History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 58

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 58
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 58
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 58

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).

Among the first settlers on Chestnut ridge was Michael Hammer, from Maryland, who settled on the land where his descendants still live. His sons were Michael, Samuel, Jobn I. and Daniel. The latter, now in East St. Clair

township, is the only survivor. His daughters, all of whom are dead, were Betsy, Catharine (Frazier), Margaret (McGrew), and Mary (Bow- ers). John I. lived on the homestead until 1880, when he died at the age of eighty. He mar- ried, first, Mary J. Daily, and, second, Lydia Harmon. One of his sons, Joseph, was in the late war and died in hospital.

John Williams, a tailor by trade, and a son of John Williams, who settled in West Providence township, moved from Bedford in 1802, and settled on the farm where his son George W., an old resident, now lives. A family named Wells had previously lived upon the place, and made a small improvement. Mrs. Wells and two of her children died here and were buried on the farm, their bodies wrapped in hickory bark, in place of coffins. John Williams mar- ried Nancy Dunlap, daughter of Capt. Richard Dunlap and Jane, his wife. Jane Dunlap, whose first husband was John Frazier, Esq., was the mother of the first white child born in Bedford county. Capt. Richard Dunlap was killed by the Indians near Frankstown, in 1781. The children of John and Nancy Williams were Richard D., Mary (Williams), Julia A. (Williams), Jane B. (Wheat), Hannah E. (Berry), Clarissa (McMillen), Samuel, David, Elizabeth (Barndollar), George W., Pamelia (Fisher), Harriet (Ellis). Samuel, George W. and Harriet survive. The father died in 1849, in his eighty-third year. Mrs. Frazier, above mentioned, was probably of Scotch-Irish ances- try, and came to Pennsylvania from Virginia with her husband, John Frazier, in 1755. Her maiden name was Jane Bell. (See history of Bedford borough.) She experienced all of the dangers of pioneer life, and, in addition, was held a captive by the Indians for eighteen months. By her first husband, John Frazier, she was the mother of one son, William, and four daughters. One of her daughters, Margaret, married a Didier, and thus the family became allied with one of the prominent and wealthy families of Baltimore. After the death of her husband, she married Capt. Richard Dunlap, by whom she had one child, Nancy, who became the wife of John Williams. Mrs. Dunlap spent the later years of her life at the home of her son-in-law, near Schellsburg, and there she died in 1815, aged about eighty years. She was & remarkably resolute and courageous woman, of exemplary life and Christian character. Her

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son, William Frazier, died in Harrison town- ship, about the year 1844.

Jacob Hull, a blacksmith, came from Maryland to Napier township and settled east of Chestnut ridge, about 1800. Two of his sons, Benjamin and Gabriel, lived to a ripe old age. Gabriel Hull was a prominent citizen - a farmer and sur- veyor. About 1830 he built a woolenmill north of Schellsburg, which was operated for several years. Benjamin died, in 1868, in the seventy- ninth year of his age. He married Elizabeth daughter of John Winegardner, an early settler. Mrs. Hull died in 1878, in the eighty-fourth year of her age. Her brother, Peter Wine- gardner, is still living and is now eighty-four- Benjamin and Elizabeth Hull were the parents of ten children, Elizabeth, John W., Peter, Abra. ham, David, Mary, Gabriel, Anna, Phoebe and Daniel. All are living, except Elizabeth, and reside in the neighborhood of their old nome.

Philip Henry Hoover came from Fredericks. town, Maryland, and settled east of Chestnut ridge, on the farm now owned by Peter Hull. He was a tanner, and carried on his trade here. He was the father of eleven children, of whom five sons and a daughter are now living. His son Philip, about thirty-two years ago, settled on the farm where he now lives. He has made extensive improvements on the place. A part of the homestead farm is now the residence of his son, George W. Hoover. Thomas, the oldest son of Philip Hoover, was a soldier of the late war.

Stephen Wonders, by occupation a farmer and weaver, came from York county with his family early. He was the father of Stephen, Sarah and John, living, and of Mary, Henry, Margaret and Susannah, dead. Stephen, now in his seventy-second year, resides in this town ship. His son, Daniel M., served in the late war in Co. H, 55th regt. Penn. Vols., and is now United States storekeeper and gauger in this county.

Joseph W. Sleek was a native of Bedford county and was the son of John Sleek, an early settler, who came from Maryland to Napier township. Joseph W. followed woolen manu- facturing. He died, in 1855, on the place where his widow and his son now live. George H. Sleek, his son, is the proprietor of a gristmill elsewhere mentioned.

