BIO: Gustav ALTMAN, Huntingdon County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by JO Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ********************************************************** __________________________________________________________________ Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley: Comprising the Counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry, Pennsylvania, Containing Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Many of the Early Settlers. Chambersburg, Pa.: J. M. Runk & Co., 1897, pages 205-208. __________________________________________________________________ GUSTAV ALTMAN, Alexandria, Huntingdon county, Pa., was born at Dessau, on the Elbe river, in central Prussia, July 11, 1839. His parents were Wilhelm and Ida (Fritsche) Altman. Wilhelm Altman was born September 28, 1819; he was a goldsmith and jeweler, and served in the German army. His first wife, who was Ida Fritsche, died in 1858. Their children are: Franz, deceased; Gustav; William, a merchant of Rochester, N. Y., Carl, engineer on a railroad of Breman, Germany; Matilda (Mrs. Buzzard), of Staten Island; Otto, died in Huntingdon, Pa.; Emil, died in New York; and Ida, died in Germany. The father married again, and was living with his second wife at the time of his death, which occurred in his native place, July 17, 1875. Gustav Altman attended school in his native town of Dessau until he attained to his fifteenth year; he then left school, intending, however, to continue going during the winters, while he went to sea in the summer. He accordingly went to Bremen to seek a berth on a sailing vessel, but without success, and he was advised to go to New York. Upon this advice he acted, his parents furnishing him with money for the voyage. Without any companion the boy set out to seek his fortune beyond the sea. The passage from Bremen to New York occupied fifty-two days; the sailing vessel was at one time becalmed in mid-ocean, and at others, she encountered very rough weather. At length, the young emigrant landed at New York, and proceeded at once to the home of an uncle, who was a farmer in New Jersey, and with whom he remained for a year and a half, working as farm hand, at $4 a month. At the end of that time, the uncle having exchanged his farm for some property in New York, young Altman accompanied him to that State, and soon found work there in a machine shop, where he continued for a year. He and some associates then determined to go on a whaling voyage, and set out at once for New Bedford, going by boat as far as Newport, and making the rest of the journey by rail. Arrived at New Bedford, the young adventurer met with some old salts, who privately advised him to give up his project, and be content to remain a "land lubber." Their arguments prevailed, and Gustav Altman and his companions decided to return to New York. But they had spent all their capital in going to New Bedford; so they walked as far as Newport, and there went on board a boat bound for New York harbor. When the fare of the passengers was collected, the young men said that they had no money, but would willingly work their passage. They were told that there were enough of such men on board; the captain therefore compelled them to leave their coats with him, until they should be able to redeem them by the payment of a dollar. In the pocket of Mr. Altman's coat was a book which he had brought from his home in Germany and which he prized very highly, as it contained his diary, the portraits of his father and mother, and other mementoes of the family. He begged the captain earnestly to allow him to retain this precious wallet, but received only a hard-hearted refusal, given, it would seem, solely for the purpose of causing pain to the poor, lonely boy, as the pocket-book could have been of no great value to any one else. When he reached New York the boy was too proud to ask his uncle for the dollar with which to buy his coat; so he went directly to Honesdale, Pa., where he was employed at the coal mines by the Pennsylvania Railroad. As soon as he had earned some forty or fifty dollars, which was of course, not for a number of weeks, he went on foot to New York, sought the steamboat captain and redeemed his coat; but, sad to say, the precious book and its contents were lost, and the unsympathizing captain, not having troubled himself at all about the article, could give the young man no idea how to find it. Young Altman then went to see his uncle, bade him good bye, and set out to look for work. He was employed at threshing for a few days at Lewistown, Pa., after which he came on foot to Porter township, and solicited and obtained work from the farmers. For a year he worked for Samuel Neff, and the following winter for William Stryker, for board and schooling; and was afterwards with him until 1859, on good wages. Mr. Stryker wished him to remain another year, offering increased wages, but Mr. Altman declined the offer, as he had an opportunity to learn the business of a miller. When Mr. Stryker remonstrated with him on giving up $13 per month to receive only $4, the young man replied that he hoped to make it up after a while. For the advantage of knowing a regular business, he had the good judgment to relinquish a present gain. He at once went to work in the mills of Benjamin L. Neff; during the first year his wages were $50; during his second, $75; in the third year, Mr. Neff rented the mill on shares to Mr. Altman and Mark Bodley. They had conducted the mill for a year when the war of the Rebellion broke out. Gustav Altman then enlisted at Petersburg, Pa., in Company H, Fifteenth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Capt. Joseph Johnson, for three months. The company proceeded first to Harrisburg, Pa., then to Carlisle, Pa., and then to Lancaster, Pa.; the regiment was assigned to Negley's brigade, and was under General Pattison. They were ordered to Martinsburg, Va., were in a fight at Falling Waters, then overtook the rebels under Johnson's command at Bunker Hill; from that point the Confederate troops fell back to Winchester, and the Union force went to Harper's Ferry. The "rebs" had been there before then, and "destroyed about everything in sight." At Harper's Ferry, the time of the Fifteenth expired, and they were ordered to Carlisle, where they were paid off and