Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 6

Author: McKnight, W. J. (William James), 1836-1918
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers
Number of Pages: 972

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

of men now conspicuous in public life. Nor are his talents hidden beneath the bushel of Jefferson territorial lines. They are well known throughout the counties of Pennsyl- vania and have been recognized and confirmed time and again by the Appellate courts of this Commonwealth. This man is no ex- periment, no unknown equation. The people have experienced twenty years of his economy and efficiency in office, they have observed his careful administration of a public trust ; with the passing of the years, they have seen him ripen into an honored neighbor, a sympathetic friend, a distinguished citizen. Constantly a part of the environment in which he lived, the affairs of the people have been his affairs. He has labored energetically and effectively to solve the various problems that have con- fronted him and his people. Penn- sylvania needs more men like John W. Reed. Your administration, Mr. Reed, has been a triumph to you personally, a satisfaction to the people, a high tribute to our form of popular government, a bulwark to the rights of the citi- zen and a forum wherein Justice has been tem- pered with Mercy."

An incident of Judge Reed's life on the bench, about the middle of his second term, is characteristic of his experience : While hold- ing court in Philadelphia, upon the request of President Judge Bregy of Common Pleas court No. 1, on going to his chambers one morning he found Judge Bregy and Chief Justice Fell of the Supreme court there. The former said, "The Chief Justice wanted to call on you and I came with him. What do you think he has been saying? He says you are one of the best Common Pleas judges in the State." The Chief Justice remarked that he had not seen Judge Reed since the latter went on the bench, but that they kept track of the judges by their work.

Mr. Reed's record as a judge is typical of his whole life. Undoubtedly the rigorous con- ditions of his carly years were good training for the calls of his mature life. At any rate, he has not been found wanting in any of the trusts reposed in him. While residing at Clarion he served as burgess, and was also a trustee of the State Normal School at that place, and a director of the public schools. He is an incorporator of the Dickinson Law School at Carlisle, a member of the American Bar Association, also a member of the Penn- sylvania Bar Association, and is a member of its general committee on legal education of the State, whose object is to have a universal cur- riculum of study for admission to the bar. He

belongs to the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Hobah Lodge, No. 276, F. & A. M., and Jefferson Royal Arch Chapter, No. 225, Brookville, Pa .; belongs to Brookville Lodge, No. 217, I. O. O. F. ; and Brookville Lodge, No. 477, K. P. He is also a member of the "Americus Republican Club" of Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania.

On June 16, 1880, Mr. Reed was married to Myrta Corbet, who was born Oct. 3, 1857. (laughter of Col. W. W. Corbet, of Brookville, Pa., and they have one child, a daughter Eliza- beth, born July 24. 1881, who in June, 1907, became the wife of William S. Eyster, of Pittsburgh, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Eyster are now living in Brookville. Mr. and Mrs. Reed and Mr. and Mrs. Eyster are members of the Pres- byterian Church. Judge Reed was elected a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of Brookville in 1897, and for many years before and thereafter was a teacher in the Sunday school.

RICHARD M. MATSON, of Brookville, has filled a place of conspicuous worth in the development of that borough along several lines of the utmost importance in determining its progress. In his early life he followed the legal profession, but he had been carrying on business interests at the same time and eventu- ally turned all his attention to the latter. His success in a number of the most ambitious un- dertakings projected in this part of the State as well as in other sections shows that his choice was wisc. The operations in which he has engaged have been useful in steadying the course of business throughout the region, where he is looked up to as a man of reliable policies and unassailable business ethics. His influence in civic affairs has also been notable.

The Matson family has been established at Brookville for over a century. It is of Irish origin. John Matson, the grandfather of Rich- ard M. Matson, having been born in Ireland, whence he came to this country in early boy- hood. For a time he lived in Philadelphia, and later in Westmoreland and Indiana counties be- fore settling in Jefferson county. He followed farming near the present town of Indiana, in Indiana county. About 1804 he located in Jefferson county, in Rose township, a mile or so from Brookville, purchasing a farm and de- voting himself to agriculture and lumbering. in the latter line being the pioneer in the locality. He built the first saw and grist mill in the section. His farm is now owned by a grandson, Charles Matson. John Matson mar- ried Mary Thompson, like himself a native of

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Ireland, born in Londonderry. She lived to the age of ninety years, while Mr. Matson attained the age of ninety-four, his death oc- curring in 1868, and he was the first to be interred in the Brookville cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. John Matson had a large family, viz. : Isabella, Mrs. Ferguson ; Rebecca, Mrs. Ben- jamin Bennett; Jane, who died unmarried; James, deceased ; Uriah, deceased ; John, de- ceased ; Robert, deceased ; Harrison, deceased ; William, who went to California in 1850; and Mary Ann, who married Harry Clover.