About 1815 Samuel Cuppett settled on Chest- nut ridge, in St. Clair township. He was the

progenitor of the Cuppetts, of New Paris and vicinity. He was born in Eastern Pennsylvania. After coming to this county he followed black- smithing at Wolfsburg, and afterward in St. Clair. He was married in this county to Mary Albaugh, and was the father of David, Philip, Isaac, William W., Nancy, Mary A., Elizabeth and Charlotte. David, Nancy and Elizabeth are dead. William W. has resided on his present farm since 1849, and has witnessed many and great improvements in the appearance of the farming districts. He is the father of seven children living. His oldest son, John A., is a farmer and teacher.

The Mangus family were among the early residents of Napier. One of the sons, Peter, was a noted hunter fifty years ago. He was once shot through the body by the son of a neighbor, who mistook him for a wild animal. The boy saw something moving about in the bushes, and fired recklessly with the above result.

John S. Statler, an early settler of Schells- burg, came from Franklin county. He removed from Schellsburg to Stoystown, where he remained, following the mercantile business, until 1829. He then returned to this county, purchased the original Schell property and gristmill, and resided in this township until his death in 1862. Mr. Statler married Louisa A. Graham, and was the father of twelve children, eight of whom are living. Two of the sons, Dr. Samuel G. and Dr. James B., are well-known physicians of this county.

Allen Conley, from Mifflin county, bought and settled upon a farm in Napier township in 1810. His parents, Patrick and Elizabeth Con- ley, came to the county with him. Allen after- ward married Margaret, daughter of Peter Mc- Grew, an early settler from Adams county, and was the father of Maria (deceased), Eliza, Mary, Uriah, Isaiah, Margaret, Martin L. (killed in the late war), Lydia, Sarah and Martha (deceased). Mr. Conley filled various township offices. He died in 1854.

Griffith Mickle came from Adams county, and settled on Dunning's creek near Nelson's mill quite early. He was a blacksmith and an augermaker. His brother Robert, who settled on the Lucas place, came to the county a few years later. Robert died in Napier township. He was one of the first teachers of the free schools in this part of the county. His wife

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was Jane Gourley, and their children were John G., Samuel F. and Joseph, living; Fleming, James, Hugh and William, deceased; daughters, Sarah and Mary. The three surviving sons are well-known and progressive farmers.

G. W. Bowser is a descendant of an early settler of East St. Clair township. John Bow- ser, his father, settled in 1831 on the farm now occupied by George W. He was married to Mary Helm, and was the father of five children, all of whom are still living-Jacob, David, John, George W. and Elizabeth. Mr. G. W. Bowser has an excellent farm, with superior buildings and improvements.

A. B. Dennison, a prominent farmer of this township, was born in Bedford. In 1865 he moved to his present farm on Chestnut ridge,. where he has effected great improvements, ren- dering his homestead one of the most beautiful and tasty in Bedford county. Mr. Dennison is a son of Robert Dennison, and is the only sur- vivor of a family of four children. His father was one of the early tavernkeepers of this coun- ty. Robert Dennison married a daughter of Judge Abraham Martin, of Juniata Crossing. Abraham was the son of James Martin, one of the first associate judges of the county.

Daniel S. Furry has lived in this township since 1860, and on his present farm since 1881. His father, John B. Furry, was born in Morri- son's cove, and was a minister of the Baptist Brethren church. Leon Furry, father of John, was an early settler in the cove, and was also a minister of the same denomination.

Joseph H. Mullin, son of the late Hon. George Mullin, was born in Bedford, and has always resided in this county. He is a promi- nent citizen of Napier township, where he has resided for twenty years.

Michael Hughes, a native of Ireland, was an early settler of Juniata township. His son, John J. Hughes, is the only member of the family now resident in Bedford county. He has resided in Napier township since 1872, be- ing engaged, with his sons, in farming, milling and distilling.

Early in the present century there were scarcely any roads worthy of the name, and in the farming districts nearly all travel was per- formed either on foot or on horseback. Before the turnpike was built wagoning was rendered almost impracticable at certain seasons, on ao- count of the depth of the mud.

MILLS AND MANUFACTURES.

The first gristmill in Napier township was John Schell's. It was probably built soon after he settled in the county in 1800.

Henry Schell built a fulling-mill near the spot where Colvin's gristmill now is, and it was among the earliest manufactories in the town- ship. The first gristmill west of Chestnut ridge was built by John Blackburn, near the site of New Paris, and on the spot where Rogers' mill now is, as early as 1810.

