Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2, Part 42

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1266

USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2 > Part 42
USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2 > Part 42
USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2 > Part 42
USA > Pennsylvania > Centre County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2 > Part 42

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).

G EORGE H. WINGERT. Thrift, industry and sound judgment have been so constantly shown among the numerous representatives of the Fatherland who have settled in this country. that we naturally look upon these qualities as characteristics of the race. Among the individuals in whom they certainly exist in a marked degree is the well-known real-estate dealer of Du Bois, George H. Wingert, whose name will always be associated with the early development of that thriving borough.

Mr. Wingert was born in 1833 in Bavaria. Germany, and was a child when brought to

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

America by his parents, Frederick and Margaret .Laudemann) Wingert. The party included three generations, the grandfather, George Wingert, who died in Brady township, Clearfield county, at the age of ninety, accompanying them. They set sail from Havre de Grace, France, in 1838, and after a voyage of thirty-five days landed at New York City. There was a little delay about making a permanent settlement, and the father worked as a laborer in Jefferson county for a while; but in 1840 they located upon an unim- proved tract of land in Brady township, Clear- field county, to which they even had to cut a roadway for their teams. This place was in time transformed into a valuable farm. The mother died there in 1877, and the father in 1886, at the age of eighty years, seven months and fifteen

days. Our subject had six brothers and one sister, all of whom are well settled in life. Henry resides in Brady township; Peter, at the home- stead; Frederick, in Bucyrus, Chio; William, in Brady township; Jacob, at the homestead; David, in Crawford county, Ohio; and Mrs. David Swope, in Brady township.

As George H. Wingert was nearly eight years old when he first went to Brady township, he could render a little assistance about the place. His father was crippled, and the boy's schooling was sadly interfered with by home duties, so at eleven years he practically took charge of the farm work. In the winter seasons he would add to the family income by buying . shingles, lumber and square timber, which he would take to Curwensville and raft down the river to market. He continued farming until 1890, when he removed to Du Bois, and he still owns 220 acres of farm land in Brady township. llis investments in Du Bois are extensive, and include the Wingert block on Brady street; a three-story brick building for offices and stores, built in 1895: the " City Hotel " on Long avenue, $2 50 feet, built in 1888 after the fire; and about twelve residences for renting. He also owns the .. European Hotel " on Long avenue, built in 1888 to replace the old structure which was erected in 1883, and destroyed by the fire of June, 1888. It is 24 x 18 feet, with an addi- tion. In 1883 he built the two stores on Long avenue opposite the post office, now occupied by a paper store and Weaver Brothers' candy store. In fact he has been identified with the real-estate business in Du Bois since 1880, and his trans- actions have involved probably as much capital a> those of any other business man in the place. On July 10, 1865, Mr. Wingert was married in Brady township, Clearfield county, to Miss Charlotte Hartzfeldt. a native of Germany,

whose father. Christian Hartzfeldt, came to Brady township to make his home, and died there at sixty years of age. Two daughters have blessed this union: Miss Mary Margaret, at home; and Catherine Lorena, now Mrs. Schoch, of Brady township. Mr. Wingert is always in- terested in projects for local improvement and in municipal affairs. He was the first assessor of Du Bois, being elected in 1873 and serving three years, and although formerly a Democrat he is now a supporter of Republican principles. He is also active in religious work as a member of the Reformed Church, in which he is an official.

S TEPHEN H. WING, who is worthy of more than a mere mention in a work of this nature, is a leading farmer and lumberman of Union township, Clearfield county, as well as one of its mnost highly respected citizens. His birth oc- curred in the Pine Tree State, of which his par- ents, Nathaniel and Esther Wing. were also na- tives. The father continued to follow the occu- pation of farming until the last thirty years of his life, when he was afflicted with blindness. After his death the widowed mother came on a visit to Clearfield county, where she remained a year, and then returned to her old home in Maine. where she subsequently passed away. In her family were four children: Loantha, the eldest, was born in Maine and married R. Cummings, by whom she had one child: she died November 20, 1874, and he is now living in Pennsylvania; Jane is the wife of M. Cleveland, of Maine, by whom she has one child; Charles died in Maine, at the age of sixteen years; Stephen H. completes the family.

