USA > Pennsylvania > Cambria County > History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Volume III > Part 88
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Mr. Baldwin married, Sevilla Fornwalt, daughter of Peter and Susan (Kiefer) Fornwalt, of Shanksville, and they have had children: 1. George. born September 6. 1871, was educated in Cross Roads, Somer- set county, Pennsylvania. He was employed by the Pennsylvania Traf- fic Company for eight years, but is now in business for himself as a contractor for hauling building materials, and employes two teams constantly. He married Pearl Hammers, and has had children : Glenn, Gladys, Pearl, Mary and Earl. 2. Nellie, born May 12, 1875, married George Sutliff of Latrobe, and has children: Charles, William and Clarence. 3. Justus, born April 17, 1877; married Laura Connor and resides in Johnstown. 4. Clarenee, born August 12, 1879. He was employed for two years in the Pollen Carpet Store, at Greensburg, and is now in the furniture business of Rotherl & Company, of Johnstown. 5. Newton. born May 2, 1882, resides in Los Angeles. California. 6. Myrtle, born February 25. 1889. 7. Harry.
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EPHRAIM REAM, of Dale borough, Johnstown who has been fre- quently called upon, both in his present residence and in his former home in Bedford county. to serve his neighbors in offices of trust and respon- sibility, was born April 14, 1849, in Richland township, Cambria county, son of Elias 'Reain, grandson of Samnel Ream, and great-grandson of John Ream, whose father, Elrich or Ulrich Ream, came from Germany and was one of the pioneers of western Pennsylvania, founded the American branch of the family. His son. John Ream, was the father of three sons: Samuel, of whom later; John and Adam.
Samuel Ream, son of John Ream, married Elizabeth Reighart, who bore him the following children : Elias, of whom later. Peter, of whom little is known, Jonathan, married Tillie Griffin. Frances, wife of Jona- than Caster. Lydia, wife of a Mr. Hostetter. Daniel, married Sarah Ream. Jacob, married (first) Maggie Jenkins, (second) a Miss Ford. Samuel, married Mary Cristman and went west. Delilah, wife of George Wigley. Mary. married ( first ) Crist Gochenauer, (second) Samuel Albaugh, Hen- rietta, wife of a Mr. Hostetter. Elizabeth, wife of Tobias Livingston.
Elias Ream. eldest son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Reighart) Ream, was born in Cambria county, where he passed his life as a farmer and blacksmith, always possessing the respect and esteem of his fellow-citi- zens. Elias Ream was thrice married. His first wife was Jane Custer, by whom he had the following children : Mary N., died young. Fred- erick, also died young. Daniel, died in childhood. Ephraim, of whom later. Sophia, born April 15, 1851. After the death of the mother of these children Mr. Ream married Elizabeth Custer, and their children were : Samnel, born January 18, 1853. Christiana, born July 11, 1855, wife of James Dronesfield. Jonathan, born August 12, 1856. Peter K., born January 23, 1859. Susannah, born June 11, 1860, died March, 1873. Elizabeth, born October 30, 1862, died April, 1865. The third wife of Elias Ream was Barbara Blough, and by her he became the father of four children : Catharine, born February 20, 1864. William, born June 8, 1866. Francis. born May 11. 1868. Henrietta, born August 2, 1871.
Ephraim Ream, son of Elias and Jane ( Custer) Ream, grew up on the home farm. acquiring his education in the common schools of his native township. He learned the blacksmith's trade under the in- struction of his father, and afterward obtained a knowledge of the carpenter's trade from John Strayer, working at the latter for three years. In 1875, after his marriage, he moved to Bedford county, where he purchased land and for fourteen years engaged in general farming. He then sold out and in 1891 took up his abode in Dale borough, where he bought property and erected his present residence. He entered the service of the Cambria Steel Company as carpenter, a position which he still holds. While in Bedford county he was school director for seven years, and during a portion of that time served as president of the board. He also held the office of tax collector for three years. Since he has been a resident of Dale borough his neighbors have elected him to the borough council for two years, and he has served three years on the school board. He is an active member of the Evangelical church.
Mr. Ream married, in 1875, Nancy J. Moek, and they have had the following children : Carrie B., born March 27, 1876, wife of L. C. Varner, in lumber business at Portage; children: Edward, Henry, Helen and Ralph. Samuel E., born January 10, 1878, married Edith Coleman, children : Richard C. and Marian T. Mary Ellen, born October 27, 1880, wife of John Graneling, children : Arthur S., Orville J. and Russell. John
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Henry, born January, 1882, died October 24. 1884. William E., born November, 1884. died August 8, 1889. Katie, born June 14, 1889.
