Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 38

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 38

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thereafter his wife died, and he returned to Berks county, where he married Mary Road- armel, whom he brought to his home in this county. His residence here was the port of refuge to which the settlers frequently fled for safety. Ile and Judge Jacob Painter had large tracts of land, extending several miles up and down Sewickley creek. Several of his sons served in the Indian war, one of whom was George, who was distinguished at the defense of Wheeling. George, his nephew, was a Revolutionary soldier and at the battle of Brandywine, while his brother Jacob was in the naval service under Commodore Barney. and on board 'Hider Ally' at the capture of 'General Monk.' His brother-in-law, Joseph Roadarmel, was at the battle of Long Island, August, 1776, where he was captured . . . and died of wounds. Abraham Markle, another member of the family, removed from Germany and settled in Canada, and was delegate to the Provincial Parliament. In the war of 1812- 14 he came to the United States and became a colonel in the American army. The British government confiscated all his property in Canada, but the United States gave him four sections of land near Fort Harrison, in In- diana.

"Gaspard Markle, son of the American an- cestor, in 1772 erected a gristmill on Sewickley creek, which traversed the old homestead. Here was made some of the first flour manu- factured west of the Allegheny mountains. It was transported in flatboats to New Orleans. He subsequently resided in Spencer county, Ky. Upon his death there. in 1819, the citizens erected a monument to him, to commemorate his early adventures at flour making west of the Alleghenies."

Elizabeth Grimm was a daughter of Egidius Grimm, a Huguenot emigrant to America. Quoting . from Rev. Dr. Stapleton's "Memori- als of the Huguenots": "In Maxatawney township, Berks county, located in 1728 Egi- dius Grimm, who came to Pennsylvania in the same vessel with the noted pioneer minister of the Lutheran Church, John Casper Stoever. The Grimm family is of patrician origin and lond seated in Normandy. One branch estab- lished itself in Alsace, from whence Egidius Grimm emigrated to America as the result of religious persecution. An interesting circum- stance attaches to this family from the fact that an ancient pedigree, tracing the family back to a Norman baron who lived in the days of William the Conqueror, was brought by the emigrant to America. The first Grimm fam- ily reunion was held at Hancock, Pa., in 1897,

at which time the connection numbered over one thousand souls."

Quoting from a letter of Rev. Dr. Staple- ton to G. Ament Blose: "Upon re-examina- tion 1 find that John Egidius Grimm, Theo- bald Merkling, Jacob Merkling, and Rev. John Casper Stoever, came in ship 'Goodwill,' Sept. 1728. Theobald Merkling ( Markley) located in Falckner Swamp, now New Hanover, Montgomery Co., about twenty miles from where Grimm and Christman Merkling set- tled. Now this 'Jacob' I take to be the same as the one we call John Christman Merkling for the reason that the latter's name nowhere appears among the emigrants, and we know that he came prior to 1735. His will is on file at Reading: Rev. Stoever married one of the daughters.'

George Ament Blose is a native of Jefferson county, and was born on his father's farm Nov. 13, 1842, where he was raised. At an early age he developed a desire for knowledge, and was a persistent inquirer for information before he could read, which he could do at five years of age. When he was eight years old he had read a large "History of the United States," and when a year or two older he read Scott's "Life of Napoleon." He attended the country public school each winter for a term of three months, from the time he was five years of age; but during the fall of 1859 and early part of 1860 he went to Salem Academy, walking with his cousin to and from his uncle's house, a distance of three and a half miles. He attended a "Select School" at Whitesville during the summers of 1860, 1861 and 1862, under the teaching of Prof. Samuel Miller Davis. In the winter of 1861-62 he taught his first school at the Bath schoolhouse, in Perry township. Jefferson county ; and was afterwards engaged in teach- ing through the winter, excepting the period he was in the army, until he entered college in 1870. He enlisted in the United States service on the 17th of June, 1863, served as a member of Company C. 2d Battalion, Penn- sylvania Six Months' Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged at Pittsburgh, Jan. 21, 1864. During this service he contracted malarial poisoning, chronic diarrhoea, and resulting diseases, that nearly caused his death after he came home.

After his return from the army he attended Covode Academy during the latter part of the summer of 1864, and Glade Run Academy in the summers of 1865 and 1866. During the spring term of 1867 he attended the Edinboro (Pa.) State Normal School. In September.

