USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 66
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In 1895 Mr. Walker began the business of manufacturing ice cream. He rented a room in the Steber block, beginning with the very humble method of a hand freezer, and retailed the product. During the winter season he added oysters to his business, and the place
which he conducted came to be known as "an Oyster Bay." This was the beginning of the present excellent I. X. L. restaurant, one of the leading institutions of its kind in Warren today. In the spring following the establish- ment of this business, Mr. Walker sold out, and opened another establishment at No. 4 Water street, where he devoted his entire energies to the manufacture of ice cream, assisted by his wife and a boy ; this.continued until January 23, 1904, when his place was de- stroyed by fire. This did not check his ambi- tion ; he re-opened on a much more extensive scale at No. 309-1I Union street, the site of the business which he conducts at the present time. In 1905 this was incorporated under the name of the Walker Ice Cream Company, Ltd., the plant having a capacity of a hundred thousand gallons a year. In 1903 also he established a creamery at Akeley station, which he sold in 1906, and then another at Riverside, town of Kiantone, Chautauqua county, New York, in connection with which he conducted the Walker farm, well stocked with a fine lot of cows. In January, 1911, the Sugargrove Can- ning Factory and the Sugargrove Creamery and Condensed Milk Plant were also founded.
Mr. Walker has become one of the best and most prominent of the business men of War- ren, distinguished for his initiative and excel- lent judgment in mercantile matters; he is a natural leader, never following in the foot- steps of others or confining his dealings to antiquated and worn out methods; and in this way he has met with the success which so strongly characterizes his present undertak- ings. He has also become one of the most prominent citizens here in social and Masonic affairs, being a very active member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; he is chairman of the building committee in the erection of the beautiful Elk home now under way and nearing completion at the corner of Fourth and Hickory streets, and is a member of the board of trustees. He is also a member of North Star Lodge, No. 241, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, Warren; of Occidental Chap- ter, No. 235; of Warren Commandery, No. 63 ; of Zem Zem Temple, Erie, Pennsylvania ; Coudersport Consistory ; Knights of Pythias ; and of the Knights of the Maccabees. He be- longs to the Presbyterian church.
On April 19, 1874, Mr. Walker married Frances Loretta Gray, born December 24, 1854, at Parksville, Sullivan county, New
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York, daughter of Garrett and Lucy (Josce- lyn) Gray. Her father was born at Parksville, having been a blacksmith at the beginning of his career, and later became a farmer in Dela- ware county, New York; he was a member of the Presbyterian church. His wife was Lucy Joscelyn, born January 27, 1829, daughter of David and Sylvia (Davis) Joscelyn. The Davises were residents of Beaver Kill, New York, the family having a revolutionary his- tory. David Joscelyn lived and died in the state of Michigan ; his children being : Halsey, Samuel, Nelson, Sarah, Lucy, Amanda, Agnes. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Gray, the parents of Mrs. Edward Walker, were: David H., Sylvia, Frances Loretta, Louisa, James, Augusta, deceased, Ernest, Clara, de- ceased. Mrs. Walker's grandfather, Dr. Will- iam Gray, who was of English descent, lived and died at Parksville. His wife was a na- tive of Dutchess county, who lived to the ad- vanced age of eighty-one, surviving her his- band who died at seventy years of age. Among their children were: Benjamin; Daniel, who left home and was heard of no more; William ; Isaac; DeWitt; Garrett, father of Mrs. Walker; Sarah; Margaret; Leah; Hannah ; and another daughter who grew to woman- hood and married.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Walker are as follows: I. Porter Romaine, born February 16, 1876; he is now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, having formerly been a member of the company established by his father ; he married (first) October 21, 1894, Gertrude Fay ; they had two children, William I. and Elizabeth Gray Walker. He married (second) Virginia Flagherty, by whom he has no children. 2. Burr Raymond, born December 12, 1878; now a member of the Walker Company ; he mar- ried Elizabeth Jane Cohn and has one child, Edward Cambridge Walker.
Frederick Jordan, the first JORDAN member of this family of whom we have any definite informa- tion, was of "Pennsylvania Dutch" origin and was born in Union county, Pennsylvania. In 1827 he removed with his family to Armstrong (now Clarion) county, Pennsylvania, and set- tled in Perry township, where he took up a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on the Allegheny river which is now called "Bartley farm." He married Polly - -. Children : Israel, referred to below; Barbara, married
Samuel Barger, of Perry township; Kather- ine, married David Young; Mary, married Peter Fair ; Sophia, married George McCoy ; Manuel ; David.
