USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 80
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John Irvin enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into service August 26, 1862. He was elected captain, and received his commission as such, at Harrisburg. He served with the com- pany continuously, and was promoted to major March 23, 1863, in place of Major Speer, who was discharged for disability. At the battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, he was wounded by the bursting of a shell, and was taken to the hospital. While there the hospital fell into the hands of the Confederate soldiers, so he was a prisoner for a time; but the enemy soon evacuated the place, leaving the inmates undisturbed. Soon after Major Irvin rejoined his regiment. On February 10, 1864, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and, later, April 22, 1865, was again advanced to colonel, commanding the regiment. He further served until mustered out by special order, August 4, 1865.
It is said of Colonel John Irvin that he was a good commanding officer; that his bravery was undoubted; that he never flinched in time of danger, and that he never ordered his command to any position in which he was not willing to lead them.
After returning from the service Colonel Irvin (for by this deserved title has he ever since been known) resumed his former business as merchant, at Curwensville. In 1874 his brothers, Jared F. and James, entered the firm as partners, since which, with a brief intermission in 1880, they have continued in the mercantile, milling, and lumbering bus- iness under the name and style of John Irvin & Brothers.
F
ORCEY, THOMAS H., was born in Bradford township, Clearfield county, on the
9th day of April, 1829. Of the children born to Matthew A. and Margaret (Mur- ray) Forcey, he was the second child. The father, Matthew A., was for many years engaged in business in Bradford as a farmer, merchant, and lumberman, and here Thomas acquired his first experience in business life, rendering such services as his father's extensive operations demanded.
In the year 1848 Thomas H. Forcey married Anna, daughter of Thomas Leonard, of Bald Hills, Girard township, and soon after located in that part of Bradford that was subsequently erected into Graham township, where he engaged in farming and lumber- ing. On the 10th day of August, 1859, Mr. Forcey established himself in the mercan- tile business at Grahamton, which business he has ever since retained, although, for a number of years past the management of it has been entrusted to others.
The year 1861 was an eventful one in Mr. Forcey's business career. He had been for some years engaged in manufacturing and rafting lumber to the markets down the
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THOMAS H. FORCEY .- LEON M. COUDRIET.
river, and having no capital save a good and well used credit, he was considerably in debt. He had at that time no less than twenty-eight rafts lying in the river awaiting sale. Other large dealers had their rafts in the same place, and were selling at "five cents." Mr. Forcey's had cost him eight cents, and to sell at five meant financial ruin. The war was imminent, and rafting through Maryland was hazardous. Old rivermen advised him to sell, but he determined to hold on. A proposition was offered by a party of raftsmen that they would take the chances of getting the rafts safely through the State of Maryland, and thence by the usual route to New York City, at an expense of five cents additional per foot, and wait for their pay until a sale was made. To this Mr. Forcey assented, and the task attempted, and, fortunately, successfully accomplished. The next year, 1862, he sold at fifteen cents, and pocketed a handsome profit as the result of his good judgment. By that act Mr. Forcey's business ability and sound judg- ment became recognized, and he became the adviser, not the advised. His successful operations were noticed by the sound business men of Clearfield, and he was made one of the board of directors, and afterward vice-president of the County National Bank.
In April, 1881, he moved to Clearfield and purchased the elegant residence of Judge Leonard, on Second street, where he now resides. Upon the death of Mr. Leonard, in July, 1882, he was appointed, and at the next annual meeting of the board was duly elected president of the bank, an office he has ever since most satisfactorily filled, the present healthful condition of this institution being in a measure due to his sagacity and foresight.
In business life his dealings have been characterized by honesty, frankness, and entire fairness, and no person can well charge to the contrary. As a result of hard work Mr. Forcey has acquired a handsome fortune, fairly earned in the busy fields of life. For nearly forty years he has been interested in farming and lumbering enterprises, and now owns nearly five thousand acres of land in Bradford and Graham townships.
In early life he was brought up under the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal faith, but since their residence at the county seat both he and his wife have united with the Presbyterian Church.
