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Excerpts from Souvenir Submitted by David M. Waid |
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BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES. GEORGE W. CUTSHALL.
Philip Cutshall, grandfather of the
subject of this sketch, was born in Pennsylvania in 1767; and his wife, Elizabeth,
was born in 1760. In 1803 they came from Cumberland County to Venango County,
Penn., settling about six miles west of Franklin. They had three sons: John,
Jacob and George, and one daughter, Nancy.
The sons, on arriving at maturity, were among the early settlers of
Randolph Township, Crawford Co., Penn., locating in 1814, their parents
coming subsequently. Their
father died in 1829, their mother in 1836.
Their youngest son, George, the father
of George W., was born in Cumberland County,
Penn., April 29, 1799, and was four years of age when brought to Venango
County, Penn., where he grew to maturity, undergoing the privations of
pioneer life. In 1823 he
married Jane Sterling, and by this union had thirteen children:
Jeremiah, Nancy, Eliza, Maria, Mary
Jane, George W., Warren, Sarah E., Philip M., Jacob A., Joseph R.,
Lafayette and Lydia A.
Mr. Cutshall settled on the place where his son, George
W., now resides, and was the owner of 400 or 500 acres of land,
which now constitutes several farms.
Here Mr. Cutshall remained the greater portion of his life, and
here he raised his family. A short time prior to his death, in company with his wife, he
visited his daughter in Lorain County, Ohio, and eventually purchased
property and removed there, where he died in March, 1876, his widow in
April, 1883.
George W. Cutshall was born on the
homestead on which he now lives, in Randolph Township, December 30, 1832.
Owing to lack of school privileges in his youth his education is
somewhat limited, but his mind has been broadened by the extended
experiences of a life which, although mainly devoted to the farm, has also
reached out to numerous business enterprises.
Among other things he assisted in building the first railroad that
ran into Cleveland, Ohio. He
has held nearly all the official honors it is in the power of the township
to bestow.
During the late war of the Rebellion he went out with the State
militia, but did not see active service.
He is a member of the State police, also of the Grange at Guy's
Mills.
In 1853 he was married to Matilda Jane
Masiker, who was born September 12, 1829.
The result of this union has been three children:
A. Frank, Sarah Eliza (wife of W.
E. Russell, of Randolph Township) and Lafayette
(born April 19, 1860, died October 10, 1864).
Mr. Cutshall is one of the most extensive breeders of Short-horn
cattle in the county, having several head purchased in Kentucky and Ohio,
and about twenty head of registered stock of his own raising.
Of the great regard he has for his brother-in-law, Mr.
G. W. Cutshall, and the pleasant memories ever present to him of
the friendship that has existed between them from youth up, Mr.
Francis C. Waid writes as follows: "My personal acquaintance with my dear friend and
brother-in-law, Mr. Cutshall, began in our youth, before we became related
to each other by my marriage with his wife's sister, Eliza
C., April 23, 1854. Since
then I have learned to regard him and his wife as brother and sister, and
true friendship is the reward of over thirty-six years' acquaintance.
It is time the world knew something of the good men who have
befriended me so long, and I desire now and at all times to acknowledge my
gratitude, and continue the payment of the debt as long as I live; for it
is written: To whom much is
given, much is required. Let
us be honest, and not shirk responsibility.
I love the kind of friendship that outlives ourselves; a friendship
that our children can take up when our last breath is breathed, and
continue it throughout their lives. I
am glad Mr. Cutshall and I started out on this line; and like David, who
said of the Lord, Thou hast known my soul in adversity, so may we say of
each other. We have known one
another in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity; nay, more,
we have helped each other to bury our loved ones who have preceded us to
the Eternal Home. Such, in
brief, is a part history of these few years that are gone--years freighted
with innumerable blessings; and when disappointment came, and dark clouds
o'ershadowed our path, true friendship stepped in and reminded us that
'every cloud has a silver lining.' True friendship stood the test, and by
it each of us have often been blessed.
Many are the happy days that are passed and gone, but like the
rose, they have left behind a sweet perfume, refreshing as the welcome
incense-breathing winds of summer. I
recall them only with pleasure; and I hope my sons and all others may
build on the same sure foundation--a substructure of solid, immutable
friendship.
