John Miles ZENTMYER

Notes:

John Zentmyer was born in North Platte, Nebraska, and migrated to Los Angeles with his parents and brother in 1918. He met his wife May Hobart while attending UCLA, and after marrying her, secured work with the Southern California Gas Company and subsequently with the newly-formed Civil Aeronautics Administration, the precursor to the Federal Aviation Administration. After a long career as an Air Traffic Controller and Administrator with the FAA he retired, then went back to school and studied nursing, earning an LVN degree. He was hired by Torrance Memorial Hospital and spent a number of years working there. A life-long Presbyterian, he was known for his charitable activities, his love of big bands music, and of books, especially about Sherlock Holmes and the Donner Party. (two different genres) He took up distance running in his 60's and completed many marathons, including a first-place finish at the Valley of the Flowers marathon in Lompoc in 1990.



John graduated from UCLA on 22 Jun 1934 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

John married May Elizabeth HOBART 16 Jul 1938, Los Angeles, California. May (daughter of Frank Grant HOBART and Jeanette BRUTSCHÉ) was born 22 Oct 1914, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California; died 20 Nov 2008, Baldwin Park, Los Angeles, California; was buried 29 Nov 2008, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, Los Angeles, California, Sunrise Slope #6207. [Group Sheet]

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:

Graduated in 1908 from University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, according to the North Platte Semi-Weekly Tribune, 12 Jun 1908.

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:

1868 began career as Fireman for C.N.W.R.R. at Escanaba, Delta, Michigan
1871 promoted to Engineer at Escanaba, Delta, Michigan
1880 September, moved to Union Pacific RR in North Platte, Lincoln, Nebraska
1885 Census in Weld County, Colorado
1886 foreman at Sterling, Logan, Colorado
1900 Census in North Platte, Lincoln, Nebraska
1910 Census in North Platte, Lincoln, Nebraska
1915 moved to Highland Park (Strahorn 50th newspaper)
1918 retired from Union Pacific (U.P.R.R. letter)
1920 Census at 521 W. 27th Street, Los Angeles, California
1921 City Directory at 109 W. 2nd., North Platte, Nebraska
1925 50th Wedding Anniversary at 211 N. Ave 51, Los Angeles, California
1933 Death at 211 N. Ave 51, Los Angeles, California

John married Sarah Elizabeth WOOD 10 Jun 1875, Milton, Buffalo, Wisconsin. Sarah (daughter of Abiel Saunders WOOD and Mercy CLOSSEN) was born 14 Mar 1849, Lyme, Grafton, New Hampshire; died 24 Oct 1940, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; was buried Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, Los Angeles, Caliifornia, Great Mausoleum, Dahlia Terrace, Sanctuary of Faith #3407. [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:

1850 Census in Haines Twp., Centre Co., Pennsylvania
1852 to 1855 worked in Hartleton, Union, Pennsylvania as a Millwright
1856 to Stephenson Co., Illinois
1865 to Sedalia, Missouri
1870 Census in Washingtom Twp., Pettis Co., Missouri
1876 St. Louis Missouri City Directory, City Hotel, a Foreman
1880 Census in Ruby Valley, Madison Co., Montana, a Millwright
1882 Voter Register, Los Angeles, California
1882 A founding elder, 2nd Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, California
1884 Voter Register, Los Angeles, California, a Carpenter
1884 Spring - Suffered a stroke in Hailey, Idaho

"My father was a rare combination of mechanic, who could build anything from a clock or engine to flouring mills or steel works; he was a fine vocal and instrumental musician, teaching music and leading a brass band, and was an exceptional country school teacher. He was a full six feet, of fine build, in rough-and-tumble athletics feared nothing. He was also a splendid shot, in the country rifle matches of those days always bringing home a quarter of beef or a brace of turkeys. He ruled us mischievous boys by merely pointing at the hickory ramrod that reposed over the fireplace." -Robert E. Strahorn, from his autobiography Ninety Years of Boyhood.

Thomas married Rebecca EMMERT Abt 1848, Centre, Pennsylvania. Rebecca (daughter of Johannes/John EMMERT and Magdalena SCHUDT) was born 1826, Bethel, Lebanon, Pennsylvania; died 1863, Harris, Centre, Pennsylvania - Tuberculosis; was buried Boalsburg Cemetery, Centre, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

Abiel — Mercy CLOSSEN. Mercy was born 1812, Thetford, Orange, Vermont; died 1854, Emerald Grove, Rock, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet]