Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 76

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 76

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H. W. CULP, one of the leading mem- bers of the Blair County bar, and a mem- ber of the well known law firm of Craig & Culp, of Altoona, Pa., is a native of Sinking Valley, Blair County, Pa., and a son of Samuel Culp, deceased. The father of our subject was a native of Huntington County, Pa., and at an early age came to Blair County, where he was a resident for fifty years.

H. W. Culp obtained his educational training at the Indiana State Normal School

and Grove City College, then taught school three terms, after which he read law with H. M. Baldridge of Hollidaysburg, and was admitted to the Blair County bar in 1895. He immediately thereafter embarked in the practice of law at Altoona, and one year later formed a partnership with M. M. Mor- row of this city, and in 1897 joined the law firm of Craig & Bowers under the name of Craig & Bowers Law Co. Since the death of Mr. Bowers in 1904, the firm has been Craig & Culp, which is recognized as one of the leading law firms of Altoona. They are attorneys for the Merchants Association, and Chamber of Commerce, and are also en- gaged in practice in all of the courts of the state. Mr. Culp is fraternally a member of the I. O. O. F. and J. O. M. His religious connection is with the Broad Avenue Pres- byterian Church. Mr. Culp was married in 1902 to Margaret Crawford, and they have three children: Foster, Samuel, and Margaret.

ROBERT C. IRVINE, who is engaged in the lumber manufacturing business at Hol- lidaysburg, Pa., with office and residence at No. 414 Wayne Street, a handsome build- ing erected by him in 1902, is a representa- tive business man of this city to which he came in 1896. He was born December 27, 1857, at Duncanvile, Pa., and is a son of William H. and a grandson of Andrew Irvine.

Andrew Irvine, grandfather of Robert C., came to America from the north of Ireland, in 1790, and located in Lancaster County, Pa., where he and wife spent their remain- ing days. William H. Irvine, father of Rob- ert C., was born in Lancaster County and came from there to Huntingdon County, and from 1828 until 1835, was assistant man- ager of the Pennsylvania Furnace. He then went to Warrior's Mark where he married Anna E. Coffee, a native of that place, and from there they moved to Duncansvile. Having decided to settle permanently at this place, Mr. Irvine bought a large farm

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and also the Duncansville Inn, an old-style public house. In 1859 he purchased the Tyrone City Hotel, which he conducted for a number of years, when he returned to his farm near Duncansville, following farming until 1870, when he retired to the village, where he had erected a comfortable resi- dence, and there he died in 1884, aged sev- enty-eight years, his wife having passed away but a few weeks previously, at the age of sixty-nine years. They had eleven chil- dren, namely : Oliver Mayberry, Lloyd, Al- fred C., William P., John F., Robert Christy, Adaline, Hannah, Emma, Westanna and Margaret.

The eldest son, Oliver Mayberry Irvine, familiarly known as Mayberry, was a gal- lant soldier and for years a man of promise and prominence. He was much older than his brother, Robert C., and had already suf- fered the loss of his wife and daughter when the latter was born, and to this young brother he acted as a father and the tender- est memories of him are preserved. He was born in 1833, married in 1856 and died in 1899. He was one of the first captains or conductors on the State or old Portage Rail- road and remained with the company until the line was sold out to the Pennsylvania Railroad and continued until 1861. The opening of the Civil War found him ready to face its issues and he went to the front as captain of a company in the 3rd Pa. Vol. Inf. After the close of this nine-month en- listment he came back home and helped to organize the 84th Pa. Vol. Inf. and went out with that regiment with the rank of major. He was subsequently incapacitated by typhoid fever and was honorably dis- charged for disability. During the re- mainder of his life he followed civil engi- neering. It is said of him that few men pos- sessed so remarkable a memory as he. That he was also careful and painstaking is shown by a diary he kept for over thirty years, covering all the important local events during that time, and it was written with such accuracy that it could be safely

consulted to prove many transactions of those days. This diary is carefully pre- served by Robert C. Irvine, who gratefully acknowledges the debt he owes to Major Irvine, not only for his fatherly as well as brotherly interest but also for the manly and inspiring example he set. Major Irvine was county surveyor for many years and laid out numerous highways through this section.

