Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 130

Author: McKnight, W. J. (William James), 1836-1918
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers
Number of Pages: 972

USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II > Part 130

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In 1901 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Macbeth to Ellen . Cook, a daughter of Jere- miah Cook, who for many years was a representative farmer and lumberman of Bar- nett township. Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth have three children, George Robert, John Talbot and Ellen Frances.

JOHN E. MARSHALL lives at Maplewood Farm, the old Marshall homestead, in Snyder township, which is situated on the Brookville road and comprises seventy-five acres of pro- ductive land. He is a successful farmer, who has not only carefully managed his business interests but has also assisted materially in township office, with conscientious and efficient service.

Mr. Marshall's family is of English origin, his father, James Henry Marshall, having been born in England April 20, 1820, and there learned the trade of weaver. Coming to America at the age of twenty-three, he re- sided for a time in Philadelphia. He soon came out to Jefferson county, investing in 120 acres of land at Sugar Hill. It was in the wilderness, but he set to clearing it, in the course of time developing a valuable farm. upon which he resided the remainder of his life. He was considered one of the prominent and esteemed residents. was interested in various activities and proved a valuable coworker in building up of the community. He served as school director, was interested in politics as a member of the Republican party, held membership in the Masonic fraternity, and with his wife was always active in the work of the local Episcopal Church, of which they were among the founders, the present edifice being erected in 1871. He died Aug. 5, 1874. In Philadelphia he married Ellen Robinson, also a native of England, who survived him, passing away Jan. 21. 1880, at the age of fifty- five years. Seven children were born to their union : Martha Jane, wife of William W. Daugherty, of the Beechwoods ; Abraham, who remained a bachelor and was accidentally killed by the kick of a horse; Emma, Mrs. John Brian, of Sugar Hill; Florence, wife of Will- iam F. Burchfield, of Harrisburg; John E .;

Mr. Macbeth was born in the Province of Ontario, Canada, on the 6th of June, 1843, James Henry, who lives on that part of the

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homestead known as the Beechlawn farm; and Charles Herbert.

John E. Marshall was born on the farm upon which he still lives, Feb. 18, 1861. He attended public school at Sugar Hill and Punx- sutawney and academy at Richardsville. He taught school for two terms, at Richardsville and Crenshaw. He early helped with the farm work, and has continued to make agriculture his principal occupation. Since his marriage he has lived at Maplewood farm, which has undergone steady improvement in his hands. his industry and effective business manage- ment having combined to bring prosperity. while the property has increased in value; its fertility has enhanced through skillful cultiva- tion, fertilization and scientific crop rotation. For eight years he was township assessor, and has been a member of the school board for two terms. He is a prominent member of the Sugar Hill Presbyterian Church, having served as a trustee.

On July 4, 1883. Mr. Marshall married Mary Laura Armstrong, and they have three children: (1) Harry Raymond, born May 30, 1884, graduated from the high school and is now owner of Meadow View farm, a very de- sirable home. His wife was Eva Tobin, daugh- ter of William and Elizabeth ( Patton) Tobin, of Brockwayville, and they have one child, Mary Elizabeth. Both he and wife are mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church. He is a Republican and socially is connected with Cic- ero Lodge, No. 879, I. O. O. F., and Denoda Tribe, I. O. R. M., both of Brockwayville. (2) Chester A., born April 6, 1886, studied in the local public schools, Brockwayville high school, also a business and shorthand course at Will- iamsport. He married Hazel Kearney, and they have one child, John E. (3) Ellen Mabel, born May 29, 1888, completed the course in the township high school and attended the Brookville high school. She also studied at the Pottsville School of Music and was a popu- lar teacher of music. She is now the wife of John J. Vandervort, of DuBois. They have two children, Marshall Ford and Helen.

CHARLES J. MARGIOTTI, of Punxsu- tawney, is one of the younger practitioners at the Jefferson county bar, and though he en- tered upon his professional career a little more than a year ago he has made enough headway to justify the belief that success is ahead of him. He prepared for the profession thor- oughly and conscientiously, and the same char- acteristics have marked the work he has un-

dertaken so far, gaining him excellent repute with all who have come into contact with him.

