Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 87

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 87

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bounded. The funeral was held at the home- stead, a vast concourse of neighbors and friends attended the obsequies and the pro- cession that followed the body to its last rest- ing place was one of the largest that ever as- sembled in Beechwoods, Rev. D. S. Steadman conducting the services."

Matthew Smith was born in County Don- egal, Ireland, in a beautiful valley, that marks the boundary of Tyrone, in September, 1814. When seven years of age he came with his mother and the other children to Pennsylvania, the father having already established a home in the Juniata valley. Soon afterwards. how- ever, removal was made to Center county, where the father and older sons worked in the iron mines and lumber woods. At the age of fourteen Matthew came to Jefferson county, where he became associated with his brother Andrew in chopping and clearing a small tract. returning on foot to Center county. In the following year Matthew Smith returned. and planted wheat on the little clearing, his brother Andrew also returning with the family. The father had purchased a tract of three hundred acres in the midst of a virgin forest, which included the farms later owned by Andrew and Matthew. The entire family soon were in the new home and applied themselves vigorously to the reclaiming of the land from the wilder- ness. Matthew Smith settled on the farm that continued to be his home until his death, and with the passing years caused the forest to disappear and to give place to well cleared and cultivated fields. He made good improve- ments and was one of the pioneers who lived to witness the transformation of a wilderness to a prosperous and advanced district marked by comfortable homes and valuable farms. He was true and loyal in all things, and his char- acter was the positive expression of a noble and kindly nature.

In the autumn of 1836 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Smith to Elizabeth Hunter. whose parents settled in Jefferson county about two years after the Smith family. In 1886 Mr. and Mrs. Smith celebrated the fif- tieth anniversary of their marriage, and after his death she continued to reside on the old homestead until summoned to eternal rest. at the venerable age of ninety-four years. Mr. Smith was survived by three sons and three daughters, all of whom were at the time living within a few miles of the old homestead. Of these children John died in 1915: James and Andrew are on the old homestead : Eleanor. widow of James Kearney, resides on the home- stead which became her place of abode soon

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after marriage, and on another page is entered a memorial tribute to her husband. The other two daughters are Mrs. Thomas Hutchison, who died at the age of sixty-four, and Mrs. James G. Kearney, who still resides near Lane's Mills.

GEORGE W. CHAMBERLIN is an hon- ored citizen who has passed the span of three- score years and ten, and when it is known that he is a native son of Jefferson county it is evident that he is a representative of a pioncer family. The name which he bears has been worthily linked with the annals of social and material development in this section of the State, and he himself marked the passing years with earnest and effective endeavor through which he gained the generous prosperity that attends him in the evening of life. He repre- sented this county as a soldier in the Civil war, and steadfast purpose and loyalty have charac- terized him in all relations of life. He is now living in well earned retirement, at Richards- ville, and is eminently entitled to considera- tion in this publication.

On a pioneer farm one and a half miles southeast of Richardsville, Mr. Chamberlin was born, on the 26th of January, 1841. He is a son of Peter and Mary A. (Snyder) Chamberlin, the former of Northumberland county and the latter of Potter county. Peter Chamberlin came to Jefferson county in the middle thirties, primarily for the purpose of buying land at a low price. In his sturdy ambi- tion to develop a farm from the forest wilds he was fortified with mental and physical powers that ever make the ideal pioneer. At the rate of $2.50 an acre he purchased a tract of land in what is now Warsaw township, that was covered with a vigorous growth of pine and oak timber, which not only challenged his energies but also afforded him a means of adding to his needed revenue, for from the pine trees he manufactured tar, made kegs for the product and then hauled the output to the "Dutch settlement" or to Clarion county, where he traded the tar for grain to be utilized for seed and for family provender. Ilis first crops of wheat were not notable for bounteousness, owing to the depredations of the weevil, but later returns from this source were more satisfactory. Ilis grain was ground at the little gristmill at Port Barnett, nine miles distant, and on his return therefrom he carried on his shoulder the flour. After four or five years passed he was able to provide himself with a yoke of oxen, but disaster came when he sent one of his sons, a mere lad, with

the team for a supply of seed potatoes, some of which the boy gave to the oxen, one chok- ing to death. Several years passed ere he was able to introduce on his farm his first team of horses. Little money was available and payment for labor, at a maximum rate of fifty cents a day, was usually made in grain.

