Biographies of prominent Lycoming County attorneys,
extracted from Genealogical and Personal History of Lycoming County

edited by John W. Jordan; 1906

JOHN ARTLEY BEEBER

Among the many professions in which men engage none require more skill and ability than does the legal profession, of which John Artley Beeber is a representative, a member of the firm of J. A. & W. P. Beeber, of Williamsport. He is also president of the First National Bank of Williamsport, which is the oldest national bank in this section of the state, and one of the most progressive and enterprising citizens of his native county. He was born in Muncy, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, April 6, 1845, the eldest son of Teter D. and Mary (Artley) Beeber, and a descendant of one of the pioneers of the West Branch Valley.

The name of Beeber is frequently met with in the records of the church, and is appended to the constitution. The founder of the family in America was Valentine Bieber, who came from the German Palatinate, probably in the vicinity of Zweibrucken, sailing from Rotterdam via Cowes, in the ship " Betsy," S. Hawk captain, arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 16, 1768. He was a German Lutheran (Huguenot). He was accompanied by his three sons-Nicholas, Adam and Johannes-and his brother Michael. Valentine and his sons settled in Maxatawney township, Berks county, Pennsylvania. The descendants of the three sons, with the exception of two sons of Adam, remained in the Muncy Valley.

Johannes Bieber (John), who sometimes spelled his name Beaver, was horn in 1761 and died in 1846. He enlisted his services in the Revolutionary war, was appointed court martial man, and upon the cessation of hostilities settled on Muncy Creek in Lycoming county in 1783. He there acquired lands by the medium of war-pay warrants, and his entire time was devoted to the quiet but useful calling of agriculture. His brothers came to Lycoming county about the, same time, and all were active in the forming and building up of Immanuel's Lutheran church, Clarkstown, probably the first church in the bounds of Lycoming county, and their names were signed to the constitution in 1794; the remains of the three brothers were interred in the churchyard connected therewith. John Bieber married Mary J. Dimn or Dimner, born in 1762, died 1818, supposed to have been a sister of Christopher Dimn, who settled in Muncy Valley in 1796, a son of John Dimn, who emigrated from Wurtemberg, Germany, locating in Berks county, Pennsylvania. Four sons and five daughters were born to them, all of whom settled in the immediate vicinity

Colonel Jacob Beeber, son of John and Mary J. (Dimn) Bieber, born 1787, died 1863, changed the name to the form now used. He settled on a farm two and a half miles south of Muncy, on Milton Road, where his widow resided until her death, also his bachelor son, Charles Hall, born 1820, died 1896, who served as county treasurer of Lycoming county during the year 1850, and was a firm supporter of James Buchanan. Jacob Beeber was appointed colonel of a militia company, was a conspicuous figure at annual " Muster days," and an active and prominent member of the Democratic party. He was married twice. His first wife, Mary Dimn, who died in 1824, bore him three sons and three daughters. His second wife, Elizabeth Dimn, a sister of his first wife, born 1792, died 1880, bore one son and two daughters. His wives are supposed to have been the daughters of Christopher Dimn.

Teter Dimn Beeber, son of Colonel Jacob Beeber, was born in 1815, died 1876. During his early life he was a farmer and blacksmith, conducting these operations in the borough of Muncy, and later was a coal merchant. He was an ardent advocate of the cause of temperance, was one of the first to espouse it in Muncy, and he and his brother John were largely instrumental in establishing the Lutheran church of that town. In 1841 he was united in marriage to Mary Jane Artley, born in 1818, died 1869, a daughter of John and Christiana Artley, of Muncy township, and their children were : John Artley, born in 1845, mentioned hereinafter; Thomas Rissell, born 1848, now pastor of the First Presbyterian church, Norristown, Pennsylvania; and Dimner, born 1854, for many years a judge of the superior court of Pennsylvania, and now a practicing lawyer of Philadelphia. Mr. Beeber (father) served in the capacity of county commissioner of Lycoming county, was a prominent Republican, and gave a strong support to the policies of Abraham Lincoln.

John Artley Beeber, eldest son of Teter D. and Mary Jane (Artley) Beeber, was reared in his native township, and there received a public school education, which was supplemented by a four years' course at Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, from which institution he was graduated in 1866. He then commenced reading law in the office of Hon. William H. Armstrong, of Williamsport, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1868. Since that date he has been engaged in the active duties of his profession, and his practice extends into the several courts of the state. He is a member of the firm of J. A. & W. P. Beeber, of Williamsport, is one of the well known members of the Lycoming county bar, and is recognized as a safe, careful and judicious lawyer. He is forceful and eloquent in pleading his cases, and the interests of his clients are his first and paramount thoughts. For several years prior to 1884 he was a stockholder and director in the First. National Bank of Williamsport, and on May 1 of that year was elected president, succeeding Abraham Updegraff, the first president of that institution, which position he has filled with credit and ability up to the present time.

Mr. Beeber is a staunch Republican, and has always taken an active interest in public affairs, as well as in the social and material development of Lycoming county. During the years 1875-76 he served as city solicitor, the only public office he has ever held. During General Lee's invasion of the state he served in the Twenty-sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia. He was one of the organizers of the board of trade, is one of the managers of the Williamsport Hospital, a member of the Brandon Park Commissioners, and president of the Ross Club. Although quiet and unassuming in his manner, Mr. Beeber has a wide circle of friends and business associates.

On June 21, 1870, Mr. Beeber married Alice Amanda Clapp, who was born in 1847, died 19o2, daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Updegraff) Clapp, of Muncy. Daniel Clapp, born 1821, died 1882, was a descendant of a family that settled in the West Branch Valley at an early day. He moved from Northumberland county, where his birth occurred, and eventually settled in Muncy as a merchant and lumberman. He was one of the wealthy men of the valley, took an active interest in all measures that concerned the welfare of Muncy, being instrumental in the building of its public schools, and assisted in the organization and was a director in the First National Bank of Williamsport, the first national bank in the valley. He married Catherine L. Updegraff, who was born in 1822, at the present time (1905) a resident of Muncy, daughter of Samuel Updegraff, of " Long Reach," who was a son of Derrick Updegraff, an early farmer and tanner on " Long Reach." The Updegraff family, who have always occupied a prominent place in the history of Lycoming county, trace their ancestry to Abraham and Dirck Op Der Graeff, who were associated with Pastorious in the original settlement of Germantown, Pennsylvania, and were among the four signers of the first known public protest against slavery in America. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Beeber: Mary J., and William P., a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. The family hold membership in the First Presbyterian church of Williamsport.

HON. EMERSON COLLINS

Hon. Emerson Collins, an attorney at law in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was born in Hepburn township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, April 30, i860. His great-great-grandfather was Scotch-Irish and came from Ireland at a date unknown, but probably about 1725. His great-grandfather was William Collins, born in Pennsylvania, who came to Lycoming county in 1783, and became a large landowner. Subsequently he removed to Ohio, where his death occurred. He was a farmer by occupation. He served in the Revolutionary war. He was of the adventurer type of pioneer manhood. He married Affa Brewster, whose ancestry is unknown. Among the children of this marriage was one named Jeremiah, born about 1800, in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. He spent his entire life in that section of the state and died in 1890.

