Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 36

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 36

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have proved equal to every demand made upon them, and he has found time to keep in close touch with the various interests allied to his immediate duties, showing a breadth of character which explains much of his success and profound understanding of the field in which he has found most of his work. Rec- ognition of his qualifications as a leader came in his election to the presidency of the Asso- ciation of Bituminous Coal Operators of Cen- tral Pennsylvania, which he now holds.

Mr. Clark is a prominent Republican, and he maintains numerous social associations, be- longing to the Punxsutawney Club. to the Punxsutawney Country Club. the Iroquois Club, the Americus Club of Pittsburgh, the State Bar Association (charter member ), and the Masonic fraternity. His Masonic affilia- tions are with Hobah Lodge, No. 276, F. & A. M .: Jefferson Chapter, No. 225. R. A. M., of Brookville : Bethany Commandery. No. 83. K. T., of DuBois ; and Zem Zem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Erie. He is a director of the Punxsutawney National Bank.

On Sept. 28, 1802, Mr. Clark married Vir- ginia Eason, daughter of Rev. David Eason, who was the first white male child born at Brookville. He was in the Methodist min- istry at one time, later becoming a business man. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clark: Heath Steck, a graduate of the law school of the University of Pennsylvania. 1916, admitted to the Jefferson county bar in September, 1916, and now assisting his father ; and Frederick Eason, a student in the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1918. The family are Presbyterians.

GEORGE G. BURKETT has been a resi- dent of Punxsutawney from the time of his birth, has been long and closely identified with the drug business and is now the owner of two well equipped and modern drug stores in the borough of Punxsutawney, where he holds prestige as a representative business man and an honored and influential citizen, so that he is eminently worthy of recognition in this his- tory of his native county.

Mr. Burkett, who gave close study to medi- cine and is familiarly known by the title of Doctor, was born in Punxsutawney in the year 1860, and is a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of this now favored section of the old Keystone State. He is a son of Daniel and Lucinda (Evans) Burkett. His grandfather was Jacob Burkhardt, who was born and reared in Germany and came to America when a young man. He first settled

in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, and there married a young woman whose family name was Bates. He early simplified the spelling of the patronymic to the present form of Burkett and within a short time after his mar- riage he came to western Pennsylvania and became one of the very early settlers in what is now Punxsutawney. In the western part of the borough he operated for some time the old Hoover gristmill, and later he resided for an interval at Round Bottom, Perry township. Later he run a grist mill at Sportsburg. The closing period of his life was passed at what was known as Clayville, Jefferson county, and he attained to the patriarchal age of ninety- nine years. He became affiliated with the Masonic fraternity prior to leaving his native land and he was a man whose ability and up- rightness made him a valuable citizen in the community in which he located. The mortal remains of this sterling pioneer and his de- voted wife rest in the old cemetery of Punxsu- tawney. Of their children Sallie became the wife of a Mr. Keefer : Mary was the wife of a Methodist clergyman named Weldon ; Bar- bara was the wife of William Elwood ; Daniel and John are both deceased ; Christena mar- ried Daniel Rishel and Caroline became the wife of George Gorman.

Daniel Burkett was born and reared in Jef- ferson county and in his youth worked with his father in the mill. Later he became a teamster, lumberman and farmer. For a number of years he owned and operated a trading boat on the Ohio river, and was known for his energy, industry and sterling attributes of character. The family name of his first wife was Perry and of their eight children Anna is now the only survivor. For his second wife Daniel Burkett married Miss Lucinda Evans, to whom were born three children: Albert is deceased : George Gorman was the second in order of birth ; and Emma, who has never mar- ried, resides in Punxsutawney. The father was seventy-two years of age at the time of his death and the mother sixty-eight years of age, the remains of both being interred in the old cemetery at Punxsutawney.

