USA > Pennsylvania > Cambria County > History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III > Part 57
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IIe married, May 29, 1890, Florence M. Haynes, daughter of Napoleon Haynes, and granddaughter of Joseph Haynes, the builder of the first house in the Fifth ward of Johnstown. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Cramer are: Frank Wilson, Walter Haynes and John Milton.
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
Benjamin Haynes, the great-grandfather of Mrs. John W. Cramer, was a native of Birmingham, England, his father, who was of German birth, having emigrated to England. Benjamin Haynes had two sons: William, who came to America, located in Somerset, Somerset county, Pennsylvania: he died there. Joseph, see forward.
Joseph Haynes came to America about 1818. landed in Baltimore, Maryland, and remained there a short time. He then purchased a two- horse team and started overland for the west, there being no other means of transportation in those days. He stopped for a few days at Jennertown, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and there made the ac- quaintance of Elijah Dennison. the proprietor of the tavern in that town. Dennison had a farm which he wished to sell: Mr. Haynes saw it. was pleased with the property, bought it, and settled there. He was a briekmaker by occupation, and in addition to cultivating his farm, he made and sold brick. Somewhat later he purchased another farm, a few miles west of his first tract, and settled upon his new acquisi- tion. He came to Johnstown. Cambria county, Pennsylvania, about 1830, and purchased a fifteen-acre tract from Shepley Priestley, on the South Side, on Stony Creek, including property now bounded by Stony Creek. Dibert street and the hill. Here he built, of logs, the first house erected in that section of Johnstown, and some years later he operated two brick yards in what was then Conemaugh borough. having purchased three acres there. and this work he continued for some years. The elder Haynes had donated to the Methodist Episcopal church three large lots. When the first Franklin Street Methodist Episcopal Church was built. Joseph Haynes, being on the building com- mittee, protested against the plans as drawn, claiming that the con- struction as planned was insecure. His criticism was not well received and he withdrew from the committee. That his contention was well founded is proved by the fact that it was necessary later to erect four large pillars in the body of the church to support the roof. Before any of the bridges connecting Johnstown with the borough of Kernville were built, Joseph Haynes operated a ferry, fare three cents, from a point between Napoleon and Franklin streets to about the end of Carr street, and this was the principal means of communication between the two boroughs at that time. His son. Napoleon, has carried hundreds of passengers in the skiffs. the latter having been built by Allen Rose, one of the early settlers. Joseph Haynes served two terms as delinquent tax collector for the borough of Johnstown. He was elected a third time, but resigned and refused to serve. His fellow-citizens insisted, and he walked the thirty-six miles to Ebensburg, the county seat, and back, to return his tax duplicate, and then removed from the borough, going back to his farm in Somerset county. Opposite his former dwell- ing in Kernville, he had a brick house erected. to which he later re- moved and lived in it until his death. He was a lifelong stanch Demo- crat. but a firm abolitionist. and assisted many slaves to their freedom. He married. in England, Sarah Parks, whose brother, Isaac, also came to Johnstown, where he married Rebecca Wally. The children of Joseph and Sarah (Parks) Haynes were: 1. Benjamin, a Methodist preacher, whose widow, Mary Jane ( Campbell) Haynes, lives in New York city; 2. Ann. married John Beam, of Johnstown, both deceased: 3. Reuben, married Mary Monroe. of Johnstown: 4. Sarah, married Jacob Huber, removed to California in the forties: both deceased: 5. John, deceased, married Lavinia Benford, now living in the eighth ward, Johnstown ; 6. Napoleon B., see forward.
