Lt. Harry Scott Fleck

  General Notes:

Harry S. Fleck was educated in the local schools, and at Cincinnati. He
did much home study and secured from the Susquehanna University his degree of
M.A., which was bestowed upon him May 19, 1909. He began teaching school in
1882 and taught for nine consecutive years in Sinking Valley and then was
called to Tyrone where he later became principal of the High School; in this
position he continued for ten years. In 1908 he was made superintendent of
the public schools; his success has been so pronounced that he has been
favorably mentioned for the office of county superintendent and undoubtedly
possesses every qualification for the same. For over a quarter of a century
he has been engaged in educational work, twenty years of which have been
passed at Tyrone. In politics he is a Republican, being at present (1911) one
of the secretaries of the County Committee; he has ever been an active and
loyal citizen. He has an admirable record as a member of the Pennsylvania
National Guard. In 1880 he enlisted as a private in the Sheridan Troop, won
promotion, becoming corporal, then sergeant and in November, 1894, was
elected second lieutenant. During the Spanish-American War he ranked as first
lieutenant and was detailed as quartermaster of the squadron that was made up
of all the Pennsylvania cavalry. He gained an excellent record in every
department. The Pennsylvania cavalry squadron saw service in Porto Rico, and
Lieutenant Fleck was commander of one of the troops on the way home.
Professor Fleck is a ready writer and has contributed largely both in
prose and verse, to different publications. He has written on a wide range of
subjects, being at home in various fields of literature.
On June 30, 1897, Professor Fleck was married to Miss Katherine Wertz, a
daughter of the late John W. and Edith (Wright) Wertz, and a direct descendant
in the sixth generation of John Bartram, a noted botanist in Pennsylvania, who
was a contemporary and friend of Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. These
noted men frequently visited the Bartram home and garden on the banks of the
Schuylkill. Mr. and Mrs. Fleck have had five children, three of whom survive:
Edith Rebecca, Harold Bartram and Hester Katherine. Mr. Fleck is very active
in the affairs of the Lutheran Church, of which he has been a member since he
was thirteen years of age. For many years he has been an elder, and at present
is secretary of the council.

Harry married Katharine Lee Wertz, daughter of Sgt. John W. Wertz and Edith Ann Wright, on 30 Jun 1897. (Katharine Lee Wertz was born in 1867,¹ died in 1960 ¹ and was buried in Saint Johns Lutheran Cemetery, Tyrone, Blair County, Pennsylvania, USA ¹.)