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. 2 > Part 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100
Abraham Mattis was one year old when his parents removed to Mifflin township, where he received his education. His school advantages were limited to his earlier youth, as he did not attend school after his four- teenth year, and even before that time he had done considerable work in his father's store. At the age of fourteen he was put in charge of his father's huckster team and drove to the coal regions of Schuylkill county, forty miles distant, leaving home at two or three o'clock in the morning and making the trip in all kinds of weather. In the ten years during which he had charge of this part of his father's business, he missed only five weeks out of the five hundred and twenty. His father paid him $1,000 for his services prior to reaching his majority and $300 for the last year of his time.
In 1859 Mr. Mattis opened a general store in Elizabethville, Pa., which he conducted until 1865. During 1864-65 he also dealt in live stock, occupying thirty-five days in
bringing a drove from Eric, Pa., to this county. In the fall of 1865 Mr. Mattis sold his store and removed to a farm he had pur- chased and which he occupied for a short time. On January 1, 1866, he went to Phila- delphia and was engaged as salesman by the Reigle & Fister Dry Goods Company. Dur- ing 1866 he sold $70,000 worth of dry goods, receiving $2,000 salary for the year. He was offered $2,500 for the next year, but the busi- ness being injurious to his health he was obliged to decline the offer. He returned to the farm and was again engaged in farming and stock dealing.
In 1869 Mr. Mattis, with three other gen- tlemen, opened the coal mines of Tower City, Pa. He also bought one hundred acres of timber land, constructed a saw mill, and ran a lumber business in connection with the mines, which proved to be the largest in the world. He sold three hundred thousand feet of lumber to the Lebanon Car Company with which to build cars for the Pacific rail- road in California. In the fall of 1873 they sold the mines to the Reading Company, and also the timber land and mill, for which they had cut one hundred and fifty thousand feet of lumber. Mr. Mattis once more re- turned to his farm. In 1872 he was elected a director of the Miners' Deposit Bank of Lykens, and held that position for three years. In the spring of 1886 he disposed of his farm and bought his present place of residence, known as the garden farm of Hal- ifax township. On this farm he has con- ducted a dairy business.
Before 1866 Mr. Mattis was a Republican, but he lost faith in the party when the in- convertible bond bill, the banking act, and reconstruction measures were passed. He then parted company with his party, and has since been an independent voter. He was appointed postmaster of Elizabethville under Abraham Lincoln, for whom he cast his first vote for President. Mr. Mattis never sought office but once. He was once a candidate for sheriff, but was defeated. Mr. Mattis claimed "that money influenced the result, and he could not use money to buy votes, although he had powerful moneyed friends willing to aid him in securing the election. He chose rather to miss the office than to resort to corrupt measures in order to secure it." Mr. Mattis desired to enlist in the army in 1861, but as he was already in Government employ, he could not be ac- cepted. He visited the Antietam battlefield.
:
:
728
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Mr. Mattis was married, in Upper Paxton township, December 19, 1858, to Miss Louisa Mehr, born in that township, January 29, 1841; daughter of George and Catherine (Wilmot) Mehr, natives of France. Mrs. Mattis was born and brought up in the Catholic church, but after her marriage she affiliated with the Lutheran church. Their children are: Catherine, wife of Frederick Shillinger, died in Philadelphia, leaving her husband and two children to mourn her loss; Annie Louisa, wife of Rev. J. H. Mc- Gann, of Lewisburg, Pa., has three children living and two dead ; Laura S., wife of David W. Lurker, Washington township, Dauphin county, has three boys; Ella Hannah, wife of Martin Rapp, a civil engineer of the Santa Fe Railroad Company, resides at Vancouver, Washington; Jennie, wife of William C. Mills, Millersburg, Pa., has no children ; Lottie May, died, aged nine months; George, attending Millersburg high school, seven- teen years of age, and Louisa, at home. The family are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Mattis formerly belonged to the I. O. O. F., at Berrysburg, and of the S. P. K. of Ly- kens; he is a member of the Farmers' Al- liance.