George Gorman Burkett attended the public schools of Punxsutawney and when but thir- teen years of age went into the drug store conducted by Dr. Shields, a pioneer physi- cian and druggist of Punxsutawney. He clerked for Dr. Shields twenty years, and gained a thorough knowledge of pharmacy. In 1902 he succeeded to the ownership of the store of his employer, and has since conducted the well appointed establishment under the

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title of the Red Cross Drug Store, situated at No. 238 East Mahoning street. In May. 1916, Mr. Burkett branched out by opening a well equipped drug store at No. 128 West Ma- honing street, and gives his able and active supervision to both establishments, in which he controls a large patronage. He is a broad- minded and progressive citizen, a substantial and enterprising business man, and has a se- cuire place in the confidence and esteem of the people of his native county. He is a Republi- can and he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, on the official board of which he is serving at the present time. Mr. Burkett is a Mason and has reached the thirty-second degree of the A. A. S. R., as a member of the consistory at Coudersport, his ancient craft affiliation being with John W. Jenks Lodge, No. 534, F. & A. M .. of which he is past master.

In June, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Burkett to Celia B. Crissman, who was a daughter of the late Frederick Criss- man, of this county. Mrs. Burkett died June 13, 1915. There were no children.

JOHN J. MCCURDY, who owns and re- sides upon the fine old farm which was the place of his birth and which is one of the model rural homes of Washington township and of the idyllic Beechwoods district of Jefferson county, is not only a descendant of an honored pioneer family whose name has been most prominently and influentially linked with the history of social and industrial development and progress in the county, but he is also a representative of a long and worthy line of sterling Scotch-Irish ancestry. The family was founded in Pennsylvania more than a cen- tury ago. Mr. MeCurdy is one of the leading agriculturists of his native county, and his admirably improved farm, one mile north of the village of Coal Glen, comprises 137 acres of as fertile and valuable land as is to be found in this section of the Keystone State. Here he was born, May 11, 1863, and here he has main- tained his home continuously during all the in- tervening years, so it may well be understood that the homestead is hallowed to him by many gracious memories and associations. More- over, it has been the medium through which he has achieved substantial prosperity and inci- dentally become one of the foremost citizens of the beautiful Beechwoods district.

James McCurdy, his father, was born near Jacksonville, Indiana Co., Pa .. Jan. 1. 1815, son of Robert and Mary (McAfee) McCurdy, both of whom were born in Ireland, and both

of whom were representatives of the sturdy Scotch families who, holding to the Protestant faith, fled from Scotland to escape religious persecution and settled in the North of Ireland. as the history of the Scotch "Covenanters" of the early decades of the seventeenth century fully records. Robert McCurdy was a young man when he came to America, and, so far as available data indicate, it is probable that his marriage was solemnized in Westmoreland county, Pa. His wife was but three years old at the time of her parents' immigration to America. Robert McCurdy and his wife be- came very early settlers in Indiana county, where he reclaimed a farm from the wilder- ness, the old homestead near Jacksonville. which continued to be his place of abode until his death. His widow later joined her chil- dren in the Beechwoods district of Jefferson county, and her death occurred on the farm now occupied by the Sterritt brothers, in Washington township, when she had attained to the venerable age of eighty years. Concern- ing the children of Robert and Mary ( Mc- Afee ) McCurdy, we have the following brief record: (1) John married Sally Ewing, and they resided for many years in Armstrong county, where they died. (2) Thomas and his wife were residents of Erie county at the time of their deaths. (3) Joseph and his wife. whose maiden name was Jane McNutt, were sterling pioneers of the Beechwoods and the old homestead on which they continued to re- side until their death was that on which Dr. McKnight, the author of this history, was reared, he having been in their home for a number of years. He regards it as a privilege to express in these later years his deep appre- ciation of the kindness and gracious considera- tion accorded to him by these revered pioneers. (4) Margaret became the wife of John Millen, and they continued to reside in the Beechwoods until their deaths. (5) Sally became the wife of John Ewing and settled permanently in Armstrong county. (6) Martha remained in Jefferson county until the close of her life, dying unmarried. (7) Elizabeth and her hus- band, Andrew Hunter, were residents of the Beechwoods until they died. (8) Jennie became the wife of Paul Stewart and both died in Eldred township, this county. (9) Robert. Jr., was born in Indiana county in 1815. It was about the year 1843 that he became a pio- neer settler in the Beechwoods district of Jefferson county, where he settled upon a por- tion of the tract of five hundred acres of land that had been secured by him and his brothers. and the fine old homestead which he reclaimed

JAMES MCCURDY

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from the forest wilds is the farm now owned by the Sterritt brothers. He married Mary Temple, who was born near Sewickley, Alle- gheny county. Feb. 22, 1819, and he died on the old homestead in the year 1851, while still a young man, his wife surviving him by nearly half a century, and having been one of the ven- erable and loved pioneer women of Jefferson county at the time of her death. Their children were: Martha Jane, who became the wife of Ezekiel Sterritt: Dorcas Ann, who married John B. Horning and is now deceased ; Sarah Margaret and Josephine, twins, the former the wife of James Smith and the latter the wife of Joseph Steele, and Miss Mary McAfee Mc- Curdy, who died when a young woman. (10) James was the tenth and youngest child of his parents.

