BIOS: Surnames A to BLO - Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, 
and Representative Citizens, Jesse C. Sell, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold, 1911. File 1

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by the Blair County Genealogical
Society, 431 Scotch Valley Road, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648.  Copied and
proofread by Linda M. Shillinger LindasTree@aol.com  OCRed by Judy Banja
<jbanja@comcast.net>

Copyright 2001.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/
_________________________________________ 

CHARLES O. ACKER, whose valuable farm of 151 acres lies in Huston Township,
Blair County, Pa., is a member of one of the old township families and was
born February 4, 1875, in Huston Township, a son of John S. and Mary M.
(Sorrick) Acker.
     John S. Acker was born also in Huston Township and was a son of
Christian Acker and a grandson of John Acker. John S. Acker was a leading
citizen of this township for many years. His death occurred in 1895. Of his
nine children, the following survive:
     Elizabeth A., who is the wife of A. K. Bechtel, lives in Woodbury
Township; Loretta J., who is the wife of John B. McGraw, lives in North
Woodbury Township; Martin L., who is a prominent farmer in Huston Township;
Mary A., who is the wife of Elmer Lecrone, and lives at Gaysport, Pa.;
Catherine F., who is the wife of Frank Ross, and resides in Huston Township;
Reuben M., who is a resident of Martinsburg; Ida F., who is the wife of
Albert Posten, of Huston Township; and Charles O. Amelia is deceased.
     Charles O. Acker has been a lifelong resident of Huston Township,
growing up on his father's farm, attending the Acker school, in Huston
Township, marrying one of the township's most estimable young women and
settling down to an agricultural life among those who have known him from
boyhood. He is one of the practical and successful farmers and stock-raisers
of the township and is also one of its most respected and valued citizens.
     Mr. Acker was married December 14, 1902, to Miss Dora J. Lecrone, a
daughter of the late Jacob Lecrone, formerly a prominent farmer of Huston
Township. Mr. and Mrs. Acker have had three children: Annie M., Emma M. and
Verna A. Annie M. is deceased. Mr. Acker belongs to a family that has long
been identified politically with the Democratic party and religiously with
the Lutheran faith and he is a member of the church at Martinsburg, Pa.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 783-784.

MARTIN L. ACKER, a prominent citizen of Huston Township, Blair County, Pa.,
president of the township school board, is proprietor of Airy Farm, a
valuable tract of 131 acres, which he devotes to farming and stock raising.
He was born in Huston Township, Blair County, March 7, 1862, and is a son of
John S. and Mary M. (Sorrick) Acker.
     John S. Acker was born in Huston Township on the farm on which his
father, Christian Acker, had settled at an early time with his father, John
Acker. The Acker family is of German descent and is one of the oldest in
Huston Township. John S. Acker was a leading man in this township for many
years, acceptably filling many public offices and setting an example of
worthy citizenship. He was a useful member of the school board, was road
supervisor and tax collector and served also in the responsible office of
township treasurer. He was a member and liberal supporter of the Lutheran
church at Martinsburg. He married Mary M. Sorrick, who was born in Woodbury
Township, Blair County, Pa. She survived her husband. for eleven years,
passing away in 1906, his death having occurred in 1895. Of their children,
eight survive.
     Martin L. Acker was reared and educated in Huston Township and has
practically passed his life here. Farming and stock raising have occupied his
time and attention to a large degree but he has also found time to concern
himself about public matters in his township and has served his fellow
citizens in numerous public capacities. The people of Huston Township are
rather proud of their schools and good roads and credit for these conditions
should be given the broad-minded and public-spirited officials who have
labored to bring them about. Mr. Acker served eight years as road supervisor
and several terms as a member of the school board. He has also been tax
collector, while his judgment is generally consulted in all important
township movements. In politics he is a Democrat, as was his father.
     Mr. Acker married Miss Elizabeth Fouse, who was born in Huston Township,
a daughter of William Fouse, and six children have been born to them, namely:
John A., Mervin C., William P., Roy E., Clara F. and Harry, the last named
being deceased. Mr. Acker and family are members of the Lutheran Church at
Martinsburg.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 898-899.

JACOB ACKERS, proprietor of the Hotel Waldorf, a first class and finely
appointed house of public entertainment, ranking in comfort, convenience and
standing with any in the city of Altoona, was born May 7, 1850, in Bedford
County, Pa., and is a son of Conrad and Rebecca (Leonard) Ackers.
     Conrad Ackers was a well known and respected resident of Bedford County
for many years, where he was engaged in the tanning and butchering business.
He took an interest in public matters and voted with the Democratic party. He
married Rebecca Leonard and they had the following children: Samuel, Thomas,
John, Elizabeth, Catherine, James, Jacob, Emanuel, Rebecca, Mary Jane,
Margaret, and Anna. The eldest son, Samuel, is a veteran of the Civil War.
     Jacob Ackers obtained his education in the schools of Bedford County,
after which he was in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for
twenty-five years. He then became connected with the wholesale department of
the Pittsburg Brewing Company and continued there for eight years and then
took charge of the Hotel Waldorf, which he has made a very popular hostelry.
He was married in 1871 to Miss Mary Carroll, a daughter of Edward Carroll,
and they have three children: Edward, William and Paul. Mr. Ackers and family
belong to St. John's Catholic Church. He is not identified with either great
political party at the present time but casts his vote according to his own
judgment.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 756.

FRANK W. ACKLIN,* proprietor of the Walton Acklin Co., jeweler and one of the
largest real estate owners in Tyrone, Pa., was born in Brownsville, Fayette
County, Pa., June, 1866, a son of John and Hannah Rebecca (Jacobs) Acklin.
The parents of Mr. Acklin were both natives of Brownsville, Pa.; both are now
deceased. John Acklin, the father, was a glass manufacturer by occupation. Mr.
Acklin's ancestors on both sides were early settlers in Fayette County.
     The subject of this sketch was graduated at the age of sixteen years
from the public schools of Brownsville. He then entered the jewelry business,
at which he worked for some years in Brownsville. In the fall of 1887 he came
to Tyrone and formed a partnership with Isaac P. Walton, a prominent jeweler
of Tyrone, under the firm name of Walton and Acklin. This connection lasted
up to within a short time of the death of Mr. Walton, when Mr. Acklin
purchased his partner's interest in the business and became sole owner of the
Walton Acklin Co. His store is one of the largest between Pittsburg and
Philadelphia, drawing its patronage from over a radius of many miles, and
being well known over the entire state. Mr. Acklin's stock is valued at from
$33,000 to $40,000, including a stock of diamonds alone valued at more than
twenty thousand dollars; in addition to which he carries a valuable and
expensive line of cut glass and china ware. For fifty-two years the business
has been conducted at its present location. One room is devoted exclusively
to the jewelry and the other to cut glass and hand painted china of the
finest quality. No better proof of the reliability of the house or the
quality of the goods can be advanced than the large volume of business done.
     Mr. Acklin is also one of the largest real estate owners in Tyrone and
set the pace here for apartment houses. He purchased what is known as the
Acklin block in Tyrone, and converted it into flats with all modern
improvements, with some of the most desirable store rooms in Tyrone. He
changed the block from plain to plate glass fronts. The property is centrally
located and every room and apartment is rented. In 1910 he purchased the Hotel
Myron, on Pennsylvania Avenue, which was a new and modern hotel, after which
he made many improvements on it, converting it into a modern apartment house,
with well appointed flats and desirable store rooms, all of which are tenanted
by a most desirable class of people. These flats are provided with every
modern convenience to be found in the most desirable properties of similar
kind in the large cities, such as running water, steam heat, baths, etc. He
purchased the Jones building on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Twelfth
Street and after spending a considerable amount of money on improvements made
the property exceptionally desirable. The home of Mr. Acklin is second to
none in Tyrone - a fine brick structure of modern architecture located on
Lincoln Avenue and Twelfth Street. The interior is beautifully designed and
so arranged that the lower floor can be thrown into a single room. In
addition to other valuable investments held by Mr. Acklin in real estate, he
recently purchased the Sholley property on Lincoln Avenue, one of the most
desirable properties in Tyrone. Mr. Acklin is a leader in the movement that
has resulted in the erection of so many desirable houses in Tyrone. He has a
keen insight into the value of real estate and has made a number of excellent
investments. There is not in Tyrone a man who can see what is needed to make
an idle piece of property a profitable investment quicker than Mr. Acklin.
Every piece of property owned by him is tenanted.
     Mr. Acklin is a member of Tyrone Lodge, No. 494, F.& A.M.; also Jaffa
Temple of the Mystic Shrine, at Altoona; and the Harrisburg Consistory; also
of Sinking Spring Lodge, I.O.O.F., Tyrone. In politics he was first
affiliated with the Democratic party, but owing to the division of that party
on so many important questions, he subsequently decided to cast his vote with
the Republican party and has done so for the past fifteen years. He is a
member of the Presbyterian church. A man of fine musical taste and rare vocal
ability, he has served the church as chorister in a choir of twenty voices
containing some exceptionally fine vocal talent.
     Mr. Acklin married Miss Elizabeth Kaiser, a daughter of E. Kaiser, of
Brownsville, Pa. Her father was a successful jeweler of that place. Mr.
Acklin is a man of exceptional business ability, possessing a keen sense of
honor and an affable disposition. Now in the prime of life, he has been the
architect of his own fortunes, and his record would indicate that the future
still has much in store for him. He is a member of the borough council from
the Third Ward.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 952-953.

JOSEPH S. AKE, who is one of Woodbury Township's most highly respected
citizens is also one of the most substantial, being the owner of 435 acres of
valuable land. He was born October 20, 1820, in Catherine Township, Blair
County, Pa., and is a son of Joseph and Nancy (Vinache) Ake.
     The parents of Mr. Ake were natives of Blair County, but were of
Prussian parentage. They were people of good standing, owned their homestead
and supported the Methodist Episcopal church. They had eight children:
William, Henry, Joseph S., Catherine, Rosanna, Elizabeth, Clara and Martin.
     When Joseph S. Ake was a boy, school opportunities were not so general
as at the present day but his advantages were as good as were those of any of
his companions. When he was nineteen years of age he started out to manage a
farm for himself and in 1840 he settled on his present farm in Woodbury
Township. During many years while he was in the prime of manhood, he carried
on extensive farm operations and through thrift, prudence and industry,
became a man of ample fortune. He has always been regarded with respect by
his fellow-citizens and can look back over a long, peaceful and useful life.
     Mr. Ake married Miss Margaret Cahill, a daughter of Leonard and Rachel
Cahill. Her father was a prominent farmer in this section and he and wife
were of Irish ancestry. To Mr. and Mrs. Ake the following children were born:
Sophia M., who is the wife of D. J. F. Arnold and they have one son, Harvey
Arnold; and P. W., who manages his father's large property. P. W. Ake married
Mary Deffenbaugh, a daughter of James E. and Elizabeth Ann Deffenbaugh, and
they have four children, as follows: James Howard, who is pastor of the
Methodist church at Berwick, Pa.; Anna, who is the wife of David Chalmer
Stone, of Williamsburg; and Harry F., and Joseph Edgar.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 630 & 633.

