Twentieth century history of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 74

Author: Swoope, Roland D. (Roland Davis), 1885-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Twentieth century history of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens > Part 74

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In politics Mr. Passmore is a Democrat and being a man of high standing in his neighborhood, has frequently been elected to local offices and has served acceptably as school director, treasurer, assessor and road supervisor.

JONATHAN SHAFER, who has lived in Clearfield county since 1848, and owns

an excellent farm of forty-nine acres, in Brady township, was born November 22, 1837, in Lebanon county, Pa., and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Heinzerling) Shafer.

Jacob Shafer was born in Dauphin county, Pa. His ancestors took part in the Revolu- tionary War. He came to Lebanon county as a young man and married a lady who was born in Philadelphia. In 1838 they moved to Center county and in 1848 to Clearfield county, making the journey in wagons as at that time there were no rail- roads through this section. Mr. Shafer lo- cated four miles south of Luthersburg and the first twig ever cut on the land was by Jonathan Shafer, when a boy of eleven years. Jacob Shafer cleared this farm with the assistance of his sons and later sold the place to his son Jonathan and moved back to Center county, where he died at the age of seventy-five years. His widow survived him, her death taking place at the age of eighty-four years, at the home of her son, Jonathan. Eight children were born to Jacob Shafer and his wife, namely: Susan, who is deceased, was the wife of D. S. Mc- Cracken, also deceased; Solomon, who is deceased; Jacob, who is deceased; Lydia, who is the widow of Hiram Passmore; Joseph; Jonathan; John H .: Samuel; and Rebecca, who is the wife of William Snyder.

Jonathan Shafer had but meager school opportunities in his youth, the log school- house being distant from his home. When he was twenty-one years old he learned the carpenter trade, with William Fitzpatrick in Illinois, with whom he remained for two and one-half years and later worked for a number of years as carpenter and contrac-

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tor at DuBois, following the fire at that place. After buying his father's farm he kept it for five years and then sold and moved to Salem, where he purchased a house and an acre of land and lived there for five years. In 1870 he bought the Johnson farm of 103 acres, near Luthers- burg, and put up new buildings and lived there until he bought his present farm in 1897, selling the former one. Mr. Shafer has always been considered a good and worthy citizen, having ever shown public spirit and commendable interest in all that pertains to his section. He has served as school director for the past fifteen years and has held other township offices.

Mr. Shafer was married August 18, 1864, to Miss Mary E. Horn, who was born in Brady township, a daughter of Daniel and Nancy ( Michaels) Horn, natives of Chest township. They have had eleven children, all of whom survive, a large and united family. Elora Jane is the wife of G. B. Wachob. Alva Anson married Inez Bris- bain. Reuben C. married Zoe Clover. Mag- gie R. married Dr. Marsh Hay. George W. married Ida Swope. Ada C. married Joseph P. Nollen. Harvey Q. married Mell Clover. David L. married Alta Lines. Emma May married Charles Moose. Jonathan E. mar- ried Iva Pence. Lena M. married Levi Draucker. Mr. Shafer and family are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the Grange and for ten years has belonged to the order of Amer- ican Mechanics. In his views on public questions he is independent but casts his vote with the Prohibitionists.

brewers and bottlers of beer and porter, and manufacturers of hygienic ice, is also the owner of a fine farm of 120 acres in Lawrence town- ship, and has been a resident of Clearfield Coun- ty, Pa., since 1896. He was born October 22, 1857, in Germany and is a son of Frank and Philomena (Gutberled) Roessner, both of whom were born and died in Germany. Frank and Philomena Roessner were the parents of nineteen children, six of whom were twins, and but four of whom came to America; Joseph William, our subject was the youngest of the nineteen ; Charles; Herman, and Maria, who is the wife of Joseph Och of Pittsburg. The three boys all live in Clearfield County, Pa.

