Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 123

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 123

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R. B. FREEMAN, trainmaster of the Ty- rone division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, whose thirty-six years of efficient railroad serv- ice have been spent with the division with which he is yet connected, is a man whose ca- pacity is apparent, marking his manner and speech. He was born at Beach Haven, Lu- zerne County, Pa., April 1, 1859, and obtained his education in the public schools. At the age of twelve years he began to learn telegraphy in the railroad office at Bigler, and on April I, 1875, at the age of sixteen, he entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad as tele- graph operator on the Tyrone division. His gradual advance from one responsible position

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to another sufficiently indicates the value of his services to this corporation. On September I, 1876, he was appointed passenger agent at Os- ceola Mills, Pa .; train dispatcher at Tyrone, October 1, 1880; assistant trainmaster, No- vember 1, 1887; and trainmaster, January I, 1900. He is widely known and is one of the most popular railroad men of this division.

Mr. Freeman was married in 1881, to Miss Kate Cameron, a daughter of James R. Cam- eron, of Osceola Mills, and they have five chil- dren, namely: Charles B., James C., and Harry E., who hold responsible positions with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; Myra C., who married Hugh N. Crider, and resides at Bellefonte; and Jeannette, residing at home. Mr. Freeman is identified fraternally with Ty- rone Lodge, No. 494, F. & A. M .; the Im- proved Order of Heptasophs, and the Modern Woodmen of America. In his political views he is a Republican.

JAMES CLEMENT WRAY,* who has been engaged in the practice of law at Altoona, Pa., since 1903, was born in December, 1877, at Bellwood, Blair County, Pa. The days of his youth were spent in this county, and after completing the elementary course in the com- mon schools, graduated with the class of 1899 from the Washington-Jefferson College, of Washington, Pa. His knowledge of the legal profession was obtained at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he received a di- ploma for the practice of law in 1902. That same year he was admitted to the bar of Philadelphia County, Pa., and in 1903 became a member of the Blair County Bar, after which he immediately became associated with D. E. North in the practice of law at Altoona, Pa. He has since been located here in the practice of his profession and is held in high esteem for his legal ability and business qualifications. He is a member of the Blair County Bar Asso- ciation and is fraternally a Mason and an Elk.

FOREST VAN SMITH,* who conducts an automobile garage and a repair shop for all kinds of machinery, at Tyrone, Pa., has been a resident of this borough since December 4, 1900, and has built up a fine business. He

was born June 1, 1875, at Mountaindale, Cam- bria County, Pa., and is a son of Marion G. and Sarah E. (Ross) Smith.

Marion G. Smith, who died in 1890, was filling the position of yard foreman for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at Bellwood. He married Sarah E. Ross, who survives, with three sons and one daughter, namely: Forest Van; George E., of Tyrone; Wellington, em- ployed in the shops of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company, at Eldorado; Bertha May, wife of Alfred Peterman, an engineer on the P. & N. W. Railroad. Three sons and three daughters of the late Marion G. Smith are deceased.

Forest Van Smith accompanied his parents to Blair County in 1885. He attended school at Bellwood until he was old enough to enter the shops of the Bellwood Electric Company and he was employed there when the first trucks for the Altoona trolley line were built, in 1891. He worked in these shops for three and one-half years and then went for five more years with the P. & N. W. Railroad shops, when he accepted a position on the W. Va. Cen- tral Railroad, at Elkins, W. Va. In Decem- ber, 1900, he came to Tyrone and entered the Tyrone Foundry and Machine Company shops, where he remained until December, 1909, when he embarked in business for himself, under the name of the Keystone Motor Car Company. He has a large equipment of motor cars for rent and does all kinds of repairing of machin- ery and deals also in automobile supplies. As yet, Mr. Smith has a pretty clear field in his line and is so thoroughly competent that there is every probablity that he will continue his leadership.

In 1898 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Eliz- abeth Lovengood, a daughter of Dr. W. Y. Lovengood, of Bellwood, and they have three children: Marion Elizabeth, Harriet and Wal- ter Van. Mr. Smith and family attend the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is a Republican. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and with the Hepta- sophs, both of Altoona.

