BIOS: File 14 - 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 14, listing the page where they appear in the book: Besant, Bernard Lee, page 512 Brombach, Jacob, page 570 Ermine, Sylvester, page 510 Greene, Edgar B., page 514 Hostler, W. S., page 509 Jones, Captain Charles S.W., page 499 Kinkead, Maxwell, page 600 Lemon, Hon. John A., page 502 Lowrie, William L., page 497 McClellan, Jacob, page 566 McFarland, Thomas B., page 501 Mitchell, Richard, page 498 Price, George, M.D., page 523 Rhine, George W., page 572 Stern, John, page 570 Stich, Laurence P., page 511 Tierney, Frank S., page 508 Waite, John G., page 337 White, Harry J., page 513 Woodle, Rev. Allen S., page 496 BERNARD LEE BESANT, senior member of the wholesale grocery house of Besant & Hennaman, at Altoona, and a young business man of great executive ability and unusual promise, is a son of James II. and Margaret A. (Reed) Besant, and was born November 1, 1865, at Frederick Maryland. The Besants are of French descent, though residents of the country since early times. James Besant, paternal grandfather, was a native of Montgomery county, Maryland, and died in that county. He was a merchant by occupation, and a Jacksonian democrat in politics. He married and reared a family of children, among whom was James II Besant (father). The latter was born in Frederick county, Maryland, about 1814, and died at his home, near Frederick city, in 1889, after life spanning three-quarters of a century. He also was a merchant and grain dealer, and served as justice of the peace in Frederick county for many years. Politically he was a democrat, and in religion a member of the Roman Catholic church. He married Margaret A. Reed, by whom he had a family of children. She is a native of Montgomery county, Maryland, a member of the Catholic church, and now resides in the city of Frederick, that State, in sixty-seventh year of her of her age. Bernard Lee Besant was reared in the city of Frederick, Frederick county, Maryland, and received a good practical education in the common schools of that State, after which he took a course of training in the St. John's college. He then became associated with his brother in the grocery business at Frederick city, and remained there until August 1890 , when he came to Altoona. Here he formed a copartnership with John Hennaman, under the firm name of Besant & Hannaman, and the new firm embarked in the wholesale grocery business in this city the same year. Their establishment is located at No. 917 Eleventh avenue, Altoona, where they carry one of the largest and finest stocks of plain and fancy groceries to be found in western Pennsylvania. The members of this firm are young business men of great enterprise and ability, and have already secured a large and lucrative trade. With the rapid growth of population connected with the development of this part of the Keystone State, the necessity for such enterprises as these gentlemen are engaged in becomes every year more apparent, and it will not be long until this city at the foot of the Alleghenies will be the recognized base of supplies for the retail merchants of an extended region of surrounding territory. In his political affiliations Mr. Besant follows the traditions of his ancestors, and is a stanch democrat, giving that party a hearty support in both general and local politics. He is a member of the Catholic church of this city. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb Archives by Sharon McCartney Russell jerusse@erols.com JACOB BROMBACH who was an orphan, came to America from Germany some time between the years of 1740 and 1750, and located in the Conococheague settlement, Washington county, Maryland. Subsequently he married a Miss Angle, a German Baptist, and finally joined that church himself, having been a Lutheran previously. During Braddock's campaign he served as a packman, his religious convictions not permitting him to take part as a combatant. He finally became the owner of about six thousand acres of land, lying in the present counties of Bedford and Blair, the Springfield furnace property being a portion of it. He died in 1799, and was buried on the paternal homestead, four miles north of Hagerstown, Maryland. Of Jacob Brombach's seven sons, John settled in Morrison's Cove, on the headwaters of Yellow Creek, soon after 1780. Samuel Ullery, a son-in-law, and the first Dunkard preacher to locate in the cove, also came at about the first time. David, another son of Jacob, was the father of a large family. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio SYLVESTER ERMINE, a resident of near Tipton, and one of the old and substantial farmers of Blair county, is the sixth child and third son of George and Sabina (Devlin) Ermine, and was born in Sinking valley, Blair county, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1820. George Ermine was a resident for many years of Sinking valley, in which he died at the advanced age of eighty-one years in 1866. He learned, in early life, the trade of blacksmith, which he followed to some extent, but gave the most of his time to farming, in which he took considerable interest. He was Jacksonian democrat in politics, and had been for many years before his death a consistent and useful member of the Catholic church. He married Sabina Devlin, a native of Sinking valley, and who died in 1863, when in the seventy-fifth year of her age. To them were born ten children, six sons and four daughters: John, Maria, Eleanor, Lucy A., Matthew, Sylvester, George, Aaron, Catherine A., and Martine D. These children are all dead except Sylvester, the subject of this sketch, and George, who is engaged in farming in Sinking valley. Sylvester Ermine grew to manhood in Sinking valley, and was carefully trained in all of the operations and details of farming. He received his education in the last old subscription and the first of the common schools, and commenced life for himself as a teamster at Allegheny furnace. In a short time he left teaming to remove near Fostoria, where he was engaged in farming until 1865, when he purchased his present farm near Tipton. His farm, which lays well and is very productive, consists of one hundred and thirty-three acres of well improved land. Sylvester Ermine married Eleanor Harrison, and to their union were born eight children, four sons and four daughters: John H., who married Nancy McFarland, and is a butcher and stock speculator at Tyrone; Alice Emma, deceased: Thomas F., a teamster at Tyrone, who married Mary Glasgow; Lulu wife of William Fuoss, a miller of near Tyrone; Irene, now dead: W. Murray of Bellwood, married Bertha B. Reilly, and is a trainmaster on the Pennsylvania & Northwestern railroad; Florence E., and George S. Mrs. Eleanor Ermine is a daughter of Jerome and a granddaughter of Capt. John Harrison, the latter of whom was a native of Philadelphia, and became a pioneer settler of Logan valley, where he owned several large tracts of land. He was a whig and married and reared a family of eight children: James, Jerome, John, Hamilton, Mary, Elizabeth, Rachel, and Lucy. Jerome Harrison (father of Mrs. Ermine) was born in 1812 in Philadelphia, where he was reared and educated. He came with his father to Blair county, but soon returned Philadelphia, where he learned the trade of coachmaker, after which he returned to Blair county and settled near Birmingham. He was an old-line whig, followed coachmaking, and was for many years a deacon in the Methodist Episcopal church. He was twice married. His first wife was Nancy Stephens, by whom he had three children: Thomas, Eleanor, and Alice. By his second wife, Margaret Clawson, daughter of Josiah Clawson, he had one child Sylvester. Sylvester Ermine is a democrat in politics, and has cast his ballot for all the democratic candidates for president from James K. Polk, in 1844, down to Grover Cleveland, in 1888. Thomas Harrison served in the Mexican war, and has for the past twenty-eight years been located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Alaska, in the mining of gold and silver. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb Archives by Sharon McCartney Russell jerusse@erols.com EDGAR B. GREENE, a man of business ability and energy, and superintendent of the Electric Light Company of Altoona, is a son of Frank P. and Lavina (Burrows) Greene, was born on the old Green homestead in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, September 11, 1859. His paternal grandfather Greene was a native of Scotland and at seventeen years of age came to Huntingdon county, where he cleared out a large farm, on which he resided until his death, in 1863, at seventy years of age. He reared a family of nine children, of whom one was Frank P. Greene (father), who was born in 1835. He learned the trade of carpenter at Freeport, Armstrong county; went to Des Moines, Iowa, where he remained but one year, and then returned to his native county, in which he followed carpentering until 1861, when he enlisted in the Union service for three months. At the expiration of his term of service he re-enlisted and served as a private for three years under General Hancock. He participated in most of the hard-fought battles of the Army of the Potomac, and endured all the hardships of military life in the swamps of Virginia. After being honorably discharged from the service he returned home, and in 1866 removed to Philipsburg, Beaver county, where he followed his trade until 1870, when he went to Bellefonte, Centre county. He there engaged in the sewing machine business, which he followed with varied success until 1875, in which year he disposed of his business on account of impaired health, caused by exposure while in the army. After a few years rest he partly recovered his health, and since then has followed his trade. He married Lavina Burrows, whose father was a native of England who settled in Buffalo Run valley, Centre county, and afterward died at Philipsburg, Beaver county. Mr. And Mrs. Greene have four children. Edgar B. Greene was reared in Huntingdon and Centre counties, and received his education in the Bellefonte High school, then under the charge of Gen. D. H. Hasting. Leaving school he served an apprenticeship of five years with his father to learn thoroughly the trade of carpenter. He then worked as a journeyman for seven years, and at the end of that time, in 1883, became manager of the works of the Edison Construction Company at Bellefonte, which position he held until 1886. In that year he came to Altoona as superintendent of the works of the Electric Light Company, which position he still holds. He has made a thorough study of electrical lighting, and has given good satisfaction in his management of electric light works for the last ten years. Mr. Greene was united in marriage to Minerva, daughter of James O. Bryan of Bellefonte, this State. To this union have been born four children, two sons and two daughters: James A., Fred W., Nannie, and Bessie. In politics Mr. Greene is an independent republican, and supports, without regard to party, those measures which he thinks best calculated to advance the public welfare and protect the rights of the individual citizen. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Altoona, Knights of Honor, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Sharon McCartney Russell jerusse@erols.com W. S. HOSTLER, an active and successful coal and coke dealer of Altoona, and the senior member of the firm of W. S. Hostler & Co., is a son of John and Barbara (Domer) Hostler, and was born in Sinking valley, Tyrone township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, February 11, 1852. The Hostler family is of German descent, and John Hostler, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was an early settler of Centre county, from which he removed to Sinking valley, where he died. He was a blacksmith by trade, and purchased a good farm in Sinking valley, which is now in the possession of his son. Another of his sons, John Hostler (father), was born in Centre county in August, 1814, and in early life came to Blair county, of which he has been a resident ever since. His business in life has been chiefly that of farming and stock-raising, and he now owns a valuable farm at Bellwood. Although well advanced toward his four score years, he is still active, and personally supervises all of his farming operations. He is a consistent member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and in politics supports the Republican party. He has held several of his township's offices, and made a good record as public official who was conscientious and firm in the discharge of his duties. Mr. Hostler married Barbara Domer, who was born in 1825, and they reared a family of children. Mrs. Hostler is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and her father, Jacob Domer was an early settler in that section of Blair county, in which he died. W. S. Hostler spent his boyhood days and grew to manhood on his father's farm, where he was actively employed in agricultural work and carefully trained to economical business habits. He received his education in common schools and Logan academy. From the school room he went into the busy world of life with a home training of incalculable value. For seven years he was engaged during the winter months in teaching in the public schools, and in the summer seasons followed farming with his father. At the end of that time, in 1877, he became head clerk and book-keeper for the lumber firm of F. Vowinkle & Co., at Loydsville, Cambria county, and remained with them in that capacity until 1880, when they sold out their business. He then came to Altoona and took charge of the books of G. A. McCormick, and of the firm of Diehl & Co. These parties were coal dealers and he remained with them seven years, during which time he gained a thorough knowledge of all the details of the coal business. In 1887 he left their employ and formed his present partnership with J. H. Dietrich, under the firm name of W. S. Hostler & Co. They are wholesale and retail dealers in coal and coke and have built up a very fine trade in those two great staples of central Pennsylvania, which are now in such demand in so many cities and towns. In 1876 Mr. Hostler was united in marriage with Letitia Huston, daughter of George Huston, of Bellwood. Their union had been blessed with one child, a daughter, named Edna K. In politics W. S. Hostler is a republican, but he is no politician and gives his time chiefly to his varied business interests. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in which he is now serving as foreman. Mr. Hostler is successful and well known dealer in the coal and coke business, where his many years of practical experience render him an excellent judge of the best grades of coal and coke. He takes great care in shipping the required grade of material demanded by his patrons, and has been very successful in furnishing exactly what was wanted. Mr. Hostler possesses good executive ability, and ranks high as an honorable, upright business man. He is a pleasant and approachable gentleman, who is imbued with that true spirit of energy and enterprise that insures a continuation of his present prosperity. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb Archives by Sharon McCartney Russell jerusse@erols.com CAPT. CHARLES S. W. JONES, a veteran of the civil war, who has been editor of the Tyrone Herald for a quarter of a century, is a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Mattern) Jones, and was born October 29, 1842, the place of his nativity being Graysville, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. the Jones family is of Welsh extraction, but has been planted in this State for several generations. Samuel Jones (father) was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, January 29, 1808, an was educated in the country schools of his neighborhood, which, though lacking the technical finish of later times, yet imparted a good, practical education. In early life he learned the trade of potter, and worked at fashioning various kinds of earthen ware for many years. While yet a young man he left his native county and located in Huntingdon county, from whence he came to Tyrone in 1851, and has resided at that place ever since. In early years he was a democrat, but after the Republican party was formed he became affiliated wit that organization, and has served as justice of the peace in Tyrone for a quarter of a century. For thirty-five years he has been a member of the First Presbyterian church of Tyrone, and has served as trustee of the church for a number of years. He married Elizabeth Mattern, who is of German descent, and to them was born a family of eleven children. The eldest of these was a daughter named Catherine, who married Abraham Van Scoyoc, of Tyrone, and died in 