A woolen factory was erected just below New Paris by Abraham Blackburn about 1833. Sub- sequently it was run by Joseph W. Sleek until his death in 1855. His son, George H. Sleek, built a gristmill on the same site in 1870. It was burned in 1873, and in 1874 Mr. Sleek's present mill was erected. It has a capacity for grinding from twenty to twenty-five bushels per hour.

Hughes' gristmill was built by John Hull in 1850. In 1872 it was purchased by J. J. Hughes, the present owner. The same year Mr. Hughes started a distillery, which he ran until 1879, when it was bought by Patrick Hughes. The distillery has a capacity of about seventy gallons per day, and the product meets with a ready sale.

SCHELLSBURG.

Schellsburg is situated nine miles from Bed- ford, on the old turnpike leading from Phila- delphia. It contains a population of about four hundred, and has superior church and school buildings. The town is substantially and neatly built. Many of the residences and business houses are of brick, and the general aspect of everything evinces that the people are possessed of wealth and taste.

Schellsburg was laid out in 1810. Its founder was John Schell, a man of enterprise and pub- lic spirit, who came to Bedford county in 1800, and purchased a tract patented as " Nine-Mile Town." In 1801 he bought an adjoining tract, and upon these lands the town is built. Schells- burg grew thriftily, and soon became the busi- ness center of a large territory of surrounding country, a position which it held until the building of railroads and the growth of neigh- boring villages changed the course of traffic.

By act of the legislature, March 19, 1838, the town was created the second borough in Bedford county.

Probably the first building erected within

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JOHN C. EALY. M. D.

MRS. JOHN C. EALY.

JOHN CYRUS EALY, M.D.

Nearly a half-century ago there came to Schells- burg a young man who, to appearance, had scarcely attained his twenty-first year, but his demeanor indi- cated that he was possessed of more than ordinary ability, and it would not have required a prophet to have foretold that in that young man were the ele- ments of success, no matter what his vocation might be. The young man referred to was the gentleman whose name is at the head of this article. He had come from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, where he was born, October 11, 1813. His father, John Ealy, was also a physician, and a remarkably successful one. He died in his forty-first year, John Cyrus being at the time a mere lad. He reared a family of nine children-seven sons and two daughters. John Cyrus received a good common-school education, and studied medicine with Dr. William Rankin, of Shippensburg, and completed his medical education at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, at. Philadelphia. Having decided to make the profession his life's work, he came to Schellsburg, as before stated, and settled where he now resides. He is today the oldest prac- ticing physician in the county, and but few men have led so active a life. At all times of the year he was to be seen riding on horseback, attending to the calls of the sick, and it is estimated that in the forty-five years of his practice he has ridden over eighty thou- sand miles. For a number of years his brother, J. H. Ealy, M.D., shared his practice. Six students have read medicine in his office. In 1840 Dr. Ealy was

married to Miss Anna Maria Clark. She was born in Schellsburg, February 17, 1815. They have reared a family of seven children - three sons and four daughters. Two of their sons are graduates of the medical department of the Pennsylvania University. A. E. Ealy is a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rev. T. F. Ealy, M.D., who was sent as medical mis- sionary to the Zuni tribe of Indians in New Mexico, is now in practice with his father. John C., Jr., enlisted while he was engaged as a student, and served four years in the war of the rebellion. Of the four girls three remain at home -. Mary E., Corrie H. and Ida M. Anna C. married Elwood Hanner, a mer- chant of Bedford. The mother of this family was the eldest of ten children. Her father, John Clark, was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Ealy is a sister of the late Hon. Rush Clark, of Iowa. He graduated from Jefferson College in 1853. In his twenty-fifth year he was elected to the Iowa legisla- ture. He was a member of the representative branch of the legislature for several years. In 1863-4 he was speaker of the house, and the youngest man who ever occupied the chair. In 1876 he was elected to represent his district in congress and was reelected. He died April 28, 1879. But three of the family are living-Hon. George Clark, of Iowa City, W. W. B. Clark, of Schellsburg, and Mrs. Ealy. In closing this biography, it is only necessary to say that Dr. Ealy is a gentleman who has conquered success in all depart- ments of life, and his career is worthy the emulation of young men of all classes.

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the limits of the town was a log cabin built by John Anderson, a surveyor, prior to Schell's coming. This cabin stood on the south side of the turnpike, very near the site of a blacksmith- shop now owned by George M. Colvin. The next house was built by Mr. Schell, and is now a part of the hotel of George M. Colvin. The first store and the first tavern were kept by John Schell. The first brick house in the town was erected about 1810, by Peter Schell, who occupied it as a store and residence. The build- ing is now owned by Charles W. Colvin.

