USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 6
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and personal history > Part 6
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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
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for Abraham Lincoln as a presidential candidate. In the same year he was nominated for prothonotary, and was elected, en- tering into the canvass with all his ability, warmly advocating the election of the great statesman whose mission it was to save the Union. In 1864 he was elected to congress from the dis- trict comprising the counties of Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, Franklin and Adams, and his course so commended him to his constituents that he was re-elected for the ensuing term. The years of his service in congress were among the most critical of the century. The Civil war was brought to an end, and then came up a problem without a precedent for its solution- that of reconstructing the old slave states. Throughout this trying period General Koontz's services were of the greatest value to the entire country. He maintained a dispassionate, logical, and judicial position, ably and exactly expressed by Vice President Wilson in his "History of the Reconstruction Measures :" "Mr. Koontz, of Pennsylvania, was for the protec- tion of the people of the South who had been true to the Union, without regard to race or color," and the author quoted the fol- lowing from one of General Koontz's speeches on the floor of congress :
"The great duty rests upon us to finish the work which has not been finished by warfare. The shackles of four millons of slaves were melted by the fierce fires of civil war, but the animus of slavery, its passions and prejudices, yet remain. It is our duty so to legislate as to remove the last relic of a bar- barism that would have suited the dark ages; to conform our institutions to the advanced condition which will have been brought about by the revolution just ended, and when this shall be done, the great Republic, freed from the dark stain of human slavery, will start upon her mission to promulgate by precept and example, the immutable and eternal truth of the equality of men, and before whose resistless march kingdoms and pow- ers and all systems built upon caste and creed for the oppres- sion of men will be wiped from the face of the earth, and known no more forever."
During his congressional career, General Koontz attracted the attention of the country not only for his ability and earn- estness, but for his oratorical powers. His speeches in favor of relief for the destitute of the South, and on the death of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, attracted widespread attention, and brought him generous commendation. He was also known as one of the most industrious members. He served upon various committees of great importance, including those on the Dis- trict of Columbia, and Expenditures of the Interior Depart- ment; performed arduous labor in the construction of supple- mentary Reconstruction bills, and was conspicuous in the im-
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peachment proceedings against President Johnson. His prom- inence, his abilities and his fine personal traits brought him into close association with the most distinguished men of the most dramatic and important period in the nation's history, and he was on familiar terms with Vice President Wilson, Thaddeus Stevens, Ben Wade, and others of giant intellect. Intense in his patriotism, unyielding in his advocacy of equal and exact justice to all, holding to the loftiest ideals of per- sonal integrity in all public as well as in private concerns, his record was unsullied by a single act open to the least suspicion of self-seeking.
Mr. Koontz's reputation as an orator brought him into great request in the campaign years following his retirement from congress. Besides his frequent appearances in his own state, in 1875 he spoke in the Ohio campaign, and the following year in the same state and in Maryland. During the Garfield campaign he delivered addresses in Pennsylvania and Mary- land, and his services were again called for in these states in 1884. In 1887 he again spoke in Ohio, and in the following years in various other states, in 1896 making a speaking tour of West Virginia.
His public services in his own state have been of inestima- ble value. He was a delegate in the convention which nomi- nated General John W. Geary for governor, and his influence was potent in that great body. In 1898 he was elected to the state assembly, and in the first session introduced a resolution providing for the appointment of a committee to investigate charges of bribery made against a number of representatives. He was made a member of the committee, whose work was one of the most important features of the session, and which had the effect of making legislative work for the remainder thereof more free from scandal than for many years previous. A writer of the period said concerning this investigation :
"Those who had the opportunity of hearing Mr. Koontz speak on the floor of the house during the last session of the legislature can fully testify to his power, and the high literary character of his speeches. His voice is peculiarly mellow and resonant, with not a strident note in any register. His words are well chosen, and his addresses under all circumstances are delivered with a grace of gesticulation that marks the ora- tor. On the other hand, his ability to flay an opponent without departing from strict parliamentary language is quite as marked as his powers of persuasive address. No one who was present when Mr. Koontz appealed to the house the morning after the first bribery investigating committee had refused to examine witnesses and proceed regularly with the investiga- tion, can forget the polished condemnation, sarcasm and in-
Vol. III 4
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vective of his remarks. The house sat breathless, and the three members of the committee who had incurred his wrath visibly wineed under his castigation. His appeal was for fair play; for freedom to pursue the right course, in justice to the public; or, in default to grant this, his resignation as a member of the committee would immediately follow. It was not a covert as- sault. In the committee the night before, he had protested against the arbitrary action of the majority, and on their re- fusal to concede what he and the general public believed to be fair and honest, he delivered a phillippic, in which he served notice that he would appeal from the committee to the house. And he did. The castigation of machine men and measures that day had an effect so far-reaching that there is no telling even now where it will end. That speech of the member from Somerset commanded the reorganization of a machine-made committee, forced apart unwilling lips, unraveled the tangled threads of a shameless and criminal conspiracy, brought to light political secrets so vile that hardened politicians winced. Today, as a result of Mr. Koontz's appeal to the house in that memorable speech, without precedent in but one ease in the legislative history of Pennsylvania. the courts have been ap- pealed to to take cognizance of evils he helped to unveil."
