History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III, Part 21

Author: Storey, Henry Wilson
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 940

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James Cooper, only son of Joshua and Jane (Boyd) Cooper, was born in Jenner township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1821. He succeeded in acquiring what was a good education in those days and in that section of the country, but which would be considered a very moderate one at the present time. Though but seventeen years of age at the time of his father's death, he took upon himself the support of his mother and sisters. He taught school for several terms and was engaged in the transportation of goods on the turnpike between the large cities. He removed to Bens Creek Furnace in 1847, which he was to fur- nish with ore from the Mill Creek mines. Two years later he was em- ploved by J. Bell & Brother to manage Washington Furnace, in West- moreland county, from which position he resigned in 1851 to become manager of the Cambria Furnace, where he remained until it went out of blast in 1860. The Cambria Iron Company, appreciating his faithful services and wishing to retain him in its employ, appointed him super- intendent of farms and stables, a position he retained until his death. June 8. 1887. He purchased the tract of land on which Coopersdale was built, in 1858, and the place was so named in his honor, and received many substantial favors at his hands. He was a man of strong business integrity and remarkable working capacity. He attained his position of influence and affluence solely through his own unaided efforts, and his loss was keenly felt by the community. At the time of his death he was trustee of the Johnstown Savings Bank and president of the Ridgeview Park Association. He was an old time Whig, and later a Republican in politics, and served several terms as school director, besides acting as aide-de-camp to Governor Pollock during the latter's term of office. He

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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.

served one term of three years as commissioner of Cambria county, and was the nominee of his party for the legislature, but was defeated, al- though running ahead of his ticket in the county, which was then strong- ly Democratic. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Coopersdale, to which he donated a lot, and contributed liberally toward the erection of the church edifice.

He married, November 25, 1841, Elizabeth Ann Boyd, born Janu- ary 13, 1823, died September 8, 1894, daughter of James Boyd, of Jen- ner, Somerset county. The Boyds came from Virginia, and probably originally from Scotland, and settled in Pennsylvania, about the same- time as the Coopers, securing an adjoining tract of land. William Boyd, the maternal great-grandfather of Anson Burlingame Cooper, was born in 1758, died in 1842. He was a man who set a noble example to his descendants. He was of sterling character, a giant in physical strength, yet possessed of a mild and gentle temper. He lived at peace with all men, and was respected and loved by all who knew him. He was a devout Christian, and a great reader of the Bible, the Book of Psalms being his favorite reading. He married Agnes who lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years. Their children: 1.

James married -, and was left a widower with six young children, who were given a home and raised by their grandparents, William and Agnes Boyd. They were: 1. William, spent his entire life of forty years in Somerset county. He married and had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, James K. Boyd, has been a resident of Johns- town since 1864, and has held various offices of trust and responsibility, among them being those of auditor, city treasurer and mayor. 2. Josh- ua never married, and after a temporary residence in almost every state in the Union, settled in Johnstown at the age of fifty years, and died there in 1892 at the age of seventy-three years. 3. John resided for a number of years in Greensburg, and died there unmarried in 1859, at the age of forty-two years. 4. Thomas located in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, married there, and died in 1879, at the age of fifty-eight years, leaving a widow, two sons and one daughter. 5. Elizabeth Ann, mar- ried James Cooper, as previously stated. 6. Jane, the youngest of the family, married Joseph Skelley, of Westmoreland county, but also well known in Johnstown. They had three sons and three daughters. Three of the children are now living and are residents of Irwin, Pennsylvania. Joseph Skelley died in 1890, and his wife shortly afterward.

2. John, spent his entire life in Somerset county, married there and raised a family. One of his sons, Theophilus, deserves the credit of "spying out the land" for the family, in Cambria county. In the spring of 1847 he visited Bens Creek Furnace, and from some source was in- formed that the owners-one of whom was the late George S. King, of Johnstown-were desirous of getting some one to take the contract of delivering ore from the Mill Creek mines, a few miles up the eastern slope of the Laurel Ridge, to the furnace at Bens Creek. Knowing that James Cooper, his uncle was dissatisfied with farm life, he conveyed to him the news of this excellent opening, and the result was that they both at once located at Bens Creek. This enterprise was carried on by means of a tramway, the cars being moved by horse power. When James Coop- er assumed the management of Washington Furnace in Westmoreland county, Theophilus Boyd accompanied him, but in 1850 he contracted the "gold fever" and took the overland route to California. He became a prominent citizen of Stockton, California, and after the completion of

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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.

the Pacific railroad in 1869, made several trips to the east. He never married, and died in Stockton, California, in 1890.

