USA > Pennsylvania > Blair County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Blair County, Pennsylvania > Part 62
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
On June 8, 1869, Captain Aultz was united in marriage with Elizabeth Sneer- inger, a daughter of Pius Sneeringer, a prominent and highly respected citizen of Tyrone, whose biography appears in this volume. To Captain and Mrs. Aultz were born two children : Marie Louise and An- brose M.
ELSWORTH S. FORNEY, a promi-
nent real estate dealer of Altoona, and a member of the plumbing firm of Forney Brothers, is the youngest son of John B. and Eliza ( Richey ) Forney, and was born in the city of Altoona, Pennsylvania, De- cember 28, 1863. The Forneys came from old German stock, the grandfather of Els- worth S. having left the Fatherland when a youth, to settle in Bedford county, Penn- sylvania. There he grew to manhood and married, and later in life became the pro- prietor of a distillery, which he operated for some years. He also owned a fine farm in Bedford county, and was prosperous and successful in business. Ile died there in 1864, at the advanced age of sixty-five years. He married and reared a family of children. John B. Forney (father) was born in Bedford county, this State, but re- moved to Altoona, Blair county, in 1863, where he has resided until now. In early life he learned the trade of wagon maker, and has followed that occupation most of his life. He also engaged to some extent in contracting, and served as a private for six months during the civil war. In 1888 he was elected on the democratic ticket to the position of alderman from the Second ward, for a term of five years. Ile is now serving in that capacity, and takes an active interest in politics. He is a member of the German Reformed church, and by his
-
HORSE SHOE BEND.
531
OF BLAIR COUNTY.
marriage to Eliza Richey had a family of four children : Harry F., Blair E., Cora B., and Elsworth S. Mrs. Forney is a native of Bedford county, a member of the German Reformed church, and is now in her forty- ninth year.
Elsworth S. Forney was reared in Al- toona, receiving a good English education in the public schools of that city, and after completing his studies learned the trade of carpenter. He followed that occupation in a general way for nearly four years, when he was offered and accepted a position in the car shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Altoona, in which he remained for more than five years, He then took a course of training in the Mound City Busi- ness college at Altoona, after which he spent some time traveling in the west, vis- iting a number of the leading towns and cities in the western States. In 1887 he re- turned to Altoona, and for a short time was employed in his father's wagon-making shop, but in the fall of that year embarked in the gentlemen's furnishing goods busi- ness in that city. He was building up a good trade, with every prospect of financial success, when during the following summer a. disastrous fire destroyed his store and stock, compelling him to resume work as a carpenter. He went to work again in the railroad shops in Altoona, but one year later became a member of the firm of II. F. Forney & Bros., who were in the plumb- ing business there, and has been connected with that firm to the present time. The firm is composed of the three brothers, Harry F., Blair E., and Elsworth S. Forney. They do an extensive business, generally conceded to be the largest of its kind in the city. In 1889 Mr. Forney began dealing in real es- tare in connection with the plumbing busi-
ness, and now handles considerable property of that kind, having made some important deals. Ile is a stockholder in both the Standard and Mutual building and loan as- sociations of Altoona, and is serving as a director in each of these organizations. Ile is also a member and the manager of a trust company of that city, formed for the pur- pose of buying and selling real estate.
On December 16, 1888, Mr. Forney was wedded to Ada Overdorff, a daughter of Isaac and Mary E. Overdorff, of Johnstown, this State. IIe is a member of the German Reformed church, and of Camp No. 31, Patriotic Order Sons of America, in which latter he has filled the chair of vice-presi- dent, and has represented his camp in two State conventions of the order.
Politically Mr. Forney is a straight dem- ocrat, always giving his party and its prin- ciples a uniform support. He is very pop- ular with his party associates, and was elected to the office of assessor for the Second ward of Altoona in 1888, and was the democratic candidate for councilman from that ward the following year, but was defeated by a small majority. He has been a member of the democratic county com- mittee for three years, and three times a delegate to the county conventions of the Democratic party.
