Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, Part 13

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 13

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DR. EDMOND ERNEST CAMP- BELL, President of Irving College, an edu- cator of Pennsylvania well known in many States of the Union, was born Jan. 21, 1859, at Waynesboro, Pa., son of Rev. Jolin Francis Campbell, D. D., for many years prominent in the Lutheran ministry through Pennsyl- vania, Maryland and Virginia. The grand- father of Dr. Campbell, Blackford Camp- bell, was born in Maryland, where English founders of the family settled in early days.

Rev. John Francis Campbell, D. D., was born in 1810 and died in 1893. He was sur- vived by his widow, who resided at Capon Road, Va. She was formerly Martha Cath- erine Gatewood and was born at Newtown, Va. The nine children born to them were as

Very cordially yours,

Somord Con next Couplece.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

follows : Lucy W., wife of Albert Aslı, of Front Royal, Va .; Rev. W. G., of Wood- stock, Va. ; R. L .. now on the old home farm at Capon Road, Va. ; J. F., of Orleans Cross Roads, W. Va. ; Eva, of Strasburg. Va. ; Dr. Edmond Ernest, of this sketch: Emma and Annie E., both deceased; and James H., a merchant at Capon Road, Va. Mrs. Martha C. Campbell died Feb. 17, 1904.

Dr. Campbell was eight years of age when his parents removed to the Shenandoah Valley, Va., his father, in 1867. being elected to the Lutheran Church at Strasburg, Va. This was very gratifying to his mother, as it took her back to her girlhood home. The youth early exhibited marked ability, and his education was carefully attended to. first in excellent private schools, and later at Roan- oke College, Salem, Va., which he entered in 1875. In 1879 he was graduated at this noted institution with the degree of A. B., his father receiving the degree of D. D. from the same institution on the same day.

Dr. Campbell then began teaching, filling positions in graded and select schools contin- uously until 1882, when he was elected a member of the Faculty of the Hagerstown Female Seminary, filling the chair of Latin and Mental Science. The name of this edu- cational institution has been changed to Kee Mar College. Dr. Campbell remained as- sociated with it until 1888, when he was elected to a chair in the Staunton Female Seminary, Staunton, Va. In 1890 Dr. Campbell was called to become the principal of the educational department of Tressler Orphans' Home, at Loysville, Pa., which was followed in July, 1891, by his election as president of Irving College.

Irving College was founded by the late Solomon P. Gorgas, who through life was liberal in his support of it. It was named in honor of Washington Irving. the father of

American literature, who showed his ap- preciation of the honor by donating a com- ' plete set of his works and by serving as a trustee until his death. In 1856 Irving Hall was built; in 1893, since Dr. Campbell be- came president, Columbian Hall was erected, and in 1900 the beautiful Art Studio and Annex were completed. This does not in- clude all the improvements which have taken place under the wise, careful and economical management of Dr. Campbell, additions hav- ing been made to the music and dining halls and general repairs on every hand which have added to the attractiveness of an in- stitution which was originally located among beautiful surroundings. In the heart of the Cumberland Valley, it is easily accessible by means of the Cumberland Valley railroad or the Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg trol- ley. The College offers instruction in four departments, viz .: Collegiate, Music, Art and Elocution. Since Dr. Campbell has had charge the annual enrollment has been con- tinually increasing and at present there are in attendance some 150 young ladies from ten different States of the Union.

That Dr. Campbell should have shown himself eminently fitted for the work in which he has met with such success is not so remarkable when we look back over an edu- cated, scholarly ancestry. He is a direct de -. scendant of Rev. John Campbell, D. D., who was distinguished during the early days of the settlement of the Cumberland Valley, as the inspirer of religious enthusiasm and the valued and beloved rector of the First Episco- pal Churches at Carlisle and York. From his father, also, Dr. Campbell inherited mental qualities and sterling attributes which have, in a measure, contributed to his success.

Dr. Campbell was married (first) to Ag- nes Zufall, daughter of W. H. Zufall, of

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Meyersdale. Pa. She died Feb. 23, 1896, leaving four children, namely: Annie C., Emina N., Clara E. and William E.

On Dec. 21. 1897. Dr. Campbell was married (second) to Miss Grace Koser, daughter of Rev. D. T. Koser, of Arendts- ville. Pa .. and three children have been born to this union, Paul, Josephine and John Francis.

In politics Dr. Campbell has always been a consistent Democrat. He is a popular and esteemed citizen. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.

