Henry Clay, eldest son of Jacob Morton and Harriet (Arbogast) Hower, was born in Fermanagh Township, Juniata Co. PA, Nov 2, 1860. He grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated in the public schools and Airy View Academy. He began business life in partnership with his brother, Elijah Hower, under the firm name of H. C. Hower and Brother, lumbermen [eventually this company would become H.C. Hower and sons when Dwight and Wade joined the company], operating largely in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. They operated three portable saw mills and one permanent saw mill in Maryland. The later employed 50 men and produced six million feet of lumber annually. The three portable mills employed aout sixty men and operated at different localities. The firm also wholesaled lumber for others, handling about thirty-five mills in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland.
In 1915 H. C. Hower and J. M. Blair purchased the Tuscarora Valley Railroad and H. C. would serve as the company's president until the demise of the line in 1934.
Clay Hower was a director of the Juniata Valley National Bank, at Mifflintown. He was a Progressive in politics, but never sought or accepted office from any party. He and his wife were members of the Port Royal Lutheran Church.
