USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > History of Clarion County, Pennsylvania > Part 70
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
months' school in the year, young Arnold's educational advantages were very much lim- ited, nevertheless by energy and perseverance, he acquired in a few years a good Eng- lish education. The nine months of the year out of school were spent in the usual oc- cupations of a farmer's son. At the age of twelve years he followed the plow day after day in season. Thus alternating between three months' schooling and nine months' hard work, he remained on his father's farm until sixteen years of age. In the fall of 1836 he became assistant teacher in the common schools, and receiving as recompense therefor the sum of three dollars per week. He paid for his boarding by working morning and evening.
In the spring of 1837 he removed with his parents to Clearfield county, Pa., and the following summer worked on the Musshannan and Packersville turnpike at one dollar per day and board. On the 7th of February, 1838, he left his home and went to Kart- haus furnace in the northwestern part of Clearfield county, and engaged with Peter Rit- ner, the then superintendent of the furnace, as teamster and expressman. In July of the same year he was promoted to the position of weighmaster, and in the following De- cember to that of salesman for the same firm. In February, 1840, he came to the vil- lage of Strattanville, Clarion county, and entered the employ of W. H. Lowry, with whom he remained until 1843.
In March, 1843 he married Hannah Smith, of Strattanville. They had born to them two sons and one daughter. The eldest son, James Turnar Arnold died July 18, 1877. Mrs. Arnold died January, 1879. From the date of his marriage in 1843, Mr. Arnold engaged in the hotel business at Strattanville. He removed to Clarion March, 1846, where he followed the mercantile business until January, 1865, when the First National Bank of Clarion was organized and chartered. Mr. Arnold was elected a director, and appointed cashier, a position which he has held continuously ever since. By his efforts and financial ability the institution has prospered, has paid five per cent. semi-annually on the capital stock, and has the confidence of its depositors and the public in general.
In the year 1867 the Carrier Seminary of Western Pennsylvania was chartered, and Mr. Arnold appointed one of the trustees, and made treasurer. He was largely instru- mental in the procuring of fine grounds and the erection of a large and commodious building for the seminary, and still takes an active interest in the educational and mate- rial interests of the town. The extension of the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad from Edenburg to Clarion was largely due to the energy and financial aid of Mr. Arnold. In June, 1883 he married Mrs. Maggie E. Barnett, of Pittsburgh, Pa., with whom he is still living.
K® AUFMAN, CHARLES. Perhaps no man in Clarion borough has been more closely connected with the material prosperity and advancement of the place than the subject of this sketch. Born on the 18th day of November, 1832, in the village of Neckar Binau, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, of Jewish parents, where he resided until his twentieth year. At the age of fourteen years he taught a private school, and at sixteen a public school in his native place. This early training in the educational work no doubt infused into him that spirit of vigor in working for the advancement of the public schools of the borough which he has always shown, and that so frequently has received the recognition of his fellow-citizens.
In his twentieth year he emigrated to the United States, arriving at Pittsburgh in August, 1852. He remained in that vicinity until 1853, when he settled in Clarion. In
634
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
November of that year he started a clothing store on Main street, where he continued in the business until the war, when he engaged in general merchandising, to which he added a lumber yard in 1865, and in 1879 still further expanded his already extensive business by adding tobacco and cigars at wholesale, supplying many of the merchants of this and surrounding counties with these articles. Indeed it has long been a common say- ing that there is nothing he cannot sell you, nor is there anything that he will not buy. In 1854 he joined Clarion Lodge I. O. O. F., and in 1856 the Masonic Lodge. In both of these lodges he still retains an active membership, having been frequently elected to offices of honor and trust in both. At present he is, and has been for fifteen years, secretary of the Masonic Lodge and treasurer of the lodge of Odd Fellows.
He has been connected with the First National Bank of Clarion since its organization in 1865, as one of its directors, and for years its vice-president. He has been the president of the Clarion County Mutual Fire Insurance Company since 1875, and also president or director of the Clarion Water Company since its organization in 1875. He is a stock- holder in the Natural Gaslight and Heat Company, and in the Agricultural Association, being treasurer of the latter company. He was the only agent for the different express companies that transacted business at Clarion until 1884, when the P. and W. Railroad Company went into the express business itself and refused to carry for other companies. He has been an acting member of the school board for a number of years, and has fre- quently served as a member of the town council. He is usually court interpreter in causes where witnesses are able to use only the German language, and attorney in fact for the majority of those here having business to transact in Germany, or for those there having personal or business interests here.