CAPT. WILLIAM E. MILLER. One of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of Carlisle is the practical, unassum- ing individual whose name introduces this biographical sketch. He is of German an- cestry, both paternally and maternally.

Christian Miller, his paternal great- great-great-grandfather, with his wife, Anna Margaret, and children, Andrew, Anlis and Anna Barbara, came from Ger- many in 1730, landing at Philadelphia from the ship "Joyce" on the 30th of November of that year. Christian Miller's son Andrew became one of the pioneers of the part of Lancaster county that has since been erected into Lebanon, receiving a warrant for land within its bounds as early as 1743. He bore his full share of the hardships and dangers of his adopted land, and it is upon record that during the French and Indian wars he was a lieutenant in Capt. Matthew Dill's Company, of Col. Benjamin Chambers' Regiment. On Nov. 5. 1738, he married Margaret Funk, who bore him the following children : Abraham, Jacob. Andrew and Christina. He died in 1754, and his widow afterward married Christian Burkholder.

Abraham Miller, the eldest son of An- drew and Margaret ( Funk ) Miller, came

into possession of the greater portion of his father's real estate and in 1762 laid out upon it the town now known as Annville, sit- uated six miles west from the city of Leb- anon. Formerly the place for many years was known by the name of Millerstown. Abraham Miller married Rebecca, daughter of John Philip and Elizabeth Eprecht, of Harrisburg, and about the year 1777 moved from Lancaster county to the banks of the Yellow Breeches, a short distance from Lis- burn, in Cumberland county. He died 11 1805, and his remains are interred upon the top of a high hill on the farm on which he lived. Abraham and Rebecca (Eprecht) Miller had the following children : Joseph, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Andrew, John, Philip and Rebecca.

Abraham Miller, the second son of Abra- ham and Rebecca Miller, married Catharine, a daughter of Frederick Boyer, a Revolu- tionary soldier, son of Joseph and Mary Boyer of York county. His first wife died without issue, and he afterward married Elizabeth Boyer, a sister of his first wife. This second Abraham Miller lived for most ,of his lifetime on the Yellow Breeches creek near the place where his father settled in 1777. By occupation he was a fuller, and he operated a fulling-mill which Abraham Miller, his father, built in that vicinity and which is still ( 1904) in existence. Later in life he moved from the Yellow Breeches to Mechanicsburg, where he began merchan- dising, and from Mechanicsburg he removed to Abbottstown, Adams county, where he continued in the mercantile business until his death. Abraham and Elizabeth ( Boyer) Miller had children as follows: Joseph, An- drew G., Martin, John, Eliza, Catharine and Daniel.

Andrew G. Miller, the second son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Boyer) Miller,

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

was born at the aforenamed fulling-mill, in Allen (now Lower Allen) township, on June 7, 1811. Like his father and grand- father before him he became a fuller, starting to learn the trade with his partner, and com- pleting it with his cousin, Edward Miller, who had a fulling-mill at Roseburg, near Ickesburg, Perry county. Edward Miller was a son of John Miller. He was married to Polly Umberger, a daughter of David and Dorothy ( Maish) Umberger, who lived in York county, a short distance east of Lis- burn. Through living in the family of his cousin Edward, Andrew G. Miller became acquainted with Eleanor Umberger, a sister of his cousin's wife, which acquaintance ripened into love, and they became man and wife. The Umbergers were also of German origin. David Umberger, the father of Polly and Eleanor, was a son of Adam and Mary Gertrude (Vernon) Umberger, and a grandson of Michael and Anna Maria (Rambler) Umberger, and Michael Um- berger was a son of Henry Umberger, who was born in Germany in 1688, and landed at Philadelphia from the ship "Hope" on Aug. 28, 1733. An early Lancaster county church record contains the information that Michael Umberger was married to Anna Maria Rambler, of Tulpehocken, on Oct. 18, 1784, at the hands of the Rev. John Casper Stoever.