3. David died in early manhood of typhoid fever.

4. Thomas removed while young to Allegheny county, Pennsylvan- ia, married and died there.

The children of James and Elizabeth Ann (Boyd) Cooper were eleven in number, of whom the following named are now living: 1. Dr. Joshua M., a well known physician of Meadville, Pennsylvania, married Salome McFarland. 2. Maggie J., married D. A. Harris, chief clerk of the time office of the Cambria Steel Company, resides in Coopersdale, Johnstown. 3. Kizzie E .. married N. B. Griffith, now deceased. 4. Emma L., married C. H. Loughrey, with the Lorain Steel Company, Lorain, Ohio. 5. Anson B., see forward.

Anson Burlingame Cooper, youngest surviving child of James and Elizabeth Ann (Boyd) Cooper, was born at Coopersdale, now Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1860. He received his ele- mentary education in the public schools of his native township, pursued Jis academie studies in private schools, and then became a student at Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio, from which he was graduated in the class of 1883. Immediately after his graduation he entered the service of the Cambria Iron Company, and had been advanced a number of times, when, at the death of his father, the management of the farms and stables was entrusted to his care. His record in this responsible po- sition bids fair to rival that of his father. Under his direct supervision come the numerous farms acquired by the Cambria Steel Company, and the management of a vast number of teams, and a large force of men, comprising laborers, farmers. stablemen and teamsters. He is a practical man of business as well as a man of education and general information, and is honored and respected in the community in which he has his home. In his political views Mr. Cooper is a Republican, and has served as jus- tice of the peace for several years, and represented his ward in the select council from the incorporation of the city of Johnstown until 1904. He is a member of the Coopersdale Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has served as trustee for several years.

He married, September 20, 1883, Nannie Stutzman, daughter of George W. and Sarah (Seigh) Stutzman, the former a retired merchant of Coopersdale, and they have children: James Blaine, Sarah Elizabeth, Myrtle Stutzman, George Stutzman, Anson Boyd, Francis. All these children are residing with their parents.

ZIMMERMAN FAMILY. Eugene Zimmerman, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, of whom this sketch is intended particularly to treat, is one of the active young men of that city, proprietor of a livery business and owner of considerable valuable property in lands. He came to Johnstown with his mother about thirty-five years ago, when he was a child. His father was the late Charles Zimmerman, who was a son of Charles Zim- merman, a native of Germany. He was the ancestor of this particular branch of the Zimmerman family in Pennsylvania, hence this sketch naturally begins with him.

Charles Zimmerman was born at Biedenkopf, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. November, 1814, and by trade was a wheelwright and cabinet- maker. At the age, of about twenty-three he married, and the next year, 1839, sailed with his young wife for America in company with Casper- Bergraff and his wife, and landed at Baltimore, September 9, 1839. From Baltimore Mr. Zimmerman and his wife traveled by stage to Co-

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lumbia, Pennsylvania, and thence by canal boat to Johnstown, where they began housekeeping on the island. At that time the young cabinet- maker could not find a vacant house for rent in the town and was com- pelled to hire a barn on Locust street, which he remodeled for occupancy, and there he opened his shop, doing work at his trade and also making spinning wheels for the country housewives of the vicinity. In 1841 he purchased from Shapley Priestly a dwelling house on Main street, where he carried on his business and soon became a man of considerable conse- quence in the town, for he was a good mechanic, a good neighbor, and per- haps was a better informed man than most of his townsmen. He helped to build the second house on the South Side, which was put up for one Kleinhaus on the site now of No. 31 Morris street, and which in later years was known as "the old log house." On August 16, 1852, Mr. Zimmer- man's buildings were destroyed by fire, and soon afterward he bought of John Parke the property on Main street, where the Zimmerman building now stands. Here he kept public house and carried on a grocery store until his death, March 23, 1888.

In 1852 Mr. 'Zimmerman was appointed notary public by Governor Johnson, and he is believed to have been the first incumbent of that of- fice in Johnstown; he was subsequently reappointed to office by each suc- ceeding governor until he died. Besides his hotel and grocery Mr. Zim- merman was agent in Johnstown for the North German Lloyd Steam- ship Company, and his house was much frequented by persons about to return to Europe as well as by immigrants from the old country.

