USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Twentieth century history of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens > Part 82
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Samuel Lee grew to manhood on his father's farm and attended the country schools. When the Civil War opened he was eager to enter the army and made two attempts before he was accepted, his age and size at first preventing. On August 7, 1862, however, he succeeded in enlisting in Co. A, I4Ist Pa. Vol. Inf., under Capt. George W. Jackson, and soon proved that a boy of seventeen years could be as brave and patriotic as a more mature individual. He participated in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spottsylvania Court House during his service of two years and seven months. At the battle of Chan- cellorsville he was wounded by a shell and at Spottsylvania was carried off the field, May II, 1864, as one of the dead. He revived at the hospital but was retained there until February 25, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. He returned to Bradford County, from which he moved to Clearfield County in November, 1867, locating on his present farm, and at first he and F. H. Brown worked the land together, but later divided. Mr. Lee cleared up his land and put up all the substantial structures now standing. For a number of years Mr. Lee has been a minister in the Free Methodist church.
He was ordained a minister on October 5, 1891. by Bishop Hart, of New Castle, Pa.
Mr. Lee was married May 18, 1868, to Miss Avilda A. Brown, a daughter of F. H. and Loraina ( Hewett) Brown, of Huston Town- ship. They have four children, namely : Min- nie is the wife of H. D. Singer, of Huston Township, and they have the following chil- dren-Leonard Ray, George L., Nellie May, Albert B., Hazel, Ralph, Raymond H., Lena M., Alta, Wilmer and Bird; F. Burton, who is a resident of Huston Township, married Margaret Davis and they have one child, Cray- ton W .: Emma is the wife of Charles Mitchell, of Potter County, Pa., and they have the fol- lowing children-Elmer, Jennie E., Eleanor M., Louis S., Arley H., Gertrude E. and Ruby ; Louis remains at home to assist his father. Mr. Lee served three years on the township school board. He is a man of temperance and is identified with the Prohibition party.
JOHN S. HOLDEN, a successful agricult- urist and representative citizen of Pike Town- ship, residing on his farm of 120 acres which lies one mile northeast of Curwensville, was born in Clinton County, Pa., July 6, 1835. His parents were William and Ellen (Johnson) Holden.
William Holden was born in England, where he secured his education, and although but sev- enteen years of age when he came to America, had already been employed by a large estab- lishment as a bookkeeper. He reached Lock Haven, Pa., in 1786, and was engaged by Judge Fleming as a scrivener, and afterward was a merchant near that town and later en- gaged in farming. He moved from Clinton to Elk County and from there to Clearfield County, settling on the farm now owned by
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Charles Addleman, afterward living on the farm now owned by the Thompsons. He had acquired a large amount of land, some 400 acres, and was considered one of the mmen of fortune in his day. During his last years he was somewhat incapacitated, being accidentally crippled, but he survived to be eighty-two years of age, during the larger portion of his life having been a typical Englishman, stout and hearty. He opened one coal bank in Pike Township and in other ways was very pro- gressive and enterprising. At first a Whig in politics, he later became a Republican. The only offices he would accept were those of school director and membership on the election board. He married Ellen Johnson, who was also a native of England, and they had six children born to them in Clinton County and one in Clearfield County, namely : Algernon, who died in Clearfield County at the age of eighty- three years, married Susanna Bloom; Johnson, who resided near Curwensville at the time of death; William, who died during the Civil War, was a member of the 149th Pa. Vol. Inf. ; John S .: Catherine, who resides near Curwensville ; Margaret, who is deceased; and Alexander. who was a hardware merchant at Coalport at the time of death. The mother died at the age of eighty-eight years and both she and the fa- ther were buried at Oak Hill Cemetery. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
John S. Holden went to school through boy- hood, attending sessions held in what was known as the Holden school-house, his father having donated the building for school pur- poses, for a period of twenty-one years. After- ward he engaged in farming, his first purchase of land being the old McClure farm of 140 acres, situated in Pike Township. He lived
there for some years and then came to his pres- ent farm, which is one of great production, averaging 700 bushels of grain a year. He has sold the coal, not wishing to develop it him- self, and has some thirty acres of the land in valuable timber.
