History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 99

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 99
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 99
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 99

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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Joseph . J. Brubaker

JOSEPH P. BRUBAKER.

Joseph P. Brubaker was born in Brother's Valley township, in 1801. His great-grand- father, John, came to Somerset county in 1784, and settled on the farm now owned by Samuel Musser. One of John's sons named Peter, and his wife Elizabeth, became the parents of Joseph P. Brubaker, the subject of this sketch. Having reached manhood's estate Mr. Brubaker moved to Berlin to learn the tanner's trade, where he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of John and Elizabeth Koontz. Soon after his marriage he purchased the farm of his father-in- law, where he resided until his death in February, 1883. Mr. Brubaker was received into the Re- formed church in infancy through the sacrament of baptism, and at an early age renewed the bap- tismal vows in the rite of confirmation. Dur- ing his life he served the congregation in the offices of trustee, deacon and elder. Thus was Mr. Brubaker connected with this congregation

for over one-half a century, and during quite a portion of this time held the most prominent positions that could be conferred upon him, and now that he has passed to his final reward, as a mark of respect to his memory, he has been selected as the proper person to be represented in connection with a history of the Reformed church at Berlin, and a view of the elegant structure now in process of completion - which is a most fitting memorial.

He was the father of three children, viz : Samuel, Elizabeth (Mrs. Dennis Hay), deceased, Rosanna (Mrs. John Musser). .

Samuel Brubaker was born in 1829, and has all his life been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and is now one of the prominent farmers of Brother's Valley township. In 1854 he was married to Susan, daughter of John and Eliza- beth Landis, and they have one child, named Lizzie A. Brubaker.'

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- REFORMED CHURCH- BERLIN, PA.

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BROTHER'S VALLEY.

pleted, it is proposed to finish it in such style as will be in keeping with the remainder of the building. The wood used will be chiefly cherry and black-walnut. The walls are to be beauti- fully frescoed, while elegant stained-glass win- dows, many of them memorial ones, will admit a mellowed light. Although the exact cost of the building cannot be known before its com- pletion, it is safe to assume that it will not fall far short of twenty thousand dollars. Taken as a whole, it is a building which will bear very favorable comparison with churches in much larger places, and by reason both of its size and beauty has perhaps been justly denominated the cathedral of Somerset county. The congre- gation now numbers three hundred members. The number of sabbath-school scholars 18 two hundred.

Mount Zion Reformed church in Brother's Val- ley township was organized March 30, 1848, by Rev. William Conrad. The original officers and members were : Elders, Jacob Hanger and Daniel Bowman ; deacons, Jacob Bowman, Jon- athan Knepper and David Hay ; Philip Hay, Simon Hay, Henry Rumiser, Gideon Bowman, Francis Countryman, John Bowman, Henry Bowman, Cyrus Bowman, Benjamin Hay, Will- iam Bowman and Peter Martin. The pastors have been Revs. William Conrad, H. Knepple, F. A. Edmonds, F. Wall, William Rupp and H. F. Keener. The first church edifice (brick), in which the congregation still owns one-half, was erected at Pine hill in 1848. The present edifice was dedicated October 10, 1858. Pres- ent membership of the church, ninety-five; sabbath-school scholars, fifty.

St. Paul's Reformed church in Brother's Val- ley township was organized January 15, 1860, by Rev. F. A. Edmonds. The original officers and members were : Elders, Jacob Hanger and Nicholas Smith ; deacons, Frederick R. Knep- per and William Hanger ; Peter Stahl, Simon Hanger, Henry Coleman, John Brant, Jesse Brant, Rosanna Weimer, Hannah Brant, Julia Hoover, Mary Hanger, Rebecca Coleman and Elizabeth Brant. The pastors have been Revs. F. A. Edmonds, F. Wall, William Rupp and H. F. Keener. The house of worship was erect- ed in 1860, at a cost of six hundred dollars. The church has sixty-two members and the sab- bath school thirty-five.

Berlin Lutheran Church .- The Berlin charge of the Evangelical Lutheran church comprises

four congregations-Berlin, St. Michael's, St. Matthew's and Stony Creek. Sketches of each will be found in the history of the townships in which the churches are situated.

There seem to have been Calvinistic and Lutheran congregations founded in the locality of Berlin as early as 1775 to 1780. We find that on April 4, 1786, the supreme executive council of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted to Jacob Keffer (in trust) for the Calvinistic and Lutheran churches, for the support of schools, a tract of land comprising forty and one-half acres of land, on the headwaters of Stony creek, upon which said Calvinistic and Lutheran congregations had laid out a town, calling it Berlin. The name of the tract of land upon which Berlin is built was Pious Springs.

