Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, Part 118

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 118

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At Gettysburg Col. Stewart came on the battleground with his regiment early in the morning of the second day, having marched thirty-five miles the day previous. The reg- iment occupied Little Round Top. and was in the charge that recovered the ground lost by the Ist and 20 Divisions of the 5th Corps. He had charge of the skirmishes that after- noon and night, and continued on duty until the charge of his brigade on the third day that was personally ordered by Gen. Meade. The brigade lay on the battlefield that night, making forty-two hours of service without rest. Col. Stewart was commissioned col- onel of the 193d regiment, P. V., March 15. 1865, and with his regiment participated in the campaign against Richmond, and later was in some of the skirmishes in the Shenan- doah Valley. Part of that time' he was in command of the 3d Brigade, 2d Division. Army of the Shenandoah. After the sur- render of Gen. Lee he had, as brigade com- mander, charge of the post at Staunton, Va., which embraced Harrisonburg and Lexing- ton. In July, 1865, he was assigned to com- mand the post at Harper's Ferry, and was mustered out Aug. 24, 1865. His brevet as a brigadier-general was for gallant conduct at North Anna River. He was one of the very few soldiers of the Union who entered the service as a private in 1861 and came out a brigadier-general in 1865.

After the Civil war he returned to York Springs, where he resumed his profession as a civil engineer. In' 1878 he came to Cham- bersburg, where he built the Mont Alto rail- road, serving the Cumberland Valley rail- road as an engineer until 1881, when he en- tered the service of the Pittsburg & Atlantic Railroad Company. He was afterward en- gaged with the Pittsburg, Bradford & Buf- falo Railroad Company, and built the Stew- artstown railroad, in York county, in 1884.

He then went to Richmond, Va., where he was engaged in engineering work for the United States Government, at the National Cemetery. In 1888 he returned to the Cum- berland Valley Railroad Company, to take charge of the line from Martinsburg, W. Va., to Winchester, Va. Later he served with the Lehigh Valley railroad, on the Schuyl- kill Valley division. In 1890 he came back to Chambersburg and took charge of a field corps. He became supervisor of the Cum- berland Valley tracks in 1892, a position he has since held. In politics he is a Republi- can, and a Presbyterian in religion. Gen. Stewart has never married.

(XVII) GEORGE HAMILL STEW- ART (born at Shippensburg Dec. 29; 1837), son of Dr. Alexander and Elizabeth ( Ha- mill) Stewart, was educated in the public schools of his native town and at Milnwood Academy, Shade Gap, Huntingdon county. As a youth he felt a strong desire to become a business man, and embarked in his first im- portant venture in 1857, before he was twenty years of age. This was in the mer- cantile business at Shippensburg, in which he continued until 1868. with more than aver- age success. During this period he also be- came interested in buying and selling real estate and the tanning of leather. In 1869 he engaged in the grain and forwarding busi- ness at Shippensburg, however, still continu- ing his real-estate transactions, which are very extensive, he being the owner of a large number of the finest and most productive farms in the beautiful Cumberland Valley, all of which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. He has other large interests in and outside of Shippensburg. He is pres- ident of the Valley National Bank of Cham- bersburg and has been since its organization in 1890; president of the board of trustees of the Cumberland Valley State Normal

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School; treasurer of Wilson College; direc- tor in the Cumberland Valley Railroad; di- rector in the First National Bank of Ship- pensburg, and The Farmers Trust Company of Carlisle, as well as holding many other positions of trust and confidence. He is a thorough business man, a generous and cour- teous gentleman, and a liberal contributor to moral and religious enterprises.