Mr. Wing was born in Somerset county, Maine, in 1843, and there remained until he was about twenty years of age, when he came to Clearfield county, Penn., first locating in Cur- weus ille, where he obtained work in the lumber woods with Dudley Blanchard. In the follow- ing spring, however, he returned to Maine, but after a short time he once more came to Clear- field county, where for four years he was in the employ of Philip Blanchard, a Ininberman, and subsequently for a year was with Merrill Broth- ers on Clearfield creek. During the Civil war. Mr. Wing enlisted, in the fall of 1862. in the Union service becoming a member of Company D), 24th Maine V. I .. but was discharged in the following January on account of disability, and returned to his home.

On June 28, 1869, Mr. Wing was married to Miss Hannah Bowersoc. of Union township, one of Clearfield county's teachers, and to

៛

788

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

them were born three children, namely: Guy, who is now fireman at a tannery in Curwens- ville; Myrtie, who is engaged in teaching in the public schools of the county; and George, who died in infancy. After his marriage, Mr. Wing was engaged in lumbering for the late John Du- Bois for years, and then located upon his present farm which is under a high state of cultivation, and improved with good and substantial build- ings. He and his family are highly respected and honored by a wide circle of acquaintances, and are representative people of Union township. In Bradford township, Clearfield county, Mrs. Wing united with the M. E. Church in her youth, Mr. Wing after marriage, and both held offices in the Church. Miss Myrtie has been and is at present organist, while Guy assists in the choir-all belonging to the Church.

W H. DALE, M. D., of. Houtzdale, Clear- field county, is a general practitioner of marked ability and fine reputation. Coming to the study of his profession with a mind disciplined by successful work as a teacher, he had a distinct advantage over one who lacks the widened sym- pathies and knowledge which such contact with the world supplies, and a number of years in the drug business formed another desirable prepara- tion for his chosen calling.

Dr. Dale was born in 1861, in Bradford town- ship, Clearfield county, and attended the local schools in the county until he had completed the course offered. He then pursued his studies in the State Normal School at Millersville, Penn., and on leaving that institution he taught for seven terms. In 1886 he bought a half interest in Dr. Vaughan's drug store at Brisbin, and after two years bought the other half interest and moved it all to Irvona. He conducted it for five years, but his success in these lines of work did not entice him from his chosen profession, for in 1892 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., where he was grad- uated in 1895. A prospecting tour through the West revealing " no place like . home," he re- turned to Clearfield county to practice, locating in 1896 at Ramey, later removing to Houtzdale. He is prominent socially as well as profession- ally, and while he is not a politician, he is a steadfast supporter of the principles of the Re- publiean party.

On May 23, 1888, Dr. Dale was married in Shawsville, Penn., to Miss May Wood, a native of Goshen township, Clearfield county. Her parents, C. H. and Adelia (Parrott) Wood, were both born and reared in Elmira, N. Y., and

moved to Goshen township in 1872, locating upon a farm. They now reside in Clearfield bor- ough. Dr. Dale and his wife have three bright children: Boyd, Bessie and Benson.

The Doctor is a member of one of the old families of the county, and is of English descent. His great-grandparents, Joseph and Mary (Rider; Dale, were both born in Manchester, England. the former on March 3, 1764, and the latter on November 11, 1766. In 1819 they came to America, locating first at Philipsburg, where Joseph Dale followed his trade as a weaver. bleacher and hatter. After a time he moved to Rush township, Centre Co., Penn., where he developed a farm and opened a coal mine, the output from the latter being hauled to Bald Eagle Furnace. His death occurred at the farm in 1833, his wife surviving him four years. The names of their children with dates of birth are as follows: Betty, May 30, 1786: Martha, March 30, 1788; Mary, December 25, 1789; Peggy, Au- gust 6. 1791 ; Susannah, August 30, 1794; John July 16, 1796; Joseph, May 3, 1798, died in Pennsylvania : Hannah, January 8. 1801 : Samuel. March 6, 1803, died in 1815; David, March 4. 1806; James, June 19, 1808; and Lula, Decem- ber 19, 1810, died in 1815.

John Dale, grandfather of our subject, learned the hatter's trade in England, and at the age of twenty-three crossed the Atlantic to make his home in Pennsylvania. For some time he worked as a journeyman in Pittsburg and other places, and then engaged in business in Philipsburg on his own account. Transportation was of a primi- tive sort in those days, and on two or three occa- sions he walked to Philadelphia to order goods which would be delivered by wagon. In 1824 he was married in Philipsburg to Miss Elizabeth Waring, a native of Herefordshire, England, whose parents, William and Gwen (Hancorn) Waring, came to America in 1827. Her father had been a farmer on different estates owned by the nobility, and he followed the same occupation in Decatur township, Centre county, where he cleared a large tract of land.