John Collins, son of Jeremiah Collins, and the father of Emerson Collins, of whom this sketch is written, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, 1829, and is living at the present time 0905). By occupation he is a farmer. In 1852 he married Catherine Hyde, born in 1835, died in 1882. She was the daughter of George Hyde, who was born about 1804, and was the son of Jacob George Hyde, the founder of the family in America. Jacob George Hyde was born in Pfulligen, Wurtemberg, Germany, and was a member of a family of considerable prominence there, holding an important position. He came to America about 1804 and located in Hepburn township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. The following are the children of John and Catherine Hyde Collins: William George, who died in 1884, aged thirty-one years, unmarried. Emmarine, who became the wife of John Franklin Ball, and they reside on the old homestead in Hepburn township. Emerson, whose name heads this sketch. Mary Alice, unmarried, residing at home. Herman Le Roy, on the editorial staff of the Philadelphia " Press," residing in Philadelphia; he married Margaret Green Johnson in 1892, who died in 1895; they had one child, who is also deceased. Harry Ellwood, who died in 1890, aged twenty years. Edgar Thomas, who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in the class of 1897, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the regular army. He was present in the Santiago campaign of 1898, serving on the staff of General Ludlow in the battle of El Caney, afterwards serving with his regiment, the Eighth Infantry, in the Philippine Islands during the insurrection, and he is now captain in the Sixth Regiment of Infantry. In 1898 he married Margaret Van Horn, daughter of Colonel James J. Van Horn, deceased, late of the United States army. They have two children, Margaret Katharine, born May 24, 1190O and Elizabeth Van Horn, born October 20, 1905.

Emerson Collins was educated in the public schools of Hepburn township, at the Lycoming County Normal School, and graduated from Lafayette College in 1884, taking a classical course. He had the historical honors of the class. After completing his educational course he taught school for some time and was assistant and principal of the Lycoming County Normal School, at Muncy, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1886. He read law with Hon. Henry C. Parsons, at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar of Lycoming county in 1886, and has been since then in the active practice of his profession. He has done considerable work as a public speaker on the various historical and anniversary occasions in his section of the state, having made something of a specialty in the study of American History and the collection of Americana. Politically Mr. Collins is a Republican. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature from 1894 to 1896. Among the positions he has held may be mentioned that of member of the board of managers of the Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory, at Huntington, from 1897 to 1902, serving as president of that board for two years, being appointed to such position by Governor Hastings. He has served as county chairman of the Republican party in Lycoming county, also in the heated presidential campaign of l900 was with the national committee at Chicago and spoke for it in various western states.

Emerson Collins was married in December, 1888, to Anna Holstein Johnson, daughter of Hon. Henry Johnson (see sketch elsewhere). One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Collins, Helen Johnson Collins, born October 13, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Collins are Episcopalians in religious belief.

It is worthy of note that his paternal and maternal ancestors have resided in Lycoming county upwards of one hundred years. The old homestead in Hepburn township, still in the family possession, and where his mother and he and his brothers and sisters were born, has been the home of four generations of his family, covering a period of about one hundred years. His father, John Collins, has resided there since 1853.

WALTER C. GILMORE

Walter C. Gilmore, of Williamsport, a leading member of the bar of Lycoming county, is a representative of that class of men who win success through well directed energy, steadfast purpose and indefatigable effort. He is a man of broad and comprehensive views, and his personality has been felt in the community among whom he has resided for so many years. A scholar of high attainments, he acquitted himself most creditably as an educator before he entered upon the legal profession, giving evidence that he would have risen to distinction in educational circles had he devoted himself to instruction as his life work.

A native of Lycoming county, he was born in Eldred township, November 26, 1859, son of John and Rachel (Willits) Gilmore, and descended from an honorable Scotch-Irish ancestry. The name Gillmore, or Gillsmore, is Scotch, and means shield-bearer. In the marriage certificate of John Gilmore, father of Walter C. Gilmore, the name is spelled Gillmore, and thus he kept the family record in his own handwriting until 1859, when some other hand took up the record, and the final " 1 " was dropped. It is safe to say that all the Gilmores in this ancestry are of Scotch or Scotch-Irish descent, whether the name is spelled with the single " 1 " or two. All no doubt spring from one common stock or clan, whether blood relations or not, the pibroch of whose chief was worth more than a thousand men.

The Gilmore family in America was planted by Thomas Gilmore, who was born in Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch parentage. Thomas Gil more came to America and settled in New Hampshire. In 1775, the first year of the Revolutionary war, he enlisted in the patriot army as a private in Captain Town's company, Colonel Gilman's regiment, for one year's service, and on the expiration of his term of enlistment at once enrolled himself for two years in Captain Fairwell's company in the same regiment, commanded in turn by Colonels James Reed and Joseph Tilley. He participated in the most eventful campaigns and hotly contested battles of that stirring period, including the engagement at Three Rivers, the battle of Trenton, the operations in New York which resulted in the surrender of Burgoyne, the historic battle of Monmouth, and General Sullivan's expedition. He acquitted himself with courage and fidelity and was honorably discharged, at Pompton, New Jersey, in the autumn of 1779. In the following year he settled at Berwick, Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Lutheran church. He married Rachel Young, a daughter of Nicholas and Rachel Young, her father being a German and her mother an English Quakeress. During the Revolution they lived near Lake Poponoming, Monroe county. The wife of Thomas Gilmore was born on the farm which her father, Nicholas Young, bought as early as 1753, and where John Young, a lineal descendant, still lives.

Thomas and Rachel (Young) Gilmore were the parents of five children : 1. George, who married and spent the greater part of his life at Sackets Harbor, New York, and who died there about 1830 or 1831, leaving a host of kindred who still live near there. 2. Daniel, who mar ried a Miss Houser, of Northampton county He followed farming, and lived near Northumberland, Pennsylvania. 3. John, who remained a bachelor, spending his latter days with Colonel Weaver in Rock River Valley, Illinois. He saw much of the world in his day. He was a ship carpenter by trade, a soldier in the war of 1812, and finally an undertaker in Illinois. There were also two daughters, one of whom married Andrew Appel, in 1807; the other, Margaret, married John Eckert, a farmer. Andrew Appel and John Eckert lived near each other in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and both left large families and numerous other kindred to survive them. Especially may it be said that the descendants of Andrew Appel fill a large place in the religious and professional life of Pennsylvania. Rev. Dr. Theodore Appel and Rev. Thomas Appel were for years connected with the work of the Reformed church at Lancaster, and with Franklin and Marshall College. They were sons of Andrew Appel. Many lawyers, doctors, ministers and bright men in other walks of life are of this family.

John Gilmore, father of Walter C. Gilmore, was born in 1814, near Northumberland, Pennsylvania. He was reared a farmer, and early learned the trade of hatter. When he had mastered the latter calling, with his two brothers he became a stage driver and followed that occupation until canal packets superseded the stage. About 1850 he bought a farm in Eldred township and moved upon it with his family, afterward moving to Hepburn township and to another farm, which he had purchased. His education was not from schools, but of his own gathering. He was a great reader, and kept abreast of the events of the day. He was a member of 'the Evangelical church, a Democrat in politics, and was often honored with local offices, such as school director, overseer, collector, etc. October 25, 1842, lie married Rachel Willits, who was born near Warrensville, Pennsylvania, in 1826. She was of English ancestry, of Revolutionary stock, having some Quaker forbears, and was of a decidedly intellectual turn. Her father taught school in the early twenties, and died at his school teacher's desk when but a young man, leaving a number of very small children. The three Gilmore brothers, Joseph, George and John, lived in or near Williamsport from the thirties, Joseph and George being residents of that city at their deaths. All their families have always been closely identified with the progress of the city.

