USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 22
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 22
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BEDFORD AND SOMERSET COUNTIES
death of his brother, Valentine, who operated the gristmill, this also came into his possession by purchase. The farm is now owned by his grandson. S. Sylvester. Mr. Hay and his wife were members of the Reformed church. Mr. Hay married Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Walker, and of their twelve chil- dren ten reached maturity : David, deceased; Michael, Philip, of whom later; Peter S., Mary. Susan, Elizabeth, Catharine, Valentine and Caroline. Mr. Hay's death occurred in 1845, and his widow survived until 1880.
Philip Hay, son of Peter and Elizabeth (Walker) Hay, was born April 3, 1820, on the homestead, and received a common school education. His farming operations were extensive and he was largely engaged in stock raising. He served the town- ship as assessor, and in early life was a Whig, but later became a Democrat. He was a member of the Hay's church congrega- tion of the Reformed church, which he served as deacon and elder, and was also connected with the Sunday school, taking the deepest interest in all branches of church work. Mr. Hay married, February 5, 1846, Anna Olinger, born August 29, 1824, at Myersdale, and their children were: William P., farmer of Somerset county, has held various county and township offices, married Annie Cober; Sylvester S., lives on homestead, mar- ried Alice Berkley; Hiram P., of whom later; Peter S., farmer of Brothers Valley township, married Clara Walker; Melinda, wife of Millard Walker, farmer of Brothers Valley township; Clara A., wife of Wilson E. Walker, farmer near Berkley; P. Ephraim, farmer, lives with his brother, Sylvester; Sarah, wife of Lewis Berkley; Luke, lives at Myersdale, married Mary Miller; Ellen, died in 1860, at the age of ten years; Mark, died in infancy. The mother of these children died October 27, 1868, and the death of Mr. Hay occurred August 15, 1902.
Hiram P. Hay, son of Philip and Anna (Olinger) Hay, was born April 8, 1852, on the homestead, and obtained his educa- tion in the common and normal schools. He remained at home, working on the farm, until coming of age, and then taught for three terms in the public schools. After his marriage he moved on the John Fritz farm, where he remained three years. At the end of that time, in consequence of the death of his wife, he sold the property and returned to the profession of teaching. In 1884 he bought the farm on which he has since resided, devot- ing himself to agricultural pursuits and to dealing in stock, being one of the largest dealers in horses, cows and all kinds of farm stock in the county. The estate consists of three hun- dred and seventy acres of fine farming and grazing land, hav- ing an abundance of fruit, principally apples, and a sugar camp of twelve hundred vessels, producing from three hundred to six hundred gallons of maple syrup yearly. Coal underlies the
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farm, the interest being retained by Mr. Hay. He is vice-presi- dent of the Philson National Bank of Berlin, and is also inter- ested in the Berlin Mercantile Company and the Berlin Im- provement Company. He was for several years president of the Union Association and Farmers' Fire Insurance Company of Somerset County. He has served the township as school di- rector and is a Democrat in politics. He is a member of the Reformed church, of which he was formerly deacon and is now elder, being also superintendent of the Sunday school and tak- ing an active interest in the various religious and benevolent societies of the church.
Mr. Hay married, September 20, 1877, Susan B., daughter of William Fritz, and they were the parents of one son, Edwin, who died in infancy. Mrs. Hay died in 1880, at the age of twenty-eight, and on May 9, 1884, Mr. Hay married Ida Walker, by whom he became the father of the following chil- dren: Alverta G., born March 16, 1885, educated in public schools and Woman's College of Frederick, Maryland; Walter E., born January 22, 1887, educated in common and normal schools of the county; Homer E., born December 4, 1894. All these children are at home with their parents. Mrs. Hay is a daughter of Hiram P. and Elizabeth Walker, of Summit town- ship, near Garrett. Mr. Walker is one of the wealthiest farmers of the county, and is prominent as a business man. He is a Democrat, and has served as deacon and elder in the Lutheran church. He and his wife are the parents of the following chil- dren: Foster, Norman, farmer of Brothers Valley township; Preston and Jared, farmers of Summit township; Bruce, mer- chant and coal operator of Garrett; Frank and Wallace, farm- ers of Summit township; Lily, who, with her brother, Wallace, lives at home ; and Ida, born June 22, 1865, received a good edu- cation and is a member of the Lutheran church. She is now the wife of Hiram P. Hay.
JACOB M. KNEPPER.
Jacob M. Knepper, one of the leading agriculturists of Stony Creek township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, who has been auditor of the township, is at present serving his second term as school director, and has held many other positions of trust and responsibility in that section of the country, is a repre- sentative of a family which has been located in Somerset county for four generations, and which has done its full share toward the improvement of the agricultural interests of that district.
