Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 78

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 78

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Benjamin and Mary Jane (Bulfinch) Humphreys, his parents, of County Cavan. had children: Jane, Eliza, Hannah, Mary, William, Frank, George, Richard and Henry H. John Mclaughlin, father of Mrs. Cathar- ine ( Mclaughlin) Humphreys, became a skilled workman in the manufacturing of bar- rels in Ireland. In the fifties he came to Jef- ferson county, being induced by his wife to establish a home here, and accordingly set-

tled upon and instituted the improvement of the fine farm now owned by his son, Marshall Mclaughlin, near Lanes Mills, where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, their names meriting place on the roster of the honored pioneers.

Henry H. and Catharine (MeLaughlin ) Humphreys had children as follows: Mary J., who was born Jan. 28, 1859, is the wife of William J. McMFinn, of Snyder township; John William, who was born Dec. 19, 1861, and who resides at Brockwayville, married Agnes Rice, and they have seven children, James, Thomas, Alva, Anna, Enid and Eric, twins, and Leone; Dr. George H. is a phy- sician of Brockwayville; Samuel, who like- wise resides at Brockwayville, wedded May Coyle, and they have three children, Ruth, Oleta and Fay; Harry B. comes next; Dr. Frank Robert Humphreys, now engaged in the practice of his profession at Eldred, Mc- Kean county, was born March 15, 1871, and after completing a course in the normal school at Edinboro entered the Baltimore College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating with the degree of doctor of medicine (he married Martha Hutchison, and they have four chil- dren. Raymond. Donald, Catherine and Mary ) ; Luella H. is the wife of William Lobaugh, of Snyder township, and their one child is a daughter, Elaine; Lillian Belle is the wife of William J. Kearney, of Snyder township; Norman J. resides at Brockway- ville ; Dr. Victor O. is a leading young phy- sician at Port Allegany.

The old homestead near Lanes Mills is now owned by Dr. Humphreys, who also has three other nearby farms, aggregating nearly three hundred acres.

HARRY BAIRD HUMPHREYS, pro- prietor of "Hilldale" Farm, in Snyder town- ship, was born there April 22, 1869. He at- tended the local schools till sixteen, recalling his first teacher as James Groves. He had a due quota of experience in the task of pulling stumps and other heavy work, doing his share in the felling of timber and the getting out of logs for rafting down the streams, and after the death of his father, in 1892, did a considerable amount of contract work in such lumbering operations. With marked progres- siveness he has given special attention to dairying, having a fine herd of Jersey cattle. Mr. Humphreys takes a lively interest in community affairs, his political allegiance be- ing given to the Republican party. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist

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Episcopal Church at Lanes Mills, where he has been an effective and popular teacher in the Sunday school.

On Nov. 8. 1894, Mr. Humphreys married Bertha J. Bird, who was born at Snyder Hill on the 27th of March, 1874, and as a child was taken to Luzerne county. She was edu- cated in the public schools at Brockport. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Humphreys are : Marshall B., born Dec. 20, 1900; Nellie May, in February, 1902; Kenneth Elwood, Feb. 3, 1904; Frances Lucille, June 4, 1906; Evelyn Lutella, June 28, 1910; and Irene Bird, Oct. 8. 1913. Marshall B., the eldest, is a member of the class of 1920 in the Brockwayville high school.

Francis Asbury Bird, father of Mrs. Humphreys, was born in Luzerne county May 1, 1852, and was there reared and educated. Being left an orphan at nine years of age, he was reared in the home of his sister, Mrs. Siebert, he and his only brother John having been the youngest of eight children. Through his services as a teacher in the public schools John Bird defrayed the expense of preparing himself for the legal profession, finally gradu- ating in the law department of the University of Michigan, in which State he is now en- gaged in successful practice. Of the sisters the eldest is Mary, who is the wife of Frank Siebert of Colorado; Ruth is the wife of Thomas Seward, of Luzerne county; Det is the wife of Marion Morse and they reside in one of the Western States: Dillie was a young woman at the time of her death: Mrs. Catherine Corari was a resident of the city of Buffalo, N. Y., at the time of her death, in October, 1913; Miss IFattie Bird is engaged in missionary work under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

