USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 47
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 47
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Charles L. Spencer, born October 3, 1866, in Mansfield, Ohio, was taken by his mother to Brothers Valley township, having received his preparatory education in the schools of Mansfield, Ohio. Subsequently he attended the State Normal school at Millersville, Pennsylvania, passing thence to Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. During fifteen years he was engaged in teaching in different schools and was principal of schools in the following places: Windber, Hooversville, Paint borough, Westmont, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He is now principal of the Paint borough schools, and also chairman of the state board of examiners for teachers' permanent certifi-
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cates for Somerset county. He is a Republican and a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Spencer married, April 15, 1894, Ellen Hoffman, and they are the parents of one child, Earl P., born September 11, 1895.
Mrs. Spencer belongs to a family, the history of which is traced through the following generations: Philip Hoffman came as a young man from Germany and settled in Paint town- ship. He was a farmer and a member of the German Baptist church. His wife was Barbara Miller. They were the parents of eleven children: Jacob, John, see forward; and nine daugh- ters, one of whom, Susan, became the wife of Christian Thomas, who was at one time the oldest man in Paint township. The death of Philip Hoffman occurred about 1835 in Paint township, where he had lived for more than half a century.
John Hoffman, son of Philip and Barbara (Miller) Hoff- man, was born in 1802, and moved to Cambria county, Penn- sylvania, where he engaged in farming in Richland township. Mr. Hoffman married, about 1820, Susanna Wertz, and four children were born to them: Samuel, Jacob, see forward; Aaron, and one who died in infancy. Mr. Hoffman died in early manhood.
Jacob Hoffman, son of John and Susanna (Wertz) Hoff- man, was born September 15, 1828, and in 1850 settled in Paint township on a farm known as the John Wertz farm, remaining there nine years. At the end of that time he sold the property and purchased the Daniel Johns farm, on which he made his home for twenty-five years. He then moved on the John Johns farm at Scalp Level and resided there until his death, Sep- tember 6, 1887. His family still lives there. He served as assessor, school director, tax collector, and supervisor of Paint township. He was a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Hoffman married, April 16, 1850, Bena Statler, and their children were: Ephraim, born November 10, 1850, died May 26, 1856; Peter, born May 29, 1853, married Sarah Custer, has nine children; Lavina, born September 16, 1855, wife of Jacob A. Weaver, has nine children; Aaron, born November 29, 1858, married Polly C. Blough, has three children; Noah, born March 5, 1861, married Lizzie Holsopple, had four children; Ellen, born December 8, 1866, wife of Charles L. Spencer, has one son, Earl Protus Spencer, aged (1906) eleven years.
ALVIN SHAFFER.
Alvin Shaffer, of Quemahoming township, is descended on the paternal side from German ancestors. Jacob Shaffer (grandfather) all his life followed the calling of a farmer. He married Hannah , and their children were: George, Abraham, Jacob A., see forward; and Isaac.
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Jacob A. Shaffer, son of Jacob and Hannah Shaffer, was born in 1827 in Somerset county, and was a farmer and team- ster. Politically he was a Republican. He was a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Shaffer married Agnes Rogers, also a native of Somerset county, and their children were: David F., Hannah B., wife of Jacob Leasure; George R., deceased; William H., and Mary J., wife of Philip Ling, of lowa. After the death of the mother of these children Mr. Shaffer married Amanda Coulter, who bore him the following children : Alvin, see forward; Adellia, wife of James Zim- merman; Florence, wife of Fred Shaffer; Jacob, and Charles, deceased. Jacob Shaffer and wife live in Johnstown, retired.
Alvin Shaffer, son of Jacob A. and Amanda (Coulter) Shaffer, was born April 17, 1868, in Quemahoning township, where he attended the common schools until reaching the age of nineteen. Since leaving school he has devoted himself continu- ously to agricultural pursuits. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Shaffer married, October 27, 1895, Rebecca E. Leasure, born Septem- ber 27, 1870, in Westmoreland county, and they were the par- ents of the following children: Marion R., born June 21, 1896; Earl L., September 21, 1897; and Kenneth C., June 13, 1899. These children, at a very early age, were bereaved of their mother, who passed away September 30, 1901.
LEWIS HOSTETLER.
Lewis Hostetler, of Windber, is a grandson of Peter Hos- tetler, who is supposed to have been of German extraction, and settled in Bucks county, purchasing his land of William Penn, Jr. Later he went to Cambria county. He was a farmer and an Amish preacher, being a very active worker in his church and transmitting to his descendants the sterling traits of char- acter by which he was distinguished.
