History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 98

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

of thirteen children, Horace H. being now the only survivor. One son, David, was captain of a packet boat for nine years; he also kept the Mount Vernon House in Phila- delphia a number of years, and held a position in the United States mint of that city. Samuel Blair died in 1824; his wife survived until 1846. Both died in Northum- berland county. The subject of this sketch was reared in his native township, and was educated in the common schools. He subsequently engaged in teaching, before the existence of the public school system, afterwards attended the public schools and completed his education, and taught for several years. In 1843 he took charge of the schools of Lewisburg, and remained there until 1851. During this time he was elected auditor of Union county, and served two terms in that office. In 1851 he came to Lycoming county, and was engaged in keeping hotel at Port Penn, near Muncy, for eleven years. In 1862 he moved to Muncy and took charge of the Pet- rican House. In the fall of 1860 he was nominated on the Democratic ticket for the office of register and recorder, but was defeated. He was again nominated in 1863, and elected to that office. He served as register and recorder three years, after which he was appointed deputy sheriff and filled that position until 1874. He was then elected prothonotary and clerk of the court of common pleas, and filled that office for three years. At the expiration of his term he was elected alderman of the Third ward, in which office he served five years, and was then elected overseer of the poor and secretary of the board, in which he served three years. In 1890, at the age of seventy-six, Mr. Blair retired from active business life. He is a stockholder in the Edison Electric Illuminating Company and the Merchants' National Bank. He joined the Masonic order in 1865, and was one of the charter members of the I. O. O. F. in Lewisburg. He was a Whig up to 1854, when he became a Democrat, and has since been a stanch supporter of that party. Mr. Blair was married in 1843 to Rachel Gulick, and has three children: Charles L., of Kansas, where he is engaged in the stock business; Ella, who has been connected with the mercantile houses of Thompson, and Thompson, Gibson & Company as clerk five years, as bookkeeper fifteen years, and since October 1, 1891, as a member of the firm; and Florence P. Mr. Blair's family is connected with the First Presbyterian church of Williamsport,

G. E. OTTO SIESS was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, September 14, 1835, son of Andrew Joseph and Mary Magdaline Siess. He was reared in his native land, and received his education in the common schools of that country. He learned the book binder's trade, and worked at that business in Germany for five years, and subsequently worked for several years in Paris, France. In 1854 he came to the United States, and first located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1855 he came to Williamsport, where he found employment in a saw mill, and by close economy he was able to save a small amount out of his wages. He afterwards engaged with Frank Campbell in the book binding business, and purchased the plant in July, 1856, and the following year he removed it to the old site of the Gazette and Bulletin office. In 1858 he removed his plant to the corner of Pine and Fourth streets, where he also established a con- fectionery and fruit store in connection with his bindery. In 1861 he moved to the Academy of Music building, where he remained until 1868, and then removed to near the corner of William and Fourth streets. He disposed of his confectionery and fruit store, purchased new machinery, and engaged in the book binding business exclusively. In 1874 he purchased the building now occupied by his son, William

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

C., next to the Trust Building, where he continued his business. Mr. Siess was the pioneer of the book binding business in Williamsport, and established the first bindery between Elmira and Harrisburg. In 1877 he purchased the Times, and in October, 1879, he bought the Banner, and published the paper for five months. He sold it to Jacob Sallade, February 26, 1880, and retired from the printing and book binding business. Mr. Siess was married in 1856 to Elizabeth, daughter of Barn- hart Ziegler, of Williamsport, who bore him a family of five children, as follows: William C., who is engaged in the book and stationery business on West Fourth street; Mary, wife of Charles F. W. Flock; Louise, wife of W. D. Leeds; Amelia, wife of John Gerrsting, of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, and Tille, all of whom are residents of Williamsport. The family are members of the Lutheran church, and politically adhere to the Democratic party. Mr. Siess is a stockholder and director in the Susquehanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company, and is a stock- holder in the Merchants' National Bank, the Savings Institution, and the old Demor- est Sewing Machine Company. He is a member of the Masonic order, and is connected with the lodge, chapter, and commandery.

