USA > Pennsylvania > Cambria County > History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 49
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Burgoon, Robert. In 1799 he kept a road house on the old Galbraith road, now in Munster township, known as the "Storm" place. It was the oldest inn in the county, having been erected about 1790. In those days hotels were few and far between, and teamsters would often remain at his house two or three nights; when darkness approached they would unhitch and ride to the inn, and returning to their wagons in the morn- ing they would travel until evening, again returning for the
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night. Many of his descendants reside in the county, among whom are F. J. Burgoon, of Cresson; J. G. Brawley and Mrs. Thomas Borkey, of Portage; Jesse Dimond, of Summerhill town- ship, whose mother, Catherine Burgoon, was born in the inn mentioned in 1807, and died in 1898.
Canan, Moses. The Canan family is one of the oldest families in this community and the adjoining county of Hunt- ingdon. Moses Canan was born March 1, 1784, in a log cabin in Hartslog Valley, then Bedford county, but now Hunting- don; he died in Johnstown, September 29, 1863. His grand- parents were Moses and Hannah Canan, of Ireland. John Canan, his father, was born in Ireland in 1746; his mother, Margery Dean, also born there, came to America before the Revolution, and they were married here. John Canan was second lieutenant in the 2d Pennsylvania Regiment in 1777. In 1786 and '87 he was a member of the general assembly from Bedford county. He was also a member of the supreme ex- ecutive council from 1787 to 1790. Under the constitution of 1790 he was appointed an associate judge and he was again a member of the assembly from Huntingdon county from 1791 to '94, and senator from Huntingdon and Bedford from 1795 to 1799. He owned a large estate in land, and late in life entered the forge and furnace business, being unfortunate in his in- vestment. He died in 1831, at the age of 85 years. Margery Dean Canan died in 1815, when she was 55 years old.
Moses Canan had three sisters and five brothers; Hannah, born July 5, 1778, married James Gray; Catherine, born Au- gust 1, 1781, married first Rev. Alexander McIlwain, second, Thomas Jackson; Sarah died when two years of age; James Canan, born July 25, 1786; Henry, born May 1, 1790; John, born August 25, 1792; Robert, born February 25, 1796; Samnel, born May 10, 1801. John died in Armagh, Indiana county, about 1836. In his early youth he attended school when there were but three books used: Dilworth's Speller and Arithmetic, and the Bible, but at the age of ten he began the study of Greek and Latin under the tutelage of Rev. John Johnston, of Hunt- ingdon, entering Dickinson College at Carlisle in 1800. In 1804 he became a student of the law in the office of Jonathan Henderson, of Huntingdon, and finished his study with William Rawle, of Philadelphia. In January, 1806, he was admitted to the Huntingdon bar. September 8, 1807, he and Mary Hender- son were married. She was a daughter of Major William
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Henderson, who had been a captain in the Revolutionary war. She died in December, 1833, age 49 years. They had nine chil- dren : Margaret Wilkin, born June 16, 1808, died July 29, 1829; Mary Catherine, born June 30, 1810; John James, born April 24, 1813; William Henderson, born August 3, 1815; Margery Dean, born November 28, 1817, died March 31, 1820; Moses Andrew, born June 19, 1820, died October 6, 1845; Robert Henry, born October 31, 1822, died July 5, 1873; Charlotte Lucretia, born November 17, 1824, married Rev. Israel C. Pershing; and Samuel Dean Canan, born February 16, 1827, now residing in Johnstown.
In the spring of 1811 Moses Canan gave up the practice of law in Huntingdon and removed to Rockview Farm, six miles north of the town. In September, 1812, he commanded the Juniata Volunteers, and took them to Buffalo, where the Com- pany was discharged December 31, 1812. His regiment was commanded by Col. Jeremiah Snider, and the brigade com- mander was Gen. Adamson Tannehill. Captain Canan also acted as brigade judge advocate. For services in that war he received two warrants for land from the federal government, one for 40 acres and the other for 120 acres. In May, 1818, he sold his farm to John Neff and moved to Ebensburg. He was the first lawyer to locate there and practiced until he moved to Johnstown in 1837. That same year he was united in marriage with Eliza Rudesill, a daughter of Frederick and' Catherine Sharretts. In 1855 he was appointed an associate judge of the court of common pleas for Cambria county, and served for more than a year, after which he retired from active profes- sional service.
Collins, Peter. On May 18, 1820, he and Sarah Meloy, then the widow of Charles Friel, were married by Father Gal- litzin. He died February 22, 1875. Mr. Collins located at Muns- ter, where all his children were born, excepting Catherine, born at Freeport. There were seven sons and five daughters: 1. Philip, born April 1, 1821; died February 24, 1895; married Margaret Noon, June 17, 1854; his second marriage was with Mrs. Maude Kittell-Scanlan. 2. James, born October 10, 1822; died March 22, 1869. 3. Thomas, born March 8, 1824; died September 25, 1898; married Sarah Murray, September 16, 1856. 4. Elizabeth, born October 12, 1825, and died April 24, 1902. 5. Cornelius, born December 8, 1826, and died September 14, 1861. 6. Catherine, born December 8, 1826, and died September 30,
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1858. 7. Mary, born February 20, 1831; married James Henry, January 22, 1850, and died April 10, 1851. 8. John, born Sep- tember 8, 1833, died in infancy. 9. Peter, born May 10, 1834, and married Susan Shoales in 1867; they have four daughters; Mary, Susan, Anna and Bertha, and reside at St. David, a su- burban village near Philadelphia. 10. Sarah, born July 12, 1836; resides in Bellefonte. 11. John, born 1837; died June 15, 1857. 12. Ellen, born January 29, 1839, and in May, 1860, married Edward Shoemaker; they had two children.
It is one of the old and strong families of the county. Philip, Thomas and Peter Collins were contractors, principally on rail- roads, and were successful in every undertaking, with the ex- ception of the Brazilian expedition, which failed not through any neglect or fault of theirs however. Philip built the Ebens- burg branch and completed it December 2, 1861. Thomas is the only one who held office; he was elected to the general as- sembly in 1852 and '53, and in 1894 he accepted the Democratic nomination for secretary of internal affairs, as a good party man should do,-just to fill in. A further reference to them appears in the chapter on the "Political Review" of the coun- ty. They were always modest and unassuming, yet they were always the leaders.
Philip and Thomas Collins were concerned in the ill-fated Brazilian expedition. They undertook to build the Madeira and Mamore railroad around the falls and rapids of the Madeira river, in Brazil. Peter Collins was not a partner, but was in charge of the work part of the time. The object of the en- derprise was to establish a system of steam transportation from the interior of Bolivia. Bolivia had at that time a little sea coast which it has since lost. The eastern slope of the Andes is so rugged as to render impracticable if not impossible the ex- tension of railways from the Pacific coast into northern and . eastern Bolivia. The nineteen falls and rapids of the Madeira river are the only obstructions to steam navigation between Para, near the mouth of the Amazon river, and the heart of this vast and fertile field. The only method of transporting gold, silver and rubber from Bolivia is by pack-mules across the Andes mountains. The estimated length of the Madeira and Mamore railroad was 180 miles from San Antonio, the present head of steam navigation on the Madeira river, around the falls and rapids to Guajara-Merim, on the Mamore river. The largest of the falls are Salto do Ribeirao, which has a fall of
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38.38 feet; Salto dos Bananeiras, 34.11 feet; Salto do Theo- tonio, 33.78 feet, and the Calderao do Infierno, which means the "Cauldron of Hades," has 26.57 feet and each being about a mile in width. The aggregate depth of all the falls is 282.74 feet, but this does not include the rapids. The road passed through tropical jungles inhabited only by a few adventurous rubber-gatherers, several tribes of Indian savages some of whom were cannibals, wild beasts, reptiles and countless varieties of man-tormenting insects which made life a burden. Para is on. the equator. San Antonio is in South latitude 8° 48', 14" and 63º 55' 05" west longitude from Greenwich. The average tem- perature between May 1 and October was 76° Fahr.
