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 21
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The funeral services over the body of this righteous woman, like those above her late
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husband. were of a simple but impressive character. Her pastor. Rev. George C. Henry, spoke fittingly of her life and char- acter, and her remains were laid beside those of her husband in the family lot in Spring Hill cemetery. Thus passed away two of Shippensburg's old and honored residents. They had lived quiet, uneventful lives, con- tent to do good unostentatiously, filling the places in which fortune had placed them, and leaving the world better than they found it. Their virtues rear for them a monument in influence more enduring than stone or marble.
WILLIAM SENSEMAN, one of the prominent business men of Boiling Springs, Cumberland county, where he has long been engaged as a coal merchant, is of German ancestry, and was born Sept. 20. 1837, in Cumberland county. His great-grandpar- ents were natives of Germany, and, coming to America, settled in Lancaster county, Pa., where his grandfather was born. He was a miller by trade, and followed same near Ephrata, in his native county. His family consisted of the following named children : John, Joseph, William, Samuel, Daniel, Re- becca L. and Hannah.
Samuel Senseman, father of William, was born in 1796 in Ephrata, Lancaster county, and in carly life learned the carpen- ter's trade. In 1828 he removed to Cumber- land county, buying a farm in Silver Spring township, where he became well and favor- ably known. He enjoyed the confidence of his fellowmen to an unusual degree, as was shown by the number of estates he was called upon to settle, all of which were wisely ad- ministered, every dollar being properly ac- counted for. He married Miss Elizabeth Haines, like himself a native of Lancaster county, and they became the parents of ten
children: Susan, Jeremiah, John, Harriet, Lydia. Samuel, David, Adam, William and Sarah. The parents of this family were members of the Lutheran Church. The father was a Democrat in politics.
William Senseman was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools. He has made his own way in the world from the age of fourteen years. After attaining his majority he went to Illinois, remaining in that State for three years, and returning to Cumberland county in 1863. In 1878 he commenced the milling business, which he continued for two years ; from 1880 to 1884 he dealt in horses in company with A. R. May. In 1884 he again leased the mill, but gave up that branch of his business in 1888, and has since been engaged as a coal dealer. In 1872 he bought the home on Second street. in Boiling Springs, where he has ever since lived. He has become one of the active citizens of that place, and has been chosen a number of times for the offices of school director and township supervisor. His political support is given to the Demo- cratic party.
On Nov. 6, 1865, Mr. Senseman was united in marriage with Miss Hettie Shuh, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Landis) Shuh, of Dauphin county ; the Shuh family is of German origin. Mrs. Senseman passed away July 30, 1896, at the residence in Boil- ing Springs, aged forty-nine years, ten months and four days, and was laid to rest in the Churchtown cemetery. She had long been a zealous member of St. John's Luth- eran Church of Boiling Springs, and many were the evidences of affection shown at the time of her death, and during the long illness which preceded it. Having no family of her own, Mrs. Senseman devoted herself unspar- ingly to the welfare of others, and, besides being a great church worker, was noted for
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her benevolences and kindliness. She had a cheerful and winning disposition which en- deared to her all who knew her, and looked at the bright side of everything, at the same time doing all in her power to make others do the same. She had charge of the infant department of St. John's Sunday-school. which passed the following resolutions at the time of her death :
WHEREAS, It has pleased our Heavenly Father to take from our Sunday school and our church one of our most earnest and de- voted teachers, and who as the head of the infant class was ready to sacrifice time, labor and money in their behalf, Therefore,
Resolved, That while we deplore the loss of Mrs. Senseman from our midst we yet bow in submission to Him who doeth all things well, knowing that she rests from her labors and her works shall follow her.
Resolved, That offering to her bereaved husband our earnest sympathy, we with him will cherish her memory, as one who in all her trials of sickness and pain never forgot her God, her church, or her beloved infant class.
Resolved, That a copy of the above be entered upon the minutes and presented to the husband and the Carlisle papers for pub- lication.
Mr. and Mrs. Senseman adopted twc children, namely: (1) John Cunningham received a good education, and in his early manhood taught Graham's school, in North Middleton township. He is now superin- tendent of the stores of the Iron Company, at Sparrows Point, Md., with which company he has been connected for ten years, during which, by hard work, he has pushed his way to the front, and become a valued employe; he has traveled considerably through Texas and the West, and for a time resided in Te- cumseh, Neb. He married Miss Grace
Snyder of Sparrows Point. (2) Sadie Dean was born in Pennsylvania, and is now the wife of Charles Rider, a stock dealer of Monroe township, Cumberland county ; they have the following named children: Wil- liam, Mary, Ethel, Meda, Bertha and Olin, all living.
