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HISTORY  OF 


SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 
PENNSYLVANIA 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 


Including  a  Genealogical  and  Biographical  Record 
of  Many  Families  and  Persons  in  the  County 


Edited  by  Adolf  W.  Schalck  and  Hon.  D.  C.  Henning 
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ILLUSTRATED 


VOL.  II 


State  Historical  AssoaATiON 
1907 


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HISTORY    OF 

SCHUYLKILL    COUNTY 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


Adams,  George,  deceased,  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent and  public  spirited  citizens  of  Schuylkill  county,  was  born  in 
Windsor  township,  Berks  county,  March  3,  1828.  He  was  a  son  of 
Samuel  and  Catherine  (Strausser)  Adams.  In  early  life  he  learned 
the  carpenter^s  trade  and  located  in  Ashland,  removing  from  there 
to  Middleport,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  & 
R,eading  railroad  as  foreman  in  charge  of  the  building  of  bridges 
and  stations.  He  also  built  numerous  breakers  for  private  con- 
cerns. He  resigned  his  position  with  the  railroad  company  and 
secured  employment  at  one  of  the  boat-yards  located  at  Landing- 
ville.  In  1858  he  started  in  business  for  himself.  Mr.  Adams  carried 
on  boat  building  on  a  scale  larger  than  any  of  his  competitors, 
sometimes  employing  as  high  as  50  men,  and  had  six  boats  on 
stocks  at  one  time.  This  business  was  conducted  continuously 
for  thirty-two  years,  and  was  only  discontinued  by  reason  of  the 
abandonment  of  that  portion  of  the  Schuylkill  canal  between 
Schuylkill  Haven  and  Port  Clinton,  this  having  been  the  only  out- 
let for  the  larger  type  of  boats  built  during  the  later  years  of  the 
industry  in  this  section.  At  first  boats  were  constructed  for  the 
Schuylkill  canal  with  a  carrying  capacity  of  80  tons,  and  later  with 
a  freight  limit  of  300  tons  for  trade  along  New  York,  Baltimore 
and  New  Haven.  In  1866  he  purchased  a  farm  in  this  county  and 
by  industry  and  perseverance  built  up  what  later  became  the  village 
of  Adamsdale.  In  1875  ^^  erected  a  hotel  and  later  a  general  store 
which  is  still  conducted  by  the  estate.  Besides  these,  several  resi- 
dences and  a  wheelwright  shop  were  put  up.  In  1891  with  two 
partners  he  established  the  Adams  Shoe  Company  of  Adamsdale. 
The  first  factory  was  the  rear  of  the  general  store  conducted  by  Mr. 
Adams,  but  in  1900  a  three-story  frame  building,  40  feet  wide  by 
2— Vol.  II  17 


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18  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

loo  in  length,  was  built  and  in  this  the  industry  has  since  been 
carried  on.  Mr.  Adams  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
Miss  Eliza  Deiner,  and  from  this  union  there  were  nine  children, 
seven  of  whom  are  living.  They  are  George,  Richard,  Frank, 
Charles,  John,  Robert  and  Katherine  Elizabeth,  the  last  named  of 
whom  is  married  and  lives  in  Landingville.  After  death  had  an- 
nulled the  first  marriage  Mr.  Adams  married  Mrs.  Diana  Schall,  a 
vddow,  and  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Philip  Mayer,  who  for  more  than 
forty  years  was  a  minister  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Adams' 
death  occurred  on  March  5,  1901,  and  was  mourned  by  all  who 
knew  him.  The  borough  which  was  named  after  him  will  stand 
as  a  lasting  monument  to  his  memory.  He  was  a  man  of  unexcelled 
ability,  stalwart  Christian  principles  and  unsullied  honor. 

Albert,  J.  V.,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon  of  Pine 
Grove,  was  born  in  Lebanon  county,  Pa.,  on  Jan.  2^^  1849.  He 
is  a  son  of  John  and  Catherine  (Urich)  Albert,  both  of  Lebanon 
county.  The  father  was  a  miller  and  operated  a  mill  at  Greble 
all  his  active  life.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  zealous  and  devout 
members  of  the  Reformed  church  and  he  held  offices  in  the  same. 
The  mother  died  in  1894  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years  and  the 
father  in  February,  1903,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  children.  The  eldest,  David,  was  a  doctor  of  med- 
icine who  died  in  Greble  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  two  years  after 
starting  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Rebecca  is  the  widow  of 
William  Louser  and  lives  in  Lebanon.  The  subject  of  this  sketch, 
the  youngest  child  of  his  parents,  attended  the  academy  at  Myers- 
town  and  Bucknell  college  for  a  year  and  a  half  for  his  preliminary 
education.  He  began  his  medical  studies  when  he  was  but  sixteen 
years  of  age,  doing  considerable  reading  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Frank- 
enbower  at  Myerstown.  In  1870  he  was  granted  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  by  the  faculty  of  the  Jefferson  Medical  college 
of  Philadelphia  and  at  once  began  his  professional  practice  at 
Myerstown.  Subsequently  he  went  to  Millersburg  and  since  1880 
has  been  a  general  practitioner  in  Pine  Grove.  His  practice  has 
steadily  increased  with  each  year  and  he  is  recognized  as  a  leader 
in  the  profession,  being  often  called  in  consultation  with  other 
physicians.  He  is  the  oldest  member  of  the  profession  in  the 
borough,  and  is  actively  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. Politically  he  is  an  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party  and 
as  such  served  one  term  as  deputy  coroner.  On  Sept.  30,  1867,  Dr. 
Albert  married  Miss  Emma  E.  Fisher,  a  native  of  Berks  county 
and  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Amelia  (Filbert)  Fisher.  The  one 
child  of  this  union,  Claude  N.,  is  now  grown  to  manhood  and  con- 
ducts a  stationery  store  in  Pine  Grove.  The  son  married  Rebecca 
Fair,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  both  deceased.  The  doctor 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church  and  the  doctor 
is  an  active  worker  in  the  Royal  Arcanum,  of  which  he  is  medical 
examiner. 

Albright,  Hiester  S.,  at  the  head  of  the  shoe  manufacturing  firm 
of  H.  S.  Albright  &  Co.,  of  Orwigsburg,  was  born  in  Schuylkill 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  19 

county  on  June  20,  1856,  a  son  of  William  S.  and  Amanda  (Bodey) 
Albright,  natives  of  the  Keystone  state.  The  father  was  a  farmer 
and  dealer  in  live-stock  and  died  in  1868  at  the  age  of  thirty-two 
years.  The  mother  is  still  living,  making  her  home  with  an  un- 
married daughter  in  Orwigsburg.  This  daughter,  Bella  V.,  is 
the  only  other  living  member  beside  the  subject  of  this  sketch  of  a 
family  of  five  children.  Mr.  Albright  left  school  when  he  was 
twelve  years  of  age  and  "hired  out"  as  a  clerk  in  an  Orwigsburg 
store.  Thep  he  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  shoe  cutters'  trade 
for  three  years  and  after  two  years  as  a  master  of  the  trade  he 
drifted  into  the  business.  This  furnished  him  a  good  means  of 
livelihood  for  a  number  of  years  and  in  1880  he  embarked  in  the 
shoe  manufacturing  industry  with  a  partner,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Albright  &  Brown.  This  partnership  continued  until  1883, 
when  Mr.  Brown  severed  his  connection  with  the  firm  and  the 
name  was  changed  to  H.  S.  Albright  &  Co.,  with  George  C.  Diefen- 
derfer  as  the  other  member.  The  firm  has  an  enviable  reputation 
as  makers  of  high  class  goods  and  it  has  been  most  successful.  On 
Jan.  6,  1886,  Mr.  Albright  married  Miss  Virginia  F.  Newhard,  of 
Lebanon,  Pa.,  a  daughter  of  James  J.  Newhard.  This  marriage 
was  blessed  with  one  child,  Nellie  Virginia,  a  graduate  of  the  Allen- 
town  college  for  women,  in  the  class  of  1905.  Mrs.  Albright  died 
in  February,  1899,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two.  Mr.  Albright  is  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  church,  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason 
and  a  member  of  the  various  Masonic  bodies.  Although  not  active 
he  is  an  interested  adherent  of  the  Republican  party.  Probably  no 
man  in  Schuylkill  county  is  better  or  more  favorably  known  than 
Mr.  Albright,  who  is  always  a  leader  in  any  enterprise  that  has  for 
its  object  the  betterment  of  the  county  or  state. 

Albright,  Morgan  S.,  steward  of  the  Schuylkill  county  alms- 
house, is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Esther  (Sheridan)  Albright,  and  was 
born  in  West  Brunswick  township,  on  Dec.  27,  1842.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  his  home  town  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years 
began  working  on  his  father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
purchased  a  farm  of  his  own,  which  he  conducted  for  ten  years. 
In  1874  he  went  into  the  butcher's  business,  in  which  line  he  con- 
tinued for  twenty-five  years,  and  followed  that  for  three  years  by 
dealing  in  cattle  and  horses.  In  1902  he  was  elected  steward  of 
the  alms-house,  which  position  he  is  at  present  occupying.  On 
Aug.  29,  1864,  Mr.  Albright  married  Susannah  E.  Diebert,  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Drumheller)  Diebert,  of  North  Manheim 
township.  From  this  union  eight  children  were  born,  and  of  them 
record  is  here  made:  Alvin  A.,  of  Pottstown,  Pa.;  William  M., 
living  in  Louisiana;  Hetty  R.,  married  to  Allen  Smith,  of  Orwigs- 
burg; Nora  C,  married  to  Burd  Linder,  postmaster  at  Orwigsburg; 
.Annie,  deceased;  Margaret,  living  at  home;  and  two  daughters 
who  died  before  reaching  maturity.  Mr.  Albright  is  a  member  of 
the  Free  Masons  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed 
church  of  Orwigsburg.  ' 


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20  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Allison,  Robert,  retired,  a  pioneer  citizen  of  Port  Carbon  and  for 
many  years  a  prominent  figure  in  the  scientific  world,  was  born  in 
Middleton,  Teesdale,  Durham  county,  England,  on  Dec.  25,  1827. 
He  is  one  of  five  surviving  children  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Alli- 
son, the  others  being  Emily  (Mrs.  Evans),  Martha,  Louise  and 
Jane.  With  his  mother  he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1830,  the 
father  having  come  a  year  previous  and  made  a  home  for  the  family 
in  Schuylkill  county.  His  early  life  was  that  of  any  boy  of  the 
region,  attending  school  until  twelve  years  old  and  when  between 
twelve  and  sixteen  years  of  age  working  in  the  mines  in  summer 
and  going  to  school  in  the  winter.  In  his  seventeenth  year  he 
entered  the  machine  shops  of  Haywood  &  Snyder  of  Pottsville 
as  an  apprentice  to  the  machinist's  trade  and  after  he  had  become 
a  journeyman  he  was  employed  by  the  firm  for  two  years.  Then 
he  accepted  a  position  as  foreman  in  the  machine  shops  of  Tobias 
Wintersteen  at  Port  Carbon  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  1862. 
In  that  year  he  formed  a  partnership  with  F.  B.  Banman  and  estab- 
lished the  Franklin  Iron  works  at  Port  Carbon  and  fourteen  years 
later  he  purchased  Mr.  Banman's  interest  in  the  concern.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  active  management  of  it  until  1901,  when  he  disposed 
of  his  control  to  William  A.  Cathers,  and  since  that  time  has  lived 
a  retired  life.  While  actively  engaged  in  his  vocation  Mr.  Allison 
established  a  world-wide  reputation  for  himself  and  had  many 
unique  experiences.  While  in  the  employ  of  Haywood  &  Snyder 
he  assisted  in  the  erection  of  the  first  coal  breaker  ever  erected  in 
the  territory  between  Port  Carbon  and  St.  Clair.  When  that  same 
company  built  the  Montour  Iron  works  at  Danville  he  was  one  of 
their  workmen,  and  when  the  mill  was  completed  he  remained  in 
Danville  to  see  turned  out  the  first  T-rail  ever  rolled  in  this  country. 
Many  of  the  inventions  which  are  today  used  to  great  extent  in 
mining  are  the  result  of  Mr.  Allison's  hard  labor  and  experiments. 
.Among  his  inventions  which  have  become  universally  used  are 
the  Cataract  steam  pump,  the  hydraulic  feed  for  diamond  drills, 
percussion  rock  drills  and  compressed  air  engines.  Shipments  of 
these  instruments  and  machinery  are  made  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Mr.  Allison  has  been  twice  married.  In  1849  ^^  ^^^  united  to  Miss 
Catherine  Thomburg,  daughter  of  Solomon  Thornburg,  of  Potts- 
ville. Twelve  children  blessed  this  union,  of  whom  two  sons, 
Joseph  and  William,  are  deceased.  The  surviving  members  are 
Emily,  Kate,  Laura,  Minnie,  Louise,  Fannie,  Charles,  Frank,  Carrie 
and  Nellie.  Death  annulled  the  first  marriage  in  1880,  and  in  1882 
Mrs.  Mary  M.  Stocker  of  Philadelphia  became  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Allison.  There  are  no  children  by  the  second  union.  The  family 
are  all  devout  communicants  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  The 
father  is  a  member  of  Schuylkill  Lodge,  No.  27,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  and  for  a  number  of  years  past  has  been  treasjirer. 
In  Masonic  circles  he  is  also  prominent,  being  a  member  of  the 
Pulaski  Blue  Lodge,  the  Constantine  Commandery,  Knights 
Templars,  and  the  Lulu  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles 
of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  of  Philadelphia,  and  for  many  years  has 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  21 

been  a  member  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers 
and  of  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers.  In  political 
matters  he  is  a  Republican  and  as  such  has  at  different  times  been 
the  successful  candidate  for  election  to  the  offices  of  school  director 
and  borough  councilman.  His  business  interests  include  many 
enterprises,  not  only  in'  Port  Carbon,  but  also  in  other  cities  and 
counties.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Schuylkill  Trust  Company,  the 
Pottsville  Gas  Company,  treasurer  of  the  Port  Carbon  Electric 
Light  Company,  trustee  of  the  Miners'  hospital  at  Ashland,  and 
is  financially  interested  in  the  Turkey  Gap  Coal  &  Coke  Company 
of  West  Virginia.  When  Mr.  Allison  first  came  to  Port  Carbon 
it  was  a  place  of  very  few  inhabitants,  and  his  family  located  on 
the  property  opposite  to  where  the  Catholic  church  now  stands. 
For  more  than  sixty  years  he  has  been  a  large  factor  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  borough,  and  he  may  justly  feel  proud  of  his  con- 
nection with  it. 

Allott,  Rev.  R.  D.,  was  bom  in  England  and  is  the  son  of  Robert 
W.  and  Annie  (Snaith)  Allott.  He  is  one  of  a  family  of  eight — 
five  sisters  and  three  brothers.  Of  his  sisters,  Mary  married  John 
English  of  Kaska,  Schuylkill  county ;  Anna  married  Thomas  Main, 
of  Chester,  Pa.;  Madeline  married  Willard  Linn,  of  Philadelphia; 
Ida  and  Jenny  are  at  home.  His  two  brothers  are  Robert  and 
William.  All  of  the  family  are  living.  The  parents  of  Rev.  R. 
D.  Allott  came  to  the  United  States  when  he  was  one  and  a  half 
years  old  and  located  in  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  county.  He  obtained 
his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and  his  academic  training 
at  the  theological  seminary  in  Pennington,  N.  J.,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  1902.  His  first  appointment  was  to  Bridgeboro,  N.  J., 
and  the  second  to  Atglen,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  coming  from  that 
place  to  Schuylkill  Haven.  The  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
of  Schuylkill  Haven,  of  which  he  is  pastor,  was  organized  in  1849. 
It  was  closed  in  1875  ^"^  after  being  closed  for  over  a  quarter  of 
a  century  was  reorganized  in  1902  by  Rev.  C.  T.  Isenberger,  with 
a  membership  of  seventy-nine.  A  new  brick  church  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $8,500,  on  St.  John  street.  After  a  three  years'  pastorate 
Rev.  Mr.  Isenberger  was  transferred  to  the  Windsor  Street  Meth- 
odist church  of  Reading,  Pa.,  and  was  followed  in  Schuylkill  Haven 
by  Rev.  Broder  Matzen,  who  was  pastor  one  year,  going  then  to 
Churchtown,  Lancaster  county,  Pa.  In  March,  1906,  Rev.  Ralph 
D.  Allott  became  pastor,  the  membership  having  increased  to  one 
hundred  and  thirteen.  On  July  7,  1906,  Rev.  R.  D.  Allott  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Estella  B.  Coldren,  daughter  of  John  D.  and  Kate  B. 
(Becker)  Coldren,  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  Previous  to  her  marriage 
Mrs.  Allott  was  a  music  teacher  and  is  a  very  fine  musician.  Mr. 
Allott  IS  a  member  of  the  Philomathean  society,  a  college  fra- 
ternity. In  politics  he  is  independent,  being  in  favor  of  reform 
government. 

Archbald,  James,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Scranton,  Pa.,  Feb.  19,  1866. 
He  comes  from  a  family  well  known  throughout  the  anthracite 


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22  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

region,  and  which  has  been  prominent  in  its  development.  Of  his 
grandfathers,  one,  James  Archbald,  planned,  built  and  managed  the 
gravity  railroad  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Company,  the 
first  railroad  to  enter  the  Lackawanna  region,  and  later  became  chief 
engineer  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  railroad ;  while 
his  maternal  grandfather,  Joseph  J.  Albright,  was  general  manager 
of  the  coal  department  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson.  Colonel  Arch- 
bald's  father,  also  named  James,  was  a  captain  in  the  I32d  Penn- 
sylvania volunteer  infantry  during  the  Civil  war  and  in  1870  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  chief  engineer  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  & 
Western  railroad.  Colonel  Archbald  is  also  a  nephew  of  Judge 
Robert  Wodrow  Archbald  of  the  United  States  district  court.  He 
was  educated  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  and  at  Yale 
university,  graduating  at  the  latter  in  1887.  His  business  career 
was  begun  with  the  Barber  Asphalt  Paving  Company  in  Scranton 
and 'Wilkes  Barre,  varied  by  engineering  work  in  winter.  Some 
time  also  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  law.  After  1890  he  was  for 
two  years  manager  of  the  Sterrick  Creek  Coal  Company  at  Peck- 
ville.  Pa.,  and  for  six  years  manager  of  the  Albright  Coal  Company 
at  Llewellyn  in  Schuylkill  county.  In  1898  he  became  associated 
with  his  father-in-law,  Maj.  Heber  S.  Thompson,  as  a  civil  and 
mining  engineer  at  Pottsville.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Miners' 
National  bank  of  Pottsville;  of  the  Edison  Electric  Illuminating 
Company;  of  the  Royal  Wholesale  Grocery  Company;  and  is  a 
director  and  treasurer  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Pottsville  club,  and  president  of  the 
Outdoor  club  of  Pottsville.  Colonel  Archbald's  military  history 
dates  back  to  1880  when  he  began  his  career  as  a  regimental  g^ide 
or  "marker,"  being  then  a  member  of  Company  C  of  the  13th  regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  National  Guard.  The  late  Col.  Henry  M.  Boies 
was  in  command  of  the  regiment,  Col.  Ezra  H.  Ripple,  now  assistant 
adjutant-general,  was  the  major,  and  Lieut.  Louis  A.  Watres,  later 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  state,  and  recently  commander  of  the 
13th  Regiment,  was  then  second  in  command  of  Company  C. 
Under  such  officers  there  was  a  discipline  maintained  unusual  in  a 
militia  regiment,  and  the  training  given  was  very  valuable.  As 
a  member  of  the  13th,  Colonel  Archbald  attended  the  first  division 
encampment  at  Fairmount  Park  in  1880.  Three  years  later,  on 
entering  college,  he  was  honorably  discharged,  but  did  not  relax 
his  interest  in  military  matters,  keeping  himself  informed  as  to  the 
drill  regulations,  so  that  when  the  Spanish-American  war  broke 
out  his  services  were  sought  as  drillmaster  for  a  battalion  organized 
in  Schuylkill  county.  The  services  of  this  battalion  were  not,  how- 
ever, accepted,  and  at  the  request  of  the  state  authorities,  he  organ- 
ized Company  M  of  the  nth  infantry,  of  the  Provisional  National 
Guard  which  he  commanded  until  the  reorganization  of  the  National 
Guard  in  1899,  when  Company  M  was  consolidated  with  Company 
F  of  the  4th  infantry  and  Captain  Archbald  was  chosen  as  captain 
of  that  organization.  He  at  once  instituted  measures  for  the 
systematic  development  of  the  company,  making  it  one  of  the  best 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  23 

in  the  state,  and  served  with  it  through  the  anthracite  strike  of 
1900.  Pressure  of  business,  however,  compelled  his  reluctant  res- 
ignation on  April  i,  1901,  though  he  has  ever  since  maintained  an 
active  and  close  connection  with  his  old  command,  and  his  efforts 
for  the  advancement  of  its  interests  have  been  untiring.  Colonel 
Archbald  returned  to  the  service  on  Feb.  4,  1904,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed an  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Pennypacker  with 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  On  Feb.  14,  1907,  he  was  re- 
appointed by  Governor  Stuart.  He  is  known  throughout  the  g^ard 
for  his  intelligence  and  zeal  in  its  service.  He  is  an  earnest  student 
of  military  affairs  and  one  of  the  type  of  men  who  have  made  the 
Pennsylvania  National  Guard  a  noted  and  efficient  body  of  troops. 
The  interesting  ancestral  history  of  Colonel  Archbald  is  traceable 
in  America  to  the  early  Colonial  days.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
James  Archbald,  was  the  fourth  of  that  name  in  direct  descent  and 
was  a  descendant  of  Robert  Wodrow,  the  Scotch  historian.  He 
was  born  in  Scotland  and  came  to  this  country  with  his  parents 
when  a  youth  of  twelve  years.  His  life  work  has  been  mentioned 
on  a  preceding  page.  The  town  of  Archbald,  above  Scranton,  was 
named  in  his  honor.  The  long  line  of  American  descent  is  repre- 
sented in  greater  degree  by  the  paternal  grandmother,  who  in 
maidenhood  was  Sarah  Augusta  Temple  Frothingham.  She  was 
a  native  of  New  England,  and  a  descendant  in  the  fifth  generation 
from  William  Frothingham  who  came  from  England  in  1630  and 
settled  at  Charlestown,  Mass.  Some  of  her  ancestors  were  officers 
in  the  Colonial  army  during  the  Revolution.  Colonel  Archbald's 
maternal  grandfather  was  Joseph  J.  Albright,  who  was  born  in 
Nazareth,  Pa.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  manufacturing  iron  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  where  he  owned  and  operated  furnaces. 
His  later  life  worl^  has  already  been  briefly  mentioned.  His  an- 
cestors were  Moravians.  The  Albright  library  in  Scranton  was 
erected  as  a  memorial  to  him.  The  maternal  grandmother  was 
Elizabeth  Sellers,  a  representative  of  a  Quaker  family  near  Phila- 
delphia. James  Archbald,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  held 
the  position  of  chief  engineer  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  & 
Western  railroad  for  over  thirty  years.  He  was  at  one  time  the 
general  manager  of  the  Barber  Asphalt  Paving  Company,  and  is 
now  engaged  in  the  construction  of  railroads  in  Mississippi.  He 
married  Hannah  M.  Albright.  Colonel  Archbald  married  Mar- 
garetta  Thompson  on  Oct.  21,  1897,  and  three  children  have  been 
born  to  them :  Margaretta  Thompson,  Sara  Thompson  and  James. 
Aregood,  Samuel  C,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  S.  C.  Aregood 
&  Son,  contractors  and  builders,  of  Pottsville,  was  bom  at  Port 
Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  May  10,  1840,  a  son  of  Isaiah  and 
Juliana  (Kromer)  Aregood,  the  former  a  native  of  York  Farm, 
Schuylkill  county,  and  the  latter  of  Northampton  county,  the 
grandfathers  being  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  two  counties. 
Isaiah  Aregood  was  born  in  1810  and  while  in  his  boyhood  his 
family  removed  to  Snyder  county,  where  he  learned  the  tailor's 
trade,  but  soon  after  reaching  his  majority  he  returned  to  Port 


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24  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Carbon  and  opened  a  tailor's  shop  there,  which  he  conducted  for 
several  years.  He  was  then  engaged  in  carpentering,  and  in  later 
life  operated  a  tin  shop.  He  died  at  Port  Carbon  in  1893  at  the  age 
of  eighty-three  years.  His  family  consisted  of  the  following  chil- 
dren: Osman,  Charles,  Samuel  C,  Joseph,  Henry,  Mary,  Susan- 
nah and  Hannah.  Osman  and  Charles  are  deceased;  Mary  is  the 
wife  of  Eli  Thompson ;  Susannah  is  the  wife  of  William  Cliff ;  and 
Hannah  is  the  wife  of  William  Auer.  Samuel  C.  Aregood  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Port  Carbon,  where  he  learned  the  carpen- 
ters' trade,  at  which  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  until  1887.  He 
came  to  Pottsville  in  1872  and  in  1887  he  became  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Wolff  &  Aregood,  contractors,  and  this  partnership  lasted 
until  1900,  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  son.  Among  the 
important  buildings  erected  by  Aregood  &  Son  may  be  mentioned 
the  Humane  engine  house ;  John  Raring's  store  and  office  building 
on  Center  street;  Green's  jewelry  store;  as  well  as  a  large  number 
of  the  finest  residences  in  the  city  of  Pottsville,  and  it  is  no  dis- 
paragement to  their  competitors  to  say  that  no  contractors  in 
Schuylkill  county  stand  higher  in  the  public  estimation  than  they. 
On  May  23,  1867,  Mr.  Aregood  married  Miss  Emma,  daughter  of 
•John  and  Nancy  (Bell)  Griner,  of  Port  Carbon,  and  of  the  chil- 
dren born  to  this  union  six  are  living,  viz:  Mary,  wife  of  William 
Crawshaw;  Osman,  George,  Bertha,  Samuel  H.  and  Cora. 

Assmann,  Rev.  Joseph  A.,  the  popular  and  greatly  esteemed  pastor 
of  the  German  Catholic  church  in  Minersville,  is  a  native  of  Greven- 
stein,  Westphalia,  Germany,  born  on  March  14,  1868.  He  was 
reared  to  young  manhood,  and  began  his  ministerial  studies  in  his 
native  land.  In  1886  he  came  to  America  and  completed  his  studies 
in  philosophy  and  theology  at  Saint  Charles  seminary,  Overbrook, 
Pa.  Father  Assmann  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  at  Philadelphia,  by  the  Most  Reverend  P.  J.  Ryan, 
Archbishop  of  Philadelphia,  May  19, 1894.  After  serving  the  church 
in  the  capacity  of  assistant  rector  for  several  years.  Father  Assmann 
was  appointed  rector  of  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel, 
his  present  pastorate,  on  Sept.  30,  1901.  Numerous  pastors  of  high 
distinction  had  preceded  him  during  the  fifty-six  years  from  the 
organization  of  the  church  until  the  date  of  this  appointment.  The 
corner  stone  for  the  first  church  was  laid  on  July  8,  1855,  Bishop 
Freeman  officiating.  The  organization  was  then  numerically  weak, 
embracing  some  forty  families,  among  whom  were  the  ancestors  of 
many  of  the  progressive  German-Americans  who  are  today  resi- 
dents of  Minersville.  The  first  services  were  conducted  by  Father 
Wachter,  from  Pottsville,  and  the  first  resident  pastor  was  Father 
Matthias  Meurer,  who  took  charge  of  the  church  in  1857,  2i"d  of- 
ficiated for  about  two  years;  but  in  the  latter  part  of  1859,  the 
church  was  supplied  by  Fathers  Weerner  and  Wegmeirer  from 
Pottsville.  In  i860  Father  Newfeld  became  the  resident  pastor, 
and  remained  until  February,  1862,  during  which  time  the  member- 
ship was  largely  increased  through  the  influx  of  new  settlers. 
Father  Schwartz  succeeded  him  and  remained  the  resident  pastor  for 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  25 

a  period  of  twenty-nine  years.  This  was  one  of  the  history-making 
periods  in  the  existence  of  the  church  which  has  continued,  with  but 
few  discouragements,  to  the  present  day.  Father  Schwartz  was 
universally  beloved  by  his  people,  and  held  in  the  highest  esteem 
by  all  classes  of  citizens,  whether  Catholics  or  Protestants,  and 
this  gave  him  great  prestige  in  the  upbuilding  of  his  church  in 
Minersville.  He  built  the  pastoral  residence,  and  made  many 
interior  improvements  of  a  permanent  character  in  the  adornment 
of  the  church  edifice.  Father  Schwartz  had  sole  charge  of  the 
church  until  1884,  when  failing  health  and  approaching  old  age 
necessitated  the  services  of  assistants,  who  came  from  St.  Clair 
and  Pottsville,  as  needed,  but  in  the  year  1888  Rev.  Joseph  G.  Nerz, 
who  had  been  rector  of  a  church  at  St.  Clair,  was  given  full  charge 
of  the  Minersville  congregation.  Rev.  Schwartz  remained  at 
Minersville  as  pastor  emeritus  until  his  death.  A  Golden  Jubilee 
was  celebrated  in  his  honor  at  the  church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
in  Pottsville,  whereat  more  than  fifty  priests  from  other  parishes 
assisted  in  the  commemoration  of  the  life  work  of  this  venerable 
priest.  A  purse  containing  $1,500  was  presented  to  Father  Schwartz 
on  this  occasion,  and  with  that  liberality  which  had  characterized 
his  life  career,  he  immediately  donated  $800  to  his  loved  church 
at  Minersville,  to  assist  in  making  some  needed  repairs.  He  died 
in  February,  1892,  sincerely  mourned  by  all  who  knew  him.  The 
church  was  without  a  regular  pastor  until  October,  1888,  when 
Father  Joseph  G.  Nerz  was  installed,  and  succeeded  in  doing  much 
good  in  the  short  time  of  his  sojourn  among  this  congregation. 
Father  Nerz  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the  parochial  school, 
under  the  teaching  of  the  sisters  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  which 
has  been  a  prominent  feature  in  the  education  of  the  German  Cath- 
olic youths  of  the  community.  At  present  this  school  is  in  charge 
of  three  sisters,  and  125  students  from  the  100  families  in  the 
parish  are  taught  in  all  the  essentials  of  elementary  education. 
Father  A.  Mersch  was  appointed  pastor  in  October,  1892.  Rev. 
Father  Peter  Masson  succeeded  Father  Mersch  in  1894,  and  was 
a  very  efficient  and  popular  pastor.  He  was  young  and  energetic, 
wholly  devoted  to  his  chosen  calling,  and  did  much  for  the  growing 
church.  During  his  pastorate,  which  continued  until  the  summer 
of  1899,  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the  missions  at  New- 
town and  Blackwood,  and  built  a  handsome  church  edifice  at  the 
foriner  point  where  forty-five  families  have  since  been  served  by 
the  pastors  of  the  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel.  He  also 
added  substantial  improvements  to  the  church  at  Minersville,  and 
left  the  congregation  to  take  up  the  work  of  vice-rector  of  the 
American  college  at  Louvaen,  Belgium.  Rev.  Father  Francis 
Regnery,  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  served  one  year  as  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Minersville  following  the  transfer  of  Father 
Masson,  and  was  a  very  acceptable  and  efficient  pastor.  He  is  now 
engaged  in  pastoral  duties  at  Lehighton,  Pa.  Rev.  Edward  George 
Werner  succeeded  Father  Regnery  in  September,  1900,  and  served 
the  church  until  the  coming  of  Rev.  Father  Joseph  A.  Assmann, 


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26  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Sept.  30,  1901.  The  present  very  efficient  and  popular  pastor  found 
the  church,  and  all  its  interests,  in  excellent  condition;  but  with 
that  commendable  ambition  which  permeates  the  Catholic  clergy 
everywhere,  he  has  not  been  willing  to  stand  still.  He  has  liquid- 
ated a  considerable  debt  incurred  by  his  predecessors  in  rebuilding 
the  church,  and  the  congregation  is  now  entirely  free  from  debt. 
Not  only  this,  but  he  has  also  added  a  fine  pipe  organ,  at  a  cost  of 
$1,000,  adorned  the  church  with  handsome  stained  glass  windows, 
thoroughly  renovated  the  interior  of  the  building,  besides  making 
minor  improvements. 

Atkins,  Charles  M. — In  this  age  of  colossal  enterprise  and  marked 
intellectual  energy,  the  prominent  and  successful  men  are  those 
whose  abilities,  persistence  and  courage  lead  them  into  large  under- 
takings and  to  assume  the  responsibilities  and  labors  of  leaders. 
To  the  Subject  of  this  memoir  came  the  attainment  of  a  dis- 
tinguished position  in  connection  with  the  great  material  industries 
of  the  nation,  and  his  efforts  were  so  discerningly  directed  along 
well  defined  lines  that  he  seems  at  any  one  designated  point  to 
have  there  realized  the  full  measure  of  his  great  possibilities  for 
accomplishment.  His  was  a  truly  successful  life,  as  men  measure 
success,  and,  over  and  above  this,  it  was  a  life  guided  and  governed 
by  the  highest  principles  of  integrity  and  honor.  A  man  of  distinct 
and  forceful  individuality,  he  left  his  impress  upon  the  industrial 
world,  and  it  can  be  said  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  he  was 
the  foremost  citizen  of  Pottsville,  to  whose  upbuilding  he  contrib- 
uted in  magnificent  degree,  both  by  fostering  enterprises  which 
afforded  the  necessary  base  for  advancement  and  by  exemplifying 
those  broad  humanitarian  and  social  attributes  which  cause  the 
individual  influence  to  permeate  and  vivify  the  civic  life.  Mr. 
Atkins  reached  an  advanced  age  and  his  final  illness  was  of  short 
duration,  terminating  in  his  death  Sept.  3,  1889,  ^i^  ^is  home  in 
Pottsville.  He  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pa.,  March  17,  1827, 
and  was  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  honored  families 
of  the  state.  He  passed  his  boyhood  and  early  manhood  in  Col- 
umbia and  his  early  educational  advantages  were  those  afforded  to 
the  average  youth  of  the  locality  and  period.  A  concise  record  of  his 
business  career  appeared  in  a  local  newspaper  at  the  time  of  his 
death  and  a  reproduction  of  the  same  in  this  work  is  consistent: 
"He  acquired  his  business  education  at  the  same  desk  at  which  sat 
the  late  Thomas  A.  Scott,  who  was  afterward  known  as  the  father 
of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  system,  and  these  two  when  mere 
boys  learned  together  those  principles  of  usefulness  that  brought 
them  both  to  the  front  rank  of  the  business  men  of  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  Atkins'  first  business  venture  was  in  the  line  of  freighting  on 
the  old  Pennsylvania  state  road,  and  in  the  few  years  he  was  thus 
engaged  he  became  one  of  the  leading  freighters  on  that  line  and 
one  of  the  largest  owners  of  rolling  stock  and  barges.  He  came 
to  Pottsville  in  1853,  about  which  time  what  are  now  the  Fishback 
rolling  mills  were  sold  at  sheriff's  sale,  the  owners,  Messrs.  Yardley 
&  Co.,  having  become  deeply  involved.     Mr.  Atkins  became  the 


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26  SCHUYLKIU' '^  .V 

Sept.  30,  1901.    Th^j»^  .  Pi  a  .1  t.. 

the  church, >P^'  •    .    .dlciir  ■ 


':T   lie   ita<l   tllCiTl    ?■■  *.  ;•• 

n;-:l':lMic^   ami   la^.t.s   or    loaMcr^. 

'  :  '.t"    :iie    attainment    of   a   di^- 

^^  :*i  vhe  ^reat  material  industries 

.  i    '^.|  i':--'- rrningly  directed  along" 

.1      J       <<nf   desij4;nated   point   to 

,   'i'--  u^rcat  p<'^si])ilities   for 

•  '    ■  -  'n]  lite,  a-  hkmi  measnre 

.-  ,.  ",'.*'  ^n\Af(i  and  governed 

•    ''  i     n '.r.     \  'i>Hn  of  dist'Mv"t 

5  !  .'M>>  n[i'..,  the  indn^tr.al 

,    If  .•:  c  >ntrar]u  ti«»ii  tliat  he  \\  .1^ 

'■    '   .    t-^c  u]»bn:''r  ui  lie  c»'nt'*.h- 

iiv     !.'vi*.riT,^     ^^.,.,    ;>ri-r>   which 

;»    ■.  "m:---.'   .'it'l   h\'  e\e5npiif\  i'lt"" 

-  »:*•  '"^"t --v    \\  I.;,  h    t\-ui'^<-    1  !■'' 
■  :  :     -■'.;*-    '-.<     c:.iv     )'te.       ^'r 

4-    '    '        h!'  (•        "r><  \va.>  ( M    -  1^    It 

'     ■'      ■,.    :  ^^^  -    al    Iiiv    '-.:•.      .a 

■    '"^  •      !  .t..   Al.irt  h    •;     >  ^.'7. 

-     <{nd  honors.'!    '    *  •  •   > 

:•'   '  irly  manli'    .-    .n   Lol- 

were  tho-.   a  ;  ••  i^<^  to 

■     •     .\  con'-. -"  '  •'•■  'I     ri  h\ 

'  1 ,  t  r    ;u    '1.  '    .   :^c    ■  •*'    !■>••- 

'1      ;  •-   \\    "  •     is  consi^trn' 

«'   ■  '•-  -  '■'    I-  ..t  which  ^.  t 

^  •     ^  ii  a>  the  fat!:*" 

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BIOGRAPHICAL  27 

purchaser  and  in  connection  with  his  brother,  Hanson  Atkins,  at 
once  commenced  the  enlargement  of  the  works.  Soon  afterward  the 
Pioneer  furnaces  were  purchased  and  both  plants  were  operated 
together.  A  large  iron-ore  bank  in  Cumberland  county  was  made 
tributary  to  the  furnaces  which  in  themselves  supplied  the  rolling 
mill.  A  colliery  at  Gilberton  was  opened  to  furnish  coal  for  the 
works.  When  to  these  four  extensive  plants  had  been  added  a 
complete  equipment  of  rolling  stock,  the  freighting  business  was 
gradually  discontinued  and  the  docks  were  closed  up.  Their  ex- 
istence has  now  become  but  a  memory  w^ith  even  our  older  people. 
At  the  time  they  were  as  extensive  as  any  in  the  state.  The  furnaces 
were  enlarged  and  rebuilt  and  added  to  fronk  time  to  time,  their 
capacity  being  doubled  five  times  in  the  history  of  Mr.  Atkins' 
ownership.  The  rolling  mills  expanded  under  the  same  general 
supervision  and  within  late  years  a  steel  plant  has  been  added.  At- 
one time  there  were  over  5,000  names  on  Mr.  Atkins'  pay  roll. 
Some  years  ago  the  works  were  capitalized  and  a  company,  under 
the  name  of  the  Pottsville  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  was  formed. 
Mr.  Atkins  was  its  president  and  held  nine-tenths  of  the  stock,  the 
remainder  being  divided  between  his  son,  son-in-law  and  confidential 
clerks.  His  life  was  thoroughly  devoted  to  business,  but  there  were 
incidents  in  it  that  were  noteworthy  on  other  accounts.  He  not  only  • 
assisted  in  the  furnishing  of  regiments  to  go  to  the  front  during 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  but  also  went  himself  to  enlist,  when  his 
friend,  General  Cameron,  who  had  also  been  his  father's  friend  and 
who  was  then  secretary  of  war  under  Abraham  Lincoln,  heard  of  his 
intention.  He  sent  for  Mr.  Atkins  and  stated  to  him  that  as  a 
great  deal  of  iron  would  be  needed  by  the  government  incidental  to 
the  prosecution  of  the  war,  he  could  serve  his  country  best  by  going 
home  and  making  the  iron."  Mr.  Atkins  was  a  typical  American 
citizen,  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  republic, 
making  the  most  of  his  opportunities  and  working  his  way  upward 
to  success  and  to  all  that  is  desirable  and  ennobling  in  life.  He 
was  a  man  of  warm  sympathies  and  one  who  fully  appreciated  the 
well-springs  of  human  thought  and  motive,  so  that  tolerance  in 
judgment  was  his  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  His  character  was 
well  rounded  and  it  is  significant  of  the  nobility  of  the  man  when 
it  is  stated  that  those  who  knew  him  best  were  those  who  most 
greatly  admired  and  respected  him.  Lasting  incentive  is  to  be 
gained  from  the  study  of  such  a  career,  and  the  name  of  Charles 
M.  Atkins  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  in  the  city,  county  and  state 
which  he  honored  and  dignified  by  his  worthy  life  and  splendid 
services. 

Auman,  William,  the  subject  of  this  article,  is  a  representative 
of  one  of  the  prominent  and  well-known  famihes  in  Schuylkill 
county.  His  ancestors,  for  many  years,  have  been  identified  with 
the  growth  and  progress  of  this  section  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  notably  so  with  Schuylkill  county  during  the  last  sixty 
years.  William  Auman  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Irish) 
Auman,  natives,  respectively  of  Berks  and  Carbon  counties.    Samuel 


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28  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Auman  was  born  in  Amity  township,  Berks  county,  Nov.  14, 
1824,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  locality.  His 
father,  Henry  Auman,  was  also  a  native  of  Amity  township, 
where  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America  located  at  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  war.  This  ancestor  was  a  native  of  Han- 
over, Germany,  came  to  America  as'  a  British  soldier,  and  was 
among  the  Hessians  surprised  and  captured  by  General  Wash- 
ington just  prior  to  the  memorable  battle  of  Trenton.  His  name 
was  Henry  Auman,  a  man  who  received  a  liberal  education  in  his 
native  land,  and  ended  a  life  of  usefulness  and  prominence  as  a 
teacher  and  choir-master  in  Amity  township,  Berks  county.  Pa.,  in 
the  year  1839.  He  was  then  eighty-three  years  of  age.  His 
wife's  maiden  name  was  Catherine  Beitam,  of  Carlisle,  Pa.  They 
had  a  family  of  five  children :  Elizabeth,  Catherine,  Sarah,  George, 
and  Henry.  Numerous  representatives  of  these  early  pioneers 
are  living  in  the  anthracite  coal  regions.  Henry  Auman,  the 
paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
Berks  county,  Pa.,  in  1795,  and  removed  to  Union  county  in  1842, 
thence  to  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  county,  in  1848.  He  married  Miss 
Catherine  Breyman,  by  whom  he  had  a  family  of  eleven  children. 
The  living  members  of  this  family  are:  William,  James  and 
Samuel.  William  Auman,  mentioned  above,  has  spent  his  life 
principally  in  the  United  States  army,  in  which  sphere  he  has 
achieved  prominence.  He  was  one  of  the  ''First  Defenders,*'  who 
left  Pottsville  in  April,  1861,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Washington 
artillerists,  who  reached  the  national  capital  with  four  other  com- 
panies, in  advance  of  all  the  grand  army  which  later  responded  to 
President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  troops  to  defend  the  capital.  He 
served  out  his  term  as  a  three  months'  volunteer,  then  promptly  re- 
enlisted,  with  his  brother  James,  as  a  member  of  the  historic  48th 
regiment,  and  participated  with  that  organization  in  many  of  the 
memorable  battles  of  the  war.  William  was  wounded  in  the  battle 
of  Antietam,  but  recovered  and  returned  to  the  front,  where  the 
brothers  participated  in  the  grandest  military  achievement  of  the 
time  in  tunneling  under  one  of  the  enemy's  strongest  forts  on  the 
defenses  of  Petersburg.  The  **Battle  of  tfie  Crater"  will  live  in 
history  as  one  of  the  many  laurels  won  by  Colonel  Pleasants  and 
his  gallant  boys  of  the  48th  Pennsylvania,  when  other  events  of 
the  great  Civil  war  are  forgotten.  William  Auman  was  discharged 
at  the  close  of  the  war  as  captain  of  his  company.  After  spending 
a  time  as  a  student  at  Wyoming  seminary,  he  accepted  a  com- 
mission in  the  United  States  army,  and  remained  in  service  until 
retired  by  reason  of  age.  He  commanded  his  regiment  (the  13th 
U.  S.  infantry),  at  the  battle  of  Santiago,  and  led  it  in  the  charge, 
being  then  a  major.  He  was  placed  on  the  retired  list  in  1903, 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  His  home  is  now  at  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.  James  Auman,  the  other  soldier  uncle  of  Mr.  Auman,  of 
this  sketch,  has  spent  his  life  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  is  now  a 
resident  of  Philadelphia.  Samuel  Auman,  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  article,  located  in  Pottsville  with  his  parental  family  in  1848. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  29 

He  has  been  a  continuous  resident  of  the  place  since,  and,  perhaps 
more  than  any  other  man,  has  been  identified  with  the  material 
growth  and  prosperity  of  Pottsville.     He  spent  his  early  years  as 
a  journeyman  bricklayer,  but  in  1849  he  took  up  the  work  of  con- 
tracting and  building,  and  followed  that  vocation  during  the  re- 
maining years  of  his  active  business  career.     To  his  artistic  skill 
and  mechanical  genius  is  due  the  architectural  excellence  and  sta- 
bility of  many  of  the  best  buildings  in  Pottsville.    The  principal 
edifices  of  the   place   are   lasting  testimonials   to   his   handiwork, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  school  buildings,  banks,  stores, 
residences,  churches,  the  county  prison,  the  old  court  house,  etc. 
One  of  his  last  contracts  was  the  building  of  some  twenty  blocks 
of  houses  for  the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company.    Samuel  Auman 
was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Miss  Sarah  Umbenhauer, 
of  Pine  Grove,  Schuylkill  county,  whom  he  wedded  on  April  6, 
1849.    Four  daughters  were  born  to  this  union :    Sallie  E.,  deceased ; 
Emn>a  L.,  now  her  father's  companion  and  housekeeper;  Ellen  E., 
wife  of  W.  S.  Robinson,  a  merchant  at  Wilkes  Barre ;  and  Minnie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Thomas  H.  Hooper,  a  mining  contractor  at 
Wilkes  Barre.     Mrs.  Auman  died  on  Feb.  13,  i860,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-nine  years.    On  Aug.  6^  1861,  Mr.  Auman  was  again  mar- 
ried, choosing  for  his  companion  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Eben 
Hollenbeck,  of  Memphis,  Tenn.     She  was  a  daughter  of  Jedediah 
Irish,  a  civil  engineer  and  surveyor,  and  a  man  of  prominence  and 
success  in  his  chosen  calling.    He  died  in  Luzerne  county,  Pa.,  in 
1871.    Elizabeth  Irish  was  born  Nov.  17,  1825,  and  married  Eben 
Hollenbeck,  June  23,  1852.     He  died  Nov.  12,  1858,  leaving  two 
children,  Jedediah  F.  Hollenbeck,  who  died  in  Pottsville  at  the  age 
of  forty-two  years,  and  Gay,  who  died  in  infancy.    By  the  union  of 
Mrs.  Hollenbeck  and  Samuel  Auman  two  sons  were  bom,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  William  Auman,  being  the  only  surv^ivor.    His 
brother  died  in  early  infancy  and  the  mother  died  in  Pottsville  in 
March,  1906.     Mr.  Auman  was  born  in  Pottsville,  and  there  ac- 
quired  a  thorough   education   and   preparation   for  his   life-work. 
But  much  of  his  practical  education  was  received  in  the  broader 
and  more  thorough  school  of  experience.     When  quite  a  young 
man  he  decided  upon  combining  pleasure  with  profit  and  made  a 
trip  to  the  then  far  west,  where  he  was  employed  for  a  time  in 
building  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  through  Montana  territory. 
Returning  to  the  east,  he  was  engaged  as  a  mining  engineer  at 
Wilkes  Barre  for  some  six  years.    For  ten  years  following  this,  he 
in  company  with  David  G.  Aikman,  operated  a  private  engineer- 
ing office  in  Wilkes  Barre,  conducting  the  business  successfully 
until  the  death  of  Mr.  Aikman,  soon  after  which  event  Mr.  Auman 
accepted   a  position   at    Nanticoke,   as   division   engineer   for   the 
Susquehanna  Coke  Company,  continuing  with  them  for  two  and  a 
half  years..    On  Oct.   15,   1903,  Mr.  Auman  accepted  his  present 
position,  with  the  same  corporation  as  his  last  engagement,  and 
came  to  William  Penn  as  superintendent  of  the  company's  large 
and  varied  interests  here.    The  mines  are  located  on  a  portion  of 


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30  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  Girard  estate,  leased  for  a  term  of  years  to  the  operators.  The 
annual  output  from  the  mine  of  which  Mr.  Auman  has  charge 
aggregates  the  enormous  product  of  250,000  tons.  Seven  hundred 
miners  are  employed,  most  of  whom  live  in  company's  houses  pro- 
vided for  them.  Mr.  Auman  was  united  in  marriage  April  20,  1892, 
when  he  chose  for  his  life  companion.  Miss  Ona  Flack,  a  daughter 
of  William  and  Catherine  (Pott)  Flack  of  Watsontown,  Pa.  Her 
mother  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  well-known  Pott  family  whose 
history  is  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  pioneer  development 
of  Pottsville,  and  in  whose  honor  the  town  was  named.  (See 
history  of  Pottsville.)  The  only  child  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Auman 
is  Miss  Catherine,  the  joy  and  hope  of  loving  parents,  and  a  young 
lady  just  budding  into  promising  womanhood.  The  family  have  a 
beautiful  home  at  William  Penn  (P.  O.  name  Shaft),  and  sustain 
the  highest  social  relations  among  the  prominent  people  of  the 
county.  The  large  and  handsome  residence  is  situated  near  the 
base  of  a  mountain,  though  commanding  a  delightful  view  of  the 
valley  below.  The  large  grounds  are  laid  out  in  terraces,  planted 
to  fruit  trees,  flowers,  and  ornamental  shrubbery,  and  present  a 
picturesque  appearance,  notably  so  because  of  the  absence  of  like 
adornments  elsewhere  in  the  locality. 

Aurand,  Aquilla  B.,  dealer  in  books,  stationery,  wall  paper,  fancy 
goods,  etc.,  was  born  in  Tamaqua  on  Jan.  4,  1858.  The  Aurand 
family  trace  their  ancestry  back  to  Henry  Aurand,  a  Huguenot  of 
note,  who  was  compelled  to  flee  from  France  by  Louis  XIV's 
revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685.  His  destination  was 
Holland,  whence  he  removed  to  Heidelberg,  Germany.  His  wife 
was  Anna  Christina  Hoflf,  who  on  Sept.  15,  1725,  bore  him  a  son, 
John,  at  Dillenberg,  Germany.  In  1753  John  came  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, arriving  at  Maiden  creek  on  Oct.  2.  Later  he  removed  to 
Tulpehocken,  near  Reading,  where  there  was  quite  a  colony  of 
Huguenot  refugees.  John  Aurand  was  twice  married,  his  first 
wife  having  been  Mary  Elizabeth  Pontius,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Catherine  (Sellaire)  Pontius,  exiles  from  France.  By  this  mar- 
riage he  was  the  father  of  seven  children,  of  whom  three — Henry, 
Daniel  and  Jacob — were  born  in  Germany,  and  Peter,  Deitrick, 
George  and  Elizabeth  were  born  in  America.  His  second  wife  was 
Mrs.  Catherine  Emerick,  who  bore  him  three  children,  Abraham. 
John  Yost  and  Mary  (Mrs.  John  Wolf).  In  tracing  the  American 
family  of  Aurand  the  ten  children  of  John  Aurand  are  denoted  as 
the  ten  branches  of  the  American  tree.  Peter  Aurand,  the  great- 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  head  of  the 
fourth  branch.  He  lived  practically  all  his  life  in  Reading,  where 
he  was  a  saddler  by  occupation.  He  had  four  sons  and  as  many 
daughters,  viz. :  John,  Peter,  Frank,  Henry,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Re- 
becca and  Sarah.  Peter,  the  son,  lived  in  Tamaqua  and  made  a 
livelihood  in  the  stationery  and  book  business.  He  was  a  very 
prominent  citizen  of  the  community  in  his  day,  and  was  a  par- 
ticipant in  the  War  of  1812.  During  the  Pierce  and  Buchanan 
administrations  he  was  postmaster  of  Tamaqua.     His  eldest  son, 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  31 

also  named  Peter,  emigrated  to  California  during  the  rush  to  the 
gold  fields  of  that  state  and  fell  a  victim  to  an  Indian  attack.  The 
other  children  in  the  family  were  Henry  K.,  Mrs.  Christiana  Bolton, 
Mrs.  Mary  Heilner,  Mrs.  Catherine  Whitenight,  Mrs.  Caroline 
Carter  and  Mrs.  Madaline  Leavil.  Henry  K.  Aurand  was  born  in 
Sunbury  in  July,  1833,  and  came  to  Tamaqua  in  1848,  after  a  short 
residence  in  Port  Carbon.  He  was  well  known  in  the  borough, 
having  been  its  treasurer  for  two  years,  and  for  twenty-five  years 
was  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  school. 
His  wife  was  Miss  J.  A.  Flenner  and  they  had  six  children,  two  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest; 
Lewis  F.  is  a  clerk  in  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  offices ; 
Peter  is  a  conductor  on  a  passenger  train  of  the  same  line;  and 
William  Frederick  is  a  clerk  in  a  plumbing  establishment.  Aquilla 
B.  Aurand  was  engaged  in  the  book  and  stationery  business  in 
Lansford  when  ill  health  compelled  his  father  to  relinquish  the 
active  management  of  his  store  in  Tamaqua  and  the  son  returned 
to  Tamaqua  and  assumed  charge  of  it.  Since  that  time  he  has 
made  the  industry  his  means  of  livelihood.  On  Oct.  12,  1881,  Mr. 
Aurand  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Annie  F.  Bowden,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Simons)  Bowden  of  Tamaqua.  There 
are  two  children  of  this  union — Edward  A.,  a  student,  and  George 
Norman.  The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  Mr.  Aurand  is  local  preacher,  chorister  and  class 
leader.  Mrs.  Aurand  is  an  excellent  musician  and  is  organist  of 
the  church..  The  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America  and  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  are  the  only  fraternal  organ- 
izations to  which  Mr.  Aurand  belongs. 

Aurand,  Lewis  F.,  accountant  f6r  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
railroad  and  a  taxidermist,  was  born  in  Tamaqua  on  Oct.  7,  1861. 
He  is  a  son  of  Henry  K.  and  Julia  (Flenner)  Aurand.  An  outline 
of  the  Aurand  family  history  appears  in  the  sketch  of  the  Rev.  A. 
B.  Aurand  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  After  a  due  preliminary 
training  in  the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua,  Lewis  F.  Aurand  went 
into  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  as  a  clerk 
in  the  storeroom.  After  three  years  of  service  there  he  was  made 
division  timekeeper  and  held  that  position  for  seventeen  successive 
years.  His  next  promotion  was  to  accountant,  which  came  to  him 
about  1903,  since  when  he  has  been  filling  the  office  most  capably. 
Through  outside  reading  he  picked  up  a  knowledge  of  taxidermy 
and  has  devoted  his  spare  moments  to  it,  more  as  a  recreation  than 
as  a  means  of  earning  money.  He  has  done  work  for  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Chicago  people  and  many  of  his  specimens  have 
been  awarded  prizes  in  the  sportsmen's  exhibits  in  the  large  cities. 
In  Oct.,  1882,  Mr.  Aurand  married  Miss  Eudora  Breisch,  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Teresa  Breisch.  Mr. 
Breisch  is  deceased  but  his  widow  is  still  an  honored  resident  of 
Tamaqua.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aurand  have  two  children.  The  elder, 
Evelyn  P.,  is  a  clerk  in  the  accountant's  office  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  railway  at  Tamaqua,  and  the  other  daughter,  Elizabeth 


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32  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

F.,  is  at  home.  The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Aurand  is  identified  with  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  529, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  of  which  he  is  a  charter 
member  and  was  for  three  years  its  secretary.  He  is  a  thorough, 
conscientious  business  man,  whose  standing  among  his  fellow  citi- 
zens is  of  the  highest. 

Bachman,  Allen  H.,  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes  at  Tower  City, 
was  born  in  Lebanon  county.  Pa.,  March  27,  1846,,  a  son  of  Cornelius 
and  Charlotte  Bachman,  the  former  a  native  of  Lancaster  county. 
Pa.,  and  the  latter  of  Germany.  Cornelius  Bachman  grew  to  man- 
hood in  his  native  county,  where  he  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade, 
which  he  followed  until  after  his  marriage,  when  he  removed  to 
Lebanon  county  and  there  followed  farming  until  his  death  in 
1877,  He  taught  school  for  fourteen  terms,  was  a  Republican  in 
his  political  views  and  belonged  to  the  old  Moravian  church.  His 
widow  is  still  living  in  Lancaster  county  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight 
years.  Six  of  their  eleven  children  are  still  living:  F.  M.  lives  in 
Allentown ;  A.  E.  lives  in  Lancaster  county ;  Oscar  is  a  farmer  in 
Iowa;  Allen  H.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Maria  is  the  wife  of 
W.  Bender,  a  veterinary  surgeon  of  Lititz,  Pa.;  and  Ella  is  the 
widow  of  Mark  Lacy,  living  at  Lititz.  Allen  H.  Bachman  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  public  schools,  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade  with  his  father,  followed  that  occupation  until  1872,  and  then 
put  in  a  stock  of  boots  and  shoes.  He  has  a  well  appointed  store 
and  keeps  his  stock  up  to  the  demands  of  his  customers,  con- 
sequently he  enjoys  a  large  and  constantly  growing  patronage. 
During  the  years  1887-88  he  was  interested  in  farming  operations 
in  Lebanon  county,  but  the  rest  of  his  time  he  has  devoted  to  his 
boot  and  shoe  Ifusiness.  He  is  a  member  of  the  city  council,  in 
which  he  has  served  for  four  years;  is  treasurer  of  the  Williarns 
Valley  savings  fund  and  building  association;  is  a  Republican  in 
his  political  affiliations,  and  belongs  to  the  German  Lutheran 
church,  in  which  he  held  the  office  of  treasurer  for  a  number  of 
years.  In  1868  he  married  Miss  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Godfrey 
and  Caroline  (Woods)  Rehrer.  Her  father  was  a  teacher  and  also 
a  boatman  on  the  canal.  Her  parents  lived  for  a  time  at  Williams- 
town,  where  the  mother  died,  and  the  father  died  at  Tower  City. 
Six  of  their  children  grew  to  maturity:  Delilah,  Eliza,  Rebecca, 
Sarah,  James  and  Lewis.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bachman  removed  to 
Tower  City  soon  after  their  marriage.  Of  their  six  children  four 
are  now  living,  viz:  William  C,  a  shoemaker  who  has  always 
worked  with  his  father,  and  who  married  Emma  Owens  on  Oct. 
II,  1900;  Annie  M.,  wife  of  Luther  Gilbus,  of  Bechtelsville,  Pa.; 
Robert  F.,  who  married  Mabel  Stein  and  is  now  messenger  of  the 
United  States  subtreasury  in  Philadelphia;  Earl  O.,  who  married 
Eliza  Van  Houghton  and  is  a  miner  at  Tower  City. 

Bader,  Frederick  G.,  a  thrifty  citizen  of  Pottsville,  whose  busi- 
ness is  the  manufacture  of  cigars,  was  born  in  the  city  where  he 
now  resides,  on  Nov.  24,  1867.     He  is  a  son  of  John  George  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  33 

Caroline  (Wertwine)  Bader,  both  born  in  Germany.  The  father, 
who  is  now  retired  from  active  life  and  is  living  at  503  West  Arch 
street,  entered  the  employ  of  the  Yuengling  Brewing  Company  in 
1859  and  remained  in  their  service  for  a  period  of  forty-three  years, 
during  which  time  he  was  away  from  work  less  than  six  months  in 
all.  The  mother  died  on  June  21,  1905.  Of  the  twelve  children 
born  to  the  parents  eight  are  living.  Caroline,  the  eldest,  is  the 
wife  of  William  Naber  of  Pottsville;  Mary  is  the  widow  of  John 
Shittler  of  Pottsville;  John  George,  Jr.,  lives  in  the  same  city; 
Tillie  is  the  wife  of  James  Heffner,  a  contractor;  Harry  E.  and 
Charles  are  both  barbers  now  working  in  Pottsville;  and  Annie, 
unmarried,  is  housekeeper  for  her  father.  The  others  died  in 
infancy.  All  the  children,  with  the  exception  of  the  eldest  two, 
were  born  in  the  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by  the  father. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  somewhat  limited  educational 
opportunities  in  the  Pottsville  schools,  and  then  started  to  learn 
the  cigarmakers'  trade  with  Theodore  Heilner  of  his  native  city. 
He  was  employed  by  Mr.  Heilner  for  a  time  after  he  had  mastered 
the  trade  and  in  April,  1888,  he  started  in  business  for  himself 
near  Rettig's  brewery.  In  November,  1894,  the  business  had  grown 
to  such  dimensions  that  it  was  necessary  to  seek  new  quarters  and 
the  concern  removed  to  the  rooms  now  occupied.  Mr.  Bader  em- 
ploys four  men  and  is  the  maker  of  many  of  the  favorite  brands  of 
cigars,  among  them  the  "Hiker,"  the  **  Pennsylvania  Gentleman" 
and  the  "Little  Giant."  Beside  his  manufacturing  business  he 
has  a  large  trade  in  tobacco  and  smokers'  supplies  of  all  kinds.  In 
1888  Mr.  Bader  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Kramel,  a 
native  of  Pottsville,  and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Emma  (Deitrich) 
Kramel.  One  child  has  blessed  the  union,  a  daughter,  Lillian 
Claire,  now  a  student  in  the  high  school.  Mr.  Bader  is  a  member 
of  the  German  Lutheran  church  and  his  wife  is  a  communicant 
of  the  Episcopal  church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Bader  is  prominent, 
having  been  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Knights  of  Malta  of 
the  Pottsville  commandery ;  is  a  member  of  Seneca  tribe,  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men ;  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles ;  Hayden  Lodge, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  West  End  Fire  com- 
pany. 

Baily,  EUmer  D.,  the  leading  photographer  of  Tamaqua,  was  born 
in  that  city  on  Dec.  16,  1863,  a  son  of  David  and  Lydia  (Schmidt) 
Baily.  The  parents  were  both  natives  of  Berks  county,  where  for 
several  years  the  father  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
About  1850  he  came  to  Schuylkill  county  and  after  working  for  a 
period  as  a  carpenter  he  embarked  in  the  photographic  business. 
This  was  in  1861  and  he  continued  in  it  until  1892  when  he  retired. 
His  death  occurred  on  Sept.  23,  1902.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Evangelical  church  and  he  was  one  of  the  officers 
of  the  congregation.  He  was  widely  known  through  his  political 
relations,  having  served  as  councilman  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
children  of  the  family  were  six  in  number.  Kate,  the  eldest,  is 
Mrs.  F.  T.  Garret  of  Philadelphia;  William  is  a  photographer  of 
3— Vol.  II 


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34  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Columbia,  Pa. ;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  John  D.  Kershner,  formerly  a 
member  of  the  state  legislature;  Albert  died  in  1892  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three  years;  and  Charles,  the  youngest,  lives  in  Tamaqua. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  fifth  child  in  order  of  birth.  When 
he  had  completed  his  scholastic  labors  he  entered  his  father's  em- 
ploy and  stayed  with  him  until  1892,  when  he  assumed  the  entire 
ownership  and  management  of  the  gallery.  His  work  is  without 
question  the  most  modern  and  finest  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity. 
On  Dec.  18,  1885,  Mr.  Baily  married  Miss  Lavinia  Wenzel,  a 
native  of  Tamaqua,  and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Susan  Wenzel. 
The  children  of  this  marriage  are  five  in  number.  Clarence,  the 
eldest,  assists  his  father.  The  others  are  Frank,  Harry  W.,  John 
A.  and  Helen  Susanna.  The  mother  is  a  communicant  of  the 
Lutheran  church  and  the  father  is  identified  with  the  Sons  of 
America,  the  Independent  Americans,  the  American  Hose  com- 
pany and  is  a  member  of  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  592,  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  in  Tamaqua.  He  is  the  owner  of  the 
building  in  which  the  gallery  is  situated,  at  the  corner  of  Broad 
and  Berwick  streets.  A  man  in  the  prime  of  his  career,  and  of 
good  business  ability  and  enterprise,  his  friends  predict  for  him  a 
great  future. 

Ball,  Harrison,  president  of  the  Union  National  bank,  and  a 
prominent  business  man  of  Mahanoy  City,  was  bom  at  Miners- 
ville,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  May  11,  1863.  H6  is  a  son  of  Isaac 
and  Mary  (Williams)  Ball,  late  of  Mahanoy  City,  but  now  de- 
ceased. Both  parents  were  natives  of  England,  the  father  bom 
March  11,  1829,  and  the  mother  on  April  10,  1832.  They  were 
early  residents  of  Minersville,  and  later  of  Mahanoy  City,  where 
both  of  them  died.  The  subject  of  this  article  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Shenandoah,  where  the  parental  home  was 
located  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1887  he  located  in  Mahanoy 
City  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  on  April  i,  of  that  year. 
This  has  been  his  principal  line  of  business  since,  his  efforts 
being  crowned  with  that  success  which  usually  comes  from 
intelligent  application  and  proper  business  principles.  Mr. 
Ball  is  rated  as  one  of  the  most  successful  business  men  in 
Mahanoy  City.  He  is  a  public-spirited  and  active  citizen,  whose 
interest  and  hearty  cooperation  are  enlisted  in  every  laudable 
enterprise. calculated  to  enhance  the  interests  of  his  adopted  town 
and  native  county.  In  political  affiliations  Mr.  Ball  is  an  active 
Republican,  the  principles  of  which  party  he  endorses  from  an 
honest  conviction  of  right,  and  not  through  hope  of  political 
preference.  He  was  married  June  2,  1885,  to  Miss  Anna  E.  Phil- 
lips, a  daughter  of  David  and  Ann  (Harris)  Phillips,  of  Shenan- 
doah, and  two  children  have  been  born  to  this  union,  the  eldest 
of  whom  is  Elbur  H.,  employed  in  his  father's  business,  and  the 
younger  is  Marion  E.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Ball  is  affiliated  with  the  Patriotic  Order 
Sons  of  America  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  35 

Balshanick,  Frank,  is  one  of  the  successful  and  popular  business 
men  of  the  city  of  Shenandoah,  where  he  conducts  a  large  and  well 
equipped  mercantile  establishment  at  217  East  Center  street,  deal- 
ing in  groceries,  provisions,  clothing,  notions,  etc.  He  was  born 
in  Lithuania,  Russia,  in  i8i58,  and  is  a  son  of  Frank  and  Anna 
Balshanick,  likewise  natives  of  Lithuania,  whence  they  immigrated 
to  America  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  child.  They 
located  at  Gilberton,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  where  they  remained 
about  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  they  removed  to 
Shenandoah,  where  the  father  died  in  1903  and  where  the  venerable 
mother  now  makes  her  home  with  the  subject  of  this  review.  The 
father  was  a  soldier  in  the  Russian  army  and  was  in  government 
employ  about  twenty-five  years  prior  to  his  immigration  to  the 
United  States.  Of  the  four  children  Frank  is  the  eldest;  Henry 
is  employed  in  connection  with  the  business  of  his  elder  brother; 
Mrs.  Johanna  Dagilus,  the  elder  daughter,  likewise  resides  in 
Shenandoah;  and  Mrs.  Lottie  Lucas  is  a  resident  of  Minersville, 
this  county.  Frank  Balshanick  is  indebted  to  the  public  schools 
of  Schuylkill  county  for  his  early  educational  training,  and  he 
early  began  to  work  about  the  mines,  advancing  from  the  lowly 
position  of  slate-picker  to  that  of  practical  miner.  In  1879  he  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business,  in  partnership  with  Joseph  Kup- 
chinski,  with  whom  he  was  associated  four  years,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  he  purchased  his  partner's  interest.  Since  that  time 
he  has  conducted  his  business  in  an  individual  way,  having  built 
up  a  most  successful  enterprise  and  established  a  high  reputation 
for  fair  and  honorable  business  methods.  Mr.  Balshanick  and  his 
family  are  communicants  of  the  Lithuanian  Roman  Catholic 
church;  he  is  a  member  of  the  Lithuanian  Alliance  of  America 
and  of  the  First  Lithuanian  band  in  Shenandoah.  His  political 
views  are  those  represented  by  the  Socialist  party,  and  he  is  well 
fortified  in  his  opinions  in  matters  of  public  import.  He  is  secre- 
tary of  the  local  party  organization  of  Socialists  but  has  never 
sought  or  held  public  office.  He  believes  in  the  principles  of  ad- 
vanced Socialism,  representing  the  thoughts  of  many  of  the  best 
minds  of  the  day,  and  is  thus  entirely  free  from  radical  or  fanatic 
views.    Mr.  Balshanick  is  a  bachelor. 

Bankes,  Charles  W.,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  physician  of  Middle- 
port,  was  born  in  Drehersville,  Schuylkill  county,  Oct.  4,  1856.  He 
is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Koch)  Bankes,  both  of  whom  were 
born  in  Schuylkill  county.  The  paternal  grandfather,  George 
Bankes,  although  a  native  Pennsylvanian,  was  of  German  par- 
entage. He  was  a  farmer  by  vocation  but  for  many  years  was 
employed  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company  as  a 
contractor.  The  maternal  grandfather,  John  Koch,  was  also  a 
native  of  the  Keystone  state,  and  was  an  agriculturist  for  the 
greater  part  of  his  active  life.  Charles  Bankes,  father  of  the  doc- 
tor, was  also  a  farmer  and  died  in  1877,  leaving  two  sons.  Levi, 
the  elder,  is  a  locomotive  engineer  employed  by  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Rlailroad   Company  and   lives  at   Elixir.     Charles  W.   Bankes  of 


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36  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

this  sketch  was  reared  in  Reynolds  and  received  his  preparatory 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  county.  He  taught 
in  the  public  schools  for  four  years,  then  took  preliminary  work 
in  medicine  at  the  state  normal  school  of  Millersville  and  in  1879 
entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  Md. 
In  1881  he  was  graduated  at  that  institution  with  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  and  that  spring  located  at  Middleport.  There 
he  has  been  in  the  active  and  eminently  successful  practice  of  his 
profession  ever  since.  For  a  period  of  six  years  he  was  engaged 
by  the  Dodson  Coal  Company  as  the  company  physician,  but  the 
growth  of  his  private  practice  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  re- 
linquish that  work.  On  Sept.  10,  1885,  Dr.  Bankes  married  Miss 
Laura  L.  Ritter,  a  daughter  of  David  and  Hettie  (Bechtel)  Ritter 
of  Middleport.  Three  children  have  blessed  this  union — Claude 
W.,  Earl  F.  and  Ruth.  The  parents  are  both  members  of  the  Re- 
formed church  and  the  doctor  is  affiliated  fraternally  with  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters,  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men  and  the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Schuylkill  county  medical  association  and  served 
one  term  as  president  of  the  same.  In  politics  Dr.  Bankes  is  a 
Republican  and  under  Republican  administrations  served  ten  years 
as  deputy  coroner. 

^  Bannan,  John.KiThe  name  Bannan  was  a  household  word  in  the 
earlier  days  of  Pottsville  journalism  as  it  was  also  in  the  annals 
of  the  legal  fraternity.  The  family  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  history  of  Schuylkill  county  from  the  infancy  of  that 
civil  organization  to  the  present  day.  Its  members  have  been 
soldiers,  statesmen,  lawyers  and  journalists.  John  Bannan  was 
born  in  Bucks  county.  Pa.,  Sept.  19,  1796.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  was  rendered  an  orphan,  and  from  that  day  until  the  end  of  his 
long  and  useful  life  he  was  entirely  self-dependent.  During  the 
years  of  his  boyhood,  the  schools  were  in  session  an  average  of 
about  three  months  in  the  year,  while  the  instruction  consisted  of 
the  rudiments  of  the  elementary  branches,  and  was  not  always 
presented  in  a  manner  to  accomplish  the  greatest  good.  In  this 
desultory  and  unsatisfactory  manner,  John  Bannan  acquired  the 
elements  of  a  common  school  education,  to  which  he  added  a  rich 
store  of  general  information  in  later  years  by  private  study.  He 
began  his  industrial  career  as  an  engineer  and  in  early  manhood 
located  at  Orwigsburg,  then  the  county  seat  of  Schuylkill  county, 
and  there  began  the  study  of  law  under  the  tutorship  of  Charles 
Evans  of  Reading.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1818  and  began 
practice  at  Orwigsburg,  continuing  there  in  successful  practice 
until  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  to  Pottsville,  when  he  be- 
came a  resident  of  this  borough,  and  ended  his  days  here.  He 
built  a  handsome  old  style  residence  on  Sharp  mountain,  which  he 
designated  as  "Cloud  Home,"  and  the  handsome  suburban  estate  is 
still  owned  and  occupied  by  some  of  his  children.  John  Bannan 
was  a  man  of  sterling  traits  of  character,  universally  esteemed  by 

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,      \     A.  K  oUXTV 

v-x-;-!'-^    aivl   iv-oeixcfi   his  preparatory 

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BIOGRAPHICAL  37 

a  very  large  acquaintanceship  throughout  the  country  and  in 
neighboring  states.  A  brief  biography  of  this  honored  citizen  ap- 
pears in  the  Bench  and  Bar  of  Pennsylvania,  which  is  worthy  of 
being  reproduced  in  this  connection,  since  it  was  written  by  a 
life-long  friend  and  co-laborer  at  the  bar:  *'Hon.  John  Bannan 
(1796-1868).  A  hero  of  the  War  of  1812.  For  many  years  one  of 
the  leaders  of  this  bar.  Self-made,  but  well  made.  He  was  more 
particularly  allied  to  the  land-law,  and  many  of  the  titles  to  the 
most  valuable  coal  lands  in  Schuylkill  county  passed  through  his 
hands.  He  was  of  splendid  physique  and  fine  bearing.  A  man 
respected  and  honored  throughout  the  state.  He  was  a  forcible 
speaker,  a  powerful  advocate  and  a  wise  and  safe  counsellor.  He 
devoted  his  life  to  his  profession  and  to  his  family.  He  was  im- 
pregnable in  the  right,  a  true  patriot,  and  a  knight  of  honor  and 
integrity.  He  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  and  reaped  the  fruits  of  his 
industry  and  the  reward  which  his  service  to  his  country,  his  pro- 
fession and  to  his  community  entitled  him."  Mr.  Bannan  was  a 
man  of  generous  impulses  and  kindly  nature,  genial  and  courteous 
to  all.  He  never  appeared  in  criminal  prosecutions,  such  being  re- 
pugnant to  his  nature  as  a  big-hearted,  generous  friend  to 
humanity.  He  never  sought  nor  would  he  accept  political  office; 
but  preferred  to  stand  aloof  in  such  matters,  and  be  prepared  to 
assist  his  friends,  whom  he  considered  worthy,  with  his  influence 
and  good  judgment.  During  the  Civil  war  he  promptly  offered  his 
services  on  the  first  call  for  troops,  but  being  then  sixty-five  years 
of  age,  he  could  not  be  accepted;  but  he  was  among  the  first  to 
advocate  the  establishment  of  a  home  relief  fund  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  went  to  the  front,  and  whose  home  interests  de- 
manded attention.  His  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  was  of 
that  character  which  produced  results  and  had  a  meaning  beyond 
the  mere  utterance  of  words.  Mr.  Bannan's  service  in  the  War 
of  181 2  was  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  ist  regiment,  Pennsylvania 
volunteers,  the  organization  being  known,  locally,  as  the  Wash- 
ington Blues,  under  command  of  Capt.  D.  B.  Keim,  in  the  light 
brigade  commanded  by  Brig.-Gen.  Thomas  Cadwalader.  John 
Bannan  was  prominently  associated  with  the  state  militia  and 
during  his  residence  in  Schuylkill  county  served  many  years  as 
colonel  in  that  organization.  He  was  a  man  of  advanced  ideas  on 
state  and  national  questions,  and  was  recognized  as  exceptionally 
well  informed.  He  was  resourceful,  energetic,  logical  in  reasoning, 
thoroughly  qualified  in  his  legal  knowledge,  and  possessed  the 
rare  accomplishment  of  keen  perception  and  ready  application  of 
means  to  ends.  Hence  he  was  seldom  wrong  in  reaching  con- 
clusions upon  important  questions.  He  died  at  "Cloud  Home,"  on 
May  3,  1868,  in  his  seventy-third  year.  The  wife  of  this  eminent 
pioneer,  Sarah  Ann  Ridgway,  was  born  on  the  last  day  of  the  year, 
1806.  She  survived  her  husband  for  more  than  eleven  years,  and 
died  at  the  family  home  in  November,  1879.  These  were  the 
parents  of  three  sons  and  three  daughters,  four  of  whom  are  now 
living.    The  sons  all  served  their  country  during  the  trying  days 


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38  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  the  great  internal  strife,  though  all  in  different  organizations. 
Douglass  R.  and  Thomas  R.  were  graduates  of  Yale  college,  and 
the  former,  who  was  born  March  6,  1832,  entered  service  in  the 
United  States  navy  in  1858,  serving  until  Nov.  13,  1871,  when  he 
died  at  Charlestown  Harbor.  Thomas  R.,  a  review  of  whose  life 
will  be  found  in  this  volume,  enlisted  late  in  the  war  and  served 
a  brief  period  during  the  emergency  call.  He  was  a  prominent 
attorney  in  Pottsville,  where  he  died  on  Christmas  Day,  1878.  The 
three  daughters  are  Zelia  R.,  Mary  Joy  and  Martha  Ridgway, 
elderly  ladies  who  own  and  occupy  **Cloud  Home,"  the  sacred  spot 
fragrant  with  the  memories  of  paternal  love  and  tenderness. 
Francis  B.  Bannan,  the  third  son,  was  bom  in  Orwigsburg  on 
Feb.  28,  1833,  and  resides  in  Pottsville.  He  served  in  the  Civil 
war  in  the  "First  Defenders."  On  Jan.  i,  1863,  he  married  Mary 
T.,  daughter  of  Hon.  George  Replier,  deceased,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  six  children. 

Bannan,  Thomas  R.,  deceased,  who  was  one  of  Schuylkill 
county's  most  eminent  attorneys  and  foremost  citizens,  was  bom 
Oct.  10,  1827,  in  Pottsville,  this  county,  and  was  a  son  of  John 
and  Sarah  Ann  (Ridgway)  Bannan.  (For  a  review  of  the  Bannan 
family,  see  the  sketch  of  John  Bannan,  deceased,  appearing  on 
other  pages  of  this  volume.)  Thomas  R.  Bannan  was  reared  in 
the  city  of  his  birth,  in  whose  schools  he  received  his  elementary 
education.  After  completing  the  curriculum  of  the  common 
schools,  he  became  a  student  at  Yale  university,  at  which  he  was 
graduated.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  he  made  the 
law  his  life  work,  and  practiced  his  profession  most  successfully  in 
Pottsville  until  his  death,  on  Dec.  25,  1878.  Hon.  D.  C.  Henning, 
in  a  few  words  of  biography  published  in  the  "Bench  and  Bar  of 
Pennsylvania,"  very  feelingly  expressed  his  sentiments.  He  says: 
"Hon.  Thomas  R.  Bannan  (1827-1878)  a  graduate  of  Yale,  a  most 
scholarly  lawyer,  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1872-3.  He  was  genial,  amiable  and  good.  He  had  a  lucrative 
practice  and  held  the  confidence  of  all  the  world  that  knew  him. 
His  memory  still  lingers  about  this  bar  as  the  fragrance  of  a  sweet 
smelling  blossom.  He  belonged  to  that  class  of  men  who  are 
sometimes  called  'Nature's  Noblemen.'  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
Civil  war,  Mr.  Bannan  served  for  a  brief  period  during  the 
emergency  call,  returning  to  Pottsville  after  his  discharge,  and 
resuming  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  a  forcible  pleader 
and  attained  the. highest  rank  in  his  profession.  His  death  is 
keenly  felt,  not  only  by  his  fellow  confreres,  but  by  his  fellow  citi- 
zens at  large."  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Bannan,  the  following  article 
in  part  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  "Evening  Chronicle"  under 
date  of  Dec.  27,  1878:  "The  death  of  very  few  members  of  the  bar 
could  arouse  such  universal  feeling  of  sorrow  among  the  lawyers 
of  Schuylkill  county  as  was  displayed  at  the  meeting  held  in  the 
court  house  this  morning  to  take  appropriate  action  on  the  death 
of  Thomas  R.  Bannan.  The  meeting  was  well  attended.  On 
motion  of  Hon.  James  B.  Reilly,  Judge  Pershing  was  called  upon 


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\'  *m;      /  :^v 

'.      -f    Schii>.*.'ll 

!    :  1  1  (  .  .  •  " 

I  n/ri-->,  \va^  horn 

.uy     ap:' 

^'  .1  ^     .1     >'  )!!     (.it     li    ''.? 

(1       •!       i     '  t 

*  .   ^^   of  the  Pi  anil  I;  • 

-    .;     l>..nnan   was   fr.-jreu  m 

'  1-   I.c  r<:c<.i\Ov!  hi^  i  umcnlarv 

•     viirriciilum    <>:     ^hc    ^omnj'-n 

■';*••.    -jnivcrsiti.  a-    vvliich   he  wa^ 

-■.:-•  "f  Iriv  '-..^uT.  he  made  iht 

■•'.t. ->-:■  M  t:.'-i   siieeessfnlly  in 

J3.   i>;'N      11  "II    i ).  C.  Henninit^:. 

'.    ja!i>ii>lie(l  in  \\h-  "lieneli  ar.d   Har  ot 

vi^   e\])resse<l  ln<  s^iiliments.     }{e  say<: 

..I      1827-1X78"^   ..  j^:a(kiatt  of  Vale,  a  most 

■T  her   of   the   i«>ii>iituti(>nal    convention    of 

.  M.  a':ua])lc   an»l    l,^<)0(1.     He  had   a   hicrative 

Lonh.Un*;.    1  :  aU  the  worhl  that  knew  hini. 

■■-  :\\  .'1'^  .•'!>  'Jir  a>  the  fra^raiict^  of  a  sweet 

i-'-'^i-'    T»    that   class   of   men    who   are 

'•  •■  -^n."        In  the  latter  ]jart  of  the 

'     !  'r    a    hrief    period    during    tlie 

•     ';--\ille    after    JiLs   Tiischari^e,   and 

.    *   ^^ion.     He  was  a  forcihle  pleader 

''V.    his    profession.      His   death    is 

'    -        I    H-  confreres,  hnt  by  his  fellow  citi- 

•!'    't    Mr.  ]>annan.  the  following  article 

.'-   nx.  4)f  the  "Evening  (  hronicle"  nnd.er 

;  -  •   .\ath  of  very  few  members  of  the  bar 

•    ai   fei  ling  of  sornnv  among  the  lawyers 

■,  ••    ni>p]a\ed  at  the  meeting  hehl  in  the 

-  ,    <>•'•''  appropriate  action  on  the  death 

■  *'•     i*:ieeting    wa^    well    atlemlcl.      ( >n 

.   lu  '^e   }Vr>;  iiij^  wa^  called  tipon 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  39 

to  preside.  Messrs.  Fergus  G.  Farquar  and  Mason  Weidman  acted 
as  secretaries.  A  committee  consisting  of  Hons.  D.  B.  Green,  Lin 
Bartholomew,  John.  W.  Ryon,  Howell  Fisher,  Esq.,  Maj.  James 
Ellis,  Wm.  R.  Smith,  Esq.,  and  Hon.  Jas.  B.  Reilly  was  appointed 
to  draft  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting.  After 
a  short  interval  the  committee  returned  with  the  following  report. 
Judge  Green  was  so  overcome  by  his  feelings  that  he  was  unable 
to  read  it,  and  F.  G.  Farquar,  Esq.,  performed  the  duty : 

Whereas,  God  in  his  infinite  wisdom  has  called  away  our 
esteemed  brother  and  friend,  Thomas  R.  Bannan,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  bench  and  bar  of  Schuyl- 
kill county,  not  questioning  the  divine  decree,  feel  it  our  duty  as 
well  as  our  gratification  to  place  on  record  our  tribute  to  the 
honesty,  ability  and  manliness  of  our  departed  friend  and  brother. 

Resolved,  That  by  the  death  of  Thomas  R.  Bannan  the  com- 
munity at  large  has  lost  a  benefactor,  an  upright  citizen  and  an  able 
adviser,  who  at  all  times  was  willing  and  anxious  to  do  anything 
in  his  power  to  promote  the  public  good. 

Resolved,  That  the  bench  and  bar  of  Schuylkill  county  is  called 
upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  bar,  a 
ripe  scholar,  a  learned  advocate  and  one  who  in  all  his  intercourse 
with  fellow  members  of  the  bar  and  with  the  court  during  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  while  urging  with  the  utmost  fidelity  and 
ability  the  interests  of  his  clients,  manifested  an  uniform  spirit  of 
the  highest  integrity,  the  gentlest  courtesy,  and  universal  benev- 
olence. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  bereaved  mem- 
bers of  the  family  of  our  deceased  brother;  his  kindness  of  heart, 
his  marked  unselfishness  and  his  wisdom  in  management  of  affairs 
will  make  their  loss  so  great  that  we  can  find  no  words  adequate 
to  express  condolence  with  it. 

Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  put  upon  the 
records  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  Schuylkill  county  and  that 
a  committee  of  six  members  be  appointed  by  the  chairman  of  this 
meeting  to  present  to  the  family  of  our  deceased  brother  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions. 

Resolved,  That  the  bench  and  bar  of  Schuylkill  county  attend 
the  funeral  of  Thomas  R.  Bannan  in  a  body. 

Bamd,  Franklin  P.,  M.  D.,  a  leading  physician  of  Hegins,  was 
born  in  that  borough  on  Sept.  17,  1867.  He  is  one  of  a  family  of 
three  sons  and  one  daughter  of  Henry  and  Amelia  (Heiter)  Bamd, 
the  other  two  sons  being  William  Henry  and  Isaac  Jonathan.  He 
comes  of  a  line  of  Pennsylvania  pioneers,  his  paternal  grand- 
parents, Henry  and  Elizabeth  Barnd,  having  been  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  and  his  maternal  grandfather,  Samuel  Heiter,  was 
a  native  of  Hegins  township.  Dr.  F.  P.  Barnd  received  a  due 
preliminary  discipline  in  the  schools  of  his  native  township,  then 
matriculated  in  the  Westchester  normal  school,  and  after  he  had 
received  a  certificate  of  graduation  from  that  institution  he  taught 
school  for  a  period  of  six  years — one  year  in  Kansas  and  the  other 


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40  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

five  in  the  Hegins  schools.  During  this  time  he  decided  to  become 
a  physician  and  when  he  had  accumulated  sufficient  funds  entered 
the  Jefferson  medical  college  of  Philadelphia.  In  1897  he  was 
graduated  at  that  institution  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine and  after  he  had  passed  the  examination  given  by  the  state 
board  of  medical  examiners  started  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Hegins.  Since  that  time  he  has  more  than  realized  even  his  most 
hopeful  expectations  as  to  the  size  and  character  of  his  practice. 
On  Oct.  3,  1891,  Dr.  Barnd  married  Miss  Tamie  V.  Dinger,  daugh- 
ter of  Joel  S.  and  Elizabeth  (Baum)  Dinger,  and  one  of  four  chil- 
dren, the  others  being  Jesse  D.,  Ida  S.  and  Francis.  To  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Barnd  has  been  born  a  son — Guy  Henry.  The  family  are  all 
attendants  of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Hegins.  In  politics  the  doc- 
tor is  a  stanch  Democrat,  but  aside  from  the  incumbency  of  the 
office  of  committeeman,  which  he  now  holds,  and  of  school  director, 
he  has  never  aspired  to  positions  of  public  or  political  trust. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  and  past  officer  of  Hegins  Lodge,  »No. 
726,  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Dr.  Barnd  is 
medical  examiner  for  the  Mutual  and  the  New  York  Life  In- 
surance Companies  of  New  York  and  the  Prudential  of  Newark, 
N.J. 

Barrett,  Frank  K,,  postmaster  at  Coaldale,  and  member  of  the 
firm  of  Barrett  Bros.,  general  merchandise  dealers,  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Moser)  Barrett  and  was  born  in  the  borough 
where  he  now  resides,  and  where  he  has  passed  practically  all  of 
his  life  thus  far.  (For  ancestry  and  family  history  see  sketch  of 
John  M.  Barrett.)  He  was  educated  in  the  Coaldale  public  schools 
and  at  the  age  of  ten  years  began  his  business  career  as  a  breaker 
boy  in  the  mi^ies.  When  he  was  fifteen  years  old  he  became  a 
miner  and  continued  to  follow  that  occupation  until  1906.  Some 
two  years  before  that  time  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
brother,  John  M.,  who  opened  a  general  store  at  Coaldale.  On 
March  27,  1906,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Coaldale  and  took 
charge  of  the  office  on  the  15th  of  April.  The  firm  of  Barrett  Bros, 
carry  the  largest  and  best  selected  stock  of  general  merchandise 
in  the  town  of  Coaldale  and  have  a  large  and  constantly  growing 
patronage.  Itjs  a  common  reply  to  the  question  as  to  where  any 
thing  can^e  obtained — **Go  to  Barrett's."  Mr.  Barrett  is  a  Re- 
publican in  his  political  affiliations  and  has  always  been  willing 
.to  do  his  part  toward  achieving  a  victory  for  his  party.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  is  an  attendant  and  supporter 
of  the  Evangelical  church  of  Coaldale.  On  March  28,  1901,  was 
solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Barrett  and  Miss  Ada,  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Maria  (Rickard)  Miller  of  Coaldale.  This  union  has 
been  blessed  by  two  children,  Harold  and  Aulean.  Since  becoming 
postmaster  Mr.  Barrett  has  instituted  a  number  of  reforms  and 
improvments  in  handling  the  mails,  which  have  given  general  sat- 
isfaction to  the  patrons  of  the  office. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  41 

Barrett,  John  M.,  of  the  firm  of  Barrett  Bros.,  dealers  in  gen- 
eral merchandise  at  Coaldale,  was  born  there  on  July  i6,  1864.  His 
father,  Thomas  Barrett,  was  a  native  of  County  Mayo,  Ireland, 
but  came  to  America  in  the  early  30's  and  located  in  Schulykill 
county.  After  some  time  there  he  went  to  Carbondale  in  Lacka- 
wanna county,  but  subsequently  returned  to  Coaldale,  where  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  days.  His  active  life  was  spent  in 
connection  with  the  mining  industry,  principally  in  opening  the 
drifts  to  get  at  the  coal  veins.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Moser,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  Moser,  who  were  among  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  Tamaqua,  and  to  this  marriage  were  born  four- 
teen children,  nine  of  whom  are  yet  living,  viz:  Kate,  Elizabeth, 
Thomas,  Mary,  Hattie,  John  M.,  Frank  K.,  Ella  and  Anna.  Kate 
is  the  wife  of  William  Delay;  Mary  is  Mrs.  Thomas  Mitchell; 
Hattie  is  the  widow  of  Andrew  Walker ;  Ella  is  the  wife  of  James 
Bottomley,  and  Anna  is  Mrs.  Lewis  Olsen.  John  M.  Barrett  at- 
tended the  Coaldale  public  schools  in  his  boyhood  and  at  the  age 
of  eleven  years  began  work  in  the  breaker.  At  fifteen  he  became  a 
miner  and  followed  that  occupation  until  1894,  when  he  embarked 
in  the  dairy  business,  which  he  followed  for  about  eight  years. 
Soon  after  giving  up  this  line  of  activity  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  brother,  Frank  K.,  in  the  general  merchandise  business, 
which  partnership  still  exists.  (See  sketch  of  Frank  K.  Barrett.) 
Mr.  Barrett  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  the  Evan- 
gelical church.  In  politics  he  is  an  unswerving  Republican,  though 
the  only  office  he  ever  held  was  that  of  school  director  of  Rahn 
township.  On  Feb.  2T,  1905,  Mr.  Barrett  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Julia,  daughter  of  Michael  and  Catherine  (Barrett)  Mon- 
aghan,  of  Altoona,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Mary. 

Barrow,  William  Henry,  a  thrifty  farmer  of  Union  township, 
whose  postoffice  address  is  Ringtown,  was  born  in  that  borough 
on  Oct.  15,  1859.  He  comes  of  good  German-English  stock,  his 
parents  being  Philip  M.  and  Rebecca  (Zimmerman)  Barrow.  His 
paternal  grandfather  was  William  Barrow,  who  came  from  Lan- 
cashire, England,  and  whose  wife  was  Sarah  Maxwell  of  Andes,  N. 
Y.  On  the  maternal  side  the  grandparents  were  Roland  and  Eliza- 
beth (Focht)  Zimmerman,  of  Berks  county.  Pa.  The  children  of 
Philip  and  Rebecca  Barrow  were  eight  in  number,  the  others  be- 
side the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  Roland  A.,  Robert  Burton, 
Clayton  M.,  Mary  Ann,  Emily,  Sarah  and  Fannie,  all*  of  whom 
survive  with  the  exception  of  Emily.  William  H.  Barrow  attended 
the  Ringtown  public  schools  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age  and 
then  entered  his  father's  employment,  working  alternately  in  the 
summer  and  winter  on  the  farm  and  in  a  tannery  which  his  father 
owned.  This  labor  occupied  him  until  1885,  when  he  purchased  the 
farm  of  163  acres  in  Union  township  which  he  is  now  working. 
The  place  contains  138  acres  of  land  under  cultivation  and  some 
25  acres  of  pasture  and  woodland.  Most  of  his  time  and  land  is 
given  over  to  the  cultivation  of  market  vegetables  which  he  sells 


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42  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

in  Ringtown  and  Shenandoah.  In  connection  with  his  gardening 
he  conducts  a  dairy  of  considerable  proportions.  In  politics  Mr. 
Barrow  is  affiliated  with  no  party  and  exercises  his  right  of  fran- 
chise as  he  sees  fit.  In  1885  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  M.  Madara,  of  Broad  Mountain,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Hannah  (Okom)  Madara.  Mrs.  Barrow  is  one  of  eight  children 
born  to  her  parents,  all  of  whom  except  a  son,  George,  are  now 
living.  The  others  are  Harry  E.,  Carrie,  Ella,  Hannah  M.,  Maude 
M.  and  Sadie  E.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barrow  have  been  born  four 
children — John  A.,  George  M.,  Harry  B.  and  Helen  I. — ^all  of  whom 
are  living  except  Helen.  The  family  are  all  devout  members  of 
and  workers  in  the  Reformed  church  of  Ringtown.  The  father's 
fraternal  relations  are  with  the  Ringtown  Chapter,  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  Ringtown  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Shenandoah  Lodge  of  the  Royal  Arcanum. 
Mr.  Barrow  is  known  throughout  the  county  as  a  man  of  integrity, 
enterprise  and  sterling  worth. 

B|Utho,  trcmont  K.,  the  leading  pharmacist  of  Tamaqua,  was 
born  in  Schuylkill  county  on  May  16,  1870,  a  son  of  Gabriel  and 
Magdalina  (Kessler)  Bartho.  TTie  father  was  a  carpenter  and 
miller  and  worked  at  those  vocations  in  this  county  for  many 
years.  His  death  occurred  in  1897  ^^  ^^s  seventy-eighth  year.  The 
mother  now  makes  her  home  with  her  five  surviving  children. 
These  are  Emma,  Mrs.  Preston  Blyler;  Amanda,  Mrs.  Rabuck; 
and  Dr.  B.  F.  and  W.  H.  Bartho  of  Mount  Carmel.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch,  the  youngest  of  his  family,  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Schuylkill  county  and  when  he  had  completed  his 
scholastic  work  he  secured  employment  in  a  mine.  Subsequently 
he  learned  the  carpenters'  trade  ^and  then  secured  a  position  in  a 
pharmacy  where  he  served  a  full  apprenticeship.  He  then  took  a 
full  course  in  the  Philadelphia  college  of  pharmacy,  passed  the  state 
examination  and  was  given  a  certificate  as  a  registered  pharma- 
cist. For  a  time  he  was  employed  by  other  pharmacists  and  in 
1903  he  was  enabled  to  purchase  his  present  store  on  West  Broad 
street  in  Tamaqua.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  most  success- 
fully conducting  his  business  to  the  eminent  satisfaction  of  a  large 
patronage.  The  store  is  well  stocked  with  drugs  and  medicines 
and  the  sundries  are  the  most  modern  to  be  found  in  the  city. 
On  Jan.  12,  1899,  Mr.  Bartho  married  Miss  Jennie  C.  Mayer, 
daughter  of  Cornelius  and  Sarah  (Heater)  Mayer  of  Sacramento. 
To  this  union  has  been  born  one  child — Margery.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bartho  are  members  of  and  leading  workers  in  the  United  Brethren 
church.  In  a  fraternal  way  the  former  is  identified  with  the  Benev- 
olent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Knights  of  the  Mac- 
cabees of  the  World,  and  in  the  latter  order  is  the  incumbent  of 
the  office  of  keeper  of  the  records.  Mr.  Bartho  is  progressive  and 
enthusiastic  in  whatever  he  undertakes  and  is  one  of  the  city's 
most  enterprising:  citizens. 

Bast.  Tcrcmiah  F.,  proprietor  of  the  Royal  knitting  mills  of 
Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  in  Rockland,  Berks  county,  Pa.,  Oct. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  43 

13,  1841.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Esther  (Focht)  Bast,  the 
father  a  native  of  Macedonia,  Berks  county,  Pa.  He  was  descended 
from  Jewish  stock,  his  grandfather  being  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Berks  county.  Henry  Bast  was  born  on  Sept.  24,  1820,  and  died 
on  May  18,  1892,  at  Pottsville.  He  served  throughout  the  Civil 
war  and  was  mustered  out  at  its  close.  Esther  F.  Bast  was  born 
on  July  22,  1822,  and  died  on  Jan.  31,  1890.  Gideon  Bast,  late  of 
Schuylkill  Haven,  was  a  granduncle  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
a  man  well  known  in  his  day.  The  subject  of  this  article  was 
educated  in  the  subscription  schools  in  vogue  during  his  boyhood 
days,  and  when  quite  young  became  an  apprentice  to  the  carpen- 
ter's trade,  a  business  which  he  followed  until  twenty-eight  years 
old.  He  was  employed  during  part  of  this  time  as  a  foreman  for 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company.  In  1888,  he  opened 
his  present  business  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  was  a  pioneer  in  the 
knitting  mill  business  in  Schuylkill  county.  He  began  on  a  small 
scale,  adding  to  his  building  and  machinery  from  the  profits  of 
his  business  until  he  now  owns  and  operates  one  of  the  largest 
industries  of  its  kind  in  the  county,  giving  steady  and  remunerative 
employment  to  1 10  employes  in  the  various  lines  of  the  work.  Mr. 
Bast  has  been  especially  unfortunate  in  the  matrimonial  field, 
having  been  four  times  married,  two  of  his  wives,  the  first  and 
third,  having  died  within  a  comparatively  short  time  after  mar- 
riage, though  the  second  in  order  of  marriage,  survived  for  thirty- 
one  years,  and  was  the  mother  of  his  six  sons  who  are  now  living. 
His  first  marriage  was  solemnized  on  Jan.  i,  1863,  when  Miss 
Susanna  Kramis  became  his  wife.  She  was  a  daughter  of  David 
and  Lovina  Kramis.  One  daughter  was  born  to  this  union,  and 
mother  and  daughter  died  in  1864.  On  June  6,  1865,  Mr.  Bast 
was  married  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Reed) 
Reber.  This  union  was  blessed  with  the  birth  of  the  following 
named  sons,  all  of  whom  are  living,  except  one,  and  engaged  in 
life's  struggles  on  their  own  account.  TTiey  are  profitably  em- 
ployed, or  engaged  in  business,  and  all  are  residents  of  Schuylkill 
Haven:  Walter  Milton,  was  born  Oct.  22,  1866;  Henry  Edward, 
March  29,  1869;  Samuel  Irwin,  Feb.  21,  1871 ;  Oscar  Oliver,  Oct. 
12,  1873;  George  Albert,  Sept.  6,  1877,  deceased;  Thomas  Franklin, 
Feb.  14,  1879;  and  Homer  Jeremiah,  April  5,  1885.  The  sons  are 
all  married  and  have  homes  of  their  own.  The  mother  of  this 
family  died  on  Aug.  10,  1896,  and  in  March,  1897,  Mr.  Bast  was 
married  to  Mrs.  Rebecca  Boyer,  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  She  died 
April  14,  1903,  and  on  Nov.  4,  1903,  Mr.  Bast  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  his  present  companion,  who  was  in  maidenhood,  Miss 
Alice  May  Boyer,  of  Philadelphia.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Lewis  and 
Catherine  (Krouse)  Boyer,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Philip  Boyer, 
an  early  settler  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  Philip  Boyer  built  and  con- 
ducted the  "Cross  Key"  hotel,  now  known  as  the  Columbia  hotel, 
in  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  Miss  Krouse  was  one  of  the  public  school 
teachers  there,  having  previously  taught  in  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Bast  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  growth  and  material 


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44  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

progress  of  Schuylkill  Haven  and  has  given  prompt  response  to 
reasonable  demands  upon  his  means,  time  and  influence  as  tending 
to  that  end.  He  was  one  oi  the  organizers  of  the  First  National 
bank  and  is  a  director  and  stockholder  in  that  institution  at 
present.  He  has  assisted  in  the  building  of  churches,  and  has  al- 
ways been  a  firm  supporter  of  the  public  schools.  In  political 
views  he  is  an  ardent  Republican,  but  is  tolerant  of  the  political 
and  religious  opinions  of  others.  He  has  served  the  borough  as 
a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the 
borough  council. 

Baum,  John  H.,  a  farmer  of  Hegins  township,  was  born  in 
Dauphin  county,  Pa.,  April  22^  1852.  His  father,  Henry  Baum, 
was  born  in  Schuylkill  county,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Rebecca  Scheff^er,  in  Berks  county.  The  father  learned 
the  blacksmiths'  trade  in  early  life  and  followed  that  occupation 
for  a  while  in  Dauphin  county  and  later  in  Schuylkill.  He  was 
also  a  veterinary  surgeon,  was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views 
and  held  some  minor  offices,  and  belonged  to  the  Lutheran  church. 
He  died  on  Dec.  10,  1900,  and  his  wife  in  October,  1901.  They  had 
the  following  children :  Elizabeth,  now  the  wife  of  Joel  S.  Dinger, 
of  Hegins;  DeHla,  Mrs.  Frank  B.  Schreiber,  of  Clearfield,  Pa.; 
John  H.,  of  Hegins;  Daniel,  tiow  a  resident  of  Pittsburg;  Mag- 
dalena,  wife  of  Aaron  Aussman,  of  Tremont;  and  Rebecca,  now 
Mrs.  Maurice  Kiver,  of  Dayton,  Ohio.  John  H.  Baum  received 
a  common  school  education  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  started 
in  life  for  himself  as  a  farm-hand.  Subsequently  he  was  employed 
in  the  mines  at  Donaldson,  East  Brookside,  Lincoln,  Mount  Carmel 
and  other  places.  In  1893  he  bought  his  present  farm,  known  as 
the  old  George  Dinger  place,  in  Hegins  township,  consisting  of  72 
acres,  about  50  of  which  was  cleared.  Here  he  has  since  con- 
ducted a  general  farming  business,  giving  considerable  attention 
to  growing  vegetables,  most  of  which  are  sold  at  Minersville.  Mr. 
Baum  is  also  the  possessor  of  a  fine  Percheron  stallion  named 
'^Charley,"  a  horse  that  he  raised  himself.  In  society  circles  Mr. 
Baum  is  well  known,  as  he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America, 
Hegins  Grange,  No.  1242,  at  Hegins,  and  belongs  to  Pomona 
Grange,  at  Pottsville.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican  and  has  served 
as  auditor,  supervisor  and  inspector  for  East  Hegins  township.  In 
religious  matters  he  affiliates  with  the  Lutheran  church.  On  Dec. 
7,  1872,  Mr.  Baum  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.,  daughter  of 
George  and  Kate  Haines,  of  Barry  township.  Her  parents  were 
both  bom  in  Berks  county,  and  both  are  now  deceased.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Baum  have  one  son,  George  W.,  born  Dec.  27,  1873,  now  a 
farmer  and  justice  of  the  peace  at  Sacramento,  and  also  Harry 
Chester,  an  adopted  son,  now  eight  years  old. 

Beacher,  Benjamin  F.,  Jr.,  wholesale  and  retail  dealer  in  con- 
fectionery, in  the  city  of  Shenandoah,  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
representative  young  business  men  of  his  native  county  and  such 
is  his  standing  as  a  citizen  and  scion  of  one  of  the  honored  families 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  45 

of  this  section  of  the  state  that  he  is  well  entitled  to  specific 
mention  in  this  volume.  Mr.  Beacher  was  born  in  Shenandoah, 
Feb.  7,  1879,  ^^^  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  F.  and  Sarah  Jane  (Jacobs) 
Beacher,  both  of  whom  were  likewise  born  in  Schuylkill  county — 
the  former  in  1846  and  the  latter  in  185 1.  The  paternal  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  William  Beacher,  who  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  lumbermen  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  who  died 
at  Ringtown.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Eisenhaut,  a 
member  of  a  family  which  was  early  founded  in  the  southern  part 
of  this  county.  William  J.  Jacobs,  the  maternal  grandfather  of 
Mr.  Beacher,  was  likewise  an  honored  pioneer  of  the  county  and 
in  the  early  days,  before  the  establishing  of  railroad  lines,  he  drove 
a  stage  between  Pittsburg  and  Baltimore.  He  passed  the  tlosing 
years  of  his  life  in  Shenandoah.  Benjamin  F.  Beacher,  Sr.,  still 
resides  in  Shenandoah,  where  his  wife  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five 
years.  Of  their  children  two  sons  and  five  daughters  are  living — 
Arthur  G.,  a  prominent  painter  and  decorator  in  Shenandoah; 
Emma,  wife  of  Alford  Harrox,  of  that  city ;  Laura,  wife  of  Thomas 
Heywood,  of  Girardville,  Pa. ;  Sarah,  who  resides  at  Mount  Carmel ; 
Angeline,  widow  of  Isaiah  Womer,  residing  at  North  Braddock, 
Pa.;  Benjamin  F.,  Jr.,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
Mary,  wife  of  William  Derrick,  of  North  Braddock.  The  father 
was  a  loyal  and  valiant  soldier  of  the  Union  during  the  Civil  war, 
as  a  member  of  Company  F,  7th  Pennsylvania  cavalry,  which  com- 
mand made  a  gallant  record.  He  is  now  living  retired,  making 
his  home  with  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Benjamin  F.  Beacher, 
Jr.,  has  passed  his  entire  life  thus  far  in  his  native  city  and  was 
afforded  the  advantages  of  its  excellent  public  schools.  He  was 
graduated  in  the  high  school  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1893,  and 
initiated  his  business  career  by  securing  a  position  as  clerk  in  a 
"grocery  store.  He  has  ever  since  continued  to  be  identified  with 
mercantile  affairs  in  his  native  city,  and  in  1901  established  his 
present  business  enterprise,  first  occupying  quarters  at  the  corner 
of  West  street  and  Apple  alley,  where  he  remained  two  years. 
He  then  removed  to  43  West  Coal  street,  and  two  years  later 
located  in  his  present  commodious  quarters  at  35  North  Main 
street.  At  the  time  of  his  removal  here  he  purchased  the  property, 
which  includes  a  substantial  three-story  block,  15  by  150  feet  in 
dimensions,  with  the  best  of  facilities  for  fhe  operation  of  the 
candy  factory  and  for  the  handling  of  the  large  wholesale  and 
retail  trade.  The  establishment  is  thoroughly  metropolitan  and  its 
equals  are  to  be  found  only  in  the  larger  cities.  The  products  of 
the  factory  are  held  in  high  favor  by  the  retail  dealers  throughout 
this  section  and  the  trade  in  the  wholesale  department,  as  well  as 
the  retail,  is  constantly  expanding  in  scope  and  importance.  The 
average  annual  business  of  the  concern  has  now  reached  an  aggre- 
gate of  fully  $40,000.  Mr.  Beacher  has  shown  marked  progressive- 
ness  and  energy  in  the  upbuilding  of  his  fine  business  and  has 
gained*  to  himself  and  his  establishment  an  enviable  reputation  for 
reliability.     In  local  politics  he  maintains  an  independent  attitude, 


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46  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

but  in  national  and  state  aflfairs  he  gives  unqualified  support  to 
the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  of  Horncastle  Camp,  No. 
49,  Sons  of  Veterans,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  zealous  mem- 
bers of  the  United  Evangelical  church,  taking  an  active  part  in 
the  various  departments  of  church  work,  especially  the  Sunday 
school,  in  which  both  are  teachers.  May  lo,  1905,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Beacher  to  Miss  Bertha  P.  Snyder,  daughter 
of  Charles  H.  Snyder,  now  a  resident  of  Allentown,  Pa.  She  was 
born  in  Shenandoah  and  secured  her  education  in  the  schools  of 
Frackville.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beacher  have  a  winsome  little  daughter, 
Evelyn  Ruth,  who  was  born  April  i,  1906. 

Bearstler,  James  Orcn,  D.  D.  S.,  a  prominent  and  well  known 
practitioner,  was  born  in  Pottsville,  Feb.  6,  1877,  ^  son  of  William 
Henry  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Oren)  Bearstler,  natives  respectively 
of  Pottsville  and  Port  Carbon,  and  representatives  of  pioneer  fam- 
ilies in  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.  His  grandfather,  James  Oren,  iwas 
a  soldier  from  this  county  during  the  war  with  Mexico.  It  would 
be  a  pleasure  to  record  with  more  fullness  the  history  of  this  old 
family,  but  the  meager  outlines  furnished  do  not  justify  an  attempt. 
Dr.  James  Oren  Bearstler  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  high  school  of  Pottsville,  supplemented  by  a  course  in 
a  commercial  college.  He  was  graduated  in  the  Philadelphia 
dental  college  with  the  class  of  1902,  began  practice  immediately, 
and  has  established  himself  at  the  head  of  the  profession  in  Potts- 
ville. He  gives  special  prominence  to  porcelain  inlay  work,  and 
crown  and  bridge  work  in  all  details  receives  careful  attention.  The 
doctor  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  views,  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  is  allied  with  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity. Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Central  Republican  club,  and 
in  the  college  fraternity  known  as  the  Xi,  Xsi,  Phi  fraternity.  H5 
was  married  on  Oct.  26,  1904,  to  Miss  Carrie,  daughter  of  George 
W.  and  Mary  May  Beddall,  of  Port  Carbon.  The  mother  is  de- 
ceased. Dr.  Bearstler  and  wife  sustain  high  social  relations  in  the 
town  and  community. 

Bechtel,  Edgar  W.,  the  subject  of  this  biographical  review,  is 
a  son  of  the  late  Hon.  Francis  W.  Bechtel  whose  life  history  is 
indissolubly  connected  with  the  Schuylkill  county  bar.  Francis 
W.  Bechtel  was  born  in  Northumberland  county.  Pa.,  April  11, 
1837,  and  was  a  son  of  John  and  Eliza  (Beeber)  Bechtel,  natives 
of  Bucks  county,  Pa.  He  received  his  elementary  education  jn  the 
schools  of  Middleport,  attended  the  postoffice  as  clerk,  finally 
engaged  in  teaching  in  Berks  county,  being  thus  employed  for 
two  years,  when  he  returned  to  Middleport,  and  was  there  em- 
ployed in  teaching  for  three  years.  Subsequently  he  became  prin- 
•  cipal  of  the  schools  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  while  thus  employed, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Alicia  Wilson  on  Aug.  6, 
1863.  He  served  one  year  as  freight  and  ticket  agent  of  the  Mine 
Hill  &  Schuylkill  Haven  railroad  at  Minersville,  and  while  thus 
engaged   received  the   appointment   as '  clerk  to  the  county  com- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  47 

missioners,  a  position  which  he  held  for  four  years.  But  prior  to 
this  time,  in  the  fall  of  1862,  he  had  registered  as  a  law  student  in 
the  office  of  Franklin  B.  Gowen,  and  completed  his  studies  in  the 
office  of  Hon.  JoVin  W.  Ryon.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  before 
the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county  on  May  18,  1868,  and  from  that 
day  until  his  death,  on  March  14,  1906,  he  was  assiduously  devoted 
to  his  profession.  In  the  year  1870  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
before  the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania,  and  prosecuted 
many  cases  to  a  successful  conclusion  before  that  body,  as  well 
as  in  the  courts  of  other  counties  throughout  the  state.  He  was 
county  solicitor  of  Schuylkill  county  from  1870  until  1874,  elected 
as  a  Democrat.  Mr.  Bechtel  was  an  active  worker  in  the  councils 
of  Democracy,  and  was  honored  by  his  party.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  one  daughter  and  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Mary 
A.,  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Philip  E.  Womelsorff,  a  civil 
and  mining  engineer  residing  at  Philipsburg,  Center  county,  Pa.; 
Elmer  F.  is  a  civil  and  mining  engineer  now  located  at  Steelton, 
Dauphin  county.  Pa.  Edgar  W.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
the  last  in  order  of  birth,  being  born  in  Pottsville,  Dec.  28,  i86<3. 
After  his  graduation  from  the  high  school,  he  taught  school  for 
four  years;  one  in  Pine  Grove  and  three  in  Mount  Carbon,  and 
then  took  up  the  study  of  law  under  the  tutorship  of  his  father. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1892;  served  as  deputy  district 
attorney  during  the  term  of  Hon.  J.  W.  Ryon,  and  also  served  one 
term  as  principal  in  that  important  office.  Mr.  Bechtel  was  married 
on  Nov.  28,  1894,  to  Miss  Myra  L.  Whitehouse,  daughter  of  David 
and  Maria  (Shakespeare)  Whitehouse,  natives  of  England.  She 
is  a  sister  to  the  well  known  Pottsville  attorney,  W.  J.  White- 
house.  Three  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bechtel, 
namely:  David  W.,  Dec.  9,  1895;  Mary  A.,  Feb.  27,  1898,  and 
Virginia  A.,  Jan.  18,  1900.  The  subject  of  this  article  is  a  talented 
and  successful  lawyer,  occupying  the  offices  lately  occupied  by 
himself  and  father  jointly.  His  mother  was  a  lady  of  education 
and  refinement,  and  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  a  grand- 
daughter of  Alexander  Campbell,  the  founder  of  the  religious  sect 
bearing  his  name. 

Bcc^  Isaac  G.,  son  of  Edward  and  Mary  (Strauch)  Beck,  was 
born  in  Beck^'ille,  North  Manheim  township,  Sept.  28,  1865.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  the  township,  the  period  of 
his  attendance  extending  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  At 
that  time  he  began  a  clerkship  in  the  store  of  Chas.  F.  Beck  in 
Cressona,  which  lasted  for  three  years.  His  father  needing  his 
held  on  the  farm,  he  left  the  store  and  returned  to  the  parental 
home  where  he  was  employed  in  teaming  and  other  work  until 
1895.  He  then  leased  the  hotel  at  Beckville  which  is  now  con- 
ducted by  William  J.  Beck,  which  he  successfully  conducted  for 
five  years,  returning  to  his  father's  place  in  1900,  where  he  is  now 
engaged  in  farming,  teaming  and  lumbering.  He  continued  to 
work  with  his  father  until  the  death  of  the  latter,  and  now  lives 
upon  the  old  homestead,  where  his  father  was  born  and  reared.    At 


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48  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

present  his  main  business  is  teaming  for  the  Cressona  powder 
mills.  Mr.  Beck  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Kate  L.  Rubert, 
daughter  of  Michael  Rubert,  of  North  Manheim,  the  ceremony 
occurring  in  June,  1889.  From  this  union  one  daughter,  Dorothy, 
is  living.  Mrs.  Beck  died  in  August,  1906.  The  members  of  the 
family  are  connected  with  St.  Mark's  Reformed  church  of  Cres- 
sona. Mr.  Beck  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  affiliations  and  has 
held  the  office  of  school  director  for  four  years.  He  is  .a  member  of 
the  Cressona  Lodge,  No.  426,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

Beck,  William  J.,  of  Cressona,  has  long  been  identified  with  the 
business  and  civic  affairs  of  Schuylkill  county  and  is  one  of  its 
well  known  and  highly  esteemed  citizens.  He  was  born  in  Beck- 
ville.  North  Manheim  township,  this  county.  May  25,  1850,  a  son 
of  John  and  Jane  (Hudson)  Beck,  old  residents  of  the  county,  where 
the  mother  is  still  living.  He  was  afforded  the  advantages  of  the 
public  schools,  which  he  continued  to  attend  until  he  had  attained 
to  the  age  of  about  twenty  years,  after  which  he  was  employed  for 
one  year  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company.  He 
then  learned  the  wheelwright  trade  and  later  engaged  in  the  business 
of  carriage  building,  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  six  years,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  he  engaged  in  the  same  line  of  business  on  his 
own  responsibility.  He  continued  to  be  identified  with  this  enter- 
prise for  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  was  successful  in  his  efforts. 
In  1900  he  sold  the  business  to  Harry  Scheaffer,  and  the  same 
year  established  himself  in  the  hotel  business  in  Cressona,  where 
he  has  since  conducted  a  prosperous  hostelry  and  built  up  a  high 
reputation  as  an  able  and  discriminating  hotel  man.  He  is  affil- 
iated with  the  Masonic  lodge  in  his  home  borough,  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men  and  the  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  with 
which  last  mentioned  he  has  been  identified  for  the  long  period 
of  forty  years.  He  has  served  as  vice-president  of  the  Pottsville 
Fish  and  Game  Protective  Association  for  the  past  twenty  years. 
In  politics  he  maintains  an  independent  attitude  and  for  thirteen 
years  he  has  been  tax  receiver  of  the  township.  He  and  his  family 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  church  in  Cressona.  In  February, 
1877,  Mr.  Beck  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Esther  Major,  of 
Cressona,  and  they  have  six  daughters  and  one  son,  namely :  Olive, 
wife  of  Irvin  Dyer,  of  Pottsville ;  Harvey,  a  resident  of  Beckville ; 
Elsie,  a  successful  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  the  county ;  and 
Nellie,  Grace,  Annie,  and  Mary,  all  of  whom  are  at  the  parental 
home. 

Becker,  Christian,  a  wagon-maker  and  blacksmith  of  Tamaqua, 
was  born  in  Germany  on  April  7,  1851.  A  brief  biography  of  his 
parents  may  be  found  in  the  sketch  of  Henry  Becker,  a  brother, 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Mr.  Becker  came  to  the  United  States 
and  to  Tamaqua  with  his  parents  while  still  a  child  and  acquired 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  Schuylkill  county.  When  his  school 
days  were  over  he  worked  for  six  years  as  a  wiper  in  the  round- 
house of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  and  then  served  a 
full  apprenticeship  in  the  wagonmakers'  trade.     For  ten  years  he 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  49 

worked  at  the  business  for  other  people  and  then  started  an  estab- 
lishment of  his  own.  This  was  in  1879  and  since  that  time  he  has 
been  most  successfully  operating  a  shop  and  the  industry  has 
grown  to  such  proportions  by  this  time  that  the  employment  of 
five  men  has  become  necessary.  On  Sept.  15,  1877,  Mr.  Becker 
married  Miss  Amanda  Geisinger,  a  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Cath- 
erine Geisinger  of  Tamaqua.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with 
twelve  children,  ten  of  whom  are  living.  Edward  F.,  the  eldest,  is 
a  blacksmith ;  Minerva  is  Mrs.  Arthur  Lambert  and  the  mother  of 
two  children,  Harry  and  Daisy;  and  the  other  living  children  are 
Emma,  Christian,  Jr.,  Herbert  H.,  John  C,  Harry  L.,  Charles, 
Robert  and  Howard.  Two  others  died  in  infancy.  The  family  are 
all  identified  with  the  Reformed  church.  The  father  is  prominent 
in  fraternal  circles,  having  passed  through  all  the  offices  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle,  and  has  been  delegate  to  the  grand  lodges  of  both  organiza- 
tions, at  Pittsburg,  Altoona,  Harrisburg  and  Reading.  He  is  also 
identified  with  the  Deutsche  Gesellshaft. 

Becker,  Henry,  a  prominent  carpenter  and  contractor  of 
Tamaqua,  was  born  in  that  town  on  March  8,  1859.  His  parents, 
Adam  and  Margaret  (Fiebach)  Becker,  were  natives  of  Germany, 
where  the  father  was  a  tailor.  After  coming  to  this  country,  in 
1854,  however,  he  did  almost  anything  that  oflFered.  He  was  a 
musician  of  ability  and  was  well  known  because  of  his  talent  in 
that  line.  His  death  occurred  on  July  14,  1870,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
four  years,  and  his  widow  passed  away  on  March  9,  1902,  in  her 
eighty-third  year.  The  seven  children  in  the  order  of  their  ages 
are  as  follows :  Christie  is  the  wife  of  John  Scheidegger,  a  miner ; 
Sophie  is  the  widow  of  George  Harspersberger,  a  butcher  of 
Wilkes  Barre,  Pa. ;  a  sketch  of  Christian  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
volume;  George  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven;  Maggie  is  the 
wife  of  John  M.  Caldwell,  a  merchant  of  Tamaqua;  Henry  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Lewis  is  a  painter  living  in  Phila- 
delphia. Henry  Becker  attended  the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua 
and  when  he  had  taken  advantage  of  the  educational  opportunities 
oflFered  there  he  found  employment  with  his  brother  Christian, 
where  he  learned  his  trade.  Subsequently  he  became  associated 
in  business  with  J.  A.  Schilbe  under  the  firm  name  of  Becker  & 
Schilbe  and  remained  in  that  partnership  ten  years  until  Mr. 
Schilbe  purchased  his  interest.  Then  he  started  a  concern  under 
his  own  name  and  has  since  been  continuously  in  the  contracting 
and  carpentering  business,  besides  doing  a  wholesale  and  retail 
lumber  business.  Some  of  the  recent  and  most  modern  dwellings 
of  Tamaqua,  among  them  his  own,  are  monuments  to  Mr.  Becker's 
skill  and  ability.  He  is  himself  a  very  careful  and  thorough  work- 
man and  employs  ten  or  twelve  men  the  year  round.  He  held  the 
office  of  assessor  for  three  terms  and  in  1900  was  elected  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  poor  for  Schuylkill  county  and  served  a  full 
term.  On  July  29,  1882,  Mr.  Becker  married  Miss  Kate  Wetterau, 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Catherine  Wetterau,  formerly  of  Tamaqua, 

4— Vol.  II 


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50  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

but  now  deceased.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Becker  have  been  born  two 
children — Mabel  Alberta  and  Reynolds  C.  H.,  the  latter  now  a 
student  at  McCann's  business  college.  The  family  are  all  members 
of  the  Reformed  church,  in  which  the  father  served  three  years  as 
a  deacon.  He  is  identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  and  has  passed 
through  all  the  offices  of  both  organizations.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Tamaqua  club  and  in  1906  was  the  incumbent  of  the  office 
of  president  of  that  organization.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Tamaqua 
Lodge,  No.  592,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  was 
a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  cornet  band  of  Tamaqua  for  twelve 
years  as  one  of  the  bass  players. 

Bedea«  Daniel  W.,  postmaster  at  Shenandoah,  was  born  in 
Union  county,  Pa.,  June  10,  1854.  He  is  a  son  of  George  and 
Mary  (Williams)  Bedea,  both  natives  of  Wales,  who  came  to 
the  United  States  with  their  respective  parents  when  children. 
Their  marriage  occurred  at  Bloomsbury,  Columbia  county.  The 
father  was  a  miner  and  was  eminently  successful  in  a  financial  way. 
Both  parents  died  at  Shamokin,  the  father  in  1889  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five  years,  and  the  mother  in  1897  in  her  seventy-first  year, 
leaving  a  family  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  Thomas  W., 
the  eldest,  is  superintendent  of  a  rolling  mill  at  Danville ;  William 
H.  is  a  boiler  maker  at  Scranton;  Elizabeth,  who  became  the  wife 
of  David  Griffiths,  died  at  Shamokin;  and  Mary  A.  is  the  widow 
of  Edward  Lewis  and  lives  in  Danville.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
acquired  a  public  school  education  in  Union  county  and  at  Dan- 
ville. He  worked  on  a  farm  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age, 
then  for  three  years  was  employed  in  the  iron  works  at  Danville 
and  a  little  later  employed  at  Shamokin.  For  a  period  of  years  im- 
mediately following  he  was  agent  for  the  Singer  Sewing  Machine 
Company  at  Mauch  Chunk  and  elsewhere  and  left  that  business  to 
accept  a  position  as  coal  and  iron  policeman.  He  continued  in  that 
capacity  for  six  or  seven  years  and  his  duty  required  his  presence 
in  Shenanuor.h,  where  he  then  located.  On  Feb.  i,  1898,  Presi- 
dent McKinley  made  Mr.  Bedca  postmaster  of  Shenandoah  and  on 
April  3,  1903  he  was  reappointed  to  the  position  by  President 
Roosevelt.  The  office  is  in  the  second  class  and  Mr.  Bedea  has 
fulfilled  his  duties  in  it  with  accuracy  and  thoroughness.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1892,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet  E.  Craw- 
shaw,  a  native  of  this  county.  The  Crawshaw  family  was  well 
known  in  the  early  days  of  Schuylkill  county  history,  Joshua  L. 
Crawshaw  being  one  of  the  first  stationary  engineers  of  Pt)ttsville, 
coming  there  with  his  wife,  Mary  A.,  when  Pottsville  had  but 
eighty  houses.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bedea  has  been  born  one  son, 
George  C.  Mr.  Bedea  is  an  active  Republican  in  his  political  views 
and  is  prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  being  a  member  of  the  Blue 
lodge  of  Shenandoah,  the  chapter  and  commandery  at  Mahanoy 
City,  the  consistory  at  Philadelphia  and  the  Shrine  at  Reading. 

Bell,  James  Jackson,  a  prominent  member  of  the  Schuylkill 
county  bar  and  a  resident  of  Shenandoah,  was  born  in  that  city  on 


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.'MUVLKILL  COUNTV 

Mr.  a:;il   Mr.s.  lU-.:kcr  have  been  1)orn  two 

-ifa   an<i    Ri^yiioM^    C.    H.,   the    latter   now    r. 

1.  isiiK-s.s  t'lk-j^^e.  'Ihe  fani'ly  are  all  numhers 
r .  h.  ill   vv  :•  h  the  father  served  three  yc:;rs  .;> 

■ii;<utl  V  ith  the  Independent  OrJ.er  o[  Udf^ 
\    ''"ed    ( ''•d'^-r   of    Red    Men,   and    his    pa^^cd 

'  c  .  boiji  .  r^dnizai^i(»n^.  I'e  is  aNo  a  n:<  :rhtr 
'  a-.d  in  '  /••'>  \v<is  the  incunibtiU  r>i'  t»'c  nttioc 
':;  i;n/al.  •  ^  1  'e  is  ai^f>  a  member  el  'I  amat.ir*. 
•  .-'i.nt  a    I   I'roteetixe  C»rder  of  Klks  and  wa-^ 

;  -\\\'A  ...1  t  'rnet  band  ui   lamatjua  for  *\\t.J'  c 

^  ^    phi/'.  :  ^ 

.    ';'--li...t-*    r    at    Shenan(''»ah,    was    bi-rn    *r. 

.n'K    I  '     -'^j       lie   1^   a   son   *f^    ^.'eo.ue   a"d 

■  -a,    ■<  e       ii'-nve^    of    W'abs,    vvlu-    Cctine    '-' 
'M.    :V    -T     '.-spLclivc    I'arents    >vdicn    ehibbt,'^., 

.'.V  :   .:    -  ;''K>ir>bnrv.   (  ohnnbia  c.<.nniy.       ■  '.-: 

•  !  '.-    >  '  '•  .nently  sjcces>ful  in  a  Ijnancial  v*-'  *  . 

■  ..     •    .';i    the   fatn<^r  in   iv^S.;  at  thi-  ai:e  of 

:  '     IV      in   l8t;7  r\  her  so\er:\-hKsi  \v\ar. 

'    -   'i-   and  t\vf>  .'ani^hitrs.     'Idvim:-"-    VV. 

.-..  Mt  ci  r-jjl'-i^    niiU  at   nan\ille;  William 

•It  -n  ;  I'Jr/  •!  e*r..  who  bcv  a  i-«*  t.v.    wm-' 

.  ..    .^t/-!u)kir  ;  and    Marv   A.   is  th.v    wit-^ 

•  n   '  'an\'bi\     'IIk-  Md)jo.'t  of  tlii.s  si  .  tc!'i 

■    1   ^   .  .'.  :i')n   in    l"ni(>n    ennitv  and  at    1 'd!^- 

I   '  " '  •:!     ".ti!   be  wa>  e  neu  en    vcir-;  of  a^e, 

'■   ^  •  n\     tvd   w.  the  ifcT.   w.'Ks  a*    ]\rn..'*; 

■  ■'  •  1  .r.  .^  .,.  •.  ■'-  :ti.     \'\  r  a  '"rrjo«!  of  _   \.i^  i  -i 

^     •-*.'-,  '.   M,r  tlu:  S-'iLT' r  S   \vin;:   .da..h"e 

''Miv-      ii.    V   -".brre  .rni  '»  fi   that   bM-^'n*--;^  ;■; 

■.•;    <     '    r    1,  '•  hc'.n.i'.     lie  ct'htinv'.^!  ht  iha: 

'.    .  ;.?   ^     .     i   t\\^  tb.;tv  ^^"  in"^'l  l^i-;  jyrt'-,c%  -r; 

•  ;■«'     ''^"     r-atf-d.     (  M.    re'      I,    i^,(^^    l'rt>i 
■.:     I  '.' '    ,'     '   -wna^'i'  «  f  ^  b<-nand(Ki'i  an  '  (^\ 

.^  /i;';"'-''    f      t«»    .h'     p''Mti>n    bv    I 'r-(v^"'l!-!^t 

'V  -    ■      '  ■•    -e".  \'-     -a-'^  anc    M^*.   lU-tiea  im- 

•  •  '        •'"'     ■  w  '  il  « -f  v»it,''nu -■^.     In  (  >c'■>- 
■  '  ;'      .          •.  T ;  •.■;,'  T  k  A,  ■-.>   I  larri -t   b".   i  ra^s- 

'  b  •    t  :  iv\'-!  aw    fan^ily    v%  as    w  d 

•^  -.xi^'    .a^v-ntv   hisior\.    b'^-hua   ],. 

;      •     ■     ■     ■  ' A'     nary  ('Pi^'nei'^s  <^f  t\)ttN\-d!e, 

•^     / -,    wh.en    i*ott>vJl]e    bail    bnt 

l.t_d"a    b.as   been    born  '^uc    son, 

-  •  *  \r;»:rj!;c*iii  in  his  pidltiral  ^-i-.^w^ 

•    '*'>.  b<"iu;  :{   ]\]^^:^^Jcr  of  the    iUne 

.   '    .    r   and    .-(t.;!  caiHiery    at    ?  bihanov 

•    •  <-  ^  '  a  ',1  and    :;c  ^hriije  at   Kta(hT^<^. 

T     .-..■i-'-nt    iMvinh'T    of    the    b^.duiylkill 
-'''■'      .  :  i'eT'  .n  'f  :di,  was  b'>rn  i'l  that  eitv'  on 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  51 

March  i8,  1876,  a  son  of  James  and  Margaret  (Conville)  Bell.  The 
father  was  born  in  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  and  came  to  Heck- 
sherville,  Schuylkill  county,  from  Canada,  in  childhood.  From 
Hecksherville  he  came  to  Shenandoah  in  1870  and  for  many  years 
conducted  a  general  store  and  livery  on  West  Coal  street.  About 
1890  he  retired  with  a  competence,  and  is  now  living  easily  in 
Shenandoah.  The  mother  is  a  native  of  Queens  County,  Ireland, 
and  although  well  advanced  in  years  is  still  hale  and  robust.  Of 
the  thirteen  children  born  to  them  eight  are  living.  John,  the 
eldest,  is  a  stationary  engineer  in  Shenandoah;  Patrick  W.  is  a 
plumber  and  gasfitter;  Joseph,  who  for  many  years  was  a  prom- 
inent resident  of  Shenandoah,  having  served  in  the  council,  is  now 
a  building  contractor  at  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y. ;  Thomas  F.  is  a 
graduate  of  Lehigh  university  with  the  degree  of  mechanical  engi- 
neer, and  was  the  draughtsman  of  the  new  U.  S.  battleship 
"Maine ;"  Margaret  and  Mary  are  at  home ;  James  J.  is  the  subject 
of  this  sketch ;  and  William  F.  is  a  student  in  the  law  department 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Of  the  deceased  Richard  A., 
on  the  eve  of  graduation  from  the  state  normal  school  at  East 
Strasburg,  received  injuries  which  resulted  in  his  death  on  April 
30,  1905,  and  the  others  died  in  infancy  or  early  childhood.  James 
J.  Bell,  after  a  due  preliminary  training  in  the  public  schools  of 
Shenandoah,  matriculated  in  the  law  department  of  the  University 
of  Michigan  in  1895  ^^^  ^^ok  three  years  of  work  in  that  institu- 
tion, meantime  pursuing  some  special  courses  in  literature  and 
medicine.  He  graduated  with  honors  in  1898,  with  the  degree  of 
LL.  B.,  having  carried  during  the  three  years  all  the  work  allowed 
by  the  faculty,  and  in  the  same  year  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  supreme  court  of  Michigan.  He  then  returned  to  his  native- 
city,  where  he  opened  an  office  and  soon  began  to  attract  notice 
as  a  criminal  lawyer.  In  1901  he  successfully  defended,  single- 
handed,  James  Horrox,  who  was  charged  with  the  murder  of  Ed- 
ward Ball,  and  the  same  year  represented  the  prosecution  in  the 
case  of  John  Frank,  charged  with  the  murder  of  Edward  Hoffman, 
at  Minersville.  In  the  following  year  he  was  retained  for  the  de- 
fense of  Charles  Shealer  and  George  Stinitis,  who  were  accused  of 
brutally  beating  and 'leaving  for  dead  Frank  Bloom,  and  secured 
their  acquittal.  In  May,  1902,  he  defended  and  secured  the  acquit- 
tal of  Matt.  Stiavinsky  and  John  and  Charles  Mingavage,  charged 
with  the  murder  of  John  Litisinavage.  He  was  counsel  for  the 
state  in  the  case  of  Arthur  Wadsworth,  the  soldier  who  shot  and 
killed  William  Durham  in  the  strike  of  1902,  and  it  was  Mr.  Bell 
who  set  in  motion  the  process  of  law  that  forced  the  surrender  of 
Wadsworth  to  the  civil  authorities  by  the  military  power.  In  con- 
nection with  Charles  N.  Brumm,  Mr.  Bell  defended  Joseph  Palie- 
wicz  for  the  murder  of  Joseph  Beddall.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
closely  contested  cases  ever  tried  in  Schuylkill  county.  The  pros- 
ecution was  represented  by  District  Attorney  McLaughlin,  M.  M. 
Burke,  J.  F.  Whalen  and  E.  W.  Bechtel,  all  lawyers  of  recognized 
ability,  yet  the  accused  was  acquitted,   Mr.   Bell   receiving  con- 


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52  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

gratulations  from  all  sources  for  his  skillful  and  upright  defense. 
These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  criminal  cases  in  which  Mr.  Bell 
has  been  retained.  His  cases  are  always  carefully  prepared  and 
every  precaution  taken  to  guard  against  technicalities.  He  par- 
ticipates in  a  legal  battle  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  his  nature, 
and  leaves  no  stone  unturned  to  win  in  an  honorable  way  his 
points.  With  a  keenness  of  perception  that  is  remarkable,  he  often 
changes  his  tactics  so  suddenly  and  deftly  as  to  overwhelm  his 
opix:)nents,  and  by  making  use  of  a  fine  point  of  law  at  an  un- 
expected moment  turns  the  tide  of  the  case  in  his  favor.  He  is  the 
ic. 'Agnized  leader  of  the  younger  members  of  the  Shenandoah  bar, 
and  as  a  criminal  lawyer  his  well  earned  reputation  extends  be- 
yond the  great  state  of  Pennsylvania.  Endowed  by  nature  with  a 
judicial  temperament  and  fitted  for  his  profession  in  one  of  the 
best  law  schools  in  the  country,  it  is  safe  to  predict  for  him  greater 
successes  and  higher  honors  in  the  future.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Schuylkill  county  bar  association  and  the  alumni  association 
of  the  University  of  Michigan.  Politically  he  is  an  unswerving 
Democrat  and  takes  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  his  party 
councils,  where  his  judgment  is  found  to  be  as  sound  as  when  he 
is  pleading  a  case  before  a  jury.  On  Feb.  21,  1906,  Mr.  Bell  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Catherine  Bender,  daughter  of  the  late  Lawrence 
and  Anna  Bender,  of  Ashland,  and  this  union  has  been  blessed 
with  one  son,  whose  birth  occurred  on  June  23,  1907.  Mrs.  Bell  is 
one  of  a  family  of  eight  children.  Englebert  C.,  one  of  her  brothers, 
is  a  young  physician  of  great  promise,  who  has  spent  eight  years 
in  college  and  hospital  work,  the  last  eighteen  months  of  that 
time  in  Vienna,  Austria,  where  he  won  the  distinction  of  being 
appointed  to  a  place  on  the  hospital  staflf  of  the  University  of 
Vienna.  Frank,  another  brother,  is  a  civil  engineer;  William  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Philadelphia  school  of  pharmacy ;  and  Louis  E.  is 
associated  with  his  mother  in  business  at  Ashland. 

Bendrick,  Joseph,  well  merits  representation  in  this  work  by 
reason  of  being  a  scion  of  one  of  the  honored  families  of  the  county 
of  which  he  is  a  native  son,  and  also  by  reason  of  his  standing  as 
one  of  the  able  business  men  of  the  younger  generation  in  the 
county.  He  is  engaged  in  the  fire-insurance  business  at  New' Phil- 
adelphia, where  he  also  has  the  agency  for  leading  trans-Atlantic 
steamship  lines,  and  is  also  incumbent  of  a  clerical  position  in  the 
office  of  the  clerk  of  the  courts  at  Pottsville,  the  county  seat.  Mr. 
Bendrick  was  born  at  Turkey  Run,  this  county,  March  16,  1872,  a 
son  of  Peter  and  Francisca  (Nedzinski)  Bendrick,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Lithuania,  Russia.  The  father  came  from  his 
native  land  to  America  about  1867  and  located  near  Mahanoy 
Plane,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  and  thereafter  he  followed  the  voca- 
tions of  mining  and  farming  in  this  county  during  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  He  died  at  Coaldale,  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five 
years,  and  his  widow  still  resides  in  this  county.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  aflforded  the  advantages  of  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  county  and  made  excellent  use  of  the  opportunities  thus 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  53 

afforded  him.  He  began  his  business  career  as  clerk  in  a  general 
store  and  followed  this  vocation  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  during 
which  time  he  was  located  in  Shenandoah,  Lost  Creek  and  New 
Philadelphia,  this  county.  In  1897  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  busi- 
ness in  Xew  Philadelphia  and  he  made  a  success  of  the  enterprise, 
with  which  he  continued  to  be  identified  until  1907.  In  1904-5  he 
was  clerk  of  the  county  prison  and  in  1906  he  was  appointed  to 
his  present  position  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  courts  for  the 
county,  in  both  of  which  offices  he  has  given  most  efficient  service. 
For  the  past  three  years  he  has  conducted  a  general  fire-insurance 
business  at  New  Philadelphia,  where  he  has  a  good  clientage,  and 
for  fifteen  years  has  been  agent  for  various  steamship  companies. 
He  has  taken  a  zealous  interest  in  public  affairs  of  a  local  nature 
and  has  long  been  an  ardent  worker  in  the  camp  of  the  Republican 
party.  He  was  assessor  of  the  borough  of  New  Philadelphia  for 
six  years;  was  for  three  years  a  member  of  the  borough  council; 
president  of  that  body  for  two  years ;  clerk  for  four  years,  and  for 
one  year  he  was  its  treasurer.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Catholic  church  at  New  Philadelphia,  where  he  still  maintains 
his  home.  On  Feb.  27,  1898,  Mr.  Bendrick  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Helen  Razas,  daughter  of  John  and  Anna  Razas,  of  Potts- 
ville,  and  they  have  four  children :  Blanche,  Raphael,  Alice  and 
Cyril. 

Bensinger,  George  I.,  a  leading  druggist  of  Schuylkill  Haven, 
was  born  at  Summit  Station,  Schuylkill  county,  Jan.  22,  1876.  His 
paternal  great-grandparents,  Solomon  and  Anna  (Frailey)  Ben- 
singer,  were  the  first  settlers  of  McKeansburg  in  this  county.  His 
maternal  grandfather  was  Henry  Trumbo  and  he  is  a  son  of  Irvin 
and  Sarah  (Trumbo)  Bensinger.  His  early  educational  training 
was  received  in  the  schools  of  Schuylkill  Haven  and  his  technical 
education  in  the  college  of  pharmacy  at  Philadelphia,  at  which  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1896.  For  about  eighteen  years  he 
was  in  the  employment  of  other  druggists  and  then,  in  May,  1904, 
he  purchased  the  store  which  he  is  now  conducting.  Not  only  is 
his  place  of  business  one  of  the  most  modern  in  every  detail,  but 
the  patrons  are  also  assured  of  gentlemanly  treatment  and  a  dis- 
position to  please.  On  Aug.  31,  1904,  Mr.  Bensinger  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Eva  Schlappich,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Schlappich, 
of  Reading.  They  have  no  children.  Mr.  Bensinger  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  political  beliefs  buf  has  never  held  nor  aspired  to  office. 
He  and  his  wife  are  both  members  of  the  United  Evangelical 
church  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  Mr.  Bensinger  has  written  consider- 
able on  the  history  of  Schuylkill  county  and  he  is  regarded  as  an 
authority  in  that  line. 

Berk,  John  K.,  M.  D.,  a  w^ell  known  and  popular  physician  of 
Frackville,  is  a  descendant  of  some  of  the  pioneer  families  of  Berks 
county,  Pa.,  and  is  of  German  lineage.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
Henry  Berk,  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  Berks  county,  married 
a  Miss  Greenawalt  there  and  reared  a  family  of  children,  one  of 
whom  was  John  G.  Berk,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


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54  ,  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

The  maternal  grandparents  were  Isaac  and  Louisa  (Haas)  Kal- 
bach,  both  of  whom  died  in  Frackville.  John  G.  Berk  married 
Mary  Jane  Kalbach  and  in  1873  located  at  Girardville,  Schuylkill 
county,  where  he  clerked  in  a  general  store  for  about  one  year, 
when  he  came  to  Frackville  as  the  senior  member  of  the  general 
merchandise  firm  of  John  G.  Berk  &  Co.  He  continued  at  the  head 
of  this  concern  until  his  death  in  1881,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five 
years.  He  left  two  sons,  viz:  William  H.,  a  clergyman  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  Dr.  John  K.,  who  was  reared  from  infancy 
in  Schuylkill  county,  though  he  was  born  at  Hamburg,  Berks 
county,  Aug.  22, 1872.  He  received  his  education  in  the  Frackville 
public  schools  and  the  Keystone  normal  school  at  Kutztown,  where 
he  graduated  in  1892.  He  then  taught  for  one  year  at  Lewistown, 
Schuylkill  county,  and  in  1894  began  the  study  of  medicine.  After 
due  preparation  he  entered  Jefferson  medical  college,  of  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1896.  In  October  of  that  year  he  opened  an  office  in 
Frackville,  where  he  has  ever  since  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  where  he  has  built  up  a  remunerative  busi- 
ness. He  is  one  of  the  progressive  physicians  of  Schuylkill  county ; 
is  a  member  of  the  American  and  State  medical  associations  and 
the  Schuylkill  county  medical  society,  and  keeps  fully  abreast  of 
the  march  of  medical  progress.  Dr.  Berk  is  also  interested  in 
other  enterprises,  being  one  of  the  charter  members  and  a  director 
of  the  First  National  bank  of  Frackville.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  On  June  6,  1900,  Dr.  Berk  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Rae  Ethel  Hand,  daughter  of  Ludman  and 
Hester  (Goff)  Hand,  of  Cape  May  Court  House,  N.  J.,  and  to  this 
marriage  has  been  born  one  son,  John  William. 

Bibelheimer,  Robert  W.,  a  well  known  and  prosperous  business 
man  of  Port  Carbon,  was  born  in  Blythe  township  on  July  14, 
1868,  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Lavina  (Heninger)  Bibelheimer.  His 
educational  opportunities  were  limited  to  the  courses  afforded  by 
the  public  schools  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  left  school 
to  go  to  work.  After  serving  a  full  apprenticeship  in  the  plumbers' 
and  tinsmiths'  trade  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  for  a  period  of 
four  years  and  then  left  that  vocation  to  accept  a  clerkship  in  his 
father's  timber  business.  Subsequently  he  became  manager  of  the 
business,  remaining  in  the  capacity  until  November,  1898,  when 
the  father  died  and  the  son  purchased  from  the  estate  the  con- 
trolling interest  in  the  concern.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  at 
the  head  of  affairs  and  the  increase  of -business,  the  lack  of  labor 
troubles,  etc.,  show  how  well  he  has  managed.  His  business 
affairs  also  include  a  third  interest  in  the  Schuylkill  Crushed  Stone 
Company  of  Pottsville.  In  his  political  relations  Mr.  Bibelheimer 
is  a  Republican  and  as  the  successful  candidate  of  that  party  is 
now  the  incumbent  of  a  seat  in  the  borough  council.  On  Christ- 
mas day,  1890,  was  celebrated  his  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  L. 
Dalton,  a  daughter  of  George  Dalton  of  East  Norwegian  town- 
ship.   This  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  children,  Olive,  Pearl 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  55 

and  Bruce.  The  family  all  worship  at  the  Presbyterian  church  at 
Port  Carbon.  Mr.  Bibelheimer  is  prominent  in  fraternal  circles, 
being  a  member  of  Schuylkill  Lodge,  No.  27,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Port  Carbon;  of  St.  Clair  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  and  the  Pottsville  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons.  He  is  ranked  as  one  of.  the  leading  business  men  of  Port 
Carbon,  being  conservative  and  able. 

Biddle,  J.  C.,  M.  D.,  surgeon-in-chief  and  superintendent  of  the 
State  hospital  for  injured  persons,  at  Fountain  Springs,  was  born 
in  Bedford  county,  Pa.,  in  1854.  His  preliminary  educational  dis- 
cipline was  received  in  the  common  and  public  schools  and  under 
private  tutors  in  the  vicinity  of  his  boyhood  home,  and  while  he  was 
still  a  youth  he  engaged  in  teaching.  After  three  years  of  such  work  in 
private  schools  he  discontinued  it  to  enter,  in  1874,  the  Jefferson 
medical  college  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  president  of  his  class 
when  he  graduated  in  1877  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine 
and  he  at  once  located  in  Shenandoah,  where  he  began  the  general 
practice  of  his  profession.  It  was  not  long  before  he  had  acquired 
an  enviable  reputation  as  a  skilled  surgeon  and  a  successful  phy- 
sician, and  in  1883  he  received  an  appointment  as  surgeon-in-chief 
and  superintendent  of  the  State  hospital  for  injured,  at  Fountain 
Springs,  where  he  has  since  rendered  distinguished  service  in  that 
capacity.  Professionally  Dr.  Biddle  is  identified  with  the  Schuyl- 
kill county  medical  society  of  which  he  served  as  president 
in  1883;  the  State  medical  society;  the  American  medical  associa- 
tion; the  Lehigh  Valley  railroad  surgeons*  association,  and  the 
association  of  military  surgeons  of  the  United  States.  He  is 
surgeon  for  the  Reading  and  Lehigh  Valley  railroads.  The  doc- 
tor's business  interests  are  wide  and  varied,  and  include  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Cambridge  Bituminous  Coal  Company,  the  vice- 
presidency  of  the  Schuylkill  Railway  Company  and  a  directorship 
in  the  Citizens'  National  bank  of  Girardville  and  Orwigsburg.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  aspired  to  public  office. 
Fraternally  he  ranks  high  in  the  Masonic  order,  having  attained 
to  the  thirty-second  degree.  Dr.  Biddle  stands  in  the  front  rank 
of  his  profession  and  is  much  esteemed  by  all  classes  in  the  com- 
munity. 

Birston,  Pius  W.,  general  insurance  agent  and  dealer  in  real 
estate  at  Shenandoah,  was  born  Feb.  7,  1870.  He  is  the  oldest 
living  child  of  Joseph  and  Annie  (Smeltzer)  Birston,  both  natives 
of  Lithuania,  where  they  were  married.  Two  sons  born  to  them 
in  their  native  province  both  died  there  in  infancy.  In  1870  they 
came  to  America,  locating  first  in  Boston,  but  plater  removing  to 
the  anthracite  coal  region  of  eastern  Pennsylvania.  The  father 
died  at  Shenandoah  in  1891,  and  the  mother  is  now  living  at 
Sheppton.  They  had  a  family  of  seven  sons  and  five  daughters. 
Those  living  are  Pius  W.,  Margaret,  Joseph  F.,  John  R.,  Mary  I., 
Catherine  E.,  Annie  E.,  Edward  and  Theresa.  Margaret  is  the 
wife  of  William  Strolis  of  Shenandoah;  Joseph  and  John  both 
reside   in   Shenandoah;   Annie  graduated   at   the   Keystone   state 


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56  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

normal  school  at  Kutztown  in  1904,  and  is  now  a  teacher  in  the 
Shenandoah  public  schools ;  Theresa  is  now  a  student  in  the  senior 
class  of  that  school ;  Mary  is  a  graduate  of  the  Medico-Chirurgical 
nurse  school  and  is  now  engaged  as  a  private  nurse  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia;  and  Catherine  is  a  dressmaker  in  Shenandoah.  Dur- 
ing the  Spanish-American  war  John  and  Joseph  served  in  the 
army,  the  former  in  the  21st  U.  S.  infantry  and  the  latter  in  the  ist 
U.  S.  artillery.  Pius  W.  Birston  received  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Schuylkill  county,  chiefly  in  Butler  township  and  at 
Girardville,  and  as  a  boy  began  life  for  himself  as  a  slate  picker  in 
the  mines.  He  followed  mining  in  various  capacities  until  1888, 
when  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  general  store  at  Shenandoah,  where 
his  family  had  located  in  1886.  After  about 'two  and  a  half  years 
in  the  store  he  made  a  trip  through  the  far  west,  being  away  from 
nome  for  fourteen  months.  Part  of  that  time  he  spent  in  Colum- 
bus, O.,  where  he.  completed  his  education.  Upon  returning  to 
Shenandoah  he  taught  in  the  business  college  there  for  about  a 
year.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Birston  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
and  in  1893  was  the  candidate  of  that  party  for  the  office  of  county 
recorder,  but  was  defeated  in  the  election.  About  that  time  he 
started  his  real  estate  business,  in  which  he  has  ever  since  been 
interested.  In  1896  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  by  the 
governor,  and  was  subsequently  elected  for  a  full  term  of  five 
years,  but  owing  to  a  controversy  over  the  question  of  jurisdiction 
he  never  qualified.  For  about  three  years  he  was  associated  with 
L.  M.  Kazunas  in  the  drug  business,  but  in  1900  he  retired  from 
that  line  and  added  a  general  insurance  business  to  his  real  estate 
interests,  to  which  he  now  gives  his  entire  attention.  Mr.  Birston 
is  a  leader  among  the  people  of  his  nationality,  and  in  May,  1906, 
was  elected  president  of  the  Lithuanian  Alliance  of  America  at 
the  Chicago  meeting  of  that  body.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
He  has  always  taken  a  keen  interest  in  questions  touching  the 
public  weal,  and  from  1900  to  1905  was  secretary  of  the  borough 
council.  He  also  served  one  term  as  treasurer  of  the  school  board. 
Bissell,  John  Robertson,  M.  D.,  is  one  of  the  representative  phy- 
sicians and  surgeons  of  the  county  and  is  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  ]\Iahanoy  City.  He  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
Oct.  27,  1867,  and  is  a  son  of  Augustus  and  Susan  Helen  Bissell, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  at  Bantam  Falls,  Litchfield  county. 
Conn.,  and  the  latter  of  whom  was  born  at  Fairdale,  Susquehanna 
county.  Pa.,  March  6,  1832.  The  doctor  is  a  descendant  of  Zebulon 
Bissell,  who  settled  at  Bantam  Lake,  Litchfield  county.  Conn.,  hav- 
ing received  a  grant  of  land  from  King  George  IV.  Direct  ancestors 
of  Dr.  Bissell — in  both  the  paternal  and  maternal  lines — were 
patriot  soldiers  under  General  Washington  in  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution. Dr.  Bissell  is  especially  well  read  in  the  learning  of  his 
profession,  being  a  graduate  of  Jeflferson  medical  college,  Phila- 
delphia. Prior  to  completing  his  medical  course  he  had  taken  a 
course  in  pharmacy  in  the  same  city.     He  controls  a  large  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  57 

representative  practice  and  is  one  of  the  influential  and  popular 
citizens  of  Mahanoy  City.  The  doctor  is  married  but  has  no  chil- 
dren. 

