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 84
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Fillmore Maust was born at Shepherds- town, where he continued to live until he reached man's estate. His early experiences were those of the average boy of the neigh- borhood. In the public schools he sat un- der the instruction of D. K. Noell, A. T. Palm, S. P. Goodyear, and other famous teachers of that day and section. When seventeen years of age he entered the Cum- berland Valley State Normal School, and was a member of the first class graduated from that institution. After graduation he taught in the public schools of Upper Allen township for six years. Then, deciding upon the law for his profession, he entered upon the study of it under the instruction of W. H. Sponsler, Esq., of New Bloom- field, Perry county, and was admitted to practice in that county in December, 1881. He began practicing in the Perry county courts, but concluding to return to his na- tive county, he in 1883 was admitted to the Bar of Cumberland county and began prac- ticing in Carlisle, where he has studiously applied himself ever since, and made steady progress in the various lines of his pro- fession.
Politically, Mr. Maust is a Republican, and he has done much to promote the best
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interests of his party. In 1884 he was made chairman of the Republican county com- mittee, and helped to elect the Republican candidate for President Judge. This suc- cess gave him prestige for organization and political management, and he was contin- uted as chairman for three years, when he voluntarily relinquished the incumbency to give his exclusive attention to his profes- sion. In 1889 he became the Republican nominee for the office of District Attorney, and notwithstanding the strong Democratic bias of the county was elected by a majority of 274 votes. His term in the office of Dis- trict Attorney was marked by the amount and character of its work, there being two trials for murder, and an important trial for cruelty to a child, besides many other cases involving much labor and careful in- terpretation of the law. In 1894 he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Judge, in which he was not successful, but made a very creditable showing before the convention. In 1896 he was elected a repre- sentative in the Lower House of the State Legislature, with a Democratic colleague. While in the Legislature he followed a con- servative course, but on political questions acted with the reform element in his party, representing, as he believed, the dominant sentiment of his constituents. Among the work that gave him prominence in the Legis- lature was his advocacy of an "act authoriz- ing grand and petit juries to dispose of the costs in certain criminal cases," which he originated and pushed to successful passage. He was again nominated to the Legislature in 1898, but by that time the tide in Cum- berland county had set against his party, and he was defeated. Since then he has in a measure withdrawn from active participa- tion in politics and devoted himself to his growing law business. However, he has
kept up his interest in public affairs, is in sympathy with the people, and is frequently mentioned as a fit man for high public posi- tion.
On March 19, 1885, Fillmore Maust was married, by Rev. W. R. H. Deatrich, pastor of the Reformed Church of Mechanicsburg, to Elizabeth Jane Sechrist, who was a daughter of Dr. Adam B. and Sarah Ann (McClure) Sechrist, her father being a son of Adam and Mary (Cavanaugh) Sechrist, of Upper Allen township, and her mother a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Kunkle) McClure, of near Mechanicsburg. Dr. Sechrist for many years practiced medi- cine in Upper Allen township, but in his later years removed to Mechanicsburg, where he died Nov. 19, 1889. A short time after his marriage Mr. Maust built himself a house on North Hanover street, Carlisle, where he and his wife began housekeeping in the fall of 1885, and where they have ever since resided. They have had two chil- dren: Mary Sechrist, born Jan. 18, 1888, and Sarah Frances, born April 24, 1891, who with their parents, and the aged grand- mother, Sarah Ann Sechrist, comprise the family who live in the pleasant home at No. 509 North Hanover street, Carlisle.
GEORGE W. NOFTSKER, senior member of the firm of Noftsker & Gish, manufacturers of carriages, buggies and medicine wagons, at Shippensburg, Pa., was born' Aug. 24, 1859, in the borough of Shippensburg, son of Henry and Barbara Ann (Tritt) Noftsker.
Henry Noftsker, Sr., grandfather of George W .. belonged to a pioneer family of Franklin county. The Noftskers trace their family back to the old country and have the genealogy quite complete with the ex- ception of one link.
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Henry Noftsker was a native of Penn- sylvania, born in the Cumberland valley, near the line of Franklin and Cumberland counties, March 29, 1820. By trade he was a plasterer, which vocation he followed until within a short time of his death, which took place in Shippensburg, in 1895. In politics, he was a Democrat. He married Barbara Ann Tritt, who was born Sept. 29. 1823, in Southampton township, Cumberland Co., daughter of John and Catharine (Line) Tritt, old residents and prominent citizens. The Tritts descended from the Huguenots who were driven out of France on account of religious belief, and the first of the fam- ily to settle in America probably made Lan- caster county, Pa., his home, and from him have come the numerous families of the name in this part of the State. John Tritt was born in Cumberland county, one of twelve sons born to his parents.
