A Brief Biography of Benton Albert Kribbs 1859-1911
(from the Commemorative Biographical Record)
B. A. KRIBBS. The city of Knox boasts
of quite a number of prominent and enterprising business men who have done
much to advance the interests of the place, but none are held in higher
regard, or deserve greater recognition than the subject of this sketch,
who has been closely identified with its material prosperity for several
years, and is now the senior member of the well-known firm of B. A. Kribbs
& Co.
He traces his ancestry back to Christian Kribbs,
who was born near Strasbourg, in Alsace, now a part of Germany, about 1775,
and emigrated with his parents to this country in 1785, landing in Philadelphia.
Being the oldest in the family, he was bound out to a well-to-do planter
of New Jersey, while the parents with their other children proceeded to
Westmoreland county, Penn. He remained with that gentleman
until he had attained his majority, and although he had to work hard, he
was provided with a fair education, and obtained a knowledge of the world
which he could not have gathered had he accompanied his parents.
On leaving his master, at the age of twenty-one, he went in search of his
parents, whom he had not seen since leaving Philadelphia twelve years previous,
and when found had hard work persuading them that he was their little Christian.
It was finally proven by a certain birthmark. He remained in Westmoreland
county, where he later married and where five of his children were born:
George,
Philip,
John,
Mary, and Katy. In 1817, he brought his family to Clarion
county, then Venango county, and located in Beaver township, about
two miles northwest of Edenburg, or Knox, on the farm known to-day as the
old Christian Kribbs farm, where his three other children -- Priscilla,
Jacob, and Betsy -- were born.
George Kribbs, grandfather of our subject,
accompanied his parents on their removal to Clarion county, and remained
their with his father, assisting in transforming the primitive forest into
one of the best farms of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty-five
he married Miss Susanna Sheffer, of the same county, the daughter
of a well-to-do farmer, and later purchased a farm at Beaver City, about
one mile southwest of Knox, where he made his home until called from this
life in 1879, at the age of seventy-four years. He was a large land
owner and one of the leading and distinguished citizens of his community.
In 1835 he was elected one of the commissioners of Venango county, being
the first to serve in that responsible position from the district east
of the Allegheny river. Later he was captain in the State Militia,
and was ever afterward known by that title. In 1848 he became interested
in the iron business, owning the furnace now known as the Eagle furnace,
on Canoe creek, near the Clarion river. In that enterprise he was
a member of the firm of Reynolds & Kribbs, but in 1860 disposed of
his interest in the business and returned to his farm at Beaver City.
In 1873 oil was found upon the place and a number of wells sunk, which
are still in operation.
In the family of George and Susanna (Sheffer)
Kribbs were the following children: Barbara is the wife of W.
Bell, of East Bradford, Penn.; P. F. is the father of our subject;
Kate
is the wife of Dr. Ed Meeker, of West Virginia; Priscilla
is the wife of Harrison Findley, now of Hennessey, Okla.; Rev.
John A. is the principal of the Orphan's Home, near Zelienople, Butler
Co., Penn. In 1862 he enlisted in Beaver township, Clarion
county, in Company G, 155th P.V.I. for three years or during the war, was
commissioned second lieutenant, and as a member of the Army of the Potomac
participated in all the battles of his regiment; Harriet is the
wife of Rev. J. B. Fox, of Slatington, Penn.; George F. was
for about twelve years the editor and publisher of the Clarion Democrat,
later practiced law, represented his district for two terms in Congress,
and is now a resident of Narcoossee, Fla.; W. G. is a farmer living
two miles north of Edinburg, Pennsylvania.
P. F. Kribbs, father of our subject, spent
his boyhood on the old homestead at Beaver City, and acquired his education
in the common schools of the neighborhood. At the age of sixteen
he went with the family to Eagle Furnace, where he entered a store as salesman,
and later served as bookkeeper and manager of the business. While
at that place he was married in 1856, at the age of twenty-four, to Miss
Catherine Knight, youngest daughter of Daniel Knight, a well-known
farmer of Richland township, Clarion county, and there their oldest child
was born: Florence, now Mrs. G. S. Karns, of Franklin, Penn.,
and also B. A. Kribbs, the subject of this sketch. After
coming to Edenburg, or Knox, in 1861, the family circle was increased by
the birth of five other children, namely: E. E.; W. W., now
of Marionville, Penn.; C. C.; Susie and Mabel.
