Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, Part 115

Author: Genealogical Publishing Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Genealogical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 994

USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families > Part 115

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were convinced that they had no hostile in- tentions, the boy Archibald took down a Bible and read two chapters from the book of Judges, relating to Samson and the Phil- istines. The tall Indian paid close attention and, seeing this, the elder Loudon seriously remarked that it would be a great benefit to the Indians to be able to read. To this the Indian replied : "A great many people"- meaning Indians-"on the Mohawk river can read the book that speaks of God.". The dusky visitors finally took their departure, crossing the Tuscarora mountain to Capt. Patterson's, two miles below where Mifflin- town now stands, and a few days afterward the Loudons were informed that the big fine-looking Indian was Capt. John Logan.

Exactly when Archibald Loudon came to Carlisle is not determinable by any light of the present. Soon after he reached his majority he figures in the affairs of Carlisle and the Cumberland Valley, and at no time, except in the settlement of his father's estate, is his name associated with the affairs of the Shearman's Valley. He is recorded among the "Rangers on the Frontier" from 1778 to 1783 ; and was enrolled as a member of Capt. William Kerr's company of Cumberland county militia in 1781 and 1782, James Blaine first lieutenant. He was ensign in Capt. James Powers's company, Col. John Davis's regiment of the militia, called out in July, 1777, in the war of the Revolution. A grandson, Alfred Loudon, remembers play- ing with a saber which he carried while in this line of the service and which for a long time was a sacred keepsake in the family. On Nov. 16, 1784, he took out a warrant for 150 acres of land in Cumberland county, and in 1794 he was a member of Capt. George Stevenson's company, which marched from Carlisle to western Pennsylvania to subdue the Whiskey Rebellion. Thomas Duncan,

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David Watts. Andrew Holmes, Nathaniel Weakley. Archibald McAllister and Francis Gibson were among his comrades on the march.

On page 267 of volume XXIII, Penn- sylvania Archives, Archibald Loudon is en- rolled as a pensioner, thus : "London, Archi- bald, pr. serg. ens. P. M. Sep. 1832: 80." The first of these abbreviations. pr., indi- cates that he was a printer ; the second and third indicate his ranks, sergeant and ensign ; the fourth that he had been postmaster ; and the last that he was eighty years old in 1832. This record corresponds with the informa- tion concerning him which his descendants still retain and regard as correct. He was postmaster of Carlisle under President Thomas Jefferson, and one of his grand- sons remembers seeing his commission. It was dated in 1802 and bore the signature of Gideon Granger, Postmaster General. The statement that he was eighty years old in 1832 makes him two years younger than the family record does, but this variation is so slight as not to raise a serious doubt

Archibald Loudon was the first and most extensive publisher of books that Carlisle ever had, and he is usually distinguished from other persons of the same name as Archibald Loudon, the publisher. Among the many publications that bear his imprint are Loudon's Indian Narratives; Thomp- son's Travels; Wonderful Magazine; Lou- don's Museum; Riley's Narrative; and many religious works. He also for some years published a weekly newspaper named the Cumberland Register. Copies of some of these publications are still in existence and very highly prized. At a public book sale in Philadelphia in May, 1903, an original set of Loudon's Indian Narratives was sold for $125.

While it is quite certain that Archibald

London resided in Carlisle at an earlier date than 1795, he does not appear upon the tax list of the town until then. In that year he stands taxed with a house and lot and one cow. His residence and place of business were where W. F. Horn for many years has had his drug store. Here he had his print- ing office and published his books and issued his Cumberland Register. Along with his other business enterprises he manufactured cigars and kept a book store and drug store, and a drug store has clung tenaciously to the locality ever since. He prospered and be- came an important factor in the social and business activity of the town. In 1815 he and John McClure and William Barber be- gan the manufacture of paper where now is the town of Mt. Holly Springs, expending a large amount of money on the enterprise. They built a mill and imported papermaking machinery from England, but none of their company understood the art and the experi- ment financially was a failure. The com- pany at the same time laid out a town, adja- cent to their mill, and gave it the name of South Middleton. Lots were advertised for' sale and inducements offered that were ac- cepted by many. The town grew, but the name South Middleton soon gave way for that of Papertown, and Papertown for that of Mt. Holly Springs.