To Henry and Barbara Ann Noftsker were born ten children, viz: John T., of Rock Island, Ill. ; Sarah C., now Mrs. M. L. Markward; Mary, who died in her sixteenth year : Emma J., who died in 1901; William H., of St. Louis, Mo .; David E., of Rock Island, Ill. : George W .; Luther G., of Ship- pensburg : Ella, unmarried; and Ada S., who died in infancy.
George W. Noftsker was educated in the public schools of Shippensburg, and later attended one term at the Cumberland Valley State Normal School. After completing his education, he entered the employ of the firm of Thrush, Perlett & Stough, manu- facturers of carriages and wagons, with whom he learned the carriage-making trade. After completing his apprenticeship, he con- tinued with the firm for three years and six months. In 1884 he started into business on his own account, and in January, 1885,
he formed a partnership with John Newton Gish, and they began the manufacture of carriages, buggies and small light vehicles. Their shop and factory is located on the corner of Orange and Fayette streets, where improved machinery is used, and twelve men are employed. Their products show not only the highest artistic skill, but superior finish and durability. They have a very large local trade, supplying many of the neighboring towns.
On March 23, 1882, Mr. Noftsker was married to Annie May Foglesonger, of Shippensburg, daughter of George W. and Catherine ( Black) Foglesonger. The Fogle- songers are among the pioneer settlers of both Cumberland and Franklin counties. Mrs. Nottsker was born, reared and edu- cated in Shippensburg. The two children of this marriage are: Paul B., who is a graduate of the Shippensburg High School, and a student in the Cumberland Valley State Normal School; and Claire T., a stu- dent in the High School.
In politics, Mr. Nottsker is a Democrat and in 1890 he was elected chief burgess of Shippensburg, the term then being one year. In the spring of 1903 he was elected a mem- ber of the school board for a term of three years, all his public services having been of a character to redound to his credit. Fra- ternally, he belongs to Shippensburg Lodge. No. 90, I. O. O. F., also to the Encamp- ment, No. 34, has passed all the chairs, and has served as Grand Chief Patriarch. He belongs also to the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp 6599.
Mr. Noftsker has a neat residence on East Orange street, Shippensburg, in which he has his private office, and also that of secretary of the Centennial Mutual Fire In- surance Company of Cumberland and
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Franklin counties, having held this position since 1902. Both he and wife are members of the Memorial Lutheran Church.
PETER D. HENDRICKS (deceased). Among the stirring and enterprising men who made the present Shippensburg, Pa .. possible, was one man, now deceased, Peter D. Hendricks, born in Shippensburg town- ship, and died in 1879. During his active life which continued to his death, Mr. Hen- dricks earned and retained the confidence of his fellow citizens, and his loss was univer- sally mourned.
James Hendricks, father of Peter, was a native of the Keystone State, as was his wife, Catherine Bowers. After his marriage he settled in Southampton township, this county, where he engaged in the shoe busi- ness, and continued successfully to pursue that occupation until his death.
The late Peter D. Hendricks received an excellent common school education, and made good use of it all his life. Until he was seventeen he assisted his father upon the farm, but at that age he commenced learning the trade of a shoemaker. Com- pleting his apprenticeship, he worked for a time as a journeyman, and then commenced business for himself, opening a small shoe store in Shippensburg, and, as business in- creased, he enlarged his stock, in a few years enjoying a very steady and profitable trade. By honest dealings, courteous treat- ment and the carrying of the best stock only, he built up an enviable reputation, and continued in the boot and shoe business until his demise. He was a strong Republican, always taking a lively interest in local, coun- ty and state politics. In his habits he was temperate, sober and industrious, and he ever proved a kind and thoughtful husband and indulgent father.
In 1843, Mr. Hendricks was united in marriage with Miss Amanda C. Trone, sec- ond daughter of George and Susan (Carl) Trone. Three boys and two girls were born of this marriage : Levi D., deceased; Amelia J .. deceased: Susan Catherine, deceased ; William Rankin; and George Albert.
