USA > Pennsylvania > Cambria County > History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III > Part 60
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Frank MeAnulty, son of Daniel S. and Eliza J. (MeDowell) Me- Anulty. received his education in the common schools, and in early life was a farmer and lumberman. In 1894 he established a livery busi- ness in Barnesboro, which he conducted for four years, and then for another four years engaged in mercantile business. In 1900 he helped to organize the firm of Westover & MeAnulty, who condneted a mer- cantile and lumber business until November 1, 1905, when the firm was re-organized under the name of the M. C. Westover Lumber Com- pany and as such it is now conducting the largest Inmber business in northern Cambria county, being also extensively engaged in contract- ing and building. Mr. MeAnulty was one of the organizers of the Building & Loan Association of Barnesboro. He is a member of the Heptasophs, Royal Arcanum, Knights of Pythias and Lodge No. 175, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of Johnstown. In polities he affiliates with the Republicans.
Mr. MeAnulty married Orie, daughter of Isaac and Sarah Myers, of Susquehanna township. and they are the parents of the following children : Blair, Bertha, Beulah, Esther, and Robert.
JOIIN PALLISER. SR., owner of one of the best cultivated farms in Upper Yoder township. is descended from a family of France. (See sketch of Christopher Palliser. elsewhere in this work.)
John Palliser, Sr., was born in Yorkshire, England, August 7, 1838. He was the son of John and Hannah (Buckel) Palliser, and when a boy was taught the stonemason trade by his father. He fol- lowed this occupation in England until he emigrated to the United States in 1867. He settled in Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, where his first eight days were spent as a journeyman. He then en- gaged in the contracting business, in which he was interested until 1873, when he returned to his native land and remained there until 1881. He came to America a second time and purchased the farm on which he is at present (1906) residing, which was known as the old Abraham Stutsman place, and which he has made a model of neatness and cultivation. He devotes the most of his time to the production of fruits and farm products, for which he finds a ready market in Johns- town. His system of management is a very methodical one and is attended with most gratifying results.
Mr. Palliser married, October 17, 1866. Mary Thornton, born in Ganton, England, November 14, 1843, daughter of Richard and Merey (Stephenson) Thornton, and they have had children: 1. Thomas E. Richard, born November 19, 1867, died February 14, 1869. 2. Henry, born May 2, 1869, died February 12. 1870. 3. Albert S., born in Johnstown, "June 21, 1871. 4. Ernest, born in Rillington, England,
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September 11, 1873. 5. Harold, born in Falsgrave, England, June 28, 1875; married Della Rippel, and has children: Walter H, and Della Mildred. 6. Lawrence, born in Falsgrave, England, March 17, 1878, married Jessie Martha Peters, and has children : Helen and Sidney. 7. Thornton, born January 2, 1879. 8. Lilly, born in Falsgrave, Eng- land, March 24, 1880. 9. Sidney, born in Falsgrave, England, Feb- ruary 4, 1881, died the same year. 10. Charles, born on the homestead in Upper Yoder township. October 8. 1886. Mr. Palliser gives his support to the Republican party, and he and his family are members of the Progressive Brethren church.
SAMUEL H. HERSHBERGER, at the present time living in retirement on his own farm in Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, was at one time one of the best known farmers of the county and prominently identified with its commercial, social and political interests. He is of Swiss and German descent. His paternal great-grandfather came from Switzerland at a very early date. and was one of the pioneer settlers of the eastern part of the state of Pennsylvania. Among his children was a son named Joseph.
Joseph Hershberger was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and removed to Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where he settled near Myersdale and followed the occupation of farming. He purchased the Joseph Ulrich farm in 1816, in Cambria county, Pennsylvania, on which the Moxham Works now stand, and sold this place to a man by the name of Carl Von Lunnen. He then settled near Scalp Level, where he died at an advanced age. He married Hosestetler, and they raised a family of sixteen children. among them being a son named Henry J.
Henry J. Hershberger, son of Joseph and -- (Hosestetler) Hershberger, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1802. He purchased what is now known as the Hershberger homestead in Upper Yoder township, and there followed the occupation of farming during all the active years of his life. He was a man of considerable influence in the community, and was a member of the Amish Men- nonite church. He married Gertrude Yoder, daughter of John Yoder, of the Glades. Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and they had six chil- dren, of whom five are now living: David; Samuel H., see forward ; Barbara, deceased; Henry; John, and Fannie. Mr. Hershberger died in 1864, and his wife died in 1880. at the age of seventy-five years.
Samuel H. Hershberger, second son and child of Henry J. and Gertrude (Yoder) Hershberger, was born on the Hershberger home- stead, in Upper Yoder township, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, Jan- uary 15, 1832. He was reared on the farm and attended the public schools of the district, which did not afford great facilities for study in these days. He was, however. diligent and studious at home, and by sheer hard work acquired a good education, so that he was enabled to enter the profession of teaching. This occupation he followed for fourteen years, and then, succeeding to the old homestead, he took up agricultural pursuits until he retired from active business life. The zeal, energy and practical methods which he brought to bear upon the cultivation of his farm were not withont results, and it was considered one of the finest of its size in that section of the country. He is a member of the Amish Mennonite church, and his political affiliations are with the Republican party. in whose ranks he has always been an earnest worker. He has served the county and town in a variety of
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offices, among which may be mentioned : Director, treasurer and secre- tary of the school board for many years; assessor and tax collector of Upper Yoder township .: He was the collector for both the county and town of Cambria borough in 1862, and his public services have always been of the highest character.
He married, 1882, Rachel Ream, born in Cambria county, daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Flegle) Ream. and they have had three chil- dren, of whom but one is living at the present (1906) time: Mary Jane.
MICHAEL D. BEARER, of Ebensburg, present deputy sheriff of Cambria county, was born April 20, 1864, in Susquehanna township, son of John Bearer, and grandson of Joseph Bearer, who in 1816 landed with his family in Philadelphia, having left Alsace, then a province of France, on account of the international disturbances by which the country was at that time agitated.
Upon landing on American soil the family were penniless, save for the little money which they carried with them. In their native land they had been the owners of mueh realty, but chose to abandon all for the sake of living in peace. Several of the sons had reached man's estate, and soon became independent. One of them, Louis, en- barked with a party for Cape Cod. Massachusetts, where several of his descendants are engaged in the manufacture of taeks. Another son, Ignatius, departed for what was then known as the "Wild and Unexplored West," and was never afterward heard from. Still another son, Joseph, settled in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he soon be- came an influential citizen. being the proprietor and manager of the Farmer's Hotel. Subsequently he held the office of treasurer of Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania.
John Bearer, son of Joseph Bearer, the emigrant, was born in 1821, in Hagerstown, Maryland, and was prominently before the public as an official in various capacities. From 1859 to 1862 he served as county commissioner, and in 1861 was made a justice of the peace, an office which he held for twenty-five years. During his earlier years he was a sehoolmaster, many of the present residents of north Cambria eounty having been numbered among his pupils. During his long life he was a great reader of weekly and daily newspapers and was a thor- oughly well-informed man.
John Bearer married Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Luther, who was of German birth, and when a young man emigrated to the United States, settling in Cambria eounty. He was one of the early stage-drivers between Pittsburg and Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and also owned and cultivated a somewhat extensive farm in Carroll town- ship. He was a member of the Roman Catholic church. Christopher Luther married, in Cambria county, and their children were: Sarah, deceased : Mary, also deceased; Ellen, widow of Zephaniah Weakland. lives at Hastings; Elizabeth, widow of John Bearer: Kate, wife of Peter Wible, of Altoona, and Levi, deeeased. Mr. Luther delighted in the chase, and was simple in his habits, always living close to nature. It was probably owing, in no small degree, to this fact, that he attained the extraordinary age of one hundred and four years, and that his vigor was such, at that advanced period of life, as to enable him to walk three miles to church.
John and Elizabeth (Luther) Bearer were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Lewis J., of Susquehanna township, married Lena
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Dietrich ; Francis J., of Barnesboro, married Elizabeth Weakland; Demetrius A., of Elyria, Ohio, married Mary Yinger: Ohilda E., de- ceased; Theophilus T .; Celestine C .; Mary T .; Maggie; Harry O .; Alfred J. (all of whom are deceased ) ; John A., of Susquehanna town- ship, married Anastasia Dietrich; Michael D., of whom later; George L., of Pittsburg. married Dode Fenlon; Cecilia A., widow of M. D. Koontz, of Spangler; Annie A., wife of Henry Volk, of Carroll town- ship; and Clara A., wife of Joseph R. Blair, of Elyria, Ohio. John Bearer, the father of this large family, lived to an advanced age, de- spite the fact that he had been, from the age of nineteen, the victim of a bodily affliction which increased with years and forced him, in the autumn of 1884, to submit to the amputation of one of his feet. When he had passed his eighty-fourth birthday and his wife had entered upon her seventy-seventh year, in the early part of 1905, a family reunion was held in which all the members, with the exception of two, partici- pated, and which was an extremely joyful event. November 18, 1905, Mr. Bearer died. His widow is still living.