Blaney,  Harry  F.,  a  popular  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of 
Coaldale,  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  well-known  families 
of  Schuylkill  county,  which  has  been  his  home  from  the  time  of 
his  birth,  at  Centerville,  Dec.  31,  1879.  He  is  a  son  of  Patrick 
and  Margaret  (Jennings)  Blaney,  whose  birthplace  was  County 
Tipperary,  Ireland,  where  both  were  reared  to  maturity.  The 
father  came  to  America  about  1862  and  located  in  Schuylkill 
county,  Pa.,  where  he  worked  in  the  mines  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1884.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife  and  ten  of  their 
eleven  children.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  deprived  of  a 
father's  care  and  guidance  when  he  was  a  mere  child,  and  early 
began  to  depend  largely  upon  his  own  resources.  He  worked  in 
the  mines  for  ten  years  and  through  his  own  efforts  secured  a  good 
education,  as  is  evident  from  the  success  which  he  has  attained  as 
a  teacher.  He  began  teaching  in  1903  in  the  public  schools  of 
Coaldale,  where  he  has  gained  distinctive  prestige  and  popularity, 
being  known  as  an  able  and  conscientious  instructor,  thoroughly 
en  rapport  with  the  work  of  his  chosen  vocation.  In  politics  'Sir. 
Blaney  gives  his  support  to  men  and  measures  meeting  the  appro- 
val of  his  judgment,  rather  than  holding  to  strict  partisan  lines. 
He  served  one  term  as  assistant  assessor  of  Rahn  township.  He 
and  his  wife  hold  membership  in  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church,  of 
which  both  are  communicants,  and  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights 
of  Columbus  and  the  Father  Norton  society.  On  June  22,  1905, 
Mr.  Blaney  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Cavanaugh,  also 
a  teacher  in  the  public  schools,  and  a  daughter  of  James  Cavanaugh, 
of  Coaldale.    They  have  one  son,  James. 

Bleiler,  Charles  A.,  M.  D.,  for  twenty-two  years  a  practicing 
physician  of  Frackville,  was  born  in  Lynn  township,  Lehigh 
county.  Pa.,  June  24,  1859.  He  is  of  that  sturdy  Pennsylvania 
Dutch  stock  that  has  done  so  much  to  develop  the  resources  of 
the  great  Keystone  state,  his  father,  David  Bleiler,  having  been 
a  native  of  Weisenberg  township,  Lehigh  county,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  vocations  of  farmer  and  harness-maker  all  his  life.  His 
death  occurred  in  1882,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  His  father 
was  John  Bleiler,  also  a  native  of  Lehigh  county,  and  a  farmer 
and  tanner  by  trade.  David  Bleiler  married  Sarah  Seiberling,  the 
youngest  of  the  ten  children  born  to  John  Seiberling,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  same  family  as  the  well  known  Seiberlings  of  Ohio, 
manufacturers  of  the  Buckeye  harvesting  machinery.  To  this 
marriage  were  born  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity. Of  these  John,  Elizabeth  and  Amanda  are  deceased ;  next 
is  Thomas  F. ;  Peter  O.  is  a  physician  at  Allentown,  Pa. ;  William 
is  a  farmer  in  Lehigh  county,  and  Charles  A.  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Dr.  Bleiler  received  his  elementary  education  under 
the  private  instruction  of  Alvin  Rupp,  now  superintendent  of  the 
Lehigh  county  schools,  after  which  he  taught  in  his  native  town- 


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58  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ship  for  two  years  and  then  two  years  in  Christian  county,  IlL  In 
1882  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  his  brother,  who  was 
then  located  at  Denver,  Lancaster  county,  and  graduated  at  Jeffer- 
son medical  college,  of  Philadelphia,  with  the  class  of  April,  1885. 
Immediately  upon  receiving  his  degree  he  located  at  Frackville, 
purchasing  the  business  and  good  will  of  Dr.  Elijah  Reigle.  Since 
that  time  he  has  been  continuously  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  there,  and  has  built  up  a  lucrative  business.  From 
1888  to  1906  he  also  conducted  the  principal  drug  and  hardware 
store  of  Frackville.  Dr.  Bleiler  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  con- 
victions. From  1899  to  1901,  inclusive,  he  held  the  office  of 
county  coroner,  apd  was  for  two  terms  the  school  director  of 
Frackville,  the  duties  of  both  positions  being  discharged  with 
conscientious  fidelity.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  and 
Pennsylvania  State  medical  associations  and  the  Schuylkill  county 
medical  society,  in  all  of  which  he  has  a  high  professional  stand- 
ing. In  fraternal  circles  he  belongs  to  District  Lodge,  No.  823, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  Shenandoah  Lodge,  No. 
511,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  in  his  religious  affiliations 
is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Dr.  Bleiler  has  been  twice 
married:  first  to  Miss  Alice  E.,  daughter  of  Daniel  B.  Kistler,  of 
Lehigh  county,  and  to  this  union  were  born  three  children,  viz: 
Blanche  L.,  a  graduate  of  the  Keystone  normal  school,  at  Kutz- 
town,  and  now  a  teacher  in  the  Frackville  public  schools;  Horace 
D.,  a  student  of  mining  engineering  in  the  technical  school  at 
South  Bethlehem,  Pa. ;  and  Edgar  C,  at  home.  Mrs.  Bleiler  died 
on  June  6,  1885,  and  in  September,  1886,  Dr.  Bleiler  married  Carrie 
E.,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Adams,  of  Frackville.  In  addition  to  his 
professional  duties  Dr.  Bleiler  is  vice-president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional bank  of  Frackville  and  a  director  in  the  Schuylkill  Railway 
Company. 

Bock,  James  W.,  draughtsman  in  the  office  of  the  master  carpenter 
of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  is  a  native 
of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born  in  Pottsville,  pk.,  Sept.  12, 
1849,  ^  descendant  of  an  early-established  family  in  the  county. 
His  father,  William  A.  Bock,  occupied  a  position  similar  to  that 
of  his  son,  though  his  life  work  was  principally  along  mechanical 
lines.  He  (the  father)  was  born  at  McKeansburg,  in  East  Bruns- 
wick township,  April  28,  1819.  His  father,  whose  name  was  Will- 
iam Bock,  was  born  at  Hamburg,  Berks  county,  Pa.,  in  1790,  but 
resided  at  McKeansburg  from  infancy  until  his  death,  in  i860. 
This  was  the  paternal  grandfather  of  James  W.  Bock,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  genius,  being  able 
to  work  at  almost  any  line  of  mechanics,  though  his  life  was  spent, 
mostly,  in  agricultural  pursuits,  in  which  he  was  successful. 
Tracing  the  ancestral  line  still  further,  it  is  found  that  the  pater- 
nal great-grandfather  of  the  subject  was  born  in  "Old  Haslau,"  in 
the  Province  of  Hessen,  Southwestern  Germany.  This  was  Baltzer 
Bock,  whose  history  appears  more  fully  in  the  historical  volume 
of  this  work.    His  birth  occurred  in  the  year  1747,  and  in  1755  he 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  59 

accompanied  his  parental  family  to  America,  and  settled  in  Berks 
county,  Pa.  There  he  learned  the  wheelrights'  trade,  and  followed 
that  business  for  many  years.  In  1793  he  moved  to  McKeansburg, 
where  he  owned  a  farm  of  400  acres  and  ended  his  days 
as  a  farmer  in  that  locality.  He  donated  the  land  for 
the  first  church  and  school  in  McKeansburg,  that  town 
being  laid  out  in  the  year  of  his  removal  there.  Baltzer 
Bock  was  a  soldier  under  Washington  during  the  War 
of  the  Revolution.  He  married  Miss  Susanna  Bolich,  by  whom 
he  had  a  family  of  four  sons  and  one  daughter  who  lived  to  years 
of  maturity.  He  died  in  1828,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  .years. 
William  A.  Bock,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article,  remained 
in  his  native  village  until  seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he  became 
an  apprentice  to  the  carpenters'  trade  at  Orv^igsburg.  After 
completing  his  apprenticeship,  he  remained  employed  at  his  trade 
in  (Drwigsburg  until  1845,  i"  which  year  he  became  a  resident  of 
Pottsville.  In  1846  he  was  employed  by  D.  G.  Yuengling  as 
superintendent  of  the  carpenter  work  connected  with  the  Yueng- 
ling brewery,  a  position  which  he  held  until  1872.  During  this 
time  and  subsequently  he  was  also  extensively  engaged  in  contract 
work  in  building  houses  and  business  buildings,  until  the  infirmi- 
ties of  old  age  compelled  his  retirement.  He  died  on  Jan.  17,  1894. 
He  married  Miss  Mary,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  Reed,  of 
Pottsville,  and  they  had  two  sons  who  lived  to  years  of  maturity, 
i.  e.,  James  W.  of  this  sketch,  and  Frank  S.,  who  is  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits.  James  W.  Bock  married  Miss  Mary  Miller, 
who  was  born  in  Pottsville  March  24,  185 1,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  two  children — Charles  Miller  and  Mary  Catherine. 
Frank  S.  wedded  Miss  Etta  Webb.  The  Bock  family  is  further 
connected  with  the  pioneer  history  of  Schuylkill  county  through 
inter-marriage  with  the  Albright  family,  the  first  wife  of  William 
Bock,  father  of  William  A.,  and  grandfather  of  James  W.,  being 
Miss  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  Henry  Albright.  The  second  wife  of 
this  honored  ancestor  was  Miss  Susanna  Sheip,  and  a  large  family 
was  reared  to  each  union. 

Boone,  George  Hughes,  M,  D.,  a  native  of  Saint  Oair,  Schuyl- 
kill county,  Pa.,  was  born  Sept.  21,  1871.  He  received  his  ele- 
mentary education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  in 
the  high  school  at  Pottsville.  He  was  graduated  from  Hahne- 
mann medical  college  at  Philadelphia  when  but  twenty-three  years 
old,  and  immediately  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
Dr.  Boone  was  resident  physician  at  Hahnemann  hospital  for  one 
year  after  his  graduation,  and  in  1895  opened  his  offices  in  Potts- 
ville. The  homeopathic  system  of  medicine  is  a  popular  one,  and 
the  doctor  at  once  entered  upon  a  successful  and  remunerative  pro- 
fessional career.  Dr.  Boone  is  a  son  of  the  late  Ransloe  Boone,  of 
St.  Clair.  He  was  a  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (McKelvy) 
Boone.  The  doctor's  mother  was  in  maidenhood  Miss  Anna  E.,  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Ann  (Harder)  Hughes.  George  H.  Boone 
was  the  fourth  child  in  a  family  of  nine,  the  eldest  of  whom  is 


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60  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

William  Agard ;  Harriet  is  the  wife  of  William  W.  Abbott,  of 
Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Frances  married  F.  O.  Bostley,  of  Williams- 
port,  Pa.;  George  H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  next  in  order 
of  birth ;  Edwin  Chapin-  is  a  wholesale  dry  goods  merchant,  and 
extensively  interested  in  manufacturing;  Margaretta  became  the 
wife  of  A."  T.  Dice,  the  general  superintendent  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  railroad;  May  J.  is  a  young  lady  at  home;  John  Milton 
is  a  promising  young  attorney  in  Pottsville,  and  Harry  R.  is  inter- 
ested in  rearing  fancy  stock,  and  is  also  a  resident  of  Pottsville.  Dr. 
Boone  was  married  on  Dec.  4,  1901,  to  Miss  Arline,  daughter  of 
Henry  C.  and  Urcilla  (Kram)  Russell,  of  Pottsville.  They  have 
two  children,  Ransloe  and  Arline.  Dr.  Boone  and  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Episcopal  church". 

Boone,  Thomas,  a  cousin  three  times  removed  of  the  famous 
Daniel  Boone  of  history  and  a  retired  citizen  of  Port  Carbon,  was 
born  in  Columbia  county,  near  Roaring  creek,  on  Dec.  16,  1838. 
In  the  spring  of  1844  his  parents,  Jeremiah  and  Rachel  Boone, 
removed  to  Port  Carbon  and  it  was  there  that  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  obtained  his  educational  advantages.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  he  left  the  public  schools  and  for  two  years  attended  a 
select  school.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the  employment  of 
his  father,  who  owned  and  managed  a  lumber  business.  This  work 
continued  for  about  eight  years,  and  then  the  father  disposed  of 
his  interests  and  the  son  worked  about  the  home  and  on  the  farm 
for  a  time.  After  the  father's  death,  in  1867,  Thomas  went  to 
Berks  county,  where  for  fourteen  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
an  uncle.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Port  Carbon 
to  make  his  home  with  a  sister.  He  has  led  a  quiet  life  since  his 
return,  a  small  business  in  money-lending  and  as  a  broker  being 
his  only  occupation.  Mr.  Boone  was  never  married.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  aspired  to  office.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  no  church,  but  each  Sabbath  attends  some  one  of  the  Port 
Carbon  places  of  worship  and  contributes  liberally  to  the  support 
of  all. 

Boose,  Jacob  Leander,  a  retired  hotel  man  of  McAdoo,  was 
born  in  York  county,  Pa.,  in  1847,  a  son  of  Emory  and  Sarah 
(Snodgrass)  Boose.  His  maternal  grandfather,  George  Snodgrass, 
and  his  paternal  grandparents,  Henry  and  Sarah  Boose,  were 
pioneers  of  Pennsylvania.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended 
the  common  schools  until  he  reached  his  seventeenth  year,  when 
he  left  home  and  went  to  work  on  a  farm  near  Gettysburg.  He 
remained  there  two  years  and  then  went  to  Ashland,  Md.,  where 
he  held  the  position  of  stable  foreman  for  a  large  concern.  From 
Ashland  he  returned  to  Audenreid,  Carbon  county,  and  there 
remained  for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years  in  the  employ  of  the 
Lehigh  &  Wilkes  P>arre  Coal  Company  as  a  stationary  engineer. 
When  he  relinquished  that  position  he  came  to  ]\IcAdoo  and 
erected  the  building  which  became  known  as  the  United  States 
hotel.  After  successfully  conducting  it  for  fourteen  years  he 
retired  from  active  business  life  and  now  for  the  past  three  years 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  61 

has  led  a  quiet  and  uneventful  career  amid  the  surroundings  he 
has  come  to  love.  Mr.  Boose  never  married  and  is  the  only  sur- 
viving member  of  his  father's  family.  Politically  he  has  been  an 
influential  factor  in  the  local  councils  of  the  Republican  party  and 
for  five  years  he  was  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  borough  treas- 
urer. Besides  this  office  he  was  for  six  years  one  of  the  school 
directors.  Fraternally  he  was  at  one  time  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Good 
Templars,  the  Keystones,  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of 
America.  He  is  allied  with  no  religious  organization,  but  is  an 
attendant  at  both  the  German  Reformed  and  the  Lutheran  churches 
and  is  a  liberal  contributor  to  the  support  of  each.  Throughout 
the  borough  he  is  respected  as  one  of  the  most  substantial  citizens 
and  a  man  whose  life  has  been  most  exemplary. 

Boughter,  Amos  H.,  a  general  merchant  and  a  substantial  citi- 
zen of  Pine  Grove,  was  born  in  Lebanon  county,  Pa.,  Feb.  i8, 
1857,  a  son  of  John  and  Leah  (Hay)  Boughter.  The  father  was  a 
boatman  in  early  life  and  later  followed  agricultural  pursuits,  re- 
maining in  the  latter  vocation  until  his  death  in  June,  1905,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  His  wife  passed  away  in  July  of  the 
year  previous  at  the  age  of  eighty.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is 
one  of  the  seven  survivors  of  a  family  of  ten  children.  He  took 
advantage  of  the  educational  opportunities  aflforded  by  the  public 
schools  and  then  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  worked  as 
hired  help  on  the  farm.  From  that  time  until  1893  ^^  ^^^  em- 
ployed as  a  clerk  in  a  store,  relinquishing  his  duties  as  such  to 
teach  two  terms.  Then  he  purchased  the  stock  of  Mr.  Edward 
Hummel  and  since  that  time  has  been  conducting  the  business 
for  his  own  interest.  His  success  speaks  for  itself.  By  scrupulous 
honesty  and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  principle  of  the  square  deal 
he  has  won  an  enviable  place  in  the  commercial  life  of  the  com- 
munity. On  Nov.  28,  1882,  Mr.  Boughter  married  Miss  Amelia 
Fegley,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Charles  Fegley  and  his  wife  Cath- 
erine. Mr.  Fegley  was  a  miller  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  town.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boughter  has  been  born  one  child, 
a  son,  Isaac.  Both  parents  are  members  of  and  workers  in  the 
United  Brethren  church,  of  which  Mr.  Boughter  is  a  trustee,  is 
serving  his  tenth  year  as  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  and 
is  also  church  treasurer.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  has  lived  in  Pine  Grove 
since  1889.  Before  that  he  lived  for  eight  years  at  Grantville,' 
Dauphin  county,  and  prior  to  that  on  the  old  homestead  in  Monroe 
valley,  Lebanon  county. 

Bowcn,  James  R.,  deceased,  who  was  the  proficient  superinten- 
dent of  the  Pottsville  gas  works,  was  born  in  that  city  on  Feb.  19, 
1869.  He  was  a  son  of  Theodore  C.  and  Catherine  (Becker) 
Bowen,  both  natives  of  the  Keystone  state,  who  now  reside  at  the 
corner  of  Twelfth  and  Laurel  streets.  The  father  operated  a  dairy 
for  twenty-five  years  and  accumulated  enough  so  that  he  could 
retire  and  live  comfortably  for  the  rest  of  his  days.     There  were 


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62  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

two  sons  in  the  family,  the  younger  of  whom,  Robert  G.  Bowen, 
is  a  machinist  by  trade  and  is  employed  in  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  railroad  shops  at  Pottsville.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  and 
when  he  had  completed  his  scholastic  training  he  learned  the  jewel- 
ers' trade  in  Philadelphia.  For  eight  years  he  was  engaged  in  that 
business  in  Pottsville,  operating  a  store  under  his  own  name.  He 
left  the  vocation  in  December,  1892,  to  accept  a  position  as  fore- 
man in  the  gas  works,  and  was  gradually  promoted  to  the  posi- 
tions of  engineer  and  gas  maker,  and  in  1900  to  the  responsible 
position  of  superintendent,  which  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
March  19,  1907.  He  gave  the  greatest  degree  of  satisfaction 
both  to  his  employers  and  to  the  patrons  of  the  company,  and  was 
acknowledged  to  be  the  most  efficient  of  all  who  ever  filled  the 
position.  On  Feb.  14,  1893,  Mr.  Bowen  married  Miss  Catherine 
D.  Shelley,  a  native  of  Pottsville  and  a  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Mary  Shelley,  who  are  among  the  pioneers  of  the  city.  Two  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowen — Theodore  S.  and  Joseph 
A.,  aged  thirteen  and  eleven  years.  Mr.  Bowen  was  a  member  of 
the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Pottsville,  his  wife  also 
being  a  member  of  that  church,  in  which  faith  the  sons  are  being 
reared.  For  four  or  five  years  Mr.  Bowen  was  a  teacher  in  the 
Sunday  school  of  that  institution.  In  his  political  beliefs  he  was  a 
Republican,  but  was  never  an  aspirant  for  office. 

Bower,  Samuel,  yardmaster  at  Haucks  on  the  Catawissa  divi- 
sion of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  and  whose  postoffice 
address  is  Quakake,  was  born  in  Limestone  township,  Lycoming 
county.  Pa.,  March  30,  1839,  one  of  thirteen  children  born  to 
David  and  Catherine  (Haynes)  Bower.  Samuel  Bower  acquired 
his  scholastic  learning  in  the  public  and  select  schools  of  Lycom- 
ing county,  and  att  Williamsport  he  learned  the  printers'  trade. 
This  vocation  furnished  him  a  livelihood  for  three  years,  when 
he  went  to  Clarion,  where  he  became  engaged  in  teaching  and 
took  up  the  study  of  medicine  by  himself.  From  Clarion  he  re- 
moved to  Shamokin  and  again  entered  the  printers'  trade,  leaving 
it  to  join  the  Union  army  in  the  civil  war.  His  enlistment 
was  as  a  private  in  the  131st  Pennsylvania  infantry,  and  he  served 
nine  months  with  that  organization,  receiving  an  honorable  dis- 
charge at  the  close  of  his  term  of  service.  He  again  enlisted,  in 
the  2ioth  Pennsylvania  infantry,  and  was  mustered  out  within  a 
year.  For  a  time  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities  he  taught 
school  at  Centralia,  and  subsequently  was  appointed  agent  for 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company  at  that  place.  This  last 
position  he  held  until  1870,  when  he  removed  to  Tamanend  to 
take  the  agency  of  that  station  for  the  Catawissa  Railroad  Com- 
pany, the  line  which  has  since  become  the  Catawissa  branch  of 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  system.  In  1877  he  was  transferred 
to  Quakake,  and  after  a  service  there  of  ten  years  he  was  appointed 
agent  again  at  Tamanend.  His  appointment  to  his  present  posi- 
tion came  in  1900,  and  he  has  retained  it  ever  since.     For  more 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  63 

than  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Rush  town- 
ship, for  twenty-six  years  of  the  time  he  has  been  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  is  now  serving  his  seventeenth  year  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  school  directors.  In  1869  was  solemnized  Mr.  Bower's 
marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  R.  Gilbert.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bower 
nave  no  children.  Both  are  devout  communicants  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  of  which  Mr.  Bower  has 
been  a  member  for  more  than  forty  years.  He  is  well  known 
in  fraternal  circles.  For  more  than  forty-six  years  he  has  been 
identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  a 
past  officer  of  the  local  lodge.  His  connection  with  Masonry 
dates  from  1867  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  lodge,  chapter  and 
commandery  of  the  order,  being  a  past  officer  in  the  first  two. 
Besides  these  orders  he  claims  membership  in  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  the 
Royal  Arcanum.  His  politics  are  strongly  Republican,  but  he  is 
conservative  and  allows  no  party  prejudice  to  bias  his  judgment 
in  the  selection  of  men  for  positions  of  public  trust.  Although 
well  advanced  in  years  he  is  extraordinarily  well  preserved  in  both 
mind  and  body  and  is  a  man  who  has  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
the  whole  community. 

Boyle,  Andrew  D.,  an  old  resident  and  prominent  business  man 
of  Coaldale,  was  born  at  Tamaqua,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  Aug. 
15,  1858.  His  parents,  Andrew  D.  and  Susan  (Maloy)  Boyle,  were 
natives  of  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  and  were  among  the  early 
settlers  of  Tamaqua,  where  the  father  located  in  young  man- 
hood and  took  a  position  as  traveling  salesman,  a  business  which 
he  followed  until  his  death,  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three 
years.  His  widow  survived  him  some  years,  and  died  at  Summit 
Hill,  Carbon  county,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Seven  children 
were  born  to  these  parents,  viz:  James,  Patrick,  Annie  (who  be- 
came the  wife  of  John  F.  Brislin),  Dennis,  Michael,  Condy  and 
Andrew  D.  These  all  reached  years  of  maturity,  while  several 
children  died  in  infancy  or  early  childhood.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  reared  and  educated  in  Schuylkill  county,  and  began  his 
business  career  in  the  manner  of  nearly  all  the  boys  of  his  time — 
viz :  at  the  coal  breaker  picking  slate.  He  was  identified  with  the 
mining  interests  for  some  six  years,  when  he  became  a  clerk  in  a 
general  store  at  Coaldale  for  a  >car.  He  then  accepted  a  position 
in  a  rolling  mill  at  Allentown,  and  five  years  were  spent  in  that 
business.  He  became  a  resident  of  Coaldale  in  1885,  and  has 
since  been  identified  with  the  business  affairs  of  that  prost)erous 
and  growing  borough.  He  was  one  of  the  members  of  the  borough 
council  elected  at  its  incorporation  in  March,  1906,  and  is  now 
serving  as  president  of  that  body.  He  has  also  served  as  school 
director  of  Rahn  township,  and  has  otherwise  demonstrated  his 
interest  in  public  education.  Mr.  Boyle  is  a  Democrat  in  political 
affiliations,  and  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  success 
of  his  chosen  party.  He  was  married  in  December,  1879,  ^^ 
Bridget   McHugh,   of   Rahn  township,   Schuylkill   county,  and   a 


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64  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

daughter  of  Joseph  and  Nora  (Boyle)  McHugh,  natives  of  Ire- 
land. Thirteen  children  who  lived  beyond  the  infantile  age  were 
born  to  this  union,  and  eight  reached  years  of  maturity.  Of  these 
six  are  now  living:  Hannah,  Agnes,  Joseph,  Marguerite,  Thomas 
and  Rosalyn.  Anna  and  Marcella  died  in  young  womanhood. 
The  family  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

Boyle,  Dennis  J.,  wholesale  liquor  dealer  at  Coaldale,  Pa.,  was 
born  in  that  town  Feb.  lo,  1882,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Boyle) 
Boyle,  natives  of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  to  America  and  located 
at  Coaldale  about  1871.  The  father  has  been  engaged  in  the  mines 
from  the  date  of  his  coming  until  the  present.  The  parental 
family  consists  of  ten  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
is  the  eldest.  The  names  are:  Dennis  J.,  John,  Samuel,  George, 
Philip,  Mary,  Daniel,  William,  Katie  and  Rose.  Dennis  J.  Boyle  was 
reared  and  educated  in  his  native  village,  which  is  now  a  pros- 
perous and  growing  borough,  incorporated  to  that  dignity  in 
1906,  being  thus  the  youngest  borough  in  Schuylkill  county.  He 
began  his  business  life  at  the  age  of  twelve,  and  was  employed 
about  the  mines,  and  in  blacksmithing,  until  1905.  He  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  three  years  with  Lewis  Hughes  in  acquiring 
a  knowledge  of  his  trade,  and  after  completing  his  term  followed 
blacksmithing  for  about  two  years,  or  until  Sept.  i,  1905.  In 
February,  1906,  Mr.  Boyle  purchased  his  present  business,  and 
has  since  conducted  it  successfully.  At  the  organization  of 
the  borough  school  board  in  March,  1906,  he  was  elected  secretary 
of  that  body,  a  position  which  he  still  holds.  He  is  a  member  of 
St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  church  in  Coaldale,  and  sustains  an 
active  relationship  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  and 
Father  Norton's  beneficial  and  literary  society.  He  is  a  young 
man  who  sustains  high  relations  in  the  councils  of  the  local 
Democracy,  and  wields  a  strong  influence  among  the  young  voters 
of  Coaldale  and  Rahn  township. 

Boyle,  John  R.,  is  one  of  the  well-known  and  honored  citizens 
of  the  borough  of  Coaldale,  where  he  is  incumbent  of  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  and  principal  of  the  Bull  Run  public  school, 
and  where  he  is  also  engaged  in  the  fire-insurance  business.  He 
is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born  at  Tamaqua, 
Feb.  18,  1858,  a  son  of  Michael  and  Mary  (O'Donnell)  Boyle, 
both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  fine  old  County  Donegal, 
Ireland.  Michael  Boyle  came  to  America  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Schuylkill  county  in  the  early  50's.  He  established  his 
home  in  Tamaqua  and  became  identified  with  the  coal-mining 
industry  of  the  county.  He  assisted  in  driving  No.  7  tunnel,  and 
finally  contracted  miner's  asthma,  which  resulted  in  his  death,  in 
1875,  at  the  age  of  forty-five  years.  His  wife  survived  him  for 
thirty  years.  Both  were  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church,  in 
whose  faith  they  were  reared.  They  are  survived  by  six  children, 
viz:  John  R.,  James  M.,  Mary  A.,  Hugh  M.,  Hannah,  and 
Michael.  Mary  A.  is  the  wife  of  James  Carr,  and  Hannah  is  the 
wife  of  James  Cullen.    John  R.  Boyle,  whose  name  initiates  this 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  65 

paragraph,  passed  his  boyhood  days  at  Summit  Hill  and  Coal- 
dale,  this  county,  and  attended  the  public  schools  as  opportunity 
afforded.  At  the  age  of  eight  years  he  was  given  employment 
on  the  coal  breakers  at  Coaldale,  and  in  1869,  when  eleven  years 
of  age,  was  knocked  from  a  coal  car  by  a  bridge  and  received 
injuries  which  necessitated  the  amputation  of  his  right  arm.  He 
continued  to  be  identified  with  mining  work,  however,  until  1881. 
Through  personal  application  in  a  private  way  he  rounded  out 
his  education,  which  he  further  amplified  by  special  school 
work,  and  in  1881  he  was  granted  a  teacher's  certificate.  He  has 
put  his  scholastic  acquirements  to  a  good  use,  since  he  has  suc- 
cessfully followed  the  pedagogic  profession  from  the  year  men- 
tioned to  the  present  time,  and  is  one  of  the  popular  teachers  of 
his  native  county.  Since  1889  he  has  served  consecutively  as 
principal  of  the  Bull  Run  public  school.  Mr.  Boyle  has  valiantly 
fought  the  battle  of  life  under  serious  handicaps,  and  his  career 
has  been  distinguished  by  inflexible  integrity  and  unselfish  mo- 
tives. After  the  death  of  his  father  the  support  of  the  family  fell 
almost  entirely  upon  him,  and  though  afflicted  through  the  loss 
of  his  arm,  he  never  lost  courage,  but  pressed  forward  to  the  goal 
and  made  his  life  count  for  good  in  all  its  relations.  He  is  a 
stanch  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party  and  is  loyal  to  all  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  enlightened  citizenship.  He  is  now 
(1907)  serving  his  fourth  consecutive  term  as  justice  of  the  peace 
of  Coaldale,  and  conducting  a  very  successful  fire-insurance 
agency,  in  which  he  represents  a  number  of  leading  companies. 
He  has  attained  to  no  little  local  reputation  as  an  architect  and 
is  a  man  of  distinctive  versatility.  Mr.  Boyle  was  president  and 
later  secretary  of  the  first  building  and  loan  association  organized 
in  Coaldale  and  remained  one  of  its  able  executives  until  its 
maturity,  at  the  end  of  nine  years.  He  is  now  secretary  of  the 
second  Coaldale  building  and  loan  association,  which  was  organ- 
ized in  1897,  and  whose  shares,  paying  $200  each,  matured  in  nine 
years  and  nine  months.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Panther  Valley 
building  and  loan  association,  of  Lansford,  and  a  director  in  the 
Citizens'  National  bank  of  that  borough.  He  has  been  a  zealous 
worker  in  behalf  of  the  Panther  Valley  hospital  association,  of 
which  he  is  treasurer.  He  and  his  family  are  communicants  of 
the  Catholic  church  and  are  identified  with  the  parish  of  St.  Mary's. 
On  Dec.  29,  1889,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Boyle  to 
Miss  Alice  McHugh,  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Mary  McHugh,  of 
Lansford,  Carbon  county,  and  they  have  six  children — ^John,  James, 
Frank,  Mary,  Susan,  and  Gregory.  The  two  eldest  sons  are 
graduates  of  the  Coaldale  high  school,  in  which  John  completed 
the  prescribed  course  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen  years,  and  is 
now  preparing  himself  for  the  priesthood  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Boyle,  Neil  J.,  president  of  the  Coaldale  school  board,  and  a 

prosperous  young  miner  of  that  borough,  was  born  in  the  town 

in  which  he  lives,  and  where  he  has  thus  far  spent  his  life.     His 

birth  occurred  on  Sept.  6,  1879.    He  is  the  eldest  of  nine  children 

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66  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

born  to  Peter  and  Kate  (Burns)  Boyle,  the  father  a  native  of 
Ireland,  and  the  mother  born  in  Coaldale,  of  Irish  ancestors.  The 
names  of  the  children  follow:  Neil  J.,  Kate,  Peter,  Ann,  Daniel, 
Patrick,  John,  Mary  and  Margaret.  I1ie  father  of  this  family 
was  a  miner  at  Coaldale  for  thirty-two  years  and  still  resides  in 
the  town  of  his  adoption,  in  comfortable  circumstances,  as  a  result 
of  his  early  industry  and  frugality.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  age  of  eleven  years 
entered  upon  the  usual  vocation  of  the  boys  in  the  coal  regions. 
After  serving  his  "apprenticeship'"  as  a  slate  picker  he  became  a 
driver  and  later  a  skilled  miner.  He  is  a  young  man  of  intelli- 
gence and  public  spirit;  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  presi- 
dent of  the  first  school  board  ever  elected  in  the  borough  of  Coal- 
dale, and  manifests  a  commendable  interest  in  the  cause  of  uni- 
versal education,  as  rendered  possible  through  the  wise  provision 
of  law.  Mr.  Boyle  is  a  member  of  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic 
church,  the  religious  home  of  his  ancestors,  and  is  prominently 
connected  with  various  organizations  within  the  church,  both  of 
a  beneficial  and  literary  character.  He  also  holds  membership  in 
the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  thus  perpetuating  the  ancestral 
nationality.  In  political  views  the  father  and  sons  are  Democrats 
on  national  issues,  and  support  their  friends  in  local  matters. 

Brady,  Father  Francis  J.,  rector  of  St.  Jerome's  Roman  Catholic 
church  at  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  the  Parish  of  Drung,  County 
Cavan,  Ireland.  He  began  the  study  of  theology  in  St.  Patrick's 
college,  of  Cavan,  but  in  1880  he  left  the  Emerald  Isle  for  the 
United  States.  On  Jan.  i,  1881,  he  matriculated  at  St.  Charles' 
seminary,  Overbrook,  Pa.,  and  on  Jan.  11,  1885,  ^^  ^^^  ordained 
to  the  holy  priesthood.  His  first  charge  was  as  assistant  to  the 
Rev.  H.  F.  O'Reilly  at  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation  in  the  Shen- 
andoah. After  a  service  of  four  years  there  Father  Brady  was 
appointed  pastor  of  Beaver  Meadow  and  its  dependencies,  one  of 
the  most  laborious  and  difficult  parishes  to  attend  in  the  eastern 
states.  Six  and  a  half  years  later  he  was  assigned  his  present 
charge,  assuming  his  duties  on  Aug.  30,  1895.  His  devoted  and 
faithful  work  in  his  present  field  has  been  a  matter  of  note 
throughout  the  county  and  this  section  .  of  1  the  state.  While 
pastor  of  Beaver  Meadows,  he  had  the  church,. which  was  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  distant  from  the  center  of  the  town,  moved  to 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  rectory,  a  task  both  phenomenal 
and  unprecedented,  which  was  a  great  boon  and  blessing  to  the 
people.  Since  his  advent  in  Tamaqua  he  has  made  many  important 
improvements  on  church  and  rectory.  They  are  modernized,  up- 
to-date  and  second  to  none  in  the  county.  The  missions  attached 
are  St.  Raphael's  at  Tuscarora  and  St.  Patrick's  at  Gearytown. 
The  needs  of  the  parish  are  now  such  as  to  demand  the  services  of 
an  assistant  priest.  This  assistant  at  the  present  time  is  Rev. 
J.  J.  Graham,  a  graduate  of  St.  Michael's  parochial  school,  Phila- 
delphia, Mt.  Saint  Mary's  and  St.  Charles'  seminary,  Overbrook,  Pa. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  67 

Brandon,  Lloyd  T.,  an  extensive  dealer  in  lumber  and  timber 
lands,  was  born  in  Brandonville,  in  East  Union  township,  Schuyl- 
kill county,  Nov.  5,  1855.  His  ancestors  were  early  settlers  of  this 
county,  and  the  village  of  Brandonville  was  named  in  honor  of 
the  founder,  Nelson  Brandon,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
The  village  was  laid  out  in  1864  upon  lands  then  owned  by  Nelson 
Brandon,  who  established  the  first  hotel  and  store  in  the  place. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Miss  Rebecca  Artley  previous  to 
her  marriage  to  Nelson  Brandon.  Lloyd  T.  Brandon  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  East  Union  township  and  at  Wyom- 
ing seminary,  in  Luzerne  county.  His  early  years  were  spent  as 
a  clerk  in  the  office  of  his  father,  who,  like  himself,  was  a  pros- 
perous lumber  dealer.  In  1885,  Mr.  Brandon  began  his  business 
career,  when  for  a  time  he  was  engaged  in  supplying  mine  props 
from  his  timber  lands  on  Pine  creek,  in  Lycoming  county.  He 
shipped  the  first  lumber  of  this  kind  ever  transported  over  the 
Fall  Brook  railroad,  this  being  now  a  part  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral &  Hudson  River  system.  Mr.  Brandon  also  had  at  this  time 
extensive  lumber  and  timber  interests  at  Pine  Station,  near  Lock 
Haven,  and  his  residence  was  at  Mifflinburg,  in  Union  county. 
In  1890,  Mr.  Brandon  laid  out  the  town  of  Sheppton,  and  dis- 
posed of  the  lots  for  Daniel  Shepp  and  James  J.  Dull,  the  pro- 
prietors. In  the  spring  of  1893  he  moved  to  Hazel  ton  and  was  en- 
gaged in  contract  work  of  various  kinds  until  1896,  when  he  came 
to  Pottsville.  His  lumbering  interests  are  varied  and  constantly 
increasing  with  the  purchase  of  new  holdings  and  the  develop- 
ment of  others.  His  Pennsylvania  lands  are  principally  in  Clin- 
ton, Clearfield  and  Center  counties,  between  which  he  and  his 
associates  operate  twenty-three  miles  of  standard  gauge  railroad, 
connecting  the  different  tracts.  They  also  own  timber  lands  in 
Delaware,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  having  very  large  holdings  in 
the  last  named  state,  along  the  Chickahominy  and  James  rivers. 
The  principal  office  controlling  this  southern  territory  is  at  Nor- 
folk, Va.,  while  the  northern  field  is  under  the  management  of 
the  Pottsville  office.  Mr.  Brandon  was  married  in  June,  1901,  to 
Miss  Helen  Osborne,  of  Scranton,  Pa,  ifimself  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  in  Pottsville.  The 
subject  of  this  article  is  a  Republican  in  political  faith,  and  held 
the  office  of  school  director  in  Union  township  from  1888  to  1894. 
He  is  prominent  in  the  councils  of  Free  Masonry,  having  passed 
through  the  various  branches  of  the  fraternity  until  he  has  at- 
tained the  thirty-second  degree.  His  initial  membership  is  with 
Mifflinburg  Lodge,  No.  370,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Hazel- 
ton  Chapter,  No.  277,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Constantine  Com- 
mandery,  No.  41,  Knights  Templars,  Philo  Court  and  Rajah  Tem- 
ple, Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  of 
Reading,  Pa.  He  sustains  local  relations  with  various  clubs  and 
minor  societies,  and  is  also  a  member  of  some  of  the  local  insurance 
fraternities. 


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68  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Brennan,  Michael  P.,  deceased,  who  in  his  day  was  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  public  spirited  citizens  of  Schuylkill  county, 
was  born  in  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  Aug.  ii,  1849.  His  father, 
Patrick  E.  Brennan,  was  born  in  Ireland,  about  the  year  1816,  and 
his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Anastasia  Purcell,  was  also  a 
native  of  the  Emerald  Isle.  In  1853  the  family  (;ame  to  America, 
locating  first  in  Cass  township,  Schuylkill  county,  but  later  remov- 
ing to  Mount  Pleasant,  where  the  father  died  in  1873.  After  com- 
ing to  this  country  he  followed  the  occupation  of  a  miner.  He 
was  an  enthusiastic  Democrat,  always  taking  an  active  part  in 
campaigns,  and  held  the  offices  of  supervisor  and  school  director 
for  several  terms.  Michael  P.  Brennan  grew  to  manhood  in 
Schuylkill  county.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Cass  and 
Foster  townships  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  graduated  at  the 
state  normal  school  at  Millersville.  Upon  leaving  school  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  prothonotary  of 
Schuylkill  county,  under  Hiram  Moyer,  and  remained  there  for 
three  years  under  that  official.  Subsequently  he  held  a  similar 
position  under  prothonotary  Thomas  F.  Kern,  until  transferred 
from  that  office  to  the  recorder's,  under  John  A.  Reilly.  After 
about  a  year  with  Mr.  Reilly  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  audit- 
ing department  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Com- 
pany and  remained  with  this  corporation  from  1880  to  1887.  He 
was  then  elected  prothonotary  of  Schuylkill  county  and  discharged 
the  duties  of  the  office  with  skill  and  fidelity,  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  general  public.  At  the  expiration  of  his  three 
years'  term  in  this  office  he  became  a  traveling  salesman  for  a 
Philadelphia  grocery  house,  with  which  he  remained  for  three 
years,  resigning  his  position  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  United 
States  Express  Company  as  a  clerk  in  the  New  York  office,  which 
position  he  held  until  his  death  in  September,  1900.  In  all  his 
relations  with  his  fellow-men  Mr.  Brennan  was  affable  and  con- 
genial, and  as  a  citizen  he  manifested  a  commendable  interest  in 
every  movement  for  the  moral  and  material  advancement  of  the 
community  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  a  friend  to  education  and 
served  several  terms*  as  school  director  of  Mahanoy  Plane.  On 
Jan.  21,  1888,  Michael  P.  Brennan  and  B.  Ann  Ryan  were  united 
in  marriage.  Mrs.  Brennan,  who  is  now  living  at  Mahanoy  Plane, 
is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Bridget  (Boylan)  Ryan,  both  natives 
of  Ireland.  She  was  educated  in  St.  Cecilia^s  academy,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  a  school  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Cross.  After  completing  her  education  she  became  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Mahanoy  Plane,  and  was  for 
some  time  the  organist  in  the  Holy  Rosary  church  at  that  place. 
She  is  a  woman  of  refinement  and  culture,  and  now  holds  a  lucra- 
tive position.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brennan  had  five  children,  four  of 
whom  are  still  living,  viz:  Anastasia,  Joseph,  Edith  and  Paul. 

Brennan,  Patrick  E.,  former  chief  burgess  of  the  borough  of 
Shenandoah,  was  born  in  Montreal,  Canada,  in  1849,  ^  son  of 
Martin  and  Margaret   (Riley)    Brennan.     He  came  to  Schuylkill 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  69 

county  with  his  parents  when  he  was  but  five  years  of  age:  the 
father  located  at  the  Silver  creek  mines  and  lived  and  worked- 
there  until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  ninety-four  years.  The  mother 
died  at  the  same  place,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  Of  the  thirteen 
children  born  to  the  parents  but  two,  including  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  are  living,  the  other  being  Martin,  of  the  borough  of 
Shenandoah.  One  of  the  sons,  Michael  was  a  private  in  Company 
E,  48th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  in  the  Civil  war,  and  lost  his  life 
in  his  twenty-third  year  while  in  the  service  of  his  country  at 
the  second  engagement  at  Bull  Run.  James  died  at  Silver  creek 
at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  and  a  sister,  Mary,  departed  this  life  at 
Roanoke,  Va.,  in  March,  1904.  Most  of  the  others  died  in  infancy. 
Patrick  E.  Brennan  received  a  somewhat  limited  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  New  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  years 
started  to  earn  his  own  living  as  a  breaker  boy  in  one  of  the 
big  colleries.  From  that  time  until  he  was  elected  to  his  present 
position,  in  1903,  he  followed  mining  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  and 
his  labors  were  in  all  branches  of  that  industry.  On  June  9,  1880, 
Mr.  Brennan  married  Mias  Ellen  CNeil,  who  was  born  in  St. 
Clair  in  1851.  The  only  child  born  to  this  union  is  Martin  P., 
who  is  now  a  druggist  in  Shenandoah.  He  received  his  educa- 
tional advantages  in  the  public  schools,  St.  Francis'  college  and 
Keystone  state  normal  school  at  Kutztown.  Mr.  Brennan  is  a 
stanch  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  and 
has  always  been  intensely  interested  in  the  success  of  that  organi- 
zation. For  thirty-one  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Total 
Abstinence  Brotherhood  society,  which  is  under  the  Catholic 
church  of  the  Annunciation,  to  which  all  the  family  belong.  Since 
1887  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Phoenix  Fire  Company,  and  is 
one  of  the  charter  members  of  Aerie  No.  103  of  the  Fraternal 
Order  of  Eagles,  serving  as  a  trustee  and  on  the  house  committee. 
He  is  well  to  do  financially  and  is  the  owner  of  considerable  realty 
in  Shenandoah. 

Brenner,  Isaac,  is  a  successful  business  man  of  the  city  of  Potts- 
ville,  where  he  has  maintained  his  home  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, and  where  he  is  known  as  an  honest  and  upright  citizen.  He 
was  born  at  Saville,  province  of  Kovno,  Poland,  Russia,  Dec.  22, 
1853,  and  is  a  son  of  David  and  Catherine  Brenner,  both  of  whom 
were  likewise  natives  of  Poland.  In  the  excellently  conducted 
gymnasium  of  his  native  town  Mr.  Brenner  secured  his  early 
educational  training.  He  remained  in  Poland  until  1882,  when  he 
came  to  America,  landing  in  April  of  that  year  and  immediately 
afterward  came  to  Pottsville,  where  he  has  since  resided  and 
where  he  has  attained  to  success  through  his  own  well-directed 
efforts,  having  been  industrious  and  frugal  and  making  the  most 
of  his  opportunities.  He  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in 
this  city  until  1894,  when  he  established  himself  in  business  as  a 
general  dealer  in  junk,  which  line  of  enterprise  has  since  engaged 
his  attention.  Mr.  Brenner  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  is  a 
Hebrew  in  his  religious  faith.    On  Dec.  25,  1872,  he  married  Miss 


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70  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Fanny  Brenner,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  the  same  locality  as 
himself  and  who  is  a  daughter  of  Moses  and  Freda  Brenner.  Of 
the  children  of  this  union  the  following  brief  record  is  entered: 
Susie,  Mrs.  Harry  Schwartz,  resides  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Louis 
resides  in  Lebanon,  Pa.;  Ida  is  the  wife  of  Max  Weiner,  and  re- 
sides in  the  state  of  Mississippi ;  and  at  the  parental  home  remain 
Kathryn,  Philip,  Mary,  Anna,  Lena,  and  Esther. 

Bressler,  Albert  M.,  a  farmer  of  Hegins  township,  was  bom  at 
Donaldson,  Schuylkill  county,  June  ii,  1847,  his  parents  being 
Abraham  and  Rebecca  (Adams)  Bressler,  the  former  a  native  of 
Hegins  township  and  the  latter  of  Northumberland  county.  Abra- 
ham Bressler  lived  in  Hegins  township  all  his  life.  He  was  a 
farmer,  teamster  and  miner;  was  one  of  the  leading  Democrats 
in  the  county  in  his  day;  held  the  office  of  poor  director  for  several 
years,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church.  He  died  in 
1872,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years.  His  widow  survived  him  for 
a  number  of  years  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight.  They  had 
eight  children.  Catherine  is  the  wife  of  C.  H.  Long,  of  Reading; 
Richard  is  a  retired  merchant  of  Fountain,  where  he  was  for  some 
time  postmaster;  Rebecca  is  Mrs.  Aaron  Otto,  of  Hegins  town- 
ship; Sarah  is  Mrs.  William  Long,  of  Reading;  Elizabeth  lives 
at  Reading  as  the  widow  of  Richard  Kessler;  Susan  died  in  child- 
hood, and  Robert  died  in  1898  from  the  effects  of  a  burn  received 
in  the  mines.  Albert  M.  Bressler  lived  with  his  parents  until  he 
was  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  On  Sept.  17,  1876,  he  married  Miss 
Lavinia,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Kate  (Roebuck)  Bohner,  of  North- 
umberland county,  both  now  deceased.  She  is  one  of  a  family  of 
thirteen  children,  of  whom  nine  are  living,  all  in  Northumberland 
county  with  the  exception  of  Mrs.  Bressler.  Noah  is  a  farmer; 
Susan  is  the  wife  of  Elias  Tressler;  Joel  is  a  farmer  and  brick- 
layer; Harriet  is  the  widow  of  William  Furster;  John  is  retired; 
Peter  is  a  shoemaker;  George  is  a  bricklayer  at  Shamokin;  Cath- 
erine is  the  wife  of  Levi  Bohner.  After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Bress- 
ler's  mother  her  father  married  Susanna  Shaeffer,  by  whom  he 
had  one  son,  William,  who  is  now  living  in  Northumberland 
county.  After  his  marriage ,  Albert  M.  Bressler  lived  for  a  while 
on  the  old  homestead.  He  then  went  to  Northumberland  county, 
where  he  remained  for  six  years,  when  he  removed  back  to  the 
old  place,  in  1894,  and  has  lived  there  ever  since  that  time,  carry- 
ing on  a  general  farming  business.  He  has  114  acres  of  good  land, 
about  40  acres  of  which  is  under  cultivation.  In  addition  to  his 
farming  interests  he  runs  a  huckster  wagon,  selling  his  produce  at 
Tremont.  He  is  one  of  the  active  Republican  workers  of  Hegins 
township  and  was  for  several  years  supervisor.  He  belongs  to 
the  Grange,  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Reformed  church  at 
Hegins.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bressler  have  the  following  children: 
Charlemagne,  J.  Oaude,  William  H.,  Bessie  J.,  Harry  J.  and  Lloyd 
H.  Charlemagne  is  a  miner  at  Fountain.  He  married  Ida  Eckler 
and  had  two  children — Burd  E.  and  Gertie  May.  J.  Claude  is  a 
farmer  and  carpenter  in  Hegins  township.     He  married  Mamie 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  71 

Otto  and  has  one  daughter — Naomi  E.  William  H.  married 
Sadie  Gable  and  is  a  carpenter  at  Hegins.  Bessie  J.  is  the  wife 
of  Arthur  D.  Otto  and  lives  at  Fountain.  She  has  one  daughter — 
Elsie  Irene.    The  other  children  are  at  home. 

Bressler,  Michael  G.,  one  of  the  well-known  residents  of  Hegins, 
is  a  descendant  of  that  sturdy  German  ancestry  that  did  so  much 
during  the  eighteenth  century  to  reclaim  the  great  Keystone  state 
from  the  primeval  wilderness.  The  first  member  of  the  family  to 
leave  the  Fatherland  was  George  Simon  Bressler,  born  at  Mann- 
heim in  the  old  Palatinate,  on  Feb.  22,  1722,  and  immigrated  to 
Schuylkill  county  in  1749.  For  more  than  half  a  century  he  en- 
dured the  hardships,  privations  and  hard  labor  incident  to  a 
pioneer's  life.  His  demise  occurred  on  Nov.  15,  1802,  and  his  re- 
mains were  buried  in  Hetzefs  churchyard.  A  son,  Michael  Bress- 
ler, was  born  to  George  Simon  Bressler  in  Tulpehocken  township, 
Berks  county,  on  Aug.  15,  1764.  Michael  grew  to  manhood  in  his 
father's  home  and  in  later  life  married  Barbara  Hetzel,  born  Sept. 
14,  1771,  in  Elizabeth  township,  Lehigh  county,  and  died  June  29, 
1833,  and  her  husband  followed  her  to  the  grave  on  Feb.  22,  1843. 
They  had  nine  children,  of  whom  a  son,  John,  was  born  in  Pine 
Grove  township,  then  in  Berks  county,  on  Feb.  i,  1800,  and  died 
on  May  19,  eighty  years  later.  This  son  John  was  twice  married, 
the  first  time  on  Nov.  26,  1826,  to  Barbara  Henn,  who  died  on 
Dec.  8,  1827,  leaving  one  child.  His  second  marriage  occurred  on 
March  22,  1831,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Gehies,  bom  March  28,  1810, 
and  died  April  24,  1898.  One  of  the  children  of  the  second  mar- 
riage was  John  H.  Bressler,  whose  natal  day  was  Nov.  29,  1827. 
The  others  are  Katherine,  Barbara,  William  H.,  Michael  G.,  Solo- 
mon G.,  Simon  Nathaniel,  Mary  Ann,  Aaron  Joel  and  Jonathan 
Peter,  all  of  whom  are  living  with  the  exception  of  Katherine, 
Mary  Ann  and  John  H.  Mr.  Bressler  married  Miss  Susanna 
Rabuck,  daughter  of  Peter  Rabuck  of  Northumberland  county. 
The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Reformed  church  of  Hegins. 
Mr.  Bressler  is  an  independent  in  politics,  and  without  the  aid  of 
party  or  faction  he  was  once  elected  to  the  office  of  township 
treasurer.  In  a  fraternal  Avay  he  is  identified  with  the  Valley 
View  Lodge,  No.  568,  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and  Washington  Camp,  No.  109,  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons 
of  America,  of  Valley  View. 

Bright,  Hunter  F.,  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Ash- 
land and  a  wealthy  lumber  dealer,  was  born  in  that  borough  on 
Jan.  18,  1859.  The  Bright  family  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  lumber  trade  in  Schuylkill  county  for  more  than  half 
a  century.  The  grandfather  was  the  first  member  of  the  family 
to  locate  in  Schuylkill  county.  His  name  also  was  Hunter  F. 
Bright,  and  he  was  born  at  Lewisburg,  Pa.  He  located  first  at 
Minersville  and  there  for  many  years  was  engaged  in  the  har- 
ness and  saddlery  business.  On  leaving  Minersville  he  went  to 
Ashland  to  make  his  home  with  a  son.  His  death  occurred  in 
1900  in  his  ninety-eighth  year.     His  wife  was  Mary  Yeager,  and 


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72  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

to  them  were  bom  four  children— William  H.,  Harrison,  Daniel 
and  Carrie.  The  latter,  now  deceased,  became  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Lawrence.  The  eldest  of  the  four  was  born  in  1832,  and  when  he 
grew  up  learned  the  saddlers-  and  harness-makers'  trade.  In 
1852  he  removed  to  Ashland  and  there  embarked  in  the  lumber 
business,  in  which  he  was  actively  engaged  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  January,  1896.  For  several  years  he  also  had  extensive 
interests  in  timber  in  Potter  county.  Pa.  His  wife  was  Anna 
Barbara  Seitzinger,  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Catherine  Seitzinger, 
of  Fountain  Springs,  and  to  them  were  born  seven  children,  viz.: 
Kate,  wife  of  Charles  Wilhelm ;  Ada,  wife  of  Rev.  Archie  Stewart ; 
Hunter  F.,  of  this  memoir;  Morton;  Eva,  wife  of  H.  A.  Acker; 
John,  and  David.  Hunter  F.  Bright  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Ashland  and  was  reared  to  manhood  within  its  borders.  When 
he  had  completed  his  scholastic  training  he  entered  the  lumber 
business  with  his  father  and  since  that  time  has  been  continuously 
and  successfully  engaged  in  it.  After  his  father's  demise  he  pur- 
chased the  controlling  interest  in  the  retail  business  and  since  that 
time  has  become  financially  interested  in  a  wholesale  industry  in 
North  Carolina.  Something  of  the  extent  of  his  vast  holdings  may 
be  judged  when  it  is  known  that  his  yearly  business  amounts  to 
$125,000.  On  Jan.  28,  1890,  Mr.  Bright  married  Miss  Laura  Orth, 
a  daughter  of  Ernest  and  Dorothy  (Deener)  Orth,  of  Philadelphia. 
Five  daughters  have  blessed  this  union,  by  name  Anna,  Mar- 
guerite, Dorothy,  Ruth  and  Laura.  The  family  are  all  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Ashland.  Politically  Mr.  Bright 
is  a  stanch  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
as  the  candidate  of  that  party  was  twice  elected  a  member  of  the 
borough  council.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  recognized  as  a  man  of 
public  spirit,  keen  business  sagacity  and  thorough  honesty  in  all 
his  dealings. 

Briscoe,  Sidney  B.,  deceased,  of  Pottsville,  was  bom  in  County 
Waterford,  Ireland.  He  came  to  America  in  1856,  as  a  boy  of 
thirteen  years,  and  thereafter  traveled  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  until  he  attained  to  maturity.  He  finally  became  man- 
ager of  a  store  for  the  Nelson  Furnace  Company,  near  Louisville, 
Ky.,  where  he  remained  until  about  1879,  when  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Pottsville,  where  he  established  and  became  manager 
of  a  general  store  conducted  by  the  Alliance  Store  Company  at 
New  Philadelphia.  He  continued  superintendent  of  the  business 
until  about  1885,  when  he  became  the  principal  owner  of  the  same, 
with  which  he  continued  to  be  actively  identified  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1899.  He  married  Sarah  Loeser,  who  was  bom 
in  Orwigsburg,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  a  daughter  of  Christopher 
Loeser,  who  was  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  bar  of  this 
county  for  many  years.  Mr.  Loeser  maintained  his  residence  in 
Orwigsburg  for  a  long  period,  and  when  the  county  seat  was 
removed  thence  to  Pottsville,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  latter 
place,  where  he  continued  to  be  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 


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THENF.V/YCF.K 

pt-'siig   Lisn/.RY 


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BI(>GRAPT!T<"AI- 

•<  v%nith      lie  was  i!vj  t- 

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■•^^^(ui    by    l:i-  aud    'hrt-e    clrl-irt-n,   J'-liii 

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('-•"tU"  !o  rottoV'l"-  \^P:le  si '11  tr.  hi-  v.  <•.  ^\  hero  hi^  faiiitr  m- 
^^j/<'<;  in  '  '.er.antiu'  pi.'SMUS.  luit  ho  -':-•  -  •-  vintJv  reirovt*'  *  » 
I'!:ila<it.!phia  i-.  cnt:.  tt  -n  the  wholesale  tir\  .•  -  >  bnsine.-s.  In  rS;4 
Li  wis  P.  Brookf  ar^  1  .\i.^'  'vlargarct  Susan  \\  .  *  -•  -.  <•!  l^rancht'.aU  . 
'«'  •were  married  m  [jranchhiU-  Sov)n  ati  • '\  Lt  M"'v  removed  \  , 
I'hihuielpbia  and  later  returned  to  P*)its\  iie. .  ^^  '.■■■'  '-e  became 
idfn*:ned  with  the  openiiu:  of  tht  anrh'Mc:t  •  c.  mI  -  '■-  v;  Durmu 
the  (.'i\  il  war  he  served  in  the  renn->ylvania  eTitti.-i :  ,  :i.-  .ms.  ami 
hi  i.<')5  he  went  to  Lynchburg.  \'a.,  wheu  for  t<«u.  v  ;*r;  ',e  was 
:n  (.'large  of  the  rollinjz  n^ill^.  W'lnle  h\  in^  in  .  "i  .iMurnr  he 
-t  rved  as  a  mendjer  of  rhe  city  c<*nncil,  where  he  ut  ::i  "•.  I'a:-  .1  hi^ 
capacity  f<»r  handlinj^  municipal  matters  ant]  was  revL'  ./a  '  as  a 
man  i)X  >^reat  [)ublic  spirit.  About  i8(»*)  he  retired  i\^)'>\  a^'i^e 
.hnstness  associations,  returned  to  rott^\ilk  and  there  p*.^  ^t  d  t-> 
r--  erernal  reward  <mi  Jan.  22.  tScis,  at  the  aj;e  ^^\  se\  •  nt\ -♦■ine 
year-.  His  wife  was  born  in  1823  and  pr^  .'eded  liim  ti»  tht  (ireat 
iUvf-nd,  Iier  death  having  occurred  in  1801.  They  were  tlu  pareiiis 
of  the  following-  children  :  Catherine  1\,  Ifla  F>.,  Ckorge  A.,  Annie  M.. 
\\aUer  C  and  Henry.  Througiiout  his  life  Mr.  l^ri.oke  wa^  <in 
.tciiee  and  enerf]^etic  citizen.  liruutiht  Uj)  as  he  was  un^ler  t:v 
t^a^'hln^  of  his  Quaker  parenl>,  he  iiad  a  fine  perceini"  .  f  iilJ  ■ 
.iiid   wr->ns,   and   this   teachin^^   intluenc<'d    \\\<   t\erv   .-^.M-'n    in    his 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  73 

profession  until  his  death.  He  was  the  first  solicitor  in  the  country 
for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  and  was  an  honored  and 
influential  citizen  of  the  county.  He  was  a  man  of  unblemished 
character  and  held  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew 
him.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife  and  three  children,  John  M., 
Louise,  and  Avalon.  John  M.,  who  succeeded  his  father  at  the 
head  of  the  large  and  popular  general  mercantile  establishment 
of  S.  B.  Briscoe  &  Co.,  was  born  in  Pottsville,  July  22^  1878,  re- 
ceiving his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that  place, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  the  high  school,  as  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1897.  He  later  took  post-graduate  work  in  the  high  school 
and  for  one  term  was  a  student  in  the  architectural  department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1899  he  took  charge  of  the 
business  which  had  so  long  been  successfully  conducted  under  the 
management  of  his  honored  father,  and  he  is  well  upholding  the 
prestige  of  the  name,  both  as  a  loyal  citizen  and  as  a  reliable  and 
able  business  man.  The  present  commodious  store  building  was 
erected  in  1888  and  in  the  same  complete  and  select  lines  of  goods 
are  kept  in  each  department. 

Brooke,  Lewis  Phillips,  deceased,  for  many  years  a  resident  of 
Pottsville  and  a  pioneer  in  developing  the  anthracite  coal  fields, 
was  born  at  Valley  Store,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  March  t%  1816. 
His  father,  Samuel  Brooke,  was  born  in  1789,  and  died  at  Potts- 
ville in  1839,'  l^is  death  having  been  the  result  of  an  accident.  In 
1813  Samuel  Brooke  married  Miss  Priscilla  Phillips,  who  was 
born  in  1793.  Both  parents  were  members  of  the  Friends'  church. 
Lewis  P.  Brooke  received  an  education  in  the  most  advanced 
schools  of  that  period,  and  became  an  accomplished  musician.  He 
came  to  Pottsville  while  still  in  his  youth,  where  his  father  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits,  but  he  subsequently  removed  to 
Philadelphia  to  engage  in  the  wholesale  dry  goods  business.  In  1844 
Lewis  P.  Brooke  and  Miss  Margaret  Susan  Weaver,  of  Branchdale, 
Pa.,  were  married  in  Branchdale.  Soon  afterward  they  removed  to 
Philadelphia  and  later  returned  to  Pottsville,  where  he  became 
identified  with  the  opening  of  the  anthracite  coal  industry.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  served  in  the  Pennsylvania  emergency  troops,  and 
in  1865  he  went  to  Lynchburg,  Va.,  where  for  four  years  he  was 
in  charge  of  the  rolling  mills.  While  living  in  Lynchburg  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council,  where  he  demonstrated  his 
capacity  for  handling  municipal  matters  and  was  recognized  as  a 
man  of  great  public  spirit.  About  1869  he  retired  from  active 
business  associations,  returned  to  Pottsville  and  there  passed  to 
his  eternal  reward  on  Jan.  22,  1895,  ^t  the  age  of  seventy-nine 
years.  His  wife  was  born  in  1823  and  preceded  him  to  the  Great 
Beyond,  her  death  having  occurred  in  1891.  They  were  the  parents 
of  the  following  children :  Catherine  P.,  Ida  B.,  George  A.,  Annie  M., 
Walter  C.  and  Henry.  Throughout  his  life  Mr.  Brooke  was  an 
active  and  energetic  citizen.  Brought  up  as  he  was  under  the 
teaching  of  his  Quaker  parents,  he  had  a  fine  perception  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  this  teaching  influenced  his  every  action  in  his 


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74  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

relations  with  his  fellow-men.  Modest  and  unostentatious  in  his 
habits,  he  could  nevertheless  say  '*No"  to  any  and  every  proposi- 
tion that  did  not  meet  his  moral  ideal.  The  world's  progress  is 
due  to  such  men,  and  the  world  is  the  better  for  his  having  lived 
in  it. 

Brosnahan,  Timothy  B.,  shipping  agent  for  one  of  the  big  col- 
leries  of  Schuylkill  county,  with  headquarters  at  Cressona,  was 
born  in  Reilly  township  in  November,  1863.  He  is  a  son  of 
Michael  and  Anna  (Quinlan)  Brosnahan,  and  is  the  third  in  order 
of  birth  of  the  ten  children  born  to  them,  seven  of  whom  survive. 
The  others  are  Mary,  Ella,  Margaret,  Michael,  John  and  Anna. 
The  parents  were  respectively  born  in  County  Limerick  and 
County  Cork,  Ireland,  and  immigrated  to  this  country  in  1851, 
locating  at  Yellow  Spring,  Dauphin  county,  and  subsequently  in 
Reilly  township.  The  paternal  grandparents  were  Timothy  and 
Mary  Brosnahan,  and  on  the  maternal  side  the  grandparents  were 
John  and  Hannah  Quinlan.  Timothy  B.  Brosnahan  attended  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  township  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
years  started  work  as  a  breaker  boy.  He  was  promoted  by  de- 
grees to  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  colliery  and  subsequently 
was  transferred  to  the  headquarters  of  the  company  in  Pottsville. 
In  1896  he  received  the  appointment  to  his  present  position  of 
responsibility.  His  retention  in  the  office  for  more  than  a  decade 
is  ample  evidence  of  the  efficiency  with  which  he  has*  filled  it.  In 
politics  Mr.  Brosnahan  is  absolutely  independent,  and  he  and  his 
family  are  communicants  of  St.  Patrick's  church  of  Pottsville.  In 
February,  1899,  was  celebrated  Mr.  Brosnahan's  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  Carley,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Carley,  of  Mahanoy  City.  Two 
children,  a  daughter  and  a  son,  John  and  Mary  by  name,  have  been 
born  to  this  union. 

Brown,  Frank,  general  manager  of  the  extensive  shoe  manufac- 
turing industry  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  in  the  town  in  which 
most  of  his  mature  years  have  been  spent.  His  birth  occurred 
on  March  10,  1868.  His  parents,  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Deibert) 
Brown,  were  natives  of  Landingville^  Schuylkill  county.  The 
father  enlisted  early  in  the  Civil  war  and  served  with  honor 
throughout  that  great  national  struggle.  Frank  Brown  attended 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  in  early  manhood 
became  interested  in  the  shoe  manufacturing  business.  He  was 
for  four  years  connected  with  the  business  at  Landingville  and 
came  from  there  to  his  present  position  in  Schuylkill  Haven  in 
1892.  Fourteen  years  of  his  life  have  been  spent  in  charge  of  an 
industry  employing  many  workmen  and  requiring  the  constant 
supervision  of  a  manager  well  skilled  in  the  work.  That  Mr. 
Brown  fulfills  this  requirement  is  self-evident,  in  view  of  his  long 
continuance  in  the  position.  He  was  married  July  10,  1894,  to 
Miss  Alice  Ehly.  She  has  been  an  orphan  almost  from  her  birth, 
so  that  but  little  is  known  of  her  parents,  and  nothing  of  her  an- 
cestral history..  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  have  an  interesting  family 
of  four  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  Madalene  Salome,  born 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  76 

March  15,  1898;  Stanley  Hendrick,  born  July  19,  1900;  F.  Alfred, 
born  Sept.  18,  1902,  and  Hamilton,  born  Sept,  19,  1905.  The  two 
first  named  have  entered  upon  their  educational  career  and  are 
battling  with  the  mysteries  of  juvenile  life  in  the  public  schools. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  He 
is  an  independent  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations. 

Brown,  Frank  A.,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Ney  &  Brown,  of 
Freidensburg,  and  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Susanna  (Schwartz)  Brown, 
was  born  in  Wayne  township,  Dec.  12,  1858.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  and  then  taught 
school  for  several  terms,  after  which  he  entered  the  mercantile 
life  in  April,  1882,  at  Rock,  Schuylkill  county,  remaining  there 
until  1888.  At  that  time  he  sold  his  business  to  John  G.  Mauree 
and  moved  to  Freidensburg,  going  into  business  there  as  a  general 
merchant  in  company  with  Mr.  Daniel  R.  Ney,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Ney  &  Brown,  the  partnership  continuing  until  the  pres- 
ent time.  On  Nov.  26,  1881,  Mr.  Brown  was  married  to  Miss  Lorina 
Reber,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Lorina  (Overbeck)  Reber,  of 
Wayne  township,  and  three  children,  one  son  and  two  daughters, 
have  been  born  to  this  union.  E.  Estella  is  a  stenographer  in 
Pottsville;  Grover  N.  is  a  student  in  the  Kutztown  normal  school, 
and  Dora  R.  is  at  home.  Mr.  Brown  belongs  to  Camp  No.  264, 
Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America;  to  Council  No.  looi.  Order 
of  Independent  Americans,  and  to  Page  Lodge,  No.  272,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  He  is  a  past  officer  in 
both  the  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America  and  the  Independent 
Americans.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  originated  the 
Brown  reunion,  which  is  held  annually  on  the  first  Saturday  in 
September.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church  of  Freid- 
ensburg, of  which  Mr.  Brown  is  an  elder  and  is  also  the  represen- 
tative to  the  classes  held  by  the  church  in  the  county.  Besides 
his  mercantile  business,  Mr.  Brown  follows  the  profession  of  a 
surveyor,  to  which  he  devotes  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time. 

Brown,  Frank  Luther,  son  of  Harry  Adam  and  Regina  Marie 
(Kemmerer)  Brown,  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Lebanon  county,  Pa., 
on  Jan.  5,  1870.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Lebanon.  On  April  13,  1885,  he  entered  the  employ  of 
Dr.  William  B.  Means,  a  druggist  in  Lebanon,  as  a  clerk,  where 
he  served  until  April  10,  1889,  when  he  accepted  a  position  with 
Rush  P.  Marshall  (now  deceased),  of  Philadelphia.  He  remained 
in  that  position  for  about  three  years,  when  he  embarked  in  busi- 
ness for  himself  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Pearl  streets,  Norris- 
town,  Pa.,  on  Sept.  i,  1892.  Here  he  conducted  a  retail  drug 
business  for  seven  years,  when  he  sold  out  to  Atwood  Yeakle, 
who  removed  the  business  to  DeKalb  and  Spruce  streets.  Mr. 
Brown  remained  with  Mr.  Yeakle  for  a  short  time,  as  manager  of 
the  store  until  the  latter  could  secure  a  pharmacy  clerk.  He  then 
entered  the  employ  of  the  William  Stabler  Drug  Company,  whole- 
sale druggists  of  Norristown,  Pa.,  where  he  remained  for  a  short 
time.     Mr.   Brown  was  at  one  time  a  room-mate  of  the  son  of 


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76  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Senator  Quail,  and  during  the  coal  strike  of  1902  he  entered  upon 
a  correspondence  with  the  senator  relative  to  obtaining  a  supply 
of  river  coal,  washed  up  from  the  river  bed.  Through  this  cor- 
respondence, Senator  Quail  requested  Mr.  Brown  to  find  a  pur- 
chaser for  the  drug  business  at  Auburn,  which  finally  resulted  in 
the  latter  purchasing  the  business  himself.  He  has  added  to  jthe 
original  business  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  ice  cream,  both 
wholesale  and  retail,  and  a  newspaper  and  periodical  department. 
Mr.  Brown  entered  the  Philadelphia  college  of  pharmacy  in  1889 
and  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1891  with  the  degree  of  Ph.  G. 
he  was  married  on  June  14,  1893,  to  Emma  Marie  Nagele  and 
three  children  have  been  born  to  them.  One  daughter,  Miriam, 
died  in  infancy,  and  two  sons,  Frank  Melanchthon  and  Luther 
Adolphus,  are  living.  In  politics  Mr.  Brown  is  a  Republican.  He 
has  always  been  much  interested  in  church  and  Sunday  school 
work;  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  in  Norristown, 
and  has  been  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  since 
coming  to  Auburn.  Both  he  and  his  family  belong  to  the  Lutheran 
church ;  he  has  been  president  of  the  Luther  League  of  Berks, 
Montgomery  and  Chester  counties;  has  been  president  for  two 
years  of  the  Schuylkill  county  Luther  League,  and  has  also  been 
a  generous  contributor  to  historical  works  prepared  in  Lebanon, 
Dauphin  and  Montgomery  counties. 

Brown,  Jarcd  S.,  was  born  in  December,  1853,  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives,  in  Wayne  township,  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Susanna  (Schwartz)  Brown.  His  early  education  was  obtained 
in  the  public  schools  and  his  academic  training  in  the  Myerstown 
college.  After  finishing  his  education  he  entered  upon  the  pro- 
fession of  teaching  and  followed  it  for  thirty  years  in  his  native 
town.  In  1903  he  retired  from  professional  life  and  took  up  farm- 
ing as  a  permanent  occupation.  He  married  Miss  Sarah  A.  Berk- 
.heiser,  daughter  of  William  Berkheiser,  of  South  Manheim  town- 
ship, to  which  union  there  were  born  three  sons  and  one  daughter, 
all  of  whom  are  living,  viz. :  Herman  E.,  Calvin  A.,  Richard  E.  and 
Lillian  O.  Calvin  A.,  the  second  son,  attended  Kutztown  normal 
school,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1899.  He  then  entered  Franklin 
and  Marshall  college  in  1900,  at  which  he  was  graduated  in  1903. 
In  the  summer  of  1905  he  entered  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
taking  a  post-graduate  course  in  mathematics.  He  has  been  since 
1904  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  Mercersburg  (Pa.)  academy. 
Herman  E.  is  also  a  graduate  of  the  Kutztown  normal,  finishing 
the  course  there  in  1896.  He  then  took  a  business  course  at  Nor- 
ristown and  taught  for  five  terms  before  entering  upon  his  present 
position  as  railway  mail  clerk  between  Pittsburg  and  New*  York. 
He  married  Miss  Lizzie  Manbeck,  of  Washington  township, 
Schuylkill  county.  Richard  E.  also  graduated  at  the  Kutztown 
normal,  in  1906,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  entered  the  fresh- 
man class  at  Lehigh  university,  where  he  is  now  pursuing  his 
studies.  Lillian  O.  was  graduated  from  the  Kutztown  normal  in 
1904,   and   is   now   attending   Dickinson   college,   where   she   is  a 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  '  77 

member  of  the  junior  class.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  member  of  the  Pa- 
triotic Order  Sons  of  America,  of  Freidensburg,  and  of 
the  Grange.  His  son  He;rman  belongs  to  the  former  lodge  and 
also  to  the  Masonic  fraternity.  In  his  political  affiliations  Mr. 
Brown  is  a  Democrat.  The  family  are  connected  with  the  Re- 
formed church.  In  addition  to  his  other  business  interest^,  Mr. 
Brown  is  a  director  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Schuylkill 
Haven. 

Brownmiller,  Henry  H.,  superintendent  of  the  Schuylkill  county 
almshouse  at  Orwigsburg,  and  for  the  past  seventeen  years  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  23,  1842. 
He  is  one  of  seven  children  (and  the  only  survivor)  of  George  and 
Anna  (Foose)  Brownmiller.  The  father  was  a  man  of  varied 
occupations.  For  many  years  he  was  organist  and  musical  director 
of  a  Lutheran  church,  and  after  the  establishment  of  the  public 
school  system  he  became  a  teacher.  For  a  score  of  years  he  was 
justice  of  the  peace.  His  demise  occurred  in  his  ninety-second 
year  and  the  mother  died  in  1882  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
and  in  the  Oley  academy.  After  the  completion  of  his  scholastic 
work  he  alternately  taught  school  and  worked  on  a  farm  until 
July,  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  L,  ist  Pennsylvania 
volunteer  cavalry.  His  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  and  he  served  with  that  army  until  the  close  of  the 
great  internal  struggle.  When  his  term  expired  in  1863  Mr. 
Brownmiller  reenlisted  in  the  same  company.  He  was  a  partici- 
pant in  sixteen  battles,  among  them  the  second  Bull  Run,  Antie- 
tam,  Chancellorsville,  the  Wilderness,  Cold  Harbor  and  others. 
While  fighting  at  White  House  Landing  on  June  21,  1864,  in 
Sheridan's  raid  to  Trevilian  Station,  he  was  twice  wounded,  once 
in  the  left  breast  and  once  in  the  left  arm.  For  nine  months  he 
was  an  inmate  of  the  Carver  hospital  at  Washington.  While 
there  gangrene  set  in  and  several  times  his  life  was  despaired  of. 
After  his  recovery  he  rejoined  his  regiment  and  about  five  days 
before  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox  he  was  badly  wounded  in 
a  saber  fight.  His  last  wound  has  troubled  him  more  or  less  ever 
since.  A  brother,  George  W.  Brownmiller,  was  a  member  of  the 
regular  army  for  twenty-two  years  and  saw  service  with  Scott 
in  the  Mexican  war.  When  hostilities  had  ceased  Mr.  Brown- 
miller returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  for  twenty-eight  years  was 
cn&2iged  in  pedagogic  work,  serving  at  Bernville,  Berks  county, 
some  twelve  years,  at  Orwigsburg  four  years,  Frackville  five 
years,  Port  Carbon  one  year,  and  at  other  places  for  different 
periods.  He  is  now  seving  his  fourth  term  as  justice  of  the  peace. 
While  home  on  furlough  in  September,  1864,  Mr.  Brownmiller 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Kline,  of  Bernville, 
Berks  county,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Wagner) 
Kline.  To  this  union  was  born  one  daughter,  who  in  later  life 
became  the  wife  of  John  Heckman  and  died  in  March,  1900,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-four.     Mrs.   Brownmiller  is   a   member  of  the 


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78  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Reformed  church  and  her  husband  of  the  Lutheran  congregation. 
He  is  also  identified  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the 
Sons  of  America  and  the  Order  of  American  Mechanics.  He  has 
always  been  active  in  politics,  and  his  forensic  ability  has  often 
been  called  into  requisition,  not  only  during  campaigns,  but  on 
Memorial  days  and  other  anniversaries.  Although  well  advanced 
in  years  he  is  enthusiastic  and  enterprising  in  everything  he  under- 
takes and  is  a  most  efficient  incumbent  of  his  office. 

Bro^vmniller,  Thomas  D.,  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah  (Stine) 
Brownmiller^  was  born  in  Hamlin,  Lebanon  county  Pa.,  in  1856. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  was  graduated  from 
the  Reformed  church  preparatory  school  known  as  the  Palatinate 
college,  in  Myerstown,  Pa.  He  taught  music  for  ten  years,  but 
gave  it  up  on  account  of  failing  health,  and  started  in  the  marble 
and  granite-cutting  business  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  where  he  manu- 
factures marble  and  granite  monuments,  headstones,  marker  posts 
and  coping,  and  also  deals  in  curbing  and  flagging.  The  stone- 
yard  is  thoroughly  equipped  with  all  modem  appliances  for  the 
best  possible  workmanship.  The  time  of  Mr.  Brownmiller's  com- 
ing to  Schuylkill,  Jan.  6,  1885,  was  identical  with  the  beginning  of 
this  business,  which  he  has  conducted  with  such  marked  success. 
He  was  married  in  January,  1876,  to  Fianna  Gerhart,  of  Hamlin, 
Pa.,  and  to  this  union  have  been  born  five  children — Lillie,  Harry, 
Charles,  Roy  and  Annette,  all  living.  Mr.  Brownmiller  affiliates 
with  the  Democratic  party  and  is  a  strong  supporter  of  the  policies 
of  that  party.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Lutheran  church  of 
Schuylkill  Haven. 

Bruno,  Frank  P.,  cigar  manufacturer  and  merchant  of  Kelayres 
and  McAdoo,  with  a  residence  in  the  former  place,  was  born  in 
a  little  town  near  Naples,  Italy,  April  4,  1852,  a  son  of  Louis  and 
Mary  Bruno.  His  educational  advantages  were  limited  to  a  year 
of  study  in  a  parish  school.  His  residence  in  the  United  States 
dates  from  1882,  when  he  came  to  Kelayres.  His  first  labor  was 
in  the  mines,  where  after  three  years  he  was  made  a  foreman.  For 
fifteen  years  more  he  remained  in  that  capacity  and  then  he  pur- 
chased of  his  brother  a  general  merchandising  business.  Since 
that  time  he  has  been  extending  his  interests  in  other  directions. 
In  1904  he  built  a  factory  for  the  manufacture  of  cigars,  where  he 
employs  six  people  the  whole  year.  The  output  is  not  limited 
to  any  one  brand,  and  the  several  varieties  manufactured  are  well 
known  because  of  their  high  quality.  Within  the  last  year  Mr. 
Bruno  has  opened  a  shoe  and  men's  furnishing  store  in  McAdoo, 
conducting  it  with  the  aid  of  a  resident  manager.  Politically  he 
is  a  stanch  Republican  and  a  factor  in  the  councils  of  that  party. 
At  the  present  time  he  is  chairman  of  the  Kline  township  Repub- 
lican committee  and  of  the  county  executive  committee.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  has  been  a  school  director,  and  in  1899  was 
appointed  postmaster  of  Kelayres  by  President  McKinley.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  Knight  of  Pythias  and  has  held  the  office  of  treas- 
urer of  the  lodge.    In  1874  Mr.  Bruno  was  united  in  marriage  to 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  79 

Miss  Josephine  Mazzula,  and  to  this  union  were  born  two  chil- 
dren, Lucy  and  Louis.  The  former  is  deceased ;  the  latter  is  mar- 
ried and  the  father  of  two  children,  Frank  and  Josephine.  Mr. 
Bruno's  family  are  all  communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  at  McAdoo.  The  father  has  come 
to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  commercial  circles 
of  McAdoo  and  Kelayres,  and  as  an  example  of  industry,  enter- 
prise and  honesty  is  certainly  worthy  of  emulation. 

Buehler,  Samuel,  jury  commissioner  of  Schuylkill  county,  is  a 
son  of  Peter  and  Catherine  (Groetzinger)  Buehler,  and  was  born 
in  North  Manheim  township,  June  9,  1866.  His  parents  immi- 
grated to  Philadelphia  from  Wiirtemberg,  Germany,  in  1850,  and 
located  at  Schuylkill  Haven  in  1852.  His  father  was  employed  in 
public  positions  on  the  canal  and  in  other  capacities  until  1859, 
when  he  bought  the  farm  in  North  Manheim  township  where 
Samuel  was  bom.  Peter  Buehler  died  in  March,  1867.  His  wife 
survived  him  for  over  thirty  years,  passing  away  on  Feb.  26,  1898. 
The  family  consisted  of  four  sons  and  three  daughters.  Of  the 
sisters  Christine  married  Samuel  Berger,  Mary  married  John 
Christ,  and  Louisa  married  Jacob  Berger,  all  of  Schuylkill  Haven, 
although  Mr.  Christ  was  formerly  of  Tremont.  John,  a  freight 
conductor  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railway,  married  Rose 
Geizer,  of  Tamaqua;  George  was  drowned  in  the  Raritan  canal 
at  Trenton  in  1873;  Daniel,  a  conductor  on  the  Pittsburg  division 
of  the  Pennsylvania  railway,  is  married  and  lives  at  Altoona,  Pa. 
Samuel  Buehler  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  until  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  began  to  work  at  any  odd  jobs  by 
which  he  could  earn  a  livelihood.  In  the  spring"  of  1889  he  went 
to  the  Mine  Hill  railroad,  now  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading,  at 
Mine  Hill  crossing  as  brakeman.  This  position  he  resigned  in  1891 
and  worked  as  a  carpenter  until  1892,  when  he  joined  Company  F, 
4th  regiment,  Pennsylvania  National  Guard,  and  served  until  July 
30,  1895,  when  he  lost  his  foot  by  an  accident  and  was  taken  to 
the  Pottsville  hospital,  being  the  third  patient  admitted  after  the 
opening  of  that  institution.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  of  school 
director  in  North  Manheim  township  in  1893,  served  for  five  years 
and  was  secretary  of  the  board  for  two  years.  In  1897  he  was 
appointed  carpenter  at  the  county  almshouse  and  served  in  this 
capacity  for  two  years.  In  March,  1899,  he  moved  to  Schuylkill 
Haven,  where  he  opened  a  hotel,  which  he  is  still  conducting. 
In  1905  he  was  appointed  councilman  for  an  unexpired  term,  and 
in  February,  1906,  was  elected  to  the  office  for  another  term,  which 
expires  in  March,  1909.  On  Nov.  6,  1906,  Mr.  Buehler  was  elected 
jury  commissioner  of  the  county  for  a  term  of  three  years.  On 
Dec.  13,  1898,  Mr.  Buehler  married  Ida,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
George  SheaflFer,  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  Mrs.  Buehler  died  on 
0<^t.  5,  1903,  leaving  no  children.  Mr.  Buehler  is  a  member  and 
past  grand  of  Carroll  Lodge,  No.  120,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  of  Schuylkill  Haven ;  a  past  sachem  of  Pecos  Tribe,  No. 
327,  Improved  C)rder  of  Red   Men,  of  the  same  place ;  a  mem- 


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80  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ber  of  Pottsville  Aerie,  No.  134,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and 
belongs  to  the  fish  and  game  protective  association  of  Pottsville. 
Mr.  Buehler  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a  strong  supporter  of 
the  policies  of  his  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 

Burke,  Miles  M.,  the  genial  proprietor  of  "Burke's  Pharmacy," 
at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Lloyd  streets,  Shenandoah,  was  born 
Aug.  5,  1882,  in  the  borough  where  he  now  lives.  His  parents, 
Mark  and  Maria  (Loftus)  Burke,  were  both  born  in  Ireland. 
They  were  married  at  Minersville,  Schuylkill  county,  Dec.  12,  1869, 
and  Nov.  2^^  1871,  located  in  Shenandoah.  The  father  has  been 
identified  with  mining  interests  all  his  active  life,  and  for  the  past 
twenty  years  has  held  the  position  of  fire  boss.  He  has  been  an 
active  participant  in  local  public  affairs,  having  served  on  the 
Shenandoah  school  board  for  three  years;  was  also  a  member 
of  the  borough  council  for  three  years,  and  for  a  like  period  held 
the  office  of  tax  collector.  The  mother  died  in  Shenandoah  on 
Dec.  31,  1903.  They  were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  nine 
of  whom  are  living  and  are  all  useful  members  of  society.  Patrick 
J.,  who  for  several  years  edited  the  Shenandoah  Daily  News,  is 
a  printer  in  Philadelphia;  Annie  P.,  a  registered  pharmacist,  is 
the  wife  of  Thomas  J.  Flannagan,  a  druggist  in  Mahanoy  City, 
and  is  a  graduate  of  the  Bloomsburg  state  normal  school ;  Michael 
F.  is  a  mechanic  in  Philadelphia;  Mary  E.  married  Edward  Gor- 
man, a  civil  engineer  of  Williamsport,  Pa.;  Sarah  G.,  a  graduate 
of  Bloomsburg  state  normal  school,  is  a  teacher  in  the  Shenandoah 
schools;  Miles  M.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Adele  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Bloomsburg  state  normal  schopl  and  is  a  teacher  at  Zion 
Grove,  Schuylkill  county ;  Mark  is  employed  in  his  brother's  drug 
store,  having  become  a  registered  pharmacist  on  Dec.  30,  1905 ; 
and  Margaret  lives  at  home  with  her  father.  Miles  M.  Burke 
acquired  his  education  in  the  Shenandoah  schools,  graduating  in 
the  high  school  with  the  class  of  1898,  and  was  president  of  the 
class.  He  then  served  an  apprenticeship  in  a  Shenandoah  drug 
store,  and  on  July  25,  1903,  was  duly  registered.  For  six  years 
he  was  in  the  employ  of  Paul  W.  Hauck  and  in  January,  1905, 
opened  his  present  place  of  business,  where  he  carries  such  a  stock 
as  is  usually  to  be  found  in  a  first-class  drug  store.  He  makes  a 
specialty  of  prescription  trade,  and  Burke's  Pharmacy  is  noted 
throughout  the  city  for  its  "Innovation"  soda  fountain,  one  of  the 
latest  inventions  of  its  kind.  His  brother  has  been  with  him  ever 
since  he  began  business.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Annun- 
ciation Roman  Catholic  church,  and  Mr.  Burke  was  one  of  the 
charter  members  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  in  Shenandoah.  He  also  belongs  to  other 
fraternal  organizations.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  has 
never  sought  or  held  public  office,  though  he  is  always  ready  and 
willing  to  do  his  part  toward  winning  a  Democratic  victory. 

Bushar,  Harry  Femsler,  a  successful  young  business  man  of 
Mahanoy   City,   was   born    in    Pottsville,   Schuylkill   county.    Pa., 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  81 

Nov.  25,  1872.  His  father,  Charles  Wesley  Busbar,  was  bom  in 
tbe  same  borougb  in  1842,  and  bis  motber,  wbo  in  maidenbood 
was  Hettie  Hommes,  was  born  in  Scbuylkill  Haven  in  1845.  Tbe 
Busbar  family  bas  been  identified  witb  tbe  bistory  of  Pottsville 
since  1833,  wben  tbe  grandparents  of  Harry  F.  located  on  a  por- 
tion of  tbe  site  of  tbe  present  county  courtbouse.  Tbis  land  was 
sold  by  tbem  to  Scbuylkill  county  in  1858.  Cbarles  Wesley  Busbar, 
tbe  subject's  fatber,  was  one  of  tbe  first  letter-carriers  appointed 
in  tbe  borougb  of  Pottsville,  a  business  witb  wbicb  be  was  still 
connected  at  tbe  time  of  bis  deatb,  in  1886.  He  was  a  member  of 
Company  G,  39tb  Pa.  Militia,  during  tbe  emergency  call  of 
1863.  His  sons  are  mostly  given  to  mecbanical  pursuits.  Tbe 
paternal  great-grandfatber  of  riarry  F.  Busbar  was  a  soldier  dur- 
ing tbe  War  of  181 2,  and  Jobn  K.  Fernsler,  a  great-uncle  of  tbe 
subject,  served  as  private  soldier  during  the  war  witb  Mexico. 
He  was  also  a  soldier  in  tbe  Civil  war,  and  served  as  first  lieuten- 
ant of  Company  H,  96tb  regiment,  Pennsylvania  volunteer  in- 
fantry, and  commanded  bis  company  during  most  of  its  term  of 
enlistment.  A  brother  of  tbe  subject  of  tbis  sketch,  Fred- 
erick D.  Busbar,  served  in  Company  H,  8tb  Pennsylvania 
volunteer  infantry,  during  tbe  Spanish-American  war.  (See 
tbe  chapter  on  Military  History.)  Harry  F.  Busbar  re- 
ceived bis  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville,  be- 
ing graduated  from  tbe  grammar  school  in  1886.  He  was  then 
apprenticed  to  tbe  printers'  trade  and  followed  tbe  "Art  Preserva- 
tive" for  a  number  of  years.  In  1898  he  located  in  Mabanoy 
City,  and  became  interested  in  tbe  establishment  of  a  shirt  factory, 
tbe  purpose  of  wbicb  is  indicated  by  tbe  name.  This  business  he 
bas  developed  into  one  of  tbe  paying  industries  of  the  town,  and 
gives  remunerative  employment  to  a  number  of  wage-workers. 
Mr.  Busbar  was  married  on  Aug.  7,  1900,  to  Miss  Charlotte  Eisen- 
acher,  of  Pottsville.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Catherine 
Eisenacber,  residents  of  Pottsville.  Tbe  only  child  born  to  tbis 
union  is  Master  Harold  Gordon  Busbar,  born  March  7,  1904.  Tbe 
subject  of  tbis  article  is  prominently  identified  with  tbe  Masonic 
fraternity,  being  a  member  of  Mabanoy  City  Lodge,  No.  357; 
Mizpah  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  252;  Ivanhoe  Commandery,  No. 
31,  Knights  Templars,  and  Rajah  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order 
Nobles  of  tbe  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  also  affiliated  with  Mabanoy 
City  Lodge,  No.  695,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks; 
Washington  Camp  No.  36,  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America, 
and  Pottsville  Council,  No.  263,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. His  political  affiliations  are  witb  tbe  Republican  party,  but 
be  has  never  sought  or  held  public  office.  In  tbe  business  world 
Mr.  Busbar  is  rated  as  successful,  and  be  and  bis  estimable  wife 
are  prominent  in  tbe  social  functions  of  their  adopted  home  city. 
Callaway,  John  M.,  the  popular  proprietor  of  the  Pennsylvania 
hotel,  Middleport,  is  one  of  the  able  representatives  of  tbe  hotel- 
keepers'  fraternity  in  Schuylkill  county.  He  was  born  at  New 
Philadelphia,  tbis  county,  Nov.  24,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and 
e— Vol.  II 


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82  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Philippa  (Manuell)  Callaway,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Cornwall,  Englahd,  and  the  latter  in  Blythe  township,  Schuylkill 
county, — a  daughter  of  Elisha  Manuell,  who  was  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, and  who  was  numbered  among  the  pioneer  miners  of  Schuyl- 
kill county.  Mr.  Manuell  was  employed  as  a  stationery  engineer 
in  the  mines  for  many  years  and  was  killed  at  the  Blackbury  col- 
liery, in  Blythe  township,  about  1872.  James  Callaway  came  to 
America  about  the  year  1852  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Schuyl- 
kill county,  where  he  has  since  continued  to  maintain  his  home. 
He  was  identified  with  the  mining  operations  of  the  county  until 
1898,  since  which  time  he  has  conducted  an  independent  business 
as  a  teamster;  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Middleport  since  1875. 
Of  his  eleven  children  nine  attained  to  years  of  maturity.  R. 
William,  who  was  fire  boss  at  the  Kaska  William  mine,  was  there 
suffocated  to  death  Dec.  18,  1899,  and  his  body  was  not  recovered 
until  a  month  later ;  John  M.  is  the  next  in  order  of  birth ;  Joseph 
J.,  of  Berwick,  Pa.,  is  engaged  in  carpentering;  Cora  is  the  wife 
of  David  Evans;  Emma  J.  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Corbey;  James 
is  deceased ;  and  the  younger  children  are  Bertha,  Elsie,  Edith  and 
Charles.  John  M.  Callaway  was  six  years  of  age  at  the  time  when 
his  parents  took  up  their  residence  in  Middleport.  in  the  public 
schools  of  which  village  he  secured  his  early  educational  disci- 
pline. At  the  age  of  thirteen  years  he  began  work  as  a  slate- 
picker  in  the  breaker,  and  he  worked  up  through  the  various  grades 
of  promotion  until  he  became  a  miner,  and  finally,  in  1900,  he  was 
made  assistant  inside  foreman  in  the  Kaska  William  colliery.  He 
held  this  position  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  March, 
1905,  he  became  engaged  in  his  present  line  of  business.  He  has 
made  his  hotel  a  most  popular  one  and  is  doing  a  successful  busi- 
ness. During  his  mining  career  Mr.  Callaway  had  many  narrow 
escapes  from  death,  and  he  recalls  with  satisfaction  that  it  was 
his  privilege,  in  the  fall  of  1906,  to  save  from  death  Joseph  Schroe- 
der,  who,  while  hunting,  had  fallen  down  an  abandoned  airway  of 
a  mine,  a  distance  of  175  feet.  Mr.  Callaway  was  the  first  to  go 
to  his  rescue,  but  on  being  let  down  into  the  opening  he  found 
the  rope  was  too  short  by  at  least  fifteen  feet.  He  discovered 
that  the  unfortunate  hunter  was  alive,  however,  and  when  more 
rope  was  secured  he,  with  the  assistance  of  others,  succeeded 
in  rescuing  Mr.  Schroeder,  who  is  alive  to-day  and  practically 
none  the  worse  for  his  experience.  In  recognition  of  Mr.  Calla- 
way's heroism  in  this  connection  the  friends  of  the  rescued  man 
presented  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch  a  handsome  gold  watch, 
chain  and  charm,  the  watch  being  suitably  engraved  to  indicate 
the  reason  of  presentation.  Mr.  Callaway  is  a  Republican  in  his 
political  proclivities,  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  the  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  and  he 
and  his  wife  hold  membership  in  the  Lutheran  church.  July  2y, 
1898,  Mr.  Callaway  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  May 
Bassler,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Miller)  Bassler,  of  Mid- 


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•  t    kt-en*^    .'••i'  -)>i     '  ah    moder-.i 

'    ■'•i;;h   tiu;   '..   «.••;'.     ►'    hook^   ar^'    *. 
-  'iilahit     -tL  •"!  ' '.'    .*,  .-V  mpathv' 1'. 
'i>elf  a   ia"  -,    ''ua^.-re  oi  h«', 
'f   i^  |»r  >^.      :    :\ji,v    ;><()riat(  <. 

''(I    State    '    '-.uvj    NMcietit^-  n 

'    .     ami    w.:^    ,.J    ..nc   time   ]"■•  ,t- 

l-'atuis    i\    he   is   al^iha^'.  >[o. 

.'vcv  ••;'>!    ,  ^;^<.ns   ar  :    •  Jge, 

*i  ;  •  ^^  K  t.t   ;  ■  der  of  ( )dd   1  '  man 

■     '    »    ''h:';^    .Ml.;    ^^nc    who   (a    f  iCS   of 

•i*  .1    *!\^    1 '.  M    t'^Kivnan    :  every- 

:...'l  his  wijf  a--"  zealous  •  earnest 

.    'ih.-tiAt    V\'.s  .»jnil   chn  -  >ah,  and' 

;  rhe  h«>a"'  *.  '  trustees  ,,  that  con- 

.    i-aeen  •■on-ecntive  yea-  rintendent 

•(-1,  an<l  s'TKH  i;e  rcsi^-    ■.  .e  has  been 

:•  U-achers,  haviiij^  cha  lass  of  men. 

-  ^^enerally    ranked    \.  jlican    party, 
..  ^     Tong:   Prohd):tiun   <■  •  uses   his   in- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  83 

dleport,  and  the  four  children  of  this  union  are:    Beulah  M.,  Nor- 
man, Mildred  and  Harold. 

Callen,  Joseph  Spencer,  M.  D.,  a  practicing  physician  of  Shen- 
andoah, who  stands  among  the  leading  medical  practitioners  in 
Schuylkill  county,  was  born  at  St.  Clair  on  Jan.  15,  1854.  His 
parents  were  Alfred  and  Ann  (Tucker)  Callen,  the  former  of  whom 
was  a  general  mine  forertian  in  the  earlier  years  of  his  life,  and  sub- 
sequently was  successfully  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in 
Shenandoah.  His  father^s  demise  occurred  in  1880  in  his  fifty- 
ninth  year,  and  the  mother  died  some  twenty  years  later,  at  the 
age  of  eighty.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  but  three 
of  whom  attained  to  maturity.  The  eldest  is  Rev.  B.  T.,  now  the 
pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Pottstown.  A 
daughter,  Mrs.  Hattie  A.  Davenport,  who  died  in  1898,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-six,  was  for  years  one  of  Shenandoah's  popular  school 
teachers.  Retiring  from  public  school  work,  she  devoted  consid- 
erable time  and  effort  to  church  and  Sunday  school  work;  being 
particularly  successful  in  her  superintendency  of  a  large  Loyal 
Temperance  Legion  among  the  juveniles.  Four  other  children 
died  in  infancy  or  early  childhood.  Dr.  Callen  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  elementary*  grades  of  the  Shenandoah 
schools  and  in  the  Wyoming  seminary.  His  professional  training 
was  secured  in  the  Baltimore  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
at  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  in  1881,  securing  the  fifth  prize  for  general  proficiency  in 
medicine  and  surgery.  Immediately  after  graduation  he  returned 
to  Shenandoah  and  began  his  professional  career.  He  has  to-day 
a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  probably  as  large  as  any  in  the 
county,  and  he  has  attained  to  a  high  degree  of  prominence  among 
the  members  of  the  profession  throughout  the  state.  He  is  a 
copious  reader  and  keeps  abreast  with  modern  thought  in  the 
medical  world  through  the  medium  of  books  and  magazines.  In 
the  sickroom  he  is  affable,  agreeable,  sympathetic  and  earnest,  and 
his  presence  is  in  itself  a  large  measure  of  help  to  the  suffering 
patient.  The  doctor  is  professionally  associated  with  the  Schuyl- 
kill County  and  the  State  Medical  societies  and  the  American 
Medical  association,  and  was  at  one  time  president  of  the  first- 
named  organization.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  Lodge  No. 
511  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  and  Shenandoah  Lodge, 
No.  591,  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  a  man 
of  intense  religious  feeling  and  one  who'  carries  the  principles  of 
the  Golden  Rule  and  the  Ten  Commandments  into  his  every- 
day life.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  zealous  members  of  and  earnest 
workers  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Shenandoah,  and 
he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  stewards  of  that  con- 
gregation. For  nineteen  consecutive  years  he  was  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school,  and  since  he  resigned  that  office  he  has  been 
one  of  the  corps  of  teachers,  having  charge  of  a  large  class  of  men. 
In  politics  he  is  generally  ranked  with  the  Republican  party, 
although  he  has  strong  Prohibition  convictions  and  uses  his  in- 


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84  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

fluence  in  local  elections  in  the  cause  of  temperance  and  sobriety. 
In  1887  Dr.  Callen  married  Miss  Mattie  B.  Parmley,  a  native  of 
St.  Clair,  and  a  daughter  of  William  and  Jane  Parmley,  repre- 
sentatives of  old  families  of  the  county.  Five  children  were  born 
to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Callen,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  two 
surviving  are  Robert  S.,  aged  seventeen,  a  student  at  the  State 
college,  and  H.  Samuel,  aged  seven. 

Calloway,  William,  deceased,  for  many  years  prominently  iden- 
tified with  the  banking  and  mercantile  interests  of  Tamaqua,  was 
born  at  New  Castle,  Del.,  in  the  year  1839.  He  was  educated  at 
Wilmington,  Del.,  and  when  about  sixteen  years  of  age  came  with 
his  parents  to  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  ever  afterward  made  his 
home.  At  the  commencement  of  the  great  Civil  war  he  enlisted 
in  Company  F,  8th  Pennsylvania  cavalry,  commanded  by  Col. 
David  McM.  Gregg,  and  served  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  until 
after  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox.  After  the  war  was  over 
he  returned  home,  and  in  1865  he  married  Miss  Ellen  Carter, 
daughter  of  the  late  Robert  Carter.  He  then  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits  in  Tamaqua,  first  with  one  store  and  then  with 
two,  and  later  opened  a  store  at  Lansford,  which  he  operated  as 
a  branch  establishment.  When  the  First  National  bank  was 
organized  he  became  interested  in  that  institution,  serving  as  vice- 
president  for  twelve  years,  and  in  1902  he  was  elected  president. 
As  the  bank  grew  in  importance  more  of  his  time  was  required  to 
attend  to  its  aflfairs,  and  about  1898  he  sold  out  his  mercantile  busi- 
ness to  G.  A.  Haefeker,  in  order  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to 
banking  operations.  Mr.  Calloway  was  regarded  as  an  authority 
in  financial  matters,  and  under  his  wise  direction  the  First  Na- 
tional soon  came  to  occupy  a  high  place  among  the  banking  in- 
stitutions of  eastern  Pennsylvania.  It  was  chiefly  due  to  his  efforts 
that  the  magnificent  bank  building  was  erected.  He  believed  in 
good  concerns  having  good  homes,  and  while  in  the  mercantile 
line  erected  the  Calloway  buildin'g,  which  is  an  ornament  to  the 
city  of  Tamaqua,  and  in  which  he  consolidated  his  three  stores. 
Although  a  busy  man  with  his  private  affairs,  he  still  found  time 
to  devote  to  the  public  welfare.  For  twelve  years  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  that  time  was 
president  of  that  body.  The  day  following  his  demise  the  Tam- 
aqua Evening  Courier  said  of  him:  "Personally  Mr.  Calloway 
was  a  fine,  courtly  gentleman.  His  figure  was  a  familiar  one  on 
the  streets  and  he  alwa^ys  had  a  pleasant  greeting  for  everybody 
he  knew.  As  a  soldier,  business  man  and  banker  he  gave  strict 
attention  to  duty,  and  was  scrupulously  honest  in  everything  he 
did.*'  This  encomium  from  one  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  who  had 
known  him  for  years  prior  to  his  death,  tells  the  story  of  his  char- 
acter. He  succeeded  because  he  deserved  success,  through  the 
exercise  of  his  energy  and  correct  business  methods.  Mr.  Callo- 
way was  a  member  of  the  Tamaqua  lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  and  belonged  to  the  Pottsville  Commandery  of  the  Loyal 
Legion.    His  death  was  due  to  paralysis  of  the  heart.     For  some 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  85 

four  or  five  years  he  had  been  affected  at  times  with  heart  trouble, 
but  the  manifestations  of  the  malady  were  not  sufficiently  serious 
to  cause  alarm.  On  Dec.  22^  1905,  he  went  to  Pottsville,  appar- 
ently in  his  usual  health,  and  returned  to  Tamaqua  on  the  evening 
train.  The  air  in  the  car  was  somewhat  oppressive,  and  passen- 
gers noticed  that  he  was  ill  at  ease.  He  remarked  to  a  friend  that 
he  was  not  feeling  well,  but  thought  he  would  be  all  right  as  soon 
as  he  got  out  into  the  open  air.  Upon  leaving  the  train  at  Tam- 
aqua no  street  car  was  at  hand  and  he  started  to  walk  to  his  home. 
While  walking  along  Broad  street,  between  the  Reading  crossing 
and  Berwick,  he  was  seen  to  sink  to  the  pavement.  Bystanders 
hurried  to  his  relief;  he  was  carried  into  a  meat  market  and  a 
physician  was  called,  but  before  the  doctor  arrived  death  came  to 
relieve  him  of  his  suffering.  His  wife  and  one  daughter  survived 
him,  the  daughter  being  Mrs.  D.  F.  B.  Shepp. 

Calnon,  Charles,  proprietor  of  the  Mahanoy  City  Steam  Laun- 
dry, is  a  native  of  Loretta,  Cambria  county.  Pa.,  where  he  was 
born  Oct.  30,  1856.  His  parents  were  Charles  and  Johanna 
(Crowley)  Calnon,  both  natives  of  Ireland,  and  both  deceased. 
They  came  to  America  in  1854,  and  to  Mahanoy  City  in  1863.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  only  survivor  of  a  family  of  five  sons 
and  one  daughter,  the  others  dying  in  infancy  or  early  childhood. 
Mr.  Calnon  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Mahanoy  City. 
He  began  work  about  the  mines  in  the  vicinity,  but  later  became 
an  apprentice  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  success- 
fully for  twelve  years.  He  purchased  the  business  in  which  he  is 
now  engaged  within  about  six  months  after  the  plant  was  installed, 
in  1894,  and  thus  had  the  benefit  of  new  machinery  and  appliances. 
He  has  since  enlarged  and  improved  the  business  establishment, 
and  keeps  fully  abreast  of  the  demands  of  trade  in  this  now  popular 
line.  He  is  constantly  installing  new  machinery,  and  the  work 
turned  out  compares  very  favorably  with  that  of  the  large  laun- 
dries in  the  cities.  Mr.  Calnon  gives  employment  to  sixteen 
assistants  in  the  various  departments  of  his  work.  He  was  mar- 
ried Sept.  15,  1884,  to  Miss  B.  A.  Power,  whose  parents  were  of 
Irish  nativity.  Of  the  seven  children  three  are  living  and  four 
deceased.  The  living  are  Charles  J.,  foremam  of  his  father's 
laundry ;  and  Helen  and  Mary,  at  home.  The  family  are  members 
of  St.  Canicus  Roman  Catholic  church,  under  the  pastoral  charge 
of  Rev.  Father  McEnroe.  Mr.  Calnon  is  independent  in  politics, 
supporting  men  rather  than  measures.  He  has  served  a  term  as 
a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Columbus,  and  his  son  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters. 

Carlin,  Oscar  John,  M.  D. — This  popular  and  well  known  young 
physician  is  a  native  of  Pottsville,  where  his  life  has  thus  far  been 
spent.  His  birth  occurred  April  19,  1876,  and  his  boyhood  and 
early  youth  were  spent  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  high  school  with  the  class  of  1896,  being  then 
just  past  his  twentieth  year.     The   succeeding  four  years  were 


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86  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

spent  in  preparation  for  his  life  profession,  and  he  was  graduated 
from  the  Medico  Chirurgical  College  in  Philadelphia  in  1901,  with 
high  standing  in  his  class.  Following  this,  he  had  one  year's 
practice  in  the  Medico  Chirurgical  hospital  in  Philadelphia,  and 
then  returned  to  his  native  town,  where  he  opened  offices  in  the 
paternal  home,  at  No.  114  North  Second  street.  Here  his  efforts 
have  been  crowned  with  more  than  that  degree  of  success  usually 
accorded  to  the  young  physician  in  competition  with  those  long 
established  in  the  profession.  The  prestige  of  an  honorable  career 
throughout  his  student  life,  and  an  unsullied  social  record  at  once 
placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  those  seeking  professional  recog- 
nition, and  Dr.  Carlin  soon  attained  a  high  standing  as  a  prac- 
titioner. This  enviable  record  has  been  maintained,  with  growing 
strength  and  popularity,  during  the  period  of  his  active  and  suc- 
cessful practice  in  Pottsville.  Dr.  Carlin  promptly  allied  himself 
with  professional  societies,  and  he  has  been  an  active  and  zealous 
student  in  his  efforts  to  keep  abreast  of  the  onward  march  of  the 
profession.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  Medical  association, 
and  of  the  Schuylkill  County  medical  society,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  visiting  staff  of  the  Pottsville  hospital.  He  is  engaged  in  the 
general  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery,  and  is  specially  suc- 
'cessful  at  the  critical  point  of  correct  diagnosis  of  disease.  It  is 
the  candid  conviction  of  his  friends  that  he  is  a  young  gentleman 
with  a'  bright  future  before  him.  Of  the  social  fraternities,  Dr. 
Carlin  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
and  the  Foresters  of  America.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  political  views, 
and  a  Roman  Catholic  in  religious  faith.  The  Carlin  family  was 
established  in  Pottsville  at  a  very  early  day  in  the  history  of  the 
town.  Hugh  Carlin,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  Dr.  Carlin,  was 
the  founder  of  the  family  on  American  soil.  He  was  a  native  of 
Ireland.  The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article  was  Thomas 
Carlin,  who  was  born  in  Pottsville,  May  10,  1836,  and  his  wife, 
who  in  maidenhood  was  Celestine  Glassmire,  was  born  in  the  same 
town,  Sept.  2,2,,  1 841.  They  had  a  large  family  of  children,  of 
whom  but  two  are  now  living,  the  other  survivor  being  Frank, 
who  is  a  student  and  the  youngest  of  the  family.  The  eldest  of  the 
family  was  Mary  L.,  who  died  in  young  womanhood;  James  W., 
a  bright  and  promising  young  lawyer,  died  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
three;  Thomas  H.,  who  was  paymaster  for  a  railroad  contractor, 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-four;  and  Laura  died  at  eleven  years  of 
age.  The  mother  of  this  family  died  in  1904.  The  father,  a  retired 
business  man,  maintains  the  old  parental  home,  on  Second  street. 
He  was  once  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  legislature,  but 
went  down  with  the  defeat  of  his  party.  The  Carlin  family  are  a 
quiet,  unassuming  class  of  people,  not  given  to  ostentatious  dis- 
play, and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  writer  was  able  to  secure 
the  outline  for  this  brief  review. 

Carpenter,  James  Stratton,  M.  D.,  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  prominent  and  long  established  families  of  Pottsville,  is  a  son. 
of  John  T.  Carpenter,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  and  a  grandson  of  Dr.  Janies 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  87 

S.  Carpenter.  Three  generations  of  this  family  have  thus  been 
identified  with  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  in  Pottsville. 
The  grandfather  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  State  medical 
society,  and  was  its  president  in  1855,  and  he  and  his  son,  Dr.  John 
T.  Carpenter,  were  the  only  physicians  from  Schuylkill  county 
who  have  been  honored  by  election  to  the  presidency  of  the  State 
medical  society.  The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  army  during  the  Civil  war,  and  was  honored  with 
prominent  positions  in  the  medical  and  surgical  councils  of  the 
early  6o's.  He  entered  upon  the  bnerous  duties  of  this  work  in 
1861,  being  at  first  commissioned  as  brigade  surgeon  under  General 
McCook,  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He  was  later  promoted 
to  the  position  of  medical  inspector  for  the  Department  of  the 
Ohio,  with  headquarters  at  Cincinnati,  and  had  charge  of  the  entire 
hospital  work  .in  that  department.  After  about  three  years  of  con- 
tinuous service,  failing  health  compelled  his  retirement  from  the 
army,  and  he  resigned  in  1864.  This  family  has  been  identified 
with  the  entire  history  of  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
is  descended  from  Samuel  Carpenter,  who  was  the  first  secretary 
of  the  commonwealth  under  William  Penn.  The  three  generations 
previously  mentioned  have  been  identified  with  the  medical  history 
of  Schuylkill  county  since  1829.  Dr.  James  S.  Carpenter  was  born 
in  Pottsville,  April  21,  1859.  ^^^  elementary  education  was  ac- 
quired in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town.  He  entered  the 
Pennsylvania  University  in  1875,  ^"d  completed  the  work  in  the 
freshman  and  sophomore  years.  In  1877  ^^  entered  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Hartford,  Conn.,  and  he  was  graduated  in  this  institution  in 
1879,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  subsequently  receiving 
the  further  honor  of  Master  of  Arts.  Returning  to  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1879,  he  was  graduated  from  the  medical  de- 
partment with  the  class  of  1882,  and  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine.  His  first  year  in  practice  was  spent  in  the  Episcopal 
hospital  in  Philadelphia,  and  since  1884  he  has  been  in  continuous 
and  successful  practice  in  Pottsville.  In  April,  1886,  Dr.  Carpen- 
ter was  married  to  Miss  Lilian  Chapin,  of  New  York.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  four  children — ^James  Stratton,  Jr.;  Chapin; 
Gertrude,  who  died  in  infancy;  and  Lilian  Horton.  Dr.  Carpenter 
is  a  member  of  the  State  medical  society,  is  ex-president  of  the 
Schuylkill  County  medical  society,  a  member  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
medical  association,  and  of  the  American  Academy  of  Medicine. 
He  served  as  surgeon  of  the  8th  regiment,  National  Guard  of  Penn- 
sylvania, from  1888  to  1895,  and  has  been  surgeon  for  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company  since  1888.  His  brother.  Dr.  John  T. 
Carpenter,  is  a  specialist  on  diseases  of  the  eye,  and  is  located  in 
Philadelphia.  The  subject  of  this  review  is  an  enthusiast  on 
athletic  sports,  and  is  a  member  of  the  numerous  clubs  in  Potts- 
ville which  cater  to  this  system  of  physical  culture.  He  has  con- 
tributed at  various  times  to  professional  journals.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  political  views  but  has  never  held  official  positions  except 
of  a  purely  professional  character.    He  is  a  member  of  the  literary 


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88  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

society  known  as  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  a  member  of*  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  of  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion 
of  the  United  States — the  last  by  virtue  of  his  father's  military 
services.     He  is  a  vestryman  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

Carr,  George  F.,  a  leading  grocer  of  McAdoo,  was  born  at 
Tresckow,  Carbon  county,  Oct.  2^,  1880,  a  son  of  William  and 
Mary  (Milligan)  Carr.  He  is  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children, 
all  of  whom  are  living  except  one — Charles.  The  other  children 
are  James,  William,  John,  Helen,  Mary,  Joseph,  Julia,  Thomas, 
Susan  and  Robert.  George  F.  Carr  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Tresckow  until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age  and  then  for  two 
years  was  employed  on  a  coal  breaker  of  the  Lehigh  &  Wilkes 
Barre  Coal  Company.  When  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  and 
his  brother  secured  employment  in  a  grocery  store  and  shortly 
afterward  purchased  the  controlling  interest  in  the  business.  When 
they  had  managed  the  enterprise  successfully  for  three  years  they 
disposed  of  their  interests  to  good  advantage  and  George  went  to 
Philadelphia.  His  work  there  was  at  first  with  a  publishing  house 
and  later  in  a  watch-case  factory ;  in  the  meantime  he  also  attended 
night  school.  From  Philadelphia  he  went  to  Hazelton,  where  he 
again  engaged  in  the  grocery  business.  In  1900,  with  one  of  his 
brothers,  he  opened  a  hotel  and  grocery  store  at  Park  View,  and 
in  1902  he  took  over  his  brother's  interest  in  the  concern.  In 
March,  1904,  Mr.  Carr  purchased  a  building  in  McAdoo,  to  which 
borough  he  removed  his  business,  which  he  has  since  been  most 
successfully  conducting  and  which  has  proved  a  finely  paying 
venture.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  believer  in  the  principles  of 
Jeffersonian  Democracy,  and  as  the  nominee  of  that  party  he  was 
the  successful  candidate  in  the  election  of  February,  1906,  for  the 
office  of  school  director  for  a  term  of  three  years.  Fraternally  he  is 
identified  with  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  having  been  a 
charter  member  of  the  Hazelton  Aerie,  and  for  two  years  he  was 
worthy  chaplain  of  the  local  chapter.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians.  In  May,  1903,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Carr  to  Miss  Katherine  Gallagher,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Anna  (Coyle)  Gallagher.  They  have  no  children.  Both 
are  communicants  of  St.  Patrick's  church,  of  McAdoo. 

Carr,  John,  is  a  prosperous  miner  and  influential  citizen  of  Ash- 
land. He  is  a  native  of  England,  the  date  of  his  nativity  having 
been  Oct.  24,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  Edward  and  Ann  (Coffey)  Carr, 
both  of  whom  were  born  in  the  British  isles.  The  parents  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1865,  and  located  in  Ashland,  where  the 
father  became  employed  as  a  miner.  He  died  in  1896  in  his  sixty- 
second  year,  leaving  a  family  of  eight  children.  The  names  of 
these  in  the  order  of  birth  are  Willam  A.,  Elizabeth,  John,  Maggie, 
Edward,  Bridget,  James  and  Mary.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  in  Ashland  and  acquired  all  his  scholastic  learning  in 
the  schools  of  that  borough.  When  he  had  completed  his  educa- 
tional training  he  found  employment  in  and  about  the  mines  in  the 
vicinity  of  Ashland,  and  with  the  exception  of  five  years  in  which 


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he  lived  in  Rhode  Island,  he  has  known  no  other  occupation  or 
home  for  a  period  of  thirty-four  years.  Mr.  Carr  is  a  zealous 
worker  for  the  success  of  the  Democratic  p^rty,  and  as  the  can- 
didate of  that  party  was  elected  borough  councilman  in  the  early 
90's,  but  resigned  soon  after  taking  his  seat.  He  is  a  resident  of 
the  Fifth  ward  of  Ashland,  and  has  lived  in  that  bailiwick  since 
1884.  In  1906  he  was  a  candidate  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the 
state  legislature,  but  was  defeated  in  the  election.  He  is  a  devout 
communicant  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic  church  and  fra- 
ternally is  affiliated  with  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  Mr.  Carr's 
father  was  supervisor  of -Ashland  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1896, 
and  was  succeeded  in  office  by  his  son,  William  A.,  who  died  six 
weeks  after  taking  office. 

Casale,  Thomas,  a  prosperous  fruit  dealer  of  Pottsville  and  one 
of  the  most  intelligent  Italians  of  the  city,  was  born  in  Torriglia, 
Italy,  on  May  i,  1863,  a  son  of  Charles  and  Santina  (Costa) 
Casale.  The  father,  who  was  a  veterinary  surgeon,  is  now  living 
in  retirement  in  his  native  country,  where  the  mother  died  on 
April  26,  1905.  Of  the  nine  children  in  the  family  four,  includ- 
ing the  subject  of  this  sketch,  have  come  to  the  United  States  to 
make  their  homes.  They  are  David,  Isadore,  Thomas  and  Mary, 
the  third,  fifth,  seventh  and  ninth  in  order  of  birth.  Those  who 
remained  to  work  out  their  destinies  under  the  sunny  skies  of 
Italy  are  Louis,  John,  Catherina,  Louisa  and  Peter.  Thomas  came 
to  the  United  States  when  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age,  and 
located  in  New  York.  He  had  learned  the  trade  of  baker  in  his 
native  land  and  with  his  brother  David  he  embarked  in  the  bakery 
business  at  39  Baxter  street,  New  York.  For  ten  years  the 
enterprise  furnished  them  a  profitable  means  of  livelihood.  When 
the  partnership  was  dissolved  David  moved  to  West  Newton, 
Westmoreland  county,  Pa.,  where  he  engaged  in  the  fruit  busi- 
ness. Thomas  came  to  Pottsville  and  opened  his  present  store  in 
1896,  and  since  that  time  has  most  successfully  continued  in  busi- 
ness. He  is  a  leader  among  the  people  of  his  race  in  the  county, 
and  his  ideas  are  progressive  and  wholesome.  In  1901  he  received 
an  appointment  as  notary  public  and  he  does  all  the  work  in  that 
line  for  the  Italian  people  of  Pottsville.  He  is  also  the  agent  for 
one  of  the  large  steamship  companies,  and  gives  the  corporation 
considerable  business.  Mr.  Casale  was  married  in  his  native 
country,  before  coming  to  America,  to  Louisa  Gattavora,  who  died 
shortly  afterward,  leaving  him  a  son,  now  also  dead.  In  1890,  in 
New  York,  he  was  again  united  in  marriage,  this  time  to  Mada- 
lena  Garbarino,  who  has  borne  him  six  children,  three  of  whom — 
Charles,  Peter  and  Theresa — are  now  living.  The  family  are  all 
communicants  of  the  Italian  Roman  Catholic  church  of  Pottsville. 
Mr.  Casale  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  beliefs,  but  never 
aspired  to  office.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  an  Italian  order 
known  as  Brotherly  Love.  He  has  always  been  an  aid  to  the 
officers  charged  with  keeping  the  peace,  and  has  thereby  won  the 
enmity  of  a  lawless  class  among  his  own  people.     Early  in  the 


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90  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

winter  of  1905,  as  he  was  returning  home  from  his  store  at  a 
rather  late  hour,  he  was  set  upon  by  a  gang  of  four  ruffians,  who 
sought  to  avenge  a  fancied  wrong  by  stabbing  him.  The  affair 
came  very  near  to  being  fatal  to  Mr.  Casale,  but  after  six  months 
in  the  hospital  and  an  expenditure  of  nearly  $1,000  he  was  enabled 
to  return  to  work,  although  very  much  broken  in  health.  The 
assault  elicited  the  sympathy  and  indignation  of  the  law-abiding 
people  of  the  city  and  aroused  them  to  action,  with  the  result  of 
suppressing  in  large  measure  the  illegal  practices  of  a  dissatisfied 
class. 

Cassimatis,  Nicholas  Emmanuel. — In  th6  ages  long  past  the  in- 
habitants of  Greece  were  regarded  as  representing  the  acme  of 
human  intelligence.  They  were  intellectual  far  beyond  their  asso- 
ciates in  the  Roman  empire,  and  succeeded  in  dividing  the  Qiurch 
of  Rome  on  questions  of  orthodoxy.  They  have  maintained  their 
position  from  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era  to  the  present 
time.  The  Greek  church  is  the  second  in  power  and  importance  in 
the  world,  unless  the  protestant  churches  be  considered  as  one,  in 
which  case  the  Greek  church  would  be  the  third  in  numerical 
strength.  Athens  has  been  the  seat  of  learning  from  time  im- 
memorial, and  has  many  colleges  and  institutions  of  higher  learn- 
ing at  the  present  day,  hence  the  Greeks  who  immigrate  to  the  New 
World,  comparatively  few  in  number,  come  from  a  land  of  progres- 
sion and  are  generally  highly  educated  in  their  native  language. 
The  subject  of  this  article  was  born  on  the  island  of  Cythera,  at 
the  southern  extremity  of  Greece,  July  ij,  1873.  He  received  a 
thorough  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  land,  and  spent 
three  years  in  the  army,  in  the  Red  Cross  service.  During  this 
service  he  was  assistant  to  the  chief  surgeon,  in  the  hospital  at 
Zanion,  his  principal  being  Professor  S.  Condoleon,  in  charge  of 
the  public  hospital.  This  service  covered  a  portion  of  the  period 
of  war  between  Greece  and  Turkey.  Completing  his  service  in  the 
army,  he  passed  a  very  creditable  examination  in  surgery,  based 
upon  his  extensive  experience  in  treating  all  kinds  of  wounds, 
broken  bones  and  serious  injuries.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Red 
Cross  society  at  present.  He  spent  five  years  in  travel  in  Euro- 
pean and  Asiatic  countries,  and  came  to  America  via  Italy,  Spain 
and  France,  arriving  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  July  24,  1901.  There  he 
was  employed  in  Emergency  hospital  for  three  years,  and  he  then 
decided  to  change  his  line  of  business.  After  visiting  several 
cities  in  the  middle  West  and  the  South,  Mr.  Cassimatis  returned 
to  Pittsburg  and  opened  a  coffee  house  and  restaurant  at  No.  115 
Fourth  avenue.  This  investment  proved  unprofitable  by  reason 
of  labor  troubles  which  soon  followed  in  the  locality,  and  the  busi- 
ness was  discontined  after  eight  months.  He  came  to  Pottsville 
Aug.  I,  1905,  as  an  employe  of  the  Eastern  Steel  Company,  hav- 
ing the  position  of  foreman  in  one  of  the  departments.  But  he 
desired  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account,  and  accepted 
the  first  opportunity  of  doing  so.  On  East  Norwegian  street  he 
purchased   a   small   business   stand   which   gives   employment   to 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  91 

three  or  four  men  in  polishing  shoes,  cleaning  and  shaping  hats, 
etc., — a  business  which  has  yielded  a  greater  per  cent,  of  profit  for 
the  money  invested  than  any  other  enterprise  in  the  town.  The 
"shining  parlor"  is  fitted  up  with  handsome  upholstered  seats 
and  electric  lights,  is  heated  with  steam  and  rendered  a  comfortable 
rendezvous  for  his  many  customers.  In  April,  1907,  he  leased 
the  four-story  building  at  14  North  Center  street,  one  of  the  finest 
locations  in  the  city,  the  building  being  150  feet  deep,  and  here  he 
conducts  a  first-class  barber  shop  and  cigar  store,  a  branch  of  his 
shoe-shining  parlor  and  a  shower  and  Turkish-bath  house.  The 
various  departments  are  modern  in  equipment,  being  up  to  date 
in  every  detail,  and  the  whole  is  known  as  the  Olympia  shaving 
parlors.  Nicholas  E.  Cassimatis  has  held  his  citizenship  papers 
since  January,  1907,  is  an  American  in  spirit,  and  bids  fair  to  be- 
come a  useful  and  valued  citizen  of  his  adopted  country.  He  is 
well  informed  as  to  the  history  and  traditions  of  the  country  whose 
scholars  and  philosophers  of  ancient  times  have  done  so  much  for 
the  literature  of  the  world.  He  is  a  representative  of  a  prominent 
and  well-to-do  family,  being  a  son  of  Emanuel  and  Anita  Cassi- 
matis, both  natives  of  Cythera,  where  the  former  was  born  in 
1844  and  the  latter  in  1854  and  where  they  both  still  reside,  being 
the  owners  of  a  fine  estate.  He  has  three  brothers  living  in  Amer- 
ica. They  are  Theodore,  a  machinist  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  and 
Peter  and  Andreas  of  Pottsville.  The  last  named  came  to  this 
county  in  the  autumn  of  1906,  having  then  finished  a  course  in 
college  at  Athens.  John,  who  was  a  blacksmith,  died  of  typhoid 
fever  on  Nov.  20,  1906,  aged  twenty-six  years.  He  was  unmarried. 
One  sister  ren\ains  in  her  native  country.  She  is  married,  and  has 
three  children.  Cythera,  the  birthplace  of  Mr.  Cassimatis,  is  one 
of  the  group  of  Ionian  islands  in  the  extreme  southern  extremity 
of  Greece.  These  seven  islands  were  formerly  English  territory, 
and  at  the  deposition  of  King  Arthur,  and  the  installation  of  King 
George  by  the  English  sovereign,  the  territory  was  transferred  to 
Greece  by  Queen  Victoria.  This  section  of  the  country  is  noted 
for  its  wines  and  for  the  culture  of  olives,  oranges  and  lemons. 

Gather,  William  A.,  owner  and  manager  oi  the  Franklin  Iron 
works  of  Port  Carbon,  was  born  in  St.  Clair,  in  1863.  He  is  one 
of  the  six  children  of  John  and  Jane  (Allison)  Gather,  the  others 
being  John  H.,  Harry  I.,  Jennie,  May  and  Louise  (Mrs.  Hesse). 
The  family  moved  to  Shenandoah  when  William  A.  was  about 
three  years  of  age  and  there  he  attended  the  public  schools  until 
he  was  sixteen  years  old.  When  he  had  completed  all  the  courses 
aflForded  by  the  common  schools  he  went  to  Bloomsburg  where 
he  entered  the  normal  school,  in  which  he  was  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1879.  For  the  seven  years  following  he  was  engaged  in 
pedagogic  work,  the  last  year  attending  La  Fayette  college  at  the 
same  time.  In  the  fall  of  1886  he  embarked  in  the  stationery  busi- 
ness. The  following  year  he  and  his  brother  John  succeeded  their 
father  in  the  ownership  and  management  of  the  iron  works  in 
Shenandoah,  and  in  1889  the  stress  of  the  latter  occupation  took 


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92  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

so  much  time  that  he  disposed  of  the  stationery  trade.  That  same 
year  the  brothers  removed  their  business  to  Bluefield,  West  Va., 
and  three  years  later  the  subject  of  this  sketch  acquired  by  pur- 
chase the  controlling  interest  in  the  concern.  On  Oct.  i,  1901,  he 
came  to  Port  Carbon  and  purchased  of  Robert  Allison  the  Franklin 
Iron  works,  and  since  that  time  he  has  made  Port  Carbon  his 
home  and  his  active  business  the  management  of  the  works.  In 
1902  he  disposed  of  his  Bluefield  interests  so  that  he  could  devote 
his  whole  time  to  the  management  of  the  extensive  plant,  and  that 
he  has  made  a  success  of  it  is  evident  from  the  increase  in  busi- 
ness from  year  to  year.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  while 
a  resident  of  Bluefield  he  served  a  term  as  city  recorder.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Bluefield  Lodge,  No.  85,  of  the 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Camp  No.  112  of  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  of  Shenandoah,  and  the  Pottsville  Council, 
No.  965,  Royal  Arcanum.  In  a  religious  way  he  is  a  member  and 
at  the  present  time  treasurer  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Potts- 
ville, and  is  a  director  of  the  Pottsville  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  In  1887  Mr.  Cather  married  Miss  Kate  I.  Scheifly 
of  Shenandbah,  a  daughter  of  John  Scheifly.  Three  children 
blessed  this  union,  of  whom  but  one,  a  son,  William  A.,  Jr.,  sur- 
vives. Although  a  comparatively  recent  acquisition  to  the  social 
and  commercial  life  of  Pottsville,  Mr.  Cather,  by  his  inherent 
gentility,  keen  business  sagacity  and  sterling  integrity,  has  become 
a  large  part  of  it. 

Christ,  George  M.,  a  successful  contractor  and  builder  of  Ash- 
land, was  born  in  that  borough  on  Dec.  28,  1873,  a  son  of  Isaac 
and  Harriet  (Hepler)  Christ.  The  Christ  family  is  of  Revolu- 
tionary stock,  the  great-great-greadfather  having  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  with  the  rank  of  captain  in  the  Continental 
army.  The  grandparents,  Emanuel  and  Judith  (Yoder)  Christ, 
were  the  first  members  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Schuylkill  county. 
They  located  at  Ashland  in  the  early  50's  and  here  the  grandfather 
engaged  in  carpentering.  They  came  from  Berks  county.  The 
maternal  grandfather,  Jacob  Hepler,  was  a  native  of  Eldred  town- 
ship and  was  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  God.  Isaac  Christ  was 
born  in  Eldred  township  in  1852  and  remained  in  that  township 
until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  In  1870  he  located  in  Ashland 
and  found  employment  as  a  carpenter.  Subsequently  he  engaged 
in  contracting  and  building  and  became  the  pioneer  breaker  builder 
of  the  section.  He  is  an  inventor  of  some  note,  the  contrivance 
which  has  brought  him  the  most  fame  being  the  "Christ  jig," 
which  is  used  in  jigging  anthracite  coal,  iron,  gold  and  silver  ore, 
or  any  other  material  with  a  different  specific  gravity  from  the 
materials  about  it.  The  jig  was  first  put  on  the  market  in  1889 
and  is  now  in  general  use  all  over  the  United  States  and  Europe. 
Another  of  his  inventions  is  the  Christ  patent  rivetless  chain,  an 
all-steel  chain  which  does  away  with  the  objectionable  features  of 
a  riveted  chain  designed  for  heavy  work.  In  1889  Isaac  Christ  re- 
moved to  Tamaqua  and  established  the  Tamaqua  Manufacturing 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  93 

company  for  the  making  of  the  Christ  jig,  coal  and  iron-ore 
separators  and  the  Christ  rivetless  chain.  He  is  the  father  of 
eleven  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  third  in 
order  of  birth.  The  others  are  William  H. ;  Charles  E. ;  Lizzie, 
wife  of  William  Major;  Hattie,  wife  of  Albert  Johnson;  Kate; 
Ervin;  Lillie ;  Robert  and  Allen,  twins;  and  Clarence.  George  M. 
Christ  was  brought  up  in  Ashland  until  he  was  thirteen  years  of 
age  and  then  removed  to  Lansford,  Carbon  county,  with  his 
parents.  After  six  years  in  Carbon  county  the  family  returned  to 
this  county,  settling  in  Tamaqua.  Mr.  Christ  attended  the  public 
schools  of  the  counties  in  which  his  boyhood  was  spent  and  com- 
pleted his  scholastic  training  with  a  course  at  the  Keystone  state 
normal  school  at  Kutztown.  He  started  an  apprenticeship  in  the 
carpenters*  trade  at  Landsford  and  finished  it  at  Tamaqua.  Under 
the  instruction  of  his  father  he  became  an  expert  breaker  builder 
and  for  a  number  of  years  he  was  a  foreman  in  that  work  for  his 
uncle,  H.  K.  Christ.  He  was  engaged  in  the  coal  business  at 
Tamaqua  from  1898  to  1903,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Christ  & 
Boyle,  identified  with  what  are  known  as  the  High  mines.  In  1903 
he  returned  to  Ashland  and  since  1904  has  been  conducting  a  busi- 
ness of  his  own.  He  has  met  with  a  success  far  exceeding  his  most 
sanguine  expectations  and  does  as  large  a  business  as  any  one 
in  the  county.  At  the  time  of  this  writing  he  is  constructing  three 
breakers.  On  Dec.  2^,  1894,  Mr.  Christ  married  Miss  Jennie  Morgan, 
.a  native  of  Wales,  and  a  daughter  of  David  and  Mary  (Reese) 
Morgan  of  Lansford.  Five  children  have  blessed  this  union — 
Isaac,  David,  Mary,  George  and  Qifford.  Mr.  Christ  is  a  member 
of  the  Evangelical  church  and  in  his  political  relations  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  success  of  his 
party  and  has  seven  different  times  represented  his  residence  dis- 
trict at  county  conventions.  Fraternally  Mr.  Christ  is  identified 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  known  through- 
out the  community  as  a  skilled  and  capable  workman,  a  man  of 
absolute  integrity  and  a  wholesome,  genial  citizen. 

Christ,  Isaac  S.,  a  representative  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families 
of  Schuylkill  county  and  a  prominent  business  man  of  Tamaqua, 
was  born  in  Eldred  township,  Feb.  4,  1852.  He  is  a  son  of  Emanuel 
Christ,  who  was  born  in  the  Mahantongo  valley  in  this  county, 
March  25, 1825.  The  latter's  father  likewise  bore  the  name  of  Eman- 
uel and  was  born  in  Berks  county,  but  removed  to  the  Mahanoy 
valley  in  an  early  day;  he  died  in  Mahontongo  township  in  1837. 
The  founder  of  the  family  in  America  was  the  paternal  great- 
grandfather, Jacob  Christ,  who  located  in  Berks  county,  coming 
from  Germany  before  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  owned  a  farm 
in  Berks  county  and  he  sold  the  property  during  the  great  de- 
preciation of  Continental  currency,  which,  when  estimated  at  its 
current  valu^,*left  him  almost  penniless.  He  came  into  the  Will- 
iams valley,  in  Schuylkill  county,  and,  in  company  with  other  early 
pioneers,  secured  a  large  tract  of  land,  extending  from  the  present 
site  of  Pine  Grove  down  the  valley,  and  there  he  engaged  in  man- 


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94  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ufacturing  lumber  and  in  clearing  up  a  farm.  His  nearest  market 
place  was  Philadelphia,  which  seemed  very  remote  in  those  days 
of  "blazed  roads'*  over  mountains  and  unbridged  streams.  Some- 
thing of  the  hardships,  dangers  and  trials  of  this  family  is  told  in 
the  historical  volume  of  this  work.  Emanuel  Christ,  father  of 
Isaac  S.,  of  this  sketch,  married  Elizabeth  Shunkweiler,  and  they 
had  a  family  of  six  sons  and  four  daughters.  Mrs.  Christ  died,  and 
the  father  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss  Judith  Klock,  who  bore 
him  four  children.  This  family  lived  at  their  farm  home  in  the 
Mahantongo  valley,  the  father  working  his  land,  and  also  follow- 
ing the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  cabinet-maker  until  1865,  when 
they  sold  their  farm  and  removed  to  Ashland.  The  father  was 
quite  active  as  a  Democrat,  and  held  a  number  of  official  positions 
at  Ashland,  and  also  in  the  township  from  which  he  removed. 
Isaac  S.  Christ  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  when  quite 
young  began  to  work  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  that  business 
has  engaged  his  attention,  mostly,  through  life.  For  many  years 
he  followed  breaker-building  throughout  the  coal  regions.  He  was 
foreman  for  John  Shelly  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  master- 
builder  for  the  Lehigh  Coal  &  Navigation  Company,  with  his  home 
at  Lansford.  In  1892,  when  the  Tamaqua  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany was  reorganized,  Mr.  Christ  bought  an  interest  in  the  com- 
pany, and  was  made  its  superintendent,  which  position  he  held 
until  1895,  when  he  resigned  in  favor  of  his  son  Charles  E.,  and 
he  was  then  elected  president  of  the  company,  which  position  he 
now  holds.  Mr.  Christ  had  a  number  of  valuable  patents  granted, 
mostly  for  improving  the  preparation  of  coal.  His  first  patent  was 
granted  in  the  year  1875.  Mr.  Christ  has  traveled  extensively  in 
this  country  and  abroad,  successfully  introducing  his  patents.  Mr. 
Christ  was  married  Aug.  20,  1871,  Miss  Hattie  Hepler  being  the 
lady  of  his  choice.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Jacob  Hepler,  a  min- 
ister in  the  Church  of  God.  Thirteen  children  have  been  born  to 
this  happy  union,  viz :  William  Henry,  Charles  E.,  George  Monroe, 
Lizzie  May,  Hattie  J.,  Katie  V.,  Erwin  J.,  Albert  J.,  Lillian  Grace, 
Emma  Jane,  Robert  Cleaveland  and  Allan  Bayard,  twins,  and 
Clarence  Clayton.  Albert  J.  and  Emma  Jane  are  dead ;  William  H. 
is  a  minister  of  the  gospel;  George  M.  follows  the  business  of  his 
father,  as  general  contractor  and  breaker-builder;  Charles  E.  is 
general  manager,  Erwin  J.,  machine  foreman,  and  Robert  C.  an 
employ  in  the  pattern  department  of  the  Tamaqua  Manufacturing 
Company. 

The  Oiurch  of  the  Holy  Family  is  the  German  Catholic  church 
in  the  city  of  Shenandoah  and  its  spiritual  and  temporal  affairs 
are  in  a  most  excellent  condition.  The  parish  was  organized  about 
1870  and  the  church  building  was  soon  afterward  erected,  on  Chest- 
nut street.  At  that  time  there  were  to  be  found  in^the  borough  of 
Shenandoah  about  thirty-five  Catholic  families  of'  German  birth 
or  antecedents,  and  these  formed  a  part  of  the  German  parish  at 
Mahanoy  City  until  1874.  Fathers  Buening  and  Maus  supplied  the 
two  congregations  from  the  organization  of  this  church  until  it 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  95 

became  a  separate  charge  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Father  Marus 
Graetzer,  who  remained  until  February,  1878.  Rev.  Father  Deham 
was  then  installed  as  pastor  and  began  a  long  and  useful  work  in 
this  field.  He  continued  in  pastoral  charge  of  the  parish  until  his 
removal  to  Philadelphia  in  1888,  in  which  year  he  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  A.  Fritz,  under  whose  charge  a  new  rectory  was  built. 
He  was  changed  to  South  Bethlehem  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
A.  Schuettelhoefer  in  1891.  In  1879  the  church  edifice  was  re- 
modeled and  was  enlarged  to  accommodate  the  increasing  member- 
ship. The  congregation  now  numbers  among  its  members  many 
of  Shenandoah^s  most  prominent  and  influential  business  men  and 
the  parish  is  in  a  most  flourishing  condition.  The  present  priest  in 
charge  is  Rev.  Father  Francis  P.  Holtgreve,  who  succeeded  Rev. 
Father  Schuettelhoefer,  the  latter  of  whom  died  in  1904.  The 
church  membership  comprises  ninety  faniilies  at  the  time  of  this 
writing  (1907). 

Clark,  James  P.,  a  prominent  official  and  active  worker  in  the 
interest  of  united  labor,  was  born  in  Ashland,  his  present  home,  on 
Jan.  I,  1869.  He  is  a  son  of  Patrick  and  Catherine  (Cawley)  Clark, 
the  former  a  native  of  Llewellyn,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  and  the 
latter  of  Ireland,  both  being  of  Irish  ancestry.  The  father 
located  in  Ashland  in  the  pioneer  days  of  the  coal  development,  in 
the  early  50*8,  and  there  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  in 
mining  operations.  He  was  prominently  identified  with  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  town,  and  was  a  public-spirited  and  useful 
citizen.  He  served  two  terms  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council, 
and  held  other  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility.  His  death  oc- 
curred March  4,  1904.  His  widow  still  survives  him.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  ten  children,  of  whom  James  P.,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  is  the  eldest,  the  others  being:  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph 
Burang;  Cecilia,  Katie,  John  F.,  Anna,  Ella,  Theresa,  Mamie  and 
Francis  J.  Cecelia,  Ella,  Theresa  and  Mamie  are  deceased.  Francis 
J.  graduated  from  the  Dickinson  school  of  law  in  June,  1907,  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  After  receiving  the  elements  of 
a  public-school  education,  terminating  at  the  age  of  nine  years, 
the  subject  of  this  article  took  his  place  in  the  coal  breaker,  and 
thus  commenced  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  in  mining  operations. 
With  the  passing  years  he  received  tardy  promotions,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  work  in  and  about  the  mines  until  1902,  when,  through 
his  intelligence  and  manifest  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  working 
man,  he  received  recognition  as  a  prospective  leader  in  the  councils 
of  united  labor.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  executive  board  of 
the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America,  and  is  president  of  Local 
Union,  No.  15 17,  at  Ashland.  By  reason  of  his  official  positions, 
Mr.  Clark  has  attended  many  meetings  of  the  United  Mine  Workers 
of  America  in  different  cities  throughout  the  United  States.  He 
is  an  active  woking  Republican  in  political  aflfairs,  and  it  is  at  this 
time  a  formidable  candidate  for  a  prominent  county  office.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  married  Sept.  26,  1905,  to  Miss  Catherine 
Seibert,  of  Mahanoy  Plane,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.     Mr.  and  Mrs. 


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96  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Qark  are  members  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic  church  in 
Ashland.  Fraternally,  Mr.  Clark  is  a  member  of  Aerie  No.  524, 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  the  Knights  of  St.  Joseph. 

Cleary,  John  F.,  of  the  firm  of  Cleary  Brothers,  bottlers  and 
dealers  in  liquors  at  Shenandoah,  was  born  at  Shaft,  Schuylkill 
county,  March  25,  1872.  His  parents,  John  and  Winifred  (O'Mal- 
ley)  Cleary,  were  natives  of  Ireland,  where  they  grew  to  maturity 
and  were  married.  In  1863  they  came  to  America,  first  locating  at 
Ashland,  but  soon  afterward  removing  to  Shaft,  which  place  was 
first  known  as  Griscomb,  then  as  William  Penn,  and  still  later 
under  its  present  name.  The  Cleary  family  were  the  first  to  settle 
at  this  place,  where  the  father  opened  the  first  mine  for  a  Mr. 
Grant,  and  they  continued  to  live  there  until  his  death,  in  1879. 
The  greater  part  of  his  active  life  was  spent  as  a  contractor  in 
connection  with  the  mining  industry,  though  in  later  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  liquor  business.  The  mother  is  still  living  and 
resides  in  Shenandoah.  They  were  the  parents  of  the  following 
children :  Anthony,  Mary,  Bridget  and  Nora,  born  in  Ireland,  and 
P.  J.,  James,  Kate,  John,  Celia,  Julia  and  Anna,  born  in  Schuylkill 
county.  James  is  associated  with  the  subject  of  this  sketch  as  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Cleary  Brothers,  and  Anna  is  deceased. 
John  F.  Cleary  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native  village,  where  he 
received  his  schooling.  In  1890  he  came  to  Shenandoah  and  started 
the  business  of  which  he  and  his  brother  are  now  the  pro- 
prietors. The  firm  handle  a  complete  line  of  wines,  spirituous  and 
malt  liquors,  and  bottle  all  kinds  of  carbonated  beverages  or  "soft" 
drinks.  They  employ  six  men  besides  themselves  and  have  a 
large  and  constantly  growing  trade.  Mr.  Cleary  was  formerly  a 
Democrat  in  his  political  views,  but  in  1904  tie  made  a  trip  to 
Europe,  since  which  time  he  has  been  independent,  with  leanings 
toward  the  idea  of  protection.  In  1905  he  spent  his  vacation  in 
the  middle  West  and  he  is  planning  a  more  extensive  trip  for  the 
near  future.  He  is  a  charter  member  and  past  president  of  Aerie 
No.  103,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  belongs  to  the  Annuncia- 
tion Roman  Catholic  church.  In  the  prime  of  manhood,  active, 
energetic  and  popular,  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  the  future  holds 
greater  successes  for  him  than  he  has  achieved  in  the  past. 

Cockill,  Timothy,  a  well  known  manufacturer  and  prominent 
business  man  of  Mahanoy  City,  was  born  at  Llewellyn,  Schuyl- 
kill county,  Pa.,  Oct.  21,  1853.  He  is  a  son  of  E^ra  and  Eliza  C. 
(Bacon)  Cockill,  natives  of  Germantown,  a  suburb  of  Philadelphia. 
His  father  was  born  March  20,  1820,  and  his  mother's  birth  oc- 
curred on  October  11  of  the  same  year.  From  the  very  brief  out- 
line in  the  hands  of  the  biographer  it  is  gleaned  that  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  is  a  practical  mechanic,  operating  a  large  and  pros- 
perous business  in  the  manufacture  of  wagons  and  carriages  at 
Mahanoy  City,  where  the  family  home  is  now  located.  He  was 
married  on  Sept.  6,  1873,  to  Miss  Amelia,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Sarah  (Zimmerman)  Bensinger,  of  Tremont,  Schuylkill  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cockill  have  had  three  children  born  to  them,  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  97 

eldest  of  whom,  Laura,  is  now  Mrs.  Harry  B.  Maybury;  Charles 
is  deceased ;  and  Bella  is  a  ^onng  lady  at  home.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Cockill  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  political  preferences,  but  has  neither  sought  nor  held 
public  office. 

Coldren,  Darius  D.,  at  the  head  of  the  firm  manufacturing  under- 
wear at  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  in  Reading,  on  June  15,  1863, 
a  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Dewees)  Coldren.  He  received 
the  educational  advantages  afforded  by  the  public  schools  and  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  became  employed  as  a  laborer  in  a  rolling 
mill.  By  energy  and  perseverance  he  worked  up  through  the 
various  stages  until  he  became  a  master  roller.  In  that  work  he 
remained  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  leaving  it  to  engage  in  the 
manufacture  of  paper  boxes.  Subsequently  he  closed  out  this 
business  to  embark  in  the  hosiery  industry  and  after  four  years 
of  business  in  that  line  he  entered  the  merchant  tailoring  business. 
In  1902  he  commenced  the  manufacture  of  underwear  and  by  1906 
the  business  had  grown  to  such  dimensions  that  he  enlarged  his 
plant  by  the  opening  of  another  mill,  which  connects  with  the  old 
one.  His  patronage  has  more  than  doubled  within  the  time  he 
has  been  at  the  head  of  the  industry  and  he  has  all  the  orders  he 
can  possibly  fill.  The  two  mills  contain  8,000  square  feet  of  floor 
space  and  in  the  two  thirty-five  people  are  employed.  The  output 
consists  exclusively  of  ladies'  and  children's  underwear.  On  April 
28,  1890,  Mr.  Coldren  married  Miss  Harriet  G.  Kerkeslager,  daugh- 
ter of  Alex,  and  Minda  (Miller)  Kerkeslager,  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 
Three  daughters,  Helen,  Mary  and  Harriet,  have  blessed  this  union. 
The  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of 
which  Mr.  Coldren  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  of  whose  Sun- 
day school  he  was  superintendent  for  the  first  four  years  of  its 
existence.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  with  Prohibition  lean- 
ings, and  as  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  party  has  been  the  suc- 
cessful candidate  for  borough  councilman.  Fraternally  he  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Royal  Arcanum. 

Conrad,  John,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  John  Conrad  & 
Son,  contractors  and  builders,  and  dealers  in  flour  and  feed,  was 
born  in  Port  Carbon  on  Nov.  11,  1848.  He  is  one  of  five  children 
of  Christian  and  Louisa  Conrad,  the  others  being  Christian,  Jr., 
an  engineer  on  the  Frackville  branch  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing railroad;  Charles,  a  foreman  in  the  employ  of  the  same  con- 
cern; Rose,  Mrs.  Pumelle;  and  Mrs.  Emma  Hartzel.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  until  he  was  nine  years 
of  age  and  then  secured  work  in  the  coal  breakers  as  a  slate-picker. 
When  he  was  fourteen  he  found  employment  in  the  service  of 
the  railroad,  leaving  it  four  years  later  to  learn  the  trade  of  wheel- 
wright. In  1883  ^^  l^ft  that  vocation  to  become  a  carpenter,  and 
when  he  had  become  a  journeyman  a  year  later  he  started- in  the 
contracting  business  for  himself.  This  he  continued  until  1900, 
when,  in  partnership  with  his  son  Harry,  he  formed  the  firm  of 
John  Conrad  &  Son  to  deal  in  flour  and  feed  in  connection  with 

7— Vol.  II 


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98  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  contracting  and  building  industry.  The  success  of  the  firm 
in  a  pecuniary  way  has  been  as  marked  as  in  other  ways.  Many 
of  the  most  modern  dwellings  of  Fort  Carbon,  the  Good  Will 
hose  house  and  the  Evangelical  church  are  monuments  to  Mr. 
Conrad's  skill  and  workmanship.  In  1873  was  solemnized  Mr. 
Conrad's  marriage  to  Miss  Ellen  Marquardt,  a  daughter  of  Blas- 
ius  Marquardt,  of  Port  Carbon.  Four  children — three  sons  and  a 
daughter — have  blessed  this  union.  Harry  is  in  business  with 
his  father ;  Louis  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Coal  &  Iron  company,  as  a  mining  engineer;  William  is  working 
for  his  father  and  Anna  is  her  father's  stenographer.  The  family 
are  attendants  of  the  Evangelical  church.  The  male  members 
of  the  family  are  all  Republicans  in  their  politics,  and  as  such  the 
father  has  been  a  borough  councilman  and  Harry  is  the  present 
incumbent  of  the  office  of  burgess. 