On October 25, 1877, the Collins brothers entered into a contract to construct and equip the road for 5900 pounds ster- ling, per mile, for the roadway alone. The pact required that work on the grounds at San Antonio must be commenced within four months from date and the road completed within three years. They immediately made contracts for ships to carry their men and supplies to that point and pressed things with their usual energy. The first steamer, the "Mercedita," with three corps of engineers, supplies and materials sailed from Philadelphia on January 2, 1878, for San Antonio. Among the engineers were Camille S. d'Invilliers, now of Cresson, George W. Creighton and Cecil A. Preston, of Altoona and Robert H. Bruce, of Blairsville. On January 30 the "Mercedita" arrived at Para, and on the following day started up the Amazon river, entering the Madeira river February 11. On the 19th the men disembarked at San Antonio, six days in advance of the time for beginning the work. Neville B. Craig, formerly of Pitts- burg, but now of Philadelphia, states San Antonio was so uninviting that a proverb was current to the effect that "it was the place where Satan left his boots," suggestive that his Majesty could not afford to waste time there.
The Collins brothers remained in Philadelphia and dis- patched other steamers with 941 men in all, and materials and supplies, however, only 719 reached their work. One of the ships, the "Metropolis," was wrecked off Currituck Beach, North Carolina, January 31, with a loss of at least eighty souls, not all, however, belonging to the expedition. Philip Collins never went to Brazil, but remained in charge of the Philadelphia office. Thomas Collins and his wife, with a few other ladies, sailed on the "Richmond" on February 14, 1878,
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and reached San Antonio on March 23rd. At first C. M. Bird was the chief engineer, but about July 1 following Mr. d'Invil- liers succeeded him. The work was progressing satisfactorily and everything was being done to make the achievement mem- orable, when suddenly in the summer of 1878 the English Com- pany which was financing the project and the bondholders became involved in litigation, which tied up all the funds intended to pay for the work. The Collins were not parties to this conten- tion. It was caused by the perfidy of the Bolivian officials, who canceled the Bolivian concessions and failed to pay the interest on their bonds. At this time the Collins brothers had $800,000 invested in the contract. On November 13, 1878, Thomas Col- lins sailed for Rio de Janeiro to confer with Dom Pedro, thence to London to procure relief, whither he was accompanied by Mr. d'Invilliers, the chief engineer. Peter Collins took charge in the absence of his brother and continued in that position until the final abandonment on August 19, 1879. The financial tangle was never straightened, nor did the Collins ever receive a farthing for their loss, which of course caused them to become bankrupts, with the good will of their men, however, which is an uncommon occurrence.
Among the engineers and workmen who spent from eight to eighteen months in that dense wilderness, where the flies had a stinger an inch in length, were C. S. d'Invilliers, now the con- structing engineer for the Pennsylvania railroad; George W. Creighton, the general superintendent, and Cecil A. Preston, superintendent of the Middle Division of that road, located at Altoona, and Thomas Moran, of that city; Samuel Lemon and Samuel Rule, of Hollidaysburg; Robert H. Bruce, Robert B. Evans, A. C. Moorhead, Thomas Maher, James P. Maher, Free- man and Gilbert Wilkinson and John O'Hara, of Blairsville; James M. and Edward Stewart ; J. P. Hildebrand, Harvey Leach, William Ellis, James Johnston, J. D. Ferguson, John Kerr, who died at Para, Jacob Hitner and James T. Young, from Indiana, the latter is now a resident of Johnstown; Harry B. Kimports, of Cherry Tree, and Martin Hassinger, of Indiana, who died at San Antonio, on Thanksgiving Day, 1878, and Clinton Kelly, of Shelocta. The loss by disease was almost one-tenth, and one man was killed by savages. While near San Antonio, Peter Collins was seriously wounded by the cannibals with two arrows, one of which penetrated his lungs. For a long time his condition was regarded as hopeless. The return of the com-
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pany was lamentable, as there was no funds to procure food or transportation. Many attempted to reach the sea coast on rafts and canoes, never to be heard of again. Others sold their watches, jewelry, fire-arms and clothing to get means to return and to assist others more unfortunate. James T. Young worked his passage home on a three-masted schooner. At one time there were three hundred men stranded at Para, largely depend- ent upon charity for subsistence. Seventy-five Italians, with- out provisions, map or compass, attempted the impossible feat of going to Bolivia overland through the wilderness, where one could not see fifty feet, and all were lost.
