Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 101

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing
Number of Pages: 1036

USA > Pennsylvania > Blair County > Altoona > Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens > Part 101

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Mr. Acker was married December 14, 1902, to Miss Dora J. Lecrone, a daughter of the late Jacob Lecrone, formerly a prominent farmer of Huston Township. Mr. and Mrs. Acker have had three children: Annie M., Emma M. and Verna A. Annie M. is de- ceased. Mr. Acker belongs to a family that has long been identified politically with the Democratic party and religiously with the Lutheran faith and he is a member of the church at Martinsburg, Pa.

GEORGE F. TATE, M. D., who is en- gaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery at Altoona, Pa., was born in this city in 1867 and here received his early educa- tional training in the local schools. In 1889 he graduated from Mt. St. Mary's College of Emmettsburg, Md., receiving from that insti- tution the degrees of A. B. and A. M. He then entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in medicine and surgery with the class of 1893, and has since been continuously and successfully engaged in general practice at Altoona. Aside from his practice Dr. Tate is interested in lumber, in which he deals extensively in the east. He

is at present police surgeon of the city of Al- toona, is a member of the County, State and American Medical Societies, and is also a member of the consulting staff of the Altoona Hospital. Dr. Tate served eight years on the select council of Altoona, being President for two years. He is fraternally a member of the B. P. O. E., and the Heptasophs, and his re- ligious connection is with the St. John's Cath- olic Church. In 1897 Dr. Tate married Lo- retta C. Cole of Arndtsville, Pa., and they have one daughter, Kathleen.

S. BLAIR HOOVER, a representative of one of the old and leading families of Al- legheny Township, Blair County, Pa., owns fifty-nine acres of land, thirty-nine acres of which is brush and timber and twenty of which he devotes to general farming and fruit growing. He was born in Allegheny Town- ship, May 20, 1871, and, is a son of Jacob W. and Susanna (Shadel) Hoover, both of whom were born in Blair County.

Jacob W. Hoover was a soldier in the Civil War. The larger part of his life was spent in Allegheny Township where he was a well known and respected citizen. He was a mem- ber of the German Baptist church. He never accepted any political office but assisted in sup- porting good government by casting his vote according to the dictates of conscience. He was twice married, his second union being with Susanna Shadel, a daughter of John Shadel, and of this marriage the following children survive: Levi, residing in Allegheny Town- ship; Jemima, wife of William G. Diehl, of Juniata County; John W., residing at Blairs- ville; George W., living at Duncansville ; Mary E., wife of S. R. Clapper, of Allegheny Town- ship; Sarah A., wife of John A. Brubaker of Allegheny Township; S. Blair; Jacob W., liv- ing in Allegheny Township; and Nancy, wife of Edward Wyandt, of near Duncansville.

S. Blair Hoover was reared and educated in Allegheny Township. Farming has been his main business interest and he has combined fruit growing with it, very profitably. He was married October 22, 1895, to Miss Ella

FRANKLIN K. FICKES, M. D.

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M. Hoover, who was born at Topeka, Kans., and is a daughter of John H. Hoover, now of Allegheny Township, Blair County. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover have six children: Della M., Mary E., Lizzie, Catherine, Orville and James. Like his late father and his brothers, Mr. Hoover is a Republican in his political views. With his family he belongs to the Carson Val- ley German Baptist Church, in which he is a deacon, and in August, 1910, he was or- dained a minister in the German Baptist church.

JOHN M. SORRICK, who carries on gen- eral farming on a tract of 187 acres in Wood- bury Township, Blair County, Pa., has been a life-long resident of this county. He was born August 24, 1848, at Yellow Springs, Pa., and is a son of Valentine and Eva (Henry) Sorrick.

Valentine Sorrick was a native of Blair County, and his wife was born in York County, Pa. They were members of the Lutheran church, and he was politically identified with the Democratic party. The following children were born to Valentine and Eva Sorrick : Catherine, now deceased; Samuel, deceased; Susan, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased wife of William Lower; Jacob H .; Mary, deceased wife of Alfred Hancuff; Eva, deceased wife of William Piper; Rebecca, wife of George Aurandt; David, deceased; and John M.

John M. Sorrick was reared and educated in Blair County and has always followed farm- ing, having purchased his present farm, which is part of the old Sorrick homestead, in 1883, from his father's heirs. He has erected a fine modern home on the farm, and is recognized as one of the leading and enterprising citizens of the township. He is politically a Democrat, and has served as supervisor and school di- rector of this township. He affiliates with the Farmers' Grange, and his religious connection is with the Lutheran church.

On December 31, 1874, Mr. Sorrick was joined in marriage with Alice Shaffer, a daugh- ter of Frederick and Angeline (Anderson) Shaffer, who were well known farmers of Blair County. Of their union have been born

the following children: Mary, who is the wife of William Aurandt; Clara, the wife of Isaiah Garner; Elmer; Ella, deceased wife of How- ard Wertz; Samuel, Harvey, John, Lloyd, and Frank.

FRANKLIN K. FICKES, M. D., a lead- ing physician and surgeon at Tyrone, Pa., whose medical experience covers twenty-nine years, nineteen of these having been passed in this city, was born November 4, 1854, in Bed- ford County, Pa., a son of John and Rebecca (Weisel) Fickes.

John Fickes was born in what was then Un- ion Township, Bedford County, Pa., in 1806. It was one of the larger townships and was later divided into three, the part in which he was born and lived now bearing the name of Queen Township. His father was of German extraction, but was born in America, but his mother was of Spanish blood. They lived and died in Bedford County. John Fickes lo- cated on a farm following his marriage and continued there until his death, which oc- curred in his eighty-sixth year. He was a supporter of the Republican party from its organization. He married Rebecca Weisel, who was born in 1812, in Bedford County, a daughter of John Weisel, a native of Ger- many. She lived to be eighty-eight years of age and was the mother of fifteen children, all of whom survive except three. The eldest, John, is deceased. Richard is a retired car- penter, living at Sandusky, O. Daniel, who died in Montana in 1907, was a carpenter by trade. Rachel is the wife of Henry Beegle and they live on a farm in Bedford County. William is a retired farmer and lives on the old homestead. Henry follows the carpenter trade at Altoona. Jacob was drowned when a child of three years. Emma is the wife of John Dibert of Claysburg, Blair County. Anna is the wife of Joseph Sill, a farmer of Bedford County. Sarah is the wife of Levi Hettzel, a carpenter, and they reside at Nelson, Nebr. Thomas is also in business in Ne- braska. Maria is the wife of Michael Stuft, a resident of Kalispen, Mont. Abram is a

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HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

carpenter, following his trade in the city of Chicago. Franklin K. was the fourteenth born in the above family. Lucinda, the youngest, is the wife of Franklin Mock, and they live at Kalispen, Mont. The parents of the above family were members of the Ger- man Reformed church.

Franklin K. Fickes was educated in the pub- lic schools and at Martinsburg Academy, after which he taught school for five years, in the meanwhile having directed his studies along the lines of medicine and was thus well pre- pared for entrance at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, in Baltimore, Md. He was creditably graduated in the class of 1881, and in the following years located at War- rior's Mark, in Bedford County, where he re- mained until 1891, coming then to Tyrone. He is a member of the Tyrone Medical Club, and enjoys a large and substantial practice which has been built up on professional ability.

Dr. Fickes was married in 1884 to Miss Ella May Kieffer, a daughter of Joseph Kief- fer, of Warrior's Mark, and they have had five children, namely : Ralph and Forest, both of whom are deceased; Virginia Ray, who is engaged in the practice of medicine at Phila- delphia, and is a graduate of the Women's Medical College of that city, after which she practiced one year at Tyrone; Victor, who resides at home; and Charles, who is in the employ of the Motor Transportation Company of Clearfield. Dr. Fickes is an Independent Republican in his views on public questions.

EDWARD HEAGHLY LYTLE, JR., one of Blair County's representative citizens, who, for a number of years has been interested in lumbering, farming and stock-raising, is owner and proprietor of Oak Lawn, the well known country seat or homestead of the Lytle family in Blair County, which is beautifully situated in the eastern-central part of the Morrison Cove Valley at the foot of Tussey Mountain. This place, with the farms attached to it, contains about 300 acres of well improved and finely cul- tivated land, which has been used as stock-

farms for the breeding of Kentucky horses and Jersey cattle.

Mr. Lytle was born in Philadelphia, Pa., May 21, 1859, and is a son of the late Ed- ward H. and Elizabeth (Shoenberger) Lytle of that city. .

Edward H. Lytle, Sr., was born at Cincin- nati, Ohio, a son of William Lytle, (Jr.), who served eight years as surveyor-general of the Western Reserve, during President Jackson's administration. General Lytle was a son of William Lytle, Sr., and he was a son of John Lytle, a son of Christopher Lytle of Carlisle, Pa., whose parents came from England.

William Lytle, Sr., was commissioned a captain of an Independent Company of Foot in and near Fort Hamilton in Tuscarora Valley, Cumberland County, by Robert Hunter Mor- ris, lieutenant governor and commander-in- chief of the Province of Pennsylvania and counties of New Castle, Kent and Suffex on Delaware, April 9, 1750.