GODFREY HESS was a native of Alsace, France, where he was reared and educated. He immigrated to the United States, and was married in New York City to Rosanna M. Laedlein, also a native of Alsace, and in 1830 he settled in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. He was employed in the building of the canal, and also on the Ralston and Williamsport railroad, now the Northern Central. He afterwards engaged in the mercantile business on the corner of Pine and Fourth streets, in Williamsport, where he carried on a general store for about thirty years, retiring from mercantile pursuits in 1865. He was also a dyer and a candle manufacturer, and was engaged in the lumber business for some years. He shipped lumber by boat to Philadelphia, and lost heavily in the great flood of 1847. He was one of the organizers of the Savings Institution of Williamsport, and was treasurer of the same for several years. He was a Democrat, and served as a member of the bor- ough council and afterwards of the city council. He was prominent in the erection of the German Lutheran church, to which organization he and wife belonged. He died in 1879; his wife survived until December, 1890. They reared a family of five children, as follows: John Henry, who enlisted in Compauy G, Nineteenth Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, and died of typhoid fever while in the service; Sophia, deceased; Godfrey; Louisa, wife of Adolph Niemeyer, and Harriet, wife of Henry Metzger, all of whom are residents of Williamsport.

GODFREY HESS, company manager of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company and the Williamsport Steam Company, was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1844, and is a son of Godfrey and Rosanna M. Hess. He was reared and educated in this city, and learned the shoemaker's trade, and afterwards the photographer's and carpenter's trades. He was engaged in the photographing business for a number of years, and still has a copying establishment in this city. He is president of the Wilkinson Truss Company, Limited, and was one of the organizers of that company. He is a stockholder and director in the Savings Insti- tution, and a stockholder in the Merchants' National Bank. He is a stockholder and manager of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, and is manager of the Will- iamsport Steam Company. Mr. Hess was married in 1879 to Elizabeth, daughter of

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Ludwig and Catherine B. Finkbeiner of Loyalsock township, and has four children: Rosa: John E .; Godfrey, and Mary Elizabeth. The family are members of the Lutheran church. He is a Democrat, and has served in the city council one term.

FREDRICK N. PAGE, treasurer of the Williamsport Furniture Company, was born in Athens township, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1832, son of Thomas and Anna (West) Page, natives of England. His parents came to the United States in 1830, and first settled in Baltimore, Maryland, and soon afterwards moved by wagon to Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where the remaining years of their lives were spent. They purchased a farm, and resided upon it up to their decease. They reared a family of ten children, seven of whom are now living. They were consistent members of the Baptist church, and died in that faith. The subject of this sketch was the fifth child, and was reared on the homestead farm. He received a common English education in the country schools of that period, attending school up to the age of fourteen. He then left home and engaged in clerking in a general store in Athens, and on reaching his majority he purchased an interest in the business. About three years later he bought out the entire business, and conducted it up to 1865, when he sold his stock and engaged in the furniture trade in Titusville, Pennsylvania. In 1867 he came to Williamsport and opened a large retail furniture store on Fourth and Hepburn streets, and continued to do an extensive business for ten years, when he lost his entire capital by failures of other parties and was compelled to dispose of his business. Previous to this he had become one of the original stockholders of the Williamsport Furniture Company; in 1877 he became actively engaged with that institution; he has since been treasurer and manager of the same, and has increased the business from $35.000 to $350,000 annually. Mr. Page is one of the originators of the New York Furniture Exposi- tion, and is one of the executive committee of that enterprise. He was married in 1853 to Maria D., daughter of Andrew French, of Milford, Connecticut. She died in 1877, leaving three sons and four daughters: Mildred, wife of James Maynard, of Williamsport; F. West, who has charge of the Brooklyn office of the Williamsport Furniture Company: Nellie; Martha, wife of C. E. Else, of this city; S. John, at the Philadelphia office of the Williamsport Furniture Company; A. Thomas, teller of the Williamsport National Bank, and Ethel. Mr. Page was again married, in 1SS1, to Martha, daughter of Edwin White, of Williamsport. He and wife are members of Trinity Protestant Episcopal church, and he is a vestryman in that organization. Mr. Page is a member of the Ross Club, and in politics he has always acted with the Republican party.