John Dale removed from Philipsburg in 1834 and settled in Bradford township, Clearfield county, renting land and building a shop for his business, and in the following year he purchased sixty acres of land, to which he afterward made extensive additions. He died in 1880, and his wife in 1881. They had ten children: A. C., a farmer of Clearfield county; John, deceased; Ed- inund, our subject's father : Gwen Hancorn, widow of John Graham; Mary, deceased: Ann, wife of John Stewart, of Bradford; David, of Bradford township; William, who died at the age

HN Dal MO.

789

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of sixteen years; Elizabeth, who died November s. 1896; and George, who died in childhood.

Edmund Dale, Dr. Dale's father, was born October 1, 1829, in Philipsburg, and is now a prominent resident of Bradford township, Clear- held county, his occupation being luinbering and farming. In 1856 he married Miss Eliza Jane Hunter, of Morris township, and the following named children were born to them: Wilbur F., . merchant and postmaster at Madera, Penn. ; Wallace H., practicing medicine at Houtzdale, Penn .; Alfred W., deceased; John, practicing medicine at Morrisdale Mines, Penn .: Andrew C., engaged in coal business at New York city, N. Y .; Roland E., a farmer in Bradford town- ship; William E., a school teacher in the county; Earnest H., in business at Philadelphia; and Mary M., at home with her parents.

SAMUEL A. CALDWELL. The roll of members of the famous "Bucktail Regiment," the 149th P. V. I., held the names of four of the Caldwell family of Clearfield county, all brothers of the gentleman whose name appears above, and a brother-in-law lost his life while a member of the same gallant band of fighters. Another brother, John M., served in a Pennsylvania regi- ment, and still another, Alven I., who was too young to enter the service during the Civil war, enlisted in 1872 in the United States army, and served on the frontier as a sergeant until his death.

Irish blood predominates in the family, both the grandfathers of our subject having been na- tives of the Emerald Isle. Hugh Caldwell, the grandfather on the paternal side, came from Scot- land about 1760, and located in Perry county, Penn., whilst his wife came from Tyrone, Ire- land. James B. Caldwell, the father of our sub- ject, was born in the latter locality in 1796, and in 1826 married Miss Fienna Mullen, his home being established subsequently in Lawrence township, Clearfield county, where he purchased ninety-six acres of woodland. This he cleared and improved, erecting comfortable buildings, but in 1867, about the time of the oil excitement, he sold the place to Goodfellow & Mccullough, and removed to the Amos Reed farin in the same township. His first wife had died in 1861 at the old home, and after his removal he married a second time: but his last years were spent at the resi- dence of a daughter, Mrs. Stambaugh, where he passed away in 1871.

Of the eleven children by his first marriage: ( 1) Susanna, born August 11, 1827. died May 17,

1847. (2) Martha. Jane, born June 6, 1829, married A. J. Lanich, of Lawrence township, Clearfield county, and died November 26, 1851, leaving a son, James, who did not live to adult age. (3) Mary E., born August 11, 1832, mar- ried Christopher Lanich, of Pike township, Clear- field county, and died soon afterward, leaving a son, who did not long survive her. (4) John M. (twin of Mary E.) enlisted in the Pennsylvania regiment in 1861, under Capt. Lorain, but after one year's service was discharged for physical disability. On his return from the front he en- gaged in mercantile business, first in the West and then in Canada, but is now located at De- troit, Mich. He is married. (5) Samuel A. is mentioned more fully below. (6) William J., born August 17, 1836, followed lumbering in early manhood, working in Union township, Clearfield county. for Phil Blanchard. He then moved to Du Bois, and afterward purchased property at Coalport, where he now resides. His first wife, Miss Sarah Miller, of Mifflin coun- ty, Penn., died leaving six children-William, Fannie, Ruth, Earl, Edward and Maggie. By his second wife, Miss Maggie Hartshorn, of Cur- wensville, Penn., he has three children -- Kate, a successful teacher; Howard and Rose. (7) Me- lissa E., born April 16, 1839, married (first) Alexander Stambaugh, of Lawrence township, a contractor and builder by occupation. He en- listed in 1861 in the "Bucktail Regiment," under Capt. (afterward Col.) Ed A. Irwin, and took part in all the engagements of this regiment until he met his death in the battle of the Wil- derness. His widow has since married E. Shaw, formerly of Goshen township, Clearfield county, and now a resident of the borough of Clearfield. By her first marriage she had one son, Orin Stambaugh, who is married and resides in Hus- ton township, Clearfield county. Three chil- dren were born of the second union-Howard and Homer (twins), the former of whom died in childhood, and the latter resides at home: and Raymond, a bright young man now employed in the office of the Raftsman's Journal at Clear- field. (8) Matthew J., born August 16, 1841, enlisted in 1861, from Clearfield, in the "Buck- tail Regiment," under Col. Irwin, and served throughout the war, participating in many severe battles in which they were assigned to the points of greatest danger. When hostilities ended he was discharged with the remnant of the historic band. After his return he married Miss Jane Read, daughter of Jordan Read, of Lawrence township, Clearfield county, and now resides at Coalport, where he follows painting as an occu- pation. They have three children living: Ala-