Uriah Matson, son of John and Mary ( Thompson ) Matson, was born at Brookville and spent his entire life there, engaged in mer- chandising and lumbering. He was one of the early merchants at that place, where the Mat- sons have been so occupied for the last eighty years, and he had farm property in addition to extensive lumber holdings, being one of the most prosperous men of his generation in Jef- ferson county. His death occurred in July, 1895. He married Minerva Reynolds, who was born in Armstrong county, Pa., daughter of Richard Reynolds, and died in 1847, when but twenty years old. Richard M. was the only child of this union.

Richard M. Matson was born in 1845 at Brookville, Jefferson county. As he was but two years old when his mother died he went to live with his grandparents on the old Mat- son homestead, where he remained up to the age of fifteen, meantime receiving excellent educational advantages. After completing the course in the Brookville schools he attended Beaver Academy for one year, and then began his business training as clerk in his father's store, where he gained the practical experience upon which his success has been securely estab- lished. In his youth he also devoted himself earnestly to the study of law, to such good pur- pose that he was admitted to the bar in 1866, the year he attained his majority,' and he gave considerable time to the practice of law until 1884, meeting with gratifying success in that line. He had the confidence of the community to such an extent even then that he was a can- (Iidate for the office of district attorney in the year 1867, and was defeated by only a small majority. His business interests having at- tained such proportions that they needed more attention he gave up the law in 1884, and has since been occupied with commercial affairs of various kinds. In 1884 he bought an interest in a lumber establishment in Forest county, Pa., and during the four and a half years fol- lowing spent practically all his time in the woods there, acquiring a familiarity with the

business which has been of great value to him in his subsequent operations. Returning to Brookville at the end of that time he took charge of his father's business there, and has since had valuable mercantile and lumbering interests there. In 1891, associated with his sons, he established a brickyard at Falls Creek, this county, under the firm name of R. MI. Matson, Sons & Co. His son Uriah J. Matson had charge of that plant for a number of years, until it was sold out in 1912. The capacity was forty thousand brick daily, and employ- ment was given to about thirty men. The product included drain tile, water table, win- dow caps, hollow building brick, and various other useful articles.

In August, 1894, the lumber firm of Ileidrick, Matson & Co. was organized to pur- chase and exploit the Litch lands in Jefferson county, for which they paid $135,000. Their development was begun immediately, the mill and stream being changed to meet the require- ments of modern lumbering, and $12,000 was laid out in the construction of a railroad to connect the mill and yards with the main line of the Allegheny Valley road. Up-to-date machinery was installed in the mill and its capacity brought up to 100,000 feet daily, mak- ing it one of the best plants of the kind in west- ern Pennsylvania. In the winter of 1895 the company extended its operations, taking a con- tract from Truman, Henderson & Co., owners of a large tract of lumber in Polk township, this county, to saw and deliver on the tracks of the Allegheny Valley road at Brookville all the lumber on their lands, estimated at from sixty million to seventy million feet. To carry out this contract it was necessary to lay four- teen miles of railroad, which was built and equipped in the summer of 1896 at a cost of over $100,000. The firm made a number of smaller purchases of timber besides the origi- nal investment, in order to provide work for the mill, and continued to do a heavy business for several years. However, they sold their local interests in 1898, but Mr. Heidrick and AIr. Matson have been associated in a number of big enterprises of a similar nature since. In 1800 they engaged in the lumber business at Westboro, Taylor Co., Wis., and about the same time organized the Leather Wood Lum- ber Company, in West Virginia, which is still in operation. In 1907 they organized and pur- chased the Black Warrior Lumber Company at Demopolis, Ala., which has also been in continuous operation to the present, Mr. Mat- son having responsible executive duties in con- nection with all, as president for many years

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

of the Leather Wood Company and as vice president of the other two companies. Home concerns have also had his encouragement and substantial support. In 1903 he was one of the organizers of the Brookville Title & Trust Company, of which he was the first president. filling the office about eight years, until he resigned ; he did not withdraw from participa- tion in the conduct of the bank, however, for he has been a director since, and is chairman of the board.

