USA > Pennsylvania > Cambria County > History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III > Part 19
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James Tittle, second child and eldest son of John and Mary (Snod- grass) Tittle, was born in Youngstown, Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, on the 2d day of June, 1828, and after he was six years old lived with his grandparents until the death of his grandfather, James Tittle, in 1843. In 1846 he started out to make his own way in life, and hired out as driver for Captain George Cupp, of the boat "Naomi," of the Bingham line, on the old state canal between Johnstown and Pittsburg. About harvest time of the same year he left the canal and worked for his uncle. Hon. John Snodgrass, on his farm near New Alexandria, and after the crops were harvested he went to Brady's Bend and found employment in the Great Western Iron Works. He
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worked for the company, directly and indirectly, about six years, and late in 1851 came to Johnstown with a Mr. Cox and helped to start the works which ultimately became the Cambria Iron Company.
On February 2, 1853, Mr. Tittle in company with his brother Alex- ander, left Johnstown for California, traveling by way of the Isthmus of Panama and thence up the coast to Sacramento, arriving there on the 24th of the same month. He had been promised and expected a clerkship in the Sacramento postoffice under his uncle, Jonathan Tittle, who was postmaster when the boys left Johnstown, but who died before their arrival, hence no place was open to him. However, he soon found work on a farm at five dollars per day and board, which more than kept him, and soon afterward he took a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres in company with his brother, and carried it on until 1857, then sold his share to his brother and bought about fifteen acres across the river from Sacramento and began truek farming on his own ac- count. This business prospered well enough until the spring of 1859 when, just as the erops were all in, a destructive flood swept over the tract and washed away everything he had, even to gardening im- plements. As soon as possible after that he sold the land and worked as clerk in his cousin's store at Steekton until June, 1860, when he returned to Johnstown and became interested with his father in manufacturing the patent feed cutter.
In 1862 Mr. Tittle entered the Union army. He enlisted on Au- gust 27th in Company K, One Hundred and . Thirty-sixth Pennsylva- nia Volunteer Infantry, and shared in the hardships, privations and successes incident to army life for one year. Among the more im- portant battles in which he took part were the Wilderness, Chancellors- ville and Fredericksburg. He was discharged from service May 29th, 1863, then came home and again associated with his father in his business enterprises until 1878. In January of that year, when the Gautier works began operations, he secured a position in the wire mill department, and he always claimed to be the first man to work for the Cambria Iron Company. After a few months in the wire mill he was transferred to the Gautier Steel mill and remained in that de- partment as long as he continued in active pursuits.
On one occasion Mr. Tittle narrowly escaped accidental death. On the 14th of September, 1866, Andrew Johnson and other notables visited Johnstown, and in order to obtain a good view of the visitors such a great throng of people crowded upon the platform of the Penn- sylvania railroad station that the structure gave way, causing serious results. Among the injured was Mr. Tittle, who at first was thought to have been killed, and he was confined to his house for several weeks. On the occasion of the memorable Johnstown floed in 1889 he was at home and barely escaped with his life. He died October 7, 1901, and is buried in Grand View cemetery. He became a member of Cambria Lodge No. 278, F. and A. M., in 1867, and of Portage Chapter No. 195, R. A. M., in 1868, and was a member of Emory Fisher Post No. 30, G. A. R., from 1888 to the time of his death. On the 2d day of April, 1868, James Tittle married Mrs. Mary Ringler Orr, by whom he had six children, of whom four are living: John W. Tittle, a graduate of the American School of Correspondence at Chi- cago; now chief draughtsman in the Gautier department of Cambria Steel Company ; married Sarah Elizabeth Custer, and has three chil- dren. Mary Ellen Tittle, a stenographer, living with her mother in Johnstown. Alexander Dix Tittle, son of. James and Mary (Ringler)
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Tittle, was born November 24, 1873, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Edu- cated in common schools, and when but a lad sold the daily papers. He sold the first copy of the Johnstown daily Democrat ever put out in the city. Leaving school he entered the office of the Democrat to learn the printer's trade, was there seven years, covering the business thoroughly from "devil" to office. Leaving there on account of his health, he entered the employ of the Cambria Steel Company, in the works order office, where he remained six years; thence went to the Penn Traffic Company, to take charge of their advertising-two years. His eyes failing, he left and on March 26, 1906, started a printing estab- lishment under his own name. This was merged, on November 1, 1906, with the Conemaugh Publishing Company, of Johnstown, doing a gen- eral engraving and printing business. He occupies the position of vice-president of this company. On June 26, 1901, he married Alice Bertram Cover, daughter of Charles B. Cover (see Cover sketch). No issue. Member Lutheran church, of which Sunday school he has been treasurer for a number of years. Member Linton Lodge No. 451, K. P .; Speer Orr Camp No. 14, Sons of Veterans. Ann Josephine Tittle, a graduate of Johnstown High School and Indiana State Nor- mal School; now a teacher in the Johnstown public schools.
John W. Tittle received his early education in the schools of Conemaugh borough, and also attended night school after he had gone to work in the Gautier department of the Cambria Steel Company. He also received further education in special branches by a course with the American School of Correspondence at Armour Institute, Chicago, and holds the diploma of that institution. When he was fifteen years old Mr. Tittle began working in the nail factory of the Cambria Steel Company, and in a few months was transferred to the position of office boy. On the 16th of October, 1889, he was given work on a drawing table with a view of becoming a professional me- chanical draughtsman, all of which in due time was accomplished, and that almost wholly through his own persistent effort. In 1899 he was appointed assistant master mechanic, and served in that capacity until 1903, when he was advanced to the position of chief draughtsman of the Gautier department of Cambria Steel Company's vast works in Johnstown. Mr. Tittle has been a member of Franklin Street Meth- odist Episcopal church and Sunday school since July 23, 1899, and of Speer Orr Camp No. 14, Sons of Veterans, since May 16, 1887. He was elected camp commander 1892, and has filled every office in that organization and served as its delegate to the national encamp- ment. He is a charter member of Alga Commandery No. 218, Ancient and Illustrious Order of Knights of Malta.
On November 2, 1892, John W. Tittle married Sara Elizabeth Custer, daughter of Jacob P. and Amanda ( Masters) Custer. Mr. Custer was a soldier of the Civil war, having enlisted September 12, 1864, as a private in Company F, One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, and received his discharge June 12, 1865. He was in battle at Peeble's Farm, September 30, 1864; Hatcher's Run, February 6 and 7, 1865; Lewis' Farm, March 29, 1865: White Oak Swamp, March 31, 1865, and joined in pursuit of Lee's retreating army to the final surrender at Appomattox. Children of John W. and Sara Elizabeth (Custer) Tittle : James Custer Tittle, born August 4, 1894. Charles Jacob Tittle, born June 16, 1897. Sara Amanda Tittle, born February 7, 1903.
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PETER GOFF, inspector of boilers for the Cambria Steel Company for the last twenty years, and who is recognized as one of the most cx- pert boiler men in the state of Pennsylvania, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and has lived in Johnstown a little more than fifty years.
llis father was John Goff, who married Bridgett Cruse. Both were natives of Ireland and married there. The precise location of their home in the old country is not now known, but was somewhere in the vicinity of the city of Dublin. John Goff was by trade a mill worker, and came with his wife to America in 1846, settling at Trenton, New Jersey, where he at one time worked in a mill owned by the late Peter Cooper, manu- facturer and noted philanthropist of New York City. In 1852 Mr. Goff left Trenton and came to Pennsylvania. At first he worked on the con- struction of the Pennsylvania railroad near what was then known as Plain Nine. Two years later he came to Johnstown and was employed by the Cambria Iron Company from that time until his death, in 1856. His widow survived him nearly forty years, and died in October, 1894. Both were communicating members of the Catholic church. Their children iere as follows: James Goff, married Ruth Riley; both now dead. Pe- ter Goff, of Johnstown, married Sarah Braddock, and had eight children. Julia Goff, married John F. Boyle, engineer for the Lorain Steel Com- pany, of Johnstown. William Goff, died in infancy.
Peter Goff, second son and child of John and Bridgett (Cruse) Goff, was born on the 1st day of April, 1849, and was five years old when his parents settled in Johnstown. As a boy he attended the common schools, and at the age of twelve years entered the service of the Cam- bria Iron Company as a water boy. After three years he left the shops and went back to school for a few more months, but soon again returned to the company as a driver. In 1869, he went into the mill and worked about two years and then was given employment in the boiler shop. In that department of the company's extensive works he began at the bottom and gradually worked through all the branches of boiler construction until he was a complete master of the art of boilermaking, for boiler con- struction at the present time is both an art and a science. The Cambria Steel Company knew the quality and ability of the man, and in 1885 ad- vanced him to the position of boiler inspector, which he has held since that time. His work is performed chiefly in the vicinity of Johnstown, and as occasion requires he makes visits to Lewistown and to the coke re- gions of southern Pennsylvania, where the company's boilers are exten- sively used. Mr. Goff is at all times a busy man, and while he takes an interest in public affairs he has little inclination for indulgence in poli- tics. He is not allied to either of the great political parties, and votes independent of party ties. At one time he held the municipal office of councilman, and served an unexpired part of the term of Sheriff Bau- mer, who had resigned his office to become a candidate for state senator. In religious preference Mr. Goff is a Roman Catholic. He lives in an ele- gant residence on Singer street, in Johnstown, the site on which his house stands having been purchased by his father in 1855; and his home is the seat of comfort and generous hospitality. At the time of the Johnstown flood the several members of Mr. Goff's family, except himself. were at home, high above reach of the waters, but he was down in the business district of the city and escaped only by running to high ground.
On April 14, 1874, Peter Goff married Sarah Braddock, a daughter of Pius J. and Frances (Geiger) Braddock, of Johnstown. Mr. Brad- dock was of English descent, a music teacher of profession, and lived in Zanesville, Ohio, before he removed to Johnstown. His wife's father
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was a soldier of the American army in the second war with Great Britain, and was one of the defenders of Baltimore when that city was attacked by the British army. Children of Peter and Sarah (Braddock) Goff: John Goff, born January 6, 1875; married Henrietta Davis; Mr. Goff is a machinist in the employ of the Cambria Steel Company .. Frances Goff, born' August 6, 1877; married Dr. John L. Sagerson, a practicing phy- sieian of Johnstown, and of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work. Agnes Goff, born March 12, 1880; married C. Arden Yinkey, night editor of the Pittsburg Dispatch. William Goff, born in 1883, killed in an accident when three and one-half years old. Joseph Goff, born September 14, 1885; died in infancy. George Goff, born October 30, 1887. Leo Goff, born March 11, 1890. Helen Goff, born Deecm- ber 2, 1894.
CARL FABER. Johann Faber, of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, was a dealer in crockery, a man of quiet habits, and much respected among the townsmen in Hesse; but this same quite tradesman at an earlier period in life was an intrepid soldier of the German army. With his brother, John Philip Faber, he belonged to the First Hesse Darmstadt Regiment and fought under Prince Emil in the Napoleonic wars of 1807-1813. These brothers took part in the dreadful march to Moscow, the later retreat, and afterward fought at Waterloo. John Philip Faber died at his old home in Hesse, at the advanced age of nearly ninety-nine years : he never married. Johann Faber married Katherine Robb, who bore him four children: John (or Johann), Philip, Margaretta and Katherine Elizabeth Faber.
Johann Faber, son of Johann and Katherine, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, at Steiheim, in 1815, and by occupation was a house framer. He served ten years in the German army, and was in service during the Revolution of 1848. About 1842 he married Margaretta Fritz, daughter of George Fritz, of Hesse Darmstadt. Johann Faber died in 1893, having survived his wife by seven years. She died in 1886. They were devout members of the Lutheran church. They had six children : 1. Katherine Faber, widow of Henry Seibel, and still living at the old home in Hesse. 2. Katherina Elizabeth Faber, died unmarried, at the age of forty-five years. 3. Bertha Faber, died in childhood. 4. Carl Faber, of Johnstown, the only member of this family living in America. 5. Elizabeth Faber, married John Schily, lives in Hesse. 6. Bertha Faber, married Herman Reberg, lives in Hesse.
Carl Faber, son of Johann Faber, and great-grandson of Johann Faber, of Prince Emil's army, is the only member of the Faber family of Hesse Darmstadt who left the Fatherland to make his home in America, and that he did soon after having given his government the required army service. He was born in Hesse Darmstadt, at Steiheim, September 19, 1849, and like the German youth of that period he was given a good edu- cation at school. He also learned the trade of house framer, as his father had done before him, and in 1869, then being twenty years old, he entered the army, served in the Third Battery of Artillery, and dur- ing his three years' term took part in many battles of the Franco-Ger- man war. His battery was a part of the North Army, under command of Prince Ludwig, and was known as the Twenty-fifth Division. He was in the battle of Causse, on August 16, 1869, and the great battle of Gravelotte, where the artillery suffered heavy losses, and where he was wounded in the leg and in the thigh, but refused to quit his post. He was in the three days' heavy fighting about Metz, and afterward joined
Vol. III-9
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in the siege of that town until it capitulated, October 27, 1869. The next scene of battle was at Orleans, where the contest at arms was waged for three days. The German troops entered the town the first day, were driven out the second day, occupied the town again on the third day and compelled the surrender of the enemy. After this the re- mainder of his term of enlistment was spent in and around Orleans, do- ing guard duty, with an occasional skirmish with the French.