In this battle he stood alone, the only anti-Quay member of the committee, and, recognized for his ability, courage and independence, he became, perforce, a prime leader of the anti- Quay elements in the session of the legislature to which he was re-elected in 1890. He was placed in nomination for the speak- ership by the anti-Quay Republicans and Democrats, and, with the state organization against him, under the leadership of Senator Quay, came within one vote of an election. On the first ballot the vote was a tie, Mr. Koontz and his opponent each receiving one hundred votes. Before the second ballot was taken, one of the members supporting Mr. Koontz was taken from the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms, and, not re- turning in time to vote, Mr. Koontz was defeated. In this contest Senator Quay came nearer meeting his overthrow than at any time during the many years of his control of Pennsyl- vania politics. In thus strongly asserting himself, and leading an almost hopeless struggle against machine polities and ring rule, Mr. Koontz was inspired by no other consideration than devotion to the public interests, and to lofty ideals of citizen- ship and official probity and purity. His political creed could be read in an admirable address which he delivered on June 5, 1880. "On American Politics," before the literary societies of Franklin and Marshall College. This was not only a brilliant literary effort, but it was remarkable in scope and purpose, based as it was upon his personal experience and observation,
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and had as one of its most picturesque and effective features a faithful depiction of the evils of machine politics which he was in later years to antagonize and lead in overthrowing. In 1906 he was the Fusion candidate for state senator for the district composed of the counties of Somerset, Bedford and Fulton; the election had not occurred when this volume was published.
Throughout his life, in his relations to his own commu- nity and in his personal life, General Koontz has ever been known as public-spirited in the best sense, liberal in his en- couragement of all worthy enterprises, and helpful to the struggling, especially friendly to young men just entering up- on the battle of life. He is largely interested in various im- portant enterprises, and has large circles of acquaintances in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington. He is vice-president of the Somerset National Bank, and director in the Pittsburgh & Connellsville, Somerset & Cambria and Ber- lin railroads. His military title of general comes from his service with the volunteers of Pennsylvania, many years ago. He was married, in 1859, to Miss Matilda S. Johnson. He re- sides in a beautiful home in Union street, Somerset. Many distinguished persons have there been his guests, among them President Mckinley, Secretary of War Alger, Attorney Gen- eral (U. S.) McKenna, Hon. J. S. Black, who was chief justice of Pennsylvania, and Attorney General and Secretary of State in President Buchanan's cabinet; Governors Hoyt and Hartranft, of Pennsylvania; Governor Lowndes, of Maryland, and many judges of the courts in western Pennsylvania; John W. Gar- rett, and his son Robert Garrett, both of whom were presi- dents of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, as well as other superintendents of said company; J. G. Harvey, presi- dent of the Western Bank of Baltimore, and several prominent bankers and business men of that city; Galusha A. Grow and numerous other prominent politicians of the state.
THE HAY FAMILY.
The Hay family of Somerset county was founded in this country by Simon Hay, who was born in Germany, April 18, 1742, and when nineteen or twenty years of age emigrated from Zwei-Bricken, Germany, accompanied by his two elder brothers, one of whom settled near Berlin, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, then a vast wilderness, and the other one in what has since become the state of Kentucky, and settled there. Simon remained for several years in Hagerstown, Maryland, working at his trade as a weaver. While residing there he married Anna Mary Shaver, some of whose connections are now living in and about Freedens, Somerset county.