Conry,  Patrick  Mellet,  of  Shenandoah,  is  a  citizen  who  has  long 
been  prominent  and  influential  in  the  community,  and  he  was  one 
of  the  brave  and  loyal  soldiers  who  went  forth  in  defense  of  the 
Union  when  its  integrity  was  menaced  by  armed  rebellion.  He 
was  born  in  Ireland,  Dec.  19,  1846,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael  and 
Nora  (Mellet)  Conry,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  County  Mayo, 
Ireland,  and  both  of  whom  passed  the  closing  years  of  their  lives 
in  the  home  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  in  Shenandoah,  where 
the  father  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years  and  the  mother  at 
the  venerable  age  of  ninety-one  years.  Patrick  M.  Conry  was 
seven  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  family  immigration  to  Amer- 
ica, and  they  settled  in  the  village  now  known  as  Darkwater, 
Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  whence  they  later  removed  to  Ashland, 
this  county,  where  the  family  home  was  maintained  until  after  the 
close  of  the  Civil  war.  Patrick  M.  secured  his  early  educational 
training  in  the  schools  of  Ashland,  and  in  the  later  years  he  has 
not  failed  to  gain  a  large  fund  of  valuable  knowledge  through  the 
instructions  of  that  wisest  of  all  head  masters,  experience.  He 
has  been  a  careful  reader  and  close  observer  and  his  intellectual 
development  has  kept  pace  with  the  moving  of  the  years.  Mr. 
Conry's  school  work  was  interrupted  when  there  came  the  call  for 
volunteers  to  aid  in  protecting  the  Union  from  disintegration 
through  armed  rebellion.  With  the  beginning  of  the  war  young 
Conry  became  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  patriotism 
and  loyal  protest  and  he  offered  his  services  in  defense  of  the  Union 
when  he  was  but  fifteen  years  of  age.  On  account  of  his  extreme 
youth  and  immaturity  parental  authority  prevented  his  enlisting 
on  two  occasions  when  he  attempted  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  *'boys 
in  blue,"  but  he  finally  succeeded  in  enrolling  himself  as  a  private 
in  Company  C,  3d  Pennsylvania  cavalry.  His  regiment  was  a 
part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  with  which  grand  old  organiza- 
tion he  performed  valiant  service.  Participation  in  many  of  the 
battles  and  cavalry  skirmishes  in  which  his  command  grappled 
with  forces  of  the  dying  Confederacy,  are  recorded  to  his  credit, 
and  it  should  be  remembered  that  upon  the  cavalry  arm  of  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  99 

service  devolved  many  heavy  and  dangerous  duties  which  were 
spared  the  infantry.  Upon  his  return  to  Schuylkill  county  Mr. 
Conry  found  his  parents  established  in  a  new  home,  in  Shenan- 
doah, with  whose  interests  he  promptly  allied  himself,  soon  attain- 
ing to  a  position  of  prominence  and  influence.  In  1873  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  of  which  he  was  a 
member  for  twenty-one  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  de- 
clined to  continue  longer  in  the  office.  Of  his  service  in  this 
capacity  he  was  incumbent  for  eighteen  consecutive  years.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  he  had  much  to  do  in  formulating  the  excel- 
lent school  system  which  is  the  pride  of  Shenandoah  at  the  present 
time.  In  his  first  year  of  service  on  the  school  board  Mr.  Conry 
was  appointed  to  collect  the  school  taxes,  and  so  active  and  zealous 
was  he  in  the  discharge  of  this  duty  that  he  was  able  to  settle  his 
tax  duplicates  at  the  organization  of  the  board  in  June — an  achieve- 
ment which  has  never  been  equalled,  before  or  since.  In  1897 
Mr.  Conry  was  elected  representative  of  his  county  in  the  state 
legislature,  in  which  body  he  discharged  his  duties  with  the  same 
ability  and  fidelity  which  have  characterized  all  portions  of  his 
career.  Unlike  most  of  his  contemporaries,  he  sturdily  refused  to 
accept  a  railroad  pass  until  the  restrictions  surrounding  its  ac- 
ceptance were  removed.  In  this  he  stands  as  a  particularly  unique 
figure.  In  the  legislature  he  was  a  member  of  several  important 
committees  and  attained  to  a  degree  of  prominence  seldom  reached 
by  first-term  members.  But  the  culminating  point  in  Mr.  Conry's 
political  career  lies  not  in  high  honors  or  rich  emoluments.  Local 
politics  in  Shenandoah  has  assumed  an  intensity  almost  equalling 
that  of  a  national  campaign.  Charges  and  countercharges  have 
been  made  with  a  prodigal  liberality  attained  only  during  the  heat 
of  a  political  turmoil.  The  "ins"  desired  to  be  continued,  and  the 
"outs"  were  equally  zealous  to  be  reinstated  to  former  honors  and 
prestige.  It  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  publication  to  decide 
as  to  the  respective  merits  of  either  side  of  the  controversy.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  Mr.  Conry  was  made  the  standard-bearer  of  the 
"outs"  for  the  office  of  borough  tax  collector.  A  hot  and  pro- 
tracted contest  was  inaugurated,  and  terminated  only  with  the 
closing  of  the  polls  on  election  night.  Mr.  Conry's  opponent  was 
a  prominent  and  well  known  business  man  of  the  town — one  who 
was  willing  to  accept  the  office  not  less  by  reason  of  its  honors 
and  emoluments  than  thus  to  aid  in  perpetuating  the  old  admin- 
istration of  borough  affairs.  Never  before  had  so  many  votes 
been  polled  in  a  municipal  election  in  Shenandoah,  and  the  "outs" 
won  the  day,  Mr.  Conry  leading  his  popular  opponent  by  a  safe 
majority.  He  has  always  been  a  faithful  friend  of  the  laboring 
man  and  has  made  his  professions  consistent  by  uniting  with 
labor  organizations.  He  was  once  president  of  Branch  No.  2,  Plank 
Ridge  Colliery,  and  also  served  as  district  president  and  as  dele- 
gate to  the  executive  board.  He  is  a  stalwart  supporter  of  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  and  his  family  are  com- 
municants  of  the   Catholic   church.     For   twenty-three   years   he 


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100  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

served  as  president  of  St.  Patrick's  beneficial  society.  He  holds  a 
commission  in  the  Irish  republican  army,  was  an  active  par- 
ticipant in  the  Fenian  movement  a  number  of  years  ago,  and  he  is 
distinctively  the  friend  of  liberality  and  liberty.  In  a  fraternal  way 
he  is  identified  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  January  lo, 
1867,  Mr.  Conry  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Roche,  who 
was  born  at  St.  Clair,  this  county,  Sept.  2,  1848,  and  of  their  four- 
teen children  seven  are  living,  the  others  having  died  in  infancy  or 
early  childhood.  Sallie  is  the  wife  of  John  B.  Schuling,  of  Phil- 
adelphia; Frank  J.  is  a  representative  lawyer  of  Shenandoah; 
William  and  Thomas  are  in  the  employ  of  the  Columbia  Bonding 
Company;  Mary  and  Amelia  remain  at  the  parental  home;  and 
Joseph  is  attending  the  home  schools.  The  devoted  wife  and 
mother  was  summoned  to  the  life  eternal  Oct.  10,  1899.  The 
achievements  of  Patrick  M.  Conry  offer  a  worthy  object-lesson  to 
the  generations  to  follow  him.  Born  in  a  foreign  land,  reared  amid 
the  environments  of  an  humble  home,  he  has  worked  out  his  own 
destiny.  Not  only  that,  but  he  has  also  assisted  many  aspiring 
young  men  in  overcoming  obstacles  and  realizing  their  higher  am- 
bitions. He  is  essentially  liberal  and  generous,  and  to  him  is  given 
the  unreserved  confidence  and  regard  of  the  community  in  which 
he  has  so  long  lived  and  labored. 

Convillc,  ThcMnas  W.,  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county  and  the 
present  secretary  of  the  Shenandoah  school  board,  was  born  at 
Heckscherville,  June  12,  1871.  The  old  house  in  which  he  was 
born  has  long  since  been  absorbed  by  the  collieries  and  no  trace  of 
it  remains.  He  is  a  son  of  Murtha  and  Mary  A.  (Brophy)  Con- 
ville,  the  former  born  in  Ireland,  whence  he  came  to  this  country 
in  his  infancy,  and  the  latter  a  native  of  Heckscherville.  They 
became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living. 
Patrick  J.  is  a  painter  and  decorator  in  Shenandoah ;  Thomas  W. 
is  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  John  J.  is  a  carpenter ;  Katie  is  the 
wife  of  M.  A.  Kilker,  an  attorney  of  Girardville ;  Martin  is  a  sales- 
man; William  died  at  the  age  of  five  years  and  James  died  in 
infancy.  Thomas  W.  Conville  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Schuylkill  county,  chiefly  in  West  Mahanoy  township  and  the 
city  of  Shenandoah,  and  upon  leaving  school  learned  the  business 
of  painting,  paperhanging  and  decorating,  which  occupation  he 
followed  in  Shenandoah  for  about  fourteen  years.  In  1903  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  in  June,  1906,  was  made 
secretary  and  librarian.  In  his  official  capacity  Mr.  Conville  takes 
great  interest  in  his  work  as  librarian,  and  also  in  the  work  of  the 
pupils  in  the  public  schools,  especially  along  the  lines  of  drawing 
and  everything  pertaining  to  art.  The  walls  of  the  library  are 
adorned  with  sketches,  paintings,  etc.,  which  are  the  work  of  the 
students.  He  was  elected  to  the  board  at  the  time  that  abuses 
existed,  and  soon  won  for  himself  the  reputation  of  a  reformer. 
Through  the  efforts  of  himself  and  his  associates  six  persons  served 
terms  in  the  county  jail  for  dishonest  methods  in  office.  Mr.  Con- 
ville served  for  two  years  as  assistant  chief  of  the  Phoenix  fire 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  101 

company,  and  was  for  one  year  chief  of  the  entire  department. 
He  is  still  a  member  of  the  Phoenix  company,  belongs  to  the 
Annunciation  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  for  twenty-five  years 
has  been  identified  with  the  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union  of 
America,  serving  for  a  number  of  years  on  the  executive  board  of 
the  society.  In  politics  Mr.  Conville  is  a  consistent  advocate  of 
Democratic  principles  and  is  active  in  local  campaigns.  On  Jan. 
i6,  1907,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Theresa  M.  Kelly,  of 
Philadelphia,  a  daughter  of  John  Kelly.  She  was  born  at  Camden, 
N.  J.,  and  was  educated  in  the  cathedral  school  at  Philadelphia, 
by  the  sisters  of  the  Order  of  St.  Joseph.  Upon  the  arrival  of 
himself  and  bride  in  Shenandoah  they  were  tendered  a  grand  re- 
ception at  Gorman's  opera  house  by  his  brothers  and  the  members 
of  the  Phoenix  fire  company.  A  number  of  useful  and  valuable 
presents  were  given  the  happy  couple  and  the  program  included 
an  elaborate  luncheon,  with  music  and  dancing  until  the  following 
morning.  The  teachers  and  school  officials  were  also  participants 
in  the  pleasant  affair.  After  serving  his  term  as  director  he  entered 
the  hardware  business  at  Girardville,  under  title  of  the  Conville 
Hardware  Co. 

Coombc,  Thomas  H.,  proprietor  of  the  Coombe  Garment  com- 
pany of  Minersville,  Pa.,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  county,  March 
25,  1870.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Amelia  (Dunstan)  Coombe, 
both  natives  of  the  Keystone  state.  The  father's  vocation  was  that 
of  a  miner,  but  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war,  in  1861,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  I  of  the  48th  Pennsylvania  infantry.  The 
regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  participated 
in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  and  the  Antietam  fight.  The 
father  was  taken  prisoner  shortly  after  the  latter  battle  and  after 
his  release  he  returned  to  mining.  His  death  was  caused  by  a 
fall  of  coal,  on  Oct.  7,  1886,  at  which  time  he  was  in  his  forty-eighth 
year.  His  widow  is  still  living,  a  resident  of  Tamaqua.  She  had 
a  brother,  Isaac  Dunstan,  who  was  a  lieutenant  in  a  company  of  a 
Pennsylvania  regiment  in  the  Civil  war  and  participated  in  seven- 
teen battles,  receiving  at  Gettysburg  a  wound  from  the  effects  of 
which  he  died  six  weeks  later.  The  children  of  the  family  are  four 
in  number:  Emma  L.,  the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  Robert  Jones,  an 
engineer  living  in  Tamaqua;  Isaac  A.  is  employed  in  the  Coombe 
Garment  Company's  factory ;  and  Anna  B.  is  Mrs.  Robert  Trewren, 
of  Tamaqua.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  the  third  of  his 
father's  family  in  order  of  birth,  received  his  educational  ad- 
vantages in  the  public  schools  of  St.  Nicholas.  When  he  had  com- 
pleted his  scholastic  training  he  learned  the  trade  of  watchmaker 
and  jeweler  and  worked  at  it  until  1896,  leaving  it  to  embark  in 
his  present  business.  His  manufactory  is  one  of  the  largest  in- 
dustries in  the  city  and  its  output  is  2,500  dozen  garments  of  men's 
underclothing  per  week.  The  concern  furnishes  work  for  more  than 
250  people  and  is  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  central  Pennsylvania. 
The  product  is  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  Canada 
and  Mexico.  On  Sept.  27,  1892,  Mr.  Coombe  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Mamie  Lawrence,  who  was  born  in  Minersville,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sallie   Lawrence,  who  are  now  living 


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102  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

retired  in  Minersville.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coombe  have  been  born 
two  children,  Myrtle  N.  and  Marion  G.  Mr.  Coombe  is  associated 
fraternally  with  the  Blue  Lodge,  No.  222,  of  the  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons  of  Minersville.  He  is  an  enterprising,  public- 
spirited  citizen,  of  excellent  business  judgment  and  withal  such  a 
man  as  gives  character  to  a  community. 

Cooper,  Professor  John  W.,  the  capable  and  popular  superin- 
tendent of  the  Shenandoah  public  schools,  was  born  at  Rising  Sun, 
Cecil  county,  Md.,  July  5,  1857,  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  A.  and 
Mary  W.  Cooper.  His  father,  who  was  a  native  of  Chester,  Dela- 
ware county.  Pa.,  died  in  West  Nottingham  township,  Chester 
county.  Pa.,  June  23,  1866,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years.  He  was 
of  Quaker  extraction,  and  although  most  of  his  life  was  devoted  to 
agricultural  pursuits  he  did  a  considerable  amount  of  business  in 
the  real-estate  industry.  He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife, 
Jane  Taylor  of  Media,  Delaware  county,  having  departed  this  life 
in  1845,  leaving  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  His 
second  wife  was  Mary  Wilkinson,  of  Chester  county,  to  whom  he 
was  united  on  June  23,  1853.  Nine  children  blessed  this  union,  a 
daughter  and  two  sons,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
elder,  being  the  only  survivors.  Professor  Cooper  was  brought  up 
in  Chester  county,  near  Oxford,  the  family  having  removed  to 
Nottingham  when  he  was  quite  young.  He  received  due  prelim- 
inary discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  lower  Oxford  and  Notting- 
ham township,  rounded  out  by  a  course  at  the  Oxford  Academy. 
When  he  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age  he  entered  upon  his  peda- 
gogic career,  and  he  taught  in  Chester  county  for  six  years,  with 
a  fair  degree  of  success.  In  the  fall,  of  1882  he  matriculated  at  the 
Millersville  normal  school,  completing  the  elementary  course  in 
1883,  and  a  year  later  he  was  graduated  in  the  scientific  course. 
While  a  student  he  had  the  reputation  of  being  diligent,  careful 
and  thorough,  and  his  character  was  unsullied.  Soon  after  gradua- 
tion he  was  chosen  principal  of  the  public  schools  of  Tremont, 
and  he  filled  the  position  with  credit  to  himself  and  his  alma  mater 
until  the  fall  of  1893,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  the  principal- 
ship  of  the  Shenandoah  high  school.  He  served  in  this  capacity 
until  March,  1897,  and  finally  resigned  to  enter,  on  April  5,  1897, 
a  larger  field,  as  superintendent  of  the  city  schools.  He  is  an  ex- 
ceptionally fine  educator  and  ranks  with  the  best  in  the  county, 
always  keeping  abreast  with  the  most  modern  thought  in  educa- 
tion and  making  himself  master  of  the  advanced  ideas  of  instruc- 
tion. On  two  occasions,  in  1893  and  again  in  1896,  he  was  a 
candidate  for  the  superintendency  of  the  Schuylkill  county  schools^ 
but  on  both  occasions  was  defeated  by  the  then  incumbent  of  the 
office,  by  a  small  majority.  His  politics  are  Democratic  and  he  was 
at  one  time  chairman  of  the  Democratic  convention.  Professor 
Cooper  has  been  twice  married.  On  Feb.  9,  1882,  he  married  Miss 
Ida  M.  Jackson,  the  elder  daughter  of  J.  Morris  and  Margaret 
(Wright)  Jackson,  of  Fulton  township,  Lancaster  county.  His 
second  union  was  to  Miss  Ella  M.  Clauser,  a  daughter  of  Simon 


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102  '  .       .  :i  '     .  (,.   \  -V 

r^  ;       '  .      I '     ,t     !   ]\^v.  I'ooihhf  have  been  U  • 

.  ;  ..    .  :.:M.   I.    (  I.      Ml.   l,<Jt«inLc   IS   assoCK-      * 

1     "       .  .  'i.'«'.    \  •.   2.12,  o\  the    Free   and     \ 

,  :        -      '*  .       1 1  '    i<    :i!i    e!Uerprising,    piii-  : 
* '.     ,,.  -^'.'"-s  jiuij^nunt  and  withal  suci*    • 
'    '    '      •:  V .  :.^-ir'.;r'  ty. 
,^*    .•  ;  ....     W,    \\v     » ajiable   ar.d    p"]>u]ar   stipc'-:': 

'»■','.  V  !h^  '-Lh.(/).s,  \\'i\^,  i^>rn  at  Ri^inj^  ><1m 
-,    :^n;.   ap«l   is  a   M>n   uf  Saiuuel    .\.   rt'.v* 
^  w-  '    r.  v%ii.(  was  a  native  of  Chester.  !  )ei -. 
.    V     \V  t->r    \ottinLd)''m    t(.>wnship,    Lhv-'t': 
-     ..'-'•       .-,  i!,.'  a^c  of  tut  \ -three  yea^^.     He  \\ ; 
.    ■  ...   ••(';'-:ii  most  of  hi^  \\\^  was  devottd   *•• 

!..        .     .;  e« 'Ti.N'deiable  amount  of  btir^lnevs 

'    t.    ;\  a  >    twice    married,    his    fir-l    w:ti 

.:'     .      ..•.!.'•  "jnty,  liavini^  departed  ihi^  u:: 

;     :    ■!    ai!  <A  ivhom  are  ilTjw  deceased.     H. 

'.  ■',,  .!^    of  Chester  county,  to  whom  iv. 

•     .^     .-     .       Vine  children  bles'^ed  this  unioi..  a 

«        :  ■),    A '.."71   tilt'  subject  of  tiii.^  .sketch  is  tht 

•  •'        '■.      '.       .  -Is      i  v'>ic>r-or  Cooper  was  brought  i»p 

■.».'.     T    I      "  .',    'be    family    havini^   removed    t<' 

'       'v  .-.     :..'(.    \^Ml^t,^     He  receive* I  (hie   prelim- 

,     -      '1.  *■  c  M  r..'..  -(  •i'>,.i^  of  biwer  (  Jxford  and  Xoltint:- 

.         .  •     •'  /    \  "M    '«v  a  <«.»ur.^e  at  tlic   Oxford  Acadt^ni}. 

•   .1     '     .   ■      '  'vv.:  Ni  ir    of  a.ue  he  entered  upon  his  peda- 

!•    "        :      '  :.  C  ;    m  Chester  comity  f'>r  six  years,  with 

:  .....         ^      in  Mie  fall  of  18S2  he  matriculatctl  at  tlie 

■'i  'M.   completing::  the   elementary   course   in 

^    \      '     >.         ■  e   was  graduated  in  the  scientific  course. 

'V     •  *..:d   Tic   reputation   of  bein^  diligent,  careful 

1  ..  •>  -diMacter  was  unsullied.    Soun  after  gradua- 
*'    '.    '  ■.       -■    i^iNicipnl   of  tlie    pni)lic    scliooU   kA   Tremont, 

\x     ' *i   "         ■■  'Ml  \  ith  credit  to  himself  and  hi>  alma  mater 

•'  '  '■  .:,    vl'cn   lie  re^i^ned  to  accept  the   principal- 

'    '      ••         :  •  ■'.     ..   all   hii^ii   school.     He  served  in  this  capacity 

(        -^•.  '.    nid   tinally  resigned  to  enter,  on  Ai)ril  5,   1807, 

»    .  :■  .Is     rnrrmtendent  of  the  city  schools.     He  is  an  ex- 

.  .    ,.     ■     '         ,'  I    '  >  M.-a'tjr  anci   ranks  with  tlie  best  in  the  county, 

rr'  ,ilr>'a.st  witli   the  n.<'St   nunlern  thought  in  educa- 

-d   '.ud'i".  \i  hnn^elf  master  of  the  advanced  ideas  of  instruc- 

1 '1.    tv\o  'H^casi*^ns,   in    18^)3   and   again    in    1896,   he   was   a 

.  ■     .  .a;e  tor  tlic  superintendency  of  tb.e  Schuylkill  county  schools,' 

n   <.->th  occasions  was  defcdtcil  by  the  then  incumbent  of  the 

.  '>  a  <mall  majority .     His  politic-  are  Democratic  and  he  was 

.  '      ■       M.tie   ciiairman   of   the    Democratic   convention.     Professor 

:   ha^  bciMi  twice  marricrl.     On  Vnh.  9,  1882,  he  married  Miss 

'•      '.    l;"-kson,    the   elder   daughter   of  J.    Morris   and   Margaret 

^^  *  ^'  M     lack-on,   of    Fulton    township,    Lancaster   countv.      His 

-   ■    tM  nn-'-n  nas  to   Miss  Ella  M.  Clauser,  a  daughter  of  Simon 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  103 

and  Sarah  (Faust)  Clauser,  of  Shenandoah,  and  was  solemnized 
on  June  7,  1900.  Mrs.  Cooper  was  formerly  one  of  the  teachers 
in  the  grammar  schools  of  the  borough.  The  children  of  the  second 
marriage  are  two  in  number — Jonathan  Wendell  and  Anna  May. 
The  professor  is  prominent  in  fraternal  circles,  being  identified 
with  Washington  Camp,  No.  76,  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons 
of  America ;  Tremont  Lodge,  No.  245,  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows ;  and  with  Swatara  Lodge,  No.  267,  of  the  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons. 

Creary,  James  D.,  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  younger 
generation  of  the  Schuylkill  county  bar  and  a  resident  of  Shen- 
andoah, was  born  in  that  borough  on  Feb.  2,  1880.  He  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  J.  Creary  and  Elizabeth  (Grant)  Creary,  both  natives  of 
Ireland,  whence  they  came  4:o  this  country  with  their  respective 
parents  when  children.  Their  marriage  was  celebrated  in  Schuyl- 
kill county  and  to  them  were  born  four  children,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  being  the  youngest.  Mary,  the  eldest,  is  Mrs.  Boran; 
Patrick  J.  is  a  merchant  tailor  of  Shenandoah ;  and  Ella  is  the  chief 
nurse  at  the  county  hospital.  The  father,  who  was  a  miner  all  his 
active  life,  died  in  1881.  James  D.  Creary  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  city  and  graduated  at  the  high  school  in  the 
class  of  1895.  When  he  had  completed  his  scholastic  learning  he 
entered  the  office  of  Hon.  T.  R.  Beddall  of  Shenandoah  and  in  1904 
he  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  of  the  supreme  and  other 
courts  of  the  state.  He  at  once  established  himself  in  offices  in 
the  Hub  building,  and  although  his  advent  in  the  profession  was 
not  a  great  while  ago  he  has  laid  the  foundations  of  an  excellent 
general  practice  and  has  come  to  be  recognized  as  an  attorney  of 
force,  energy  and  ability.  Politically  Mr.  Creary  is  a  Democrat, 
but  has  never  aspired  to  public  office,  preferring  to  become  well 
established  in  his  profession  before  attempting  to  perform  the 
duties  of  official  position.  In  his  religious  affiliations  he  is  a  com- 
municant of  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  of  Shenandoah.  Mr. 
Creary  is  unmarried  and  makes  his  home  with  his  widowed  mother. 

Crosslcy,  Benjamin,  for  a  number  of  years  a  locomotive  engi- 
neer on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  and  now  a  general 
merchant  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  in  that  borough  Nov.  11, 
1864.  He  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Caroline  (EUsmore)  Crossley, 
the  former  a  native  of  England  and  the  latter  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 
The  maternal  grandparents,  Thomas  and  Ann  (Harris)  Ellsmore, 
both  came  to  Schuylkill  county  from  the  British  isles,  and  the 
paternal  grandparents  are  still  living  there.  Benjamin  Crossley 
received  a  public-school  education,  attending  the  borough  schools 
until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  Then  he  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  as  a  call  boy,  and  after  a 
short  service  went  into  the  shops.  For  a  year  after  he  left  the 
latter  position  he  was  employed  as  locomotive  fireman  and  then 
was  given  an  engine.  He  remained  with  the  company  as  an  engi- 
neer for  eight  years  and  then  an  accident  which  caused  the  amputa- 
tion of  one  of  his  hands  compelled,  him  to  relinquish  his  position. 


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104  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

When  he  was  sufficiently  able  he  embarked,  in  1901,  in  the  general 
merchandise  business  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  this  enterprise  he 
is  still  successfully  conducting.  Mr.  Crossley  was  united  in  mar- 
riage on  June  27,  1891,  to  Miss  Clara  M.  Moyer,  daughter  of 
George  M.  and  Emma  E.  Moyer.  Seven  children,  two  daughters 
and  five  sons,  were  born  to  this  union.  One  daughter,  Alva  May, 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  The  living  daughter  is  Meta  Caro- 
line and  the  sons  are  Lester  Eugene,  Wilmer  Ellsmore,  Ray  Dan- 
forth,  Stanley  Nelson  and  Miles  Quinten.  The  family  all  attend 
the  Reformed  church  of  their  home  city.  Mr.  Crossley  has  a  brother 
and  six  sisters — John  H.,  Mary  A.,  Martha,  Alice,  Lucy,  Caroline 
Jane  and  Qara — all  living  in  this  county.  In  politics  he  is  inde- 
pendent, but  generally  votes  the  Republican  ticket.  Fraternally 
he  is  prominent,  being  a  member  of  the  Cressona  Lodge,  No.  426, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows; the  Junior  Mechanics  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men, 
and  being  a  past  officer  in  the  last  named  order.  He  is  a  man  of 
great  popularity  personally  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
enterprising  citizens  of  the  borough. 

Currier,  Frederic  Chalmers,  foreman  of  the  car  shops  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Company  at  Fottsville,  is  a  native  of  Canada.  He 
is  a  son  of  David  and  Margey  (Barker)  Currier,  and  was  born  in 
Fredericton,  New  Brunswick,  on  June  11,  1849.  David  Currier, 
the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Gagetown, 
New  Brunswick,  Nov.  12,  1800,  and  was  one  of  a  family  of  seven 
children,  the  others  being  Daniel,  William,  George,  John,  Harriet 
and  Maria.  David  Currier  was  twice  married,  the  first  time,  in 
Feb.,  1828,  to  Maria  Bartlett,  by  whom  he  had  five  children,  David, 
Jr.,  Louise,  George, /Maria  and  Charles.  The  first  wife  died  in  1841 
and  two  years  later,  on  March  16,  1843,  he  married  again,  Margey 
Upton  Barker  becoming  his  bride.  The  second  wife  was  born 
Sept.  21,  1824,  in  Sheffield,  New  Brunswick,  and  was  one  of  the 
nine  children  of  her  parents,  the  others  being  George,  Whitehead, 
Jane,  Charles,  Henrietta,  Adelaide,  George  II,  and  Bess.  Besides 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  there  was  but  one  other  child  of  the 
second  union — Maria  Louise,  who  was  born  March  25,  1844,  and 
who  was  married  on  Dec.  11,  1872,  to  John  Cameron,  of  Frederic- 
ton,  New  Brunswick.  Frederic  Chalmers  Currier  attended  the 
private  and  public  schools  of  his  native  town  until  he  was  eighteen 
years  of  age  and  then  commenced  his  active  business  career  as  a 
salesman  in  a  book  store  in  Fredericton.  Subsequently  he  received 
an  appointment  as  messenger  for  an  express  company,  and  held 
the  position  for  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  left  Fred- 
ericton and  went  to  St.  Johns  to  accept  a  position  as  clerk  in  a 
grocery  store.  This  was  in  the  fall  of  1867,  and  two  years  later 
he  left  St.  Johns  to  go  to  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  where  he  again 
found  employment  in  the  grocery  business.  In  the  spring  of 
1872  he  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  first  in  Boston,  Mass., 
but  his  sojourn  there  was  not  for  any  great  length  of  time.  When 
he  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  shortly  afterward,  he  secured  a  position 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  105 

as  assistant  foreman  in  the  foundry  of  T.  B.  C.  Burbee,  on  North 
Ninth  street.  His  employment  with  the  railroad  company  dates 
from  1882,  when  he  was  made  one  of  the  car  inspectors.  In  the 
fall  of  1886  he  was  transferred  to  Pottsville  with  a  promotion  to 
the  assistant  foremanship  of  car  inspectors;  later  he  was  made  a 
full  foreman  and  in  1890  he  was  appointed  foreman  of  the  shops. 
This  last  named  position  he  has  been  most  efficiently  filling  since 
that  time,  and  he  not  only  has  the  confidence  of  his  employers  but 
also  the  good  will  and  the  respect  of  the  men  working  under  him. 
On  Dec.  20,  1887,  was  solemnized  Mr.  Currier's  marriage  to  Miss 
Lizzie  L.  Wiley.  They  have  no  children.  Mrs.  Currier's  parents 
were  Henry  and  Rebecca  (Louderbach)  Wiley,  and  the  names  of 
their  other  children  are:  William,  Howard,  Annie,  Reuben,  Mary 
and  Maria;  all  are  living  with  the  exception  of  William.  Mr. 
Currier  and  his  wife  are  communicants  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church  of  Pottsville.  He  is  not  greatly  concerned  with  political 
matters  and  aside  from  casting  his  vote  independently  he  takes  no 
interest  in  the  campaigns.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Lodge 
No.  232  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  of  Philadelphia, 
and  is  a  past  grand  in  the  same. 

Curry,  John  James,  is  a  member  of  the  well  known  firm  of  Curry 
Brothers,  jewelers  and  opticians,  at  Pottsville,  and  is  recognized 
as  a  worthy  citizen  in  every  sense  of  the  term.  He  is  a  native  of 
Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born  in  Palo  Alto,  Sept.  2,  1879.  He 
is  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  (McKenna)  Curry,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Ireland,  and  the  father  was  among  the  early  settlers 
of  Palo  Alto.  He  was  an  engineer  by  profession  and  worked  for 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railway,  between  Pottsville  and 
Philadelphia,  for  a  number  of  years.  Later  he  engaged  in  the 
shoe  business  at  Palo  Alto,  and  still  later  served  as  watchman 
for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railway  at  that  place,  being  thus 
employed  in  1886,  when  he  died,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one  years. 
He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Ellen  Cavanaugh,  to  which  union 
there  were  born  four  children:  Ella;  Rebecca,  deceased,  wife  of 
Joseph  Davidson;  Katie,  deceased;  and  James.  The  second  mar- 
riage was  to  Mary  McKenna,  and  to  that  union  were  born  five 
children,  four  of  whom  grew  to  maturity:  Mary;  Essie,  deceased; 
John  J.;  and  Andrew  F.,  the  latter  two  being  twins.  John  J. 
Curry  was  reared  in  Palo  Alto  and  was  educated  in  St.  Stephen's 
parochial  school  at  Port  Carbon.  After  leaving  school,  and  while 
still  young  in  years,  he  began  an  apprenticeship  at  the  jewelry 
business  with  W.  H.  Mortimer,  and  after  a  thorough  preparation, 
in  August,  1894,  he  embarked  in  business  for  himself.  Associ- 
ated with  him  is  his  brother,  James  B.,  the  firm  name  being  Curry 
Brothers,  and  together  they  have  built  up  a  successful  business 
and  are  recognized  as  being  among  the  leading  jewelry  houses 
of  Pottsville.  Being  practical  opticians  and  carrying  as  they  do 
a  fine  line  of  optical  goods,  that  feature  constitutes  an  important 
part  of  their  trade.  The  subject  of  this  review  is  a  member  of 
St.  Stephen's  Roman  Catholic  church  at  Port  Carbon,  and  frater- 


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106  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

nally  he  has  membership  in  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  and 
the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters. 

Daddow,  Samuel  Harries,  deceased,  was  a  native  of  St.  Agnes, 
Cornwall,  England,  born  on  March  14,  1827.  When  but  four 
years  old  he  was  brought  to  the  United  States  by  his  parents, 
Jonathan  and  Katherine  (Harries)  Daddow,  who  located  at  East 
Delaware,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.  His  father  engaged  in  mining 
in  a  small  way  for  several  years,  being  successful.  Samuel  Har- 
ries Daddow  enjoyed  but  few  educational  advantages,  his  attend- 
ance at  school  being  limited  to  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools 
in  this  county.  But  he  was  a  close  student  all  his  life,  and  by 
means  of  private  study,  under  adverse  circumstances,  became 
very  well  informed.  In  fact,  he  was  a  recognized  authority  upon 
geology,  mine  engineering  and  kindred  subjects,  and  wrote  many 
valuable  articles  for  publication.  He  began  his  literary  career, 
however,  as  a  contributor  to  the  local  and  metropolitan  papers. 
He  commenced  work  in  and  around  the  coal  mines  about  the  year 
1840,  and  his  first  advance  from  the  position  of  an  ordinary  laborer 
was  in  his  appointment  to  the  charge  of  a  colliery  store  at  Oak 
Hill.  He  was  connected  with  the  "Miners'  Journal"  in  Pottsville 
for  some  years,  prior  to  1855,  engaged  in  gathering  statistics  on 
coal  and  mining.  In  1855  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  and  was  employed  in  locating  and  managing  coal  and  iron 
mines,  salt  works,  furnaces,  etc.  He  was  also  interested  jointly 
with  his  uncle  and  brother  in  the  ownership  and  operation  of  a 
coal  mine  at  Farmville,  Va.  While  a  resident  of  Richmond,  he 
contributed  a  number  of  articles  to  the  "Richmond  Inquirer"  on 
the  "Mineral  Resources  of  Virginia  and  the  South."  In  1864  he 
returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  again  engaged  in  gathering  statis- 
tics in  connection  with  the  ''Miners'  Journal,"  for  a  work  entitled 
"Coal,  Iron  and  Oil,"  which  was  published  in  1866  by  Daddow  and 
Bannan,  and  was  received  as  a  standard  authority  in  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Daddow  had  spent  practically  all  his  lifetime  in  gather- 
ing material  for  this  work.  He  contributed  many  articles  to  Lippin- 
cott's  Magazine  and  other  periodical  publications,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  article  on  "Coal  and  CoUeries"  appearing  in  Apple- 
ton's  American  Cyclopaedia.  In  1872  Mr.  Daddow  became  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  colleries  owned  by  the  Erie  Railway  Company 
in  Pennsylvania^  and  established  his  headquarters  at  Scranton. 
During  his  management  large  purchases  of  undeveloped  coal 
lands  were  made  by  the  company,  and  untold  millions  of  profits 
have  resulted  from  his  wise  counsel.  The  explosion  of  blasts  in 
the  mines  had  always  been  fraught  with  danger,  and  Mr.  Daddow 
began  investigations  and  experiments  looking  to  a  scientific  in- 
vention which  should  correct  this  evil.  The  result  was  that  the 
miners'  safety  squib  came  into  existence  in  1870,  as  the  invention 
of  Mr.  Daddow  and  his  brother-in-law,  Jesse  Beadle.  A  small 
building  was  erected  for  its  manufacture,  and  thus  originated  the 
Miners'  Supply  Company,  now  the  principal  industry  in  the 
borough  of  Saint  Qair,  the  products  of  which  find  a  market  in  all 


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106 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  107 

portions  of  the  world  where  coal  is  mined.  In  1874  Mr.  Daddow 
resigned  his  position  with  the  railroad  company  and  gave  his 
entire  attention  to  the  development  of  his  manufacturing  interests 
in  Saint  Clair.  But  he  did  not  live  to  see  the  full  fruition  of  his 
hopes,  as  he  died  on  March  23,  1875.  The  business  has  since  been 
continued  by  his  widow,  Mrs.  E.  A.  Daddow,  his  son,  Harries, 
and  Jesse  Beadle.  Few  men  have  accomplished  more  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  anthracite  coal  'field  than  Samuel  Harries  Daddow. 
His  busy  life  was  spent  in  earnest  labor  and  research.  Much  of 
his  labor  and  literary  work  was  entirely  unrequited,  and  his  cul- 
tured mind  gave  to  the  world  almost  prophetic  knowledge  re- 
garding scientific  researches  in  advance  of  his  generation. 

Daley,  Joseph,  occupies  a  prominent  position  among  those  iden-. 
tified  with  educational  work  in  the  county,  being  the  popular  and 
able  principal  of  the  public  schools  of  the  borough  of  Coaldale. 
He  is  worthy  of  further  consideration  in  this  work  from  the  fact 
that  he  is  a  native  of  the  borough  in  which  he  now  maintains  his 
home,  having  been  born  there  on  Aug.  29,  1876,  a  son  of  Daniel 
and  Isabel  (Sheerin)  Daley,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  the  latter  in  County  Donegal, 
Ireland.  Daniel  Daley  located  in  Coaldale  in  1846  and  engaged 
in  work  in  the  mines.  He  and  his  wife  still  reside  there,  and  he 
is  now  living  practically  retired,  after  having  been  identified  with 
the  mining  industry  during  the  greater  part  of  his  business  career. 
Of  the  four  children  the  subject  of  this  review  is  the  eldest  and 
the  others  are  Mary,  Isabel,  and  Catherine.  The  early  educa- 
tional discipline  of  Joseph  Daley  was  secured  in  the  public  schools 
of  Coaldale,  and  after  completing  a  course  in  the  high  school 
he  entered  the  state  normal  school  at  Lock  Haven,  in  which  insti- 
tution he  was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1898.  From 
that  year  to  the  present  he  has  been  continuously  identified  with 
pedagogic  work  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
his  success  in  his  chosen  vocation  has  been  of  unequivocal  order. 
Since  1902  he  has  held  the  position  of  principal  of  the  public 
schools  of  Coaldale.  He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  com- 
pany which  publishes  the  Toilers'  Defense,  an  able  and  popular 
paper  published  in  Coaldale.  In  politics  he  maintains  an  inde- 
pendent attitude,  and  his  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Catholic 
church,  his  membership  being  in  St.  Mary's  parish  of  his  native 
town. 

Datido,  Isaac,  chief  clerk  to  the  weighmaster  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Railway  Company  at  Cressona,  was  born  at  Shenandoah, 
Schuylkill  county.  May  29,  1874,  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Margaret  A. 
(Fisher)  Dando.  After  completing  the  courses  afforded  by  the 
graded  and  high  schools  of  his  native  borough  he  began  his  serv- 
ice with  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  in  1891.  By  strict 
attention  to  the  work  in  hand  and  earnest  and  persistent  labor 
lie  was  from  time  to  time  promoted  until  he  reached  the  position 
which  he  now  holds.  On  June  26,  1897,  Mr.  Dando  married  Miss 
Mary   J.    Krommes,   a   daughter   of    Lawrence    G.    Krommes,   of 


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108  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Cressona.  Two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  have  blessed  this 
union.  Their  names  are  Lawrence  G.  and  Blanche  V.  The  family 
are  all  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Cressona,  of 
which  Mr.  Dando  is  secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  become  a  candidate  for  office 
of  public  trust.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Independent  Americans,  and  is  an  enthusiastic  member  of  Cres- 
sona Fire  Company  No.  i.  Mr.  Dando  is  a  young  man  of  high 
standing  in  the  community  and  is  a  recognized  leader  in  social 
and  commercial  circles. 

Davis,  Henry  R,  who  is  engaged  in  the  retail  drug  business  in 
Coaldale,  is  one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  his  native  county 
and  a  member  of  one  of  its  honored  pioneer  families.  He  was  born 
at  Pottsville,  the  present  judicial  center  of  Schuylkill  county,  June 
I,  1846,  and  is  a  son  of  William  R.  and  Ann  (Pugh)  Davis,  both 
of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  Wales.  William  R.  Davis  came 
to  America  in  the  early  40's  and  took  up  his  residence  in  this 
county,  where  he  identified  himself  with  mining  operations,  with 
which  he  had  previously  been  connected  in  his  native  land,  and 
for  several  years  had  charge  of  a  furnace  in  the  iron  works  of 
Benjamin  Haywood,  of  Pottsville.  He  died  at  Minersville,  Schuyl- 
kill county,  in  1851,  and  his  wife  on  Feb.  22,  1901.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Ann  Pugh,  who  came  to  this  county  from 
Wales  in  an  early  day.  Of  the  children  of  William  R.  and  Ann 
Davis  two  attained  to  years  of  maturity — Henry  R.,  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  sketch,  and  William,  who  died  in  March,  1886,  and 
is  buried  at  Minersville.  Henry  R.  Davis  attended  the  common 
schools  of  Minersville  during  the  winter  months  until  he  had  at- 
tained to  the  age  of  ten  years,  when  he  began  working  in  the 
mines,  as  did  the  average  boy  of  his  age  in  this  locality.  While 
at  work  he  continued  his  studies,  attending  a  night  school  at 
Minersville.  He  later  took  a  short  term  in  the  English  branches 
at  Bucknell  academy,  Lewisburg,  Pa.,  and  when  about  twenty 
years  of  age  took  a  course  in  bookkeeping  at  the  Pierce  business 
college  in  Philadelphia.  He  continued  to  be  identified  with  min- 
ing operations  until  1889,  when  he  located  in  Coaldale  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  drug  business,  in  which  he  has  since  suc- 
cessfully continued,  having  a  well  equipped  establishment  and  a 
representative  patronage.  He  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  On  Feb.  16,  1868,  Mr.  Davis  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Davis,  daughter  of  Edward 
Davis,  of  Minersville,  and  of  the  children  of  this  union  seven 
attained  to  years  of  maturity,  viz:  Edward,  Anna,  William,  Hor- 
ace, David,  Sarah,  and  Dora.  All  are  living  except  Horace,  who 
met  his  death  in  a  railroad  accident.  May  30,  1900.  Reverting  to 
the  mother  of  Mr.  Davis,  it  may  be  noted  that  after  the  death 
of  her  first  husband  she  married  William  Davis,  to  whom  she 
bore  one  son,  Dr.  David  R.  Davis,  of  Lansford,  who  is  now  de- 


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.  '  :      A  ft  or  the  drtm.^e  of  lier  st^roiui  l^l^'^a^w   ^U'-  i- 
•  1    \\  illiani   }jc^'  i-)\v.  now  deoca^^vl,   a^.j   ^'..-^ 
-t.Cf  <;o,     Louisa.     Ann,     Lemuel,    aiu'     I-,,'; 
•<!  bcini;  the  wife  of  llul:})   Ilap^cr 
.  ;rtvis,  John  H.,  a  ^.p-'inncnt  ar^  1  \^•-•l!  i^.>•>\>•^   •. 

is   a  son  of  the   la'e   John    K.   a:iw    L"  .  .■>,.'> 
■     'wis  fchicated  in  the  j>uhhc  "-.cho   ;--  at   }.\ 
*.m'>  comnirrclal   (  "lK'j::e.     Mr.    i»a\is  I  .i- 
.'    hu^ine^s,   (^pcri* 'no    in    eoiir.n  t^'  r.    u..:i 
..I'j  of  the  latter,  in    '^^tK).  and  situ*-  ^'i,.' 
.    I;usiness   alone      The   *>]^erat i'm;-   -  ?    ♦'.. 
■e   large  and  varifd,  and   tin*   pr  -,.  ..i    ,rr 
.  f    while  the  >uh]^vl  of  thi^  sKCl/h  1-  ir: , 
many   other   lu.Mn«*'NS   enier{!ri>t  ^    i*-    .:     '•*. 
!hf'   coal   iTidustry       J'li-   n)">^t 


n. 


.1' 


~    —      ,-  _..  ,    J 

■' i\"\    of  the  Citi>:  lis'   I), in',   in   ^m't    t  '.  ,.     > 

.   ihe  iiicorp«.rat«>i  -  and  principal   ^'..^i-;'' 
•  t     of    ti'O     I'm-     i.Mjfl     »,'oal     V  I  .     I'^-J  .'  ■ 
'  '.e    principal    nw^nu.ss    corp<»rati.  m:;     .   u:  -     ■  .; 
=  »avis    i^    }>re^i<Jcnr    ot    the    hi  a^d    «•    '•.;- 
i'^pi^cuj^al  <-lnir.il  in  Saint  C^air.     [ii    )-i  ,.  ^•    '-.•. 
^"t.-ea,  and  n.>  man  ;m  the  co^.imi'n        -..•*  :,;     • 
•'■m  of  tlie  peojae,  wliile  tew   ha'vv     .-'U'    ■ 
'.••-s   conr^'CMtMi-.      Mr.    Da'  i^    h.i-    >.'.t    .      • 
r'^[  wife   h   Mij;  M\<s   Mar\    K.    iJa'  - 
• ''-.    "'^,     '-r     ';.r:'.r^  oii,     who     di<.d.    <  i>v.     '..i 
^-■r.'i.d    wi-'v     .\  :is    Aitir\'    l\.    [>i.'nlMv.     '.-'.'''r- 
■ail    f'.'pnht*;*',  of   Nf.v   Castle  t«>v\*i^*''  '   ■ 

•  '  tli'N  iMM*'!),  V.  iTjain    li.  and    i'd-M".    ••.      ! '"■ 
>*:;v  of   5vv'n»v-s'\    vears,   and    I'^e    i   •'    .      • 

•I'd    '     I  >.   s    a^T      Ml.  Davis  niarri'ij    ^'^   *   \,  •. 
'v'.^hr.^.r.  '•!  Ai^)n  (lro\i.  >e!.'»\iK!'!     •    ■;*■ 
r-i\r   ha-   i\  'j.e   to  hlc>s  this  nni^-n.    i    n--  »     • 
)  !•;'  '>r.''-  •    t   if  tius  article  is  [)ion:'i  >"ni'\    i-'. 
-■ir..     t,-   u-rn'*. V,    havin^^   attatne-:    to    \\w    :    •. 
';-     '''..■']  eo    SiiC'elv.      lie    i^    a    }\("|M!!.*- 

'     '  -.    d'^'N'f!    Ui    party    prin-'Vies    on    :.i  i«»p 

■  nt     •;.  !(.cal  atYairs.     lie  has  tu  \  er  <'>'A-^\\ 

'•:•    f-w.o  h^   p.'.'it   in  hearing  the  ]»ui*x!i-;   wf 


V-i^.    riank    1^1,   a   eontraciiliii^   pairn.']-   an(*    <ieco.T..r  r    ■•     l---:    - 
vi'--  .t   -'11  of   Frederick  and   ^a-'olina    (t^rwlj;)    L:;;.,        m;    :>;.- 

tives  <  *  •  "'  '  ivvj^urnr  and  members  of  ^.'tic  of  the  pi»»nti  i  1.,-:  .e- 
of  Se^  '  K.ll  connlv.  l'Yt-der!v-k  I>a\  \.ts  a  soldier  in  tlie  <.  ivil 
wa''  t:.  ■  -  d)^«-qnentl\  ^^ttled  in  Pot^-\.;  e  whor?  he  was  for  t-/.  e^,e 
}'*••''  'n  *';e  ])olice  foree.  He  was  a'-^o  (lu-,'-/,:  jm  hn^mess  a-»  a 
C'^'i'  !'-.oer  and  grocer  for  some  tin.e  To;  i  parr'.ts  still  Jive  in 
L'-  !-•',  j...  'Ilu  ir  chil 'ren  arc  Liz/ic,  v'.i^>\v  <■:  L,  v»rge  Snyder; 
v^'i'i'.r.  i'Vank  L.,  John,  Harry,  (hi\  atid  C  i\'.r»  -  hrank  I'..  Day 
\\  I-  L^rn  Leh.  6.  1870,  in   PottSvi!'..  wIku-  h-    xtcw  to  manhoo-l. 


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> 

# 


i« 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  109 

ceased.  After  the  demise  of  her  second  husband  she  became  the 
wife  of  William  Beddow,  now  deceased,  and  they  had  five  chil- 
dren— George,  Louisa,  Ann,  Lemuel,  and  Elizabeth — the  last 
named  being  the  wife  of  Philip  Hauser. 

Davis,  John  H.,  a  prominent  and  well-known  resident  of  Saint 
Clair,  is  a  son  of  the  late  John  R.  and  Hannah  (Rowe)  Davis. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Minersville  and  at  Crit- 
tenden's commercial  college.  Mr.  Davis  has  spent  his  life  in  the 
coal  business,  operating  in  connection  with  his  father  until  the 
death  of  the  latter,  in*  1900,  and  since  that  date  he  has  conducted 
the  business  alone.  The  operations  of  the  firm  in  earlier  years 
were  large  and  varied,  and  the  present  interests  are  very  exten- 
sive, while  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  interested  in  the  promotion 
of  many  other  business  enterprises  in  addition  to  his  operations 
in  the  coal  industry.  The  most  prominent  of  these  is  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Citizens'  bank  in  Saint  Clair,  of  which  he  was  one 
of  the  incorporators  and  principal  stockholders.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Brighton  Coal  Company,  of  Gilberton,  these  being 
the  principal  business  corporations  engaging  his  attention.  Mr. 
Davis  is  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  Saint  Qair.  He  is  a  public-spirited  and  useful 
citizen,  and  no  man  in  the  community  stands  higher  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  people,  while  few  have  wider  or  more  favorable  busi- 
ness connections.  Mr.  Davis  has  been  married  three  times,  his 
first  wife  being  Miss  Mary  E.  Davis,  daughter  of  Rev.  Daniel  T. 
Davis,  of  Scranton,  who  died  one  year  after  marriage.  His 
second  wife  was  Mary  E.  Bamboy,  daughter  of  Percival  and  Sa- 
rah Bamboy,  of  New  Castle  township.  Two  children  were  born 
to  this  union,  William  B.  and  Edith  B.  The  former  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-six  years,  and  the  latter  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Davis 
died  in  1898,  and  Mr.  Davis  married  Miss  Ida,  a  daughter  of  C.  C. 
Honsberger,  of  Zion  Grove,  Schuylkill  county.  A  daughter  named 
June  has  come  to  bless  this  union,  a  little  fairy  five  months  old. 
The  subject  of  this  article  is  prominently  identified  with  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  having  attained  to  the  thirty-second  degree  in 
that  time-honored  society.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political 
views,  devoted  to  party  principles  on  national  issues,  but  inde- 
pendent on  local  affairs.  He  has  never  sought  official  honors,  but 
has  borne  his  part  in  bearing  the  burdens  of  local  offices  in  the 
borough. 

Day,  Frank  Ei.,  a  contracting  painter  and  decorator  of  Potts- 
ville,  is  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Carolina  (Orwig)  Day,  both  na- 
tives of  Orwigsburg  and  members  of  some  of  the  pioneer  families 
of  Schuylkill  county.  Frederick  Day  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil 
war  and  subsequently  settled  in  Pottsville,  where  he  was  for  twelve 
years  on  the  police  force.  He  was  also  engaged  in  business  as  a 
coal  dealer  and  grocer  for  some  time.  Both  parents  still  live  in 
Pottsville.  Their  children  are  Lizzie,  widow  of  George  Snyder; 
Walter,  Frank  E.,  John,  Harry,  Guy  and  Charles.  Frank  E.  Day 
was  born  Feb.  6,  1870,  in.  Pottsville,  where  he  grew  to  manhood. 


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110  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

receiving  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  He  then  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  five  years  at  painting  and  paper-hanging,  at 
which  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  until  1895,  when  he  embarked 
in  business  for  himself  as  a  contractor.  By  his  punctuality  and 
the  high  quality  of  his  workmanship  he  has  built  up  a  remunera- 
tive business,  enjoying  the  confidence  and  patronage  of  the  best 
people  in  Pottsville  and  vicinity.  Mr.  Day  was  married  in  1891 
to  Miss  Clara,  daughter  of  Jacob  Snyder,  of  Philadelphia,  and  they 
have  five  children :  Lizzie,  Edmund,  Gertrude,  Ruth  and  Pearl. 
Mr.  Day  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations,  but  is  not  an 
active  party  worker,  preferring  the  certain  returns  of  a  well- 
conducted  business  to  the  precarious  emoluments  of  a  political 
career. 

Dcchert,  Daniel,  M.  D.,  one  of  the  most  prominent  physicians 
of  Schuylkill  county  and  a  leading  citizen  of  Schuylkill  Haven, 
was  born  at  Myerstown,  Lebanon  county,  Pa.,  Feb.  7,  1846.  He 
is  a  son  of  Elijah  and  Mary  (Kochenberger)  Dechert,  the  former 
of  whom  was  one  of  a  family  of  seven  children  and  was  born  near 
Reading,  Berks  county,  in  1826.  Elijah  Dechert  died  on  April  10, 
1893,  leaving  fourteen  children.  John  Dechert,  the  paternal  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  near  Reading  and 
lived  on  a  farm  there  all  his  active  life.  He  died  in  1865,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-seven  years.  The  grandmother  was  born  near  Reading 
and  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-three  years.  The  doctor  received  his 
earliest  education  in  the  Myerstown  public  schools.  As  a  boy  he 
was  employee}  on  the  towpath  of  the  Union  canal.  When  he  com- 
pleted a  course  in  the  Myerstown  academy  he  entered  the  office 
of  Drs.  Jacob  and  J.  S.  Tryon,  of  Rehrersburg,  Pa.,  to  study 
medicine,  going  thence  to  Philadelphia  to  enter  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  began  his  pro- 
fessional practice  immediately  upon  graduation  and  has  continued 
it  ever  since  in  this  county.  In  1871  he  located  at  Cressona,  but 
subsequently  removed  to  Schuylkill  Haven.  He  can  lay  claim 
without  dispute  to  having  the  largest  general  practice  of  any  physi- 
cian in  the  county,  and  no  member  of  the  profession  is  more  widely 
or  favorably  known.  He  was  elected  by  the  county  medical  so- 
ciety as  delegate  to  the  convention  of  the  American  medical 
association  at  Chicago  in  1893*  I"  political  matters  he  is  a  stanch 
believer  in  the  tenets  of  the  Republican  party  and  has  several 
times  been  honored  with  offices  of  public  trust.  In  1870  he  was 
made  a  census  enumerator  of  the  largest  district  of  Berks  county; 
was  for  a  term  the  county  treasurer;  for  fifteen  years  a  member 
of  the  school  board  of  Cressona;  and  was  deputy  coroner  under 
Drs.  G.  H.  Halberstadt  and  D.  S.  Marshall,  and  two  terms  under 
Dr.  Gillars.  His  ability  was  recognized  even  by  his  political 
opponents,  and  in  1879  and  1884  he  was  appointed  county  alms- 
house physician  under  Democratic  administrations,  serving  three 
years  under  the  first  appointment  and  one  year  under  the  second. 
The  doctor  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Union  Safe  Deposit 
bank  of  Pottsville,  and  has  served  as  one  of  the  directors  ever 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  111 

since.  In  1904  he  was  appointed  county  medical  inspector  by 
Dr.  Benjamin  Lee,  head  of  the  state  board,  and  is  now  holding 
his  second  year  under  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Dixon,  state  commissioner 
of  health.  In  1863,  when  General  Lee  and  his  Confederate  army 
were  invading  the  state,  Dr.  Dechert  joined  the  state  troops  that 
were  being  enlisted  for  three  months'  service  to  aid  in  repelling 
the  enemy.  When  this  term  had  expired  and  Lee  had  been  turned 
back  the  doctor  became  a  private  in  Company  H,  i86th  Pennsyl- 
vania infantry,  and  served  until  September,  1865.  For  four  years 
following  his  discharge  and  just  prior  to  entering  upon  his  medical 
studies  he  was  engaged  in  pedagogic  work.  Dr.  Dechert  has  been 
twice  married.  His  first  marriage  was  on  Jan.  16,  1868,  to  Miss 
VSrginia  Kline,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Katherine  Kline,  of 
Rehrersburg,  Berks  county.  Mrs.  Dechert  died  May  31,  1884, 
leaving  besides  the  widowed  husband  a  daughter,  Eva  M.  On 
Oct.  15,  1885,  Dr.  Dechert  led  to  the  altar  Miss  Ada  Beck,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Matilda  Beck,  of  Beckville.  By  the  second 
marriage  he  is  the  father  of  three  children — Clare  B.,  Daniel,  Jr., 
and  Mary  M.  The  family  are  all  communicants  of  St.  John's 
Reformed  church  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 

Dechert,  Harry  W.,  M.  D.,  a  leading  physician  and  surgeon  of 
Orwigsburg,  was  born  in  Myerstown,  Oct.  4,  1872,  a  son  of  Elijah 
and  Elizabeth  (Garoh)  Dechert.  Both  parents  were  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  father  is  still  living  in  Lebanon.  The 
mother  died  in  1899.  Dr.  Dechert  received  his  preliminary  edu- 
cational training  in  the  Pottsville  and  Myerstown  schools,  going 
direct  from  the  Pottsville  high  school  to  the  department  of  medicine 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  On  June  13,  1895,  he  was 
granted  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  by  the  regents  of  that 
institution,  and  immediately  after  graduation  he  organized  an 
association  and  opened  a  hospital  at  Pottsville,  becoming  the  first 
house  physician.  After  six  months  he  resigned  this  position  to 
accept  one  as  medical  examiner  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
railroad  relief  association,  with  headquarters  at  Shamokin.  There 
he  remained  until  Nov.  10,  1900,  when  he  came  to  Orwigsburg  and 
began  the  general  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  has  since 
been  most  successfully  engaged*  He  is  medical  examiner  for  the 
Equitable,  Aetna  and  John  Hancock  life  insurance  companies,  and 
is  a  prominent  member  of  the  county  medical  society.  On  June 
8,  1898,  Dr.  Dechert  married  Miss  Eva  Lewis,  of  Mahanoy  City, 
a  daughter  of  the  late  O.  C.  and  Eleanor  C.  Lewis.  Mrs.  Lewis 
died  in  1895,  and  on  Christmas  day,  1905,  the  father  passed  away. 
To  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dechert  have  been  born  four  children — Eleanor, 
Elizabeth,  Oliver  and  Eva.  Both  the  doctor  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Reformed  church,  of  which  he  is  a  deacon.  He 
is  fraternally  identified  with  the  Sons  of  America.  Dr.  Dechert 
is  recognized  as  a  prominent  member  of  his  profession  and  his 
many  friends  predict  for  him  a  most  successful  future. 

Deebel,  William  Cyrus,  dealer  in  musical  instruments  and  sew- 
ing machines,  and  instructor  in  music  at  Ring^own,  was  born  on 


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112  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

July  27,  1870.  His  paternal  grandparents,  John  F.  and  Rebecca 
(^Zehner)  Deebel,  were  natives  of  Germany,  and  his  mother's 
parents  were  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  (Johnson)  Lorah,  both  na- 
tives of  Schuylkill  county.  He  is  one  of  seven  children  of  John 
and  Hannah  (Lorah)  Deebel,  the  others  being  Cerilla  Catherine, 
John  F.,  Joshua  F.,  Rebecca  E.,  Harry  E.  and  Samuel  H. 
William  C.  Deebel  attended  school  until  he  was  nineteen 
years  of  age  and  then  his  father's  death  compelled  him  to 
relinquish  his  scholastic  work  and  assume  the  management 
of  the  home  farm.  During  his  spare  moments  he  devoted 
his  time  to  the  study  of  music  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  he  turned  over  the  management  of  the  farm  to  his 
brothers,  took  a  course  in  music,  and  studied  in  a  business  college. 
When  he  had  completed  his  course  he  started  teaching  music, 
working  at  that  and  agricultural  labors"  alternately  in  the  winter 
And  summer.  Early  in  1901  he  established  himself  in  the  piano, 
organ  and  sewing  machine  business  in  Ringtown  and,  together 
with  his  musical  instruction,  has  been  most  eminently  successful. 
On  Jan.  15,  1901,  Mr.  Deebel  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Catherine 
Landig,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Rachel  (Stauffer)  Landig.  The 
father  and  mother  are  both  natives  of  Schuylkill  county  and  have 
iSve  children  besides  Mrs.  Deebel — ^Joseph,  Benjamin,  George, 
Charles  and  Helen  R.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Deebel  have  two  children, 
Marin  Elmer  and  Wallace  Henry.  The  family  are  members  ot 
the  Lutheran  church.  In  his  political  belief  Mr.  Deebel  is  allied 
with  no  party  and  has  neither  held  nor  aspired  to  public  office. 
He  is  identified  with  Ringtown  Lodge,  No.  287,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  a  talented  musician  with  an  inherent  love 
for  the  beautiful  in  music.  His  paternal  grandfather  had  the 
unique  distinction  of  owning  the  first  pipe-organ  ever  built  in  the 
United  States. 

Dentiebaum,  Nicholas,  general  foreman  in  the  brewing  estab- 
lishment of  D.  G.  Yuengling  &  Son,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born 
in  Untershausen,  Province  of  Montabaur,  Prussia,  Feb.  26,  1848. 
His  parents  were  Adam  and  Catherine  (Hubinger)  Dennebaum. 
The  father  was  a  native  of  Untershausen,  Germany,  in  the  vicinity 
of  which  place  he  spent  his  life.  He  served  as  burgomaster  in 
his  native  city.  The  mother  was  born  in  Stahlhofen,  in  the  same 
province  as  her  husband.  Nicholas  Dennebaum  was  educated  in 
Untershausen,  Germany,  and  at  the  United  States  brewing 
academy  in  New  York  city.  He  came  to  America  in  1868,  and  on 
May  2  of  that  year  located  in  Pottsville,  Pa.  For  six  years  he 
was  employed  as  a  cooper  at  the  Lauer  brewery,  when  he  entered 
the  employ  of  D.  G.  Yuengling  &  Son,  and  was  engaged  in  various 
lines  of  work  about  the  premises  until  he  became  familiar  with 
all  details  of  the  brewing  business,  when  he  was  made  foreman 
of  the  establishment,  in  1881.  So  faithfully  and  intelligently  has 
Mr.  Dennebaum  performed  the  duties  of  this  responsible  position 
that  he  has  been  retained  in  it  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury.    He  was  married  on  Nov.  6,  1872,  to  Miss  Eliza,  daughter 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  113 

of  John  and  Margaret  Spohn,  of  Pottsville,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Mary  Margaret,  who  is  the  wife  of  Clifford  W.  Kissin- 
ger, a  real  estate  and  insurance  dealer  at  Reading,  Pa.,  and  a  young 
son  at  home.  Mr.  Dennebaum  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  Masonic  fraternity  for  many  years,  and  has  attained 
exalted  rank  in  that  time-honored  organization.  He  has  devoted 
much  time  and  study  to  perfecting  himself  in  the  work,  and  has 
reached  the  thirty-second  degree.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle.  Of  the  purely  social  organizations,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Liederkrans,  a  German  musical  society  of  high  order. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  relations,  and  he  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 

Devine,  Alex.  J.,  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  the 
county  of  Schuylkill,  and  his  efficiency  is  due  not  only  to  a  natural 
adaptability,  but  also  to  a  lifetime's  devotion  to  the  noble  pro- 
fession of  teaching.  He  was  born  in  the  village  of  Cumbola,  where 
he  now  has  charge  of  the  public  schools,  Dec.  17,  1876,  a  son  of 
Patrick  F.  and  Bridget  A.  (Toland)  Devine,  the  former  of  whom 
was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  the  latter  of  Blythe  township,  Schuyl- 
kill county.  The  paternal  grandparents  were  James  and  Martha 
Devine,  natives  of  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  who  came  to  America 
in  1852  and  settled  in  the  township  of  Blythe,  this  county,  where 
the  grandfather  followed  the  vocation  of  mining  for  several  years, 
remaining  a  resident  of  that  township  until  his  death.  He  reared 
a  family  of  eight  children,  of  whom  the  following  mention  is 
properly  made  in  this  connection:  Esther  is  the  wife  of  William 
Brislin;  Thomas  served  as  a  watchman  for  a  number  of  years  at 
the  Shoo  Fly  colliery,  and  while  in  the  performance  of  his  duty 
was  shot  by  members  of  that  nefarious  gang  known  as  the  **Molly 
Maguires";  John  is  a  resident  of  Nebraska;  Patrick  F.  was  the 
father  of  him  whose  name  introduces  this  review ;  Joseph ;  Hannah 
is  the  wife  of  George  McNeely;  Jeremiah,  and  William.  The 
maternal  grandparents  were  Michael  and  Bridget  (Huton)  Toland, 
also  natives  of  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  who  came  to  America 
in  1847  and  located  in  the  township  of  Blythe,  Schuylkill  county, 
where  the  grandfather  followed  the  vocation  of  mining.  These 
parents  reared  three  children :  Bridget,  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  this  review;  Dennis,  and  Michael,  all  born  and  reared  in  the 
township  of  Blythe,  where  they  still  reside.  Patrick  F.  Devine, 
the  father  of  Alex.  J.,  was  reared  in  the  township  of  Blythe  from 
the  age  of  four  years,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  a  normal  school  in  Kutztown.  He  adopted  the 
pedagogic  profession  as  his  occupation  and  followed  teaching  con- 
tinuously for  thirty-three  years  as  principal  of  the  public  schools 
of  Blythe  township.  He  died  Oct.  6,  1892,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four 
years.  He  and  his  good  wife  reared  to  maturity  a  family  of  nine 
children:  Martha,  Michael,  Alex.  J.,  Bridget,  Patrick  F.,  Jr.,  James, 
Annie,  Joseph,  and  Regina.  Alex.  J.  Devine,  who  is  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  review,  was  reared  in  the  township  of  Blythe  and 
8--V0I.  II 


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114  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that 
township.  He  then  attended  the  normal  school  at  Kutztown  and 
fitted  himself  especially  for  the  occupation  of  teaching.  He  be- 
gan his  pedagogic  career  as  a  teacher  in  the  common  schools,  re- 
maining so  employed  for  six  years,  and  since  the  autumn  of  1904  has 
been  principal  of  the  Cumbola  public  schools,  a  position  ih  which 
he  has  given  universal  satisfaction.  In  assuming  the  duties  of 
that  position  he  succeeded  his  younger  brother,  Patrick  F.  Devine, 
who  had  officiated  in  that  capacity  during  the  three  previous  years, 
and  who  is  now  principal  of  the  public  schools  of  Tuscarora.  Pat- 
rick F.  Devine  is  a  graduate  of  the  state  normal  school  at  Lock 
Haven.  Alex.  J.  Devine  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Family  at  New  Philadelphia,  and  in  his  political  views  he  renders 
an  unswerving  allegiance  to  the  time-ljonored  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party.  In  1902  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  a  term  of  years  ending  May  6,  1907.  In 
assuming  the  duties  of  this  office  he  succeeded  his  honored  father, 
who  had  occupied  that  official  station  for  a  continuous  period  of 
twenty-nine  years. 

Diamond,  Theodore  A,,  proprietor  of  the  "Philadelphia  quick 
lunch  rooms,*'  at  113  East  Norwegian  street,  Pottsville,  was  bom 
in  Macedonia,  Turkey,  Jan.  16,  1884.  The  historic  land  of  which 
he  is  a  native  was  better  known  in  the  early  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian Era  as  being  the  home  of  Macedonius,  who  founded  the 
"Macedonian  Heresy,"  in  A.  D.  341,  at  which  time  he  was  Patri- 
arch of  Constantinople.  Macedonia  embraces  a  considerable  area 
of  territory  in  southern  Turkey,  bordering  upon  Greece  and 
the  JEgesLti  Sea.  Mr.  Diamond's  birthplace  is  a  city  of  about 
10,000  inhabitants,  one  of  the  greatest  manufacturing  centers  in 
the  so-called  state  of  Macedonia,  and  is  famous  throughout  Europe 
for  its  rare  wines.  Theodore  Diamond  was  educated  in  the  public  and 
gymnasium  schools  of  his  native  land,  his  primary  education  being 
in  the  Greek  language.  He  served  an  apprenticeship  of  one  year 
at  Volo,  Thessaly,  Greece,  where  he  learned  the  art  of  cooking, 
according  to  the  methods  of  that  country.  He  desired  to  perfect 
himself  in  this  business,  and  came  to  America  in  1900  with  that 
end  in  view,  but  circumstances  compelled  a  temporary  divergence. 
He  was  employed  in  a  cigar  factory  in  New  York  city  for  fifteen 
months,  engaged  in  making  Egyptian  cigarettes.  His  employers, 
the  wealthy  and  prominent  Buron  Brothers,  of  Volo^  treated  him 
as  a  social  equal  and  trusted  employe,  thus  making  his  first  ex- 
perience in  America  a  chapter  in  his  life  to  which  he  always  looks 
back  with  pleasure.  He  spent  six  months  in  the  employ  of  a 
telephone  company  in  the  same  city,  and  was  in  the  employ  of  a 
private  family  at  Brooklyn  during  one  summer.  Following  this, 
he  was  employed  in  cooking  in  restaurants,  hotels  and  private 
boarding-houses  in  New  York.  He  was  quick  to  learn  both  the 
language  and  business  details,  and  was  a  partner  in  the  Palace  cafe 
at  Hazleton,  Pa.,  for  seven  months,  when  the  lease  expired  and 
could  not  be  renewed.     On  Aug.  21,  1903,  he  started  in  business 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  115 

at  Pottsville,  his  first  location  being  at  No.  54  West  Norwegian 
street.  On  May  i,  1904,  he  moved  to  his  present  location.  Here 
he  has  a  well-appointed  restaurant  and  quick  lunch  rooms,  which 
are  noted  for  cleanliness,  excellent  cooking  and  courteous  treat- 
ment of  guests.  Mr.  Diamond  has  made  a  success  of  his  business, 
and  is  constantly  adding  to  and  improving  his  establishment.  In 
1905  he  established  a  plant  for  the  manufacture  of  ice  cream,  the 
product  of  which  is  served  on  his  tables  or  sold  at  wholesale  and 
retail  as  required.  This  feature  of  his  business  was  established 
at  a  cost  of  more  than  $1,000.  It  is  operated  by  electricity,  and  is 
modern  in  all  appointments.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Diamond,  Anas- 
tacios  and  Elizabeth  (Dragumano)  Diamond,  were  natives  of  the 
same  locality  as  himself,  where  the  mother  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-eight  years.  The  father  is  living,  and  is  being  cared  for  by 
his  son,  Christ,  who  was  with  the  subject  in  Pottsville  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  but  returned  to  Greece  to  fulfill  this  filial  duty.  The 
sister,  whose  name  is  Mary,  is  married  and  has  three  children  in 
in  her  native  country.  The  family  are  members  of  Saint  Joseph's 
Orthodox  church  in  Naoussa,  Macedonia.  Mr.  Diamond  became 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  in  May,  1906,  and  at  once  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  Republican  party.  He  speaks,  reads  and  writes 
the  English  language  with  fluency,  and  is  an  intelligent  and  com- 
panionable young  man.  He  employs  an  average  of  six  assistants 
in  the  various  lines  of  his  business,  and  conducts  a  quiet  and  popular 
resort  which  is  frequented  by  many  of  the  best  people  of  the 
town.  He  is  a  man  of  exceptionally  good  habits,  a  feature  in  his 
character  which  has  been  conducive  to  the  success  which  he  has 
achieved. 

Diefenderfer,  George  C,  member  of  the  shoe  manufacturing 
firm  of  H.  S.  Albright  &  Co.,  of  Orwigsburg,  was  born  in  that 
place  on  Jan.  28,  1855.  He  is  a  son  of  Christian  and  Elizabeth 
(Kimmel)  Diefenderfer,  both  natives  of  the  Keystone  state.  The 
father  was  a  mason  in  his  early  life,  but  later  became  a  locomotive 
engineer  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad.  In  April,  1862, 
he  enlisted  in  the  97th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  then  with  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  but  was  later  transferred  to  the  ii6th  Penn- 
sylvania infantry.  While  fighting  with  the  latter  regiment  at 
Ream's  station  he  was  captured  and  late  in  1864  succumbed  to 
exposure  and  starvation  in  a  Salisbury,  N.  C,  prison.  His  widow 
passed  away  on  Jan.  5,  1883,  leaving  five  children.  John  A.,  the 
eldest,  lives  in  Orwigsburg;  Anna  is  Mrs.  George  H.  Bickley,  of 
the  same  place;  Alice  is  Mrs.  Daniel  F.  Shoener,  of  this  county; 
and  Louis  K.  is  a  hosiery  manufacturer  at  Wiconisco,  Dauphin 
county.  George  C.  Diefenderfer,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the 
second  of  the  family  in  order  of  birth.  He  received  a  scholastic 
training  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town  and  later  at 
Waynesburg  college.  When  he  had  taken  advantage  of  all  the 
educational  opportunities  oflFered  him  he  embarked  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  at  Wiconisco,  Dauphin  county,  but  subsequently 
disposed  of  his  interests  there  and  came  to  Orwigsburg  to  become 


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116  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

a  partner  in  the  Albright  &  Co.  shoe  manufactory.  He  has  now 
(1907)  been  associated  in  this  industry  some  twenty-four  years. 
Besides  this  he  has  numerous  other  interests,  among  them  a 
directorship  in  the  First  National  bank,  the  presidency  of  the 
Orwigsburg  school  board  (now  serving  his  twenty-second  year), 
and  the  presidency  of  the  Orwigsburg  building  and  loan  asso- 
ciation. From  1876  to  1880  he  was  postmaster  of  the  borough 
of  Wiconisco.  On  Nov.  9,  1880,  Mr.  Diefenderfer  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Mary  M.  Maurer,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  a  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  G.  L.  and  Margaret  (Mayer)  Maurer. 
Three  children  have  blessed  this  union.  Alan  L.,  a  Princeton 
graduate,  is  a  member  of  the  class  of  1908  of  the  department  of 
medicine  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  Florence  E.  is  at 
home;  Margaret  M.  is  a  graduate  of  the  high  school  and  is  now 
devoting  her  time  to  the  study  of  both  instrumental  and  vocal 
music.  Mrs.  Diefenderfer  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  and  her  husband  is  a  regular  attendant.  He  is  a 
Shriner  of  the  Masonic  order  and  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason, 
and  has  held  various  offices  in  the  different  stages  of  Masonry. 
He  is  a  man  of  exceptional  business  ability  and  is  well  and  favor- 
ably known  throughout  the  county. 

Dietz,  Gottfried,  a  Minersville  citizen  of  wealth  and  influence, 
a  dealer  in  flour,  feed,  hay,  grain,  etc.,  and  a  lumber  merchant,  was 
born  in  Germany.  .  The  place  of  his  nativity  was  Wiirtemberg 
and  the  date  Oct.  24,  1833,  a  son  of  Gottfried  and  Kate  (Klein) 
Dietz.  The  father  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  all  his  active 
life,  and  his  death  occurred  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
still  a  youngster.  Gottfried  Dietz  is  the  youngest  of  the  four 
children  born  to  his  parents  and  is  the  sole  survivor.  He  received 
all  his  scholastic  advantages  in  the  public  schools  of  his  Father- 
land and  in  1853  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  at  once  in 
Minersville.  For  the  first  ten  years  of  his  residence  he  clerked 
fn  a  store  and  then  embarked  in  the  grain  and  feed  business,  which 
he  has  so  successfully  been  operating  ever  since.  In  1875  he  added 
the  timber  business  to  his  other  interests  and  has  undoubtedly 
sold  more  timber  to  the  mines  than  any  other  man  in  the  same 
part  of  the  county.  In  politics  he  is  a  strong  exponent  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Republican  party,  and  at  several  successive  elections 
has  been  the  successful  candidate  of  that  party  for  election  to 
the  borough  council.  On  April  14,  1858,  Mr.  Dietz  married  Miss 
Katie  Schwartz,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Katie  Schwartz,  both  of  whom  died  in  the  old  country.  Mrs. 
Dietz  died  on  May  i,  1893,  ^^  the  age  of  sixty-six  years.  She  was 
a  woman  of  rare  attainments,  kindly,  thoughtful  and  matronly, 
and  her  death  was  a  distinct  loss  to  the  community.  Besides  the 
bereaved  husband  she  left  four  children.  Fred,  the  eldest,  mar- 
ried Annie  Ferg,  and  is  employed  by  his  father.  Katie  is  the  wife 
of  William  Filsburg  and  the  mother  of  seven  children — Elsie  L., 
George  G..  Robert  E.,  Ruth,  William  J.,  Franklin  D.  and  Ben- 
jamin Carl.    Charles  is  connected  with  his  father  in  business.    He 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  117 

married  Emma  Morgan,  by  whom  he  has  eight  children — Lina 
(now  Mrs.  David  Hinkin,  and  mother  of  an  unnamed  daughter), 
Godfrey  H.,^  Mabel,  Charles,  Nettie,  Helen,  Martha  and  Edgar. 
Mary  is  now  Mrs.  Peter  Zupert,  and  her  husband  is  engaged  in 
business  with  her  father.  They  have  eight  children — Laura  M., 
Robert,  Horace,  Edna,  George,  Freda,  Mary  and  Raymond.  Mr. 
Dietz  is  a  pillar  in  the  German  Lutheran  church,  of  which  his 
wife  was  a  most  devout  communicant,  and  their  children  have  all 
been  reared  in  that'  faith.  Although  well  advanced  in  years  he 
retains  a  wonderful  grasp  on  the  business  and  social  activities  of 
the  community  in  which  he  has  been  an  important  influence  for 
good  for  so  many  years. 

Ditchey,  Charles  F.,  manager  of  the  Lauer  Brewing  Company's 
business  in  the  anthracite  coal  district,  is  a  descendant  of  one  of 
the  pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill  county,  his  grandparents,  John 
and  Wilhelmina  Ditchey,  having  come  from  Germany  and  lo- 
cated at  Whitfield  patch,  near  Middleport,  in  1847,  ^^^  there  the 
grandfather  was  engaged  in  mining  until  killed  by  a  fall  of  coal 
about  1857.  They  had  a  family  of  eight  children,  of  whom  Jacob 
W.,  the  father  of  Charles  F.,  was  next  to  the  youngest.  He  was 
born  near  Middleport  in  September,  1853,  and  was  therefore  about 
four  years  of  age  when  his  father  was  killed.  He  grew  to  man- 
hood in  the  county,  married  Miss  Elizabeth  O'Keefe,  and  was  for 
some  time  employed  as  a  breaker  builder  about  the  mines.  In 
1881  he  was  "closed  in"  in  the  mine  and  when  rescued  gave  up 
his  occupation,  never  even  returning  to  the  mine  for  his  tools. 
Subsequently  he  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  liquor  busi- 
ness, in  which  he  was  successful.  He  and  his  wife  are  both  liv- 
ing, being  residents  of  Tamaqua,  where  he  is  now  in  the  mercan- 
tile line.  He  owns  considerable  real  estate  in  the  county.  Charles 
F.  Ditchey  is  the  eldest  of  eight  children  born  to  his  parents,  the 
others  being  Franklin  J.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  liquor  business 
at  Tamaqua;  Minnie,  wife  of  Albert  Berigan,  of  Ashland;  Elmer 
J.,  foreman  in  Wise's  bakery ;  Sarah  A.,  a  student  with  Dr.  Shiffer- 
stine,  of  Tamaqua ;  Jacob  W.,  Jr.,  at  home  with  his  parents ;  Ber- 
nard J.,  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  John  K.,  in  school. 
Charles  F.  Ditchey  was  born  at  Mahanoy  City,  March  31,  1880. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Tamaqua  and  began  his  busi- 
ness career  in  the  same  line  of  activity  in  which  he  is  now  engaged, 
his  father  having  been  agent  for  the  same  company,  so  that  he 
has  been  thoroughly  educated  in  all  the  details  of  the  business.  He 
began  driving  a  delivery  wagon  for  the  company  in  1890  in  Tam- 
aqua, and  in  1901  became  the  agent  there,  holding  that  place 
until  1903,  when  he  came  to  Shenandoah.  On  Feb.  4,  1904,  he 
established  the  present  agency  and  still  has  personal  supervision 
of  its  affairs.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks ;  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles ;  the  Tamaqua  So- 
cial club;  the  Citizens'  Fire  Company  of  Tamaqua,  and  of  the 
standing  committee  of  the  Tamaqua  Democracy,  with  which  party 
he  affiliates  and  has  always  taken  an  active  part  since  attaining 


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118  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

his  majority.  He  was  elected  assessor  of  Tamaqua,  but  resigned 
the  office  when  he  came  to  Shenandoah.  On  Nov.  9,  1904,  Mr. 
Ditchey  married  Miss  Augusta  M.,  daughter  of  Adolph  and  The- 
resa Kline,  of  Shenandoah,  and  to  this  union  has  been  born  one 
daughter,  Elizabeth  Theresa,  born  Aug.  12,  1905.  The  family 
are  members  of  the  German  Catholic  church. 

Dohcrty,  Henry  W.,  superintendent  of  the  Baber  cemetery,  was 
born  in  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  Oct.  11,  1867,  a  son  of  John  B. 
and  Mary  (Brown)  Doherty.  Both  parents  we?e  bom  in  County  An- 
trim, and  there  the  father  carried  on  his  vocation  of  linen  bleacher 
in  an  establishment  of  his  own  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
on  Feb.  15,  1890.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  the  mother  left  the 
Emerald  Isle  for  this  country  in  company  with  her  sons,  and  is 
now  living  in  Germantown.  The  other  surviving  sons  are  John  B., 
Robert  A.,  William  J.,  E.  G.,  J.  R.  L.,  and  Frederick  G.,  all  living 
in  Philadelphia  and  all  married  with  the  exception  of  William  and 
Frederick.  Henry  W.,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  took  advantage 
of  the  educational  opportunities  afforded  by  the  schools  of  his 
native  land  and  then  learned  the  trade  of  landscape  gardener.  For 
five  years  prior  to  his  coming  to  the  United  States  he  was  em- 
ployed in  that  work  and  has  followed  it  continuously  since  his 
arrival,  most  of  the  time  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  holding  a  good 
position  when  the  commissioners  of  the  Charles  Baber  cemetery 
association  made  him  the  proposition  which  gave  him  charge  of 
the  cemetery  in  Pottsville,  and  which  he  accepted.  On  June  15, 
1906,  he  arrived  in  Pottsville  and  assumed  his  new  duties.  Al- 
though his  service  has  been  of  a  rather  short  period  there  is 
plenty  of  evidence  of  his  skill  and  artistic  ability  and  promises 
of  still  greater  improvement.  On  Sept.  18,  1904,  Mr.  Doherty 
married  Miss  Rebecca  Brown,  a  daughter  of  William  Brown,  and 
a  native  of  County  Tyrone,  Ireland.  The  father  is  now  living 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doherty,  and  the  mother  died  in  Ireland. 
Politically  Mr.  Doherty  is  a  fearless  exponent  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party,  but  has  never  held  office.  Both  he  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  at  one  time 
he  was  connected  with  several  fraternal  organizations,  but  has 
resigned  from  all  of  them.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  life  insurance 
and  carries  several  heavy  policies. 

Dolan,  Hugh,  is  one  of  the  successful  mining  contractors  of  his 
native  city  of  Pottsville,  where  he  was  born  on  Feb.  22,  1874.  He 
is  held  in  high  esteem  as  a  citizen  and  as  an  enterprising  and 
reliable  business  man,  and  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Jane  (Homer) 
Dolan,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Pottsville  and  the  latter 
in  England.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  was  one  of  the  sterling  pio- 
neers of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Pottsville,  where  he  followed  the 
carpenters'  trade  for  a  long  term  of  years.  James  Homer,  the 
maternal  grandfather,  came  from  England  to  America  and  like- 
wise was  an  early  settler  of  Pottsville,  where  he  continued  to  re- 
side until  his  death.     Joseph   Dolan  was  reared  to  maturity  in 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  119 

Pottsville  and  became  a  prominent  and  prosperous  mining  con- 
tractor, continuing  to  be  identified  with  this  line  of  enterprise 
during  the  greater  portion  of  his  active  business  career.  He  died 
in  Pottsville  in  1893,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years.  Of  his  four 
children  the  subject  of  this  review  is  the  eldest,  and  the  others 
are  Mark,  Paul,  and  Louise.  Hugh  Dolan  received  his  prelimi- 
nary educational  discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville  and 
supplemented  this  by  a  course  of  study  in  the  historic  Mount  St. 
Mary's  college,  Emmitsburg,  Md.,  an  institution  which  was 
founded  in  1808.  Later  he  studied  mining  engineering  under  the 
able  preceptorship  of  A.  B.  Cochran  &  Son,  of  Pottsville,  and 
after  following  the  work  of  this  profession  for  three  years  he 
engaged  in  independent  business  as  a  mining  contractor.  He 
initiated  his  efforts  in  this  line  in  1896  and  has  since  continued 
with  marked  success,  being  associated  with  his  brother  in 
business,  under  the  firm  name  of  Dolan  Brothers.  In  politics 
Mr.  Dolan  maintains  an  independent  attitude,  and  he  is 
known  as  a  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizen.  He  is  at 
the  present  time  (1907)  president  of  the  council  of  the  borough 
of  Yorkville,  is  a  member  of  the  West  End  Fire  Company, 
and  is  affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  In  1899  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Dolan  and 
Miss  Esther  Jennings,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Esther  (Galbraith) 
Jennings,  of  Pottsville,  and  they  have  six  children — ^Joseph,  Hugh, 
Jr.,  Homer,  Esther,  Frank,  and  Robert. 

Dolan,  Michael,  son  of  Michael  and  Ann  (Phillips)  Dolan,  was 
bom  in  Branchdale,  Reiley  township,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  Jan. 
TTj;  1868.  He  has  four  sisters,  Elizabeth,  Margaret,  Mary  Ann 
and  Kate,  and  one  brother,  Bernard.  He  received  his  education 
in  the  public  schools,  attending  during  the  winter  terms,  until  he 
was  ten  years  old,  and  working  in  the  coal  breaker  in  the  summer. 
At  that  age  he  left  school  and  his  whole  time  was  occupied  in 
the  breaker  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to 
work  in  the  mines,  becoming  a  practical  miner.  He  remained  in 
this  employment  until  the  spring  of  1902,  when  he  became  under- 
keeper  of  the  insane  at  the  Schuylkill  county  almshouse,  which 
position  he  occupied  for  four  years.  April  i,  1906,  he  was  made 
head-keeper  over  this  department,  which  position  he  now  holds. 
He  has  full  charge  of  this  department,  and  has  four  men  and  four 
women  assistants,  who  have  the  care  of  seventy-six  male  and 
thirty-five  female  inmates.  Mr.  Dolan  was  married  on  April  9, 
1901,  to  Miss  Kate  Doran,  daughter  of  Patrick  and  Julia  (De- 
Laney)  Doran,  all  natives  of  Tower  City,  Schuylkill  county. 
Three  children,  Julia,  James  and  John,  have  been  born  to  this 
union.  Mr.  Dolan  is  a  member  and  past  officer  of  Division  No.  14, 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  of  Branchdale.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  his  family  belongs  to  the  St.  Ambrose  Roman 
Catholic  church  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 

Donaghue,  Louis  F.,  M.  D.,  a  successful  and  popular  physician 
of  Mahanoy  Plane,  was  born  at  Summit  Hill,  Carbon  county,  Pa., 


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120  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Jan.  I,  1872,  and  is  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction.  His  father,  Dr. 
James  A.  Donaghue,  was  born  in  Dundee,  Scotland,  and  his  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Anna  Walsh,  was  a  native  of  County 
Donegal,  Ireland.  The  father  was  a  graduate  of  the  Royal  col- 
lege of  physicians  and  surgeons  of  Belfast,  Ireland,  where  he  com- 
pleted the  course  about  1857,  and  he  soon  afterward  came  to 
America.  He  first  located  in  this  country  at  Summit  Hill,  but 
after  practicing  for  ten  years  there  he  removed  to  Girardville, 
Schuylkill  county,  where  he  continued  in  active  practice  until  his 
death,  in  1903.  After  coming  to  America  he  took  a  course  of  lec- 
tures in  the  Bellevue  hospital  college  of  New  York,  thus  thor- 
oughly equipping  himself  for  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
the  land  of  his  adoption.  He  and  his  wife  became  the  parents 
of  the  following  children:  James,  a  physician  in  New  York  city; 
Vincent,  of  Girardville;  Francis,  deceased;  Louis  F. ;  Theresa, 
a  druggist  at  Girardville;  Joseph,  a  druggist  in  Philadelphia. 
Dr.  Louis  F.  Donaghue  was  reared  at  Girardville  and  educated 
in  the  schools  of  that  borough.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of 
medicine  with  his  father  and  in  1898  graduated  at  the  Medico- 
Chirurgical  college  of  Philadelphia.  In  August  of  that  year  he 
located  at  Mahanoy  Plane,  where  he  has  been  eminently  success- 
ful in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession,  and  has  built  up  a 
lucrative  business.  During  the  years  1904-5  he  was  state  quaran- 
tine inspector  for  Schuylkill  county,  and  was  for  several  terms  the 
secretary  of  the  board  of  health.  In  addition  to  his  regular  pro- 
fession he  is  a  registered  pharmacist  and  keeps  fully  in  touch 
with  the  new  discoveries  in  the  field  of  medical  investigation. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  1907  he  was  nominated  by  his 
party  for  the  office  of  coroner.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  In  1902  Dr.  Donaghue  married  Miss  Agnes, 
daughter  of  James  and-Ellen  (Wison)  Dewey,  of  Mahanoy  Plane, 
and  to  this  union  have  been  born  three  children — James,  Louis  and 
Francis,  the  first  named  being  deceased. 

Donahoe,  Michael  T.,  a  resident  of  Ashland  for  more  than  half 
a  century  and  connected  with  its  business  interests  thirty-three 
years  as  a  dealer  in  wall  paper,  pictures,  books  and  fancy  goods, 
was  born  at  Broad  Mountain,  in  the  parish  of  Pottsville,  this 
county,  in  the  year  1854,  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Mc- 
Cormic)  Donahoe,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  the  parish  of  Boyle, 
County  Roscommon,  Ireland.  He  is  a  grandson  of  Michael  and 
Mary  Donahoe,  of  the  same  parish,  who  immigrated  to  the  United 
States  in  1846  and  settled  near  Pottsville,  where  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  engaged  in  mining  until  1855,  when  he 
removed  to  Ashland,  where  he  followed  the  same  vocation  until 
his  death  in  June  1864,  at  which  time  he  was  forty-six  years  of 
age.  He  was  survived  by  six  children.  John,  the  eldest,  began 
working  about  the  mines  at  an  early  age  and  finally  became  a 
musician  and  music  teacher  of  distinctive  ability,  being  specially 
endowed  as  a  vocalist.  He  finally  engaged  in  business  and  in 
course  of  time  admitted  his  brother  Michael,  subject  of  this  review. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  121 

to  partnership.  They  were  associated  in  the  conducting  of  the 
Ashland  book  store  for  many  years.  Mary,  the  eldest  of  the  sis- 
ters, is  the  wife  of  Anthony  Murphy,  of  Salem,  Ohio;  Margaret 
is  the  wife  of  Terrence  O'Brien,  of  Decatur,  111.;  Hubert  is  a 
resident  of  Salem,  Ohio,  and  Bridget  maintains  her  home  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Michael  T.  Donahoe  was  afforded  the 
advantages  of  the  public  schools  of  Ashland  and  initiated  his  in- 
dependent career  as  slate-picker  around  the  mines.  In  1872  he 
engaged  in  business  with  his  brother  and  he  also  did  most  effective 
work  as  teacher  and  director  of  Catholic,  choirs  in  Mahanoy  City, 
Mahanoy  Plane,  Heckscherville  and  Ashland,  a  vocation  which 
he  followed  for  many  years.  In  1878  he  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  second  ward  of  Ashland,  and  he 
served  three  terms  as  chief  burgess  of  the  borough  of  Ashland, 
administering  the  affairs  of  the  office  with  marked  discrimination 
and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people  of.  the  borough.  He  was 
president  of  the  Ashland  Choral  Union  one  year  and  has  ever 
retained  a  deep  interest  in  the  "divine  art"  of  music ;  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Hose  Company,  an  organization  of  the  local  fire 
department  established  many  years  ago;  is  a  past  deputy  grand 
knight  and  grand  knight  of  Father  Sheridan  Council,  Knights 
of  Columbus;  and  a  member  and  musical  director  of  the  Holy 
Name  Society  of  St.  Joseph's  church,  of  Ashland,  of  which  Catho- 
lic parish  he  and  his  family  are  communicants.  As  a  young  man 
Mr.  Donahoe  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Elizabeth 
Wingert,  daughter  of  Frank  B.  Wingert,  whose  father  was  the 
first  cashier  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Ashland.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Donahoe  are  the  parents  of  three  children — Frances  E.,  the  wife 
of  Charles  E.  Pett,  of  New  York  city;  and  Wilfred  J.  and  Ger- 
trude K.,  who  remain  at  the  parental  home. 

Doyle,  Eklward  V.,  a  promising  young  attorney  of  Pottsville, 
was  born  at  Cumbola,  Schuylkill  county,  March  9,  1878.  His 
parents,  Edward  and  Julia  (Whalen)  Doyle,  were  natives  of  Ire- 
land, the  former  of  County  Wicklow  and  the  latter  of  County 
Kilkenny.  The  grandfather,  John  Doyle,  died  in  Ireland,  and 
his  widow,  whose  maiden  name  was  Julia  Hayden,  came  with  her 
children  to  America  in  1848.  Those  children  were  Julia,  now  the 
wife  of  Thomas  Burns;  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Burke;  William,  Ed- 
ward and  John.  When  Edward  Doyle,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  settled  near 
Five  Points  in  East  Norwegian  township,  where  for  some  time  he 
was  occupied  in  mining.  He  then  engaged  in  boating  on  the 
Schuylkill  canal,  then  embarked  in  the  saloon  business  in  Potts- 
ville, and  later  became  a  dealer  in  general  merchandise  at  Cum- 
bola, where  he  was  the  first  postmaster,  holding  the  office  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1894.  His  daughter  succeeded  him 
and  served  as  postmistress  until  1906,  when  she  resigned  on  ac- 
count of  her  health.  Edward  and  Julia  Doyle  were  the  parents  of 
twelve  children,  of  whom  the  following  are  now  living:  Julia, 
wife  of  Michael   Kenna;    John  J.,  now  in  Colorado;    Mary  A.; 


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122  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Patrick  W.,  of  Goldfield,  Nev.;  Rose  Ann,  wife  of  R.  J.  Folo- 
han,  proprietor  of  the  Union  House  at  Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill 
county;  Lizzie,  wife  of  Edward  Flannagan,  of  West  Virginia; 
and  Edward  V.  Edward  V.  Doyle  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Cumbola  and  Palo  Alto  and  in  1896  became  a  teacher.  The 
following  year  he  entered  Villanova  college,  near  Philadelphia,  in 
which  institution  he  spent  five  years,  graduating  in  1902  with  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  then  studied  law  with  W.  H.  Shep- 
herd, of  Pottsville,  and  on  the  first  Monday  in  October,  1905,  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  state.  Since  that 
time  he  has  been  engaged  in  practice  in  the  office  with  his  precep- 
tor. In  the  spring  of  1906  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  for  Blythe  township,  with  office  at  Cumbola,  being 
the  first  attorney  in  the  history  of  the  county  to  be  elected  to  this 
office.  Mr.  Doyle  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  affiliations,  and 
takes  a  commendable  interest  in  all  questions  of  public  policy. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Holy  Family  Catholic  church,  of  New 
Philadelphia,  and  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  297,  Foresters  of  America. 
On  Aug.  3,  1904,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  A. 
daughter  of  John  F.  Gallagher,  formerly  of  Schuylkill  county,  now 
of  Reading.  To  this  marriage  was  born  one  daughter,  Julia. 
Mrs.  Doyle  died  on  Jan.  11,  1907. 

Dreisbach,  Rev.  Alfred  F.,  Ph.  D.,  a  minister  of  the  gospel  of 
the  Reformed  faith  and  pastor  of  the  First  church  of  that  denomi- 
nation in  Pottsville,  was  born  near  Windgap,  Northampton 
county,  Pa.,  Sept.  8,  1851.  He  is  one  of  eight  children  born  to 
his  father  and  mother,  Jacob  and  Matilda  (Gormanton)  Dreis- 
bach,  and  the  seventh  in  order  of  birth.  The  first  member  of  the 
family  to  come  to  the  United  States  from  Germany  was  George 
Yost  Dreisbach,  a  great-grandfather  of  the  doctor,  who  immi- 
grated about  1740.  The  grandfather,  George  Peter  Dreisbach,  was 
a  miller  and  farmer  of  Northampton  county,  and  his  son,  Jacob, 
operated  the  mill  and  did  carpenter  work  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1891,  some  thirty  years  after 
his  wife's  death.  On  the  maternal  side  Dr.  Dreisbach  is  of 
French  stock,  his  great-grandparents,  Frederick  and  Elizabeth 
(Frantz)  Gormanton,  having  come  to  this  country  from  France 
about  1740.  The  children  of  Jacob  and  Matilda  Dreisbach  in  or- 
der of  birth  are  George,  now  living  in  Easton;  Elizabeth  S.,  de- 
ceased; Emma  S.,  wife  of  T.  F.  Burley,  of  Easton;  Jacob  C., 
deceased ;  Joel  F.,  of  Easton ;  Clarissa  L.,  deceased ;  Alfred  F.,  the 
subject  of  this  memoir;  and  Reuben  E.,  deceased.  All  of  the  de- 
ceased members  died  in  infancy  with  the  exception  of  Jacob,  who 
lived  to  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years.  Dr.  Dreisbach  grew  to 
maturity  in  his  native  county,  being  educated  in  its  public  schools 
and  at  a  parochial  institution,  and  when  he  was  sixteen  years  of 
age  accepted  a  position  as  teacher  in  one  of  the  public  schools. 
He  remained  at  that  labor  but  one  year,  however,  and  then  en- 
tered the  collegiate  institute  at  Easton,  Pa.,  doing  some  teaching 
at  the  same  time  and  taking  special  instruction  in  Greek  and  Latin 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  123 

of  Rev.  Dr.  Reinecke.  When  he  was  fully  prepared  he  went  to 
the  Franklin  and  Marshall  college  at  Lancaster  and  in  1877  com- 
pleted a  four  years'  course  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 
Subsequently,  in  1880,  he  completed  the  three  years'  course  in 
the  Eastern  Theological  seminary  at  Lancaster  and  on  May  25 
of  that  year  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  East  Penn- 
sylvania classis  of  the  Reformed  church,  his  examination  being 
made  by  Drs.  E.  W.  Reinecke,  T.  C.  Porter  and  D.  Y.  Heisler. 
The  committee  which  ordained  him  was  of  the  Potomac  synod 
of  the  classis  of  Zion  and  consisted  of  Dr.  J.  O.  Miller,  D.  D. ; 
S.  F.  Launy  and  W.  F.  Xanders,  the  ceremony  occurring  at 
Shrewsbury,  which  church  became  his  first  charge.  There  he 
remained  for  fourteen  and  a  half  years,  in  charge  of  four  regular 
appointments,  and  in  1895,  when  the  number  was  increased  to  six, 
he  resigned  because  of  his  physical  inability  to  do  the  work. 
He  then  accepted  a  call  to  St.  Mary's  Reformed  church  of  Silver 
Run,  Md.,  and  remained  in  the  position  for  a  period  of  four  years 
and  as  many  months.  His  next  charge  was  the  Steelton  First 
Reformed  church  near  Harrisburg,  which  pastorate  he  took  on 
Aug.  I,  1899.  Just  four  years  later  he  preached  his  first  sermon 
as  pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  church  of  Pottsville.  This  church 
has  a  membership  roll  of  330  and  a  Sunday  school  of  some  200 
pupils.  Besides  this  he  is  pastor  of  St.  John's  Reformed  church 
of  St.  Clair,  which  has  a  membership  of  125  and  an  average  Sun- 
day school  attendance  of  100.  He  is  thus  called  upon  to  preach 
three  sermons  each  Sabbath.  Each  church  has  its  Christian  En- 
deavor and  Ladies'  Aid  societies  and  numerous  other  organizations. 
Since  Dr.  Dreisbach's  'graduation  his  Alma  Mater  has  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  and  the  Illinois  Wesleyan 
university  has  honored  him  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philoso- 
phy. On  June  29,  1880,  was  solemnized  Eh*.  Dreisbach's  marriage 
to  Miss  Mary  E.  Hoffmeier,  born  in  Lancaster,  and  a  daughter  of 
William  M.  and  Lydia  (Resh)  HoflFmeier.  The  founder  of  the 
Hoffmeier  family  in  America  was  Rev.  John  Henry  Hoffmeier, 
who  was  the  organizer  of  the  Reformed  church  at  Lancaster.  In 
the  fatherland  his  vocation  was  considered  plebeian,  so  that  it  be- 
came necessary  for  him  to  elope  with  the  lady  of  his  choice,  Miss 
Gertrude  von  Asen,  whose  family  were  people  of  the  German 
court.  The  marriage  occurred  on  May  8,  1793,  and  they  sailed 
for  America  the  following  day.  Their  family  consisted  of  three 
daughters  and  as  many  sons,  two  of  whom,  William  and  Charles, 
were  ministers  of  the  Reformed  faith.  For  more  than  100  years 
the  family  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  Reformed  church, 
Mrs.  Dreisbach's  grandfather,  Jacob  L.  Hoffmeier,  having  been  a 
Sabbath  school  missionary  who  organized  many  schools  in  Lancas- 
ter and  vicinity.  Her  father,  William  M.,  is  a  retired  salesman  liv- 
ing in  Lancaster,  and  her  mother,  who  is  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry> 
is  also  living;  Mrs.  Dreisbach,  who  is  the  eldest  of  the  five  chil- 
dren in  the  family,  was  born  on  Nov.  11,  i860,  and  was  educated 
in  .Lancaster.    The  eldest  son,  Samuel  Richard,  is  foreman  of  the 


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124  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Hamilton  watch  factory  at  Lancaster ;  his  wife  was  formerly  Miss 
Lottie  Cogley.  Mabel  Gertrude  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Zecher,  a 
dealer  in  electrical  supplies  in  Lancaster;  Carrie  Sue  married 
Peter  McComony,  an  electrician  of  Lancaster;  and  Daisy  E.,  the 
youngest,  is  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Lancaster.  To  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Dreisbach  have  been  born  two  sons.  The  elder,  Paul 
William,  was  born  May  23,  1886,  in  Shrewsbury,  York  county. 
He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Pottsville  high  school  in  the  class  of  1905, 
and  a  year  later  completed  a  post-graduate  course  in  the  same 
institution.  In  the  fall  of  1906  he  matriculated  at  Franklin  and 
Marshall  college  in  Lancaster.  He  is  a  proficient  musician  and 
has  served  as  pipe  organist  in  his  father's  church.  The  other  son 
is  Alfred  Gerry,  also  born  in  Shrewsbury,  May  27,  1890,  was  grad- 
uated at  the  Pottsville  high  school  in  the  class  of  1906,  and  is 
now  engaged  in*  the  study  of  music,  in  which  he  is  naturally  most 
proficient. 

Dreisigacker,  John  F.,  furniture  dealer  and  undertaker  at  Tower 
City,  was  born  at  Landentown,  Schuylkill  county,  Jan.  i,  1861. 
His  parents,  Robert  and  Auguste  (Brown)  Dreisigacker,  were  both 
natives  of  Germany,  he  of  Schleusingen  and  she  of  Oberhof.  The 
father  was  a  cabinet-maker  by  trade.  He  came  to  America  in  1852 
and  the  mother  came  over  two  years  later.  In  1862  they  located 
at  Minersville,  but  after  a  short  residence  there  went  to  Ashland. 
In  the  fall  of  1865  they  went  to  Berlin,  Canada,  where  they  lived 
for  two  years,  then  went  to  Philadalphia  and  remained  there  until 
1869,  when  they  returned  to  Schuylkill  county  and  settled  at 
Tamaqua.  In  April,  1872,  they  came  to  Tower  City,  where  the 
father  died  on  Jan.  31,  1892,  and  where  the  mother  is  still  living. 
They  had  two  children — Louisa,  who  married  George  W.  Keilman 
and  died  in  1894,  and  John  F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  John  F. 
Dreisigacker  was  educated  in  the  Lutheran  schools  of  Philadelphia 
and  attended  school  for  awhile  after  his  family  located  in  Tower 
City.  He  learned  the  cabinet-makers'  trade  with  his  father,  with 
whom  he  was  associated  for  eighteen  years.  In  1892  he  started 
his  present  place  of  business,  which  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  best 
equipped  furniture  stores  in  this  section  of  the  county.  He  pre- 
pared himself  for  embalming  and  gives  special  attention  to  that 
line  of  work.  Mr.  Dreisigacker  is  a  member  of  Tremont  Lodge, 
No.  276,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Camp  No.  52,  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America  at  Tower  City;  and  Reiner  City  Lodge, 
No.  446,  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political 
views,  and  though  he  never  sought  office  he  served  two  terms  on 
the  school  board.  On  Oct.  22,  1882,  he  married  Miss  Maggie 
Green,  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  to  this  union  have  been  born  the 
following  children:  Charles  Robert,  who  is  with  his  father  in 
business,  and  who  married  Miss  Lulu  Schamper;  Mary  Augusta, 
a  teacher  in'  Porter  township;  and  Leo  J.,  Nellie,  Maude,  Dewey 
and  Steward,  at  home  with  the  parents.  Mr.  Dreisigacker  is  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  his  wife  is  a  Catholic. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  125 

Dreshman,  John,  the  subject  of  this  article,  is  an  early  settler 
of  Ashland,  and  accompanied  his  parental  family  to  that  place  when 
a  child.  He  was  born  in  New  York  city,  Feb.  25,  1852,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Eva  B.  (Hill)  Dreshman,  natives  of  Weiders- 
chausen,  Germany.  They  came  to  America  about  1848  and  after 
a  few  years  residence  in  New  York  and  elsewhere  located  in  Ash- 
land, where  their  lives  were  ended.  They  are  both  buried  in  the 
beautiful  cemetery  overlooking  the  town.  The  father  was  a 
carpenter  by  occupation,  and  was  among  the  pioneer  contractors 
and  builders  of  Ashland.  Many  of  the  substantial  homes  of  that 
town  ^re  monuments  to  his  mechanical  skill  and  industry.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest  living  of  eleven  children  born 
to  these  parents,  five  of  whom  lived  to  years  of  maturity.  Christian, 
the  eldest  of  the  five,  and  Charles,  the  youngest  son,  are  now  de- 
ceased. The  latter  was  killed  in  the  mines  at  the  age  of  21  years. 
The  names  of  those  now  living  are  Johjn,  Henry  and  Barbara. 
The  sister  is  the  wife  of  Abram  Lenker.  After  completing  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Ashland,  Mr.  Dreshman  and  his 
brother  Christian  learned  the  trade  of  their  father,  and  formed  a 
partnership  in  contracting  and  building.  This  continued  until  the 
death  of  Christian,  in  1903.  But  for  ten  years  previously,  Mr. 
Dreshman  had  been  interested  in  mining  operations,  and  since  the 
death  of  his  brother,  has  given  his  entire  attention  to  that  business. 
John  Dreshman  was  married  on  June  14,  1878,  to  Miss  Anna 
Martha  Smith,  of  Ashland.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  (Gantz)  Smith,  natives  of  Hessen  Darmstadt,  Germany. 
Six  children  were  born  to  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dreshman. 
These  were  named  Christian  H.,  Minnie,  John,  Anna  Martha, 
Charles  and  Naomi.  Minnie,  John  and  Charles  are  deceased.  The 
eldest  son,  Christian,  was  married  June  18,  1907,  to  Miss  Gertrude 
T.  Kaercher,  daughter  of  Edward  Kaercher  of  Pottsville,  and 
resides  in  Pittsburg,  where  he  is  assistant  secretary  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  Mr.  Dreshman  is  a  charter  member 
of  the  organization  of  Junior  Order  United  American  Mechanics  in 
Ashland.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  German 
Reformed  church.  In  political  affiliations  Mr.  Dreshman  is  a 
Democrat,  and  takes  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  his  party, 
but  has  never  sought  nor  held  public  office.  The  only  departure 
from  this  rule  has  been  in  his  acceptance  of  some  of  the  thankless 
and  unrequited  offices  of  the  borough  and  school  district. 

Drobel,  Fred  J.,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Drobel  &  Hoff- 
man, merchant  tailors  and  clothiers,  at  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of 
Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born  at  Mechanicsville,  June  18, 
1878,  and  his  entire  life  has  been  spent  within  the  confines  of  the 
district  to  the  history  of  which  these  volumes  are  dedicated.  His 
parents  are  John  and  Catherine  (Dimmerling)  Drobel,  the  former 
of  whom  is  a  native  of  Budweis,  Austria-Hungary,  and  the  latter 
was  born  in  Y'orkville,  this  county.  The  father  came  with  his 
parents  to  America  in  1852  and  with  them  took  up  his  residence 


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■'  -J  (M.l   and  he  was  jubt  entoi  ir 

.   '.v!  en.   in    I'S^'T,  at  the  n^^c  ••. 

'     r-  vvi-.y  a^  a  private  in  the  48*1. 

^^•:tlitl\^   with    which   he   scnr* 

I         ■   (J.  'L't'-l  in  front  of  Peter- 

;.  -'.  *      :'    \j>ril  2,  iSf\>  he  re*'ei\.'  i 

;. •{   j'v  tM'je  h'-in^-   but  the  \ict"r\ 

-  I A     h'*  wj'itulation  of  the  Arnn 

I  -^i   ..t  thr  '-"•ou^hern  Conf€d'r;tr\ . 

i'T   t.'  ;^an   wiirk  a<  a  niohjer   a^-J 

••^    1  1    inc  Wi'h  lii^  I'liihtdeh^Kn* 

i     !•-^  !>]*-.     'I  he  mother  cf  tlic 

I'll'    t"  h'kI  Anna  bimmcilir:\ 

i  '  .    \t'nT^,('a  lud  hecame  h^i^h  - 

^*'-   ;i  '1   Mr:-.   I^hii  i)rr>bel  thru 

'^   .    *t:    <.i!Vi'<':      [;iroi»,    Kdwai'!. 

t  ]  •   K»!i'  in  <-  :iih«.ho  t'hurrh,  an 

=     s  1 /v  i.-'vv   i--  :!.(irc   y)ar*'culariv 

•  ^u<\  r.-<:ei\ed  In^  edncatioti  in 
■  t  \  .1  r,'.;-;  in-Kpend'iil  care'.''  cJ- 
.••<  *  M's  ^ffui(!i'\v   1^   A'ell  pri»e<Ti 

h   or'e   firm  dnrinw   a   pcn(;'j   of 
--•'r^rc!  in  tlie  capacr^y  (^f  a  cloth- 

•  M)itr*d  into  a  partnership  w  i-J"* 
I.    .r.  »,  Miu'  o^   {)•/.  =v  !  Sc  Hoftr-.i'., 

V  tt^isc:  'iH  i  inr^rchant-tador.np 
■-  .M»\vned  their  efforts  from  ih* 
•  »v-'itmpr  leaders  in  that  ^ine  of 

•  «h!.!v  de-erve,     ^-r.  Drohel  wa^ 
•".iT/t.  danglitei    ot   William  and 

1'  ■Ti^ville,  who  are  i:iven  furtlier 
>''Hnk  J.  l-I<>fTn;an.  on  another 
*Jm.  review  i>  a  iT>eniber  of  St. 
Poitceille,  and  in  his  political 
P'lh'ican  party, 

^  prominent  citizen  of  Pott<- 
'unherland  coui.ty,  I*a.,  April 
•  f  Mj-.h.'-r  a.M  ^.lr.•h  (Seitz)  Diumheller.  His 
'p  Jv.  I'a..  bnt  ended  hi*^  days 
i  ..  m  if'J9.  Je^*ie  Drumheiler 
I'.'-hMi.  He  was  educated  in 
I'"  '  •:■•*.  .-  !  "'  "  .  ^  ih  y.  an'i  v,:is  a  life-lonp^  student,  be- 
CO':,-  J-  'v  V  'V.'.  ..  'V':.M  m  r'nrrMii  literature.  He  wa«;  married 
on  ^  »'■:.  I'..  i\40.  lo  .^!:^s  Xnich.i  t.  a^ierme.  daughter  of  William 
rnd  ('ith'»ipe  M.  (KeTschiier)  ^!atz,  a  prominent  and  early  estab- 
lished taM;!\  1".  \\  e;;t  Brun<wj«k  tfvvnship  in  this  county.  Seven 
children  wie  horn  t*^  the  union  oi  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drumheiler,  the 
elde-t  tn-i  ><.nn;/e>t  of  whom  died  in  cliildhood,  and  but  three  of 
the  fan,'l\  are  n<^w  living,  viz:  HenT\  H.airi.son,  George  Washing- 
ton anti  Mary  r,I;7:ihcth.    The  nanle^  in  order  of  birth  were  Amelia 


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u.   i 

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126  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

in  Pottsville.  There  his  youth  was  spent,  and  he  was  just  entering 
upon  the  period  of  early  manhood,  when,  in  1861,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  he  entered  the  Union  army  as  a  private  in  the  48th 
regiment  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry,  with  which  he  served 
during  four  years  of  warfare.  While  engaged  in  front  of  Peters- 
burg, during  the  desperate  final  charge  of  April  2,  1865,  he  received 
a  wound  which  incapacitated  him  for  the  time  being,  but  the  victory 
was  almost  won  and  a  week  later  saw  the  capitulation  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  and  the  collapse  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 
Returning  home  from  the  army,  he  began  work  as  a  molder  and 
has  ever  since  been  engaged  in  core-making  with  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Railway  Company  at  Pottsville.  The  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  review  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Anna  Dimmerling, 
natives  of  Germany,  who  migrated  to  America  and  became  highly 
respected  citizens  of  Yorkville.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Drobel  there 
were  born  ten  children,  five  of  whom  Survive:  Jacob,  Edward, 
Fred  J.,  William,  now  a  priest  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and 
Dora.  Fred  J.  Drobel,  to  whom  this  review  is  more  particularly 
devoted,  was  reared  in  Pottsville  and  received  his  education  in 
St.  John's  parochial  school.  He  began  his  independent  career  as 
an  errand  boy  in  a  clothing  store,  and  his  efficiency  is  well  proven 
by  the  fact  that  he  remained  with  one  firm  during  a  period  of 
sixteen  years,  twelve  of  which  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  a  cloth- 
ing salesman.  On  Jan.  i,  1907,  he  entered  into  a  partnership  with 
Frank  J.  Hoffman,  and,  under  the  firm  name  of  Drobel  &  Hoffman, 
they  established  an  up-to-date  clothing  and  merchant-tailoring 
business  in  Pottsville.  Success  has  crowned  their  efforts  from  the 
very  beginning  and  they  are  fast  becoming  leaders  in  that  line  of 
endeavor,  a  distinction  which  they  richly  deserve.  Mr.  Drobel  was 
married  on  Oct.  21,  1903,  to  Margaret,  daughter  of  William  and 
Mary  (Wertensohn)  Hoffman,  of  Pottsville,  who  are  given  further 
mention  in  the  sketch  of  their  son,  Frank  J.  Hoffman,  on  another 
page  of  this  work.  The  subject  of  this  review  is  a  member  of  St. 
John's  Roman  Catholic  church  at  Pottsville,  and  in  his  political 
views  he  gives  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party. 

Drumheller,  Jesse,  deceased,  late  a  prominent  citizen  of  Potts- 
ville, was  born  at  Mahanoy,  Northumberland  county.  Pa.,  April 
15,  1826,  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Sarah  (Seitz)  Drumheller.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  Montgomery  county.  Pa.,  but  ended  his  days 
on  a  farm  near  Sunbury,  where  he  died  in  1839.  Jesse  Drumheller 
was  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  six  children.  He*  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  of  his  day,  and  was  a  life-long  student,  be- 
coming very  well  informed  in  current  literature.  He  was  married 
on  Oct.  16,  1849,  to  Miss  Amelia  Catherine,  daughter  of  William 
and  Catherine  M.  (Kerschner)  Matz,  a  prominent  and  early  estab- 
lished family  in  West  Brunswick  township  in  this  county.  Seven 
children  were  born  to  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drumheller,  the 
eldest  and  youngest  of  whom  died  in  childhood,  and  but  three  of 
the  family  are  now  living,  viz :  Henry  Harrison,  George  Washing- 
ton and  Mary  Elizabeth.    The  names  in  order  of  birth  were  Amelia 


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S^Ul'YLKILL  COUNTY 

.c  In^  youth  was  sper.t,  aiul  he  was  just  enlt-iin^ 

'J   i-arK    manhood,  wlien,  in   j8/»i,  at  the  a<;e  of 

♦'  entered  the  Tnion  army  as  a  private  in  the  48th 

.niTia  \olunteer  infantry,  with   which   he   ser\  cd 

vjf  war  Tare.     While  en^aired   in  front  of  Peter - 

..^|.<.ratf  final  charge  of    Vjjrii  2.  i8^>5,  lie  roceixed 

;  {•  icifated  him  for  the  time  hdn^,  hut  the  vicTor\' 

i..    a  \\e»'k  hiter  saw  the  ca]>itulation  of  the  Army 

[iH  and  the  collapse  of  tho  Southern  Confed*^rac\. 

:.    \:k    -u    t.  !u\  ihe  arpiy,  he  be^an  wt^rk  a*^  a  mohjer  and 

,'•   '    U  t:n  fngaj^ed  in  core-making  with  the  IMiiladeipL^a 

■    '>.ii'A.tv    Tompapv  at   VotU^iilf.     'Ihe  mother  of  the 

•        ■   r.  .  ''W  IS  a  daughter  of  ]ai.«b  and  Anna  Dimmerling, 

*';..T»v.  who  migiaied  to  /inurica  and  became  highly 

■  -'  .  *     .t.,.m'  \or'<ville.    'L  v>  Mr.  and  A^rs.  !'*hn  Drobcd  there 

■  M    % -1    '  ;i;)d^tn,   five   of   v/h'>m   survi-e*     j:tcob,    lulv^ard. 
.V       '       '  '"\.  r^    u.n\  a  pru'^!  of  the  R'»Tn.in  <  arh<'bc  church,  and 

:  .       ^  '     '  J     ]"'*'•'''!    \i}  wiV'tn   tl"s  revit^w   i->  i-iorc  particularly 

■     •'     .    •'     -    .»'i''    .'1    Tot' 'v  lib'   and    recei\  <*d    hi-*   e<lucation    in 

.    1    ■  -   I  .!»*'(  .;! -."    -.  ;.  n>\      l\t^  l)c.i,an  bis  ind^  {undent  career   a.-^ 

.i.       .'':}..>',,.'    th  pt,  ^ '"■''.  loid  his  ffTu  ifi" '>    is  w^ell  proven 

■;    ^'.     ♦.n  .     ^i'    'h'    t- :'i;''Mrd    with   tme   firm   during  a   period   of 

'I-,    |.>i  ;^  -^  i4  \\lr..h  he  served  in  the  capacly  i^i  a  clotli- 

m:    -.}■'-  '  ....      '   !'  \u,  1.  '-,07.  bt*  entered  into  a  partnership  with 

:  '-j.'\   •    I'-     .i.o,^  ;*nfl    nu'er  t"ue  nrm  n:mir  «.f  Hr"'"   1  iV  HotTiuan, 

!'.v^     e  >!.;'. :--^    T  ,1    an    rp  tu-date    vbjtbiiig    and    nierchaiit-tail<»ring 

*M-i'  t-.^    ,1.    :*»)H-vi]k-.     Success  ba^  cH»v\ned  their  (ft'jrts  from  tb*- 

\e'y   h'i:'nui.  g  and  they  are  fast  bt-.^^'jiing  leadetN  in  that   bne  of 

•  :m^  :t  i.r,  a  .-i-i'MeMon  v\hieh  tfiey  rii  Idy  deserve  Mr.  l)r'd>el  was 
^;;r1.^'d  >mi  '  rt  21,  I'/W  to  >.' nrgart-t .  daughter  ot  W'illiain  and 
't:tt..  'Weiic'  '?  nil)  i*)n"iT'^n.  of  rottsville,  who  ait  given  fu^'ther 
!ue!'ri..n  in  if»e  si.etch  of  tiieii  son.  .I'rank  J.  lIofTman,  t-n  an^^her 
1  -e  ./  tbi-^  u  ^  k.  TIh'  siii)ject  of  this  review  is  a  p>eivber  of  St. 
-  'iri  V  R.jn  \..  C\'itholic  church  at  I'ottsville,  and  in  his  polit'c:  ' 
■.•!■-   hi   gMr<  abegianee  to  the  Republican  party. 

n-umheder.  Jesse,,  '^'ceased,  late  a  prominent  citizen  of   Pi'*'- 
\  t'b\   '\,i^   !•  ^rn  at    ;dahanoy,   X'»rthuinberland   cc'UT.ty,    !*a.,    A--  1 
15.    iH*f.,  a   st)n  of  Abraham   and  >arab    (Seitr.)    Drumhellei.     i; 
fatl?rr  was  a  nativ^^  of  Abiiitgoniery  ••»unTv.  ]*a..  btu  erided  hi-  d    - 
on  a  f'l'm  near  Sudbury,  where  h(   diol  in   ii"'39.     Jesse  l)rumK'^- 
Wfts  '^..^  y()uni;<\st  of  a  tainily  ef  six  children.     He  was  edu«",.»t  ;  •" 
the  c    nn.on   schools  ot   Ins  day,  and   was  a  bfc-ic>ng  stude;i      bf 
co^^.^Tig  v'»ry  well  ir^«»rnied  in  current  literature.     He  wa*=^  n:rf'    ^   : 

•  ►n  i  'e*.  i^),  1S40,  to  Miss  Amelia  Catberme,  daughter  of  W-i'-' 
.'Mivl  (  riTh^-rine  M.  (Kerschner)  Alaiz,  a  prominent  and  ear!}  •  .  - 
li.dud  Lii  .dv  IV  V/e^t  Brunswick  township  in  this  county.  ^'-  n 
chiMr.-n  v\  - ' e  b^j^n  to  tlie  union  of  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Drumhelle*'  Mie 
ebb"*t  i'  d  \  un^e^t  of  wdiom  died  in  childhood,  and  but  thi  itf 
t!K  foituiv  a"e  now  living,  viz:  Henry  Hairison,  George  Wa-ii  "^  ; 
ton  and  Ma«y  l\!v,ab''0:     The  names  in  order  c^f  birth  were  A't  *dia 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  127 

C,  William  Carle,  Charles  Irwin,  Henry  Harrison,  George  Wash- 
ington, Mary  Elizabeth  and  Daniel  Franklin.  William  and  Charles 
are  dead  besides  the  two  previously  mentioned.  Mary  Elizabeth  is 
now  the  wife  of  Edward  Ratigan,  and  lives  in  Pottsville.  They 
have  five  children.  Mr.  Drumheller  learned  the  tailor's  trade,  and 
followed  that  business  in  his  early  manhood  for  some  ten  or  twelve 
years.  He  came  to  Pottsville  in  1845,  ^ind  in  1857  he.  and  his 
brother-in-law  William  J.  Matz  engaged  in  the  hotel  business,  sub- 
sequently purchasing  the  property  at  the  death  of  the  father,  Will- 
iam Matz.  This  property  was  then  known  as  the  "White  Horse 
tavern,"  subsequently  changed  to  "The  Merchants'  hotel,"  as  at 
present  designated.  William  Matz,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Drumheller, 
purchased  this  property  about  the  year  1848,  and  conducted  the 
"White  Horse"  until  it  was  leased,  as  previously  intimated.  He 
was  born  in  West  Brunswick  township,  Nov.  11,  1801,  and  died  in 
Pottsville  in  July,  1865.  He  was  prosperous  in  business,  his  prop- 
erty coming  into  the  hands  of  his  heirs  at  his  death,  and  the  son, 
and  son-in-law,  Mr.  Drumheller,  came  into  possession  of  the  Mer- 
chants' hotel.  After  Mr.  Drumheller  came  into  full  ownership  of 
the  hotel  property  he  continued  to  conduct  the  house  until  1881, 
when  he  retired  from  active  business  and  built  a  handsome  home 
on  Mahantongo  street,  where  he  lived  in  comfort  until  his  death,  in 
1901,  and  where  his  widow  lives  at  present.  Jesse  Drumheller  was 
a  quiet,  unassuming  man  who  was  devoted  to  his  family,  and  his 
greatest  enjoyment  seemed  to  be  in  the  retirement  of  his  happy 
domestic  life,  surrounded  by  his  devoted  wife  and  children.  He 
was  never  an  office  seeker  but  was  a  conscientious  Republican,  and 
always  took  great  interest  in  the  supremacy  of  the  doctrines  of 
that  party.  He  held  the  office  of  jury  commissioner  for  four  years, 
and  served  seven  years  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council.  He 
was  reared  in  the  religious  faith  of  the  German  Lutherans,  but  in 
later  life  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  Drumheller  was  prominently  identified  with  the  Odd 
Fellows  and  Masonic  fraternities,  and  attained  high  rank  in  the 
last  named  organization.  Reference  has  been  made  to  William 
Matz,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Drumheller,  but  it  is  proper  that  this  dis- 
tinguished family  should  receive  more  than  a  passing  notice.  The 
Matz  family  has  been  identified  with  this  section  of  Pennsylvania 
for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Drumheller  being  a  native  of  Germany,  born  many  years  before 
the  organization  of  Schuylkill  county.  He  was  a  farmer  and  spent 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Schuylkill  county.  He  had  a  family 
of  nine  children  whose  posterity  are  a  numerous  race,  worthily 
representing  the  long  ancestral  line.  He  was  sheriff  of  Schuylkill 
county  from  1855  to  1858,  and  a  leading  member  of  local  Democ- 
racy during  his  active  years.  He  and  his  wife,  Catherine  M. 
Kerschner,  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  one  of  whom  died 
in  infancy.  The  names  are  as  follows:  George  W.,  Thomas  H., 
Daniel,  Jemima,  Amelia,  Mary  E.,  Susan,  Louisa,  Emma  V.,  and 
William  J.    The  members  of  this  family  have  nearly  all  passed  to 


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128  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  other  shore,  and  the  survivors  have  long  since  past  the  meridian 
of  life.  William  J.  Matz,  the  last  named,  served  as  prothonotary 
of  Schuylkill  county  from  1869  to  1872,  and  was  elected  sheriff  of 
the  county  in  1877.  He  has  been  prominent  in  political,  social  and 
business  affairs  in  Schuylkill  county. 

Duffy,  Daniel,  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  in  which  city  he  has  by  his 
own  efforts  risen  to  the  front  ranks;  was  born  at  Crow  Hollow, 
Schuylkill  county,  July  25,  1853.  He  is. a  son  of  Martin  and 
Margaret  (Lacey)  Duffy,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  the  Emerald 
Isle.  Martin  Duffy  came  to  America  in  1838  and  located  in  Rut- 
land, Vt.,  where  he  remained  two  years,  removing  with  his  only 
sister,  Mary,  wife  of  John  Igo,  to  Schuylkill  county  in  1840.  They 
located  in  St.  Clair,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  mining, 
remaining  connected  with  this  industry  until  Dec.  16,  1876,  when 
he  met  with  an  accident  at  John's  colliery  at  St.  Clair,  which  re- 
sulted in  his  death  on  that  date,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years. 
He  was  a  substantial  citizen  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all 
who  knew  him.  He  took  an  active  and  praiseworthy  interest  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  public  welfare,  was  especially  interested 
in  educational  affairs,  served  as  a  school  director  of  East  Nor- 
wegian township  for  several  years,  and  was  also  a  school  director  and 
tax  collector  in  St.  Qair  borough.  In  1843,  ^^  St.  Patrick's  Roman 
Catholic  church  of  Pottsville,  Martin  Duffy  married  Margaret 
Lacey,  who  had  come  to  America  in  1840  with  her  parents  Daniel 
and  Judith  Lacey,  two  brothers  and  one  sister.  The  family  located 
in  Port  Clinton,  Schuylkill  county,  but  later  removed  to  East  Mines, 
where  subsequently  the  parents,  both  brothers  and  the  sister  died. 
After  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  Duffy  they  lived  in  St. 
Clair  until  1846,  when  they  removed  to  Crow  Hollow,  a  mining 
village  situated  near  St.  Clair,  where  they  lived  until  March  ^jy 
1868,  when  they  again  returned  to  St.  Clair,  where  the  husband 
and  father  passed  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  his  death  oc- 
curring in  1876  as  before  stated.  His  widow  survived  him  by 
many  years,  passing  to  her  eternal  reward  on  Oct.  7,  1902,  aged 
seventy-nine  years.  They  were  both  buried  in  the  cemetery  at 
St.  Clair.  Record  concerning  their  children  is  as  follows: 
Mary,  wife  of  Edward  Miles,  now  resident  of  Shenandoah  this 
county;  Julia,  wife  of  James  Sullivan  of  St.  Clair;  Kate,  wife  of 
Michael  Bierne,  both  of  whom  are  deceased ;  Daniel,  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  review ;  Bridget,  wife  of  John  Monaghan  of  St. 
CTair;  John  J.  and  Martin  both  of  St.  Clair,  and  Maggie  who  is 
deceased.  Daniel  Duffy  received  his  elementary  education  in  the 
village  school  located  between  Mt.  Hope  and  Crow  Hollow,  and 
before  attaining  the  age  of  ten  began  to  work  about  the  mines  as 
a  slate  picker,  filling  the  various  positions  until  the  occupation  of 
miner  was  reached.  He  was  appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the  county 
commissioners'  office  of  Schuylkill  county  in  June,  1881,  and  re- 
mained in  that  position  until  January,  1882.  Subsequently  he  per- 
formed the  same  service  in  1885,  1886  and  1887.  I"  the  last  named 
year  he  was  elected  clerk  of  Schuylkill  county  courts  and  filled  that 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  129 

office  most  acceptably  until  1890.  In  March';  1892,  he  was  appointed 
general  agent  for  Schuylkill  county  for  Penn  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  which  capacity  he  is  still  acting 
and  to  whose  interests  he  gives  the  same  assiduous  attention  that 
has  marked  all  his  business  connections.  By  his  own  efforts  and 
through  his  indomitable  courage  and  business  acumen  he  has  forged 
to  the  front  rank  of  the  business  men  of  Pottsville  and  Schuylkill 
county  and  holds  financial  interests  in  a  number  of  the  progressive 
industries  of  this  section.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Schuylkill  Trust 
Company,  of  Pottsville  to  which  city  he  removed  from  St.  Clair 
on  Oct.  15,  1 901 ;  is  a  director  in  the  Central  building  associa- 
tion ;  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Pottsville  civic 
society,  and  while  a  resident  of  St.  Clair  was  a  director  and  stock- 
holder in  the  St.  Clair  shirt  factory.  Mr.  Duffy  has  always  taken 
a  commendable  interest  in  public  affairs;  served  as  president  of 
the  board  of  trade  of  St.  Clair  for  a  number  of  years ;  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Armory  hall  association  and  the  St.  Clair  saving  fund 
association.  During  his  younger  days  he  manifested  his  interest 
in  the  military  by  becoming  a  member  of  Company  K,  7th  regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  National  Guard,  enlisting  as  a  private  in  1873 
and  receiving  his  discharge  as  first  sergeant  in  1878.  He  is  an 
active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party,  on  whose  ticket 
he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  courts  as  previously  mentioned,  while 
he  also  served  in  the  borough  council  of  St.  Clair.  He  has  attended 
several  conventions  of  the  party  and  for  many  years  served  as  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee  and  as  its  secretary.  He  is 
especially  active  in  fraternal  affairs,  being  one  of  the  oldest  mem- 
bers of  St.  Michael's  beneficial  society  of  St.  Clair,  which  was  or- 
ganized April  14,  1870.  On  Aug.  20,  1896,  he  was  elected  national 
president  of  the  I.  C.  B.  U.,  in  which  capacity  he  is  at  present 
acting.  The  union  has  a  membership  in  several  states  and  in 
Canada.  He  has  also  been  connected  with  the  organizations  of 
temperance  societies  and  is  a  charter  member  of  Schuylkill  Council, 
No.  431,  Knights  of  Columbus,  of  Pottsville.  Before  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  became  a  member  of  the  Workingmen's 
benevolent  association  and  subsequently  was  a  member  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  and  general  secretary  of  the  M.  and  L.  A.  A.  for 
the  anthracite  region  which  organization  had  a  membership  roll 
of  more  than  50,000.  Mr.  Duffy  and  his  family  are  members  of 
St.  Patrick's  Roman  Catholic  church  of  Pottsville.  On  Nov.  10, 
1874,  at  St.  Mary's  Church,  St.  Qair,  was  solemnized,  by  Rev.Philip 
McEnroe,  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Duffy  to  Miss  Letitia  Howard,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  H.  and  Ann  (Dolan)  Howard,  of  St.  Clair, 
and  to  this  union  have  been  born  nine  children,  three  of  whom  are 
deceased.  Those  living  are  Martin  F.,  attorney-at-law  of  Potts- 
ville; Annie,  John,  Joseph,  Letitia,  and  Tillie.  Willie  died  at  the 
age  of  seven  and  Maggie  and  Francis  in  infancy. 

Dungan,  Rev.  George  W.,  M.  D. — Religious  societies  of  Shen- 
andoah had  their  start  almost  simultaneously,  the  seven  years  be- 
tween 1865  and  1872  witnessing  the  advent  of  nearly  every  church 

fr— Vol.  II 


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130  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

now  established  there.  The  Congregationalists  were  probably  the 
first  Protestant  organization,  a  church  of  that  creed  having  been 
officially  dedicated  on  July  22,  1866,  with  nineteen  members.  Prior 
to  that  time,  however,  and  as  early  as  1864,  some  of  the  more  zealous 
adherents  had  organized  a  Sunday  school  and  it  was  this  school 
which  became  the  nucleus  of  the  congregation  to  which  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Hughes,  a  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodist,  preached  the  first 
sermon  delivered  within  the  borough  limits  in  1864.  In  the  spring 
of  1865  this  Sabbath  school  was  reorganized  and  became  a  union 
school,  its  services  being  conducted  at  the  old  "Brown  school 
house,"  where  preaching  services  were  often  held.  Among  the 
early  settlers  of  the  borough  were  many  of  the  followers  of  John 
Wesley  and  in  the  late  6o's  these  people  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  organization  of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They  formed 
themselves  into  a  society  and  ultimately  became  the  charter  mem- 
bers of  the  Shenandoah  church.  The  prime  movers  in  the  incep- 
tion of  the  idea  of  having  a  church  of  their  own  were  Richard  and 
Alice  Knight,  George  and  Dorcas  Depuy,  Levi  J.,  Emily  and  Annie 
Hoflfman,  Robert  and  Mary  Weightman,  Alfred  and  Ann  Callen, 
John  C.  Roxby  and  Daniel  Shappel.  Occasional  preaching  services 
were  conducted  by  Revs.  J.  Mullen  and  James  A.  Dixon,  who 
served  as  pastors  of  the  Mount  Carmel  church  in  the  early  days. 
In  1867  the  society  purchased  a  lot  and  erected  a  frame  building 
at  the  corner  of  Oak  and  White  streets.  The  building  was  put  up 
at  a  cost  of  $5,000  and  had  a  seating  capacity  of  400  people.  In 
the  spring  of  1868  the  church  became  a  charge  of  the  Philadelphia 
conference  and  was  assigned  its  first  regular  pastor  in  the  person 
of  Rev.  Eli  Pickersgill.  Three  years  later,  during  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  J.  Rit  Boyle,  it  was  necessary  to  enlarge  the  church  building 
in  order  to  accommodate  the  increased  membership,  and  $5,000 
more  was  put  into  the  structure,  which  was  then  able  to  seat  com- 
fortably 600  people.  This  building  served  until  it  was  burned  to 
the  ground  on  Nov.  12,  1883,  ^^^  within  the  next  two  years  the 
modern,  handsome  brick  structure  which  is  now  the  home  of  the 
congregation,  was  erected.  The  Sunday  school  of  the  church,  as 
^uch,  was  organized  in  1868  with  Levi  J.  Hoffman  as  superin- 
tendent and  a  corps  of  twenty-three  teachers,  and  had  an  enroll- 
ment of  114  pupils.  The  ministers  who  have  had  charge  of  this 
congregation  and  the  dates  of  their. service  are  as  follows:  Eli 
Pickersgill,  1868-69;  J-  A.  Cooper,  1869-70;  J.  T.  Swindells,  1870- 
71 ;  J.  Rit  Boyle,  1871-74;  N.  B.  Durell,  1874-76;  J.  Pastorfield,  1876- 
79;  W.  P.  Howell,  1879-81 ;  W.  L.  McDowell,  1881-83,  under  whose 
pastorate  the  church  was  burned ;  Wilmar  CofTuson,  1883-87,  under 
whose  direction  the  new  church  was  erected ;  John  Stringer,  1887- 

88;  Pickersgill,   1888-90;  William  Powick,   1891-94;  John  F. 

Meredith,  1895;  Alfred  Heebner,  1896-97;  John  T.  Swindells,  1898- 
99,  for  a  second  term ;  Oliver  E.  Stocking,  1900-01 ;  and  since  1902, 
Rev.  George  W.  Dungan,  the  present  pastor.  Dr.  Dungan  is  a  son 
of  Benjamin  and  Sarah  Dungan,  both  natives  of  Philadelphia,  and 
was  born  in  Monroe  county.    He  received  his  preliminary  educa- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  131 

tional  advantages  in  the  public  schools  and  in  1873  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine  in  the  Hahnemann  medical  college  of  Phila- 
delphia, at  which  he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Med- 
icine in  1876.  For  five  years  he  was  successfully  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  the  medical  profession  in  Stroudsburg,  Monroe  county, 
and  in  1881,  in  response  to  a  conviction  which  had  been  growing 
for  some  time  that  he  could  better  serve  the  cause  of  humanity 
in  the  ministry  than  in  any  other  way,  he  took  the  examinations 
and  was  admitted  to  the  Philadelphia  conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  His  ministerial  life  began  at  Tannersville, 
Monroe  county,  a  charge  which  he  held  for  three  years.  His  other 
pastorates  before  coming  to  Shenandoah  and  the  lengths  of  the 
same  were  as  follows :  Richmond,  Northampton  county,  two  years ; 
Tremont,  this  county,  three  years ;  Lehighton,  Carbon  county,  five 
years;  Hancock  street,  Philadelphia,  two  years;  Bridesburg,  Phil- 
adelphia, two  years;  Bangor,  Northampton  county,  three  years; 
and  Pine  Grove,  this  county,  one  year.  From  Pine  Grove  Dr. 
Dungan  came  to  the  Shenandoah  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  the 
membership  of  which  at  present  numbers  405,  with  a  Sabbath 
school  of  500.  Since  his  advent  a  fine  pipe  organ  and  a  system  of 
steam  heating  have  been  installed  at  a  cost  of  $3,500  and  the  exter- 
ior has  been  painted  at  a  cost  of  $500.  The  parsonage  of  the  church 
is  at  118  South  Jardin  street,  and  is  a  commodious,  comfortable 
dwelling.  Dr.  Dungan  is  one  of  seven  children  born  to  his  parents. 
An  elder  brother,  Jonathan,  is  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  now  has  a  charge  at  Mauch  Chunk;  two  other 
brothers,  Charles  and  Benjamin  F.,  deceased,  were  proficient  me- 
chanics; two  sisters  are  living  and  both  are  widows,  Mrs.  E.  B. 
Katz  of  Scranton  and  Mrs.  Mary  P.  Johnstone  of  Philadelphia. 
Dr.  Dungan  has  been  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Emma  C.  Mc- 
Donough  of  Monroe  county,  and  to  them  were  born  two  children. 
Robert  J.  is  now  in  business  in  Philadelphia.  He  spent  a  winter 
in  the  Klondike  and  relates  many  interesting  tales  of  his  ex- 
periences there,  one  of  them  concerning  a  trip  of  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  on  his  hands  and  knees  to  save  his  life  after  he  had  so 
injured  a  leg  as  to  be  unable  to  walk.  The  other  child  is  the  wife 
of  Rev.  Fred  Poole,  formerly  a  missionary  to  China  and  now  in 
charge  of  the  Chinese  mission  at  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Dungan's  pres- 
ent wife  was  Miss  Hattie  L.  Koons,  daughter  of  ex-sheriff  Koons, 
of  Lehighton,  Pa. 

.  Elarly,  James.  This  well  known  resident  of  Coaldale  is  a  native 
of  Summit  Hill,  Carbon  county.  Pa.,  and  was  born  Sept.  19,  1838. 
He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Catherine  (Scott)  Early,  natives  respec- 
tively of  counties  Derry  and  Donegal,  Ireland.  They  came  to 
America  in  1834  and  settled  at  Summit  Hill,  where  they  were  mar- 
ried, and  where  the  father  spent  his  remaining  years  working 
about  the  mines.  He  was  crushed  to  death  in  a  coal  breaker,  in 
1854,  being  then  fifty-four  years  old.  His  wife  died  in  1874,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  These  parents  reared  a  family  of 
six  children,  of  whom   Eliza,  the  first  born,  and  only  daughter, 


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132  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

married  John  CaldwelL  The  brothers  were  named  James,  William, 
John,  Alexander  and  George.  Mr.  Early  began  his  business  career 
as  a  slate  picker,  in  1848,  being  then  ten  years  old.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  four  years  spent  in  Wisconsin  he  continued  his  labors, 
in  various  capacities,  about  the  anthracite  coal  mines  until 
he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  Coaldale.  This  he  con- 
tinued successfully  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  that  place  for  thirty  years.  April  22,  1861,  he  volun- 
teered his  services  to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  was  enrolled  as 
a  member  of  Company  H,  3d  Wisconsin  infantry.  He  took  part 
in  a  number  of  skirmishes  and  battles,  the  principal  of  which  were 
the  battles  of  Winchester  and  Antietam.  In  the  last  named  en- 
gagement he  was  wounded  and  permanently  disabled.  He  carries 
the  ball  in  his  body  to  this  day.  It  penetrated  his  left  lung,  caus- 
ing a  most  dangerous  and  treacherous  wound.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  married  Jan.  18,  1872,  when  Miss  Susanna  McLean,  of 
Summit  Hill,  became  the  partner  of  his  joys  and  sorrows  through 
life.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Martha  (Henry)  McLean, 
natives  of  county  Derry,  Ireland.  Her  father  served  thirteen 
months  in  the  Union  army,  being  a  member  of  Company  H,  8ist 
Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Early  are  the 
parents  of  two  daughters,  Letitia  Roselle  and  Catherine  Amelia. 
The  family  adhere  to  the  faith  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr. 
Early  has  been  a  lifelong  Republican  in  his  political  views,  and 
has  served  as  tax  collector  of  Rahn  township,  of  which  the  borough 
of  Coaldale  was  formerly  a  part.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in 
the  success  of  his  political  party,  and  in  former  years  was  quite 
aggressive  as  a  local  politician.  He  is  prominently  identified  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  both  in  the  subordinate 
lodge  and  the  encampment.  Of  the  former  he  is  a  member  of 
Lodge  No.  576,  and  in  the  latter,  Fountain  Encampment,  No.  170. 
He  has  passed  the  principal  official  stations  in  each.  The  subject 
of  this  article  was  a  hard  worker  during  his  productive  years,  and 
is  now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  early  industry  and  economy.  He 
has  been  retired  from  active  business  for  a  number  of  years. 

Ebert,  William  H.,  a  market  gardener  near  Quakake,  was  born 
at  Cressona,  this  county,  March  22,  1858.  He  is  one  of  the  twelve 
children  of  Franklin  and  Deborah  (Kless)  Ebert.  The  names  of 
the  children  are:  John,  George,  Frank,  Cora,  Amelia,  Anna,  Re- 
becca, Henrietta,  Ida,  Amy  and  Ellen.  Ida,  Ellen,  Frank,  Cora 
and  John  are  now  deceased.  William  H.  Ebert,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  attended  the  public  schools  of  Cressona  and  Gilberton  until 
he  was  twelve  years  of  age  and  then  went  to  work  as  wiper  of 
engines  for  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company  at  Delano.  After 
a  time  he  learned  the  trade  of  boilermaker,  and  at  this  vocation  he 
was  in  the  employ  of  the  railroad  corporation  for  twelve  years. 
When  he  left  the  service  of  the  railroad  company  it  was  to  enter 
the  grocery  business  for  himself,  and  this  enterprise  furnished  him 
a  livelihood  for  six  years.  He  then  purchased  a  farm  of  fifty-two 
acres  near  Quakake  and  he  has  been  working  this  place  as  a  market 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  133 

garden  ever  since.  On  June  20,  1877  Mr.  Ebert  married  Miss  Mary 
Jane  Lindner,  a  daughter  of  Martin  and  Katherine  (Weix)  Lindner. 
Mrs.  Ebert's  mother  was  born  in  France  and  her  paternal  grand- 
parents, Samuel  and  Katherine  (Herring)  Lindner,  were  of  Ger- 
man descent.  She  has  a  half-brother,  Israel  Boyer,  three  brothers, 
Moses,  Albert  and  John,  and  three  sisters,  Katherine,  Cordelia  and 
Lydia,  living;  two  other  sisters,  Martha  and  Sarah,  are  deceased. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ebert  was  born  a  son,  Frank  M.,  who  when  he 
grew  to  manhood  married  Miss  Martha  Seddon.  The  family  are 
all  communicants  of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Quakake.  Mr.  Ebert 
is  not  identified  closely  with  any  political  party,  but  generally  votes 
the  Republican  ticket,  especially  in  national  elections.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America. 

E>lwards»  Luther  B.,  an  educator  of  note  in  Schuylkill  county, 
where  he  was  formerly  principal  of  the  Shenandoah  high  school, 
was  bom  in  Stawell,  Australia,  March  9,  1878.  He  is  the  eldest 
of  three  children  of  Rev.  Thomas  R.  and  Margaret  B.  Edwards,  the 
others  being  Mrs.  Winifred  Charles,  of  Wilkes  Barre,  and  Arthur,  a 
student.  Rev.  Thomas  R.  Edwards  was  born  in  England  and  his 
wife  in  Luzerne  county.  Pa.;  they  settled  in  Schuylkill  county  in 
1890.  Although  the  father  is  a  regularly  ordained  minister  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  he  never  engaged  actively  in  pas- 
toral work.  At  the  present  time  he  is  a  mine  inspector,  in  which 
work  he  has  been  engaged  since  coming  to  this  county.  Professor 
Edwards  acquired  his  preliminary  scholastic  learning  in  the  public 
schools  and  then  attended  the  Keystone  state  normal  school  at 
Kutztown.  When  he  had  completed  the  courses  offered  there  he 
took  post-graduate  work  in  the  Millersville  normal  institution, 
where  he  was  granted  the  degree  of  Master  of  Pedagogy.  His 
first  labors  in  the  profession  were  in  the  county  schools  of  Carbon 
county,  where  he  remained  one  term.  On  coming  to  Shenandoah 
he  was  given  a  subordinate  position  in  the  Schools,  as  teacher  of 
the  second  primary  grade,  and  after  a  year  was  given  charge  of  a 
grammar  school.  The  three  years  following  he  was  assistant  prin- 
cipal of  the  high  school  and  in  1904  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  institution.  The  position  carries  with  it  a  good  salary  and  the 
preferment  was  attained  wholly  upon  merit  and  honor.  The  cur- 
riculum includes  normal-school,  Latin,  scientific,  college-prepara- 
tory and  commercial  courses,  elective  on  the  part  of  the  students. 
There  were  five  assistant  teachers,  inclusive  of  the  drawing  and 
musical  instructors.  Prof.  Edwards  was  a  close  student  of  peda- 
gogy and  devoted  to  his  profession,  in  which  he  attained  high 
rank.  In  the  fall  of  1906  he  resigned  the  principalship  of  the  Shen- 
andoah high  school  and  commenced  the  study  of  law  at  Dickinson 
college.  His  many  friends  predict  for  him  a  brilliant  future  in  his 
chosen  vocation. 

KgBXif  Carby,  who  is  now  living  retired  in  his  pleasant  home, 
211  East  Lloyd  street,  Shenandoah,  was  for  many  years  identified 
with  the  coal  mining  industry  of  this  section,  being  employed  in 


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134  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

various  capacities  and  at  various  collieries  from  his  boyhood  days 
until  he  was  well  advanced  in  years,  and  having  become  well-to-do 
through  his  industry  and  careful  husbanding  of  his  resources.    He 
is  held  in  high  esteem  in  the  county  which  has  so  long  been  his 
home  and  is  the  owner  of  valuable  realty  in  the  city  of  Shenandoah. 
Mr.  Egan  was  born  in  county  Kerry,  Ireland,  and  in  that  division 
of  the  Emerald  isle  were  also  born  his  parents,  Thomas  and  Abbie 
Egan.     In  1848  the  family  immigrated  to  America  and  located  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  the  father  died  shortly  afterward. 
The  widowed  mother  then  removed  with  her  six  children  to  Port 
Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  and  later  they  took  up  their  residence 
at  Saint  Clair,  this  county,  where  the  devoted  mother  passed  the 
remainder  of  her  life  and  where  the  family  home  was  maintained 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century.     Such  educational  advantages  as  fell 
to  the  lot  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were  those  offered  in  the 
somewhat  primitive  common  schools  of  Saint  Clair,  where  he  was 
reared   to   maturity.     As  a   boy  he  began   to  bear  his  share  of 
responsibility  and  to  assist  in  the  support  of  the  family.    His  first 
work  was  slate-picking  in  a  colliery,  and  he  received  one  and  one- 
half  dollars  a  week  for  his  services.     Later  he  was  promoted  to 
the  dignified  office  of  mule-driver  at  the  mines,  hauling  coal  to  the 
surface,  and  he  well  recalls  when  the  canal  furnished  the  chief 
medium   for   transportation   and  when    Port   Carbon   was   at  the 
terminus  of  the  canal.    After  being  employed  about  the  mines  for 
many  years,  Mr.  Egan  became  a  stationary  engineer,  and  in  this 
capacity   he   was   employed   at   the    Eagle   colliery,   operated   by 
William  H.  Johns.     He  held  this  position  about  eight  years  and 
then,  in  1864,  removed  to  Shenandoah,  where  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  Miller,  Rhoades  &  Company,  in  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Shenandoah  City  colliery.    He  remained  with  this  firm  four  years 
and  during  the  residue  of  his  days  of  active  labor  he  was  employed 
in  various  capacities  about  the  collieries,  turning  his  hand  to  what- 
ever work  proved  most  profitable.     He  invested   his  savings   in 
Shenandoah  real  estate,  and  the  properties  rapidly  enhanced  in 
value  with  the  substantial  upbuilding  of  the  town,  the  result  being 
that  he  attained  to  a  position  of  independence  through  this  source. 
At  one  time  he  owned  twenty  tenement  houses,  but  he  has  recently 
sold  a  number  of  these  properties.     He  also  owns  two  houses  in 
the  village  of  St.  Clair.    In  politics  Mr.  Egan  is  a  stanch  Democrat, 
but  he  has  never  sought  nor  held  public  office.    He  and  his  family 
are  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church,  being  members  of  the 
parish  of  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation.     Feb.   10,   1882,  Mr. 
Egan  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Roach,  who  likewise 
was  born  in  Ireland,  and  of  the  four  children  of  this  union  only 
one  is  living,  Thomas,  the  others  having  died  in  infancy. 

Elliott,  William,  a  retired  merchant  of  Tower  City,  was  born  in 
Durham,  England,  Aug.  19,  1830,  and  is  one  of  two  children  born 
to  George  and  Isabella  (Taylor)  Elliott,  both  natives  of  that  county, 
where  they  passed  their  lives.  The  sister,  Isabella,  is  deceased. 
After  the  death  of  George  Elliott,  who  was  a  miner  by  occupa- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  135 

tion,  his  widow  married  Richard  Bainbridge,  of  Yorkshire,  and  to 
this  marriage  were  born  four  children:  Ellen,  Thomas,  Richard 
and  George,  the  last  named  having  been  a  soldier  in  the  Crimean 
war.  William  Elliott  began  working  in  the  mines  when  he  was 
but  seven  years  of  age,  beginning  at  Kalloe  shaft,  which  is  still 
in  operation,  and  he  continued  about  the  mines  in  various  capacities 
until  1857,  in  which  year  his  stepfather  was  killed  by  an  accident 
in  the  mines.  In  May  of  that  year  he  left  England  on  a  sailing 
vessel,  and  after  a  five  weeks'  voyage  landed  in  New  York  city. 
He  came  directly  to  Donaldson,  Schuylkill  county,  and  went  to 
work  at  the  mines  on  Middle  creek,  and  later  he  was  employed  at 
East  Franklin.  He  was  then  in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Railroad  for  a  number  of  years,  and  while  working  for 
this  company  came  to  Tower  City,  in  1875,  when  the  town  con- 
tained but  a  few  houses  and  less  than  100  people.  About  two  years 
after  locating  at  Tower  City  he  quit  the  mines  and  engaged  in  the 
general  merchandise  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Elliott  & 
Son,  in  which  line  he  continued  until  1903,  when  he  retired  from 
active  business.  Mr.  Elliott  built  the  store  building  in  1877  and 
lived  in  part  of  it  until  he  retired,  when  Mrs.  Matilda  Elliott  pur- 
chased the  present  residence  on  Grand  avenue.  Ever  since  coming 
to  Tower  City  Mr.  Elliott  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  up- 
building of  the  town.  As  a  Republican  he  was  elected  to  the 
council,  where  he  served  eight  years,  and  for  several  years  he  was 
president  of  that  body.  For  the  past  forty  years  he  has  been  a 
member  of  Swatara  Lodge,  No.  267,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arch  chapter  of  that  fra- 
ternity. Mr.  Elliott  has  been  married  three  times.  His  first  wife, 
to  whom  he  was  united  in  1852,  was  Miss  Jemima  Little,  a  native 
of  the  Isle  of  Man.  Two  children  of  this  marriage  grew  to  maturity 
— Richard,  now  a  resident  of  Tower  City  and  for  many  years  asso- 
ciated with  his  father  in  business,  and  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph  Salem, 
of  Tower  City.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  i860,  and  in 
1862  Mr.  Elliott  married  Mary  Tobias,  of  Donaldson.  No  children 
were  born  to  this  union  and  after  her  death  he  married,  Nov.  14, 
1875,  Mrs.  Matilda  Dietrich,  widow  of  John  Dietrich,  who  lived 
near  Valley  View.  She  is  a  daughter  of  David  and  Hannah  (Beck) 
Boyer,  the  father  a  native  of  Schuylkill  and  the  mother  of  Carbon 
county.  Pa.  They  both  died  at  Orwigsburg.  Their  children  were 
Violetta,  now  Mrs.  Henry  Schuck;  Matilda;  Lawrence,  a  farmer 
in  Washington ;  George,  who  was  a  machinist  in  the  railroad  shops 
and  who  died  at  Allentown ;  William,  a  Southeastern  railroad  man ; 
and  Anna,  who  married  P.  E.  Gerber,  of  Lehighton.  Mrs.  EUliott's 
first  husband  was  Frederick  C.  Jenkins,  who  was  a  native  of  Wales, 
and  who  was  for  some  time  superintendent  of  the  Tamaqua  gas 
works.  He  died  from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received  at  the  battle 
of  Cold  Harbor,  while  serving  in  the  Union  army.  Her  children 
by  this  marriage  are  Violetta  Hannah,  wife  of  Isaac  Morsup ;  Ann 
B.,  wife  of  Albert  E.  Scheoner ;  and  Mary,  wife  of  James  Thomp- 
son.    Mr.  Elliott's  life  is  a  good  example  to  the  young  man  just 


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136  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

starting  out  to  shape  his  fortunes.  Beginning  as  a  poor  boy,  with 
only  a  limited  education,  he  has  by  industry,  frugality  and  the 
exercise  of  his  judgment  acquired  a  competency  of  this  world's 
goods,  and  by  courtesy  and  square  dealing  he  has  won  the  con- 
fidence and  respect  of  all  who  know  him. 