He was a well educated man and was conversant with history and fond of poetry and general literature; he was popular with the towns- men, thoroughly loyal to the institutions of America and the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania, and was a member of the state militia organiza- tion in which Judge Potts, Mayor Flannigan and John Seeton were offi- cers or members. He was a charter member of Cambria Lodge, No. 278, F. and A. M., of Johnstown, and Portage Lodge, No. 220, of Hollidays- burg, having joined May 3, 1848. At the time of his death he was one of the very oldest members of those organizations. He also was an Odd Fellow. He was a member of the First German Lutheran church in Johnstown, and he gave material help in the erection of the house of worship of that society.

In May, 1837, while living at Beidenkopf, Hesse Darmstadt, Charles Zimmerman married Christina Fronheiser, born May 1, 1817, died November 20, 1886, sister of the late Jacob Fronheiser and the late Mrs. Casper Burgraff, with whom and her husband he and his young wife came to America two years afterward. Of this marriage seven children were born: 1. Charles, see forward. 2. Alexander, now dead. 3. Ja- cob, a prominent member of the Johnstown bar. In 1868 he married Sally Woodward, and had three children-Laura. Edith and Emma Zimmerman, the first and last mentioned of whom were lost in the flood of May, 1889. Sally Woodward Zimmerman died July 4, 1887, after which Mr. Zimmerman married Lilly Emerson, of Johnstown, by whom he has one daughter-Jessie Lee Zimmerman. 4. Amanda, married Louis Reitz and is now dead. 5. Edward A., an artist and photographer of Johnstown. He was born May 29, 1847; married (first) Eliza Hicks, who died March 26, 1887. Their children : Ernest, Kossuth, Garrett, Ja- cob, Guy, now dead; Paul, Fern, now dead. Mr. Zimmerman married (second) Minnie Hoskinson, by whom he has three children-Greeta, Helen and Iona Zimmerman. 6. Kossuth, now dead. 7. Emma, wife of J. D. Lopenstein.

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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.

Charles Zimmerman, eldest son and child of Charles and Christina (Fronheiser) Zimmerman, was born at Biedenkopf, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, November 14, 1837, and was less than two years old when his parents came to America. He was sent to school in Johnstown, and after leaving school learned the trade of tinsmithing and worked at it about three years. In 1859 he went into the California gold fields, but re- turned home in the next year. In 1862 he enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Thirteenth Pennsylvania Infantry and became second lieutenant. He was in all of the battles in which his regiment took part until the Second Bull Run, when he was captured and held two months in Confederate prisons. He was then paroled, returned to his regiment and was soon discharged for disabilities.

On his return to Johnstown from the service, Mr. Zimmerman began buying and selling horses and soon found himself engaged in that busi- ness on an extensive scale. He dealt chiefly in blooded stock and his sta- bles contained many Kentucky thoroughbreds and other fine stock. In 1872 he started a first-class livery in the city and was successful in his business undertakings. At the time of the great flood of May, 1889, Mr. Zimmerman and his wife were at their home, and their large frame house was torn completely in half by the terrible rush of water. One- half of the structure was almost instantly crushed, while the remaining half drifted slowly away. Fortunately both he and his wife were in the second half, and were rescued uninjured. At that particular moment their only son Eugene should have been at one of the stables, the smaller of which was wrecked entirely, but owing to some fortunate circum- stance the young man that day had driven out to Somerset and thus es- caped what otherwise would have been certain death. The larger of the stables was carried a few hundred feet from its foundation, but none of the contents was injured in any way and nothing was lost. Charles Zim- merman died at his home in Johnstown, September 4, 1899. He had been brought up under the influence of the Lutheran church and his wife was a member of the Presbyterian church. In politics he was a firm Re- publican and took an active interest in public affairs, although he never would consent to stand as a candidate for political office. He was a member of Emory Fisher Post, No. 30, Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Zimmerman was twice married. His first wife was Mary Ken- nedy, who died childless. His second wife was Margaret Elmira Atkin- son, who was born in the state of Delaware and died on Easter Sunday, 1898. She was a daughter of Gove Atkinson. who was of Connecticut par- entage. Gove Atkinson married Rhoda Todd, who at the time of her marriage with Mr. Atkinson was Widow Gullett, and had one son. The Todds were of Scotch origin, an old family and of strong religious ten- dencies. They donated the land on which Todd Chapel, an historic Methodist Episcopal church, now stands in Kent county, Delaware. Gove Atkinson was a man of scholarly attainments, but not remarkable as a business man. He lived to nearly ninety years and is buried in the graveyard at Todd Chapel. Charles and Margaret Elmira (Atkinson) Zimmerman had two children, the elder of whom, Eugene Zimmerman, is specially mentioned in this record. The younger child, Marian Chris- tine Zimmerman, was born in February, 1890, and was eight years old when her mother died. Since her father's death she has made her home with relatives in Ridgely, Maryland.