- . BRUBAKER, JOHN R., farmer, was born April 21, 1846, on the farm in Halifax township, Dauphin county, Pa., which he now owns, and which was handed down from his grandfather, Daniel Brubaker. He is a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Rutter) Bru- baker. Daniel Brubaker was born in France, and came to America before his marriage and located at Beaver Creek, Lancaster county, Pa. He came with considerable money, which be invested in a large tract of land, extending from Berry's mountain to Fort Halifax (now the town of Halifax), and later added much more. He also owned the Montgomery Ferry. He was a great lover of fast horses, of which he owned many. He built a race track near Halifax which attracted the attention of horsemen, and was the scene of many notable races. He was considered the greatest sporting man of that day. He was an excellent judge of horses, and was seldom mistaken in his esti- mate of their speed ; consequently he was a successful better, and realized much money from his skill and nerve in backing his favorites. He brought one horse from the West which was the source of much amuse- ment as well as profit to him. This horse
appeared tame and slow before going on the track, but once in the race, he was spirited enough, and easily distanced all competitors in the race. Mr. Brubaker's brothers were among his riders, and two of them lost their lives by accidents on the track ; one by the fall of a horse, and the other by being thrown against a tree, both resulting in in- stant death by broken skull. Mr. Brubaker was a man of character. He was of iron will and dauntless courage. He died on the homestead, and a marble slab marks his grave on the old farm. Parts of his vast landed estate are now probably owned by female descendants. His wife was taken captive by the Indians, and held a long time, but was finally released. The births of three of their children are recorded : Jonathan, father of John R .; Joseph, and Benjamin. This worthy couple probably had other children, of whose birth there is no record. The release of Mrs. Brubaker by the Indians was due to her parents. At that time they had to go to mill by canoe, down the river to the mill near Harrisburg. The county was so infested by Indians that no road was safe. Every farm between Millersburg and Halifax then had its own private burial ground.
Jonathan Brubaker, father of John R., was born on the homestead in Halifax township, December 25, 1801. He was edu- cated in the subscription schools, and be- came an expert in penmanship. He was reared a farmer's boy and became a farmer. Later he engaged largely in the culture and sale of tobacco. Mr. Brubaker was married. in Halifax township, to Elizabeth Rutter, born in Halifax township, May 10, 1811; daughter of Andrew Ruiter. Their only child is John R. The father died in 1848. He was prominent in township affairs, and was highly respected. The mother is still living in Harrisburg, and is now the widow of Benjamin Straw.
John R. Brubaker received his early edu- cation in his native place. In his eighteenth year he entered the Central Evangelical College, New Berlin, Union county, Pa., and finished his course in his nineteenth year. He then returned home, and for the next three years was a fireman on the Northern Central railway. He then took possession of the homestead farm, which was left him by his father, and which, since that date, 1867, he has been engaged in cultivating. Mr. Brubaker was married, in Halifax township,
729
DAUPHIN COUNTY.
March 1, 1867, to Miss Margaret E., daugh- ter of John and Elizabeth (Rutter) Poffen- berger. She was born in Middle Paxton township, Dauphin county, November 8, 1845. They had two children : James G., born November 11, 1868, died March 12, 1895, a farmer, and Harry R., born April 12, 1870, a school teacher of Halifax town- ship. He attended the public schools of this township, and later graduated from the Bloomsburg Normal School, in Columbia county, Pa. Mrs. Brubaker died in Janu- ary, 1894. Mr. Brubaker is a Democrat. He has been assessor for three years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Millersburg.
- MELLIN, DUSTIN FLETCHER, was born in Nashua, then a town in Massachusetts, now in New Hampshire, April 15, 1821. He is a son of Ezra and Sarah (Fletcher) Mellin. The pioneer settler of the Mellin family came to America from England ten years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. He was a clergyman, and located at Dorchester, Mass.