790

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

meda. Roland and Olive, all at home, and also an adopted daughter, Ida. (9) Frederick B., born February 24, 1844, enlisted from Clearfield in the "Bucktail Regiment " for three years, and on the expiration of his term re-enlisted. He was wounded in the battle of Fredericksburg. and lost an arm, causing his retirement from the service. He attended school on his return home, preparing himself for teaching, and for à num- ber of years taught in the public schools of his section. He married Miss Bertha Graff, of Cur- wensville, and has made his home there with the exception of fourteen years in Kansas and a few years at Julian, Centre Co., Penn., where he was employed as a telegraph operator. At present he is living a retired life. He has four children -Anna, Harry and Stephen, who were born in Curwensville, and Byrl, who was born in Kan- sas. (10) Hiram L., born October 11, 1847, enlisted, in 1863, at the age of sixteen in the old " Bucktail Regiment," and remained in the serv- ice until the end of the war. He married Miss Letitia Porter, of Grampian, Penn., and makes his home in Curwensville, following the trade of contractor and builder. He has two living children-Alice, now Mrs. Wike, of Curwens- ville; and Van, who is at home. (II) Alvin A. I., born August 20, 1850, received a common- school education, and then learned the painter's trade. In 1872 he moved to Ohio, where he en- listed in the regular army. While stationed at Los Pinos, Colo., he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He died in 1881, after four years of service, in which he helped to suppress the Indians during several outbreaks.

Samuel A. Caldwell was born in Lawrence township, Clearfield county, February 13, 1834, and passed his youth at the old homestead, re- ceiving the usual educational advantages obtain- able in the district schools of the day. At the age of twenty-six he married Miss Eliza Jane Barger, and located in Bradford township, pur- chasing a tract of timber land and engaging in the preparation of square timber. He followed this business about twenty years, rafting the lumber down the river to the Eastern markets. In 1880 he engaged in mercantile business in the town of Bradford, Bigler township, Clearfield county, and continued for two years, when he resumed his former occupation. From 1888 until 1894 he was prop inspector in the mines of Berwin, White & Co., and on leaving that employment on account of failing health he retired from active work and settled in Ramey. He has always been identified with the Democratic party, and has done much to increase its influence in his local- ity. He has held several important offices, serv-

ing as county auditor three years and as justice of the peace five years, while he has served two terms as school director and overseer of the poor. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, and is a prominent member of the Church at Rainey, to which his wife and one daughter also belong.

Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have six children: (1) Herbert I., born in Bradford township. October 7, 1860, was educated in the public schools of that neighborhood, and for seven years past has been conductor for the Beech Creek Railroad Co. He married Miss Lizzie Moyer, a daughter of Adam Moyer, a wealthy merchant of Philipsburg, and has two sons, Gordon and Samuel A. (2) Florence E., born March 4, 1862, supplemented her common-school education with a course in the normal school at Curwensville. She taught in the public schools for several terms, and in 1892 married Dr. A. R. Markle, a dentist, at Tyrone, Penn. ; they have two sons, Robert and Edgar. (3) Helen H .. born August 11, 1863, completed her education in the Curwensville normal school, and after teaching for one term was married, December 20, 1882, to John B. Douglas, of McConnellstown, Penn., a trusted employee of Berwin, White & Co. For some time after his marriage he was their bookkeeper at Brisbin, and now holds the position of general dispatcher at Osceola. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas have two children-Leroy C. and Florence A. (4) Francis C., born July 31, 1866, attended the common schools until the age of thirteen, and then entered the printing office of the Curwens- ville Review. Later he spent three years on the Pacific coast, and on his return took a position as editor on a Houtzdale paper. On resigning that post he again visited the Pacific coast, re- inaining one year, and on returning east he passed the summer of 1893 in Chicago, at the World's Fair. He has since been engaged in running the motor at Berwin, White & Co. 's mine. No. 26. He is married to Miss Lily McFarland. of. Utah- ville, Penn. (5) Ralph E., born April 15, 1870, received a public-school education, and for eight years has been general clerk at Ramey for the Eureka Supply Co. He is single, and resides with his parents. (6) Charles A., born March 31, 1872, attended the schools of Bradford township during boyhood, and after the removal of the family to Houtzdale clerked for a year in a store for William Gould. His ability, as shown in that position, gained for him the post of bookkeeper in the coal office of Ricketts & Co., at Glen Campbell, Indiana Co., Penn., where he re- mained three years. He is now clerking for the Eureka Supply Co. at Ramey, and makes his home with his parents. He is married to Miss

