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 78
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Archibald Loudon's youngest daughter. Margery B., was united in marriage to Dr. Isaac Wayne Snowden, a son of Rev. Nathaniel Randolph Snowden, a Presbyterian divine, and the father of Colo- nel A. Loudon Snowden, for many years superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia. Dr. Snowden practiced medi- cine at Millerstown from 1830 to 1834. Archibald Loudon had located at Carlisle in later life, where he was postmaster for many years. He was also a book publisher there.
The Loudon transplanting from Scotland to the forests of Pro- vincial Pennsylvania read like legend, but are facts. Matthew and James Loudon came from Scotland, about 1760, the son Archibald being born to James and wife while at sea. They settled in Sher- man's Valley, but were driven out by the Indians and took up lands near Hogestown, Cumberland County, where they settled. After the Indian troubles subsided James went back to what is now Tuscarora Township, Perry County, and lived there and reared his family there. James Loudon died September 22, 1783, and his remains rest on the old Bull's Hill graveyard, in Tuscarora Township, where the oldest stone marks his grave. This old burial place is named after the famous Bull family, from whom came Capt. Bull, famous in the Second War with Great Britain.
Archibald Loudon's death occurred August 12, 1840, at Carlisle. in his 86th year. A notice of his death in the Perry Freeman of August 27th chronicles the fact and says that he was editor of the Cumberland Register for a time. His life covered the period when these lands progressed from savagery to civilization, and he lived under the Provincial, Colonial, and United States governments. He enlisted as a private in the Fourth Company of Col. Frederick Watts' battalion during the Revolution and was made an ensign of the Third Company. He was also a soldier in the Whiskey Rebellion.
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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN
GEORGE ROBINSON, PIONEER.
Thomas Robinson and his son Philip were among the first resi- dents of the Cumberland Valley, of Scotch-Irish descent. George Robinson, Philip's second son, took up land in what is now Perry County, near Centre Church, of which he was one of the original members. Fort Robinson, mentioned in Provincial annals, was located on his farm. He was a justice of the peace, his commis- sion issuing from George III. He was a captain in the Revolution. He remained in Sherman's Valley until 1797, when he removed to Kentucky, near Georgetown, where several of his sons had pre- ceded him. There he resided until his death in 1814, at the age of eighty-seven. Ile was a ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church there. A grandson, James F. Robinson, became governor of Ken- tucky and remembered him well, describing him thus: "He was six feet tall, perfect in build, remarkably athletic and strong, fine large head, light hair, beautiful large blue eyes, large and well-developed forehead, with a benevolent and intellectual countenance. He was remarkable for his love of reading, especially that of the higher and more difficult kinds, works on law, ethics, and mental and moral philosophy. His library contains such works as Locke on Government, Blackstone's Commentaries, Stewart's Philosophy, the Spectator, etc. Among his acquaintances he was distinguished for his safe and sound judgment. He was a general counselor, a kind of oracle to all around, a Christian gentleman in truth whose memory was cherished by all who knew him, and was handed down as that of one of the worthies of his day." His tombstone in Kentucky bears this legend :
"Of softest manner, unaffected mind, Lover of peace and friend of human kind, Go, live! for Heaven's eternal rest is thine, Go, and exalt this mortal to divine."
His descendants are widely scattered. As stated, a grandson became governor of Kentucky. A great-grandson, Rev. Thomas H. Robinson, D.D., was pastor of Market Square Presbyterian Church at Harrisburg for thirty years, from 1854 to 1884, when he became a member of the faculty of the Western Theological Semi- nary at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. Jonathan Robinson, a son of George, who was the advance agent of the Robinson clan from Perry County who migrated to Kentucky, was married to Jane Black, and they became the parents of Governor James F. Robin- son, of Kentucky, who was governor when the Southern states seceded, and largely through him it refused to join the movement.
REV. JOHN LINN.
Rev. John Linn was one of those early divines whose impress has been left upon the life of the county, although his ministry
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ceased with his death, which occurred in the year of the county's formation, 1820. He was born in Adams County in 1749, and professed religion when a mere boy. He graduated from Nassau Hall in 1773 and studied theology with Dr. Cooper, pastor of Mid- dle Spring Church, in Cumberland County. Donegal Presbytery licensed him to preach in December, 1776, and about a year later he received and accepted a call to the churches of that faith-then the only ones-in Sherman's Valley. Here he labored and spent the balance of his life, faithfully and efficiently, being seventy-two years of age when death came in 1820.