(I) John Knepper, great-grandfather of Jacob M. Knepper, was born in 1765, and removed to Somerset county. He located in Brothers Valley township, and was a shoemaker by trade. He married Anna Maria Glessner, and had children :
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William, who served with honor in the war of 1812; Jacob, John, of whom later; Lewis, Peter, Jonathan, George, Simon, Henry, Benjamin, Elizabeth (Mrs. Hauger), Catherine (Mrs. Hay), and Polly (Mrs. Haas).
(II) John Knepper, son of John (1) and Anna Maria (Glessner) Knepper, was born in Somerset county, 1795. He was the first Abolitionist in Brothers Valley, and the only voter in the township who cast his ballot for the Free Soil candidates. He married Susan Stahl and had children: Lewis J., of whom later ; Solomon, David, John, Peter, James, Sarah ( Mrs. Cole- man), Elizabeth (Mrs. Graham), Rebecca (Mrs. Cober), Polly (Mrs. Smith), and Susan ( Mrs. Myers). John Knepper, father of the above-named children, died in 1857.
(III) Lewis J. Knepper, eldest child of John (2) and Susan (Stahl) Knepper, was born in Brothers Valley town- ship, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1819. He was educated in the public schools of the township, in which he afterward taught for twenty-one years. Abandoning the pro- fession of teaching, he turned his attention to farming, which occupation he followed for the remainder of his active work- ing years. In politics he was a Republican, and during his life held many township offices. He connected himself with the German Baptist church in early life, died in that faith, having held the office of deacon in his church for thirty-five years. He was greatly interested in all branches of church and charitable work and assisted his pastor, Rev. William C. Schrock, to es- tablish the first Sabbath school in the Brothers Valley congre- gation. He married (first), September 9, 1849, Magdalena Mey- ers, born January 24, 1824. daughter of Jacob and Hannah (Lichty) Meyers, and had children: Mary A .; Jacob M., of whom later; Solomon M .; William M., deceased; Elizabeth S., Ellen R. and Emanuel L., of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Knepper died October 20, 1865. Lewis J. Knepper married (second) Elizabeth Walker, and had children: Charles W. and Edward, both farmers in Brothers Valley, and Henry and Emma, who died in childhood.
(IV) Jacob M. Knepper, second child and eldest son of Lewis J. (3) and Magdalena (Meyers) Knepper, was born on the old Good farm, now owned by Wesley Landis, October 19, 1851. He received a good educational training in the public and normal schools of Berlin, and qualified for the profession of teaching. At the age of seventeen he began the active work of teaching in the Brothers Valley schools, where he labored with success for five years, then for four years in the schools of Stony Creek township. At the end of this period he farmed for one year with JJacob Reiman, and in 1877 bought from Elias Layman his present farm, where he has since resided. This
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farm is a good one of two hundred and fifty acres, well stocked with a fine grade of farm cattle. Mr. Knepper is also extensively engaged in stock dealing and feeding. On the farm is a sugar camp of four hundred vessels that has produced one thousand pounds in one season. It has an abundance of fruit of all kinds, but principally apples. He has greatly improved the farm by draining and tiling the bottom lands and converting them into profitable hay fields. The farm house was entirely. remodeled in 1903 and is now a very attractive and comfortable dwelling, and the outbuildings are ample and well constructed. Mr. Knep- per keeps well abreast of the times and is always ready to in- troduce any improvement or invention which appeals to him as being a practical labor and time saving device. His activi- ties are not confined exclusively to the farming interests, but branch out in various directions. He was a director of the Union Association and Farmers' Fire Insurance Company of Somerset county for ten years, is interested in the First Na- tional Bank of Berlin, also in the Economy Telephone Company of Meyersdale. He has held other positions of trust and has settled several estates. In politics he is a Republican and has served as auditor of the township and is now serving his sec- ond term as school director. He is a member of the German Baptist church, in which he has officiated as deacon, and is a teacher in the Sabbath school connected with it, where he has served very acceptably as superintendent.
He married, March 12, 1875, Susan Reiman, born March 12, 1852, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Reiman, of Stony Creek township. She was educated in the public schools and is a mem- ber of the German Baptist church. Their children are: Homer R., born September 1, 1876, educated in the common and nor- mal schools of the township. He taught for five years in the pub- lic schools of Stony Creek, is now (1906) a farmer in that township. He married, March 21, 1899, Laura J. Shober, daugh- ter of S. V. Shober, and they have children : Ellwood S., Clar- ence J. and Edna S., who died in infancy; Alvin R., born Sep- tember 14, 1881, educated in the public schools and is now a farmer. He married, September 27, 1901, Mary S. Myers, daughter of Joseph Myers, of Milford, and they have children: Myers E. and Leora E.
