USA > Pennsylvania > Cambria County > History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III > Part 65
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
JOHN LUDWIG, deceased, who was closely identified with the wholesale liquor business in the city of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and who was a prime mover in many schemes for the improvement and advancement of the interests of the city, was a mem- ber of an honored family of Germany.
He was born in Alendorf, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, September 2, 1823. He attended the schools of his native place until he had at- tained the age of fourteen years, and the day following his confirmation he went to Biedenkopf, a town a short distance from his home, and there accepted a position as mail carrier in the postoffice. He had been highly recommended as diligent and competent by his teachers, and was employed in the postoffice for ten years. rising step by step until he had attained a position of great trust and responsibility. He then determined to emigrate to America, and set out upon his voyage in a sailing vessel which plied between Bremen and Baltimore. This voyage took fifty- four days. He remained in Baltimore almost a year, but not being able to find profitable clerical work set about learning the trade of coopering. He was obliged to pay for his tuition, but later made good use of his knowledge. From Baltimore he went to Johnstown, Pennsylvania. and being unable to find suitable employment he went to Scalp Level, where he was employed as a cooper until the following spring. In the mean- time his betrothed had come to America. and they were married and commenced their housekeeping in a small log house which stood on
-
John Ludwig
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Åstør, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. 1909
-
THE NEA VORK PUBLI LIBRARY
Astor, no: ind Tildon Four jations. 1909
Geol Launching
453
HISTORY OF CAMBRLA COUNTY.
Jackson street, on ground which is in front of the Andrew Foster resi- dence. Soon after Mr. Ludwig sought other and more profitable em- ployment, and when the old iron bridge was built across the creek he was employed on that undertaking. But work was scarce at that time. He found a position with the Cambria Iron Works, and held this for about twenty years, and then, in 1874, bought the wholesale liquor store of John Crouse, in Washington street. Subsequently he took his son Henry into partnership, and after the great flood of May 31, 1889, his son George also became a member of the firm. Mr. Ludwig continued to take an active interest in this business until the time of his death whiche occurred May 20, 1896. After removing from the old log house his home for many years was in Bedford street, opposite the present Von Lumen residence. From thence he removed to the house he had erected on Main street, in 1883, which is now (1906) occupied by the widow of his son George. He and his wife visited their native country in 1882, going to their old home in as nearly the fashion as was the customary mode of traveling in the days of their childhood. They traveled in a post chaise, riding with the coachman, and blew the post horn just before entering the village, as Mr. Ludwig had frequently done when a young lad. During the great flood which caused such devastation in Johns- town and its vicinity Mr. Ludwig's house had but seven inches of water in the first floor. The day following the flood he threw open his home to others less fortunate than himself, feeding many hundreds of people and giving shelter to seventy-five persons every night. He was noted for his extreme liberality in all cases deserving of help, and was highly es- icemed by all the community. In polities he was a stanch Democrat, and he and his wife were consistent members of the German Lutheran church. He was an office holder and one of the organizers of the three German Lutheran churches first erected in Johnstown.
He was married by the Rev. Saam, March 25, 1850, to Catherine Hoerle, born in Biedenkopf, Germany, December 9, 1825, a sister of Caspar Hoerle, one of the old and prominent citizens of Johnstown. She died July 7, 1889, and is buried beside her husband in Grand View cemetery. The children of John and Catherine (Hoerle) Ludwig were: 1. Mary, born August 12, 1851, died at the age of ten years. 2. Justine, born February 9, 1853, married John Henning. and died in Johnstown in 1884, leaving two sons; Ludwig and Hermann. 3. Henry, born Oct- ober 20, 1854, married Catherine Gearhart. Both were drowned in the flood of 1889, and left three children: John and Catherine, twins, and Olga. 4. Amelia, born February 24, 1857, now resides in Fayette street, Westmont. She has devoted her life to the care of her nephews and nieces, five in number, who were left orphans in infancy and childhood. 5. Charles, born May 24, 1859, married. Mary Rittweger, and was drowned in the flood. 6. George, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. 7. Anna, born April 2, 1864, married (first) August Young, who was drowned in the flood, and married (second) Emil Roth. manager of the Ludwig liquor store, and has one son: Hermann. 8. Clara, born August 6, 1866, married Charles Pimlott, a merchant of Bos- well, and has children: August, George, Florence and Charles. 9. John Philip, born June 7, 1870, died February 17, 1872.