Archibald Loudon was twice married. His first wife was Mary Carson, of whom not much is known except that she was born in 1761 and died Dec. 26, 1795. He after- ward married Mrs. Hannah Holcomb. By his first marriage he had the following chil- dren : Margaret, Christina, Mary, Catharine and Sarah. By his second marriage he had one son, James. Of these, Margaret Lou- don married David Woods, of Dickinson township; Christina married John English; Catharine married Thomas H. Criswell ; and

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Sarah married Charles Ford. Mary died in 1862, unmarried, aged seventy-two years. James, Archibald Loudon's only son, was born March 9, 1799, in the house on West Main street, Carlisle, which his father so long occupied as a residence and business place, and which he, in turn, occupied till near the end of his days.

Archibald Loudon's second wife died on Nov. 16, 1822, when he was in the sixty- eighth year of his age. He then made his home with his only son, and lived in his fam- ily to the end of his days. On Jan. 3, 1832. there was held in Carlisle a meeting of the surviving soldiers of the Revolution living within the bounds of Cumberland county, which was organized with Archibald Lou- don as chairman. He was then seventy- eight years old, while the other veterans of the notable gathering ranged from seventy- one to eighty-five years. He died Aug. 12, 1840, and he and his two wives and a num- ber of their descendants lie buried in the same lot in the Old Graveyard at Carlisle.

In announcing his death the Carlisle Herald and Expositor made the following comment : "The deceased was a soldier of the Indian and Revolutionary wars, in all of which he served with distinguished credit. Previously to and during the late war he conducted the Cumberland Register, the or- gan of the Democratic party of this county, with considerable vigor. He was always, throughout his long life, highly esteemed by those who knew him, as an honest man, a useful citizen and a pure patriot." The American Volunteer contained the follow- ing: "Died on the 12th ultimo. in this borough, Archibald Loudon, Esq., in the eighty-sixth year of his age. He was one of the oldest and most respectable citizens of the place and had been a soldier of the Revolution."

JAMES LOUDON. Archibald Lou- don, printer and publisher, whose history ap- pears above, was married twice. His sec- ond wife was Mrs. Hannah Holcomb, for- merly of Kentucky, who after the death of her first husband had come to Carlisle with her little children to live near her brother, Dr. Lemuel Gustine.

Archibald and Hannah (Gustine) ( Hol- comb) Loudon, had two daughters and one son. The son was named James and was born March 9, 1799, in a house which stood on West Main street, where Horn's drug store now stands. The house was a two- story log structure and was painted white, from which circumstance it was known as "White Hall." Being the only son, he naturally came into possession of his father's printing, publishing and drug business. Later he added to his stock books and sta- tionery, and continued in business at that place until he was obliged to retire because of the infirmities of old age. After the death of his father, and the place descended to him, "White Hall" was torn down to make way for a more modern building. "White Hall" had been built in the early days of Carlisle's existence, when timber in the vicinity was yet abundant, and the logs in it had seasoned to a hardness that was the surprise and com- ment of all who examined them. The build- ing that took its place was of brick, and the first in Carlisle to have a pressed brick front. The pressed brick were brought from Har- risburg, and the skilled mechanics who laid them were also brought from a distance. The white sand with which the mortar was made was brought from Philadelphia and the bricklayers took special pains to have the walls exactly right, making frequent use of the spirit level and plumb bob. In this build- ing James Loudon for many years kept the only book and stationery store that was in

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Carlisle. He also did bookbinding, was ex- press agent, and carried on a large and pros- perous business. He was active and promi- nent in the affairs of the town, was a member of the town council, borough treasurer, treasurer to the board of poor directors and upon one occasion was a candidate for county treasurer on the Whig ticket. He was a musician of more than ordinary ability and could play upon nearly every musical instrument he had on sale in his store. Dr. Isaac Snowden, of Hogestown, was married to Margery Loudon, daughter of Archibald Loudon, of Silver Spring township, and with his wife would sometimes visit James Loudon and family. The Doctor was also a good musician and fond of playing upon the flute. Seeing the flutes in the store he would select one, and with James Loudon as accompanist on another flute or a clarionet would make a melody that would resound up and down the street and attract clusters of people about the store door.

