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/720

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COLUMBIA AXD MONTOUR COUNTIES

who marricfl A lfred Ilab lcrstad t; and Benja* min, who dic<l unmarried. Hugh Hughcft Vafttinc, son o f Jonathan and Nancy Ann (H ughes) Vastine* ntarricd Catherine Zimmerman and they were the parents of the following children: Martha Ann died unm arried; William L . married A lice Cardcii, and had children, Blanche* lane, M ary and C o ra; O scar married A da GiN lasp y; Mar)* married John K . Erdman, and had children, Hattie, Sarah, Nora, Allen, Bert, John, Calvin, Kiniber and F ra n k; Jonathan married Cora Hess, and had children, Charles, Katie and -------------: Jacob married M . Smith and had children* Ethel* Hattie and G rcthcl; Lew is marrie<l ^far)* M inam aker; Sarah C. married E . Campbell; FTarrict m ar­ ried William Arnold and had children, B es­ sie and A n n; Ida marric<l Charles HofTman and had children, V ei^ie, Edwin, John* Mary* W esley, William Wellington and Frank. W IL L IA M V A S T I N E, a retired farmer* residing on W est Market street, Danville, Fa., through whose efforts and assistance much of the early history of the Vastine fam ily here ^iven was obtained, w as bom in the "O ld Stone House,” in Rush township, Northum­ berland county, Oct. 29, 1859. A fte r a course o f studies in the country schools he entered the DanviUe Academ y, on leaving which he took up the occu]>ation o f agriculture and has fo(lowc<l it ever since. A t present he is cul­ tivating a tract of almost 400 acres in Point township, Northumbcrbnd county, origitially known as the Nixon farm. On Feb. 26, 1884, M r. Vastine w as mar­ ried to Elizabeth Boone Gearhart, daughter o f M ayberry Gearhart, and to ihcir union nave come two children: Katherine Gearhart, bom Dec. 3 1 ,

and Elizabeth Boone, born Aug.

15, i8 f® . M r. Vastine is a member of the Washington party, and a member of the M a­ honing Prcsbrtcri.an Church, to w hkh his fam ily also belong. l i e is a man o f dignified presence and o f upright character, and has gained the respect and confidence of the en­ tire community. H is pride o f fam ily is un­ bounded and he lakes a warm interest in the prcscn alion of the history aud relics of the past and the pioneers o f this section. He pos­ sesses a number o f valuable antiques, w lich have been prcscr%*ed in his fam ily for many generations, among them being a copy o f a sixteenth century Bible, printed in l^ u t ifu l German text, and o f great rarity and value. .Amos Vastine, the father o f William, was

bom in Rush township, Northuniberlanil county, Nov. 25. 1833* where he attended the local schools and obtained the limiteil educa­ tion their facilities affonled. T o the small fund o f knowledge gained in this w ay he later added by close obscr*ation and attention to small details, and his native shrewdness and mental ability enabled him to acquire a great and comprehensive grasp of the important things o f everyday li ^ . During his childhood he resided on^hc home farm, later removing to Danville, where he resided until his death. He was a Republican in politics, although he did not take a prominent part in the party, and w as an honored member o f Danville Lo<ige, N o. 224, F . & A . M. H e w as pos­ sessed o f an indomii.ablc will, and when once convinced that he was in the right he pursued his decision to the end without deviation, lie devoted his means to the education o f his chil­ dren, believing that learning was one of the means to future happiness and prosj>erity. On M ay 23, 1855, .Amos Vastine married Mahala Shults, daughter o f Jacob and Klirabeth (M austcllar) Shults, and they had these children: ( 1 ) Elizabeth, to m in 1857* died in 1879. ( 2 ) William was bom ()ct. 29, 1^ 59* (3 ) M ary Laura, bom in 1861 • bec.imc the w ife o f Dr. John R. Kimmer. a native of Shreve, Ohio, and a graduate of the College o f Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore. He died in 1900, while she precede<l him April 29, 1898. Their children were John V . an<l Jessie M., the latter married lo Elm er D. H arshbai^er, sanitaiy* engineer of the Pitt Construction Company, Pittsburgh; they have one child, to u ra Eugenie. (4 ) D r. John Hurst, a graduate of the College o f Physicians and Suigeons o f Baltimore, and now* practic­ ing in Shamokin. married Helen Benscoter, and they have four sons. Richard B .. Robert, Frederick and William H ., and one ilaughter, deceased, Josephine tou ise. ( 5 ) E llen Kate, w ife o f Iien ry Maincs, has one son* Charles V . (6 ) Am os Bccbcr marric<l I.ouisc Frances McClurc* and has one child, Mar>* Frances. He tsa graduate of the U niversity o f Pennsyl­ vania. with the degree o f D. I). S ., and is a resident o f Danville. Jacob Shults, father o f Mrs. Am os *astine. and gram lfather o f William Vastine, was bom in Columbia Count/, V i. T he ancestors of the fam ily emigrated from Germ any at an early date and settled in Berks county. Pa., later coming to Columbia county* and locating in the section adjoining Jerseytow n. where Jacob was reared to manhooil upon a fann. There he Nvas married and then