WILLIAM S. BELL, a prominent and highly esteemed citizen of Antis Township,

P. J. REILLY

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Blair County, Pa., comes of one of the promi- nent pioneer families of the county, and is ex- tensively engaged in the lumber industry in connection with general farming. He was born September 16, 1860, on his present farm, which is the old John Bell homestead, and is a son of Samuel Hunter and Sarah E. (Shomo) Bell, and a grandson of John Bell, who was born in 1799. His paternal ancestry is as follows: John Bell, great-great-grand- father of William S., came from England and located in what is now Scotch Valley, from there moving to Pottsgrove Mills, where he resided until about 1800. He then located on the site of the present town of Bellwood and spent the remainder of his life in this locality. He married Mary Hunter, whom he met on shipboard while on his way to this country.

Edward Bell, great-grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Scotch Valley and was a millwright by trade. He was also a surveyor and assisted in building the first capitol build- ing erected at Harrisburg, while later he built and operated the Elizabeth Furnace and Mary Ann Forge in Antis Township. He was an able financier and was at one time the owner of 40,000 acres of land. He married Mary Martin, whose father was a Scotchman, and of their union were born six sons and two daughters, among whom his property was di- vided at the time of his death.

John Bell, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born on the old Edward Bell home- stead in a substantial log home. His father built a fine brick home in 1832, and John Bell, after his marriage with Elizabeth Boyle, began housekeeping in this house now owned by our subject. Here he operated a forge which had been built by his father, and lived here until the time of his death. He had seven children, namely : Mary, deceased, who was the wife of Fleming Holliday; Margaret, deceased, who was the wife of M. B. Riddle; Elizabeth, now deceased; Samuel H .; Katherine K., de- ceased, who was the wife of Dr. Isaac Kay; Ellie B., wife of Thaddeus Stewart, of Bell- wood; and John E., now deceased.

Samuel Hunter Bell was born on the old Bell homestead and operated the Cold Spring

Forge and the Elizabeth Furnace from 1861 to 1865. He then entered into the lumber busi- ness, but during the last ten years of his life was engaged in surveying. Politically a Democrat, he served some years as justice of the peace. He married Sarah E. Shomo, a daughter of William Shomo, whose family came here from Lebanon County, Pa., and three children were born of their union, namel William S., Mary, and Elizabeth, the two last mentioned residing on the old Samuel H. Bell homestead. Mr. Bell died in 1895, and was survived by his widow until 1908. Their re- mains rest in the cemetery at Bellwood. They were both members of the Presbyterian church.

William S. Bell was reared on his present place, and has spent all his life so far in the vicinity of Bellwood, where for ten years he was engaged in shipping and selling coal. For the past six years he has resided on the Bell homestead, where he deals extensively in lum- ber in connection with his farming interests. The old Bell homestead is 105 years old and was first owned by a man named Johnston. Mr. Bell is the owner of 140 acres of land which he has under good cultivation, and also owns 1,600 acres of timberland. He is a stock holder of the Bellwood Bank, and is frater- nally a member of the Masonic Lodge of Al- toona. He was married June 30, 1904, to Christine Mundorff, who was born in Hunting- don County, Pa., a daughter of Samuel Mun- dorff, of Bellwood. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have three children : Sarah Ellen; Samuel H .; and Bertha A. The family hold membership in the Presbyterian church.

P. J. REILLY, whose large business opera- tions in insurance entitles him to being called the leader in this line at Altoona, Pa., is interested also in real estate and is a prominent factor in the commercial life of the city. He was born in County Mayo, Ireland, where he remained until he was twenty-one years of age, coming then to America. After a mercantile business experience of five years, in the city of Phila- delphia, Mr. Reilly came to Altoona in 1889. He embarked in the cigar business and carried it on with satisfactory results for fourteen years

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and then turned his attention to insurance and dealing in realty. He represents fifteen of the leading life, fire, accident, building and liability insurance companies of the world, which have a combined capital of over $600,000,000. He is secretary of the Workingman's and Jeffer- son Building and Loan Associations, of Al- toona and is interested in additional enter- prises. He is very active in civic matters and is prominent in Democratic political circles, at different times serving as chairman of the city organization and as state delegate on numerous occasions. He is the able representative from the Third Ward in the city council at the time of writing.

In 1886 Mr. Reilly was married to Miss Mary E. Massey, who is a member of one of the old established families of Burlington County, New Jersey, and they have five chil- dren, namely: Mary Catherine, who is her father's capable bookkeeper; Reba M .; Thomas C., who is employed in the Second National Bank; James, who is a student in the Altoona High School; and Paul, who is also in school. Mr. Reilly and family are members of St. John's Catholic Church. He is an active and interested member of the Knights of Columbus, and belongs also to the Ancient Or- der of Hibernians.

