USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > Commemorative biographical encyclopedia of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania : containing sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early Scotch-Irish and German settlers. Pt. 1 > Part 38
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-BOAS, WILLIAM DICK, son of Jacob Boas and Sarah Dick, was born September 6, 1803, at Harrisburg, Pa., and died there May 20, 1889. He learned the art of printing with George Getz, of Reading, on the Berks and Schuylkill Herald, and afterwards worked at his profession in Philadelphia, Allentown and Harrisburg. In 1837 he purchased an interest in the Reporter office at Harrisburg, in partnership, first, with Samuel D. Patter- son, and then with William F. Copeland, re- tiring in 1842. During this period he was printer of the journals and bills of the House and Senate. He was cashier and clerk in the State treasurer's department during the administrations of Bickel, Bailey, Magraw and McGrath, about nine years in all ; was a clerk in the surveyor general's office, and four years prothonotary of the county of Dauphin. From 1866 to 1868 he was one of the publishers of the Patriot. Mr. Boas mar-
ried, in 182S, Martha Ingram, born Novem- ber 30, 1SOS; died August 23, 1850, and their children were Margaret Ingram and Emma Elizabeth.
FLEMING, ROBERT JACKSON, son of Samucl Fleming and grandson of Robert Fleming, was born November 16, 1803, in Hanover township, Washington county, Pa .; died December 2, 1874, at Harrisburg, Pa. He received an academical education, and while yet a young man became a teacher and lec- turer on English grammar and on music, and took a trip to the then West, lecturing on his favorite topic. In 1834 he established the coach-making business on an extensive scale at Harrisburg. Pa., and continued it with success until his entire establishment was destroyed by fire, June 15, 1865. He did not resume it. He built at his shop the first eight-wheel passenger car which ran on the Pennsylvania railroad between Columbia and Philadelphia, also the first on the Will- iamsport and Elmira railroad, taking it up the canal on a flat boat. He was appointed notary public in 1861, and held the office until his death, for years doing the business of the Harrisburg National Bank in this official capacity. He was deservedly honored in his adopted city as an upright and enter- prising citizen, a man of intelligence and high moral character, and in the Presby- terian church, of which he was a life-long member, he was one of its elders for twenty years. Mr. Fleming married, June 5, 1845, at McConnellsville, Morgan county, Ohio, Sarah Ann Poor, born January 30, 1814, at York Haven, Pa .; daughter of Charles Mer- rill Poor and Elizabeth (Karg) Roberts ; died in Harrisburg, Pa., at the residence of her son, Samuel W. Fleming, January 7, 1892.
SHEAFER, MICHAEL, son of George Sheafer, was born December 1, 1803, at Halifax, Dau- phin county, Pa. For some years he re- sided in Harrisburg, Pa., and when quite a young man he married Susan Cloud, of Lan- caster county, and made his home in that county a few years. They had issue: Ada- line, married Rev. C. A. Wyeth ; Henry J .; John M., a civil engineer, who died at Selma, Alabama, August 11, 1871; Mary L., mar- ried Theodore D. Irish ; Harriet Matilda, married Joseph Davidson; Lucetta, died June 9, 1837 ; Anne Eliza, married John Thompson ; George T., died November 4,
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1867, at Ashland; and Benjamin Ingersoll. In 1831-32 the Lskens Valley Coal Com- pany was organized, and commenced opera- tions at what was then called "Bear Gap " (now Wiconisco). The company built a large log frame house, and Michael Sheafer moved into it for the purpose of boarding the workmen and entertaining the members of the company. At that time the Upper End (now Lykens, Wieonisco and Williams- town) was one vast wilderness, with a few log huts scattered around. He resided in this place up to the date of his death, No- vember 30, 1849, taking an active part in the development of the coal region. He was one of the contractors in the building of the Lykens Valley railroad, also in the building of the aqueduct and other improvements at the mouth of the Wiconiseo canal feeder. After the first railroad was built from the Gap to Millersburg, he had the contract for the delivery of the coal, floating it across the river at Mount Patrick on the Pennsylvania canal. ITis wife, Susan Sheafer, who was a most estimable Christian woman, died at Harrisburg, Pa., on the 17th of February, 1876. The remains of both rest in Kalmia cemetery, Harrisburg, Pa.