After his marriage Andrew G. Miller started in the fulling business on his own account, renting a fulling-mill which then stood on the banks of the Conedoguinet creek, near what is now known as Burgner's Mill, in West Pennsboro township. He con- tinued in the fulling business one year and then he and a man named Jonathan Roberts bought out a general store at West Hill, which they jointly conducted for two years. At the end of that time he sold his interest

in this mercantile venture and bought a hotel and store at Centerville, in Penn town- ship. Here he was in business until 1840, when he bought from George Martin the store property at the "Stone House," in Dickinson township, where he conducted a flourishing mercantile business until the spring of 1848, when he again made a change. Returning to Centerville he there bought a property which included a farm, hotel, store and blacksmith shop, and there farmed, kept store and gave much attention to general business for about eight years. Along about 1850 he met with an affliction that cost him the loss of one of his limbs. When making fires he would break sticks for kindling across his knee and in doing this inflicted in injury which never healed, and finally amputation had to be resorted to in order to save his life. After a stay of about seven years in Centerville he sold out his interests there and bought a farm lying along the Yellow Breeches creek, in the same town- ship. The loss of one of his limbs did not seriously impair Andrew G. Miller's busi- ness energy. As soon as he had recovered from the effects of the amputation he re- sumed his characteristic enterprise, and reaching out beyond the limits of his imme- diate neighborhood became one of the lead- ing spirits in the organization of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank at Shippensburg. Be- coming first cashier and afterward president of this institution, he removed to the town of Shippensburg, where he resided till his death. He was a potential factor in politics as well as in the business field, and in 1868 was elected State senator from the district then composed of Cumberland and York counties. In religion he affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. . He died Feb. 14, 1880. His wife died Feb. 2, 1896, at Car-

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

lisle, and their remains are buried in Spring Hill cemetery, at Shippensburg.

Andrew G. and Eleanor ( Umberger) Miller had children as fololws : William Edward. Mary Elizabeth, John Roberts, Sarah Eleanor, Henrietta M. and Andrew George. Mary Elizabeth died Feb. 16, 1839. in infancy : John R. is an attorney-at- law and was formerly burgess of Carlisle; Sarah Eleanor married Henry Lee Snyder, of the U. S. Navy; Henrietta M. married George Bridges, and Andrew George is an attorney-at-law, and formerly was District Attorney of Cumberland county (he married Jennie Kennedy, who a few years after their marriage died without issue).

William Edward Miller, the eldest child of Andrew G. and Eleanor ( Umberger) Miller, and the special subject of this sketch, was born at West Hill. Cumberland county, Feb. 5. 1836. Until the breaking out of the Civil war he remained at home, receiving such education as the district schools then afforded and working upon the farm. Through the stress of circumstances it early fell to his lot to direct the farming operations for his father, which involved much hard work and careful, economical management, but gave him a discipline which he turned to good account in after life. At the begin- ning of the war he enlisted, becoming a pri- vate in Company H, 3d Pennsylvania Cav- alry, and at the organization of the company was made its second lieutenant. His mili- tary career from start to finish was a hard and dangerous one. In the winter of 1861- 62 his regiment was stationed at Camp Marcy, Va., where it underwent a rigid course of training conducted by Col. W. W. Averill, a graduate of West Point Military Academy. When the celebrated peninsular campaign began in .the following spring it was sent to Yorktown, where it received its

baptism of fire. and then was kept well in front as the army advanced. After the evac- uation of the defences at Yorktown it fol- lowed hard on the heels of the Confederates until they were driven behind Fort Ma- gruder, at Williamsburg, and when driven from that position followed them in hot pur- suit beyond the Chickahominy. During the period of preparation for the capture of Richmond Lieut. Miller was detailed to hunt out and make maps of the roads which led to the James river, and in this his duty at times led him as much as twenty miles into the enemy's country, which fact is a matter of record in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War." Volume II, page 431. While on the peninsular campaign he met the Count de Paris and a friendship sprang up between the two which lasted until the death of that distinguished French soldier and author. At Antietam, on Sept. 16, 1862, Lieut. Miller's regiment led Gen. Hooker's advance across Antietam creek, and as a detail Com- pany H, under his command, drew the first fire of the enemy in that famous and bloody battle. For this daring action he was after- ward promoted to the captaincy of his com- pany over all the first lieutenants in the regi- ment. His regiment was one of the most active in the Army of the Potomac, and in the campaigns of 1863 took conspicuous part in the battles of Brandy Station, Aldie, Middleburg. Upperville, Hay Market and Gettysburg. At Gettysburg Capt. Miller was in command of a squadron of four com- panies and won proud distinction by making a timely charge and breaking the flank of Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee's com- mands, in their attempt to turn the extreme right of the Union Army. The charge was made in violation of orders, but the supreme importance of making it and the brilliancy of its execution were recognized by the

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

government in awarding him a medal of honor. The Secretary of War, in forward- ing this medal, wrote:

At Gettysburg, July 3. 1863, this officer, then Captain. 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry, and command- ing a squadron of four troops of his regiment, seeing an opportunity to strike in flank an attacking col -. umn of the enemy's cavalry that was then being charged in front, exceeded his own instructions and without orders led a charge of his squadron upon the flank of the enemy, checked his attack and cut off and dispersed the rear of his column.