Mrs. Ream is a daughter of William A. Mock, and a granddaughter . of Samuel and Barbara ( Emsbangh ) Mock, the former a son of David Mock. William AA. Mock was the proprietor of a general store at Pavia, Bedford county. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company K, Fifty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Foster's Farm, serving at that time with the rank of sergeant. His wife was Catherine Schull, and their daughter, Nancy J., wife of Ephraim Ream. was born at Pavia. Bedford county.
WILLIAM TURNER, a well-known real estate dealer of Johnstown, was born in England, and in 1887 came to the United States. The greater part of the next ten years he spent in Philadelphia, and in 1897, on the occasion of his marriage, moved to the neighborhood of Moxham, Johns- town. He has since made his home in this vicinity and now resides on the Von Lumen homestead. His attention is given to the real estate busi- ness, in which he is somewhat extensively engaged.
Mr. Turner married, in 1897, Clara, widow of Alonzo Rodgers, and daughter of the late Charles and Catharine (Berkabeil) Von Lunen of Shade township. The children of Charles and Catharine (Berkabeil) Van Lunen were as follows: Clara, widow of Alonzo Rodgers, and wife of William Turner. Henrietta, wife of Dr. Woodruff. Emma, deceased, was wife of George Hager. Anna, wife of Charles Hager. Minna, wife of Dwight Roberts.
ROBERT J. BOWMAN, of Johnstown, engineer for the Lorain Steel Company, was born April 10, 1870, on his father's farm in Somer- set township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, son of Jerome Bowman, and grandson of Henry Bowman, a native of Germany, who came to the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. He settled in Somerset county, where he purchased and cultivated a tract of land. His wife bore him the following children : Emmanuel, deceased, married a Miss Cassbeer, children : Mahlon, Amanda, Sarah, Cassie, Ida, Samuel and Anna. Eli, married Mary Lohr, children : Samuel, William and Magdalene, Sanmel W., Jerome, of whom later, Catharine.
Jerome Bowman, son of Henry Bowman, was born September 17, 1834, and reared on the homestead in Somerset county, receiving his education in the common schools of that period. He learned the black- smith's trade, manufacturing hand-made axes and nails. He was en- gaged at this trade at the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company G, Fifty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served three years with distinction, taking part in many of the battles in which the Army of the Potomae was engaged, and in one of these battles he was severely wounded, losing his right arm. This terminated his military career, and he was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. For a short time after his return home he managed his own farm, and then went into the hotel business, conducting hotels success- fully in Garrett and Jenners. He then opened a grocery store in Johns- town, selling out and retiring only a few weeks before the great flood of 1889. He is now in Nevada, administering the estate of his brother, Samuel W. Bowman. He has held various minor offices, and for several terms served as county commissioner. In politics he is a stanch Republi- cal.
Jerome Bowman married Harriet Ankeny, born May 24, 1840, and
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they are the parents of the following children: Franklin P .; Ida; Edward S., born February 9, 1860: Robert J., of whom later; and Margaret M., born November 21, 1876. Mrs. Bowman, the mother of these children, died in 1903.
Robert J. Bowman, son of Jerome and Harriet (Ankeny ) Bowman, grew up on his father's farm, receiving his education in the common schools of his native township. He learned the printer's trade, working at job printing for a Mr. Benshoff. of Johnstown. He followed this calling, however, but a few years, and then entered the service of the Johnson Steel Company, filling successfully the different railroad posi- tions of brakeman. fireman and engineer. In 1900, while serving as fireman, he met with a serious accident, which resulted in the loss of a leg. He now fills the position of engineer with the Lorain Steel Company. running a stationary engine.
Mr. Bowman married Mary E., daughter of George Stalnaker, of Indiana.
WILLIAM D. MILLER, well and favorably known in the busi- ness circles of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and in the entire vicinity. who has been a prime mover in many measures for the improvement of the city, and has held many offices of publie trust and responsibility, traces his descent to Germany.
John Miller, grandfather of William D. Miller, married a Miss Fisher, and among their children were: Reuben, John, David, Ruel, Elizabeth, Daniel, of whom see forward.
Daniel Miller, son of John and --- (Fisher) Miller, was born in Somerset county. He was a cabinetmaker by trade, and in addition to this cultivated a farm very successfully.in Paint township, Somer- set county, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Beabes, who was born in Germany and came to the United States with her parents when she was a young child, and they had children: 1. Caroline, married Josiah Oaks and had children: Albert J., Amanda, Ellen, Lizzie, Ettie, Will- iam, Harvey, Annie and Essie. 2. Mary Ann, married Benjamin Roude- bush, and had children: Galvin B., Rosie, Claud S. and Samuel W. 3. Levi D., married Mary Slater, and had children: Annie, Frederick, George, Enna and Myrtle. 4. Barbara, married Lawrence Grush, and had children : Lizzie, Annie, Tracy, Pearl, Lemon, Maggie, William, Harry, Dora, Elsie and Cloyd. 5. Henry D., married Mollie Repp, and had children : Daniel, Emery, Jessie and Robert. 6. William D., concern- ing whom see forward. 7. Emeline, married Lemon Rose, and had children: Pearl, Clayton and Irene. After the death of Mr. Miller, his widow married Adam Fulmer, and had one child: Henry Benjamin Fulmer.
William D. Miller, third son and sixth child of Daniel and Eliza- beth (Beabes) Miller, was born in Paint township, Somerset county, Penn- sylvania, October 1. 1858. His early years were spent partly in Somer- set and partly in Cambria counties, where he acquired a limited edu- cation in the public schools. This he supplemented in later life by home study and keen observation of men and the times, and he may in the true sense of the word be called a self-made man. At the age of fifteen years he came to Johnstown, a poor lad, with his own way to make in life. ITis first employment was as a farm laborer, and he then apprenticed himself to a carpenter to learn that trade. He subsequently obtained a position in the mechanical department of the Cambria Steel Company, where he remained for four years. He established himself
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HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
in the feed business in Johnstown in 1884, remained in this but a short time, and then engaged in the contracting line. In this undertaking he was very successful. and in 1900 added to it the business of slate roof- ing, and is actively engaged in both at the present time. While pursu- ing contracting and carpenter work, he erected very many homes for the use of those in moderate circumstances in the city of Johnstown. He has a reputation for probity and reliability which is surpassed by none in the city, and those who have once had business dealings with him are sure to return when in need of services of the character which he renders. He has now (1906) been a resident of the borough of Dale for more than eighteen years, and during that time has filled with efficiency a number of public offices. He was a member of the first school board of this borough. holding office for three years-1897 to 1900. He served as justice of the peace for one term, and was elected jury commissioner and treasurer of the borough, filling the latter office for five years. He was elected director of the poor of his county in 1897, and re-elected in 1903, his present term to expire in 1906. His political affiliations have been with the Republican party, and he has been an important factor in the councils of that body. He is a member of the United Evangelical church of Dale, of which he is a trustee, and has been treasurer for the past twelve years. He is also aetive in the work of the Sunday School, being one of the most able instructors.
Mr. Miller married, October 6, 1881, Christiana Custer, born in Richland township, daughter of Samuel H. and Elizabeth (Ribblet) Custer, the former formerly of Richland township, now of Johnstown, and granddaughter of Jacob and Christiana Custer. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had children : Lizzie May, Elsie Ruth and Emily, who died in childhood.
JAMES D. PENROD. who is a successful and enterprising truck- farmer, of Walnut Grove, near the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was born March 8, 1847, on a farm in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, son of Isaac and Susanna ( Shorley) Penrod.
The father, Isaac Penrod, was born in 1820, near Stovestown, Pennsylvania, and at an early age learned the stone-mason's trade, which he followed all his life. He died in 1896. His father, John Penrod, was also a stone mason and he, too, made it his occupation through life. He made a specialty of cutting. and carving tombstones. John Penrod had five children-three sons and two daughters: James, John. Ellen, a daughter who became the wife of a Mr. Friedland, and Isaac, the father of James D. Penrod. Isaac Penrod reared a large family, as follows: 1. Samuel, deceased ; he married a Miss Kumacker, 2. George. 3. Cillian, wedded to Martha Metz. 4. James D., of whom later. 5. Levina, married Adam Varner. 6. Rosanna, wife of Gustavus Riffle. 7. Ellen, married Andrew Snyder, now deceased. 8. Martha, wife of Thomas Espey. 9. Annie, wife of John Kinble.
James D. Penrod was reared in Conemangh township, Cambria county, (now known as Richland township) and acquired his education at the public schools. For a time he worked at agricultural pursuits, but upon the breaking out of the Civil war he was eager to offer his services in the defense of his country and made several futile attempts to enlist. but owing to his extreme youth was refused. In 1864, how- ever, he succeeded in being accepted as a member of the Twenty-first Pennsylvania Cavalry, belonging to Company F, commanded by Captain Richard Rechman. He took part in many of the hard fought battles
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of that war: Weldon Road, Petersburg, Cold Harbor, Ottawa Court House, etc. At the battle of Petersburg he was severely wounded, being shot through the head. He was removed from the battlefield to the Division Hospital and from thence to West Philadelphia Hospital, where he remained three months. After his discharge from the hospital he rejoined his company, which was then with the army operating before Richmond, Virginia. Shortly afterward he was taken prisoner and held until the surrender of Lee to Grant, at Appotomax Court House, when he regained his liberty.
Upon his return from the war he found employment with the Cam- bria Iron Company, with whom he remained until 1889, when the great flood washed away his house. He succeeded in saving all of his family, but nearly lost his own life, being swept away on some wreckage, from which, after several anxious hours, he was with much difficulty rescued. He then removed to Walnut Grove, where he purchased a property of twenty-four aeres, and proceeded to engage in the truck-gardening busi- ness, in which he became quite successful and is still engaged in the same. He makes a specialty of fruit culture and raises large quantities of strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries, apples and other fruits, besides raising many vegetables, including corn and cabbage. He takes much interest in the public school system and has served as school director in his township. many terms in succession. In religion he ad- heres to the Methodist Episcopal faith.
Mr. Penrod married Marietta M., daughter of Abner Griffith and wife. She was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1848. The children by this union are Edgar and Mary Penrod.
LENHART FAMILY. This family, which numbers among its repre- sentatives Milton T. Lenhart, of Johnstown, was originally of Virginia. It was there that Benjamin Lenhart, grandfather of Milton T. Lenhart, was born, and it was thence he emigrated to Pennsylvania. He settled first in Somerset county, afterward removing to Johnstown, where he engaged in the harness business, his shop being situated on Railroad street. His death occurred in 1862.
Samuel Lenhart, son of Benjamin Lenhart, was born September 26, 1831, in Dibertsville, Somerset county. and was brought up in the family of Isaac Kaufman. At the age of eighteen he went to Johns- town, where he was employed by his father in the harness business. In 1853 he opened a store of the same kind in Clinton street, and there conducted a successful business until the great flood of 1889, in which his store and property were washed away and in which he and several members of the family lost their lives. Samuel Lenhart married Mary Duke, and the following children were born to them: Milton T., of whom later, Samuel, Robert, James, Harry, Katie, Emma and Annie. The three daughters perished in the flood.
Milton T. Lenhart, son of Samnel and Mary (Duke) Lenhart, was born in Johnstown, where he received his education in the public schools, afterward attending the evening sessions of a business college and thus acquiring a knowledge of bookkeeping. After the great disaster of the flood he and his brothers formed a partnership and established a new harness business under the firm name of Lenhart Brothers. They conducted the enterprise for about a year and a half, after which the partnership was dissolved, Samnel becoming sole pro- prietor. Milton Lenhart was then for some years engaged in business for himself, finally selling out and entering the service of G. W. Hersh-
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berger. In polities Mr. Lenhart is independent, voting, without regard to party, for the man whom he deems best fitted for the office.
Mr. Lenhart married Emma E. ( Griffith ) Blackburn, born January 16, 1858, on the old homestead in Cambria county, daughter of Eli and Elizabeth (Reighart) Griffith. The latter was born September 1, 1821, in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, daughter of William and Mary Ann Reighart, and died April 16, 1886. The Griffith genealogy is given elsewhere in this work.
Johnson Blackburn, the first husband of Mrs. Lenhart, was born in 1854, in Bedford county, son of George and Sarah (Owens) Blackburn. At the age of thirteen he went with his parents to Kansas and there obtained his edneation and learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked, in connection with contracting, until the close of his life. He afterward returned to Pennsylvania and for some years followed his trade in Johnstown, after which at the request of his parents, he went back to Kansas and engaged in contracting and building. It was in excavating for the foundation of a building that he met with an accident which resulted in his death. This occurred in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn had three children: Lulu Pearl, Lulu Merle and Lloyd Ells- worth.
CHAUNCEY E. FRANK, one of the leading builders and contractors of the city of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, is descended from an old family of Germany. his great-grandfather, the youngest of the family, being the founder of the Frank family in the United States.