- TILL, JOHN, son of John and Catherine (Miller) Till, was born April 13, 1804, in the district of Kensington, Philadelphia. His parents were natives of Philadelphia, and he was the fourth child of ten sons and one daughter. Like his father, grandfather and most of his relatives, John was brought up a ship builder, learning that trade with the Messrs. Vaughan, of Kensington. In the winter of 1834 he came to Harrisburg to build a boat for W. P. Orrick, of Reading, who was extensively engaged in transporta- tion on the Pennsylvania and Union canals. Returning to Philadelphia after finishing his contract with Mr. Orrick, he entered into partnership with James Main, a ship builder of that city, and removed to Harrisburg in August, 1835, establishing a boatyard at the foot of North street on the canal. At that period boat building was the leading busi- ness at Harrisburg. About 1840, owing to want of proper facilities, the firm purchased a location on the west side of the canal, be- low Mulberry street, where they constructed a large basin connected with the canal on the towpath, over which they built a draw- bridge. At this place they carried on the
building of boats for many years. A large number of the packet boats were built by them. During the winter the packet and other boats of Leech & Co.'s extensive trans- portation hne were repaired, the number filling the basin and the canal from Paxtang street to now Herr street, from one winding bridge to the other. It may be here stated that Messrs. Till & Main constructed on the river bank below Mulberry street, two boats and one schooner for parties in New York City, which were launched in the Susque- hanna during the rise, and floated in the bay. In 1852 the firm erected a saw mill adjoining their boat yard, where they car- ried on a large lumber business. In 1853 Mr. Main died, and for several years Mr. Till conducted the enterprise alone, subse- quently engaging in the coal trade a brief period, when he retired from all business pursuits. He served one term in the old borough council, for sixteen years a mem- ber of the school board, and was elected county treasurer for one term. Mr. Till married, November 6, 1825, Rebecca Rutter, of Philadelphia, who died May 16. 1871, at the age of sixty-five years. Their surviving children are: William B., Rebecca, who married G. L. Suttie, of New York, and Mary E., who married David C. Burnite, of Harrisburg.
- WEIR, JAMES WALLACE, youngest son of Samuel and Mary (Wallace) Weir, was born August 9, 1805, at Harrisburg, Pa. He re- ceived a good education, excelled as a scholar and his taste for study and reading drew him toward the printing office. He learned the art with John S. Wiestling, and after his apprenticeship spent some time in the printing-house of the Messrs. Jolmson, of Philadelphia. On November 26, 1833, hav- ing been chosen teller of the Harrisburg Bank, he accepted that position, holding it until October 30, 1844, when he was chosen cashier of the bank. When the institution became a national bank in 1874, he was unanimously elected its cashier, which office he held until his death, which occurred at Harrisburg, March 14, 1878, having been connected with the bank for over forty-four years. As a bank officer and financier he gained an enviable distinction for his uni- form courtesy and for ability of the highest order. Few bankers in the Commonwealth can present a record equal to his in years of
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serviee, in successful administration of affairs through financial trouble, and for such rigid honesty. He was gifted with rare social qualities and a graceful wit, which made him one of the most companionable of men. To the poor and lowly he was always a kind and true friend and his charities, though not ostentatious, were made with a free and open hand. His literary taste and ability were of a high order, and he frequently wrote for the press. He was the author of several religious tracts, published by, the American Sunday-school Union. In 1838 appeared a small volume, "Manual of Prayer," which was published with an in- troduction by Rev. Albert Barnes, of Phila- delphia. In 1854, "The Closet Companion" appeared, and passed through several edi- tions. In the Presbyterian church, of which he was many years an elder, as in every walk and pursuit in life, he was active, en- ergetie, consistent, pure in character, and lofty in purpose.