Among the early settlers of the town were : John Clark, who started a tannery ; Michael Reed, Esq., cabinetmaker and carpenter ; the Dannaker family from Philadelphia ; John Lindsey, a hatter, and Frederick Goeb, a Ger- man, printer of books and almanacs.

Henry Horn was the first blacksmith in the town. His brother Daniel afterward came here and learned the trade, and still lives here. He is now ninety-one years of age.

Peter Schell started a pottery quite early. Other industries, such as wagonmaking, harness- making, etc., were numerous and flourishing. The mercantile business probably reached its most prosperous period about 1856, when the town contained seven general stores, all doing a good business.

There are now three stores, a hotel, a hard- ware store, W. A. B. Clark's steam tannery, and a variety of minor industries represented in the borough.

PERSONAL.

John Schell, Sr., the founder of Schellsburg, was born in 1754 and died in 1825. He moved from Montgomery county to Bedford county in 1800, and soon became one of the leading busi- ness men of the county. To the town of Schells- burg he gave several lots of land to be devoted to religious and educational purposes. He also donated several acres for a church lot and ceme- tery on the hill west of the town. He and his sons were prominent members of the company that built the turnpike. Mr. Schell, after seeing his town well established, and on the road to prosperity, removed to his farm near by, and there passed the remainder of his days. He built the mill now owned by C. W. Colvin, which for some years was the principal mill in the western part of the county. Mr. Schell's sons were long identified with the interests of Schellsburg, and his grandsons are still among its

most respected citizens. His family consisted of John, Peter, Abraham, Jacob, Henry, Joseph, Polly (now Mrs. Levy, of Davidsville, Pennsyl- vania, the only survivor), Elizabeth, who mar- ried Michael Reed, Esq., and Eve, who became the wife of Benjamin Blymyer. All of the sons lived in this county the greater part of their lives, except Joseph. Peter's sons, John S. (born in 1813) and Abraham, are now residents of Schellsburg.

George Colvin, of Scotch descent, came from Baltimore to this county, and was, by occupa- tion, a farmer and hotelkeeper. He moved to Schellsburg about 1832, and died in 1848. His wife was Eliza McDowell, a sister of Charles McDowell, who founded the Bedford Gazette. Mr. Colvin's surviving children are William, George M., Charles W., Margaret (Robinson), Reuben R. and J. E. The sons all reside in Schellsburg and vicinity.

J. E. Colvin has followed the mercantile business in Schellsburg longer than any one else now in trade. At the age of fourteen he began clerking for Jonathan Butler, who, in 1845, sold out to George Colvin, Sr. Then for about six years George and J. E. Colvin ran the business, succeeded by J. E. Colvin and J. M. Robinson. In 1858, J. E. Colvin purchased Robinson's interest, and has since conducted the store alone, doing a very successful business. Mr. Colvin has been postmaster for the past twelve years.

James Z. Frazier, of Schellsburg, is a son of James Frazier, and a grandson of William Fra- zier, the first white child born in Bedford county. James Frazier followed hotelkeeping and lived in Somerset and Bedford counties. He died at Schellsburg. He married Elizabeth Ziegler, and was the father of ten children, nine of whom are now living. Mr. J. Z. Frazier is a mer- chant tailor, and has followed that business from youth to the present time.

Capt. Isaiah Conley was brought up on a farm, and followed school-teaching in early life. In 1854, he engaged in mercantile busi- ness at Schellsburg, which he followed three years. He afterward went into the army as a second lieutenant, was promoted to first lieu- tenant and then to captain. He was in the service three years and nine months. In 1866, he resumed the mercantile business, in which he still continues.

W. W. Van Ormer, dentist, came to this

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county in 1865 and located at Bedford. In 1867, he moved to Schellsburg, where he now has a l .. rge and successful practice. Dr. Van Ormer is a native of Juniata county, and learned dentistry at Mifflin. Dr. Van Ormer served in the late war and was three times wounded - twice at the battle of Antietam and the third time at Spottsylvania.

ODD-FELLOWS.

Schellsburg Lodge, No. 870, I.O.O.F., was instituted March 20, 1874, with the following charter members and first officers : M. D. Will- iams, N.G. ; A. H. Egolf, V.G .; Asa Diehl, Secy .; P. E. Mowey, Asst. Secy .; A. W. Smith, Treas .; W. W. Van Ormer, A. W. Smith, J. H. Cessna, William Egolf, Isaiah Conley, George Banigh, W. H. Beaver, E. E. Dull, G. M. Will- iams, John E. Colvin, W. W. Smith, Joseph Hull, Benj. Egolf, William Garber, Cyrus J. Potts, J. A. Potts. Ninety-four members have been admitted since the organization. Present membership, fifty-six ; value of lodge property, two thousand dollars.

