George Aubrey ZENTMYER

Notes:

1895 Summer job as messenger boy at U.P. Depot.
1896 Age 16, went to work full time with Union Pacific Railroad as a messenger at Schuyler. Education 1st year high school.
1897 Station helper at Humphrey, Nebraska under K.E. Bay.
1898 Telegraph operator North Platte, Nebraska
1900 Census in Schuyler, Colfax, Nebraska, telegraph operator
1901 Dispatcher, Omaha, Nebraska (City Directory)
1902 Dispatcher, Omaha, Nebraska (City Directory)
1905 Dispatcher, Omaha, Nebraska (City Directory)
1906 Dispatcher, Omaha, Nebraska (City Directory)
1910 Chief Dispatcher, North Platte, Nebraska
1912 Chief Dispatcher, North Platte, 416 S. Vine St. (City Directory)
1918 January through April, lived in Los Angeles
1918 November, spotted in Los Angeles, on Los Angeles Times front page
1920 Census (January) lived on E. Ave. 42 Los Angeles with Walter and Alfaretta Strahorn Scott. (but working in North Platte??)
1920 November, moved to Las Vegas, Nevada
1921 Dispatcher, Las Vegas, Nevada
1922 Dispatcher, Las Vegas, Nevada
1923 Dispatcher, Las Vegas, Nevada
1923 June, moved back to Los Angeles
1923 Chief Dispatcher, Los Angeles
1924 Voter Registration at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
1925 Built house at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles. (Strahorn's 50th Anniversary)
1930 Census at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles.
1932 Voter Registration at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
1930 Census at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
1940 Census at 5929 Mesa Ave. Los Angeles. (poss. census taker error?)
1945 Retired from Union Pacific Railroad
1946 Voter Registration at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
1947 - 1952 worked part-time at Cal Tech.
1948 Voter Registration at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
1950 Voter Registration at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
1952 Voter Registration at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
1954 Voter Registration at 5929 Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
Lived at 68664 H Street, Cathedral City, Riverside, California during late retirement.

George married Mary Elizabeth STRAHORN 28 Apr 1910, North Platte, Nebraska. Mary (daughter of John Calvin STRAHORN and Sarah Elizabeth WOOD) was born 22 Dec 1885, Sterling, Logan, Colorado; died 12 May 1973, Riverside, Riverside, California; was buried Olivewood Cemetery, Riverside, California, southwest corner of Section W-2 . [Group Sheet]

Notes:

"MILES ZENTMYER, attorney and counselor at law. He does a large collection business for Eastern parties, and deals in real estate. He is also one of the proprietors of the Schuyler Herald, owned by Zentmyer & Holcomb. Mr. Zentmyer first located in Schuyler in January, 1873, emigrating from Huntingdon, Pa., where he was born June 25, 1842. He enlisted, August, 1862, in Company C, One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers Infantry, in the nine months' service. He began the study of his profession in October, 1863, in the law office of Scott, Brown & Bailey, in his native town, where he remained; and also taught school several terms, etc., until February 25, 1865, when he again enlisted as a private; and March 1, 1865, he was appointed First Lieutenant of Company F., Seventy-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers Infantry. In his nine months' service he participated in battles of Antietam and Chancellorsville. He was discharged December 6, 1865, in Victoria, Texas, and was mustered out in Philadelphia, Pa., January 16, 1866. Eighteen months after being mustered out he entered the former law office and resumed his studies, and was admitted to the bar August, 1869, and began the practice of law in his native place, where he remained until he moved to Nebraska. Was married in Huntingdon, Pa., May 26, 1874, to Miss Jennie M. Crewitt, also a native of the latter place. They have one son, George Aubrey, born May 2, 1881. (three siblings who preceded George did not survive, but two sisters who were born after this was written did survive -Ed) Mr. Z. is a member of Acacia Masonic Lodge, No. 34; also I. O. O. F., Schuyler Lodge, No. 38. Was elected County Judge in fall 1881. He ran for Lieutenant-Governor of Nebraska on the State Democratic ticket in 1876. He and Mrs. Zentmyer are members of the Presbyterian Church of Schuyler." - Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska, 1882



"Served as Judge for the years 1882 - 1884." Judy Brezina, Curator, Schuyler Historical Society Museum



Schuyler Colfax, for whom the town Schuyler and the county of Colfax were named, served as the 17th Vice President of the United States under Ulysses S. Grant from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th speaker of the House of Representatives from 1863 to 1869.



The Miles Zentmyer family was listed on Vine St. in multiple US Census records, and a published account located the house at the southwest corner of Vine and Oregon Streets. But Schuyler renamed their streets, so Miles' house was located at the corner of present-day 11th and C Streets, and was demolished and replaced by a gas station operated by the Vondracek brothers.