ARRY L. STULTZ is a reliable citi- zen and a well known business man of Duncansville who has succeeded in increas- ing the business interests of his town and vicinity. IIe is a son of John and Jane (Curry) Stultz, and was born March 4, 1861. Ilis paternal grandfather, Jacob Stultz, in 1846 came to Duncansville, where he died in 1881. By occupation he was a
32
532
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
farmer, and devoted the greater part of his life to agricultural pursuits. He married and had a family of eleven children, nine of whom are still living. In politics he supported the Republican party, and in church membership he was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. John Stultz (father) came to Duncansville, and he was also a farmer by occupation, in which pursuit he was at first engaged at Mckeesport Gap, and later in the vicinity of Hollidaysburg. He was a democrat, and attended the Evangelical Lutheran church. He married Jane Curry, and to them were born eight children, all of whom are now living: Lavina, who, in 1886, married Thomas Ellsworth, a carpenter, who is em- ployed by Mr. Plummer, of Altoona, as manager of his shops at that place; Annie V., Ida J., and Elizabeth M., are unmar- ried; William K., who is a partner with his brother in business at Duncansville; John C., the present manager of his fath- er's farm near Duncansville; and James McClellan.
Ilarry L. Stultz began business life for himself as a dealer in agricultural imple- ments at Eldorado, Blair county, where he remained four years. Meeting with great success he removed to Duncansville, where he has since resided, and is recognized as the leading merchant in the sale of agricul- tural implements, buggies, wagons, and different kinds of fertilizers. His annual sales amount to fifteen or twenty thousand dollars, and his business occupies three buildings, in one of which are kept fertiliz- ers, and in the other two is kept a full line of buggies, wagons, and agricultural imple- ments of all kinds. One of these buildings is 24 x 86 feet, another 20 x 50 feet, and the third is 20 x 30 feet in size.
On October 27, 1887, Mr. Stultz. was united in marriage with Louisa V. Graham, of Allegheny Furnace. To this union has been born one son, Paul G., who was born November 13, 1888.
In politics Harry L. Stultz supports the Democratic party, and is a firm believer in the princples and policy of his party. IIe is a member of the council of Duncansville borough, and owns considerable stock in the Building & Loan association of that place, of which he is treasurer. He is a member of the Hall association of his town, and has always been among the foremost in advocating those protective and progressive measures calculated to advance the prosper- ity of his borough.
RICHARD ARTHUR, one of the pro- prietors of the well-known and popular livery stable of Duke & Arthur, of Altoona, is a son of George and Susan ( Homer) Arthur, and was born in Union township, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, April 6, 1831. His paternal grandfather, John Arthur, was born and reared in England, and came to Pennsylvania when a young man. He served: in the revolutionary war, and died in Union township, Bedford county, when well ad- vanced in the ninety-fourth year of his age. He was an old-line whig, a strict Lutheran in religious belief, and married and reared a family. ITis son, George Ar- thur, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1799, in Cambria county. In early life he went to Bedford county, from which he removed, in 1851, to Altoona, this county, where he resided until his death, which occurred in February, 1888, when in the eighty-ninth year of his age. He was a machinist by trade, and worked for several
533
OF BLAIR COUNTY.
years for the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany. Ile was a whig and republican in polities, a member of the German Reformed church, and married Susan Homer, a native of Cambria county, and a member of the Reformed church, who died in 1886, at seventy-eight years of age. .
Richard Arthur was reared principally in Bedford county, received his education in the common schools, and in 1851 came to Altoona, where he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as an engine repairer. He remained with that company as engine repairer from October, 1851, to June, 1890, when he formed a partnership with Charles A. Duke, and en- gaged in his present livery business.
In 1853 Mr. Arthur married Catherine E. Ilall, daughter of Adolphus Hall, of Logan township. To their union have been born three children, one son and two daugh- ters : Florence E., Orlando A., and Mary R.
The firm of Duke & Arthur have their large livery, feed and sale stable on Ninth street, between Green and Chesnut avenues. They have one of the largest and finest livery stables in the city for the accommo- dation of the equine race, and keep fine riding and driving horses, first-class buggies and carriages, and make a specialty of cabs for weddings and funerals. Richard Arthur is a republican in politics, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and one of the foremost men in his line of business in the county.