EDWIN W. STINE, assistant trainmas- ter of the Tyrone Division of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, at Tyrone, Pa., came to this borough when a lad of thirteen years and has been connected with the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company for some thirty-six years. He was born at Millheim, Center County, Pa., March 3, 1860, and is a son of David C. and Elizabeth (Wagner) Stine.

David C. Stine was born at East Hanover, Lebanan County, Pa., and Miss Elizabeth A. Wagner, his wife, was born in Centre County, and died in Tyrone in 1880, aged 43 years. D. C. Stine died at Tipton, a small village three miles west of Tyrone, December 16, 1910, aged 73 years. He was a carpenter by trade. Two of his children survive, Edwin W. and Vir- ginia, the latter being the wife of Harry Dinges, of Center Hall, Pa.

Edwin W. Stine was educated in the schools

of Millheim, Center Hall and Tyrone. In 1874 he entered the employ of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, as a messenger boy, but did not long remain in this humble capacity, as he applied himself to mastering railroad tele- graphing and became so expert and reliable that he subsequently filled important positions at Altoona, Huntingdon and Tyrone, on the Middle Division. In 1881 his efficiency caused his transference to the Tyrone Division as op- erator in the superintendent's office ; in 1887 he was appointed train dispatcher; and on Janu- ary I, 1900, further confidence was shown in him by his appointment to his present office of assistant trainmaster. His rise from the bot- tom has been gradual and uninterrupted and his thorough training in every detail all along the way, has particularly qualified him for po- sitions where absolute accuracy and the best of qualities of all kinds are essential.

On September 12, 1894, Mr. Stine. was mar- ried to Miss Mirma M. Coulter, a daughter of John S. and Ella C. Coulter, of Tyrone. They are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Stine has been deeply interested in the Y. M. C. A. ever since the organization of the branch at Tyrone and has served in official positions in the organization, at one time being president. He is a life member of the F. & A. M., Lodge 494, at Tyrone, and belongs also to Sinking Spring Lodge, Knights of Pythias, is a charter member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and belongs also to social bodies. In politics he is a Republican and is serving as a mem- ber of the borough council from the Fifth Ward. His activities in this position are those of a man who has the best interests of his com- munity at heart and all public matters brought to his attention are carefully investigated and if justifiable, receive his hearty support.

WILLIAM S. SHIMER, V. S., who is pro- prietor of a modern, thoroughly equipped vet- erinery hospital in Altoona, is a man who stands very high in his profession. He has practiced in Altoona for many years and is generally credited with being the best qualified veterinary surgeon in Blair County. He was born at Shimersville, Lehigh County, Pa.,

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April 26, 1865, and is a son of William S. and Hannah S. (Shantz) Shimer.

. The Shimers have been residents of Penn- sylvania since 1740, at which time the paternal great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch settled in Lehigh County, and his name and memory are perpetuated in the town of Shim- ersville, on the site of which, in early days, lay his pioneer farm. Practically all the members of the family in those days were agriculturists.

William S. Shimer was reared on the old homestead. He attended school in Shimers- ville, and was later a student at that noted Lu- theran educational center, Muhlenburg College, at Allentown. On his father's farm he learned much concerning the various ailments of dumb Walter Scott Musser had public school and academic advantages and was graduated at the New Berlin Academy in the class of 1891, hav- ing previously taught school for two terms. Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, is his alma mater and he was graduated from that old and honorable institution in the class of 1895. Shortly afterward he located at Tyrone, and ever since has been actively engaged here in the practice of his profession and has also been identified with the best interests of the creatures, and when he came to choose a ca- reer, he decided to prepare himself for veter- inary work. After an exhaustive course of study, he was graduated in 1885 from the On- tario Veterinary College, in the Dominion of Canada. He has since been successfully en- gaged in the active practice of his profession, and is numbered among its foremost represent- atives in this section. He has a model infirm- ary, fitted up with every modern convenience that he has found of practical value, and there . borough. For the past six years he has been surgeon for the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany. He is a member of the Blair County, the Pennsylvania State and the American Med- ical Associations, thus keeping thoroughly abreast with the times in the rapid strides his profession is making. He occasionally con- tributes to medical literature, being a close stu- dent and investigator for himself.

gives sick and wounded animals the most care- ful scientific attention. He has frequent calls to exercise his skill from other counties and at almost all times has valuable animals under treatment from the great stock farms. He be- longs to a number of organizations connected with the interests of this branch of medical science. The doctor was reared in the faith of the Evangelical Lutheran church. In poli- tics he is a Republican.

