USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 10
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 10
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
On August 11, 1862, Judge Horner, then a young man, en- listed as a private in Company C, One Hundred and Forty- second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served nineteen months. On December 13, 1862, at Fredericksburg, he was shot in the knee while on the battlefield. He suffered intense agony, lying out of doors four days before the operation was performed, and only his indomitable will and fortitude, as it would seem, kept him alive. He was carefully conveyed to the Harwood Hospital at Washington, D. C., where he remained until March, 1864, one year and three months. There he had a hard struggle for life, being obliged to undergo another surgical operation, having four inches more of his leg taken off. Judge Horner takes an active interest in local affairs, and while he was a member of the town council in 1879-80-81 one of the most valuable improvements in this section of the country was in- augurated, the building of the railway from Johnstown to Rock- wood. He is prominently connected with many leading frater- nal organizations, being a member of the R. P. Cummings Post, No. 210, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is past com- mander and judge advocate; Somerset Lodge, No. 38, Inde-
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pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs, and has been secretary for twenty-one years; Golden Eagle Lodge, in which he has held the various offices; Meyers- dale Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Junior Order of American Me- chanies, and Royal Areanum. in which he has passed all the chairs, and of which he was deputy grand regent for sixteen years. He is a member of the Elks at Johnstown, Pennsylva- nia, and a Union Republican club, organized in the year 1861.
Judge Horner married, December 14, 1870, Susan Bell, daughter of David and Sarah (Mickey) Bell, of Somerset county, Pennsylvania. One child, Marion Bell Horner, was born to them; she died April 2, 1890, aged sixteen years and six months.
JAMES B. HOLDERBAUM.
James B. Holderbaum, a well known merchant of Somer- set, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, was there born, Febru- ary 6, 1854, a son of John M. and Julia C. (Imhoff) Holder- baum.
Peter Holderbaum, great-grandfather of James B. Holder- baum, was for many years a saddler in Bedford county, Penn- sylvania, but it is not known where he was born or whom he married. He was the father of seven children, the eldest of whom was Martin.
Martin Holderbaum, grandfather of James B. Holder- baum, was born and educated in Bedford county and removed from there to Somerset in 1817. Prior to his removal to Som- erset he learned the trade of blacksmith and followed that oc- cupation throughout his years of activity, having a large patron- age. He was industrious and thrifty and was everywhere re- spected for his many sterling qualities. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church.
He married Catherine Anawalt, who bore him two children, of whom the first born was John M. The other child is de- ceased. Martin and his wife both lived to the age of seventy- two years.
John M. Holderbaum, father of James B. Holderbaum, was born in Somerset, June 4, 1819. and there was reared and edu- cated. In 1833, when he was fourteen years of age, he entered into his first regular employment as clerk for Neff & Stahl, and in 1847, after several years of experience in business, he opened a general store at Somerset, where he built up an extensive trade and was one of the most prosperous merchants in his section. Politically he was a stanch Democrat, and al- though he has never aspired to the emoluments of public office he has always contributed liberally to all enterprises tending to advance the interests of the community.
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He married Julia C. Imhoff, who was born in Somerset, October 16, 1824, and who bore him eleven children, of whom the following named are members: George, died July, 1903, married Annie MacDonald, and they have one child, Virginia Lee; Catherine, widow of Harry R. Cromwell and mother of two children, Howard and Bertha; Charles, married Sarah Moser; Margaret, wife of John R. Megalin, and they have four children, Edward, Joseph, Guy and ; James B., of whom later; Lucy E., and Darl F. The death of the mother of the above named children occurred in July, 1896, and the father, November 4, 1904.
James B. Holderbaum was educated in the schools of Som- erset and commenced his mercantile career as a clerk in his father's store. He acquired a good practical knowledge of the business and was subsequently admitted into partnership with his father. This arrangement existed until 1884, when he with- drew from the firm and established himself in the hardware business in Somerset, in which he has since been most success- fully engaged. His store is one of the best equipped in the vicinity and his trade one of the most extensive and lucrative. He is a man of sterling integrity and has the confidence and respect of the entire community. In his political relations he accords allegiance to the Democratic party. He is an influential member of Somerset Lodge of Odd Fellows and Somerset Lodge, No. 358, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has filled all the chairs. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
February 12, 1878, Mr. Holderbaum married Anna A. Jones, daughter of Isaac G. Jones, of Somerset. Six children were born to them, viz: Julia C., John I., Cora M., Robert P., Harriet R. and Ethel M. Mrs. Holderbaum died April 2, 1904.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MEYERS.