The M. & M. road is feasible and practical to operate. It is stated at this time that another American contractor is going to undertake its construction; however, Mr. d'Invilliers is of the opinion a canal would be preferable. Mr. Craig, who was one of the engineers, has now in press an exhaustive history of this ill-fated expedition.
Philip Collins was the principal founder of the Philadel- phia Times. His associates were Governor Curtin, Charles A. Dana, of the New York Sun, Andrew H. Dill, Thomas A. Scott, John and Frank Mclaughlin and A. K. McClure. The first issue was dated March 13, 1875, and in 1899 it was sold and sub- sequently merged with the Ledger of that city. Colonel McClure, who was its only editor, states in his "Old Time Notes" that "Philip Collins, without whom The Times probably never would have been started, was a man of few words, but he exhibited an unusual interest in the newspaper enterprise that was entirely outside of his business ideas and tastes."
When Philip Collins entered on the Brazilian enterprise he held his original stock of the Times Company, and needing all his available funds he offered it to the company at par and six per cent. interest, which was taken and placed in the treasury of the company. After he had lost his fortune his stock was still in the treasury and at that time was paying forty per cent. dividends. The company did an unusual thing by paying Collins, who had no claim for it, all the dividends it had earned, less the interest paid, and more than double the par value of the stock.
Cover, Adam, born in 1781, on a farm near Shiremanstown, Cumberland county, died on Cover's Hill, in 1858. He mar- ried Mary M. Basor, and, coming from Harrisburg to Johns- town in 1813, he purchased 150 acres from Christian Good, on
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Cover's Hill, beside other real estate in Johnstown. (See Land Titles.) They had thirteen children, two of whom died in infancy. 1. Alexander Cover, born June 6, 1809, died Feb 11, 1901; married Sarah Horner, a daughter of Justice Christian Horner; they had twelve children: Benjamin F., Silas, Mary Madalene, Jacob, John, who died young, Sarah, Catherine, Ara- bella, Ida May, Worthington, married Georgiana Snedden, The- odore, married Henrietta Miltenberger, and Jennie, intermar- ried with Benjamin Hinchman. 2. Sarah, born Jan. 20, 1811; intermarried with Jolin Hildebrand. 3. Caroline, born April 19, 1813; married Jacob C. Horner. 4. Samuel Cover, born Dec. 3, 1814, died in his eighty-fifth year; married Frances Sheen, who died Ang. 5, 1901, aged 79 years, 10 months and 1 day. 5. William Cover, born Feb. 12, 1816, died Nov. 21, 1899, in Johnstown; on Dec. 24, 1844, he married Mary E. Saylor, a daughter of George and Margaret Reed Saylor, born July 2, 1828, and now living in Johnstown. They had six children : Charles B., William C. and Mary M., intermarried with Charles B. Hamm; and Emma Jane, George Edward and Alice, who died young. 6. Amos Cover, born Nov. 13, 1817; living in Walnut Grove. 7. Mary Cover, born Nov. 17, 1818, married Col. John B. Fite, who is dead; she is residing in Franklin bor- ough. 8. Daniel Cover, born Ang. 28, 1822; died in 1893. 9. Jacob Cover, born June 28, 1822, died in 1885. 10. Elizabeth Cover, born May 8, 1827, died in Johnstown, Dec. 27. 1901. In 1846 she became the wife of John Sharp; they had four chil- dren : Emma, intermarried with L. A. Sible; Joseph, William H. and Elizabeth. 11. Lucinda Cover, born Nov. 24, 1830, died in 1906; her husband was Jonathan Horner. (See City of Johns- town.)