Joseph William Roessner grew to maturity in Germany, and was educated in the Catholic schools of that country. He became a dyer by trade and also engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1882, when he emigrated to America. He first located in Red Wing, Minn., where he worked one year on a farm, then came to Pittsburg, Pa., and worked fourteen years for the Adams Express Company, where he worked his way up to assistant agent. In 1896, Mr. Roessner resigned his position with the Express Company, and came to Clearfield, Pa., where he and his brother Charles rented a brewery from Mrs. Ries. They subsequently bought the plant, which at that time was a small one with an output of ten barrels per day, and in 1903 our subject bought his brother's interest in the business, and has since then added a new stock house, cellars, and bottling house. He also built an ice plant with a capacity of twenty ton per day, and his son Edward J. Roessner is chief engineer of the plant. In addition to his brewery Mr. Roessner is the owner of a fine farm of 120 acres in Lawrence township, and is a stockholder in the Second National Bank

JOSEPH WILLIAM ROESSNER, pro- prietor of the Clearfield Brewing Company, of Clearfield. Mr. Roessner is fraternally a

JOSEPH W. ROESSNER

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member of the B. P. O. E .; F. O. E .; Moose; Red Men; and C. M. P. A.

On April 24, 1883, Mr. Roessner married Theressa Krug, who crossed to this country on the same boat on which our subject came, and of their union have been born nine children: Edward Joseph, married Mary Farrell, and has one son, Edward J., Jr; Theressa ( Mrs. Got- fred P. Johnson) has two children, Earl and Joseph; Frank, is a student at the Carnegie School of Technology; Anna; Catherine; Jo- seph W .; Leo George; and two who died young. The religious connection of the family is with the Catholic Church.

CHARLES C. ADDLEMAN, who car- ries on general farming in Pike township, where he has 125 acres, 100 of which is un- der cultivation, belongs to one of the old county families, his grandfather, William Addleman, coming to Clearfield in 1849. He was born on what is known as the Ir- win farm, near Curwensville, Clearfield county, January 1, 1872, and is a son of G. Lloyd and Annie (Cleaver) Addleman, who are residents of Curwensville, where they have lived since the fall of 1902.

Charles C. Addleman obtained his edu- cation at the Oakland school in Pike town- ship, and in the Curwensville public schools, and then began to assist his father on the home farm, to which his parents had moved in his infancy. Since his father retired he has had entire charge. About twenty-five acres of the place is still in valuable timber, and four acres are devoted to gardening, Curwensville offering a ready market for all over production on the farm. Mr. Ad- dleman has no coal bank open, but in all probability a workable vein might be found

as much property in this section has been underlaid with this valuable deposit.

Mr. Addleman was married May 3, 1893, to Miss Alverta Norris, who was born at Clearfield, Pa., June 8, 1875, and is a daugh- ter of Clark and Sarah (Wall) Norris, of Clearfield. Mr. and Mrs. Addleman have two sons, George L. and Charles Wayne, both of whom are bright students in the public schools of Pike township. In poli- tics Mr. Addleman is a Republican and he has frequently served in township offices, formerly as a school director for three years, also as road master and as super- visor, and has been chosen with other re- sponsible citizens to serve on the election board. Both he and his wife are active members of the Union church. He is iden- tified with the Odd Fellows lodge at Cur- wensville.

JAMES B. STAUFFER, who is prosper- ously engaged in the lumber business at Burn- side, this county, was born in this place, No- vember 26, 1869, a son of John and Anna (Smith) Stauffer. His paternal grandfather was John H. Stauffer, who was born at Lan- caster, Pa., and subsequently removed to York county, whence he came in 1849 to Clear- field, settling near Burnside. He was a broom maker by trade but also followed farming. He died in Franklin county, Pa., in 1876, at the age of 65 years. His wife, whose maiden name was Susan Troyer, was born in Adams county in 1801; she died in 1892. Of their children there are now living, John, the father of our subject; Susan, who married Andrew Anderson, is now deceased.