Benjamin Franklin Meyers, the well known editor, lawyer, politician, author and successful business man, is a descend- ant of a family who originally came from Germany, from which country numbers of our enterprising and progressive citizens trace their ancestry. His grandmother on the father's side, however, was the daughter of a North of Ireland man.
Jacob Meyers, great-grandfather of Benjamin F. Meyers, was a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and about 1785 purchased a tract of wild and unsettled land in the region of what is now the borough of Meyersdale. He did not settle here, but sent his sons-Christian, Jacob, Henry and John-to look after the property.
John Meyers, grandfather of Benjamin F. Meyers, was a farmer and miller, which occupations he followed through-
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out the active years of his life. He married a Miss Dickey and they reared a large family, among whom was a son named Michael D.
Michael D. Meyers, father of Benjamin F. Meyers, was born in 1809 and died in 1867. He was educated in the town- ship schools and followed the occupation of farmer, from which he derived a comfortable livelihood. He attended the Reformed church and in politics was first a Whig and later a Democrat. He married, in 1832, Sarah Schaff, born 1811, died 1886, a member for many years of the Reformed church and a de- scendant of ancestors who came from the Palatinate, Germany Their children were: Benjamin Franklin, of whom later; Caro- lyn, deceased, was the wife of Josiah Humbert, of Somerset county ; William Henry Harrison, died at the age of five years; Uriah, died at the age of two years; James M., still living on the home farm near Gebhart, Pennsylvania; he married Lu- cinda Sanner and they reared a large family.
Benjamin F. Meyers was born on the home farm in Mil- ford township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1833. He attended the schools of New Centerville, Somerset Acad- emy, Joseph J. Stutzman, principal, and in 1851 entered Jeffer- son College at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. After two years of study in that institution he left to enter Yale College, but in- firm health prevented him from becoming a student thereof. He had previously taught in the county schools, namely, New Centerville, where he was first a pupil; a boys' school in Som- erset, 1853, having among his pupils such notable characters as George F. Baer, president of the Reading railroad; Rear Admiral Picking, United States navy; John R. Edie, major in United States army; and also a select school in Somerset. He read law in the office of General William H. Koontz and was admitted to the Somerset county bar at the November term, 1855. He formed a partnership with Daniel Weyand and con- ducted business under the firm name of Weyand & Meyers.
Before admission to the bar, and while yet a minor, Benja- min F. Meyers spent a year in Illinois, engaged in journalism, and met Lincoln, Douglas and other eminent men. In An- gust, 1857, he removed to Bedford, Bedford county, Pennsylva- nia, and became editor of the Bedford Gazette. He was also admitted to the Bedford county bar and practiced his profes- sion. In 1868 he became editor of the Harrisburg Daily and Weekly Patriot, which he made the leading Democratic organ in the state. He edited both papers until 1873, when he sold the Gazette, removed to Harrisburg and devoted his energies to the Patriot. In 1891 he disposed of the Patriot and pur- chased the Star-Independent, a consolidation of two Harris-
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burg papers, the Star and the Independent, and has been the owner and editor ever since.
In politics Mr. Meyers is a Democrat and has been hon- ored with important offices. In 1863 he was elected a mem- ber of the general assembly from Bedford county. That year the state was redistricted and his district made solidly Repub- lican. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Meyers was re-elected, but through some complications in the returns of the army vote lie was refused his seat by a strictly caucus action of the party to which he was opposed.
In 1870 he was a candidate for congress from the sixteenth Pennsylvania district, comprising the counties of Adams, Bed- ford, Franklin, Fulton and Somerset. He was elected in spite of an adverse political majority of upward of 2,000, and became a member of the forty-second congress. In 1872 he was a can- didate for re-election, but the nomination of Horace Greeley as the Democratic candidate for president so weighted down the party that the Democracy was everywhere defeated. Mr. Meyers, although unanimously renominated, was beaten by about fourteen hundred, running about six hundred ahead of his party ticket. In 1895 he was offered as a sacrifice to the overwhelming Republican majority of Pennsylvania. In the face of certain defeat his loyalty to his party was such that he consented to be its candidate for state treasurer. The ap- pointive offices held by Mr. Meyers were postmaster of Harris- burg, appointed by President Cleveland in 1887, held office five years, three of which were under President Harrison, and state printer three years (under contract), 1874 to 1877. In 1864 he was delegate to the national convention that nominated Gen- eral McClellan; in 1880 district delegate to national conven- tion that nominated General Hancock; in 1884 delegate at large to national convention that nominated Grover Cleveland; in 1896 delegate at large to national convention that nominated William J. Bryan; in 1904 district delegate to national conven- tion that nominated Alton B. Parker. Mr. Meyers is treasurer of the Democratic state committee and has held the office three terms.
