Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 33

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 33

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relations of life gained to him the confidence and goodwill of all who knew him. As a man of thought and action he won large and sub- stantial prosperity. He continued his resi- dence upon his farm until he was called from the stage of his mortal endeavors, at the ripe age of nearly seventy-five years, his death hav- ing occurred on the 10th of January. 1901. and interment having been made in the Brookville cemetery.

As a young man Samuel A. Hunter wedded Sarah H. Foster, who was born in Mckean county. Pa., and who was a daughter of Daniel Foster, her father having been a native of the State of New York and having been a resident of Pennsylvania for many years prior to his demise. Mrs. Hunter survived her husband by seven years, and was summoned to eternal rest on the 16th of January. 1908, secure in the affectionate regard of all who had come within the compass of her gracious influ- ence.

Of the children of Samuel A. and Sarah H. (Foster) Hunter the firstborn, Amanda, met a tragic death, her clothing having taken fire when she was a child of three years, and her injuries having soon resulted fatally ; Emma C. became the wife of William Mc- Guary and was a resident of Brookville at the time of her death : Elmer became an extensive fruit grower in the State of Idaho, where his death occurred in the year 1915: Perry .\., of this review, was the next in order of birth : Mary A. died at the age of twelve years ; Samuel A., Jr., owns and operates the fine old homestead farm of his father, in Knox town- ship, and is known as one of the most progres- sive and successful agriculturists of his native county ; Everett B. died when three years old.

The benignant influences of the home farm compassed Perry A. Hunter during his child- hood and early youth, and after profiting duly from the advantages afforded in the local pub- lic schools he furthered his education by at- tending the old Belleview Academy at Stanton. this county, and the G. W. Michael business college at Delaware, Ohio. As a youth he became actively and successfully identified with farming and school teaching, having taught thirteen terms in Jefferson county, after which he became associated with the lumber busi- ness, in which industry he continued his activi- ties until 1903. On the 17th of August of that year he established his residence at Brook- ville, where he became associated with his brother Samuel A. in the ownership and con- duct of the "American 1Iotel." the leading

hostelry of this thriving little borough. This alliance lasted until March 17, 1905, when they sold out to G. D. Buffington and F. L. Verstine, this partnership existing until June of the same year, when Mr. Hunter effected the organization of the American Hotel Com- pany, by which the hotel property is now owned, the present corporate title of the com- pany having been adopted on the Ist of June, 1905, and Mr. Hunter having since continued as a member of the board of trustees ( direc- tors ) of the company. He has become largely interested in the operation of oil and gas wells in Jefferson and Venango counties, and has other capitalistic interests of important order.

In politics Mr. Hunter has ever accorded unswerving allegiance to the Republican party, and as a citizen he has shown himself most loyal and public-spirited. In the autumn of 1912 he was elected recorder and register of ‹leeds of his native county, and of this office he continued in tenure four years, during which he gave a most efficient and acceptable administration. He was serving his second term as a member of the borough council of Brookville at the time of his election to the county office, to assume which latter he re- signed his position as a representative of the municipal government. At Reynoldsville, this county, Mr. Hunter is affiliated with the lodge of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; at Falls Creek he is identified with the organi- zation of the Improved Order of Red Men; and at Brookville he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Loyal Order of Moose. In his native county his circle of friends is virtually coincident with that of his acquaintances, and he is known as one of the wide-awake, liberal and progressive citizens of the county.

In the year 1896 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Hunter to Emma M. McCarm, who likewise was born and reared in Knox township, this county, where her father, the late Benjamin F. McCarin, was a prosperous farmer and influential citizen, his wife, Susan. who survives him, being a daughter of the late Thomas Hopkins, a sterling pioneer of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter have no children.

HON. JACKSON BOGGS, who at the time of his death was serving as president judge of Armstrong county, Pa., was born April 7. 1818, in Plum township, Allegheny Co., Pa .. near Pittsburgh. He was a son of David Boggs, and grandson of Thomas Boggs, Sr.

The Boggs family is Scotch-Irish. The

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great-grandfather of Judge Boggs at an early day left Scotland and in 1722 settled in the town of Glassdrummond, Ireland. Thomas Boggs, Sr., left Ireland in 1805, and coming to America settled in western Pennsylvania, near Brighton, Beaver county, where he died. He married Elizabeth Chambers, and their union was blessed with six sons and two daughters, viz .: William, Thomas, Elizabeth, John, Ann, James, David and Robert.