Mr. Holden was married in 1867 to Miss Jane Hile, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of William and Ellen Hile, and died in July, 1903. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, an excellent woman in every relation of life. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Holden: Horace, who re- sides at Lewisburg, Pa., married Mary Shaffer and they have four children-Cleo, Alexander, Catherine and Freda ; Carrie, who is the widow of David Snyder, resides at Curwensville and has three children-Esther, Cora and Marion; Laurence, who resides in Clearfield, married a Miss Hiles and they have had five children- John, Maria, Catherine, Louisa and Robert, deceased; Ellen, who is the wife of Harry Smeal, of DuBois, has one son, Paul; Mrs. Cora Tyce, who lives in Kansas City, Kansas ; and Catherine, who is the wife of Donald Hiles, of Illinois. Mr. Holden has been a lifelong Republican and has served as school director.
JOSEPH BEAUSEIGNEUR,* whose val- uable farm of 112 acres lies fourteen miles northeast of Clearfield, in Girard Township, was born in France and was brought to Amer- ica by his parents when three years of age. His father possessed capital and soon invested in 500 acres of valuable timbered land in Girard Township, this County.
The parents of Mr. Beauseigneur spent the remainder of their lives here and the father cleared almost the whole of his large body of land by himself. He was recognized as a su-
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perior man in many ways and served Girard township in public offices, being acceptable as auditor and supervisor and in other capacities.
Joseph Beauseigneur was reared and edu- cated in Girard Township and after his school days were over he assisted his father and worked in his lumber camps until his marriage, after which he devoted himself to farming and stockraising. He has all of his land under cultivation with the exception of twenty-five acres, on which the timber is very valuable.
Mr. Beanseigneur was married in 1872 to Miss Margaret Dolin, who was born, reared and educated in Boggs Township, Clearfield County. Her parents were John and Anna Dolin, leading farming people of Boggs Town- ship. Previous to marriage, Mrs. Beau- seigneur taught school for a number of terms, both in Boggs and Girard Townships. They have one daughter, Maud, who is the wife of Edgar Corbert, of Clarion, Pa. Mrs. Corbert was given excellent educational advantages, graduating from the Clarion Normal School, and was a popular and successful teacher, in Graham, Norris, Cooper and Girard Town- ships, in all of which she has a wide circle of friends. Mr. Beauseigneur and wife are members of St. Mary's Catholic church at Frenchville.
S. J. WISE, who resides on his valuable tract of forty-five acres, lying two and one- half miles south of Curwensville, Pa., in Pike Township, was born on this farm, July 8, 1858, and is a son of Michael and Phoebe Ann ( Michaels ) Wise.
Michael Wise was born in Center County, Pa., in 1798, and accompanied his parents, Con- rad and Margaret (Rote) Wise, to Clearfield County. He remained at home until his mar-
riage and then bought land from William Sloppy, in Pike Township, on which he con- tinued to reside until the time of his death, Oc- tober 10, 1871. At the time he settled here no improvements had been made and no clear- ing had been done. With the assistance of his neighbors, timber was cut down, logs secured, and a habitable cabin was put up all in one day. On many occasions, later in life, he also gave , generous help to other settlers, this good feel- ing being general among the pioneers. Michael Wise was a reliable man, possessed of excel- lent judgment and frequently he was chosen by his fellow citizens for township offices. He was a stanch Democrat. Both he and wife were worthy members of the Lutheran church and he was one of those who liberally contributed to the building of the church edifice at Bloom- ington. He married Phoebe Ann Michaels, who was born April 5, 1828, and died July 28, 1908, both she and husband being buried in the Bloomington Cemetery. The following chil- dren were born to them: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Edward Bloom, of Penn township ; Lucy, who is deceased, was the wife of L. B. Hile, also deceased; Sarah Jane, who is the wife of J. A. Johnston, of DuBois; James C., who married Gertrude Solth; Wilhelmina, who is the wife of W. L. Johnston, of DuBois ; Aby, who is the wife of Thomas Lloyd, of Sykes- ville, Jefferson County, Pa .; S. J .; Lydia, who is the wife of Clement W. Cardon, of Clear- field; Clara, who is the wife of Frank Robin- son, of Curwensville; Margaret, who is the wife of Vernon Bloom, of DuBois; and Lillian, who is the wife of B. B. McClight, of Du Bois, Pa.