Eugene Zimmerman, elder child and only son of Charles and Mar- garet Elmira (Atkinson) Zimmerman, was born in the city of Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1869, and came with his parents to Johns-

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town in June of the same year. He was educated in the Johnstown pub- lic schools and at Knapp's Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and after leaving school he undertook the management of two of his father's busi- ness enterprises and at the same time kept the books in connection with the livery business. In fact he managed most of his father's various in- terests until the death of the latter and then became proprietor. His present completely appointed stables were finished and occupied in April, 1905, and with their stock and general equipment for livery purposes comprise one of the best establishments of the kind in southern Pennsyl- vania. Mr. Zimmerman is one of Johnstown's most enterprising business men, and has several other important interests besides his stables. He is an extensive real estate proprietor, having an interest in the Zimmerman Building, the New Senate Hotel and other valuable properties. In poli- tics he is an independent Republican, and holds membership in Vestal Camp No. 33, Woodmen of the World, of Johnstown, also S. of V .. Johnstown.

Eugene Zimmerman married, June 10, 1890, Celia Conlogue, daughter of John and - - (Gallagher) Conlogue, of Johnstown. Mr. Conlogue is and for many years has been foreman in one of the depart- ments of Cambria Steel Company. Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman have three children : Grace Ellene, born June 10, 1891; Charles Frederick, born April 1, 1893; Eugenia, born November 24, 1895.

HIERMAN BANTLY, whose name has long been associated with the hardware trade of Johnstown, was born October 14, 1843, at Kirsch- cim, Germany, coming to this country with his parents when he was but eight years of age. His foreparents were as follows :

I. Philip Bantle, as it was originally spelled, was born in 1764, at Kirscheim unter Teck, Koenigreich, Wurtemburg, Germany. His wife was Wilhelmina Schrag. Both died in Germany.

II. Gottleib Philip Bantly, son of Philip Bantle (I), was born at the old home in Germany, December 14, 1804. died at Scalp Level, Cam- bria county, May 4, 1883. He came to America about 1860. His wife, Rosina (Schrag) Bantly, was born June 5, 1811, at Gross Eislingen, O. B. Goeppingen, Koenigreich, Wurtemburg, Germany, and died there about 1858. Their children were: 1. Gottleib Theodore, born at the old home August 29, 1834, married Christiane Sophie Wilhelmina Stoll, who died at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, November 8, 1875. Gottleib T. has been a prominent citizen of Johnstown for many years. 2. Charles August, born 1836, died July 22, 1902, at Lebanon, Missouri. He was in the Civil war and was in Andersonville prison. 3. Herman, men- tioned hereafter. 4. Theodore, who was a soldier in the Union cause in time of the Civil war : died in Andersonville prison-pen. 5. Christopher, now living at Scalp Level, Pennsylvania. 6. William, who was drowned in the Johnstown flood of 1889. Both Charles and Theodore were mem- bers of the Fifty-first Pennsylvania Regiment, Volunteers.

III. Herman Bantly, who came to this country when a mere boy, assisted his father, who was a tanner in Germany but established a grist mill at Scalp Level, Pennsylvania, upon coming to America. Coupled with the flouring mill was a saw mill, and around these mills young Her- man spent his youthful days. When about twenty years of age he com- menced to clerk for his brother Gottleib T., with whom he continued for about eight years. He then formed a partnership with Ed. H. Fron- heiser, as Bantly & Fronheiser, purchasing his brother Gottleib's hard- ware business on Clinton street. This continued until 1892, when Mr.

Herman Bantly

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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.