OUDRIET, LEON M. The portion of Clearfield county that is embraced within C the township of Covington, was settled between the years 1830 and 1840 by French colonists, who were induced to locate there by the proprietors of a large tract of land for which they held warrants. Among the first of these colonists was Francis Coudriet and his family. Both he and his wife were natives of France. They came to America in the year 1831. When at Lebanon, Pa., they stopped for a short time, and there the subject of this sketch, Leon Mitchell Coudriet, was born, on the roth day of May, 1831. Soon after this event the family came to Bellefonte, Centre county, where Francis was, for a time, employed working at the furnace. While so engaged he made one or two trips to this region, and to the " Keating lands " (such being the name by which the lands in Covington were styled), and subsequently he made a purchase of fifty acres, receiving as a bonus, twelve acres additional. Soon after this the family moved to Clearfield town. From this point the father would walk to his tract, which was entirely covered with timber, and, with his ax alone, cleared the land sufficient for the erection of a log house, after which he, with his family, moved to the place.
Francis Coudriet was an enterprising, thrifty, honest, and progressive /man. By hard work and good judgment he acquired a comfortable fortune, and by his integrity
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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
and moral worth he gained that which is more to be desired, the respect and confidence of his fellowmen. The stone used in the erection of St. Mary's Church at Frenchville was contributed by him, and taken from his land. For a period of eighteen years he was postmaster at Frenchville.
Leon Mitchell Coudriet, the second of eleven children, sons and daughters of Francis Coudriet, seems to have possessed much of his father's enterprising spirit, and to have taken up that father's business upon the death of the latter in 1877, although Leon commenced his business operations several years earlier. Up to the age of twenty-three years he worked at home with his father on the farm and in the woods, and having but little chance for an education. In the year 1853 he married Gonpiere Guenot, an orphan girl, who had come to this country with relatives. Of this marriage twelve children have been born, ten of whom are still living. For a period of nearly a year after marriage Leon lived with his parents, working at such business in which his father was engaged, and receiving no money compensation for his service. He then moved to Girard township and began life for himself. In 1866 he opened a store on Buck Run, which he managed successfully until 1866, when he succeeded to the busi- ness formerly managed by Captain P. A. Gaulin, at Mulsonburg, and then moved to that point. Besides this mercantile business Mr. Coudriet has been, and still is engaged in extensive lumber operations, and in this direction has acquired a vast amount of real estate and some of the most desirable timber lands in the county. By his several pur- chases his land, in acres, reaches an aggregate of nearly ten thousand, and much of it is underlaid with valuable coal deposits. Upon the division of his father's estate he be- came the owner of most of it by purchasing the interests of the other heirs. He is the owner of the flour and grist-mill at Frenchville ; also has a saw-mill at the same place, and owns in other places, in whole, or in part, several saw-mills, all of which are in successful operation. More than this he has, at Middletown, Dauphin county, an extensive sash, blind and door factory, and saw-mill.
From his vast business interests it will be observed that Leon M. Coudriet is a very busy man, and finds but little time to devote to public affairs ; nevertheless, there is no man in the northern part of the county that takes greater interest in the welfare of the community, or of his people, than he. His sound judgment and business capacity, together with a reputation he bears for honesty and integrity, places him in an enviable position before the people, and has gained for him their unbounded confidence and respect. Political aspirations, he has none, yet in every campaign his influence is felt in support of the Democracy. To the building and support of St. Mary's Church he contributed generously of his means. For about eight years he has been the postmaster at Frenchville post-office.
M AHAFFEY, JAMES. The subject of this sketch was born in Bell township, this county, on the 4th day of November, 1843. His father was Robert Mahaffey, one of the pioneer and enterprising business men of the " upper country." His mother was Mary (McGee) Mahaffey, daughter of Rev. James McGee, also a pioneer of the same region. The children of Robert and Mary Mahaffey were three in number, of whom our subject was the second. His father, Robert, was an extensive lumberman, farmer, and merchant; and, until he reached the age of twenty-one years, James remained at home, where, by experience, he acquired a thorough knowledge of all branches of bus- iness in which his father was engaged.
