Blair County Newspaper Articles
News, obituaries, birth, marriage and death notices, by date.
Items from The Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa.,
Thursday, May 21, 1874
The Weekly Tribune
has been increasing its circulation gradually, and for the last three months, notwithstanding the monetary pressure and business stagnation, has received an unprecedented stimulus in the way of additions to its subscription list. We now print over two thousand copies each week, and there are daily and weekly additions being made to that number. These copies are distributed throughout every section of Blair county, and the circulation also embraces the most populous business and agricultural portions of Huntingdon, Clearfield, Centre, Bedford and Cambria, so that the columns of the WEEKLY TRIBUNE furnish the most desirable and advantageous advertising medium, for all classes of business men, presented by any journal in the mountain region of the State. Our statement with reference to its circulation is unqualified and truthful, as our books, at all times open to the inspection of those interested, will attest. With the Daily as its auxiliary, it has the advantage in reading matter, both as regards quantity and quality, of any other weekly circulating within the same limits; and this announcement should be sufficiently suggestive both to business men desirous of extending their trade and those in need of a first class family journal.
Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, May 21, 1874, page 2
LOCAL NEWS (From Wednesday's Tribune.)
A PLEA FOR YOUNG MEN.- Don't be alarmed, reader of mature years, at the above caption and lay the unpleasant unction to your souls that we are about to indite an item giving a hearty approval or yielding a ready assent to the manners, customs and works of the young men of the city in general; that we are about to present one class as model young men, fashioned after the image of the Creator, and another class as drones in society, neither doing any good for themselves nor for the community at large. Nothing of the kind! Neither would we, for a single instant, attempt to dissipate the prevailing idea that a few young men have mutually resolved, nay, entered into a solemn contract with the view to swallowing all the rum dispensed within the borders of the Mountain City. While this latter idea seems to be everywhere prevalent, and fills the hearts of many men with apparent joy and happiness, it is as foreign to what we desire to say as night is to day.
It is our purpose to plainly call attention to the fact that in our offices, stores, and business places generally there are to be found at least a few young men whose employers are too exacting by far and who require the performance of an undue amount of labor per diem. It is a well known and uncontradictory fact that young men are to-day compelled to remain in many of our stores from early in the morning until nine and ten o'clock at night, while there are a few offices in which young men are employed as clerks who are actually compelled to crowd two day's work into one, simply because they have been unfortunately endowed with the requisite ability for such performance.
Examples might be cited of numbers of young men with hollow cough and sunken eye consequent upon an over-pressure of mental labor enjoined upon them by their superiors in authority alone, who are to be seen daily winding their way along the streets and who actually seem to be dead to everything that partakes of the least semblance of pleasure or enjoyment. The wearisome duties with which they are entrusted and for a proper performance of which they are held to a too strict accountability, has apparently unfitted them totally for a proper indulgence in even the most trivial enjoyment, and when they do attempt anything of the kind, it is with that sort of semi-unconsciousness that renders themselves and all around them, miserable in the extreme.
The scorching summer months are about to dawn upon us - a season when too close application to business is calculated to wreck the most robust constitution, and it is to be hoped that for the sake of humanity alone, the employer will endeavor to make the burdens of the employed as light as possible under the circumstances, for unless the labors of some young men are eased and that speedily, thereby giving them more time for athletic pursuits and the indulgence of healthful and innocent recreation after their own liking, the duties of the undertaker and the grave digger will be correspondingly augmented. Every young man does not possess an iron constitution, and although he may be apt, prompt and reliable, satisfactorily performing each and every duty allotted to him with an avidity that is certainly astonishing in most cases, there is a time when his brain needs the proper food and nourishment, by way of respite, in the same degree that the body requires those essentials which conduce to longevity.
In the hurry, the rush and tumult incident to a business life of the present day, most men in their haste and greed to amass wealth seem to wholly ignore the services of the young men to whom, in an eminent degree, they owe their success in life, but are disposed to treat them as animals who neither possess a soul, nor for whom a future existence is mapped out, and at the same time are unconsciously but surely driving them to premature graves. There is such a thing as the practice of imposition, the literal meaning of the word being an excessive or unlawful exaction, and in this neighborhood there are at least a few business men, to their shame be it said, who would be unhappy did they not engage in such a practice of which mention is made, at least so far as their employes are concerned.