discharged. Mr. Altman resumed the charge of the mill, and continued in the same until the following spring, when he went to Ohio, and worked in a mill at Massillon. After a few months, becoming dissatisfied, he went to Cincinnati, but could not find work there; and learning that the United States Government was paying teamsters $30 per month, he enlisted in that capacity, and proceeded on transports from Paducah, Ky., to Huntsville, Ala., being assigned to the Twelfth Indiana Artillery, to take charge of their ammunition wagons at the latter point. At Huntsville Mr. Altman was attacked by camp fever, but was only kept from attending to his duties for a week. He was next ordered to Nashville, Tenn., where he became so ill that he was carried by three men to the hospital; during this attack he was many times at the point of death. On account of disability, he was discharged, and returned home. Nashville was at this time surrounded by southern troops, but disabled soldiers were allowed free passage out of the city, under a flag of truce. Reaching the rebel lines, they showed their passes at headquarters, and were obliged to hand over for inspection all letters and other papers which they carried. Among there were many letters from comrades in Nashville to friends in the north; these were allowed to pass through unless they contained matter relative to the state of military affairs. At Owensboro, on the Ohio, they boarded transports for Louisville, Ky., where Mr. Altman remained for a week to recuperate. Returning to Petersburg, Pa., he in short time went to work at Neffs Mills, and afterwards at Andrew Heffner's mills, in McConnellstown, at a time when raids of southern troops were daily looked for in Pennsylvania, and the people were alert and in arms for the defense of their homes. Companies were organized, called Home Guards, for this purpose. Mrs. Heffner not wishing her husband to join one of these companies, Mr. Altman begged his employer to give him his gun and let him go in his stead, which Mr. Heffner did. They company of which the gallant young miller was one, set out to intercept the expected raiders. Their plan was to station men at certain points on the lookout for them, with bundles of straw, to be fired when the hostile body should approach, as a signal to the rest of the company. By some accident, a sentinel set fire to the straw, and the Home Guards started bravely in the direction of the light, passing through McConnellstown on their way, and throwing the good people of the place into a sad panic. In the town and along the country roads many were hiding themselves, their horses and their valuables; but the alarm soon subsided, and all settled down again in their homes. A day or two later, Mr. Altman joined Captain Thomas' company, in the Forty-sixth State Militia; they were ordered to Philadelphia, to quell some disturbances, camped there for several weeks, were then discharged and returned home. But Mr. Altman's martial services were not yet ended. He must have inherited the blood of the ancient German warriors; he was certainly full of their spirit, for he could not stay quietly by the mill while there was war in the land. For one winter he worked at Wallace's mill, at Union Furnace; but on February 29, 1864, he once more enlisted, this time for three years, in Company C, Captain Lawson, of the Seventy- seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was away to the front again, and all through the Atlanta campaign with Sherman. But just before that long march, a very interesting episode occurred. Mr. Gustav Altman went back to Petersburg and was married. No leave of absence was to be obtained, so the bridegroom-elect slipped away from his regiment, taking byways to Harrisburg in order to escape the vigilance of pickets, walking all the way there, and going from that place to Petersburg, where he was married to Margaret Guisler, daughter of Michael and Rosanna Guisler. For a week he remained with his bride, and then rejoined his regiment, which had by this time moved to Pittsburg. While stationed at Pittsburg, he paid one more stolen visit to his bride, and then returned to Pittsburg to find that his regiment had left for the front. Many others were in the same plight as himself, and they all set off to overtake the regiment, which they did not do until they reached Nashville. At Tunnell Hill, Ga., they had the first encounter with the Confederates, beginning May 7, and not ending until the morning of May 13. Then followed the fights at Resaca and Kingston; then on the 23d, at New Hope Church, Gustav Altman was in the hottest of the battle; then came the engagements at Kennesaw Mountain, and at Smyrna, where there was hard fighting; besides these, there was much skirmishing along the Chattahoochee river. On the 20th and 21st of August, they were engaged at Peach Tree Creek; on the 25th, they were employed in destroying the Montgomery railroad, and directly after, the Macon road. At Lovejoy, the regiment was engaged on September 2, 3 and 4, and on the evening of the 5th Mr. Altman was wounded at the battle of Franklin, being struck on the left arm by a bursting shell. He was obliged after the battle to go to the hospital, where he received his discharge, June 13, 1865; it was the Cumberland hospital, at Nashville, Tenn. Home once more, at Petersburg, Mr. Altman did any work that offered itself for a while, until there was an opening for him at his own trade. In 1868 he became head miller in a mill at Petersburg, Pa., where he remained for eight years. He then rented a mill in Alexandria, of James H. Dysert, and afterwards became a partner with Mr. Dysert in the milling business. This connection continued until 1888, when Mr. Altman and William M. Phillips bought the mill property, and have conducted it ever since. Mr. Altman built a brick dwelling at Petersburg, which he has since sold; he owns other property in that borough. The firm owns land and other real estate besides the mill. Mr. Altman is a Republican, and active in political work. Three of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Altman are deceased; the surviving are: Ida (Mrs. Frank Fouse), Alexandria, Pa.; Bertha (Mrs. George Lloyd), of Porter township; and Gustav. Mr. Altman was already a member of the Lutheran church before he left the fatherland, and he and his family still attend that church.