USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 15
USA > Pennsylvania > Centre County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 15
USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 15
USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 15
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Prof. Hughes is naturally interested in all the questions of the day, and while not an active worker in politics is an influential supporter of the principles of the Republican party.
The old homestead of the Hughes family is situated on Cape May, and the Professor's pa- ternal grandfather, Jacob Hughes, was born there. He married Ann Lawrence (daughter of Rev. Daniel Lawrence), a lady of English de- scent. Their son, James R. Hughes (our sub- ject's father), was born in New Jersey, and spent his life at the old home on Cape May, where, having been carefully educated at Bridgeton, N. J., he followed teaching in connection with agricultural pursuits. He and his wife, Eliza Eldridge, had twelve children, as follows: (1) Jeremiah, a merchant (now deceased); (2) Ann (Mrs. Downs Foster), who died at Cape May; (3) Daniel L., a Presbyterian minister at Cape May; (4) Joseph E., a merchant at Cape May and associate judge of the court there; (5) Will- iam, who died in infancy; (6) Harriet, wife of Rev. Mr. Oakley, a Presbyterian minister; (7) James P., our subject; (8) Hannah, Mrs. Will- iam McMin (deceased), formerly of Altoona, Penn .; (9) Mary (Mrs. A. Fletcher); (10) Emma, wife of Rev. John Roberts, a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church; (11) Amelia, who married Rev. John Kershaw, a Presbyterian minister; and (12) Jacob, who is also a well-known preacher in the Presbyterian Church.
B ELLEFONTE ACADEMY .* Among the first settlers of what is now Centre county. Were many persons of intelligence and culture. who fully appreciated the importance of educa- tion, and desired to establish some plan by which the youth of the vicinity-those of their own day and after generations-would be insured a liberal course of instruction.
None were more desirous to accomplish this end than James Dunlop and James Harris, pro- of
1 .. Andrew 1.1 22. Jan Potter eaf Putter tout
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Jan Fueron, Matthew Allison, James Boyd tof Bald F .. .
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
prietors of the town and the owners at that time (1800) of the land on which Bellefonte is located. When Centre county was organized by Act of February 13, 1800, these gentlemen granted to Andrew Gregg, William Swanzy and Robert Boggs, as trustees of the new county, certain "lots and lands in and adjoining the town of Bellefonte," one-fourth of the proceeds of which was to be used for the erection and support of an academy or public school in said county.
By the Act incorporating " Bellefonte Acad- emy," approved January 8, 1805, the lands de- signed especially for educational purposes were transferred to the control of the board of trustees of that institution. In accordance with the re- quirements of the Act of incorporation, the trus- tees held their first meeting at the house of Ben- jamin Patton, in Bellefonte, on the first Monday of May, 1805. By Act of January 9, 1806, two thousand dollars were granted to the Academy out of the State treasury for the erection of a building, one provision of said Act being that "a number of poor children, not exceeding six, were to be educated gratis, but no such child should be taught longer than two years."
The first principal of the Academy was Rev. Henry R. Wilson. He remained in charge till October, 1809, when he was transferred to the Presbytery of Carlisle. He was succeeded as principal by the Rev. James Linn (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume), who was installed pastor at Bellefonte, April, 1810, and about the same time entered upon the duties of principal. During all his active years in Belle- fonte he exercised a watchful care over the school and labored continually to promote its interests. For many years he was president of the board of trustees. After Dr. Linn, as a regular principal, came Chamberlain, who is spoken of, by one who knew him well, as a fine scholar and an estimable man. After him came Robert Baird, who taught from the summer of 1818 to the fall of 1819, when he entered Princeton Theological Seminary. Another of the early principals was Rev. J. B. McCarrel. He was a member of the Associate Reformed Church. Most of the teach- ers of the Academy were of the Presbyterian faith, though the institution was not, as some suppose, under the especial control of that denom- ination. It always was, and still is, free from so called sectarianism, and open to all religions. The reason assigned for the Presbyterian com- plexion of the institution is, that the leading and most active educational spirits of the early times in Centre county were of that belief.
The title to the land on which the Academy is situated was not vested in the trustees till June
12, 1823, when by deed of James Harris, the surviving proprietor of the town, and Nancy his wife, the title to the property was formally vested in the Academy corporation. Col. James Dunlop, the other proprietor, interested in this educational project, had died on September 15, 1821. A full settlement for proceeds from sale of lots had previously been made by the proprie- tors of the town with Jos. B. Shugert and John Benner, then commissioners of the county, on the 27th of April, 1816; there having then been paid to the commissioners the final balance of $2,716.38, a copy of which receipt is still "in hand." This project, represented in this settle- ment, was thus finally completed by this convey- ance of the property.