SMULLER, GEORGE, son of John Smuller (1780-1840) and Susanna Shirtz (1782-1864), was born October 7, 1805, at Jonestown, Leb- anon county, Pa. He acquired a fair Eng- lish education in the schools of his day, and in early life followed the occupation of a tailor. He subsequently beeanie extensively
engaged in the lumber business with the Union Canal Company and a contractor in the publie works of the State. He was after- wards appointed collector of tolls in a Union canal at Middletown, a position he filled many years, resigning in 1857, when he was elected president of the Middletown Bank. As first officer of that institution Mr. Smuller won for himself the highest confi- dence in the community, which he retained down to the close of his busy and active life. He died at Middletown on August 19, 1882, aged almost seventy-seven years. Few men stood higher in the community than he. His life was characterized by great goodness of heart and true nobleness of soul, which won for him the love and esteem of his fellow- men and neighbors. Mr. Smuller married Caroline Fisher, daughter of Dr. Karl and Mary Fisher, of Middletown, born 1805 at Middletown ; died January 5, 1870. Their children were : Lehman, d. s. p., Mary, Eliz- abeth, married George F. Mish, M. D., Annie G., married Henry J. Meily, Ellen, married David G. Swartz, of Chicago, and Caroline.
RUTHERFORD, JOHN BRISBAN, son of Sam- uel Rutherford, was born on the 28th of Nov- ember, 1805, in Swatara township, Dauphin county, Pa .; died on the 10th of October, 1892, on the farm where he was born. Being the only surviving son, he succeeded to the farm property of his father upon his death, November 26, 1833, and made farm- ing his main business through life. In early manhood, Mr. Rutherford was elected captain of the Dauphin cavalry, hence his military title. He was active in politics, and was elected member of the Legislature on the Whig ticket in 1848, and re-elected in 1849. In -1857 he was elected to the State Senate for three years, on the Republi- can ticket. He was treasurer of the Penn- sylvania State Agricultural Society for a long time-elected in 1864 and served twenty- five years. Mr. Rutherford was identified with the various offices in his township, and in old Paxtang church was a ruling elder. He married, March 19, 1833, Keziah Parke, died July 2, 1885; daughter of Col. James Parke, of Parkesburg, Chester county, Pa.
DOUGHERTY, PHILIP, son of Dennis and Catherine (Maginty) Dougherty, was born March 24, 1806, near Middletown, Dauphin county, Pa. His father came to America from Ireland about 1805, and settled in Derry township, not far from Middletown, where he died about 1824. His wife, whom he married in Ireland, died about 1845, in Harrisburg. Their children were Mary, who married Hugh Dougherty, and John, both born in Ireland; Philip, the subject of this sketeh, James, Catherine, who married Edward Sweeny, Dennis, Charles, Hugh, and Daniel. From the age of eighteen Philip Dougherty was busily engaged as a contrac- tor on canals and railroads, and was largely engaged in the construction of important publie works, such as the Pennsylvania canal, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, Del- aware and Raritan canal, Union canal, Lehigh canal, Northern Central railroad, New York and Erie railroad, Camden and Amboy railroad, and the Dauphin and Sus-
quehanna railroad. He continued in the business until February, 1853, when he was chosen president of the Mechanics' Bank of Harrisburg, organized at that time, a position which he filled until his death, which occurred at Harrisburg, February 3, 1865, in his fifty-ninth year. He was also a director of the Northern Central railroad, the Mid-
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dletown Bank and the Harrisburg Gas Com- pany, of which he was one of the founders. Mr. Dougherty was very successful in busi- ness, combining great energy and force of character with quick perception, sound judg- ment and strict integrity. He dispensed a liberal hospitality to his many friends, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of his fel- low-citizens. Of a warm and generous nature, his feelings, impulses and actions were of an elevated character, and his friendship per- manent, strong and useful. He was ever ready to aid the deserving and relieve the unfortunate, and in all respeets was a valued member of the community. Mr. Dougherty married, June 10, 1833, at New Brunswick, N. J., Mary W., daughter of John and Rebecca (Whiteside) Clark. Mrs. Dougherty was born 1813. Their children who reached maturity were James Dennis, who graduated at Georgetown College, class of 1857, was a lawyer by profession, and a captain of artil- lery during the Rebellion, and colonel on the staff of Governor Packer, of Pennsyl- vania, and died April 2, 1878; William E., for many years engaged in the banking busi- ness in Harrisburg, and later resident elerk of the United States Senate, at Washington, D. C., and Mary F., who married Bernard J. McGrann, contractor and banker, of Lancas- ter, Pa.