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1870, lie entered the junior class of Pennsyl- vania College, at Gettysburg, Adams county, and graduated in the class of 1872, with the degree of bachelor of arts, and at the annual commencement in 1875 he received the degree of master of arts, conferred by the Faculty of that college. He boarded himself during a part of the time he was preparing for college, and while attending college, because he had to practice the most rigid economy to enable him to pursue his studies. From the spring of 1868 to the fall of 1870, when not engaged in teaching, he farmed for his parents, who were old and poor. After completing a class- ical course in college he returned home, and taught school a part of the time in various places, also farming some at home until 1875. when he was elected County Superintendent of the schools of Jefferson county.

When Frof. Blose went into office he found a great many inefficient teachers employed. and deemed it necessary to raise the standard of eligibility to the position of teachers much higher than it had been in the county before that time. As a result of that decision lie rejected many applicants, the change proving very beneficial to the schools. He taught nor- mal schools during each summer of his incum- bency in office, for the benefit of the teachers. He was engaged in teaching till the fall of 1880, when, on account of failing health, he practically retired from the profession. As a teacher Professor Blose has the reputation of having been, at all times, a rigid discipli- narian, and a most thorough worker in the schoolroom. He did not teach to keep order, but it was impossible for him to teach with- out an orderly and quiet school. He was always conscientious and eager to have his pupils learn, and he spared no efforts to pro- duce that result. Some of his former students are in the ministry ; some are practicing medi- cine, some in the legal profession, and some engaged in other business pursuits.

On May 26. 1877, Professor Blose was mar- ried to Louisa Jane Raybuck, and to the mar- riage have come eleven children : Estlier May, born April 6, 1878, married to Charles V. Averill Sept. 8, 1907: Jeremiah Markle, born Aug. 13, 1879, who died suddenly, about nine o'clock in the evening of Dec. 13, 1008; Cath- arine Knar, born April 27, 1881; Samuel Bond, born Feb. 7, 1883; Seth Vivian, born Nov. 8, 1884: Mabel Clare, born May 9, 1886, married to Walter P. Snyder June 3. 1909: Clyde. born May 15, 1888, who was killed by lightning in the barn, near two o'clock on the afternoon of June 9. 1906; Sarah Agnes, born

Feb. 7, 1890, married to John Kenneth McPherson April 20, 1914; Hazel, born Oct. 9, 1891; Laird Kroh, born July 26, 1893, married to Ethel M. Grates July 22, 1916; and Lillian Reuel, born Nov. 17, 1895. One son and the youngest two daughters are at home with the parents. One son is in Ne- braska. Mrs. Blose, born May 26, 1854, was the daughter of Jonas and Catharine ( Knar) Raybuck, and was the youngest of their thir- teen children. Her parents were of German origin and talked Pennsylvania Dutch in their family. She can talk the Pennsylvania Dutch also. Her mother died in August, 1871, and her father in October, 1880.

Professor Blose and his family reside on the old homestead. where they cared for their invalid Mother Blose till her death. In the fall of 1882 their house was destroyed by fire, and everything in it, including the Professor's library, worth nearly a thousand dollars.

Professor Blose was admitted to the Bar of Jefferson county in September, 1886, hav- ing prepared himself under the direction of William M. Fairman, Charles M. Brewer, and Hon. William P. Jenks. He has never located as a legal practitioner, but has had some law practice in the courts. He was admitted as an attorney to practice before the Supreme court of Pennsylvania in October, 1892. His health failed him so that since 1888 he has been un- able to perform manual labor, and not much else. In 1876 he prepared a "Historical Sketch of Jefferson County" for Dr. William H. Egle's "History of Pennsylvania" and a "His- tory of the Schools of Jefferson County," for the "School Report of 1877." He is the author of an article on the "Schools of Jefferson County" that appeared in "Caldwell's Atlas of Jefferson County." In 1887 he prepared a "History of Education in Jefferson Coun- ty," which was published in the "History of Jefferson County" edited by Miss Kate M. Scott.

JOHN H. HOPKINS has followed contract work the greater part of his life, for over twenty years past at Punxsutawney, in which borough he settled in 1892. after a varied busi- ness career. His interests have been mainly of a business nature, managed with the unosten- tatious efficiency so characteristic of the man and stamping him as a representative member of his family, which has a well established reputation in this section for keen judgment and farsightedness.