. S. J. Wise obtained his education in the old Bloomington school in Pike township and has always lived on the home farm and occupies
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the house which his father built after leaving the log cabin. Mr. Wise carries on general farm- ing and stock raising to some extent, and has everything so arranged that he and his family live in great comfort. On December 13, 1883, Mr. Wise was married to Miss Elizabethi Alice Caldwell, a daughter of Reuben and Mary F. Caldwell, and they have had three children, the only survivor being the youngest. Reuben C., who was born November 3. 1889, and at the time of writing (1911) is traveling in the West. The eldest, Kitty Marilla, who was born April 25, 1884, died April 19, 1892, and her burial was in the Bloomington Cemetery. The second daughter. Mary Priscilla, who was born December 23, 1887, died April 5, 1905. She was a beautiful girl, beloved by all who knew her and one of the brightest students of the DuBois High School. Mr. Wise casts his vote with the Democratic party but takes no very active part in politics and has never con- sented to hold any office.
SAMUEL T. HENDERSON, who has long been one of the prominent men and useful citizens of Houtzdale, Pa., where he started the first electric plant and now does business under the style of the Houtzdale Electric Light, Heat and Power Company, has spent the larger por- tion of his life in Clearfield County, but was born on the border of Huntingdon County, not far from Tyrone, Pa., August 18, 1844. He is a son of William H. and a grandson of John Henderson, the latter of whom spent his life in Huntingdon County.
William H. Henderson was born in Hunt- ingdon County and after he grew to manhood, operated the Tyrone saw mill for several years which was later known as McDonald's mill, and in 1850 moved to Janesville, where he was
in a hotel business until he sold in 1856, when he retired to Tyrone, where he died four years later. He married Elizabeth Mays, who was born in Huntingdon County, a daughter of Thomas and Jane (Gardner) Mays. The fol- lowing children were born to them: Samuel Ț .; Cynthia J., who is now deceased, was the wife of Charles Custard, of New York; Mary A., who is the widow of John Goss, of Philips- burg. Pa .; Amanda, who is now deceased, was the wife of John Adams; Theresa, who is the widow of J. Nichols, of Osceola Mills, Pa .; William C., who formerly lived at Tyrone, is deceased; and Frank P., who is a resident of Ramey, Pa. The mother of the above family died in 1882, at McCauley, Woodward Town- ship, Clearfield County.
Samuel T. Henderson was reared and at- tended school in Huntingdon and Clearfield Counties and was engaged in work in the woods and on farms until the opening of the Civil War when he began to consider entering the army and his arrangements were completed by Au- gust 18, 1862, when he enlisted as a member of Co. H. 110th Pa. Vol. Inf., contracting for three years. This company went out front Tyrone and saw much hard service, participat- ing in all the movements of the regiment and taking an important part at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, the Wilderness and Petersburg. Mr. Henderson escaped all serious injury and was honorably discharged May 27, 1865, at Philadelphia, and then returned to Osceola, where he was engaged until 1876, in carpenter work. From there he moved thien to McCau- ley, in Woodward Township, where, for thir- teen years he was engaged in a planing mill business. In 1889 he retired from that and started the electric light plant, which he owns.
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Mr. Henderson was married first in 1862, lives on the place on which he was born, July to Miss Margaret Hare, who was born in Indi- 7, 1835. He has 112 acres of valuable land lying two miles south of Curwensville, Pa. His parents were Matthew and Mary ( Bloom) Caldwell. ana County, Pa., and died December 25, 1869. They had three children, but one of whom, Margaret, survived to be two years old, the others dying younger. Mr. Henderson was married second to Mrs. Sidney C. Kephart, who was born in Decatur Township, Clearfield County, and was reared in Woodward Town- ship. She died June 18, 1908. Her father was Isaac Goss and she was the widow of Martin V. Kephart, who was killed during the Civil War, in front of Petersburg. Mrs. Kephart had two children: Elmer E., who lives at Ashboro, N. C .; and Robbie J., who resides at Lancaster, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson had four children, three of whom died in infancy. One son, Samuel Ray, grew to manhood and was well educated. For his many sterling traits of character he was admired and beloved. His health failed and in the hope of restoring it he went to Denver, Col., but even that invig- orating climate failed to benefit him and his death occurred there on January 16, 1911, at the early age of twenty-nine years and five months. He is survived by his widow, who formerly was Mrs. Mary ( Birchfield) Hatch. He was very popular with all who knew him and the deepest sympathy was felt for his be- reaved family.
Samuel T. Henderson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Houtzdale. In his political views he is a Republican. He is identified with Post No. 293, G. A. R., at Houtzdale, and with Masonic Lodge No. 515, at Osceola Mills.