On April 22, 1789, a charter was obtained from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, signed by Gov. Thomas Mckean, for the addi- tion to Berlin, whereby the proprietors of said addition gave the ground rent of one Spanish milled dollar yearly to the Evangelical Lutheran congregation, of Berlin, forever. We find from the early records that Rev. Michael Hey was pastor of the Berlin charge from 1789 to 1793, and was succeeded by Rev. F. William Lange, who commenced his labors in 1794. During the above-named pastorates the congregation worshiped in a log schoolhouse located near the site of the present Sunday-school building. Dur- ing the pastorate of Rev. Lange in the years 1800 and 1801, a log church was erected on the north- east corner of the Lutheran burial-ground. In 1795, the Berlin pastorate comprised the follow- ing extended territory : Berlin, Pine Hill, Cumberland, Will's Mountain, Will's Creek, John Miller's, Quemahoning, Barron's and Buch- er's. Rev. Lange continued in the Berlin charge until 1813, and was succeeded by Rev. Ernest H. Yedeman, who continued as pastor until 1819. In 1819 Rev. Jacob Crigler, of Madison county, Virginia, became pastor and continued as such until 1834. While Rev. Crigler was pastor the territory of the charge was somewhat changed, and consisted of Berlin, Pine Hill, Comp's, Will's Creek, Shafer's, Mull's, Stony Creek, Gebhard's and Sanner's congregations.

At a meeting of the West Pennsylvania synod of the Lutheran church (of which Rev. Smucker was then president), held in Berlin, September 10, 1826, the Berlin pastorate was received into the West Pennsylvania synod.

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HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.

In January, 1825, through the efforts of the pastor, Rev. Jacob Crigler, and John Fletcher (layman), the Lutheran sabbath school of Berlin was organized. John Fletcher, a member of the Berlin congregation and sabbath school, who died June 6, 1838, left a balance of his estate to be equally divided between the Reformed and Lutheran congregations, and to be safely invested by first mortgage in real estate, the interest thereof, collected annually, to be applied to the purchasing of religious reading matter for the use of said schools, and that each scholar shall receive the present of a bible as soon as he or she is able to read. The estate when settled left a balance of over two thousand dollars for each school. Up to this date the Lutheran sabbath school, according to bequest, has presented five hundred and fifty- three children with morocco-bound bibles.

Subsequently, by an act of the legislature of Pennsylvania, eight hundred dollars of said fund was diverted and applied to the erection of a Sunday-school building. After Rev. Jacob Crigler, the succession of pastors has been as follows : Rev. George Leiter, 1834-5 ; Rev. Charles Reese, 1836-40; Rev. Louis Geistiniani, 1841-2; Rev. Charles Reese, 1842-3 ; Rev. Jesse Winecoff, 1843-6 ; Rev. Charles Young, 1846-51 ; Rev. Eli Fare, 1852-6 ; Rev. Philip Sheeder, 1856-64; Rev. Jesse Winecoff, 1864-72 ; Rev. A. M. Strauss, 1872-5 ; Rev. J. W. Poffinberger, 1875, present pastor.

In 1846 a brick Sunday-school building, which is still used, was erected. It is worthy of note that the sabbath school has held two sessions each sabbath for nearly sixty years. Decem- ber 11, 1852, the congregation took preliminary steps toward the erection of the present church edifice. Soon after Col. Jacob Zorn contracted for the erection of a brick building, 45 X 65 feet, with an audience-room eighteen feet in height, for the sum of two thousand one hundred and forty dollars. The church was completed and dedicated the following year. During the year 1873 the north wing of the Sunday- school building was erected. At present the membership of the congregation and Sunday school is about five hundred.

St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran congrega- tion, located at Pine Hill, Brother's Valley township, has always been a part of the Berlin charge. The earliest record we have of this congregation is a book containing names of

communicants, beginning with the year 1790. The first list of names numbers sixty. This number of communicants justifies us in believing that the congregation was organized some years previous to 1790. It seems this congregation did not have a church edifice before the year 1798, and that up to this time they worshiped in a schoolhouse which stood near where St. Michael's church now stands. From an old deed we learn that the old graveyard at Pine Hill, containing one acre of ground, was pur- chased by Michael Keefer and Michael Miller (in trust) for the Lutheran congregation, of Nicholas Coleman, for the sum of twenty shillings. It is generally supposed that during 1798 the first Lutheran church was erected at Pine Hill, on the above-named piece of ground, where the congregation worshiped until 1848. Among the documents belonging to St. Michael's con- gregation is a grant dated February 9, 1818, by which "the German Lutheran and German Presbyterian congregations " became the joint owners of a piece of land containing over twenty-three acres, George Walker and George Hay acting as trustees for these congregations. In 1848 the old brick church, which is still standing at Pine Hill and occupied by the Missouri Lutherans, was jointly erected by the Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed congrega- tions at a cost of $1,400, and was used as a place of worship by these jointly until 1856, when the Reformned erected a house for themselves. In 1860 the Lutheran congregation erected their present house of worship at a cost of eleven hundred dollars. The membership of St. Mi- chael's congregation and Sunday school at pres- ent is one hundred and twenty-five.

