Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2, Part 97

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 97
USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2 > Part 97
USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2 > Part 97
USA > Pennsylvania > Centre County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2 > Part 97

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Thomas W. Grant was provided with very limited school privileges during his youth, but later acquired a good education through his own unaided efforts. Learning the shoemaker's trade, he followed it for some years. About 1855 he married Miss Margaret J. De Long. of Centre county, where they located. and there he contin- ued to reside until the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861, when, feeling that his country needed his service, he left his wife and two small chil- dren and went to the front. He remained in the army during the entire struggle, and partici- pated in all the engagements with his regiment until taken prisoner. He was confined in Libby for some time, but being severely wounded in the thigh he was taken to the hospital, where he remained several weeks. When hostilities ceased he returned to Centre county, and soon afterward took up his residence in Pine Glen, that county, where he followed jobbing in the woods for Capt. White, for two years. He next engaged in log- ging on Mosquito creek for Phelps, Dodge & Co., for about the same length of time, but since

then he has given his attention principally to farming in Karthaus, where he owns a valuable property.

Thomas W. Grant and his wife had a family of children, as follows: (1) Sarah J .. born in Centre county, died at the age of fifteen years. (2) George W. is the second in order of birth, and was a mere infant when his father enlisted. (3) John, a very promising young man, was drowned at the age of twenty-two, while driving logs for Cochran Brothers, on Bennet branch. (4) David, twin brother of John, was born in Centre county, and is now acting as foreman for N. L. Hoover, of Elk county, Penn. (5) Nancy is the wife of Neal McKinzie, of Nova Scotia. where they now reside. They have six chil- dren-Sadie, Charles, Nettie, Nellie, and two whose names are not given. (6) Jacob B. is now working in the lumber woods of Vir- ginia. (7) Mollie A. died in childhood. (8) Ezariah died in infancy. (9, Frederick died at the age of four years. (10) James H. died at the age of two years. (11) Joseph W., twin brother of James H .. was born in Karthaus, where he attended the common schools until six- teen years of age, and then pursued his studies for three terms in the State Normal School. at Lock Haven. He is a very fine scholar, and has successfully engaged in teaching for about five years, at present having charge of the grammar grade at his old home in Karthaus. (12. Eva and (13) Samuel both died at the age of four years.

Descended from sturdy Scotch ancestry, George W. Grant, our subject, has inherited niany of the sterling traits of that race. and is recognized as one of the most progressive and re- liable agriculturists of Sandy township. He ac- companied his parents on their removal to Kart- haus, where he grew to manhood, attending the winter schools, and working among the farmers of the locality during the summer months until fifteen years of age, when he entered the employ of Orin Schoonover, with whom he remained for one year. During the subsequent eleven years he continued to work in the lumber woods for Cochran Brothers, on Mosquito creek and Ben- net branch. In 1884 he married Miss Laura E. Burns, of Sabula, a daughter of Elijah and Sarah Burns, well-to-do agricultorists of Sandy town- ship, and they began their domestic life two miles west of Sabula, on what was known as the Burns farm, formerly the J. Gilnut farin. in sandy township. There they still reside. the place having been given to Mrs. Grant by her father. Two children have come to brighten their home: Louella G., born September 22, 183;, is now at-

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tending school; and Norman D., born August 23, 1891, is at home.

Mr. Grant has ever given his unwavering sup- port to the Republican party, and is now faith- fully serving his fellow citizens in the capacity of supervisor of Sandy township. Religiously, he is a Protestant, but his wife is a communicant of the Catholic Church. Ever true to his duties of citizenship, he is a worthy son of one of the brave soldiers who so freely sacrificed his own in- terests for the good of the country. 4

cove ted : 3 :. fiend fin , le gale im of people renowned for their robust strength and

and Williams younger Burning

D AVID C. HENSAL, the genial proprietor of the "American House," at Madera, Bigler township, Clearfield Co .. Penn., is one of the pioneers of that region. He has lived to see the vast forest which once stood on the present site of Madera transformed into a pleasant little town containing about 1, 000 inhabitants. He has been one of the most progressive men of the place, and his name has always been prominently iden- tified with any movement tending to advance the common good and welfare of the community.

