History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 103

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967


USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 103
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 103
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 103


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).


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Cast, coachmaker ; Cyrus Reily, shoemaker ; Rich. Odell, coachmaker.


The following is a summary of the present business interests of Stoystown : Four general stores, one grocery, two hotels, one drugstore, one shoestore, two tinshops, one cigar factory, one harness-shop, three carriage and wagon shops, one cabinetshop, one foundry and ma- chineshop, three blacksmithshops. The town has four physicians and one dentist.


Adam Snyder, one of the very earliest settlers of the county, was the first settler where the town of Somerset now stands, and owned the land on which the northern half of the town is built. He was probably the first who sold town lots in Somerset. He donated to the town the ground now occupied by the court-house and jail, also the lot on which the new school-build- ing stands. He gave the Lutheran cemetery to the church. Mr. Snyder lived and died in Som- erset. His children were Jacob, John A., Hen- ry, Adam, Joseph, Martha, Rosa, Eliza and Catharine. John A. Snyder was born in Somer- set, in 1795 ; followed the mercantile business in Somerset a number of years, also kept hotel. He died in 1872. He was married to Elizabeth Shaffer. Children : George A., John H., Sam- uel P., Andrew J., Simon P., Cyrus L., Mary, Catharine, Rosa, Charlotte (deceased) and Amanda. Cyrus served in the late war three years. He first enlisted in the 4th Minn. regt .; after his discharge, re-enlisted at Harrisburg ; was first lieutenant and afterward captain. John H. Snyder has resided in Stoystown since 1838. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits in this place for forty years, and is now living in retire- ment, enjoying the fruits of his long and active career.


Conrad Hite was born near Hagerstown, Mary- land, in 1745. He was a drummer in the army during the revolution. In 1804 he removed to Stoystown, where he followed the tanner's trade. He died in 1833. Of his children only one is living -William, who resides in Stoystown. John, another son, was born in Cumberland, in 1797, and removed to this county with his father. He kept hotel in Stoystown about thirty. years. He died in 1858. He married Catharine Ken- nedy, and was the father of J. K. and. H. P. (deceased), J. H., Julia, Mary, Caroline, Catha- rine and . Elmira J. (living). H. P. Hite was a soldier in the Mexican war. He was also a law; yer in Somerset. He died at the age of twenty-


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HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.


four. J. K. served nine months in the late war and had command of a company in the 133d regt. Penn. Vols. J. H. Hite enlisted in Co. B, 54th regt. Penn. Vols., in September, 1861, and was captain of the company. He was taken prisoner at Paw Paw, West Virginia, in October, 1862, and taken to Libby prison ; held about two months. Discharged on account of dis- ability in April, 1864. He is now keeping hotel in Stoystown.


Jacob Custer, of German descent, was born in Franklin county, in 1765 ; came to this county prior to the revolution ; followed farming ; died in 1819. His children were Jolin and Mary, deceased ; Jacob and Catharine, living. Jacob Custer, a carpenter by trade, came to Stoystown, where he is still living, in 1826. Ile has served as justice of the peace fifteen years. He mar- ried, first, Sarah Kimmel, and, second, Jane Thompson. Children : Samuel, George, John, Jacob, Matilda (deceased), Catharine, Eliza, Laura and Elizabeth. Samuel has beer, keeping hotel in Stoystown since 1869. John and Jacob served in the late war.


Henry Schlag, a native of Germany, came to Somerset county about fifty years ago, and set- tled at Bakersville, where he still resides and follows cabinetmaking. His son, P. B. Schlag, has been in the mercantile business in Stoys- town since 1878. He served as corporal in Co. C, 52d regt. Penn. Vols. Enlisted in September, 1864 ; discharged in July, 1865.


Capt. Adam Grimm, a native of Germany, came to this county with his father in 1829. He has resided in Stoystown since 1853, and is engaged in the business of saddlery and car- riage-trimming. Capt. Grimm has followed his present business since 1840. He served in the late war, in Co. D, 142d regt. Penn. Vols. En- listed in August, 1862; discharged in April, 1864. Held the rank of captain. He was wounded in the first day's fight at Gettysburg. Afterward, being unable to perform active ser- vice, he was appointed quartermaster of the regiment. Capt. Grimm was treasurer of Som- erset county, 1868-70.


