Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 23

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 23

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Oliver Vasbinder, son of Andrew Vasbinder, Mrs. Vasbinder, is a representative young busi- was born on the old homestead in Rose town- ship and was reared and educated in that part of Jefferson county, where he early gained his share of experience in agricultural industry, and where eventually he became the owner of a farm adjacent to the place upon which he was born. He ordered his life earnestly and ef- fectively, was successful in his activities as a farmer, and commanded the high regard of all who knew him. He was but forty-five years of age at the time of his death, and his remains are interred in the old cemetery at Brookville, as are also those of his wife, whose maiden name was Jane Matson. She was born in Eldred township, a descendant of another of the respected pioneer families of Jefferson county, and died at the age of ninety-two years. Of their children, the eldest, Gilmore, is de- ceased; Princetta is the wife of William Mc- Aninch, of Brookville ; Harvey died young, as did also Enima ; Curtis R. was next in the or- der of birth ; Oliver became a substantial farmer of Rose township.

Curtis R. Vasbinder was born on the old homestead farm of his father in Rose town- ship, Dec. 3. 1856, and found the period of his childhood and youth compassed by the interests of that place, lending his aid early to the work of cultivation, and meantime taking advantage of such educational opportunities as the time and locality afforded. After starting out on his own account he became interested in lum- bering, and when he had acquired the neces- sary experience and capital engaged in the development of valuable tracts of timber in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He followed lumber manufacturing for about twenty years, withdrawing therefrom in 1911. Since then he has done little active business, leading a leisurely life at Brookville. Mr. Vas- binder purchased his residence property, situ- ated at the corner of Main and Barnett streets, from Lewis Gordon, and he also owns other valuable realty in Brookville, and is one of the principal stockholders of the Brookville Glass & Tile Company.

While living in Rose township, Mr. Vas- binder served for a time as tax collector, and also held the office of assessor. Later he was tax collector for the borough of Brookville, and he represented his district in the State Legislature in the session of 1903-04.

On Nov. 4, 1880, Mr. Vasbinder was united in marriage with Mary A. Thompson, who like- wise was born and reared in this county, daughter of the late Judge John Thompson. Malcom H., eldest of the children of Mr. and

ness man of Brookville; he married Tillie Thompson, and they have one child, Beatrice M. Laverta Dell, the second of the children, is the wife of Homer Kelso, of Brookville, and they have three children, Mary Harriet, Jose- phine Pearl and Curtis R. Mary Thompson, the youngest of the family, is the wife of Wayne Eberline, their home being at Brook- ville ; their only child is John Thompson. Mr. and Mrs. Vasbinder hold membership in the United Presbyterian Church.

ROBERT W. DINSMORE, a resident of Punxsutawney for forty years, is widely known in this part of Pennsylvania, the sev- eral business connections of his active years having brought him into contact with many of the local inhabitants. Having met with sub- stantial success in his transactions while han- dling oil lands and oil wells, he was able to retire some years ago to enjoy the fruits of his operations, and has not resumed business since. He has chosen to live quietly, but his unqualified support of good movements when- ever occasion calls for an expression of opin- ion, and his upright conduct in all the social, domestic and business relations, show him to be a citizen worthy of the high regard in which he is universally held.

Mr. Dinsmore is of Scotch descent, his grandparents coming to America late in the eighteenth century. His father, Robert Dins- more, was born in 1805. He was an early merchant in Huntingdon county, Pa., and sub- sequently came to western Pennsylvania and purchased a farm near Kittanning, Armstrong county, where he also had a store. There he resided during the remainder of his life, though he had valuable interests in Jefferson county as well, running and conducting a saw- mill on the Big Run stream, near Big Run. One year he shot eleven deer in this section. He died on his farm when sixty-five years old. By his marriage to Mary Johnson, of Hunt- ingdon county, Pa., Mr. Dinsmore had the fol- lowing children: Marion J. : Robert W .; Ann E. ; Mary J. ; Joseph ; Thomas J., and Dr. Win- field Scott, a physician at Sharpsburg, Pa. The son Thomas J. served in the Union army during the Civil war, and was wounded by a shot at New Hope Church, Ga., June 30, 1863, where a seven days' battle was fought.