NEW PARIS.

New Paris is a young but flourishing town of about three hundred inhabitants, pleasantly situated in the midst of a very fertile farming region. It was incorporated as a borough Sep- tember 7, 1882. The town now contains four stores, one hotel and four churches, and its future is very promising.

The first house in the village was built in 1846 by Wm. M. Blackburn. It is still standing in the northeastern part of the town (outside the borough limits), and is now the residence of Mrs. Joseph Mitchell. At the time this house was built all the land near it was wild and un- improved. Mr. Blackburn resided in the house until 1851, when he sold his estate, which in- cluded the greater part of the land on which the town now stands, to Daniel Raffensparger for six hundred dollars. Mr. Blackburn died July 2, 1851.

The next houses erected in the place were built by Jacob Coplin, in 1848, and Reuben Davis, in 1850. Neither of these are now stand- ing. The following houses were built prior to 1860 : Luther Davis, 1858 ; John W. Davis, 1856 ; Jacob Bowers, 1858 ; and John Wayde, 1859. From 1860 to 1867 four buildings were erected ; in 1867, five ; in 1868, one; and in 1869, five. Thenceforth to the present, one to three houses have been built each year.

Raffensparger, a blacksmith, was one of the first residents of the place, and bestowed the name New Paris upon the town by heading his books with that name.

Jacob W. Miller and Isaiah Conley opened the first store in 1856, in the building now the residence of Mrs. Harriet Coplin. The store was managed by Mrs. Eliza Richards. John Wayde purchased an interest in the business in 1857, which he continued to hold for eighteen years.

William Crissman started the first hotel, in connection with a store, in 1869. The present hotel of C. S. Crissman was built in 1871.

Thomas K. Blackburn, the leading merchant of the town, commenced business in 1874, on the opposite side of the street from his present place of business. In 1882 he erected a three- story building, with residence adjoining, where he now carries on business.

CHURCHES.

St. John's Reformed Church .- This congre- gation was organized by Rev. John Dietrich Aurandt in 1806. The following heads of fami- lies were the original members of the church : John Schell, Sr., Tobias Hammer, Herbert Otto, Peter Schell (all of whom were church officers), John Mowry, Benjamin Bisel, John Fisher, Henry Darr, Abraham Whetstone, John Corley, John Winegardner.

The first church in which the congregation worshiped was built jointly by the Reformed and Lutheran congregations in 1806, and is still standing in the old cemetery, one-fourth of a mile west of Schellsburg. It is still used on funeral occasions. It is a log build- ing, 25×30 feet (now weatherboarded), two stories high, with galleries on three sides, a wineglass pulpit, and a very large altar nearly in the center of the church. The building was not finished at once, but piecemeal ; two hundred and twenty-five dollars and ninety-five and one-half cents in money was spent in its construction. For three years the church was without a stove, and for several years the members sat on logs instead of benches. The original membership of this congregation was thirty-seven. The present brick church in the borough was built in 1851 at a cost of twenty-two hundred dollars. It stands on land deeded to the church by John Schell, the founder of the town.

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There are now eighty members in the church, and forty in the Sabbath school. The pastors of this congregation have been : Revs. John Dietrich Aurandt ; John Henry Gerhart, 1811-29 ; George Leidy, 1835-48 ; Jacob Zieg- ler, 1844-9 ; Henry Heckerman, 1850-9 ; Joseph Hannabery, 1859-62 ; N. H. Skyles, 1868-73 ; W. D. LeFevre, 1878-7 ; H. S. Garner, 1878.

Lutheran .- St. Matthew's Evangelical Lu- theran church, Schellsburg, Pennsylvania, was organized, as nearly as can now be ascertained, about the year 1800. There are no early records. Among the first officers were a Mr. Black and Christian Miller. The first pastors of which we can learn were Revs. Osterloe, Cayler and Yaeger ; their successors, Revs. R. Weiser, D. S. Altman, Wm. Ruthrauf, J. Kast, Wm. Kopp, J. A. Kunkleman, B. H. Hunt, J. H. A. Kitzmiller, J. F. Dietrich, Abel Thompson, C. B. Gruver and J. H. Walterick. The first church edifice was the old Union church mentioned in the history of the Reformed congregation. The present Lutheran church was built in 1843, at a cost of about one thousand eight hundred dollars. Present membership, one hundred and ten ; sab- bath-school, eighty-five.

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History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 58

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

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