GEORGE WILLIAM LUDWIG, deceased, was closely identified with the commercial and financial interests of the city of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, for many years, and conducted a whole- sale liquor business at No. 540 Washington street.
Vol. III-29
454
HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
His father, George William Ludwig, son of John and Catherine (Hoerle) Ludwig. was born in Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsyl- vania. November 20, 1860. He was educated in the public schools of his native city. and then spent several terms in the Iron City Business College, Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, where he obtained a thorough business training in preparation for his entrance into his father's business. Ile then became associated with his father as a partner in the wholesale liquor business of the latter, and this partnership continued until the death of the elder Mr. Ludwig. At the time of the flood in 1889 George W. and his father were in the place of business in Washington street, en- gaged in bringing some of the goods with which the place was stocked to the upper floors. The door was locked, and someone broke the glass in the upper part of it and told them that the dam had burst. They im- mediately rushed to the upper floor where the water followed them so rapidly that they were penned in a room without any means of exit. George W. tried to beat an opening with an iron bar, when an old portion of the building floated away in the rear and thus offered them a means of escape from their perilous position. They jumped on some passing debris just as the front portion of their building collapsed, and while passing a house on Locust street. George W. was pulled out of his danger- ons position, but his father refused to trust further in brick structures and was carried away as related above. Young George W. did not know that his father had been rescued until the evening of the following day.
Mr. Ludwig was an active and enterprising man of business, and was noted in business circles for his sterling integrity and reliable busi- ness methods. He had many friends throughout the city, was very char- itable, but always in an unostentatious manner. He contracted a severe cold in 1902 which developed into a pulmonary affection which resulted in his death, December 22, 1904. Mr. Ludwig had spent some eleven months in Las Vegas, New Mexico, returning October 1, 1904, just prior to his death. His remains were interred in Grand View cemetery. He was associated with the German Lutheran church from his early boy- hood days. and his political affiliations were with the Democratic party. He was a member of the Johnstown Turn Verein, the Germania Quartet Club, and Johnstown Lodge No. 115, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
He married. April 11. 1892, in Johnstown, Elizabeth L. von Alt, who still resides at the old home, No. 662 Main street. She is the daugh- ter of George and Elizabeth (Doering) von Alt, the former deceased, the latter residing with her daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig had children : Carl D., Amelia K., Dorothy Elizabeth. who died at the age of six years. and Esther Mary.
GEORGE HUNTLEY, prominent citizen of Ebensburg, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and proprietor of an old-established hardware store in that town, is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of this country who emigrated from England. The founder of the family was the great-grandfather of George Huntley.
Huntley, grandfather of George Huntley, was born in Massachusetts. He came to New Hampshire with his father and an uncle. The latter went west (to York state), which was at that time a border country, and it was supposed that he was killed by the Indians, as nothing more was ever heard from him.
Selden Huntley, son of Huntley, was born in Harlen. New Hampshire, in 1298. When quite a young man he learned the trade of
455
HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
a blacksmith and worked at this until within two years of his death, when he was compelled to retire from active work, owing to the serious nature of injuries he had received in an accident some time previously. He lived at first in Concord, New Hampshire, removed to Chelsea. where he met and married his wife, and in 1838 removed to Brookfield, in which town he died in 1862. He married Dorothy Spiller, born in Chel- sea. Vermont. in 1800, and who lived to the advanced age of eighty years. She was one of a large family of children, all of whom lived to a good old age. Mr. and Mrs. Huntley had eight children, of whom five are now living: 1. Marinda, widow of John Conant, resides at Barre, Vermont. 2. John, residing on the old homestead at Brookfield, Vermont. 3. George, of whom later. 4. Newcomb. lives in Northfield, Vermont. 5. Harriet, married Asa Harrington, of Barre, Vermont.