Enterline,  Samuel  Monroe,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  was 
born  in  Leek  Kill,  Northumberland  county,  Pa.,  Nov.  22,  1857.  He 
is  a  representative  of  a  large  family  born  to  George  and  Elizabeth 
Ann  (Malich)  Enterline.  His  father  was  born  in  Lykins  valley, 
Pa.,  April  23,  1822,  and  the  mother  was  a  native  of  Northumberland 
county,  Pa.,  where  she  was  born  Jan.  17,  1833.  The  subject  of 
this  article  attended  the  rural  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  farm 
home  in  Schuylkill  county,  and  by  that  means  and  the  laudable 
ambition  to  rise  higher  in  the  scale  of  knowledge,  which  inspired 
the  desire  for  private  study,  he  was  enabled  to  pass  a  teacher's  ex- 
amination in  early  manhood.  He  was  sent  into  the  mines  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  and  though  wearied  with  the  daily  toil,  he  con- 
tinued his  nightly  studies,  with  no  tutor  except  the  ambition  which 
later  brought  its  reward.  After  teaching  for  some  time  in  the 
country  districts,  recognizing  the  greater  demands  upon  the  pro- 
fession and  the  possibilities  for  greater  usefulness  ;with  more 
thorough  equipment,  he  entered  the  Keystone  state  normal  school, 
at  Kutztown,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1880,  at 
the  head  of  his  class.  Returning  to  the  vicinity  of  his  home,  he 
organized  a  class  for  normal  training  at  Valley  View,  but  after 
two  weeks  of  successful  work,  this  engagement  was  suddenly 
terminated  by  the  destruction  of  the  school  building  by  fire.  Un- 
daunted by  this  misfortune,  he  turned  his  attention  to  a  new  field 
and  within  two  days  he  had  another  class  organized  at  Mabel,  in 
Schuylkill  county,  though  he  traveled  over  fifty  miles  of  the  ad- 
jacent country  in  pursuit  of  students.  In  the  fall  of  1880,  Mr. 
Enterline  was  elected  to  teach  a  school  in  the  township  in  which 
he  had  conducted  his  private  school  during  the  summer,  and  he 
received  a  salary  of  $28  per  month,  for  a  term  of  five  months.  The 
following  summer  he  reorganized  his  normal  class,  but  found  that 
his  growing  popularity  as  an  instructor  had  overreached  his  ca- 
pacity, and  he  was  obliged  to  supply  an  assistant  instructor  to 
meet  the  demands  upon  him.  In  the  succeeding  autumn  Mr.  Enter- 
line was  elected  to  a  position  as  teacher  in  Butler  township,  at 
a  salary  of  $50  per  month,  for  a  term  of  nine  months.  On  com- 
pletion of  this  engagement  he  was  elected  by  the  same  board  as 
principal  of  the  schools  at  Fountain  Springs,  at  a  monthly  salary 
of  $75.  The  following  year  his  services  were  transferred  to  the 
principalship  of  the  schools  at  Locust  Dale,  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  same  school  board,  and  there  he  was  employed  for  five 
years,  thus  completing  a  term  of  eight  years  in  Butler  township. 
In  1882  Mr.  Enterline  registered  as  a  law  student  in  the  office  of 
Hon.  R.  H.  Koch,  in  Pottsville,  and  during  six  years  of  teaching 
he  prosecuted  the  study  of  law  as  leisure  permitted.  But  in  1888 
he  located  in  Pottsville,  and  for  one  year  devoted  himself  to  daily 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  137 

study  in  the  office  of  his  preceptor.  On  the  ist  of  July,  1889,  he 
was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  Schuylkill  county  bar.  At 
this  time  Judge  Koch  was  serving  as  district  attorney,  and  much 
of  the  private  practice  of  the  office  came  to  the  young  attorney, 
who  thus  was  at  once  initiated  into  active  practice.  Mr.  Enterline 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1892,  and  soon  thereafter  he  was  admitted  to  the  superior  court. 
March  11,  1896,  on  motion  of  General  W.  W.  Dudley,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  before  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  at 
Washington,  D.  C.  He  is  a  wise  and  safe  counsellor,  being  a  clear 
and  logical  interpreter  of  the  law.  He  stands  very  high  as  a 
lawyer,  and  sustains  an  unsullied  record  as  an  honest  and  upright 
citizen.  For  many  years  Mr.  Enterline  has  taken  an  active  interest 
in  religious  work,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  being 
an  object  of  his  special  care.  He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Pottsville  organization,  and  has  held  every  office 
within  the  gift  of  the  membership.  He  has  also  served  on  the  execu- 
tive board  of  the  anthracite  field  of  the  state  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  and  has  been  secretary  of  the  Ashland  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  since  its  organization,  in  1903.  In 
the  fraternal  organizations  he  has  attained  the  thirty-second  degree 
in  •  Masonry,  and  holds  active  membership  in  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America, 
Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  and  Rajah  Temple, 
Ancient  Arabic  Order,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  served 
eight  or  more  years  as  a  member  of  the  church  council  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church,  filling  the  offices  of  deacon  and  elder. 
He  also  served  as  president  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  and 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  He  is  the  president  of  the 
Ozone  Real  Estate  and  Improvement  Company,  of  Brooklyn,  New 
York;  president  of  the  Pottsville  Real  Estate  Company,  of  Potts- 
ville, and  of  the  Keystone  Medical  Company  of  Pottsville.  Mr. 
Enterline  is  a  Republican  in  political  views,  and  he  served  as 
deputy  district  attorney  under  his  preceptor,  Hon.  R.  H.  Koch. 
He  was  married  Dec.  24,  1885,  to  Miss  Millie  B.,  daughter  of  Daniel 
M.  and  Mary  (Bolich)  Kepler.  Two  sons  have  been  born  to  this 
union.  LeRoy  Earle,  who  was  born  Dec.  20,  1886,  is  now  a  student 
in  the  junior  year  at  Gettysburg  college ;  George  Stanley,  who  was 
born  Nov.  20,  1890,  died  March  17,  1894. 

Enterline,  Thomas  E.,  the  leading  general  merchant  of  Lavelle 
and  for  sixteen  years  prior  to  Jan.  i,  1907,  the  postmaster  of  that 
borough,  was  born  in  Northumberland  county.  Pa.,  June  14,  i860. 
He  is  a  son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Malich)  Enterline  and  comes 
of  pioneer  German  stock,  his  ancestors  on  both  sides  having  been 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Enterline.  was 
reared  in  Schuylkill  county  from  the  time  he  was  seven  years  of 
age,  and  he  received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  county.  He  completed  his  scholastic  work  with 
courses  in  the  Gratztown  and  New  Berlin  seminaries  and  then 
taught   school   in    Northumberland   county   for   two   terms.      His 


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138  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

advent  in  the  general  merchandise  business  was  in  1886,  and  since 
that  time  he  has  known  no  other  means  of  livelihood.  About  1890 
he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Lavelle,  but  of  late  years  the 
growth  of  his  mercantile  trade  has  been  so  large  as  to  take  more 
of  his  time  and  consequently  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  the  gov- 
ernment work,  his  resignation  taking  effect  on  Jan.  i,  1907.  In 
1890  Mr.  Enterline  was  united  in  the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony  to 
Miss  Estella  Strawhecker,  of  Barry  township,  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Strawhecker.  The  children  of  this  union  are  six  in"  number — 
Grace,  Samuel  Bright,  Marie,  Russell,  Anna  and  Hampton  Lamar. 
In  politics  Mr.  Enterline  is  a  Republican,  but  aside  from  the  posi- 
tion of  postmaster  he  has  never  held  public  office.  The  family  are 
attendants  of  the  United  Evangelical  church  of  Lavelle.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Enterline  is  identified  with  the  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  He  is 
a  man  of  business  sagacity,  absolute  integrity  and  genial,  hearty 
manner. 

Elstler,  William  C,  the  proficient  superintendent  of  schools  of 
Ashland,  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pa.,  Dec.  21,  1854,  a  son  of 
William  and  Mary  (Paul)  Estler.  Both  parents  were  Pennsyl- 
vanians  by  birth,  but  the  families  are  of  German  origin.  Profes- 
sor Estler  was  reared  in  Fountain  Springs  and  acquired  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  common  schools  and  the  Freeburg  acad- 
emy of  Snyder  county.  His  pedagogic  training  was  received  at  the 
state  normal  school  of  Millersville,  Lancaster  county,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  1879.  He  did  his  first  teaching  while  a  lad  of  sixteen 
years,  in  the  Schadel  school  of  Perry  township,  Snyder  county, 
where  he  served  one  term.  His  next  work  was  in  Butler  town- 
ship, this  county,  where  he  remained  for  a  period  of  three 
years.  When  he  had  completed  his  course  in  the  state  nor- 
mal school  he  secured  a  position  as  principal  of  the  male 
grammar  school  of  Ashland,  an  office  he  held  for  two  years 
and  two  months.  In  November,  1881,  the  Ashland  school 
board  made  him  principal  of  the  high  school,  a  position  he 
retained  until  1888.  In  that  year  Professor  Estler  was  elected 
to  his  present  responsible  position  at  the  head  of  the  city 
schools,  and  he  has  been  six  times  re-elected  for  terms  of  three 
years  each.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  modern  and 
thorough  educators  of  the  county,  and  his  work  in  the  Ashland 
schools  has  demonstrated  his  ability  to  keep  up  the  high  standard 
of  scholarship  which  has  made  a  name  for  the  institutions.  On 
June  3,  1880,  Professor  Estler  married  Miss  Mary  Strohmeier,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Elise  (Reinhart)  Strohmeier  of 
Ashland.  Mrs.  Estler's  parents  are  natives  of  Germany,  but  have 
been  residents  of  Schuylkill  for  more  than  half  a  century  and  of 
Ashland  for  forty-seven  years.  To  Professor  and  Mrs.  Estler  have 
been  bom  four  children — May  N.,  wife  of  Karl  F.  Schoew,  and 
William  S.,  Grace  P.  and  Irving  E.  The  parents  are  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  church  and  worship  at  Zion  church  of  that 
denomination  in  Ashland.    Fraternally  Professor  Estler  is  identified 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  139 

with  Sheridan  Council,  No.  1128,  Royal  Arcanum;  Locust  Moun- 
tain Lodge,  No.  538,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  and  of 
Shekinah  Encampment,  No.  134  of  the  last  named  order.  At  the 
present  time  he  is  secretary  of  all  three  lodges  and  president  of 
the  Mahanoy  Fire  Insurance  Company.  In  politics  he  is  a  believer 
in  the  tenets  of  the  Republican  party,  but  has  never  allowed  his 
name  to  be  used  in  connection  with  any  public  office. 

Ejvans,  Charles  W.,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  and  successful  physician 
and  surgeon  in  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county.  He  was 
born  at  Tremont,  Sept.  15,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  Abram  B.  and 
Elizabeth  (McKinney)  Evans.  Abram  B.  Evans  was  born  at 
Minersville,  this  county,  in  the  year  1834.  His  parents  died  when 
he  was  a  child,  and  he  was  reared  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Troutman, 
a  merchant  in  Minersville.  He  soon  demonstrated  that  he  was 
specially  adapted  to  the  mercantile  business,  and  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  he  was  made  sole  manager  of  his  foster  father's  ex- 
tensive establishment.  He  showed  marked  efficiency  even  at  this 
early  age  and  continued  with  Mr.  Troutman  until  his  marriage, 
when  he  engaged  in  business  at  Tower  City.  He  there  combined 
the  coal  business  with  merchandising,  and  later  became  extensively 
interested  in  the  real  estate  business.  He  invested  largely  in  lands 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Tower  City,  and  as  the  coal  interests 
developed  in  that  locality  he  soon  found  himself  possessed  of  some 
valuable  mining  lands.  His  business  interests  in  Tower  City 
were  prosecuted  under  the  firm  title  of  Evans,  Althouse  &  Co. 
The  well  known  East  Brookside  colliery  is  located  on  some  of  the 
coal  land  formerly  owned  and  developed  by  this  firm.  Abram  B. 
Evans  was  a  man  of  exemplary  character,  a  devout  Methodist  in 
religious  affiliations,  and  an  uncompromising  Republican  in  polit- 
ical views.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Philip  McKinney, 
and  two  sons  and  two  daughters  were  born  to  them.  The  eldest 
of  these  is  Emma,  who  married  Isaac  Cook,  an  extensive  stock 
raiser  and  famer  in  Kansas;  Sybilla  J.  became  the  wife  of  I>r. 
S.  S.  Koser,  a  practicing  physician  at  Williamsport,  Pa.;  Dr. 
Charles  W.,  of  this  sketch,  was  the  third  in  order  of  birth;  and 
Milton  H.,  a  dental  surgeon  in  Philadelphia,  completes  the  family 
circle.  Charles  W.  Evans  received  his  elementary  education  iil  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  town.  This  was  supplemented  by  a 
thorough  course  in  the  Millersville  state  normal  school.  He 
prosecuted  his  preparatory  work  in  medicine  under  the  tutorship 
of  Dr.  S.  S.  Koser,  then  a  prominent  physician  in  Tremont.  He 
was  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  the  class  of  1884,  after  which  he  engaged  in  prac- 
tice in  his  native  town  for  a  number  of  years.  He  soon  established 
a  large  and  lucrative  business  in  Tremont,  but  owing  to  the  more 
central  location  and  other  advantages  possessed  by  the  county-seat, 
he  removed  to  Pottsville.  Here  he  has  built  up  a  good  practice  and 
stands  high  with  the  medical  profession  as  well  as  in  the  social 
affairs  of  the  town.  Dr.  Evans  is  a  member  of  the  county  and 
state  medical  societies,  and  is  a  close  student  of  professional  litera- 


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140  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ture.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  has 
attained  an  exalted  position  in  the  councils  of  that  order.  He  was 
married  Oct.  8,  1889,  to  Miss  Sue  C  Cockill,  of  Middlesboro,  Ky. 
Evans,  Clay  W.,  the  subject  of  this  review,  is  a  representative 
of  a  family  antedating  the  Revolution  on  American  soil.  The  an- 
cestors of  the  American  branch  of  the  family  settled  in  Chester 
county,  Pa.,  about  the  year  1770.  They  were  of  Welsh  extraction 
on  the  paternal  side,  and  English  on  the  maternal.  Lot  Evans,  the 
grandfather  of  Clay  Webster  Evans,  was  an  early  settler  of  Saint 
Clair,  and  was  the  first  borough  clerk  of  that  town,  elected  in 
1850.  From  that  day  to  the  present,  the  family  has  been  prom- 
inently identified  with  political,  social  and  business  affairs  in 
Schuylkill  county.  The  subject  of  this  article  was  born  in  Saint 
Qair,  Feb.  10,  1844.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  Worth  and  Eliza 
(Tomlinson)  Evans.  His  father  was  born  in  Romansville,  Chester 
county.  Pa.,  Nov.  ^5,  1821,  and  the  mother  was  a  native  of  North- 
umberland county,  where  she  was  born  May  13,  1826.  Like  many 
of  the  "boys'*  of  the;  6o's,  Clay  W.  Evans  laid  aside  his  studies  at 
Ihe  call  of  his  country,  and  shouldered  his  musket  in  defense  of 
the  Union.  He  enlisted  Aug.  7,  1862,  as  a  private  in  Company  B, 
129th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry,  and  was  assigned  to  duty 
in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He  reached  the  front  just  at  the  close 
of  the  disastrous  Peninsula  campaign,  and  took  part  in  the  ma- 
noeuvers  of  the  army  under  Pope,  participating  in  the  second  battle 
of  Bull  Run  and  the  marching  and  skirmishing  leading  up  to  that 
desperate  and  fruitless  conflict.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  Kearneys- 
ville,  on  Oct.  16,  1862,  followed  by  the  campaign  against  Fred- 
ericksburg, under  Burnside.  This  also  resulted  disastrously  to 
the  Union  arms,  and  13,000  men  were  sacrificed  in  a  vain  attempt 
to  dislodge  the  enemy.  The  battle  continued  from  the  nth  to 
the  15th  of  December,  the  principal  assault  being  made  against 
Marye's  Heights  on  the  13th,  when  Mr.  Evans  was  'slightly 
wounded.     He  went  on  Burnside's  *'mud  march,"  Jan.  20  to  24, 

1863,  and  participated  in  the  Chancellorsville  campaign  under  Gen- 
eral Joe  Hooker.  He  was  discharged  at  the  expiration  of  nine 
months  under  his  first  enlistment,  and  Feb.  24,  1864,  he  re-enlisted, 
as  a  member  of  Company  G,  48th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  with 
which  honored  organization  he  participated  in  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  May  6  and  7,  1864;  Spottsylvania,  May  8  to  11 ;  and 
Spottsylvania  Coui^t  House,  May  12.  In  the  last  named  engage- 
ment he  was  seriously  wounded  in  the  left  hand  and  right  leg,  thus 
being  disabled  for  active  service  at  the  front  for  several  weeks. 
The  next  battle  in  which  Mr.  Evans  took  part  was  that  known  as 
the  battle  of  the  Weldon  Railroad,  Aug.  18  to  21,  1864.  This  was 
followed  by  the  engagement  at  Poplar  Spring  church,  which  com- 
menced  on   Sept.  30   and   continued   until    Oct.    2.     On   Dec.   4, 

1864,  Mr.  Evans  was  discharged  from  the  48th  Pennsylvania  to 
accept  promotion  to  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States  army,  and  was  assigned  to  duty  in  Company  E  of  the  31st 
United  States  colored  troops.     He  was  soon  after  promoted  first 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  141 

lieutenant  of  Company  G  of  the  same  regiment,  and  was  dis- 
charged from  the  service  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  Dec.  3,  1865,  with  the 
rank  of  captain.  His  command  comprised  a  part  of  the  besieging 
force  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  during  the  winter  of  1864-5, 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Hatcher's  Run,  the  capture  of 
Petersburg,  the  final  chase  after  Lee's  retreating  army,  and  the 
surrender  at  Appomattox.  Immediately  after  the  surrender  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  Captain  Evans  embarked  with  his 
troops,  thereafter  comprising  a  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  went  to  Texas,  where  they  did  patrol  duty  along  the 
Rio  Grande  from  Brazos  de  Santiago  to  Eagle  Pass.  During  his 
term  of  service  Captain  Evans  was  attached  to  the  5th,  9th  and  24th 
army  corps  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  the  25th  corps  in  the 
Army  of  the  James,  in  addition  to  his  service  in  the  extreme  South, 
as  just  related.  His  service  covered  a  period  of  more  than  three 
years  at  the  front,  during  which  time  he  was  three  times  wounded 
but  never  lost  a  day's  duty  from  other  causes.  Forty  years  and 
more  have  passed  since  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  but  the  record 
of  heroic  achievement  never  should  grow  old.  The  youth  of  the 
6o's  gave  the  best  years  of  their  lives  to  the  preservation  of  the 
Union  and  the  cause  of  human  liberty.  Their  future  life  work 
was,  in  most  cases,  distorted  and  educational  opportunities  were 
sacrificed.  The  activities  of  mature  years  were  upon  them,  and 
they  mingled  in  the  throng  of  business.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
returned  veterans  of  the  6o's,  like  Captain  Evans,  attained  their 
majority  while  in  the  service,  and  the  four  most  useful  school  years 
of  their  lives  were  sacrificed  to  the  sterner  duties  of  national 
preservation.  When  these  facts  are  considered,  the  severity  of  the 
criticism  heaped  upon  the  indigent  old  soldier  should  be  modified 
to  a  feeling  of  pity  and  commiseration,  for  there  is  a  tangible 
reason,  both  for  his  infirmities  and  his  apparent  improvidence. 
But  Captain  Evans  was  one  of  a  large  majority  who  took  ad- 
vantage of  opportunities  and  forged  to  the  front.  Returning  from 
the  war,  he  immediately  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  his 
native  town,  and  continued  uninterruptedly  for  thirty  years.  Dur- 
ing this  time  he  was  also  prominently  identified  with  the  National 
Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  first  as  captain  of  Company  K,  7th  regi- 
ment, from  July  21,  1873,  to  J"ly  3^*  1878.  He  was  then  captain 
and  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  the  3d  brigade  commander, 
after  which  he  was  ordnance  officer  and  inspector  of  rifle  practice, 
with  the  rank  of  major,  on  the  staff  of  General  Seigfried,  until 
August,  1883,  when  he  resigned.  Major  Evans  has  also  borne  a. 
prominent  part  in  political  affairs  in  the  county,  and  is  recognized 
as  a  leader  in  the  councils  of  the  Republican  party.  He  has  held 
numerous  offices  within  the  gift  of  his  party,  and  has  twice  repre- 
sented his  district  in  the  state  legislature,  in  the  sessions  of  1879- 
80.  He  was  steward  of  the  county  alms  house  in  1898,  and  from 
that  plosition  he  retired  to  assume  that  of  deputy  collector  of  in- 
ternal revenue,  serving  from  Oct.  i,  1899,  until  Nov.  5,  1906,  when 
he  resigned  to  accept  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Schuylkill  county.    He 


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142  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

was  elected  to  this  position  on  Nov.  6,  1906.  Major  Evans  was 
married  S6pt.  3,  1867,  to  Miss  Emily  E.  Allison,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Hunt)  Allison,  of  Saint  Clair.  The  three 
children  of  this  union  are  Cad.  M.,  Guy  H.  and  Robert  A.  Major 
Evans  is  prominent  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  his  initial  member- 
ship being  with  Anthracite  Lodge,  No.  285,  of  which  he  is  past 
master.  He  is  a  member  of  Mountain  City  Chapter,  No.  196, 
Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Constantine  Commandery,  No.  41,  Knights 
Templars.  He  is  a  past  grand  of  Mineral  Lodge,  No.  285,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  past  commander  of  Ennis 
Post,  No.  47,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Eivans,  Rev.  David  Ivor,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church  at 
Shenandoah,  was  born  at  Maesteg,  Glamorganshire,  Wales,  Jan. 
25,  1849,  ^  son  of  David  and  Hannah  (Jenkins)  Evans.  He  was 
educated  at  Pontypool  college,  now  a  part  of  the  University  of 
Cardiff,  and  upon  completing  his  course  was  licensed  to  the  min- 
istry. For  three  years  he  was  pastor  of  a  church  at  Cardiff,  in  his 
native  county,  but  in  April,  1882,  he  came  to  America.  He  first 
settled  at  Oliphant,  near  Scranton,  where  he  remained  in  charge 
of  a  Baptist  church  for  five  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
removed  to  Lansford,  where  he  served  as  pastor  of  a  church  for 
two  years.  From  Lansford  he  went  to  Jackson  township,  Susque- 
hanna county,  and  in  Jan.,  1891,  he  came  to  Shenandoah  to  take 
charge  of  his  present  congregation,  where  he  is  now  serving  his 
seventeenth  year.  Mr.  Evans  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Shenandoah  ministerial  association,  and  was  for  twelve  years  its 
president.  Before  leaving  his  native  land  Mr.  Evans  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza  Bethia  Tilley.  She  was  an  accomplished 
woman  and  translated  many  of  the  Welsh  hymns  into  the  English 
language.  To  this  union  was  born  one  daughter,  who  died  at 
Oliphant,  about  a  year  after  the  family  came  to  this  country.  Mrs. 
Evans  died  at  Shenandoah  in  Jan.,  1892,  and  on  April  12,  1893, 
Mr.  Evans  married  Miss  Mary  Davis,  who  was  a  friend  of  his  first 
wife  and  who  had  been  a  co-worker  in  the  Sunday  school  at  Cow- 
bridge,  Wales,  where  he  was  pastor.  To  this  second  marriage 
have  been  born  a  son  and  daughter — Vivian  Ivor,  aged  eleven 
years,  and  Blodwen  Mary,  aged  eight  (1907).  Mr.  Evans'  parents 
came  to  America  in  1883  and  located  at  Nanticoke,  Pa.,  where  the 
father  died  Feb.  9,  1892.  The  mother  is  still  living,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three  years.  She  is  probably  the  oldest  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist denomination  in  the  United  States,  having  been  baptized  into 
the  church,  in  Wales,  when  she  was  but  ten  years  of  age.  Of  the 
brothers  and  sisters  of  Mr.  Evans,  John  and  Mrs.  Ann  Davis  still 
reside  in  Wales ;  Daniel  E.  is  a  practicing  physician  at  Newcastle, 
Pa. ;  and  William  and  Arthur  D.  live  in  Nanticoke,  where  they  are 
identified  with  the  mining  industry.  Mr.  Evans  is  a  talented 
speaker  and  has  occupied  every  Protestant  pulpit  in  Shenandoah. 
He  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  alive  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
community,  was  one  of  the  foremost  champions  of  the  curfew 
law,  is  an  ardent  temperance  advocate,  and  is  deservedly  popular. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  143 

as  his  long  service  in  his  present  charge  bears  testimony.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  has  fre- 
quently been  called  upon  to  deliver  addresses  before  gatherings 
of  this  society.  His  whole  life  has  been  marked  by  energy  and 
determination.  In  his  college  days  he  stood  at  the  head  of  his 
classes  and  since  that  time  his  career  has  been  distinguished  by 
the  same  characteristics  that  gave  him  preeminence  among  his 
fellow  students.  In  politics  he  is  an  unswerving  Republican  and 
an  active  worker  for  the  promotion  of  his  political  opinions.  A 
student  of  history  and  full  of  patriotism,  he  has  delivered  a  num- 
ber of  addresses  on  Decoration  day,  and  these  addresses  have  al- 
ways been  of  such  a  character  as  to  instill  into  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  the  lessons  of  patriotism  and  respect  for  the  laws  and  in- 
stitutions of  his  adopted  country. 

Eivans,  Frank  K.,  bookkeeper  for  the  Pine  Grove  branch  of  the 
Milwal  Drug  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Democratic  nomi- 
nee of  his  district  in  the  fall  of  1906  for  election  to  the  state  legis- 
lature, was  born  in  Chester  county.  Pa.,  Aug.  25,  1878.  He  is  a 
son  of  Samuel  and  Annie  (Wilkinson)  Evans,  both  native  Penn- 
sylvanians.  The  father  was  for  fifteen  years  supervisor  of  the  Pine 
Grove  division  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad.  He  was 
a  man  widely  and  favorably  known  in  many  circles,  having  been 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  His  death  occurred  Oct.  20,  1897,  and  he 
left  a  widow  and  nine  children.  Elizabeth,  the  first  born,  is  the 
wife  of  William  Davis  of  Lindale ;  Horace  is  a  machinist  by  trade 
and  a  foreman  in  the  plant  of  the  American  Iron  &  Steel  Company 
at  Lebanon ;  Flora  is  Mrs.  John  Shaffner,  of  Pine  Grove ;  Caleb  E. 
lives  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  is  a  train  dispatcher  for  the  Rapid 
Transit  Company  of  Coney  Island ;  Charles  T.  is  professor  of  chem- 
istry in  the  Hill  school  at  Pottstown ;  Emily  H.  is  at  home ;  and 
the  other  two,  Bessie  R.  and  Annie  M.,  are  twins,  the  former  being 
the  wife  of  J.  Howard  Smith,  professor  of  mathematics  at  the 
Mercerburg  academy.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  seventh 
member  of  the  family  in  order  of  birth.  After  completing  the 
courses  offered  in  the  Pine  Grove  schools  he  secured  employment 
in  the  scale  office  and  remained  there  until  the  office  was  closed. 
Then  he  went  to  Tamaqua  to  become  assistant  weighmaster  at  that 
point  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  and  remained  there 
three  years.  Subsequently  he  was  manager  for  his  father-in-law's 
timber  business,  continuing  in  that  capacity  until  the  spring  of 
1906,  when  he  accepted  his  present  responsible  position,  noted  in 
the  opening  lines  of  this  sketch.  He  has  always  been  intensely 
interested  in  the  public  welfare  and  active  in  politics  and  in  the 
fall  of  1906  the  Democrats  of  his  district  honored  him  with  the 
nomination  for  representative  in  the  state  legislature.  In  the  spring 
of  the  same  year  he  had  been  made  a  school  director.  July  9,  1900, 
Mr.  Evans  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  E.  Schultz,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Catherine  Schultz  of  Schuylkill  county. 
Mrs.  Schultz  died  in  1888,  but  the  father  is  still  living,  being  the 


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144  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

owner  of  a  large  timber  industry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  have  had 
one  child,  Ivan  S.,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Evans  is  a  member 
of  and  earnest  worker  in  the  Evangelical  church  and  her  husband 
is  identified  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  in 
which  he  is  at  the  present  time  secretary  of  the  local  organization, 
and  with  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle. 

Evans,  Thomas  Edward,  the  successful  superintendent  of  the 
mills  of  the  Eastern  Steel  Company  at  Pottsville,  was  born  in 
Whitten  Park,  England,  June  7,  1866.  He  is  a  grandson  of  Thomas 
and  Ann  Edwards  and  a  son  of  John  and  Hannah  (Edwards) 
Evans,  all  natives  of  Wales,  and  is  one  of  the  five  children  in  his 
father's  family,  the  others  being  Mrs.  David  Dyer,  George,  John 
and  Mary.  Both  his  father  and  his  maternal  grandfather  were  mill 
superintendents,  and  his  capability  in  that  line  is  inherent.  When 
he  was  but  six  months  old  his  parents  came  to  the  United  States 
and  located  at  Pittsburg.  His  scholastic  advantages  were  limited 
to  the  three  years  of  training  received  in  the  public  schools  be- 
tween his  seventh  and  eleventh  years.  It  was  at  the  latter  age  that 
he  became  seized  of  a  desire  to  earn  his  own  living,  and  his  father, 
who  was  known  throughout  the  mill  as  "Little  Jack,"  gave  him 
work  as  "pulling-up  boy"  at  the  furnace.  Subsequently  he  became 
a  fire  boy,  and  still  later  an  extra  helper  and  then  for  two  years  he 
worked  as  a  level  hand  with  his  father.  When  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age  his  father  died  and  he  was  left  to  support  his  mother 
and  four  small  brothers  and  sisters.  He  left  the  bar  mill  depart- 
ment of  the  works  and  entered  the  plate  mill,  serving  under  Cap- 
tain L.  F.  Brown  as  scrap  shearman.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he 
received  a  promotion  to  the  superintendency  of  the  night  turn, 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for  a  period  of  five  years.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  was  made  assistant  superintendent  of  the  day  turn, 
holding  that  position  for  the  following  five  years.  When  he  left 
the  employ  of  the  Moorhead-McQeave  Company  it  was  to  accept 
a  position  as  superintendent  of  the  plate  mill  department  of  the 
Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  on  Twenty-fifth  street,  south 
side.  Sept.  11  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany as  night  manager  of  the  Twenty-ninth  street  mill.  The  change 
was  made  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  Mr.  Dillon  and  L.  T.  Brown, 
and  after  a  service  of  about  three  and  one-half  years  her  was  made 
day  manager.  Six  months  later  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
the  Thirty-third  street  or  upper  mills  of  the  Carnegie  Company, 
and  he  continued  in  the  position  to  within  three  days  of  four  years. 
At  that  time  labor  troubles  had  arisen  at  the  lower  or  Twenty- 
ninth  street  mills  of  the  company  and  the  management  felt  that  a 
change  was  necessary.  After  consultation  the  directors  determined 
to  place  Mr.  Evans  in  charge  and  within  thirty-five  minutes  after 
his  arrival  at  the  scene  of  the  trouble  the  men  had  returned  to 
work  and  the  mills  were  in  full  operation  again.  During  the  five 
years  of  his  incumbency  of  the  superintendent's  position  at  the 
lower  mills  the  production  of  them  was  increased  one  hundred  per 
cent.    Feb.  6,  1906,  Mr.  Evans  received  the  offer  of  a  responsible 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  145 

position  with  the  Eastern  Steel  Company  at  Pottsville,  at  a  more 
lucrative  salary,  and  accepted  it,  assuming  his  new  duties  Feb.  15. 
He  is  the  first  superintendent  the  mills  have  had  since  their  erec- 
tion who  has  made  a  paying  proposition  of  them.  When,  on  Sept. 
8,  1897,  he  left  the  Twenty-ninth  street  mills  to  accept  the  super- 
intendency  of  the  upper  mills  he  was  presented  with  a  watch  and 
chain  by  the  men  formerly  employed  under  him,  the  watch  bearing 
the  following  inscription :  *Tresented  to  Thomas  E.  Evans  by  the 
Employes  of  the  29th  St.  Mill,  Sept.  8,  1897."  Again,  when  he  left 
Pittsburg  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  his  present  position,  his 
fellow  workmen  gave  him  a  magnificent  diamond  stud  and  his 
employers,  after  his  nine  years  of  faithful  and  able  service,  made  him 
a  gift  of  $5,000  in  gold  certificates  drawing  five  per  cent,  interest. 
Dec.  25,  1889,  at  the  old  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  church  of  Pitts- 
burg, occurred  Mr.  Evans*  marriage  to  Miss  Sadie  J.  Brown,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Martha  (Park)  Brown.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown 
are  natives  of  Ireland  and  they  reared  a  family  of  eleven  children. 
Besides  Mrs.  Evans  they  are  May,  Samuel,  Jeanette,  Martha,  Fred- 
erick, Jessamine,  John,  George,  Olivia  and  Roland.  Mrs.  Evans' 
grandparents  were  Hugh  and  Mary  (Lewis)  Park,  both  bom  in 
Ireland,  and  Samuel  and  Ann  (McKinstry)  Brown,  born  in  Scot- 
land. The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  are  three  in  number, 
Edna,  Thomas  and  Elizabeth,  all  living  at  home.  The  family  all 
claim  membership  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  church  of  Pitts- 
burg. Mr.  Evans  was  at  one  time  widely  known  in  fraternal  circles, 
but  he  has  resigned  his  membership  in  all  but  the  Masonic  ord^r. 
Of  this  he  is  a  member  of  Blue  Lodge,  No.  45,  Zerubbabel  Chapter, 
No.  163,  and  Tancred  Commandery,  No.  48,  Knights  Templars,  all 
of  Pittsburg.  Other  organizations  to  which  he  formerly  belonged 
are  the  Knights  of  the  Mystic  Chain,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle 
and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  McKinley  Chapter,  No.  20,  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  as  such  was  for  a  term 
a  member  of  the  board  of  school  directors  of  Pittsburg.  He  was  a 
candidate  for  re-election,  with  every  prospect  of  success,  when  his 
removal  to  Pottsville  necessitated  his  withdrawal  from  the  contest. 
Mr.  Evans  is  an  exemplary  type  of  the  successful  self-made  man 
and  his  life  is  well  worthy  of  emulation. 

Eivans,  William  T.,  superintendent  at  Shenandoah  of  the  Home 
Friendly  Association,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  was  bom  in  Wales,  Sept. 
14,  i860.  He  is  the  only  survivor  of  four  children  born  to  Daniel 
and  Jane  (Taylor)  Evans,  both  natives  of  Wales.  Thomas  died 
in  youth  in  his  native  land ;  John  died  from  the  effects  of  an  injury 
received  in  a  colliery  at  Shenandoah ;  and  Eliza  died  in  childhood. 
After  the  death  of  Daniel  Evans  his  widow  married  again,  and 
to  this  union  were  born  four  children:  Elizabeth,  Charlotte,  Ed- 
ward and  Luther.  Charlotte  and  Luther  are  deceased  and  the 
other  two  live  in  Europe.  Both  parents  have  passed  to  their  reward 
in  the  life  eternal.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  William  T. 
Evans  came  to  America.    For  about  a  year  and  a  half  he  was  em- 

10— Vol.  II 


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146  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ployed  in  the  silk  mills  at  Philadelphia.  He  then  went  to  Sandy 
Run,  Luzerne  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was  employed  for  a  while  in 
the  collieries,  and  in  1885  ^^  came  to  Shenandoah,  which  city  has 
ever  since  been  his  home.  Here  for  two  years  he  was  engaged  in 
the  mines  and  was  then  appointed  local  agent  for  the  Home  Friendly 
Association,  a  life  insurance  society,  with  which  he  has  been  con- 
nected ever  since,  in  various  capacities.  Oct.  14,  1889,  ^^  was  made 
superintendent  of  agencies  for  the  anthracite  coal  district,  and  now 
has  eight  local  agents  working  under  his  jurisdiction.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Shenandoah  Tribe,  No.  155,  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men;  Shenandoah  Lodge,  No.  591,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  in  which  society  Mrs.  Evans  is  a  Daughter  of  Rebekah; 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Evans  has  been  twice  married.  July  16,  1885,  he 
married  Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  William  F.  and  Emma  (Boulton) 
Davis.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  Wales  and  her  mother  of  Staf- 
fordshire, England.  Both  parents  are  now  deceased.  They  had 
a  family  of  seven  children,  of  whom  three  are  deceased.  Mrs. 
Evans  died  March  29,  1899,  ^"^  ^^  ^^^'  S^*  1900,  was  solemn- 
ized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Evans  and  Miss  Emma  Davis,  a  sister  of 
his  first  wife.  The  first  wife  was  born  in  Wales  and  the  present 
wife  in  Shenandoah.  The  latter  is  a  graduate  of  the  Shenandoah 
high  school  and  is  a  woman  of  rare  accomplishments.  To  the  first 
marriage  were  born  six  children :  William  Arthur,  who  is  now  an 
electrician,  and  Luther  D.,  Lillie,  Beatrice,  Mary  J.,  and  William 
F.,  all  in  school.  Mr.  Evans*  business  brings  him  in  contact  with 
a  great  many  men  in  all  walks  of  life,  and  few  men  in  Schuylkill 
county  are  more  widely  or  favorably  known.  His  genial  disposition 
gains  to  him  friends  and  his  sterling  qualities  bind  those  friends 
to  him  for  all  time  to  come.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  he 
devotes  the  greater  part  of  his  time  to  his  insurance  business,  feel- 
ing certain  that  diligence  and  application  to  his  occupation  is  more 
remunerative  than  the  precarious  emoluments  of  a  political  career. 
Farquhar,  Fergus  G.,  a  well  known  attorney  in  Pottsville,  is 
a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  born  in  Pottsville,  Feb.  21,  1845. 
His  father,  George  Wildman  Farquhar,  was  born  in  the  West 
Indies,  in  1802,  and  his  mother,  Amelie  Farquhar,  was  born  in 
Germany,  in  1804;  this  was  one  of  the  prominent  and  early  estab- 
lished families  in  Pottsville.  Fergus  G.  Farquhar  received  his  ele- 
mentary education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town.  He 
then  began  a  classical  course  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  but 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  drove  him  from  that 
institution,  and  as  he  was,  by  his  youth  and  physical  disability,  un- 
able to  enlist,  his  mother  took  him  to  Germany,  where  his  educa- 
tion was  completed  at  Bonn  and  Heidelberg,  the  university  of  the 
latter  conferring  on  him,  in  Aug.,  1865,  the  degree  of  Doctor  Juris. 
He  chose  the  law  as  his  life  profession,  and  sustains  an  exalted 
standing  among  his  colleagues  at  the  Schuylkill  county  bar.  He 
has  also  been  admitted  to  practice  before  the  higher  courts  of  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  147 

state  and  nation,  and  has  always  been  recognized  as  a  wise  and 
safe  counsellor  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  law.  Mr.  Farquhar  has 
been  twice  married — first  to  Miss  Fannie  M.  Gunniss,  of  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  May  17,  1866.  She  was  a.  daughter  of  George  G.  and 
Fannie  (Scott)  Gunniss,  of  Glasgow.  Mrs.  Farquhar  died  Nov. 
17,  1883.  Four  children  were  born  to  this  union  and  two  of  them- 
survived  their  mother.  George  Edwin,  born  in  1867,  died  the  fol- 
lowing year;  Amelie  Margaret  was  born  in  1869;  Sarah  Cecelia 
was  born  in  1870  and  died  in  1879;  ^"^  Frederick  George  was  born 
in  1878.    The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Farquhar  occurred  June  15, 

1887,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Helen  Leigh  Southall, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Southall,  of  Shenandoah,  Pa. 
The  only  child  of  this  union   is  Walter  Southall,  born  April  6, 

1888.  Mr.  Farquhar  is  an  independent  Democrat  in  his  political 
affiliations,  though  he  has  never  had  political  aspirations  nor  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  discussion  of  local  politics.  He  has  borne  his 
share  in  the  burdens  of  local  offices.  The  religious  home  of  the 
family  is  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

Faussct,  Thomas  B.,  of  Wayne  township,  near  Long  Run,  is 
a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Bassler)  Fausset,  who  were  residents 
of  Myerstown,  Lebanon  county,  and  was  born  in  that  place,  Nov. 
17,  1844.  His  paternal  grandparents  were  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Gantz)  Fausset,  both  from  Lancaster  county.  His  maternal 
grandfather  was  Simeon  Bassler,  who  was  a  native  of  Lebanon 
county.  Thomas  B.  Fausset,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Lancaster  county,  and  at  the  age 
of  nine  years  he  went  to  work  for  his  grandfather  on  his  farm, 
remaining  until  1861.  He  went  home  that  year,  and  shortly  after- 
ward went  to  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  he  was  a  government  at- 
tendant of  the  horses  and  mules  that  were  corralled  at  Alexandria. 
In  1862  he  returned  home  and  finally  located  in  Pottsville,  secur- 
ing employment  at  the  Fishbach  mills,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  worked  for  a  year  in  the  Haywood  mill,  at 
Palo  Alto.  He  came  to  Wayne  township  for  a  short  time  and  for 
two  years  he  drove  a  powder  team  for  Henry  Boyer.  On  one 
trip  which  he  made  from  Pottsville  to  Mahanoy  City,  crossing 
Broad  mountain,  he  drove  through  a  severe  forest  fire  with  a 
load  of  powder,  at  the  risk  of  his  life.  Later  he  worked  for  L.  C. 
Thompson,  at  Pottsville,  in  a  hardware  store,  and  upon  leaving 
this  position  he  went  with  the  oil  firm  of  Bell  &  Sterner,  at  Mount 
Carbon,  where  he  was  in  charge  for  one  year,  when  the  St^indard 
Oil  Company  bought  the  business  and  leased  it  to  L.  C.  Thomp- 
son for  a  year.  Later,  Bright  &  Co.  leased  the  plant  for  a  year, 
and  after  this  lease  expired  the  Standard  Oil  Company  took  the 
property  themselves.  Mr.  Fausset  remained  in  charge  of  the 
plant  under  all  these  lessees,  and  he  remained  with  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  for  nearly  twenty  years.  After  the  business  became 
so  large  that  more  men  were  necessary  Mr.  Fausset  took  charge 
of  the  warehouse,  stables  and  oils,  holding  this  position  up  to 
the  time  of  his  leaving  the  service.     After  leaving  the  Standard 


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148  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Oil  Company  he  moved  to  the  farm  where  he  is  now  located,  this 
having  been  his  residence  since  1896.  Dec.  3,  1870,  Mr.  Fausset 
married  Susan,  daughter  of  John  Kremer,  of  Wayne  township. 
Mrs.  Fausset's  mother  was,  before  her  marriage,  a  Miss  Bretzius. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fausset  have  had  six  children,  three  sons  and  three 
daughters:  Annie,  John  (deceased),  Elizabeth,  Eva,  Harry  (de- 
ceased), and  Thomas.  Annie  is  married  to  William  Reichhardt, 
of  Reading;  Elizabeth  to  George  Lloyd,  of  Schuylkill  Haven; 
Eva  to  Robert  Berger,  of  Pine  Grove.  Thomas  is  unmarried  and 
works  at  the  Eastern  steel  works  at  Pottsville.  Mr.  Fausset  has 
sold  his  farming  implements  to  his  son-in-law,  with  whom  he 
makes  his  home,  and  has  retired  from  the  active  management  of 
the  farm.  He  is,  however,  interested  in  the  keeping  of  bees  and 
raising  honey.  From  twelve  hives  he  took  735  pounds  of  honey 
in  1905.  In  1906  he  had  eighteen  colonies  and  took  1,007  pounds 
of  honey  in  pound  boxes  from  them.  He  also  supplies  hives,  honey 
and  brood  frames  and  other  furnishings  for  the  keeping  of 
apiaries  and  has  roots  supplies.  In  politics  Mr.  Fausset  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  is  a  school  director  of  Wayne  township  at  the 
present  time.  The  family  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church  of 
Friedensburg. 

Fayhey,  John  B.,  an  undertaker  and  furniture  dealer  of  Port 
Carbon,  was  born  in  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  April  27,  1853,  a  son 
of  Peter  J.  and  Ellen  (Murray)  Fayhey.  His  earliest  educational 
training  was  in  the  public  schools  of  Chester  county.  Pa.,  and 
after  his  parents  had  removed  to  Port  Carbon  he  attended  school 
there.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  entered  the  office  of  En- 
gineer H.  K.  Nichols,  of  Pottsville,  as  a  messenger.  After  two 
years  of  service  there  he  went  to  work  on  the  railroad  and  spent 
the  following  two  years  in  that  labor.  For  some  time  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  clerk  at  the  St.  Clair  coal  station  and  then,  in  1880,  he 
returned  to  Port  Carbon.  There  he  embarked  in  the  undertaking 
and  furniture  business  and  since  that  time  has  been  most  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  its  conduct.  His  stock  of  goods  is  always 
up-to-date  and  no  one  who  knows  Mr.  Fayhey  doubts  his  desire 
to  give  his  patrons  the  best  to  be  had.  For  some  years  now  he 
has  been  one  of  the  influential  directors  of  the  Port  Carbon  electric 
light  company.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  politics,  but  has  never 
held  or  aspired  to  office.  In  October,  1876,  was  solemnized .  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Fayhey  to  Miss  Margaret  Mixted,  daughter  of 
James  Mixted,  of  Port  Carbon.  The  union  was  blessed  with  five 
children,  but  two  of  whom  survive.  They  are  Nellie  and  Beatrice, 
the  former  of  whom  is  a  graduate  of  an  academy  in  Montgomery. 
The  family  are  all  communicants  of  St.  Stephen's  church  of  Port 
Carbon. 

Fegley,  Perry  W.,  a  member  of  the  A.  E.  Brown  Shoe  Company, 
of  Orwigsburg,  was  born  in  that  borough  on  May  8,  1855,  a  son 
of  Charles  and  Lavinia  (Hoffman)  Fegley.  Both  were  natives  of 
the  Keystone  state,  and  the  father  was  a  farmer  all  his  life.  His 
death  occurred  in  1898,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  and  on  Aug.  3, 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  149 

1902,  his  widow,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six,  passed  away.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  one  of  two  children  by  his  father's  last 
marriage,  and  the  other  son.  Dr.  H.  C.  Fegley,  died  in  1888,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-eight.  Mr.  Fegley  took  advantage  of  the  educa- 
tional opportunities  offered  in  the  Orwigsburg  public  schools,  and 
when  he  had  completed  the  courses  offered  there  he  became  ap- 
prenticed to  the  tinkers'  trade.  Subsequently  he  went  into  the 
Orwigsburg  shoe  factory,  and  in  1884  he  became  a  partner  of  the 
late  A.  E.  Brown  in  the  business,  under  the  firm  name  of  A.  E. 
Brown  &  Co.  His  work  comprises  the  superintendency  of  the  fac- 
tory, and  the  general  overseeing  of  the  output  of  the  firm.  Oct. 
31,  1875,  M^-  Fegley  married  Miss  Isadora  Thorn,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  a  daughter  of  Theodore  and  Sarah  (Richards) 
Thorn.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fegley  were  born  seven  children.  The 
eldest  is  Dr.  Theodore  C.  Fegley,  of  Tremont,  whose  sketch  ap- 
pears in  this  volume.  Mabel  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Lamberskin,  of 
Somerville,  N.  J.,  and  is  the  mother  of  two  children,  Philip  and 
Isadora.  Lillian  is  at  home;  Hilda  is  teaching  in  Schuylkill 
county;  Perry  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years;  and  Harry  and 
Gerald  are  at  home.  The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  and  Mr.  Fegley  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Malta,  the 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  the  Independent  Order 
of  Mechanics. 

Fegley,  Theodore  C,  M.  D.,  a  leading  physician  of  Schuylkill 
county  and  a  prominent  resident  of  Tremont,  was  born  in  St. 
Clair,  this  county,  July  2,  1876.  He  is  the  oldest  son  of  Perry  W. 
Fegley,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  in  this  volume.  The  doctor's 
preliminary  educational  training  was  acquired  in  the  common  and 
high  schools  of  Orwigsburg,  and  then  he  entered  the  East  Strouds- 
burg  normal  school.  When  he  had  completed  the  normal  course 
he  read  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  A.  H.  Halberstadt,  of  Potts- 
ville,  for  two  years  and  then  entered  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1899  he  was  graduated  from 
that  institution  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  and  after 
a  service  of  fourteen  months  as  interne  in  the  Pottsville  hospital 
he  removed  to  Tremont  and  started  a  general  practice.  He  has 
been  very  successful  in  a  pecuniary  way  and  has  come  to  be 
ranked  among  the  leaders  of  his  profession.  He  is  medical  ex- 
aminer for  all  the  insurance  companies  doing  business  in  Tfemont 
and  has  served  as  a  deputy  county  coroner  under  Drs.  Bleiler  and 
Gillars.  Nov.  4,  1902,  Dr.  Fegley  married  Miss  Minerva  Lam- 
berson,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  R.  Lamberson,  of  Tremont. 
To  this  union  has  been  born  a  daughter,  Mary  Elizabeth.  Mrs. 
Fegley  is  a  devout  member  of  and  worker  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  of  Tremont.  Her  husband  ranks  high  in  Masonic 
circles,  being  a  member  of  the  blue  lodge  of  Orwigsburg,  the 
Tremont  chapter,  the  Pottsville  commandery,  the  Philadelphia 
consistory,  and  Rajah  Temple  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Reading.  He  is  also  identified 
with  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  is  examiner  for  the  same. 


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150  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Fennessy,  Richard  F.,  chief  driller  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing Coal  and  Iron  Company,  with  residence  at  Frackville,  Pa., 
was  born  in  Cameron,  Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  i8,  1862,  being 
a  son  of  James  and  Catherine  (Anglum)  Fennessy,  the  former  of 
whom  was  a  native  of  County  Cork,  Ireland,  and  the  latter  of 
County  Clare.  James  Fennessy  immigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  early  manhood  and  was  a  resident  of  Philadelphia  for  seven 
years  prior  to  his  removal,  about  1856,  to  Cameron,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Erie  Railroad,  and  where  he  met 
and  married  his  life  companion.  In  1887  he  removed  to  Frack- 
ville,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  watch- 
man by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company  until 
his  death,  in  1904.  He  was  the  father  of  a  family  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, ten  of  whom  grew  to  the  age  of  maturity,  viz:  Mary,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Thomas  C.  Kenney,  of  Scranton,  Pa. ;  Richard 
F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Anna,  wife  of  Lucian  Geisen- 
heimer,  of  Cuba,  N.  Y. ;  John,  of  Adrian,  N.  Y. ;  William  J.,  of 
Frackville,  this  state ;  Nellie,  wife  of  Dominick  J.  Lynch,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.;  Rose,  wife  of  Boyd  Schaefer,  of  Bloomsburg,  Pa.; 
Margaret,  wife  of  William  J.  Richards,  of  Frackville,  Pa. ;  Thomas 
W.,  of  Uniontown,  Pa.,  and  Catherine,  deceased,  who  was  the 
twin  of  John.  Richard  F.  Fennessy  was  reared  in  Cameron,  N.  Y,, 
but  in  1873,  ^t  the  age  of  eleven  years,  went  to  Scranton,  Pa., 
where  he  remained  until  1878.  He  then  went  to  Bradford,  Pa., 
being  employed  in  the  oil  fields  of  McKean  county.  In  1883 
he  removed  to  Tremont,  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company,  as 
a  driller.  He  remained  in  Tremont  for  four  years  and  in  1887 
removed  to  Frackville,  Pa.,  where  he  has  since  maintained  his 
residence  and  where  he  serves  in  the  capacity  of  chief  driller  for 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company,  having  charge 
of  all  the  drilling  for  that  company.  Mr.  Fennessy  is  prominently 
identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Frackville  and  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  its  leading  and  influential  citizens.  He  is  a  direc- 
tor of  the  First  National  bank  of  Frackville,  and  for  ten  years 
has  been  a  director  of  the  building  and  loan  association.  Polit- 
ically he  is  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  has  served  on  the  board  of  health  of. his  city  for  ten  years. 
He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
In  1883  Mr.  Fennessy  married  Emma  J.  Faust,  a  daughter  of 
George  A.  and  Sarah  (Spatzer)  Faust,  of  Upper  Rauch  Creek, 
Schuylkill  county,  and  to  them  have  been  born  eight  children,  as 
follows:  Gertrude,  Bertha,  Richard,  James,  Laurence,  Ida,  Mary, 
and  Anna. 

Fenton,  Patrick  C,  mine  inspector  for  the  eleventh  mining  dis- 
trict of  Schuylkill  county,  is  a  native  of  Glamorganshire,  Wales, 
where  he  was  born  Jan.  3,  i860.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in 
his  native  land,  though  his  early  opportunities  for  attending  school 
were  very  limited.  After  coming  to  this  country,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years,  he  attended  night  schools,  as  opportunities  were 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  151 

presented,  and  thus  became  proficient  in  the  elementary  studies. 
He  also  attended  night  school  for  a  time  in  his  native  country. 
Mr.  Fenton  arrived  in  Shenandoah,  direct  from  Wales,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1878.    He  at  once  identified  himself  with  mining  interests,  an 
occupation  with   which   he  was   familiar  in  earlier  days.     After 
demonstrating  l\is  ability,  Mr.  Fenton  occupied  several  prominent 
and  important  positions  about  the  mines,  being  a  fire-boss  for  ten 
years,  assistant  superintendent  for  two  years,  and  mine  foreman 
for  six  years.    From  the  last  named  position  he  was  elected  mine 
inspector,  at  the  general  election  in  1903,  and  was  re-elected,  with- 
out opposition,  in  1906.     This  is  a  very  important  elective  office, 
carrying  with   it   a   good   salary   and   many   responsibilities.      In 
preparation  for  this,  or  similar  positions,   Mr.   Fenton   took  the 
full  correspondence  course  in  mining,  and  passed  very  creditable 
examinations     thereon,     through     the     Scranton     correspondence 
schools.     Patrick  C.  Fenton  is  a  son  of  James  and  Mary   (Phil- 
lips) Fenton,  the  former  a  native  of  Scotland  and  the  latter  born 
in  Wales.    They  spent  their  lives  in  the  last  named  country.   The 
father  died  in  1871,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one  years,  and  the  mother 
survived  him  until   1904,  when  she  died  at  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty-six.    All  of  Mr.  Fenton's  mature  life  has  been  spent  in  the 
anthracite  coal  regions,  and  principally  in  Schuylkill  county.     He 
was  married  April  20,  1882,  to  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  T. 
and  Mary  Ann  Thomas,  natives  of  Glamorganshire,  Wales,  but 
residents  of  Shenandoah,  Pa.,  at  the  time  of  this  marriage.     Five 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fenton,  the  names  being 
May,   Ivor,   Edith,   Caroline  and  John.     All   are  still   under  the 
parental   roof.     The   family  are  members  of  the   Congregational 
church.     Mr.  Fenton  is  a  Republican  in  political  views,  and  was 
elected  to  office  as  the  nominee  of  his  party.     He  takes  an  active 
interest  in  the  supremacy  of  Republican  principles,  and  is  a  recog- 
nized leader  in  local  politics.    Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Ivorites,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Fra- 
ternal Order  of  Eagles.     Mr.  Fenton  is  a  pleasant,  affable  gentle- 
man, whose  acquaintance  it  is  a  pleasure  to  make.    His  attractive 
home  and  handsome  offices  are  located  on  East  Center  street,  Ma- 
hanoy  City. 

Ferguson,  Daniel  J.,  has  attained  to  distinctive  prestige  as  one 
of  the  able  representatives  of  the  bar  of  his  native  county,  and 
is  established  in  the  successful  practice  of  his  profession  at  Shen- 
andoah. He  was  bom  in  this  thriving  little  city,  Sept.  15,  1877, 
and  is  the  only  living  child  of  Patrick  J.  and  Mary  Agnes  (O'Con- 
nor) Ferguson.  His  honored  father  is  one  of  the  prominent  and 
influential  citizens  of  the  county,  and  is  individually  mentioned 
in  this  history,  so  that  a  recapitulation  of  the  family  history  is 
not  demanded  in  the  present  connection.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  graduated  in  the  Shenandoah  grammar  school  and 
then  continued  his  studies  in  the  high  school  for  one  year,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  he  was  matriculated  in  Georgetown  Univer- 
sity, Washington,  D.  C,  in  which  historic  old  institution  he  was 


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152  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

graduated  in  1898,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  then 
took  a  course  in  the  law  department  of  Columbia  University,  New 
York  city,  and  after  his  return  to  his  native  town  he  held  the  office 
of  agent  for  the  Adams  Express  Company  for  one  year,  after 
which  he  was  manager  of  the  Ferguson  opera  house  for  a  similar 
period.  He  then  entered  the  office  of  Guy  E.  Farquhar,  of  Potts- 
ville,  under  whose  preceptorship  he  continued  his  reading  of  the 
law,  and  Oct.  10,  1904,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state,  by 
the  supreme  court.  He  immediately  opened  an  office  in  Shenan- 
doah, and  here  he  has  met  with  unqualified  success  in  the  work 
of  his  profession,  having  a  clientage  of  representative  character. 
He  further  fortified  himself  for  the  work  of  his  chosen  vocation 
by  study  under  the  able  preceptorship  of  Hon.  John  A.  McCarthy. 
Prior  to  entering  college  he  made  a  trip  abroad,  spending  four 
months  in  touring  the  European  continent  and  the  British  isles. 
Mr.  Ferguson  is  independent  in  his  political  views  and  his  reli- 
gious faith  is  that  of  the  Catholic  church,  of  which  he  is  a  com- 
municant. He  is  affiliated  with  the  local  lodge  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  one  of  the  popular  young  men 
of  his  native  city.  • 

Ferguson,  Patrick  J. — ^The  name  which  introduces  this  article 
is  prominently  and  indissolubly  associated  with  the  borough  of 
Shenandoah,  as  it  is  also  with  the  history  of  Schuylkill  county. 
Mr.  Ferguson's  entire  life  has  been  passed  in  this  county  and  for 
more  than  forty  years  his  home  and  principal  business  interests 
have  been  in  Shenandoah.  He  was  born  in  Minersville,  in  the 
year  1842,  and  in  his  native  village  the  early  years  of  his  life  were 
passed.  There  he  duly  availed  himself  of  the  advantages  of  the 
common  schools,  after  which  he  continued  his  studies  in  the 
normal  school  at  Port  Carbon  and  finally  completed  a  thorough 
course  in  the  Quaker  City  business  college,  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. Like  many  other  men  of  his  generation  who  attained  to 
prominence  in  later  life,  he  began  his  independent  career  as  a 
teacher.  For  three  years  he  was  employed  in  this  laudable  work 
at  Minersville,  and  his  efforts  in  the  connection  met  with  unquali- 
fied evidences  of  appreciation.  But  the  opportunities  for  growth 
and  development  in  the  '60s  were  too  allurinq^  to  permit  an  ambi- 
tious young  man  to  long  remain  a  devotee  of  pedagogy,  and  thus 
Mr.  Ferguson  accepted  a  lucrative  position  in  the  colliery  of  John 
Anspach  &  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  the  colliery  having  been 
located  near  Ashland.  He  was  thus  engaged  for  about  two  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  in  1864,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Shenan- 
doah, which  was  then  but  a  small  hamlet,  and  he  became  one  of 
the  first  merchants  of  the  village.  Five  years  were  profitably  de- 
voted to  mercantile  pursuits,  and  at  the  same  time  Mr.  Ferguson 
took  due  advantage  of  the  investment  opportunities  offered  in 
connection  with  the  rapid  growth  and  development  of  the  embryo 
city.  He  made  judicious  investments  in  village  lots  and  buildings 
and  made  improvements  on  his  various  properties,  which  rapidly 
appreciated   in   value.     He  early  assumed  a  virtual  protectorate 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  153 

over  his  adopted  village,  lending  his  aid  and  influence  in  support 
of  all  measures  and  enterprises  which  would  make  for  the  up- 
building and  prosperity  of  the  town.  He  invested  much  money  in 
buildings  which  were  needed,  but  which  gave  no  immediate  evi- 
dence of  substantial  profits.  However,  by  a  combination  of  favor- 
ing circumstances,  these  investments  proved  to  be  profitable. 
Always  a  firm  friend  of  popular  education,  Mr.  Ferguson  became 
a  member  of  the  school  board  very  soon  after  locating  in  Shenan- 
doah, and  he  held  this  position  consecutively  for  many  years  there- 
after. At  that  crucial  and  formative  period  in  the  history  of  the 
schools  the  influence  of  this  broad-minded,  intellectual  citizen  had 
much  to  do  with  shaping  their  policy  and  defining  their  destiny. 
The  excellence  of  the  present  school  system  of  Shenandoah  is 
recognized  and  is  a  matter  of  favorable  comment  in  rival  towns. 
For  the  attaining  of  this  high  standard  all  credit  and  honor  is 
due  to  Mr.  Ferguson  and  his  able  confreres.  In  1868  Mr.  Fer- 
guson was  appointed  local  agent  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
and  he  also  became  express  agent  at  this  point,  serving  the  two 
companies  continuously  for  nearly  forty  years  and  having  been 
claim  agent  for  the  same  during  the  latter  years  of  his  identifica- 
tion with  the  two  companies.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  First  National  bank  of  Shenandoah  and  served  as  its  president 
for  many  years.  Though  still  active  in  the  business  world,  with 
large  capitalistic  interests  in  the  town  and  county,  his  efforts 
along  individual  lines  have  relaxed  somewhat  within  later  years. 
The  Hotel  Ferguson  and  numerous  business  blocks  and  dwelling- 
houses  in  the  town  remain  as  evidences  of  his  progressive  ideas 
and  the  efforts  which  he  has  put  forth  in  connection  with  the 
material  upbuilding  of  the  little  city  in  which  he  has  so  long  main- 
tained his  home.  To  him  is  accorded  the  unequivocal  confidence 
and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him,  and  a  more  generous  and  gra- 
cious personality  is  not  to  be  found  in  Schuylkill  county.  He  is 
a  stalwart  supporter  of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  and  he  and  his  family  are  communicants  of  the  Cath- 
olic church.  He  has  held  various  offices  of  public  trust  in  the 
village  and  county,  and  has  at  all  times  stood  as  a  type  of  loyal 
citizenship.  In  1874  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Fer- 
guson to  Miss  Mary  A.  O'Connor,  and  her  death  occurred  in  1889. 
She  is  survived  by  one  son,  Daniel  J.,  who  is  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative younger  members  of  the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county.  He 
was  graduated  in  Georgetown  University,  Washington,  D.'  C,  as 
a  member  of  the  class  of  1898,  after  which  he  completed  the  pre- 
scribed course  in  the  law  department  of  Columbia  University,  New 
York  city.  He  is  a  young  man  of  fine  scholarship  and  high  pro- 
fessional attainments,  and  is  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  law 
in  Shenandoah.  In  1894  the  subject  of  this  review  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Mary  A.  Dillon,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four 
sons,  of  whom  Harry  and  Dillon  died  in  childhood.  James  and 
Thomas  are  attending  the  home  schools. 


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154  ,    ^  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Fertig,  John,  of  Pottsville,  holds  precedence  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing contractors  and  builders  of  his  native  county,  and  is  a  citizen 
who  has  ever  commanded  uniform  confidence  and   esteem.     He 
was  born  in  Cressona,  this  county,  Sept.  4,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of 
John  W.  and   Catherine    (Loubey)    Fertig,  both  of  whom   were 
likewise   born   and   reared    in   this   county,   where   the   respective 
families  were  established  in  the  pioneer  days.     John  W.   Fertig 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  this  county  and  as  a  young  man 
he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade.     For  many  years  he  was  one  of 
the  successful  contractors  and  builders  of  the  county.     In    1870 
he  located  in  Pottsville,  where,  in  addition  to  his  contracting  en- 
terprise, he  was  also  engaged  for  some  time  in  the  dry  goods 
business  and  retail  grocery  trade.    He  owned  and  operated  a  good 
farm,  and  through  his  well-directed  eflforts  accumulated  a  com- 
petency.    It  is  worthy  of  note  that  he  was  one  of  the  first  men 
to  cut  timber  on  Sharp  mountain,  for  which  purpose  he  walked 
a  distance  of  eight  miles  and  return  each  day  to  do  his  work.    He 
is  now  retired  from  active  business,  and  with  his  devoted  wife 
resides    in   an   attractive    home    in    Pottsville,   being   seventy-two 
years  of  age  (1907).     The  seven  children  who  attained  maturity 
are  all   living,   namely:    William    H.,   Abraham    L.,    Kate,  John, 
Annie,  Caroline,  and  Augusta.     Kate  is  the  wife  of  F.  L.  Billig, 
Annie  is  the  wife  of  P.  L.  Knowlton,  Carrie  is  the  wife  of  George 
Umholtz,  and  Augusta  is  the  wife  of  Heber  Medlar.    The  subject 
of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville  until  he 
was  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship 
at  the  carpenter's   and   builder's   trade,   under  the   able   direction 
of  his  father.    Upon  attaining  his  majority  he  engaged  in  railroad 
work,  which  he  followed  for  six  months,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
he  became  an  employe  in  the  Tilt  silk  mill  at  Pottsville,  in  which 
establishment  he  remained  two  years.     He  then  resumed  the  work 
of  his  trade  and  since  1897  he  has  been  engaged  in  contracting  and 
building,  in  which  he  has  been  most  successful.     He  has  erected 
many  business  blocks  and  private  houses  in  the  county,  and  in 
1897  he  built  the  West  End  engine  house  in  Pottsville.    He  is  one 
of  the  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizens  of  Pottsville,  and 
in  politics  is  a  stalwart  Republican.     In   1901   he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  borough  council  of  Pottsville,  as  a  representative 
of  the  Fourth  ward,  and  in  1907  he  was  again  called  to  this  office, 
for  a  term  of  three  years.     He  is  affiliated  with  Miners'  Lodge, 
No.  20,  and  Franklin  Encampment  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  and  for  twenty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  Com- 
pany H,  8th  regiment,  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which 
he  served  four  years  as  private,  four  years  as  corporal,  and  seven 
years  as  quartermaster's  sergeant ;  in  October,  1902,  he  was  elected 
first  lieutenant  of  the  company,  of  which  office  he  is  stili  incum- 
bent.   He  is  a  member  of  the  West  End  hose  company,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  hold  membership  in  the  English  Lutheran  church. 
Dec.  24,  1889,  Mr.  Fertig  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sally  E. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  155 

Richard,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Susan  (Erdman)  Richard,  of 
Pottsville,  and  they  have  one  child,  Naomi  Augusta. 

Filbert,  Frederick  Victor,  a  prominent  young  attorney  of  Pine 
Grove,  and  a  clerk  in  the  auditor-generaFs  department  of  the  state 
government  at  Harrisburg,  was  born  at  Pine  Grove,  July  17,  1871. 
He  is  a  son  of  Edward  T.  and  Mary  J.  (Clayton)  Filbert.  His 
father,  who  was  compelled  to  retire  from  active  life  a  few  years 
ago,  because  of  defective  hearing,  was  justice  of  the  peace  for 
thirty-five  years.  He  is  now  about  seventy-five  years  of  age,  and 
his  wife  is  some  ten  years  younger.  They  are  both  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church.  Their  four  children  are  Charles  Edward, 
a  physician  in  Atlantic  City ;  Frederick  V. ;  and  the  Misses  Char- 
lotte E.  and  Mary  J.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  a  pre- 
liminary educational  training  in  the  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  in  1892  was  graduated  at  Gettysburg  college.  Three  years 
later,  in  1895,  he  received  a  diploma  from  the  law  department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  courts  of  Philadelphia.  In  1897  he  was  granted  the  privileges 
of  practice  in  the  Schuylkill  county  courts,  and  since  that  time 
has  been  continuously  engaged  in  his  professional  labors  in  this 
county,  at  Pottsville  and  Pine  Grove.  While  his  practice  is  in 
various  lines,  it  is  mostly  confined  to  civil  and  orphans'  court  cases. 
Besides  the  position  of  public  trust  which  he  holds  at  Harrisburg 
he  is  a  school  director  of  his  town  and  also  borough  solicitor. 
Nov.  16,  1899,  Mr.  Filbert  married  Miss  E.  Luella  Quail,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Hon.  Charles  E.  and  Emma  C.  Quail.  Mr.  Quail  is  at  the 
present  time  the  representative  of  his  district  of  Schuylkill  county 
in  the  upper  house  of  the  state  legislature.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Filbert 
have  three  children — Marion  Louise,  Frederick  Quail,  and  Edward 
Stuart.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Filbert  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  of  which  he  is  an  elder,  and  for  the  past  three  years  he 
has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  He  is  a  young 
man  of  great  promise  and  his  many  friends  predict  for  him  a 
splendid  future. 

Fink,  John  H.,  who  is  a  pioneer  locomotive  engineer  on  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad,  and  whose  home  is  in  Tamaqua, 
was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  Aug.  16,  1837.  He  is  a  son  of 
Henry  and  Rebecca  (Hossler)  Fink,  both  natives  of  the  Keystone 
state.  The  father,  who  was  a  farmer,  died  in  1901,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-five  years;  the  mother  died  in  1894  within  two  months  of 
her  eighty-fifth  birthday.  Of  the  six  children  living,  William  is 
also  a  locomotive  engineer,  who  makes  his  home  in  Tamaqua ;  and 
besides  the  subject  of  this  sketch  there  are  Henry,  Benjamin  and 
Tobias,  who  live  in  Berks  county.  After  completing  a  course  in 
the  common  schools  John  H.  Fink  clerked  in  a  store  at  Auburn 
for  two  years,  and  then  for  a  period  of  two  years  managed  a  hotel 
in  Port  Clinton.  In  1866  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  railroad 
as  a  brakeman.  After  a  time  he  went  to  firing  on  an  engine,  and 
in  1869  was  given  a  locomotive.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  at 
the  throttle  almost  continuously,  having  lost  no  time  because  of 


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156  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

accidents  and  very  little  because  of  sickness.  He  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  oldest  in  point  of  service  of  all  engineers  on 
the  Shamokin  division.  In  November,  1863,  Mr.  Fink  married 
Miss  Mary  Boyer,  who  was  born  in  this  county,  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Charles  and  Sarah  Boyer.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fink  fourteen 
children  have  been  born,  of  whom  seven  are  living:  Lillie  Cath- 
erine, married  William  Lauer,  and  resides  in  Tamaqua;  Charles 
Henry,  who  married  Margaret  Morgan  and  has  three  children,  is 
an  engineer  residing  at  Mauch  Chunk;  Annabelle,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Dr.  Harry  Gilford,  of  Bangor,  Pa.,  is  the  mother  of  two 
children ;  John,  who  married  Martha  Swenk,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children,  is  a  conductor;  Thomas  B.  is  a  clerk  in  a  Tamaqua  store; 
Edgar  is  a  brakeman  on  the  railroad;  and  Miriam  is  at  home. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fink  are  devout  and  conscientious  members  of  and 
workers  in  the  Reformed  church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Fink  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  blue  lodge  of  the  Masonic  order. 

Fisher,  Joseph,  a  contractor  and  builder  of  Pottsville,  was  born 
at  Fountain  Springs,  Schuylkill  county,  Feb.  17,  1871.  His  father, 
Peter  Fisher,  was  born  in  Germany,  but  came  to  America  when 
a  young  man  and  located  in  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  married 
Amelia  Dinger,  who  was  born  in  Ashland.  Her  father.  Rev. 
Rudolph  Dinger,  was  a  pioneer  minister  of  the  Reformed  church 
in  Schuylkill  county  and  is  still  living  at  Ashland,  in  the  ninety- 
ninth  year  of  his  age.  Peter  Fisher  was  for  many  years  a  resident 
of  Fountain  Springs.  For  thirty  years  of  his  life  he  was  in  the 
employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad,  first  as  repair 
boss  and  later  as  a  watchman.  He  died  about  1892.  The  children 
of  Peter  and  Amelia  Fisher  were  John,  Ella,  Joseph  and  Rudolph, 
the  last  two  being  twins.  Ella  is  now  the  wife  of  Augustus 
Kehler.  Joseph  Fisher  was  reared  and  educated  at  Fountain 
Springs.  After  leaving  school  he  learned  the  carpenters'  trade, 
with  Adam  Waldrus,  of  Ashland.  In  1889  he  came  to  Pottsville, 
where  he  has  ever  since  made  his  home,  and  since  1900  he  has 
given  his  attention  to  contract  work,  in  which  he  has  been  suc- 
cessful, because  of  his  good  taste,  mechanical  skill  and  the  prompt- 
ness with  which  he  carries  out  his  agreements.  Mr.  Fisher  is  a 
Democrat  in  his  political  opinions,  but  he  can  hardly  be  called 
an  active  political  worker.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America  and  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church, 
which  represents  the  faith  of  his  ancestors.  In  1893  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  Kehler,  of  Locustdale,  and  they  have  five  children: 
Marguerite,  Leroy,  Ruth,  Edna,  and  Earl.  He  lives  in  a  nice  resi- 
dence at  the  corner  of  Third  and  Fairmont  streets  and  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  progressive,  substantial  and  representative  citizens 
of  Pottsville. 

Fisher,  Luke,  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  was  born  in 
1864.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  and  in 
1881  entered  the  employ  of  G.  C.  Lauterbacher,  who  conducted  a 
marble  yard  on  Main  street.  He  remained  in  Mr.  Lauterbacher's 
employ  about  five  years,  after  which   he  purchased  the  business 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  157 

and  has  since  conducted  it.  In  1893  he  removed  the  business  to 
the  present  location.  The  yards  and  workshop  are  modern  and 
up-to-date,  and  the  business  controlled  by  Mr.  Fisher  has  grown 
to  be  a  very  large  and  important  one.  He  manufactures  monu- 
ments, head-stones,  coping,  etc. — everything  in  that  line  usually 
turned  out  by  a  first-class  establishment.  Mr.  Fisher  is  a  man 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him,  and  is  an  important  factor 
in  both  social  and  business  circles.  He  takes  much  interest  in 
educational  matters  and  has  served  as  secretary  of  the  board  of 
school  directors  of  the  borough. 

Fisher,  Michael  J.,  justice  of  the  peace  and  member  of  the  firm 
of  Fisher  Brothers,  dairymen,  of  Coaldale,  was  born  in  that  town, 
Aug.  16,  1877.  His  parents,  James  and  Cecilia  (Melly)  Fisher, 
were  natives  of  County  Donegal,  Ireland.  The  maternal  grand- 
father, John  Melly,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Coaldale,  where 
he  lived  for  many  years,  finally  returning  to  Ireland,  where  he 
died  at  a  ripe  old  age.  James  Fisher  came  to  America  in  1869, 
located  at  Coaldale,  where  he  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which 
he  followed  for  a  number  of  years,  frequently  having  as  many  as 
five  helpers  employed  in  his  shop.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
he  was  engaged  in  mining.  He  died  in  1894,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
seven  years.  The  children  of  James  and  Cecilia  Fisher  were 
eleven  in  number,  of  whom  eight  survive,  viz:  Michael  J.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch ;  Maggie,  wife  of  Condy  McHugh ;  John  P. ; 
Annie,  wife  of  William  Sharp;  James,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Fisher  Brothers ;  Kate,  wife  of  Michael  McHugh ;  and  Cecilia  and 
Lizzie.  Michael  J.  Fisher  was  reared  to  manhood  in  Coaldale, 
where  he  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  Before  he 
was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  passed  the  requisite  examination  for 
a  teacher's  certificate  arid  for  four  terms  he  taught  in  the  Coaldale 
public  schools.  In  1899  ^^  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother 
James  and  engaged  in  the  dairy  business,  in  which  he  still  con- 
tinues. About  the  same  time  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace, 
as  a  Democrat,  with  which  party  he  has  been  affiliated  ever  since 
reaching  his  majority,  and  he  still  retains  the  office,  his  present 
term  expiring  in  1909.  In  1906  he  was  the  candidate  of  his  party 
for  representative  in  the  legislature  from  the  Third  district  of 
Schuylkill  county,  but  was  defeated  by  the  small  plurality  of 
eighty-eight  votes.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Bene- 
ficial Library  association.  Mr.  Fisher  stands  well  as  a  business 
man  and  a  citizen  in  the  community  which  has  been  his  home 
from  the  time  of  his  birth,  as  is  evidenced  by  his  election  to  office 
and  the  confidence  and  respect  shown  him  by  those  who  have 
known  him  all  his  life. 

Fitzpatrick,  James  C,  owner  and  active  manager  of  the  Fitz- 
patrick  Shirt  Company,  of  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  Tilden  town- 
ship, Berks  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  7,  1859.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and 
Bridget  (Curry)  Fitzpatrick,  and  one  of  eleven  survivors  of  a 
family  of  eighteen  children.  His  parents  came  to  the  United  States 
from  Ireland,  his  father  from  County  Fermanagh  and  his  mother 


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158  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

from  County  Cavan.  The  father  worked  as  a  stationary  engineer 
during  his  residence  in  this  country.  The  father  died  in  1878,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-one  years.  The  mother  died  in  1895,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-six  years.  The  subject  of  this  review  received  his  educa- 
tional advantages  in  the  public  schools.  The  first  two  years 
after  the  completion  of  his  scholastic  labors  were  spent  driving 
mules  along  the  Schuylkill  canal.  For  a  year  he  was  clerk  to 
a  railroad  contractor,  building  railroads.  He  then  learned  teleg- 
raphy and  at  different  times  and  for  varied  periods  was  employed 
by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  and  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company.  Subsequently  he  was  train  dispatcher  and 
station  agent  at  various  points  on  the  Reading  railroad.  Mr.  Fitz- 
patrick*s  connection  with  his  present  business  dates  from  1898, 
when  the  factory  was  in  the  old  shoe-factory  building.  Within 
the  eight  years  in  which  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  has  had  charge  he  has 
built  a  new  factory  and  the  business  has  increased  about  500  per 
cent.  There  are  150  employes  and  the  annual  output  amounts 
to  $100,000.  Oct.  15,  1893,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Catherine  E.  Allen,  a  native  of  Tamaqua,  and  a 
daughter  of  George  S.  and  Mary  (Galey)  Allen.  Her  parents 
are  both  living,  making  their  home  in  Tamaqua.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Fitzpatrick  have  been  born  four  children — Paul,  Mary 
Eugenia  (who  died  in  infancy),  James  C,  Jr.,  and  Mary  H.  The 
family  are  all  communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Fitzpatrick  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks  and  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  He  is  a  man 
of  genial,  courteous  manner,  sound  business  sense  and  unsullied 
honor. 

Flaherty,  William  F.,  proprietor  of  a  livery  and  undertaking 
establishment  at  13-15  North  Jardin  street,  Shenandoah,  was  bom 
in  that  borough,  Aug.  21,  1881.  He  is  a  son  of  Patrick  and  Mary 
(Gallagher)  Flaherty,  both  natives  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  whence 
they  came  to  the  United  States  in  childhood,  being  married  in 
this  county.  The  father  was  employed  in  the  mines  as  blasting 
foreman.  At  his  death,  which  occurred  in  May,  1894,  he  left,  be- 
sides his  widow,  a  family  of  six  sons  and  two  daughters — Harry, 
Patrick,  Thomas,  Anthony,  Bernard,  William  F.,  Kate  and  Adelia, 
four  of  whom  are  married.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received 
a  limited  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Shenandoah  and  while 
still  a  youth  embarked  in  the  livery  business.  That  he  has  been 
highly  successful  is  apparent  from  the  increase  of  business  he  has 
had  from  year  to  year.  The  undertaking  feature  was  added  in 
March,  1903,  and  he  has  an  excellent  stock  of  horses  and  vehicles, 
a  good  hearse  and  all  the  necessary  equipment  for  carrying  on  a 
first-class,  satisfactory  business.  He  is  the  owner  of  the  building 
in  which  his  industry  is  housed  and  together  with  the  stock  the 
property  is  valued  at  $10,000.  Mr.  Flaherty  is  unmarried  and 
makes  his  home  with  his  mother  and  a  brother  and  sister.  The 
family  are  all  communicants  of  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation, 
under  the   pastorate   of  the   Rev.    Father   H.   F.   O'Reilly.     Mr. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  159 

Flaherty's  political  views  are  not  governed  by  any  party  or  fac- 
tion and  he  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  as  his  good  judgment 
dictates.  He  is  connected  fraternally  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians  and  with  a  temperance  society  under  the  domination 
of  the  Catholic  church.  Early  thrown  on  his  own  resources  by 
the  death  of  his  father,  he  has  by  hard  work,  frugality  and  tem- 
perate living  secured  for  himself  a  fine  start  in  business  and  is 
even  to-day  considered  one  of  Shenandoah's  most  enterprising 
citizens. 

Fleming,  Michael  J.,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Schuylkill  county 
and  a  substantial  citizen  of  Tremont,  was  born  in  this  county  Oct. 
6,  i860,  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Catherine  (Lawler)  Fleming,  both 
of  whom  were  born  in  Ireland,  and  left  there  with  their  parents 
while  still  young.  The  father  became  a  miner  when  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  followed  that  vocation  all  his  life.  He  was  active 
in  politics  on  the  Democratic  side  and  was  for  many  years  the 
incumbent  of  some  one  of  the  minor  offices.  He  died  in  Donald- 
son, April  19,  1887,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years,  and  his  widow 
passed  away  May  17,  1906,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth  of  the  eleven  chil- 
dren born  to  his  parents.  Jane,  the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  Edward 
Purcell,  of  Tremont;  John  is  a  merchant  in  Tremont;  Margaret, 
deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Philip  P.  Lynch,  of  Philadelphia;  Cath- 
erine is  the  wife  of  Michael  Madden,  a  stationary  engineer  living 
in  Centralia;  James  F.  is  an  assistant  mine  foreman  at  Good 
Spring,  Pa. ;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Martin  Walsh,  assistant  foreman 
in  the  Brookside  colliery;  Ellen  is  a  school  teacher,  now  in 
Boulder,  Colo. ;  Andrew  died  at  the  age  of  one  year ;  Thomas  J.  is 
a  physician  of  Philadelphia;  and  Anna,  the  youngest,  is  a  trained 
nurse  in  Philadelphia.  Michael  J.  Fleming  received  his  educa- 
tional advantages  in  the  common  schools  of  this  county,  com- 
pleting with  a  course  at  the  Millersville  normal  school.  For 
some  time. he  was  employed  in  and  about  the  mines,  holding  dif- 
ferent positions  for  varying  periods  of  time.  From  that  work 
he  went  to  teaching,  and  for  thirteen  successive  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  pedagogic  work.  For  ten  years  of  that  time  he  was 
principal  of  the  Donaldson  high  school  and  in  the  last  few  years 
devoted  his  spare  moments  to  the  reading  of  law.  In  June,  1896, 
he  entered  the  law  offices  of  John  F.  Whalen,  Esq.,  of  Pottsville, 
and  there  completed  his  legal  studies,  being  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  courts  of  Schuylkill  county  in  July,  1897.  He  at  once 
opened  offices  in  Tremont  and  Pottsville,  making  his  home  in  the 
former  place.  Since  that  time  his  practice  has  been  continually 
on  the  increase  and  he  has  taken  his  place  among  the  leaders  of 
his  profession.  For  eight  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
school  directors  of  the  borough  of  Tremont,  and  for  six  years  was 
secretary  of  the  board.  His  long  service  as  a  teacher  has  made 
him  an  authority  on  educational  matters  and  his  advice  and  coun- 
sel are  often  sought.  Among  his  other  business  interests  mav  be 
mentioned  his  connection  as  solicitor  with  the  Tremont  National 


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160  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

bank,  the  Hancock  Building  &  Loan  association,  and  the  Mer- 
chants* Protective  association.  Aug.  12,  1890,  Mr.  Fleming  mar- 
ried Miss  Hannah  A.  Murphy,  of  Tremont,  a  daughter  of  Barthol- 
omew and  Johanna  (Sheehan)  Murphy.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fleming  are  devout  communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Mr.  Fleming  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians. 

Focht,  William  H.,  who  conducts  a  modem  livery  on  Rome 
street  in  Tamaqua,  was  born  at  Summit  Hill,  Pa.,  April  ttj,  1870. 
He  is  a  son  of  Horace  and  Rebecca  (Haldeman)  Focht,'both  na- 
tives of  the  Keystone  state.  The  father  in  the  early  days  of  the 
county  drove  the  stage  between  Tamaqua  and  Mauch  Chunk, 
later  between  Allentown  and  Easton,  and  still  later  between  Allen- 
town  and  Quakertown.  In  the  early  '60s  he  came  to  Tamaqua 
and  embarked  in  the  livery  business,  in  which  he  continued  most 
successfully  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  born  in  Lehigh  county, 
in  1833,  and  his  death  occurred  in  February,  1900,  about  two  years 
after  his  wife's  demise.  Both  parents  were  members  of  the  Re- 
formed church  and  the  father  was  known  as  a  man  of  the  most 
upright  character  and  honorable  dealings.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  the  youngest  of  the  three  children.  Emma  died  when 
sixteen  years  of  age  and  Ella  is  now  Mrs.  John  H.  Ichter,  of 
Tamaqua.  William  H.  Focht  received  such  education  as  was 
afforded  by  the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua,  and  after  he  had  com- 
pleted his  studies  he  became  associated  with  his  father  in  the 
livery  business.  Upon  his  father's  death,  in  1900,  he  assumed 
entire  control  of  the  business.  Altogether  he  has  about  fifteen 
horses  and  the  most  up-to-date,  serviceable  turnouts.  Jan.  9,  1896, 
Mr.  Focht  married  Miss  Lavina  Oschman,  a  native  of  Tamaqua 
and  a  daughter  of  Baltzer  and  Lavina  Oschman.  Mrs.  Focht's 
father  was  a  miner,  but  both  he  and  his  wife  are  now  deceased. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Focht  have  been  born  three  daughters — Emily, 
Rebecca,  Florence  Elizabeth,  and  Ella.  Mrs.  Focht  is.  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  her  husband  is  associated  fraternally 
with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

FoUweiler,  Charles  P.,  a  pioneer  merchant  of  Tamaqua,  was 
bom  in  Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  April  26,  1836,  a  son  of  Daniel  and 
Magdaline  (Stein)  Follweiler.  Charles  P.  FoUweiler  had  but 
limited  educational  advantages,  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  being 
passed  on  a  farm.  When  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  started 
out  to  seek  his  fortune  and  in  1854  he  secured  a  position  as  clerk 
in  Heaton  &  Carter's  store.  After  two  years  in  that  capacity  he 
went  to  Jacksonville  and  opened  a  store,  and  the  course  of  another 
two  years  found  him  conducting  a  general  store  in  Albany,  Berks 
county.  Two  years  later  he  returned  to  Tamaqua  and  embarked 
in  business.  This  was  in  1862,  and  since  that  year  he  has  been 
continuously  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  Nov.  2,  1862, 
Mr.  Follweiler  married  Miss  Catherine  Heinly,  of  Berks  county,  a 
daughter  of  David  and  Rufena  (Fussulman)  Heinly.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Follweiler  have  been  bom  five  children.    The  eldest,  War- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  161 

ren  T.,  is  manager  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company's 
office,  Pottsville,  Pa.  His  first  employment  was  in  a  telegraph 
office,  and  by  the  time  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  was  an 
operator  of  no  mean  ability.  For  two  terms,  1893-1895,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature,  serving  as  a  member 
of  the  appropriation  committee  and  several  other  important  com- 
mittees. His  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Susan  Hinkley,  of  Harris- 
burg,  and  they  have  one  child,  Florence.  Ada  Jane,  the  only  other 
survivor  of  the  family,  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  J.  Wreitz,  of  Walnut- 
port,  and  is  the  mother  of  one  child,  Charles  B.  Of  the  other 
children  Charles  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  Mary  J.  at  two  years, 
and  an  unnamed  baby  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Follweiler 
are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  has  held 
practically  all  the  offices  allotted  to  a  layman. 

Folmer,  Charles  Edward,  of  Orwigsburg,  who  is  now  an  incum- 
bent of  the  responsible  office  of  county  recorder,  is  a  native  of 
Schuylkill  county  and  in  his  career  has  honored  the  section  which 
thus  represents  the  place  of  his  nativity.  The  esteem  and  confi- 
dence in  which  he  is  held  in  the  county  is  amply  vouched  for  by 
his  tenure  of  his  present  official  position.  Mr.  Folmer  was  born 
at  Orwigsburg,  this  county,  April  6,  1871,  and  in  the  same  place 
were  born  his  parents,  George  and  Susan  (Fidler)  Folmer,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  1837  and  the  latter  in  1839.  George 
Folmer  removed  with  his  family  to  Shenandoah  in  1871,  and  lived 
there  until  1893.  The  present  county  recorder  is  indebted  to  the 
public  schools  of  this  county  for  his  early  educational  training, 
and  he  was  thereafter  afforded  the  superior  academic  advantages 
of  Bucknell  university,  at  Lewisburg,  Pa.,  in  which  institution  he 
was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1892,  and  from  which 
he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Mr.  Folmer  is  num- 
bered among  the  stalwart  supporters  of  the  principles  and  policies 
for  which  the  Democratic  party  stands  sponsor,  and  he  has  been 
an  active  worker  in  its  ranks  in  his  native  county.  He  served 
from  1903  to  1906  as  deputy  recorder  of  the  county  and  then  en- 
tered upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  recorder,  having  been 
elected  to  the  office  in  November,  1905.  He  is  affiliated  with 
Pottsville  Lodge,  No.  207,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  and  Schuylkill  Lodge,  No.  138,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

Freeman,  Charles  W.,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Esther  (Lutz)  Free- 
man, is  a  native  of  Wayne  township,  and  was  born  May  23,  1856. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  until  he.  reached  the  age  of  seven- 
teen years,  when  he  began  to  work  on  a  farm.  Later,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  father-in-law,  he  opened  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  for 
twenty  years  gave  his  attention  to  this  work.  In  1898  Mr.  Free- 
man bought  the  farm  where  he  is  now  located  and  operates  it  for 
general  farming.  He  has  been  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being 
Rebecca  J.  Brown,  whom  he  married  Nov.  4,  1876.  To  this  union 
five  children,  one  son  and  four  daughters,  were  born — Sallie  A., 
Emma  E.,  Ellen  R.,  Mabel  J.,  and  Franklin  B.,  all  living.  Mrs. 
Freeman  died  in   February,   1896.     Nov.   13,   1899,   Mr.   Freeman 

11— Vol.  II 


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162  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

married  Mrs.  Kate  Manbeck,  nee  Bearer,  daughter  of  Gideon 
Bearer,  of  Ringtown,  Pa.  Mrs.  Freeman  had  by  her  first  husband 
nine  children,  seven  of  whom  were  living  at  the  time  of  her  sec- 
ond marriage;  they  are  Munroe  F.,  Sadie  M.,  Alice  V.,  Jennie  L., 
Eva  R.,  Annie  F.,  and  Effie  D.  One  child,  Walter  E.,  has  been 
born  to  the  second  marriage.  Mr.  Freeman  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  America,  and  of  the  Royal  Protective  association.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  reserves  the  right  of  voting  inde- 
pendently when  policies  or  circumstances  indicate  that  to  be  the 
better  way.  He  has  held  the  office  of  school  director  and  of 
treasurer  of  Wayne  township,  being  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
latter  office.  The  family  is  connected  with  the  Reformed  church. 
Free  Public  Library  of  Shenandoah  School  District. — ^This  be- 
neficent institution  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  united  labors  of  a  few 
public-spirited  and  generous  citizens,  assisted  by  successive  school 
boards.  Jan.  15,  1880,  the  school  board  decided  to  establish  a 
public  school  library,  under  the  provisions  of  the  then  existing 
law.  The  only  means  of  procuring  books,  aside  from  private  do- 
nations, was  in  the  expenditure  of  funds  arising,  from  commence- 
ments and  other  entertainments  whereat  admission  fees  were  col- 
lected. The  first  purchase  of  books  was  made  Jan.  6,  1881,  and 
consisted  of  an  expenditure  of  $119.19,  and  a  donation  of  books 
from  the  enterprising  publishing  house  of  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co.,  of 
New  York,  equalling  $65.25.  This  was  the  nucleus  to  the  present 
library  of  about  7,000  volumes.  In  1881  the  department  of  public 
instruction  decided  that  the  funds  arising  from  tuition  pupils 
could  be  used  for  library  purposes,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
then  existing  laws,  and  these  were  the  sources  which  sustained 
the  library,  with  increasing  interest  and  growth,  until  the  passing 
of  the  library  act  of  1895.  The  first  selection  of  books  was  made 
by  Superintendent  G.  W.  Barch,  John  Gather  and  John  G.  Davis. 
The  works  were  mostly  of  a  professional  character,  and  the  use 
of  the  library  was  confined  for  some  time  principally  to  the  teach- 
ers of  the  public  schools.  The  library  was  opened. to  the  public, 
in  a  room  provided  in  the  high  school  building,  March  31,  1881. 
Small  additions  were  made  from  time  to  time  until  1887,  when 
a  considerable  increase  was  made.  Much  painstaking  labor  was 
given  to  the  work  at  this  time  by  L.  A.  Freeman,  superintendent 
of  schools;  W.  N.  Ehrhart,  principal  of  the  high  school;  S.  W. 
Yost,  secretary  of  the  school  board ;  and  Daniel  Ogden  and  John 
G.  Davis,  who  then  comprised  the  library  committee.  Under  this 
regime  the  first  catalogue  was  printed,  damaged  books  were  re- 
bound, and  all  the  volumes  were  renumbered.  This  labor  was 
given  gratuitously  by  the  committee.  The  patronage  of  the  library 
increased  rapidly,  and  it  was  soon  found  that  the  room  provided 
was  inadequate  to  the  needs.  In  1893  the  school  board  decided 
to  set  apart  a  suitable  room  in  the  new  school  building  on  West 
street  for  the  use  of  the  library  and  a  directors'  meeting  room. 
This  was  made  the  occasion  for  a  general  revival  of  library  in- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  163 

terests,  and  i,ioo  new  books  were  added,  catalogued  and  placed 
on  the  shelves  in  the  commodious  new  quarters.  The  institution 
was  now  in  excellent  condition,  since  it  had  been  the  aim  during 
recent  years  to  bring  the  library  within  the  scope  of  the  entire 
community,,  by  the  introduction  of  a  line  of  miscellaneous  litera- 
ture suitable  to.the  needs  of  all  classes  of  readers.  This  "broaden- 
ing" process  has  been  constantly  kept  in  view,  and  the  seven  thou- 
sand volumes  now  on  the  shelves  were  selected  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  needs  of  both  the  schools  and  the  public.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  an  act  approved  June  28,  1895,  the 
library  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  board  of  trustees,  and  on  June 
2,  1897,  the  school  board  appointed  Hon.  Patrick  Conry,  Daniel 
Ogden,  Monroe  H.  Kehler,  A.  B.  Lamb,  Thomas  E.  Manley  and 
M.  P.  Whitaker  as  members  of  the  first  board  of  library  trustees. 
Some  of  these  have  served  continuously  since,  and  the  interest 
in  Shenandoah's  library  has  never  waned.  By  virtue  of  his  office, 
the  secretary  of  the  school  board  is  designated  as  general  librarian, 
and  the  first  assistant  in  the  high  school  as  assistant  librarian, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  school  board.  Under  the  provisions 
of  a  law  governing  the  matter,  a  tax  of  one-half  mill  may  be  levied 
on  the  taxable  property  of  the  school  district,  as  assessed  for 
school  purposes,  for  the  support  of  the  library.  After  the  organ- 
ization of  the  board  of  trustees,  in  1897,  it  was  decided  that,  in 
view  of  the  appreciation  of  the  public  and  the  demands  upon  the 
Hbrary,  it  should  be  subjected  to  a  complete  reclassification,  a  new 
and  complete  catalogue  prepared,  damaged  books  rebound,  and 
about  a  thousand  new  volumes  added.  To  defray  this  proposed 
expense,  the  school  board  was  asked  to  contribute,  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  law  above  cited.  This  was  unanimously 
granted  by  the  board,  and  the  secretary  and  board  of  trustees 
were  empowered  to  do  the  work.  Since  the  establishment  of  the 
library  the  school  board  has  been  uniformly  generous  in  sustain- 
ing it,  while  many  individuals  in  the  community  have  rendered 
valuable  assistance  without  recompense.  The  library  is  now  a 
very  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  schools,  a  source  of  much  pleasure 
and  profit  to  the  community,  and  a  feature  of  the  school  system 
in  which  the  people  manifest  a  commendable  pride.  The  board 
of  library  trustees  for  the  year  1907  comprises  the  following 
named  gentlemen:  President,  Rev.  David  I.  Evans;  secretary, 
Professor  J.  W.  Cooper;  members  of  the  board,  Hon.  Patrick 
Conry,  Monroe  H.  Kehler,  Rev.  D.  I.  Evans,  Frank  Hanna,  Thomas 
•E.  Manley,  Archibald  B.  Lamb,  T.  J.  Mullahey,  James  F.  O'Haren, 
and  J.  W.  Cooper.  Thomas  T.  Cummings,  secretary  of  the  school 
board,  is,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  the  general  librarian. 

Freiler,  Francis  S.,  is  a  leading  citizen  of  Pottsville,  and  the 
esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  neighbors  is  evidenced  by  his 
selection  for  the  position  of  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  First  ward 
of  the  city,  an  office  he  very  acceptably  fills.  He  was  born  in 
Minersville,  this  county,  Aug.  28,  1850,  being  a  son  of  Daniel  and 
Barbara   (Finkler)    Freiler,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Ger- 


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164  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

many.  The  father  came  to  America  in  1847  ^^^  ^he  mother  about 
the  same  time,  and  they  were  married  in  the  city  of  Pottsville. 
The  father's  occupation  was  that  of  a  stone  mason,  and  he  was 
the  contractor  for  the  Mine  Hill  Railway  Company,  doing  all  the 
stone  work,  erecting  bridges,  etc.,  for  that  company  between 
Schuylkill  Haven  and  Gordon.  He  continued  in  the  employ  of 
that  company  until  the  road  was  leased  by  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Company,  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Philadel- 
phia &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company,  with  whom  he  remained 
until  1901,  when  he  retired  from  active  duties.  He  died  in  Potts- 
ville on  July  21,  1906,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  leaving  a  family 
of  two  sons  and  one  daughter — Francis  S. ;  Barbara,  who  is  now 
Mrs.  Joseph  Mica,  of  Pottsville,  and  Daniel  A.,  who  resides  in 
Lancaster,  Pa.  Francis  S.  Freiler,  who  is  the  immediate  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  reared  in  Minersville  and  received  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  St.  Vincent's  college,  in  Latrobe,  Pa. 
He  began  his  independent  career  as  a  traveling  salesman,  and 
continued  in  that  capacity  in  the  employ  of  various  firms  for 
about  thirty  years.  He  is  interested  in  a  metal-protector  paint 
works  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  with  which  he  has  been  connected 
for  the  past  eleven  years.  Mr.  Freiler  was  married  Feb.  20,  1873, 
to  Carrie  J.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Margaret  (Nau)  Alber,  and 
to  this  union  have  been  born  six  sons  and  two  daughters,  more 
specific  mention  of  whom  follows:  Joseph,  the  eldest  son,  is  the 
cashier  of  the  South  Side  bank  at  Wilkes  Barre;  R.  Albert  is  an 
attorney-at-law,  located  in  practice  at  Pottsville;  D.  Leo  is  a 
mining  engineer,  associated  with  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Coal  &  Iron  Company;  A.  Francis  is  a  mechanical  engineer  at 
Newark,  N.  J.;  and  V.  Robert  and  W.  George  are  mercantile 
clerks  at  Pottsville ;  Carrie  E.  and  Ethel  L.  are  the-  daughters. 
Mr.  Freiler  and  family  are  members  of  St.  Patrick's  Roman  Cath- 
olic church  at  Pottsville.  In  politics  he  gives  allegiance  to  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  Republican  party,  and  his  worth  as  a 
citizen  has  been  recognized  by  election  to  positions  of  importance 
and  responsibility.  He  has  served  for  seven  years  as  a  member 
of  the  Pottsville  borough  council,  and  on  Feb.  19,  1907,  he  was 
elected  without  opposition  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace 
for  a  term  of  five  years. 

Fritsch,  Howard  C,  superintendent  of  the  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania Railways  Company,  with  headquarters  at  Tamaqua,  was 
born  in  that  city  Sept.  11,  1875.  He  is  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth 
of  the  seven  children  of  L.  F.  and  Catherine  (Haldeman)  Fritsch. 
The  mother  is  of  Quaker  descent  and  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill 
county,  and  the  father,  now  retired,  was  born  in  Berks  county 
and  comes  of  good  German  stock.  He  was  formerly  a  wholesale 
tobacco  merchant  and  is  well  known  throughout  the  county,  hav- 
ing been  a  bank  director,  a  school  director  and  tax  collector. 
Both  parents  are  devout  communicants  of  the  Trinity  Reformed 
church.  Besides  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  their  children  are 
Emma,  wife  of  G.  O.  Lutz,  a  merchant;   Lucy  A.,  at  home;  Kate 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  165 

O.,  wife  of  J.  F.  Derr,  principal  of  the  Tamaqua  schools;  Ada,  at 
home;  Charles,  living  in  Harrisburg,  chief  clerk  of  the  Harris- 
burg  division  of 'the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company, 
and  during  the  Spanish-American  war  secretary  to  Maj.-Gen. 
S.  B.  M.  Young;  and  Ida,  wife  of  Edward  Billheimer,  who  is  chief 
clerk  of  the  Shamokin  division  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
road,  in  the  Tamaqua  office.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  and  after  graduating  from 
the  high  school  he  learned  telegraphy  and  bookkeeping.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  was  employed  in  the  capacity  of  bookkeeper 
by  the  Lehigh  Coal  &  Navigation  Company,  and  then  for  two 
years  was  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Tamaqua  &  Lansford 
Street  Railway  Company..  When  that  company  was  merged  with 
the  Eastern  Pennsylvania  Railways  Company,  on  July  i,  1906, 
Mr.  Fritsch  came  to  his  present  position  and  has  been  holding 
it  ever  since,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  company  and  the 
patrons  of  the  road.  April  5,  1905,  was  solemnized  Mr.  Fritsch's 
marriage  to  Miss  Mabel  Buckman,  who  was  born  in  Bucks  county, 
a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Henrietta  (Anderson)  Buckman.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Buckman  now  make  their  home  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Mr. 
Buckman  having  retired  from  active  business  life.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fritsch  have  one  child,  Howard  C,  Jr.  They  are  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  and  Mr.  Fritsch  is  prominent  in  Masonic 
circles.  He  is  identified  with  the  Blue  Lodge,  No.  238,  of  Tam- 
aqua; the  Tamaqua  Chapter,  No.  177,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  and 
the  Ivanhoe  Commandery,  No.  31. 

Fulmer,  William  R,  a  retired  carpenter,  contractor  and  builder 
of  Tremont,  was  born  in  Chester  county  on  May  28,  1840.  He  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Hannah  (Emory)  Fulmer,  and  on  both  sides 
comes  of  excellent  pioneer  stock.  His  paternal  grandfather,  John 
Fulmer,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Continental  army  during  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  and  participated  in  the  principal  battles  of  that 
conflict.  A  maternal  ancestor,  George  Chrisman,  also  saw  service 
with  Washington.  John  Fulmer,  father  of  William  E.,  was  a 
farmer  all'  his  active  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Quaker  faith 
and  his  wife  was  a  devout  believer  in  the  principles  of  Martin 
Luther.  His  death  occurred  in  1880  after  he  had  passed  the  four- 
score milestone,  and  his  wife  died  five  years  later.  Of  their  eight 
children  four  survive,  a  daughter  and  three  sons.  Two  sons  still 
reside  in  Chester  county,  and  the  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Abram 
Huntsberger,  a  miller  living  near  Alexandria,  Va.  William  E. 
Fulmer  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county  and  when 
he  had  completed  his  scholastic  work  he  learned  the  millers' 
trade,  in  his  brother-in-law's  establishment.  For  five-  years  it 
furnished  him  a  livelihood  in  his  home  county  and  then  he  came 
to  Tremont  and,  in  partnership  with  Henry  Hare,  assumed  the 
operation  of  the  mill.  His  advent  in  Tremont  dates  from  March 
10,  1862,  and  he  remained  in  the  mill  business  but  a  year.  Through 
Mr.  Hare,  who  was  a  coal  operator,  he  worked  into  the  business 
of  building  coal  breakers.     Subsequently  he  began  contracting  in 


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166  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

connection  with  his  carpentering  and  building  and  continued  in 
that  work  until  his  retirement  from  active  business  life,  in 
1904.  At  the  time  of  the  battles  of  Antietam  and  South 
Mountain,  in  1862,  and  of  Gettysburg,  in  1863,  Mr.  Fulmer  be- 
longed to  the  Home  Guard  which  was  held  in  reserve  at  both  of 
these  conflicts.  He  has  always  been  intensely  interested  in  the 
public  welfare  and  has  been  the  recipient  of  many  honors  in  offi- 
cial life.  He  has  held  all  the  borough  offices  and  for  thirteen 
successive  years  was  a  school  director  and  a  member  of  the  bor- 
ough council.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  Fulmer  and  Miss  Harriet 
Christman  was  solemnized  in  1863.  Mrs.  Fulmer  died  in  1896, 
leaving  five  children.  D.  Clinton,  the  eldest,  was  a  contractor  and 
builder,  and  lost  his  life  in  the  Camden  (N.  J.)  shipyard,  in  his 
thirty-eighth  year.  George  W.  is  a  druggist  in  Tower  City,  Pa. 
William  is  a  contractor  and  builder  and  assumed  the  management 
of  the  father's  business  when  the  latter  retired.  He  is  married 
and  has  five  children — George,  Bonnie,  Joel,  William  and  Mary. 
Ralph  is  a  druggist  at  Tremont,  and  Mary  is  Mrs.  J.  J.  Quigley,  of 
the  same  place.  The  two  last  named  are  twins.  The  family  are 
all  communicants  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Although  well  ad- 
vanced in  years  Mr.  Fulmer  is  well  preserved  in  mind  and  body 
and  is  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  the  community. 

Gable,  Augustus  Daniel,  outside  foreman  of  the  West  Shenan- 
doah collieries,  was  born  Nov.  14,  1849,  i^  Darmstadt,  Germany, 
his  parents,  Louis  and  Christina  Gable,  both  being  natives  of  that 
place.  In  1854  the  family  came  to  America  and  located  at  Potts- 
ville,  where  the  father  engaged  in  mining.  The  mother  died  at 
Pottsville  in  1894,  and  the  father  at  Shenandoah  in  1905.  They 
had  three  sons  and  five  daughters.  Augustus  D.  and  Philip  are 
engaged  in  mining;  Louis  is  a  carpenter  in  Philadelphia;  the 
daughters  are  Mrs.  Soell,  of  Pottsville;  Mrs.  Schweinbold,  of 
Orwigsburg;  Mrs.  Hoehn,  of  Pottsville;  Mrs.  Dower,  of  Shenan- 
doah, and  Mrs.  Schultz,  of  Philadelphia.  Augustus  D.  Gable  was 
educated  in  the  Pottsville  public  schools  and  began  at  the  bottom 
of  the  ladder  in  the  mining  industry.  He  learned  the  carpenters' 
trade  in  Pottsville  and  followed  that  occupation  until  1873,  when 
he  came  to  Shenandoah,  and  on  April  9  of  that  year  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  present  position  as  outside  foreman  and  super- 
intendent of  the  Kohinoor,  Turkey  Run  and  West  Shenandoah 
collieries,  all  using  the  same  breaker.  The  mines  are  owned  by 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company,  employ  from 
500  to  600  men,  and  have  an  average  monthly  output  of  60,000 
tons.  In  his  work  about  the  mines  Mr.  Gable  has  met  with  a 
number  of  accidents,  but  has  escaped  without  serious  injury.  He 
is  the  inventor  of  a  mine  and  elevator  catch,  patented  in  1906, 
which  is  calculated  to  prevent  accidents,  or  at  least  reduce  the 
possibilities  of  such  accidents  to  a  minimum.  The  appliance  has 
been  tried  in  several  states  and  even  in  the  mines  of  Africa,  and 
its  practicul  usefulness  has  been  fully  demonstrated,  though  it 
has  not  yet  come  into  general  use.    In  his  political  affiliations  Mr. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  167 

Gable  is  an  active  Republican  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  bor- 
ough council  for  nine  years.  He  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in 
the  establishment  of  the  Shenandoah  waterworks,  being  generally 
recognized  as  the  father  of  the  movement.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  has  passed 
through  the  chairs  both  in  the  lodge  and  encampment.  He  also 
belongs  to  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle  and  the  Royal  Arca- 
num. In  1873  Mr.  Gable  and  Miss  Josephine  Staley  were  united 
in  marriage.  She  died  on  Christmas  day,  1875,  leaving  a  son  and 
daughter,  Adam  Cleveland  and  Eva  Victoria,  both  living.  In 
1876  he  married  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Griffiths,  and  to  this  union  has 
been  born  one  daughter,  Christina,  now  nine  years  of  age.  Mrs. 
Gable  had  two  children  by  a  former  marriage,  Esther  and  William. 
The  daughter  is  married  and  the  son  lives  with  the  family.  Mr. 
Gable  is  a  member  of  the  St.  John's  Lutheran  church,  and  his 
wife  belongs  to  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Shenandoah. 

Gallagher,  Condy  C,  M.  D.,  D.  D.  S.,  of  Coaldale,  is  one  of  the 
able  representatives  of  both  the  medical  and  dental  professions  in 
Schuylkill  county,  and  his  practice  is  extensive  and  lucrative.  He 
was  born  in  the  village  of  Dunglow,  County  Donegal,  Ireland, 
Nov.  6,  1863,  a  son  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Campbell)  Gallagher,  the 
former  of  stanch  old  Irish  stock  and  the  latter  of  Scotch-Irish 
lineage.  The  parents  of  the  doctor  came  to  America  in  1866  and 
took  up  their  residence  in  Coaldale,  Schuylkill  county,  though  the 
father  had  visited  the  United  States  as  early  as  1853,  in  which  year 
he  located  in  California,  where  the  gold  excitement  was  then  at 
its  height.  He  became  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States 
prior  to  his  return  to  Ireland.  Upon  coming  to  America  the  sec- 
ond time  he  engaged  in  contracting  and  building  at  Coaldale,  where 
he  continued  to  reside  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  died 
on  Aug.  6,  1883,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years,  and  his  wife  passed 
away  in  1904,  aged  sixty-four  years.  Both  were  devoted  com- 
municants of  the  Catholic  church  and  were  persons  of  superior  in- 
tellectuality and  sterling  attributes  of  character.  They  became  the 
parents  of  ten  children,  viz:  John  J.,  a  priest  of  the  Catholic 
church ;  Condy  C,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch ;  E.  P., 
a  prominent  attorhey  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Joseph  J.,  a  member 
of  the  priesthood  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  now  president  of 
Columbia  university  at  Portland,  Ore.;  Patrick  F.,  a  talented 
sculptor;  Grace,  who  resides  in  Philadelphia;  Annie,  a  Sister  of 
Mercy  in  the  Catholic  church ;  Alice,  also  a  member  of  a  CathoHc 
sisterhood  and  engaged  in  teaching  in  parochial  schools ;  Margaret, 
who  is  in  her  final  year  of  a  classic  course  at  the  University  of  Notre 
Dame,  and  Bridget,  a  sister  of  the  Carmelite  sisterhood  in 
Boston.  Dr.  Condy  C.  Gallagher  was  three  years  of  age  at  the 
time  of  the  family  removal  from  the  Emerald  Isle  to  America, 
and  he  secured  his  early  educational  discipline  in  the  public 
schools  of  Coaldale.  In  1896  he  was  matriculated  in  the  Medico- 
Chirurgical  college  of  Philadelphia,  in  which  celebrated  institution 
he  was  a  student  for  three  years,  completing  his  dental  course, 


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168  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

after  which  time  he  took  up  his  medical  studies  in  the  Columbia 
College  of  Physician  and  Surgeons,  in  order  to  better  qualify  him- 
self by  ^  more  varied  experience,  and  graduated  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1901,  graduating  in  thirty-six  scientific  branches  and 
receiving  not  only  his  two  degrees,  but  also  the  first  honors  of  his 
class.  Immediately  after  his  graduation  Dr.  Gallagher  located  in 
his  home  town  of  Coaldale,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in 
active  and  successful  practice.  He  has  gained  prestige  as  one  of 
the  leading  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  county;  enjoys  un- 
qualified popularity  in  the  community,  and  had  the  distinction 
of  being  chosen  the  first  chief  burgess  of  the  borough  of  Coaldale 
after  its  incorporation,  in  1906,  which  position  was  secured  by 
him  after  a  legal  battle  of  two  years.  His  political  proclivities 
are  shown  in  the  stanch  support  he  gives  to  the  Democratic  party, 
and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church 
in  Coaldale.  On  June  29,  1892,  Mr.  Gallagher  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Alice  A.  Ryan,  daughter  of  Michael  and  Mary 
(Coleman)  Ryan,  and  the  surviving  children  of  this  union  are: 
Paul,  Loretta,  Joseph,  Alice,  and  Annie. 

Garrahan,  Josej^  H.,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  is  a  native 
of  Schuylkill  county,  born  at  Kelayres,  May  3,  1874.  He  is  a  son 
of  Hugh  and  Mary  (Stapleton)  Garrahan,  both  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  father  being  born  at  Nesquehoning,  and  the  mother 
in  Carbon  county.  After  marriage  the  parents  took  up  their  resi- 
dence at  Honey  Brook,  now  known  as  Kelayres,  and  later  at 
McAdoo.  The  father  served  three  years  as  a  member  of  Com- 
pany K,  96th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry,  during  the  Civil 
war.  He  enlisted  on  Oct.  3,  1861,  and  was  discharged  by  reason 
of  expiration  of  term  of'  enlistment,  Oct.  3,  1864.  Both  parents 
are  dead.  They  had  a  family  of  six  sons  and  two  daughters,  the 
eldest  of  whom  is  Joseph  H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Thomas 
F.  is  a  lawyer  in  Pittsburg;  James  D.  is  employed  in  the  banking 
business  in  New  York  city;  Hugh,  Edward  and  Daniel  are  tele- 
graph operators,  employed  on  the  Lehigh  Valley  railroad,  and 
Margaret  and  Ellen  reside  in  Easton,  Pa.  Mr.  Garrahan  began 
his  life  career  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  of  nearly  all  the  boys 
of  the  coal  region,  as  a  slate-picker  at  breaker  No.  5,  at  Honey 
Brook  colliery,  continuing  about  the  mines  in  various  capacities 
from  the  age  of  nine  until  fourteen.  He  then  attended  school  for 
a  time,  and  took  up  the  study  of  telegraphy.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  was  a  telegraph  operator  in  the  employ  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  Company,  and  continued  in  this  service  for  ten  years. 
He  studied  law  under  the  tutorship  of  James  J.  Moran,  of  Potts- 
ville,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  on  July  28,  1902.  Since  his 
admission  he  has  been  engaged  in  general  practice  at  Mahanoy 
City.  Mr.  Garrahan  was  married  on  Oct.  24,  1906,  to  Miss  Nellie 
O'Donnell,  of  Hazleton,  a  daughter  of  James  R.  and  Mary  (Black) 
O'Donnell.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garrahan  are  communicants  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  church.    Mr.  Garrahan  is  a  Democrat  in  political 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  169 

affiliations  and  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus  of  Mah^noy 
City. 

Oeaiy,  Joseph  W.,  a  civil  engineer  by  vocation  and  county  sur- 
veyor of  Schuylkill  county,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Dec.  i, 
1866,  a  son  of  Joseph  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Kingsworth)  Geary. 
The  father  was  a  native  of  Bristol,  England,  who  came  to  this 
country  in  1852,  and  was  a  civil  engineer,  well  educated  in  his 
profession.  At  different  times  he  was  a  resident  of  Philadelphia, 
Pittsburg,  and  Pottsville,  Pa.,  and  Cumberland,  Md.,  where  his 
death  occurred  on  April  25,  1899.  He  was  engaged  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Lebanon  Valley  railroad  and  became  a  permanent 
resident  of  Pottsville  in  1856.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Union  army,  as  a  private  in  the  26th  Pennsylvania 
infantry,  and  later  as  an  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  G«n.  John  C. 
Fremont.  Toward  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  assigned  to  the 
paymaster's  department  of  the  United  States  navy,  in  the  North 
Atlantic  squadron,  and  on  Aug.  3,  1865,  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service.  The  father  was  twice  married,  his  first  union  having 
occurred  in  1855  to  Miss  Mary  Bishop,  of  Berks  county.  Pa.  The 
two  sons  who  blessed  this  union,  John  P.  and  Harry  K.,  both  died 
in  young  manhood.  The  second  wife  was  Elizabeth  Kingsworth, 
bom  in  Philadelphia  in  1838.  The  children  of  the  second  union 
are  four  in  nunlber,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
eldest.  Another  son,  Frank  L.,  is  a  printer  by  vocation  at  Cum- 
berland, Md.,  where  the  mother  and  the  two  daughters,  Mary  and 
Cecelia  Elizabeth,  now  reside.  Joseph  W.  Geary  received  all  the 
educational  advantages  afforded  by  the  public  schools  of  Potts- 
ville and  learned  his  profession  from  his  father.  He  continued 
to  work  for  his  father  eight  years  and  in  1892  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  county  surveyor,  being  the  candidate  of  the  Republican 
party  for  that  position.  He  served  five  years  in  the  capacity,  and 
in  1904  was  again  elected  to  fill  the  same  office.  He  is  also  en- 
gineer for  the  boroughs  of  Shenandoah,  Port  Carbon,  Middleport 
and  Palo  Alto.  On  July  12,  1891,  Mr.  Geary  married  Miss  Annie 
B.  Platch,  a  daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Barbara  Platch^  both  bom 
in  Germany.  Mr.  Platch  achieved  success  in  the  mining  business, 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  spent  their  last  days  in  Ashland,  leaving 
three  children.  Jacob,  the  only  son,  is  a  miner  at  Ashland,  and 
Lena  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Preiser  of  that  place.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Geary  have  been  born  two  children,  Joseph  W.,  Jr.,  aged 
thirteen,  and  Margaret  D.,  five  years  old.  The  family  are  all  com- 
municants of  the  Lutheran  church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Geary  is 
identified  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of-  the  Sons  of  America  and 
the  Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics.  He  is  a  skilled  work- 
man in  his  line  and  a  trusted  public  servant. 

Geist,  Henry  W.,  manufacturer  of  wagons,  at  Valley  View,  is 
a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born  in  Hegins  town- 
ship, March  27,  1877.  His  father,  Josiah  Geist,  was  born  in 
Northumberland  county.  Pa.,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name 


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170  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

was  Sarah  Wolfgang,  was  born  in  Hegins  township.  In  early  life 
Josiah  Geist  learned  the  trade  of  miller  and  followed  that  occu- 
pation for  many  years.  He  now  lives  at  Shamokin,  Pa.,  where 
he  is  a  dealer  in  pianos,  organs,  sewing  machines,  etc.  Henry  W. 
Geist  grew  to  manhood  in  Kegins  township,  where  he  received 
a  common  school  education.  Upon  leaving  school  he  started  in 
to  learn  the  wagon-makers'  trade  with  Paul  Wolfgang,  of  Valley 
View.  After  serving  five  years  and  learning  the  details  of  all 
parts  of  wagon  construction  he,  in  1902,  built  and  opened  his 
present  factory,  where  he  has  since  continued.  He  manufactures 
all  kinds  of  farm  and  spring  wagons,  and  does  a  general  repair 
business.  Honest  material,  honest  workmanship  and  reasonable 
prices  are  his  stock  in  trade,  and  it  is  upon  this  basis  that  he  has 
built  up  his  patronage.  Starting  in  life  as  a  poor  boy  he  has  suc- 
ceeded by  his  industry,  close  attention  to  business,  and  square 
dealing  with  his  customers.  In  September,  1900,  Mr.  Geist  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sadie  Haas,  of  Northumberland 
county,  Pa.,  and  they  have  two  children,  Arthur  and  Anna.  Mr. 
Geist  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church  and  takes  an 
interest  in  promoting  its  good  works. 

Gcrber,  Elmer,  foundry  and  machine  shop  foreman,  and  one  of 
the  stockholders  in  the  Eagle  Iron  Works  of  Tamaqua,  was  born 
in  Schuylkill  county  on  May  17,  1873,  a  son  of  Mahlon  A.  and 
Amelia  (Dry)  Gerber.  A  sketch  of  the  father  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  volume.  After  acquiring  the  educational  advantages  offered 
in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  county,  Elmer  Gerber  served 
an  apprenticeship  in  the  machinists'  trade,  and  when  he  had  be- 
come a  master  of  it  worked  at  it  for  five  years.  Then  for  a  period 
of  seven  years  he  was  employed  at  the  Greenwood  colliery  as  out- 
side foreman.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was  made  foreman  of 
the  Eagle  Iron  Works,  of  which  his  father,  with  other  men,  had 
gained  control.  It  is  in  a  large  measure  due  to  his  ability  in 
handling  the  35  or  40  men  under  him,  his  business  sagacity  and  his 
familiarity  with  the  details  of  the  business  that  the  establishment 
has  been  put  upon  its  feet  again.  He  has  now  (1907)  been  in  his 
present  position  for  three  years.  On  Oct.  14,  1902,  Mr.  Gerber 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Hermina  Riebe,  a  native  of  Carbon 
county,  and  a  daughter  of  Herman  and  Barbara  Riebe,  residents 
of  Lansford,  Carbon  county.  To  this  union  has  been  born  a  son, 
Mahlon  Riebe  Gerber.  Mr.  Gerber  is  identified  with  the  Reformed 
church,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  a  past  exalted  ruler  of 
the  latter. 

Gerber,  Mahlon  A.,  superintendent  of  Beddell  Bros.'  colliery. 
No.  13,  of  the  Furnace  Coal  Company  at  Gilberton,  and  man- 
ager of  the  Eagle  Iron  Works  and  machine  shop,  was  born  on 
Jan.  15,  1846,  at  McKeansburg,  Pa.  His  parents  were  John  and 
Louise  (Buck)  Gerber,  both  natives  of  Schuylkill  county,  where 
the  father  followed  agricultural  pursuits  all  his  life.  The  mother's 
demise  occurred  in  December,  1894,  in  her  seventy-sixth  year,  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  ,  171 

the  father  passed  away  in  April,  1906,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four. 
Both  parents  were  devout  members  of  the  German  Reformed 
church,  and  did  much  in  their  lifetime  to  promote  and  encourage 
the  growth  of  that  institution.  The  paternal  grandfather,  John 
Gerber,  was  also  a  native  of  this  county  and  a  farmer  of  affluence. 
The  maternal  grandfather  was  Andrew  Buck,  and  Mrs.  Gerber 
was  a  child  of  his  third  marriage.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
eldest  of  thirteen  children,  all  of  whom  were  living  on  Jan.  i, 
1905.  After  receiving  what  educational  advantages  the  schools 
of  his  native  county  afforded,  in  March,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  a 
Pennsylvania  infantry  regiment  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He 
was  detailed  for  guard  duty  with  his  regiment  and  while  serving 
in  this  capacity  was  stricken  with  typhoid  fever.  The  ravages 
of  the  disease  put  an  end  to  his  military  career,  and  in  August, 
1865,  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  service.  When 
sufficiently  recovered  he  returned  to  the  coal  region  and  became 
employed  as  a  driver  of  a  timber  team  ior  a  colliery,  leaving  that 
labor  to  assume  a  position  on  a  boat  hauling  coal  from  Schuylkill 
Haven.  Subsequently  he  worked  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
railroad  as  repair  man  and  brakeman,  and  then  learned  the  trade 
of  boat-builder.  He  quit  the  latter  occupation  to  embark  in  the 
breaker-building  business,  and  after  a  number  of  years  became  out- 
side foreman  for  the  Lehigh  Coal  Company.  Some  years  ago  Mr. 
Gerber  leased  a  dirt  bank  of  P.  W.  Shafer  and  put  into  operation 
the  first  washer  of  any  dimension  in  the  anthracite  region.  From 
this  bank  he  has  shipped  more  than  100,000  tons  a  year  ever  since. 
About  1890  he  got  possession  of  an  old  colliery  shipping  about  six 
tons  a  day,  and  by  careful  management  and  skillful  development 
made  it  a  paying  venture,  some  30,000  tons  being  shipped  the  first 
year.  From  year  to  year  the  output  increased  until  it  reached 
60,000  tons  a  year.  Then  Mr.  Gerber  formed  a  partnership  with 
the  Beddell  Bros,  and  erected  a  new  breaker,  which  brought  the 
shipments  up  to  100,000  tons  annually.  With  S.  A.  Beddell  and 
D.  B.  Klein  Mr.  Gerber  obtained  the  controlling  interest  in  the 
Eagle  Iron  Works,  at  the  time  in  a  defunct  state.  In  1905  the 
firm  did  $30,000  worth  of  business,  and  now  employs  about  40 
men.  In  1877  Mr.  Gerber  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Amelia 
Eh-y,  a  native  of  this  county,  and  a  daughter  of  Paul  and  Hannah 
Dry,  both  deceased.  To  this  union  have  been  born  five  children. 
Elizabeth,  the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  James  Kalbach,  and  the  mother 
of  two  sons,  Paul  and  Ray ;  Bertha  is  Mrs.  Jesse  Long  and  has  two 
children,  Wilbur  and  Maud ;  a  sketch  of  Elmer,  the  only  surviving 
son,  appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume ;  Annie  is  Mrs.  Aaron  Burn- 
inger,  and  Charles  died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  Mrs.  Gerber  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  her  husband  of 
the  German  Reformed  church.  He  is  also  identified  with  the  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  known  as  a 
man  of  fine  business  capacity,  keen  intellect  and  upright  char- 
acter. 


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172  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Gerhard,  Prof.  Frederic,  instructor  in  music,  leader  of  the  Third 
Brigade  band  and  Gerhard's  Symphony  orchestra,  was 'born  at 
Hummelstown,  Dauphin  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  17,  1864,  a  son  of  Oiarles 
and  Jane  (Bickel)  Gerhard.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine  when  it  was  under  French  dominion  and  after  coming  to 
this  country  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war. 
The  paternal  grandfather,  Frederic  Gerhard,  was  a  soldier  under 
Napoleon  in  tfie  ill-fated  Moscow  campaign.  The  mother,  who 
died  in  Philadelphia  on  May  30,  1903,  was  a  direct  descendant  of 
Simon  Sallada  and  Margaret  Everhart,  who  became  famous  in 
the  early  history  of  Schuylkill  county.  The  family  consisted  of 
two  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  the  professor  is  the  eldest. 
Annie  is  now  Mrs.  Adelbert  S.  Jordan,  of  Philadelphia ;  Julia  M.  is 
unmarried  and  with  Margaret  and  Edward  C.  lives  in  Philadelphia. 
The  professor's  early  life  was  spent  in  Ashland,  Ringtown  and 
Shenandoah  and  he  acquired  his  limited  education  in  the  schools 
of  these  boroughs.  While  still  a  young  boy  he  started  to  earn  his 
own  living  as  a  slate  picker  in  the  Shenandoah  mines  and  subse- 
quently went  to  work  as  a  core  maker  in  a  foundry.  When  he 
came  to  Pottsville  in  his  nineteenth  year  it  was  to  enter  the  employ 
of  the  Philadelphia .  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company  in  their 
foundry.  Before  this  time  he  had  shown  an  aptitude  for  and  an 
abiHty  in  music  which  had  surprised  even  the  most  critical,  and 
after  his  arrival  in  Pottsville  he  began  the  systematic  study  which 
is  required  of  every  good  musician.  For  the  period  of  time  that 
he  was  engaged  in  foundry  work  he  spent  his  evenings  playing  in 
the  theater  orchestras.  In  1889  he  went  to  New  York  city  and 
spent  a  year  there  as  a  student  under  Dr.  Eugene  Thayer  and 
Gustav  Dannreuther,  pursuing  a  course  in  theory  and  composition 
under  the  former  and  taking  violin  lessons  from  the  latter.  Upon 
his  return  to  Pottsville  in  1890  he  was  elected  leader  of  the  Third 
Brigade  band,  of  which  he  had  been  a  member  for  some  eight 
years  previous  to  his  going  to  New  York.  This  organization  was 
brought  together  first  on  Oct.  19,  1879,  being  constituted  entirely 
of  residents  of  Pottsville.  It  attended  many  state  and  national 
functions,  among  them  the  inaugurations  of  presidents  and  gov- 
ernors, the  Pewey  jubilee,  and  the  state  encampments  of  the 
National  Guard.  An  act  of  the  legislature  passed  in  1903  did  away 
with  the  brigade  band  as  a  military  organization,  but  it  has  been 
continued  for  other  purposes  since  that  time.  Ptof.  Gerhard  has 
organized  an  orchestra  called  Gerhard's  Symphony  orchestra  and 
a  string  quartette  which  fulfills  concert  engagements  during  the 
season.  He  has  large  classes  in  violin  and  piano  instruction 
and  has  deservedly  won  for  himself  a  fine  reputation  by  his  suc- 
cess in  this  line.  On  Oct.  30,  1888,  Mr.  Gerhard  married  Miss 
Minnie  G.  Brown,  daughter  of  the  late  Charles  Brown,  a  merchant 
of  Pottsville.  The  Brown  family  was  one  of  the  first  to  locate 
in  Pottsville  and  is  now  well  established  there.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gerhard  have  been  born  two  children,  Grace  Jane  and  Charles 
William.     Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gerhard  are  members  of  the  Eng- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  173 

lish  Lutheran  church,  with  which  Mr.  Gerhard  has  been  associated 
ever  since  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated 
with  Pulaski  Lodge,  No.  216,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Moun- 
tain City  Chapter,  No.  196,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Constantine 
Commandery,  No.  41,  Knights  Templars. 

Goas,  Charles  H.,  a  harness-maker  by  vocation  and  a  justice  of 
the  peace  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  in  that  borough  on  Feb. 
28,  1861,  a  son  of  John  C.  and  Christiana  (Stegmier)  Goas.  Both 
parents  were  born  in  Germany,  but  in  different  provinces.  The 
other  four  children  of  the  family  are  John  M.,  Thomas  F.,  Mary 
C.  and  Harry  A.  Charles  H.  Goas  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Schuylkill  Haven  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  began  earning 
his  own  living  by  driving  a  team  for  E.  Emery.  After  a  few  years 
he  started  in  to  learn  the  harness-makers'  trade  and  in  January, 
1890,  embarked  in  this  business  for  himself.  By  his  energy  and 
perseverance,  combined  with  exceptional  skill  as  a  workman  in 
his  trade,  he  has  made  a  financial  success  of  the  business  and  his 
patronage  is  well  established.  In  politics  Mr.  Goas  is  a  firm  be- 
liever in  the  principles  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy  and  has  been 
the  successful  candidate  of  his  party  for  numerous  offices.  For 
some  time  he  was  borough  councilman  and  in  February,  1894,  was 
first  elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  his  ward.  Probably  no  better 
evidence  of  his  popularity  can  be  found  than  the  fact  that  he  has 
been  continuously  reelected  to  the  office  at  each  successive  election 
in  a  ward  which  is  overwhelmingly  Republican  in  its  votes  on 
other  candidates.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  well  known  over  the 
county,  being  a  member  of  the  Schuylkill  Haven  Lodge,  No.  270, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  of  the  Mountain  City  Chapter, 
No.  196,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  Goas'  wife  was 
formerly  Miss  Kate  A.  Mengle,  daughter  of  Michael  Mengle,  and 
his  marriage  to  her  occurred  in  October,  1893.  The  children  of 
this  union  are  five  in  number — Marion  N.,  Charles  M.,  John  L.  C, 
Christina  S.  and  Catherine  K.  The  family  attend  the  Evangelical 
church  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 

Godrycz,  Rev.  John,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  D.D.,  a  man  of  exceptional 
intellect  and  broad  culture,  rector  of  St.  Casimir's  Polish  Catholic 
church  in  Shenendoah,  was  born  in  Russian  Poland  in  1876.  His 
educational  training  was  acquired  in  his  native  land  and  in  Rome, 
three  years  being  devoted  to  the  study  of  medicine.  After  the 
death  of  his  parents  he  was  sent  to  Rome  under  the  patronage  of 
Count  Strogonoff  to  study  philosophy,  the  natural  sciences'  and 
divinity.  At  the  end  of  six  years  of  tireless  work  and  study  he 
was  granted  the  degrees  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  and  Master  of 
Divinity  and  was  sent  by  his  church  to  fill  the  chair  of  professor 
of  philosophy  in  the  theological  seminary  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  under 
the  Rev.  Bishop  Foley.  After  five  years  in  this  capacity  he  re- 
turned to  Rome  to  become  a  student  of  common  and  civil  law  and 
divinity.  In  three  years'  time  he  was  granted  doctorates  in  all 
three  courses  and  returned  to  Detroit  to  accept  a  chair  of  common 
law,  philosophy  and  moral  theology,  but  filled  it  only  a  year.    At 


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174  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  end  of  that  period  he  began  his  ministerial  duties  as  a  member 
of  the  diocese  of  Philadelphia  and  was  sent  to  Chester,  where  he 
established  a  Polish  parish  and  built  a  church.  When,  after  eleven 
months,  he  had  completed  the  duty  assigned  him  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Shenandoah.  This  congregation  had  been  organized  by 
Rev.  Alexander  Lenarkicwicz,  who  had  built  the  church  edifice  in 
1878.  After  his  death  in  July,  1904,  the  charge  was  assumed 
temporarily  by  Rev.  Father.  Biela  and  later  by  Rev.  M.  Monkie- 
wicz.  On  Nov.  25,  1905,  Dr.  Godrycz  was  duly  installed  as  rector 
and  has  been  serving  in  the  capacity  since.  The  membership, 
which  is  made  up  wholly  of  people  of  Polish  nationality,  numbers 
500  families,  and  the  church  edifice,  built  of  brick  and  stone,  is 
one  of  the  handsomest  and  largest  in  Shenandoah.  It  has  a  seat- 
ing capacity  of  900  and  is  most  elaborately  finished  and  furnished, 
the  paintings  alone  having  cost  some  $2,000.  In  the  fall  of  1905 
the  exterior  of  the  building  was  painted  and  renovated.  There  is 
also  a  parochial  school  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  pastor, 
conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Bernard,  which  was  established  in 
1899.  Dr.  Godrycz  has  established  a  system  of  societies  and  or- 
ganizations with  a  view  to  bringing  the  people  of  the  parish  into 
closer  touch  with  the  church  and  Christian  life.  One  of  these,  the 
name  of  which  translated  is  Moderation  in  Life,  is  for  young  men 
between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  thirty;  another,  called  Education, 
is  for  girls  and  young  ladies  over  the  age  of  fourteen.  Altogether 
there  are  fourteen  of  these  organizations,  two  of  which  are  for 
married  women,  and  some  of  them  carry  the  benefit  feature.  Dr. 
Godrycz  is  a  writer  of  national  fame,  his  contributions  being  along 
the  line  of  philosophical  thought,  and  the  same  careful  study  and 
broad  intellectual  grasp  which  have  marked  his  work  as  a  teacher 
and  pastor  are  evident  in  his  literature.  He  has  received  the  high- 
est commendation  from  leaders  of  public  thought  and  the  personal 
thanks  and  appreciation  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  others. 

Gore,  Samuel  Helms,  prothonotary  of  Schuylkill  county.  Pa., 
and  a  resident  of  Pottsville,  was  born  in  that  city  on  Aug.  13,  1863, 
a  son  of  William  Henry  and  Sophia  E.  (Helms)  Gore,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  20,  1841,  and  died 
Oct.  23,  1870,  and  the  latter  was  born  at  Womelsdorf,  Pa.,  Feb. 
28,  1845,  ^"d  died  in  March,  1880.  They  were  married  Aug. 
20,  i860,  Mrs.  Gore  being  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Marie 
(Smith)  Helms,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  child- 
ren: Susan  Norbury,  who  was  born  in  Pottsville,  Oct.  31, 
1861,  became  the  wife  of  Elmer  E.  Veter;  Samuel  Helms, 
the  subject  of  this  review;  and  William  Henry,  who  was  bom 
in  Pottsville,  Nov.  6,  1868.  William  Henry  Gore,  the  father, 
was  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political  proclivities  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  received  his  education 
in  the  schools  of  Philadelphia  and  Pottsville,  and  his  active  busi- 
ness career  was  spent  in  the  latter  city,  first  as  a  printer  and 
later  as  agent  for  an  express  company.  During  the  Civil  war  he 
enlisted  as  a  musician  in  the  48th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry, 


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SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY  175 

and  later  enlisted  in  the  ranks  in  the  three  months'  service. 
Samuel  H.  Gore,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  review,  dates  his 
ancestry  back  to  the  Revolutionary  period,  his  ancestors  on  both 
sides  have  been  of  sturdy  colonial  stock.  A  paternal  great-grand- 
father, Joseph  Heath  Norbury,  was  a  sea  captain  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  later  served  as  prothonotary  of  Philadelphia  county, 
while  a  g^eat-grandfather  on  the  maternal  side  fought  in  the 
patriot  ranks  throughout  the  Revolutionary  war.  Mr.  Gore  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville  and  in  Nov.,  1902,  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  prothonotary  of  his  native  county  for  a  term 
of  three  years.  That  his  administration  of  the  duties  of  this  im- 
portant office  was  successful  and  highly  gratifying  to  his  con- 
stituents is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  in  November,  1905,  he  was 
reelected,  and  is  at  present  occupying  that  position.  Mr.  Gore  is 
president  of  the  Good  Intent  Fire  Company  and  fraternally  is  a 
member  of  Camp  No.  36,  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America,  and 
Aerie  No.  134,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  On  Aug.  23,  1892,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary  Elizabeth  Shaw^  a  daughter  of 
John  Shaw  of  Pottsville,  and  to  this  union  one  child  has  been 
born:    Frank  Miller  Gore,  the  date  of  his  birth  being  Aug.  i,  1893. 

Gotshall,  William  H.,  the  genial  host  of  the  Eagle  hotel  at 
Lavelle,  was  born  at  Sunbury,  Pa.,  in  February,  1868.  He  is  a 
son  of  Henry  and  Harriet  (Cressinger)  Gotshall  and  comes  of 
good  German  stock.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Daniel  Gotshall, 
was  a  wheelwright  by  vocation  and  spent  all  his  life  in  North- 
umberland county.  The  mother's  father,  Samuel  Cressinger,  was 
an  agriculturist  of  Northumberland.  Henry  Gotshall,  the  father, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war  and  received 
a  wound  in  one  of  the  engagements  of  that  struggle.  He  died  in 
1901,  leaving  a  family  of  four  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  is  the  second  in  order  of  birth.  The  others  are  Jose- 
phine, wife  of  George  Duham;  Elizabeth,  also  married;  and  Ger- 
trude, wife  of  Daniel  Oyster.  William  H.  Gotshall  received  all 
his  educational  advantages  in  the  schools  of  Sunbury,  where  he 
was  reared.  When  he  had  finished  his  scholastic  labors  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Sunbury  Gas  Company,  with  which  he  cemained 
for  seven  years.  Subsequently  for  a  period  of  nine  years  and  four 
months  he  was  a  driver  for  the  brewery  firm  of  Rockefeller  &  Co. 
This  latter  position  he  left  in  1901  to  embark  in  the  hotel  business 
at  Lavelle,  in  which  he  has  successfully  continued  since  that  time. 
In  1895  was  solemnized  Mr.  GotshalFs  marriage  to  Miss  Kate 
Reabuch,  daughter  of  Elias  and  Harriet  Reabuch  of  Northumber- 
land county.  The  children  of  this  union  are  six  in  number — 
Herbert,  Walter,  Goldie,  Helen,  Beulah  and  Harry.  The  family 
are  communicants  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  in  politics  Mr.  Got- 
shall is  a  zealous  Democrat.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  and 
the  Sons  of  Veterans. 

GraefF,  Herman  B. — ^Tamaqua  has  been  the  home  of  this  vener- 
able pioneer  since  March  3I,  1849.    He  was  then  a  young  man  of 


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176  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

nineteen  and  came  from  his  parental  home  at  Temple,  Berks 
county,  to  engage  in  life's  duties  on  his  own  account.  Young 
Graeff  entered  the  employ  of  Bowman,  Moyer  &  Richardson  in 
the  capacity  of  bookkeeper,  and  served  eight  years  with  this  firm 
and  other  mercantile  establishments  of  those  early  days.  He  was 
elected  tax  collector  of  the.  village  in  1857,  and  served  six  years  in 
that  office.  He  also  served  several  years  as  justice  of  the  peace 
prior  to  1875.  He  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  A. 
W.  Leyburn,  and  after  three  years  spent  in  study  in  con- 
nection with  his  other  business  interests,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  Schuylkill  county  bar  in  1861.  He  at  once  opened 
an  office  in  Tamaqua,  and  has  been  in  constant  practice  in 
that  borough  since.  He  has  always  been  considered  a  very 
successful  lawyer,  and  a  wise  and  conservative  counsellor. 
His  experience  has  been  varied,  and  covers  every  phase  of 
legal  practice  in  the  courts  of  the  county  and  contiguous  terri- 
tory. Mr.  Graeff  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  any  public 
measure  calculated  to  enhance  the  interests  of  Tamaqua,  or  for 
the  benefit  of  the  general  public.  He  has  never  aspired  to  public 
office,  but  has  been  content  to  devote  his  time  and  talents  to  his 
professional  work.  He  was  clerk  of  the  borough  council  for  six- 
teen years,  and  has  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He 
began  his  political  career  as  a  Whig,  and  cast  his  first  ballot  for 
the  principles  of  that  party  in  1851.  Four  years  later,  the  Repub- 
lican party  came  into  existence,  and  Mr.  GraeflF  has  been  a  firm 
adherent  to  the  doctrines  of  Republicanism  for  more  than  half  a 
century.  Herman  B.  Graeff  was  born  at  Temple,  Berks  county. 
Pa.,  C>ct.  27,  1830,  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Arasmy  (Beard)  Graeff, 
also  natives  of  Berks  county,  the  father  born  at  Kutztown  in  1801, 
and  the  mother  near  Reading,  at  the  then  village  of  Birdsboro. 
In  1841  the  parental  home  was  transferred  from  Berks  county  to 
Schuylkill  Haven,  where  the  father  engaged  in  the  hotel  business. 
He  died  there  in  March,  1850.  Hife  widow  survived  him  for  many 
years,  and  died  in  Tamaqua.  She  was  an  active  and  consistent 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  These  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  only  three  of  whom  are  now  living,  viz.: 
Herman  B.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Francis  B.,  a  retired  manu- 
facturer living  in  Tamaqua,  and  Michael  B.,  who  went  to  Colo- 
rado in  i860,  and  has  spent  his  life  in  the  mining  business  in  the 
west.  The  subject  of  this  article  has  been  twice  married,  first  in 
1856,  to  Miss  Lenora  Lattimore,  of  Northampton  county.  She 
died  in  1874,  leaving  four  children  who  lived  to  years  of  maturity. 
Those  living  are  Charles,  who  has  been  associated  with  his  father 
in  the  law  business  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  and  Mary  L.,  widow 
of  A.  J.  Rhodes,  late  of  Tamaqua.  Mr.  Graeff  married  his  present 
companion,  who  was  Miss  Evelyn  B.  Maxton,  in  1875,  and  three 
children  have  been  born  to  this  union,  James  H.,  Lenora  L.,  and 
Robert  J.  Mr.  Graeff  was  adjutant  of  the  176th  Pennsylvania  mi- 
litia during  the  Civil  war,  and  served  a  brief  term  at  the  front 
during  the  invasion  of  the  state. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  177 

Gray,  Robert  Bruce,  M.  D.,  a  practicing  physician  and  surgeon 
in  Port  Carbon,  was  born  at  Cressona,  Schuylkill  county,  Aug.  ii, 
1866.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Agnes  (McKelvey)  Gray,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Johnson,  Renfrewshire,  Scotland,  and 
the  latter  in  Pottsville,  on  East  Norwegian  and  Coal  streets,  where 
the  Pennsylvania  depot  now  stands.  The  McKelvey  family  were 
among  the  early  pioneers  of  Pottsville,  emigrating  from  Scotland 
about  1820.  David  McKelvey,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Dr. 
Gray,  while  engaged  in  the  early  development  of  the  coal  fields 
in  Pottsville,  was  killed  by  a  falling  timber  under  the  site  of  the 
present  court  house,  he  being  the  first  miner  killed  in  the  gate 
vein.  His  widow  leased  the  Mt.  Hope  farm  and  sold  milk,  fruit 
and  vegetables  in  town,  by  which  means  she  reared  her  family  of 
four  children.  At  her  death  she  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  ad- 
joining the  Center  street  grammar  school  building,  in  a  vault  which 
contained  the  mortal  remains  of  thirty-five  of  her  relatives.  Dr. 
Gray's  father's  marriage  to  Agnes  McKelvey  was  blessed  with 
eleven  children,  ten  of  whom  lived  to  years  of  maturity  and  nine 
of  whom  are  now  living.  Isabella  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Klock, 
and  lives  in  Truly,  Mont.  Dr.  James  Charles  Gray  has  been  a 
representative  practicing  physician  at  Cressona  since  1884;  Will- 
iam Lincoln  is  a  machinist  at  Shickshinny,  Luzerne  county.  Pa.; 
Jennie  B.  is  the  wife  of  Adam  Applegate  of  Pottsville;  Dr. 
Robert  B.  was  next  in  order  of  birth;  Annie  Elizabeth  married 
William  Kline  and  lives  at  Great  Falls,  Mont.;  Agnes  May  is  the 
wife  of  Rheinold  Plath  and  also  resides  at  Great  Falls;  John  Mc- 
Kelvey is  a  practicing  physician  in  Port  Carbon,  where  he  located 
three  years  later  than  his  brother.  Dr.  Robert ;  George  Andrew  was 
a  ranchman  in  Great  Falls,  Mont.,  he  having  been  thrown  from  a 
horse  on  his  ranch  and  killed  near  Great  Falls:  the  place  is 
named  Gray  Butte  in  his  honor,  though  his  body  lies  in  the  family 
lot  at  Cressona;  Allen  Eugene  is  a  ranchman  and  farmer,  having 
taken  up  the  claim  of  his  brother  George  in  Gray  Butte,  nesTr  Great 
Falls;  Chester  Hutchison  died  in  infancy.  The  mother  died  in 
1901  at  her  home  in  Cressona  and  the  father  died  in  Montana  eight 
months  later  and  was  buried  at  Cressona.  Dr.  Robert  B.  Gray 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  profes- 
sionally educated  at  the  Medico-Chirurgical  college  of  Philadel- 
phia. He  was  graduated  at  the  last  named  institution  with  the 
class  of  1894,  passed  the  examination  of  the  board  of  state  exam- 
iners of  Pennsylvania  and  after  considerable  hospital  experience, 
settled  down  to  private  practice  in  Port  Carbon.  He  had  charge 
of  the  medical  wards  in  the  Pottsville  hospital  for  a  few  months 
during  the  first  three  years  of  the  existence  of  that  institution  and 
also  served  six  years  as  deputy  county  coroner  in  the  district  em- 
braced by  Port  Carbon,  Middleport  and  New  Philadelphia.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  U.  S.  pension  examiners  for 
Schuylkill  county  for  two  years;  served  five  years  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  health  in  Port  Carbon ;  a  like  period  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  health  in  Palo  Alto,  and  is  at  present  a  member  of 

12— Vol.  II 


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178  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  Port  Carbon  borough  council.  The  doctor  is  an  uncompromis- 
ing Republican  in  his  political  affiliations.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of 
America.  He  was  married  on  Sept.  28,  1898,  to  Miss  Mary  Beddall 
Wren,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Lillie  Wren,  of  Mahanoy  City. 
(See  personal  sketch  of  George  Wren.)  Mrs.  Gray  is  a  grand- 
daughter of  Thomas  Beddall,  of  an  early  established  family  in 
Schuylkill  county,  and  prominent  in  the  early  development  of  the 
coal  interests.  The  same  may  be  said  of  her  paternal  grandfather, 
Thomas  Wren.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gray  have  a  son  and  a  daughter,  the 
latter  being  Miss  Lillie,  born  Aug.  20,  1899,  and  the  son  is  Master 
Robert,  born  Feb.  6,  1900.  The  doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church  and  Mrs.  Gray  is  a  Presbyterian  in  religious 
preferences. 

GrecHy  David  Bright,  deceased,  was  in  his  day  one  of  the  lead- 
ing lawyers  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  in  fact  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  born  at  Reading,  Berks  county,  Dec.  22,  1831,  a 
son  of  John  and  Catharine  (Bright)  Green,  old  residents  of  that 
city.  His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
city,  after  which  he  entered  Yale  university,  where  he  graduated 
in  1852.  Returning  to  Reading  he  became  a  student  in  the  law 
office  of  John  S.  Richards,  and  in  January,  1855,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  In  April,  1856,  he  located  at  Pottsville,  where  he  soon 
built  up  a  lucrative  practice.  In  1862  he  entered  the  army  as  ad- 
jutant of  the  129th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry.  Although  he 
served  but  nine  months  he  was  a  participant  in  some  of  the  most 
sanguinary  battles  of  the  great  Civil  war,  being  at  the  second  Bull 
Run,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  as  well  as 
in  several  minor  engagements.  When  General  Lee  invaded  Penn- 
sylvania in  the  summer  of  1863  Judge  Green  again  heeded  his 
country's  call  and  went  out  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  27th  Penn- 
sylvania "emergency'*  regiment,  with  which  he  served  until  mus- 
tered out  in  August.  In  1865  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon. 
Lin  Bartholomew,  but  this  firm  was  amicably  dissolved  the  follow- 
ing year.  In  1867  Governor  Geary  appointed  Mr.  Green  judge  of 
the  criminal  court  for  the  district  composed  of  Schuylkill,  Dauphin 
and  Lebanon  counties,  which  had  been  created  by  legislative 
enactment  the  preceding  winter.  The  following  fall  he  was  nom- 
inated by  the  Republican  party  for  a  full  term,  and  was  elected, 
though  the  constitutionality  of  the  law  was  attacked  and  after 
some  bitter  opposition  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  sustained  the 
action  of  the  legislature.  Judge  Green  then  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  the  office  and  continued  in  that  position  until  about  1874. 
Then  the  present  constitution  of  the  state  was  adopted,  by  virtue 
of  which  the  court  was  abolished,  though  he  was  commissioned  as 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for  the  remainder  of  the  term 
for  which  he  had  been  elected.  He  was  defeated  for  reelection  in 
the  fall  of  1877  by  Judge  Bechtel,  but  was  elected  over  James  B. 
Reilly  in  1881,  and  resumed  his  judicial  functions  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  January,  1882.     He  was  reelected  in  1891,  and  had  served 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  179 

one  year,  one  month  and  three  days,  when  death  closed  his  career. 
Judge  Green's  death  was  due  to  progressive  apoplexy.  On  Sun- 
day, Feb.  5,  1893,  he  complained  of  feeling  dizzy,  and  about  nine 
o'clock  the  following  morning  spoke  of  a  slight  numbness  in  his 
right  hand  and  the  right  side  of  his  face.  This  numbness  increased 
until  by  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  after  suffering  two  distinct 
strokes  of  apoplexy,  he  became  unconscious  and  remained  so  until 
the  end,  which  came  a  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock  that  evening. 
Concerning  his  legal  career  the  Miners'  Journal,  of  Pottsville, 
said  the  next  day:  "J^^^^^  Green  was  one  of  the  best  and  most 
prominent  citizens  of  the  state.  His  record  as  a  citizen,  as  a  law- 
yer and  as  a  judge,  stands  preeminent  in  the  history  of  Schuyl- 
kill county.  In  the  galaxy  of  such  judges  as  Heggins,  Blythe, 
Black,  King,  Elwell,  Paxson,  Mitchell,  and  many  others  who  were 
associated  in  the  several  common  pleas  courts  of  Pennsylvania, 
there  is  no  name  that  shines  brighter  in  common  pleas  juris- 
prudence than  that  of  Judge  Green.  In  all  matters  of  public  im- 
provement he  stood  in  front;  as  a  friend  and  social  companion  he 
was  ever  near."  In  his  early  study  of  the  law  Judge  Green  de- 
voted a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  law  regelating  mining  rights, 
and  their  bearing  on  the  safety  and  preservation  of  railroads  and 
highways  that  traversed  the  surface  over  the  mines.  On  these 
questions,  and  the  laws  relating  to  original  land  titles  and  riparian 
rights,  he  became  a  recognized  authority,  his  decisions  in  such 
cases — of  which  there  were  many — always  showing  such  justice 
and  equity,  and  such  profound  knowledge  of  the  law,  that  many 
of  his  Republican  friends  urged  him  to  become  a  candidate  for  a 
place  on  the  supreme  bench.  These  overtures  he  always  turned 
aside,  preferring  to  continue  in  the  office  to  which  he  had  been 
elected  by  the  people  of  his  own  county.  His  decisions  are  still 
quoted,  however,  as  sound  in  principle  and  a  thorough  exposition 
of  the  laws,  and  will  no  doubt  continue  as  the  highest  authority 
on  these  questions  in  the  years  to  come.  Judge  Green  was  in- 
terested in  several  business  enterprises  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  a  director  of  the  Safe  Deposit  bank,  of  which  he  was  one  of 
the  founders.  Eminently  social  in  his  disposition  he  was  a  favorite 
guest  at  numerous  dinners,  etc.,  and  was  a  member  of  that  organ- 
ization known  as  the  "Pottsville  Fishing  Party,"  one  of  the  oldest 
social  organizations  of  Schuylkill  county.  Of  this  club  he  had  the 
honor  of  being  president.  On  Dec.  8,  1870,  Judge  Green  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Catherine  Brooke,  a  daughter  of  L.  P. 
Brooke,  of  whom  specific  mention  will  be  found  in  this  volume. 
They  became  the  parents  of  the  following  children :  Ida  F.,  Kath- 
arine and  Douglass  Bannon. 