.As a youth Francis .A. Bird was concerned in the operation of canal boats from Pennsyl- vania to Baltimore, in the employ of his brother-in-law, Mr. Siebert, and he continued to be thus engaged until he became identified with Inmbering operations. His activities as a lumberman included work in the woods, the rafting of logs, etc .. and he eventually became one of the prominent lumber operators in this section of Pennsylvania. Later he identified himself with lumbering operations in West Virginia, and he and his wife now reside in that State. In Jefferson county Mr. Bird married Sarah Ann Callan, who was born at Callensburg. this State, April 25, 1852, and who was reared and educated in Clarion county. Mr. Bird is independent in politics and both he and his wife are earnest members

of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of their children Mrs. Harry B. Humphreys is the eldest ; Orin Wakefield, the second child, was killed in a sawmill accident when he was a youth of sixteen years; Callan Sterling, who resides at Evenwood, W. Va., married Maude Mohney, and they have five children; Mary Luella is the wife of Mack MeKelvey. and they reside with Mr. and Mrs. Harry B. Humphreys (they have no children ) ; George Arlington, of Erie, Pa., married Lillian Teet- ers, and they have three children, Hubert, George and Francis; Clyde Clifton and his wife, Evelyn, reside at Evenwood, W. Va., and they have two children; Harry Ray is a member of the United States army and is now stationed in the Philippine Islands.

HON. S. TAYLOR NORTH was member of the House of Representatives, Washington, from the Twenty-seventh District, Pennsyl- vania, 1914-16. Post office address, Punxsu- tawney, Jefferson county, Pennsylvania.

JUDSON G. YOUNG, of Falls Creek, a representative merchant well known in the adjoining section of Jefferson county, has founded and developed a substantial general mercantile business which in scope and in- portance would be a credit to a place of far greater population. His sterling character, excellent judgment, acumen and distinctive progressiveness qualify him for successful achievement. Effective service in all depart- ments of his establishment. and fair and hon- orable methods, have combined with up-to-date policies to make the enterprise remarkably prosperous, and an appreciative patronage is drawn from a wide radius of country about the thriving borough of Falls Creek. The store. equipped with the best of facilities and well appointed, has four well ordered depart- ments, devoted respectively to groceries, meats, dry goods, and men's and boys' cloth- ing and furnishings.

Judson Garfield Young was born at Reids- burg. Clarion Co., Pa .. Sept. 7, 1880. and in the public schools of that place acquired his rudimentary education. One of his first teach- ers was Miss Mary Over, who is now the wife of John Fetzer. of Reidsburg. After the re- moval of the family to Strattonville. Clarion county, he there continued his studies in the public schools until he was fourteen years of age, when he returned to his native town and entered Reidsburg Academy, in which excel- lent institution he pursued the higher branches of study until he had attained to the age of

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eighteen years. During his attendance there Professor Ballentine was the able executive head of the academy, and had a valued coadju- tor in the person of Bernice Ballentine. After leaving this school Mr. Young came to Falls Creek, where for the ensuing three years he was gaining valuable experience as a clerk in the general store of H. G. Stratton. For two years thereafter he held a clerical position in the office of the American Express Company in the city of Rochester, N. Y. Then he re- turned to Falls Creek, but within a short time resumed his position in Rochester, where he continued two years more in the service of the American Express Company. Coming to Falls Creek again, he engaged in the mercan- tile business in a very modest way, but by energy and ability has built up a large and prosperous trade. In 1911 he became asso- ciated with his former employer, H. G. Strat- ton, as partner, opening his present store, to the full control of which he came two years later, when he purchased Mr. Stratton's inter- est in the business. Each successive year has recorded an increase in the field covered, Mr. Young having shown himself to be essentially progressive. This trait has also been evident in his citizenship, in which he has proved his loyalty and public spirit.

In April, 1908, Mr. Young was married, at Falls Creek, to Blanche Taylor, daughter of J. P. Taylor, a well known citizen of Jefferson county. The two children of this union are Richard Taylor, who was born in 1910, and Imogene, who was born in 1912.

MILTON H. CARRIER is a lifelong resi- dent of Clover township and a descendant of a family whose activities make up a large part of the history of the progress of that section. There are many of the name of Carrier in Clover township, all posterity of the same orig- inal stock, six brothers, Hiram, Darius, George, Nathan, Euphrastus and John Carrier, having in 1820 purchased ninety-six acres of land and all the mills at Troy (now Summerville), they and their descendants continuing to own them for many years, rebuilding the mills several times. Nathan Carrier especially became ex- tensively interested in lumbering in Jefferson county. He died at the age of seventy-three vears, his wife passing away in 1884: they had a family of nine children, three sons and six daughters.

