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WHO WAS WHO in PLUM TOWNSHIP
Titusville Herald – Feb 25, 1963
By H. W. Strawbridge

August Godfrey Fabian


August Godfrey Fabian was born in Magdenburg, Germany, on Sept 17, 1843, one of two sons of Johannes Godfrey and Mary Ann Hoffengrafer Fabian. The family home was located along Germany's famous river, the Elbe. Young August frequently went swimming in the Elbe, and as a stunt he and other boys dove under the ships anchored in the harbor. Once August didn't come back up. Another boy dove down and led him to the side of the ship where he managed to surface. The pressure and water caused deafness in his left ear ever afterwards. As a boy, August worked in the sugar beet fields outside the town in the summer, under the supervision of the wealthy landowner. The boys delighted in going to the forest during wintertime and fetching in bundles of dead branches or other wood for fuel. After finishing grade school, August worked for his father who was a millwright. The father had built his own mill and all the machinery that went with it. Here August learned to become a fine mechanic. A favorite story August later told was the time that an itinerant mechanic applied for a job as master mechanic. The father naturally asked the fellow to demonstrate his skill. The man took off his kid gloves, laid them on a log and placed another smaller log at right angles to the larger one, right on top of the gloves, and proceeded to square the smaller log with with an adz without cutting the gloves. He got the job. When August reached military age, he entered the German army for a tour of duty. At that time Otto Von Bismarck desired the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership and the establishment of a unified Germany as the most powerful European nation. To achieve his aim, the future Iron Chancellor declared war on Austria - fought at the same time as our own Civil War. During this war young Fabian was wounded three times, once in his shoulder and twice in his left arm. But the worst scourge was typhus fever. This disease took a great toll of lives. Recalled Battles - The war made a deep impression on Fabian. He later recalled in great detail many of the battles in which he participated. He witnessed one battle, in particular, between the cavalry of each county in a large open space with sloping hills on each side. The cavalry of each country came charging down its respective hill and met in furious combat in the valley. Soon horses could be seen leaving the scene with empty saddles, others with headless men hanging down the side of the horse, or with badly wounded men clinging to the mounts. After the war experiences, August heard about the opportunities in America, and fired by a desire to seek his fortune in this land, he sailed the Atlantic and reached New York City on May 9, 1867, he then being a man of 23 and unable to speak a word of English. He spent two or three weeks with a friendly, helpful German colony in that city. He then went to Olean, NY, where he got employment as a carpenter building houses. While there he learned about the higher wages being paid to carpenters in the bustling oil boom regions about Titusville. In Olean, carpenters were getting $1.50 a day, while here they were getting $5 or more per day. So, he arrived in this region and worked within a few miles radius of Titusville at such places as Pithole, and down along Oil Creek as far as Cherrytree. He mainly built houses which were in great demand as well as commercial structures. He often said that Oil Creek was correctly named because it was usually covered with a thin coating of oil. With all the excitement and fortunes being made, naturally one wanted to get in on the 'big money.' Accordingly, August made surveys of the surrounding areas. Each Sunday his surveys took him to Enterprise, Hydetown, down Oil Creek to Oil City. He saw Oil City when it was a small place surrounded by hills. Never Found in Quantity - As a result of these surveys, he decided that the best location was a few miles west of Titusville - in the village of Diamond, to be precise. As far as getting oil there was concerned, his decision was not a good one. Oil never was found in any great quantity in the Diamond area. On Dec 10, 1874, he married a Diamond girl, Miss Estella Helen Proper, eldest of ten children of William H and Mary Green Proper. Estella was born Nov 4, 1855. They first lived in what was later the old Shadle house, now gone for 50 years. Then they moved across the road into what was called 'the old brown house,' and in it for several years. Fabians had bought an acre on the south side of the road from John F Tarr of Cherrytree Township, and a few years later bought an adjoining acre from Henry Proper. They also bought two small chunks of land on the north side of the road from Henry Proper, each chunk containing 70 square perches. It was there that August built a wagon shop. There weren't many shops in the general area, and it proved to be a successful venture. He did a flourishing business making new wagons and repairing old ones. He made the wooden part of the wagons and hired a blacksmith to do the iron work. Blacksmiths who worked for him were Joshua Foster and Hezekiah