G EN. ROBERT A. McCOY. But for the late civil war the courage and mil- itary ability of many men would never have been known. To this class belongs Gen. Robert A. McCoy, one of the active and successful business men of Tyrone, whose
privilege it has been to achieve distinction on different battlefields of the Republic. He is a son of Hugh E. and Margaret ( Reeder) McCoy, and was born in Cam- bria county, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1835. His paternal ancestry in the United States dates back to 1787, when his grandfather, John McCoy, came from the province of Ulster, in the historie north of Ireland, and settled in Bucks county. He subsequently removed to near Ebensburg, Cambria county, where he resided until his death. Ile was a farmer by occupation, married, and had three sons and two daughters. One of these three sons was Hugh E. Mc- Coy, the father of the subject of this sketch. HIe was born in Cambria county in 1807, and in early life removed to Lycoming county, where he was engaged for many years in the manufacture of woolen goods, and where he died in 1884, when in the seventy-seventh year of his age. Ile was a man of good education for that day, and spoke fluently the German and Welsh lan- guages. Ile was a democrat of the Jack- sonian type, and in 1831 married Mar- garet Reeder, by whom he had nine sons and one daughter, all of whom are in the western States except Gen. Robert A. and Andrew, who resides near the old home- stead in Lycoming county. Six of these sons served in the Union armies during the late civil war: Gen. Robert A .; John, who went out in a Kansas cavalry regiment; Captain Charles, of the 106th Pennsylvania volunteers; Henry, a sergeant in the 106th Pennsylvania, who was captured and incar- cerated in Andersonville, where he was killed in trying to escape; Peter R., a ser- geant in the 18th Pennsylvania cavalry regiment; and Lieutenant Allen, who served in the 61st Pennsylvania volunteers
.
534
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
and the Hancock Veteran Legion. Gen- eral MeCoy, on his maternal side, traces his ancestry back six generations to Charles Reeder, who in 1719 settled on the old Canaan farm in Upper Makefield township, Bucks county, where he lived until his death. He was an active and well-to-do farmer, a pious and earnest member of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and mar- ried Eleanor Merrick, by whom he had thirteen children, whose descendants are very numerous in the counties of Bucks, Philadelphia, Delaware, and Montgomery. Ilis son, Merrick Reeder, was the father of Charles Reeder, whose eldest son, Charles, was one of the forlorn hope of one hundred who drew the British at Baltimore within range of the guns of Ft. MeHenry and away from the city. Another son was Andrew Reeder (grandfather), who left, in 1816, his native township and the home of his childhood to settle in Muncy valley, Ly- coming county, where he followed farming. IIe married Anna Kimball, of Mercer county, New Jersey, who was of the Pres- byterian faith, and by this act of marrying without the membership of the Society of Friends he ceased to be a Quaker. He reared a family of five sons and two daugh- ters, one of whom was Margaret, the mother of Gen. Robert A. McCoy. .
Robert A. McCoy was prepared for col- lege in the select school of Prof. A. B. Put- nam, of Hughesville, Lycoming county, but did not take a collegiate course on account of entering the office of Johnson & Mul- len, of Ebensburg, to read law. He was admitted to the bar of Cambria county at the June term of court in 1860, and was engaged in the practice of his profession until June 12, 1861, when he enlisted in Co. A, 11th Pennsylvania reserves, and
served for three years. He was commis sioned second lieutenant, to date from Jun. 12, 1861, and was successively promoted te adjutant, major, lieutenant-colonel, brevet colonel, and brevet-brigadier-general. II. participated in the battle of Mechanicsville and in the next struggle, at Gaines Mill on June 27, 1862, he was captured and hek as a prisoner in Libby prison for two months. Immediately after his exchange he joined his regiment, and on August 30 1862, he was wounded at the second Bul' Run battle, and remained in the Seventh avenue hospital in Washington city for over a month. He then rejoined his regi- ment, where he served for nearly eighteen months on special duty as assistant adjutant- general of the Third division, Fifth army corps, Pennsylvania reserves volunteer corps division. He was in the daring but fruit- less charges at Fredericksburg, and took part in the battles of Rappahannock Station, and Mine Run, and Gettysburg, the pivotal battle of the war. When Grant assumed command of the Army of the Potomac he was in the thick of the great conflicts dur- ing the bloody battle month of May, 1864, and took an active part especially in the Wilderness battles, and at Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna River, and Be- thesada Church. At the expiration of his time he was sent to Pittsburg, this State, where he was honorably discharged, in June, 1864.
At Harrisburg, November 29, 1866, Gen- eral MeCoy married Emma Wallace, a daughter of W. Q. and Eleanor ( Wigton ) Wallace, of Harrisburg. She was born September 16, 1846, and passed away at Tyrone on February 3, 1891. To General and Mrs. McCoy were born two sons: Wallace Reeder, who died September 30,
535
OF BLAIR COUNTY.
1881, and Robert Wallace, who passed away February 3, 1891.
