Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 32

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 32
USA > Pennsylvania > Centre County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 32
USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 32
USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 32

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Our subject gives his political support to the Republican party, has been honored with a num- ber of township offices, and served as township auditor several years, but has never aspired to political preferment. His duties of citizenship are faithfully performed, and he is active in the promotion of all interests calculated to prove of public benefit, especially in the matter of schools, in which he takes great interest, being a director of the board; for many years he was overseer of the poor. He is a valued member of the Lick Run Presbyterian Church, of which he is an elder. In his early life he was a strong temper- ance advocate, and was a charter member of the Sons of Temperance Society formed in his town.

J OHN C. STOVER. of Aaronsburg, Centre county, is one of the representative citizens of the county, and his influence is recognized as a helpful factor in all the varied movements which promote the welfare of his locality. His family has been prominent in Penn's Valley from

the earliest times, and is probably more numer- ous at the present day than any other in Centre county.

The first to come to that beautiful and fertile region was Jacob Stover, Sr., our subject's great- great-grandfather, a Huguenot, who was born, about 1715. in Alsace-Lorraine, then a part of France, and came to America with many other persecuted followers of his faith to settle in Lyken's Valley, Dauphin Co., Penn. About 1772 he visited Penn's Valley, and entered a large tract of land in what is now Haines town- ship, Centre county, extending from mountain to mountain. He never resided there but, being well advanced in years, gave the estate to three of his sons, Jacob, Jr., our subject's great-grand- father, taking the northern portion, Adam the southern, and John the central. Another son of this worthy pioneer went to Canada, another, Michael, to Maryland, and (later) another, Fred, located in the eastern part of what is now Haines township, near Woodward. The four who set- tled in Centre county are the ancestors of this prosperous and highly respected family who have always displayed the characteristic thrift, indus- try, independence and uprightness of their fore- fathers, together with a love of nature which has led them to choose almost invariably the calling of agriculture. No member of the family has ever taken a conspicuous part in politics.

During the Revolutionary war several battles were fought in Penn's Valley, and traces of a stockade. which was built on the farm of Adam Stover, were still visible a few years ago. On July 3, 1778, occurred the massacre of Wyoming, in which old men, women and children were brutally slaughtered, and the news of this hor- rible butchering caused a stampede among the settlers on what was then the "frontier," and all fled "down country " for protection, the event being known as the "the big runaway." When the dwellers of Penn's Valley returned to their former homes they found the property in ruins, the only evidence of their occupancy to escape the flames lit by the savages being an apple tree planted some years before at the homestead of Jacob Stover, Jr. This interesting reminder of early days is still standing. In time the settle- ment was rebuilt, and in 1789 Jacob Stover, Jr .. donated seven acres of land for a school site and for the use of the teacher, and thirty acres for a church, parsonage and cemetery. Most of this land is still devoted to these purposes, and the more modern buildings which have taken the place of the original structures are used partly for a school and partly as a chapel for holding funeral services. In the cemetery but few have

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been interred except the members of the Stover family, and prominent among these are Jacob Stover, Jr., and his wife, Anne M. Weaver, the great-grandparents of our subject. Jacob Stover, who was born in 1749 and died in 18-, seems to have been very influential in his day. Of the other three brothers, Fred married Anne Hetzle, and Adam married Pauline Troutner.

Jacob Stover, Jr., had two sons of whom there is especial record. John, jr., passed his life quietly as a farmer at the old homestead, two and a half miles east of Aaronsburg, and is noted as having been the only Whig in the family, all the others having been stanch Democrats. He married Barbara Wolf, and has seven children: (1) George died in Aaronsburg. (2) Eve married George Bright, Sr., of Aaronsburg, and J. W. Bright, whose biography appears elsewhere, is their grandson. (3) John married Miss Cather- ine Brown, and lived on a farm two miles east of Aaronsburg. (4) Henry married Miss Gredle Guiswite, and made his home on a farm north of the same town. (5) Catherine married Adam Harper, a farmer who lived three miles east of Aaronsburg. (6) Thomas, with his wife, Abilene France, occupied the old homestead. (7) Jacob W. married Catherine Yeagley, and resided two miles and a half northeast of Aaronsburg. His son Moses is now a resident of Haines township. All of this family attended the Stover school in youth, and all were Lutherans in religious faith.