Mr. Hensal is a descendant of an old Penn- sylvania family. His ancestry can be traced back to days of Colonial fame, and upward. dur- ing the perilous times of the Revolution, to the present day. His mother was of sturdy Holland stock, and a distant relative of the celebrated Commodore Vanderbilt. His grandfather. Jacob Hensal, was a Pennsylvania German. His early years were spent on a farm seven miles northeast of Chambersburg. Franklin Co., Penn., where he was married. In ist he immigrated to the Big Miami Valley, in the State of Ohio. He re- inained there about five years, but owing to the prevalency of the ague he was forced to return to Pennsylvania, and settled in Westmore- land county on a farm. Growing discontented here, he returned to the place of his birth, Frank- lin county, where he died in about 1836. His wife, Catherine Mensal, who was of Irish extrac- tion, abandoned the farm after the death of her husband, and took up her abode with her eldest son, John, at Cashtown, Adams Co., Penn. She departed this life in 1838.

Their union was a happy one, and was blessed with ten children-six sons and four daughters, as follows: John, the oldest, and father of D. C. Hensal: Jacob, Joseph, Israel, George, Catherine. Isabelle. Christina. the names of the other two being now forgotten. Jacob. the. second eldest son, removed to Bucks county, Penn., on a farm. Hon. W. C. Hensal, Secretary of the Common- wealth under Gov. Robt. L. Pattison, of Penn-

sylvania, was one of his sons. Joseph migrated

to New York State in 1835. George enlisted as a volunteer in the war with Mexico in 1833, and served under the command of Sam Houston. The other children in turn inarried, and all lived long and useful lives.

John, the father of the subject of our sketch, was born February 14, 1801, in Franklin county, seven miles east of Chambersburg, Penn. In IS31 he was married to Miss Annie Coshun. She was of Holland extraction, and came from a race

longevity. By occupation he was a tailor, and conducted a shop at Cashtown, Adams county. At the age of fourteen years he contracted rheu- matism of an inflammatory nature, from the effects of which he was crippled for life and was com- : pelled to walk with crutch and cane. In 1849 he met with an accident that eventually caused his death. The place where he then resided was a thickly-settled forest infested with snakes of all kinds, particularly the deadly copperhead. The snakes often penetrated houses through crevices and openings in the walls. On one occasion Mr. Hensal. arising in the darkness of the night, unfortunately trod on a copperhead. The snake, thoroughly aroused and angered, bit him in the leg, causing a very painful wound. For many years this wound gave him trouble, until finally, in 1856, his leg was amputated by a physician traveling on the staff of Gen. Kossuth, the great Hungarian Liberator, who was at that time tour- ing the United States. He died six months after- ward, on November 2, 1856, and was buried at Cashtown. Penn. His wife lived to a ripe old age, dying in Guthrie county, Iowa, at the age of seventy-two years.

They were survived by eight children -- six boys and two girls. James, the second eldest. now a farmer of Guthrie county, Iowa, enlisted as a trooper during the war. in that famous body of fighters known as "Colonel Jamison's Jay- hawkers." This troop was afterward mustered into the United States Cavalry, and did efficient service until the war closed. James was under the immediate command of Gen. Dodge, and acted in the capacity of scout during Sherman's memorable march to the sea. Hereturned from the army with a lieutenant's commission, and married Miss Lavina Diehl, of Adams county, Pennsylvania.

Emery, the third son in age, is a stock dicaler at Mt. Carroll. Ill. He enlisted in the worst P. V. I .. and served in the Peninsular cap.paign with the Army of the Potomac. His term of service having expired in 1863, he returned home, but re-enlisted in 1864, and serve i nutil

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD,

1063

hostilities ended. He was married at Mt. Car- . ported for duty at Annapolis. His regiment, roll, Ill., to Miss Ellen Duffenbarger. He has a family of three sons and one daughter.

Charles Hensal, the fourth son, is now a res- ident of Altoona, Blair Co., Penn. He enlisted in the nine-months' service during the war. While he was at the front Gen. Lee made his famous raid into Pennsylvania, and, during the bloody fight at Gettysburg, Gen. Lee had his headquarters at the old homestead at Cashtown, where the mother of the Hensal boys then lived, eight miles from the battle field. While there the old lady and the wife of Charles did the cook- ing for Lee and his officers. When Lee retreat- ed he left twenty-eight wounded Confederates on the rear porch of the house, to be cared for and nursed back to health and strength. Among

them were two Southern officers, who while , The eldest, Hannah Mary, married Ephraim .

there had each a leg amputated, and remained with the family ot Charles for four months before returning to their Southern homes.