Matthew Caldwell was born June 13. 1787, in Lancaster County, Pa., a son of Hugh Cald- well, who married Jane Boyd who was born in Ireland. They came to Clearfield County in 1805, settling in Pike Township, near Center Church, on land that is now owned by William Lawhead. At this time Matthew Caldwell was a young man and shortly afterward was mar- ried to Mary Bloom, who was a daughter of William Bloom, Sr., who had come to Clear- field County as the pioneer of this numerous and prominent family, in 1801. In 1819 Mat- thew Caldwell moved on the farm in Pike Township which is now the property of his son, James R., having to cut a road through the dense forest in order to reach his property. He was a man of endurance and enterprise and lived into old age on the farm that he had de- veloped out of the wilderness. His death occurred April 24, 1869, when he was eighty- one years old and his burial was on his own land, and when his wife passed away she was laid by his side. She was born September 25. 1792, and died May 17, 1877, having been the mother of twenty children, as follows: Eliz- abeth, Annie, Jane, Mary, Margie, Isaac, Sam- uel, three infants, deceased, Hannah, Nancy, Gary B., Reuben, Lavina, Matthew, Sarah, J. R., Harriet and Theresa. For forty years Matthew Caldwell was an elder in the Pres- byterian church.
James R. Caldwell attended school at Bloomington until he was old enough to do his share of the farming in the summer time and
JAMES R. CALDWELL, one of the repre- sentative men of Pike Township, a former jus- tice of the peace and now a retired farmer, partake of the hard labors that attended lum-
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bering in the winter season. For many years before he retired from active labor he followed farming and stock raising and was known as one of the leading agriculturists of Pike Town- ship, and still is a member of Lawrence Grange. Mr. Caldwell is a stockholder in the Curwens- ville National Bank. He has traveled a great deal having been east as far as the Atlantic Ocean; west as far as the Pacific Ocean; north as far as the Great Lakes and south as far as the Gulf of Mexico.
In January, 1868, Mr. Caldwell was mar- ried to Hannah Carey, who was born in Jeffer- son County, Pa., and died August 3, 1872. Her burial was in the Clearfield Cemetery. Mr. Caldwell has two children: Merritt A., who operates one of his father's farmns, is in the coal business by lease and a stockholder and a director of the Curwensville National Bank, married Nora Gearhart, of Huntingdon Coun- ty, and they have one child, Attie; and Merilla, who is the wife of W. R. McGowen, of Mo- nessen, Pa. Mr. Caldwell belongs to the Ma- sons and the Odd Fellows. He is a Democrat in politics and has filled many township offices, for ten years being a justice of the peace in Pike Township.
FRANCIS W. HARPER, M. D., a well known and public spirited citizen of Irvona, Pa., where for the past fifteen years he has been actively engaged in the practice of medi- cine, was born September 17, 1865, in Wil- liamsport, Lycoming County, Pa., and is a son of John D. and Mary J. (Marshall) Harper.
The parents of Dr. Harper were both na- tives of Lycoming County, Pa., where the fa- ther died about 1890, in his fifty-sixth year, while the mother still survives and makes her home there. They were the parents of eight
children, namely : J. M., a resident of Niagara, N. Y .; H. A., an engineer of Williamsport; Cora B., the wife of Rev. G. L. Lovell, of Sa- lem, Ore .; Bessie V., the wife of Charles Woods, of Williamsport, Pa., Dr. Francis W .; and May, Margret and Maud, all three de- 4 ceased.
Francis W. Harper received his primary educational training in the public schools of Williamsport and Lycoming County, after leaving which he engaged in teaching school for eight years, and at the end of this time, deciding on the practice of medicine as his life work, he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, in 1893. graduating with the class of 1896. He first chose the town of Glen Hope as his field of practice, but after one month there decided to locate in Irvona, where he has since built up a large and lucra- tive practice. For fifteen years he has also conducted a drug store here, and he is known to take a leading part in any movement which has for its object the advancement of his com- munity. He is prominently connected frater- nally, belonging to Mckinley Lodge No. 171, Knights of Pythias, Irvona Lodge, No. 152, Knights of the Mystic Chain, Tyrone Lodge No. 212, Elks, Coalport Conclave No. 684, I. O. H. and Coalport Lodge No. 350, Loyal Order of Moose. He is also a member of the Clearfield County Medical Society. His poli- tics are those of the Republican party and he is a school director of Irvona borough.
