[p. 434] who is prominently identified with the commercial interests of New Castle, where he is engaged in a grocery business and occupies fine quarters in his building at No. 684 South Jefferson Street, was born in 1866, in West Middlesex, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Thomas J. and Elizabeth J. (Butler) Blucher.
Thomas J. Blucher, father of Jere, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and came to Lawrence County in 1864, where he still resides. He married Elizabeth J. Butler, who also survives. She is a sister of Frank Butler, both members of one of the old and honorable families of this section of Pennsylvania.
Jere Blucher attended the country schools during boyhood and he recalls that the first work he ever did for which he received pay, was when he carried water to the workmen constructing the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad. Later he was employed in a grocery store at Wampum, Pa., and still later, in Lawrence County, and in 1883 was employed in the Baldwin & Graham Stove Foundry, where he learned the trade of stove molding, and continued work as a molder until October 1, 1899. Mr. Blucher then embarked in a grocery business, at No. 636 Jefferson Street, New Castle, where he continued for three years. In 1902 he built his present fine business block at No. 648 Jefferson Street, a two-story pressed brick front building, 20 by 70 feet in dimensions. It is of modern construction, with store rooms on the first floor and a flat for residence on the second floor. Mr. Blucher carries a fine stock of staple and fancy groceries and enjoys an extensive trade. He is a director in the Union National Bank.
In 1889, Mr. Blucher was married to Miss Alice C. McKay, who is a daughter of John A. McKay, of New Castle. They have three children: Joseph C., Laura May and Clara Belle. Mr. Blucher and family attend the Fourth Presbyterian Church.
While he takes no very active interest in politics, Mr. Blucher is a public-spirited, broad-minded citizen. He has served on the school board for four years and shows an interest in like measures and bodies pertaining to the city's welfare. For thirteen years he was a member of the Molders' Union and now belongs to the Retail Grocers' Association and to the Business Men's Exchange.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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Updated: 22 Oct 2001