USA > Pennsylvania > Cambria County > History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III > Part 74
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him the following children: 1. John J., of whom later. 2. Nicholas, 3 and 4. Margaret and Mary (twins) ; the former married Jesse Delozier, and the latter E. A. Coulter. 5. Sarah married John Mills. 6. George. ". Richard K., deceased, married Agnes Burley. 8. Jacob, married Mary Crice. 9. Michael, ran the first engine on the Portage railroad, married (first) Ann Kepler, (second) Mary Soulsby. The mother of this family died about 1852, and thenceforth Mr. Nagle ยท divided his time among the homes of his children, resigning the management of the farm to his son Richard K. His death occurred about 1857.
John J. Nagle, son of Jacob and Honor (Baum) Nagle, was born November 11. 1803, in Cambria county, and was a farmer and lumber- man. He settled in Carroll township, whence he moved in 1846 to Elder township and there bought a piece of woodland which he cleared and laid out as a farm, passing thereon the remainder of his days. He was a Democrat in politics and a Roman Catholic in religion. He married Bridget. daughter of Teddy Barnical, of Cambria county, the ceremony being performed by Father Gallitzin, who had administered to both the contracting parties in their infancy the rite of baptism. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Nagle consisted of the following children : 1. Sarah, born 1829. wife of James D. McMullen, had five children: Celestine, Allena, Sarah, Marcellus and Joseph. 2. Nicholas, born 1831, married Catha- rine Nagle, had seven children : Elizabeth C., Mary. Thomas, Lucinda, Ida, Aaron and Minnie. 3. Mary A., born 1833. wife of William Good- erham, had seven children : Michael, Celia M., Lydia, Ellen, Henry, Bridget and Mary. 4. Ellen. born 1835, wife of Leonard Hollas, had seven children: John. Mary. Ambrose, Matilda. Allena, deceased ; Am- brose. and James. 5. Margaret M., born 1837. wife of William Rug- gles, had five children : Elizabeth, deceased : Joseph. Thomas, Nettie, and Cartha. 6. Jane, born 1839. wife of William McNulty, had the follow- ing children : William. Henry. deceased : Michael. Mary, Elizabeth, Aus- tin. Pins. Casper. Francis. John and Jane. 7. Michael H., of whom later. 8. Bridget. born 1842, wife of Caleb A. Grey, had ten children : Eleria, Mary E., Edith, Elmira. Margaret, Agnes, John, Edward, An- toinette and Caleb. Mr. Nagle. the father. died February 24, 1881.
Michael H. Nagle, son of John J. and Bridget (Barnical) Nagle, was reared on a farm and early engaged in agricultural labors and in the lumber business. After his marriage he settled on a farm in Elder township, which he still owns. In 1890 he moved to Hastings, where he built a hotel which he conducted for ten years. At the end of that time it was destroyed by fire, and in 1900 he purchased the Susquehanna House. which, by what seemed a fatality, was burned down on August 6 of that year. With indomitable perseverance Mr. Nagle rebuilt on the same site and is still the proprietor of the establishment. He is a Dem- ocrat and a Roman Catholic.
Mr. Nagle married (first). February 5. 1865, Lidia Helfrich, bv whom he became the father of the following children: 1. Elmer E., born October. 19. 1866. married Maggie Gessler. had one child, May Nagle, born July 12. 1894. 2. Martha E., born August 15, 1869. wife of William Plummer, had four children: Nerie, Sylvia, Marie, deceased, and Thomas. 3. Francis E., born November 17. 1874. single, living in Potter county. The mother of these children died November 22. 1874. Mr. Nagle married (second) Catharine. daughter of Philip and Susann Gray. eight children being the issue of the marriage: 1. Magdalene, born May 10. 1877, wife of John McQueeney, has five children : Chester. Jen- nings, Catharine. Jerrald, and Margaret. 2. Annie, born October 20, 1879,
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wife of John Farrel, has three children; Edward, John and Theodore. 3. Cinda, born November 19, 1880, single, at home. 4. Levi, born July 18, 1882, married Nellie MeTigue, has one child. Aldine. 5. Dennis, born April 22, 1884, single, living at home. 6. Rose, born February 2, 1888. 7. Bertha, born January 4, 1890. 8. A child who died in infancy. this being the only link missing in the circle of this large family now represented by two sons and five daughters.