- MOOREHEAD, GEN. JAMES K., of Pittsburgh, died March 6, 1884. He was born in Hali- fax, Dauphin county, seventy-eight years ago, and after obtaining a good business education began a connection with the pub- lie improvement of the State, which was only severed by his death. When only twenty-two years old he was appointed super- intendent of the Juniata branch of the Penn- sylvania eanal. Heafterwards established the Pioneer Passenger Packet Line, running be- tween Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. In 1839 he was appointed adjutant general of the State, but declined the office. In 1858 General Moorehead was elected to Congress by the Republicans of the Twenty-first Congres- sional distriet, and retained that position until 1869, when he refused to be again a candidate. During the last three terms of his service in Congress he was chairman of the committee on manufactures, and a men- ber of the ways and means and on naval affairs. The Moorehead tariff bill was for- mulated and reported by a sub-committee of which General Moorehead was chairman, and
in its main features remained the tariff law until the last revision. At the time of his death General Moorehead was president of the Chamber of Commerce and also of the Monongahela Navigation Company.
LOOMIS, ANTHONY WAYNE, eldest son of Ashbel Loomis and Mary. Scott, was born April 11, 1806, at Alstead, N. II. The Loomis family in America is descended from Joseph Loomis, who emigrated from Braintree, county Essex, England, in 1638. and settled at Windsor, Conn. One of his descendants was Eleazer Loomis, who mar- ried Jemima Crandall and removed from Tolland, Conn., to Alstead, N. H., in 1783. He died March 17, 1822, and his wife in April, 1838, at Alstead. Their son, Ashbel Loomis, born September 16, 1779, married Sarah Scott, daughter of Capt. William Scott, one of the first settlers of Petersbor- ough, N. H. Captain Scott was born in May, 1733, in Townsend, Mass .; served in the French and Indian war from 1756 to 1758 in Canada ; was in the war of the Rev- olution, and after the peace of 1783 was a government surveyor on the Western lakes. He died in Litehfield, September 19, 1796, from sickness caused by exposure in his sur- veying expeditions. Ashbel Loomis died August 31, 1824, and his wife, Sarah Seott, September 10, 1841. They had four chil- dren : Anthony Wayne, William, Nancy, married Horace Hamblit, and Mary, mar- ried Lewis Slader. Anthony W. Loomis came to Pennsylvania in 1827, and began teaching. He first taught a writing school at Liverpool, and next year at Harrisburg. He subsequently engaged in the lumber trade near the foot of Berry's mountain (now the Wieonisco eanal site), and afterwards turned his attention to farming. In 1844 he established the Halifax Herald, which he edited and published about two years, when he began merchandising, lumbering and farming until his death, which occurred at Halifax, August 4, 1864. He was an expert penman, having learned the art under the best masters in Boston, and for a third of a century was one of the leading business men in the region of Halifax. Mr. Loomis was twice married ; first, June 3, 1835, to Maria Brubaker, of Halifax, born March 5, 1814, died May 28, 1843, daughter of Joseph and Barbara Brubaker, and there was issue : Albert Scott, Daniel Brubaker, Barbara Ann, and William Anthony ; secondly, April 2,
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1844, to Mary Murray, of Middletown, born March 14, 181S, daughter of Francis Murray and Margaret Snyder, and there was issue : Francis Murray, Charles Cass, George Otis, Walter Jefferson, Sarah Margaret, and Mary Agnes.