James McCurdy was reared to maturity in Indiana county, where he attended the primi- tive pioneer schools, and he was a young man when he came to Jefferson county, where he became associated with his brothers Joseph and Robert in acquiring a tract of five hundred acres in the Beechwoods, the most attractive and valuable land of the county being in this district. On his portion of this large estate , James McCurdy valiantly set himself to the task of clearing away the forest and instituting the development of a productive farm. Near the present modern residence of his son John J. McCurdy. he made the clearing in which to erect his little log house, and in this rude domi- cile he and his young wife established their Lares and Penates, the while they bravely and confidently girded themselves to face the vicis- situdes and hardships of pioneer life, sustained and fortified by mutual devotion and by worthy ambition. It was about the year 1847 that James McCurdy wedded Ann Shaw, who was born in Montgomery county, this state, about the beginning of the second decade of the nine- teenth century, and who was a child at the time of her parents' removal to the Beechwoods of Jefferson county, the Shaw family having come into possession of about four hundred acres of wild land, surrounding what is now the village of Coal Glen. William Shaw was the head of this family, which, like the McCurdys. has been one of the most honored and influen- tial in Jefferson county affairs during the long intervening period, which has been crowned with opulence and progress. James McCurdy devoted himself assiduously to the clearing of his land, and with increasing prosperity made better provision for his growing family. in time erecting a house of hewed pine logs, 16 by 24 feet in dimensions. His original house had

been a small structure of round logs, and its puncheon floor, fireplace and other accessories were of the true pioneer type. He supplied the new house with furniture that was of the best standard as gauged by the demands of the lo- cality and period. He and his wife were prom- inent and popular factors in the social life of the generous and kindly pioneer community, and corn huskings and the making of maple sugar figured as interesting episodes in those days. The pioneers took their maple sugar to different stores, some many miles distant, and there exchanged the product for salt and other household necessities. Though conditions were of course primitive in the extreme, the social life of the community centered in the worship and associations of the church. All were interested in the welfare of the little church, there being few of the early families of the Beechwoods who were not actively iden- tified with the Presbyterian denomination, holding to the ancestral faith of their Scotch- Irish forebears. James McCurdy was one of the founders of the Beechwoods Presbyterian Church, the early services of which were held in the Cooper schoolhouse. He not only served long and faithfully as an elder of this church, but it is to be recorded also that he and his brother Joseph were the principal singers in the little congregation. Mr. McCurdy was prompt and influential in the supporting of all things tending to advance the general well- being of the community, was a Whig and later a Republican in politics, served in various township offices including that of school di- rector, and, as a man of superior intellectual force and the highest integrity, ever com- manded the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. His sterling character and mature judg- ment made him the confident and valued ad- viser of many of his neighbors. This noble and honored pioneer passed away Oct. 27, 1002, and the loved and devoted wife of his youth and manhood survived him by about nine years, her death occurring Feb. 18, 1911. Their remains rest in the Beechwoods cemetery, while their memories are cherished and revered by all who came within the compass of their benign influence. Of their children, the first, Robert L., died in infancy : the second, also named Rob- ert L., died at the age of eleven years; Eliza- beth remains on the old homestead : Mary Z. is the widow of Rev. William H. Filson, a clergy- man of the Presbyterian Church, who died Dec. 31, 1905, in Easton, Pa., his widow residing upon the old homestead in Washington town- ship : Catherine, the widow of William Ander- son, is also to be found as a loved member of

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the family circle at the old homestead ; John J. was the next in order of birth; Margaret is the wife of J. E. Sterritt, and their home is now in New York City.

John J. McCurdy, as before stated, has con- tinuously remained on the old homestead farm upon which he was born and reared. He at- tended the local district school, known as the Dennison school, during the winter terms, and assisted in the work of the farm during the intervening summer seasons, and finally he continued his studies by taking a course in the Iron City Business College, at Pittsburgh.

