Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 46

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 46

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located at the present home, where he has ninety-one acres of valuable land, considerably improved since it came into his ownership. Conditions and equipment on the farm have been brought thoroughly up to date by modern methods and good management, it being a very desirable property, attractive in appearance and plainly showing evidence of being prop- erly operated. He raises a number of cattle and horses, a line which has yielded quite sat- isfactory returns. Mr. Curry has taken an active part in politics as a member of the Re- publican party, and in 1902 was elected sheriff for a three-years term, which he served with credit to himself and his constituents. Prev- iously there had been but one execution in the county, but he was called upon to officiate at the execution of three Italians for murder.

On April 19, 1892, Mr. Curry was united in marriage with Laura Jordan, who was born Ang. 22, 1872, near Punxsutawney, daughter of Charles Jordan and granddaughter of Isaac Jordan. Her father was born at Olive- burg, where he still lives, aged seventy years, a retired lumberman; in company with his brother Albert he continued the mill for sev- eral years. Her mother, whose maiden name was Martha Morris, was also born in this county, and died Aug. 20, 1904.

Mr. and Mrs. Curry have two children: Bernice, now Mlrs. Fred Hasselback, of Falls Creek ; and George, at home. Mr. Curry is a member of Lodge No. 488, Knights of Pythias, at Brockwayville, and Lodge No. 519, B. P. O. Elks, of Reynoldsville. Mrs. Curry belongs to the Presbyterian Church. She received her early education in the country schools, later attending Waynesburg (Pa.) College, from which she was graduated with the class of 1801, and then prepared for teaching.

Isaac Jordan and his wife, Anna Steffy, re- sided at Oliveburg, he being a lumber manu- facturer at Fuller. He died when past seventy. They had four sons, Samuel. Charles. Albert and Simon, besides four daughters: Mary. who died unmarried. at an advanced age : Leah, wife of Frederick Parr, at Oliveburg ; Verva, married to William Morrison, at Punxsutawney : Lina, wife of W. J. Martin, of Washington, Pa. Of the sons, Samuel is a farmer near Oliveburg: Albert is at Latrobe, Pa. ; Simon farms near Oliveburg.

SAMUEL JAMES SMITH merited dis- tinction as the leading agriculturist in the Beechwoods district of Washington township. where he cultivated the old Smith homestead of his parents, Robert H. and Elizabeth

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(MeElhanney ) Smith. His paternal grand- father. Robert Smith, came from Ireland and resided at Philadelphia until his death, where also died his grandmother, whose maiden name was Sarah Ann Groves.

Robert H. Smith was one of the thriftiest and most enterprising of the early settlers. He was born at the home of his ancestors in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1807, and when nineteen years old came to Philadelphia, with his uncle Daniel Groves. Both were poor, and looked for the opportunities reported so plenti- ful in America. With no previous schooling he learned to read by himself after this time, and having his initials tattooed on his arm, they were the first letters he taught his children. In Philadelphia was an uncle named Hamilton, who owned several carts, for whom he worked until able to buy a cart and estab- lish a milk route. Having decided to settle in the Beechwoods district he in 1841 made the journey by rail to Tyrone, and then by ox team. His first purchase was eighty-five acres, on which he built a log house and barn. Later he added two hundred and fifty acres, and at his death was enabled to leave each of his four sons a valuable farm. Inured to hard labor he progressed steadily, attaining import- ant standing as a successful citizen. He was extensively known in Pennsylvania and New York as a stockman, being generally consid- ered one of the best judges of horses in the country. As a Whig and later a Republican he took a keen interest in politics and was asso- ciated with various political activities, but never had any ambition to hold office, preferring to use his influence to place proper men in public positions. In the fall of 1885 he removed to Brockwayville, where he died in 1903.

In Philadelphia Mr. Smith married Eliza- beth McElhanney, who was born in 1812 in County Donegal, Ireland, and came to the United States when eighteen years old. accom- panying a family of her acquaintance. She died in 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were Pres- byterians, belonging to the church at Beech- woods. They were the parents of Mary Ann. Mrs. Alexander Maxwell, of Beechwoods ; Eliza Jane, Mrs. Henry Welch, of Beech- woods ; Robert, of Beechwoods, who married Mary A. McElhanney ; William H., of Beech- woods, who married Mary J. Maxwell ; Mar- garet. Mrs. Noble McClure, of Beechwoods : Rose Anna, Mrs. Andrew Logan, of Pitts- burgh; John Wray, of Brockwayville, who married Amelia Rowe, of Pittsburgh; and Samuel James and Susan Agnes, twins, the lat-

ter the wife of William Clarke, of Brockway- ville.

