Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 28

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 28

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course in the treatment of eye, ear, nose and throat diseases. In September, 1889. he re- turned to Punxsutawney and resumed practice, doing general work for a number of years. But his chief interest was always along the line of his specialty, and his studies were di- rected principally toward perfection in that branch, until gradually he came to devote all his time to that class of ailments, feeling him- self better qualified for their care and by con- stant practice becoming expert in diagnosis of such cases. Dr. Walter belongs to the Homeo- pathic Medical Society of Central Pennsyl- vania, to the Pennsylvania State Homeopathic Society, and to the Jefferson County Medical Society. His professional and private expe- rience has long held him in the ranks of the Prohibition party, though he has not mixed in politics in any way, finding his time and ener- gies fully taken up with his profession. How- ever, he has never failed in the duties of good citizenship, to which he always endeavors to be faithful, whether they appear in the line of his daily work or in other activities which need his encouragement and support. He is one of the most influential residents of the borough where his life work and interests have centered for a quarter of a century or more.

In 1892 Dr. Walter married Florence Con- dron, of Smicksburg. Pa., and they have three daughters, Eleanor Dally, Olive Florence and Elizabeth Van Horn. Dr. and Mrs. Walter are members of the English Lutheran Church. Socially he holds membership in the Odd Fel- lows and Knights of the Maccabees.

BANKS W. FETZER is a substantial busi- ness man of Brookville, where as a member of the firm of Fetzer Brothers he is carrying on one of the old reliable establishments which have a leading place in the commercial circles of the town. His father. William K. Fetzer. original owner of the hardware store now owned and operated by his sons, settled at Brookville in 1883: his earlier ancestors lived in Clarion county, the family being an old one in Pennsylvania.

Isaac Fetzer. the great-grandfather of Banks W. Fetzer. was a pioneer resident of Clarion county, where he owned a farm which has remained in the possession of the family continuously since. He married Susan Frampton. They spent their days on this property and died there.

Isaiah Fetzer, son of Isaac and Susan (Frampton ) Fetzer, was reared at the parental homestead in Clarion county and in time pur- chased it, passing all his life on that place.

where his death occurred when he was seventy- six years old. He was a man of diligent habits and sterling moral character, one of the most respected citizens of his neighbor- hood. Sarah Jack, of Clarion county, became his wife and died on the home farm. They were the parents of the following children : Frank P'. ; William K. : Ella, now the widow of William Love : Sarah : John A., who now owns the old homestead ; Isaac L. : and Nora, wife of Rev. P. F. DeLancy, a Baptist minister, of Meadville, Pennsylvania.

William K. Fetzer was born Oct. 23, 1853, in Clarion county, and grew to manhood on the old Fetzer farm, meantime enjoying such educational advantages as the locality afforded. Farm work was naturally his first occupation. and he was thoroughly trained for it, but his inclinations were mechanical, and when twenty- five years old he went to work as a tool dresser, following that employment in the oil fields of Bradford and Mckean counties for a period of eighteen months. Subsequently he was with J. 11. Wilson, dealer in buggies and carriages, in Clarion county, this association continuing until 1887, when Mr. Fetzer engaged in that line on his own account, giving a large share of his time to it for twenty-two years. He had located at Brookville in 1883, and in 1887 entered the hardware trade in that borough. remaining twenty-two years in that business also, until he sold out to his eldest son, Banks W. Fetzer. Though not now maintaining any active business associations. Mr. Fetzer re- tains valuable interests in and is a director of the Brookville Manufacturing Company, an important local concern engaged in the produc- tion of wagons, etc. During his long expe- rience as a merchant in Brookville he acquired a reputation for honorable transactions which stamped him as one of the creditable men of the borough and county, and his intelligent in- terest in matters of general importance to the . community earned him a place among the public-spirited element on whom the progress and betterment of society depend. Mr. Fetzer married Clara A. McCrackin, daughter of the late John and Fannie ( Reily ) McCrackin, and two sons were born to them, Banks W. and Fred W. They make up the firm of Fet- zer Brothers and conduct the business so long operated by their father. Fred W. Fetzer married Mabel Lucas, daughter of William H. Lucas. of Brookville.