With all his private interests, it is char- acteristic of Mr. Matson that he has found time for public affairs also, especially when there were interests involved affecting the well being of his home community. He served in the Brookville council when the paving, sewage and lighting systems were being introduced, and used his influence in protecting the best interests of the citizens. All the other posi- tions of a public nature he has filled have been administered with the same regard for his obligations to his townsmen. In 1914 he was a candidate for the position of Congressman from the 27th Pennsylvania district, compris- ing the counties of Armstrong, Clarion, Indi- ana and Jefferson, and though defeated by a small vote had the satisfaction of carrying his home county, the first time in forty years that a Democrat succeeded in doing so; further- more, he carried Polk township, being the first Democrat who ever polled a winning vote there. The results were a flattering comment on his standing among those who know him best. The Democratic party has always re- ceived his hearty support, and he has been a warm admirer of William Jennings Bryan, for whom he stumped the State in 1896, and he was a delegate to the National convention of the party held in 1908 at Denver, when Bryan received the presidential nomination. Mr. Matson's religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 1866 Mr. Matson was married to Elsie. Busby, daughter of John Busby, and three sons were born to them : Uriah J., formerly of Falls Creek, where he was manager of the brick plant, is now living at Ithaca, N. Y. ; in 1893 he married Mary E. Thompson. George R., of Brookville, formerly a merchant, now a con- tractor, builder and lumberman, married Bonnie McKnight, daughter of Dr. W. J. Mc- Knight. Norman D., present postmaster at Brookville, formerly a member of the mercan- tile firm of Matson Brothers, now also engaged in contracting, building and lumbering, married Dora DeMotte. The sons are capable business men, following the worthy example of their

father. Mrs. Matson died in August, 1908, and Mr. Matson subsequently married Gertrude Haines, daughter of Eli Haines, of Pinecreek, Jefferson county.

IRA C. FULLER, late of Brookville, was one of the strongest characters that borough has known among her prominent citizens. His influence was always for progress. In fact, some of his most important activities showed him to be a real leader in the development of mechanical and business facilities. It is aston- ishing to contemplate the extent of his intel- lectual attainments, which alone would have placed him among the men whose reputation added prestige to the town where he chose to make his home. The Brookville Republican of Thursday June 5, 1913, a few days after Mr. Fuller's death, contained the following sketch of his life written by Mr. Alfred Truman, a close friend for many years :

"Ira C. Fuller was born in Winslow town- ship, near Reynoldsville, Jan. 20, 1828, the son of John and Rebecca Fuller, they being the first settlers in the then wilderness, and of whose adventures in that once dense forest so much has been spoken and written. Although born where the red man had scarcely ceased to roam, and wild beasts in all the glory of primeval solitude reigned supreme; where the only means to learn to lisp the letters of the alphabet was in a crude log schoolhouse, yet, in after years, through reading, observation, ex- tensive travel, all aided by a versatile brain, he became scholastic in bearing and a man of world-wide conception and information. In- clined to regard the world as his country he was free to speak without prejudice of all races and all creeds. As a man of the business world he was one of practical attainments. while in the region of religion his whole thought carried him to the loftiest heights of metaphysical research. In the course of his studies on the philosophy of the laws of mind over that of matter he produced four books. all pertaining, more or less, to the spirit world. namely : 1. Romance of Jude ; 2. Romance of the East; 3. Poems and Essays ; 4. Tutelary Gods and Ancient Spirits. His labors on meta- physical investigation largely comprised his work in after life, serving to keep his mind active and afford him solace throughout his declining years.