( II) Israel, son of Frederick and Polly Jor- dan, was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, March 3, 1818, and died October 9, 1912, in Perry township, Clarion county, Pennsylvania. He removed with his parents to Clarion county when nine years of age and grew up on his father's farm. He later purchased a farm of one hundred and forty acres on which he worked for many years, and during the win- ter seasons followed his trade as a shoemaker. He was a Democrat in politics, and a Lutheran in religion. He married Catherine Jordan, born in Union county, Pennsylvania, January 24, 1824, died in Clarion county, in 1892. Chil- dren : Polly, died aged eighteen years, unmar- ried; F. P., referred to below ; twins, died in infancy ; Sophia, died aged twenty years, un- married; Eli, died aged five years ; John, died aged three years ; a son, died in infancy.
(III) F. P., son of Israel and Catherine (Jordan) Jordan, was born on his father's farm in Perry township, Clarion county, Penn- sylvania, August 9, 1842, and is now living there. He received his early education in the public schools of his native county, and later worked as an engineer in the coal mines for several years, and then returned home and took up the management of his father's farm. He operated a saw mill on the place and in the woods of Clarion county for four years, and then devoted himself entirely to farming until he retired from active pursuits. He is a Dem- ocrat in politics, and served for two terms as tax collector of Clarion county, and has also served as supervisor. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married, January 2, 1872, Sarah Estella, born in Elk county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Sam- uel Sherwin. Children : 1. Samuel, born June 4, 1880; now a machinist in Blue Goose mines ; married Ella Karns ; children, Arthur, Francis, Mary Viola, Edna, twins, November 19, 1912. 2. Clyde, referred to below. 3. Calvin Henry, born September 23, 1885 ; now a miner in Black Fox mines ; married Eva Everett ; no children. 4. Bertha Viola, born December 6, 1887; mar- ried Harry Guiste, of Indiana county, Penn- sylvania ; children, Carrie and Frank.
(IV) Clyde, son of F. P. and Sarah Estella (Sherwin) Jordan, was born on his father's farm in Perry township, Clarion county, Penn-
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sylvania, July 1, 1882. He received his early education in the public schools, and later worked for several years in the coal mines, and then for four years assisted his father and brother in operating a saw mill in the woods of Clarion county, after which he returned to farming on the old homestead in which he is still engaged. He married, August 17, 1910, Catherine, daughter of Reuben and Jane (Houss) Barger, of Perry township, Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania. Child, Lester Harry, born July 30, 1912.
LOCKE It is probable that the Locke family is descended from Will- iam H. Locke, one of the first settlers in Lawrence county, and a miller by trade. He is supposed to have been born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and traced his descent to stanch German stock. He died in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, at the age of sixty-four years. His son Thomas is mentioned below.
(II) Thomas, son of William H. Locke, was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, and during the major portion of his active career was engaged in farming operations in Plain Grove township, that county, where his death occurred in 1844. He was a Whig in his political convictions, but did not take an active part in public affairs. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Fox, was a daughter of Peter Fox, a farmer who lived two miles north of Plain Grove, in Lawrence county. Mrs. Locke died in Leesburg, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1887. There were eight children in the Fox family, as follows: Joseph, married a Miss Warner, and they removed to Iowa, where both died; David, married Rachel Van Horn, both deceased; Michael, deceased ; John, married a Miss Brian, both deceased ; Catherine, became wife of Elijah Morrison, both deceased; Martha, married William Reicher, both deceased; Hannah, married Robert Blair ; and Sarah, married Thomas Locke, as already noted. Mr. and Mrs. Locke became the parents of four children : 1. Mary, became the wife of William McCracken ; chil- dren : William, married Shaw, and he is a farmer in the vicinity of Leesburg, Penn- sylvania; Adam, married Crea, he is deceased ; Austin, a farmer near Leesburg ; also three daughters. Mr. and Mrs. McCracken are both deceased. 2. John, mentioned below. 3. David, lives near Slippery Rock, Pennsyl- AV-23
vania ; married Catherine Rodgers; children : William ; John, married Crees ; Frank, married Hattie Shallowtree; Ray; Ernest; Catherine, married Ed. Crocker ; Dora, mar- ried Harry Rodgers. 4. William, was a soldier in the civil war, and while in service con- tracted smallpox from which he died January I, 1863. As the father of the above children died when the oldest was a child of but seven years of age, the widowed mother returned to the home of her parents with her family, and they were reared in the Fox household.
