Local History: Chapter XLIV - Part I: Biographical Sketches - MILTON -
Part I. Bell's History of Northumberland Co PA
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Transcribed from Bell's History of Northumberland County Pennsylvania
CHAPTER XLIV Part I
Pages 967 - 989
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
MILTON
DR. JAMES AND JANE (STARRETT) DOUGAL, natives of Ireland, and
early settlers of Milton, were married, October 14, 1793. The former was
a graduate of the College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Scotland, and was
practicing medicine in Ireland when he became involved in the Irish
rebellion of 1798, and was compelled to escape in disguise to the United
States, whither his wife and two children, James and Margaret, followed
him. He located in Milton, Pennsylvania, where he erected the stone
house in 1803 now occu-
END OF PAGE 967
pied by his grandson, and practiced his profession until his sudden
death, July 18, 1818, caused by a fall from his horse. He was the
pioneer physician of Milton, and a gentleman of marked ability and
patriotism, whose loyalty to the emblem of freedom in his adopted home
was as fervent as his hatred of tyranny in his native land. During the
war of 1812 he did all in his power against English oppression, and sent
his son, James S., into the ranks of his country's defenders to fight
for the flag of liberty.
Dr. JAMES S. DOUGAL was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, October 7,
1794, and came to Milton with his parents, Dr. James Dougal and wife,
where he received a good education. He read medicine with his father,
and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1817. Upon his
father's death the following year he succeeded to his practice, and for
fifty-eight years he was actively engaged in the duties of his
profession. He served in the war of 1812, against the oppressor of his
native land. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but in later
years united with the Republican party. Doctor Dougal was married, July
2, 1818, to Sarah, daughter of William Pollock, and sister of the late
ex- Governor James Pollock, who was born, July 16, 1799. She died April
1, 1873, and he survived her until May 23, 1878. They had a family of
eight children: James, a physician, and William P., both deceased; Sarah
Jane, widow of James Gilmour; Mary Louisa, wife of R. H. Duncan, of
Washington, D. C.; Caroline, deceased wife of Horace A. Beale, of
Chester county, Pennsylvania; Margaret P.; Charles H., of Milton, and
Elizabeth E., wife of Robert Bailey, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Doctor Dougal was a gentleman of enterprise and public spirit, and was
for many years one of the leading citizens of his adopted home.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM P. DOUGAL was the second son of Dr. James S. and
Sarah (Pollock) Dougal, and grandson of Dr. James Dougal, the second
resident physician of Milton. He was born, December 28, 1823, in the
substantial stone house erected by his grandfather on the corner of
Front and Mahoning streets, Milton, Pennsylvania, early in the present
century, and was educated at the old Milton Academy. In early manhood
he engaged in farming in Union county, and followed agricultural
pursuits until 1860. Upon the breaking out of the civil war he at once
gave his active support to the Union cause. and September 4, 1862, he
was commissioned first lieutenant of Company D, One Hundred and Fiftieth
(Bucktail) regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, which company he recruited
in Union county, where he then resided. His regiment was at once sent
to the front, and afterwards became celebrated as one of the fighting
regiments of the Army of the Potomac. Lieutenant Dougal was promoted to
the captaincy on the field of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, where he was so
severely wounded as to necessitate his retirement from active service,
and he was finally discharged, February 1, 1864. The firm of Murray,
Dougal & Company was organized the same year, and the Milton Car Works
established, with which Captain Dougal
END OF PAGE 968
was actively identified until 1878, when he withdrew from the firm and
lived a retired life up to his death, July 8, 1890.
Captain Dougal was twice married, first to Sarah Clingan, of Union
county, who bore him one daughter, Sarah, wife of William C. Lawson,
Jr., of Milton. His second wife was Agnes, daughter of Robert and Eliza
(Montgomery) McCormick, of Milton, a descendant of two well known
pioneer families of the West Branch valley. Seven children were the
fruits of this union: James; Robert; William; Eliza; Charles; Agnes, and
Margaret, all of whom are living except the eldest. Captain Dougal was a
member of the Presbyterian church, to which faith his widow and family
also adhere, and in politics he was an ardent Republican. He was a
director of the Milton National Bank, and always manifested a deep
interest in the social and material growth of his native town. He was
affable, kind, and generous in all the relations of home and family, and
in business life he was recognized as the soul of honor and integrity.
CHARLES H. DOUGAL, physician, was born in Milton, Pennsylvania,
September 20, 1838, son of Dr. James S. and Sarah Dougal. He received a
good common school education, and subsequently entered Princeton
College, New Jersey, where he graduated in the spring of 1859. He then
commenced the study of medicine in his father's office, but in 1861
entered the United States service under General Stoneman, as a medical
cadet. He was taken prisoner, July 1, 1863, and was confined in Libby
prison five weeks, when he was exchanged and assigned to duty at
Eckington hospital, near Washington, D. C., where he remained until the
following September. He then returned to Milton and resumed his medical
studies, and in March, 1864, graduated from the University of
Pennsylvania. He has since been one of the active practitioners of
Milton, and has built up a large practice. Doctor Dougal was married,
January 4, 1866, to Annie M., daughter of Samuel Oakes, of Montour
county, Pennsylvania. Two children were born to them, one of whom is
living, J. Starrett. Mrs. Dougal died, March 26, 1873, and he was again
married, March 19, 189l, to Miss Emma Clinger, of Williamsport.
Politically the Doctor is a Republican; he has been chief burgess of
Milton and has served in the borough council three terms. He has also
served in the school board. He is an adherent of the Presbyterian
church, and a member of the G.A.R. and the Masonic fraternity.
Dr. WILLIAM McCLEERY was for many years one of the best known
medical practitioners in the county. He was a native of Dauphin county,
Pennsylvania, and a son of John McCleery, a merchant of Harrisburg and
subsequently of Milton, who died on his farm near the latter place.
William removed with his parents to Milton in boyhood, read medicine
with Dr. James S. Dougal, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College
in the class of 1827. For more than thirty years he practiced his
profession in Milton and the surrounding country for miles in every
direction, and shared with his
END OF PAGE 969
contemporaries a large and lucrative practice. Doctor McCleery married
Margaret, daughter of William Pollock, and a sister of the late ex-
Governor James Pollock, who bore him six children, five of whom survive:
J. P., of Milton; Mary, wife of Joseph D. Potts, of Philadelphia; Julia
J., wife of Jesse Merrill, of Lock Haven; John, of Milton, and William
P., of Troy, Pennsylvania. In 1857 Doctor McCleery turned over his
practice to his eldest son, Dr. J. P. McCleery, and engaged in the
lumber business. He erected the first steam saw mill on the river at
Milton, and followed the lumber trade up to his death, December 4, 1867.