"Mr. Fuller's business career was varied in the extreme, the writer failing to recall another in any sense its equal in comparison. Leaving his father at an early age, whom he had as- sisted in land clearing and farming. his first

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

work was that of log-cutting and other employ- ment in connection with the most primitive methods of lumbering. The earliest business venture into which he entered, and that which first brought him into public notice, was in the profession of photography, an art in which he quickly excelled and so successfully conducted financially that from its humble beginning was laid the foundation for his fortune : for at the close of his career as a photographer, Mr. Ful- ler next launched into the great oil fields, and quickly became one of the prominent oil pro- ducers when that most wonderful industry was in its earliest stages of development. About this time he traveled extensively in foreign lands and throughout the United States, and after much adventure he again located in Brookville, where he established himself in the banking business, and later in the flour milling industry. He was the first to introduce into this section of country the roller process sys- tem of making flour. He built and was the sole owner of the mill still in operation in that part of Brookville known as Longview, into which he installed the roller process system and all other machinery of modern invention. All this, however, is but a brief sketch of the life and career of Mr. Fuller, no mention hav- ing been made of his mining and some other ventures and adventures. In fact the inter- esting and important features of his life would fill a volume. His physical activities continued until having reached the age of eighty, and in his eighty-fifth year. although afflicted with the infirmities of age, his mental faculties remained unimpaired. he still showing a keen interest in conversation with friends on all subjects con- cerning world matters as the same may relate to the welfare of man."

Mr. Fuller died June 2. 1913. aged eighty- five years, after two years' illness, during which he showed wonderful vitality and re- tained his mental faculties fully. He was buried in the Brookville cemetery. Besides his immediate family he was survived by one sister. Mrs. Rebecca Stevenson.

Mr. Fuller was twice married, his first wife having been Ann Ellen Fryer, by whom he had three children, two sons and one daughter: Samuel L., who lives in the West; Ira Joseph. of Texas: and Mrs. A. A. Adams, of Los Angeles. Cal. To his second marriage, with Lottie W. Steinbrook. was born one child, Marcus P .. now a resident of Fellows. California.

Mrs. Lottie W. Fuller is of German descent. her grandfather. John Steinbrook, having been born in Germany. When he came to America

he settled at Meadville, Crawford Co., Pa .. where he followed farming and died. His son, George Frederick Steinbrook, father of Mrs. Fuller, was born at Meadville, and followed farming there for a time. Then he went to Lee county, 1]]., where he spent the rest of his life farming, and where he died at the age of ninety-six years. His wife, Agnes Bell ( Hulings ), a daughter of Marcus and Sarah Elizabeth ( Myers) Hulings, died in Illinois when ninety-two years old. They had twelve children, of whom eight are living at this writ- ing: Mrs. Almeda Green, Marcus H., Saralı E. ( Mrs. William Vandeventer ), Charlotte Woods ( widow of Ira C. Fuller, residing in Brookville), William Bates. Oscar D., James O. and Lewis Frederick.

HARVEY G. BOWERS, of Punxsutaw ney, is one of the conspicuously successful coal and lumber operators of Jefferson county. He is influentially connected with several local coal companies, has valuable timber properties in Jefferson and surrounding counties, coal, timber and real estate interests in West Vir- ginia and Kentucky, and is an official of one of the leading financial institutions of his home county. Even a cursory review of his associations would have to convey some idea of his busy life, and of the amazing familiarity with detail necessary to handle all its enter- prises properly. That he has proved equal to every demand made upon him in this respect betokens versatility and executive ability in

an uncommon degree, combined with in- dustrious habits and application which alone would be deserving of a large reward. Mr. Bowers had to begin business life on his own responsibility, but subsequent developments have shown him fully capable, and if he did not have influence and means to start with. he had a store of talent and energy which needed only opportunity to make them pro- (luctive.

The Bowers family has been known in and about Punxsutawney for three generations. and for high character and substantial citizen- ship has ranked second to none. Andrew Bowers, the grandfather of Harvey G. Bowers, came to this region early in the nine- teenth century. He was born at Harrison- burg. Va., about 1800, and was a youth when he and his three brothers, John, Philip and William, decided to come to Pennsylvania. settling in the western end of the State. He first located at what is now the town of Clear- field. in 1818, but did not remain there long, making a permanent settlement within a short

& Bowls

THE NEW YORK FELIC LIDA.RY

JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

time in Gaskill township, Jefferson county. Here he purchased a tract of land upon which he established his home, clearing his property and following agriculture and lumbering throughout his active years. He got out con- siderable square timber. Game was plentiful in this region then, and Mr. Bowers acquired more than a local reputation as a hunter, kill- ing many panthers, bear and other wild ani- mals with his flintlock gun. He remained on his farm until his death, which occurred in 1884, and he is buried in Mount Pleasant cemetery in Gaskill township. In Clearfield, Pa., he married Susan Zinn, who was born at Bellefonte, Center Co., Pa., and they had the following children: Jacob K., Cinderella, Catherine, Jane and James.