James Loudon, on July 21, 1821, was married to Mary C. Maloney, who bore him the following children: Henrietta, Archi- bald, Anna Maria, Alfred, Isabella, Oberlin, Duffield, William and James. Henrietta married Robert Halbert. She died in Car- lisle on Aug. 7, 1900. Archibald died un- married at Carlisle in 1871. Anna Maria married James Fleming, a druggist, and re- moved to Alameda, Cal., where both died within three months of each other. Alfred, who was born April 7, 1827, became a ma- chinist and worked in various sections of the country. He never married and is now at the Soldiers' Home at Hampton, Va. Isa- bella, born Dec. 13, 1828, married a man named Rippey and is living at Winterset, Jowa. Oberlin, born Dec. 6, 1830, married a lady of Ardmore, near Philadelphia, and is now living at Loomis, Okanogan Co ..

Washington. Duffield, born Dec. 12, 1832, died at the National Soldiers' Home, at Day- ton, Ohio, on Sept. 10, 1897. William, born Oct. 20, 1833, died June 30, 1844. James died in infancy. Mrs. Mary (Ma- loney) Loudon died June 23. 1835, at the birth of her last child, James.

On Oct. 6, 1836, James Loudon married for his second wife Elizabeth Ann Loudon, of Raccoon Valley, Perry county, Rev. John Dickey performing the ceremony. Elizabeth Ann Loudon was a daughter of Matthew Loudon, who was a brother of James Lou- don's father, consequently James Loudon and his second wife were first cousins. Matthew Loudon was born in the Raccoon Valley and always lived there. He inherited a large body of land from his father's estate upon which he had a modest but comfortable home. Although his land was fertile and yielded bountifully, he did not farm much of it. He was the mighty hunter of all that region and preferred roaming through the woods and mountains for game to tilling the soil and reaping crops. When yet a boy of only fourteen years he shot his first bear, and all his lifetime he was noted for being a deadly foe to bears. Deer then were plenti- ful in that section and in season his table was always well supplied with venison and other game. When he was especially successful in the chase he would provide venison feasts and invite his neighbors and friends to help eat them, and would send quarters of veni- son around to neighbors who could not at- tend, or, to whom he owed favors.

Matthew Loudon's wife was dead, and Elizabeth Ann, being his only daughter, it was a great loss to him when she married. He and his only other child, a son, afterward lived with tenants to whom he rented his farm, but he was not contented and when- ever he could find it convenient he would

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come to Carlisle and visit luis daughter, gen- erally traveling on horseback. Being a very old man, these long trips were a heavy tax upon his strength, and after one of them he fell sick and died at the home of his daugli- ter in Carlisle. His remains are buried in the Old Graveyard.

By his second marriage James Loudon had issue as follows: Matthew, Mary Ma- tilda, James Augustus, Edward P., Charles Ogilby, William, Thomas C. and William C. Matthew was born May 18, 1838, and is living in Mechanicsburg. Mary Matilda, born in 1840, died in 1891. James Augus- tus, born March 5, 1843, died Sept. 11, 1861. Edward P., born Dec. 10, 1847, is employed as a clerk at the Pennsylvania railroad depot in Pittsburg. Charles Ogilby, born March 3, 1849, was last heard of sixteen years ago at Pittsburg, when he was on the way to some point in Ohio. William died in in- fancy. Thomas C., born July 14, 1852, is working as an upholsterer in the Pennsyl- vania railroad car shops at Altoona. He married a Miss Reed, of Petersburg, Adams county.

WILLIAM C. LOUDON is the third child of James Loudon bearing the name William. He was born April 10, 1854, and learned the bookbinding trade, and with the exception of six months at the Carlisle Indian Training School as clerk, and eight years at his trade in Altoona, Pa., has spent all his life in Carlisle. He is now carrying on book- binding on West Pomfret street, Carlisle. In 1896 he married Martha Ellen Claudy, of Carlisle.

James Loudon, the father of this large family, was a man of intelligence and pro- gressive ideas and a worthy citizen. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle and long superintendent of its

Sunday-school. He was installed an elder of the church on Nov. 4, 1832, and contin- tied an elder until his death, which occurred on July 8, 1880. His wife, Elizabeth Ann Loudon, died in March, 1882, and the re- mains of James Loudon, of his two wives, and of seven of his children, are buried in the Old Graveyard at Carlisle.

MELVIN L. DUNKLEBERGER. According to family traditions five Dunkle- berger brothers came to America about the same time and settled in Berks county, Pa. The exact time of their coming is not known, but circumstances indicate that it must have been at a comparatively early date. Two of these five brothers, John and Solomon, mi- grated to the upper end of what is now Perry county, where they lived for the rest of their lives. John married Mary Swartz, of Sa- ville township, and followed the occupation of farming in the adjoining district of Spring township. John and Mary (Swartz) Dunkleberger, among other children, had a son John, who married a Mary Koser and also engaged at farming in Spring town- ship. He died near Falling Spring in 1843, while yet comparatively a young man, and was buried in the graveyard of the Reformed Church near Landisburg. His widow, Mary (Koser) Dunkleberger, afterward married William Stambaugh.

