Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 67

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 67

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For fifty years the winds have swept up the forest: aisles and played among the branches of the trees sweet music as a requiem over the place. The snows of fifty winters have robed them in purity,-beautiful emblem of the pure souls that have left the earth for the home of the pure above. The little brook on the bank of which the children lay still gurgles its liquid song and makes music sweet and sad. It reminds one of the stream that issues from the eternal throne along which, for fifty years as we measure time, the lost children have been basking under fairer skies and roaming over lovelier landscapes in the enduring home from which they shall never wander to suffer fear, cold and starvation.

These lofty heights have witnessed the sun- sets of fifty years as the sun has flashed down his light and painted a halo of glory around these cliffs and hung great pictures on the walls of the sky. It makes one feel after all that our kind Father who knows what is best, brought the children out here to meet the angel reaper, to impress the thousands who visit the place that there is a land over which his glory sheds a light that is more glorious and beautiful than the fiery dawns and golden sun- sets among the mountains of a sin-cursed

world. It may be found after all that the ter- rible ordeal will be worth more than it cost.

For fifty years the trees have put forth their leaves, which again turned to crimson and yellow and went back to dust, emblematical of us all. The tree under which the lives of the little sufferers went out is an evergreen. Beau- tiful emblem, too, of the soul that never dies, and of the home of ever-blooming flowers and unfading verdure.

Shall rise o'er grief and pain, For in that land no earthly care Shall vex our souls again."

The day of dedication was lovely. Nature was at her best. The sun shone brightly from a clear sky. The air was pure, crisp and brac- ing. Systematic arrangements were made for the ceremonies. The crowd was large, but very orderly; there was no jar or discord in any movement. The solemnity of a funeral pervaded every breast. The signal for the opening service was given by the band of musicians. When the stillness of this vast wilderness was broken by the dolorous sound of the piping horns and the muffled drum, a solemn stillness fell upon the vast assembly, and tears fell like autumn rain. The surround- ing heights that often took up the sound of the hunter's gun and the woodman's axe, and echoed it through their fastness, at once en- tered into the spirit of the occasion, and bore through all their corridors the sweet cadence of the music and rolled them back to the rapt as- sembly. We were made to think,-and there was joy in the thought,-of the music of heaven when the redeemed shall break loose on the new song and the sweet strains like the voice of many waters shall roll upward in the volume of a great thunder, and attended with the

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harpers, heaven's dome will be filled and the echo will fill the soul with an ecstacy that will last through eternity.

During life the little brothers were notice- ably affectionate with each other. They always walked with joined hands. They clung to each other in their wanderings in the awful soli- tudes of a wilderness. Together they braved the crossing of a dashing mountain' stream, where people of judgment would not have ven- tured. They staid by each other when the pangs of cold and hunger caused them to lie down to the sleep that had no waking. Truly "they were loving in their lives and in their deaths they were not divided." They were placed in one coffin and in the presence of three thousand people were affectionately given to the grave. How they escaped the hungry ap- petites of the wild beasts of the forest must have been purely providential. The parents are now dead and are laid at rest beside the dear ones who were taken from them under circumstances of indescribable sadness.

"The storm that wrecks the wintry 'sky, No more disturbs their sweet repose, Than summer's evening's latest sigh, That shuts the rose."

The writer of this imperfect sketch lives six- teen miles from the place where the boys were found and where the monument is erected. He well remembers the exciting time from April 24, 1856, to May 8, of the same year, but he was then too young to join the searchers. And, now, after the lapse of fifty years, to visit the place with congenial friends and especially those who have assisted in the search and were present when the little ones were found, forms an association around which clings our sweetest joys, our tenderest emotions and our purest faith.

The experiences of the day produced mingled feelings of joy and sadness. We mingled our

sympathies, our prayers and our tears. Our faith in humanity is made stronger. We parted. Many of us will never meet again in this world. There were present people of wealth and cul- ture and many from the humbler walks of life. There were the aged, whose bent forms and wrinkled faces were quite in contrast with the young, whose cheeks were blushing with the vermillion of blooming life. But the grim reaper with his scythe is after us all, and his stroke is irrevocable.

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

Await alike the inevitable hour,

The paths of glory lead but to the grave."

One man amidst the interest and solemnity of the dedicatory services yielded to his appe- tite for drink and lay by the wayside in a drunken sleep. A lady remarked that he was lost in a worse sense than were the little chil- dren. True, and true of us all. "All we like sheep have gone astray." And if we are not found by the blessed Christ we are lost to the pleasure of his service here and his presence in the home beyond. He came to seek and save that which was lost.