We have endeavored to plainly put in a plea for over-worked young men, and to couch the same in language that will do the most good. If the few thrusts innocently conceived go home to those for whom they are intended and the evil complained of be remedied then all will be well; if not, we can rest assured that a duty self-imposed has been executed. Treat the deserving young man upon whose shoulders rests your success or failure as you would like to be treated yourself were you similarly situated. By so doing be will be stimulated to greater exertions as time and occasion may demand, while a reciprocity of feeling will spring up between you, the effect of which will be magical for good. Business men, we entreat you not to imagine for a moment that a young man is fitted to grapple with the duties of a business life year in and year out without the allotment to him of that time which is preeminently necessary for his health and at the same time your success.
BURGLARY ON THE EAST SIDE. - Upon repairing to their place of business at No. 809 East Twelfth street, yesterday morning, Messrs. Akers & O'Neil discovered that sometime during the previous night one or more parties had broken one of the panes of glass in their show window, and had stolen therefrom a lot of goods, consisting of books, mouth organs, dominoes, etc., to the amount of about twelve or fifteen dollars. It is thought that the burglary was committed not later than eleven o'clock. The perpetrators are unknown.
- Hezekiah Malone, the individual who violently assaulted a woman named MacMahon, at the residence of Mrs. Cherry, on Ninth avenue, and afterward battered the door down and attempted to pull the house up by the roots, was confined in the city prison during the night, and on yesterday morning was taken to jail by Chief Riley. During the progress of the rumpus, one of the women in the house actually took down her back hair and commenced to scream.
KICKED BY A MULE. - At Lloyd's station, an evening or two since, a boy named Wm. Rosengarden, aged nine years, was kicked on the exterior of his pantry by a vicious mule and severely injured. The mule in question has the reputation of being the worst kicker on the line of the Bell's Gap railroad, it having been known to kick two cars loaded with coal off the track before breakfast. Doc Christy was prompt to the rescue as usual.
COMMITTED TO JAIL. - Charles Gratz, of Dudley, the man who stabbed James Eagan some time since, has been incarcerated in the Huntingdon county jail. Charley seems to possess a peculiar mania for furnishing employment to the grave-diggers, and got into his present trouble by repeatedly threatening to take the life of one Cornelius Shay.
- Fred Murray, of Piney Creek, met with an accident at Caldwell's tannery, in Gaysport, a day or two since. He fell into a vat ten feet deep, and had to be fished out. He was in liquor both inside and outside.
A DIRTY TRICK. - During Wednesday night some scoundrel with a heart on fire from the infernal regions, and who evidently entertains a grudge against Mr. Andy Gamble, an East side merchant, visited a shed on the rear of a lot back of the First Lutheran Church erected for the purpose of protecting from the weather a light wagon belonging to the young gentleman in question, and his brother R. L. Gamble, Esq., an Eleventh avenue merchant, and deliberately sawed in twain all the spokes in the four wheels of the vehicle with one or two exceptions, sawed the shafts in two and also the single-tree. Not being satisfied with their work of destruction at this stage, they next directed their attention to the leather dasher and proceeded to cut it into shreds. From the fact that the name of Andy Gamble, which was painted on the one side of the wagon in bright letters, was somewhat defaced, it is supposed that the dirty act was committed by some unprincipled hound who entertains a bitter hatred for him. An expense of at least fifty or seventy-five dollars will have to be incurred to repair the damage done to the wagon. The man who will stoop to the performance of an act of such contemptible meanness under the cover of darkness, would not hesitate to perpetrate a more diabolical crime as often as the opportunity would present itself. It is earnestly hoped that the scoundrel will be detected and as severely dealt with as the law will direct. It was certainly one of the meanest and dirtiest tricks that has come to our notice for a long time past.
SEVERE ACCIDENT. - Mr. John W. Cherry, a much respected citizen of the East Side, met with quite a severe accident on Saturday last. He was helping to raise some coffins from a wagon onto a board awning, in front of his furniture establishment, on East Twelfth street, preparatory to storing them away on the second floor of the building. He was just in the act of raising a coffin above his head, and was standing with one foot upon a wheel of the wagon and the other upon a large box, when the horse attached to the wagon started, thus throwing Mr. Cherry with much violence to the ground. A severe contusion of the spine and back of the head was the amount of injury sustained. Mr. C. will not attend to any business requiring much "back-bone" for several days.