His wife died fourteen years prior to his decease.
J. P. McCLEERY, physician, is the oldest son of Dr. William
McCleery, and was born in Milton, Pennsylvania, November 13, 1832. He
received a good education at the schools of Milton and McEwensville. He
began the study of medicine with his father, and attended Jefferson
Medical College, of Philadelphia, graduating in March, 1857, and since
that time has practiced his profession in Milton. June 4, 1870, he was
united in marriage with Margaret S., daughter of John McCormick, of
Lewis township, this county, and by this union they have five children:
Annie M.; Mary H.; Martha G.; William, and Josephine P. Doctor McCleery
is a Republican in politics, and the family are adherents of the
Presbyterian church.
ABRAHAM STRAUB was born in Milton, Northumberland county, December
9, 1794, son of Andrew Straub and twin brother of Isaac Straub. He
received the ordinary education of that period, learned the tanner's
trade, and carried on a tannery in Milton until 1824, at which time he
sold out and joined his brother Isaac in what were known as the
Birchwood Mills, on the island opposite Milton, where they were engaged
in the lumber and milling business a number of years. They invented and
introduced into their mill the first reaction water wheel probably ever
used in the State. They also had a railroad track to their mill and
yard. In 1832 and 1833 they erected the first bridges over the West
Branch of the Susquehanna at Milton, which were carried away by the
flood of March 17, 1865. In 1834 Isaac retired from the firm and went
to Lewistown, where he engaged in merchandising. Abraham continued to
operate the mills until 1840, when he took down the grist mill and moved
it to Muddy Run, two miles above Milton, where he continued the milling
business until 1853, when he sold the same and erected a bridge across
the Susquehanna river at Uniontown. After the completion of this
undertaking he turned his attention to the invention of a centrifugal
pump. He was a self-educated surveyor, and became one of the foremost
in this section of the State. November 29, 1821, he married Nancy
Balliet, whose father was a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and a
settler in Limestone, Montour county. They were the parents of the
following children: John Andrew, deceased: Ambrose White, who died in
infancy: Stephen Daniel, of Hagerstown, Maryland: Elizabeth Caroline,
wife of Rev.
END OF PAGE 970
William Goodrich; Clement Calvin, of Milton; Ambrose White, of
Philadelphia; William Alfred, of Cumberland, Maryland, and Mary Louisa,
deceased. He died, August 21,1864.
Isaac Straub left Lewistown in 1838 and went to Cincinnati, where
he died, December 17, 1875. Christian Straub taught school and engaged
in merchandising in Schuylkill county, where he served as sheriff; he
was also elected to the Pennsylvania legislature and to Congress, but
died before the expiration of his term, and was buried in the
congressional burying ground at Washington, D. C.
CLEMENT C. STRAUB was born in Milton, Northumberland county,
Pennsylvania, November 23, 1833, son of Abraham and Nancy (Balliet)
Straub. He attended the public schools and academy under Reverend
Dieter, and was for many years engaged in the mercantile business. For
the last twenty-five years he has been engaged in building portable
mills in connection with his brother Ambrose, the inventor, their place
of business being in Philadelphia. He is a director in the First
National Bank of Milton. February 17, 1864, he was united in marriage
with Elizabeth A., daughter of Justus Swenk, of Milton. She died, May
24, 1872. Mr. Straub is a prominent Republican, and was for many years a
member of the school board and town council.
JOSEPH MARR was one of the pioneers of Turbut township,
Northumberland county, the site of his home being now embraced in the
borough of Milton. He was born, June 15, 1750, in Northampton county,
Pennsylvania, where he married Susannah Frampton of the same county,
born April 27, 1754. In 1792 he purchased three hundred seventy-nine
acres of land from the widow of Turbutt Francis, a part of a tract known
as "Colonel's Reward," lying on the east bank of the West Branch,
immediately north of Milton. It must have been well improved property,
as he paid at the rate of four pounds per acre for it. In 1793 he
settled upon his purchase, where he died, September 3, 1796; his widow
survived him until December 27, 1826. They were the parents of six
children: Mary, who married Robert Martin; Hannah, who became the wife
of William Hull; David, who died, February 14, 1819; William, who died,
December 18, 1823; Joseph, who died, October 5, 1804, and Alem, who
became quite a prominent lawyer and politician and served two terms in
Congress.
WILLIAM HULL was a native of Sussex county, New Jersey, born July
17, 1771, and settled in Turbut township, Northumberland county,
Pennsylvania, in the last decade of the eighteenth century, where he
married Hannah Marr, January 12, 1797. Her father, Joseph Marr, came
from Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in 1793, and located immediately
north of Milton. She was born, March 23, 1777 and was about sixteen
years old when her father settled in this county. To William and Hannah
Hull were born fourteen children, only nine of whom reached maturity:
Susan, who married Samuel McCarty; Elizabeth; Jesse; David; Alem:
William P.; Thomas R.; Sarah A., who married John H. Brown, and Hannah
M., who married Robert
END OF PAGE 971
M. Slater. William Hull died upon the homestead farm in 1828; his widow
afterward moved into Milton, where she died, February 10 1858 in the
eighty-first year of her age.
DR. THOMAS R. HULL, youngest son of William Hull, was born on the
old homestead near Milton, February 19, 1815. He here grew to manhood,
and received his early education at the old Milton Academy. About 1832
he entered Lafayette College, and subsequently read medicine under
Doctors James S. Dougal and William McCleery, and graduated from
Jefferson Medical College in 1838. He commenced practice at
Washingtonville, Montour county, Pennsylvania, where he remained until
1861, when he removed to Milton and continued in the active duties of
his profession up to his death, May 25,1586. On the 23d of February,
1843, Doctor Hull was married to Elizabeth McCormick, who survives him.
Seven children were born to this union: Margaret Mc.; William; Alem P.;
Thomas R.; Harry B.; Edward L., deceased, and Elmer S. Doctor Hull was
a skillful, careful, and conscientious physician, and enjoyed a large
and lucrative practice. Politically he was a Republican. and was a
member of the electoral college which elected Lincoln to the presidency
in 1860. He was chief burgess of Milton two terms. and always took a
deep interest in the public schools, and was a member of the board of
education several years. He was an attendant of the Episcopal church
and a man of unquestionable integrity and upright character.
WILLIAM HULL, dealer in coal and grain was born in Montour county,
Pennsylvania, June 30, 1846, and is the eldest son of Dr. Thomas R.
Hull. He was educated in the Milton schools, and in 1869 he began
clerking for his uncle, William P. Hull, and continued in that capacity
until the death of the latter in 1876, when he and his father purchased
the business and conducted it under the firm name of William Hull. On
the death of doctor Hull in 1886, his son, Thomas R., became a member of
the firm, which has since been known as Hull & Company. Dr. Hull is also
interested in the lumber business at Jersey Shore and Pine Creek,
Pennsylvania, and is a stockholder in the Milton Trust and Safe Deposit
Company. He was married, July 4, 1872, to Emma, daughter of Samuel
Leidy of Milton, who has borne him two children: May, and William P.