John Stauffer, who was engaged in farming or farm work up to the age of 18, enlisted in

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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY -

1864 from Harrisburg, Pa., in an independent company, but later became a member of the First W. Va. Cavalry and his regiment forming a part of the Army of the Western Potomac, he took part during the 120 days of his ser- vice in a number of skirmishes. Mustered out March 30th of that year, he took up his resi- dence at Lewisberry, Pa., where he engaged in agriculture, but a year later came to Burnside township, Clearfield county, where he followed teaming and lumbering until 1908. For twelve years he was engaged in conveying merchan- dise by team from Indiana, Pa. to Burnside, and later from Curwensville for ten years. He then retired from active industrial life. He is a Republican and is now serving his second term as assessor of the borough of Burnside, having also served on the school board and as super- visor. He was married July 29, 1867, to Anna Smith, who was born March, 1849, in Burnside township. Her father, David F. Smith, came from Ireland as a boy with his parents, William and Nellie ( Dean) Smith, they settling in Clearfield county. Of the four- teen children of John and Anna (Smith) Stauffer, five are now deceased and nine living. The latter are: James B., whose name appears at the head of this sketch; Gertrude, who is the widow of John Tawzer and resides with our subject ; Abram T., who married Emma Bloom and resides in Cambria county (has two children) ; Beulah, wife of A. Null and the mother of four children: Horace, who re- sides at Heilwood, Pa., is married and has three children: Elizabeth, the wife of A. Armstrong, of Jefferson county, who has one child ; Mack, who married Effie Strickland and has one child; Paul, who married Rebecca Adams and resides in Clearfield, Pa .; Willie, residing at home (and one grandson, Robert).

James B. Stauffer after his school days were over found employment in the woods, cutting timber. He also for several years followed the trade of shoemaking and was otherwise variously employed. He remained at home until twenty-six years old, when he married and located in Burnside, following teaming here for several years, subsequent to which he was in the employ of John H. Patchin for about twelve years. About this time he formed a partnership with Carl Patchin in the lumber business, which has since continued. Mr. Stauffer was bookkeeper and general manager for John H. Patchin and has a thorough knowledge of the lumber business both in the inside and outside departments. He has been successful in his present connection and is now one of the substantial and prosperous citizens of his township. When a boy of sixteen he carried the mail between Burnside and Cur- wensville and the habits of industry he thus acquired so early have remained with him and have had much to do with his advancement in life. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge, No. 679, at Burnside, and of the Red Men's lodge at Glen Campbell, Pa. He also belongs to the Encampment, I. O. O. F. A Repub- lican politically, he is at present serving on the school board of the borough and has also served two terms in the council.

Mr. Stauffer was married June 7, 1895, to Minnie Thompson, who was born in Burnside township, this county, February 19, 1875, daughter of Alexander and Hannah (Fulton) Thompson. Her father, who died in 1902 at the age of sixty-one years, was a lumberman and farmer of Burnside township. Her grandfather. Ebenezer Thompson, who was a shoemaker, was one of the early settlers at Patchinville. He married Julia Crispen. Mrs.