ANOTHER BURGLARY. - Sometime during Tuesday night or yesterday morning an entrance was effected into A. B. Garnier's confectionery store, No. 11263 Eleventh avenue, and the room despoiled of a jar of gum drops, a lot of oranges, and some fifty or sixty cents in nickels. Admittance was gained to the store-room from the rear by first battering down a couple of the door panels, which allowed entrance to a new and unoccupied addition to the building, and then forcing an entrance through a communicating window to the store-room proper. The perpetrators of the burglary are unknown, yet they are supposed to be boys who belong to that crowd of unprincipled youths who are members of the society known as the "gut-gang."
DROWNED. - On Thursday of this week a young man named Lewis Stiner, aged twenty years, was drowned in the stream above the dam at Burkholder's mill near Elizabeth Furnace. At the time the sad affair occurred, Mr. Stiner was engaged in fishing and it is generally supposed that he was seized with a violent fit or spasm, to which he was subject, and fell into the water. There being no assistance near at hand and as he was unable to assist himself it is reasonable to conjecture that death speedily ensued. His body was not found until nine o'clock the same evening. Deceased resided at Elizabeth Furnace.
LEG AMPUTATED. - By direction of Robert Pitcairn, Esq., Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division P. R. R., a Johnstown doctor - Lowman by name - visited Portage station on Tuesday and cut off one of the legs of the young freight brakeman named John Cochran who was so severely injured by being run over by an engine a few days since. Since the surgical operation was performed the unfortunate young man is reported to be getting along very well. It is supposed that he will ultimately recover.
RECOVERING FROM HIS INJURIES. - Mr. W. Wallace Irwin, the man who had his leg broken on the occasion of the recent frightful accident on the railroad midway between Gallitzin and Cresson, by which his brother and three other men were killed, is on a fair way to recover from his injuries. He is one of the most industrious and reputable citizens of Montgomery township, Indiana county, and his friends and relatives in this city will be glad to hear of his recovery.
THE CROP PROSPECT. - After a hand-shake with J. A. Crawford, Esq., of Arch Springs, yesterday morning, a conversation of two minutes and a half ensued, in the course of which it afforded us great pleasure to learn that the crops of all kinds throughout the length and breadth of Sinking Valley never promised better than at the present time, the indications being of such a positive nature as to warrant the statement that there will be a rousing harvest.
LIFTED HIS DUE BILL. - That Bell's Mills man named McFarlane, who recently deposited a due bill in the hands of Mayor Gilland for the sum of six hundred dollars, that being the amount of his indebtedness toward the city for the privilege of having a jolly good time, came to the city yesterday according to promise and lifted the due-bill. An honest man is the noblest work of the Creator of the universe!
- Some one says that in order to be a good tax collector you must be patient as a post, cheerful as a duck, sociable as a flea, bold as a lion, water-proof as a rubber coat, cunning as a fox, and watchful as a sparrow-hawk. But then, we wouldn't think of believing anything of the sort until after hearing what Shollenberger has to say about it. He is good authority on the subject.
THE FRUIT CROP. - The Germantown Telegraph, which by the way is reliable authority, says: We look forward to a great fruit crop this year, including all the principal varieties of apple, pear, peach, grapes and the smaller fruits. They could not promise better. Croakers may go ahead and enjoy themselves to their hearts' content, but we adhere to what we predict.
- In the Perry county Court last week Judge Junkin sentenced a fiend incarnate named John Baker, who was convicted of committing a rape upon the person of a little girl named Alice Robinson, aged eleven years, to separate and solitary confinement at hard labor in the Eastern penitentiary for a period of ten years.
- A Huntingdon lad named Skees is suffering from a broken nose, a broken arm, and the loss of several of his teeth. He fell from the balustrade in the Court House, a distance of some eighteen feet, yet it was the violent manner in which he came in contact with the ground floor that worked the mischief.