On Sept. 21, 1898, Mr. Senseman mar- ried, for his second wife, Miss Agnes C. Sheaffer, who was born in Dickinson town- ship, Cumberland county, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Dick) Sheaffer, of Adams county; Mr. Sheaffer was a miller by trade. Both Mr. and Mrs. Senseman hold member- ship in the Lutheran Church of Boiling Springs, of which he is now serving as elder. He is a most respected man in every rela- tion of life, and holds a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens.
REV. THOMAS JAMES FERGU- SON was born in Dry Run, Franklin Co., Pa. His grandfather, David Ferguson, coming from the North of Ireland, located there in his young manhood. He belonged to the Scotch-Irish race that has given so many noble men to the State and nation. David Ferguson married Margaret Mc- Kibben, and of this union James Ferguson was born in 1809, and lived his years near his early home.
James Ferguson was successful in busi- ness, a ruling elder in the United Presbyte- rian Church, and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. He was for several years Associate Judge of Franklin county, and he discharged the duties of the office with fidel- ity, and with credit to himself. He married Mary A. Doyle, and Thomas James Fergu- son was one of five children given to them.
Thomas James Ferguson was born Oct. 19, 1852, and he received his education at Chambersburg Academy, Westminster Col-
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lege. and Western Theological Seminary. In October, 1878, he became pastor of the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church.
To few ministers is it given to become a factor in the varying phases of country life, such as Mr. Ferguson has been. His influ -. ence has been felt far beyond the confines of his church. There has been no movement for the betterment of the country that has not had his support and encouragement. He has been interested in better roads, better schools (serving as a school director for a number of years). and better farming. He has labored to unite the Christian forces of his locality, and to create closer fellowship among Christian people, and he has bade God speed to every man who served His Master. He holds the respect and admira- tion of the entire community.
O. June 9. 1887. the Rev. Mr. Ferguson was married to Miss Grace Ewalt, whose family history is associated with the history of the valley from the beginning. Their children are Margaret, Mary McCormick and Virginia.
SILVER SPRING PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The first settlers in the Cumberland Val- ley were Scotch-Irish and Irish, and were Presbyterians. Shortly after their coming came the Minister to preach the Gospel, and gather them together for regular worship. At a meeting of Donegal Presbytery held at Donegal Oct. 16, 1734, Mr. Alex. Craig- head was licensed and appointed to preach "over the river 2 or 3 Sabbaths in Novem- ber." This was the beginning of the Silver Spring Church. All this occurred before a public road was laid out through the Valley, and when the thoroughfares were the paths of the Indians-forty-two years before the Declaration of Independence. The Church was first known as "the people over the river :" then "the people of the Conodoquin-
net, or beyond the Susquehanna," at that time embracing two settlements and the churches now known as Silver Spring and Carlisle : then Lower Pennsboro. On Sept. 25, 1786, the church was incorporated by an Act of Assembly under the name of the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church of Cum- berland County, Pennsylvania. The Church was supplied with preaching by the Presby- tery for several years. Mr. Thomson re- ported to the Presbytery April 14, 1736, that he "did not fulfill his appointment over the river by reason of the severity of the season, and the scarcity of provender in those parts." This speaks of sacrifices, and is in marked contrast with the abundance of all the good things which is now enjoyed. On Nov. 14, 1739, their first pastor was installed, the Rev. Samuel Thomson, who remained until March 26, 1745. Mr. Thomson was born in Ireland.
Rev. Samuel Cavon was installed Aug. 5, 1749, and died Nov. 9, 1750. His body lies in the Church cemetery. There was a period of ten years or more that the church was without a pastor. It was a period of trouble with the Indians. The Valley was the scene of massacres, the harvest of 1756 was left to rot in the fields, and the people fled to safer places.
On April 13, 1764, Carlisle and East Pennsboro churches united in a call for the services of Rev. John Steel, who had been pastor of Conococheague, but his church was burned, and the congregation dispersed by the Indians. He, himself, had been commis- sioned a captain of the Provincial Troops March 25, 1756. On April 9, 1782, this congregation united with Monaghan ( Dills- burg), and called the Rev. Samuel Waugh. lle remained until his death in January, 1807. He was the first native American pastor, being born in Adams county, Pa.,
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and it was during his pastorate, in 1783, that the present church edifice was built.