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JAMES MAHAFFEY. - DR. ROBERT V. WILSON.
Having attained his majority, James Mahaffey engaged in the lumber business and farming, in both of which he has been quite successful. On becoming a resident of Clearfield borough he disposed of his farm, but has carried on lumber dealing to a greater or less extent ever since.
On the 18th day of March, 1872, Mr. Mahaffey married Samantha Jane, daughter of James Thompson, of Curwensville. Of this marriage six children have been born, six of whom are still living.
HOTEL WINDSOR.
In 1879 he received the nomination in the Democratic County Convention for the office of sheriff. He was elected by a good majority, and entered upon the duties of the office in January, 1880, and in the same year moved to Clearfield borough.
In the fall of the year 1884 he purchased land and commenced the erection of the Hotel Windsor, a large and finely appointed building. From that until the present time he has managed the house, which is known to be one of the best in this section of the country, and he one of the most popular and accommodating of landlords.
W TILSON, DR. ROBERT V. In the year 1850 Robert Van Valzah Wilson, then just admitted to the medical fraternity, came from Spring Mills, Centre county, and took up his residence at Curwensville, in this county. Soon after he moved to Clearfield and commenced the practice of medicine and surgery. Although a young man, just being passed his twenty-first year, and having but little acquaintance in this locality, he possessed certain traits of character as a man, and certain qualifications as a physician, that soon brought to him a wide circle of friends and an extensive and re- munerative practice. Dr. Wilson had much acuteness of mind and accuracy of judg- ment. His independence was remarkable and was not infrequently exercised in the maintenance of his personal opinion in the councils of his brethren ; yet, he was by no means self-willed or obstinate. It generally proved that he was in the right. His sincerity was equally remarkable, and in speaking he was wont to express what he thought rather than that which another might be pleased to believe that he thought. A man of good natured abilities, and quick of apprehension, he would often arrive at a diagnosis of disease by a sort of intuition, and was seldom mistaken in his conclusions ; furthermore, he was a man of sterling integrity and worth, of genial and pleasant dispo-
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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
sition, kind of heart, generous and forgiving in his nature, true to his friends, and him- self, and his family, frank and outspoken in his opinions on all topics of general interest. These qualities placed him high in the esteem and confidence of his fellowmen, and gained for him the enviable reputation of being a leading physician, not only of the county, but of the State as well, a reputation that he maintained to the end of his life, and upon which there fell no blot. He loved his profession, and by his life and con- nection with it he honored and adorned it.
Robert Van Valzah Wilson was born at Spring Mills, Centre county, in the month of October, 1828. He studied medicine with Dr. Robert Van Valzah at Millheim, Centre county, and afterward attended a course of lectures at the Jefferson Medical College, and graduated threfrom in 1849. The next year he came to this county. In the year 1852 he married Carrie Smith, daughter of Josiah W. Smith, esq., a prominent member of the Clearfield bar. Of this marriage seven children were born. Dr. Wilson died, after a long illness, on the 13th day of February, in the year 1878.
No. better estimate of his worth and attainments can be produced than by the obituary sketch written soon after his decease, by his near friend, ex-Governor William Bigler : " Dr. Wilson ranked with the first men in this section of the State as a man of talent, intelligence and polite accomplishments. In his profession he had attained to marked eminence, and was held in the highest esteem by the medical profession, not only in this locality, but in many parts of the State, and especially by such eminent men as Drs. Gross and Pancost, of Philadelphia. This high appreciation was manifested mainly by the frequent calls that were made upon him for his opinion and advice in cases of rare difficulty in the line of his profession."
" At the time of his death he was a member of the Geological Commission, created by an act of the Legislature, to perfect the geological survey of the State."