The Lytles settled at Carlisle, Pa., but the family was large and of dominant character and as they located in other sections, became leaders in many lines of activity. Robert Todd Lytle, an uncle of Edward H. Lytle, Jr., served three terms in the U. S. Congress, from Cincin- nati, O .; another uncle, John Stahl Lytle, major in the U. S. A., participated in the Sem- inole Indian War, in Florida, under General Jackson.

In the Military Cemetery at Chattanooga, Tenn, stands an appropriate monument com- memorating the services of General William Haines Lytle, a son of the Hon. Robert T. Lytle, who served as a colonel of volunteers in the Mexican War and later as brigadier-gen- eral in the Civil War and lost his life at the battle of Chickamauga, Tenn., September 20, 1863. His body was sent home with a guard- of-honor by General Lee, and was interred at Cincinnati, October 20, 1863.

For many years the Lytles have enjoyed pub- lic honors and social prestige both in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Edward H. Lytle, Sr., was a civil engineer by profession and followed it dur- ing his earlier years, under his father in the

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Western Reserve. After his marriage to Eliza- beth Shoenberger he resided for a short time at Pittsburg, Pa., and then came to Blair County, (then Huntingdon and Bedford), and thereafter was mainly identified with the iron industry. His father-in-law, Dr. Peter Shoenberger, at that time was probably the greatest iron manufacturer in the United States and was a promoter and held a large financial interest in the Cambria Iron Company, in the old Portage Railroad and the Pennsylvania Canal, both of which were marvelous enter- prises in their day. Mr. Lytle was interested in a number of well known furnaces and forges of that time, among which were Allegheny Forge and Rebecca and Martha Furnaces, in Blair County. He was a man of business ca- pacity, well qualified in his profession, and his acquaintance among men of education and cul- ture was wide. He was universally respected for his kindly disposition and very polished, courteous manners towards all with whom he came in contact. His death occurred at Phil- adelphia, Pa., in April, 1865. His marriage with Elizabeth Shoenberger was one of great domestic happiness. Of their nine children, the following survive : Sarah L., who is the widow of Dr. Charles Wordsworth Whitcomb, of Barre, Mass., now residing at Pittsburg, Pa .; Eliza A., who is the wife of Hon. Joseph Hemphill, president judge of Chester County, Pa .; Frances L., who is the widow of John H. Page of Pittsburg, Pa., now residing at Mar- tinsburg, Pa .; Florence L., who is the widow of O. H. Ormsby, formerly of Pittsburg, Pa., and now residing in Huston Township, Blair County, Pa .; Caroline L., who is the wife of Joseph G. Ormsby, resides at Martinsburg, Pa .; and Edward H., Jr., the only son residing at the old Lytle homestead at Oak Lawn, near Martinsburg, Pa. Elizabeth S. Lytle, the mother of the above family died in 1903, at Oak Lawn, aged eighty-six years. Edward H. Lytle, Jr., was born, and during boyhood and early youth was mainly reared in the city of Philadelphia. For several years he attended the Fares Latin College in that city, his earlier training having been in the public schools and

by private instruction by tutors. Mr. Lytle was only twenty years of age when he assumed the responsibilities of manager of the then ex- tensive Lytle estates, situated in Blair, Hunt- ingdon, Bedford and Cambria Counties, con- sisting of mining, lumber, and agricultural interests, which position he continued to fill satisfactorily until the death of his mother in 1903, a period of twenty-three years. He still has numerous interests in this estate. He has served also in offices of a public character in Blair County and is personally known to very many of his fellow citizens. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Martinsburg, of which he is a director.

HOMER C. MILLER, M. D., one of Al- toona's leading physicians and surgeons, who maintains his office at No. 1202 Sixteenth Street and takes care of a practice that absorbs his entire time, was born in Indiana County, Pa., in 1874. His father was the late Dr. C. C. Miller.

Homer C. Miller went from the Altoona High School to the Ohio Northern University at Ada, O., where he was graduated in the class of 1895, after which he entered Starling Medical College at Columbus and was a mem- ber of the graduating class of 1898, completing his course with credit. After three years of initial practice at Ashville, in Cambria County, he settled permanently at Altoona. He is a member of the Blair County and the Pennsyl- vania State Medical Societies.

Dr. Miller was married in 1902 to Miss Nancy Florence Eckhardt, of Claysburg, Pa., and they have two children, Sarah Elizabeth and John C. Dr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Reformed church. He is a 32d degree Mason and belongs to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Shrine at Altoona, and to the Consistory at Harrisburg.

