Blair County PA Archives Biographies.....Brotherline, John 1812 - 1879 ************************************************ 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: BCG S noemail@none.com July 5, 2025, 11:30 am Source: Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold, 1911 Author: Jesse C. Sell JOHN BROTHERLINE, deceased. In recalling the men who have been prominent factors in the building up of Hollidaysburg and have left an impress upon the history of Blair County, the name of the late John Brotherline commands attention. As lawyer, journalist and private citizen, he was one of the prominent and useful men of his day. He was born in 1812, at Frankstown, Pa., then in Huntingdon but now in Blair County, and died in 1879, at Hollidaysburg where the greater part of his life was passed, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. John Brotherline came of German and Welsh ancestry, but his parents, Thomas and Sarah (Davis) Brotherline, were born in Huntingdon County, Pa. He was one of their nine children and had just reached manhood when his father died. This placed unaccustomed responsibilities on his shoulders and he faced many discouragements before he accomplished his ambition and was admitted a practitioner of law. He had no educational advantages beyond those afforded by the district schools, but a native intelligence and an unquenchable love of learning produced in him one of the leading lawyers of the county. In addition to attending to a large law practice for many years, he entered into the journalistic field and for a long period was the able editor and proprietor of the Blair County Whig, which was not only a strong political organ but was so widely circulated that it had much to do with presenting the claims of this section as a favorable place for business investments, to the outside world. Mr. Brotherline was notably public spirited and to his encouragement a number of enterprises now flourishing at Hollidaysburg, owe much. During the Civil war he was a loyal supporter of the Union cause and for some time served officially as a paymaster in the army, with the rank of major. Many local offices were tendered him and honors offered him. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church and was foremost in assisting in its various charitable and benevolent enterprises. In early manhood, John Brotherline was married to Miss Martha Gregg Kinne, who is a daughter of Henry Hale and Sarah (Gregg) Kinne, and a granddaughter of Andrew Gregg, who once was a United States senator. Mrs. Brotherline survives and resides in her handsome home at No. 415 Allegheny Street, Hollidaysburg. Six sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brotherline: James Irvin, John, Henry Hale, Davis Willard, Eric Gregg and Ner, two of whom survive: Henry Hale and Eric Gregg. Henry Hale Brotherline is a prominent physician and surgeon at Hollidaysburg, residing at No. 719 Allegheny Street, and maintaining his office at No. 417 on the same street. Eric Gregg Brotherline is a prominent attorney of Altoona. 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 This file has been created by a form at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pafiles/ File size: 3.6 Kb