General McCoy is a republican in poli- ties, and served as assistant inspector-gen- cral of Pennsylvania in 1864. He was private secretary to Governor Curtin, and served for a time as chief clerk in the Land Department at Harrisburg. He has been cashier of the Blair County Banking Com- pany, of Tyrone, since 1874. He is presi- dent of the Juniata Mining and Manufac- turing Company, and a member of L. S. Hoopes & Company, and the coal firm of Leveright, McCoy & Company. He is a member of the Loyal Legion and the Union Veteran League of Tyrone. General Me- Coy has contributed much to the material development of Tyrone, and is well known as a public-spirited citizen. He is plain and unassuming, yet dignified in appear- ance, and has won a competency and an honorable position by honesty, correct busi- ness methods, and a due regard for his fel- low-citizens.
G. THOMAS BELL, ex-sheriff of Blair county, and a prominent republican and active business man of Altoona, is a son of William and Elizabeth (Good) Bell, and was born on the farm and in the house where he now resides, in Pleasant valley, one-half mile from Altoona, in Logan town- ship, Blair county, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1845. The Bells are of Scotch-Irish de- seent, and the paternal grandfather of ex- Sheriff Bell was William Bell, sr., a native and life-long resident of Lebanon county. Ilis son, William Bell (father), was born in 1801, and learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed for some time. He then engaged in contracting and building, and soon came to Blair county, where he had
taken a contract to construct the Crooked dam, on the Juniata river, for canal pur- poses. After the construction of the dam, he removed, in 1839, from Williamsburg to the farm upon which the subject of this sketch now resides, where he followed agri- cultural pursuits until 1868, when he retired from active life and came to Altoona, in which city he died on August 26, 1877, at seventy-six years of age. He was an old- line whig and republican in politics, and was one of the first three commissioners of Blair county, serving by appointment from June to October, 1846, and afterward by election from October, 1846, to October, 1847. He was one of the founders and first ruling elders of the Second Evangelical Lutheran church of Altoona, and while an unassuming man, yet was firm in his con- victions of right and duty. He commanded the esteem of the community in which he resided, and married Elizabeth Good, of German descent, and a daughter of Peter Good, a well respected citizen of Logan township. Mrs. Bell, who was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, died July 29, 1866, when in the fifty-fifth year of her age, and was survived by six chil- dren, four sons and two daughters: David, of Logan township; Rev. Peter G. (see his sketch elsewhere in this volume); Capt. James M., of the 7th United States cavalry ; Mrs. E. P. Miller, of Kansas ; G. Thomas, and Mrs. Lewis Walton, of Altoona.
G. Thomas Bell grew to manhood in his native township, received his education in the common schools, and has always resided on the home farm, which he now owns. At seventeen years of age, in 1863, he enlisted in the State militia for three months, and at the expiration of his term enlisted in Co. A, 205th Pennsylvania infantry, in which
536
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
he served until the elose of the war. Ile was in the fight at Fort Steadman, and the several battles around Petersburg and Rich- mond during the winter of 1864-65, and was present at Lee's surrender at Appo- mattox Court House. After the close of the war he returned to his farm, and in 1867 made a tour of the west, southwest, and California, from which he sailed for home by the way of Panama, and reaching Altoona in March, 1868. After returning home he became somewhat interested in ærial navigation, and made two successful balloon ascensions from Altoona, in one of which he was carried forty-five miles in forty-five minutes, and one in which he ascended to the heighth of 18,500 feet. In 1879 he received the republican nomination for sheriff, and was elected over his demo- cratie competitor by a thousand majority. Mr. Bell served throughout his term with energy, faithfulness, and efficiency, and at its close returned to his farm, where he has resided ever since.
In 1875 Mr. Bell married Emily Husfield, a daughter of Henry Husfield, of Blair county, and who died August 26, 1881, in the 26th year of her age. On June 30, 1883, Mr. Bell was united in marriage with Lizzie, daughter of John Pennock, of Altoona.
G. Thomas Bell is a member of Logan Lodge, No. 490, Free and Accepted Masons ; White Cross Lodge, No. 354, Knights of Pythias; Stephen C. Potts Post, No. 62, Grand Army of the Republic. He is now actively engaged in the real estate business, and has served for several years as a di- rector of the Clearfield, Northern & Al- toona railroad. In addition to farming and his real estate business, he takes consider- able interest in horses, and is a stockholder
and president of the Driving & Exhibiting association. ' Mr. Bell is one of the substan- tial farmers and representative business men of Blair county, and has always been active, energetic, and successful in all of his various business enterprises. He is a man of strong will power, yet always pleasant in manner and easily approached. He takes an active part and wields considerable influence in the political affairs of his county.