Simon Hay came to Somerset county, then a part of Bed-
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ford county, in the year 1767-68, and settled on a farm now owned by S. S. Hay, about five miles southwest of Berlin. He put up a tent under a big white oak tree without a foot of cleared land, and went bravely to work to hew out a farm from the forest about him. At first he and his family sub- sisted on wild animals' meat and potatoes. In those days deer were plenty and as many as thirty to thirty-five were often seen in a drove. In after years he frequently made trips to Hagerstown, on horseback, a hundred miles away, to fetch salt and a little flour for the children. On several occasions Indians made their appearance at his home on their way to Fort Bedford, but never did any violence nor molested himself or his family.
Simon Hay and his wife, Anna Mary (Shaver) Hay, were the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters. The names of the sons were: Michael, who settled one mile north of Lavansville, Somerset county. Jacob, who settled on the farm where Wellersburg is now located, but who afterward removed to what is now the state of Ohio. Valentine, who be- came the owner of what was then the home farm, and now called Hay's Mill. (Grandfather Hay built the stone house in 1798, which at this time is in a splendid state of preservation, the second mill he built is still standing there and is being
profitably conducted. He since built a fulling and carding mill. His was the first grist mill, perhaps, in this county.) George, settled on the farm now owned by Henry G. Hay, three-fourths of a mile west of Hay's mill. Peter, settled on the farm where his father, Simon Hay, had put up his tent under the big white oak tree. Of the daughters, Mary married Jacob Young, and then settled on a farm one and one-half miles north of Lavansville. Susannah married Jacob Baker and then settled in Ohio, in what is now Holmes county. Eliza- beth married George Weller, grandfather of ex-County Super- intendent John Weller, and late a member of the Pennsylva- nia legislature from Somerset county; they settled on the farm that her brother, Jacob Hay, had settled, which is now occu- pied by Wellersburg borough; the place got its name from the Weller family. Catherine married Samuel Miller and then settled in Addison township, where their son William now re- sides, and who is one of the great cattle dealers of the south of Somerset county. Eva married George Gephart and then settled on a farm one mile east of New Centerville, in Midford township, upon which the village of Gepharts is now located. They were the parents of Simon Gephart, the Dayton (Ohio) banker.
After the death of his wife, which occurred in the stone house at Hay's mill, at the age of sixty-three years, five months
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and six days, Simon Hay made his home with his son Valen- tine, who carried on the farm and mill. Valentine Hay died at the age of fifty-two years, after which his father, Simon Hay, made his home with his son, Peter Simon Hay. For the last two years of his life Simon Hay suffered from can- cer in the breast which caused his death. He was pleasant in his conversation and cheerful to the last, notwithstanding his physical ailment. He died February 3, 1842, aged ninety- nine years, nine months and fifteen days.
Peter Simon Hay, son of Simon and Anna Mary (Shaver) Hay, was a life-long resident of Brothers Valley township, and his active years were spent on the farm formerly the prop- erty of his father. He married Elizabeth Walker, who was born in Brothers Valley township, and ten children were born to them, namely: David, Michael, Philip, Peter S., Valentine, Susan, who became the wife of Samuel Walker; Mary, who became the wife of Moses Young; Elizabeth, who became the wife of John Rink; Catherine, who became the wife of Fredrick Weller; and Caroline, who became the wife of Samuel M. Say- lor.
David Hay was born September 3, 1814, and died April 14, 1878. He was married twice. His first wife was Mary Cook, daughter of Jacob Cook, of Southampton township. With her he had two children, viz .: William H., of Meyers- dale, Pennsylvania, and Calvin T., of Salisbury, Pennsylvania. His second wife was Mary, a daughter of John Rauch, of Brothers Valley township. With her he had one child, Norman D., of Elk Lick. David Hay was one of nature's noblemen. He was a large-hearted and public-spirited man. He had a word of encouragement and gave a helping hand to every good enterprise, and to every person deserving of sympathy and moral and material aid. In 1857 he was elected a member of the Pennsylvania house of representatives and served his con- stituents well in the session of 1858-59.