1861, at the age of thirty-one years. The second was a son named Benjamin, who married Rachel Fletcher, of the city of Philadelphia, a printer by trade, and in 1862 enlisted in Company A, 2d Pennsylvania cavalry, serving until the close of the war. He held rank successively as corporal of his company, quartermaster sergeant, and regimental quartermaster. He has served two terms in the Pennsylvania legislature, representing the Twenty-third Philadelphia district. The next in order of birth was Christia Ann, who died in infancy. The fourth was Sarah Jane, who married J. H. Patterson, of Tyrone, and died at the age of thirty-one years. The fifth child was David M., who, after attaining manhood, married Amanda J. Palmer, of Tyrone, and at the breaking out of the civil war enlisted in Company D, 3d Pennsylvania infantry, as a corporal. After serving in that company three months, he became first lieutenant of Company A, 110th Pennsylvania infantry, and was afterward successively promoted to the ranks of captain, major and lieutenant-colonel. He was made a prisoner of war at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863, and was confined in Libby prison for a short time. Being exchanged, however, he rejoined his company in time to take part in the decisive battle of Gettysburg, where, while engaged in action on July 3d, he had his left leg shot off. That ended his military career, and he was soon afterward discharged form the army. After returning home from the army he was elected register and recorder of Blair county, in October, 1865, and twice re-elected, serving in that capacity for a period of nine years. Later he was elected to the State legislature, and was a member of that body at the time of his death in 1877. Their next child was a daughter, Ellen, who died in early life, and the eighth was Charles S. W., the subject of this sketch. The next younger was Emma, who married John A. Hiltner, assistant foreman in the car shops at Tyrone. The tenth child died in infancy, and the youngest was Aaron, who married Helen Beightel, of the city of Philadelphia, but is now deceased. He was a printer by trade. Capt. Charles S. W. Jones was reared in Tyrone, and received his education in the common schools of that city. After leaving school he learned the printer's trade, and, followed that occupation until the spring of 1862, when he enlisted in Company F 2d Pennsylvania cavalry, as a private, and served until the spring of 1865. In rapid succession he held all the non-commissioned offices of his company, and soon rose to be first lieutenant. He subsequently became captain of Company B, of the same regiment, and later served as commandant of Company B, first provisional Pennsylvania cavalry, an organization which grew out of the consolidation of the 2d and 20th Pennsylvania cavalry. He served in the army of the Potomac, and was wounded in the foot at Charles City, Virginia. When the war was over, and he had been discharged from service, Captain Jones returned to Pennsylvania, and for a time worked at his trade, but in 1868 became interested in the Tyrone Herald newspaper, and has maintained his connection with that journal ever since. Some five years ago he began the publication of the daily Herald, which is a six-column folio, and has been quite successful. On July 1, 1869, Captain Jones was united in marriage to Anna N. Harper, a daughter of J. M. Harper, of Tyrone. To this union were born two children: Amber (deceased) and Ange. Mrs. Jones died April, 1883, in the thirty-third year of her age. Captain Jones is a republican politically, and an able local leader in his party. He served as burgess of Tyrone for five years in succession, and in 1888 was elected a member of the Pennsylvania legislature from Blair county. He took an active part in the sessions of 1889 and 1890, serving as chairman of the military committee. On March 3, 1890, he was appointed by President Harrison to the position of postmaster at Tyrone, which office he is still holding. He is also serving as captain of the military organization known as the Sheridan troop, having been its commander since its organization in 1871. He is a member of D. M. Jones Post, No. 173, Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Union Veteran Legion of Tyrone, besides some other local organizations. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Daneen Smedile MAXWELL KINKEAD. David Kinkead, the father of Maxwell Kinkead, emigrated from County Tyrone, Ireland, and settled in Wilmington, in the State of Delaware, in the year 1777. The revolutionary war being then in progress, he enlisted as a volunteer in the American army, and was engaged in the battle of Brandywine and other battles that were fought in Delaware. At a battle that was fought near the head of the Elk river, his family was so near the battle ground, that he asked for and obtained a furlough to remove them out of danger. At this time Maxwell was about eight years of age, and he has been heard to tell of the removal; that the team took them as far as they could go in daylight, and landed them in an old blacksmith shop, where they broke off and made beds of the twigs and leaves of trees, and remained there until the time they could get a more comfortable place. The furlough was only for twenty-four hours, and he was back at his post in the army before his furlough expired. After the revolutionary war was over, he removed his family to a place on Chickie's creek, between Columbia and Mount Joy, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, known as Sharrar's Mill, where the old folks died, and are buried at Donegal church, near Mount Joy. The family then consisted of five sons and one daughter, of whom Maxwell, the subject of this sketch, removed to Petersburg, in Huntingdon county, about the year 1800, where he engaged in tavern and store keeping, and was married, March 12, 1805, to Deborah Cadwallader, at Birmingham, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Kinkead was a sister of John Cadwallader, who was after that time a very prominent member of the bar in Huntingdon, having practiced law there for several years, and died there. In the year 1812, he bought the Yellow Springs property, in Morris township (now Catharine township, Blair county), and removed there in March, 1813, from Petersburg. He was there engaged in farming and tavern keeping, and for some time also in store keeping, and lived at that place until December 19, 1841, when he died, in his seventy-second year. At the time of his death his family consisted of two sons and three daughters, his oldest son, David, having died some years previously. His son, Charles Edwin, represented the counties of Huntingdon and Blair in the legislature of 1849 and 1850, and removed to Iowa in 1851, where he died, September 28, 1878. His eldest daughter, Maria, was married to William Walker, of Petersburg, and removed to Iowa, where they are still living at an advanced age. His second daughter, Eliza, was married to John Lytle, of Hollidaysburg, and died in the year 1852. His son, James Madison, bought the homestead, the property at the Yellow springs, after the death of his father, and lived there until the year 1863. He then sold the property to James H. Patterson, and removed to Hollidaysburg, where he now resides. His youngest daughter and child, Martha Ann, was married to John Walker, of Newry, Blair county, and removed to Iowa some years since, where her husband died. She is still living in Iowa. The parents of Maxwell Kinkead being of Scotch-Irish descent, they were of the Presbyterian faith, of which church he became a member, and was for many years a ruling elder in the church at Williamsburg, Blair county, and being a man of strict integrity and most exemplary conduct, he was allowed to do what would not be countenanced now, that is, to sell spirituous liquors and be an elder in the church at the same time. At his death he enjoyed the love, esteem and respect of all who knew him, and left his property, unencumbered by debt, to his children, and believing that the law made the best will, he did not make any. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Judy Banja HON. JOHN A. LEMON is one of the most prominent public men and popular republican leaders of this county, and the present State senator from the Thirty-fifth senatorial district, composed of the counties of Blair and Cambria. John A. Lemon was reared and received his education in the common schools of his native county. In politics Mr. Lemon is a republican. His political career commenced when he was elected burgess of Hollidaysburg for a term of three years. In 1871 he was elected to the State senate, and in 1876 was re-elected. His services during his two terms in the State senate were so satisfactory to this party that, in 1880, he was nominated on the republican ticket and elected as auditor-general of Pennsylvania. At the end of his term, in 1884, he returned to Hollidaysburg, and four years later, in 1888, he was elected to the senate by the largest majority he ever received in the district when he had opposition, receiving twelve thousand eight hundred and ninety votes to his three opponents' combined vote of eleven thousand five hundred and seventy-six. As a business man Senator Lemon is distinguished for the order with which he conducts all his affairs. He is well known for his firmness, energy and punctuality. As a citizen he is respected, and as a senator and State official his record is such as to commend itself to the public as an evidence of efficiency and faithfulness. His successful career has not been helped by accident or luck, or advanced by wealth or friends. He has been in its truest sense both the architect and the builder of his own fortune. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Daneen Smedile WILLIAM L. LOWRIE, M. D., a grandson of Hon. Walter Lowrie, and a leading young physician of Tyrone, who is rapidly attaining to distinction within the sphere of his chosen profession, is the eldest son and second child of Jonathan R. and Mary L. (Lyon) Lowrie, and was born at Warrior's Mark, in Warrior's Mark township, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1859. The Lowrie family is of Scotch-Irish descent, and has been for the last century one of the honorable and influential families of central and western Pennsylvania, where many of its members have been prominent in civil and political affairs. Senator Walter Lowrie, the grandfather of Doctor Lowrie, was a son of John Lowrie, who came from Scotland in 1792, and settle in sinking valley, but soon removed to Butler county, which he afterward left to settle in Pittsburg, of which city he served as mayor for one term. Senator Lowrie was born in Scotland in 1784, and accompanied his father to Butler county, where he commenced life for himself. He served three terms in the State senate of Pennsylvania, and was elected in 1818, as United States senator from Pennsylvania. He was intelligent, careful and conscientious, a man of excellent judgment and inflexible honesty, and made a good record in the senate, which then contained some of the ablest statesmen which this county has produced. At the expiration of his term, in 1825, he became secretary of the senate, which position he held for eleven years. He then removed to New York city, where he served as secretary of the board of foreign missions of the Presbyterian church until his death, in 1868, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. He was a democrat until after the formation of the Republican party, when he became a supporter of its principles. Senator Lowrie married a Miss McPheron, and had a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters; Matthew, who was a leading lawyer at the Butler county bar; Rev. John C., now a doctor of divinity and secretary of the Presbyterian board of foreign missions; Rev. Walter, who was a missionary to Chine and was killed by pirates; John R., who died in 1885; Eliza, now dead; Mary, who married a Mr. Baird; and Rev. Reuben, who was a Presbyterian minister. Jonathan R. Lowrie (father) was born February 17, 1823, in Butler county, and died December 10, 1885, at Warrior's Mark. He entered Jefferson college, of Cannonsburg, this state, from which he was graduated in 1842, in a classical course. He then read law with Judge Walter Lowrie, of Pittsburg, was admitted to the bar in 1845, and practiced at Hollidaysburg until 1851, when he retired from the active practice of his profession to become a member and the legal adviser of the iron manufacturing firm of Lyon, Shorb & Co. He continued in this business from 1853 to his death, in 1885. He was a member and elder of the Presbyterian church at Warrior's Mark, to which he contributed liberally, and whose present church building he erected. Mr. Lowrie was twice married. In 1840 he married Mary Lyon, who died in 1862, at the age of thirty-eight years, and left three children: Sallie R., William L., and Robert, now practicing law in Philadelphia. Mr. Lowrie married, in 1867, for his second wife Matilda N. Nassau, and by his second marriage had a family of five children: Charles N., a civil engineer; Matilda N., now dead; Walter, student at Princeton college; S. Stewart, now deceased; and Matthew, who is attending Lawrenceville High school. Mrs. Mary L. Lowrie, his first wife, was a daughter of John Lyon, the senior member of the great iron manufacturing firm of Lyon, Shorb & Co., who owned and operated Pennsylvania and Bald Eagle furnaces, Tyrone and Coleraine forges, Sligo iron works, and several large rolling mills in Pittsburg, where they were the proprietors of the celebrated Monongahela house. John Lyon was a native of Pennsylvania, and lived for many years in Pittsburg, where he died in 1868, when in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and was thrice married. His fist wife was a daughter of Hon. William McClay, United States senator from 1803 to 1808, and she died and left one son, William M., who is now dead. His second wife was a Miss Patton, who died and left one son, J. Patton, who is now deceased. For his third wife he married a Miss Stewart, a sister of David Stewart, of Coleraine Forges, and reared a family of eight children: James, of Pittsburg; S. Stewart, of Bellefonte; George W., of Philadelphia; Mary L., mother of the subject of this sketch; Margaret married a minister by the name of Hamill, and is dead; Jane, wife of Buche Ayres, of Philadelphia; and Sallie, now dead. William L. Lowrie attended Williams college from 1876 to 1878, and then attended Wooster college, from which he was graduated in 1879. Leaving college he made choice of medicine as a profession, and in 1880 entered the Medical university of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in the class of 1883. After graduation he went to Mapleton, Huntingdon county, and practiced until 1886, when he came to Tyrone, where he has now an extensive and rapidly increasing practice. January 5, 1887, Doctor Lowrie married Bertha G., daughter of Rev. H. G. Finney, of Chambersburg, this State, and their union has been blessed with one child, a daughter named Mary L. In politics Doctor Lowrie is a republican, and was elected as a school director at the February election 1892. He is senior warden of Tyrone Lodge, No. 494, Free an Accepted Masons, and a member of Mountain Chapter, No. 189, Royal Arch masons, and Mountain Commandery, No. 10, Knights Templar, of Altoona. He is treasurer of the steam Fire Company, a director of the Tyrone Mining and Manufacturing Company, and president of the Tyrone Club. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Daneen Smedile JACOB McCLELLAN, one of the thrifty farmers of Frankstown township, is the second child and eldest son of George and Sarah (Myers) McClellan, and was born in Tuckahoe valley, Blair county, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1836. His paternal grandfather, Jacob McClellan, removed to Sinking valley, where he resided for some years. He then went to McCamant's old forge, where he remained until his death. He married, and reared a family of nine children, of whom were: Annie, Elizabeth, James, William, John, George, and Jacob. George McClellan, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a common laborer, an old-line whig in politics, and married Sarah Myers. To their union were born eight children, three sons and five daughters: Hannah, Jacob, Elizabeth, Sarah, Theresa, Fannie, Scott, and William. Jacob McClellan was reared in Blair county, received his education in the early common schools of Pennsylvania, and commenced life for himself as a teamster. In a short time he quit teaming, went to Altoona, where he worked for several years in the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and at the end of that time purchased his present farm in Franktown township. Mr. McClellan was united in marriage with Jane E. Baird, daughter of Jonathan Baird. To their union have been born eight children, four sons and four daughters: Joseph, married Jane Stover, and is a gas plumber of Altoona; Rose Anna, wife of David Coughenour, who is employed in the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Altoona; Sarah (deceased); Grant, Minnie, Lulu, Jacob, and William, now dead. Jacob McClellan owns a good farm of eighty acres of land, which he carefully cultivates. Politically Mr. McClellan is a straight republican, and always votes for the nominees of that party. He is a good farmer and a careful business man. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio THOMAS B. MCFARLAND, one of the leading furniture dealers and undertakers of Hollidaysburg, is the son of William F. and Susan (Frampton) McFarland, and was born at Hollidaysburg, Blair county, Pennsylvania, December 8, 1861. His paternal grandfather, William McFarland, was a native of Lebanon county, and came, in 1824, to Frankstown, which he left in 1832 to settle at Hollidaysburg, where he died in 1885, when in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was among the first cabinet makers and undertakers of Hollidaysburg, if not indeed the first. He was a democrat in politics, and served during President Buchanan's administration as assistant postmaster of Hollidaysburg, under Col. W.G. Murray, who is accredited as postmaster during that time by J. Simpson Africa's History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties. Mr. McFarland married Sarah Forbes, of Virginia, and reared a family of five children, of whom William F. McFarland (father), the eldest, was born at Frankstown, in 1828. William F. McFarland followed cabinet making and undertaking at Hollidaysburg until his death, which occurred January 2, 1892. He was a democrat in politics, and a consistent member of the Baptist church, and married Susan Frampton, who was born in 1831, and still survives him. They were the parents of five children: William, who died young; Thomas B., Kate, Harry, superintendent of the company's store at Ronova, Clinton county; and Frank, assistant superintendent of the Clearfield and Cresson Coal and Coke Company. Thomas B. McFarland received his education in the public schools of Hollidaysburg, learned with his father the trade of cabinet maker, and has followed the furniture and undertaking business most successfully in his native borough for over fourteen years. Thomas B. McFarland is a democrat in politics, and a member of the Baptist church, like his father and grandfather before him. His furniture and undertaking establishment is at No. 108 Allegheny street. He has a large and varied stock of all kinds of furniture, carries a very fine line of funeral caskets, and has built up a remunerative trade that extends far beyond his borough. Mr. McFarland has been a member for several years of Hollidaysburg Lodge, No. 119, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and by his energy and enterprise stands in his line of business second to none in the borough. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Daneen Smedile RICHARD MITCHELL, assistant superintendent of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of Altoona, and a native of the Island Continent of the old world, is a of John and Louise (Kellow) Mitchell, and was born in the city of Ballarat, on the Yarrowee river, in the province of Victoria, Australia, October 20, 1864. His paternal grandfather Mitchell was a native of England and a miner by trade. He followed mining, and died in Cornwall at the age of sixty-four years. His son, John Mitchell, was born in England, and about 1853 went to Ballarat, Australia, where he engaged in gold mining. He owned a part of the Hiscock mine, in the southeastern gold fields of Australia, which he operated until 1872, when he returned to his native country and engaged in his present occupation of farming near the town of Truro, in Cornwall, one of the richest mining counties of southwestern England. He married Louise Kellow, who died in England about 1874. Richard Mitchell was reared in Ballarat, Australia, and received his education in the public schools of that city. At an early age he commenced life for himself as a farm hand, but soon left agricultural pursuits to work in a machine shop, where he remained but a short time, and then embarked on a ship as storekeeper in the engine room. He was afterward promoted to assistant engineer, and spend three years on board another vessel, which, during that time, sailed on almost all the waters of the globe. He received a very flattering offer form the American Life Insurance Company, of Philadelphia, and quit the sea to work for them. Three months later he left their employ and engaged with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as their agent for Staten Island, where he remained twelve months, when he was promoted to assistant superintendent of his district, with headquarters at Port Richmond, Staten Island. At the end of three years he was transferred to Jersey City, New Jersey, as assistant superintendent of the district in which that city was situated. He resigned his position at Jersey City to become foreman, and as such to assume charge of the works in New York city of the Nichols Patent Gas & Elevator Tubing Company. He superintended these works until 1891, when he accepted his present position as assistant superintendent of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company at Altoona, where he has resided since January of that year. Richard Mitchell is a prohibitionist in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian church of Altoona, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is one of that class of young, active, business men who have the energy and industry necessary to win success in what ever field they may labor. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Daneen Smedile GEORGE PRICE, M.D., One of the prominent physicians of Altoona, and proprietor of a first-class drug store in that city, is a graduate from the Pennsylvania State university, and has taken special courses in the leading medical institutions of Philadelphia and New York city. He is the youngest son of Daniel and Catherine (McKeethen) Price, and was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of August, 1849. The Prices are descended from old Welsh stock, Doctor Price's great-grandfather being a native of that part of the British dominions, but emigrating to America and settling in Pennsylvania at an early day. John Price (grandfather) was born in Huntingdon county, this State, but removed to Fulton county, where he died. He was a farmer by occupation, and married and reared a family of children. One of these was Daniel Price (father), who was born in Huntingdon county about 1814, and died at Waterside, Bedford county, in 1879. He was a veterinary surgeon by profession, a republican in politics, and took an active interest in political matters. He was widely known as a man of great enterprise, wonderful activity, and sound judgment. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and married Catherine McKeethen, whose father was a native of Ireland, but came to America and settled in the old Keystone State, from whence he enlisted in the United States army during the progress of the Mexican war, and fell fighting on the plains of Mexico. By this marriage Daniel Price had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters: Eliza, married John Bayer, a farmer of Bedford county; Mary Ann, married Joseph Snowden, also a farmer, and residing in the same county; Leah; David, who enlisted in Co. C, 110th Pennsylvania infantry, served until the close of the civil war (being wounded three times), and is now serving as sheriff of Bedford county, having been elected by the republicans, of which party he is an active and prominent member; Daniel, who enlisted in the army during the great civil war, and served first in the 205th Pennsylvania infantry, and later in the 133rd regiment from the same State (receiving serious injury at Petersburg), and is now a moulder, employed at Indianapolis, Indiana; Catherine, married David Carpenter, who served as a soldier during the civil war, and now resides at Roaring Spring, this county; and George, the subject of this sketch. George Price grew to manhood in his native county of Bedford, and was educated in