Rev. John Hayes followed, being in charge from 1808, to May 6, 1814; Rev. Henry R. Wilson, from Aug. 29, 1814. to Nov. 30, 1823; Rev. James Williamson, from 1824, until April 21, 1838. On Oct. 31. 1838, a call was made out for Rev. George Morris, "a foreign Licentiate under the care of the Presbytery of Philadelphia," who remained until 1860. Mr. Morris was from Scotland, and he was a rigid Presby- terian, and a profound Theologian. It was during his ministry, in 1851, that the Manse was built, and the work done which led to the organization of the Presbyterian Church in Mechanicsburg. Rev. W. H. Dinsmore came Dec. 10, 1860, and terminated his work in April, 1865. His successor was Rev. W. G. Hilman, who remained from April 17, 1866, to October, 1867, and he was fol- lowed by Rev. W. B. McKee, who was pas- tor two years, beginning October, 1868, and Rev. R. P. Gibson, from Sept. 27, 1872, until October, 1875.
The present pastor. Rev. T. J. Ferguson, began his work Oct. 1, 1878, and for more than a quarter of a century has led this people in their work for God and humanity. During the present pastorate, in 1885. the beautiful Memorial Chapel was erected by Col. and Mrs. Henry McCormick.
The Session of the church as at present constituted consists of W. J. Meily. M. S. Mumma, A. L. Brubaker. The trustees are: John Parker, William Bryson, Vance McCormick, George Mumper, Levi Bricker, Elmer Lower, William Meily, M. S. Mumma and Samuel Lindsey.
COL. MILTON A. EMBICK is one of the prominent citizens of Boiling Springs, Cumberland county, and has been a resident
of this county since 1880. He is a native of Franklin county, having been born at "Rose Hill," Antrim township, Franklin Co., Pa., March 18, 1843. a son of John and Sarah (Fohl) Embick.
The Embick family dates back to Chris- topher Embick, who landed in the colonies from the Palatinate in 1753. From this an- cestor springs the large family of this name, scattered all over the United States. Chris- topher Embick had seven sons.
John Embick, father of Col. Milton A., lost his father while he was an infant. His first work was hauling between Pittsburg and Baltimore, and later he learned the trade of blacksmithing, and shortly thereafter purchased the "Rose Hill" homestead that formerly belonged to his wife's father. Upon this property he spent most of his life, dying at the age of seventy-two, and his wife also passed away upon the farm. Ten children were born to them: Joanna E. married Simon Bear, a resident of Fulton, Ill. ; Susan F. died, the wife of John Phillipy, who is now deceased; Sarah C. died the wife of Capt. C. S. Derland, of Boiling Springs ; Martha J. died in infancy ; Keziah M. mar- ried E. W. Byers, of Williamsport, Md .; Lisle F. died the wife of James H. Speer, of Abilene, Kan .; Mary J. died the wife of Dr. A. R. Long, of Mt. Morris, Ill., also de- ceased; Col. M. A. is our subject ; Laura C. married Antoine Tegethoff, of Washington, D. C., who is now deceased: Emma C. mar- ried E. W. Humphrey, of El Reno, Okla- homa Territory.
Col. Milton A. Embick was reared on the farm, and received a common school educa- tion, attending during the winter months, and later he spent some time in an academy at Lebanon, Pa. In 1862 he began teaching. During this time he was serving as a private in an independent home guard of cavalry,
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but in 1864 he enlisted in the Union service, becoming a private in Company D, 209tlt P. V. I .. and was assigned to the Hartranft division, serving until the close of the war. Returning home, he again taught school, and thus continued until the summer of 1874. when he was nominated by the Demo- cratic party of Franklin county for the Leg- islature. He secured the nomination upon the first ballot. so popular was he with the people of his party. although there were seventeen candidates against him. He car- ried the county by a majority of 365. and this was in a county which had a normal Republi- can majority of 500. During the session of 1875-76, the first Legislature elected under the constitution adopted in 1873, he served upon the committee on Ways and Means, being its secretary. He was also upon and was secretary of the committee on Agricultural Matters. Col. Embick was also secretary of the Democratic Legisla- tive Caucus ; a member of the Centennial committee from Franklin county, and was appointed a member of the special committee to investigate the State treasury under Rob- ert Mackey. After a most brilliant career as a legislator Col. Embick retired to private life, refusing to accept a re-nomination, re- suming his teaching and also engaging in farming. In the spring of 1880 he removed to Boiling Springs.
In 1880 Col. Embick organized the 209th Regiment, and acted as its secretary for four years. Having been appointed by Gen. Hartranft secretary of the 3d Division, he proceeded to organize that Division, and at its first re-union, March 25, 1890, he was presented with a fine gold watch by his com- rades. He was instrumental in securing the passage of the bill appropriating $18,000 for the purpose of erecting an equestrian statue to the memory of Gen. Hartranft at
Harrisburg, and served upon the monument commission until the unveiling of the com- pleted statue, May 21. 1899, by his daugh- ter, Miss Mary Lenore Embick. In church matters Col. Embick is a Lutheran, as are all his family and has represented the church in synod. local and general; and has been very active in all things pertaining to the church. He takes a great interest in G. A. R. matters, being a member of Capt. Colwell Post, No. 201. Carlisle, and has gained con- siderable fame as an orator on Decoration Day and other national holidays.
In 1902 Gov. Stone appointed Col. Em- bick a member of the State board of health and vital statistics of Pennsylvania, and he was reappointed by Gov. Pennypacker for the term of six years. He has always been one of the most energetic members of the board. He is also a member of the Ameri- can Public Health Association, comprising the territory of the United States of America, the Dominion of Canada, the Republic of Mexico, and the Republic of Cuba, and with Dr. Benjamin Lee represented Pennsylva- nia as members of that Association at their convention held in Washington, D. C., in October, 1903. Col. Embick is adjutant of the Southern District Association, G. A. R., comprising the counties of Adams, Cumber- land, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata and Perry. He also served as aide-de-camp on the staff of National Commanders Gen. Alger and Gen. Torrance. He is also a member of the Hamilton Historical Society of Carlisle.
On Dec. 24. 1874. Col. Embick was mar- ried to Mary E. Dunbar, daughter of John and Agnes W. Dunbar. Four children have been born of this marriage: (1) J. Milton died in infancy. (2) Stanley Dunbar is a graduate of West Point, class of February, 1899, then entered the artillery, and saw scr- vice at Havana. In September of the same
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year he was stricken down with yellow fever, but recovered. On May 8, 1901, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and ordered to the Presidio, California. In 1902 he was ordered to Fortress Monroe to take a post-graduate course preparatory to his promotion to the, rank of captain, and was graduated therefrom Aug. 1, 1903, at the head of his class, by the Secretary of War, and made assistant instructor at Fortress Monroe for the next year. He is now an instructor in that school. He is the author of a text-book on coast defense in war at that school. During the summer of 1903 he was sent with his class to Maine to witness the naval and military demonstrations and was one of the two umpires to report on the same. On Dec. 29, 1902, he was married to Miss Ethel Wall, of "Walldene," Md .. and they have one child, Mary Elizabeth. (3) James Bayard, the third child, is holding a clerical position in the office of the general purchasing agent of the Standard Oil Co., at Baltimore, Md. (4) Mary Lenore is a graduate of Irving College, class of 1904.
DUNBAR. John Dunbar came from Scot- land in 1730, and located in Cumberland county, Pa., near Carlisle. He had a son, William, who was the grandfather of Mrs. M. A. Embick. William Dunbar married Elizabeth Forbes, who was a native of Cum- berland county, and three children were born to them: John; Ellen, who died in child- hood; and Jane, who married Mr. James Lindsay, of this county. William Dunbar was a wealthy farmer, living west of Car- lisle, in West Pennsboro township, and he was one of the founders of the first Presby- terian Church of Carlisle. His deathi oc- curred in 1844, when he was seventy-five years of age. His wife died in 1843, and is buried in the Meeting House cemetery.