Mr. Chamberlin has a wealth of interesting reminiscences of the pioneer days, and in this connection he relates that on one occasion when two of his sisters went into the woods to search for the cows, with which a very sociable hog kept company, the girls were sud- denly startled to see the hog in wild flight closely pursued by a bear, the result of the uneven contest being that bruin captured the hog after the latter had nearly reached the Chamberlin home, the bear killing its prey and dragging it back into the woods. In the early days deer were plentiful and frequently did considerable damage to growing crops, many of these fine animals having fallen at the hands of Peter Chamberlin, who was a good shot and gained much skill in woodcraft. In 1852 Peter Chamberlin sold this place and purchased a farm two and a half miles dis- tant from Brockwayville, in Snyder township. Ile reclaimed this land and after making it productive returned to the castern part of Warsaw township, where he passed the re- mainder of his life, being eighty-four years of age at the time of his death. Both he and his wife were earnest members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church and in the early days were members of the little congregation that assembled in Polk township. Mr. Chamberlin assisted in the organization of the first Sun- clay school of this church and served it zealously. He was a stanch supporter of edu- cation and was a school official. Like all other pioneer farmers of this section he did much lumbering, and he may well be referred to as one of the founders and builders of Jefferson county, his devoted wife being his loyal co- adjutor and helpmate; her age at the time of her death was eighty-four years, he having survived her about two years. Of the sturdy sons of this pioneer couple the first was Isaac. who became a prosperous farmer in the castern part of Warsaw township and who was more than eighty years old at the time of his death ; John, who died at the age of seventy-nine years, was a representative farmer in Polk township: Abraham was killed by a falling tree when he was comparatively a young man ; William sacrificed his life as a soldier in the Civil war. enlisting in Company K, Eleventh Pennsylvania Reserves, and receiving three

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wounds in the second battle of Fredericksburg, after which he was captured by the enemy and taken to Libby prison, where he died from lack of proper food and medical attention ; George W. is next; Miles died in childhood. Of the daughters, Sarah (Sally) became the wife of Jacob Vasbinder, and died at the age of sixty-five years; Caroline, who married A. S. Rhines, died at the age of eighty-two years ; Mary first married Stephen Miner, who died fully forty years ago, and she later wedded Jacob Menser, her death occurring about 1906 ; Elizabeth became the wife of William Mc- Laughlin, and they soon removed to Wiscon- sin. where they passed the residue of their lives.

George W. Chamberlin, now the only living representative of the family, continued on the home farm until the Union was menaced by armed rebellion. His early education had been gained in the pioneer schools, and he was not twenty-one years old at the inception of the Civil war. He enlisted in Company B, 135th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and with this command continued at the front for nine months, receiving his honorable discharge in May. 1863. On the Ist of August of the fol- lowing. year he reenlisted, in the one hundred days' service, and his second discharge was received in November, 1864. In later years he held membership in the Grand Army post at Richardsville, until death diminished its roster and caused the organization to lapse.

After the close of his military career, which included numerous engagements, Mr. Cham- berlin as a teamster hauled merchandise to various towns in this section of the State until railroad facilities were provided. After his marriage he took up farming in East Warsaw township, and later owned and improved one of the splendid farms of Polk township. Nearly a quarter of a century ago he retired and has since lived in peace and prosperity in an attractive home at Richardsville, impaired health having caused him to leave his Carm. Mr. Chamberlin has ever given stanch allegi- ance to the Republican party save for the time when he identified himself with the Progres- sive party, in the national campaign of 1912, and he has been called upon to serve in various township offices. He has been for many years an active and zealous member of the Baptist Church.

At the age of twenty-five years Mr. Cham- berlin wedded Mary M. Evans, daughter of the late William Evans, of Warsaw township, and she passed to the life eternal in the year 1885. Of the children of this union the eldest

is Merton W. ; Perl A. is a prosperous farmer in Ohio; Peter E. died when a young man; Thomas J. resides on the old homestead in l'olk township. The second marriage of Mr. Chamberlin took place on the 23d of August, 1885, when Mrs. Blanche ( Pontius) Hice, of Armstrong county, became his wife. They have no children, but their pleasant home is a favored rendezvous for both younger and older generations of the community, Mrs. Chamberlin being popular in social life as well as an earnest member of the Baptist Church.

WILLIAM PERRY MATHER is one of the sterling citizens who are specially entitled to definite recognition in this history, for he is not only a scion of an old and honored pioneer family but has by character and achievement lent new prestige to a name that has been closely identified with the civic and industrial activities of this favored county for more than eighty years. As the successor of his father he has long been one of the repre- sentative farmers of Warsaw township.

William Perry Mather was born in Warsaw township, on the 26th of May, 1847, and is the younger of the two children born to Ozias Perry and Mary ( Pierce) Mather. His sister, Eleanor Theresa, was born June 23, 1839, and in 1856 became the wife of Isaac Temple, with whom she went to Kansas in the pioneer days, the closing period of their lives having been passed in the Sunflower State, where their two daughters also remained. The Temple family figured prominently in the pioneer history of Jefferson county and the fine old residence now the home of Mr. Mather was maintained as an old-time hotel or halfway house. It is situated about midway between Brookville and Brockwayville, and in the years long past it was a favored stopping place for wayfarers passing through this locality.

Ozias P. Mather was born in Steuben county. N. Y., on the 22nd of May, 1812, and his wife was born on the 23d of April. 1813, in Tioga county, Pa., where their marriage was solemnized on the rith of February, 1838. In 1837 Mr. Mather had come to that part of Lycoming county now Jefferson county, and in Warsaw township purchased a tract of wild land upon which he erected a primitive dwell- ing that was to be the home of himself and young wife. The fine old homestead is now owned by their son William P., and is situated one mile distant from his present home, the old Temple farm. The father was called from life on the ist of October, 1860, and the devoted wife and mother survived him thirty

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years, the closing period of which was passed in the home of her only son; her death occurred Feb. 24. 1891. In making their way to the new home Ozias P. Mather and his young wife made the arduous trip from Tioga county by means of a yoke of oxen which came into effective service when he began the her- culean task of cutting off the heavy timber on his embryonic farm and making the land avail- able for cultivation. With the passing years well directed energies enabled him to make ready for the plow forty acres. While en- gaged in hewing timber he was severely cut in the small of the back, by a glancing ax, and such was the nature of the injury that he was thereafter incapacitated for arduous physical labor for a period of three years. Soon after sufficiently recuperating to resume his labors he met with a second misfortune. in that he lost his voice, the result being that he learned to drive the ox team by motions of his hands. His injury previously received finally incapac- itated him entirely for work, and during the last eight years of his life he was practically confined to his bed. His courage under afflic- tion was fully equaled by that of his devoted wife, for prior to his death she had been al- most physically helpless for about three years. It is scarcely necessary to state that these hon- ored pioneers endured more than the usual share of hardships in the earlier period of their residence in Jefferson county, but to the distinction of their characters it may be said that their ambition and resolute purpose never faltered and that they succeeded in overcom- ing obstacles that would have daunted those of less courage and determination.

William P. Mather was but thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and he remained with his widowed mother at the old home until he married. He attended the common schools when opportunity afforded, and put forth strenuous efforts in the work and management of the farm, where he con- tinued until 1891, when he purchased and re- moved to the old Temple place. He had in the meanwhile cleared and brought under cul- tivation more of the old Mather land. and had profited not only by his farming operations but also from the timber cut on the place. He had the judgment, however, to hold intact some of the valuable pine until such time as it commanded a good price in the market. On the farm he also erected a house and made other permanent improvements of excellent order, and the property, which is the place of his birth and endeared to him by gracious memories, still remains in his possession, and contains one hundred and eighty acres.

Finally Mr. Mather purchased fifty-five acres of the old Temple farm, and has since resided in the substantial old house there that constitutes one of the landmarks of Jefferson county, the main part of which was erected in the pioneer days of heavy timber, according to the substantial methods then in vogue. Since the property came into his possession Mr. Mather has remodeled and otherwise improved the old-time dwelling, and his entire estate gives patent evidence of thrift and prosperity. For several years he operated a sawmill on the old Mather homestead, and in his lumbering and other operations has been successful. The Warsaw post office was formerly located on the Temple farm, though it has now been removed to a point one mile east : for many years it was the only post office between Brookville and Brockwayville, and Mr. Mather having presided over it several years. The high es- teem in which he is held has been shown by his having been called upon to serve as town- ship auditor and township clerk. of which former office he was the incumbent for twenty years. He was one of the organizers of the Brookville Title & Trust Company, of the Brookville Creamery Company, and Hazen Academy, whose property was afterwards owned by the Patriotic Sons of America. His political allegiance is given unreservedly to the Republican party, he is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife was a lifelong member.

On the 24th of December. 1870, Mr. Mather married Mary A. Chambers, who was born in Redbank township, Clarion county, May 10. 1846, and reared there; her father, Solomon Chambers, was one of the honored pioneers of Clarion county. The supreme loss and be- reavement in the life of Mr. Mather came when his loved and devoted wife was sum- moned to eternal rest, on the ioth of August, 1915. Of the children the eldest is Neva MI., widow of George Corbin, whose children are William. May, Theresa and Lena ; Leroy ] ... the next in order of birth. assists in the opera- tion of the farm: Edith E. was the next child and is associated with her sister in the order- ing of the domestic economies of the home; Ida I. and her husband. R. S. Corbet. reside near Mr. Mather ( their children are Leola and Lloyd M.).

LEROY D. MCCURDY (deceased) was an honored citizen of Snyder township, where his widow is still living, highly esteemed by all her neighbors of more than half a century. Mr. McCurdy was a veteran of the Civil war, and

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his private life evinced the same broad spirit that prompted him to proffer his services in wartime. As one of the early settlers near Lanes Mills he helped materially in the general development, not only with physical labor but also by the influence exerted for the promo- tion of matters vital to the advancement of the community.

Mr. McCurdy came from Spring Mills, Al- legany Co., N. Y., where he was born Feb. 27. 1844, his parents being Robert and Betsey ( Briggs ) McCurdy, who died at Spring Mills ; they reared a large family. LeRoy D. Mc- Curdy spent his childhood and youth at the home farm. He enlisted upon attaining the prescribed age, Aug. 9, 1862, in Company E, Ist New York Dragoons, finally being pro- moted to sergeant. He received an honorable discharge June 30, 1865, with commendation as a good soldier. The fall of the same year he came to what was then considered the wilds of western Pennsylvania, and found employ- ment with N. B. Lane, at Lanes Mills. the pioneer lumberman of Rattlesnake creek. Ile was of quiet, unassuming manner and could be relied upon in every association of life; a diligent and capable worker, and for many years was principally engaged as an expert sawyer. His chief ambition was to be a good citizen, than which no man can do more, and he reared his family to the same loyal stan- dards. Fraternally he was an Odd Fellow, holding membership in Cicero Lodge. He had belonged to the M. E. Church at Brockway- ville, but a few years ago became an adherent of the more liberal doctrine, as taught by Pas- tor Russell, that whatever punishment men are to receive is meted out to them on earth. He was a Republican.

In June, 1867, Mr. McCurdy married Margaret McMinn, who was born in Philadel- phia, Pa., shortly after the arrival of her par- ents, William and Martha ( Laird) McMinn. from Ireland. They brought one child, Mary Ann, the little family soon moving to Jeffer- son county, she being reared in the Beech- woods district. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McCurdy: Lulu married Rob- ert Kearney of Punxsutawney. and has three sons, LeRoy David, Manfred and Bayne ; Manfred married Viola Harding and resides at Lanes Mills, having two children, Robert and Albert : Z. V. married John Phoenix, of Du Bois, and removed to Duluth, Minn., where he is engaged as a railroad engineer.

ALEXANDER McKAY is a sterling citi- zen of Jefferson county, within whose borders

he has maintained his residence for more than thirty years. He virtually figures as the "father" of the thriving village of Westville, where he settled before there was any sem- blance of a town, in 1882, and where, with the development of a village, he gave to the place the name of his native town in Nova Scotia. Mr. Mckay is a scion of the stanchest of Scot- tish lineage and has exemplified in all the re- lations of life the sturdy traits of character that so clearly mark the true type of Scotsman. Industry, strong intellectual grasp and invin- cible integrity of purpose have been exempli- fied throughout his career and through honest and earnest endeavor he has gained generous prosperity, the while he has commanded the confidence and respect of his fellow men. He is one of the old-time blacksmiths, established the first blacksmith shop at Westville, and with seemingly unimpaired vigor he still fol- lows his trade .- a man of brain and brawn.

At Westville, Nova Scotia, a little mining town ten miles distant from the coast of the Atlantic ocean, Alexander McKay was born on the 21st of May, 1841, a son of Neil and Margaret ( Barclay ) Mckay, the former born in Sutherlandshire, one of the rugged high- land counties of Scotland, in the last decade of the eighteenth century, and the latter of stanch Scottish ancestry, was born near Westville, Nova Scotia. Neil Mckay was educated in his native land and when a young man immi- grated to America and established his home in Nova Scotia, where he became the owner of a farm near Westville, and his entire active career was marked by close association with the basic industry of agriculture. He resided on the homestead until his death, in the early nineties, and there also his wife passed away when venerable in years, both having been life- long and devout members of the Presbyterian Church.

Alexander McKay gained his boyhood expe- riences in activities of the old home farm, and attended school at intervals until twelve years of age. though at the age of eleven he had entered upon an apprenticeship to the black- smith trade, the while attending night school. He had manifested definite mechanical pre- dilections and in learning his trade he was fa- vored in having received instructions from his brother-in-law, John McNaughton, a skilled blacksmith. That Mr. McKay rapidly acquired facility is clearly shown in that when but twelve years of age he had established on the farm a little blacksmith shop, in which he turned out all manner of work demanded in a farming district. Eventually he opened a

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blacksmith shop at Westville, and there did work for mine operators.

In March, 1882, Mr. Mckay brought his family to Jefferson county and established a home on the site of Westville, his family at the time consisting of his wife and three sons and three daughters. For the first year he worked at his trade for the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad Company, and then opened a shop at Westville, this being one of the first business places of the settlement gradually developed at this point. In establish- ing his home Mr. Mckay first purchased a small frame house and two acres of ground from Robert Hunter, and that well earned success has attended his sturdy activities has a tangible voucher in the fine brick house he and his family occupy, which he erected in the spring of 1898.

At Westville, Nova Scotia, on the 27th of February, 1862. Mr. Mckay wedded Sarah S. Cooley, a daughter of James and Jessie ( Moffatt ) Cooley, who came to Nova Scotia from Edinburgh, Scotland. Of the children of Alexander and Sarah S. ( Cooley ) MeKay, all were born in Nova Scotia: Margaret is the wife of Henry Myers, of Clarksburg, Indiana county : John William, who married Miss Elizabeth Graffis, became a telegraph operator and was a train dispatcher at Joliet, Ill., at the time of his death ; Jessie is the wife of Joseph ()'Connell. of Verona, Allegheny county ; Sadie is the wife of Wilbur Duell. of Birmingham. Ala. : Dr. Edward Mckay married Belle Jenks. of Punxsutawney, and is a physician and surgeon at Charleroi, Washington county ; Alexander, Jr., wedded Annie Weiser. The devoted wife and mother lived only two years after the family home had been established in Jefferson county, where she was summoned to eternal rest on the 9th of February, 1885, her remains resting in the Beechwoods cemetery. She was a gracious and kindly woman, a de- voted member of the Presbyterian Church, and was held in affectionate esteem by all who knew her.

Fof his second wife Mr. Mckay wedded Harriet E. Patton, of Beechwoods, a daughter of William and Sarah Jane ( Welsh) Patton. She was forty-six years of age at her death, on the 2d of April, 1900, and is survived by the following children: Mrs. Lucretia Jane Mat- thews, who resides near DuBois; Verina M. is the wife of Julius Denton, of Buffalo, N. Y. ; Miss Henrietta is a successful and popular teacher in the public schools at Sykesville : Miss Maude B., who holds an excellent posi-

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Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume II, Part 87

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