Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 138

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 138

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On Feb. 28, 1891, Mr. Marshall married Elizabeth J. Holt, daughter of Samuel Holt, of Sugar Hill. They are the parents of six children, namely: Grace, formerly a teacher, now living at home; J. Alfred, a graduate of the Snyder township high school, living at home; Florence May, who graduated from the township high school and taught two terms in Snyder township before her mar- riage to Elmer Fiscus, of Sigel, Jefferson

county ; Pearl G., who is attending the town- ship high school ; Harold and Nora, at home.

HARRISON G. SENIOR. Three fourths of a century ago the parents of this representa- tive citizen and successful farmer of Wash- ington township numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers in the Beechwoods dis- trict of Jefferson county, and since he was a lad of eleven years Harrison G. Senior has re- sided on the old homestead farm of which he is now the owner, and which through his la- bors has become one of the well improved and valuable rural estates of Washington town- ship. It comprises 160 acres, eligibly situ- ated within a comparatively short distance from the borough of Falls Creek.

Mr. Senior was born Oct. 10, 1868, on an- other farm in the Beechwoods, where his par- ents continued to reside until he was eleven years old, when they established their home on his present farm, which continued to be their place of abode during the remainder of their lives. Mr. Senior is a son of George and Mary A. (Lumm) Senior, both of whom were born and reared in Yorkshire, Eng- land, where they were married and continued to reside until 1838, the year of their immi- gration to America. They made the city of Philadelphia their first place of residence. George Senior, who was born in the year 1814. had learned in England the weaver's trade. and as a skilled workman he readily found employment at his trade in mills at Phila- delphia. He was a young man of about twen- ty-seven years when, in 1841, he came to Jefferson county and obtained a tract of one hundred acres of wild land in Washington township. He thus became one of the pio- neers of the Beechwoods district of the county, and the original home in which he and his young wife established themselves was a prim- itive cabin constructed of round logs. A man of indomitable energy and mature judgment. Mr. Senior applied himself vigorously and effectively to the reclaiming of his land from the forest wilderness to a state of productive- ness, and he made his original homestead a well improved place. There he continued to reside until he had attained to the age of sixty-four years, in 1870, selling the prop- erty and purchasing the James Osborn farm, the present homestead of his son Harrison. There he passed the rest of his long and use- ful life, his death occurring there on the 8th of April, 1800. By his first wife he had five children : Tra went to the West, and is sup- posed to have died in the State of Washing-

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ton : Nancy is the wife of E. E. Flouder, of now lives at Howe) ; Thomas J. died at Howe Brockwayville, Jefferson county ; Harrison G. in 1911 ; Mary is the wife of James Green, was the next in order of birth; William and of Corsica ; Albert lives in Clarion county. his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Isaac Lyle, grandfather of Reuben Lyle, was from eastern Pennsylvania and was a pioneer settler in Eldred township, where both he and his wife died in old age. Hoover, reside at Johnsonburg, Pa .; Joseph E. (lied Nov. 17, 1900. For his second wife George Senior wedded Mary L. Clyde, who was born in the State of New York, a daugh- ter of William and Nancy Clyde. She died March 19, 1907.

Harrison G. Senior acquired his youthful educational discipline in the Osborn school of Washington township, and from his boy- hood he has been identified with the operation of the fine farm of which he is now the owner. When he was twenty years of age he married Margaret Turk, who was born in Butler county, Pa., and who is a daughter of the late Washington I. and Mary (Clyde) Turk. Mr. and Mrs. Senior have the fol- lowing children : Clyde is married and resides at Falls Creek, Clearfield county, the maiden name of his wife having been Bishop; Wil- liam G. is now a resident of the State of Wash- ington : Mary Irene. George W., Ada, Iva L. and Homer remain at the parental home. Mr. Senior has shown a lively interest in those things that concern the general welfare of the community, has held various township offices, among them that of school director, and his political allegiance is given to the Republican party.

REUBEN B. LYLE, who is now living re- tired. with a pleasant home in Brookville, is of the third generation of a family identified with Jefferson county since early pioneer days. He was born in Eldred township, this county, July 3, 1843, son of Jesse and Catherine (Get- hue) Lyle, the former of Jefferson, the latter of Center county, Pa.

Jesse Lyle here passed his entire life, as a prosperous farmer and lumberman, his death occurring in 1868. His body was found in the woods where he had gone to look for stock. His widow survived to the age of eighty-four years, and her remains were laid to rest in Zion cemetery. Their eldest son. Samuel. farmer and lumberman, died at Brockwayville in 1915 : Rachel was the wife of Michael Clap- saddle, and died in Ohio; Charles was in Company F. 105th Pennsylvania Regiment, and was killed in the Wilderness, his remains being interred at Fredericksburg; Amanda was the wife of Joseph Plyler. both now de- ceased ; Reuben B. was next; Maria is the widow of F. M. Whiteman, who served in the same regiment as did Reuben Lyle (she

Reuben B. Lyle had a somewhat desultory attendance at the common schools, and at twelve began working in the lumber woods. On Aug. 6, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, 148th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and partici- pated in nearly all of the battles in which his command was involved. save during convalescence from the severe wound he re- ceived May 3, 1863, at the battle of Chance]- lorsville, where he was injured in the back of the head and lay unconscious for three days. After recuperating his physical powers he rejoined the regiment, continuing until the close of the war. He again entered the em- ploy of the late C. M. Garrison, in lumber- ing operations, remaining with him and his associates for thrity-one years, during which period he attained a position of executive trust and responsibility. He was associated with W. N. Humphrey & Brother for six- teen years, and was for ten years in the employ of A. D. Deemer.

Mr. Lyle has given inflexible allegiance to the Democratic party and has shown a loyal interest in community affairs. He was a charter member of E. R. Brady Post, No. 242, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is a past commander, and is affiliated also with the Union Veteran Legion and the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife was a charter member and active worker in the Woman's Relief Corps, and was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which he has belonged for the past forty- five years.

On June 4, 1868, Mr. Lyle was mar- ried to Sarah Ann Cribbs, daughter of David Cribbs, of Clarion county, Pa. She died Feb. 18, 1916. Harry, their eldest son, married Anna Aaron, and they have one child, Mary Catherine. Carrie Alberta and Catherine Emma died in childhood. Herbert, of Brook- ville, married Verna Andrews, and their two children are Glenn and Gertrude. Lottie Viola is the wife of Emanuel A. Barlett, and has one child. Hilda May. Mr. Lyle now makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Barlett.

WILLIAM B. STEELE, of Sugar Hill, has been engaged in merchandising and mill- ing at that point for two years. His early

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activities were in the line of agriculture and work in the lumber woods. He has found time also for association with public affairs, in whose administration he has assisted with ability. By thrifty management and close attention to the wants of his patrons he has made his business enterprises prosper, and they have been well supported, being a con- venience appreciated by the residents of the neighborhood.

Mr. Steele was born Feb. 25. 1870, in War- saw township, one mile west of Sugar Hill. He acquired a public school education. attend- ing until he was about eighteen years old. Becoming familiar with farm duties from boy- hood. he continued to follow agricultural pursuits until a few years ago. After his mar- riage he followed farming and lumbering at his wife's home at Sugar Hill, until her death. He also lived on his father's farm in War- saw township for a period of thirteen years, owning part of that place, and he is now prin- cipally occupied with his interests at Sugar Hill, having a well stocked general store as well as a fully equipped feed mill. He is thoroughly occupied in the operation of store and mill. Mr. Steele has not taken much direct part in public matters, but while in Warsaw township served his fellow citizens officially and gave excellent satisfaction in the performance of his duties. He is a Repub- lican.

Mr. Steele married Susanna Holt, daugh- ter of the late Samuel Holt. of Snyder town- ship. She died Dec. 23, 1891. For his second wife Mr. Steele married in 1899 Miss Florence Hixon, of Fulton county, Pa., and their two children, Harold and Doris, are now aged sixteen and thirteen years, respec- tively. Mr. and Mrs. Steele are members of the Presbyterian Church, in which they are highly esteemed.

GEORGE F. SCHWARTZ is numbered among the wide-awake and progressive farm- ers in Perry township, where he has resided upon and given close attention to the man- agement of a farm of ninety-six acres since 1900. The property was purchased by his father-in-law, and is one of the well improved places of Perry township. Mr. Schwartz is serving as school director, is a Republican in politics, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are active com- municants of the German Lutheran Church at Punxsutawney.

Mr. Schwartz was born in Young town- ship. this county, Sept. 26. 1867, and is a rep-

resentative of a sterling pioneer family. His father, Charles F. Schwartz, who died in the autumn of 1893, in his fifty-seventh year, was born in Germany, and was a boy at the time of the family immigration to America and to Pittsburgh, where his father, George Schwartz, worked at his trade of shoemaker, and where he himself was reared to adult age. When Charles F. Schwartz was a young man he came with his parents to Young town- ship, Jefferson county, the father and son renting adjoining farms, the property event- nally being purchased. On their old home- stead the parents passed the remainder of their lives, and both were devoted communi- cants of the German Lutheran Church. Charles F. Schwartz, endowed with sterling character and indefatigable industry, became one of the prosperous agriculturists of Young township, where he continued until his death. After the Civil war he was a stanch supporter of the Republican party, but the only office in which he consented to serve was that of road supervisor. His venerable widow, whose maiden name was Catherine Drexler, now resides in Pittsburgh. She was born in Ger- many about 1850. and as a child of about two years was brought by her parents, Godfrey and Catherine Anna Drexler, to the United States and to Jefferson county, her father improving a good farm in Henderson town- ship, where he and his wife passed the re- mainder of their lives. Mrs. Drexler was nearly ninety-one years of age at the time of her demise, in August, 1916. and both she and her husband, whom she survived several years, had been lifelong communicants of the German Lutheran Church. George F. is the eldest of eleven children; John is a barber at Anita : Annie died. aged twenty-two years : Elizabeth is the wife of Charles Johnson, of Charleston, W. Va. ; Mary is the wife of Mat- thew Stewart, a mine foreman in Maryland : Emma is the wife of Jacob Householder, a merchant at Big Chimnev, W. Va .: Theodore is a coal miner at Timblin, Jefferson county ; Clarence is a mine foreman near DuBois ; Ella resides with her venerable mother in Pitts- burgh, being a saleswoman in a mercantile es- tablishment ; Edith is the wife of Rantz Ramsey, an employe of the Westinghouse electrical works in Pittsburgh: Margaret re- mains with her mother and sister.

On the 22d of February. 1894, Mr. Schwartz married Amelia Schaller, who was born in McCalmont township Nov. 16, 1873. a daugh- ter of Jolin K. and Catherine E. (Schiltz) Schaller, both natives of Germany. Upon

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coming to America her parents became resi- dents of Pittsburgh, finally coming to a farm in McCalmont township, where they passed the remainder of their worthy and useful lives, prospering in temporal affairs and honored by all who knew them. Of their five children the eldest, John, remains on the old farm; the second and third children died in infancy ; Annie died when about eleven years of age ; Mrs. Schwartz is the youngest. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz Walter died in infancy ; Viola was born May 27, 1899: Emory, Sept. 7, 1901 ; and Eda, born Nov. 4. 1906.

WILLIAM WALTER WELSH. who owns and resides upon the old ancestral home- stead, known as "Ridge Lea." which was ob- tained by his paternal grandfather in the early pioneer period of Jefferson county's history, is well upholding the honors of a family name that has been long and worthily identified with civic and industrial development and advance- ment in that section of Washington township familiarly known as the Beechwoods, which is one of the most beautiful and prosperous districts in this part of the State. On his present farmstead, near the village of Grove Summit. William Walter Welsh was born on the 22d of July. 1891, and he is known as one of the progressive agriculturists of the younger generation in his native county. Adequate review of the family history ap- pears on other pages of this work, in the mem- oir dedicated to the late James Welsh, his father. to which ready reference may be made.

In his boyhood and youth William W. Welsh manifested a marked predilection for reading and study, but as he was only sixteen years old at the time of his father's death he carly had to assume heavy responsibilities in connection with the work and management of the home farm, and was unable to supplement his public school discipline by a course of higher academic study. After the death of his father. in 1907. Mr. Welsh and his older brother, Harry, assumed the active charge of the old homestead farm. and two years later Harry left the farm and upon Walter devolved the responsibility of direeting the operations of the place, though he was but eighteen years of age at the time. Well did he meet the de- mands thus placed upon him, and in the mean- while he showed also unalloyed devotion to his widowed mother and his only sister, who remained with him on the old homestead, even as the venerable mother does to the present day.

Like his father before him, William Walter Welsh has shown a vital and loyal interest in all things touching the general welfare of the community, and while he has had no aspira- tion for public office of any kind and is inde- pendent in politics he is always ready to lend his cooperation in support of measures ad- vanced for the civic and material good of his home community and native county. lle was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian Church, to which he still adheres, his membership be- ing in the Beechwoods Church of this denomi- nation, and his wife holding membership in the Falls Creek Methodist Episcopal Church.

On the 16th of October, 1913, Mr. Welsh married Lavina Cable, daughter of Emanuel and Tirza (Zimmerman) Cable, of Falls Creek, Clearfield county, and the three chil- dren of this young couple are Margaret L., Effie Elizabeth and James Emanuel.

Mr. Welsh's well improved farm comprises one hundred acres of excellent land, which under his personal direction has been brought up to a high standard of productiveness, his special attention having been given to revital- izing the soil, which had somewhat deterior- ated in many years of cultivation. Hle is one of the progressive young farmers of his native county, and he and his wife have a wide circle of friends in this favored section.

ISAIAH DAVIS has not only demonstrated his constructive resourcefulness and mature judgment in the furtherance of agricultural industry, but has the distinction also of being a scion of a family that was founded in Penn- sylvania in the Colonial days, and whose name has been worthily linked with the history of Jefferson county for more than fourscore years. His grandfather, Isaiah Davis, was born in Chester county, Pa., and later became an early settler in Bedford county, where he be- came a prominent and influential citizen, pass- ing the closing years of his life at Peifer's Run. where he had served for a long period as postmaster.

James Davis. son of Isaiah, was born in Chester county, as a boy going with the family to Bedford county. He learned the black- smith's trade. working in Bedford county until about the year 1834. when he came to Jefferson county and reclaimed from the wilderness his homestead in Bell township, 125 acres, and also owned land in Henderson township. His old homestead in Bell town- ship he secured from the Holland Land Com- pany, and the original domicile was a mere shanty that served until a log house of the

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true pioneer type replaced it. He finally erected the commodious and substantial frame house that is still an attractive rural home. He was also concerned with lumbering opera- tions, besides which he continued to work at his trade to a greater or less extent, erecting a shop on the farm. James Davis was one of the honored pioneer citizens at the time of his death, Sept. 17, 1894, at the age of eighty-five years. His devoted wife was cighty-four years of age at her death. Her maiden name was Oma Wainwright. Their eldest son was Thomas, who died when about twenty-eight years of age ; George is a prosperous farmer of Bell township; David is deceased ; Hannah re- mains with her brother. Isaiah, on the old homestead farm; James, Sarah, Caroline, Ann and Maria are deceased : Isaiah was the next ; Lavina is the wife of James D. Steele, of Bed- ford county.

Isaiah Davis was born where he now lives on the 30th of July, 1856, and there his activ- ities have since been centered. His early edu- cation was effectively broadened through ex- perience and self application. In 1879 he as- sumed the active charge of the home farm, purchased the property, and gave to his par- ents the deepest filial devotion during their remaining years. He was more or less con- cerned with lumbering operations, at least so long as the native timber offered scope for such industrial enterprise. As a farmer he demonstrates the advantages of diversified agriculture, raising good grades of live stock, and among the noteworthy improvements which he has made is the fine modern house in which he still resides with his sister Hannah as housekeeper.

Mr. Davis is aligned as a Democrat in poli- tics, and while he has had no desire for public office he gave effective service as auditor of the township. His fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias, the Patriotic Sons of America, and the Patrons of Hus- bandry, of which he was a charter member in his home locality.

FRANKLIN WINTHROP LEMMON is proprietor of Sunnyside farm in Snyder town- ship, which has been his home since childhood. He was born at Arlington or Salem, Mass .. March 31, 1853, and is of New England line- age in both paternal and maternal lines, being a descendant from historic families. Several of his ancestors served in the war for inde- pendence.

William Henry Lemmon, grandfather of Franklin Winthrop Lemmon, married Mary

Elizabeth Buffington. Their son William H. Lemmon, father of Franklin Winthrop Lemmon, was born in 1830 in Boston, Mass., received his literary education at the famous Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H., and subse- quently studied pharmacy, becoming a drug- gist. After his marriage he lived for a time at Salem, Mass., and in the latter fifties moved to western Pennsylvania, settling on the present home of his son Franklin W. He worked in the woods and farmed, and was making excellent progress when he offered himself for service in the Civil war. He be- came a sacrifice, being killed at the battle of Spottsylvania, his body resting in Southern soil. The mother, left with a family of four young children, took hold of her task bravely, bought the farm upon which they had been living, and continued its improvement. Her maiden name was Sarah Bryant, and she was a daughter of Henry and Margaret (Campbell) Bryant, her father said to be a relative of William Cullen Bryant. Her brother, Henry Bryant, fought in the Mexi- can war, and on his way North after its close passed through North Carolina. At a hotel where he stayed overnight a negro servant per- suaded him to sell him a pair of trousers which the darky wanted, and to his sister's disap- pointment he was unfortunate enough to for- get a ring in the pocket of the trousers, which he had purchased for her. Mrs. Lemmon died July 31, 1897.

Franklin Winthrop Lemmon was but eleven years old when his father was killed, and as- sisting his mother, he grew up on the farm he still owns. All the schooling he received was nine months at Sugar Hill and Brockway- ville, conditions being unfavorable. There was much work to be performed at home, and even when very young his help was needed in clearing and improving, through which he early became inured to hard labor. He had to assume responsibility when he was a mere youth, and was given charge of the farm while yet young. He also found employment in the woods, which he followed in connection with his agricultural labors, and his various experi- ences have proved most valuable to him in the course of a busy career, enabling him to handle capably the cultivation of the 120 acres com- prising Sunnyside farm. upon which he also operates a coal bank. Public matters and out- side affairs have little interest for him, though he is public-spirited on questions affecting the general welfare and ready to help any good canse. Politically he is a Republican.

On Dec. 20, 1896, Mr. Lemmon married,

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at Brookville, Bertha R. Sayres, of Fisher, Clarion Co., Pa., daughter of Calvin and Ta- bitha (Orr) Sayres. Six children were born to them: William H., who is at home ; Frank- lin Orr and Charles Winthrop, who died in infancy; Oleta May; Mary Catherine; and Margaret Pauline, who died when three years old. The mother died Sept. 30, 1912, and is buried at Sugar Hill.

One of Mr. Lemmon's sisters, Sarah Jane, is the wife of C. A. Miller, of Brockwayville. Another, Mrs. Mary Wachob, now residing on the farm with him, is married and has two daughters, Lorena Mae ( Mrs. J. G. Larson, of Emporium, Pa. ) and Jennie Oleta ( Mrs. G. W. Van Gilder, of Columbus, Ohio). A brother, Augustus H., was a groceryman at DuBois, where he died at the age of fifty-six years, being buried at Salem, Clearfield county ; his wife, Rose Miller, surviving with two children. Carrie and Mary.

WILLIAM ANDREW SMITH, who was born on the finely improved farm which he now owns and operates in Washington town- ship, is a descendant of one of the stanch Scotch-Irish pioneer families whose names have been most prominently concerned in the development and upbuilding of this county. and may well take pride in his ancestral his- tory. "Glen Vale Farm," which he owns and occupies, is one of the valuable landed estates of the Beechwoods district, and comprises over one hundred acres. Mr. Smith is one of the representative agriculturists and highly esteemed citizens of his native county, and well worthy of individual recognition in this history. He was born Nov. 21, 1856, on his present farmstead.

Prior to the assassination of Archbishop Sharp. in 1679, the Smith family to which William A. Smith belongs, was established in the west of Scotland, and its representatives were strong members of the religious body then designated as Covenanters, the noncon- formist body that was made the object of much persecution in Scotland at the hands of the Established Church. To escape such per- secution, like many other sterling Scottish families, the Smiths finally left their native land and found refuge in the North of Ireland, where they established their residence on the river Foyle, between Londonderry and Lif- ford. Andrew Smith, the direct ancestor, rented a farm two miles below Lifford, and there the family home was maintained during succeeding generations until about 1820. The Smiths were in Ireland during the war be-

tween King James and King William, and with other Protestants were driven into Derry during the siege of that place. William Smith, great-grandfather of William A., wedded Is- bella Duncan, and soon afterwards established his home on his small farm near the village of Ballybogan, in the parish of Lifford, County Donegal. His second son, James, was born Feb. 28, 1782, and was given excellent educa- tional training, especially in mathematics and navigation. When about seventeen years of age, in 1798 or 1799, he sailed for America, and after landing in Philadelphia made his way to the vicinity of Camden, N. J., where he found employment cutting wood to be used in the manufacture of charcoal. After gaining varied experience in this line of industrial en- terprise, which was then one of importance, he began tending the pits in which the charcoal was burned. In the meanwhile he was frugal and abstemious, so that he was able to save from his earnings an appreciable amount. In 1805 or 1806 he paid a visit to his parents, at the old home in Ireland, and there he invested his money in the erection and equipping of a gristmill, to the operation of which he gave his attention until 1819, when he returned to the United States. He landed at Portland, Maine, and from that place, in company with another Irishman, named Wilkie, he set forth on foot for Philadelphia, where he found em- ployment. In the spring of 1822 he sent for his wife and children, who had remained in Ireland, and they joined him at Philadelphia in the summer of that year. Within a short time thereafter he went to the Juniata valley and purchased a tract of wild land near the present village of McVeytown, Mifflin coun- ty. The family suffered so severely from malaria, commonly known as ague, that he found it impossible to continue his residence on this tract of land with any degree of safety, and accordingly he removed to a point near Bellefonte, Center county, where he found em- ployment at the Valentine iron furnaces.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 138

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