Mr. Margiotti was born at Punxsutawney, Jefferson county, Pa., April 4, 1891, and began his education in the public schools of the bor- ough and its excellent parochial school. Then he became a student in the State Normal School at Indiana, Pa., where he was gradu- ated as a member of the class of 1912, follow- ing which he commenced his law course in the law department of the University of Pennsyl- vania. He graduated from the latter institu- tion in June, 1915. Meanwhile, he had been supplementing his college work with study during vacations in the offices of practicing at- torneys ; he passed the examinations of the State Board in December, 1914, and May 10, 1915, was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the bar of Jefferson county Aug. 11, 1915, and is entitled to practice in the United States Dis- triet court as well as the local courts. Mr. Margiotti has his office in the Hill-Feicht building. at the corner of Jefferson and Ma- honing streets, Punxsutawney. Personally he has an excellent standing with the substantial element in Jefferson county, and is rapidly rising in his chosen profession.

THOMAS McCOLONEL BROSIUS is a scion of a family founded in Jefferson county in pioneer days and numerous representatives are living in the county at the present, none having been more closely and honorably identi- fied with the development and upbuilding of this favored section and none having been held in higher esteem as one generation followed another. He whose name initiates this para- graph was born in a pioneer log house on the old homestead May 1. 1865, and the farm he now owns includes the site of this primitive dwelling. His prospective appearance in the little home caused his father to employ a sub- stitute when he was called as a soldier for the Civil war, his presence having been imperative in providing for his family and this alone pre- vented his service in defense of the nation's integrity. Of the family history adequate record is given on other pages, in the sketch dedicated to Alvin A. Brosius, an elder brother.

On the farm that is now his home Thomas McC. Brosius passed his childhood and in ad- dition to gaining experience in practical work he also made good use of the advantages af- forded in the local schools. He finally served a virtual apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, becoming a skillful workman and de-

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voting his attention thereto about five years, or until the time of his marriage. On the 13th of March, 1889. when he was twenty-three years of age, he married Miss Lydia Ann Burkhouse, born and reared in Beaver township, and who is a daughter of the late Simon Burkhouse.

After his mar- riage Mr. Brosius managed the old homestead until the death of his father, and the little frame house in which he and his young wife began their domestic life is still standing. Upon the death of his father he fell heir to seventy-seven acres of the homestead, includ- ing the part on which was situated the house and other buildings. The old log house in which he was born had given place to a sub- stantial and attractive frame building which he now occupies, and other buildings on his farm are of excellent order. marking it as one of the well improved and productive places of Beaver township. The house was erected in 1883 and here the honored father died Feb. 21. 1894, having been apparently in excellent health and having required no ministrations until the night of his death; his widow died Dec. 19. 1903. The father, Michael Brosius, passed to eternal rest at the age of sixty-nine years, ten months, eight days, and the mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Johns, at- tained to the age of seventy-five years, seven months, nineteen days.

The first wife of Thomas McC. Brosius died April 22, 1904. aged thirty-eight years, four months, nine days, and she is survived by five children : Harry R. wedded Minnie Spare, and they reside in the village of Ohl: Stewart Glenn is a clerk in the mercantile .establish- mient of A. H. Reitz, at Ohl; Howard, Leon- ard Martin and Paul Edward remain at home. On the 17th of July, 1904. Mr. Brosius married Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Raught, widow of Edward Raught, who was a prosperous farmer in Eldred township at the time of his death. in 1901. Mrs. Brosius was born at Stanton. Rose township, daughter of William and Esther ( Himes) Van Leer. The one sur- viving child of her first marriage is Mary, wife of John Brosius, of Ohl. No children have been born of the second marriage.

Mr. Brosius is a Democrat in his political adherency, and is serving as school director and as a member of the election board, besides which he formerly held the office of tax col- lector. His wife is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which they reg- ularly attend and to which he gives liberal support. Mr. Brosius retains in his home as

a valued trophy of the pioneer days a fine set of horns taken from a deer that was killed in this vicinity by the father of his first wife.

JOHN SWANSON, proprietor of Honey Locust farm, is a thrifty agriculturist of Sny- der township. His is a fine property which has undergone extensive improvement at his hands. He has been industrious and straight- forward, and is accordingly highly respected. Mr. Swanson was born Dec. 11, 1853, near the village of Holmsoryd, Sweden, his father, Swan Pearson, being a hard-working farmer. He married Anna Munson, and both died in Sweden. They had the following family : Christine and Nels died in Sweden : Peter lives at his native place: Mrs. Gustava Lehman, a widow, resides at DuBois, and John, who com- pletes the family.