Michael D. Bearer, son of John and Elizabeth (Luther) Bearer, spent his early days on the farm with his nine brothers and six sisters. In 1846, when his father purchased the homestead, the forests were full of wild animals, including deer, bears and wolves, and game was sufficiently abundant to afford much sport. The tales to which the boy then listened of the days when they used the "candle dip," the "tallow candle," the reel and the old spinning-wheel, are now included among the fondest recollections of the man. Mr. Bearer received a meagre education at the country school, beginning with a three months' term, which was afterward extended to five. He was permitted to at- tend the normal school at Ebensburg one term, thus fitting himself to teach, which he did for six terms, during the winter months, working on the farm in the summers. In 1886 he entered the law office of William H. Sechler, with whom he remained one year, after which he read law with M. D. Kittle. and thus passed his preliminary examination for admission to the bar. In 1887, while still reading law, he was ap- pointed deputy county treasurer, under Thomas E. Howe, and also served under the next treasurer, C. J. Maver. When he entered the office he was the youngest official in the county. After leaving the court house he engaged in mercantile business at Ebensburg, elosing the business in the spring of 1897 for the purpose of engaging in the implement trade as the representative of the Johnston Harvester Com- pany, of Batavia, New York. His knowledge of machinery and farm life were scon demonstrated, and the company sent him to take charge of their immense business in Michigan and Ohio. He was promoted from time to time, and finally sent to North Carolina, where he had full charge of the two Carolinas. Desiring to be at home, he resigned his position, refusing an offer to represent the company in their South American trade. In the spring of 1903 he was engaged by the Penn- sylvania Coal & Coke Company as their purchasing agent, and bought up many acres of coal and surface land in Cambria county.
In 1903 he was appointed deputy sheriff, under Samuel Lenhart, and was still serving in that capacity when "The Grange National Bank of Patton" was opened, August 8. 1906. He was one of the organizers of this bank and was made its cashier, in consequence of which he offered to resign the position of deputy sheriff. The sheriff, however, refused to accept his resignation, and he is now filling both positions. Ile belongs to Johnstown Lodge, No. 175, Benevolent Pro-
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tective Order of Elks; Knights of Columbus, No. 522; the Heptasophs, and the Homeless Twenty-six. He and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic church of Ebensburg.
Mr. Bearer married, September 24, 1889, Jennie R., daughter of ex-Sheriff John A. and Jane Ann (Evans) Blair, and they are the parents of three children : Paul T., Byron E. and Roy F.
WILLIAM SCHMIDT, who is the proprietor of one of the most flourishing establishments in this section of the country, with gar- dens, hothouses, etc., located in Westmont, opposite Grand View ceme- tery, and salesrooms at No. 208 Franklin street, Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania. is, as the name indicates, a representative of a German family.
He was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, September 16, 1863, and at the age of nineteen years left his native land in order to seek his fortunes in the new world. He came to America in 1882, settled in Johnstown, and has made that eity his home since that time. His school education was obtained in his native country, and by means of study- ing the English language in the evenings and during all his spare mo- ments. he found no difficulty in obtaining employment in America. He was variously engaged until 1894, when he entered the employ of a man by the name of Stahl, a florist, for whom he worked conscienti- ously and faithfully unti! 1901. At this time he purchased the busi- ness of his employer, ineluding the extensive gardens and hothouses, located opposite the cemetery, and by his enterprise and careful busi- ness methods has made an eminent success of this undertaking. He has an enviable reputation throughout. the business world of Cambria county for reliability and practical business methods. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and his political affiliations are with the Inde- pendent party. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
He married, 1888. Lena Zimmer, daughter of George and Helena Zimmer, who emigrated from Germany in 1869, and they have two children.