Having completed the required period of service, Mr. Faber left Germany and sailed for New York, landing at that port in 1872. Since that time America has been his country, and with the exception of five months spent in the city of New York, Johnstown has been his home. On coming to Johnstown he soon found work as a rail heater in the Gantier works under Superintendent Alexander Hamilton, and there- after for a period of nineteen years he was steadily employed in that es- tablishment. He then became proprietor of a hotel on Railroad street. in Johnstown, and in 1897 purchased the Alhambra Hotel, conducted it four years, and then built and opened the Rathskeller on Washington street. In 1905 he leased this property and retired from active busi- ness pursuits. Living in comfortable retirement, Mr. Faber has de- voted considerable time to travel. During his residence in Johnstown he has twice visited Germany. His last trip abroad occupied five months, and during that time he visited both Germany and France, particularly his old home in Hesse Darmstadt, where both he and his wife found warm friends to welcome them. He is a member and past grand of Cambria Lodge No. 785, I. O. O. F .; member and past sachem of Kick- inapoling Tribe, No. 60, I. O. R. M., and a member since 1874 of Johns- town Turnverein. Mr. Faber was brought up in teachings of the Ger- man Lutheran church.
On October 12, 1876, Carl Faber married Carolina Dinier, daugh- ter of Louis and Elizabeth (Voenisch) Dinier. Mr. Dinier came to America from Permasens, Bavaria ; his wife came from Hesse Darmstadt. She died in 1877. Children of Carl and Carolina (Dinier) Faber: 1. Edward Faber, born September 13, 1877; died at the age of six years. 2. Eliza Faber, born July 2, 1879 ; died in infancy. 3. Carl Faber, born October 13, 1882; married Lena Blum (born July 10, 1880) October 15, 1903. Mr. Faber is a business man of Johnstown.
JOSIAH TUCKER EVANS, state mine inspector for the Sixth Bituminous District of Pennsylvania, born July 24, 1848, in the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, is the descendent in the following genealogi- cal line :
Josiah Evans, the grandfather, was a native of Merthyr Tydville, Glanmorganshire, South Wales. He was a coal miner all his days. He was a member of the Baptist church and a strict churchman. He died in Wales, 1817. He married and had children as follows: Ann, mar- ried Thomas Davis, a merchant, both now deceased. Henry, see for- ward.
Henry Evans, born in 1810, came to America in 1840, and first went to Brownsville, Pennsylvania. An uncle had operated for some years there in an iron foundry, and with him Mr. Evans worked for a year or two. One son of this uncle, Captain Edward Evans, commanded a steamboat on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers; another son operated a brass foundry at Covington, Kentucky. So far as is now known, these three were the only members of this Evans family in this country, in direct line. Leaving Brownsville Henry Evans went to Pittsburg, where he
MY. Evans
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Astor, Leno> and Tilden foundations. 1909
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worked in the old Pipetown Mills. Subsequently he worked in the mines in what is now the "South-side" of Pittsburg. From there he was va- riously employed along the Monongahela river, finally coming to Johns- town in July, 1854, where he worked for the Cambria Iron Company, in their coal mines, to within a few years of his death, 1882. He en- joyed very few educational advantages, but applied himself vigorously to secure an education for himself. He came to be well informed on the topics of the times, wrote an excellent hand, and was a frequent corre- respondent for the Welsh newspapers, to which he was ever a regular sub- scriber, as well as an earnest reader. Like his father, he was a strict Baptist. He held the office of trustee of the Main Street Baptist Church of Johnstown as long as he lived, and was a practical, devout Christian ; a man of strong convictions, but an exemplary life. Originally he voted the Whig ticket; later was identified with the Republican party, from which he never swerved. He refused to become an office holder.