Although a very busy man, Charley Kaufman, as he is familiarly known throughout the county, is always ready to do a favor or accommodate a friend or customer. He has made his adopted country completely his own, and has never been found wanting by voice or deed in any public enterprise or good work. His large family has been brought up in accordance with the spirit of American free institutions, and with the cus- toms of the land.
OWRY, SAMUEL,1 was born in County Down, Ireland, May 9, 1809. On his L fourteenth birthday, May 9, 1823, he set sail, in company with his parents, for America. After a very tempestuous voyage upon the sea, and encountering many dif- ficulties in crossing the State, they landed in Redbank township, now Clarion county, April 8, 1824. His father purchased the farm now owned by Samuel Bowersox, and located in Porter township. Samuel Lowry passed his youth at this place, working upon the farm. He was bound out as an apprentice to a carpenter in Kittanning. After completing his trade he worked in Pittsburgh for six weeks, and went from there to Butler, Pa. While there he married Eliza Barnhart, March 12, 1835. Three children have been born to them, Mary Ellen, Susannah, and Ann Eliza. Susannah died Jan- uary 3, 1845, and Ann Eliza April 15, 1858.
He purchased 185 acres of land adjoining his father's farm, from John H. Brodhead, November 9, 1835. After purchasing the farm, he worked at Butler and the " Great Western " until the farm was paid for, when he moved on it and followed farming until the breaking out of the Rebellion. He enlisted in the Seventy-eighth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and remained with the army during the war. He was severely
1 By L. L. Himes.
I'M For
Sam. In Five
635
SAMUEL LOWRY. - THE FOX FAMILY.
wounded between two mules, and suffers yet from the effects; also slightly wounded at the battle of Stone River. At the close of the war he returned to the farm and con- tinued farming until after the death of Mrs. Lowry, which occurred March 14, 1882. He purchased property in New Bethlehem, and moved there March 17, 1885, living with his daughter, the only remaining member of his family. One sister is the only remaining member, besides himself, of his father's family.
F OX. The Fox family has been more or less identified with lands lying within what is now the boundary of Clarion county for nearly a hundred years; warrants for several tracts of land, including those at the junction of the Allegheny and Clarion Riv- ers, having been taken out by Samuel M. Fox in 1796. A little over a quarter of a century later his son, Joseph M. Fox, went to live there, and the family has since made that place their home for a part of the year. Having been thus interested in the county since its formation, it seems not unsuitable that a short memoir of the family should appear in this book. Justinian Fox, who, tradition says, was a doctor, came from Ply- mouth, England, to Philadelphia, a few years after William Penn. He married Eliza- beth Yard, whose father emigrated from Devonshire, England, about 1688. Justinian Fox had seven children, Joseph being the only one who need be mentioned here. His father having died very poor (the inventory of his estate amounting to but sixty-seven pounds, and five shillings), Joseph was apprenticed to a carpenter. He afterwards be- came possessed of some means through a legacy left him in 1737, and married on Sep- · tember 25, 1746, in Quaker meeting in Philadelphia, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Thomazine Mickle (née Marshall). He built the large double house, now standing, Nos. 46 and 48 North Third street, Philadelphia, which is still in possession of his descend- ants. On January 10, 1765, he was elected Speaker of the Colonial Assembly, at that time an office of high trust and distinction. He died on December 10, 1779. He had thirteen children, among them Samuel Mickle (born October 4, 1763, died April 30, 1808), who married on November 27, 1788, at the Market Street meeting-house, in Phil- adelphia, Sarah, daughter of Samuel and Mary Pleasants (née Pemberton). With a be- lief in the future value of lands in the interior of the State, he sold properties in Phila- delphia, and bought back lands, including the land in Clarion county on which his de- scendants now live. At his death one hundred and eighteen thousand acres, not includ- ing his land in then Venango, now Clarion county, were divided. He had thirteen chil- dren, of whom the oldest was Joseph Mickle (born October 25, 1779, died February 12, 1845). He bought from the trustees under his father's will twelve tracts of land in what is now Clarion county, containing thirteen thousand two hundred and eighty-four acres, the consideration paid being eleven thousand four hundred and twenty-nine dollars and forty cents. He married on April 6, 1820, Hannah Emlen, daughter of George and Sarah Emlen, (née