John Dunbar, son of William, was born
Feb. 16. 1803, and died Aug. 7, 1868. He married Nov. 20, 1834, Miss Agnes Waugh Greason. of Cumberland county, who was born May 28, 18II, and comes of an old and prominent family. She was a daughter of James Douglas Greason, whose family came in 1728 to this county, being of Scotch- Irish descent. John Dunbar was a farmer, but later retired to Greason, where he died. During a long and useful lite he was a con- sistent member of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle. His remains were in- terred in the same cemetery as his mother's. Nine children were born to himself and wife, of whom James Alfred, a graduate of Yale in the class of 1862, was admitted to the Bar and was engaged very successfully in the practice of his profession at Columbia, S. C., when he died at Aiken, S. C., at the age of thirty-eight years. Mary E., wife of Col. Em- bick. is the only other child who grew to maturity, the other seven having died in infancy. Mrs. Embick was educated at Washington Seminary, Washington, Pa., and at Dr. Nevin's Seminary, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
STEELE FAMILY. In 1762 there was upon the tax list of Carlisle a John Steele and also a Rev. John Steele. The former was assessed annually until 1767, in which year he is designated as "inn-holder." As that is his last appearance it is probable that he died about that time. At the breaking out of the Indian hostilities in 1755 Rev. John Steele was pastor of a charge near Maryland State line, and in September, 1756, was a captain in Armstrong's expedition against Kittanning. The Indians having driven him and his flock back from the frontier. he came to Carlisle in 1759, and was made pastor of the "old side" division of the Presbyterian Church, serving them until
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his death. in August, 1779. These two Jolin Steeles may have been distantly related, but the matter at hand does not show that they were.
John Steele. the layman, was married and left a family of three sons and one daughter. His widow afterward married a John Jor- clan. whom she also survived. Jordan was a justice of the peace and otherwise prominent in the affairs of Carlisle in the early days. The children of John Steele and Agnes, his wife, were John. Joseph. William, Jean. Jean on Oct. 9. 1792. married a man named Ger- sham Craft. a lawyer. John was born Aug. 22. 1764, and never married. While yet a young man he enlisted in the army, and rose to the rank of captain in the 3d Regiment, United States Infantry. He died on Nov. 6, 1800, leaving a will in which he names his brothers Joseph and William, his brother William's son John, and his cousin, "Capt." William Steele. The executors of his will were his mother, Agnes Jordan, Ephraim Steele, merchant, and Gersham Craft, of Trenton, N. J. His remains were interred in the Old Graveyard at Carlisle and their resting-place is marked by a tombstone which is still in good condition. Near it are other stones, from which time has almost entirely effaced the inscriptions and which in all prob- ability mark where his father, and also his brothers are buried.
The Ephraim Steele mentioned in this will was an uncle of the testator. He first appears upon the tax list of Carlisle in 1769, but probably came while his brother John was yet living. Ephraim Steele resided in Carlisle for a period of forty-five years. He was a worthy and distinguished citizen, and this sketch is intended to deal principally with him and his genealogical line. It was a rule with him to preserve letters, and in the course of his long career there accumu-
lated upon his hands a great mass of letters which have descended to his children and his children's children as an interesting heirloom. He has been dead about ninety years, but there yet remains in possession of his grand- daughters, Misses Maggie and Martha Steele, of Carlisle, a large number of these old letters, ranging in date from shortly after Ephraim Steele settled at Carlisle down to the time of his death. The writers thereof were liis kin in Ireland and in the South, members of his family, friends, politicians and persons in high public position. These letters are a source of valuable information and are the chief record from which this sketch has been compiled.
As the name indicates, the Steeles are of Scotch-Irish nationality. There was a family of eight sons and one daughter, whose par- ents, as near as can be ascertained, were Sam- uel and Mary (Stevenson) Steele. Of the children, John, Thomas, William, Joseph, Samuel and Ephraim came to America. Two brothers, Ninian, a preacher, and James, a farmer, remained in Ireland. "Jinny," the daughter, also remained in the old coun- try. She married a man named George Hogg, bore him four or five children, and died while yet a young woman. Her eldest daughter, Mary, and her eldest son, George, afterward also came to America. The fa- ther of this large family was probably dead when the older sons left home to seek their fortunes across the seas, but the mother lived to be more than eighty years of age. In her widowhood she had her home in the family of her daughter till after her daughter's death. She then for a short time went to her son Ninian, and after that she and her granddaughter, Mary Hogg, lived together in Londonderry, where Mary followed man- tua-making and tenderly cared for her aged grandparent.
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From the data at hand it is not deter- minable how these nine children ranked in regard to age. However, it is safe to assumes that Jolin. William, Thomas and Joseph came to America soon after arriving at man's cs- tate. All of them appear to have engaged in the affairs of their adopted land with com- mendable energy. John-as has been ob- served-settled in Carlisle. William and Jo- seph, probably after spending some time in Pennsylvania, settled in the South. Josepli resided at Hilton Head, S. C., and judging from his letters was a man of means and en- gaged in importing merchandise from the West Indies. He was married, but early in the year 1777 his wife died, leaving him with two small sons, Jackey and Joe. What became of Joseph Steele is not known, as none of his relatives heard anything of him after the fall of Charleston in May, 1780.
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