WILLIAM B. COLTABAUGH, one of Al- legheny Township's well known citizens and successful general farmers, owns a fine tract of eighty acres. He was born on this farm in Al- legheny Township, Blair County, Pa., April 24,

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HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

1864, and is a son of Charles and Maria (Sel- witz) Coltabaugh.

Charles Coltabaugh was born in Germany and was a son of Jacob Coltabaugh, and ac- companied the latter to America and to Blair County. Charles Coltabaugh was only a boy at that time but he grew to manhood and died on the farm now owned by his son, William B. Coltabaugh, in the rich Carson Valley. Charles Coltabaugh was one of the founders of the Lutheran church in his neighborhood. He married Maria Selwitz, who was also a na- tive of Germany. .

William B. Coltabaugh grew to manhood in the Carson Valley and, with the exception of eight years, during which period he worked in the machine shops of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company at Altoona, he has given his at- tention to farming. In the management of his land he makes use of improved machinery and follows many modern methods and is numbered with the agriculturists of this section who are men of ample fortune, the same having been acquired through personal effort.

In November, 1888, Mr. Coltabaugh was married to Miss Emma Yingling, a daughter of the venerable Jonathan Yingling, who is now in his eighty-ninth year and is the oldest resi- dent of this part of Blair County. Mr. and Mrs. Coltabaugh have six children: Harry M., Dora, Stella, Myrtle, Ruth and Charles. Mr. Coltabaugh is a member of the Lutheran Church at Duncansville. He is a Republican in politics and does his full duty as a citizen but is not a seeker for public office.

PROF. HENRY HOUSTON BAISH, su- perintendent of the public schools of Altoona, Pa., and an educator of experience, was born near Bendersville, Adams County, Pa., Febru- ary II, 1874, and is a son of Garrett J. and Julia (Pensyl) Baish. The father of Prof. Baish was born at Franklintown, York County, Pa. He was for many years engaged in the painting and wall paper business in Adams County. His death occurred September 6, 1906. The mother survives and resides with her son, Henry H. Baish.

Henry H. Baish completed the common school course and in 1895 was graduated from the Cumberland Valley State Normal School at Shippensburg, Pa. Prior to and after his attendance at normal school he taught school in Altoona for four years and in 1901 he was graduated in the classical course at Lebanon Valley College, in Lebanon County, Pa. He then returned to Altoona and taught in the city schools for seven years and on August 17, 1908, was appointed superintendent of the whole school system for the city. This re- sponsible office, with its numerous other du- ties, includes the supervision of 17 school buildings and 218 teachers. In every way he is well equipped for this work, his whole life having been devoted to educational work.

Professor Baish is a Republican in his polit- ical views. With his mother he attends the United Brethren church. Two years after graduation from college, his Alma Mater, Leb- anon Valley College, honored him by electing him a trustee of the college to represent the Alumni Association, which position he has held continuously ever since.

FRANKLIN D. RITCHEY, a well known resident of Tyrone Township, Blair County, Pa., who owns valuable real estate at Holli- daysburg, has been engaged in farming al- most all his mature life. He was born May 25, 1872, and is a son of John C. and Melissa , A. Ritchey.

The father of Mr. Ritchey was a carpenter by trade and was well known all through Bed- ford County, Pa. His death occurred in De- cember, 1909. His surviving children are : Amanda, who married William Stoudnour, of Fulton County, Pa .; Stella, who married Will- iam Pepple, of Bedford County; James, who lives in Bedford County; Carrie, who married Jacob Wallace, of Altoona; Rhyne, who mar- ried George Zimmers, of Hollidaysburg; and Franklin D. John C. Ritchey was identified with the Republican party and was a member of the order of Odd Fellows at Lloydsburg, Pa. Both he and wife were members of the Reformed church from youth.

ILEL

DR. AND MRS. JAMES W. IRWIN

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Franklin D. Ritchey married Miss Rebecca Zimmers, a daughter of George W. and Anna Zimmers, of Bedford County, and they have two children: Jacob Clyde and Edith Mel- issa. Mr. and Mrs. Ritchey are members of the Reformed Church at Hollidaysburg. He casts his vote with the Republican party and he is fraternally identified with the Odd Fel- lows at Hollidaysburg.

JOHN F. CORNELIUS,* residing on his valuable farm of about 125 acres, situated in Taylor Township, Blair County, Pa., is en- gaged in general farming and dairying, the latter industry being a leading feature. He was born at Saltillo, Huntingdon County, Pa., January II, 1866, and is a son of Walter and Amanda (Kough) Cornelius, and a grandson of Peter Cornelius, an early settler in that neighborhood. Both father and mother are living, the former being in his seventy-second year and the latter in her sixty-ninth year. They are highly respected people of their com- munity.

