USA > Pennsylvania > Book of biographies; This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of the Seventeenth congressional district, Pennsylvania > Part 54
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George Williston West, the father of our subject, after the death of his mother, entered the employ of a farmer of Ararat, Pa., when but thirteen years of age. By saving what he could from the small compensation which he received for his services, he accumulated
enough to enable him to enter Becch Woods Academy at the age of nineteen years. After remaining in that institution for one term, he attended Wyoming Academy, which had Leen established but a very short time pre- vious, and there took up the study of sur- veying. He taught school for the following six years after leaving school in what is now Montour County, formerly being included in Columbia County. In 1850 he received the appointment as surveyor of Montour County, and has continuously served in that capacity since. He is considered an authority on lines and boundaries in this section of the state, his work not being confined to the lim- its of Montour County, as he is often called to different counties in Northern and Central Pennsylvania. He is now past eighty years of age, and enjoys the best of health. He is a prominent figure throughout this section and is held in high esteem by a large circle of friends. He owns a residence at No. 212 Pine street, where he has resided for the past few years. He has also served for twenty- four years as clerk for the county commis- sioners. In 1854 he formed a matrimonial al- liance with Catherine A. Kase, a daughter of John Kase of Elysburg, Pa., by whom he had eight children: John, who died in in- fancy; Charles W., a carpenter and painter of Danville; Eleanore Eliza, the wife of Oliver Deihl of Marionville, Pa .; William Kase, a record of whose life appears elsewhere in this Book of Biographies; George M., the man- ager of the gas and electric light plant of Dan- ville; Louise M., who is living at home with her parents: Isaac D., the subject of this personal history; and Catherine, who died in infancy.
Isaac D. West obtained his intellectual training in the public schools of Danville, after which he studied surveying and civil and min-
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
ing engineering with his father. He began teaching school in 1884 and continued for four years, prior to and during which time he was associated in business with his father, learning every detail of such professions, soon building up a fine patronage, making a specialty of mining engineering. He is considered an ex- pert in that line and has done work for most of the prominent coal companies of Central Pennsylvania. He has also made a specialty of real estate and mining laws in both of which he has met with equal success. He re- sides just outside of the borough of Danville's limits, in a very comfortable and commodi- ous residence.
Mr. West was united in marriage in 1890 to Miss M. Pauline Groff, a daughter of the Rev. J. R. Groff of Doylestown, Pa., and they are the happy parents of three children: Elizabeth, deceased; Karl Groff, and Alan De- witt. Socially he is a member of Danville Lodge, No. 224, F. & A. M.
ON JOSEPH GANSEL, who is now living in practical retirement on his farm just beyond the corporate lim- its of the borough of Muncy Valley, has long been a prominent figure in the business and political circles in that section and at one time served as associate judge of Sullivan County. He was born in Mifflin township, Columbia County, Pa., January 4, 1818, and is a son of Gideon and Catherine (Fisher) Gansel.
Adam Gansel, our subject's grandfather, was born in Germany, where he learned the trade of a weaver. He came to America a single man and followed his trade in connec- tion with farming until his death at the age of eighty-seven years. He married Phoebe Bubamoyer, who lived to reach the advanced
age of eighty-two years, and they had the following offspring: John; Gideon; Daniel; Jacob; Susanna; Mary (Polly); Lydia; and Betsey. Mr. Gansel for many years was a resident of Roaring Creek township, Colum- bia County, Pa., where he lived at the time of his death.
Gideon Gansel, the father of our subject, was born in Roaring Creek township and at an early age learned the trade of a shoe- maker which he followed for a time, and then engaged in the mercantile business at Cata- wissa Forge. During the later years of his life he followed the occupation of a farmer. His union with Catherine Fisher resulted in the following issue: Phoebe; John; Joseph; Odadiah; Samuel; Peter; Jacob; David; Sarah; and Rebecca. Mr. Gansel died in 1843 at the age of sixty-four years, and his wife passed away at an age two years younger.