David Boggs, father of Judge Boggs, was born in Ireland in 1783, and came in 1799 to western Pennsylvania, settling in what is now Plum township, Allegheny county. He was one of the pioneers of that section, where he purchased two tracts of woodland near the site of Murraysville and cleared out fine farms on them. In 1849 he sold his farms and re- moved to Apollo, Pa., where he died Nov. 3, 1856, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. He was a Jeffersonian Democrat, and served for thirty years as a justice of the peace in Allegheny county. In his early days he united with the Presbyterian Church, of which he continued to be a most earnest and useful member. In 1806 he married Mary McKee, daughter of Squire McKee, of Murraysville, and they were permitted to enjoy fifty years of wedded life. They had thirteen children, of whom we have the following record : Thomas, born in November, 1806; Eliza G., born in May, 1809, who married David McKee, a farmer of the Tuscarora Val- lev : Fannie M., born in September, 1811. wife of Jacob Freetly, a prominent lawyer of AApollo ; John, born in July, 1813, who mar- ried Ann Boggs. daughter of William Boggs and a native of Ireland; Ann; Janie G., born in October, 1815, who married Samuel Beatty. a farmer of Allegheny county ; Jackson, men- tioned below; Robert, who died in infancy ; James, born in September, 1822, who married Margaret A. Bailey and was a lawyer in Clarion, Clarion Co., Pa .: David C., former register and recorder of Armstrong county ; a twin brother of David that died in infancy ; and Lavina, born in September, 1830, who married Henry Townsend, of South Bend, Armstrong county. Squire McKee, of near Murraysville, was one of the very early set- tlers in western Pennsylvania, living there in perilous times, surrounded by savage Indians. For years he always had his rifle near him. and he buried his valuables for safe keeping.

Jackson Boggs was brought up in Plum township, where his father was an old resi- dent, and he continued to own his father's farm there until his death. In 1839. when

twenty-one years old, he came to Kittanning, and engaged in school teaching in East Frank- lin township. In 1840 he commenced to teach school in Kittanning, and there in 184I took up the study of law under Darwin Phelps, Esq., later a member of Congress. He also read with Judge Joseph Buffington, then of the Armstrong district, being admitted to the bar in 1843. Soon afterwards he formed a professional partnership with the late J. R. Calhoun, then a member of the Legislature, and he continued to be actively engaged in general practice until elected judge, attaining in time a position among the foremost attor- neys of western Pennsylvania. Upon the adoption of the new Constitution Armstrong county was made a separate judicial district, having been detached from the jurisdiction of Judge Moreland, who lived in Westmoreland county, and in the contest following the for- mation of the new district Mr. Boggs became the Democratic candidate for the judgeship. Up to this time he had always taken an active interest in politics, but had never been a can- didate for any office, though during the ear- lier years of his practice he was deputy surveyor general. He was elected by a large majority after one of the most hotly contested campaigns ever carried on in the county, and in January, 1875, entered upon the duties of the office. As president judge he endeavored to discharge his responsibilities conscien- tiously, regardless of consequences, and his success may be best judged by the statement that in more than four years of his adminis- tration he had but two decisions reversed by the Supreme court. In fact, it was almost a hobby of his to be so cautious in his decisions as to insure himself against reversal by that court, and he was exceedingly careful, pains- taking and industrious in following the work- ings of every case which came before him, his exertions sometimes seeming almost superhu- man. In the administration of criminal cases he was always lenient and merciful, often surprising the accused and convicted victim with an unexpectedly light sentence. His errors, if any, were in this direction-always on the side of mercy. As may be inferred, he was remarkably kind and tender-hearted, easily moved by appeals of distress, and the miseries of want and affliction deeply affected his sympathetic nature. Thus he gained so strong a hold upon popular feeling that he came to be regarded as the poor man's friend, a fact which accounted for his frequent suc- cesses with juries, with whom his power as an advocate was conceded.