DWELLING HOUSE BURNED. - The dwelling house of a man named Robinson, situate at Blairsville Intersection, was entirely consumed by fire on Sunday morning. The furniture was saved. There was no insurance on the house. A defective flue worked the mischief.
ON THE WING. Up Spruce Creek - Pennsylvania Furnace and Ore Mines - Franklinville - Personals, Etc.
Special Correspondence of the Tribune. May 15th 1874.
For several days past I have been spending my time very pleasantly in the valley of Spruce Creek. After leaving the cars at Spruce Creek station, I took passage in the hack which carries the mail and passengers over this route. The conveyance is about as comfortable as such institutions generally are, and the driver a first rate fellow to travel with. The road is macadamized nearly all the way to Penna. Furnace. About noon I arrived at Graysville, ten miles up the Creek. The stage coach ride had effectually settled my breakfast, and my inner man was calling loudly for the good dinner which I found at the house of your warm friend, Washington Reynolds, Esq. His residence is easily found, being situated on a grassy eminence immediately above "Goose Island," and I have this to say that if you find it once, and enjoy his hospitality, you will be sure to call again, if you travel that way.
After dinner I marched over to the postoffice, where I found a little man in a great big store, with his postoffice in one corner. Mr. H. A. Bathurst is the P. M., and although scarcely an hundred pounder, he deals out merchandise and attends to the business of Uncle Sam with as much ease and acceptability as a man of double his size.
In the afternoon I "dead headed" - a la turnpike sailor - up to Pennsylvania Furnace, some three miles above, where I at once fell in with a former resident of Altoona, Mr. John D. Hughes, who has charge of the blacksmithing department of these extensive works, and, as I learn from others, he renders perfect satisfaction. I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Major Porter, the gentlemanly Assistant Superintendent of the works. Business on both sides gave but a moment for conversation, and then, in company with Mr. Hughes, I started for the ore mines one mile distant from the furnace.
Arriving at the mines, the first thing that attracted my attention, and must attract the attention of every one visiting the mines, is the ore washer. Such an invention I never came across in all my travels among ore mines, never heard of such a thing, and I don't believe there is another one like it in the universe. I cannot describe it, but I may say that its washing capacity is about 800 tons per day of ten hours. I was informed that it was the invention of Mr. George Lyon, of the firm of Lyon, Shorb & Co., and Mr. J. M. Leach, a mill-wright. It is certainly a novelty in the way of an ore washer, and cannot be excelled for speed or perfection in cleaning the ore. Mr. Leach will put up one of these washers for any company, in any part of the country. All the machinery in connection with the ore mines is moved by steam - Elijah Saxton engineer, and Levi Hendershot assistant. One-fourth of a mile from the mines a powerful steam engine forces water to a height of one hundred and five feet, from whence, on an incline plane, 3,000 feet long, it is carried to the point where it is required.
The mines were opened about fifty years ago, and quite an excavation has since been made, all from the surface. The ore is Hematite. The mines are under the charge of James Brown, one of the "fat" men of the country. Like all men of his build, he is affable, understands his business and drives it right along. The men employed here are of sober and industrious habits.
The mines of this company are in Centre county, close to the dividing line between Centre and Huntingdon counties, and the furnace, which is run with charcoal, is in Huntingdon county. The furnace, which was "blowed in" about three years ago, is, of course, quite new. The bosh is about nine feet nine inches across. The metal manufactured here is wagoned to Spruce Creek station, where it is shipped by railroad to Tyrone Forge, which also belongs to this company, to be made into blooms. The machine shops of this company are under the charge of Jerre Wagner, one of the best machinists in the country. James Emerick Superintends the wagon department. Adolph Leaport is principal book-keeper.
The Tyrone & Lewisburg Railroad is graded from Tyrone to this point. When completed, it will greatly increase and facilitate business, and lessen the expenses of these works.
These works, like all others of the kind, have a large store in connection therewith, which is in charge of Mr. George Porter.
The residents of this locality seem to be religiously inclined. Here I find two neat churches belonging to the Presbyterians and Methodists. There is also a fine Presbyterian Church at Graysville.
