BIOS: Edwin DEAL, Meyersdale, Somerset County, PA

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History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania; Bedford County by E. 
Howard Blackburn; Somerset County by William H. Welfley; v.3, Pub. The Lewis 
Publishing Company, New York/Chicago 1906, ppg. 128-133

Edwin DEAL

  Edwin Deal, an honored and respected citizen of Meyersdale, Somerset county, 
Pennsylvania, who is now in his eighty-third year, is a remarkable example of 
good health, energy and mental faculties, well preserved by a life replete 
with usefulness and good will toward his fellow creatures.  His pleasant face 
and cheery manner are known and have endeared him to young and old, and his 
numberless acts of charity and kindness are known to but few outside of the 
immediate family circle.  He is descended from an old family of Virginia, 
whose thrift and industry bore their due share in building up the prosperity 
of the country.
  Peter Deal, grandfather of Edwin Deal, was born in the state of Virginia.  He 
was a clever millwright and an exceptionally skilled worker in woods.  He 
built windmills of the old-time wooden construction, cider presses, spinning 
wheels, looms and all kinds of wooden machinery.  He removed to Greenville 
township, Pennsylvania, after his marriage, and then added farming to his 
manifold occupations.  A number of the grist mills in various parts of the 
county were of his construction.  He married Margaret Stein and their children 
were: Peter, Jacob, see forward; George, Joseph, Abraham, Eve, married Jacob 
Fair; and Hannah, married John Findley.  Peter Deal died in 1828 at an 
advanced age.
  Jacob Deal, second son and child of Peter and Margaret (Stein) Deal, was born 
near Sheppardstown, Virginia, September 17, 1790.  He was about fifteen years 
of age when his family removed to Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and as he 
had inherited the mechanical skill of his father, it was but natural that he 
should adopt the same line of work.  He was thrifty and industrious and soon 
owned a farm of considerable extent, which he cleared and cultivated.  He 
erected a sawmill on his land and in this the virgin forest was converted 
into lumber with a large amount of profit.  He was a man of deep religious 
conviction, and he and all the members of his family were members of the 
Lutheran church, of which he was a deacon and elder.  His political support 
was given to the Democratic party, he being what was known as a "Jackson 
Democrat."  He was active in his support of the party and held several 
political offices.  His death occurred November 4, 1869, and he and his wife 
are buried in the churchyard of the Union Lutheran and Reformed church, in 
Greenville township.  He married Susanna Engle, who was born and raised at 
what is still called Engle's Mills, near Salisbury, Pennsylvania, August 18, 
1790, died April 30, 1860.  Their children, fifteen in number, were as 
follows: Mary, born May 3, 1813; Isaiah, January 22, 1815; Sally, September 
11, 1816; Margaret, February 14, 1818; Jeremiah, July 8, 1820; Leah, December 
3, 1821; Edwin, see forward; Julia Ann, March 9, 1825, married Abraham 
Derrimore, of Iowa; Levi, December 1, 1826; Lucinda, March 13, 1829, married 
Alexander Kelly, of Kansas; Joel, May 27, 1831, is a farmer in Montana; 
Hettie, June 30, 1832; Jacob, December 14, 1833; Harriet, December 31, 1835; 
and Lavina, January 12, 1838, married Alexander Lint, of Iowa.
  Edwin Deal, third son and seventh child of Jacob and Susanna (Engle) Deal, 
was born on the farm of his father in Greenville township, Somerset county, 
Pennsylvania, October 11, 1823.  This farm adjoined that of his grandfather, 
Peter Deal, and it was here that all the children of this family were born.   
His education was as complete as the time and the schools of the district 
afforded, and at an early age he displayed marked aptitude in handling tools 
of all descriptions.  Until he was twenty-one years of age his life was spent 
in assisting his father in clearing and cultivating the land in their 
possession, in attending to the sawmill and helping in the shop.  By this time 
he had acquired great skill in his work and commenced the business of 
millwright and builder in his own right.  He purchased a complete set of 
woodworking tools, fitted them with handles of his own manufacture, as was 
the custom of those days, and undertook his first contract.  This was the 
building of a mill for Moses Yoder--the first overshot water-wheel mill in 
the township, all previously built having been of the under flutter wheel 
style.  About 1850 he built for Daniel Lepley two mills--a sawmill and a 
gristmill--and these were considered models of their kind.  After his marriage 
he became the manager of these mills and remained in this capacity for a 
number of years.  Subsequently he bought the farm and mill properties in 
Larimer township, and later acquired other farms and timber lands until he 
owned about nine hundred acres, some of which is still in his possession.  Mr. 
Deal resided on the farm he had acquired and personally conducted the mill 
operations until 1888, when he removed to Meyersdale, Somerset county, 
Pennsylvania.  There he erected a gristmill and several dwelling houses, in 
one of which, an attractive brick residence on Center street, he now lives.   
He has practically retired from active participation in his business affairs, 
giving, however, considerable time to a general oversight of the various 
interests.  He has been a lifelong member of the Lutheran church, in which he 
was baptized at the age of eight days, and has consistently devoted much time 
and effort to the furtherance of the church interests.  He has held various 
offices in the church, including those of deacon and elder in the county 
church, and since his residence in Meyersdale has served as elder 
continuously.  Although he would gladly resign this office, he has been 
earnestly solicited to continue his good work.  His wife was and his children 
with their respective families are communicants at the same church.  Politically 
Mr. Deal was for many years a staunch Democrat, but for the past seventeen years 
he has given his allegiance to the Prohibition party as being more in accord 
with the principles to which he has adhered throughout his long and useful life.   
He has always been firm in his belief in total abstinence from all intoxicants 
and narcotics, and attributes his long life and excellent health to this cause.   
He has also served Larimer township as school director and as justice of the 
peace.  He married, February 7, 1850, Nancy Lepley, born February 8, 1832, died 
August 16, 1902, daughter of Daniel Lepley.  Mrs. Deal was a woman of strong 
character and many excellent qualities.  She was greatly beloved and esteemed 
for her many charities and kindly disposition, and her death was deeply 
deplored.  She and her husband led an exceptionally happy married life for the 
period of fifth-two years.  They had a family of sixteen children, all of whom 
are now (1906) living: Herman, born March 15, 1851, a merchant in Meyersdale; he 
married Agnes Bowman, daughter of Samuel Bowman, of Somerset county. William H., 
born June 26, 1852, a coal and lumber operator, with mines and mills in West 
Virginia; married Alice Cook, a daughter of Jesse Cook, and their children are 
Roy, Earl and Jessie.  Louisa, born April 3, 1854; married W. H. Reiber, a 
farmer of Somerset county, near Confluence, and their children are: Bertha, 
married William Burnworth, and has children: Ruth and Lucille (the first and 
only great-grandchildren of Edwin Deal); Art, and Pearl. Matilda, born February 
25, 1855; married J. M. Cook, a candy manufacturer of Meyersdale, and has one 
son, Dalton.  Daniel, born August 12, 1856, is in business in Cumberland, 
Maryland; he married Myrtle Feichner, daughter of Jacob Feichner, of Palo 
Alto, and has children: Nellie, Jacob, Ferdinand and Helen. Ezra, born 
September 17, 1857, is a coal operator in Ohio; he married Alice Smith, 
daughter of Robert Smith, of Cumberland, Maryland, and has children: Robert, 
George and Mary.  Almira, born February 7, 1859, married J. H. Pfahler, a 
merchant of Meyersdale, and has children: Ralph, Carl and Ida. Levi, see 
forward.  Charles, born September 21, 1861, is a lumberman in Colton, West 
Virginia; married Anna Griffith, daughter of John Griffith, of Frostburg, 
Maryland, and has three children, Homer, Walter and an infant son.  Anna 
Elizabeth, born June 6, 1863; married E. J. Boyles, a merchant of Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania, and has children: Ethel and Marie.  Simon, born September 23, 
1864, is engaged in the lumber business in Cumberland, Maryland; married 
Venie Clawson, daughter of George Clawson, of Ellersley, Maryland, and has 
children: Mary, Edna, Anna Frances, Gladys, Thomas and Loydie.  Nancy Agnes, 
born March 26, 1866, is devoting her life to keeping up a comfortable home 
for her aged father.  Ida Ellen, born September 13, 1867, married E. E. Conrad, 
the leading photographer of Meyersdale, and has children: Esther, Lucille, 
Ellsworth, Mary, James and John. Clara, born July 3, 1870, married D. P. 