Mr. Hopkins is of Scotch descent, and the family has long been in Pennsylvania, his

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grandfather, Robert Hopkins, having come here from Scotland with his brother Alexan- der. He lived for a time in Huntingdon county, Pa., settling finally in Indiana county, two miles from Georgeville, where he had the tract now owned by his great-grandson, Wil- liam Hopkins. He died on this farm. His children were: Thomas, Aaron, James, John, Robert, Patterson and Rosie Ann (who mar- ried Isaiah Van Horn).

Thomas Hopkins, father of John H. Hop- kins, was born Aug. 9, 1806, in Huntingdon county, and was reared in Indiana county. When a young man he came to Perry town- ship, Jefferson county, where he married Mary Mauk, who was born in that township, near Perrysville, June 30, 1823, daughter of Jacob and Susanna ( Walter) Mauk, well known pio- neers of that locality from Blair county. The young couple shortly afterwards located in Indiana county, where Mr. Hopkins rented a home for a brief period, but there were new lands in Jefferson county which seemed more promising, and he decided to return, making the journey with a yoke of oxen. He settled at what is still known as the Hopkins home- stead at Panic, in McCalmont township (now occupied by his son Aaron Hopkins). buying a tract of land in its primitive condition, and went to work bravely to conquer the wilder- ness. Their first shelter consisted of a few boards laid on sticks, beneath which they could build a fire, and in about two weeks they moved into a log cabin, though it was not fin- ished, there being neither door nor window the first season ; when protection from the weather was necessary, quilts were hung before the openings. They occupied this little house until 1854, when Mr. Hopkins put up a better dwell- ing, on the site of the present substantial resi- dence. Mr. Hopkins was a carpenter, and fol- lowed his trade in addition to the usual occupa- tions of lumbering and primitive farming upon which the early settlers had to depend for a living. He had to work hard, but he was unusually fortunate in his enterprises, and prospered beyond the ordinary. Besides lum- bering from his home tract he bought a timber tract at the present location of Ramsaytown and cut considerable square timber there, fin- ally putting up a sawmill to get better con- veniences for the handling of his output. He held this land for a number of years before selling it, and realized handsomely on it. the timber having meantime increased greatly in value. Some of his neighbors had refused to join him in purchasing land there, on the grounds that they had all the timber they

wanted on their home places, but Mr. Hopkins had the foresight to realize that the forests would appreciate in value with the passing of time, and he reaped great rewards. He con- verted his home tract into an excellent farm, and took an influential part in the establish- ment of good government in his community, particularly in securing good schools and other advantages for the young. He held va- rious township offices, being eminently quali- fied for public service by his good judgment and integrity, and was looked upon as one of the most useful citizens of his generation. His temperate habits and untiring industry gained him the esteem of all who knew him.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hopkins were the parents of a large family : John H., of Punxsu- tawney ; Susanna, widow of Benjamin

McCann, a farmer of Knox township, Jeffer- son county ; Jane, of Punxsutawney ; Robert, who owned a sawmill in Knox township and was killed in 1892 while operating it, by an explosion; Jacob, of Knox Dale; James, a farmer and sawmiller in Knox township, where he died in 1915; Mary, widow of John Hutchison, of New Bethlehem, Pa. (he was engaged in business as an organ and piano dealer) ; Eliza, unmarried, who makes her home in Punxsutawney, but is at present in California ; Anna, who married Beverly Mor- rison and died when a young woman (he was a decorator in Punxsutawney ) ; Aaron, who now owns and occupies the homestead ; Eva, who died in childhood; and Maggie, wife of George Johns, a railroad man, re- siding at present in Lorain, Ohio. The father died Oct. 3. 1881, aged seventy-five years, the mother Jan. 19, 1890, aged sixty- six, and they are buried in the cemetery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Panic, McCalmont township, near their old home. Mrs. Hopkins was a devout member of that church. Mr. Hopkins was not a church member, but was inclined toward Presbyterian doctrines.