John Swanson attended the village school near his early home till the age of fourteen, meantime helping his father on the farm, learning the practical lessons of life and getting a thorough training in agricultural work which has been his most valuable asset. When twenty-one years old he went to Dalarne, Sweden, where he found work on the railroad, part of the time at tun- neling. his wages being three crowns a day ordinarily. each worth about twenty-seven cents. He was also employed at mines, where he received four crowns a day. From this remuneration he managed to save something and by 1887 had enough to bring him to America. where he arrived in April after a voyage of seventeen and a half days from Liv- erpool to New York, with just fifteen dollars to start life in a strange country. During his first summer he worked in Warren county as a stonemason, coming thence to Jefferson county, where he worked for some time in the mines. He managed to lay by part of his earn- ings and eventually, having received a small legacy from his family, he was able to buy his present place. Mr. Swanson's prosperity has been the reward of well directed and untiring effort, and he well deserves the material suc- cess attained.

On May 12, 1892, Mr. Swanson was mar- ried, at Ridgway, to Hulda Holm, like him- self a native of Sweden, born in 1860 at Hess- berge, daughter of Nels Holm, farmer and school teacher. She came to America in young womanhood. Mrs. Swanson died Jan. 29. 1004. in the faith of the Lutheran Church, and is buried at Brockwayville. She was the mother of three children: Anna, who is now living

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at Williamsville, N. Y. : Selma ; and Ruby. a student in the Brockwayville high school.

JAMES RAADAKER is another of the ster- ling and honored citizens whose life has been one of strenuous devotion to industrial enter- prise, and he has been specially prominent and influential in the lumber industry of this section of Pennsylvania, his operations at the time when this line of business was at its height having been of broad scope and importance. He continued lumbering for many years and finally purchased and established a home on liis present model farm, situated in Warsaw township. Before the close of the year 1917 he will have reached the scriptural span of threescore years and ten, and at his beautiful home he anticipates passing the gracious even- ing of a long and useful life in well earned peace and prosperity.

At Luthersburg, Brady township, Clearfield county, Mr. Radaker was born on the 5th of December, 1847, and he has resided on his present farm since 1896. llis parents, Charles and Anna ( Phillips ) Radaker, were pioneers of Clearfield county. Their marriage was solemnized in the State, but the father was born in Germany and the mother in England. her parents having settled in Clearfield county when she was a girl. Charles and Anna Rada- ker died in Clearfield county.

James Radaker passed childhood and youth on the farm and when opportunity offered he made good use of the common schools of the locality. As a youth he served his novitiate in the lumber business in the employ of George Betts and others, and early gained experience in the details of all branches of the industry. In 1871 he began to operate in an independent way, by assuming contracts for getting out timber, but the financial panic of 1872-73 caused his work to prove unprofitable. He had in the meanwhile built and placed in oper- ation a sawmill, but after one year traded it for other property. In 1882 Mr. Radaker rented a sawmill in Clearfield county and man- ufactured lumber for the ensuing four years. His plan was to buy a piece of timber and fell the trees for manufacturing into lumber at his mill, and at times he would avail him- self also of the services of other mills. In his operations he was the virtual head of the firm in which his associates were his brothers Will- jam and Henry. At the expiration of the four years noted he and his brothers sold their mill and he went to Indiana county, where he made needed repairs of a mill which he leased and placed in operation. This mill was soon de- has been essentially a worker and business man

