History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement, sketches of its noted men and women and many professional men, Part 65

Author: Hain, Harry Harrison, 1873- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Harrisburg, Pa., Hain-Moore company
Number of Pages: 1102

USA > Pennsylvania > Perry County > History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement, sketches of its noted men and women and many professional men > Part 65

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TOBOYNE TOWNSHIP.

Adams, Wilmot J., Ordinance Supply Division, Camp Hancock, Ga.

Anderson, Thomas, 3d Co., I. R. C., France and Germany.

Beaston, Roy, Field Hospital No. 14.

Burkett, Curts, 363d Infantry, France.

Gutshall, Harry, 10Ist Engineers. Died of disease; France.

Henry, Ralph, Ist Div., Field Artillery, Bat. D., France and Germany.

Hockenberry, Bruce.

Hockenberry, Roy.

Kessler, Clarence, United States.

Kessler, Roy, Oversea.

Mumper, Wilmer, Mechanic, Bat. E., 74th Artillery, C. A. C., France.

Stephens, Dean, Co. D., 407th Tel. Bn. S. C., France.

TUSCARORA TOWNSHIP.

Anghe, V. L., 60th Infantry, France.

Black, Jonathan R. (Sgt.), Ist Field Signal Bat., Germany.

Black, Andrew S., 318th Field Artillery, Germany.

Burkepile, Calvin.

Burkepile, Harry.

Dimm, Wm. R., Co. Mechanic, United States.

Fosselman, Sherman L., Motor Transport Corps, United States. Kretzing, Ard.

Kretzing, Jacob A., Engineers, France.

Jones, J. Russell, Expert Rifleman, U. S. Marines, France.

McNaughton, Ralph, 325th Infantry, France.

Mitchell, Lewis M., 155th Depot Brigade, United States. Powell, Clarence R., Ammunition Train, France. Reynolds, Lee, killed.

TYRONE TOWNSHIP.

Beard, Mabel S. (Nurse), Base Hospital 107, France. Beard, Ralph B. (2d. Lt.), Aviation, Camp Dick, Texas. Bernheisel, Newton E., Engineers, Oversea. Bernheisel, William, Supply Train, Oversea. Bistline, Miles, Marine Corps, United States. Briner. Dewey, Aerial Squadron, England. Crawford, Luther E., 5th Reg., T. A. R. D., France. Emlet, Chester (Sgt.), Motor Transport Train, Oversea.

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THE WORLD WAR AND PERRY COUNTY

Emlet, Earl, Motor Transport Train, United States. Himes, G. Robert (Chaplain), Oversea. Ickes, Kepner R., Camp Lee, Va. Kline, Lewis, Med. Corps, Oversea. Lightner, Forest M., Camp Dix.

Lightner, Herman, Quartermaster, Camp Meade, Md.

Lightner, Morris W'in., Med, Dept., Ft. Mellenry.

Lightner, Noy 1., 320th Field Signal Bat., California.

Lightner, Robt. E., Infantry, France.

Noll, John Harold (Sgt.), 79th Division. Wounded in leg; France. Power, Frank, United States.

Reeder, Anderson B., Supply Train, Oversca.

Rice, Carl.

Ritter, George (Sgt.), Shell shock, Oversea.

Sherman, Jas. W., Med. Corps, Camp Dix.

Stum, James G., Infantry, Oversca.

Stum, Win. R., Infantry, Oversea.

Weller, Samuel, M. Gun, Philippine Islands.

WATTS TOWNSHIP.

Arney, Harry Z., S. A. T. C., Carlisle, Pa.

Dorman, Russell, Patrol S. S. Blakely, Navy. Dorman, John.

Gunder, Jacob.

Hammaker, Nelson, 39th Infantry, France.

Hoehn, John R., 17th Field Artillery, France.

Huggins, William M., Infantry, France.

Humphrey, Herbert, Engineers, France. Humphrey, Samuel, Engineers, France.

Kulp, Ray (Sgt.), 9th Division, Camp Sheridan.

Liddick, Sheridan, 32Ist Field Artillery. Louden, Benson, 314th Infantry. Killed in action; France. Louden, George, 314th Infantry.

Lowe, Albert Jacob, P. O. W. E. Co. 71, France.

Lowe, John Drothy, 8th Field Artillery, France.

Lowe, Julius Columbus, Co. C., 5th Bn., Ft. B. Harrison. Lowe, Norman Enos, Co. C., 314th Infantry, Camp Meade, Md. Lowc, Roy D., Camp Meade, Md. Miller, Alfred Byron, S. A. T. C., State College. Pa.