RALPH ELLIOT was born, November 22, 1798, in Fritlick. County Tyrone, Ire- land, and came to America with his parents on board the sailing ship Radies in 1812. The voyage was an adventurous one, lasting twenty-seven days, during three of which the ship lay entangled among ice-fields. Upon arriving at New York the Elliots went to Philadelphia and settled in Kensington. There young Ralph went to work in a cotton factory, where he remained six months, receiving $1 per week wages. At the end of that time he managed to get some schooling, and when not engaged in his studies worked on his father's farm. He remained in Kensington until 1820, when he settled in Newberry, Lycoming county, and carried on a store for two years with such success that he was able to remove to

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

Williamsport and build a handsome brick structure, wherein he carried on a mer- cantile business until 1841. In the meantime, May 22, 1832, he married Mary, daughter of William Gibson, who became the mother of six children: Mary R .; Rebecca J .; William G .; Henry C .; Ralph P., and Annie E. In 1841 he removed to his farm on the West Branch of the Susquehanna river in Armstrong township, where his wife died, March 1, 1855. In 1864 he sold the farm and removed to Williamsport. Two years later he purchased the large brick house in this city where he died, April 1, 1889. He and his wife were members of the First Presby- terian church of Williamsport. Mr. Elliot was one of the originators of the Market Street bridge across the Susquehanna river, was a director and a large stockholder in the same at the time of his death, and was at one time a director in the West Branch Bank.

WILLIAM G. ELLIOT, manufacturer, and manager of the National Paint Works, was born in Williamsport, July 19, 1840, son of Ralph and Mary (Gibson) Elliot. He removed with his father to Armstrong township when he was quite young. His education was received in the public schools, Dickinson Seminary, and the Phila- delphia high school. Returning from school he resumed rural pursuits on his father's farm for two years, when he began his business life as a clerk in a store at Canton, Missouri. He returned to his native city in 1859, and followed farming until the rebellion was begun, when he enlisted in Company A, Eleventh Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, and saw service until honorably discharged, having participated in the battle of Falling Waters, Virginia. He embarked in the mercantile business in Williamsport for five years after returning from the war, after which he went to Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he was quite successful in the oil business. He subsequently erected a fine block 208 feet long and fifty-two feet wide, three stories high, on the corner of Fourth and Pine streets, containing a number of store-rooms, offices, and lodge rooms, together with a theater on the second floor known as the " Academy of Music," which was thrown open to the public, December 10, 1870, and up to this date it stands with a reputation unexcelled. In 1872 he was appointed express manager for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, with his office at Williamsport, and held that important position until the spring of 1879; he then began the manufacture of asphalt and paint, out of which has grown the National Paint Works of which he is manager, and which is more widely known among the railroad and bridge building corporations than any other similar estab- lishment in this country. Mr. Elliot was married, January 2, 1862, to Emily M. Ellis, and they have three children: May E .; Norman, and Wistar M. Mr. Elliot is an active and enthusiastic Republican, and belongs to the Ross Club. The family are attendants at the First Presbyterian church and live in a beautiful residence on the corner of Fourth and Elmira streets, purchased in 1884 by Mr. Elliot, who is an example of success attained by persistent industry, natural aptitude for busi- ness, and recognized integrity.

GEORGE SLATE was a native of Ontario county, New York, where he was born, February 5, 1815. His mother died when he was six months old, and his father went to California in 1819. He was reared by friends and was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade. He came to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, January 29, 1833, where he followed various occupations, working at his trade and also in the foundry

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

of John B. Hall. In 1835 he formed a partnership with John Corson and engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes in the evenings, working for Mr. Hall during the daytime. In 1837 the firm of Slate & Fulmer was established, and purchas- ing the tannery which was founded by George Fulmer in 1813, they embarked in that business and also engaged in the manufacture of leather belting. This part- nership existed up to 1856, when Mr. Fulmer retired from the firm, and Mr. Slate continued the business alone until 1868. In that year he took his son, Hyman A., into partnership, under the firm name of George Slate & Son, and continued under that name until 1880, when J. Walton Slate was admitted and the title of the firm became George Slate & Sons. He retired from active business in 1886, turning over his affairs to his sons, Hyman A. and J. Walton, when the firm of George Slate's Sons was organized. Mr. Slate was twice married, first in 1843, to Sarah, daughter of George Fulmer, who bore him six children: Hyman A. ; J. Walton; George Ful- mer, who served two years in the war of the rebellion, and died in 1864; and Ellen, Sarah, and Rosa, all of whom are dead. Mrs. Slate died in 1857, and he subsequently married Charlotte H., daughter of Thomas P. Simmons, of Williamsport. Two children were born of this union: William H., a clerk in the Philadelphia and Erie railroad office, and Crecy S., wife of Harvey L. Simmons of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Slate died, December 11, 1889; his widow survives him. He was a member of Pine Street Methodist Episcopal church from the time of his arrival in Williams- port up to 1860, when he joined Mulberry Street Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served as a steward and trustee. He was a member of the building com- mittee of both churches. Mr. Slate was a Republican, and filled various minor offices. He was an exemplary, upright man, and was highly respected by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.