stroyed by fire and entailed to him a loss of five thousand dollars. On the same site he erected a new mill, and after placing it in suc- cessful commission finally sold the plant to his brothers. In company with Levi IHeidrick and Mack Matson he then purchased the Litch tract of timber of 3,100 acres, in Warsaw township. lle took charge of the logging operations on this tract, on the North Fork, and had under his supervision a force averag- ing about thirty men, Mr. Heidrick having as- sumed management of the firm's mill at Brook- ville. Within three years Mr. Radaker took out nearly fifteen million feet of lumber, nearly all of which was pine and the remainder hem- lock. He. would operate but one camp at a time, and his energy and executive ability came into splendid play at this time. At the ex- piration of the three years he sold his interest in the enterprise to his partners, differing views having led to the dissolution. In the autumn of 1896 Mr. Radaker traded other property, principally bank stock, for his pres- ent farm, locally known as the old William Humphrey farm, comprising one hundred and thirty acres of most fertile land. To the cul- tivated area of the place he has added con- siderably and now has eighty-five acres avail- able for growing of crops, wheat being his principal product. He also raises beef cattle on a minor scale, and his management makes all departments of the farm yield good returns. Ile has made many improvements, including the erection of a modern commodious house and remodeling of the barn.

After establishing his residence on this farm Mr. Radaker did not entirely abandon his as- sociations with lumbering operations, though the eventual result was that he lost every dol- lar which he invested. He became associated with others in gaining control of a large and valuable tract of timber in the State of Wis- consin, the exploiting of which demanded large capital. He was associated with operations on this fine tract for a period of five years, and for a time was in charge of a lumbering camp on the property. Finally a corporation was formed to continue the development work, Wisconsin men acquiring the greater part of the capital stock, with the result that Mr. Ra- daker practically lost his entire investment and all legitimate returns therefrom.

Mr. Radaker takes a loval interest in com- munity affairs and is a liberal and public- spirited citizen. His support is given to the Democratic party, but he has never, save once. appeared as an aspirant for public office. He

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and is still hale and hearty, with unusual capac- ity for active life and the general supervision of his farm.

In Armstrong county, when twenty-five vears of age. Mr. Radaker wedded Amelia Lankard, who was there born and reared. She continued his loyal and devoted companion and helpmeet for more than forty years, the graci- ous bonds being severed only when she passed to the life eternal. on the 20th of October, 1912. Of the children the eldest is Sanford, who has charge of his father's farm; the maiden name of his wife was Myrtle Simpson, and their children are five in number, Everett, llarry, Emery, Jay and Allen. Laura, the elder of the two daughters of Mr. Radaker, is the wife of I. E. Cochran and they reside on a farm near Reynoldsville. Edith is the wife of J. C. Patterson, of Redfield, South Dakota.

JERRY B. GUMBERT. To men of such progressiveness and judgment indicated in the career of Mr. Gumbert as a successful ex- ponent of modern husbandry. the old-time drudgery and social limitations of life on the farm fade into obscurity, and he is of that type of farmer to whom success and prosperity come as a natural sequel to well directed en- deavors. The following estimate speaks vol- times :

"Mr. Gumbert's vigorous and discriminating management is plainly reflected in the excel- lent condition and attractive appearance of his farm. every field and permanent improve- ment betokening advanced policies of hus- bandry and the employment of mature judg- ment. The Gumbert farm impresses the casual observer as being one of the best man- aged and most desirable estates in Jefferson county. With excellent buildings and situated on a well traveled highway that is kept up to modern standard, this is essentially a modern farm whose fields render golden tribute for the care and labor bestowed upon them."

On the old Olean road, in Eldred township, eight miles northwest of Brookville and about midway between the villages of Corsica and Sigel, is to be found this splendid homestead farm of the enterprising and popular citi- zen, who by reason of his achievement and his status in the county is worthy of representation in this history. Mr. Gumbert was born in Beaver township, this county, on the 29th of October, 1863. and is a son of William and Caroline (Brinker) Gumbert, natives respectively of Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. William Gumbert and wife established their home in Beaver town-

ship in the fifties, and here the wife and mother died when her son Jerry was but three years of age. William Gumbert improved one of the productive farms of Beaver township and here resided, a substantial and honored citizen, until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-four years of age. His father, who also bore the name of William, was for a number of years identified with agricultural and lumbering operations in Wisconsin and was well advanced in years when he returned to Pennsylvania and settled in Jefferson county, where he lived in the liome of his son William, and was somewhat more than eighty years old when he passed away. For his sec- ond wife William Gumbert, Jr., wedded Mary Bodenhorn, an aunt of Dr. Bodenhorn, who is now engaged in the practice of medicine at Sigel. Three sons were born of this union, and by the first marriage there were seven children. Of those surviving there are four of the first marriage. namely: John A., who resides at Sigel; Jennie, widow of Samuel Richards, and living at Brookville; A. Clark Gumbert is a prosperous farmer of this county ; Jerry completes the family. Of the three sons of the second marriage the eldest is Jesse, who is a successful farmer in Oliver township: Ezra J. is a representative farmer near Walnut, Pottawatomie Co., Iowa, and with him is Elias D.