John F. Cornelius has had few advantages in life except those he has secured for himself through his energy and industry. After he completed his school attendance at Saltillo, he worked as a farmer and dairyman and since the spring of 1908, when he purchased his present farm, he has done a large amount of business. He has very practical ideas and when he started into the dairy business in- vested in the best dairy stock and the results have shown that he has excellent business judg- ment. Usually he keeps from fifteen to twenty head of Jersey and Holstein cows, each of these breeds having particular dairy qualities of their own. He operates a milk route through Roaring Spring and is known favor- ably to almost every resident.

Mr. Cornelius was married to Miss Bertha Park, a daughter of Samuel Park, of Saltillo, Huntingdon County, and they have three chil- dren, Owen W., Nettie L., and Lillian. Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church at Roaring Spring. In politics he is a Republican.

PATRICK JOSEPH KELLY, the popular proprietor of the City Hotel, at Tyrone, Pa., has been a resident of this borough since 1905 and has had eight years of hotel experience. He was born in County Leitrim, Ireland, No- vember 7, 1875, and is a son of James and Bridget Kelly, who still live in Ireland. They had four children : Catherine, residing in Philadelphia; Patrick Joseph; Hugh, still liv- ing in Ireland; and James, a resident of At- lantic City, N. J.

Patrick Joseph Kelly was educated in his native land and came to America in 1895, and lived in Philadelphia until 1897, when he moved to Cresson, in Cambria County, and in 1902 went into the hotel business at Ehrenfeld, where he continued until 1905, when he took charge of the Capitol Hotel at Hollidaysburg and later in the same year came to Tyrone and purchased the City Hotel. This hostelry is centrally located on the corner of Tenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and to equip it in first class style, Mr. Kelly expended fully seven thousand dollars. Mr. Kelly enjoys a large amount of most desirable patronage and is doing a prosperous business.

In 1903 Mr. Kelly was married to Miss Ida Leep, a daughter of John Leep, of Cambria County, and they have three children: Ma- rion, John and Ida. Mr. Kelly and family are members of the Catholic church. In politics he is independent but fraternally is a member of the Tyrone lodge of Elks.

JAMES WALTER IRWIN, M. D., a lead- ing physician and surgeon of Tyrone, Pa., who has been actively and successfully engaged in the practice of his profession for the past eighteen years, was born in Ontario, Domin- ion of Canada, December 29, 1868. His par- ents are Jared and Eliza (Armitage) Irwin, who still reside in Ontario, near the city of Toronto.

Dr. Irwin is of Scotch-Irish ancestry on the paternal side and of English, with a strain of Pennsylvania Dutch, on the maternal. Dr. Ir- win can trace an ancestral line over many hun- dred years to a time when a coat of arms

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HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

decorated the Irwin possessions, bearing the following inscription : Laud Ullis Labentia Ventis. Robert Irwin, the great-grandfather of Dr. Irwin, was born in the north of Ire- land and in 1796, with a brother and four cousins, came to America and carried on busi- ness in the city of Philadelphia as linen drapers until 1810, when they moved to Can- ada. Thomas Irwin, the grandfather, was born in Canada and his wife was a member of the old Pierson family of Philadelphia.

Jared Irwin, father of Dr. Irwin, was born in Canada in 1840. He married Eliza Armi- tage, who was also born in Ontario, in 1842. They had four children, namely : Herbert Edward, King's counsel and clerk of the peace, who is a barrister in York County, Ontario; Franklin, who is a physician and surgeon, with the degrees of M. B., M. D. C. M., F. R. C. P., and S. O., resides in Westen, Ontario; Lenore, who is the widow of William M. Dox- see, is a directress of one of the Kindergarten schools of Toronto, Ontario; and James Wal- ter, of Tyrone. The maternal grandparents of Dr. Irwin were James and Elmira ( White) Armitage. The great-great-grandfather of the mother of Dr. Irwin, was Amos Armitage, a grandson of Samuel Armitage, who settled in Bucks County, Pa., in 1739, a son of Sam- uel and Sarah Ann Armitage, natives of York- shire, England. Amos Armitage moved from Bucks County to County York, Canada, in 1808, and there Seth Armitage and James Armitage were born, the great-grandfather and grandfather of Dr. Irwin. The maternal grandmother, Elmira White, was a direct de- scendant of Peregrine White, who was born in 1620, on the Mayflower, just before the landing of the Pilgrims.

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Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 101

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872- Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Number of Pages: 1036

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing
Number of Pages: 1036