In October, 1824, Prof. Alfred Armstrong, a graduate of Dickinson College, became principal. At the time he assumed control there were but twelve pupils in attendance. The trustees at the beginning of Prof. Armstrong's principalship were Rev. James Linn, John Lowrey, Andrew Gregg, Sr., Thomas Burnside, Charles Huston, Hamilton Humes, John Norris, William Potter, John Blanchard and Franklin Smith, none of whom are now living. The next in order as prin- cipal seems to have been William E. Hamilton, but, as was the case with a number of Prof. Armstrong's successors, he occupied the position but a short time. John Livingston, perhaps, taught longer than any other. Like two at least of his predecessors, he was a graduate of Dickin- son College. He entered upon his duties as principal in 1837, and continued to faithfully dis- charge them till 1845, when, owing to ill-health he was compelled to sever his connection with the institution, and not long after died. On September 28, 1846, John Philips was employed as principal. He was probably also a graduate of Dickinson College, as he was recommended to the board of trustees by Prof. - William H. Allen of that institution. Philips resigned September 4, 1847, when an invitation was extended to the former principal, Prof. Alfred Armstrong, to again take charge of the Academy, which he did, continuing several years. Rev. Mr. Pratt also acted as principal for several years.
During the early history of the Academy it appears to have been attended only by boys- there being no female department, and the co- education of the sexes seems not to have been adopted. There were times, however, during a temporary suspension of the Academy proper. when classes of young ladies were taught in the building by various teachers, among them Dr. Linn. About 1840 or '45 an additional building was erected adjoining the original structure, and
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occupied for a number of years as a "Female Seminary," under the control of a distinct and separate board of trustees.
At a meeting of the trustees of the Academy, held in 1852, Samuel Linn, James T. Hale and James Armor were appointed a committee "to take into consideration the propriety and expedi- ency of uniting the two boards of the Academy and Female Seminary, and of using the building as a high school in connection with the public schools of this borough, and that they be instructed to correspond with such persons as they may choose in Carlisle and Philadelphia for the pur- pose of becoming acquainted with the high-school system adopted in those places." At a subse- quent meeting this committee reported as follows: " That they have conferred with the board of trustees of the Female Seminary, and they express a willingness to surrender their rights, on condi- tion that the Academy board pay the outstanding indebtedness of the Seminary; and thereupon re- solved that the said committee be authorized and instructed to accept the proposition made by the Seminary board, provided the said indebtedness be specified by the trustees of the Female Semin- ary, and does not exceed one hundred and fifty dollars." It seems that the above terms proved to be satisfactory, for in a short time the Acad- emy trustees had possession of the Seminary building, and thereafter conducted a co-educa- tional school within its walls. For a number of years after 1854 the Academy, as a classical in- stitution, was not in operation, the buildings be- ing used for public and select school purposes. In 1868 the trustees of the Academy again took possession of the buildings, and at a meeting held March 23d of that year elected the Rev. J. P. Hughes principal.
Besides the principals already mentioned as having had charge of the Academy at different times, there were quite a number of others who served in that capacity but short periods, or merely conducted English schools when the Acad- emy was not in operation.
On the 10th of November, 1874, a reunion of the pupils of the Academy was held in Bellefonte, it being the fiftieth anniversary of the institution. In an address delivered by Prof. Armstrong on that occasion, he gave the following description of the school room as it was when he took charge of it in 1824: ** A room of moderate dimensions, with four windows, two facing the town on the east and two on the west toward the spring. The furniture -- a few pine benches and two heavy oaken tables, sufficiently large for eight or ten boys to sit around each. These old-fashioned school desks bore the marks of sharp knives if
not the sharp wits of preceding generations of youth. They were fearfully hacked from end to end, but the hardness of the material and thick- ness of the planks resisted the desolations of the knives and the ravages of years. There they stood through my time and perhaps long after. * * * A heavy old six-plated stove standing in the middle of the room, and a hickory broom in the corner, completed the accommodations of this classic apartment." In regard to the branches taught at that time, Mr. Armstrong said: " For three years or more, nothing was taught in the Academy, save sometimes a little mathematics, but the classic authors. It was Latin in the morning, and Latin and Greek in the afternoon; it was Latin and Greek on Monday, and Greek and Latin on Tuesday. Wednesday brought the same studies and Thursday the same. And Fri- day, what a blessed." repetition day," as it was called-a review of the whole week's previous study.