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
Napoleon B. Haynes, son of Joseph and Sarah (Parks) Haynes. was born near Jennertown. Somerset county, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1828. He remained on the farm of his father until he was eighteen years old and then went to Somerset to learn the trade of cabinet-mak- ing, with William B. Cuffroth. Three years later he came to Johns- town, and about one year afterward bought a piece of ground on Main street for one thousand dollars, where Young's pharmacy and Zang's shoe store are now conducted, and in a frame building there operated a cabinet maker's shop for about five years. He then sold the property and for several years thereafter was engaged in the contracting and building line. In partnership with George M. Rose, a brother of the at- torney, W. Horace Rose, he then engaged in the manufacture and sale of wooden pumps. Some years later Mr. Rose sold his interest to his brother, and later Mr. Haynes went to the west, remaining for some years, and returned to Johnstown in the eighties. Mr. Haynes first worked in the pattern shop of the Cambria Iron Company in 1862, and spent two years there. Upon his return from the west, in 1882, he again entered the pattern shop, and this has been his employment since that time. Mr. Haynes is a lifelong member of the Methodist church, and was the first person baptized in the First Franklin Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Johnstown, being one of the oldest members of that congregation. He has served as a trustee for many years. He has been a Republican since the time of Lincoln, and has served as school director. Napoleon street was named after him, and Haynes street was named in honor of his family. He married, in 1850, Ann Parker, daughter of George and Catherine (Snyder) Parker, of Somerset. George Parker kept a tavern on the old Greensburg Pike for a number of years, in the days of the stage coach. Later he removed to Somerset and kept a general store there. Ann (Parker) Haynes died in 1872. The children of Napoleon B. and Ann (Parker) Haynes were : 1. George, died in infancy : 2. Melinda. deceased, married Cyrus Miller ; 3. Annie, died unmarried : 4. Milton J., is master painter in the Cam- bria Steel Company since 1897 : has served as councilman from his ward two terms: married Molly Tremelon; 5. Florence, married John W. Cramer, as previously mentioned : 6. Frank, died in infancy.
WILLIAM HARVEY CRUM, a longtime resident of Conemaugh, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, who has held many positions of trust and responsibility in the township, is a representative of a family which has been identified with the history of the county for many years, having been for generations extensive land owners.
Abraham Crum was born in 1810. died in 1875. He was the son of John Crum, and one of seven children : John, Cornelius, Abraham, Kate, Elizabeth, Phoebe and Mary. He was a prominent farmer in Summerhill township. He married Amanda Amigh. born July 27, 1820, one of eight children : John, Uriah, Solomon, George. Elizabeth, Margaret, Ruth A. and Amanda. The children of Abraham and Amanda (Amigh) Crum were : Ozias, Austin, Harvey, Nathaniel, George and Abraham, deceased ; William Harvey, see forward: Rebecca, married Silas Plumer : Catherine, married Isaiah Berkey : Elizabeth and Amanda, deceased : Ruth, married Daniel Berkey, deceased: and one died in in- fancy.
William Harvey Crum, seventh son and child of Abraham and Amanda (Amigh) Crum, was born in Summerhill township. Cambria county, Pennsylvania, August 10, 1863. He was educated in the
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common schools of his native township, and assisted his father in the care and cultivation of the home farm until the time of his marriage. He then entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and for six years had charge of the weighing department and seven years of the trainmen's department. He had the misfortune to fall between two cars at Morrellville, March 13, 1896, and it became necessary to amputate his left leg above the knee. Since that time he has been in the motor power department, and is at present (1906) gang foreman. He has taken an active and beneficial interest in the public affairs of the county, and has held a number of public offices-member of the borough council, six years: justice of the peace, ten years: assessor of Portage township in 1887; and is now serving his second term as burgess of Conemaugh. He is a member of the United Evangelical church, and has been superintendent of the Sunday school connected with it for the past twelve years. His political support is given to the Republican party. He is associated with the following organiza- tions : Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen; Pennsylvania Railroad Re- lief; and Order of the Maccabees. He is a man of considerable in- fluence in his district, and his council is sought and valued in business as well as political matters.
He married. September 23, 1887, Elfa I. Wright, one of eight children : Olive married Lawrence Nicely : Elfa, mentioned above: Hat- tie, married Adam Vallance: Elizabeth, married Joseph Hoffman ; Frances, married Henry Turner; Kate, married William Knepper; Elmer, married Cora Murphy; Luwella, married John Colbert. The children of William Harvey and Elfa I. (Wright) Crum are: Joseph A .. born December 11, 1889; Abraham, January 13, 1890; Homer, June 27, 1892; Hattie, April 17, 1896; and Daniel Curry, October 19, 1906.
WALTER ROGERS THOMPSON, who is the editor and pro- prietor of the Mountaineer Herald of Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, was born in that place, October 20, 1867, son of James M. and Frances M. (Rogers) Thompson.