Henry Hostetler, son of Peter Hostetler, was born in 1840, and settled on the old homestead on Johnstown pike, which he purchased of his father in 1865. He was a stockholder in Johns- town pike and also a director in the company. During the Civil war he was one of those included in the last drafting, but was able to furnish a substitute. He was a Republican. He was brought up in the Amish church, but later joined the Ger- man Baptist. Mr. Hostetler married, in 1865, Mary daughter of A. Weaver, and their children were: Abram, born in Octo- ber, 1867, married Mary Statler; Lizzie, born in 1868, wife of Uriah Weaver; Stephen, born in 1870, married Emma Weaver; Tiram, born in 1876. married Cevilla Baumgardner; Lewis, see forward; Emma, born in 1884; and Arthur, born in 1890.
Lewis Hostetler, son of Henry and Mary (Weaver) Hos-
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tetler, was born May 21. 1880, in Richland township, Cambria county, and received his preparatory education in the common schools, from which he graduated in 1895, afterward passing through Merett Business College and Juniata College. After teaching for two years in the common schools, he gave his at- tention for another two years to farming, and at the expiration of that time established a store for the sale, at wholesale and retail, of flour, feed, fertilizers and farming implements. This was after his removal to Windber, where he has since remained. He is a director of the Citizens' Bank, and also secretary and treasurer of the Selix Telephone Company. At one time he served on the school board in Scalp Level. He is a Republican. He is a member of the Brethren church, in which he serves as treasurer and also superintendent of the Sunday school.
Mr. Hostetler married, in 1903, Alice, daughter of Hiram Lehman, an elder in the German Baptist church, and they have one child, Helen Maurine, born April 12, 1904.
NATHANIEL BLAUCH.
Nathaniel Blauch, of Hooversville, was born March 26, 1857, in Cambria county, and is a representative of a family which was founded in this country by three brothers who came from Switzerland in 1733 and landed in New York. One of these brothers went east and two settled in Somerset county, where their descendants still reside.
Yost Blauch, grandfather of Nathaniel Blauch, was born in Conemaugh township, where he passed his entire life in devo- tion to agricultural pursuits. His wife was Anna Keim, and they had ten children.
Emmanuel Blauch, son of Yost and Anna (Keim) Blauch, was born in 1827, in Conemaugh township, and, like his father, led the life of a farmer. He married Mary Ream, born in 1831, in Conemangh township, and their children were: Levi, Henry, Nathaniel, of whom later; Mollie, Katie, Christian E., Simon T., Emmanuel, deceased; and Hiram. Emmanuel Blauch lives in Cambria county, retired. He is a member of the Mennonite church.
Nathaniel Blauch, son of Emmanuel and Mary (Ream) Blauch, received his education in the common schools of Som- erset county, and after his school days were over engaged in the truck business until 1893. On December 12 of that year he bought a farm of over two hundred acres, situated in Quema- honing township, and since becoming its possessor has given his while time and attention to its cultivation. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Blauch is a strong Prohibitionist, and in 1905 was the candidate for county commissioner of that party. Mr. Blauch married, June
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6, 1889, Lanra, born October 22, 1862, in Cambria county, daughter of Jacob and Elmira (Barnhart) Meyers, and their children were: Minta. born May 13, 1881, deceased; Daisy B., July 20, 1883. married Lemon D. Spangy, of Alliance, Ohio; M. Carl, March 2, 1886; Mabel T., December 25, 1888; Lulah O., September 11, 1891; Olive M., April 4, 1894; Nellie M., September 18, 1896; Willard B .. January 8, 1899; and Mason, April 27, 1905.
LEMUEL E. DAVIES, M. D.
Lemuel E. Davies, a practicing physician of Windber, Som- erset county, Pennsylvania, was born in Scranton, Pennsyl- vania, September 4, 1868, a son of Rev. Joseph E. and Mary (Evans) Davies.
Rev. Joseph E. Davies (father) was a native of Llanarth- ney, Carmarthenshire, Wales, born December 12, 1810. He was a minister in the Calvinistic Methodist church. At the age of twenty-seven years he married Mary Evans, and their children were: Jane L., deceased, born April 10, 1851; Eli J., born June 14, 1852, married, and has five children; Anne M., born July 14, 1854; Eliza J., born September 10, 1857, married E. R. Aston, a merchant, and they reside in Kingston, Pennsylvania ; Margaret E., born July 30, 1859, died in childhood; Thomas C., born Angust 7, 1861, married Emily Williams, and they reside in Scranton, Pennsylvania; Salome H., born February 11, 1863, married W. C. Williams, Jr., of Jersey City, New Jersey; Roxanna H., born May 11, 1866; Lemuel E., see forward. Rev. Joseph E. Davies died in Scranton, January 1, 1881.
