabeth, Pa. In 1900 he was graduated from the law department of the University of Pennsylvania, at Phil- adelphia. Mr. Schaeffer has the degrees of
A. B., A. M., and LL. B., and holds a State teacher's permanent certificate. The year of his graduation from the last named institute he was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, practicing his profession there until 1907, when he came to Kittanning, having been admitted to the bar in Armstrong county in November, 1907. Since then he has been successfully engaged in a large practice in this city. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme and Superior courts of Pennsyl- vania in 1904. For some years he has been an enthusiastic member of the Sons of Veter- ans, and his religious association is with the Lutheran Church, he being an earnest mem- ber. A man of strong convictions and log- ical reasoning powers, combined with natural eloquence, Mr. Schaeffer is often called upon for public addresses, and is one of the favor- ite Memorial day speakers.
CYRUS HELM, former auditor of Arm- strong county, has also been one of the most popular officials of Washington township, where he occupies the old Helm homestead
his family in the United States. He came from Germany with two brothers, all settling in eastern Pennsylvania, whence Conrad came
dred acres of land near Cowansville. It was then all wild, and he built a log cabin to shel- ter his family, who were reared at this place. Mr. Hellam devoted the rest of his life to clearing and improving this property. He was a member of the Lutheran Church. He and his wife had a family of nine children, namely : Jacob, born Aug. 13, 1815; Johannes, born Feb. 17, 1817, who died Aug. 16, 1896; Mary Magdalene, born July 14, 1818; llenrich, born April 7, 1820; George, born Sept. 26, 1826, who died Jan. 3, 1908; Eliz- abeth, born June 6, 1828; a child born June 26, 1829, who died in infancy; Samuel, born June 26, 1831; and David, born Aug. 10, 1833.
Jacob Helm, son of Conrad, was born Aug. 13, 1815, and died Feb. 8, 1895. He was reared at Cowansville, and when he began life for himself purchased from his father a tract of 120 acres in Washington township upon which there was a small clearing and log cabin. He later built a one and one-half story frame house, and there reared his fam- ily, passing the remainder of his life at this place, which he finished clearing and great- ly improved. He married Elizabeth Fair, who was born at Cowansville March 1. 1824, daughter of Peter and Sarah Fair, and died March 3, 1902. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Helm, viz. : William, born Feb. 25, 1842, who died Nov. 6, 1908; Silvanus, born May 10, 1844, a private of Company B, 139th Pennsylvania Infantry, who died Nov. 15. 1862; Mary, born Oct. 22, 1846; Sarah Jane, born Dec. 5, 1848, who died April 12, 1900: Catherine, born June 18, 1851, who died Sept. 18, 1912; Alvina, born Nov. 18, 1853, who died March 13, 1891; Cyrus, born Oct. 9, 1857; Amanda, born Dec. 2, 1858; Albert Milton, born Feb. 6, 1861, who died Jan. 13, 1911 ; and Eunice, born Oct. 11, 1863. The parents were Luth- erans, and charter members of the church in their neighborhood, St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran. Mr. Helm was a Republican in politics.
Cyrus Helm grew to manhood on the home farm. At the age of eighteen he left home.
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working for others until he reached the age school education. Like his father he became a farmer, and made a success of his life work. A consistent Republican, he supported the candidates of his party. Of his eleven chil- dren, two died in infancy, the others being : Abraham, a farmer of Washington township; of twenty-five. In 1882, a few years after his marriage, he came back to his birthplace, where he has ever since lived and worked, making extensive improvements on the farm, which is one of the most up-to-date in its equipment and methods of cultivation in this Frederick, a farmer of Sugar Creek township; section. The Helms have fine stock on the Dr. J. C., of Foss Creek, Jefferson Co., Pa. ; place. There is a gas well upon the farm, Catherine, wife of William Wyant; Evaline, wife of J. W. Frick, of Allegheny county, Pa .; Melissa, wife of F. M. Painter; Elizabeth, wife of Nathan Hazelett ; Anna, wife of J. WV. Fair, of Applewold ; and Samuel F. gas having been found a very valuable fea- ture, and the product, except what is used for domestic purposes, is piped away by the Phillips Gas Company. Mr. Helm conducts his oil operations with others in the Pennsyl- vania oil fields. He has virtually retired from the more arduous agricultural work, his son now operating the farm.