Walter C. Gilmore was educated in the common schools of Lycoming county, at Lycoming Normal School at Muncy, Pennsylvania, and at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania. At college he received the English prize, the Shakespeare Society prize, and was valedictorian of his class at graduation. He gave himself for some years to educational work, and with marked success. He taught one year (1884-85) in Lenox Academy, Lenox, Massachusetts, and was principal of the Williamsport High School for two years (1885-86). - He read law in the office of Hon. Robert P. Allen, and was admitted to the bar of Lycoming County, July 2, 1887, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession, making a specialty of practice in the orphans' court. He was district attorney of Lycoming county, 18901893. He has always given his aid to all public measures having for their object the welfare of the community, and has ever given his influence in behalf of all its interests, material and moral. He is particularly interested in educational affairs, serving as a member of the school board in the eighth ward for three years, and now serving in his fifth year as solicitor of the board. Mr. Gilmore is staunch in his advocacy of the principles of Democracy, and for two years creditably and efficiently conducted the transactions of the Democratic county committee in the capacity of chairman. He has attained high rank in the Masonic fraternity, affiliated with Williamsport Lodge No. 106, F. and A. M., in which he is a past master; Lycoming Chapter, R. A. M.; Baldwin I Commandery. Knights Templar, in which he is captain-general ; and Adoniram Council-all of the York Rite; and with the Scottish Rite bodies up to and including the thirty-second degree; and is a member of Howard Club of Knights Templar, of which he has been secretary since 1902. In 1878-79 he was a member of Company D, Twelfth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania.

October 6, 1884, Mr. Gilmore married Miss Jennie Rentz, a daughter of Charles A. and Sarah Rentz. She was educated in the common schools and high school at Danville, Pennsylvania, and the Lycoming Normal School. To Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore were born three children 1. Charles Edmund, born July 2, 1885; he graduated from the Williamsport high school in 1904, and is now pursuing his studies in Lafayette College, class of 1908. 2. Anna, born November 24, 1887, who is attending the Williamsport high school, class of 1906. 3. Helen, born January 12, 1889, died March 18, 1903. The family are communicants of St. Paul's Lutheran church, taking an active part in the work connected therewith. Mr. Gilmore has for many years served as deacon, and was a delegate to the general synod at Mansfield, Ohio. Mrs. Gilmore is president of the Ladies Aid Society of the church, and is also filling her second year as president of the Ladies' Auxiliary of Baldwin I Commandery. The family of Mr. Gilmore enjoys the friendship of a wide circle of friends, and their home is known for its generous but unpretentious hospitality.

ANTHONY RICH JACKSON

Anthony R. Jackson, one of the members of the Lycoming County Bar of Pennsylvania, and one who enjoys the esteem and confidence of all with whom he is brought in contact, was born in South Williamsport, July 1, 1872. The pioneer ancestor of the family was Lemuel Jackson, a native of England, who settled in the state of Maine about the year 1750. He was the father of seven children, namely : Sarah, Lemuel, John, Godfrey, Ira and Nicolas. Lemuel, his eldest son, moved from Welch, Maine, to Ohio, in the early part of 1820 and entered lands in what is now known as Polk township, Crawford county, Ohio. He was a member of the old school Baptist church and was known over the country as one of their strongest members, and his influence was greatly felt in that church. He was united in marriage to Mindwell Ward, and the issue of this union was nine children : Betsey, Silvia, Lemuel, Abner, John, Enoch, Pharez, Joshua Mindwell and Anna. Enoch, his third son, was a native of Maine and married Rhoda Lewis, daughter of John Lewis, one of the first settlers of Knox county, Ohio, and mentioned in Howe's history of Ohio, and their children were as follows Pharez, Ambrose, Mitchel, Appleton R., Hannah, Jane, Rhoda, Mary and Ruth. Appleton R., his fourth son, was the father of Anthony R. Jackson, the subject of this article.

Appleton R. Jackson, his father, was born in Polk township, Crawford county, Ohio, November 4, 1838. After completing a common school education he served an apprenticeship at the trade of saw-filing, at which he was employed until 1865. He then turned his attention to the oil business on Pioneer run, a tributary of Oil creek, Venango county, Pennsylvania, where he drilled several wells and was a partner in the well known Andrews well on Western run. Upon his return to Williamsport he again engaged at his trade, continuing until 1872, in which year he purchased real estate on the opposite side of the river, to which he removed and there continued to prosecute his trade until 1885. He then engaged in mercantile pursuits and also devoted considerable time to real estate transactions, and being a man of excellent business ability his affairs were managed with tact, promptness and discretion. He was a Democrat in politics; and held the office of councilman. In 1859 Appleton R. Jackson was married to Mary E. Heller, daughter of Reuben and Julia Ann (Hand) Heller, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the latter named having been a native of Northampton county and a descendant of a Scotch-English ancestry. Five children were the issue of this union, namely : Orville E., Walter E., John S., Anthony R., and Charles R. C. Jackson. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church of South Williamsport.

Anthony R. Jackson was educated in the public schools of South Williamsport, Dickinson Seminary and College, Williamsport, and the Ohio State University at Columbus, Ohio. He studied law in the office of W. C. Gilmore at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and after passing a successful examination was admitted to the Lycoming county bar in January, 1896. Since then he has practiced his profession, has won an enviable reputation and secured a liberal patronage. He is a Republican in politics, and as a citizen is public-spirited and progressive, contributing liberally toward the upbuilding and development of the community in which he resides. He is a member of the Third Presbyterian church of Williamsport. He holds membership in Ivy Lodge No. 397, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Scottish Rite Masonic bodies of Williamsport; Amazon Lodge No. 662, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Williamsport, of which he was secretary for one year; West Branch Encampment, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Williamsport; West Branch Lodge No. 98, Knights of Pythias, of which he is now vice chancellor; and Williamsport Lodge No. 173, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On March 3, 1903, at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Anthony R. Jackson was married to Josephine Mudge, a daughter of Hiram and Fanny Mudge, and a graduate of Wellesley College. They are the parents of one child, Josephine Mudge Jackson, born August 27, 1904. Hiram Mudge, father of Mrs. Jackson, in company with Abraham Updegraft, organized the First National Bank of Williamsport, of which he was cashier for eight years. He was vice-president of the City National Bank for four years, and subsequently was teller of the Lumberman's National Bank and secretary of the Susquehanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company. Mr. Mudge served as burgess of Williamsport, and for three years served in the capacity of city treasurer. He was one of the organizers of the Third Presbyterian church of Williamsport, and for many years an official member thereof. In 1852 Mr. Mudge was united in marriage to Fanny Smith. Silas Mudge, father of Hiram Mudge, was a native of Connecticut and served in the war of 1812.

JAMES BARBER KRAUSE

James Barber Krause, son of Rev. Abraham and Lavina (Barber) Krause, was born at Aaronsburg, Center county, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1854. He was educated in the public schools of the several charges at which his father was stationed in the itineracy, and at Central Pennsylvania College, New Berlin, Pennsylvania, graduating from that institution in the class of '70. He taught in the public schools of Anthony. Eldred and Loyalsock townships, in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in the meantime studying law in the office of Hon. Oliver H. Reighard, a distinguished member of the Lycoming county bar, and was admitted to practice before the courts of Lycoming county, March, 1c''78, and later admitted to the bar of the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, and the District and Circuit Courts of the United States. Upon his admission to the bar, Mr. Krause entered into a copartnership with James S. Lewars, Esq., under the style of Krause & Lewars, which, after a period of five years, was dissolved by Mr. Lewars retiring to enter upon an active business career. Being conversant with both the German and English languages, Mr. Krause early acquired a lucrative practice at the bar. Taking an active interest in politics, he was for a number of years secretary and later chairman (luring several active and exciting campaigns of the Republican county committee. He always declined the importunities of his friends to become a candidate for public office, but served a number of terms as solicitor of the Board of Education and of the Poor Board of the city of Williamsport.