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Stauffer's parents were married in 1862, her ship after his parents had come from Lancas- mother being then twenty years of age. The ter county and settled in this section. At that time there were no public schools and the chil- dren obtained their educational training, such as it was, in the subscription schools. Wilson McClure remained on the home farm and at one time owned 256 acres of land in Pike township, of which, with the help of his sons, he cleared eighty acres. He married Mary Caldwell, a daughter of Matthew Caldwell of Pike township and they had the following children: Margaret, who became the wife of Daniel Star, of Curwensville; Porter, who married Maria Tate, lives at Curwensville ; Mary Jane, who is the widow of John L. Rex; Samuel T., who was killed on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, in the Civil war, be- ing a member of Co. B, 149th Pa. Vol. Inf., the famous Bucktail regiment; Marian, who resides in Pike township; John R .; Sarah El- len, who is the wife of Foster Williams, of Iowa; Winfield S., who died in Oklahoma, un- married; and an infant son, deceased. The old homestead is owned jointly by John R. and Marian McClure. The parents died here, the father on December 1, 1851, and the mother on March 18, 1898, and they were buried in the old McClure cemetery. They were mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. In politics, Wilson McClure was a Whig. latter was the daughter of Simon Fulton and a granddaughter of David H. Fulton, of Frankstown, Blair county, Pa. The latter after learning the tailor's trade in Philadelphia, set- tled in Burnside borough and later near the Squire Smith home in Clearfield county where he followed his trade and also devoted a part of his time to agriculture. He married Eliza- beth Rorabaugh. Simon Fulton was born in Center county and afterwards followed farm- ing on the parental homestead in Clearfield county. He married Elizabeth Young, daugh- ter of Henry and Hannah (Saylor) Young, and she died in 1854. Mrs. Stauffer was the sixth born in a family of thirteen children. She died February 7, 1911, deeply regretted by her family and a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. She was an active member of and worker in the Pentecostal church and an earnest Christian woman. Kind and generous of disposition, she was a helpful neighbor and it will be long ere her memory shall pass away. To our subject and wife were born the follow- ing children: Ruth Alice, born July 11, 1896, who is now attending the Burnside high school; Lura Imagene, born April 16, 1898; John A., born December 31, 1899; and George F., born April 13, 1903.

JOHN R. McCLURE, one of Pike town- ship's most respected citizens, who is a farmer and stock raiser and owns 140 acres of excel- lent land, situated .three miles southwest of Curwensville, Pa., was born in Pike township, Clearfield county, Pa., August 21, 1841, and is a son of Wilson and a grandson of Thomas McClure.

Wilson McClure was born in Pike town-

John R. McClure and his brothers and sis- ters obtained their early education at the old Oakland school-house, since when Mr. Mc- Clure has been engaged in agricultural pur- suits and has also followed lumbering. He has always lived on this farm with the excep- tion of a short time spent in Penn township. and has erected all the substantial farm build- ings now standing on the place. All his land is well cultivated except seventy-five acres still

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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY

in woodland and pasturage, Mr. McClure hav- ing some fine Guernsey cattle of high grade.

Mr. McClure was married June 10, 1875, to Miss Hannah E. Johnson, who was born in Union township, Clearfield county, Pa., Octo- ber 5, 1845, a daughter of Elah and Elizabetlı (Horn) Johnson. Elah Johnson was born in Penn township, a son of Samuel Johnson, one of the early pioneers of Clearfield county. Elalı Johnson was a millwright by trade and later became a farmer and owned 160 acres of land in Greenwood township that is now the prop- erty of Lewis Johnson. He was a prominent Democrat and at one time was a county com- missioner in Clearfield county. His death oc- curred in Greenwood township, June 21, 1888, and his burial was in the Friends' cemetery, at Grampian, of which church he was a member. He was married first to Elizabeth Horn, who was born in Chester county, Pa., and died in December, 1848, and was buried at Grampian. She was a member of the Society of Friends. Of the four children born to that marriage, Mrs. McClure is the only survivor. Her father was married second to Hannah Troy, who was born in Brady township, a daughter of Sam- uel and Katherine Troy, and eight of the eleven children born to the second marriage are still living.

Mr. and Mrs. McClure have eight children, as follows: Melissa Belle, who married Dr. Woodside, of Lumber City, and they have two sons, Wendell and Hobart Keith; Samuel T., who resides at Grampian, married Eulala Fink, a daughter of Elmer Fink, of Clearfield county ; Elah Wilson, who married Mary Mur- phy, resides at Lumber City and they have four children-Richard, Paul, Winfield and John; Clair, who resides at home: Cora Alice, there for three years, moving then to Clear- who is the wife of Roy Caldwell, of Gram-

pian, and they had one child-Merl Blair, who is now deceased; H. C., who resides at Wood- land, Pa., married Clella Iddings; Thomas Rex, who lives near Blue Ball, on Morgan Run, married Mabel Kline; and Grace, who resides at home. Mr. McClure and family at- tend the Friends' church. He is identified with Susquehanna Grange and enjoys meeting other farmers and discussing questions of in- terest to agriculturists. Although a stanch Democrat and at all times intelligently inter- ested in township affairs, he has never con- sented to accept any public office