Fishburne.) From her the borough of Emlenton derived its name, it being built on land owned by her husband. At the time of his marriage he was prac- ticing law at Bellefonte, Pa., and shortly after moved to Meadville. In the year 1827 he decided to settle on and improve some of the land belonging to him, and with this purpose went to Foxburg, since then the summer home of his family. The county was then very sparsely settled ; the farmers (and there was no other occupation in the vicinity at that time) were Pennsylvania Dutch, far scattered, and, owing to the difficulty of transportation, almost entirely self-supporting. An old servant still with the family, who, as a boy, went with Mr. Fox to Foxburg in 1832, states that he was the first to in-
636
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
troduce coffee into the district. The nearest post-office was Shippenville, sixteen miles away. Later Mr. Fox was instrumental in having one established on his own land, and was himself for a time postmaster. He served as State senator through an election held in 1829 to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Eben Smith Kelly, his district (the twenty-fourth) then comprising the counties of Venango, Warren, Armstrong, Indi- ana, Jefferson, and Cambria. He died in 1845, leaving one child-Samuel Mickle Fox, then twenty-four years of age.
Samuel Mickle Fox was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and had been admitted to the bar at Philadelphia, where he was entering upon the practice of the law, when his father's death brought to him other duties in the management of his and his mother's affairs. He married at Wakefield, near Germantown, Philadelphia, Mary Rodman Fisher, daughter of William Logan and Sarah Fisher (née Lindley). He was a man of scholarly instincts and great culture, of a retiring and contemplative disposition; he had no desire for the notoriety of public life, and was devoid of political ambition, although during the civil war his pronounced views made him in his district a leader and strong advocate for the cause of the Union. In 1861 he was the Republican candidate for State senator from the twenty-eighth district, composed of Jefferson, Forest, Elk, and Clarion counties, and although running far ahead of the rest of the party ticket, was defeated in his district, which was heavily Democratic. It is difficult to measure his life with words, as no great deeds marked it, and its worth and usefulness lay in the small acts of every day, of which no record can be made. It was a life of unobtrusive well-doing, and was passed with the calm quietness of a gentle nature in benefiting in many ways those with whom he came in contact, and whom, with his larger means, he was often able to assist. He was de- sirous for the improvement of his neighborhood, and was among the first to introduce the newer agricultural implements and the better breeds of stock into Clarion county. His manners were quiet and retiring, and he had a strong personal magnetism which commanded confidence and gained friends without effort. Once he bought a large tract of land which had long been in litigation and had been largely taken possession of by squatters, who declared that the land was theirs, and that they would shoot any one who claimed it. He quietly went alone on horseback among them, meeting no resistance, and some of the squatters became afterward his devoted friends. He died at Foxburg, on Christmas day, 1869, and his epitaph was not unaptly spoken by one of his friends, who, when he heard of it, said, " A gentleman has died." A short time previous to his death petroleum was discovered on his lands. The Allegheny Valley Railroad had been built through them, and building was begun on the land where the village of Foxburg now stands. The face of the country rapidly changed, and while it grew in wealth it lost its isolation, which to him had been one of the chief pleasures in his home.
He left four children-William Logan, Joseph Mickle, Sarah Lindley, and Hannah, of whom Joseph and Hannah survive. William Logan Fox was eighteen years old at the time of his father's death. He had passed through the Junior class of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, and was then at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, N. Y., from which he graduated as a civil engineer four years later. He then spent a year in Europe, and on his return assumed, in conjunction with the trustees under his father's will, the active management of the business at Foxburg, then of some magnitude, owing to the recent developments of petroleum in the vicinity. About this time, and furthered by his energy and moneyed aid, the bridge across the Allegheny River at Foxburgh, and
THE MEMORIAL CHURCH OF OUR FATHER, FOXBURG, PA.
637
THE FOX FAMILY. - ELIAS RITTS.
the one across the Clarion, were built, and the turnpike from Foxburg to Petersburg was made.