James M. Thompson (father), was born in Blairsville, Pennsyl- vania, January 1, 1840. His great-grandfather, Robert Thompson, was born near Londonderry, Ireland, in 1737, and there married Mary Can- nan. of the same place. They were the parents of eight children, and May 29, 1789, they emigrated to America, settling and remaining for some time in what is now called Derry township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Being stanch Presbyterians, they allied themselves with "Old Salem" church. Here Hugh Thompson, the oldest son of Robert, married Martha, the daughter of James Thompson, a Scotchman, who was a man of more than ordinary ability and education. Although being a Scotchman, he and his family had resided in Ireland, and his daughter Martha was born in Donegal, 1770. They came to America in 1771, and it was on September 8, 1791, that this marriage took place. James Thompson had been an elder in the Presbyterian church in Ire- land, and was one of the founders of the "Old Salem" church as well as clerk of the sessions when the Thompson family came there. To Hugh and Martha Thompson were born nine children: Mary, Jane, Joseph, James, Robert, John, William, Hugh A. and Samuel H.
In 1793, Hugh and Martha, with their first-born babe, Mary, at- tempted to settle on land on Thompson's Run, about one mile above what is now Kellysburg, Indiana county, and eleven miles north of the present town of Indiana, in what is now Rayne township, but their
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venture was interrupted by the Indians, who still hovered about and terrorized the pioneers, and they were compelled to return to Derry township, where they remained until General Anthony Wayne drove the Indians away, beyond the Ohio, in August. 1794, when peace fol- lowed and they returned in the spring of 1795. This time Robert, the father of Hugh, with his wife and five other children came along and all settled on a portion of the same traet of land, which was then a heavy forest, and only inhabited by wild deer, panther and other animals. There they lived the simple life of the early American pioneers, and to this day the fine farms which they carved from out the forests are known as the "Old Thompson Homestead." They are owned and oc- cupied by their deseendants. All are buried at Gilgal Presbyterian church cemetery, four miles north of the old homestead of the Thomp- sons. Here a massive stone monument of native rock, has recently been erected to their memory by the Indiana county deseendents. Hugh Thompson and Martha, his wife, were the grandparents of James M. Thompson, of Ebensburg. and their sixth child, John, was his father.
Major John Thompson, as later in life he was called, was born on the old homestead, June 1. 1804. and died in Ebensburg, December 5, 1879. He was an old time merehant and for a number of years conducted the Cambria House; also the "Mountain House," at Ebens- burg. He also ran a stage line out from the place, and was later post- master for fifteen years. His wife was Ellen Patton, and their chil- dren were: Joseph, Benjamin, Mary, Ellen, Amelia, James, John, Robert and Rose.
After being employed as a Philadelphia traveling man for some time, James M. Thompson enlisted at Ebensburg. 1862, as a corporal in Company F. One Hundred and Thirty-third Pennsylvania Volun- teers, and served his country faithfully for ten months, participating in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, before Marye's Heights, in front of the historie "Stone Wall." and Chancellorsville, in which fourteen of his company were killed, fifteen wounded and two made prisoners. For many years he has been engaged in business at Ebens- burg. Politically Mr. Thompson is a Republican. He is an attendant of the Presbyterian church. He belongs to Captain John M. Jones Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Ebensburg. His family consists of : Walter R., John E., employed in the store with his father, Mary R., at home, and two daughters, who died in infancy. Coneerning Mrs. Thompson. whose maiden name was Rogers, it should be stated that her mother's maiden name was Jenkins, her ancestors having come from Wales, while her father's family were of English deseent. The Rogers family had the honor of relationship to the martyred President Lincoln, and there are a number of Lincoln families still residing about Churchtown.
Walter R. Thompson, son of James M. and Frances M. (Rogers) Thompson. when about fourteen years of age, commeneed to work in a printing office-the Cambria Herald, at Ebensburg. with Festus Lloyd as proprietor. Young Thompson made himself very useful as a roller boy for the old styled hand press. Later he became an apprentice to the trade of printer in the office of the Cambria Freeman, under James G. Hasson. Here he was to work for three years to become a journey- man printer. The first year's work was done at five dollars per month : the second, eight dollars, but ill health set in, and he was compelled to quit the trade, for a time. Later he took a position on the Local
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
Notes. conducted by Samuel J. Humphreys, and afterwards went to the Cambria Herald. where he was employed for some time. He then went to Johnstown, was first employed as a printer, and then at draughting in the draughting department of the Johnston Company. He then went to Ebensburg and took the position of foreman on the Cambria Herald. About 1891 he formed a partnership with John L. Sechler in a new paper called the Mountaincer. In about four months this new venture. not seeming profitable for the lack of more capital, he purchased Mr. Sechler's interest and conducted the paper himself until April, 1898, when he purchased the Cambria Herald and consolidated the two, under the name of Mountaineer-Herald, of which he is still the pro- prietor and editor. The paper has always been a stanch Republican journal. and its origin dates away back prior to the great Civil war. It has the largest circulation in the north part of the county. He is one of the two leading candidates for the office of postmaster at Ebens- burg. He is a member of Summit Lodge, No. 312, F. and A. M., Lieutenant Hugh Jones Camp, S. of V., and of the Ebensburg Conclave of Heptasophs. He is also a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Thompson married, February 14, 1891. Anna Frederick, of Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. Their children are: Frances M., Anna R., James F., Medora H., Marion G., and Rebecca. They enjoy a pleasant home in the suburbs. Mr. Thompson is fond of outdoor sports, taking unalloyed delight in his horse, his dog and his gun. He is secretary of the Lake Rowena Club and the Ebensburg Gun Club. He also finds great companionship with his books.