The reverse side of the medal bears the following inscription :

The Congress to Captain W. E. Miller, Com- pany H, 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry, for Gallantry at Gettysburg, July 3d, 1863.

This extraordinary action attracted the attention of military authorities of this and other countries, and Arthur L. Wagner, U. S. A., in his work on "Organization and Tactics," pages 187 and 222, refers to it as follows: "At Balaklava a heavy force of Russian Cavalry advancing to attack the British Heavy Brigade, deliberately slack- ened its pace before contact and received a counter charge at a halt. In this action the flank of the Russian Cavalry was exposed to the Light Brigade, whose commander, Lord Cardigan, failed to avail himself of the opportunity thus presented because his orders did not contemplate such action; but he afterwards engaged in a heroic but sense- less charge on the Russian batteries, which furnished a theme for poets but not a model for a cavalry general. In the great cavalry battle at Gettysburg, Captain Miller, of the 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry, seeing an oppor- tunity to strike Wade Hampton's column in flank as it was charged in front by Custer, turned to his lieutenant with the remark : 'I have been ordered to hold this position,

but, if you will back me in case I am court- martialed for disobedience, I will order a charge.' The charge was opportune and effective and no mention of a court martial was ever made. Miller's conduct on this occasion is in striking contrast with that of Cardigan at Balaklava."

After the war closed Capt. Miller en- gaged in the hardware business in Carlisle and continued at that until 1898, in which year he was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate from the district composed of Cumberland and Adams counties. He is of a retiring disposition, but firm in his convic- tions and purposes. Some estimate of the man can be found in the remarks made by his old commander, Gen. D. McM. Gregg, at the dedication of the cavalry shaft at Gettysburg, on Oct. 15, 1884: "Of course everybody expects to hear from Capt. Miller, whose name is so inseparably and honorably connected with our shaft. Possibly, having built so well on the very ground on which he fought so well, he will try to escape talk- ing. which he can do well also. How point- edly he can write you can all attest."

Capt. Miller has long been conspicuous in his native county as a Democrat and a party worker. He served twice as chairman of the Democratic county committee, once in 1877, when the Democratic State ticket was given over one thousand majority, and again in 1888, when Cleveland was given a majority of 696 over Harrison. In 1878 he was a member of the Democratic State Central Committee. In municipal affairs he has always borne a conspicuous part. He was twice elected chief burgess of Carlisle, first in 1882 and again in 1883. and was a member of the Carlisle board of health for about twelve years, and president of that body for four years. In 1898, after much importuning from members of both political

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

parties, he consented to stand as a candidate for the State Senate and was easily nominat- ed and also easily elected. As a legislator he was assiduous and attentive to the interests of his constituents, and discharged the entire roll of his duties with conscientious fidelity. His term included the famous session that was dead-locked upon the election of United States senator, and he was present and voted upon all the ballots that were held. He also had the honor of being his party's nominee for president pro tem of the Senate. In Grand Army circles he has always been active and prominent and was the first Com- mander of Capt. Colwell Post, No. 201. He is a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and while he has filled various positions of honor and responsibility he has never aspired to any of the places which he has filled. He is secretary of the Carlisle Board of Trade and gives much of his time and labor to the promotion of the industrial welfare of the town. Since relinquishing the hardware business he has turned his attention to writ- ing fire insurance, in which he Ins succeeded in building up a very satisfactory line.

Capt. William E. Miller has been twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth Ann Hocker, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Henry) Hocker, of Hockersville, Penn township. Mrs. Miller died Sept. 8, 1859, at the age of twenty-three years, leaving two daughters, named respectively Carrie Olivia Rankin and Elizabeth. Elizabeth died in April, 1862. Carrie grew to womanhood and married George K. McCormick, by whom she has three children, William, Anna and George K. Mr. McCormick is a civil engineer and at present is located at Knox- ville, Tennessee.

