1907 Photo of My 2x Great Grandfather and Other County Officials

My great, great grandfather, A. L. Merrill, was county commissioner of Clinton County, Pennsylvania, in the early 1900s. This summer, I found the first photo I’ve seen of him. But, it was in a 1958 newspaper clipping, so it was under copyright laws. I recently emailed the publisher of the newspaper, The Express, who quickly responded with permission to use the photo.

This photo was under a section titled “Pictures from the Past” and was described as follows: This group of Court House office holders 51 years ago, was augmented by the mail carrier, who happened to be passing as the photographer went to work. He is William Kinley, top row, left. The others in the top row are Alex Flanigan, county commissioner; George T. Michaels, deputy register and recorder; William A. Snyder, register and recorder; T. B. Bridgens, county treasurer; William B. Hanna, commissioner; Isaac Rumberger, deputy prothonotary, and J. Harris Mussina, sheriff. Front row, A. L. Merrill, commissioner; James A. Wensel, commissioners’ clerk; W. H. Kleper, deputy sheriff; and James R. Kinley, prothonotary.

Though the 1907 photo lists him as commissioner, I know he was county commissioner at some point. I’m assuming that is a “step up,” though I don’t know for sure. This summer I also found one of his business cards at a library in Clinton County, which I blogged about earlier. I hope to see if the court house or an archive has more photos of early county officials in which more photos of A. L. Merrill might be found.

My Line:

• • Augustus Lippencott “A. L.” Merrill (1848-1920) married Sarah Jane Eastwood (1848-1923)
  • Bessie Waldron Merrill (1879-1959) married Andrew “Andy” McClintock Stewart (1882-1954)
  • James Edward Stewart (1910-1972) married Hazel Lucille Peters (1910-1975), my grandparents

Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net with any comments or questions.