the public schools there. He was a quick and earnest student, making use of every advantage that came within his reach, and started in life with an honorable ambition to achieve success, and a strength of purpose that never faltered. His youthful mind was early drawn toward the medical profession, and soon after leaving school he entered the office of Doctor Long, at New Enterprise, and began reading medicine. After he made considerable progress in his studies he entered the medical department of the university of Pennsylvania, and was graduated from that well known institution in 1878, with the degree of M.D. In the fall of that year he located at New Enterprise, Bedford county, but after a brief period spent in practice he determined to more thoroughly qualify himself for the intricate duties of his profession, and accordingly went to New York city, where he took a special course at the State university, and at the Bellevue Medical college, giving particular attention to the diseases of women. When he had completed these special lines of study he returned to Bedford county and opened an office at Lloydville, where he practiced for a time. But his ambition was not yet satisfied. He had started with a determination to make himself master of the healing art, and in doing so resolved to use every advantage which the medical institutions of this country could offer. In 1879 he went to Philadelphia, and for eighteen months pursued a special course of study on the diseases of the eye and ear, under the instruction of two distinguished specialists, Professors Norris and Risley. At the same time he was engaged in the study of homeopathy-a school of medicine with which he had been favorably impressed. On his return to practice he located for a short time at New Enterprise, but on January 16, 1883, removed to Altoona, where he opened an office, and has ever since been engaged in the general practice of medicine. The energy he inherited could not fail to make an impression in any community, and Doctor Price at once took high rank in his profession, and now has a large and lucrative practice. He is still an earnest student of the great science to which he dedicated his life, and keeps step with the march of progress in his special lines. In addition to his practice he owns a fine drug store in the city, and has already accumulated a handsome fortune. On September 12, 1882, Doctor Price was united in marriage with Ada G. McCleary. This union has been blessed by the birth of an only child, a daughter named Mary Increleo, born June 7, 1885. On March 18, 1887, Mrs. Price died and was greatly mourned by a wide circle of friends, who had been won by her fine social qualities, sterling character and genuine womanhood. Doctor Price is a stanch republican in politics, taking an active interest in all public questions, and is very popular among his party associates. He enlisted in Co. D, 99th Pennsylvania infantry, and served during the last six months of the great civil war, and is a member of Stephen C. Potts Post, No. 62, Grand Army of the Republic. He is now serving as secretary of the board of pension examiners for Blair county, and is an active and prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Altoona. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA USGenWeb archives by Linda Shillinger Lindastree@AOL.COM GEORGE W. RHINE, a prominent contractor and builder of Altoona, and who was with Sherman in his famous march to the sea, is a son of James and Mary A. (Bartley) Rhine, and was born near Mifflintown, in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, March 10, 1849. His paternal grandfather, George Rhine, was a native of Germany, and came to Pennsylvania, where he settled in Juniata county and followed farming until his death, in March, 1854. He married, and of the sons born to him in his Juniata county home, one was James Rhine, father of George W. Rhine, whose name appears at the head of this sketch. James Rhine was reared on the farm, trained to agricultural pursuits, and received his education in the subscription schools of that day. He cultivated a farm in Juniata county, on which the village of Patterson now stands, and in 1868 removed to Altoona, where he was in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company until his death, which occurred on November 27, 1877, when he was in the sixty-second year of his age. He was a Presbyterian in religious faith, and a democrat in political opinion, and always active in the interests of his party. He married Mary A. Bartley, who was born in Juniata county in 1823, and is a member of the Presbyterian church of Altoona. They reared a family. George W. Rhine spent his boyhood days on the farm, and received his education in the common and some private schools of his neighborhood. At fifteen years of age he went to learn the trade of carpenter with his uncle, Calvin Bartley, but in a short time ran away to enter the Union army. He enlisted, in 1864, as a private in Co. I, 76th Pennsylvania infantry, was with Sherman in his famous march from the mountains of Georgia to the Atlantic seaboard, and served until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged from the service in 1865. He then returned home and finished learning his trade, at which he worked until 1868, when he came to Altoona, and was engaged in the contracting and building business for eighteen years. At the end of that time, in 1886, he formed a partnership with B.M. Bunker, under the firm name of Bunker & Rhine, and embarked in the planing mill business, which they followed until 1890. On April 26th of that year Mr. Rhine purchased his partner's interest, and has continued to successfully operate the mill up to the present time. June 30, 1870, he was united in marriage with Sallie C., daughter of Benjamin Sheaffer, of Elizabethtown, Lancaster county. Mr. and Mrs. Rhine have one child, a daughter, named Lizzie May. George W. Rhine is a democrat in politics, but is no extremist, and has served four years as a member of the common council of his city. He is a regular attendant at the services of the Evangelical Lutheran church, to which he is a liberal contributor. He is a member of Stephen Potts Post, No. 62, Grand Army of the Republic. In his planing mill he employs a force of fifty men, and keeps on hand all kinds of lumber and every description of planing mill work to accommodate his numerous patrons. In contracting and building Mr. Rhine has met with good success, and besides the many buildings which he has erected in Blair county, he built (1884) the town hall, public school building and market house of Roanoke, Virginia. He is a man of considerable observation, having traveled all through the south and southwest, and spending two years in Virginia and one in Texas. Mr. Rhine is a pleasant and agreeable gentleman, whose successful business career has been largely due to his own energy, industry and good management. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio JOHN STERN, a prosperous farmer of North Woodbury township, is a son of Peter and Mary (Baster) Stern, and was born near Woodbury, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, October 11, 1832. His paternal grandfather, Peter Stern, sr., was a native of Lancaster county, and after arriving at his majority he removed to near Dennis creek, in Bedford county, where he followed farming until his death. He was a republican during the later years of his life. He married, and reared a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters: Jacob, Peter, John, David, Nancy, Susan, Barbara, and one whose name was not furnished. Peter Stern, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born about 1812 near Bedford, in Bedford county. He removed from Bedford to Blair county, and settled near Martinsburg, where he followed farming until his death. He was a republican in politics, and a member of the River Brethren church, and married Mary Baster. They had a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters: Elizabeth, Jacob, John, Samuel, Andrew, Peter, Rebecca, and one other. John Stern was reared on his father's farm near Woodbury, in Bedford county, received his education in the early common schools, and has always been engaged in farming where he now resides. He owns a farm of one hundred acres of well improved land in North Woodbury township. John Stern married Elizabeth Kauffman, daughter of Frederick Kauffman, and to their union have been born six children, four sons and two daughters: David, who died in 1888; Anna, who passed away in 1867; William K., a farmer of Ore Hill, who married Anna Guyer; Frederick K., Calvin K., and Mary J. In politics Mr. Stern is a stanch republican, whose support of his party, its principles, and its nominees has always been hearty and unswerving. He is a useful and active member of the River Brethren church, and is one of that class of substantial and law-abiding citizens upon which the prosperity of any community so largely depends. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Bonnie Millican, Akron, Ohio LAURENCE P. STICH, proprietor of the Enterprise brewery of Altoona, is one of the energetic and successful business men of that city, and a local leader of considerable influence in the Democratic party. He is a son of Julius and Theresa (Karl) Stich, and was born in Carrolltown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, December 28, 1857. Julius Stich (father) is a native of Germany, and was reared and educated in his native land. At the age of twenty-one he emigrated to America, and about 1849 settled at Carrolltown, Cambria county, this State. He was a shookmaker by trade, and was thus employed in Carrolltown for a period of ten years. He then engaged in the brewery business at the same place, which he successfully conducted for about fifteen years, after which he retired from active life, and in 1884 removed to the city of Altoona, where he still resides, being now in his sixty-fifth year. He is an ardent democrat in politics, and a member of the Roman Catholic church. While residing in Cambria county he took an active part in politics, and was among the most prominent local leaders of his party. He still owns his brewery and a hotel at Carrolltown and some fine residence property in this city. When he landed in the United States, in 1848, he did not own a dollar, and is now comparatively wealthy, all the result of his own industry and careful business management. He married Theresa Karl, a native of Bavaria, Germany, who is also a member of the Catholic church, and now in the forty-ninth year of her age. Laurence P. Stich grew to manhood in his native village of Carrolltown, and received a good practical education in the public schools of that place. He learned the brewery business with his father, and continued to work in his father's brewery until 1881, when he came to the city of Altoona and accepted the position of foreman in the brewery of Gustave Klemert. In that capacity he remained with Mr. Klemert until 1884, when he resigned his position, purchased the Enterprise brewery, and embarked in business for himself. He successfully conducted that brewery until 1888, when it was accidentally destroyed by fire. He then erected his present large brick brewery, located on the corner of Third avenue and Seventh street. In this building he resumed business in 1889. It is also known as the Enterprise brewery, and has a capacity of nearly eight thousand barrels yearly. In 1891 Mr. Stich built a distillery at Gallitzen, Cambria county, with a capacity of twenty bushels per day, which he still owns and manages. In November 1891, Mr. Stich united in marriage with Louisa Lawrence, a daughter of George W. Lawrence, of Gettysburg, this State. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and in politics a straight democrat of the old school. He takes an active interest in local politics, and is an enthusiastic worker for the success of his party. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb Archives by Sharon McCartney Russell jerusse@erols.com FRANK S. TIERNEY, who has followed plumbing in the Mountain City successfully for the last five years, is a son of Charles W. and Catherine Tierney, and was born in the city of Altoona, Blair county, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1869. His paternal grandfather was born and reared in the beautiful island of Ireland, where the Tierney family has been resident, in all probability, for centuries. In this most wonderful land of splendid castles and lowly cabins, whose children have genius although oppressed by want, Mr. Tierney resided until some time prior to 1821, when he joined in the western tide of emigration that had steadily swelled in volume after the unsuccessful revolution of 1798 for Irish independence. He settled in Pennsylvania and was killed in a railroad accident near Duncannon, Perry county. His son, Charles W. Tierney, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Germantown, a suburb of Philadelphia, and of revolutionary fame, in 1822. He learned the trade of machinist, and came to Altoona, where he was employed for many years in the car and machine shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He died in Altoona in 1889, at fifty-three years of age. After the commencement of the late civil war he enlisted in the Union army, and served three years and six months. Frank S. Tierney was reared in Altoona, and received his education in the public schools of his native city and the excellent parochial schools of Columbia, Lancaster county. Leaving school, he learned the trade of plumber, worked for three years as a journeyman, and then commenced the plumbing business for himself, in which he has been very successful for a young man. He is well prepared to do all kinds of work in plumbing and gas fitting, is a careful workman, uses first-class material, and has rendered good satisfaction wherever employed. Mr. Tierney is a republican in politics, and has been for several years a member of the Catholic church of Altoona. In 1890 Frank S. Tierney was united in marriage with Anna Mingel, daughter of Francis Mingel, of the city of Altoona. Their union has been blessed with one child, a daughter, named Gertrude M. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb Archives by Sharon McCartney Russell jerusse@erols.com JOHN G. WAITE, af Tyrone, whose life was one of usefulness to his community, was a son of John and Ester (Wagoner) Waite, and was born in Sinking Valley, in what is now Tyrone Township, Blair (then Huntingdon) county, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1824. John Waite (father), was born 1787, in the celebrated Sinking Valley, when it was yet in Bedford and just shortly before it became a part of Huntingdon county. He was one of the early farmers of his section, and died in 1830, at the age of forty-nine years. He married Ester Wagoner, and to their union was born a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters: Daniel, who died in 1865; Mary, who married Jacob Stover; Abram, see his sketch which appears in this volume; John G.; Henry, now dead; Eva, who married George W. Walters, of Altoona, where they now reside; and Ester, wife of D.S. Weekland, a resident of the city of Altoona. After the death of Mr. Waite, in 1830, Mrs. Waite and the family remained in Sinking Valley until 1837, when they removed to Shaffer's Creek, and subsequently to Eden Valley, near Spruce Creek, where she passed away in 1874, when in the seventy-eight year of her age. John G. Waite was but six years of age when his father died, and was reared by his mother in Sinking and Eden valleys. He received a good common school education, and then commenced the battle of life for himself. After his marriage, in 1850, he settled on what is known as the Huntingdon Furnace farm, which he tilled until 1860, when he purchased a well improved farm in Warrior's Mark valley. He conducted that farm very successfully up to 1885, in which year he removed to Tyrone, where he resided until his death in 1891. On March 27, 1850, John G. Waite was married to Isabella Henderson, of Spruce Creek, this State, by Rev. George Gnyer, who is now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Waite were the parents of four children, one son and three daughters: Robert H., who died in 1865, at the early age of thirteen years; Anna M., who married Frank L. Peek, a native of Kansas, and they reside on the old home farm in Warrior's Mark township; Margaret E., and Drusilla B., who are at home. Mrs. Isabella Waite is a daughter of David Henderson, who was born June 30, 1789, in Half Moon valley, Pennsylvania, and died at Spruce Creek in 1882, when lacking but seven years of being a centenarian. He was a farmer by occupation, a Democrat in politics, and always took an active part