JOHN HONAN, who has been prominently identified with many movements for the improvement of the city of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and who is the proprietor of Honan's Hotel in Iron street, in the fourteenth ward, is in the best sense of the word a self made man, owing his success to his own unaided efforts and am- bition. He was born in Leeds, England, November, 1832, and was but a few years old when he lost his father by death. He was the grand- son of William Honan, who was a weaver by trade.
John Honan was taken to Ireland, to the town of Roserea, in the county of Tipperary, where a brother of his mother resided, and his home was with this relative until he had reached the age of nineteen years. The education of which he is possessed is entirely due to his own efforts to acquire knowledge, as his opportunities for attending school and studying were very limited. He learned the trade of shoemaking, and at the age of nineteen years returned to Leeds, his birthplace, and there followed his trade for several years. He then determined to come to America, thinking that the new world offered a better field for his ambition and enterprise than the old. He took passage in a sailing vessel, "The Queen," which landed him in the city of New York after a voyage of five weeks. He immediately left for Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, arriving there August 15, 1859. He obtained a position as shoemaker in the store operated by the Cambria Iron Com- pany, and retained this for two years, when he engaged in mining under the direction of Tom Butler, and was thus occupied for some eighteen months. He next obtained work in the blast furnaces of the Cambria Iron Company, remained there for several years and was then trans- ferred to the steel works as a laborer. At this time he built his pres- ent hotel, about 1879, conducted it successfully for eleven years, and then retired for a time because of the opposition of president judge, on account of his political opinions. He resumed the conduct of his hotel during the second year of the term Judge O'Connor, and has been actively engaged in it since that time. It has an excellent reputation in every re- spect and is one of the most popular resorts of its size and kind in the city of Johnstown. He has always been a loyal adherent to the Demo- cratic party, served one term in Minersville borough council, and one term in the city of Johnstown since it has been incorporated. He is a devout member of St. Columba's Roman Catholic church.
Mr. Honan married, 1853, in Leeds, England, Bridget White, of Roscrea, Ireland, daughter of William White, who was employed in a distillery, and they have one child living: Bridget, who is the wife of Otis Adams, of Johnstown.
FRANKLIN CHRISSEY, one of the business factors of the bor- ough of South Fork, Cambria county, was born in Somerset county. Pennsylvania, 1851, son of Thomas and Hannah (Woolford) Chrissey. the former of whom was born in Somerset county, 1815. He was a farmer in Shade township, where he bought timber land and cleared it
Vol. III-33
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
up; added the necessary buildings and made for himself a good farm home. He served the township in various official capacities. In his politics he was a Republican, and in church affairs a Lutheran. He set- tled in that location about as early as anyone, and was a man of more than ordinary prominence. He married Hannah Woolford, daughter of Conrad Woolford, and they reared seven children: 1. James, born May 14, 1849. died at the age of fifteen years. 2. Franklin, of whom later. Noah, born June 26, 1853, married Jane Lohr and they have two chil- dren : Ellen, born November 24, 1855, died at the age of twenty-eight years. 5. Isiah, born April 25, 1857, married May Ripple and they had six children : Harvey, Jackson, Anna, and Mary; two died young. 6. Jerome, born May 24, 1859, married Amanda Lambard, who had one child that died in infancy. 2. Lewis, born November 26, 1862, died at three years of age. In 1881 Mrs. Chrissey died and one of her daugh- ters kept house for her father for about three years, at the end of which time he went to the home of his son Noah, at Hooversville, where he died.
Jacob Chrissey, grandfather of Franklin Chrissey, was born in 1774 and came to Shade township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, about 1800. lle married and reared a family of six children: 1. Eliza, died at an old age, single. 2. Aaron, married a Miss Lambert. and they had six children : William, Frances, John, Mary. Eliza. and Jacob. 3. Thomas. 4. Mrs. Frances Walters, who had two children: Harmon and Jacob. 5. Samuel, married Mary Fry and had the following family: Henrietta, Rupert, Norton, George. James, and Samuel. 6. Mary, single. The father of these children lived and died on his old farm. The date of his death was 1842, when he was ninety-eight years old. His son Thomas purchased the farm. He was of English descent, a Lutheran and a Whig.
Franklin Chrissey lived on a farm until he came to South Fork, in 188%, and there he followed teaming and draving until 1900, when he engaged in the meat market and grocery business, which he still operates with his adopted son, Howard E. Mr. Chrissey is a Republican and .has held the offices of borough councilman, constable and school director, holding the latter office for eighteen years. He is a member of the Evan- gelical church and stands for all that a good citizen means.
