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 62
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In 1860 Mr. Givler was united in mar- riage with Eliza Diller, daughter of Francis and Nancy Diller, of Frankford township. No children have been born of this union. Mr. Givler has invariably cast his ballot in support of the men and measures of the Re- publican party. He has served as justice of the peace and as school director, and has given satisfaction in both offices, proving himself a man worthy of the confidence re- posed in him. Both Mr. and Mrs. Givler are members of the Church of God in Plainfield, and Mr. Givler is now one of the elders of that church.
WILLIAM RITCHEY McCULLOCH, a retired farmer of Shippensburg, represents an old and prominent family. He was born in Newton township, Cumberland county,
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near Big Spring, March 5, 1829. His grand- father, James McCulloch, a native of Scot- land, settled at Newton township, Cum- berland county, about 1760, his landed es- tate there amounting to some 600 acres. He married Miss Henderson, who lived at New- ville, and by her he had two sons.
John McCulloch, son of James and father of William R., was born in Newton town- ship, March 13. 1793, while his wife, Eliza- beth (Clarke) McCulloch, was born Jan. 17, 1798, and died June 25, 1845. John McCul- loch died Jan. 31, 1866, and he and his wife are buried in the United Presbyterian churchyard at Newville. Robert Clarke. father of Mrs. McCulloch, was married three times and was. the father of twenty-one children by two wives. He was a prosper- ous farmer of great energy and force of character, and widely and favorably known.
William Ritchey McCulloch spent his youth upon the farm, attending district school at Stoughstown, and later he went to the school at Newville. He began teaching in 1852 at Whiskey Run, Mifflin township. His second school was located at Stoughs- town. Later he began farming on the old McCulloch place in Newton town- ship. After his marriage hie settled on a portion of the homestead, and when his father died, this property was di- vided between our subject and his brother, James Houston McCulloch. When this brother died, Mr. McCulloch purchased the remainder of the farm, which comprised 200 acres. Later Mr. McCulloch sold fifty-four acres, and still has 146. He has been a suc- cessful farmer and grain raiser, and con- tinued to reside upon the farm until 1883. when he moved to Shippensburg township, and purchased the farm of William Linn, consisting of 126 acres, well improved. Upon this he made his home until 1899,
when he moved to Shippensburg, where he has quietly resided ever since.
In 1857, Mr. McCulloch married Mary Hemminger, who was reared near Carlisle, having been born on a farm near that city. She was fifth in a family of twelve children born to John and Eliza ( Heagy) Hem- minger, prominent people of that locality. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Culloch : Sarah E., born May 26, 1860, mar- ried Hayes Sharpe: Anna M., born Jan. 12, 1862, is at home ; Margaret M. married Rob- ert Johnson : George H., born May 2, 1869. resides on the Walnut Bottom farm, in Ship- pensburg township; John Clarke, born May 10, 1871, resides on the McCulloch home- stead in Newton township. In politics, Mr. McCulloch is a Democrat, and is prominent in the councils of his party. For three years he was assessor of Newton township, and for fourteen years was a member of the school board of the same place. He and his wife were formerly members of the United Pres- byterian Church of Newville, but are now members of the Presbyterian Church of Shippensburg. For three years Mr. McCul- loch was trustee of the Cumberland Valley State Normal School. The family residence at Shippensburg, the property of Mr. Mc- Culloch, is a very comfortable one, and there he and his wife dispense a gracious hospital- ity to their many friends.
H. N. BOWMAN, EsQ. In January, 1796, Nicholas Wolf and John Bowman, from the vicinity of Ephrata, Lancas- ter county, purchased from Tobias Hen- dricks a farm lying within the bounds of the present borough of Camp Hill. John Bowman was a son of Samuel Bowman, and a son-in-law of Nicholas Wolf, and he and his father-in-law had come to Cumber- land county shortly prior to the time they
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made this purchase. The buildings belong- ing to the farm in question were situated on the north side of the "Great Road," which had been officially laid out as early as 1735. and in them Tobias Hendricks had kept tav- ern for many years. After purchasing the property John Bowman for some time also kept tavern in the old log house in which Hendricks formerly kept, but he soon found it entirely too small for his rapidly increas- ing patronage and in 1799 built a large stone house, part of which is standing yet. This stone house for that time was immense. The main structure measured 57×36 feet, con- tained twenty-one rooms, and throughout was specially adapted to the hotel wants of that period. This tavern, by which name it was then known, had great yards for teams to put up in : also barns and stables for horses and other stock, and adjacent to it were two distilleries where grain and apples were turned into liquor and made a merchantable commodity. In its early days it was the most important stopping-place for travel generally in the lower end of Cumberland county. Up and down the "Great Road" long lines of teams with bells and covered wagons, and robust, rough-looking drivers, and swift stages heavily laden with passen- gers, came and went. It was before the Sus- quehanna river was bridged, and this great amount of travel had all to be ferried across it. When it was too high, or when the ice was going, the teams going east would be de- tained at Bowman's tavern, where great numbers crowded the yards and the orchards. and lined the road, waiting for the river to become passable. This made business brisk, and the rough weather and outdoor life of the teamsters gave them appetite for good meals and thirst for something stimulating. Man and beast had to be fed, and the capac- ity of the popular tavern, ample as it was,
and the resources of the host, were often taxed severely to meet the demand for enter- tainment. When the freshets went down and the river again became ferriable, there would be a struggle among the delayed and impatient teamsters to get to the ferry, and no little strategy would be practiced to get advanced positions in the line.