Green,  Robert  P.,  a  farmer  of  affluence  and  a  dealer  in  timber 
for  mining  purposes,  whose  postoffice  is  Ashland,  was  born  in  that 
city  on  Sept.  3,  1856.  He  is  one  of  six  children  of  Daniel  F.  and 
Annie  (Patten)  Green,  the  others  being  William,  Thomas,  Daniel, 
Ida  and  Eleanor.  His  educational  advantages  were  acquired  in 
the  public  schools  of  Barry  township  and  Ashland,  which  he  at- 


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180  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

tended  until  he  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  Then  he 
became  his  father's  assistant  on  the  homestead  farm  and  re- 
mained under  the  parental  roof  until  he  was  twenty-eight 
years  old,  by  which  time  he  had  saved  sufficient  of  his 
earnings  to  purchase  the  farm  which  he  is  now  working. 
The  place  contains  some  135  acres,  60  of  which  are  under 
cultivation,  general  farming  being  carried  on  and  no  particu- 
lar branch  being  favored.  In  connection  with  his  agricultural 
interests  he  owns  and  manages  an  extensive  lumber  yard,  the 
greater  part  of  the  output  of  which  is  used  for  the  timbering 
of  mines.  On  May  15,  1876,  was  solemnized  Mr.  Green's  marriage 
to  Miss  Susanna  Kimmel,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Kramer)  Kimmel,  and  nine  children  have  blessed  this  union,  of 
whom  six  survive.  Edward,  the  eldest  survivor,  married  Miss 
Ella  Derr,  of  Barry ;  Ida  is  the  wife  of  Monroe  Kimmel  of  Gordon ; 
Edna  is  Mrs.  Harvey  Hubler,  and  the  others  are  Elsie  May,  Sarah 
Emma,  and  John  Daniel,  all  at  home.  The  family  are  all  com- 
municants of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Barry,  of  which  Mr.  Green 
is  a  deacon.  In  politics  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican  and  as  such 
held  the  offices  of  assessor  and  register  for  a  total  of  six  years. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Lavelle  Lodge,  No.  972,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Mr.  Green  is  of  good  English- 
Welsh  stock.  His  paternal  grandparents,  John  and  Eleanor 
(Lewis)  Green,  were  natives  of  England  and  Wales,  respectively, 
and  the  maternal  grandparents  were  Thomas  and  Alice  Patten, 
both  of  whom  immigrated  to  this  country  from  England 

Gregory,  William  G.,  agent  and  mining  engineer  for  the  Sheafer 
estate,  was  born  near  Pottsville  on  April  22,  1859.  He  is  a  son 
of  Elijah  and  Mary  E.  (Troutman)  Gregory,  the  former  born  in 
England  in  1834  and  the  latter  in  Schuylkill  county  in  1837.  The 
parents  were  married  in  this  county  in  1856.  The  father  came  to 
the  United  States  about  the  time  he  attained  his  majority,  passing 
his  twenty-first  birthday  on  board  ship,  and  for  all  his  active  life 
was  engaged  in  mining,  holding  various  responsible  positions  with 
different  concerns.  For  some  twenty  years  he  was  superintendent 
of  the  coal  and  iron  company's  works  in  the  Girardville  district. 
He  retired  about  1897  ^ind  removed  to  Reading,  where  he  died  on 
July  12,  1902.  The  mother  is  still  living,  making  her  home  with  a 
widowed  daughter  at  Reading.  Seven  children  were  born  to  the 
parents,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  second  in  order 
of  birth.  Salina,  the  eldest,  became  the  wife  of  John  Hanson, 
and  died  in  1898,  leaving  two  children;  John  is  a  druggist  in  Potts- 
ville; Emma  is  the  wife  of  George  M.  Daniell,  of  Vivian,  W.  Va. ; 
Sarah,  with  whom  the  mother  makes  her  home,  is  the  widow  of 
W.  A.  Oliver,  of  Reading,  and  has  two  children;  Harriet  is  the 
wife  of  Andrew  Richelderfer,  of  Girardville;  and  Alice  died  in  in- 
fancy. William  G.  Gregory  received  his  educational  advantages 
in  the  common  schools  of  the  county,  rounding  out  his  training 
by  a  course  at  Dickinson  seminary  at  Williamsport.  His  work 
about  the  mines  began  when  he  was  still  a  child  and  he  first  took 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  181 

up  the  work  of  engineer  in  1880  at  the  Ashland  office  of  the  Coal 
&  Iron  Company.  He  remained  with  that  concern  until  Novem- 
ber, 1892,  and  then  was  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  colliery 
of  Leisenring  &  Co.,  of  Minersville.  His  Minersville  position  he 
retained  until  April,  1894,  and  the  following  month  assumed  his 
present  occupation  with  the  Sheafer  estate.  His  duties  are  many 
and  varied,  including  the  collecting  of  rentals,  the  building,  re- 
pairing and  leasing  of  houses  and  making  surveys  of  the  collieries 
of  the  estate.  He  has  attended  to  every  detail  of  the  work  with 
as  much  scrupulous  care  as  if  it  were  his  own  interest,  and 
throughout  has  given  the  highest  degree  of  satisfaction  to  his  em- 
ployers. On  June  8,  1882,  Mr.  Gregory  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Johnson,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  Johnson  of  Girardville.  Mrs. 
Gregory's  parents  are  dead,  but  she  has  three  brothers,  John  at 
Gordon,  Charles  at  Pottsville  and  Frank  at  Shenandoah,  and  a 
sister,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Smith,  living  at  Pottsville.  In  politics  Mr. 
Gregory  is  a  Republican,  but  aside  from  several  years  of  service  as 
borough  surveyor  ot  Shenandoah,  he  has  never  held  political  office. 
He  is  prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  having  attained  to  the  thirty- 
second  degree,  and  being  a  member  of  the  Blue  lodge  of  Ashland, 
the  Minersville  chapter,  the  Ashland  commandery,  the  Philadel- 
phia consistory  and  the  Reading  Shrine,  and  is  a  past  officer  in 
the  first  three  named.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum, 
the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  the  American 
Hose  Company  of  Ashland.  Mrs.  Gregory  is  a  communicant  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Griffiths,  Elmer  J.,  the  leading  undertaker  and  embalmer  of 
Tamaqua,  was  born  at  Lewisburgr,  Union  county.  Pa.,  on  March 
22y  1864.  He  is  a  son  of  William  H.  and  Margaret  E.  (McFadden) 
Griffiths,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  The  father  in  early  life 
was  a  molder  by  trade,  and  was  occupied  at  that  labor  until  his 
health  became  impaired  and  he  was  compelled  to  give  it  up,  after 
which  time  he  engaged  in  floriculture  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred on  Jan.  20,  1881.  He  removed  from  Philadelphia  to 
Tamaqua  before  the  close  of  the  war  and  continued  to  reside  there. 
He  was  a  most  ardent  advocate  of  temperance  and  never  in  his 
life  did  he  allow  a  drop  of  liquor  to  pass  his  lips  for  other  than 
medicinal  purposes.  Both  he  and  his  wife,  who  died  in  1893, 
were  very  active  in  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
of  which  they  were  members.  Of  the  seven  children  born  to  the 
parents  but  three  survive.  Mrs.  Annie  Wetzel  and  Mrs.  Edith 
A.  Klees,  widow  of  William  Klees,  are  the  two  members  living 
beside  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  with  whom  they  make  their 
home.  Elmer  J.  Griffiths  attended  the  common  schools,  but  was 
obliged  by  the  death  of  his  father  to  leave  school  and  go  to  work 
before  he  had  completed  his  course.  He  took  charge  of  his  father's 
floral  business  and  for  eight  years  made  it  the  means  of  liveli- 
hood for  the  family.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he  turned  it  over 
to  a  purchaser  and  opened  in  his  present  line  of  business.  His 
reputation   as   a   painstaking,   thorough   workman   and    a   kindly, 


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182  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

courteous  gentleman  in  all  his  relations  with  bereaved  families 
has  brought  him  an  increase  of  business  from  year  to  year  and 
now  he  has  calls  from  all  over  the  county.  On  Oct.  7,  1890,  he 
married  Miss  Mary  E.  Seiders,  a  native  of  Tamaqua  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jackson  and  Ellen  (Bayer)  Seiders.  Her  father  is  deceased, 
but  the  mother  is  still  living.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grif- 
fiths are  four  in  number-^Edith  G.,  in  the  class  of  1908  in  the  high 
school;  William  H.,  Norman  S.  and  Franklin  G.  Mrs.  Griffiths 
died  on  May  22,  1900,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years.  She  was  a 
woman  much  beloved  and  nowhere  has  she  been  more  missed 
than  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  she  was  a  loyal 
member  and  devout  worker,  as  well  as  the  leading  soprano  in 
the  choir.  Mr.  Griffiths  is  one  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
Methodist  church  and  a  director  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  He  is  prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  in  which  he  has 
attained  to  the  thirty-second  degree,  and  also  belongs  to  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons 
of  America.  Like  his  honored  father  he  has  never  tasted  intoxi- 
cating liquor  of  any  kind,  and  believes  the  world  could  get  along 
just  as  well  without  it. 

Griffiths,  Isaac  N.,  proprietor  of  an  old  and  well  established 
hardware,  plumbing  and  general  repair  business  in  Girardville, 
is  a  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Owens)  Griffiths  and  was  born  in 
Shenandoah  on  Oct.  4,  1878.  He  has  two  sisters,  Mrs.  W.  T. 
Johnson  and  Miss  Mary  Griffiths,  and  a  brother,  William  G.  His 
parents  were  both  natives  of  Wales  and  came  to  Schuylkill  county 
some  ten  years  before  his  birth.  The  father  spent  all  his  active 
life  in  this  county  as  an  employ  of  a  mining  company.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Shenandoah,  and  in  1894  completed  the  courses  offered 
there.  He  then  took  up  telegraphy  and  when  he  had  mastered 
that  art  he  became  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company.  For  nearly  eleven 
years  he  held  the  same  responsible  position,  leaving  it  only  to 
accept  the  managership  of  the  hardware  business  formerly  owned  by 
Peter  Griffiths.  The  concern  was  established  early  in  1870  and  is 
the  principal  store  of  its  kind  in  the  borough.  On  June  18,  1903, 
occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Griffiths  to  Miss  Clara  Morrison, 
daughter  of  Alexander  and  Emily  (Gill)  Morrison  of  Shenan- 
doah. Two  sons  have  blessed  this  union,  John  Owen  and  James 
Alexander.  The  parents  are  both  members  of  the  Baptist  church 
and  it  is  in  that  faith  that  the  boys  are  being  reared.  In  politics 
Mr.  Griffiths  is  a  Republican,  but  he  has  never  sought  the  emolu- 
ments of  public  office.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Shen- 
andoah Lodge,  No.  511,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  is  the 
present  incumbent  of  the  chair  of  worshipful  master.  He  is  a 
young  man  of  much  natural  business  ability,  excellent  judgment 
and  fine  habits,  and  his  friends  predict  for  him  a  most  successful 
future. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  183 

Griffiths,  Morgan,  a  prominent  merchant  of  Nuremburg  and  a 
justice  of  the  peace  of  that  borough,  was  born  in  Ashland  on  May 
23,  1858,  a  son  of  Howell  and  Catherine  (Jones)  Griffiths.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age  and 
then  secured  work  as  a  breaker  boy.  Subsequently  he  lived  with 
his  family  for  a  year  in  Hubbard,  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  and  then 
returned  with  them  to  Ashland,  whence  they  again  moved,  this 
time  to  Belle  Tunnel  near  Mt.  Carmel.  At  that  place  Mr.  Grif- 
fiths was  employed  as  a  breaker  boy  ag^in  and  when  he  went  to 
Centralia  with  his  parents  he  did  the  same  work.  The  family 
moved  from  Centralia  to  Nuremburg,  where  the  mines  were  just 
beginning  to  be  worked,  but  left  there  soon  after  to  go  to 
Audenried,  in  Carbon  county,  and  thence  to  Sandy  Run,  Luzerne 
county.  From  Sandy  Run  they  came  again  to  Nuremburg,  where 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  for  four  years  employed  in  the 
mines.  In  1886  he  gave  up  his  aspirations  to  make  mining  his  life 
work*  and  accepted  a  position  as  manager  of  the  clothing  store  of 
Simeon  Miller  in  Nuremburg.  In  December  he  resigned  his  posi- 
tion and  embarked  in  the  same  business  under  his  own  name. 
Since  that  time  he  has  been  most  successfully  engaged  in  the 
business  and  has  a  wide  and  varied  patronage.  In  1888  Mr.  Grif- 
fiths was  appointed  postmaster  by  President  Harrison  and  con- 
tinued to  be  the  incumbent  of  that  office  until  1904,  when  Mrs. 
Griffiths  was  made  postmistress  by  President  Roosevelt.  In  poli- 
tics Mr,  Griffiths  is  a  Republican,  and  is  now  justice  of  the  peace, 
having  been  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  for  several  terms, 
amounting  to  over  seventeen  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  county 
executive  committee  of  his  party  and  of  the  regular  county  com- 
mittee. He  has  also  been  a  school  director  for  a  number  of  years. 
On  Oct.  26,  1886,  Mr.  Griffiths  married  Miss  Margaret  Witchey, 
daughter  of  Alexander  and  Catherine  (Haber)  Witchey  of  Os- 
ceola, Qearfield  county,  the  ceremony  occurring  at  Jeddo  in  Lu- 
zerne county.  They  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but  have  an 
adopted  daughter,  Eva.  The  family  are  attendants  of  the  United 
Evangelical  church  of  Nuremberg.  Fraternally  Mr.  Griffiths  is 
identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Camp 
No.  96,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  He  is  of  good 
Welsh  stock,  his  parents  having  come  to  Schuylkill  county  from 
Glamorganshire,  Wales.  Mr.  Griffiths  is  recognized  as  a  man  of 
excellent  business  judgment,  conservative  methods  and  absolute 
integrity. 

Griffiths,  Thomas  B.,  a  popular  hotel  man  of  Shenandoah,  and 
school  director  from  the  Second  ward,  was  born  in  North  Wales 
in  the  year  1867.  When  he  was  about  two  years  of  age  he  came 
with  his  parents,  John  S.  and  Elizabeth  (Cuffin)  Griffiths  to 
America.  They  came  directly  to  Shenandoah,  where  the  father 
was  connected  with  mining  interests  until  his  death,  at  the  age  of 
forty-nine  years.  The  mother  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine,  leav- 
ing five  children,  viz. :  John  C,  a  mine  worker  of  Shenandoah ; 
Thomas  B. ;  Hannah,  wife  of  James  S.  Williams,  an  undertaker 


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184  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  furniture  dealer;  Sarah  J.,  a  saleswoman  in  Shenandoah; 
Ruth,  wife  of  Samuel  Krom,  a  salesman  in  Philadelphia.  Thomas 
B.  Griffiths  began  life  for  himself  as  a  slate  picker  in  the  mines, 
prom  this  humble  position  he  was  promoted  to  more  responsible 
and  profitable  ones,  being  connected  with  the  mining  industry  for 
twenty  years.  In  1897  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business,  in  which 
line  of  activity  he  has  since  continued,  and  in  which  he  has  been 
measurably  successful,  having  accumulated  considerable  property. 
Mr.  Griffiths  is  an  unswerving  Republican  in  his  political  affilia- 
tions and  takes  an  active  part  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Rescue  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  and  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  and  is  an  attendant  at  the  First  Bap- 
tist church.  On  March  20,  1893,  he  married  Miss  Miriam  Thomas, 
a  daughter  of  David  H.  and  Sophia  Thomas.  She  was  bom  at 
High  Park,  near  Scranton.  Her  father,  now  deceased,  was  a 
musician,  and  her  mother  resides  in  Shenandoah.  She  has  one 
sister,  and  three  half-brothers  and  a  half-sister,  children  of  her 
father  by  a  former  marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Griffiths  have  four 
children — Walter,  Herbert,  Sarah  J.  and  Hazel,  all  living  and  now 
attending  the  Shenandoah  schools.  Mr.  Griffiths  is  now  serving 
his  fifth  year  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  takes  a  great 
interest  in  the  cause  of  education,  as  well  as  in  everything  else 
that  has  a  tendency  to  promote  the  general  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity, and  is  looked  upon  as  one  of  Shenandoah's  substantial, 
public-spirited  and  representative  citizens. 

Gnihler,  Christian,  M.  D.»  an  influential  physician  and  surgeon 
of  Shenandoah,  was  born  in  Jaffa,  Asia  Minor,  Feb.  17,  1870.  He 
is  the  second  child  born  to  Rev.  John  Grubler  and  his  wife,  Caro- 
lina Kreuz,  and  at  the  time  of  his  birth  his  father  was  serving  as 
a  missionary  of  the  Lutheran  church.  The  mother  died  Dec.  i, 
1883,  and  the  father  May  19,  1905,  leaving  a  family  of  four  besides 
the  doctor.  Martin,  the  eldest,  is  a  druggist  in  Shenandoah ;  Mary 
is  the  wife  of  Philip  Bierman,  an  electrical  engineer  of  Philadel- 
phia ;  Fannie  lives  in  Philadelphia,  and  Frederick  in  Orwigsburg. 
The  Gruhler  family  traces  its  ancestry  back  some  four  hundred 
years,  and  members  of  it  have  been  identified  with  practically  all 
the  important  movements  in  Germany  for  that  length  of  time.  The 
subject  of  this  memoir  acquired  his  education  in  the  schools  of 
Shenandoah  and  in  1885  entered  the  drug  business  as  an  appren- 
tice with  the  late  Charles  Wasley.  This  arrangement  continued 
until  1889,  when  Dr.  Gruhler  entered  the  college  of  pharmacy  in 
Philadelphia  and  was  graduated  two  years  later.  Upon  returning 
to  Shenandoah  he  again  engaged  in  the  pharmacy  business,  this 
time  with  his  elder  brother,  and  remained  in  it  until  1895.  I"  that 
year  he  purchased  a  drug  business  in  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  same 
time  began  the  study  of  medicine  at  the  Medico-Chirurgical  col- 
lege of  that  city.  When  he  was  graduated  in  1899  with  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  NIedicine  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness in  Philadelphia  and  returned  to  Shenandoah,  where  he  has 
been  actively  and  successfully  engaged  in  practice  ever  since.    He 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  185 

has  devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of  smallpox  and  its  treatment, 
and  in  1901  during  an  epidemic  of  the  disease  he  resigned  his  posi- 
tion as  president  of  the  borough  board  of  health  to  take  charge  of 
the  afflicted  citizens.  Before  the  ravages  of  the  dread  disease  had 
ceased  Dr.  Gruhler  had  treated  163  patients,  and  the  final  extermi- 
nation of  the  disease  was  due  in  large  measure  to  his  untiring 
eflforts.  On  May  23,  1894,  was  celebrated  Dr.  Gruhler's  marriage 
to  Miss  Minnie  Gertrude  Hoover,  who  was  born  in  Pottsville,  a 
daughter  of  Albert  and  Minnie  Hoover,  of  Shenandoah.  To  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Gruhler  has  been  born  one  child,  a  daughter,  Miss 
Helene  D.  The  doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and 
his  wife  is  of  the  Presbyterian  faith.  Politically  Dr.  Gruhler  is  a 
Republican,  but  aside  from  the  two  years  h^  served  as  president 
of  the  borough  board  of  health  he  has  never  held  public  office. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  Beney- 
olent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Fraternal  Order  of 
Eagles. 

Gruhler,  Martin,  one  of  the  leading  pharmacists  of  Shenandoah, 
was  born  at  Joppa,  Palestine,  Feb.  10,  1867,  and  is  the  eldest  of 
five  children  born  to  John  and  Carolina  (Kreuz)  Gruhler,  both 
natives  of  Germany,  the  former  having  been  born  in  Wiirtemberg 
and  the  latter  in  Saxony.  The  father  was  educated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Heidelberg  and  spent  his  life  as  a  minister  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  For  seventeen  years  he  was  a  missionary  in 
Palestine,  where  the  family  was  living  at  the  time  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born.  Of  the  other  children  Christian  was  born 
in  Joppa;  Mary,  now  Mrs.  P.  J.  Bierman,  was  born  in  Germany, 
and  Fannie  D.  and  Frederick  in  America.  Thus  the  family  are 
natives  of  three  continents — Asia,  Europe  and  America.  Both  the 
sisters  now  reside  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia;  Frederick  is  in 
business  at  Lambertville,  N.  J.  In  1871  the  parents  located  in  the 
town  of  Shenandoah,  where  Martin  received  his  education.  He 
then  entered  the  Philadelphia  college  of  pharmacy,  where  he 
graduated  in  1893,  and  soon  afterward  established  a  drug  store 
in  Shenandoah.  In  April,  1905,  he  opened  a  branch  store  in  the 
same  town,  and  it  is  no  disparagement  to  the  other  druggists  of 
the  city  to  say  that  he  is  the  leading  pharmacist  of  the  place.  Mr. 
Gruhler  is  also  interested  in  other  business  enterprises.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  and  is  the  present  secretary  of  the  Mutual 
building  and  loan  association  of  Shenandoah;  was  a  member  of 
the  first  board  of  directors  of  the  association ;  j^nd  is  a  director  in 
the  First  National  bank,  his  father  having,  been  one  of  the  charter 
members  of  that  institution.  In  politics  Mr.  Gruhler  is  a  Socialist. 
From  1900  to  1903  he  served  as  tax  receiver  of  Shenandoah,  dis- 
charging the  duties  with  ability  and  fidelity.  He  is  a  member  of 
Shenandoah  Aerie,  No.  103,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  he  and 
his  wife  both  belong  to  the  German  Lutheran  church.  In  1895 
was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Martin  Gruhler  to  Miss  Anna 
Elizabeth  Lehe,  a  former  teacher  in  the  Shenandoah  public  schools, 
and  a  daughter  of  George  Lehe,  who  came  to  Shenandoah  from 


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186  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Pottsville.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gruhler  have  been  born  three  chil- 
dren— Caroline,  Ruth  A.  and  John.  Caroline  is  the  only  child  now 
living.  In  all  his  business  transactions  Mr.  Gruhler  is  guided  by 
a  spirit  of  uprightness  and  square  dealing.  He  takes  a  commend- 
able interest  in  the  general  welfare  of  the  community  and  is  always 
ready  to  aid  any  honorable  undertaking  to  further  the  interests 
of  the  city  in  which  he  lives,  or  to  promote  the  health  and  morals 
of  the  people.  In  short,  he  is  one  of  Shenandoah's  public-spirited, 
enterprising  and  representative  citizens. 

Guldner^  John  L.,  a  conductor  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
railroad,  and  one  of  the  old  and  faithful  servants  of  that  road,  was 
born  in  this  county  on  Sept.  i8,  1862.  He  is  a  son  of  John  C.  and 
Sarah  A.  (Moll)  Guldner,  both  native  Pennsylvanians.  The  father 
was  for  thirty-seven  years  an  employe  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Readr 
iog.  He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years  and  his  wife  passed 
away  in  February,  1902,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  The  father  was 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  the  mother  of  the  Reformed 
congregation.  Of  the  nine  children  four  are  living.  Ida  May, 
the  eldest,  born  Nov.  3,  1859,  died  April  13,  1875;  Edward  E.  is 
a  railway  conductor;  Laura  Ellen,  born  April  6,  1866,  died  April 
I,  1874;  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  Nov.  20,  1869,  died  Aug.  23,  1873; 
Joseph  Monroe,  bom  Sept.  12,  1873,  died  Aug.  25,  1878;  Sarah 
Jane  is  the  wife  of  William  Geasing,  a  blacksmith  of  Hazleton; 
Oliver  Isaac,  born  Feb.  4,  1884,  is  deceased;  and  Susan  Rebecca 
is  the  wife  of  Conrad  Zeigler,  a  blacksniith.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  the  second  of  the  children  in  order  of  birth.  He  acquired 
a  scholastic  training  in  the  common  schools  and  then  was  occupied 
in  various  lines  until  September,  1881.  At  that  time  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  railroad  and  has  been  with  the  company  ever 
since.  After  about  five  years  of  service  as  a  brakeman  he  was 
promoted  to  be  a  conductor.  His  long  and  faithful  service  is 
ample  evidence  of  the  trust  in  which  his  employers  hold  him. 
Through  careful  management  and  strict  attention  to  the  duty  in 
hand  he  has  gone  through  all  his  service  without  an  accident.  On 
May  15,  1884,  Mr.  Guldner  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Weiss,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Henry  and  Catherine  Weiss. 
Her  father  was  killed  in  1880,  while  acting  in  his  capacity  of  car 
inspector,  and  the  mother  died  in  1891.  Thtir  seven  children  are 
Julia,  now  Mrs.  Peter  Fourour,  of  Philadelphia;  Philip,  in  Tam- 
aqua;  Mary,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three  years;  Louisa,  wife  of 
J.  G.  Schad;  Henry  N.,  a  baker  of  Tamaqua;  Frank,  living  in 
Mauch  Chunk,  where  he  is  employed  by  the  railroad  company; 
and  Mrs.  Guldner.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guldner 
are  five  in  number.  Thomas  John,  the  eldest,  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years,  and  Henry  Weiss,  the  youngest,  died  when  but  three 
weeks  old.  The  others  are  Louella,  Helen  Louise  and  Augusta. 
The  family  are  all  communicants  of  the  German  Lutheran  church, 
and  the  father  is  identified  with  Tamaqua  Lodge,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  with  the  encampment  of  the  same 
order. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  187 

Hadesty,  P.  H.,  an  enterprising  hardware  merchant  of  Tamaqua, 
is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county  and  a  son  of  James  M.  and  Eliza- 
beth (Kantner)  Hadesty.  Both  parents  were  born  in  Pottsville 
and  the.  father  came  to  Tamaqua  in  1850,  where  he  started  in  the 
hardware  business  and  continued  in  it  until  his  death  in  1903.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  and  for  years  was  a  trustee  of  the  Tamaqua  congrega- 
tion. Fraternally  he  w^as  closely  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  having  been  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  the  Tamaqua  lodge.  With  Dr.  Fethrolf  he  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  cemetery  association,  which  main- 
tains one  of  the  most  beautiful  as  well  as  one  of  the  best  kept 
burial  grounds  in  this  section  of  the  state.  The  mother  died  in 
1904  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  She  was  a  matronly  woman,  whose 
kindly  Christian  influence  was  felt  in  many  a  sick  room,  and  whose 
demise  was  a  loss  to  the  whole  community.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  received  the  educational  advantages  afforded  by  the  public 
schools  of  Tamaqua,  and  upon  the  completion  of  his  scholastic 
work  he  entered  his  father's  employ  as  a  clerk  in  the  hardware 
store.  He  served  in  this  capacity  until  1900,  when  he  was  made  a 
partner  and  the  firm  became  Hadesty  &  Son.  Since  the  father's 
death  he  has  had  full  control  of  the  business,  which  has  grown  in 
proportions  under  his  able  management.  Mr.  Hadesty  is  unmar- 
ried. He  is  recognized  as  one  of  Tamaqua's  most  conscientious, 
progressive  and  substantial  business  men. 

Hafner,  George  L.,  a  carpenter  and  builder  of  Shenandoah,  was 
born  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  Dec.  i,  1863,  a  son  of  Martin  John  and 
Catherine  (Philipps)  Hafner,  both  natives  of  ^Germany.  The  father 
was  a  tailor  and  dealer  in  clothing  and  furnishing  goods,  first  in 
Pottsville  and  later  in  Shenandoah,  removing  to  the  latter  city 
on  June  4,  1873.  His  death  occurred  on  May  15,  1878.  He  and 
his  wife  had  a  family  of  seven  sons  and  one  daughter.  Frederick, 
a  carpenter,  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years,  leaving  a  widow 
and  two  children;  Edward  died  in  California  in  June,  1905,  a 
widower  with  four  children;  Louisa  is  the  wife  of  Carl 
Schurz,  of  Shenandoah;  William  F.  is  a  carpenter  in  Phila- 
delphia, married,  and  has  two  children;  George  L.  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Charles  died  at  the  age  of  four 
years;  Louis  F.  is  married  and  lives  in  Shenandoah,  where 
he  is  a  clerk  in  the  Reading  freight  station;  Harry  V.  is 
employed  in  the  freight  department  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad 
at  Wilkes  Barre,  married  and  has  one  child.  After  the  death  of 
the  father  of  these  children,  Mrs.  Hafner  married  Rev.  John  Gruh- 
ler,  formerly  a  missionary  to  Palestine.  He  died  in  Philadelphia. 
George  L.  Hafner  was  educated  in  Pottsville  and  Shenandoah  and 
worked  about  the  mines  until  he  was  grown.  He  then  learned  the 
trade  of  breaker-builder  and  house  carpenter,  which  occupation 
he  has  since  followed — a  period  of  twenty  years.  Mr.  Hafner  is 
a  member  and  past  grand  of  John  W.  Stokes  Lodge,  No.  515,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  for  the  past  two  years  has 


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188  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

held  the  office  of  district  deputy  grand  master  in  the  order.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  Camp  No.  112,  Patriotic  Order,  Sons  of  America, 
and  was  4istrict  president  during  the  years  1902-3  in  district  No.  5. 
He  is  a  member  and  past  state  president  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of 
Americans,  an  auxiliary  of  the  former  organization ;  also  past  com- 
mander of  the  Shenandoah  Commandery,  No.  14,  Patriotic  Order  of 
the  Sons  of  America,  and  at  present  recorder  of  the  same ;  belongs 
to  St.  John's  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  and  is  one  of  its  active 
workers,  having  served  as  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school  for  twelve  years;  a  member  of  the  church  council  for  six 
years ;  leader  of  the  church  and  Sunday  school  choirs  for  the  same 
length  of  time;  is  now  lieutenant  of  the  United  Boys'  Brigade  of 
America,  a  semi-military  organization  to  teach  its  members  Chris- 
tian faith  and  obedience;  and  has  been  secretary  of  the  Shenan- 
doah Young  Men's  Christian  association  since  its  organization.  In 
his  political  views  he  is  an  unswerving  Republican  and  has  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs.  In  1900  he  was  elected 
to  the  school  board  for  the  Third  ward  for  a  term  of  three  years, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1906  was  returned  for  a  second  term  of  the 
same  length.  He  is  now  serving  that  term  and  is  a  member  of 
the  committees  on  text-books  and  supplies ;  exonerations  ;*  finance, 
and  non-resident  pupils.  Mr.  Hafner  is  a  bachelor  and  makes  his 
home  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Schurz. 

Hahn,  George  A.,  chief  of  police  of  the  city  of  Tamaqua,  was 
borri  in  this  county  on  Feb.  i,  1870.  He  is  a  son  of  George  and 
Mary  (Ruff)  Hahn,  both  native  Germans.  The  father  was  a  bar- 
ber across  the  seas  and  followed  that  vocation  after  coming  to  the 
United  States  in  the  early  '50s.  When  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
opened  he  enlisted  as.  a  private  in  a  regiment  belonging  to  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  and  served  until  the  close  of  that  historic 
struggle.  He  was  discharged  as  a  corporal  after  he  had  partici- 
pated with  his  regiment  in  the  gra^d  review  at  Washington.  Four 
wounds,  all  rather  severe,  one  in  the  leg,  one  in  the  arm  and  two  in 
the  body,  bore  witness  that  he  had  in  no  way  shirked  his  duty.  Short- 
ly after  being  mustered  out  he  removed  to  Williamsport,  Pa.,  and 
in  1868  to  Tamaqua,  where  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  bar- 
ber business  until  his  death,  on  Dec.  16,  1902,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight  years.  The  mother*s  parents,  Stephen  and  Barbara  Ruff, 
were  probably  the  first  settlers  of  Tamaqua.  Stephen  Ruff  died 
in  the  6o's  and  his  wife  some  twenty  years  later,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two  years.  Their  eldest  son,  Charles,  was  a  mechanical 
genius.  As  early  as  1874  he  made  the  first  automobile  known  in 
this  part  of  the  state.  Its  motive  power  was  steam,  and  it  was 
known  as  the  steam  carriage.  Mrs.  Hahn  is  still  living,  an  hon- 
ored resident  of  Tamaqua.  The  chief  is  the  second  in  order  of 
birth  of  the  five  children  in  the  family.  Louisa,  the  eldest,  is  the 
wife  of  Philip  Trout,  of  Tamaqua;  Richard  is  an  interior  deco- 
rator, working  at  his  trade  in  his  native  city;  Anna  is  forewoman 
in  a  shirt  factory  in  Bayonne.  N.  J. ;  and  Eva  is  employed  in  the 
same  factory.    The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  what  education 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  189 

the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua  offered,  and  after  completing  his 
scholastic  labors  he  engaged  in  paper  hanging,  interior  decorating 
and  sign  painting,  and  followed  that  until  1900.  In  that  year  he 
was  chosen  chief  of  the  department  of  police  of  Tamaqua,  and  his 
retention  in  the  office  is  ample  proof  of  the  efficiency  with  which 
he  has  filled  the  position.  For  fifteen  years  Chief  Hahn  was  a 
member  of  the  state  militia,  and  during  the  Spanish-American  war 
was  quartermaster-sergeant,  his  regiment  being  stationed  at 
Augusta,  Ga.,  for  four  months.  On  Aug.  23,  1899,  Mr.  Hahn  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Metzger,  a  native  of  Tamaqua 
and  a  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Priscilla  Metzger.  The  mother 
is  deceased,  but  the  father  is  still  living,  working  at  his  occupation 
as  teamster  in  Tamaqua.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  riahn  has  been  born 
a  daughter,  Dorothy  Elizabeth.  Mrs.  Hahn  is  a  devout  communi- 
cant of  the  Elnglish  Lutheran  church.  Fraternally  the  chief  is 
connected  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  the  fire  company,  the  Maennerchor,  and 
the  International  Association  of  chiefs  of  police  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  Mr.  Hahn  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  pro- 
ficient men  in  his  profession. 

Halberstadt,  Andrew  Howell,  M.  D. — ^This  venerable  practi- 
tioner of  Pottsville  is  a  representative  of  three  generations  of 
physicians  bearing  the  name  of  Halberstadt  who  have  practiced 
medicine  in  Pottsville.  He  has  long  been  recognized  as  the  dean 
of  the  medical  fraternity  in  Schuylkill  county.  Dr.  A.  H.  Halber- 
stadt was  graduated  in  the  department  of  arts  and  sciences  at 
Marshall  college,  in  1850,  and  in  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1853.  Soon  after  graduation  he 
located  in  Pottsville  and  began  an  active  professional  career,  which 
has  continued  to  this  day.  He  has  been  identified  with  all  phases 
of  medical  practice,  covering  a  period  of  more  than  fifty  years,  and 
long  years  ago  he  established  a  professional  reputation  second 
to  none  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  His  career  has  been  one  of  un- 
bounded success  and  well-merited  popularity.  During  the  Civil 
war  Dr.  Halberstadt  rendered  valiant  service  to  the  **boys  in 
blue"  in  the  department  of  medicine  and  surgery  as  acting  assist- 
ant surgeon  in  the  United  States  army,  continuing  in  service 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  has  been  active  in  the  state,  na- 
tional and  local  professional  societies.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
organizers  of  the  Pottsville  hospital;  has  always  contributed  of 
his  means  and  talents  to  the  promotion  of  its  interests,  and  has 
been  chief  of  the  staff  of  visiting  surgeons  during  the  eleven  years 
of  its  existence.  Dr.  Halberstadt  was  married  on  May  25,  1854,  to 
Miss  Augusta  M.  Baird,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  I.  and  Eliza 
(Carey)  Baird,  of  Philadelphia.  Four  children  have  been  born  to 
this  union,  the  eldest  of  whom.  Dr.  George  H.,  of  Pottsville,  is  a 
prominent  physician  and  surgeon;  Baird  is  a  well-known  mining 
engineer  and  geologist,  with  offices  in  Pottsville.  Alfred  Howell 
and  Henry  Carey  complete  the  family  circle.  They  are  both 
located  in  Pottsville  and  all  are  prominently  identified  with  the 


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190  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

social  and  business  affairs  of  their  native  borough.  The  family 
are  Episcopalians  in  religious  views,  and  in  political  affiliations 
are  Republicans.  Dr.  A.  H.  Halberstadt  is  a  son  of  Dr.  George 
Halberstadt,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  born  in  1805:  he  was  grad- 
uated in  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
in  the  class  of  1827,  and  practiced  in  Pottsville  until  his  death, 
m  i860.  He  was  prominently  identified  with  the  organization  of 
the  Pennsylvania  state  medical  society,  as  appears  more  fully  in 
the  article  on  Medical  Societies,  in  Volume  L  of  this  publication. 
Dr.  George  Halberstadt  married  Miss  Mary  Summers,  of  Phila- 
delphia. She  was  born  in  1808.  They  had  a  family  of  four  sons 
and  two  daughters,  only  three  of  whom  are  now  living.  Dr.  An- 
drew H.  Halberstadt  was  born  in  Pottsville,  Aug.  11,  1831,  and 
has  been  a  resident  of  that  borough  all  his  life.  The  family  is  of 
German  lineage,  but  long  established  on  American  soil. 

Hall,  Charles  G.,  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Shenandoah, 
was  born  at  Dantzic,  Prussia,  Feb.  21,  1864.  His  parents,  Peter 
and  Christina  Hall,  were  both  natives  of  Dantzic,  the  former 
having  been  born  on  July  23,  1826,  and  the  latter  on  Sept.  6,  1826. 
In  1876  they  came  to  America,  first  locating  at  Jersey  City,  N.  J., 
but  later  removing  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  where  both  died,  the 
father  in  January,  1890,  and  the  mother  in  1898.  Their  remains 
rest  in  Greenwood  cemetery.  Of  their  children  Peter  is  a  farmer 
in  Oregon;  John  is  a  sailor;  Annie  is  now  Mrs.  Gaede,  and  lives 
in  Hoboken,  N.  J.;  Mary  died  in  1876;  Charles  G.  is  the  subject 
of  this  sketch;  and  Minnie  is  now  Mrs.  Breitfield,  of  Brooklyn. 
When  the  family  came  to  this  country  they  were  accompanied 
by  the  paternal  grandmother,  who  died  in  Brooklyn.  Peter  served 
in  the  German  army  during  the  Franco-Prussian  war  in  1870. 
Charles  G.  Hall  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
land  and  at  Brooklyn.  In  1895  he  came  to  Shenandoah,  where  he 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  on  a  small  scale,  thus  laying  the 
foundation  of  his  present  well  appointed  establishment  and  large 
patronage.  Owing  to  the  good  judgment  with  which  he  selected 
his  stock  to  meet  the  demands  of  his  customers,  his  affable  and 
kindly  treatment  of  all  who  came  to  his  store,  and  that  thrift  that 
is  such  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  German  people,  he  has  built 
up  a  business  that  is  second  to  none  in  the  city.  In  fact,  it  is  gen- 
erally conceded  that  he  carries  the  largest  stock  of  general  mer- 
chandise in  Shenandoah,  constantly  employing  seven  clerks,  be- 
sides himself  and  wife,  who  takes  great  pride  in  assisting  her  hus- 
band. Mr.  Hall  is  independent  in  his  political  affiliations,  believ- 
ing that  good  government  depends  more  on  having  honest  men 
in  office  than  mere  party  candidates.  On  Feb.  28,  1891,  Mr.  Hall 
was  united  in  marriage. to  Miss  Catherine  Etter,  daughter  of 
Michael  and  Margaret  Etter,  of  Danville,  Pa.  Four  children  have 
been  born  to  this  union,  viz.:  Alice,  Joseph,  Daniel  and  Paul. 
Daniel  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Hall  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  and  his  wife  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  both  take  a  com- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  191 

mendable  interest  in  promoting  the  good  works  of  their  respective 
denominations. 

Harris,  John  M.,  editor-in-chief  of  %he  Tamaqua  Evening  Cou- 
rier, a  daily  paper  with  a  circulation  of  2,000  copies,  was  born  at 
Tamaqua  on  May  4,  1878,  a  son  of  Robert  and  Sophia  (Meyers) 
Harris.  The  father  was  born  in  Hymouth,  England,  but  came  to 
the  United  States  while  still  a  young  man  and  settled  in  St.  Nicho- 
las, where  he  grew  to  manhood.  There  he  learned  the  printer's 
trade  and  in  1870  came  to  Tamaqua  and  with  Daniel  Eveland  pur- 
chased the  Courier,  then  a  weekly  paper.  Six  years  later  he  pur- 
chased Mr.  Eveland's  interest  and  from  that  time  until  his  death, 
on  Jan.  14,  1896,  he  conducted  the  paper  himself.  He  was  well 
known  in  public  life  and  his  editorial  utterances  framed  the  course 
of  public  opinion  in  many  instances.  For  four  successive  terms 
he  was  a  member  of  the  school  board.  His  widow  is  still  living. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  third  in  order  of  birth  of  the  four 
children  in  the  family.  Marie  A.  is  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools 
and  is  now  serving  her  thirteenth  year;  Ray  F.  is  Mrs.  Edward 
C.  Hillegas,  of  Tamaqua;  and  Robert  H.  is  the  solicitor  and  col- 
lector of  the  Courier.  John  M.  Harris  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town  and  after  he  had  completed  his  course 
went  into  his  father's  office  and  learned  to  set  type.  After  the 
father's  death,  although  he  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  took 
charge  of  the  paper.  In  1899  he  changed  it  from  a  semi-weekly 
to  a  tri- weekly  publication,  and  on  June  i,  1900,  made  it  a  daily. 
Its  high-water  circulation  mark  was  2,400,  attained  during  the 
strike  year,  and  its  average  for  the  past  three  or  four  years  is 
easily  2,000.  It  is  the  only  daily  publication  between  Mauch  Chunk 
and  Pottsville,  so  its  area  is  not  limited  to  Tamaqua.  Mr.  Har- 
ris is  a  young  man  of  exceptional  ability  in  his  chosen  vocation, 
and  his  success  with  the  paper  so  far  certainly  augurs  well  for  the 
future. 

Hartman,  Rev.  George  W.,  pastor  of  St.  John's  Reformed 
church  of  Orwigsburg,  Pa.,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  He  is 
a  son  of  George  C.  and  Rebecca  J.  Hartman,  both  born  in  the 
Keystone  state.  The  father  was  a  farmer  and  wholesale  lime 
dealer,  formerly  a  resident  of  Leinbachs,  but  now  living  at  West 
Leesport,  Pa.  He  was  always  greatly  interested  in  educational 
matters,  and  for  many  years  served  as  school  director.  The  father 
is  now  about  sixty-nine  years  of  age  and  the  mother  is  some  seven 
years  younger.  After  due  preliminary  training  in  the  common 
schools  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  who  was  one  of  eight  children, 
attended  the  Keystone  state  normal,  after  which  he  was  engaged 
in  pedagogic  work  for  several  years,  and  then  for  a  time  assisted 
his  father  in  the  management  of  his  coal  and  lime  business.  Then 
he  matriculated  at  the  Franklin  and  Marshall  college  of  Lancaster, 
taking  a  theological  course,  and  in  1895  was  graduated  at  that 
institution.  Three  years  later  he  completed  a  graduate  seminary 
course  and  took  his  first  ministerial  charge — the  pastorate  of  St. 
John's  Reformed  church  at  Orwigsburg.    His  continued  retention 


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192  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

in  the  service  of  that  church  is  ample  evidence  of  his  faithfulness 
and  capability.  The  church  has  a  membership  of  about  300,  and 
a  Sunday  school  with  an  average  attendance  of  250.  The  corner- 
stone of  the  present  edifice  was  laid  on  Aug.  28,  1831,  and  on  the 
same  date  in  1906  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  church  was 
celebrated  with  great  ceremony.  The  congregation  is  an  out- 
growth of  the  old  Red  Church  of  history,  the  separation  from  that 
institution  coming  in  1830.  On  May  29,  1901,  Mr.  Hartman  mar- 
ried Miss  Carrie  M.  Reed,  of  Doylestown,  a  daughter  of  George 
and  Mary  Reed.  The  children  of  this  union  are  two  in  number — 
George  Edwin  and  Esther  Lydia.  Mrs.  Hartman  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Keystone  state  normal  school,  and  for  three  years  before  her 
marriage  was  a  teacher.  St.  John's  congregation  is  contemplating 
the  erection  of  a  new  edifice,  the  old  structure  being  too  small. 

Hauck,  Calvin  Albert,  postmaster  of  Brandonville,  and  the  lead- 
ing general  merchant  of  the  town,  was  born  in  Shenandoah  on 
Aug.  13,  1877.  He  is  a  son  of  Jeremiah  and  Rachel  (Heimbrook) 
Hauck,  and  one  of  six  children,  the  others  being  Emma,  Sadie, 
Nora,  Mamie  and  Gertrude.  The  public  schools  of  Ringtown 
afforded  him  what  educational  advantages  he  received  and  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years  he  began  work  as  a  manufacturer  of  blast- 
ing powder.  After  six  years  in  this  line  of  business  he  and  a 
partner  opened  a  general  store  in  Brandonville,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Faust  &  Hauck.  At  the  end  of  two  years  the  partnership 
was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Hauck  assumed  entire  charge  of  the  inter- 
ests of  the  concern.  He  has  been  conducting  the  business  under 
his  own  name  since  that  time,  and  has  been  most  successful  in  a 
financial  way.  On  April  19,  1901,  President  William  McKinley 
appointed  Mr.  Hauck  postmaster  of  Brandonville,  and  he  has  been 
the  government  official  since  that  time  in  connection  with  his  other 
business.  On  Oct.  13,  1899,  he  married  Miss  Miranda  Hering,  of 
Ringtown,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Miranda  (Eisenhauer)  Hering, 
and  one  of  six  children,  the  others  being  Isaac,  Sallie,  Ida,  Qara 
and  Ella.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hauck  have  two  children,  a  son,  Willard, 
and  a  daughter,  Mabel.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed 
church,  of  which  for  the  past  three  years  the  father  has  been  a 
deacon.  He  is  recognized  throughout  the  county  as  a  business 
man  of  ability,  upright  dealing  and  unassailable  character. 

Hausman,  Prof.  Rudolph  A.,  the  subject  of  this  biographical  re- 
view, is  a  talented  and  highly  accomplished  musician  in  Pottsville. 
He  is  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  twelve  children  iDorn  to  William 
and  Anna  Hausman,  natives  of  Bohemia,  Austria,  where  Professor 
Hausman  was  born,  reared  and  educated.  But  two  of  this  family 
are  now  known  to  be  living,  and  the  subject  of  this  article  is  the 
only  one  who  came  to  America.  Rudolph  A.  Hausman  was  born 
July  2,  1864,  and  at  the  proper  age  he  entered  the  high  school 
of  his  native  city,  where  he  prepared  for  the  profession  of  teaching. 
The  laws  of  his  country  required  that  this  preparation  should  in- 
clude a  course  of  seven  years  and  when  this  was  completed  Mr. 
Hausman  turned  his  attention  to  music  instead  of  pedagogy.    He 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  193 

entered  the  conservatory  of  music  at  Prague,  capital  of  Bohemia, 
and  completed  the  prescribed  course  in  that  renowned  institution 
in  1882,  graduating  with  high  honors.  In  addition  to  his  musical 
education.  Professor  Hausman  is  a  thorough  linguist,  reading 
and  writing  six  languages  with  accuracy  and  fluency.  For  some 
two  or  three  years  previous  to  his  graduation  in  music  he  had  been 
engaged  in  teaching  the  fascinating  study  in  his  native  land.  After 
completing  his  course  he  entered  the  military  service  of  Austria, 
and  served  three  years  as  a  member  of  a  regimental  band.  His 
professional  engagements  followed  this  and  led  him  twice  around 
the  world,  teaching  music  in  nearly  every  European  country,  and 
spending  eighteen  months  as  a  member  of  the  world-famous 
orchestra  of  Johann  Strauss,  in  Vienna.  Leaving  Strauss,  he  com- 
pleted his  second  trip  around  the  world,  located  in  London,  taught 
in  that  city  and  Manchester,  England,  until  1900,  when  he  em- 
barked for  America,  and  arrived  in  Pottsville  on  March  25,  in  that 
year.  It  seemed  especially  fortunate,  both  for  Professor  Haus- 
man and  the  music-loving  people  of  Pottsville,  that  his  steps  were 
directed  here,  in  that  he  at  once  assumed  a  prominent  place  in  the 
musical  society  of  the  town.  His  first  engagement  was  as  musical 
director  of  St.  Patrick^s  church,  soon  followed  by  a  like  position, 
termed  choir-master,  in  Trinity  Episcopal  church,  these  being 
two  of  the  leading  English-speaking  churches  in  Pottsville.  Soon 
after  this  the  professor  was  chosen  as  musical  director  of  the 
Pottsville  operatic  society,  and  of  the  "Liederkranz,*  a  German 
musical  society  of  high  order.  Scarcely  a  musical  event  of  prom- 
inence has  occurred  in  Pottsville  during  the  last  six  years  that 
Professor  Hausman  was  not  the  leading  spirit,  and  his  talents 
are  everywhere  recognized  and  appreciated.  As  a  teacher  of  vocal 
music,  voice  culture  and  the  violin,  he  is  without  a  peer  in  the 
community.  In  the  social  world  he  is  companionable,  devoted  to 
his  friends,  honorable  and  upright  in  character,  a  gentleman  of 
high  literary  attainments  and  exalted  professional  talents.  Pro- 
fessor Hausman  is  a  member  of  the  social  and  beneficial  Order 
of  Eagles,  Pottsville  Aerie,  No.  134,  and  musical  director  of  the 
organization.  On  Nov.  11,  1903,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Margaret  Julia,  daughter  of  Francis  and  Elizabeth  (Lecher) 
Alstadt,  whose  history  as  early  settlers  and  prominent  citizens  of 
Pottsville  is  worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  notice.  Francis 
Alstadt,  a  typical  Uerman-American,  and  a  representative  of  the 
progressive  German  citizenship  in  Schuylkill  county,  was  born 
in  Grossenluder,  Kreiss  Fulda,  Kingdom  of  Prussia,  Germany, 
Dec.  II,  1819.  He  was  a  son  of  Valentine  and  Margaret  (Yost) 
Alstadt,  natives  of  the  same  place  as  himself.  His  parents  spent 
their  lives  in  Prussia.  Of  a  family  of  four  sons,  two  of  them  came 
to  America  in  the  hope  of  bettering  their  fortunes.  Francis 
Alstadt  crossed  the  ocean  in  1837,  after  having  completed  his 
education  in  his  native  land,  and  took  up  a  temporary  residence 
in  Philadelphia,  but  after  a  few  months  located  at  Pottsville,  where 
he  soon  became  thoroughly  identified  with  the  growth  and  prog- 

13— Vol  II 


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194  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ress  of  the  town.  He  prosecuted  the  study  of  a  course  in  surgery 
in  Germany,  but  discontinued  it  after  coming  to  America.  For 
some  twenty-five  years  he  was  identified  with  the  barber  business 
in  Pottsville,  combining  that  with  other  extensive  interests.  In 
1855  he  engaged  in  merchandising,  and  conducted  a  music  store, 
book  and  stationery  business  for  more  than  thirty  years.  During 
this  period  he  was  also  the  local  agent  for  the  Hamburg-American 
Packet  Company's  line,  Richard  &  Co.'s  banking  house,  several 
savings  fund  institutions,  and  conducted  a  general  real  estate  and 
insurance  business.  In  all  of  his  varied  business  interests  he  was 
successful.  Mr.  Alstadt  was  president  of  the  German  bank  for  six 
or  seven  years,  and  later  became  a  director  in  the  Real  Estate, 
Title,  Insurance  and  Trust  Company  of  Pottsville,  an  institution 
of  hig^  financial  standing  at  the  present  day.  He  was  also  inter- 
ested in  the  organization  of  the  Pottsville  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company,  and  served  as  its  president  for  several  years.  He  was  a 
man  who  sustained  the  highest  confidence  of  the  people,  and  was 
several  times  elected  a  member  of  the  borough  council  without 
opposition.  He  was  a  devout  Roman  Catholic,  and  a  zealous  sup- 
porter of  St.  John  the  Baptist's  church.  He  assisted  in  organizing 
the  Washington  Yeager  military  company,  in  1838,  was  elected 
first  lieutenant,  and  subsequently  became  captain  of  the  company, 
a  position  which  he  held  for  a  number  of  years.  On  Aug.  2,  1842, 
he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Lecher,  of  Pottsville,  a  representative 
of  one  of  the  prominent  and  early  established  families.  This 
was  a  most  happy  union,  blessed  with  five  children  who  lived  to 
reach  years  of  maturity.  These  were  Mary,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Emil  Langguth,  a  piano  manufacturer,  who  died  on  July  10, 
1905;  Josephine,  wife  of  John  J.  Murphy,  who  died  March  17, 
1896;  Margaret,  wife  of  Professor  Hausman,  of  this  sketch; 
Amelia,  now  the  wife  of  A.  T.  Jones,  who  is  a  commercial  sales- 
man, living  in  Pottsville;  and  George,  who  died  in  young  man- 
hood. Six  children  died  in  infancy  or  early  childhood.  Both  the 
parents  of  this  family  are  deceased,  and  the  old  parental  home  on 
Center  street  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  strangers.  The  mother 
died  on  Dec.  13,  1901,  and  the  father  on  Sept.  28,  1902.  This  wor- 
thy couple  lived  together  in  love  and  peace  for  sixty-four  years, 
and  passed  to  the  other  shore  within  nine  months.  The  memory 
of  these  loving,  indulgent  parents  lingers  in  the  hearts  of  their 
surviving  children  as  a  sacred  benediction.  A  history  of  Pottsville 
and  Schuylkill  county  would  scarcely  be  complete  without  a  record 
of  this  eminently  respectable  and  highly  honorable  pioneer  family. 
For  sixty-five  years  Francis  Alstadt  was  identified  with  the  history 
of  Pottsville,  and  contributed  of  his  means  and  talents  to  its 
material  growth  and  prosperity.  He  was  a  man  of  broad  views 
and  more  than  ordinary  intelligence.  His  counsel  was  often 
sought  on  questions  of  public  policy,  his  purse  was  always  open 
to  the  cry  of  the  needy,  and  he  cared  less  for  the  accumulation  of 
property  than  for  the  proper  use  of  that  which  came  to  him  as  the 
result  of  his  own  industry  and  intelligent  business  career.     His 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  195 

home  and  family  were  ever  his  first  care.  Few  men  have  left  a 
brighter  record  in  the  annals  of  Potts ville  than  Francis  Alstadt. 
Heaton,  James,  who  is  now  living  retired  from  active  business, 
at  Lost  Creek,  is  one  of  the  well-known  and  distinctively  popular 
citizens  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  for  many  years  was  closely  iden- 
tified with  the  coal-mining  industry  in  the  Lehigh  valley.  He 
was  born  in  Lancaster,  England,  May  5,  1836,  a  son  of  Aaron  ai>d 
Leah  (.Madacroft)  Heaton,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Staf- 
fordshire and  the  latter  in  Lancaster.  In  1854  the  parents  immi- 
grated to  America,  landing  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  soon 
afterward  establishing  their  home  in  Tamaqua,  Schuylkill  county. 
The  father  lived  only  about  six  months  after  coming  to  the  United 
States,  and  his  death  occurred  at  Berlin,  Somerset  county,  where 
he  was  at  the  time  employed  in  connection  with  the  construction 
of  a  tunnel.  His  wife  died  at  Canton,  Bradford  county^  both  hav- 
ing been  well  advanced  in  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  eleven 
sons,  of  whom  four  died  in  England.  The  other  seven  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  of  these  four  were  Union  soldiers  in  the  Civil 
war.  Thomas  died  in  the  State  of  New  York,  at  the  age  of  sevetity 
years ;  John  died  in  Shamokin,  Pa.,  aged  seventy-two  years ;  Will- 
iam died  in  Hazleton,  Pa.,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years;  Adam 
returned  to  England  and  there  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life; 
James,  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  next  younger;  George  and 
Samuel  are  successful  stock-gi*owers  in  the  State  of  Nebraska. 
Those  who  went  forth  in  defense  of  the  Union  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion  were  John,  James,  George  and  Samuel.  James  Heaton 
was  eighteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  family  immigration 
to  America.  He  secured  work  at  the  coal  mines  and  was  finally 
advanced  to  the  position  of  inside  foreman,  of  which  he  continued 
incumbent  for  twenty-seven  years,  all  but  the  first  year  at  Lost 
Creek,  where  he  took  up  his  residence  in  March,  1876,  and  where 
he  has  since  continued  to  make  his  home.  After  thus  serving  for 
more  than  a  quarter  century  as  inside  foreman  at  Packer  colliery 
Nb.  4,  he  resigned  his  position  and  retired  from  active  labor, 
though  he  is  still  carried  on  the  pay  roll  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Coal  Company,  which  thus  makes  fitting  recognition  of  his  long 
and  faithful  service.  In  politics  Mr.  Heaton  gives  an  uncompro- 
mising allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  though  he  has  never 
been  a  seeker  of  public  office  of  any  sort.  For  thirty-four  years 
he  has  been  affiliated  with  Lodge  No.  357,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  at  Mahanoy  City,  where  he  also  holds  membership  in 
Mizpah  Chapter,  No.  177,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Ivanhoe  Com- 
mandery.  No.  31,  Knights  Templars  and  belongs  to  General  Grant 
Lodge,  No.  575,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  His  life 
history  has  not  been  an  eventful  one,  but  it  shows  forth  those  ster- 
ling attributes  of  character  which  always  gain  to  a  man  the  confi- 
dence and  regard  of  his  fellow-men.  In  1865  Mr.  Heaton  married 
Mrs.  Ann  (Sharp)  Reed,  who  had  two  sons  by  her  first  marriage — 
Thomas,  a  resident  of  Shenandoah,  and  Matthew,  now  deceased. 
By  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Heaton  she  became  the  mother  of  two 


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196  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

daughters:  Jane  Ann  became  the  wife  of  Howard  J.  Beisel  and 
died  after  a  surgical  operation,  being  survived  by  two  sons  and 
one  daughter:  the  family  reside  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia;  Mar- 
garet Effie,  the  younger  daughter  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is 
the  wife  of  Herbert  C.  Hooks,  of  Philadelphia,  and  they  have  two 
sons.  Two  of  Mr.  Heaton's  grandsons  are  named  in  his  honor. 
The  great  loss  and  bereavement  of  Mr.  Heaton's  life  occurred  in 
1900,  when  his  devoted  and  cherished  wife  was  summoned  to  the 
life  eternal,  and  since  her  death  he  has  continued  to  reside  in  the 
old  home,  which  is  endeared  to  him  by  the  associations  of  many 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  as  was 
also  his  wife. 

Heaton,  William  H.,  deceased,  late  president  of  the  Citizens' 
National  bank  of  Ashland,  was  born  in  Tamaqua  on  March  22, 
1843,  a  son  of  Reuben  A.  and  Mary  (Carter)  Heaton.  His  pater- 
nal grandfather  was  Joseph  Heaton,  a  native  of  England  and  a 
civil  engineer  by  profession,  who  was  a  pioneer  of  Northumber- 
land and  Columbia  counties.  Joseph  Heaton  married  Miss  Sarah 
McNeill,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  McNeill,  who  was  brigade  quarter- 
master of  Hand's  brigade,  Sullivan's  division  of  the  Continental 
army  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Reuben  Ayres  Heaton,  father  of 
William  H.,  was  born  in  Allen  township,  Northampton  county,  in 
1813,  and  located  in  Tamaqua,  where  he  opened  the  collieries 
known  as  the  Locust  Gap  and  High  Mines.  In  1861  he  removed  to 
Girardville  and  started  operations  in  the  Preston  collieries,  which 
he  continued  most  successfully  until  1864.  In  that  year  he  dis- 
posed of  his  interests,  retired  from  active  business  life,  and  set- 
tled in  Philadelphia,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
His  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Carter,  a  native  of  England  and  a 
daughter  of  Robert  Carter,  occurred  on  Feb.  22,  1838.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Tamaqua  and  at  Canandaigua  academy,  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.  In 
his  early  manhood  he  became  engaged  in  the  coal  trade  with  his 
father  at  Tamaqua  and  Girardville.  On  Sept.  15,  1862,  he  enlisted 
in  the  6th  regiment,  Pennsylvania  state  militia,  and  served  actively 
when  Lee  with  his  Confederate  army  invaded  the  state.  Early 
in  1865  with  two  of  his  brothers,  S.  M.  and  R.  C.  Heaton,  he 
opened  the  Cuyler  colliery  at  Raven  Run  and  successfully  oper- 
ated it  until  1885,  when  they  disposed  of  their  interests  to  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company.  Mr.  Heaton 
was  one  of  the  organizers  and  heaviest  stockholders  of  the  Citi- 
zens' National  bank  of  Ashland,  chartered  in  1875,  and  was 
elected  its  president  in  1877.  In  1900  he  resigned  and  retired  from 
active  participation  in  business  affairs.  On  May  2,  1872,  was  cele- 
brated Mr.  Heaton's  marriage  to  Miss  Emily  J.  Douglas,  of  Mauch 
Chunk,  Pa.,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Robert  D.,  born  July  21, 
1873.  This  union  was  annulled  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Heaton  in 
1896,  and  in  December,  1897,  Mr.  Heaton  was  united  in  matri- 
mony to  Miss  Jane  A.  Edgar,  of  Dayton,  Ohio.  Mr.  Heaton's 
demise  occurred  Aug.  4,  1904,  and  in  his  death  it  was  felt  that 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  197 

not  only  the  family  but  the  whole  community  had  suffered  an 
irreparable  loss.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  New  York, 
and  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  The  son,  Robert  Douglas  Heaton, 
was  reared  in  Schuylkill  county  and  received  his  educational  train- 
ing in  the  Canandaigua  academy,  the  military  academy  at  Corn- 
wall-on-the-Hudson,  and  the  veterinary  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania*  Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been 
engaged  in  various  occupations,  and  since  1886  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  Ashland.  On  June  2,  1897,  he  married  Miss  Mary 
Louise  Landefeld,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Louise  (Wagner) 
Landefeld,  of  Ashland.  Mr.  Heaton  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  cljurch,  and  he  is  identified  with  Ashland  Lodge, 
No.  384,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  held  office  of  any  kind. 

Heckerty  Prof.  Eli  P.,  superintendent  of  schools  of  Schuylkill 
Haven  and  principal  of  the  high  school,  was  born  in  Jordan  town- 
ship, Northumberland  county,  Sept.  6,  1872,  and  is  the  youngest 
of  a  family  of  five  sons  and  as  many  daughters  of  Elias  and  Lydia 
(Hepler)  Heckert.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Northumberland 
county  and  the  mother  of  Schuylkill  county.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  received  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Northumberland  county,  and  subsequently  graduated  at  the  Union- 
town  seminary  and  the  Bloomsburg  normal  school.  Then  for  a 
period  of  four  years  he  taught  school  in  Northumberland  county 
and  for  three  years  was  principal  of  the  Askam,  Luzerne  county, 
schools.  Then  he  entered  Bucknell  college,  and  received  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  the  class  of  1902.  Two  years  later  he 
received  his  master's  degree  at  the  same  institution.  The  four 
years  following  the  college  course  he  was  principal  of  the  Second 
ward  (now  known  as  the  Asa  Packer)  schools  of  Mauch  Chunk. 
His  incumbency  of  his  present  responsible  position  dates  from 
August,  1906,  although  the  appointment  was  received  in  June. 
Since  he  assumed  charge  at  Schuylkill  Haven  he  has  regraded  the 
whole  system  so  that  now  each  pupil  has  a  year  in  each  grade  and 
four  years  in  the  high  school.  The  total  enrollment  of  the  schools 
in  829  pupils,  who  are  under  seventeen  teachers,  and  the  number 
in  the  high  school  is  56.  On  Aug.  22,  1900,  Professor  Heckert  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alberta  Carl,  of  Newville,  Cumberland 
county.  Pa.,  and  this  union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  one 
child,  a  daughter,  Avril.  Professor  Heckert  is  a  member  of  Camp 
No.  108,  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  and 
Camp  8,716  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  of  East  Mauch 
Chunk.  In  politics  he  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  and 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  United  Evangelical  church  of 
Schuylkill  Haven.  Although  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Schuylkill 
Haven  but  a  short  time,  Professor  Heckert  has  won  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  community  by  his  ability  in  reorganizing 
the  school  system. 


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198  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Heebner,  Thomas  F.,  M.  D.,  a  leading  physician  of  Port  Carbon, 
is  a  son  of  George  W.  and  Anna  M.  (Fister)  Heebner,  of  Ham- 
burg, Berks  county,  Pa.  The  father  was  born  in  Port  Carbon  on 
Aug.  II,  1834,  and  died  Sept.  10,  1904.  He  was  for  many  years  one 
of  the  prominent  and  most  successful  business  men  of  that  bor- 
ough; was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Philadelphia  shoe  manu- 
facturing business  of  Port  Carbon,  which  has  now  ceased  to  exist ; 
was  a  moving  spirit  in  the  organization  of  the  Port  Carbon  Elec- 
tric Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company,  a,nd  was  for  a  number  of 
years  the  president  of  the  concern.  Other  business  affairs  in  which 
he  was  interested  included  a  directorship  in  the  Miners'  National 
bank  of  Pottsville,  and  many  other  county  institutions.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Republican,  and  although  he  never  sought  office  he  was 
several  times  honored  with  positions  of  public  trust.  For  six  con- 
secutive terms  he  was  a  member  of  the  borough  council,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  was  on  the  board  of  school  directors.  George 
W.  Heebner  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Miss  Elizabeth 
Wyncoop,  daughter  of  Gen.  George  Wyncoop,  of  Pottsville.  One 
child,  a  daughter,  Libbie  F.,  now  the  wife  of  John  Paxson,  of  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  blessed  this  union.  In  i860, 
after  death  had  severed  the  first  union,  Mr.  Heebner  married  Miss 
Anna  M.,  daughter  of  Simon  S.  Fister.  To  this  union,  on  Nov. 
19,  i860,  was  born  Thomas  F.  Heebner,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Port  Carbon  and  graduated  at 
the  Pottsville  high  school  in  the  class  of  1878.  His  first  employ- 
ment after  leaving  school  was  in  the  store  of  Heebner  &  Bro., 
where  he  remained  for  nearly  two  years.  Then  he  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine  in  1880  in  the  offices  of  Drs.  Brown  and  Birch, 
of  Port  Carbon,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  matriculated  in 
the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  at  Phil- 
adelphia. In  May,  1883,  he  was  granted  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  and  started  his  professional  practice  at  once  in  Scran- 
ton.  While  a  resident  there  he  was  a  member  of  the  staff  of  sur- 
geons of  the  Lackawanna  hospital,  surgeon  for  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  railroad  from  1884  to  1890,  and  developed 
a  private  practice  which  proved  handsomely  remunerative.  In 
March,  1890,  he  removed  to  Port  Carbon  and  became  medical  ex- 
aminer for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  at  Pottsville ;  was 
surgeon  to  the  Pottsville  hospital  when  it  was  first  organized  in 
189s,  and  has  been  medical  examiner  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing relief  association  since  Feb.  i,  1891.  Dr.  Heebner  has  been 
twice  married.  His  first  union  was  to  Miss  Mary  Coxon,  of  Port 
Carbon,  and  was  solemnized  on  Oct.  17,  1883.  Two  children 
blessed  this  union,  Nellie  G.,  bom  Feb.  21,  1885,  and  died  in 
August,  1885;  and  George  W.,  born  July  25,  1888.  The  mother 
died  on  July  27,  1888.  On  March  16,  1896,  Dr.  Heebner  married 
Miss  Laura  H.  Matthews,  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  and  the  children 
of  this  union  are  "the  twins,"  Alice  Matthews  and  Anna  Margaret, 
born  March  26,  1897,  and  Laura  M.,  born  Oct.  4,  1901.  The  family 
are  all  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Port  Carbon.    Dr. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  199 

Heebner  is  prominent  in  fraternal  circles,  being  a  member  of  Union 
Lodge,  No.  291,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Scran  ton;  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Mason  of  the  Keystone  Consistory  of  the  Ancient 
and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  the  northern  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States;  Robert  Burns  Lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is  a  past  grand ;  and  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  having  been  at  one  time  a  state  vice- 
president  of  the  same.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  beliefs, 
but  has  never  held  office. 

Heffner,  James  A.,  is  the  proprietor  of  a  general  store  at  Fried- 
ensburg,  Wayne  township.  His  paternal  grandfather,  John  W. 
Heffner,  Sr.,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  township,  and  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  for  forty  years.  His  maternal  grandfather, 
John  K.  Deitrich,  was  born  in  Berks  county,  from  which  place  he 
moved  to  Wayne  township  and  worked  as  a  butcher  during  his 
life.  James  A.  Heffner  is  a  son  of  John  W.  Heffner,  Jr.,  and  Eliza- 
beth (Deitrich)  Heffner,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Wayne  town- 
ship. They  were  the  parents  of  five  sons  and  six  daughters,  two 
of  the  latter  being  deceased ;  their  names  are  Charles  W.,  John  H., 
William  P.,  Morris  W.,  James  A.,  Mary  L,  Kate  L.  (deceased), 
Sarah  J.,  Anna  V.,  Carrie  S.,  and  Ida  (deceased).  John  W.  Heff- 
ner, Jr.,  was  a  farmer  and  was  a  member  of  Camp  264,  Patriotic 
Order  Sons  of  America.  He  died  on  Jan.  29,  1903,  and  his  wife 
died  in  August,  1878.  James  A.  Heffner  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Wayne  township,  and  when  he  was  about  fifteen  years 
old  he  went  west,  working  on  a  farm  in  Iowa  for  six  months. 
Upon  his  return,  the  following  year,  he  took  charge  of  the  farm 
of  Mrs.  Jacob  Wommer  and  conducted  it  for  twenty-seven  months, 
after  which  he  was  employed  on  his  father's  farm,  conducting  the 
same  for  six  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  bought  a  farm  for 
himself,  which  he  operated  for  eight  years,  going  into  his  present 
business  in  Friedensburg  in  April,  1899.  Mr.  Heffner  was  married 
to  Amanda  D.  Lehman,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Elizabeth 
(Heimbach)  Lehman,  of  Cherryville,  on  Oct.  11,  1879.  To  this 
union  have  been  born  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  viz. :  Harry  G., 
Maggie  E.,  Charles  M.,  Beulah  A.,  and  Harrison  S.,  all  of  whom 
are  living.  Mr.  Heffner  is  a  charter  member  of  Camp  No.  164, 
Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  and  has  been  treasurer  of  the 
Independent  Americans  since  he  became  a  member.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics  and  has  held  the  office,  of  school  director  for 
eleven  years.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  United  Evan- 
gelical church  of  Friedensburg,  of  which  he  has  been  trustee  and 
treasurer  for  eighteen  years. 

Heffner,  William  P.,  a  butcher  and  farmer  of  Friedensburg,  is  a 
son  of  John  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Deitrich)  Heffner,  and  was  born 
in  Wayne  township  on  September  10,  1872.  He  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  until  he  was  eleven  years  of  age,  when  he  began  work- 
ing on  the  farm  of  his  father,  and  hauling  timber  for  mine  use  and 
boat-building.  After  this  he  worked  for  his  brother  for  about  a 
year  and  afterward  went  back  with  his  father  to  his  timber  lands 


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200  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

in  Quakake.  He  then  went  to  work  for  his  uncle,  who  was  a 
butcher,  remaining  with  him  for  four  years,  and  after  that  obtained 
a  position  as  butcher  for  the  county  almshouse.  Later  he  became 
a  teamster  for  the  same  institution,  finding  that  the  latter  occupa- 
tion was  more  remunerative.  After  remaining  in  this  position  for 
two  years,  he  rented  his  uncle*s  place,  where  he  had  previously 
learned  his  trade,  and  later  bought  the  property,  where  he  has 
conducted  the  business  up  to  the  present  time.  On  April  i,  1897, 
Mr.  Heffner  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Fehr,  daughter  of  Paul 
and  Elizabeth  (Emerich)  Fehr,  of  Washington  township.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  of  whom  three  are  living,  Arthur, 
Clarence  and  Ralph.  Mr.  Heffner  is  a  member  of  Camp  No.  264, 
Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  of  Friedensburg,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Summit  Station,  and  also  of  the  Loyal 
Protective  association.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  has 
been  election  judge  and  county  committeeman  for  several  years. 
The  family  attends  the  Union  church  of  Friedensburg.  Since  his 
marriage  Mr.  HeflFner  has  bought  his  father's  farm  of  70  acres,  one- 
half  of  his  father's  interest  in  a  double  house  in  Friedensburg,  and 
eight  lots  in  Cressona  which  belonged  to  his  father.  After  he  had 
carried  on  the  butcher  business  for  about  five  years  he  also  went 
into  the  business  of  dealing  in  cattle,  horses  and  hides,  purchasing 
from  the  farming  community  in  the  surrounding  country. 

Heiken,  Joseph  Casper,  undertaker  and  embalmer  at  Pottsville, 
is  a  native  of  the  borough  in  which  he  now  lives,  and  was  born 
on  Aug.  I,  1862.  He  is  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Anna  Maria  (Thorn) 
Heiken,  natives,  respectively,  of  Westphalia  and  Nassau,  Ger- 
many. They  immigrated  to  America  in  early  life,  and  the  father 
was  engaged  in  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business  in  Potts- 
ville for  many  years,  the  subject  of  this  article  succeeding  to  the 
business  upon  his  death.  The  mother  is  still  living,  hale  and 
hearty,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  Joseph  C.  Heiken  was 
educated  at  the  parochial  school  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  under  the 
domination  of  the  German  Catholic  church  of  the  same  name.  His 
professional  education  was  acquired  at  the  Massachusetts  college 
of  embalming,  at  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1897.  Mr. 
Heiken  has  been  twice  married,  first,  on  July  10,  1888,  when 
Katherine  L.  McGovern  became  his  wife.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Hugh  and  Mary  (Farley)  Mc(jOvern,  of  Pottsville,  and  became 
the  mother  of  three  children,  viz:  Margaret  Katherine,  Frederick 
Joseph,  and  Charles  Anthony.  She  died  on  Oct.  27,  1896.  The 
second  marriage  of  Mr.  Heiken  occurred  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Feb. 
II,  1902,  when  he  chose  for  his  companion  Miss  Lena  M.  Linden, 
a  native  of  Louisville,  and  a  daughter  of  Mathias  and  Mary  (Hum- 
mel) Linden,  natives  of  Bavaria,  Germany.  The  father  died  in 
Louisville,  Dec.  28,  1878,  and  the  mother,  born  in  1830,  still  lives 
in  Louisville,  but  is  at  present  a  welcome  visitor  at  the  home  of 
her  daughter,  Mrs.  Heiken.  Lena  M.  Linden  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Louisville  and  at  St.  Anthony's  parochial  school 
in  the  same  city.     Since  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Heiken,  she  has 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  201 

assisted  him  with  the  office  work  in  connection  with  his  extensive 
business,  as  does,  also,  his  daughter,  Miss  Margaret,  when  not  en- 
gaged with  her  school  duties.  The  only  child  born  to  the  second 
marriage  of  Mr.  Heiken  was  Marie,  born  March  lo,  1903,  and 
died  on  April  3,  of  the  same  year.  Mr.  Heiken  is  a  member  of 
tlje  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and 
several  social  and  beneficial  societies  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church,  of  which  the  entire  family  are  members. 
Heiser,  Dr.  Eklward. — ^The  venerable  Dr.  Reiser  has  been  a 
familiar  figure  on  the  streets  of  Pottsville  for  many  years.  His 
entire  life  of  seventy-seven  years  has  been  spent  in  Schuylkill 
county.  He  was  born  in  the  borough  of  Schuylkill  Haven  Sept.  8, 
1829,  and  is  a  son  of  George  and  Catherine  (Koenig)  Heiser.  His 
father  was  born  in  what  is  now  North  Manheim  township  in  this 
county,  but  then  in  Berks  county.  He  located  at  Schuylkill  Haven 
in  1830,  and  died  there  six  years  later.  He  was  a  millwright  by 
trade,  and  followed  that  and  contracting  and  building  for  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  During  the  later  years  of  his  life  the 
question  of  the  adoption  of  the  public  school  system  created  a 
great  deal  of  discussion  in  Manheim  township,  the  majority  of  the 
residents  being  at  first  violently  opposed  to  the  "pauper  schools," 
as  that  system  was  then  called.  George  Heiser  was  one  of  the  few 
advocates  of  the  policy  of  universal  education  at  public  expense, 
but  did  not  live  to  see  the  full  fruition  of  his  hopes.  He  served 
several  years  as  a  director  of  the  schools  in  North  Manheim.  He 
was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  political  principles  advocated  by 
Henry  Qay,  and  was  a  devoted  admirer  of  that  great  statesman. 
His  family  comprised  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  Dr.  Edward 
Heiser  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  youthful  days, 
but  by  reason  of  the  then  crude  system,  did  not  enjoy  the  educa- 
tional advantages  possessed  by  the  children  of  the  present  day. 
He  was  variously  employed  until  he  attained  his  majority,  when 
he  engaged  in  the  livery  business  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  also 
began  a  careful  and  systematic  study  of  his  profession.  He  be- 
came well  skilled  in  the  diagnosis  of  diseases  peculiar  to  the  do- 
mestic animals,  and  has  been  engaged  in  the  successful  practice 
of  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery  for  more  than  fifty  years. 
He  remained  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  engaged  in  practice  and  also 
dealing  in  horses  and  mules,  until  1870,  in  which  year  he  became 
proprietor  of  the  Lone  Star  hotel,  between  Pottsville  and  Schuyl- 
kill Haven.  This  he  conducted  for  two  years,  when  he  returned 
to  his  birthplace,  and  has  since  confined  himself  exclusively  to  his 
professional  work.  The  doctor  is  well  and  favorably  known 
throughout  Schuylkill  county,  and  though  he  has  survived  the 
three-score  and  ten  years  allotted  to  man  he  is  well  preserved  and 
bids  fair  to  see  many  more  years  of  usefulness.  He  enlisted  under 
the  emergency  call  in  1863,  ^"d  served  during  the  invasion  of  the 
State.  Dr.  Heiser  has  been  twice  married,  his  first  wife  having 
been  Isabella  Labe,  who  bore  him  two  sons.  Clarence  and  George. 
His  second  marriage  was  solemnized  in  1868,  when  he  led  to  the 


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202  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

altar  Miss  Mary  Logan,  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Logan,  of  Leba- 
non, Pa.,  and  to  this  union  was  born  one  daughter — Sarah. 

Heiser,  Henry  James,  a  well-known  business  man  of  Mahanoy 
City,  was  born  in  St.  Clair,  Schuylkill  county,  Aug.  12,  1856,  a 
son  of  William  and  Lucy  Ann  (Womer)  Heiscr,  both  natives  of 
Lewistown,  Pa.  For  a  more  complete  ancestral  history,  see  sketch 
of  Robert  L.  Reiser,  appearing  in  this  volume.  Henry 
James  Heiser  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Mahanoy 
City,  and  has  been  engaged  in  active  business  in  that  city  for 
many  years.  He  now  owns  and  conducts  an  extensive  hardware 
business,  which  has  been  his  principal  employment,  and  in  which 
he  has  been  very  successful.  Mr.  Heiser  is  an  active  Republican 
in  his  political  affiliations,  and  takes  more  than  ordinary  interest 
in  the  success  of  party  principles.  He  is  also  an  active  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  is  at  present  the  secretary 
of  the  board  of  trustees.  He  was  married  on  Oct.  10,  1886,  to  Miss 
Alzina  Latham,  a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Ann  (Hughes)  Latham, 
the  former  deceased,  and  the  mother  living  in  Mahanoy  City. 
Two  daughters  have  been  bom  to  this  union,  the  elder  of  whom, 
Marian  Latham,  is  a  student  at  South  Broad  street  school  of 
music  at  Philadelphia,  and  Dorothy  Grace  is  a  student  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Mahanoy  City.  • 

Reiser,  Robert  Lincoln,  a  representative  of  one  of  the  promi- 
nent pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill  county,  was  born  at  Preston 
Rill,  near  Girardville,  on  Aug.  15,  1868.  He  is  a  member  of  a 
family  of  five  sons  and  .one  daughter  now  living,  born  to  William 
and  Lucy  Ann  (Womer)  Heiser,  these  parents  being  natives  of 
Lewistown,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.  Both  the  paternal  and  mater- 
nal ancestors  of  this  family  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  the 
territory  now  known  as  East  and  West  Brunswick  townships,  on 
the  southern  border  of  Schuylkill  county.  Their  homes  were 
established  in  the  wilderness,  many  years  before  the  organization 
of  the  county  of  Schuylkill,  and  they  were  identified  with  the  In- 
dian troubles  of  their  time  and  with  the  first  efforts  of  civilization. 
Later  they  took  up  arms  in  the  cause  of  American  independence, 
and  served  under  "Mad  Anthony"  Wayne  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  William  Heiser,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article,  was  one 
of  the  first  breaker-builders*  in  Schuylkill  county,  in  which  busi- 
ness he  was  noted  in  his  day.  He  erected  most  of  the  earliest 
coal-breakers  in  the  Schuylkill  Valley  and  at  St.  Qair,  and  was 
the  inventor  of  the  first  mine  cage  in  use.  He  continued  his  busi- 
ness successfully  until  his  death,  in  July,  1874.  At  that  time  he 
was  completing  his  last  contract,  namely,  an  addition  to  the  breaker 
at  St.  Nicholas  colliery,  when  a  plank  fell  on  his  head,  killing  him 
instantly.  It  was  his  purpose  to  retire  from  business  on  com- 
pletion of  this  contract.  His  widow  and  his  daughter.  Miss  Bertha 
Mary,  are  living  at  the  old  home  in  Mahanoy  City.  Henry  James, 
one  of  the  sons,  whose  sketch  appears  more  fully  under  a  sepa- 
rate title,  is  a  hardware  merchant  in  Mahanoy  City ;  William  John 
is  vice-president  of  the  Hazle  Mountain  Coal  Company;  Benjamin 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  203 

Washington  is  a  skilled  mechanic,  and  Elmer  Ellsworth  is  a 
breaker-builder,  all  residents  of  Mahanoy  City.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  received  the  elements  of  a  practical  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  Mahanoy  City,  and  this  was  largely  augmented 
by  the  thorough  training  afforded  by  the  printing  office.  He 
learned  the  "Art  Preservative"  in  the  offices  of  Mahanoy  City, 
served  a  number  of  years  as  a  reporter  on  metropolitan  dailies,  and 
was  appointed  to  a  position  in  the  government  printing  office  in 
Washington  in  1893.  He  left  this  position  to  accept  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  county  controller's  office  at  Pottsville  in  1897,  but 
since  Nov.  20,  1899,  he  has  been  in  the  general  insurance  business 
in  Mahanoy  City.  Mr.  Heiser  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace 
on  April  5,  1904,  and  served  until  the  succeeding  election.  He 
was  married  on  Sept.  2,  1898,  to  Miss  Mary  Helen,  daughter  of 
Andrew  and  Esther  (Walborn)  Frenk,  of  Mahanoy  City.  The 
only  child  born  to  this  union  is  Master  Robert  Franklin  Frenk 
Heiser,  born  Jan.  5,  1900.  Of  the  social  fraternities,  Mr.  Heiser 
is  affiliated  with.  Mahanoy  City  Lodge,  No.  695,  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Young  Men's  Republican  club  of 
Mahanoy  City,  and  Columbia  typographical  union,  No.  loi,  of 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Held,  Rev.  Csmis  E.,  pastor  of  St.  John's  Lutheran  church  of 
Shenandoah,  was  bom  in  Fogelsville,  Lehigh  county,  March  23, 
1863,  a  son  of  Amandus  W.  and  Maria  L.  (Smith)  Held.  The 
parents  were  both  natives  of  Lehigh  county,  where  the  mother  is 
still  living.  The  father  was  a  manufacturer  of  bricks  and  a  build- 
ing contractor,  besides  which  he  conducted  a  grain,  coal  and  lum- 
ber business.  His  demise  occurred  on  July  7,  1902.  Of  the  children 
bom  to  the  parents  the  subject  of  this  memoir  is  the  second  in  order 
of  birth.  Richard  A.,  the  eldest,  a  mechanic  by  vocation,  died  in  No- 
vember, 1901,  in  his  fortieth  year,  leaving  a  wife  and  child;  Frank- 
lin J.  E.  resides  in  Fogelsville;  Albert  L.  is  principal  of  the  high 
school  at  Fullerton;  Annie  M.  is  the  wife  of  William  H.  Moore, 
of  South  Allentown ;  John  O.  is  a  farmer  in  Weisenburg  township, 
Lehigh  county ;  and  Edgar  G.  is  a  teacher  at  Tatamy,  Northampton 
county.  Rev.  Mr.  Held  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  Fogelsville  and  his  collegiate  and  theological 
training  in  Pennsylvania  college  and  theological  seminary  at  Gettys- 
burg. He  was  granted  a  degree  by  the  college  in  1889  and  three 
years  later  completed  the  course  offered  in  the  seminary.  He 
was  first  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  in  1891,  and  the  following 
year  was  ordained  by  the  East  Pennsylvania  synod  at  Harrisburg. 
The  first  church  he  was  assigned  to  was  the  one  at  Hamilton, 
Monroe  county,  where  he  assumed  his  duties  on  June  i,  1892,  and 
he  retained  the  charge  for  three  years  and  nine  months.  On 
leaving  Hamilton  he  accepted  a  call  to  serve  Bethany  Mission  at 
Brunswick,  Md.,  and  remained  two  years  and  nine  months,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  was  compelled  to  resign  on  account  of 
malaria.  His  next  charge  was  New  Chester,  Adams  county.  Pa., 
where  he  rendered  excellent  service  for  the  same  length  of  time 


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204  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

as  at  Brunswick.  From  New  Chester  he  came  to  Shenandoah 
and  assumed  charge  of  St.  John's  church.  The  organization  of 
this  congregation  was  effected  on  June  5,  1870,  by  Rev.  M. 
Schimpf,  then  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  congregation  at  Mahanoy 
City.  The  membership  at  the  time  comprised  some  fifteen  fami- 
lies and  the  church  which  they  had  used  had  formerly  been  the 
property  of  the  disorganized  Baptist  society.  The  lot  and  building 
were  purchased  at  a  sheriff's  sale,  and  the  frame  structure  which 
stood  on  the  lot  at  the  time  of  the  purchase  served  as  a  church  until 
1873,  when  the  present  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $6,000. 
About  this  time  Rev.  J.  Gruhler,  who  for  eighteen  years  had  been  a 
missionary  in  the  far  east,  was  installed  as  pastor  and  from  that  time 
until  Rev.  Mr.  Held's  assumption  he  continued  in  the  capacity,  his 
resignation  coming  because  of  age  and  ill  health.  The  church 
roll  to-day  embraces  a  membership  of  about  475  and  the  Sunday 
school  has  an  average  attendance  of  160.  The  societies  under  the 
church  domination  are  the  senior  and  junior  Luther  leagues,  with 
memberships  of  60  and  40,  respectively;  German  and  English 
ladies'  aid  societies  of  35  and  40  members,  respectively,  and  the 
boys'  brigade,  a  semi-military  organization  for  the  teaching  of 
good  citizenship.  On  June  23,  1892,  Mr.  Held  married  Miss  Annie 
B.  HeflFner,  born  in  Allentown,  and  a  daughter  of  Charles  H.  and 
Caroline  Heffner,  natives  respectively  of  Lehigh  and  Berks  coun- 
ties. Three  children  have  been  born  to  this  union,  of  whom  two 
are  living.  They  are  Annita  May,  born  Nov.  24,  1894,  and  Al- 
cestis  D.,  born  May  25,  1896.  The  other  child,  Martin  Luther, 
born  Nov.  7,  1901,  died  on  April  23,  1903.  Mr.  Held  is  a  scholarly 
broad-minded  citizen,  and  conducts  services  in  both  English  and 
German.  He  is  always  prominently  identified  with  all  measures 
looking  to  the  betterment  of  the  social  and  moral  status  of  the 
community  and  is  recognized  as  a  leader  in  public  thought. 

Heltns,  Peter  D.,  deputy  United  States  marshal,  was  born  in 
Myerstown,  Lebanon  county.  Pa.,  June  10,  1843.  His  early  ances- 
tors in  this  country  were  natives  of  Holland,  his  great-grandfather 
emigrating  from  that  country  in  early  pioneer  days.  This  family 
settled  at  Reading,  Pa.,  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  that  locality. 
From  there  they  removed  to  Philadelphia  county,  thence  to  Pike 
county,  where  the  great-grandfather  died.  It  was  this  American 
ancestor  who  changed  the  name  from  the  original  Dutch  spelling 
by  adding  the  letter  "s,"  thus  rendering  the  name  Helms  instead 
of  Helm,  the  original  form.  He  was  the  father  of  a  numerous 
family,  one  of  his  sons  being  Peter,  the  paternal  grandfather  of 
Peter  D.  Helms,  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  in  Philadelphia 
county,  accompanied  the  parental  family  to  Pike  county,  but  after- 
ward returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  spent  his  life  mostly  in  the 
distilling  business  in  Bucks  and  Lebanon  counties.  Both  he  and 
his  father  served  in  the  Indian  wars  of  the  period  in  which  they 
lived.  The  grandfather,  Peter  Helms,  died  at  Mount  ^tna.  Pa., 
in  1850,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  Peter  D.  Helms  is  a  son 
of  Peter  and  Lucy  A.  (Hirchhold)  Helms.    The  father  was  born 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  205 

in  Lebanon  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  12,  1816,  and  remained  in  the  locality 
of  his  birthplace  until  1852.  In  that  year  he  came  to  Schuylkill 
county,  crossing  the  mountains  from  Myerstown  to  Pottsville  with 
teams  and  wagons,  being  then  in  advance  of  raijroad  transporta- 
tion in  the  region.  After  one  year's  residence  in  Pottsville,  the 
family  moved  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  remained  until  1859. 
In  this  year  the  family  home  was  established  at  Schuylkill  Haven, 
where  Jthe  father  followed  his  trade  of  merchant  tailor.  In  1876 
they  removed  to  Pottsville,  and  during  the  later  years  of  his  life 
Mr.  Helms  held  the  office  of  jury  commissioner  and  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace  for  five  or  six  years.  He  figured  conspicuously  as  an 
official  during  the  historic  days  of  the  "Molly  Maguires."  He 
died  in  1873,  and  his  son,  Peter  D.,  succeeded  him  as  jury  commis- 
sioner, serving  through  the  latter  years  of  Molly  Maguireism. 
Peter  Helms  had  a  family  of  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of 
the  former  serving  with  honor  in  the  Civil  war.  The  daughter, 
Susan  E.,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  married  Capt.  John  Chambers, 
of  Philadelphia.  James  K.  served  during  the  three  months'  term 
in  the  6th  regiment,  Pennsylvania  infantry,  and  reenlisted  for  three 
years  in  Company  D,  48th  Pennsylvania.  By  reason  of  merito- 
rious conduct  he  was  promoted,  successively,  from  private  to  the 
rank  of  captain.  He  was  severely  wounded,  and  crippled  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  at  the  battle  of  Petersburg,  in  1864.  After 
the  close  of  the  war  he  served  for  many  years  as  justice  of  the 
peace  in  Schuylkill  Haven.  Jeremiah  H.  enlisted  in  1861  in  Com- 
pany B,  50th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  and  was  killed  in  the  battle 
of  Antietam,  Md.,Sept.  17,  1862.  He  was  the  youngest  of  the  family, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  Peter 
D.  Helms  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Philadelphia,  and 
began  his  business  career  as  a  liveryman  at  Schuylkill  Haven.  He 
was  also  engaged  as  a  canal  boatman  for  a  year  previous  to  the 
Civil  war.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  house  and  sign  painter,  paper- 
hanger  and  decorator,  and  this  has  been  a  favorite  business  on  two 
or  three  occasions  during  his  later  life.  But,  in  keeping  with  the 
patriotic  record  of  the  family,  he  enlisted  among  the  first  three 
years'  troops  called  into  service  during  the  rebellion,  his  enlist- 
ment dating  from  July  30,  1861.  His  company  was  at  first  desig- 
nated as  the  "Cameron  Dragoons,"  but  later  known  as  Company 
H,  5th  Pennsylvania  cavalry.  He  served  three  years  in  the  active 
duties  required  of  the  cavalry  arm  of  military  service;  was  never 
absent  at  roll-call  by  reason  of  sickness;  escaped  disabling 
wounds,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Helms  was  on  a  special  detached  service 
for  a  few  months  at  Nashville  and  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  after  which 
he  settled  down  to  the  peaceful  vocations  of  life.  He  was  in  the 
livery  business  for  a  year,  when  a  lucrative  position  was  tendered 
to  him  in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Com- 
pany, and  he  was  storekeeper  and  yardmaster  at  Gordon  for  two 
or  three  years.  Resigning  this  position  in  1868,  he  came  to  Potts- 
ville and  engaged  in  working  at  his  trade  and  as  a  contractor  in 


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206  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

painting  and  paper-hanging.  This  engaged  his  entire  attention 
for  eighteen  years,  or  until  1886,  when  he  established  a  plant  for 
the  manufacture  of  butchers'  supplies  and  machinery.  This  was 
a  profitable  business  venture  which  has  been  continued  successfully 
to  the  present  time,  his  son  now  having  charge  of  the  industry.  Mr. 
Helms  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Pottsville  Steam  Heat  and 
Power  Company  in  1885,  and  served  as  president  of  the  corporation 
during  its  early  years  of  existence.  He  was  appointed  a  trustee 
of  the  State  hospital  for  injured  persons  in  1887,  but  resigned  the 
position  two  years  later.  He  has  served  many  years  as  a  member 
of  the  Pottsville  borough  council,  and  has  always  taken  an  active 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  town  and  county.  In  1899,  Mr.  Helms 
was  appointed  deputy  United  States  marshal  and  has  since  devoted 
his  entire  time  to  his  official  duties,  which  necessitate  much  travel 
and  almost  constant  absence  from  home.  It  is  nothing  unusual  to 
take  a  trip  across  the  continent  in  the  discharge  of  business  per- 
taining to  his  office.  In  furtherance  of  the  provisions  of  the  Chi- 
nese exclusion  act,  he  once  left  home  with  three  Chinamen,  took 
in  others  in  the  towns  and  cities  through  which  he  passed,  until 
he  reached  New  Orleans,  when  he  had  72.  From  there  he  went  to 
San  Francisco,  and  by  the  time  he  reached  there  he  had  three  cars 
loaded.  They  were  all  shipped  back  to  the  country  from  which 
they  came.  This  incident  illustrates  but  one  of  the  many  unpleas- 
ant duties  connected  with  the  administration  of  the  office.  Mr. 
Helms  was  married  on  June  13,  1867,  to  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Richard  Edwards,  of  Pottsville,  and  six  children  have  been 
born  to  this  union,  viz:  Richard,  Jeremiah  H.,  Lucy  A.,  Peter  D., 
Jr.,  Birch  and  Clinton  H.  Mr.  Helms  is  a  member  of  various 
social  and  beneficial  societies,  among  which  may  be  mentioned 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  A.  Y.  M.,  of  which  he  is  a  past  master, 
and  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  being  a  past  commander  in 
this  semi-military  organization. 

Henry,  Frank  Walter,  janitor  of  the  Garfield  school  of  Potts- 
ville, and  a  member  of  the  cabinet-making  firm  of  Henry  Bros., 
was  born  in  the  borough  where  he  now  resides,  Aug.  20,  1874.  He 
is  the  third  in  order  of  birth  of  the  five  children  of  Edward  and 
Mary  (Speacht)  Henry,  the  others  being  William  E.,  Robert  C, 
Caroline  M.  and  Mary  E.  The  Henry  family  were  among  the 
early  settlers  of  Schuylkill  county,  Daniel  Henry,  the  grandfather, 
locating  in  Pottsville  in  1820.  Mrs.  Daniel  Henry  was  a  member 
of  the  Bensinger  family,  who  are  closely  identified  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  "Old  Red  Church."  Edward  Henry  was  born  in  Potts- 
ville on  July  28,  1836,  and  his  wife  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in 
Union  township,  on  March  16,  1842.  The  father  was  a  carpenter 
and  followed  that  vocation  all  his  active  life,  until  his  death  on 
March  II,  1899.  During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  he  served  three 
years  in  Company  D,  96th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  and  after  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  he  remained  in  the  south  until  1868,  being 
employed  as  a  carpenter.  In  1877  he  received  an  appointment  as 
janitor  of  the  Spark  Mountain  school  and  served  in  the  capacity. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  207 

in  connection  with  his  carpentering,  until  1894,  when  upon  the 
erection  of  the  Garfield  school  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  new 
building.  The  mother  died  on  April  11,  1906,  and  the  four  unmar- 
ried children  are  today  occupying  the  old  homestead.  Robert  is 
married  and  engaged  in  the  confectionery  business.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  received  his  educational  advantages  in  the  Pottsville 
schools,  and  when  he  had  completed  the  courses  offered  there 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade  under  his  father.  During  his  spare  hours 
he  also  assisted  the  father  in  his  duties  as  janitor,  and  so  was 
fully  qualified  to  take  up  the  work  when  the  father's  death  occurred. 
One  of  the  requirements  of  the  position  was  that  the  applicant  be 
a  practical  carpenter,  which  Mr.  Henry  easily  fulfilled.  Together 
with  his  brother,  William  E.,  he  carries  on  a  cabinet-making  busi- 
ness which  is  yearly  growing  in  its  proportions.  Mr.  Henry  is  a 
communicant  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  fraternally  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics  ar^d  the  Pa- 
triotic Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  He  is  a  skilled  workman 
in  his  line  and  is  recognized  as  a  worthy,  substantial  member  of 
the   community. 

Hepler,  Jesse,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  of  the  Hepler 
family,  in  Eldred  township,  June  6,  1847.  His  father,  Jacob  B. 
Hepler  was  born  in  the  same  township,  and  was  a  son  of  George 
Hepler,  who  came  into  the  county  from  Berks  in  early  pioneer 
days.  George  was  a  son  of  Casper  Hepler,  also  a  pioneer  of  the 
township,  and  thus  the  genealogy  of  four  generations  of  the  family 
is  traceable  to  Schuylkill  county.  George  and  Casper  Hepler, 
father  and  son,  were  the  founders  of  the  family  in  this  county. 
They  each  secured  farms  in  Eldred  township,  and  both  died  there. 
Jacob  B.  Hepjer,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  biographical  review, 
married  Hannah,  daughter  of  John  and  Magdalena  (Klutz)  Maurer. 
They  were  residents  of  Eldred  township  at  the  time  of  this  mar- 
riage, but  Miss  Maurer  was  born  in  Nbrthumberland  county. 
These  young  people  established  a  home  on  the  farm  where  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born,  and  which  he  now  owns  and  occu- 
pies. It  comprises  130  acres,  now  well-improved,  but  then  in  its 
virgin  state.  The  father  worked  very  hard  all  his  life  in  improving 
and  beautifying  his  home,  and  did  a  great  deal  of  the  clearing  neces- 
sary to  render  it  subject  to  cultivation.  He  also  erected  the  farm 
buildings,  some  of  which  remain  to  this  day  as  monuments  to  his 
industry.  He  held  many  of  the  township  offices,  and  always  took 
an  active  interest  in  political  and  religious  affairs.  The  family 
were  Lutherans  in  religious  views,  and  assisted  in  establishing  the 
first  churches  in  the  township.  Concerning  the  children  born  to 
these  parents  the  following  record  is  given:  Harriet  is 
the  widow  of  Peter  R.  Federoff  and  now  lives  at  Llewellyn,  in  this 
county;  Catherine  died  in  1857;  Rebecca  became  the  wife  of 
Irwin  Boyer,  a  farmer  in  Eldred  township;  John  died  in  1869; 
Amelia  is  also  dead ;  Jesse  is  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Lydia  married 
EHas  Wetzel,  of  Eldred  township.  The  father  was  twice  married, 
his  second  wife  being  a  widow  named  Mrs.  Martha  Snyder.     No 


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208  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

children  were  born  to  this  union,  but  his  widow  survives  him. 
and  lives  in  Barry  township.  Mr.  Hepler,  of  this  sketch,  has  also 
been  twice  married,  first  in  1867,  to  Miss  Catherine  P.  Daniels, 
who  died  in  1885,  leaving  four  children,  viz:  Ida,  wife  of  Robert 
Swank;  Francis,  a  stationary  engineer  at  Lebanon;  Pa.,  married 
Selinda  Wolfgang;  Elmer  married  May  Wolfgang  and  died  in 
1904,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years;  Kate  lives  with  her  sister 
Ida.  Mr.  Hepler  married  again  in  1886,  his  second  wife  being 
Miss  Louisa  Klock,  of  Northumberland  county,  and  two  children 
have  been  born  to  this  union:  Jesse  Raymond,  a  popular  young 
teacher  and  universal  favorite  among  the  young  people  of  Eldred 
township,  and  Luella  May,  a  popular  young  lady  at  home.  Miss 
Hilda  Hepler  is  an  adopted  daughter  in  the  family.  Mr.  Hepler  is 
engaged  in  market  gardening,  general  farming  and  fruit  raising. 
He  has  100  acres  under  cultivation,  with  excellent  farm  buildings 
'  and  improvements.  He  owned  and  operated  a  saw-mill  for  some 
ten  years,  and  was  also  engaged  in  merchandising  for  a  like  period. 
He  has  served  twenty-one  years  as  a  school  director;  has  filled 
other  offices  in  the  township ;  is  a  Democrat  in  political  affiliations, 
and  the  family  are  Lutherans  in  religious  views.  The  family  are 
prominent  and  highly  esteemed  irt  the  community  where  they  have 
spent  their  lives,  and  where  at  least  three  generations  have  pre- 
ceded the  present  ones. 

Hepler,  John  D.,  of  Pitman,  stands  as  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  honored  pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill  county  and  is  a  citizen 
to  whom  is  accorded  the  utmost  confidence  and  esteem.  He  was 
bom  in  Eldred  township,  June  27,  1828,  a  son  of  John  M.  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Deriger)  Hepler,  the  former  of  whom  was  bom  in  Eldred 
township  and  the  latter  in  Hegins  township.  The  paternal  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  John  Hepler,  born  in 
Berks  county.  Pa.,  a  son  of  Casper  Hepler,  who  came  from  Ger- 
many and  numbered  himself  among  the  pioneers  of  Berks  county. 
John  M.  Hepler  was  reared,  educated  and  passed  his  en- 
tire life  in  Eldred  township.  He  was  a  successful  farmer, 
an  honored  and  influential  citizen,  a  man  of  deep  re- 
ligious convictions  and  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  God. 
He  was  originally  a  Democrat  but  later  affiliated  with  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  wielded  much  influence  in  local  affairs.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  school  directors  elected  in  his  native  township,  where 
both  he  and  his  wife  were  held  in  high  regard  and  where  both 
died.  Their  children  are  here  mentioned:  Kate,  Emanuel, 
and  Elizabeth  are  deceased ;  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  next 
in  order  of  birth;  Magdalene  is  the  wife  of  Levi  Schrope;  Susan, 
Rebecca,  and  Richard  are  deceased.  John  D.  Hepler  received  the 
advantages  of  the  somewhat  primitive  subscription  school  main- 
tained in  the  vicinity  of  his  birthplace,  in  which  he  was  instructed 
in  both  German  and  English.  He  was  reared  to  maturity  on  the  old 
home  farm,  which  was  heavily  timbered  at  the  time  when  his  father 
located  on  the  place,  having  only  a  small  clearing  and  log  buildings 
of  the  pioneer  type  as  the  only  improvements.    John  D.  assisted  his 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  209 

father  in  reclaiming  the  land  to  cultivation  and  has  ever  continued 
to  make  his  home  in  Eldred  township,  where  he  owns  a  finely  im- 
proved farm  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists 
of  this  section  of  his  native  county.  He  has  long  been  prominent 
in  local  affairs ;  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political  proclivities ; 
has  held  various  offices  of  public  trust;  has  served  on  the  jury  for 
thirty-one  times ;  was  tax  collector  for  twenty-eight  years ;  assessor 
nineteen  years;  school  trustee  twenty-five  years;  school  director 
twenty-four  years,  and  township  clerk  two  years.  He  is  one  of  the 
pillars  of  the  Church  of  God  in  Eldred  township  and  has  been  an 
elder  in  the  same  for  twenty-two  years.  He  has  also  rendered  long 
service  as  trustee  of  the  church  and  was  its  treasurer  for  a  number 
of  years,  being  active  in  all  departments  of  the  church  work.  For 
several  years  past  he  has  lived  essentially  retired,  enjoying  the  re- 
wards of  former  years  of  earnest  toil  and  endeavor.  He  is  well  pre- 
served in  both  physical  and  mental  faculties,  is  a  man  of  broad  in- 
formation, and  takes  a  lively  interest  in  the  questions  and  issues 
of  the  day.  Mr.  Hepler's  first  marriage  was  solemnized  in  1848, 
when  he  wedded  Miss  Rebecca  Cartman,  of  Eldred  township.  She 
died  in  1862.  Concerning  the  eight  children  of  this  union  the  following 
data  are  given :  Rachel,  now  residing  with  her  father,  is  the  widow 
of  Jeremiah  Bishop  and  has  one  daughter ;  Henry  and  Daniel  are 
twins,  the  former  a  prominent  farmer  of  Eldred  township  and  the 
latter  a  resident  of  South  Bend,  Ind. :  Henry  has  seven  children  and 
Daniel  three;  John,  an  employe  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Rail- 
road Company,  resides  at  Shamokin,  Pa.,  and  has  five  children ; 
Emanuel,  in  charge  of  his  father's  homestead  farm,  married  Emma 
Lucas  and  they  have  four  children;  Lydia  is  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Hornburg  and  they  have  six  children ;  William,  a  resident  of  Sha- 
mokin, is  likewise  an  employe  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Rail- 
road Company,  and  his  children  are  five  in  number ;  Rebecca,  resid- 
ing at  Pennington,  N.  J.,  is  the  widow  of  Jacob  Hunt  and  has  two 
sons.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Hepler  married  Miss  Lydia  Snyder, 
of  Northumberland  county,  and  her  death  occurred  in  March,  1900. 
Four  children  were  born  of  this  marriage:  Priscilla  is  the  wife  of 
Richard  Hubler,  of  Ashland,  Pa.,  and  they  have  eight  children; 
George  is  a  bachelor  and  remains  at  the  paternal  home ;  and  Laura 
and  Josiah  are  deceased. 

Hepler,  William  F.,  who  is  now  living  essentially  retired  on  his 
fine  farm  in  Eldred  township,  bears  a  name  which^  is  known  and 
honored  throughout  Schuylkill  county  and  which  gave  title  to  the 
village  of  Heeler.  He  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  earliest 
pioneer  families  of  the  county  and  one  which  has  played  well  its 
part  in  the  development  and  upbuilding  of  this  section  of  the  state. 
William  F.  Hepler  was  born  on  the  old  Hepler  homestead,  in  Eldred 
township,  Feb.  6,  1847,  ^  son  of  Henry  Hepler,  who  was  born  May 
12,  1795,  and  whose  death  occurred  July  5,  1864.  Henry  Hepler 
was  a  son  of  John  Casper  Hepler,  born  May  20,  175 1,  and  died 
Dec.  2j^  1816.  His  wife  was  born  on  March  27,  1755,  and  died  on 
Jan.  2^,  1831.     John  C.  Hepler  was  the  founder  of  the  family  in 

14— Vol.  II 


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210  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY       , 

Schuylkill  county.  He  was  born  in  Germany,  and  upon  comifig 
to  America  first  settled  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  whence  he  removed 
to  Schuylkill  county,  and  bought  a  large  tract  of  wild  land  in  Eldred 
township,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  settlers.  He  reclaimed  a 
good  farm  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  and  became  one  of  the  influ- 
ential citizens  of  the  locality.  He  was  a  zealous  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  He  reared  a  large  family  of  children  and  many 
of  his  descendants  still  remain  residents  of  Schuylkill  county. 
Henry  Hepler,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  passed  his  en- 
tire life  on  the  old  home  farm,  to  whose  reclamation  he  contrib- 
uted, and  was  one  of  the  prominent  and  honored  citizens  of  Eldred 
township.  He  first  married  Salome  Bolech,  who  died  on  Feb.  lo, 
1816.  The  maiden  name  of  his  second  wife  was  Eva  Kudern,  who 
was  born  on  July  30,  1797,  and  died  on  Feb.  4,  1821.  His  third 
marriage  was  to  Elizabeth  Dunkelberger,  who  was  born  on  Oct. 
20,  17^,  and  who  died  Sept.  17,  1827.  The  fourth  marriage  was 
to  Eva  Wintzel,  of  Northumberland*  county,  who  was  born  March 
19,  1806,  and  who  died  Aug.  19,  1884.  No  children  were  born  of 
the  first  marriage,  and  the  three  children  of  the  second  marriage 
are  all  deceased.  Three  children  were  born  of  the  third  marriage 
and  all  are  now  deceased.  Of  the  children  of  the  fourth  mar- 
riage one  died  in  early  childhood;  Lydia  and  Abbie  died  later; 
Sarah  J.  resides  in  South  Dakota;  Susanna  is  deceased;  and  Will- 
iam F.  is  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch.  Henry  Kepler  was 
engaged  in  the  flour  and  feed  business  for  many  years,  having 
built  and  operated  what  is  still  known  as  the  Hepler  mill.  He  was 
a  man  of  marked  energy  and  progressiveness  and  left  a  definite 
impress  for  good  upon  the  community  in  which  his  entire  life  was 
passed.  He  was  a  most  zealous  member  of  Zion  Evangelical 
church  and  was  loyal  to  all  the  duties  of  citizenship,  though  he 
never  sought  public  office.  William  F.  Hepler,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  article,  was  reared  to  maturity  on  the  old  homestead 
and  his  entire  active  career  was  one  of  close  and  successful  identi- 
fication with  agricultural  pursuits.  His  fine  farm  comprises  250 
acres,  200  of  which  are  under  effective  cultivation.  The  buildings 
are  of  substantial  and  attractive  order  and  the  place  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  township.  In  politics  Mr.  Hepler  is  a 
stalwart  advocate  of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Republican 
party  and  he  has  served  as  school  director  and  school  supervisor  of 
his  district.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  Zion  United 
Evangelical  church  in  Eldred  township,  and  he  has  long  been  one 
of  its  honored  pillars,  having  served  as  class-leader  and  having 
been  active  in  all  departments  of  the  church  work.  Mr.  Hepler's 
first  marriage  was  solemnized  in  1870,  when  he  wedded  Miss  Mary 
Dunkelberger,  of  Hegins  township,  a  member  of  one  of  the  old 
and  honored  families  of  this  section  of  the  state.  Mrs.  Hepler 
was  summoned  to  the  life  eternal  on  Dec.  4,  1892,  and  of  her  chil- 
dren the  following  brief  record  is  entered :  Monroe,  a  rural  mail 
carrier,  residing  at  Pitman,  this  county,  where  he  was  formerly  a 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  211 

successful  teacher,  married  Jennie  Adams,  whose  death  occurred 
in  February,  1906;  Henry  G.,  a  moulder  by  trade  and  vocation, 
resides  at  Lansford,  Pa.,  and  married  Qara  Rhodenburger ;  Lizzie 
is  the  wife  of  John  N.  Buffington,  of  Pillow,  Pa. ;  Charles  is  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  of  Eldred  township;  Delia  is  the  wife  of  Monroe 
Manner,  of  Eldred  township;  Joseph  resides  in  Girardville,  Pa.; 
Mamie  resides  with  her  brother  Monroe;  and  William  F.,  Jr.,  has 
charge  of  his  father's  farm.  The  second  marriage  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  occurred  in  1894,  when  he  wedded  Sarah  Newgard, 
of  Eldred  township,  where  she  was  born  and  feared. 

Henxiany,  Phaon,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon  in 
Mahanoy  City,  was  born  in  Jacksonville,  Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  Sept. 
16,  1840,  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children  born  to  John  and  Salome 
Hermany,  both  natives  of  Lehigh  county.  The  names  of  these 
brothers  and  sisters  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Didama  Brobst,  born 
in  1833;  Mrs.  Sallie  Crietz,  born  in  1835,  and  died  in  1862;  Mrs. 
Mary  Wuchter,  born  in  1837;  Edwin,  born  in  1838;  Lydia,  born  in 
1842;  John,  Jr.,  born  in  1844;  Martha  M.,  born  in  1850.  The  birth- 
place of  the  entire  family  was  at  the  old  homestead  in  Jackson- 
ville, Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  and  most  of  the  survivors  still  reside  in 
that  vicinity.  Dr.  Hermany  was  educated  at  Mount  Pleasant  sem- 
inary, and  was  graduated  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  York,  March  3,  1863.  He  established  himself  in 
practice  in  Mahanoy  City  soon  after  his  graduation,  and  has  been 
in  continuous  practice  in  Schuylkill  county  for  more  than  forty 
years.  His  career  has  been  crowned  with  success,  and  as  a  physi- 
cian in  the  county  he  sustains  his  standing  in  the  profession.  He  was 
married  in  Mahanoy  City  Dec.  6,  1863,  to  Miss  Mary  J.,  daughter 
of  David  and  Susan  (Lentz)  Bowman,  and  four  children  have  been 
born  to  this  union,  all  located  in  their  native  town.  They  are 
Horace  David,  Robert  K.,  Susan  L.  B.,  and  Sallie  K.  B.  The  eld- 
est daughter  is  now  Mrs.  Dyatt.  Robert  K.  died  in  1872.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  Dr.  Her- 
many is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations,  and  though  never 
an  office-seeker,  he  has  always  manifested  a  strong  interest  in  the 
supremacy  of  Republican  principles.  He  served  many  years  as 
deputy  county  coroner.  The  doctor  has  attained  high  standing  in 
the  councils  of  Free  Masonry,  is  a  member  of  all  the  Masonic 
bodies,  and  has  passed  through  all  the  official  stations,  except  in 
the  Scottish  Rite  Consistory  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  to  which  he  be- 
longs. Of  professional  societies,  he  holds  membership  in  the 
Schuylkill  county  medical  society,  the  Pennsylvania  state  medical 
society,  the  American  medical  association  and  the  Lehigh  county 
medical  society. 

Hess^  Charles  EUmer,  assistant  trainmaster  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  railroad  at  Palo  Alto,  was  born  at  Girardville  on  Aug. 
14,  1866,  a  son  of  Jacob  Wilson  and  Emma  (Wolf)  Hess.  He  is  of 
Dutch  and  German  descent,  his  paternal  great-grandfather  having 
come  to  Bloomsburg,  Columbia  county,  where  the  grandfather, 
Jacob   Hess,  was   born.     Maternally   his   lineage   is    German,   his 


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212  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

great-great-granafather  having  immigrated  from  the  Fatherland 
to  Northumberland  county  in  an  early  day.  It  was  in  Northum- 
berland county  that  Jacob  C.  Wolf,  the  grandfather,  was  born. 
Emma  (Wolf)  Hess  was  born  in  Lewisburg  and  Jacob  Wilson 
Hess  near'  Bloomsburg,  Columbia  county.  The  latter  during  the 
Civil  war  raised  three  companies  of  volunteers  for  service  in  the 
Union  army,  and  was  made  second  lieutenant  of  the  last  one,  sub- 
sequently being  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  a  par- 
ticipant in  the  battles  of  Antietam  and  Fredericksburg,  and  while 
the  great  struggle  was  in  progress  at  Gettysburg  his  regiment  was 
held  in  reserve  between  that  town  and  Shippensburg.  In  1865  he 
received  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  service.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  Northumberland 
county  until  he  was  nine  years  of  age  and  then  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Whitehall,  Md.  After  he  had  completed  a  course  in  the 
preparatory  school  there  he  went  to  Baltimore,  where  he  took  a 
course  in  the  Baltimore  City  college  and  then  engaged  in  peda- 
gogic work  for  a  year.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he  returned  to 
Baltimore  and  for  three  years  was  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness. During  his  residence  in  Baltimore  he  learned  telegraphy, 
and  when  he  left  his  position  with  the  dry  goods  firm  it  was  to  go 
to  Nanticoke,  Luzerne  county.  Pa.,  in  the  employ  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  Company,  as  an  operator.  He  remained  in  Nanti- 
coke until  1901,  when  he  left  to  go  to  Williamsport  to  accept  a 
position  as  chief  clerk  in  the  freight  office  of  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  railway.  In  the  year  1901  he  removed  to  St.  Clair,  where 
he  was  made  yardmaster  for  the  company.  After  a  rather  short 
service  there  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  assistant  train- 
master at  Palo  Alto,  and  has  since  been  the  efficient  incumbent  of 
that  office.  On  Nov.  24,  1887,  Mr.  Hess  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Ada  Wertz,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Remer) 
Wertz,  of  Lewisburg.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hess  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  politics  Mr.  Hess  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  Prohibition  party  where  the  temperance  issue  is 
involved,  but  where  that  question  is  not  paramount  he  exercises 
his  right  of  franchise  as  his  conscience  and  judgment  dictate. 

Hess,  Henry  William,  sexton  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  cemetery  at 
Shenandoah,  was  born  at  Tamaqua,  Schuylkill  county,  Jan.  17,  1855. 
His  parents,  Valentine  and  Elizabeth  (Ginter)  Hess,  were  both 
natives  of  Germany.  The  father  was  a  soldier  during  the  Civil  war 
and  died  at  Tamaqua  in  1899,  the  mother  having  passed  away  the 
preceding  year.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom 
four  are  living.  Henry  W.  is  the  eldest,  and  his  three  sisters  live 
in  Philadelphia,  where  Johanna  is  the  widow  of  John  Stiltz; 
Ida  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Icupp ;  and  Annie  is  the  wife  of  George 
Reber.  Mr.  Hess'  mother  was  a  widow  at  the  time  of  her  mar- 
riage to  his  father,  and  had  one  daughter,  Christine,  by  a  former 
marriage.  She  is  now  the  wife  of  George  Hess,  an  uncle  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Henry  W.  Hess  spent  his  early  years  in 
working  about  the  mines  at  Tamaqua.    In  1872  he  came  to  Shen- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  213 

andoah,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  mines  until  July  17,  1889, 
when  he  was  appointed  to  his  present  position.  No  better  recom- 
mendation of  his  capability  and  attention  to  duty  can  be  presented 
chan  the  mention  that  his  tenure  of  office  is  dependent  upon  the 
cemetery  committee,  which  has  annually  reappointed  him  since 
1889,  and  he  is  now  serving  his  eighteenth  year  as  sexton.  The 
cemetery  is  the  principal  one  about  Shenandoah  and  is  the  only 
one  established  for  the  accommodation  of  Protestants.  The  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  owns  the  grounds  and  the  order 
attends  to  the  management  of  the  cemetery,  which  contains  about 
7,000  graves  and  a  number  of  handsome  monuments.  Mr.  Hess 
takes  pride  in  his  work,  as  the  condition  of  the  grounds  will  show 
even  to  the  casual  visitor.  On  Feb.  20,  1875,  Mr.  Hess  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Matilda  Stichler,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to 
this  country  about  the  time  she  was  twenty-one  years  old,  accom- 
panied by  her  aunt  Philopena.  They  have  four  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  living  and  all  useful  members  of  society.  Lena  is 
the  wife  of  Enoch  Davis,  superintendent  of  the  Atlantic  Oil  Com- 
pany's business  at  Shenandoah ;  George  is  a  plumber  and  tinsmith 
in  that  city,  doing  a  good  business;  August  Gerhard  is  fire  boss 
at  the  Keeley  Run  colliery:  he  served  for  six  months  in  the  army 
during  the  Spanish-American  war ;  Frederick  is  employed  with  his 
father  in  the  care  of  the  cemetery;  Lizzie  is  the  wife  of  John 
Niswenter,  who  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  commercial  fer- 
tilizers; Ida  and  Charles  arc  ^t  home  with  their  parents.  The 
residence  occupied  by  the  family  is  owned  by  the  Odd  Fellows' 
cemetery  association  and  is  located  on  the  crest  of  Locust  moun- 
tain, on  a  plateau  at  the  west  entrance  to  the  cemetery.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  commanding  locations  in  the  countv,  and  from  the 
door-yard  is  obtained  a  beautiful  view  over  the  adjoining  territory, 
showing  the  mountains,  valleys,  collieries,  villages,  etc.  Mr.  Hess 
has  been  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  515,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  for  twenty  years,  and  has  always  taken  a  keen  interest 
in  the  work  of  the  order.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
the  Golden  Eagle,  and  with  his  family  belongs  to  the  German 
Lutheran  church.    In  politics  he  is  independent. 

Hesser,  Albert  A.,  station  agent  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
railroad  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  in  Orwigsburg  on  June  17, 
1842.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Rebecca  L.  (Shoemaker)  Hesser, 
and  comes  of  good  American  stock,  his  grandfather  having  been 
a  soldier  in  the  Continental  army  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 
His  educational  advantages  were  acquired  in  the  public  schools 
of  Schuylkill  Haven,  Pa.,  and  his  first  labor  was  for  the  Philadel- 
phia &  Reading  railroad  in  1858  as  an  office  boy.  From  that  posi- 
tion he  was  promoted  to  be  wood  agent,  and  remained  in  that 
capacity  until  coal  became  the  fuel  for  locomotive  engines.  Then 
he  was  made  train  despatcher  at  Cressona.  from  which  position 
he  rose  to  be  superintendent  of  the  Mine  Hill  or  Reading  division 
of  the  road.  In  1878  he  was  transferred  to  become  assistant  super- 
intendent of  the  largest  division  in  the  coal  fields,  known  as  the 


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214  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Mahanoy  division,  and  extending  from  Port  Clinton  to  Newbury 
Junction.  In  a  year  he  had  risen  to  the  full  superintendency  and 
retained  it  until  1880.  That  year  the  road  passed  into  the  hands 
of  receivers  and  most  of  the  officials  from  the  president  down  to 
the  superintendents  were  relieved,  Mr.  Hesser  being  among  the 
number.  Probably  one  of  the  most*  valuable  inventions  in  use  by 
the  railroad  companies  to  safeguard  against  accident  is  the  de- 
railing switch.  The  importance  of  the  invention  can  best  be  real- 
ized when  it  is  known  that  it  is  in  universal  use' by  all  the  large 
railway  corporations  in  the  United  States  and  in  general  use  in 
European  countries.  Mr.  Hesser  is  the  inventor  of  this  device 
and  tells  a  rather  remarkable  story  in  connection  with  the  concep- 
tion of  the  idea  embodied  in  it.  On  May  15,  1878,  a  gondola  car 
loaded  with  rails  was  placed  on  the  rear  of  a  colliery  track  at  the 
Mount  Eagle  colliery  on  the  top  of  Broad  mountain.  A  heavy 
grade  of  five  miles  extended  from  the  colliery  toward  Tremont. 
In  the  evening  when  the  breaker  crew  attempted  to  drop  the  car 
a  short  distance  down  the  track  the  brake  chain  gave  way  and  the 
car,  gaining  speed  with  every  yard,  rushed  madly  down  the  grade 
toward  Tremont  at  the  base  of  the  mountain.  Doubtless  it  would 
have  caused  a  fearful  destruction  of  property  and  possibly  a  loss 
of  human  life  had  not  its  velocity  been  such  that  when  it  struck  a 
sharp  curve  a  mile  west  of  Tremont  it  was  fortunately  derailed. 
The  incident  suggested  to  Mr.  Hesser  the  idea  of  the  derailing 
switch,  and  putting  his  ideas  into  shape  he  perfected  the  device.  It 
was  first  tried  near  the  Mount  Eagle  colliery  and  since  that  time 
has  been  installed  all  over  the  country.  Mr.  Hesser's  present  posi- 
tion came  to  him  in  1903.  On  May  13,  1880,  was  celebrated  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Alice  J.  Coxe,  and  to  the  union  have  been  born 
four  children — Henry  D.,  Marion  C,  Albert  A.,  Jr.,  and  William 
K.  The  family  is  allied  with  the  Reformed  church  in  religious 
affairs,  but  Mr.  Hesser  lends  his  support  to  all  faiths.  In  political 
matters  Mr.  Hesser  is  absolutely  independent,  exercising  his  right 
of  franchise  for  the  man  he  considers  b^st  fitted  for  the  office  in 
question.  He  is  a  man  of  much  resource,  sincere  integrity  and 
withal  an  exemplary  citizen. 

Higgins,  James  C,  M.  D.,  one  of  the  younger  and  most  promis- 
ing members  of  the  medical  profession  in  Schuylkill  county,  and  a 
resident  of  Shenandoah,  was  born  at  Tamaqua  on  Sept.  27,  1875,  a 
son  of  John  F.  and  Margaret  (Franey)  Higgins.  The  paternal 
grandfather,  William  Higgins,  was  a  railroad  worker  in  the  early 
days  of  transportation  in  this  county,  having  assisted  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  railroads  about  Tamaqua,  and  had  the  unique 
distinction  of  firing  the  first  locomotive  ever  operated  in  the 
county.  The  father  was  an  iron  molder  by  vocation,  and  although 
he  followed  that  occupation  during  the  larger  part  of  his  career 
he  was  for  a  time  engaged  in  the  shoe  business  in  Shenandoah. 
He  was  one  of  the  constructors  of  the  engine  which  hoisted  the 
stone  of  which  the  Philadelphia  city  hall  is  built.  The  mother 
was  born  in  Ireland  and  was  a  daughter  of  Martin  Franey,  for 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  215 

many  years  a  prominent  merchant  in  Shenandoah.  Both  parents 
are  deceased,  the  father  departing  this  life  in  1893  and  the  mother 
in  1901.  Dr.  Higgins  is  the  fifth  son  in  order  of  birth  of  the  ten 
children  born  to  his  parents.  The  names  of  the  others  are  Alice; 
William,  an  undertaker  at  Mount  Carmel;  George,  station  agent 
for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  at  Shamokin;  Melissa; 
John  F.,  who  seryed  four  years  as  a  member  of  the  state  senate; 
Nellie ;  Catherine ;  Charles,  a  medical  student  at  Philadelphia ;  and 
Julia.  Of  the  total  six  are  married.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Shen- 
andoah and  attended  the  high  school  until  he  reached  his  junior 
year.  He  then  took  a  course  in  the  state  normal  school  at  Lock 
Haven  and  studied  under  private  tutors  for  a  number  of  years 
until  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  at  the  Medico-Chirurgical 
college  at  Philadelphia  in  1900.  Just  prior  to  his  entering  the  latter 
institution,  however,  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  Shenandoah  city  col- 
liery for  several  months.  He  was  granted  his  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  in  1904  and  for  the  following  year  was  employed  as 
an  interne  in  the  Medico-Chirurgical  hospital  at  Philadelphia.  He 
then  returned  to  Shenandoah  and  established  himself  in  his  pro- 
fessional practice,  and  although  he  has  been  located  there  but  a 
short  time  he  has  met  with  a  cordial  and  exceptional  reception  and 
has  laid  the  basis  of  an  excellent  practice.  He  is  professionally 
identified  as  a  member  of  the  Shenandoah  medical  society.  On 
March  7,  1905,  Dr.  Higgins  married  Miss  Stella  M.  Hinch,  of 
Philadelphia,  a  daughter  of  the  late  William  E.  Hinch,  who  for 
many  years  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  business  men  of  the 
Quaker  City.  Mrs.  Hinch  is  a  lady  of  broad  culture  and  many 
accomplishments,  having  received  her  training  in  the  Notre  Dame 
seminary  of  Philadelphia.  Both  the  doctor  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  under  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  Father  O'Reilly.  Fraternally  Dr.  Higgins  is  associated  with 
the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians.  He  is  a  young  man  of  enthjusi- 
asm  and  ambition,  and  his  many  friends  predict  for  him  a  magnifi- 
cent future. 

Hinkley,  Frank,  a  retired  machinist  and  locomotive  engineer  of 
Tamaqua,  was  born  in  the  city  where  he  now  resides  on  March  4, 
1838,  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Catherine  (Ruch)  Hinkley.  The  former 
was  born  in  Massachusetts  and  the  latter  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
father's  birth  occurred  on  July  4,  1800,  and  his  death  in  1876.  Be- 
fore the  days  of  railroads  he  drove  the  daily  stage  between  Port 
Clinton  and  Tamaqua,  covering  a  distance  of  forty  miles.  Sub- 
sequently he  had  charge  of  the  teams  of  tlie  Little  Schuylkill  Rail- 
road Company.  The  subject  of  this  memoir  is  the  second  in  order 
of  birth  of  the  four  survivors  of  twelve  children.  James,  the  eld- 
est, resides  in  Reading;  Margaret  is  the  widow  of  William  Ellis, 
of  Terre  Haute,  and  Melista  is  now  Mrs.  William  Bachelor,  also 
of  Terre  Haute.  Frank  Hinkley  attended  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  county  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  then  for  six 
years  served  his  time  as  an  apprentice  in  the  machinists'  trade. 


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216  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Then  for  a  time  he  fired  on  a  freight  locomotive,  working  at  that 
until  promoted  to  be  an  engineer.  His  first  employment  on  the 
railroad  was  with  the  Little  Schuylkill  Company,  and  he  remained 
on  the  line  with  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  after  it  had  absorbed 
the  smaller  road  until  1892.  He  then  went  with  the  Baldwin  loco- 
motive works  and  for  five  years  was  the  traveling  construction 
agent  of  that  firm.  His  residence  was  then  in  Norristown,  Pa., 
for  a  time,  and  for  two  years  in  Mauch  Chunk,  where  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  roundhouse.  About  Christmas  time,  1903,  after  his 
return  to  Tamaqua,  he  resigned  from  active  participation  in  rail- 
road life  and  has  since  given  devoted  and  most  unselfish  attention 
to  his  invalid  wife.  On  Aug.  19,  1858,  Mr.  Hinkley  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Esther  Davis,  born  in  Wales  on  April  14,  1842. 
Mrs.  Hinkley  came  to  the  United  States  when  she  was  but  six 
years  of  age.  Four  children  have  blessed  this  union.  William 
Henry,  the  eldest,  is  the  subject  of  a  sketch  in  this  volume.  Albert 
Francis,  like  his  older  brother,  is  a  locomotive  engineer  on  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad.  Qara  Elizabeth  was  born  March 
7,  1868,  and  died  Feb.  18,  1874;  and  Isaac  Davis,  born  Oct.  12, 
1870,  died  Jan.  8,  1872.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hinkley  are  zealous 
communicants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  Mr.  Hink- 
ley has  been  trustee,  steward  and  librarian  of  the  Tamaqua  con- 
gregation. Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons.    He  is  a  much  respected  citizen  of  the  community. 

Hinkley,  William  H.,  a  locomotive  engineer  on  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  railroad,  whose  home  is  at  Tamaqua,  was  born  in 
that  city  on  Feb.  12,  1859,  a  son  of  Frank  and  Esther  (Davis) 
Hinkley.  A  sketch  of  the  father  appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
William  H.  Hinkley  attended  the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua  until 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age  and  then  accepted  a  position  as  fire- 
man on  one  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  locomotives.  After 
three  years  of  service  in  that  capacity  he  was  promoted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  engineer,  and  since  that  time  has  been  continuously  "at 
the  throttle.'*  For  more  than  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  locomo- 
tive engineer,  and  eighteen  years  of  that  time  has  had  the  same 
run.  In  eighteen  years  he  has  lost  but  eighteen  days'  time,  part 
of  which  was  due  to  an  accident  resulting  from  a  jump  from  his 
locomotive  when  a  careless  switchman  had  left  a  switch  open  and 
his  engine  ran  upon  the  turn  table.  Although  he  is  the  oldest  in 
point  of  service  of  any  engineer  on  the  Shamokin  division  he  has 
been  "called  up"  to  the  superintendent's  office  for  reprimand 
fewer  times  than  any  other  man  in  the  same  capacity,  only  one 
oflFense  of  the  kind  being  charged  up  against  him.  Mr.  Hinkley 
has  been  twice  married.  In  1877  he  married  Miss  Louisa  Mc- 
Kelvy,  daughter  of  C.  W.  and  Deborah  McKelvy.  The  father,  who 
was  a  paper  manufacturer,  is  deceased,  but  his  widow  is  still 
living,  an  honored  resident  of  Scranton,  Pa.  Three  children  were 
born  to  this  union,  of  whom  the  eldest,  Charles  F.,  is  a  foreman  of 
the  American  Car  Company  at  Berwick.  He  married  Miss  Eliza- 
beth   Filbert,   of   Hazleton,   and   they  .have   had   two   children — 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  217 

Charles  Henry,  deceased,  and  Wilson.  George  Edward,  the  second 
child,  is  unmarried,  and  is  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  Somer- 
ville.  Elizabeth  Jane  is  the  wife  of  William  Kiercher,  a  ma- 
chinist employed  in  the  Vulcan  iron  works  of  Tamaqua.  They 
have  one  child,  Charles  F.  In  January,  1886,  death  severed  Mr. 
Hinkley's  first  union,  and  on  Nov.  i,  1888,  he  led  to  the  altar  Miss 
Elizabeth  Jane  Stoflfragen,  a  native  of  Pottsville  and  a  daughter 
of  Frederick  and  Louisa  btoffragen.  Mrs.  Hinkley*s  parents  are 
among  the  pioneers  of  Pottsville  and  on  Aug.  16,  1905,  they  celebrat- 
ed their  golden  wedding.  There  are  two  other  daughters  in  the  fam- 
ily besides  Mrs.  Hinkley,  who  is  the  eldest.  The  others  are  Mrs. 
Jacob  Hoover,  of  Mount  Carmel,  and  Miss  Carrie,  at  home.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hinkley  has  been  born  one  child,  Frederick  H. 
Both  parents  are  members  of  the  Zion  English  Luthern  church 
and  the  father  is  connected  fraternally  with  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No. 
238,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  86,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  Pottsville  Lodge,  No.  49, 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle. 

Hirsh,  Edward  Mac,  the  former  popular  young  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Tamaqua  "Tri- Weekly  Recorder,"  is  the  youngest 
living  child  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Mackey)  Hirsh,  both  natives 
of  Schuylkill  county,  and  married  in  Tamaqua,  where  their 
lives  have  been  spent.  In  i860  the  father  went  on  a  prospecting 
tour  through  the  far  west  and  south,  visiting  California,  Mexico 
and  Central  America.  He  is  a  machinist  by  occupation,  and  has 
been  employed  for  many  years  at  the  Bethlehem  (Pa.)  steel 
works,  but  retains  his  residence  in  Tamaqua.  They  are  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  four  of  whom  are  now  living.  The 
eldest  is  Robert  H.,  who  founded  the  Tamaqua  Recorder  in  1892 
and  conducted  it  for  ten  years,  when  he  sold  the  plant  to  his 
brother  Edward,  and  is  now  employed  in  religious  journalism  at 
Allegheny,  Pa.  He  married  Anna  Levering,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
she  died  in  1901.  Mary  and  Nellie  are  young  ladies  at  home,  and 
the  last  named  is  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua.  The 
family  are  Presbyterians  in  religious  affiliations.  Edward  Mac 
Hirsh  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  being  a  graduate  of  the 
Tamaqua  high  school.  He  began  his  business  career  as  an  em- 
ploye of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company  at  Tam- 
aqua. This  engaged  his  attention  until  1902,  when  he  purchased 
the  "Recorder,*  which  is  a  spicy,  well-edited  journal,  having  a 
liberal  home  patronage,  but  which  he  has  recently  sold  to  Joseph 
H.  Shepp  and  Earl  W.  Russell.  Mr.  Hirsh  is  a  young  man  of 
high  social  standing  in  the  community,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  leading  business  men  in  Tamaqua.  The  founder  of  the  Hirsh 
family  in  America  was  John  Nicholas  Hirsh,  paternal  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  a  native  of  France,  came 
to  America  about  1830,  and  settled  in  Tamaqua  among  the  pioneers 
of  that  place.  He  was  one  of  the  first  merchants,  was  a  Roman 
Catholic  in  religious  faith  and  a  Democrat  in  political  views.  His 
marriage  to  Margaret  Smith  was  blessed  with  a  family  of  three 


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218  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

sons  and  three  daughters,  the  father,  Edward  Mac  Hirsh,  being  one 
of  the  three  now  living.  Grandfather  Hirsh  died  in  1875  at  the 
age  of  eighty-three  years. 

Hock,  Conrad*  deceased,  late  president  of  the  Sailor  Planing 
Mill  and  Lumber  Company,  was  a  native  of  Dorheim,  by  Fried- 
burg,  Hesse,  Germany.  He  was  born  May  14,  1826,  and  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1853.  He  was  educated  in  his  native  country, 
and  more  largely  by  a  lifetime  spent  in  careful  reading  and  pri- 
vate study  until  he  became  a  man  exceptionally  well-informed,  an 
entertaining  conversationalist,  both  in  English  and  German,  and 
was  a  man  against  whom  no  word  of  reproach  could  truthfully  be 
uttered.  He  was  a  devout  Christian  who  carried  his  religion  into 
his  every-day  walk  and  conversation.  Mr.  Hock  died  at  the  family 
home  on  North  Second  street,  after  a  very  brief  illness,  July  24, 
1906.  For  twelve  years  after  his  arrival  in  Pottsville,  Conrad 
Hock  was  employed  as  a  laborer  or  clerk  at  the  rolling  mill.  Dur- 
ing this  time  he  accumulated  sufficient  means  to  build,  principally 
with  his  own  hands,  a  very  humble  home  for  his  family.  He  told 
the  writer  that  the  happiest  moment  of  his  life  was  the  day  that 
he  moved  under  his  own  roof,  unpretentious  as  it  was.  Mr.  Hock 
was  twice  married,  first  in  Germany,  when  he  wedded  Maria  K. 
Appel  on  Aug.  29,  1850.  She  was  a  native  of  Friehlingen,  Hesse, 
Germany.  Six  sons,  all  natives  of  Pottsville,  were  born  to  this 
union,  viz. :  William,  John,  Henry,  George,  Conrad  K.  and  Louis, 
and  all  except  Henry  are  residents  of  Schuylkill  county.  Mrs. 
Hock  died  July  23,  1883,  and  July  31,  1884,  Mr.  Hock  was  married 
to  the  wife  who  survives  him.  In  maidenhood  she  was  Miss  Cath- 
erine Schnaeiker,  but  was  a  widow  named  Snyder  at  the  time  of 
this  marriage.  She  had  a  family  of  three  daughters,  who  are  now 
the  wives  of  three  of  Mr.  Hock's  sons.  In  1865  the  subject  of  this 
article  engaged  in  the  lime  business  at  Cressona,  an  enterprise 
which  proved  profitable  from  the  start.  The  business  has  been 
enlarged  and  continued,  the  father  finally  retiring  from  active 
work  and  the  sons  taking  his  place.  Storage  houses  and  sales- 
rooms are  located  in  Pottsville.  Mr.  Hock  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izing members  of  the  German  Reformed  church  in  Pottsville,  and 
served  more  than  thirty  years  as  elder  and  deacon.  He  was  always 
in  sympathetic  touch  with  the  church  of  his  choice,  though  liberal 
and  tolerant  toward  the  religious  opinions  of  others.  In  political 
views  Mr.  Hock  was  a  Democrat,  though  he  always  maintained 
his  right  to  independence  in  the  choice  of  local  candidates.  He 
never  aspired  to  political  honors,  though  he  served  one  term  as  a 
member  of  the  borough  council,  and  was  nine  years  a  member  of 
the  school  board.  He  took  a  decided  interest  in  the  principles  and 
work  of  Odd  Fellowship,  and  was  a  past  grand  of  Hayden  Lodge, 
No.  44,  of  that  fraternity.  He  was  also  a  member  and  past  official  of 
Wallhalla  Lodge  of  the  A.  D.  O.  H.  He  was  not  only  a  good  hus- 
band, but  also  a  kind  and  indulgent  father.  Domestic  in  his  tastes, 
his  attention  was  given  to  his  business,  and  his  greatest  happiness 
he  found  in  being  surrounded  by  his  wife  and  children.     He  was  a 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  219 

good  man  and  a  worthy  citizen,  and  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  in 
the  community  where  he  so  long  made  his  home. 

Hock,  Conrad  K.,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Sailor  Planing 
Mill  and  Lumber  Company,  was  born  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  Sept.  4, 
1865.  He  is  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  six  sons  born 
to  Conrad  and  Maria  (Appel)  Hock,  natives  of  Germany  and  early 
settlers  of  Pottsville.  The  ancestral  history  appears  fully  in  the 
personal  sketch  of  Conrad  Hock,  in  this  volume.  The  father  died 
June  23,  1906,  and  the  mother's  death  occurred  on  July  23,  1881. 
Conrad  K.  Hock,  of  this  review,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Pottsville  and  learned  the  printers*  trade  in  his  youth.  He  fol- 
lowed this  trade  for  some  ten  years  in  early  manhood,  subsequently 
becoming  interested  in  the  firm  with  which  he  has  been  connected 
as  secretary  and  treasurer  for  the  last  twelve  years,  and  of  which 
his  father  was  president  at  the  time  of  his  death.  iThe  Sailor 
Planing  Mill  and  Lumber  Company  are  extensive  manufacturers 
of,  and  dealers  in,  all  kinds  of  mill  work,  lumber,  paints,  builders'' 
hardware,  and  supplies.  It  is  one  of  the  long-established  and  suc- 
cessful business  institutions  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  Hock  was  married 
on  Dec.  5,  1893,  to  Miss  Helena,  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Cath- 
erine Snyder,  of  Minersville,  Pa.,  and  they  have  four  children: 
Kathryn,  born  June  28,  1895;  Robert,  born  July  29,  1896;  Helen, 
born  Nov.  13,  1898,  and  Norman,  born  May  4,  1900. 

Hock,  John,  a  representative  of  a  well-known  Pottsville  family, 
was  born  on  JDec.  26,  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Conrad  Hock, 
whose  personal  sketch  appears  fully  under  the  proper  title  in  this 
volume.  The  history  of  the  Hock  family  appears  in  the  same  con- 
nection. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Pottsville ;  was  employed  in  his  father's  business  during 
his  early  manhood  years,  and  took  charge  of  the  same  on  the  re- 
tirement of  his  father  in  1882.  From  that  date  until  1901  he  gave 
his  exclusive  attention  to  the  production  and  sale  of  lime,  and  in 
the  year  last  written  he  established  his  present  business  at  Ja- 
lappa,  which  includes  the  handling  of  the  necessary  grains  and 
the  preparation  and  sale  of  malt.  The  output  of  his  establishment 
is  large,  and  the  products  are  sold  in  distant  localities,  as  well  as 
in  supplying  a  good  local  demand.  Mr.  Hock  was  married  to  Miss 
Carrie  A;  Kienzle,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Caroline  M.  (Moser) 
Kienzle,  of  Pottsville.  This  was  a  most  happy  union,  blessed  with 
the  birth  of  two  daughters  and  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  is 
Cora  Mea,  now  the  wife  of  Harry  Nagle,  of  Pottsville.  She  was 
born  May  4,  1886;  Augusta  Caroline  was  born  Jan.  22,  1888;  Har- 
old John  was  born  June  7,  1892,  and  Douglass  David  was  born 
Aug.  17,  1900.  Mrs.  Hock  died  on  Sept  28,  1904,  and  on  June  19, 
1907,  he  contracted  a  second  marriage,  being  united  to  Mrs.  Carrie 
Lennick,  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  Hock  and  family  are  members  of 
Trinity  Lutheran  church.  In  political  views  he  is  a  Democrat,  but 
has  never  sought  or  held  official  positions.  Mr.  Hock  is  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  taken  all  the 
subordinate  degrees  from  the  "Blue  Lodge"  to  the  Mystic  Shrine, 


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220  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  Lily  of  the  Valley 
Lodge,  No.  281,  and  of  the  Good-Will  Fire  Company. 

Hoepstine,  James  W.,  Jr^  agent  for  the  Humane  Hose  Company 
at  Pottsville,  was  born  in  that  city  on  March  26,  1870.  His  par- 
ents, James  W.  and  Annetta  (Ebbert)  Hoepstine,  were  both  native 
Pennsylvanians,  the  former  of  Berks  and  the  latter  of  Schuylkill 
county.  Prior  to  the  Civil  war  the  father  followed  the  trade  of 
sash-maker  in  Pottsville.  He  served  for  over  three  years  in  the 
Union  army  as  a  member  of  Company  A,  96th  Pennsylvania  vol- 
unteer infantry,  taking  part  in  practically  all  the  battles  in  which 
his  regiment  was  engaged.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  was 
honorably  discharged,  returned  to  Pottsville,  where  he  married 
and  was  for  twenty-seven  years  in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company.  In  1905  he  retired  from  this 
position  and  entered  the  soldiers*  home  at  Erie,  Pa.,  where  he  is 
now  living.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Union  Veteran  Legion  and 
Post  No.  23,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of  Pottsville,  and  be- 
longs to  the  German  Lutheran  church.  The  children  of  James  W. 
and  Annetta  Hoepstine  that  grew  to  maturity  were  James  W., 
Charles,  Louis,  Jacob,  Lucy  and  Edward.  James  W.  Hoepstine, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  educated  in  the  Pottsville  public 
schools  and  was  for  twenty-one  years  in  the  employ  of  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  leaving  that  company 
on  April  19,  1907,  to  accept  his  present  position.  On  Feb.  5,  1890, 
he  enlisted  in  the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard;  in  May,  1891, 
was  made  corporal ;  was  elected  second  lieutenant  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania volunteer  infantry  on  May  9,  1898,  for  service  in  the  Span- 
ish-American war,  and  was  mustered  out  with  that  rank  on  March 
7,  1899.  Upon  his  return  home  he  was  elected  first  lieutenant  in 
the  National  Guard  and  on  Oct.  18,  1902,  was  elected  captain  of 
Company  H,  8th  regiment,  which  office  he  still  holds.  He  is  a 
member  of  Pottsville  Aerie,  No.  134,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles, 
and  the  Humane  Steam  Fire  Company,  of  which  he  has  been  a 
member  for  thirteen  years.  From  May,  1904,  to  May,  1905,  he 
held  the  position  of  chief  of  the  Pottsville  fire  department.  Politi- 
cally he  is  a  Republican.  On  May  18,  1894,  Mr.  Hoepstine  married 
Miss  Emma,  daughter  of  John  Creary,  of  Pottsville,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  named  Ethel. 

Hoffman,  Charles  P.,  a  public-spirited  and  progressive  business 
man  of  Pottsville,  was  born  in  Friedensburg,  Berks  county.  Pa., 
Sept.  20,  1866,  a  son  of  Rev.  P.  A.  HoflFman,  a  minister  in  the  Re- 
formed church,  who  spent  his  entire  life  in  the  ministry,  princi- 
pally in  the  service  of  the  church  at  Reading,  where  he  died  June 
30,  1890.  He  was  born  at  Cherryville,  Northampton  county,  Pa., 
and  his  wife,  who  was  in  maidenhood  Miss  Aravesta  M.  Bodder, 
was  born  at  Bethlehem,  in  the  same  county.  She  is  now  living  in 
Reading.  These  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  all  living,  and 
engaged  in  life's  struggles  on  their  own  account.  Charles  P.,  of 
this  article,  is  the  eldest ;  Willard  is  chief  engineer  with  the  Deppen 
Brewing  Company  in  Reading;  J.  Lange  is  employed  with  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  221 

White  Steamer  Company  in  Chicago ;  Bertha  is  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Payne,  of  Reading,  and  C.  Herbert  is  an  expert  carpet  man  in  the 
employ  of  The  G.  M.  Britton  Company,  of  Pottsville.  Charles  P. 
Hoffman  was  educated  in  the  Friedfcnsburg  public  schools,  Oley 
academy,  a  private  school  in  Bethlehem,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Reading  high  school,  having  graduated  with  class  honors  as  class 
orator.  He  studied  law  for  some  time,  but  abandoned  the  profes- 
sion after  his  marriage,  and  has  spent  his  mature  years  principally 
in  mercantile  pursuits.  He  was  for  eighteen  years  in  the  employ 
of  the  firm  of  Gateley  &  Britton,  and  since  the  death  of  the  senior 
partner  of  that  firm  has  been  with  the  successors.  The  G.  M.  Brit- 
ton Company.  This  company  was  organized  in  1904,  since  which 
time  Mr.  Hoflfman  has  been  the  secretary  and  general  manager. 
They  deal  extensively  in  all  kinds  of  house  furnishings,  and  operate 
general  department  stores  at  Reading  and  Pottsville.  Mr.  Hoff- 
man began  his  mercantile  career  as  a  collector,  and  has  gradually 
ascended  the  scale  until  he  has  attained  the  highest  and  most  im- 
portant position  within  the  gift  of  mercantile  employers.  He  has 
been  a  resident  of  Pottsville  since  1894,  and  has  established  high 
social  and  business  relations  with  the  leading  people  of  the  place. 
He  has  reached  that  point  in  civic  life  where  his  suggestions  and 
help  are  sought  and  considered  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
good  of  the  town  and  its  people.  He  was  one  of  the  moving  spirits 
in  formulating  and  systematizing  the  **01d  Home  Week"  celebra- 
tion in  Pottsville,  a  demonstration  which  will  be  long  remembered 
as  the  leading  event  in  the  history  of  the  town.  Mr.  Hoffman  was 
the  general  chairman  of  the  committees,  and  to  him  is  due  much 
of  the  credit  for  the  grand  success  of  the  occasion.  He  is  also 
chairman  of  the  Pottsville  civic  society,  having  in  view  the  pro- 
motion of  enterprises  calculated  to  benefit  the  material  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  town ;  is  president  of  the  Merchants'  protec- 
tive association  of  Pottsville  and  vicinity;  is  a  moving  spirit  in 
the  Commercial  club ;  a  member  of  the  Pottsville  club,  also  of  the 
West  End  Fire  Company.  He  sustains  high  rank  in  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  his  initial  membership  being  with  Reading  Lodge,  No. 
549,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  which  he  is  a  past  master; 
Reading  Chapter,  No.  152,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  De  Molay  Com- 
mandery,  No.  g,  Knights  Templars,  of  which  he  is  past  commander, 
and  is  a  charter  member  of  Rajah  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order, 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Schuylkill  county  historical  society  and  of  the  board  of  control  of 
the  3d  regiment  band.  He  is  a  Republican  in  political  affiliations, 
and  served  eight  or  nine  years  as  a  member  of  the  Reading  election 
board.  Mr.  Hoffman  was  married  on  April  9,  1885,  to  Miss  Sue 
E.,  daughter  of  Franklin  and  Amelia  Bickley,  of  Reading.  Her 
parents  are  both  deceased.  Mrs.  Hoffman  was  graduated  from 
the  Reading  high  school  in  the  same  class  as  her  husband.  The 
only  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoffman,  Belle  and  Elsie,  died  in 
infancy.  The  family  are  communicants  in  the  Reformed  church, 
the  religious  home  of  their  ancestors. 


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222  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Hoffman,  Frank  J.,  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Drobel  & 
Hoffman,  merchant  tailors  and  clothiers  at  Pottsville,  a  firm  which 
though  young  in  years  already  takes,  high  rank  among  the  places 
of  trade  in  Schuylkill's  county  seat,  is  a  native  of  the  county  in 
which  a  large  part  of  his  life  has  been  spent.  He  was  born  in 
Middleport  on  July  6,  1875,  his  parents  being  William  and  Mary 
(Wertensohn)  Hoffman.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Schuylkill 
township,  this  county,  and  the  mother  was  born  at  sea,  of  Ger- 
man parents,  who  at  the  time  were  on  their  immigration  voyage 
to  America.  Her  parents  were  Martin  and  Margaret  Wertensohn, 
and  upon  their  arrival  in  America  they  becarrie  pioneer  settlers  in 
Middleport.  William  Hoffman,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
review,  was  a  cigar  manufacturer,  and  he  followed  that  occupation 
at  Patterson  for  twenty  years,  until  his  death.  He  reared  to  ma- 
turity a  family  of  five  children,  of  whom  Frank  J.  is  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  memoir;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Schlitzer;  Mar- 
garet is  the  wife  of  Fred  J.  Drobel,  mentioned  more  at  length  on 
another  page;  Fred  and  William.  Frank  J.  Hoffman  was  reared 
in  Patterson  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  and  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  that  place  and  at  Pottsville.  He 
came  to  Pottsville  in  1891,  and  was  there  employed  as  a  clerk  in 
various  stores  until  Jan.  i,  1907,  when,  in  company  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Fred  J.  Drobel,  he  became  established  in  business 
for  himself,  under  the  firm  name  of  Drobel  &  Hoffman,  merchant 
tailors  and  up-to-date  clothiers.  He  was  married  on  Jan.  20,  1904, 
to  Mardina,  daughter  of  Fred  and  Mary  (Schaefer)  Schenck,  of 
Pottsville.  Mr.  Hoffman  is  a  member  of  St.  John's  Roman  Catho- 
lic church  and  his  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Republican 
party. 

