USA > Pennsylvania > Blair County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Blair County, Pennsylvania > Part 54
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in farming, and by industry, economy, and good management acquired five good farms. HIe was one of the largest landholders in Huntingdon county at the time of his death. Ile was a hard working man who gave his time and attention strictly to his own business affairs. He married Catherine Keller, and reared a family of nine children, six sons and three daughters: Samuel, John, Jacob, William, Peter, David, Doro- thea, Elizabeth, and Catherine.
William Harnish was reared on his father's farm, where he was carefully trained to habits of economy, industry, and honesty. He received his education in the subscription schools when they were about to be superseded by the free schools. He came to Frankstown township, in which he has resided and followed farming ever since. HIe owns a good farm of one hundred and thirty-six acres of land that is well im- proved and carefully tilled. Ilis farm is but a short distance from Hollidaysburg. Ile also owns another tract of about eighty acres of land which is well adapted to grazing purposes. In addition to farming, Mr. Harnish raises some stock, which he dis- poses of to dealers, for the eastern markets.
William Harnish married Maria Ross, and to their union were born seven children, three sons and four daughters : Margaretta, born January 11, 1846, and died in 1850; Catherine M., born in 1848, married Wil- liam Waters, and died in 1889; Juniata B., born September 18, 1849, and died in 1850; Samuel R., born February 2, 1851, and is employed in the Johnstown Company store at Gaysport, this county; William E., born October 12, 1853, and died in 1854; Archie C., born September 28, 1860, and is engaged in farming with his father at home; and Maria E., born January 15,
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1865, and married to William Matthews of Hollidaysburg.
In politics Mr. Harnish is a republican. He is a consistent and useful church member.
JOHN B. HOOVER, one of the pros-
perous farmers of Iluston township, is a son of Rev. John and Elizabeth ( Broom- baugh ) Hoover, and was born on the old homestead in Huston township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, September 13, 1822. Rev. John Hoover was born near the famous battle ground of Antietam, in Maryland, in 1800, and at an early age came with his parents to Blair county, where he settled in Huston township. IIe followed farming, and was engaged for twenty years in the active ministry of the Brethren in Christ church, during which he never accepted pay or recompense for his services in the cause of his church and of Christianity. He was a man of earnestness in whatever cause he engaged, and remained active in his various labors until his death, which oc- curred when he was well advanced in his fifty-eighth year. IIe married Elizabeth Broombaugh. They were the parents of eight children, two sons and six daughters.
John B. Hoover was born, reared and has always resided on his present farm. He received his education in the schools of his neighborhood, and then engaged in farm- ing, which has been his principal business ever since. He still owns and personally supervises his farm of one hundred and forty acres, of which seventy-five acres are under cultivation, while the remainder is in woodland and pasture. In addition to farming he also operated a flouring mill for twenty-five years on Clover creek.
Mr. Hoover was united in marriage with
a Miss Noscar. To this union have been born eight children : Maggie, who married Peter Fry, and resides near Williamsburg, this county ; Harriet, at home; Mary, mar- ried, and lives at Roaring Springs; William, attending school at Martinsburg, this county, and Anna, Reuben, Ruby, and Cecelia, liv- ing at home with their parents.
John B. Hoover supports the cardinal principles of the Republican party, although in local affairs casts his ballot for the best qualified candidate, irrespective of party affiliations. IIe is a church member, and has been successful in his various business enterprises.
WILLIAM L. SHELLENBERGER,
president of the Richland Coal Com- pany, and vice-president of the Altoona, Clearfield & Northern Railroad Company, is a man of marked ability, and is closely identified with the business prosperity and development of Blair county. IIe has been a life-long resident of the city of Altoona, and is a son of James and Agnes ( Lahey ) Shellenberger, being born August 1, 1857, at Alexandria, Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania. The Shellenbergers are of Ger- man descent, tracing their ancestry back to the Fatherland, but for many generations have been residents of the Keystone State, and loyal citizens of the great American republic. James Shellenberger (father ) was born in Berks county, this State, in 1832, where he grew to manhood, and re- ceived a good common school education. While yet a young man he removed to IIuntingdon county, and in 1861 came to Altoona, where he still resides, being now in the sixtieth year of his age. Ile is a carpenter by trade, and has followed that oveupation all his active life. In politics a
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
republican, he has ever been interested in all questions affecting the public welfare, though taking no active part in the leading contests which periodically convulse this country. He has for many years been a member of the Baptist church. By his marriage to Agnes Lahey he had a family of children. She was a native of Ireland, coming to Huntingdon with her father's family when only nine years of age. She is also a member of the Baptist church.