Soon after settling here he married Mary Gettys, a daughter of the founder of Gettysburg. They became the parents of four sons and two daughters, one of the sons being Rev. James Linn, D.D., also a Presbyterian divine, who long served the church at Belle- fonte and others.
Rev. Mr. Linn was, according to an account by Rev. Baird, about five feet, ten inches in height, portly, symmetrical in form, muscular and active in his bodily movements. He had a strong constitution and wonderful powers of endurance, an uncommon fine specimen of a man, generally so regarded by all. His pas- torate of forty-four years is one of the very longest of any min- ister who has carried the Word to the territory which comprises Perry County. He had a jovial disposition, was cheerful and could easily acclimate himself to folks of different character and who lived under the various conditions of life. Characteristic of him was sobriety of mind rather than versatility, reflection rather than imagination. Accustomed to writing out his sermons at full length he would deliver them from memory, save on hot summer Sabbath mornings he would discourse on some particular story from the New Testament. His voice was remarkably clear, his expression solemn and impressive. Sermons which he wrote showed him to be a correct writer, instructive and methodical. Uncommonly de- voted to his flock he did a wonderful amount of pastoral work. Christian dignity, even in his own family, tenderness and fidelity were marked traits in this first messenger from the Master to cast his lot among a new people, in a new country, then in the making. Like many other ministers of the period his salary was inadequate to support a growing family, and it was augmented by the owner- ship of a farm which he not only managed, but in rushed seasons helped till and harvest.
Rev. Linn has the distinction of having one of his blood, a direct descendant, occupying the second position in the nation at the time this is written (1920). Vice-President Marshall's mother was no other than Susannah Linn, a granddaughter. His descendants are the Linns, of Chambersburg, Williamsport, Philadelphia, Spring- field, Ohio, and many other places.
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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN
J. R. FLICKINGER, PRINCIPAL, CENTRAL STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
Junius Rudy Flickinger, Ph.D., was widely known as one of Pennsylvania's leading educators. From his early life his heart was in the schoolroom, and, although he tried another line of activity, he soon drifted back to the profession in which he rose to great heights. He was a grandson of Henry Flickinger, of Ickesburg,
JUNIUS R. FLICKINGER, Noted Educator. Born in Madison Township.
being a son of John and Elizabeth (Bixler) Flickinger. He was born at Bixler, Madison Township, almost within the shadow of Centre Church, October 19, 1854. There he grew to manhood and attended the local schools and later the New Bloomfield Academy. He graduated from Princeton College (it was not then a univer- sity) in 1877, at the age of twenty-two. Immediately he began his career as an educator by accepting the principalship of the New Bloomfield Academy. Four years later he was elected county 47
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
superintendent of schools of Perry County. He refused a reëlec- tion and began the study of law in the office of the late Ex-Senator Charles H. Smiley. The following year, 1886, he was elected to the lower house of the Pennsylvania Legislature, serving with dis- tinction. On December 18, 1888, he married Caroline Milligan Rice, a daughter of William and Caroline (Milligan) Rice, who became his associate in business activities and in the work of the Presbyterian Church, in which he was much interested. He had gone to Colorado for his health during the previous year, and upon his marriage located there.
In 1889 the governor of Colorado appointed him a trustee of their proposed first State Normal School at Greely. This enabled him to perform a leading part in the organization of Colorado's first Teachers' College. In 1890 he was elected to the Legislature of Colorado, and served as chairman of the Committee on Appro- priations and occasionally as speaker of the house. In 1893, de- clining a nomination to the State Senate of Colorado, he returned to Pennsylvania, his native state, and, while filling the chair of History in the State Normal at Westchester, took a postgraduate course in the University of Pennsylvania, and that institution con- ferred upon him the degree, Doctor of Science.