Miles married Jane McNamara CREWITT 26 May 1874, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at the Huntington Presbyterian Church, Rev. Samuel Moon presiding.. Jane (daughter of Alfred Berryhill CREWITT and Jane DORLAND) was born 14 Nov 1849, Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; died 20 Jun 1935, Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska; was buried Schuyler Cemetery, Schuyler, Colfax, Nebraska. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

From various sources he have good data that John was quite the entrepreneur. He farmed, bought and sold logs, and mined iron ore, having located his residences near the Springfield Furnace, Huntingdon Furnace, and the Juniata Iron Works, early blast furnaces in Huntingdon County.

"John Zentmyer was born in Franklin County, Pa., near the South Mountains, not far from Pen Mar, about 1806. (probably 1808 -Ed) In 1831 he went to Springfield Furnace, Blair County, (actually Huntingdon County, Blair County was not formed until 1846 -Ed) where he remained for some time, (four years -Ed) after which he moved to Spruce Creek valley to the farm now owned by the heirs of Robert L. Henderson. He then rented one of the farms of the Huntingdon Furnace Company, and in 1866 bought a farm in Porter township, Huntingdon county, where he resided until his death." -Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley: Comprising the Counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry, Pennsylvania, Containing Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Many of the Early Settlers. Chambersburg, Pa.: J. M. Runk & Co., 1897, pages 118-119.

"He was well known as Major Zentmyer, having held that rank in the State militia. He married Margaret Gates, of Blair county, (see Blair Co. note above -Ed) who died about 1889. Mr. Zentmyer died in 1891; he and his wife are buried in a small graveyard on the farm." (However, there are currently no Zentmyer headstones in the farm cemetery, now called the Huyett Cemetery. The headstones are located in the Alexandria Presbyterian Cemetery, indicating a likely relocation of the graves. -Ed)

"Their children are: Isabella, wife of David Kinch, of Altoona; David (who died at the Battle of Fredricksburg -Ed); Frank, enlisted in Company I, Fifth Pennsylvania Reserves, was wounded at Fredericksburg, and died in Libby Prison; Priscilla, wife of E. C. Kinch, resides near Altoona; Porter, secretary and treasurer of the Clearfield Manufacturing Company; Miles, attorney in Schuyler, Neb.; Margaret, wife of David C. Stine, Bellefonte, Pa.; John W., insurance solicitor, resides in Blair county; Benjamin, on the homestead; and George, who died young." - article provided by Dante Hebert, Kingston, Washington

"After a brief illness, Major John Zentmyer died on Wednesday evening at his home in Hartzlog [sic] Valley, Potter township, Huntingdon county. While the deceased had not resided in Blair county for some years past, yet he was well known throughout the county and especially among the older citizens. Born near Williamsport, Md., March 24, 1808, he came to what is now Blair, but was then Huntingdon county, in the year 1832, settling at Springfield Furnace. There in the same year he was married to Margaret Gates, who preceded him to the tomb some three years, after a long and happy married life. Major Zentmyer's death was sudden, for he had been always very strong in health. Some ten days ago, however, he contracted a heavy cold, which resulted in typhoid pneumonia, and this disease was the cause of his demise. He removed from this county to Hartslog Valley in 1866. To Mr. and Mrs. Zentmyer, nine children were born. The living children are: Isabella, wife of David Kinch, of Altoona; Priscilla, wife of E. C. Kinch, of Sinking Valley; Maggie, wife of D. C. Stone, of Bellefonte; Miles Zentmyer, esq., an attorney of Schuyler, Neb.; Porter R., superintendent of the Clearfield Creek Coal company, Madera, Pa., and John and Benjamin, residing on the old homestead. In politics Major Zentmyer was a staunch democrat and during the war was a candidate on that ticket in Huntingdon county for the legislature. He was not successful, however. In religion he was a Reformed and was a member of the church at Alexandria. Funeral will take place at noon to-day and the interment will be in the family burying ground on the farm." Morning Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Friday, March 13, 1891



It is almost certain that John Zentmyer knew Alfred Crewitt, whose daughter Jane would marry John's son Miles, as they both worked in the iron industry in Huntingdon County during the same period, and were both Presbyterians.