Mr. Chrissey married Susannah Yoder, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Murphy) Yoder, the former a farmer of Cambria county. grand- daughter of Urnill Yoder and great-granddaughter of Jacob Yoder, who came from Germany.
JOHN MINAHAN, proprietor and manager of the popular City Hotel, located at Nos. 144 and 146 Iron street, Johnstown. Cambria county, Pennsylvania, is a representative of the third generation of the Minahan family in this country. and is descended from a prosperous and well known family of Ireland.
John Minahan, grandfather of John Minahan, was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1806. He received a good education, and at the proper age commenced farming on a large scale. He came to the United States with his wife and one child in 1844, leaving another child with relatives in his native land. They arrived in the city of New York and from there went to Troy, New York, where they made their home until 1849, Mr. Minahan being employed on public works. They then removed to Brady's Bend, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the coke pits until 1853, and then changed their residence to Johnstown, where their home
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
was located in Furnace Row, Minersville, now (1906) the Fourteenth ward of Johnstown. Here he was employed in the coke yards until 1821, when he retired from active work. Both he and his wife were members of St. John Gaulbert's Catholic church. He was a Democrat during his entire life spent in this country, and was an active worker in the ranks of that party. He served as treasurer of the old Millville borough for many years, and also as school director. He was a man of large stature, weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, and his death occurred at his home August 20, 1886. He married Mary Shields, born in Limerick in 1816, died in Johnstown, January 18, 1888. Both she and her husband are buried in Lower Yoder cemetery. Their children were: 1. Patrick, of whom see forward. 2. Catherine, married Richard Dowling and lost her life in the flood. 3. William, who came to the United States in 1846. married Mary Dowling, and died October, 1905. 4. Daniel, married Mary Toomey, died December 24, 1903. 5. John, married Agnes Dailey, was shot by Mickey Smith in August, 1883. 6. Thomas, unmarried. James, unmarried.
Patrick Minahan, eldest child of John and Mary (Shields) Mina- han. was born in Limerick, Ireland. December 1, 1839. He was but five years of age when he was brought to the United States by his parents. and was educated in the public schools of this country. He left school at the age of fifteen years and his first employment was in the Cambria Iron Works. Later he went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and worked in some of the large iron plants there. He removed to Broad Top, Hunt- ingdon county, Pennsylvania, in 1860, and was there employed in the coal mines for a period of six years. While living in this place three of his children were born, and the death of one occurred. He removed with his family to Johnstown in 1866 and there established a home for them in Iron street, in what is now the Fourteenth ward. He obtained em- ployment in the Cambria Iron Works as a hooker in the railway mill until about 1844, the time of the big strike. He then engaged in the livery business in his own ward, continued this for about eleven years. and then having disposed of it profitably he established himself in the hotel business. He built the City Hotel in 1885, and his death occurred in November, 1887. Hle was a devout member of St. John Gaulbert's Catholic church, and an active supporter of the Democratic party. He served in the common council of Millville borough and as tax collector and school director. He was particularly interested in educational mat- ters, being a firm believer in the matter of higher education.
He married, 1859, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Sarah Kennan, and they had children: 1. Mary. 2. Catherine, born in 1863, married John Shields, resided in Cleveland, Ohio, for two years, in Johnstown two years, and then in Homestead, where Mr. Shields met with his death in the mills. 3. John. of whom see forward. 4. Richard, born 1867, died at the age of fifteen years. 5. William, born in 1869, married Ellen Watkins, and resides in the Eighteenth ward. 6. Patrick, born 1871, unmarried, is engaged in the wholesale liquor business in Pittsburg.
John Minahan, third child and eldest son of Patrick and Sarah (Kennan) Minahan, was born in Broad Top, Huntingdon county, Penn- sylvania, July 9, 1865. He was a very young child when brought to Johnstown by his parents, and became a pupil at the parochial school of St. John Gaulbert. He left school at the age of thirteen years and immediately went to work. For a time he was employed in the Cambria Mills, and then drove a team for his brother for two years. For the next twelve years he held a position in the Bessemer steel works, and
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
June 22, 1901, became the proprietor of the City Hotel, the management of which he has personally supervised since that time. He is an enter- prising and progressive man of business and noted for his integrity and reliability. Ile is constantly on the lookout for any improvement which may appear in his particular line of business, and immediately adopts it as soon as convinced of its utility. He is a member of St. Columba's Catholic church, and is an active worker in the ranks of the Democratic party. He is also a member of the Order of Knights of the Golden Eagle.