John Mellin, grandfather of D. F. Mellin, was born at Nashua, and lived to the age of ninety-six years. He died at Washington, N. H., where he had been a farmer, and a deacon in the church, both for sixty years. He married a Miss White. Their children were: Annie, Daniel, Ira, Sumner, Francis, Ezra, and two daughters, Susan, twin of Ezra, and Polly, next older than Ezra. By a previous marriage Mr. John Mellin had one son who lived to be one hundred and three years old.
Ezra Mellin was born in Nashua, June 11, 1797 ; he followed various occupations. He was a farmer ; he was a director of the Indian Head Bank, at Nashua, and was one of the original five men who built the Nashua and Lowell railroad. He was also a large dealer in wool. Ezra Mellin died at Nashua, aged fifty-nine years. His wife, Sarah, was born in 1801. They had three children : Sarah, married Franklin Goddard, and lives near Fitchburg, Mass .; Emeline, married Eben Stone, who has been lieutenant governor of Massachusetts for two terms, and member of Congress for two years, residence, Boston, Mass., and Dustin Fletcher.
Dustin Fletcher Mellin was educated in the common schools of his native town. In 1837, being in his sixteenth year, he began to prepare himself at North Chelmsford, Mass.,
for the work of mechanical engineering. He became proficient, and has made this his profession ; for thirty-five years most of his work has been in Massachusetts. For four- teen years he owned the American Machine Works. In 1862 Mr. Mellin started at New York City what was then known as the American Gun Company, of the stock of which he was one-fifth owner, and for which he was manager at a salary of $5,000 per year. He made fifty thousand guns for the United States Government. During the same time he originated the Bridgeport Chemical Works at Bridgeport, Conn., and looked after the business of that concern also. After closing operations in both these places Mr. Mellin started the Connecticut Screw Company, at Hartford, Conn., which he man- aged for one year. After this he came to Dauphin county, Pa., and bought his pres- ent place of residence, then containing two hundred and forty-four acres, now one hun- dred and sixty-eight. He has extensively improved this place.
Mr. Mellin was first married, in Manches- ter, N. H., in 1842, to Miss Nancy Judkins, born in New Hampshire, and one of the five children of Joseph Judkins, a native of Deer- field, N. H. Their children are: Annie Elizabeth, died young ; Ella Maria, deceased, married a Mr. Sullivan; Frank, civil engi- neer for the New York Central railroad, and George, died young. Mr. Mellin was married the second time, in New York City, in 1868, to Miss Rebecca Rose Hain, born in Pine Grove, Schuylkill county, Pa., November 29, 1830 ; daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Keifer) Hain, both natives of Schuylkill! county. Samuel Hain, father of Mrs. Mel- lin, was a shoemaker. He was married in Pine Grove, and later removed to Pottsville, Pa., and thence to Lykens, about 1842. He dicd at the latter place at the age of fifty- two. His wife died at the home of her son- in-law, D. F. Mellin, aged about sixty-seven. Their children are: Rebecca Rose, Mrs. Me !- lin; John, died young ; George, now justice of the peace at Williamstown, Pa., and Mary, widow of Robert G. Steward, residing in Lykens Valley. Mr. Mellin was formerly a Whig, and afterwards became a Republican.
BAKER, HENRY J., was born in Jackson township, Dauphin county, Pa., December 12, 1835. He is a son of Jacob and Polly (Chubb) Baker. The Bakers were originally from Germany. Jacob Baker, grandfather
-
-
730
BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
of Henry J., was a native of Dauphin county ; was married here and reared a family. He died on the home farm on which Henry J. Baker now resides. His wife was a Miss Shultz. Daniel Chubb, maternal grandfather of Mr. Baker, was a soldier throughout the war of 1812.
Jacob Baker, a farmer by occupation, and father of Henry J. Baker, was born in Hali- fax township, Dauphin county, Pa., in 1805. He was married, in Halifax township, to Polly Chubb. Their children were seven girls and four boys: Susan, wife of Peter Minnock; Sarah, wife of Josiah Dempsey ; Catherine, died young; Henry J .; Isaac, farmer in Halifax township; Margaret, widow of Peter Heckrick; Mary, wife George Jury; Jacob, farmer in Middle Paxton town- ship; Mattie, wife of William Bowerman ; Daniel, resides in Harrisburg, and Barbara Ellen, wife of John Kines.