George Huntley, third child and second son of Selden and Dorothy (Spiller) Huntley, was born in Chelsea, Orange county, Vermont, l'eb- ruary 4, 1831. At the early age of ten years he began to contribute to the support of the family, and from that time all the schooling he was able to obtain was during the short winter terms of three months each. The teachers in that section were capable and efficient, and he received a good grounding in algebra, astronomy, philosophy and kindred branches, and may be said to have obtained a really excellent education for that time. Upon attaining his eighteenth year, in the fall of 1849, he left home and went to Trumbull county, Ohio, where he stopped with a farmer who had settled there after leaving Vermont. He remained here for one year, attending school for another term, and working on the farm during the summer. He started for Pennsylvania, in November, 1850, going by canal from Warren, Ohio, to Beaver, Pennsylvania : from Beaver to Pitts- burg by steamer; from Pittsburg to Blairsville by canal; here he re- mained for one month, going then on foot to Ebensburg, Cambria county, where he arrived with three dollars in his pocket. He immediately ap- prenticed himself to a carpenter, as being a profitable trade, but the man under whom he was working was a very dissolute man, and young Hunt- ley left him and apprenticed himself to a tinsmith, learning that trade thoroughly. Upon the completion of his apprenticeship he was employed by Robert Davis & Company, foundrymen. to conduct a shop for them. Three years later this firm dissolved partnership, and Mr. Huntley pur- chased the shop, doing a general line of tinning business and carrying a full line of stoves and their furnishings in addition. Two years later he opened, in connection with this. a general hardware store, which was the first of its kind in the county north of Johnstown. This business has become known far and wide, and is in a very flourishing condition, Mr. Huntley having conducted business here for fifty years. Mr. Huntley is a stanch Republican ; has served as burgess of Ebensburg, as member of the town council and as a member of the school board. He is one of the well known men of Ebensburg, and his reputation for integrity and many other sterling qualities is unsurpassed.
He married, August -, 1854, Mary A. Roberts, daughter of Will- iam Roberts, who owned and managed a public house on the old Stone Pike for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Huntley have had six children: 1. Alma, married William R. Smith, of Aspinwall, Pennsylvania ; their chil- dren are four in number : Charles, Bert, Wilma and Ina ; of those, Charles married, has no children : Bert, married, has one child: Wilma, married. has one child, William Roberts. 2. Carrie, deceased, married Samuel J. Humphreys ; she left three children : Vida. Huntley and Jane. 3. Selden.
456
HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
resides in Cleveland, Ohio. 4. Minnie, lives at home. 5. George, de- ceased. 6. Leonard, assists his father in the latter's store; he married Elizabeth C. Jones, have two daughters: Mary M. and Clarinda E.
JOHN MURPHY, M. D., a well known physician and druggist of Loretto, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, is descended from a family the earlier members of which were among the first settlers of the state of Pennsylvania.
Michael Murphy. grandfather of Dr. John Murphy, was born in Cambria county, Pennsylvania. Little is known of his history, save that he married and raised a family there.
John Murphy, son of Michael Murphy, was born in Cambria county, Pennsylvania, in 1834. He was a carpenter by trade, and was employed at Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Catholic church, and his political faith was Democratic. Shortly after his marriage, in 1854, to Incinda. Todd, daughter of David Todd, ex-treasurer of Cam- bria county, Pennsylvania, Mr. Murphy contracted pneumonia, which resulted in his death early in 1855. His wife died the following May. They left one child, John, the subject of this sketch.
John Murphy, M. D., only child of John and Lucinda (Todd) Mur- phy, was born in Ebensburg, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, September 23. 1855. His father died before his birth and his mother shortly after it, and he was taken in charge by his maternal grandparents and raised by them. He was the recipient of a most excellent education, attending first St. Francis' college at Loretto, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and later the Hahnemann Medical college. in Chicago, Illinois, from which he graduated in 1878. He immediately began the practice of his pro- fession, locating in Gallitzin, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, where he remained for the next three years. He then removed to Loretto, in the same county, where in 1903 he opened a drug store in connection with his medical practice. which is a large and lucrative one. The greater part of his time which is not taken up by his patients is devoted to study and medical research, and he has in consequence kept well abreast of the times in his chosen profession. He has at the same time acted as a public spirited citizen. and has served the borough in various public ca- pacities. He affiliates with the Republican party, and is a member of the Catholic church.
He married, in 1879, Anna Selbitsz, daughter of Charles Selbitsz, and they had children: 1. Maria. resides at home. 2. Margaret, is a nurse in a Pittsburg hospital. 3. Nellie, lives at home.
