Montour-Perry County PA Archives Biographies.....BEAVER, Jesse L. 1850 - living in 1899 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 8, 2005, 6:53 pm Author: Biographical Publishing Co. JESSE L. BEAVER, superintendent of the Thomas Beaver Free Library of Danville, whose portrait appears on the opposite page, was born in Newport, Perry County, Pa., November 1, 1850, and is a son of Jesse and Mary Ann (Swartz) Beaver, and a grandson of Peter and Elizabeth (Gilbert) Beaver. Peter Beaver, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany, and was the first of the Beaver family to locate in America, having settled in Lebanon County, Pa., in 1755. Rev. Peter Beaver, Jr., the grandfather of our subject, was born in Franklin County, Pa., December 25, 1782, was ordained in 1809 by Bishop Asbury of the Methodist Church at Elkton, Md., and served in the pulpit until his death, which occurred in 1849. He was united in marriage with Elizabeth Gilbert, who died in 1818. They were the parents of the following children: George; Samuel; Jacob; James A.; Jesse, the father of our subject; Thomas; Peter; Sarah; Eliza; Catherine; and Mary. Thomas Beaver, our subject's uncle, was born in Pfout's Valley, Perry County, Pa., November 16, 1814, and at the age of thirteen years began working on a farm at a salary of $2.50 per month; later he clerked in a store until 1833, when, in partnership with Peter Nevius, he began merchandising at Lewisburg, Pa. In 1835 he sold his interest in the store and worked for J. & T. Beaver of Millerstown, Pa. In 1857 he moved to Danville to take charge of the Montour Iron Works, of which he was a large stockholder. He was the owner of considerable property in Danville, including the Beaver Mansion, situated at the foot of Baldhead Mound, which is one of the most beautiful residences of Montour County, and is surrounded by a beautiful and well-kept lawn and shrubberies. In 1886 Mr. Beaver donated to the town of Danville, as a memorial to himself and wife, the handsome Library and Y. M. C. A. building at the corner of Market and Ferry streets, where the old Danville Hotel was situated. It is now known as the Thomas Beaver Free Library and Y. M. C. A., and was erected at a cost of $195,000, and the corner-stone was laid July 5, 1886. The building has forty-eight feet frontage on Market street and seventy-eight feet on Ferry street; it is built of Ohio gray-stone, with granite trimmings and Scotch granite columns. The first floor is laid with marble tiling, and on this floor are the ladies' and men's parlors and reading-rooms, superintendent's office and library proper, an open two-story room with six alcoves on each floor, and which is filled with 1,300 volumes of selected books. Miss Mollie Wentzel is librarian, a position she probably may hold as long as she chooses. On the second floor is the reception room, game room and the trustees' room; and on the third floor are the sewing and art rooms. The building is of hard-wood finish, heated throughout by steam heat, and lighted by gas. Mr. Beaver also left an endowment of $50,000 for the maintenance of this handsome library and Y. M. C. A. building. The officers are: Samuel A. York, president; W. M. Gearhart, secretary; B. R. Gearhart, treasurer; Miss Mollie Wentzel, librarian; and Jesse L. Beaver, superintendent. The trustees are: J. Sweisfort, William J. Baldy, W. E. Gosh, F. M. Harrington, W. E. Lunger, Lewis Rodenhoper, Capt. Joseph Johnson, Samuel Goldsmith, Frank Derr, John Pesper, and W. F. McCormick. Mr. Beaver also bequeathed $30,000 to the Dickinson College of Danville. Jesse Beaver, the father of our subject, was born March 8, 1811, and served an apprenticeship to the printer's trade during his boyhood clays, and later clerked in his father's store. He then opened a general store in Perry County, which he conducted until 1857, when he sold out and moved to Union County, where he conducted a like store. In 1863 he removed to Danville and successfully engaged in the coal business for many years, and then retired from the active duties of life. Mr. Beaver was an active politician, a shrewd business man, and was held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens. He owned a handsome double brick house on Market street, now the property of D. Bright, and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1891. In 1833 he was united in marriage with Mary Ann Swartz, a daughter of Dr. Christian Swartz, and she died in 1891, at the age of seventy-six years. They reared and educated the following children: Maggie, the wife of John Kramer; Theodore, a prominent attorney-at-law, residing at Niles, Mich.; Jennie, wife of William Gearhart; Charles, a resident of Jacksonville, Fla.; Marion, who is the wife of John Gaskins; Thomas, who resides at Harrisburg, Pa.; Clara; Jesse L., our subject; Emma, who wedded John Roate; and John, a prominent real estate man of Danville. Jesse L. Beaver, upon completing his education in the public schools, learned the trade of a tinner, which business he followed some seven years, and then engaged in agriculture with his brother Thomas. In 1886 he was appointed superintendent of the Thomas Beaver Free Library and Y. M. C. A., which position he has continued to hold up to the present time. He was joined in marriage with Anna Thomson, a daughter of Egbert Thomson, and they are the parents of five children: J. Belle, Laura, Mary, Josephine, and Sarah. In political affiliations Mr. Beaver is a stanch Republican and held the office of assessor of the First Ward of Danville, Pa. In religious belief Mrs. Beaver is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Danville. J. Belle, the oldest daughter of our subject, is a member of the Episcopal Church. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District Published by Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899) This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 6.2 Kb