Samuel James Smith was born March 21, 1856, on the farm where he lived till recently, attending the Grove Summit school, two miles distant, for three months each year until he reached the age of fifteen. He recalls the schoolhouse, as a low frame building, with a long low desk on each side of the room, the seats being plain board benches. His first teacher was Ellen Smith. He assisted with the farm work, early helping his father drive stock over the hills as far as DuBois, on the start to market in Lancaster or other eastern counties. At fifteen he drove a team in the woods, haul- ing saw logs and square timber; and he also ran timber rafts on Toby creek and Clarion river. going as far as Pittsburgh, wages for such work being a dollar a day. He took several rafts of square timber from his own farm, marketing at Pittsburgh.

Building a house on the homestead he and his wife began housekeeping, and there con- tinued until December, 1908, when he moved to Brockwayville. For thirty years Mr. Smith has also been engaged in butchering, for nine year conducting a market in Brockwayville. At present he carries on a wholesale meat business in connection with his farm opera- tions, being well known as a horse and cattle buyer. The once half-filled old log barn has been replaced by a modern two-story struc- ture 54 by 56 feet in dimensions, filled to the top, and affording accommodations for seventy-five head of horses and cattle, and other improvements are in keeping. When he took the farm there were no buildings except a log barn and a small poorly constructed story and a half dwelling, the fields were covered with pine stumps, some of them demanding an expense of $1.50 each for dynamite to blow them out. Mr. Smith has endeavored to bring into his neighborhood the advantages which make a locality attractive and productive, and has been foremost in advocating and encourag- ing all progressive measures. For years he held office in the township. discharging public duties with the same care that he gives to his private affairs.

On Oct. 21, 1880, Mr. Smith married Cathe- rine M. Maxwell, who was born May 3, 1855. at Lee, Berkshire Co., Mass .. accompanying her parents to the Beechwoods district as a child of eight. She was educated in the Denni- son school. They have one son, Samuel Henry, born Oct. 26, 1883, and who remains in direct charge of the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Presbyterian

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Church, he being also a Prohibitionist. H'e belongs to Cicero Lodge, No. 897, I. O. O. F., of which he is past noble grand.

Thomas Maxwell, grandfather of Mrs. Samuel J. Smith, married Mary Mckinley, of County Donegal, Ireland, and they were the parents of twelve children, and all who reached maturity came to America.

Samuel Maxwell was born in County Done- gal in 1812, and came to the United States when a youth of twenty, with the hope of improving his lot. Landing at Philadelphia, he worked on farms in New Jersey, later joining a brother in Stockbridge, Mass., where he found employment in the quarries. While there he married Bridget Mey, and in June. 1863, came to western Pennsylvania with his family, settling on a farm in the Beechwoods which he had bought while in New Jersey, paying for it as he earned the money. The tract consisted of 210 acres. and is now owned by his son Thomas, and here he spent the remainder of his life, dying Aug. 12, 1885. He was industrious and energetic, honest in all dealings, a quiet, reserved man whose useful life and kindliness toward his neighbors won him the esteem of all. In religious connection he was a Presbyterian.

Mrs. Maxwell was born in Dublin, her father, Peter Mey, dying in Ireland. She came to Boston with a cousin when thirteen years old, and died Jan. 2, 1897, being buried beside her husband in the Beechwoods cemetery. She was a Catholic, retaining membership in the church at Brookville. Five children were born to this marriage: Mary Jane, Mrs. W. H. Smith, deceased; Sarah Ann, Mrs. A. H. Preston, deceased : Mrs. Samuel J. Smith : Thomas W., who married Rose Bower and lives on the parental homestead : and Samuel J., who went to California seven years ago, where he is employed by the United States government (he married Clarissa Barr).