RICHARD T. POLLARD, M. D.
The career of Dr. Pollard, of Garrett, is a striking instance of the possibility for a young man of energy, perseverance and good character to rise superior to his circumstances and en- vironment and to make for himself an honored position in any community.
Richard T. Pollard is descended from a family of mine
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workers of Cornwall, England. His father, Thomas Pollard, was a tin dresser at the Cornwall tin mines. He was a fairly well educated man and a member of the Primitive Methodist church. He and his wife, Elizabeth Pollard, were the parents of six children, all of whom attained years of maturity, and three of whom came to America: William, deceased; Elizabeth Jane, deceased, and Richard T., whose name heads this sketch. Thomas Pollard died in England, 1886.
Richard T. Pollard was born at Chacewater, Cornwall, England, November 24, 1848. He had none of the advantages of early education, but from youth worked in the tin and cop- per mines of his native country. He came to America at the age of twenty, and at that time did not know his multiplication table and was equally backward in all other branches. He first went to Hibernia, Morris county, New Jersey, where he was em- ployed in the mines until 1871, when he came to Somerset, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and entered the employ of William H. Welfley, the author of this history. He assisted him in his photographic work for about one year, and for several years thereafter mined and farmed in the southern part of the county. In 1889 he began the study of medicine at the Baltimore Medical College. In the years since 1871, when he began his studies under L. A. Smith, editor of the Meyersdale Commercial, he had studied and earnestly applied himself at all possible times to improve his mind. He denied himself all pleasures and luxuries in order to further the object he had in view, namely, the securing of an education. He spent two years in Baltimore Medical College, graduating therefrom in 1891. He then entered Western University of Pennsylvania, complet- ing his course there in 1893 and obtaining his diploma as a regu- lar practitioner of the allopathic or old school of medicine.
Dr. Pollard began practicing his profession at Hagers- town, Maryland, where he remained two years. He then located in Garrett, Pennsylvania, where he has practiced very success- fully for the past thirteen years, and has proved the wisdom of his choice of a profession. He is a member of the state and county medical societies, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Sur- geons' Association, and is local surgeon for the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at Garrett. He is an elder of the German Bap- tist Brethren church and frequently fills the pulpits of that de- nomination. He belongs to the Berlin congregation. In politics he is a Republican and has served his borough as councilman. and school director.
Dr. Pollard married, May 2, 1879, Mrs. Hannah Kimmel, widow of Peter Kimmel, of Elderton, Armstrong county, Penn- sylvania. She is a daughter of Joseph and Catherine Shoe- maker. By her first marriage there was one child, Ida, wife
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of William H. Miller, of Garrett. The children of Dr. and Mrs. Pollard are: Thomas S .. a miner, married Ida Walter, and their children are Richard, William and Goldie. Lee W., a druggist of Garrett, married Rosa McQuaide, and they have one child, Richard E. Pollard. Dr. Pollard has a well appointed home in Garrett, where he also has his office, and here he is enjoying the comforts and pleasures made possible by his earlier years of self-denial and earnest effort.
RUFUS M. BEACHY.
Rufus M. Beachy, an active and successful veterinary sur- geon of Meyersdale, was born in Garrett county, Maryland, January 30, 1867. He is a son of Manasses J. and Elizabeth (Heddings) Beachy, and a grandson of Jonas and Sarah (Gnagey) Beachy. Jonas Beachy was of Pennsylvania birth, but his parents were natives of Germany. He lived the life of a Maryland farmer and was a minister and bishop of the Amish church. He died in Maryland (in which state his wife also died), aged eighty-six years, and when eighty-five he walked seven miles to preach to his people on the Sabbath.
Manasses J. Beachy (father) was a farmer in Elk Lick township, where he was born. His education was obtained in the subscription schools, and his early life was spent on the farm, which lay along the state line. He had some skill as a veterinarian and practiced to some extent among the farmers of that region. Part of his time he lived in Maryland, where some of his children were born. He was a Republican, and, like his father, was a minister and bishop of the Amish people, comprising the Elk Lick congregation. His first wife was Bar- bara Swartzendruber, by whom he had one child, Anna (Mrs. John K. Yoder, of Allensville, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania). His second wife was Elizabeth Heddings, who bore him the fol- lowing children: Rufus M., of whom later; Amos, deceased; Lewis, a farmer of Preston county, Virginia; Moses, who farms the old homestead; Phoebe, deceased (Mrs. Peter Smoker) ; Alvin, a farmer of Oregon; Mary, deceased (Mrs. Jonas M. Yoder). Manasses J. Beachy died June 21, 1895. His widow, Elizabeth (Heddings) Beachy, became Mrs. Samuel J. Miller and lives near Springs, Pennsylvania.