Bantly bought his partner out and continued alone. on Bedford street. until 1903, when he sold to the Swank Hardware Company. In 1898 the Cambria Paint Company was organized and Mr. Bantly was made its president. He is also a director of the Hollow Block Concrete Co. The Bantly family have always been interested in the hardware trade, and Herman has been one of the most successful of the name in the business. Mr. Bantly married, October 4. 1882. Maria C. Lowman, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth . ( McClaine) Lowman. of Indiana. Indiana county, Pennsylvania. The issne by this marriage was: 1. Mary E., born October 6, 1886, married Dr. C. L. Beatty and lives in New Castle. Pennsylvania. 2. Rosa Lee, born May 14, 1889. 3. Herman, born April 5, 1891. The family are members of the English Lutheran church. Mr. Bantly is a member of Johnstown lodge No. 538. F. and A. M .: Oriental Commandery No. 61: Jaffa Temple, of Altoona, Penn- sylvania : Consistory. A. A. O. N. M. S.

Of Mrs. Bantly's people it may be said that Samuel Lowman was the son of Abraham and Susan Lowman, farmers of Indiana county. Samuel was a farmer and a carpenter. The children of Samuel Lowman were: 1. Mary, married H. C. McKce. 2. Rosana, wife of Dr. F. T. Overdorf. of Johnstown. 3. John, married Carrie M. Dill. Their son Roy is a graduate of Annapolis, and is in the navy. 4. HI. M., unmar- ried, lives with Mr. Bantly, with whom he is a partner in various enter- prises. 5. Maria C., wife of Herman Bantly. Samuel Lowman, the father of Mrs. Herman Bantly, was born in 1814, died 1858. His wife Elizabeth was born in 1812, died in 1819. She was the daughter of Daniel McClaine, one of three children, the others being: Rosanna, wife of George Lowman; Christina, single. The other children of Abraham Lowman were: 1. Abraham, married Nancy MeIllhoo. 2. Thomas, married Elizabeth Graham. 3. John, married Mary Allison. 4. George, a contractor and county commissioner of Indiana county, Pennsylvania, married Rosanna McClaine. 5. Michael, married Nancy Walker. 6. William, married Nancy Anthony. ' 7. Mary, married John Gilmore. 8. Nancy, married Samuel Lucas. 9. Rosa, married William McFar- land.

HIRAM SWANK, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, now retired from active pursuits is one of the oldest business men of that city. He came to that place from Davidsville, Pennsylvania, 1854, and started a pot- tery. Two years afterward he was joined by his brother Jacob, and from that time the firm of J. & II. Swank was known in manufactur- ing circles in Cambria county for more than thirty years. In 1862 the firm added a general hardware business to the pottery enterprise and continued it as a part of the joint property until 1887, when the part- nership was dissolved, Jacob Swank taking over the mercantile business, while Hiram retained the pottery branch.

Soon after the dissolution of the firm Hiram Swank changed the character of his pottery and began the manufacture of a special fire brick, which was and still is used extensively in steel works. From the very beginning the new venture seems to have been a success and the business has been continued to the present time, although the works have frequently been enlarged to meet the increasing demand for the product, and at the same time there have been occasional changes in the personnel of the firm. The plant as it now stands represents a considerable invest- ment of capital, employs a large number of workmen and is numbered with the leading industries of Johnstown. The product of the works is

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marketed throughout the United States and Canada, and considerable shipments are made to Nova Scotia. When Mr. Swank's sons, Charles and Albert, became of age they acquired an interest in the business and then the firm took the style of Hiram Swank & Sons. In 1898 the senior partner retired and his interest in the business was taken by his son Mil- ton. Then the firm name changed to Hiram Swank's Sons, as since known in trade circles, although two other sons, James W and Ralph L. Swank, are now members of the firm and Charles M. Swank, eldest son of the founder and original proprietor, is now dead.

Hiram Swank has contributed his full share to the industrial pros- perity of the borough and city of Johnstown, also to the building up of Johnstown, erecting a large number of residence properties, and is eu- titled to the rest and retirement his earlier years of earnest effort have enabled him to take. His business life has been a success and he has been the means of furnishing profitable employment to hundreds and perhaps thousands of workingmen during the course of his long career. His old employes remember him with gratitude and affection, and a wide circle of business and social acquaintances hold him in high esteem for his sterling integrity and moral worth.

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History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III, Part 21

Author: Storey, Henry Wilson Publication date: 1907 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 940

Author: Storey, Henry Wilson
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 940