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Brother's Valley township, was organized May 4, 1842, by Rev. Charles Reese. The original membership numbered fifty-eight. The first offi- cers were : Elders, Jacob P. Walker, William Fritz, Sr .; deacons, John Fritz, Peter P. H. Wal- ker, Frederick P. Walker. The pastors have been as follows : Revs. Charles Reese, 1842-3 ; Jesse Winecoff, 1843-6; Charles Young, 1846-51 ; Eli Fare, 1851-6; Philip Sheeder, 1856-64 ; Jesse Winecoff, 1864-72 ; A. M. Strauss, 1872-5 ; J. W. Poffinberger, 1875-9 ; J. Milton Snyder, 1879, present pastor. The first church was erected in 1842, and dedicated by Rev. J. Winecoff. Its cost was about nine hundred dollars, The present church, built in

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1875, is of brick, two stories, 40×62} feet, with stained glass, tall spire and bell. Its cost was eighty-six hundred dollars. The pres- ent membership of the church is one hundred and twenty ; sabbath school, ninety.

Methodist Episcopal .- George Johnson, the founder of the Methodist Episcopal church of Berlin, emigrated from Shepherdstown, Virginia, to this place about the year 1786. He was then a member of the Reformed church, but always cordially treated the Methodist missionaries that visited the county, and opened his house for public meetings, as there was no other place, and the Methodists met with great oppo- sition. The people were very superstitious, and many of the more ignorant class believed that the Methodists had the power of bewitching people. After the execution of Spongenberger, Reformed minister, Johnson joined the Metho- dists in 1799. He was also made class-leader and local preacher. The meetings of the church were held at his house for many years. After he had abandoned his trade, hatter, he turned his shop into a place for worship, about 1822. Here meetings were held until 1835.

In 1834 James Platt donated the society a lot of land on which to erect a meeting-house. Through Mr. Johnson's efforts, four hundred dollars was raised by subscription, and a small church was erected. The board of trustees con- sisted of Geo. Johnson, Frederick Garey, Daniel Landis and Daniel Weyant. Mr. Johnson was class-leader at the time. He was succeeded in 1835 by Austin Lane. Mr. Johnson died in 1837, at the age of seventy-three.

In 1851 the Methodist church building was sold to the Disciples for two hundred dollars, and the same year a brick church, costing about two thousand dollars, was erected on a lot of land donated to the society by Mrs. Sarah Platt. The church has had a hard struggle for life, but has steadily progressed and today is well supported.

Disciples .- Public worship has been con- ducted by this denomination in Berlin for many years, but there has never been an actual church organization. The Disciples now number about fifteen, and hold services once a month in the church building purchased from the Methodists in 1851. The first preacher was Rev. Charles Louis Loose, now president of the Kentucky University. The present minister is Rev. S. McCollum.

Brethren .- The Progressive branch of the Brethren or German Baptists, under the leader- ship of H. R. Holsinger, organized a church in Berlin in 1881-2. Their house of worship, erected in 1881, cost, including lot, twenty-seven hundred dollars. Membership in 1883, about one hundred ; sabbath-school scholars, 85. The officers of the church are as follows : Bishop, H. R. Holsinger; trustees, Jacob Musser, G. W. Brollier; deacons, S. U. Shober, John J. Knepper, George W. Brollier, Jacob Musser.

Another church, in Brother's Valley town- ship, is under the same officers. The house of worship was erected by the Brethren, or German Baptists (old style), about 1858.

German Baptists .- Brother's Valley church of the Brethren or German Baptists was or- ganized in 1880, with one hundred and ten members. The present membership of this church is one hundred and eighteen. The charge now contains one meeting-house. The first meeting-house in the district was built in 1848. Bishop, J. Blough ; ministers, G. Schrock, William Sevits, D. P. Walker, William G. Schrock, S. F. Raymen.

Trent church of the Brethren, or German Baptists, was organized in 1866 with twenty-one members. The first (and only) meeting-house was erected in 1866. The present membership is seventy-five. Bishop, H. R. Holsinger ; ministers, S. J. Baer, Michael Weyant, W. A. Seibert.