Politically Mr. Hull is a Republican. and is now serving his ninth year
as school director.
THE McCORMICK FAMILY. The ancestry of the McCormick family is
traced to James McCormick, of Londonderry, Ireland, one of the signers
of a memorial to William and Mary in 1689. His son, Thomas McCormick.
was born in 1702 and immigrated to America in 1735, locating in Paxtang
township, Lancaster (now Dauphin) county, Pennsylvania. In 1745 he
removed to East Pennsboro' township, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania,
where he died in 1762. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Adam Carruth,
and they were the parents of six children. The eldest, Thomas
McCormick, was born
END OF PAGE 972
Page 973 contains a portrait of James Pollock.
Page 974 is blank.
in the North of Ireland in 1727, and died in East Pennsboro' township,
Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1778. In 1756 he married Jean,
daughter of John and Mary (Patterson) Oliver.
Of the five children born to this union the eldest, John McCormick,
removed to Northumberland county in 1794 and was the progenitor of the
branch of the family to which this sketch more particularly relates. He
was born near Silver Spring, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, March 26,
1757, and died in his adopted county, September 22, 1815. He married
Ann, daughter of John Sample, and they had issue as follows: Elizabeth,
who married John Cook; Robert, who married Mrs. Eliza Wood, nee
Montgomery; Jane, who married John Sample; Maria; John, who married
Martha Giffen; William, who married Rachel Slote, and Sarah, who became
the wife of David Davis.
ROBERT M. MCCORMICK, eldest son of John and Ann McCormick, was born
on the old homestead in this county, January 25, 1796, and died in
Milton, whither he had removed from his farm, September 10, 1873. He was
married, May 4, 1830, to Mrs. Eliza Wood, widow of Dr. Thomas Wood, of
Muncy, and eldest child of David and Agnes (Shaw) Montgomery. She was
born, April 27, 1800, upon the old homestead in what is now Lewis
township, and died in Milton, February 1, 1876. Six children were born
to Robert and Eliza McCormick: David M., who died in childhood; John,
who died in early manhood; Robert, who was killed by guerrillas at
Bardstown, Kentucky, December 29, 1564, while serving in the Seventh
Pennsylvania Cavalry; Charles C., a gallant soldier of the same
regiment, since deceased; Agnes, widow of William P. Dougal, and William
C., of Kansas.
GENERAL CHARLES C. McCORMICK, deceased, was born in Paradise, Lewis
township, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, February 18, 1838, and
died, January 31, 1884. His parents were Robert and Eliza McCormick. He
was reared on the homestead farm, and manifested a great love for books
and a desire to improve his mind. He attended the McEwensville Academy
and the Lewisburg University, and took a course at the Pittsburgh
Commercial College. He removed with his parents to Milton in 1860. At
the breaking out of the civil war he was among the first to respond to
his country's call, and, owing to his military tact, indomitable energy,
and unquestionable bravery, he gradually arose from the rank of private
to that of brigadier general. October 9,1861, he enlisted in Company D,
Eightieth Regiment (Seventh Cavalry), and November 18, 1861, was
promoted to captain of Company L; January 10, 1865, he became colonel of
the regiment, and was brevetted brigadier general, March 13, 1865, for
long, faithful, and gallant service. He was mustered out, August 23,
1865, and was promoted after the war to the rank of major general of the
National Guard of Pennsylvania. He fought in the Army of the Tennessee
as a cavalryman, and was wounded at Bardstown, Kentucky, and Selma,
Alabama. The
END OF PAGE 975
bullets received at the latter place remained in his body until his
death. He participated in the battles of Murfreesboro, Stone River,
Alexandria, Chickamauga, Macon, Dallas, Atlanta, Columbia, and Kennesaw
Mountain. At the close of the war he returned to Milton and purchased an
interest in the firm of Murray, Dougal & Company, car manufacturers,
from which he retired in 1877. June 30, 1868, he married Charlotte A.,
daughter of L. M. and Sarah (Blake) Wright, of Troy, New York, and to
them were born three children: Robert C., a student at Cornell
University; Helen C., and Walter W., now attending school.
THE FOLLMER FAMILY are among the earliest settlers of this portion
of Northumberland county. George Jacob Follmer was born, December 4,
1738, in Berks county, Pennsylvania. His father with an older brother,
Michael, emigrated from Germany in 1737, and located near Reading, Berks
county, Pennsylvania. In 1778 Michael and George Jacob came to this
county and located in Turbut township. They took up a large tract of
land, built their cabins, and engaged in clearing and improving the
same. George Jacob Follmer married Catharine Walters and reared a family
of twelve children. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war five
years, and a Democrat in politics; he was elected as a member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1794 and continuously from 1798
to 1802, and was elected to the Senate in 1803. He died in 1804 before
his term expired. From these two brothers sprang the Follmer family,
which now has several hundred descendants in this county.
DANIEL FOLLMER, youngest son of George Jacob Follmer, was born in
Northumberland county, June 9, 1786, and was a farmer by occupation. He
was colonel of a militia company for many years, and participated in the
war of 1812. He was associate judge of Montour county one term. He
married Susan Diffenbecher, a native of Columbia county, Pennsylvania,
who died in 1836. Eight children were born to this union, three of whom
are living: Conrad, of Kansas; Mary, widow of John A. Eshbach, of Iowa,
and J. M., of Milton. His second wife was Mrs. Rachel Grier, by whom he
had one child, who died at the age of twelve years. Mr. Follmer was a
member of the German Reformed church, and served as elder many years. He
died in 1873.
J. M. FOLLMER was born in Limestone township, Montour county,
Pennsylvania, May 3, 1825. He attended the public schools and Danville
Academy, and has been engaged in farming, lumbering, and stock-raising.
In 1863 he enlisted in Company E, Thirty-seventh Militia, received the
appointment of regimental quartermaster, and was honorably discharged
August 4, l863. He was a charter member of Bryson Post, G.A.R. of
Watsontown, and chaplain of Henry Wilson Post, Milton. In 1865 he was a
candidate for the legislature, but was defeated. In 1888 he was elected
to the House of Representatives by a majority of about two hundred. In
END OF PAGE 976
1850 he was united in marriage with Susan, daughter of J. P. Hackenberg,
of this county. Seven children were born to this union: Emma; Matilda,
Mrs. C. G. Wilson, of St. Mary's, Pennsylvania; Edward H., who died at
the age of one year; Ada, Mrs. J. G. Bower, of Watsontown; William H.,
physician, of Milton; Roland B., of Philadelphia, and John H. Mr.
