Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 74

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 74
USA > Pennsylvania > Centre County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 74
USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 74
USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 74

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Mr. Grimm's first Presidential vote was cast for Gen. Winfield Scott; on the dissolution of the Whig party he became a Republican, and has since remained steadfast in that political faith. While never an office seeker, he has at times shown his keen interest in educational progress by serving as school director in his township. In the Lutheran Church he has held various posi- tions, having been deacon for many years, and he is now an elder. He has always given liber- ally to the work of the society, and was one of the building committee when the new church at Madisonburg was built.

D AVID L. ZERBY, toller of the Millheim Bank, Millheim, Centre county, is one of the most substantial and conservative business men of Penn's Valley. He is a native of Penn township, Centre county, having been born at Penn's Creek, January 2S. IS51, the fourth son and child of Adam and Susan (Snavely) Zerby, well-known and highly respected residents.

Mr. Zerby, for a time, attended the schools of his district, W. E. Shirk being his first teacher. In 1868 he attended the Aaronsburg Academy. and later the academy at Penn Hall, receiving instruction from such able educators as W. H. Gottwalt, Prof. Salm, George W. Ebright and D. M. Wolf. At eighteen he was competent to teach, and undertook the management of the " Mountain School" in Gregg township, Centre

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county. Finding the work congenial, he decided to continue it, and his pronounced success mak- ing it an easy matter for him to secure positions, he taught for thirteen years, or twenty-six terms, all but one term being in his native township. Six years were spent at Liberty school, and his success there indicates his efficiency as both an instructor and disciplinarian. He was especially gifted in mathematics, the most difficult prob- lems being solved by him with ease.

. On November 5, 1874, Mr. Zerby was mar- ried to Miss Margaret Keen, a native of Penn township, Centre county, and daughter of Jacob and Anna Mary (Deininger) Keen, who are men- tioned below. Since his marriage Mr. Zerby has made his home in Millheim, and on giving up teaching as a vocation, he entered mercantile life as a clerk for W. K. Alexander in his general store. He remained there some time, and was also employed at odd intervals in the Millheim Bank, in which he took his present responsible position as teller in January, 1893. Since enter- ing upon the duties of the place he has gained hosts of friends, the public having learned that in their dealings with him they can be sure of courteous treatment and the most scrupulous honesty. He is a self-made man, and, although his father assisted him in securing an education, the money was repaid from the earnings of the first term as teacher.

In 1877 Mr. Zerby purchased his residence in Millheim, and extensive improvements have made it one of the pleasantest homes in that charming village. His only child, Stella E., an accomplished young lady, is now a teacher in the high school at Millheim. The family attend the United Evangelical Church, and all are promi- nently identified with its activities. Mr. Zerby is a trustee and steward, and for many years has been superintendent of the Sunday-school. His zeal for the welfare of the Church has been shown in many ways, and during the negotiations for the transfer of certain properties in Penn's Val- ley to the new Church, he has ably represented the adherents of Bishop Dubbs. His interest in public affairs is not less keen, any project for the advancement of Millheim borough receiving his hearty support. In political affiliations he is a Democrat. He was the first burgess of the borough, and has served on the school board, while in May. 1889, and again in 1894. he was elected justice of the peace. As an official he has shown characteristic efficiency and public spirit, winning the confidence and esteem of all classes.

Mrs. Zerby's family is of German extraction, the name having been Kuhn originally.

great-grandfather, Johan Jacob Kuhn or Keen, was the first to leave the Fatherland, and after a brief residence in Berks county, Penn., he came to this section and settled upon a farm in Centre county, one mile west of Millheim. This is still known as the Keen farm, and has been contin- uously in the possession of his descendants since his day. He reared a large family of children, seventeen in all. His son George (Mrs. Zerby's grandfather) accompanied him from Berks coun- ty, became a leading farmer of Centre county, and in later years a prominent member of the Evangelical Church. His wife, Saloma Kramer, was a daughter of Daniel Kramer, a pioneer settler.