Adam Stover, son of Jacob, Jr., and the grandfather of our subject. reared a large family of children, among whom were Michael, now re- siding in Haines township, and Jacob, our sub- ject's father, who married Polly Kersteter, and after spending some years at the old homestead with his parents moved to another farm in the same township. His wife died at the age of sev- enty-four, and was buried in St. Paul's cemetery, but he lived to be over eighty years of age be- fore his remains were laid to rest beside hers. He was six feet, two inches tall, stout in propor- tion, and was active until a short time before his death. Like the rest of the family, he was a successful farmer, and although he voted the Democratic ticket regularly, he was not espe- cially interested in politics. He was a member of the Reformed Church, to which he contributed liberally. Of his twelve children, nine are still living. Elizabeth, widow of David Corman, and Christina, widow of Jacob Bowers, reside in Haines township, Centre county. Harriet died in early womanhood. Benjamin is a resident of Haines township. John C. is mentioned more fully below. William K. is a farmer of Haines township. Julia was taken away in early woman- i

hood. Sally married Jacob Detwiler, of Tus- seyville, Penn. Nellie married Charles Smith, of Haines township. Leonard died in childhood. Lydia married Moses Eby, of Haines township. Susan L. (now Mrs. William Musser) resides in the same locality.

J. C. Stover was born July 18, 1834, and was educated in the schools near his father's farm, his first teacher being Hon. J. G. Meyer. Farm work was done by primitive methods in his boy- hood, and he has spent day and day in "tramp- ping out " wheat. At nineteen he began to learn the blacksmith's trade with Jacob Condo, of Boalsburg, and for two years' work received $50. After completing his apprenticeship he returned home, assisted his father during one summer, and then spent a year as a journeyman black- smith with "Squire" 'Hosterman, of Haines township.

On November 5, 1857. Mr. Stover married Miss Amelia Hosterman, a daughter of John and Polly (Bower) Hosterman. She was born Au- gust 9, 1834, in Haines township, and was edu- cated there, her first teacher being Mercy Hill. At the time of his marriage, Mr. Stover had no capital, save his native abilities, supported by a strong will; but he fearlessly faced his responsi- bilities, and has prospered as he deserved. In the spring of 1858 he bought a blacksmith shop and residence at Aaronsburg from John Guiswite at a cost of $1, 100, borrowing money for the first payment, and there he carried on his trade until March, 1871, when he sold out to settle upon a farm in Haines township. For two years after his removal he followed his trade at the farm, but later devoted his attention exclusively to agricult- ure. In March, 1890, he rented the property and moved to Aaronsburg. His farm consists of seventy-four acres, and he also owns several acres of land adjoining Aaronsburg.

Mr. Stover and his wife have been members of the Reformed Church for more than forty-five years. For fifteen years he held the office of elder. and at present he is a trustee. He has a neat residence in Aaronsburg, and he and Mrs. Stover are socially prominent. They have had seven children: (1) Clara V., formerly a suc- cessful teacher, married John A. Grenoble, of Spring Mills, and has five children-Charley E., Margaret A., William, Roberd R. and Anna M. (2) Tamma C. died in childhood. (3) Mary L. (now Mrs. E. E. Ardery, of Bellefonte) has two children-Lela A. and Verna A. (4) Annie R. (Mrs. Franklin Guiswite, of Woodward) has two children-Fred S. and Mary A. (5) Katy I. married George Weaver, of Haines township, Centre county. (6) Cora E. is at home. (7)

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.

Clymer H., a merchant and tinsmith of Aarons- burg, married Miss Anna C. March, and has two children-Mary Jane A. and John L. Politically. our subject has always been a Democrat, and while he has never been especially desirous of public office he has served ably as school director and supervisor.

T M. GRAMLEY, secretary of the Spring Mills Creamery Company, at Spring Mills, Centre county, and one of the substantial citizens of that pleasant village, is a man, who while giving close attention to business, has not lost sight of the value of the things which make for progress in ways that cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. Well-read, intelligent and public-spirited, his influence in the community has always been exerted in helpful ways and to worthy ends.