791

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Nora Buffner, of Glen Campbell, Indiana Co., Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Caldwell is a member of a well-known pioneer family. Her father, the later Joseph Barger, served with credit in the war of 1812. He was a native of Berks county, Penn., and in 1822 he located in Clearfield county, where his integrity, industry and unfailing kindness to all gained him a high place in the esteem of his neighbors in Bradford township. For more than forty years he was a consistent member of the United Brethren Church, and as the fatal character of his last illness became apparent he expressed no fear of death, but waited patiently for release for his spirit from the bonds of the flesh that he might enter upon the sure blessings of the life beyond. His sufferings, which were intense, were borne with cheerful resignation. His devoted wife, Mrs. Catharine (Herman) Barger, survived him.

They had nine children, of whom, Mrs. Cald- well is the youngest: (1) Mary married Robert Lansbury, of Bradford, and reared a large family. (2) Jacob, a resident of Boggs township, Clear- field county, married Miss Maria Shimel, but had no children. (3) Joseph, who never married, made his home with his brother Jacob until his death, July 13, 1891. (4) George remained un - married, and lived at the old home with his mother until his death, in 1867, at the age of thirty-eight. (5) Sarah married Andrew Smeal, of Graham township, Clearfield county, and has a large family. (6) Margaret married James Mil- ler, formerly of Ohio, and now of Lansing, Mich. They have several children. (7) Rosanna mar- ried Francis Campbell, who died some years ago in Ohio, where they located in 1866. She died in 1895, leaving five children. (8) Catherine married (first) George Peters, of Boggs township, Clearfield county, and after residing in Ohio for a number of years, they returned to Clearfield county and settled in Bigler, where Mr. Peters died, leaving four children. Later his widow married James Guthrie, and now resides upon a farm which was given her by her father. She has no children by her last marriage.

E DWARD McGOWAN, a prosperous iner- chant, and the postmaster at Hawk Run, Clearfield county, is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and has inherited the traits of industry. thrift and economy peculiar to that people, which always brings to them success in their various occupa- tions. He was born in Ireland in February, 1839, a son of Archibald and Agnes ( McCormick) McGowan, the former a native of Ireland and the

latter of Scotland. In the land of hills and heather both parents spent the last years of their lives, and there our subject was reared and edu- cated.

In Scotland, in 1861, Mr. McGowan, our subject, wedded Miss Mary Lowry, who was a native of that country, and they became the par- ents of six children, as follows: Mrs. Catharine Gregg, a resident of Patton, Cambria Co., Penn .; John, who is married and lives in Osceola, Clear- field county; Mrs. Agnes McAverey, of Hawk Run, Penn .; Charles, who is living in the West; and Edward and Mary, at home. In 1876, with his family, Mr. McGowan came to the United States, and first located at George's Creek, Md., in the following year coming to Morrisdale Mines, Clearfield county, where he became one of its pioneer settlers. In 1882 he took up his resi- dence at Hawk Run, where he has since made his home, and is one of the inost progressive and public-spirited inen of the place. He has been very successful in his business ventures, and is now the owner of a good store, which is liberally patronized by the people of Hawk Run and sur- rounding country.

For nine years Mr. McGowan has acceptably served as postmaster at Hawk Run, to which position he was appointed in 1888, and has proved a most popular official. In politics he is a Democrat. He is an esteemed resident of the community, and has always taken an active in- terest in its prosperity, aiding in all beneficial schemes tending to develop its business resources, and improve its moral, educational or social status.

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.

Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2, Part 42

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1266

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1266