· PERRY W. DRAUCKER, whose valua- ble farm of 100 acres is situated in Brady township, about two and one-half miles east of Luthersburg, owns also a one-half interest in 250 acres of timber land, lying in Union township. He was born on his Brady town- ship farm, April 5, 1849, and is a son of Isaac and Mary (Bloom) Draucker, the youngest son and the next youngest child born in a fam- ily of fifteen children.

Perry W. Draucker spent his boyhood on the home farm and assisted his father to clear it. In early manhood he learned the harness making trade, working for two years under Levi Flegal, at Luthersburg, and later worked at this trade in Clarion county. After his mar- riage he bought the home farm and also the hotel which had been established by his father on the stage route and had been operated by his mother after the death of the father. Mr. Draucker conducted the hotel, under license, until 1894 when he moved to DuBois, where he took charge of the old DuBois House, on the east side of the borough, and continued field, where he operated what was then known

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as the Manton House but has been conducted home, and Frank is in a railroad office at Du- as the Hotel Dimeling, for six years. When Bois. In politics Mr. Draucker is a Demo- crat. He is a member of a number of the leading fraternal organizations, including : the Odd Fellows, at DuBois; the Elks at DuBois; the Knights of Pythias at New Salem, and the Red Men at Clearfield. He is one of the well known representative and substantial men of Brady township. he gave up that hostelry he took charge of the Windsor Hotel, at Clearfield, and remained in the hotel business three years more and then returned to the farm. This is valuable land botlı as to productiveness in the way of agri- culture and also on account of a vein of coal underlying. In 1884 Mr. Draucker sustained the loss of his building from fire, but he at once rebuilt and his handsome residence is one of the finest in the township, containing four- teen rooms, heated by a modern furnace and equipped with a cold and hot water system.

On August 11, 1870, Mr. Draucker was married to Miss Margaret Clark, a daughter of William and Jane ( Rafferty) Clark. The father and mother of Mrs. Draucker were both born in Ireland and he was twenty and she fifteen years of age when they came to Amer- ica. They lived at Grampian, Pa., for many years, where the father died in 1857 aged forty-nine years and the mother in 1893, aged seventy-seven years. Margar- Clark was the second born in her parents' family, the others being: James B., John, Edward, William, Joseph, Sarah Jane, Mary A. and Thomas Augustus. John and Edward are deceased. Saralı Jane is the wife of George Erick and Mary A. is the wife of Harry Yost.

Mr. and Mrs. Draucker have had four chil- dren : Maude, Mary, Blanche and Frank. Maude married Austin Kirk, who is deceased and is survived by five children: Vivian, Draucker and Blanche, twins, Joseph and Margaret B. Mrs. Kirk lives at DuBois. Mary, who is now deceased, married Joseph Smiley, also de- ceased, and they are survived by two children, Helen Dorothy and Lois, both of whom live with their grandparents. Blanche lives at

ZACHARIAH M. BLOOM, who resides on the farm of seventy-five acres, situated in Pike township, on which he was born, March 16, 1843, is one of the well known and repre- sentative men of this section and a member of one of the oldest and most substantial fan- ilies. He is a son of William Bloom and a grandson of Peter Bloom, both of whom were born in Pike township.

Peter Bloom was born on a farm two miles south of Curwensville, Pa., and there he car- ried on farming, and weaving in later years. He married Mary King and they had eight children born to them to whom they gave the following names: John, William, Rebecca, Martha, Margaret, Matilda, Archer and Jos- eplı.

