BIOS: File 13 - 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 13, listing the page where they appear in the book: Bell, Martin, page 565 Burket, Peter, page 569 Craine, W. Monroe C., page 546 Greevy, Thomas H., page 571 Hamilton, John, page 545 Hamilton, Jonathan, page 544 Holliday, Fleming, page 440 Isenberg, Peter S., page 469 Law, Jacob W., page 563 Lehman, Solomon S., page 561 Loudon, Thomas, page 561 Lytle, Edward H., page 562 McMaster, James, page 566 Moore, Warren H., page 331 Morrow, John H., page 564 Osborne, Prof. Wilson W., page 547 Schmucker, Samuel R., page 567 Sell, John, page 569 Watts, James C., page 548 Wentzel, Ira, page 332 MARTIN BELL, one of the prominent citizens and leading business men and ironmasters of the Juniata valley, was born in Blair county, and was a son of Edward and Mary (Martin) Bell. His paternal grandfather, John Bell, was one of the pioneer settlers of Blair county, who faced all the privations of frontier life, and risked the dangers of captivity and death at the hands of the merciless Indian to establish homes for themselves in the beautiful Juniata valley. His son, Edward Bell (father), was born March 17, 1769, and died April 14, 1852. He was a large landholder, founded Bellwood, and became one of the early ironmasters of central Pennsylvania. He married Mary A. Martin, daughter of Rev. James Martin, of Scotch-Irish descent, and reared a family of nine children, seven sons and two daughters. One of their sons was the late Rev. A.K. Bell, D.D. Martin Bell was reared in his native county, received a good practical education, and at an early age engaged in the iron manufacturing business, in which he became prominent. He married and reared a family of children, of whom one daughter, Margaret, is the wife of Judge John Dean, whose sketch appears in this volume. Martin Bell was of an inventive turn of mind, and not wishing to have his furnaces in blast on Sundays, he rebuilt the stack and so arranged matters that the fires could be banked each Saturday night with ease and safety, and work again resumed on the following Monday morning. In 1836 he utilized the gas which had hitherto escaped unused from the tunnel head, and in consequence Elizabeth furnace was the first in the country to use the escaping gas for the production of steam. These improvements were patented in 1840, and Martin Bell became entitled to a royalty from all ironmasters using gas, but being of a generous nature he never pressed his claims, and probably die not realize more than three thousand dollars in all for his valuable invention. He became wealth though, and the furnace is now owned by his heirs. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio PETER BURKET a native of York county, came to Sinking valley about the time of the revolution, settling on the farm afterwards owned by his grandson, Ephraim Burket. Of his five sons, Jacob moved to Jefferson county, where he died at the age of ninety-one years. He was the father of Peter Burket, of Warrior's Mark township. A sister married David Mong. Peter, the second son of Peter, sr., died on the homestead in the valley; Samuel lived and died in the Tuckahoe valley; John, a tanner, resided for a time on the Martin Funk place, removing to Centre county; David became a resident of Shirleysburg. The Burkets of Huntingdon and Blair counties are descendants of the above families. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio W. MONROE C. CRAINE, a graduate of the Philadelphia college of pharmacy, and one of the leading druggists of the city of Altoona, is a son of Wilson E. and Sarah A. (Clarkson) Craine, and was born in Blair county, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1865. The Craines are of English lineage, and Mr. Crain's paternal grandfather, Christopher Craine, was an early settler in Antis township, where he followed farming and run a foundry until his death, which occurred about the year 1867. His son, Wilson E. Craine (father), was a native of Blair county, where he followed farming until 1868, when he engaged in the general mercantile business in Altoona. In 1880 he retired from all active business and traveled through the south on account of ill health, but was not benefited by his change of climate, and died, while on his return to Altoona, at Carsville, Huntington county, in 1882, when in the forty-fifth year of his age. He was a member of the Second Methodist Episcopal church of Altoona, and a democrat in politics, and served his borough for several years as a member of the school board. W. Monroe C. Craine received his education in the public schools of Altoona, and then was successively employed until 1885 as a clerk in drug stores of that city, Mount Pleasant, and Greensburg. Two years later, in 1887, he entered the Philadelphia college of pharmacy, from which he was graduated the same year. Immediately after graduation he returned to Altoona and established his present drug store, at the corner of Chestnut avenue and Fourth street, where he carries a large and complete stock of fresh and pure drugs. He is also proprietor of another drug store, situated on the corner of Sixth avenue and Fourth street, and enjoys a large and remunerative trade. In 1889 Mr. Craine was united in marriage with Emma Thompson, daughter of John R. and Amelia Thompson, of Birmingham, Huntingdon county. To Mr. And Mrs. Craine have been born two children: Mary and Robert. In politics Mr. Craine is a strong republican, and has been for some time serving from the Seventh ward of Altoona as a member of the city council, in which he is chairman of the committee on surveys, and a member of the committees of finance and exonerations and printing. He is a member of the Eighth Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, Veranda Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Altoona Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of which latter he is a past chancellor. Mr. Craine brings to the service of his patrons a thorough knowledge of the profession in which he is engaged, and is remarkably accurate and careful in filling the prescriptions of physicians, and in putting up all drugs or chemicals ordered from him. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Beth Fladaker Eflad@aol.com THOMAS H. GREEVY of Altoona, one of the prominent and leading lawyers of central Pennsylvania, and now a contestant for the seat of Edward Scull in the fifty-second Congress of the United States, is a son of Luke and Mary (King) Greevy, and was born in the city of Birmingham, England, April 4, 1850. His parents were natives of County Roscommon, Ireland, and after marriage removed to Birmingham, where Mr. Greevy sought for more profitable employment in that great manufacturing centre of England than he could obtain in his own native island. After several years' residence in Birmingham, Luke Greevy, in 1856, came to Pennsylvania, where he settled in Williamsport, and resided there until his death, in 1869, at fifty years of age. His employment was that of a clerk in mercantile houses, and was said to have been very accurate and efficient in his special line of work. He was a member of the Catholic church, and a strong democrat in politics, and held several borough offices in the city of Williamsport. His widow was born in 1822, and still resides in Williamsport, where she is a member of the Catholic church of that place. Thomas H. Greevy was brought, at six years of age, by his parents from Birmingham, England, to Williamsport, this State, where he received his education in the public and commercial schools of that city. Leaving school he was engaged for a short time in the field of journalism, and published and edited the Labor Reform Journal, of Williamsport, which was a weekly sheet, and advocated the views suggested by its name. In 1871 he left the editorial desk to enter upon the study of law. He commenced reading with Samuel G. Morrison, of Williamsport, but completed his course with Frank P. Tierney, of Altoona, and was admitted to the Blair county bar on January 29, 1874. After admission to the bar he commenced the practice of his profession in Altoona, where he has remained ever since. He has built up a very fine law practice in this and adjoining counties, and has earned quite a reputation for the skillful and successful manner in which he handles difficult and intricate cases. He is a Jacksonian democrat, and a member of the Catholic church. On November 3, 1874, he married Kate G., daughter of Peter