MILTON ALEXANDER, vice president of the Central Trust Company of Altoona,
Pa., and long a prominent member of the Blair County bar, has been
prominently identified with public matters as well as with those pertaining
to his profession, in this section of Pennsylvania. He was born in
Williamsburg borough, Blair County, Pa., January 2, 1846, and is a son of
Robert and Mary (Rodkey) Alexander.
     The Alexander family is of Irish descent, the grandfather emigrating to
America in early days, and at the time of his death, in 1813, lived in Hart's
Log Valley, Huntingdon County, Pa. Of his children, Robert Alexander, father
of Milton, was born in Huntingdon County in 1805. In 1827 he became a
merchant at Williamsburg, Blair County, and resided there until 1874, when he
retired to Altoona, where he died in 1879. His wife, Mary Rodkey, who had been
born on the same day as himself, survived him for three years. They lived to
celebrate their Golden Wedding anniversary.
     Milton Alexander was educated in the old Jefferson College at
Canonsburg, Washington County, and was a graduate of the class of 1866, from
Washington and Jefferson College, following its amalgamation. He prepared for
the practice of law with Attorney David Lawson, at Clarion, Pa., after which
he entered the Albany Law School, where he was graduated in 1869, and on June
26 of that year was admitted to the bar of Blair County. Mr. Alexander entered
into practice at Altoona and by 1871 had advanced so far in the confidence of
his fellow citizens that they elected him district attorney, in which office
he served with entire efficiency for three years. He then resumed his private
practice, in 1875 entering into partnership with H. H. Herr, an association
terminated in 1889 by the death of Mr. Herr. Mr. Alexander continued in
practice alone for a number of years and became one of the foremost members
of his profession in this section. He has been prominent also in other than
professional lines, having taken an active interest in public affairs.
Although he never consented to fill other than civic offices, he has always
given hearty and loyal support to the candidates of the Republican party in
state and nation. His business qualifications have been shown in his wise
investments in realty, and his public spirit in the encouragement he has
given many important movements tending to the material upbuilding of Altoona.
     In Lancaster he owns a magnificent residence, probably the finest one in
all Lancaster County. To a large degree Mr. Alexander has retired from active
business, although he still takes much interest in looking after his vast
amount of real estate in Altoona.
     Mr. Alexander was married September 10, 1872, to Miss Kate F. Martin,
whose father was a capitalist of Lancaster City. They have two children:
Ralph V. and Lillian M. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander attend the Lutheran church.
For a number of years he has been prominently connected with the order of the
Sons of America and has served the organization in the offices of State
president and treasurer.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 687.

ROBERT ALEXANDER, deceased, who is well remembered by many citizens of
Altoona, where his death occurred a few days after the happy celebration of
his Golden Wedding, August 13, 1884, was born June 5, 1805, near Alexandria,
in Hart's Log Valley, Huntingdon County, Pa. His father had emigrated from
Ireland and served his adopted country in the Revolutionary War. His life was
more or less a military one as later he took part in the troubles with the
Indians before they were finally driven from the Pennsylvania mountains. He
died in 1813.
     Robert Alexander (2), son of Robert, was probably one of a large family
and perhaps it was through hardship and struggle in his early years, that he
developed the sturdy traits which later made him so strong in upholding his
convictions of right, and so intolerant of pretense or hypocrisy. In 1827 he
went into the mercantile business at Williamsburg, which he continued until
1874, when he retired to Altoona. He is remembered by those who were early
agitators in this section concerning temperance legislation, and was a member
of that strong organization known as the Sons of Temperance, and was the
founder of the temperance society known as the Silver Grays, one that
accomplished a large amount of good, being entirely made up of earnest,
thoughtful men, like Robert Alexander. In his political views he was a
Republican and had he so desired, might frequently have held almost any
office in the gift of his party. He was married on August 4, 1829, to Miss
Mary Rodkey, and with her was permitted to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary
of this union. They both were consistent members of the Presbyterian church.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 748.

D. E. ALLEN, M. D., a prominent physician and surgeon at Altoona, Pa., who
has been engaged in the practice of his profession here for the past thirteen
years, was born in 1867, in Canada, where he spent the early part of his life
and obtained his elementary schooling. He was prepared for the medical
profession at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where he was graduated
with the class of 1895, and was first located at Winchester, Mass., where he
engaged in the practice of his profession and was eminently successful. About
1897 he came to Altoona, Pa., where he has been equally successful and has
established an enviable reputation as a physician and surgeon. Dr. Allen is a
member of the Blair County, the Pennsylvania State and the American Medical
Associations, and is a member of the medical staff of the Mercy Hospital of
Altoona. He is fraternally a member of the Maccabees and the Mystic Circle,
and his religious connection is with the Baptist church. Dr. Allen was
married in 1897 to Clara Elder of Altoona, Pa.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 532-533.

HARRY R. ALLENDER, a well known general merchant and highly respected
business man of Williamsburg, Pa., was born May 12, 1873, in this borough, a
son of James D. and Anna Mary (Ramey) Allender. His father, who died in 1902,
was a Republican in politics, and religiously a member of the Presbyterian
church. His mother is still living and is a resident of Williamsburg. They
had the following children: Clara, William, Charles, John and Harry R., our
subject.  John is deceased.
     Harry R. Allender was reared in his native town, where he attended the
common schools and at the age of fourteen became a clerk, and continued as
such for twenty years. On August 10, 1907, he established his present
business and carries a full line of general merchandise. Politically he is a
Republican, is treasurer of the borough school board, and has served three
years on the town council. He is fraternally a member of the Juniata Lodge of
Masons, No. 282, at Hollidaysburg, and of the Heptasophs of Williamsburg.
     In April, 1902, Mr. Allender married Miss Grace Spencer, who is a
daughter of Robert and Nannie (Garvin) Spencer, well known residents of
Williamsburg. She is one of the following children born to her parents:
Robert L.; Ethel, who is the wife of J. E. Ake; Alice, who is the wife of
Rev. W. S. Rose, a Methodist minister of Huntingdon County, Pa.; Madge;
Jessie; and Grace, wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Allender have one
daughter, Helen. Mr. Allender is a member of the Presbyterian church and Mrs.
Allender of the Methodist church.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 581-582.

EDWIN M. AMIES,* who is recognized as one of the leading members of the Blair
County bar and is a prominent citizen of Altoona, was born in the city of
Philadelphia, October 19, 1859, and is a son of Oswald A. and Elizabeth C.
(Mather) Amies.
     The Amies family is of French extraction but for many generations has
been purely American. Oswald A. Amies was born at Philadelphia, Pa., a son of
Thomas Amies, a native of Delaware. The latter was a large manufacturer of
paper at Brandywine, Del., and later Oswald A. was concerned in the same line
of business. Oswald A. Amies was one of the first to answer President
Lincoln's first call for troops, in 1861; he served through a first
enlistment and after reenlisting, fell on the battle field of Gettysburg. He
left a young wife with four children. He had married Elizabeth C. Mather, a
native of Philadelphia also, who survived until 1882. She was a woman of
great fortitude and many Christian virtues and was an earnest member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
     Edwin M. Amies was three years old when he was left fatherless. His
mother returned to Philadelphia with her little children and there he was
educated and with the class of 1876, was graduated from Girard College. In
making a choice of profession he decided upon the bar, for which his natural
talents and inclination seemed to fit him, and after four years of study in
the office of Alexander & Herr, at Altoona, he was admitted to the bar of
Blair County, in December, 1880. He immediately opened his law office in
Altoona and this city has continued to be his field of effort and the scene
of his many legal triumphs. For almost thirty years he has been in the legal
arena and at no time have his actions inspired anything but the highest
esteem and respect, not only for his ability as a lawyer, but also because of
his genial personality and his high standard of manhood. He has served in
political offices, being an active and earnest Republican, but his aims have
been directed to attaining professional eminence rather than political
advancement.
     Mr. Amies was married November 2, 1881, to Miss Laura Bower, a daughter
of Jacob and Mary Bower, prominent old residents of Lancaster County, Pa. Mr.
and Mrs. Amies reside in a pleasant home which is situated at No. 1308
Fourteenth Avenue, Altoona, and he maintains his offices in the Central Trust
Building, Rooms 28-30, an admirable location. He is identified with a number
of fraternal organizations, these including Logan Lodge, No. 490, F.&A.M.;
Mountain Chapter, No. 189, Royal Arch Masons; Camp No. 12, Sons of Veterans;
Blair Lodge, No. 281, Knights of Pythias; and Altoona Lodge, No. 102, Elks.
He is president of the Altoona Republican Club.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 654.

OSWALD A. AMIES,* deceased, whose name is enshrined as one of the heroes of
the great Civil War, laid down his life on the field of Gettysburg, on that
memorable July 3, 1863. Then only thirty years of age, prosperous in
business, with a loving wife and devoted children to make life worth the
living, nothing but pure patriotism could have influenced him and caused him
to turn his back on the promises of a happy future and take up a burden by
which his very life was almost hourly to be in jeopardy. He was born in the
city of Philadelphia in 1833. His ancestors beyond his parents had been
natives of France, but his father was born in Delaware. For many years the
latter was engaged in the manufacture of paper at Brandywine, a suburb of
Wilmington, but he later retired to Philadelphia and resided there until his
death at the age of eighty-eight years.
     Oswald A. was the eldest son. After leaving school he became the owner
of the paper manufacturing business in which his father had been interested
at Brandywine and he continued in that industry until 1861, when he offered
his services as a soldier in answer to President Lincoln's first call for
troops. He served for three months as a member of Co. D, 68th Pa. Reserves.
By that time the sad fact was generally recognized that the war would be of
long continuance and among those who reenlisted for the preservation of the
Union, for three years, was Oswald A. Amies. His gallant career was cut short
as noted above. Pilgrims will long visit the old battle field of Gettysburg.
On Cemetery Ridge stand many monuments and the names inscribed on their
shafts are truly honored ones, but the real cost of patriotism is known only
to those in whose hearts are enshrined the memories of the loved ones who
were its victims.
     Oswald A. Amies was married in early manhood to Miss Elizabeth C.
Mather, who survived him many years, dying at Philadelphia, her native city,
in 1882. One son, Edwin M. Amies, has long been a very prominent citizen of
Altoona, Pa., where he is engaged in the practice of law.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 647.

JOHN GRANT ANDERSON, general manager of the Tyrone and Williamsburg Paper
Mills of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company is one of the leading
business men of Tyrone, Pa. He was born in Coshocton County, O., October 29,
1863, and is a son of Dr. John and Anna (Stevenson) Anderson.
     Dr. John Anderson was born in Ohio in 1817, and died in Coshocton County
in 1888, where he had practiced medicine for a number of years. He married
Anna Stevenson, who was born in Maryland and died in Coshocton County, O., in
1878, aged fifty-one years. Of their family of seven children, one son died in
infancy and three sons and three daughters are living. Sarah is the wife of
Joseph K. Cass, of Tyrone. Annie M. is the wife of Samuel Irvine, of
Pittsburg. Ida M. is unmarried and resides at Tyrone. Leroy K. is a paper
salesman in business at Chicago. Charles E. is in the drug business at
Coshocton, O.  John Grant completes the family.
     John G. Anderson was educated in the Coshocton schools and graduated
from the Coshocton High School in 1880, after which he completed a business
course in a commercial college and in 1881 he entered the employ of the well
known paper firm of Morrison. Cass & Co. This subsequently became the
Morrison & Cass Paper Company, which now operates under the style of the West
Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. In 1890, Mr. Anderson came to Tyrone as
secretary and treasurer of the Morrison & Cass Paper Company and since its
consolidation has been general manager of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper
Company's Tyrone and Williamsburg mills. Mr. Anderson was reared in the
Presbyterian faith. He is a Republican in his political views.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 856.