"But none of the ransomed ever knew How deep were the waters crossed,

Or how dark was the night which the Lord passed through,

Ere he found his sheep that was lost. Out in the desert he heard its cry, Sick and helpless and ready to die.

"And all through the mountains thunder-riven And up from the rocky steep, There arose a cry to the gate of heaven,

'Rejoice I have found my sheep.' And the angels echoed around the throne,

'Rejoice, for the Lord brings back his own.'"

1 7.

HON. SAMUEL M. HOYER

Representative Citizens

HON. SAMUEL M. HOYER, mayor of the city of Altoona, Pa., whose services in this honorable office have covered three terms, and whose administration, on a business basis, has contributed largely to the city's material ad- vancement, has been a resident of Altoona for more than a quarter of a century and has been prominent in business as well as public affairs. He was born in Croyle Township, Cambria County, Pa., March 13, 1856, and is a son of Jacob and Mary (Dimond) Hoyer. Mayor Hoyer comes of German ancestry on the pater- nal side and of Irish on the maternal line.

Jacob Hoyer, father of Mayor Hoyer, was born in Pennsylvania near Bedford, one of a family of six children and the only son. In 1840 he accompanied his father to Cambria County, Pa., where the latter died in 1872. Jacob Hoyer followed agricultural pursuits through life, and as a man of reliability and prominence in his township, was frequently elected to public office. He married Mary Di- mond, who was born in Croyle Township, Cambria County, and they had eleven children born to them. She was a member of the Ro- man Catholic church.

Samuel M. Hoyer remained on the home farm giving assistance to his father, until he was twenty-two years of age. His education was obtained in the country schools. After leaving the farm he engaged for a time in min- ing coal and subsequently in dealing in that product, and continued to be more or less in the coal business until 1899. After locating at

Altoona he became a member of the firm of C. A. Dimond & Co., coal dealers, which operated a mine near South Fork, in Cambria County, and also carried on a retail trade at Altoona. In 1882, S. S. Reighard purchased the Dimond interest and the style became Hoyer & Reig- hard, which continued for ten months, when Mr. Hoyer bought his partner's share, carried on the business and was also secretary of the Bockel Mining Company, for three years was also manager of the Logan Ice Company, and in 1905 he took charge of the Blair Stone & Sand Co., which he conducted for three years more.

From early manhood, Mr. Hoyer has been identified with Democratic politics and for years has been in close touch with party leaders. He attended the Democratic National Conven- tion at St. Louis, Mo., as a delegate, that nom- inated Judge Parker for the presidency, filled the same relation at the Denver Convention, in 1908, served two terms as chairman of the Democratic County Committee, as well as two terms as city chairman, and for three terms was a member of the select council from the Sixth Ward, in which he served one year as chairman. He is at present serving as district chairman of the Second district of the State Central Committee.

Having acceptably filled many other import- ant positions, in 1893 he was first elected mayor and served until 1896; in 1902 was reelected and served until 1905, and in 1908 was again chosen as city head to serve until 1911. He

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has exerted every effort to give the city a clean, effective and economical administration, having the better element with him and enjoying the support and confidence of both political parties. He has taken at all times a very active part in all that has been contributory to the material progress of Altoona, ever displaying public spirit and civic pride.

On October 24, 1881, Mayor Hoyer was married to Miss Clara D. McClelland, and they have had eleven children, namely: Mary Gen- eva, James Graham, Charles Jacob, Walter Aloysius, Roy McClelland, Claud Joseph, James F., Harry Mc., Ruth, Martha and Eliza- beth A. Ruth and Martha are deceased. The home is at No. 1900 Third Avenue, Altoona.

J. KING McLANAHAN, one of Cen- tral Pennsylvania's captains of industry, has been identified with iron interests since the age of sixteen years, when he assumed the duties of a clerk in a comparatively obscure little furnace in Blair County, until the present when his name represents remark- able achievements in the business affairs of this section, and he is further prominent as president of the McLanahan-Stone Ma- chine Company, of Hollidaysburg, Pa.