Mr. Helm has been so long associated with public affairs in his locality that he is very prominent in that connection. He has been honored with election to about all the town- ship offices, giving notably valuable service as justice of the peace, school director and auditor, and in 1895 was elected county audi- tor, which office he filled for three years. In politics he is a Republican. Like his family generally he is a Lutheran in religious con- nection.
On Sept. 3, 1878, Mr. Helm married Em- ma Frick, who was born Nov. 24, 1859, in Butler county, Pa., daughter of Michael and Rebecca Frick. Five children have been born to the union : Earl, born July 12, 1879 ; Grant, born Nov. 15, 1880; Ralph, born Aug. 22, 1882 (died March 3, 1883) ; Arthur V., born May 19, 1887, who now runs the home place, having the entire management; and a child born April 3, 1889, that died April 6, 1889.
SAMUEL F. BOOHER, postmaster of Kittanning, and for some years interested in the breeding of fine horses, is one of the rep- resentative men of Armstrong county. He was born in Washington township, this county, son of Jacob and Sarah A. (Bowser) Booher, and grandson in the maternal line of Matthias and Polly Ann ( Stephenson) Bow- ser, the latter a close relative of Governor Stephenson of Ohio.
Frederick Booher, the paternal grand- father, a native of France, grew up in that country, but came to the United States in young manhood, and locating in Bedford, Bedford Co., Pa., bought a farm and found employment for his energies in agricultural pursuits.
Jacob Booher was born in Bedford county, oughly modern appointments.
where he was reared and obtained a common
Samuel F. Booher was educated in his native township, and brought up amid healthy agri- cultural surroundings. When still a young man he began business life for himself as a general merchant at Sherrett, this county, and con- tinued in this line for about six years, during which time he was also postmaster there. In 1894 he was elected sheriff of Armstrong county, and after three years of faithful serv- ice in this important office was further hon- ored by his party, being elected treasurer of the county in 1902. The Republican party has always found in him an able exponent of its principles, and he has been one of its most influential supporters in Armstrong county. He has served as chairman of the Republican central committee, of Washington township, and as chairman of the AArmstrong county central committee, holding the latter office for two years. Moreover, he has justified the faith reposed in him whenever placed in of- fice. In 1907 he was appointed by President Roosevelt to the office of postmaster of Kit- tanning, and reappointed by President Taft, being the present incumbent of the office.
Mr. Booher is deeply interested in the rais- ing of good stock, owning a farm of 700 acres devoted to that purpose, on which he has a fine half-mile race track, and he specializes on high-grade blooded horses. Besides his farm Mr. Booher owns several houses, which he rents, all in one block, and he has just com- pleted the erection of one of the finest and most modern apartment buildings in this part of the country. It is of beautiful buff brick. situated on a high and dry location at the cor- ner of Arch and Grant streets, and is four stories in height, providing eight finely ar- ranged apartments with up-to-date finish and conveniences. The heat is furnished by the most approved hot water system, and the ar- rangements throughout are intended to meet the demands of those who appreciate thor-
Fraternally Mr. Booher is a member of the
S. F. Brother
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B. P. O. Elks, the Odd Fellows and the Ameri- Schull, of Armstrong county, and to them can Mechanics. In religious matters he is a Baptist, and one of the most generous mem- bers of that church.
ELLIS TAYLOR HUTCHISON, closely identified with the educational interests of Armstrong county, and a man of the highest standing, was born Aug. 6, 1873, at Kittan- ning, Pa., son of James and Harriet ( Moor- head) Hutchison, and grandson of Philip Hutchison. Philip Hutchison was an influen- tial man of his period, serving several years as justice of the peace.