CHARLES E. APPLEBAUGH, who has been a resident of Blair County, Pa., since
1865, is now collector of the borough of Juniata, and was previous to that
identified with the P.R.R. Company from 1872 until 1907. He was born May 15,
1837, in Mifflin County, Pa., and is a son of James E. and Maria (Baker)
Applebaugh. The Applebaugh family originally came from Prussia, the first of
the family being John Rennsalaer Applebach, grandfather of our subject. He
spelled his name differently from the present family of Applebaugh. John R.
Applebach located in Bucks County, Pa., and died in Lewistown. He built the
Springfield Furnace, in Blair County, and the Paradise Furnace, in Huntingdon
County.
     James E. Applebaugh was born July 8, 1810, in Northampton County, and at
the time of his death, October 6, 1841, was engaged in running a stove and
tinware store.  He married Maria Baker, a native of Woodcock Valley.
Huntingdon County, Pa., and a daughter of John and Rebecca (Royer) Baker, and
they had three children: Rebecca Elizabeth, widow of Henry Brumbaugh, who
lives in Trout Creek Valley; Charles Edwin, and John Ealor, who lives at
Wooster, O. He served in the same cavalry regiment with our subject, in the
Civil War, and also in the 110th and 184th Regiments. It is said that John
Baker, maternal grandfather of subject, was captain of a company of men in
Huntingdon County, who fought the Indians. He had a big hunting knife, a
tomahawk, and also a belt, which had been given him by an Indian, whose life
he had saved. Mr. Baker received a land warrant from the government for
services rendered.
     Charles E. Applebaugh was past four years of age when his father died
and in 1842 he came with his mother to Huntingdon County, where he was reared
and attended school. After teaching four terms in Huntingdon County, he took a
course of study at Cassville Seminary, and on April 26, 1861, enlisted as a
member of Criswell Battalion, but was not at that time called into service.
On August 26, 1861, he enlisted for three years' service, in Co. B., 110th
Pa. Vol. Inf., and at the end of fourteen months was transferred to Troop D.,
6th U. S. Cavalry. He spent twenty-two months with this company, completing
his enlistment of three years. After his return home he braked during the
summer and taught school at Springfield Furnace during the winter. Then on
February 22, 1865, he enlisted in Co. C., 76th Pa. Vol. Inf., which was known
as the Keystone Zouaves, and was mustered out July 18, 1865, at Raleigh, N.
C.  Mr. Applebaugh was slightly wounded June 9, 1863, at Beverly Ford, Va.,
and although still bearing the scar, it did not incapacitate him from
service. His brother, John E., who fought by his side, was taken prisoner at
that battle, but was only imprisoned eleven days, when paroled. Mr.
Applebaugh returned to Huntingdon County after the war and in November, 1865,
came to Blair County and located at Clappertown, now known as Morrell. He
taught school there for three winters and farmed during the summer months and
in May, 1867, began as a clerk at the Springfield Furnace, where he continued
four years. He moved to Martinsburg in June, 1871, and shortly afterward
located at Altoona, where he was employed four years in the freight shops.
During that period he obtained leave of absence from the Railroad Company and
taught school during the winter of 1874, in the Third Ward at Altoona, being
the only male teacher in the school that year. In December, 1875, he left the
freight office and went into the yards as car inspector, continuing in that
capacity until August 17, 1876, when he lost his arm in an accident. He was
subsequently messenger in the yards for more than three years, then was
employed in the blacksmith shop of the car department some time, and in
March, 1879, became watchman at Gate No. 1, where he continued three years.
In October, 1890, he was appointed mail messenger of the Juniata Shops and
served continuously in that position until his retirement from railroad
service on June 1, 1907, having been identified with the railroad company
continuously from 1872 until 1907. Since his retirement from the railroad
service, he has been employed as collector of the borough of Juniata, having
been first appointed to fill out E. N. Bulick's unexpired term of two years,
and at the expiration of these two years, was elected for a term of three years.
     Mr. Applebaugh was first married January 23, 1866, to Miss Nancy R.
Brumbaugh, a native of Clappertown, and a daughter of Jacob Brumbaugh. who
was a miller by trade. Eight children were born of this union: Clara (Mrs.
Whitfield), a resident of Logantown; James Lincoln, living at Cape Charles.
Va., Mrs. Mary Jones, of Altoona; Irene, deceased; John Ealor, deceased;
Charles Meade, married Nellie McElroy, of Altoona: Ida May (Hunt), of
Juniata, and Daisy Viola, living with our subject, is the widow of Leroy J.
Elliott, who died January 5, 1909, from an injury received at Mill Hall. Mr.
Applebaugh formed a second union on February 2, 1893, with Mrs. Rebecca L.
(Chilcoat) Barnett, who was born near Shellsburg, Bedford County, Pa., a
daughter of John Chilcoat, who lived and died in Huntingdon County.
     Mr. Applebaugh was the first Republican assessor of the city of Altoona,
serving as such three years, and was also assessor of the Eighth Ward for
three years. He was a member of the borough council six and a half years,
serving as president of same two years, and was burgess eight months, when he
filled the unexpired term of Burgess Rogers. He is identified with the
Republican party in politics, and is fraternally a member of the G.A.R. No.
62 of Altoona. He is a member of the Methodist Church, of which he is
president of the board of trustees, and a member of the board of stewards.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 569-570.

AUGUSTUS ELLSWORTH BACHERT, civil and mining engineer, whose technical
connections include membership in the American Society of Civil Engineers;
American Institute of Mining Engineers; Engineers' Society of Pennsylvania;
American Electrochemical Society, and who is also a member of the board of
examiners of the Eighteenth Bituminous District of Pennsylvania, is a man of
distinction in his profession - and since May, 1909, has been a resident of
Tyrone, Pa. He was born in Rush Township, Schuylkill County, Pa., not far
from Tamaqua, August 14, 1862, and is a son of William M. and Susannah
(Messerschmidt) Bachert.
     Mr. Bachert, together with many other men of achievement at the present
day, realizes the present and constantly increasing value of biography and to
the lack of this interest in the past, he, with others, has found difficulties
in tracing family relationships and ancestral data beyond a certain period.
Old family papers have been gathered by him and an organization formed for
the furthering of genealogical research into the origin of a widely
distributed family bearing the similar names of: Bacher, Bachert, Bauchert,
Baucher, and others of near orthography. He has found a mass of facts and
evidence leading very far back and while many connecting links are absent, it
is his hope that in his lifetime the obscurity of the past as to his family
beginnings may be cleared. To this end he has consulted many authorities and
quotations may be made from some of these. In Rupp's "Thirty Thousand
Immigrants in Pennsylvania" it is stated: "Francis Daniel Pastorius, born at
Sommerhausen, in Franconia, Germany, September 26, 1651, arrived at
Philadelphia in the ship America, Capt. Joseph Wasey, August 20, 1683, with
his family. He was accompanied by a few German emigrants" and among these
appears the name of Conrad Bacher, alias Rutter. Again, "October 16, 1727,
forty-six Palatines with their families, about two hundred persons, imported
in the ship Friendship, of Bristol, John Davies, Master, from Rotterdam, last
from Cowes, whence the ship sailed June 20th, had on board Nicholas Bogert."
"On September 5, 1730, forty-five Palatines with their families, one hundred
and thirty persons, imported in the ship Alexander and Ann, William Clymer,
Master, from Rotterdam, last from Cowes, had on board a Rudolph
Messerschmidt," the maiden name of the mother of Mr. Bachert being
Messerschmidt. Among numerous other references from the same authority, it is
found that on September 23, 1732, one Nicholas Bogerdt, was imported in the
ship Adventurer. Mr. Bachert deems is probable that this Nicholas Bogerdt was
the Nicholas Bachert, who, with Solomon and Jacob Bachert, were all taxables
at the time of the formation of Berks County, Pa., was his direct ancestor.
Other states than Pennsylvania, especially those of North Carolina and
Georgia, in which Palatines settled between 1709 and 1710, in the former
state and between 1734 and 1741, in the latter, a similarity of names is
discovered, and in fact, a study is necessary of names which, at first sight,
seem dissimilar, must be made in order to secure an authentic history. Old
documents prove that related branches of the family spelled the name -
Bachert, Baucher, Bauchert, Baugher, Bougher and Pughard, while present
correspondence is being carried on with M. Quentin Bauchard, Member of the
Municipal Council, Chateau de Villers-le-Sec, Aisne, France, regarding other
orthography and possible connecting family links.  The name is well known and
represented in France as Bauchart and Boucher, the latter being a corruption
from the ancient Celtic of Bouchonnier. The tracing of one's ancestry is a
laudable ambition and a fascinating study. This is especially so when as in
Mr. Bachert's case, no heroic deeds of forebears are required to establish
his own prominence or prove his usefulness in his own generation.
     William Miller Bachert, father of Augustus E. Bachert, was born in
Schuylkill County, Pa., in March, 1839. He was a son of William Bachert, a
grandson of Nicholas Bachert, and a great-grandson of Nicholas Bacher, who
served in the Revolutionary War. William Miller Bachert was a builder and
contractor and also was a manufacturer of powder and supplied this necessity
to the Government during the Civil War, after attempting to become a soldier,
his application being refused on account of his being below the required size.
He was a man of much importance and served two consecutive terms in the
General Assembly from 1889 until 1893, being elected on the Democratic
ticket. His death occurred in 1903. He married Susannah Messerschmidt, who
survives. Her father, who was born in Berks County, was taken to Schuylkill
County in boyhood. His father, Valentine Messerschmidt was with General
Washington's army at Valley Forge.
     To William M. and Susannah Bachert the following children were born:
Augustus Ellsworth; Mary, who is the wife of J. A. Zehner, a civil engineer,
residing at Wilkesbarre, Pa.; William Franklin, who is a carpenter foreman,
and resides at Summit Hill, Carbon County, Pa.; Hannah E., who married F. W.
Becker, a truck farmer in Schuylkill County; Norman J., who is a builder and
contractor, living at Newark, N. J.; Sadie, who married Alexander Forsythe, a
resident of New Rochelle, N. Y., who is train dispatcher for the N. Y., N. H.
& Hartford R. R.; Hosea, whose death followed that of his father, a widow and
son surviving him; Laura, who is the wife of William H. Meese, a train
dispatcher on the N. J. Central R. R.; Edgar E., who was a school teacher,
resides near Tamerend and has charge of the air brakes and pumps for the
Jersey City R. R., at that point.
     Augustus E. Bachert started to school when he was only four years of
age, early displaying that unusual alertness of mind that has been the means
in large degree of enabling its possessor to reach his present advanced place
in his profession while a comparatively young man. After a period spent in the
State Normal School at Millersville, he entered the Ohio Northern University
in 1882 and was graduated in civil engineering in the class of 1885. He lost
no time in looking about for some easy position; but within two weeks was
hard at work along the line in which his advancement has been continuous.
However, when only a boy, he had shown ability and a decided taste for
engineering and had surprised his associates with his enthusiasm and
accuracy. Thus, Mr. Bachert's engineering record, which is as follows, begins
long before he had won any technical diploma: 1874-5, at the age of twelve
years, began as chainman and on instrument work on property surveys in
Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne Counties, Pa.; 1876, made property surveys and
these settled disputed boundaries between Philadelphia & Read-R. [sic] R., H.
A. Weldy & Co., and others; 1876-1885, made property surveys while attending
college; 1885-6, chainman South Pennsylvania R. R., Div. III, under F. H.
Clement and Gaylord Thompson, and engaged upon property surveys; 1886-go,
assistant to Thomas S. McNair, Resident Engineer, Lehigh Valley R. R.,
location and construction on railroad, hydraulic and mining (anthracite coal)
engineering; 1890-95, resident engineer and land agent, East Broad Top R. R.,
Rockhill Iron & Coal Company, Broad Top. Improvement Company and Broad Top
Semi-Anthracite Coal Company; 1895-6, architecture and contracting, Hazelton,
MacAdoo, Pa.; 1896-1900, assistant engineer to Thomas S. McNair, chief
engineer, Cranberry Improvement Company, Union Improvement Company, Black
Creek Improvement Company, and Highland Coal Company, engaged upon railroad,
mining, hydraulic and municipal engineering; 1900-1904, division engineer and
division superintendent, H. C. Frick Coke Company, in charge of Leisenring
Division, consisting of Leisenring Nos. 1, 2, 3 and the Trotter, Adelaide,
Rist, Henry Clay, Davidson, Youngstown and Bitner mines and over 3,000 coke
ovens - Connellsville, Pa.; 1904-5, chief engineer Ellsworth Coal Company,
Ellsworth, Washington County, Pa.; 1905-09, general superintendent, Rockhill
Iron & Coal Company, Broad Top Improvement Company, and Broad Top
Semi-Anthracite Coal Company; 1907, January 1, appointed chief engineer, East
Top R. R., in addition to above duties; 1909, May 1, opened an engineering
office at Tyrone, Pa.; 1910, August, locating a forty-five mile connecting
steam railroad.
     In October, 1885, Mr. Bachert was married to Miss Ada E. Weaver, a
daughter of Charles F. and Catherine (Moyer) Weaver, of Delano, Schuylkill
County, and they have three children: Olive Amy, Mabel and Helen. Olive Amy
completed her musical education at Darlington Seminary. She is the wife of
Jesse E. Bell, of Weatherly, Carbon County, Pa. The second daughter adopted
the noble profession of a nurse, graduating from the Homeopathic Hospital at
Reading, Pa. She is now the wife of T. J. Hussion, who is foreman of the Big
Four Railroad shops at Urbana, Ill. The youngest daughter is a student in the
Tyrone High School.
     Mr. Bachert is a member of Hazle Lodge, No. 327, F.&A.M., (a life
member) Hazelton, Pa.; Standing Stone Chapter, No. 201, R.A.M., Huntingdon,
Pa.; Harrisburg Council, No. 7, R.&SM., Harrisburg; Huntingdon Commandery,
No. 65, K.T., Huntingdon, Pa.; Harrisburg Lodge of Perfection, No. 14,
Harrisburg; Harrisburg Council, Princes of Jerusalem, 16th degree; Harrisburg
Chapter, Rose Croix, 18th degree; Harrisburg Consistory, S.P.R.S., 32d degree,
Harrisburg; Iran Temple; A.A.O.N.M.S., Wilkesbarre; Correspondence Circle,
Quatuor Coronati, Lodge 2076, London, Eng; Correspondence Circle, Lodge of
Research, No. 2429, Leicester, Eng.; Huguenot Commandery, No. 405, A.&I.O.,
Knights of Malta, Robertsdale, Pa.; William McKinley Lodge, No. 13, I.O.O.F.,
Connellsville, Pa.; Delano Council., No. 958, Royal Arcanum, Delano,
Schuylkill County, Pa.; Tyrone Lodge, No 212, B.P.O.E., Tyrone; Schuylkill
County Historical Society, Pottsville, Pa.; Pennsylvania German Society, and
the National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 893-895.