Of the above children, William Rankin Hendricks was educated in the schools of Shippensburg, and after leaving school, he learned the trade of printer in the Newes office. Completing his apprenticeship, he went to Hummelstown, and while young in experience, and limited as to means, estab- lished the Hummelstown Sun, as editor and proprietor, which paper is neatly printed and most ably edited. It has a large cir- culation, and is now on a substantial and paying basis. He has been editor and pro- prietor of this paper for a period of thirty years. Mr. Hendricks married Miss Emma Hummel, of Hummelstown, and they have three children: W. Homer, a student at Lehigh University; Ethel, a teacher; and Rush McLean, at home with his parents.
The youngest in the family of Peter D. Hendricks, George Albert Hendricks, was graduated from the Millersville Normal School. After this he read medicine, and was in due time graduated from the Michi- gan University at Ann Arbor, receiving the degree of M. D. He then became assistant professor of Anatomy at the University of Michigan, which he filled most creditably for eight years, when he took charge of the same science in the University of Minne- sota. While thus engaged in 1899, he died. and the world of science lost one of its most promising students, a man enthusiastic and progressive, and devoted to his work. He married a Miss Mary Pattison of New Brunswick, N. J.
Mrs. Amanda (Trone) Hendricks,
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widow of the late Peter D. Hendricks, is still living. although quite advanced in years. She enjoys fair health, and possesses all her faculties, being a very remarkable lady. She is a member of the Union Brethren Church, to which Mr. Hendricks also belonged, and in which he took a deep interest. As she looks back over her long and useful life, it is the pleasure of the venerable widow, to reflect upon the many excellent qualities of her husband, and nothing delights her more than to hear his just praise from the lips of those who knew and appreciated this ex- cellent man. The business block in which his store was located. he erected, in addition to several others. and these with his busi- ness itself, and other properties, left her in very comfortable circumstances. She is deeply respected throughout the borough of Shippensburg, where she is now peacefully residing, and her name is connected with many private charities. as well as with the good work of the church.
ZACHARIAS BASEHORE, one of the prominent, substantial and representa- tive citizens of Hopewell township, was born in 1840 in North Middleton township, Cum- berland county, son of William Basehore. His paternal grandfather early located in Lancaster county. where he followed farm- ing and reared two sons, William and David.
William Basehore. father of our sub- ject, was born in Lancaster county, and came to North Middleton township, Cumberland county, where he followed his trade of shoe- making. He married Susannah Orris, who was one of a numerous family, her brother; and sisters being as follows: John, Chris- topher,. George B., Zacharias, Margaret, Sarah, Maria, Catherine and Elizabeth. Both parents of our subject died in Frank-
ford township, and are buried at the Stone Church. William Basehore and his wife lived quiet, uneventful lives, respected and beloved by all who knew them. Their chil- dren were: Zacharias; Isaac, a prosperous farmer in Missouri, where he married; Isaiah, who died in infancy; Maria, who married George B. Drawbaugh, and is liv- ing at Carlisle, where her husband is a me- chanic, and they have these children, Adda, William, Effie, Florence, Maud and Emma.
Zacharias Basehore attended the public schools of Frankford and Mifflin townships, but only in the winter seasons, for at the age of nine years he had to begin to support himself. He went first to his uncle, Chris- topher Orris, and spent a year on his farm in North Middleton township, and then went with Jacob Hoover. His contract with Mr. Hoover called for board, clothing and schooling. This he received after a faslı- ion, and remained with him until he was fourteen years of age, when he was pre- sented with a suit of clothes. He had but poor school advantages, and has mainly taught himself. The death of his mother, at this time, made him feel very forlorn. Mr. Basehore remembers that the first money he ever received for work was from Jacob Nickey, who paid him $5 a month for six months, and this sum probably looked much larger to him than $100 would at the present time. He then hired for one summer to James Logan, in Frankford township, and to John Perry and Peter Der- rick, in Mifflin township.
In 1861 Mr. Basehore married Sarah Christlub, daughter of Jacob and Jane Ann ( Myers) Christlub of Mifflin township. Her father died at the age of ninety-six years, and her mother at the age of fifty years, and both were buried at Newville. . Their children were: Samuel, Jane, Anna,
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Elizabeth, Nancy, Sarah (wife of our sub- ject). David, Levina, and Levi and Ellen (twins).
After his marriage, Mr. Basehore lo- cated on the old John Ahl farm in Mifflin township, and was living there when he was drafted for the Civil war, in 1862. He sent a substitute after spending a month in Cham- bersburg under Capt. Walker, of Carlisle. After his return to Mifflin township, he con- tinued to farm there for four years, spent one year engaged in the butchering business, and then returned to farming for the next three years.