JAMES GIBBS HASSON, who was formerly a leader in the news- paper world of Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and postmaster of the town of Ebensburg, and who is now living in retirement from business activity, traces his descent to Ireland.
Michael Hasson. the founder of the family in America, was born in County Derry. Ireland, 1810. He enjoyed the advantage of a classical education. obtained in Belfast college, Belfast, Ireland, and while still a young man crossed the ocean in order to seek the fortune which might await him in the new world. He landed in Quebec, Canada, where he taught for one year, and then came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he met a Catholic priest from Newry. Blair county, Pennsylvania, who was looking for a young man who was able to teach Greek and Latin, and persuaded young Hasson to go to Newry with him. Here he taught for about three years. While engaged upon this educational work he met
457
HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
Michael Dan Magehan, of Ebensburg, one of the foremost lawyers and prominent men of Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and by him was in- duced to go to Ebensburg and study law in his office. At the same time he was pursuing his law studies, he and Judge R. L. Johnston were teach- ers in the Ebensburg Academy and they were admitted to the bar on the same day. Mr. Hasson opened a law office in Ebensburg and became one of the prominent attorneys of Cambria county. He resided in Ebens- burg up to the time of his death, October 9, 1866. His political affilia- tions were Democratic, and in 1846 he was chosen by his party to repre- sent them in the state legislature. In 1857 he was elected register and recorder of Cambria county, serving three years. He also served as dis- triet attorney of Cambria county for about three years, in the forties, as burgess of Ebensburg, and was always active in the public affairs of the borough. He was an honored member of the Catholic church. He married Susan Myers, who was the widow of John Scanlan, and they had one son. James Gibbs.
James Gibbs Hasson, only child of Michael and Susan (Myers) (Scanlan) Hasson, was born in Ebensburg, Cambria county, Pennsyl- vania, May 1, 1847. He was reared at home, acquiring a good education in the public schools of Ebensburg. At the time of the death of his father he was reading law under the latter's preceptorship. This made an entire change in the plans which had been formed for him and he gave up the study of the law. For several years he was employed in the court house in various capacities : As deputy sheriff, deputy prothonotary and deputy recorder. In 1884 he purchased the Cambria Freeman, for- merly the Democrat and Sentinel, a paper which had at one time been edited by Mr. Hasson's father. He had previously been a contributor to the local papers for a number of years, and had obtained his editorial knowledge in his father's office. He had been engaged in the printing business for about twenty years, and made the Freeman the leading Demo- cratic sheet of the county. He sold it in July, 1903, and retired to pri- vate life. He was postmaster during Grover Cleveland's first adminis- tration. and served as a member of the borough council of Ebensburg. He is a member of the Catholic church.
Mr. Hasson married, October -. 1869, Clemenza Williams, daugh- ter of Thomas J. Williams, and they have had four children: 1. John M., lives in Ebensburg. 2. Thomas H., an attorney in Pittsburg. 3. Charles, an attorney in Ebensburg. 4. S. Mary, deceased.
F. W. EICHER, one of the prominent citizens of Portage, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, proprietor and editor of the Portage Press, is known as one of the public spirited men of the borough. His family settled in this country many years ago, and he is descended from German and Irish ancestry.
Samuel Eicher, grandfather of F. W. Eicher, was born in Brush Valley, Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and came to Bedford county when a young man, settled on a farm, and made the cultivation of it his life work. He was one of the first settlers of Queen township, and was con- sidered one of the most successful farmers in the entire vicinity. His death occurred in 1901. at the age of eighty-two years. He was a mem- ber of the Lutheran church, and affiliated with the Democratic party. He married Nancy Riddle, and they had children: 1. William. 2. Jack- son. 3. May J. 4. Alexander. 5. Lizzie. 6. George. 7. Alice. 8. David. 9. Frederick. 10. A child who died in infancy. 11. James, of whom later.
458
HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
James Eicher, son of Samuel and Nancy (Riddle) Eicher, was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1854. He was a very thrifty, industrious man, working in the coal mines as a laborer for about twelve years. At the end of that period of time he had amassed sufficient capital to enable him to purchase a farm, and the cultivation of this occupied the rest of his life. He pursued his occupation with energy and pleasure and obtained the most satisfactory results. Like his father he was a member of the Lutheran church, but unlike him in politics, he was an ardent adherent of the Republican party. He died October 12, 1900. He married Elizabeth Long, and had children: 1. F. W., of whom further. 2. Lucy, born April 10, 1880, married Albert Gantner. 3. Edgar, born 1882. 4. Crawford, born 1884. 5. James II., born 1889.