Henry Baker was about six years old when his parents brought him to Halifax town- ship, where he received his education in the common schools. He grew up a farmer boy, and remained at home, attending school some months of cach year, until he was twenty years old. Before he was married his father died, and the care of bringing up his brothers and sisters fell upon Henry.
Mr. Baker was married, in Halifax town- ship, November 19, 1860, to Miss Sarah Stoutsabarger, born in York county, Pa., in 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Baker took up their residence upon the home farm, where they have ever since lived. Their children are : Mary C., died young ; Emma Janc, deceased, wife of George Messer; Annie E, wife of Joseph Straw ; William J., farmer in Hali- fax township; Martha, Henry E., George D., and Sarah A., at home ; Rosie B., died young; and John H., Carrie M., Bertha B., and Min- nie G., all at home.
Mr. Baker is a staunch Republican. He was school director for seven consecutive terms, and has served many other times on the board. He was reared in the faith of the United Brethren church, but does not. at present belong to any sect.
CUMBLER, J. H., station agent at Halifax, Pa., was born in Newport, Perry county, Pa., April 6, 1850; son of William and Elizabeth (Bowman) Cumbler, natives of Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Jacob Kumler (as the name was then spelled), was a farmer in Perry county, where he died. William
Cumbler, father of J. H. Cumbler, was a farmer and merchant in Perry county, Pa. He was married three times. His first wife was a Miss Oren ; their children were : Will- iam, Jacob, Henry, and George; all deceased except George, who is president of the Middle- town and Highspire Street Railroad Com- pany, at Steelton, Pa. The second wife of Mr. Cumbler was Elizabeth Bowman, by whom he had three children : Henry, a farmer in Perry county, Pa .; Elizabeth, wife of a railroad contractor at Seattle, Wash., and J. H. The mother died in 1855. The third Mrs. Cumbler was Isabelle Finton ; she had no children. Mr. Cumbler was a Re- publican and a member of the Church of God.
J. H. Cumbler lived with his parents, first in his native place, Newport, afterwards in New Buffalo, where they removed in 1855, then in Montgomery's Ferry, and then again in Newport; he attended school in all these places. At the age of seventeen his education was far enough advanced for him to become a teacher, and he began to exercise his gifts in that line by teaching two terms. For the next five years he was clerk in the hardware store of J. W. Franklin, at Newport. He was also bookkeeper at Steelton for his brother, and then was in mercantile business for himself for two years. He then removed to Halifax, where he has since resided, and been continuously employed in the Northern Central railway office, first as clerk, and since May 1, 1889, as agent; also, since Sep- tember, 1884, he has been agent for the Adams Express Company. Mr. Cumbler has been a director in the Halifax Bank since 1890, and is a stockholder and director of the Hal- ifax Shoe and Manufacturing Company. He is a charter member of Syrian Commandery, No. 133, A. & I. O. K. M., Millersburg ; also charter member Millersburg Conclave, No. 102, I. O. H .; and a member of P. O. S. of A., Washington Camp, No. 576, of Halifax, Pa. Mr. Cumbler is also a member of the Inter- national Association of Ticket Agents, and in 1890 accompanied his fellow-members to Florida, in 1892 to Canada, and in 1894 to California.
Mr. Cumbler is a Republican; he was elected chief burgess of the town in 1885, and is a member of the school board, in which he is serving his second term. Mr. Cumbler was married, in Halifax, December 25, 1877, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Landis. Three of their four children died in infancy.
731
DAUPHIN COUNTY.
Only their daughter, Margaret, survives. Mr. Cumbler is a member of the Methodist church.
