Henry Wilson Storey's History of Cambria County, V.III, p.383

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History of Cambria County, V.3

HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. 383

    WILLIAM H. SECHLER, an eminent lawyer of Ebensburg, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, now living in East Conemaugh, and who has served two terms as district attorney of that county, is a representative of an old and honored family of the state which has furnished its full quota in defense of the country of its adoption, and members of which have been prominent in every walk of life. The pioneer ancestor of all the Sechlers in America was a native of Germany, who came to this country at the time of the first visit of Penn, in 1682. He was one of the earliest settlers of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and his descendants migrated to the various other counties of the state and established their homes there.
    Henry Sechler, ,grandfather of William H. Sechler, and several generations removed from the pioneer ancestor of the family, was a man of wealth and influence in Montgomery county, and a prominent member of the Reformed church. He was a soldier during the war of the revolution, and served with bravery under Washington at the battle of Germantown. He married and raised a family.
    John Sechler, son of Henry Sechler, was born near Pottstown, Montgomery county, February 28, 1812. He had learned the trade of shoemaking, and pursued this occupation until 1838, when he migrated to Blair county, Pennsylvania, when he abandoned it for that of milling, with which he was occupied during the remainder of his life. He then, in succession, assumed charge of mills at Bells Mills, now Bellwood, Cherry Tree, Indiana county, 1849; Mitchels, 1856; Duncan's ( Red Mill), 1860; Summerhill, 1866; near Altoona, 1868; near Ebensburg, 1869, and while at this place formed a partnership with his two sons, William H, and George K. He and his son, George K., took charge of the Red Mill at Black Lick in 1875 and operated it for two years, at which time he retired from active business life, having been stricken with blindness in 1870. He removed to Altoona, Blair county, where he died and his remains are interred. He was a member of the Reformed church, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Catherine Gwinner, daughter of Gottlieb Henry Gwinner, a tanner of Blair county, and they had four sons and seven daughters.
    William H. Sechler, eldest child of John and Catherine (Gwinner) Sechler, was born in Frankstown, Blair county, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1840. His early education was received in the common schools of his native township, and he then attended the old Indiana Academy. He adopted the profession of teaching, and was engaged in this work from 1856 until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company A, Eleventh Pennsylvania Reserves, at Ebensburg, May 20, 1861. He was appointed to the rank of corporal, took an active part in the battle at Mechanicsville, but in the next battle in which he was a participant, that of Gaines' Mill, he was taken prisoner with his entire regiment. He spent twelve days in Libby prison, and was then given charge of a detachment of Union soldiers who were sent to clear off the prison site at Belle Island. There he remained, paroled, with four thousand others, until sent to the Union lines. September 12, 1862. He was in the convalescent camp at Washington, District of Columbia, until January 24, 1863, when he was discharged because of physical disability. He returned to his home and became clerk for the city commissioners, and then decided to make the study of law his lifework. He read law under the preceptorship of F. A. Shoemaker, Esq., of Ebensburg, and was admitted to the bar of Cambria county, September 26, 1864. For some years he remained as commissioner's clerk, but established himself

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	HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.	383
WILLIAM H. SECHLER, an eminent lawyer of Ebensburg, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, now living in East Conemaugh, and who has served two terms as district attorney of that county, is a representative of an old and honored family of the state which has furnished its full quota in defense of the country of its adoption, and members of which have been prominent in every walk of life. The pioneer ancestor of all the Sechlers in America was a native of Germany, who came to this country at the time of the first visit of Penn, in 1682. He was one of the earliest settlers of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and his descendants migrated to the various other counties of the state and established their homes there. Henry Sechler, ,grandfather of William H. Sechler, and several generations removed from the pioneer ancestor of the family, was a man of wealth and influence in Montgomery county, and a prominent member of the Reformed church. He was a soldier during the war of the revolution, and served with bravery under Washington at the battle of Germantown. He married and raised a family. John Sechler, son of Henry Sechler, was born near Pottstown, Montgomery county, February 28, 1812. He had learned the trade of shoemaking, and pursued this occupation until 1838, when he migrated to Blair county, Pennsylvania, when he abandoned it for that of milling, with which he was occupied during the remainder of his life. He then, in succession, assumed charge of mills at Bells Mills, now Bellwood, Cherry Tree, Indiana county, 1849; Mitchels, 1856; Duncan's ( Red Mill), 1860; Summerhill, 1866; near Altoona, 1868; near Ebensburg, 1869, and while at this place formed a partnership with his two sons, William H, and George K. He and his son, George K., took charge of the Red Mill at Black Lick in 1875 and operated it for two years, at which time he retired from active business life, having been stricken with blindness in 1870. He removed to Altoona, Blair county, where he died and his remains are interred. He was a member of the Reformed church, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Catherine Gwinner, daughter of Gottlieb Henry Gwinner, a tanner of Blair county, and they had four sons and seven daughters. William H. Sechler, eldest child of John and Catherine (Gwinner) Sechler, was born in Frankstown, Blair county, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1840. His early education was received in the common schools of his native township, and he then attended the old Indiana Academy. He adopted the profession of teaching, and was engaged in this work from 1856 until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company A, Eleventh Pennsylvania Reserves, at Ebensburg, May 20, 1861. He was appointed to the rank of corporal, took an active part in the battle at Mechanicsville, but in the next battle in which he was a participant, that of Gaines' Mill, he was taken prisoner with his entire regiment. He spent twelve days in Libby prison, and was then given charge of a detachment of Union soldiers who were sent to clear off the prison site at Belle Island. There he remained, paroled, with four thousand others, until sent to the Union lines. September 12, 1862. He was in the convalescent camp at Washington, District of Columbia, until January 24, 1863, when he was discharged because of physical disability. He returned to his home and became clerk for the city commissioners, and then decided to make the study of law his lifework. He read law under the preceptorship of F. A. Shoemaker, Esq., of Ebensburg, and was admitted to the bar of Cambria county, September 26, 1864. For some years he remained as commissioner's clerk, but established himself