Amos, the next brother, enlisted for three years in Company K, 101st Pennsylvania Volun- teers. He was then only sixteen years of age. At the expiration of his term he re-enlisted. His regiment marched to the front by way of Wash- ington, D. C., to the Peninsula, and there joined at Williamsburg, followed in rapid succession by the battle of Fair Oaks and the battle of the Wilderness, in June, 1862. The regiment fell back to Norfolk and Suffolk, and passed four or five days of heavy skirmishing with the Rebel forces under the command of Gen. Pettigrew. Their next point was New Berne, N. C .. where they made a raid to destroy the Weldon railroad, meeting the enemy's forces at White Hall, Kingston and Goldsboro. The regiment was then ordered to Hyde county. N. C., to subdue the guerrillas, and from there to Washington, N. C., where they engaged in conflict with the Rebel troops. They then boarded transports at New Berne, N. C., for Plymouth, N. C., which they succeeded in capturing and holding. Their next engagement was with Gen. Pickett, on March 27, 1864. and here Amos was taken pris- oner, and was confined tor eleven months and seven days in that most infamous of prisons -- Andersonville. He was then removed to Charles- ton, S. C., where he remained three . weeks, and was afterward taken to Florence, S. C .. being transferred on the 27th of February. 1865. to Wilmington and Goldsboro. At the last- named place he was paroled and taken to the parol camp at Annapolis, Md. Here he secured a furlongh of thirty days, and after returning home and recruiting his strength he again re-

being re-organized, was assigned to guard duty on Roanoke Island, where it remained until June : 25, 1865. Their service being no longer re- quired, Mr. Hensal was mustered out at Harris- burg, and returned to Clearfield county in Angust, 1865, where he took up his residence with his brother David. In 1870 he married Miss Mary Stugart, and at present resides at Madera. He has a family of children: Nettie, Mattie, Margaret, Frank. Guss, Cloyd and Sadie, all of whom are yet at home.

The youngest of D. C. Hensal's brothers liv- ing is John Heckerman Hensal, now a railroad engineer residing at Chicago, Ill. Newton, the youngest of the family, died in 1854, at the early age of five years. D. C. Hensal lad two sisters.

Bittinger, and died in 1894, in Guthrie county, lowa. She was survived by a family of three sons and two daughters. The other sister, Jane, married Reuben Kuhn, and they live, at the present time, in Iowa, where the family is doing well.

D. C. Hensal, the subject proper of our sketch, is the oldest member of the family of John Hensal. He is one of the leading business

McClellan's army. Their first engagement was : men of Madera. He was born March 20. 1833,

at Floor's Church, Adams Co., Penn., one mile below Cashtown. In early life he followed the occupation of a carpenter. In the fall of 1850, packing all his possessions in a carpet sack. he trudged to Johnstown, where he was employed in the erection of the first station built there by the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. He continued in the employ of the railroad company until March 20, 1852. He then removed to Janesville. Clearfield county, to superintend the erection of sawmills, known as No. I and No. 2. for the Moshannon Land and Lumber Company. Then he began to take contracts for the buildings of barns and doing general carpenter work. At Glen Hope Mr. Hensal met the young lady that afterward became his wife. Her name was Miss Margaret M. Mullen. She was of Irish origin and a daughter of George and Sarah Mul- len. of Glen Hope. Mrs. D. C. Hensal quec Mullen) was born in the Parish of Clonflade. County Armagh, Ireland, July 5. 1834 She has two brothers living. William J. Mulien and Thomas Mullen, both of Clearfield county. D. (. Hensal and Margaret M. Mullen were united in the bonds of matrimony March 4. 1855. at Glen Hope, Penn., by Rev. Linthacum. of the M. E. Church. of that place. Mr. Hersal, find- ing that lumbering was a more congenial and Incrative occupation than contracting in carpen-

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ter work, began to buy and sell timber. During the war Mr. Hensal was successful in lumbering. He was drafted in 1863 and 1864. but got ex- empted on account of being asthmatic from in- fancy. He was burned out, house and all his · effects, on the 26th of April, 1872; was then fol-

lowing butchering and farming. There was no insurance, and it was a big loss to him: but with his energy and strong will he soon was up again, exploring for coal. It is to Mr. Hensal's credit, the opening of the first Moshannon seam of coal in Bigler township, from which has since re- sulted the great coal trade in this district. Mr. Hensal moved off the farm in 1890, to Madera, and embarked in the hotel business, where he is at present, and he owns several fine properties in the town, also a large tract of several thousand acres of coal lands in Somerset county, Penn., lo- cated on the B. & O. R. R.