Lemuel E. Davies acquired his English education in the public schools of Scranton and at Pennington Seminary, Pen- nington, New Jersey, where he spent two years also as a mem- ber of the faculty. Deciding to follow the career of a medical practitioner, he took a course in the Hahnemann Homeopathic Medical College at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entering in the fall of 1893, and graduating in May, 1896. He located in Mont- clair, New Jersey, in September of that year. He passed the rigid state board examination of Pennsylvania, and registered in New Jersey prior to his locating in Montclair. From the spring of 1898 until the fall of 1899 he was engaged as a trav- eling salesman for a New York wholesale homoeopathic phar- macy. At the latter date he removed to Windber, where he has since been located, and where he has an excellent practice. He is a conscientious, careful physician and has the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen. Dr. Davies holds membership in the following orders: Royal Arcanum, A. O. U. W., Improved Order of Heptasophs, in all of which he is a medical examiner. He is also medical examiner for the following life insurance
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companies : Metropolitan, Prudential, Aetna, Phenix and Mutual. In politics he is an Independent Republican, and in religious faith an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church. At the present time he is treasurer of the borough of Windber, to which position he has annually been elected for the past three years.
Dr. Davies married, October 27, 1902, Julia M. Blake, of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, a daughter of John and Mary (Mar- tin) Blake, of Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Two children have been born to them, viz: Dorothy B., August 12, 1903; and Lemuel Van Lennep, May 8, 1905.
CHARLES J. BARRON.
Charles J. Barron, of Quemahoning township, is the son of Hiram Barron, who was born in 1831, in Middle Creek town- ship, where he passed his life in devotion to agricultural pur- suits. He was an adherent of the Republican party, and a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Barron married Melvina, born in 1834, in Middle Creek township, daughter of Jesse Moore, and their children were: Sarah, wife of Charles Flick; Lucinda, wife of Emmanuel Meyers; William, Mary A., David A., Charles J., see forward; Anna B., wife of Ross Shaffer; Edward L., Albert H., and Homer D.
Charles J. Barron, son of Hiram and Melvina (Moore) Barron, was born November 30, 1867, in Middle Creek town- ship, where he received his education in the common schools, which he attended until reaching his twentieth year. He was then employed for six years by the Swank Hardware Company, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after which he spent six years in farming, and for the past eight years has owned and worked his own farm of ninety-four acres. Like his father, he gives his political allegiance to the Republican party. A member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Barron married, October 30, 1895, Sarah Ott, and they are the parents of two children: Annie Alverda, born December 15, 1897, in Johnstown; and Carrie Melvina, born August 17, 1903, in Quemahoning. Mrs. Barron is a daughter of Daniel Ott, who was born in Paint township, and is a farmer and a Republican. He married Elizabeth Weibel, born in 1858, and their children were: Sarah, born December 17, 1878, in Paint township, wife of Charles J. Bar- ron; Ellie, wife of William P. Gearheart; Herman, Robert, Chester P., Harry, Elmer, Mary O., and Anna E., deceased. The mother of these children died in 1895.
THE MEYERS FAMILY.
Dr. William H. Meyers, of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, and District Attorney Rufus E. Meyers, of Somerset, are members of the Meyers family of which this notice treats :
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(I) The pioneer ancestor of this family in America was the great-great-grandfather of William H. Meyers, who was a native of Switzerland, and came to this country at a very early date. locating in Lancaster, now Lebanon county, Myerstown being the home town. The original form of the name was "Mever."
(II) Jacob Meyers, son of Jacob Meyer, was a native of Lebanon county, who about the year 1785 visited the section now known as Somerset county, and there purchased a large tract of uncultivated land, which included the present village of Meyersdale. He never settled there, but his sons, Christian, Jacob, Henry and John, cleared farms in that locality.