(III) John, second child of Thomas and Sarah (Fox) Locke, was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, April 5, 1837. He grew up and was educated in Lawrence county, and at the tender age of fourteen years was thrown upon his own resources. He worked about as a farm hand until he had reached his seven- teenth year, when he entered upon an appren- ticeship to learn the trade of carpenter. He was engaged in the work of his trade until 1864, when he enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of Company E, One Hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He participated in several important cam- paigns marking the close of the war, and won great admiration for his bravery and daring. Since the close of his military career he has been engaged in the farming business at Clin- tonville, Venango county, Pennsylvania.
In 1866, Mr. John Locke married Sarah Elizabeth Rodgers, a native of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Nathaniel Rodgers and Catherine (Boozell) Rodgers. Children : I. Nathaniel, born February 6, 1867, died June 16, 1890. 2. Thomas L., born June 24, 1868; married Alice Hovis. 3. Harry H., born February 21, 1871. 4. Robert W., born February 6, 1874; married Elda Hovis. 5. Mary C., born June 7, 1876; married Frank Cannon. 6. James R., born February 10, 1885 ; married Sallie Cumings.
LUCART Helwig Lucart, the first mem- ber of this family of whom we have any definite information, was born in Washington township, Clarion county, and is now living in Clarion county, Pennsylvania. His parents emigrated to Amer- ica and settled in Washington township, where they died. He received his early education in the public schools, and then engaged in farm- ing, in which pursuit he still continues. He is a Democrat in politics, and a Free Methodist
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in religion. He married Martha E., daughter of William and Barbara Fellers, born in Washington township and died there. Her parents came from Westmoreland county and settled on a farm in Washington township and died there. Children of Helwig and Martha E. (Fellers) Lucart : Lillie, married W. H. Sliker; Barbara, married R. C. Glitzimger ; John Webster, of whom further; Belle, mar- ried G. W. Frill; W. Elmer ; Robert Pierce, resides in Aberdeen, Washington (1913).
(II) John Webster, son of Helwig and Martha E. ( Fellers) Lucart, was born on his father's farm in Washington township, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, and is now living in Tylersburg, Pennsylvania. He received his early education in the public schools and then worked as a lumberman in the woods for twelve years, and then became a contractor in the oil and gas fields, in which industry he is still engaged as a producer. He is also interested in lands in Farmington township. He is a Democrat in politics. He married, October 24, 1906, Harriet, daughter of J. G. and Alice (Young) Wagner, of Warren, Pennsylvania. Children: Dorothea Claribel and Elton Wagner.
SMITH This name, as an English name, would be very common, for Eng- lish names frequently represent occupations, and the occupations of smiths are necessary in any state of society, except, per- haps, the purely agricultural. But to this stream of Smiths of English origin, descend- ants of so many immigrants not related one to another, have been added others of German and of Dutch origin, with similar names, and the Dutch families, at least, have in some in- stances anglicized the name. It would prob- ably be hard to find today any extensive sec- tion of the United States where Smith is not the most common of all names.
(I) John Smith, the first member of this family about whom we have definite informa- tion, was an early settler in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, having come from Maryland. Here he was a farmer. It is not known whom he married. Children, all deceased : Daniel, Jacob, Samuel, Elizabeth, John H., of whom further, Susan.
(II) John H., son of John Smith, was born August 26, 1808, died in 1887. He was owner of land, both in Clarion and in Jefferson counties, Pennsylvania, two hundred acres in
all, and farming was his principal occupation. He was a Democrat. Both he and his wife were Lutherans. He married Hannah, born in 1812, died in 1870, daughter of George and (Winner ) Bashline. Her parents, both natives of Columbia county, Pennsyl- vania, settled in Monroe township, Clarion county, in 1824; there they lived on one hun- dred acres of land. He was a Democrat, and a member of the Lutheran church : she was a member of the German Reformed church. Children of George and - (Winner ) Bashline: Philip, Samuel, Elias, Abraham, a Methodist Episcopal minister ; George, Mary, Catharine, Susan, Lavina, Hannah, married John H. Smith. Children of John H. and Hannah ( Bashline) Smith : I. Isaac, a farmer ; married three times. 2. Sarah, married David Kline; he is a farmer in Monroe township. 3. Elizabeth, married Josiah Hartman; they live in Toby township. 4. John Adam, of whom further. 5. Jeremiah, a farmer in Madison township; married Nancy Swan. 6. Jennie, married E. E. Henry ; he is a farmer in Porter township. 7. Samuel, a farmer in Piney township .; married Margaret Magee. 8. David W., of whom further.