Mr. Hensal was at one time. (from 30 to 50) an expert marksinan. and the trophies which adorn the walls of his hotel at Madera bear testi- mony to his skill with the rifle. His idle moments are spent in the woods, and as an angler and hunter he has very few equals in this section of the State.

Mr. Hensal has fourteen children, seven of whom are dead. Those living are George, John. Thomas, Amos, Sherman, Blanche J. and Cora V. George is married and resides in North Da- kota. Since removing there he suffered the mis- fortune of losing his left arm in a traction thresh- ing machine. John is married to Dilly Alexan- der, and has three children-Elizabeth, Alice and William. He resides at Madera, and by occupation is a butcher. Thomas by Yis a

w, and lives at -Springfielt. I. Amos re- 'sides at Fargo. N. Dak., where he has a respon-

Dast sible position in a Sherman V. is at home with his father, conducting the hotel business. Blanche married Dr. T. J. Boyer, who is now practicing medicine in the city of Pittsburg, Pena. Cora V. is the wife of J. O. Stanley, a- living at Ramey: they have one daughter, Gracie. Of those dead, Sadie, a bright young girl twelve years of age, was drowned June 10, 1888. in the Clearfield creek at Madera; Mary perished in the Johnstown flood; David died November 11. 1895. of Bright's disease. leaving to survive him one son, Blythe: the other four sons died in infancy.

D. C. Hensal, though now sixty-five years old, is yet alert and active, and bids fair to live many more years. He is one of the earliest set- tlers of Clearfield county. He has witnessed the material development of Madera from a vast wil- derness to a thriving industrial community with a happy, prosperous and educated population.

TOHN W. REED, Judge of the Fifty-fourth Judicial District, a resident of Brookville. Jefferson Co., Penn., combines in his char- acter and disposition the earnestness of the ad- vocate and the fairness and impartiality of the Jurist. He is just entering the threshold of his judicial career, and is yet a young man, but not until his sterling qualities as a lawyer were established did the ermine descend upon his shoulders.

Judge Reed is a self-made man. His father. John Reed, who was a martyr to his country's cause, was born and reared in Butler county, Penn., a son of John Reed, who became the pro- prietor of a hotel at Clarion, Clarion county, and died in that county. The family were of Scotch- Irish extraction, and had been living in America for several generations. John Reed was a ma- chinist by trade. He married Miss Rachel A. Everhart, a native of Centre county, whose mis- fortune it was to lose both parents in her early childhood, her father having been killed in a mill when she was quite young. To John and Rachel Reed were born three children: Clara A., now the wife of Warren Whitehill, an oil man of Allegheny county, Penn. ; John W., sub- ject of this sketch; and Ernest W., a dentist of Clarion. In the early days of the Civil war. or ; in the fall of 1861, when men were needed to assist in quelling the Rebellion, John Reed left · his little family and enlisted in Company F. . 63rd P. V. I., as a private. He remained in active service until after the battle of Fair Oaks, when he was stricken with typhoid fever. and perished while yet a soldier. His widow, the mother of our subject, now resides in Clarion. Clarion county.

John W. Reed was born at Clarion May 13. 1853. He attended the public schools, and his earlier education was supplemented with an academic course at Carrier Seminary, and for a time he was a teacher in the public schools of Clarion county; later choosing law as his vocation in life, he entered the office of the late Hon. James Campbell, of Clarion, and under his tute- lage was admitted to practice August 23. 1875. The young lawyer began his career as a lawyer at Brookville. Two years later he became a member of the firm of Wilson, Jenks & Reed, of Clarion. Later still he went to Grand Forks, Dak., but in 1884 returned to Clarion, where he remained in practice until 1895, at which time he again came to Brookville. While residing at Clarion he served as burgess, and was also a trustee of the State Normal School in that place. Mr. Reed was a very successful practitioner in almost every department of practice, and in

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

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criminal law won unusual distinction. It is stated that during the last ten years of his practice he was professionally identified with some fifteen homi- cide cases in Clarion and adjoining counties. On June 17, 1895, he was appointed president judge in the newly created district, composed of Jeffer- son county, and in the fall of that year he was elected for a term of ten years, and took his seat on the Bench, under that election, on the first Monday of January, 1896. It may be of inter- est to state that while a resident of Clarion county, when it was in the same judicial district with Jefferson, Mr. Reed was a candidate for the nomination. his competitor being Judge Clark, the present incumbent.