John Dunkleberger (2) and Mary Koser, his wife, had issue as follows : Sarah, Samuel, Henry, Elias, Catharine and Savilla. Sarah married Eli Stambaugh; Samuel mar- ried (first) Katy Lichtenberger, and (sec- ond) Mary Sheibley ; Henry removed to the West; Catharine married Jacob Stutzman, and Savilla married Jonas Beistline.

Elias Dunkleberger, the fourth child of John and Mary (Koser) Dunkleberger, was born April 12, 1839, in Spring township,

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Perry county. He grew to young manhood in that section. receiving the benefit of its public schools and a good training at the avocation of farming. In the year 1866 he came to Cumberland county and hired with Jacob Herman, a farmer, near New Kings- ton. Silver Spring township, and was so well pleased with the locality and its people that he has remained there ever since. He engaged at farming until in recent years, when he relinquished farming and removed to a pleasant home in the town of New Kingston. where he is now living practi- cally retired from the more strenuous duties of life. In 1866 he married Catharine Jane Orris, a member of one of the old and sub- stantial families of that part of the county. Catharine Jane Orris was a daughter of David and Susan (Senseman) Orris, and Susan Senseman was a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Haines) Senseman, who came to Cumberland county from Cocalico township, Lancaster county, early in the last century.

To the union of Elias Dunkleberger and . Catharine Jane Orris the following children were born: Minnie S., Melvin L., Levan H., and Addie.

Melvin L. Dunkleberger, the second child and the special subject of this sketch, was born Jan. 8, 1870, on the farm near New Kingston. He was reared on the farm and educated in the public schools and at the West Chester State Normal School. Later he took a course at Eastman's Business Col- lege at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., from which in- stitution he graduated in the summer of 1889. In the fall of that same year he went into the employ of the Carlisle Shoe Com- pany, at Carlisle, first in the cutting depart- ment and later as shipping clerk. He con- tinued with this company until in Novem- ber, 1891, and in that time learned much

concerning shoe manufacturing and of busi- ness in general. In January, 1892, he be- came bookkeeper for the Lindner Shoe Com- pany, of Carlisle, in which he was one of the original stockholders. He continued as bookkeeper for this company for more than ten years and by his faithful and efficient service contributed materially to the suc- cess of this flourishing industry. In 1901 he was promoted to the position of secretary and in January, 1904, to secretary and treas- urer for the Lindner Company, in which capacity he served until December, 1904, when he resigned.

Exacting as have been his business cares and duties, he manages to give some time to the promotion of the industrial welfare of the community in general, as is evinced in the fact that he has been a member of the Car- lisle Board of Trade and treasurer of that body ever since its organization. He is an intelligent, public-spirited citizen and one of the town's active and progressive young business men. Fraternally he is likewise prominent and influential, being a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 260, F. & A. M .; St. John's Chapter, No. 171; St. John's Commandery, No. 9, K. T .; Carlisle Lodge, K. of P .; ZemboTemple, Mystic Shrine, of Harrisburg, and Silver. Spring Lodge, No. 598, I. O. O. F., of which he is treasurer. He has passed nearly all the chairs of the various orders to which he belongs and takes a great interest in fraternal matters in gen- eral.

On Dec. 10, 1891, Melvin L. Dunkle- berger was married to Miss Almeda Sense- man, daughter of the late Daniel and Su- sannah Senseman, of Silver Spring town- ship. To them one child has been born, Hazel Theresa. They belong to the First Reformed Church of Carlisle, of which they both are very active workers, Mr. Dunkle-

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berger being secretary of the Consistory. Since 1896 they have been living in a beau- tiful home at No. 126 West Pomfret street, Carlisle, where all their many friends are made welcome.