J. King McLanahan was born in Bedford County, Pa., March 25, 1828, and is a son of James Craig McLanahan and a grand- son, on the maternal side, of John King, once a great iron master in Bedford County. Until he was sixteen years of age, Mr. Mc- Lanahan spent a large portion of his time at school and was well prepared to make a satisfactory clerk when he was engaged for that office by Dr. Schoenberger, the owner of Sarah Furnace. His father and his grandfather were both iron men and the youth had a natural aptitude for the busi- ness and in order to thoroughly qualify him- self in all of its details, he entered the Bald- win Locomotive Works at Philadelphia, as an apprentice. This was in 1845 and he re- mained an employe there until 1848. In that year he did his first independent work, this being the superintending of the con-

struction of the engine for use on the in- clined plane of the Portage Railroad section of the Pennsylvania Canal. This led to other undertakings. In the same year he entered into partnership with Michael Kelly and they established a foundry at Hollidays- burg, and he still retained his interest in it, when, in 1851, he went to Cincinnati to be- come superintendent of the celebrated Shock Steam Fire Engine Works, where the first steam fire engine in Ohio was built. It was Mr. McLanahan who made the first design for this engine and he still owns the square, one of the tools that he used in his measurements. In fact it was his brains that made this piece of machinery a suc- cess. The works were then located on the corner of Seventh and Sycamore Streets, Cincinnati.

In 1855 Mr. McLanahan returned to Hol- lidaysburg and became a member of the firm of Watson, White & Co., and in the construction of Furnace No. I, for this con- cern, made all the plans and estimates and also superintended the building and in the fall of 1856 put in the blast. He continued his membership with the above firm until its absorption by the Cambria Iron Com- pany. For a short time, Mr. McLanahan was interested also in the manufacture of fine pottery at Hollidaysburg, but this in- vestment did not prove as uniformly suc- cessful as did others and he subsequently discontinued that business.

In the spring of 1857, Mr. McLanahan ad- mitted William Stone to partnership in his foundry business, as a successor of Michael Kelly, and this association has continued uninterruptedly and in the year of 1910 stands before the world as the McLanahan- Stone Machine Company, with its founder still at its head. The officers of this con- cern are: J. King McLanahan, president ; S. C. McLanahan (a brother), secretary ; A. F. Stone, vice president; H. M. Hen- shey, treasurer; and William B. Kirk, man- ager. The business office of this company

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is situated at Jackson and Wade Streets, Gaysport, Pa.

In 1877 Mr. McLanahan became inter- ested in the Rodman Furnace and Bloom- field ore banks, and for years was one of the largest employers of labor in that sec- tion. From 1879 until 1882 he was man- ager of the Blair Iron Company rolling mill, and from the latter year for a pro- tracted period was a member of the firm of McLanahan, Smith & Co., in a rolling mill business. He was one of the founders and a director of the Juniata Iron Company and promoted the interests of that concern in the building of mills and factories.

In February, 1857, Mr. McLanahan was married to Miss Mary Martin, whose father, John Martin, was one of the leading men of his day at Hollidaysburg. One of their sons, J. King McLanahan, Jr., is vice presi- dent of the Citizens National Bank at Hol- lidaysburg. Another son, M. Hawley Mc- Lanahan, is a member of the firm of Price & McLanahan, of Philadelphia. This firm built the Pennsylvania Railroad station at Pittsburg and constructed of concrete, the noted Blenham Hotel, at Atlantic City, N. J. The family residence stands at No. 703 Allegheny and Clark Streets, this city, Close application to business has so ab- sorbed Mr. McLanahan that he has found little time to give to public affairs, but he has never been remiss in the performance of the duties of good citizenship nor forget- ful of the claims of charity. Still active, alert and mentally superior to the majority of men of a younger generation, Mr. Mc- Lanahan remains an important factor in the life and affairs of Hollidaysburg.

JOHN A. ISENBERG, who resides on a farm of 117 acres in Frankstown township, Blair County, Pa., was born November 23, 1860, in Huntingdon County, Pa., and is a son of Michael W. and Susan (Walheater) Isenberg, and a grandson of George and Nancy Isenberg, natives of Germany, who first settled in Maryland. The maternal

grandfather was Henry Walheater. Mi- chael W. and Susan Isenberg were well known residents of Frankstown Township, where they lived until death, and were bur- ied at Geesey. They were members of the Lutheran church. They were the parents of the following children: George; Sarah, who lives with our subject ; Susan ; Charles; Myria, who is the wife of David Carles; Blair, and John A.

John A. Isenberg received a common school education and since leaving school has always engaged in agricultural pursuits, being recognized as one of the leading and substantial farmers of the township, and he belongs to the Grange. He is identified with the Republican party in politics, as was his father, and served three years as a school director. Mr. Isenberg is a member of the Lutheran church.