JOHN F. TIBBOTT, of Ebensburg. Pennsylvania, was born at Tibbott's Mills, Cambria county, October 12, 1833, son of Rev. Festus and Elizabeth (Davis) Tibbott, and was one of seven in his father's family, four of whom survive: Ann, wife of Reese S. Lloyd, of Ebens- burg: Miriam, wife of James B. Young; Dr. David, of Fitzgerald, Georgia ; and John F .. of whom later.
Rev. Festus Tibbott was born in Wales, 1796, son of William Tibbott, who emigrated to this country early in nineteenth century. was the builder and founder of Tibbott's Mills and was the owner of considerable land. He was a devout Christian and minister in the Congregational church. Rev. Festus Tibbott was reared at home and worked with his father about the mills. After he reached man's estate. he acquired the grist mill. while his brother Jabez received the saw mill, which later passed into the hands of the Rev. Festus Tibhott, after which he operated them in conjunction up to the time of his death. August 17. 1860. Politically he was an ardent Whig. and was a mem- ber of the Christian church. During almost all the years of his man- hood he was a local preacher. He was a very devout Christian, and would not receive a salary for his preaching services. He was greatly attached to his people, and the whole community held him in great esteem. His wife, Elizabeth (Davis) Tibbott, was a native of Wales, born in 1794, daughter of David Davis, who came to the United States prior to 1820, locating in Cambria county, and for many years was identified with the mercantile business of Ebensburg: he died at the place last named, in 1833. Upon his coming to America, he left his wife in Wales and some time later he started on a voyage to bring her to his new-made home, but upon reaching New York city was met by new arrivals from Wales, who informed him that his wife was dead and buried. He returned to Cambria county and later it was learned
5
John F Firebolt
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Aster, Lenox and Tlidon Foundations, 1909
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
that the report was a mistake, but before he could arrange for another trip, her death did occur, and his return was never made. Mrs. Eliza- beth (Davis) Tibbott, his daughter, died in 1865.
John F. Tibbott was reared at home and attended the illy taught pioneer schools of Cambria county, and later Hiram College, of Portage, Ohio. On his return from college he began his career as a teacher, and for eighteen years followed it for a profession, he being among the well known educators of his period and locality. While a teacher he became a co-partner with his father in the milling business, and took a commercial course at Duff's College, at Pittsburg. Soon after his father's death, in 1860, he disposed of the milling property, devoting the following years largely to clerical work, being employed in various positions. In 1892 he removed to Ebensburg. since which time he has been treasurer of the school board, collector of the school fund, borough treasurer and collector. He has ever been an ardent supporter of the principles of the Republican party. In religious life he has for many years been connected with the Christian church, serving as an elder sinee 1874.
Mr. Tibbott married, May 18, 1858, Harriet Griffith, a native of Wiseonsin. (See Webster Griffith's sketch.) To Mr. and Mrs. Tibbott were born six children, five now survive: Lizzie, wife of George Hettler, of Altoona, Pennsylvania. Festus, formerly of Cambria township, Cam- bria eounty, now of Altoona, Pennsylvania. Sherman, of Ebensburg, the assistant register and recorder for Cambria county. May, wife of R. D. Jones, of Johnstown. Anna, wife of G. C. Port, of Ebensburg.
DAVIS FAMILY. The Davis family, many members of which are now (1906) residents of Conemaugh, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, are descended from an old and honored family of Wales. Since their advent in this country they have been ably represented in almost every field of enterprise-military, professional, political, commercial and financial.