McNally, formerly of Hollidaysburg, and they have two children: Helen and Walter. The political career of Thomas H. Greevy commenced in 1877, when he was elected as city recorder of Altoona, which office he held until 1882. In the meantime he had served as a delegate to several democratic State conventions, and in 1888 was a delegate to the Democratic National convention which nominated Grover Cleveland for the presidency of the United States. In 1888 Mr. Greevy was the democratic nominee for Congress in the Twentieth Congressional district, and was defeated by Edward Scull, who only received 4,200 majority, while the average republican majority in the district at the same election was 4,700. In 1890 he was renominated by the democrats for Congress in the Twentieth district, composed of the counties of Cambria, Blair, Somerset, and Bedford. The certificate of election was given to Hon. Edward Scull, the republican candidate, and Mr. Greevy took immediate steps to contest his opponent's seat in the fifty-second Congress. The testimony which he has taken in the case is comprised in three volumes of two thousand six hundred pages of fine print. This is the greatest contested case that has appeared before Congress since the famous case of Curtin and Yokum, in 1877. Thomas H. Greevy has always been active in the political field, and is an efficient and persistent worker for the success of the Democratic party in city, State, and National affairs. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio JOHN HAMILTON, now resident of Altoona, and a stockholder of the Edison Electric Light Company of Altoona, is a son of Robert and Nancy (Smith) Hamilton, and was born in Scotch valley, Blair county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1816. The Hamiltons were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who held strictly to the faith of their race. Robert Hamilton was born near the ancient city of Belfast, in County Down, in the celebrated north of Ireland, which was the early home of the Scotch-Irish race. He came, about 1798, to Pennsylvania, where he was a resident of the Cumberland valley for a short time, and then removed to near Frankstown, in the Scotch valley. >From the Frankstown neighborhood he removed, in 1818, to the farm in Logan township, near Juniata, on which his son, Jonathan Hamilton, now resides. He died in 1849, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years. At the time of his death he owned three large farms, and ranked as one of the most extensive as well as successful farmers of Logan township. Mr. Hamilton was an ardent democrat up to the time of the Jackson and Clay campaign, during which he became a whig, and supported that party ever afterward. He was a stirring, energetic man, and held several township offices during his lifetime. He was a member of the Presbyterian church of Hollidaysburg, of which his family were members, and his house was the home of all the ministers who passed through Altoona. He married Nancy Smith, who was born in the Cumberland valley, in Franklin county, and died in 1858, when in the seventy-sixth year of her age. To Mr. And Mrs. Hamilton were born eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom four sons and two daughters are living: James of Illinois, now eighty-four years of age; Jonathan, who resides on the old homestead, and whose sketch appears in this volume; John; William S., a resident of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, now in the seventy-fourth year of his age; Mary, widow of James Hutchison, late of Altoona, and resides on Union avenue in that city; and Sarah A., who resides with her brother Jonathan on the old homestead. John Hamilton was reared on his father's farm, and received his education in the old subscription schools, which were often taught by incompetent, dissipated and brutal teachers. Leaving school he assisted his father in farming until 1844, when he purchased his present farm, on a part of which a portion of the Seventh ward of Altoona is built. In 1883 Mr. Hamilton retired from active life and removed to Altoona, where he has resided ever since. In 1844 John Hamilton married Elizabeth, daughter of John Lytle, of Gaysport, who died in 1851, and left two children: Franklin L., and Robert H. Mr. Hamilton was remarried in 1856 to Margaret Peterson, daughter of Louis Peterson, of Allegheny City, this State, and by his second marriage has one child living, a son, Lewis T., of Dakota. In politics Mr. Hamilton is a republican, and when Blair was a part of Huntingdon county he served as juror at Huntingdon. He is an active and influential member of the First Presbyterian church of Altoona, and has been for some time a stockholder of the Edison Electric Light Company. Mr. Hamilton is a fine looking man, of rather dignified appearance, and has always commanded the respect of the different communities in which he has resided. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Beth Fladaker Eflad@aol.com JONATHAN HAMILTON, a highly respected citizen and prosperous farmer of Logan township, is a son of Robert and Nancy (Smith) Hamilton, and was born in Frankstown township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1811. The Hamiltons and Smiths are of Scotch-Irish descent, and possess in a large degree those worthy qualities which so distinguish their race. Robert Hamilton was born near the manufacturing and seaport city of Belfast, in County Down, Ireland, and came, about 1798, to Cumberland county, this State, but soon afterward removed to Frankstown township, where he remained until 1818. In that year he purchased and removed to the farm in Logan township now occupied by the subject of this sketch, on which he resided until his death, which occurred in 1849, when he was in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was one of the most extensive farmers of his day in Logan township, where he owned his home farm of one hundred and ninety acres and another farm, the larger part of which is now within the city limits of Altoona. He was a democrat and afterward a whig in politics, and a member of the Hollidaysburg Presbyterian church, and his house was the stopping place and home, for the time being, of all the ministers of his church who passed through Altoona. He was energetic and hospitable, and married Nancy Smith, a native of Franklin county, and a Presbyterian in religious faith, who passed away in 1858, at the advanced age of seventy-six years. They reared a family of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom four sons and two daughters are living: Mary, widow of James Hutchison, of Altoona; James, a resident of Illinois; Jonathan; John, of Altoona, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; William S., of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania; and Sarah A. Jonathan Hamilton was reared on the farm where he now resides, received his education in the old subscription schools of Frankstown and Logan townships, and then embarked in farming, which he has followed continuously ever since. He owns one hundred and forty acres of the old homestead, and has his farm well improved and in a fine state of cultivation. In 1838 Mr. Hamilton married Mrs. Mary (McKee) Fleck, of Logan township, and to their union were born five children, three sons and two daughters: Joseph S., who enlisted in the 110th Pennsylvania infantry, and died from the effects of a wound received in the battle of Chancellorsville; Nancy A., Gabriel T., Hattie B., and John K. Mrs. Hamilton was a member of the Presbyterian church, and died in 1881, when in the seventieth year of her age, and left, besides the children named, one son by her first husband, who is Thomas Fleck, of Tyrone township. Jonathan Hamilton has been a member and ruling elder of the First Presbyterian church of Altoona since its organization. He has been a republican ever since the formation of that party, and although no politician, has held several township offices. In addition to farming Mr. Hamilton has dealt considerably in live stock, and has always stood high as an honorable and honest man. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Beth Fladaker Eflad@aol.com FLEMING HOLLIDAY, now paymaster of the Great Bend Coal Company at Bellwood, is second in line of descent from the founder of the city of Hollidaysburg, a Veteran of the civil war, and a man of wide experience life He is the youngest son of John and Mary (Lowry) Holliday, and was born April 26; 1823, in Logan's valley, Antis township, Blair county, Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather, Adam Holliday, was born in the north of Ireland, but while yet a young man, about 1750, left his native land, and in company with a brother named William, emigrated to America and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. After remaining in that county for a short time the two brothers removed farther west aud located oh the banks of the Conocoheague creek, and in 1768 came into what is now Blair county and settled where the city of Hollidaysburg now stands. Adam Holliday took out a warrant for one thousand acres of land, including the present site of the city (for which he afterward paid the sum of two hundred and twenty-two dollars and twenty cents), and immediately began the erection of a log house on the open space now known as "The Diamond." It is related that when he drove the first stake he casually remarked that "whoever is alive a hundred years after this will see a tolerable-sized town here, and this will be near about the middle of it." During the revolutionary war he rendered valuable service in protecting the frontier from Indian depredations, in some instances purchasing supplies and organizing forces for defending the settlement at his own expense. In December, 1777, he visited Philadelphia to secure public funds for the defence of this frontier, and was successful in his mission, returning with means sufficient to supply Holliday's fort with provisions and ammunition for some time. He remained active during the war, and after its close he became quite wealthy, although at one time almost ruined by the loss of his land through some informality in the title. He died in 1801, leaving two children: John, the father of the subject of this sketch; and Jane, who became the wife of William Reynolds, of Bedford county. She was born October 10, 1783, and died May 10, 1865, in her eighty-second year. Her husband was proprietor of the Bedford Springs hotel for many years, and became well known. They had a family of children, among whom were William, Holliday, James, Henry, Mary and Ruth. Henry removed to one of the southern states years ago, and all the other are deceased. John Holliday (father) was born December 18 1780, at what is now the city of Hollidaysburg, this county, where he was reared and received such education as was afforded by the occasional subscription schools of that early day. In 1802 he married Mary Lowry, a daughter of Alexander Lowry, one of the earliest landed proprietors in that vicinity, and of Scotch descent. Inheriting most of his father's estate, he became the wealthiest man in this section of western Pennsylvania, and in 1807 removed to the present site of Johnstown, Cambria county, where be purchased a large farm, including the land on which the city was afterward built, from Doctor Anderson, of Bedford county. A town was at once laid out and christened Johnstown, in his honor, but there came no " boom "in building lots, and after a short time he appears to have lost all faith in the future of his new enterprise. At any rate, he sold the land to Peter Livergood for eight dollars an acre, and returned to Hollidaysburg, where he erected a large two-story hewed log house, which he occupied as a hotel and general store. In the fall of 1827 he sold that property to Peter Hewit, who used the building as a hotel, post-office and general store until 1839, when it was torn down and the brick structure now known as the American house erected on its site. John Holliday continued to reside at Hollidaysburg until his death, which event occurred December 20, 1843, in the sixty-third year of his age. He was a whig in politics, and took an active interest in the success of his party. By his marriage with Mary Lowry he had a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters. Fleming Holliday was reared principally in what is now the city of Hollidaysburg, and received it fair English education in the subscription schools still in vogue in his boyhood days. After leaving school he commenced life as a clerk in a country store at Bellwood, where he remained about nine years. He then accepted a position as salesman in a large mercantile establishment in Philadelphia, and in 1858 went to Colorado. He assisted in laying out the original town of Denver, and remained in Colorado, engaged in various enterprises, until 1860, when he returned to Pennsylvania, and shortly afterward became active in the formation of Co. A, 110th Pennsylvania infantry, and was made second lieutenant of that company. They drilled for four months at Camp Grossman, Huntingdon county, where Mr. Holliday was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and then went to Camp Curtin, from which place they were assigned to General Lander's division, and moved forward into West Virginia in January, 1862. With his company, Lieutenant Holliday participated in the battles of Winchester, Cedar Mountain, Thoroughfare Gap, the second engagement at Bull Run, and numerous other skirmishes and minor contests. He was honorably discharged at Washington in October, 1863, and returned to Philadelphia, where he was employed as clerk and salesman for a period of six years, after which he went to Deadwood, now S. Dakota, and later into Montana, engaged in prospecting. He had some lively experience with Indians while in the northern part of Montana. On leaving that State he, in company with three others, built a skiff and descended the Big Horn river to its confluence with the Yellowstone, thence down that river to the Missouri, and down the Missouri to Bismarck, North Dakota. In all this trip, mostly through a wild and unsettled territory, they never saw an Indian. Leaving Bismarck, Mr. Holliday came to Michigan, and for a time acted as superintendent of a saw mill in the lumber region of that state. Sickness, however, compelled him to relinquish that position, and he returned to his is old home in this county, where he has ever since resided. He is now paymaster for the Great Bend Coal Company at Bellwood. and ranks with the widely known and mostly esteemed citizens of Blair county. In November, 1850, Mr. Holliday was united in marriage with Mary Ann Bell, a daughter of John Bell, of Mary Ann Forge. By this union he had one child, an only son, named Robert Lowry, who is now superintendent of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore division of the Pennsylvania railroad. Mrs. Holliday died in 1851, and Mr Holliday afterward married Anna Mary Dysart, a daughter of William P. Dysart, of Tipton. To this second union was born a family of three children, one son and two daughters. The son, William D.,is now assistant general freight agent of the Big Four railroad, with headquarters at St. Louis, Missouri, and the daughters, Mary Fleming and Elizabeth, are living at home with their parents. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Esther McDermott emamcd@erols.com PETER S. ISENBERG, now serving as justice of the peace at Bellwood, belongs to that great class of patriotic young men who exchanged school-room duties for the sterner demands of the tented field in the dark days of our civil war, and surviving that conflict, returned to lead industrious, useful, and honorable lives beneath the folds of a flag they had helped to preserve. He is a son of Mordecai and Elizabeth (Heckendorn) Isenberg, and was born near Alexandria, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, on the 28th day of March, 1845. His paternal grandfather, Peter Isenberg, removed to Maryland when a young man, and passed the rest of his life in that State, dying at an advanced age. He was a farmer by occupation, married and reared a family of children, among whom was Mordecai Isenberg (father). The latter was a native of Maryland, where he was reared and received the limited education afforded by the elemental schools of that day. On leaving school he learned the trade of carpenter, and followed that occupation nearly all his days. In middle life he removed to Pennsylvania, settling in Huntingdon county, where he died. He married Elizabeth Heckendorn, a daughter of John Heckendorn, of Huntingdon county, and by this union had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters. One of these sons, Nicholas, served as a soldier during the civil war, and is now a resident of Los Angeles, California. John Heckendorn, maternal grandfather, was of German extraction, and came to Huntingdon county when a young man. He lived to be ninety years old, and died at his home in that county. Peter S. Isenberg was reared principally in the township of Porter, Huntingdon county, this State, and received his education in the common schools of his neighborhood. On June 4, 1864, when only nineteen years of age, he enlisted in Battery C, 1st Pennsylvania light artillery, and served until July 3, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. During his term of service he took part in thirteen battles and skirmishes, including the terrible struggles at Fisher's Hill, Summit Point, Cedar Creek, and Harper's Ferry, and was with Sheridan in his raid through the Shenandoah valley. After receiving his discharge he returned to Blair county and started in to learn the trade of coach maker. He has worked at that trade continuously ever since, with the exception of two and a half years - 1871 to 1873 - during which he was employed as a passenger car builder in the Altoona shops of the Pennsylvania railroad. On December 18, 1884, he located in Bellwood, and worked steadily at his trade until the spring of 1890, when he was elected justice of the peace for a term of five years. In connection with his office he runs a novelty store. Mr. Isenberg married S. Ellen Warfle, a daughter of John S. Warfle, and by this union had a family of six children, all sons: William T., married Elizabeth Loucks and resides at Bellwood, where he is engaged in the blacksmith business; Walter J., a barber by trade; Alvin G., John E., David A., and Arthur C. All are yet living at home with their parents except the married son. Politically Mr. Isenberg is a republican, and on general questions can be counted on to support the policy of that party. In local affairs he is inclined to independent action, and gives his vote and the weight of his influence to such measures as his judgment decides to be for the general good of the whole people. It is too early to pronounce a final verdict on his official career, but he stands high with his fellow citizens, has given good satisfaction during the year he has occupied his present position, and seems to possess all the leading qualifications that go to make a first-class magistrate. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Janet Ebaugh JACOB W. LAW, a substantial farmer of North Woodbury township, and one of the highest degree Odd Fellows of Blair county, is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Rhodes) Law, and was born at Hickory Bottom, Bedford (now Blair) county, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1847. Jacob Law was born on the present site of Henrietta, then in Bedford county, July 5, 1817. He followed farming for a few years near his birthplace, and then came to near Curryville, where he still resides. He is a republican in politics, and served several terms as supervisor of his township. He is a member of the Reformed church, in which he has served both as a deacon and an elder. He has been afflicted within the last few years, and at the present time is not able to attend to his farm and business. He married Catherine Rhodes, and to their union were born four children, three sons and one daughter: John, Paul, Jacob W., and Mary. Jacob W. Law was reared on the farm, received his education in the common schools, and has been engaged ever since in farming near Newry, in North Woodbury township, where he owns a valuable and well improved farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres of good grain and grazing land. Mr. Law has been assiduous in cultivating and building up his land, and has taken great pains to improve his property, which is considered to be very desirable in a section noted for having some very fine and valuable farms. He is one of that class that recognizes the truth that patient industry and perseverance are necessary to any marked degree of success in agricultural pursuits. His farm is eligibly located in regard to church, school, and market. Jacob W. Law was united in marriage with Kate Brown, daughter of Daniel Brown, of North Woodbury township. To their union have been born two children: Mary and Clara. In politics Mr. Law is a stanch republican, but takes no decided or prominent part during campaigns or at the polls, although he heartily supports the principles and nominees of his party. He is a member of the Reformed church, in whose teachings he was reared. He has been an Odd Fellow for many years, having attained to the royal purple or highest degree of the order in the United States. He is a member of Roaring Spring Lodge, No. 545, and Martinsburg Encampment, No. 271, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has held appointive offices in both lodge and encampment. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Lyn Frieda areume@hotmail.com SOLOMON S. LEHMAN, a well known citizen of North Woodbury township and who has now retired from active life, is a son of John and Mary (Secrist) Lehman, and was born in Taylor township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, November 7, 1832. John Lehman was born near Chambersburg, in Franklin county, and came, in 1804, to a section of Taylor township, which was then heavily timbered. He purchased, for eight hundred dollars, a forest tract of two hundred acres of land, which he cleared and converted into a valuable and well improved farm. He died, aged seventy-seven years, three months and eight days. Mr. Lehman was an old-line whig and republican in politics, and served for a number of years as a school director. He was a deacon, and afterward an elder of the Reformed church, of whose faith and teachings he was an earnest advocate. He was twice married. His first wife was Mary Secrist. By his first marriage he had ten children, seven sons and three daughters: Jacob, Catherine Stoner, Samuel, John, now dead; William, Solomon S., Barbara Guyer, Mary A. (deceased); and Christian and David, who are both dead. Solomon S. Lehman was reared on the farm, received a good common school education, and has always followed farming. He owns two fine farms in North Woodbury township, whose area aggregate two hundred and fourteen acres of very fine and well improved land. He resides almost within the limits of the borough of Martinsburg, and has a neat and tasteful home. Mr. Lehman is a republican in politics, has served as school director and member of the council of his borough, and has frequently represented his township in republican county conventions. He is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church of Martinsburg, and has within the last few years retired from active life. On January 26, 1832, Mr. Lehman married Mary A. Brown, and to their union have been born six children, two sons and four daughters: Emma J., wife of John Fersy, a farmer of Martinsburg; Minnie, married George C. Allen, who is engaged in farming in North Woodbury township, Anna, wife of William S. Tipton, a farmer; Effie, Roy and Homer. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Lyn Frieda areume@hotmail.com THOMAS LOUDON, of Williamsburg, is one of that class of men who, in the battle of life, with no capital but ability and energy and unwearied labor, have won honorable position and financial standing. He is a son of William and Mary (Matthews) Loudon, and was born at Allegheny furnace, Blair county, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1817. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Loudon, was a native of Ireland, and when a youth came to Pennsylvania, where he settled at Lebanon, in Lebanon county. He was a farmer, and married and reared a family of five sons and two daughters. His son, William Loudon (father), was born June 27, 1792, in Lebanon, and came to the site of Altoona, where he purceased [sic] one of three farms upon which the principal part of the Mountain City is built to-day. He died in Altoona, January 2, 1864, at seventy-two years of age. He was a whig and afterward a republican in politics, and served successively as supervisor of Allegheny township and supervisor of the poor for Blair county. He was a member and a deacon of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and married Mary Matthews, by whom he had nine children, eight sons and one daughter, of whom four sons and the daughter are living, and for a fuller history of Mr. Loudon, see sketch of his son, John Loudon, which appears in this volume. Mrs. Loudon was a daughter of Abraham Matthews (maternal grandfather), who was of German descent, and in 1820 came from eastern Pennsylvania to Allegheny furnace, where he followed his trade of carpenter until a few years before his death, in 1850, when in the eightieth year of his age. He married and had a family of six children, five sons and one daughter. Thomas Loudon received his education in the subscription schools, and assisted his father on the farm until he was twenty-two years of age, when he went to work on the Pennsylvania railroad, which he soon left to engage in boating on the old canal between Philadelphia and Hollidaysburg. Leaving the canal he worked for a short time at an iron furnace, and afterward, in 1846, bought the farm in Woodbury township, on which he has resided ever since 1861. Mr. Loudon also owns a good farm of one hundred and twenty acres near Clover Creek, and another farm of the same amount of acres in Sinking valley, besides a valuable house and lot in Altoona, and a splendid tract of timber land on the ridge back of that city. On February 22, 1844, Mr. Loudon married Eliza J. McCauley, daughter of Daniel and Nancy McCauley, of Juniata township, and who died August 28, 1891. To Mr. And Mrs. Loudon were born ten children, eight of whom are living: Lucinda, wife of John H. Lyken, of Huntingdon; Ellen, who married George M. Eichholtz, a farmer and very successful teacher of Frankstown; Sallie B., wife of George Speilman, who is engaged in farming; Margaret, wife of David Speilman, who is a farmer; Idella; Grace A.; James, who married Laura Wertz; and William M., who is engaged in business in San Francisco, California. Thomas Loudon has served continuously as an elder and deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran church since 1839, and has been a member and deacon since 1861 in the Williamsburg church of that religious denomination. He is an active republican in politics, and has served Woodbury township as supervisor for one year, and as school director for over twenty-five years. He is a member and past grand of Orphans' Home Lodge, No. 314, Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Williamsburg. Thomas Loudon is self-reliant but prudent, courageous but cautious, and can claim with justifiable pride that he has been the architect of his own fortune, and that commencing life as a poor boy has, by his own unaided efforts, won honorable standing and a competency. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Lyn Frieda areume@hotmail.com EDWARD H. LYTLE, one of the young and successful business men of Martinsburg and central Pennsylvania, is a son of Edward H., sr., and Elizabeth (Shoenberger) Lytle, and was born in the city of Philadelphia, May 2, 1859. His paternal grandfather, Gen. William Lytle, was a native of Pennsylvania, and at an early day went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he purchased a part of the present site of that great city, in parts of which he erected some of the first houses. He was a civil engineer by profession, was appointed by President Jackson as surveyor general of the northwestern territory, then comprising the present States of Wisconsin and Michigan, and made extensive surveys of the lands within their boundaries. He was a democrat in politics, ranked high as a prominent man in the county northwest of the Ohio river, and held many offices of trust and responsibility. General Lytle married Elizabeth Noel, by whom he had five children: William H., Eliza A. McAllister, Major John S., of the United States army; John Stahl, General Robert, who served as a United States senator from Ohio; and Edward H., sr. The youngest son, Edward H. Lytle, sr., was born at Williamsburg, Clermont county, Ohio, September 5, 1809, and followed civil engineering as a profession. He was resident in early life at Pittsburg [sic], afterward returned to Ohio, and in 1841 came to Blair county, where he was manager of Rebecca furnace, in Huston township. He was a democrat in politics, a member of the Presbyterian church, and married Elizabeth Shoenberger. To their union were born seven children: Sarah, wife of Dr. C. W. White, of Barre, Massachusetts; Eliza A., married Judge Hemphill, of West Chester, this State; Fannie, wife of P. H. Page, who is in the insurance business in Pittsburg; Florence, who married O. H. Ohrmsby, who is in the insurance business in Altoona; Caroline, wife of Joseph G. Ohrmsby, assistant treasurer of the Valley Gas Company of Pittsburg; Ida, wife of John Johnson, a civil engineer of North Carolina; and Edward H. Mrs. Lytle is a daughter of Dr. Peter Shoenberger, who was born in Lancaster county, graduated from Jefferson Medical college of Philadelphia, and afterward came to Pittsburg, where he practiced his profession for some time. Owing to declining health he removed to Juniata forges, where he practiced for a short time, and then purchased the forges. After operating them for a short time, he widened out the field of his iron business until he owned and most successfully operated Marietta furnace, near Philadelphia, the Shoenberger rolling mills of Pittsburg, and Sarah, Bloomfield, Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Martha furnaces, of Blair county. He also built and operated the Upper, Middle, and Lower Maria forges. He was the most successful ironmaster that the State of Pennsylvania has produced, and ranked as one of the leading iron manufacturers of the United States. Dr. Shoenberger was a republican in politics. Edward H. Lytle was reared near Martinsburg, received his education in Dr. Farr's Latin school, of Philadelphia, and for several years has been engaged in the management of his mother's estate of thirty-three thousand acres of land lying in Blair, Bedford, Huntingdon, and Cambria counties. He is a democrat in politics, always gives the attention required to his affairs, and has shown ability and good judgment in the management of his business. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Lyn Frieda areume@hotmail.com JAMES McMASTER is one who has made such commendable use of his opportunities as to raise himself from comparative obscurity to a prominent place and honorable standing in the general mercantile business at Newry and among the leading merchants of Blair county. He is a son of Francis and Mary (Null) McMaster, and was born at Woodbury, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1851. Francis McMaster was born in Adams county in 1820, and at ten years of age was brought to Claysburg, this county, from which, in a short time, he went to Martinsburg, where he has resided ever since. He received his education in the rather limited schools of his day, and learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed until of late years, when he retired from active life and invested in real estate near Martinsburg, where he now owns three large farms. He married Mary Null. To their union were born seven children: Catherine, John, James, Lewis, who married Martha McGraw, and is engaged in the general mercantile business at Duncansville; Thomas, married, and has charge of one of his father's farms near Martinsburg; Ellen, Anna, and one that died in infancy. James McMaster passed his boyhood days at Martinsburg and in its immediate vicinity, and received his education in the common schools. With no capital but his hands and plenty of energy, he went out into the world when but a boy to fight the battle of life for himself. He commenced at the bottom rung in the mercantile business--as a clerk in a small country store--but by his aptitude for business, promptness and energy rose rapidly to better positions in larger stores, and eventually had saved and acquired means sufficient to embark in the mercantile business at Newry for himself. Here the exercise of the same qualities which had made him popular as a clerk rendered him successful as a merchant. Slowly but steadily he enlarged his stock and increased his trade until his house was of such size and importance as to equal any of the larger mercantile establishments in the different towns of central Pennsylvania. In order to transact his present business he occupies three large buildings. The main one is divided into departments and devoted to general merchandise, while the second is used as a hardware house, and the third is utilized as a grain and food store. In addition to his extensive mercantile business, which averages twenty thousand dollars per year, he is engaged in the lumber trade, and has large yards near his principal place of business, at the old Knox stand, which he has so enlarged, remodeled, and refitted that it hardly bears any resemblance to what it was formerly in appearance. Mr. McMaster married Margaret McGraw, daughter of Elwood McGraw, and to their union have been born five children, two sons and three daughters. Maria, Lizzie, and Katie are the names of the daughters. James McMaster is a democrat in politics, and has served as school director and as treasurer of his borough, in which offices he served faithfully and with satisfaction to the public. He is a member of the Catholic church, and ever responds cheerfully to the support of the church and the cause of Christianity. Mr. McMaster has great capacity for work and wonderful energy for overcoming obstacles, and has met with remarkable success in his various and varied business enterprises. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio WARREN H. MOORE, junior partner in the well known firm of Stoke & Moore, contractors and builders, of the city of Altoona, is a son of Thomas H. and Mary (Hagerty) Moore, and was born January 22, 1838, in what is now Logan Township, Blair county, but was then Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. The Moores' are descended from an old English family, but have been citizens of the Keystone State from an early day. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, James Moore, was a native of Chester county, removed to Centre at an early date, where he died in 1832, aged sixty-three years. He was a farmer by occupation, and also ran several large teams on the road. He married Magdalene Hastings, and reared a family of six children. One of his sons, Thomas H. Moore (father), was born near Bellefonte, Centre county, in 1801, but after attaining manhood removed to this (then Huntingdon) county, and located in Logan Township, about 1835. He had been reared on the farm, but learned the trade of miller, and after settling in this county followed the milling business for a number of years. He was finally compelled to abandon it on account of his health, and afterward engaged in buying and selling lumber to some extent. He was a regular attendant of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics an old-line Whig. He married Mary Hagerty, by whom he had a family of ten children. She was a native of Centre county, a devoted member of the Baptist Church, and died in 1855, at the age of forty-nine years. Warren H. Moore was reared in this county, and obtained a good practical education, in the common schools of his neighborhood. After leaving school he became a carpenter's apprentice, and thoroughly learned that trade. To this business, either in the capacity of employee or employer, he has devoted nearly all his active life. In 1868 he removed to Altoona, and has resided in this city ever since. During the last eighteen years he has been engaged in contracting and building, since 1885 in partnership with William Stoke, the well known planing mill man of Altoona, under the firm name of Stoke & Moore. Their partnership extends only to the contracting and building business, and among the many fine structures they have erected in this city, mention may be made of the new gas works, the silk mill, and two of the new brick school houses. Their work is first-class in every particular, and the firm has high standing wherever known, both as regards their ability and their integrity. On October 29, 1864, Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Jennie Ridenour, a daughter of William Ridenour, of this city of Altoona. To their union has been born a family of eight children, six of whom-two sons and four daughters-are now living: Elmer T., William A., Jessie M., Mary M., Lizzie R., and Edna H. On April 20, 1861, Mr. Moore enlisted in Co. B, 3d Pennsylvania infantry, for three months, and September 20th reenlisted in Co. F, 76th regiment, as a sergeant, for three years. He was in active service for a year and six months, stationed most of that time on the coast of South Carolina. He was discharged October 17, 1862, at Hilton head, on account of a surgeon's certificate of disability. Politically he is a Republican, giving his party a uniform support on National and State issues, but exercising a degree of independence in local politics. He is a member of Fred C. Ward Post, No. 468, Grand Army of the Republic. In business affairs he is energetic and enterprising, and ranks among the best citizens of Blair county. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by denise JOHN H. MORROW, a pleasant and intelligent gentleman, of Arch Spring, and a descendant of the old pioneer Morrow and Moore families of the Juniata valley, is a son of Maj. Robert and Margaret (Moore) Morrow, and was born in Tyrone township, Huntingdon (now Blair) county, Pennsylvania, May 26, 1812. The name of Morrow was originally written Murray, and the paternal grandfather of John H. Morrow was Robert Morrow, a native of Ireland, who came, about 1770, to Path valley, in Huntingdon county, which he left about 1779 or 1780 to settle in Sinking valley, in Tyrone township, where he died about 1810. He was annoyed frequently by Indians, and had several narrow escapes from them. With others of the early settlers he often retired to some of the frontier forts upon the alarm of an Indian invasion, and generally went armed to the field. He was a farmer and kept a small store, and made two or more trips to Ireland to lay in a stock of goods. He was a fine penman and a good scholar, and his store ledgers, dating back to 1772, which are in the possession of John H. Morrow, are kept well, and show the unusual business ability and excellent education of Robert Morrow. He married a Miss Cochran, and reared a family of three children, two sons and one daughter: Maj. Robert; James, who married Nancy Stewart, and died in 1841, aged fifty-six years; and Rebecca, who married James E. Stewart. Maj. Robert Morrow (father) was born in Path valley in 1777, and was brought by his parents to Sinking valley, where he resided on the homestead until his death, which occurred in 1855, when he was in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was a good farmer for his day, and cleared out a large part of his farm. He was a whig and republican in politics, and served as a major in the Pennsylvania militia. He married Margaret Moore, and they had eight children, six sons and two daughters. Mrs. Morrow, who died in 1866, at eighty-eight years of age, was a daughter of Joseph Moore, who was of Irish descent, and settled, before the revolutionary war, in Sinking valley, where he had several times to defend his home against the attacks of Indians. He died about 1807, and left a family of six daughters. John H. Morrow was born and reared on the old homestead, received his education in the common and subscription schools, and then engaged in farming, which he has followed most successfully up to the present time. He owns a farm of two hundred and fifty-six acres of good land, of which one hundred and fifty-six acres are well improved. His farm is fertile and one of the best in the county. In politics Mr. Morrow was an old-line whig until that party went out of existence and then identified himself with the Republican party, whose principles he has supported ever since. He gives his time largely to farming and stock-raising, yet keeps himself well informed upon the current events of the day, and ever takes a deep interest in the advancement and improvement of the community in which he resides. Mr. Morrow is a member of the Presbyterian church at Arch Spring, in which he has always been an active worker, and of which he has served as trustee for several years. He is a good citizen, a successful farmer, and an intelligent and upright man. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Lyn Frieda areume@hotmail.com PROF. WILSON W. OSBORNE, principal of the Jefferson school of Altoona, and who for more than a quarter of a century has been earnestly engaged in his profession, is a son of David and Lillie (Stevens) Osborne, and was born in Fulton county, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1830. The Osbornes are Scotch, a hardy, active and resolute people. John Osborne (grandfather) was a native of Fulton county, where he followed farming up to the time of his death. His son, David Osborne (father), was also born in the Keystone State, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Fulton county, where he died in 1887, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. He was an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he was an ardent supporter of the Democratic party, and filled many of his township's offices. He married Lillie Stevens, a native of Fulton county, and who now resides on the old homestead, where she well enjoys the comforts of life, although eighty-eight years of age. She is of the same religious belief as was her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne reared a family of children, and two of the sons served as soldiers in the Union army during the late civil war. Wilson W. Osborne was reared in Fulton county, and received his education in the local academy and Cassville academy, of Huntingdon county, from which latter institution he was graduated in 1853. The same year in which he was graduated he began teaching in Logan township, where he continued in the profession until 1863. At that time he removed to Altoona, where he has been engaged in teaching ever since. He has taught in all the wards of the city, and is now principal of the Jefferson school, of which he has had charge for four years. In 1858 Professor Osborne was untied in marriage with Catherine Bowles, a sister to Prof. James B. Bowles, of Altoona. This union has been blest with one son and two daughters: Crawford B.; Jennie, married C. D. Jordan, who is also a resident of Altoona; and Bertha E., wife of Theodore H. Griffin, a resident of the same city. ON April 22, 1891, Mrs. Osborne died, and left a husband and three children with many friends to mourn her loss. In politics Mr. Osborne closely adheres to the principles of the Democratic party. He has taught for a period of thirty-four years, and honors his profession by skill, scholarship, and many other qualities that tend to elevate the teacher's work. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Beth Fladaker Eflad@aol.com SAMUEL R. SCHMUCKER, senior member of the firm of Schmucker & Co., and one of the leading and most influential business men of eastern Blair county, is a son of George and Mary (Royer) Schmucker, and was born at Cove forge, Woodbury township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, August 10, 1827. His paternal grandfather, Rev. John George Schmucker, D.D., was born in Germany in 1770, and at fourteen years of age, in 1784, came with his two brothers to eastern Virginia. He afterwards went to Philadelphia, where he studied theology under Dr. Helmuth, and was called to his first charge at York, this State. After twelve years of faithful service he went to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he remained two years, at the end of which time he returned to York, and remained there until 1850, in which year he came to Williamsburg, this county, at which place he died in 1855. Dr. Schmucker was one of the most able and prominent Lutheran ministers of Pennsylvania, and at his death his body was carried to York and buried in front of the Lutheran church there, for whose upbuilding he spent the better part of his life. His son, George Schmucker (father) was born at York in 1794, and died at Tipton, Iowa, in 1879, at eighty-five years of age. He was engaged successively in the mercantile business at Martinsburg, and from 1845 to 1854 was in partnership with his brother-in-law, John Royer, in the iron business at Cove forge. During 1855 he went to Tipton, Iowa, where he purchased a large tract of land and resided there until his death. He was an upright and just man, and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and in 1819 married Mary Royer. She was a daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Stoner) Royer, and a grand-daughter of Capt. Samuel Royer, who commanded a company at the battle of Brandywine, where he was wounded. George and Mary (Royer) Schmucker were the parents of eight children: John, of Eldorado, Kansas; Samuel R.; Daniel, a druggist of Des Moines, Iowa; Martin L., of Cove forge; Catherine, widow of Robert McKee, and resides at Tipton, Iowa; Ellen (deceased); Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Wampler, a grocer of Tipton, Iowa; and Melissa, now dead. Samuel R. Schmucker received his education in the Williamsburg schools and Gettysburg college, and then entered his father's store, where he remained until 1855. In that year his father removed to Tipton, Iowa, and he went with him and remained there until 1858, when he returned to Williamsburg to become manager of Cove forge for his uncle, John Royer, which position he held up to the time of Mr. Royer' s death in 1885. He and others then purchased the forge and store, and a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres across the river from Williamsburg, and has successfully operated them ever since. On August 20, 1850, Mr. Schmucker married Patience, daughter of James and Matilda Defenbaugh, of Williamsburg. To Mr. and Mrs. Schmucker have been born five children, three sons and two daughters: Edgar, who died of pneumonia January 18, 1892; Frank, superintendent of Schmucker & Co.'s limestone quarry at Piney creed; Elliott, who died in 1882; Mary M., and Juniata. Cove forge was built in 1822 by John Royer, and in 1821 was purchased by his nephew John Royer, and George Schmucker, who operated it until 1854, when John Royer, who was one of the most highly respected men that ever lived in Woodbury township, became sole proprietor, and ran it until his death in 1885. It then passed into the hands of Schmucker & Co., and was washed away in the high water of 1889, together with the dam which had been built in 1830. The old stone mansion on the homestead was built in 1815, and is still in a good state of preservation. The firm of Schmucker & Co. employ about three hundred men, and at the present time devote most of their operations to the quarrying and shipping of limestone and building rock. They ship over sixty cars of limestone per day, and are kept very busy to fill orders which they receive. Mr. Schmucker is the senior member of the firm, and ranks as one of the best and most successful business men of the county. He is a pleasant and intelligent gentleman, and has a beautiful home on the right bank of the Blue Juniata. He was formerly a republican, but is now a prohibitionist in politics. He is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Williamsburg, of which all his family are members. Samuel R. Schmucker has had an active career in various lines of business usefulness. Inheriting nothing but an honored family name and the high qualities of character for which the Schmuckers were noted, he commenced life with little else but health and energy, and soon commanded success, and by ability, judgment, and wise foresight has won his way to the front rank of the business men of the county. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio JOHN SELL, a prosperous farmer of near Freedom, and whose family was among the early settled families of the Juniata valley, is a son of Daniel and Rachel (Detwiler) Sell, and was born in Morrison's cove, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1836. The Sells are of German descent, and Mr. Sell's paternal grandfather, Abraham Sell, was born near Littlestown, Adams county, Pennsylvania, and came to what is now Blair township, where he settled below Brook's mill, on the Juniata river. He was a cabinet maker by trade, and was one of the early settlers of the Juniata valley. He married and had five children, three sons and two daughters: Jacob, John, Catherine, Eve, and one whose name was not furnished. John Sell (father), was born in 1810 in Blair township, and has been a life-long resident of the Juniata valley. He has always followed farming, is a republican in politics, and has served his township as a school director. He is a member of the Dunkard, or German Baptist church, in which he was a deacon for several years, and now, at eighty-two years of age, is still hale and hearty. He married Sarah Detwiler, who was born in 1813, and is still living. To Mr. and Mrs. Sell were born nine children, eight sons and one daughter: Gabriel Miller, now in Nebraska; John; Joseph, a farmer in Nebraska; Daniel, engaged in farming in Missouri; Rev. James, a farmer of Freedom township; Rev. Brice, farming in Freedom township; David, a farmer of the same township; Simon, also a farmer of Freedom township; and Catherine, who died in infancy. John Sell passed his boyhood days on the home farm, and received his education in the common schools of his native township. Leaving school he assisted his father on the farm until 1856, when he engaged in farming for himself, and purchased his present desirable farm of one hundred and forty-three acres of good farming land in Freedom township. December 16, 1860, Mr. Sell married Susanna, daughter of David and Mary Isenberg, of Mill Creek, Huntingdon county. To Mr. and Mrs. Sell have been born seven children, five sons and two daughters: Harry, of Altoona; Lafayette and Maybury, who are engaged in the grocery business at Tyrone; Blair; Brooklyn; Juniata, wife of James Leighty, a carpenter of Duncansville, and Bertha. In political affairs Mr. Sell supports the Republican party. He is a member of the Dunkard, or German Baptist church, in whose interest his family all take an active part. John Sell is a quiet, industrious man, an active and prosperous farmer, and a well liked and highly respected citizen. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio JAMES C. WATTS, of the wholesale mercantile firm of James C. Watts & Brother, of Altoona, is essentially a man of vigorous action and great capacity for work, which facts were well illustrated when his store was burned, in 1891, and ere the ashes were cold had made preparations to continue his business. He is a son of David and Elizabeth (North) Watts, and was born at Richfield, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1860. His paternal grandfather Watts was a native of England, and became an early settler near Richfield, Juniata county, where he followed farming until his death. His son, David Watts (father), was born in 1823, and early in life removed to Mifflin county, where he was engaged in the general mercantile business until a few years before his death, when he retired from active life. He was an influential democrat, acted for several years as chairman of the democratic county committee, and served one term as treasurer of Juniata county, besides holding the most important of the offices of his township. He married Elizabeth North, who was born in 1832, and is a consistent member and active worker of the Presbyterian church. Her father, Thomas North, who settled in early life in Juniata county, was of Scotch descent, and followed farming and tanning until his death. He was a leading man in his community, and one of his nephews is H.M. North, an able and leading lawyer of Columbia City, Lancaster county. James C. Watts was reared at Mifflin, received his education in the common schools, and at twenty years of age went to the city of Philadelphia, where he was engaged in clerical duties and mercantile pursuits for nine years. During that time he familiarized himself with every minor detail of various branches of the mercantile business, as well as studying closely the principles upon which they were founded and the methods by which they were most successfully conducted. Thus specially qualified for business life by practical training, he came, in November, 1889, to Altoona, where he formed a partnership with his brother, Edward T. (see his sketch), under the firm name of James C. Watts & Brother, and they engaged in their present wholesale wood and willowware business. Their store was burned in July, 1891, but Mr. Watts immediately took steps to continue his business. The establishment of the firm is now at Nos. 1003-1005 Eleventh street, where they have an unusually large stock in their various lines of goods. They are manufacturers' agents, and wholesale dealers in wood and willow ware, oilcloths, stationery, rope, twine, and different kinds of paper from manilla to straw. Mr. Watts has built up a large and prosperous trade in the city and among many merchants of Blair and adjoining counties. In politics Mr. Watts is a democrat. He is unmarried, has been a member of the Presbyterian church for several years, and although yet young in years takes rank among the most prosperous and energetic citizens of Altoona. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Beth Fladaker Eflad@aol.com IRA WENTZEL, an enterprising and progressive business man, and a leading merchant of Bellwood and the northwestern part of Blair county, is a son of Daniel and Catherine (Campbell) Wentzel, and was born near Sunbury, in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, November 16, 1850. His paternal grandfather, John Wentzel, was born in one of the eastern counties of Pennsylvania during the later part of the eighteenth century, and settled in Northumberland county when six years of age, where he died in 1845. He learned the trade of stonemason, which he followed for some time, but his principal employment was contracting on stone work and tilling his farm. He married, and of his children, Daniel Wentzel (father) was born in 1816, near Sunbury, in Northumberland county. He was reared on the farm, and received a good practical education in the old subscription schools. Leaving school he learned the trade of stonemason with his father, but did not follow it long until he turned his attention to farming and contracting on stone work. In the spring of the year 1855 he removed to Perry county, where he has resided ever since, in a comfortable and well appointed home. He is a Republican in political opinion, has held several of his township offices, and takes considerable interest yet in local politics. He married Catherine Campbell in 1837, a native of Northumberland county, who is now in the seventy-forth year of her age. To their union were born thirteen children: Harriet, deceased: David, born in 1839, and died in September, 1876; Lucinda, born in 1841, and married George Garber, of Blaine, Perry county; Caroline, now dead; Sinarra, married Anna Kline, served in the 108th Pennsylvania infantry during the late Civil War, and is now a resident of Taylor county, Iowa; Mary, wife of Abraham Bistline, a miller of Andersonburg, Perry county; Catherine, who died in infancy; Ira; Dennis, married Lizzie Gutshall, and is a farmer near Duncannon, this State; Sarah, married Jacob Loy, a farmer of Andersonburg; John McL., of Blaine, who married Jennie Borman; Martha M., wife of George A. Bartley, of Centre, Perry county; and Anna, married to a Mr. Leiter. Ira Wentzel passed his boyhood days on the farm, and received his elementary education in the common schools. He pursued his academic studies at Mt. Dempsey academy, of Landisburg, Perry county, and then entered the Millersville State Normal school of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in the class of 1874. Before going to Millersville he had taught several terms in the public schools of Perry and Cumberland Counties, and after graduation he served for one year as principal teacher in the Orphan's home at Loysville, and one and one half years as principal of the Soldier's Orphan school at McAlisterville. At this time his brother, David Wentzel, who was a merchant at Blaine, Perry county, died, and Mr. Wentzel being appointed as his executor, took charge of the store in March, 1877, and conducted it successfully for eleven years. At the end of that time he retired from business until March 1, 1889, when he came to Bellwood and engaged in his present general mercantile business. His establishment is 25 x 115 feet in dimensions, and he keeps as heavy a stock and as fine an assortment of goods as is to be found in any store outside of a city. December 30, 1875, Mr. Wentzel married Clara Amanda, a daughter of Francis Snyder, of Honey Grove, Juniata county. Their children are: David Eugene, born September 29, 1876; Bertha Kuhn, born September 21, 1878; Fannie Araminta, born July 28, 1880; Merrill LeRoy, born February 18, 1882; Lawrence Landis, born April 20, 1884; Clara Leslie, born January 30, 1886; Ira McClay, born February 12, 1888; Daniel Heston, born January 8, 1890; and Mary Catherine, born September 29, 1891. Ira Wentzel takes a deep interest in the material and commercial welfare of Bellwood. He is vice-president of the Robinson Machine Company, as well as being interested in several other business enterprises. He is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and a Republican in politics, and has been serving for some time as president of the school board of his borough. He is a member of Logan Lodge, No. 490, Free and Accepted Masons; Mountain Chapter, No. 189, Royal Arch Masons; and Mountain Commandery, No. 10, Knights Templar, of Altoona. Mr. Wentzel is a thorough-going and energetic man of executive ability and business experience, and has slowly but steadily won his way to a useful, prominent and honorable position in society and business. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by denise