USA > Pennsylvania > Clinton County > Beech Creek > History of the Beech Creek Area of Clinton County, Pennsylvania > Part 7
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Over the years there has been a noticable change in the method of selecting names for babies. At one time it was not uncommon to assign the newborn the exact same name of a deceased older brother or sister. There were two instances of this in the family of Joseph M. and Janetta (David) Smith. Many girls received the same name as their mother. In contrast to today our forerunners selected more names from among ancestors and relatives, more from the Bible, more from U.S. presi- dents and army generals, and more from ministers of the gospel. Girls often received such names as Love, Charity, Gladness, True, Silence, and Temperance. In one noticable case a girl was named Alabama. Two children were found with the name Orange. A daughter born to James and Ellen (Baird) David on July 4, 1850 was named Independence Virginia. Another very appropriate name was that of Centennial Haagen, born to John and Fayetta (Brungard) Haagen in the year 1876. We must remember that in those days there were no movie and TV personalities, and very few sports stars and glamour magazines to provide a source of names.
In 1889 John Mapes, a son of Edward and Eliza (Locke) Mapes, his wife, Mary J. (Clark) Mapes, the daughter of John T. and Mary (Boone) Clark, and their children boarded their houseboat for a new home elsewhere. The boat, which had been in readiness awaiting high water, carried their necessary belongings, including a cow. Witnesses to the boat as it moved past Beech Creek always retained a memory of the cow peering through the stable door at the rear. The Mapes family floated to the Chesapeake Bay and eventually settled in North Carolina.
In January, 1905 Samuel Bitner, young son of Oliver and Cora (Mor- timer) Bitner, had both legs cut off near the hips by an NYC freight
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train. Sammy was "cuffing" a ride when his footing slipped, landing him on the track beneath the wheels. In March of that year Sammy was returned to his home from the Lock Haven Hospital.
An incident that took place in a deep well at the Samuel Gardner residence on upper Water Street on Monday, July 10, 1911 brought a Carnegie Medal to a Beech Creek man. The life of a Blanchard well dig- ger, Lemuel Clark, was saved by the heroism of Frank A. Kunes, a son of Samuel H. and Clarissa (Masden) Kunes, who lived nearby. Mr. Kunes, after being alerted by his neighbor, Mrs. Mae (McCarthy) Mil- ler, hurried to the scene and succeeded in doing what several others had attempted, but failed. He quickly descended into the well, fastened a rope around the unconscious body of Mr. Clark, and taking advantage of his own robust physique, hoisted Clark to the surface. The task of Mr. Kunes was compounded by the fact that he, too, was somewhat overcome by the lack of oxygen deep in the well. Immediate treatment by a doctor and another medically trained man standing by led to the complete recovery of Mr. Clark. In 1933, at age 74, and still in apparent good health, Mr. Kunes lost his own life after being struck by an automobile on the main street in Lock Haven. He had just come from Avis where he had witnessed another win by his hometown baseball team.
In 1890 James R. Walz, a local bridge worker, lost his life when a passing train caused supporting timbers to be dislodged. James was a son of John G. Walz, a local saddler and a brother of Warren Walz, a local tailor. He left a widow and two young children. In a bridge acci- dent in 1906 James A. Hunter, age 46, a highly-skilled structural steel worker who lived nearby in Liberty Township, lost his life. He was sur- vived by his widow, Clara (Nestlerode) Hunter and a young family. A son of John and Frederica (Smith) Hunter, he had grown up in our Beech Creek area.
In August, 1920 Everett Hall Packer, a son of Asher and Nancy (Hall) Packer, lost his life in a fall from the Beech Creek school building. Mr. Packer, who was doing work on the steeple, lost his footing and landed on the stone walk below. A short time before his fall Packer had agreed with a niece living closeby that it was a dangerous place for a seventy-four-year-old man to be working. He explained, however, that he needed the money. Everett and his wife, Esther, a daughter of Jesse Gladfelter and his second wife, Esther (Keister) Gladfelter, are buried at the Church of Christ cemetery in unmarked graves.