JOSEPH C. LAUFFER. The name that heads this sketch is that of a man who is and has been for a number of years prominently identi- fied with the public interests and welfare of Portage, Cambria county, Pennsylvania. His business interests are largely in the real estate and insurance fields. He is of German descent, and has inherited the habits of thrift and industry that predominate in those of that country.
Valentine Lauffer, father of Joseph C. Lauffer, was born in Ger- many in 1828. He was one of a party who came to this country in 1829, and when a youth accepted a position as coachman for Dr. Shune- barger, the great ironmaster of the Sayer furnace, and this he held for some years. He then bought a farm at Poplar Run, about 1866 or '67, and lived on and cultivated it until 1872, when he sold it and re- moved with his family to Portage. At the first call to arms made by President Lincoln, Mr. Lauffer responded, ready to lay down life in defense of the country which he called his own. He enlisted in Com- pany A. Fifty-fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served with great bravery. He was actively engaged in a number of the most important confliets of that time-second battle of Bull Run, Fortress Monroe, New Orleans, Gettysburg, and the battle of the Wilderness. He returned to Blair county at the elose of the war, but injuries which
Vol. III-27
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he had received disabled him for active work during the remainder of his life. Later he again went to Portage, where he lived a retired life until his death, which occurred in 1899. He was a member of the United Brethren church, and in polities was a Republican. He mar- ried, in 1852, Mary A. Miligan. of Blair county. Their children were : 1. Sarah, born 1854; married George Gunnett. 2. Frank, born 1856; married Martha Plumer, of Cambria county ; contractor and builder. 3. Elizabeth, born 1858, died at the age of twenty-two years. 4. Ellen, born 1860; married Caleb Plumer, postmaster of Portage; she died in 1904. 5. Clara, born 1862; married S. Yoder, of Clearfield county, Pennsyl- vania: died at the age of twenty-two years. 6. William, born 1864; living at Portage: a carpenter. 7. Joseph C., subject of this sketch. 8. Margaret, born 1867: married Albert A. Alanbough, of Cambria county ; died in 1902. 9. Ida. born 1869; married Orlando Stultz, of Blair county. 10. Albert, born 1870; married Lena Krugg, of Blair county. 11. Blanche, born 1872, is a music teacher in Portage. 12. George, born 1874, died at the age of five years. The mother of these children died October, 1902.
Joseph C. Lanffer, third son and seventh child of Valentine and Mary A. (Miligan) Lauffer, was born in Poplar Run, Blair county, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1866. He received a good education in the com- mon schools of his township, and then entered upon his business career. His first work was in the coal mines, and he worked there fifteen years. Later he was in the employ of the Pennsylvania Company, and then turned his attention to the business of life insurance for some time. He then became interested in real estate business and general insurance, and is engaged in this at the present day (1906). He has been very successful, as he is enterprising and progressive. He is popular in social, financial and political circles. His political affiliations are Republican, and he has held various offices. He was elected auditor of the borough in 1897-1898 and 1899; was appointed collecter of the borough, and took the census in 1900; and was elected justice of the peace in 1904, an office which he filled very acceptably. In the spring of 1906 he was elected burgess of Portage. He is a member of the Lutheran church. He married, January 1, 1902, Augusta Hess, of Portage, and they have three children: 1. Ethel, born June 9, 1903. 2. Harry, born April 1, 1904. 3. Laura Althea Grace.
Mrs. Lauffer was born in Westphalia, Germany, April 7, 1878, the daughter of August and Dora (Bruning) Hess. The father, August Hess, served in the Franco-German war, after which he was high sheriff. He died in his native land in 1880. His widow came to America soon after the death of her husband, locating at Portage, Pennsylvania, where she married Lewis Walters, about 1882. She had four children by her former marriage: William, of California ; Harry, of Laydell; Augusta, and Angust. By the second marriage, three children : Emma, Fred and Edna.
WILLIAM JOHN BEATTY, of Johnstown, was born on Easter Sunday, 1841, in county Cavan, Ireland, son of Snell and Elizabeth Beatty, whose other children were: James, living in Ireland: Eliza, died in 1900: Martha. and Ellen, both of whom are now living in New York. The mother of the family died in April, 1851, and the father passed away in July, 1862.