Mr. Meyers has been actively and prominently identified with other business enterprises, as follows: Wilkesbarre Elec- tric Street Railway System, of which he was the founder; Citi- zens' Passenger Railway Company, of Harrisburg, of which he is president; Central Pennsylvania Traction Company, of Har- risburg, of which he is vice-president; Columbia and Montour Electric Railway Company, of which he is president; Carlisle and Mt. Holly Railway Company, of which he is president; Brelsford Packing and Storage Company, of Harrisburg, of which he is president; and the United Telephone Company, a
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large company conducting business in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Virginia, with principal offices in Philadelphia, of which he is a director.
Mr. Meyers is a member and warden of St. Stephen's (Episcopal) church of Harrisburg, was for years member of the board of missions, diocese of Central Pennsylvania, and at present is a member of the standing committee of the diocese of Harrisburg. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. He was initiated into the myste- ries of Freemasonry at Bedford in 1866, and is a past master of that lodge. His chapter degrees were conferred by Stand- ing Stone Chapter, R. A. M., Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The remaining degrees of the Scottish Rite were conferred by the various bodies of Harrisburg Consistory. He is a member of Zembo Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, both of Harrisburg. Notwithstand- ing his business and political successes, Mr. Meyers' tastes are decidedly literary. He has written much for papers and periodicals, mostly under a nom de plume, and is the author of a volume entitled "A Drama of Ambition, and Other Pieces in Verse." He has other literary work in course of prepara- tion.
Mr. Meyers married, April 4, 1854, Susan C. Koontz, born July 2, 1833, daughter of Jacob Koontz and sister of General William H. Koontz (see Koontz ancestry). Mrs. Meyers was educated in the Somerset public and private schools and is a member of the Episcopal church. The children of this mar- riage were: Rosa S., married Ellis L. Mumma, a street rail- way contractor of Harrisburg. Their first born child, Wini- fred, a beautiful and talented young lady, died of typhoid fever at the age of twenty. They have one child living, Benjamin Meyers Mumma. Edwin K. died January 13, 1898; he was state printer for eight years and a member of the Harrisburg common council. Three children survive him, namely, Mere- dith, Susan C. and Benjamin P. Henry S., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Susan Irene, married Benjamin F. Africa, of Huntingdon, now of Harrisburg, a son of J. Simpson Africa; they have two sons, J. Simpson and Benjamin M. Africa. Will- iam Koontz, a graduate of Yale Law School and a member of Dauphin county bar. He married Mary Hunter, and their children are: Mary Elizabeth, William Koontz, Jr., and Wini- fred Meyers.
MILTON H. FIKE.
Among the prominent and influential men of the younger generation in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, to whom is due much of the improvement and progress made in that section of the state, must be mentioned the name of Milton H. Fike. His
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energy, enterprise and thrift are undoubtedly charcteristics inherited from his ancestors, who came originally from Switzer- land and Scotland. These characteristics, united to an unusual amount of foresight and ambition, have been the means of raising him to the position which he now fills so creditably- clerk of the courts of Somerset county, Pennsylvania.
(I) John Fike, great-great-grandfather of Milton H. Fike, the pioneer ancestor of the Fike family in this country, was born in Switzerland and emigrated to America prior to the War of the Revolution. He settled in the state of Pennsylvania up- on a tract of land which was later a portion of York county, and about 1800 migrated westward, locating in Elk Lick town- ship, near St. Paul's church. He was a member of the Amish church and a man of considerable influence in his day. He is buried on the Jerry Keim farm in Elk Lick township. He mar- ried Bandrayer, and among their children was a son, Christian, of whom see forward.