Nine children were born of their union, the names with dates of birth being as follows: Jacob, October 22, 1809, died at Millheim when between seventy and eighty years of age; Re- becca, November 5, 1811, died while young; Elizabeth, January 15, 1814, married Samuel Runkle, and died in Illinois; Mary, November 22, 1816, married George Mark, and died in Millheim; Jacob, January 11, 1818; Daniel, January 5, 1820, went west, and all trace of him was lost; Samuel, September 24, 1822, resides in Williamsport, Penn .; Peter, January 20, 1826, is a resident of Cass county, Mich .; Katie, Sep- tember 22, 1831, is now Mrs. John Gutileus, of Mifflinburg, Penn. The father of this family died in his seventieth year, and the mother in her eighty-fifth year, the remains of both being interred at Aaronsburg.

Jacob Keen, the father of Mrs. Zerby, ob- tained a practical education, partly in the local schools of his day, and partly through observa- tion. Although he was not the oldest son, his capacity for leadership was made evident at an early age, as he always "went ahead." On Jan- uary 5, 1843, he married Miss Anna M. Deinin- ger, a native of Bernville, Berks Co., Penn., born December 4, 1823. Her parents, Emanuel and Johanna H. (Obenland) Deininger, both came from Wurtemberg, Germany, in their youth, and. were married in the United States. Emanuel Deininger was a well educated man, though not as familiar with English as with German, and an excellent musician. By occupation he was a marble cutter and candle maker, the latter busi- ness proving especially profitable. He moved with his family to Philadelphia when Mrs. Keen was a young lady, and after a short stay came to New Berlin, Cuion Co., Penn. , where he remained ten months before locating permanently, in 1843. at Millheim. His wife died in tot, aged sixty- two years, and he passed away in 1876 at the Her ! age of seventy-seven, both being laid to rest in.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

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the cemetery at Millheim. Of ten children, five lived to maturity: Anna M. (Mrs. Keen); C. F., an Evangelical minister, who died at York, Penn., in July, 1888; Jonathan, a resident of Centre Hall; Benjamin O., who died in Millheim; and Augustus O., a resident of Hughesville, Lycom- ing Co., Pennsylvania.

Jacob Keen and his bride began housekeep- ing at the old homestead, and lived there until 1882, when he removed to Millheim, retiring from business cares. His death occurred Novem- ber II, 1890, and his remains were buried there. He was a lifelong Democrat, but no politician, although he took much interest in local affairs, and at one time served as constable of the vil- lage of Millheim. In religious belief his sympa- thies were with the United Evangelical Church, to which his entire family belonged. He left a large estate, including the old homestead farm of more than 100 acres and some mountain land, as well as the comfortable home in Millheim, where his widow, a highly respected lady, still resides.

There were thirteen children, whose names with dates of birth are here given: Sarah, October 28, 1844, now Mrs. Christopher Alexan- der; John D., October 7, 1845, a farmer of Penn township, Centre county; Justina J., February 28, 1847, now Mrs. A. F. Kramer; Rebecca, August 16, 1848, who died in infancy; E. D., July 26, 1849, a minister of the United Evan- gelical Church at Red Lion, Penn. ; Anna M., January 14, 1852, Mrs. Zerby; Henry Franklin, March 30, 1853, residing near Curtin, Centre county; George W., May 13, 1855, a stock farmer of Lee county. Ill .; William E., March 7, 1857, a resident of Millheim; Mary A., June 14, 1860, who died in childhood; Rosa E., April 4, 1862, wife of Rev. M. I. Jamison; and Katie E., May 30, 1866, and Ada O., January 17, 1869, both at home at Millheim. Mr. Zerby is a char- ter member of Providence Grange at Millheim, was its secretary some twelve years, and is its present master. John Snavely, his maternal grandfather, was a soldier in the Mexican war.

BENJAMIN JONES. In a brief sketch of any living citizen it is difficult to do .him exact and impartial justice, not so much from lack of space or words to set forth the familiar and passing events of his personal history as for want of the perfect and rounded conception of his whole life, which grows, develops and ripens, like fruit, to disclose its true and best flavor only when it is mellowed by time. Daily contact with the man so familiarizes us with his many

virtues that we ordinarily overlook them, and commonly underestimate their possessor. With the business interests of Philipsburg, Centre county, Mr. Jones has been prominently identi- fied for many years, and has also done much to advance the welfare of the city while pro- moting his own interests.