Follmer was connected with the Masonic order for twelve years, and Royal
Arch three years; he is a member of the German Reformed church, was an
elder several terms, and has been superintendent of the Sunday school
for many years. He is now engaged in the insurance business, and
represents several of the strongest companies.
SETH CADWALLADER was one of the pioneer merchants of Milton, in
which town he settled about 1812. He was born in Montgomery county,
Pennsylvania, October 11, 1796, and after coming to Milton engaged in
clerking, but subsequently went into business and followed merchandising
until 1854, when he retired. On the 3d of February, 1824, he married
Elizabeth, daughter of George Hammond, and a native of Northumberland
county. Her father was one of the first settlers of this part of the
State, was captured by the Indians during the Revolutionary war and
turned over to the Hessians, and was held a prisoner five years. Eleven
children were born to Seth and Elizabeth Cadwallader, only three of whom
are living: Hammond, of Juniata county; Albert, of Milton, and Kate,
wife of James McConkey, of Philadelphia. The parents died, August 24,
1863, and June 3, 1880 respectively.
ALBERT CADWALLADER was born in Milton, Pennsylvania, October 11,
1841, was reared and educated in his native town, and was engaged in the
grocery and provision business until 1879. October 20, 1868, he married
Annie L., daughter of Andrew Supplec of Philadelphia, and by this union
they have seven children: Gertrude H.; Austin S.; Seth Iredell; Mary
Louisa; Kate E.; Bertha May, and Albert. During the Rebellion he
volunteered in Company A, Third Pennsylvania Militia, and later in
Company E, Twenty-eight Emergency Men, and was afterwards appointed
agent for the United States sanitary commission to distribute supplies
to the sick and wounded soldiers at the front. In politics he is a
Republican, and was elected county treasurer in 1871, the first
Republican ever elected to that office in this county. He served five
terms as chief burgess of Milton, and has also been a member of the town
council. He is secretary and treasurer in the Milton Knitting Factory,
and has been a director of the Milton National Bank for several years.
Mr. Cadwallader is a member of Henry Wilson Post, G.A.R., and served as
quartermaster of the same four years. He and family attend the
Presbyterian church.
SAMUEL T. BROWN was for many years one of the best known business
men of Milton, where he lived nearly half a century. He was born in
White Deer valley, Union county, Pennsylvania, July 18, 1798, and was a
descendant of an old Puritan family that settled in that valley at an
early date in its
END OF PAGE 977
history. He learned the tanning trade, and in 1830 came to Milton and
purchased the property now known as the Milton tannery, where he carried
on business over thirty years. During this time he became actively
identified with the growth and progress of the town. He was a
stockholder and director of the old Northumberland Bank more than twenty
years, and was one of the organizers and directors of the First National
Bank from its inception up to his death, June 4, 1875. Mr. Brown was
twice married, first to Nancy Woods, June 18, 1819, who bore him five
children, three of whom grew to maturity: Cyrus; J. Woods, and Oliver.
The two last mentioned are dead. He married for his second wife
Elizabeth A. Young, of which union one child was born, but died in early
youth. His widow survived him until October, 1883. Mr. Brown was an
excellent citizen, a good neighbor, a man of sterling business
character, and a kind husband and father. Politically he was a Democrat,
and in religion a consistent member of the First Presbyterian church of
Milton.
CYRUS BROWN, druggist, was born in White Deer valley, Union county,
Pennsylvania, May 25, 1824, eldest son of Samuel T. and Nancy (Woods)
Brown. He was educated at the schools of Milton, and the Lewisburg
Academy, after which he entered a drug store in Philadelphia, where he
remained until he acquired a thorough knowledge of the business. In
1854 he returned to Milton, and established his present drug house,
which is now the largest in the county. He was burned out in May, 1880,
with a loss of fifty thousand dollars, outside of his insurance, but
rebuilt the same year, and in 1882 erected his present store. Mr. Brown
handles white lead in large quantities, and is the inventor and
manufacturer of the Red Horse powder. He is a believer in printer's ink,
and is probably the most extensive advertiser in the county. In 1859 he
married Louisa B., daughter of David Krauser, who died leaving one
daughter, Hettie L. He was again married, January 1, 1876, to Mrs.
Rebecca H. Rhodes, widow of Doctor Rhodes, of Milton. Politically Mr.
Brown is a Democrat; he has served as city councilman, and is a member
of the Presbyterian church.
J. WOODS BROWN, deceased, was born in White Deer valley, Union
county, Pennsylvania, December 1, 1826, son of Samuel T. and Nancy
(Woods) Brown. He attended the Milton Academy, also the McEwensville
Academy under the Rev. S. S. Sheddon, D. D. He entered Jefferson College
in the spring of 1846, and graduated from that institution in 1848. He
then read law one year with Samuel Hepburn, of Milton, and afterwards
entered the law school at Easton, Pennsylvania, under Judge McCarty and
Henry Greer, and graduated in 1851, when he returned to Milton and
engaged in practice. In 1853 he entered into co-partnership with W. C.
Lawson, which relation continued successfully until 1880. After the
great fire of that year in Milton neither partner cared to continue in
the practice of law. Mr. Brown was an active and influential Democrat
and a leader in
END OF PAGE 978
the local councils of his party. In 1862-63 he represented
Northumberland county in the House of Representatives in the State
Legislature and occupied a prominent position in that body. He held a
number of positions in civil life, in which his fidelity and
conscientiousness were prominently manifested. He was the principal
factor in the organization of the First National Bank of Milton in 1863,
was elected its president, and continued in this office until his death.
He was a remarkably quiet and unobtrusive man, yet possessed of that
courage which always prompted him to follow the line of duty in a
forcible, and oftentimes aggressive, manner. His conceptions of right
and his condemnation of all things that reflected the image of
impropriety made him a fearless advocate of good. January 29, 1851, he
married Maria, daughter of William and Catherine Polk, of Easton,
Pennsylvania. Seven children were born to their union, four of whom are
living. Mr. Brown died, January 6, 1888.
WILLIAM HEINEN, deceased, was born in York county, Pennsylvania, in
1817, son of Doctor Heinen, who emigrated from Germany and married Miss
Etzler, of York county, and practiced medicine in that county before
removing to Milton. William Heinen came to Milton with his parents when
a child, and received his education at the Milton Academy under Rev.
David Kirkpatrick. He started in life as a clerk, and served an
extended apprenticeship. In 1835 he, in co-partnership with Jesse
Schreyer, established the mercantile firm of Schreyer & Heinen. He
remained a member of that firm until 1866, when he withdrew and retired
from active business in 1870. He married Anna M., daughter of Henry
Funk, of Bucks county, by whom he had eight children, three of whom are
living: Catharine, wife of D. M. Krauser; William A., and T. C. Mr.