Hoffman,  George  K,  deceased,  was  a  prominent  merchant  of 
Cressona,  from  i860  until  1905.  He  was  a  son  of  Jacob  Hoffman 
and  Catherine  Bensing,  whose  mother  was  a  "Dreher,"  and  a 
grandson  of  Cornelius  Hoffman  and  Elizabeth  Alspach,  who  set- 
tled on  land  in  West  Brunswick  township  after  the  Revolutionary 
war.  Cornelius  Hoffman  came  from  Switzerland  to  America  be- 
fore the  Revolution  began ;  enlisted  at  Philadelphia  and  served 
throughout  the  war;  was  made  one  of  the  body-guard  of  Gen. 
George  Washington  and  was  with  him  when  he  crossed  the  Dela- 
ware. A  sword  presented  to  him  by  General  Washington  is  still 
in  the  possession  of  ar  member  of  the  family.  George  E.  Hoffman, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  at  Orwigsburg  Feb.  9,  1835, 
and  began  his  business  career  in  a  store  at  Cressona  in  1853.  In 
1854  he  was  employed  by  John  S.  Morris,  a  merchant  at  Pottsville: 
joined  the  Washington  artillerist  military  company,  but  resigned 
in  order  to  give  full  attention  to  the  business  in  which  he  em- 
barked at  Cressona  in  June,  i860.  On  Sept.  20,  i860,  he  married 
Miss  Anna  R.,  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Hannah  Jones  Cunning- 
ham Morris,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Levering 
O'Connor  (who  was  bom  at  Philadelphia,  in  1778,  being  a  daughter 
of  Paul  O'Connor  and  Margaret  Levering).     Mrs.  Hoffman's  ma- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  22^ 

ternal  grandparents  were  Nathaniel  Cunningham  and  Mary  Jones, 
the  latter  being  a  daughter  of  Col.  Jonathan  Jones,  of  Revolu- 
tionary fame,  who  with  John  Morris  and  John  Davis  owned  the 
land  on  which  the  almshouse  at  Reading  is  built,  and  all  three 
were  ancestors  of  Mrs.  Hoffman.  In  November,  1864,  Mr.  Hoffman 
purchased  the  stock  of  merchant  William  Nammers,  who  was  about 
leaving  Cressona,  Mr.  Samuel  Morris  purchasing  the  property.  He 
also  had  the  postoffice  transferred  and  was  postmaster  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  In  1876  Mr.  Hoffman  purchased  the  property  from 
Mr.  Morris.  He  was  school  director  for  a  number  of  terms. 
George  E.  Hoffman  died  at  his  daughter's  home  at  Denison,  la.,^ 
Aug.  21,  1905,  leaving  a  widow  and  five  children.  The  eldest, 
Samuel  Morris,  is  deceased;  John  Louis  is  a  practicing  physician 
at  Ashland;  Alice  Rebecca  married  Harlowe  A.  Boyle,  M.  D.,  a 
son  of  Maj.  John  Alexander  Boyle  of  the  Civil  war;  Harry  Leslie 
is  an  artist  in  New  York  city,  and  Lucy  Brewster  is  the  wife  of 
William  Wilson  McCloy  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Hoffman  was  an  in- 
tensely religious  man  and  for  more  than  twenty  years  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Evangelical  church  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school.  Subsequently  he  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  until  his  failing 
health  caused  his  resignation.  After  his  death  the  general  mer- 
chandise business  which  he  had  been  conducting  was  taken  charge 
of  by  his  son-in-law,  Capt.  William  W.  McCloy.  Captain  McCloy 
is  a  son  of  William  J.  and  Elizabeth  F.  (Storrs)  McCloy,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  a  first  lieutenant  in  the  15th  Virginia  Confed- 
erate infantry  during  the  Civil  war.  Captain  McCloy  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  B,  24th  Virginia  Confederate  cavalry,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  battles  of  Fairfax  Court  House,  Charles  City  Court 
House,  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  Cold  Harbor, 
Deep  Bottom,  Richmond  and  others.  He  was  one  of  the  escort  with 
the  body  of  Gen.  "Stonewall"  Jackson  after  the  latter  was  killed 
at  Chancellorsville,  and  remained  with  it  while  it  lay  in  state  in 
Richmond.  After  the  war  Captain  McCloy  was  engaged  as  a  civil 
engineer  until  1904,  when  he  located  in  Cressona  and  embarked 
in  business  with  Mr.  Hoffman.  He  married  Lucy  B.  Hoffman 
June  12,  1900,  and  has  one  son,  Lewis  Morris,  living  in  Cressona. 

HofiFman,  J.  Louis,  M.  D. — The  following  excellent  sketch  of 
Dr.  J.  Louis  Hoffman  appears  in  the  Cyclopaedia  of  Schuylkill 
County,  and  as  but  little  change  has  occurred  in  the  family  history 
since  the  date  of  the  article  quoted,  we  give  it  here  in  full.  On 
the  paternal  side,  he  is  of  German  lineage,  being  a  direct  descend- 
ant of  the  family  bearing  the  same  name  in  Halle,  Prussia,  who 
have  been  connected  with  medicine  since  1460,  the  most  famous 
member  of  which,  Frederick  Hoffman  (1660-1742),  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Halle  university  in  1693.  He  was  its  first  pro- 
fessor of  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine,  a  position  which 
he  held  from  the  founding  of  the  institution  until  his  death,  with 
the  exception  of  four  years,  from  1708  to  1712,  when  he  was  the 
royal  physician  at  Berlin.    His  grandson,  Cornelius  Hoffman,  emi- 


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224  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

grated  from  Switzerland  to  the  American  colonies  in  1768,  and 
located  on  the  Schuylkill,  below  the  present  site  of  Pottstown, 
from  which  place  he  entered  the  service  of  his  adopted  country  as 
a  captain  in  Colonel  Magraw's  6th  Pennsylvania  regiment,  Second 
brigade  of  the  Colonial  Line,  in  1776,  and  was  with  Washington 
when  he  crossed  the  Delaware  and  surprised  and  captured  the 
Hessians  at  Trenton.  His  sword  is  an  heirloom  in  the  family.  After 
the  close  of  the  war  for  Independence  in  1783,  he  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Brunswick  township  (then  Berks  county),  on  the  present 
site  of  Orwigsburg,  and  followed  the  pursuits  of  a  farmer  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  His  son  Jacob  retained  possession  of  the 
original  homestead  and  married  Kate  Bensinger,  and  these  were 
the  paternal  grandparents  of  Dr.  J.  Louis  Hoffman,  of  this  sketch. 
Concerning  the  parents  of  Dr.  Hoffman  proper  mention  is  made 
in  the  preceding  memoir  of  his  father,  Gearge  E.  Hoffman.  The 
founder  of  his  mother's  family  on  American  soil  was  Richard 
Morris,  who  was  an  officer  of  distinction  in  the  armies  of 
Oliver  Cromwell.  He  left  England  soon  after  the  Restoration 
and  eventually  landed  in  New  York,  where  he  purchased  a  large 
estate  near  Harlem,  in  Westchester  county.  Subsequently  he 
obtained  a  g^ant  from  Governor  Fletcher  through  the  pro- 
visions of  which  his  estate  of  more  than  3,000  acres  was  erected 
into  a  manor  under  the  name  of  *Morrisania,'  and  it  was  endowed 
with  all  the  customary  memorial  privileges.  He  died  in  1673, 
leaving  an  infant  child  named  Lewis,  who  became  chief  justice  of 
the  Province  of  New  York,  and  governor  of  New  Jersey.  Descend- 
ants of  this  ancestor  have  occupied  very  distinguished  positions 
in  the  history  of  states  and  the  nation.  They  have  been  noted  as 
orators,- statesmen  and  professional  men,  and  had  a  representative 
of  the  Colonial  Congress  and  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. John  S.  Morris,  the  g^eat-grandson  of  Richard,  and 
grandfather  of  Dr.  Hoffman,  was  born  at  Reading,  Pa.,  in  181 1, 
and  died  in  Pottsville  in  1887.  He  located  in  the  last  named  place 
in  1830,  and  spent  his  active  years  in  merchandising.  He  was  a 
public-spirited  citizen,  active  and  zealous  in  the  promotion  of  every 
enterprise  calculated  to  enhance  the  interests  of  the  country.  Dr. 
Hoffman  is  a  member  of  a  family  of  five  children  who  attained  to 
years  of  maturity.  He  was  educated,  primarily,  in  the  public 
schools  of  Cressona.  This  was  later  supplemented  by  a  scientific 
course  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  institution 
he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science.  In  preparation  for 
his  professional  career  he  was  a  student  for  two  years  in  the  office 
of  Dr.  Fegley,  at  Ashland,  from  whose  office  he  entered  the  medi- 
cal department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  gradu- 
ated with  the  class  of  1886.  He  was  resident  physician  in  St. 
Luke's  hospital,  South  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  for  two  years  after  his 
graduation,  and  was  subsequently  associated  with  the  Fifth  Street 
dispensary  and  the  Out-Door  department  of  the  Pennsylvania 
hospital,  at  Philadelphia,  thence  to  Ashland  in  this  county.  The 
doctor  has  been  successful  as  a  general  practitioner  of  medicine 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  225 

and  surgery.  He  keeps  abreast  of  the  onward  march  of  the  pro- 
fession, and  is  allied  with  the  medical  societies  of  the  county  and 
state,  a  member  of  the  American  medical  association,  of  which  he 
is  an  ex-president,  and  an  active  participant  in  their  deliberations. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  political  sentiments  and  a  Lutheran  in  re- 
ligious views,  and  has  been  choir  master  of  St.  James'  Lutheran 
church  for  sixteen  years.  Of  the  social  fraternities,  he  holds  mem- 
bership in  the  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America,  of  which-  he  is 
a  past  president  in  his  camp;  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  and 
has  been  its  medical  examiner  since  its  organization;  medical  ex- 
aminer of  the  Schuylkill  Aerie,  No.  524,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles ; 
a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  of  Potts- 
ville  from  the  time  of  its  organization  until  the  institution  of  the 
Ashland  Lodge  in  1898,  when  he  affiliated  with  the  home  body,  of 
which  he  is  now  lecturing  knight.  He  is  master  of  Ashland  Lodge, 
No.  294,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  is  past  high  priest  of  Griscom 
Chapter,  No.  219,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  is  generalissimo  of  Prince 
of  Peace  Commandery,  No.  39,  Knights  Templars;  is  a  thirty-sec- 
ond degree  member  of  Williamsport  Consistory,  Ancient  and  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite  Masons;  and  belongs  to  Rajah  Temple,  An- 
cient Arabic  Order,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  of  Reading 
Pa.;  is  president  of  the  Washington  Hall  association;  vice-presi- 
dent and  director  of  the  Miners'  and  Laborers'  saving  fund;  a 
director  of  the  Locust  Mountain  saving  fund  of  Ashland,  Pa. ;  and 
is  examiner  for  the  following  life  insurance  companies:  ^^tna, 
Equitable,  Fidelity,  Hartford  Mutual  of  Connecticut,  Mutual  Life 
of  New  York,  Mutual  Life  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  Philadelphia  Mutual, 
Manhattan,  New  England  Mutual,  Security  Trust,  of  Bingham- 
ton,  N.  Y.,  Security  Trust  of  New  York  City,  Sun  of  Montreal, 
Travellers,  Germania,  Washington  Life  of  New  York,  and  Capital  of 
Philadelphia. 

Holland,  David  A.,  M.  D.,  a  practicing  physician  and  surgeon  in 
Mahanoy  City,  was  born  in  Mahanoy  township,  Sept.  i,  1881,  a 
son  of  Michael  and  Mary  (Washington)  Holland,  natives  of  Ire- 
land. They  had  a  family  of  six  sons  and  one  daughter,  Dr.  I>avid 
A.  being  the  youngest  son.  The  names  in  order  of  birth  are  John, 
Mark,  Thomas,  Michael,  Patrick,  David  A.  and  Bridget.  The 
sister  died  on  May  30,  1887.  Dr.  Holland  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Mahanoy  township  and  Mahanoy  City,  and  was 
graduated  in  the  Mahanoy  high  school  with  the  class  of  1898.  He 
then  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  at  the  Medico-Chirurgical  col- 
lege in  Philadelphia  and  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1903.  He 
began  practice  in  Mahanoy  City  immediately  after  gfraduation,  and 
has  been  accorded  a  liberal  patronage,  having  established  a  good 
practice  among  the  friends  and  associates  of  his  lifetime.  The 
doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Schuylkill  county  medical  society,  and 
of  the  fraternal  orders  he  belongs  to  the  Fraternal  Order  of 
Eagles,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Independent 
Order  of  Foresters,  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  and  Knights  of 
Columbus,  and  the  Father  Matthew  Pioneers,  the  latter  being  a 

15— Vol.  II 


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226  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

temperance  society.  In  political  preferences,  he  casts  his  ballot 
for  the  nominees  of  the  Democratic  party,  though  he  is  not  aggres- 
sive as  a  politician.  The  subject  of  this  article  was  happily  mar- 
ried in  1907,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Ella,  daughter  of 
D.  J.  and  Mary  (Gill)  Cleary,  of  Mahanoy  City.  The  religious 
affiliations  of  the  Holland  and  Cleary  families  are  with  .the  Roman 
Catholic  church. 

Holmes,  CoL  William  H.,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  spicy  little 
weekly  paper  known  as  "Splinters/'  at  St.  Clair,  was  bom  in  that 
borough  April  4,  1850,  a  son  of  John  and  Rosanna  Holmes,  early 
residents  of  St.  Clair.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  borough,  graduated  at  the  First  Pennsylvania  normal 
'school,  and  began  his  business  career  in  mercantile  pursuits  by 
opening  a  store  for  the  sale  of  stationery,  books,  wall-paper,  no- 
tions, etc.,  which  he  now  owns  and  operates.  But  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal features  of  his  business  life  has  been  in  contract  work  in 
painting  and  decorating.  This  has  been  a  source  of  good  revenue, 
to  which  is  added  the  income  from  his  printing  establishment  in 
connection  with  the  publication  of  his  newspaper,  the  office  being 
thoroughly  equipped  for  job  work  of  all  kinds.  For  many  years 
past  Mr.  Holmes  has  been  interested  in  military  affairs,  and  has 
worked  his  way  to  a  position  of  prominence  in  the  National  Guard 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  began  his  military  career  in  1875 ;  was  major 
of  a  regiment  during  the  Spanish-American  war ;  and  is  now  the 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  8th  regiment,  National  Guard  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Mr.  Holmes  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Citi- 
zens' bank  of  St.  Clair,  and  is  otherwise  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  business  and  social  affairs  in  the  borough.  He  was  mar- 
ried Nov.  II,  1877,  to  Miss  Marie  Belle  Phipps,  a  daughter  of  Will- 
iam and  Philena  (Pyle)  Phipps,  of  West  Chester,  Pa,,  and  two 
children  were  born  to  this  union,  the  elder  of  whom  is  now  Mrs. 
A.  V.  Werner,  and  W.  Norman  is  a  young  man  at  college.  Colonel 
Holmes  is  a  member  of  Camp  No.  75,  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of 
America,  and  of  the  Alert  Fire  Company,  being  a  charter  member 
in  both  organizations.  He  is  a  Repyblican  in  political  affiliations; 
takes  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs;  has  served  four  years 
as  president  of  the  borough  council,  and  nine  years  as  a  member 
of  the  school  board.  His  parental  home  was  established  in  St. 
Qair  in  1840,  when  his  father  located  there  as  a  coal  operator  and 
prospector  and  opened  up  the  large  vein  which  has  since  been 
designated  as  "The  Holmes  Vein"  in  reports  and  publications  per- 
taining to  the  mines  in  this  section  of  the  anthracite  coal  regions. 
He  established  numerous  other  workings,  and  was  the  inventor  of 
several  useful  mine  machines  which  are  still  in  every-day  use 
about  the  mines.  The  Holmes  family  adhere  to  the  religious 
teaching  of  the  great  Quaker  founder  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Horn,  William,  justice  of  the  peace  of  Sheppton  and  a  prominent 
real  estate  dealer  of  the  borough,  was  born  in  1840  at  Pine  Grove, 
a  son  of  Daniel  and  Susannah  (Fager)  Horn.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  Tamaqua  and   Llewellyn   until   he  was  twelve 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  227 

years  of  age  and  then  started  out  to  earn  his  own  living,  finding 
employment  as  water  boy  for  a  gang  of  trackmen  building  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  then  known  as  the  Little  Schuyl- 
kill road.  After  a  time  he  came  to  be  a  trackman  and  continued 
in  that  capacity  until  he  reached  his  twenty-first  year.  Then  the 
somber  cloud  of  war  was  hovering  over  the  horizon  of  niational 
unity  and  President  Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  75,000  volunteers. 
A  company  known  locally  as  the  Scott  Rifles  was  organized  at 
Tamaqua  and  when  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States 
government  became  Company  C,  loth  Pennsylvania  infantry.  Mr. 
Horn  was  a  member  of  the  company  and  at  the  close  of  the  ninety 
days  for  which  he  had  volunteered  he  re-enlisted,  in  Company  H, 
96th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  taking  a  three  weeks'  furlough  mean- 
time. Captain  Hippie  was  the  first  leader  of  the  company,  but 
subsequently  he  resigned  and  Henry  Royer  became  captain.  The 
regiment  left  Pottsville  on  Nov.  8,  1861,  proceeded  by  way  of 
Gordon  Plain  and  Shamokin  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  thence 
into  camp  at  Bladensburg,  Md.  It  was  then  moved  across  the 
Long  bridge  into  Virginia  beyond  Fairfax  seminary.  Henry  L. 
Cake,  colonel  of  the  regiment,  named  the  new  location  Camp 
Northumberland,  in  honor  of  his  home  county.  Picket  duty  had 
been  the  chief  work  of  the  organization  up  to  this  time,  but  it  left 
shortly  after  by  boat  for  Fortress  Monroe,  and  after  the  evacua- 
tion of  Yorktown  the  96th  went  up  the  York  river  to  West  Point, 
where  a  slight  skirmish  occurred  with  the  Confederate  rear-guard. 
From  West  Point  it  proceeded  to  White  House  Landing,  and  then 
participated  with  McClellan  in  the  Peninsular  campaign.  On  June 
2^,  1862,  it  formed  the  extreme  right  of  the  Federal  line  at  Gaines' 
Mill,  and  the  following  day  supported  the  batteries  at  White  Oak 
swamp.  At  Malvern  Hill  it  again  had  the  extreme  right  of  the 
line  and  with  the  rest  of  the  army  fell  back  when  that  engage- 
ment, was  over.  After  participating  in  the  second  battle  of  Bull 
Run  the  brigade  to  which  the  96th  had  been  assigned  was  moved 
to  help  intercept  the  Confederate  movement  into  Maryland.  On 
September  14  was  fought  the  battle  of  South  Mountain  and  in  the 
charge  which  was  so  gallantly  made  up  the  slope  with  the  final 
result  of  a  decisive  Federal  victory,  Mr.  Horn  received  a  severe 
gunshot  wound  in  the  breast.  After  three  months  in  the  hospital 
he  was  discharged,  but  his  wound  incapacitated  him  for  further 
military  service  and  he  returned  to  Tahiaqua.  Tliere,  in  1863,  he 
married  Miss  Margaret  Van  Horn  and  shortly  afterward  moved 
to  Mahanoy  City.  He  is  the  father  of  four  children,  all  of  whom 
are  living — Ella,  William  F.,  Bessie  and  Leo  D.  At  Mahanoy 
City  he  had  a  position  as  foreman  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Coal  and  Iron  Company,  but  the  wound  received  in  the  service 
of  his  country  still  troubled  him  and  he  was  compelled  to  resign. 
He  then  purchased  a  beautiful  farm  in  the  Catawissa  valley,  where 
for  a  number  of  years  he  followed  agricultural  pursuits.  Subse- 
quently he  removed  to  Sheppton  to  engage  in  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness and  was  shortly  afterward  elected  justice  of  the  peace.     Of 


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228  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

this  latter  position  he  has  been  the  incumbent  for  more  than  twenty 
years  now,  and  at  each  election  is  again  honored  by  retention  in 
the  office.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  aside  from 
his  office  as  justice  has  been  deputy  coroner.  He  and  the  family 
are  all  members  of  the  Evangelical  church  of  Tamaqua,  and  Mr. 
Horn  is  associated  with  the  Shenandoah  post  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic.  By  his  sincerity  of  purpose,  kindly,  hearty  man- 
ner and  his  general  worth  he  has  won  for  himself  an  enviable 
place  in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

Hdusenick,  John  S.,  manager  of  the  Shenandoah  house  of  Ar- 
mour &  Co.,  wholesale  meat  and  provision  dealers,  was  born  in 
Bloomsburg,  Columbia  county,  Pa.,  Sept.  lo,  1867.  He  is  the  sec- 
ond of  eight  children  born  to  M.  L.  and  Anna  Housenick,  and  the 
oldest  one  now  living.  Elizabeth,  the  first-born,  married  B.  B. 
Freas  and  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years ;  Fannie  is  the  wife 
of  Frank  J.  Long,  of  Berwick,  local  auditor  for  the  American  Car 
and  Foundry  Company;  Ezra,  John  S.  and  Charles  are  partners 
in  a  mercantile  establishment  in  Berwick ;  Atta  is  the  wife  of  Fred 
Wasley,  a  druggist  in  Shenandoah ;  and  Ruth  is  at  home  with  her 
parents,  who  now  live  in  Berwick,  the  father  being  a  retired  mer- 
chant. After  attending  the  Berwick  schools  and  graduating  in  the 
high  school,  John  S.  Housenick  took  a  course  in  a  business  college 
in  Philadelphia  and  remained  in  that  city  for  five  years.  On  Sept. 
I,  1890,  he  came  to  Shenandoah,  where  he  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  hats  and  caps  in  connection  with  J.  M.  Robbins,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Robbins  &  Housenick,  afterwards  known  as  the 
Shenandoah  Manufacturing  Company.  In  May,  1897,  he  closed 
out  his  interest  in  this  business  and  became  cashier  for  Armour 
&  Co.  Two  years  later  he  was  made  manager  of  the  Shenandoah 
branch,  which  employs  over  twenty  men  and  handles  a  large 
quantity  of  dressed  meats  and  provisions.  Mr.  Housenick  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Shenandoah  Trust  Company,  and  is 
now  one  of  the  directors  of  that  institution.  He  is  also  a  director 
in  the  Schuylkill  Railway  Company.  He  is  prominent  in  Masonic 
circles,  being  a  member  of  Shenandoah  Lodge,  No.  511,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  Ashland  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and 
Ashland  Commandery,  Knights  Templars.  In  his  politics  he  is 
independent,  and  with  his  wife  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  On  June  3,  1891,  Mr.  Housenick  and  Miss  Anna  Thomp- 
son, of  Berwick,  were  united  in  marriage.  She  is  the  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  Thompson,  old  residents  of  Berwick,  where  her 
father  was  engaged  in  business  until  he  retired.  He  is  now  de- 
ceased, and  his  wife  died  June  10, 1907,  aged  74  years.  Hugh  Thompson, 
the  only  other  member  of  the  family,  is  now  in  business  in  Ber- 
wick. To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Housenick  have  been  born  three  daugh- 
ters, viz:  Mary  J.,  Elizabeth  E.,  and  Helen  K.  Whatever  degree  of 
success  that  Mr.  Housenick  has  accomplished  has  been  through 
his  own  industry  and  methodical  habits,  and  it  is  a  compliment 
to  his  ability  and  character  that  a  great  concern  like  Armour  & 
Co.  should  have  selected  him  for  promotion.    In  this  age  of  great 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  229 

corporations  the  officials  of  these  organizations  are  on  the  lookout 
for  good  men,  and  no  better  testimony  to  the  general  qualifications 
of  John  S.  Housenick  is  necessary  than  the  fact  that  he  is  manager 
for  one  of  the  largest  packing  houses  in  the  world,  a  position  that 
he  has  filled  for  nearly  ten  years  to  the  evident  satisfaction  of  his 
employers. 

Hubler,  G«orge  W.,  head  of  the  shoe  manufacturing  firm  in 
Adamsdale,  was  born  at  Pine  Grove,  this  county,  Feb.  i8,  1868. 
He  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Fietta  (Wagner)  Hubler.  The  father  was 
a  farmer  and  in  the  lumber  business  and  died  while  still  a  young 
man,  leaving  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  other  son  is 
Charles  H.,  a  shoe  manufacturer  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  the 
daughters  are  Sallie  E.,  wife  of  A.  H.  Prenzel,  a  manufacturer  of 
shoes  at  Halifax;  and  Annie  R.,  wife  of  J.  H.  Adams,  of  Orwigs- 
burg,  a  hardware  salesman  in  the  employ  of  J.  H.  Long.  The 
mother  is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead  at  Orwigsburg,  Pa., 
where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adams  make  their  home  with  her.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  received  a  common  school  education  in  the 
schools  of  Landingville  and  Orwigsburg  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen 
started  in  to  learn  the  business  of  making  shoes,  in  the  factory  of 
A.  E.  Brown  &  Co.  at  Orwigsburg.  He  started  in  as  a  finisher 
and  worked  up  through  the  various  departments  until  he  had 
completely  mastered  the  industry,  and  in  1891  became  associated 
with  Mr.  George  Adams,  of  Adamsdale,  in  the  same  business,  as 
general  manager.  This  relationship  was  continued  until  January, 
1901,  when  Mr.  Adams'  death  caused  a  reorganization  of  the  con- 
cern, which  was  then  incorporated  into  a  stock  company  with  Mr. 
Hubler  as  president  and  general  manager;  F.  P.  Adams  as  vice- 
president;  and  J.  H.  Adams  as  secretary  and  treasurer  and  assis- 
tant general  manager.  The  business  is  on  a  paying  basis  and  the 
output  increases  from  year  to  year.  On  March  25,  1894,  Mr.  Hub- 
ler married  Miss  Carrie  L.  Beck,  daughter  of  John  C.  and  Emma 
C.  (Becker)  Beck,  of  Orwigsburg.  To  this  union  has  been  born 
one  son,  George  Harold,  now  ten  years  of  age.  The  family  are  all 
members  of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church  of  Orwigsburg,  and  Mr. 
Hubler  is  one  of  the  deacons.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  believer 
in  the  principles  of  Jefferson ian  Democracy,  but  has  never  held 
nor  aspired  to  public  office.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the 
Orwigsburg  Lodge,  No.  157,  Independent  Ord^r  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  Camp  No.  86,  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America. 

Hummel,  D.  F.,  M.  D.,  a  physician  of  Gilberton,  is  a  native  of 
Hummelstown,  Dauphin  county.  Pa.,  where  he  was  born  Nov.  ?o, 
1872,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Anna  Elizabeth  (Fox)  Hummel,  who 
are  descended  from  old  Pennsylvania  stock,  the  village  of  Hum- 
melstown having  been  named  in  1738  for  Frederick  Hummel,  the 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Dr.  D.  F.  Hum- 
mel was  reared  in  Hummelstown,  in  whose  elementary  and  high 
schools  he  received  his  early  education,  having  graduated  from  the 
high  school  with  the  class  of  1889.  ^^  later  matriculated  in  the 
Philadelphia  college  of  pharmacy,  at  which  he  graduated  in  1895, 


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230  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  for  a  time  was  engaged  in  the  drug  business,  after  which,  hav- 
ing decided  to  make  the  practice  of  medicine  his  life  work,  he 
entered  the  Medico-Chirurgical  college  of  Philadelphia,  from  which 
institution  he  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1902. 
On  Jan.  i,  1904,  he  entered  the  State  hospital  for  injured  persons 
of  the  anthracite  coal  regions,  at  Fountain  Springs,  Schuylkill 
county,  and  remained  there  until  July  i,  1905,  when  he  located 
in  Girardville,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  active  prac- 
tice of  medicine,  and  he  is  rapidly  forging  to  the  front  rank  of 
the  profession  in  that  locality. 

Hununel,  Edward,  chief  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  county  com- 
missioners at  Pottsville,  was  born  in  Washington  township, 
Schuylkill  county,  on  April  29,  1853,  and  is  the  only  son  of  Benne- 
ville  and  Louisa  (Zerbe)  Hummel,  both  natives  of  this  county. 
The  father  was  in  early  life  a  boatman  on  the  Schuylkill  canal,  but 
later  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  The  mother 
died  in  1853,  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  but  six  months 
old,  and  the  father  married  a  second  time,  ten  children  being  born 
to  the  second  marriage.  These  last  are  George,  Jeremiah,  Henry, 
Mrs.  Sophia  Barr,  Mrs.  Lydia  Zettlemoyer,  Mrs.  Mary  Werdt  and 
Mrs.  Emma  Snyder,  two  who  died  in  infancy  and  Charles,  a  school 
teacher  by  vocation,  who  was  killed  in  an  accident  at  the  Brookside 
mine  when  he  was  twenty-three  years  old.  The  father  died  in 
Washington  township  in  1887,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Edward 
Hummel  received  a  due  preliminary  training  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  township  and  then  matriculated  at  the  Palatinate  col- 
lege at  Myerstown.  When  he  had  completed  his  course  there  he 
started  teaching,  although  but  eighteen  years  of  age.  Pedagogic 
work  furnished  him  employment  for  ten  terms,  and  his  vacations 
were  spent  on  his  father's  farm.  The  year  that  he  attained  his 
majority  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  constable  of  Pine  Grove ; 
at  the  next  election  he  was  made  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  three 
times  re-elected  to  that  office.  In  1882  he  was  nominated  and 
elected  as  the  representative  of  the  Fourth  Schuylkill  county  dis- 
trict to  the  lower  branch  of  the  state  legislature.  He  is  serving 
his  sixth  term  in  both  Pine  Grove  township  and  borough  as  a 
school  director,  a  period  of  nine  years  in  each.  In  January,  1906, 
he  received  his  appointment  to  his  present  responsible  position, 
and  his  tenure  of  office  is  for  three  years.  On  June  22,  1872,  Mr. 
Hummel  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Spancake,  a  native  of  Washington 
township,  and  a  daughter  of  Ged  F.  and  Rebecca  (Kremer) 
Spancake.  The  children  of  this  union  are  eleven  in  number. 
Bessie,  the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  John  Rausch,  of  Pine  Grove; 
Oscar  E.,  engaged  in  mining,  was  a  -soldier  in  the  volunteer  army 
during  the  Spanish-American  war  and  saw  service  in  Porto  Rico'; 
Amy  I.  is  Mrs.  William  H.  Daubert,  of  Pine  Grove;  Stella  M.  is 
the  wife  of  Franklin  Sotzin;  and  the  others,  Cana  M..  Frances  F., 
Raymond,  Harold  H.,  Oliver,  Mtlton  E.  and  Robert  E.,  are  all  at 
home.  It  is  an  unique  coincidence  that  for  three  generations  there 
have  been  eleven  children  in  the  Hummel  family.  Mr.  Hummel  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  231 

his  father  each  having  been  one  of  eleven.  The  family  are  all 
members  of  the  Reformed  church  and  the  father  is  prominent  in 
fraternal  circles,  being  identified  with  Pine  Grove  Lodge,  No.  148, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is  past  grand; 
Washington  Camp,  No.  49,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  Amer- 
ica, of  Pine  Grove ;  Pine  Grove  Castle,  Knights  of'  the  Golden 
Eagle ;  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics ;  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men;  the  Royal  Arcanum,  and  the  Knights 
of  the  Mystic  Chain.  Mr.  Hummel  is  an  efficient  and  trusted  pub- 
lic official,  a  sagacious  business  man  and  a  worthy,  representative 
citizen. 

Huntsinger,  Samuel  A. — ^The  connection  of  the  Huntsinger  fam- 
ily with  Pennsylvania  history  may  be  dated  from  the  arrival 
on  Oct.  2,  1743,  of  John  George  Huntsinger  on  the  ship  Jacob, 
Capt.  Adolph  de  Grove.  The  ancestor  in  question  came  to  this 
country  from  Rotterdam,  via  Shields,  England,  with  290  more  of 
his  countrymen.  John  George  Huntsinger's  children  were  Su- 
sanna, George,  Daniel,  Viola,  Michael,  Henry,  John,  Jacob  and 
another  daughter.  Jacob,  the  youngest  son,  grew  to  manhood 
and  lived  all  his  life  in  the  Keystone  state,  leaving  when  he  died 
a  family  of  ten  children,  whose  names  were  George,  Samuel, 
Phoebe,  William,  Jacob,  Edward,  Elizabeth,  Sarah,  Charles  and 
Frank  B._  George  subsequently  became  the  father  of  eleven 
children — Elizabeth,  Mary,  George,  Wrlliam,  Joseph,  Emanuel, 
Hannah,  David,  Reuben,  Marcus  and  Harriet.  Reuben  married 
Angeline  Artz,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  viz.:  Samuel  A., 
Josiah  H.,  Catherine,  Lucy,  Emanuel  M.,  Caroline,  Reuben  R.  and 
Abby.  Samuel  A.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  first  saw  the  light 
of  day  in  1847.  His  educational  advantages  were  those  afforded 
by  the  public  schools,  which  he  attended  until  he  was  seventeen 
years  of  age.  Then  he  served  a  full  apprenticeship  in  the  car- 
penters* trade  and  when  he  had  mastered  it  worked  as  a  journey- 
man for  twenty  years.  In  1884  he  started  in  his  present  business 
at  Heg^ns,  where  he  manufactures  cabinets,  furniture,  porch 
work,  handrails  and  window  frames.  Besides  this  he  holds  a 
certificate  as  an  undertaker,  doing  all  the  work  of  that  nature  ip 
the  village.  Mr.  Huntsinger  is  the  father  of  a  family  of  nine 
children — Cora,  Catherine  A.,  James  V.,  Ellen  G.,  Mary  J.,  Fran- 
cis E.,  Emma  E.,  John  E.  and  Sadie  A.  Cora,  the  eldest  daughter, 
is  married  and  also  has  nine  children — Alma,  Stanton,  Charles, 
Bulu,  Ira,  Albert,  Laura,  William  and 'Myrtle. 

Huntzinger,  George  M.,  proprietor  of  a  leading  general  mer- 
cantile store  and  a  member  of  the  borough  council  of  Tremont, 
was  bom  in  Schuylkill  county  on  July  21,  1864,  a  son  of  Frank 
K.  and  Caroline  (Potteiger)  Huntzinger.  The  mother  is  deceased, 
her  death  having  occurred  in  Oct.  1891,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six 
years.  The  father  is  retired,  and  is  now  living  a  quiet,  secluded 
life  in  Tremont.  The  Huntzinger  family  canje  originally  from 
Germany,  having  settled  in  this  county  in  its  early  days.  Joseph 
Huntzinger,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


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232  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

was  the  first  of  the  name  to  be  born  in  this  county.  For  more 
than  one  hundred  years  members  of  the  family  have  been  buried 
in  the  cemetery  of  the  "Old  Red  Church."  Frank  and  Caroline 
Huntzinger  had  eight  children,  five  of  whom  survive.  Albert,  a 
clerk,  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five;  Andrew  J.  is  a  carpenter  in 
Philadelphia;  Jane  is  at  home;  Margaret  I.  is  Mrs.  George  W. 
Morthimer,  wife  of  the  owner  and  editor  of  the  Daily  Leader  of 
Lehighton ;  Carrie  E.,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, is  a  trained  nurse  in  New  York  city;  Charles  V.  is  a  twin 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Albert,  died  in  infancy.  George 
M.  Huntzinger  attended  the  public  schools  of  Tremont  and  when 
he  had  completed  his  course  there  he  found  employment  in  a  mer- 
cantile establishment  as  a  clerk.  He  continued  at  this  work  until 
1891,  when  he  accepted  a  position  as  mortgage  clerk  in  the  office 
of  the  recorder  at  Pottsyille.  Six  years  later  he  returned  to 
Tremont  and  purchased  the  general  store  which  he  is  now  oper- 
ating. His  business  has  grown  to  good  proportions  and  in  a 
pecuniary  way  he  is  doing  exceedingly  well.  By  frugality  and 
careful  management  he  has  come  to  be  recognized  as  a  leader  in 
the  commercial  life  of  the  community  and  his  place  of  business 
is  one  of  the  most  modern  as  well  as  one  of  the  best  equipped  in 
the  county.  Mr.  Huntzinger  has  been  twice  married:  On  Christ- 
mas day,  1891,  he  was  united  to  Miss  Bertie  Wolfe- of  Myers- 
town,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  W.  Wolfe.  The  death 
of  Mrs.  Huntzinger,  in  her  twenty-second  year,  occurred  in  the 
following  October,  and  on  June  26,  1905,  Miss  Edith  E.  Workman 
became  the  bride  of  Mr.  Huntzinger.  She  was  born  in  Roanoke, 
Va.,  and  is  the  daughter  of  David  and  Clara  J.  Workman,  now 
residents  of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Workman  is  an  expert  mining 
engineer  and  does  much  in  the  opening  up  of  mines.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Huntzinger  have  one  child,  Joseph  W.  Mrs.  Huntzinger  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  her  husband  is 
well  known  in  fraternal  circles.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Blue 
lodge  and  the  Tremont  chapter  of  the  Masonic  order  and  is  a 
past  officer  in  each.  He  is  also  identified  with  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle,  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  the 
Junior  United  American  Workmen  and  the  Royal  Arcanum. 

Huy,  Charles  W.,  the  postmaster  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  was 
born  in  that  borough  on  June  21,  1856.  He  is  the  son  of  Isaac 
and  Harriet  (Moyer)  Huy  and  one  of  eight  children,  the  others 
being  Sophie,  Mary,  John  J.,  George,  Isaac  E.,  Abraham  L.  and 
William  G.  The  public  schools  afforded  him  all  the  educational 
advantages  which  he  received  and  while  still  a  youth  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Philadelpliia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company  as 
a  car  repairer.  After  a, service  of  eight  years  in  that  capacity 
he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  car  inspector  and  for  twenty 
years  was  the  incumbent  of  the  position,  serving  with  great  sat- 
isfaction to  his  employers.  On  Jan.  4,  1903.  President  Roosevelt 
appointed  Mr.  Huy  postmaster  of  Schuylkill  Haven  and  he  severed 
his  connection  with  the  railroad  company  to  accept  the  position. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  233 

Mr.  Huy  married  Miss  Mary  Jane  Raudenbush,  daughter  of  Henry 
S.  Raudenbush  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  They  have  no  children.  Both 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  .church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Huy  is  a 
member  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America  and  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  a  past  officer  in 
the  former.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  aside  from  the 
office  which  he  is  now  holding  has  never  aspired  to  positions  of 
public  trust.  He  is  a  man  of  absolute  integrity  and  unassailable 
character. 

Irwin,  John  J.,  the  capable  fire  boss  of  the  No.  5  colliery  of 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company,  is  a  son  of  John  and  Hannah 
(Sweeney)  Irwin  and  was  born  in  Girardville^  on  May  25,  1869. 
His  parents  were  both  born  in  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  and  the 
father  came  to  this  country  in  1862,  locating  in  Girardville.  For 
many  years  he  was  employed  about  the  mines,  but  is  now  retired 
and  lives  in  Connerton.  He  was  twice  married  and  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest  child  of  the  first  union,  the  others 
being  Patrick,  Michael  and  Maggie.  His  second  marriage  was 
to  Mary  Dougherty,  and  the  six  children  of  their  union  are :  Mary, 
wife  of  Thomas  Kane;  Anthony;  Bridget;  Thomas;  Maggie  (2d); 
and  James,  deceased.  John  J.  Irwin  was  reared  in  the  parental 
home  in  this  country  and  his  scholastic  training  was  secured  in 
the  common  schools.  His  early  educational  advantages,  however, 
were  rather  limited,  as  at  the  age  of  ten  years  he  went  to  work 
as  a  slate-picker  in  the  mines.  From  that  time  until  the  present 
he  has  been  employed  in  various  capacities  about  the  mines  of 
Schuylkill  county,  and  he  has  served  in  his  present  position  since 
1899.  Sept.  19,  1894,  was  celebrated  Mr.  Irwin's  marriage  to 
Miss  Maggie  Gaughan,  a  daughter  of  Anthony  and  Mary  (Short) 
Gaughan.  Mrs.  Irwin's  parents  are  natives  of  County  Mayo, 
Ireland.  The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Irwin  has  been  blessed  with 
six  children,  Hannah,  Margaret,  John,  Marie,  Joseph  (deceased), 
and  Florence.  The  family  are  all  communicants  of  St.  Joseph's 
Roman  Catholic  church  of  Girardville.  Fraternally  Mr.  Irwin 
is  affiliated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  and  in  his  po- 
litical convictions  he  is  a  Democrat.  For  the  past  twelve  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  directors. 

Jenkins,  William  S.,  M.  D.,  the  leading  physician  of  Sheppton, 
was  born  in  England,  his  parents  being  David  W.  and  Emily 
(Sellman)  Jenkins.  The  place  of  his  nativity  was  Bilston,  in  Staf- 
fordshire, and  the  date  Jan.  17,  1861.  Besides  the  doctor  there 
were  four  children  in  the  family,  Samuel  and  Walter,  twins, 
Charles,  and  Fanny.  The  last  mentioned  is  the  wife  of  Elliott  A. 
Oberrender,  of  Freeland,  secretary  of  the  Coxe  estate.  When 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  but  five  years  of  age  his  parents 
came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in  Ebervale,  Luzerne  county. 
There  the  doctor  attended  the  public  schools  until  he  was  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  in  the  latter  few  years  of  the  time  spending 
his  summers  in  work  on  a  breaker  and  his  winters  in  the  school- 
room.    In    his    twenty-fourth    year    he    enlisted    in    the    United 


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234  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

States  Army  hospital  service  as  a  steward  and  remained  in   it 
for  a  period  of  five  years.     It  was  during  this  period  that  his 
desire  for  a  medical  training  was  developed,  and  he  determined 
to  become  a  physician.     With  the  money  he  had  saved  he  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia  when  his  period  of  service  was  over  and 
matriculated  in  the  Jefferson  Medical  college.     When  he  had  com- 
pleted the  course,  in  1890,  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  and  located  in  Sheppton,  where  he  has  since 
that  time  been  carrying  on  a  general  practice.     Oct.  3,  1894,  Dr. 
Jenkins  married  Miss  Florence  Downing,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Eliza   (Stokes)   Downing.     Mrs.  Jenkins  has  a  brother,  William, 
and  a  sister,  Eliza,  wife  of  Dr.  Joshua  A.  Morton,  living  in  Allen- 
town.     Dr.  Jenkins  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England  and  his 
wife  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation  of  Allentown.     In 
politics   the   doctor  favors   the   Republican   doctrines   as   regards 
affairs  of  national  import,  but  exercises  his  own  judgment  as  to 
the   fitness  of  candidates   for   local   offices.     He   stands   high    in 
fraternal  circles,  especially  in  the  Masonic  order.     He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Hazle  Lodge,  No.  327,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Hazle 
Chapter,  No.  2^7^  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Mount  Vernon  Com- 
mandery.  No.  73,  Knights  Templars.     In  the  last  named  depart- 
ment he  is  a  past  eminent  commander.     He  is  also  identified  as 
a  life  member  with  the  Jefferson   Medical  college  alumni  asso- 
ciation.    Dr.  Jenkins'  father  before  coming  to  this  country  was 
private  secretary  to  Earl  Dudley  in  his  big  iron  works.     He  was 
an  expert  accountant  by  vocation  and  after  coming  to  Luzerne 
county  obtained  employment  as  such  with  the  Stout  Coal  Com- 
pany, with  whom  he  remained  for  twenty-six  years.    The  mother 
is  still  living,  and  although  in  her  seventy-seventh  year,  is  still 
in  wonderful  possession  of  her  mental  faculties.    The  doctor  holds 
high  rank  among  the  members  of  his  profession  in  the  county, 
and  personally  no  one  can  be  more  courteous  and  genial  than  he. 
Johnson,  Henry  B.,  justice  of  the  peace,  insurance  agent  and 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Girardville,  now  deceased,  was  a  son  of 
Silas   H.  and   Eliza    (Runk)   Johnson,  and  was  tK>rn   near  Cata- 
wissa,  Pa.,  June  12,  1835.     Although  his  educational  opportunities 
were  limited, — four  terms  of  three  months  each  of  schooling  being 
all  he  was  able  to  acquire  in  the  public  schools — by  private  study 
and  several  terms*  attendance  at  the  Elysburg  seminary  he  pre- 
pared himself  for  teaching,  two  terms  of  which  he  taught  in  Barry 
township  and  two  in  Butler  township.     His  early  life  was  spent 
on  the  farm  and  during  the  long  vacations  he  drove  a  log  team 
between   Columbia  county  and  the  Delaware  river.     In    1854  he 
located  in  Ashland  to  take  charge  of  the  store  of  Jonathan  Faust 
and  the  postoffice,  Mr.  Faust  being  then  in  service  as  the  first 
postmaster  of  Ashland.     For  eight  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
Mr.  Faust,  and  during  that  period  opened  for  him  the  first  store 
established  in  Gordon.    Then  he  came  to  Girardville,  in  1862.  and 
entered  business  as  a  teamster,  hauling  coal  from  the  old  Preston 
No.  I  colliery  to  Preston  No.  3,  from  which  place  it  was  shipped. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  235 

This  was  during  the  Civil  war,  when  there  were  no  other  means 
of  transportation  to  be  had.  From  this  he  went  into  the  grocery 
business,  but  after  an  unsuccessful  two  years  in  it  he  closed  out 
the  business  which  he  had  started  and  entered  the  employ  of 
another  grocer.  Twelve  years  later  he  removed  to  Scranton  and 
opened  a  drug  store,  but,  not  being  a  licensed  druggist,  he  learned 
in  a  few  months'  time  that  it  was  an  unprofitable  venture,  and 
returned  with  his  wife  to  Girardville.  In  1894  he  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace.  Thereafter  he  was  continuously  re-elected  at 
each  successive  election,  being  incumbent  of  that  office  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  In  Sept.,  1896,  Mr.  Johnson  embarked  in  a 
small  way  in  the  insurance  business,  which  yielded  Ijim  a  profit- 
able income.  Mr.  Johnson's  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Charlotte 
Lloyd,  a  daughter  of  William  Lloyd,  the  pioneer  coal  operator  of 
Pottsville  and  Minersville.  Five  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Johnson;  William  S.,  the  only  son,  succumbed  to  typhoid 
fever  in  his  twenty-fifth  year;  Lillial  E.  is  the  preceptress  of  the 
Keystone  state  normal  school  at  Kutztown ;  Mary  Elisa  is  a  trained 
nurse,  practicing  at  East  Orange,  N.  J.;  Ejnma  H.  is  the  wife 
of  J.  Linwood  Eisenberg,  supervising  principal  of  the  schools  of 
Royersford,  Pa.;  and  Gladys  Lloyd,  the  youngest  daughter,  is  at 
home.  Mrs.  Johnson  is  a  devout  communicant  of  the  Church  of 
England  and  her  husband  was  affiliated  with  the  Girardville  con- 
gregation of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  was  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  politics  and  besides  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace 
was  councilman  and  served  on  nearly  every  election  board  while 
he  was  a  resident  of  the  borough.  Fraternally  he  was  well  known 
as  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  the 
Aqua  Lodge,  No.  737,  of  Girardville,  and  of  Ashland  Lodge,  No. 
294,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Ashland.  With  the  exception 
of  five  years  he  was  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  secretary  of  the 
Girardville  organization  frohi  the  time  of  its  inception.  Although 
well  advanced  in  years,  Mr.  Johnson  retained  a  wonderful  in- 
tellect, was  keenly  alive  to  everything  passing  about  him  and  was 
a  sagacious  business  man,  holding  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all 
his  fellow  citizens.  Mr.  Johnson  has  entered  into  his  eternal  rest, 
his  demise  having  occurred  peacefully  at  his  home,  with  his  family 
about  him,  on  June  4,  1907,  at  which  time  he  lacked  but  eight 
days  of  three  score  years  and  twelve.  He  closed  a  life  of  great 
usefulness;  his  advice  and  opinions  were  worthy  of  pondering, 
because  they  were  founded  on  practical  considerations  and  sound, 
hard  sense;  he  was  a  man  of  the  "old  school,"  few  of  whom  are 
to  be  found  in  the  present  generation,  and  he  had  many  qualities 
well  worthy  of  imitation. 

Johnson,  Rev.  Samuel,  who  is  the  beloved  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  at  Port  Carbon,  was  born  at  Birmingham,  Eng- 
land, Aug.  31,  1864,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Hephzebah  Johnson. 
His  parents  brought  him  to  the  United  States  when  he  "was  less 
than  a  year  old  and  it  was  in  the  Pottsville  public  schools,  in 
which  city  the  family  located,  that  he  received  his  earliest  schol- 


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236  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

astic  training,  finishing  it  with  a  course  in  the  Philadelphia  schools. 
He  graduated  from  the  high  school  when  he  was  seventeen  years 
of  age  and  then  learned  the  hat-finisher's  trade,  in  the  famous 
John  B.  Stetson  works.  He  remained  at  this  vocation  for  twelve 
years  and  then  took  up  a  collegiate  course  to  prepare  himself 
for  the  ministry.  His  ordination  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
came  about  1892  and  his  first  charge  was  a  small  town  in  Kansas. 
From  there  he  went  to  Tannersville,  Monroe  county,  Pa.,  thence  to 
Richmond,  Northampton  county,  and  later  to  Hulmeville,  Bucks 
county;  Quakertown,  and  then  Marietta,  in  order.  From  the  last 
named  place  he  came  to  Port  Carbon,  where  his  pastorate  has  been 
most  highly  satisfactory  to  his  congregation  and  pleasant  to  himself. 
In  1891  was  celebrated  Mr.  Johnson's  marriage  to  Miss  Sallie 
Musselman,  daughter  of  Samuel  Musselman.  Of  the  two  sons 
born  to  this  union,  one,  Edward  A.,  survives.  He  is  employed 
by  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Company,  at  South  Bethlehem,  Pa.  Rev. 
Mr.  Johnson  takes  no  active  part  in  politics  except  where  the 
question  of  temperance  is  the  issue,  when  he  takes  the  part  of  the 
Prohibition  party.  In  other  issues,  however,  he  generally  sides 
with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  man  whose  ideals  are  of  the 
highest  and  whose  life  is  one  worthy  of  emulation. 

Jones,  David  A.,  a  memfeer  of  the  Schuylkill  county  bar  whose 
home  is  in  Minersville,  was  born  in  Dowlais,  Glamorganshire, 
Cymru,  on  May  9,  1842.  He  is  a  son  of  William  D.  Jones  and 
Margaret  Jones.  The  family  came  to  this  country  in  Dec,  1842. 
The  father  was  a  fire  boss  and  repair  foreman  about  the  mines 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  his  fifty-second  year,  in  1858, 
some  twelve  years  after  his  wife's  demise.  Of  the  four  children 
in  the  family  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  sole  survivor,  all 
the  rest  of  the  family  having  been  buried  at  Minersville,  Pa.  He 
received  the  educational  advantages  of  the  public  schools  at 
Minersville  and  then  went  into  the  office  of  Judge  Edward  Owen 
Parry  to  study  law.  In  1864  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  has 
since  that  time  been  continuously  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  His  chief  office  is  in  Pottsville,  but  he  has  an  office 
at  Minersville,  where  he  makes  his  home.  During  the  Civil  war 
he  was  a  member  of  the  state  militia  upon  two  different  occasions 
— one  being  at  the  time  of  Lee's  invasion  of  the  state.  He 
was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  by  Governor  Curtin.  Mr. 
Jones  was  married  in  1865  to  Miss  Mary  Bedlow,  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  Bedlow,  the  former  of  whom  was  superintend- 
ent of  mines  for  more  than  a  generation.  The  children  of  their 
marriage  were  nine  in  number,  eight  of  whom  are  now  living. 
William  P.,  the  eldest,  graduated  at  Pennsylvania  State  college 
as  an  electrical  engineer  and  also  graduated  as  a  physician  at  the 
medical  school  at  Burlington,  Vt.  Margaret  B.  graduated  at 
Pennsylvania  State  college  and  is  the  wife  of  Professor  John  Price 
Jackson,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  electrical  engineering  depart- 
ment at  that  college.  Howard  H.  graduated  at  Pennsylvania 
State  college  as  a  mechanical  engineer  and  studied  law  for  two 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  237 

years  in  his  father's  office.  He  is  now  employed  by  the  steel  trust 
in  their  offices  at  Chicago.  Elizabeth  F.  attended  Pennsylvania 
State  college  and  was  employed  there  for  several  years  afterward. 
She  is  the  wife  of  Professor  H.  P.  Wood  of  the  electrical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Illinois,  at  Urbana.  Antionette  B.  at- 
tended Pennsylvania  State  college  and  is  now  a  teacher  in  the 
public  schools  at  Minersville.  David  A.  Jones,  Jr.,  graduated  at 
Pennsylvania  State  college  as  an  electrical  engineer  and  is  now 
employed  in  the  offices  of  the  General  Electric  Company,  at 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Helen  Gwenydd  graduated  at  Darlington 
Seminary,  Westchester,  Pa.,  was  two  years  at  Wilson  college, 
Chambersburg,  Pa.,  and  is  now  a  senior  at  Cornell  University, 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.  Mary  is  an  invalid,  and  Joseph  died  at  the  age  of 
eight  months.  For  thirty-six  years  Mr.  Jones  has  been  a  member 
of  the  board  of  school  directors  of  Minersville  and  secretary  there- 
of for  over  thirty  years,  and  he  is  still  a  member  and  secretary. 
He  has  been  ambitious  that  his  children  should  receive  the  best» 
of  educational  advantages  and  has  spared  no  means  to  allow  them 
to  acquire  scholastic  advantages.  He  himself  is  a  man  of  broad 
culture  and  intellectual  attainments,  an  excellent  attorney  and  an 
esteemed  and  respected  citizen. 

Jones,  Henry  L.,  a  retired  merchant  of  Shenandoah,  was  born 
in  Llanasa  parish,  Flintshire,  Wales,  July  20,  1841.  His  parents, 
John  and  Laura  (Lloyd)  Jones,  were  both  natives  of  north  Wales, 
where  they  passed  their  lives,  the  father  being  a  mechanic  and 
contractor  in  the  lead  mines.  He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-one 
years.  His  widow  survived  him  for  many  years  and  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-seven.  They  had  a  family  of  three  sons  and  one 
daughter.  The  daughter  died  in  childhood ;  Robert,  the  eldest  of 
the  family,  if  now  living,  is  a  resident  of  Scotland;  Ellis  lives  in 
Denbighshire,  Wales.  In  1869,  Ellis  and  Henry  L.  came  to 
America  and  located  at  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  where  for  about  a  year 
they  engaged  in  mining  bituminous  coal.  In  1870  they  came  to 
Shenandoah.  Here  Ellis'  wife  died  and  he  returned  to  his  native 
land,  as  above  noted,  where  he  js  now  engaged  in  mining  opera- 
tions. After  coming  to  Shenandoah,  Henry  L.  Jones  followed 
mining  for  about  twenty  years,  when  he  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  as  a  wholesale  dealer  in  flour  and  feed,  later  handling  a 
full  stock  of  groceries  and  provisions.  He  continued  in  that  line 
until  Feb.,  1905,  when  he  retired  from  active  business.  Before 
leaving  his  native  country  he  married  Miss  Jane  Jones,  who  lived 
in  the  same  neighborhood  as  his  parents.  No  children  were  born 
to  them,  but  they  adopted  a  son  and  a  daughter,  both  in  their 
infancy.  The  son,  named  John  Henry,  died  in  childhood;  the 
daughter  is  now  Mrs.  Emily  L.  Rudd,  wife  of  John  T.  Rudd,  living 
with  Mr.  Jones,  Mrs.  Jones  having  died  on  July  22,  1904.  Mr. 
Jones  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party  and  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  political  work.  For 
thirty-six  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  now  holding    his    membership    in    Shenandoah 


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238  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Lodge,  No.  591.  He  has  filled  all  the  principal  offices  in  the  sub- 
ordinate lodge  and  the  encampment  and  was  for  many  years  a 
member  of  the  degree  team  in  Shenandoah  Lodge.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  American  True  Ivorites,  in  which  order  he  has 
been  local  treasurer  for  more  than  twenty  years;  has  represented 
his  lodge  at  fourteen  different  meetings  of  the  grand  lodge  in  dif- 
ferent cities  and  states;  was  treasurer  (for  1903-1905)  of  the  grand 
lodge  and  representative  to  the  grand  lodge  of  America.  In  his 
religious  affiliations  he  was  for  many  years  a  Calvinistic  Metho- 
dist, but  he  now  belongs  to  the  Baptist  church.  He  has  always 
been  an  active  participant  in  and  a  liberal  contributor  to  church 
and  Sunday-school  work.  In  the  Calvary  Baptist  church  is  a 
beautiful  memorial  window,  placed  there  by  him  to  commemorate 
the  many  virtues  of  his  deceased  wife.  Mr.  Jones  has  always 
shown  great  interest  and  activity  in  the  uplifting  of  the  masses. 
Believing  that  every  family  ought  to  have  a  home  of  their  own, 
he  has  taken  a  hading  part  in  the  work  of  the  Mutual  Building 
and  Loan  Association,  having  been  one  of  the  directors  of  that 
organization  for  over  twenty  years,  and  president  for  the  last  five 
years,  as  well  as  president  of  the  building  committee  of  the  as- 
sociation. Through  this  association  homes  have  been  acquired 
by  a  number  of  persons  who  otherwise  might  have  remained 
tenants  to  the  end  of  their  days. 

Jones,  Ira  B.,  editor  of  the  Minersville  Free  Press,  was  born  in 
the  borough  where  he  now  lives,  Oct.  19,  1877.  He  comes  of  good 
Welsh  stock,  his  parents,  John  R.  and  Margaret  (Beynon)  Jones, 
having  been  born  in  Wales.  The  father  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1852  and  settled  near  Minersville,  where  he  engaged  in 
mining  until  the  amputation  of  one  of  his  legs  made  further  work  of 
that  kind  impossible.  From  about  i860  until  the  time  of  his  death,  on 
Sept.  3,  1902,  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  and  his 
store  became  one  of  the  landmarks  of  Minersville.  He  was  the 
father  of  a  large  family  of  children,  twelve  of  whom  are  living. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  Miners- 
ville and  then  rounded  out  his  education  in  the  Pottsville  com- 
mercial school.  Then  he  found  employment  at  different  collieries 
as  paymaster  and  clerk,  leaving  that  work  in  1901  to  go  to  Mil- 
waukee where  he  lived  for  three  years.  Ill  health  compelled  his 
going  to  the  south  and  he  went  into  southern  Alabama  where  he 
became  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Baldwin  Times,  a  weekly 
newspaper.  In  Apr.,  1906,  he  returned  to  Minersville  and  pur- 
chased the  paper  and  plant  of  the  Free  Press,  which  he  has  been 
operating  ever  since,  with  signal  success.  On  June  12,  1902,  was 
celebrated  Mr.  Jones'  marriage  to  Miss  Lydia  G.  Robertson,  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  George  and  Elizabeth  (Woolcock)  Robertson,  of 
Mount  Carmel,  Pa.,  the  Robertsons  being  well  known  coal  oper- 
ators. Mrs.  Jones  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and 
her  husband  is  a  chapter  Mason.  He  is  a  clean,  honest  business 
man,  and  an  esteemed  and  respected  citizen. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  239 

Jones,  Reuben,  a  clerk  in  the  Miners*  National  Bank  at  Potts- 
V/ille,  is  a  descendant  of  some  of  the  pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill 
county.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Charles  Jones,  a  Pennsylvanian 
by  birth,  settled  in  East  Brunswick  township  in  the  early  part  of 

1800,  and  there  followed  his  trade  of  shoemaker  and  the  vocation 
of  farmer  for  many  years.     His  old  account  book,  dating  back  to 

1801,  is  now  in  possession  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Charles 
Jones  died  in  Schuylkill  county  and  his  remains  rest  in  the  ceme- 
tery at  the  Old  Red  church.  The  maternal  grandfather  was 
George  Heisler,  who  spent  all  his  life  in  Schuylkill  county,  and 
held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years.  He  and 
his  wife  both  died  in  Pottsville  and  are  buried  in  the  Presbyterian 
cemetery.  Reuben  Jones,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  re- 
view, married  Sallie  Heisler,  and  after  working  at  his  trade  of  shoe- 
maker for  several  years  engaged  in  farming  in  East  Brunswick 
township.  He  and  his  wife  both  died  there  and  are  buried  at 
M<:Keansburg.  They  had  a  family  of  nine  children  who  grew 
to  maturity,  viz:  Rebecca  and  Mary,  twins,  Reuben,  George,  Em- 
ma, Daniel,  Eliza  and  William  and  Caroline,  twins.  Rebecca  mar- 
ried John  Brenner;  Mary  married  Benjamin  Seltzer;  George  is  in 
Chicago;  Emma  is  the  wife  of  Daniel  Frantz;  Daniel  died  at  the 
ag^  of  about  fifty-five,  at  Wichita,  Kan.,  and  was  buried  there ;  and 
Eliza  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Maley.  Reuben  Jones  was  born  at 
McKeansburg,  April  26,  1842.  He  received  a  limited  education 
and  did  not  learn  to  speak  English  until  he  was  about  twenty 
years  old.  In  1862  he  came  to  Pottsville,  where  he  was  employed 
in  a  general  store.  In  1863  he  enlisted  as  an  emergency  man  in 
Company  B,  27th  regiment,  Pennsylvania  state  militia.  His  com- 
mand burned  the  bridge  at  Columbia  during  Lee's  invasion  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  terminated  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Af- 
ter a  service  of  six  weeks  he  was  honorably  discharged,  and  re- 
turned to  his  place  in  the  store,  where  he  continued  until  1865. 
On  Nov.  I,  1866,  he  was  appointed  watchman  in  the  Miners'  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  has  ever  since  been  connected  with  that  institu- 
tition,  holding  his  present  position  since  1878.  Mr.  Jones  is  one 
of  the  bank's  most  trusted  employes.  Every  year  he  has  a  vaca- 
tion of  two  weeks  and  on  these  occasions  he  has  visited  many 
points  of  interest  in  the  United  States,  Canada  and  Bermuda.  He 
is  a  member  of  Gowen  Post,  No.  23,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ; 
Lily  of  the  Valley  Lodge,  No.  281,  and  Franklin  "Encampment,  No. 
4,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  and  belongs  to  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  church.  On  March  20,  1864,  Mr.  Jones  and  Miss 
Hannah  Bachman  were  united  in  marriage.  Her  parents,  Daniel 
and  Mary  (Saul)  Bachman,  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  but  of 
German  descent.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  became  the  parents  of  four 
children,  two  of  whom  survive.  David  Milton  Jones  lives  in  New 
York  city,  where  for  the  past  five  years  he  has  held  the  position  of 
tenement  house  inspector.  He  married  Florence  Shand  and  they 
have  one  son,  David  Gordon.  Ida  Elmira  lives  at  home  with  her 
father.  The  mother  of  these  children  entered  the  life  eternal  on 
March   3,   1905. 


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240  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Jones,  Thomas  G.,  for  twenty-five  years  principal  of  the  high 
school  at  St.  Clair,  has  exercised  the  additional  function  of  super- 
intendent of  schools  in  the  same  borough  for  several  years 
past.  He  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born 
at  Silver  Creek,  also  known  as  New  Philadelphia,  July 
28,  1852.  His  parents  were  Griffith  and  Laura  (Thomas) 
Jones,  of  Welsh  extraction.  His  father  was  a  miner, 
in  comfortable  circumstances,  but  not  sufficiently  fore- 
handed to  gratify  his  son's  ambition  for  better  educational  advan- 
tages than  those  afforded  by  the  public  schools.  At  the  age  of 
thirteen  years  young  Jones  left  the  schools  and  secured  such  em- 
ployment as  he  was  able  to  perform  in  and  about  the  mines.  He 
continued  thus  employed  until  he  was  eighteen,  and  he  again 
entered  school  during  the  labor  strike  of  1872.  Here  he  was  chosen 
as  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  ungraded  district  school  in  which 
he  was  a  student.  In  1873  he  attended  a  normal  training  school 
conducted  by  the  county  superintendent  of  schools,  Mr.  Newlin. 
He  taught  school  the  following  term,  and  then  accepted  a  position 
in  the  lumber  regions  of  Clinton  county  for  the  succeeding  six 
months.  He  was  employed  in  teaching  during  the  winter  follow- 
ing this  engagement,  and  during  the  following  summer  attended 
a  normal  school  conducted  by  County  Superintendent  Weiss.  Dur- 
ing all  of  these  years  of  study,  whether  in  the  normal  schools 
or  in  the  privacy  of  his  own  room,  Mr.  Jones  had  in  view  the 
completion  of  the  prescribed  course  in  the  Keystone  state  normal 
school,  at  Kutztown,  and  he  finally  took  the  graduating  examina- 
tions, securing  a  state  certificate.  With  this  evidence  of  superior 
qualification,  he  applied  for  positions  of  higher  grade  and  larger 
recompense,  but  has  had  practical  and  successful  experience  in 
teaching,  from  the  primary  departments  to  the  high  schools.  He 
also  graduated  from  a  summer  school  in  1888.  As  intimated  at 
the  beginning  of  this  article  Professor  Jones  has  been  continuously 
employed  as  principal  of  the  high  school  at  St.  Clair  for  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  in  addition  to  which  he  has  also  had  general 
superintendence  of  the  schools  of  that  borough  during  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  time.  Professor  Jones  is  prominently  asso- 
ciated with  educational  circles  throughout  the  state,  having  held 
the  responsible  position  of  chairman  of  the  permanent-certificate 
committee.  He  has  been  secretary  of  the  Schuylkill  county 
teachers'  institute  for  a  number  of  years,  and  has  always  wielded 
a  potent  influence  in  the  advancement  of  the  educational  interests 
of  his  native  county.  In  religious  affairs  he  has  sustained  active 
relations  with  the  Baptist  church  for  many  years,  and  has  served 
as  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School  for  twenty-five  years.  He 
is  an  active  member  of  the  St.  Clair  Lodge,  No.  285,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  has  served  four  years  as  district  dep- 
uty grand  master ;  he  is  a  member  of  Anthracite  Lodge,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  of  Camp  No.  75,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons 
of  America.  Mr.  Jones  has  been  twice  married,  first,  on  August 
II,  1881,  to  Elizabeth  Greenwood,  to  which  union  three  children 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  241 

were  born,  namely:  Errol,  Anna  and  Lizzie.  Mrs.  Jones  died  in 
1896,  and  July  20,  1898,  Mr.  Jones  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  J. 
Wicks,  his  present  companion,  and  a  lady  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment. Professor  Jones  is  a  Republican  in  political  preference,  but 
has  neither  sought  nor  held  official  position.  He  is  devoted  to  his 
profession,  and  gives  but  little  attention  to  anything  outside  of 
that  and  the  church. 

Jones,  William  W.,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Minersville,  where  he 
is  a  dealer  in  stationery,  books,  notions  and  fancy  goods,  was 
born  in  the  borough  where  he  now  resides,  on  Feb.  2,  1863,  and  is 
a  son  of  William  H.  and  Dorothea  (Wertley)  Jones.  The  pater- 
nal grandfather,  who  was  a  native  of  Wales,  came  to  Miners- 
ville in  the  early  days  of  the  settlement  of  that  place.  He  became 
a  prominent  merchant  and  coal  operator,  and  was  the  father  of 
three  children.  William  H.,  the  eldest,  was  born  in  Wales, 
March  6,  1835;  Elizabeth,  who  was  born  on  the  ocean  while  the 
family  was  en  route  to  America,  became  the  wife  of  Henry  Rausch 
of  Philadelphia;  and  Louisa  married  Robert  Andrews.  Philip 
Jones  was  a  Republican  in  politics  and  in  his  religious  relations 
was  a  member  of  the  Welsh  Baptist  church.  His  demise  occurred 
about  1871.  William  H.  Jones  received  his  educational  advantages 
in  Minersville  and  at  the  tender  age  of  nine  years  went  to  work  in 
his  father's  colliery  as  a  slate-picker.  It  was  not  long,'  however, 
before  he  had  risen  to  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of  running  an 
engine.  He  remained  in  his  father's  employ  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  war,  and  then  was  one  of  the  first  to  enlist  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union.  The  regiment  he  was  assigned  to  duty 
with  was  sent  through  Washington  to  Alexandria,  where  it  was 
stationed  for  some  days.  At  the  end  of  his  term  of  enlistment  he 
returned  to  Minersville  and  became  employed  as  a  mine  machin- 
ist, which  vocation  he  followed  until  his  death.  His  marriage  to 
Miss  Dorothea  Wertley,  who  was  born  in  Port  Carbon,  Dec.  27, 
1839,  occurred  in  July,  i860.  She  was  a  daughter  of  George  and 
Magdelena  (Roehrig)  Wertley,  the  former  a  native  of  Wurt- 
emberg,  Germany,  and  the  latter  of  Alsace-Lorraine.  The  chil- 
dren of  William  H.  and  Dorothea  (Wertley)  Jones  are  three  in 
number.  Roy  H.,  the  eldest,  was  born  Apr.  12,  1861,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Minersville  public  schools.  He  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company,  as  a  telegraph 
operator  and  rose  through  the  various  stages  until  he  became 
yardmaster  at  Reading,  a  position  which  he  is  now  holding.  He 
married  Miss  Sally  Cummings,  and  they  have  one  son,  Ramsey. 
The  second  son  of  William  H.  Jones  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
and  the  third  is  Henry  L.,  who  is  now  general  storekeeper  for 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  company  at  Brainerd,  Minn.  He 
married  Miss  Ida  Johns,  and  has  three  children,  Roy  H.,  Mae 
Dorothea  and  Harold.  William  W.  Jones,  who  is  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  review,  attended  the  public  schools  until  the  death 
of  his  father,  which  occurred  Jan.  10,  1878,  made  it  necessary  for 
him  to  go  to  work  to  assist  in  the  maintenance  of  the  family. 

16— Vol.  II 


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242  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

His  first  labor  was  as  a  slate-picker  in  a  colliery,  but  he  did 
not  long  remain  thus  employed,  leaving  to  serve  an  apprentice- 
ship to  the  trade  of  printer,  in  the  office  of  the  Weekly  Schuyl- 
kill Republican.  After  three  and  a  half  years  he  had  mastered 
the  vocation  and  for  a  year  thereafter  was  employed  at  dif- 
ferent places  as  a  journeyman  printer.  In  1881  he  returned  to 
Minersville  and  purchased  of  William  J.  McElroy  the  business 
which  he  has  so  successfully  been  operating  since  tJiat  time.  Nov. 
12,  1891,  Mr.  Jones  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Kear, 
who  was  born  in  Minersville,  Nov.  18,  1867.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  William  G.  Kear  and  for  several  years  was  a  teacher  in  the 
county,  in  which  vocation  she  established  for  herself  an  enviable 
reputation.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  are  three  in 
number,  Dorothea,  born  Aug.  20,  1892;  William  Grant,  born 
Sept.  19,  1896;  and  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  July  2^,  1903.  Both 
parents  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which 
faith  the  children  are  being  reared,  and  Mr.  Jones  has  been  sec- 
retary of  the  Sunday  School  for  twenty-five  years.  He  is  a 
stanch  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  but 
has  never  held  or  aspired  to  public  office.  Fraternally,  he  is 
identified  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Sons  of  Veterans. 
Kaercher  Edward  E.,  division  superintendent  of  mines,  for  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  is  a  native  of 
Pottsville,  where  he  was  born  June  20,  1859.  His  father, 
Franklin  B.  Kaercher,  was  likewise  a  native  of  this  county,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  South  Manheim  township,  Sept.  18,  1821,  and 
having  died  in  Pottsville,  Aug.  29,  1881.  He  was  a  soldier  and 
officer  during  the  Mexican  war,  and  was  prominently  identified 
with  journalism  during  many  years  of  his  life.  He  learned  the 
printer's  trade  in  the  office  of  the  Miners'  Journal,  being  an  ap- 
prentice under  Benjamin  Bannan ;  worked  as  a  compositor  on  the 
Daily  Sun,  of  Philadelphia,  and  founded  the  Anthracite  Gazette  in 
Pottsville,  in  1844.  He  was  a  member  of  the  military  organiza- 
tion known  as  the  Washington  Artillerists,  and  went  into  service 
in  the  war  with  Mexico  as  second  lieutenant  of  Company  B,  un- 
der Captain  James  Nagle.  He  was  elected  county  treasurer  of 
Schuylkill  county,  on  the  Whig  ticket,  in  1850,  though  his  party 
was  largely  in  the  minority,  and  served  three  years  in  that  office ; 
for  a  like  period  he  was  clerk  to  the  county  commissioners. 
Franklin  B.  Kaecher  was  in  the  hotel  business  in  Pottsville  for  a 
number  of  years,  being  seven  years  the  proprietor  of  the  Exchange 
Hotel,  and  four  years  in  the  Pennsylvania  Hall.  He  was  five 
years  superintendent  of  the  Girard  estate.  He  was  extensively 
interested  in  coal  operations  at  Lost  Creek  and  Shenandoah,  and 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Safe  Deposit  Bank,  of  which  he 
was  treasurer  and  secretary  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was 
married  Sept.  3,  1844,  to  Susanna,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Eleanor  Huntzinger,  of  Pottsville.  Ten  children  were  born  to  this 
union,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  George  R.,  who  was  a  member  of 


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(^ o(^^jJkra;^ 


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MMGRAPHICAL 

;t.  -  •  ;r.cd  from  the  I'oiin\  iilc  hit^li  school.      M.  - 

a       '  .  \  ■  ;■  11.  iii^  .latnc  t«)\vn  aiMi  his  career  of  usct;/*;,. 

„.'-  .  ..  -    ill  <;  raihoad   wrL.k.     Franklin    W  vs  <is  i 

i...,  ^    ,  .:-v-f  r  at  l'.a->tiiiait   bu^ino^s  colU-Lie,  aiul   \\;-''- 

■  t  .'    ■  ..        .    ,      w  ,    M-.ai.a  X:   Rcaain.;  (  <^al  ar)d  Iron  C'ompji.;' 

.  '  '.  '    .- :nau'l   tl.  1^  ail  a* r.,nu'y  ;  W'iniani   II.  i^ 
•    '    '•  -.  .  J'-l'vai  1   K,  i^  th':  MT^i^'-ri   ut  thi^- >ketv-h  • 
;.■':■:.  .       .   ''        .  .    '!i    l*oK-\iile,    Ian-*'.-.    \] .   !^   deccas^'^l  ;   Wu 

-     I       •■  '        .       ■  :'   N.  i)a\ ,  ut   iia/.'eoii;  I^Uen  is  fleet a^  -  1 ; 

-;»'-:iTiiia    *  '        \   ;      =.)    !\c\',     j.     I*      llavvkos.      Franklin     '•. 

:   ..civl-'-r-  -        -     -     .     jj^-.^tl  and   Catiu-rine    i>hotls}    K  jerc''-.! . 

ti^-.  latht-r  \-,  ...  :  •  . -i'  Fainhi.r^.  IW^rks  count},  F-..,  h-Jt  .i 
'  ivly  lifr  i><»c:i  t  •  .  ■'•  *'»f  l*')tt.-.  illv,  where  he  reinaiiv..;  ur.*.* 
*-M3,  when  lu  .      •"   :  ni'ai'.iphia.  \^  h.ere  he  died  in  i8/>i,     !'•= 

•xerve<i   in   ti  r    ^x  <        '    .  -    .-.      M^  u-fc   \va>  a  daughter  of   Drcht  r 
Shott>,    of   (  »rvv  ■  <        ^.M!    'ki'I    rouitly,    and    tlic^y    became    tli-* 

l-arents  of  eU;^  •  '  ^  :i  a!.  .-.[  w 'v.Mn  are  lon^  since  (U^ca^.-^ 
Kdward  E.  K  <•.  ■  - -.  -■  ^■;."^-i:t  !  in  tlu-  [uddi  •  >cho.:'ls  of  lN.:r- 
cille  and  ^va^  i,  .■■■'!.....  t  l  h'.^di  S'*h.'ii>I  h-  the  class  of  i>.  < 
In   the   spring     *       -  '-   '  '     •   •    ■.'!''l   a   pc>'ir}on   as   a   menib('r  -'i     i 

surveying  and r    -■      m  the  e.M;;*..'\   ^  f  th(»  ]*hilad«[|.'    i 

<!v.    Reading   <  'wi*    .i.        ':  ^:t    K    ■  .'^Mn^-.    ai-J    math    hcMd-'ia^tci  ^    a. 

Ashland    for     I'l-r    ■       •    .      :.    urnrit:;   to    Fotisvii'e.    he    c./.i;  .^aed 

in  the  same  v\a\^'  =.■'.     *    .•     ui^-llit^  yvar,  whicn  h.*"  w  -  a'  .■  -.i-i.-d 

iransitman,    an*'     ,  ■-     -    ,:..-;,,,    ..t    Shamokir    f*-^    tl:.^    <-r.' r^  t /.[.\'^ 

five   years.      Ii.   _'i  .^•^"     ;.<  ."■'»^    a|i,;<  int^d    a^<i-t;Mf    :*-    i-raiir 

rliU  on  the  ^m*.    .       '      ■■  ;;'     -it-.-',  nvn]   nas  eir.j  »]•■■>  .-^1   ii.   •      •,  'ig- 

-iiT-veys  of  the  >■     ;!'■■.*!:*'    ,..  r^   r-'d  ti*.  his  until  W  ^   .   •--"'      In 

'*ii^   year   ho   v\,»-     '•.•        •■    •-'■•!!    t-t.-'Mcr   of   t!i*'    Fh  =    '   !i.hia   & 

i\ea<ling   Coai   ..-.m:    ]-    -•    •        .    :    y.   apd   I'^acid    iji   cii:*'^-    t-i    their 

•'winess  in  th*'  '''*     .*  \:  "':  '      t.     '^"^1*^.11  ^v•:•rs  J.    \. ,. ,  vinuiinied 

•T»   *his  oner».i'^   :'•-'••.    t:  •     'i^en    ni   .\;  i^a^l.    !•<  t-   he  was  pro- 

'■    »c<i   to  a^^  ^t.■■>l!    •*.•.:-.  /-ti^'ii  oivlrnr  <.t     ;  ;.!■  •'   f'Vr  tlie  Min- 

■    \dle  and  ']'■-«  .-.i' .-.'    '-     •   r        x    •  <  .1-  iait*   hf  v  .1^  ;n.  t:i  m,.,}  t(^  his 

''--ent   positi-n.   w"'.    ■  i  >.  r    'j.    .  !u    chip;   »^y'^   >  ;*  in-.r  Ir.::.  \:ii^  at 

-.orner   ot    ^^  i.   'i^- .     ■     :.    .■    >,  >- >!id    ^'   t  •  . -«.    i    •.^s\i'lc.      Mr. 

*-  i»-^   hrr  was  rpari .   d    *.'.  '.  '1    <  ■    i^*Sj,  i«     ;;     -    r  -  -m  (      Scl-n  -f- 

:    .    •  f  Ashland.      1    ,••>!    '.    .  .    •  -  h.' .  c-  hv. ci-  l-nr-i  :,,  o     ,  ;'.ii..n.  <  ier- 

•       I\   and    F^lii.t    I         ";-      ■   .i.-.nvr   i>   a    '»e'ii"..ji    ii.    pMlitjcd 

He   served    -•  ^  .  r  d    o      .-    .-^    a   nieinher    •>!'   t!- ■     iVem.'.-.t 

•  -'  hoard,  and  \\ '      i-m^^   ,;.1".    i'.-    st  or* 'ary  of  -h'-    ••  i^aTii/ati- ".. 

•  '-^  also  been  a  •'.   i^      •  ..  ■  .  •  -*. .  ■  rri.^Ti^  of  ]r-<  ]» tr-  -.     <  M"  t' 
■  •■  d    and    benetuia!    ^**  •  ^r*"-.   .    ..      -n-t.'i.s    tueirhcTship    in    t^ 

'  '  .i<ient  OrdeT   -d  t  'l-i   i    ■  ■•;v.  ..  ]i.  va:  Arcanu-n  and  Ai'.-'^-" 
:»y.  in  all  of  \.    i.  :«  !>■  ;-,:>  Ik  '  ]  ..rMiidnent  ofVicial  statl**-;- 
cr,  Charles  D.,  •;,      ;4^":    '"v  ni,i,  ^    years  prominently  i'l   •  •■ 
.•*h  the  comnica.ial   '•  :>    <  ^  s-^imv   '  !<'  lOuntv.  was  hMrn  '  • 
.   'I'lchv  of   BalMi.    (  rr-   in}.   .v;.-rch  ^•,    i^^<).     ^V^:n  h- 

*  TtCMi  years  of  -v,  c  hf*  cr-.-'i*"   .<>    \n. erica  with  h  - 

•  A     and    Crescentia       \\itr..'     *    Kaier.    who    fir-i     ' 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  243 

the  first  class  graduated  from  the  Pottsville  high  school.  He  was 
a  prominent  lawyer  in  his  native  town  and  his  career  of  usefulness 
was  summarily  ended  in  a  railroad  wreck.  Franklin  P.  was  edu- 
cated for  a  business  career  at  Eastman  business  college,  and  was 
secretary  of  the  Pennsylvania  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  Samuel  H.  is  an  attorney ;  William  H.  is 
a  resident  of  Boston  Mass. ;  Edward  E.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch ; 
Daniel  W.  is  an  attorney  in  Pottsville ;  James  M.  is  deceased ;  Ida 
L.  is  the  wife  of  Franklin  N.  Day,  of  Hazleton ;  Ellen  is  deceased ; 
Susanna  C.  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  J.  P.  Hawkes.  Franklin  B. 
Kaercher  was  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Catherine  (Shotts)  Kaercher. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Hamburg,  Berks  county,  Pa.,  but  in 
early  life  became  a  resident  of  Pottsville,  where  he  remained  until 
1843,  when  he  moved  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  died  in  1861.  He 
served  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Dreher 
Shotts,  of  Orwigsburg,  Schuylkill  county,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  eleven  children,  all  of  whom  are  long  since  deceased. 
Edward  E.  Kaercher  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Potts- 
ville and  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  the  class  of  1878. 
In  the  spring  of  1879  ^^  accepted  a  position  as  a  member  of  a 
surveying  and  engineering  corps  in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  and  made  headquarters  at 
Ashland  for  three  years.  Returning  to  Pottsville,  he  continued 
in  the  same  employment  for  another  year,  when  he  was  appointed 
transitman,  and  was  stationed  at  Shamokin  for  the  succeeding 
five  years.  In  July,  1887,  he  was  appointed  assistant  to  Frank 
Hill  on  the  state  geological  survey,  and  was  employed  in  making 
surveys  of  the  southern  anthracite  coal  fields  until  Nov.,  1888.  In 
this  year  he  was  made  division  engineer  of  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  and  placed  in  charge  of  their 
business  in  the  Tremont  district.  Sixteen  years  he  was  continued 
in  this  onerous  position,  and  then,  in  August,  1904,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  assistant  division  superintendent  of  mines  for  the  Min- 
ersville  and  Tremont  district.  A  year  later  he  was  promoted  to  his 
present  position,  with  office  in  the  company's  elegant  building  at 
the  corner  of  Mahantongo  and  Second  streets,  Pottsville.  Mr. 
Kaercher  was  married  March  30,  1882,  to  Miss  Emma  C.  Schaef- 
fer,  of  Ashland.  Two  daughters  have  been  born  to  this  union,  Ger- 
trude T.  and  Edna  L.  Mr.  Kaercher  is  a  Democrat  in  political 
views.  He  served  several  terms  as  a  member  of  the  Tremont 
school  board,  and  was  president  and  secretary  of  the  organization. 
He  has  also  been  a  delegate  to  conventions  of  his  party.  Of  the 
social  and  beneficial  fraternities  he  sustains  membership  in  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Royal  Arcanum  and  Masonic- 
fraternity,  in  all  of  which  he  has  held  prominent  official  stations. 

Kaier,  Charles  D.,  deceased,  for  many  years  prominently  identi-^ 
fied  with  the  commercial  life  of  Schuylkill  county,  was  born  in  the 
grand  duchy  of  Baden,  Germany,  March  6,  1839.  When  he  was 
about  fifteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  America  with  his  parents^ 
Andrew   and    Crescentia    (Witmer)    Kaier,   who   first   located   in 


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244  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Norristown,  where  the  father  followed  his  occupation  of  black- 
smith and  the  son  began  learning  the  trade  of  baker  and  confec- 
tioner. In  1856  the  family  removed  to  St.  Qair,  and  here  Charles 
entered  the  bakery  of  Fred  Epping,  with  whom  he  completed  his 
apprenticeship.  When  President  Lincoln  called  for  75,000  men 
in  the  spring  of  1861,  Charles  D.  Kaier  was  one  of  the  first  to  re- 
spond. He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  9th  Pennsylvania 
volunteer  infantry,  and  aiter  serving  for  three  months  was  hon- 
orably discharged  on  Aug  21,  1861.  In  1862  he  located  in  Mahanoy 
City,  where  for  a  time  he  was  associated  in  business  with  Fred- 
erick Gantert.  He  then  erected  the  building  at  113  East  Centre 
street  and  engaged  in  bottling  ale  and  porter.  Subsequently  he 
became  the  agent  for  Bergner  &  Engle,  the  great  brewing  firm 
of  Philadelphia,  his  territory  embracing  the  counties  of  Schuyl- 
kill, Columbia,  Carbon  and  Northumberland.  To  this  position 
he  brought  all  his  energy  and  fine  executive  ability,  and  in  a  short 
time  his  agency  became  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  profitable 
in  the  state.  His  desire,  however,  was  to  be  a  brewer  on  his 
own  account,  and  his  work  as  agent  for  Bergner  &  Engle  was  but 
a  stepping-stone  to  that  end.  In  1891  he  erected  a  brewery,  equip- 
ped with  all  the  latest  improvements,  and  began  the  manufacture 
of  malt  liquors.  This  establishment  was  enlarged  from  time  to 
time,  until  at  the  time  of  his  death  it  was  one  of  the  greatest  brew- 
eries in  the  state,  having  a  capacity  of  over  100,000  barrels  a  year 
and  employing  constantly  150  men.  Mr.  Kaier  was  also  interested 
in  other  business  institutions  in  the  county.  He  was  connected 
with  banks  in  Shenandoah  and  Girardville;  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  vice-president  of  the  Union 
National  bank  of  Mahanoy  City;  was  the  founder  and  controlling 
spirit  of  the  Broad  Mountain  Ice  Company,  which  he  operated 
in  connection  with  his  brewing  interests;  and  also  controlled  the 
operations  of  the  Anthracite  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company. 
He  owned  the  opera  house,  as  well  as  other  valuable  property  in 
the  city  where  he  had  lived  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  although 
he  was  one  of  the  well-to-do  men  of  the  place,  not  one  dollar  of 
his  wealth  had  been  accumulated  except  by  the  most  upright 
methods.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  affiliations,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  But  his  charity  was 
not  limited  by  nationality,  party  line  nor  religious  creeds.  Many 
instances  of  his  generosity  and  kindness  might  be  mentioned, 
though  it  is  highly  probable  that  many  more  would  remain  un- 
known, as  his  benevolence  was  of  that  unostentatious  kind  that 
"lets  not  the  left  hand  know  what  the  right  hand  doeth."  He 
was  a  member  of  Severn  Post,  No.  iio^  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, of  Mahanoy  City,  and  of  the  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick 
in  Philadelphia,  where  he  died  on  May  31,  1899.  Mr.  Kaier  had 
been  afflicted  for  several  years,  and  had  gone  abroad  in  search  of 
health,  placing  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  most  skillful  physicians 
of  both  this  country  and  Europe.  His  remains  were  brought  to  Ma- 
hanoy City  and  interred  in  the  family  plot  in  St.  Fidelis  cemetery. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  245 

Mr.  Kaier  married  Miss  Margaret  Curry,  of  Pottsville,  and  of  the 
ten  children  born  to  this  union  seven  reached  the  age  of  maturity. 
Ella  married  John  B.  Lieberman  and  is  now  deceased;  Josephine 
is  the  wife  of  M.  J.  Haughney  of  Mahanoy  City;  Margaret  is 
Mrs.  John  B.  Lieberman;  two  daughters,  Mary  and  Crescentia,  are 
unmarried;  Amelia  is  now  Mrs.  Henry  Schreyer;  and  Charles, 
the  only  surviving  son,  is  interested  in  the  management  of  his 
father's  estate.  Concerning  the  career  and  death  of  Mr.  Kaier,  the 
Mahanoy  City  Record  said:  "In  his  death  Mahanoy  City  loses 
not  alone  its  foremost  business  man,  but  one  who  by  the  confidence 
which  he  manifested  in  its  welfare  inspired  others  to  invest,  and 
awakened  faith  in  the  future  of  the  community.  To  his  pride 
in  the  town  was  due  some  of  its  greatest  improvements,  and  notably 
an  opera  house  which  in  the  completeness  of  its  appointments, 
and  the  elegance  of  its  decoration  is  unsurpassed  in  the  state.  In 
his  family  relations  he  presented  an  excellent  example  of  husband 
and  father.  Devoted  to  his  wife  and  fond  of  his  children,  he  was 
constantly  aiming  to  provide  for  their  pleasure  and  gratification. 
These  special  occasions  in  the  history  of  families  which  mark 
domestic  history  were  always  observed  in  a  manner  to  make  them 
memorable  and  fragrant  memories."  This  encomium  from  one 
who  had  known  him  in  his  life  is  an  index  to  his  character  and  in 
few  words  shows  what  manner  of  man  he  was  in  his  relations 
with  his  fellow-men.  His  death  was  deeply  felt,  not  only  by  the 
surviving  widow  and  her  children,  but  also  by  the  entire  com- 
munity which  he  had  done  so  much  to  elevate  in  a  moral  and 
material  sense. 

Kaier,  Franz  X.,  the  superintendent  of  the  Charles  D.  Kaier 
Brewing  Company,  of  Mahanoy  City,  was  born  in  Baden,  Ger- 
many, in  1852.  His  father,  Plasius  Kaier,  was  a  school  teacher  by 
vocation  and  lived  out  his  years  in  the  German  fatherland.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
country  and  there  learned  the  art  of  brewing  in  the  thorough  man- 
ner of  which  only  native  Germans  are  capable.  His  coming  to 
the  United  States  is  dated  in  1882,  and  his  first  home  in  the  new 
world  in  which  he  sought  his  fortune  was  in  Pottsville.  After  six 
months  of  work  in  that  city  he  came  to  Mahanoy  City,  where 
Charles  D.  Kaier  had  preceded  him  by  some  years  and  had  become 
well  established  in  the  brewing  business.  It  was  in  this  establish- 
ment that  he  first  obtained  work,  and  when  the  concern  moved 
into  the  new  and  larger  quarters  necessitated  by  the  increase  of 
business,  Mr.  Kaier  was  made  superintendent,  a  position  which  he 
has  filled  with  proficiency  and  ability  every  since.  He  has  been 
twice  married,  and  by  his  first  wife,  nee  Theresa  Guenther,  who 
was  bom  in  Ashland,  he  is  the  father  of  three  sons — Frank,  John 
and  Edward.  After  death  had  severed  the  first  union  he  was 
united  in  the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony  to  Miss  Kate  Kline,  a 
daughter  of  William  Kline,  of  Mahanoy  City.  Three  children 
blessed  this  union — Faver,  Harry  and  Charles.  Fraternally,  Mr. 
Kaier  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 


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246  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Elks  and  is  a  member  of  the  C.  D.  Kaier  Benefit  association.  He 
is  a  man  of  sterling  integrity,  genial  manner  and  public  spirit  and 
withal  is  a  most  worthy  citizen. 

Kalbach,  Capt.  George  R.,  inspector  for  the  Pottsville  Water 
Company,  is  a  descendant  of  some  of  the  oldest  families  of  Schuyl- 
kill county.  His  paternal  grandfather,  John  Kalbach,  was  born  in 
Womelsdorf,  Berks  county,  in  1816,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  years 
settled  in  Pottsville,  where  he  followed  his  trade  of  cabinet-maker 
and  also  conducted  an  undertaking  establishment.  He  married 
Mary  Reed,  who  was  born  in  Orwigsburg,  Schuylkill  county.  The 
maternal  grandfather  of  Capt.  Kalbach  was  John  Boland,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  who  settled  in  his  early  life  at  New  Philadelphia.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Margaret  Holihan.  He  was  a  min- 
ing contractor  for  the  greater  part  of  his  active  life.  Capt.  Kal- 
bach was  born  in  Pottsville,  Nov.  24,  1874,  his  parents,  Charles  \V. 
and  Mary  (Boland)  Kalbach,  both  being  natives  of  Schuylkill 
county.  The  father  is  now  conducting  a  plumbing  establishment 
in  Pottsville.  The  children  of  Charles  W.  and  Mary  Kalbach  are 
George  R.,  John  G.,  William,  Elizabeth  M.,  Lila,  Walter  and  Rob- 
ert. Capt.  George  R.  Kalbach  was  educated  in  the  Pottsville  pub- 
lic schools  and  then  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  plumber's 
trade,  following  that  occupation  for  a  while;  thereafter  he  was 
fireman  in  the  Federal  building  for  three  years,  and  since  Jan.  i, 
1902,  he  has  held  his  present  position.  Jan.  3,  1893,  he  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  Company  F,  4th  regiment  Pennsylvania  National 
Guard.  He  was  promoted  to  corporal  on  I\Iay  15,  1894;  sergeant 
on  Oct.  25,  1894;  and  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  May 
14,  1897.  With  this  rank  he  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  on  May  12,  1898,  at  Mount  Gretna,  for  duty  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  his  company  being  assigned  to  the  4th  regiment, 
commanded  by  Col.  D.  B.  Case.  He  served  with  his  command  at 
Chickamauga,  Ga.,  Newport  News,  Va.,  and  in  Porto  Rico.  On 
Nov.  II,  1898,  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  Federal  service  and  re- 
sumed his  old  rank  of  second  lieutenant  in  the  same  company  and 
regiment  of  the  National  Guard  as  before  the  war,  Capt.  James 
Archibald  commanding  the  company.  On  May  7,  1901,  he  was 
made  first  lieutenant,  and  on  Oct.  4,  1901,  was  commissioned  cap- 
tain, holding  that  rank  until  Sept.  4,  1906.  Capt.  Kalbach  has 
testimonials  from  congressmen,  state  officials  and  prominent  citi- 
zens, attesting  his  qualifications  as  a  member  of  the  National 
Guard  and  his  general  character.  He  is  a  member  of  the  fraternal 
Order  of  Eagles,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Pottsville  Turtle  club, 
and  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affihations.  On  Jan.  i,  1904, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Kathryn,  daughter  of  William 
R.  and  Cecelia  (Quinn)  Schaefer,  of  Cressona,  Schuylkill  county, 
and  they  have  one  daughter,  Kathryn  Elizabeth. 

Karsch,  Rev.  Carl  G.,  a  minister  of  the  gospel  in  Miners- 
ville  and  the  regularly  installed  pastor  of  Zion's  Evangelical  Luth- 
eran church,  was  born  in  Silesia,  Germany.  Feb.  16,  1871.  He  is 
a  son  of  the  late  Herman  and  Leopoldine  (Thomas)  Karsch.    The 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  247 

father  came  to  the  United  States  in  1865,  but  owing  to  the  Prus- 
sian-Austrian war  he  returned  in  1866.  He  was  a  surgeon,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  University  of  Berlin,  Germany,  and  spent  a  part  of  his 
life  in  surgical  practice.  The  mother  died  in  1894,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six  years,  and  the  father  passed  away  in  1900  at  the  age  of 
eighty.  The  father  was  a  devout  Lutheran,  and  it  was  in  this 
faith  that  the  ten  children  were  reared.  Of  the  ten,  six  are  living, 
two — ^Theodore  and  Mrs.  Mary  Boehn,  of  Philadelphia  and  At- 
lantic City  respectively — besides  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  being 
in  this  country,  and  the  other  three,  Adolph,  Bertha  and  Hedwig, 
remaining  in  Germany.  Rev.  Mr.  Karsch  received  his  preliminary 
educational  training  in  the  public  schools  and  college  of  the  father- 
land. His  theological  training  was  received  in  the  Lutheran  sem- 
inary at  Mt.  Airy,  Philadelphia^  and  his  ordination  to  the  ministry 
came  early  in  1898.  His  first  connection  was  with  St.  Mark*s 
church,  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  remained  but  a  few  months.  On 
the  first  Sunday  in  December,  1898,  he  was  duly  installed  as  pas- 
tor of  Zion's  Evangelical  Lutheran  church.  The  church  is  the 
oldest  in  the  community,  the  building  itself  having  been  erected 
sixty-eight  years  ago,  and  the  congregation  was  orgarhized  even 
before  that  time.  The  membership  roll  today  shows  a  total,  ex- 
clusive of  the  children,  of  450,  and  the  Sunday  school  has  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  300.  Mrs.  Karsch  was  formerly  Miss  Kate  W. 
Scheuermann,  a  native  of  Philadelphia  ^nd  a  daughter  of  Adam 
and  Frederica  (Schnering)  Scheuermann.  She  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Girls'  Normal  school  of  Philadelphia,  having  received  her  cer- 
tificate on  June  14,  1888,  following  which  she  was  a  teacher  in  the 
Daniel  Webster  school  for  a  period  of  two  years.  She  had  a 
most  excellent  record  both  as  teacher  and  pupil.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Karsch  have  one  child,  Carl  Henry,  now  a  pupil  in  the  public 
schools.  Mrs.  Karsch  is  an  earnest  and  devout  worker  in  both 
church  and  Sunday  school  and  is  superintendent  of  the  primary 
department  of  the  latter.  Her  husband  is  a  regular  member  of 
the  Ministerium  -of  Pennsylvania  and  adjacent  states  and  was 
president  of  the  Pottsville  conference  for  the  term  which  ended 
in  1906.  Personally  Mr.  Karsch  is  a  man  of  pleasing  presence, 
both  in  the  pulpit  and  elsewhere,  and  of  excellent  bearing.  He  is 
a  gentleman  of  broad  culture,  scholarly  attainments  and  exemplary 
Christian  character. 

Kaufman,  Charles  F.,  proprietor  of  a  modern,  well  equipped 
general  store  at  Gordon,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  Jan.  10, 
1840.  He  is  a  son  of  George  and  Maria  (Boyer)  Kaufman,  and  is 
one  of  nine  children  in  the  family,  the  others  being  John  G.,  Louis, 
George  B.,  Alexander,  Samuel,  Edward,  William  and  Alice,  all  of 
whom  are  living  except  John  and  William.  Charles  F.  Kaufman 
attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  borough  until  he  was 
seventeen  years  of  age  and  then  left  his  scholastic  work  to  earn 
a  living.  He  opened  a  restaurant  and  subsequently  a  store,  which 
he  managed  in  connection.  After  a  few  years  he  closed  out  his 
interests  and  in  1865  came  to  Gordon,  where  he  engaged  in  the 


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248  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

general  mercantile  business.  This  has  been  his  vocation  ever 
since  that  time  and  his  store  has  become  a  landmark  in  the  bor- 
ough. Mr.  Kaufman  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
Miss  Lizzie  Kline,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Kline,  who  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Schuylkill  Haven  and  who  operated  a  boat  line  on  the 
canal.  Four  children  blessed  this  first  union,  the  only  son  of 
which,  Charles,  is  deceased ;  Lizzie,  the  eldest  daughter,  is  the  wife 
of  Henry  Hubler  and  the  mother  of  two  children,  Gregory  and 
Theodore ;  Amy  married  Charles  Kleber  and  has  one  child,  Helen ; 
and'  Addie  is  the  wife  of  Harry  Duncan,  by  whom  she  has  had 
seven  children — Charles,  Alice,  Amy,  Bird,  Grace,  Qaude,  and 
Ruth,  the  last  of  whom  is  deceased.  After  death  had  annulled 
Mr.  Kaufman's  first  marriage  he  led  to  the  altar,  on  Jan.  i,  187 1, 
Miss  Rosina  Faust>  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Elizabeth  (Rarig) 
Faust  of  Gordon.  By  this  union  he  was  the  father  of  five  sons 
and  a  daughter,  of  whom  but  two  survive — ^Austin,  who  married 
Miss  Annie  Frank,  daughter  of  Prof.  N.  M.  Frank,  head  of  the 
Gordon  schools;  and  Luther  B.,  who  married  Miss  Annie  Stauf- 
fenberg,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Eliza  (Krapf)  Stauifenberg,  on 
Aug.  23,  1898,  and  who  is  the  father  of  two  children,  Virginia  and 
Roy.  The  deceased  children  of  the  second  union  are  George, 
Gardner,  Alice  and  Albert.  In  political  matters  Mr.  Kaufman 
uses  his  influence  in  behalf  of  the  candidates  of  the  Republican 
party,  but  aside  from  a  term  of  service  as  school  director  he  has 
never  held,  or  aspired  to,  positions  of  public  trust.  He  and  his 
family  are  communicants  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  he  has  been 
identified  with  several  fraternal  organizations.  Among  these  are 
the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Junior  Order  of  United  Amer- 
ican Mechanics,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  Of  late  years  he  has  not 
been  actively  associated  with  any  secret  society. 

Kazunas,  Luke  Mark,  proprietor  of  the  City  Drug  Store  at  Shen- 
andoah, and  also  of  a  drug  istore  at  Mahanoy  City,  was  born  May 
I,  1872,  in  Russian  Lithuania,  and  is  the  youngest  of  five  sons  bom 
to  Luke  Peter  and  Mary  Kazunas."  The  mother  is  deceased  and 
the  father  still  lives  at  Birzy,  in  the  province  of  Kovno,  where  he 
was  born,  and  where  he  has  passed  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer  and 
miller.  Of  the  other  sons,  Matthew  lives  in  the  province  of  Kur- 
land ;  Peter,  John  and  Michael,  and  a  step-brother,  Joseph,  all  live 
in  the  province  of  Kovno.  They  are  all  engaged  in  similar  busi- 
ness to  that  of  the  father,  as  they  inherited  a  large  estate,  con- 
sisting of  valuable  farming  land  and  mill  property.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Kovno  and  the  gym- 
nasium at  Mitau,  the  capital  of  Kurland.  In  this  institution  he 
spent  six  years,  and  was  also  under  the  care  and  instruction  of 
private  tutors  for  some  time,  accepting  this  educational  training 
in  lieu  of  a  share  in  the  estate  above  mentioned.  In  1893  ^^  came 
to  America,  stopping  for  a  short  time  in  Germany  on  his  way 
over,  and  first  located  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  he  spent  a  year 
as  a  student  in  the  Baltimore  medical  college.     He  then  came  to 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  249 

Pennsylvania  and  for  a  short  time  was  at  Mount  Carmel.  Toward 
the  close  of  1894  he  came  to  Shenandoah.  For  about  a  year  he 
was  interested  in  the  publication  of  a  Lithuanian  newspaper,  but 
in  1895  he  disposed  of  this  interest  and  entered  a  drug  store  at 
Mahanoy  City,  where  he  remained  until  1898,  when  he  returned 
to  Shenandoah  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Gruhler  Bros.,  drug- 
gists. A  few  months  later  he  and  P.  W.  Bierstein  bought  a  drug 
store,  which  they  conducted  for  about  three  years  under  the  firm 
name  of  P.  W.  Bierstein  &  Co.  In  1900  Mr.  Kazunas  became  the 
sole  proprietor  of  the  establishment,  which  he  has  ever  since  con- 
ducted, giving  his  personal  attention  to  the  business  in  all  its  de- 
tails. While  a  student  in  the  gymnasium  at  Mitau  he  was  thor- 
oughly instructed  in  the  elements  of  physiology,  chemistry  and 
hygiene,  and  this  training,  supplemented  by  his  year's  work  in  the 
Baltimore  medical  college,  has  g^ven  him  a  preparation  for  his 
calling  that  few  druggists  enjoy.  He  manufactures  a  number  of 
remedies  which  have  been  introduced  to  the  trade  throughout  a 
large  section  of  the  United  States.  In  addition  to  his  drug  store 
at  Shenandoah  he  conducts  another  store  at  Mahanoy  City.  This 
branch  store  was  established  in  1906  and  is  in  charge  of  a  regis- 
tered pharmacist,  with  one  apprentice.  The  Shenandoah  store 
employs  two  clerks,  both  of  whom  are  capable  and  competent  men. 
Mr.  Kazunas  is  a  Socialist  in  his  political  views,  though  he  has 
never  been  an  aspirant  for  political  honors.  He  is  a  member  of 
Gen.  Harrison  Lodge,  No.  251,  Knights  of  Pythias;  the  Lithua- 
nian Alliance  of  America,  and  a  beneficial  organization  known  as 
the  Sons  of  Lithuania.  On  Aug.  6,  1901,  Mr.  Kazunas  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Regina  Anna  Boczkowski,  whose  father  is 
the  editor  of  the  Lithuanian  paper  at  Mahanoy  City  called  "The 
Saule"  (The  Sun.)  To  this  union  has  been  born  one  son,  Mark 
Leo,  bom  May  20,  1904. 

Keeny,  Peter  ^.,  head  of  the  grammar  school  of  Pine  Grove, 
and  a  farmer,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  county.  March  2y,  1861.  He 
is  a  son  of  Elias  N.  and  Isabella  (Moyer)  Keeny,  both  natives  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  father  of  this  county  and  the  mother  of  Berks 
county.  Elias  Keeny  was  a  farmer  and  had  no  other  vocation 
during  his  life  time.  The  farm  which  he  worked  is  now  in  the 
hands  of  a  third  generation  of  Keenys.  He  was  a  school  director 
for  many  years  and  an  earnest  member  of  and  worker  in  the 
Lutheran  church,  in  the  doctrines  and  tenets  of  which  faith  his 
family  was  reared.  He  died  Dec.  6,  1896.  His  widow  is  still  liv- 
ing and  is  a  resident  of  North  Pine  Grove.  Prof.  Keeny  is  the 
eldest  of  the  children  in  the  family.  John  H.  is  a  blacksmith, 
working  at  his  trade  in  Myerstown,  Lebanon  county ;  Charles  N., 
formerly  a  teacher,  is  how  a  rural  mail  carrier;  Kate  died  at  the 
age  of  nine;  and  Elmer  N.  is  a  teacher.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
received  his  preparatory  intellectual  training  in  the  county  and 
borough  schools  and  in  1887  was  graduated  at  the  Keystone  state 
normal  school  and  given  a  teacher's  certificate.  Four  years  prior 
to  his  graduation  he  had  begun  teaching,  and  he  has  continued  it 


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250  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ever  since.  Of  the  twenty-five  or  more  years  he  has  spent  in  peda- 
gogic work  nineteen  have  been  in  his  present  position.  That  he 
is  eminently  fitted  for  the  work  is  evidenced  by  the  length  of  serv- 
ice in  the  Pine  Grove  schools.  Dec.  24,  1887,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Polly  Groh,  a  native  of  Lebanon  county  and  a ' 
daughter  of  John  R.  and  Lydia  (Keller)  Groh.  Her  parents  are 
both  living,  residing  on  a  farm  in  Pine  Grove  township.  The 
children  of  Prof,  and  Mrs.  Keeny  are  two  in  number — Minnie 
Lydia,  a  graduate  of  the  Pine  Grove  schools  in  the  class  of  1906, 
and  Harry  H.  Both  father  and  son  are  members  of  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America. 

Kehler,  Albert  B.,  of  Locust  Dale,  is  a  prosperous  dealer  in  home- 
dressed  beef.  He  was  born  in  Eldred  township,  Schuylkill  county, 
Apr.  22,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  Joel  and  Catherine  (Bensinger)  Keh- 
ler.  The  father,  who  was  a  farmer,  merchant  and  butcher,  spent 
the  larger  part  of  his  active  life  in  this  county.  Six  of  the  children 
born  to  the  parents  are  living,  of  whom  Albert  B.  is  the  fourth  in 
order  of  birth.  The  others  are  Catherine,  wife  of  E.  S.  Kehler; 
William,  Lafayette,  Elmira,  the  wife  of  Frank  Knapp,  and  Jennie, 
the  wife  of  Charles  Moser.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
in  Eldred  township,  in  the  common  schools  of  which  he  received 
his  education.  When  he  had  completed  his  schooling  he  learned 
the  butcher*s  trade  and  in  1894  embarked  in  business  for  himself 
at  Locust  Dale.  His  excellent  stock,  his  finely  equipped  store  and 
his  ability  to  please  soon  brought  him  a  patronage  which  has  in- 
creased from  year  to  year  until  now  he  does  an  annual  business 
to  the  amount  of  $6,000.  His  earnings  of  the  past  few  years  have 
enabled  him  to  erect  a  handsome,  modern  residence.  In  1893  was 
solemnized  Mr.  Kehler*s  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  Schwalm,  a 
daughter  of  Emanuel  Schwalm,  of  Hegins  township.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kehler  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but  have  an  adopted 
daughter,  Larvetta.  The  family  are  ardent  and  conscientious  mem- 
bers of  and  workers  in  the  L^nited  Evangelical  church  of  Locust 
Dale.  Politically  Mr.  Kehler  is  a  Republican,  but  is  interested  in 
politics  only  so  far  as  they  give  him  opportunity  to  exercise  his 
judgment  in  the  selection  of  office-holders.  His  fraternal  rela- 
tions are  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  He  is 
wealthy  and  influential  and  personally  is  a  man  of  fine  physique, 
excellent 'Carriage,  and  hearty,  genial  manner. 

Kehler,  Andrew  Jackson,  a  prosperous  retail  dealer  in  meats, 
whose  place  of  business  is  Locust  Dale,  was  born  in  Eldred  town- 
ship, this  county,  Sept.  16,  1862.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Chris- 
tiana (Bensinger)  Kehler,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Eldred 
township.  The  two  grandfathers,  John  Kehler  and  Jacob  Ben- 
singer, were  prominent  agriculturists  in  the  early  days  of  Schuyl- 
kill county.  The  father,  John  Kehler,  was  for  many  years  a  far- 
mer of  Eldred  township,  leaving  that  occupation  to  engage  in  the 
mercantile  trade  in  Ashland.  From  Ashland  he  came  to  make  his 
home  in  Locust  Dale,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
He  was  the  father  of  six  children — three  of  whom  survive — To- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  251 

bias,  Andrew  J.,  and  Sheridan.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  spent 
his  early  life  in  Schuylkill  county,  attending  the  common  schools 
of  Hegins  township.  On  attaining  his  majority  he  learned  the 
trade  of  butcher  and  as  a  journeyman  in  that  trade  was  employed 
for  eight  years  by  an  uncle,  F.  J.  Kehler.  In  1893  he  embarked  in 
business  for  himself  as  a  retailer  and  has  met  with  a  success  far 
exceeding  his  most  sanguine  expectations.  In  Nov.,  1885,  Mr. 
Kehler  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Monroe,  a  daughter 
of  John  Monroe,  of  Locust  Dale.  This  union  has  been  blessed 
with  three  children — Frank,  John  and  Edgar.  The  family  are  all 
communicants  of  the  United  Evangelical  church  of  Locust  Dale. 
In  politics  Mr.  Kehler  is  a  Republican,  and  as  the  candidate  of  that 
party  he  was  elected  township  treasurer,  a  position  which  he  filled 
with  dignity  and  ability  for  a  full  term.  Fraternally  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  He  is  en- 
terprising and  public-spirited  and  withal  is  a  most  valued  member 
of  the  community. 

Kehler,  Felix  F.,  a  prosperous  farmer  in  Eldred  township,  was 
born  at  his  present  home,  March  21,  1854.  His  father,  Peter  Keh- 
ler, was  born  on  the  same  farm,  which  his  father,  John  Kehler, 
located  in  the  pioneer  days  of  Schuylkill  county.  He  secured  a 
large  body  of  wild  land  which  succeeding  generations  of  his  fam- 
ily have  cleared  up  and  rendered  productive.  Originally  it  was 
covered  with  heavy  hardwood  timber,  and  almost  endless  labor 
was  required  to  subdue  the  forest  and  establish  a  comfortable 
home.  John  Kehler  was  the  first  of  the  family  name  to  locate  in 
Schuylkill  county,  where  he  has  a  numerous  posterity.  There  are 
now  many  prosperous  farmers  in  Eldred  township  who  trace  their 
ancestry,  near  or  remote,  to  John  Kehler.  He  was  obliged  to 
clear  a  spot  on  which  to  locate  his  pioneer  cabin,  and  ended  his 
days  in  an  almost  fruitless  effort  to  prepare  a  portion  of  his  land 
for  cultivation.  But  succeeding  generations  have  benefited  by  his 
labors,  as  do  all  successors  of  the  early  pioneers.  Peter  Kehler, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  took  up  the  work  of  his  father 
and  occupied  the  parental  home  and  farm  when  he  reached  the 
years  of  maturity,  as  his  son,  Felix,  is  now  doing  in  the  continu- 
ance of  the  family  heritage.  This  was  the  **home'*  of  the  pioneer 
preachers  as  they  made  their  rounds  among  the  people,  and  the 
log  barn  erected  by  grandfather  John  Kehler,  was  one  of  the  early 
preaching  points.  In  later  years  he  assisted  in  building  the  first 
church  in  the  community,  as  his  son,  Peter,  still  later,  assisted  in 
rebuilding  and  modernizing  it.  The  mother  of  Felix  Kehler  was, 
in  maidenhood,  Miss  Elizabeth  Fetterholf,  also  a  native  of  this 
county,  and  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Fetterholf.  Peter  Kehler  died 
in  1886,  and  his  widow  survived  him  until  1894.  Following  is  a 
record  concerning  their  children :  Emanuel,  lives  at  Mount  Carmel ; 
Mary,  who  married  William  M.  Snyder,  is  now  deceased ;  Samuel 
died  at  the  age  of  forty-one ;  Sarah  is  the  wife  of  Elias  K.  Hepler 
and  lives  in  Tamaqua ;  Fritta  became  the  wife  of  William  K.  Sny- 
der, and  both  are  now  dead;  Felix  F.  was  the  sixth  in  order  of 


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252  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

birth;  Lizzie  married  Samuel  Baum,  but  is  now  deceased;  Amelia 
is  the  wife  of  Lewis  Stahr  and  is  living  in  Eldred  township; 
Emma  married  John  Zimmerman  and  lives  at  Pitman,  and  Peter 
is  a  resident  of  Lebanon,  Pa.^  Mr.  Kehler  received  a  common- 
school  education  and  continued  to  live  at  home,  tilling  the  farm, 
for  fourteen  years  after  leaving  school.  He  then  bought  the  old 
home  place,  consisting  of  125  acres  of  improved  land  and  twenty- 
one  acres  of  timber  landi  He  is  engaged  in  general  farming,  stock 
raising  and  market  gardening,  and  gives  considerable  attention  to 
fruit  growing.  He  markets  his  products  principally  at  Mount 
Carmel  and  Ashland.  Mr.  Kehler  was  married  in  1874  to  Miss 
Paulina  Maurer,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Rachel  Maurer,  of  Eldred 
township.  Eight  children  have  been  born  to  this  union,  the  first 
two  born,  Maude  and  Oscar,  being  deceased;  Henry  is  at  home 
engaged  in  operating  the  parental  farm.  He  married  Minnie 
Gehres,  and  has  two  children,  Frank  and  John.  Lizzie  is  the  wife 
of  Felix  Herb,  of  Eldred  township,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Prelha.  Peter,  Emma  and  Robbie  are  still  under  the  parental 
roof,  and  Frank  is  dead.  Mr.  Kehler  has  always  been  a  hard- 
working man  and  has  devoted  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  served  nine  years  as  a  member  of  the  Eldred  township  school 
board.  He  casts  his  vote  for  the  nominees  of  the  Republican 
party.  The  family  are  members  of  Zion  Evangelical  church.  The 
only  social  or  fraternal  organization  with  which  Mr.  Kehler  is 
connected  is  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  he 
holds  membership  in  Camp  No.  184,  at  Pitman.  He  is  a  well 
known  and  highly  esteemed  citizen,  and  his  family  has  high  social 
standing  in  the  community.  The  Kehler  home  and  farm  are 
among  the  best  in  the  township. 

KeUer,  Irvin  M.,  is  the  proprietor  of  a  prosperous  whole- 
sale cattle  buying  business  and  a  stock  yards  at  Locust 
Dale.  He  is  a  son  of  Franklin  and  Lydia  (Snyder) 
Kehler,  and  was  born  March  16,  1865,  in  Eldred  town- 
ship. His  paternal  grandfather,  John  Kehler,  a  native  Penn- 
sylvanian,  of  German  ancestry,  was  a  prominent  farmer  of 
Eldred  township  for  many  years  and  his  father,  who  was  also 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  was  a  live-stock  dealer  for  more 
than  forty  years,  driving  cattle  in  the  early  days  from  Buffalo  to 
Ashland.  The  father  died  in  1904,  leaving  a  family  of  six  children, 
of  whom  the  subject  of  this  memoir  is  the  youngest.  The  others 
are  Franklin  J.,  Henry  C.,  Robert  C,  Pruella,  wife  of  H.  H.  Geist, 
and  Johanna,  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  D.  Kiefer.  Irvin  M.  Kehler  was 
reared  in  the  township  in  which  he  was  born  and  attended  the 
public  schools  there.  His  scholastic  training  was  rounded  out  with 
a  course  in  the  Gratz  academy,  of  Dauphin  county,  and  when  he 
had  completed  his  studies  he  entered  the  employ  of  his  father.  For 
twenty-one  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  business  and  has 
undoubtedly  the  best  equipped  abattoir  in  the  county.  His  busi- 
ness amounts  to  $3,000  weekly,  and  is  exclusively  in  western-fed 
cattle,  all  of  which  are  slaughtered  and  dressed  at  Locust  Dale. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  253 

In  1893  Mr.  Kehler  married  Miss  Clara  Moser,  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Catherine  Moser,  of  Columbia  county.  By  this  union 
he  is  the  father  of  five  children,  Blanche  Marguerite,  Ethel  P., 
Miriam  M.,  Irvin  Ralph  and  Henry  Franklin.  The  family  are 
members  of  and  workers  in  the  United  Evangelical  church  of 
Locust  Dale,  and  for  nearly  fifteen  years  Mr.  Kehler  has  been 
superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school  of  the  same.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Republican,  but  is  not  an  office-seeker.  He  is  known  through- 
out the  county  as  an  enterprising  an,d  progressive  citizen  and  as 
specially  skilled  in  his  line. 

Kehler,  Joseph  J.,  a  farmer  and  real-estate  dealer  of  Frackville, 
Pa.,  was  born  in  Eldred  township,  Schuylkill  county,  Jan.  19, 
1849,  ^  son  of  George  H.  and  Sarah  (Fetterholf)  Kehler,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Schuylkill  county.  John  Kehler,  grand- 
father of  Joseph  J.,  was  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county  and  was  a 
prominent  farmer  of  Eldred  township.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Hepler.  Samuel  Fetterholf,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, also  was  a  farmer  of  Eldred  township,  but  died  in  Dauphin 
county.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Maurer.  George  H. 
Kehler,  the  father  of  Joseph  J.,  was  for  many  years  a  farmer  of 
Eldred  township  and  was  a  large  land-holder,  but  in  later  life  he 
removed  to  Mahanoy  City,  where  he  died.  His  family  consisted 
of  two  sons  and  one  daughter,  of  whom  Joseph  J.  was  the  only 
one  who  grew  to  years  of  maturity.  Joseph  J.  Kehler  was  reared 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Eldred  township,  where  he  attended  the 
public  schools  of  the  day,  later  attending  schools  in  Philadelphia 
and  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  in  which  latter  city  he  was  a  student' 
in  the  famous  Eastman  business  college.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
years  he  initiated  his  independent  career  by  becoming  a  clerk  in 
a  general  store  at  Ashland,  Pa.,  where  he  remained  one  year,  after 
which  he  was  in  charge  of  a  general  store  in  Eldred  township  for 
five  years.  He  then,  in  1872,  became  engaged  in  farming  and 
operating  a  mill  in  Eldred  township.  He  followed  this  vocation 
until  1881,  when  he  removed  to  Frackville.  Later  he  removed  to 
Ashland,  where  he  was  engaged  in  conducting  a  general  store  until 
1905,  when  he  sold  the  business  to  his  son,  Webster, -and  returned 
to  Frackville.  He  has  since  been  a  resident  of  that  city,  devoting 
his  attention  to  farming  and  real  estate.  He  is  also  a  stockholder 
in  and  director  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Frackville,  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  original  organizers.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his 
political  proclivities,  having  served  in  the  borough  council,  and  is 
a  member  of  Camp  No.  66,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America. 
Religiously  Mr.  Kehler  is  a  zealous  member  of  the  United  Evan- 
gelical church  and  always  maintains  an  active  interest  in  the  work 
of  that  denomination.  For  many  years  he  has  been  superintend- 
ent of  the  Sunday  school  and  is  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  weekly 
society  meetings.  In  1871  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Kehler  to  Mary  J.  Hepler,  a  daughter  of  Elias  and  Elizabeth 
(Fisher)  Hepler,  of  Eldred  township,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  four  children— T.  Webster;  Elizabeth  A.,  wife  of  G.  W.  Hop- 


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254  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

per ;  Jennie  E.,  wife  of  John  E.  Dyer,  and  Joseph  J.,  Jr.,  principal  of 
the  high  school  at  Pottsville,  Pa. 

Kehlcr,  Lewis  F.,  is  numbered  among  the  representative  agri- 
culturists of  his  native  township  of  Eldred  and  is  a  member  of 
one  of  the  sterling  pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill  county.  He  was 
born  in  the  township  noted  and  the  date  of  his  nativity  was  Feb. 
28,  1856.  He  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Fetterholf)  Kehler, 
the  former  likewise  born  in  Eldred  township  and  the  latter  in 
Dauphin  county,  thi§  state.  Peter  Kehler,  who  was  a  son  of  John 
Kehler,  was  reared  in  Eldred  township  and  his  educational  privi- 
leges in  his  youth  were  limited  to  a  somewhat  irregular  attend- 
ance in  the  primitive  subscription  schools  of  the  day.  His  entire 
life  was  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
continued  to  reside  in  Eldred  township  until  their  death.  Both 
were  zealous  members  of  the  Evangelical  church  and  in  politics 
he  was  a  stanch  Republican.  He  served  as  treasurer  of  his  church 
and  was  a  man  who  commanded  unqualified  esteem.  He  died  in 
1885,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years,  and  his  devoted  wife  passed 
away  in  1891,  at  the  same  age.  They  became  the  parents  of 
twelve  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Emanuel,  who  was 
a  soldier  in  the  civil  war,  resides  at  Mount  Carmel,  Pa.,  and  is  a 
farmer  and  butcher  by  vocation ;  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of 
William  Snyder,  died  in  1901 ;  Samuel,  who  was  a  farmer  in  Eldred 
township,  died  in  1886;  Sarah  is  the  wife  of  Elias  Hepler,  of  Tam- 
aqua,  this  county;  Fritta  became  the  wife  of  William  K.  Snyder 
and  both  are  now  deceased;  Felix  resides  on  the  old  homestead 
farm ;  Lewis  F.,  of  this  sketch,  was  the  next  in  order  of  birth ; 
Lizzie  Became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Baum  and  is  now  deceased; 
Amelia  is  the  wife  of  Lewis  L  Stahr,  of  Eldred  township;  Emma 
is  the  wife  of  John  Zimmerman,  of  Pitman,  this  county ;  Peter  is  a 
resident  of  Lebanon,  Pa. ;  and  the  one  who  died  in  childhood  was 
named  Lottie.  Lewis  F.  Kehler  was  reared  under  the  sturdy  dis- 
cipline of  the  home  farm  and  was  afforded  the  advantages  of  the 
local  schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  left  the  parental 
home  and  learned  the  blacksmith  trade,  to  which  he  devoted  his 
attention  for  some  time.  He  then  became  identified  with  the  nurs- 
ery business,  with  J.  J.  Kehler,  looking  after  the  stock  and  also 
acting  as  salesman.  He  continued  to  be  thus  engaged  for  a  period 
of  eight  years,  making  a  specialty  of  small  fruits  and  becoming  an 
adept  in  their  cultivation.  In  1886  he  purchased  the  Henry  Keh- 
ler farm,  which  is  now  his  home.  The  place  comprises  seventy- 
six  acres,  of  which  sixty-one  are  under  cultivation.  The  farm  was 
badly  run  down  w-hen  he  assumed  possession  and  he  has  devel- 
oped it  into  one  of  the  model  places  of  Eldred  township,  having 
erected  substantial  buildings,  including  his  attractive  and  com- 
modious residence.  On  the  place  he  has  300  apple  and  pear  trees, 
and  he  also  raises  choice  varieties  of  small  fruits  of  all  kinds.  He 
makes  a  specialty  of  selling  fruits  and  vegetables  and  commands 
a  large  trade  in  various  towns  in  the  vicinity.  His  career  has  been 
marked  by  industry  and  good  management  and  through  his  own 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  255 

efforts  he  has  achieved  a  worthy  and  gratifying  success.  Though 
never  a  seeker  of  public  office,  Mr.  Kehler  takes  a  loyal  interest 
in  local  affairs  and  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  cause  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Evangelical 
church,  in  which  he  has  served  as  trustee,  steward  and  assistant 
class  leader.  In  1874  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Kehler 
to  Miss  Lena  Hering,  daughter  of  Henry  Hering,  of  Eldred  town- 
ship, and  of  this  union  were  born  eight  children,  two  of  whom 
died  in  infancy;  Jane  is  the  wife  of  George  W.  Zimmerman,  who 
assists  in  the  work  and  management  of  Mr.  Kehler's  farm,  and  the 
children  of  this  union  are  Beulah,  Pearl,  Iva,  Samuel  and  Lewis; 
Curtis  Calvin  died  at  the  age  of  nine  years;  Lillie  is  the  wife  of 
Arthur  W.  Kessel,  a  successful  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Eldred 
township,  and  they  have  four  children — Cora,  Florence,  Maude 
and  Benjamin;  Kate,  Maude  and  Frank,  the  three  younger  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  Kehler,  remain  at  the  parental  home. 

Keller,  Charles,  proprietor  of  an  up-to-date  clothing  and  furnish- 
ing store  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  below  Hamburg,  Berks 
county.  Fa.,  Dec.  25,  1849.  He  is  a  son  of  Reuben  and  Lucy  N. 
(Seidel)  Keller,  both  natives  of  Berks  county.  He  took  advantage 
of  the  courses  afforded  by  the  Schuylkill  Haven  schools,  and 
rounded  out  his  educational  training  by  a  course  in  the  Lebanon 
Valley  college.  In  1871  he  embarked  in  the  flour  and  feed  busi- 
ness, leaving  it  subsequently  to  open  a  stationery  store.  His  advent 
in  his  present  business  was  in  1881  and  since  that  time  he  has 
been  most  successfully  conducting  it.  In  politics  Mr.  Keller  is  a 
strong  upholder  of  the  cause  of  the  Prohibition  party.  The  only 
office  he  has  ever  held  is  that  of  school  director.  In  religious 
matters  he  is  identified  with  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  he 
has  served  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  as  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school.  For  more  than  twenty  years,  also,  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  institution.  On 
May  28,  1869,  Mr.  Keller  married  Miss  Mary  Shappell,  daughter 
of  Franklin  and  Rebecca  (Reber)  Shappell,  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 
Seven  sons  and  three  daughters  were  born  to  this  union,  of  whom 
three  sons  and  the  daughters  survive.  The  eldest,  Robert,  is  a 
tailor,  and  the  others  are  William,  George,  Margaret,  Carrie  and 
Mary.  Fraternally  Mr.  Keller  is  associated  with  but  one  order, 
the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  For  some  thirteen 
years  he  was  financially  interested  in  the  Eureka  knitting  mills, 
which  were  burned  to  the  ground  in  Sept.,  1906,  as  a  result  of 
being  struck  by  lightning.  Mr.  Keller  is  distinctively  an  upright 
Christian  gentleman,  one  who  carries  the  precepts  of  the  golden 
rule  and  the  ten  commandments  into  his  daily  life. 

Kelley,  John  J.,  attorney  at  law,  Tamaqua,  Pa.,  is  a  son  of  Mar- 
tin and  Elizabeth  (Reilly)  Kelley,  natives,  respectively,  of  Phila- 
delphia and  Tamaqua.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  Martin  Kelley 
left  the  parental  home  in  Philadelphia  and  came  to  Pottsville, 
where  he  was  employed  as  an  apprentice  to  the  machinist's  trade 
in  the  Palo  Alto  shops.     In  1864  he  went  on  the  road  as  an  em- 


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256  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ploye  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  company,  and  has 
been  with  that  corporation  continuously  since.  For  the  past 
thirty-two  years  he  has  been  a  passenger  conductor  between  Potts- 
ville  and  Williamsport.  For  a  more  complete  family  history,  see 
personal  sketch  of  Martin  Kelley.  John  J.  Kelley,  the  subject  of 
this  article,  was  born  in  Tamaqua,  Feb.  25,  1875.  He  enjoyed  ex- 
cellent educational  opportunities,  and  after  graduating  from  the 
Tamaqua  high  school,  in  1892,  he  entered  Georgetown  University, 
Washington,  D.  C,  from  which  renowned  institution  he  was  grad- 
uated with  the  class  of  1897.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law, 
and  while  thus  engaged  he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the  offices  of 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county  in  1900,  and  at  once  established  his 
offices  in  his  native  borough,  where  he  has  been  successful  as  an 
attorney  and  counsellor  at  law.  Mr.  Kelley  is  a  prominent  and 
well-known  young  man  who  sustains  the  highest  social  standing 
in  the  community.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  political  views,  and  the 
family  are  Roman  Catholics  in  religious  affiliations. 

Elelleyy  Martin,  the  oldest  conductor  in  point  of  service  on  the 
Shamokin  division  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad,  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  Dec.  21,  1845.  f^^s  father,  Martin  Kelley, 
died  in  1850,  while  still  a  young  man,  in  the  employ  of  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading,  and  the  mother  died  soon  afterward.  Of  the 
children  but  two  now  survive — Lewis,  a  bachelor,  who  is  a  retired 
business  man,  and  Martin.  The  subject  of  this  review  received  his 
education  at  Port  Richmond  and  when  he  had  completed  his  scho- 
lastic training  he  went  into  the  service  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing Railroad  as  a  brakeman.  This  was  in  1864,  and  his  employ- 
ment with  the  company  has  been  continuous  since  that  year.  After 
his  first  year  as  brakeman  he  was  made  freight  conductor  and  a 
year  later  was  made  baggage-master  on  a  passenger  train  be- 
tween Pottsville  and  Tamaqua.  His  promotion  to  the  position 
of  passenger  conductor  came  in  1873  ^tnd  since  that  year  he  has  had 
the  same  run.  He  is  deservedly  proud  of  the  star  and  bar  which 
he  wears  on  his  sleeve,  the  star  denoting  a  quarter  of  a  century  of 
service  as  conductor  and  the  bar  five  years  more.  In  all  his  years 
of  service  he  has  never  had  an  accident  of  any  kind,  and  no  passen- 
ger on  his  train  has  ever  been  injured  in  any  way.  May  18,  1869, 
Mr.  Kelley  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Reilly,  a 
native  of  Tamaqua  and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Rose  Reilly,  pioneer 
settlers,  both  deceased.  Six  children  blessed  the  marriage.  The 
eldest,  Rose  M.,  is  at  home  with  her  parents ;  Mary  A.  is  a  milliner 
in  Tamaqua ;  John  J.  is  an  attorney-at-law  in  Tamaqua ;  Harry  L. 
is  in  the  employ  of  the  railroad  as  clerk ;  Martin  died  in  infancy, 
and  Gertrude  J.  is  a  teacher  of  music  in  Tamaqua.  The  family  are 
all  devout  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Kenna,  Michael  J.,  a  retired  citizen  of  Cumbola,  was  born  in  the 
town  where  he  now  resides,  on  Apr.  15,  i860,  his  parents  being 
Michael  and  Mary  (Dowling)  Kenna,  both  natives  of  Queens 
county,  Ireland.    They  came  to  this  country  in  1848  and  settled  in 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  257 

Blythe  township,  Schuylkill  county,  where  the  father  followed  his 
trade  of  shoemaker  until  his  death,  in  May,  1875,  ^^  the  age  of 
forty-eight  years.  The  mother  died  in  1889  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five.  They  reared  to  maturity  a  family  of  five  children,  three  of 
whom  are  living.  Catherine  is  the  widow  of  William  Batersby  and 
lives  at  Elizabethport,  N.  J.;  Michael  J.  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch ;  and  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Hugh  McLoughlin.  Ann  married 
Lawsena  Whalen,  and  Bridget  married  Thomas  Devlin.  Both  are 
now  deceased.  Michael  J.  Kenna  attended  the  schools  of  Blythe 
township,  where  he  acquired  a  practical  working  education.  He 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  with  his  father  and  followed  that 
occupation  from  1875  ^^  1892,  when  he  practically  retired  from 
active  business,  having  by  judicious  investments  in  real  estate  ac- 
cumulated about  $20,000  worth  of  property.  Mr.  Kenna  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat and  takes  a  commendable  interest  in  advancing  the  interests 
of  his  party's  principles.  He  has  served  as  tax  collector  for  three 
years  and  was  for  six  years  a  member  of  the  school  board.  April 
23,  1885,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Julia,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward and  Julia  (Whalen)  Doyle,  of  Cumbola.  For  her  ancestral 
history  see  the  sketch  of  Edward  V.  Doyle.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kenna 
have  six  children  living — Mary,  Edward,  Genevieve,  Katie,  Eliza- 
beth and  Rose.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Holy  Family 
Catholic  church  of  New  Philadelphia,  and  Mr.  Kenna  belongs  to 
the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians. 

Keogh,  Bernard  J.,  proprietor  of  the  bottling  works  at  Shenan- 
doah, was  born  in  that  city,  Jan.  27,  1874.  His  parents,  John  and 
Ellen  (Dolan)  Kebgh,  were  both  born  in  Ireland,  but  were  mar- 
ried in  Pottsville,  lived  for  a  number  of  years  in  St.  Clair,  and 
came  to  Shenandoah  in  1873.  I^  early  years  the  father  was  a 
miner,  but  in  his  later  life  he  was  engaged  in  the  liquor  business. 
He  died  in  1890,  in  Shenandoah,  where  his  widow  is  still  living. 
Of  their  twelve  children  seven  survive,  viz. :  Mrs.  E.  J.  McGinnis, 
Edward,  John,  Michael,  Katie,  Patrick  and  Bernard  J.  John  and 
Bernard  are  married  and  Katie  is  a  teacher.  Bernard  J.  Keogh 
attended  the  schools  of  his  native  city  in  his  boyhood,  and  at  eight 
years  of  age  found  employment  as  a  slate-picker  in  the  mines.  He 
followed  mining  until  he  was  about  sixteen  years  old,  when  he 
took  a  position  in  the  bottling  works  of  Cleary  Bros.  After  some 
time  with  this  concern  he  engaged  in  the  retail  meat  business,  but 
in  1897  he  sold  his  meat  market  and  started  a  bottling  works  of 
his  own,  in  which  line  he  still  continues.  He  employs  two  men 
besides  himself  and  requires  two  teams  to  distribute  the  products 
of  his  plant.  He  puts  up  all  kinds  of  "soft"  or  temperance  drinks 
and  the  quality  of  his  goods,  as  well  as  his  promptness  in  filling 
orders,  has  been  the  means  of  building  up  for  him  a  satisfying 
patronage.  Mr.  Keogh  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  affiliations 
and  was  for  three  years  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  directors. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Annunciation  Roman  Catholic  church  and 
belongs  to  all  the  social  and  beneficial  societies  connected  with 
that  faith,  notably  the  Ancient    Order    of    Hibernians    and  the 

17— Vol.  II 


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258  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Knights  of  Annunciation,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Phoenix 
fire  company.  He  is  a  member  of  the  fraternal  Order  of  Eagles 
and  the  Foresters.  In  1900  Mr.  Keogh  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Bridget,  daughter  of  Patrick  and  Julia  Dolphin,  both  na- 
tives of  Ireland,  though  Mrs.  Keogh  was  born  in  Shenandoah. 

Kcsslcr,  John  M.,  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of  Hegins  town- 
ship, was  born  in  that  township,  Nov.  13,  1822.  His  grandfather, 
Michael  Kessler,  was  a  native  of  Berks  county,  but  came  to 
Schuylkill  county  in  the  year  1800.  Here  he  bought  a  tract  of 
wild  land,  cleared  a  farm  and  built  a  mill.  He  gave  the  site  for 
the  first  school  house  and  church  in  the  township.  He  married 
Polly  Grim  and  they  both  died  on  the  farm  he  thus  established. 
His  son  Michael,  the  father  of  John  M.,  came  with  him  to  this 
county,  and  married  a  Miss  Arnold,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children, 
viz.:  Abraham,  Michael,  John  M.,  Christiana,  Philip,  Catherine, 
Harriet  and  Magdalena.  Abraham  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Kate 
Riekel  and  moved  to  Lykens  Valley.  They  had  one  son,  Reuben, 
who  became  a  distiller.  .  Michael  died,  unmarried,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five  years.  He  was  a  miller  at  Hegins.  Christiana  is 
the  widow  of  John  Lucas  and  lives  in  Barry  township.  Philip, 
now  dead,  was  a  farmer  and  mason.  Catherine  died,  single,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  Harriet  is  the  widow  of  Joseph  Staub 
and  lives  at  Lancaster.  Magdalena  is  the  widow  of  Gabriel  Barth 
and  lives  in  Hubly  township.  The  mother  of  these  children  died 
and  Michael  Kessler  married  Catherine  Boyer,  who  had  been 
twice  married  before,  and  had  two  sons:  Franklin  Haupt,  now  of 
Mount  Carmel,  and  Charles  Overfield,  deceased.  To  this  second 
marriage  of  Mr.  Kessler's  father  were  born  five. children:  William 
B.,  a  farmer  of  Hegins  township;  Caroline,  widow  of  Daniel  Die- 
bert;  Levi,  who  married  Rebecca  Hoch  and  is  now  dead;  Joel, 
who  married  Sarah  Hoch  and  is  now  a  farmer  in  Hegins  town- 
ship ;  and  Elias,  who  married  Elizabeth  Stutzman  and  lived  on  the 
old  homestead  until  his  death,  in  1887.  John  M.  Kessler  received 
a  limited  education  and  learned  the  trade  of  miller,  which  he  fol- 
lowed until  1851,  when  he  gave  it  up  on  account  of  his  health  and 
bought  from  William  Hoch  seventy-nine  acres  of  land,  upon  which 
he  began  farming.  He  still  lives  on  the  farm,  the  house  in  which 
he  resides  having  been  built  by  him  in  1861.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Church  of  (S>d  and  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  has  never 
aspired  to  office.  In  1845  ^^  married  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Michael  and  Elizabeth  (Snyder)  Wolfgang,  of  Schuylkill  county, 
and  to  this  marriage  were  born  eight  children.  Cornelius  was  a 
carpenter,  married  Luzanna  Geist  and  died  at. Mount  Carmel  at 
the  age  of  fifty-seven  years.  Joseph  is  a  contractor  and  builder  at 
Shamokin,  and  is  also  treasurer  of  the  Shamokin  Lumber  and 
Manufacturing  Company.  He  married  Polly  Engle.  Sarah  mar- 
ried E.  E.  Greider,  of  Lancaster.  John  W.  married  Amelia  Kim- 
mel,  and  was  a  farmer  and  proprietor  of  the  Marion  hotel  at  Shamo- 
kin at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1894.  Michael  W.,  the  fifth  child, 
is  mentioned  more  fully  below.    Lydia  is  the  wife  of  John  Gahnes, 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  259 

of  Eldred  township.  Elizabeth  is  Mrs.  James  M.  Boyer,  of  Ash- 
land. William  died  at  the  age  of  six  years.  Michael  W.  Kessler 
was  born  on  April  22,  1858.  He  grew  to  manhood  on  the  farm 
and  was  educated  in  the  local  schools.  He  married  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  George  and  Harriet  (Klinger)  Kimmel,  of  Barry  township, 
and  they  have  two  daughters,  Alverda  E.  and  Jennie  B.,  both  at 
home  with  their  parents.  Alverda  attended  the  Freeburg  musical 
college,  and  Jennie  attended  the  state  normal  school  at  Millers- 
ville ;  she  has  taught  for  six  years  in  the  Schuylkill  county  schools. 
Mr.  Kessler  has  a  well  improved  farm  and  a  fine  orchard  of  over 
400  trees  of  all  varieties,  as  well  as  a  fine  assortment  of  small 
fruits,  his  products  finding  a  ready  market  at  Minersville  and 
other  adjacent  towns.  He  is  a  Republican  and  was  for  twenty- 
two  years  a  school  director.  He  belongs  to  Camp  No.  85,  Patri- 
otic Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  at  Weishample,  and  to  the 
Church  of  God,  at  the  same  place.  He  was  for  eight  years  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school  and  takes  a  lively  interest  in 
church  work. 

Ketner,  George  W.,  of  Orwigsburg,  a  farmer  and  a  rnanufacturer 
of  paper  boxes,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  county,  March  25,  1857, 
a  son  of  Samuel  and  Catherine  (Maurer)  Ketner.  The  father  was 
a  stationary  engineer  and  had  the  unique  distinction  of  being  the 
first  man  to  hoist  coal  from  the  mines  of  Schuylkill  county.  A 
physical  deformity  prevented  his  participation  in  the  Civil  war, 
but  he  was  an  ardent  upholder  of  the  Union  cause  and  was  strong 
in  his  denunciation  of  slavery  and  rebellion.  He  was  exceedingly 
well  read  and  a  man  of  fine  intellect.  His  death,  in  1869,  resulted 
from  injuries  received  while  blasting  rock,  the  concussion  causing 
a  pile  of  lumber  to  fall  on  him.  He  married  Mrs.  Catherine 
(Maurer)  Hartline,  the  widow  of  John  Hartline,  and  by  her  first 
marriage  she  had  three  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  the  only  child  of  her  second  union.  Her  death  oc- 
curred in  1905,  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  George  W.  Ketner  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Berks  county  and 
in  Northumberland,  upon  the  completion  of  which  he  found  em- 
ployment in  the  shops  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  at 
Reading.  Then  for  a  time  he  was  a  brakeman  and  subsequently 
became  a  locomotive  engineer.  He  left  railroad  life  to  operate  a 
stationary  engine  in  a  rope  factory  and  from  that  business  got 
into  the  paper-box  industry.  He  continued  in  this  line  with  the 
Webekind  Paper  Box  Company  until  1891,  when,  upon  the  death 
of  Mr.  Augustus  Webekind  (his  father-in-law),  he  disposed  of  his 
interest  in  the  firm  and  removed  to  Orwigsburg  and  embarked  in 
the  business  in  his  own  name.  He  employs  some  eighteen  help- 
ers, and  the  average  daily  output  is  10,000  boxes — an  amount 
which  required  100  hands  to  turn  out  daily  before  the  invention 
of  modem  machinery.  His  trade  territory  is  not  very  extensive, 
only  the  immediate  neighborhood  being  supplied,  but  his  patron- 
age is  exclusive  and  unchanging.  In  politics  he  is  an  ardent  Re- 
publican and  before  his  removal  from  Reading  he  was  chairman 


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260  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  the  Twelfth  ward  Republican  club.  He  was  also  at  the  time 
of  his  change  of  residence  a  member  of  the  Reading  school  board. 
Feb.  2,  i8^,  Mr.  Ketner  married  Mrs.  Amelia  Kneip,  a  widow 
with  one  son,  Oscar.  Her  parents  were  Augustus  and  Joanna 
Webekind,  native  Germans,  and  at  the  time  of  their  demise  resi- 
dents of  Reading.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ketner  are  communicants 
of  the  Lutheran  church  and  in  a  fraternal  way  he  is  identified  with 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  By  hard  work  and  the  maintaining 
of  the  most  exacting  code  of  honesty  he  has  won  for  himself  an 
enviable  place  in  the  social  and  commercial  life  of  Orwigsburg. 

Ketner,  William  B.,  was  born  in  West  Brunswick  township,  near 
Molino,  Schuylkill  county,  Sept.  7,  1869,  a  son  of  Frank  and  Re- 
becca (Hoy)  Ketner.  He  is  the  third  son  of  a  family  of  three  sons 
and  three  daughters,  viz.:  George  W.,  Mary,  Emma  R.,  Allen  F., 
William  B.  and  Bella.  CJeorge,  Mary,  Bella  and  Allen  are  .de- 
ceased. Allen  married  Sallie  Faust,  daughter  of  Jacob  Faust,  and 
they  had  two  children,  Olie  and  Herman.  Allen  died  in  1896. 
Emma  is  the  wife  of  John  M.  Hardinger,  of  Pinedale.  The  father 
of  William  B.  Ketner  was  engaged  as  a  farmer  during  the  active 
portion  of  his  life,  but  is  now  living  retired.  His  wife  died  July 
29,  1906,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years.  William  B.  Ketner  was 
graduated  from  the  township  schools,  after  which  he  took  a  course 
at  the  normal  school  at  Kutztown,  Pa.,  and  later  one  in  the  North- 
western normal  school  of  Valparaiso,  Ind.  He  adopted  the  pro- 
fession of  the  teacher  and  taught  school  in  Brunswick  township 
for  fourteen  years.  In  1901  he  concluded  to  change  his  occupation 
and  went  into  a  general  mercantile  business  at  Pinedale,  with 
which  business  he  is  at  present  occupied.  He  has  a  finely  equipped 
store,  and  uses  up-to-date  methods  in  his  management  of  his  es- 
tablishment. Mr.  Ketner  was  married  June  i,  1^4,  to  Miss  Anna 
Fahl.  They  have  four  children,  one  son  and  three  daughters, 
Helen  E.,  Leon  V.,  Ada  M.,  and  Grace  M.,  all  of  whom  are  living. 
Mr.  Ketner  is  a  member  of  Symmetry  Lodge,  No.  103,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Hamburg,  and  is  past  grand  in  this 
lodge.  His  political  affiliations  are  Democratic,  and  he  is  at  pres- 
ent a  justice  of  the  peace,  an  office  which  he  has  held  for  two 
terms,  and  is  now  a  candidate  for  a  third  term.  The  family  are  of 
the  Lutheran  faith,  and  are  membeis  of  Zion's  red  church  of  Pine- 
dale. Mr.  Ketner  is  a  deacon  of  the  church  and  president  of  the 
joint  church  council,  and  was  president  of  the  committee  in  charge 
of  the  anniversary  celebration  which  was  held  in  1905  and  which 
was  known  as  the  sesqui-centennial. 

Klcindicnst,  Charles  P.,  proprietor  of  a  cafe  and  quick-meal  lunch 
room  at  Shenandoah,  was  born  at  Middleport,  Schuylkill  county, 
Sept.  19,  1865,  his  parents  being  John  and  Mary  (Stein)  Klein- 
dienst,  both  natives  of  Germany.  During  the  Civil  war  the  father 
served  as  a  soldier  in  the  48th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  was  wounded 
at  Gettysburg,  and  died  at  Mahanoy  City  in  1882.  The  mother  is 
still  living  there.     Of  their  children  those  living  are:  Charles  F., 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  261 

the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Joseph  B.,  who  for  the  past  ten  years 
has  been  a  member  of  the  coal  and  iron  police  and  lives  at  Mahanoy 
City;  Frederick,  a  barber  in  Philadelphia^;  Frank,  a  fireman  at  Gi- 
rard  college,  in  Philadelphia;  and  Caroline,  wife  of  Charles  Mc- 
Clearen,  of  Mahanoy  City.  Charles  F.  Kleindienst  graduated  in 
the  high  school  at  Mahanoy  City  and  began  his  life's  career  as  a 
slate-picker  in  a  breaker  at  New  Philadelphia.  He  was  employed 
in  the  mines  until  he  was  about  twenty-two  years  old,  when  he 
was  elected  constable,  being  the  only  Republican  ever  elected  to 
office  in  the  First  ward  of  Mahanoy  City.  At  the  close  of  his  first 
term  he  was  re-elected  and  was  then  appointed  on  the  coal  and 
iron  police,  where  he  served  until  he  engaged  in  his  present  busi- 
ness, which  he  opened  Nov.  29,  1904,  though  he  had  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Shenandoah  for  ten  years  prior  to  that  date.  During  his 
service  as  a  member  of  the  police,  which  covered  all  the  important 
strikes  in  that  period,  he  was  several  times  seriously  injured  by 
lawless  persons.  On  one  occasion  he  was  stabbed  in  the  face ;  on 
another  his  head  was  almost  crushed  with  a  "billy,"  and  on  others 
bullets  penetrated  his  clothing.  These  things  did  not  deter  him 
from  doing  his  whole  duty.  He  was  a  terror  to  law-breakers  and 
made  a  number  of  important  arrests,  for  which  he  was  highly  com- 
mended. Mr.  Kleindienst  is  prominently  identified  wjth  the  work 
of  secret  orders,  being  a  member  of  Shenandoah  Lodge,  No.  511, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  Gen.  Grant  Lodge,  No.  575,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Mahanoy  City.  While  in 
Mahanoy  City  he  was  a  member  of  the  Citizens*  steam  fire  company 
and  for  seven  years  was  assistant  chief.  He  also  belonged  for  a 
number  of  years  to  the  Rescue  hook  and  ladder  company  of  Shen- 
andoah. In  politics  he  is  an  unswerving  Republican  and  is  always  • 
ready  to  do  his  part  in  winning  a  victory  for  his  party.  He  has 
served  as  committeemalh  in  the  Second  ward,  has  been  a  mem- 
ber and  president  of  the  city  school  board,  and  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  progressive  and  public  spirited  citizens  of  the  town. 
His  place  of  business  is  well  appointed  and  enjoys  a  large  patron- 
age, due  in  a  g^eat  measure  to  the  personal  popularity  of  the  pro- 
prietor. On  July  14,  1887,  Mr.  Kleindienst  and  Miss  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Nicholas  Hess,  of  Mahanoy  City,  were  united  in  marriage. 
This  union  was  blessed  with  five  children,  of  whom  Maimie  is  the 
only  one  living.  She  is  a  graduate  of  the  Shenandoah  high  school 
and  lives  with  her  parents.  The  family  belong  to  the  Trinity  Re- 
formed church. 

Kline,  Albert  H.,  a  prominent  and  well  known  citizen  of  Schuyl- 
kill Haven,  was  born  at  Landingville,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  on 
Apr.  I,  1863.  His  parents,  William  D.  and  Elizabeth  (Hoy)  Kline, 
were  both  natives  of  this  county,  the  father  having  been  born  at 
Schuylkill  Haven,  and  the  mother  at  Onvigsburg.  Albert  Kline  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  borough, 
completing  the  course  in  the  high  school  at  that  place.  His  youth 
was  employed  in  various  avocations,  but  his  early  manhood  years 
were  devoted  to  general  merchandising.     Becoming  interested  in 


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262  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

manufacturing,  he  abandoned  his  mercantile  pursuits  and  opened 
a  factory  for  the  manufacture  of  knit  goods  and  underwear.  This 
has  proved  a  profitable  business  venture,  and  has  grown  with  the 
passing  years  until  the  annual  business  is  large  and  profitable. 
Mr.  Kline  was  married  Sept.  25,  1889,  to  Miss  Emma  R.,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  F.  and  Angeline  (Butz)  Lessig,  of  Schuylkill  Haven. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kline  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Their 
only  child  is  named  William  Albert,  born  Dec.  10,  1896.  Mr.  Kline 
is  a  Republican  in  political  views.  He  has  neither  sought  nor  held 
public  office.  The  only  social  fraternity  with  which  he  is  now 
affiliated  is  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  Mr. 
Kline  is  a  director  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Schuylkill  Haven 
and  was  one  of  its  organizers. 

Kline,  William  H.,  proprietor  of  the  popular  resort  known  as 
Kline's  cafe,  in  Pottsville,  was  born  at  Lititz,  Lancaster  county, 
Pa.,  Jan.  14,  1854.  He  is  the  eldest  of  six  children  born  to  Hiram 
and  Barbara  (Beck)  Kline,  natives  of  Lancaster  county,  Pa.  His 
father,  who  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  spent  his  life  in  his  native 
county.  He  died  in  Lancaster,  Dec.  26,  1885.  His  wife  is  living. 
The  children  of  this  family  are  as  follows :  William  H.  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Emma,  born  Jan.  i,  1858,  is  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Miller,  a  farmer  in  Lancaster  county;  Ezra,  who  was  born  Oct. 
10,  i860,  is  a  farmer  on  the  old  homestead  in  Warwick  township, 
Lancaster  county;  Hiram,  born  Nov.  3,  1862,  is  also  a  farmer  in 
Warwick  township;  Kate,  born  Jan.  21,  1865,  married  Horace 
Sturgis  and  lives  in  the  town  of  Lititz.  William  H.  ICline  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county  and  in  the  town 
schools  of  the  same  locality.  He  began  his  independent  career 
as  a  farmer,  a  vocation  which  engaged  his  attention  for  the  first 
three  years  after  his  marriage.  He  then  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  for  a  time,  and  later  was  in  the  hotel  business  in  Farmers- 
ville  and  Lancaster  for  six  years.  His  next  business  venture  was 
at  the  Tumbling  Run  hotel,  near  Pottsville,  which  he  conducted 
successfully  for  seven  years.  From  there  he  went  to  Reading  and 
conducted  the  State  cafe,  at  503  Penn  street,  and  was  successful 
beyond  expectations.  In  1902  Mr.  Kline  came  to  Pottsville  and 
opened  the  popular  cafe  which  bears  his  name.  During  his  sojourn 
of  seven  years  at  Tumbling  Run  he  had  demonstrated  the  wisdom 
of  such  a  venture  in  Pottsville,  and  this  was  the  culmination  of  a 
long  cherished  desire  in  this  direction.  Kline's  cafe  is  unquestion- 
ably the  most  popular  resort  of  its  character  in  the  borough,  and 
the  proprietor  and  his  able  assistants  are  ever  vigilant  in  keeping 
it  so.  The  cuisine  is  such  as  to  satisfy  the  most  epicurean  appe- 
tite, while  the  bar  is  stocked  with  the  choicest  goods  to  be  pro- 
cured in  the  markets.  The  fixtures  and  appliances  are  first-class 
in  all  respects,  and  strictly  up-to-date.  Mr.  Kline  was  married 
Oct.  14,  1879,  to  Miss  Maggie  Bowman,  of  Ephrata,  Lancaster 
county,  Pa.  She  is  a  daughter  of  George  L.  and  Fannie  (Stein- 
mets)  Bowman.  Her  father  is  dead  but  her  mother  is  living. 
Three  children  have  been  born  to  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kline, 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  263 

• 

the  eldest  of  whom  is  George  Edgar,  born  Oct.  29,  1880.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  Pottsville  high  school  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  and  is  a  young  man  exceptionally  bright  and  intellectual. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
Baxter  club,  Turtle  club,  and  Pottsville  Game  and  Fish  Protect- 
ive association.  He  is  employed  in  his  father's  business.  The 
second  born  is  Miss  Elsie  L.,  a  young  lady  at  home.  She  also 
is  a  graduate  of  the  high  school,  and  is  accomplished  in  those 
characteristics  peculiar  to  her  sex.  William  McKinley,  whose 
name  is  an  index  to  the  family  politics,  was  born  two  days  after 
the  first  inauguration  of  the  martyred  president.  He  is  a  student 
in  school.  Mr.  Kline  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and 
his  wife  sustains  religious  relations  with  the  Reformed  church. 
Mr.  Kline  holds  membership  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Dramatic  Order  of  Knights  of  Khor- 
assan,  Pottsville  gun  club  and  the  Liederkranz,  the  last  being  a 
musical  society. 