JACOB H. MILLER, member of the firm of Hemphill. Miller & Co., is one of the pro- gressive merchants of Brockwayville. This establishment is the most complete in its line in this section, being a credit to the town as well as to the enterprising proprietors, who have been tireless in their efforts to afford patrons selections from the best merchandise in the market. The store has maintained steady popularity as a trading center where satisfactory service and an extensive stock may always be found, and its location in Brock- wayville is a distinct advantage to the resi- dents of the place and vicinity.

Mr. Miller belongs to a Lancaster county family, his father, John Miller, having been born there in 1805. He was a farmer all his life, and died at the age of eighty-three years, as did his wife, whose maiden name was Veronica Shank, who was also born in Lan- caster county in 1812. Of the eleven children of this couple five died in infancy, the others being: Catherine, wife of H. K. Sherbahn, of Indiana ; Mary, deceased, who was the wife of William Haines ; John S .. a retired U. B. Minister, now at Warsaw. Ind., who married Martha Will; Elizabeth, Mrs. Peter Ginder. of South Whitley, Ind .; Jacob H. ; and Wil- liam S., a retired engineer, of Millersburg, Pa .. who married a Miss Long and (second ) a Miss Pletz. The father of this family was a member of the United Brethren Church.

Jacob H. Miller was born March 31. 1851, on a farm in East Donegal township, Lan- caster Co., Pa .. and obtained his education in the short terms of township and county schools. Ile made the most of every opportun- ity, realizing that it was necessary to improve all chances if he would obtain adequate equip- ment for life. While at school he gave such assistance on the home farm as was required of boys, and when sixteen years old went to work in a general store at Florin, Pa .. for the summer, returning to his studies in the winter. When nineteen years old he entered Lebanon Valley College, with the intention of taking the full course, but the five years necessary for its completion looked like a long time to spend before commencing the serious business of life, and accordingly he decided he would rather go to work, and his father assenting he took a position in a store. When twenty years old he went to Indiana, and secured a place as clerk at Columbia City. After his marriage he and wife took up their residence at South Whitley, where he con- tinted clerking for a year and a half, until his health failed and he returned East. locat- ing at Salona, Clinton county. He was in business there for one year, when he removed to Rebersburg, Center county, where he re- mained two years recuperating his health. He then returned to Columbia City, Ind .. where he was engaged as clerk in a clothing house and during six years gained valuable experience in that line. For the next three years he was again at Salona. Pa., where lie had the management of a general store. after which he managed a hardware store at Kart- haus, Pa., for a year and a half. In 1891 he came to Brockwayville, where he has since been associated with the mercantile business.

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He clerked until 1910, when he and Anthony Hemphill bought their present store. They have a large and well assorted stock of cloth- ing and men's furnishings, and command a patronage commensurate with their efforts to accommodate. Mr. Miller has been identified with the public affairs of the borough, having served as member of the school board and as borougli treasurer. In political principle he is a Republican.

In August, 1872, Mr. Miller married Nancy Hershey, of Rebersburg, Pa., and they have had the following family : Nora, deceased, who was the wife of Oscar Knapp; Eugene H., who died when - three and a half years old ; Maud, a graduate of the Brockwayville high school, now at home ; Mary, wife of Dr. David Beveridge, of Washington, Pa .; Edgar Her- shey, who died in infancy: Walter, of Pitts- burgh, who married a Miss Moran, of Wells- boro, Pa. ; and Kenneth, who died young. The family are associated with the M. E. Church. Mr. Miller has no religious connection.

Rev. Eusebius Hershey, father of Mrs. Jacob H. Miller, was born in Manheim, Lan- caster county, and there received his early education. He became an ordained minister of the United Brethren Church, with which he was associated for many years, later entering the ministry of the New Mennonite Church. He became a missionary amongst the Indians in Canada, and was finally sent to Liberia. Africa, where he had been established but six months when he was attacked by fever and died. In Lancaster county, he married Mary Strayer, who was a native of Union county. but had been reared in Center county ; she died at Rebersburg, in the latter county. Mrs. Mil- ler was the only child of this union.

AAbraham Hershey, grandfather of Mrs. Mil- ler. passed his entire life in and around Man- heim. He married Anna Landis, who died in Lancaster county. These Hersheys are of the same family for which Hershey. Dauphin Co., Pa., is named.

CRAWFORD GOURLEY, now living in retirement at Punxsutawney after a prosper- ous business career spent partly upon his farm in Perry township and partly as a dairyman in the borough, belongs to an old family of Jefferson county, being one of the two sur- viving sons of Thomas Gourley. It was his grandfather, George Gourley, who established the family in America and western Pennsyl- vania, and an account of the early generations appears in the biography of Dr. Harry R. Gourley.

Crawford Gourley was born Oct. 12, 1842, in Perry township, this county, grew up there, and after availing himself of the educational privileges of the local schools became occupied at farming and lumbering, which engaged his energies for many years. He owned the farm in Perry township which he occupied until his removal to Punxsutawney in 1891, from which time for twenty-five years he carried on a dairy business, retiring recently. Except for his services as borough assessor in the First ward he has given up regular employment and is enjoying his leisure thoroughly, having earned it in the close application he gave to his undertakings for so long a period. While in Perry township Mr. Gourley was a mem- ber of the school board, giving public-spirited service in that capacity, just as his constitu- ents had expected when they chose him for its responsibilities. Whether in business associ- ations, official position or in his domestic rela- tions, he has a record which indicates sturdy adherence to high standards.

On Feb. 28, 1865, Mr. Gourley married Barbara Ellen Grube, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Varner) Grube, and they have had five children: Elizabeth Minnie, now the widow of O. F. Bedell, resides at DuBois, Pa .; Ella May, twin of Elizabeth, is the wife of Dr. Newcome, of Vandergrift, Pa .; Mary Johnson lives at home; Russell C. graduated from the Western Pennsylvania Medical Col- lege in 1894. and after entering independent practice took a special course in the treat- ment of diseases of the ear, eye, nose and throat, to which he now devotes all his time, having become one of the most successful practitioners in Punxsutawney; David G. is engaged as a machinist at Punxsutawney. The family are associated with the First Presby- terian Church and among its valued sup- porters.

JOHN GOURLEY, brother of Crawford Gour- ley, was born in Perry township in 1840, and was reared on the farm and educated in the vicinity, remaining at home until twenty-five years old. For about seven years afterwards he carried on farming and lumbering in Hen- derson township, near Big Run, removing thence to Punxsutawney. During the era of primitive transportation facilities in this region he drove stage between Punxsutaw ney and Indiana, and also followed teaming between those points, and for five years be- tween Punxsutawney and Reynoldsville. For some years he had charge of the Edward Wilson stable at Punxsutawney, and has since

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been variously employed, having for five years filled the position of janitor at the school build- ing in Elk Run, in which section of Punxsu- tawney he makes his home. He has led an industrious and upright life, and is respected by all who know him.

Mr. Gourley married Elizabeth Treese, daughter of Thomas Treese, and four chil- dren were born to them: Ella married Cyrus Reed and lives in Punxsutawney: Elizabeth died when about forty years old; Maggie died young ; Annie married John Mainey and died when but twenty years old, leaving one child, Annie.

NATHAN LEROY STRONG was born at Summerville, Jefferson Co., Pa., Nov. 12, 1859, a son of Frederick J. Strong, who was a member of Company G, Itth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in the Civil War, and Roxy Wolcott (Jacox) Strong, who was a direct descendant of Oliver Wolcott, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

There are two brothers and three sisters, viz. : John H. Strong, intermarried with Caroline McClain, of Kittanning, Pa .; Rev. George W: Strong, intermarried with Mary Cowan, of Colton, N. Y .; Sarah H. Strong. intermarried with Milton H. Carrier, of Sum- merville, Pa .; Adelia Strong, intermarried with George Keth, of Summerville, Pa. ; and Mary Strong, intermarried with Henry Mc- Cready, of Oil City, Pennsylvania.

When old enough, and until sixteen years of age, Nathan L. Strong worked on the old "up and down" sawmill owned by D. Carrier which his father operated by contract, attending school during the winters. During the hard times of 1873 his father met with financial losses, and in order to tide them over the panic a loan was obtained by his mother giving a mortgage on the home, which she owned. This mortgage they were unable to pay, and when the subject of this sketch, then seventeen years old, obtained a situation as telegraph operator on the railroad, having done chores around the freight office for the opportunity to learn the business, the accumulated interest had largely increased the debt. The position given him was at Summit Tunnel, at a salary of forty dollars per month. In order to save his earn- ings he arranged to board himself, his mother sending him a basket of provisions weekly, and in return he sent her thirty dollars of his earnings each month to apply on the mortgage, which practice he continued until after he was twenty-three years of age and until his mother wrote him that the debt had been fully paid.