In connection with his extensive law practice, Mr. Krause has successfully carried out several large business enterprises of a semi-public nature, notably: The purchase of the " Packer Farm," lying north of the city of Williamsport, in 1889, for the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. This tract of land containing four hundred acres was immediately plotted, substantial streets and beautiful winding drives built, and the new suburb became " Beautiful Vallamont." In 1890 he promoted the " junction," the " South Side " and the " Center and West End," and the Vallamont Passenger Railway Companies, now merged and operated as the Vallamont Traction Company, now leased and oper ated by the Lycoming Improvement Company as part of the city system. In 1900 Mr. Krause became president of the Williamsport and North Branch Telephone Company, an independent company, which installed an extensive plant covering the city of Williamsport and the county of Lycoming, now leased and operated by the United Telegraph and Telephone Company. He is also general solicitor and a director of the Pennsylvania Grit Publishing Company, and a member of the Board of Health of the city of Williamsport.

Mr. Krause is an active and hard-working member of the Masonic fraternity. He is a past master of Ivy Lodge, No. 397, F. & A. M.; past commander of Baldwin Commandery No. 22, Knights Templar, stationed at Williamsport, Pennsylvania; past commander-in-chief of Williamsport Consistory Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and past officer of lodge, council and chapter of said Rite; honorary member of Supreme Council, thirty-third degree, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States, and president of the board of trustees of the Howard Memorial Cathedral, A. A. S. R., at Williamsport.

On May 11, 1882, Mr. Krause married Margaret Jane Champion, (laughter of Mark Adams and Anna Marie (Kauder) Champion. (See sketch of " Champion Family.") To Mr. and Mrs. Krause have been born a son, Mark Champion Krause, July 3, 1883, at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, who graduated at the Williamsport High School, class of " '03," and now (1905) a member of the class of " '06 " at Cornell University; and a daughter, Anna Marie Krause, August 30, 1894, at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The Rev. Abraham Krause (father) was born at Middle Creek, Snyder county, now Union county, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1823, and died at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1893, after a long and useful career in the itinerant ministry of the Evangelical Association of America. He served charges in his church at Baltimore, York, Williamsport, and many other places throughout central Pennsylvania and Maryland. The ancestors of James B. Krause, Esq., on both sides, were closely identified with the Evangelical Association from its foundation by the Rev. Jacob Albright in 1800. The Rev. Abraham Krause and Lavina Barber were married at New Berlin, Union county, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1843, and to them were born five children, (1) Sarah Jane, born at New Berlin, Pennsylvania, March 31, 1850, and died at York, Pennsylvania, March 30, 1903; married Noah C. Goodling, a prominent business man of York, Pennsylvania, and to them were born two daughters: Clara, wife of Atly Gotwald, and Mame, wife of James B. Weitzel; (2) James B.; (3) Mary Alice, born at Margaretta, Pennsylvania, March 3, 1853; married Rev. G. H. Schleh, and has a (laughter, Elizabeth Schleh; (4) Anna Caroline, born at Baltimore, Maryland, May 11, 1858: married Henry C. Jack, of Chicago, Illinois, and has a daughter, Louise C.; (5.) Emma Catharine, born at Baltimore, Maryland, August 4, 1864.

The Rev. Abraham Krause (father) was the son of Daniel and Hannah (Walters) Krause; the family name being written " Kraus " and " Krauss " by different branches of the family. Daniel Kraus was the son of Christian Kraus, and was born at the Middle Creek " homestead," then Northumberland county, now Union county, about 1783, and died at the " homestead " farm in 1854. He married Hannah Walters, whose people came from Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. She was born about 1794, and died at the home of her son Charles, at Kautz, Union county, Pennsylvania, in 1877. The children of Daniel and Hannah (Walters) Krause were, Abraham, Jacob, Elias, Charles, Simon and Salome. They were all born at the Middle Creek " homestead," which is still in the possession of a descendant.

Christian Kraus (great-grandfather) came from the Tulepohocken Valley, Berks county, Pennsylvania, to Middle Creek township, sometime toward the close of the Eighteenth century, and took up a tract of land containing four hundred acres, which at his death was divided among his four sons, John, Henry, Philip and Daniel Kraus. Family tradition relates that the ancestors of Christian Kraus came from the Palatine (the Rhine provinces of Germany) in the first half of the Eighteenth century. Settling first in the Lehigh Valley, later removing to the Tulepohocken Valley in Berks county, Pennsylvania. This branch of the family being descended from one of the two brothers, John Kraus and Jacob Kraus, who landed at the port of Philadelphia from the good ship Speedwell, August 17, 1727.

Lavina Barber (mother) was born at New Berlin, Union county, Pennsylvania, December 4, 1827, and died at Williamsport, December 3, 1896. She was the daughter of the Rev. James and Mary (Maise) Barber. Her father, Rev. James Barber, was born in Manor township. Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1796, and died at New Berlin, Pennsylvania, September 19, 1867. He entered the ministry of the Evangelical Association of America in 1817, and rose to be president of the general conference : an office afterwards merged into a bishopric. He was a man of large frame, commanding appearance, excellent voice, and a preacher of more than ordinary power and ability. The Rev. James Barber was held in high esteem by his church and is numbered among " The Fathers."

Closely related to the Barbers was the Rev. Abraham Eyer, the great Mennonite preacher, who came to Northumberland county, now Union county, from Lancaster county in 1773. He was a man of small stature, whom the people said " God gave strength to thrash rowdy church disturbers." He and his family wore the " plain garb " and were noted for their great piety.

Mary (Maise) Barber (grandmother), born at New Berlin, Pennsylvania, in 1805, died at the same place, 1870, was the daughter of Michael and Anna Barber Maise. Michael Maise, also written " Miesse," his widowed mother, and brother John came from Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, to Dry Valley, Snyder county, now Union county, about 1796, and died at his Dry Valley home in 1842. He was a well-to-do farmer and a " local preacher," who was intimately associated with the Rev. Jacob Albright, the founder of the church now widely known as the Evangelical Association of America, and out of which the United Evangelical Church was organized, after the great schism of 1900. Michael Maise was sorely persecuted for his adherence to and public support of the new sect. In 1810, the " Albrights," as the followers of the Rev. Jacob Albright were dubbed, held a camp-meeting in a grove on the Maise farm, 'the first German camp-meeting held upon American soil.

The hardy fore bearers of these pious men and women formed part of the immigration to Pennsylvania from the German Palatine, being driven from their Rhenish homes by religious intolerance. In the founding of the church now widely known as the Evangelical Association they were not schismatics, but aimed to revive the spiritual element in the church-to return to the Evangelical beliefs of the " Fathers," a protest against the formalism prevailing in the churches at the beginning of the Nineteenth century. Jacob Albright, the founder's, attitude toward the orthodox church, being similar to that of John Wesley's toward the Church of England. Among their Pennsylvania German neighbors these seceders were spoken of as " die bekehrte lait," " the converted," to distinguish them from " die kirche leit," " the church people."

