BIOS: File 3 - Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Blair Co, PA: Samuel T. Wiley, Philadelphia, 1892. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja Typing and proofreading by subscribers to the RootsWeb PABLAIR mailing list, as noted on individual transcriptions. Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ _________________________________________ Biographies in File 3, listing the page where they appear in the book: Alexander, Milton, page 194 Bassler, Rev. Jacob S., page 208 Brennecke, Christ., page 380 Clark, John, page 201 Curry, W. E., page 379 Davis, Harry Irvin, page 206 Eichholtz, George M., page 383 Gardner, Osmond W., page 240 Hamor, Walter J., page 385 Hart, Joseph, page 386 Hoyer, Samuel M., page 382 Lotz, George, page 381 Love, John D., page 372 McCamant, Hon. Samuel, page 384 Osman, Absalom, page 203 Price, Austin V., page 204 Roelofs, Richard, page 200 Sausser, Clinton W., page 369 Shuff, Samuel, page 371 Smith, William R., page 370 MILTON ALEXANDER, a prominent lawyer of Altoona, and ex-district attorney of Blair county, is a son of Robert and Mary (Rodkey) Alexander, and was born in the borough of Williamsburg, in Woodbury township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, January 2, 1846. His paternal grandfather was a native of the north of Ireland, and left his island home to settle in Hart's Log valley, Huntingdon county, where he participated in the Indian troubles of that county during the American revolution. He married, reared a family, and died in 1813, aged sixty-four years. One of his sons was Robert Alexander, the father of the subject of this sketch, and who was born June 5, 1805, near Alexandria, in Hart's Log valley, Huntingdon county. He removed to Williamsburg in 1827. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, and was for many years engaged in the general mercantile business at Williamsburg, which he left in 1874 to remove to Altoona, where he died at his home on Union avenue, August 13, 1884, when in the seventy-ninth year of his age. He was a straightforward man, who despised shams and subterfuges, and for many years had been an active and consistent member of the Presbyterian church. He was also a member of the Sons of Temperance, and is entitled to the honor of being the founder, besides acting as president for many years, of the society of the Silver Grays, which organization admits no one to membership who has not attained to sixty-five years of age. He was a republican in politics, and had served during the late civil war as an assistant revenue assessor. After coming to Altoona, he retired from active business and enjoyed the comforts of his home and the conversation of his many friends, yet he never neglected church work or lost interest in political affairs while he lived. He celebrated his golden wedding August 4, 1870, and when he passed away, left the record of a life well spent, which, while not eventful, yet was useful and worthy of imitation. On August 4, 1829, he married Mary Rodkey, who was born on the same day of the same month and in the same year as her husband, and died June 27, 1882, aged seventy-seven years. She was reared in the Presbyterian faith, and had been a consistent member of different churches of that religious denomination from youth. Milton Alexander passed his boyhood days at Williamsburg until he was sixteen years of age. After fitting for college, in preparatory schools, he entered Jefferson college, at Canonsburg, in Washington county, from which he was graduated in the class of 1866, under the united colleges of Washington and Jefferson. He then read law with David Lawson, of Clarion, Pennsylvania, and entered the celebrated Albany law school, from which he was graduated in the winter of 1869. He was admitted to the Blair county bar on June 26, 1869, practiced at Altoona until 1871, when he was elected district attorney of Blair county and served a term of three years. At the expiration of his term he returned to the practice of his profession, and two years later he formed a partnership with his former law student, H. H. Herr, who had been admitted to the bar in 1873, under the firm name of Alexander & Herr, which partnership lasted until the death of Mr. Herr, in October, 1889. Since that time Mr. Alexander has had no partner, and has continued to practice in the courts of Blair and adjoining counties. On September 10, 1872, Mr. Alexander united in marriage with Katie F. Martin, daughter of B. B. Martin, of Lancaster city, Pennsylvania. They have two children, a son and a daughter: Ralph V. and Lilian M. Milton Alexander has been interested in other matters that those which pertain to his profession. In the municipal affairs and the city government of Altoona he has taken an active part, and served as city and county solicitor from 1874 to 1876. He has been identified with the Altoona building associations since their organization, and has drafted every form which these organizations have found necessary to use, from their inception down to the present time. He is a staunch republican, has always worked for the success of his party, and in religious sentiment inclines to the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which he is a regular attendant and contributor. He is a member of Logan Lodge, No. 490, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was the first entered apprentice. He is also a member of the Order of Sons of America, and has served as State treasurer and State president of that organization for the State of Pennsylvania. As a lawyer he studies his cases closely, and then tries them for all there is in them. Genial and pleasant as a man, active and useful as a citizen, and careful and safe as a counsellor, Milton Alexander has become well known and prominent in Altoona and Blair county. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Eileen WILLIAM R. SMITH, the present alderman from the Third Ward of Altoona, and who served as a Union Soldier during the late Civil War, in the western armies, is a son of Dr. Samuel Haller and Mary (Rupley) Smith, and was born near the borough of Woodbury, in Woodbury Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, April 16, 1844. The Smith family has been resident of central Pennsylvania for over a century. The paternal grandfather of William R. Smith removed to Juniata County, where he purchased a farm, and was engaged in clearing it out when he was stricken down by typhoid fever and died. He was a hard-working man, a consistent member of the German Baptist, or Dunkard Church, and had married some years before his death. His son, Dr. Samuel Haller Smith (father) was born near McCallisterville, Juniata County, October 29, 1811. He read medicine with Dr. Nealy, was graduated from the old Pennsylvania Medical College of Philadelphia, in 1830, and then returned to Woodbury, Bedford County, where he has been in active practice ever since, and ranks high as a physician. Dr. Smith (of whom a fuller account will be found in the biography of Dr. Albert S. Smith) is a democrat, a member of the Dunkard Church, and married Mary Rupley, who was born October 16, 1815. They were the parents of eight children, of whom three sons and two daughters are living: Calvin who married Matilda Davis; Carrie; William R.; Anna, wife of Dr. I. N. Bowser, of Martinsburg; and Dr. Albert S., whose sketch appears in this volume. William R. Smith grew to manhood at Woodbury. He had before him, in the career of his father, an example of industry and worth that was the best object lesson to be learned by any developing youth. He received his education in the public schools of Woodbury, and Martinsburg Collegiate Institute. Leaving school, he resolved upon a business life, and in order to more fully qualify himself for the financial management of whatever commercial enterprise he might embark in, he entered in 1863, the Iron City Business College of Pittsburg, this state, from which he was graduated the same year. He then went to Chicago, where he became a clerk in a mercantile house, but in a few months left the store to serve as a soldier under the flag of his country. He enlisted in 1864, as a private, in Co. F, 134th Illinois Infantry, and served until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged in 1865, at Camp Fry, Chicago. His regiment was stationed in the state of Kentucky during his term of service. After the close of the war he came to Altoona, and embarked in the general mercantile business, which he followed continuously and successfully for eight years. In 1890 he was elected as alderman for the Third Ward, and has served acceptably in that position ever since. Mr. Smith is a republican in politics, and a member of Fred C. Ward post, No. 468, Grand Army of the Republic, and Juniata Lodge No. 246, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the order of Solon. On the 23rd of February, 1869, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Anna Confer, daughter of Samuel Confer, of Altoona. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have five children, three sons and two daughters: Edwin, Annie M., Albert C., Samuel H., and Louise C. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb Archives by Janet L. Gray bmgray@dol.net CLINTON W. SAUSSER, the well known marble dealer at Tyrone, who ranks among the useful and highly respected citizens of Blair County, is a son of William J. and Sarah A. (Motter) Sausser, and was born at Berrysburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, November 9, 1857. The Saussers are of German extraction, but the family has been residents of Pennsylvania for many generations. Jonathan Sausser (grandfather) was born in Berks County, this state, but in early manhood removed to Dauphin County, where he is yet living, hale and hearty, at the good old-age of ninety years. He is a farmer, and has devoted most of his long life to agricultural pursuits, but for a time was engaged in the marble and coach manufacturing business at Berrysburg. In politics he is a democrat, and in church membership a Lutheran. He has been twice married, first wedding Rebecca Miller, by whom he had a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters. She died in 1871, at the age of sixty-six years, and some time later Mr. Sausser united in marriage with Mrs. Julia Lentz, and to this later union were born two daughters. William J. Sausser (father) was born at Berrysburg, June 20, 1835, and resided there until April 2, 1866, when he came to Tyrone, this county, where he died on 22nd of October, 1880. He was a marble cutter by trade, and was in partnership with his father in Berrysburg, under the style of Sausser & Son. After moving to Tyrone, he engaged in the same business, and owned and operated the works alone until 1879, when his son, C. W. Sausser, became his partner, under the firm name of W. J. Sausse & Son. Since his father's death the son has carried on the business in his own name, dealing extensively in both foreign and domestic marbles and granites. William J. Sausser was a democrat, and served as assessor of Tyrone for two terms. He was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Tyrone, and was the organizer and first superintendent of the Lutheran Sabbath School at that place. He was always prominent and active in church work, and married Sarah A. Motter, by whom he had a family of six children, four sons and two daughters. Joseph Motter (maternal grandfather) was a native of Lebanon County, this state, but removed from there to Dauphin County, where he died in 1860. He was a shoemaker by trade, and followed that occupation all his life. He was a Whig and Republican in politics, and a member of the Evangelical Association in religion. He married Catherine Yarger, and reared a family of four children, three daughters and a son. Clinton W. Sausser was reared principally at Tyrone, and received a good education in the public schools of that town, after which he took a course of training in the Iron City Business College at Pittsburg, from which institution he was graduated July 8, 1875. He learned the trade of marble cutter, and after becoming a member of the firm of W. J. Sausser & Son, had the general management of the business of that firm until his father's death, since which, as stated before, he has continued the business very successful. His work is always first-class, and his trade has become large and remunerative. In 1875, March 25th, Mr. Sausser was united in marriage with Elizabeth Bell, a daughter of Thomas Bell of Huntingdon County, and their union has been blessed by the birth of two children, both daughters, named Mary B. and Sarah E. In his political affiliations Mr. Sausser is a democrat, like his father, and has served as a member of the city council of Tyrone two years. He is a member of the Lutheran Church of Tyrone, and two years ago was made deacon in that church. He is a member of Tyrone Lodge, No. 152, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Royal Arcanum, serving in the latter organization as treasure for a time, just after its formation, January 7, 1885. He is also a member of Tyrone Council, No. 943, Royal and Select Masters. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Janet L. Gray bmgray@dol.net JOHN D. LOVE, a prosperous merchant of Hollidaysburg, and a veteran of the Army of the Potomac, is a son of William and Eliza (Dean) Love, and was born near the village of Water Street, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1885. Like so many other sturdy and pioneer families of central Pennsylvania, the Love family is of Scotch-Irish descent. Three generations back, the paternal grandfather of John D. Love removed from his native valley of Kiscoquillus to Huntingdon County, where he was engaged for several years in farming, and where he died. He married and reared a family, and one of his sons was William Love (father), who removed in 1836 to Woodbury Township, this county. Like his father before him, he gave his time to farming, in which he met with good results. He died in 1840, aged forty years. He was an old-line Whig, a strict member of the Presbyterian Church, and married Eliza Dean, of Huntingdon County, who had been earnest, enthusiastic, and working member of the Presbyterian Church for over thirty years, and passed away from the earth in 1846, whom in the fifty-first year of his age. She was a granddaughter of John Dean, who with his father, was among the early settlers of Huntingdon County. John D. Love spent his boyhood days on a farm near Williamsburg, and received his education in the common schools of Pennsylvania. Leaving school he was engaged in farming until 1862, when he enlisted for nine months as a soldier in Co. D, 125th regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was wounded at Chancellorville, in the head by a piece of shell. From the battle-field he was removed to Lincoln Hospital, in Washington City, and after he had partly recovered was sent to Harrisburg, this state, where he was honorably discharged from the United States Service, on May 1, 1863. From 1863 to 1868 Mr. Love was engaged in farming, and in the latter named year he commenced contracting, which he followed for ten years. In 1878 he came to Hollidaysburg and ran as a conductor, for seven years, on a work train from Altoona to Williamsburg. At the end of that time, in 1885, he engaged in the grocery business. In 1891 he erected his present large brick residence and store-room on Allegheny Street, where he resides and gives his time and attention to his grocery business. His room is large and conveniently arranged, and well stocked with all the essentials and luxuries in his line of trade which are needed or used by his numerous patrons. In 1874 he married Mary E. Donalley, daughter of John Donalley, of this county. John D. Love is a republican in politics, and a member and trustee of the Presbyterian Church. He has been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic for several years, and is a pleasant and courteous, although a quiet and reserved man, who stands well with all who know him. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Janet L. Gray bmgray@dol.net SAMUEL SHUFF, one of the reliable citizens and prosperous merchants of the city of Altoona, is a son of Jonathan and Mary (Airhart) Shuff, and was born near Frederick City, Frederick County, Maryland, January 9, 1824. The Shuffs and Airharts are of German descent. William Airhart (maternal grandfather) was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1759, removed to Maryland, and afterwards to Virginia, where he resided for a time, and then returned to Lancaster County, in which he died, at Columbia, in June 1861, at the remarkable age of one hundred and two years. He was a member of a very old German family of the United States, was a moulder by trade, and a member of church. Jonathan Shuff (father), who was a native of Frederick County, Maryland died in that county in 1826. He was a Whig in politics, and was employed by a furnace company. He married Mary Airhart, by whom he had three children. Mrs. Shuff was born at Newton, Frederick County, Virginia, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and passed away on the old homestead in Frederick County, Maryland, June 2, 1862, when in the sixty-ninth year of age. Samuel Shuff was reared principally in Maryland, received his education in the common schools, and after leaving school, learned the iron moulders trade, at which he worked in Baltimore, Maryland and Richmond, Virginia, until 1865, when he came to Altoona and entered the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, for whom he worked until 1885. In 1883 he embarked in the general mercantile business, which was conducted by his two sons until 1885, when Mr. Shuff left the employ of the railroad company and took charge of the store. He opened his store in the lower part of his dwelling house, but has since erected a frame store building on the same lot. He has a good stock of general merchandise, and an increasing and lucrative trade. His residence and store are situated on Fourth Avenue, between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets, and this part of the city was all woods when he first settled here. Mr. Shuff is of that class of reliable and industrious men whose aim in life is to succeed by honorable and honest means, and has, by patient industry and untiring perseverance, acquired a competency and an honorable position in his community. He is a republican in politics, and is an attendant and contributor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his family are members. During the late war, as he was a Union man, he had some trouble in escaping from Richmond to Washington City. On the 29th of December, 1859, Mr. Shuff married Susan A., daughter of William and Helen B. (Stevens) Camack, formerly of the state of New York, but then residents of Richmond, Virginia. This union has been blessed with five children, three sons and two daughters: Samuel E., who was born in Richmond, Virginia, William C., born in Baltimore, Maryland; and John E., married Mamie K. Shotts, a native of Kentucky, and is a resident of Washington city; Annie E., and Harriet V. all born in Altoona. William Camack was born in Newburg, New York, January 12, 1806, and died at Oilville, Virginia, June 13, 1887. He was a cotton manufacturer, but during the latter years of his life he was engaged in the milling business. Mrs. Shuff's grandfather, William Camack, was born in County Down, Ireland, April 1, 1776, and came to the United States in 1800. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, being stationed at West Point. Mrs. Shuff's, maternal grandfather, James L. Stevens, was of French extraction, but was born in the United States. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was at the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, where he was one of the nine Americans that were wounded. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA USGenWeb archives by Janet L. Gray bmgray@dol.net RICHARD ROELOFS, railroad station agent and yard master at Hollidaysburg, and a descendant of one of the old and substantial merchant families of Holland, is the oldest son of Richard, sr., and Catherine (Bley) Roelofs, and was born January 16, 1830, in the great commercial and manufacturing city of Amsterdam, Holland, the commercial metropolis of the Netherlands kingdom. His paternal grandfather, William Roelofs, was a native of Amsterdam, and lived, during the latter part of the eighteenth century, in Holland, when that republic was one of the most powerful states of Europe and the sails of its merchant ships whitened every sea of the known world. William Roelofs was a merchant, owned several ships, and was engaged for many years in the East Indian tea trade. He married Gertrude Van Hall, by whom he had five children, four sons and one daughter; Gertrude, Otto, Jacob, Augustus, and Richard, sr. Of these children one, Richard, sr., came to America. Richard Roelofs, sr. (father), was born in the city of Amsterdam in 1802, entered the famous university of Leyden, from which he graduated with honors, and then was engaged in shipping tea for several years, during which time he made two voyages around the world. In 1836 he came to Bellefonte, Centre county, Pennsylvania, where he was in the mercantile business until 1840, when he removed to Lewistown, Mifflin county, and from thence to McVeytown, same county, where he acted as railroad station agent up to the time of his death, which occurred January 12, 1860. He was an active business man, a strict member of the Dutch Reformed church, and married Catherine Bley, daughter of Johann Bley, of Holland. To their union were born five children, four sons and one daughter: Richard; Catherine, of Philadelphia; Anthony, engaged in the queensware trade in Philadelphia; John, in the railroad business in that city; and William, also in the queens ware trade in Philadelphia. Richard Roelofs was brought, at six years of age, by his parents to Bellefonte, received his education at the Lewistown academy, and then engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he followed until 1851. In that year, he entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, with whom he has been ever since, except a few years, during which he acted as manager of the Hollidaysburg and Gap Iron furnace at McKee's Gap. He is now station agent and yard master of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Hollidaysburg. On September 28, 1848, Mr. Roelofs married Catherine Houser, who was a daughter of Jacob Houser, of Mifflin county, and who died in Hollidaysburg, February 19, 1885. They had eleven children, eight sons and three daughter: Henry, Samuel, Anthony, Annie, died February, 1858; William, died October 3, 1859; Richard; Maud, who died November 26, 1866; John, Arthur, Landes, and Bertha. Mr. Roelofs was remarried on October 20, 1887, to Lavinia E. Moorehouse, daughter of James Moorehouse, one of the first settlers of Hollidaysburg, he having come there in 1868. In politics Richard Roelofs was a whig until that political organization went down in 1852, before the weight of the public opinion of that day, and since then has been a supporter of the Republican party. He is a member of Juniata Lodge, NO. 282, Free and Accepted Masons, and Mt. Moriah Chapter, No. 166, Royal Arch Masons. Mr. Roelofs is in every way experienced in every department over which he has the supervision, and has been long recognized as a careful, accurate and thorough business man. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Eileen JOHN CLARK, cashier of the Williamsburg bank, and one of the foremost prohibition leaders of Pennsylvania, is a son of John, sr., and Eliza (Thompson) Clark, and was born in Canoe valley, in Catharine township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, December 18, 1833. His paternal grandfather, James Clark, was of Scotch-Irish descent, served in the revolutionary war, and was wounded at the battle of Brandywine. He died in 1841, at eighty-five years of age, and left eight children, four sons and four daughters. His son, John Clark, sr. (father), was born in Franklin township, Huntingdon county, December 15, 1789, learned the trade of tanner, and operated a tannery at Birmingham, Pennsylvania, until 1828, when he removed to Morris township, that county, were he bought a farm, on which he resided till his death, October 28, 1863, in his seventy-fifth year. He was a prosperous business man and a useful citizen. He married Catherine Whitzel, and after her death wedded Eliza Thompson, by whom he had one son and two daughters: Robert, who died in infancy; Mary Jane, intermarried with W. D. Reed, and died in Abilene, Kansas, February 5, 1887: and Isabella, married to James F. Kennedy, and died near Abilene, Kansas, March 28, 1878. Eliza (Thompson) Clark, who died June 2, 1866, aged sixty-six years, was a daughter of George Thompson, of Scotch-Irish descent, who was an early settler of the Spruce creek region, where he died in 1840, at eighty years of age. John Clark received his education in the common schools and Williamsburg academy, and followed farming and stock-raising until 1873, when he accepted his present position as cashier of the Williamsburg bank, which was established in 1873. This institution was chartered to meet an urgent demand for increased facilities for the safe deposit of the savings of the people of Williamsburg and the eastern part of the county, and for the better development of the business interests of that section. The affairs of the bank are conducted in a safe and methodical manner, and much of its present prosperity is due to the vigilant and untiring efforts of Mr. Clark, whose ripe experience, superior executive ability and honorable policy have inspired confidence in its patrons, and won the respect of the public. On May 27, 1858, Mr. Clark married Mary J. Sisler, who was a daughter of Peter and Jane Sisler of Catharine township, and died May 6, 1873. After her death, he was united in marriage with Henrietta Kurtz. By his first marriage he has six children, four sons and two daughters: Edgar Thompson, who married Lucretia Moore, of Scotch valley, and is now engaged in milling business at Williamsburg; Anna J., wife of C. T. Witherow, now employed as a clerk in the office of the motive power department of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Altoona; John Grier, a mute educated in Philadelphia, and now managing his father's farm; Charles H., assistant cashier of the First National bank of Tyrone; Dean, assistant cashier of the Williamsburg bank; and Ida, at home. In addition to the discharge of his duties as cashier of the Williamsburg bank, Mr. Clark gives a portion of his time to the management of his excellent farm of two hundred and fifty acres of land, and owns a part of the large limestone quarries at Carline, about four miles below Williamsburg, where are employed about two hundred men. He also owns a valuable ore bank, and has a beautiful home and some very desirable property at Williamsburg. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which the Clark family has been active and useful members for the last two centuries. John Clark was a republican in politics until about 1880, when he identified himself with the cause of prohibition, and since then has been one of the most earnest and successful advocates, in Pennsylvania, of total abstinence from intoxicating beverages. His worth, his ability, and his great capacity for work have been acknowledged by his party, who have nominated him at different times for every State office in Pennsylvania, except that of governor. He has held various public offices, where he has always served with efficiency and honor. He served as a school director for twenty consecutive years in his native township, and was one of the commissioners who erected the present substantial and handsome court-house. A descendant of a family proverbial for its morality, integrity and temperance, he enjoys the proud distinction--possessed by so few--of having never tasted a drop of any intoxicating beverage, never played a game of cards, nor has he used tobacco in any form for the past twenty-five years. An earnest friend of popular education, an untiring antagonist of intemperance and vice, and a successful business man, and able financier, John Clark has so far filled up the measure of his active life with useful work that will ever redound to his credit and honor; and when--as he believes--State and National prohibition of the liquor traffic shall prevail all over our beloved land; when a "school-house shall be on every hill-top, with no saloon in the valley;" and when this curse of curses shall have been driven from our land, let it be said of him, "He was in the fight, if not at the victory." Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Eileen ABSALOM OSMAN, stationary engineer at the railroad machine shops of Bellwood, and one of the survivors of the old Thirteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, that achieved an enviable was record under Grant and Sheridan, is the son of George and Leah (Straw) Osman, and was born at Milheim, in Penn township, Centre county, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1832. George Osman was born in Mauch Chunk, Schuylkill county, learned the trade of tailor, and removed to Penn township, Centre county, where he died in 1836. He was an old-line whig, and a zealous member of the Evangelical Association or Albright Methodist church, and married Leah Straw, by whom he had four children, two sons and two daughters: Emeline, widow of Lewis Copeman and resident of Green county, Wisconsin; Hugh, a shoemaker of Clearfield county; Absalom; and Susanna, now dead. Mrs. Osman, who died in 1871, aged seventy-three years, was a daughter of John Straw, a Jacksonian democrat and an early German settler of Penn valley, who was a carpenter by trade, and lived to the ripe old age of ninety-four years. Absalom Osman passed his boyhood days in Centre county, where he enjoyed but limited opportunities to secure and education in the early common schools. At seventeen years of age he learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed for four years and then became a brakeman on the old Portage railroad, which he left two years later to become engaged on the present Pennsylvania railroad, where he served for one year. He next worked for a short time in the car shops at Altoona, then spent two years in the west and returned to Pennsylvania, where he worked for one year for the Keystone Bridge Company of Pittsburg. At the end of that time he returned to Altoona and worked in the car shops until September, 1863, when he enlisted in Co. D, 13th Pennsylvania cavalry, and served until August of 1865. He participated in some of the hardest battles from the Wilderness to the siege of Richmond, was in Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah valley, and after the fall of Ft. Fisher his regiment was transferred to Wilmington, North Carolina, and aided in opening communication between General Terry and General Sherman's army. He was mustered out at Raleigh, North Carolina, discharged at Philadelphia, and returned to Blair county, where he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as a stone mason on the construction of the Bell's Gap railroad, and then as a blacksmith in their shops at Lloydsville and Altoona until 1883. In that year he came to Bellwood, where he accepted his present position as stationary engineer at the machine shops at Bellwood, for the Bell's Gap, now Pennsylvania & Northwestern, Railroad. In 1857, Absalom Osman married Elizabeth Myers, a native of Millerstown, Juniata county, and a daughter of Abraham Myers, who was born in 1813, and is now a resident of Fostoria, this county. To Mr. And Mrs. Osman have been born eight children: Catherine, wife of Laurence Wilson; Bella, born in 1863 and died in 1880; Lydia, wife of Martin Glozier, a carpenter of Bellwood; Harry, a machinist in the employ of the Pennsylvania & Northwestern Railroad Company; Theodore, George, Mollie, and Jennie. Absalom Osman is a republican in politics, and served two years as a school director of his borough. He is a member of Sanford Beyer Post, No. 426, Grand Army of the Republic; Castle No. 128, Knights of the Golden Eagle; Bellwood Lodge, No. 819, and Rebecca Degree Lodge, No. 232, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Osman has practical experience in his line of work on railroad, and is a man of Industry and energy Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Eileen AUSTIN V. PRICE, a reliable contractor and builder of the city of Altoona, is a son of Levi and Catherine (Stains) Price, and was born at Rockhill, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1853. The Price family is of Scotch descent. Levi Price (father) was born in 1826, in Huntingdon county, and removed in early life to Bedford county, where he remained until 1864. In that year he came to Williamsburg, where he resided until 1872, when he removed to his present residence in Altoona. He is a carpenter by trade, and followed carpentering until a few years ago, when he retired from active life. In 1861 he enlisted in Co. E., 20th Pennsylvania cavalry, and served until the close of the war. He was wounded in the left shoulder at the battle of Springfield, and still feels the effects of exposure while in the service. He is a member of Stephen A. Potts Post, No. 62, Grand Army of the Republic, and the Third Methodist Episcopal church of Altoona, which was organized in 1872. He married Catherine Stains, who was born in Huntingdon county, in 1833, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Austin V. Price spent his boyhood days in Huntingdon county, where he received his education in the common schools. At eighteen years of age he engaged in the sale of sewing machines, and soon became so fine a solicitor that he was given as his field all of Blair county. After four years he left the employ of the sewing machine company and learned the trade of carpenter and builder with Andrew Dillon, of Altoona. After learning his trade he worked at carpentering until the spring of 1884, when he engaged in his present planing mill and building and contracting business. On June 17, 1875, Mr. Price married Jennie, daughter of George Strayer, of Altoona, and they have four children, one son and three daughters: George W., May, Emma, and Annie. In politics Mr. Price is a republican, and has served several times as a member of election boards, and once as assessor of Altoona. He is a member of the Church of God, and Camp No. 81, Patriotic Order Sons of America, of which he is a past president. While he takes no decided part in political matters, yet he has always served faithfully in every position assigned him by his party. His planing mill is located at No. 2200 Fifth avenue. He employs several men, and gives special attention to the manufacture of window and door frames, brackets, sash, shutters, and blinds. He has a good trade, and has been contractor for many substantial buildings in Altoona and the surrounding country. Austin V. Price commenced business with but little capital, and has been remarkably successful. He has continually enlarged his business and increased his patronage, and ranks among the honorable and substantial citizens of the county. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Eileen HARRY IRVIN DAVIS, one of the leading druggists of Hollidaysburg, is a son of Guyan Irvin and Mary (Barnhart) Davis, and was born at Freeport, Illinois, December 17, 1860. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Davis, was born in 1793, in Cecil county, Maryland, and removed, in 1823, to Penn's valley, near Bellefonte, Centre county, this State, where he followed his trade of carpenter and farming until his death. He was an old-line whig and republican in polities, and a Presbyterian in religious belief, and served as a soldier in Captain Sample's militia company, which participated in the defense of Baltimore during the war of 1812. His son, Guyan Irvin Davis (father), was born in Penn's valley, January 28, 1827, and, after receiving a fair common school education, entered as a clerk in a retail country store. After serving three years in one place and two years in another, he, with an elder brother, started in business for themselves in Bellefonte, this State, and two years later, the California gold fever getting up, Guyan I. Davis sold out to his brother and started for California, via Cape Horn, in February, 1852. He spent one year mining for gold, and, not succeeding as he expected, entered into the express and banking business in the firm of Everts, Davis & Co., in which enterprise he was fairly successful. In a few years he sold out and returned to the Atlantic states, settled at Freeport, Illinois, in 1857, and was engaged in merchandising until the breaking out of the rebellion in 1861, when he entered the service of the United States as quartermaster of the 11th Illinois infantry. He served for three months, re-enlisted and served for three years, and at the expiration of his service settled in Hollidaysburg and engaged in merchandising, and has up to this time followed the same calling. During the war he participated in all the important events of the war in the Army of the Tennessee, from the battle of Fort Donaldson to the fall of Vicksburg, and after that event was in the Red River expedition as aid-de-camp to the commander of the 13th army corps, which position he held for nearly two years. He married Mary Barnhart, of Centre county, who was born in 1832. To their Union have been born two children: Harry Irvin and Julia Curtin, wife of Edward Stone, a merchant of Bellwood, and who was born May 30, 1857, and has three children. Mrs. Davis is a daughter of Judge Henry Barnhart, who was born in 1792, in Lycoming county, and afterwards removed to Centre county, which he represented in the legislature from 1830 to 1834, and of which he was associate judge for several years. Judge Barnhart was a democrat and a Methodist, and followed the iron shipping business at Bellefonte for several years. Harry Irvin Davis was reared principally in Blair county, received his education at Hollidaysburg academy, and in 1881 entered the Philadelphia college of pharmacy, from which he was graduated in the class of 1883. After graduation he came to Hollidaysburg where he established his present drug store. He carries a large stock of fresh and pure drugs, Makes a specialty of filling physicians' prescriptions and has a very remunerative and flattering patronage. In politics Mr. Davis is a republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, ranks as a successful business man, and enjoys the respect and confidence of his many patrons. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Eileen OSMOND W. GARDNER, cashier of the First National bank of Hollidaysburg, and a young man of fine education and unusual business qualifications, is a son of William H. and Lucy (Thompson) Gardner, and was born June 15, 1860, at Wilmore, Pennsylvania. The Gardners are of Scotch-Irish descent, and have been residents of Pennsylvania for several generations. William H. Gardner (grandfather) was among the very early settlers of Centre County, this State. He was a prosperous farmer, and died in that county about 1858, aged seventy-five years. His son, William H. (father), was born in Ferguson Township, Centre County, September 24, 1826, and died at his home on Allegheny Street, Hollidaysburg, Sunday, July 15, 1888, at the age of seventy-two years. At the time of his death he was cashier of the First National bank of that city, and was widely known as a kind, loving, genial man. In 1843 he entered the store of Gilbert L. Lloyd, at the Summit, Cambria County, as a clerk. From thence in 1845 he moved to Jefferson, now Wilmore, Cambria County, where in 1849 he entered into partnership in the mercantile business with Messrs. Gilbert L. Lloyd and Arthur Hill. He remained in successful business at that place for a number of years. About the outbreak of the late civil war he removed to Washington, D. C., to accept the position of division clerk in the treasury department. He resided in the national capital for some years, when he came to Hollidaysburg, where he entered what is now known as the First National bank, and about 1868, on the death of Mr. Robert Johnston, was appointed cashier of the bank and held that position up to the time of his death. Much of the prosperity of this institution is due to the excellent management and untiring energy and zeal of Mr. Gardner, as cashier, who was a man of great financial ability, and was thoroughly acquainted with the banking business in all its forms. He was married on Thursday, March 21, 1850, to Lucy Thompson, daughter of Austin and Sarah M. Thompson, of Cambria County. To this union was born a family of seven children, four of whom survived the father: Austin T., died June 9, 1887; Arthur L., deceased June, 1865; Harry A., cashier of the Second National bank of Altoona; Nannie M., died February 13, 1877; Osmond W., the subject of this sketch; Sallie S., and William H., jr., the three latter residing at home. Mrs. Gardner survives her husband and resides at her elegant home in Hollidaysburg. She is a native of Cambria County and a member of the First Presbyterian Church. Her father, Austin Thompson, was a native of Farmington, Connecticut, and came to Cambria County, Pennsylvania, before the old portage railroad was constructed. He was employed for some time as superintendent on a division of this road, and died at his home in Wilmore, Cambria County, in 1870, at the advanced age of seventy-one years. He was a farmer, but also engaged extensively in merchandising and lumber dealing in his later years. Osmond W. Gardner was reared in the city of Hollidaysburg, and educated in her public schools and academy. He was a quick, bright student, and easily mastered the ordinary English branches. After leaving school he entered the First National bank at Hollidaysburg as a clerk, and served in that capacity until 1888, when, on the death of his father, he was promoted to be cashier and has since occupied that responsible position, discharging his duties with an ability and accuracy that win confidence and give the utmost satisfaction to all who have business with the bank. He is unmarried and resides with his mother on Allegheny Street. He is member of Juniata Lodge, No. 282, Free and Accepted Masons, and a staunch of republican in political belief, as was his father. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Tina Erb mtkaiy3@aol.com W. E. CURRY, an enterprising young business man, and the present assistant freight agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Curry Station, is a son of Robert and Nancy (Stifler) Curry, and was born in Frankstown township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, September 9, 1857. James Curry (paternal grandfather) came from Pittsburg, in the year 1843, to Frankstown, where he died in 1869. He was a farmer by occupation, a republican in politics, and a Presbyterian in religious faith and church membership. He was thrice married, and reared a family of fifteen children. By his first wife, Agnes Patterson, he had nine children: Hugh, Henry, Elizabeth, George, Abraham, Jane, John, William, and Robert. His second wife, Jane Stewart, bore him three children: Laura, Margaret, and Harvey. By his third wife, Elizabeth Price, he had three children: James, Laura, and Mary. Robert Curry, the sixth son, and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Pittsburg, in 1833, and was employed on different railroads for several years. He then came to Hollidaysburg, and afterward removed to Frankstown township, where he was engaged in farming (except eight years spent in Wisconsin) until his death, which occurred November 30, 1888. During the late civil war he enlisted in the 50th Wisconsin infantry volunteers, and served in the northwest. Robert Curry was a republican in politics, and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and married Nancy Stifler, who now resides in Martinsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Curry reared a family of five children, two sons and three daughters: W. E., Harry B., Annie, Jennie, and Junia. Mrs. Curry was a daughter of Joseph Stifler, of Canoe Creek, this county, who was born near Loop Gap, and who passed the latter part of his life at Canoe Creek, Frankstown township. Joseph Stifler was a farmer, a member of the German Baptist church, and a republican in politics, and had served as postmaster at Canoe Creek for twenty-five years. He married and reared a family of eleven children: William, Harry, Jacob, George, Abraham, Sylvester, Mrs. Nancy Curry, Jane, Sarah, Esther, and Susan. W. E. Curry was reared in Frankstown township and in the state of Wisconsin, and received a good common school education. Leaving Wisconsin, he returned to Blair county, where he was engaged in business at Hollidaysburg, until 1883. In that year he removed to Curryville, where he has served ever since as assistant freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Mr. Curry owns a good residence at Curryville, is a stanch republican in politics, and has been a member of the Reformed church for several years. He is a man of good business ability, noted for promptness and reliability, and has rendered good satisfaction to his company and the public. On November 29, 1883, Mr. Curry was united in marriage with Ella Burket, of Curryville. Their union has been blessed with one child, a daughter, named Jessie Fern, who was born December 12, 1885. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda M. Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM CHRISTIAN BRENNECKE, a self-made man, and one of the most substantial and reliable business men of Altoona, is a son of Christian, sr., and Elizabeth (Acre) Brennecke, and was born in the kingdom of Hanover, now a province of Prussia, July 22, 1822. Christian Brennecke, sr., was one of Napoleon's veterans, and served under the Man of Destiny until he was one of only twenty-one men that was left out of the entire regiment. Leaving the army he followed farming until his death, in 1836, at seventy-three years of age. He was a hard working man, and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. He was a native and life-long resident of Hanover, where he married Elizabeth Acre, who died in the latter part of the year 1822. Christian Brennecke passed his boyhood days and grew to manhood in his native country, where he received his education in the excellent public schools for which Prussia has been noted for the last half century. Leaving school he worked on a farm until 1845, when he came to the United States, where he landed at New Orleans, and went up the Mississippi river to Missouri, in which State he worked for a few months. At the end of that time he became dissatisfied with the western country, concluded to return to Hanover, and when he had come as far as Hollidaysburg on his way to Philadelphia, to embark for Germany, he was induced to stop and work a while on the canal dam, at fourteen dollars per month. He learned to speak the English language, and becoming favorably impressed with the country, he abandoned his idea of returning to the Fatherland, and on March 28, 1854, came to Altoona, where he rented a farm of one hundred and nine acres, which he tilled up to 1884. This farm is now within the city and is covered with buildings. On a part of this farm, which Mr. Brennecke owns, he erected his present large brick residence, which is one of the most comfortable and substantial buildings in the city. This residence stands on the corner of Sixth street and Eighth avenue, and is well fitted up and completely furnished throughout. He owns some other valuable property in the city, and has an assessed real estate value of over thirty thousand dollars. On April 10, 1849, Mr. Brennecke married Anna Mary Selbitz, of this county, and to their union were born seven children, one son and six daughters: William C., Anna Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Harmenia, Amelia, and Jennie R. Mrs. Brennecke was a member of the Lutheran church, and died January 3, 1892, aged sixty-two years. Christian Brennecke is a democrat in politics, and has been a member and trustee for twenty-seven years of the St. James Evangelical Lutheran church of Altoona. He has, by hard labor and judicious management, acquired a competency in life, and within the last few years has retired from all active business pursuits. He is a pleasant and agreeable man, and enjoys the respect and good will of his fellow townsmen. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda M. Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM GEORGE LOTZ, a well respected citizen and a successful farmer of Sinking Valley, is a son of John J. and Catherine (Troxel) Lotz, and was born in Antis township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, January 9, 1816. John J. Lotz was born in the western part of Germany, near the boundary line of that country and France. He was a miller by trade, and came in early life from Germany to Bells Mills, now Bellwood, this county, where he resided for several years. He then went to McClain's mill, near Hollidaysburg, and after operating that mill for two years removed to Chrisman's mill, where he was killed by the falling of a tree, in 1826, when about fifty-five years of age. He was a man of good education, speaking the German, French and English languages with ease and fluency. He was a strict and consistent member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and supported the Federal Republican party of that day, during the latter years of his life. He married Catherine Troxel, by whom he had seven children; five sons and two daughters. Mrs. Lotz, after her husband's death, removed with her children to the Ore farm, in Tyrone township, where she died on August 1, 1835, when in the sixty-fifth year of her age. George Lotz received his education in the old subscription schools of his day, and has always followed farming. He now owns a valuable farm of one hundred and eighty-six acres of land, of which one hundred and sixty-six are under cultivation. Mr. Lotz is a member and elder of the Evangelical Lutheran church, of whose Sunday-school he has served as superintendent for several years. He is a republican in politics, and has served as collector and as supervisor of Tyrone township. Mr. Lotz is an advocate of temperance and agriculture, and has been for some time a member and the chaplain of Grange No. 484, Patrons of Husbandry. He has always been prominent and active in church circles, and never lacking in support of any movement for the improvement or prosperity of his community. October 13, 1840, Mr. Lotz married Annie M., daughter of David Fleck, of Tyrone township. To Mr. and Mrs. Lotz have been born eight children: Abigail A., wife of C. E. Fleck, a farmer of Hollidaysburg; David M., who served in a Pennsylvania infantry regiment during the late civil war, married Lydia Clough, and resides near Hollidaysburg, where he is engaged in teaching; Mary C., now dead; Emma J., (deceased); John H.; Edward M., married Flora Lindays, and resides at Hollidaysburg, where he is a manager of the car building shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; Leslie L. L., married Mollie Carner, and is in the grocery business at Hollidaysburg; and Harvey C. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM SAMUEL M. HOYER, a well known and popular coal dealer in Altoona, who has been a resident of that city since 1880, is a son of Jacob and Mary (Dimond) Hoyer, and was born March 13, 1856, in Croyle township, Cambria county, Pennsylvania. The Hoyers are of German-Scotch descent, but have resided in our sister commonwealth of Maryland for several generations. In that state Jacob Hoyer, sr., the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born and reared. He was a farmer by occupation, and in 1840 removed to Cambria county, this state, where he resided until his death, in 1872, at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years. He was a democrat in politics, was married, and had a family of six children. One of these, the only son, was Jacob Hoyer, jr., who was also a native of Maryland, where he grew to manhood, and received an ordinary English education. When twenty-three years of age, in 1847, he removed to Cambria county, this state, and has been a resident of that county ever since. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, in which he has been very successful, and now owns a fine farm in Croyle township, that county, on which he is spending the evening of his days in quietude and comfort, being now in his sixty-eighth year. He is a democrat in politics, and at various times has been elected to and served in different township offices. He married Mary Dimond, and reared a family of eleven children. She is a native of Croyle township, Cambria county, and is now in the sixty-third year of her age. She is a member of the Roman Catholic church. Samuel M. Hoyer was reared on his father's farm, in Cambria county, and inured to labor from his early years. He attended the public schools of his neighborhood, where he obtained a good common school education, and when twenty-two years of age, forsook the farm and engaged in coal mining. After following this occupation for some time, he began mining and dealing in coal on his own account, and in 1880 removed to Altoona, where, on August 1st, he opened a retail coal business, under the firm name of C. A. Dimond & Co. At that time he was also operating a mine near South Fork, Cambria county, with the firm of C. A. Dimond & Co. In 1882 Mr. Dimond disposed of his interest in the business to S. S. Reighard, and the firm name became Hoyer & Reighard. Ten months later Mr. Hoyer purchased his partner's share of the enterprise, and has since conducted it in his own name, being very successful in building up a large and prosperous business. On the 24th of October, 1881, Mr. Hoyer was married to Clara D. McClelland, a daughter of John and Elizabeth McClelland, of Bells Mills, this county. To their union has been born a family of six children, five sons and a daughter: Mary Jeneva, James Graham, Charles Jacob, Walter Aloisis, Roy McClellan, and Clod Joseph. In politics Mr. Hoyer follows the traditions of his family, and is an ardent and active democrat, as were his father and grandfather before him. He is serving a term as a member of the select council from the Sixth ward of Altoona, and has served as chairman of the committee on streets and sewers. He takes an interest in all public questions, and is a man who keeps well posted in regard to political movements and the world's progress, and is at present serving a two-year term as president of the select council of Altoona. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM GEORGE M. EICHHOLTZ, one of the experienced and most successful teachers of Frankstown township and Blair county, who has taught continuously for nearly a quarter of a century, is a son of George and Eve (Lower) Eichholtz, and was born on Piney creek, near Williamsburg, in Woodbury township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, June 21, 1849. His paternal great-grandfather, John L. Eichholtz, came from Germany, and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he died. His son, Charles Eichholtz (grandfather), was born in Lancaster county in 1779, and came to Blair county, where he was engaged in farming near Williamsburg until his death, in 1855, at seventy-six years of age. He married and reared a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters. One of these sons, George Eichholtz (father), was born in Blair county in 1810, and followed farming until his death, which occurred January 17, 1865, when in the fifty-sixth year of his age. He was a democrat in politics, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and stood high in his community as a man, a neighbor, and a citizen. In 1835 Mr. Eichholtz married Eve Lower, a daughter of George Lower, who was born near Williamsburg, where he died in 1854, at the ripe old age of seventy-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Eichholtz reared a family of eight children, three sons and five daughters, all of whom are living except one son. Mrs. Eichholtz, who was a consistent member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, survived her husband until July 15, 1876, when she passed away, in the sixtieth year of her age. George M. Eichholtz received his education in the common schools of Frankstown and Martinsburg academy. Leaving the academy, he was employed for several years in teaching during the winter and assisting his brother on the farm during the summer. At the end of that time he purchased a part of his present farm, and has continued in the profession of teaching until the present time. On August 6, 1874, Mr. Eichholtz was united in marriage to Ellen, daughter of Thomas and Jane Loudon, of Piney creek, Woodbury township. To Mr. and Mrs. Eichholtz have been born five children, three sons and two daughters: Edward C.; Thomas L.; Dean L., who died March 2, 1885, aged six years; Katie R.; and Lelia D. George M. Eichholtz is a republican in politics, and has served in various township offices for sixteen successive years. He has been for many years a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church of Williamsburg and of Hollidaysburg, and at present of Geeseytown. He owns a part of a farm of sixty acres of well improved land in Frankstown township, which he carefully cultivates; but his greatest interest lies in his profession of teaching, and the development of the physical, mental, and moral powers of the minds of his pupils, whom he wishes to see grow up unto useful men and women. He has taught for twenty-three years in the public schools, and his efficiency as a teacher is attested by his employment in one school for eleven winters-a fact that tells of ability, usefulness, and success more forcibly than any words of deserved commendation could express. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM HON. SAMUEL McCAMANT, now a leading lumber dealer of Tyrone, has long been prominently identified with the business interests of Blair county, and served with distinction in the legislature of 1867-68. He is a son of Graham and Mary (Meadville) McCamant, and was born at Tyrone Forges, Blair county, Pennsylvania, March 23, 1833. The founder of the McCamant family in this country was Alexander McCamant, who emigrated, between 1730 and 1735, from County Armagh, in the north of Ireland, with the second large coming of the Scotch-Irish to America. He resided a number of years after he came to this country in Philadelphia, and then located on Pequea creek, Lancaster county, and the land that he took up came from the Penns, by their charter, under their seal and coat of arms. The deed for said land is yet in the possession of the Misses McCamant, who live near the Pequea Presbyterian church, in Salisbury township. He had a large family of children, and his son James married and reared several children, one of whom was James McCamant, the grandfather of the Hon. Samuel McCamant. He was a native of Honeybrook Township, Chester county, Pennsylvania., and served as a captain in the revolutionary war under the direct command of General Wayne. After peace was declared he returned to Honeybrook township, and spent the balance of his life there, dying in 1825, at an advanced age. He and his wife, who died in 1822, are buried in the church-yard of Pequea church, of which he was one of the incorporators. He was a farmer and blacksmith by occupation, and in politics a Jacksonian democrat. In religion he was a Presbyterian, as are nearly all his descendants. He married Miss Abigail Graham, by whom he had a family of nine sons. One of these sons was Graham McCamant (father), who was born in Honeybrook township in 1787, and in early manhood went to Codorus Forge, York county, where he entered the employ of the Grubbs' as manager of their forges at that place. Later he removed to Lebanon, in the employ of the Colemans as manager of their iron works, where he remained until 1828, when he came to Tyrone Forges and took charge of the forges owned by Lyon, Shorb & Co. Here he remained as manager until 1834, when he purchased the forges, which were owned at that time by Dysart & Lloyd. They were located near Tipton, Blair county, and were owned and operated by Mr. McCamant until his death, in June 1851. In the management of his iron business, and in other enterprises, he became very prominent and successful. In politics he was a democrat, until President Jackson vetoed the United States bank bill, when he left that party and identified himself with the opposition, being an anti-slavery and free soil whig. He served as justice of the peace for many years, and was also a school director for some time. He was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church, and married Mary Meadville, in 1832, to whom was born a family of four sons and one daughter. The eldest of these was Samuel, the subject of this sketch. The second son was James G., who married Jane Henry, is a farmer by occupation, and resides at Dixon, Illinois. The third son was Henry Clay who married Mary Ann Beyer, and now lives at Huntingdon, this State. He is a clerk in the auditor general's office at Harrisburg. The next son, Thomas, married Delia Rollins, and resides in the city of Harrisburg, where he occupies the office of auditor general of Pennsylvania, having been elected thereto in 1889. He is a republican, and has always been active in politics. For many years he was chief clerk in the state department at Harrisburg, and also served for some time as chief clerk in the office of the auditor general in that city. He is among the most prominent and popular politicians in the old Keystone State, and has acquired a position of power and influence in the counsels of his party. He is a graduate of Layfayette college, and was a lieutenant in the 125th Pennsylvania infantry during the late war. The fifth child of Graham McCamant was a daughter, Mary Jane, who resides with her brother, Henry C., at Huntingdon. Samuel McCamant removed to Tipton with his father's family and remained there until the spring of 1856, when he entered the office of William M. Lyon & Co., at Tyrone Forges, as book-keeper and clerk. He remained there until September, 1857, when he was transferred by the firm to Bald Eagle furnace as manager of that establishment. He remained in that capacity up to April, 1861, when he resigned his situation and returned to his old home at Tipton. In 1861 he was elected to the responsible position of sheriff of Blair county, and served the full term of three years, discharging the duties of that office in an able and acceptable manner. After retiring from the sheriffalty he engaged in the iron business, in 1864, at Elizabeth Furnace, in partnership with B. F. Bell, under the firm name of Bell & McCamant. This partnership existed until 1868, and during that time (in 1866) Mr. McCamant was elected to the State legislature, and represented Blair county in the sessions of 1867-68. In June, 1868, he removed to Tyrone and engaged in the general lumber business, at the same time operating a large planing mill, under the style of McCamant & Co. In this combined business he has ever since been engaged, and now has a large and lucrative trade. He is serving as president of the board of managers of the Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory at Huntingdon, having been appointed by Governor Beaver, May 15, 1888. On December 30, 1858, Mr. McCamant was united in marriage to Harriet K. (Boyer) Thomas, widow of John Thomas. To this union was born a family of two sons: Andrew H., who read law with S. S. Blair, of Hollidaysburg, this county, spent a year and six months at Columbia Law school, and was admitted to the bar in 1884, since which time he has been in regular practice in the courts of Blair county; and John G., who is engaged in the lumber and planing mill business with his father. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM WALTER J. HAMOR, editor and proprietor of the Sunday Graphic News of Altoona, is a son of John W. and Mary (Campbell) Hamor, and was born in Allegheny city, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1865. The Hamors are of German descent, and Mr. Hamor's paternal grandfather, George Hamor, was a native of Northumberland, and settled in Blair county, where he followed his trade of shoemaker to some extent, his death occurring in 1880, at eighty-four years of age. His son, John W. Hamor (father), was born in this county, and learned the trade of nailer, which he followed at Pittsburg until 1868. In that year he came to Duncansville, which he left in 1876 to remove to Northumberland county, in which he resided up to 1882, when he returned to Duncansville, where he died nine months later, at fifty-three years of age. He was a Free Mason and Odd Fellow, a republican in politics, and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. He married Mary Campbell, who was born in 1844, and they reared a family of three children, one son and two daughters. Mrs. Hamor, who is of Scotch-Irish descent, has been for years a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and now resides in Altoona. Walter J. Hamor received his education in the high schools of Northumberland, this State, and learned the "art preservative of arts" at that place, where he worked until 1882, when he became a clerk at Altoona for the Pennsylvania railroad Company, in whose employ he remained up to 1889. On September 9th of that year he purchased the Sunday Graphic News from the heirs of Homer Vaughan, and has continued as its proprietor and editor ever since. On November 25, 1890, Mr. Hamor was united in marriage with Addie, daughter of Mrs. Sarah Watson, of Tyrone. Their union has been blessed with one child, a son, named Charles McOmber. The Sunday Graphic News is a twelve-page quarto, filled with all the important news of the day, beside much choice and interesting miscellany. It is the only Sunday paper in the county, and has a large and constantly increasing circulation, which extends into adjoining counties. Mr. Hamor also owns and operates a first-class job office. He is active and energetic, and has made a decided success of his Sunday paper in the field of journalism. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM JOSEPH HART, a reliable citizen of Hollidaysburg, and one of the largest brick manufacturers of Blair county, is a son of Martin and Mary (Wolf) Hart, and was born in the kingdom of Bavaria, in southern Germany, October 26, 1826. Martin Hart was born, reared and received his education in Bavaria, where he learned the trade of weaver, which he followed until 1832, when he left his childhood's home by the waters of the "Blue Danube," to seek his fortune in lands across the sea. He landed at Philadelphia, and shortly afterward came to Hollidaysburg, where he resided until his death, which occurred June 16, 1855, when in the fifty-seventh year of his age. He was rather independent in politics, voting for the man more than the party. He was a member and the chorister of St. Mary's Catholic church of Hollidaysburg. He was honest and industrious, warm in his friendships and reliable in whatever he engaged to do. He married Mary Wolf, who died January 6, 1866, aged seventy-eight years. They were the parents of four children, all of whom died except the subject of this sketch. Joseph Hart was principally reared at Hollidaysburg, and received his education in the public schools of that place. Leaving school he was variously engaged until 1848, when he formed a partnership with William Hartsock, under the firm name of Hart & Hartsock, and they were engaged in the manufacture of brick for two years. Mr. Hart then retired from the firm to carry on the brick business for himself, which he successfully did until 1852, in which year he became superintendent of the brick yards of Thomas Burchinal, of Hollidaysburg, and held that position up to February, 1865, when he enlisted as a private in Co. D, 192nd Pennsylvania infantry. He served until the close of the war, and was honorably discharged from the Federal service on August 24, 1865, at Harper's Ferry. Returning home from the army he was variously engaged until 1883, when he again embarked in the brick business, which he has followed very successfully ever since. He is assisted by his sons, and manufactures both common and pressed brick, and the output of his plant is one and one-half million bricks per year. His brick are in good demand in the market on account of their durability and superiority in manufacture. Mr. Hart is a republican in politics, and has been for many years an active, useful and influential member of St. Mary's Catholic church. He is a member of Col. William G. Murray Post, No. 39, Grand Army of the republic. Mr. Hart is pleasant and convivial, honest and energetic, and is generous and liberal. He has honorably won and with justifiable pride enjoys his business success in life. On January 22, 1850, Mr. Hart married Barbara Smith, daughter of Martin Smith. They have seven children: Martin, married Lavina Hammond; William, who married Carrie McKnight; Mary; John, who married Mary Mulligan; Lizzie, wife of John O'Brien, a telegraph operator at Hollidaysburg; Alice; and Joseph, who married Lena Webber. Transcribed and submitted to Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Linda Shillinger LindasTree@AOL.COM REV. JACOB S. BASSLER, pastor of the Children of Zion church, of Martinsburg, and a member of the foundry and machine shop firm of Snoeberger Bros. Bassler, is a son of Rev. Andrew and Barbara (Stern) Bassler, native of Washington county, Maryland, and was born in Middle Woodbury township, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1829. His paternal great-grandfather, Valentine Bassler, was a native of Basle, Germany, born August 25, 1738, who came to Pennsylvania, and settled in Lancaster county, where he died in 1806, when in the sixty-eighth year of his age. His son, Jacob Bassler (grandfather), was born in 1765, and in 1812 went to Bedford county, in which he died on March 12, 1867, aged seventy-two years. Jacob Bassler followed blacksmithing, farming and distilling. He was a federalist and whig in polities, and a member of the Mennonite church, and married Mary Shank, by whom he had seven children, three sons and four daughters. One of these sons, Rev. Andrew Bassler (father), was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1804, and went with his father to Bedford county, this State, from which, in 1870, he came to Martinsburg, where he has since resided. He was an active and efficient minister of the River Brethren church for over forty years, and only retired from regular ministerial work when disqualified by advanced age. He is a republican in political views, has served as overseer of the poor and school director, and now resides upon his farm. He married Barbara Stern, who is a native of Washington county, Maryland, and to this union were born seven children, three sons and four daughters. Jacob S. Bassler received his education in the early common schools, and spent twenty years in farming in Bedford county. He then, in 1870, came to Blair county, and nineteen years later relinquished farming to engage in the foundry and machine shop business as a member of the firm of Snoeberger Bros. & Bassler. This firm employs eight men, does all kinds of work in their line of business, and makes a specialty of repairing. They turn out good work, and have a large and remunerative patronage. November 13, 1855, Rev. Jacob S. Bassler married Lydia Shank, of Waynesboro, Franklin county, and they have four children: Anna B., wife of Levi Acker, a retired farmer of this county; Susan E., married Jacob Gresser, who is now engaged in farming; J. Harry, who married Fannie Coffman, and is a machinist of the firm of Snoeberger Bros. & Bassler; and Minnie C., married J. I. Mock, of Woodbury, a teacher in the public schools of North Woodbury township. Rev. Jacob S. Bassler is a republican in politics, and has served his township as a school director and a supervisor of roads. He was a member of the Brethren in Christ church for a long time, and then united with the Children of Zion church at Martinsburg, of which he has been pastor for the last eight years. He is an efficient minister and a pleasant and courteous gentleman. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA USGenWeb archives by Eileen