F. W. Eicher, eldest child of James and Elizabeth (Long) Eicher, was born in Bedford county. Pennsylvania, in 1872. He received his education in the public schools of his native township and then served for several years in clerical positions, first with W. H. Mondy, and later with C. G. Cristo. He then entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as brakeman. He left this after a time and then returned to Portage, accepting a position with the Keystone Supply Com- pany as manager of their store. Later he started a weekly paper called the Portage Press. When he commenced the publication of this paper he printed by means of a small hand press, and from this small beginning, his business has risen to its present proportions. His office is now equipped with all modern improvements, and he undertakes and carries out in an excellent manner any orders with which he is commissioned. He is cashier of the First National Bank, and is a man of considerable influence in financial and social circles. His methods are progressive. and he keeps well abreast of the times. In politics he is a Republican, was elected burgess in 1903. and filled that office very ereditably and ac- ceptably.
He married February 14, 1900, Lillian Handerson, and they have four children: 1. Hazel. born December 24, 1900. 2. Ray, born Au- gust, 1902. 3. Elizabeth, born October 25. 1903. 4. James, born Feb- ruary 24, 1906.
JOHN A. SCHWAB, a well known citizen of Loretto, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and prominently identified with the manufactur- ing interests of that county, traces his descent to German ancestors.
Charles Schwab, father of John A. Schwab, was born in the province of Baden, Germany, in 1810. He emigrated to the United States in 1830 and settled in Bedford. where he learned the trade of weaving. From thence he came to Cambria county, and then removed to William- sport. Blair county, where he engaged in the manufacture of wochen goods. While thus engaged he obtained large contracts from the govern- ment for army blankets, and remained in Williamsport until 1875, when he disposed of his contracts and removed to Loretto, where he passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring in 1886. He led a quiet, re- tired life, refraining from seeking any political publicity. He was a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and a member of the Catholic church. He married Elinor Myers, who was born on the ocean during the voyage of her parents to this country. She was the daughter of John B. and Catharine (Mvers) Myers, the former a native of Germany, and who emigrated to the United States in 1830. He settled in Loretto, where he purchased a farm on which he lived until 1870, when he re- tired from active work and removed to Loretto, where his death occurred
459
HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
in 18:4. Ile was a member of the Catholic church, and a Republican. The children of Charles and Elinor (Myers) Schwab were: 1. Cather- ine, born 183; married John Nole. 2. John A., the subject of this sketch. 3. Martin, born 1842; resides in Loretto. 4. Peter, born 1844; married Ward, of Ebensburg. 5. May, born 1846; married William Lang; resides in Duquesne. 6. Martena, born 1848; married John Trexler; died 1903. 2. Elinor, born 1850; married John Hoke; resides at Cresson. 8. William, born 1854; married Elizabeth Ivory; re- sides at Loretto.
John A. Schwab, second child and eldest son of Charles and Elinor (Myers) Schwab, was born in Cambria county, Pennsylvania, August 11, 1839. He received his early education in the common schools of Loretto, and then learned the trade of weaving. He was the foreman in the woolen factory of his father in Williamsburg, and during the Civil war was drafted. His father had an extensive contract on hand for army blankets, and upon his representations that he could not dispense with the services of his son and execute the contract as it should be, John A. was released from duty. When his father disposed of his factory John A. returned to Loretto, in 1875, and there started a livery stable, which he conducted until 1890, when he retired from active business life. He has always been a public spirited citizen, and has served the borough in various capacities. He has been school director almost continuously since 1875. Like his father, he is a member of the Catholic church, but, unlike him, he is a member of the Democratic party. August 8, 1906, the Grange National Bank of Patton was opened for business, in which Mr. Schwab was one of the organizers and was made president of same, receiving the unanimous vote of one hundred and sixty stockholders. Ile is also connected with the Martinsburg National Bank, and director in the Williamsburg National Bank. He is also president of the new de- partment store of Williamsburg, Pennsylvania.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.