When Mr. Basehore came to Hopewell township. he located on the old John Car- son farm, which he operated for eleven years, and at the death of J. C. Carson and the settlement of the estate he bought this fine piece of property, including 100 acres of excellent land, and the improvements which are of a substantial character he has made himself. He has continued to live on this farm, which he has made one of the most profitable and best cultivated in the township.
Mr. Basehore has this family of children, all of whom are well and favorably known through this section : George, a prosperous farmer in Illinois, married Mary Hilde- brand; Mira J. is the wife of Daniel Mow- ery, a farmer in Mifflin township; Sarah Ellen is the wife of George Laughlin, a farmer of Hopewell township; Laura Jen- nie is the wife of David Foglesonger, at Waynesboro, Pa., a commercial traveler ; Jolın C., a farmer in Hopewell township, married Mabel G. McGaw; Jacob, a farmer in Illinois, married Elizabeth Church; Eliz- abeth, a Normal School graduate, has been teaching school in Bucks county for the past four years; and William is with the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company, at Harrisburg.
Mr. Basehore has always been prom- inently identified with the Democratic party, and has held many of the local offices, sery- ing as assessor for nine years, school director for twenty years, member of the election board, and jury commissioner. His terin as the latter expired in April, 1904, but he is still serving as assessor, having been re- elected to that office in the current year.
Mr. Basehore and family belong among the leading members of the Reformed Church of Zion, in which he is very deeply interested, and of which he has been a dea- con many years. He is one of the truly rep- resentative men of the township, useful. honest, capable and upright.
JAMES ANDREW STEESE. The family from whom the subject of this sketch descended came from Europe in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and settled in Pennsylvania, the great-grandfather being Jacob Stiess, whose son Jacob Stiess, the grandfather of our subject, married Barbara Fisler, also of Pennsylvania. Barbara Fis- ler was a daughter of Ulrich and Madaline Fisler, who also were of German descent. This Jacob Stiess lived most of his life near Harrisburg in Dauphin county, and in course of time the spelling of his name was changed to Stees or Steese.
Jacob and Barbara (Fisler) Steese had twelve sons and four daughters. The most prominent and active members of this large family were the three sons, Isaac, Daniel and Jacob; and the daughter, Esther. The Jacob Steese of this generation belonged to the Lutheran Church, but on the formation of the Church of God some of his children united with that denomination. One of these was Isaac, who became a preacher in that church, and a zealous worker in the Master's cause. He lived nearly all his days
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in the city of Harrisburg and its vicinity. Daniel also joined the Church of God, be- came an earnest student of the Bible and a local preacher. Esther married George At- tick, who was a wagon maker. He settled in Cumberland county, and for a while car- ried on the business of wagon making at Whorleystown. Monroe township. While George Attick lived at Whorleystown Dan- iel Steese came to him to learn the trade, and while serving his apprenticeship became acquainted with Sarah Morrett, whom he afterward married. Sarah Morrett was a daughter of Michael and Catharine ( Young) Morrett, both of whom were natives of Cumberland county. Michael Morrett was a son of Hartman and Gertrude Morrett; and Catharine Young, a daughter of Mat- thias and Maria Gertrude (Geyer) Young. Michael Morrett died in 1840; his wife. died in 1847, and their remains, and also the re- mains of the parents of both, are buried in the old graveyard at Churchtown. Daniel and Sarah (Morrett) Steese had the fol- lowing family: Francis Fisler, Mardocheus Fillmore, Samuel Morrett, Daniel Reuben, James Andrew, Mary Esther, and Margaret Catharine. Francis Fisler Steese, the oldest son, on Jan. 27, 1864, at eighteen years of age, enlisted as a private in Company A, 20th Pennsylvania Cavalry, was captured by the Confederates and died in Anderson- ville prison Oct. 12, 1864. His grave is No. 10,808.