WALTER SCOTT MUSSER, M. D., phy- sician and surgeon, who has been successfully engaged in the practice of medicine at Tyrone, Pa., since 1895, is a member of one of the old and representative families of Pennsylvania. The Musser name stands for honorable citi- zenship in Center, Blair, Lebanon, Lancaster, York and other counties of the state. The family has mainly been an agricultural one, but nevertheless the professions are ably rep- resented. Dr. Musser was born in Center

County, Pa., and is the seventh of a family of eleven children born to his parents, who were Samuel and Nancy (Rider) Musser.

Samuel Musser was born in Union County, Pa., in 1830, and died at Tyrone, in 1904. He was a son of William and Catherine ( Hess) Musser, who settled in Center County in 1834. Samuel Musser married Nancy Rider, who was born at Gatesburg, Center County, Pa. Her parents were Michael and Barbara (Cri- der) Rider, of pioneer stock in Lebanon County, from which section they moved to Center County. These were all quiet, virtu- ous, thrifty people, ancestors of whom their descendants may be justly proud.

Dr. Musser was married in 1910 to Miss Anna M. Smith, a daughter of Alfred A. and Amelia (Turnbaugh) Smith. Her father was a native of Blair County, and was a prominent business man of Tyrone from 1872 until his death, in March, 1902. In 1910 Dr. Musser completed his handsome residence at No. 1047 Logan Avenue, which is of brick construction and modern architecture. Dr. and Mrs. Mus- ser take a reasonable interest in the pleasant social life of the borough. He is identified fraternally with the Elks-being past exalted ruler of Tyrone Lodge, No. 212- and with the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 127, Ty-

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rone. His activity in politics does not exceed the bounds of good citizenship.

JOHN HALL,* who deals extensively in real estate and fire insurance, has been a resi- dent of Juniata, Pa., since 1892, and is one of the representative business men of this locality. He was born and reared in England, where he learned the machinist's trade, and when about 22 years of age came to America, and located for a short time in Philadelphia. He then came to Altoona, and for 15 years was em- ployed as a machinist in the Pennsylvania Rail- road shops, after which he embarked in the real estate and fire insurance business. Mr. Hall deals largely in real estate and devotes his entire time to this work, plotting and im- proving his land, and the past year has done considerable building, having at the present time six houses under construction.

Mr. Hall was married in 1892 to Mary Wilkes, who is also a native of England, and they have four sons and two daughters, namely : Florence, Ernest, William, Thomas, Benjamin, and Edith. Mr. Hall is a member of the Pres- byterian church, of Juniata, in which he is su- perintendent of the Sunday School. He holds membership in three fraternal orders.

HON. HARRY ALBERT THOMPSON, editor and publisher of the Tyrone Times, at Tyrone, Pa., and a member of the Pennsyl- vania State Legislature from 1906 to 1910, was born at Waterfall Mills, Fulton County, Pa., June 6, 1867. His parents were Theodore James and Margaret Anna Thompson.

Both parents of Mr. Thompson were born in 1840, his father at Waterfall Mills, and the mother, who still survives, at McConnells- burg. The father, Theodore James Thomp- son, was interested in mercantile pursuits in his native place and McConnellsburg for a num- ber of years, subsequently removing to Bed- ford, Pa., where he engaged in the occupation of colporteur, traveling in the interest of the American Tract Society. In 1874 he again located, with his family, at McConnellsburg, Pa., where he died March 29, 1903.

The paternal grandfather of the subject of

this sketch was James N. Thompson, of Scotch- Irish ancestry, who taught school in Fulton County, Pa., at a time when the country was but sparsely settled, and it was necessary for him, as well as for his pupils, to walk long dis- tances to and from the schoolhouse. His death was occasioned by a cold that he caught while thus exposed to the elements. He married Isabella Bergstresser, a descendant of one of the oldest and best known families of Fulton and Huntingdon Counties-people who were prominent there in church, business and social affairs.