Heinen was one of the organizers of the Milton National Bank, and served
as a director many years. He was a prominent member of the Lutheran
church, and a Democrat in politics. He died, July 19, 1879; his widow
died in 1885.
WILLIAM A. HEINEN was born in Milton Northumberland county,
Pennsylvania, October 16, 1850, son of William and Anna (Funk) Heinen.
He received his education in the Milton schools and Bucknell University,
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and in early life turned his attention to
farming. In 1870 he became a member of the firm of Heinen, Schreyer &
Company, but retired from the same in 1880, and has since returned to
farming. He is a director in the Milton Trust and Safe Deposit Company,
the Milton Iron Company, the Milton Gas Company, and the Milton Driving
Park and Fair Association, a stockholder in the Milton Water Company,
and a member of the Milton Bridge Company, also one of the organizers
and secretary and treasurer of the Milton Creamery Company. Politically
he is a Republican. October 8, 1889, he married Mary, daughter of S. J.
Shimer, of Milton.
T. C. HEINEN was born in Milton, March 11, 1859, son of William and
Anna (Funk) Heinen. He was educated in the schools of Milton, after
END OF PAGE 979
which he entered the mercantile business as clerk, and succeeded his
father as a member of the firm of Heinen, Schreyer & Company. He is a
stock-holder in the Milton Iron Company, the Milton Knitting Company,
the Milton Water Company, the Milton Gas Company, and the Milton Driving
Park and Fair Association. In 1885 he married Carrie V., daughter of D.
W. A. Belford, of Milton, and has one child, Catharine E.
WILLIAM CHAMBERLIN was born in New Jersey, September 25, 1736. He
was lieutenant colonel in the New Jersey militia, and served in the
Revolutionary war. He was married in 1758 to Miss Tinbrook, who bore
him seven children. March 3,1771, he married Ann Park, who bore him four
children, and died, November 12, 1779. In 1782 he married Margaret
Park, and by her were born four children; she died, April 29, 1791, and
August 16, 1794, he married Ann Mary Kimble, and to this union were born
eight children. He was twenty-three years of age at the birth of his
first child, and seventy-six years of age at the birth of his twenty-
third child. He died, August 21, 1817. His oldest son Lewis, while on a
visit to his father, was killed at the battle of Germantown, October 4,
1777, by a cannon ball. About 1792 he removed to Buffalo valley and
purchased six hundred acres of land, in what is now Kelly township,
Union county, where he lived in prosperity until his death. He was a
prominent member of the Baptist church. His last wife came of an old
family. She was familiar with Washington Irving, George Washington, and
others. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, and having a very
retentive memory, committed many chapters of the Bible to memory. She
died, March 4, 1859.
MOSES CHAMBERLIN was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, November
8, 1812, youngest son of William and Ann Mary (Kimble) Chamberlin. He
was reared on his father's homestead and educated at the schools of that
period. At the age of twenty years he went to Lewisburg and served an
apprenticeship of three years at the tanner's trade. In 1833 he removed
to Milton, engaged in the mercantile business, and followed the various
occupations of milling, lumbering, and farming until 1874, when he
retired from active life. He purchased the land and laid out what is
known as the Chamberlin addition to Milton, and also laid out and sold
land upon which Watsontown is situated. He was married in 1835 to Mary
Ann, daughter of George Correy, of Milton, who died, August 15, 1838.
One child was born to this union, Elizabeth H., widow of William
Follmer, of Watsontown. He was again married in 1840 to Jane H.
Montgomery, daughter of John Watson, of Watsontown, and to them six
children have been born, four of whom are living: William, of Milton;
Caroline, Mrs. A. O. First, of Bellefonte; James, of Harrisburg, and
Frank, an attorney of Milton. Mr. Chamberlin is a Republican in
politics, and has served in the several municipal offices of his town.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has served as
trustee, recording steward, class leader, Sunday school superintendent,
etc.
END OF PAGE 980
JOHN HAAG, deceased, was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania,
and after marrying Mary Knauss, of that county, he removed in 1896 to
Turbut township, Northumberland county, where he followed farming until
his death in 1867; his widow survived him until 1882, and they were
consistent members of the Lutheran church and the parents of seven
children: John, deceased; Catharine, deceased; B. K.; Elizabeth,
deceased; Rebecca, who married William Balliet and lives in Montour
county, Pennsylvania; Hettie, wife of William Gouger, also of Montour
county, and Sarah, deceased.
B. K. HAAG, merchant, was born, January 9, 1817, in Berks county,
Pennsylvania, and is a son of John and Mary C. (Knauss) Haag. His
education was received in the subscription and common schools. At the
age of twenty-one years he left his father's farm to begin a business
life for himself, his first employment being in the general mercantile
store of Geddes, Green & Walls at McEwensville, this county, where he
remained four years. Following this were four years' service as a clerk
in a general store in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1847 he came to Milton
and formed a partnership with T. S. Mackey & Son, under the firm name of
Mackey & Haag, dry goods and hardware. At the expiration of two years
Mr. Haag withdrew from this connection and joined Montgomery Sweney, and
for one year did a general dry goods and grocery business, under the
firm title of Sweney & Haag. After one year's association with the
concern of Haag & Caldwell, the stock was divided and Mr. Haag kept a
store for a period on the present site of the Milton National Bank. In
1853 he established his present hardware and book store, which was
conducted under the firm cognomen of Haag & Brown until the panic of
1857, which compelled Mr. Haag to assume all responsibility of the
business, and since when he has been alone until joined by his son-in-
law, John Buoy. In 1869 he purchased a lot south of his present
hardware room, of Elizabeth Miller, and in 1865 erected buildings on the
same. In 1875 his business block was burned, rebuilt, and again burned
in 1880, and soon after rebuilt the second time. Besides this handsome
brick block, he has constructed many dwellings in the town of Milton,
including the Hotel Haag, which magnificent structure was erected in
1890 at a cost of over seventy-five thousand dollars, and opened up for
business on April 1, 1890. Mr. Haag was married, February 20, 1852, to
Sarah Schuck, daughter of Philip and Catharine (Diebert) Schuck. She
was born, July 19, 1821, in Union county, Pennsylvania, and to her union
with Mr. Haag have been born six children: William A., deceased; Mary
E., the wife of John Buoy; Charles H., deceased; Sallie, deceased;
Thomas J.; and Hettie, the wife of C. A. Chapin. Mr. Haag was
postmaster while at McEwensville and also trustee of school funds at the
same place. He was appointed one of the distributing committee of the
relief funds after the great fire of 1880. He was a director of the
National Bank of Milton from 1865 to 1875.
