J. T. Griffith    

J. T. GRIFFITH, one of the representative, energetic, active and progressive young men of McKean county, was born in Ebensburg, Cambria Co., Penn., June 19, 1853, a son of Thomas and Mary E. Griffith. His early schooling was obtained in his native town, and he afterward attended Blairsville Academy, in Indiana county, Penn., completing his education at Columbia, Lancaster county, same State. Having now satiated himself at the “Pierian Spring,” it remained for him, in order to thoroughly qualify himself for a commercial career, to secure a good business training, which he did, by attending for a time to his father’s mercantile affairs. When twenty-four years of age, in 1877, Mr. Griffith moved to Kane, with which place he has since been prominently identified. In 1881 he commenced a general merchandise and lumber trade at Kane, where he now has three saw-mills running, with a daily aggregate capacity of 90,000 feet, and in 1884 his brother became associated with him in business, the firm name being J. T. & W. Griffith. Having recently become largely interested in the oil trade (already to the extent of some sixty wells), the brothers intend to devote their entire attention and energies to that and the lumber industries. On March 25, 1875, the subject of our sketch was married to Martha J., daughter of Thomas M. Jones, of Ebensburg, Penn., and they have three children: William, Mary and Annie. The parents are members of the Congregational Church. Mr. Griffith is a Royal Arch Mason, and is an active worker in the Republican party. In 1878 he was elected school director, and in 1888 he was honored by being elected a member of the State legislature, in which he serves his constituency with marked zeal and integrity.

History of the counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania with biographical selections, including their early settlement and development, a description of the historic and interesting localities, sketches of their cities, towns and villages, portraits of prominent men, biographies of representative citizens, outline history of Pennsylvania, statistics.. Chicago. J.H. Beers & Co.. 1890, page 558. Read this book on line - Free Trial 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.