On the maternal side, Mr. Thompson is of German extraction. His grandparents were Albert and Margaret Hohman, both natives of Elm City, Saxony, Germany. On coming to America, they settled first at Pittsburg, Pa., where Albert Hohman entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, although this transportation line had not yet been com- pleted as far as that city. By trade he was a cabinetmaker, which he followed in later years, after he had discontinued railroad work. He removed with his family from Pittsburg to McConnellsburg, Pa., where he purchased a residence, and for a number of years thereafter was employed by the above railroad company as a car builder on the Bedford and Cumber- land branch.

Harry A. Thompson received his education in the public and select schools, during which time he made up his mind as to his future ca- reer. In May, 1882, he entered the printing office of the Fulton Democrat, at McConnells- burg, as an apprentice. He remained there for three years, and it was here that he obtained his first ideas as to practical journalism. A printing office is, in itself, a school, and, while he was daily learning valuable facts as well as his trade, he also applied himself to special lines of study when he found time to do so.

After completing his apprenticeship, Mr. Thompson took a course in the McConnells- burg Normal School preparatory to teaching, and in the fall and winter of 1885 taught in Taylor Township, in Fulton County, and, at the expiration of this term, he reentered the Normal School. During the following winter

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he taught school in Tod Township. In the spring of 1886, he was placed in charge of the preparatory department of the Normal School, and, during the fall and winter of the same year, he was in charge of the New Grenada School, Fulton County. His services at that place continued until the following spring, when he became connected with the Fulton Re- publican. In the fall of 1888, he went to Mapleton Depot, Huntingdon County, where he taught school for two terms, and, in the spring of 1889, in association with Isaac New- ton Swope, established the Mapleton Item. In the fall of 1890 he disposed of his interest in the Item and again became a teacher, accepting a position in the Mill Creek High School, in Huntingdon County. In the spring of 1891, he became associated with Dr. A. R. McCarthy in the publication of the Mount Union Times, the oldest publication in that section of Hunt- ingdon County. In the fall of 1892, the sole management of the paper passed into the hands of Mr. Thompson, who conducted the same successfully until 1896, at which time he pur- chased the Tyrone Times and immediately moved to Tyrone, where he has devoted his time and energy to bringing The Times to the highest standard of the weekly newspaper of Pennsylvania. The Times is a well managed and ably edited journal. It has been an im- portant factor in supporting the principles of the Republican party, with which Mr. Thomp- son has been identified since early manhood, and his editorials have no uncertain ring.

At different times Mr. Thompson has been honored by the party to which he has shown such continuous fidelity, and, in every office of trust and responsibility with which he has been connected, has justified the hopes and expectations of his friends. In 1905 and 1906, he was appointed transcribing clerk of the State Senate, acting in the capacity of executive clerk. In 1906, he was first elected to the House of Represen- tatives and was reelected in November, 1908. During his first term he served on the following committees: Bureau of Statistics, Military, Pensions and Gratuities, Printing and Public Buildings. During his second

term, he served on other important commit- tees : Public Health and Sanitation, of which he was chairman, Pensions and Gratuities, Ap- propriations, Agriculture and Accounts. In 1909, Mr. Thompson was elected president of the Pennsylvania State Editorial Association; and, at the annual meeting of the National Editorial Association held at Seattle, Wash., in 1909, he was elected as the Pennsylvania member of the National Executive Committee. He is also secretary of the Pennsylvania Press League. He has taken an active interest in building and loan matters and at present is president of the Citizens' Building and Loan Association of Tyrone.

Mr. Thompson married Miss Cora Sterrett, a daughter of Benjamin Newton Sterrett, Esq., once sheriff of Fulton County, and probably one of the best known and most popular men of his section at that time. He died February 14, 1895. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Thompson was William D. Sterrett, who served in the American army in the Mexican War, holding the rank of colonel, and lost his life in battle. His wife, Mrs. Lucretia M. Sterrett, nee Nead, (Mrs. Thompson's grand- mother) was well and favorably known in edu- cational circles. She died April 12, 1881. Mrs. Thompson's mother was in maidenhood Miss Louise J. McNulty, a daughter of Will- iam C. McNulty, of Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pa. The McNultys and Neads were pioneers in the southern tier of counties in Pennsylvania, in Maryland and in northern Virginia.

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Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 123

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