END OF PAGE 981
WILLIAM C. LAWSON, president of the Milton National Bank, was born
in Union county, Pennsylvania, December 3, 1817, son of Joseph and Ann
(Clingan) Lawson, natives of Lycoming and Lancaster counties,
Pennsylvania, respectively. Roger Lawson, the original ancestor of the
family in America, came from the North of Ireland in 1720, and settled
at Bohemia Manor, Maryland, whence John Lawson, grandfather of our
subject, removed in 1785 to Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. Joseph
Lawson was born and reared in that county, and subsequently went to
Union county, where he married Ann Clingan, whose parents moved from
Lancaster to Union county in l801. He was a prominent farmer, and both
he and wife died in that county. Though originally a Democrat he became
a Whig during Jackson's administration, and ever afterward voted that
ticket.
The subject of this sketch was reared in his native county, and in
1830 commenced attending an academy at Milton, then under the charge of
Rev. David Kirkpatrick, where he spent two years and a half. In 1835 he
entered Delaware College, at Newark, Delaware, from whence he was
graduated in 1838. After leaving college he began the study of the law
in the office of James F. Linn, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and
completed his studies under Judge Reed of Carlisle. He was admitted to
the bar of Cumberland county in 1840, and the same year opened an office
in Greenville, Mercer county, where he practiced his profession until
the fall of 1843, when he located in Milton and was admitted to the bar
of Northumberland county, April 1, 1844. Mr. Lawson continued in active
and successful practice at this bar for about forty years, but the fire
of 1880 having destroyed his home, office, and library, he concluded to
abandon the active duties of his profession, and he gradually gave up
the practice of the law and has since devoted his attention to his
private affairs. He was one of the organizers of the Milton Savings
Bank in 1858, and since July, 1860, he has been president of that
institution and its successor, the Milton National Bank, continuously,
up to the present. He also has been president of the Milton Bridge
Company for many years.
Mr. Lawson has been twice married. His first wife was Hannah P.,
daughter of James P. Sanderson, of Milton, to whom he was wedded,
October 19, 1843. She died in 1854, leaving two children: James Lawson,
cashier of the Williamsport National Bank, and Mrs. William B.
Chamberlin, of Milton. His second marriage occurred in April, 1858, to
Mrs. Ann D. Shannon, daughter of James Strawbridge, of Lewisburg,
Pennsylvania. She died December 11, 1885. In religious faith the
Lawsons have been Presbyterians since the coming of Roger Lawson to
America in 1720, and our subject has been a member of that church since
early manhood. He has always taken a very deep interest in the progress
and prosperity of the Milton church, in which body he has filled the
office of elder since 1859. In politics he was originally a Whig, and
since the birth of the Republican party he has been an active supporter
of that organization.
END OF PAGE 983
SAMUEL WILSON MURRAY was born at Lewisburg, Union county,
Pennsylvania, October 16, 1829. He was educated at the old Lewisburg
Academy under Hugh Pollock and his successor in that venerable
institution, John Robinson. When he was about seventeen years of age he
went to Lancaster, where his father then resided. Two years later he
went to Portland, Maine, and entered the Portland Locomotive Works for a
term of three years for the purpose of learning the trade of a
machinist. At the expiration of his time at the Portland Works he spent
a year and a half at Vernon, Indiana, and in Rhode Island, after which
he returned to Lancaster and was employed for the three succeeding years
as draughtsman in the Lancaster Locomotive Works.
In September, 1856, he went to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and in
connection with William Vanderbilt and Charles Bowman engaged in the
machine business under the firm name of Vanderbilt, Murray & Bowman.
About the middle of the following January their works were entirely
destroyed by fire. They immediately purchased another establishment then
owned and operated by John B. Hall, but during the following summer came
the great commercial crash of 1857, and this, together with their losses
by fire, crippled the firm to such an extent that they deemed it
expedient to resell the works to Mr. Hall and retire from business. Mr.
Murray then returned to Lancaster, and shortly afterward went to
Pittsburgh, where he was employed a year in the shops of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The succeeding year be spent in the
Baldwin Locomotive Works at Philadelphia.
In the fall of 1860 he returned to Lewisburg, and became interested
in the firm of Slifer, Walls, Shriner & Company, which was about to
engage in the manufacture of agricultural implements. In February,
1864, he came to Milton, and in connection with several other gentlemen,
founded the Milton Car Works, with which enterprise he is still
identified.
Mr. Murray was married, December 17, 1866, to Sarah Matilda Meckly,
a daughter of Dr. John Meckly, of Milton. and two children, a son, John
Heber, and a daughter, Helen Beatrice, are the result of this union.
While a resident of Portland, Maine, Mr. Murray cast his first vote
at the municipal election at which Neal Dow was elected mayor of the
city and which resulted in the enactment of the famous "Maine Law." He
became at that time a convert to the theory that prohibition was the
only practical remedy for the evils of intemperance and he has remained
a life-long adherent to the cause. In early life he joined the Methodist
Episcopal church, to which creed his parents and sister also adhered,
and he has been a prominent leader in church work for many years. He
has been a liberal contributor to religious and benevolent purposes and
his business career furnishes evidence that a competence can be secured
without the sacrifice of religious principles or honor.
CHARLES HEBER DICKERMAN, manufacturer of railroad equipment, was
END OF PAGE 983
born in Harford, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, February 3, 1843. His
father, Clark Dickerman, was a native of Guilford, Chenango county, New
York, born June 12, 1803, and a son of John and Thankful Dickerman. The
family traces its paternal ancestry back to 1635, when Thomas Dickerman
came from England and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. At his
death he left two sons: Isaac and Abram. The latter married Mary Cooper,
and died at New Haven, Connecticut, leaving a family of eight children;
the fifth child and oldest son was also named Abram. He married
Elizabeth Glover, who bore him four sons, the third being John
Dickerman, who removed to Brattleboro, Vermont, and married Esther
Sperry. Nine children were born of this union, the fifth, also named
John, being the founder of the Guilford branch of the Dickerman family.
