The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1896-11-25
The Late Hon. Lewis Arner.

In chronicling tho fatal accident TO ex-
Judge Lewis Arnor last week, by beiu-
struck by the pilot of freight locomo-
tive near Hunter station, we were una
bic, owing to lack of time, to give any
sketch Of his busy career extending over
period Of nearly eighty years. The fol-
lowing brief account gives only few of
the principal incidents in his life:
Lewis Arner was born in Armstrong
county, Pa, Sept. 25, 1917, on farm sit
uated a few miles back from what is now
known as Kelly's station. At the age of
nine years he made his first trip up the
Allegheny river, having been employed
to ride horse that was towing a keel
boat from Pittsburg to Olean, N. Y,
loaded with freight for different places
along the river between the two cities
above mentioned. He followed the boat
ing business in the employ of different
men until he had reached the age Of q
years, when he went into the boatine bus
mess for himself. He was married to
Elizabeth Wolf, June 23d, 1912, and
moved on a farm which he had purchased
previous to his marriage. During the
years he followed boating he built six
quite large boats. The last and largest
of all was called the "Great Western" ;"
and in this one he moved his family for
the first time to Tionesta. After leaving
his family comfortably located in Tiones-
ia he continued on up the river with his
load of freight. After delivering the
goods TO the different parties on the route
he sold his boat for nice sum of money
and quit the boating business. After
living in Tionesta for three or four years
he moved his family up Tionesta creek
to what is now known as Kellettville.
He engaged in the lumber business and
followed that until the oil excitement
broke out on Oil Creek, when he moved
TO the Blood farm and was engaged in
the oil business for about three years.
During this time he had managed to ac-
cumulate in property and oil about ten
thousand dollars, which was all swept
away by one Of those disastrous fires that
occurred on Oil Creek.s In the fall of
1868 he again moved his family to Forest
county, and took up his residence at Ne
braska and engaged in the lumber busi-
ness and was the most active lumberman
of his day. He RATED and run to Pitts
burg in one rafting season more lumber
than any other man in the business
10000 900 feet of lumber RATED and run to
Pittsburg and Louisville in one season.
In 1884 he was elected Associate Judge
of Forest county. During his term as
Judge he moved to Tionesta. August
10, 1888, his wife died, and he broke up
housekeeping and spent some time in
seeing the western country. He went to
Oregon in 1890, but not liking that coun-
try he did not stay there very long, The
winter of 1894 he spent with his daugh-
ter, Mrs. G. d. Ackerly, in Florida. Re-
turning in the spring he leased the Hole
man farm at Hunter station, and had
been operating that most of the time
since,
Judge Arner was one OF the busiest of
men during all his life, and his robust
constitution scarcely ever knew what it
was to be idle or fitigued. Genial and
good -natured, with a fund of anecdote
and personal reminiscence, he had
friends wherever he went, and he will
be greatly missed by old and young. He
is survived by six daughters and one son,
as follows: Mrs. Lyman Cook, Nebraska,
Pa; Mrs. c. NJ. Whitemau, Tionesta +;
Mrs. e. II. Chase, Jamestown, N. y;
Mrs. j. b. Hagerty, Tionesta; Mrs. G..
d. Ackerly, Jacksonville, Florida; Mrs.
j. A. Small, Nebraska, Pa, and Calvin
NJ. Arner, Prothonotary of Forest coun-
ty. Two sisters, Mrs Esther SHtt, of
Callensburg, and Mrs. Anna Crawford,
and one brother, Philip, of Clinton Pa,
also survive him.