Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 19

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 19

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ing which time he took part in a number of important engagements, including the seven days' fight at Richmond, second Bull Run, South Mountain ( MId.) and Antietam. On Sept. 17, 1862, he was wounded in the left leg, and he was honorably discharged Feb. 7. 1863. After more than a year at home Mr. Henderson reenlisted, May 6, 1864, joining the 19Ist Pennsylvania Regiment, and he was with the Army of the Potomac until the close of the war, receiving his discharge in Virginia June 28, 1865, as sergeant. Among the ac- tions in which he was engaged during his sec- ond term was that of Bethesda Church, Va .. and he was doing duty on the skirmishing line at Appomattox when General Lee surrendered. His war experiences were very interesting.

L'pon his return to Brookville after his serv- ice in the army Mr. Henderson engaged in the tinning business with his father, and con- tinued to be so occupied until 1876. Mean- time he had started dealing in millinery and notions at Brookville, and this business he has conducted to the present time, being ably as- sisted by Mrs. Henderson, who is highly ca- pable and thoroughly experienced in meeting the demands of the local trade. Mr. Hender- son married, Oct. 14. 1874. Amelia Fredericka Melchior, and they have one child. Wade M .. who lives with his family in Brookville. He married Florence Campbell, and their chil- dren are John R., Florence F. and George E. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson are Presbyterians in religious doctrine. Socially he unites with sev- eral local organizations, the I. O. O. F., Knights of Pythias and Union Veteran Legion.

William Melchior, Mrs. Henderson's father, was a native of Stuttgart, Germany, and when his daughter Amelia was eight and a half years old left that country with his wife and three children for America, journeying down the Rhine and making the ocean voyage by sailing vessel, the passage to New York taking thirty- seven days. This was in 1852. For two months they were in Philadelphia, Pa., thence coming to Brookville, Jefferson Co., Pa., and Mr. Melchior followed his trade of millwright in this section throughout his active years. He died in Brookville when eighty-eight years old. His wife, whose maiden name was Christina M. Boeringer, was also born in Germany, and died at Brookville when fifty-nine years old. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: Catherine F., Mrs. William Lanzen- dorfer: Amelia F., Mrs. Henderson : John William, of Michigan ; Frederick Anthony, of

Kittanning, Pa .; Annie, Mrs. Albert Carlisle : and Barbara, Mrs. James Jackson.

DAVID ALBERT HENDERSON has one of the most popular dry goods establishments at Brookville, where he has been in business without interruption for almost forty years. Practically all his experience has been in this line, and the admirable methods followed in his store are the outcome of careful develop- ment of the best systems in use everywhere among dry goods merchants. Mr. Hender- son has investigated and studied the details important in giving good service to patrons, as well as the science of buying and selling, and his well conducted business is the direct result of the application of well tested theories and their adaptation to his special needs.

David Albert Henderson, born Sept. 27. 1844, son of Joseph W. and Nancy ( Wilson) Henderson, obtained his education in the Brookville public schools, and when little more than a boy went to learn the printer's trade, at which he was occupied for four years. He then turned to clerking, finding a position in the dry goods store of Mark Rogers, in Brook- ville, and was so employed for three years, at the end of which period he went to Tionesta, Forest Co., Pa., where he managed a store for one year. Returning to Brookville, he was in partnership with his old employer, Mr. Rogers, for two years. In 1880 he established another connection, becoming a member of the firm of Gray. Guyther & Co., and subsequently, in June, 1896, purchased his partners' interest in this business, which he has continued to carry on to the present time. He has an up-to-date store on Main street, one of the most creditable houses of its kind in the county, and holds a large patronage which shows the confidence that he has succeeded in gaining.

Mr. Henderson devotes practically all his time to business, but he has kept up various social connections, being an active member of Hobah Lodge, No. 276, F. & A. M., of Brook- ville, and associated with the Presbyterian Church, which the family has long supported. During the Civil war he showed his sympathy with the Union cause by enlisting, July 23, 1863. as a member of Company B, 2d Battal- ion, Pennsylvania Volunteers, in which he served under Capt. Charles McLain. He was discharged Jan. 21, 1864.

Mr. Henderson married Emma L. Newcom, daughter of McKee and Mary ( Millin) New- com, and they have the following children : Anna, wife of F. C. Deemer, a prominent natural gas producer, residing at Brookville,

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

has two children, Alex. D. and F. C., Jr. ; Paul D., who resides in New Mexico, married Laura Heidrick and has one son, Paul, Jr .; Joseph W. is a resident of Kittanning, Pa .; David A., Jr., a professor in the Brookville high school ; and Herbert L., a student at State College.

THOMAS H. MEANS, late of Brookville, was a member of, a family which has held a high place among the very best element there since the late Robert Reed Means established himself at that point in the year 1847-a period of seventy years. In business pursuits, in public affairs and in professional circles the name has been honored because of achieve- ments of real worth associated with it in the borough and county.

Hon. Robert Reed Means was born April 25, 1819, at Greenwood, Mifflin Co., Pa., and grew up at Curllsville, Clarion county, whither his parents removed in 1821. He was attracted to Brookville in his young manhood and settled there in 1847, the next year engaging in the general mercantile business. From the time of his location here he was identified with the lo- cal government. In the late forties he was ap- pointed deputy sheriff under Sheriff Thomas Wilkins. In 1850 he was elected justice of the peace and served his term with great accept- ability. Soon after its close, in 1856, he pur- chased the "Railroad House," retaining the ownership until 1864. Meantime, on July 25, 1861. he entered the Union service as captain of Company I, 62d Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Col. Samuel Black, for three years, but retired because of a wound before the expiration of that period. He had taken part in a number of serious en- gagements in the Peninsular campaign, the battle of Malvern Hill and the Seven Days' Fight, where he was wounded in the leg and left upon the field. Fortunately he fell into a little ravine, which became filled with water during heavy rains soon afterwards, and so he managed to keep his wound from getting inflamed, until he was picked up by a Rebel scouting partv, taken to Richmond, and con- fined in Libby prison for a short time until ex- changed. He was sent to David's Island hos- pital. New York, where he remained several months, then returned to Brookville on fur- lough and resigned when he found he was disabled for further service. Subsequently he served the community ably as associate judge, to which position he was elected in 1870, and during his term of five years added to an al- ready enviable reputation by his strict regard

for the rights and welfare of all classes and his conscientious performance of every duty. When he retired from the bench in 1875, he resumed business, devoting himself entirely to his extensive lumbering interests until the spring of 1877, when he had a violent attack of fever. It was so severe as to break down his health completely, and he died Oct. 4, 1877, from its effects.

On March 26, 1849, Judge Means was mar- ried to Mrs. Sarah W. (Hastings) Clark, widow of Jesse G. Clark. Her father, Thomas Hastings, of Brookville, died there June 3, 1889. Of the seven children born to this mar- riage, two died in infancy, the others being : George W., born at Brookville April 23, 1853, a leading attorney of Brookville, married Emma E. Newton ; Thomas H. was the second son; John Barton, born March 30, 1857, a member of the firm of Means Brothers since 1889, married Ada M. Dickey ; Sallie A., born at Brookville, is the widow of George T. Rod- gers, and resides at Brookville with her three children, Mary McClure, Ruth and George T .; Harry G., born July 7, 1864, a member of the firm of Means Brothers from ISS9, married Emma Smith and has a family.

Thomas H. Means was born March 1, 1855, at Brookville, and received his early education in the schools of the borough, later attending the academy at Lewisburg, Pa. About 1879 he became associated with Judge Mills in the mercantile business, the partnership lasting about two years, when Mr. Means purchased his partner's interest, carrying on the business for himself until 1889, when he sold it to his brothers, John B. and Harry G. Means, who continued it under the firm name of Means Brothers. On April 1, 1895, he again became a merchant at Brookville, and was so engaged until his death. Other interests were added to his original enterprise, and he was one of the leading business men of his section of the county, where he was honored for his integ- rity and looked up to as a man of unquestion- able judgment in local affairs. He was a director of the Jefferson County National Bank, and a Mason, holding membership in Hobah Lodge, No. 276, F. & A. M., Jefferson Chapter, No. 225, of Brookville. Commandery No. I, K. T., of Pittsburgh, and Syria Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Pittsburgh.

On Oct. 16, 1878, Mr. Means married Mary Etta Mills, of Brookville, daughter of John and Maria Jane ( Hughes) Mills; her father was elected treasurer of Jefferson county in 1860. Mr. Means passed away June 14, 1910, and is buried in the Brookville cemetery. His

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

widow maintains the beautiful home at Brook- ville, though she spends much time in travel. Mr. and Mrs. Means had no children.

HERMAN C. BEACH is looked upon as one of the ablest business men in Brookville, which borough in proportion to its size has a large representation of the commercial and financial talent of this section of Pennsylvania. As a lumberman he is considered a competent all- round authority, and it is in this connection that he is most widely known, but his judgment has proved as reliable in other lines and his methods as successful. His interests have in- creased and multiplied to such an extent that he has had to keep at work tirelessly in their manipulation, but he has carried his respons- ibilities cheerfully, and has gone through life pleasantly, and he is popularly known among his many friends as "Billy" Beach.

Mr. Beach was born at Brookville June 7, 1860, son of Adam and Catherine (Sachs) Beach. The father was a native of Hesse, Germany, born April 15, 1815, and spent his early life in that country, coming to the United States in 1849 and spending the rest of his days in Pennsylvania. His first location was at St. Marys, Elk county, and he afterwards spent a short time at Port Barnett, Jefferson county, where took charge of the gristmill, having learned the trade of miller. In 1851 he settled at Brookville, where he made a per- manent home, dying there Sept. 6, 1894. sud- denly, of apoplexy. His industry and careful management brought him deserved prosperity and the esteem of all his fellow men. By his first marriage Mr. Beach had a son Frank, born in Baden in 1833, who settled at Brook- ville, and died in November, 1907. In 1847 Mr. Beach married ( second) Catherine Sachs, who was born in Baden in 1823 and died in Brookville Dec. 27, 1907. To this marriage were born four sons, three of whom are living: John, at one time proprietor of the Brookville Laundry: Herman C., of Brook- ville : and Charles F1 .. of St. Louis, Missouri.

Herman C. Beach had few advantages in his boyhood, as he commenced work when very young. But intelligent application has enabled him to remedy his early lack of opportunities, and he has made his way forward by merit. When sixteen years old he went to work in a sawmill, thus beginning the main business of his life in the most practical manner. He spent four years in the sawmill, and then changed to a shingle mill, and within a short time he decided to make a venture on his own account. buying a shingle mill which he operated until

he had worked up all the material in its vicin- ity. Then he built a new mill at Carman, Elk Co., Pa., which he sold to H. B. Craig after operating it for about eighteen months. In March, 1885. he went to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. where he purchased a skating rink, remaining at that place about fifteen months, when he sold out and returned to Brookville. Before long he entered the employ of Weis & Hall. of Williamsport, Pa., for whom he bought and sold lumber, doing business for them in Pennsylvania and other States and looking after their lumber operations in Pennsylvania. Then he made a tour of the Southern States. looking for business opportunities and pros- pecting for timber. In association with L. B. Long, L. A. Brady and R. B. Vermilyea he then organized the Brookville Lumber Con1- pany, on Jan. 17. 1894. and one year later Mr. Beach purchased Mr. Vermilyea's interest, the firm remaining in existence until Jan. 8, 1897. In June, 1895. he organized the Bennett's Branch Lumber & Shingle Company. at Wil- liamsport, Pa., in which he was a third owner, this concern buying and selling lumber, and manufacturing lumber and 24-inch white pine shingles. It was discontinued in 1901. Mr. Beach still has very extensive lumber interests. South and West, but he has continued to make his home and headquarters at Brookville, where he is still engaged in the lumber business, and other enterprises also have had the benefit of his cooperation and direction. He was one of the original organizers of the Brookville Title & Trust Company. in 1903, and has been first vice president of that institution ever since.

Mr. Beach is noted for his inflexible integ- rity and keen sense of obligation in any trans- action, and his credit is unimpeachable. He is farsighted and has an optimistic faith in the future of Brookville which makes him a sup- porter of all meritorious enterprises started in the town, where his opinion and encourage- ment are highly valued. He is strictly a bus- iness man, keeping clear of public affairs, though he is a Democrat and faithful to the principles of the party in questions of general importance. Socially he affiliates with lodge No. 301. B. P. O. Elks, at Punxsutawney.

In 1884 Mr. Beach married Josephine B. Moynihan, who was born near Killarney, Irc- land, and came to America in 1878 with her parents, Jeremiah D. and Nellie ( Kelly) Moynihan, natives of County Kerry, Ireland. The family settled in Jamestown. New York.

DAVID FISHER BROWN. of Punxsu- tawney, is a member of a family whose hun-

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

bering, milling and agricultural operations in this section of Pennsylvania have been ex- tensive, furthering the progress of its de- velopment materially. He himself has been a large operator in oil and lumber, at present confining his activities to the latter industry, with large interests in North Carolina, where he is a member of the firm of Brown Brothers. Bells Mills, Jefferson county, was the home of the Browns for many years, and Henry Brown, father of David Fisher Brown, had large and valuable property holdings there, conducting his principal business activities at that point.

James Brown, the founder of this Brown family in America, was a native of Ireland, born May 3, 1787. He was but five years old when brought to Pittsburgh, Pa., by his wid- owed mother, who subsequently married a Mr. Mckinney, by whom she had two sons, Hugh and Daniel. James Brown died Sept. 13, 1864, at the home of his son Henry, Bells Mills, Jefferson Co., Pa., and was buried in Mount Pleasant cemetery in Gaskill township, this county. His wife, Sarah, had died July II, 1837, aged fifty-two years and some months, and James Brown spent the last few years of his life at his son's home. They were the parents of nine children: Sarah, born March 11, 1811, married May 5, 1836, Samuel Whitcraft; Andrew, born Jan. 17, 1813, married Delila Johnston, and settled in Keokuk, Iowa ; William H., born Jan. 12, 1815, a coal operator on the Monongahela river, was married Sept. 3, 1840, to Mary Smith, of Minersville, now a part of Pittsburgh (they lived at Brown Station, and he raised his house up 168 feet, from the railroad. to the top of Squirrel Hill) ; James, born March 25, 1817, married Catherine Torner Jan. 20, 1842 ; John, born March 3, 1819, married Barbara Dun- mire Jan. 9. 1840; Henry was next in the family : Peter, born Jan. 3. 1823, married Clarena Jane McColley June 21, 1847 ; Mar- garet, born Feb. 15, 1825, married Alexander Duff Aug. 1, 1848; Mary Ann, born Dec. 8, 1826, married Robert Duff Dec. 22, 1846.

Henry Brown, son of James, was born May 21. 1821, in or near Jacksonville (or Apollo). Westmoreland Co., Pa., on Brush creek. His earliest recollections were of that region. The family removed to the present site of Apollo, Armstrong county, in the year 1831, and he remained at home until 1848, meantime having the usual experiences of country boys in those days-plenty of hard work and no school ex- cept when his services were not needed at home. In 1848 he came to Bell township.

Jefferson county, to haul timber, and was ever afterwards associated with the lumber busi- ness. In 1854 he purchased an old water mill on the Big Mahoning creek in Bell township, leveled it to the ground, and on its site erected a large gang mill. The capacity, sixty thou- sand feet per day, was too large with the meager transportation facilities then at hand, and Mr. Brown was obliged to abandon this mill, erecting near by a circular sawmill whose production was much smaller, but better suited to the conditions in the locality. Besides con- ducting these mills he did a large business in square timber on the Red Bank and Big Ma- honing creeks, employing in his various opera- tions many men and teams from various parts of the country. The farmers in the vicinity would clear land and put in small crops dur- ing the summer season, and in the winter would work one or two teams apiece in the woods, hauling timber. Mr. Brown became the owner of many farms, which he cleared after cutting off choice timber in large quan- tities, beautiful white pine, cherry, oak, chest- nut, hemlock, poplar and other valuable woods which then abounded in the heavy forests. The pick of the cuttings would be sent to market, the remainder cut and piled up into huge log heaps, which had to be burned to enable agri- cultural operations to be started. The ground was plowed with a shovel plow, and the work of development went on slowly at first, but Mr. Brown was a capable farmer as well as humberman, and managed as much as fifteen hundred acres under cultivation ( seven farms) at one time, besides his other interests. When he and his wife settled at their home in the beautiful forests in the wilds of Jefferson county, upon their marriage, only a potato patch had been cleared, and the woods were so dense they could hardly see the sun shine through. But their carly toil was well re- warded, and they acquired a handsome home, substantially built and well furnished, at Bells Mills. There also Henry Brown built one of the largest bank barns ever constructed at any time in Jefferson county. On Nov. 15, 1884. his sawmill, together with a large amount of machinery and lumber, was destroyed by fire, the loss being about eleven thousand dollars, with no insurance. The next year he expended ten thousand, five hundred dollars replacing it with a circular sawmill with eighty-five horse- power and a capacity of forty thousand feet daily, one of the best in the county. He ac- quired twenty-five hundred acres of timber- land here besides the farm holdings already mentioned, and much of his acreage proved to

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

have valuable coal deposits; in addition, he had six hundred and fifty acres of timber and mineral land in Tennessee, underlaid with coal, iron ore and limestone.

On June 1. 1851, Mr. Brown was married, at Pittsburgh, Pa., to Rachel Catherine Fisher, a native of Wittenberg, Germany, born March 24, 1831. When seven years old she came to this country with her parents, Frederick and Catherine Fisher, the family settling at Pitts- burgh, Pa. Frederick Fisher was a cattle buyer. Returning home late one summer evening, with the shepherd dog that assisted him to drive his cattle, he had to cross a ford in the Allegheny river. Missing the nar- row way, his horse plunged into a deep pool and threw him from the saddle, and though an expert swimmer he was drowned, having been struck on the head by the horse's front foot. The dog and horse swam out, and when the dog arrived home alone the family knew something had gone wrong. Upon search Mr. Fisher's body was found in a deep hole just below the ford. His widow went to live with her daughter, Mrs. Henry Brown, at Bells Mills, Jefferson Co., Pa., with whom she re- sided in congenial companionship until her death, April 30, 1865, when sixty-four years old, assisting her with the rearing of the large family. by whom she was greatly beloved. She was buried in Mount Pleasant graveyard. Mrs. Fisher reared a large family.

As stated. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Brown were married in Pittsburgh, and proceeded to their home at Bells Mills via steamboat to Kittanning, thence by horseback and buggy across country to Punxsutawney. At that time he was carrying on the lumber business and a store, the latter in a building still standing near the Henry Brown home, to which he brought his bride. It was quite a change from city life to the settlement among the tall tim- ber, but the couple were happy in their work and their family, and had a long and prosper- ous married life. Henry Brown lived and died in that home, passing away May 15, 1902. in the same room where his sixteen children had been born. Mrs. Brown died Feb. 6. 1906. We have the following record of their large family :

(1) Franklin Pierce Brown, born Sept. 12, 1852, died Sept. 21, 1914, at Big Run, Pa., where he had been engaged in the coal busi- ness. On Dec. 25. 1873, he married Melissa Anna Canaga. of Scio, Ohio, and four chil- dren were born to them: Edna Alice, born Sept. 7. 1874: G. A. Jenks. Dec. 17, 1875: Irma Rachel, July 30, 1884. and Harry David.

Oct. 14, 1890. The parents were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

(2) William John Brown, born March 13, 1854. married Elizabeth Zeitler, of Punxsu- tawney, Pa., daughter of George Zeitler, and they had a daughter, Bertha, now the wife of Morris Colter, of Punxsutawney.

(3) James Madison Brown, born July 21, 1855, died Dec. 25, 1878, at the old home- stead at Bells Mills. He married Nancy Jane Doncaster, of Punxsutawney, daughter of Daniel and Susie Doncaster, who lived in the West End of that borough, and their only child, Laura, is married to Henry Wicken- hiser, of Coraopolis, Pa. They have at this writing ( May 23. 1916) three children, one son and two daughters.

(4) David Fisher Brown, born Oct. 7, 1856, is mentioned at length below.

(5) Henry Washington Brown, born Dec. 5. 1857. died . Aug. 6, 1905. in the room where he was born. His business operations were in the oil fields.

(6) Robert Andrew Brown, born July 14, 1859. died July 30. 1859.

(7) Andrew Lot Brown, born Feb. 6, 1861, died Oct. 4, 1861.

(8) Tirzah Jane Brown, born March 3, 1862, died March 17. 1889. at Newhall, Cal. Her brother David was with her at the time of her death and brought her home for burial.

(9) slary Amanda Brown, born Aug. 29. 1863, died March 24, 1864.

( 10) Peter Lot Brown, born March 28, 1865, married Margaret Grube, of Bell township, and they have had seven children : Nellie, wife of Rev. Meade Dougherty, of Cloe, Bell township (they have one daughter ) ; Ned L., ' who married Ada B. Cottle, of West Virginia, and formerly lived at Eskota, N. C. (on Dec. I, 1916, he purchased the clothing store of M. H. Morris, at Punxsutawney, which he has since been conducting under the name of Ned L. Brown & Co.) : Madeline, Mrs. Bidewell, of Punxsutawney; Katherine, now a student at the Indiana ( Pa.) State Normal School; Martha, studying at Beaver. Pa .; Louise, and James Grube.

( II) Sallie Melzena Brown, born Aug. 7, 1867. married Jacob Froelich, of Evansville, Ind., lived there and at Denver, Colo., and is now established at Eskota, N. C., the location of the Brown Brothers Lumber Company's mill. Mr. and Mrs. Froelich have two chil- dren : Katherine, now attending the Indiana (Pa.) State Normal School, and Jacob, who attends school in Virginia.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 19

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