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| History of Cambria County, V.3 |
| 326 | HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. | |
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rance, killed in an accident in the state of Indiana. James, died many years ago. Henry Edmund Hudson, son of Henry and Esther (Burke) Hudson, was born near Loretto, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1823. He was but a boy when Prince Gallitzin lived in the northern part of the county, and it was his delight during the later years of his life to relate the incidents of his boyhood, particularly those in which the prince had a share. Mr. Hudson entered the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, as engineer, in 1852, on the Allegheny Portage railroad, and after some years was transferred to the Ohio & Pennsylvania railroad, now the Fort Wayne. Mr. Hudson took charge of an engine on the Pittsburg division of the Pennsylvania railroad in 1858, and during the greater part of his years of service had charge of the fastest passenger trains. In all this time he was noted for his careful attention to the duties of his position, his skill and reliability, and he never met with a serious accident. At the time he retired from active service on the road he had in charge an engine which pulled some of the finest passenger trains in this country. This was on the stretch between Conemaugh and Gallitzin, over the mountain. He was placed on the railroad pension list when he relinquished his duties, and a few months prior to his death he was placed on the Carnegie pension roll by Mr. Carnegie, who was his personal friend. Though advanced in years, his eye was as keen, his hand as steady, and his judgment as sound and correct, as in his prime, and he was the wonder of his more youthful co-workers. He was a consistent Christian, a loyal supporter of the government, and numbered among his friends such men of note as: J. Edgar Thompson, Thomas A. Scott, Andrew Carnegie, Enoch Lewis, Herman J. Lombart, George B. Roberts, Edward H. Williams, A. J. Cassatt, and Robert Pitcairn. He was a member of the Veterans' Association of the Pittsburg Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and attended all the meetings of the association with the exception of the one held in Altoona a few weeks prior to his demise. At a reunion of this organization, held in Johnstown, May 21, 1903, Henry Wilson Storey spoke of Mr. Hudson as follows: "Henry E. Hudson was an active engineer for forty-eight years, and at the age of seventy-five years ran on the fastest passenger trains, making fifty and sixty miles per hour, with the same calm judgment as his younger co-workers. His equal is unknown in the annals of railroading for great carefulness and length of time in service." Mr. Hudson married, July, 1853, Murtilla McLain, the Rev. Mr. Mullen, formerly of Johnstown, and later bishop of the Erie diocese of the Roman Catholic church, officiating. Mrs. Hudson was born in Blairsville, Pennsylvania, February 2, 1833, and was the fifth child of a family of six daughters and four sons. One of her sisters, Mrs. Ann Parker, lives in the fifth ward of Johnstown, and another, Mrs. Martha Dibert, lives in the second ward in the same city. Mrs. Hudson, who died in Johnstown, March 14, 1887, was a devoted wife and a most loving mother. She discharged the duties of a family which was blessed with many children in a most praiseworthy and faithful manner, yet always had time to spare for those in sorrow and affliction. She was never happier than when visiting the sick, or alleviating suffering in some form, and her death was deeply and sincerely regretted. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hudson were: Mary, deceased; Kate, George, Henry, twin of George, deceased; James, deceased; Anna., John, William, Lizzie, Mattie, Millie, deceased; Frank, deceased; Nellie. |
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