Mr. Grainley was born in Rebersburg. July 31, 1856, the third son and fourth child of Sam- uel and Sarah J. (Smull) Gramley. At an early. age his intellectual bent became apparent, and after attending school in the Harter district in Miles township, Centre county, until he had com- pleted the course offered there, he pursued his studies in the County Normal School at Miles- burg, preparing himself for teaching. His plans were carried out in the face of discouraging cir- cumstances, the work at home requiring much of his time. Through strenuous efforts he suc- ceeded, however, and when but a few months past sixteen he took charge of a school in Porter township, Clinton county, where he at once estab- lished a reputation as an efficient disciplinarian and instructor. This success stimulated his ambi- tion, and he entered Penn Hall Academy, then conducted by Prof. Wolfe, and fitted himself for college; but he was then persuaded to return to the district where he had taught his first term, and again take the school. He spent three terms there. receiving an increase of salary each term, and then taught the grammar school at Mackeyville. His abilities once shown, his services were in de- mand, and he continued to teach for fourteen terms, the summer seasons being spent in farm work. He holds certificates of all grades, includ- ing a State certificate. On retiring from the work of teaching, he entered into partnership with his brother. C. L. Gramley, in a general mercantile business at Rebersburg: but his health becoming impaired he sold out after two years of successful work in this line, and decided to fol- low agricultural pursuits. In connection with farming he taught school during the winter sea- sons until 1888, and in July of that year he formed a partnership in the creamery business

with R. G. Eisenhart in the Spring Mills Cream- ery Company, limited, a stock company which is now the oldest concern of the kind in Centre county. . Mr. Gramley is industrious, system- atic, and persevering, carrying out with firm de- termination any plan once fixed upon, and the success of the firm is due in no small measure to his work and influence. He has a reputation for integrity in his dealings, which is in itself a source of strength to any enterprise with which he may be connected.

On December 18, 1877, Mr. Gramley was married in Miles township, Centre county, to Miss Agnes Loose, who was born at Millheim, Septem- ber 7, 1856, the daughter of Samuel and Eliza- beth (Brickley) Loose. They have one of the most comfortable and tasteful homes in Spring Mills. Mr. Gramley has remodeled the house formerly known as the "Old Peter Wilson" home, adding all modern conveniences. They have a bright and interesting family, to whom they are giving the best educational advantages at their command: Orpha L., born October 19, 1878, is in the senior class at Irving College at Mechanics- burg, Penn .; S. Ward, born December 29, 1880, is in the sophomore class at Susquehanna Uni- versity, Selins Grove, Penn .; Windon C., born November 3, 1882, and Bruce S., born June 15, 1888, are at home.

Mr. Gramley and his wife are leading mem- bers of the Lutheran Church, and he has held office in the Church ever since he was confirmed. His interest in the work has been demonstrated many times, and when the Rebersburg parsonage was built, he was one of the chief promoters of the enterprise. In politics he has always been a Republican, but though a stanch supporter of the doctrines of the party he is not a politician. On one occasion he was nominated for the office of Register, without solicitation on his part, and al- though no canvass was made in the county in his behalf, he was defeated by a bare plurality of thirty-two votes.

W ILLIAM W. SPANGLER. Among the progressive and enterprising farmers of Centre county, the record of whose lives fills an important place in this volume, it gives us pleas- ure to commemorate the name of this gentleman. He was born July 20, 1835, at Eagleville, on the farm which is still his home, and comes of a fan- ily that has long been prominently identified with the business and social interests of the commu- nity.

Jonas Spangler, father of our subject, was born May 1, 18oo, in York county, this State.

J. M. Frawley

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

where his parents, who were of German birth, passed the greater part of their lives. As early as 1820, however, he came to Centre county, and for a number of years ran a stell-bottomed boat on the Susquehanna river between Sunbury, Penn., and Centre county. He built three boats while a resident of Liberty township, where he also engaged in agricultural pursuits, and became one of the most prominent and wealthy citizens of the locality. He was a faithful member of the Church of Christ, and a strong Democrat in poli- tics, on which ticket he was elected to several township offices.

In Centre county Jonas Spangler was married to Mary Kunes, a daughter of Daniel Kunes, one of the honored pioneers of the county, where he located during the 18th century and followed the occupation of farming. Five sons blessed this union: Hiram, who for four years served in the Union army during the Civil war, taking part in twenty-six battles, and died from the effects of wounds received at the battle of the Wilderness; William W., the subject of this sketch; Samuel. who helped to take Fort Fisher during the Civil war, and is now a resident of Eagleville; George W., who died in Philadelphia; and Jonas, who died from the effects of wounds received at the battle of Appomattox, after four years of arduous service. The mother of these children departed this life in 1839, at the age of thirty-five years, and the father passed away May 1, 1855.