James Andrew Steese, the fifth of these children and the subject of this sketch, was born at Plainfield, Cumberland county, Oct. 14, 1857. As soon as he reached the proper age he was sent to the public schools and in them got all the scholastic training he ever received. Of the teachers of his youth he vividly recalls Miss Kate Gleim, Rev. John Hinkle, Miss Lide Fleming, John Mason
Duncan and S. P. Goodyear. When he reached his eighteenth year his parents lived in Mt. Holly Springs, and he obtained em- ployment in the office of the Mt. Holly Pa- per Company as assistant bookkeeper, and has been connected with that company from that time down to the present. From as- sistant bookkeeper he rose to the position of chief clerk, and later became a stock holder in the company. In 1881 he was made di- rector, and has been a member of the board of directors ever since. In 1900 he was elected president of the company, a position he is holding now. He also has long been secretary of the Mt. Holly Stationery and Printing Company, another of the manufac- turing enterprises of his town. In politics, he is a Republican. and much interested in public affairs, local, State or National. He has been a member of the Mt. Holly Springs school board for many years, and treasurer of the Cumberland County School Directors' Association since its organization. He also belongs to the Pennsylvania State Educa- tional Association. He is a member of the class of 1887, of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, and a stockholder in the Pennsylvania Chautauqua. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, also a member of the Knights of Pythias and member of several other fraternal organizations.
In 1881 James A. Steese married Miss Anna L. Schaeffer, daughter of Charles W. and Martha (Zug) Schaeffer, of South Middleton township, and to them five chil- dren have been born, viz .: James Gordon, Jolin Zug, Charles Mullin, Sophia May- berry and George Morrett. James G., the oldest son, graduated from Dickinson Col- lege in 1901, and is now a cadet in West Point Military Academy; John Z., the sec- ond son, is a member of the Junior class at Dickinson College; Charles M. is a member
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of the Sophomore class at Dickinson; and Sophia is a graduate, and George M. a stu- dent, of the Mt. Holly high school. Mr. Steese and family affiliate with the Metho- dist Episcopal Church of Mt. Holly Springs, of which church Mr. Steese is a trustee. He is teacher of the Bible class in the Sun- day school of this church, and has been treasurer of the Sunday school for twenty- five years.
JACOB L. SCHOCH, M. D., a promi- nent medical practitioner and highly es- teemed citizen of Shippensburg, was born May 14, 1843, at Mt. Carroll, Ill., a son of Michael P. `and Caroline E. (Buehler) Schoch.
Michael P. Schoch was born in 1812, at Newmanstown, Pa., where he was reared to manhood, after which he went to Ken- tucky, where he became interested in an iron business with Mr. Buckner. Some years later he came to Big Pond Furnace, six miles east of Shippensburg, where his father, M. P. Schoch, was financially inter- ested. After severing his connection here, and giving some years to the settling of the well known Martin estate, he went to Vir- ginia, during the Civil War, making the visit in the hope of securing a government contract. Later he located in Lawrence county, Ky., engaged in the coal and salt business and was later at Catlettsburg where he carried on a mercantile business on the Big Sandy River, this being a large depot for supplying miners and a large back- woods tributary territory. Mr. Schoch was a man of continual business activity and he next went to West Virginia and bought an interest in a gristmill and in an oil business, continuing to operate both for some years. In 1869 he returned to Pennsylvania and located at Carlisle until he had settled up
his father's estate, when he removed to Shippensburg, where he died in 1898.
The mother of Dr. Schoch was born and reared in Kentucky, and died in 1903, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Charles F. Hanna, at Baltimore, Md. She was well known in Shippensburg, it having been her custom for years to spend her summers in this city, at the home of her son. The sur- viving members of her family are: Mrs. Hanna, of Penmore Park, Baltimore, whose husband has been cashier at the Baltimore Custom House for years; Floyd, of St. Louis; Edward of Fort Worth, Texas; and Jacob L. Her remains were laid by the side of her husband and son in the family burial plot in the Spring Hill cemetery.
Dr. Schoch had the privilege of being educated at a private school at Catlettsburg, Ky., after which he entered the employ of William Heeley, in the steamboat business, running from Cincinnati to Charleston, W. Va., and then to Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1863 he went to Baltimore, and read medicine with Dr. John W. Dunbar during that and the succeeding year, and then took a medical course of two years at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa., in 1870 gradu- ating from the medical department of the University of Maryland, at Baltimore. In the same year he located at Shippensburg, where he engaged in practice for five years. He was then called by the Texas Railway, through the Graham Young Company, in connection with the location at Waxaha- chie, on Chambers Creek, intending to locate later at Fort Worth, Texas, but owing to the illness of his daughter was called East. Dr. Schoch returned to Shippensburg in 1878 and resumed practice in company with Dr. William Nevin, and in the succeeding years has built up a very satisfactory patron- age. He is a man of much ability in his
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