HENRY CLAY McCORMICK

The debt of gratitude which Pennsylvania owes to her early settlers can hardly be over-estimated. Especially is this true of those of her pioneers who were the founders of families the members of which, in the successive generations, have helped to rear and uphold the social and political fabric of the state and of the nation. Among the names of these old and distinguished families none is more justly honored than that of McCormick. Much of the lustre of the name is derived from the character and career of Henry Clay McCormick, for many years a leading citizen of Williamsport and one who faithfully served his native state in various offices of trust and responsibility. The history of the notable race from which Mr. McCormick sprang is traced through the, following generations:

James McCormick (1 ), of Londonderry, Ireland, was the father of two sons : Hugh, mentioned at length hereinafter; and Thomas. James McCormick, the father, appears to have been of that sturdy north of Ireland stock which was so potent a factor in the colonization of this country. It is not improbable that the McCormicks were one of the many Scottish families which, for political reasons, had been transplanted to Ireland.

Hugh McCormick (2), son of James McCormick (1 ), was born about 1695, in the province of Ulster, Ireland; and about 1735 emigrated to the American colonies in company with his brother Thomas. Hugh McCormick married and had four children: John, James, Samuel and Hugh, mentioned at length hereinafter. These, two brothers, Hugh and Thomas McCormick, were the founders of the Pennsylvania branch of the family. It was in that province that they settled, making homes for themselves in Lancaster (now Dauphin) county.

Hugh McCormick (3), youngest son of Hugh McCormick (2). was born in 1725, in Ireland, and was ten years of age when brought by his parents to their new home across the sea. About 1770 he purchased thirteen hundred acres of land in White Deer Valley. He married Sarah, daughter of James and Mary Alcorn, of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and among the nine children born to them were two sons Thomas; and Seth, mentioned at length hereinafter. Hugh McCormick, the father, was a man of substance and influence in his day and generation.

Seth McCormick (4), son of Hugh (3), and Sarah (Alcorn) McCormick, was born in 1756, in Paxtang township, in what was then Lancaster county. He and his brother Thomas settled on the land in White Deer Valley which had been purchased by their father. Seth McCormick married Margaret, daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Plunkett) Simmons, of Buffalo Valley, and niece of Dr. Plunkett whose name is prominent in the early history of Northumberland county. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were the parents of the following children: 1. Robert, who was born in 1782, married Nancy Foresman, and died in 1874. 2. Hugh, who was born in 1784 and died in 1826. 3. Samuel, who was born in 1787, married Elizabeth Platt, and died in 1864. 4. Seth, mentioned at length hereinafter. 5. Thomas, who was born in 1791, married Maria Hammond, and died in 1818. 6. Sarah, who was born in 1793, became the wife of Robert J. Foresman, and died in 1874. 7. John, who was born in 1797, and was thrice married, his first wife being Hester Coryell, his second Sarah Bush, and his third Sarah Brown; he died in 1871. 8. Cynthia, who was born in 1800, married Samuel Eason, and died in 1880. 9. Susan, who was born in 1802, married Matthew B. Hammond, and died in 1883. 10. Joseph, who was born in 1805, married Margaret Schooley, and died in 1876.

Seth McCormick (5), fourth child of Seth (4) and Margaret (Simmons) McCormick, was born in 1789, and married Hannah Hammond. Among their children was a son, Seth Thomas, mentioned at length hereinafter. The death of Mr. McCormick occurred in 1821, when he had attained only to the comparatively early age of thirty-two.

Seth Thomas McCormick (6), second son of Seth (5) and Hannah (Hammond) McCormick, was born January 27, 1817, in Washington township, Lycoming county. He was trained to the work of a farmer and lumberman, and devoted himself to these pursuits until he was more than forty years old. In 1861 he moved his family to Williamsport and entered the office of W. W. Willard, Esq., for the purpose of studying law. In 1863 after a highly creditable examination he was admitted to the bar of Lycoming county. By dint of energy, ability and application he built up for himself a large and lucrative practice, and after a few years associated with himself his son, Henry Clay Mccormick, thus forming the firm of S. T. & H. C. McCormick, which occupied a place in the front rank of the legal profession. Mr. McCormick took a keen interest in every enterprise having a tendency to advance the best interests of the community in which he resided. He was many times elected a member of the common council, during which service his influence was always exerted in behalf of honest municipal government He was the compiler of the book of the charter, laws and ordinances of the city of Williamsport and nearly every ordinance of the city was drafted by his hand. In 1871 he was nominated by the Democrats for the office of city recorder, but the city being strongly Republican he was defeated by a small majority.

Mr. McCormick married, in 1837, Eleanor Miller, of White Deer Valley, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Isaac Grier. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McCormick : 1. Sarah Elizabeth, who was born in 1839, and married William D. Oakes. 2. Hannah Hammond, who was born in 1841 and died in 1847. 3. Henry Clay, mentioned at length hereinafter. 4. William Miller, who was born in 1846, and was twice married, his first wife being Sarah R. Rothrock, and his second Josephine Lawrence. 5. Horace Greeley, who was born in 1850, is a practicing physician of Williamsport, and married Margaretta Hill. 6. Hannah Hammond, who was born in 1853, and married Thomas L. Painter. 7. Frank Hammond, who was born in 1857, and married Marietta Culver. 8. Seth Thomas, who was born in 186o, and married Belle Herdic. Mr. McCormick died December 1, 1878. He was a man of most remarkable character, inasmuch as he showed himself able in middle life to fit himself for a new sphere of endeavor, and to enter successfully upon a hitherto untried field of action. His widow, who survived him many years, passed away May 27, 1897.

Henry Clay McCormick (7), eldest son of Seth Thomas (6) and Eleanor (Miller) McCormick, was born June 30, 1844, in Washington township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. As a boy he worked on his fat's farm, receiving his preparatory education in the district schools of his native township and at Dickinson Seminary, being seventeen years of age when the family moved to Williamsport. In 1863 he attended Eastman's Business College, in Poughkeepsie, New York, graduating with high honors from that institution. After his return home he engaged in keeping books for a local firm and subsequently took charge of a school. In October, 1864, he began the study of law, continuing at the same time his duties as a teacher, and on August 28, 1866, was admitted to the bar. He then went to Iowa, but after a few months' stay returned to Williamsport and entered into partnership with his father under the firm name of S. T. & H. C. McCormick. From February, 1867, until the death of his father, the firm was so continued, and on January 1, 1882, Mr. McCormick took as a partner his younger brother, Seth Thomas, the title of the firm. becoming H. C. & S. T. McCormick. This connection was continued without interruption until the death of Mr. McCormick. For nearly forty years the firm stood at the head of the legal profession of the county. Mr. McCormick's abilities as an attorney have for so long a period been fully and thoroughly recognized that more words on the subject seem superfluous if not impertinent. The industry, research, method and skill with which he prepared his cases for court has afforded an explanation of the uniform success which he enjoyed. As a speaker, both in court and on the platform, he showed himself well equipped, forcible, logical and effective.