Early in 1879 the Foxburg, St. Petersburg and Clarion Railroad was projected, and he, believing it would be of material benefit to the village of Foxburg, entered into its construction with his usual energy. He was made president, and the road was vig- orously pushed toward completion. Later he bought a controlling interest in the Em- lenton, Shippenville and Clarion Railroad, running from Emlenton to Clarion, the total length of both roads being about fifty miles. He had in contemplation the enlarging of his railroads, and had acquired a charter to Kane, intending to make connection with the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad. This has been done since his death, and the roads are now part of the Pittsburgh and Western Railroad.
William L. Fox took a deep interest in politics, and was strong in his belief in and support of the Republican party, and in its interest started at Foxburg a weekly news- paper, The Republican Gazette. He was a member of the Electoral College of Pennsyl- vania, which voted for Garfield in 1880, but died before it met, and at the time of his death was chairman of the Republican County Committee. He died at Foxburg on April 29, 1880, leaving a widow, Rebecca Clifford, daughter of Samuel F. and Anna C. Hollingsworth (née Pemberton). He left no issue. His death was a distinct loss to the community about Foxburg, and indeed to his county, for already at the age of twenty- eight his enterprise in business matters had made itself felt, and his ambition and zealous work in the political field had stamped him as one who might in the future hope to re- ceive broad recognition.
To his and to his father's memory the Memorial Church of our Father was built, overlooking the village of Foxburg, and serves not unfitly as a monument to two men whose life work was done, and whose death took place near where it stands ; and it is earnestly hoped that as in their time their influence was for the good, it may perpetuate their work by being a benefit to the community, and that the love for the dead which built it may be of lasting help to the living. It is dedicated to the services of the Prot- estant Episcopal Church, the first one in the county belonging to that denomination. While it was building another memory was added to it through the death of Sarah Lind- ley Fox, on June 20, 1882. She was deeply interested in its success, and her death was. the loss of an ardent worker in its cause. On the death of William L. Fox the manage- ment of the family property devolved on his brother, Joseph M. Fox, who married at Charleston on May 10, 1883, Emily A. Reed, daughter of Benjamin Huger and Julia Read (née Middleton); issue, Mary Lindley, born December 12, 1884. J. M. F.
R' ITTS, ELIAS. How far a man is made by his environments is perhaps an unsolved problem ; but there is no doubt a strong character is greatly influenced, developed or modified by the outside world with which he comes in contact. Had the subject of this memoir remained with his father and learned the trade of jeweler, in the respectable old county of Berks, he would probably have grown gray repairing his neighbors' watches. But he was destined to occupy another field.
Elias Ritts was born in Berks county, Pa., on the 5th day of November, 1822. The family moved to Lehigh county in 1830, and in 1836, while Elias was still a boy, came to Richland township, Venango county (now Clarion). Here he grew to manhood among the Vensels, Shoups, Neelys, and other pioneers of that new settlement. His. 71
638
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
proximity to the Allegheny and Clarion rivers seemed to have determined his vocations in life. At an early period in his history he became familiar with the upper waters of the Clarion, and with a limited education, but full of energy, engaged in the trade of that river, building flat-boats and freighting metal to the Pittsburgh market as early as 1840. By care and skill Mr. Ritts became a successful carrier of freight, and a heavy dealer on the river and in Pittsburgh for many years. He carried all the metal made by Judge Keating's furnace, and had a still larger contract of freighting metal for Lyon, Shorb & Co., for a number of years. He also freighted a large amount of metal for Plumer & Crary from Buchanan and Jefferson furnaces. Few of his boats were wrecked or sunk, and by him no man lost a ton of metal, though the business was by no means free from risk. While thus engaged he became extensively acquainted along the river, and accumulated considerable property.
In March, 1849, he married Elizabeth Vensel, by whom he had four children ; all but the youngest are still living. His wife dying in 1863, he married his second wife in 1866, by whom he has had five children, all living. His active out-door life and ex- tended business relations gave him a strong constitution, and has made him prominent as a leading property owner and business man of the county. He retained nothing that he brought with him from Berks county but his politics and religion. He was never a noisy politican or an office seeker, but has quietly voted the Democratic ticket ever since he became of age. In early life he connected with the German Reformed Church, and has ever since been one of its liberal supporters, and an officer therein.