J. A. SHETRON. farmer, is a resident of Carlisle, Cumberland county, Penn- sylvania.

WILLIAM PENN ECKELS was the sixth child of Francis and Isabella (Clen- denin) Eckels, as appears from other Eck- els history recorded elsewhere in this vol- ume. He was born Aug. 13, 1826, in the northwest part of Silver Spring township, on a property now owned by the estate of the late William Jacobs. He was reared on the farm and his education was limited to the public schools of his day. By the time he was old enough to go to school his father lived upon a large farm on the south side of the Conedoguinet creek, in what was long known as "Coffman's Point," and from there he was sent to his first school, which was located on the north side of the turnpike just east of where it crosses the stream known as the Silver Spring. In 1835 his father moved to a farm he purchased a short distance due north of New Kingston, and he then for several years attended a school located near where was Crider's Mill. After the public school system went into operation a log school house was built on the top of the hill a little to the north and in easy sight of New Kingston, and he then for several years more attended school there.

When he reached the age of nineteen, William P. Eckels apprenticed himself to the carpenter's trade with Isaac Rhodes, who then lived in the vicinity of New Kingston. On Jan. 2, 1851, soon after completing his trade, he was married to Anna Hartman, of

Middlesex, then North Middleton, town- ship. Anna Hartman was born June 9, 1832, and was a daughter of Christian and Anna (Gantz) Hartman, who in 1837 came from the vicinity of Elizabethtown, Lancas- ter county, and bought from Weirich Bentz the farm in Middlesex township, now owned by their son, Eli Hartman, where they lived the rest of their lives. Christian Hartman died in November, 1877, in the seventy- eighth year of his age; Anna (Gantz) Hart- man, his wife, died in November, 1861, aged fifty-five years, and their remains are buried in the Longsdorf graveyard, near New · Kingston Station.

After his marriage William P. Eckels lived in New Kingston and worked at carpentering and building for a period of about fifteen years. Among the houses he built in that town is the first brick school- house erected in that town, which is still standing and in use for school purposes. In 1860 he bought from James Armstrong a farm adjoining that which his father bought from James Armstrong's father, John Armstrong, in 1835. He then relin- quished carpentering and engaged at farm- ing until in 1867, when he made sale of his stock, rented his farm and moved to a smaller home on the hill a little way to the northeast of New Kingston. Here he lived until in the spring of 1876, when he resumed farming, and continued at it until 1880, when he again sold off his stock and finally retired from farming. He then moved to New Kingston where he has been living comfortably and contented ever since.

To William P. and Anna ( Hartman) Eckels three children were born. viz .: Em- ma Catharine, Samuel Edgar and Mary Elizabeth. Emma C. was born Feb. 1, 1852, in the town of New Kingston. She re-

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ceived a good common school education, and a course at the Lutherville Female Seminary, Baltimore county. Md., which prepared her for teaching. On May 21, 1878, at her home, she was married to William Henry Kapp, a son of William G. and Mary F. (Voglesong) Kapp, who was born Nov. 22, 1853. near Hogestown, in Silver Spring township. His ancestors came to Cumber- land county from Lebanon about the be- ginning of the last century. After his mar- riage William H. Kapp engaged at farming in Monroe township and continued at that business until his death, which occurred May 29, 1886. He left a host of friends to mourn his early death. After the death of her hus- band Mrs. Kapp removed to New Kings- ton, where she has since lived and reared and educated her children. Early in life they became Christians. To William H. and Emma C. (Eckels) Kapp came the following children : Arthur Howard, born March 30, 1879; Edith May; William Henry, and George Eckels. Arthur Howard Kapp mar- ried Arletta M. Fleming, who formerly was of the vicinity of Shippensburg. They at present reside in Harrisburg, where Mr. Kapp is working in the Pennsylvania rail- road car shops. They have one child, a daughter, named Alfaretta Emma E., born June 11, 1902. Edith May Kapp was born Jan. 26, 1881, was educated in the public schools of New Kingston, and afterward took a course at the Cumberland Valley State Normal School, from which institution she graduated in 1902. Since her gradua- tion she is engaged at teaching and is now teacher of one of the schools of Silver Spring township. She received her master diploma in June, 1904. William Henry Kapp was born July 17, 1883, and was educated in the public schools. He was trained to the avo- cation of farming, but more recently turned

his attention to the drug business and spent the greater part of the past year as a clerk in a Philadelphia drug store. George Eckels Kapp, the youngest child, was born Aug. 31, ISS5. He was educated in the public schools of New Kingston and in the Cumberland Valley State Normal School, from which he graduated in 1904. He is now teaching the grammar school in the town of High Spire, Dauphin county.

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Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, Part 115

Author: Genealogical Publishing Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Genealogical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 994

Author: Genealogical Publishing Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Genealogical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 994