With a "free pass" in hand I returned to Graysville on the same conveyances that brought me up here. I shall not number the inhabitants of this little village, as I did not have time to count them. I find they have two stores, a post office, grist mill, and the church before referred to. It seemed curious to me that the village was made up of elderly men and a great many good-looking young women. I did not see more than three or four young men. Perhaps they were out fishing - can tell more about this when I go back again. I know of one house in which there are a half-dozen, or more, good-looking fair ones, all awaiting the arrival of "some one to love."
A ride of five miles down the creek brought me to Franklinville, where I enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. John Kinch, brother of ex-Mayor Kinch, of Altoona. Mr. K. carries on the blacksmithing business, and does the principal part of this kind of work for the valley. This is a very pleasant little town, the population of which is exactly one hundred and four, unless there has been an increase or decrease since I was there. Here I find a Methodist Church, a woolen factory, and a fine country store. Squire A. S. Ewing is proprietor of the store, and prides himself in keeping a good stock. The professional man of this little town is Dr. E. E. Goodman. The fairies brought it me, or the wind whispered in my ear, that he is shortly to emigrate from the state of single blessedness into the better state of matrimony. In this new state he takes a partner in the person of a Philadelphia lady. He may then hang out his shingle in Altoona. Being a Goodman, he will find patients wherever he goes.
The woolen factory is owned by M. G. Keatley. He manufactures all kinds of woolen goods, of the best quality, and his work will compare with that of any establishment in the country.
One of the attractions of Franklinville, in addition to its kind people and pretty girls, is the cave. In company with Squire Ewing and Dr. Goodman, armed with candles, I looked through a portion of it. It is about one mile in length, and contains a number of rooms, very irregular in shape, but the scenery is beautiful, beyond the power of my pen to describe. It should be visited by all who desire to look upon the wonderful and beautiful in nature. About thirty years ago, an insane man named Jacob Rumbarger, wandered into the cave and was afterwards found dead therein, supposed to have been killed by falling from one of the rocks.
As a summer resort, many think Franklinville would be unsurpassed, and a good hotel for this purpose is now talked about.
A tramp across the fields to Huntingdon furnace developed the fact that all was quiet on that line except the farmers. The furnace has not been in operation for some time, and it is not known how soon it will be "blown in." The company is composed of G: K. & J. H. Shoenberger, and the works are superintended by Hays Hamilton, Sr., assisted by his sons, Wallace and Hays. The furnace was first erected in 1789, and rebuilt by Mr. Hamilton in 1846. The company owns 20,000 acres of land, 4,000 of which is under cultivation. In 1868 these lands produced 12,000 bushels of wheat, 2,000 bushels of rye, 5,000 bushels of oats, and 45,000 bushels of corn in the ear.
Returning to Franklinville, the doctor and I left for Spruce Creek station. From Spruce Creek I went to Tyrone Forges. These works are under the care of S. C. Stewart, Superintendent, assisted by J. S. Sample. To the latter, and J. A. Matthias, store-manager, I am indebted for courtesies extended. Under the guidance of Joshua Gorsuch, of the blacksmith department, I passed through the works and found them in full running order, and all moving. That large steam hammer indicates business every time it comes down. About 35 tons of metal are turned out each week. This is a lively place, but I can say no more about it at present. I expect to visit this locality soon again, and will give a more full account of the works,
Ironsville is a little town just around the hill below the forge, containing near 100 inhabitants. It has a grist mill, the property of the Forge company, superintended by James Park, formerly of Altoona. Also a well stocked country store, owned by John F. Ross & Co. - J. S. S.
IRON WORKS. Rebecca and Gap Furnaces - Rodman Furnaces - The Ore Mines - Personals, etc.
Special Correspondence of the Tribune. REBECCA FURNACE, BLAIR COUNTY, Pa., May 18th, 1874.