Robert W. - Dinsmore was born May 15, 1839, at Petersburg, Huntingdon Co., Pa., and was reared upon the home farm in Armstrong county. When a youth of eighteen he began teaching school, and was so engaged for two

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terms, his educational advantages having been unusually good for the time. On Sept. 11, 1861, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, and became first sergeant of Company K, 78th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, being subsequently promoted to first lieuten- ant of that company, Nov. 17, 1862. He served over three years, on active duty all the time until he received his honorable discharge, Nov. 14, 1864. Having a desire for some train- ing before he entered business life on his own account, he then took a commercial course in the Iron City College, at Pittsburgh, and upon its completion went to Franklin, Pa., where he engaged in the oil business. He spent the next ten years in that location, in June, 1875, removing to Punxsutawney and locating on the property in that borough which he has since occupied. Mr. Dinsmore assumed the duties of assistant and cashier in the old Mahoning Bank at Punxsutawney soon after his arrival here, and held the position credi- tably for a period of fifteen years, resigning to become deputy United States internal rey- enue collector during President Harrison's administration. He was assigned to the Ninth division, Twenty-third district, and filled the office for four years with satisfaction to all concerned. During the ten years following Mr. Dinsmore was occupied leasing and taking up lands in this section and drilling for oil, and as he was the original explorer it is only just that he should be accredited as initiating this now valuable industry hereabouts. Through his investigations the discovery of natural gas and coal in large quantities in the vicinity of Punxsutawney revealed new re- sources in the locality, stimulated by his in- vestments and development work, all of which was directly responsible for the construction of two lines of railroad to the county's metropolis, the Buffalo, Rochester & Pitts- burgh and the Pennsylvania Central. Since he gave up those interests Mr. Dinsmore has not had any active business connections, re- tiring to private life when he sold his holdings, which became very valuable under his careful, judicious management. However, he has looked after his ten-acre tract of land at Punxsutawney, the place whereon he lives, farming and gardening. He is a member of the G. A. R. at Punxsutawney, having been commander of E. H. Little Post, and he is also a past officer of the Union Veteran Legion, and a member of Lodge No. 672, I. O. O. F.

Mr. Dinsmore married Sarah Jane Heasley, daughter of John and Hannah Heasley, of Franklin, Pa., and they have reared a large

family, namely: Jessie F. is the wife of Alfred C. Allison, of Punxsutawney ; Harry W. is employed as an electrician in Punxsu- tawney; Walter S. is a merchant in Punxsu- tawney ; Howard L., John U. and Arthur are in business at Patton, Pa .; Clifford C. is a merchant at Indiana, Pa. ; Grace G. is the wife of Walter M. Frease, of Punxsutawney; C. Howe is a Baptist minister, now stationed at Barron, Wis .; Gertrude R. is a public school teacher in Punxsutawney. Mr. Dinsmore and all his family maintain active church connec- tions. From the time of casting his first presi- dential vote, given to Abraham Lincoln, he has never swerved in his allegiance to the Re- publican party.

WILLIAM ROSS MORRISON, now liv- ing retired at Brockwayville, was until re- cently engaged in farming in the Beechwoods neighborhood in Washington township, where he owns the fine property known as "Pine- hurst" which was his home for so many years. Mr. Morrison was a prominent resident of that section for over forty years, one of its most progressive agriculturists and equally enterprising in all the other activities of the community. Indeed, he is a representative member of his family, which has been known for sterling qualities during a long associa- tion with the history of this region, dating from the days of his grandfather, who be- longed to the sturdy pioneer stock for which the Beechwoods has become noted. The lat- ter, Robert Morrison, was a native of County Derry, Ireland, and spent his early life in that country, where he and his wife Dorothea were married. They had several children when they settled in Washington township, Jeffer- son Co., Pa., in 1832, on the farm later owned by Isaac and Robert F. Morrison, which they cleared with the assistance of their sons. Their children were: Susanna, William, Leti- tia, John. Rebecca, Isaac, Barbara and Joseph ( born Oct. 28, 1826).