He married, in 1789, Thankful Smith, a native of Granby, Massachusetts,
and a daughter of Seth and Thankful Smith, the former having served with
the rank of colonel in the Revolutionary war. John Dickerman was born in
Vermont, March 17, 1764, and served in the Revolution nine months, being
employed as a scout during the latter part of his service. He learned
the blacksmith trade in New Haven, Connecticut, and about the year 1800
moved with his family from Vermont to Guilford, Chenango county, New
York, where he followed blacksmithing and farming. Both he and wife
died in Otsego county, New York, November 6, 1848, and October 7, 1856,
respectively. They were the parents of eleven children, Clark, the
father of our subject, being the seventh in the family. He was twice
married, first in November, 1829, to Eliza Knapp, who died, November 9,
1830. He was again married, October 14, 1833, at Gibson, Susquehanna
county, Pennsylvania, to Sarah Adelia Chandler, born June 30, 1815, who
bore him the following children: James Bedell, and Eugene Durand, both
deceased; Eliza Knapp, wife of Ralph H. Eaton; Charles Heber; Payson
Kingsbury, and Mary Louisa, wife of Clement R. Woodin. Clark Dickerman
was a physician, and died at Harford, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania,
August 5, 1853. His widow is still living at Hazelton, Luzerne county,
aged seventy-six years.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools and
at Harvard University, and for several years was a teacher in the public
schools of Susquehanna and Luzerne counties. In 1862 he was registered
as a law student in the office of Daniel S. Dickinson, Binghamton, New
York, but in 1863 he abandoned the law and accepted a position with
Carter & Son, coal operators, at Beaver Meadow, Carbon county,
Pennsylvania. In 1868 he removed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and
engaged in the coal commission business. In 1869 he became interested
in the Chapman Slate Company, Chapman Quarries, Northampton county,
Pennsylvania, miners and manufacturers of roofing slate and other slate
products, and was elected secretary of that company, and in 1870 was
chosen general manager. In 1880 he became associated with S. W. Murray
in the manufacture of freight cars, and
END OF PAGE 984
removed to Milton, where he has since resided. Mr. Dickerman is
secretary and treasurer of Murray, Dougal & Company, Limited, and is a
director of the First National Bank of Milton. During the past eleven
years he has taken a prominent part in the social and material
development of his adopted home and is today one of the best and most
favorably known citizens of Northumberland county. He has always been an
unswerving, uncompromising Democrat, and a fearless, outspoken advocate
of Democratic principles. Three years ago he was elected chairman of the
county committee, and has been twice re-elected to the same position.
Under his wise and vigorous management the party has been twice
successful in carrying the county, and filling the offices with stanch
Democrats.
Mr. Dickerman was married, March 10, 1869 at Beaver Meadow, Carbon
county, Pennsylvania, to Joy I., daughter of William and Margaret
Carter, natives of Cornwall, England, where Mrs. Dickerman was born.
Four children are the fruits of this union: Adelia Margaret; William
Carter; Grace Beatrice, and Joy Chandler The family are attendants of
the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Dickerman is a member of the Masonic
fraternity.
SAMUEL JOHNSTON SHIMER, senior member of the firm of S. J. Shimer &
Sons, was born in Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania,
December 3,1837, son of Abraham B. and Margaretta (Johnston) Shimer,
natives of the same county and of German and Scotch descent,
respectively. Mr. Shimer was reared upon the old homestead in Bethlehem
township, and during his youth he followed the daily routine of farm
life. He attended the public schools of his neighborhood, and finished
his education at an academy in the borough of Bethlehem. Throughout his
early manhood Mr. Shimer was engaged in farming, but in October 1871, he
came to Milton for the purpose of joining his brother George in the
lumber business, whither the latter had preceded him in the spring of
1869 and commenced operations under the firm name of Applegate, Shimer &
Company. Their first purchase consisted of a tract of eighteen hundred
acres of heavily timbered land in Union county, from which they cut the
timber, and, converting it into lumber, hauled it to Milton, their
nearest shipping point. Subsequent purchases increased these operations
until the product of about three thousand acres of fine timber lands had
been cut and marketed.
During this period in 1873, an event occurred that has proven an
incalculable benefit to the firm - the invention of a matcher-head by
George and Samuel J. Shinier, which is recognized as one of the most
valuable inventions of the century. In 1872 the firm established a saw
and planing mill in Milton, with a small machine shop attached, which
was operated up to its destruction by the fire of May, 1880. They then
rebuilt the plant as a machine shop for the manufacture of cutter heads
and other specialties, and from that time forward devoted their whole
attention and energies to the prosecution of the new business. In 1884
George Shinier retired from the
END OF PAGE 985
firm, and our subject became sole proprietor. He afterwards took into
partnership his sons Elmer S. and George S., and the firm then became S.
J. Shimer & Sons. In the fall of 1888 they assumed control of the
Milton Manufacturing Company's plant, which they have since operated
successfully. In the spring of 1889 Mr. Shimer invented and patented a
valuable machine for cutting washers, to the manufacture of which the
latter plant is principally devoted.
Mr. Shimer was married, September 27, 1860, to Catharine A.,
daughter of Isaac and Catharine (Clemens) Stout, the former a native of
Northampton county and the latter of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and
both of German origin. Mrs. Shimer was born in Northampton county, and
is the mother of three children: Elmer S.; Mary C., wife of William A.
Heinen, and George S. The whole family are members of the Presbyterian
church, and are ardent supporters of the principles and measures of the
Republican party. Mr. Shimer is one of the corporators of the Milton
Trust and Safe Deposit Company, and a director and vice-president of
that institution. He is widely known and recognized as a gentleman of
commendable enterprise and public spirit, as well as one of the most
successful manufacturers of the West Branch valley.
P. C. JOHNSON, secretary and assistant treasurer of the Milton Iron
Company, was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, April 22,1828. His
grandfather, Christopher Johnson, was a native of New Jersey, settled in
Union county in 1787, and died there in 1837. He served as captain in
the Revolutionary war seven years. Jonathan C. Johnson, father of our
subject, was a native of Union county, and married Elizabeth Coldren of
Northumberland county. They were farmers by occupation, and removed
from Union to Centre county in 1832, where the father died in 1874 and
the mother in 1888. They reared nine children, eight of whom are living:
Josiah, of Centre county; William E., of Illinois; J. C., of Lock Haven;
Maria, Mrs. Levi Dixson, of Centre county; P. C., of Milton; Joel H., of
Centre county; Daniel J., of Centre county, and Emily Elizabeth, Mrs.
McMully, of Centre county. The subject of this sketch was reared and
educated in Centre county, where he removed when four years old, and
remained on the farm until he was twenty years of age. In 1857 he
entered the employ of the Hecker Furnace as book-keeper, and has since
been engaged in the iron business. He came to Milton in 1872, and was
one of the organizers of the Milton Iron Company. In 1801 he married
Margaret A., daughter of Samuel Lowrie, of Montour county, and they are
the parents of three children: Newell Lowrie; William Howard, and James
Curtis. Mr. Johnson is a member of Bellefonte Lodge, F. & A.M., a
Republican in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian church.
