Blair County PA Archives Biographies.....Books MD, Dr. Benjamin F. May 14, 1859 -
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Source: Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold, 1911
Author: Jesse C. Sell
BENJAMIN F. BOOKS, M.D., physician and surgeon at Altoona, Pa., is in the
enjoyment of a large and lucrative practice which he has built up through his
professional skill during the past nineteen years, having located here in
1889. He was born at Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa., May 14, 1859, and is a
son of Solomon and Nancy Katherine (Wright) Books.
The Books family was established in Pennsylvania by the
great-grandfather, Michael Books, a native of France. His fourth son, Henry
Books, in early manhood removed from York County to Juniata County, and the
farm he purchased on Cocolamus Creek, became the family homestead and there
his family of eleven children were reared. He had married a member of the old
Hemperly family, of Dauphin County, Pa. Their youngest son, Solomon Books,
became the father of Dr. Books of Altoona.
Solomon Books early left the activities of the farm to his brothers
while he learned the cabinetmaking trade. He became a manufacturer of
furniture at Mifflintown, which he transported by boat on the Pennsylvania
Canal to different points for sale. In 1861 he was appointed to a position in
the mail service, by President Lincoln, and continued until he was injured in
a railroad wreck, on September 21, 1864. A year of enforced idleness followed
but he had so proved his efficiency and had so complete a knowledge of postal
affairs, that in 1865, he having sufficiently recovered by that time, was
reinstated in the service and he it was who organized the system and operated
the first postal cars in the State of Pennsylvania. The tragic death of
President Lincoln and the succession of President Johnson brought about many
changes in appointive offices and thus Mr. Books, together with other capable
and faithful officials, found himself retired from the postal service. In
1869, however, President Grant recognized his worth and appointed him
postmaster at Mifflintown, where he continued until he was relieved by
President Arthur, following the death of President Garfield. During all these
stormy political years, Mr. Books remained a stanch supporter of the
principles of the Republican party. After retiring from public life he went
into the wholesale lumber business, and became an extensive handler of
railroad ties. In 1855 he married Nancy K. Wright and they had seven children
born to them, the third in order of birth being named Benjamin F.
Benjamin F. Books completed the public school course at Mifflintown,
after which he prepared for medical college with Dr. D. C. Smith,
subsequently spent one year in the Homepathic Medical College at Cleveland,
O., and from there entered Hahnemann Medical College at Philadelphia. From
this noted institution he was creditably graduated in the spring of 1883. For
the two following years he was engaged in medical practice at Lewiston, Pa.
His many years of close application had somewhat undermined his health and he
then sought a rest. A sojourn of three years in the bracing climate of
Colorado completely restored him and upon his return to the East he located
at Altoona. His well appointed offices are located in the Altoona Trust
Company Building.
Additional Comments:
Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by the Blair
County Genealogical Society, 431 Scotch Valley Road,
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648. Copied and proofread by Linda M.
Shillinger LindasTree@aol.com OCRed by Judy Banja
jbanja@comcast.net
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