Isaac Morrison, son of Robert and Doro- thea Morrison, was born in 1822 in County Derry, Ireland, and was a boy of ten or twelve years when he accompanied his parents to the Beechwoods. The family had landed at Phila- delphia, and came immediately to western Pennsylvania, locating on a tract of woodland near Allen's Mills which by their labors was converted into a farm. Governor Morrison, of Idaho, who is a member of this family. was born on this farm, which comprised eighty- eight acres of what has become very valuable land, and of which Isaac Morrison inherited

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part. However, at the time of his marriage he located on an adjoining property, whereon he made his home until his removal to Brook- ville in 1894. His son William R. Morrison having built him a residence at Pinehurst, he moved thither from Brookville, but lived to enjoy it little more than a year, his death occurring there in February, 1896. Isaac Morrison was a man of affairs and acknowl- edged executive ability, and was twice a can- didate for county treasurer on the Democratic ticket, once as the opponent of Scott McClel- land. He married Mary Ann Ross, a native of County Derry. Ireland, who came to this country with her parents, William and Mar- tha (Logue) Ross, the family settling first in Center county, Pa., and later in the Beechi- woods. There Mr. and Mrs. Ross died. Mrs. Morrison passed away at Pinehurst on her eightieth birthday, March 20, 1897, just a little more than a year after her husband's death. They were married Jan. 6, 1848, and were the parents of five children: William Ross: Robert Wallace, who married Ruth Ross and located in Beaver township. this county, removing thence to the vicinity of Reynoldsville, later living retired in that bor- ough, and now occupying a small farm near by; Martha Jane, wife of R. Perry Johnson, of Warsaw township: Mary Ann, Mrs. R. S. Patton, of Beechwoods ; and Isaac Newton, who married Florence Stephenson and lives at Ridgway, Pennsylvania.

William Ross Morrison was born July- 5. 1849, on the home farm in Washington town- ship, where he grew to manhood. A mile and a half away stood the little old schoolhouse known as the Dennison school, where he was first taught by Abbie McCurdy ( now de- ceased), and he attended there up to the age of eighteen years, his last teacher being Wil- liam Millen. Out of school hours he assisted with the chores from early boyhood, and later did his share of the heavier work, finding plenty to occupy him during vacation periods. He was but thirteen years old when he began to handle the plow, and was well prepared to begin farming on his own account when he undertook to buy and manage a farm for him- self. at the time of his marriage. This place, known as Pinehurst, is a tract of 140 acres at Beechton, forty of which were cleared when he settled there-that is, the trees had been cut, though the pine stumps were still stand- ing. the earth between being cultivated as much as possible. Mr. Morrison got a stump puller and did the most arduous part of the clearing, on the forty acres which had been

started 'and on sixty more, developing his hundred acres of arable land on modern lines, setting out orchards, and making costly im- provements in the way of buildings. In 1876 he built the ten-room residence which now stands there, and he remodeled the barn ( which is 60 by 60 feet in dimensions) ; the horse barn ( which latter is 32 by 40 feet in dimensions ) he- built anew, besides construct- ing a good silo, the property being trans- formed completely under his direction. It is underlaid with coal, and at this writing the mines are being developed. the operations being conducted under the management of the Morrison Coal Company, whose members are William Ross Morrison and his three sons. Francis R., Alvin N. and Elmer B. Morrison. V'eins already discovered measure five and a half feet in thickness. Mr. Morrison has also reserved the coal rights on ninety acres in Snyder township, which property he formerly owned, but now in the possession of his son Alvin. He has also retained the mineral rights on the lands now owned by John Pifer & Son, which he previously owned. Ile has a third interest in each of two ten-acre tracts which he owns jointly with his brothers Robert W. and Isaac Newton Morrison, one lying within the borough limits of Punxsutawney, adjacent to the iron works, the other in Wash- ington township and now under lease for min- eral and oil development.

Mr. Morrison had his home and work at Pinehurst until he removed to Brockwayville in the fall of 1916, to enjoy his leisure thor- oughly. Local enterprises always had his cooperation, and he was formerly manager for ten years of the Rockdale Mutual Fire Insurance Company, whose success was largely due to his efficient labors. He has served his township in public offices, includ- ing that of school director, and has proved worthy of every trust. His political support has always been given to the Democratic party. In 1872 Mr. Morrison joined the Beechwoods Presbyterian Church, in whose membership he was always active, helping to build the present house of worship and for twenty years filling the office of deacon, a service in which he found the greatest pleasure.

On Feb. 5, 1874. Mr. Morrison married Susanna J. Ross, one of his former school- mates at the Dennison school, who was born in the Beechwoods April 30. 1854, and is a sister of J. S. Ross, of Sugar Hill, mentioned elsewhere. She, too, was a zealous member of the Beechwoods Presbyterian Church and

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one of its devoted workers, for years a mein- ber of the choir. Her death occurred March 10, 1904, on the farm, and she is buried in the Beechwoods cemetery. Of the three children born to this marriage, Francis R. is now oper- ating the home farm; he married Eliza Bren- holtz, of the Beechwoods, and they have two sons, George Calhoun and William Carlisle. Alvin Newton, who lives in the Sugar Hill district, married Maud Pfeiffer, and they have five children, William John, Herman, Hazel May, Karl and Frances Burton. Elmer Bur- ton, now living at Brookville, married Clara Stahlman, of Ringgold township, and has one son, William Earl.

For his second wife Mr. Morrison married, Dec. 2, 1908, Margaret Ross, daughter of Oliver and Eliza (Ross) Ross, who died in the Beechwoods, to which district they had removed when she was eight years old. She was born June 1, 1847, in Center county, Pa., and after coming to Jefferson county attended the Dennison school under Abbie MeCurdy, Martha Dennison and other teachers, later going to high school at Glade Run and Corsica. For ten or twelve years she was engaged in teaching, beginning in the Beechwoods, and afterwards following the profession at other places. Her parents had a family of seven children, her brothers and sisters being as fol- lows: Mary Jane. unmarried, now in Cali- fornia ; James H., deceased ; William, a resi- dent of DuBois, Pa .: Martha, who married Thornton Strang, both deceased; Nancy, Mrs. K. C. Johnson, of Brockwayville ; and Joseph, who married Mary Webster and lives on the old home farm in the Beechwoods.

ABRAM R. BRADEN has from young manhood been interested in lumbering opera- tions on the Clarion river on the line between Jefferson and Forest counties, his various activities centering about Clarington, which is on the Forest county side of the river. In that neighborhood also he has made extensive investments in gas producing properties, and he has operated profitably in oil, carried on a general mercantile business, and had other associations with the development of the in- dustrial resources of the region. in whose progress he has aided materially.

Mr. Braden is a son of Jacob and Lavinia ( Bashline ) Braden, the former a native of Crawford county, Pa., born in 1797: the mother was brought up in Clarion county, this State, near the old Polk Furnace. They were married in Forest county, and lived and died on the farm in that county which he cut out

of the wilderness. During the carly part of his residence there he engaged in lumbering, until he had his land cleared of the heavy timber. He was a Methodist, and a noted church worker in his time, laboring zealously to do his part in bringing the gospel to the inhabitants of his section. He died in 1873 aged seventy-six years, and his wife passed away one year later. Of the seven children born to them six survive: William Wesley is the only one in Jefferson county ; two live in Forest county, one in Clarion county, and two in Pittsburgh.

Abram R. Braden was born in Forest county, near Cooksburg, Nov. 18, 1855, and spent his boyhood at home, remaining with his parents until twenty years old. He had such educational advantages as the immediate locality afforded, and began to help with the home work at an early age, being only ten or eleven when he was set to driving the oxen, horses or mules, and he worked in the fields before he was able to handle the harrow. When twenty years old he entered the employ of John Baxter, who was lumbering one mile above Cooksburg, and received sixty cents a day for rolling logs. In three weeks' time his wages were raised to eighty cents a day, which was as much as the best men were paid at that time, and later he was advanced to a dollar a clay. He continued in Mr. Baxter's employ for four years, during which he helped to build a dam, and he worked in the water even in the cold weather and snow. Subsequently he was associated with Mr. Baxter as partner in other operations, and after they had been together four years he bought Mr. Baxter's steam mill and moved it to Clarington, just below the bridge on the Jefferson county side of the river. Two years later he moved across the river into Forest county and operated the mill there for five years. not only cutting lum- ber, but also dealing in it and building boats, which were loaded with lumber and taken down to Pittsburgh, where the boats would be sold for transporting coal. Besides, he would sometimes buy lumber and square tim- ber and run rafts down the river. Mr. J. B. l'earsall, in his time a well known man in this section, offered to aid him with cash whenever necessary, as he owned a store and was anx- ious to have the mill employ as many hands as possible. Thus Mr. Braden was often able to buy rafts from strangers on Mr. Pearsall's recommendation, and a couple of times the latter even advanced the money required to transact business. Mr. Braden had one heavy loss caused by the failure of a man to whom

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lie had sold boats in Pittsburgh. During one panic he was given accommodation at the Henderson bank in Brookville, and in the course of a few months was able to pay off all his indebtedness. Indeed, though he has often had to struggle to come out successfully, he has had the comfort and assistance of true friends during all his career. On one occa- sion, when he had an opportunity to buy some standing timber at Wyncoope, he had only one thousand dollars cash to invest, and had to go in debt for twenty-two thousand. But he lost no time in commencing to cut off the lumber, and when he sold the tract got what he had paid for it, after having cleared eighteen thou- sand dollars on the timber. This gave him a fine start, and, what was more important, the confidence to handle big deals. Then, in com- pany with Jim O'Hara, he paid seven thou- sand dollars cash for a stand of timber which they cut the same winter, Dave Thompson, of Brookville, taking the job of putting it into the river and running it to Pittsburgh. Mr. · Braden's profits in that spring were fifteen hundred dollars. He next entered into an equal partnership with Mr. Thompson on a job which netted him twenty-two hundred dol- lars, at its completion buying out his partner and continuing the work alone, lumbering and sawing on the Clarion three miles below Clar- ington. Frequently he would buy timber tracts and sell the land after it had been cut over, being in partnership with Mr. O'Hara in several such deals. Meantime he built many boats which were sent down the river loaded and sold after the cargo was dis- posed of.

In 1908 Mr. Braden was actively associated with the establishment of the Greenwood Gas Company, he and his nephew, Leo Braden, leasing twelve hundred or fifteen hundred acres in the vicinity of the Greenwood Church, in Forest county. Leo Braden had been the prime mover in this enterprise. He found he could secure leases if his uncle was willing to back him, and the latter acquired a substantial interest, upon which he realized during his connection with the company and when they sold out for seventy thousand dollars. After a good well had been drilled and it was easy to sell stock the production was steadily in- creased by the drilling of more wells, until the company had twenty-one in operation. Meantime, the business had been incorporated for thirty-two thousand dollars. After sever- ing his connection with the Greenwood Com- pany Mr. Braden took stock in another com- pany which had been started. The first well

they sunk proved dry, and some of the stock- holders dropped out, but others were drilled until the production commenced, and then the concern was incorporated as the Braden Oil & Gas Company, which opened several pro- ductive wells before Mr. Braden sold his in- terest, for which he received seven thousand dollars. Subsequently he started the Barlett- Braden Oil & Gas Company, which now has four producing wells, and he also holds stock in another similar company. Mr. Braden's operations have been successful, but his ear- lier experiences in this line were rather dis- couraging, he having helped to drill sixteen wells before striking one good one. For sev- eral years Mr. Braden was interested in a general store at Clarington, and he still owns a little sawmill there. Clarington lies twelve miles north of Brookville, Jefferson county. He has stock in a Trust Company at Warren, Pa., and in fact has encouraged all the enter- prises necessary to bring proper facilities for conducting business in his part of Pennsyl- vania.

Mr. Braden has not had any political or official ambitions, but he is a public-spirited citizen and a good judge of lumber, and when the school board of his district, having con- tracted recently for a new schoolhouse, bought some lumber from an old school building for use in the construction of the new one, hie secured an injunction against its use. This action was taken in the interest of about two hundred taxpayers of the same mind as him- self. The District court issued an injunction against the school board, and appointed Mr. Braden inspector of material, and in that capacity he has rejected all unfit material offered, much to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens generally.

In 1885 Mr. Braden married Jennette But- terfield, daughter of the late Oran Butterfield. She was born in the old brick house on the hill, one mile south of Clarington, which was built over half a century ago and was the home of her parents for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Braden have no children, but they reared Alexander Caughey from the time he was eleven years old. Mr. Braden had brought him from Allegheny for a visit, and he looked more like a child of eight, being small sized. He became attached to the Bradens, and the next spring came to live with them perma- nently, making his home with them until his death, in 1913, when he was thirty-four years old. He was unmarried. He was a man of thoroughly domestic tastes and excellent hab- its, and was well liked in Clarington.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 23

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