Smith, Charles Robert, Med. Corps, New York City.

Steele, Ralph Charles, 20th Engineers, Camp Forest, Ga.

Thompson, Robert M., 2nd Cl. Seaman, Navy, Hampton Roads, Va.

Whitney, Fred, 103d Infantry, Camp Hancock, Ga.

WHEATFIELD TOWNSHIP.

Bornman, Daniel, Camp Meade, Md. Charles, John Paul, Military Police, France. Durham, John, Oversea.

Durham, Lloyd, France.

Gilbert, John, France. Huss, Otto D., 6th Div., Motor Supply Train, France.

Lepperd, Robert Earl, S. A.T.C., Lewisburg, Pa.

Losh, George, Med. Dep., Camp Meade, Md. Losh, Isaac, Cook, Quartermaster's Corps, Camp Meade, Md. McPherson, Benjamin Davis, roth Engineers, France.

Peters, C. W., France. Potter, Dexter, Teamster, 39th Infantry, France.

Rodemaker, William Elbridge, Camp Lee, Va. Shearer, James Franklin, 310th M. Gun Bn., France. Wallace, Andrew Loy, Hoth Infantry, France. Weldon, Samuel, 2d Cl. Engineer, Navy, North Sca.

Zeigler, George Russell, 304th Engineers. Died of disease; France. Zeigler, James Smiley, 304th Engineers, France.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN, AND PROMINENT DESCENDANTS ABROAD.

C ONSIDERING its comparatively small size and population, the territory which comprises Perry County is remarkable as the birthplace of many noted and illustrious men, or their forbears, since that wintry day, February 3, 1755, when the land office for the settlement of these lands was opened at Lancaster, in the Province of Pennsylvania. Of the period since then, it was a part of Cumberland for sixty-six years and a separate county for over one hundred, during both of which periods there have sprung from the pioneers and their descendants men and women whose names have been written high in the annals of the state and nation. Almost in the very beginning among those early warrantees of lands appeared the Blaines, one of whom, Ephraim Blaine, be- came Commissary General of the Continental Army, the right- hand man and associate of General Washington. His wonderful organizing ability did much to advance the cause of freedom. Of a later generation came James G. Blaine, whose name will stand with those of Clay and Webster, as among the most illustrious American statesmen.

Only a few decades from the pioneers came one whose name is honored wherever law and justice are known, not only in his own country, but abroad. Chief Justice of his own state for many years when it was in the making, when settlements were still being made on the original public lands and when the great public works were being built, John Bannister Gibson stands in the forefront of American jurists. Henry Calvin Thatcher, a native Perry Coun- tian of a later generation, became the first Chief Justice of that mighty empire of the West, Colorado, and his two brothers, Mahlon D. and John D. Thatcher, became great powers in the financial world, amassing fortunes running into the millions. Daniel Gannt, another native, became Chief Justice of the State of Nebraska. Twice in our own great Commonwealth of Penn- sylvania have Perry County natives been occupants of the guber- natorial chair, as well as in the States of California and Minnesota, and the names of the Bigler brothers, Miller and Beaver, are a part of the annals of their native and adopted states. While the elder Bigler was the governor of Pennsylvania, his brother was occupying the governor's chair in far away California, the only time in America when brothers have been governors at the

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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN

same time. * Warren G. Harding, the President of the United States at this time, is a descendant of pioneers who dwelt on Perry County soil, through the Stephens family lineage. Having men- tioned the names Blaine and Beaver in the preceding sentences recalls that on two other occasions Perry County almost had the honor of seeing a native or a descendant of a native occupy the Presidential chair of the United States. The turning of but one thousand votes in the State of New York, in 1884, would have placed James G. Blaine there, and at the National Republican Con- vention of 1880, when James A. Garfield was nominated, thus breaking the Grant-Blaine deadlock, the nomination for the Vice- Presidency was tendered to James A. Beaver, who declined, stating that he had consented to run for Governor of Pennsylvania. Had he accepted that nomination he would have been installed as Presi- dent when the assassin's bullet had put an end to the career of the great and good Garfield.

While far the greater part of the actual work was being done on this volume the occupant of the second highest office in the land, the Vice-Presidency of the United States, was the son of a native Perry Countian, the mother of Thomas R. Marshall having been born at Ickesburg; and when the Southern Confederacy was formed the second officer of that government, Alexander II. Stephens, was likewise the son of a Perry Countian, his father having been born at Duncannon. Of these men and scores of oth- ers the following pages will go briefly into detail.