Henry Frank, grandfather of Chauncey E. Frank, was a farmer in Somerset county Pennsylvania, where he was the owner of a comfor- table farm. Before he turned his attention to farming he was the owner and manager of a hotel situated on the Conestoga wagon route between Pittsburg and Philadelphia. In polities he was a strong Whig. He married and raised a family of eight children, among whom were: Elizabeth, married John Fichtner; Jacob. married a Miss Weigel; Samuel, see forward: Mary; Sarah, married Joseph Woy; a daughter who married a Mr. Rhodes.
Samuel Frank, son of Henry Frank, was born on the Frank home- stead in Somerset county, Pennsylvania in 1824. There he lived for a number of years, and his education was acquired in the public schools of the district. It was as good a one as that early period afforded. For some time he assisted his father in the management of the home farm, and later purchased a farm which he proceeded to cultivate on his own account, and in which undertaking he was very successful. The greater part of his life was spent in agricultural pursuits. A short time prior to his death, he sold his property and retired from all active work, taking up his residence with his sister, Mrs. Mary Pritz. In polities he affiliated with the Republican party, and was an active worker in the ranks of that body. He married Harriet Barnhart, and they had chil- dren : 1. Cornelius, died in childhood. 2. John, went to Nebraska, mar- ried Josephine --. 3. Charles, married Ellen Herring. 4. Chauncey E., see forward. 5. Ida. 6. Lizzie, twin of Ida, married Daniel Lynch. 7. Lincoln, married Amanda Snyder. 8. Elmer, married Margaret Kring.
Chauncey E. Frank, fourth son of Samuel and Harriet (Barn- hart) Frank, was born on the farm in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1856. He was educated in the public schools of his
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. native township, and at the age of nine years went to the northern part of the county where he worked on a farm. At the age of sixteen years he was apprenticed to learn the trade of carpentering, and, after work- ing for a time as a journeyman in various places, he commenced busi- ness for himself, in 1888, the year previous to the great flood of Johns- town. He was given a number of commissions by the Cambria Iron Company, and was employed by them until 1894, when he went into the contracting and building business, associating himself in a partnership with JJames Gable. This firm has carried on a successful business since that time under the style of Frank and Gable. During the past few years they have contracted for and built many of the finest residences of the city of Johnstown, and they are noted for the reliability of their work in every particular. Mr. Frank is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and an earnest member of the English Lutheran church, in whose interests he has been an active worker, and he has served as trustee of the church for many years. He married Mary Brubaker, daughter of Sammel and Sarah Brubaker, and they have had children : Harry, deceased : Edna, married Otto Franke, and has one child; Anna May ; and Jennie.
JOHN F. DIETZ, one of the best known contractors and builders of the city of Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, who is also prominently identified with the public affairs of the city in which he lives, is a descendant of an honored family of Germany, a member of which settled in this country a number of years ago.
Christopher Dietz, grandfather of John F. Dietz, was born in Ger- many, in 1806. He emigrated to America about the year 1834, and went directly to Jennerstown, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased a tract of heavily timbered land of one hundred and fifty acres, which he cleared and converted into a finely cultivated farm. He was one of the pioneer settlers of that region, and so successful in his undertakings that he amassed a considerable fortune. He devoted much time and attention to the raising of fine fruits, especially peaches, and this was a profitable source of income. He was one of the prominent and influential citizens of his time, taking an active part in any move- ment which tended toward the advancement and welfare of the com- munity. After settling on his farm, his entire life was spent there, and his death occurred in 1878. He married, in Germany, Sarah Barron, and they had children: Christopher, born in Germany; Jacob W., see forward; Eli; Lena, married George Swank; Harriet, married Fred- erick Donges, of Dibertsville.
Jacob W. Dietz, third son and child of Christopher and Sarah (Barron) Dietz, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1836. He was raised on the farm of his father. and was apprenticed to learn the trade of coopering, which he followed for some years. He then engaged in milling, and for about fifteen years was very success- ful in the operation of some of the finest mills in Somerset county. He has taken a prominent part in the political affairs of his section of the conntry, and is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. At various times and for long periods he has held the offices of school director, assessor and supervisor. He married Sarah Miller, daughter of John Miller, of Jenner township, Somerset county. John Miller was born in 1800, and taught school for a number of years. His father was the first sheriff of Somerset county. and it is related of him that he hanged the first criminal condemned to suffer the death penalty in
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