He married, January 6, 1891, in Johnstown, Mary Higgins, daugh- ter of John and Lucy (Bruton) Higgins, of Johnstown, and they have had children: 1. Vincent, born November. 1891, died in infancy. 2. Josephine, born October 30, 1892. 3. Francis Paul, born February 19, 1894, died November, 1895. 4. Mary Estella, born June 16, 1895. 5. Daniel Bruton, born May 22, 1897. 6 and 7. Catherine and Mary (twins), born June 3, 1901. S. Evelyn, born February 3, 1906.
JAMES P. BURNS. James P. Burns, the well known proprietor of the Arlington Hotel, situated at No. 171 Iron street, Johnstown, Cam- bria county, Pennsylvania, has by ambition, perseverance and energy at- rained the position he now holds. He is a descendant of an honored family of Ireland.
Cornelius Burns, grandfather of James P. Burns, was born in Let- ter-MeAlvord, county Donegal, Ireland, in 1812. He received a good education and was apprenticed to the trade of stone masonry, a calling with which he was connected throughout his life. He later entered into the business of contracting, in which he was successful. He married Catherine Coll, and both died in Ireland. Their children were: 1. Cor- nelius. unmarried, came to the United States in 1850, and located at what is now (1906) South Fork, Cambria county, Pennsylvania. He was in the employ of the construction department of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and died in 1903. 2. James, of whom see forward. 3. John, arrived in the United States in 1851, and also took up his resi- dence at South Fork, where he received employment similar to that of his brother Cornelius. He married, 1864, and they now reside in Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania. 4. Bridget, married Thomas Coll and came to the United States in 1852. They resided in Johnstown for a time and then removed to Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where they died. 5. Nicho- las, came to America in 1871 with his wife and family. He was a cabi- net maker by trade and took up his residence in Cambria City, where he was engaged in this occupation until 1873. During the strike he re- moved to Schuylkill county, rather than participate in it.
James Burns, second son and child of Cornelius and Catherine (Coll) Burns, was born in Letter-McAlvord. county Donegal, Ireland, in 1831. He had but limited opportunities for acquiring an education, as there were no public schools at that time in Ireland, and all the tuition he received was from private teachers. While still a young lad he was employed on neighboring farms and engaged in fishing, as his home was on the sea coast. At the age of nineteen vears he decided to seek his for- tune in the new world, and with the small amount of money he had con- trived to save he paid for his passage to the shores of America. He set out from Liverpool in a sailing vessel for New York, arriving in that city April 10, 1850. His ultimate destination was Johnstown. Cambria county, Pennsylvania, where he had friends from Ireland who had made their home in that city. He was fortunate in obtaining employment with
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a firm of contractors, Moorehead & Packer, who were engaged in the construction of a division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He remained in their employ until 1856, when he located permanently in Johnstown and worked in the ore mines of the Cambria Iron Company. He built a house in Broad street in what is now known as the fifteenth ward, and resided in it until 1871, when he gave up his work in the ore mines. He then purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty-six acres in Lower Yoder township, to which he removed and engaged in agriculture, which was his occupation until his death, January 27, 1878. He was a mem- ber of St. John Gaulbert's Catholic Church. In politics he was a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and an active worker in its ranks. He was elected to the office of tax collector in Cambria City, and later in Lower Yoder township.
He married, 1851, at the Half Way House, now known as South Fork, Mary Kelly, born in Letter-Kenny, Ireland, in 1835, daughter of Darby and Bridget Kelly, of Cambria county, who came to the United States with their children. Mrs. Burns died in 1874, and was buried in the Conemaugh cemetery. Later her remains were exhumed and in- terred beside those of her husband in Lower Yoder cemetery. The chil- dren of James and Mary (Kelly) Burns were: 1. Cornelius, married Annie Coll, and now resides in Morrellville, eighteenth ward. 2. James P. of whom see forward. 3. John, born January 18, 1857, is a stationary engineer. He married and now resides in Chicago, Illinois. 4. Daniel, born March 20, 1861. died October 15. 1893. He married Mary Doyle, and had one son. His widow lives in Chicago, Illinois. 5. Charles, born February 18, 1859, was an alderman of the sixteenth ward for ten years. He married Mima Rogers and resides in the seventh ward. 6. Jerry, born June 10, 1863, married Ida Tauling and resides in the seventh ward. 7. Mary Ann, born September 8, 1865, married Edward Woltz; both deceased. 8. Patrick, born May 14, 1867, died in infancy. 9. Katy, died in infancy.