Rufus M. Beachy was educated in the public schools of the township. His early life was spent on the farm; in fact, nearly all his life has been spent in and around it. He early began to accompany his father on his visits, and when but thirteen years old was sent alone to attend a sick horse. He treated the case successfully, staying with his patient all night. From that time until the present (1906) he has followed the veterinary profes- sion, and it may truly be said that he has grown up in it. The
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practical knowledge gained from actual experience has been supplemented by an extensive course of professional reading and study, and now he has a large and successful practice that occupies his entire time. His office and laboratory in Meyers- dale are well equipped with instruments, remedies and an ex- tensive library of works pertaining to his profession. He sold his farm in 1904, which was the home farm, purchased at the time of his marriage, and which he cultivated in connection with his veterinary work, also his lime and stone business, in order to devote his entire time to his profession.
Mr. Beachy married, December 23, 1888, at the age of twenty-two. Lydia, born October 13, 1866, daughter of Emanuel and Mary (Miller) Heishberger, from Grantsville, Maryland. Their children were: Jonas, born December 31, 1889; John, born May 7, 1891, died July 3, 1894; Noah, born September 22, 1896, died in infancy.
JOHN M. LAMBERT.
John M. Lambert, of Lambertsville, is descended from an- cestors who were among the pioneers of Stony Creek township. About 1789 three brothers, John, George and Jacob Lambert, came from York county and took up lands in Stony Creek and Shade townships. John, who settled in Stony Creek, married Mary Statler, who bore him the following children: Samuel, of whom later; Jacob, John, Moses, Mary, Samuel and Cath- arine, wife of Solomon Kimmel.
Samuel Lambert, son of John and Mary (Statler) Lambert, was born in Stony Creek township and was the owner of a large estate, including about six hundred acres of fine timber land. He was a Whig and a member of the Reformed church. He married Sarah Good, by whom he was the father of the fol- lowing children: Josiah, Aaron, Rebecca, Sarah; Abraham, in honor of whom Lambertsville received its name; John; Samuel, of whom later; Moses, George and Mary, wife of Cyrus Berke- bile. Mr. Lambert died in 1869, aged seventy-five years.
Samuel Lambert, Jr., son of Samuel and Sarah (Good) Lambert, was born November 7, 1826, where Lambertsville now stands, and attended the public schools of the township. His trade, which was that of a wagonmaker, he followed all his life in his native town. He was also the proprietor of a sash factory. He held the office of tax collector. He was originally a Whig, but later became a Republican. His religious belief was that of the German Reformed church, in which he served as deacon. Sammel Lambert, Jr., married Nancy E. Mostoller, born No- vember 7, 1836, and received her education in the public schools. She was a daughter of Joseph Mostoller, born May 5, 1800, and married Sarah Mowry. Mr. Mostoller died December, 1889.
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Mr. and Mrs. Lambert were the parents of the following children: Edward M., lumberman of Berlin, married Annie Fritz; Calvin; Francis Orange, died in childhood; Cyrenius A., died at the age of sixteen; Azariah, died at the age of thirty- four ; Lorenzo, farmer in Wisconsin, Republican, married Mary Hayes and has two children, Hayes and Ray; Jarius, lumber- man of Kimmelton, Republican, married Annie Woods and after her death Clara Wright; children of first marriage, Homer and Percy, and those of second, Arlington and Mildred; Ellsworth J., farmer of Stony Creek township, Republican, married Mag- gie Gohn, and after her death Bertha Cook; children of first marriage, Bertie Orange, Ida and Guy; Irvin L., miner of Downey, Republican, married Kate Landis and has three chil- dren, George, Blanche and Lee; Sidney, professional nurse, graduate of Memorial Hospital, Johnstown; John M., of whom later. Mr. Lambert, the father of the family, died October 7, 1897, and his widow resides with her youngest son.
