Bios: Alexander D. Deemer: Brookville, Jefferson County, PA

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ALEXANDER D. DEEMER
From Biographic Record of Central PA
Beers Publishing Co. 1898

ALEXANDER D. DEEMER, of Brookville, Jefferson County, is a self-made
man. 
He started in business with no capital save his ability, but fortune has
smiled upon him, and it is pleasing to note that his success has not
caused
him to forget the path by which he came, or to cease to sympathize with
those with whom life has dealt less kindly.

Mr. Deemer is a native of Pennsylvania, born December 24, 1848, in
Jefferson county, a son of William and Mary (Sheasley) Deemer, both
natives
of Westmoreland county, Penn.  The father, who was a man of quiet,
unassuming dispostion, followed agricultural pursuits throughout his
life,
dying in 1886; his wife passed away in 1858.  Jonathan Deemer,
grandfather
of our subject, was a pioneer farmer, coming from Westmoreland county,
Penn., to Jefferson county in 1783. He married Barbara Pifer, a
Pennsylvanian by birth, and five children were born to them:  Peter,
John,
William, Alexander and Hannah (widow of George Rhoades, formerly of
Kansas,
where she now lives).  Alexander D. Deemer's maternal grandfather, also
a
native of Pennsylvania, had children as follows:  Joseph, David, Simon,
Jackson, John, Catherine and Sarah, all of whom are yet living except
John
who died in the Civil War.

The subject of this sketch, in his youth, shared the disadvantages as
well
as the advantages of country life, receiving only a district school
education.  Remaining at the home farm until the age of seventeen, he
was
then apprenticed to a blacksmith, with whom he spent three years
learning
the trade.  On completing his term of service he began the business on
his
own account, at Emerickville, Jackson county, where he conducted the
business for about fifteen years.  He then engaged in the bark and
lumber
business, with which he has ever since been prominently identified; he
has
also been for some time extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits,
owning
a large and well-stocked establishment at Brookville, Jefferson county;
he
also, in company with S.V. Shick, has a general store at Reynoldsville,
in
addition to a grocery store. He is a member of the Brookville Furniture
Co., whose factory he operates, it having been leased to him for a term
of
years.  On May 7, 1871, he was married to Miss Sarah J. Bussert,
daughter
of Henry and Catherine (Snyder) Bussert, well-known citizens of
Jefferson
county, and their union has been blessed with five children:  Mabel is
the
wife of B.M. Moore, bookkeeper at the furniture factory; Nora E. is the
wife of Lawyer John M. White, burgess of the borough; and Franklin C.,
Lawrence V. and Amer M. are at home.

Mrs. Deemer's parents were born in Schuylkill county, Penn., the father
in
1827, the mother in 1825.  They had two children:  Catherine (Mrs.
Benninger, of Emerickville, Penn.); and Sarah J. (Mrs. Deemer).  Samuel
Bussert, the grandfather, a native of Schuylkill county, was four times
married, first to a Miss Wetzel, and in an early day they became
pioneers
of Jefferson county.  They had four children:  Lucy, Eliza, Catherine,
and
Henry (Mrs. Deemer's father).  By the second marriage there were no
children; by the third there were Harriet, Samuel, Charles, John, Elias
and
Amanda; and by the fourth marriage there were born three sons:  Emanuel,
Simon and George.  Frederick Snyder, the maternal grandfather of Mrs.
Deemer, was also a native of Pennsylvania.  He had a family of seven
children namely:  Benjamin, Israel, Peter, Samuel, Catherine (Mrs.
Deemer's
mother), Susan and Harriet.

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander D. Deemer are prominent members of the M.E.
Church,
in which Mr. Deemer holds the office of steward.  He is identified with
the
following fraternal orders:  The F. & A.M., P.O.S. of A. and the
I.O.O.F.,
in which latter organization he is a past grand.  While his attention
has
been given closely to his business interests, it has always been his aim
to
use his capital in a manner to furnish employment for those who depend
for
their livelihood upon their own labor.  He is thoroughly progressive in
his
ideas, and is deeply interested in all that concerns the public welfare. 
For twenty years he has affiliated with the Prohibition party, and
although
no "official bee in his bonnet" has ever disturbed him, he is justly
regarded as one of the strongest advocates of the principals of that
organization in his locality.