in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was a prominent and honored member. He held the office of school director of several terms, and married Margaret Conrad, by whom he had nine children, five sons and four daughters: Elizabeth, who married Daniel Waite, of Eden valley; Robert L., a farmer of Spruce Creek; Mrs. Isabella Waite; Miss Mary Henderson, of Tyrone; Thomas K., a resident of Union Furnace, this State; Samuel C., now a resident of Eden valley; Margaret, wife of Samuel Dysart, of the State of Illinois; John M. (deceased); and David P., who lives on the Henderson home farm at Spruce Creek. John G. Waite was a very practical and prosperous business man. In agricultural pursuits, which he followed mainly during his life, he was very successful. He was an earnest and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for over thirty years, and at the time of his death was serving as a trustee of the First Church of that denomination at Tyrone. He was severely afflicted with inflammatory rheumatism from 1872 until November 2, 1891, when death released him from his sufferings, and his spirit passed from time to eternity. His funeral services were impressively conducted by his pastor, Rev. R. H. Gilbert, and Dr. B.B. Hamlin, presiding elder of the Altoona district, assisted by his former pastors, Rev. G.D. Pennypacker, of Clearfield, and Rev. George Leidy, of Huntingdon. His remains rest in a beautiful lot in Tyrone cemetery, and his memory is fondly cherished by his family and relatives, and the large circle of friends to whom he was endeared by many kind acts and a Christian life. Transcribed and submitted to Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by denise HARRY J. WHITE, the head of the well known and highly popular wholesale grocery house of H. J. White & Co., of Altoona, is a son of John and Fannie (Gettis) White, and was born in Allegheny city, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, July 27, 1857. His paternal grandfather, White, was of that wonderful Scotch-Irish race whose home for over a century was in the historic north of Ireland, where he died in 1874, when he was in the eighty-third year of his age. He married and had a family of eight children, of whom one was John White, the father of the subject of this sketch. John White was born in 1828, at Ballamena, County Antrim, Ireland, where he was reared and received his education. At seventeen years of age he left the land of his nativity and the home of his childhood to seek his fortune in the United States, and settled in the city of Pittsburg, where he engaged in the general mercantile business for nearly thirty years. He was also engaged in various speculations, in which he met with good success. He died in Pittsburg in 1881, when in the fifty-third year of his age, and his remains were interred in that city. He married Fannie Gettis, and to their union were born five children, of whom four are yet living. Harry J. White grew to manhood in Allegheny, and received his education in the graded schools of that city and Pittsburg. Leaving school he acted successively as a clerk and a book-keeper for his father, and the opened a general broker's office, which he conducted until 1888, when he and F. P. Bell formed a partnership, under the firm name of H. J. White & Co., and purchased the wholesale grocery and provision store of Kenneweg & Co., at No. 1006 Eleventh avenue, Altoona. Their establishment embraces two floors and a basement story, 25 X 100 feet in dimensions. It is one of the leading wholesale grocery houses of central Pennsylvania, and its almost phenomenal success is largely due to the energy and efforts of Mr. White, who always keeps on hand a large stock of choice and fresh groceries and provisions. He carefully buys in the markets of the leading cities, and imports from the old world everything in the line of staple and fancy groceries that could be possibly desired by the most fastidious housekeeper, while the orchard, the farm, and the dairy are taxed for their best products. The business of the firm has increased so rapidly that they have had to establish a storage warehouse at Eighth and Ninth streets, keep three salesmen on the road, and employ two book-keepers. In 1891 Mr. White was united in marriage with Emma Levan, daughter of John P. Levan, of Altoona. In politics H. J. White has always been a pronounced republican. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Franklin Lodge, No. 231, Free and Accepted Masons, of Pittsburg, and Mountain Chapter, No 189, Royal Arch Masons, of Altoona. Mr. White ranks high as a man of energy and enterprise, and one of the wide-awake and progressive young business men of the Mountain City. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Sharon McCartney Russell jerusse@erols.com REV. ALLAN SHELDON WOODLE, a gentleman of culture and education, and the popular and efficient rector of St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal church of Altoona, is a son of Major Isaac and Cornelia (Sheldon) Woodle, and was born at Janesville, Rock county, Wisconsin, July 22, 1845. Major Isaac Woodle (father) was born at Washington, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, November 9, 1819, was graduated from Washington college in the class of 1840, and then went to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he read law and was admitted to the bar. After his admission he opened an office at that place and practiced his profession until his death, which occurred April 3, 1862. Major Woodle was instrumental in developing the Rock River Valley railroad, and in 1861 took an active part in raising a cavalry regiment, of which he became quartermaster with the rank of major. He was a prominent democrat, a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and a Knight Templar in Free Masonry. On May 16, 1844, he married Cornelia Sheldon, a daughter of Major William B. Sheldon, of Delhi, Delaware county, New York, and who died in 1864, when in the forty-fourth year of her age. Allan Sheldon Woodle was reared at Janesville, Wisconsin, and received his education in the high school o f that place and Sinsinawa Mound and Racine colleges. Leaving college he spent five years in the study of theology at Nashotah Theological seminary, from which institution he was graduated in 1873 with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. After graduation he served his deacinate at Milwaukee under Bishop Armitage, and his first charge was at St. Matthias Protestant Episcopal church of Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he served for two years. At the end of that time he was called to New York city as assistant minister of Christ's church at Fifth avenue and Thirty-fifth street, and as manager of the Church Journal. In 1876 he was elected rector of St. Luke's church of Altoona, which he has served faithfully and efficiently ever since. His pastoral duties were very arduous upon taking charge of St. Luke's church, but throwing himself energetically into the work he won success. Under his administration a large and fine stone church has been erected to take the place of the small one which had been built in 1858. The membership, which was small in 1876, has increased to eight hundred, of whom three hundred are communicants. The church structure is at the corner of Eighth avenue and Thirteenth street, and has been well furnished throughout. On September 12 of the Centennial year, Rev. A. S. Woodle was united in marriage with Abbie C. Tisdale, daughter of Henry Tisdale, of Newport, Rhode Island. To Rev. and Mrs. Woodle have been born five children, two sons, and three daughters: Allan Sheldon, jr., now attending St. Paul's college, Concord, New Hampshire; Bernon T., Mary K., Cornelia S., and Margaret C. Rev. Allan S. Woodle is a democrat in political opinion. He is a fine looking man, pleasant and courteous, yet so far dignified as to command the respect of all who come in contact with him. Rev. Woodle is a logical reasoner, a clear thinker, and an interesting speaker. His sermons ever represent his own heartfelt convictions as to truth and duty, and in his preaching he always has careful regard to the order and proportions of Christian truth and to the wants of his people. He has given to the church a thorough, conscientious, and faithful ministry which has been greatly fruitful of good. Transcribed and submitted to the Blair County, PA, USGenWeb archives by Daneen Smedile