John M. Lambert, son of Samuel and Nancy E. (Mostol- ler) Lambert, was born June 11, 1870, in Lambertsville, and obtained his education in the common and normal schools, where he qualified as an instructor. At the age of seventeen he com- pleted his education, and for five years thereafter was engaged in teaching. When twenty-two years old he entered the rail- way postal service, having the year before passed the civil serv- ice examination in Pittsburg. He was first employed in the Pittsburg & Fair Chance railway postoffice, where he re- mained sixteen months. At the end of that time he was trans- ferred to the New York and Pittsburg railway postoffice. On this exceedingly important and difficult run he remained six years and then secured a transfer to the Johnstown and Rock- wood railway postoffice, where he was employed six years. Mr. Lambert is extensively interested in lumbering, his associate in the business being his brother Jarius. The firm has a tract of sixty acres of timber land, and a sawmill at Mostoller Station, where they saw and ship the manufactured timber, pine, hem- lock, oak and other hardwoods forming the principal output of their mill. Mr. Lambert resides on a tract of twenty acres, which he purchased of his father, the farm producing an abund- ance of fruit of all kinds. He is a life member of Johnstown Lodge, No. 175, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In poli- tice he has always affiliated with the Republicans, having cast his first presidential vote in 1892 for Benjamin Harrison.
Mr. Lambert married, July 2, 1895, Ora Goodrich, and their children are: Quay, born December 30, 1896, and Evelyn, born November 17, 1902. Mrs. Lambert is a daughter of Augustus and Matilda Goodrich, the former a lumberman of Indiana
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county, Pennsylvania. She was born December 11, 1874, was educated in the public schools and is a member of the Presby- terian church.
EDWARD G. MOSTOLLER.
Edward G. Mostoller, of Mostoller, is a grandson of John Mostoller, who passed his entire life as a farmer in Somerset county. His son, George Mostoller, was born in 1802 in Stony Creek township and was a cabinetmaker, lumberman and farmer. His political affiliations were first with the Whigs and later with the Republicans. He was a member of the Allbright church. George Mostoller married Bevy Custer and they were the parents of one child, Edward G., of whom later. Mr. Mos- toller died, November 22, 1872, from the effects of injuries re- ceived from an infuriated bull.
Edward G. Mostoller, son of George and Bevy (Custer) Mostoller, was born July 20, 1838, on the farm where he now resides. His educational opportunities were very limited, being restricted to attendance at school during two winters, but in after life he found means of supplying his early deficiencies. He remained with his father, working on the farm and running the sawmill, until the age of twenty-two, when he married, and on the death of his father, being the sole heir, he came into pos- session of the estate. In addition to the homestead, which con- sists of three hundred and fifty-two acres, he is the owner of a timber tract of three hundred and twenty-one acres and an- other of three hundred acres, with the sawmill. All these are in Stony Creek township and were owned by his father in part- nership with others. After his father's death they were sold and were awarded to Mr. Mostoller as the highest bidder. The latter is the owner of still another tract of timber (principally yellow pine) of four hundred acres, situated in Shade township. The homestead farm is well timbered, thoroughly stocked, and the improvements are of the best. In 1884 Mr. Mostoller built, at Mostoller Station, a large flouring mill, which he equipped with the new roller process machinery, making it the best mill property in the state at that time. The mill is not now in op- eration. Mr. Mostoller is interested, with others, in a tract of three thousand acres of coal land in West Virginia, and also in a company drilling for oil wells in Somerset county. For the last sixteen years he has conducted a grocery store at the sta- tion in connection with the postoffice, of which he has been post- master since 1889, the office having come to him unsolicited. Politically he is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Evangelical church, of which he is a trustee.
Mr. Mostoller married, February 20, 1860, Lavinia, born April 1, 1841, daughter of John Swank, farmer of Somerset
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township, and their children are: Elizabeth, became the wife of Joseph Lambert, a farmer of Stony Creek township; they had two children, Arthur and Leroy. Mrs. Elizabeth Lambert died February 6, 1884. John E., born December 8, 1861, is a mill worker of Kimmelton, Pennsylvania, a Republican and a member of the Evangelical church. He married Sarah E., daughter of Albert Wright, and has five children: Marietta, Clara F., George M., Albert W. and Alma Z. Irvin, died in child- hood. Catharine J., died in childhood. Martha, died in child- hood. George G., born March 5, 1868, millworker of Mos- toller, Republican, married Ida Lear and has two children, Darl and Earl. Winton R., born April 22, 1873, fireman on Balti- more & Ohio railroad, Republican. Sylvester H., born Sep- tember 22, 1876, lives at Mostoller, fireman on Baltimore & Ohio railroad, Republican, married Elizabeth Critchfield and has three children: Pearl, Martha and Meredith. Minnie J., born February 28, 1879, wife of Peter Zimmerman, died Novem- ber, 1902, leaving one child, Melda May. Ida F., born Septem- ber 25, 1882, living at home. These children were all educated in the common and normal schools of the county.
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