Among these interesting and exciting conditions of a by-gone age John Bowman, the son of Samuel, lived and reared a family. He had the following children : Samuel, John, Nicholas, Fanny, George, Henry and Susan. Nicholas, Henry and Samuel died young. Fanny married Simon Dreshaugh, and George in 1857 went West and settled at Mt. Carroll. Ill. Susan married George W. Criswell, who through seven successive commissions was justice of the peace at Camp Hill, served one term in the Legisla- ture, and in a general way had much to do with public affairs. He was long a promi- nent and useful citizen.
John Bowman, the second son of John and Regina (Wolf) Bowman, was born Sept. 5, 1805, in the large stone house his father built in 1799. He grew to manhood among the scenes described and lived out a long and useful lifetime within the radins of a hundred yards of the place of his birth. In July, 1831, he married Elizabeth, dangh- ter of Zacheus and Catherine ( Hyer ) Davis, of Shippensburg. Zacheus Davis was of Welsh ancestry, but came to Shippensburg when yet a young man and became a carpen- ter and builder. His wife, Catherine Hyer, was a daughter of Lewis Hyer, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. In the spring following his marriage John Bowman took charge of the hotel which his father be- fore him had kept for so many years. After three years he relinquished the hotel business and went to farming on a part of the same
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farm which his father and grandfather Wolf had bought from Tobias Hendricks in 1796. He farmed continuously for twenty-five years, and when his brother George con- cluded to go West he bought from him his interest in their father's estate, and thus ac- quired the whole of the original purchase from Hendricks and owned it for many years. With Rev. Jolin Winebrenner he was instrumental in the organization of the Church of God at Camp Hill, and was a con- sistent member of that church until his death, which occurred Dec. 4, 1893. His wife, who preceded him to the grave, passed away Feb. 1. 1883.
To John and Elizabeth ( Davis) Bow- man the following children were born : John Davis, Zacheus, Anna, Henry Nicholas, George Washington and Alice. The first named studied medicine, practiced for a long time at Camp Hill. and afterward removed to Harrisburg, where he was one of the lead- ing physicians for some years. In 1864 and 1865 he represented Cumberland county in the lower branch of the State Legislature. He died about the year 1890. Zacheus be- came a farmer and for years farmed at Camp Hill and vicinity. He died on Nov. 16, 1904. Anna married Dr. A. W. Nicholas. George W. studied dentistry and practiced at Mechanicsburg, where he died. Alice died unmarried.
Henry N. Bowman, the fourth child of John and Elizabeth (Davis) Bowman, and the especial subject of this sketch, was born at Camp Hill Aug. 4, 1840, in the house where he still resides. He was reared on the . farm and educated in the public school and in the White Hall Academy, at Camp Hill, and lived at home until his marriage. After com- pleting his education he engaged in mercan- tile pursuits, and during his early manhood was employed in the store of his cousin, S.
G. Bowman, after which he went to Har is- burg, where for one year he was in partier- ship with his brother-in-law, Dr. A. W. Nicholas, conducting a general store. In the summer of 1862 he enlisted in the Harris- burg First City Troop, in which he served sixty days, and which participated in the battle of Antietam and rendered other ser- vice along the State border in the Antietam campaign. After being mustered out of ser- vice he returned to Camp Hill, where he was in the general store business until 1878. About a year after his marriage, in partner- ship with Peter Nicholas, he embarked in the general merchandise business at Camp Hill, building and stocking a store which they conducted for a few years, Mr. Bow- man owning and running it alone for two years, at the end of which time he sold out to Sadler & Bowman. In 1878, with Capt. J. A. Moore, his brother-in-law, he became owner of the White Hall Soldiers' Orphans School. In 1888 Capt. Moore retired from the partnership, and then for two years Mr. Bowman and Prof. S. B. Heiges conducted the institution, when the State took charge and Mr. Bowman was made manager until through a consolidation of the orphan schools under an act of Assembly, White Hall School was eliminated. Since then has been devoting his time and at- tention chiefly to his farming interests. His connection with the institution cov- ered a period of fourteen years, and it was acknowledged to be the best of the many good schools maintained by the State for the education and care of soldiers' orphans.