The present principal is Rev. J. P. Hughes, who assumed the principalship in 1868 with fif- teen pupils in attendance. The thoroughness of the work done immediately attracted many stu- dents to the school, necessitating improvements for their accommodation. In 1872 the facilities were further increased by the erection of a large brick dormitory. In 1892 the increasing interest in the institution demanded a thorough renova- tion of the school rooms, and the erection of a private residence for the Principal and his family, to which demand the trustees responded most cheerfully and fittingly. In the summer and fall of 1897 the trustees again were called upon to afford larger accommodations, the application for rooms coming from students from far and near. And again, equal to the occasion as they always had been, they fitted up several more rooms in an unused section of the main school building, furnishing every convenience of steam heat, etc., for every room, and making the Acad- emy in every particular one of the most attract- ive and comfortable institutions to be found anywhere.
The buildings, rooms and furniture of Belle- fonte Academy of to-day, as compared with the small buildings, single room, and *accommoda- tions, of fifty years ago, present a most striking and pleasing contrast. As Latin and Greek con- stituted the principal studies of Prof. Armstrong's pupils, so they are yet, under Mr. Hughes, daily pursued, together with the Friday's reviews, to which have been added other branches, both useful and ornamental. Until September, 1876, the sexes were educated together under' Mr. Hughes; at that time they were placed in sepa-
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rate apartments with a lady principal in charge of the female department.
During Mr. Hughes' principalship the school has grown from the small class of fifteen to about one hundred scholars, about equally divided be- tween the sexes, and a corps of five assistants. Many of the pupils prepared by Mr. Hughes are taking high rank in some of the leading colleges of the country. In the year 1895 James R. Hughes, a graduate of Princeton College, be- came associate principal of the institution.
The location of the academy is most beauti- ful, and the wisdom of those who placed it there cannot be too highly commended. Affording, as it does, a fine view of the entire town, and a large scope of the surrounding country, it is essentially attractive and desirable. The view to be had from the Academy is beautifully varied-the town lying below and encircling the eminence on which it is built, verdure-covered mountains in the distance, hills and valleys, cleared fields and blocks of woodland, winding streams, snow-white cottages, all spread in panoramic loveliness be- fore the eye. Such a scene, combined with the healthfulness of the climate, the morality and in- telligence of the community in which it is located, the course of training, both intellectual and moral, pursued at Bellefonte Academy, render it a most desirable place for the education of youth.
V VALENTINE. The Valentines of Bellefonte and their connections have descended from early and historic families of the State. The Valentine family is in direct line of descent from Robert Valentine (1), who died in 1651. His wife was Elizabeth Warren, a native of Lambs- town, County Wexford, Ireland, whose death occurred in Ballynocassick in 1695. Their son, George, of Bally Brummel, County Carlow, Ire- land, had a son Thomas, who in 1715 married Mary, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Hooper) Parke, of Battytean, County Carlow, and be- came the progenitor of the family in America. He was born in 1693, and about 1720 came to America, locating in Chester county, Penn. Later he moved into what became Montgomery county of the same State, where his death occurred in 1747. Thomas Parke appears to have been a farmer in Ireland, owning in 1720 land in Balli- leau, Ballaghmore and Coolissnactah. In 1724 he came to America bringing with him his family, and located in the great valley on the west side of what is now Downington, where he had pur- chased 500 acres of land. He died January 31, 1738, and his widow on June 21. 1749. He was
an elder in Caln Meeting, and esteemed by Friends.
Thomas Valentine and family were Friends. and identified with the Kilconnor Monthly Meeting in Ireland. Of their children, Robert, a native of Bally Brummel, Ireland, married, in 1747, Rachel Edge, of Providence, Chester Co., Penn., and his son Robert, born in 1752, married, in 1773, Ann Bond. Robert, the son of the emigrant, became a recommended minister in 1764. and traveled considerably in that capacity, including a visit to Great Britain at the close of the Revolutionary war. John Edge, the maternal grandfather of Rachel Edge, came to the country from St. An- drews, Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, England, and settled in Nether Providence about the year 1685. He was an earnest member of the Society of Friends. He had been subjected to heavy fines and imprisonment in his native county for refusing to act contrary to his con- scientious scruples, and on one occasion had to stand public trial.