Klock,  Henry  Albright,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  physician  of  Maha- 
noy  City,  is  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, five  generations  of  which  have  been  represented  in  the 
population  of  Schuylkill  county.  In  1750  a  German  family  con- 
sisting of  the  parents  and  three  sons  left  their  native  province  of 
Wurtemberg  in  the  Fatherland,  and  came  to  America.  One  of 
these  sons  afterward  fettled  in  the  state  of  New  York,  one  located 
in  Canada,  and  the  third,  whose  name  was  John  Peter  Klock,  re- 
mained with  his  parents  where  they  first  settled,  near  Womels- 
dorf,  Berks  county,  Pa.  John  Peter  Klock  was  the  great-great- 
grandfather of  Doctor  Klock.  He  was  born  Jan.  i,  1743,  and  was 
therefore  but  seven  years  of  age  when  his  parents  came  to  this 
country.  In  1793  he  removed  to  what  is  now  Eldred  township, 
Schuylkill  county,  where  he  bought  342  acres  of  land  in  what  was 
known  as  the  "Beauty  Tract,"  and  there  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  Part  of  this  old  homestead  still  remains  in  the  posses- 
sion of  some  of  his  descendants.  He  built  the  first  saw  mill  in 
the  Mahantongo  valley  and  was  a  typical  pioneer.  His  death  oc- 
curred Dec.  19,  1818,  and  he  was  buried  in  the  Lutheran  cemetery 
at  Line  Mountain,  in  Northumberland  county.  Peter  R.  Klock, 
the  grandfather  of  the  doctor,  inherited  the  old  homestead  and 
followed  farming  until  1866,  when  he  retired.  He  was  the  father 
of  seven  children,  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  He  was  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  old  Union  church  in  Eldred  township,  where  he  and  his 
wife  lie  buried.  This  church  was  erected  by  the  Lutheran  church 
and  the  Evangelical  association  in  i860.  One  of  his  sons  was 
Joseph,  who  learned  the  miller's  trade,  but  after  following  that 
occupation  for  several  years  he  abandoned  it  to  become  a  farmer. 
In  1858  he  removed  to  Pitman,  where  he  was  interested  in  farming 
operations,  mercantile  pursuits  and  in  buying  and  selling  grain 
and  live  stock  until  his  death,  which  occurred  May  26,  1865.    He 


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264  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

married  Magdalena  Hepler,  whose  grandfather,  Casper  Hepler, 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Berks  county,  and  the  first  school  house 
in  Upper  Mahantongo  township  was  upon  his  land.  Henry  Hep- 
ler, the  father  of  Magdalena,  donated  the  land  for  the  Zion  Evan- 
gelical church  and  cemetery — the  first  church  in  Eldred  town- 
ship. Joseph  Klock  was  born  in  Upper  Mahantongo  township, 
Nov.  29,  1824,  and  his  wife  was  born  in  the  same  township,  Dec. 
12,  1825.  Two  sons  were  born  to  Joseph  and  Magdalena  Klock: 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  William  Josiah,  who  resides  on 
the  old  homestead  and  is  engaged  in  farming.  Dr.  Henry  A. 
Klock,  was  born  in  Upper  Mahantongo  township,  Schuylkill 
county,  Aug.  16,  1848.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Eldred  town- 
ship until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  when  he  entered  his 
father's  store  as  a  clerk  and  remained  in  that  position  for  about 
five  years.  In  August,  1866,  he  entered  the  Union  seminary  at 
New  Berlin,  Union  county,  and  studied  in  that  institution  for 
one  year.  In  the  fall  of  1867  he  took  a  course  in  the  Quaker  City 
business  college,  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  following  year  became 
a  clerk  in  the  hardware  store  of  Peter  E.  Buck,  at  Ashland,  Schuyl- 
kill county.  From  1870  to  1876  he  was  associated  with  his  broth- 
er in  conducting  the  business  of  the  firm  of  H.  A.  Klock  &  Co., 
which  was  engaged  in  agricultural  and  mercantile  operations  in 
Pitman.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  and  on  March  11, 
1878,  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  from  the  Hahnemann  med- 
ical college,  of  Philadelphia.  A  month  later  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Dr.  Benjamin  Becker,  of  Pottsville,  but  on  Oct.  9,  1878, 
he  removed  to  Mahanoy  City,  where  he  has  been  in  continuous 
practice  ever  since,  and  has  been  successful,  both  in  a  pecuniary 
sense  and  in  the  treatment  of  his  patients.  Dr.  Klock  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Mahanoy  City  Lodge,  No.  357,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons; General  Grant  Lodge,  No.  575;  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows;  Mahanoy  City  Lodge,  No.  2335,  Knights  of  Honor; 
Washington  Camp,  No.  124,  and  Garfield  Commandery,  No.  21, 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America;  and  is  a  director  in  the 
Centennial  and  Mernorial  association  of  Valley  Forge.  Besides 
his  professional  interests  he  is  a  director  of  the  Fidelity  and  the 
Serial  building  and  loan  associations.  On  June  23,  1872,  Dr.  Klock 
and  Miss  Elizabeth  Sidney,  daughter  of  Elias  and  Sarah  (Evans) 
Seiler,  were  united  in  marriage.  Her  parents  were  both  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  of  German  and  Welsh  extraction,  respectively.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Klock  have  two  sons,  Joseph  Victor  and  Egbert  Leroy. 
Both  are  graduates  of  the  Hahnemann  medical  college,  Joseph 
in  the  class  of  1895  ^tnd  Egbert  in  the  class  of  1905.  Both  are 
now  practicing  physicians  in  Mahanoy  City,  the  younger  son 
having  taken  up  his  father's  practice.  He  was  resident  physician 
of  the  Homeopathic  hospital  at  Reading,  Pa.  for  one  year  after 
receiving  his  degree.  Dr.  Joseph  V.  Klock  married  Miss  Minnie 
Kerschner,  of  Shoemakersville,  and  they  have  two  children,  Henry 
A.  and  Helen.     The  younger  son  married  Miss  Annie  D.  Young, 


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^IOGRAPHICAL  265 

of  Minersville,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Olive  Elizabeth.  Dr. 
Henry  A.  Klock  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Schuylkill 
county  Homeopathic  medical  society,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
state  medical  society  of  that  school  of  medicine.  Although  prac- 
tically retired  from  active  practice,  he  still  ministers  to  the  wants 
of  some  of  his  old  patients  who  insist  on  "seeing  the  old  doctor." 
He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations,  though  he  is  by  no 
means  an  active  political  worker.  The  only  office  he  ever  held 
was  on  the  Mahanoy  City  school  board,  where  he  served  for 
eight  years,  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
people.    The  family  belong  to  the  United  Evangelical  church. 

Klock,  William  J.,  proprietor  of  "Pitman  Farm,"  at  Pitman 
post-village,  Eldred  township,  was  bom  on  the  farm  which  he  now 
owns  on  Jan.  2. 1853.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Magdalena  (Hepler) 
Klock,  who  also  were  natives  of  Eldred  township.  Joseph 
Klock  was  a  son  of  Peter  R.  and  Elizabeth  (Curling)  Klock,  num- 
bered among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Eldred  township.  The  an- 
cestral home  of  these  pioneers  embraced  a  portion  of  the  fine 
farm  now  owned  by  William  Klock,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
The  genealogical  history  of  this  family  appears  quite  fully  in  the 
sketch  of  Dr.  H.  A.  Klock  of  Mahanoy  City,  and  need  not  be 
here  repeated.  Joseph  Klock  was  an  early  merchant  and  post- 
master in  Pitman,  and  was  prominent  in  various  business  enter- 
prises. Both  he  and  his  wife  died  in  Eldred  township.  They 
were  members  of  the  Evangelical  church.  The  father  died  May 
26,  1865,  and  his  widow  survived  him  until  March  23,  1904.  They 
had  but  two  children  who  survived  the  infantile  age,  these  hav- 
ing been  already  mentioned.  The  early  lives  of  William  J. 
and  Henry  A.  Klock  were  almost  identical  for  a  long  period  of 
years.  They  were  interested  together  in  farming,  in  merchant 
dising,  and  in  keeping  up  the  parental  home.  Their  mother  re* 
married,  her  second  husband  being  C.  K.  Herb,  M.  D.,  of  Pitman. 
William  J.  finally  sold  his  mercantile  interests  to  his  brother  and 
retired  to  the  farm,  where  he  has  since  remained.  He  was  mar- 
ried Nov.  21,  1869,  to  Miss  Qara  Klinger,  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Catherine  (Mayer)  Klinger,  of  Minersville.  The  father  spent 
his  life  in  Minersville  as  a  carpenter  and  builder.  He  died  in 
1858.  His  wife  was  a  native  of  Northumberland  county.  She 
died  March  22,  1881.  They  had  a  family  of  five  children,  viz: 
Mary,  Clara  and  Perry,  living,  the  first  and  last  named  being  resi- 
dents of  Sunbury;  and  Emma  and  Sophia,  both  of  whom  died  in 
childhood.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  J.  Klock  have  but  one  child,  wife 
of  James  Witzel,  of  Pitman,  Eldred  township;  they  have  four 
children  living  and  one  dead — Bernice,  William,  Thomas,  Hildah 
(deceased)  and  Leroy.  Mr.  Klock  has  followed  agricultural  pur- 
suits as  his  life  work.  He  owns  a  valuable  farm  of  seventy-seven 
acres  detached  from  his  home  farm,  yet  near  enough  to  be  easily 
cultivated  by  the  home  force.  He  is  engaged  in  general  farming, 
stock-raising  and  market  gardening.  He  is  local  agent  for  several 
fertilizer  companies,  and  serves  the  neighborhood  in  the  capacity 


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266  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  a  veterinary  surgeon.  Mr.  Klock  is  shipping  agent  for  Grange 
No.  1325,  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  at  Pitman.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  political  views,  but  has  neither  sought  nor  held  public  office. 
The  family  is  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  in  the  cummunity, 
and  the  religious  faith  of  its  members  is  shown  by  identification 
with  the  Evangelical  church;  they  take  an  active  interest  in  re- 
ligious work  of  all  kinds. 

Knecht,  August,  proprietor  of  the  Miners'  Journal,  is  a  life-long 
newspaper  man  and  has  gained  success  in  his  chosen  vocation. 
He  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  Nov.  24,  1844.  He  accompanied 
his  parents  to  America  in  childhood,  and  attended  school  in 
Pottsville,  Pa.,  until  he  was  twelve  years  old.  This  very  brief 
educational  training  has  been  supplemented  by  a  life-time  of 
study  and  research  in  various  lines  of  journalism.  At  the  age 
of  twelve  years  he  became  an  apprentice  to  the  printer's  trade, 
and  entered  the  employ  of  Hendler  &  Schroder,  the  publishers 
of  the  Jefferson  Demokrat,  and  subsequently  that  of  Bertram  & 
Snyder,  who  were  then  publishing  the  Americanische  Republik- 
aner  (American  Republican),  which  was  first  issued  from  the 
Miners'  Journal  office,  in  Sept.,  1855.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Snyder, 
in  1880,  Mr.  Knecht  assumed  the  ownership  of  the  paper,  and  has 
continued  its  publication  to  the  present.  The  Miners'  Journal,  of 
which  Mr.  Knecht  is  the  present  owner  and  publisher,  is  the  evo- 
lution of  a  paper  started  in  1825,  and  continued  under  various 
owners  and  titles  to  the  present  day.  It  is  the  oldest  newspaper 
in  Schuylkill  county.  Under  the  management  of  Col.  H.  Ram- 
sey and  Benjamin  Bannan,  the  Journal  assumed  an  influential 
status  in  the  local  journalism  of  the  day,  and  was  by  them  merged 
into  the  Daily  Miners'  Journal,  as  appears  more  fully  under  an- 
other title.  The  first  issue  of  the  daily  appeared  on  Sept.  i,  1869. 
•Mr.  August  Knecht  purchased  the  plant  in  1900,  and  has  since 
gfreatly  improved  and  strengthened  the  Journal,  making  it  one 
of  the  leading  dailies  of  Schuylkill  county.  It  has  always  been 
uncompromisingly  Republican  in  political  complexion.  Mr. 
Knecht  was  a  soldier  in  service  for  a  brief  period  during  the 
Civil  war.  His  regiment,  the  27th  Pennsylvania  militia,  was 
called  into  service  during  the  invasion  of  the  state  in  1863,  and 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Wrightsville,  when  the  town  of  York 
was  threatened.  It  then  moved  over  the  South  mountains  down  in- 
to Maryland  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  subject  of  this 
article  was  married  Nov.  6,  1870,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Lecher, 
daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  (Meyer)  Lecher,  of  Pottsville. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knecht  have  three  children  living:  Bertha,  Eliza- 
beth and  Robert  A.  The  son  is  employed  in  his  father's  business. 
The  family  are  members  of  St.  John  the  Baptist's  German  Cath- 
olic church.  The  Knecht  family  were  prominent  in  the v  political 
history  of  Baden,  the  subject  being  a  grand-son  of  Benedict  Knecht, 
and  a  son  of  Landolin  and  Catherine  (Streigel)  Knecht,  natives 
of  Baden.  Mr.  Knecht  is  a  director,  and  first  vice-president  of 
the   Schuylkill   Trust   Company,   of   Pottsville.    He   sustains   re- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  267 

lations  with  various  social  and  beneficial  societies,  the  American 
hose  company,  the  Central  Republican  club  and  the  Liederkranz, 
a  German  choral  society. 

Knecht,  William  F.,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  West  Schuyl- 
kill Herald,  at  Tower  City,  was  bom  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  Oct.  23, 
1865.  His  parents,  Charles  and  Pauline  (Eisensteck)  Knecht, 
were  born  in  Germany,  but  came  to  this  country  in  their  early 
life.  William  F.  Knecht  received  a  limited  education  in  his  boy- 
hood, and  this  he  has  supplemented  by  reading  and  self-culture 
until  he  is  a  well  informed  man  on  almost  any  topic  of  general 
interest.  His  parents  removed  to  Tower  City  while  he  was  still 
comparatively  young,  and  he  went  to  work  in  the  breaker  at  the 
Brookside  colliery.  Later  he  became  a  fireman,  and  he  continued 
in  various  capacities  about  the  mines  until  Qeveland's  first  ad- 
ministration, when  his  father  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Tower 
City,  and  he  was  made  assistant,  having  full  charge  of  the  office. 
AJEter  leaving  the  postoffice  he  conducted  a  bakery  for  several 
years,  and  on  March  26,  1898,  he  established  the  paper  which  he 
still  conducts.  Mr.  Knecht  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Tower  City  National  Bank,  and  has  been  one  of  the  directors  of 
that  institution  ever  since  it  opened  its  doors  for  the  transaction 
of  business.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations  and 
has  held  several  local  offices.  He  is  a  member  of  Tower  Lodge, 
No.  755,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  of  Swatara 
Lodge,  No.  267,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  takes  an  in- 
terest in  the  work  and  welfare  of  both  orders.  On  June  25,  1887, 
Mr.  Knecht  married  Miss  Alice,  daughter  of  William  and  Maria 
(Kaufman)  Klinger,  of  Tower  City,  and  to  this  union  have  been 
bom  five  children.  Roy  S.  is  now  a  student  in  the  state  normal  school 
at  Kutztown ;  William  K.,  Gilbert,  Mildred  and  Merle  are  at  home 
with  the  parents. 

KnittlCy  Albert  Daniel,  a  representative  of  an  old  and  prominent 
family  in  Schuylkill  county,  was  born  at  Port  Carbon,  July  2, 
1872.  He  is  the  son  of  Francis  and  Emily  Florence  (Allison) 
Knittle.  Both  families  were  prominent  in  Civil  war  history,  as 
appears  more  fully  under  separate  titles  in  this  volume.  The 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  Post  at  Port  Carbon  is  named  in 
honor  of  three  Allison  brothers  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  great 
Rebellion  of  the  6o*s.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  in 
the  Port  Carbon  and  Pottsville  public  schools,  at  Bloomsburg 
state  normal  school,  and  at  Pennsylvania  state  college.  Having 
chosen  the  law  as  a  life  profession,  and  recognizing  the  prepond- 
erance of  Lithuanians  among  the  foreign  population,  he  studied 
and  mastered  that  language,  and  is  able  to  read,  write  and  con- 
verse with  people  of  the  Lithuanian  nationality,  being  the  only 
lawyer  in  Pottsville  who  possesses  this  accomplishment.  Mr. 
Knittle  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county  in  1895,  and 
at  once  engaged  in  an  active  and  renumerative  practice.  Many 
clients  come  to  him  because  of  his  familiarity  with  their  native 
language,  this  gift  being  recognized  as  an  evidence  of  sympathetic 


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268  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

interest.  Albert  D.  Knittle  is  recognized  as  a  young  man  of 
exalted  literary,  social  and  professional  standing,  and  has  es- 
tablished a  well  grounded  reputation  as  such.  He  is  a  zealous 
worker  in  the  local  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  sus- 
tains relations  with  his  college  fraternities,  known  as  the  Beta 
Theta  Pi  and  Alpha  Upsilon  Chapter,  at  the  State  college  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Out  Door  club,  of 
Pottsville.  In  political  relations  he  is  an  ardent  Republican, 
though  he  has  never  taken  an  active  part  in  political  discussions, 
nor  aspired  to  official  honors.  He  married  Miss  Carrie  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Hon.  Oliver  Perry  and  Mary  Elizabeth  Betchel. 
She  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  honored  families 
in  Pottsville.  Her  father  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Schuylkill 
county  on  May  lo,  1866,  and  at  once  assumed  a  prominent  place  in 
the  legal  councils  of  the  district.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  com- 
mon-pleas court  in  1877,  and  has  been  re-elected  at  the  close  of 
each  decennial  period  since.  In  1888  he  was  chosen  as  president 
judge,  a  position  he  now  holds.  His  unanimous  re-election  in 
1897  and  his  continuous  service  of  thirty  years  on  the  bench  offer 
the  best  evidence  of  his  high  standing  as  a  distinguished  jurist. 
Judge  Bechtel  is  a  native  of  Northumberland  county,  Pa.,  born 
Jan.  31,  1842.  The  only  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knittle  is  Oliver 
Bechtel,  born  June  16,  1902.  The  family  attends  the  services  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Pottsville. 

Knittle,  Frank,  a  subsj:antial  citizen  and  prosperous  merchant 
of  Port  Carbon,  was  born  in  Orwigsburg,  June  24,  1845,  ^  ^^^  of 
Daniel  and  Mary  (Heebner)  Knittle.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Port  Carbon  until  1857  when  his  father  removed  to  Iowa, 
and  he  attended  the  high  school  there  until  1861,  when  he  removed 
to  Port  Carbon,  and  in  Oct.,  1861,  enlisted  in  Company  C,  96th 
Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry.  With  his  regiment  he  partici- 
pated in  the  engagements  at  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  South  Mountain, 
Malvern  Hill  Gettysburg  and  Chancellorsville.  In  the  campaign 
made  by  Grant  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  James  the  96th  Pennsyl- 
vania was  in  the  heaviest  of  the  fighting,  and  at  the  battle  of 
Spottsylvania  Mr.  Knittle  fell  badly  wounded.  For  ten  days  he 
lay  on  the  battlefield  with  his  wound  undressed  and  was  then 
taken  prisoner  to  Richmond.  After  a  confinement  of  three  months 
he  received  his  exchange  and  in  October  was  honorably  discharged 
from  the  service.  He  returned  to  Port  Carbon  and  for  two  years 
acted  as  tax  collector  for  the  borough,  leaving  that  position  to 
embark  in  the  grocery  business.  Subsequently  he  added  dry- 
goods  and  shoe  departments  and  has  continued  in  business  from 
that  time  (1867)  ^o  this.  His  industry  has  been  affected  by  local 
and  national  conditions  and  he  estimates  that  in  the  years  since 
he  established  the  concern  he  has  lost  approximately  $100,000, 
but  his  cheerfulness,  his  perseverance  and  his  inherent  ability 
have  surmounted  the  obstacles  in  the  way  and  finally  brought 
him  out  "on  the  top  of  the  heap."  To-day  his  department  store 
is  the   most   modern,  best   stocked   and   finest   equipped   place  of 


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BIOGRAPHICAL    '  269 

business  in  and  about  Port  Carbon.  Feb.  20,  1867,  Mr.  Knittle 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emiiy  Allison,  of  Port  Carbon, 
daughter  of  Robert  Allison.  To  this  union  have  been  born  eight 
children,  two  of  whom,  Charles  and  Mary,  are  deceased.  The 
others  are  Robert,  Frank  S.,  Albert,  Carrie,  Nellie  and  Catherine. 
The  family  worships  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Port 
Carbon.  In  political  matters  Mr.  Knittle  is  a  Republican,  and  as 
the  successful  candidate  of  that  party  he  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  and  borough  councilman.  He  has  a  well  deserved 
reputation  among  the  people  of  the  community  as  a  man  of  un- 
sullied honor,  business  enterprise  and  high  character. 

Knoll,  WilHam  M.,  of  the  firm  of  C.  M.  Knoll  &  Bros.,  con- 
tractors and  builders,  of  Pottsville,  was  born  in  that  city  on  May 
6,  1879.  His  father,  William  H.  Knoll,  was  a  native  of  Berks 
county,  but  came  to  Pottsville  in  the  early  '60s  and  engaged  in  the 
business  of  contracting  and  building,  founding  the  business  now 
conducted  by  Kis  sons.  He  erected  the  public  school  building  at 
the  corner  of  Twelfth  and  Market  streets,  as  well  as  a  large  num- 
ber of  private  residences.  On  Feb.  8,  1866,  he  married  Miss  Fi- 
anna  Miller,  of  Annville,  Lebanon  county,  though  she  was  born 
in  Berks  county,  and  to  this'  marriage  were  born  the  following 
children:  Kate,  Corine,  George,  Emma,  Charles^  William  M.  and 
Esther.  Kate,  Corine  and  Emma  are  deceased.  The  father  of  these 
children  died  in  1893  ^^  ^he  age  of  fifty-seven  years,  and  the 
mother  is  still  living,  at  the  age  of  sixty.  Two  generations  of  the 
family  have  teen  engaged  in  contracting  and  building  and  the 
firm  of  C.  M.  Knoll  &  Bros,  was  established  in  1903,  though 
Charles,  the  senior  member,  has  been  in  the  business  for  sixteen 
years.  Their  specialty  is  the  erection  of  fine  residences,  in  which 
line  of  work  the  firm  stands  second  to  none  in  Schuylkill  county. 
William  M.  Knoll  is  a  member  of  Lilies  of  the  Valley  Lodge,  No. 
281,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  Encampment  No.  4,  and 
the  Daughters  of  Rebekah.  He  also  belongs  to  Camp  No.  36, 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America;  the  Good  Intent  fire 
company,  and  the  Carpenters'  union  of  Pottsville,  of  which  he 
was  president  for  two  terms.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and 
takes  a  commendable  interest  in  all  questions  touching  the  public 
weal,  particularly  those  of  a  local  nature. 

Knowles,  ThoRias  C,  principal  of  the  commercial  department 
in  the  Pottsville  schools,  is  a  native  of  that  borough,  born  Sept. 
16,  1871.  His  father,  George  N.  Knowles,  was  born  in  Wolver- 
hampton, England,  in  1840,  and  came  to  this  county  in  childhood. 
He  was  a  worker  of  iron  and  steel,  in  which  capacity  he  was  em- 
ployed in  Pottsville  during  his  early  manhood  years.  He  enlisted 
as  a  soldier  during  the  Civil  war  and  served  over  three  years  at 
the  front,  incurring  disabilities  which  contributed  to  his  death, 
Aug.  22,  1883.  He  served  under  two  enlistments,  first  in  the  Na- 
gle  Guards,  6th  regiment,  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  and  again  in 
Company  E  of  the  3d  regiment,  Pennsylvania  volunteer  cavalry. 
The   mother  of  Prof.   Knowles  was   in   maidenhood   Miss   Sarah 


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270  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Davis,  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  born  at  Pottsville,  in 
1844,  of  Welsh  ancestors.  She  died  in  Pottsville,  Sept.  19,  1875. 
George  N.  and  Sarah  Knowles  were  the  parents  of  a  numerous 
family,  all  of  whom  died  in  infancy  or  early  childhood  except  the 
subject  of  this  article  and  his  brother  Benjamin.  The  latter,  and 
younger  of  the  two,  is  foreman  of  the  bridge-building  department 
of  the  Eastern  Steel  Company  in  Pottsville.  He  married  Miss 
Mame  Heisler,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  Anna  and  Alberta. 
These  brothers  received  their  education  in  the  Pottsville  schools 
and  at  Mount  Joy  military  academy.  Professor  Knowles  was 
graduated  from  the  last  named  institution  with  the  class  of  1887 
with  the  rank  of  major.  He  was  self-dependent  from  childhood, 
and  earned  the  means  for  further  education  in  various  lines  of 
work,  as  occasion  required,  and  was  several  years  in  completing 
his  business  education.  In  1890  he  took  a  course  of  instruction  in 
D.  L.  Scott-Brown's  business  and  commercial  college  in  New 
York  city,  and  he  received  his  "certificate  to  practice  and  teach" 
in  1892.  While  taking  this  course  and  following  his  graduation 
he  was  employed  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron 
Company,  and  he  remained  with  this  firm,  as  stenographer  and 
bill  cleric,  until  elected  to  his  present  position,  in  1904.  In  fact, 
his  connection  with  this  corporation  dated  from  1889,  with  various 
vacations.  Mr.  Knowles'  election  to  the  principalship  of  the  com- 
mercial department  in  the  Pottsville  schools,  in  competition  with 
five  other  applicants  for  the  position,  was  a  high  compliment  to 
his  ability  and  social  standing.  He  received  the  unanimous  vote 
of  the  board,  and  has  been  twice  re-elected.  The  conditions  of 
eligibility  to  his  department  are  that  the  student  must  first  have 
been  graduated  from  the  grammar  school  or  the  high  school.  An 
average  of  about  fifty  students  are  taught  in  this  department,  and 
receive  the  same  instruction  which  is  given  in  the  colleges  de- 
voted exclusively  to  business  education.  The  expenses  are  paid 
from  the  school  funds  of  the  district,  the  same  as  other  teachers 
are  paid.  Thomas  C.  Knowles  was  married,  in  Pottsville,  Jan. 
16,  1896,  to  Miss  Mary  R.,  a  daughter  of  Rowland  and  Charlotte 
Whitfield.  Her  father  was  a  well  known  merchant  in  Pottsville. 
He  died  in  1896  at  the  home  now  occupied  by  his  widow  and  the 
family  of  Professor  Knowles.  Mrs.  Knowles  was  educated  in 
the  Pottsville  public  schools  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  high  school. 
She  is  a  lady  of  culture  and  refinement,  possessing  musical  accom- 
plishments of  a  high  degree.  The  only  child  born  to  Professor 
and  Mrs.  Knowles  is  Master  Rowland  Whitfield,  born  Sept.  24, 
1900.  Professor  Knowles  is  financial  secretary  of  Washington 
Camp,  No.  36,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America;  a  member 
of  Miners'  Lodge,  No.  20,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
Pottsville  Council,  No.  965,  Royal  Arcanum.  He  has  been  presi- 
dent of  the  Humane  fire  company  for  several  years,  a  position 
which  he  still  holds.  In  political  views  he  is  a  Republican,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Central  Republican  club.  In  religious  affiliations 
he  is  an  Episcopalian  and  his  wife  is  a  Presbyterian. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  271 

Koch,  Hon.  Richard  Henry. — ^The  annals  of  Schuylkill  county 
record  the  history  of  no  name  more  prominently  associated  with 
the  pioneer  history  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  than  that  of  the 
Koch  family.  The  great-great-gfrandfather  of  Richard  Henry 
Koch  took  an  active  part  as  a  soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war.  He  left  a  family  of  eight  children,  one  of  whom,  William 
Koch,  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  article.  He 
was  born  in  Philadelphia  Apr.  i,  1747,  and  spent  his  childhood  and 
early  youth  in  his  native  city,  and  at  Womelsdorf,  and  in  Oley 
township,  Berks  county.  It  was  he  who  established  the  family 
name  on  the  soil  of  Schuylkill  county ;  he  built  one  of  the  pioneer 
mills  in  East  Brunswick  township,  and  the  same  was  later  known 
as  Kunkle's  mill.  William  Koch  was  twice  married,  his  second 
wife,  Mary  Neifong,  being  the  mother  of  Henry  Koch,  the  pa- 
ternal grandfather  of  Judge  Koch,  of  this  sketch.  William  Koch 
died  on  his  farm  in  East  Brunswick  township,  May  3,  1832.  Grand- 
father Henry  Koch  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in  E^st  Bruns- 
wick township,  Schuylkill  county,  Oct.  5,  1791,  and  died  at  New 
Ringgold,  March  19,  1867.  He  spent  his  life  in  the  vicinity  of 
his  birthplace,  and  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  miller  and  mer- 
chant. He  married  Susanna  Bock,  of  German  antecedents,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of  whom  Daniel,  Judge 
Koch's  father,  was  the  eldest.  He  was  born  at  Kunkle's  Mill, 
near  the  old  mill  erected  by  his  ancestors,  his  birth  occurring  on 
Dec.  24,  1816.  On  the  24th  of  Oct.,  1839,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Mary  Ann  Beck,  who  represented  an  old  and 
prominent  family  in  Pennsylvania.  One  of  her  ancestors  was  a 
gunsmith  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  by  reason  of  which  he 
was  exempted  from  the  performance  of  military  duty.  She  was 
bom  on  Jan.  24,  1818,  and  died  Aug.  26,  1888.  Eleven  children 
were  born  to  the  union  of  Daniel  and  Mary  Koch,  namely:  Har- 
riet, Francis  D.,  Allen,  Jeremiah,  Albert  B.  (deceased),  Sarah, 
Richard  Henry,  Emanuel,  Arenius,  Kate  and  Ambrose  Ellsworth. 
Ten  of  the  number  lived  to  maturity.  The  eldest  son  served 
throughout  the  Civil  war,  more  than  three  years,  and  the  father 
and  his  third  son  served  together  during:  the  emergency  call  when 
the  state  was  invaded  by  the  Confederate  army.  Daniel  Koch 
remained  in  the  vicinity  of  his  birthplace  until  1844,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Middleport,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business. 
In  1857  he  moved  to  Auburn  and  resumed  farming  operations, 
his  earlier  life  work,  in  which  he  was  very  successful.  In  1866  he 
purchased  a  flouring  mill  at  Monocacy,  Berks  county,  and  the 
year  following  purchased  a  similar  property  at  Fleetwood,  in  the 
same  county,  where  he  established  the  family  home.  He  contin- 
ued to  operate  his  milling  business  until  1882,  after  which  time 
he  lived  in  retirement  until  his  death,  on  Jan.  7,  1903.  He  was 
an  ardent  Republican,  and  active  in  the  councils  of  the  party.  He 
was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  sheriff  in  1854,  and  was  elected 
as  a  representative  in  the  legislature  in  i860.  Richard  Henry 
Koch  was  born   at   Middleport,   Schuylkill   county.   Pa.,  Apr.   2, 


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272  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

1852.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  the  locality  in 
which  he  lived,  and  prepared  for  his  enrollment  as  a  student  at 
the  state  normal  school  at  Kutztown,  Pa.  He  was  graduated 
from  that  institution  in  1871,  with  the  first  honors  in  his  class. 
He  engaged  in  teaching  in  Lehigh  and  Schuylkill  counties  for 
two  years,  and  then  returned  to  his  alma  mater,  where  he  held  the 
chair  of  instructor  in  mathematics  for  six  years.  While  thus 
employed,  he  also  turned  his  attention  to  institute  work  and  was 
engaged  as  instructor  and  lecturer  in  teachers'  institutes  in  a 
number  of  the  adjacent  counties.  He  resigned  his  chair  in  the 
normal  school  to  take  up  the  study  of  law,  becoming  a  student 
under  the  tutorship  of  the  late  Hon.  Francis  W.  Hughes,  in  Potts- 
ville.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  bar  of  Schuylkill 
county  in  May,  1881,  has  since  been  admitted  to  practicfe  in  the 
supreme  court  of  the  state,  and  in  1890,  to  the  supreme  court  of 
the  United  States.  Judge  Koch  is  a  thorough  lawyer,  devoted 
to  his  profession,  and  maintains  a  high  standing  in  social  and 
business  circles.  He  is  an  active  and  earnest  Republican,  a  tal- 
ented and  vigorous  campaign  orator  and  a  systematic  political  or- 
ganizer. He  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  county  committee 
in  1883  and  1884.  Mr.  Koch  served  three  years  as  deputy  district 
attorney  from  1887  to  1890,  and  in  the  year  1889  he  was  elected 
to  that  office.  This  election  was  a  high  compliment  to  Mr.  Koch's 
popularity,  in  that  the  county  was  considered  almost  hopelessly 
Democratic.  He  was  nominee  of  his  party  for  the  office  of  judge 
of  the  common  pleas  court  in  1892,  but  was  defeated,  Grover 
Cleveland,  candidate  for  president,  carrying  the  county  by  a  plu- 
rality of  2,251.  He  was  appointed  judge  by  Governor  Hastings, 
on  the  death  of  Judge  Weidman,  in  1897,  and  was  his  party's 
candidate  for  election  in  1898;  but,  owing  to  the  great  anti-Quay 
fight  that  year,  the  election  resulted  in  favor  of  every  Democratic 
candidate  in  the  county.  Judge  Koch  was  married  Sept.  30,  1884, 
to  Miss  Annie  S.  Philips,  whose  father.  Captain  William  Philips, 
was  fatally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  during  the 
Civil  war.  Judge  and  Mrs.  Koch  have  an  interesting  family  of 
four  children,  whose  names  are  Roscoe,  Helen,  Marshall  and 
Marjorie.  The  judge  is  associated  with  a  number  of  fraternal 
organizations  and  has  attained  to  high  rank  in  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity. He  is  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  Amer- 
ica and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  has 
been  for  the  past  twenty  years  a  director  of  the  Centennial  Me- 
morial association  of  Valley  Forge,  which  was  established  for  the 
purpo^  of  preserving  this  historically  sacred  spot  from  that  ob- 
livion which  has  already  obliterated  too  many  relics  of  past  gen- 
erations. Judge  Koch  is  a  trustee  of  the  Pottsville  hospital  and 
for  many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  Keystone  state  normal  school,  located  at  Kutztown. 

Kohler,  Gerald  A.,  station  agent  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Railroad  on  the  Shamokin  division,  at  Tamaqua,  was  born  in 
Schuylkill  county,  June  10,  1876,  a  son  of  Henry  J.  and  Sarah  A. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  273 

Kohler,  now  residents  of  Philadelphia.  The  father  is  a  carpenter 
and  a  skilled  workman  in  his  line.  During  the  Civil  war  he  en- 
listed in  the  Union  army,  but  he  was  disqualified  because  of  his 
youth.  Notwithstanding,  he  was  a  member  of  the  state  militia 
and  saw  some  service  doing  guard  and  garrison  duty.  Both 
parents  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Six 
children  were  born  to  them.  George  H.,  the  eldest,  is  an  insur- 
ance broker  in  Philadelphia;  Edward  died  at  the  age  of  a  year 
and  a  half;  Mary  Laura  is.  the  wife  of  Charles  McGovvin,  of 
Philadelphia;  Frank  S.  died  Dec.  14,  1894,  at  the  age  of  fourteen; 
and  Arthur  R.  passed  away  in  Apr.,  1890,  at  the  age  of  ten  months. 
The  subject  of  this  memoir  is  the  third  of  the  family  in  order  of 
birth.  He  received  his  scholastic  training  in  the  public  schools 
of  Girardville,  completing  a  course  in  telegraphy  at  the  same  time 
he  finished  his  other  schooling.  The  first  three  years  after  gradu- 
ation he  was  operator  at  Girardville  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing road,  and  then  served  two  years  in  the  same  capacity  at 
Alaska.  From.  Jan.  8,  1900,  until  Dec.  22,  1902,  he  was  station 
agent  at  GilbeVton,  and  then  was  promoted  to  the  position  of 
traveling  station  agent  with  headquarters  at  the  division  superin- 
tendent's office  in  Tamaqua;  promoted  to  station  agent,  Tama- 
qua,  Apr.  18,  1907.  Dec.  31,  1900,  Mr.  Kohler  married  Miss  Maude 
K.  Anderson,  who  was  born  in  Boonsboro,  la.,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  Anderson, » now  residents  of  Girardville.  Three 
children  have  blessed  this  union — Elwood  Melvin,  Marion  Avery  11 
and  Wayne  Anderson.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kohler  attend  the 
Primitive  Methodist  church,  and  Mrs.  Kohler  is  a  member  of  the 
same.  The  husband  is  identified  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  America,  of  which  he  is  now  a  trustee  and  of  which  he 
has  been  president.  He  is  well  known  and  ix)pular,  an  efficient 
official  and  a  substantial  citizen. 

Krapp,  George  F.,  one  of  the  prominent  younger  members  of 
the  Schuylkill  county  bar,  and  a  resident  of  Ashland,  was  born 
in  that  borough,  Jan.  4,  1874.  He  is  a  son  of  Frederick  Krapp,  Sr., 
and  Elizabeth  (Schaefer)  Krapp,  both  natives  of  Germany.  His 
father  was  born  in  Sans  Kow-Pommern,  Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 
and  his  mother  in  Barka  on  the  Werra,  Saxe-Weimar.  His  two 
grandfathers  were  both  prominent  in  the  commercial  life  of  Ger- 
many in  their  early  days.  His  grandfather  on  his  father's  side 
was  born  in  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  and  was  engaged  in  the  iron 
business,  and  his  grandfather  on  his  mother's  side  was  born  in 
Gotha  on  the  Werra,  Saxe-Coburg  and  Gotha,  and  was  the  owner 
of  large  tanneries.  His  father  in  his  early  days  was  engaged  in 
the  shoe  business,  but  for  the  last  thirty-five  years  has  been  a 
wholesale  liquor  dealer  in  said  borough.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  borough  up  to  his 
seventeenth  year  and  subsequently  entered  service  on  the  state 
and  government  ship  Saratoga,  on  her  first  cruise  under  Captain 
Greene,  of  the  United  States  navy.  On  his  return  to  Ashland  he 
entered  the  law  offices  of  the  Hon.  VViUiam  A.  Marr,  and  after  he 

18— Vol.  II 


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274  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

had  successfully  passed  the  examination  for  admission  to  the  bar 
he  was  granted  license  to  practice  at  the  Schuylkill  county  bar 
Sept.  6,  1897.  April  18,  1899,  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  ad- 
mitted him  to  practice  at  the  bar  of  that  tribunal,  upon  motion 
of  the  Hon.  Dallas  M.  Sanders,  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and 
since  that  time  he  has  been  professionally  engaged  in  many  im- 
portant causes  before  the  courts  of  the  state.  Politically  Mr. 
Krapp  is  a  Democrat  and  for  several  years  has  been  honored  with 
the  appointment  as  one  of  the  county  court  commissioners.  In 
1898  he  was  elected  as  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention,  held  at 
Altoona,  which  nominated  the  Hon.  George  A.  Jenks  for  gover- 
nor, and  in  1902  as  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention,  held  at 
Erie,  which  nominated  the  Hon.  Robert  E.  Pattison  for  governor. 
In  1904  he  was  nominated  by  his  party  for  the  legislature,  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  from  the  Second  legislative  district  of  Schuyl- 
kill county,  but  was  defeated  at  the  general  election  by  the  Re- 
publican nominee,  Hon.  Alfred  B.  Garner.  In  1905  he  was  elected 
tax  collector  of  the  borough  of  Ashland  for  the  years  1906-07-08. 
Besides  his  lee^al  work,  he  has  done  considerable  work  as  a  notary 
public,  having  held  a  commission  as  such  for  the  past  twelve  years, 
and  for  several  years  has  been  solicitor  tor  the  New  Ashland  Na- 
tional bank  and  for  the  school  district  of  said  borough.  His  re- 
ligious affiliations  are  with  Zion's  German  Evans^elical  Lutheran 
church,  of  Ashland,  and  he  is  prominent  in  all  its  activities.  He 
is  also  identified  as  a  member  with  American  House  and  Betsy 
Ross  Memorial  association,  the  Gennan  Washington  Verein.  Camp 
84,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  AsMand  Lodo^e, 
No.  384,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  His  many 
friends  predict  for  him  a  brilliant  future  in  the  legal  profession, 
5md  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  promising  members  of 
/"the  community. 

ICrebs,  Frank  P.,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  was  born  in 
Tamaqua,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  Oct.  i,  1864.  He  is  a  son  of 
Philip  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Portz)  Krebs,  both  natives  of  Munster- 
Appel,  in  the  province  of  Rhenish  Bavaria,  Germany.  They  ac- 
companied their  parents  to  America  in  early  life,  the  mother  be- 
ing a  resident  of  Tamaqua,  Pa.,  since  1847,  ^"d  the  father  having 
located  there  in  185 1.  He  was  a  skilled  mechanic,  and  followed 
the  business  of  a  fresco  painter  and  decorator  until  1864,  when 
he  engaged  in  the  liquor  business,  as  a  rectifier  and  wholesaler. 
He  died  in  Tamaqua  in  1883.  ^^^^  widow  still  lives  in  the  bor- 
ough of  her  adoption.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  four 
of  whom  are  living.  Frank  P.  Krebs,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua,  and  at  Lafayette 
college  and  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  graduated  from 
Lafayette  college  in  the  year  1885,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bache- 
lor of  Science,  and  two  years  later  received  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Science.  In  1885  ^^  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  the 
year  1887  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.     His  preceptor  was  United 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  275 

States  Attorney  General  Benjamin  Harris  Brewster,  upon  whose 
motion  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  various  courts  of  Phila- 
delphia county  in  1887,  and  to  the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania 
in  1890.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county  March 
17,  1890.  He  has  established  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  and 
is  classed  among  the  successful  lawyers  of  Schuylkill  county.  Po- 
litically Mr.  Krebs  is  an  independent  Democrat.  He  has  served 
four  years  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council,  and  three  years 
as  president  of  the  school  board.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of 
Tamaqua  Lodge,  Ko\  592,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks. 

Krecker,  Harry,  son  of  Charles  and  Arabella  (Riland)  Krecl^er, 
was  born  in  Friedensburg,  Sept.  13,  1859.  Of  his  immediate  family, 
two  brothers,  William  F.  and  John  W.,  beside  himself,  are  living. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools,  his  attendance 
continuing  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  After  that  time  he 
taught  school  for  five  terms  in  the  Friedensburg  district,  and  then 
went  to  Wyoming  county.  Pa.,  where  he  worked  for  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Railroad,  remaining  for  two  years.  The  next  three  and 
one-half  years  he  spent  as  clerk  in  a  general  store,  and  then  tried 
working  in  a  furniture  factory  at  Allentown,  Pa.,  for  a  time.  In 
1895  he  came  to  Friedensburg,  where  he  has  since  resided.  In 
March,  1899,  he  received  the  appointment  as  postmaster  of  the 
office  at  Friedensburg,  and  has  filled  that  position  since  that  time, 
having  retired  from  active  work  in  other  lines.  June  13,  1881,  Mr. 
Krecker  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen  C.  Wommer.  Five  children 
were  born  to  them,  two  girls  and  three  boys,  Ada,  Alice,  Arthur, 
Walter  and  Joseph,  all  of  whom  are  living.  Mr.  Krecker  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  local  organization  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons 
of  America.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  With  the  exception 
of  the  office  which  he  is  now  holding,  Mr.  Krecker  has  never  held 
office.  The  family  are  members  of  the  United  Evangelical  church 
of  Friedensburg. 

Kurtz,  Frederick  D.,  proprietor  of  the  Cambrian  hotel  at  Shen- 
andoah, was  bom  at  Camden,  N.  J.,  Aug.  23,  1873,  and  is  the  only 
child  of  Frederick  and  Lena  E.  (Schwickert)  Kurtz,  the  former  a 
native  of  Berlin,  Germany,  and  the  latter  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
The  mother  died  in  giving  birth  to  her  son,  being  at  the  time 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  the  father  soon  afterward  went  to 
California.  Nothing  was  ever  heard  from  him  afterward  and  he  is 
supposed  to  be  dead.  Frederick  D.  Kurtz  was  reared  to  man- 
hood by  his  paternal  grandmother,  Mrs.  Sanis  Kurtz,  of  William 
Penn,  where  he  lived  for  thirty-two  years.  He  attended  school 
for  a  few  terms  in  his  early  boyhood,  and  when  about  nine  years 
old  began  work  on  the  breaker.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he 
was  employed  by  a  huckster,  where  he  continued  for  about  three 
years,  when  he  engaged  in  that  line  of  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count and  followed  that  occupation  for  eleven  years,  conducting 
for  a  part  of  that  time  a  small  livery  business  in  connection  with 
his    huckstering.     Upon   going  out   of   this   business   he   worked 


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276  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY  1 

about  one  year  for  the  Oxford  Coal  Company,  and  was  then  for 
a  time  employed  as  a  carpenter  by  that  company  and  the  firm  of 
Glenn  &  O'Hearn.  Feb.  4,  1907,  he  was  granted  a  hotel  license 
and  opened  the  Cambrian  hotel  at  the  corner  of  Jardin  and  Center 
streets.  The  hotel  has  fourteen  rooms,  well  furnished,  and  the 
genial  proprietor  caters  to  both  transient  and  permanent  trade.  A 
first-class  bar  is  operated  in  connection  with  the  hotel,  and  this  is 
supplied  with  the  best  the  market  affords  in  that  line.  Mr.  Kurtz 
is  a  member  of  Aerie  No.  103,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and 
Lodge  No.  151,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  both  of  Shenandoah. 
In  politics  he  is  independent,  voting  for  the  man  he  regards  best 
fitted  for  the  office,  without  regard  to  party  affiliations.  Although 
his  attendance  at  school  was  very  limited  he  has  by  self-culture 
and  observation  acquired  a  wide  range  of  information  on  general 
topics  and  votes  on  national  questions  according  to  his  judgment. 
Sept.  4,  1895,  Mr.  Kurtz  and  Miss  Martha  Jordan  were  united  in 
marriage.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Jordauy  of  Lost 
Creek,  Schuylkill  county,  where  the  father  died  in  the  early  part 
of  1907,  and  where  the  mother  is  now  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kurtz 
have  had  four  children.  Sarah  died  at  the  age  of  four  months, 
and  Thomas  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  months.  Lena  and  Freder- 
ick are  now  attending  the  schools  of  Shenandoah  and  living  at 
jiome  with  their  parents.  Mr.  Kurtz  is  a  member  of  the  German 
^Ijtheran  church  and  his  wife  is  a  Methodist. 

Ji^fjnb,  Archie  B.,  mine  inspector  of  the  Thirteenth  district  of  I 

•  Pen^isyjvania  and  a  popular  citizen  of  Shenandoah,  was  born  at  1 

St.  iQl^if  pn  Apr.  16,  1853,  a  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Lamb)  Lamb.  ' 

Although  the  parents  had  the  same  name  they  were  not  related,  I 

though  ln^th  were  born  in  Durham  county,  England.  The  mother  ' 

.died  jn  AsWand  in  1867,  leaving  four  children.  Thomas,  the  eld- 
,est,  i^  a  mjper  living  in  Centralia;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Hares, 
a  mjfier  of  Shenajtvloah ;  and  Lawson  is  on  a  ranch  in  the  state  of 
Washingtpn,  wher^e  for  several  years  he  was  engaged  in  gold  and 
:  silver  ipining.    Aj^t^r  the  mother's  death  the  father  married  again  I 

and  Hved  tp-^j\ii^e  .old  age  in  Shenandoah.     When  Lee  with  his' 
Confederate  J^rfiAy  .V^s  invading  the  state  the  father  enlisted  in  a 
volunteer  .regwfi^pt    under    Colonel    Connor    and    served    three 
months,  altlpipyjgh^^  the  time  he  had  reached  an  age  which  ex- 
,empted  h^i^ffpfli*  military  duty.     The  subject  of  this  memoir  is 
.the  third  child, .ipfJ^is. parents  in  order  of  birth.    The  education  he 
.acquired  was  in  the  9pmmon  schools  of  St.  Clair  and  Ashland  and 
-while  he..was  stttll..a,y<)uth  he  went  to  work  in  the  mines.     An  in- 
;jury  receiyed  t^iere  incapacitated  him  for  work  for  several  years, 
'ibiitwhen:  he  ,was!aWe'hje  returned  to  it.    In  1877  he  went  to  Colo- 
-  rs^jio.  apd  spent  .five  yq^rs  in  mining  and  prospecting,  meeting  with 
iiskir  success.   •  tlpoii  his  .return  at  the  end  of  that  period   he  re- 
vPVmed  his;  n^iqing  ^ter§»ts  as  a  contractor,  and  from  that  time  was 
«  cpntj^nuouply  and..fj^o^t\^cces^ully  engaged  until  1905.     In  Feb- 
•rtiary  of  that  year'he  tpokthe  examinations  as  to  qualification  for 
irninejipspefrtingj^nd  passing  them  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  277 

commission,  he  became  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party  for 
the  office.  In  November  he  was  elected,  although  he  had  served 
from  the  previous  February  by  appointment  to  fill  a  vacancy. 
The  duties  of  a  mine  inspector  are  many  and  varied,  including  a 
power  in  some  instances  of  filling  positions  about  the  mines,  and 
in  all  cases  being  held  responsible  for  the  safety  of 'the  miners. 
Mr.  Lamb  has  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  position  with  promptness 
and  decision,  and  has  yet  to  be  found  wanting  in  any  matter  con- 
cerning his  office.  He  is  a  stalwart  Republican  in  his  political 
beliefs  and  has  done  much  to  aid  in  the  success  of  his  party  in  the 
elections  of  the  past  few  years.  From  1889  to  1895  he  served  as 
a  member  of  the  borough  council,  during  whicft  years  the  water- 
works system  was  installed  and  the  street  railway  built.  He  has 
also  served  as  treasurer  of  the  board  of  school  directors  and  for 
more  than  fifteen  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  public  library,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  county. 
(>n  Jan.  25,  1882,  Mr.  Lamb  married  Miss  Mary  Lewis,  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Humphrey  Lewis,  of  St.  Clair.  Mrs.  Lamb  is  the 
youngest  of  four  daughters  in  the  family,  the  others  being  Mrs. 
Charles  S.  Davis,  of  Girardville;  Mrs.  Henry  Leam,  a  widow,  of 
Ashland,  whose  son  is  cashier  of  the  Guarantee  Trust  Company  at 
Shamokin;  and  Mrs.  Mark  Minto,  who  lives  near  Washingfton,  D. 
C.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lamb  are  five  in  number — 
Jessie,  Hazel,  Archie,  Mary  and  Esther,  all  at  home  and  all  but  the 
two  eldest  students  in  the  public  schools.  Mrs.  Lamb  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  faith  the  family 
is  being  reared.  Fraternally,  Mr.  Lamb  is  identified  with  the 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  is  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  Lodge  No.  103,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  the  Fra- 
ternal Order  of  Eagles.  He  is  a  public-spirited,  straightforward 
citizen,  who  is  immensely  popular  with  his  fellows  and  is  a  trusted 
public  servant. 

Landback,  Jesse  K,  who  conducts  a  general  store  at  Helfen- 
stein,  was  born  near  Mifflinsburg,  Union  county,  Feb.  17,  1861.  I-fe 
is  one  of  the  five  children  born  to  Samuel  and  Susan  (Evans) 
Landback,  the  others  being  Mrs.  Joseph  Rowe,  Mrs.  John  Pursel, 
Charles  and  Oscar.  After  a  due  preliminary  discipline  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Northumberland  county,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
left  scholastic  work  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  to  come  to  Hel- 
fenstein  and  accept  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  general  store  of  the 
company.  By  hard  work,  strict  attention  to  duty  and  a  desire  to 
overcome  all  difficulties,  he  soon  became  recognized  as  a  man  of 
capacity  and  ability,  was  promoted  to  the  general  managership 
and  remained  in  that  position  for  a  period  of  eight  years.  Then, 
in  1891,  he  purchased  the  controlling  interest  in  the  concern  and 
since  that  time  has  managed  it  as  successfully  for  himself  as  he 
did  for  the  company.  The  business  includes  all  lines  of  merchan- 
dise generally  found  in  a  store  of  the  kind  and  the  stock  is  full  and 
of  the  best.  Mr.  Landback  has  been  thrice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  Miss  Kate  Warfield.  a  daughter  of  Henry  Warfield,  who  was 


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278  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  first  man  to  discover  the  coal  producing  region  in  the  Helfen- 
stein  tract.  One  son,  Jesse,  now  living  in  California,  blessed  this 
union.  His  second  marriage  was  to  Miss  Mary  Pursel,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Pursel  of  Union  county,  and  to  this  union  were  born 
three  daughters  and  a  son — Olive,  John,  Martha  and  Edna.  Mr. 
Landback's  third  marriage  was  to  Miss  Kate  Kehras,  a  daughter 
of  Daniel  Kehras,  of  Klingerstown.  The  family  are  all  attend- 
ants of  the  Union  church  of  Helfenstein.  Mr.  Landback  is  iden- 
tified with  Ashland  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Order  of  Masons, 
and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  Camp  No.  41,  Patriotic  Order  of 
the  Sons  of  America.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  aside 
from  the  office  of  school  director,  he  has  never  held  nor  aspired  to 
political  honors. 

Laudenslager,  Charles  I.,  justice  of  the  peace  of  Valley  View, 
was  born  at  Gratz,  Dauphin  county,  on  March  i,  1849,  ^  son  of 
Daniel  and  Lydia  (Sausser)  Laudenslager.  He  received  his  pre- 
liminary educational  training  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
borough,  completing  it  by  a  course  in  the  Kutztown  state  normal 
school.  For  the  first  few  years  after  graduation  he  taught  school 
in  Branch  and  Frailey  townships  and  at  Hegins.  His  first  busi- 
ness venture  was  in  the  general  merchandise  industry  in  Sacra- 
mento. In  the  spring  of  1874  he  was  elected  to  represent  the 
Sacramento  district  in  the  state  legislature  and  served  a  full  term 
of  two  years.  About  1876  or  1877  he  removed  to  Valley  View 
and  opened  an  agency  for  the  sale  of  farm  implements.  In  1888 
he  again  embarked  in  the  general  merchandise  business,  but  five 
years  later  disposed  of  his  interests  and  confined  himself  again  to 
the  sale  of  agricultural  implements.  In  Dec,  1870,  Mr.  Lau- 
denslager married  Miss  Katherine  A.  Romberger,  daughter  of 
John  Romberger,  of  Pillow,  Dauphin  county.  The  children  of 
this  union  were  eight  in  number,  five  of  whom  survive.  They  are: 
Rufus  H.,  Irvin  A.,  Minnie  (Mrs.  George  Young,  of  Good  Spring), 
John  H.  and  Eva  L.  The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Church 
of  God  at  Valley  View,  in  which  the  father  is  one  of  the  elders. 
In  his  political  belief  Mr.  Laudenslager  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
and  his  elevation  to  offices  of  public  trust  has  always  been  as  the 
candidate  of  that  party.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  Val- 
ley View  Camp  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  In 
1881  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  his  continued  re-elec- 
tions to  the  incumbency  of  the  office  are  but  a  slight  evidence  of 
the  esteem  and  respect  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  people  of  the 
community. 

Laurisin,  Rev.  Cornelius,  former  rector  of  St.  Michael's  Greek 
Catholic  church  of  Shenandoah,  was  born  in  Hungary  on  Sept.  29. 
1858,  a  son  of  Rev.  John  and  Emelia  (Ilnicky)  Laurisin,  both  na- 
tive Hungarians.  The  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  Hungarian  revo- 
lution of  1848,  being  a  non-commissioned  officer,  and  was  ordained 
to  the  ministry  of  the  Greek  Catholic  church  in  1857.  His  service 
in  that  capacity  continued  until  1901,  when  he  resigned  from  ac- 
tive work  and  has  since  been  a  pastor  emeritus.    The  family  con- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  '  279 

sisted  of  three  sons,  the  eldest  of  whcun,  Augustine,  is  now  a  priest 
in  the  Greek  church  in  Hungary.  For  seven  years,  five  at  Ma- 
hanoy  City  and  two  at  Braddock,  he  served  his  church  in  the 
United  States  and  then  returned  to  take  up  his  labors  in  his 
native  land.  He  is  married  and  has  a  family.  Nicholas  is  also 
married  and  is  now  a  presiding  judge  in  one  of  the  courts  of  Hun- 
gary. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  and  educated  in  the 
land  of  his  birth  and  received  his  ordination  to  the  ministry  of 
the  Greek  church  while  still  a  citizen  there.  He  came  to  America 
in  1891  and  was  assigned  first  to  a  church  at  Osceola  Mills,  Pa. 
After  less  than  a  year  there,  however,  he  was  transferred  and  be- 
came the  third  pastor  of  St.  MichaeFs  church  in  Shenandoah. 
This  congregation  was  organized  in  1884  by  Rev.  John  Wolansky 
and  was  the  first  Greek  church  to  be  established  in  America. 
Father  Wolansky  was  recalled  after  three  years  of  service,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  he  was  married,  a  condition  unknown  among  Iht 
Catholic  clergy  in  this  country  at  the  time,  which- caused  much 
discussion  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  church.  He 
was  succeeded  in  1889  by  Rev.  Father  Constantine  Andruchovic, 
who  remained  at  the  head  of  affairs  until  the  coming  of  Father 
Laurisin.  The  church  today  is  comprised  of  a  membership  of  400 
families  and  between  700  and  800  single  members,  the  latter  num- 
ber including  those  unmarried  and  those  who  have  left  their  fam- 
ilies in  their  native  countries.  The  services  of  the  church  are  con- 
ducted in  the  old  Slavish  language,  into  which  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures and  the  liturgical  works  were  translated  by  Sts.  Cyril  and 
Methodius  about  980  A.  D.  What  is  known  as  the  Greek  Catho- 
lic church  is  really  two  different  branches  of  the  same  faith.  The 
one,  which  is  better  known  as  the  United  Greek  Catholic  church, 
is  in  union  with  the  Church  of  Rome,  having  the  same  dogmas  ac- 
knowledging the  supremacy  of  the  pope,  but  retaining  and  abiding 
by  its  own  disciplinary  laws  and  the  Oriental  Greek  rite.  To 
this  belongs  the  law  governing  the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  which 
allows  the  members  of  the  faith  to  marry  once  before  ordination. 
Divorce  is  unknown,  and  there  is  no  second  marriage  allowed  in 
case  of  death  of  the  wife.  The  union  between  the  Greek  church 
and  the  church  of  Rome  was  effected  in  1648,  and  the  conditions 
agreed  upon  bind  the  latter  to  recognize  certain  rights,  laws  and 
privileges  of  the  Greek  church.  The  other  branch  of  the  Greek 
church  does  not  recognize  the  infallibility  of  the  pope  nor  the 
dogma  of  the  immaculate  conception  of  the  Holy  Virgin.  It  is 
controlled  by  the  sovereign  of  the  country  or  countries  in  which 
it  has  been  established,  an  instance  being  Russia,  where  the  czar 
is  the  nominal  head,  as  he  appoints  the  members  of  the  synod.  In 
other  European  countries  there  is  a  patriarchal  government  under 
the  approval  of  the  reigning  sovereign.  This  latter  branch  of  the 
church  is  the  stronger  numerically,  having  a  membership  of  about 
120,000,000.  The  United  Greek  church  has  a  membership  of 
about  10,000,000,  and  embraces  within  its  scope  peoples  of  Rus- 
sia, Roumania,  Bulgaria,  Greece,  Croatia,  Arabia,  Syria,  Hungary 


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280  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  Italy.  The  church  in  the  United  States  as  represented  by 
Father  Laurisin  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Latin  bishops,  a 
condition  not  wholly  satisfactory  and  one  from  which  relief  has 
been  sought.  An  effort  is  being  made  at  the  present  time  to  sepa- 
rate the  American  Greek  Catholic  church  and  place  it  under  a 
bishop  of  its  denomination.  An  appeal  to  the  Hungarian  govern- 
ment resulted  in  the  sending  of  a  prelate  as  a  visitator'to  this 
country  to  ascertain  the  true  condition  of  the  church  and  report 
upon  the  advisability  of  a  separation.  Since  the  arrival  of  this 
visitator  it  has  been  shown  that  he  is  serving  rather  the  political 
and  national  interests  of  the  Hungarian  government  than  disin- 
terestedly working  out  the  problem  of  the  church.  Consequently 
his  recall  has  been  asked  and  is  ultimately  expected.  Father  Lau- 
risin was  married  in  his  native  country  before  taking  the  orders 
of  priesthood,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Mary  Volkay. 
Four  children  blessed  this  union,  three  of  whom,  Mary,  Michael 
and  Stephen,  died  in  childhood,  while  the  other  daughter,  Annie, 
died  in  1900  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years.  Since  the  demise  of 
the  last  named  daughter,  Mrs.  Laurisin,  who  had  been  in  ill  health 
for  some  time,  was  summoned  to  her  rest  eternal  on  Dec.  27,  1905. 
Father  Laurisin  became  a  citizen  of  his  adopted  country  as  soon 
after  his  arrival  as  the  law  would  allow,  and  he  has  done  much  to 
imbue  his  parishioners  with  high  ideals  of  loyalty  and  patriotism. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Shenandoah  Trust  Company, 
and  during  his  residence  in  Shenandoah  was  one  of  the  directors. 
In  1892  he  formulated  the  general  plan  which  resulted  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  "Greek  Catholic  Union,"  an  association  having 
for  its  object  the  home  protection  of  its  members.  The  society 
provides  for  the  payment  of  weekly  benefits  in  case  of  sickness  or 
inability  to  labor  on  the  part  of  the  members,  and  in  case  of  death 
pays  out  to  the  widow  and  children  the  sum  of  $1,000.  The  mem- 
bership of  the  organization  now  numbers  16,000  and  conducts  a 
publishing  enterprise  which  prints  a  weekly  paper  in  the  Russian 
language.  The  reserve  fund  at  the  present  time  amounts  to  about 
$100,000.  Father  Laurisin  was  the  first  secretary  of  the  union, 
and  subsequently  held  the  offices  of  president  and  spiritual  ad- 
viser. He  is  a  man  of  broad  culture  and  fine  intellect  and  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  English  language  has  been  of  immense 
value  to  his  people  in  their  litigations  and  deliberations.  He  has 
often  been  called  into  consultation  with  the  clergir  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  and  possesses  the  unbounded  confidence  of  all 
the  people  of  the  community,  irrespective  of  creed  or  nationality. 
On  May  i,  1907,  Father  Laurisin  removed  to  Qairton,  Pa.,  be- 
coming rector  of  Ascension  Greek  Catholic  church. 

Lautenbacher,  Jeremiah  Charles,  a  prominent  resident  of  Schuyl- 
kill Haven,  was  born  in  Kutztown,  Berks  county,  Pa.,  June  26, 
1857.  His  father,  Charles  Lautenbacher,  was  born  in  Germany, 
July  26,  1832,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Ann 
GraflF,  was  born  in  Kutztown,  Berks  county,  Aug.  16,  183 1.  Her 
ancestors  were  among  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Berks  county,  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  281 

shared  the  dangers  of  the  time  from  Indian  depredations.  A  well 
established  family  tradition  relates  that  her  great-grandfather  had 
a  secret  cave  to  which  he  and  his  family  would  retire  in  times  of 
danger,  and  that  the  Indians  never  succeeded  in  finding  this  fam- 
ily hiding  place.  The  subject  of  this  article  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  began  his  business  ca- 
reer at  an  early  age.  He  learned  the  marble  cutter's  trade  an6 
followed  that  as  a  profession  from  early  youth  until  he  was 
twenty-eight  years  old,  when  he  established  a  factory  for  the 
manufacture  of  hosiery,  this  being  the  first  factory  in  Schuylkill 
Haven,  and  was  subsequently  enlarged  to  include  the  manufacture 
of  underwear,  the  line  of  business  in  which  he  is  at  present  en- 
gaged. It  is  a  well  established  and  prosperous  enterprise,  afford- 
ing steady  and  remunerative  employment  to  a  large  number  of 
employes.  On  Sept.  6,  1877,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Lau- 
tenbacher,  the  woman  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Angella  Emerich, 
daughter  of  Elijah  and  Sarah  Ann  (Raudenbnsh)  Emerich,  of 
Schuylkill  Haven,  early  pioneers  of  Schuylkill  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lautenbacher  have  three  daughters,  Irene,  Mary  Flora  and 
Sarah  May.  The  first  named  is  the  wife  of  Thomas  Tindall,  liv- 
ing in  Schuylkill  Haven ;  Mary  Flora  married  Howard  Herlinian, 
also  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  the  youngest  daughter  is  still  under 
the  parental  roof,  attending  school.  Mr.  Lautenbacher  has  been 
a  life-long  Republican  in  his  political  preferences.  He  has  served 
three  terms  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council,  and  was,  for  two 
terms,  president  of  that  body.  He  is  prominent  in  the  councils  of 
Free  Masonry  and  has  attained  to  the  thirty-second  degree  in  that 
time-honored  fraternity;  is  a  member  of  Pottsville  Lodge,  No. 
207,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks;  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics, 
the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  and  the  Royal  Arcanum,  all  in 
Schuylkill  Haven.  The  church  affiliations  of  the  family  are  with 
the  United  Evangelical  organization  in  Schuylkill  Haven. 

Lawlor,  James  J.,  general  blacksmith  and  wood-worker,  Shen- 
andoah, was  born  in  that  city  June  20,  1869,  a  son  of  William  and 
Bridget  (Ryan)  Lawlor,  both  natives  of  Ireland,  who  came  to 
America  in  youth  and  were  married  at  Minersville.  The  father 
was  a  stable  boss  for  over  thirty  years,  and  died  in  1899  at  the  age 
of  sixty-eight  years.  His  widow  is  still  living  in  Shenandoah. 
They  had  a  family  of  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  Alice  is  the 
wife  of  Thomas  Mahon  and  lives  in  Philadelphia;  Nora  is  the 
widow  of  Anthony  Gallagher  and  lives  with  her  mother ;  >Martin 
is  a  stable  boss  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron 
Company;  John  occupies  a  similar  position  with  the  same  com- 
pany; James  J.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch:  Harry  is  a  mechanic 
at  the  Reading  colliery.  James  J.  Lawlor  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  city,  where  he  has  always  lived.  After  leav- 
ing school  he  served  an  apprenticeship  at  his  trade  with  Andrew 
Elliott,  worked  three  years  as  a  journeyman,  and  in  1890  started 
in  the  business  for  himself.     He  owns  the  three-story  building  in 


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•282  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

which  his  shop  is  located,  the  first  floor  being  dcvoicd  lo  black- 
smithing,  the  second  to  wood  working,  and  the  third  is  the  paint 
shop.  He  does  a  general  blacksmithing  and  wood  working  busi- 
ness, but  gives  special  attention  to  horseshoeing,  and  employs  five 
or  six  mechanics  constantly  in  the  various  departments.  Politi- 
cally Mr.  Lawlor  is  a  Democrat,  but  the  only  office  he  has  ever 
held  is  that  of  member  of  the  city  school  board,  to  which  he  was 
elected  in  1904.  He  always  takes  an  active  part  in  campaigns, 
liowever,  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Phoenix 
Fire  Company,  the  Horseshoers'  association,  and  with  his  family 
belongs  to  the  Annunciation  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Annunciation  temperance  society.  On  Sept.  22, 
1897,  Mr.  Lawlor  married  Miss  Margaret,  daughter  of  Patrick  and 
Bridget  (Hanahan)  Finnegan.  She,  too,  is  a  native  of  Shenan- 
doah. They  have  the  following  children:  William,  born  in  July, 
1898;  James,  who  died  in  infancy;  Joseph,  six  years  of  age;  Alice, 
aged  three  and  a  half  years ;  and  Emmett,  one  year  old. 

Lawrence,  Franklin  C,  a  leading  merchant  of  Minersville,  was 
born  at  Milton,  Northumberland  county,  July  11,  1829,  a  son 
of  George  and  Esther  (Straub)  Lawrence.  The  progenitor  of  the 
family  was  Maurice  Lawrence,  who  settled  in  Pennsylvania  in  the 
days  of  Indian  occupancy.  He  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  nine 
years,  six  months  and  twenty-one  days  old  and  when  he  was  one 
hundred  years  old  he  walked  from  Milton  to  Sunbury,  a  distance 
of  fourteen  miles,  which  he  covered  in  a  few  hours.  He  had  a  son 
John,  to  whom  in  turn  was  bom  in  1788  a  son  George,  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  George  Lawrence  was  a  carpenter 
by  vocation,  but  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  he  found  it  more 
profitable  to  deal  in  horses  and  cattle.  Later  he  was  a  sub-con- 
tractor in  the  construction  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  canal,  three 
of  the  sections  having  been  completed  by  him.  He  erected  at 
Minersville  the  first  steam  mill  ever  built  in  this  section  of  the 
state,  and  operated  it  for  a  number  of  years,  leaving  it  to  engage 
in  agricultural  pursuits  near  Milton.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  was 
captain  of  a  company  of  volunteers  and  rendered  distinguished 
service.  His  wife's  family  were  of  German  origin,  the  father,  An- 
drew Straub,  having  come  to  the  United  States  from  the  Father- 
land in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  children  of 
Andrew  Straub  and  his  wife,  who  was  a  Miss  Walter,  were  seven 
in  number,  viz.:  Abraham  and  Isaac  (twins),  Joseph,  Christian 
M.,  Esther,  Rachel  and  Mary,  and  all  settled  in  or  near  Milton. 
Christian  M.  became  a  personage  of  some  note,  serving  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  his  district,  and  while  sheriflf  of  his  county 
he  had  the  unique  distinction  of  hanging  the  first  man  to  suffer 
the  penalty  of  capital  punishment  in  the  county.  George  Law- 
rence died  in  1863,  while  acting  in  the  capacity  of  postmaster  of 
Milton.  Besides  his  widow^  who  died  shortly  after,  he  left  a  fam- 
ily of  twelve  children.  The  names  of  these  in  the  order  of  birth 
follow:  Washington,  Mary,  Abraham,  Susan,  George  J.,  Jacob 
H.,   Sarah,   Franklin   C,    James.    Margaret,    Hettie    and    Willis. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  283 

Franklin  C.  Lawrence  is  the  sole  survivor  of  this  large  family. 
He  received  a  somewhat  limited  education  in  the  public  and  sub- 
scription schools  of  Milton,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  left 
school  to  go  into  a  general  store  as  a  clerk.  He  remained  in  that 
capacity  until  he  had  mastered  every  detail  of  the  business  and 
then,  in  1856,  he  launched  a  general  mercantile  business  of  his  own 
in  Minersville,  which  he  has  continued  to  manage  since. 
For  twenty-seven  years  he  occupied  the  building  in  which 
he  first  started  his  business  and  then  removed  to  the  large  and 
commodious  quarters  which  he  now  occupies.  In  connection  with 
his  mercantile  interests  he  was  for  thirteen  years  extensively  in- 
terested in  mining  as  an  operator,  working  some  valuable  proper- 
ties, which  were  a  source  of  large  income.  In  1857  Mr.  Lawrence 
married  Miss  Lavina  Bath,  a  native  of  Berks  county,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jonas  Bath.  This  union  was  blessed  by  the  following  chil- 
dren: Hettie,  who  became  Mrs.  Morris  Stupp,  and  died  Feb.  15, 
1906,  leaving  one  child,  Lavinia ;  Carrie ;  Willis,  who  married  Sada 
Palsgrove  and  has  three  children,  Ruth,  Clara  and  Mary;  Frank 
W. ;  Fanny,  who  married  Samuel  G.  Crawford,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio ;  Gertrude ;  George ;  and  two  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Law- 
rence is  a  stanch  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party,  but  aside  from  the  office  of  treasurer  of  the  board  of  school 
directors,  which  he  has  now  held  for  a  number  of  years,  he  has 
never  aspired  to  positions  of  public  trust.  He  is  much  revered 
and  respected  by  his  fellow-citizens,  and  although  well  advanced 
in  years  is  remarkably  preserved  in  mind  and  body. 

Lee,  RioUay  F. — It  is  well  and  just  that  a  record  of  a  worthy 
and  useful  life  be  not  allowed  to  perish  and  that  its  perpetuation 
shall  be  held  to  serve  a  noble  purpose  in  offering  to  later  genera- 
tions both  lesson  and  incentive.  The  publication  at  hand  has  a 
definite  and  two-fold  purpose,  and  hot  the  less  of  the  two  elements 
is  that  which  touches  the  biographical  and  memorial  reviews, 
whose  value  can  not  but  be  cumulative.  The  history  of  the  city 
of  Pottsville  and  that  of  Schuylkill  county  were  enriched  through 
the  able  efforts  and  exalted  character  of  this  honored  citizen,  who 
was  called  to  the  life  eternal  Apr.  25,  1891,  and  none  is  more 
worthy  of  a  tribute  of  respect  in  this  volume  than  he.  Mr.  Lee 
was  a  native  of  England,  where  he  was  born  in  the  year  1832,  of 
stanch  and  worthy  lineage.  He  was  a  son  of  Richard  and  Isa- 
bella Lee,  who  came  to  America  when  he  was  only  one  year  old. 
They  settled  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  as  pioneers,  and  there  passed  the 
residue  of  their  lives.  The  gracious  home  surroundings  in  the 
youth  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir  tended  to  mold  his  character 
for  good  during  its  formative  period,  and  he  was  afforded  such 
advantages  as  the  common  schools  of  the  locality  and  time 
could  offer.  He  initiated  his  career  in  connection  with  the  prac- 
tical affairs  of  life  by  securing  a  position  as  clerk  in  a  general 
store  conducted  by  James  B.  Beatty,  of  Pottsville^  and  later  as- 
sumed a  similar  position  in  Harrisburg,  where  he  remained  for 
some  time.     Upon*  his  return  to  Pbttsville  he  entered  the  employ 


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284  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  Haywood  &  Snyder,  in  whose  office  he  occupied  a  clerical  po- 
sition, was  rapidly  advanced  and  finally  became  chief  clerk.  He 
early  developed  that  self-reliance  and  initiative  power  which  so 
distinctly  marked  his  independent  and  highly  successful  business 
career  throughout  its  entire  course,  and  it  is  well  to  note  that 
from  beginning  to  end  there  can  be  found  on  his  record  no  shadow 
of  wrong  or  injustice.  While  still  a  young  man  Mr.  Lee  engaged 
in  business  for  himself,  becoming  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Lee, 
Grant  &  Co.,  coal  operators,  the  other  interested  principals  being 
his  father  and  William  Grant.  They  operated  the  Plank  Ridge 
colliery  at  Shenandoah  for  many  years,  and  it  was  here  that  Mr. 
Grant  was  killed  by  a  fall  of  top  coal,  soon  after  which  fatality 
the  colliery  was  sold  to  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron: 
Company.  The  subject  of  this  review  was  one  of  the  original 
stockholders  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  bank  of  Pottsville, 
which  was  organized  in  1866,  and  on  Jan.  14,  1873,  he  was  elected 
president  of  this  old  and  solid  institution — an  office  of  which  he 
remained  the  incumbent  until  his  death.  He  administered  the 
affairs  of  the  bank  with  great  acumen  and  wisdom  and  gained  for 
it  the  high  reputation  which  it  now  holds  as  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial banks  in  the  state.  His  energy  and  progressiveness  found 
divers  fields  of  action  and  his  public  spirit  was  ever  in  evidence. 
He  was  one  of  the  heaviest  stockholders  in  the  Pottsville  Gas  and 
Water  Companies  and  the  Anthracite  Electric  Light  Company, 
besides  being  identified  with  various  other  enterprises  in  a  capi- 
talistic and  executive  way.  In  national  and  state  affairs,  where 
definite  issues  and  policies  were  involved,  he  gave  his  support  to 
the  Republican  party,  but  in  local  matters  he  held  an  independent 
attitude,  lending  his  aid  and  influence  to  such  candidates  and 
measures  as  met  the  approval  of  his  mature  judgment.  He  was 
at  one  time  a  member  and  president  of  the  borough  council.  He 
was  essentially  a  man  of  aflFairs,  kept  in  touch  with  the  questions 
and  issues  of  the  day,  and  was  well  informed  and  broad-minded. 
He  served  for  a  long  time  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  of 
Pottsville  and  was  its  president  for  several  years.  Mr.  Lee  stood 
forth  as  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  honored  citizens  of  the 
Schuylkill  valley,  a  leader  in  public  thought  and  action  and  in  the 
upholding  and  upbuilding  of  enterprises  for  the  general  good. 
I  His  integrity  was  inviolable  and  he  ever  demanded  the  approval 

I  of  conscience  for  his  action,  countenancing  no  unworthy  motives 

I  on   his  own   part  or  that  of  others.     His  success  was   achieved 

I  through  well  directed  eflFort;  he  was  instant  in  sympathy  and  in 

I  a  desire  to  help  others,   especially  young  men,   so  that   his  life 

I  widened  into  gracious  symmetry  and  his  influence  in  all  relations 

i  was  beneficent.     Many  who  are  now  prominent  in  the  business 

and  capitalistic  world  owe  the  initiation  of  their  success  to  this 
I  honored  citizen.     On  Tuesday,  Apr.  28,  1891,  at  a  meeting  of  the 

board  of  directors  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  bank  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  adopted :  "Whereas,  Our  esteemed  associate 
in  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  bank,  after 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  285 

a  long  and  severe  sickness,  was  taken  from  our  midst  by  the  stern 
messenger,  death,  on  the  25th  day  of  April,  1891 ;  and,  Whereas, 
The  bank  has  sustained  a  very  great  loss,  the  community  has 
lost  a  valuable  citizen  and  his  wife  and  children  have  lost  a  good 
husband  and  a  kind  and  indulgent  father;  Resolved,  That  we  ex- 
tend to  the  wife  and  family  of  our  deceased  president,  in  this  hour 
of  their  affliction,  our  sincere  and  heartfelt  sympathy  and  the 
hope  that  the  Most  High,  who  orders  all  things  for  the  best,  will 
be  their  comfort  and  guide  in  their  great  sorrow.  Resolved,  That 
these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the  minutes  of  this  meeting  and 
that  a  copy  of  the  same  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  and 
to  each  of  the  daily  papers."  In  the  death  of  Mr.  Lee  the  people 
jo{  his  home  city  of  Pottsville  felt  a  sense  of  personal  loss  and  be- 
reavement, and  on  every  side,  from  all  classes,  were  heard  words 
.of  testimony  to  this  eflFect.  Mr.  Lee  was  a  member  of  the  Epis- 
copal church.  On  Dec.  25,  1855,  he  married  Miss  Augusta  R. 
Curry,  a  daughter  of  John  W.  and  Tamsen  (Stichter)  Curry,  and 
ihey  became  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Bertha,  who 
married  Frank  Roseberry,  of  Pottsville,  Pa. ;  John  C,  who  married 
Phebe  A.  Atkins,  of  Pottsville;  and  Martha,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Charles  H.  Moore,  of  New  York  City. 

Lee,  William  Thomas,  the  popular  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Fer- 
guson, at  Shenandoah,  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  born  at  St. 
Clair,  Apr.  21,  1867,  and  is  the  eldest  in  a  family  of  thirteen,  born 
to  John  T.  and  Harriet  (Harblaster)  Lee,  natives,  respectively, 
of  England  and  Pennsylvania.  The  father  was  born  in  1838,  and 
died  in  Shenandoah  in  June,  1905,  and  the  mother  was  born  in 
1841  and  died  in  the  same  city  in  1884.  The  parents  were  poor, 
and  wholly  dependent  upon  the  father's  earnings  as  a  miner,  and 
later  as  a  mine  foreman,  in  which  vocation  his  income  was  more 
in  keeping  with  the  domestic  requirements  in  the  sustenance  of  a 
large  family.  But  he  was  never  forehanded,  being  much  handi- 
capped by  sickness,  and  the  family  was  reared  and  educated  amid 
the  environments  of  poverty,  not  to  say  absolute  want.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  being  the  eldest  of  the  family,  bore  the  brunt 
of  privations,  which,  he  is  happy  to  relate,  were  not  the  portion 
of  some  of  his  younger  brothers  and  sisters.  At  the  age  of  about 
nine  years  he  went  into  the  mines  in  whatever  capacity  his  serv- 
ices would  best  subserve  the  parental  interests,  and  continued  in 
various  lines  of  mining  work,  often  with  but  scant  supply  of  the 
necessaries  of  life.  Yet  no  word  of  complaint  does  he  utter  against 
his  parents,  but  philosophically  says:  "They  did  the  best  they 
could."  With  the  lapse  of  years  he  began  to  command  better 
wages,  the  father  was  promoted  to  mine  foreman,  and  thus  the 
income  was  materially  augmented  and  an  air  of  comfort  pervaded 
the  parental  home.  Then  the  common  enemy  of  all  invaded  the 
home  circle,  the  idolized  mother  was  removed  and  another  in  the 
person  of  a  Mrs.  Foltz  came  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  the 
younger  children.  She  was  an  exemplary  wife,  and  performed  her 
onerous  duties  as  a  stepmother  with  more  than  ordinary  patience 


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286  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  forbearance.  She  is  still  living  in  Shenandoah,  as  does  also 
her  son,  Caleb  B.  Lee,  the  only  survivor  of  her  two  children  born 
to  her  union  with  John  T.  Lee.  Of  the  large  family  of  children 
but  six  are  living.  These  are  William  Thomas,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Joseph  ilenry,  a  superintendent  for  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  located  at  Pottsville;  Hattie, 
wife  of  D.  R.  Simmonds,  of  Shenandoah ;  Miss  Mattie  V.,  matron 
and  superintendent  of  Cottage  state  hospital,  at  Blossburg,  Pa.; 
John  C,  cashier  for  Armour  &  Co.,  at  one  of  their  stations  in  New 
York;  and  Rhoda  May,  now  Mrs.  C.  P.  Holtzer,  of  Kansas  City, 
Mo.  All  have  attained  to  positions  of  social  or  biisiness  promi- 
nence in  their  several  careers  as  individuals,  and  have  been  suc- 
cessful in  the  battle  of  life.  William  Thomas  Lee,  the  subject  of 
this  article,  is  distinctively  a  self-made  man,  as  that  term  is  un- 
derstood. His  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  education  were  very 
limited  in  his  youth,  as  may  be  inferred  from  what  precedes ;  but 
while  working  in  the  most  menial  employments,  he  did  not  neglect 
to  improve  his  mind  at  every  opportunity.  His  studies  were  ele- 
mentary, it  is  true,  and  confined  to  a  very  small  sphere,  but  in  time 
he  had  the  opportunity  of  broadening  his  curriculum,  and  eventu- 
ally became  interested  in  the  history  of  his  state  and  nation,  and 
from  the  study  of  these  became  interested  in  general  politics.  Dur- 
ing all  of  his  mature  years  he  has  been  an  ardent  Republican,  and 
has  taken  a  very  active  part  in  local  and  general  political  policies. 
He  is  a  recognized  leader  among  the  young  Republicans  of  Shen- 
andoah and  Schuylkill  county  and  wields  a  potent  influence  in  the 
councils  of  Republicanism  in  the  state.  For  the  last  seven  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  state  committee,  and  has  held  minor 
offices  within  the  gift  of  local  Republicans.  He  was  a  formidable 
candidate  for  the  Republican  nomination  for  legislative  honors,  but 
was  defeated  in  the  convention  by  the  narrow  margin  of  two  votes. 
But  his  popularity  and  prominence  in  the  heated  contest  gave  him 
the  prestige  of  naming  the  successful  man,  both  in  the  convention 
and  at  the  polls.  Mr.  Lee  has  been  deputy  county  coroner  for 
some  years  past  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  health  in 
Shenandoah.  He  severed  his  connection  with  mining  interests  in 
1895,  having  saved  during  all  his  previous  years  of  toil  and  sacri- 
fice the  sum  of  $250!  This  was  the  nucleus  to  his  engaging  in  the 
hotel  business,  which  has  occupied  his  attention  since.  In  1904  he 
became  the  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Ferguson,  the  principal  hotel 
in  Shenandoah,  and  has  continued  in  the  operation  of  this  popular 
hostelr>'  to  the  present  time.  Though  it  has  many  competitors, 
the  "Ferguson"  stands  at  the  head  in  the  estimation  of  the  travel- 
ing public.  It  is  fully  equipped  with  all  the  modern  conveniences, 
and  reflects  credit  not  only  upon  the  zealous  and  active  proprie- 
tor, but  also  upon  the  town.  It  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Center  streets,  in  the  business  population,  and  is  convenientlv 
accessible  from  all  depots.  '  The  father  of  Mr.  Lee  was  a  man  of 
sterling  integrity  and  uprightness  of  character.  He  held  numer- 
ous offices  of  trust  and  responsibility  in  the  borough,  and  always 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  287 

discharged  his  official  duties  with  strict  fidelity  to  himself  and  the 
people.  He  served  a  number  of  years  as  a  member  of  the  borough 
school  board — a  thankless  and  unrequited  position,  though  one  of 
great  responsibilities.  He  lived  retired  from  active  labor  during 
the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life.  W.  Thomas  Lee  was  married  on 
Jan.  15,  1889,  to  Miss  Mary  Preston,  a  daughter  of  James  and 
Sarah  Preston,  natives  of  Ireland,  but  for  many  years  residents- 
of  Shenandoah,  where  the  father  died,  after  which  the  mother 
removed  to  the  west,  where  she  died.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lee  have  had 
three  children  born  to  them,  the  eldest  of  whom,  John,  died  at 
the  age  of  nine  years  from  the  effects  of  a  fall.  Miss  Mabel,  just 
budding  into  womanhood,  is  a  student  in  the  high  school,  and 
Harry  is  busy  with  his  studies  in  a  lower  department.  It  is  a- 
source  of  great  satisfaction  to  the  indulgent  father  to  know  that 
his  children  are  enjoying  privileges  which  he  longed  for  during 
all  his  early  life,  yet  was  never  able  to  attain.  The  trials  of  his 
youthful  years  will  never  be  known  to  his  children,  except  as  a 
vague  idea  is  transmitted  to  them  through  tradition,  or  the  pages 
of  history.  Mr.  Lee  regards  it  as  a  sacred  duty  to  posterity  to 
properly  educate  and  train  the  rising  generations  with  a  view  to 
future  usefulness  in  the  world,  and  deplores  the  apparent  tendency 
in  the  opposite  direction,  as  often  witnessed  on  the  streets  of  Shen- 
andoah. Mr.  Lee  is  a  member  of  the  Primitive  Methodist  church 
and  his  wife  is  a  communicant  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  organi- 
zation. Of  the  fraternal  associations,  Mr.  Lee  sustains  member- 
ship in  Ashland  Lodge,  No.  384,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks;  Aerie  No.  103,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  Camp  No. 
112,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  He  is  a  genial  and 
companionable  gentleman — an  ideal  '^landlord,''  as  well  as  a  warm- 
hearted, generous  friend.  He  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  commu- 
nity as  a  useful,  public-spirited  citizen,  and  his  acquaintance  with 
leading  people  of  Pennsylvania  extends  far  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  Schuylkill  county. 

Leibig,  Charles  P.,  a  contractor  in  all  kinds  of  plaster,  cement 
and  brick  work,  and  a  manufacturer  of  concrete  blocks  for  building 
purposes  at  Locustdale,  was  born  at  Reading,  Pa.,  Jan.  22,  1863,  is  a 
son  of  Samuel  and  Magdalena  (Spangler)Leibig,  the  former  a  native 
of  Lehigh  and  the  latter  of  Berks  county.  In  the  spring  of  1863 
the  family  removed  to  Ashland  where  the  father  was  engaged  as 
a  plastering  contractor  until  1885.  In  that  year  he  retired  and  he 
died  ten  years  later  at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  leaving  a  family 
of  seven  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  fifth 
in  order  of  birth.  The  others  are  Caroline,  now  Mrs.  John  Coyle ; 
George;  Mary,  wife  of  John  Meudler;  Harrison;  James  A.  and 
John  B.  Charles  P.  Leibig  was  reared  in  Ashland  and  his  edu- 
cational opportunities  were  such  as  the  public  schools  of  that 
borough  afforded.  While  still  a  youth  he  learned  the  plasterers*^ 
trade  under  his  father's  instruction  and  for  five  years  was  em- 
ployed as  a  journeyman.  Then  in  1890  he  embarked  in  the  busi- 
ness as  a  contractor  and  has  been  most  successful  in  the  conduct 


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288  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  it  since  that  time.  The  manufacture  of  cement  building  blocks 
was  begun  in  1905  and  has  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best  paying 
features  of  the  business.  There  are  plenty  of  evidences  of  Mr. 
Leibig's  ability  in  the  county,  among  them  the  smoke  stack  at 
Engel  &  Schmid's  brewery  at  Fountain  Springs  and  the  cold 
storage  building  at  the  State  hospital  for  injured  persons.  On 
Aug.  25,  1895,  ^^^-  Leibig  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie 
Gearhard,  a  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Sophie  Gearhard  of  Ash- 
land. The  union  has  been  blessed  with  four  children — Helen, 
Samuel,  Frank  and  Marie.  In  his  political  beliefs  Mr.  Leibig  is 
a  Republican  but  has  never  aspired  to  offices  of  public  trust. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of 
America. 

Lcssigf  J-  Alfred,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  young  physician  of  Schuyl- 
kill Haven,  was  born  in  that  borough  on  Dec.  31, 1872,  a  son  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  Lessig.  His  paternal  grandparents  were  James  and 
Susanna  (Boehm)  Lessig,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  near  Valley  Forge,  and  the  latter  near  Rockland, 
Berks  county.  James  Lessig  was  killed  by  an  excavation  near 
Valley  Forge.  Benjamin  F.  Lessig,  now  retired,  was  for  many 
years  a  cattle  drover.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  after  a  due 
preliminary  discipline  in  the  common  schools,  entered  and  grad- 
uated at  the  high  school  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  He  then  completed 
a  two  years'  course  at  the  Keystone  state  normal  school  of  Kutz- 
town  and  after  a  few  years  entered  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  completed  a  four  years' 
course  in  1899  ^^^  was  granted  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 
He  immediately  started  his  professional  practice  in  Schuylkill 
Haven  and  has  been  successfully  and  continuously  engaged  in 
it  since  that  time.  In  September,  1904,  Dr.  Lessig  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Bessie  Blee,  daughter  of  Francis  H.  and  Anna 
(Boone)  Blee,  and  to  this  union  has  been  born  a  son,  James.  The 
doctor  and  his  wife  attend  the  Reformed  church  of  Schuylkill 
Haven.  Professionally  Dr.  Lessig  is  associated  with  the  county, 
state  and  American  medical  associations  and  fraternally  with  the 
order  of  Masons  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Of  the  doctor's  im- 
mediate family  of  ten  children  five  beside  himself  are  living. 
They  are  his  brothers  Norman,  Frank  and  John,  and  two  sisters, 
Mrs^  A.  H.  Kline  and  Mrs.  G.  W.  Werner.  Dr.  Lessig  ranks 
high  in  his  profession  in  the  county  and  is  one  of  the  most  es- 
teemed citizens  of  the  community. 

Le  Van,  Capt.  James  H.,  retired,  was  born  in  Minersville,  Pa., 
Feb.  I.  1841.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Martha  (Russell)  Le 
Van,  the  former  bom  in  Berks  county.  Pa.,  and  the  letter  in  Eng- 
land. The  father  was  a  tanner  by  trade,  and  followed  that  oc- 
cupation in  earlier  life,  but  in  later  years  was  employed  in  a 
foundry  located  on  the  spot  where  Captain  Le  Van's  house  now 
stands.  His  death  occurred  in  his  ninety-third  year  and  his 
wife  died  two  years  later  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  Of 
the  seven  children  born  to  them  four  survive.     Captain   Le  Van 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  289 

acquired  some  educational  training  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  went  to  work  in 
the  De  Haven  foundry  of  Minersville.  Later  he  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  a  carpenter.  In  1861,  in  response  to  President 
Lincoln's  call  for  75,000  volunteers,  he  enlisted  as  a  drummer  in 
Company  I,  5th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry  in  the  three 
months'  service  and  upon  the  expiration  of  that  enlistment,  in  the 
fall  of  the  same  year,  he  became  a  private  in  Company  C  of  the 
50th  Pennsylvania  infantry.  The  regiment  was  first  sent  to  Hil- 
ton Head,  S.  C,  under  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman  and  after  participating 
in  the  siege  of  Hilton  Head  and  battles  of  Beaufort,  Pocotaligo 
and  the  Coosaw  it  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
and  joined  it  at  Newport  News,  Va.,  where  it  became  a  part  of 
the  Second  brigade,  First  division.  Ninth  army  corps.  As  a  part 
of  this  command  it  took  part  in  the  battles  of  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  Second  Bull  Run,  Centerville  and  Chantilly,  Va.,  South 
Mountain  and  Antietam,  Md.  It  was  then  transferred  to  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee  and  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and 
capture  of  Jackson,  Miss.,  under  General  Grant.  After  the  fall 
of  Vicksburg  and  Jackson,  the  regiment  joined  the  Army  of  the 
Ohio  under  General  Burnside  and  took  part  in  the  battles  of 
Blue  Springs,  Lenoir  Station,  Huff's  Ferry,  Campbell's  Station, 
and  was  besieged  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.  After  the  siege  was  raised. 
Captain  Le  Van  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  Blaine's  cross 
roads,  Tenn.,  Dec.  31,  1864,  on  account  of  reenlistment  in  the 
same  company  and  regiment,  as  a  veteran,  to  serve  three  years, 
or  during  the  war.  But  after  a  thirty  days'  furlough  he  rejoined 
his  regiment  at  Camp  Curtain,  Pa.,  and  with  his  command  was 
assigned  to  the  Second  brigade.  First  division.  Ninth  army  corps, 
at  Annapolis,  Md.  Shortly  afterward  it  started  with  Grant  on 
the  Wilderness  campaign  and  saw  service  in  the  battles  of  the 
Wilderness,  Ny  River,  Spottsylvania,  North  Anna,  Bethesda 
Church,  Cold  Harbor,  Siege  of  Petersburg,  the  Mine  Explosion, 
Weldon  railroad.  Ream's  station,  Pegram  farm.  Poplar  Grove 
Church,  Hatcher's  run,  Fort  Stedman  and  fall  of  Petersburg.  He 
was  wounded  before  Petersburg,  June  22,  1864,  by  a  gunshot  in 
the  right  shoulder,  confined  to  the  hospital  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  for  sixty  days  and  rejoined  his  regiment  at  Yellow 
Tavern,  Va.  On  Oct.  i,  1864,  he  was  made  captain  of  Company 
I  of  the  same  regiment,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  the  end 
of  the  war.  He  was  constantly  with  his  respective  commands, 
took  part  in  all  of  their  movements  and  engagements,  except  while 
confined  in  the  hospital  on  account  of  his  wound,  and  performed 
arduous  and  gallant  service  at  all  times,  meriting  the  high  commen- 
dation of  his  superior  officers.  Although  not  participating  in  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  as  a  mark  of  honor  the  regiment  was  se- 
lected to  represent  the  national  government  at  the  dedication  of 
the  Gettysburg  Monument,  on  the  battlefield,  July  4,  1865,  by 
order  of  the  war  department.  Captain  Le  Van  being  provost  mar- 
shal of  the  town  during  the  dedication  ceremonies.  During  the 
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290  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

whole  of  his  army  career  he  was  made  prisoner  but  once,  and  that 
was  at  Spottsylvania,  but  with  several  of  his  comrades  he  man- 
aged to  make  his  escape  and  rejoined  the  remnant  of  his  regiment. 
After  marching  in. the  grand  review  at  Washington,  the  regiment 
was  mustered  out  at  Fort  Gaines,  July  30,  1865,  and  Captain  Le 
Van  returned  to  Minersville.  For  the  first  two  years  after  his 
return  he  was  engaged  in  the  butcher  business  but  left  it  to  join 
the  first  coal  and  iron  police  force  where  he  rendered  distinguished 
service,  during  the  Mollie  Maguire  troubles,  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  then  went  to  work  for  Gartley  &  Fox  in  the  machine 
shop  of  his  native  town,  leaving  them  to  become  assistant  boiler 
inspector  of  the  Schuylkill  district,  and  after  serving  eight  years 
as  such,  again  joined  the  coal  and  iron  police  force.  While  serv- 
ing on  the  police  force  he  was  elected  recorder  of  deeds  of  Schuyl- 
kill county,  and  served  a  full  term  of  three  years.  Subsequently 
he  was  for  two  years  the  warden  of  the  county  prison.  In  1866 
Captain  Le  Van  married  Miss  Matilda  Wythe,  who  was  born  in 
Minersville,  a  daughter  of  Simeon  and  Agnes  Wythe.  Four 
children  have  blessed  their  union.  Orlando  B.  is  married  and  re- 
sides in  Newark,  N.  J.,  though  he  is  employed  in  New  York  as 
a  ticket  seller  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  for  the 
Pullman  Car  Company.  Joseph  H.  is  a  bookkeeper  in  the  Lytle 
store  in  Minersville.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Snyder,  by 
whom  he  has  one  child,  James  H. ;  Benjamin  F.,  unmarried,  is  a 
blacksmith  and  lives  with  his  oldest  brother  in  Newark,  N.  J. 
The  youngest  son,  James  Garfield,  died  at  the  age  of  three  years. 
Mrs.  Le  Van  died  in  August,  1896.  She  was  a  fine  Christian 
character,  and  a  woman  whose  every  effort  was  directed  towards 
the  happiness  and  comfort  of  others.  Nowhere  is  she  more 
missed  than  in  her  own  home.  Captain  Le  Van  is  a  member  of 
Lawrence  Post,  No.  17,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  after  hav- 
ing served  eleven  years  as  commander  of  the  same  he  was  re- 
cently re-elected  to  that  office. 

Lewis,  Moses  H.,  D.  O.,  an  eyesight  specialist  of  excellent  ability, 
located  in  Ashland,  was  born  in  Pottsville  on  Nov.  2,  1874.  and 
is  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Pauline  (Levy)  Lewis,  both  of  whom  are 
natives  of  Schuylkill  county.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Leon 
Lewis,  was  born  in  Germany  and  was  the  founder  of  the  family 
in  America,  having  settled  in  Pottsville  as  early  as  1805.  He  was 
a  tailor  by  vocation,  and  followed  that  occupation  in  Pottsville 
until  his  death.  He  left  four  children — Nathan,  Herman,  Abra- 
ham and  Leah — and  two  of  the  sons  served  in  the  Union  army 
during  the  Civil  war.  Abraham  Lewis  was  reared  in  Pottsville, 
but  in  early  manhood  removed  to  New  York  city,  where  he  is 
now  engaged  as  a  wholesale  manufacturer  of  clothing.  His  fam- 
ily consists  of  seven  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
is  the  eldest.  The  others  are  Celia,  wife  of  Daniel  Gorfinkle; 
Jeannette,  wife  of  Fred  Langfelder;  Leo,  Martha,  Hannah  and 
Victoria.  Dr.  Lewis  was  reared  in  New  York  and  received  his 
preliminary  educational  training  in  the  schools  of  that  city.     On 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  291 

June  8.  1904,  he  was  graduated  at  the  Chicago  eye,  ear,  nose  and 
throat  college  and  subsequently  took  a  graduate  course  in  opthal- 
mology  and  therapeutics.  In  the  spring  of  1905  he  opened  an 
office  in  Ashland  for  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  has  met 
with  success  far  beyond  his  most  sanguine  expectations.  On 
March  9,  1895,  was  solemnized  Dr.  Lewis'  marriage  to  Miss 
Bertha  Sherwin,  a  daughter  of  Isadore  and  Esther  (Levine) 
Sherwin.  Both  of  Mrs.  Lewis'  parents  are  natives  of  Frankfort- 
on-Main,  Germany.  To  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  have  been  born  two 
children — Bella  Ray  and  Celia.  Both  the  doctor  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Daughters  of  Rebekah ;  the  doctor  is  identified  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  encampment  of  the 
same,  and  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  Although  he  has  been 
a  resident  of  Ashland  but  a  short  time,  Dr.  Lewis  has  won  for 
himself  an  enviable  place  in  the  life  of  the  community. 

Lewis,  William  H.,  a  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  citizen 
of  Pottsville,  was  born  at  Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  Sept. 
6,  1840,  and  is  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  five  children  born  to 
John  C.  and  Hannah  (Umstead)  Lewis,  early  residents  of  Port 
Carbon.  John  C.  Lewis  was  born  in  Bucks  county,  Pa.,  in  the 
year  1800,  but  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  as  a  resident  of 
Schuylkill  county,  principally  at  Port  Carbon.  He  was  a  teacher 
for  some  years  during  his  early  life,  and  later  took  up  the  business 
of  boat  building,  in  which  he  was  very  successful  until  the  en- 
croachments of  railroads  rendered  canal-boating  unprofitable.  He 
then  sold  out  his  yard  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at 
Port  Carbon,  in  which  he  continued  until  his  death,  in  1873.  In 
political  affiliations  he  was  a  Whig,  and  upon  the  organization 
of  the  Republican  party,  became  an  adherent  to  the  doctrines  of 
Republicanism.  He  was  a  zealous  worker  in  the  church,  a  pub- 
lic-spirited, progressive  citizen  whose  life  was  replete  with  good 
deeds  and  was  a  man  who  possessed  the  confidence  and  high  re- 
gard of  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances,  formed  during  a  business  and 
social  career  covering  a  period  of  forty  years  in  Port  Carbon.  His 
wife  was  the  counterpart  of  her  husband  in  all  that  was  good  and 
pure  in  life,  a  devoted  wife  and  mother,  a  devout  Christian,  a 
generous,  kind-hearted  friend  and  neighbor.  William  H.  Lewis 
has  had  a  wide  and  varied  business  career.  He  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  his  native  borough,  with  the  supplementary 
education  acquired  during  a  lifetime  spent  in  careful  study  and 
investigation.  He  began  his  active  life-work  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, when  he  was  employed  as  bookkeeper  and  manager  in  a 
mercantile  and  coal  business  in  Tremont,  a  prosperous  borough 
in  this  county.  He  continued  there  from  1857  until  1862,  when 
he  resigned  his  position  to  accept  a  similar  one  in  the  employ  of 
Miller,  Maize  &  Co.  Seven  years  were  devoted  to  this  work  as 
bookkeeper  and  manager  in  the  extensive  mercantile  and  mining 
establishments  operated  by  his  employers.  In  1869,  Mr.  Lewis 
became  the  general  manager  for  the  firm  of  Packer,  Rathburn  & 
Co.,  of  Pottsville,  who  were  extensive  coal  operators  in  the  Ma- 


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292  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

hanoy  and  Schuylkill  valleys.  Soon  afterwards  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  M.  F.  Maize,  the  firm  title  being  Maize  &  Lewis, 
and  operated  the  West  Shenandoah  colliery  until  1873,  when  they 
sold  the  property.  The  position  of  general  manager  of  the  Will- 
iam Penn  colliery  was  then  tendered  to  Mr.  Lewis  and  he  ac- 
cepted the  charge  of  this,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  profitable 
collieries  in  the  region.  After  working  this  colliery  for  several 
years  it  was  transferred  to  New  York  parties  who  were  connected 
with  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  and  Mr.  Lewis  remained  for 
some  time  in  their  employ.  He  was  also  identified  with  the  pur- 
chase of  the  land  and  the  opening  up  of  the  Lytle  colleries  near 
Minersville,  and  represented  the  interests  of  his  employers  in  the 
Shamokin  region.  For  a  number  of  years  he  continued  as  man- 
ager of  these  interests,  as  well  as  of  the  William  Penn  colliery. 
He  is  extensively  interested  in  private  business  affairs,  being  a 
director  in  several  banking  institutions  in  the  county,  and  is 
vice-president  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Shenandoah  at  the 
present  time.  In  addition  to  the  large  banking  interests  men- 
tioned, Mr.  Lewis  is  president  of  and  stockholder  in  the  Fall  Bot- 
tom Coal  and  Coke  Company  of  West  Virginia,  and  was  formerly 
a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  State  hospital  for  in- 
jured persons,  at  Fountain  Springs,  in  this  county.  He  is  a  man 
deservedly  popular,  not  only  as  an  employer  of  labor,  but  also 
in  a  social  sense.  He  is  a  Mason  of  exalted  standing,  having 
attained  to  the  thirty-second  degree.  Mr.  Lewis  was  married 
on  Sept.  13,  1865,  to  Miss  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  M.  F.  and  Cath- 
erine Maize,  then  residents  of  Pottsville,  and  ten  children  were 
born  to  this  union,  five  of  whom  are  living.  Mrs.  Lewis  was  an 
exemplary  wife  and  mother,  whose  many  graces  endeared  her  to 
all  who  knew  her.  She  died  in  1890,  and  her  death  was  sincerely 
mourned  by  a  very  large  circle  of  acquaintances  who  knew  her 
fine  social  qualities  and  lovely  womanhood. 

Lewis,  William  J.,  a  well  known  resident  and  member  of  the 
school  board  of  Shenandoah,  was  born  in  that  city  Oct.  31,  1867. 
His  parents,  John  A.  and  Sarah  J.  (McCord)  Lewis,  were  both 
born  in  Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  the  former  on  March  20, 
1831,  and  the  latter  on  May  22,  1846.  John  A.  Lewis  was  one  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  Shenandoah,  coming  to  the  town  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1862,  when  it  contained  but  two  houses,  and  the  first  col- 
liery was  opened  shortly  after  his  arrival.  He  spent  the  active 
years  of  his  life  as  a  carpenter  and  contractor,  many  of  the  build- 
ings in  Shenandoah  having  been  erected  under  his  supervision. 
In  this  line  of  activity  he  frequently  employed  as  many  as  24 
skilled  workmen.  He  is  still  living  and  is  hale  and  hearty  for 
one  of  his  years.  His  wife  died  on  July  19,  1906.  Of  their  chil- 
dren Lorena  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  S.  M.  Fetzer  of  Shenandoah; 
William  J.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Ida  C.  is  the  wife  of 
John  M.  Graig,  a  real  estate  man  of  Good  Springs,  Nev. ;  Olive 
U.  is  Mrs.  Harry  J.  Huntzinger  of  Uniontown,  Pa.:  and  Alfred 
B.  is  a  civil  and  mining  engineer,  now   holding  the  position  of 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  293 

borough  engineer  of  Shenandoah.  William  J.  Lewis  received  his 
elementary  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city.  After  com- 
pleting the  course  in  the  high  school  he  attended  business  •  col- 
lege and  then  spent  over  two  years  as  a  student  in  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  On  account  of  fail- 
ing health,  due  to  sedentary  work,  he  gave  up  the  law  and  was 
for  sometime  associated  with  his  father  in  the  building  business. 
He  is  now  serving  his  second  term  of  three  years  as  a  member 
of  the  school  board,  and  in  the  years  1905-6  was  secretary  of  the 
board.  In  political  matters  he  is  a  consistent  Republican  and  in 
church  affiliations  was  formerly  a  Presbyterian,  but  now  belongs 
to  the  Congregational  church,  in  which  he  is  a  deacon  and  was 
for  four  years  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  Mr.  Lewis 
is  a  bachelor.  (See  sketch  of  William  H.  Lewis  of  Pottsville, 
a  brother  of  John  A.  Lewis,  for  a  more  complete  account  of  the 
family  history.) 

Lindemuth,  William  H.,  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  Pottsville,  a  pulpit  orator  of  exceptional  force  and  abil- 
ity, and  withal  a  man  of  unexcelled  capacity  as  an 'executive,  was 
born  in  Reading,  Pa.,  Aug.  2.  1864.  His  father.  Rev.  Jerome 
Lindemuth,  was  for  more  than  forty  years  a  member  of  the 
Philadelphia  conference  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  the  Linde- 
muth family  has  been  well  known  in  Schuylkill  county  for  years, 
an  uncle,  William  J.,  having  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  Miners- 
ville.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  state  and  in  1881  received  a  certificate  of  graduation  at 
the  Lancaster  high  school.  A  year  later  he  received  a  like  cer- 
tificate from  the  Rugby  academy  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  fall 
matriculated  at  the  Wesleyan  university  at  Middletown,  Conn. 
When  he  had  completed  the  full  four  years'  course  he  received 
his  master's  degree,  and  in  the  same  year  (1886)  started  his  theo- 
logical training  at  the  Drew  theological  seminary  at  Madison,  N. 
J.  The  year  that  he  graduated  at  that  institution  he  received  his 
ordination  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  His  first  charge  was  the  St.  Luke's  congregation  of 
Philadelphia,  whence  he  went  to  the  Oak  Lane  church  of  the  same 
city  and  then  to  the  Asbury  church  of  West  Philadelphia.  In  the 
last  named  charge  he  remained  six  years,  the  longest  pastorate  in 
the  history  of  the  church.  His  other  pastorates  include  the 
churches  at  Pottstown,  Wissahickon,  Philadelphia,  and  Lans- 
downe,  the  latter  a  suburb  of  Philadelphia,  whence  he  came  by 
appointment  of  Bishop  Henry  W.  Warren  to  the  First  church 
of  Pottsville.  Rev.  Mr.  Lindemuth's  churches  have  all  been  in  the 
Philadelphia  conference,  of  which  he  has  become  one  of  the  lead- 
ing and  most  influential  members.  He  is  a  contributor  to  va- 
rious theological  and  religious  periodicals  and  has  won  renown  as 
an  orator  of  no  mean  ability.  Mrs.  Lindemuth,  formerly  Miss 
Emma  T.  Kaercher,  is  a  cousin  of  Samuel,  Daniel  and  Edward 


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294  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Kaercher,  well  known  and  prominent  business  men  of  Pottsville, 
their  fathers,  Daniel  and  Frank  Kaercher,  having  been  brothers. 

Llewellyn,  George  T.,  the  subject  of  this  biographical  review, 
was  born  at  Summit  Hill,  Carbon  county,  Pa.,  July  14,  1857. 
his  parents,  George  and  Mary  (Jones)  Llewellyn,  were  natives 
of  Wales.  The  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  W.  Jones,  who 
died  at  Ashland,  Pa.,  Jan.  11,  1875.  George  Llewellyn,  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  article,  died  in  June,  1857,  as  the  result  of  an 
accident  in  the  mines.  His  widow  accompanied  her  parents  to 
Pottsville,  and  in  1863  returned  to  Carbon  county,  where  she  died 
in  August  of  that  year.  George  T.  was  taken  in  charge  by  his 
maternal  grandparents,  and  made  his  home  with  them  during  his 
childhood  years.  His  opportunities  for  education  were  not  the 
best,  comprising  only  irregular  attendance  at  the  Ashland  public 
schools  for  three  or  four  years.  He  was  a  door-tender  in  the 
mines  at  the  age  of  eleven,  and  passed  through  all  grades  at  the 
mines,  from  slate-picker  to  starter.  Whatever  of  success  he  has 
achieved  in  life  is  directly  attributable  to  his  own  unaided  efforts. 
By  private  study  and  observation,  he  has  acquired  a  good  business 
education,  and  has  been  recognized  for  many  years  as  a  thorough- 
ly competent  and  successful  business  man.  In  his  boyhood  days 
he  carried  papers,  served  as  a  messenger  boy  about  the  mines  or 
elsewhere  delivering  messages,  etc.,  and  served  for  a  time  as  col- 
liery clerk.  Finally  he  accepted  a  book  agency,  and  sold  books, 
and  from  this  he  drifted  into  the  insurance  business,  which  has 
been,  practically,  his  life  work.  In  this  line  he  has  established 
a  large  and  lucrative  business,  and  has  been  superintendent  of 
agencies  for  the  last  twelve  years.  Mr.  Llewellyn  has  been  twice 
married,  first,  in  1879,  to  Miss  Clara,  daughter  of  James  W.  and 
Esther  Thompson,  of  Ashland.  She  died  on  Aug.  21.  1892,  leav- 
ing three  daughters:  Emily  M.,  Mary  Harris,  and  Elizabeth  T. 
On  April  4,  1894,  Mr.  Llewellyn  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Ellen  Holland,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  Holland,  of  Mahanoy 
City,  and  two  sons  and  a  daughter  have  been  born  to  this  union, 
George  H.,  Jane  A.  and  John  H.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Llewellyn  is  a  Republican  in 
his  political  affiliations,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  political 
affairs,  but  has  neither  sought  nor  held  public  office,  except  three 
years  in  the  borough  council,  having  been  president  of  that  body 
in  1905.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America ; 
Mahanoy  City  Lodge,  No.  695,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks  and  the  Republican  club. 

Lobach,  Rev.  Albert,  pastor  of  St.  John's  Reformed  church  it 
Tamaqua,  was  born  at  Ironton,  Lehigh  county.  March  12,  1861,  a 
son  of  Samuel  and  Elnora  (Schadt)  Lobach.  The  father  died  at  the 
age  of  forty-eight,  but  his  widow,  who  makes  her  home  with  her 
children,  is  still  robust  and  hearty,  although  in  her  seventy-fourth 
year.  The  father  was  a  blacksmith,  which  vocation  he  followed  all 
his  active  life.  He  was  a  master  workman  and  an  exemplary  Chris- 
tian gentleman.    He  was  the  father  of  six  sons  and  two  daughters. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  295 

of  whom  three  sons  and  a  daughter  are  living.  After  a  due  pre- 
liminary training  in  the  public  schools  of  Lehigh  county  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  learned  the  blacksmith  trade  under  his  father.  He 
became  a  good  workman,  but  his  aspirations  were  along  a  different 
line  and  he  matriculated  at  the  Kutztown  normal  school.  He  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1883,  and  the  following  year  took  post 
graduate  work  at  the  school  and  then  for  a  number  of  years  was  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools.  After  another  year  in  the  normal 
school  he  was  graduated,  in  1887,  from  the  scientific  department. 
His  theological  training  was  acquired  immediately  after  in  three 
years  of  work  at  the  Franklin  and  Marshall  college  of  Lancaster, 
Pa.,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1890.  He  was  then  ordained  as  a 
minister  of  the  Reformed  church,  and  accepted  a  call  to  become  the 
pastor  of  the  St.  Paul's  congregation  of  Bethlehem.  After  nine 
years  of  faithful,  zealous  service,  in  which  he  was  the  chief  influ- 
ence in  the  erection  df  a  new  church,  he  assumed  charge  of  the  five 
churches  and  congregations  at  Cunningham.  There  he  remained 
but  a  year  and  a  half,  however,  resigning  to  become  pastor  of  St. 
John's  Reformed  church  at  Tamaqua.  This  charge  he  has  held  ever 
since,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  entire  congregation.  He  is  deeply 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  city  and  county,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1906  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  to  the  state  legislature  on 
the  Democratic  ticket.  In  1891  Mr.  Lobach  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Ada  M.  Breinig,  a  native  of  Lehigh  county,  and  a  daughter 
of  Edwin  and  Catherine  (Swartz)  Breinig.  Her  mother  is  a  sister 
of  the  late  Judge  Swartz  of  Berks  county.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lobach 
have  been  born  eight  children — Samuel  E.,  Paul  A.,  Titus  B.,  Cath- 
erine E.,  Margaret  L.,  Pearl  H.,  Ada  L.  and  Esther  Marion. 

Long,  Jacob  L.,  a  hardware  merchant,  a  plumber  and  tinsmith  by 
vocation,  and  superintendent  of  the  water  works  of  Pine  Grove,  was 
born  in  Lebanon  county.  Pa.,  Dec.  22,  1870.  He  is  a  son  of  John 
Henry  and  Louisa  J.  (Dixon)  Long.  The  father  was  a  jeweler  and 
a  skilled  workman  in  his  line,  doing  work  for  the  people  of  several 
places.  His  death  occurred  in  1876,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  years, 
and  his  widow,  now  over  sixty  years  of  age,  is  a  resident  of  Tre- 
mont.  Of  the  six  children  in  the  family  three  are  living.  Qinton 
A.,  Charles  A.,  and  Emma  E.  died  at  the  ages  of  thirteen,  twenty- 
four  and  twelve  years,  respectively.  James  H.  is  in  the  hardware 
business  at  Orwigsburg,  and  Amos  E.  is  foreman  of  the  tinshop  in 
the  bolt  works.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Tremont  and  Pine  Grove,  and  while  he  was  yet  a  student 
he  began  his  apprenticeship  in  the  tinsmith's  trade.  He  worked  as 
a  journeyman  at  Pine  Grove,  Philadelphia,  Brazil,  Ind.,  and  Mount 
Carmel,  Pa.,  and  in  1898  returned  to  Pine  Grove  and  established 
himself  in  business.  His  ability,  his  skill  as  a  workman  and  his 
absolute  honesty  have  won  for  him  the  respect  of  the  community 
atid  his  industry  has  prospered  even  better  than  he  had  dreamed. 
He  does  all  kinds  of  tin  work,  steam  heating  and  plumbing  and  has 
fitted  most  of  the  recently  erected  dwellings  of  Pine  Grove.  In 
September,  1890,  Mr.  Long  married  Miss  Sallie  C.  Haas,  a  native  of 


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296  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Pine  Grove  and  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  Haas.  Mrs.  Haas 
died  in  1903  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  but  the  father  is  still  living, 
making  his  home  with  this  daughter.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  have 
been  born  four  children — Catherine  E.,  Robert  H.,  John  H.  and 
George  F.  The  family  are  all  members  of  St.  John's  Lutheran 
church. 

Luther,  Roland  C,  deceased,  late  superintendent  of  the  Philadel- 
phia &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  was  born  at  Port  Carbon, 
Schuylkill  county,  Jan.  20,  1846,  a  son  of  Peter  D.  and  Elizabeth 
(Mills)  Luther,  natives  of  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  where  the  ances- 
tors settled  in  early  pioneer  days.  The  American  branch  of  this 
family  are  direct  descendants  of  the  great  reformer,  Martin  Luther. 
The  father  of  Roland  C.  Luther  came  to  Schuylkill  county  in  1832, 
and  located  at  Fbrt  Carbon,  but  later  removed  to  Ashland,  where 
he  died  in  1881.  His  business  was  that  of  a  coal  operator,  in  which 
he  was  a  pioneer  in  the  anthracite  field  and  acquired  a  comfortable 
fortune.  There  were  four  children  born  to  Peter  D.  and  Elizabeth 
Luther  and  all  are  now  deceased.  The  subject  of  this  article  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  the  Polytechnical  college  in  Phil- 
adelphia, and  began  his  business  career  as  a  mine  operator,  in  con- 
nection with  his  father.  As  a  youth  he  served  in  various  capacities; 
was  employed  for  awhile  as  a  railroad  conductor;  was  then  inter- 
ested in  railroad  construction  and  was  later  associated  with  Mr. 
Harris  as  a  mining  engineer.  At  one  time  he  was  superintendent 
of  Kaska-William  colliery,  and  in  1870  he  held  a  position  as  mining 
engineer  with  the  Philadelphia  &  Mahanoy  Coal  Company.  This 
property  was  absorbed  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and 
Iron  Company,  and  Mr.  Luther  continued  in  the  employ  of  the  new 
proprietors  as  mining  engineer.  In  June,  1874,  Mr.  Luther  was  sent 
to  the  company's  property  on  the  Hudson,  near  West  Point,  where 
he  had  charge  of  the  corporation's  business  until  he  resigned  in 
1875  ^o  take  up  other  interests,  on  the  Pacific  coast.  He  had  charge 
of  mining  developments  in  southeastern  Nevada,  and  subsequently 
became  chief  engineer  of  construction  for  the  Eureka  &  Colorado 
River  Railroad  Company.  Returning  to  Pottsville  in  1882,  with  a 
large  and  Vjaried  experience  in  civil  and  mining  engineering,  his 
services  were  sought  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron 
Company,  and  he  accepted  the  position  of  mining  engineer,  contin- 
uing in  that  capacity  until  1888,  when  he  became  the  general  super- 
intendent. He  brought  to  this  arduous  duty  a  rare  knowledge  of  both 
theoretical  and  practical  engineering,  together  with  unquestioned 
executive  ability.  Mr.  Luther  realized  the  responsibilities  of  his 
position,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  interests  of  his  employers,  even 
to  the  detriment  of  his  own  health,  remaining  at  his  post  until  re- 
lieved by  the  hand  of  death,  on  March  6,  1905.  He  married  Miss 
Theresa  Yuengling,  whose  family  sketch  appears  more  fully  on  an- 
other page  of  this  volume.  The  sons  are  Roland  Y.,  who  married 
Miss  Grace  Lewis  and  is  attending  to  mining  interests  in  West  Vir- 
ginia; Edwin  C,  a  gradtiate  of  Princeton  university  and  a  mining 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  297 

engineer  by  profession,  is  at  home.    The  family  are  Episcopalians 
in  religious  affiliations. 

Lutz,  A.  Lf,  dealer  in  horses  and  mules  and  a  contractor,  was 
born  in  Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  Feb.  7,  1848,  a  son  of  David  and  Mollie 
(Le  Van)  Lutz.  The  father  was  born  in  Lehigh  and  the  mother  in 
Berks  county.  When  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  but  three  and 
a  half  years  old  his  father  died,  leaving  a  widow  and  six  children. 
He  was  a  blacksmith,  with  a  reputation  as  an  expert  in  the  making 
of  ax  blades  and  the  tempering  of  steel  for  cutlery  of  all  kinds.  The 
mother  lived  until  1896,  passing  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight 
years.  Alfred,  the  eldest  of  the  children,  was  a  captain  in  the  ist 
Ohio  cavalry  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  Emanuel  is  a  coach 
maker  at  Wabash,  Ind.  James  is  a  stationary  engineer  by  trade, 
but  is  now  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  at  Allentown,  Pa.  Sarah 
is  the  widow  of  Captain  Harmony  and  is  living  at  Allentown  with 
her  daughter,  Mrs.  Fethrolf.  Mary  J.  is  Mrs.  Levi  S.  Sittler  and 
resides  in  this  county.  A.  L.  Lutz  was  the  third  in  order  of  birth. 
He  had  but  limited  scholastic  advantages  in  the  Lehigh  county 
schools,  and  when  he  had  completed  the  training  he  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  a  harness-maker.  When  he  had  mastered  the  trade 
it  furnished  him  a  means  of  livelihood  until  he  was  thirty  years  of 
age,  and  he  then  embarked  in  the  hotel  business  ip  Tamaqua,  oper- 
ating the  Mansion  House.  Subsequently. he  turned  over  the  man- 
agement of  the  hostelry  itself  to  a  purchaser,  but  is  still  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  stable  in  connection  with  the  hotel.  For  some  years 
now  he  has  been  purchasing  horses  and  mules  and  selling  them  to 
the  coal  companies  of  the  district.  At  the  present  time  also  he  has 
some  65  men  stripping  and  excavating  preparatory  to  the  opening 
of  the  mines.  Mr.  Lutz's  residence  in  Schuylkill  county  really 
dates  from  1864,  when  he  first  came  here.  Two  years  later  he  re- 
moved to  Ohio  and  was  there  for  a  period,  and  in  1880-81  was  in 
Atchison,  Kan.,  in  the  harness  business.  On  Jan.  16,  1880,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Irene  Shantz,  a  native  of  Allentown,  and 
a  daughter  of  Walter  T.  and  Emma  (Fusselman)  Shantz.  Mrs. 
Shantz  died  in  1895  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years,  but  the  widowed 
husband  is  still  living,  a  resident  of  Atchison,  Kan.  To  Mr.  ancl 
Mrs.  Lutz  were  born  four  sons.  Alfred,  a  jeweler Tby  trade,  is  at  the 
present  time  assisting  his  father;  Frank  married  Bessie  Kleckner 
and  is  associated  with  his  father  in  business;  Edward  is  a  student 
at  Myerstown,  and  James'  Alfred  is  at  home.  The  parents  are  both 
members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Lutz  is  highly  thought  of  in 
the  business  circles  of  the  city  and  county,  and  his  family  are  valued 
members  of  the  social  life  of  the  community. 

Lutz,  Joseph  M.,  is  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Wayne  township.  His 
paternal  grandparents,  who  occupied  the  farm  on  which  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  now  lives,  were  John  and  Susannah  (Schrope)  Lutz, 
and  his  maternal  grandparents  were  Amos  and  Anna  (Crause)  Fred- 
erici,  of  Lehigh  county.  His  father's  name  was  also  Joseph  and  his 
mother's,  before  her  marriage,  was  Angeline  Frederici.  Joseph  M. 
Lutz  was  born  on  the  family  homestead  on  Oct.  13,  1869,  and  his 


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298  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

father  was  born  there  also  in  1824.  Three  of  the  family  are  still 
living,  Joseph  M.,  Charles  R.,  present  assessor  of  the  township,  and 
Lydia,  the  wife  of  James  Fisher,  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  Mr.  Lutz 
obtained  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  attending  them  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  He  then  employed  himself  on 
his  father's  farm  until  the  death  of  the  father  in  1889,  when  his 
brother  Charles  and  himself  took  possession  of  the  property  and 
have  conducted  it  as  a  general  farm  and  market  garden  since  that 
time.  The  farm  consists  of  128  acres  and  the  firm  name  is  Charles 
R.  Lutz  &  Bro.  The  farm  is  a  very  fertile  one,  and  it  is  kept  in  con- 
dition by  keeping  upon  it  from  sixteen  to  twenty  head  of  cattle  and 
horses.  On  March  8,  1890,  Mr.  Lutz  married  Miss  Ida  J.  Reber, 
daughter  of  Joel  J.  Reber,  of  Friedensburg,  and  eight  children  have 
been  born  to  the  union,  six  of  whom — five  girls  and  one  boy — are 
living,  viz. :  Mary  A.,  Cora  M.,  Amy  M.,  Eva  I.,  Henry  E.  and  Vera 
V.  Mr.  Lutz  is  a  member  of  Cressona  Lodge,  No.  426,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons ;  Farmers'  Lodge,  No.  649,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  of  Summit  Station,  and  Camp  No.  507,  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  also  of  Summit  Station.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Protective  Association.  In  politics  he  is  allied  with 
the  Democratic  party ;  is  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  Wayne 
township,  which  office  he  has  held  for  seven  years,  and  has  also  at 
various  times  acted  as  judge  and  inspector  of  elections.  The  fam- 
ily are  of  the  Lutheran  faith  and  attend  the  Summit  Hill  church. 

Lyon,  Hon.  Thomas  H.  B. — ^The  subject  of  this  article  is  one  of 
the  well-known  and  successful  lawyers  at  the  Schuylkill  county  bar, 
and  has  been  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  at  Mahanoy 
City  since  1874,  in  which  y^ar  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the 
county  and  state  courts.  He  served  one  term  as  president  judge  of 
the  orphans*  court  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  has  since  given  his 
attention  to  his  large  private  practice.  Judge  Lyon  was  born  at 
Herrick,  Susquehanna  county.  Pa.,  Apr.  26,  1846,  and  was  educated 
principally  in  the  institutions  of  his  native  county.  The  ancestral 
history  of  this  family  is  thoroughly  interwoven  with  the  colonial 
and  revolutionary  period  of  our  national  existence.  On  the  ma- 
ternal side,  both  great-grandfathers  fought  in  the  Revolutionary 
struggle,  their  names,  though  forgotten  by  posterity,  being  en- 
graved on  the  nation's  "Roll  of  Honor."  The  mother's  family  name 
was  Mahala  Sampson,  her  father  being  of  the  Sampson  family  of 
New  England.  Her  mother's  brothers,  David  and  Daniel  Heacock, 
of  New  England,  were  soldiers  in  the  Revolution,  and  also  fought 
in  the  war  of  1812.  The  grandfather  Sampson  was  also  a  soldier  in 
the  first  struggle  against  Great  Britain,  and  his  uncle  bore  arms  in 
the  same  meritorious  cause.  The  great-grandfather  Lyon  was  also 
unlisted  in  the  cause  of  American  independence,  and  lost  his  life  in 
the  battle  of  Trenton.  Judge  Lyon  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Mahala 
(Sampson)  Lyon,  the  former  born  at  Herrick,  Susquehanna  county, 
Pa.,  July  20,  1796,  and  spent  his  life  in  the  vicinity  of  his  birthplace. 
The  mother  was  born  in  New  York,  Nov.  14,  1797.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  has  been  a  life-long  Republican  in  his  political  affilia- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  299 

tions,  and  has  always  maintained  a  prominent  position  in  the  coun- 
cils of  his  party.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  supremacy  of 
Republican  doctrines,  and  is  an  able  campaign  orator.  Mr.  Lyon 
was  married  on  May  23,  1869,  to  Miss  Jane  Meyers,  whose  great- 
grandfather, Phillip  ScheaflFer,  fought  under  Washington  in  the 
battle  of  Trenton  and  wintered  at  Valley  Forge.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  John  M.  and  Mary  Meyers,  of  Herrick,  Pa.  Two  daughters  have 
been  bom  to  this  union,  Una  Hawthorne  and  Asia  Mural.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  Judge 
Lyon  is  prominently  affiliated  with  the  leading  social  fraternities, 
being  a  member  of  the  Masonic  bodies.  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Eagle,  and  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Lyons,  Joseph  T.,  was  born  in  Ashland,  Pa.,  Sept.  14,  1877.  After 
graduating  from  the  high  school  of  that  place  he  attended  West 
Chester  state  normal  school,  where  he  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1898.  He  taught  three  terms  in  the  public  schools  before  being  ad- 
mitted to  practice  law.  He  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  his 
brother's  office  at  Shenandoah,  Pa.,  in  January,  1902,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  1905.  He  is  now  associated  with  his  brother, 
W.  F.  Lyons,  with  offices  at  Shenandoah,  Pa.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  his  political  views  and  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and 
Ashland  Lodge,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Lyons,  WiUiam  F.,  whose  home  is  in  Shenandoah,  was  born  in 
Ashland,  July  11,  1874.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive borough  and  graduated  from  the  high  school,  after  which  he 
attended  Millersville  state  normal  school.  His  education  was 
rounded  out  by  a  course  in  the  Susquehanna  university,  from  which 
he  received  a  degree.  In  January,  1897,  he  became  a  student  of  law 
in  the  offices  of  the  late  J.  Harry  James,  and  in  1900  was  admitted 
to  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county.  He 
was  successfully  engaged  in  his  vocation  in  this  county  for  about 
a  year  and  then  removed  to  the  west  to  take  up  the  same  work  in 
the  courts  of  Oklahoma.  He  had  laid  the  foundation  of  a  fine  prac- 
tice in  his  new  field  when  the  serious  illness  of  his  mother  compelled 
his  return  to  his  native  county,  and  as  her  ill  health  continued  he 
determined  to  remain  and  work  out  his  destiny  in  this  county.  His 
ability  gave  him  eminence  from  the  start  and  inside  of  six  months' 
time  his  office  was  a  busy  one.  Upon  the  election  of  C.  E.  Berger 
to  the  office  of  district  attorney,  Mr.  Lyons  was  made  his  deputy 
and  served  as  such  during  the  full  term  of  three  years.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  his  political  beliefs  and  is  a  recognized  power  in  the 
councils  of  his  party.  His  friends,  and  they  are  l^ion,  predict  for 
him  a  brilliant  and  successful  future,  both  in  law  and  politics.  His 
offices  are  located  at  210  North  Main  street,  where  he  has  one  of  the 
best  appointed  libraries  in  the  county. 

Maher,  Patrick  J.,  a  well  known  business  man  and  borough  audi- 
tor of  Shenandoah,  is  a  native  of  that  city,  having  been  born  on 
South  Main  street,  Dec.  4,  1877.  His  father,  John  P.  Maher,  is  a 
native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  in  1847.    At  the  age  of  sixteen 


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300  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

years*  the  father  came  to  America,  locating  in  Schuylkill  county,  and 
in  1872  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Delaney,  who  was  born  at  Valley 
Furnace,  in  1856.  They  had  a  family  of  eight  children,  of  whom 
three  sons  and  three  daughters  are  now  living.  Philip,  the  eldest,  is 
a  printer  on  the  Shenandoah  Evening  Herald,  is  married  and  has 
five  children ;  Martin  F.,  who  is  employed  in  the  Cunningham  piano 
factory  at  Philadelphia,  is  also  married  and  has  one  child ;  Bridget 
F.  is  the  wife  of  A.  J.  Flynn,  superintendent  of  the  Manhattan  ele- 
vated railway  in  New  York,  and  they  have  four  children;  Patrick 
J.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Alice  is  the  wife  of  E.  J.  Tobin,  of 
New  York  city;  Mary  is  a  student  in  Shenandoah,  and  John  and 
Malachi  died  in  infancy.  For  many  years  John  P.  Maher  was  iden- 
tified with  the  mining  interests  of  Schuylkill  county,  mostly  as  a 
contracting  miner.  He  then  conducted  the  National  hotel  in  Shen- 
andoah for  awhile.  He  still  owns  the  hotel  building,  but  is  practi- 
cally retired  from  active  business.  He  and  his  wife  still  live  at  the 
old  home  on  South  Main  street.  Patrick  J.  Maher  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  Shenandoah  and  in  a  business  college  at  Mah- 
anoy  City.  During  his  school  days  he  was  employed  on  oflf  days 
and  in  vacation  time  about  the  mines,  first  as  slate-picker,  then  as 
door-tender  and  later  as  a  mule  driver.  After  completing  a  course 
in  stenography  and  typewriting  he  accepted  a  position  with  the 
Adams  Express  Company  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  remained  about 
a  year,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
&  Western  Railway  Company  in  their  offices  in  New  York.  He 
continued  in  that  city  for  about  a  year  and  then  returned  to  Shenan- 
doah. In  1906  he  opened  a  saloon  at  his  present  place  of  business, 
his  license  being  issued  .in  February  of  that  year.  His  place  is 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  orderly  in  the  county,  as  he  caters  to 
the  first-class  trade  only  and  numbers  among  his  patrons  some  of 
the  best  and  most  representative  men  of  the  city.  Politically  Mr. 
Maher  is  a  Democrat,  and  he  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  that  party  in 
the  city  of  Shenandoah,  especially  among  the  younger  members  of 
the  organization.  In  1906  he  was  elected  one  of  the  board  of  audi- 
tors for  the  borough  and  is  now  serving  the  first  year  of  his  three 
years'  term.  He  is  unmarried  and  makes  his  home  with  his  parents. 
The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Annunciation  Roman  Catholic 
church.  Mr.  Maher  is  one  of  the  active  members  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Hibernians  and  is  now  the  financial  secretary  of  Division 
No.  2,  in  which  capacity  he  is  serving  his  second  term.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  the  Phoenix  Fire  Com- 
pany and  the  Emmett  League.  In  all  these  societies  he  is  de- 
servedly popular  because  of  his  many  sterling  qualities  and  his  gen- 
eral good  fellowship. 

Malarkey,  Frank,  of  the  borough  of  Coaldale,  is  one  of  the  alert 
and  prominent  business  men  of  his  native  county,  where  he  con- 
ducts a  large  and  successful  enterprise  as  a  wholesale  dealer  in 
wines  and  liquors.  His  standing  in  the  community  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  he  was  chosen  the  first  president  of  the  council  of  the 
borough  of  Coaldale  upon  its  incorporation,  in  1906.  He  was  born  in 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  301 

what  is  now  the  borough  of  Coaldale,  June  i6,  1863,  and  is  a  son 
of  Daniel  and  Kate  (Melley)  Malarkey,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
picturesque  County  Donegal,  in  Ulster,  Ireland.  The  father  was 
reared  and  educated  in  his  native  land,  whence,  he  immigated  to 
America  in  the  early  '50s.  He  took  up  his  residence  in  what  is  now 
the  borough  of  Coaldale  and  in  this  county  he  continued  to  follow 
the  vocation  of  mining  until  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1891,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-seven  years.  His  wife  likewise  is  deceased,  both  having 
been  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church.  They  became  the 
parents  of  eight  children,  of  whom  the  eldest,  Daniel,  is  deceased ; 
Frank,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  next  in  order  of  birth ; 
Sarah  is  the  wife  of  F.  Condy  Maloy;  Cassie  is  the  wife  of  Alanus 
Breslin ;  John  and  Thomas  are  still  residents  of  Schuylkill  county, 
as  are  also  the  younger  daughters — Lizzie  and  Ella.  Frank  Malar- 
key  has  maintained  his  home  in  Schuylkill  county  from  the  time  of 
his  birth  to  the  present,  and  is  indebted  to  the  public  schools  of 
Coaldale  for  his  early  educational  discipline.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  he  found  employment  as  a  mule  driver  in  the  mines  and 
he  eventually  advanced  to  the  position  of  full  working  miner,  con- 
tinuing to  be  thus  actively  identified  with  the  coal-mining  industry 
of  his  native  county  for  a  period  of  twenty  years.  In  March,  1896, 
he  engaged  in  the  wholesale  liquor  trade  in  Coaldale  and  in  this 
line  of  enterprise  he  has  since  continued,  having  built  up  a  large 
and  prosperous  business.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Citizens'  National  bank  of  Lansford,  Carbon  county,  and  is  still  a 
member  of  its  directorate.  He  is  essentially  public-spirited  in  his 
attitude  and  is  a  stalwart  in  the  local  camp  of  the  Democratic  party. 
He  has  served  as  president  and  as  secretary  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion of  Rahn  township  and  upon  the  incorporation  of  the  borough 
of  Coaldale,  in  1906,  he  was  elected  first  president  of  its  council,  an 
office  of  which  he  remained  incumbent  until  1907.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church  and  are  actively  iden- 
tified with  St.  Mary's  parish.  Jan.  9,  1890,  was  solemnized  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Malarkey  to  Miss  Mary  Rodgers,  daughter  of  Patrick 
and  Madge  (Boyle)  Rodgers,  early  settlers  of  Coaldale,  and  the 
two  children  of  this  union  are  John  and  Mary. 

Marchetti,  John,  proprietor  of  a  modern,  well  stocked  general 
store  in  Nuremberg,  was  born  in  Austria,  Sept.  27.  1849,  a  son  of 
Laurence  and  Rosalia  (Sodra)  Marchetti.  He  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  government  schools  in  his  native  country  and  in  1873 
came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in  Larimer,  Pa,  There  he  ob- 
tained employment  in  the  mines,  and  for  seven  and  a  half  years  he 
was  engaged  in  no  other  labor.  In  1880  he  removed  to  Nuremberg, 
and  for  a  period  of  two  years  after  arriving  in  that  borough  he 
worked  as  a  tinsmith.  When  he  left  that  vocation  he  opened  the 
general  store  which  he  is  to-day  so  successfully  operating.  May  10. 
1874,  Mr.  Marchetti  married  Miss  Catherine  Felina.  Thirteen  chil- 
dren have  blessed  this  union,  of  whom  nine  survive.  They  are  by 
name,  Anna,  Laurence,  Mary,  Olivia,  Andrew,  Joseph,  Rosie.  An- 
geline  and  Catherine.    The  family  are  all  communicants  of  the  Ro- 


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302  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

man  Catholic  church  of  Nuremberg.  Mr.  Marchetti  is  a  member 
of  several  Slavish  societies  and  in  politics  generally  votes  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  although  he  allows  no  political  allegiance  to  blind 
him  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  candidates  for  office.  He  is  an 
exemplary  citizen  in  every  particular  and  a  fine  example  of  what 
industry  and  perseverance  will  do  for  one. 

Marquardt,  William  Louis,  a  prominent  citizen  and  business  man 
of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  was  born  at  Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  this 
state,  Nov.  27,  1852,  a  son  of  John  Blasious  and  Mary  Agnes 
(Muench)  Marquardt,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Wurtemberg^, 
Germany,  the  former  having  been  born  in  1820  and  the  latter  in 
1825.  John  Blasious  Marquardt  immigrated  to  America  in  1847, 
but  after  a  few  months  returned  to  his  native  land,  where  he  re- 
mained but  a  short  time,  and  then  came  again  to  America,  accom- 
panied by  his  mother,  two  sisters,  and  Mary  Agnes  Muench,  who 
later,  in  1849,  became  his  wife.  They  sailed  from  Germany  May  3, 
1848,  and  arrived  in  New  York  July  3  of  the  same  year.  They  lo- 
cated in  Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  where  John  B.  em- 
barked in  the  wholesale  feed,  grain  and  fruit  business.  John  B.  and 
Mary  Agnes  Marquardt  became  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  two 
of  whom  died  at  an  early  age.  and  the  others,  five  boys  and  five 
girls,  were  reared  to  maturity.  William  Louis  Marquardt,  the  im- 
mediate subject  of  this  review,  attended  the  public  schools  of  the 
day  during  the  winter  months,  and  early  began  the  battle  of  life, 
having  gone  to  work  in  the  mines  at  the  age  of  nine,  but  he  later 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  for  a  period 
of  nineteen  years,  until  his  resignation  in  1887,  acted  in  the  capacity 
of  conductor  in  the  passenger  service  of  that  company.  In  the  year 
last  mentioned  he  embarked  in  the  dry-goods  business  in  Pottsville, 
and  evidence  that  he  has  been  eminently  successful  is  that  afforded 
by  his  mammoth  emporium  on  Second  and  Market  streets  and  by 
the  busy  throng  of  shoppers  passing  through  its  doors.  In  1894 
he  established  a  shoe  store  in  Pottstown.  Pa.,  but  he  finally  disposed 
of  it  as  his  growing  business  in  Pottsville  required  all  his  time  and 
attention.  In  1896,  in  connection  with  his  dry-goods  business,  he 
established  a  shoe  store  on  North  Center  street  in  Pottsville.  He 
has  showit  the  same  progressive  business  spirit  in  conducting  the 
latter  business  that  has  made  his  dry-goods  business  such  a  wonder- 
ful success,  with  the  result  that  the  business  paid  from  the  start 
and  is  now  second  to  none  in  the  county.  As  a  business  man  Mr. 
Marquardt  enjoys  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
and  he  is  an  earnest  worker  in  all  matters  that  touch  the  welfare 
of  his  city  and  county.  In  March,  1901.  he  was  a  member  of  the 
famous  commission  which  held  conference  with  J.  Pierpont  Mor- 
gan in  an  effort  to  avert  the  threatened  coal  strike  in  the  anthra- 
cite region.  This  commission,  of  which  the  Rev.  Father  Phillips 
was  the  head,  was  composed  of  prominent  business  men  of  the  an- 
thracite region — loyal  representatives  of  the  citizens  of  that  region. 
Mr.  Marquardt  is  a  charter  member  and  an  active  worker  in  the 
Civic  League,  in  which  body  he  is  chairman  of  the  trade  extension 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  303 

committee.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Merchants'  asso- 
ciation of  Pottsville,  and  was  for  a  time  its  president;  at  the  present 
time  he  is  vice-president  of  that  organization.  He  is  prominent  in  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  member  of  Pulaski  Lodge,  No.  216,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  Williamsport  Consistory,  and  Rajah  Temple 
of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  he  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Jan.  27,  1873,  Mr. 
Marquardt  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Clara  Gibson,  a  daugh- 
ter of  J.  E.  and  Mary  Ann  (McCord)  Gibson,  of  Port  Carbon,  Pa., 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  children — Emily  Amelia,  the 
wife  of  Norman  H.  Rich,  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  and  William  Louis,  Jr., 
who  died  at  an  early  age. 

Marr,  William  A.,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Ashland  and  additional 
law  judge  of  Schuylkill  county,  is  a  native  of  Lewisburg,  Union 
county.  He  is  a  representative  of  a  family  prominent  in  the  pioneer 
days  of  Pennsylvania,  his  grandfather,  William  Marr,  having  set- 
tled on  a  farm  near  Milton,  Northumberland  county,  more  than  a 
hundred  years  ago.  This  place  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  fam- 
ily, which  is  of  good  Scotch  stock.  A  great-uncle  represented  the 
Northumberland  district  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  congress  of  the 
United  States  many  years  ago.  Phineas  B.  Marr,  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  His  wife  was  of  German-Irish  ancestry.  Judge  Marr  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Lewisburg  and  gradu- 
ated at  the  institution  which  is  now  known  as  Bucknell  university 
in  i860,  in  the  same  class  with  Hon.  Simon  B.  Wolverton,  a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  bar  of  Pennsylvania.  After  completing  his 
scholastic  work  he  studied  law  in  the  offices  of  George  F.  Miller,  of 
Lewisburg,  and  in  1864  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Union 
county  courts.  For  a  time  he  taught  school  and  continued  to  read 
law  in  Danville,  Pa.,  and  he  then  located  in  Ashland,  where  he  con- 
tinued in  the  general  practice  of  his  profession  until  his  elevation 
to  the  bench.  This  latter  event  occurred  Jan.  i,  1899,  and  his  elec- 
tion, which  was  entirely  unsolicited  and  won  by  a  thousand  ma- 
jority, was  for  a  term  of  ten  years.  While  engaged  in  practice  he 
became  prominent  as  an  attorney  for  various  large  coal  corporations. 
In  politics  Judge  Marr  has  always  been  a  strong  exponent  of  the 
principles  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy  and  has  often  been  a  delegate 
to  national  and  state  conventions  of  his  party.  On  three  separate 
occasions  he  has  been  chairman  of  the  Democratic  county  commit- 
tee and  each  time  succeeded  in  securing  the  election  of  the  full 
ticket.  Judge  Marr  is  a  devout  attendant  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
and  for  upwards  of  thirty-five  years  has  been  the  treasurer  of  the 
board  of  trustees.  He  is  recognized  throughout  the  county  as  a 
man  of  fine  legal  mind  and  broad  culture  and  is,  withal,  a  most  able 
incumbent  of  the  office  which  he  now  holds. 

Marshall,  Arthur  J.,  superintendent  of  the  People's  Light,  Heat 
and  Power  Company  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  is  a  native  of  Shenan- 
doah, this  county,  where  he  was  born  Oct.  6,  1878.  He  is  the  second 
in  order  of  birth  of  the  three  children  of  Joel  and  Amanda  (Show- 


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304  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ers)  Marshall,  the  others  being  Mabel  and  Margaret.  Mabel  is  the 
wife  of  John  L.  Griffiths,  a  hardware  merchant  of  Girardville,  and 
is  the  mother  of  one  child;  Margaret,  who  became  the  wife  of  E.  B. 
Landis,  a  train  dispatcher  of  Harrisburg,  died,  leaving  one  child. 
The  mother  of  Amanda  (Showers)  Marshall  was  a  Grant,  having 
been  a  cousin  of  the  renowned  general  and  president  of  that  name. 
The  paternal  grandfather,  Henry  Marshall,  was  an  early  citizen  of 
Shenandoah,  and  hunted  over  the  land  which  is  occupied  by  the 
borough.  He  was  for  many  years  the  superintendent  of  the  St.  Clair 
shaft  and  was  a  man  of  wea4th  and  influence.  It  was  he  who  do- 
nated to  the  Trinity  Reformed  congregation  the  land  upon  which 
the  church  of  that  denomination  now  stands.  His  death  occurred 
about  1889  and  his  widow  passed  away  a  few  years  later.  Joel  Mar- 
shall was  born  at  St.  Clair,  in  1847,  and  his  wife  first  saw  the  light 
of  day  at  Reading  in  1857.  Their  marriage  occurred  in  Schuylkill 
county,  where  the  father  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  active 
life  in  mining.  For  the  past  twenty  years  he  has  been  engineer  at 
the  Keeley  Run  colliery.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his 
education  in  the  Shenandoah  schools  and  started  earning  his  own 
living  as  a  clerk  in  a  grocery  store.  He  was  possessed  of  a  deter- 
mination, however,  to.  see  more  of  the  world,  and  while  still  young 
went  to  New  York  city  and  secured  a  similar  position  there.  Sub- 
sequently he  became  stockkeeper  in  a  large  mercantile  house,  where 
he  remained  about  two  years.  On  leaving  New  York,  at  the  end  of  that 
time,  he  went  to  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and  secured  a  position  in  the  em- 
ploy of  a  railroad  company.  His  first  work  was  as  a  brakeman,  but 
after  seven  months  he  became  a  fireman.  After  he  had  been  at  the 
business  about  two  years  he  was  injured  in  a  wreck  and  he  decided 
to  enter  some  other  line  of  business.  He  returned  to  Shenandoah 
and  made  a  systematic  study  of  electrical  ervgineering.  When  he 
had  thoroughly  mastered  the  trade  he  accepted  a  position  with  the 
Hamburg  Electric  Light  Company.  For  a  year  and  a  half  he  re- 
mained in  Hamburg  and  then  returned  to  Shenandoah  again  to 
enter  the  employ  of  the  People's  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company, 
at  a  big  increase  of  salary.  In  March,  1905,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
superintendency  of  the  plant  in  Shenandoah  and  later  was  trans- 
ferred to  Schuylkill  Haven,  where  he  is  acting  in  the  same  capacity 
for  that  company,  filling  the  position  with  proficiency  and  skill.  Dec. 
2,  1899,  Mr.  Marshall  married  Miss  Katie  Smith,  a  native  of  Shen- 
andoah, and  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Catherine  Smith.  The  father, 
now  deceased,  was  a  miner,  but  the  mother  is  still  living,  a  resident 
of  Harrisburg.  Mrs.  Marshall  is  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children,  of 
whom  seven  are  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marshall  have  one  child, 
Carrie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marshall  are  communicants  of  the  Trinity 
Reformed  church,  and  Mr.  Marshall  is  identified  fraternally  with 
the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of 
America,  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Martin,  Patrick  J.,  a  popular  and  prominent  citizen  of  Pottsville, 
Pa.,  where  he  is  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  Second  ward,  was  born 
in  Palo  Alto,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  Apr.  11,  1864.  and  is  a  son  of 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  305 

Hubert  and  Mary  A.  (Walsh)  Martin,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
native  of  County  Roscommon,  Ireland,  and  the  latter  of  Heckscher- 
ville,  this  county,  where  she  was  born,  Dec.  24,  1843.  The  maternal 
grandparents  were  Michael  and  Julia  (Moran)  Walsh,  natives  of 
County  Kilkenny,  Ireland.  They  were  pioneer  residents  of  Heck- 
scherville,  this  county,  where  they  both  died,  the  grandfather  hav- 
ing been  a  miner  by  vocation.  Julia  Moran,  with  her  mother  and 
several  of  her  brothers  and  sisters,  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  Can- 
ada in  the  spring  of  1842.  Michael  Walsh  accompanied  them  and 
soon  after  their  arrival  in  Canada  the  courtship  which  dated  back 
to  their  earlier  days  in  the  Emerald  Isle  resulted  in  their  marriage. 
In  the  fall  of  the  following  year,  the  Moran  family,  including  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Walsh,  located  in  Heckscherville,  where  two  of  Mrs.  Mo- 
ran's  sons,  James  and  Michael,  had  located  several  years  prior,  and 
where  they  erected  a  comfortable  home,  one  of  the  few  which  at 
that  date  dotted  that  beautiful  valley.  This  valley  is  noted  for  its 
rich  coal  deposits,  whose  veins  have  up  to  this  time  proved  valua- 
ble producers,  and  will  thus  continue,  as  mining  experts  agree,  for 
many  years  to  come.  In  those  early  days  the  nearest  Catholic 
church  to  Heckscherville  was  St.  Patrick's,  at  Pottsville,  where 
the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  baptized.  Later  her 
father,  with  others,  gratuitously  gave  their  services  in  excavating 
for  the  foundations  for  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  church  at  Minersville. 
Mrs.  Martin's  grandfathers  both  died  in  Ireland,  and  her  grand- 
mothers, Mary  (McKinley)  Walsh  and  Mary  (Ryan)  Moran,  both 
died  in  Heckscherville,  Pa.  Her  family  tree  is  one  of  the  most 
extensive  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  Hubert  Martin  was  a  son  of 
Patrick  and  Catherine  (O'Brien)  Martin,  both  of  whom  died  in 
County  Roscommon,  Ireland,  where  they  owned  and  tilled  a  farm. 
He  came  to  America  in  1851,  locatin^^  at  Palo  Alto,  where  he  followed 
railroading  for  many  years,  dying  m  that  town  Oct.  24,  1900.  He 
and  his  wife,  who  survives  him,  were  married  at  St.  Stephen's 
church.  Port  Carbon,  by  Rev.  Daniel  Magorien,  on  Sept.  13,  1859, 
and  to  them  there  were  born  twelve  children,  four  of  whom  were 
reared  to  maturity:  Catherine,  born  June  28,  i860,  was  married  to 
diaries  P.  Gillespie,  at  St.  Stephen's  church,  Port  Car- 
bon, June  8,  1882,  by  Rev.  John  O'Rourke,  and  she  died  at  Palo 
Alto,  July  4,  1892,  leaving  to  survive  her  three  children,  Mary,  Cath- 
erine, and  Marcella ;  Patrick  J.  is  the  subject  of  this  review ;  Margaret 
B.,  residing  at  Palo  Alto,  was  born  Jan.  18,  i869>  ^"d  was  married 
to  Harry  O'Neil,  at  St.  Patrick's  church,  Pottsville,  by  Rev.  F.  J. 
McGovern,  on  June  18,  1902;  and  Michael  J.  C.  Martin,  now  of 
Pottsville,  was  born  in  Palo  Alto  Dec.  24,  1870.  The  last  mentioned 
is  the  manager  of  the  Pottsville  store  of  the  Cunningham  Piano 
Company,  of  Philadelphia.  He  formerly  taught  in  the  public  schools 
of  West  Penn  township  and  in  the  borough  of  Palo  Alto.  He  learned 
stenography  in  the  meantime,  and  subsequently  taught  this  branch 
in  Wood  s  business  colleges  at  Pottsville  and  Hazleton,  Pa.,  and  in 
Newark,  N.  J.  Following  is  a  brief  record  concerning  the  eight  chil- 
dren who  died  in  childhood :  James,  who  was  born  April  29,  1862, 
20-Voi.  II 


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306  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

died  Jan.  16,  1865;  Julia,  born  Jan.  6,  1865,  died  Oct.  27,  1866;  Mary- 
Ann,  born  Sept.  15,  1867,  died  Sept.  12,  1868;  infant  boy,  died  May 
9,  1872;  John,  born  May  30,  1874,  died  Jan.  30,  1878;  Hugh,  born 
March  28,  1878,  died  Nov.  7,  1879 ;  Elizabeth,  or  Bessie,  born  March 
9,  1883,  died  Nov.  10,  1887;  and  Leo  Francis,  born  May  16,  1886, 
died  Dec.  23,  1891.  Patrick  J.  Martin  was  reared  in  Palo  Alto  and 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  that  borough.  For  a  short 
time  he  also  attended  the  parochial  schools  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 
church  at  Pottsville,  where  he  took  up  the  study  of  German.  His 
first  employment  was  in  a  cigar-box  factory.  He  then  became  mes- 
senger in  the  office  of  the  Evening  Chronicle,  in  which  office  he 
learned  the  art  of  printing,  which  he  followed  for  a  short  time.  He 
was  subsequently  employed  in  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  car  shops 
at  Palo  Alto  and  at  Atkins'  rolling  mills,  Pottsville.  In  1889  he  and 
John  J.  O'Connor  founded  the  Saturday  Night  Review,  a  weekly 
newspaper  published  in  Pottsville.  He  disposed  of  his  interest  in 
that  publication  two  years  later  arid  became  identified  with  the 
Evening  Chronicle.  For  eleven  years  he  was  the  court  reporter  for 
that  paper,  resigning  that  position  Dec.  8,  1906.  Sept.  16,  1901,  the 
family  moved  from  Palo  Alto  to  330  South  Center  street,  Pottsville, 
where  Mr.  Martin  established  a  cigar,  tobacco  and  confectionery 
store,  which  he  still  conducts.  He  is  a  member  of  St.  Patrick's  Ro- 
man Catholic  church  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  and  is  a  member  of  several 
fraternal  organizations.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  grand  court  ses- 
sions of  the  Foresters  of  America,  held  at  York,  Pa.,  in  May,  1907, 
representing  Court  Pottsville,  No.  297,  of  Pottsville,  and  was  one  of 
the  forty-eight  delegates  elected  by  the  grand  court  to  the  sessions 
of  the  supreme  court  to  be  held  in  Chicago  in  August,  1907.  Though 
not  a  candidate  for  the  office,  nor  present  at  the  convention,  he  was 
tendered  the  nomination  for  county  auditor  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  in  1887,  his  enthusiastic  friends  winning  the  nomination  for 
him  over  several  other  candidates.  He  was  triumphantly  elected, 
was  chosen  chairman  of  the  board  and  filled  the  duties  of  the  office 
in  a  manner  most  satisfactory  to  his  constituents.  In  almost  the 
same  manner,  on  Feb.  iq,  1907,  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  in  the  Second  ward  of  Pottsville.  He  declined  to 
be  a  candidate  for  the  office,  but  his  friends  were  persistent  and  as 
his  name  was  not  printed  on  the  ballots  his  friends  wrote  it  on  the 
space  allotted  for  that  purpose  and  elected  him  over  two  other 
candidates,  His  election  coming  in  this  way  was  considered  by  the 
subject  as  a  mandate  from  the  people  to  serve,  and  he  accordingly 
opened  modernly  equipped  offices  at  105  East  Norwegian  street. 
He  represented  the  Fourth  legislative  district  at  several  state  con- 
ventions of  the  Democratic  party — two  at  Harrisburg  and  one  each 
at  Reading  and  Allentown.  He  was  one  of  the  delegates  to  the 
Democratic  convention  in  Harrisburg  in  1905,  who  nominated 
William  H.  Berry  for  state  treasurer.  Mr.  Berry,  as  a  reform  can- 
didate, was  triumphantly  elected  by  the  people.  While  a  resident 
of  Palo  Alto  Mr.  Martin  filled  several  local  offices  with  credit  to 
himself  and  the  approbation  of  the  tax-payers,  the  offices  he  filled  for 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  307 

two  terms  or  more  having  been  those  of  town  clerk,  tax  collector 
and  borough  treasurer.  His  father  also  filled  several  borough 
ofl&ces,  including  those  of  school  director  and  tax-collector,  and  was 
secretary  of  the  school  board  for  a  number  of  years. 