Mr. Stewart married (first), Nov. 22, 1862, Mary C. McLean (born Jan. 13, 1838, died May 24, 1884), daughter of William McLean, of Shippensburg ; there was no issue. He married (second) Feb. 23, 1887, Ella J. Snodgrass (born Oct. 16, 1850), daughter of Robert and Mary ( Burr) Snod- grass ; they have issue :

I. GEORGE HAMILL, born Jan. 28, 1888, a student at Mercersburg Academy ;

2. ALEXANDER, born Oct. 25, 1891.

(XVIII) JOHN STEWART (born at Shippensburg, Nov. 4, 1839), son of Dr. Al- exander and Elizabeth (Hamill) Stewart, re- ceived his elementary education in the schools of his native town and at Milnwood Acad- emy, Shade Gap, and was graduated at Princeton College in 1857. After leaving college he studied law in the office of Judge Frederick Watts, at Carlisle, and was ad- mitted to the Cumberland County Bar in November, 1860. Choosing Chambersburg as his future home, he was admitted to the Franklin County Bar, Jan. 23, 1861, and at once entered upon the practice of his profes- sion. His practice was interrupted by the exigencies of the Civil war, and he was mus- tered into the service of the United States as first lieutenant of Company A, 126th Reg- iment, P. V., Aug. 11, 1862, and promoted to be adjutant of the regiment, Aug. 15, 1862. Later on he became mustering officer of his division in the 5th Army Corps, in which capacity he served until the battle of

Chancellorsville, in which he resumed his du- ties as adjutant, and was mustered out with his regiment, May 20, 1863. After his re- turn to civil life he devoted himself entirely to the practice of his profession, first in asso- ciation with Col. A. K. McCune, and later with Col. Thomas B. Kennedy, the firm of Kennedy & Stewart continuing for more than twenty years. He was very successful in his profession, and acquired a large and lucrative practice, taking rank among the leaders of the Bar. He has always been a Republican in politics, with the courage to assert his personal and political independence of party dictation. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Balti- more which nominated President Lincoln for a second term. He represented the 19th Senatorial District in the Pennsylvania Con- stitutional Convention which framed the con- stitution of 1874. In 1868 he was chosen a Presidential elector on the occasion of Gen. Grant's first election as President, and he was again a delegate to the Republican Na- tional Convention of 1876, at Cincinnati, which nominated President Hayes. He rep- resented the district comprising the coun- ties of Franklin and Huntingdon in the State Senate, 1881-84. During his service in the State Senate serious difficulties arose in the Republican party of Pennsylvania in regard to party policies. Senator Stewart took a bold and independent course in these differ- ences, and in 1882, in consequence of the di- vision in the party, he became the Indepen- dent Republican candidate for Governor against Gen. James A. Beaver, who was de- feated in the triangular contest of that year. In 1884 he was again a delegate to the Re- publican National Convention at Chicago. which nominated James G. Blaine for Presi- dent, and was chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation. In 1888 .he was elected Presi-

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

dent Judge of the 39th Judicial District, and he was re-elected in 1898. His course on the Bench has been characterized by legal acumen, judicial fairness and independence and unquestioned integrity. The rulings of few judges of the courts of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania have been so seldom re- versed by the Superior and Supreme courts.

Apart from his judicial duties Judge Stewart takes an active interest in all mat- ters pertaining to the well-being of the county and the county seat. He is a member oi Housum Post, No. 309, G. A. R., and has frequently addressed the members of the post. He is a trustee of Wilson College for Women, and has always been active in pro- moting the prosperity of the college. He is a member of the Scotch-Irish Society of Penn- sylvania, of the Society of the Scotch-Irish in America, and of the Kittochtinny Historical Society, of Chambersburg. He was presi- dent of the Scotch-Irish Congress held in Chambersburg in 1901. and served for five years as the first president of the Kittoch- tinny Society. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Franklin and Mar- shall College in June. 1903.