John H. Hopkins, son of Thomas and Mary ( Mauk) Hopkins, was born Dec. I. 1841, at Georgeville, Indiana county, and was very young when the family settled in Jeffer- son county. Living in a sparsely settled region and under primitive conditions, his oppor- tunities for attending school were irregular and uncertain, but he made the best of them, and had enough practical training to supply the lack of educational facilities. In his youth and early manhood he worked principally with his father, lumbering and rafting, and he also learned the trade of carpenter, so that he was

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well equipped to earn a living and to take care of his own interests. For many years his chief work in carpentry was the construction of mills and barns, and during the thirty years ' that he followed contracting and building in the country he put up over fifty barns, in Jef- ferson, Indiana and Clearfield counties. Hav- ing purchased a saw and shingle mill in Gas- kill township, Mr. Hopkins gave about ten years to its operation, and after this experience was established in Pittsburgh for six years. At the end of that time he came to Punxsutawney, in 1892, and has had his home and business headquarters there since, continuing contract- ing and building very successfully. In the borough, as elsewhere, Mr. Hopkins has proved himself a most desirable citizen, though he has not been associated directly with public affairs since he settled here. While in Gas- kill township he served a year as school direc- tor. He has well formed opinions on matters affecting the general welfare, and is always ready to support a good cause.

Mr. Hopkins was united in marriage with Sarah C. McGregor, daughter of William and Sarah Jane ( Fairman ) McGregor, of Bedford county, the latter a sister of Colonel Fairman. They have two children: Gettie G. married David L. Dillon, and since his death has be- come the wife of Nevin O. Harmis, their home being in Pittsburgh ; she has one child, David H., born to her first marriage. Reed E., who is a trainmaster at Panama and largely en- gaged in real estate dealing there, married Arytle Long, daughter of Tobias Long, of Gaskill township, Jefferson county, and has three children, Ruth Edna, Irene and Edwin Gatun. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins and their fam- ily are Methodists in religions association. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, and Mrs. Hopkins to the Ladies of the Maccabees. They are highly esteemed in Punxsutawney, and among all the friends they have made in their various places of resi- dence.

JANE IlOPKINS, daughter of Thomas and Mary ( Mauk) Hopkins, was born Dec. 21, 1844, on the parental homestead in McCalmont township, and was reared there, obtaining her education in the neighboring public schools. There she remained until after the death of her parents, in 1897 removing to the borough of Punxsutawney, where she has since main- tained her home, with her sisters, Mrs. George Johns and Eliza. Her residence, built in 1906, is at No. 319 East Liberty street. Miss Hop- kins has valuable property interests at Punxsu- tawney besides this home, and since establish-

ing herself in the town has formed many pleas- ant social associations.

W. N. CONRAD, attorney, of Brookville, would be entitled to a place among the repre- sentative citizens of Jefferson county on his professional reputation alone. But he has found so many other channels for his activity and sympathies that he is in touch with the life of the community at almost every point. This interest in the general progress has led him to take advantage of many opportunities of furthering it, by associating himself with the live forces working forward in all lines. Thus he has come to be identified with all good works, whether of a business, social, edu- cational or philanthropical nature, which holds promise of bettering moral and living condi- tions within the reach of his influence. For- tunately his energy has not lagged behind his sympathy, and though practical he is not over- conservative, having great faith in the possi- bilities of human endeavor in every field. Mr. Conrad undoubtedly inherits his legal abil- ity. for his father was a lawyer of substantial ' attainments who practiced successfully at the Jefferson county bar for many years. He is a son of John Conrad, and is of German de- scent, his paternal grandfather having been a native of Germany, whence he came to America and to Pennsylvania, settling in Rayne township, Indiana county, in 1833. It is interesting to note that W. N. Conrad was in Germany at the outbreak of the present European war, and succeeded in getting within a fifteen minutes' walk from the seven-hun- dred-year-old church of his ancestors, when military orders made it necessary for him to abandon the idea of reaching the Mecca of his pilgrimage.

John Conrad, father of W. N. Conrad, was born in Seibertshausen, Hessen-Cassel, Ger- many. Feb. 18, 1832, and came to America with his parents in early childhood, growing up in Indiana county. He read law with Hon. A. W. Taylor, of Indiana, Pa., and I. I .. Heyer, of Johnstown, Pa., was duly examined, and was admitted to the bar at Ebensburg, Cambria Co., Pa., March 8, 1855. being sub- sequently granted the right to practice in In- diana and other counties in western Pennsyl- vania. In the summer of 1857 he removed to Marienville, Forest Co., Pa., where he was the pioneer lawyer, and became the first district attorney of that county, serving in 1858-60. In 1859 he located at Brookville, Pa., where he continued to practice, and he became well known here, gaining a high place among the trustworthy attorneys at the Jefferson county

W.M. Comad.