On May 26, 1916 a tragic accident occurred at the Pennsylvania Railroad crossing adjacent to the Beech Creek station. Simeon Maines, the station agent, was driving his 1910 model Maxwell touring car and
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had reached the crossing just ahead of the fast moving flyer, but his car stalled on the track. The car was completely demolished and Maines was instantly killed. Charles A. Hayes of Howard, who was riding with Mr. Maines, jumped clear of the vehicle in time to escape injury. Mr. Maines, who was born June 27, 1882 in Clearfield County, left a widow, the former Clara Batschelet, and six children counting one that was born several months later. For many years afterward the mangled automobile lay in public view at the old auto factory on Main Street. Mr. Hayes later married Lola Bitner, daughter of George and Elizabeth (DeLong) Bitner, and lived here. In early 1923 Hayes had another very narrow escape. While lending his assistance at a burning double house on Maple Avenue a brick fell from a chimney and struck him on the forehead. Fortunately it was a glancing blow, but it left a scar that Mr. Hayes carried the rest of his life. This particular house was the home of the families of Harry and Mary (Smith) Masden and Luther and Mabel (Boone) Glossner.
On an afternoon in September, 1913 Leonard James McGhee, a son of Oscar and Jemima (Haagen) McGhee, was killed by a train. Young McGhee had walked up the railroad track from his farm home and crossed the "iron bridge" over Bald Eagle Creek. His mission was to as-
Head-on collision of P.R.R. trains at McGhee's farm in 1916. Two were killed.
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sist his younger sister, Sarah, a pupil at Haagen School, in crossing the bridge, a twice-daily chore of the sixteen-year-old boy. While sitting in waiting near the track, Leonard apparently fell asleep. When aroused by the oncoming "Chemung," a special private passenger train, he raised his head, which was struck. Incidentally, in 1978 the previously abandoned iron bridge was purchased by Howard McGhee, son of Leonard's brother Chester, and the present occupant of the McGhee farm house.
An early drowning was that of Peter Uhl, age 29, who drowned in Beech Creek on June 13, 1864. He was a son of Peter Uhl of Marsh Creek. Another drowning in 1864 took the life of four-year-old George Boyd Quigley. He was the son of James and Catharine (Miller) Quigley. It was his grandfather, Michael Miller, who had died five years before from having been given the wrong medicine by his doctor. Little Boyd had been named for his uncle George Boyd Quigley, who, with his wife, Matilda, later lived at the location of the Wesleyan Church parsonage. Incidentally, the elder Boyd, who should have been mentioned in an earlier paragraph as an additional son of Nicholas and Eliza, had another nephew as a namesake. He was George Boyd Wensel, son of George and Ellen Eliza (Quigley) Wensel. The Wensel boy died at age thirteen in 1863, likely of smallpox. This particular dis- ease is suggested because our area had a serious epidemic of the pox at that time. Furthermore, the Wensels were close neighbors of the Lig- gets who had lost two children several weeks earlier.
In August, 1902 Floyd Swartz, five-year-old son of Marion and Laura Ann (Jonas) Swartz, drowned in Beech Creek stream near his home. In the Summer of 1936 Billy Trept of Shamokin, young grandson of Mrs. Clara (Knarr) Hevner, drowned at the old swimming hole near the mouth of Beech Creek. On August 27, 1963 a double drowning near the Beech Creek bridge took the lives of two young boys; they were Billy Merrill, age 9, son of Rev. and Mrs. William R. Merrill, and Billy's cousin, Dale Horton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Horton of Sayre.