Joseph Gansel, the subject of this record, first attended the German schools and subse- quently the English schools, following farm- ing during the summer months until he was twenty-one years of age. After his marriage at the age of twenty-two years, he learned the trade of a shoemaker, but relinquished it to accept the postmastership of Beaver Val- ley. He was later elected constable and served in that capacity until he engaged in the manufacture of shoes at Foundryville, Pa., also clerking in a store while residing there. He was elected assessor of Briarcreek town- ship, Columbia County, and served as justice of the peace for a period of five years. In 1851 he moved to Dushore, Sullivan County, where he engaged in the general merchandise business during the following nine years, or until he was elected sheriff of the county in 1860, when he located at Laporte. He served as sheriff for three years and three months, after which he bought a tract of land in La-
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
porte township which he cleared and supplied with new buildings. There he successfully followed farming for several years, but dis- posed of the farm to Mr. Phillip, its pres- ent owner, when he was elected associate judge. He filled that office in a highly satis- factory manner for one term and three months, when he moved to Muncy Valley and accepted a position as superintendent of the bark peeling business in connection with D. T. Stevens & Son's tannery. Four years later he built the Pennington Hotel. a tem- perance house, and conducted it with excel- lent judgment until 1894, establishing a good reputation as a landlord. He also owned and conducted a stage line from Muncy Valley to Eagle's Mere, using four and five teams daily during the summer season to convey passengers. He also hauled provisions and building materials, employing on an average from ten to fourteen teams. Before the establishment of a railroad system between these points the thoroughfare was extensively used and at all times presented a lively ap- pearance. He disposed of his hotel in 1894 and purchased a house and three lots com- prising six acres adjoining the borough. He erected his present modern home on one of the vacant lots and now lives practically re- tired. He is well known throughout the county and has many friends who esteem him highly.
Mr. Gansel married Polly Michael, a daugh- ter of Adam Michael of Beaver township, Co- lumbia County, and they had two children: Catherine, who died at the age of twelve years: and Mary, whose union with Mathias Trough has been blessed with three children, Charles, Joseph, and Harvey. Mrs. Gansel died three and one-half years after her mar- riage, and Mr. Gansel formed a second mari- tal union with Mary Anman. a daughter of
John Anman, of Catawissa township, and they are the parents of nine children: Sarah Ma- tilda, the wife of John Sperry, by whom she has four children, Charles, William, Roy, and Lizzie: Clementine D., the wife of Murray Henry of Philadelphia; James, a mason by trade, who married Emma Culley; John, a mason of Laporte, whose wife was Annie Keller: Charles D., who was a teacher, died at the age of twenty-two years; Carrie, the wife of Walter Pardo, who has four children. Lee, Clarence. Lottie. and Opal: William, a resident of Laporte, who married Effie Swich- er: George L., a master of mathematics who lives at home: and Jessie, the wife of Samuel Eddy of Sonestown. Politically Mr. Gansel has always been an active supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He is a good speaker: he has served as delegate to the constitutional convention and has held many minor offices. Religiously our subject has always been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and has served as trustee, steward, superintendent of the Sunday School and as a class-leader. Socially he is a char- ter member of the Bushore and Laporte lodges of the Odd Fellows and is past master. In 1894 he was asked to serve in a very diffi- cult capacity for the Trust Company tan- neries, to estimate the amount of bark on 11,000 acres of timberland, having as assist- ants in this undertaking a surveyor and an- other. It took from October 2d to Decem- ber 25th, and they covered from eight to sixteen miles per day. besides the amount of riding which they did. Mr. Gansel completed the work to the satisfaction of the company.
ZARIAH CAMPBELL. a most re- spected resident of Shamokin. and a member of one of the oldest families in Northumberland County, is a son of John
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
K. and Catherine (Wilhour) Campbell. He was born June II, 1842, at the family home- stead in the Irish Valley, where his grand- father settled when the section was wild and comparatively uninhabited country, and was only traversed by the Shamohokin tribe of In- dians.
The grandfather of our subject, Daniel Campbell, was a native of New Jersey in which state he was born in 1775. He re- moved to this state, making the journey from New Jersey by wagon-train enduring cheer- fully the severe experiences of the early set- tlers of Pennsylvania who plunged through the woods, fought Indians and tediously, but hopefully, sought new and more inviting fields. Mr. Campbell settled on what is known as Shamokin Creek, purchasing a tract of land for which he paid sixty-two cents an acre and cleared a farm in the midst of the woods. He followed farming and also his trade as a wheelwright. He subsequently re- moved to a site opposite Trevorton, where he cleared a farm and also worked as a wheel- wright. He died in 1862. Daniel Campbell was known as an enthusiastic and intrepid hunter, pursuit of game being his favorite pastime when he could relinquish his work. The section abounded in game and he de- lighted in trailing the panther and bear, fac- ing the vicious wildcat, cornering the foxy wolf or entrapping the deer which were plen- tiful.