Dr. Harper was married to Miss Alice M. Waltz, the daughter of S. F. Waltz, of Ly- coming County, Pa., and to this union there have been born three children, namely : Marion C., Gertrude H., and Jennie Evelyn (deceased. )
CAPT. JOHN H. NORRIS, an honored veteran of the Civil War and commander of
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the John Kratzer Post, No. 1844, G. A. R., at Curwensville, Pa., was born in Greenwood Township, Clearfield County, Pa., March 26, 1840, and belongs to a family that was estab- lished in Clearfield County in 1812. His fa- ther was John Norris and his grandfather was Moses Norris.
Moses Norris was born in Huntingdon County, Pa., and was twenty-one years old when he came to Clearfield County, locating with his father in Lawrence Township, within three miles of Curwensville. The latter bought 1000 acres of land and of this, Moses, prob- ably, was given 600 acres. Moses Norris mar- ried Sarah Read, who was a niece of Col. Read, who was a Revolutionary soldier.
John Norris, son of Moses and Sarah Nor- ris, was born in Clearfield County and at the time of his marriage resided in Pike Township. He was a school teacher for many years and changed his residence to accommodate his pro- fessional engagements, from the Clark Brown place to Hoyt's Dam, farther up the river, and then back to the old homestead in Pike Town- ship, where he resided until the close of his life, at the age of eighty-two years. He was a Whig in his early political faith and later be- came a Republican. He was widely known, his home being one of exceeding hospitality. A man of sterling character, he gave hearty support to all law abiding movements and was a liberal contributor to the Methodist Episco- pal church, of which religious body the Norris family have been members for generations. John Norris married Priscilla Bloom, who was a daughter of Isaac Bloom and a granddaugh- ter of William Bloom, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. There were sixteen chil- dren born to John and Priscilla Norris, namely : Sarah, who is deceased, was the wife of Capt.
Thomas Moore, and they had two children- James and Willis; Thomas, who is deceased, married Mary Jane Askey, and they lived near New Millport ; Mary Janes, who is the wife of John Star, of Pike Township, and they have two children-Merritt and Anna; John H .: James, who is a resident of Pike Township, married Martha A. Caldwell; I. B., who mar- ried Anna, daughter of William Caldwell, has had three children-Lewis C .. J. W. and Charles B .; M. C., who is a resident of Pike township, married Maria Hockman; Martha, deceased, was the wife of Jonathan Kirk, who is also deceased; Clark, who lives in Pike township, married Sadie Wall; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Jamies Cassidy, residing at Cur- wensville; George, who is a resident of West Clearfield, married a Miss Gulick ; Margaret, who is the wife of Isaac Stage, of West Clear- field; Wesley, who lives in West Clearfield, married Bertha Brown; Lavina, who is the wife of T. J. Wall, of Penn township; Wil- liam, who is deceased, is survived by his widow, who lives at Philadelphia; and Ord, who lives on the old homestead in Pike town- ship, married a Miss Way. The mother of the above family died at the age of sixty-five years and both she and her husband were buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. The old home- stead farm contains 250 acres.
John H. Norris obtained his education in the district schools of Pike Township, begin- ning to work in the lumber regions as soon as old enough. He also learned the carpenter trade and followed that in the summers and continued to work through the winters at luni- bering until he enlisted for service in the Civil War. He became a member of Co. K, Kane Rifles, the 13th Pa. Reserves, which became fa- mous as the Bucktails, a name which subse-
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quently carried dismay into many a Confed- erate regiment, so great was the fear engen- dered by the dashing courage of this brave and fearless body of soldiers. Mr. Norris was made corporal of his company and was promoted to be second sergeant before the expiration of his first term of enlistment. He immediately re- enlisted, becoming second lieutenant of a company in the 190th Pa. Vol. Inf., later was made first lieutenant and just at the close of the war received his captain's commission. He was twice captured by the enemy, first, in June, 1862, near Richmond, Va., and second, on August 19, 1864, at the Weldon Railroad. During both of his terms of imprisonment he became well acquainted with the terrors of Belle Isle and Libby Prison, passing fifty-three days in the first place and sixty days in the second, after which he was paroled. His con- dition was such that he was detailed to light duty only, at Carlisle, Pa., and it was while there that he received his commission as cap- tain, a just recognition of his valor and worth as a soldier. He was honorably discharged in 1865 and returned to his home in Pike Town- ship. In resuming peaceful pursuits, Captain Norris no doubt, for a long time, felt the re- sults of his years of hardship and exposure. Later he accepted an appointment as revenue inspector of York County, Pa., and served in that office with entire efficiency for three years. He then returned to Curwensville and subse- quently resumed his former activities, engaging in lumbering and carpentering as before.
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