William W. Spangler never left the parental roof, and after the death of his father he assumed the management of the home farm, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and im- proved with good and substantial buildings. Upon the place his father laid out the village of Eagleville in 1851, but the remainder of the farm is devoted to agriculture.

In December, 1860, at Lock Haven, Penn., Mr. Spangler was united in marriage with Miss Emily A. Seyler, who was born in Stephenson county, Ill., April 19, 1842, a daughter of George and Mary (Potts) Seyler, who were natives of Penn's Valley, Centre county, but at an early day migrated to Illinois, where the father engaged in tailoring and farming throughout the remain- der of his life. His family included seven chil- dren: George, a carpenter of Greenwood, Wis. ; Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Shaffer, of. Freeport, Ill. ; Annie, widow of Daniel Smith, of Shabbona, Ill. ; A. Jackson, a mechanic of Freeport; Emily A .; Alice, wife of a Mr. Agnew, a farmer of Ben- net, Iowa; and Mrs. Ellen Moses, of Livermore, lowa.

To Mr. and Mrs. Spangler were born five children: Tacy, wife of Ross Martin, a carpenter

of Lock Haven, Penn .; George, a resident of Liberty township, Centre county; Mary, wife of Albert Kunes, who is engaged in farming in Eagleville; Henry, a druggist of Middleburg, Snyder Co., Penn .; and Millie E., at home. The faithful wife and mother was called to her final rest March 12, 1873, and her death was widely and deeply mourned.

In 1863 Mr. Spangler enlisted in the 149th P. V. I., known as the " Bucktail Regiment," and was under the command of Capt. Hancock for eighteen months, or until he (the Captain) was wounded, when another captain was put in his place. Our 'subject participated in a number of engagements and skirmishes, and when hostil- ities had ceased was honorably discharged May 20, 1865, after which he returned home and re- sumed agricultural pursuits. He belongs to a prominent and well-known family of Centre county, and is related to Col. Jack Spangler, of Bellefonte. For seven years he filled the office of supervisor of his township, and for the long term of twenty years acceptably served as con- stable, holding the position continuously (with the exception of two years) from 1873 until Feb- ruary, 1896. Socially he holds membership in Blanchard Lodge No. 420, I. O. O. F., of Eagleville, and politically is identified with the Democratic party. He is an earnest, conscien- tious Christian, who since 1873 has been a prom- inent and active member of the Church of Christ, and as a citizen is held in the highest respect and esteem.

W 'ILLIAM FOSTER, HISTORY OF. John Forster, or Foster (as many of his de- scendants now write the name), the ancestor of one branch of the Forster family. of Buffalo Valley, was a son of David Forster, of Derry, formerly Lancaster, now Dauphin, county, Penn. This appears by the will of David Forster, dated September 2, 1745, and recorded in Lancaster county. It is believed, though not certainly known to be a fact, that David Forster, with some of his family, came from the North of Ire- land about the year 1733, with the Scotch-Irish immigration of that period, and was among the first settlers of Donegal, Derry and Paxtang. He died in 1754, leaving a widow, Mary by name, and five sons, named respectively: William, John. David, James, and Robert. One of these sons, John Forster, the ancestor, became the owner, by purchase, of 27 1 acres of land situated in Hanover (then Lancaster) county, which had been sur- veyed to John Young under a warrant granted to him in 1740. This tract of land was confirmed

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to John Foster by a patent deed from Thomas and William Penn, bearing date the 17th day of November, 1752, and he resided upon the tract until about 1773 or 1774, when for some reason, probably with a view of bettering his condition and that of his family, he disposed of it by sale and became one of the pioneer settlers of Buffalo Valley. That delightful and charming Valley, then an almost untraversed forest of stately cak, hickory, walnut and pine, was within that part of Pennsylvania known as the last purchase made from the Indians by the Proprietary Government of the Colony in 1768.