On June 5, 1890, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. McCurdy to Jennie Miller Patter- son, who was born on the homestead farm of her parents, in the Beechwoods, April 12, 1866, and was reared and educated in her native county, one of her early teachers having been Miss Sarah Jane Morrow. The Patterson fam- ily is mentioned elsewhere. At the time of his marriage Mr. McCurdy erected his present modern house on the old home farm, and he has since had the active management of the finely improved landed estate, which comprises 137 acres, devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising of good grades of live stock. He has given allegiance to the Republican party, has been influential in public affairs in his native community, and has held various township offices. In every sense he is uphold- ing the high prestige of a family name that has been significantly honored in the history of Jefferson county, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Beechwoods Pres- byterian Church, in which he is serving as deacon. They have no children.

WILLIAM E. HEWITT ( deceased ) was a man of estimable character and justly honored in every relation of life. He was a veteran of the Civil war, and just as public-spirited in performing the ordinary duties of citizenship as he had been when there was special need for his services. In business and social circles he showed a strict sense of responsibility to- ward his fellow men, finding ample reward in their respect and friendship. Mr. Hewitt was born Jan. 29. 1841, at Kersey, Fox township, Elk Co., in which county his parents were very early settlers, and died at Brockwayville Jan. 13. 1899.

Ebenezer and Sarah ( Bliss) Hewitt. his grandparents, of Scotch ancestry, were both natives of New York State. About 1816 they came from Saratoga county, N. Y., to make a new settlement in western Pennsylvania. The journey was made in the most primitive

fashion, and from Driftwood, Pa., was con- tinued on foot, the smaller children being car- ried by the others. They had but a few house- hold goods. including a spinning wheel, but they made the best of things, and soon had a clearing made and a house built, in the wilder- ness in now Huston township, Clearfield county ( then a part of Jay township, Center county ). They were the first white settlers there, being thirteen miles from any other in- habitants. Mr. Hewitt developed a productive farm, upon which he remained until his death, at the age of eighty-nine years. His wife died there when sixty-five years old. They were the parents of these children : Mrs. Lucinda Bundy, who died in Huston township; Wil- liam B., who remained near the old homestead ; Jeremiah ; John B., who died on the old home- stead Oct. 4, 1897; Thomas W., of Huston township; Mrs. Susanna Flanders, who died in Minnesota ; Mrs. Caroline Webb, who died in Jay township, Elk Co., Pa .; Franklin E., died in Denver ; Ermina, died a maiden ; Dan- iel, who died in Huston township; and Mrs. Louvina Brown, of Huston township.

Jeremiah Hewitt was born July 19, 1813. in Saratoga county, N. Y., and grew to manhood on the home in Clearfield county. After his marriage he secured a farm in Fox township where he made his permanent home, and where he died May 20, 1894, aged eighty-one years. He was active in public affairs, filling various township offices and taking part in local poli- tics as a supporter of the Republican party. Mr. Hewitt was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which he served as steward for many years, and to which his wife also belonged. On Dec. 20, 1835, he married Sarah Maria Hoyt, a native of Ver- mont, who moved to Clearfield county with her parents, her father being Dr. William Hoyt, of Balltown, Pa. Mrs. Hewitt died in February, 1881, at the age of sixty-three years. She was the mother of eight children : Leora, widow of Elias Ilorning, in Clearfield county : Rhobe MI. was the wife of Ransom T. Kyler, both de- ceased ; William E. ; Aurilla, widow of Norman G. Bundy ; Hiram W., died in Minnesota ; Er- mina C., widow of Charles Rogers, of Minne- sota : John C., of Dakota ; and Artemisia, who died in childhood.

