Peter S. Duncan Dies at Hollidaysburg
Was Scion of Pioneer Family and Prominent Iron Ore and Fire Clay Operator
Peter Shoenberger Duncan, one of Hollidaysburg's most prominent residents, a lifelong iron ore and fire clay operator and scion of a pioneer family, died at his residence on Sunset Hill, Hollidaysburg, yesterday at 3 p. m., of complications owing to advanced years.
Mr. Duncan was a son of Major John William Duncan and Martha Shoenberger Duncan and was born at White Hall estate, near Pittsburg, October 16, 1862. He was a grandson of Dr. Peter Shoenberger, pioneer Pennsylvania iron master.
He was educated in private schools in Pittsburg where he spent his early life. After his marriage to Miss Anna Bowman Sweitzer, a daughter of General and Mrs. Jacob Bowman Sweitzer, of that city, in 1876, he resided for a short time in Philadelphia, New York and Lancaster, after which he moved to Bloomfield Furnace, Bedford county, where he resumed the active management of his mother's estate. A disastrous fire, in the course of which the old furnace at Bloomfield was completely destroyed, necessitated the removal of his family to Bedford, Pa., where he lived for four years.
Mr. Duncan's affairs early brought him into this community and he came to Hollidaysburg with his family in 1890. At that time he became interested in the development of iron ore properties in Blair and Bedford counties and the settlement now known as Ore Hill takes its name from its location near the site of his operations. Concurrently he began the mining and shipping of a high grade of fire clay for use in the ceramic and steel industries. His product was characterized by its high quality and adaptability to the refractory linings of Bessemer furnaces and the manufacture of pottery, particularly that it became known to the trade as "Duncan Clay," a phrase which has now come to mean a general commodity used in ceramic and steel-making processes. Mr. Duncan also opened and operated a gainster rock quarry at Stanfield, near Kladder Station.
He took active interest in the growth of this community and was one of the founders of the Citizens' National bank of Hollidaysburg, serving as its president for the past 25 years.
For a time he was associated with the late J. King McLanahan, when the latter took over the management of Highland Hall school. With Thomas Kurtz and others he helped to organize the Standard Refractories company, later merged with the General Refractories company and also the Keystone Carbonic Gas company of Harrisburg. In later years, Mr. Duncan devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and to the supervision of an apple and peach orchard that he planted at Ore Hill.
Throughout his life Mr. Duncan was an ardent sportsman and lover of the outdoor life. He hunted and fished in Florida and Georgia and was especially fond of horses and was an excellent rider.
Mr. Duncan was a Republican and member of Trinity church, Pittsburg. Other clubs and societies with which he was affiliated were the Union league of Philadelphia; the Duquesne club of Pittsburg; the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the Spruce Creek Rod and Gun club and the Hollidaysburg club.
He was preceded in death by a sister and two brothers, as well as one daughter. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Anna B. Duncan and three daughters, Mrs. John Lloyd and Mrs. Mary Duncan Hartman, all of Hollidaysburg; and Mrs. Hudson D. Dravo, now residing in Manilla, P. I. He is also survived by thee grandchildren: Miss Marian Lloyd, Miss Anna Hartman and Jesse Lee Hartman.
Published in the Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania) - Wednesday, May 5, 1937.
Was Scion of Pioneer Family and Prominent Iron Ore and Fire Clay Operator
Peter Shoenberger Duncan, one of Hollidaysburg's most prominent residents, a lifelong iron ore and fire clay operator and scion of a pioneer family, died at his residence on Sunset Hill, Hollidaysburg, yesterday at 3 p. m., of complications owing to advanced years.
Mr. Duncan was a son of Major John William Duncan and Martha Shoenberger Duncan and was born at White Hall estate, near Pittsburg, October 16, 1862. He was a grandson of Dr. Peter Shoenberger, pioneer Pennsylvania iron master.
He was educated in private schools in Pittsburg where he spent his early life. After his marriage to Miss Anna Bowman Sweitzer, a daughter of General and Mrs. Jacob Bowman Sweitzer, of that city, in 1876, he resided for a short time in Philadelphia, New York and Lancaster, after which he moved to Bloomfield Furnace, Bedford county, where he resumed the active management of his mother's estate. A disastrous fire, in the course of which the old furnace at Bloomfield was completely destroyed, necessitated the removal of his family to Bedford, Pa., where he lived for four years.