Michael Hay was born January 12, 1817, and died Novem- ber 19, 1888. He was married three times. His first wife was Mary, a daughter of Jacob Olinger, of Summit township, with whom he had two children, one of whom survives, viz .: Josiah M., of Akron, Ohio. His second wife was a Miss Augus- tine, of Addison township, and his third wife was Rachel Glotfelty, a daughter of Jacob Glotfelty, of Salisbury borough. He had no children with the last two wives. He was a man of great physical endurance, and followed farming until he was about thirty-five years of age, and during this time he was a hard-working man. Later, he was engaged in merchan- dising as a partner of his brother, Peter S., and during the last twenty years of his life was a large real estate dealer,
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bought and sold large bodies of coal land. He held the office of justice of the peace whilst living on the farm in Elk Lick township. It was during his administration that Henry Baugh- man secretly murdered his son, and he was the leading spirit in ferreting out the crime and bringing the criminal to justice. He was a man of good judgment and a thoroughgoing man. Whatever he undertook to do he did with all his might. At an early age he united with the Reformed church, and con- tinued a faithful and consistent member until his death.
Philip Hay was born April 3, 1819. He was married to Anna Olinger, a daughter of Jacob Olinger, and they had eleven children, two of whom, Ellen and Mark, died in infancy. Nine survive, six sons and three daughters viz .: William P., former county commissioner; Hiram P., Sylvester S., Simon Peter, Ephraim P., Luke, Melinda, wife of Milliard Walker; Clara, wife of Wilson E. Walker; and Sarah, wife of Lewis Berkley. Philip Hay was a man of remarkable energy and endurance. He resided on the old homstead all his life, engaged in active farm life until the last ten years of his life, when he sold his farm to his son Sylvester. He was a conservative man, but enthusiastic in all he undertook, whether it pertained to mat- ters of business or religion. He was not a pessimist, but was an optimist, believing that success in any good cause would crown well directed energetic and persistent work. He was kind and indulgent to the members of his family. He had a word of cheer for everyone who tried to do his duty, and the young people of the neighborhood were the objects of his ten- derest solicitude, and his earnest words of advice and encourage- ment will be remembered all their lifetime. He was a true Christian man, and died peacefully as he lived, on August 15, 1901.
Peter S. Hay was born in Brothers Valley township, Au- gust 8, 1832. He acquired a common school education, and taught one term of school in Jenner township. He worked on the farm until he was about eighteen years of age, and then entered the store of Samuel Walker, at Lavansville, where he remained about two years. In 1853 he commenced the mercantile business on his own account in Salisbury, and con- tinued until the date of his death in 1903, either by himself or in partnership with his brother Michael under the firm name of Hay & Brother, and later with Josiah M. Hay, his nephew, in the name of Hay & Co. From 1871 to 1903 the business was carried on in his own name. He also dealt largely in real estate. He was a shrewd, conservative business man, and his judgment was sought by the best of business men, and no enterprise of any magnitude was undertaken in his community without first get- ting his opinion. He was a conscientious Christian man, uni-
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versally esteemed by all who personally knew him. He was a liberal supporter of the Reformed church, with which he was identified from early youth. All worthy and charitable objects received hearty aid and sympathy at his hands. On January 5, 1854, he was married to Elizabeth Diveley, a daughter of Michael Diveley, of Salisbury. They had seven children, three of whom died in infancy; four survive, viz: Harvey, Morris Russel, Jennie, wife of Dr. A. M. Lichty, of Salisbury, and George C. Harvey has been made the candidate of the Demo- cratie and the Independent Republican parties for the house of representatives of Pennsylvania. Peter S. Hay died March 4, 1903.