Croyle, Thomas. He acquired the Croyle mill property at Summerhill in 1801, and erected the mill and dam. The name of his wife was Barbara; they had seven children: Fred- erick, Samuel, Margaret, Sarah, Mary (see Jacob Stineman), Elizabeth and Esther, who married George Murray.
Delozier, Daniel, came to Loretto with the McGuire pioneer family; he died in December, 1818; his wife's name was Ann. They had twelve children: Daniel, Susanna Delozier-Barkley, Ruth Delozier-Glass, Clotilda Delozier-Weaver, Ignatius, Mary Delozier-Logan, Elizabeth, Daniel, Monica, Charity Delozier- McGraugh, Annistatia Delozier-Burgoon, and Linney Delozier.
Dodson or Dolson, William. He was one of the early set-
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tlers at Loretto, prior to the arrival of Father Gallitzin in 1799; he died in March, 1813. He had five children: Elizabeth Dodson-Deckert, Richard, born Dec. 18, 1800, died Sept. 24, 1845; married Eleanor Grove, born May 2, 1792, and died Dec. 19, 1867. William; Andrew, born Jan. 23, 1797; died Oct. 27, 1876; he married Ann Mageehan, born in 1800, and died Jan. 29, 1833. Ann Dodson.
Dougherty, Dennis. He was a son of Peter and Cath- erine Dowlan Dougherty, who came to Loretto prior to 1800; he died April 29, 1857 ; his wife was Margaret Logan, who died January 29, 1869; they had seven children: John, Dennis, Charles, Mary, who married Patrick McGuire; Hugh, Mar- garet and Cecilia Dougherty.
Good, Christian. He was born in 1772, and located on a farm in this county prior to 1800, and died in 1852, in what is now East Taylor township. His son, Jacob Good, was born in 1799, in Conemaugh township, and died in 1873. He mar- ried Elizabeth Gouchnour, a daughter of Christian Gouchnour. His son, John J. Good, was born in East Taylor, March 20, 1831; in November, 1852, he married Louisa Cobaugh, a daugh- ter of Daniel Cobaugh, of the same place.
The families of Daniel, Christian and Peter Goughnour. Jacob and Mary Sheets Goughnour came to America from Switzerland prior to 1772 and located in the vicinity of New Jerusalem, or Funkstown, near Hagerstown, Maryland, where Jacob died in 1800. They had ten children : 1. Christian, married Catherine Shaffer, a daughter of "Hunting John Shaffer," of Allegheny township, Somerset county; he was a carpenter and died June 5, 1852. 2. Peter, born 1772, died January 1, 1855; married Elizabeth Shaffer, a sister of Cath- erine; he was a hackle-maker. Peter and Christian Gough- nour were twins, born 1772. 3. Daniel, born in 1773, died Jan- uary, 1846; married Mary Benshoff, a sister of Paul Benshoff. He was a wagon-maker. (See Paul Benshoff.) 4. Joseph, and Barbara Goughnour, his wife, located in Somerset county. 5. David and Ann, his wife, settled in Huntingdon county. 6. Mary Goughnour married Samuel Leighty, and made their home in Bedford county. 7. Isaac and Nancy Goughnour, his wife, went to London county, Virginia. 8. Jacob, moved to Augusta coun- ty, Virginia. 9. Abraham remained in Washington county, Maryland. 10. Elizabeth Goughnour married Samuel Sweitzer,
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who also remained in Washington county, Maryland, for a while; then went west, dying either in Ohio or Kentucky.
Peter Goughinour came to Cambria county in 1798; his brother, Christian, the following year, and Daniel in 1800. The children of Jacob Goughnour selected Peter to settle the estate of their father, who died in 1800. The brothers located on the Coshon's hill, near the Frankstown road. Peter took up 187 acres near what is now Parkstown, two and a half miles south- east from Johnstown, on the south side of the Frankstown road. Christian acquired land just east of his brother Peter, which he sold to John Noon. Daniel located just west of Peter on what is known as the Coshun hill, and in 1818 acquired addi- tional land on the top of Green hill. After living here for many years, they all sold their farms and moved across the Cone- maugh river into what is now East and West Taylor townships, where they died, and where their many descendants reside.