SOCIETIES.

Odd Fellows .- Berlin Lodge, No. 461, I.O.O.F., was organized January 9, 1852. The following were charter members : Samuel S. Platt, John Paten, L. J. Case, Daniel Heffley, Aaron Miller, George B. Armstrong, Charles Stoner, William H. Platt, John S. Heffley, Washington Megahan, James C. Leabheart, Henry Shomber, William P. Carroll, Henry F. Swope, Thomas Stewart, Henry Brubaker, William P. Foust, Josiah Zimmerman, Walter Chalfant, John Roberts, Jonathan Statler. The first officers were S. S. Platt, N.G .; John Paten, V.G .; Lemuel J. Case, Sec'y ; Aaron Miller, Ass't Sec'y ; Daniel Heffley, Treas. The present membership is forty-seven. The funds of the lodge are in- vested in a two-story brick lodge-building on Main street, erected in 1883; also in an Odd- Fellows' cemetery. Of the cemetery, one acre was purchased of S. S. Platt in 1855 for one hundred dollars, and an additional lot of four

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HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.

acres purchased of Josiah Donner in 1872 for seventeen hundred dollars. The Odd-Fellows' Cemetery Association was organized January 17, 1873, the lotowners to be the stockholders ; the funds of the association to be derived from the sale of lots, and four dollars to be paid by the lodge to the society on the sale of each square, this amount to be put on interest, and the interest applied to keeping the grounds in order. The original officers were : A. Heffley, president ; John J. Knepper, secretary ; D. A. Brubaker, Jacob J. Zorn and Augustus Kerl, trustees. At present the funds of the association amount to three hundred dollars. The cemetery is a beautiful spot and is kept in fine order.

Red Men .- Quemahoning Tribe, No. 224, Independent Order of Red Men, was formed July 12, 1875, with twenty-two charter mem- bers. Present membership, twenty.

Grand Army .- Mark Collins Post, No. 344, G.A.R., was organized at Berlin June 21, 1888, with the following officers and charter mem- bers : Rev. H. F. Keener, P.C .; A. D. Floto, S.V.C .; C. C. Ball, J.V.C .; J. Krissinger, Adjt .; Samuel Imhoff, Surg .; James Alton, Chap .; A. K. Johnson, Q.M .; W. H. Bender, O.D .; Henry Gessner, O.G .; Joseph Baldwin, S.M .; Jeremiah Hartman, Q.M.S .; Conrad Keim, Lud- wig Koob, Samuel Ferrell, William J. Penn, Charles Dively, Joseph Imhoff. Membership in July, 1883, twenty.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

CALVIN HAY.

John Francis. Hay was born near Berlin, Germany, and came to this country with his brother Simon in 1763. He returned to Ger- many after a short sojourn here, but returned to Brother's Valley township eight years later, and took up a tract of land on which the farms of. Harry Cober, Wesley Hay, Henry H. Hay and Francis Knepper are now located. He died in 1896. His son, Peter F., lived on the home- stead, and died in 1847, at the age of sixty years. He married Catharine Knepper (who died in 1852), and reared six sons and five daughters, all of whom are still living, except three sons and one daughter. George P. Hay was born in

1826, and died in 1875. He was a farmer and stock-dealer. He held the office of justice of the peace for several years, and was twice a candidate for the office of sheriff. He married Mary A. Miller, who died in 1876. She was a daughter of John A. and Delilah Miller. Geo. P. and Mary A. Hay were the parents of six children - Missouri, who died in infancy ; Susan M. (Mrs. D. L. Meyers), Sarah E., whose death occurred when nine years of age ; Calvin, Melissa (Mrs. C. T. Megary), Henry H. Mrs. Hay was a member of the Lutheran church.

The Millers above mentioned came from Switzerland and settled in Perry county, Penn- sylvania, from which county Abraham Miller emigrated in an early day and settled near Meyersdale. He became the father of fifteen children (ten with his first wife and five with his second), of whom six are still living. In 1814 he purchased of Isaac Stoner a mill since known as the Miller's gristmill. This is one of the oldest mills in the county, as it was erected in 1763 by Jacob Fisher, who sold it to Mr. Stoner. John A., son of Abraham Miller, purchased this mill in 1826. He rebuilt it in 1830, and in 1835 had it so remodeled that horse-power could be utilized when there was not sufficient water to propel the mill. In 1852 he put in steam- power, and this was one of the first mills in the county into which it was introduced. This property remained in the Miller family until 1879, when it was willed to Calvin Hay, its present proprietor, by his grandfather. Mrs. J. A. Miller still lives at the advanced age of eighty-two years. John A. Miller died in 1879 at the age of eighty years. In addition to a common school education, Calvin Hay graduated from Duff's Mercantile College in 1876. His mill is both a custom and merchant mill. In addition to this business he is engaged in farm- ing and stock-dealing. These various businesses are successfully conducted simultaneously. Mr. Hay is a member of the Lutheran church and one of the enterprising citizens of Brother's Valley township. A view of Mr. Hay's resi- dence will be found on another page.

REV. WILLIAM G. SCHROCK.

In 1805 Christian Schrock, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from Germany and settled on three hundred and four acres of land in Brother's Valley township, where he resided until his death in 1847, at the age of sixty-seven

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RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM G.SCHROCK, BROTHERS VALLEY, PA.

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years. His son George retained possession of this tract for twenty-eight years, when it passed into the possession of his son, William G. Schrock. George Schrock was born in 1816. He married Miss Susan, daughter of David Horner, who was born in Summit township in 1818, and departed this life in 1865. Both Mr. and Mrs. George Schrock were members of the German Baptist church. They became the parents of two children-Rebecca (married to Rev. Samuel F. Reiman) and W. G. Schrock. William G. Schrock was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1840. Having gained posses- sion of his father's farm by purchase, he not only has improved it, but added eighty acres, thus making it a very valuable farm, a view of which can be found on another page in this volume. Mr. Schrock also owns good property in Berlin.

In 1860 he was married to Rebecca, daughter of Rev. David P. Walker, of Stony Creek town- ship. She was born in 1888. They have one daughter, named Emma S. Schrock, who was born in 1865. She has taken a select English elementary course of study in the Brethren's Normal' College, of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and is a promising young lady. Not having such opportunities for early education as he desired, Mr. Schrock has, much to his credit, been attending college with his daughter, thus exhibiting a desire for knowledge that is highly commendable, and his influence on the com- munity where he resides must, in educational matters, be such as to redound to his credit. He was engaged for some time as teacher in the common schools. Mr. Schrock is a man whose identification with any community is productive of good. He is a minister in the German Baptist church, of which his wife is also a member.

S. F. BIEMAN.

Gottlieb Rieman was born in Germany, in 1747, and died in Somerset county, Pennsylva- nia, in 1804. He was a pioneer settler of this county, and came here from Berks county in 1773. By trade he was a tailor. Like many of the early settlers, he lived mainly by hunting, and wore garments made of deerskin. He settled on what is now known as the Snyder farm, in Stony Creek township. His children were : John, George, Charles, Mary (Switzer) and Elizabeth (Shank).

George and Charles lived on the old home-

stead. George was the father of eleven children. Many of his grandchildren reside in this county. He was born in 1768, and died in 1834, and his wife in 1855, aged sixty -six years.

His children were : Mary (deceased), .John (deceased), Henry, Elizabeth, Susannah (de- ceased), George (deceased), Samuel, Joseph, Jacob, Sarah and Lydia. After his marriage, George Rieman removed to Shade township, and kept house under a large oak-tree until a cabin was built for a home. He cleared eight acres of land the first year, for industry was one of his marked characteristics. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rieman were members of the Lutheran church. Their son Jacob was born in 1818, and in 1888 was married to Elizabeth Fike, daugh- ter of Christian and Susan Fike, of this county, and the issue of their marriage was seven children : . Samuel, John, Moses (deceased), Elizabeth (deceased), Tobias (deceased), Su- sannah and Jeremiah. Jacob Rieman and his wife live with their son Jeremiah on a farm which has been their place of residence for forty-two years, it having been recently pur- chased by Jeremiah. Nearly all his sons fol- lowed teaching in the winter and farming dur- ing the summer. The last two generations of the Riemans have been identified with the German Baptist church.

S. F. Rieman was born March 27, 1841. January 21, 1865, he was married to Rebecca, daughter of George and Susan Schrock, who was born February 16, 1842. They are the parents of four children : Alvin H. (died in infancy), Mahlan S., Clara G., George L. In 1865 Mr. S. F. Rieman purchased the farm where he now resides, of one hundred and thirty-two acres, and has added to it until he now has two hundred and sixty-seven acres. By the use of fertilizers and judicious farming, Mr. Riemer has placed his farm under as fine a state of cultivation as any in the township. He takes great interest in breeding fine stock, and as an enterprising, progressive farmer ranks second to none in his section. A view of his residence appears in this volume. For three years Mr. Rieman has been a second degree minister in the German Baptist church.

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History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 99

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

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