The Bowmans were among the first settlers in this county. Peter, born in this county in 1778, died in Quemahoning township in 1858. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Horner. Children : Joseph, John, Benjamin, Peter, Dan- iel and William, living ; Elizabeth, Susanna, Rachel and Mary, deceased. John and Benja-


min, only, reside in this county. Both are farm- ers in Quemahoning. John Bowman was born in this township. His wife is Mary Lohr, and their children, Henry, Noah, Benjamin F., John, Susanna, Elmira, Eliza, Mary J. and Barbara. Noah served in the late war three years and Benjamin one year. The former enlisted in August, 1862, in Co. D, 142d regt. Penn. Vols .; was promoted to first lieutenant in May, 1864, and in September of the same year to captain. At the battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865, he was shot through the right lung. He now re- sides in Stoystown and is engaged in the mer- cantile business at the head of the firm of Bow- man, Giffin & Kyle.


Benjamin F. Bowman enlisted in 1864, Co. F', 198th regt. Penn. Vols., and was discharged in June, 1865. He is a wagonmaker in Stoystown.


Ezra Giffin, of Irish descent, was born near McConnellstown, and came to Shade township, Somerset county, in 1846, and followed farming. He removed to Johnstown, his present resi- dence, in 1882. His children are J. E., Samuel, Lydia (Barnhart), Susan (deceased), Mary, Rachel (Hayes) and Amanda. J. E. Giffin, a member of the firm of Bowman, Giffin & Kyle, merchants, followed school-teaching in early life. Since 1871, he has been engaged in mer- cantile pursuits. He is also a stock-dealer and an active business man. Mr. Giffin has been a member of the firm of Bowman, Giffin & Kyle since January, 1882.


James Kyle, a native of Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, moved to Somerset county in 1840, and followed shoemaking. In 1844 he went to California, where he died the following year. He married Jane Allison. Edgar, the only child of this union, was elected sheriff of Somerset county in 1878. He has served as constable five years. Since 1882 he has been a member of the firm of Bowman, Giffin & Kyle, merchants, Stoystown. Mr. Kyle served in Co. C, 54th regt. Penn. Vols., from August, 1861, until May 31, 1865. He was wounded and taken prisoner.


The Brubakers were among the earliest set- tlers in this county. Jacob, who married Rachel Cable, came to Somerset county with his parents. His children were : Michael, Abra- ham, Jacob and John, living ; Eva, Elizabeth and Rachel, deceased. Michael has resided in Stoystown since 1829. He is a blacksmith by trade. He married Catharine Probst, and is the


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QUEMAHONING.


father of George (deceased), William, Isaac, Mary (Burnham), Catharine (Groff) and Rachel (deceased). George was a blacksmith in Stoys- town. He served one year in the late war. His death transpired in 1877. William is a cabinetmaker in Stoystown. John R. Brubaker, son of George, and great-grandson of Jacob, is studying medicine in this place.


C. W. Pugh came from Philadelphia to Get- tysburg, and thence to Schellsburg, Bedford county, about 1836. He removed to Stoystown in 1852, and followed his trade, coachmaking, until 1862. He died in 1872, at the age of sixty- two years. His eldest son, C. W. Pugh, served in Co. B, 54th regt. Penn. Vols .; enlisted September 16, 1861, and was discharged Sep- tember 16, 1864 ; entered the service as fifth sergeant and was mustered out as orderly ; was taken prisoner at Paw Paw, West Virginia, in October, 1862; was two months in captivity, a part of the time in Libby prison. He was township constable in 1862. He is a coach- maker by trade, but since 1866 has been engaged in cabinetmaking and undertaking. He is a partner in the firm of Pugh & Brubaker, Stoys- town. His brother, John H., was also in the army, and was killed at the battle of Lynch- burg. James E., another brother, was in the service and was wounded at Chickamauga.