As a business man Mr. McCormick possessed the same traits and qualifications which made him one of the leading lawyers of the state. For many years he was closely allied with the material advancement and prosperity of Williamsport. In 1873 he helped to organize the Lycoming National Bank, of which he was a director for fourteen years. In April, 1887, he severed his connection with that bank to assist in founding the banking house of Cochran, Payne & McCormick, an institution of great financial strength and popularity. He served for many years as a member and director of the Board of Trade, and was the chief mover in organizing the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. During the first two years of the existence of this organization, he filled the office of president and subsequently served on the board of directors. In February, 1892, he was elected president of the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad Company and took an active part in the promotion of many other enterprises. Mr. McCormick's marked talents for the conduct of public affairs were recognized at a very early period in his career. In 1869, when barely twenty-five years of age, he was elected solicitor of the city of Williamsport, and in 1879 was reelected. In the latter year he was strongly urged for the appointment of United States district attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania, and was endorsed generally by the bench and bar for the position. Although Mr. McCormick had never been a candidate for any public office, in the congressional contest of 1882 he was asked by nine of the eighteen conferences of the sixteenth district, then composed of the counties of Lycoming, Tioga, Sullivan, Potter, Cameron and McKean, to stand as a candidate. For three weeks he steadily received these votes, and finally his supporters, at his request, voted for W. W. Brown, of McKean county, and nominated him.

October 18, 1886, after a protracted deadlock of many weeks, Mr. McCormick was nominated for congress by the Republican conference, on the two hundred and fifty-third ballot, to represent the sixteenth district. It was only ten days prior to the election, but he received a majority of four thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, a larger one than had ever been accorded to any previous candidate. Mr. McCormick carried the Democratic county of Lycoming (which shortly before had given over two thousand five hundred majority for the Democratic district-attorney-elect) by a majority of eight hundred and forty-seven, the only time in the history of the county that it gave a majority for a Republican candidate for congress. Mr. McCormick took his seat in the fiftieth congress December 5, 1887, and was placed on the committees of railroads, canals and militia. May 5, 1888, he delivered his maiden speech, in opposition to the free importation of lumber. After the house had voted to put lumber on the free list by passing the Mills bill, he appeared before the sub-committee on finance in the senate, and it was largely through his instrumentality that the committee reported in favor of retaining the duty, thus protecting the lumbermen against Canadian competition. In the fiftieth congress the Republican party was in the minority, and much of the work done by Mr. McCormick did not appear on the surface, but he proved a decided acquisition to the Republicans of the Pennsylvania delegation, and gained prestige second to no other first-term member of the house. At the subsequent meeting of the Republican congressional conference of his district his course was strongly endorsed, and he received the thanks of those engaged in the lumber industry for his efforts in opposition to the Mills bill.

Mr. McCormick was always an earnest advocate of liberal pensions, believing that the government should care for its defenders and those dependent upon them. In a letter to the commander of Post No. 141, G. A. R., of Bradford, Pennsylvania, under date of October 23, 1886, in answer to a query as to his attitude on pensions, he wrote as follows

"Permit me to say that in my belief the time has arrived when every honorably discharged soldier and sailor should receive substantial recognition by the government, without being obliged to prove that he was physically or mentally disabled in the service. The granting of pensions to all soldiers of the late war is, in my judgment, only a question of time, and I think the time should not be delayed. These are my views and they have not been acquired simply since I have been a candidate for congress, but have been expressed publicly and privately many times." On the 5th of January, 1888, he introduced in congress a bill which he had prepared, by the provisions of which every soldier who had served four months or over was given a pension of eight dollars a month, but the bill was smothered in committee and never saw the light.

In 1888 Mr. McCormick was renominated as the Republican candidate and was reelected by the large majority of four thousand six hundred and sixty-four, leading the presidential ticket two hundred and fifty-four votes, which was a substantial recognition of his worth and popularity, and a marked approval of his course during his first term. In the fifty-first congress he was made chairman of the committee on railways and canals, and a member of the judiciary committee on education. He was universally recognized as one of the ablest members from Pennsylvania. He was one of the delegates-at-large from Pennsylvania to the Republican National Convention in 1892, held in Minneapolis, and voted for the nomination of William McKinley.

Governor Hastings, immediately after the election in 1894, tendered Mr. McCormick the appointment of attorney-general, which was accepted, and he served in that important office throughout the entire Hastings administration. It was in this position that he achieved his most notable triumph, and gave to the country a stainless example of an able, fearless, honest public servant. He was much more than merely the first law officer of the state. He became the intimate and confidential adviser of Governor Hastings in all the perplexing problems that confronted his administration. Mr. McCormick, with his rugged sense of honor and official rectitude, threw the whole weight of his great ability and his wide influence against the methods of the then ruling political machine in Pennsylvania. With him, in spirit as well as in letter, he knew no master save the people he was called to serve, and no chart for his guidance save the constitution he was sworn to defend. The commonwealth will always cherish his memory for the consummate skill and unwavering fidelity to its best interest which he exerted as attorney-general. Upon his retirement from public life in 1899, Mr. McCormick returned to the practice of his profession, of which he was always devotedly fond, and to which, during the remainder of his life, he gave his principal attention. He was one of the originators of the Lycoming Law Association, and for many years served as its secretary. He and his wife were members of the First Presbyterian church of Williamsport.

Mr. McCormick married, October 21, 1875, at Erie, Pennsylvania, Ida, daughter of John W. and Sarah (Jackson) Hays, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were the parents of three children : Nelle, who was born August 12, 1876, wife of Joseph W. Cochran, and has one child, Henry McCormick; John Hays, born July 12, 1879; and Henry C., born August 14, 1883, died in infancy. Mrs. McCormick was born August 1, 1855. Her paternal ancestry is traced to Scotland, and she is a descendant of John Forester, a native of county Antrim, Ireland, who emigrated to America early in the eighteenth century and settled in what is now Dauphin county, Pennsylvania.

The death of Mr. McCormick, which occurred May 26, 1902, was regarded as a public calamity, and the members of his family were conscious that in their affliction they received the sympathy of many who were personally unknown to them. All classes of the community experienced a sense of bereavement in the loss of one who had lived among them as a man admirable in all the relations of life, and one whose influence had ever been exerted in the cause of right and justice; a man who had united in his character the virtues of a devoted husband and father, and a kind neighbor, with the attributes of an upright, disinterested citizen, an able and conscientious lawyer, and a loyal and high minded statesman.

GEORGE B. M. METZGER

George B. M. Metzger, an attorney-at-law of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was born in that place, August 3, 1864, son of Hon. J. J. and Hannah (Hess) Metzger. Hon. John J. Metzger was born in Clinton township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1838, and married in 1858. His father was George Metzger and the mother was Susan (Dieterick) Metzger, they being the grandparents of the subject of this notice. Hon. John J., the father, was elected president judge of Lycoming county in 1881, and re-elected in 1898, having been admitted to the bar in 1860. In 1862 he was elected district attorney for the term of three years. In 1866 he was a member of the Williamsport city council. From 1869 to 1872 he served as a member of the board of education, and the last named year was a delegate to the state constitutional convention. Politically he was a Democrat, and in religious matters affiliated with the Lutheran church. As a lawyer he attained eminence, and as a judge gave full satisfaction because of his wise, just decisions. His children were : Verus H., who became a state senator, now deceased ; Ella Z., now deceased; George B. McClellan ; Floy May ; and Hannah Margaret. Mrs. Metzger died in March, 1870. He died in the autumn of 1900.

George B. McClellan Metzger, who is an active member of the Williamsport bar, was educated in his native town at the public schools and at Dickenson Seminary, subsequently attending Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg; he completed his course at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1884. He then read law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar in April, 1887. He began the practice of law as a partner of his father and brother.