(III) John Adam, son of John H. and Hannah ( Bashline) Smith, was born May II, 1848. His education was mainly received in the common school in Monroe township, but he attended also for about five months the old academy. His early days were spent on a farm, and he has continued to follow this occu- pation. At one time he was a director of the bank at Sligo, Clarion county, Pennsylvania. He is a Democrat. Both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. He mar- ried, February 1, 1872, Philista M., born Feb- ruary 25, 1855, daughter of Isaac Smith. She is not related to her husband. Her father was a farmer in Piney township, Clarion county, Pennsylvania. Children : 1. Sarah Jane, born in 1872; married Harry Dixson; he is a farmer in Piney township. 2. Mary Ella, born in 1874; married O. E. Barlett ; he is a farmer in Monroe township. 3. Caroline, born in 1876; married John Hartman; he is a mason at Rimersburg. 4. Amos, born in 1878; mail carrier ; married Maud Sayers. 5. Bertha, born in October, 1880; lives at home. 6. Stella E., living at home. 7. Adam A. Stella E. and Adam A. are graduates of the Clarion State Normal School, and are teachers.
(III) David W., son of John H. and Han-
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nah (Bashline) Smith, was born in Monroe township, on the farm where his widow now lives, August 15, 1856, died April 11, 1900. He was brought up on the homestead farm, and attended the common school of the neigh- borhood. His land holding was of one hun- dred and seventeen acres extent. He was a Democrat, but never sought office. Both he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church, and very active therein. He married, December 24, 1878, Emma, born in Piney township, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, Jan- uary 23. 1861, daughter of John N. and Su- sanna ( Reese) Whitmore. Her grandfather. Jacob Whitmore, was a native of Germany, and one of the first settlers of Licking town- ship, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, where he died; his wife, Catharine, died in Piney town- ship. John N. Whitmore was born in Licking township. October 2, 1818; his wife was born April 30, 1831. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, and both were alive for several years after this. Their children: Alice. Sarah, James, deceased; Emma, Amanda Jane, deceased; Leila, Ida, Andrew, Elkanah, Edward, deceased; Charles, de- ceased: Arminta. One other (the oldest of all ) died in infancy. Children of David W. and Emma (Whitmore) Smith: 1. Lillie Ar- minta, born February 22, 1880; married Rob- ert Sweitzer; they live at New Bethlehem, Clarion county, Pennsylvania ; children : Ralph LeRoy and Russell Eugene. 2. Myrna Susanna, born August 18, 1881. 3. Laura Edith, born January 8, 1884. 4. John Emery Orville, born October 9, 1886. 5. Alzora Gertrude, married Grover Dixon ; child, Har- old Smith. 6. Homer Audley, born August I, 1892; married December 31, 1912, Lettie Sherman ; they reside on the home farm.
This name is found in Berks HEETER county, Pennsylvania, as early as 1767, for in that year Adam Heeter was named in the proprietary return of Eastern District township. He does not seem to have been a landowner, nor was he among the taxables there in 1759, nor in 1779. Others of this name are found in Oley town- ship in 1780, and in Exeter township in 1785. The Heeters probably belonged to the German immigration, which was so prominent among the formative elements of Pennsylvania, but to a rather late part of it, yet the name does not appear among the foreigners who took the
oath of allegiance between 1727 and 1775. Finally, there was proved, in Berks county, March 17, 1806, the will of Adam Hieter ; he . names his wife, Elizabeth, and children, Ben- jamin, Adam, Jacob, Mary, Odilla, Magda- lena ; he disposes of one hundred acres of land in Earl, in that county.
(I) William Heeter is the first member of this family about whom we have definite in- formation. He married --. Child, George WV., of whom further.
(II) George W., son of William Heeter, was born in Licking township, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, April 6, 1845. His education was received in public schools. For many years he has been a lumberman, and has been largely interested in the manufacture of lum- ber and in boat building on the Clarion river. He also owns several fine farms, about four hundred and fifty acres in all. Since 1902 he has lived at Clarion, and his home is on Wood street. He is a Democrat. For four years he was county mercantile appraiser, and he has held many town offices. Mr. Heeter is a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church. He married Rachel A., born in Licking township, in 1851, daughter of William Bell. Her parents were among the early settlers of Clarion county. Children : Harvey B., Phoebe L., William Melvin, Linda L. All are living.