Banks W. Fetzer was born April 25, 1885, a+ Brookville, where he has spent all his life. In his youth he had the best advantages offered by the public schools of the borough, taking a

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higher course of study at the Indiana (Pa.) Normal School. Then he joined his father, continuing in his employ until the year 1907, when he purchased the business, to the develop- ment of which his energies have since been devoted. He was sole owner until 1910, when his brother was admitted to partnership, and they have cooperated in living up to the old standards for which the house has been noted and in setting new records in every depart-

ment. The store is thoroughly up-to-date in arrangement and equipment, and the stock will bear comparison with any other in this part of Jefferson county, being comprehensive. selected with good judgment, and kept in the most orderly fashion, saving time and trouble in filling orders and affording special conve- nience to customers in choosing goods. Be- sides a line of general hardware, Fetzer Brothers handle sewer pipe and cement, field seed. salt, and other commodities in demand among their patrons ; they also deal in buggies and harness, and carry a full line of automobile accessories. In fact, their businesslike service to patrons is recognized and appreciated by a steadily increasing circle of customers whose confidence has been won by discriminating treatment.

Banks W. Fetzer is a typical member of the family when it comes to personal worth. He is a Mason, belonging to the home bodies, Hlobah Lodge, No. 276, F. & A. M .. and Jef- ferson Chapter, No. 225, R. A. M. ; as well as Bethany Commandery, No. 83, of Dubois, and Jaffa Temple, .A. A. O. N. M. S., of Altoona, Pa. Ile married Lyla Scott, daughter of H. J. Scott, of Brookville, and they have one daughter, Marjorie Louise.

THOMAS A. MAYES has been a resident of Jefferson county since early youth and achieved success through his active identifica- , tion with farming and other business enter- prises, the while he has retained a place in popular confidence and good will, as evidenced by the fact that in 1911 he was elected sheriff of the county. In this important office he gave a most effective and satisfactory admin- istration and it is pleasing to record that upon his retirement therefrom Jan. 3. 1916, he was succeeded by his only son, who is the present incumbent of the shrievalty and retains his father as deputy sheriff.

Thomas A. Mayes is a scion of a family whose name has been worthily linked with Pennsylvania history for many years and was born in Sewickley township, Westmoreland county, on the 31st of December, 1854. his pa-

ternal grandparents having long been well known citizens of that county, where they con- tinued to reside until their death. Charles A. Mayes, father of Thomas A., was born in Westmoreland county in 1823, and was reared to manhood on the pioneer farm of his father. In his native county he continued agricultural pursuits until 1870, when he came with his family to Jefferson county, where he pur- chased a farm in Warsaw township. On the land was an appreciable amount of valuable timber, and in connection with farming he en- gaged to a certain extent in lumbering ; but he was not long permitted to continue effective la- bors in the new home, for he was summoned to the life eternal in 1872, his remains being laid to rest in the Temple Cemetery, Warsaw town- ship. In his native county he had served in the offices of constable and school director, giving effective service. His political affilia- tion was with the Republican party, and both he and wife were zealous members of the United Presbyterian Church. They were folk of strong mentality and sterling character, worthy of the high esteem in which they were uniformly held.

As a young man Charles A. Mayes wedded Sarah Jane Graham, who was born in Derry township, Westmoreland county, in 1827, and survived him by nearly forty years, her death having occurred in Warsaw township in 1911, and her remains being interred beside those of the husband of her youth. Of the children the eldest was Samuel, who, at the age of eighteen years, went forth as a gallant young soldier in the Civil war. He enlisted in the 155th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and sacrificed his life on the field of conflict; he was killed while participating in the battle of Gettysburg. Deborah ( Debbie) is the widow of Simon Shaffer, who was a substantial farmer of Jefferson county ; she nows main- tains her home at Ridgway, Elk county. Martha, who died in New Kensington, Pa .. was the wife of O. C. Fritchman, who now resides at Hazen, Jefferson county. Joseph, who became prominent as a lumberman and real estate dealer, was a resident of McKees Rocks, Allegheny county. at the time of his death, his remains resting in the family plot in Temple cemetery. Jefferson county, and his widow being still a resident of McKees Rocks. Hasson C. is a prosperous farmer of Warsaw township and served from 1912 to 1916 as su- perintendent of the County Home. Louisa died at the age of twenty-five years and is interred in Temple cemetery. Thomas A. is the next. John G. is a merchant and farmer

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in Warsaw township. Richard is an electrician riage of Mr. Mayes to Annie E. Vasbinder, and resides at Ridgway, Elk county. Ella, deceased, was the wife of Eugene Moore, of Brookville.

Thomas A. Mayes gained his rudimentary education in the schools of Westmoreland county and was about sixteen at the time of the family removal to Jefferson county, where he continued his school work and also became actively identified with his father's farming and lumbering operations. After the death of his honored father he remained on the home farm until he attained his majority, then purchased a tract of timber land in Warsaw township on which he began farming. He reclaimed the major part of the land and from the timber he added materially to his financial resources. It may well be understood that this period in his career was marked by arduous toil and endeavor, but he found reward in the development of one of the valuable and pro- ductive farins of the county. On the farm he planted an orchard, which is now one of the best in the county; the old homestead, on which he resided for forty years, is situated near the village of Hazen.

Energy, enterprise and good judgment char- acterized the career of Mr. Mayes, and it is notable that after he had effected the clearing of his farm he amplified his activities in the buying and selling of live stock, in which field he built up a substantial and prosperous busi- ness. On his farm he finally erected a well equipped cold storage plant, did general butchering and developed a large business.

Since carly manhood Mr. Mayes has shown a lively and intelligent interest in community affairs, and his influence and cooperation have been given in support of measures and enter- prises tending to advance the general welfare. He has been active in the local councils of the Republican party, and in 1911 came popular recognition of his eligibility when he was elec- ted sheriff of the county by a majority exceed- ing that of any predecessor. Upon assuming this office he removed from the farm to Brook- ville, his present home. With characteristic zeal and fidelity he discharged the duties of sheriff until Jan. 3. 1916, when he was suc- ceeded by his only son, whom he serves as deputy and gives the aid that previous expe- rience makes possible.

For more than a score of years Mr. Mayes has been in active affiliation with the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and also holds mem- bership in the I. O. O. F., I. O. R. M .. Loyal Order of Moose, and Union Grange.

In the year 1874 was solemnized the mar-

who was born and reared in Jefferson county, a daughter of the late T. M. Vasbinder, a representative farmer of Warsaw township. Mr. and Mrs. Mayes have but one son, Marvin G., who was born Dec. 1, 1878, and who, as already noted, succeeded his father in the office of sheriff. Bertha, the elder of the two daugh- ters, was born in 1887 and is the wife of Wil- liam Michael, a prosperous farmer in War- saw township, their children being Thomas G. and Harry W. Catherine, the younger daughter, was born in 1896, and is the wife of Ivan Ross, of Beechwoods, Jefferson county, their one child being Bernice M.

MARVIN G. MAYES is indebted to the public schools for his educational discipline and early aided in the work of the home farm. In 1002 he engaged in general merchandising at Kingsville, Clarion county, where he success- fully continued until 1909. In the following year he purchased a general store at Allen's Mills, Jefferson county, but disposed of it six months later. For the ensuing three years he was associated with the management of his father's farm, and from 1912 to 1915 he served as deputy sheriff under the administration of his father. He was then elected sheriff and the popular estimate that he is winning shows the efficiency of his administration. He is affiliated with the I. O. O. F. and Loyal Order of Moose and he has a wide circle of friends in the county.

SYLVESTER DAVIS has led an active life, being well known in his section of Jeffer- son county through his dealings as farmer. merchant and lumberman. His interests have been mainly in Polk and Warsaw townships, his home and store having been for years at Schoffners Corners (post office Munderf ), and there are few local interests which have not fel the effect of his influence, for he has been a broadminded citizen, ready with his support for any good cause. Mr. Davis is a native of the county, born May 17. 1840, in Clover township, at Summerville, son of Oth- niel and Anna ( Hetrick ) Davis. The father came to Jefferson county in young manhood, and his parents followed him to this section. spending their latter years here with their sons Othniel and Jackson, who lived near Mount Pleasant, south of Brookville.

Levi Davis, grandfather of Sylvester Davis, was born April 24, 1776, and died Sept. 6, 1842. aged sixty-six years. On March 22, 1802, he married Phebe Irons, who was born April 18, 1772, and died March to, 1852, near the

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close of her eightieth year. Her father, who was an early settler in New Jersey, served seven years in the Revolutionary war.

Othniel Davis, son of Levi and Phebe Davis, was born Sept. 20, 1812, in Mckean county, Pa., and came to Jefferson county when a young man. On July 31, 1839. he was married, at Troy (now Summerville ), to Anna Hetrick, the ceremony taking place at the home of her sister. Mrs. Darius Carrier, with whom she had been living. Mrs. Davis was born March 22, 1822, daughter of Frederick Hetrick, who was the second settler in what is now Polk township, coming in 1838, when there were nothing but hunters' trails to mark the way through the wilderness. Mr. Hetrick was one of the prominent men of his day in that locality. Mr. Davis had met his wife at Summerville, and they continued to reside there for several years, during which he was engaged as a teamster, as well as in other work. From there he removed to the Carrier farm at Brookville. upon which he remained as a tenant for a few years, until he bought and moved to the Curtis farm near Summerville. After that he lived successively at Heathville and Puckerty, this county, having bought 240 acres on the left bank of Red Bank creek, upon which he lumbered, clearing and improving this tract, which he eventually sold to George McAninch. About 1856 he removed to Polk township, living for a year on his father-in- law's farm at Greenbriar, and then buying the present home place of James Smith in that township, upon which he made his home for twenty years. Meantime he improved it, mak- ing a valuable farm property by his various operations and the erection of suitable build- ings. There was only an old log house on the land when it came into his possession, but it was in excellent condition in every way when he left it and sold out, removing two miles away, to Munderf. where he purchased the farm upon which his grandson, Ambrose Davis, now lives. Selling that place he re- moved to "Egypt," in Warsaw township, locating on a place for which he had traded two other farms. There he spent his old age, living to be eighty-two years old, and his widow shared her last years with her children. dying at the home of her youngest son, Esick Davis, in Polk township. They were the parents of eight children: Sylvester; Darins, who died in young manhood: Thomas, of Reynoldsville : Erastus, who went to Nebraska. where he died; Herbert, a farmer on his father's old home in "Egypt" : David, an M. E. preacher, at Lucedale, Miss. ; Esick, who farms

in Polk township, two miles west of Munderf ; and Ida Ursula, wife of John Bell, living in Lakin, Kansas.

Sylvester Davis remained at home until he reached his majority, helping to clear up the farm and working in the woods, cutting and hauling timber, making rafts, and running the rivers in the springtime. He was in the employ of the principal operators, and until he was twenty-one turned his wages over to his father. as many a dutiful son did in that day. Then he began to work for Enoch HIall, hauling goods from the mouth of the Mahoning to Brookville, where Mr. Hall had a store, and also to a lumber camp near Shadagee (now called Knoxdale). After a year with Mr. Hall he took employment with Isaac Carrier, of Richardsville, doing farm work in the sum- mer and lumbering in the winter, and remain- ing with him until he enlisted for the Union service during the Civil war. He was mustered in at Harrisburg Aug. 14, 1862, as a member of Company B (Capt. R. J. Espy ), 135th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served with that command until May 24, 1863. for about six months on provost duty at Wash- ington and Georgetown, D. C. He was also in the second battle at Fredericksburg and in the operations on the Rapidan. On Sept. 16, 1864. he reenlisted, joining Company L, 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry, with which he served under Sheridan in the Shenandoah Val- ley. in the pursuit of Early, though he was principally in the quartermaster's department during his second enlistment. He was in actual service for nearly two years during the war. and was never wounded or captured nor in a hospital. When the war closed he was sta- tioned near Washington and received his final discharge May 31, 1865.

In 1864 Mr. Davis bought his present farm in Polk township from Matthew Humphrey, of Richardsville, 170 acres, but fifty then in)- proved. The part upon which the buildings are located was entirely in the woods at that time. He began lumbering upon his return from military service, and continued that busi- ness until five years ago, sometimes jobbing, but usually cutting his own timber, buying land and clearing it, and then selling it for agricultural purposes. Thus he has begun im- provements on several farms, mainly in Polk township. He built a mill upon his home place and has sawed large quantities of lumber. selling to other operators and often running rafts to Pittsburgh, starting either on the Clarion river, six miles from his home, or from the North Fork, which drains Polk township.

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His cuttings amounted to millions of feet, including considerable square timber, and he employed from ten to twenty men in the woods and mill. Mr. Davis has also had extensive agricultural interests, having developed eight or ten farms of about one hundred acres each. in Polk and Warsaw townships, and retains the ownership of four valuable farms, his home place, another a mile distant, one at Lake City, Elk county, and another at Brock- wayville, all of which he operates. His lead- ing crop is hay, and he also raises large quan- tities of oats, wheat, corn, buckwheat, etc. He is starting a herd of Berkshire hogs, and has a fine flock of full-blooded Leghorn chickens. For fifty years Mr. Davis has kept a store at Schoffners Corners, and for forty years he was postmaster at that point.

With all his business affairs Mr. Davis has always found time for the other activities which mark the advancement of a live com- munity. The land upon which the Greenbrier Methodist Episcopal Church stands was donated by him, and he helped to start this church and still gives his support to its enter- prises. Though he has never joined the Grand Army he has kept in close touch with his army comrades and their interests. He finds enjoy- able recreation fishing in the streams in his locality, but he never hunted, even in the early days, when all kinds of game abounded here. Deer, bear and even wildcats were plentiful when he moved into this section. He has bought venison by the sled-load.

On May 29, 1865, Mr. Davis married Martha A. Pew, of Warsaw township. Her father, Matthew Pew, had a farm at Catfish, but he and his wife died when Mrs. Davis was a child, and she was reared by her maternal grandparents, John and Elizabeth (Carroll) Richards, in Warsaw township, living there until her marriage, at the age of twenty years. John Richards was a native of Scotland, and on coming to this country settled in Pennsylvania, where he married. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, taking part in the battle of Lake Erie as well as other engagements. He had two daughters who reached maturity, Sarah and Martha, the latter being the wife of Mat- thew Pew.

The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis: Anna Belle, now Mrs. H. W. McFadden, of Munderf ; Violetta, who died in infancy ; Elizabeth, Mrs. Harvy Win- gard, living near Richardsville: Ambrose, liv- ing on the old home place at Munderf, now engaged in farming and merchandising (he married Rena Schoffner) ; Effie, wife of

Frank Fawsett, of Brookville, an employe of the Water Works Company ; Blaine, living on the home farm, who married Christina Cook; and Harry, who married Rosie Patterson, liv- ing on an adjoining farm.

Mr. Davis provided generously for the early education and training of his children, and gave each one a thousand dollars to start life when they attained the age of twenty-one years. They have proved worthy of his con- fidence, and all are comfortably situated within a short distance of the old home.

LLOYD L. MEANS, D. D. S., has an exten- sive practice which entitles him to high place among the successful professional men of Jef- ferson county. He has been established at Reynoldsville since 1898, being the first reg- istered dentist of the county, and has had a liberal share of the local patronage. With high ideals of the value of dentistry among the branches of medical and surgical science, he has kept closely abreast of its recent develop- ments, sustaining the enthusiasm for his chosen calling which should animate the true scien- tific practitioner.

Dr. Means is a member of a family well rep- resented in the best citizenship of Jefferson county from the early days, being a grandson of Thomas Means. The grandfather of Dr. Means was a son of John and Eliza- beth Means, natives of Ireland, who came to America at an early day, and to Jefferson county about 1819-20, from Center county, locating in the village of Whitesville, where their sons purchased two hundred acres of land in Perry township and built a hewed log house. The place was soon cleared and trans- formed into good farms. In the family were ten children, namely : James, Edward, John, Thomas, Foster, Joseph, Jackson, Eliza, Mar- garet and Caroline.

Thomas Means lived at Frostburg, in Perry township, and followed farming in that town- ship, where he died. To his marriage with Martha Miller were born the following chil- dren : Miller G., who now lives at Punxsutaw ney ; Thaddeus, deceased ; Harry P., deceased ; Oran, a resident of Frostburg: Monroe, of Ebensburg, Pa .; Mrs. Elizabeth Depp, of Frostburg ; Mrs. C. N. Lewis, deceased; Mrs. Gibson Evans, of Punxsutawney; and Amanda, Mrs. Thomas Gourley, deceased.

Harry P. Means, son of Thomas, was the father of Dr. Means. He was born in Perry township June 6, 1854, on a farm adjoining the property where he was residing at the time of his death, near Frostburg. He had

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 28

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