"Those peaches which we four--Jane,
Eliza and George Cutshall and myself--ate in Jacob
Masiker's orchard on that beautiful afternoon before Eliza and I
were married, became an introduction to the many good times that followed,
to the rare pleasure of the true friendship that we enjoyed not only at
home but also frequently abroad, even in the West--Iowa and Minnesota.
But then this is not all; let not the reader forget that, in my
opinion, the greatest happiness of life, after all, is at home in the
family circle, and when our best friends visit us.
Now catch my thought, dear reader, read and study this a little.
Think of the two sisters in Jacob Masiker's
family--Eliza C. and Jane--so closely
resembling each other that some called them 'twin sisters,' because they
used to dress alike, their dispositions or tempers were almost identical,
and they did their work in nearly the same way; so added to this, their
being brought up together; and their being together so much after their
marriage, is it to be marveled at that they loved each other?
Is it any wonder they were called ' twin sisters?'
"As George and I were farmers (and we both still follow farm
life), we used to change work on each other's farm, and thus pursue our
pleasant calling with advantage to both of us.
This 'trading labor,' if I may so call it, was carried on many
years, and to some extent we were 'changing work,' or helping each other,
till I rented my home farm to my youngest son, Fred
Francis, in 1889. And
now this brings me back to the pleasant thought above cited--a home visit
with such friends and relatives as I have introduced.
For me to essay to illustrate or describe a visit of such a nature
is, I apprehend, scarcely necessary, even if it were within the
possibility of my humble pen; it would be like trying to introduce the
reader to the sunshine. We
all know what that is; and how all nature--man and beast, tree and
herb--rejoice when, after the sun's face has been hidden from us for a
long time, with magic power he places aside the murky clouds, like a
curtain, and once again from a lovely clear, blue sky pours his radiant
smiles on us. Do we not then appreciate all the more his gentle life-giving
warmth and light? So we, as a
family, very many times, during a period of over thirty-four years of our
married lives, have appreciated one another's home visits, and enjoyed
each other's company.
"In this volume will be found narrated many incidents where
real joy and gladness have been expressed, on occasions of meetings
between Mr. Cutshall and myself, or between his kinsfolk and my own.
I will cite one instance: When
I returned home from Kansas last November (1889), and visited Mr.
Cutshall's family after their old farm home had been destroyed by fire, my
brother-in-law placed his hand in mine, and, with a warm grasp of
unmistakably true friendship, uttered these never-to-be-forgotten words:
'France, I have often seen you when I was so glad that I could
hardly express my thankfulness, but never in my life have I been so glad
as now;' and with a hearty shake of hands, and a look that spoke naught
but true friendship, we greeted each other in misfortune's trying hour.
"In conclusion permit me to add that, in regard to my
brother-in-law and his wife, whose friendship toward me is well known
between us, though I fail to find adequate words to describe it, I
congratulate them at this age in life that they have deservedly won the
many friends who greet them now in the prospect of their new house, for
which material is on hand and forthcoming; in their possession of a
well-cultivated farm, and fine herd of cattle, reared with so much care.
"Many thousands of miles have Mr. Cutshall and myself traveled
together, strengthening, by mutual observation of the varied scenes in
other parts of this fair land, the bond of true friendship that has, by
virtue of its long life, become a second nature to us.
One of our number in the family has gone, my wife,
Eliza C., who died July 4, 1888, but our friendship is so strongly
cemented by years of steady growth as to remain unshaken; and I am now
looking forward to a grand re-union, when the battle of life is over, in
the 'better land' where there are no sorrows or bereavements, but joys for
ever more. For I believe the
words in the Scriptures: In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are
pleasures for evermore. Surely
God is good, God is love! What
I have already received I know, and what he has promised I have faith in:
My soul shall be satisfied when I awake with His likeness; peace on
earth and joy in Heaven, whither our friends have gone.
Who would not do right and be a Christian, having the promise of
the life that now is, and that which is to come?
That all prosperity and happiness may continue with my dear friend
and brother-in-law, and his kindred, to the end of their lives, is the
sincere wish of their
True friend,
F. C. WAID.
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