ROSS, ROBERT JAMES, son of Andrew Ross, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, who came to America about 1800, and his wife, Hannah Templin, of Chester county Pa., was born at Georgetown, D. C., in 1807. He received a good English and classical education and was appointed by President John Quincy Adams midshipman in the United States navy August, 1826, and subsequently pro- moted for meritorious conduct and services. Shortly after his marriage he resigned and was appointed teller in the Branch Bank of Pennsylvania, at Harrisburg, then under the cashiership of James Lesley. In 1839 he was tendered the position of cashier in the Harrisburg Savings Institution, which he ac- cepted, and when this corporation became the Dauphin Deposit Bank he remained its cashier until his death. Mr. Ross died at Harrisburg October 6, 1861. He was enter- prising and successful in business and stood high in financial circles. He married, in 1833, Mary E., daughter of Jacob M. Halde- man and Eliza Ewing Jacobs, who died at Harrisburg in 1873, aged fifty-nine years. They had children : Jacob H., d. s. p., An- drew, Jacob Haldeman, Eliza, Hannah, mar- ried Colonel Reno, United States army, Roberta, married J. Wilson Orth, and Robert.
JOHNSON, OVID FRAZER, was born in the year 1807, in the Valley of Wyoming, near the town of Wilkes-Barre; died February, 1854, in Washington, D. C. He was de- scended from some of the carly settlers of that historical locality. His paternal grand- father, the Rev. Jacob Jolinson, was a su- perior linguist and man of rich education and culture; a. graduate of Yale College, he took his degree as early as 1740, with dis- tinguished honor. In 1778 he was called from his home in Connecticut to reside in Wilkes-Barre. After that terrible event, the massacre of Wyoming, lic assisted Colonel Dennison with his advice and influence, in protecting the inhabitants that remained, and the original articles of capitulation were in the proper handwriting of Mr. Johnson. In quite a lengthy biography, written of him in the year 1836 by the
historian of Wyoming, Charles Miner, ap- pears this: " When the Revolutionary war broke out, Mr. Johnson took his stand early and firmly in behalf of freedom. And through the whole contest he rendered the utmost service in his power, which, from his learning, talents, and the respect he commanded, was very considerable. A son, born while the animated discussions preced- ing the Revolution were going on and the elder Pitt was thundering his anathemas against ministers for their tyrannous con- duct to the Colonies, Mr. Johnson named Je- hoiada Pitt. . . Jehoiada is sometime since deceased, but a son of his with heredi- tary genius is winning his way to enviable distinction." The latter is the subject of this sketch. At the close of his early educa- tion, in which he had as school and class- mates many who afterwards rose to posi- tions of eminence and distinction, he com- menced the study of law with John N. Conyngham, of Wilkes-Barre, afterwards Judge Conyngham. He was duly admitted to the bar and entered into the practice of the law at that place. In 1833 he removed to Harrisburg, and there married. In 1839, at the carly age of thirty-two years, his talent secured for him the appointment as attorney general of Pennsylvania. In 1842, his term of office having expired, he was re- appointed and served through a second term until 1845. As an orator, Mr. John- son was brilliant; as a lawyer, he had su- perior abilities, and somewhat of a wide- known reputation, being frequently em- ployed to try cases in different States of the Union. It may be here remarked that, in addition to Mr. Johnson's legal ability, he had a high reputation as a political writer. Ile was the author of the celebrated " Gov- ernor's Letters," published during the admin- istration of Governor Ritner, and which purported to give the ludicrous side to the political characters then figuring in the politics of the State. Mr. Johnson married Jane Alricks, daughter of James Alricks. She was born in 180S at Oakland Mills, in Lost Creek Valley, now Juniata county, Pa., and died December 21, 1891, at Harrisburg, Pa. Of their children, Ovid Frazer Johnson is a prominent lawyer at the Philadelphia bar.