Judge Stewart married Jane Holmes Larmour, daughter of Samuel B. and Anna (Worrall) Larmour. of Alexandria, Va .; they had five daughters, Mary Larmour, Anna Worrall, Elizabeth Keith, Janet Holmes and Helen Montgomery and one son, the subject of the following sketch :

ALEXANDER STEWART (born at Cham- bersburg, Feb. 7, 1866, died Jan. 8, 1895) was educated at the Chambersburg Academy and prepared for college at York. He was graduated at Princeton University in 1886. After leaving college he studied law with his father and was admitted to the Franklin County Bar April 23, 1888. He was a young man of unusual talent and soon became coun-

sel for the Cumberland Valley Railroad Co. and the National Bank of Chambersburg. When Judge Watson Rowe retired from the Bench, Mr. Stewart Became the junior part- ner in the law firm of Rowe & Stewart. In his brief career at the Bar he was soon recog- nized as one of its leaders, and as a lawyer he had a brilliant future that was cut short by his early death. He was a man of sturdy, robust frame, upright, gentle, earnest and honorable. He was a member of the Whig Club of Princeton and of the University Club of Philadelphia.

(XIX) ALEXANDER STEWART (born at Shippensburg, Sept. 17, 1843), son of Dr. Alexander and Elizabeth ( Ha- mill) Stewart, received his education in the public schools of his native town. When only seventeen years old he enlisted in Company D, 130th Regi- ment, P. V., for the nine months' service, and participated in the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg and other engagements. He was in the battle of Antietam on his birthday. He again entered the service as first lieutenant of Company K, 201st Regi- ment, P. V., Aug. 28, 1864, and was mus- tered out June 21, 1865. After the war Mr. Stewart went to Colorado, where he re- mained three years engaged in the transpor- tation of freight over the Plains. As this was before the era of railroads in that part of the country the hardships of his life in the Far West were very great. When he re- turned to Shippensburg he engaged in mer- cantile pursuits. In 1874 he removed to Scotland, where he still resides. He con- ducts a large business in the purchase and sale of grain, and gives much attention to farming, Mr. Stewart attributes his suc- cess in life to hard work and close attention to business. He has always been 'an active Republican. He was chairman of the Frank-

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lin County Republican Committee, 1897-99. He was elected a member of the State Senate in 1900 and in 1904 was renominated for and re-elected to that body, for a term of four years. He is a charter member of Hou- sum Post, No. 309, G. A. R., and in 1865 joined the Masonic fraternity at Shippens- burg, joining Lodge No. 315. Mr. Stewart married, in 1877, Nancy Elizabeth Hays (died July 14, 1897), daughter of Dr. Rob- ert C. and Christiana (Snively) Hays, of Shippensburg ; they had no issue.

ECKELS BROTHERS. In the Old Grave Yard at Carlisle there is buried a Francis Eckels. The inscription on the tombstone at the head of his grave states that he died on Aug. 23, 1814, at the age of sixty- three years. Beside him is buried Mabel Eckels, "wife of Francis Eckels," who died May 31, 1816, aged sixty years, one month and twenty days.

The name Francis Eckels appears upon the tax list of Carlisle in 1802, which, ac- cording to the researches that have been made, is the first appearance of the name upon the public records in the present limits of Cumberland county. He may have been in the county earlier but there is no docu- mentary evidence of the fact. He was then fifty-one years of age. Francis Eckels was a brother to Nathaniel Eckels and James Eckels, who are referred to at some length in other Eckels histories given in this volume. According to a tradition long treasured in the family an Eckels child was born on the sea as the parents were on the way to Amer- ica. It is the preponderance of opinion that this child was the Francis who is buried in the Old Grave Yard at Carlisle, and if this is correct the family .must have come to America in 1751. Now, if the family came in 1751 and Francis Eckels first appeared in

Cumberland county in 1802, where was he between those two dates?