It was on the homestead opposite Trevor- ton that the father of our subject, John K., was born. He obtained the limited education which was possible in the well-remembered "subscription school" which was then in vogue, consequently his educational resources were confined within narrow limits when he entered manhood and prepared to make his own way in life. He worked on the home-
stead farm until about thirty-one years old when he removed to Jefferson County where he remained five years, then returning to Shamokin, in April, 1855, where he since has resided, following various occupations, prin- cipally the building of coal-breakers in the mining regions. Mr. Campbell was united in matrimony to Catherine, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Miller) Wilhour, and to them were born seven children, our subject being the eldest. Of these the second, Eliza- beth, is the wife of E. P. Foulke of Shamo- kin; George W. was killed in 1873 while employed on the Pennsylvania Railroad; Will- iam R. is an engineer and resides at Van Wert, Ohio; Samuel B. is in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Shamokin and has been in the service of the company for thirteen years; Jane is the widow of Frank Bickert and resides in Shamokin; and Harriet, who is the wife of J. J. Gillespie of Shamokin.
Our subject, Azariah Campbell, followed farming on the homestead practically all the time until August 13, 1862, when he re- sponded to the nine-months' call and enlisted in Company C, 13Ist Reg., Penna. Vol. Inf. He re-enlisted in 1864 in Company C., 103d Reg., Penna. Vol. Inf., and served until the end of the Rebellion. Our subject partici- pated in many of the most important and severe battles of the war, including Antietam and Chancellorsville, and at the battle of Fredericksburg he marvelously escaped death -finding after the fight ended that thirteen bullets had passed through his uniform, leav- ing ragged holes as reminders that he had been in the thickest of the scrimmage.
On his return to Shamokin at the close of the war Mr. Campbell was variously employed until 1880 when he engaged in the huckster- ing business and subsequently opened a store which he now conducts. Politically our sub-
JESSE L. BEAVER.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
ject is a consistent Prohibitionist and has served three years as a councilman and one year as assistant burgess. Possessing strong inclinations religiously, he is a valued mem- ber of the First Methodist Church. On De- cember 23, 1866, Mr. Campbell married Ame- lia E. Hoover and to them have been born several children, including Amy, deceased; Bessie, who was the wife of J. J. Owen and who left a son, Wilfred C .; John J., deceased; and six others who died in their infancy.
ESSE L. BEAVER, superintendent of the Thomas Beaver Free Library of Danville, whose portrait appears on the opposite page, was born in Newport, Perry County, Pa., November 1, 1850, and is a son of Jesse and Mary Ann (Swartz) Beaver, and a grandson of Peter and Elizabeth (Gilbert) Beaver.
Peter Beaver, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany, and was the first of the Beaver family to locate in America, having settled in Lebanon County, Pa., in 1755. Rev. Peter Beaver, Jr., the grandfather of our subject, was born in Franklin County, Pa., December 25, 1782, was ordained in 1809 by Bishop Asbury of the Methodist Church at Elkton, Md., and served in the pulpit until his death, which occurred in 1849. He was united in marriage with Elizabeth Gilbert, who died in 1818. They were the parents of the following children: George; Samuel; Ja- cob; James A .; Jesse, the father of our sub- ject; Thomas; Peter; Sarah; Eliza; Cath- erine; and Mary.