The first surveys in the Valley were made in 1769, and from that year sturdy, adventurous and self-reliant settlers, among whom was John Forster, began to occupy, clear and cultivate its beautiful virgin acres, even then rich and invit- ing with the promise of future fertility and pro- ductiveness. Among the first surveys made in 1769, after the land office had been opened on the 3d of April of that year to receive applica- tions for land within the Purchase of 1768, a number of tracts, aggregating eight thousand acres through the heart of the Valley, were re- turned for certain officers of the Ist and 2d bat- talions of the Pennsylvania regiment that served under Col. Henry Boquet in the expedition that marched under his command in 1764 to the re- lief of Fort Pitt, the site of the present city of Pittsburg, then beleaguered by the Indians. In the allotment of these surveys to the officers who were to receive them, were two that fell respect- ively to Lieut. Charles Stewart and Lieut. James McCallister. These tracts were at the western part of the survey, lying about two miles west of the present town of Mifflinburg. The first tract, that of Lieut. Stewart, was called in the patent "Joyful Cabin," and contained 340 acres and 63 perches. The other, that of Lieut. McCallister, was called " Chatham," and contained 340 acres and 60 perches. Before removing from Han- over to Buffalo, John Forster had become the owner of these two tracts. On the western tract near Buffalo creek, he built his cabin, liter- ally the beginning of a new home in the wilder- ness for himself, wife and children, and there he lived until his death, which occurred in 1783.

In the tax list of Buffalo township, Northum- berland county, for the year 1775-the list for the previous years not being in existence-the name of John Forster appears; on this list his property returned for taxes consists of twenty acres of cleared land, two horses, three cows and three sheep, probably for that time a substantial return. The property adjoining on the west of where he lived was the farm so well known in the

Valley for many years as the William Young farm. His life seems to have been quiet, unob- trusive and moderately successful, though no knowledge of his personality or traits of charac- ter have come down to his present descendants. As before stated, he died in 1783, and among some old family påpers now in the possession of a friend at Paxtang, Dauphin county, is a letter written from Buffalo to Paxtang announcing his death, from which the following extract is taken: "John Forster was taken sick of a fever on the Ioth of September, 1783, died on the 20th, and was buried on Sunday, September 21, 1783." Of his wife nothing is known except that her name was Margaret. Eight years later another letter announced her death, as follows: "Mar- garet Forster was taken sick on December 31, 1791, and died January 8, 1792, about 9 P. M., and was buried on Tuesday, January 10, 1792." The interments, though there are no marks to show where they lie, were in the old Lewis grave- yard, about three miles southwest of Mifflinburg, then the common burial place for the inhabitants of the upper end of the Valley, where also rest in the peaceful sleep of death others of their family-children and grandchildren. By his will, on record at Sunbury, after providing for the support of his widow. he directed that his real estate, consisting of the two tracts of the land already mentioned, and containing together 680 acres, should be divided into three equal parts to be given to his three sons then living, a third to each, and that his daughters should receive cer- tain bonds, which he described as " Bonds I re- ceived from the sale of my plantation in Hano- ver. '

The children of John and Margaret Forster were four sons and four daughters. The sons were: Thomas, Andrew, John, Jr., and Robert. The daughters were Christena, who became the wife of John Montgomery; Jane, who became the wife of William Irvine: Elizabeth, who became the wife of Joseph Gray; and Rebecca, who be- came the wife of William McFarlane.

A marriage record of the Derry and Pax- tang Presbyterian congregation, published in Vol. VIII of the second series of the Pennsyl- vania Archives, shows that Thomas Forster. the eldest son, was married to Jane Young No- vember 4, 1777. and that Robert, the young- est son, was married to Esther Renick Decem- ber 14. 1784. Andrew, the second son, was married to Susanna Gray. She was a daughter of Capt. William Gray, of Revolutionary fame. and was first married to William Hudson. After his death she became the wife of Andrew Forster. John, Jr., the third son, died young and unmar-

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ried, the victim of an Indian · massacre. His death occurred on the 16th of May, 1780, in an attack made by a band of raiding Indians on what was known as French Jacob's Mill (Jacob Gro- shong), about five miles north of Mifflinburg, and near where the road through the Brush Valley narrows enters Buffalo Valley. He was one of a company of enlisted rangers whose duty it was to patrol the northern side of the Valley along the Buffalo mountain to guard against Indian incur- sions. A sudden and unexpected foray, how- ever, was made by the savages, and in the smart skirmish that followed four of the rangers were killed, among them being John Forster, Jr. The names of the others were James Chambers, George Etzweiler and James McLaughlin.

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Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 32

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1358

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1358