Among the court records at Carlisle are proceedings in a nun-cupative will, made on Oct. 7, 1781, by a Charles Eckels. The chil- dren named by the testator are Andrew. William, Daniel, James and Catrin. By the name "Catrin" evidently Catharine is meant. To his son William he willed his "cooper tools," and the fact that he had cooper tools is a pretty sure indication that he was a cooper by trade. It also appears that he had quite a number of other children, whose names are not given. There is nothing in the proceedings to show where in the juris- diction of the Cumberland county court the testator lived, but an examination of the tax lists of Franklin county-which prior to 1784 was included in Cumberland-shows that it was in Hamilton township, Cumber- land (now Franklin) county. Although not absolutely certain, in the present stage of re- search it is permissible to assume that the Charles Eckels who made the aforesaid nuncupative will was the father of the three Eckels brothers, Nathaniel, Francis and James.

Tradition has it that the earliest Amer- ican Eckels ancestor "settled in western Pennsylvania." At that time the section which included Hamilton township was western Pennsylvania, and it is quite prob- able that Francis Eckels's father first located there and that the Francis Eckels who is buried in the Old Grave Yard at Carlisle lived there before coming to Carlisle. Of course this leaves unsettled some important points in the early history of this family, but it is better that all the facts and traditions be frankly stated, for some day there may come along a historian who will be able to recon- cile them and fuse them into history that is correct, reliable and complete.

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Francis Eckels was married to Mabel Fleming and by her had the following chil- dren : James, Ann, Samuel, John, Jane, Betsey, Mary, Robert D. and Daniel. Three of the sons, James, Samuel and Jolin, settled in Allen (now Upper Allen) township, bought property and engaged at coopering, which seems to have been the favorite occu- pation with the Eckels family in all the earlier generations.

Samuel Eckels, son of Francis and Mabel (Fleming) Eckels, was born March 26, 1784. and on January 25, 1810, married Agnes Monosmith, who bore him four chil- dren, viz .: Martha and Mary, who were twins, James and William. William died in infancy. Agnes (Monosmith) Eckels died Feb. 9, 1813, at the age of twenty-four years, and Samuel Eckels, on May 3, 1814, married Mary Cooper, who bore him six children, viz. : Robert, William, Nancy, Elizabeth, Samuel and Margaretta J. Samuel Eckels for many years lived on what has long been known as the Yost property in Upper Allen township, where he followed the favorite family occupation of coopering. He died March 11, 1865; his wife, Mary (Cooper ) Eckels, died Dec. 8, 1858, aged almost sixty -. three years, and his remains and the remains of both his wives are interred in the ceme- tery of the Silver Spring Church.

William Eckels, the second child of Sam- uel Eckels by Mary Cooper, was born on Jan. 16, 1817, on his father's farm in what is now Upper Allen township. Here he grew to manhood, received such education as the country district schools then afforded and learned coopering under the instruction or his father. At the age of twenty-five he lo- cated at Cedar Springs, which later was known as Milltown and still later as Eberly's Mills, where he was given charge of the cooper shops of George Heck, distiller and

miller. Here he continued until in the spring of 1846, when he removed to Me- chanicsburg and worked at his trade there. In 1853 President Pierce appointed him posi- master at Mechanicsburg, which office he filled for five years. Subsequently he erected a number of houses in Mechanicsburg. He was industrious and economical and accum- ulated sufficient means to enable him to spend his declining years in comfort.

On Dec. 24, 1846, William Eckels mar- ried Miss Sarah Ann Proctor, daughter of John and Mary H. (Officer) Proctor, of Carlisle. The Proctor and Officer families were long prominent in the annals of Cum- berland county. John Proctor came to Car- lisle about the year 1814. It is not definitely known where he previously resided, but it is probable that it was in Adams county. He was a silversmith and plater and while in his prime was a very active and enterprising man. He died Jan. 10, 1847.