Mr. Duncan's affairs early brought him into this community and he came to Hollidaysburg with his family in 1890. At that time he became interested in the development of iron ore properties in Blair and Bedford counties and the settlement now known as Ore Hill takes its name from its location near the site of his operations. Concurrently he began the mining and shipping of a high grade of fire clay for use in the ceramic and steel industries. His product was characterized by its high quality and adaptability to the refractory linings of Bessemer furnaces and the manufacture of pottery, particularly that it became known to the trade as "Duncan Clay," a phrase which has now come to mean a general commodity used in ceramic and steel-making processes. Mr. Duncan also opened and operated a gainster rock quarry at Stanfield, near Kladder Station.
He took active interest in the growth of this community and was one of the founders of the Citizens' National bank of Hollidaysburg, serving as its president for the past 25 years.
For a time he was associated with the late J. King McLanahan, when the latter took over the management of Highland Hall school. With Thomas Kurtz and others he helped to organize the Standard Refractories company, later merged with the General Refractories company and also the Keystone Carbonic Gas company of Harrisburg. In later years, Mr. Duncan devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and to the supervision of an apple and peach orchard that he planted at Ore Hill.
Throughout his life Mr. Duncan was an ardent sportsman and lover of the outdoor life. He hunted and fished in Florida and Georgia and was especially fond of horses and was an excellent rider.
Mr. Duncan was a Republican and member of Trinity church, Pittsburg. Other clubs and societies with which he was affiliated were the Union league of Philadelphia; the Duquesne club of Pittsburg; the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the Spruce Creek Rod and Gun club and the Hollidaysburg club.
He was preceded in death by a sister and two brothers, as well as one daughter. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Anna B. Duncan and three daughters, Mrs. John Lloyd and Mrs. Mary Duncan Hartman, all of Hollidaysburg; and Mrs. Hudson D. Dravo, now residing in Manilla, P. I. He is also survived by thee grandchildren: Miss Marian Lloyd, Miss Anna Hartman and Jesse Lee Hartman.
Published in the Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania) - Wednesday, May 5, 1937.
Peter S. Duncan Dies at Hollidaysburg
Was Scion of Pioneer Family and Prominent Iron Ore and Fire Clay Operator
Peter Shoenberger Duncan, one of Hollidaysburg's most prominent residents, a lifelong iron ore and fire clay operator and scion of a pioneer family, died at his residence on Sunset Hill, Hollidaysburg, yesterday at 3 p. m., of complications owing to advanced years.
Mr. Duncan was a son of Major John William Duncan and Martha Shoenberger Duncan and was born at White Hall estate, near Pittsburg, October 16, 1862. He was a grandson of Dr. Peter Shoenberger, pioneer Pennsylvania iron master.
He was educated in private schools in Pittsburg where he spent his early life. After his marriage to Miss Anna Bowman Sweitzer, a daughter of General and Mrs. Jacob Bowman Sweitzer, of that city, in 1876, he resided for a short time in Philadelphia, New York and Lancaster, after which he moved to Bloomfield Furnace, Bedford county, where he resumed the active management of his mother's estate. A disastrous fire, in the course of which the old furnace at Bloomfield was completely destroyed, necessitated the removal of his family to Bedford, Pa., where he lived for four years.
Mr. Duncan's affairs early brought him into this community and he came to Hollidaysburg with his family in 1890. At that time he became interested in the development of iron ore properties in Blair and Bedford counties and the settlement now known as Ore Hill takes its name from its location near the site of his operations. Concurrently he began the mining and shipping of a high grade of fire clay for use in the ceramic and steel industries. His product was characterized by its high quality and adaptability to the refractory linings of Bessemer furnaces and the manufacture of pottery, particularly that it became known to the trade as "Duncan Clay," a phrase which has now come to mean a general commodity used in ceramic and steel-making processes. Mr. Duncan also opened and operated a gainster rock quarry at Stanfield, near Kladder Station.
He took active interest in the growth of this community and was one of the founders of the Citizens' National bank of Hollidaysburg, serving as its president for the past 25 years.
For a time he was associated with the late J. King McLanahan, when the latter took over the management of Highland Hall school. With Thomas Kurtz and others he helped to organize the Standard Refractories company, later merged with the General Refractories company and also the Keystone Carbonic Gas company of Harrisburg. In later years, Mr. Duncan devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and to the supervision of an apple and peach orchard that he planted at Ore Hill.
Throughout his life Mr. Duncan was an ardent sportsman and lover of the outdoor life. He hunted and fished in Florida and Georgia and was especially fond of horses and was an excellent rider.
Mr. Duncan was a Republican and member of Trinity church, Pittsburg. Other clubs and societies with which he was affiliated were the Union league of Philadelphia; the Duquesne club of Pittsburg; the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the Spruce Creek Rod and Gun club and the Hollidaysburg club.
He was preceded in death by a sister and two brothers, as well as one daughter. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Anna B. Duncan and three daughters, Mrs. John Lloyd and Mrs. Mary Duncan Hartman, all of Hollidaysburg; and Mrs. Hudson D. Dravo, now residing in Manilla, P. I. He is also survived by thee grandchildren: Miss Marian Lloyd, Miss Anna Hartman and Jesse Lee Hartman.
Published in the Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania) - Wednesday, May 5, 1937.
Was Scion of Pioneer Family and Prominent Iron Ore and Fire Clay Operator
Peter Shoenberger Duncan, one of Hollidaysburg's most prominent residents, a lifelong iron ore and fire clay operator and scion of a pioneer family, died at his residence on Sunset Hill, Hollidaysburg, yesterday at 3 p. m., of complications owing to advanced years.
Mr. Duncan was a son of Major John William Duncan and Martha Shoenberger Duncan and was born at White Hall estate, near Pittsburg, October 16, 1862. He was a grandson of Dr. Peter Shoenberger, pioneer Pennsylvania iron master.
He was educated in private schools in Pittsburg where he spent his early life. After his marriage to Miss Anna Bowman Sweitzer, a daughter of General and Mrs. Jacob Bowman Sweitzer, of that city, in 1876, he resided for a short time in Philadelphia, New York and Lancaster, after which he moved to Bloomfield Furnace, Bedford county, where he resumed the active management of his mother's estate. A disastrous fire, in the course of which the old furnace at Bloomfield was completely destroyed, necessitated the removal of his family to Bedford, Pa., where he lived for four years.
Mr. Duncan's affairs early brought him into this community and he came to Hollidaysburg with his family in 1890. At that time he became interested in the development of iron ore properties in Blair and Bedford counties and the settlement now known as Ore Hill takes its name from its location near the site of his operations. Concurrently he began the mining and shipping of a high grade of fire clay for use in the ceramic and steel industries. His product was characterized by its high quality and adaptability to the refractory linings of Bessemer furnaces and the manufacture of pottery, particularly that it became known to the trade as "Duncan Clay," a phrase which has now come to mean a general commodity used in ceramic and steel-making processes. Mr. Duncan also opened and operated a gainster rock quarry at Stanfield, near Kladder Station.
He took active interest in the growth of this community and was one of the founders of the Citizens' National bank of Hollidaysburg, serving as its president for the past 25 years.
For a time he was associated with the late J. King McLanahan, when the latter took over the management of Highland Hall school. With Thomas Kurtz and others he helped to organize the Standard Refractories company, later merged with the General Refractories company and also the Keystone Carbonic Gas company of Harrisburg. In later years, Mr. Duncan devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and to the supervision of an apple and peach orchard that he planted at Ore Hill.
Throughout his life Mr. Duncan was an ardent sportsman and lover of the outdoor life. He hunted and fished in Florida and Georgia and was especially fond of horses and was an excellent rider.
Mr. Duncan was a Republican and member of Trinity church, Pittsburg. Other clubs and societies with which he was affiliated were the Union league of Philadelphia; the Duquesne club of Pittsburg; the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the Spruce Creek Rod and Gun club and the Hollidaysburg club.
He was preceded in death by a sister and two brothers, as well as one daughter. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Anna B. Duncan and three daughters, Mrs. John Lloyd and Mrs. Mary Duncan Hartman, all of Hollidaysburg; and Mrs. Hudson D. Dravo, now residing in Manilla, P. I. He is also survived by thee grandchildren: Miss Marian Lloyd, Miss Anna Hartman and Jesse Lee Hartman.
Published in the Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania) - Wednesday, May 5, 1937.
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