Thomas. After both blacksmiths eased up on the business due to their advancing years, August did his own blacksmith work (on wagons only). He had different offers to go elsewhere into the wagon business. Kramer Brothers of Oil City offered a job to him; other wagon and carriage companies made tempting offers to him to sell their products among the Pennsylvania Dutch in the eastern part of the state. But he turned down all those offers simply because he liked Diamond and its people. In 1887 and 88 he constructed a large, two-story, nine room house on the south side of the road just a short distance from the brown one. Mainly clear white pine lumber was used in this new structure, and Fabian always was proud of telling this later. Used Money on House - He had received $500 from his father's estate in Germany, and he used this in the new house. Also, some neighbors were indebted to him for wagon work he did for them, and they labored on the new house to get their debts settled. A man named Charley Smizer built the cellar wall. This is presently the home of Mrs Pearl Grove. August then built a stable against the old brown house and kept two cows in the stable and used the old house for hay storage. This old house and stable were razed in 1924 by the late O G Proper and his son, Sharp W Proper, who presently lives in Titusville. They owned the place at that time and built the present small barn. Mr Fabian kept quite a flock of brown leghorn chickens. His flock was about the only one at that time that produced eggs in the wintertime. Most people then were unable to have their hens lay eggs in cold weather. In 1894 or 5 Fabians opened their home as a hotel, known as either 'Hotel Fabian' or 'the Fabian Hotel.' Countless travelers stopped there for overnight accommodations and meals. Mrs Fabian was an excellent cook and set a very bountiful table. Her typical meal would consist of meat, three vegetables, one or two kinds of bread, always two desserts, besides the other table necessities. She excelled in jams, jellies and pickles. Large dances were held in the village hall, and the crowds would leave about midnight for Hotel Fabian where they were served all they could eat for 75 cents apiece. The hotel also served many oyster suppers. August Fabian was five feet, 10 or 11 inches in height, and probably weighed 170 pounds. He was a rather reserved individual. He spoke English very good with only certain words having the German accent. An example was the word 'Just,' which he pronounced as 'dis.' Mrs Fabian was a stoutly built woman and was quite jolly. The couple united with the Diamond U B Church during their earlier years. Mrs Fabian was a charter member of the Diamond Grange when it was organized in April, 1906. They had three children who with their dates were as follows: Mary Ellen Fabian, Oct 25, 1875; Ora Belle Fabian, Sept 3, 1883; and Dr Frederick William Fabian, March 26, 1888. Mary was married to Judd Proper of Troy Township, and they settled in Ohio where he worked in the oil fields. Mary died at Newark, O, on Dec 22, 1962. They had the following children: Eleanor, Theodore, Alice, Lucille, Irene, Geneva and Morris Proper. Orra was married to Arthur Daub of Titusville, and they presently live in this city where they have spent their entire married life. They had the following children: Elmer, Carrie and Helen Daub. Dr Frederick was graduated from Allegheny College in 1914, taught physics and chemistry at Clearfield, Pa, then joined for World War I service as a Second Lieutenant in the Medical Corps. He later joined the faculty of Michigan State University as a professor of bacteriology and public health where he taught until his retirement in 1953. He was married to Miss Martha Gilchrist of Clearfield. They presently live in East Lansing, Mich. They had the following children: John Robert, Frederick W Jr, and Margaret Ann Fabian. The subject of this sketch, August Fabian, liked singing very well. He had been a boy soprano soloist in a Lutheran Church in Germany, of which his parents were devout members. As he matured he became a tenor. After settling in Diamond he together with the late George and Homan Tracy frequently got together for evening of singing. A good friend of Fabian was Joseph M Proper, a Civil War cavalryman and a lifelong Diamond resident. They often talked over their respective experiences. Both were staunch Republicans. One spring when they journeyed to the Plum Center schoolhouse to vote, Fabian was challenged upon his right to vote. He had forgotten to bring along his naturalization papers, so he hastened back to Diamond to get them, and went back to the schoolhouse to cast his vote. Mrs Fabian died on Sunday afternoon, May 8, 1910, after six weeks' illness of a liver complaint. Mr Fabian continued living in his home until his death which occurred the evening of Sept 21, 1918, as a result of a stroke. The funeral was held in his late home the afternoon of the 24th, and he was interred beside his wife in the Diamond Cemetery. The heirs sold the Diamond property in March, 1920, to the late Mr and Mrs J C August."

Transcribed by Penny Minnick

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription of information from both early and late (current contributors) work.