James P. Burns, second son and child of James and Mary (Kelly) Burns, was born in South Fork. Cambria county, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 25, 1855. During the same year his parents removed to Cambria, where he became a pupil in the public schools of the city. his first teacher being Lizzie MeGurnan, and his last, Mr. Akers. His education was completed at the age of eighteen years. When he was sixteen years of age he commenced to assist his father on the home farm, and at the age of twenty-one he left his home and went into the hard coal regions of Schuylkill county. There he found employment in the mines for the greater part of two years and then returned to Johnstown. He obtained a position as galvanizer in the Gautier works, which he held until the morning of the great flood of May 31, 1889. Prior to this he had also been engaged in the hotel business in the fourteenth ward for a period of about four years. He erected a building for hotel purposes in 1881, on the site now occupied by Schaffer's store, and built his present hotel in 1892. This is a handsome structure, thirty-five by forty-eight feet in extent, containing twenty-one rooms. It is elegantly and comfortably furnished and the appointments are modern and handsome in every re- spect. He and his family are members of St. Columba's Catholic church. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, and he has been an active worker in the interests of that body. He was a member of the council of old Millville borough, and was treasurer of the borough in 1883-84. He was elected to membership in the select
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council of Johnstown in February, 1901. and again in February, 1906. Ile is also a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
He married. June 29, 1880, in Johnstown. Katy Connelly, of Johns- town, daughter of Michael and Susan (Boyle) Connelly, both deceased, and has had children: Daniel. Mayme, married James Hasson, of Johns- town : Susan, Irene, Katy, and Columbus.
BENJAMIN KIST, a retired hotel-keeper and respected 'citizen of Johnstown, was born December 25, 1835, in Baden, Germany, son of Dennis Kist, a well-to-do farmer. He married Mary Fronicker, and they were the parents of seven children. He and his wife both died in their native country.
Benjamin Kist, youngest child of Dennis and Mary (Fronicker) Kist, was sent to school until the age of fourteen, and at sixteen and a half came to the United States, the only one of the family who emi- grated. with the exception of his brother Leonard, who died in Cone- maugh twenty years ago. Benjamin Kist made the voyage from Havre to New York, where he landed a poor boy, unable to speak English. He remained in New York fourteen days, earning the money with which to reach his brother's home in Johnstown. On arriving there he ob- tained work at firing boilers in a saw mill, after which he was employed two years on repair work by a railroad company. He then entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as brakeman between Petersburg and Conemaugh, and for some time was employed on the railroad in different capacities. His next venture was the purchase of a little farm of sixty-eight acres in Conemangh township, which he cul- tivated for several years. In 1887 he moved to town and became the proprietor of a hotel on Portage street, one of the oldest stands in the city. The flood threw him out of business, and in the summer of 1889 he negotiated with the Cambria Iron Company for property on Rail- road street, where he built what has since been known as the Kist Hotel, a brick structure of three stories and fourteen rooms. Two of his sons have succeeded him in the management. For two terms he served in the council of the borough of Conemaugh. Politically he is a Democrat. but liberal in his principles and sentiments. Hle is a member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church.
Mr. Kist married, in Johnstown. in 1862. Margaret, daughter of Frank Sites, a well-known hotel-keeper of Johnstown, and the following children were born to them: Joseph, of Woodville; George, of Cone- maugh; Frank; Harry; Lawrence (all of whom are deceased) ; Charles ; Andrew (proprietors of Kist Hotel, succeeding their father two years ago) ; Leonard, of Lorain, Ohio: Benjamin, of Johnstown; Elizabeth ; and Mary. The daughters are at home.
ADAM HUEBNER, proprietor of the Maple Hotel, on Horner street. Johnstown, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in Cone- maugh township. June 14, 1852, but moved with his parents to Johns- town when an infant.
He was educated in the old Market street school, under Frank Con- don, Mary Gaveby and Mrs. W. H. Rose, of Johnstown. When twelve years of age he left school to assist his father in his blacksmith shop, thus saving the work of a man. When he became fifteen years of age he began to learn the trade of moulder, which, having well mastered. he continued to follow for thirty-five years, during which time he was employed by some of the best concerns in the city in this line of work.
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