James "Peg" Rupert, son of Theodore and Elizabeth (Rine) Rupert, had survived several encounters with freight trains before being killed by an automobile. The results of Peg's dealings with trains ranged from slight injuries to loss of a leg. Leonard Counsil, son of Warren and Alice (James) Counsil, was much less fortunate, having been killed in his first encounter with a train, Leonard, generally known at "Yardley," had almost reached his destination when struck. In 1919 Jesse Rupert, age 18, son of Harry and Susan (Nestlerode) Rupert, was killed when he attempted a freight train ride from Mill Hall. In 1935 Clarence "Miley" Coffey was killed by a freight train. Mr. Coffey left a widow, Amanda (Casher) Coffey and a young family.
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On April 15, 1939, just two days short of his forty-seventh birthday, Walter Glock lost his life when his truck was struck by a train at Mill Hall. Walter, a son of Conrad and Fannie (Miller) Glock, left a widow, the former Ellen DeLong and a young son, Clair. On November 25, 1944 Eva (Streck) Renninger, a daughter of John and Sarah (Llewellyn) Streck, was killed while walking along the track near her home. Eva's husband, Robert, while a locomotive engineer, had lost a leg in a train wreck. In 1901 David Miller, a railroad employee, and the son of Carpenter and Nancy Jane (Bowmaster) Miller, was killed while on duty. At about that same time Percy Smith, also a railroad employee, and a son of Charles and Caroline Rebecca (Graham) Smith, lost his life in a fall from the top of a box car. Another accidental death on the railroad was that of Harry Heverly, son of Joseph and Susan (Bow- master) Heverly in 1905.
An industrial accident took the life of Alvan Streck in 1906. He was a son of John and Sarah (Llewellyn) Streck. In 1914 Elliot Gardner, a son of Joseph and Amanda (Bickel) Gardner, was killed in a mine accident. Elliot left a widow, Ethel (DeLong) Gardner (later Stevenson) and four small children. James Swartz, son of Henry and Mary (Confer) Swartz, was likewise killed by a mine cave-in in 1922. James's accident occur- red only a short time after his marriage to widow Susan (Mckean) Fudge. Records show that Sudie's first husband died out of town in 1907, possibly in an accident.
In 1924 a head-on collision between a New York Central train and a motor car carrying the Mapes station track maintenance crew resulted in one death. When the men on the car suddenly realized that a crash was imminent each of them, except William Bartley was able to jump to safety. The impact threw Mr. Bartley to the top of the locomotive, killing him instantly. On March 2, 1952 Arnold Killinger, accompanied by his young son, was driving over Hubbard's crossing, about one hundred yards from the Killinger home. The car was struck by a train killing little Kenneth, age five.
In the early 1930's a wreck on the NYCRR at Mapes Station left two dead and others injured. Two boys from a Hahn family, living at the old Brady farmhouse nearby, not realizing the seriousness of such an act, threw the switch leading to Mapes siding. By the time the engineer on a fast-moving westbound freight train realized he was being side- tracked, it was too late and the locomotive crashed into a string of freight cars loaded with steel rails. The fireman and brakeman were killed and the engineer was seriously injured.
Deaths caused by miscellaneous accidents include those of William Shearer, son of Lemuel and Catharine (Wensel) Shearer, in 1907; Terry Glossner, son of Frederick and Mary Delinda (Bitner) Glossner, in
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1915; Dean Ellery Peters, son of Ellery and Blanche (Phillips) Peters, in 1939; Harry Heverly, the son of Wesley and Sarah (Kunes) Heverly, and the husband of Jeannette (Lindsey) Heverly, in 1955; and Elmer Peters, the son of Elmer and Emma (Scantlin) Peters, and the husband of Marie (Mann) Peters, in 1974.
After suffering for a number of years from a broken back received in a fall from a scaffold, Carl Heimer died in 1971. He was a son of Charles and Minnie (Whitehouse) Heimer, and the husband of Ethel (Phillips) Heimer. On June 24, 1941, while building a porch and front entranceway to the second floor apartment of the Mckean building on Main Street, William Eaton of Blanchard fell to his death. Mr. Eaton, who was working with his father, George Eaton, lost his footing and landed on his head on the concrete floor below. Mr. Eaton's wife, Mae, a daugher of J. Irvin and Mabel (Hoffman) DeLong, was raised at Beech Creek.
