Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/545

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES county, and they became the parents o f five children: H iester Vanderslice. W illiam LeK oy. Clara, Hattie and john. H iester Vanderslice W hite received a thor­ ough preliminary education, attending the pub­ lic schools, O rangeville Academy and the Bloomsburg State Norm al School. Meantime, when but fifteen years old, he began teaching school, continuing to follow that profession until ready to enter upon his life work. H a v ­ ing read law, with Col. John G . Freeze, he was admitted to practice at the Columbia county liar in December, 18 8 1, and on Ja n . 1, 1882. liccame associated with his preceptor in the firm o f Freeze, E ycrly & W hite, this partner­ ship terminating in 1884, a fte r which Mr. W hite continued practice alone. H e bought the valuable law librar>’ o f Colonel Freeze. In the year 18S5 M r. W hite established the grain and milling business o f H . V . W hite & Company, at Bloomsburg, and has been presi­ dent and general manager o f its successor. T he W hile M illing Company, since it w as incorporated in 1900. H e is president of the Business M en’s Association o f Bloomsburg and interested in every o i^ n izatio n and un­ dertaking that will vitalize and improve his town ana community. H e is a charter member of the R oyal Arcanum Council at Bloom sbut^; w as a member of the Pennsylvania Slate Board o f A griculture from 1807 to 19 0 3; is a life memlicr of the Columbia County .Agricul­ tural. Horticultural and Mechanical Associa­ tion, o f which he w as svcretar>‘ many ye ars; is president of the Pennsylvania M illers State A ssociation; and has been a trustee of the Pennsylvania State College since 1886, devot­ ing much o f his time and thought to its wel­ fare. serving for nu n y years on the executive committee, the advisor)' board, the legislative committee, the liookkecping committee and the building committee. In 19 13 he was commis­ sioned milling and cereal expert for the Penn­ sylvania Department o f Labor and Industry, and at present is chairman o f a committee to prepare a code o f "rules and regulations gov­ erning the type o f buildings, machines and equipment fo r mills, grain elevators and wareiKiuses." T he various responsibilities to which he has been called indicate sufficiently the progressive trend o f M r. W hite’s makeup. H is effective w ork in all those connections shows a breadth o f comprehension and insight possible only to the fearless thinker who has the vigorous in­ tellect which sees the greatest possibilities in any undertaking and has the courage to at­ tempt their realization. H is advanced position

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in the milling industry is another indication o f his keen sense o f live issues typical of the day. M r. W hile is a Presbyterian in religious views and a Democrat in politics. M r. W hite married Ja n . 3 . 1 8 ^ Clara Elisalicth Aikm an. daughter o f L e v i and Elisabeth (O hl) .Aiknun, o f Cabin Run, in B ria r creek valley, near Bloomsburg. T hey have one daughter, Elisabeth Aikm an W hite, bom A pril 2. 1893. fh e A ikn u n fam ily, who were among the early settlers in B ria r creek valley, were o f Scotch-Irish Presbyterian stock. T he Ohls, who were o f G crnu n extraction, came from Pottstown in 1804 and settled on the land owned by the Hiesters. Ilc n ry Ohl, who served in the Revolutionary w ar with Capt. John Hiester, came as caretaker for the Hicstcr lands and built his first home near where Fran k Moore now lives. H e died in t 8 ^ , and is buried in (he soldiers’ circle, in R ose­ mont cemetery, a l Bloomsburg. G E O R G E E . H A S S E R T, superintendent of the Harman & H assert Company, o f Bloomsburg, P a., w as born Ja n . 3. i ^, in that city, and is a son o f George H assert. The fam ily is o f G c m u n descent. George H assert w as born in Reichcnsachsan, H tsse Cassel. Germany, N ov. 5, 1824, son o f George and Elizabeth (W agn er) H assert. H e learned the trade o f m illwrignt. and at the age o f twenty entered the German arm y, serv­ ing for six years and participating in battles of the w ar with D cnnurk. In 1848 he w as in the r ^ u la r arm y al Baden engaged in the sup­ pression of the rebellion, being stationed at Carlsruhe. H e w as wounded by sabre strokes in the chin and forehead at the storming of Fort Dabbelar, Denmark. Upon leaving the arm y he came to .America, locating at Phila­ delphia, where he worked at his trade for five years. A fterw ards, in 1856, he came to Bloomsbui^ and worked at his trade until 1875. when he formed a partnership with Peter S . H arn u n and began business in a room 50 by 60 feet in dimensions, m anufacturing plows and stoves and doing custom foundry work. In 1879 H annan & H assert cnUirged the foundry and w ere employing thirty men. A t Air. Hasscrt’s death in 1899 plant had grown to be one of the largest in the town. H e w as a mem­ ber of the Lutheran Church, and a Democrat in politics. Mr. H assert w as m arried in Philadelphia, Feb. 12, 1854. to Magdalena Decker, a native o f Germany, bom in Baden Ju ly 15, 1829, who came lo Am erica when twenty-four years old.