' YORK

LILAARY

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bar. He had a long and honorable career here, dying at Brookville Nov. 1I, 1899, and is buried in the Brookville cemetery.

WV. N. Conrad, son of John Conrad, above, was born in Brookville Nov. 11, 1874, and obtained his early education in the local public schools, graduating from the Brookville high school in the class of 1892. Thereafter he con- tinued his literary studies under private tutor- ship. Ile entered his father's office as a law student, was admitted to the bar of Jefferson county May 11, 1896, and at once devoted himself to active practice. Having gained ad- mission to the Supreme and Superior courts and the Federal courts, he materially widened the scope of his work. His offices are in the Title & Trust Company's building, and he has been the attorney for the Brookville Title & Trust Company ever since its organization, in which he took a leading part and of which he has been a director from the beginning. His legal success has been distinctly creditable, founded primarily on his ability, supported by, a comprehensive familiarity with the statutes and court business and industrious application to every case which comes into his hands. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Associa- tion and of the American Bar Association.

To some extent Mr. Conrad has invested in business, being vice president of the Black Warrior Lumber Company, of Knoxwood, Ala., a thriving concern backed principally by Brookville capital ; a director of the A. R. Van Tassel Tanning Company, a corporation lo- cated at DuBois, Pa .; and he is one of the owners of the Brookville Republican and vice president of the company. The Republican is a weekly newspaper with a bright future; it is the oldest paper in the county. For some years he was secretary of the Brookville Board of Trade.

Mr. Conrad's talents have been as effective in other fields as in his profession, so that he has come to be regarded as one of the fore- most young men of the borough. He has served two terms in the town council, of which he was a member when the present water supply was purchased, and he was chairman of the committee which handled this matter, being one of the leaders in the undertaking and prov- ing himself very valuable in this connection. During his last term in the council, a town management plan was formulated and adopted, the first in Pennsylvania, whereby a compe- tent man is appointed to act in the combined capacity of water commissioner, engineer and secretary, being to the borough what a busi- ness manager is to an industrial corporation.

The plan has proved to be so practical, effi- cient and economically advantageous, that the permanency of the institution is assured, and it has demonstrated that legislation is not needed for this innovation in borough organ- ization. The council appoints one man pos- sessing the necessary versatility. During Mr .. Conrad's last term in the council also, a large amount of sewering and paving was done. By annexation of Matsontown and Me- Creight's Addition, the area and population of the municipality were considerably in- creased. Hose houses were erected, and side- walks and street grades for the entire borough established, that uniformity might result from future improvements. By ordinance, perma- nent walks of material other than wood were required, and the specifications thereof pre- scribed. There was also passed an ordinance prohibiting the erection of wooden buildings within certain limits. During this period of borough activity and expansion the other mem- bers of council imbued with the spirit of pro- gressiveness and accomplishment were notably T. C. Lucas, R. G. Reitz, D. G. Buffington (now deceased), P. A. Hunter and Hon. H. H. Brosius.

The question of public educational facilities has also had Mr. Conrad's attention, and he took a direct part in advancing the interests of the borough in this respect during the three years of his service as a member of the school board ; he was secretary of that body part of the time. It was during his term that the fine new Memorial school was constructed. He is a director of the Brookville Y. M. C. A., which has just erected a handsome $52,000 building, and zealous in stimulating its activities. As a member of the court of honor of the Boy Scouts of Brookville he has done much to help along a cause so popular among the young people.

The importance of improving the town to render it more attractive as a place of resi- cence has been recognized of late years and received proper attention among the progres- sive element, and Mr. Conrad has assisted in the capacity of member of the Park Asso- ciation board. The Park is a unique com- munity institution. About eighteen acres of level land in the center of the town, almost surrounded by the North Fork, Sandy and Red Bank creeks, and encircled by the foothills of the Alleghenies, was purchased by public sub- scription and the title conveyed to the borough subject to the management of the Board of Directors. The object is stated in the by-laws as follows : "To acquire and take title to

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 38

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