-SAWYER, THOMAS J., was born near Pal- myra, Lebanon county, Pa., February 2, 1828. He is a son of John and Mary (Bell) Sawyer. John Sawyer was born near Pal- myra, October 25, 1779. He was a man of much ability and distinction. He served one term in the State Legislature, and was a soldier all through the war of 1812. He was married, in Lebanon county, in 1810. His wife was the daughter of Samuel and Ann Bell. They had eleven children; of these, John died in Illinois, aged eighty-three years. The remaining children are all de- ceased except Thomas J., and the youngest of the family, Sarah Jane, now Mrs. William Young, of Philadelphia. The father died in Lebanon county in 1836.
Thomas J. Sawyer attended the common schools of his native place for a short time. When he was eight or nine years old his mother and other members of the family re- moved to Centerville, Montgomery county, Chio, ten miles south of Dayton, where he went to school for some years, and where, in his sixteenth year, he taught school one or two terms. About 1848 the family returned to Pennsylvania and settled at what was known as Oak Dale Forge, in Dauphin county, where he taught school two terms. He was a pupil for one term at the Lewis- burg Academy.
About 1850 Mr. Sawyer bought two large farms in Powell's Valley, which were for- merly owned by his father. He sold these farms and for three years was interested in business with his brother at Decatur, Macon county, Ill. He returned to Dauphin county in 1866 or 1867 and bought a farm in Reed and Halifax townships, which he cultivated until he located in Halifax borough in 1872, where he has since resided. Mr. Sawyer recently purchased the old Reed homestead farm, in Reed township, which was handed down to this family by the grandfather, James Reed. This farm consists of two hun- dred acres, and is one of the best cultivated and most productive farms in the township.
Mr. Sawyer was married, in Reed town- ship, June 23, 1863, to Miss Elizabeth M., daughter of William and Clara (Hatfield) Reed, born and reared in Reed township. This township was named for Mrs. Sawyer's father, William Reed ; and his father, James
Reed, was about its first settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer's children are : Henry, Charles, and Martha, all deceased. Mr. Sawyer is a Democrat, but is liberal in his views. He has been justice of the peace for a number of years in Halifax township, and in Powell's Valley for five years. Mr. Sawyer has done much as a surveyor since coming to Halifax. He was baptized in the Presbyterian church.
Judge John Ray is connected with the Sawyer family through the marriage of his brother James H. with Ann Sawyer, eldest sister of Thomas J. Sawyer. Judge Ray was for some time commander of the G. A. R.
Mrs. Sawyer was born in Reed township, February 22, 1835. Her father died Novem- ber 6, 1864, and her mother died in Halifax, May 10, 1880. Of a family of seven chil- dren, three now survive: William, residing in Philadelphia ; Margaret, widow of the late Dr. John O. Whitman, of Halifax, and Mrs. Sawyer.
- FORTENBAUGH, ABRAHAM, merchant, at Halifax, was born in Newberrytown, York county, Pa., August 5, 1838. He is a son of Samuel and Mary E. (Miller) Fortenbaugh. Andrew, the grandfather, was a native of Germany, and came to America with his brother Peter. At Philadelphia they sepa- rated, the latter settling at the foot of Peter's mountain, where he worked at wagon mak- ing and blacksmithing, which occupation he followed all his life. He had a family of eleven sons, and was twice married. After the death of his first wife he went to Ken- tucky, where he married the reputed wife of Daniel Boone. Andrew settled in Newberry- town, York county, and engaged in farming, on a fine place of two hundred acres. He had a family of thirteen children. He died between 1815 and 1820. The father was born in Newberrytown, York county, in 1813. He received his education in the public schools of his native place. He was engaged in butchering nearly all his life. He was one of the first settlers of Goldsboro, York county. He died in Yocumtown, in 1865, and his wife in 1878. They had these children, viz .: Annie, deceased ; Abraham; A. M., Samuel, Mary, Ellen, and five other children, all deceased. The father was a Republican, and took an active part in polit- ical affairs. He served as justice of the peace for more than thirty-five years.