In 1889 Mr. Isenberg was joined in mar- riage with Miss Anna Stultz, who is a daughter of Daniel and Susan (Morgan) Stultz, retired farmers of Woodbury Town- ship. Mrs. Isenberg is the eldest of the following children born to her parents : Anna; Charles; Martha, who is deceased, was the wife of J. C. Royer; Elizabeth, who is the widow of A. G. Waggoner; Sloan; Norman; Rhoda, who is the wife of Roland Clabaukh; Catherine, who is the wife of Warren Lingenfelter, and George. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Isenberg: Susan, Rhoda, Daniel, and Blair.

HENRY M. STIFFLER, formerly bur- gess of Duncansville, Pa., and a veteran of the Civil War, has been a resident of this pleasant borough since 1896. He was born near Enterprise, Bedford County, Pa., May 20, 1838, and is a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Smith) Stiffler.

Peter Stiffler was born in York County, Pa., a son of Peter Stiffler, who was one of the old settlers. In 1847, the parents of Henry M. Stiffler moved to Blair County and settled in Freedom Township. The grandfather, who had probably come to

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York County about 1802, accompanied them and died there. Peter Stiffler mar- ried Elizabeth Smith, a native of Bedford County, and of their children three survive : Esther, who is the widow of S. W. Furney, formerly of Carroll County, Mo., resides at Eldorado, in that state; Henry M .; and Elizabeth A., who is the wife of Samuel A. Stultz, of Fortesque, Mo.

Henry M. Stiffler was reared on a farm and received a district school education. In 1879 he moved to Altoona, where he re- sided until 1891, when he removed to Al- legheny Township, Blair County, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1896, when he came to Duncansville. He still retains his farm of 104 acres in Alle- gheny Township. In February, 1864, Mr. Stiffler enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Co. A, 55th Pa. Vol. Inf., which was attached to the Army of the James, and he was stationed in South Carolina and in Virginia and was honorably discharged on May 26, 1865. On May 6, 1864, while on the advance skirmish line in Virginia, be- tween City Point and Petersburg, he re- ceived a wound in his right foot which was serious enough to confine him to a hospital for three months. After his discharge he returned to Blair County and resumed farming in Freedom Township and resided there until he removed to Altoona in 1879.

Mr. Stiffler was married September 8, 1859, to Miss Jane E. McConnell, a native of Greenfield .Township, now in Blair County, where she was born October 20, 1842. Her parents were James and Eliza- beth (Helsel) McConnell, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father lived in Juniata Township, Blair County, for a number of years and later, moved with his family to Greenfield and afterwards to Freedom Township, where both he and wife died. Mrs. Stiffler has two surviving sisters : Margaret, wife of J. A. Thompson, resid- ing at Newry, Pa .; and Agnes, wife of Adam Hazenstab, of Freedom Township. Mr. and Mrs. Stiffler celebrated theil

Golden Wedding anniversary on Septem- ber 8, 1909. They are members of the Lutheran church at Duncansville and in this connection as in others, are valued and es- teemed. Mr. Stiffler has always been iden- - tified with the Republican party and has always taken an active citizen's interest in the welfare of the place in which he has lived. He has served three years as burgess of Duncansville as well as on many public committees. He is a member of Stephen C. Potts Post No. 62, G. A. R., at Altoona.

LOUIS E. McKEE, M. D., who has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Al- toona, Pa., for about two years, is a native of that city and a son of William E. and Mary (Graf) McKee.

The McKee family is one of the old estab- lished and highly respected families of Clearfield County, Pa. John McKee, grand- father of our subject, was a native of that county, and a farmer by occupation. His marriage with Elizabeth Kern resulted in the birth of the following children: Mar- garet, Dora, Sarah, Martha, Elizabeth, Jo- seph A., John R., Dora, Thomas, Clara and William E., father of our subject, who was born in Clearfield, Pa., in 1861. William E. McKee came to Blair County; Pa., when quite young, and resided at Collinsville un- til twenty-one years of age, since which time he has been a resident of Altoona, where he is employed as foreman in the Pennsylvania car shops. He married Mary Graf, a native of Philadelphia, who came to Blair County, Pa., when a child of two years, with her parents, Louis and Elizabeth (Schwab) Graf, the former an expert ma- chinist and a native of Baden-Baden, Ger- many.