Jacob K. Bowers, father of Harvey G. Bowers, was born July 11, 1829, on the home- stead place in Gaskill township, Jefferson county, and acquired sturdy self-reliance un- der the trying conditions of his early years in a primitive country. Like his father he be- came a farmer and lumberman, and he was also a noted hunter in his day; he killed the last wolf slain in Gaskill township. The home- stead property came into his possession, and there he always made his home, his widow still occupying that place. Mr. Bowers mar- ried Ellen Rhoads, daughter of George Rhoads, and she is now ( 1916) seventy-four years of age. His death occurred Jan. 15, 1906, and he is buried in the Circle cemetery at Punxsutawney. He was a member of the Protestant Methodist Church and active in its work. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob K. Bowers: Anna M. married Jacob Spraw ; Harvey G. is mentioned below : Sarah A. is the wife of J. W. Smith ; Martha married Milton E. Cessna, who is a lumber- man of Plumville, Pa .; Levi E. is a resident of Punxsutawney. Jefferson county ; William A. is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Lucy E. married Mead Sutter, and they live with her mother on the old homestead in Gaskill township ; Catherine died in infancy.

Harvey G. Bowers was born Nov. 20, 1864, in Gaskill township, Jefferson county, and grew to maturity on the home farm, meantime obtaining a good education in the local public schools. He also had one term at a select school. When but eighteen years old he com- menced lumbering on his own account in his native township, he and William Kessler con- ducting operations together under the firm name of Bowers & Kessler. The association lasted for a period of seven years, following which Mr. Bowers lumbered by himself for a

time. When twenty-two years old he left the home place, and from that time on gave all his attention to lumbering, his energies previously having been divided between his own pursuits and service on the paternal farm. To cite all the changes he has made, and the story of his acquisitions in detail, would make a long story. But the extent of his present holdings is some measure of his ambitious career. He is vice president and a director of the North Fork Lumber Company of Boyer, W. Va .; is connected with the Thorny Creek Lumber Company of West Virginia; treas- urer of the Continual Realty Company of Kentucky, which owns about thirty thousand acres of land in that State ; and in partnership with his brother William A. Bowers has pri- vate lumber interests in Jefferson and adjoin- ing counties. He has also acquired extensive interests in coal lands, being president of the Banks Coal Company, miners and shippers of bituminous coal, whose mines are at Sidney. Indiana Co., Pa., on the Bellwood division of the Pennsylvania railroad; president of the Hamilton Coal Company; president of the Burtner Coal Company, miners and shippers of bituminous coal, whose mines are on the line of the Pennsylvania railroad ( Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh division) ; treasurer of the Bowersville Coal Company, miners and shippers of bituminous coal, whose mines are at Bowersville, Jefferson county, on the Bell- wood division of the Pennsylvania road; and is a manufacturer of and wholesale dealer in lumber. Mr. Bowers was one of the organ- izers of the Punxsutawney National Bank, and served as one of the directors of that in- stitution for nine years, until he resigned and established his connection with the Farmers' & Miners' Trust Company of Punxsutawney, in 1910, becoming a director of the latter. One year later he was made vice president, and is still serving in that capacity. He was also one of the organizers of the Plumville ( Pa.) National Bank, and is still serving on its board of directors. All of his transactions have been of the most creditable character, gaining him the confidence and respect of his associates for personal integrity as well as business acumen. He is one of the foremost citizens of Punxsutawney, where he has made his home since 1892, and for six years served the borough in the public capacity of school director, though he has had no ambitions for office from selfish motives. His social con- nections are with the B. P. O. Elks, the Coun- try Club and the Punxsutawney Club, and he is a past president of the last named. Mr.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 6

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