In politics Mr. Bowman is a pronounced Democrat, but was popular enough to be elected justice of the peace in a strong Re- publican district in 1880, and his administra- tion of the duties of the office has been so sat- isfactory that he has been re-elected at the
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expiration of each term ever since. His ma- jority at the first election was 28, which had increased to 71 by 1885. and his friends and neigl.bors have shown their confidence in his ability and integrity by supporting him at every election since. In 1882 he was a can- didate for nomination to the Legislature. and on that occasion received 1,675 votes, hold- ing second place among the seven candidates for the nomination. Mr. Eckels, the suc- cessful man. received I,Soo votes. In 1896 he was his party's candidate for clerk of the courts and recorder of Cumberland county, and although the Republican candidate for President carried the county by almost eleven hundred plurality Mr. Bowman was de- feated by only 283 votes. In 1902 he was elected register of wills of Cumberland county and is now discharging the duties of that office with the assistance of his son as deputy, having entered upon its duties Jan. 1, 1903. for a term of three years. Mr. Bowman is a member of Harrisburg Coun- cil. No. 7, Free & Accepted Masons ; of Pil- grim Commandery, No. 1I, Knights Temp- lar, of Harrisburg; of Samuel C. Perkins Chapter, No. 209, Royal Arch Masons, of Mechanicsburg; is Past Master of Eureka Lodge, No. 302. of Mechanicsburg ; mem- ber of Cornplanter Tribe, No. 61, Improved Order of Red Men of Harrisburg; of Robert Tippet Council, Junior Order United American Mechanics, of Harrisburg, and of Post No. 58, Grand Army of the Republic, of Harrisburg. He is an active member and elder in the Camp Hill Church of God, the church of his parents, and has served twenty- five years as superintendent of the Sunday- school.
On June 14, 1866, Henry N. Bowman married Jennie M. Kline, Rev. John Ault, pastor of the Reformed Church of Mechan- icsburg, performing the ceremony. Jennie
M. Kline was a daughter of Jacob and Eliza- beth (Longsdorf) Kline, the former a mer- chant in Lower Allen- township, and the lat- ter a daughter of Michael Longsdori. a farmer, who lived in the vicinity of New Kingstown, and was a soldier in the war of IS12. To Henry N. and Jennie M. ( Kline) Bowman the following children have been born : (1) Harry J. is at home and engaged in superintending the farm. (2) Allie mar- ried E. N. Cooper, of Camp Hill, who is proprietor of a foundry and machine works at Harrisburg, and has four children. John D., Edward N., Jr., Henry B. and Mary. (3) Jesse L. married Helen Lamont, of Trenton, N. J., and has two children, Helen and Henry B. He is an expert in the manu- facture of typewriters, being in the employ of Elliott & Hatch, and lives at Camp Hill. (4) The youngest child, Addison M .. was educated in the Harrisburg Academy and the Shippensburg State Normal School, and at this writing is a student in the Dickinson School of Law at Carlisle. He is deputy register of wills of Cumberland county and burgess of Camp Hill. He has recently been married to Miss Mabel E. Huber, of Allen- town. (5) Rose and (6) Lizzie are de- ceased.
In 1890 Mr. Bowman purchased the old homestead farm, where he has ever since re- sided, his father living with him until he died.
JONAS C. RUPP. In the year 1751 a Jho. Jonas Rupp came to America from Germany and settled in the part of Lancaster county that is now Lebanon county. From there he removed to the vicinity of where now is Shiremanstown and became the pro- genitor of one of the largest and most prom- inent families that has yet lived in Cumber- land county. Jho. Jonas Rupp had a son
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Jonas, who was born May 29. 1756, and married Catherine Billman, born Oct. 8. 1759. Jonas and Catherine ( Billman) Rupp had a son Jonas, who was born near Shire- manstown Feb. 16, 1783. This Jonas Rupp was extensively engaged as a farmer. Being possessed of a restless spirit of enterprise he also engaged in various lines, and during his active years he did more toward the de- velopment of the locality in which he lived and operated than any man of his day. He built a gristmill on the Conedoguinet creek, near Good Hope, which at that time was the largest and finest mill in Cumberland county. In the same locality, on one of the tributaries of the Conedoguinet, he built a sawmill and a clover-mill, which continued in operation and accommodated the inhabitants of that section for years. Through his influence and liberality there was secured the erection of a bridge across the Conedoguinet in the vicinity of his new mill, which proved a great and lasting benefit. He also built houses, secured public roads, and made many other improvements which were the means of giving employment to the laboring men of his neighborhood. He was generous to a fault, and through his promotion of various enterprises lost heavily, becoming quite poor in his latter days.