HYMAN A. SLATE, manufacturer of leather belting, was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1847, and is the oldest surviving son of George and Sarah Slate. He was educated in the public schools of the city and at Dickinson Seminary, and is also a graduate of Eastman's Business College. At the age of fifteen he entered his father's office as bookkeeper, and in 1868 his father gave him an interest in the business. They were engaged in the tannery business up to 1889, in connec- tion with their belting business, but in that year they tore down the tannery and erected their present building on Government place, which is one of the substantial structures in the city. This firm is the successor of one of the pioneer tanneries of Williamsport, and is the oldest business house in the city, the business being continuous from grandfather to grandsons. In 1861 Mr. Slate went out as a drum- mer boy in Company B, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Emergency Men, and served six weeks. He was out again for a short period in 1862. He was married in 1872 to M. Virginia, daughter of Dr. John W. Wright, of Baltimore, Maryland. Mrs. Slate is a great-granddaughter of Ellis Walton, the second prothonotary, recorder, and clerk of Lycoming county. She is the mother of four children: Anna Blanche; Florence Walton; George, Jr .. and Martha Virginia. He and wife are members of Mulberry Street Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Slate is a Republican, is a mem- ber of the city council, and the G. A. R., and is one of the charter members of the Ross Club.

J. WALTON SLATE was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, September 24, 1851,

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

and received his education in the public schools and at Dickinson Seminary. He entered his father's office in 1872, and became a member of the firm in 1880. He was married in 1885, to Elvira, daughter of John Hampton, of Philadelphia, and has two children: Sarah Fulmer and John Hampton. He is a Republican in poli- tics, a charter member of the Ross Club, a director of the Y. M. C. A., and a mem- ber of Mulberry Street Methodist Episcopal church.

JOHN K. CRAWFORD, dealer in leather, etc., was born in Upper Fairfield township, Lycoming county, May 14, 1827, and is the youngest living son of William and Rebecca Crawford. He was reared in Eldred township, and received a common school education. At the age of twenty, he and his brothers, Nicholas, Jonathan, and William, engaged in the tannery business at Warrensville, and he has ever since followed that line of trade. In the spring of 1858 he located in Williamsport, where he has since been engaged in the manufacture of leather, etc. Some fourteen years ago he erected his present tannery near the crossing of the Philadelphia and Reading and the Philadelphia and Erie railroads, and has since operated the same; the office and salesroom are on Market street. He was also engaged in the lumber business on Loyalsock creek about ten years, and has owned and operated the Warrensville flour mill for the past twenty years. Mr. Crawford was married, Jan- uary 1, 1852, to Mary, daughter of Samuel L. Casner, of Warrensville, Lycoming county, and has three children: Elsie Jane; Annis Hyman, and Harrisou Tallman. Mr. Crawford is a Republican, and has served as a member of the common council, and has been president of the Board of Health for ten years. He was assessor of the First ward for thirteen successive years, and has always taken an active interest in public affairs.

HARRISON TALLMAN CRAWFORD, junior member of the firm of J. K. Crawford & Son, was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1861, and is the only son of John K. and Mary Crawford. He was educated in the public schools of Will- iamsport, and also attended the Muncy Normal School and the Williamsport Com - mercial College. In 1885 he became a member of the present firm, having previously learned the tanner's trade in his father's tannery, and worked at the same for five years. He is a Republican, is connected with the I. O. O. F., and is a member of the First Presbyterian church of Williamsport. He was formerly secretary of the Sunday school in the Third Street Methodist Episcopal church, of which organiza- tion his mother and sisters were members, but have recently united with the First Presbyterian in order that the family might have a church home together.