In April, 1944 Doris Rowe, ten-year-old daughter of Charles and Hannah (Gummo) Rowe, was killed by a car while crossing the main highway at Haagen School, where she was a pupil. In 1946 Russell Mc- Closkey, son of Alvin and Effie (Packer) McCloskey, and his wife, Zella (Jodun) McCloskey, were both killed in an automobile accident just east of town. Another instance of double deaths occurred farther east on the same highway in 1960. D. Ross Bitner, son of David and Julia (Rupert) Bitner, and Richard Conway, son of Ellsworth and Rhoda (Fye) Conway, were killed when their automobile hit the side of a bridge. Additional highway deaths include: Glenn Miller, the son of Owen and Irene (Scantlin) Miller, and the husband of Dorothy (Bitner) Miller; Floyd Haines, the son of Fount and Mary (Temons) Haines, and the husband of Doris (Confer) Haines; William Dunlap, young son of Raymond and Bessie (Hunter) Dunlap; Paul Bowers, son of Paul and Evelyn (Kline) Bowers; and more recently, Vaughn Phillips, the son of Amos and Edwina (Scantlin) Phillips, and the husband of Helen (Kline) Phillips.
A tragedy that occurred on a dark, rainy night in September, 1971 will not be soon forgotten. Richard Etters, son of Stanley and Edna (Bechdel) Etters, had arranged to pick up two young football hopefuls after their practice session at Bald Eagle-Nittany High School. The boys were Billy Aurand, age 12, the son of William and Kathryn Ann (Bechdel) Aurand, and Rickey Rupert, age 13, the son of Claude and Genevieve (Geise) Rupert. All three were killed when, because of poor visibility and slippery roads the Etters car and another vehicle collided on a hill east of town. Mr. Etters left a widow, the former Carol Stiver, now Bliler, and two young daughters.
We have had a number of military casualties in addition to those
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mentioned in another chapter. Benjamin Franklin Ligget, son of Ben- jamin and Sarah (Adams) Ligget, was killed in the Spanish-American War and is likely buried in an unmarked grave in David cemetery. Kill- ed in action in World War II were the following: Paul Rupert, son of Fred and Ella (Mann) Rupert; Clarence Coffey, son of Clarence and Amanda (Casher) Coffey, and the husband of Pauline (Eaton) Coffey, now Leathers; and William Shearer, son of Frank and Lizzie (Robin- son) Shearer. Two World War I soldiers, although not killed in action, died before returning home. They were C. Rudolph Shilling, son of Thomas and Mary (Wolfe) Shilling, and Edward Zerbe, the son of Henry and Lydia Zerbe, and the husband of Ellen (Batschelet) Zerbe, later Swartz.
On June 8, 1892 an unusual type of accident took the life of fifty-six- year-old Sarah (Brungard) Haagen, the wife of Saul Haagen. Sarah and her daughter, Minerva, one of eleven children, were traveling the mountain road from Mill Hall to their farm home in a horse-drawn car- riage. The horses suddenly became frightened and broke into a fast gal- lop. They pulled the carriage over a pile of rocks, throwing Mrs. Haagen from the carriage and causing her death. Mr. Haagen died on November, 19, 1899 while visiting his oldest son, John, in Washington state.
In late 1919 undertaker Edgar Thompson Bechdel purchased his first motor-driven hearse. It was brought from Cincinnati by his son, Claude. According to newspaper accounts at that time, it was driven the entire distance of 550 miles without a mishap. The new vehicle was then in readiness for the upcoming funerals of William DeHaas, Joseph Brady, Mrs. Charles (Florence) White and Jonathan From, in this order. However, the old horse-drawn carriage was kept in reserve for days when bad roads precluded the use of the new conveyance.
