Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/648

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COLUMBIA AXD MONTOUR COUNTIES

ler. I’a. They have one child, John I.arue, bum Aug. 24, 1 9 1 1. M rs. H err was bom Oct. 3. 1877, tUughtcr o f W illard and C or­ delia (Sm ith) Betz, natives and residents o f E.xchange, Anthony township, Montour coun­ ty. The latter's father, Jonas Smith, w as also bom .It E.changc, and his w ife was a B itlcr; both arc deceased. Henry Gibson, the grandfather o f M rs. John N. H err, w as bom in Berks county, Pa., and there followed farm ing throughout his life. George Gibson, son of Henry Gibson, and father o f M rs. H err, w as bom A pril 28. 1820, in Liberty township. Montour Co., Pa., and as a youth learned the trade o f whcelw'right. Subsequently he turned to the vocation of fanning, and w as thus cng.'igcd during the greater part o f his life. H e died Feb. 8, 1891. Mr. Gibson married M ary h'lickingcr. who was born M ay 30. (824, and died Aug. 5. 1886, and of the children bom to this union four su rvive; Charles, born A pril 27, 18^2. and Kdward. born Sept. 14, i8 to . both resid­ ing at W ashingtonville: Sarah, bom Aug. 19, i8 6 0; and .Anna L .. M rs. John N. Herr. H U G H B R A D S H A W M K R F .D IT H . M. I)., superintendent and physician in charge of the State Hospital fpr the Insane, DanviUe. was l)om al Doylestown, Bucks Co.. Oct. 26. 1853. son o f .Aaron and Martha S. (Scholl) Meredith. T he Meredith family is o f W elsh descent, and has been estab lish ^ in this country since the early Colonial >eriod, the emigrant an­ cestors settling in Uicks and Cliestcr coun­ ties. Pa. O f this family w as .Samuel Mere­ dith. the first trc,asurcr of the United States and an active particii»ant in the Revolutionary war. He is buried near Carbondale, Pa. Hugh Meredith, the Doctor's grandfather, married when a young man. and reare<l the following fam ily: Simon, who liecamc a coal merchant in I’hiladelphia: Moses, who w as a farm er of Bucks county; a fUughtcr who married ilc n ry C lym cr: Hannah G rego ry; H ar­ riet. and Aaron. T he Merediths have lieen W higs and Republicans down to the present time. The early memtors of the family were Friends in religious persuasion. .Aaron Meredith, son o f Hugh, w as born in Bucks county. P a., and liocamc a fanner, which calling* he followed throughout his ac­ tive life. His w ife. Martha S. (Sch o ll), was torn in Perry county. P a., and her father was also a native o f Pennsylvania and a minis­ ter of the Reform ed Church, and located in

Cumtorlaml county. Pa. T o .Aaron Mere­ dith and his w ife were bom children as fol­ low s: .Annie, who married Dr. C. D. Frctz. now living at Scllcrsville, P a .; Carrie, who married S. F. Day, a civil engineer, now living at N orfolk, V a .: i,aura V.. unm arried: Fannie, who married Rev. Frank .Miller, now {lastor of the Presbyterian Church at Noblesville, In d .; and Hugh B. T he father o f this family, .Aaron Meredith, died and w as buried .It Doylestown, Bucks Co., Pa. Dr. Hugh Bradshaw Meredith attended the public schools and graduated from the pri­ vate academy at Doylestown. and during his young iiianbuod taught school for a year. He soon took up the study o f medicine, entering Bellevue Hospital Medical College. New Y ork, in 1875. and graduated from the medical dcjiartmcnt of the I'n iversity o f Pennsylvania in 1877. Following this he began general prac­ tice in his native place, and on Feb. 19, 1879. came to Dan%‘illc. Pa., having accepted a po­ sition as assistant to Dr. Schultz, the sufierintcndent of the State Hospital for the In­ sane. He 1‘oiitinucd in this capacity until the ileath o f Dr. Schultz, which occurred in 18 9 1. when Dr. Meredith w as appointed his suc­ cessor. and in 1892 he was elected to the posi­ tion for a term o f ten years. He has been retained continuously since, having been re­ elected in 1902 and again in 19 12. for ten years. When Dr. Meredith came to Ihc hos­ pital there were accommodations for only four hundred patients, and during his adm in­ istration it has been enlarged to several times that capacity, there toing quarters at present for 1.450. Dr. Meredith has come lo to regarded as one of the leading .authorities on insanity and kindred ailments. H e is a man o f original ideas, and has inaugurated form s o f treat­ ment which have proved successful in h is ow n institution and elsewhere. H is unbounded energy and executive ability have n u d e the Danville hospital one of the leading asylum s of the country. A s an administrator o f a f ­ fairs he has sfiown renurkabic executive ab il­ ity and has brought the institution to a high standard o f usefulness. H e is a member of the Montour County Medical Society, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, the American Medical .Association, and M cdicoPsychological Association. On Dec. 30. 18 9 1. Dr. Meredith w as m ar­ ried lo M ary S. Kyer, o f Bloomsburg. P a „ d.aughtcr o f Frerlerick C. and F.miiia (L in n ) Eyer. the form er a nterchant. and fo r years steward of the Danville Hospital. Both he