Daniel Sorber, a millwright by trade, came from Northampton county to Somerset county in 1817. He kept hotel for a number of years on the turnpike in Shade township, and was one of the few settlers in that township at that date. He died at the age of seventy-six. Of his children, Joseph, Adam, Daniel and Eliza- beth (Blough), are living. Martin V. Sorber, eldest son of Joseph Sorber, of Stony Creek, has been engaged in the practice of dentistry in Stoystown since 1876. Previous to that date he followed mercantile business in Buckstown. He served four years in Co. I, 55th regt. Penn. Vols., in the late war, and held the rank of private, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and cap- tain successively.


W. A. McVicker, tinner, came to Stoystown and engaged in his present business in 1880. He had previously followed the same business four years in Claysburg, Blair county. Mr. McVicker's father, James McVicker, was born on Dry Ridge, Bedford county, and followed tanning at Statler's mill, near Schellsburg, from 1831 to 1843, when he removed to Somerset


county. He was twice elected justice of the peace. In 1859 he returned to Bedford county. He married twice, and is the father of nine children.


ODD-FELLOWS.


Stoystown Lodge, No. 372, I.O.O.F., was insti- tuted on October 3, 1849. The chartered mem- bers were Robert H. Patterson, Joseph A. Garman, David Clark, David Statler, Augustus Heffley, Josiah H. Zimmerman and Josiah Keller. This old lodge is still flourishing, and at present has a membership of forty. The financial standing of the lodge is as follows : Money invested, eight hundred and thirty-one dollars ; regalia and furniture, five hundred and sixty dollars.


GRAND ARMY.


The Grand Army Post at Stoystown . was organized on April 6, 1883, with thirty-six charter members. J. W. Mostoller was elected post commander. The post is in a flourishing condition. Membership, June 16, 1883, fifty-six.


HOOVERSVILLE.


Hooversville is a small but pleasant village, situated in the midst of a fertile agricultural country. The first settler, on the land where the village now is, was Caspar Ripple, who obtained a warrant for the tract in 1794. Hooversville, however, is of modern growth. The first house in the village was built by George Lohr in 1850. Lohr was also the first storekeeper, his store occupying a portion of his dwelling. Jonas Hoover, after whom the place was named, sold off the first building lots. Aaron Crissey, the first blacksmith, began busi- ness in 1855. The first gristmill in this place was built in 1834 by John Clark. Hooversville postoffice was established in 1876, through the efforts of George Hoover, who was appointed the first postmaster. The first physician was Dr. John Howard, succeeded by Dr. M. L. Unruh and Dr. J. W. Hamer.


Jonas Hoover, the founder of Hooversville, was a soldier of the war of 1812, and served two years. He moved from Chambersburg to Quem- ahoning township in 1836, and to Hooversville in 1847, purchasing from Daniel Weyant one hundred and thirty acres of land. He died in 1874, at the age of eighty. He married, first, Mary Lohrsbaugh, and second, Elizabeth Krich- baum. His children were John, David, George, Catherine, Martha (deceased), Mary (Huffman)


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and Amelia. David and George served about nine months in the late war in Co. D, 58th regt. Penn. Vols. George Hoover has been in the mercantile business since 1870.


John Hamer came from England to Shade township about 1829. He served as justice of the peace in Shade two terms. He died in 1866, aged seventy-two years. His wife was Catharine Custer, and their children were William, Samuel (deceased), John, Nathaniel, James F., Thomas P., Eveline, Mary A. and Martha J. William, James and Thomas reside in Shade. Samuel died in the army. Nathaniel and John are millers by trade. Nathaniel has been in the mercantile business and postmaster at Hoovers- ville since 1879. He owns a half-interest in the flouring-mill. John, now serving his second term as justice of the peace, has resided in Hooversville since 1868. He served in the army three years, and was seven weeks in Libby prison. Nathaniel was also in the war.