Our subject was born in Chester county, Penn., December 10, 1823, and is a son of Ben- jamnin and Sarah (Waters) Jones, also natives of that county, where they remained until the spring of 1824, when they removed to Huntingdon county. In connection with his brother Samuel, the father operated a large farm which they had inherited, and which they later divided. He also engaged in hauling iron to Pittsburg, and while on one of these trips contracted a fever, from which he died September 21, 1828. He was a Whig in politics, and a prominent and in- fluential man of the community where he made his home. He was born November 28, 1781, a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Jones, of Ches- ter county, who were of Welch extraction. They were farming people, and members of the So- sciety of Friends.

The mother of our subject was born June 19, 1786, and died November 23. 1872. Her father, Jacob Waters, was a soldier under Wash- ington during the Revolutionary war. From his old home in Chester county, Penn., he removed to Newark, Ohio, at an early day, where the parents of our subject visited him, riding the entire distance from Rockville, Chester county, on horseback.

Mr. Jones, of this review, is the ninth in order of birth in a family of ten children, as follows: Ann, born June 26, 1806, married James Hunter, but both are now deceased; Samuel, born January 23, 1808, married Betsy Matren, who died in 1896, and his death occurred in 1894: Caleb, born May 28, 1809. married Catherine Matren, and both died in Minnesota: Hannah, born April 20, 1811, married John D. Bell, and they have also passed away: Mary A., born May 3, 1813. is the deceased wife of John Laport, a retired farmer of Spruce Creek, Huntingdon Co., Penn. : Sarah, born April 9, 1815, died in infancy; Eliza- beth, born December 2, 1817, also died in in- fancy; Jacob W., born November 30, 1819, is a retired contractor of Tyrone, Penn. ; Sarah, born December 18, 1825, is the wife of W. O. Myers, a retired potter.

After his father's death, and at the age of eight years, Benjamin Jones went to live with his sister Hannah, with whom he remained until he had attained his majority. When fourteen he began serving an apprenticeship to the carpenter's

MIT

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trade with his brother-in-law in Huntingdon county, and on leaving the home of his sister went to Pittsburg, Penn., where he worked at that trade for a few months. Later he was again with his brother-in-law until forming a partnership with his brother, Jacob W., in the business of contracting and building. About the same time the city of Tyrone was being laid out, and there the brothers purchased a couple of lots and erected homes of their own in the fall of 1851, when only about three houses adorned the pres- ent site of that now flourishing city.

Coming to Philipsburg in 1861, Mr. Jones be- came superintendent of the planing-mill of D. J. McGan, in which capacity he served for five years, and then, in connection with Dr. Hoops and Mr. Munson, built the planing-mill operated under the firm name of Munson, Jones & Co. A few years later he sold out his interest, but continued to serve as superintendent for the firm of Munson & Hoops. Subsequently he was a member of the firm of Jones, Mullen & Co., but in 1890 disposed of his share, and has engaged in the manufacture of shingles in Rush township, Centre county. He has also dealt and operated in coal quite exten- sively. He is a progressive, wide-awake business man, and his success has come as a just reward for honest toil.

On January 5, 1848, Mr. Jones was united in marriage with Miss Margaret A. Rye, and they be- came the parents of five children: Oliver P., who is engaged in the coal business, and is also a stockholder in and cashier of the First National Bank of Philipsburg; Ella, wife of James Perks, a railroad conductor, residing in Philipsburg; Lot W., who is engaged in the planing-mill business in Philipsburg, as a member of the firm of Mur- ray, Jones & Co .; Mary A., at home, and Dwight M., also residing at home, who is now a " boss " in the coal mines. Mrs. Jones was born in Centre county in 1821, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Kitley) Rye, who lived upon a farm near Bellefonte, where they died when she was quite young. Their other children-Thomas, William, John and Isaac-all died in childhood.

Mr. Jones has taken the third degree in the Masonic lodge of Philipsburg, and is an ardent Republican in politics. Surrounded at his home by a circle of friends who appreciate his true worth, and admired and esteemed by the citizens of the community, Mr. Jones will be honored for many generations as one of the most enterprising men of Philipsburg-a man who acted well his part, and who has lived a worthy and honorable life. He and his family hold a high position in social circles, where true worth and ability are received as the passports into the best society.

G C. SHOWALTER, proprietor of the Phil- ipsburg Steam Laundry, and of property to some extent in his section, is a man of marked business ability and enterprise. His versatility and resource have been successfully displayed in various occupations, and his recent entrance into the laundry business upon a large scale, and with improved modern appliances, is a distinct advan- tage to the city of Philipsburg, while promising to bring due rewards to himself. His landed interests have come to him by inheritance, but previous to his father's death he had made his own way in the world of business.