Jerry Gumbert early assisted in the work of the home farm and also found employment in the peeling of bark from hemlock timber. He gradually extended his lumbering operations. and meanwhile he attended the district school. As a youth he worked at cutting logs for Levi Thrush, near Sigel, during one winter, and thereafter was for three years in the employ of Richard Windlac, giving much of the time to hauling timber and making lumber rafts, which he assisted in running down the streams to the market in Pittsburgh. For three years Mr. Gumbert was similarly engaged in the lumbering operations of William Wallace, and continued until the time of his marriage, in 1892. He then purchased a portion of the old homestead of his wife's parents, in Eldred township, comprising 105 acres, with no build- ings and but a small portion cleared and pre- pared for cultivation. Stumps and stones were much in evidence and the land had been used principally for pasturage. All that has been wrought by him in the intervening years is shown in the splendid appearance and con- dition of this farm, and it may well be under- stood that he brought to bear great energy and indefatigable perseverance. He has lived

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continuously on his farm save for a period of eighteen months spent in extensive lumbering exploitations and operations in West Virginia, where le assisted in clearing ground for a sawmill, aided in the erection of the mill and the houses for those concerned in the enter- prise, and besides assisted in surveying the company's lands. Of his farm Mr. Gumbert now has about fifty acres under cultivation, and in furthering the productiveness of the land he has utilized modern scientific methods. He is one of the alert and progressive farmers of his native county, is always ready to give support to measures and enterprises advanced for the general good, and while he has had no desire for political activity or preferment he has given effective service as school director and is found aligned with the Republican party ; he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Sigel.

In October, 1892, Mr. Gumbert was united in marriage to Effie F. Procious, born and reared in this county, and who was twenty - two years of age at the time of their wedding. Concerning the Procious family adequate mention is made on other pages, in the sketch dedicated to J. F. Procious, twin brother of Mrs. Gumbert. Mr. and Mrs. Gumbert have three sons: Percy R., who is married, resides in the village of Sigel (he was formerly mail carrier on rural route No. 2 from that place, and is now in a store at Sigel) ; William Eu- gene and Henry Paul remain at the parental home.

IIARRY E. COCHRAN, a native son of Jefferson county, is one of the representative farmers of Winslow township, his well im- proved homestead, comprising 130 acres, giv- ing unmistakable evidence of definite thrift and prosperity.

Mr. Cochran was born in Pinecreek town- ship, this county, on the 2d of October, 1874, and is a son of George W. and Emma ( Black ) Cochran. George W. Cochran was born in Clarion county. Pa., where he was reared and educated and where his parents continued to reside until their death, his father, David Cochran, having been a successful pioneer farmer of that county and also a carpenter by trade. Of the children of David Cochran the eldest was James, a soldier of the Union in the Civil war and now deceased; George W. was the second son: Wilson resides in Rose township, Jefferson county ; Charles died in 1916; Lester met an accidental death while working in the lumber woods and was about forty years of age at the time; Jennie became

the wife of John Collett and is now deceased ; Miss Emma resides in Brookville.

George W. Cochran in his youth was ac- tively concerned with farming and lumbering operations in his native county and was a young man when he came to Jefferson county and found employment at Brookville, where later was solemnized his marriage to Emma Black, a daughter of James Black. Later he became one of the prosperous farmers of Pinecreek township, and he and his wife are now living in Brookville. Of their children the eldest is Nan B., who is the wife of Frank Kepler, of Renovo, Clinton county ; Harry E. was the next in order of birth ; Ar- thur is now a resident of Portland, Oregon ; William W. was an able and well known newspaper man at Brookville at the time of his death; two children died in infancy ; Ruth remains at the parental home.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 130

Author: McKnight, W. J. (William James), 1836-1918 Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers Number of Pages: 972

Author: McKnight, W. J. (William James), 1836-1918
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers
Number of Pages: 972