PROF. HENRY HOUSTON BAISH, superintendent of the public schools of Altoona,
Pa., and an educator of experience, was born near Bendersville, Adams County,
Pa., February 11, 1874, and is a son of Garrett J. and Julia (Pensyl) Baish.
The father of Prof. Baish was born at Franklintown, York County, Pa. He was
for many years engaged in the painting and wall paper business in Adams
County. His death occurred September 6, 1906. The mother survives and resides
with her son, Henry H. Baish.
     Henry H. Baish completed the common school course and in 1895 was
graduated from the Cumberland Valley State Normal School at Shippensburg, Pa.
Prior to and after his attendance at normal school he taught school in Altoona
for four years and in 1901 he was graduated in the classical course at Lebanon
Valley College, in Lebanon County, Pa. He then returned to Altoona and taught
in the city schools for seven years and on August 17, 1908, was appointed
superintendent of the whole school system for the city. This responsible
office, with its numerous other duties, includes the supervision of 17 school
buildings and 218 teachers. In every way he is well equipped for this work,
his whole life having been devoted to educational work.
     Professor Baish is a Republican in his political views. With his mother
he attends the United Brethren church. Two years after graduation from
college, his Alma Mater, Lebanon Valley College, honored him by electing him
a trustee of the college to represent the Alumni Association, which position
he has held continuously ever since.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 788.

CHARLES A. BAKER,* well known as farmer and gardener, all over Blair
Township, Blair County, Pa., owns thirty-five acres of richly cultivated
land. He was born at Newry, Blair County, Pa., August 16, 1843, and is a son
of Andrew and Jane (Fraker) Baker.
     Andrew Baker was born in Bedford County, Pa., a son of Peter Baker, who
was an early settler in North Woodbury Township, Bedford County. Andrew Baker
was a gunsmith by trade and during a number of years conducted a shop at
Newry, where, with care, skill and patience he fashioned a certain kind of
muzzle-loading gun, greatly favored by hunters, and other fire arms made use
of at that time, and the completeness of which established his reputation all
over this section. He was a man of pronounced temperance views and a
consistent member of the Lutheran church.
     Charles A. Baker attended the public schools and also a private school
at Newry. When the Civil War was precipitated there was not only an immediate
necessity for the soldier with the gun but also an equally pressing one for
the men with the strength and skill to enter the construction corps and to
the latter Mr. Baker turned when he felt it his duty to enter into military
life. At first he was a member of the Army of the Potomac but later was
transferred to the Army of the Cumberland and served under Generals Halleck
and Thomas. He became a member of the construction corps in the fall of 1862
and was honorably discharged in October, 1865. Twice he fell into the not too
tender hands of the enemy, first near Murphreesboro, Tenn., and later at
Vaughn's Gap, but secured a release on both occasions and lived to return
safely to his home. A brother, the late Thomas J. Baker, of Blair Township,
was also in the service. Mr. Baker has devoted his farm to truck gardening
and for many years has sold his choice products to the residents of Altoona.
He is also the business agent for the Judge Gardner estate in Blair Township.
     In 1875, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Lovina Wilt, a native of Blair
Township, and a daughter of the late David Wilt, and they have had three
children, Ida May, Mary Blanche and Jane Alice, of whom Blanche is deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker attend the Lutheran church at Newry, Pa. Mr. Baker's farm
was entered from the Government by Abraham Sell, over 100 years ago, but the
larger part of the improving has been done by its present owner.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 791-792.

DANIEL S. BAKER, a prominent farmer and representative citizen of North
Woodbury Township, who owns 108 acres of valuable land, has been a resident
of Blair County since 1886 and took possession of his present, farm in 1894.
He was born in Bedford County, Pa., October 30, 1856, and is a son of Peter
and Mary (Snyder) Baker, both of whom were natives of Bedford County. It is
probable that both grandfathers, who were early settlers in Bedford County,
were natives of Germany.
     Daniel S. Baker to a large extent is a self-made man, his early
advantages being those he provided for himself. From youth he has been
engaged in agricultural pursuits, until 1886 in Bedford County and since then
in Blair County. He carries on farming, stock-raising and dairying and has met
with the almost certain success which attends close attention to business and
practical methods, the value of which he has learned by experience.
     On January 30, 1881, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Sarah Dilling, a
daughter of the late John H. Dilling, of Blair County and they have had the
following children: Calvin D., Bertha D., Elvin D., George D., Roy D., Elwood
D. and John E., the last named being deceased. Mr. Baker and wife are members
of the German Baptist church. In politics he is a Republican but has never
consented to hold any office except that of school director, in which he
served faithfully and usefully for six years.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 950.

HON. THOMAS J. BALDRIGE, judge of the Common Pleas Court of Blair County, has
been identified with the legal profession of this county since 1895, and was
born April 5, 1872, in Hollidaysburg, Pa., a son of Howard M. Baldrige, a
prominent attorney of Blair County.
     Judge Baldrige received a common school education and then attended
Andover. & Bucknel University, and after spending some time on the government
engineer corps, took a special course in law at the University of
Pennsylvania.  He was admitted to the bar of Blair County in 1895, and has
been located at Hollidaysburg, Pa., in the practice of the profession since
that time, and in January, 1910, was appointed common pleas judge to fill the
unexpired term of the late Judge Bell, and has made a most favorable
impression on the Bench.
     Judge Baldrige is religiously a member of the Baptist church of which he
is one of the board of trustees.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 573.

ROBERT F. BANKERT, who is serving Blair County, Pa., as one of her board of
commissioners, is a well known citizen of Altoona, and is an honored veteran
of the Civil War. He was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., June 17, 1843, and
is a son of Jacob and Susannah (Robinson) Bankert.
     Jacob Bankert and wife were both natives of Pennsylvania, and lived into
old age. The fathers of both had served in the War of 1812. For many years
Jacob Bankert was a shoe merchant. His death occurred in 1891, he having
survived his wife by one year. They had four children.
     Robert F. Bankert obtained his education in the public schools. When
little more than a boy he began his apprenticeship to the painter's trade and
completed it in 1859 and followed the same for a year and then entered the
Federal army as a soldier. He enlisted on April 18, 1861, for three months
and then re-enlisted August 25, 1861, in Co. E, of the famous Roundhead
Regiment, but after serving one month with that body was transferred to the
no less distinguished regiment, the 105th Pa. Vol. Inf., known as the Wildcat
Regiment, in which he served until December 28, 1863. When the call came for
veterans he immediately re-enlisted and served in the same regiment until
July 11, 1865. He not only participated in many of the hardest fought battles
of the great struggle, but he was twice wounded and suffered many of the
hardships of war, but with the patience and courage which won him the
admiration and esteem of his comrades. He was present at the surrender of
General Lee to General Grant, and can never forget that impressive ceremony,
nor can he ever fail to enjoy in memory the pageant of the great final review
at Washington City. On October 21, 1910, occurred the twenty-fifth reunion of
the 105th Pa. Vol. Inf., at Punxsutawney, Jefferson County. It was a joyful
occasion, the living over the old dangers and triumphs, and the renewing of
old friendships, marking a happy milestone in the lives of men who once faced
death on every breeze in order that the country should be preserved for their
children.
     After his honorable discharge, Sergeant Bankert returned to Westmoreland
County and shortly afterward became connected with the Pennsylvania Gas and
Coal Company, with which he remained until 1869, when he came to Altoona and
resumed work at his trade. Mr. Bankert soon proved himself a responsible and
reliable citizen, invested in property and became interested in public
affairs and in the fall of 1908 was elected a county commissioner of Blair
County, with a majority of 1771. The duties of this office have claimed his
time since then and his reputation is that of an honest and efficient official.
     Mr. Bankert was married to Miss Ella Trotter, a daughter of Robert and
Catherine Trotter, and they have a family of ten children. The family
residence is at No. 1009 Eighth Avenue, Altoona. Mr. Bankert and family are
members of the Presbyterian church. He is identified with the G.A.R. Post No.
62, and the Veteran Legion No. 17; is an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias and
is also a member of the Heptasophs, the Royal Order of Moose and of the
Volunteer Firemen of Altoona.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 468-469.