Richard Davis, the pioneer ancestor of the family in the United States, was born in Wales and came to this country when about eighteen years of age. He settled near Ebensburg. Cambria county, Pennsyl- vania, and followed the occupation of farming for fifty-three years, his death occurring in April. 1866. He was a member of the Baptist church, and in polities an old time Whig. His children were: 1. Eliz- abeth, married -- Jones. 2. Catherine, of whom later. 3. Jane, married Milton Jones. 4. Mattie, married John Ross. 5. Mary,
married Inther Styles. 6. Timothy, of whom later. 7. Thomas, mar- ried Susan Burkhart. 8. David, married Elizabeth Jones.
Catherine Davis, second danghter and child of Richard Davis, was born near Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, died January 14, 1864. She mar- ried Edward Davis, born April 16, 1819, died in 1891. He was a native of England, and followed the occupation of farming both there and in this country for a number of years. He was the son of John Davis, and one of six children : Philip. William, John, Edward and Elizabeth. The children of Edward and Catherine (Davis) Davis were: 1. Richard, deceased. 2. William, see forward. 3. Philip, married Ida Gittings. 4. Amos, married Harriette Reig- hard. 5. Mary, deceased. And three who died in infancy.
William Davis, second son and child of Edward and Catherine (Davis) Davis, was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania. December 18, 1851. He was educated in the common schools of his distriet, and
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this was supplemented by attendance at Read's Institute, Clarion county, Pennsylvania. He was engaged in the profession of teaching in Cam- bria county, Pennsylvania, for twelve years, and in addition cultivated the homestead farm. He then entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as a laborer. October 6, 1887, and was soon advanced to the position of clerk in Conemaugh, and later to that of passenger and freight agent at the same station, June 10, 1900, a position which he is still holding to the satisfaction of those in charge. He has taken an active interest in all matters concerning the welfare of the com- munity in which he lives, more especially in educational matters. He has been director on the school board for nine years; treasurer of the same, seven years; treasurer of the borough, two years; and burgess of Conemaugh, three years. He is a member of the Baptist church, and a stanch supporter of the Republican party, in whose councils his opinion has considerable weight. He married, October 4, 1873, Sophia Custer, who was the daughter of Jonathan and Frances (Ream) Custer, and one of five children : Emanuel A., married Jennie Snyder; Fred- erick, married (first) Jane Good, married (second) Mrs. Steel; Eliza- beth, married Jacob Stiffler; Sophia, mentioned above; and Annie, married Samuel Sensabaugh. The children of William and Sophia (Custer) Davis were : 1. Elizabeth, married Scott Dougherty. 2. Maud, married W. E. Wissinger. 3. Cyrus W., see forward. 4. Es- tella, deceased.
Cyrus W. Davis, third child and only son of William and Sophia (Custer) Davis, was born in Vinco, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1880. He received a good common school education in the Conemaugh borough schools, and then attended the Indiana normal school. He turned his attention to the study of pharmacy, and is a graduated druggist. He was also graduated from the Medico- Chirurgical College of Philadelphia. May 24, 1903. He established himself in the drug business in First street, Conemangh, August 17, 1903, and has one of the finest and best appointed stores of its kind in the city. His business is in a most flourishing condition and is mod- ern in all its appointments. Before engaging in the drug trade he taught school for two years in Jackson township. His political affilia- tions are Republican, and he is a member of Conemaugh Lodge, No. 403, Knights of Pythias. He married, May 24, 1905, Mary E. Hughes, daughter of Thomas J. and Eliza (Ellis) Hughes. Thomas J. Hughes, son of John T. and Annie (Williams) Hughes, is at present steward of the almshouse at Ebensburg, a position he has held for ten years. His children were: May; Edna; Leah; Martha; John, deceased; and Mary E., mentioned above.
Timothy Davis, sixth ehild and eldest son of Richard Davis (1), was born in Cambria county. Pennsylvania, in 1829, died November 14, 1900. His education was received in the common schools of his county, and after its completion he engaged in the hunber business, which continued to occupy most of his time until 1886, when he retired from active business life. He was a man of considerable prominence and influence in his time, and devoted much of his time to public matters in the township. He was township constable for a few years, and held a number of other township offices. He married, in 1856, Lydia Burk- hart, born 1833, died May 8, 1881. She was one of eleven children : . Phoebe, married James Finley : Susan, married Thomas Davis: Lydia, mentioned above: Elizabeth, married Joseph Panl ; Esther, married Benjamin Byers; Jennie, married Samuel J. Morrell : Daniel, married
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