During the past few days I have been visiting the iron works in the southern part of Blair county, and find them nearly all in blast, with a prospect of better and brighter days. I am informed that, as a general rule, iron companies are compelled to lay out of their money much longer than the majority of manufacturers, and during the panic, which was felt all over the country, were even compelled to wait much longer, some not even receiving any remuneration until the present time. The works, in many instances, are running simply to give employment to a large number of worthy men, who would, otherwise, have been compelled to seek employment elsewhere. At present, many of the employes are paid in store goods, although the prospects for an early resumption of cash payments seem to be brightening, and both employers and employes are beginning to drive business vigorously. Among the different works visited I will first attempt a description of
REBECCA AND GAP FURNACES,
now operated by Messrs. B. M. Johnston & J. D. Hemphill, of Hollidaysburg, Pa., to whom, by-the-way, this part of the county is greatly indebted on account of their determination to drive business, panic or no panic, money or no money. Mr. Hemphill personally superintends the furnaces and other works connected therewith, and be it said to his credit, the improvements in and around the works, especially at Rebecca Furnace, are almost changed from the ancient to the modern style, at a cost of thousands of dollars, and everything is now as convenient as need be, to enable them to do their work rapidly and satisfactorily. Rebecca was "blowed in" nearly three years ago, and now turns out over fifty tons of metal per week, all of which is used at Hollidaysburg mills. The ore used is styled the hematite, and is pronounced No. 1.
The mines from which it is taken are only about half a mile distant from the furnace, and as the company are noted for keeping "good stock," and any amount of it, it does not seem to be much trouble to haul the ore or iron. Railroad facilities are within three miles of Rebecca, while the Gap Furnace is on the branch leading to Henrietta. The boshes of the two furnaces are seven and eight and a half feet across, anthracite coal being used in both. Over one hundred and twenty tons of metal are manufactured each week by the two combined. Messrs. Johnston and Hemphill were lucky in securing the services of practical founders and first-class managers. When I speak of "Derno," I mean one of the heroes of the old 84th Pa., Infantry, (Col. William G. Murray,) who was a Captain in that regiment, and to-day figures as manager of Rebecca Furnace. To be more explicit, Jonathan Derno is the full name, and to him, says Mr. H. the men and under bosses look for instructions. The founder here is Joseph Kyler, well fitted for the position.
In connection with Rebecca Furnace, is a store, in which everything necessary to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc., can be found at prices not unreasonable for cash. This store has for its manager Mr. Jesse Hartman, one of the popular young men of this "neck o' timber." He finds it an easy matter as well as a pleasant duty, to wait upon those merry country girls, and they have decided to award him the first premium at the next county fair.
The manager at Gap Furnace is Dick Roelof, Esq., formerly ticket agent of the P. R. R. Co., at Hollidaysburg, one of those jocose individuals I sometimes meet. He has everything running like clock work; has a place for everything and everything in its place, so that he finds time occasionally to show sight seers around. Very clever, indeed, but when business calls him, he is off sans ceremanie. The founder here is Geo. Fager, an old pioneer at the business.
The store in connection with this furnace is in charge of L. H. Mattern, Esq., one of the kind of men who always mean business, rain or shine.
The live stock belonging to this firm will bear close inspection. There can be no better. Should like to own one or two just such animals as Mr. Hemphill keeps for his own driving.
Much more of importance might be said in reference to these works, but there are others to which I must pay my respects, and
RODMAN FURNACES,
of Chas. Knapp & Co., come next. It seems that this company is composed mainly of members of the Old Fort Pitt Cannon Works, Pittsburgh, Pa. The "blowing in" was done in the fall of 1871. There are two furnaces belonging to this company, located on the branch road between Hollidaysburg and Henrietta. When one finds a business which will compare favorably with any in the State, it is a difficult task to attempt a description without, to a certain extent, conflicting with others which seem to be really meritorious. However, "truth is mighty, and will prevail."
In speaking of other similar manufacturing establishments, I supposed there could be none better or none more worthy of particular mention; but as all business men are engaged more particularly in testing the best and quickest method of turning out good work at reasonable prices, to fill orders on short notice and give employment to worthy men, I need not consider Rodman "one of the wonders of the age." The Rodman Iron Works are well known, and there is every indication that no expense has been spared to make them what they now are a complete success. At present the product of No. 1 is from sixty to seventy tons of metal per week, some of which is shipped to Pittsburgh. During the war the Ordnance Department of the United States used this metal in the manufacture of cannon, as it stood the test better than any other from any part of the country. It is manufactured from a superior quality of the brown hematite ore. From this the Rodman gun, which thundered over many a hard-fought field, was manufactured. To show to the reader what these furnaces are, it will be necessary to say that there are five "blowing cylinders" which are so constructed that one or more, or all may be run either by steam or water power. The water wheel is forty feet in diameter, with a master-wheel thirty-nine feet in diameter, and a width of breast of ten feet. It is the largest water wheel in the United States - a perfect monster.