HON. D. M. BARE, president of the Roaring Spring Bank, at Roaring Spring,
Pa., and practically the founder of the many industries which make this a
busy, prosperous modern town, is well known in a business way all over
Pennsylvania and in his own community is justly considered in the light of a
benefactor. He was born in Sinking Spring Valley, Blair County, Pa., October
24, 1834, and is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Mathias) Bare.
     Daniel Bare was born in York County, Pa., after the family had moved
there from Lancaster County, where his father, John Bare, had been born.
Daniel Bare was the ninth child born in a family of eleven children. He
followed agricultural pursuits through life.
     D. M. Bare grew up on his father's farm in Morrison's Cove, Pa.,
remained at home until he was twenty-four years old and then went to
Loysburg, in Bedford County, where he engaged in a mercantile and flour mill
business for several years and then came to Roaring Spring. Here he continued
the same activities for a time and still is a member of the D. M. Bare & Co.,
mercantile firm of this place. As early as 1866 he became one of the partners
in a paper manufacturing enterprise at Roaring Spring, the original style
being Eby, Morrison & Co. Later it was merged into Morrison, Bare & Cass and
under this name paper manufacturing was carried on until 1886. In 1880 the
firm built a paper mill at Tyrone, Pa., of which John S. Morrison became
manager, while Mr. Bare assumed the management of the mill at Roaring Spring.
In 1886 a division was made and Mr. Morrison and Mr. Cass became owners of the
Tyrone mill and Mr. Bare the owner of the Roaring Spring mill, the original
property, and continued the manager of this plant until 1899, when E. G. Bobb
became active manager and has continued in this position. The business was
incorporated in 1907 as the D. M. Bare Paper Company, its present style, as
mentioned. The D. M. Bare Paper Company have a daily capacity of between
twenty-five and thirty tons at their mill. They manufacture super-calendered
and machine finish book papers, lithograph, mimeograph and white flats, and
employment is afforded over 200 people. Mr. Bare has many  additional
interests, included in these is the Roaring Spring Planing Mill Company. He
was one of the founders of the Roaring Spring Bank, established in 1902, of
which he is president, and about 1888 was one of the four founders of the
Roaring Spring Blank Book Company, his partners being: D. R. Wike, A. L.
Garver and E. G. Bobb. This is a very large business, 200 people being
employed, and trade connections being maintained all over the United States.
Unusually active in business affairs, Mr. Bare had no particular training in
this line, his only educational advantages being those secured in the
district schools of Bedford County, after which he taught school for several
terms. He has been sincerely interested in the progress and development of
Roaring Spring, where his investments are so heavy and where his most
cherished friends live. His many public spirited efforts have been
appreciated and he is held in the highest esteem by his fellow citizens. His
business interests have been so absorbing that little time has been left for
performing public duties, but for several years he consented to serve as
burgess of the borough.
     Mr. Bare married Miss Sarah Eby, who was born in Huntingdon County, Pa.,
and they have four children, namely: Clara S., who is the wife of E. G. Bobb,
of Roaring Spring; Ella, who is the wife of Dr. A. L. Garver, of Roaring
Spring; Anna, who is the wife of Dr. W. M. Eldon, of Roaring Spring; and Ina,
who died in infancy. Mr. Bare is a member of the Church of God and is one of
the board of elders.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 498-501.

J. B. BEAM, contractor, builder and wholesale dealer in lumber and builders'
supplies, has been a resident of Tyrone, Pa., for twenty-two years and is one
of the representative business men of the borough. He was born in Cooper
Township, Clearfield County, Pa., November 25, 1869, at what is known as
Kylertown, a son of Nathan and Caroline (Miller) Beam.
     Nathan Beam, who is one of Clearfield County's substantial citizens and
successful farmers, was born on a farm in Cooper Township, adjoining the one
he owns, sixty-five years ago. His parents were Daniel and Susan (Cooper)
Beam, pioneers to Clearfield County.  Nathan Beam married Caroline Miller, who
was born in Switzerland, and was brought to America when six years old by her
parents, Joseph and Helena Miller, who settled in Cooper Township, Clearfield
County. To Nathan Beam and wife four children were born, three sons and one
daughter, as follows: Emil, who is a resident of Clearfield County; Edward,
who lives at Pitcairn, Pa.; Osie, whose home is in Texas; and J. B., of Tyrone.
     J. B. Beam is one of the successful men of this borough, who has fairly
and honestly won his way to the front. During early youth he worked on his
father's farm and attended the public schools and in his spare time learned
the carpenter trade. This trade he followed in Clearfield County until 1888,
when he moved to Tyrone, where he worked as a carpenter for several years and
then went into contracting and building. At the present time he stands at the
head of these lines of industry at Tyrone, and for several years past has
averaged from thirty-five to forty residences a year beside a large amount of
repair work. He also operates a planing mill and is engaged in the wholesale
lumber business at Northwood, a suburb of Tyrone. He gives many men
employment and his pay roll amounts to a large figure, all adding to the
general prosperity. Mr. Beam owns real estate in both Northwood and the
borough of Tyrone. In September, 1909, he erected an auditorium at Tyrone,
with dimensions of 120 x 80 feet, which is used for public meetings,
conventions and large assemblies of various kinds, space being afforded also
for amusements like roller skating and basket ball. Mr. Beam is president of
the McConahey Realty Company.
     Mr. Beam was married soon after coming to Tyrone, to Miss Effie
Meredith, a daughter of William and Emma Meredith, of this place. They have
four children: William N., who married Miss Caroline Nelson, daughter of N.
O. Nelson; E. Caroline, Helen M., and J. Leroy. The family resides at
Northwood. They are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Beam is
fraternally identified with the Junior Order of American Mechanics, the
Daughters of America, the Independent Order of Red Men, the Modern Woodmen
of America, and the Order of the Moose.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 954-955.

HON. RICHARD BEASTON, formerly burgess of Tyrone, Pa., and a leading business
man of this borough, has been identified with the paper manufacturing industry
for the past twenty-six years. He was born at Brooklyn, N. Y., and is a son of
Richard and Mary (Somers) Beaston.
     Richard Beaston was small when his parents moved to Camden, N. J., where
he attended both the public schools and private institutions until he entered
the office of the American Dredging Company, of Philadelphia, one of the
largest concerns of its kind in the country. He had one year of office
training and then came to this section of Pennsylvania and engaged with a
large lumber firm which operated in Center and Clearfield Counties. He was
connected with this concern from 1872 until 1884, and had charge of the
purchasing and sales department and acquired a thorough knowledge of every
detail. In 1884, he accepted a responsible position with the firm of
Morrison, Bare & Cass, paper manufacturers and has been with this house
continuously for twenty-six years, during which time the firm style has
changed several times. It has been Morrison & Cass, later the Morrison & Cass
Paper Company and more recently the title of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper
Company, has been adopted. Its offices are at Tyrone and it operates mills in
both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Mr. Beaston is in charge of the timber
and wood department for several of the various plants. He is a thorough-going
business man and has been active in all matters tending to the development of
Tyrone. He is a member of the Merchants' Association and has served several
terms as a member of the town council and has been president of that body. In
1886, he was elected assistant burgess and filled out an unexpired part of
that term and later was elected burgess and served two terms in this highest
municipal office. He has also been president of the Tyrone Board of Trade. In
politics he is a Republican.
     Mr. Beaston married Miss Flora May Walson, who was born at St. Albans,
Vt. They are members of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church at Tyrone, of
which he is treasurer and also a member of the vestry. He is one of Tyrone's
high minded, representative and responsible citizens.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 799-800.

W. FRANK BECK, M. D., who has attained wide prominence in the practice of
medicine, is located at Altoona, Pa., and makes a specialty of diseases of
the eye, being also eminently successful as a general practitioner and
surgeon. He was born in Center County, Pa., in 1866, attended the Grove City
College, and after reading medicine two years with Dr. J. M. Smith of Tyrone,
Pa., entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and there received, in
1890, a diploma for the practice of medicine and surgery. He then spent two
years in the practice of his profession in partnership with Dr. Smith, of
Tyrone, Pa., then opened an office for himself at that place, and in 1901
moved to Altoona, locating at No. 1214 Eighth Avenue. His offices are at
present located at 1107 Twelfth Avenue. Dr. Beck was formerly surgeon for the
Pennsylvania Railroad, and served as first police surgeon of Altoona, under
Mayor Walker. He is a member of the County, State and American Medical
Societies, is one of the contributers to the Medical Journal, and is one of
the founders of American Medicines, a medical journal which was established
at Philadelphia.
     Dr. Beck is also interested in agriculture, owning a fine country home
at Lakemont, called Craigs. He has always taken an active interest in
politics and in 1910 was a candidate before the Republican primaries as a
delegate to the state convention. He is fraternally a member of the Eagles,
Moose, the I.O.O.F., and J.O.M. His religious connection is with the Second
Presbyterian church, at Altoona.
     In 1894 Dr. Beck was joined in marriage with Miss Sarah Campbell, a
daughter of Colonel Campbell, who is a well known contractor and coal
operator. They have two children - Elizabeth C., and C. Campbell.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 830-831.

A. W. BECKMAN, one of Altoona's representative business men, who has charge
of the entire Baker estate and its many interests, is one of the enterprising
and progressive young men that education and travel are developing into a type
of manhood that is sure to find rich opportunity for effort, no matter what
may be the change in their native environment. Mr. Beckman was born in the
city of Stockholm, Sweden, in 1880, and came to America in 1901.
     Ernst Beckman, father of Mr. Beckman, is one of Sweden's prominent
public men and has made several visits of an official nature, to different
parts of America. In 1904 he was president of the Swedish delegation to the
Inter-Parliamentary Union that met at St. Louis, Missouri. He married a
daughter of D. Woods Baker, who was killed in a steamboat accident when the
daughter was only two weeks old.
     Mr. Beckman was reared and educated in his native land. After reaching
America he spent two years in the city of Philadelphia acquiring a knowledge
of American business methods and then came to Altoona, where he was
associated with the late S. C. Baker, his great-uncle, until the death of the
latter in June, 1907, since which time Mr. Beckman has had charge of the large
family interests involved. He is interested in local enterprises being a
director in the Suburban Home Company and secretary and treasurer of the Home
Water Supply Company. Mr. Beckman was married June 16, 1909, to Miss Margaret
Leet, the only daughter of W. C. Leet, of Altoona. Mr. Beckman is a member of
the University and Altoona Cricket Clubs.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 622-623.