Twice have natives of Perry County been found upon the rolls of the greatest legislative body in the world-the United States Senate, William Bigler during the Buchanan administration, and Chester I. Long during the administration of Theodore Roose- velt, the first representing his own great State of Pennsylvania, and the latter, that red blooded, virile commonwealth of the West, Kansas. Both men made enviable records. The name of Alex- ander K. McClure, a Perry Countian, will ever stand in the very first rank of editors and newspapermen of this great country, along with those of Horace Greely, Charles A. Dana and Henry

*In the Evarts-Peck History of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys, the statement is made that the Robert Polleck, who warranted lands in what is now Jackson Township in 1755, was the grandfather of President Polk. Evidently somebody palmed off some spurious information upon the late J. R. Flickinger, who wrote the chapter on Jackson Township. In all of Prof. Flickinger's writings this is the only statement, as near as we know, which is not borne out by facts. He says: "Robert Polleck was the grandfather of President Polk, which is, in fact, the same name, as will become evident to any one pronouncing both names so as to sound every letter." President Polk's grandfather was Ezekiel Polk, a member of Congress from North Carolina, and his father was Samuel K. Polk. Perry County has enough prominent men without laying a claim to a single one not a native or descendant.

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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Watterson. He was the close friend and confidant of the immortal Lincoln in those trying days of the Sectional War.

A native Perry County girl, born Marie Stewart, but known in the theatrical world as "Marie Doro," has attained a national repu- tation as an actress both upon the speaking stage and in the silent drama. Another, Dr. Elizabeth Reifsnyder, spent much of her life in China, where she is largely responsible for the building of a great hospital and where she was in charge-between the battle lines-even during the Chinese rebellion.

Notwithstanding that Perry County, and Pennsylvania gener- ally. have sent to the great West and elsewhere many of their na- tives to help upbuild other communities, yet Pennsylvania is one of the states that keeps at home a very large proportion of its energetic men and women. According to "Who's Who," of 1,878 men and women born in Pennsylvania, 1,608 have made their home state their place of residence. As a comparison: of those born in the neighboring State of Ohio, about fifty per cent are no longer residents.

Philosophers tell us that the trinity controlling the future is heredity, training and environment. Since such is the fact great credit seems due the past generations, even from the time of the pioneer, for their manhood and womanhood, the home and family life which they lived where that training was bent in the right direc- tion, and the environment which they chose and helped make among the hills and valleys which now form the county of Perry.

Perry County has ever been noted, not only for the number of illustrious men who have gone forth to larger fields, but for the number of worthy and successful professional men and educators, who have claimed it as their home; and to issue this book without paying especial attention to that reputation and those who have helped make it would be to make it defective. A noted theologian has advanced a reason for this reputation relating to the profes- sions. According to his method of reasoning the fact that the soil is not so fertile as in some places makes the price of farm land less and enables more people to own their farms than in several near-by counties, thus fixing them to the soil instead of becoming a moving or roving tenantry, which gave them a better chance to become educated. A famous educator offered a reason along the same line when he said, "The people of your county did not keep their children home to 'strip tobacco' but sent them to school." The writer does not pretend to know the reason, but does know that unlike a number of near-by counties Perry has had no nor- mal schools and colleges within its borders to which the rising gen- eration could be sent at little expense, but from the product of these "poor" farins has educated a greater proportion of its youth than has been done in many other counties. Of one thing we are

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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN

sure, and that is that practically all of these men and women who have gone forth and brought success upon their homeland have had good and very many of them Godly mothers, whose impress for good and right living has been wrought into their very fiber. In a letter lying before me, from the pen of a noted theologian, is this outstanding sentence: "I think it would be difficult to find anywhere else such interest and attractiveness in home life." Those words were written by a man whose duties bring hini into the homes of hundreds each year, and often in widely separated parts of the country. Himself a Perry Countian, born and bred in one of these homes, he attributes all his success to a Godly mother. During the past decade the press' ofttimes teemed of "the Fatherland," referring to a land across the sea. The writer al- ways likes to think of America as "the Motherland," and of Perry County as the home of the best of mothers-your mother and mine. To them, who went down to the very brink of eternity for us, who spent many weary and wakeful hours during the stilly night. who nursed us through the ills of childhood and mayhap later years, in whose hearts we are ever their boy or their girl-to them. lies much of the credit for the success attained by the men and women, sketches of whose lives occupy many of the following pages. Many of them were what would be termed old-fashioned mothers, not women of the period, perchance enameled and painted. whose bejeweled hands never felt the clasp of baby fingers; but dear, old-fashioned, sweet-voiced, loving mothers whose dear hands were often worn with toil in the rearing of their little chil- dren. I like that word old-fashioned, and especially as applied to mothers, for it is the old-fashioned mother of even to-day that makes the American home the foundation of the Republic. With few exceptions the sketches which follow, of the professional men, are of those who have gone abroad, as the field for advance- ment at home is necessarily limited by the small area and popu- lation.