All the machinery necessary to carry on the work is attached, and even the "slag" is taken from the furnace by means of an incline, worked by steam, and thence thrown down the hill, thus filling up low places and making foundations upon which the extension of the main buildings will hereafter be erected. The water is conveyed to the furnace by means of a trough, built upon a high trestle work, probably one thousand feet in length. No. 2 is at present idle. The hot blast is complete in every sense of the word. The manager and founder, is Mr. J. C. Calvin, formerly assistant foreman in Fort Pitt Cannon Works, Pittsburgh. I was informed by disinterested parties, that, as a successful mechanic, Mr. Calvin has but few equals. The work here, under his charge, is sufficient evidence. The chief clerk, Mr. Henry Lorenz, is another of those whole-souled young men deserving of special mention.
THE BLOOMFIELD IRON MINES,
from which the ore is mined for use of the furnaces, are three miles from the former place, and reached by means of a branch road, leading off from Roaring Springs. This is also under the firm name of Chas. Knapp & Co. They have the lease of twenty-five thousand acres of ore and farm land. The contractors at these mines are Messrs. Peltz & McCoy. Mr. Peltz is a New York State man, and superintends the mines, while Mr. Henry McCoy, formerly of Old Fort Pitt Cannon Works, Pittsburgh, superintends the washers and other business connected with this department. Mr. McCoy was formerly a member of the firm of Johnston, Saddler & McCoy, machinists, Pittsburgh. The means by which the ore is delivered to the washers at Bloomfield are in the shape of railroads, tipples, etc. Little "Betsy,'' with James Stewart as engineer, an engine built by Bell & Porter, Pittsburgh, does the hauling. Some of this hematite ore is shipped to Everson, Knapp & Co., Fountain Mills, Pa., and some to Harrisburg. The under bosses are: Thos. McAuliss, J. Dick, Frank Fox, and John McMahon. James Madara is Superintendent of farms. Station Agent, T. B. Wilkins. is always full of fun. W. W. Camp, of New York, is one of the weighmasters. Twenty-five or thirty good hands wanted at these mines. Call on, or address, C. H. Peltz, Roaring Spring, Pa.
The company store has just been started. From this miners and everybody else can now be supplied. Messrs. Knap & Co. have chosen H. W. Freeman, Esq., as store manager, and those who patronize this place can rest assured they will be received by Mr. F. in his usual polite manner.
D. H. Chambers, Esq., has charge of the white clay mine, near the above works. This clay is used for a little of everything. - J. S. S.
SERIOUS ACCIDENT. - On Friday last, Mr. Asbury Miller, of Logan township, while engaged with his brother in hauling logs to the saw-mill of Mr. S. H. Smith, of this city, met with quite a severe and serious accident. He requested his brother to permit him to drive the team to the mill, this particular time, with the logs. After proceeding a very short distance, and in making a short turn in the road be came in contact with a sapling, and was caught between two logs, breaking both his legs. His brother seeing his misfortune, called and stopped the horses, thus preventing the instant death of his brother Asbury. He succeeded in extricating him from his perilous and painful position, with the assistance of another person who was working in the woods within calling distance. Assistance also being procured from the mill he was conveyed to his home and his wounds attended to. The bones of one of his legs protruded through the skin.
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS. - The argument list for Blair county came up in the Supreme Court yesterday at Harrisburg, and the following cases were disposed of:
McCartney vs. Plack. Judgment of non pros. Bridenbaugh's executors vs. Bridenbaugh. Judgment of non pros. McCullough vs. Cruise. Writ of error squashed. Stewart's appeal. Judgment of non pros. Alexander vs. McCullough & Hartley. Continued. Bell's Gap Railroad Company vs. Christy. Continued. Lloyd's administrators vs. Farrell. Continued. Catharine township road, and Cove Forge and Aetna iron works road. Argued. S. S. Blair, Esq., for plaintiff in error in the former, and for defendant in error in the latter; H. M. Baldrige, per contra.
