Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-12-15
A Successful Woman Farmer.

Miss LIBBIE ScHooNMAKER, whose career
as a farmer, stock raiser and school teacher
has made her notorious in New York State,
Is woman about thirty. eight years of age,
and affords striking example of what a
woman with will of her own can do to-
ward getting along in the world. Four
teen years ago, at the death of her father,
johannes Schoonmaker, she inherited a
large estate, consisting principally of
farming property, heavily encumbered
with debt. 1t was the old homestead. and
Miss Schoonmaker could not bear the idea
OF seeing If pass into the hands of strang-
ers, and was determined that it should not.
Although then only twenty -four years old,
and with no more practical knowledge of
life tnan an ordinary country lass, she as
sumed sole charge of the estate, determined
TO clear 1t of debt. Having an old mother
sixty-two years Of age, half sister, also
helpless from old age, the two orphan
children of a deceased brother, and a
brother in the last stages of consumption to
provide for, this made her task doubly hard.
A little experience taught Miss Schoon-
maker that it was impossible to support her
large family and keep up the interest aris-
ing from the heavy Indebtedness of the es-
tate from the resources of the farm. She
accorlinginly began to devise some method
of increasing her income, and decided upon
school teaching. She was engaged toteach
in her own neighborhood at the modest
sum of eight dollars per month. In this,
| as in everything else, she showed remaIke-
bic tact. and her salary in a short time was
raised to forty dollars per month. She
has continued teaching ever since, over
seeing and directing the work Of her farm,
night and morning, and during the sum-
mer vacations going into the harvest field
with the farm hands to pitch on hay, rake,
bind, etc. She has earned from teaching
school over So, 500, paid off the debt of the
old homestead, and besides greatly I'M
proved the property. Besides teaching
and raising corn and grain, she has been
an extensive stock raiser. As farmer
she has no superior in this section. Her
wheat CROP averaged this year forty-two
bushel TO the acre, the largest yield in the
county.
In personal appearance Miss Schocnmsk-
er is tall, with robust but comely form
and pleasing, intelligent countenance.
She is exceedingly kind-hearted and gen.
erous, and will spend her last cent for the
benefit Of a needy friend or acquaintance.
4 short time ago she learned that brother
in-law living in Pennsylvania was in des-
titute circumstances. She went TO him
and found him helpless from an incuraole
disease, with a family depending upoG
him. ''Ben," she said, ''what can / do
for youl' ''Nothing, Libbie," was the
reply. "You have your hands lull already.
We will have TO go to the County house,
suppose" ..Never. Ben, as long as Live.
Come and enjoy the comforts of the old
homestead with me. j will keep you and
your family rs long as you live" Miss
Schoonmaker has had many suitoTS for her
hand, but, although naturally inclined 10
Inatrimony, she steadily refuses TO marry,
on the ground that her husband might in
time object to being burdened with the
,upport of the old people and her helpless
brother-in-law and his family, which might
cause domestic troubles. Besides, she says
she has enough to do now without having
to support husband, too, which she might
have to do if she were to marry.