History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, 1887



Mussina Family - JOSEPH WOOD MUSSINA Biography

An energetic business man and public-spirited citizen is Joseph Wood Mussina, of Williamsport. The family of which Mr. Mussina is a representative is of Polish origin and has been resident in Pennsylvania for nearly a century and a half.

Lyons Mussina was born in 1768, in Great Poland, and in 1786 emigrated to the United States. He settled in Union county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in business as a merchant. He married Barbara Nass, a native of Pennsylvania and a resident of Union county, and the following children were born to them : Rachel; Ann; Henry B.; Jacob Lyons, mentioned at length hereinafter; Julia Ann; and Jane.

Jacob Lyons Mussina, son of Lyons and Barbara (Nass) Mussina, was born April 29, 1807, at Aaronsburg, Centre county, Pennsylvania, and resided in Williamsport, where he conducted a flourishing business as a watchmaker and jeweler. He married, March 18, 1834, Jerusha P., born in Williamsport, daughter of John Bailey, who was a soldier in the war of 1812 and died while in service, but whether from illness or on the field of battle is uncertain. Mr. and Mrs. Mussina were the parents of the following children : Joseph Wood, mentioned at length hereinafter; Sylvester; Lauretta J.; Helena; Mary A.; J. Lyons; S. Augustus; and Thomas S.

Joseph Wood Mussina, eldest child of Jacob Lyons and Jerusha P. (Bailey) Mussina, was born October 20, 1835, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he received his education in Dickinson Seminary. He learned the art of telegraphy and was for several years engaged in the construction and management of the first telegraph system of central Pennsylvania. For some years he held the position of assistant superintendent of the Catawissa railroad, but resigned in order to take charge of the jewelry business which his father had founded and successfully conducted. Mr. Mussina was one of the incorporators, and also president of the Merchants' National Bank of Williamsport, which has since been merged in the. West Branch National Bank. He was one of the founders and is now president of the Grandview Cemetery Company. The Masonic Temple Association numbers Mr. Mussina among its organizers and also among its officers, in whose ranks he serves as secretary and chairman of the building committee. He also serves as chairman of the building committee of the Scottish Rite cathedral. Mr. Mussina is active as a citizen, and has been placed by his townsmen in offices of trust, having been chosen several times to serve in the select and common councils and also as a member of the board of school directors.

Mr. Mussina is a member of Lodge No. 106, F. and A. M., of Williamsport, in which, since 1874, he has served two terms as master, trustee, and treasurer of trustees. He belongs to Lycoming H. R. A., Chapter No. 222, in which, in 1883, he held the office of high priest. Since 1894 he has been treasurer of Adoniram Council, No. 26, and in 1885 was commander of Baldwin II Commandery, No. 22. In the last-named organization he has held, since 1890, the office of treasurer. He has taken the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, Valley of Williamsport, and the thirty-third degree in the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, United States of America. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Mulberry Street Methodist Episcopal church in which, for nearly twenty-five years, he has served as trustee, treasurer of trustees, and chairman of the building committee.

Mr. Mussina married, in Cleveland, Ohio, Margaret, daughter of Joseph Betts, a farmer of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania.


Source: Genealogical and Personal History of Lycoming County, John W. Jordan, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1906.








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