The Officers came at an earlier date than the Proctors. John Officer first appeared upon the tax list of Carlisle in 1785, and from that time,on continually until his death, which occurred on March 14, 1831. By oc- cupation he was a carpenter and joiner. He was married twice and had the following children : Alexander, James, Mary, John, Nancy, Jane, Thomas and William. On Oct. 17, 1815, John Proctor, the silversmith, was married to Mary, daughter, of John Officer, the carpenter and joiner. The cere- mony was performed by Rev. Henry R. Wilson, and the marriage is recorded in the marriage registry of the Silver. Spring Pres- byterian Church. John Officer, John Proc- tor, their wives and many of their kindred are buried in the Old Grave Yard at Carlisle, but all of their descendants who"bear. their names have left the home of their childhood and settled in other parts of the country. In 1

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the row of Officer graves is one of Thomas Officer-brother to Jolin Officer, the Carlisle carpenter and joiner-who died at the home of Patrick Wallace, in Frankford township, in March, 1813, in the ninetieth year of his age. Patrick Wallace was married to a Sally Officer, and probably was a son-in-law. One of John Officer's sons, as the reader will note, was named Thomas Officer, after this venerable uncle. Thomas Officer, the nephew -brother to Mary (Officer) Proctor- studied art and drifted away to California, where he achieved distinction as a portrait painter. His masterpiece was a portrait of the emperor of Mexico; but he also painted a portrait of his brother, and one of himself, that were accorded high merit.

To John and Mary (Officer) Proctor, on Nov. 4, 1820, was born a daughter, who was named Sarah Ann, after her paternal grand- mother. This daughter became the wife of William Eckels and shared the joys and sor- rows of his home till the end of life. They were members of the Presbyterian Church and faithful and devout attendants upon its services. William Eckels died on Jan. 27, 1899; his wife died on March 2, 1899, and their remains rest in the Mechanicsburg Cem- etery. William and Sarah Ann ( Proctor) Eckels had six children, only three of whom are living, viz .: John Proctor, George Mor- ris and Walter Lowrie. John P. married Miss Anna Hurst, moved to Decatur, Ill., and has ever since been there engaged in the hardware trade. His first wife died in June, 1892, and he has since married Miss Annie McDonald, a half sister of ex-Gov. James A. Beaver.

GEORGE MORRIS ECKELS, M. D., was born in Mechanicsburg April 29, 1857, and received the full benefit of its public schools. On leaving the public schools he took a course in the Philadelphia College of Phar-

miacy, from which he graduated in March, 1879. Returning to Mechanicsburg he in connection with his brother, Walter L., bought the drug store of his former en- ployer, Mr. Bridgeford, and under the firm name of Eckels Brothers, they have been conducting an up-to-date drug business ever since. In November, 1903, they purchased a drug store in Harrisburg, which Walter L. is now running in the name of the firm.

As were their ancestor's before them, and as are the Eckelses generally in Cumberland county, the Eckels Brothers are Democrats, take an active interest in public affairs and bear their full share of the duties and respon- sibilities of citizenship. At the organization of the Pennsylvania State Legislature in January, 1883, George M. was elected trans- scribing clerk of the House of Representa- tives, which position he held during that ses- sion and through the extra session which fol- lowed. In September of that year he en- tered the medical department of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania from which he gradu- ated May 1, 1885. He then began the prac- tice of his profession at Mechanicsburg, practicing along with his drug business, and is still so engaged. In 1890 he was elected a member of the lower branch of the State Legislature and in 1892 re-elected, each time by handsome majorities. He is well known in all parts of the county, is frequently in the councils of his party and has rendered it faithful and efficient service.

On June 9, 1897, Dr. George Morris Eckels was married to Clara Agnes Hertzler, daughter of Elias and Sarah A. (Lehman) Hertzler, of Monroe township, and they have one child, a daughter, named Janet Wallace Eckels, born Oct. 26, 1898. The family affiliate with the Presbyterian Church of Mechanicsburg.

WALTER LOWRIE ECKELS was born in

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Mechanicsburg April 19. 1859. He passed through all the various grades of the public schools of his native town and graduated from its high school. Upon leaving school he immediately entered the drug business and has been in it continuously ever since. Al- though diligent in his business he takes a live interest in public affairs and finds time to discharge the public duties that are some- times assigned him. He served on the Me- chanicsburg school board three years, during two of which he was president of the board. He married Miss Sallie Bowman, daughter of S. G. and Mary (Rupp) Bowman, but in a few short years was bereaved of her com- panionship. She died May 15. 1898, with- out issue.