Abraham received a limited education in the public schools, only attending them
732
BIOGRAPHIICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
until twelve years of age, when he began assisting in his father's business. In his eighteenth year he formed a partnership with his father in a general store in Yocum- town, Newberry township, and continued there for nine years. In 1864 he moved to Halifax and opened up his present place of business, in which he has been very suc- cessful. He was married, in Halifax, Janu- ary 30, 1862, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Byrod, a native of Elizabethtown, Lancaster county, and daughter of John and Mary Byrod. Their children are: Seward B., deceased ; Mary E., wife of T. Marthes, attorney-at-law, Springfield, Ill .; Catharine, wife of Prof. Harris J. Ryan, of Cornell University, N. Y .; Samuel B., professor of engineering, Madi- son University, Wisconsin. He is a mem- ber of the Susquehanna Lodge, No. 364, and was formerly a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a Republican, and represented his district in the State Legislature in 1874-75-76. He has served as school director, councilman, and burgess of Halifax He leans toward the Episcopal church.
CRATZER, FRANK B., merchant, Halifax, Pa., was born in Pillow, Dauphin county, Pa., July 2, 1859. He is a son of John and Mary (Bowman) Cratzer. The father's fam- ily consisted of the following children : An- drew Curtin, Atlantic City; Emma; George, Harrisburg ; Frank B .; Mary, wife of H. W. Bottomsted ; Harvey; Harry; Martha, wife of Mr. Spahr, Harrisburg, and Edward. He is a strong Republican and has held several offices. Frank B. received his early educa- tion in the Berrysburg Seminary. He moved from there to Halifax with his par- ents, in 1877, and began clerking in the general store of G. W. Etter, with whom he remained four years. In 1881 he went to Enterline and engaged in mercantile pur- suits for himself. He continued there for twelve years and in 1893 came to Halifax, built a commodious store, above which are his living apartments. He was married, February 24, 1SS1, in Halifax, to Miss An- nie E. Bickel, who was born November 13, 1860, and is a daughter of John H. and Catherine (Bower) Bickel, both natives of Germany. Their children are: Carrie B., born October, 1881; Bertha Edna, born De- cember 28, 1883, and Annie C., born April 20, 1887. In politics Mr. Cratzer is a Repub- lican.
-DITTY, JOSHUA, was born in Liverpool, Perry county, Pa., December 10, 1831. He is a son of Simon and Mary (Brant) Ditty. The grandfather, Henry Ditty, came with his parents from Lancaster county, and set- tled with his parents in Dauphin. He was married to Miss Catharine Miller, and lived to a ripe old age. The father, Simon Ditty, was a native of Washington township, Dau-
phin county. In early life he moved to Liverpool, Perry county, and engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods, until 1854, when he moved to Halifax township. Three years later he moved to Clark's Ferry, Reed township, and served as lock tender and collector. He was accidentally killed by the cars in 1867, and his wife died in 1889, in Duncannon, Pa. Their children are: Sarah Ann, Levi, Joshua, Mary, Rachel, John, William, Catharine, deceased, and Rebecca. Joshua received his education in the public schools of his native place and at Montgom- ery's Ferry. When nineteen years old he began to learn the trade of milling at Bas- kin's mill, Halifax township. After serving an apprenticeship of three years he followed his trade a short time, but owing to an in- jury was compelled to relinquish that busi- ness. He then worked on a farm for a time and next became a boatman on the canal, and continued thus for fourteen years. He then came to Halifax and clerked for his brother-in-law, George Etter. After pur- chasing and residing on a farm for two years, he returned to his former position. He enlisted in company H, One Hundred and Ninety-second regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, and went first to Camp Chase, Ohio, thence to Harper's Ferry and up the Shenandoah Valley. In 1883 Mr. Etter be- came steward at Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pa., which position he retained for four years, when sickness compelled him to resign. He was married, March 13, 1860, to Miss Mary Lebo, who was born in Halifax township, Dauphin county, March 10, 1837, and is a daughter of Jacob and Catharine (Kramer) Lebo. In politics Mr. Ditty is a Republican, and has served as burgess two terms, and is now serving his second term as councilman. He is a member of the United Brethren church and president of the board of trustees.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.