Thomas Beaver, our subject's uncle, was born in Pfout's Valley, Perry County, Pa., November 16, 1814, and at the age of thirteen
years began working on a farm at a salary of $2.50 per month; later he clerked in a store until 1833, when, in partnership with Peter Nevins, he began merchandising at Lewis- burg, Pa. In 1835 he sold his interest in the store and worked for J. & T. Beaver of Mil- lerstown, Pa. In 1857 he moved to Danville to take charge of the Montour Tron Works, of which he was a large stockholder. He was the owner of considerable property in Dan- ville, including the Beaver Mansion, situated at the foot of Baldhead Mound, which is one of the most beautiful residences of Montour County, and is surrounded by a beautiful and well-kept lawn and shrubberies. In 1886 Mr. Beaver donated to the town of Danville, as a memorial to himself and wife, the handsome Library and Y. M. C. A. building at the cor- ner of Market and Ferry streets, where the old Danville Hotel was situated. It is now known as the Thomas Beaver Free Library and Y. M. C. A., and was erected at a cost of $195,000, and the corner-stone was laid July 5, 1886. The building has forty-eight feet frontage on Market street and seventy- eight feet on Ferry street; it is built of Ohio gray-stone, with granite trimmings and Scotch granite columns. The first floor is laid with marble tiling, and on this floor are the ladies' and men's parlors and reading- rooms, superintendent's office and library proper, an open two-story room with six al- coves on each floor, and which is filled with 1,300 volumes of selected books. Miss Mollie Wentzel is librarian, a position she probably may hold as long as she chooses. On the sec- ond floor is the reception room, game room and the trustees' room; and on the third floor are the sewing and art rooms. The building is of hard-wood finish, heated throughout by steam heat, and lighted by gas. Mr. Beaver also left an endowment of $50,000 for the
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
maintenance of this handsome library and Y. M. C. A. building. The officers are: Samuel .A. York, president; W. M. Gearhart, secre- tary; B. R. Gearhart, treasurer; Miss Mollie Wentzel, librarian; and Jesse L. Beaver, su- perintendent. The trustees are: J. Sweisfort, William J. Baldy, W. E. Gosh, F. M. Har- rington, W. E. Lunger, Lewis Rodenhoper, Capt. Joseph Johnson, Samuel Goldsmith, Frank Derr. John Pesper, and W. F. McCor- mick. Mr. Beaver also bequeathed $30,000 to the Dickinson College of Danville.
Jesse Beaver, the father of our subject, was born March 8, 18II, and served an appren- ticeship to the printer's trade during his boy- hood days, and later clerked in his father's store. He then opened a general store in Perry County, which he conducted until 1857, when he sold out and moved to Union Coun- ty, where he conducted a like store. In 1863 he removed to Danville and successfully en- gaged in the coal business for many years, and then retired from the active duties of life. Mr. Beaver was an active politician, a shrewd busi- ness man, and was held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens. He owned a handsome double brick house on Market street, now the property of D. Bright, and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1891. In 1833 he was united in marriage with Mary Ann Swartz, a daughter of Dr. Christian Swartz, and she died in 1891, at the age of seventy-six years. They reared and educated the follow- ing children: Maggie, the wife of John Kra- mer; Theodore, a prominent attorney-at-law, residing at Niles, Mich .; Jennie, wife of Wil- liam Gearhart; Charles, a resident of Jackson- ville, Fla .; Marion, who is the wife of John Gaskins; Thomas, who resides at Harrisburg, Pa .; Clara; Jesse L., our subject; Emma, who wedded John Roate; and John, a promi- nent real estate man of Danville.
Jesse L. Beaver, upon completing his educa- tion in the public schools, learned the trade of a tinner, which business he followed some sev- en years, and then engaged in agriculture with his brother Thomas. In 1886 he was appointed superintendent of the Thomas Beaver Free Library and Y. M. C. A., which position he has continued to hold up to the present time. He was joined in marriage with Anna Thom- son, a daughter of Egbert Thomson, and they are the parents of five children: J. Belle, Laura, Mary, Josephine, and Sarah. In po- litical affiliations Mr. Beaver is a stanch Re- publican and held the office of assessor of the First Ward of Danville, Pa. In religious be- lief Mrs. Beaver is a member of the Presby- terian Church of Danville. J. Belle, the old- est daughter of our subject, is a member of the Episcopal Church.
REDERICK HENRY KNIGHT is known throughout Northumberland County as one who has grown up with Watsontown, his present home, and who has been the longest engaged in business in that town of any of its residents. Beginning to make his way in the world against odds and under circumstances which would have dis- couraged many with less will-power, the sub- ject of our sketch, by "keeping everlastingly at it," has been very successful, and now is at the head of one of the largest business firms in the county. He comes of Revolutionary fighting stock. He was born in Perry Coun- ty, Pa., and is a son of Richard Knight and a grandson of Richard Knight. His grand- father came to this country from Germany, but he was of Scotch-Irish descent. He first settled on Long Island, subsequently remov- ing to York County. Pa., with his family,
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
where he died upwards of eighty years of age. He was a farmer. He served in the Revo- lutionary War. His children were Richard, Cornelius and George.