" The opinion he expressed on any question of medicine, science, morals, or politics, was strictly his own. Treating the views of others with respect, he followed none. He was a close reader and thinker, and made out his own conclusions; and, while he was not wanting in political ambition, he could not restrain his contempt for the low means too often resorted to by many to gain political preferment. He made no pretension as a public speaker, and yet in the school, and other addresses which he occasionally delivered, he showed a pure taste and liberal reading. In short, he was a man of clear, keen, intellect, and of very handsome attainments in all departments of life. In his intercourse among men, his friendships were unfaltering, while his aversions were exceedingly sturdy ; but, on the whole, his heart was full of generosity and kindness."
No less eulogistic, and no less gratifying to his friends and family were the resolutions adopted by the medical society upon the occasion of the death of Dr. Wilson, he having been a member of long standing in that society, and one whose counsels were frequently called for, and freely given.
M URRAY, THOMAS HOLT, was born in Girard township, this county, on the 5th day of April, 1845. He was the second of nine children born to Alexander and Isabella (Holt) Murray. The early life of Thomas was passed with his parents on the farm, where his time was employed in the summer, and cutting and getting out lumber during the winter, except a short time spent in the schools of the township.
When about seventeen years of age he entered Dickinson Seminary, at Williamsport, intending to remain there one year, and lay the foundation for such an education as
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THOMAS HOLT MURRAY.
would not only enable him to transact ordinary business, but with a fixed determination to enter professional life. From January 8, 1862, until the time of the completion of the June examinations of that year, he remained at the seminary prosecuting his studies, but failing health then compelled his return home, where he lay sick the rest of the summer. The following fall and winter he found employment in teaching at the Union school in Covington township. In the spring and summer of the year 1863 he was engaged in getting out and rafting timber, mainly in Karthaus and Goshen townships. That winter he taught the Mulsonburg school, Covington township. The early part of the next year was spent in the woods and on the river, until the month of May, when he commenced and thereafter taught a four months term of school at Curwensville ; from this place he frequently walked, after school hours on Friday night, to the home of his parents in Girard township, twenty miles distant.
His health being restored, Mr. Murray, in September, 1864, returned to Dickinson Seminary, and resumed his course of study in that institution. During this time, how- ever, and in the early part of the year 1865, he registered as a student at law with Gen. Robert Fleming, of Williamsport, devoting his leisure hours to the study of Blackstone and such other text works as would train his mind for the legal profession, which he had then fully determined to enter. Before fully completing his course at the seminary, and while thus engaged, he went to Blossburgh, Pa., and for a time engaged in the sale of books. This venture proved quite successful, and enabled him to acquire sufficient means to complete his course and leave him a moderate surplus upon his return home. Furthermore, during this same period he taught a three months term of school at Montoursville, in this State. In June, 1867, he was called back to the seminary to undergo the regular examinations preceding "commencement day." Having been entirely successful under this trying ordeal, Mr. Murray graduated from Dickinson Seminary on the 19th day of June, with the highest honors of his class. The following winter he taught school in Bradford township.
On the 29th of May, 1868 (having, however, duly registered nearly a year earlier), Mr. Murray entered the law office of H. Bucher Swoope, of Clearfield, in order that his course of legal study might be completed ; and nearly a year later, May 24, 1869, after a public examination in open court, he was admitted and sworn as an attorney of the courts ; and on the last day of June following, he opened an office in Clearfield for the general practice of the law. Five years later, at the city of Philadelphia, he was ad- mitted to the Supreme Court of the State.
Digressing briefly from the narrative of the events of his life down to this time, some thoughts suggest themselves that faithfully and correctly portray the personal character- istics of Thomas H. Murray, and are fully evidenced by his subsequent life, and, fur- thermore, furnish an example worthy of emulation. These thoughts are more aptly expressed by words and phrases than by sentences-first, honest determination ; next, application ; then, perseverance, and lastly, the result, the successful accomplishment of that which is undertaken. While any of these elements may be sufficient for the successful transaction of ordinary business, the whole are, in professional life, sine qua non.
For a period of more than five years Mr. Murray practiced without a partner, but in September, 1874, he formed a copartnership with Cyrus Gordon, a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, and also the Law Department of the University of Mich- igan, at Ann Arbor. From that until the present time their relation as partners has been maintained, and it is a conceded fact that this firm is among the leaders of the Clear- field bar.
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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
The fact that Mr. Murray has been successful in the profession, goes without say- ing. In a major part of the leading cases tried at the bar of the county, he is, on one side or the other, represented. His practice is general ; but if there is any class of cases for which he has a preference, it is that usually termed "land cases." In the conduct of a case he is wholly devoted to the interests of his client; ever on the alert for opportunities, but never taking an unfair advantage; courageous, and at times ag- gressive, but never carrying personal feeling beyond the doors of the court-room ; pos- sessed of a good understanding of the law, and not given to a misconstruction of doubt- ful cases ; strong and in favor with a jury, and scorning all that is mean, and narrow, and low; but it is as an advocate before the court and jury that he is at his best- Lawyers who, perhaps, are his superiors in all the niceties of legal lore, and in the train- ing and polish of the schools, are not infrequently amazed to find their firmest logic and finest rhetoric of no avail, as against his native power and ability to convince. His strong personality, combined with an intuitive perception of the hidden springs that impel men's conduct and thoughts, enable him to seize upon and express just the facts and illustrations which coincide with the half-formed ideas in the minds of the jury, and lead them in his favor; to this end the whole language and manner of the man are all powerful. All this is said of him by his fellow-men and associates at the bar, and more, that throughout the whole scale of human feelings he makes himself felt with a mastery, which, in its sweep and intensity, at times is nothing less than the inspiration of power.
While Mr. Murray stands pre-eminent in his chosen profession, yet the scope of his abilities and attainments is by no means encompassed by his knowledge of law alone ; his achievements in the field of literature, both as an essayist and as a lecturer, are no less prominent and no less worthy, and are only abridged by the arduous duties of pro- fessional life. His first appearance upon the rostrum was made during the year 1871, at the re-union of the Belle-lettres Union Society, of Dickinson Seminary, of which he was a member. The subject of that dissertation was " Little Things." Since that time he has prepared other lectures, prominent among which were " The Heroism of St. Paul," and " How to Grow." These have been delivered in several prominent places throughout the State, and were invariably received with the greatest favor by those com- petent to judge, and the press as well. In 1883 he became connected with the Pennsylvania Lyceum Bureau, and devotes such time to his literary work as can well be taken from regular duties.
In the political affairs of the county Mr. Murray has been a no less powerful factor as the advocate of Republican principles and the champion of Republican rights. His entry into politics dates as far back as the year 1861, at which time his first political speech was made. In 1869 his power as a leader was acknowledged, and he was placed at the head of his party organization in the county, which, during the succeeding eight years was under his management. During this period, by his advice, the party made a departure from regular methods, and succeeded, not only in forcing the opposition into the nomination of proper candidates, but eventually in capturing to the Republicans some of the most desirable county offices, and this in the face of a standing majority of something like two thousand votes. Upon two occasions, by his counsel and advice, the party made no county nominations, but joined with the conservative and indepen- dent Democrats, as against the "machine " candidates, and administered to them a most severe chastisement, and thus was overthrown what was at the time known as the " Court-house ring." He has frequently been a delegate to the State conventions of his
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THOMAS HOLT MURRAY. - WILLIAM BIGLER.
party, and, in 1876, was elected by the State Convention as delegate to the National Convention at Cincinnati, where he was an active supporter of Blaine for president.
In October, 1880, Mr. Murray was placed in nomination by the Republican district convention as a candidate for Congress, from the twentieth congressional district of Pennsylvania, against Ex-Governor Andrew G. Curtin, the candidate of the Democracy. Although defeated at the polls, he succeeded in reducing the standing majority of the district by more than one thousand votes.
Notwithstanding the active and earnest work performed by him in the arena of politics, Mr. Murray never so engaged willingly, but with the greatest reluctance, as all such participation ran directly counter to his inclination and taste. But the party lacked organization and leadership, duty called him there, and there could he be found until of late the press of professional business has compelled less active work in that field of labor.
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