One may estimate justly and try to record a perspective of the life and character of a person and yet fail to convey it to the reader as it appears to himself. Traits which to some of us seem most significant to others appear trifling and almost negligible. With any little vices which any of the characters may have possessed this book is unconcerned. The cynic will no doubt be able to dig from the depths of a perverted nature or from unfounded fact and rumor something to appease his or her appetite and allay within a curious desire to pull from a pedestal those whose great- ness is acknowledged or whose success is marked. To those we can only quote the biblical injunction, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," and recall that even the Great Master in choos- ing his disciples did not have an entire twelve without fault.

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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

In the sketches of these men membership in lodges is rarely mentioned, as no special distinction attaches thereto, save in so far as advancement to office of unusual note is concerned, neither is church membership dwelt upon, as that is but the duty of every one, but where men have done unusual things or great work along religious lines it is recorded, as it should be.

Some persons of note will be missed, unintentionally, probably from having no knowledge of them whatsoever or from failure to receive replies to letters, many hundreds of which were written, to points all over the Union. No attempt has been made to be conclusive in the biographical articles in the book, as the size of the volume has barred any such attempt, but the mere statement that certain men were born within the borders of Perry County or its territory would only be a chronological table of uncertain value. Accordingly the author has often read many volumes and from the mass of material has tried, in each biographical sketch, to por- tray the character, the most marked characteristics, and briefly, the story of the life of its subject.

Doubtless many readers will think that some very important characters have been overlooked in the preparation of these sketches, and possibly some will feel that a few names have been inserted which have small claim to distinction. While all have a right to their opinions, yet the author feels that each name here has in some way or another brought credit upon his native county and a careful perusal and consideration of the data, we believe, will convince the reader also of that fact.

Of the Perry Countians who remained at home these pages tell the story, not in any one place, but throughout the book. Take a given family, and in the history of a certain township you will find where the pioneer located his land, mayhap where one of his people had "an argument" with the Indians. Later his descendants may be found building a mill or in other matter of import. The grandson, perchance, was one of those enthusiasts who helped se- cure countyhood. In another generation the family may have at- tained county office, and among the names of the noted and suc- cessful Perry Countians who went abroad will doubtless be found those of still later generations. The story of those "to the manor born," who remained in the county, is already written in the county press. They are known to have been a red-blooded, virile people, else there would have been no occasion for this work, tell- ing of their history and of the biographies of their descendants and kin. In the People's Advocate and Press" of New Bloomfield (1902) Rev. J. Dill Calhoun, a Perry Countian, writing from Illi- nois, said: "I have always maintained and do hereby affirm that 'Old Perry' has ever had within its borders a superior class of men in every legitimate vocation of life, and several visits to the haunts

PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN

609

of my childhood days have only served to confirm me in that belief."

WARREN G. HARDING, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

That there should occupy the great office of President of the United States, at the time of the publication of this book, a de-

WARREN G. HARDING,

President of the United States. A Descendant of the Pioneers.

scendant of the pioneer families of the territory which is now Perry County is most remarkable, and yet it is a fact. * The line of descent is from Sophia Stevens, great-grandmother of President

*Verified by letters from President Harding and his sister, Miss Abigail S. Harding.

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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Harding, who was born in Pennsylvania in March, 1802, and was united in marriage to Joshna Crawford, of Baltimore, in 1821. They located in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Joshua Craw- ford's daughter, Mary Ann, was united in marriage to Charles Alexander Harding, the father of Dr. George T. Harding, father of the President. Sophia Stevens' lineage is traced to the family of Capt. Alexander Stevens, who was the grandfather of Alex- ander H. Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, and who resided near Duncannon, where he married Catherine Baskins.