Richard Knight, father of our subject, was born on Long Island, N. Y., in 1768. He be- .queathed to his family a record as a patriot, of which his descendants are rightly proud. At the age of eleven years he was overflowing with the stirring patriotism of the period and he did such part as a boy could assume, serv- ing through the War of the Revolution as a drummer-boy. His services were stated in the records detailing the memorable struggles of our forefathers, and to his daughter, Mrs. B. F. Gregory, was presented a handsome medal by the Daughters of the Revolution, commemorating the fact that she is the youngest daughter living at present whose father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Knight forsook his trade, that of tailor, and engaged in business as a general merchant in Harrisburg, Pa. While there he did excel- lent service as a captain of a company of vol- unteers in the War of 1812. He held a large contract on the Pennsylvania Canal when it was built, which contract was performed with fidelity and to the satisfaction of the state. In 1832 Mr. Knight removed to Liverpool, Pa., where he built a hotel and also purchased a large farm, conducting both until his demise, in 1850, his iron constitution and exemplary habits having spanned his lifetime to four score years and over, he being eighty-two years of age at his death. The hotel stood on the site now occupied by the Ouns Hotel in Liverpool. The father of our subject thrice was united in marriage, first to Miss McIrwin, who bore him one child, Abner, deceased. His second marriage was to Sarah, daughter of Henry Berry of Freeburg, Pa., who died at about the age of forty-six years and left sur-
viving her Frederick Henry, the subject of this sketch, and two daughters, Annie M., wife of B. F. Gregory, and Sadie, who married F. A. Reen, two of her children, Delilah and James, being dead. Mrs. Mary Rumbach was the third wife of Mr. Knight, the union resulting in no issue.
Our subject's father died when Frederick was young and he, with the other children, was placed under the care of a guardian, who neglected his duties, in that he did not prop- erly look after the interests of the little ones. Realizing that he must shift for himself, Fred- erick took advantage of every opportunity to improve himself. Endowed with good judg- ment and pluck, at the age of seventeen years he had saved sufficient money to enable him to attend the Freeburg Academy, which he did for one term. Then he taught school for two years, after which he applied his earnings as teacher to paying for a special course of instruction at the Millersville Normal School. He again resumed teaching, which he aban- doned on the breaking out of the Rebellion to enlist in the Union Army, but he was re- jected because he was of small stature. He was determined, however, to serve his nation, and in 1862 he enlisted in Company G, 147th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., as a private. He served to the close of the war and was promoted to cor- poral, sergeant and sergeant-major. At the end of the war Mr. Knight entered business on a small scale in Watsontown as a tinsmith, making a specialty of tin roofing. He was successful and has continuously added to the business until he now is an extensive dealer in general hardware, stoves. house-furnishing goods, oils and paints. He has a fine resi- dence and his store is large. He began busi- ness when Watsontown scarcely was a bor- ough. In politics our subject is a stanch Re- publican. He has served as burgess for three
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
years and as a member of the school board and town council. He and his family are act- ive members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Knight is a prominent member of the G. A. R., a past master of the F. & A. M., past high priest in the R. A. M., and a Knight Tem- plar.
Mr. Knight was married to Annie, daughter of Sim Schoch of New Berlin, Union County, Pa., and to them has been born a son, Harry S. Knight, who is a leading attorney in Sun- bury, Pa.
R. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN GARD- NER, whose equal as an expert manipulator of the surgeon's knife has never been known in Columbia County. has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in the town of Bloomsburg for many years. He has also been in close touch with many enterprises which have not only proven remunerative to him, but have also been of material aid in the advancement of the interests of the town. He received a good education in the schools of the South, after which he took up the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Paul H. Ot- ley, a distinguished surgeon, and later grad- uated from the Medical College of Virginia.
Dr. Gardner received an appointment as surgeon in the Confederate Army upon the breaking out of the Civil War and served faithfully until its close. In 1874, after the country had sufficiently recovered from the effects of the terrible war, he was appointed surgeon in chief of the Alabama & Chat- tanooga Railroad during its construction and administration. He was a member of the North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee. and Pennsylvania medical societies, and of the American Medical Association. He gained greatly in skill while serving as railroad sur-
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