Homer Howard Shoemaker
HOMER HOWARD SHOEMAKER, dealer in general merchandise at Deanville, Armstrong Co., Pa., was born in Madison township, this county, May 26, 1866, son of Joseph B. and Margaret A. (Ferguson) Shoemaker.
George Shoemaker, his great-grandfather, with six brothers, John, Solomon, Adam, Simon, Samuel and Daniel, emigrated from Germany to America prior to 1770, and first settled in Loudoun county, Va. In 1798 or 1800 George Shoemaker settled at Cochran Mills, in what is now Burrell township, Armstrong county. His wife was Margaret Miller, and their children were: Isaac; John; Peter; Daniel; George; Jesse; Joseph; Catherine, Mrs. Blogher; Margaret, Mrs. Hind; and Hanna, Mrs. Uncapher. Of these, Peter Shoemaker was the grandfather of Homer H. He settled in what is now Mahoning township, Armstrong county, near Oakland, 1824, having purchased 200 acres of land from his cousin Philip Shoemaker, who had settled there in 1814. He cleared and improved this property, and became a prominent and successful man of affairs. His death occurred in 1872. He married Sarah Ringer, who bore him twelve children, ten of whom grew to maturity: Isaac, William, Peter, Jesse, Joseph B., George, Mary (who married Thomas Montgomery), Catherine (who married Samuel Young), Margaret and Sarah.
Joseph B. Shoemaker was born on the old homestead in Mahoning township July 31, 1839, and there was reared to manhood. He settled in Madison township in 1864, owning a tract of land of about 160 acres there, which he cleared and improved. He died there March 13, 1890, in his sixty-first year. He was a prominent farmer of his day, and his farm was considered the most valuable in Madison township. He owned the first combined reaper and mower brought to that township. In early life Mr. Shoemaker was a member of the German Baptist Church, but later he became a member of the Free Baptist Church at Deanville, of which he was a deacon for many years. He held various township offices, was a Republican in political sentiment, and an advocate of prohibition. He married Margaret A. Ferguson, whose death occurred May 19, 1912. They reared a family of seven children, as follows: Carrie, wife of F. E. Claypoole; Homer H.; Ora A.; Junie F., wife of Adam Shindledecker; Bertha G., wife of John Shindledecker; Mervin L.; and Claude C.
Homer H. Shoemaker was brought up on the old homestead and received his schooling in the local common schools. He studied music and was a teacher of vocal music for sixteen years in western Pennsylvania. On Aug. 26, 1902, he embarked in the general merchandise business at Deanville, in which he has since continued with marked success. He is industrious, hardworking, and courteous in all his dealings and he has won success by his own efforts. On April 2, 1912, he bought the property known as the Myers Heirs farm, which bounds part of Deanville, and in the summer of that year built the first round barn in Armstrong county.
On Dec. 25, 1894, Mr. Shoemaker was married to Alice M., daughter of William and Elizabeth (Gohwen) Shoemaker, of Clarion county, Pa., and they have two children, Carl M., and Paul A. Mr. Shoemaker has served as school director of Madison township for twelve years. He is a member of the Free Baptist Church of Deanville, and has been superintendent of the Sunday school sonce 1908. He is a strong Prohibitionist.
The maternal grandfather of Homer H. Shoemaker was Samuel Ferguson, a native of Ireland. He was a pioneer of what is now Mahoning township, Armstrong county, and cleared and improved the farm now owned by Joseph Ferguson. His death occurred there.
Source: Pages 728-729 Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed October 1998 by Joyce Sherry for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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