William L. Shellenberger was reared in Altoona, and received his education in the public schools of this city. After complet- ing his studies and leaving school he be- came a book-keeper for the firm of Stokes & Co., of Altoona, and followed that occu- pation for a period of eight years. In 1882 he resigned his position as book-keeper and began dealing in builders' supplies of all kinds. He has successfully conducted this business ever since, with a constantly increasing trade. IIe handles sewer pipe, flue pipe, sand, lime, cement, plaster, and. nearly everything used by builders. He also deals in coal and coke, and executes contracts for metalic cement and paving and building in concrete and artificial stone. Ilis store is located at No. 1710 Ninth avenue.
In addition to giving careful attention to the growing demands of his business, Mr. Shellenberger became active in the organ- ization of the company which built the Altoona, Clearfield & Northern railroad, and is now serving as vice-president of that company. He is also president of the Richland Coal Company, of which he was one of the early promoters, and whose op- erations have done so much toward the de- velopment of this county.
In 1881 Mr. Shellenberger was united in
marriage to Annie K. Griffin, a daughter of Theodore H. Griffin, of the city of Altoona. Their union has been blessed by the birth of two children, one son and a daughter: Russell and Rachel.
In his political affiliations Mr. Shellen- berger has always been republican, and has been repeatedly honored by election to official position. IIe is now serving as a member of the common council of the city of Altoona, and was auditor of Blair county from 1884 to 1888. He has always given his party an active and influential support, and is a local leader of recognized ability. He is a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America and of the Knights of the Golden Eagle.
WILLIAM H. LEADER, a prominent contractor and builder of Altoona, who has been a resident of the city since its earliest days, is a son of Daniel and Mary (Campbell) Leader, and was born in the town of Bedford, Bedford county, Pennsyl- vania, his natal day being January 19, 1832. The Leaders are descended from an ancient German family, the American branch of the family being planted in the new world by his great-grandfather Leader, who left his native country in the eighteenth century to try his fortunes in the young republic of North America. He located near the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, where he pur- chased a farm and reared a large family, and where he died at an advanced age. His descendants have become numerous in this State. Among his sons was Frederick Leader (grandfather), who was born near Reading, this State, where he grew to man- hood and received the limited education afforded by the country schools of his day.
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After attaining manhood he removed to Pottstown, Montgomery county, where he passed the remainder of his days. . He was a farmer by occupation, and spent his life in agricultural pursuits. He became a member of the German Reformed church, and married and reared a family of children. One of his sons was Daniel Leader ( father), who was born at Pottstown in 1787, and reared and educated in Montgomery county. When thirty-eight years of age he removed to Bedford county, this State, locating in Martinsburg, now in this county, but at that time ( 1825) comprised in the county of Bedford. In 1827 he moved into the town of Bedford, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1866, when he lacked only one year of being an octogenarian. In early life he learned the tinner's trade and worked at it for a few years, but most of his active life was devoted to farming, in which he was very successful. He was a member of the German Reformed church, and was active in promoting the interests of his de- nomination. In politics he was a whig and republican. He married Mary Campbell, and to them was born a family of children. She was a native of Bedford county, and of Scotch-Irish descent. During most of her life she was a devoted and consistent mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died in 1857, at the advanced age of sixty- three years.
William H. Leader was reared in the ad- · joining county of Bedford, and obtained his education in the public schools of that county. After leaving school he learned the trade of carpenter, which he has suc- cessfully followed ever since. In 1850 he came to Hollidaysburg, this county, where he resided for two years, and then removed to Altoona, which has been his home to the
present time. When he first came to Al- toona it consisted of about one dozen houses, and he has seen the town grow and develop into the beautiful, busy and picturesque place now known everywhere as the " Moun- tain City" of Pennsylvania. He has not only seen it grow, but has helped to create it, having built or assisted in building hun- dreds of the houses which adorn its resi- dence streets and business thoroughfares. Since 1869 he has been engaged in contract- ing and building in this city, and prior to that time worked at his trade here, so that it may be doubted if the handiwork of any one man appears in an equal number of buildings in Altoona.
In 1854 Mr. Leader was married to Martha Dobbs, a daughter of Thomas Dobbs, of the city of Hollidaysburg. To Mr. and Mrs. Leader was born a family of seven children who lived to reach maturity, five sons and two daughters : Arthur W., James S., Thomas D., Edward E., Charles W., Mary C., and Bessie G. Arthur W. Leader is a con- tractor and builder in the city of Altoona, and the four other sons are in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as carpenters and machinists. Politically Wil- liam II. Leader is a republican, anxious to discharge all the duties of good citizenship, but never taking an active part in the turmoils of practical politics.
ETER S. ISENBERG, now serving as justice of the peace at Bellwood, belongs to that great class of patriotic young men who exchanged school-room duties for the sterner demands of the tented field in the dark days of our civil war, and surviving that conflict, returned to lead industrious, useful, and honorable lives
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
beneath the folds of a flag they had helped to preserve. Ile is a son of Mordecai and Elizabeth (Heckendorn) Isenberg, and was born near Alexandria, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, on the 28th day of March, 1845. Hlis paternal grandfather, Peter Isenberg, removed to Maryland when a young man, and passed the rest of his life in that State, dying at an advanced age. Ile was a farmer by occupation, married and reared a family of children, among whom was Mordecai Isenberg (father). The latter was a native of Maryland, where he was reared and received the limited education afforded by the elemental schools of that day. On leaving school he learned the trade of carpenter, and followed that occupation nearly all his days. In middle life he removed to Pennsylvania, settling in Huntingdon county, where he died. IIe married Elizabeth Heckendorn, a daughter of John Heckendorn, of Huntingdon county, and by this union had a family of seven children, three sons and four daugh- ters. One of these sons, Nicholas, served as a soldier during the civil war, and is now a resident of Los Angeles, California. John Heckendorn, maternal grandfather, was of German extraction, and came to Huntingdon county when a young man. Ile lived to be ninety years old, and died at his home in that county.
Peter S. Isenberg was reared principally in the township of Porter, Huntingdon county, this State, and received his educa- tion in the common schools of his neighbor- hood. On June 4, 1864, when only nine- teen years of age, he enlisted in Battery C, 1st Pennsylvania light artillery, and served until July 3, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. During his term of service he took part in thirteen battles and skirmishes,
including the terrible struggles at Fisher's Ilill, Summit . Point, Cedar Creek, and Harper's Ferry, and was with Sheridan in his raid through the Shenandoah valley. After receiving his discharge he returned to Blair county and started in to learn the trade of coach maker. He has worked at that trade continuously ever since, with the exception of two and a half years - 1871 to 1873 - during which he was employed as a passenger car builder in the Altoona shops of the Pennsylvania railroad. On December 18, 1884, he located in Bellwood, and worked steadily at his trade until the spring of 1890, when he was elected justice of the peace for a term of five years. In connection with his office he runs a novelty store.
Mr. Isenberg married S. Ellen Warfle, a daughter of John S. Warfle, and by this union had a family of six children, all sons : William T., married Elizabeth Loucks and resides at Bellwood, where he is engaged in the blacksmith business ; Walter J., a barber by trade ; Alvin G., John E., David A., and Arthur C. All are yet living at home with their parents except the married son.
Politically Mr. Isenberg is a republican, and on general questions can be counted on to support the policy of that party. In local affairs he is inclined to independent action, and gives his vote and the weight of his influence to such measures as his judgment decides to be for the general good of the whole people. It is too early to pronounce a final verdict on his official career, but he stands high with his fellow citizens, has given good satisfaction during the year he has occupied his present posi- tion, and seems to possess all the leading qualifications that go to make a first-class magistrate.
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CHARLES M. CROWLEY, who is the
successful and special representative at Altoona of the Etna Fire Insurance Com- pany of Hartford, Connecticut, was born September 3, 1864, at Medina, Orleans county, New York, and is a son of John and Margaret (Sullivan ) Crowley. His paternal grandfather Crowley was a native of Ireland, and belonged to the farming class of that country. During the first quarter of the present century he came to the United States and settled in Orleans county, New York, where he cleared out a large farm, on which he resided until his death, in 1854, at fifty years of age. His son, John Crowley, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born at Ridgeway, Or- leans county, and trained to farming, which he has followed ever since. He is a democrat in politics, and resides upon his farm at South Barre, that county. He married Margaret Sullivan, and they have reared a family of several children. Mrs. Margaret Crowley's father was born in Ireland, and came to Albion, Orleans county, New York, where he died in 1891, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.
Charles M. Crowley passed his boyhood and youth upon his father's farm, where he assisted in most of the routine work of farming. He received his education at Albion, in his native county, and after he left school was engaged for two years in teaching in New York. IIe then came to Altoona, where he taught for two years. In 1886 he formed a partnership with Joseph Reese, of Johnstown, this State, and suc- cessfully conducted the International Busi- ness college of Altoona until 1888, wlien Mr. Crowley withdrew from the college management to become book-keeper in the mercantile house, at Altoona, of Barnet,
Bond & Son, of Baltimore, Maryland. At the end of three years he resigned his position of book-keeper to engage in his present fire insurance business, as special agent of the old and well-known Etna Fire Insurance Company, of Hartford, Connecticut.
Charles M. Crowley is a democrat in polities. Fire insurance to-day represents millions of capital and has grown to a busi- ness of large proportions in every enter- prising city of the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and. Altoona is not behind her sister cities in affording her citizens the best of opportunities to protect themselves from loss by fire. Mr. Crowley represents one of the most reliable fire companies in the United States and has secured a large patronage by his earnest and effective work.
A LEXANDER J. McKEE is one who
deserves credit for the success he has attained in business life. Ile is a son of Alexander J., sr., and Margaret (Jones) McKee, and was born at Hollidaysburg, Blair county, Pennsylvania, January 7, 1850. Alexander McKee (grandfather) was of Scotch-Irish descent, but was a native of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, and died at Lewiston, where, up to the time of his death, he was engaged as a tanner. IIe was a faithful attendant of the Presbyterian church, and was united in marriage with Anna Woods, who died some time after- ward, and he then married Catherine John- ston, by whom he had a family of four sons and five daughters. Alexander J. McKee, sr. (father), was born in Ferguson valley, Mifflin county, and passed his boy- hood days upon the farm. Later he be- came a boatman on the old Pennsylvania
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
canal, and in 1837 he removed to Holli- daysburg, where he remained until his death, which occurred in 1873. Hle mar- ried Margaret Jones, a daughter of Jolm Jones, who was born in Blair county, and who was the son of David Jones, a native of Wales. John Jones ( maternal grand- father ) married a Miss Galbraith, and to them were born six children, of whom the mother of Alexander J. McKee is the eld- est, and now resides at Hollidaysburg. John Jones was a hotel-keeper, and died in Frankstown in 1833. Politically he was a supporter of the Whig party.
Alexander J. McKee received his educa- tion in the public schools of Hollidaysburg, and entered upon the scenes of active life without any capital. His father dying, the responsibility of the maintenance of the family rested upon him. At the age of ten years he became engaged as a peddler, which business he pursued during the civil war. At the close of the war he came to Hollidaysburg, where he was employed as a puddler in a rolling mill. In 1873 there was a great stagnation in business in the iron trade, which compelled him to aban- don his position. He then purchased a stock of fire-shovels, which he sold for about a year, and at the expiration of that time he began to sell notions, and was thus employed for ten years. In 1882 he entered into partnership with John W. Cleber, and was engaged in the dry goods business at Hollidaysburg until 1890, when he bought out the interest of Mr. Cleber, and has since conducted the establishment very successfully. He is located at No. 70, cor- ner of Allegheny and Montgomery streets. Ile occupies two floors of a large brick building, 40x60 feet in dimensions, which is filled with a first-class stock of dry goods.