Mr. Ritts is tall and slender, with a well knit form, a pleasant face, social habits, and a kind disposition. In 1880 he bought a third interest in the Blake lumber lands for $50,000, and sold it in 1884 for about $85,000. He still holds considerable real estate in Richland and Beaver townships, also in other parts of the county, besides personal property of value.
In the early days of the oil excitement near the mouth of the Clarion River, he be- came an oil operator and producer, a business he has made pay handsomely. Since selling his lumber lands he has to some extent retired from active work on the river, to rest on an ample competency secured by a life of industry. At the 'age of sixty- five he is still living where he started his business life, one of the respected patriarchs of St. Petersburg, with his family around him. He is still enjoying excellent health, with erect frame, and his chances are fairly good for several years more to live and quietly look back over a long and well spent life.
K 7 NOX, HON. JAMES B., son of William and Sarah Knox, was born at Knoxville, Tioga county, Pa., November 4, 1831. After obtaining a liberal education he be- gan the study of law in Franklin, Pa., with Hon. John C. Knox, his only brother. He was duly admitted to the bar, came to Clarion in 1853, and commenced life actively in his chosen profession. In 1855 he married Jennie Z. Stehley, of Harrisburg, Pa. Their union was blessed with six children, five of whom are yet living, and reside in Clarion.
At the beginning of the Civil War Mr. Knox left his family and a lucrative law prac- tice to bear arms for his country. On the 14th of June, 1861, he was mustered into the service of the Union army as captain of Company E, of the Thirty-Ninth Regiment, Tenth P. R. V. C. He was promoted to major August 15, 1862, and later to command- ing officer of his regiment. On account of his health failing he resigned his position, ob- tained his discharge November 23, 1863, and returned to his family and practice in Clar-
639
HON. JAMES B. KNOX. - MICHAEL EDIC HESS.
ion. During his service in the army he participated in the following battles : Dranes- ville, Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, Newmarket Cross-roads, Malvern Hill, Fredericks- burg, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, and Mine Run. During the battle of Gettysburg a little incident occurred which will serve to show how regardless he was of his own life, and how he sought to save the lives of his comrades. He wanted to see the position of the Confederates in the Devil's Den, and for this purpose stood on a rock exposed to the enemy's fire, but told his men to keep down, that it was dangerous. While stand- ing there a shell struck a branch of a tree only a few feet from his head. This he treated as a trivial affair, making motions to the rebels, and still standing in his position, a target for their marksmen. His farewell address to his men at the close of his last dress parade was quite a touching scene. His remarks were full of pathos and patriotism.
In 1873 he entered into a law partnership with Hon. James T. Maffett, which con- tinued until he took his seat on the bench, January 1, 1882, having been elected to the judgeship of the Eighteenth Judicial District in the fall of 1881. He performed the duties of his office faithfully until his death on December 22, 1884. He died at his post while holding court in Brookville. The disease, asthma, which carried him away, was contracted during his military services in the army.
As a citizen, Mr. Knox was greatly respected, and regarded as strictly honest and up- right in all his dealings. His intentions were good, and his private character exception- ally pure and above suspicion. As a soldier he was brave and daring almost to reckless- ness, and much loved by his comrades. In his profession he stood high in ability, integ- rity, and gentlemanly deportment; as a judge he was popular, sympathetic, and impartial; as a husband and father he was a model of devotion and affection.
H' ESS, MICHAEL EDIC, the subject of this sketch, was born in South Columbia, Herkimer county, N. Y., September 25, 1826. He is descended from John Hess, who, with others, called Palatinates, came from Hesse Cassel, Germany, in 1710, and settled on the Mohawk River in Montgomery county, N. Y. The locality taking its name from the settlers was called Palatine. Subsequently the family of John Hess moved farther up the river, and became one of the first settlers of Herkimer county, N. Y. The surrounding vicinity was then inhabited. by the Mohawk Indians, and Fort Herkimer was built as a refuge for the settlers. In an Indian raid on the fort in 1782, Augusden- nis Hess, son of John Hess was killed while driving cattle into the enclosure. Hanyost Hess, son of Augusdennis Hess, enlisted in the War of the Revolution in 1776, and served to the close, being under Alexander Hamilton in the battle of Yorktown.
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.