Lloyd Irvine, the second older brother of Robert C., served also in the Civil War and at its close was in the commissary depart- ment of the 125th Pa. Vol. Inf. He then went to Cumberland County, Pa., and died in 1904, aged sixty-five years. Alfred C. Irvine, the third son, served also in the Civil War and was a private in the 125th Pa. Vol. Inf. After he returned home he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and for many years was a con- ductor and for twenty-two years was sta- tion master at Washington, D. C., resigning that position to accept that of postmaster of Station D, in that city, which office he was holding at the time of his death, in 1907. William Irvine, who is now living retired, was station master at Altoona for thirty-two years. John, who was also in the railroad service, was a passenger con- ductor for many years and died in 1882. Adaline, who is now deceased, was the wife of Alexander Irvine. Hannah is the widow of D. G. Owens, of Tyrone, Pa. Emma is the wife of T. L. Armstrong, of Altoona. Westanna died in 1882. Margaret, the youngest of the family, is the wife of Daniel Higgins, of Williamsburg, Pa.

Robert C. Irvine was reared at Duncans- ville and attended school there, after which he entered the employ of his brother-in-law, T. J. Armstrong, who was a general mer- chant at Altoona. This was his first work, with the exception of the duties he had been able to perform at different times for his brother, Major Irvine, who frequently per- mitted him to accompany him on his sur- veying trips. Mr. Irvine remained with Mr.

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Armstrong from 1874 until 1878 and then spent three years as a clerk for the Empire Oil Company, after which he went into the machine shops of the Pennsylvania Rail- road, where he continued until 1884. He then returned to Mr. Armstrong's store for three years more and in 1887 he embarked in the retail coal business at Duncansville and continued in that line until 1894, when he started into his present business and two years later came to Hollidaysburg. He is a stockholder in the Citizens' National Bank of this city, of which he was one of the organizers.

On October 4, 1892, Mr. Irvine was mar- ried to Miss Anna A. Ditting, a daughter of the late William Ditting, of Hollidaysburg. They are members of the Lutheran church. In politics he is identified with the Republi- can party but is not unduly active in public affairs, taking a larger amount of interest in business life.

JAMES H. DYSART, deceased, in former years one of Altoona's foremost citizens, a successful merchant and a man of high moral and philanthropic aims, was born in Hunting- don \County, Pa., January 7, 1832, son of Joseph and Mary Ann Dysart. He was edu- cated at Millwood Academy and at Jefferson College, Canonsburg. Physically frail, as the result of a fall in childhood, he was intended for a profession, but on arriving at manhood his own personal inclinations led him to seek other channels of occupation. However, he followed the profession of teacher to some ex- tent.

Mr. Dysart was married March 25, 1856, to Miss Martha A. Beyer, a daughter of Aaron and Lydia Beyer, of Blair County, and having been appointed ticket and freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at Altoona, he immediately took up his residence in this city. After holding the above men- tioned position, the duties of which he per- formed with energy and ability, for eight years, he resigned it in 1864 to enter into bus- iness for himself as coal miner and shipper, in

association with William C. Keller purchasing the business of Cooper & Co. at Lilly's Station, Cambria County, Pa. Five years later Mr. Daniel Laughman succeeded Mr. Keller as a member of the firm and with him Mr. Dysart continued the business for twelve years.

Mr. Dysart was blessed with a cheerful, op- timistic nature, backed by courage and deter- mination, and although he suffered many bus- iness reverses, he never allowed himself to be discouraged, but after every loss, renewed the fight with increased vigor and in the end con- quered, a gratifying success which doubtless would have been still more complete had he been spared to reach more advanced years. In the fall of 1879, however, he was seized with the illness that terminated his life, and after some months of suffering he passed peacefully away on March 21, 1881. His chief regret at being called away so soon- next to that at parting with his beloved wife- was that he was thus prevented from carrying . out in full measure the plans he had formed for the promotion of the public good and in the interests of philanthropy. Much, however, had been accomplished by him in this direction -to such an extent that he was universally regarded in the community as an unselfish public benefactor, and it was a common saying among the citizens that "there was only one Dysart." A strong light is thrown on the moral and religious side of his character in an obituary published in the Presbyterian on the occasion of his death, which we here quote:

"In the death of Mr. Dysart our city loses one of its best known, most respected, and valuable citizens, one whose public and private life was above either reproach or suspicion; a man of decided and positive convictions upon all important and vital questions, fearless in his defense of right, untiring and uncompro- mising in his warfare against that which he believed to be wrong, he was the faithful and generous friend of every honest poor man. His great heart was tender and loving, easily touched by and prompt to respond to the wants and sorrows of others. None ever appealed to him in vain when it was within his

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HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

power to help, and, like Job, 'the cause which he knew not he searched out.' Without the semblance of pride or ostentation, he con- stantly scattered blessings in the pathway of many. Like his blessed Master, he 'went about doing good.' But the crowning glory of this good man's character lay in his devotion to Christ and his church. Twenty-two years of his life were spent in earnest Christian service. He united with the First Presbyterian Church of Altoona in 1859. In 1862 he was elected and ordained a ruling elder. In the organiza- tion of the Second Church of Altoona, Mr. Dysart felt it to be his duty to give his time and means to the new enterprise. How faith- fully he labored, and how generously he re- sponded to every call for help in any and every way, is well known to the more than seven hundred members gathered into that church during the period of his connection with it, many of whom trace their connection, under God, to his direct and personal effort in their behalf. He continued a member of that church and of the session from the time of its organization till within a few weeks of his death, when he withdrew and again connected himself with the First Church."

The above is a well deserved tribute to Mr. Dysart's character. Mrs. Dysart still survives her husband and is among the most highly re- spected residents of Altoona, making her home at No. IIIO Twelfth Avenue. Her parents, who have been already mentioned, were old residents of the county, widely known and es- teemed, and celebrated their Golden Wedding January 12, 1881. Mrs. Dysart is passing her declining years in ease and comfort, and in a quiet, unostentatious manner lends her aid and influence to many a worthy cause.

HUGH WALTER, one of Claysburg's leading business men, a member of the well known mercantile firm of Walter and Walter, belongs to one of the prominent old families of Greenfield Township, Blair County, Pa., where he was born April 6, 1869. His parents were John and Catherine (Musselman) Wal- ter. John Walter was born also in Greenfield

Township and spent his entire life there, his death occurring in 1908. His father was Jacob Walter, and his grandfather was David Walter, who was the founder of the family in this section of Blair County.

Hugh Walter was reared to manhood in Greenfield Township and obtained his educa- tion in the district schools, beginning his bus- iness career when eighteen years of age. He became an employe of a lumber firm and ever since has been more or less interested in the lumber industry. In 1897 he entered into partnership with Calvin Walter, in a general mercantile business at Claysburg, under the firm style of Walter and Walter, which has continued although in 1900 Calvin Walter was succeeded by his son, Kirk Walter. This firm is also identified with both lumbering and manufacturing interests. It operates two saw mills and a manufacturing plant, the product of which is a certain locust pin used in the building of wooden schooners, and also police- men's night sticks, which require the use of locust lumber. This plant has already manu- factured 11,000 of these almost indestructable police clubs and they have been purchased in New York City and at other points. Both members of the firm are excellent financiers and are unusually energetic and enterprising in advancing their business projects.

Mr. Walter married Miss Sadie Brumbaugh, who was born in Bedford County and is a daughter of James Brumbaugh, of Martins- burg, Pa. They have four children : Howard, Russell, Arthur and Anna, the last two being twins. Politically Mr. Walter is a Democrat but his business interests are so engrossing that he has no time to serve in public office even if so inclined.

HOWARD HARPSTER, who is half owner with his brother, Samuel Harpster, of the farm of 270 acres, which they bought from Jacob Clapper, in 1905, and which is situated in Frankstown Township, Blair County, Pa., was born in this township, December 20, 1872. His parents were John and Ellen (Wurtz) Harpster.

BENJAMIN F. BOOKS, M. D.

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John Harpster was a well known farmer in Frankstown Township, where he died in March, 1901. He was a Lutheran in relig- ious faith and was a Republican politically. He married Ellen Wurtz and they had the following children born to them : Elizabeth, who is deceased, was the wife of John Campbell; William; Samuel; Anna, who is the wife of Harvey Thompson; Howard; Melvin; Ola, who is the widow of Oliver Clapper; Ida, who is the wife of Charles Slippey ; and Ella, who is the wife of Albert Fox.