When just a boy, age about twelve, Donald Rupert, son of Joseph G. and Tillie (Heimer) Rupert, received, endorsed and cashed his first check. The check, from New York Central Railroad, was an award for reporting a defective rail joint. Shortly thereafter Don, accompanied by his grandmother, made a trip to Lock Haven, where he spent the money for his first long-pants suit.
A confrontation between a local physician and a local German-born merchant at Cox's barber shop in June, 1917 was reported in area news- papers at the time. According to accounts patriotism was running high in the community and Dr. George H. Tibbins, along with eight other locals, had just volunteered for World War I service. The doctor was so enraged by remarks made by the merchant that he sprang from the chair where he was being shaved, and in rapid succession, placed punches to the nose of the German sympathizer. Following the incident
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local people placed American flags on the store of the German with threats that any attempt to remove them would lead to serious trouble for him.
Three months before the national census was taken in 1870 a son was born to Casper and Philomena "Phoebe" (Eckert) Peter in Beech Creek Township. In 1949 this son, William C., was named "National Father of the Year." This honor gave him nationwide publicity. Mr. Peter and his first wife, Emma (Gummo) Peter, a daughter of John E. and Elizabeth (Stephen) Gummo, had seven children; Mr. Peter and his second wife, Mary Mae (Walker) Myers Peter, a daughter of Cyrus Jef- frey and Mary J. (McCloskey) Walker, had twelve children. Eighteen of these nineteen grew to adulthood, and most of them had large families of their own. Since this country has had many large families, especially in Mr. Peter's day, it seems appropriate to conclude that the size of his family was only one factor in this citation. His was a family where industriousness and thrift were conveyed from the parents to the children. Each learned that self reliance was best for the individual and best for the country. In short, Mr. Peter and his wives provided a wholesome and inspiring family background. Mr. Peter died on December 12, 1955 at age 85. Fortunately our area, like many other farming areas of Pennsylvania, was settled by hardworking people of the type of Mr. Peter, mostly of German descent.
In addition to the sources previously outlined there was also a tendency to name newborns for the doctor who brought them into the world. Because of the general popularity of such names as William, Henry and Joseph there is no way to determine how many babies may have been named for Doctors William P. Rothrock, Henry H. Mothers- baugh or Joseph E. Tibbins. Yet there is one certainty - Joseph Tib- bins Gunsallus, son of David and Lydia (Robb) Gunsallus. Tibbins, as he was always known, married Edith Williams, daughter of Henry C. B. Williams and his first wife, Albina (Brickley) Williams. A very glar- ing example is the name, Saylor, given to many baby boys in honor of Dr. Saylor J. McGhee, who incidentally, had been named for Samuel Saylor, an industrialist who came to our area in the middle 1800's. Another popular given name was that of McDowell, which likewise needs little explanation. Those of us who did not know Dr. P. McDowell Tibbins, have, no doubt, heard of him.
The name of Tibbins Gunsallus in the above paragraph is a reminder of the general mispronunciation and incorrect spelling of some of our family names over the years. The Gunsallus name has been pronounced as though spelled "Kunsawl." The late Ira Gunsallus of Liberty Township was a son of James and Sarah (Masden) Gunsallus, and an uncle of Tibbins Gunsallus. When Ira and Abigail Lucas of Unionville,
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Centre County were married on January 14, 1868 his name was listed in the Centre County newspapers as "Console." In 1870 Robert and Nancy Gunsallus, children of John and Martha (Linn) Gunsallus, were staying temporarily with their uncle and aunt, Edward and Elizabeth (Linn) DeHaas in Beech Creek. Their names were listed by the census taker as "Consol." In 1860 John and Sarah (Llewellyn) Streck were liv- ing in the mining settlement of Rock Cabin north of Beech Creek. Their home was very close to the home of John Reville, for whom the later community of Reveltown was named. Also living close by were Sarah's parents, John and Catharine Llewellyn. The census taker listed the Streck name as "Striker." In 1870 the census enumerator listed the name as "Strick." To this day it is not uncommon for members of this clan to be referred to as "Strikes." The Heverly name was long pronounced as though there was no "H." Our first Heverly, who had settled in this area before 1820 had actually changed his name from Everly to Heverly prior to his coming here. That the prior spelling was a factor in the mispronunciation seems questionable.