In 1896 he was chosen principal of the State Normal at Edin- boro, Pennsylvania, an institution whose prospect of usefulness at that time had been practically ruined by prolonged factional quar- reling. His success in effecting harmony and restoring confidence, soon proved him to be an educator and administrator of unusual sagacity and executive ability. Three years later, as a recognition of his marked efficiency as an educator he was elected principal of the Central State Normal at Lock Haven, Pa. He justified his selection, by building up the school and making it one of the most noted and prosperous educational institutions in the state. After twelve years of faithful and efficient service, during which he se- cured for that institution the highest standard of excellence, he died quite suddenly from a severe attack of gastritis, February 17, 1912. He was buried at New Bloomfield. His age was fifty-eight.
He was a highly esteemed member of the Lock Haven Board of Trade. His last public address was at their annual banquet a few days previous to his decease, and he commended to their favorable consideration the commission form of government for cities. He was a member of the American Historical Society, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the State and Na- tional Educational Associations. In 1902 he was elected president of the State Educational Association, being one of three native Perry Countians to gain such distinction. He was the author of a popular textbook on civics and of many papers on historical and economic subjects. His performance of every trust was character-
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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN
ized by integrity of character and nobility of purpose. His help- fulness to individual students was a vital characteristic of his work. He held the degrees of A.B., A.M., (Princeton) and D.Sc. (Buck- nell). He taught pedagogy, psychology and history of education while principal of the State Normal School.
The following tribute, part of an article from the Lock Haven Bulletin, at the time of his death, is from the pen of one who nec- essarily knew him and knew of his work :
"Very prominent among his many remarkable traits of character, was his love of truth and right. This characteristic linked with his kind sym- pathetic helpfulness to all, have made him a man, the superior of whom the Central State Normal can never hope to have.
"Aside from his culture and high intellectual attainments, he possessed those rare traits of character which exert an inspiring influence over man- kind; cheering the disconsolate, encouraging the downhearted, and help- ing them to feel that life is indeed worth living. He was air attractive speaker, a leader of men who had the happy faculty of drawing people to him irresistibly, because he was the personification of frankness and good- ness and carefully followed the teachings of the meek and lowly Master. The world has been made better by his life of service in the cause of edu- cation, and while others may rise to take his place, the lofty influence of his noble life will continue to be manifested, in the lives of those who were associated with him."
Dr. Flickinger was survived by his wife, who became custodian of the public library at Dalton, Massachusetts, a position which she still holds; and an only daughter, Jean, born at Pueblo, Colorado, who completed the Normal course at Lock Haven and graduated from Vassar, in 1916. She enlisted as a Red Cross worker in January, 1919. to work among the homeless refugees along the battle line in France, under the auspices of the Friends' Recon- struction Bureau, and was assigned to the superintendency of that work along the Marne and the Meuse.
While it has not been within the scope of this book to include any genealogy, save that connected directly with prominent na- tives, yet a sketch of Henry Flickinger, the ancestor of the many Flickinger families follows, as an example of but one of the many noted families who have left their marks along the line of good citizenship of this and other counties and of this and other states. Among such families might be mentioned those whose names ap- pear in this work along historical lines and their ancestry, as well as other families of prominence. Several works of that character, of two and three volumes, comprising the counties of the Juniata Val- ley, and in one case also Snyder and Union Counties, are among our prized possessions, but there is a place for a real Perry County genealogy, in one volume, covering the families of prominence and of historical significance within its confines and those which once dwelt there. The author of this volume stands ready to aid any
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
person who will attempt to publish such work and who has the perseverance to pursue it to completion. Much data can yet be secured that in another generation will have passed away.
HENRY FLICKINGER.
Henry Flickinger, of Ickesburg was the worthy ancestor of the Flick- inger families of Perry and Juniata Counties. Henry was the son of Peter Flickinger, 1730-1807, the immigrant, who was enrolled at Rotterdam, in Holland, as coming from the Palatinate in Germany and, sailing on the Edinburg, James Russell, captain, arrived at Philadelphia, September 14. 1753. Peter Flickinger, according to the best information available, was a farmer and, passing up the valley of the Schuylkill River, tarried awhile at Pottstown, but soon afterward located on the frontier in the vicinity of Reading, Berks County. Here he married Mollie Derr. Later he moved to East Buffalo Township (near Lewisburg), Northumberland, now Union County, raised a family of seven or eight children, and died at 77, in 1807. His wife died at the home of his son, Henry, at Ickesburg, four years later, and was taken for burial to the grave of her husband.
