History of Dillsburg, (York County) Pennsylvania United States of America

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Biographies:

George Lewis Shearer, secretary, was born at Dillsburg, Pa., Oct. 16, 1835; son of Dr. George Lewis and Eliza (Eichelberger) Shearer; grandson of Ludwig and Susan (Eichelberger) Shearer and of Jacob and Elizabeth Dinkle (Musser) Eichelberger, and a descendant of Baron Johann Daniel D?nckel and Maria Ursula Gorn?ss, his wife, who came from Strasburg, Germany, to York, Pa., about 1740, and of Valentine Shearer, who came to America about 1750. He graduated at Lafayette college, A.B., 1857; A.M., 1860; and at Princeton Theological seminary, 1864. He taught at Monroeville, Ala., 1857?59, and at Academia, Pa., 1859?61; was licensed to preach, 1864, and ordained an evangelist, Oct. 3, 1865. He was married, Dec. 27, 1865, to Mary Wing, daughter of Leander S. and Mary Jane (Young) Ketchum of Clyde, N.Y. While continning his theological studies at Princeton, he entered the service of the American Tract society as missionary to soldiers and freedmen in 1869, and was district secretary of the same at Philadelphia, 1864?65, and at Richmond, Va., 1865?68; assistant secretary, New York city, 1868?79, and secretary, 1872?1903. He was vice-president of the Evangelical Alliance from 1879; one of the founders of the Presbyterian Union of New York, 1887; and secretary of the committee for securing exemption from the collateral inheritance tax, 1889?90. He received the honorary degree of D.D. from Lafayette in 1883 and was a trustee of the college, 1891?97.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Henry Logan, representative, was born in Logania Plantation, near Dillsburg, York county, Pa., April 14, 1784; son of Henry and Susannah (Blair) Logan and grandson of John and Ann Logan, natives of Coot Hill, county Monaghan, Ireland, who settled in York county, Pa., 1749, where Logania Plantation was marked out and cultivated. Henry received his school training at the backwoods school and in 1814 volunteered for the defence of Baltimore; was captain in the 19th regiment, 2d brigade, 5th division Pennsylvania militia, and was promoted lieutenant-colonel, Aug. 1, 1814. He was a representative from York county in the state legislature, 1818-19; state senator, 1828-31; representative in the 24th and 25th congresses, 1835-39, and county commissioner, 1840. He was an intimate friend of President Jackson and frequently a guest at the White House. He was a member of the American Colonization Society. He was married Feb. 22, 1895, to Martha O'hail a descendant of Hugh O'hail an officer in the American Revolution; and of their children seven survived them, three being sons: James Jackson Logan, the Rev. William Henry Logan, a Presbyterian minister in Princess Anne, Md., and John N. Logan, a member of the York county bar. Colonel Logan passed the last twenty years of his life in retirement and died at his home near Dillsburg, Pa., Dec. 26, 1850.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Matthew Stanley Quay, senator, was born in Dillsburg, Pa., Sept. 30, 1833; son of the Rev. Anderson Beaton and Catherine (McCain) Quay; grandson of Joseph, a soldier in the war of 1812, and Asenath (Anderson) Quay; great-grandson of Capt. Patrick Anderson, a soldier in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, and great2?grandson of James Anderson, a native of the Isle of Skye, who lived in a village of the Delaware Indians in Chester county, Pa., in 1712. His first paternal ancestor in America emigrated from the Isle of Man to Canada about 1650, and from Canada to Pennsylvania about 1686. He attended Beaver and Indiana academies; was graduated from Jefferson college, Pa., in 1850; studied law with Judge James P. Sterrett in 1850, but soon removed to Texas, where he taught school in Colorado county, 1850?53. He returned to his law studies at Pennsylvania under Col. R. P. Roberts in 1853, and was admitted to the bar in 1854. He established himself in practice in Beaver, Pa.; was prothonotary of Beaver county, 1856?61; enlisted as a private in the 10th Pennsylvania reserves in 1861, and became lieutenant-colonel and assistant commissary-general of the state. He was private secretary to Gov. Andrew G. Curtin, and was commissioned colonel of the 134th Pennsylvania regiment in August, 1862, serving until Dec. 7, 1862, when he was mustered out on account of ill health. He took part in the assault on Marye's Heights as a volunteer, Dec. 13, 1862, receiving the ?? congressional medal of honor for gallantry on the field; was military state agent at Washington, D.C., 1862?63, and was major and chief of transportation and telegraphs, and military secretary to Governor Curtin, 1863?65. He was a Republican representative in the state legislature, 1865?68; secretary of the Republican state executive committee in 1869; edited the Beaver Radical, 1869; was recorder of Philadelphia, 1878; secretary of the commonwealth, 1872?78 and 1879?82; delegate-at-large to the Republican national conventions, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1888, 1892, 1896 and 1900; chairman of the Republican national committee which conducted the campaign for the election of Harrison, 1888, of the state committee, 1878?79, 1895 and 1902; state treasurer, 1885?87, and was elected to the U.S. senate as a Republican in 1887 to succeed John I. Mitchell, and was reelected in 1893. He was defeated for re-election to the U.S. senate in 1899, by a deadlock existing throughout the session of the legislature, and after adjournment was appointed senator ad interim by Governor Stone, but the appointment was not recognized by the senate. Upon the next meeting of the state legislature in 1900 he was elected U.S. senator for the term ending March 3, 1905. He was married, Oct. 10, 1855, to Agnes, daughter of John Barclay of Beaver, Pa., and of his sons, Andrew Gregg Curtin was a graduate of the U.S. Military academy and promoted a lieutenant in the 5th U.S. cavalry and major and quarter-master, U.S.A., and Richard Roberts engaged in business in Pittsburgh, Pa. He was indicted, Nov. 21, 1898, for conspiring to misuse funds of the state and of the People's Bank of Philadelphia, and on each of the six indictments named he was acquitted without offering any evidence for the defence, April 21, 1899.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor