John M. Humes    

JOHN M. HUMES, deceased, was born in Lycoming County, Penn., April 13, 1790, and was a son of Archibald and Mary Humes, who settled in what is now Woodcock Township, this county, about 1796. Archibald built a log-house about half a mile west of Woodcock Borough, where he lived for several years and erected the first saw-mill in the northern part of the county, on Gravel Run, shortly after adding a grist-mill, which is still in existence. He operated the mill until his death, when it came into the hands of our subject, who conducted it for many years, and it is now owned and run by William S. McGranahan & Son. About 1800 Archibald Humes located on the farm now occupied by the sons of our subject. He had seven children: Betsy (Mrs. Leonard Doctor), Mary (Mrs. Bailey Fullerton), Jane (Mrs. Samuel Phillips), Thomas, James, John M. and Archibald, Jr. The subject of this sketch was twice married. His first wife was Mary B. Hicks, by whom he had eight children: Mary, deceased; William H., deceased; Elizabeth (Mrs. David Torry); Margaret, deceased; John E., deceased; Sophia (first), deceased; Sophia (second), deceased, and Phianah (Mrs. Cyrus Colter). His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John Greenlee, who settled in Woodcock Township, this county, in 1808. By this union there were five children, of whom but two are now living: J. N. Brady and Porter C. Mr. Humes carried on his farm in connection with his mill, and in an early day built fifty boats for shipping produce and lumber down French Creek to Pittsburgh, Penn., receiving pay in money and goods. During his trips to Pittsburgh and return he was often attacked by highwaymen, but was always successful in holding his own. He was an ambitious man and an enterprising, public-spirited citizen. When the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad was built, he gave the right of way through his farm. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church for many years, and Elder upward of fifteen years, and a leader of the choir in the Gravel Run congregation for many years. He held various offices in the gift of his township; in politics was always a stanch Democrat. He died December 2, 1870, in his eighty-first year. His portrait will be found elsewhere in this volume. His sons, J.N. Brady and Porter O., who reside on the old homestead, are wide-awake, enterprising farmers, the latter of whom has been Supervisor and Assessor of the township, a Director of the Gravel Run Cemetery Association since its organization, and was also its Secretary for several years; was elected its President in 1882, and re-elected in 1884, and is now holding the office. The young men are interested in everything that tends toward improvement, and are keeping up with the times. They are dealers in phosphates and all kinds of agricultural implements. In politics, like their father, they are stanch Democrats.

History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania: containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc., portraits of early settlers and prominent men, biographies, history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1885. View image of this page of the book on line at ancestry.com.  Free access  More Crawford County History Books  Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History Books for biographies and historical information on your ancestors.  View the book page images on line and print them out for your genealogy file!  Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com

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