Mr. Eckels belongs to the Presbyterian Church of Mechanicsburg, in which he holds the position of elder.

C. R. MILLER, a well known merchant of Cumberland county, is engaged in busi- ness at Wormleysburg.

JOHN STONE, a prosperous and rep- resentative man of Steelton. Pa., and a man widely known, was born in York county, Pa., Oct. 11, 1860, son of John and Mary Ann (Shearrer) Stone, both natives of Perry county, Pa., but of German descent.

John Stone, Sr., was a farmer all his life, and was a well informed man, although his education was confined to the common schools. His death occurred in 1870, when he was forty-three years old; while his widow survived until 1883, when she too passed away, aged fifty-five years. Both were very consistent members of the Luth- eran Church. The maternal grandparents were John and Mary (Ernest) Shcarrer, most excellent people.

The parents of our subject had a family of seven children as follows: Katie married Ephraim Jumper, of Steelton; Peter, of South Middleton township, Cumberland county, is a farmer, and married to Mary Kutz; Annie married Stephen Johnson, of Huntsville, Pa .; Mary married William Rutz, of North Middleton township, Cum- berland county; John; Harriett married Joseph Kutz, of Middlesex township; Sallie married Joseph Bowers, of York county.

John Stone, Jr., was reared and educated in Cumberland county from the time he was two years of age, and remained with his mother until twenty-four, working by the month. From then until twenty-eight, he worked for neighboring farmers, and then engaged in butchering at Cumberland Springs. After four years at this line of business, Mr. Stone sold his interests, and moved to Steelton, where for four years more he was employed with the Harrisburg & Steelton Brick Company, and he then entered the shipping department of the Steel- ton Store Company. In 1900 he was made a driver of this company, and has thus con- tinued.

Fraternally, Mr. Stone is a member of the Jr. O. U. A. M., No. 928, Melrose Coun- cil; and the Modern Workmen, No. 5929.

On Jan. 3, 1889, Mr. Stone married Miss Annie M. Kutz, daughter of Joseph H. and Elizabeth (Keihl) Kutz, and they have two children deceased, and one living, namely : Albert W., who died at the age of seven years and twelve days ; a daughter that died in infancy ; and Ira J., born Sept. 17, 1893. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stone are members of St. John Lutheran Church, in which Mrs. Stone is very active, she now being presi- dent of the Ladies' Sewing Circle; a mem- ber of the Ready Helpers, and also a member

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

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of the Missionary Society. Mr. and Mrs. Stone are popular in the church, and socially have many friends in this portion of the county.

CHARLES RENO PITTENGER. star pitcher of the Boston National League Team, was born Jan. 12, 1872, in Greencas- tle. Franklin Co .. Pa., son of John S. and Johanna (Gordon ) Pittenger. His ances- tors on the paternal side came from the North of Ireland, and the Gordons from one of the British Isles.

Mr. Pittenger received his education in the public schools of his native place, and from early boyhood has been devoted to the national game, beginning to play baseball like the other boys, on the vacant lots in his home town. His first professional engage- ment was in 1895 with the Carlisle Team, of the Cumberland Valley League, with which he played one season. The next season he signed with the Roanoke (Va.) Team, but soon after the season opened he was taken sick, and came home to Greencastle, Pa., to recuperate. He finished out the season with the Chambersburg ( Pa. ) Team, of the Cum- berland Valley League, and the next season was with the Greensburg ( Pa.) Independent Team, the following year signing with Brockton, Mass .. of the New England League. At the close of this season he was sold to the Boston Team, of the National League, and "farmed" to Brockton for one year, and the following year was "farmed" to the Springfield Team, of the Eastern League. The next year he was "farmed" to the Worcesters, of the Eastern League, but at the end of two months was recalled to Boston, with which team he has since played. Needless to say, he is regarded as one of the leading pitchers of the country. Mr. Pittenger's first game for Boston was

against Brooklyn, an eleven inning contest, and although Brooklyn won, they got but three hits off of his delivery. The best game he ever played was against Pittsburg, in 1902, shutting them out without a hit. His record has been an unusual one.