William Bloom, the second born of the above family and the father of Zachariah M. Bloom, was born September 18, 1811. He learned the carpenter trade, which he followed until his marriage, when he settled on the farm now owned by his son, Zachariah M., which then included but twenty-five acres, only six acres having yet been cleared. He erected a log house with dimensions of 16 x 16 feet, back of the present residence, and devoted his time to farming and lumbering. He was a quiet, industrious man and enjoyed the kind friendship of his neighbors, with whom he

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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY

willingly combined to advance the general in- terests of the neighborhood. For many years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His death occurred March 16, 1865, and his burial was in Center church cemetery, Lawrence township, Clearfield county. He married Susanna Passmore, who died Sep- tember 27, 1878, a daughter of Abraham Passmore, of Pike township. A large family was born to this marriage, the eldest and the youngest five dying in infancy. The others were: Mary Ann, David, Zachariah M., Nancy, John R., Hannah and Bishop. Mary Ann, who died in Pike township, was married first to Thomas J. Dunlap and they moved into Goshen and later into Lawrence township. Four children were born to the first marriage : Frank, Alfred, Elvira and Lunsdon. Mary Ann was married second to Andrew N. Marks and they had five children : Ada, Lillie, Della, Ella and Jemima. David Bloom was a mar- tyr of the Civil war. He was a member of Co. B, 149th Pa. Vol. Inf., under the command of Col. John Irwin. He was captured by the enemy at the battle of the Wilderness and was incarcerated in Danville prison. He was res- cued by the Union army but died at Wilming- ton, N. C., April 4, 1865. Nancy and Han- nah, of the above family, are both deceased. John R. Bloom lives in Pike township, while Bishop Bloom resides at Curwensville.

Zachariah M. Bloom attended the Welsh school when he was a boy but after he was six- teen years of age he worked on the farm dur- ing the summers and at lumbering in the win- ters. He was married in 1870 and then set- tled on a farm in Pike township, near the one he now occupies, moving then to Lawrence township, where he lived for two years, when he returned to the log house on his former member of Troop C. First U. S. Cav., now

farm and resided there until November, 1881, when he came to the homestead. He has added land and has erected a new barn and built an addition to the house. His land is all cleared with the exception of six acres in valuable tim- ber. During the closing year of the Civil war he enlisted in Co. D, 76th Pa. Vol. Inf., and served until the end, some five months. He escaped the misfortunes of his older brother and came home practically unharmed. For- merly he belonged to the G. A. R. post at Clearfield. Politically he is a Democrat and has frequently been tendered public offices and has served one term on the school board and two terms as road supervisor.

Mr. Bloom was married April 3, 1870, to Miss Charlotte Marshall, a daughter of Henry and Mary Ann Marshall. Mrs. Bloom was born in Germany, May 19, 1845. To Mr. and Mrs. Bloom, twelve children have been born, namely: Mary, who is the wife of Archer Dunlap, of Blair county ; Orrie, who married WV. S. Carr, and they have nine children- Winfield, William, Blair, Melvin, Phillip, Eliz- abeth, Edith, John and Edna; Elva, who mar- ried E. R. Peters, of Woodland, Pa., and they have nine children-Hayes, Lucien, Charlotte, Emma, Carl, Rex, Archie, Theodore and Roy; Emma who is the widow of John H. Lewis, resides at Altoona and has three children- Helen, Nora and James; Nellie, who married James Wingert, of Pike township; Charles, who is deceased; Jennie, who married David Hull, and they have six children-Robert, Mabel, Martha, Helen, Trudy and Bruce ; Edith, who is the wife of Ernest A. Horn, of Pike township; Charlotte, who lives with her parents ; Pansy, who is a stenographer with a Pittsburg business house ; Thomas J., who is a

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Twentieth century history of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 74

Author: Swoope, Roland D. (Roland Davis), 1885- Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Swoope, Roland D. (Roland Davis), 1885-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 1040