This third Jonas Rupp married Elizabeth Coffman, who was born June 12, 1783, daughter of Christian and Elizabeth Coff- man, Mennonites. His wife died July 20, 1837. He died May 4, 1846, and both are buried in the Coffman family burying- ground, a short distance north from Bry- son's Bridge, in Hanover township.
Jonas and Elizabeth (Coffman) Kupp had two sons, Jonas and Christian Coffman. There was also a daughter, Anna Catherine, who died before she was a year old. Jonas, the elder son, married Susan Low, who bore
him the following children: Christian B., Benjamin, Peter L .. Isaac and Elizabetlı. Christian B. is a tinsmith: he mar- ried Caroline E. Lehn, and lives in Carlisle. Benjamin married Caroline Buck- walter, and was a farmer; he died in Frankford township and is buried in the graveyard of the Upper Frankford Church. Peter L. married Lizzie Stevens and also engaged at farming : he died in South Mid- dleton township and is buried in Carlisle. Isaac married Rebecca Duey, and engaged at farming in different parts of Cumberland county for many years. He is now living in Hogestown. Elizabeth married William Ulston, of the United States army.
Christian C. Rupp, the second son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Coffman) Rupp. was born Dec. 15, 1816. in what is now Hamp- den township, and lived on the borders of Hampden and Silver Spring townships all the days of his life. He was a farmer, and engaged at that occupation earnestly and successfully until well advanced in life. He married Frances Low; she and Susan Low, who married Jonas Rupp, brother of Chris- tian C. Rupp, were sisters, and daughters of Peter and Elizabeth ( Heilman) Low. Christian C. and Frances (Low) Rupp had the following children: Elizabeth Ann, who married John Shaeffer, and is living at Good Hope, Hampden township; Joseph B., who died in infancy; Mary Jane, who mar- ried William B. Logan and is living in Car- lisle; Margaret Elmira, who married Frank L. Eckels, who died July 13. 1901 : Jonas C., who is the special subject of this sketch; Sarah Agnes; William Emory, who married Mary Ida Hoover, and is living in Shire- manstown; George Milton, who married Elizabeth Coble, and is farming near Shire- manstown ; and Clara Emma. Sarah Agnes and Clara Emma are unmarried, and with
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their sister. Mrs. Eckels, are now living in Carlisle. Mrs. Frances (Low) Rupp. the mother of this large family, in the latter part of her life was a great sufferer from rheumatism and for twenty years was en- tirely helpless. She died May 28, 1897. aged seventy-six years. Christian C. Rupp clied Sept. 20. 1898. Both were active and prominent members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and their remains were buried in the graveyard of the Salem Methodist Episcopal Church in Hampden township.
Jonas C. Rupp. the eldest son of Chris- tian C. and Frances (Low) Rupp. was born Feb. 19. 1850, in Hampden township. and educated in the public schools of his native locality. He remained at home. working on the farm, until he was married, in 1875. to Miss Annetta Dietz, daughter of David and Caroline ( Sheely) Dietz, of Hampden township. After his marriage he farmed the old homestead for a period of eight years. and then removed to Monroe township where he farmed very successfully for many years. Recently he bought a farm of forty acres, lying on the Lisburn road, not far from Churchtown, to which he expects to move in the spring of 1905.
Jonas C. and Annetta ( Dietz) Rupp had children as follows: Carrie, who mar- ried Elmer Brindle, is living in Monroe township and has one son. Jonas; Bertha, who married Jacob Sheely, is living in Lower Allen township, and has three chil- dren, John J., Mary Ellen and Jacob Charles ; Ella May, who married Alvin Rowe and is living in Monroe township; and Charles, Minnie Barbara and Sadie Elmira, who are yet at home. On Nov. 6, 1892, Mrs. An- netta ( Dietz) Rupp died, and her remains are buried at St. John's Church, in Hamp- den township.