From Robert Valentine and Ann Bond came descendants of the name in Centre county. Their children were: Robert married Elizabeth Downing; George married Mary Downing; Sam- uel and Jacob D. died unmarried; Reuben B. married Sarah Downing; Abraham S. married Clarissa Miles; Bond married Lydia Fairlamb; Thomazine married Reuben Miller; and Rachael married Maj. Jonathan Kersley, of Detroit, Mich. Ann Bond was the daughter of Samuel and Thomazine (Downing) Bond, of West White- land, Chester county, and the granddaughter of Joseph Bond, who settled at Bristol, in Bucks county, Penn., in the early part of the eighteenth century; he was a large land owner, and was one of the petitioners for the incorporation of the borough, which was incorporated by letters patent from the Crown, November 14. 1720. Jo- seph Bond and John Hall were the first Bur- gesses of the town. The former represented his county in the Colonial Legislature.
In 1815, Samuel, Jacob D., George, Reuben B., Abram S., and Bond Valentine, sons of Robert and Ann Bond, came from Chester county to Centre county, accompanied by Jacob Thomas, and leased the old Dunlop iron furnace erected by John Dunlop in 1802, and in 1821 purchased it. Mr. Thomas withdrew in 1817. and was succeeded by his son, William A. Thomas. They were all iron-masters, and for years were largely identified with the develop- ment of the iron interests of Centre county. They built additional forges and in 1824 built the first rolling. mill in Centre county. In 1842 they abandoned the old furnace, and built one just
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
outside of the borough of Bellefonte. Many of the sons of these men succeeded them to the business, and some are still connected with it. Referring to these men who built the first Friends Meeting House at Bellefonte, and who by birth were members of the Society, a writer says: "The rise of the Friends Meeting in Bellefonte seems worthy of some notice. It was established by four or five men, who, making no especial profession of religion, yet yielded to a simple ap- prehension of duty, and built a house for the worship of God. All of them became faithful humble followers of the Lord Jesus, and to one of them was committed the ministry of the Gospel of Christ. Friends Meeting is still regularly held in Bellefonte, and is largely composed of the descendants of those who established it."
Of the Valentine brothers who came to Cen- tre county. George, born in East Caln, Septem- ber 1, 1788, died in Bellefonte, July 13, 1857, married Mary Downing, born in Philadelphia, January 22, 1792, died January 27, 1879, issue: (1) Jacob Downing, born at Bellefonte October 4, 1823, died September 16, 1896, in the house in which he was born, it being one of the first houses built in Bellefonte. He was an iron-mas- ter, "upright and honest, and lived in accord- ance with the Quaker faith." He married De- borah Downing, a daughter of Richard and Sarah G. (Mount) Downing, issue: George, Jacob, Louise, Ellen and Robert. (2) Sarah married Dr. George Fox. (3) Eliza married Thomas S. Downing. (4) Reuben B., born in Bellefonte in 1829, where he died in 1871, was an iron-master, and one of the most successful managers of the Valentine Iron Works. He was also engaged extensively in farming, and was a conscientious and upright member of the Soci- ety of Friends. In 1857 he married Mary B. Jacobs, who was born at East Whiteland, Ches- ter Co., Penn., a daughter of Joseph and Ann (Bowen) Jacobs, issue: Mary and Emily (de- ceased); Anna J .; Julia (deceased); and Caroline M. (5) Caroline married Thompson Millikin. (6) George married Emily Jacobs (a sister of Mary B. Jacobs), issue: Jane H., Mary D., Sarah W. and Emily J.