James Hutchison, son of Philip, was a car- penter and builder in early life, but later be- came a farmer in Armstrong county. He was a soldier of the Civil war, having enlisted in Company B, 139th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and saw considerable service, par- ticipating in the seven days' battle in the Wilderness. Receiving his honorable dis- charge in 1865, he returned home. He and his wife were the parents of nine children : Lillias M., who married Joseph Smith and (second) George Mellinger; Philip C .; John B .; Dora L., who married James McCreight ; Zelma H., who married Joseph Happe; Ellis Taylor; and three who died in infancy. The father died Jan. 12, 1907, the mother having passed away March 21, 1901. Both belonged to the Presbyterian Church.
Ellis Taylor Hutchison attended the Kittan- ning public and high schools, laying a good foundation for his life work. For the two years following his graduation from high school he taught school, and then entered the State normal school at Clarion, Pa., taking the full course, and being graduated therefrom in 1896. He followed this with a post-graduate course, and then taught in Warren county, Pa., for a year. Mr. Hutchison was then offered a position as principal of schools at Wickboro, now Kittanning, Pa., and remained until 1908. He then assumed charge of a department in the Kittanning Plate Glass Company's office, and since then has exerted his ability toward developing the business placed in his charge. During the time he was principal at Wickboro he accomplished won- ders. When he began the school contained only four rooms, and the standard was low. When he retired, twelve rooms were required to accommodate the pupils, and they now rank with those of any other school in the county.
have been born two sons and one daughter, Frank L., Ellis Taylor, Jr., and Harriet M. They are both consistent members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Hutchison has taken a deep and abiding interest in the church and church work, serving five years as deacon and ten as elder, and one year as superintend- ent of the Sunday school. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Blue Lodge No. 244, of Kittanning, and Orient Chapter, No. 247, R. A. M. For the last ten years he has been sec- retary of the Blue Lodge. He has served five years as burgess and five years as councilman of Wickboro. While no longer a teacher, Mr. Hutchison is alive to educational matters, and always ready to further them to the best of his ability.
GEORGE P. KRON, an honored veteran of Armstrong county and an excellent example of what the German-American citizens of this country accomplish, is one of the leading busi- ness men of Kittanning, where he has been connected with the harnessmaking industry for nearly sixty years. He was born April 4, 1835, in Germany, and there received a com- mon school education and was taught the trade of harnessmaking. At seventeen years of age he came to the United States to join his uncle, George Kron, who had established himself in a harnessmaking business at Kit- tanning.
The young man remained with his uncle until 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, 22d Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and with his regiment was called out for active service during the invasion of the State. The regiment was stationed at Harrisburg during the battle of Gettysburg, and was finally dis- charged when Governor Curtin felt there was no further fear of Confederate occupation. Mr. Kron returned to his business duties. Until 1869 he continued with his uncle, and then branched out for himself in the same line, opening a store on Market street, where Apple Brothers' store now stands. This continued to be his place of business until 1905, when he moved into his present commodious quar- ters. For many years Mr. Kron was the leader in his line, carrying the finest stock of all kinds of goods connected therewith that could be found in Armstrong county. He is a man of progressive ideas, practically shown in his support of the most up-to-date enter-
In 1906 Mr. Hutchison was married to prises undertaken in Kittanning. He was a Zilla M. Schull, daughter of Philip and Mary charter member of the Kittanning Telephone
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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
Company, a charter member of the Armstrong County Trust Company, and when the Kit- tanning National Bank was reorganized be- came a member of the National Kittanning Bank. He has always been an advocate of civic advancement in every way, and his sup- port can always be relied upon in securing the passage of measures looking towards the improvement of existing conditions. He was one of five men to organize and operate the Kittanning Ferry Company, resulting in the by the most conscientious devotion to the wel- making of a free bridge for Kittanning.
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