(II) Christian Fike, son of John (1) and (Bandrayer) Fike, was born in 1761, died February 2, 1850, in the ninetieth year of his age. While still young he removed with his father to Elk Lick township, Somerset county, Penn- sylvania. After his marriage he removed to what was then known as the Jonas Lichty farm, and which is now owned by W. N. Moser. This parcel of land included a farm which later passed into the hands of Joseph Fike, the grandfather of Mil- ton H. Fike, and Daniel M., the father of Milton H. Fike, and is now owned by H. J. Wilmoth, of Meyersdale. At that early day both of these farms were practically a wilderness, and their splendid state of cultivation at the present time is due to the intelligent culture and care given them by the various mem- bers of the Fike family. Christian Fike married Christina Liv- engood, daughter of Peter Livengood, who removed from York county to Somerset county, Pennsylvania, about 1800. Their children were: 1. Barbara, married Jacob Schrock, removed to Milford township, Pennsylvania, and settled on the farm which is now in possession of their grandson, John Schrock. 2. Jacob, married Susan Lichty and resided on the farm now owned by William P. Meyers, in Summit township. 3. Chris- tian, married Susan Beachley, removed to Stony Creek town- ship and later settled in Iowa. 4. Peter, married Magdalene Arnold and moved to Jones' Mill, Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania. 5. John, married Catherine Miller, moved to the farm now owned by Harvey L. Fike, of Summit township. 6. Joseph, see forward. 7. Elizabeth, married John C. Lichty and lived on the farm now in the possession of W. N. Moser, of Elk Lick township.
(III) Joseph Fike, fifth son and sixth child of Christian
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(2) and Christina (Livengood) Fike, was born in Elk Lick township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1799. He died in 1879 and his remains were buried in the graveyard on the farm of Samuel P. Miller. He spent many years of his life on the farm later owned by his son, Daniel M. He married Sally Mil- ler and had children: 1. Elias, born July 24, 1828, now living in Meyersdale borough. 2. Susan, born April 26, 1830, resides with her brother. 3. Samuel R., born December 24, 1831, died in Summit township May, 1906, and is buried in Union ceme- tery. 4. Anne, born August 3, 1833, married Charles Griffith. She died about seven years ago and her husband died about twelve years ago, and they are buried in the Union cemetery at Meyersdale. 5. Catherine, born April 29, 1835, married Will- iam Beal and resides in Meyersdale. 6. John M., born May 24, 1837, resided in Meyersdale until his death a number of years ago, and is buried in Union cemetery in that town. 7. Cyrus J., born May 25, 1839, resides in Summit township on the farm owned by his father at the time of the death of the latter. 8. Jonas J., born April 28, 1841, a resident of Summit township. 9. Daniel M., see forward. 10. David, born October 14, 1845, died in infancy. 11. Mahlon, born January 12, 1850, is now liv- ing in Kansas.
(IV) Daniel M. Fike, sixth son and ninth child of Joseph (3) and Sally (Miller) Fike, was born in Elk Lick township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, on the old homestead, July 7, 1843. He was educated in the public schools of that district, and then followed the occupation of farming. At the age of twenty-four years he purchased the farm of his father, upon. which he resided until 1900. He then disposed of his personal property at a public sale, at the same time selling the old homestead to H. J. Wilmoth, of Meyersdale. He then purchased what was known as the John R. Lichty farm in Summit town- ship and later sold the same to his youngest son, Howard, who is now the occupant. Daniel M. removed to another portion of this piece of property, where he is at present residing. He and his wife are members of the Dunkard or German Baptist church. He married, December 15, 1867, Harriet Miller, born Decem- ber 19, 1843, died June 6, 1897, daughter of Samuel P. and Su- san (Kingaman) Miller, and granddaughter of Peter C. and Catherine (Yoder) Miller. Peter C. Miller was born in Sum- mit township, April 15, 1783, died May 30, 1852. He married Catherine Yoder, born July 10, 1785, died October 18, 1850, and their children were: Elizabeth, John, Jacob, Mary, Peter, Su- san, Barbara, Daniel, Samuel P., Catherine, Joseph, Moses, Susanna and Lydia. Samuel P. Miller, father of Mrs. Daniel M. Fike, was born in Summit township, April 17, 1820, died February 22, 1888. His entire life was spent on the homestead