- BUEHLER, WILLIAM, son of George Buchler and Maria Nagle, was born in the year 1808, at Erie, Pa. Ilis father removed from Erie
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to Harrisburg in 1813, and died at that place in 1816. When a young man, the son went to Chambersburg, where he learned the mercantile trade. He subsequently removed to Philadelphia, where he was engaged as a merchant in the hardware business. He re- turned to Harrisburg about December, 1848, and took charge of the Buehler House which had been conducted by the family since 1818. Here he remained several years when he embarked in the insurance business, then comparatively in its infancy, and became State agent for the insurance company of North America. The result was the establish- ment of one of the largest insurance depart- ments in the State, successfully and reliably carried on until his death. It was not alone in the business walks of life that Mr. Buehler was widely known and esteemed. For many years he was a prominent and active mem- ber of the Protestant Episcopal Church ; was warden of St. Stephen's church, and the superintendent of its Sunday-school for a long period. He represented his church in different dioceses to which he belonged, and took an earnest part in all questions that arose therein relating to the extension and prosperity of the church. From the organiza- tion of the diocese of Central Pennsylvania until his decease, he had been the treasurer thereof, a most responsible position, and by his good judgment, liberality and kindness, did much to advance the financial interests of the new diocese. He was identified with the successful establishment of the Home of the Friendless, the City Hospital, and a member and officer of the Harrisburg Benev- olent Society which has done so much to relieve the poor and needy of the city. In every organized effort for public charity he took an active part, contributing and counsel- ing, and working with his own hands to promote good works in others. But his in- dividual charities were the most character- istie of the man, for it was by these that " he established for himself a brotherhood with men which made his name blessed among them." He died suddenly at Harrisburg on Sunday morning, June 12, 18S1, aged seventy- three years. Mr. Buehler married, May 17, 1831, at Chambersburg, Pa., Henrietta R. Snyder. Their children were: Anna, mar- ried Robert A. Lamberton, LL. D .; Elizabeth, married, first, Charles Hammond, secondly, H. Stanly Goodwin ; Catharine, married Capt. George Ramsey, U. S. A .; Dr. Henry B., William, and Edward.
-KEPNER, WILLIAM HI., son of Samuel Kepner and Sarah -, was born in 1810, in Bern township, Berks county, Pa. Ilis father was a millwright, came to Harrisburg in 1823, and erected the first steam flour mill in the neighborhood of Harrisburg. William H. adopted the business and trade of his father, and at the death of the latter continued the business, acquiring an exten- sive reputation in this and adjoining States for the superior quality of his millstones. For a period of twenty years Mr. Kepner filled various prominent positions in the municipal affairs of the borough and the city. He served several terms in the old town council, and upon the amendment of the borough charter was elected the council- man-at-large. He was elected the first mayor of the city of Harrisburg, an office he filled with becoming dignity. He was at one time the Democratic candidate for associate judge of the county, and although his party were greatly in the minority, came within a small vote of an election. He was one of the or- ganizers and president of the Harrisburg Fire Association. In all public positions he was faithful to his trust, and conscientiously exercised the authority reposed in his hands. In the city of his adoption he took a large and liberal interest in its growth and general prosperity. He died January 18, 1871, at Harrisburg, aged sixty years. Mr. Kepner married, in 1842, Cassandra Loucks, daughter of George Loucks (1786-1849) and Susan Weltzhoffer (1795-1842), of York county, Pa., and their surviving children are George L. and Ida J., married O. P. Good, of Har- risburg.
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