Dr. Louis E. McKee was reared in Al- toona, Pa., where he attended the local schools and graduated from the High School with the class of 1904. He then entered the Jefferson Medical College, from which he graduated in 1908, and after serving a short time as an interne at the Altoona Hos-

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pital, embarked in the practice of medicine in this city. He is official examining surgeon for the United States Marine Corps, and the Woodmen of the World and is on the staff of the Mercy Hospital as surgeon and gynecologist. He belongs to the Hepta- sophs and Woodmen of the World, and his religious connection is with the Fourth Evangelical Lutheran Church.

RT. REVEREND EUGENE A. GAR- VEY, bishop of the Altoona diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, the celebration of whose fortieth year in the priesthood, in September, 1909, was one of the most im- posing spectacles ever enjoyed by clergy and people in this part of Pennsylvania, is not only a distinguished prelate but is a man of learning, experience, tact, culture and executive ability far beyond the aver- age.

Bishop Garvey was born at Carbondale, Pa., October 6, 1845. His parents were Michael and Catherine (Boylan) Garvey, natives of Ireland, who came to America and located at Carbondale in 1840. They were people of humble circunistance, indus- trious and frugal, and they reared their children in the church and were faithful in their own duties to it. The father secured profitable employment, under the Dela- ware and Hudson Railroad Company. His widow survived to be eighty-five years of age.

Eugene A. Garvey was yet a boy when his parents moved to Scranton, Pa., and as he had previously mastered the common school studies at Carbondale, he entered the Scranton High School, where he spent two years. During 1863-4 he taught school and in 1865 became a student at St. Charles College, Md., and later a Catholic institu- tion at St. Charles, where he was prepared for the Catholic Seminary at Philadelphia, and there his theological studies were com- pleted. On September 23, 1869, he was or- dained to the priesthood by Rev. Bishop O'Hara, of Scranton, Pa. He was ap-

pointed assistant priest at Honesdale, Pa., to attend a parish at Hawley, and from there, in October, 1870, he was transferred to the Holy Ghost Catholic Church at Athens, Pa. On December 7, 1871, he was assigned to the Annunciation Catholic Church at Williamsport and remained in charge of that parish until February, 1899. In February, 1899, he was appointed by Bishop Hoban to succeed the late Rev. John Finnen, who had been rector of St. John's parish and vicar general of the Scranton diocese. For twenty-eight con- secutive years Bishop Garvey had been in the Williamsport charge and was deeply beloved by his large congregations. On September 8, 1901, on the feast of the Na- tivity of the Virgin, he was consecrated bishop of the Altoona diocese by Mmg. Martinelli, singing his first Pontifical mass at Pittston, Pa., and his second at Will- iamsport. From the latter place he came to Altoona and assumed charge of the dio- cese. Soon after coming to Altoona, he erected an episcopal residence at a cost of $20,000. Other efforts followed and the beautiful Orphans' Home at Summit, Pa., which was erected at a cost of $81,000, is one of the results of his labors. Since 1901, the faithful clergy under the guidance of the Bishop have increased the church prop- erty by $1,200,000.

While the whole diocese claims Bishop Garvey, Altoona particularly cherishes him. All must recognize in the life of such a man the wide influence for good it exerts and in some measure the worldly recompense that brightens the evening of earthly exist- ence when it has been rightly passed.

GEORGE W. GARNER, a leading busi- ness man of North Woodbury Township, Blair County, Pa., owner of a farm of 120 acres in Huston Township and a prosper- ous general merchant at Clover Creek Post Office, likewise known as Fredericksburg, is a native of Huntingdon County, Pa., born November 20, 1875. His parents were

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Zachariah T. and Rosanna (Treese) Gar- ner, both of whom were born in Hunting- don County and now reside in Huston Township, Blair County.

The Garner family was among the first settlers in Huntingdon County, and of Ger- man descent. George W. Garner was brought to Blair County by his parents in 1876 and was reared in Huston Township, attending the public schools there and later spending some time at Juniata Col- lege in Huntingdon County. Although reared on a farm, Mr. Garner's inclinations did not lead to his becoming an agricultur- ist, merchandising appealing to him from youth and as soon as circumstances per- mitted, he engaged in a mercantile busi- ness at Marklesburg as the junior member of the firm of Weaver Brothers and Gar- ner. Later he established his own business at Drab, in Blair County, which he carried on for two years and then came to Clover Creek, succeeding C. M. Black and becom- ing postmaster at this point. Mr. Garner is thus an experienced merchant and through careful consideration of the de- mands of his customers, supplies the wants of residents over an extended territory.

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Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 67

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