Thus his start in life was similar to that of many of our self-made men, full of hard work and self-denial, with very little schooling, most of his education having been acquired in the School of Experience and College of Hard Knocks. Possessing a great fondness for read- ing, most of the money retained by him for his own use was spent for books, and his spare time was occupied in familiarizing himself with history and general literature. He was pro- moted from time to time by the railroad com- pany, but reading law at night after his day's work was done he was in due time admitted to practice law, and shortly afterwards quit the railroad service and became associated with Edward A. Carmalt, Esq., in the copartnership of Carmalt & Strong, which partnership is still existing.

Mr. Strong has been a Republican all his life, having been secretary of the Republican committee for a number of years, accepting the position' when every office in Jefferson county was held by a Democrat except the one county commissioner which the law allowed the minority party ; and so thorough was his organization work, assisted by his law partner, who was chairman of the Republican County committee during the same period, that when he declined to continue as secretary the county was good for about three thousand Republican majority, and it has remained Republican ever since. He was elected district attorney of Jefferson county in 1894 and again in 1897, and conducted the office with credit and honor.

It was largely through Mr. Strong's genius and capacity that the Pittsburgh & Shawmut railroad was promoted and built, although he has never been employed by that company. This railroad opened large coal fields in Arm- strong and Jefferson counties. About 1899 Gen. Thomas H. Hubbard became interested in the development of coal lands in the counties named and engaged Mr. Strong as purchasing agent. For about fifteen years he has been continuously at work on this gigantic enter- prise, and his efforts have had so much to do with the development of Armstrong as well as Jefferson county that the people feel he should be accredited to Armstrong as much as to Jefferson county, especially as during the period mentioned he has spent fully one half of his time in Kittanning and Armstrong county, and the other half at Brookville, where his family resides. Through the years of in- vestigation referred to he has acquired special knowledge of the mineral resources of Jeffer- son and Armstrong counties, which knowledge

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he wishes to use for the benefit of the people generally.

During the past twenty years Mr. Strong has devoted much of his time to industrial development without ever having received a dollar therefor. Personal gain has always been a minor motive, his ambition being the develop- ment of the resources of the hills and valleys of his birth that the community might be pros- perous, that the owners of land might realize upon the buried treasures, and that men might have employment. He is a man who has visions that become realities. He sees far ahead, and the ambition to accomplish that which has taken definite form in his mind ever drives him on.

Mr. Strong and his law partner, Mr. Car- malt, equal owners of a tract of land lying in Brookville along the three railroads, the Penn- sylvania, the Pittsburgh & Shawmut, and the New York Central, have given free sites to the A. D. Deemer Furniture Company, four acres; to the Brookville Glass & Tile Com- pany, six acres ; to the Union Auto Specialties Company, ten acres; to the Webb Manufac- turing Company, one half acre, and to the Brookville Woolen Mills Company, six acres. They also helped to establish the Summerville Telephone Company.

Mr. Strong is an eloquent and persuasive speaker. His argument before the Rivers and Harbors committee, at Washington, in relation to the natural resources of the Allegheny Valley and tributary territory, contributed to the securing of an appropriation of three hundred thousand dollars to continue the im- provement of the Allegheny river. He served a term on the Brookville school board, also on the borough council. He is a fluent and for- cible writer, and is the author of the by-laws of the Brookville Park Association and the Jefferson County Agricultural Society, having been a director of both organizations since their inception. These corporations are not for profit. Their laudable purposes and unique public-spiritedness, as set forth in the by-laws, are fair specimens of his literary style and genius. He is a member of the building com- mittee of the beautiful Park Auditorium, which is a splendid memorial to the public spirit of the people of Brookville. He also took an active part as a member of the build- ing committee of the new Methodist Episcopal Church. His philanthropic, promotive, and kind-hearted disposition has made for him many admirers, who for years had been trying to prevail upon him to become a candidate for Congressman. In 1916 he was nominated by

the Republicans of the Twenty-seventh Con- gressional district, composed of Armstrong, Clarion, Jefferson and Indiana counties, over the opposition of an almost impregnable organ- ization, and was elected at the general election in November.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 46

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