JOHNSON B. GODCHARLES, of the firm of C. A. Godcharles & Company,
manufacturers of nails, was born in Crescent, Lycoming county,
Pennsylvania,
END OF PAGE 986
October 1, 1851, son of Henry and Esther (Price) Godcharles. He was
reared in his native town, and received his education at the township
schools and Bloomfield Academy, after which he learned the nailer trade,
and has since followed that occupation. In 1870 he went to Towanda,
Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and was a member of a cooperative
manufacturing company two years, and from there went to Lycoming county,
and was engaged in business until 1875; he then removed to Milton and
worked at his trade until 1888, and then became a member of the present
firm. Mr. Godcharles is a director in the Milton Trust and Safe Deposit
Company. In 1877 he married Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of George Baker,
of Milton. They have one daughter, Sarah Baker. Politically he is a
Republican, and is connected with the F. & A.M.; both he and wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
CHARLES E. COUP, shipping clerk of J. B. Godcharles's nail works,
was born in Tuscarora, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, November 14,
1848, son of A. Nelson and Elizabeth (Rank) Coup, of Union county,
Pennsylvania, and of German descent. The family removed to
Chillisquaque township, this county, in 1851 where the father followed
carpentering. After completing his school days the subject of this
sketch traveled through the western States; in 1869 he enlisted in the
Eighth Cavalry Regiment of the United States Regular Army and was
stationed in Arizona and New Mexico in service for five years. He was
married in June, 1876, to Sarah M., daughter of David S. Carbaugh, of
Milton, and to this union have been born eight children: James H.,
deceased; Clara M., deceased; Annie E., deceased; David A.; Martha D.;
Charles E.: Samuel L., and Isaac I. Mr. Coup has been with his present
employers since 1877, and has held the position of shipping clerk since
January, 1889. He is a Republican in politics and his wife belongs to
the Evangelical church.
E. F. COLVIN, proprietor of machine shop and foundry, was born in
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1855, son of Israel and Eliza
(Smith) Colvin, natives of Massachusetts. His father was a carpenter
and millwright by trade. He died in 1876: his widow still survives him.
They reared six children: James W., of Wilkesbarre; C. W., of Plymouth;
Jess W., of Scranton; H. P., of Tunkhannock; Louisa M., of Dalton,
Lackawanna county, and E. F. The subject of this sketch was reared in
his native county and educated at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston,
Pennsylvania, after which he learned the machinist trade at Wilkesbarre,
Pennsylvania. In 1880 he removed to Milton and worked at his trade
until 1885, when he purchased his present business. In 1876 he married
Elizabeth, daughter of Abram Fairchild. of Chillisquaque township, and
to this union have been born three children: Abbie E.; Dora M., and
Dix. Mr. Colvin is a stockholder in the Milton Knitting Company, the
Milton Creamery, the Milton Driving Park and Fair Association, and
Montandon Paint Works.
END OF PAGE 987
FREDERICK MALCOLM KELLY was born in Huntingdon county,
Pennsylvania, July 1, 1856. He was educated at the university in
Lewisburg, (now Bucknell University) from which he was graduated in
1875, being the first grandchild of that institution. In 1879 he came to
Milton where he became connected with the Milton Iron Company, of which
he was made secretary in 1882. He held this position six years, and in
September, 1888, was made general traveling agent, which he resigned to
accept his present position with the Milton tannery. Mr. Kelly possesses
great business ability, and is recognized as one of Milton's prominent
business men. His is a stockholder in the Milton Iron Company, one of
the directors and ex-secretary of the Milton Driving Park Association, a
stockholder in the Milton Water Company, and a member of the Milton
Board of Trade. Politically he is a Republican.
JACOB FETTER, lumber dealer and proprietor of a planing mill, was
born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, December 29, 1836, son of Samuel and Mary
(Wise) Fetter, natives of Cumberland county, this State. His father was
a carpenter by trade and moved to Sunbury in 1832. He was captain of a
militia company and was familiarly known as Captain Fetter. His wife,
Mary Wise, was born, September 23, 1802, and died in 1879, while he was
born, February 18, 1798, and died in 1887. They reared a family of six
children, four of whom are living: Henry G., a retired photographer of
Peru, Indiana; Rebecca, wife of Gideon Conrad, of Purdytown; Jacob, and
James H., who resides in Peru, Indiana. Our subject was reared in
Sunbury and received a common school education. He learned the carpenter
trade, which he followed from 1854 to 1880, when he removed to Milton
and, in 1881 established his present business. In 1860 he was married to
Jane Ann Gossler, daughter of Samuel Gossler, of Sunbury. To this union
were born two children: William G., who married, October 20, 1887,
Margaret B. Kremer, a daughter of Daniel Kremer, of Philadelphia, and
James Herbert; both of the sons are engaged in business with their
father. In 1865 he went out as a corporal of the Seventy-fourth
Pennsylvania Volunteers. He is a member of Sunbury Lodge, No. 22, F. &
A.M., is a Republican, served nine years as school director of Sunbury,
and with his family belongs to the Lutheran church of Milton.
D. CLINGER, lumber manufacturer, was born in Lycoming county,
Pennsylvania, November 18, 1837, son of Henry and Susanna (Wagner)
Clinger, natives of Chester and Berks counties, respectively, who
removed to Limestone township, Lycoming county, in 1828. The father
purchased a large farm, and erected thereon a grist mill and saw mill,
and also purchased a mill site and built thereon a tannery: He became
one of the representative men of the county. He was a prominent
Democrat, colonel of a military company in the early days, was justice
of the peace many years, was county commissioner, and a general land
surveyor and conveyancer. He served as
END OF PAGE 988
elder in the Reformed church for some years. He died in 1854. Eight of
his children grew to maturity, six of whom are living: John, of
Winchester, Virginia; Abraham, of Williamsport; Daniel, of Milton; Mary,
wife of Michael Sypher, of Antes Fort, Lycoming county; Catharine, wife
of Adam Baker, of Winchester, Virginia, and Susan, wife of John Knouf,
of Milton. The subject of this sketch was reared in Lycoming county, and
was educated at the township schools. In June, 1867, he came to Milton,
and became a member of the firm of Balliet, Dreisbach & Clinger, lumber
manufacturers. He has since purchased the interests of the other
members, and for fourteen years he has conducted the business alone. Mr.
Clinger is a stockholder and director in the Milton Trust and Safe
Deposit Company, and also one of the executive board. He has stock in
the Milton Knitting Company, the Milton Water Company, and is the
president of the Milton Driving Park and Fair Association, and director
in the Milton Creamery Company and the Milton Record Publishing Company.
He is an active Democrat, and is a school director of Milton and
treasurer of the school and building fund. In 1860 he married Sarah
Amanda, daughter of Israel and Leah (Moore) Gann, of Lycoming county,
and by this union they have six children: Harry R.; Edgar M.; Frank W.;
George W.; Joseph A., and Daniel J. Mr. Clinger has served as elder in
the Reformed church for many years. He is a director in the Young Men's
Christian Association, and a member of Milton Lodge, F. & A.M.