Daniel Goughnour had five sons and four daughters: Chris- tian, killed at Conemangh, May 13, 1857; Samuel, Henry D., Daniel and Philip. The latter was drowned in the canal near the Weigh Lock, Johnstown, about 1850; he was riding a frac- tious horse and was thrown in the water. Nancy married Dan- iel Cobaugh; Esther married Joseph Burkhart; Elizabeth be- came the wife of Daniel Wissinger, and Susanna was the wife of Jacob Hildebrand. Henry D., the third son, married Bar- bara Diekey, who resided near Newry, Blair county ; they resided on a farm above Conemaugh; he died Feb. 4, 1869, and his wife, June 11, 1885; they had three sons and four daughters: Alex- ander D., Isaac and David D., Caroline, Sarah Goughnour- Castner, Ann Goughnour-McClarren, and Hannah, who became the wife of Joseph Parkes of Tyrone.
The children of Christian Goughnour: David, died in Iowa. John C., Samuel D., Henry C. and another John C .; Elizabeth married Jacob Good, and Susannah was the wife of Jacob Strayer.
The children of Peter Goughnour were: Joseph, who died before his father, leaving Lavina, Lucinda and Sarah; Jacob S., Mary, John S., Eli, Ann Catherine, Abraham and Daniel S. Goughnour.
Griffith, Thomas, born October 20, 1818, three miles south of Ebensburg, died in that town, January 5, 1890. Griffith Griffith, his father, came to America with his parents, Will- iam and Jane G. Griffith, in 1805-06, when he was twelve years
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old. They located on the Little Conemangh, and established a carding and fulling mill. In 1816 Griffith Griffith married Ann Rees, who was the mother of Thomas, and his second wife was Hannah Reese, a daughter of one of the early Welsh families who had settled there. They had eight children. In 1818 the family moved within a half mile of the town, where Thomas lived until he moved to Ebensburg in 1876. In 1844 he married Mary Davis. a daughter of William Davis; they had four sons and a daughter, who grew to manhood and woman- hood. William W. Griffith was born Ang. 15, 1845, and died in June, 1877 ; he married Jennie M. Marsh, who, with his daugh- ter, Mary S., survived. The latter married Frederick Barker, a son of ex-Judge A. V. Barker. John T. was born June 19, 1853, and died June 30, 1892. leaving a wife and three children : William, Mary and Annie. In 1879 he married Elizabeth Evans; they had three children : Clarence, died in infancy; Margaret, born Nov. 14, 1890, and Elizabeth, born March 13, 1895, who with their mother survived their father. He died Dec. 17, 1896. Annie E. Griffith, born Dec. 3, 1858, married F. A. Lyte, of Lan- caster, who became cashier of the First National Bank of Kane; he died June 24, 1896; they had three children, Ruth, Thomas and Dorothy, who with their mother survived the father. Web- ster Griffith, born June 5, 1860, resides in Ebensburg, and is now the sheriff of Cambria county ; he and Alice Zahm, a daugh- ter of George C. K. Zahm, of that place, were married Novem- ber 28, 1894; they have two children, namely: George W., born December 12. 1894, and Thomas F., on June 22, 1902.
Thomas Griffith, on arriving at age, with a brother pur- chased their father's farm and mill, including a saw mill, and continued the business until the death of the latter, when he acquired the full control of the trade and farm. Early in the '40's he began to devote his entire attention to the lumber bus- iness, which he continued until his death. He was the largest hard wood dealer in the country. In 1873 he came within 28 votes of being elected county treasurer, although he ran over 1,100 votes ahead of his ticket. In 1879 he was elected sheriff of the county as the Republican candidate, as was his son, Web- ster, in 1906. Thomas Griffith was the first Republican sheriff elected in Cambria.
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