Jacob Crissey moved from Franklin county to Somerset county about 1804, and settled near Friedens. Ile was a farmer, and died at the age of ninety-six. His children were Elias, Jacob, David and Rebecca, all dead. David was born in Franklin county in 1792, and died in this township in 1880. He settled in Quem- ahoning in 1843. He married, first, Mary Frank, and second, Sarah Hart, and was the father of seventeen children. Those living are . Rufus, Elias, John, Frank, Hezekiah, Margaret, Rosanna, Maria, Mary and Susanna. Rufus, Elias and Hezekiah served in the army. (See military chapters.) Rufus is a wagonmaker, and Hezekiah a blacksmith, in Hooversville.


Jacob Swank, of German descent, was born in Somerset county in 1811. He was a farmer, and died in 1845. He married Elizabeth Mos- toller, and was the father of Samuel S., Eli, Jacob, Eliza and Elizabeth. All three of the sons served in the late war, Eli as a lieutenant. Samuel S. and Jacob were in Co. D, 142d regt. Penn. Vols. The former was discharged after two years' service, on account of a wound received in the battle at Gettysburg. S. S. Swank is engaged in blacksmithing at Hoovers- ville.


CHURCHES.


Stoystown Reformed church is a very old organization. The exact date of its formation cannot be ascertained, but from baptismal records we learn that Rev. H. Giese was pastor


in 1799. The following are the names of parents whose children were baptized at an early date : Michael and Anna Maria Peterman, Philip and Barbara Kacker, Ludwig and Elizabeth Rupp, Conrad and Christiana Tisch, Jacob and Chris- tiana Fronhauser, Christian and Eva Spangler, Jacob and Anna M. Baker, Michael and Eliza- beth Zimmerman, Conrad and Maria Hite, John Mc Willer, Michael and Anna M. Wolford, John and Maria Lambert, George and Elizabeth Lambert, John and Phoebe Frey, Michael and Susanna Ross. The pastors have been Revs. H. Giese, 1799-1835 ; W. Conrad, 1835-53 ; J. Hoyman, 1853 ; A. B. Koplin, 1857-8 ; D. H. Reiter, 1859-67 ; A. J. Heller, 1865; H. F. Keener (supply), 1870; W. H. Bates, 1876-9 ; J. S. Wagner, 1879-83 ; W. D. Lefevre, 1883. The congregation formerly worshiped in an old log church (Reformed and Lutheran) situat- ed in the cemetery east of the town. The pres- ent church is an old frame building, capable of seating about three hundred persons, with steeple, bell and organ. Present membership : church, eighty-one ; sabbath school, fifty.


Lutheran .- The Stoystown congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran church was organized by Rev. Henry Gerhart in 1806. The pastors in order of succession have been Revs. Gerhart, Schmucker, Heyer, Haverstick, Rizer, Williams, Lawson, J. K. Miller, Peter Sahm, John Tomlin- son, J. J. Welsh, J. W. Ryder and A. K. Felton. The first church edifice was erected about 1810. The present church was built in 1846, at a cost of eight hundred dollars. The present member- ship is one hundred and eighty. The congre- gation is free from debt. There are one hundred and twenty scholars in the sabbath school.


Rev. A. K. Felton, pastor of the Lutheran church, Stoystown, is a native of East Provi- dence township, Bedford county, and a son of Jacob Felton. He graduated from Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, in 1872. In 1874, in New York city, he was ordained as a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran church. His first appoint- ment was in Clarksville, New Jersey, where he labored about one year. Thence he went to Kansas as a missionary, and remained two years. Mr. Felton came to Addison in this county in 1878, and to Stoystown in 1882. His earnest work is bringing forth good results.


Weigle's Lutheran and Reformed church is situated at Hooversville. The Lutheran con- gregation was organized by Rev. William Kopp


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Micheal Zimmerman


THE ZIMMERMAN FAMILY.