John married Margaret GATES 29 Mar 1832. Margaret (daughter of Johann Godlieb GÖTZ and Elizabeth GEAURNEY/GAUBY) was born 28 Mar 1810, Berks, Pennsylvania; died 14 Jul 1888, Alexandria, Porter Twp., Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

"Alfred became a prominent Iron Master in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. He was a man of prominence in that County, where he resided for many years. He and his family were prominent members of the Presbyterian Church, as were his ancestors for three hundred years. He died April 5, 1857, while holding the office of County Treasurer." -History of Bucks County Pennsylvania (Alfred was the treasurer of Huntingdon County from 1855 until his death in 1857 -Ed)



It is almost certain that Alfred Crewitt knew John Zentmyer, whose son Miles would marry Alfred's daughter Jane, as they both worked in the iron industry in Huntingdon County during the same period, and both were Presbyterians.

Alfred married Jane DORLAND 3 Sep 1840, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Jane (daughter of Isaac DORLAND and Jane McNAMARA) was born 18 Dec 1815, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; died 8 May 1884, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; was buried Riverview Cemetery, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The 1810 US Census shows David in Washington Twp, Franklin Co. Pennsylvania, which was the location of his father Christopher's farm. His son John's obituary states: "John Zentmyer saw the light of day in Williamsport, Maryland March 24, 1808. When he was quite young his parents removed to Waynesboro, Franklin County." -Huntingdon Monitor, 19 Mar 1891. The following additional sources convince us that David's home and tannery were originally in Washington Co., Maryland before he moved to be near his father. (Waynesboro is within Washington Twp)

-- ". . . Elizabeth Zentmeyer, who was born in 1803 near the Mason-Dixon line at the foot of South Mountain, in Washington County, Md. where her father was for many years engaged in the tanning business." -Biographical Annals of Franklin County
-- ". . . his mother, Elizabeth (Zentmyer) Hoover was born in Washington County, Maryland in 1803." -History of Cumberland Valley
-- ". . . Elizabeth Zentmyer, daughter of David Zentmyer, who conducted a tannery at the foot of the mountains between Rouzerville, Pennsylvania and Edgemont, Maryland." -Biographical Sketches, p.195
-- "His wife Elizabeth, a daughter of David Zentmyer, was born at the foot of the South Mountain--westside--where her father had been engaged in tanning for many years." -Historical Sketch of Franklin County.
-- "Near Pen Mar" -David Taylor Zentmeyer

David married Eve Ann WELTY 23 Jul 1803, Leitersburg, Washington Co., Maryland. Eve (daughter of Jacob WELTY and Anna Maria HOOVER) was born 21 Jul 1782; died 1 Aug 1858. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The name Johann Godlieb Götz was anglicized to John Caleb Gates.



"Johann Gottlieb Götz, a glass worker from Wilenburg, Germany, (Wilenburg on his headstone, Großsachsenheim on the ship's manifest -Ed) arrived in Philadelphia, PA, September 19, 1802 (actually 1804 -Ed) aboard the ship 'Margaret'. He brought with him a large leather-bound bible printed in the German language in Nürnberg in 1765. This bible was donated to the Krannert Memorial Library of the Indiana Central University, Indianapolis, Indiana, and is available to family members.

According to the ship's list of passengers, John Caleb Gates (Johann Gottlieb Götz) came to America, departing from Amsterdam, Holland, and was listed as a 'Glass Maker'. He was 20 years of age, 5 1/2 feet tall, with brown hair, and came by himself. Therefore, it is evident that he must have met his wife, Elizabeth Geaurny of France, (Elizabeth was actually born in Pennsylvania -Ed) in this country, and all children would, therefore, have been born here. According to Dr. I. Lynd Esch, descendant of Nathan Gates, John Caleb Gates owned quite a large acreage of land in the extreme northern end of Cambria County, PA and he believes some of it extended over into the south end of Clearfield County, PA." taken from the work of William S. Gates, Morgantown, West Virginia

Johann — Elizabeth GEAURNEY/GAUBY. Elizabeth was born 1 Jun 1783, Pennsylvania; died 18 Jun 1864, Flinton, Cambria, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Notwithstanding other unsourced data, the 1850 and 1860 US Census lists her birthplace as Pennsylvania, as does the Death Certificate of her son William C. Gates.

Notes:

At the time of his marraige to Elizabeth Berryhill, Richard was living in Elizabethtown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles southeast of Harrisburg.



Of English descent according to History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania



Surname was seen as Crewitt, Crewet, Cruet, and Cruit

Richard married Elizabeth BERRYHILL 6 Aug 1807, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth (daughter of Alexander BERRYHILL and Matilda GILLESPIE) was born 5 Jan 1777, Paxton, Lancaster (now Dauphin), Pennsylvania; died 24 Feb 1865, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Of Scots-Irish descent, according to the History of Bucks County Pennsylvania

Isaac married Jane McNAMARA 25 Feb 1811, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Jane (daughter of Robert McNAMARA and Jane COLLINS) was born 8 Dec 1786, Ballynahinch, County Down, Ireland; died 22 Sep 1862, Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]