DIED. - Mr. John Cochran, the young man who some days ago bad both legs terribly mangled on the railroad at Portage Station, died early Sunday morning at the Summit. Soon after the accident one limb was amputated, and it was hoped that the other might be saved; but on Saturday morning, mortification having begun, it was found necessary to again subject him to the fearful ordeal of amputation, from the effects of which he died. He will be interred at the Summit to-day. He has no relatives living. He is said to have been a worthy young man.
MARRIED:
CARL - ATTIG. - On the 14th inst., by Rev. J. Walker, at the parsonage of the church of U. B. in Christ, John Carl to Sarah J. Attig.
DIED:
WESTOVER - On Saturday, May 2d, 1874, in Susquehanna township, Cambria county, Pa., Sarah, wife of John Westover, aged 60 years, 2 months, and 12 days.
Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, May 21, 1874, page 3
Derivation of Surnames.
A new writer on the subject of surnames has appeared in New England - Charles Wareing Bardsley, M. A. His volume is full of interest for those who are curious upon the subject, containing, besides much new matter, a classification of facts with which readers are already familiar. Mr. Bardsley divides the sources of surnames into six general divisions. The first includes names derived by sons from fathers. For instance, when surnames were not fixed, John had a son whose name was Peter, and Peter would be known as Peter Johnson. If Peter in turn had a son whom he called John, John was called John Peterson. This style of shifting or changing surnames still survives in Northern countries of Europe, and though in the British Isles the fixed surname has long been adopted, in some parts of Wales the custom of changing surnames lingered until a recent period. The different spelling and pronunciation of the name and the affix of terms of endearment, or "pet" terminations, vary the derivatives to a wide extent.
Beside the plain and evident origin of many names, as Davidson from David, we have Dawes and Dawson from the same origin. From Isaac came Ikkies, Hikkee, Hickson and Hicks. From Walter came Watts, Watson, Watkins and others. From William comes Wilkins, and from John, Jenkins. From Roger comes Rogers, Rogerson; and from Hodge, the nickname of Roger, Hodgkins, Hitchkins, Hodgkinson and Hodson, with others. From Ralph comes Rafe, Rolf, Rawes, Rawson, Rawlins, Rawlingson, Rollins, Rollinson, Rawkins, Rapkins and Rapsons. From Hugh and its mis-spellings, Huggins, Hutchinson, Hugginson, Hullet, Hewlet, Huet, Hewet, Hewitt, Hughes and Hewson. The Welsh name Pugh is from Hugh.
The second-class is comprised of names derived from names of places. The landed proprietors took names from their possessions, and the laborers from their neighborhood. William or John At-lane, or At-well, or At-style, or At-lee(field), or At-wood, &c., meaning William of the lane, or field, or stile, will be recognized as the origin of the Woods and Stiles, Atwoods, Atwells, Lees, Leghs, Atlays, Attlees, Brooks, and others.
The third class is made up names derived from office or rank, such as Butler, Kitchener, Bowyer, Stringer, Forrester, Foster, Warriner, Warner, Parker and Arrowsmith - the last eight coming from the park, forest and hunting. The Saxon "Woodreeve" is preserved in Woodruff, Woodrow, Woodward, and Woodard.
The fourth and fifth classes come from names of occupations in town and country. Among these are Smith, with its changes, as Goldsmith, Brownsmith, Redsmith, &c.; Tiler, Thatcher, Slater, Carpenter, Wheelwright, Cartwright, Shoemaker, Taylor or Tailor, Baker, Brewer, and a vast number more.
The sixth class is made up of surnames, derived from nick-names or destinations given to identify the person by some peculiarity. The Saxon kings have among them Edmund Ironside and Ethelred the Unready, and among the people epithets were applied which are now worn without any thought of their origin. It is proper to remark that Mr. Bardsley has not given these statements without examination of old documents and publications. The history of the surname is traced up to its origin, and the result is the fruit of much labor and research. Such industry in a special direction has a great historic value as throwing light on the popular history and customs of our ancestors. It is curious to think that in the far past the village wit who nick named a neighbor, or the matter of fact man who described another by some plain circumstance of no particular value, was, in so doing, giving birth to many a name which should "fill the sounding trump of future fame."
Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, May 21, 1874, page 4