The Zimmerman family is one of the oldest and most prominent in Quemahoning township. The pioneer of this family in Somerset county was Michael Zimmerman. He was born in Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, and came to Quem- ahoning about 1784. He was a farmer, and purchased from Daniel Stoy a large tract of land, upon which he settled about the time above men- tioned. The dwelling-house which he erected eighty- three years ago is still standing and occupied by Jonathan Giffin. But little is now known of the worthy pioneer further than that, in addition to the facts already given, he was an energetic, enterprising man, and closely identified with the early history of the township. He married a Miss Elizabeth Kimmel, and reared a family of nine children : Michael, David, Joseph, Daniel, Susanna, Elizabeth, Anna, Lena and Catherine. Anna and Joseph are the only survivors. The former is a venerable lady of eighty-nine years of age. Joseph was born in Quemahoning in 1802. The eldest of the family of Michael Zimmerman, Michael, Jr., is the immediate subject of this biog- raphy, and was born in this township, February 9, 1798. In his youth he evidenced the possession of those traits of character that in maturer years made him prominent among his fellow townsmen. His education in books was necessarily limited, but in that other school, in which the teachers are observa- tion and experience, he was an apt pupil. He was reared on the farm of his father, with whom he re- mained until 1820, at which time he was married to Miss Catherine Koontz, daughter of John Koontz, Esq., of Brother's Valley township. Shortly after his marriage he removed to the farm now owned by his son, John H. Zimmerman, which he had purchased about the time of his marriage, and on which he re- sided until his decease, which occurred November


27, 1879. The life of Mr. Zimmerman was compara- tively uneventful; he, like his father, was ambitious and successful, not only in the accumulation of prop- erty, but in the building up of an enviable reputation. He took a deep interest in all matters of public im- port, and was regarded by his fellow citizens as a man of strict integrity and sound judgment. For many years he was magistrate of the township, and but few appeals were ever taken from his decisions. In 1837 he was elected county commissioner, and in 1844 was a member of the state legislature, and sub- sequently officiated as one of the associate judges of the county. In all the various positions of trust that he was called upon to fill, he discharged his duties with eminent satisfaction to all, and with credit to himself. Socially Mr. Zimmerman was extremely genial and social ; for everyone he had some word of commendation or encouragement, and every benevo- lent enterprise found in him a friend and supporter.


In his political and religious affiliations he was a republican and a prominent member in the Reformed church.


His family consisted of two sons and two daugh- ters : William, John H., Elizabeth (deceased), and Mary, who married Peter Ankeny. William is a resident of Meyersdale. John H. was born on the farm on which his father lived and died, September 2, 1830. He has devoted himself to agriculture, and in his chosen vocation has been eminently successful. His farm, a view of which we present in this chapter, is regarded as one of the most productive and valua- ble in this part of the county. During the war of the rebellion he did good service as member of Co. G., 93d regt. Penn. Vol. Inf. He was married in November, 1850, to Miss Susan Zimmerman, of Quemahoning township. Four children have been born to them, two of whom, John A. and Anna, now Mrs. William Winters, are living.


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RESIDENCE OF JOHN H. ZIMMERMAN, QUE MAHONING TP., SOMERSET CO., PA.


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JENNER.


in 1848. The original members were Samuel Swank, D. Bepley and wife, Emanuel Lohr and wife, Valentine Lohr and wife, John Weigle and wife, Conrad Wolford and wife, Emanuel Wolford, Samuel Wolford, Thomas Lohr and wife, Samuel Lohr and wife, Jonathan Joder and . wife, Michael Bepley, Thomas Crissey, Jacob Beaber and wife, Hannah and Eliza Crissey, May Peterman, J. Naugle and wife, Christian Coltenbaugh and wife. The first officers were Samuel Swank and Peter Boyer, elders ; John Weigle and John Lohr, deacons. The first church edifice was erected in 1849, at a cost of $700. The present church is not finished. It is to be 40×60 feet, with a base- ment and a steeple. The cornerstone was laid in 1882. The church numbers one hundred and twenty members, and there are one hundred and eight sabbath-school scholars and teachers. The pastors have been Revs. William Kopp, J. K. Bricker, John Bechtel, J. Beaver, J. B. Crist, A. R. Height, J. K. Bricker, R. Smith, J. H. Walterick, J. L. Miller, J. B. Shoup and John N. Unruh.


