Western Pennsylvania Genealogy
Compiled by Douglas H. Lusher


Family Group Record



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Thomas H. Harter and Mary Izora Musser




Husband Thomas H. Harter 1




           Born: 28 May 1854 - Aaronsburg, Haines Twp, Centre Co, PA 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 


         Father: William Harter (1812-1885) 2
         Mother: Rebecca Hess (1815-Aft 1898) 2


       Marriage: 1876 2



Wife Mary Izora Musser 2

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 


         Father: James Musser (      -      ) 2
         Mother: 




Children

General Notes: Husband - Thomas H. Harter


His education was not obtained without difficulty, as his parents objected to much learning for fear that it "might make him a rascal." Not sharing his parents' fear of perversion, the he kept up his search for knowledge, obtaining his books by employing his spare moments on the farm in the service of others. He attended school until 1871, when he went to Smithville, Ohio, to learn the tanner's trade with his brother Dan, and while there he pursued his studies at the Smithville Normal School. On his return in 1872, he learned the printer's art with his brother-in-law, Hon. Fred Kurtz, of the Centre Hall Reporter, and then attended Penn Hall Academy for a year. In 1876 he purchased the Nevada, Ohio, Enterprise, a weekly paper of limited circulation, which he soon established on a paying basis. But he longed to plant his feet on his "native heath," and in 1882 he sold the Enterprise and bought the Post, of Middleburg, Snyder County. This also was in an unsatisfactory condition, but his industry and zeal again worked wonders, and the paper soon came to be recognized as one of the most sprightly and interesting of its class. The advertising increased, and the Post was enjoying well-earned prosperity, when, desiring a wider field, Mr. Harter disposed of it and, in March, 1894, purchased the Keystone Gazette, at a bargain. His success there was a certainty from the first, and the increased popularity of the paper was no surprise to those who knew the efficiency of the new proprietor and editor.
Mr. Harter was the author of the famous "Boonastiel" letters, in the Pennsylvania-Dutch dialect, which were begun in the Middleburg Post, and later published in book form in answer to a demand from the public for their preservation in accessible form. A critic said, it is a volume of legend, story and song, full of fun and philosophy, and every chapter points a moral or adorns a tale. One thousand copies were issued in the first edition.
In his political affiliations he was a Republican, but although firm in that faith he never took part in partisan work as a candidate for office, wishing to deal with the principles rather than the machinery of the organization. Socially, he was a member of the F. & A. M. His chief recreation was hunting and fishing, for which he inherited a liking, and his cheery nature was always ready to take advantage of the pleasures which lay within his reach.

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Sources


1 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 160.

2 —, Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania, Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1898), Pg 161.


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