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Judge Boggs was compared to both Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. One writer said of him: "The lately elected Democratic Judge Jackson Boggs was on the bench, and every seat in the room outside the lawyers' railing was filled. Judge Boggs looks like the pictures of old Jackson ; a great high forehead, pointy at each side, hair standing up straight like bristles. He has unmistakably a fine face, or rather a strong face, one well calculated to im- press you as that of a self-reliant man, yet unbending when spoken to and as affable as ever Lincoln was. He was without doubt a man of great intellectual power and who loved good principle."

As a citizen Judge Boggs was esteemed and respected by all who knew him. His death, which occurred April 19, 1879, was regretted by the entire community. A dis- tinguished member of the Armstrong county bar and of the legal profession in western Pennsylvania, his name was highly honored at a meeting of the bar called for the purpose of making arrangements to attend his funeral, Edward S. Golden, who presided, addressing the members of the bar thus: "I have known Judge Boggs long and well. He was my school teacher in early life, and for many years my fellow member of the bar, and of late the presiding judge of the county. No man ever possessed more energy, industry and courage. He was true to duty in every relation in life. True as a lawyer, as a judge and citizen, and more true and affectionate as a husband and father. What a lesson is found to us in his death! Especially to me it comes with many sad memories. My contemporaries, Calhoun, Cantwell, Donnelly, Finney, Crawford, and many others, are all gone and I am alone as their representative with you, many of you my students and professional children : and upon you I must lean, as the sun of my pro- fessional life 'casts its shadows far in the east.' Our lessons of this kind are many. May they show us the importance of forget- ting animosities and troubles, and of living better and higher lives."

Agreeable to a request from the members of the family it was resolved that the mem- bers of the bar would attend the funeral in a body with suitable badges of mourning. Hon. J. V. Painter, E. S. Golden. J. E. Brown, F. Mechling, H. N. Lee, J. B. Neale. G. C. Orr and J. A. Mccullough were appointed as pall bearers.

Judge Boggs was prominently mentioned as the Democratic candidate for governor at the Pittsburgh convention. A number of the dele-

gates to that convention were, in fact, in- structed for him, among them being the dele- gates of his own and adjoining counties. He did not make an active canvass for the nomi- nation, however, preferring for the time, at least, to attend to the duties of the office he then filled. He assisted in the erection of the township of Boggs, Armstrong county, which was given his name by enthusiastic admirers.

The Judge's taste for agricultural pursuits, acquired in his early life, never left him, and after residing in Kittanning until 1871 he moved onto his farm in East Franklin town- ship, Armstrong county, residing there until his death. It was a matter of pride that he could refer to it as the best conditioned and best cultivated farm in the county.

In 1845 Mr. Boggs married Phoebe J. Mosgrove, daughter of John Mosgrove, Esq .. and sister of Hon. James Mosgrove. Two daughters of this union are living : Anna Jane, widow of Norwood G. Pinney, of Brookville, Jefferson Co., Pa .; and Isabel, now Mrs. Withington Reynolds, residing in Kittanning.

JOSEPH B. MEANS has been a live factor in business and official circles in Jefferson county, for a number of years almost contin- ually in the service of his fellow citizens in one position of trust or another. His popu- larity is well deserved, being the recognition of commendable public spirit, whose best evi- dence has been the manner in which his official duties have been performed, with an eye sin- gle to the welfare of the community. Com- bining with modern ideas of efficiency an un- bending integrity, he has earned a place among the practical well-doers in Jefferson county whose important services to progress will have a permanent value.

Mr. Means comes of a sturdy race whose representatives in Pennsylvania have proved themselves worthy, desirable citizens. Edward Means, his father, was born in Snow Shoe, Centre Co., Pa., in 1810, but when only nine years of age was brought to Indiana county by his parents, John and Elizabeth Means, natives of Ireland, who came to America at an early day. Later they located in the village of Whitesville, across the Indiana county line in Jefferson county, where their sons purchased two hundred acres of land lying in Perry town- ship and built a hewed-log house. The place was soon cleared and transformed into good farms. In the family were eleven children. namely: James. Edward. John. Thomas, Rob- ert, Foster, Joseph. Jackson, Eliza. Margaret and Caroline.

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In Jefferson county Edward Means was reared to manhood and married Sarah Hop- kins. He then located on a part of the land originally purchased. and followed lumbering in connection with agricultural pursuits. For a number of years he also engaged in mer- chandising, but his last days were spent in retirement upon his farm, where he died Jan. 2, 1889. His wife Sarah, who had shared his early hardships and privations, died in 1853. To them were born nine children, as follows : (1) W. A., born in 1837, studied medicine, and located in Big Run, where he practiced a few years. He next spent a number of years in Luthersburg, and then removed to DuBois, where he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice for the remainder of his life, dying in 1890. He left a wife and family. (2) Jane, born in 1838, is the widow of M. A. Morris, of Punx- sutawney, who died in 1882. (3) Thomas, born in 1840, was a soldier of the Civil war. enlisting in the 105th P. V. I., and participating in all the battles in which his regiment was en- gaged until taken ill after the battle of Fred- ericksburg, Va. He died in hospital, ånd was buried in the National cemetery at Washing- ton, D. C., his death occurring in 1862, when he was in his twenty-second year. (4) Edward T., born in April, 1842, grew to manhood in Perry township, where he was educated in the common schools. He enlisted in the 11th Pennsylvania Reserves and served for three years, during which time he was twice wounded, first in the leg at the battle of An- tietam, and later in the face while bearing the colors of the regiment at South Mountain. After his return home he married Abbie Elliot, and resided in Whitesville, until his death in 1872 ; his wife survived him only a few years. He was attending Waynesburg College in Greene county, when stricken with his last ill- ness, but was brought home, where his death occurred ; he left a wife and two children. (5) Sarah A., borp in May, 1844, married W. E. Simpson, of Perry township, and located on his farm near here, where she died in 1873 leaving a husband and four children. (6) Silas M., born in December, 1846, grew to manhood on the old homestead. He success- fully followed teaching in the public schools for a number of years, and was also one of the brave boys in blue in the Civil war, enlisting in 1864, and serving until hostilities ceased. About six months after the close of the war he enlisted in the United States navy. While in the service he was taken ill, and died at Vera Cruz, Mexico, at the age of twenty years. (7) Mary L., born in December. 1848, married

T. J. Morris, and located on his farm in Young township, where she died some years ago, leav- ing a husband and three children. (8) Char- lotte was born April 29, 1851. (9) George T., born in May, 1853, died in January, 1909, in Grand Rapids, Mich. He left a wife and three children.

After the death of his first wife Edward Means was again married, this time in January, 1855, his union being with Rachel Elliot, of Indiana county, and of the five children born to them Joseph B. is the youngest, the others being: (1) Martha, born in November, 1855. died March 3, 1857. (2) Jessie C., born in December, 1857, died in infancy. (3) Laura, born in December, 1859, was drowned in Ma- honing creek in May, 1863. (4) Enoch, born in August, 1861, attended the public schools and later the Covode Academy, after which he engaged in teaching for two terms. He com- menced the study of medicine under Dr. A. P. Cox, of Big Run, but died Oct. 13, 1880, at the early age of nineteen years.

J. B. Means was born Dec. 21, 1863, and lived on the old homestead until his removal to Brookville in 1903. This is the place his father first purchased on coming to Jefferson county. After pursuing his studies some time in the common schools he attended the Covode Academy in Indiana county, and then engaged in teaching in the public schools for three years. In 1800 he embarked in merchandising at V'alier, where he has successfully conducted a general store nearly all the time from that date until the present. Thoroughly enterpris- ing, he has done much to promote the mate- rial interests of the community and advance the general prosperity.

Mr. Means springs from old Whig stock, and is himself a stalwart Republican. While a resident of Perry township he was for twelve years a member of the school board. In 1902 he was elected treasurer of Jefferson county for the term beginning Jan. 1, 1903, and served to the close of 1905. Meantime. in or- der to attend more strictly to his office, he took up his home at Brookville. In 1905 he was elected register, recorder and clerk of the Orphans' court of Jefferson county for the term ( three years) beginning Jan. 1, 1906, and after its completion was not out of office long, having been appointed postmaster at Brook- ville. in which incumbency he served from Oct. 15, 1910, to March 7, 1915. On Dec. 10, 1915, Mr. Means was appointed to a position in the Workman's Compensation Bureau, at Harris- burg. where he has charge of the credit di- vision. Mr. Means has responded satisfac-

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torily to the exactions of the various official re- lations he has sustained to town and county. and the fact that he has been called back so fre- quently shows conclusively that his worth is appreciated: Personally he possesses many of the admirable characteristics of his ances- tors, who were typical pioneer settlers, sturdy. energetic and progressive, and he is every- where acknowledged to be one of the most re- liable, upright and honorable residents of Jef- ferson county. He gives liberally of his means toward the support of churches and schools.

In 1881 Mr. Means was united in marriage with Mary E. Crebs, a daughter of Rev. W. E. Crebs, of Valier, and they have had five chil- dren : Homer B., born August 13, 1882, grad- uated from the Indiana ( Pa. ) State Normal School in 1901, taught school four terms, served as deputy register and recorder of Jef- ferson county ten years, from 1906 to 1916. and is now engaged in merchandising in Brook- ville ; in 1906 he was united in marriage with Pearl M. MeDowell, of Brookville, and they have three children, Joseph B., Albert F. and Max B. Edward B., born September 24, 1885, attended Grove City College, taught school, and since 1907 has been engaged in merchan- (lising at Valier ; in 1908 he married Layotte Borts, and they have four children: Dale E., Kathleen L., William E. and Helen 1. Bessie I., born August 1, 1801, died Dec. 18. 1902. Alta MI., born' May 15. 1896, graduated from Brookville high school in 1914 and is now a junior in Grove City College. Laura \. was born Jan. 4, 1902. The parents are members of the Presbyterian Church.

ALEXANDER C. WHITEHILL, M. D., is now devoting himself to the practice of medi- cine at Brookville, where he has made a pro- fessional reputation entirely in keeping with his general character as the residents of that borough have always known him. He is a native of the place, and though his interests called him away for several years he never severed his connection with its affairs and turned to this field naturally when seeking a location for the exercise of his chosen voca- tion. Dr. Whitehill has led an active life, and his energy has found a proper outlet in his work as a physician and surgeon and such duties of citizenship as are naturally assumed by one of his vigorous temperament and high standards of social and economic administra- tion. When he returned to Brookville to cast his lot with the companions of his early years he was welcomed by the best element, and he has shown his right to their confidence and

esteem by his broad usefulness in every phase of the life of the community.

Dr. Whitehill's ancestors on both sides were Scotch-Irish. In the paternal line he belongs to a family whose high prestige in Pennsyl- vania dates back to Provincial days, being a descendant of that Robert Whitehill who helped to frame the constitution of this Com- monwealth. His grandfather, Austin White- hill, was a farmer in Clarion county. John C. Whitehill, his father, was an attorney at law. He served in the Civil war, enlisting for three years, but was discharged after eighteen months because of disability, having been injured in the actions before Petersburg. He was a man of perfect physical makeup, and lived to the age of seventy-seven years. lle married Mary C. Cochran, a descendant of Capt. John Cochran, of Virginia, and five children were born : John B. was educated for the Presbyterian ministry, but is at present following the insurance business; Alexander C'. was second in the family: Malcomb C. is principal of the schools at Sagamore, Pa .: Bruce C., a prosperous farmer of Jefferson county, is married and has six children ; Maggie died when seven years old.

Alexander C. Whitehill was born at Brook- ville Sept. 23. 1872, and there received his early education in the elementary and high schools. He later took special studies at the Lock Haven ( Pa.) State Normal School and Grove City ( l'a. ) College. For five years he was a professional baseball pitcher, playing for the teams of Omaha, Nebr., Syracuse, N. Y., Springfield, Mass., and Detroit, Mich., and and throughout his career in the game he was true to his good Presbyterian training, never having played a game on the Sabbath. Enter- ing the Keokuk Medical College, at Keokuk, Iowa, he took the four years' course, graduat- ing in 1905, and was soon established at Brookville. From the beginning he had un- usual success and has a most creditable pa- tronage among the residents of Brookville and vicinity. He has done everything to merit their support, which he appreciates from the personal as well as the professional standpoint. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

On April 20, 1908, Dr. Whitehill married Mary Madeline Whitehill, of Brookville. daughter of Stewart H. Whitehill and sister of Buell B. Whitehill, both of whom ranked with the leading lawyers of Jefferson county. The latter has recently removed to Boston.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 33

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