On June 16. 1880. Judge Reed was married to Miss Myrta Corbet. born October 3, 1857, a daughter of Col. W. W. Corbet, of Brookville. and they have one child-Elizabeth. Judge and Mrs. Reed are members of the Presbyterian Church, and the Judge is identified with Clarion Lodge No. 277, F. & A. M., and Clarion Lodge No. 252, I. O. O. F. He is one of the incorpor- ators of the Dickinson School of Law at Carlisle, Penn. The Judge is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, composed of judges and lawyers from the various districts of the State: also a member of the general com- mittee on legal education of the State, whose object is to establish a uniform curriculum of study for admission to the Bar.

It is perhaps safe to say that the most im- portant part of Judge Reed's professional career is yet in the future. He is young in years, but has already impressed his constituency, which he now serves in an important capacity, with his ability and force of character. As a lawyer he is broad and liberal, as a judge, conservative and just.

H ON. ROBERT REED MEANS (deceased) was a native of Greenwood, Mifflin Co., Penn., born April 25. 1819, and was taken by his parents, in 1821, to Curllsville. Clarion county, where he grew to manhood.

In 1847 Mr. Means went to Brookville, and in the following year engaged in the mercantile business. About the same time he was appointed deputy sheriff under Thomas Wilkins. the then sheriff of Jefferson county. In 1850 he was elected a justice of the peace, and served the full terin of five years with credit to himself and sat- isfaction to the people. Shortly after retiring from that office. in 1856. he purchased the " Railroad House," which he owned until 1864. On July 25, 1861, he entered the Gend regiment,

P. V. I., under Col. Samuel Black, as captain of Company I, having entered the service for three years. He participated in the campaign of the peninsula, and at Malvern Hill, during the mem- orable Seven Days fight, he was wounded in the thigh and left upon the field. Having fallen into a little ravine, which shortly after, owing to heavy rain. filled with water, he managed to prevent inflammation of his wound until picked up by a Rebel scouting party. He was carried to Rich- mond a prisoner of war, and incarcerated in Libby prison; but after a short time he was exchanged and taken to David's Island Hospital. N. Y., where he reinained several months. He then re- turned, on furlough, to Brookville, and after a residence of several months at his old home. finding recovery of his health impossible. he tendered his resignation, which was accepted, and he retired from the army.

In 1870 he was elected associate. judge of Jefferson county, and during his term of office filled the position with marked ability, attaining. by his impartiality and eminent good sense. a still higher place in the estimation of the people than he had before enjoyed, if such a thing were possible. Upon retirement from the Bench at the close of his term, in 1875, Judge Means gave his entire attention to his large lumbering inter- ests; but in the spring of 1877 he was prostrated by a violent attack of fever, which terminated in general debility, and finally ended in his death, on October 4, 1877.

On March 26, 1849, Judge Means was married to Mrs. Sarah W. Clark, widow of Jesse G. Clark. and a daughter of Thomas Hastings, of Brook- ville, Penn., whose death occurred in Brook- ville June 3. 1889. Seven children were born of this union. two of whom died in infancy. A brief record of the remaining five is as follows:

(1) GEORGE W. MEANS. a prominent attor- ney of Brookville, was born in that thriving city, April 23. 1853, and has always made his home there. His elementary education was obtained in the public schools of his native place, and he subsequently attended Reid Institute in Clarion county, where he prepared for college. In the fall of 1871 he entered the Freshman class of Bucknell College, at Lewisburg, Penn., where he was graduated in June, 1875, with the degree A. B .: two years later he received the degree of A. M. from the same institution. In Septem- ber. 1876, he was admitted to the Bar, since which time he has been engaged in the practice of law in Brookville. In isgo he entered into partnership with Judge Clark, and shortly after- ward B. M. Clark, son of the Judge, was asso- ciated with the firm, which then became known

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

as Clark, Means & Clark. Since the election of Judge Clark to the Bench, in 1891, the firm has been Means & Clark, and they continued to hold a high place among the legal practitioners of Jef- ferson county. George W. Means was married June 19, 1878, to Miss Emma E. Newton, daugh- ter of Robert D. Newton, of St. Louis, Mo., and they have had two children-Robert Newton, who died March 26, 1882, at the age of ten months: and George William, Jr., born June 22, 1891. Socially, Mr. Means is a member of the F. & A. M., and is a K. T. ; in politics he is a Democrat, Ever mindful that the law is a jealous mistress, he has never turned aside to test his skill in the political arena, but has studiously devoted his energies to his professional work,

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Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 2, Part 97

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