The Reformed congregation of Weigle's, or Hooversville church, was formerly supplied with preaching by the pastors of Beam's charge and Stoystown ; but in 1883 it became a regu- lar portion of the Stoystown charge. The fol- lowing pastors have ministered here : Revs. A. B. Koplin, 1857-8 ; D. H. Reiter, 1859-67 ; James Grant, 1868 ; W. H. Bates, 1876-9; J. S. Wagner, 1879-83; W. D. Lefevre, 1883. At present the congregation has forty members; the sabbath school about thirty.


Methodist Episcopal .- Stoystown Methodist Episcopal church was organized some years prior to 1843 ; the exact date cannot be learned, as the early records have been lost. Among the original members were : A. S. H. Young, Henry Little, David Little, Joseph Johnson and Samuel R. Pearson. The pastor in charge when the first church edifice was dedicated (1843) was Rev. Jamison. The present church was built in 1874, at a cost of forty-five hundred dollars. The membership of the church is twenty-six ; sabbath school, forty.


Reformed and Lutheran. - Zimmerman, or Mount Tabor Lutheran and Reformed church, was organized by Rev. J. G. Ibbeken, about 1885. The original members were: Joseph and Catharine Zimmerman, Henry and Helena Peterson, George and Catharine Kuntz, Jonas


and Elizabeth Horner, John and Susanna Zimmerman, Jacob and C. Enos, Jacob and C. Lohr, Sam'l Zimmerman, Louisa Zimmerman, Mary A. and Elizabeth Zimmer- man, Susan Ankeny, Solomon, Jacob and David Bowman, William Zimmerman, William Shaffer and Joseph Smith. The first officers were Jacob Bowman and Joseph Zimmerman, elders; John Zimmerman, deacon. The pastors have been as follows : Revs. J. G. Ibbeken, 1835 ; S. B. Lawson ; D. B. Ernst, 1844-51; C. F. Hoffmeier, 1852-6; F. K. Levan, 1857-8 ; W. Conrad, 1859-62 ; H. H. W. Hibshman, 1863-4; A. J. Heller, 1865-9 ; H. F. Keener, 1870-4 ; W. H. Bates, 1875-9 ; J. S. Wagner, 1879-83 ; W. D. Lefevre, 1883. The first church edifice was erected in 1835. The present was built in 1872, at a cost of four thousand dollars. The present membership of the church is seventy-four ; sabbath school, forty.


Evangelical Association .- The Memorial church of the Evangelical Association * was or- ganized by Rev. J. Portch, 1880, with about six members. Rev. Portch was succeeded as pastor by Rev. A. S. Baumgardner, who is now in charge. The house of worship, erected in 1882, was dedicated October 29, by Rev. H. S. Bow- man, of Cleveland, Ohio. It cost fifteen hun- dred dollars. Present membership church, twenty-five ; sabbath school, forty.


CHAPTER LXI.


JENNER.


Settled by People from the Older Parts of the County -Contrast Between the Past and the Present - The First Industries of the Township-Jackson Furnace - The Rescue of Slaves - Eccentricities of John Carr, the Wagoner -Family Sketches -Jennertown -Jenner Crossroads -Churches.


ENNER township is now a pleasant and


J prosperous farming community. The en- tire region was unpleasant and unattractive enough when the first settlers invaded it, built cabins in the wilderness, and sought to make homes and farms by clearing away the dense forests. Their toil, amid hardships and dan- gers, was heroic. They are dead, but the work which they accomplished remains to benefit and to bless their descendants, the people of today.


* This church was built in memory of Rev. Moses Bower, who came from the eastern part of the state, and labored in this county with great success until his death in 1835. He is buried in the old cemetery on the hill west of Stoystown.


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The progress of this settlement was slow ; the settlers were poor, but industrious. Few men of the present day are possessed of the spirit and courage of the pioneers. Place a man and his family in the midst of a forest, and tell him he could have a farm if he would clear it ; but he must live there remote from neighbors, with- out education or religious privileges for his children, surrounded by dreary woods which the howling wolves and the prowling bears fre- quented-how long would he stay ? Yet his situation would not essentially differ from that of the pioneer of a hundred years ago.




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