Howard and Samuel Harpster both at- tended the country schools and afterward employed their time productively in differ- ent ways until 1905, when they bought this farm. As Samuel is employed by the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company at Altoona, Howard is the practical farmer. Neither brother has married and their mother and sister reside with them. Both the brothers are members of the Lutheran church and . both of them are identified politically with the Republican party. They are well known and highly regarded all through this section. Samuel Harpster, their grand- father, was one of the earliest settlers in the township and his descendants have been numerous, and as a class, among the best citizenship of Frankstown district.

BENJAMIN F. BOOKS, M. D., physician and surgeon at Altoona, Pa., is in the enjoy- ment of a large and lucrative practice which he has built up through his professional skill during the past nineteen years, having located here in 1889. He was born at Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa., May 14, 1859, and is a son of Solomon and Nancy Katherine (Wright) Books.

The Books family was established in Penn- sylvania by the great-grandfather, Michael Books, a native of France. His fourth son, Henry Books, in early manhood removed from York County to Juniata County, and the farm he purchased on Cocolamus Creek, became the family homestead and there his family of

eleven children were reared. He had married a member of the old Hemperly family, of Dauphin County, Pa. Their youngest son, Solomon Books, became the father of Dr. Books of Altoona.

Solomon Books early left the activities of the farm to his brothers while he learned the cabinetmaking trade. He became a manufac- turer of furniture at Mifflintown, which he transported by boat on the Pennsylvania Canal to different points for sale. In 1861 he was appointed to a position in the mail service, by President Lincoln, and continued until he was injured in a railroad wreck, on September 21, 1864. A year of enforced idleness followed but he had so proved his efficiency and had so complete a knowledge of postal affairs, that in 1865, he having sufficiently recovered by that time, was reinstated in the service and he it was who organized the system and operated the first postal cars in the State of Pennsyl- vania. The tragic death of President Lincoln and the succession of President Johnson, brought about many changes in appointive of- fices and thus Mr. Books, together with other capable and faithful officials, found himself re- tired from the postal service. In 1869, how- ever, President Grant recognized his worth and appointed him postmaster at Mifflintown, where he continued until he was relieved by President Arthur, following the death of Presi- dent Garfield. During all these stormy polit- ical years, Mr. Books remained a stanch sup- porter of the principles of the Republican party. After retiring from public life he went into the wholesale lumber business, and became an extensive handler of railroad ties. In 1855 he married Nancy K. Wright and they had seven children born to them, the third in order of birth being named Benjamin F.

Benjamin F. Books completed the public school course at Mifflintown, after which he prepared for medical college with Dr. D. C. Smith, subsequently spent one year in the Homepathic Medical College at Cleveland, O., and from there entered Hahnemann Medical College at Philadelphia. From this noted in- stitution he was creditably graduated in the

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spring of 1883. For the two following years he was engaged in medical practice at Lewis- ton, Pa. His many years of close application had somewhat undermined his health and he then sought a rest. A sojourn of three years in the bracing climate of Colorado completely restored him and upon his return to the East he located at Altoona. His well appointed of- fices are located in the Altoona Trust Company Building.

WILLIAM HARE, deceased, formerly an extensive farmer and reputable citizen of Catherine Township, Blair County, Pa., was born in Mifflin County, Pa., where he strug- gled through a parentless boyhood and de- veloped himself into a man who won the respect and regard of those with whom his lot in life was cast.

Dependent entirely upon his own efforts, William Hare secured but a meager book education, his knowledge coming through that often hard task-master, Experience. Some way he struggled through the years until he was old enough to be accepted as an apprentice and chose the tailor's trade. Later he opened his own tailoring shop in the village of Mill Creek, Blair County, and carried on business there until 1850 and with such success that by that time he had accumulated the means with which to pur- chase a farm of goodly proportions in Catherine Township, Blair County. There he quietly followed an agricultural life until the peaceful ending of his days, his death occurring October 15, 1881. He was well known and much esteemed. From the age of twenty years he had been a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. He mar- ried Matilda Goodman, a native of Lancas- ter County and a woman of admirable qual- ities, who survived him but two years. Their descendants are people of high stand- ing, one son, Adam L., the seventh in a family of eight children, being sheriff of Blair County. The other children of Will- iam and Matilda Hare were the following: Sarah, deceased, who was the wife of John

Aurandt; Alice, who is the wife of John Bosoler; Caroline, who is the wife of John Roe; John T .; Samuel L .; William, who is deceased, and David, who is also deceased.