HENRY S. MOSSER, of the firm of J. K. Mosser & Company, tanners, was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, September 13, 1857, son of J. K. and Maria (Keck) Mosser, natives of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. His father settled in Allentown in 1849, and is one of the pioneer tanners of that county. He is still actively engaged in the business, and has tanneries in Clearfield and Wyoming counties, and in Allentown and Newberry. In 1876 they erected the tannery at Newberry, and Henry S. has since had charge of it. The Lycoming tannery is the largest in this section of the country, and in the manufacture of union crop leather it is one of the largest in the State. Mr. Mosser was married, October 9, 1879, to Mary Grimm, of Lehigh county, and has a family of five children: Helen; James; Miriam; Henry, and Louis. He and wife are adherents of the Lutheran church. Politically he is a Republican.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

AUGUSTUS SCHUMANN, tanner, was born in Frankenhausen, Province of Saxony, Germany, July 10, 1827, son of Gotfried and Minnie Schumann. He was educated in his native country, learned the tanner's trade, and immigrated to America in 1851. He worked for a Mr. Slate in his tannery in Williamsport and subsequently was employed in cutting timber in the woods along Lycoming creek. He was employed by Mr. Dittmar to help build his furnace in Williamsport, also the gas works of that city, in which Mr. Schumann worked for eight years. On account of failing health he was obliged to seek another occupation and consequently started his present business on Fourth street, and in 1871 embarked in the leather and finding busi- ness, which has constantly increased. He is also the largest dealer in hides in Williamsport. He is a member of Williamsport Lodge, No. 570, I. O. O. F., was one of the organizers of the same, and is a Democrat in politics. He was married in 1854 to Miss Amelia, daughter of Christian Dittmar, and to this union have been born five children: Fannie, who married John A. Haust; William; August; Marie, who married Dr. C. D. Hunt, and Amelia. Mr. Schumann and family are members of the German Lutheran church.

DAVID STUEMPFLE, proprietor of the West Branch Stone Works, and dealer in coal and brick, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, March 6, 1830, son of John and Annie Mary Stuempfle. He was reared and educated in his native land, and located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1853. He worked in a saw mill one year, and then took up the stone mason's trade, and from 1857 to 1867 he was foreman in charge of the mason work on the Pennsylvania railroad from Sunbury to Emporium. In the latter year he formed a partnership with Gottlieb Gerstenlaur, and engaged in contracting. They erected the county jail and other buildings, but at the end of two years his partner died, and Mr. Stuempfle continued the business alone. He is now the largest contractor and dealer in stone, etc. in the city, and has been very successful in business. He is a partner and one of the directors of the Williams- port Brick Company, and is the owner of the South Side Brick Works, which he established in 1875. Mr. Stuempfle was married, August 2, 1853, to Catharine Barbara Huegele, of Wurtemberg, Germany, who has borne him the following chil- dren: Rosa, wife of Frederick Mohn; Gustave Adolph; Mary Sophia, wife of J. H. Bader; John Frederick; Catharine Barbara, and Herman Otto. He is a Democrat, and has served as a member of the school board from the Second ward one term. The whole family are members of the German Lutheran church, and he is a trustee in that organization. During the past twenty-five years Mr. Stuempfle has accumu- lated a handsome competence, and is recognized as one of the substantial and repre- sentative business men of Williamsport.

CAPT. DAVID BLY was born at White Deer Mills, Union county, Pennsylvania, December 28, 1839, son of John and Lydia (Rhoads) Bly. His father was a native of Virginia, and moved with his parents to Union county when a young man, where he married Lydia Rhoads, a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania. They after- wards removed to Watsontown, Northumberland county, where John Bly was inter- ested in the lumber business, as a member of the Watsontown Lumber Company. He died in Watsontown; his widow survives him and resides in that borough. Cap- tain Bly is the second in a family of ten sons, nine of whom are living. Four of the sons participated in the war of the rebellion. Joseph was a member of Com-

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History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 98

Author: edited by John F. Meginness Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1650

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650