Hle employs four clerks, and enjoys an ex- tensive trade.
On April 1, 1875, Mr. McKee was united in marriage with Catherine Carner, a daugh- ter of Charles Carner, of Hollidaysburg, and to their union have been born three children : Francis II .; Edith E., who died at the age of seven years and six months; and Esther B.
In politics Mr. McKee is a republican, and was elected director of the poor in November, 1888, and was afterward re- elected. IIe is now serving his second term as councilman of the borough of Hol- lidaysburg. Since 1871 he has been a member of Hollidaysburg Lodge, No. 119, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past grand. In religious be- lief Mr. MeKee is a Lutheran, and is treas- urer of his church. Ile is a wide-awake, enterprising man, and takes an active part in all matters pertaining to his line of business. As a director of the poor he was ever interested in their comfort and welfare, and his efficiency as a public ofli- cial was well attested by his re-election.
E 'DWARD R. HAINES, a Union sol-
dier of the late civil war, and now an active and successful builder and contractor of Altoona, is a son of Reuben and Mary E. (Mitchell) Haines, and was born in Buf- falo township, Perry county, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of May, 1847. ITis paternal grandfather, Lawrence Haines, was of Ger- man descent, and came from the eastern part of Pennsylvania to Perry county at an early day in the present century. He was a wagon maker by trade, and died in Perry county. ITis son, Reuben Haines (father), was born in Perry county, where he died in
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March, 1874, when in the fifty-third year of his age. He was a wagon maker by trade, a democrat in politics, and a Lutheran in religious faith and church membership. He owned a good farm, which he cultivated in addition to following the wagon making business. He married Mary E. Mitchell, who was a native of Perry county, where she died in March, 1866, when in the fortieth year of her age. Mr. and Mrs. Haines were the parents of several children.
Edward R. Haines was reared on his father's farm in Perry county, and received his education in the common schools. He assisted his father on the farm and in the carpenter shop until March, 1865, when he enlisted in Co. B, 77th Pennsylvania in- fantry. He served until January, 1866, when he was honorably discharged from the United States service at Victoria, Texas, but was not paid off till he arrived at Phil- adelphia on his way home. After returning from the army to Perry county, he learned the trade of carpenter with his father, for whom he worked until the autumn of 1872, when he engaged with a canal company, and worked during the winter on the repair of a canal which they owned and operated. In 1873 he came to Altoona, where he worked at carpentering until 1874, when his father died, and he returned to Perry county. He then assumed charge of his father's shop, in which he conducted the wagon making business until 1881, when he sold the shop and removed to Mifflintown, Juniata county, where he engaged in the bottling business for a few months, after which he went to Roanoke, Virginia, and worked at house carpentering and in the machine shops of that place until 1885. In that year he returned to Mifflintown, and the next fall came to Altoona, where he
followed carpentering until February, 1891, when he formed a partnership with D. J. Orner, under the firm name of Orner & Haines, and they followed contracting and building up to March 1, 1892. Mr. Haines then purchased his partner's interest, and is still engaged in the contracting and building business.
In 1870 Mr. Haines was united in mar- riage with Mary E., daughter of Joel Orner, of Perry county, this State. To Mr. and Mrs. Haines have been born three children : Howard H., Joel W., and William II.
Edward R. Haines in political matters is independent, and supports measures and votes for men without regard to party. Active, energetic, and reliable in whatever he undertakes, he is now in the midst of a very successful business career.
DAVID A. RAUGH, an industrious and substantial citizen, and a reliable and prosperous furniture dealer of Bell- wood, is a son of Solomon and Hannah (Geissinger) Raugh, and was born in Hun- tingdon county, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1842. The Raughs were among the early German families of eastern Pennsylvania, and Henry Raugh (grandfather ) was a native of that part of the State. He settled near the county-seat of Huntingdon county, where he followed farming until his death. HIe was a carpenter by trade, and married Mary Fink, a native of Huntingdon county, by whom he had a family of eight children, of whom were Jonathan, Sally, and Solomon. Solomon Raugh was born in Woodcock valley, Huntingdon county, about 1812, followed milling during the active years of his life, and died near Alexandria, in his native county, in February, 1877. He was
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