(III) Jacob Meyers, son of Jacob, was born in Lebanon connty, in 1783, and in 1804 took possession of that part of his father's purchase lying nearest the village, and established the first industrial enterprise there, which consisted of saw, grist and fulling mills and a distillery. Jacob Meyers was one of the prominent residents of the county, and served as an officer in the state militia. Ile married Barbara Yorty, who was born in Lebanon county in 1787, and who bore him three children: Peter, William and Eliza, who was the wife of Daniel Beach- Jey, of Meyersdale. In 1827, Mr. Meyers' grist mill was de- stroyed by fire, and while assisting in rebuilding it, and during a fierce cyelone, he lost his life.
(IV) Peter, eldest son and child of Jacob Meyers, was born at Meyers Mills in 1807. When a young man he engaged in business with his father, and at the time of the latter's decease, he was rebuilding the grist mill. He succeeded to his father's business, which he conducted with excellent success, and also engaged in mercantile pursuits, having two stores for some years. He was a publie-spirited, patriotic citizen, taking the greatest pride in the advancement and growth of the prosper- ous little town. He was a member of the first board of directors of the Pittsburg and Connellsville Railway, in the building of which he was actively interested, and he was also instrumental in locating the towns of Hyndman and Confluence. The village of Meyersdale was named in honor of him. About the year 1844 he laid out into town lots sixty acres of the homestead property, embracing the section bounded by Meyers and Second avennes, Large, Keystone and Centre streets.
Peter Meyers was united in marriage to Lydia Miller, the daughter of Daniel Miller, who was born in Brothers Valley, now Summit township. Of this union the following children were born: Cyrus, born 1834, died 1873; Nelson, 1837, died 1887; Joseph, resided in Philadelphia, now deceased; William IT., see forward; Dennis, 1842, died 1890; Barbara E. and Ida E., both residing at the old homestead.
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(V) Dr. William H. Meyers, son of Peter and Lydia (Mil- ler) Meyers, was born December 1, 1839, and acquired his early educational training in the public schools, and later attended the State Normal School in Millersville. He decided upon a medical career, and so formulated all his plans with that end in view. At the age of eighteen years he commenced to read medicine with Dr. U. M. Beachley, with whom he was asso- ciated for five years. He then engaged in the practice of his profession alone, and achieved excellent results. He built up for himself an extensive and lucrative practice in Meyersdale, and is considered one of the leading physicians of the county. For twenty-five years he held the position of surgeon for the Baltimore & Ohio Railway. Politically Dr. Meyers is a Re- publican, and takes a lively interest in all pertaining to the wel- fare of the community. He is widely known both socially and professionally, and has a large circle of friends. He is a charter member of the Meyersdale lodge, F. and A. M. He is a member of the Episcopal church.
January 14, 1862, Dr. Meyers was united in marriage to Maggie A. Large, daughter of Charles P. and Jane (Case) Large, of Buckingham, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Charles P. Large was a member of a highly reputable Quaker family, and he and his wife were the parents of two children: Maggie A. and John Simpson Large. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Meyers have the following children: Charles P., resides in Meyersdale and is an engineer in the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- way; he married Anna Berkley, and they have four children: Florence J., Esther J., Kate J., and Berkley. 2. Robert, a resi- dent of Fairport Harbor, Lake county, Ohio, married Anna Rook, and they have one daughter, Margaret. 3. William H., resides at home. 4. Lydia F., married S. G. Walker, resides in Thurmond, West Virginia. 5. Gertrude W. 6. John. The two last named live at home.
(V) Dennis Meyers, son of Peter and Lydia (Miller) Mey- ers (4), was born September 26, 1842, at Meyersdale, Somer- set county, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the public schools, the Monongalia Academy, at Morgantown, West Virginia, and the State Normal school, at Millersville, Pennsylvania. In 1869 he was elected prothonotary of Somerset county, and served three years. Subsequently he studied law in the office of Hon. John R. Edie, and was admitted to the bar November 14, 1881. He married Mary Edie, by whom four children were born, in- cluding Rufus E. Meyers. Dennis Meyers died January 26, 1890.
(VI) Rufus E. Meyers, an attorney-at-law of Somerset, Pennsylvania, was born December 17, 1868, the son of Dennis and Mary (Edie) Meyers (5). Rufus E. Meyers acquired his
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intellectual training in the schools of Somerset county, and was for one year engaged as a school teacher. He decided upon a legal career, and commenced the study of law in the offices of Coffroth & Ruppel, being admitted to the bar in January, 1895. He is well qualified in every respect for this line of work, and has achieved the most gratifying success in his chosen profes- sion. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, and served as deputy prothonotary under D. J. Horner and W. H. Sanner for six years, prior to his admittance to the bar. He is now serving in his third consecutive term as district attor- ney, having been elected first in 1898, second in 1901, and third in 1904. In the various offices of trust and responsibility to which he has been elected, he has discharged his duties most creditably, thereby gaining the confidence and respect of the community.