In 1883 he married Mary, daughter of Philip Wagner, of Easton, Pennsylvania, by whom five children were born : Ella Zaidee; Clarice Geraldine, now deceased; Hannah Margaret; Mary W., and Helen C. The family belongs to the St. Paul's Lutheran church of Williamsport.

C. LARUE MUNSON.

Cyrus LaRue Munson, who is among the most eminent and highly successful lawyers of Pennsylvania, and whose home is at Williamsport, where he is an important member of the bar and a leading spirit in all that tends toward the present day prosperity of that flourishing city, is descended from American ancestry through the following direct line from Thomas Munson, an English emigrant in the early part of the 17th century. (I) Thomas Munson was born in Suffolkshire in England, in 1612, and emigrated to the Colony of Massachusetts during the Puritan exodus, some time prior to 1636. The first record we have of him is in 1637, when, at the age of twenty-five years, he was one of the ninety men composing Mason's renowned company, and in the Pequot War assisted in the extermination of the Indian tribe of that name. At this time he resided in Hartford, in the colony of Connecticote, as it was then spelled. In 1638 he was one of the company formed by the Rev. John Davenport who became the purchasers from the Indians of the territory now composing the City of New Haven, Connecticut, and several adjacent towns. On June 4, 1639, he was one of the sixty-three signers of the famous Fundamental Agreement, whereby the colony of New Haven was formed, and flourished until it was consolidated with the colony of Connecticut. In 1675 he was captain in command of the forces of his colony in the historic King Phillip's war, and held various other offices of trust and honor in his colony. This unique and curiously spelled record can be found among the official records of the colony of New Haven, under date of September 10, 1649:

"The Gouerner further Informed the Court that Sarjant Munson is aboute goeing to Connecticote, to staye their this winter. Therefore the Court maye Consider whether it be safe for ye towne to lett him goe, - seeing Sarjant Andrewes is not at home. The Court thought it not fitt that he should now goe; but desired the Gouerner to Informe them at Connecticote, whom it Concernes, that it is not his neglect, but the Towne hinders him for publique respects."

He died in 1685, leaving two daughters and one son, Samuel, and his gravestone can still be found in the old cemetery at New Haven.

(II) Samuel Munson, son of Thomas (I), was born in New Haven in 1643. Like his father he was of what is now known as the Congregational faith and held many important positions of trust in the colony, among others being the first rector, or principal, in 1684, of the well known Hopkins Grammar School, to this day a leading educational institution in New Haven. In October, 1665, he married Martha, daughter of William and Alice (Pritchard) Bradley, and died in the winter of 1692-3 at Wallingford, Connecticut, of which town he was a founder, leaving ten children, of whom Joseph was the sixth.

(III) Joseph Munson, son of Samuel (II), was born November 6, 1677, and married Margery, daughter of John Hitchcock, on March 10, 1700. He died October 30, 1725, in Wallingford, Connecticut, of which place he had been a life long resident and honored citizen.

(IV) Ephraim Munson, son of Joseph (III ), was born November 5. 1714, in Wallingford, and later resided in Branford, afterwards removing to Granville, Massachusetts, of which place he was one of the first settlers. He was married in May, 1739, to Comfort, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Hall) Curtis, and died September 21, 1770.

(V) Jared Munson, son of Ephraim (IV), was born in 1742, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He showed his faith in the American cause by purchasing in 1778 from his colony land in Vermont which had been confiscated from the tories, paying for it �1200, a fortune in those early days; his only hope of maintaining his title being in the supremacy of the colonial arms in their struggle with England, and by this purchase materially assisting the cause of his country. He then made his home in Manchester, Vermont, married Annorah, daughter of Joseph Hall, and died there July 30, 1823.

(VI) Rufus Munson, son of Jared (V), was born in 1762 at Manchester, Vermont, and was also in the Revolutionary war, serving for about two years. In 1790 he married Bethiah, daughter of Josiah Burton, and died in Manchester September 13, 1797.

(VII) Jesse Munson, son of Rufus (VI), was born in Manchester, Vermont, on August 21, 1792. His father dying when he was but seven years old, he lived for a time with his uncle, John Burton, at St. Albans, Vermont, and at the age of thirteen made his home with another other uncle, Curtis Burton, at Greenfield, Saratoga county, New York, whoa was engaged quite extensively, for those days, in the business of tanning and lumbering. When he was but nineteen his uncle died, leaving a widow and small children, and his business affairs in uncertain condition. His executors entrusted the care of the whole property to the youthful Jesse, who was enabled by good management and hard work to pay all his uncle's debts and leave a comfortable support for his family. Jesse then became the owner of the property and very largely extended it, adding the business of manufacturing boots and shoes from the leather made in his tannery, and engaging as well in a general merchandise business. One of his early successes consisted in opening a temporary store in Canada for the sale of his boots and shoes to the soldiers engaged in the war of 1812. For more than twenty years he conducted his various branches of business in eastern New York to complete financial success. His energy knew no bounds, it being related of him that he would often drive to the Hudson River, a distance of twenty miles, arriving there so early in the winter morning that he would be obliged to waken some of the inhabitants to learn whether he could cross the river on the ice, which bent and swayed under its burden, but enabling him to find a market for his load of leather or lumber.

The timber lands of his section becoming denuded he sought new fields for his activities, and, in about 1834, removed to Steuben county, in the western part of New York, then a new and undeveloped county, where he purchased large forests of pine timber and became the owner of saw mills and flouring mills, together with an extensive store and farms at Bradford. Still further extending his business, he began, in 1850, to purchase large tracts of timber lands on the waters of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, becoming in a few years the owner of more than 20,000 acres of valuable pine lands in Potter and Clinton counties, Pennsylvania, where, with his sons and son-in-law, he conducted large lumber operations.

During the War of the Rebellion he did much for the Union cause, raising the full quota of soldiers of his town and personally paying each man a bonus for his enlistment. In 1813 he married Sophia, daughter of Jonathan Tallmadge, a helpmate, indeed, and a lovely Christian woman. After her death, in 1871, he made his home with his son Edgar, in Williamsport, where he died of old age on October 13, 1879.

Jesse Munson was a man of great strength of character, of the highest honor and integrity, and successful in all his undertakings. He possessed the power of controlling the minds of others to a marked degree, and in politics was most influential, for many years being one of the leaders of the Democratic party in western New York. He was generous in all his actions, and the appeal of the widow and orphans was never refused by him. His founding and sustaining the Bradford Academy was an instance of his love of education for the people, while the erection, at his cost, of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church at Bradford, evidenced his care for religion.

(VIII) Edgar Munson, son of Jesse (VII), was born in Greenfield, New York, on April 21, 1820, and received his education in the Academy at Bennington, Vermont, completing it in the well known Burton Academy, Manchester, Vermont, founded by one of his ancestors, and still flourishing with great success. At the age of nineteen he became a clerk in a mercantile establishment in Saratoga Springs, and later followed his father's family to Bradford, New York, where he continued to reside until 1870, when he removed to Williamsport. First serving as bookkeeper in the extensive lumbering and other business of his father, he became a member of the firm of Merriman, Munson & Company in 1850. In about 1854 his firm purchased large tracts of timber land in Potter and Clinton counties, Pennsylvania, and in the care of the lumbering business connected with the operation of those lands he had a large share. He was at different times a leading member of the firms of John R. Cook & Company, Slonaker, Howard & Company and Starkweather & Munson, owning and operating large saw mills in Williamsport, and about 188o engaged in business alone, owning, and for more than twenty years operating, the well known Susquehanna Saw and, Planing Mills at Williamsport, as well as branch mills in Clinton county, Pennsylvania. During his business career he manufactured and marketed more than 500,000,000 feet of lumber, chiefly pine, in addition to large amounts of planing mill materials, boxes, etc., employing hundreds of men, all of whom were at all times his friends, and to whom he ever showed generosity and kind consideration.