Henry Flickinger was a native of Berks County, and was born January 10, 1765. In his youth he made good use of his limited school privileges and learned the art of making shoes, that he might have steady employ- ment during the winter months. About 1796, meeting Thomas Strock, of Perry County, he accompanied him and worked for him three years on the Strock farm, a few miles southwest of Ickesburg. In May, 1798, he mar- ried Margaret Yohn, a native of Montgomery County, and the next year located on a farm near Ickesburg. In 1833 he became a resident of Ickes- burg and, assisted by Peter, his oldest son, devoted his entire time to shoe- making. Henry died November 10, 1853, in his eighty-ninth year; and Margaret, his wife, died at 74, on April 27th of the same year. Both were life-long, loyal and faithful members of the Lutheran Church, and were buried at Eshcol.
Henry Flickinger early in life formed the habit of reading useful books, and had a well-stored memory. He supplied his home, in that early day in which he lived, with a library that included some excellent works on history, biography, natural history, a German Bible, and Scott's complete commentary on the Bible. In his effort to surround his home and family with the best moral and religious influences, he was heartily seconded by his noble wife.
It is interesting to note the remarkable result. They raised a family of fourteen children. All of these growing to manhood and womanhood, be- came active members and highly esteemed workers in the Lutheran, Re- formed, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches. Such a beautiful record of the beneficent influence of moral and religious training in the home, in point of numbers and widely extended influence, has not likely been sur- passed by many Pennsylvania families.
Large families and long lives are two other noteworthy characteristics of Henry and wife, their children and grandchildren. Their large families and great ages indicate an inheritance of physical vigor, that presages a lifelong period of usefulness.
The children of Henry and Margaret Yohn Flickinger married and lo- cated as follows :
I. Peter md. Margaret Ritter, lived in Perry Co.
2. Mary M. md. William Shreffler, lived at Peoria, Il1.
3. Bandina md. Henry Long, lived in Perry Co.
4. John md. Elizabeth Bixler, lived in Perry Co.
5. Nicholas md. Rebecca Rice, lived in Ohio.
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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN
6. David md. Rebecca Bousum, lived in Perry Co.
7. Elizabeth ind. Jacob Reisinger, lived in Perry Co.
8. Margaret ind. Erasmus Yocum, lived in Huntingdon Co.
9. Henry md. Elizabeth Reisinger, and later Betsy Paden, lived in Perry Co.
IO. Isaac md. Mary Blain, lived in Juniata Co.
II. Daniel W. md. Julia Ann Saylor, lived in Juniata Co.
12. Lydia Ann md. Jeremiah Fuller, lived in Perry Co.
13. Joseph md. Nancy Campbell, lived in Perry Co.
14. George md. Susan Jacobs, lived in Perry Co.
Public service has been rendered by this family as follows: John Flick- inger served three years as a director of the poor of Perry County, super- intended the erection of the county almshouse, and was an honored official of the Methodist Church. Dr. Junius R., his son, served a term as county superintendent, two terms in state legislatures-one in each of two different states, and fifteen years as principal of two state teachers' insti- tutions. Major Daniel W. Flickinger, enlisting at Ickesburg with three other brothers, as a member of the Green Mountain Riflemen, was soon promoted and served several years as a major for training the militia of Perry County. Later he served three years as a commissioner in Juniata County. Rev. Robert E., his son, became a Presbyterian minister and author of several historical books. Joseph Flickinger served three years as a director of the Perry County Almshouse, and Levi Hiram, his son, served three years as auditor, and four years as treasurer of Perry County. Prof. H. W. Flickinger, a son of Peter, in recognition of his genius and skill as a pen artist and lifelong service as an instructor, has been ac- corded the honor of being one of the best and most popular penmen of this country.
LEMUEL E. McGINNES, SUPT. STEELTON SCHOOLS.