On June 25, 1868, Capt. Miller married for his second wife Anna DePui Bush,

daughter of J. S. Bush, of Tioga. Tioga Co., Pa., who died Aug. 4, 1894, leaving no issue. Both wives were intelligent, cultured, amiable ladies and the loss of each was a sore bereavement. Mrs. Anna DePui (Bush) Miller was a writer of acknowledged ability, a contributor to literary periodicals and author of a book entitled "Who and What."

Such is the record of Capt. William E. Miller, a worthy citizen and a gallant soldier.

HENRY CLAY WHITING was for over twenty years prior to his death, which occurred Feb. 1, 1901, connected with Dick- inson College, at Carlisle, as a member of the Faculty, and he occupied a high position in the educational circles of the community.

Mr. Whiting was born March 27, 1845, in Speedsville, N. Y., and comes of a family which has long been settled in America, and which is descended from three brothers who came from England. His grandfather, Samuel Whiting, was a blacksmith and car- riage builder by occupation, and his father, Samuel Whiting, was also a blacksmith by trade. The latter was a native of Connecti- cut, and settled in Speedsville. N. Y., where he died. He was twice married, his first wife being Mary Keeney, by whom he had two children, Henry Clay and Josephine (Mrs. David Smith), both now deceased. For his second wife he married Caroline Ford, who survives him, and to this union were born six children, namely : Percy, Frank (deccased), Randolph, Romeo, Charles and Cora.

Henry Clay Whiting attended the com- mon schools in his youth, was prepared for college at Ithaca, N. Y., and took a clas- sical course at Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., after which he entered upon his career as an instructor. He accepted a position as teacher in the Drew Theological Seminary

CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

at Madison, N. J., where he also studied for the ministry, and he was ordained, but never took a charge, continuing to teach all his life. From Drew he went to Hackettstown, N. J., and taught in the seminary there for four years. His next experience was as vice- principal of Pennington Seminary, at Pen- nington, N. J., and in the fall of 1879 he came to Carlisle, Pa., to become professor of Latin in Dickinson College. He remained in that incumbency until the close of his life, practically, although he was out on a year's leave of absence when he died, suddenly of heart disease, on Feb. 1, 1901. Mr. Whiting was a gentleman of the highest standing, in- tellectually and socially ; and was greatiy es- teemed among the circle of his friends and acquaintances in Carlisle. He was long a prominent member of the First M. E. Church of that city, and served at one time as trustee and Sunday . School superintendent. In politics, he was a strong Republican, and fraternally, he was associated with the F. & A. M.

Mr. Whiting was married, in Schenec- tady. N. Y., Nov. 21, 1867, to Miss Mary L. Freeman, who was born June 16, 1847, in Schenectady, daughter of Jonathan R. and Leonora (Terrell) Freeman. Her parents were both natives of Connecticut, the father born in Mansfield, and he settled in Schenec- tady, N. Y., after his marriage, conducting a mercantile business there for many years. Six children came to Mr. and Mrs. Whiting, viz: (1) Henry F. graduated from Dickin- son College in the class of 1889, and is now engaged as an instructor in that institution. He married Miss Grace Derland, and they have had three children, Lawrence D., Rus- sell F. and Gerald. (2) Leonora M., is un- married, and is engaged in teaching. (3) Earle F., died when he was two years old. (4) Miss Helen is a teacher in Dowingtown,

Pa. (5) Mabel is deceased. (6) Paul is now a student in Dickinson College. Mrs. Whiting and the family still make their home in Carlisle, and are among the most highly respected residents of that city.

WILLIAM BARNITZ, for many years president of the Farmers' Bank, now the Farmers' Trust Company, of Carlisle, is of old Pennsylvania-German stock. The name is frequently spelled Bernitz in the records. His great-grandfather. John George Karl Barnitz, was born in Alsace, in the Hessian Palatinate, in 1722, and came to America, by way of Baltimore, about the year 1740, settling in York county; he died in York according to the record in the Lutheran church yard in that city, Dec. 14, 1796. According to the records of the same church, he was married to his wife, Anna Barbara, Nov. 11, 1750; she is also mentioned in his will, together with their children, Charles, John, Michael, George, Daniel, Jacob, Su- sanna and Barbara.

Daniel Barnitz, the grandfather of Wil- liam Barnitz, was born in 1755. He served in Capt. Rudolph Spangler's Company of Associators in 1776. He married Susanna Eichelberger. After his marriage Daniel Barnitz resided in Hanover, Heidelberg township, engaged in various occupations, tavernkeeper, brewer, farmer, etc., and died there in 1827.

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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 13

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