The Showalter family is of German origin, and has been established in Pennsylvania for sev -. eral generations. Our subject's grandfather, John Showalter, settled in Clearfield county early in the present century, coming from Lancaster county, Penn., and he died when this grandson was still a child. His wife. Elizabeth (Dorley), was of Irish descent.

The late Russel D. Showalter, the father of our subject, was born in Half Moon township, Centre county, in 1825, and lived to the age of sixty-seven years and three months. Until his retirement from active business, ten years pre- vious to his death, he was engaged in agriculture and lumbering, furnishing logs on contract. Thrifty and far-sighted, he made extensive pur- chases of real estate, and the wisdom of this pro- vision is seen in the fact that land which cost him $1, 350, would bring at least $60,000 at the pres- ent time, and is constantly increasing in value, the coal deposits being very rich. R. D. Sho- walter was a man of great influence, his upright character, no less than his abilities, giving his opinions weight with all who knew him. Until the Civil war broke out he was a Democrat in politics, but the logic of events in those stirring times led him into the Republican fold, and later he became an ardent Prohibitionist. From his youth up he was an active member of the M. E. Church, serving in various official positions, and allowing no extreme of wealth to keep him from his place at the regular meetings. Storin or calm found him equally ready, and his house was at all times a hospitable home for the itinerant preachers of his day. His first wife, Lydia Ann (Tate), who was also a devout Methodist, was born in Clearfield county in 1828, and died in 1877. Her father, Joshua Tate, was an honored resident of that county in his time. and died there when between sixty and seventy years of age. On July 9. 1878, K. D. Showalter married for his second wife Mrs. Acda C. Wilson, of Sa- lona. By the first marriage there was a family of eight children, three of whom died at an early

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age. Of the others: Jennie died at the age of fifteen; G. C. is the subject proper of this sketch; Emma T. married C. H. Davis, a jeweler of Philipsburg; Charles resides in Kansas City, Mo .; and Norah married W. W. Junkins, of Erie, Pennsylvania.

G. C. Showalter was born March 1, 1854, and he spent his youth at his birthplace in De- catur township, Clearfield county, attending the district school and working upon the home farm. On attaining his majority he taught school for two terms. At the age of twenty-four he mar- ried Miss Maggie V. Sankey, a native of Centre county, born in 1855. Their only child, Nannie V., died in her fifteenth year. After marriage Mr. Showalter worked in a planing-mill for some time, and then followed agriculture for ten years. Later he removed to Philipsburg, and in 1895 he opened the steam laundry mentioned above, the first ever established there. He is executor of his father's estate, and owns half the surface of the land comprised in the inheritance. Two coal mines are now in operation on the property. The habits of industry, gained in years when he depended entirely on his own exertions, have not been altered by his present wealth, and Mr. Showalter is active not only in business but in local affairs. In politics he is a Republican; so- cially he belongs to the Knights of Malta, and since 1877 he has been a member of the I. O. O. F., in which he is now past grand. In religion he abides by the faith of his honored parents, and is a member of the M. E. Church.

D D. ROYER. The fertile farms of Brush Val- ley, Centre county, have attracted a superior class of agriculturists, men who bring to their work scientific knowledge, and whose progressive ideas are demonstrated in substantial improve- ments not to be excelled elsewhere. Among the most successful and progressive of these is the subject of this sketch, who resides near Re- bersburg.

Mr. Royer is a grandson of Christopher Royer, who settled in Brush Valley in 1807, and a son of Jefferson Royer, a native of Miles township, Centre county, born August 28, 1808, near Rockville. Jefferson Royer became a successful farmer, having been reared to that occupation by his father, who owned a large amount of land, which he cultivated in addition to his work as a miller and distiller. The subscription schools of that day were far from good, and the one south of Rebersburg, at which Jefferson Royer attended as a boy, was no better than others of its class.

One teacher named Parkinson had a peculiar and unpleasant little habit of calling his pupils "d -- d blockheads." A neighboring barn caught fire one day, and the scholars all ran out without asking permission. When they returned the teacher had disappeared, and he was never heard of afterward.