REV. JOHN B. MILLER, minister in the Church of the Brethren and residing at Cur- ryville, Pa., is one of the best known and most esteemed citizens at North Woodbury Town- ship, Blair County. He was born August 2, 1856, in Bedford County, Pa., a son of David T. and Susan (Bowser) Miller, both natives of Bedford County, and a grandson of Martin Miller, who was an early settler in South Woodbury Township, Bedford County.

John B. Miller attended the public schools of South Woodbury Township in his boyhood and as he early displayed musical talent, was given advantages in that line, becoming a pupil of Prof. Everett, who was considered an efficient and capable teacher in his day. Mr. Miller then entered the educational field as a teacher of music and in this relation became well and favorably known all through Bed- ford County. Later he entered Juniata Col- lege, Huntingdon County, where he took the regular Bible course of nearly three years, and in 1888 began his work in the ministry, in which he has been signally blessed. He is asso- ciated with the Morrison's Cove Ministerial Association and is the regular pastor of the Curryville Church of the Brethren, and addi- tionally has been engaged in evangelistic work for thirteen years. He owns a fine farm of seventy acres, situated in Middle Woodbury Township, Bedford County, on which he lived for twenty-one years, engaged during that time in farming and stock raising, making specialties of high grade cattle and sheep.

Mr. Miller married Miss Annie K. Brown, a daughter of the late Abraham S. Brown, of Bedford County, and four children were born to them, namely : Dessa M., who is the wife of Howard Simmons, of Everett, Pa .; Abraham B., who is a graduate of Juniata College, is a teacher in the Altoona High School; and Ruth P. and Kenton R., who live at home. The elder daughter, Mrs. Simmons, inherits her

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father's musical talents and is a graduate of the musical department of Juniata College.

In his views on public questions, Rev. Miller is in such sympathy with temperance move- ments that he naturally is identified with the Prohibition party. For seventeen years he has been a member of the Home Mission Board, affiliated with the Church of the Brethren, and has served as treasurer of this body. He is also a trustee of the Morrison's Cove Home for the Aged, located near Martinsburg. He is one of the busy, useful and influential mem- bers of his church body and his advice and co- operation are sought in the various enterprises carried on by this organization.

ELI B. HOOVER, proprietor of the Piney Creek Mill, situated on Piney Creek, in Hus- ton Township, Blair County, Pa., is also the owner of a valuable farm of seventy acres and his combined industries make of him a very busy man. Mr. Hoover was born near Wood- bury, in Bedford County, Pa., November II, 1873, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Baker) Hoover, both of whom spent their entire lives in Bedford County.

Eli B. Hoover was reared in his native county and attended school at Woodbury, after which he assisted his father on the home farm and also in a saw mill that then he operated. Mr. Hoover remained in Bedford County un- til 1897, when he moved into Taylor Town- ship, Blair County, where he followed farm- ing for a time and continued in that line for several years after removing to Ore Hill. In the spring of 1908 he acquired his present property in Huston Township, and since then has operated both mill and farm. His mill is so constructed that the same machinery, which is operated both by water power and steam, can be utilized for a saw mill, a chop mill and a cider mill, and his custom comes from a wide surrounding territory.

On March 14, 1897, Mr. Hoover was mar- ried in Bedford County, to Miss Lizzie Guyer, a daughter of Jacob and Esther Guyer, who lived near Loysburg, and five children have been born to them: Mabel G., Esther E.,

Frederick, Grace and J. Aaron. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover are members of the Church of the Brethren, at Martinsburg. In politics he is a Republican but never has been willing to serve in any public office except that of school director in Taylor Township, in which he proved capable and valuable.

CHARLES B. DUDLEY, deceased, who formerly was chief chemist for the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, was one of Altoona's hon- ored and valued citizens. His scientific reputation reached other lands and from foreign countries as well as from his own he received testimonials as to his efficiency as testing engineer. He was also a veteran of the great Civil War. He was born July 14, 1842, at Oxford, Chenango County, N. Y., of New Hampshire and Connecticut parentage.

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Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 76

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