PA death certificate: lists year of birth as 1839; son of Jacob & Sallie (Lesh) Bixler
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The News (Newport, PA), 21 Jul 1914 (Tue), page 1
J. M. Bixler, who for a quarter of a century had been closely identified with the life of Newport died last evening about 9 o'clock of apoplexy, aged 74 years.
He had been as well as usual yesterday, although for years his advanced age had told on his strength and especially so since November 30, 1913, when he was overcome by a stroke of paralysis, which confined him to bed for several weeks. Withal he was the same ambitious, jovial man he had always been and enjoyed very much a 50-mile automobile trip on Sunday in company with his wife and the J. F. Fickes family to Montgomery's Ferry, New Bloomfield and other points.
Last evening about 8 o'clock he got a drink of ice water at W. Harry Smith's coal office on Walnut street and complained of a pain in his head. He sat for a time in front of the shop, occupied by J. M. Kauffman, saddler, and J. K. Spohn, shoemaker, at the northeast corner of Third and Walnut streets. Others sitting there saw that Mr. Bixler was getting sick and went to his aid, but he rapidly lapsed into unconsciousness, which he did not regain, dying an hour later at his home on West Walnut street, to which place he had been carried on Mr. Kauffman's lounge.
Joseph McHenry Bixler was a son of the late Jacob and Sarah (Lesh) Bixler and was born at Bixler Mills, this county, Nov. 14, 1839. He lived at Bixler until March, 1889, when he removed to this place. For a long while he conducted the woolen mills at that place while his father ran the grist mill. Since being in Newport he had been in the carpet-making business, in partnership with T. J. Clark and others, and later identifying himself with the Royal Rug Mills of this place and still more recently engaging in the manufacture of carpet and colonial rugs in his own name.
Sept. 29, 1865, he was married to Elmira Emily Behel, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Behel, at her home at Bixler by Rev. W. Allen Isenberg of the M. E. church. This was after the close of the Civil War in which Mr. Bixler had been engaged as an emergency man. To this union six children were born, viz: Allen I. of Bixler, Mrs. May Bixler Jamison and Mrs. Anna Edith Baker of Harrisburg, and Mrs. Sarah Gertrude Whitney of Trenton, N. J., and a son and daughter who died in infancy. Mrs. Julia Henderson, Mrs. Sadie Rowe and Misses Maggie and Jennie Bixler of Altoona and Mrs. J. J. Rice of New Bloomfield, his sisters, are the only surviving members of his father's family. Mildred Bixler of Bixler, Catherine Jamison of Harrisburg, Mrs. Lillian Markel of Chicago and Mrs. Leroy Stewart of Harrisburg are his grandchildren.
Mr. Bixler was a life member of the M. E. Church, first at Emory Chapel, near his former home, and later at this place. He was an active Sunday school man, being a teacher and officer in the Sunday school for half a century. He was tax collector for Newport from 1909 to 1913 and had been justice of the peace when living at Bixler. He was liked by all, had a funny story for every occasion, was energetic in business and will be sadly missed by the community, his church, his family and all who knew him.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday at 2 p. m., by Rev. J. C. Collins, his pastor, but further details have not been arranged.