Ford, a coal operator; they reside in Madisonville, Kentucky, and have one 
child, Emily.  Calvin E., born March 29, 1872, owns and operates the grist and 
flour mill in Meyersdale; married Margaret Lenhardt, daughter of Samuel 
Lenhardt, of Somerset, and has children: Claude and Harry. Harvey, born 
October 14, 1873, is engaged in business at Meyersdale, is unmarried and 
resides with his father and sister.
  Levi Deal, eighth child and fifth son of Edwin and Nancy (Lepley) Deal, was 
born at Deal postoffice, Somerset county, May 3, 1860.  He obtained his 
education in the old log-house school, called Baker school, in Larimer 
township.  He left the schoolroom at the age of eighteen, and for the 
succeeding three years was engaged by his father in the saw, planing and 
grist mill.  He then turned his attention to the carpenter and millwright 
trade, in which he became proficient and at which he worked until 1886.  He 
then decided to go in business for himself, and in the last named year he and 
his brother Herman embarked in the lumber business, conducting the 
establishment under the firm name of H. and L. Deal, at Deal's Mills, 
Somerset county, Pennsylvania.  Between the years 1886 and 1895 they had cut 
about eleven million feet of lumber.  In 1895 Levi sold his interest to his 
brother Herman and purchased a large tract of lumber land at Pinkerton, 
Pennsylvania, and continued his lumber operations there until 1898, when he 
formed a partnership with H. C. Huston, of that place.  This arrangement 
existed until 1903, and during this period the firm cut seven million feet of 
lumber a year, besides two hundred thousand railroad ties, tanbark and 
telegraph poles.  In 1903 Mr. Deal sold his interest in the enterprise to Mr. 
H. M. Lytle, of Braddock, Pennsylvania.  He then took a much-needed vacation 
of about six months.  When he again engaged in active pursuits Mr. Deal gave his 
attention exclusively to the coal industry.  He is at present interested in 
various commercial enterprises, among them being the following: The Penn-Marva 
Coal Company, of Garrett, Pennsylvania, of which Mr. Deal is treasurer and 
general manager; the Erie Coal Company, of Meyersdale, of which he is vice-
president and director.  He is director in the Scott-Ogilvie Coal Company, which 
has recently been exchanged for real estate in Columbus, Ohio, valued at 
$50,000.  He is a large stockholder in the following concerns: Livingood Coal 
and Coke Company, of Meyersdale; Littleton tract of coal land in Wetzel county, 
West Virginia; the Citizens' National Bank of Meyersdale, of which he is also a 
director; First National Bank of Garrett, Pennsylvania; International Trust 
Company, of Pittsburg, Pennsyvlania; Economy Telegraphy Company, Somerset, 
Pennsylvania.  He is vice-president of Bergholtz Mining Company, of Bergholtz, 
Ohio, which, with his brother Ezra, he controls.  In his political relations 
Mr. Deal affiliates with the Democraic party, and is always ready and willing 
to lend his assistance to any enterprise tending to advance the interests of 
the party and the community.  Fraternally he holds membership in the B.P.O.E., 
No. 175, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  He is a member of the Lutheran church.
Levi Deal married, April 14, 1889, Margaret B. Scott, a daughter of David C. 
Scott, of New Centerville, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and they have the 
following children: Leora M., born July 30, 1890; Edwin S., September 7, 
1892; James M., September 24, 1893; Marian D., February 3, 1894; and Nancy 
Marie, March 15, 1895.  Mr. Deal's residence on Meyers avenue, Meyersdale, 
built in 1900, is a beautiful stone structure with all modern ideas embodied 
to secure telling effect and comfortable living.