By his marriage, in Wales, to Ann Lovett, daughter of Israel and Ann Lovett, natives of Merthyr Tydville, and granddaughter of Israel Lovett, who was a miner and originally of Cornwall, there were born Josiah Tucker, see forward, and Israel, born in 1850, died unmarried in 1876. Both sons followed mining for an occupation. Ann (Lovett) Evans, the mother, died 1882.
Josiah Tucker Evans, named for an ancestor who was an admiral in the British navy, was born in the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1848, and accompanied his father to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, when but seven years of age. He attended the public schools until about ten years old and then, at that tender age, entered the works of the Cam- bria Iron Co. as trapper-boy in their coal mines. From this he was promoted to driving mules and from that to regular mining. This he followed until about thirty years of age, when he leased and operated a coal mine, near Moxham, and supplied coal to the local trade. Later he and Peter Philips operated a mine near the old Johnstown brewery, under contract to supply coal to the Gautier works, of the Cambria Iron Company, which they did for a time. Mr. Evans was then selected by Daniel J. Morrell, the president of the Cambria Iron Company, the Edgar Thompson Works, Bethlehem Steel Works and the Steelton Steel Works, to explore and investigate a tract of land in the heart of the Adirondack mountains, said to contain magnetic ore, and which was of- fered them for purchase. This occupied a few months, and when his mission was accomplished successfully, he returned to Johnstown and took the Woodvale colliery, on contract to furnish coal for the woolen mills, flour mills and brick yards of the Woodvale Manufacturing Com- pany. He was engaged in this enterprise about three years, at the end of which time he passed successfully the examination for and was ap- pointed to the office of state mine inspector.
It should be noted that while Mr. Evans' opportunities for school- ing were very limited, he embraced every occasion to attend the night schools, while working hard daytime, so by thus applying himself at all times, he acquired not only a good general education, but much special and technical knowledge, which has been invaluable to him throughout life. Three times did he pass successful examinations above named, be- fore receiving his appointment. The first time, in 1877, he was under the requisite age (thirty) ; the second time he lacked political influence, which at that time was absolutely necessary, but the third time, in 1885, the civil service rules obtaining, and his average being the highest, he was appointed. His position, by reason of the law, demands a re-ex-
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amination every four years, yet Mr. Evans has had no difficulty in com- plying with the requirements of the law, having held it ever since first appointed, under Governor Hoyt. When he first took the position, the Sixth Mining District (bituminous) included all of Cambria, Bedford, Huntingdon, Fulton and Blair counties, and parts of Clearfield, In- diana and Westmoreland counties. At the present time, so vast has become the increased mining industry, his territory includes a portion of Cambria and Somerset counties, while the annual tonnage is approxi- mately three times as great as formerly, when the territory named was included. His duties involve a thorough inspection of every mine in his district. as to ventilation, safety, drainage and sanitary conditions gen- erally. Mr. Evans is a Republican, and on two occasions has been his party's candidate for nominee for the office of county treasurer. In his church relations he is a lifelong Baptist, and soon after his father's death, he was elected to the trusteeship thus made vacant. He is also corresponding clerk of the Main Street Baptist Church at Johnstown. Mr. Evans is a member of Cambria Lodge, F. and A. M., Johnstown Chapter, and the Commandery of Knights Templar.
In 1823 Mr. Evans was married to Mary Ann Morgan, daughter of William Morgan. of Johnstown. Of this union six children were born, four of whom, with the wife and mother, perished in the awful flood of May 31, 1889. The children who survived this calamity were: Harry, unmarried, who was killed in San Jose, California, in November, 1904. William, who married Grace Haws, and is now a machinist in the em- ploy of the Cambria Steel Company. April 29, 1891, Mr. Evans mar- ried Margaret Lewis, daughter of David and Ann (Davis) Lewis, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Both of her parents were of Welsh birth. David Lewis died November 25, 1891. His widow died May 17, 1906. Margaret (Lewis) Evans was one of eight children: Sarah Ann, wife of T. E. Morgan, a merchant, of Johnstown. Elizabeth, died unmarried. William K .. now with the Lorain Steel Company, at Lorain, Ohio. Jen- nie, wife of John M. Hews, with the Pennsylvania Traffic Company at Johnstown. John, unmarried, with I. Marks & Sons, Johnstown. Car- rie, unmarried. Catherine, wife of Thomas Berriman, of Johnstown. By Mr. Evans' second marriage there are two children: Lewis Josiah, born June 15, 1892 : and Margaret, born June 9, 1895.
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