Taking up the history of the Downing fam- ily: Mary Downing (who married George Val- entine) was the direct descendant of Thomas Downing, who was born in Bradninch, in Dev- onshire, England, in 1691, and who, as early as 1718, resided in Chester county, Penn., and from whom descended the numerous families of Downings in that county. For generations the Downings were farmers and millers. Richard Downing, a son of Thomas, married Mary Edge,
and, of their children, Jacob Downing married Sarah Drinker, of Philadelphia, and they became the parents of Mary (Downing) Valentine. A son of Richard, also named Richard, married Sarah G. Mount, and their daughter Deborah became the wife of- Jacob Valentine. Elizabeth Drinker, the grandmother of Mary (Downing) Valentine, kept a diary from 1759 to 1807, which was published in book form in 1889. She was a direct descendant of Philip Drinker (1), who was born in 1597 and died in 1647; came in 1635 from Exeter, England, and settled at Charles- town, Mass. Henry Drinker, the great-great- great-grandson of Philip, the grandfather of Mary Downing, married Elizabeth Sandwith. The latter descended from John Jervis, of Roscoe, Kings county, Ireland, who came to America in 1688, with a son Martyn, and purchased large tracts of land in New Jersey now called Jervis Sound. John Jervis was appointed a justice of the peace of New Jersey. Charles, another son, was court painter to King George II, a corre- spondent of the poet Pope, and translator of "Don Quixote." Henry Drinker was an iron- master and ship owner of Philadelphia; was ar- rested in 1777 and sent to Virginia under pre- tense of hostility to the American cause; he was a member of the common council of Philadel- phia, and a large land owner; he was born in 1734, and died in 1809. The mother of Deb- orah (Downing) Valentine, Sarah G. Mount, was the daughter of James Mount, whose father was Ezekial, the son of Thomas Mount, who came from England and was the owner of the land on which the city of Louisville, Ky., was built. He had many 'slaves, and was a man of wealth.
Referring to the history of the Jacobs family, Mary B. and Emily (Jacobs) Valentine are in di- rect line of descent from John Jacobs (1) (the first of the family in America), who in 1700 settled on a portion of the Vanbibber tract of land in Prov- idence, Philadelphia county. His death oc- curred in 1730. His grandson, John Jacobs (3). was the Speaker of the first General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His brother, Israel, was a member of Congress in 1791, and another brother. Jesse, held a cap- tain's commission and served in the Revolution- ary war, participating in a number of important battles. Ann Bowen, mother of Mary B. and Emily (Jacobs) Valentine, was in direct line of descent from John Bowen (1), of Whiteland. Chester county, who died in 1715. The pa- ternal grandmother of Mary B. and Emily (Ja- cobs) Valentine was Mary Brinton, of Thorn- burg. Delaware Co., Penn., who was . in line from William Brinton (1), of Staffordshire, En-
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
gland, who settled in Concord, Birmingham township, Delaware Co., Penn., in 1684, and was among the earliest converts of George Fox. He bought large tracts of land in Chester county. He was born in 1630, and died in 1700. His son, William, was a member of the Provincial Assembly in 1666, and died in 1751. . Joseph, of Thornbury, Delaware Co., Penn., the son of William (2), was an associate judge of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Provincial Assembly.
Reuben B. Valentine, of the Valentine broth- ers coming to Centre county in 1815, was born in 1793, and died in 1841 ; married Sarah Down- ing (a sister of Mary Downing, the wife of his brother George), born June 17, 1797, died No -. vember 30, 1843, and their children were: (1) Mary married Dr. Elias W. Hale, a wealthy gentleman of influence, of Lewistown, born June 6, 1824. and died February 20, 1892; issue: Sarah, died young, and Ellen, the wife of G. Murray Andrews. (2) George was killed in a rolling-mill at the age of five years. (3) Will- iam Valentine died unmarried.
Abraham S. Valentine, another of the origi- nal brothers locating in Centre county, died Au- nust 29, 1862, aged sixty-eight years; married Clarissa Miles, who died March 3, 1857, aged forty-nine years; was a member of the original firm and the inventor of the ore-washing machine since in general use, the adoption of which effected a revolution in the ore mining of this region. He was possessed of great business ability and foresight (being " a man far ahead of his time "), and it was due largely to his inven- tions and improvements that the Valentine char- coal iron achieved its wide-spread reputation. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion he was one of the liberal contributors to a subscription for the support of the soldiers' families. Two of his sons, Abram and Bond, were in the service for a time. Clarissa Miles, wife of Abram S., was a daughter of Evan Miles, who died May 10, 1838, in his sixty-ninth year, and of Rebecca George (of the family of George's Hill, Phila- delphia), who died July 28, 1845, in her seventy- sixth year; both are buried in the graveyard at Milesburg. Evan Miles was the son of Richard Miles, and the nephew of Col. Samuel Miles, of Revolutionary fame. The latter served as a lieutenant in the expedition to Fort Duquesne; was wounded at Ligonia in an attack made by the French and Indians; commanded a regiment 11 1760, and at the end of the campaign was left in command of the forces at Presque Isle (now Erie), Penn. He commanded a regiment in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington.
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