In 1859 P. F. Kribbs was elected justice
of the peace, which position he most satisfactorily filled for fifteen
years, and, while engaged in merchandising at Knox, also served as postmaster
from 1862 until 1874. He became largely interested in real estate
and also in the oil business, owning about one hundred and twenty oil wells
which were in operation; but when the hard times set in in 1891, he was
forced to make an assignment. However, by 1896, he had settled all
claims, and in the language of one of the attorneys of Clarion a large
amount of property was redeeded. He is a staunch Democrat in politics,
and is a member of the Lutheran Church, to which his family also belongs.
He is one of the most distinguished and influential citizens of Knox, a
leader in thought and actions.
B. A. Kribbs, whose name introduces this
sketch, was born at Eagle Furnace, in Beaver township, Clarion County,
May 29, 1859, and was reared in that township, pursuing his early studies
in its public schools. Later he attended school in Edenburg, took
a business course in the Iron City Commercial College of Pittsburg, and
was also a student in the State Normal School at Edinboro, Erie Co., Penn.,
leaving the last institution in 1876. Thus well-equipped for life's
responsible positions, he began his business career as messenger in the
Clarion County Bank, and later had charge of the books for two years.
After leaving the Iron City Commercial College in 1881, Mr. Kribbs
became connected with his father in mercantile pursuits, doing
business under the firm name of P. F. Kribbs & Son until February
1895, when it was changed to B. A. Kribbs & Co., the father selling
his interests to Messrs. J. C. Berlin and A. J. Smith, oil
men of Edenburg. They occupy what is known as the Kribbs Block, a
handsome three-story structure, sixty feet frontage, containing two store
rooms, one being used as the dry goods department, the other as the grocery
department.
The second floor is devoted to clothing, carpets, and wallpaper, the basement
to heavy groceries and oil, and the third floor is used as a lodge room
by the Masonic order. The firm carries a well-selected stock of general
merchandise valued at $25,000 - and from the public receives a liberal
patronage. Mr. Kribbs is recognized as one of the most reliable,
energetic and progressive business men of the place, and has ever taken
a commendable interest in all enterprises calculated to benefit the community.
He has engaged to some extent in the oil business, and for a time was a
member of the firm of Hunter & Kribbs, furniture dealers.
On July 17, 1888, in Edenburg, Mr. Kribbs
was united in marriage to Miss Annabel Hill, daughter of J. C.
Hill, who located in Edenburg in 1875, coming from Freeport, Armstrong
Co., Penn. Mrs. B. A. Kribbs is a descendant of one of the
oldest families of Armstrong and Allegheny counties, her great-great grandfather
having come from Jersey State about 1770, locating at New Alexandria.
Her great-grandfather fought through the Revolutionary war, being with
the Continental army at Valley Forge during the severe winter of 1777.
To Mr. and Mrs. B. A.. Kribbs have been born two children:
Marie
Eleanor and Philip Forbes. Religiously, Mr. Kribbs
is a Lutheran, and has served as deacon of his Church, superintendent of
the Sunday school, and has ever taken an active part in the work of both.
He is a member of Edenburg Lodge No. 550, F.&A.M., and of Eden Chapter
No. 259, R.A.M., of Clarion Co., Penn., in both of which he has served
in all the chairs, making him a life member of the respective grand bodies.
He is also a member of Pittsburg Commandery No. 1, K.T., of Pittsburg,
Penn. His political support has always been given the men and measures
of the Democratic party, and he has been called upon to serve as a delegate
to county conventions, member of the city council one term, judge of the
election board and auditor. He has made an untarnished record, and
has an unspotted reputation as a business man. In all places and
under all circumstances, he is loyal to truth, honor and right, justly
valuing his own self-respect as infinitely more preferable than wealth,
fame and position.
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