Casper Peter came from Germany some time before 1860. To agree with the pronunciation and spelling of the name generally applied by the public many of Casper's descendants have added "s" to the end of the name. Incidentially a Casper Peters came from Germany before 1820 and settled in Boggs Township, Centre County. Whether this Casper had added an "s" after arriving here is not known. Records reveal that as early as the 1830's, and likely earlier, our Quigley families were referred to as "Quiggle," a spelling and pronunciation that had been adopted by some of their cousins elsewhere. Our census taker in 1900, Robert Clark, himself a Quigley descendant, gave com- fort to those who misspelled and mispronounced the name. Mr. Clark listed both his uncle James Quigley and his aunt Matilda Quigley, widow of Boyd, as "Quigle." However, judging by his spelling of the names of the others it may have been merely a case of poor spelling. There are various instances of early families acceding to a change in the spelling of their names to agree with spellings given by employers, as- sessors, tax collectors, census takers, store keepers, etc. For reasons un- known several families who descended from Andrew and Martha Linn, both buried at Hays-Fearon cemetery, changed their name to "Lynn." In more recent years some of the descendants of John and Susanna (Nestlerode) Bitner, both buried in the Nestlerode cemetery in Liberty Township, have added an extra "t." Might this be in respect to their early ancestor, Hans Gorg Boettner, who had migrated from Germany either prior to or after his marriage to Elizabeth Hershbarger!
The burning of the Beech Creek railroad station of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on August 1, 1924 was generally viewed as a case of
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arson. The company immediately set up improvised quarters in an old box car. However, local benefits were thereafter reduced to passenger and mail service only. A new, full-size, manned depot was then built at the Eagleville stop, and some years later local service was discon- tinued entirely.
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In 1965 Guy A. Stull, a son of Frank and Grace (Hoffman) Stull and the husband of Hilda (Myers) Stull, lost his life while at work. When a crane broke he was crushed beneath a load of steel at the Jersey Shore Steel Company. In that same year Guy's nephew, Gerry, son of Bernice (Stull) Hedges, was killed in an automobile accident, and his brother, Clifford, died suddenly. The death of the mother one year earlier, the death of the father one year later and the death of their aunt, Eva (Marr) Stull, in that same year made the mid-1960's stand out as a tragic period for the Stull family. In September, 1944 Harold H. Miller, a cousin of the Stull brothers, became a World War II casualty while serving with the U. S. Paratroopers. Harold was a son of Omar Miller, who now lives at Beech Creek, and the late Mae (Stull) Miller. The Millers were former residents of Blanchard.
Edward Scantlin and his wife, Ellen Susan, a daughter of G. Fulton and Emeline (Bitner) Miller, operated a farm on the ridges north of town. In May, 1895 Mr. Scantlin was killed when kicked by a horse. He was survived by his widow, seven daughters, including Edwinna, only one day old, and one son, Loren, age two. Newspaper accounts later
Traffic was maintained on the old bridge while the present bridge at the edge of town was being constructed.
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that year told of the voluntary assemblage of neighboring farmers to perform the harvesting chores. Silas Bitner, son of Abraham and Mary (Leathers) Bitner, was a former occupant of this same farm. In May, 1877 Mr. Bitner, age thirty-eight, the husband of the former Lavina Leonard, died from poison which entered his system while applying toxic spray. Three of the Bitners' seven children had died in the five years preceding Mr. Bitner's death and two more died in the seven months following.
Frank Furl, son of J. Thomas and R. Jane "Jennie" (Ammerman) Furl, a locomotive fireman, died at age 24 on April 29, 1902 from burns he received from a steam pipe explosion.
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