On July 11, 1892. in Hagerstown, Md., Mr. Pittenger' married Miss Viola Letta Biershing, of Hagerstown, daughter of Zachariah and Hannah ( Coombs ) Biersh- ing, and two children have come to this union. Lela May (deceased), and Pearl Elizabeth. Mrs. Pittenger is a member of the United Brethren Church. In political sentiment Mr. Pittenger is a Republican.

GEN. EDWARD M. BIDDLE, son of William Macfunn and Lydia ( Spencer ) Bid- dle [see Biddle Family, page 8]. was born in Philadelphia on July 27. 1808, and died May 13. 1889. in Carlisle, where he had re- sided for sixty-two years. His widowed mother moved to Carlisle in 1827 and in the following year erected a spacious brick resi- dence on West High street, in which some of her descendants continued to live until 1904. when it was converted into a business build -. ing. Having been graduated from Prince- ton College on Oct. 6. 1827. Edward M. at once entered upon the study of law in Car- lisle in the office of his brother-in-law. Hon. Charles B. Penrose, and was admitted to the Bar in 1830. He practiced his profession for only a short time and then became inter- ested in various manufacturing enterprises. including the Big Pond Furnace in South- ampton township, and later the straw board mill at Middlesex, the latter having been built in 1853-54 by himself and Hon. Charles B. Penrose as partners.

On January 14, 1836, Gen. Biddle mar- ried Juliana Watts, youngest daughter of David Watts, Esq., one of the most distin-

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guished lawyers of southern Pennsylvania. In 1839 he was elected secretary of the Cum- berland Valley Railroad Company and in 1840 was elected to the additional office of treasurer. These two positions he held con- tinuously until his death. in 1889, at which time he was the oldest railroad official in point of service in the United States.

In early life he took a conspicuous part in the military affairs of the county. In 1830 he was commissioned second lieutenant of the "Carlisle Light Artillery," in the Ist Brigade of the 11th Division of Pennsyl- vania militia, rising in 1832 to be first lieu- tenant and in 1835 to be captain. In 1836 Major Gen. Samuel Alexander, of the mili- tia, selected him as his first aide-de-camp. with the rank of a major of the line. In April. 1861, upon the breaking out of the Re- bellion, Gov. Andrew Curtin appointed and commissioned him adjutant general of the Commonwealth, and while holding this posi- tion he organized the earliest regiments which went to the field of battle. In the succeeding January he resigned, his private business requiring his undivided attention, and he never thereafter entered the public service. His wife survived him until Aug.

9, 1899, and of the six children of the happy union, only two are now living, namely : Lydia Spencer Biddle and Hon. Edward William Biddle. [See sketch on page II.]

WILLIAM MACFUNN BIDDLE, youngest son of Edward M. and Juliana . ( Watts) Biddle, was born in Carlisle, Sept. 24, 1855, and died there Dec. 8, 1903. He was educated in the common schools of his native town and in Dickinson College, hav- ing been graduated from that ancient seat of learning in 1873. before he was eighteen years of age. For about ten years he was the assistant to his father in the office of secretary and treasurer of the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company, and upon the death of the latter, in 1889, was chosen as his successor and held the double position as long as he lived, the terms of father and son covering a continuous period of more than sixty-four years. He was a man of fine in- tellectual ability and a cultured musician.

ADAM REESE, JR., farmer, stock- raiser and fruit grower, resides at Leesburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania.

HECKMAN BINDERY, INC. Bound-To-Plcase"

AUG 01

N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962

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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 118

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