On Dec. 12, 1895, Jonas C. Rupp mar-
ried, for his second wife, Miss Barbara B. Shenk, a daughter of Abraham S. and Re- becca (Bender) Shenk, who formerly were of Lancaster county, Pa., but came to Cum- berland county when their daughter Bar- bara was but four years old, and settled in Monroe township. Mrs. Shenk died on Jan. 9. 1900, and Mr. Shenk has retired from the active duties of life.
Jonas C. Rupp and family belong to the Lutheran Church at Trindle Spring. in which Mr. Rupp is at present a deacon. In politics he is a Democrat. as was his father before him, but is not a politician in the sense of being an office seeker.
JOHN S. MUMPER, one of the pros- perous business citizens of Mechanicsburg, a dealer in all kinds of meats, was born Jan. 5. 1847, in York county, Pa., son of Samuel and Catherine (Shultz) Mumper, both of York county.
Samuel Mumper was a son of Michael Mumper, who was of German extraction, although born in York county, where the family is well known. The children of Samuel Mumper were as follows: William located in the West; Levi, of Gettysburg ; Lizzie, wife of Isaac Johns, of Adams coun- ty ; John S., our subject ; Henry, a carpenter ; Mary, wife of William Troxtel, deceased ; and Lewis, of Montana. Samuel Mumper was a Democrat in his political views. In religion he belonged to the Reformed Church.
John S. Mumper was reared on the farm where he was born, and obtained his educa- tion in the country schools. After he grew to manhood, he left the farm, and in 1867 came to Mechanicsburg. Here he worked as a helper in the butcher business while learning the practical details, which, some years later, became of great use to him. On
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Nov. 30. 1873, he married Mary J. May, also of York county. He followed farming in that county until 1876. when he returned to Mechanicsburg, and embarked in a butch- ering business for himself. He started in on a small scale, but through his good manage- ment and honest endeavors to please the pub- lic, prospered from the start. and now has in successful operation two of the best shops in Cumberland county. He has a pleasant home, and his marriage lias been blessed with three children, namely: May, at home ; Mark B., of Chambersburg : and Leon, at home. In politics Mr. Mumper is a stanch Democrat, and he has served most acceptably as one of the councilmen of the borough. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Malta and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Mumper is a self-made man, owing his suc- cess to his own efforts. Honest. temperate and upright. he is a highly respected and valued citizen of Mechanicsburg.
NAILOR. The Nailor family, of Upper Allen township, trace their descent back to Germany. Their forefathers in America set- tled originally in York county, Pa. On the maternal side, the Otto family settled in the same county at the beginning of the eight- teenth century, and the present generation of Nailors comprises the great-great-grand- children of the first Otto who came to America.
Jacob Nailor, the grandfather of the Nailors of whom this sketch treats, was born in York county. His trade was that of car- penter and bridge builder, and his skill was employed in the construction of many bridges which, at that time, were considered great feats of engineering. notably the "camel-back" bridge at Harrisburg. His death occurred at the age of fifty-one years. Jacob Nailor was married twice, first to a
Miss Grissinger, and second to Mary Spren- kle. The children of the first union were : William H. ; Sarah, now deceased, who was the wife of David Gilmore, a farmer resid- ing near Lisburn; Anna Mary, who is the wife of John R. Moore, a farmer near Lis- burn : and Catherine, deceased.
William H. Nailor was born in 1845, near Lisburn, and died in 1897. in Cumber- land county, aged fifty-two years. He was a well-known horse and cattle dealer. He married Elizabeth Otto, a daughter of Chris- tian Otto, the latter now living in Champaign county, Ohio, at the advanced age of ninety years. Elizabeth Otto had three brothers and three sisters, namely: Jacob, Benjamin, James and Frances, all of Ohio; and Katie and Sarah. both deceased.
The children of William H. Nailor and his wife are: Jacob S .; John R., who is a prominent business man of this county; Anna, who is the widow of Amos Baker, and resides on the Baker homestead, near Mechanicsburg: George W., who is also a successful business man in Upper Allen township; Irwin, who married Mabel Coo- ver. daughter of Samuel Coover, and is engaged in the feed business at Harrisburg ; and Charles H. and Edwin E., who are equally prominent with their brothers. These sons of William H. Nailor are all reputable business men, and favorably known through- out Cumberland county.
JACOB S. NAILOR, eldest son in the above family. was born in 1868, in Cumberland county, and after completing a common school course at the Mumma school con- tinued to assist his father on the farm up to the age of twenty-two years. He then spent two years on the Jolin Good farm, but for the last twelve years he has lived on his present place, which consists of 150 acres, and is considered one of the finest farms in
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