William E. Hewitt remained on the home farm up to the age of twenty. and had such school advantages as the neighborhood af- forded. besides one winter at a select school. He enlisted, Oct. 18, 1861, at Kersey, Elk county, in Company F. 58th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, for three years. After

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short service under General Wool he fell under command of General Grant with whom he re- mained. Being stationed at Fortress Monroe at the time of the Merrimac-Monitor fight, he was an eye witness of that historic battle. He was a faithful soldier and for bravery in action won the commendation of superior officers. He reenlisted as a veteran and remained in service until February, 1866, and received an honorable discharge with the rank of corporal. During long marches blood vessels in his leg burst, which in time caused permanent lame- ness. He then began teaching school, in Elk county, following the profession for fifteen terms. In 1889 he moved to Brockwayville and was for a time partner in the firm of Burchfield & Co., grocery and meat dealers, but was principally engaged as a traveling salesman, becoming one of the best known and popular men covering this territory. He held various offices while living in Fox township, and was a member of the Republican party. Socially he belonged to Ridgway Lodge, F. & A. M .; to St. Mary's Post, No. 216, G. A. R .: to Washington Camp No. 403. P. O. S. of A .; and to the A. O. U. W. His religious connec- tion was with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was steward.

On Dec. 24. 1865. Mr. Hewitt was married, in Elk county, to Eunice A. Brown, born at Rasselas, May 3, 1843. She was educated at Syracuse, N. Y., and taught school in Elk county two years. Of the four children born to them the only survivor is Ella MI., two hav- ing died in infancy and Grace C. when eleven years old. Ella M. Hewitt is the wife of Rev. Elmer Einhoff, a Presbyterian minister 110W stationed at Owatonna, Minn., and has had two children : John, who died when fifteen years old, while a student at Mercersburg (Pa.) col- lege ; and Miriam, a student at Pillsbury Academy, Owatonna, Minnesota.

Mrs. Hewitt is a daughter of Rasselas Wil- cox Brown, one of the most prominent of the early settlers of Elk county, and a grand- daughter of Isaac and Polly ( Wilcox ) Brown, who were both natives of Ilerkimer county. N. Y., and of New England lineage, the an- cestors of the Pendletons, Wilcoxes and Browns having come over in the "Mayflower."

Rasselas W. Brown, born at German Flats, Herkimer Co .. N. Y .. Sept. 30, 1800, was one of the three children of Isaac and Polly ( Wil- cox ) Brown. He was sixteen years old when his father moved to Cicero, Onondaga county. On Sept. 25. 1832. at Fort Brewerton, N. Y .. Mr. Brown married Mary P. Brownell, who was born Sept. 23. 1815, at Trenton, Oneida

Co., N. Y., daughter of Jedediah and Eunice ( Watkins ) Brownell, who were of Scotch ex- traction. She became a public school teacher at Fort Brewerton. In 1837 he and his brother- in-law, Judge William S. Brownell, late of Smethport, set out on foot from New York to inspect Michigan lands. They passed through the wilderness of what is now Jones township, Elk county, where Col. W. P. Wil- cox. Mr. Brown's uncle, had located a few years previously. They returned from Mich- igan in the late fall, and hired a man to cut the timbers and build a house early in the spring. Mr. Brown and his family arrived at their new home March 16, 1838, to find that the man intrusted with putting up the house had done nothing, but he soon had a house ready to move into. The unusual effort coupled with nervous strain and impaired eye- sight led them to assume charge of the "Wil- liamsville Hotel." where they remained until 1841, Mrs. Brown conducting the hotel and supporting the family. In the spring of 1841 they returned to their land, in the midst of a dense pine and hemlock forest, with a heavy task ahead to clear it. The family eked out an income by various industries, making pine shingles, or digging coal from deposits on the farm, and selling their products wherever a purchaser could be found, sometimes fifty or a hundred miles distant. The pay was often in goods, money being scarce. Butter brought only ten to twelve cents a pound at the store in Ridgway, sixteen miles distant. But Mr. Brown labored without ceasing in spite of the draw- back of impaired eyesight, and with the help of a devoted wife and family prospered. More- over, his energetic nature and intelligent fore- sight made him a leader of public opinion, and although he was about the only stanch Whig in his neighborhood he was elected magistrate. In spite of his infirmity he kept abreast of the times, others reading to him, and having a re- tentive memory gained a fund of information .surprisingly comprehensive. He led a useful, busy life, and when death came had "his house in order," preparations made for the care of his widow and property, and directions that he be buried in the cemetery upon his father's old farm in Cicero. N. Y., where the remains of several generations of Browns rest. On the fiftieth anniversary of his first arrival here Mr. Brown's remains were taken back to be interred, his death having occurred June 27. 1887. At the age of eighteen he had joined the Baptist Church at Cicero, and retained membership throughout life, his wife also ad- hering to the same faith. Mrs. Brown sur-

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 36

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