BIO: George W. MATTERN, Huntingdon County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Denise Phillips Copyright 2006. 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 123-124. __________________________________________________________________ GEORGE W. MATTERN, Franklinville, Huntingdon county, Pa., was born on the old Mattern homestead, March 15, 1810. He is the son of Jacob and Jane (Wareham) Mattern. George Mattern, grandfather of George W. Mattern, was married in Germany to Catharine Shook, and came to America about 1732 or '33. For a short time he rented a farm in one of the eastern counties of Pennsylvania, but settled in Maryland, where is family lived until 1780. In 1779 he bought 300 acres of wild land in Franklin township, Huntingdon county, and sent three of his sons to build a log cabin, in which they lived for many years. In the spring the family moved to their new home; their goods were carried in wagons, the family walking beside them. When the deeds for Mr. Mattern's land were made out at Harrisburg, that city was only a small village. The children of this couple were: George; Adam; John; Jacob; Elizabeth (Mrs. Freeman Curtis); David and Catharine, twins, Catharine married Andrew Trubey; Andrew; Abraham, who died in his twenty-fourth year in 1796; the headstone for his grave was carved from a large mountain rock. George Mattern was a member of the Lutheran church. He died in 1812, at a ripe old age. His wife survived him several years, and died aged ninety. In June, 1895, their descendants, numbering about one thousand, held a reunion at Warriors Mark. A second meeting was appointed for June 24, 1897. Jacob Mattern, father of George W. Mattern, was born in Maryland. While he was quite young his parents moved to Huntingdon county; he remained at home with them, and helped to clears the land. He married Miss Jane Wareham, who died in 1814. He had eight children; those deceased are: Catharine (Mrs. Samuel Conrad); John W.; David B.; Jacob; Mary (Mrs. William Stevens), of Indiana county, Pa.; and Elias. The surviving children are: George W. and Andrew, residing in Huntingdon, Ind. Mr. Mattern's second wife was Elizabeth Markley, who died in 1829. Their children are: Elizabeth (Mrs. George Shoup), living in Ohio; Henry, died in Indiana; Sarah, widow of John B. Thompson, Altoona, Pa.; Matilda, wife of Major Alexander Bawb, Martinsburg, Pa., and William, a wealthy oil merchant, of Clarion county, Pa. Mr. Mattern's third wife was Catharine Fetterhoff. They had two children; one, Rebecca (Mrs. Samuel Miller), is dead; the other, Jeremiah O., resides in Blair county, Pa. He died at the homestead in 1852, aged eighty-two. George W. Mattern was educated in the schools of Franklin township. For many years he attended the school held in the old George Amshutz stone mill; his teachers, many of them very severe, used the rod without stint. He grew up on the farm and frequently indulged in hunting and fishing. The country abounded in game, deer, raccoons, wildcats and smaller animals. He was very successful, sometimes killing three deer in one day. Wolves were quite numerous, and often became so bold as to attack the cattle; at one time they killed a calf belonging to Mr. Montgomery, a near neighbor. Mr. Mattern's father was heavily in debt, and he, remaining on the home farm, helped to clear it of encumbrance. He worked the farm for his father by the month, from 1835 until his father's death, when he bought the homestead. In the autumn of 1873 Mr. Mattern retired from business and moved to Warriors Mark, where he has lived quietly for eighteen or nineteen years. He is very intelligent, a good talker, and has a wonderful memory, recalling many things that occurred when he was only five years old. Mr. Mattern is a staunch Republican, always supporting the ticket. He cast his first vote in 1830, and has never missed an election. He has voted for sixteen presidents, and has been twenty times a delegate to county conventions. He served very acceptably as county commissioner in 1857- 58-59. Of all the comrades with whom he played on old Spruce creek, he alone survives. George W. Mattern was married in Franklin township, October, 1840, to Jane, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Stewart) McPherren, of Franklin township. She was a Presbyterian, but Mr. Mattern being a Lutheran, after her marriage she connected herself with that church. Mrs. Mattern was active in church work, interested in charities and highly esteemed in the community. She died in August, 1872, and is buried in the Lutheran cemetery in Franklin township. Their children are: Albert J., merchant at Tyrone, married Miss Annie Garner, of Rocks Springs, Pa.; Amanda, wife of William H. Flanner, of Tyrone; and John S., married Miss Annie Patterson. John S. Mattern was born May 18, 1849. He was educated in the schools of the township. Brought up as a farmer's boy, he has never changed his occupation. Like his father, he is a Republican, and takes an active interest in politics. The children of John S. and his wife Annie Mattern are: Charlotte; George W.; Harriet N.; Samuel P.; J. Albert; Chester, deceased; Frank H.; and R. Milton.