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farm, about three miles south of Meyersdale, on the road be- tween Meyersdale and Salisbury, which he purchased from his father. About ten years prior to his own death he sold this farm to his son, Samuel S. Miller, who resided on it until his death. The farm is now in the possession of a son of Samuel S. Miller, Howard, who resides on the place. Samuel P. Miller married, in 1840, Susan Klingaman, daughter of John and (Schrock) Klingaman. John Schrock, who was a resi- dent of Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, removed to Somerset county about the year 1765. This branch of the Schrock family originally came from Switzerland, and at that time held office under the Swiss goverment. The Klingamans emigrated from Scotland before the Revolutionary war. There were two broth- ers who settled on the coast of New England, later moving west- ward. One located in what is now known as Greenville town- ship, the other in Summit township. These were the pioneer an- cestors of the Klingaman family, the country being at the time of their settlement there an entire wilderness. The children of Samuel P. and Susan (Klingaman) Miller were: Barbara, deceased; Joseph S., resides about one mile south of Meyers- dale; Harriet, married Daniel M. Fike, as previously stated; John S., deceased; Mary, deceased; Sally, married Ezra Berk- ley, deceased, resides on a farm about four miles north of Meyersdale, Brothers Valley township, near Berley's Mill; Cornelius, deceased; Lydia, deceased; Caroline, married Frank Walker, lives on a farm about five miles north of Meyersdale in Brothers Valley township; Samuel S., deceased; and Susan, married Joseph G. Mognet, lives in Summit township just south of Meyersdale borough. Mrs. Samuel P. Miller resided on the old homestead in a house built for her prior to the death of her husband until her death, November 5, 1904, at the age of eighty-three years. She was buried in the graveyard on the home farm. The children of Daniel M. and Harriet (Miller) Fike were: Dallas J., married Ida Beachey, daughter of S. A. Beachey, of Elk Lick township, now a resident of Meyersdale borough. Milton H., see forward. Howard, married Susan Gnagey, resides on the John R. Lichty farm, about one and one- half miles south of Meyersdale, in Summit township. Nevin, died at the age of eighteen months.
(V) Milton H. Fike, second son and child of Daniel M. (4) and Harriet (Miller) Fike, was born on the old homestead in Elk Lick township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, January 5, 1874. He was educated in the public schools of his native township and remained on the farm of his father, assisting the latter until he had attained the age of twenty-one years. His education was supplemented by attendance at the Meyers- dale preparatory school, of which J. D. Meese, who is now in-
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structor in the California State Normal School, was at that time principal. Milton H. Fike received his first provisional cer- tificate when he was but seventeen years of age, under J. M. Berkey, county superintendent. He taught in the public schools of Elk Lick and Summit townships from the fall of 1892 until the spring of 1900, when he entered the employ of the Deer- ing Harvester Company, of Chicago, Illinois. With them he acted in the capacities of salesman, expert and collector. He severed his connection with this firm July 31, 1902, and ac- cepted a position with the Meyersdale Supply Company, of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. This was at the time the largest general store in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and Mr. Fike held the position of general manager and buyer. He left their employ when they sold their interests to the Somerset Coal Company and joined the Deering Harvester Company in Jan- uary, 1904. On the 10th of March of the same year he left this company and accepted a position with S. M. Hess & Bros., manufacturers of fertilizers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serv- ing them as general manager and salesman for Southwestern Pennsylvania and Western Maryland. This position he re- tained until January 1, 1906. In the spring of 1905 he became a candidate of the Republican party for the office of clerk of the quarter sessions and oyer and terminer courts of Somerset county. He received a total vote of three thousand eight hun- dred at the primary and was nominated for the office. A fusion party was then formed to defeat the Republican candidate, and this party nominated William A. Weaver, of Paint borough, as their candidate. At the fall election, which was held Novem- ber 7, 1905, Mr. Fike carried thirty-eight precincts out of the total number of fifty in the county, the number of votes cast for him being three thousand one hundred and nine. The com- bined votes of the fusion party, consisting of the Democratic, Citizens' Union and Orphans' parties, was three thousand two hundred and fifty-seven. The next in line to Mr. Fike-Will- iam A. Weaver-received a vote of one thousand seven hun- dred and twelve, making the majority of Mr. Fike over his nearest opponent one thousand four hundred and seven votes. He was installed in office on the first Monday of January, 1906, in the temporary court house. In the fall of the present year (1906), upon the completion of the new court house, all offi- cials will move to their new quarters. Mr. Fike has been elected to a term of three years. He has already made a reputation for himself by the accuracy and system he has introduced and enforces in the management of the details which come into his province. Although requiring the most exact and careful work from all those under his supervision, yet he has gained
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