WILLIAM STONE, one of the prom- inent and active business men of Blair county, and a member of the well-known foundry and machine shop firm of MeLana- han & Stone, of Gaysport, is a son of Andrew and Susanna ( MeFarlane ) Stone, and was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylva- nia, July 21, 1819. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Stone of Philadelphia, married Mary Tybout, a member of the respectable and well-to-do Tybout family of eastern Penn- sylvania. They were the parents of two children : Andrew and William. Andrew Stone (father) was born June 12, 1796, and died August 12, 1846, aged fifty years. Ile followed the plumbing business, and married Susanna McFarlane, who is now in the ninety-fifth year of her age. She is a daughter of Capt. John McFarlane, who commanded a vessel and traded between Philadelphia and Havana, Cuba, where he died. He married Rebecca Rowan, a daugh- ter of George and Amelia (Severns ) Rowan, and their children were: Susanna ( Stone ); Robert Williamson, George Rowan, and Margaret Amelia. Captain McFarlane had a brother, Walter, and a sister, Charlotte, and his father-in-law, George Rowan, died with yellow fever in 1798. His widow, Amelia Rowan, remained a widow, and
·
.
--
OF . BLAIR COUNTY.
537
lived to be ninety-six years of age, and of her people, the Severus, nothing is known beyond the fact that they removed to the Genessee valley in New York.
William Stone was reared in Philadel- phia, and received his education in schools taught by his aunt, Charlotte McFarlane, a Mr. Watson, in Catherine street, above Third, and a Mr. Clevenger, at the corner of Locust and Twelfth streets, in Philadel- phia. He assisted his father in the plumb- ing business, and at fourteen years of age became an apprentice to Levi Morris & Co. to learn the trade of iron moulder. IIe served seven years and three months with this firm at the junction of Schuylkill, Seventh and Market streets, and on August 1, 1840, left Philadelphia to come to Holli- daysburg, where he worked for his uncle, George R. McFarlane, until the death of the latter, in 1853. He then became fore- man of the Gaysport foundry of MeLanahan & Jack, and served as such from August, 1853, until 1856, in which year he became a partner of Mr. MeLanahan, and they pur- chased Mr. Jack's interest in the foundry, which they operated up to March, 1863, when it was destroyed by fire. Mr. Stone and J. K. McLanahan then formed a partnership, and have continued in business ever since. The firm is now MeLanahan & Stone-the present members being J. King MeLanahan, S. C. MeLanahan, William Stone, and A. T. Stone. Their present plant, on land bought from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, is thoroughly equipped with all necessary buildings and the latest of ma- chinery. The company employs from ninety to one hundred men, of which many are highly skilled workmen. They make a specialty of steam engines, blast furnace and rolling mill work, besides mine cars, iron
and brass castings, ore washers, elevators, revolving screens, conveyors, ore jigs, and machinery for all purposes, in addition to general machinery repairs. They have a large trade, furnish nothing but first-class work, and are favorably situated to fill the many orders which they receive from differ- ent parts of Pennsylvania, the south, and adjoining States.
In 1845 Mr. Stone married Martha Thomas, daughter of John and Lucinda Thomas, of Huntingdon, this State. They have five children : Andrew, George R., Edward E., Jennie E. Bell, and Mary A. Stone.
William Stone is a democrat in politics. Hle is of that class of self-made men of which Pennsylvania is justly proud. He landed at Hollidaysburg in 1840 with but thirty-seven cents, which was taken from him a few days after his arrival, but nothing daunted with having to commence at the lowest rung of the ladder, he slowly worked his way up through losses, occasioned by fires and other sources, until he has won honorable standing and an important posi- tion among the leading business men of the county. He is one of Hollidaysburg's most active and successful business men, and his exertions have contributed largely to the niaterial prosperity of that town and county.
JOSHUA L. REIFSNYDER, for many
years a prominent contractor and builder of Altoona, whose handiwork may be seen on nearly all the important streets of this city, is a son of Philip and Elizabeth (Lauch- man ) Reifsnyder, and was born in the old historie county of Chester, this State, on the 15th of June, 1821. The paternal great-grandfather of the subject of this
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.