Euphrastus Carrier, father of Milton H., and one of the six brothers above mentioned, was born Feb. 10. 1799, in New York, and learned the trade of millwright, becoming highly pro-

ficient in the calling so many of his family adopted. In 1828 he settled on the farm now known as the old homestead of this branch of the family and owned and occupied by liis son Milton H. Carrier, but the same year went back to Connecticut, the old home of the Car- riers, and married, returning in the fall of 1829 with his wife and child of a few months. He had bought fifty acres in Clover (then Rose ) township, and subsequently purchased seventy acres more, developing it until he had a valuable farm and comfortable home. He lumbered on the Clarion river and Red Bank creek, being thrifty and enterprising and making his way in spite of drawbacks. He lived to the age of eighty years, dying in 1878. Mr. Carrier married Harriet R. Buell, who was born Jan. 3, 1806, in Colchester, Conn., and died Jan. 13, 1896. They were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters. all now. deceased but Lanford C. and Milton H. The six sons were: Albert Ackley, Gris- wold B., David F., Euphrastus, Lanford C. and Milton H. Of these the eldest, Albert A. Carrier, was born April 23, 1829, in Colches- ter. New London Co., Conn., and followed the same business as his father, uncles and broth- ers; in 1878, in partnership with G. B. and S. D. Carrier, he built a sawmill at Troy. On Sept. 12, 1850, he married Almira McCann, who died in October, 1879, the mother of twelve children, and on March 11, 1880, he married (second) Sydney Tong, of Cecil county, Md., by whom he had three children.

Milton H. Carrier was born Oct. 18, 1845, on the old homestead, where he still lives, the place having come into his possession at his father's death. He had such educational privi- leges as the locality afforded during his boy- hood, and from an early age had plenty of opportunity for practical training in the busi- ness of earning a livelihood. Like his father he was engaged as a lumberman on the Clarion and Red Bank for many years, and by his ex- perience and understanding of the work met with success. He has also been profitably en- gaged in farming, and is regarded as one of the most substantial citizens of his township. When political questions arise, he gives his al- legiance to the principles of the Republican party. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

On April 27. 1871, Mr. Carrier married Sarah H. Strong, whose parents were Freder- ick J. and Roxy ( Jacox) Strong. They had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters, viz .: John H., who lives at Kittanning, Pa .; Sarah H., Mrs. Carrier;

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Adelia L., widow of George Keth ; Mary E., of Oil City, Pa., wife of Henry McCrady, an alderman and councilor ; Nathan L., an attor- ney at law, of Brookville, Pa., who married Mary Bowersox; Maggie J., who died when four years old; and George W., of Croton, N. Y .. a teacher and preacher, who married Mary Cowen.

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Carrier : Nellie A. is the wife of Hon. A. W. Love, of Vandergrift Heights, Pa. Clarence graduated from the State Normal School at Clarion and was formerly engaged in educa- tional work, but is now acting as railroad agent at Hawthorn, Clarion Co., Pa .; he mar- ried Gertrude Davis. Myrtle E. is the wife of W. C. Mumaw. of Aberdeen, Wash. Mil- ton L. was formerly an educator, but is now in business at Centralia, Wash., being inter- ested in a building and loan association ; he has held the position of county superintendent of schools for two terms in Lewis county, Wash. R. Winifred is the wife of J. R. Lawther, of Summerville, Pa., who is store manager for the Climax Firebrick Company. Norman Blaine died in childhood.

he is general agent for important insurance companies, and he has won prestige as one of the resourceful and successful exponents of this line of enterprise in western Pennsylvania.

William Jay Shaffer was born on the old homestead farm of his mother's father in Warsaw township, near the village of Rich- ardsville, Jefferson county, and the date of his nativity was July 17, 1868. He is a son of Robert Wilson and Mary Jane (Humph- reys) Shaffer, the former of whom was born June 19, 1843, and the latter Aug. 13, 1848, their marriage having been solemnized on the 3d of August, 1865. Andrew Shaffer, grand- father of William J. Shaffer, was born in Northampton county, Pa., on the 29th of Sep- tember, 180.2, and was a son of Valentine and Catherine. (Staub) Shaffer, belonging to one of the honorable old German families founded in Pennsylvania in the Colonial period of our national history. His maternal grandfather, John Staub, died while serving as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. In young man- hood Andrew Shaffer removed to Northum- berland county, this State, where on March 14. 1824, he married Christeena Esterly, a native of that county, born July 1, 1801. She was a daughter of Joseph and Catherine Ro- sanna (Reed) Esterly, and granddaughter of George and Magdalene (Guire) Esterly and of Philip Reed. Upon coming to western Pennsylvania Andrew Shaffer and his wife first settled, in 1841, at Smicksburg, Indiana county, and four years later, in 1845, they removed to Dayton (then known as Glade Run), Armstrong county, from which place they came to Jefferson county in 1846. They resided at different places in this county for

WILLIAM J. SHAFFER. The glory of our great American republic is in the perpetu- ation of individuality and in according the utmost scope for individual achievement. Fos- tered under the most auspicious of surround- ings that can encompass one who has the will to dare and to do, our nation has, almost spon- taneously, produced men of the finest mental caliber, of true virile strength and of resolute purpose. The cradle has not always been one of pampered luxury, but the modest couch of infancy has often rocked future greatness. periods of varying duration, first on the old The self-made man is distinctly a product of Jake Crow farm near Reynoldsville, on the pike from Brookville. A year or two later they removed to Brookville, where Mr. Shaf- fer, who was a shoemaker by trade, worked for others and also opened a shop of his own. He also became interested in agriculture, buy- ing the land lying on the hill at the junction of the Ridgway road and the pike, half way to Port Barnett, and clearing the area lying between the two roads. In 1851 he came to Warsaw township, locating upon what is now the Jamison farm near Hazen, and meantime continued to work at his trade in connection with farming. From there he moved to near the present Baptist Church at Richardsville ; back to the vicinity of Brookville, to the place previously referred to, between the roads ; and to Brookville again, where he worked for Jerry Evans, Enoch Rankin, Matthew Cald- America, and the record of accomplishment in this individual sense is the record which the true and loyal American holds in deepest re- spect and highest honor. These statements are essentially apropos of the career of Wil- liam J. Shaffer, who is a native son of Jef- ferson county, a representative of one of the sterling old families of the Keystone State and a man who has met and surmounted the obstacles that have appeared in his course, with the result that through his own efforts he not only provided for his higher education but also made his way forward to definite suc- cess and independence, the while he has main- tained inviolable place in the confidence and respect of his fellow men and has become one of the representative men of affairs in his native county, At Brookville, the county seat.

Schaffen

HER NEW YORK LC LIBRARY

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well and J. G. Wilson. He continued to work at his trade until disabled by age, and spent his last years at the home of his son Robert W. Shaffer, in Warsaw township, dying there Jan. 12, 1891, in his eighty-ninth year. His wife passed away May 17, 1872.

ROBERT W. SHAFFER was born near Smicks- burg, Indiana county, this state, and he was a child at the time of the family's removal to Jefferson county, where he has since main- tained his home with little exception. He is now a prosperous farmer in Warsaw township, where, on the 3d of August, 1915, he and his devoted wife celebrated the fiftieth anniver- sary of their marriage. When thirteen years old he went to live with his married sisters in Blair county, where he spent five years on farms. Returning to Brookville he found work in the lumber woods and cut cordwood, spent a short time at Tidioute, in the oil coun- try, and then came back to Jefferson county, locating in Warsaw township. Mr. Shaffer has at all times upheld the best principles of loyalty and patriotism, and he was a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, through- out the entire course of which conflict five of his brothers likewise served. Concerning his military career the following has been writ- ten: "At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he enlisted, July 4, 1861, as a pri- vate in Company I, 62d Pennsylvania Volun- teer Infantry, his company having been commanded by Captain Means. He served nearly three years with this regiment, reenlist- ing Dec. 23, 1863, as a member of Company I, 155th Regiment. Pennsylvania Volunteers. He participated in more than forty engage- ments, was wounded at Malvern Hill July I, 1862, and in the memorable battle of Gettys- burg he received, on the 2d of July, 1863, a wound in the right shoulder. Notwithstanding these serious injuries he was on the final skir- mish line at Appomattox. where he received his last orders to cease firing. Comrade Shaf- fer carries Rebel lead in his body to-day." Mr. Shaffer's regiment was attached to the 2d Brigade, Ist Division, 5th Army Corps, and he was among the troops drawn up in line to receive General Lee's arms at the time of the surrender, of which he was an actual wit- ness, thie Confederates marching up in front of his brigade in regular order, stacking arms and marching away to give place to those who followed. He was a corporal in the 155th. Mr. Shaffer still carries the bullet he received at Malvern Hill, between the bones of his leg. His nerve was such that he returned to his regiment hobbling along with the aid of a stick.

At Gettysburg he received a musket-ball wound in the right shoulder and was sent to hospital. After making three requests for a furlough and being refused, he obtained a pass through the lines and took "French leave," going home to visit his mother, who was then in Blair county, and thence to near Richards- ville, where he visited the family of his future wife. In about a week or so the provost mar- shal came after him and took him to Brook- ville, but he was given his liberty and eventually detailed to guard other soldiers go- ing to Pittsburgh. He was shown every con- sideration by the officials with whom he came in contact, and soon rejoined his regiment, though not able to resume his regular duties for some time. He had several narrow escapes during his army experience.

Mr. Shaffer has shown in the "piping times of peace" the same spirit of loyalty which prompted him to go forth in defense of the nation's integrity, and he has at all times com- manded secure place in the esteem of the peo- ple of Jefferson county, within whose borders virtually his entire life has been passed. He has been unfaltering in his support of the cause of the Republican party and has taken active part in local politics, having served on the election board. He has been elected to the office of school director. His life has been one of unassuming devotion to duty and he has not been denied the rewards of independence and definite prosperity, though he has lived a plain, workaday life, honest, upright and God- fearing, with no desire to enter the light of publicity. For ten years he conducted the Humphreys . farm, the property of his wife's father in Warsaw township, near Richards- ville, and then started to work on his own account at his present place in that township, clearing a spot for his dwelling just half a mile from the Humphreys farm. The location is seven and a half miles north of Brookville, the county seat. Besides farming, he worked in the lumber woods up to twenty years ago, either in the employ of others or taking jobs to get out square timber, for which he em- ployed two or three men to help him, doing his own hewing. He added to his original farm purchase until his home tract comprised fifty- five acres, of which he has forty under cul- tivation.

The gentle and devoted woman who has been the companion and helpinate of Robert W. Shaffer for more than half a century is a daughter of William and Mary (Ewing) Humphreys, the former born June 28, 1805, the latter April 4, 1804; they were married April

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30, 1833. Mrs. Humphreys died June 21, 1877, and her husband passed away April 30, 1879. He came from Huntingdon county to Jefferson county in 1836 and settled near Richardsville, in Warsaw township, at a point seven miles north of Brookville., He was one of the pioneers of that township, where he reclaimed a farm from the virgin wilderness and in the early days he cut a path through the forest to make a passable route which he and his family might traverse to attend the pioneer church, while he customarily made his trips to Brook- ville on foot. He became one of the success- ful agriculturists of the county and was influ- ential in community affairs until the close of his life.

Robert W. and Mary Jane (Humphreys ) Shaffer became the parents of twelve chil- dren, born as follows : Samuel Allen, May II, 1866; William Jay, July 17, 1868; Annie Sarah, Oct. 19, 1870; Ellen Jane (deceased ). Jan. 12, 1873; Warren Thompson, Feb. 2. 1874; Edward Elmer, Sept. 2, 1877; Elsie Luella, April 21, 1880; Mary Irene, Jan. 2, 18S4; Leroy (deceased), Aug. 16, 1886; Car- oline Blanche (deceased), April 18, 1889; Alice Hazel, May 7, 1891 ; and Robert Lee. Jan. 13, 1897. Of these, three died in childhood, and concerning the nine who are still living brief record is here entered: Samuel A., who re- sides at Emporium, Cameron Co., Pa., is in the employ of the State Reserve in Cameron county, Pa. ; he married Lizzie May Love July 3, 1893, and they have three children. Wil- liam Jay is mentioned fully below. Annie Sarah first married Thomas Monroe Hetrick, Nov. 8. 1889, and after his death she became the wife of Clark Long; her home is at New Kensington, Westmoreland county. Warren T. married April 27, 1897, Kathleen Truman, and they reside at DuBois, Clearfield county, where he is engaged in the insurance busi- ness. Edward E. married Effie Blanche Beer, Oct. 15. 1903, and they maintain their home at Wheeling, W. Va. ; he follows the insurance business. Mary Irene first married William Leonard McCracken, July 28, 1902; after his death she became the wife of Wilbur Cable, and their home is at Richardsville, Jefferson county. Elsie L. became, on Aug. 6, 1902, the wife of Dr. William W. Carrier, and they re- side at Summerville, Pa. Alice H. is the wife of Harry Nelson Grant, whom she wedded on Nov. 26, 1908, and they reside at Richards- ville. Robert Lee, the youngest of the family, is a resident of Ellwood City, Lawrence Co., Pa., where he is bookkeeper in the office of the tube mills located at that place.

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 78

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