(III) William Melvin, son of George W. and Rachel A. (Bell) Heeter, was born in Licking township, Clarion county, Pennsyl- vania, April 9, 1874. He was brought up to the lumber business, on the Clarion river, and attended public school, also Rimersburg Acad- emy. At first he was associated in business with his father, but since 1904 he has been in business by himself. Until 1909 he lived at Callensburg; in that year he came to Sligo and there he built a fine residence. Having sold this in 1912, he built another house, also at Sligo. He is a Democrat. At the present time he is serving a term of six years as school director in the borough of Sligo. He is a Presbyterian. Mr. Heeter married, Septem- ber 27, 1900, Zoe Bell, born in Licking town- ship, May 6, 1877, daughter of James and Louise ( Reese ) Over. Children : Evelyn Bell, George James, Carle Melvin.
Joseph Banner, the founder of BANNER this family, was born in Ger- many, about 1813. died in Paint township, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, in
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May, 1864. After his marriage he lived for a time at Pittsburgh, and then at Bradys Bend, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, finally set- tling in Paint township, Clarion county, where he lived on a farm and practiced the cultiva- tion of the soil for the remainder of his days. He was a Democrat, and a communicant of the Catholic church. He married, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kunegunda Heinlein, born in Germany, died in 1899. Children : Mary, de- ceased; Joseph; George, of whom further; John, deceased ; Anna, deceased.
(II) George, son of Joseph and Kunegunda (Heinlein) Banner, was born at Bradys Bend, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, August 17, 1849. When he was three years of age he was brought by his parents to Clarion county, and finally to Paint township, where he grew to manhood on the home farm and attended the public school. After arriving at years of ma- turity he soon became interested in the oil and gas business, in which he was a large operator during the remainder of his life. For about thirty years he lived at Clarion, Clarion county, and was superintendent of the Clarion & Ty- lersburg Gas Company for about eighteen years of that time. He was also one of the leading figures in the creation of the Home Gas Company, of which he was superintendent for a number of years. He followed the vary- ing fortunes of this line of business into differ- ent localities, and one of the most successful of his ventures was the oil strike in the Miola field. He owned and lived in a fine residence at the corner of Fifth avenue and South street. While he never sought political preferment he was an ardent Democrat and took an active interest in matters pertaining to the party. He was a member of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, and at his death one of the oldest members of his branch.
Mr. Banner died suddenly February 8, 1913, of heart failure after an illness of several months. The funeral services were held in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Clar- ion, of which he was for many years a trustee, and requiem high mass was celebrated by Rev. Father Deckenbrock, who officiated. The obit- uaries of the papers published in the town in which he had made his home for so many years testified to the regard and esteem in which he was held by all in the community. We quote from the Clarion Democrat :
Mr. Banner was one of the best and happiest dis-
positioned men in the community. He was a plain, frank, open-hearted man, affable, agreeable and courteous at all times, and bore the reputation of an honorable and just man in all his dealings with men. His children inherit a rich legacy in the name he left with them.
He married, October 15, 1872, Barbara Re- becca, born in Bavaria, Germany, October 27, 1850, daughter of Matthias and Barbara (Her- man ) Blissel. Her father and mother were both born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to New York in 1853; from that city they re- moved to Pittsburgh, whence after a short residence they removed to Freeport, Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania. For a while after that they lived at Worthington, in the same county, and they finally settled in Clarion county, where both died in 1904, he in April, she in March. Children of Matthias and Bar- bara (Herman) Blissel: Julia; Barbara Re- becca, married George Banner ; Mary, John, Catharine, Frances, George, Anna, James P. Children of George and Barbara Rebecca ( Blissel) Banner : Bertha Loretta; Mary Jo- sephine ; Georgia Katherine ; Mercedes Rosalie ; Edward Henry, of whom further; Thomas Leo, of whom further; Edith Christine; Au- gustine Raymond, deceased.
(III) Edward Henry, son of George and Barbara Rebecca (Blissel) Banner, was born at Elk City, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1882. He was educated in the Cath- olic parochial school and took a further course in the Clarion State Normal School, graduat- ing from its business department in 1900. Until 1906 he kept books for the Dietz & Mooney Hardware Company, at Clarion. For the next three years he was with the Pearl Glass Com- pany, at Clarion, as assistant manager and sec- retary. In April, 1909, he entered into the plumbing business at Clarion, with his brother, Thomas Leo Banner, as his partner, under the name of Banner Brothers. During the same period he has been employed by the Dietz & Mooney Hardware Company as clerk. Banner Brothers own the building known as the Alex- ander Building, and during the year 1912 re- modeled it. Part of the building is used as a newsstand. In political affairs Edward Henry Banner is quite active, and he is an upholder of the principles of the Democratic party. During the presidential campaign of 1912 he was county treasurer of his party. He is a member of the Catholic church.
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