The schools of Steelton, Pennsylvania, have for several decades stood at the top in educational circles. They were largely made so through the planning and supervision of Lemuel E. McGinnes, whose life was dedicated to the training and instruction of the rising generations. He descended from a line of Scotch-Irish an- cestry. James McGinnes, his paternal grandfather, came to Amer- ica from the north of Ireland, in 1790, settling in Greenwood Township-in the part which is now Buffalo Township. His ma- ternal great-great-grandfather was John Ditty, who settled in Ly- kens Valley, three miles northeast of Millersburg, in 1770. His father was John Cochran McGinnes, a native of Perry County, born in 1812. His vocation was that of a teacher. He died in 1887. His mother was Sarah Ann Ditty, born in 1828, and who died in 1910.
Lemuel E. McGinnes was born in Buck's Valley, Buffalo Town- ship, May 15, 1853. His early life was like that of the average farmer's son, attending the public schools while they were in ses- sion and helping on the farm at other times. He early decided to follow the teaching profession, and enrolled at the summer normal school of Silas Wright at Millerstown, and from that early tutor drew much inspiration. He began teaching in 1872, and taught
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
in his home township for three terms. In 1875 he was selected as principal of the Lower Duncannon schools, where his work was so successful that in 1878 he was elected principal of the Dun- cannon schools, remaining three years. In 1881 he was elected principal of the Steelton schools, which position he filled until 1888, when he was promoted to the superintendency of the Steelton schools.
.
LEMUEL E. McGINNES,
Noted Educator. Born in Buffalo Township.
He served as president of the Pennsylvania State Educational Association in 1906, one of three Perry Countians to attain that coveted honor, the other two being Dr. J. R. Flickinger and Chas. S. Davis, present superintendent of the Steelton schools. No other county in the state outside of the large cities has been so honored. At various times he was on the examining board of practically every normal school in the state. He was a trustee of the Blooms- burg State Normal School from 1914 to the time of his death, in
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PERRY COUNTY'S NOTED MEN
1919. In 1918 he was appointed on the State Board of Educa- tion by Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh, himself a noted educator. As an instructor at teachers' institutes, L. E. McGinnes was a noted figure, and appeared in more than half of the counties of Pennsylvania, and in the states of Delaware and Indiana.
Mr. McGinnes was backed by all the larger interests of Steelton, including the Pennsylvania Steel Works, whose interest in educa- tion was marked. On three occasions, to the writer's knowledge, he turned down proffered positions elsewhere-the superintend- ency of the New Brunswick (N. J.) schools, in 1919; the prin- cipalship of the Millersville State Normal School, in 1912, and the position of Deputy Supt. of Public Instruction of Pennsylvania, in 1918.
It was the writer's privilege to know Mr. McGinnes since his early boyhood, our fathers' farms being within a half-mile of each other, and in all that territory of Perry County lying between the rivers he was held up as an example to the rising generation, and it is still so. Largely through his kindly encouragement at the very beginning of the undertaking, has the writing and compiling of this book been possible.
At a meeting of the Pennsylvania Educational Association, in Philadelphia, December 31, 1919, a memorial to Mr. McGinnes was read by Mr. Chas. S. Davis, a former president of the asso- ciation. For thirty-six years Mr. Davis was associated with Mr. McGinnes, first as a teacher, and for thirty-one years as high school principal, a record of association in school work probably unparalleled in the state. Dr. J. P. McCaskey, a long-time friend of these two men, says, in the Pennsylvania School Journal: "Mr. Chas. S. Davis is elected to succeed Mr. McGinnes. They were close personal friends, and the tribute of Mr. Davis to Mr. Mc- Ginnes was worthy of the men and the occasion." Mr. Davis said in part :
"Born in Buck's Valley, Perry County, May 15, 1853, educated in the rural schools, Juniata Valley Normal School (at Millerstown), and later at the University of Pennsylvania, but most largely by studious habits, by attentive listening, and by close observation. A diary covering forty years contains an outline or brief résumé of every important lecture or address he ever heard, mention of every prominent person he ever met, and descrip- tions of places visited, together with many of his thoughts and ideals and inspirations.
"In the Pennsylvania State Educational Association he served as vice- president in 1894, president of the Department of City and Borough Super- intendents in 1897, and president of the association in 1906. As a trustee of the Bloomsburg State Normal School and as a member of the State Board of Education he won a high place because of his grasp of the situa- tions and because of his realization of what was needed to improve con- ditions and to place the cause of education on a higher plane. His power of initiative was one of his strongest characteristics. His attitude was essentially constructive."
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