The President on the father's side is a descendant of the noted Harding family of the Wyoming Valley, in Pennsylvania, where some members of the clan were among those massacred by the In- cians, and others were patriots in the Revolution. He was born near Blooming Grove, Ohio. His family's start was rather humble and he was the first-born of eight children. At fourteen he ma- triculated at the Ohio Central College, at Iberia, no longer in ex- istence, but had to stop a number of times to earn money to con- tinue his studies. He drove team, helped grade a roadbed, painted buildings, and did other odd jobs. At college he was editor of the student publication, through which he was brought into con- tact with the printing business, at which his odd moments were employed. In 1884 Dr. Harding located at Marion, and some time later Warren G. Harding became the editor and publisher of the Marion Star, then a struggling paper. He placed it on a firm foot- ing and it is to-day known as one of the substantial small city dailies of that great state. The President is still the principal owner, and can handle any position on the paper. After it was on firm footing he organized a stock company, and he and his em- ployees own it. Entering polities he twice represented the Thir- teenth District in the Ohio State Senate. From 1904 to 1906 he was lieutenant governor, and in 1910 was the Republican nominee for governor, but was defeated. In 1914 he was elected to the United States Senate by 100,000 majority, over 73,000 above the rest of the ticket. When the National Republican Convention met at Chicago in 1919 he stood fourth in the balloting for the Presi- dential nomination. A prolonged deadlock of the first three can- didates made him the logical nominee and at the succeeding elec- tion, with Calvin Coolidge for Vice-President, he carried the entire country, save the "Solid South," from which he, however, cap- tured Tennessee. Before becoming President he made three trips to Europe to study their systems of government. On entering the political arena he was associated with such men as Mckinley. Foraker, Sherman, Taft, and Roosevelt. His strong point is mir- rored in the single familiar expression, "Back to normalcy." Of the Mckinley type he believes in the things which have been tried and proven, rather than the various "isms" oft clamored for by

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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN

the populace. Early in 1922 he called a conference of the nations to meet at Washington to consider the reduction of armament and if, in the years to come, that shall have borne fruit it will possibly be the outstanding feature of his administration.

The efforts of Mr. Harding while a member of the United States Senate to safeguard national sovereignty and independence were largely instrumental in placing him in the President's chair, as there are many millions who still believe that the Monroe Doctrine, later so nobly upheld by President Cleveland, is a vital, living force, and that it should ever remain so. He early advocated prepared- ness and sponsored the bill for preparedness which had the en- dorsement of Col. Roosevelt, former President of the United States. His knowledge of economics and finance is generally con- ceded to be greater than that of any of his predecessors.

THOMAS RILEY MARSHALL, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE U. S.

During the greater part of the period in which this book was written and compiled, or until March 4. of last year, the occupant of the second highest office in the land, the Vice-Presidency of the United States, was Thomas Riley Marshall, whose mother, *Martha E. Patterson, was born at Ickesburg, Perry County, March 5, 1829, being the daughter of Thomas and Susanna (Linn) Patterson, who subsequently moved to Richland County, Ohio, in 1832, where both soon died. Susanna Linn was the daughter of John Linn, who died on the old Linn farm, near Saville, in 1837, and the grand- daughter of Rev. John Linn, pioneer pastor who passed away in 1820, the very year of the county's erection. On the Patterson side his mother was a descendant of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. On his father's side the Vice-President is a scion of the Virginia family of Marshalls, being a grandnephew of the celebrated Chief Justice Marshall. The Linn lineage is numerous in Perry County, and is one of the substantial strains descended from the pioneers.

There are certain things about Mr. Marshall's election to and occupancy of the Vice-Presidency which stand out. He shares with John Adams and Daniel Tompkins the distinction of being elected on the ticket of the same party, with the same head, to succeed himself. Washington and Adams were twice elected, as were James Monroe and Daniel Tompkins, and not again did that con- dition occur until the case of Wilson and Marshall. When Presi- dent Wilson was incapacitated from performing the duties of the Presidency, and there appeared no constitutional provision cover- ing such a condition, a less tactful man in the Vice-Presidency

*Verified by a letter from Vice-President Marshall, in possession of the author, and by the records at the Perry County recorder's office.

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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

might have assumed temporary authority, but not so with Thomas R. Marshall.

He was born March 14, 1854, in North Manchester, Wabash County, Indiana. His father's extensive medical practice gave the family a competence. and as a lad Thomas R. was not compelled

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History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement, sketches of its noted men and women and many professional men, Part 65

Author: Hain, Harry Harrison, 1873- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Harrisburg, Pa., Hain-Moore company Number of Pages: 1102

Author: Hain, Harry Harrison, 1873- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Harrisburg, Pa., Hain-Moore company
Number of Pages: 1102