Jefferson Royer grew to manhood at his fa- ther's home, much of his time being spent in driving a team and taking products to market. He and his brother Daniel formed a partnership in farming, and he thus managed to save some money of his own. On November 20, 1834, he was married, in Brush Valley, to Hannah Gram- ley, a native of Miles township, Centre county, born July 17, 1815, a daughter of George and Polly (Walburn) Gramley. He began house- keeping at the Royer homestead, but later bought a farm in Miles township which he improved and sold. He then rented a farm in Clinton county, and after a time purchased one there, but after- ward he bought a new tract of land, heavily tim- bered, near Zion, Centre county, and lived there fifteen years, improving the place in every way. In 1869 he moved to Brush Valley, where he had bought a farm the year before, and at this place he remained until his retirement from active business, · in his sixty-fifth year, when he built a home in Re- bersburg in which to spend his declining years. He was fond of home, and, while he had a roving disposition, as shown by his frequent changes, he always wanted his family to accompany him. His wife died May 11, 1890, and he breathed his last November 26, 1895, both being interred at Rebersburg. He was five feet, ten inches in height, well built, and very hardy and robust, retaining his faculties fully up to his death, which occurred when he was aged eighty-seven years. In business he was successful, and his high char- acter won him the esteem of all classes. As a Whig and later as a Republican, he was a regu- lar voter and took keen interest in the success of his party. He served several terms as supervisor in Clinton county. He was also innich interested in religious matters, and he and his wife were both members of the Evangelical Association, in which he held various offices, and was a class leader for thirty years.

Jefferson Royer had five children, whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Mag- dalene, October 13, 1835, died in infancy; Jon- athan, October 16, 1836, resides near Zion, Centre county; J. M., February 3. 1830, who served in Company G, 148th P. V. I., during the Civil war, died at the age of forty-seven at St. Louis, Mo., where his home was; he was married. D. D., August 15, 1846, is mentioned

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more fully below; and Chesty A., July 8, 1850, is now Mrs. Perry Geutzel, of Nittany Valley.

D. D. Royer was born in Clinton county, one mile east of Clintondale, and attended his first school in Clinton county with Benjamin Winters as teacher. The schools of that time were in- ferior to those of the present, but such as they were Mr. Royer could not take full advantage of them. For two winters in succession he attended only twenty-three days in each. He was the oldest at home much of the time, and clearing land and other work interfered with his educa- tion. His own experience makes him a warm friend of better schools, in which every child may find thorough instruction.

Mr. Royer was always at home except for a day now and then in harvest time when he could earn fifty cents for spending money, and after he came of age he worked for his father for ten years. On June 21, 1877, he was married to Miss Mary A. Roush, who was born in Gregg township, Centre county, February II, 1855, a daughter of Benjamin and Margaret (Hoy) Roush. Her father, who is a farmer and shoemaker by occupation, lives near Madisonburg, and is a lead- ing citizen of that locality. Three children were born of this union: Edwin L., Kline H. and Anneata H., who are all at home. At his mar- riage, Mr. Royer located on his father's farm, which he now owns. The farm is a valuable one, comprising 256 acres and including a tenant farm with separate residence and other improvements. In 1892 the farm was divided and new buildings erected by Mr. Royer, which are among the most complete and modern farm structures in Centre county. Mrs. Royer owns a one-half interest in 170 acres in Spring township, Centre county.

Mr. Royer takes great interest in the issues of the day, and in State and National affairs al- ways votes the Republican ticket. He is, how- ever, no office seeker, having always had plenty of his own business to occupy his time. He at- tends and contributes to the Evangelical Associ- ation. He is a member of the Grange, and can always be relied upon to assist in any beneficial movement in his locality.

J OHN MATTERN (deceased), formerly of Centre county. The Mattern family in America sprang from Peter Mattern (formerly spelled Matthorn), who was a native of the Valley of the Rhine, born near the Matterhorn, one of the Swiss mountains, or Pennine AAlps, Canton Valais. About the year 1750 Peter Mattern and his wife came to America and settled in the State of Maryland, where nine children were born to

them. In 1779 three of the family-Jacob, David and George-moved into the Spruce Creek Valley (now Huntingdon county), Penn., where for 117 years the homestead has remained in the possession of the descendants of the patriarch of the now numerous family. In the cemetery of the old Lutheran Church at the Seven Stars, which is part of the old homestead, George Mat- tern and his wife lie buried, and around them many of their posterity sleep their last sleep.

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Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 74

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