Valentine Hay was born October 17, 1834, in Brothers Val- ley township. His father died when he was ten years of age, and he worked for his brothers, Michael and Philip, until he was eighteen years of age on the farm. He taught school dur- ing three annual sessions. In 1853 he attended the academy es- tablished by the Everhart brothers in Berlin. In 1854 he en- tered Heidelberg College at Tiffin, Ohio, and in June, 1857, he gradnated with the degree of A. B. During the three months' summer vacation in 1856 he commenced reading law in the office of William J. and Herman L. Baer, of Somerset, Penn- sylvania, and after graduating at college he applied himself closely to the study of the law and was admitted to the bar April 28, 1858, and has been in continued practice for forty-eight years. From January 1, 1863, to July 1, 1867, in connection with his law practice he was the editor and proprietor of the Somerset Democrat. His contention was that the fire-eaters of the south and the redhot Abolitionists of the north-the ex- tremists of both sections, who numbered but a corporal's guard compared with the entire population-were responsible for the condition of affairs that plunged the country into a fratricidal civil war, and if the proper effort had been made and at the proper time by the powers in being, the civil war could have been averted. And while the war was being waged he con- demned the partisan prejudices that drove the best generals from the field and supplanted them by incompetent, blunder- ing officers, that brought repeated disaster to our arms and protracted the war unnecessarily and multiplied the horrors and sacrifices of the war. On April 11, 1865, he was married to Elizabeth A. Weimer, the daughter of Dr. John Weimer, of Akron, Ohio, and they had one child born to them, July 19, 1867, Leora Carter, who was married to J. R. Nutt, October 8, 1890, and to whom was born a son, Robert H. Nutt, September, 1894. They reside in Cleveland, Ohio. The honorary degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon him by Heidelberg Uni- versity, his alma mater, in June, 1906.
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Mary Hay was the oldest daughter of Peter S. Hay and was born October 23, 1821. She was married to Mose Young and lived most of her married life on a farm one mile north of Lavansville. They had five children; one of them, Austin, died June 2, 1891; four are living. viz: S. P. Young, of Salis- bury: Ellen, wife of Aaron F. Bittner; Binnie, wife of Jeffer- son Will; and Lavan Young, resides in Lavansville. Moses Young died June 12, 1897, aged eighty-one years, two months and twelve davs. Mrs. Young died March 26, 1905, aged eighty- three years, five months and three days.
Susan Hay was the next oldest daughter and was born February 10, 1824. She was married to Samuel Walker, who in 1885 was elected associate judge and served in that capacity until his death in October, 1888. They had five children, two dead and three living, viz .: Binnie S., wife of James Tipton; Mary and Elizabeth, unmarried, and living with their mother.
Elizabeth Hay was born February 27, 1826. She married John Rink and they lived on a farm in Jenner township for nearly fifty years. They had four children, three of whom are living. viz: William H., of Johnstown; Ella and Milton Rink. Mrs. Rink is now living with her son. She is a kind-hearted, Christian woman.
Catherine Hay was born August 3, 1828, was married to Frederick Weller, and they resided together in the Weller homestead, two miles north of Somerset, for nearly sixty years. Their family consists of three sons and three daughters : Cecilla, married Alexander Nichelson; Agnus, married Frank Musser: and Louisa, married Noah Meyers. The three sons are at home.
Caroline Hay was born July 8, 1840, was married to Sam- uel M. Saylor. and now lives on a farm one and one-half miles from Somerset. They have six children; two of them, Peter and Calvin, are married and live on the farm, and the two other sons are single and live at home. They had two daughters, Sarah, who was married to John Bowman, but is now deceased, and Carrie, who is single and lives at home.
ALBERT E. RAYMAN.
Albert E. Rayman, an expert surveyor of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, was born in Stony Creek township, August 24, 1854. a son of George G. and Nancy (Good) Rayman. He is of German origin.
Godleib Rayman (great-grandfather) was the founder of the family in this country. He was a native of Germany, born in 1747, and came to the United States, settling in Berks county, Pennsylvania, whence he removed to what was then Bedford county, in 1773, settling in what is still known as the Glades,
Jours Inaly WEMayman
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Stony Creek township, Somerset county. He was a tailor by trade, and also made long strides along the line of agriculture, clearing the dense forest and establishing farms for his chil- dren. Like all the inhabitants of the country at that period, he spent much of his time in fishing and hunting, the country then abounding in game, such as deer, bear, wolves, etc., and it has been said that he wore garments made of deer skin. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and active and promi- nent in all church work. His children were five in number, viz: Charles, John, George, Elizabeth, married John Shank; and Anna, married Peter Switzer.
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