William John Beatty embarked, August 3, 1865, on the steamer "Moravian," bound for Quebec, whence he continued his journey by
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rail to Brooklyn. In that city he found work in a lead factory, re- maining, however, only four weeks, at the end of which time he pro- ceeded to Lower Yoder township, now a part of Johnstown, Pennsyl- vania. There were then but very few houses in the place, but he secured employment with the Cambria Iron Company. For about ten months he worked as a blacksmith, and was then employed by the same com- pany as a puddler, serving in that capacity until 1872. In that year he became night watchman for the Pennsylvania Central Railroad Com- pany, Sang Hollow Division, and retained this position for some seven- teen years, during which period he was never reported for any misde- meanor, a somewhat unusual record. During his first year of service it fell to his lot to perform an action which has ever since been held in grateful remembrance by those whom he served. One morning, at four o'clock, after running four miles in thirty-five minutes, he pre- vented a train from dashing into a pile of earth and rock which had been washed from the mountainside, thus saving an untold number of lives.
In 1867 he purchased one aere of land in Morrelville, paying for the property in monthly installments. On this land he built a house which is still standing and which was the first house erected on this plan in Morrelville. He still owns the house and the lot on which it stands, but sold the remainder of the acre for five thousand dollars. From time to time he purchased land and other property in Morrelville, and succeeded in disposing profitably of all that he bought. Among his purchases was his present home, known as Esterville, in Lower Yoder township. It comprises eight aeres and one rood, and is situated one mile from Johnstown on a point high enough to command a fine view of the surrounding country, the grounds being encircled with shrubbery of great variety and beauty. An average of twelve thousand quarts of berries is annually raised on the estate and disposed of in the Johnstown market. In 1885 he built two greenhouses, one hundred feet long and having about four thousand feet of glass. These, which were situated in Morrelville, he conducted until 1890, when he disposed of the property. He is a Republican and a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Beatty married, June 3. 1865, Annie J. Barne, and they have been the parents of six sons, two of whom are living: Robert, born September, 1876, and Lee. born March 17, 1883. They also have a daughter, Myrtle, born July 4, 1881.
CHARLES WESLEY HAYNES. The late Charles Wesley Haynes, of Johnstown, was born July 8, 1854, son of John W. and Lovenia (Benford) Haynes. His paternal grandfather, the founder of the family in America, came from England and located in Somerset county, Pennsylvania. John W. Haynes, father of Charles W. Haynes, died in Somerset county, July 4. 1882; his widow at present resides with her only daughter, Mrs. S. A. Peden, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Walter B. Haynes, only brother of Charles W. Haynes, perished in the Johns- town flood of May, 1889.
Charles Wesley Haynes received his education in the district schools of his native state, by dint of intelligence and application reap- ing all the benefit to be conferred by them, which was then not so great as it is now. In 1882 he purchased from Daniel Hershberger property situated in the Seventh ward of Hornerstown, now Johnstown, and in 1884 disposed of it to advantage. In 1883 he bought his father's
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farm in Somerset county. and in the latter part of 1884 disposed of this property also, buying a farm known as the Daniel Ream farm, con- sisting of twenty-nine acres, situated in Upper Yoder township. On this farm Mr. Haynes for many years led the life of a prosperous truck and dairy farmer, carrying on the business for the remainder of his days, and always finding a ready sale for his produce in the Johnstown market. He was a member of the school board of Upper Yoder township, for some ten years holding the offices of president, secretary and treasurer of that body. His political principles were those upheld by the Republican party and he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Haynes married, April 20, 1882, Lovenia M. Berkey, and the following children were born to them, all of whom are living: Scott Earl. born March 29, 1883; Robert Napoleon, born June 1. 1884; Ophelia Catharine, born August 31, 1886, and Thomas, born Decem- ber 4, 1887. Mrs. Haynes was born February 18, 1854, near Stoves- town, Somerset county, and received her education in the district school. On reaching the age of nineteen she learned the trade of tailor- ing, which she followed for some eight years. Her parents were Jona- than and Naney (Gardner) Berkey. who were married in 1849, and whose other children were: Mary, Caroline, Nancy Jane, Eliza Anna, Lucy. Florellia, John W., and William J. All these are living, with the exception of Florellia and Mary. The father of Mrs. Jonathan Berkey is supposed to have been the founder of the family in this coun- try, coming hither from Scotland and settling in Somerset county. Mrs. Jonathan Berkey passed away some thirty years ago, at Hill's View Furnace. Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and Jonathan Berkey died at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1895.
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