His activities were not confined to the lumber business but extended to other fields and industries. He was the active spirit in its organization, and, during its construction, the president of the Syracuse, Geneva & Coming Railroad, now forming an important part of the Pennsylvania Division of the New York Central Railroad. He was also at one time president of the Williamsport National Bank and of the Citizens Water Company of Williamsport, and a director in the Lycoming Rubber Company, one of Williamsport's chief industries. He was the first president of the West Branch Lumbermen's Exchange, and was also interested in the Kettle Creek Coal Mining Company, a large bituminous company in Clinton county, Pennsylvania, and operating 14,00o acres of coal lands owned by his father's estate, and through whose foresight they were secured more than half a century ago.

For many years he served as vestryman and warden, and, at the time of his death, as senior warden of Christ (Episcopal) Church, Williamsport, while in the growth of that church and its financial advancement none other responded more graciously and liberally. No man ever lived in Williamsport who commanded and deserved greater respect from his fellow citizens than Edgar Munson; at all times and under all circumstances he was a Christian and a gentleman, generous and kind hearted, never refusing the call of charity and always devoutly religious. His honor and integrity were ever beyond reproach, and in all his business career he did no act that sullied his name or reputation in the slightest degree. His was a character of gentleness and goodness. considerate of others, and ever ready to lend them a willing hand, no matter how humble their condition in life, while by precept, and none the less by example he was an influence to all men for Godly living and righteousness of life.

He was married June 15, 1852, to Lucy Maria, daughter of Amos and Louisa (Johnson) Curtis, of Meriden, Connecticut, and for nearly fifty years and until parted by death, their lives were united in love and devotion. His wife will long be remembered for her charm of manner and qualities of heart and mind, exhibiting talents of a literary order of high degree. Their children were Cyrus LaRue Munson, born July 2, 1854; Robert Hallam Munson, born January 27, 1857, and Edwin Curtis Munson, born November 10, 1858, who died February 9, 1865.

Edgar Munson died at Williamsport May 25, 1901, and his wife February 10, 1902. A beautiful monument marks their resting place in Wildwood Cemetery, and their memory is preserved by a stained glass window in Christ Church, Williamsport.

(IX) Cyrus LaRue Munson, son of Edgar and Lucy Maria (Curtis) Munson (VIII), was born in Bradford, New York, July 2, 1854. His earliest ancestors were leaders in the Puritan exodus to the Massachusetts and New Haven Colonies, and the man of whom this notice is written well represents the stalwart, aggressive and progressive type of manhood which predominated in those earlier centuries among the settlers of New England.

After receiving a good primary education in private schools he entered the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, at Cheshire, in 1868, (numbering among its alumni J. Pierpont Morgan, General Joseph Wheeler, and other distinguished men), and there graduated as valedictorian of his class in June, 1871. After leaving this school he entered his father's lumber office in Williamsport, and also commenced the study of law in the office of Allen & Gamble, then leaders of the bar of Lycoming county. In September, 1873, Mr. Munson entered the Yale Law School at New Haven, Connecticut, graduating from that institution July 1, 1875, receiving the degree LL. B., and the same day was admitted to the bar of Connecticut, this being the day before he became of age. In September, 1875, he entered into law partnership with Addison Candor, as Candor & Munson, who for more than thirty years have continued in the active practice of their profession at Williamsport. In 189o Mr. Munson was elected by the corporation of Yale University a regular lecturer on legal practice, and has since continuously filled that position at the Yale Law School. He received the honorary degree of M. A. from his Alma Mater in 1891. In 1897 lie wrote a well known law book entitled "Manual of Elementary Practice," which is an authority as a text book in a number of law schools. In 1902 he was elected and served one year as president of the Pennsylvania State Bar Association, and in 1904 was elected president of the Yale Law School Alumni Association. He is also associated with the well known lawyer, James B. Dill, Esq., and has an office with him at No. 27 Pine Street, New York City.

Mr. Munson is the senior warden of Christ Episcopal Church and is prominently connected with church affairs in the diocese of Harrisburg. Of his society relations it may be said that lie is a thirty-second degree Mason and in 1902 was Eminent Commander of Baldwin II No. 22 Commandery of Knights Templar. He is also a trustee of the James V. Brown Memorial Library of Williamsport, having been chosen to that position by the city councils of Williamsport. He is a member of the Ross Club, the Howard Club of Knights Templar, and of the Young Men's Democratic Club, of Williamsport, and also of the Manhattan Club and the Yale Club of New York and the University Club of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Bar Association of the City of New York, of the Society of Colonial Wars in Pennsylvania, and of the Pennsylvania Society in New York.

Aside from his extensive legal practice, Mr. Munson is connected with and president of a large number of the most thriving business enterprises of his city and vicinity. Among these may be named the presidency of the Savings Institution of Williamsport, the E. Keeler Company, the Williamsport Iron & Nail Company, the Eagles Mere Light Company and the Scootac Railway Company. Among other corporations with which he is associated as a director are these : Lycoming National Bank, Williamsport Passenger Railway Company, Citizens Water & Gas Company, Williamsport & North Branch Railroad Company, American Wood Working Machinery Company, John N. Stearns & Company, of New York, Burns Fire Brick Company, Demorest Sewing Machine Company, Royal Braid Manufacturing Company, Williamsport Wire Rope Company, and other enterprises of much financial importance and local pride.

Perhaps no one thing brought the present day prosperity to Williamsport so much as did the organization of the Williamsport Board of Trade, which Mr. Munson and a few others formed, and through the methods they followed industry after industry was brought to Williamsport and a new life given a city once apparently retograding by reason of the waning of the lumber business upon which the place originally depended for support.

Mr. Munson married Josephine Anthony, daughter of Hon. Henry and Catherine (Anthony) White, November 8, 1877. She died July 26, 1889. October 20, 1891, he married Minnie Wright, daughter of Ackley Post and Jennie (Bailey) Tuller, of Rome, New York. Mr. Munson's children are Edgar, born June 24, 1881, and George Sharp, born October 2, 1883, and both graduates of Yale College in the class of 1904, receiving the degree of B. A., and now students at the Yale Law School.

CLARENCE E. SPROUT

Clarence E. Sprout, an attorney of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was born at Muncy, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1861, the son of S. E. and Mary (Sutton) Sprout, who were natives of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, and residents of Muncy, where his father was engaged in manufacturing. Clarence E. was reared in his native town, receiving a good public school education, and later entered Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, from which institution he graduated in 1883, later receiving the degree of Bachelor of Law from the University of Pennsylvania. He read law with Crawford & Dallas, a well-known law firm of Philadelphia, and was admitted to the bar, June, 1885. He began the practice of law in Williamsport and still follows his chosen profession. Politically Mr. Sprout is a staunch defender of the Democratic party, but never has aspired to local office. He is a stockholder in various institutions in the city, and is in active supporter of every up-to-date business enterprise.

He was married November 4, 1886, to Anna, daughter of Daniel Clapp and wife. Mr. Sprout's father was a prominent manufacturer of Lycoming county for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Sprout are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Williamsport.