SELMAN E. ROACH.
Selman E. Roach, of Windber, is a grandson of Selman Roach, of Irish descent, who lived in Farmington, Maine, and was by trade a shipbuilder. He was a man of strict integrity of character.
Robert H. Roach, son of Selman Roach, was born in Farm- ington, Maine, and came to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and worked at peeling bark for the tannery of Jay Gould. He was also engaged for about seven years in the lumber business in that county. In 1864 he was drafted, and after his discharge went to Centre county, Pennsylvania, where for six years he worked as a lumberman. He then went to Snow Shoe, and for five years combined farming with lumbering. Thence he moved to Alport and for two years continued his labors as a lumber- man. After spending seven years in Morrisdale he removed to Brisbin and there worked as a carpenter for the Berwan White Coal Company. He holds the office of tax collector for Brisbin, votes with the Democrats and is a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Roach married Sarah Singer, of Luzerne county, and their children are: Bella, born in 1854, wife of Walter Starbird, of Bengal, Maine, has three children; Sel- man E., see forward; Abba, born in 1858, wife of Rovier Ful- ler, has had twelve children; Amanda, born in 1860, wife of William Diffibaugh, has had twelve children; Armida, born in 1861, wife of Fern Ross, had ten children; Robert M., born in 1863, married Ella Sprankley; Frank W., born in 1864, mar- ried Azuley Means, had four children; Charles, born in 1866, married Ollie Gowrley, has six children; Jennie, born in 1868, wife of John Roland, has four children.
Selman E. Roach, son of Robert H. and Sarah (Singer) Roach, was born May 30, 1856, and received the education
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afforded by the common schools of the different places in which the family resided. For five years he was the proprietor of a hotel in Morrisdale. Clearfield county. and thence went to Phil- lipsburg, Centre county, where he engaged in the dry goods business. At the end of two years he sold out and moved to Atlantic City, where he was employed in a shooting gallery. His next removal was to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where for five years he engaged in the same business, after which he again sold out and went to Windber in 1897. He there opened a store, which he still conducts, dealing in bicycles and sporting goods and also making and repairing violins. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum, is a Republican and a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Roach married, January 20, 1876, Margaret, born in 1858, in Scotland, daughter of George and Mary Trumble, and their children are: Gertrude, born November 5, 1876, wife of W. H. Morgan, has two children, Selman, born March 8, 1902, and De Witt, born August 25, 1904; George H., born De- cember 11, 1879, died May 24, 1885; Wilber, born No- vember 28, 1882, married, August 18, 1904, Carrie M. Edder, has one child, Margaret F., born June 15, 1905; Georgeana, born September 12, 1888; Burnall E., born July 9, 1897; Mary T., born January 15, 1901.
WILSON CHRISTIAN PAUL.
Wilson Christian Paul, outside financial manager of the Economy Telegraph Company, of Pocahontas, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, was born in Greenville township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1878, the son of Christian and Magdaline (Warner) Paul.
Christian Paul (father) was born at Bielafeld, Germany, October 24, 1835, and emigrated to the United States in 1858. He followed the occupation of an iron worker at Wellersburg, Pennsylvania, for about a year, and in 1859 went to Greenville township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania. He served in the Civil war in Company G, Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Regiment of Volunteers, having enlisted at Harrisburg in 1861. He mar- ried Magdaline, daughter of George Warner, and they had chil- dren as follows: John, Amelia Miller, Anna Bittner, Henry, Freeman, Jacob, Herman, Adam, Godfrey, Wilson C., see for- ward; Louisa and Calvin.
Wilson C. Paul, tenth child and eighth son of Christian and Magdaline (Warner) Paul, attended the public schools of Greenville until his eleventh year, when he went to the Soldiers' Orphans' school at Loysville, Perry county, Pennsylvana, re- maining there until he was fifteen years of age. He then re- turned to Greenville, and turned his attention to the trade of
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telegrapher, which he mastered in a short time, and became a most efficient and capable operator. He learned his trade with the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, with whom he was identified until 1890. Mr. Paul was one of the prime movers in the or- ganization of the Economy Telegraph Company of Meyers- dale, Pennsylvania, and acted as secretary of the company until 1905. He now holds the position of outside financial man- ager, and discharges his duties in a most creditable and highly satisfactory manner.
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