JOHN A. BEEGLE, a veteran of the Civil War and a participant in many of the
most conclusive battles of that period of strife, for a number of years has
been engaged in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, residing on his farm of
fifty-three acres, situated in Allegheny Township, Blair County, Pa. He was
born in Bedford County, Pa., February 1, 1840, and is a son of John and
Rebecca (McFern) Beegle, and a grandson of Frederick Beegle. His father was
born in Bedford County and his mother in Franklin County, Pa.
     John A. Beegle obtained his education in the district schools. He was
seventeen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Juniata Township,
Blair County, and there engaged in farm work until he enlisted for service in
the Civil War. His first enlistment, for nine months, was in Co. E, 125th Pa.
Vol. Inf., and his second included the two closing years of the war, in Co.
C, 110th Pa. Vol. Inf. He took part in the battles of Antietam,
Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, the siege of Petersburg and the capture of
that city. He was one of the privileged soldiers who witnessed the surrender
of General Lee at Appomattox, to General Grant. After his honorable discharge
he returned to Blair County and lived for a time in Juniata Township and then
went back to Bedford County and resided there for a number of years, coming
then to Allegheny Township, where he has lived ever since.
     Mr. Beegle married Miss Mary Wertz, a native of Bedford County, and a
daughter of William Wertz, a former resident there, and seven children were
born to them, the only survivor being a daughter, Annie M., who is the wife
of James Spidle, of Cambria County, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Beegle are members of
the Lutheran church at Newry. He is identified with the G.A.R. Post at
Duncansville. In politics he is a Democrat and has served three years as
school director in Allegheny Township.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 621.

EDWARD BELL, a progressive farmer and enterprising citizen of Antis Township,
Blair County, Pa., is the owner of a fine farm of 189 acres and was born
December 12, 1830, in what is now Bellwood, a son of David and Margaret
(McKnight) Bell.
     David Bell, father of our subject, was born June 23, 1805, at Bells
Mills, and was a son of Edward Bell, who was known throughout Blair County as
a financier, and iron manufacturer, and who was the largest land owner of the
county in its entire history. David Bell was reared and spent his entire life
in Antis Township, coming to the farm owned by our subject at an early period.
Here he made a clearing, and in 1834, erected a large barn, which is still
standing, cutting the pine with which it was built from off the place. He
also built a fine brick residence that same year, and both buildings are
still in excellent condition. On February 4, 1830, David Bell married
Margaret P. McKnight, who was born December 19, 1807, and died July 8, 1889.
David died March 28, 1841, and both were buried in the Logan Valley Cemetery.
The following children were born to David and Margaret Bell: Edward, subject
of this record; Mary Jane, who died aged four years; John P., who lives in
Antis Township on a farm adjoining the old home place; Henrietta, who died
aged four years; and Richard M., who was killed May 4, 1864, at Drury's Bluff
during the Civil War. He enlisted in 1861 and was a member of Company F., 76th
Reg. Pa. Inf.
     Edward Bell was reared in Antis Township, and was less than three years
of age when his parents moved to his present farm. He has lived here
continuously, except for a period of nine years, returning in 1850, and has
always followed general farming. Mr. Bell was married September 26, 1865, to
Anna Graham, the Rev. D. D. Clark officiating. Mrs. Bell was born in
Waterloo, Juniata County, Pa., and is a daughter of James and Mary
(Montgomery) Graham, the former of whom died when she was less than two years
of age. Her mother, who came of one of the oldest families of Juniata County,
subsequently moved with her family to Newton Hamilton, where Mrs. Bell was
reared. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bell, as follows: Margaret
married W. H. Bently of Bellwood, and they have three children - C. Kenneth,
Annabel and Edward Bell Bently. James Graham died October 19, 1888, aged
twenty years. Eliza, is the wife of Rev. J. R. Wood, pastor of the Baptist
church of Hollidaysburg, Pa., and they have two children, Elizabeth R., and
Richard Graham. Mary lives at home; Edward, Jr., is a resident of Johnstown,
Pa., and married Elizabeth Eckfeldt. Richard M., who lives on the home place,
attended Bucknell University (as did also the other sons except Graham, who at
his death was a junior at the Troy Polytechnic College of Troy, N. Y.), and
was for some years a professional ball player, having played ball in all
parts of the country. Adie K. met his death in the yards of the Green River,
Wyoming & Union Pacific R. R. on December 15, 1907; he married Mary Freeburn
of Bellwood. Allan C. died in November, 1906, aged 19 years. Mrs. Wood is a
member of the Pi Beta Phi order, and Richard M., and Edward Bell are members
of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Mr. Bell is politically a Republican and
served as school director, supervisor, and poor director, and was post master
at Sabbath Rest 24 years. He is a member of the Logan Valley Baptist Church,
and is the oldest member of that church, having been identified with the same
since boyhood.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 798-799.

JOHN PIERCE BELL, one of the representative citizens of Antis Township, Blair
County, Pa., residing on his excellent farm of 187 acres, was born September
6, 1835, in a log house which stood on a farm in Antis Township, which is now
owned by Edward Bell. His parents were David and Margaret Pierce (McKnight)
Bell. The Bell family was one of the earliest to settle in Blair County.
     John Pierce Bell attended school at Elizabeth Furnace and later at
Lewisburg, residing at the latter place from 1854 until 1857. From then until
1860 he was connected with a banking house at Huntingdon, Pa., and
subsequently spent a year near Denver, Colo., at what was then called
California Gulch. After his return to Blair County he was married and he and
his wife lived in the brick house on the old home place until 1866, when they
came to his present farm, which is a part of the old McKnight place. The
farmhouse and barn now standing were built by John Crissman. Mr. Bell has
engaged in general farming and stock raising, threshing and sawing and has
made many improvements, these adding to the value of his own property very
materially.
     Mr. Bell was married May 16, 1861, to Miss Agnes Greenland, who was born
in Huntingdon County, Pa., and died September 25, 1887. Her burial was in the
Logan Valley Cemetery. She was a daughter of Joshua and Betsey (Wright)
Greenland, old settlers in the lower part of Huntingdon County. To the above
marriage the following children were born: David Vinton, who was born June
15, 1863, resides at Rock Springs, Colo., being superintendent there of the
water department for the Union Pacific Railroad, is married and has seven
children - Agnes, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Edna, Orrin, David, Vinton and Carl;
James Martin, who was born October 11, 1865, resides on the home farm,
married Blanche Burns and they have three daughters - Agnes, Beatrice and
Ida; Walter Greenland, who was born February 17, 1868, lives at Jerome,
Idaho, married Ella Kanan, of Indiana County, Pa., and has three children -
Joseph P., Marion and Agnes; Edward Pierce, who was born May 11, 1870, died
May 25, 1870; Lillian, who was born May 21, 1871, is the wife of Dr. E. J.
Marfing, a dentist located at Jenkinstown, Montgomery County, and they have
three children - Dorothy, Raymond and Austin; Annie, who was born March 13,
1874, is a school teacher in Rawlins, Wyoming; J. Wilson, who was born March
7, 1877, resides at Snake River, Idaho, and by his first marriage had a son,
Milton, and by a second marriage, a daughter, Mabel; Allison Dean, who was
born December 14, 1879, resides on the homestead, married Mary Shawley, of
Spruce Creek and has three children - Arthur Floyd, born May 2 1, 1903;
Murray Weldon, born February 15, 1906, and Lewis Edwin, born December 5,
1908; Simpson Africa, who was born May 15, 1882, resides in Idaho; and Edgar
Pierce, who was born August 5, 1884, lives at home.
     Mr. Bell cast his first presidential vote for General John C. Fremont
and ever since has been identified politically with the Republican party. He
is a member of Mt. Moriah Lodge, F.&A.M., at Huntingdon, Pa.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 741-742.

HON. MARTIN BELL, deceased, formerly president judge of the Blair County
Courts, was long one of Hollidaysburg's representative citizens. He was born
in Antis Township, Blair County, Pa., September 30, 1849, and was the only
surviving son of Rev. Adie K. and Mary E. (Allen) Bell.
     The founder of the old pioneer Bell family of central Pennsylvania was
John Bell, the great-grandfather of the late Judge Bell, who settled in
Sinking valley prior to the Revolutionary War, during which he was often
compelled to flee with his family to Lowery's Fort to escape massacre by the
Indians.
     Edward Bell, son of John Bell, was born in Sinking valley, March 17,
1769, and died April 14, 1852, aged eighty-three years. He was a millwright
by trade, and in 1800 he came to the site of Bellwood, Pa., where he built a
grist mill, distillery and saw mill, which improvements gave the place the
name of Bell's Mills, and later, in honor of Mr. Bell, was named Bellwood.
Edward Bell was a remarkably energetic and successful man, and in 1830 had
come into the ownership of 3,674 acres of land. Two years later he built
Elizabeth Furnace and Mary Ann Forge, and in 1836 his son, Martin Bell, at
Elizabeth Furnace, was the first man in the world to use escaping gas from
the tunnel head of a furnace for the production of steam, and also, it may be
said, the first man to rest his furnace over Sunday.
     Rev. Adie K. Bell, father of Judge Bell, was born also in Blair County,
in 1814, and died in 1888. He was an able Baptist minister and for a number
of years was pastor of one of the leading Baptist churches in Allegheny City.
The mother of Judge Bell was a native of Dauphin County, a member of the old
Allen family of that section. Rev. Adie Bell was one of the early financial
secretaries of Lewisburg University, now Bucknell University, at Lewisburg, Pa.
     Martin Bell was educated at Lewisburg, and was graduated from the
university there in the class of 1873, being later admitted to the bar.
Subsequently he was elected district attorney of Blair County and filled that
office for three consecutive terms. Judge Bell was elected in the fall of 1893
to succeed judge Augustus S. Landis, the Democratic appointee of Gov. Robert
E. Pattison, who succeeded the late justice John Dean on the Blair County
Bench. Judge Bell was also elected for his second full term on the Republican
ticket in the fall of 1903.
     Judge Bell was prominent in Masonic circles, being a 32d degree Mason,
past master and a Knight Templar. He also took an active part in the military
affairs of the State and was for many years the captain of Company C, N.G.P.,
stationed in this city. He was one of the most able, eminent and widely
quoted judges of the Courts of Common Pleas of the State. When it became
necessary to pass upon the recent act of Assembly increasing the salaries of
the judiciary of the State, Judge Bell was selected to sit with Judge Robert
Von Moschzisker, of Philadelphia, specially upon the Dauphin County Bench, to
decide that question, and they sustained the constitutionality of that act.
     Judge Bell's decisions were well written and carefully considered, and
it was a rare occasion when he was reversed by an Appellate Court. He left to
survive him a widow, three sons and three daughters.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 775.

WILLIAM S. BELL, a prominent and highly esteemed citizen of Antis Township,
Blair County, Pa., comes of one of the prominent pioneer families of the
county, and is extensively engaged in the lumber industry in connection with
general farming. He was born September 16, 1860, on his present farm, which
is the old John Bell homestead, and is a son of Samuel Hunter and Sarah E.
(Shomo) Bell, and a grandson of John Bell, who was born in 1799. His paternal
ancestry is as follows: John Bell, great-great-grandfather of William S., came
from England and located in what is now Scotch Valley, from there moving to
Pottsgrove Mills, where he resided until about 1800. He then located on the
site of the present town of Bellwood and spent the remainder of his life in
this locality. He married Mary Hunter, whom he met on shipboard while on his
way to this country.
     Edward Bell, great-grandfather of our subject, was born in Scotch Valley
and was a millwright by trade. He was also a surveyor and assisted in building
the first capitol building erected at Harrisburg, while later he built and
operated the Elizabeth Furnace and Mary Ann Forge in Antis Township. He was
an able financier and was at one time the owner of 40,000 acres of land. He
married Mary Martin, whose father was a Scotchman, and of their union were
born six sons and two daughters, among whom his property was divided at the
time of his death.
     John Bell, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born on the
old Edward Bell homestead in a substantial log home. His father built a fine
brick home in 1832, and John Bell, after his marriage with Elizabeth Boyle,
began housekeeping in this house now owned by our subject. Here he operated a
forge which had been built by his father, and lived here until the time of his
death. He had seven children, namely: Mary, deceased, who was the wife of
Fleming Holliday; Margaret, deceased, who was the wife of M. B. Riddle;
Elizabeth, now deceased; Samuel H.; Katherine K., deceased, who was the wife
of Dr. Isaac Kay; Ellie B., wife of Thaddeus Stewart, of Bellwood; and John
E., now deceased.
     Samuel Hunter Bell was born on the old Bell homestead and operated the
Cold Spring Forge and the Elizabeth Furnace from 1861 to 1865. He then
entered into the lumber business, but during the last ten years of his life
was engaged in surveying. Politically a Democrat, he served some years as
justice of the peace. He married Sarah E. Shomo, a daughter of William Shomo,
whose family came here from Lebanon County, Pa., and three children were born
of their union, namely William S., Mary, and Elizabeth, the two last
mentioned residing on the old Samuel H. Bell homestead. Mr. Bell died in
1895, and was survived by his widow until 1908. Their remains rest in the
cemetery at Bellwood. They were both members of the Presbyterian church.
     William S. Bell was reared on his present place, and has spent all his
life so far in the vicinity of Bellwood, where for ten years he was engaged
in shipping and selling coal. For the past six years he has resided on the
Bell homestead, where he deals extensively in lumber in connection with his
farming interests. The old Bell homestead is 105 years old and was first
owned by a man named Johnston. Mr. Bell is the owner of 140 acres of land
which he has under good cultivation, and also owns 1,600 acres of timberland.
He is a stock holder of the Bellwood Bank, and is fraternally a member of the
Masonic Lodge of Altoona. He was married June 30, 1904, to Christine Mundorff, 
who was born in Huntingdon County, Pa., a daughter of Samuel Mundorff, 
of Bellwood. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have three children: Sarah Ellen; Samuel H.; 
and Bertha A. The family hold membership in the Presbyterian church.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 930-933.

J. A. BENDER, proprietor of Hotel Colma, which is located at No. 1700 Eighth
Avenue, Altoona, Pa., has engaged in this business since April, 1906, and was
born in this borough, November 13, 1872, a son of Anthony and Catherine
(Harmon) Bender. His father was a native of Germany, and the mother a native
of Blair County, Pa. They were parents of the following children: William,
John A., Charles P., Oscar, Catherine, Emma, Mary, Lewis, and Joseph.
     Mr. Bender was reared and has always lived in Altoona, and during his
early manhood clerked in a grocery store in this borough, but later worked
seven years as a sheet iron worker for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He
has been engaged in the hotel business in this city since April 1906, now
being proprietor of Hotel Colma. In 1905 Mr. Bender was united in marriage
with Chloe Kephart, at Milwaukee, Wis., although she also is a native of
Blair County, Pa. In politics Mr. Bender takes an active interest in the
affairs of the Republican party, and is fraternally identified with the
L.O.O.M. and the Owls. He is a member of the Catholic church.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 633.

A. WESLEY BEYER, a prominent business man of Tyrone, Pa., one of the members
of the Tyrone Milling Co., was born near Tipton, where Fuoss mill is now
located, August 16, 1847, a son of Aaron and Lydia (Reamy) Beyer. His mother
is a sister of D. K. Reamy. Mr. Beyer's paternal grandfather was David Beyer,
in early days a resident of Frederick, Md., who came to this part of
Pennsylvania in 1800, settling in the upper part of Sinking valley, on what
is now known as the Breidenbaugh farm. He erected one of the first mills, if
not the first, in that part of the county. He also erected the first mill on
the site of the present Fuoss mill. He was the father of eight children. The
maternal grandfather, Frederick Reamy, who was an iron worker by trade, in
1807 settled at Tyrone Forge, but later removed to Sinking valley, where he
purchased a farm. A son of his, Daniel Reamy, for many years conducted a
hotel in Hollidaysburg. Fred Reamy of Altoona is a grandson of Frederick
Reamy, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch.
     Aaron Beyer, the father of our subject, was also a miller and owned and
operated what is now known as the Fuoss mill for many years. A large man
physically, he was also large minded, having a keen sense of honor and
bearing an excellent reputation for honesty and business integrity. He and
his wife Lydia were the parents of a large family of children, of whom those
now living are: Mrs. Martha A. Dysart of Altoona; Mrs. S. B. Bain of Juniata;
A. W., the subject of this sketch; and William, an attorney residing in
Altoona, who formerly served as city attorney there. The deceased children of
Aaron and Lydia (Reamy) Beyer are as follows:
     F. D. Beyer, who was a prominent lumber merchant of Tyrone. He learned
the carpenter's trade and held a position as mill foreman. In 1862 he entered
into business at Beyer's Mill, which was erected by Aaron Beyer, his father.
He came to Tyrone about 1867 and conducted a large lumber business until his
retirement in 1886, at which time he turned the business over to his sons,
who are successful business men.
     Rev. James S. Beyer was a soldier in the Union army. After the war he
was a member of Central Pennsylvania Conference for many years. He died ten
years ago. S. F. Beyer was also a soldier and was killed near Petersburg.
Catherine Beyer was a nurse in the army and was later engaged in missionary
work. The others were Lydia R., who married a Mr. Waring, Angeline and Mary.
     A. W. Beyer acquired his education in the common schools and remained
with his father until he attained the age of twenty years. He spent fourteen
years in the planing mill business and was for six years in the mercantile
business. In 1907 the Tyrone Milling Co.'s plant was destroyed by fire, as a
result of which catastrophe Mr. Beyer came near losing his life. Some time
previous to the fire, he with others had purchased the Tyrone Forges mill,
then owned by S. C. Stewart. The mill is a large building four stories high
and has a capacity of seventy-five barrels of flour per day. The style has
since been changed to the Tyrone Milling Co. It turns out a staple brand of
flour known as the Golden Eagle flour. The present owners have spent
considerable money in improving the plant, and they have a large demand for
their product.
     Mr. Beyer first married Miss Annie M. Aults, a daughter of Samuel M.
Aults. She died about sixteen years ago. Three children were born to this
union, namely: Edwin B., who is married and is superintendent of the Tyrone
Milling Co.; Mary Elizabeth, who is a teacher of domestic science in
Philadelphia; and Ambrose, who died at the age of six years. Mr. Beyer
married for his second wife Mrs. Delcena Crabtree, a daughter of Jacob Jones.
Her father was a contractor and builder. Mr. Beyer is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. His early political training affiliated him with
the Republican party but he has independent proclivities and votes for the
candidate he thinks best fitted for the office. For the past forty years he
has been a resident of Tyrone, where he is respected as a man of business
enterprise and personal probity, exemplifying the value of a good heredity.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 948-949.

ANDREW C. BIDDLE, who is engaged in general farming and stock raising on a
farm of 152 acres in Woodbury Township, has been a resident of Blair County
since 1891, and was born July 19, 1852, in Bedford County, Pa., a son of
Jacob and Susan (Marsden) Biddle. Jacob Biddle followed farming in Bedford
County, Pa. His union with Susan Marsden resulted in the birth of the
following children: Malinda, deceased, wife of William Cochran; Caroline,
deceased, wife of Alex Boor; Myra, wife of S. F. Hetrick; Gilbert; and Andrew
C., the subject of this record. Jacob Biddle was politically a Republican. He
held membership with the Lutheran church.
     Andrew C. Biddle spent his boyhood on his father's farm in Bedford
County, Pa., and after obtaining a common school education, engaged in
agricultural pursuits, which he has followed all his life. In 1891 he
purchased his present farm of 152 acres in Woodbury Township, from the heirs
of the George Hewitt estate. The barn which was on the place at the time of
his purchase, was struck by lightning and entirely destroyed, and was later
replaced by the fine bank barn, which is now on the farm. Mr. Biddle carries
on farming in a general way, and raises sufficient stock for his own use.
     In 1871 Mr. Biddle married Rebecca Lyons, who is a daughter of Henry and
Elizabeth Lyons, and is one of the following children born to her parents:
William, Anna, Rebecca, Elias, Joseph, Grant, and Benjamin. Her father was a
native of Lancaster County, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Biddle are parents of the
following children: Anna, who is the wife of William Swisher; Ida, who
married George Zeigler; Charles; Sophia, who is the wife of Albert Fry;
Minnie, who married Thomas Steward; Grace, and Nell. Mr. Biddle is identified
with the Republican party.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 653.

JOHN A. BIDDLE, one of the successful farmers and highly esteemed citizens of
Woodbury Township, Blair County, Pa., resides on a tract of 235 acres, and was
born on this farm, October 8, 1845, a son of John and Anna D. (Anderson)
Biddle, who were early settlers of Blair County. The paternal grandparents of
our subject, John and Elizabeth Biddle, were natives of Germany, and after
coming to this country first located in Maryland. The maternal grandparents,
Julius and Harriet Anderson, came here from Holland. John Biddle, father of
subject, followed farming in Woodbury Township. In politics he was identified
with the Republican party. Both parents were members of the Presbyterian
church. They had two sons, Charles, who died in infancy and John A., the
subject of this record.
     John A. Biddle grew to man's estate on the home farm in Woodbury
Township, and obtained his education in the common schools of the township
and at Williamsburg Academy, where he spent six months. He then taught in the
schools of Blair County twelve terms, and about 1870 came to his present farm,
which was then known as the John Snively farm. He has resided here
continuously since that time, following farming in a general way, and is also
owner of 348 acres of land in North Dakota. Mr. Biddle is a Prohibitionist,
politically, and is at present a justice of the peace in Woodbury Township,
and has also served on the school board of this township. He is a member of
the Presbyterian church.
     In 1875 Mr. Biddle was joined in marriage with Miss Anna C. Johnston, a
daughter of James M. and Rachel B. Johnston, who were well known residents of
Blair County. Her father, during his early life, was a merchant and the owner
of boats on the canal, but later in life followed farming in this county. She
was the youngest of six children, who lived to maturity, namely: Robert M.,
Calvin C., George Elliott, Joseph, Martha, and Anna C.  Mr. and Mrs. Biddle
reared three children: Ida F., widow of James Patterson; and Emma A. and Lloyd.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 662.

JEREMIAH W. BLACK, justice of the peace and a leading citizen of Canan
Station, Blair County, Pa., was born here, June 20, 1846, and is a son of
Jacob and Mary M. (Swoveland) Black.
     Jacob Black and wife were both born in what was then Bedford County, but
is now Blair County. He was a son of Adam Black, who was a pioneer in what is
now Greenfield Township, Blair County, where he was a justice of the peace
for many years and was identified also with the state militia. He died in
1851. His people were of German extraction. Jacob Black was born February 14,
1804, and died July 6, 1872. In 1831, with his wife, he removed to Allegheny
Township and settled at the point now known as Canan Station, where he spent
the remainder of his life. He engaged in farming and also conducted an inn,
but gave up the hotel business in the year in which the railroad was put
through. He was one of the reliable and representative men of the place and
had done much toward its upbuilding. Of his children there are four
survivors, namely: Adam S:, who lives near Davenport, Ia.; John H., who
resides at Duncansville; G. Samuel, who lives in Allegheny Township, and
Jeremiah W., of Canan Station.
     Jeremiah W. Black has passed his life among the old and familiar
surroundings of childhood. After completing his period of school attendance,
he engaged to some extent in farming and owns twelve acres of highly
cultivated land. For a quarter of a century he has served in the office of
justice of the peace and his public duties have served to make him acquainted
with a large number of his fellow citizens. His decisions during this long
period have very generally been upheld, while innumerable times he has
succeeded in adjusting differences without further bitterness of feeling or
recourse to a higher court. For six years he served as a member of the school
board of Allegheny Township and for a portion of this period was president of
the board. In his political views he is a Republican.
     Mr. Black married Miss Catherine Shaffer, who was born in Somerset
County, Pa., a daughter of Michael Shaffer, late of Pittsburg. Mrs. Black
died June 20, 1904, leaving one son, Harry S. The latter married Esther
Clapper, a daughter of Daniel Clapper, of Allegheny Township. Mrs. Catherine
Black was a member of the First Lutheran Church at Altoona, to which Judge
Black also belongs. He is a member of the Order of the Moose, at Altoona, and
of Eldorado Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, at Eldorado, and formerly was
connected with the Odd Fellows, at Altoona.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 645.

CAPT. JOHN H. BLACK, an honored veteran of the Civil War and a prominent
citizen of Duncansville, Pa., which has been his home since 1865, was born in
Allegheny Township, Blair County, Pa., July ?8, 1834. His parents were Jacob
and Mary (Swoveland) Black.
     Jacob Black was born in Greenfield Township, Blair County, and was a son
of Adam Black, who came to Blair County from Maryland. He settled in
Greenfield Township, when the present green fields were yet covered with a
native forest. He was a pioneer in the saw mill industry and built one of the
first saw mills in the township and later erected a grist mill. He became the
leading man of the settlement and later, when the township became the home of
many law abiding people, he was appointed justice of the peace and served in
that office for twenty years, and the records show that during that period he
united 104 couples in marriage. He was identified also with the State militia
and was evidently one of the most useful and reliable men of his day.
     Jacob Black was reared in Greenfield Township but after his marriage, in
the thirties, he moved to a farm in Allegheny Township and lived there until
his death, in 1871. There his nine children were born and of these there are
four survivors, as follows: Adam S., who lives near Davenport, Ia.; John H.;
Samuel G., who lives near Eldorado, Pa.; and Jeremiah W., who lives in
Allegheny Township.
     John H. Black was reared on the home farm in Allegheny Township and
attended the district schools, and Tuscarawas Academy, in Juniata County,
after which he taught school for some years before the outbreak of the
Rebellion. Seemingly this was but poor preparation for the hardships of a
soldier's life, but it is doubtful if the young teacher ever thought of
personal discomfort when his loyalty to the Union impelled him to enlist as a
defender of the same. On April 22, 1861, he entered Co. H, 14th Pa. Vol. Inf.,
and served out his first enlistment of three months, and on December to, 1861,
re-enlisted, becoming a member of Co. G, 12th Pa. Cav., in which he served
faithfully for two years. He then re-enlisted in the same company and
regiment as a veteran, with the rank of first sergeant and later was advanced
to the rank of first lieutenant. Capt. Black by no means escaped all the
dangers of warfare. He took part in the second battle of Bull Run, where he
was taken prisoner and was paroled on the field of battle. Later he was
wounded in Loudon County, Va., when his command and the guerilla band under
Col. John S. Moseby, had a sharp engagement. Capt. Black was so seriously
injured that he was permanently disabled and he was honorably discharged on
July 20, 1865. It is inspiring to listen to this old veteran's stories of his
life as a cavalryman under the late General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley
and of their devotion to their leader even while most continuously under fire.
     After his return to Blair County he resumed teaching after a necessary
period of recuperation, and continued in the school room more or less until
1877. Late in the sixties he served as treasurer of Blair County and from
1892 until 1906 he served as a member of the board of Education of the
borough of Duncansville, having previously been a director in the independent
school district in Blair Township. His interest in educational matters has
been continuous and at all times his services have been most valuable.
     Capt. Black married Miss Jennie Leighty, who was born in Duncansville,
Pa., and died here in 1908. She was a daughter of George and Sophia (Walters)
Leighty, both families being old settlers and substantial people of Blair
Township. To this marriage one daughter was born, Carrie M., who resides with
her father. In politics Capt. Black is identified with the Republican party.
Since early manhood he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church
and is serving as a steward and as trustee of the church at Duncansville.
Since October 24, 1860, he has been a member of Lodge No. 119, Odd Fellows,
at Hollidaysburg. He is a member of James H. Gibboney Post, No. 465, G.A.R.,
at Duncansville, and has served in the office of quartermaster. He is known
all over Blair County and at other points, having attended many reunions of
the Grand Army.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 657-658.

SAMUEL CALVIN BLACK, one of the substantial and representative citizens of
Logan Township, Blair County, Pa., is proprietor of a tannery, which he
operates in connection with farming. He was born August 14, 1845, on his
present place, a son of William and Mary (Pottsgrove) Black.
     William Black was born March 14, 1799, in Sinking Valley, Blair County,
Pa., and was a son of Christopher Black, who came to this county from
Cumberland County, Pa., and here operated a tannery for some years. William
Black was also a tanner and about 1844 came to Logan Township and located on
the farm now owned by our subject. This farm, consisting of 40 acres, of
which ten acres were timber, is located on the Greenwood road, and was bought
by our subject's father from a Mr. Green. He erected a barn and stone house,
and died here in the fall of 1867.
     Samuel C. Black was reared on his present farm and educated in the local
schools. He learned the tanners' trade under his father, and has always
conducted a tannery in connection with general farming. His residence, which
was built by his father in 1859, has been remodeled and equipped with modern
conveniences, including running hot and cold water. Mr. Black is actively
identified with the Republican party in politics, and has served for 23 years
as a member of the school board, of which he is now president. He has been
largely instrumental in obtaining fine schools for the township, and has
otherwise been prominent in affairs pertaining to the welfare of Logan
Township. He is president of the road supervisors of this township.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, p. 816.

SAMUEL S. BLAIR, who was superintendent of the Tyrone Division of the
Pennsylvania Railroad for thirty years, was born in Dauphin County, Pa.,
three miles west of Harrisburg, on the Susquehanna river, Oct. 9, 1833. His
parents were Samuel and Catherine (Moyer) Blair. The father, a native of
Pennsylvania and a farmer by occupation, spent the greater part of his life
in Dauphin County, where he died in 1865 at the age of 6o years. The mother
of our subject was born in Pennsylvania and died in Dauphin County this
state. Of their marriage there were four children which attained maturity.
Two-George and John-both now deceased, served in the army. Catherine resides
with the subject of this sketch.
     Samuel S. Blair was educated in the public schools of Dauphin County,
and at an early age entered the employ of Kerr, Jones & Co., Pittsburg,
engaged in a transportation business. In 1853 he entered the service of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, filling various positions until he attained that of
superintendent of the Baltimore office and that at York, and was in York when
General Early made his raid through that place. He was transferred to Tyrone
in 1873 as superintendent of the Tyrone Division, which position he filled up
to 1903, when he retired. For 37 years he has been a well known resident of
Tyrone. He is associated with the Blair Bros., his sons, as producers and
distributors of coal. They operate Orient mines Nos. 4 and 4, at Powelton,
Center County, Pa., the firm having been thus engaged for more than 20 years.
     Mr. Blair first married in 1859 to Miss Adaline Wolf, of Columbia, Pa.,
a daughter of Christopher Wolf. Of this union there are four sons living,
namely: Charles F., Horace C., Louis B. and Samuel Howard. Howard is in the
employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad; the other three are engaged in the coal
business. Mr. Blair, our direct subject, is a member of Tyrone Lodge, F. & A.
M. He is also a member and elder in the Presbyterian church at Tyrone; in
politics a Republican. He owns the residence built by Adam Hoover, at No. 934
Washington Avenue, which is one of the finest in Tyrone. He is one of the most
prominent and respected residents of the borough.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 965-966.

JOSEPH U. BLOSE, M. D., whose success as a physician and skill as a surgeon
has advanced him to the front rank among the professional men of Central
Pennsylvania, has been actively engaged in medical practice at Altoona since
1886, coming to this city with six years of professional experience behind
him. He was born in North Mahoning Township, Indiana County, Pa., October 3,
1856, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Shaw) Blose, and a grandson of
Michael Blose.
     William Blose was born in Armstrong County, Pa., January 21, 1825, and
was a son of Michael and Sarah (Wangaman) Blose, who were natives of Germany.
In 1850 William Blose moved to North Mahoning Township, Indiana County, where
his subsequent life was spent, agriculture being his occupation. During the
last year of the Civil War he served honorably as a soldier, being a member
of Co. B, 67th Pa. Vol. Inf. He married Elizabeth Shaw, who was brought from
Ireland by her father, Thomas Shaw, and was reared in Armstrong County. To
them were born children as follows: Calvin; Dr. Daniel A., who graduated from
the Lewisburg University and later took a theological course at Auburn
Seminary and became a clergyman; Joseph U.; William T.; Dr. James Miles, who
graduated from Oberlin University and later became prominently identified
with one of the most noted musical colleges of the United States; Benjamin
F.; Sarah, who married Phineas Work; Jennie, who married Henry Knauf; and
Ella, who married Charles Perritt.
     Joseph U. Blose remained at home during his early school period and
later took a classical course at Glade Run Academy in Armstrong County, after
which he became a student of medicine in the office of Dr. John W. Morrow, a
prominent physician and leading public man of Indiana County. On February 26,
1880, Dr. Blose was graduated from the Columbus Medical College, at Columbus,
O., and in 1895 took a postgraduate course in the Ohio Medical University at
Columbus. Prior to coming to Altoona on November 15, 1886, Dr. Blose
practiced for two years at Pine Flats and for four years at Cherry Tree, Pa.
He has identified himself with all the leading medical organizations of the
country and has been admitted to membership in the Altoona Academy of
Medicine and Surgery, the latter being an organized body of trained
scientists. He is a member of the staff of the Altoona Hospital, Surgeon to
the Mercy Hospital, and has served on the city board of health. He is
ex-President of Blair County Medical Society. In his political preferences he
is a Republican. Personally he is a man of courteous and dignified address,
and aside from his profession as well as in this connection, has always
commanded the respect of his fellow citizens.
     Dr. Blose was married in 1875, to Miss Lillie T. C. Brown, who is a
daughter of the late Gen. Samuel C. Brown, who was a distinguished officer in
the Civil War. Dr. and Mrs. Blose had four daughters: Edith Edna, Tina Marie,
Ethel, and Helen. Helen died October 27, 1905. Edith Edna married Robert L.
Gamble, a business man of Altoona, and Tina Marie married Robert
Lingenfelter. Ethel is still at the home. Tina Marie Blose Lingenfelter is
still director of the well known Blose orchestra. Dr. Blose maintains both
his home and office at No. 401 Howard Avenue, Altoona. The religious
connection of the family is with the Episcopal Church.

Sell, Jesse C., Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County,
Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold,
1911, pp. 846-847.