Masser,  Samuel  Richard,  the  leading  general  merchant  of  Hegins, 
was  born  in  Northumberland  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  7,  1869,  ^  son  of  Ja- 
cob C.  and  Katherine  (Wagner)  Masser.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Upper  Mahanoy  township  until  he  reached  the  age  of 
nineteen  years,  completing  all  the  courses  offered.  For  a  year  there- 
after he  taught  school,  but  pedagogic  work  did  not  appeal  to  him 
and  he  left  it  to  accept  a  position  with  tne  general  merchandise  firm 
of  D.  G.  Siler  &  Co.,  of  Shamokin.  For  nine  years  he  continued 
his  residence  in  Shamokin,  being  employed  by  different  firms  for 
different  periods  of  time.  In  the  spring  of  1899  he  removed  to  Heg- 
ins and  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  business  which  since 
that  time  he  has  been  most  successfully  conducting.  His  store  is 
the  most  modern  and  the  best  equipped  of  all  in  the  vicinity  and 
his  patrons  are  always  assured  of  courteous  treatment  and  the  best 
of  service.  In  Nov.,  1894,  Mr.  Masser  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Geist, 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  Geist,  of  Hegins,  and  to  this  union  have  been 
born  three  children — Mark  Millard,  Jacob  Geist  and  Paul  Leon — all 
living  at  home.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church 
of  Hegins.  In  politics  Mr.  Masser  is  an  influential  upholder  of  the 
tenets  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  has  never  held  nor  aspired  to 
office.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  associated  with  the  Hegins  Lodge, 
No.  726,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  a  past  officer 
of  the  same.  By  his  integrity,  kindliness  of  manner  and  business 
judgment  he  has  won  for  himself  and  his  family  a  secure  place  in 
the  social  and  commercial  life  of  the  community. 

Master,  Milton  H.,  proprietor  of  the  Shenandoah  Steam  Marble 
and  Granite  Works,  was  born  in  Berks  county.  Pa.,  Sept.  21,  1855. 
His  parents,  David  and  Catherine  (Hunsberger)  Master,  were  both 
natives  of  that  county,  where  the  father  followed  the  occupation  of 
shoemaker,  and  both  are  now  deceased.  They  were  the  parents  of 
ten  children,  viz. :  Mary,  Henry,  Evan,  James,  John,  William,  George 
W.,  David,  Milton  H.  and  Kate.  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Amos  Fryer, 
of  Shimerville,  Pa.;  Henry  is  a  blacksmith  at  Macungie,  Lehigh 
county;  Evan  operates  a  granite  quarry  in  Berks  county;  John 
is  in  the  same  business  at  Minersville,  and  James  at  Mertztown, 
Pa. ;  George  W.  is  a  blacksmith  at  Robesonia ;  Kate  is  the  wife  of 
John  Stichter,  of  Zionsville,  Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  and  William  and 
David  died  in  youth.  Milton  H.  Master  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  took  up  the  trade  of  marble  cutter.  After  serving 
his  apprenticeship  he  established  his  first  business  at  Minersville, 
but  after  about  eight  years  there  he  removed  to  Shenandoah,  where 
he  opened  his  present  concern  in  1881.  The  skill  and  good  taste  in 
designs  that  he  has  displayed  have  built  up  for  him  a  successful 
business,  and  in  the  cemeteries  of  Schuylkill  and  adjoining  counties 
may  be  seen  many  fine  specimens  of  his  handiwork.  He  employs 
on  an  average  seven  or  eight  skilled  cutters  and  is  equipped  for  turn- 


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308  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ing  out  orders  on  short  notice  and  in  the  best  possible  manner.  Po- 
litically Mr.  Master  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  served  as  a  member 
and  secretary  of  the  city  council,  and  was  the  candidate  of  his  party 
in  1895  for  the  office  of  county  comptroller,  but  his  ticket  was  de- 
feated at  the  polls.  Pie  is  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  America,  and  with  his  wife  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church. 
On  March  21,  1878,  Mr.  Master  and  Miss  Levina  Hanich,  of  Miners- 
ville,  Pa.,  were  united  in  marriage,  and  their  union  has  been  olessed 
hy  three  sons  and  three  daughters:  Harry,  Robert,  Grace,  Mabel, 
Thomas  J.  and  Ruth.  Robert  is  deceased;  the  eldest  son  is  em- 
ployed in  his  father's  business;  Grace  is  the  wife  of  James  Ringler, 
of  Shenandoah,  a  colliery  clerk ;  and  the  others  are  at  home. 

Mathias,  John  I.,  a  prominent  resident  of  Mahanoy  City,  where 
he  has  resided  since  Apr.,  1864,  is  a  native  of  Dowlais,  Wales.  He 
was  born  June  19,  1842,  and  four  years  later  accompanied  the  pa- 
rental family  to  America.  They  located  in  Pottsville  in  1846  and 
have  been  identified  with  the  history  of  Schuylkill  county  since  that 
date.  The  father,  Lewis  Mathias,  was  born  in  England,  Apr.  8, 
1805.  By  reason  of  an  estrangement  between  himself  and  his  uncle. 
Sir  Henry  Mathias,  he  decided  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  New 
World.  His  wife,  who  in  maidenhood  was  Mary  Isitt,  was  born  in 
Milford  Doch,  Wales,  Feb.  22,  1810.  He  died  in  Mahanoy  City, 
Apr.  16,  1865,  and  she  died  at  the  same  place,  July  7,  1891.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  has  been  a  resident  of  Schuylkill  county  for 
sixty-one  years,  and  all  of  his  mature  life  has  been  spent  in  Mahanoy 
City.  He  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  growth  and 
progress  of  the  town,  and  has  borne  his  share  in  the  development 
of  the  beautiful  little  city.  He  was  one  of  the  original  directors  at 
the  organization  of  the  Union  National  bank,  and  has  served  contin- 
uously as  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  since.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  school  board  for  six  years  and  served  as  president  of 
the  same  for  one  term.  He  was  president  of  the  borough  council 
for  four  years,  and  served  as  a  member  of  that  body  for  six  years. 
During  the  past  thirty  years  Mr.  Mathias  has  been  general  agent 
for  a  school  text-book  publishing  house,  and  has  devoted  his  ener- 
gies principally  to  the  work  involved  in  this  position.  In  political 
views  Mr., Mathias  is  an  active  Republican,  and  he  has  filled^  some 
important  positions  on  the  state  central  committee,  and  was'  alter- 
nate delegate  to  the  national  conventions  at  Minneapolis  and  St. 
Louis.  He  was  married  July  3,  1864,  to  Miss  Annie,  daughter  of 
David  and  Margaret  (Williams)  Davis,  of  Minersville.  Four  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  this  union,  the  eldest  and  the  youngest  of 
whom  are  deceased.  The  names  in  order  of  birth  are  William  D., 
Mary  D.,  Lewis  B.  and  John  W.  Mr.  Mathias  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  Odd  Fellowship  and  has  attained  high  standing  in  this 
fraternity  of  the  "triple  links."  Beginning  with  the  subordinate 
lodge,  he  has  taken  the  degrees  in  the  encampment  and  canton  and 
filled  the  principal  official  stations  in  each.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Odd  Fellows'  Temple  club,  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Veteran  Odd 
Fellows'  association  of  Pennsylvania.    He  is  also  a  member  of  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  309 

Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Of  political  organiza- 
tions he  holds  membership  in  the  Westmoreland  club  of  Wilkes 
Barre,  Central  Republican  club  of  Pottsville,  and  the  Young  Men's 
Republican  club  of  Mahanoy  City.  The  religious  affiliations  of  the 
family  are  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Matthews,  William  J.,  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  borough  of  New 
Philadelphia,  was  bom  in  County  Down,  Ireland,  on  Feb.  i6,  1854, 
a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Calvert)  Matthews.  The  father  worked  in 
the  lead  mines  in  his  native  country  and  in  1855  he  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  his  wife  and  child.  The  passage  was  made  on  a  sailing  ves- 
sel and  took  seven  weeks  and  three  days.  He  located  first  at  Silver 
Creek,  Pa.,  where  he  secured  employment  in  the  coal  mines,  and  he 
continued  to  be  thus  engaged  until  he  met  his  death,  on  Aug.  10, 
1870.  The  cage  in  which  he  and  eleven  other  men  and  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  were  ascending  suddenly  dropped,  and  nine  of  the 
thirteen  occupants  were  instantiiy  killed,  among  them  John  Matthews. 
He  was  the  father  of  eight  children,  all  but  the  eldest  of  whom  were 
born  in  this  country.  The  names  of  the  children  are:  William 
J.,  John,  Jr.,  Mary  Ann  (ist),  Mary  Ann  (2d),  Elizabeth,  Andrew, 
George  and  Joseph.  Mary  Ann  (ist)  died  in  infancy,  and  George 
and  Joseph  also  are  deceased.  The  father  was  in  early  life  a  Pres- 
byterian, but  after  coming  to  the  United  States  he  joined  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  and  was  for  many  years  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican  and  he  had  no 
little  influence  in  the  local  party  councils.  His  widow  became  the 
wife  of  John  Howells,  and  they  had  one  child,  Martha.  William  J. 
Matthews  attended  the  public  schools  of  Silver  Creek  and  New 
Philadelphia  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  began  the  life  of  a  miner. 
His  first  employment  was  in  picking  slate  and  he  worked  up 
through  the  various  grades  until  he  had  become  a  journeyman  in 
the  vocation.  For  thirty-five  years  this  work  furnished  him  a  live- 
lihood and  he  relinquished  it  to  engage  in  the  retail  liquor  business 
in  New  Philadelphia.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  employed  in  no 
other  way.  In  a  pecuniary  way  his  trade  has  been  very  good,  and 
is  constantly  on  the  increase.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican.  As 
the  candidate  of  that  party  in  1897  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  at  each  successive  election  has  been'  re-elected  to  the 
place.  July  22,  1874,  Mr.  Matthews  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mary  Agnes  Murry,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Jane  (Shields) 
Murry.  Mr.  Murry  was  bom  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  came  to 
Schuylkill  county  in  early  life.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Matthews  are  the 
parents  of  seven  children.  William  J.,  Jr.,  married  Blanch  Newton, 
by  whom  he  has  one  child,  Ethel.  Mary  Jane  is  the  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin Tate,  of  Philadelphia.  Barney  Murry  Matthews  lives  in  Phil- 
adelphia. The  other  children,  Agnes  Elizabeth,  Joseph  McCool, 
Andrew  Harrison  and  Louisa  Clare,  are  all  at  home.  Mr.  Matthews 
is  affiliated  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  in  a  fraternal 
way  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  being 
a  past  master  of  the  Iodide. 


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310  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Maurer,  Ambrose  U.,  farmer  and  poultry  raiser,  at  Hegins,  was 
born  in  the  township  where  he  now  lives  on  May  26,  1869,  and  is  a 
descendant  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill  county.  His 
grandparents,  Tobias  and  Sarah  (Vean)  Maurer,  were  both  born 
near  Boyertown,  Berks  county,'  grew  up  and  married  there,  and 
shortly  after  their  marriage  came  by  boat  to  Minersville,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  of  blacksmith  and  was  also  a  blacksmith  for  the 
mines.  In  1847  he  bought  fifty  acres  of  land  in  Pfegins  township, 
where  he  followed  farming  until  his  death.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
war  of  181 2,  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  church.  They  had  seven  children,  felizabeth 
married  William  Rees,  of  Minersville ;  Mary  married  Charles  Marsh 
and  lives  in  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Sarah  died  single ;  Sophia  married  George 
Smith  and  lives  in  Ohio ;  John  went  west  and  died  of  cholera ; 
Henry  went  west  and  all  trace  of  him  has  been  lost ;  and  William 
is  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  opportunities  of  Wil- 
iam  Maurer  to  acquire  an  education  were  rather  limited,  though 
his  father  was  one  of  the  first  advocates  of  the  free-school  system 
in  the  county.  He  attended  school  but  a  short  time  and  in  Jan., 
1862,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  48th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry. 
With  his  regiment  he  was  in  the  battles  of  South  Mountain,  Antie- 
tam,  second  Bull  Run,  Fredericksburg  and  a  number  of  minor  en- 
gagements. After  a  service  of  two  years  and  two  months  he  was 
discharged,  but  re-enlisted,  at  Harrisburg,  in  the  same  company  and 
regiment.  He  started  on  the  Wilderness  campaign,  but  was  se- 
verely wounded  in  the  shoulder  at  Spottsylvania,  being  sent  to 
Acquia  creek,  and  thence  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  went  to  the  hos- 
pital. The  minie  ball  was  extracted  in  the  field  hospital  and  it  is 
still  in  his  possession.  He  was  finally  discharged,  at  Philadelphia, 
on  July  5,  1865.  After  the  war  he  was  not  able  to  do  much  work. 
but  he  bought  the  old  homestead,  where  he  is  now  living,  engac^ed 
in  farming.  His  son,  Ambrose,  now  manages  the  farm.  In  1866  he 
married  Miss  Catherine,  daughter  of  Sam^iel  Heater,  a  farmer  of 
Hegins  township,  and  this  union  was  blessed  with  the  following 
children:  Lizzie,  who  married  William  Baur  and  lives  in  Ohio; 
Ambrose;  William,  a  farmer  of  Hegins  township;  Catherine,  who 
married  Adelbert  Smith  and  died  Jan.  13,  1906;  Cora,  wife  of  Lewis 
Champion,  of  Pleasantville,  N.  J.-,  and  Sarah,  at  home  with  her 
father.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  June  25,  1892.  William 
Maurer  is  a  Republican,  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  was 
for  twenty-one  years  a  school  director,  was  auditor  for  three  years, 
and  has  served  as  a  director  in  the  Northwestern  Fire  Insurance 
Company  for  six  years.  Ambrose  U.  Maurer  attended  the  local* 
schools  until  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  He  then  managed  a  farm 
in  the  Kessler  district  of  Hegins  township  about  eighteen  months 
for  John  Jones,  of  Ashland,  and  was  then  for  about  a  year  in  a  hotel 
at  Hegins,  in  the  employ  of  J.  F.  H.  Long.  He  then  went  to  Janes- 
ville.  Wis.,  and  took  a  course  in  the  Valentine  school  of  telegraphy. 
Upon  leaving  this  school  he  took  a  position  as  assistant  operator  and 
station  agent  for  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  Railroad  at 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  311 

Table  Grove,  111.,  where  he  remained  five  months,  when  he  was  sent 
to  White  Hall,  111.,  on  the  same  road,  and  stayed  there  for  nine 
months.  He  then  took  charge  of  the  office  at  Riggston,  111.,  and 
held  that  place  for  four  years,  when  he  was  promoted  and  sent  to 
Piasa,  where  he  remained  until  1902,  when  he  resigned  and  returned 
to  Pennsylvania.  In  Jan.,  1902,  he  bought  eighty-four  acres  of  land 
— the  old  Michael  Kessler  place — and  has  since  that  time  been  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  raising  poultry  and  in  looking  after  the  man- 
agement of  his  father's  farm.  In  Nov.,  1892,  while  at  Riggston,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Annie,  daughter  of  George  and  Sallie  Ressler, 
of  Hegins  township,  where  she  was  born.  Her  parents  were  both 
born  in  Northumberland  county,  Pa.,  but  were  among  the  pioneers 
of  Hegins  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maurer  have  four  children  liv- 
ing and  one  deceased.  Their  names  and  dates  of  birth  follow :  Earl, 
Sept.  16,  1896;  Myrtle  A.,  Aug.  17,  1898;  Willis  A.,  Aug.  4,  1900; 
George  L.,  March  17,  1903;  Phyllis,  Aug.  12,  1894.  The  last  named 
died  Sept.  12,  1900.  Mr.  Maurer  is  a  Republican,  takes  an  active 
interest  in  all  questions  pertaining  to  the  public  welfare,  and  has 
frequently  served  as  judge  of  the  elections  and  on  the  school  board. 

Maurer,  Curtin  F.,  proprietor  of  a  prosperous  livery  business  in 
Ashland,  was  born  in  that  borough  on  June  28,  186$,  a  son  of 
Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Fry)  Maurer.  The  father  was  a  native  of 
Schuylkill  county  and  the  mother  of  Northumberland.  The  pa- 
ternal grandfather,  although  of  German  parentage,  was  born  in  this 
county  and  was  all  his  active  life  engaged  in  the  work  of  a  stone 
mason  and  in  agricultural  pursuits.  The  mother's  father,  William 
Fry,  was  a  carpenter  and  farmer  and  spent  all  of  his  active  life  in 
Northumberland  county.  Daniel  Maurer  was  a  bricklayer  by  voca- 
tion. He  died  in  Ashland,  in  1898,  in  his  sixty-sixth  year,  and  his 
wife  departed  this  life  some  two  years  later,  in  her  sixty-third  year, 
leaving  two  sons,  the  younger  of  whom,  Harry  G.,  is  a  carp>5nter 
working  at  his  trade  in  Wilkes  Barre.  The  subject  of  this  review 
has  spent  all  his  life  in  Ashland.  It  was  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
borough  that  he  received  his  educational  advantages  and  it  was 
within  its  limits  that  he  grew  to  manhood.  When  he  had  attained 
his  majority  he  embarked  in  the  livery  business,  to  which  he  has 
since  devoted  his  attention.  In  1895  he  took  possession  of  his  pres- 
ent well  equipped  and  well  stocked  stables,  and  his  business  has 
been  increased  year  by  year  until  now  he  has  all  he  can  attend  to. 
Jan.  6,  1887,  was  celebrated  Mr.  Maurer's  marriage  to  Miss  Arabella 
Mills,  a  native  of  Ashland  and  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Ann 
(Winters)  Mills,  of  that  borough.  This  union  has  been  blessed 
with  four  children,  all  boys — Leslie,  Howard,  Raymond  and  Harry. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maurer  are  devout  and  earnest  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican,  but  has 
never  sought  public  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  hose 
company  of  Ashland  and  fraternally  is  identified  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Maurer,  David  P.,  is  engaged  in  the  blacksmithing  business  in  his 
native  town  of  Hepler,  where  he  was  born  Apr.  23,  1850,  and  he  is 


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312  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

also  the  owner  of  a  well  improved  farm  in  this  county.  Mr.  Maurer 
has  won  success  through  his  own  efforts  and  has  exemplified  the 
value  of  consecutive  industry,  in  the  meanwhile  so  ordering  his  life 
as  to  merit  and  retain  the  confidence  and  ^ood  will  of  his  fellow- 
men.  He  is  a  representative  of  the  third  generation  of  the  Maurer 
family  in  Schuylkill  county,  and  is  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Nellie 
(Paul)  Maurer,  the  former  of  whom  was  likewise  born  in  Hepler 
and  the  latter  of  whom  was  born  at  Klingerstown,  this  county.  They 
continued  to  reside  in  the  county  until  their  death,  the  father  pass- 
ing away  May  8,  1905,  and  the  mother  Apr.  17,  1907.  Henry  Maurer, 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  was  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  until  the  time  of  his  death.  John  H.  Maurer  was  a  shoe- 
maker by  trade,  but  in  later  years  his  attention  was  given  to  farm- 
ing. He  was  a  stanch  Democrat  in  politics  and  served  as  constable 
for  a  number  of  years.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  zealous  members 
of  the  Lutheran  church.  They  became  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
of  whom  five  are  living:  David  P.,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  re- 
view; Catherine,  a  resident  of  Philadelphia;  Fayette,  of  Vineland, 
N.  J. ;  Amelia,  of  Tremont,  Pa. ;  and  Cecilia,  likewise  a  resident  of 
Tremont.  David  P.  Maurer  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and 
was  aflforded  the  advantages  of  the  common  schools  of  the  locality. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  left  the  parental  roof  and  began  an 
apprenticeship  at  the  blacksmith  trade,  under  the  instruction  of 
Daniel  Klock,  of  Hepler,  with  whom  he  remained  two  years,  be- 
coming a  skilled  workman.  He  started  in  business  for  himself,  and 
later  passed  three  years  on  the  old  homestead  farm,  after  which,  in 
1872,  he  built  and  equipped  his  present  shop,  where  he  has  worked 
at  his  trade  during  the  long  intervening  period  and  where  he  has 
built  up  a  successful  business,  based  upon  his  technical  ability  and 
his  personal  popularity  in  the  community.  He  is  the  owner  of  a 
valuable  farm  of  107  acres,  in  Wayne  township,  and  the  greater 
portion  of  the  tract  is  under  effective  cultivation.  The  place  is  now 
in  charge  of  his  eldest  son.  Mr.  Maurer  gives  his  allegiance  to  the 
Democratic  party  and  he  has  been  called  upon  to  serve  in  various 
offices  of  local  trust.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  more  than 
five  years,  a  director  of  the  school  board  for  six  years,  and  treasurer 
of  the  school  district  for  three  years.  -He  and  his  wife  hold  mem- 
bership in  the  Lutheran  church  and  are  active  in  its  work.  In  1870 
Mr.  Maurer  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Catherine  Erdman,  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  this  county,  and  of  their  eleven  children  six 
are  living,  namely:  Donald,  who  is  a  successful  farmer  in  Wayne 
township  and  who  also  learned  the  blacksmith  trade,  under  the  di- 
rection of  his  father:  he  married  Lillie  Hartzog;  Jane,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  Herb,  of  Frackville,  this  county;  Elizabeth,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Edwin  Snyder,  of  Northumberland  county ;  Charles,  who 
is  a  successful  farmer  in  Wayne  township  and  who  married  Ger- 
trude Klinger;  and  Edgar  and  Raymond,  who  remain  at  the  pa- 
rental home. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  313 

Maurer,  Ellmer  Harold,  M.  D.,  a  representative  medical  practi- 
tioner at  Ashland,  Pa.,  was  born  at  Pitman,  in  Schuylkill  county. 
Pa.,  Jan.  i6,  1878.  He  is  a  son  of  G.  S.  and  Elmira  (Kramer) 
Maurer,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  this  county.  The  father, 
G.  S.  Maurer,  has  been  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  the  county 
for  the  last  thirty-five  years,  and  is  known  as  a  successful  educator. 
Both  parents  are  now  living  at  the  family  homestead  at  Lavelle, 
this  county.  Dr.  Maurer  has  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Delilah  Lloyd,  wife 
of  William  Follwell  Lloyd,  and  Miss  Mamie  Maurer,  both  residents 
of  Philadelphia  and  graduated  trained  nurses.  Mrs.  Lloyd  was 
graduated  in  1896  from  the  Hahnemann  training  school  for  nurses, 
and  Miss  Mamie  has  just  completed  a  full  course  of  training  at  the 
Children's  Homeopathic  training  school  for  nurses,  both  institutions 
being  located  in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Elmer  H.  Maurer  entered  the 
State  normal  school  at  Kutztown  at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  was  grad- 
uated wit^i  the  class  of  1895.  He  then  engaged  in  teaching  for  three 
years,  after  which  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  his  profession  at 
Hahnemann  medical  college,  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  graduated 
from  that  institution  in  the  class  of  1902.  He  at  once  engaged  in 
active  practice  at  Ashland  and  has  continoied  successfully  to  the 
present.  Dr.  Maurer  was  married  Apr.  14,  1904,  to  Miss  Florence, 
daughter  of  William  G.  and  Katherine  (Baer)  Hinterleiter,  of  Kutz- 
town, Pa.  One  little  bud  of  promise  has  come  to  bless  this  happy 
union  and  brighten  the  domestic  fireside,  Miss  Catherine  Elmira, 
born  Feb.  9,  1905.  The  doctor  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affili- 
ations, and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  in 
Ashland.  Dr.  Maurer  is  prominent  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being 
a  member  of  Lodge  No.  294,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Chapter 
No.  219,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Commandery  No.  39,  Knights  Tem- 
plars; Williamsport  Consistory,  and  Rajah  Temple,  Mystic  Shrine. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  384,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  No.  84.  He  is  a  past  president  of 
the  Schuylkill  County  Homeopathic  medical  society,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Hahnemann  alumni  association.  He  is  also  the  medical 
examiner  for  the  Baltimore  Life  Insurance  Company. 

Maurer,  John  Jacob,  a  prominent  contractor  and  builder  of  Ash- 
land and  the  owner  of  a  lumber  yard  at  Girardville,  was  born  at 
Minersville.  Feb.  12,  i860.  He  is  a  son  of  John  Jacob  and  Mar- 
gariethe  (Schwartz)  Maurer,  both  natives  of  Bavaria,  Germany. 
The  father  came  to  the  United  States  about  1845  and  located  in 
Pottsville,  where  he  obtained  employment  as  a  bottler  in. a  brew- 
ery. In  the  late  '50s  he  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  liquor 
business  at  Minersville  and  continued  in  it  most  successfully  until 
after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  by  which  time  he  had  secured  a  suf- 
ficient competency  to  allow  him  to  retire.  In  May,  1874,  he  located 
at  Ashland,  where  he  remained  until  his  demise,  1887,  ^^  his  sev- 
enty-seventh year.  He  reared  to  maturity  a  family  of  five  children 
— Mary  Louise,  John  Jacob,  Fred  W.,  Lucile,  now  Mrs.  Peter  A. 
Waldner,  and  Georj^e  H.     John  Jacob  Maurer,  the  subject  of  this 


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314  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

sketch,  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Minersville  and 
Ashland,  completing  his  scholastic  training  in  the  high  school  of  the 
latter  borough.  For  a  period  of  three  years  he  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  the  carpenter's  trade,  with  Adam  Waldner,  and  when  he 
had  successfully  mastered  the  technical  points  of  the  vocation  he 
served  for  five  years  as  a  journeyman.  During  that  time  he  did 
some  contracting,  and  in  1889  he  entered  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count as  a  contractor  and  builder.  He  has  met  with  success  beyond 
his  most  sanguine  hopes  and  many  of  the  modern  dwellings  and 
public  buildings  of  Ashland  are  monuments  to  his  skill  and  ability. 
He  is  especially  proficient  in  the  erection  of  churches  and  has  many 
times  been  called  upon  to  put  up  edifices  in  other  boroughs.  In  the 
fall  of  1905  Mr.  Maurer  purchased  the  lumber  yard  of  R.  K.  Beaker 
in  Girardville  and  has  since  been  conducting  it,  in  connection  with 
his  other  business,  through  a  resident  manager.  Apr.  26,  1890,  was 
celebrated  his  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Roper,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Sarah  Ann  (Kline)  Roper,  of  Ashland.  The  children  of 
this  union  are  Luther,  Carl  F.  and  Sheldon.  Politically  Mr.  Maurer 
is  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  held  public  office  of  any  kind.  In  a 
fraternal  way  he  is  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of 
America  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  His 
family  are  all  communicants  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  he  him- 
self is  a  Lutheran. 

McDonald,  John  J.,  president  of  the  school  board  and  agent  for 
the  Adams  Express  Company  at  Shenandoah,  was  born  in  that  city 
March  22,  1870.  His  parents,  John  and  Mary  (O'Donnell)  McDon- 
ald, were  born  in  Ireland,  but  were  married  in  this  country  and  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Shenandoah.  The  father,  who  was  a 
miner,  died  when  he  was  about  fifty-five  years  of  age,  and  the 
mother  is  still  living  in  Shenandoah.  Five  of  their  children  are  liv- 
ing, viz. :  Mary,  John  J.,  David,  Joseph  and  Nellie.  Mary  lives  at 
home  with  her  mother;  John  J.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  David 
is  employed  in  Pittsburg;  Joseph  is  a  miner,  and  Nellie  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  State  normal  school  at  Bloomsburg,  and  is  now  a  teacher 
in  the  Shenandoah  public,  schools.  John  J.  McDonald  received  his 
education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city  and  began  his  career  as 
a  worker  in  the  mines,  where  he  continued  in  various  positions  for 
about  fifteen  years.  He  then  took  a  place  as  driver  of  one  of  the 
Adams  Express  wagons  and  gradually  worked  his  way  up  with  that 
company  until,  in  Feb.,  1903,  he  was  appointed  agent  at  Shen- 
andoah. Politically  Mr.  McDonald  is  one  of  the  active  Democrats 
of  Schuylkill  county.  He  served  three  years  as  borough  auditor; 
was  elected  to  the  school  board  in  the  spring  of  1901.  He  has  been 
twice  re-elected,  and  in  June,  1906,  was  made  president  of  the  board. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  and  he  and 
his  family  are  communicants  of  the  Annunciation  Roman  Catholic 
church.  In  Oct.,  1900,  he  was  united  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Nora  Mc- 
Grath,  who  at  the  time  of  their  marriage  was  a  resident  of  Mahanoy 
Plane.  To  this  union  have  been  born  four  daughters :  Mary,  Anna, 
Helen  and  Margaret. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  315 

McGettigan,  Rev.  Hugh  J.,  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic 
church  at  Ashland,  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been 
born  in  Blythe  township,  in  May,  i860.  He  is  a  son  of  Hugh  Mc- 
Gettigan,  who  was  for  many  years  a  successful  teacher  in  the  schools 
of  this  county.  Both  parents  of  Father  McGettigan  were  natives 
of  Ireland,  the  father  immigrating  to  America  and  locating  in  Port 
Carbon  in  1852  and  later  removing  to  Blythe  township.  The  family 
in  the  mother  country  has  given  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
some  of  its  most  distinguished  leaders  among  the  clergy  of  past 
generations.  Hugh  McGettigan,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  arti- 
cle, received  in  this  native  country  an  education  far  above  the  aver- 
age afforded  to  the  laity,  and  came  to  America  well  qualified  for  the 
honorable  station  which  he  filled  so  acceptably  during  the  last 
thirty-two  years  of  his  life.  This  was  no  doubt  a  material  aid  in 
shaping  the  studies  of  his  son,  who  aspired  to  the  exalted  station 
which  he  now  fills  many  years  before  his  hope  was  gratified.  Hugh 
McGettigan  was  a  man  of  broad  and  liberal  views,  highly  esteemed 
by  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  and  possessed  the  good  will  of 
all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  devout  Catholic  and  did  much  to  ex- 
tend the  influence  of  the  church  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived. 
He  died  May  31,  1891,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  He  was  sur- 
vived by  a  widow  and  six  children.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  passed 
his  youthful  days  in  attendance  at  the  district  school  and  in  work- 
ing about  the  mines,  devoting  all  his  leisure  moments  and  holidays 
to  private  study  and  to  preparation  for  his  contemplated  calling. 
At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  found  qualified  to  teach  school,  and  he 
entered  into  this  pursuit  with  a  determination  to  turn  the  oppor- 
tunity to  good  account  in  the  furtherance  of  his  well  grounded  ambi- 
tion, and  also  with  excellent  results  as  a  careful,  conscientious  in- 
structor. He  entered  upon  a  course  of  study  at  St.  Charles  semi- 
nary, at  Overbrook,  Pa.,  to  prepare  himself  to  enter  the  ranks  of 
the  Catholic  clergy.  Having  completed  his  work  in  the  seminary 
Tie  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Catholic  church  June 
15,  1889.  He  was  immediately  appointed  assistant  pastor  of  St. 
Patrick's  church  in  Pottsville,  and  remained  in  that  position  for 
three  years.  June  11,  1892,  he  became  rector  of  St.  Mary's  church  at 
St.  Gair.  He  was  transferred  from  this  charge  to  the  rectorship  of 
St.  Joseph's  church  in  Ashland  on  July  24,  1894.  This  is  the  oldest 
English  speaking  congregation  in  the  county  north  of  the  moun- 
tain, having  celebrated  its  golden  anniversary  March  17,  1907. 
Father  Mcuettigan  is  a  genial,  scholarly  gentleman,  who  sustains 
the  highest  regard  of  the  people,  irrespective  of  church  affiliations. 
He  is  alive  to  the  importance  of  his  work  and  enters  into  it  with  an 
enthusiasm  indicative  of  his  personal  interest  in  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  humanity.  Father  McGettigan  has  been  at  the  head  of  the 
board  of  health  of  the  city  since  its  inception  in  1902,  and  is  always 
to  be  found  prominently  identified  with  all  matters  pertaining  to 
the  public  welfare. 

McGinnis,  John  C,  president  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Frack- 
ville,  was  born  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  Dec.  18,  1857.  His  parents,  Henry 


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316  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  Mary  (Flanigati)  McGinnis,  were  both  natives  of  County  Down^ 
Ireland,  where  the  father  followed  his  trade  of  weaver.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  prior  to  coming  to  America  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Moreland  Linen  Manufacturing  Company  at  Belfast  and  Down- 
patrick,  the  company  being  still  in  existence.  In  1853  the  family 
came  to  this  country  and  located  at  Pottsville.  The  father  was 
employed  at  that  place  until  March,  1863,  when  he  went  to  Big 
Mine  Run,  near  Ashland,  where  he  continued  to  live  until  his  death, 
in  1885,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  He  and  his  wife  had  nine  chil- 
dren, six  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  Elizabeth  married  Nicholas 
Schu  and  is  now  deceased;  Celia  is  the  widow  of  John  Murphy; 
Edward  enlisted  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war  in  Company  E, 
48th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry,  was  captured  during  the 
siege  of  Petersburg,  and  died  in  prison  at  Salisbury.  N.  C. ;  James 
is  deceased ;  and  Henry  H.  and  John  C.  reside  in  Schuylkill  county. 
John  C.  McGinnis  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Butler 
township,  Schuylkill  county,  and  at  the  age  of  seven  years  began 
working  about  the  mines.  He  was  promoted  through  the  inter- 
mediate positions  from  breaker  boy  to  superintendent,  holding  the 
latter  position  for  thirteen  years  at  the  Cambridge  mines  at  Shenan- 
doah. In  1903  he  became  interested  in  bituminous  coal  mining  in 
Cambria  county,  as  a  stockholder,  and  was  subsequently  elected 
secretary,  treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the  Cambridge  Bitumi- 
nous Coal  Company,  a  position  he  still  retains.  He  is  also  inter- 
ested in  the  Cambridge  Slate  Company,  of  Slatington,  of  which  he 
is  a  director  and  secretary.  In  1883  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
Frackville,  where  he  has  since  been  identified  with  various  move- 
ments and  institutions  for  the  advancement  of  the  moral  and  ma- 
terial interests  of  the  community.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Broad  Mountain  Building  and  Loan  association,  organized  in 
1887,  and  one  of  the  best  in  the  state,  and  has  been  president  of  the 
association  since  1895.  When  the  First  National  bank  was  organ- 
ized, on  Sept.  5,  1905,  he  was  elected  president,  and  has  held  this 
office  continuously  ever  since.  He  was  active  in  the  organization 
of  this  bank,  and  much  of  its  usefulness  is  due  to  his  efforts  and 
superb  executive  ability.  Mr.  McGinnis  is  a  Republican  in  his  po- 
litical convictions  and  is  always  active  in  promoting  the  welfare  of 
his  party.  He  was  for  seven  years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  is  now 
serving  his  second  term  as  a  member  of  the  Frackville  city  council. 
He  is  a  member  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  church,  aild  is  a  liberal 
contributor  to  its  worthy  charities.  Jan.  7,  1885,  Mr.  McGinnis  and 
Miss  Katie  C.  Deehan  were  united  in  marriage.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  Bernard  and  Catherine  (Egan)  Deehan,  of  St.  Clair.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  McGinnis  became  the  parents  of  seven  children.  Mary  is  de- 
ceased and  those  living  are  Ida,  Harry,  Marguerite,  Helen,  Bernard 
and  Clement. 

McGinty,  John  P.,  is  president  of  the  First  National  bank  of 
Tamaqua  and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  enterprising  busi- 
ness men  of  that  city.  He  was  born  in  Tremont,  Pa.,  Aug.  i,  1864, 
and  is  one    of    the    seven    childen    of   James    and    Marv   (Foley) 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  317 

McGinty.  His  father,  now  retired,  was  a  contractor  and  miner 
well  known  in  the  earlier  days  oi  tne  county.  While  the  railroad 
known  as  the  Fine  Grove  line  was  being  built  he  was  employed 
as  a  water-carrier,  and  before  the  line  was  completed  between  Leb- 
anon and  Williamsport,  he  had  become  one  of  the  contractors.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  he  and  a  Mr.  Bettinger  opened  and  mined  the 
Sharp  Mountain  colliery  between  Tremont  and  Blackwood.  James 
McGinty  and  his  wife  now  make  their  home  in  Mahanoy  City.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  Mahanoy  City 
and  .when  he  started  out  to  earn  his  own  living  his  first  employment 
was  as  a  driver  of  mules  and  other  light  work  about  the  mines. 
In  1888  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  but  did  not  remain 
in  it  long,  removing  to  Tremont  in  1890  to  become  an  agent  for  the 
sale  of  the  Bergner  &  Engle  Brewing  Company's  products.  From 
Tremont  he  removed  to  Tamaqua  and  engaged  in  the  wholesale  li- 
quor business  which  he  still  conducts.  About  1896  he  erected  a  brew- 
ery and  started  the  manufacture  of  beer.  The  concern  is  known  as 
the  McGinty  Brewing  Company  and  employs  about  twenty-five  men. 
In  Jan.,  1894,  Mr.  McGinty  was  made  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
First  National  bank  of  Tamaqua  and  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Cal- 
lowaly,  in  1895,  he  was  honored  with  election  to  the  presidency  of 
the  institution.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  director  of  the 
Building  and  Loan  association,  serving  much  of  the  time  as  chair- 
man of  the  loan  committee.  This  association  is  one  of  the  best 
paying  ventures  of  the  city.  In  1905  the  borough  council  granted 
Capt.  E.  M.  B.  Shepp  and  Mr.  McGinty  a  ten-year  franchise  to  fur- 
nish light  for  the  city,  and  they  at  once  organized  the  Tamaqua 
Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company,  which  began  operations  Jan.  i, 
1906.  The  plant  is  equipped  with  the  most  modern  appliances  and 
machinery  and  is  amply  qualified  to  light  a  city  of  twice  the  size 
of  Tamaqua.  About  twenty-five  men  are  employed  in  the  opera- 
tion of  the  plant.  Every  enterprise  Mr.  McGinty  has  undertaken 
has  been  a  financial  success  and  his  name  in  connection  with  the 
promotion  of  any  venture  insures  a  patronage  not  otherwise  re- 
ceived. He  is  the  owner  of  much  valuable  realty  in  and  about 
Tamaqua.  June  10,  1890,  Mr.  McGinty  married  Miss  Mary  Bran- 
non,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  Brannon,  of  Shenandoah.  Her 
father  is  a  retired  merchant.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McGinty 
are  seven  in  number — Frank,  Florence,  Marion,  Nellie,  Vera,  Clare 
and  Margaret.  The  family  are  communicants  of  St.  Jerome's  Ro- 
man Catholic  church  and  the  father  is  a  charter  member  of  the 
Tamaqua  Lodge  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Ch"der  of  Elks. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  county  association  of  brewers  and  one 
of  the  executive  committee  of  the  same.  He  is  one  of  a  number 
of  prominent  business  men  who  secured  a  charter  to  operate  an 
electric-trolley  railway  between  Tamaqua  and  Mahanoy  City.  As 
the  right  of  eminent  domain  has  been  signed  by  the  governor  of 
the  state,  it  is  the  intention  to  build  this  road,  running  through 
Delano,  Park  Place  and  adjacent  villages,  as  soon  as  all  arrange- 
ments can  be  made. 


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318  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

McLoughlin,  Michael  P.,  a  well  known  attorney  of  Pottsville, 
was  born  at  Bear  Ridge,  a  hamlet  in  Blythe  township,  Schuylkill 
county,  Pa.,  Sept.  3,  1853.  He  is  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  J.  (Gil- 
lespie) McLoughlin,  the  former  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  the  latter 
of  Philadelphia.  The  Gillespie  family  were  pioneers  in  the  Schuyl- 
kill valley,  and  were  a  robust  and  long-lived  race  of  people.  Mr. 
McLoughlin  spent  his  early  life  working  at  the  coal  breaker,  and 
after  his  ninth  year  divided  his  time  between  picking  slate  and 
attending  the  district  school.  He  attended  the  Schuylkill  county 
normal  school,  then  conducted  at  Port  Carbon,  and  thus  qualified 
himself  for  teaching.  He  taught  four  terms  of  school  in  Blythe 
township,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law,  becom- 
ing a  student  under  the  tutorship  of  Major  James  Ellis,  then  coun- 
sel for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company  in  the 
Schuylkill  region.  He  prosecuted  his  studies  with  great  energy, 
and  readily  showed  adaptability  to  the  profession.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  Pennsylvania  in  1878,  and  at  once  engaged 
in  practice.  Apr.  19,  1884,  Mr.  McLoughlin  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  and  this  evidence  of 
superior  qualification  secured  for  him  a  legal  position  in  the  land 
department  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company. 
During  the  nine  years  of  his  connection  with  this  position  Mr. 
McLoughlin  was  in  constant  contact  with  complicated  cases  in- 
volving a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  laws  pertaining  to  real  es- 
tate, taxes,  township  and  municipal  laws,  etc.,  as  well  as  the  rights 
of  individuals  within  the  sphere  of  this  work.  The  knowledge  thus 
acquired  has  been  of  incalculable  value  to  him  in  the  general 
practice  of  law,  and  especially  so  in  all  cases  of  litigations  over  the 
question  of  land  titles,  etc.  Jan.  i,  1893,  Mr.  McLoughlin  severed 
his  connection  with  the  coal  and  iron  company  mentioned  and 
became  first  deputy  in  the  office  of  District  Attorney  Ryon.  He 
continued  in  this  position  for  three  years,  and  was  an  assistant  to 
Mr.  Ryon*s  successor,  E.  W.  Bechtel,  until  he  was  himself  elected 
to  the  office  of  district  attorney,  in  1899.  Since  completing  his 
term  of  office,  in  1902,  Mr.  McLoughlin  has  been  engaged  in  a  large 
and  lucrative  private  practice.  Mr.  McLoughlin  married  Miss  B. 
M.  Gannon  of  Ashland,  Pa.  *  She  was  a  daughter  of  Martin  and 
Honora  Gannon.  This  happy  union  was  blessed  with  five  daugh- 
ters— Mary,  Nora,  Margaret,  Catherine  and  Eleanor.  Mrs.  Mc- 
Loughlin died  on  Oct.  30,  1906.  The  family  are  Roman  Catholics 
in  religious  faith.  Mr.  McLoughlin  is  a  Democrat  in  political 
affiliations,  and  is  a  recognized  leader  in  the  councils  of  his  party. 
For  many  years  he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  fraternity  of 
Catholic  Knights  of  America,  and  has  served  as  local  and  state 
president  of  the  organization.  He  is  a  thorough  lawyer,  a  close 
student,  an  eloquent  speaker  and  an  accomplished  gentleman,  who 
sees  pleasure  as  well  as  profit  in  the  versatility  of  his  life. 

McMahon,  Rev.  P.  J.,  pastor  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  church  at 
Minersville,  was  born  in  St.  Clair,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  March 
10,   1866.     His  parents,  Patrick  and  Eliza   (Dow^ning)   McMahon, 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  319 

were  natives  of  Ireland,  and  came  to  this  county  from  their  native 
land  in  1845,  locating  in  the  mining  districts  of  Silver  creek.  They 
later  removed  to  St.  Clair  and  subsequently  went  to  Philadelphia, 
where  the  father  died  in  1898;  his  widow  is  now  living  in  St.  Clair. 
Two  sons  in  this  family  are  clergymen,  Father  P.  J.  McMahon,  of 
this  sketch,  and  Rev.  Father  John  J.  McMahon,  a  younger  brother, 
who  is  stationed  at  Sharon  Hill,  Delaware  county.  Pa.  Henry 
is  a  plumber  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  only  living  sister,  Mrs.  John 
Quigley,  resides  in  St.  Clair.  Four  of  the  children  are  deceased. 
Father  P.  J.  McMahon  received  his  elementary  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  St.  Clair.  After  being  graduated  from  LaSalle 
college,  in  Philadelphia,  he  entered  upon  his  professional  studies  in 
philosophy  and  theology  in  St.  Charles  seminary,  at  Overbrook, 
Pa.  He  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  in  May,  1893,  and  his  first  call  to  pastoral  duty  was  as  as- 
sistant to  Rev.  Father  Beresford  (since  deceased),  at  Minersville. 
He  was  stationed  at  Bethlehem  at  the  beginning  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war  and  gallantly  oflFered  his  services  as  a  volunteer 
chaplain.  He  entered  the  service  with  the  9th  regiment,  though 
he  attencjed  to  general  pastoral  duties  throughout  the  army  at 
Chickamauga.  He  was  also  engaged  for  a  time  as  an  army  chap- 
lain in  Kentucky.  Returning  to  his  charge  at  Bethlehem,  he  was 
soon  transferred  to  St.  Monica's  church,  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
remained  for  more  than  a  year,  and  whence  he  came  to  Minersville, 
as  rector  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  church,  Feb.  14,  1900.  This 
church  is  one  of  the  landmarks  of  Catholicism  in  Schuylkill  county. 
The  first  religious  services  of  the  English  speaking  Catholics  were 
held  in  rented  rooms  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  Mountaineer, 
opera  house,  and  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Nicholas  Cantwell,  late 
vicar-general  of  the  archdiocese,  but  then  rector  of  St.  Patrick's 
church  at  Pottsville.  These  services  were  commenced  as  early  as 
1842,  and  soon  thereafter  a  small  frame  church  was  erected  on  the 
hillside  at  the  lower  end  of  the  parish  cemetery.  The  Irish  popu- 
lation rapidly  increased  with  the  opening  of  collieries  and  the 
gradual  development  of  business,  and  the  little  church  soon  became 
too  small  to  accommodate  the  needs  of  the  parish.  A  lot  was  pur- 
chased on  Sunbury  street,  then,  as  now,  one  of  the  main  thorough- 
fares of  the  town,  and  in  the  spring  of  1846  the  work  of  excavating 
for  the  foundation  was  commenced.  The  corner  stone  was  laid 
July  19,  1846,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  F.  P.  Kendrick,  an  occa- 
sion of  great  rejoicing  among  the  faithful  band  of  Catholics  whose 
energies,  hard  labor  and  generous  contributions  had  brought  about 
so  desirable  a  result.  A  substantial  stone  structure  was  erected. 
This  has  met  the  necessities  of  the  growing  congregation  for  sixty 
years  and  is  to-day  in  keeping  with  its  surroundings.  The  dedica- 
tory services  were  held  Dec.  6,  1846,  and  the  name  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  was  chosen,  as  exemplifying  historic  conditions  and  per- 
petuating a  name  sacred  in  the  annals  of  Catholicism.  The  first 
resident  pastor  was  Rev.  Hugh  Fitzsimmons,  a  most  devoted, 
faithful  and  earnest  worker,  upon  whose  shoulders  fell  much  of  the- 


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^20  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

pioneer  ministerial  labor  in  the  parish.  It  was  he  who  built  the 
new  church,  organized  the  parish,  and  set  the  interior  workings  in 
order.  The  bounds  of  his  parish  were  almost  limitless,  there  being 
no  other  Catholic  church  westward  for  a  distance  of  forty  miles. 
The  now  thriving  towns  of  Shamokin,  Mount  Carmel,  Ashland, 
Mahanoy  City,  Shenandoah,  Girardville  and  others,  where  Catholi- 
cism is  now  prosperous,  were  not  then  known.  But  the  adventurous 
pioneers  who  had  invaded  the  wilds,  were  to  be  found  at  all  of  these 
places  and  many  others,  and  their  spiritual  advice  and  counsel  in 
distress  and  misfortune  came  principally  from  the  incessant  labors 
of  Father  Fitzsimmons.  He  traveled  over  this  wild  and  dangerous 
country,  mostly  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  visiting  the  sick,  consoling 
the  dying  and  burying  the  dead,  and  no  personal  sacrifice  seemed 
too  great  for  him  to  make  in  the  interest  of  humanity.  Many  pleas- 
ant reminiscences  are  left  as  an  evidence  that  he  always  found 
amusement  and  pleasure  in  the  most  discouraging  surroundings, 
and  that  he  saw  a  silver  lining  in  every  cloud.  He  was  succeeded 
in  the  rectorship,  Aug.  15,  1848,  by  Rev.  Father  M.  A.  Malone, 
who  continued  at  the  head  of  the  church  for  nearly  thirty  years,  and 
this  was  the  period  of  development  in  numerical  and  financial 
strength.  Father  Malone  finished  the  interior  of  the  church,  built 
the  tower,  and  placed  the  bell  therein.  He  also  built  a  handsome 
pastoral  residence,  a  brick  structure,  two  and  one-half  stories  high. 
He  received  into  the  church  by  baptism  an  average  of  about  three 
hundred  persons  annually  during  this  period  of  great  religious  ac- 
tivity. His  duties  in  the  early  days  were  very  similar  to  those  of 
the  first  pastor,  and  were  equally  as  arduous  and  hazardous.  It  is 
recorded  of  him  that  he  attended  sick  calls  at  a  distance  of  forty 
miles  from  his  home.  He  labored  in  the  parish  until  the  last  and 
when  the  final  summons  came  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  a  vault  in  front 
of  the  church  for  whose  welfare  he  had  sarcificed  so  much  of 
life's  energy.  In  later  years,  his  body  was  removed  by  his  sister 
and  placed  in  the  sacristy.  Rev.  Father  McGovern  was  the  suc- 
cessor of  Father  Malone,  but  he  was  transferred  to  another  field 
after  a  short  term  with  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's,  and  Rev.  Father 
P.  J.  Eagan  assumed  the  pastorate.  But  his  field  of  usefulness  was 
terminated  here  by  death  in  Apr.  1879,  after  little  more  than  six 
months*  service.  He  was  a  young  man  of  bright  promise  for  fu- 
ture usefulness  in  the  church  and  his  untimely  death  was  greatly 
deplored  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  both  in  and  out  of  the  church. 
He  was  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  born  at  Heckscherville, 
where  his  parents  died.  Rev.  J.  Scanlan  came  as  the  successor  to 
Father  Eagan,  but  he  too  was  called  from  earth,  in  Feb.,  1882. 
Rev.  M.  P.  O'Brien  served  the  church  very  acceptably  until  Feb., 
1885,  during  which  time  he  made  many  improvements  on  the  church 
and  its  surroundings.  He  also  collated  and  arranged  the  church 
records  of  baptisms,  marriages,  etc.,  and  had  the  same  substantially 
bound  for  preservation.  This  service  has  been  greatly  appreciated 
by  his  successors,  since  the  records  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  are 
frequently  sought  to  establish  matters  of  material  interest  to  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  321 

inquirers.  Rev.  F.  P.  Beresford  was  the  next  pastor  in  order  of 
succession,  and  served  the  church  for  ten  years,  being  a  most 
excellent  pastor,  careful  and  methodical,  and  ever  alive  to  the 
interests  of  his  church  and  people.  During  his  pastorate  a  mission 
church  was  organized  at  Branchdale,  and  a  handsome  little  church 
was  erected,  which,  with  furnishings  complete,  cost  about  $5,500, 
nearly  all  of  which  was  contributed  by  the  Catholics  of  Branch- 
dale.  Father  Beresford  also  made  material  improvements  on  the 
church  and  parish  property  in  Minersville.  Rev.  P.  F.  Fogerty  and 
Rev.  J.  J.  McAnany,  in  the  order  named,  succeeded  to  the  pastorate 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  the  former  remaining  but  a  short  time. 
He  came  from  the  rectorship  of  St.  Jerome's  church,  at  Tamaqua, 
and  was  an  active,  energetic  and  scholarly  leader  who  greatly 
endeared  himself  to  the  people  of  the  parish.  Father  McAnany 
was  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  Rev.  P.  J.  McMahon,  in  whose 
name  this  sketch  is  written.  Father  McAnany  was  in  poor  health, 
and  the  onerous  duties  of  the  parish  overtaxed  his  physical  strength. 
He  went  south  in  the  winter  of  1900,  and  Father  McMahon  suc- 
ceeded to  the  rectorship  at  the  same  time.  But  he  did  not  come  here 
as  a  stranger.  He  had  served  about  two  years  as  assistant  rector  dur- 
ing the  pastorate  of  Father  Beresford,  and  was  well  and  favorably 
remembered  by  many  of  the  parish  people.  He  is  ably  assisted  in 
his  pastoral  work  by  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Hurton,  who  is  now  serving 
under  his  first  ministerial  assignment.  Father  McMahon  is  a  gen- 
tleman uniformly  esteemed  throughout  a  very  larg^  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances, and  has  especially  endeared  himself  to  Sie  people  of  his 
church.  He  is  genial  and  companionable,  with  a  pleasant  word  and 
kindly  smile  for  everybody.  The  parish  as  at  present  organized 
'embraces  a  large  scope  of  territory,  including  within  its  confines 
430  families  and  2,100  souls.  To  reach  all  of  these,  scattered  over 
many  miles  of  territory,  involves  untold  labors  and  constant  activ- 
ity. Two  churches  are  sustained  within  the  parish,  in  each  of  which 
two  masses  are  said  every  Sunday.  Father  McMahon  has  been  an 
active  worker  in  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  has  served  the  order  both  as  county  and  state  chaplain. 
The  contemplated  improvements  at  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  for  the 
year  1907  embrace  a  new  front  extension  to  the  church  edifice 
and  a  new  parish  hall.  Arrangements  are  made  for  the  completion 
of  this  work,  the  net  cost  of  which  will  be  about  $10,000. 

Meek,  Milton,  is  one  of  the  representative  business  men  and  in- 
fluential citizens  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  is  ex-president  of  the  bor- 
ough council  and  is  held  in  unequivocal  esteem  in  the  community 
which  has  been  his  home  from  the  time  of  his  nativity.  He  has 
various  capitalistic  interests  in  the  county  and  is  one  of  the  in- 
terested principals  in  the  knitting  mill  at  Schuylkill  Haven.  He 
was  born  in  the  town  which  is  now  his  home,  Sept.  21,  1861,  and 
is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Priscilla  Meek,  both  native  of  Berks  county, 
this  state,  where  the  former  was  born  Jan.  16,  1831,  and  the  latter 
March  14,  1829.  The  Meek  family  was  early  founded  in  the  old 
Keystone  state  and  one  of  the  paternal  great-grandfathers  of  the 
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322  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

subject  of  this  review  was  a  loyal  and  valiant  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Milton  Meek  was  afforded  the  advantages  of  the  public 
schools  of  Schuylkill  Haven  and  has  been  identified  with  local 
business  interests  from  the  initiation  of  his  independent  career 
to  the  present  time.  As  a  citizen  he  is  alert,  enterprising  and  pub- 
lic-spirited, and  his  services  have  been  called  into  requisition  in 
positions  of  public  trust.  He  served  eight  years  as  a  member  of 
the  town  council  and  for  two  years  was  president  of  the  borough 
council.  His  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party, 
and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Apr. 
26,  1898,  Mr.  Meek  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Annie  Agnes 
Frantz,  daughter  of  William  and  Louisa  (Batdorf)  Frantz,  of 
Williamstown,  Dauphin  county,  and  of  this  union  the  six  children^ 
all  of  whom  are  living,  are:  Amy  Ellen,  Jennie  Marie,  Marion 
Arline,  Ethel  Louisa,  Harold  Leinbach,  and  Millard  Millford. 

Meek,  Walter  F. — One  of  the  important  industrial  enterprises 
of  the  county  is  that  conducted  under  the  title  of  Meek  &  Co.,  at 
Schuylkill  Haven,  in  the  manufacturing  of  underwear  of  excellent 
grade,  and  of  this  concern  the  subject  of  this  brief  sketch  is  an 
interested  principal,  being  actively  identified  with  the  work  of  the 
mills  in  an  executive  capacity.  Mr.  Meek  was  born  at  Meckville, 
Berks  county.  Pa.,  Apr.  15,  1878,  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob  R.  and 
Esther  (Becker)  Meek,  both  of  whom  likewise  claim  that  county 
as  the  place  of  their  nativity.  The  father  was  born  in  Bethel  town- 
ship. May  4,  1859.  The  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
review  was  a  patriot  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  as  a  member  of  a 
Pennsylvania  regiment.  Walter  F.  Meek,  whose  name  introduces 
this  paragraph,  is  indebted  to  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
county  for  his  preliminary  educational  discipline,  which  was  sup- 
plemented by  attendance  in  the  schools  of  Schuylkill  Haven  and 
the  State  normal  school  at  Millersville.  After  leaving  school  he 
maintained  his  home  in  Meckville  until  1900,  and  since  then  he 
has  lived  in  Schuylkill  Haven.  Here  he  has  become  prominent  as 
a  young  man  of  much  business  acumen  and  sterling  character, 
commanding  the  esteem  of  all  who  know  him.  His  political  al- 
legiance is  given  to  the  Republican  party,  he  holds  membership 
in  the  Reformed  church,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America.  Nov.  11,  1903,  Mr.  Meek  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Urie  Klahr,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Amelia 
(Zerbe)  Klahr,  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  of  this  union  has  been 
born  one  son — Charles  Jacob. 

Medlar,  Lewis  T.,  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county  apd  is  one  of 
the  representative  contractors  and  builders  of  Pottsville,  where 
he  has  been  engaged  in  this  line  of  enterprise  for  more  than 
thirty-five  years.  He  was  born  at  Drehersville,  this  county,  Mar. 
4,  1843,  ^"^  is  the  son  of  Samuel  B.  and  Susannah  (DeFrehn)  Med- 
lar, the  former  of  whom  was  born  at  Drehersville  and  the  latter 
at  Orwigsburg.  this  county,  where  the  respective  families  were 
established  in  the  pioneer  epoch.  The  paternal  grandfather. 
Christian     Medlar,     was     of     stanch     Pennsylvania-Dutch     stock 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  323 

and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Brunswick  township,  this 
county,  where  he  reclaimed  and  improved  a  good  farm,  upon  which 
he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death.  The  maiden  name  of  his 
wife  was  Catherine  Bushey.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  review  was  Daniel  DeFrehn,  who  was  of  French  lineage 
and  who  was  a  pioneer  carpenter  and  contractor  of  Schuylkill 
county.  He  maintained  his  home  in  Orwigsburg  for  many  years 
and  finally  removed  to  Pottsville,  where  he  passed  the  residue  of 
his  life.  Samuel  B.  Medlar  was  reared  and  educated  in  this  county 
and  for  many  years  he  was  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Brunswick 
township.  He  passed  his  declining  years  in'  Pottsville,  where  he 
lived  retired  until  his  death,  which  occurred  June  4,  1891,  at  which 
time  he  was  seventy-two  years  of  age.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling 
integrity  and  was  well  and  favorably  known  throughout  his  native 
county.  His  cherished  and  devoted  wife  passed  away  Aug.  2, 
1887,  aged  sixty- two  years.  Following  is  a  brief  record  concern- 
ing their  children :  John  C.  is  a  resident  of  Drehersville ;  Lewis 
T.  is  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Francis  O.  is  deceased ; 
Daniel  A.  is  a  clergyman  of  the  United  Evangelical  church ;  Mary 
M.  became  the  wife  of  Richard  Rahn  and  is  now  deceased ;  Cather- 
ine is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Frank  Ziegenfus;  Samuel  R.  resides  in  Al- 
lentown.  Pa.;  William  is  a  minister  of  the  Congregational  church; 
and  Sarah  A.,  who  was  for  many  years  a  popular  teacher  in  the 
public  schools  of  Pottsville,  is  now  practicing  Osteopathy  in  this 
city.  Lewis  T.  Medlar  is  indebted  to  the  common  schools  of 
Drehersville  for  his  early  educational  training,  and  as  a  youth  he 
assisted  in  the  work  of  the  home  farm.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
years  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  carpenter's  trade, 
serving  three  years  and  becoming  a  skilled  workman.  He  was 
thereafter  employed  as  a  journeyman  at  his  trade  until  1871,  when 
he  engaged  in  business  for  himself  as  a  contractor  and  builder. 
His  attention  has  since  been  continuously  given  to  this  branch  of 
industrial  enterprise  and  he  has  done  a  large  amount  of  important 
work  in  the  county,  especially  in  Pottsville,  where  are  to  be  noted 
among  the  prominent  buildings  erected  by  him  the  Pottsville  hos- 
pital and  nurses'  home,  the  public  school  building  on  the  Miners- 
ville  road,  the  Evangelical  church,  and  the  residences  of  W.  L. 
Sheafer,  Walter  S.  Sheafer,  A.  W.  Sheafer,  Joseph  Harris,  Samuel 
Riley^  J.  M.  Freck,  George  Smith,  and  James  Focht,  besides  many 
others.  Mr.  Medlar  is  a  citizen  of  stability  and  public  spirit  and 
is  known  as  a  reliable  and  upright  business  man,  well  meriting  the 
high  esteem  in  which  he  is  uniformly  held.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  his  political  proclivities  and  he  and  his  wife  are  zealous  members 
of  the  United  Evangelical  church.  May  19,  1866,  Mr.  Medlar  was 
married  to  Miss  Sybil  Miller,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Catherine 
(Seltzer)  Miller.  Her  paternal  grandfather,  Andrew  Miller,  and 
her  great-grandfather,  Christian  Miller,  were  numbered  among 
the  honored  pioneers  of  this  county,  and  the  last  named  was  a 
native  of  Germany.  The  maternal  grandparents,  Abraham  and 
Catherine  (Faust)  Seltzer,  were  also  well  known  early  settlers  of 


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324  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  county.  Concerning  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Medlar 
it  may  be  said  that  Emma  O.  is  the  wife  of  William  Warren 
Kessel;  Joseph  I.,  Heber  H.,  and  Harold  L.  all  remain  residents 
of  their  native  county;  and  Catherine,  the  third  in  order  of  birth, 
died  in  childhood. 

Melley,  Charles  P.,  is  one  of  the  representative  business  Qien 
of  the  thriving  borough  of  Coaldale,  where  he  conducts  a  success- 
full  enterprise  as  a  wholesale  liquor  dealer.  He  was  born  in 
the  borough  which  is  now  his  home  and  the  date  of  his  nativity 
was  Oct.  7,  1873.  He  is  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Shovelin) 
Melley,  both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  county  Donegal, 
Ireland.  Their  marriage  was  solemnized  in  Coaldale,  Schuylkill 
county  Pa.,  where  the  father  took  up  his  residence  about  1867. 
He  forthwith  identified  himself  with  work  in  the  mines  and  con- 
tinued to  be  concerned  in  this  great  industry  during  the  remainder 
of  his  active  business  career.  He  and  his  wife  still  reside  in  Coal- 
dale and  •he  is  now  living  essentially  retired,  being  well  known 
and  highly  esteemed  in  the  community  which  has  so  long  repre- 
sented his  home.  Of  the  eleven  children  in  the  family  only  three 
are  living — Frank,  a  resident  of  the  state  of  Nevada;  Charles  P., 
the  immediate  subject  of  this  review;  and  Annie,  the  wife  of  John 
F.  McElhenney,  of  Coaldale.  Charles  P.  Melley  early  began  to 
face  the  active  responsibilities  of  life,  since  he  was  but  seven  years 
of  age  when  he  secured  employment  about  the  mines.  His  early 
educational  training  was  gained  in  the  public  schools  of  Coaldale, 
and  was  limited  in  scope,  owing  to  the  exigencies  of  time  and 
place.  He  continued  to  be  identified  with  mining  operations  until 
1906,  since  which  year  he  has  been  established  in  the  wholesale 
liquor  trade  in  his  native  place.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the 
Panther  Valley  co-operative  store  in  Coaldale,  which  was  organ- 
izen  in  1894,  and  he  was  president  of  the  company  for  two  years. 
As  a  citizen  he  is  loyal  and  public-spirited  and  he  is  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  the  principles  and  policies  for  which  the  Democratic 
party  stands  sponsor.  He  is  a  communicant  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic 
church  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians. 

Mellon,  Davis  M.,  a  justice  of  the  peace  at  Potts ville  and  an 
United  States  claim  attorney,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  this 
county,  Nov.  29,  1844.  He  is  a  son  of  Mark  and  Justina  (Warner) 
Mellon.  The  family  is  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  the  first  member  to 
settle  in  this  country  came  from  across  the  water  about  1762.  The 
father  was  born  in  Delaware,  March  4,  1803,  and  spent  most  of 
his  active  life  as  a  contracting  bridge-builder.  He  was  captain 
of  the  Schuylkill  Grays  in  1840  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 
state  inspector  of  militia  in  the  counties  of  Berks,  Lebanon 
and  Schuylkill.  His  death  occurred  on  the  forty-ninth  anniver- 
sary of  his  birth,  in  1852,  and  his  wife,  who  was  a  native  of  Berks 
county,  died  in  1897,  in  her  seventy-ninth  year.  They  were  the 
parents  of  five  children,  two  of  whom,  the  first  and  second  born, 
died  in  infancy.  Another,  Henry  Clay,  a  machinist  by  vocation, 
died  in  1877,  as  a  result  of  a  surgical  operation,  and  he  left  a  widow 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  325 

and  a  son,  Henry  Clay,  Jr.,  who  now  resides  in  Dixon,  111.  A 
daughter,  Phoebe,  is  the  wife  of  F.  P.  Shuman,  an  insurance 
agent  of  La  Crosse,  Wis.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
elder  of  the  two  survivors  of  the  family.  He  attended  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  county  until  he  was  about  sixteen  years  of 
age  and  then  entered  the  office  of 'the  Pottsville  Standard  as  a 
printer's  devil.  After  he  had  been  there  about  three  months  the 
Civil  war  broke  out  and  he  enlisted  in  the  company  which  was 
being  recruited  in  Pottsville,  and  which  subsequently  became 
Company  H  of  the  96th  Pennsylvania  infantry.  At  the  battle  of 
South  Mountain  he  received  a  severe  wound,  which  kept  him  in 
hospital  for  some  months.  When  he  was  partially  recovered  he 
was  transferred  to  Company  K  of  the  14th  veteran  reserve  corps, 
and  he  served  as  company  clerk  until  Oct.  4,  1864,  when,  by  reason 
of  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  he  was  mustered  out,  and  he 
then  returned  to  his  home  in  Tremont.  He  attended  school  for 
one  term,  and  from  1865  to  1868  was  engaged  in  teaching.  He 
then  entered  the  mercantile  business  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of 
Aaron  Eckel,  of  Tremont,  this  county,  and  of  J.  B.  Price,  of  Ash- 
land. He  subsequently  became  bookkeeper  for  George  H.  Hel- 
frich  &  Co.  In  1871  he  engaged  in  the  sewing-machine  business 
at  Tremont,  while  he  also  maintained  a  branch  office  at  Millers- 
burg,  Dauphin  county.  For  the  past  thirty  years  he  has  been  a 
practicing  attorney  before  all  the  various  departments  at.  our 
national  capitol,  giving  especial  attention  to  pension  claims.  He 
has  filed  nearly  3,000  claims  before  the  pension  department  and 
has  been  unusually  successful  in  securing  favorable  consideration. 
Mr.  Mellon's  residence  in  Pottsville  dates  from  1897,  when  he 
removed  there  from  Tremont.  In  1902  he  was  appointed  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  he  has  been  retained  in  the  office  at  every  elec- 
tion since  that  time  by  the  votes  of  his  appreciative  fellow  citi- 
zens. While  a  resident  of  Tremont  he  served  five  years  in  a  simi- 
lar position.  On  Christmas  day,  1869,  Mr.  Mellon  married  Miss 
Annie  M.  Sherk,  of  Grantville,  Dauphin  county,  a  daughter  of 
Amos  B.  and  Lydia  Sherk,  both  of  whom  were  born 
in  Lebanon  county,  and  who  reared  a  family  of  four 
sons  and  four  daughters.  Two  of  the  sons,  Simon  and  Ed- 
ward, are  wholesale  grocers  at  Findlay,  Ohio;  John  is  engaged  in 
contracting  and  building  at  Harrisburg;  Galen  is  a  conductor  on 
an  electric  line  in  Harrisburg;  Fannie  is  the  widow  of  C.  A. 
Bicksler ;  Alice,  now  deceased,  married  Prof.  W.  N.  Schman,  prin- 
cipal of  the  Bridgeport,  Pa.,  high  school;  Laura  is  the  wife  of 
William  H.  Middleton,  an  attorney  of  Harrisburg.  The 
father  was  a  merchant  tailor  by  vocation.  The  marriage  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Mellon  has  been  blessed  with  five  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living.  Mabel  Lillian,  the  firstborn,  died  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen months;  Harry  W.,  who  is  a  druggist  in  Pottsville,  married 
Miss  Jessie  Sneddon,  of  Shenandoah,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Anna  O. ;  Florence  May  is  the  wife  of  George  W.  Skelly,  a  loco- 
motive   engineer,    and    is    the    mother   of   two    daughters,    Naomi 


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326  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  Caroline ;  Naomi  L.  lives  with  her  parents  in  Pottsville  and  is 
forewoman  in  a  shirt  factory;  William  G.  died  at  the  age  of  nine 
months.  All  the  survivors  are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran 
church,  to  which  the  parents  also  belong,  and  are  graduates  of  the 
Tremont  high  school.  The  mother  and  the  daughters  are  active 
workers  in  church  circles.  Mr.  Mellon  is  past  colonel  of  en- 
campment No.  19,  of  the  Union  Veteran  Legion  of  Pottsville,  an 
office  which  he  held  for  three  consecutive  years.  He  is  also  past 
commander  of  Williams  Post,  No.  136,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, at  Tremont.  In  his  political  relations  Mr.  Mellon  is  a 
Republican  and  his  elevation  to  public  office  has  been  as  the  can- 
didate of  that  party.  He  is  a  trusted  public  servant,  an  estimable 
gentleman  and  a  respected  citizen. 

Merkel,  George  A.,  M.  D.,  a  rising  young  physician  and  surgeon 
of  Minersville,  was  born  in  Frackville,  this  county,  Jan.  30,  1882. 
He  is  a  son  of  J.  H.  and  Margaret  E.  (Lewis)  Merkel,  the  former 
of  whom  is  a  merchant  of  Minersville,  where  he  has  been  in  business 
for  more  than  twenty  years  and  where  he  has  served  as  assessor. 
Of  the  seven  children,  three  survive,  of  whom  the  doctor  is  the 
eldest.  May  is  a  stenographer  employed  in  Minersville,  and 
Blanche  is  at  home.  The  deceased  members  are  Annie  and  Harry, 
who  died  in  infancy ;  Clara,  who  died  in  youth ;  and  Nettie  B., 
who  passed  away  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  She  was  a  most 
estimable  lady  of  good  Christian  character  and  a  devout  worker  in 
church  and  Sunday  school.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received 
his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Minersville  and 
graduated  from  the  high  school  in  the  class  of  1900.  He  entered 
the  Hahnemann  medical  college  of  Philadelphia  in  the  fall  of  1900 
and  in  June,  1904,  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicme  and  of  Homeopathic  medicine.  He  immediately  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  his  home  city  and  has  been  most 
eminently  successful.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Schuylkill  County 
Homeopathic  association,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  its  most 
valuable  members.  The  doctor  is  deputy  coroner  for  his  district 
of  the  county,  is  assistant  medical  examiner  for  the  Prudential 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  also  for  the  Metropoli- 
tan Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York  city.  In  May,  1906, 
Dr.  Merkel  married  Miss  E.  K.  Balliet,  a  resident  of  Minersville. 
Both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Merkel  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  The  doctor  is  a  young  man  of  enterprise,  stability  and 
pleasing  manner  and  his  friends  predict  a  brilliant  future  for 
him. 

Merwine,  Jeremiah  M.,  a  thrifty  wholesale  dealer  in  flour  and 
feed  whose  place  of  business  is  in  Ashland,  was  born  in  Barry 
township,  Schuylkill  county,  Nov.  5,  1863.  He  is  one  of  the  three 
children  born  to  Charles  and  Catherine  (Klinger)  Merwine,  the 
others  being  Theodore  and  Elmef,  the  latter  now  deceased.  The 
paternal  grandfather,  Charles  Merwine,  was  an  immigrant  to  the 
United  States  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  comin,g 
from  Scotland.     He  located  first  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  engaged 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  327 

in  the  real-estate  business  for  a  number  of  years.  In  the  early 
^30s  he  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Barry  township  and  re- 
moved there.  He  married  Elizabeth  Geist  and  of  the  thirteen 
<:hildren  born  to  them  twelve  grew  to  maturity.  These  in  the 
order  of  their  birth  were:  Lewis;  Maria,  who  married  Daniel 
Snyder;  Charles;  Harriet,  wife  of  John  Weikel;  Daniel;  Eliza, 
now  Mrs.  Lewis  Kimmel;  Polly,  the  wife  of  Chester  Fetterolf; 
Dena,  Mrs.  William  Openhaufer;  Henry;  Frank;  Albert;  and 
Ella,  who  married  Benjamin  Sweinhart.  The  son  Charles  was 
born  in  Barry  township  and  when  he  grew  to  manhood  earned  a 
livelihood  at  the  blacksmith  trade,  in  which  he  was  a  skilled 
workman.  Before  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  in  which  he  par- 
ticipated as  a  member  of  the  17th  Pennsylvania  cavalry,  he  re- 
ceived a  wound  in  the  leg.  From  the  effects  of  this  injury  he 
died,  in  1868.  After  the  father's  demise  the  mother  married  again, 
Thomas  P.  Davie  becoming  her  husband.  This  union  was  blessed 
with  four  children — Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Kull;  Isabellfi,  who 
married  Albert  Gruver;  John;  and  Catherine,  wife  of  George 
Bowman.  The  mother  departed  this  life  in  1891.  Jeremiah  M. 
Merwine,  the  subject  of  this  review,  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  this  counter.  His  residence  in  Ashland  dates 
from  1880,  wlien  he  began  his  active  business  career  as  a  clerk 
in  one  of  the  mercantile  establishments  of  the  borough.  He  left 
that  occupation  to  take  charge  of  the  livery  business  of  D.  K. 
Maurer,  having  supervision  over  four  men  and  fifteen  horses.  In 
1887  he  engaged  in  his  j^resent  business  which  he  has  been  most 
successfully  conducting  ever  since.  In  politics  Mr.  Merwine  is  a 
Republican,  and  as  such  he  was  for  a  term  the  representative  of 
his  ward  in  the  borough  council.  His  fraternal  associations  are 
with  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  are  communicants  of  St.  James  Lutheran  church. 
On  June  25,  1885,  Mr.  Merwine  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Madia  Runge,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Fredericka  (Krapp) 
Runge.  The  children  of  this  union  are  four  in  number — Marie, 
Arthur  W.,  Robert  and  Walter. 

Messersmith,  Abram  Clarence,  a  prominent  contractor  and 
builder  of  Pottsville,  was  born  in  Liberty  township,  Montour 
county,  .Pa.,  Aug.  19,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of  William  J.  and  Elizabeth 
(Hendrickson)  Messersmith,  both  of  whom  are  likewise  natives 
of  the  old  Keystone  state  of  the  Union :  they  now  maintain  their 
home  (1907)  in  Washington ville,  Montour  county.  Abram  Hen- 
drickson, maternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  a  scion  of  one  of  its  honored  pioneer 
families.  He  was  a  prominent  and  influential  farmer  of  Montour 
county  at  the  time  of  his  death.  William  J.  Messersmith  is  a  car- 
penter by  trade  and  is  still  actively  engaged  in  contracting  and 
l)uilding,  in  addition  to  which  he  is  engaged  in  the  furniture  and 
undertaking  business  at  Washingtonville.  Abram  C.  Messer- 
smith was  reared  to  maturity  in  his  native  county,  to  whose  pub- 


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328  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

lie  schools  he  is  indebted  for  his  early  educational  discipline.  In 
1885  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Wilkes  Barre  &  Western  Rail- 
road Company  and  became  concerned  in  the  erection  of  bridges, 
depots,  etc.  At  the  expiration  of  about  eighteen  months  he  re- 
tired from  this  line  of  work,  after  which  he  was  employed  at  his 
trade  in  various  parts  of  the  state  until  1892,  when  he  located  in 
Pottsville,  where  he  has  since  maintained  his  home  and  where 
he  has  been  established  in  successful  business  as  a  contractor  and 
builder  since  1894.  He  has  erected  many  high-grade  buildings 
in  this  locality,  and  among  the  more  noteworthy  may  be  men- 
tioned the  Polish  Catholic  church  at  New  Philadelphia,  the 
Fishbach  public  s.chool  building  in  Pottsville  and  the  new  annex 
to  the  Jallapa  public  school  in  this  city.  He  also  had  the  con- 
tract for  the  rebuilding  of  the  Mountain  City  building,  owned  by 
J.  Miehle  &  Son,  Pottsville.  He  has  built  many  of  the  finest  pri- 
vate houses  in  his  home  borough,  and  his  reputation  as  a  reliable 
a&d  able  business  man  is  unassailable.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Messersmith  Brothers,  dealers  in  furniture  at  Lans- 
fcMxi.  Mr.  Messersmith  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America, 
is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  adherency,  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
hold  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Mes- 
sersmith has  been  twice  married.  His  deceased  wife's  maiden 
name  was  Margaret  Evans,  and  she  was  born  in  Wales,  a  daughter 
of  George  and  Fanny  Evans.  She  is  survived  by  two  children — 
Leroy  and  Leah.  Mr.  Messersmith's  second  marriage  was  to 
Miss  Caroline  Miller,  daughter  of  Levi  and  Rebecca  Miller,  of 
Pottsville. 

Meyers,  Charles,  proprietor  of  the  Evening  Chronicle,  Potts- 
ville, was  born  in  Minersville,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  Nov.  25, 
1855.  H^  ^s  descended  from  German  ancestors,  his  parents,  Jacob 
and  Susanna  (Laudeman)  Meyers,  being  natives  of  Bavaria.  They 
immigrated  to  America  in  1852,  and  were  married  in  Minersville,  in 
which  borough  they  passed  the  closing  years  of  their  lives.  The 
father  died  in  March,  1894,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven,  and  the 
mother  died  three  months  later,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.  Charles 
Meyers  has  been  entirely  self-dependent  from  early  youth.  His 
parents  were  not  financially  able  to  afford  him  the  advantages  of 
an  education,  and  he  left  school  at  the  age  of  ten  years  to  join  the 
army  of  slate-pickers  at  the  mines.  He  was  employed  in  this 
capacity  and  that  of  a  'loader'*  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age. 
Thereafter  he  was  employed  in  various  lines  of  work  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  until  after  his  marriage,  in  1880,  when  he  returned  to 
the  mines  as  a  foreman,  being  thus  employed  for  several  years, 
at  different  places.  In  1894  he  became  the  superintendent  of  the 
Brookwood  Coal  Company's  washery  at  Mahanoy  Plane,  both  he 
and  his  brother  Harry  having  an  interest  in  the  $50,000  plant 
there  erected.  In  1896  Mr.  Meyers  resigned  his  position  and 
was  nominated  as  Republican  candidate  for  the  office  of  county 
commissioner,  a  position  to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  handsome 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  32^ 

majority.  After  completing  his  term  of  office  Mr.  Meyers  again 
returned  to  the  mines,  having  retained  his  interest  in  the  property 
previously  mentioned,  and  soon  thereafter  considerable  change 
was  made  in  the  proprietorship,  other  property  was  purchased,  and 
the  business  of  the  firm  expanded.  It  now  became  known  as  the 
G.  B.  Newton  &  Company  Consolidation,  and  Mr.  Meyers  owned 
a  one-third  interest,  being  superintendent  of  the  business.  Leases 
were  secured  on  additional  property,  in  different  parts  of  the 
county,  the  business  being  devoted  principally  to  washing  culm 
banks,  which  proved  profitable.  In  Aug.,  1903,  Mr.  Meyers  sold 
his  interest  in  the  extensive  business  here  briefly  described,  and  in 
May,  1905,  he  purchased  the  Chronicle,  which  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal daily  papers  in  Pottsville,  as  it  is  also,  under  various  changes 
of  name  and  proprietorship,  one  of  the  oldest.  The  plant  is  large 
and  valuable,  fully  equipped  for  all  kinds  of  book  and  job  work,  in 
connection  with  publishing  a  daily  and  a  weekly  newspaper.  Charles 
Meyers  was  married  Feb.  8,  1880,  to  Miss  Caroline  Semmet,  of 
Cressona,  Schuylkill  county.  Her  parents,  Frederick  and  Eliza- 
beth (Leonard)  Semmet,  were  natives  of  Bavaria  and  located  at 
Cressona  in  an  early  day.  Her  father  was  killed  in  a  railroad 
accident,  in  1875,  ^"d  her  mother  died  at  Cressona  in  1876.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Meyers  have  two  daughters,  Misses  Marion  and  Helen. 
Both  are  attending  school  in  Pottsville.  The  only  son,  whose  name 
was  Frank,  is  deceased. 

Michel,  George  H.,  son  of  Christ  and  Frances  (Walters)  Michel, 
was  born  in  Tremont,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  Oct.  8,  1865,  and  is 
one  of  a  family  of  eight  children — five  sons  and  three  daughters. 
His  brothers  are  Joseph,  Charles,  John  and  William,  and  his  sis- 
ters, Carrie,  Frances  and  Emma.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Tremont  until  he  was  ten  years  of  age,  then  going  to  work 
in  the  Brookside  colliery.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  became  an 
apprentice  in  the  bakery  and  confectionary  business  and  served 
three  and  a  half  years,  learning  the  trade  of  J.  B.  Christ,  of  Tre- 
mont. At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  left  Trenjont  and  went  to  Phil- 
adelphia, where  he  worked  at  his  trade  until  1888.  He  then  came 
to  Schuylkill  Haven  and  started  in  business  for  himself  on  a 
small  scale,  gradually  increasing  facilities  until  his  had  grown  to  be  a 
very  large  and  complete  establishment.  He  manufactured  a  full  line 
of  bakery  goods  and  was  also  a  wholesale  jobber  of  confectionary. 
He  continued  in  this  business  until  Apr.  i,  1906,  when  he  retired 
and  sold  his  interest  to  his  two  brothers,  Joseph  M.  and  Charles 
H.  Michel,  who  now  conduct  the  business  under  the  name  of 
Michel  Brothers.  Mr.  Michel  was  married  in  May,  1889,  to  Alice 
A.  Berger,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Christine  (Buehler)  Berger, 
of  Schuylkill  Haven.  They  had  one  son,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Michel  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  has  never 
aspired  to  public  office. 

Michetti,  Rev.  Peter,  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Italian  Roman  Catholic 
church  at  Pottsville,  was  born  in  Italy,  on  May  19,  1878,  a  son 


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330  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  Dominic  and  Cherubina  Michetti.  The  father  is  living  in  the 
old  country  with  another  son.  The  preliminary  education  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  received  in  a  seminary  near  his  home 
village,  and  in  Sept.,  1902,  he  went  to  Rome,  where,  on  May  25  of 
the  following  year,  he  read  his  first  mass.  His  arrival  in  the 
United  States  dates  from  Nov.  21,  1905,  when  he  landed  in  New 
York,  direct  from  Rome.  In  Jan.,  1906,  he  came  to  Pottsville  and 
assumed  the  charge  which  he  now  holds.  His  pastorate  includes  Ital- 
ian congregations  in  many  different  towns,  and  most  of  the  services 
are  held  in  the  German  Catholic  churches.  The  class  at  Miners- 
ville  comprises  thirty-five  families;  Nesquehoning,  fifty-five  fam- 
ilies; Mahanoy  City,  thirty  families;  Schuylkill  Haven,  twelve 
families;  St.  Clair,  five  famiHes;  New  Philadelphia,  five  families; 
and  Blackwood,  fifteen  families.  Beside  these  there  are  many  sin- 
gle men  and  the  church  at  Pottsville  has  a  membership  roll  of 
seventy-five  families.  The  congregation  recently  purchased  from 
the  St.  John  the  Baptist  congregation  the  German  Catholic  church 
edifice  ^nd  there  each  Sunday  Father  Michetti  holds  services. 
Although  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Pottsville  but  a  short  time  he 
has  won  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  community  by  his  able  and 
intelligent  efforts  in  the  behalf  of  his  countrymen. 

Miller,  Preston,  land  surveyor  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Coal  &  Iron  Company,  is  a  native  of  Lykins  Valley,  Dauphin 
county.  Pa.,  where  he  was  born  on  Feb.  6,  1838.  He  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Leah  (Bower)  Miller,  of  German  antecedents.  His 
father,  who  was  a  tanner  and  farmer  by  occupation,  was  born  in 
1806,  and  died  in  1879.  ^^  ^^^  ^  native  of  Lancaster  county, 
Pa.  The  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Leah  Bower,  was 
born  in  Berks  county  in  1815,  and  died  in  1891.  The  subject  of 
this  article  received  a  liberal  education  in  the  schools  of  his  youth- 
ful days,  dividing  his  time  between  attendance  at  the  district  school 
and  working  on  his  father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he 
began  teaching,  and  he  continued  this  work  during  the  winter 
seasons  for  five  or  six  years.  In  the  meantime  his  aspirations 
for  higher  education  were  gratified,  principally  by  his  own  efforts, 
and  he  enrolled  as  a  student  in  Berrysburg  seminary ;  later  he  took 
a  course  in  Union  seminary  at  New  Berlin,  Pa.  His  professional 
education  was  acquired  in  the  Polytechnical  college  at  Philadel- 
phia. He  came  to  Schuylkill  county  in  1868  as  a  surveyor  for  the 
same  corporation  with  which  he  is  now  connected,  and  has  been 
employed  in  this  capacity  for  thirty-four  years.  His  long  con- 
tinuance at  the  head  of  this  important  branch  of  the  company's 
varied  industries  is  the  best  recognition  of  superior  merit.  Mr. 
Miller  has  been  twice  married — first  on  Dec.  21,  1865,  when  he 
wedded  Miss  Sarah  Louisa  Schwab.  This  union  was  blessed 
by  the  birth  of  three  sons:  John  Harvey,  a  practicing  physician 
in  Harrisburg;  Charles  Logan,  engaged  in  the  coal  business  in 
Philadelphia;  and  Arthur  Clayton,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three 
years.  Dr.  John  H.  Miller,  the  eldest  of  the  sons,  is  a  graduate 
of  Jefferson  medical  college,  Philadelphia,  and  also  completed  a 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  331 

course  in  pharmacy  prior  to  taking  up  his  medical  studies.  Mrs. 
Miller  died  Sept.  12,  1876,  and  on  Dec.  31,  1879,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Miller  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Robinson.  Three 
daughters  were  born  to  this  union :  Anna  Robinson,  Helen  Eliza- 
beth and  one  who  died  in  infancy,  unnamed.  Miss  Anna  was 
educated  at  Elmira  college,  New  York,  and  her  sister,  Miss  Helen, 
completed  her  education  at  Swarthmore  college,  in  Delaware 
county.  Pa.  Both  young  ladies  are  at  home.  Preston  Miller  was 
the  only  son  born  to  his  parents,  his  sisters  being  Anna  Maria, 
deceased  wife  of  Samuel  Snyder,  and  Miss  Elizabeth.  In  political 
affiliations  Mr.  Miller  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  been  controlled 
by  party  lines.  He  is  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  supported  Lincoln 
and  Grant,  and  sustained  the  efforts  of  the  national  government  in 
the  suppression  of  treason  and  disunion.  In  the  selection  of  po- 
litical candidates  he  supports  men  rather  than  measures,  and  is  al- 
ways found  on  the  side  of  right  as  he  understands  the  right.  He 
has  never  aspired  to  public  office.  The  paternal  grandfather  of 
Preston  Miller  was  Jacob  Miller,  who  wife  was  Mary  Ruhl.  Their 
home  was  in  Lancaster  county.  The  maternal  grandfather,  John 
Bower,  was  a  merchant,  farmer  and  tanner  in  Oley  township, 
Berks  county.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Anna  Kehler.  Pres- 
ton Miller  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  also  holds  membership  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Forestry  society,  the  Schuylkill  County  Historical 
society,  and  the  German-American  society. 

Monaghan,  Joseph  P.,  a  prominent  young  attorney  of  the 
Schuylkill  county  bar  whose  office  is  in  Shenandoah,  is  a  native 
of  Girardville,  this  county,  where  he  was  born  on  Jan.  6,  1876. 
He  is  a  son  of  Patrick  and  Bridget  ((Derrick)  Monaghan,  both 
of  whom  were  born  in  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  whence  they  came 
to  this  country  with  their  respective  parents  while  still  young 
children.  Both  families  located  in  Minersville  and  there  the 
parental  marriage  was  celebrated.  The  father  has  been  engaged 
in  pedagogic  work  all  his  active  life  with  the  exception  of  the  four 
years  that  he  served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  as 
a  private  in  the  48th  Pennsylvania  infantry.  For  the  past  thirty 
years  he  has  been  principal  of  the  Girardville  schools.  Of  the 
seven  children  born  to  the  parents,  six  are  living.  William  J. 
is  a  practicing  physician  at  Girardville;  Mary  Z.,  a  graduate  of 
the  Keystone  state  normal  school,  at  Kutztown,  is  a  teacher; 
Margaret  is  the  wife  of  T.  J.  Slattery,  station  agent  of  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading  Railroad  at  Girardville;  Vincent  D.  is  a  drug- 
gist at  Girardville ;  and  Helen,  at  home,  is  a  graduate  of  the  pub- 
lic schools.  In  1890  the  subject  of  this  sketch  completed  the 
courses  offered  in  the  public  schools  of  Girardville  and  he  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Kutztown  normal  school,  where  he  grad- 
uated two  years  later.  In  the  fall  of  1892  he  entered  Georgetown 
University,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  and  he  was  graduated  at  that 
institution  in  1896,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  then 
began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  James  B.  Reilly, 


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332  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  Pottsville,  and  on  July  ;22,  1901,  after  successfully  passing  the 
examination  of  the  state  board,  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  He  immediately  removed  to  Shenandoah  and  has 
since  been  prominent  as  an  attorney  in  many  of  the  most  inter- 
esting causes  which  have  been  tried  in  this  county.  Politically 
he  is  a  Democrat,  and  although  he  takes  an  active  and  influential 
part  in  the  campaigns,  he  has  never  been  a  candidate  for  office. 
His  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Council  No.  618  of  the  Knights 
of  Columbus,  being  the  present  incumbent  of  the  office  of  clian- 
cellor,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles. 

Monaghan,  Patrick  F.,  is  the  competent  president  arid  general 
manager  of  the  John  B.  Monaghan's  Sons  wholesale  liquor  house 
of  Shenandoah,  the  firm  being  P.  F.  &  M.  V.  Monaghan.  The 
business  was  established  by  their  father,  John  B.  Monaghan,  at 
Ashland,  in  1858,  and  for  eleven  years  he  most  successfully  operated 
it  at  that  place.  Then  he  removed  to  Shenandoah  and  engaged  in 
the  same  line,  conducting  in  connection  with  it  a  grocery  busi- 
ness. For  a  period  of  thirty  years  the  business  was  conducted 
as  first  established  and  then  the  growing  interests  of  the  liquor 
trade  demanded  more  space,  whereupon  the  grocery  department 
of  the  business  was  closed  out  and  the  additional  space  thus  gained 
was  used  in  the  development  of  the  liquor  industry.  Even  with  this 
added  room  the  business  outgrew  its  quarters,  and  within  the  past 
few  years  a  three-story  cement-block  building,  equipped  with  all 
modern  appliances  for  the  ready  handling  of  the  heavy  goods  com- 
prising the  stock  in  trade,  has  been  erected.  It  is  occupied  chiefly 
as  a  storage  room  and  rectifying  plant.  Under  the  former  manage- 
ment, as  now,  the  house  has  always  been  one  of  the  leading  com- 
mercial institutions  of  Schuylkill  county  and  it  has  built  up  and 
maintained  an  excellent  permanent  trade.  The  institution  has 
weathered  the  storms  of  financial  panic  and  labor  troubles  of  the 
past  few  years — ordeals  which  sent  many  houses  of  good  stand- 
ing to  the  wall.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  no  business  man  of 
the  community  suffered  more  severely  than  did  the  elder  Mon- 
aghan, but  he  always  came  up  smiling  and  with  renewed  vigor  set 
to  work  to  recover  lost  ground.  Patrick  F.  Monaghan,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Ashland,  on  Oct.  2,  1866.  His 
parents  came  to  Shenandoah  when  he  was  a  mere  child  and  his 
educational  advantages  were  received  in  the  schools  of  that  bor- 
ough. When  he  started  out  to  earn  his  own  living  it  was  as  an 
employe  of  his  father,  and  he  continued  with  him  until  the  par- 
ent s  death,  in  1903.  Then  he  assumed  the  full  responsibility  of 
the  ownership  and  management  of  the  concern.  He  was  familiar 
with  every  detail  of  the  business  and  no  loss  of  prestige  was  oc- 
casioned the  firm  when  he  took  hold.  It  has  the  same  universal 
esteem  of  patrons  and  others  which  marked  its  hold  upon  the  com- 
munity under  the  old  regime.  In  1897  Mr.  Monaghan  married 
Miss  Eleanor  J.  Rossiter,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  and  to  this 
union  have  been  born  three  children — James,  Mary  and  Eleanor. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  333 

The  family  are  communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  of 
the  Annunciation.  Mr.  Monaghan  never  takes  an  active  part  in 
politics.  '  His  other  business  interests  include  a  directorate  in  the 
Merchants' National  Bank  of  Shenandoah.  M.  V.  Monaghan  was 
born  July  14, 1880,  in  Shenandoah,  where  he  received  a  public-school 
education.  He  has  been  identified  with  the  firm  since  the  father's 
death.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in  politics  being  prominent 
in  the  councils  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  is  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Miners',  Mechanics'  and  Laborers'  Building  and  Loan  As- 
sociation and  the  Citizens'  Electric  Light  Company.  He  is  a 
communicant  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 

Monahan,  Thomas  A.,  M.  D.,  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  Shen- 
andoah, was  born  at  Tremont,  Schuylkill  county,  Jan.  9,  1880, 
and  is  a  son  of  John  J.  and  Margaret  (Carroll)  Monahan,  the 
former  a  native  of  England  and  the  latter  of  Schuylkill  county. 
The  father  has  been  identified  with  the  mining  industry  all  his  life. 
For  some  time  he  was  mine  foreman  and  he  is  now  district  sup- 
erintendent of  mines,  his  jurisdiction  extending  to  five  collieries 
about  Shenandoah.  The  children  of  the  family  are:  Mayme,  at 
home  with  her  parents;  Dr.  Thomas  A.;  Margaret,  a  teacher  in 
the  public  schools  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Anna,  a  music  teacher 
in  Shenandoah;  John,  a  student  in  Mount  St.  Mary's  college,  at 
Baltimore,  Md. ;  and  James  and  Philomena,  attending  the  Shenan- 
doah public  schools.  Dr.  Monahan  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  Westchester  state  normal  school,  after  which  he 
entered  the  Jefferson  medical  college  of  Philadelphia,  in  1901,  and 
was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1905.  For  fourteen  months  he 
was  resident  physician  in  the  Mercy  hospital  at  Wilkes  Barre,  and 
he  then  began  general  practice  at  Shenandoah.  Although  one 
of  the  youngest  physicians  in  the  city,  he  has  demonstrated  his 
ability  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  and  is  rapidly  building  up  a 
successful  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Shenandoah  medical 
society  and  the  alumni  society  of  Jefferson  medical  college ;  is  ex- 
amining physician  for  the  ladies'  auxiliary  of  the  Ancient  Order 
of  Hibernians  and  the  Prudential  Life  Insurance  Company,  and 
belongs  to  the  Foresters  of  America.  On  all  questions  touching 
national  politics  Dr.  Monahan  is  inclined  to  the  Democratic  party, 
though  in  local  matters  he  exercises  his  suffrage  to  suit  himself. 
He  is  unmarried  and  lives  at  home  with  his  parents. 

Moot2,  John,  a  prominent  merchant  residing  in  Pottsville,  was 
bom  in  Luxemburg,  Germany,  March  15,  1856,  and  received  his 
education  in  his  native  country.  He  came  alone  to  America  in 
1872  and  located  at  once  in  Pottsville,  where  he  secured  employ- 
ment on  the  railroad.  He  remained  in  the  service  of  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading  for  seven  years,  the  last  five  of  which  he  was 
a  freight-train  conductor.  Upon  leaving  the  road  he  engaged  in 
the  dry-goods  and  grocery  business  at  Palo  Alto,  where  he  continued 
the  enterprise  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  disposed  of  his  stock  of  dry-goods  and  removed  his  stock 
of  groceries  to  the  building  at  218-220  South  Center  street,  Potts- 


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334  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ville,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  business  ever  since.  Mr. 
Mootz's  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Barbara  Hummel,  a  lady  of  refine- 
ment and  culture  and  a  daughter  of  the  late  George  H.  Hummel  of 
Pottsville.  Six  children  have  blessed  this  union — ^Tillie,  George 
A.,  Emma,  Mary,  John  F.  and  Barbara.  All  the  children  are  grad- 
uates of  St.  John's  parochial  school  in  Pottsville.  The  two  sons 
are  engaged  in  business  with  their  father,  and  the  daughters  are 
at  home.  The  family  are  all  communicants  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic church,  and  are  regular  attendants  and  workers  in  the  same. 
In  politics  Mr.  Mootz  is  a  Democrat,  but  never  was  in  sympathy 
with  the  free-silver  propaganda  of  his  party.  His  other  business 
interests  include  the  presidency  of  the  Rettig  Brewing  Company, 
in  which  he  is  heavily  interested  as  a  stockholder,  and  he  is  also 
a  director  and  stockholder  in  the  Schuylkill  Toast  Company,  a 
director  in  the  Pottsville  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  a 
director  and  treasurer  of  the  new  City  Building  and  Loan  Associa- 
tionv  He  is  highly  respected  for  his  business  ability,  his  thrift 
and  his  honesty. 

Mortimer,  George  Wesley,  a  well-known  business  man  of  Potts- 
ville, and  a  representative  of  an  old  and  honored  family,  was 
born  Sept.  6,  1851.  He  is  a  son  of  William  and  Susan  J.  (Simp- 
son) Mortimer,  and  in  the  paternal  line  the  family  was  represented 
in  this  country  prior  to  the  Revolution.  They  are  of  English  ex- 
traction and  the  original  American  progenitors  came  to  this  coun- 
try as  subjects  of  King  George,  but  soon  allied  themselves  with 
the  cause  of  the  colonists.  William  Mortimer,  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  article,  was  a  son  of  William  Mortimer,  who  was 
an  early  pioneeer  of  this  county,  to  which  he  came  from  Valley 
Forge,  in  1826.  He  was  one  of  the  early  state  senators  from 
Schuylkill  county,  and  was  otherwise  prominently  identified  with 
the  county's  early  history.  He  purchased  a  hotel  property  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Mountain  City  building,  and  conducted  that, 
in  connection  with  a  mercantile  business,  for  many  years.  He  was 
an  ardent  Democrat,  and  a  leader  of  his  party  in  local  politics. 
William  Mortimer,  Jr.,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  a  dry-goods  merchant,  and  was  prominent  in  the 
business  circles  of  Pottsville.  He  became  the  father  of  fourteen 
children,  and  nearly  all  of  his  sons  are  identified  with  mercantile 
life  in  Pottsville.  The  eldest  of  this  family  was  Mary  Frances, 
who  died  at  about  the  age  of  sixty  years.  She  was  the  wife  of 
William  H.  Robinson.  Sarah  is  the  widow  of  John  Engle ;  Emma 
I.  is  the  wife  of  James  Muir,  and  Susan  J.  is  the  widow  of  Dr. 
Charles  T.  Palmer;  Charles  W.  conducts  a  hat  store  and  men's 
furnishing  business  in  Pottsville;  George  Wesley,  of  this  sketch, 
is  'the  next  in  order  of  birth ;  Franklin  Pierce  is  a  dry-goods  mer- 
chant in  Pottsville;  and  William  Horace  is  a  jeweler  in  the  same 
town ;  Minnie  Allen  married  John  J.  Garbin,  and  resides  in  Potts- 
ville ;  Joseph  Gilmore,  the  youngest  of  the  living,  is  a  jeweler  in  his 
native  town.  Walter,  William  John,  Ellen  and  James  died  in 
infancy  or  early  childhood.     George  Wesley  ^Mortimer  was  edu- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  335 

cated  in  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville,  at  the  Paschal  Institute 
of  Technology,  and  at  Millersville  state  normal  school.  His  earlv 
aspiration  was  to  become  a  lawyer,  and  with  this  object  in  view, 
he  entered  the  law  office  of  A.  W.  Schalck,  Esq.,  and  began  the 
preliminary  study.  But  the  confinement  was  detrimental  to  his 
health,  and  after  one  year  spent  in  this  preparatory  work  he  de- 
cided to  accept  a  position  which  was  tendered  him,  and  became  the 
bookkeeper  for  the  Diamond  Coal  Company,  continuing  with  that 
firm  until  November,  1873,  when  he  engaged  in  his  present  busi- 
ness— real  estate  and  insurance.  He  is  the  representative  of  many 
of  the  leading  insurance  companies  of  the  United  States,  and 
transacts  a  large  business,  both  in  real  estate  and  insurance.  Mr. 
Mortimer  was  married  Sept.  6,  1876,  to  Miss  Anna  M.,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  and  Amanda  (Morgan)  Seitzinger.  They  have  no 
children.  The  subject  of  this  article  is  prominently  identified  with 
several  business  interests  besides  those  mentioned.  He  is  one 
of  the  managers  of  the  Pottsville  hospital,  is  a  director  in  the 
Pottsville  Water  Company,  and  a  director  in  the  Schuylkill  Trust 
Company  (bank).  He  holds  membership  in  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle,  and  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
The  religious  affiliations  of  the  family  are  with  the  First  Presby- 
terian church,  Mr.  Mortimer  being  one  of  the  church  trustees. 
The  maternal  branch  of  this  family,  as  represented  by  Susan  J. 
Simpson,  was  also  of  English  extraction,  but  the  history  has  not 
been  well  preserved.  It  is  known  that  the  maternal  grandfather 
of  Mr.  Mortimer  was  a  man  of  education,  and  that  he  was  a  pro- 
fessor in  a  private  seminary  for  young  ladies ;  but  even  tradi- 
tional history  does  not  establish  the  date  of  the  family's  introduc- 
tion into  the  New  World. 

Moser,  Joseph  R.,  proprietor  of  a  general  store  in  Locustdale, 
was  born  in  that  borough  on  Nov.  12,  1865.  He  is  one  of  seven 
children  of  George  H.  and  Catherine  (Davis)  Moser,  the  others 
being  Charles,  Fred  B.,  Alec,  Harriet,  Clara  and  Lizzie.  The 
father  was  born  in  Germany,  but  came  to  this  country  while  still 
a  youth,  receiving  his  education  in  the  Pottsville  schools.  He 
went  into  the  g^rocery  business  when  he  had  completed  his  educa- 
tion and  in  1858  came  to  Locustdale,  where  he  managed  a  grocery 
store  for  one  of  the  colliery  firms  until  that  firm  was  purchased 
by  a  Reading  concern.  Then,  in  partnership  with  Alexander  S. 
Morehead,  he  purchased  the  company  store  and  for  six  years  they 
continued  in  the  management  of  it.  At  that  time  Mr.  Morehead 
left  the  active  business  end  and  his  wife  took  his  interest.  This  part- 
nership continued  for  three  years  more  and  then  Mr.  Moser  purchased 
the  partner's  interest,  after  which  he  continued  to  conduct  the  enter- 
prise under  his  own  name  until  1899. 

Meyer,  Eklward  J.,  son  of  William  and  Susan  (Snvder)  Moyer, 
was  born  in  Wayne  township,  this  county,  Nov.  12,  1878.  He  has 
one  brother,  Harry,  and  two  sisters — Clara,  wife  of  Daniel  Phillips, 
of  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  Gertrude,  wife  of  Clinton  Confehr,  of  the 
same  place.     Edward  J.  attended  the  township  public  schools  until 


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336  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  after  which  he  worked  o;i  his  father's 
farm  until  two  years  ago  when  he  rented  the  farm,  which  lie  con- 
tinues to  work.  He  does  general  farming  and  also  has  a  market  and 
truck  garden.  May  22,  1^7,  Mr.  Moyer  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Krommes,  daughter  of  Charles  Krommes,  of  Cressona.  They  have 
one  son,  Curtis.  Mr.  Moyer  is  a  member  of  the  Junior  Order  of 
United  American  Mechanics,  of  Friedensburg,  and  in  his  political 
affiliations  is  a  Republican.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Reformed 
church. 

Muldoony  Harry  J.,  a  prominent  business  man  of  Shenandoah 
and  proprietor  of  the  modern  hostelry  known  as  the  Hotel  Muldoon, 
was  bom  in  Cass  township,  Schuylkill  county,  May  i,  1859.  He  is 
one  of  the  six  children  born  to  Henry  and  Mary  (McHale)  Muldoon, 
the  others  being  Patrick,  Edward,  Michael,  Thomas  and  Ella.  The 
two  last  named  are  deceased,  Thomas  departing  this  life  in  young 
manhood  and  Ella  when  she  was  thirty  years  of  age.  The  father  was 
a  mine  foreman  for  the  greater  part  of  his  active  life,  continuing  as 
such  until  he  lost  an  arm  in  an  accident.  Then  he  established  the 
Hotel  Muldoon,  and  he  continued  to  be  its  genial  host  until  his  death. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  educational  discipline  in  the 
public  schools  of  Shenandoah.  He  started  out  to  earn  his  own  living 
as  a  clerk  in  the  grocery  business,  and  in  188 1  left  that  occupation  to 
become  associated  with  his  father  in  the  management  of  the  Hotel 
Muldoon.  Since  his  father's  demise  he  has  been  the  sole  owner  of 
.  the  property  and  in  a  financial  way  has  made  an  immense  success  of 
the  business.  Politically  Mr.  Muldoon  is  a  zealous  exponent  of  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party  and  has  been  influential  in  the 
local  councils  of  that  organization.  During  one  campaign  he  served 
a  year  as  chairman  of  the  county  committee  and  has  been  elected  to 
several  offices.  He  is  at  the  present  time  incumbent  of  the  office  of 
borough  councilman  and  has  served  six  years  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board,  one  year  as  school  treasurer  and  six  years  as  county 
controller.  Sept.  8,  1897,  Mr.  Muldoon  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Stuck, 
a  native  of  Shenandoah,  and  for  some  years  a  teacher  in  the  borough 
schools.  Of  the  six  children  four  are  living,  namely:  Henry,  Anna, 
Edward  and  Eleanor.  John  and  Mary  died  in  infancy.  The  family 
are  all  communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  Muldoon 
is  associated  in  a  fraternal  way  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  of  which  he  is  past  exalted  ruler,  and  with  the  Shen- 
andoah aerie  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  He  is  recognized 
as  one  of  Shenandoah's  well-to-do  citizens,  a  large  part  of  his  wealth 
being  represented  in  valuable  realty.  His  popularity  was  well  at- 
tested when  he  received,  on  his  first  election  to  the  county  controller- 
ship,  the  largest  vote  ever  given  by  Shenandoah  citizens  to  a  candidate 
for  office,  and  at  his  re-election  to  the  office  there  were  but  500  votes 
cast  against  him  in  the  city. 

Mulholland,  Patrick  J. — Success  is  methodical  and  consecutive 
and  comes  only  to  those  valiant  souls  who  are  endowed  with  pluck, 
perseverance    and    determination.     Among    those    who,    overcoming 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  337 

many  obstacles,  have  attained  to   success  and  honor  in  connection 
with  the  practical  activities  of  life  is  Patrick  J.  Mulholland,  one  of 
the  prominent  and  influential  citizens  of  Shenandoah.    He  was  bom 
at  York  Tunnel,  South  Cass  township,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  March 
17,  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Turley)  Mulholland,  both 
natives  of  Ireland,  the  father  having  been  born  in  county  Armagh 
and  the  mother  in  county  Tyrone.     Their  marriage  was  solemnized 
in  the  Emerald  Isle  and  they  had  two  children  at  the  time  of  their 
immigration  to  the  United  States,  in  1850.    Peter  Mulholland  became 
a  naturalized  citizen  in   1855,  and  he  continued  to  reside  at  York 
Tunnel,  this  county,  until  his  death,  in  1869.     His  wife  died  at  the 
same  place,  in   1864.     During  his  residence  here  he  was  variously 
employed  in  connection  with  the  mining  industry.     The  subject  of 
this  sketch  is  the  only  son,  and  he  has  three  sisters  living,  all  resi- 
dents of  Pennsylvania.     When  Patrick  J.  Mulholland  was  but  three 
months  of  age  he  fell  from  a  bed  and  suffered  a  dislocation  of  the 
left  hip,  an  injury  which  caused  a  permanent  lameness.    The  financial 
conditions  of  the  family  were  such  that  he  early  began  to  depend  upon 
his  own  resources  and  to  assist  in  the  support  of  the  family.     He 
started  to  earn  his  own  living  as  a  slate-picker  at  the  mines,  receiv- 
ing in  compensation  for  his  services  the  munificent  sum  of  one  and 
one-quarter  dollars  a  week.    He  labored  assiduously  and  faithfully  in 
various  capacities  about  the  mines  and  with  the  passing  of  the  years 
his  ambition  prompted  him  to  seek  to  establish  himself  in  an  inde- 
pendent business.     He  had  been  a  total  abstainer  from  intoxicating 
liquors,  and  had  well  learned  the  habits  of  frugality  and  economy, 
having  felt  to  the  full  the  lash  of  necessity.    Having  accumulated  a 
few  hundred  dollars,  he  invested  the  same  in  a  small  grocery  store 
at  Brownsville,  and  he  conducted  the  same  until  1884,  when  he  en- 
gaged in  the  retail  liquor  trade  in  Shenandoah,  continuing  until  1888 
and  thereafter  having  charge  of  the  bar  at  the  Ferguson  House  until 
1889,  when  he  was  elected  chief  burgess,  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 
He  was  re-elected  in  1890  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  second  term 
he  located  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  employed  as  a 
stationary  engineer  until  Apr.,   1892,  when  he  returned  to  Shenan- 
doah, where  he  has  since  continued  in  business.    When  the  law  creat- 
ing the  office  of  controller  went  into  effect  Mr.  Mulholland  was  the 
first  man  on  either  side  to  receive  a  nomination  for  that  office,  al- 
though there  were  eight  Democratic  candidates.     He  was  defeated 
in  the  election,  which  resulted  in  a  landslide  in  favor  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.    He  has  been  for  years  a  most  active  and  efficient  worker 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  and  he  wields  much  influence 
in  political  affairs  of  a  local  nature.    He  is  the  present  warden  of  the 
Schuylkill  county  prison,  at  Pottsville,  to  which  office  he  was  ap-" 
pointed  in  Jan.,  1906.     Mr.  Mulholland  is  the  pioneer  member  of  the 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  in  the  county,  having  originally  affiliated 
with  Aerie  No.  42,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  having  later  effected 
the  organization  of  Aerie  No.  103.  of  Shenandoah,  which  he  repre- 
sented in  the  national  convention  of  the  order  in  May,  1901,  in  the 
22- Vol  II 


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338  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

city  of  San  Francisco.  The  following  estimate  of  the  character  and 
standing  of  Mr.  MulhoUand  was  published  in  a  local  newspaper  of 
recent  date:  "In  politics  Mr.  MulhoUand  is  far-sighted,  shrewd  and 
resourceful.  He  is  an  untiring  worker,  strong  in  his  friendship  and 
loyal  to  the  last  extreme.  His  word  is  as  good  as  a  bond  and  nothing 
is  too  much  trouble  for  him  when  the  interests  of  a  friend  are  at 
stake.  These  characteristics,  together  with  a  strong,  magnetic  per- 
sonality, are  accountable  for  the  host  of  loyal  followers  he  has 
thrpughout  the  county."  June  19,  1901,  was  solemnized  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  MulhoUand  to  Miss  Bridget  McMenamin,  who  was  bom 
and  reared  in  this  county,  and  they  have  two  children — Peter,  who 
was  bom  Apr.  i,  1902,  and  Francis,  who  was  born  May  i,  1903. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  MulhoUand  are  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church. 
Neiswinter,  Daniel  H.,  a  prominent  and  well  known  pioneer  citi- 
zen of  Schuylkill  county,  was  born  in  Eldred  township,  Nov.  15,  1828. 
He  is  a  son  of  Daniel,  who  was  a  son  of  Michael,  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  America,  and  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Schuylkill 
county.  Michael  Neiswinter  secured  150  acres  of  wild  land,  covered 
with  heavy  hardwood  timber,  and  this,  through  hard  labor,  was  gradually 
prepared  for  the  plow,  and  finally  became  a  valuable  and  fertile  farm. 
Daniel  Neiswinter,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  lived  with  his 
parents  until  their  death 'and  was  a  hard-working  farmer.  He  was  a 
Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  He  married 
Mary  Hepler,  a  representative  of  another  pioneer  family  in  that  lo- 
cality. She  was  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  Hepler,  of  Eldred 
township.  Following  is  a  brief  record  concerning  the  children  of 
Daniel  and  Mary  Neiswinter :  Samuel  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  and 
never  returned;  Daniel  H.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  George  died 
at  Mount  Carmel,  in  1906;  Michael  is  a  resident  of  Mount  Carmel; 
William  is  a  farmer  at  Pitman,  this  county;  Peter  is  a  stock  dealer  at 
Mount  Carmel;. Elizabeth  and  Mary  are  deceased;  Kate,  wife  of  Amos 
Weizel,  and  Sarah,  who  married  August  Weizel,  both  live  in  Eldred 
township,  this  county ;  Mary  and  Susan  are  deceased.  Mr.  Neiswinter, 
of  this  review,  received  a  limited  education  in  the  subscription  schools 
of  his  boyhood  days,  and  lived  at  the  parental  home.  He  married  in 
1853  Miss  Rebecca  Herb,  of  Eldred  township.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  Herb.  Her  father  was  a  distiller,  drover,  and 
farmer  in  Eldred  township  where  the  family  were  early  settlers.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Neiswinter  had  a  family  of  twelve  children,  and  those 
now  living  are :  Mary  is  the  wife  of  John  Wilkin,  of  Shamokin,  Pa. ; 
Mason  is  a  hotel-keeper  at  Mantua,  Pa. ;  Charles  is  at  home  and  works 
the  parental  farm :  he  married  Miss  Hattie  Pfeiffer ;  Sarah  is  the  wife 
of  John  Scymbal,  of  Shamokin ;  Hannah  married  William  Hinlde  and 
lives  at  Gilberton,  Pa.;  Kate  is  married  to  G.  Jones,  and  lives  at 
Gilberton;  Francis  owns  the  old  homestead;  Borte  married  Joseph 
Wenn  and  lives  at  Shamokin;  Aggfie,  Dannie  and  Susanna  died  in 
childhood.  The  subject  of  this  article  was  a  hard-working  man  during 
his  productive  years,  and  took  a  somewhat  active  part  in  public  affairs. 
He  has  been  retired  from  active  labors  since  1885.    His  political  af- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  339 

filiations  have  been  with  the  Republican  party  since  Its  organization. 
He  served  seven  years  as  supervisor  in  Eldred  township,  and  many 
sessions  as  a  juryman,  and  has  always  been  a  public-spirited  citizen. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  for 
thirty-eight  years,  being  a  charter  member  of  Lodge  No.  822,  at  Pit- 
man. He  and  his  family  adhere  to  the  religious  faith  of  their  ancestors, 
that  of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Neiswinter  was  spent  a 
lifetime  in  careful  reading  and  observation,  thereby  adding  greatly  to 
the  limited  opportunities  of  his  early  life,  and  becoming  thoroughly 
well  informed.  He  is  well  preserved  for  a  man  of  his  years,  and  enjoys 
the  highest  esteem  of  the  community  in  which  his  life  has  been  spent 

Nelsen,  Nels,  a  florist,  was  born  in  Veile,  Denmark,  May  30,  1857. 
He  is  a  son  of  Nels  Henriksen  and  Anna  (Clausen)  Henriksen. 
The  father  was  a  florist  and  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  town 
council  of  Veile.  He  lived  to  be  eighty-six  years  of  age  and  his  wife 
died  when  she  was  seventy-six.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Denmark  and  then  took  a 
botanical  course  in  the  botanical  gardens  in  Copenhagen.  At  the  age 
of  twenty  he  entered  the  Danish  army,  in  which  he  served  three  years, 
rising  from  the  rank  of  private  to  that  of  sergeant.  For  a  year  he 
worked  in  his  native  country  and  then,  in  1884,  came  to  the  United 
States,  landing  on  American  soil  at  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.  The  first 
eighteen  monSis  after  his  arrival  were  spent  working  at  odd  jobs 
and  he  then  obtained  employment  in  connection  with  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  as  florist,  with  headquarters  at  Delano,  Pa.  This  work  fur- 
nished him  with  a  livelihood  for  eight  years  and  in  1893  he  came  to 
Tamaqua  and  engaged  in  business  as  a  florist.  At  the  first  he  had 
but  500  feet  of  glass,  but  his  persistence  and  the  increase  of  business 
have  compelled  him  to  enlarge  his  quarters  from  time  to  time  until 
now  he  has  30,000  feet.  He  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  each  detail 
of  floriculture  and  his  ambition,  energy  and  business  ability  have  made 
his  venture  a  success.  For  two  terms  he  was  a  member  of  the  town 
council.  Oct.  12,  1894,  Mr.  Nelsen  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Sallie  Stabler,  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  a  daughter  of  Reuben 
and  Bennetta  Stabler.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelsen  have  no  children.  They 
are  members  of  the  Reformed  church  and  in  fraternal  matters  he  is 
identified  with  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Odd  Fellows,  and 
the  Elks. 

Newhard,  Irwin  C,  D.  V.  S.,  chief  of  the  veterinary  department 
of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Company,  with  head- 
quarters at  Ashland,  was  bom  at  Allentown,  Pa.,  March  14,  1872: 
He  is  a  son  of  James  D.  and  Elizabeth  (Bachman)  Newhard,  and 
comes  of  excellent  German  stock.  His  preliminary  educational  ad- 
vantages were  those  of  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  and  he 
later  attended  Muhlenberg  college.  He  studied  veterinary  surgery  in 
that  department  of  New  York  university,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1893.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  the 
same  year  and  subsequently  became  connected  with  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Company.    For  a  year  he  was  in  Pottsville  for  the  company 


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340  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  in  1896  he  came  to  Ashland  to  assume  his  present  responsible 
position.  He  has  general  supervision  of  the  live  stock  stables  and 
the  feed  and  grain  department  of  the  company  and  each  year  delivers 
a  course  of  lectures  on  the  "Care  of  the  Mule"  before  the  company's 
employes.  Nov.  29,  1899,  Dr.  Newhard  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Jennie  Price,  a  daughter  of  Abram  and  Julia  (Cook)  Price,  of 
Harrisburg.  The  only  chUd  of  this  union,  Charles- Price,  died  in  child- 
hood. Dr.  Newhard  and  his  wife  are  devout  members  of  the  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  church  of  Ashland.  Politically  the  doctor  is  a  Republi- 
can, but  he  has  never  held  office.  In  a  professional  way  he  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  Schuylkill  Valley  Veterinary  Medical  association,  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Veterinary  Medical  association  and  ,the  alumni 
association  of  the  university  of  New  York.  His  fraternal  relations 
are  with  Ashland  Lodge,  No.  294,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Griscom 
Chapter,  No.  219,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Prince  of  Peace  Commandery, 
No.  39,  Knights  Templars;  Rajah  Temple,  No.  277,  Ancient  Arabic 
Order,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  of  Reading;  and  the  Royal 
Arcanum.  He  is  also  a  charter  member  of  the  Ashland  lodge  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Newman,  John  M.,  shipping  clerk  of  the  E.  I.  DuPont  de  Nemours 
Powder  Company,  of  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  Sept. 
2S»  1859.  He  is  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Startzer)  Newman. 
The  father  was  a  stone-mason  and  he  died  in  the  early  '60s  at  the  age 
of  thirty-three  years ;  his  widow  is  still  living,  an  honored  resident  of 
Lebanon,  Pa.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  third  in  order  of  birth 
of  the  four  children  in  the  family.  Henry,  for  many  years  a  merchant 
tailor  at  Steelton,  Dauphin  county,  died  at  the  age  of  forty- four; 
Emma  is  Mrs.  John  Sheeler,  of  Lebanon,  Pa. ;  and  Annie  became  the 
wife  of  John  Leininger,  of  North  Heidelberg,  Pa.  John  M.  Newman 
acquired  his  scholastic  training  in  the  common  schools  of  Berks  county 
and  at  night  schools.  When  he  had  completed  his  education  he  spent 
two  years  as  an  apprentice  in  the  shoemaker's  trade,  then  for  two  and 
a  half  years  was  employed  in  an  oil  refinery  in  South  Chester,  Pa., 
and  the  two  following  years  on  a  farm  in  Illinois.  Since  that  time, 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he  has  been  a  dynamite  manu- 
facturer, first  in  Stoutsburg,  Pa.,  then  Lebanon,  Five  Locks,  Stony 
Creek  and  Tamaqua,  at  which  last  place  he  has  been  located  since 
1891.  He  has  the  distinction  of  having  been  at  the  trade  for  a  longer 
continuous  period  than  any  other  man,  having  missed  but  five  months 
in  more  than  twenty-five  years.  His  place  of  business  in  Tamaqua  is 
on  Pine  street,  and  he  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the 
community.  For  six  years  he  served  as  school  director  in  Rush  town- 
ship and  has  often  been  the  recipient  of  other  honors.  He  is  not 
identified  with  any  political  party  but  exercises  his  right  of  franchise 
as  his  conscience  and  judgment  dictate.  In  religious  matters  Mr. 
Newman  is  affiliated  with  the  Reformed  church  and  in  fraternal  circles 
is  well  known,  being  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Junior  Mechanics,  the  Deutsche  Gesellschaft,  of  which  he  was  a 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  341 

charter  member,  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 
He  IS  a  past  officer  of  both  the  order  of  Red  Men  and  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.  Mr.  Newman  has  been  twice  married.  Feb.  14,  1883, 
he  married  Miss  Emma  Beechey,  a  native  of  Lebanon  and  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Levi  and  Sarah  Beechey.  The  one  child  of  this  union, 
Harry  B.,  married  Miss  Sarah  Clark  and  has  a  son  Harry.  Death 
annulled  this  marriage  on  Nov.  12,  1885,  and  Apr.  14,  1886,  Mr. 
Newman  led  to  the  altar  Miss  Lydia  Garloff,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania 
and  a  daughter  of  Bennival  and  Sarah  Garloff.  Mr.  Garloff  is  de- 
ceased but  his  widow  is  still  a  resident  of  Lebanon.  The  children  of 
Mr.  Newman's  second  marriage  are  five  in  number — Paul  L,  Emma 
E.,  Walter  T.,  Laura  I.,  and  John  C. 

Ney,  Daniel  R.,  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of  Ney  &  Brown,  of 
Friedensburg,  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Roeder)  Ney,  and 
was  born  in  Wayne  township,  near  Summit  Station,  Oct.  17,  1843. 
He  received  his  early  education  in  the  township  schools  and  later  at- 
tended the  McAllisterville  Academy,  in  Juniata  county,  the  Millers- 
ville  normal  school,  the  Collegiate  seminary  in  Montgomery  county, 
and  the  Myerstown  academy.  During  the  eight  years  that  he  was 
pursuing  his  education  at  these  schools  he  was  also  teaching.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-six,  with  J.  B.  Kremer  as  partner,  he  went  into  the 
mercantile  business  at  Summit  Station,  where  he  remained  twelve 
years.  While  engaged  in  this  business  he  also  taught  school  for  two 
terms.  After  leaving  Summit  Station  he  bought  Roeder's  mill,  where 
he  carried  on  the  milling  business  for  a  year  and  a  half,  when  he  sold 
to  Harrod  Klahr,  exchanging  the  mill  for  a  store  and  again  engaging 
in  mercantile  business.  This  was  in  Shartelsville,  Berks  county,  and 
he  closed  out  the  business  there  after  remaining  six  months.  He  then 
moved  to  Rock,  Schuylkill  county,  and  later  to  Lebanon,  where  he 
again  went  into  mercantile  business,  remaining  for  a  year  and  a  half. 
In  Strausstown,  Berks  county,  he  was  partner  in  the  firm  of  Ritzman 
&  Ney,  for  one  year,  selling  his  share  to  his  partner  at  the  end  of 
that  time.  In  1887  ^^  went  to  Buena  Vista,  Colo.,  remaining  five 
months  and  returning  to  Strausstown  in  the  fall.  In  the  spring  of 
1888  he  removed  to  Friedensburg  and  went  into  partnership  with 
Frank  A.  Brown,  under  the  firm  name  of  Ney  &  Brown.  This  part- 
nership has  continued  to  the  present  time.  On  Jan.  19,  1867,  Mr.  Ney 
married  Mary  Brown,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Susan  (Swartz) 
Brown,  of  Wayne  township.  Three  children  have  been  born  to  them, 
the  oldest,  a  daughter,  dying  in  infancy.  One  son  and  one  daughter 
are  living.  The  son,  William  W.,  lives  at  Harrisburg,  and  is  a  rail- 
way mail  clerk  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad.  He  was  a  teacher  for 
five  years  in  Wayne  township  before  entering  the  mail  service.  The 
daughter,  Cora  Martha,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Keystone  state  normal 
school  and  taught  school  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  Orwigsburg,  Wayne 
township,  and  EUwood,  before  her  marriage  to  George  D.  Strubahr, 
of  Pottstown.  Mr.  Strubahr  is  a  draughtsman  for  a  large  construc- 
tion company  of  that  place.  Mr.  Ney  is  a  charter  member  of  Farmers' 
Lodge,  No.  649,   Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Summit 


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342  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Station,  and  is  a  past  officer  of  the  same.  He  has  served  as  deputy 
district  grand  master  for  one  year.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Camp 
264,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  of  Friedensburg,  and 
has  been  secretary  of  the  same  for  eighteen  years.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Democrat,  and  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  for  four 
years.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Washington  Hose  Company  and  has  been 
a  director  of  the  South  Schuylkill  Fire  Insurance  Company.  Mr.  Ney 
is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Friedensburg,  and  has  been 
an  elder  in  the  same  for  sixteen  years. 

Nice,  Walter  R.,  deceased,  for  several  years  a  prominent  con- 
tractor and  builder  of  Frackville,  Pa.,  and  later  engaged  in  the  furni- 
ture and  undertaking  business  in  that  city,  was  bom  in  Hamburg, 
Berks  county,  Pa.,  July  17,  1841,  and  was  a  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Margaret  Nice.  He  was  a  pioneer  citizen  of  Frackville,  was  a  cabinet- 
maker by  trade  and  later  a  carpenter,  and  for  ten  years  he  was  actively 
engaged  as  a  contractor  and  builder.  In  1876  he  egtablished  the 
furniture  and  undertaking  business  which  he  successfully  conducted 
until  his  death,  June  4,  1^8,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven  years.  He  was 
a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  worth,  always  displayed  a  deep  interest 
in  matters  pertaining  to  the  public  welfare  and  was  honored  and 
esteemed  by  his  fellow  townsmen.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  and  fraternally  was  associated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America. 
After  his  demise  his  widow  conducted  for  -a  period  of  nine  years  the 
business  which  he  had  founded,  and  it  was  then  taken  over  and  has 
since  been  most  successfully  conducted  by  the  estate.  June  12,  1862, 
Mr.  Nice  married  Sarah  Adams,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Polly 
(Becker)  Adams,  of  Berks  county,  Pa.,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  seven  children,  six  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  as  follows :  Sarah, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Lewis  Morgan;  Lizzie,  wife  of  Howard 
Deisher ;  Curtis,  deceased ;  Marion,  wife  of  Frank  Weller ;  Woodward 
A.,  more  extended  mention  of  whom  follows ;  and  Walter.  Woodward 
A.  Nice,  undertaker,  coal  dealer  and  general  contractor  of  Frackville, 
Pa.,  was  born  in  this  borough  Aug.  15,  1873,  and  was  reared  to  man- 
hood in  the  city  of  his  birth,  receiving  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1888,  he  assisted  his  mother 
in  conducting  the  business  left  by  his  father  until  1897,  when  he  took 
charge  of  the  undertaking  establishment  on  his  own  account,  in  which 
venture  he  has  been  eminently  successful,  being  also  a  licensed  em- 
balmer.  In  1905  he  entered  the  general  contracting  business,  and  in 
1906  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Grabey  &  Nice,  dealers  in  coal ; 
all  of  these  ventures  are  proving  successful.'  In  politics  he  gives 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  and  he  has  served  one  term  as  a 
member  of  the  borough  council '  of  Frackville.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Junior  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics,  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Feb.  27, 
1901,  he  married  Sadie  Moore,  a  daughter  of  Richard  and  Harriet 
(Faust)  Moore,  of  Frackville,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  a  daughter, 
Wilda. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  343 

Niswenter,  William,  is  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  citizens  and 
prominent  business  men  of  Shenandoah,  and  his  prosperity  stands  as 
the  diametrical  result  of  his  own  efforts,  for  he  early  began  the  battle 
of  life  on  his  own  responsibility.  He  was  bom  in  the  Mahantango 
valley,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  Niswenter,  who 
was  a  man  of  sterling  character  but  who  was  in  moderate  circum- 
stances in  the  matter  of  material  prosperity.  When  the  Civil  war  was 
precipitated  upon  a  divided  country  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  entered  the  service  of  the  Union,  though  he  was  compelled  to 
leave  his  little  family  ill  provided  for,  their  main  source  of  income 
being  the  meager  pay  which  he  received  from  the  government  as  a 
private  soldier.  He  was  finally  captured  by  the  enemy  and  was  in- 
carcerated in  Libby  prison,  where  he  died.  His  family  was  thus  de- 
prived of  its  only  source  of  revenue,  and  his  widow  found  that  upon 
her  rested  a  heavy  burden  of  responsibility,  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  aided  in  uplifting  to  the  extent  of  his  power  while  yet  a  mere 
boy.  He  initiated  his  labors  when  but  nine  years  of  age,  and,  as  may  well 
be  imagined,  his  early  educational  opportunities  were  most  limited,  as 
he  aided  in  the  support  of  his  widowed  mother  and  younger  brothers. 
He  was  but  a  child  at  the  time  when  the  family  established  their 
humble  home  in  Shenandoah,  and  here  he  has  worked  his  way  to  the 
front  and  proven  his  stability  of  character  and  his  integrity  of  purpose. 
That  he  has  retained  through  the  intervening  years  the  implicit  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  the  community  stands  as  the  best  voucher  for 
the  worth  of  the  man.  The  most  eligible  occupation  offered  to  boys 
at  the  time  in  this  locality  was  that  of  picking  slate  in  the  coal  breakers, 
and  this  vocation  was  then  even  less  inviting  than  at  the  present,  as  the 
idea  of  a  steam-heated  breaker  had  not  then  been  conceived,  ^nd  the  work 
itself  lacked  the  modern  facilities.  After  having  been  employed  for 
a  few  years  in  the  capacity  noted,  Mr.  Niswenter  was  "promoted"  to 
the  dignified  position  of  mule  driver  on  the  dump.  He  continued  to  be 
identified  with  the  various  labors  of  the  collieries  until  1885,  and  by 
economy  had  by  this  time  accumulated  about  five  hundred  dollars. 
With  this  capital  he  engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account,  equipping 
himself  with  a  one-horse  wagon  for  hauling  coal.  As  time  passed  he 
invested  his  savings  in  horses  and  finally  he  engaged  in  the  livery  busi- 
ness. He  began  operations  on  a  small  scale,  but  through  this  means 
laid  the  foundations  for  the  large  and  profitable  enterprise  which  he 
now  controls  in  this  line.  He  has  attained  to  success  of  no  indefinite 
sort  and  his  interests  in  the  town  are  ilow  of  varied  and  important 
order.  Success-  thus  won  merits  all  of  commendation,  and  Mr.  Nis- 
wenter is  now  recogm'zed  as  one  of  the  substantial  business  men  and 
alert  and  progressive  citizens  of  Shenandoah.  He  has  one  of  the  best 
equipped  livery  establishments  in  the  county  and  has  other  capital- 
istic interests  of  important  order.  He  is  a  member  of  the  directorate 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Shenandoah  and  of  the  Citizens'  Elec- 
tric Light  Company,  as  well  as  of  that  of  the  Rloomburg  Oil  &  Gas 
Company.  He  is  the  one  interested  principal  in  the  Shenandoah 
Fertilizer  Company,  and  at  all  times  he  has  stood  ready  to  lend  his 


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344  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY     ' 

aid  in  the  promotion  of  enterprises  tending  to  augment  the  industrial 
and  commercial  prestige  of  his  town  and  county.  Though  essentially 
and  pre-eminently  a  business  ^p^an,  he  is  mindful  of  the  higher  duties 
of  citizenship  and  has  rendered  most  effective  service  as  a  i.iember  of 
the  city  council,  of  which  he  has  been  a  member  consecutively  since 

1890.  He  has  well  overcome  the  handicap  of  early  years  in  the  matter 
of  education,  and  by  well  directed  reading  and  by  active  association 
with  the  practical  affairs  of  life  has  rounded  out  his  fund  of  knowl- 
edge and  become  a  man  of  broad  general  information.  Concerning 
the  mother  of  Mr.  Niswenter  it  may  be  said  that  her  maiden  name 
was  Mary  McKinney  and  that  she  was  of  stanch  Irish  lineage;  her 
husband  came  of  sterling  German  stock.  They  became  the  parents  of 
five  sons,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  firstborn-  The 
devoted  mother  survived  her  husband  by  many  years.  Mr.  Niswenter 
is  identified  with  the  coal  business  on  a  somewhat  extensive  individual 
scale.  He  is  the  owner  of  an  excellent  productive  colliery  and  is  also 
the  owner  of  land  which  is  certain  to  show  good  results  when  developed 
for  coal,  besides  having  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  which  is 
productive  of  oil  and  gas.  He  is  affiliated  with  Lodge  No.  515,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Bethlehem.  He  is  one  of  the  five  surviving 
charter  members  of  the  historic  old  Rescue  hook  and  ladder  company 
of  Shenandoah.  Mr.  Niswenter  married  Miss  Hannah  Ludwig,  who 
was  bom  in  Minersville,  this  county,  and  they  have  two  daughters — 
Gertrude,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Shenandoah  high  school  and  who 
is  now  incumbent  of  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  registered-letter  depart- 
ment in  the  postoffice  of  her  home  city,  and  Adelaide,  who  is  attend- 
ing the  public  schools. 

Norton,  Rev.  Lemuel  B.,  is  one  of  the  able  and  honored  members 
of  the  priesthood  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Schuylkill  county,  where  he 
holds  the  pastorate  of  St.  Mary's  parish  in  Coaldale.  He  is  a  native 
son  of  the  old  Keystone  state  of  the  Union,  having  been  bom  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  Jan.  31,  1867.  He  completed  a  course  in  La  Salle 
college,  a  leading  church  institution  of  his  native  city,  after  which  he 
entered  Philadelphia  Theological  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo, 
at  Overbrook,  where  he  prosecuted  his  divinity  course  and  was  grad- 
uated in  1890.  He  finally  entered  the  Catholic  University  of  America, 
Washington,  D.  C,  in  which  he  received  the  degree  of  S.  T.  B.  in 

1891.  In  1890  Father  Norton  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  Arch- 
bishop Ryan,  in  Philadelphia,  and  he  was  forthwith  assigned  to  the 
position  of  assistant  pastor  of  St.  Agatha's  church.  West  Philadelphia, 
where  he  remained  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  July,  1896, 
he  was  appointed  to  his  present  pastorate.  His  administration  of  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  affairs  of  St.  Mary's  parish  has  been  most 
beneficent  and  fmitful,  the  church  membership  having  been  increased 
by  two  hundred  persons  within  his  regime  and  the  total  membership 
being  now  900.  In  1896  he  erected  the  fine  parish  house,  at  a  cost  of 
three  thousand  dollars,  and  the  entire  church  property  is  free  from  in- 
debtedness. Father  Norton  has  the  affectionate  regard  of  his  parish- 
ioners and  the  unqualified  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  entire  corn- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  345 

munity  in  which  he  is  laboring  so  zealously  and  effectively,  ever  deeply 
appreciative  of  his  high  stewardship. 

Nungesser,  William  H.,  an  enterpri  ng  real  estate  dealer  and  in- 
surance agGnt,  is  a  public-spirited  and  substantial  citizen  of  Ringtown. 
He  was  born  in  Union  township,  July  4,  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  Martin 
and  Rebecca  (Dormbach)  Nungesser.  His  father  died  when  the  son 
was  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  compelling  the  latter  to  leave  school 
and  go  to  work  to  help  in  the  support  of  the  family.  His  first  em- 
ployment was  with  a  trestle-building  gang  of  railroad  employes,  and 
during  the  winter  months,  when  the  severity  of  the  weather  made 
outside  labor  impossible,  he  attended  school.  For  six  years  thereafter 
he  was  engaged  in  pedagogic  work  and  then,  in  partnership  With 
Francis  Rumbel,  he  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  business. 
After  thirteen  years  the  firm  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Nungesser  receiving  an 
appointment  as  assessment  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  county  commis- 
sioners. When  his  term  of  office  had  expired  he  returned  to  Ring- 
town  and  started  in  his  present  line  of  business.  He  was  appointed 
a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1898  and  this  office  he  still  holds.  He  is 
affiliated  with  no  political  party  or  organization,  exercising  his  right 
of  franchise  as  his  best  judgment  directs  him.  Notwithstanding  this, 
he  has  been  the  incumbent  of  three  of  the  most  important  of  the  town- 
/ship  offices — those  of  clerk,  assessor  and  supervisor.  His  fraternal 
relations  are  with  Ringtown  Lodge,  No.  287,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  and  Castle  No.  500,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle.  Mr. 
Nungesser  has  been  twice  married.  His  marriage  to  Miss  Johanna 
Zimmerman  occurred  on  Apr.  18,  1880.  Two  sons,  Galen  W.  and 
Roy  C,  living  at  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  and  Detroit,  Mich.,  respectively, 
blessed  this  union.  Mrs.  Nungesser's  death,  on  Dec.  30,  1889,  an- 
nulled the  marriage,  and  on  Jan.  i,  1891,  Miss  Kate  Stauffer  became 
Mr.  Nungesser's  wife.  No  children  have  been  bom  to  the  second 
marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nungesser  are  devout  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church  and  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  committee  which  had  in 
charge  the  erection  of  the  new  edifice.  He  also  oversaw  the  building 
of  Odd  Fellows  hall. 

O'Hare,  Bernard  V.,  a  rising  young  attorney  of  Shenandoah,  was 
bom  at  St.  Nicholas,  Schuylkill  county,  March  i,  1882,  and  is  a  son 
of  Michael  D.  and  Catherine  (Higgins)  O^Hare,  the  former  a  native 
of  New  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  the  latter  of  Ireland.  The  paternal  an- 
cestors were  also  Irish,  as  the  name  indicates.  Michael  D.  O'Hare  is 
an  engineer  and  at  the  present  time  is  employed  in  the  borough  water- 
works at  Brandonville.  Of  the  children  of  Michael  D.  and  Catherine 
O'Hare,  James  is  a  sales  agent  for  mine  explosives;  Leander  and 
Henry  are  engineers ;  Bernard  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  May, 
Arthur,  John  and  Felix  are  in  school.  Bernard  V.  O'Hare  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Shenandoah,  graduating  with  the  high 
school  class  of  1901.  He  then  entered  the  law  office  of  Martin  M. 
Burke  as  a  student,  completed  his  studies,  took  the  examination  before 
the  state  board  of  law  examiners  at  Philadelphia,  and  was  admitted 
in  Oct.,  1906,  to  practice  in  the  state  and  county  courts.     Although 


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346  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  bar  in  Schuylkill  coimty,  he  has 
won  the  confidence  of  his  clients,  the  admiration  of  his  brother  at- 
torneys, and  the  respect  of  the  bench,  by  his  manly  and  dignified  con- 
duct in  all  the  litigations  with  which  he  has  been  connected.  Blessed 
with  youth,  good  health  and  ambition,  it  is  safe  to  predict  a  successful 
professional  career  for  him  in  his  chosen  calling.  In  politics  Mr. 
O'Hare  is  a  firm  and  unyielding  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  he  takes  a  commendable  interest  in  all  questions 
touching  the  public  weal.  Educated  in  the  faith  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  he  affiliates  with  that  religious  organization,  and  also  belongs 
to  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  a  Catholic  fraternal  society. 
'  O'Harcn,  James  F.,  traveling  salesman  for  Reese,  Parvin  &  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  with  residence  in  Shenandoah,  was  born  at  Tamaqua, 
Schuylkill  county,  Apr.  23,  i860.  His  parents,  Thomas  and  Catherine 
(Knowles)  O'Haren,  were  natives  of  Queens  county,  Ireland,  where 
they  were  married,  soon  after  which  they  came  to  America,  .settling 
in  Schuylkill  county,  where  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives, 
the  father  following  his  occupation  of  miner.  He  died  Dec.  31,  1886, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  The  mother  survived  him  a  number 
of  years  and  passed  to  her  reward  in  May,  1899.  Their  children  were 
Elizabeth,  John,  Timothy,  Margaret,  Mary,  James,  Thomas  and 
Michael,  all  living  except  Mary,  and  all  married  but  Michael. 
Margaret,  Timothy  and  Michael  are  at  Waterbury,  Conn.,  operating 
the  Pennsylvania  merchandise  store ;  John  is  a  fire  boss  at  the  Silver 
Creek  colliery  and  lives  in  New  Philadelphia;  and  Thomas  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  subject  of  this  sketch  in  business,  as  appears  below. 
James  F.  CHaren  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  New  Phil- 
adelphia and  Shenandoah.  He  began  his  life's  work  as  a  slate-picker 
in  the  mines,  passing  to  the  positions  of  breaker  boss  and  outside  as- 
sistant foreman.  He  then  secured  a  place  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  in 
Shenandoah,  but  left  this  place  to  become  bookkeeper  for  the  Shen- 
andoah Baking  Company.  In  1886  he  started  as  a  traveling  sales- 
man in  the  employ  of  Samuel  Lees  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  selling 
produce,  and  he  remained  with  this  firm  for  five  years,  after  which  he 
entered  the  employ  of  B.  W.  Andrews  &  Co.,  wholesale  gjocers,  of 
the  same  city.  He  remained  with  this  concern  until  the  retirement  of 
Mr.  Andrews,  in  1901,  when  he  accepted  his  present  position.  His 
territory  extends  from  Hazleton  to  Shamokin  and  covers  all  the  inter- 
mediate towns.  Mr.  O'Haren  is  also  interested  in  several  business 
enterprises  outside  of  his  regular  occupation.  He  is  manager  of  the 
Crew-Levick  Oil  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  territory  north  of 
Broad  mountain  in  Schuylkill  county,  his  brother  Thomas  directing 
the  movements  of  the  delivery  wagons  and  superintending  sales.  He 
is  also  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Kimber  Run  Coal  &  Coke 
Company,  of  Bedford  county.  Pa.  Mr.  O'Haren  is  a  Democrat  in  his 
political  views,  was  for  three  years  a  member  of  the  board  of  school 
directors  in  Shenandoah,  and  is  the  present  treasurer  of  the  school 
district.  He  is  prominently  identified  with .  social  and  benevolent 
societies,  being  president  of  the  Phoenix  fire  company,  the  fire  depart- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  347 

ment  pension  fund,  and  the  Knights  of  the  Annunciation;  a  member 
of  Council  No.  6i8,  Knights  of  Columbus;  Ashland  Lodge,  No.  384, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks;  and  the  Annunciation 
temperance  society ;  and,  with  his  family,  he  belongs  to  the  Annuncia- 
tion Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  O'Haren  has  been  twice  married. 
His  first  wife  was  Miss  Martha  Lamb,  of  Shenandoah,  who  died  in 
May,  1894,  leaving  one  daughter,  Katie,  now  a  student  in  the  grammar 
school  and  a  young  lady  of  more  than  ordinary  accomplishments,  few 
girls  of  her  age  being  her  equal  as  a  performer  on  the  piano.  In  June, 
1896,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Morris,  of  Ashland, 
and  to  this  union  have  been  born  four  children,  John,  James,  Mary 
and  Joseph.  He  owns  a  nice  home  at  No.  109  South  White  street, 
and  it  is  no  disparagement  to  the  other  people  of  Shenandoah  to  say 
that  his  family  is  one  of  the  most  refined  and  cultured  in  the  city,  or 
that  his  home  is  one  of  the  most  hospitable. 

O'Hcam,  John  J.,  a  prosperous  and  well  known  business  man  of 
Shenandoah,  was  bom  at  Silver  Creek  (now  the  postoffice  name  of 
New  Philadelphia),  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  Aug.  15,  1867.  He  is  a 
son  of  James  J.  and  Mary  (Connor)  O'Heam,  the  father  a  native  of 
Cork,  Ireland,  and  the  mother  of  Montreal,  Canada.  The  former  was 
born  in  1845  ^^^  the  latter  in  1843.  They  came  to  Schuylkill  county 
during  their  early  married  life  and  here  reared  their  children — ^John  J., 
Jeremiah  F.,  Henry,  Agnes,  Lucy,  and  Frank.  John  J.  O'Heam  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Shenandoah,  graduating  from  the 
high  school  in  the  class  of  1887,  after  which  he  continued  his  studies 
for  some  time  at  Villanova  college,  at  Villanova,  Pa.,  and  completed 
a  course  at  Eastman's  business  college,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  He  began 
his  business  career  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and  was  employed  as  a  book- 
keeper at  Shenandoah  for  the  succeeding  five  years.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  known  as  the  Shenandoah  Lumber  &  Feed  Co.,  Ltd., 
for  the  next  five  years,  and  in  1898  he  became  the  owner  of  a  half 
interest  in  the  firm  of  Glenn  &  O'Hearn,  until  recently  doing  business 
under  that  firm  title.  His  partner  was  William  H.  Glenn,  who  died 
July  20,  1906.  In  1894  this  firm  started  in  the  lumber  business  at 
Mount  Carmel,  Pa.,  and  both  enterprises  are  now  owned  and  operated 
by  Mr.  O'Hearn.  The  business  is  large  and  prosperous,  and  includes 
not  only  lumber  and  all  kinds  of  building  material,  but  general  con- 
tracting, which  is  an  important  feature.  It  g^ves  employment  to  a 
large  corps  of  skilled  mechanics,  while  the  store  and  lumber  business 
connected  employ  several  clerks  and  laborers.  It  is  undoubtedly  the 
largest  business  of  the  kind  in  Shenandoah,  if  not  in  Schuylkill  county. 
Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Glenn,  as  above  stated,  Mr.  O'Heam  has 
been  the  sole  owner  and  manager  of  the  two  business  enterprises,  and 
also  of  the  contracting  features,  which,  in  season,  demand  much  at- 
tention. He  held  the  office  of  borough  auditor  for  three  years,  and  is 
a  director  in  the  Citizens'  Electric  Light  Company.  In  addition  to  the 
business  interests  previously  mentioned,  Mr.  O'Hearn  was  one  of  the 
promoters  of  the  Price  &  Glenn  Coal  Company,  in  which  he  owns  a 
one-third  interest.     This  company  opened  and  developed  the  High 


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348  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Point  colliery,  near  Mahanoy  City,  in  1903.  His  business  interests 
are  varied  and  extensive,  the  most  complicated  of  which  is  the  man- 
agement of  his  mercantile  business  in  Shenandoah.  This  includes  not 
only  lumber  and  builders'  supplies  in  connection  with  contracting  and 
building,  but  a  general  stock  of  hardware,  paints,  oils,  wall  paper, 
flour,  feed,  etc.  He  was  married  Apr.  27,  1898,  by  Rev.  H.  F. 
O'Reilly,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Whalen,  a  daughter  of  Michael  J.  and 
Elizabeth  (Hurley)  Whalen,  of  Shenandoah.  The  family  are  mem- 
bers of  Annunciation  Roman  Catholic  church,  under  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  O'Reilly  for  the  last  thirty-seven  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Heam 
have  three  children,  Marion,  born  March  15,  1900;  Elizabeth,  bom 
March  31,  1902;  and  Catherine,  born  June  12,  1906. 

Olcsinski,  Rev.  S.  M.,  pastor  of  St.  Stanislaus  Polish  Catholic 
church  of  Shenandoah,  was  born  in  Russian  Poland  in  1871.  He 
received  his  theological  training  in  Austria  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1899,  the  year  of  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood.  His  first 
charge  was  St.  Stanislaus  church.  This  congregation  was  first  organ- 
ized in  1898,  Rev.  Father  Abramaitis,  of  the  Lithuanian  church,  being 
one  of  the  moving  spirits  in  its  inception.  It  has  had  a  number  of 
pastors,  among  them  Rev.  Fathers  M.  Kopytkiewicz,  Joseph  Lambert, 
Venceslaus,  Mutulajtis,  Mark  Januszkiewicz  and  Joseph  Konnrick. 
Father  Olesinski  after  a  year's  service  as  pastor  was  transferred  to 
Mahanoy  City  and  McAdoo,  and  in  1903  was  recalled  to  take  charge 
of  the  St.  Stanislaus  congregation.  Under  his  pastorate  the  elegant 
church  which  is  now  the  home  of  the  congregation  was  erected,  at  a 
cost  of  $25,000.  The  furnishings  and  finishings  of  the  structure  are 
handsome  and  complete  and  include  beautiful  Gothic  style  altars,  pur- 
chased in  Europe  and  representing  an  expenditure  of  $2,000.  The 
membership  comprises  some  200  families,  all  of  the  Polish  nationality. 
Father  Olesinski  is  popular  with  his  people  and  is  held  in  high  esteem 
by  all  classes  of  the  community. 

Orlovsky,  Andrew,  proprietor  of  the  Eagle  hotel  in  Coaldale,  con- 
ducts a  well  appointed  house  and  receives  an  appreciative  patronage, 
which  is  augmented  by  his  personal  popularity  in  a  local  way  and  with 
the  traveling  public.  Andrew  Orlovsky  was  born  in  Salina, 
Galician  Austria,  on  Nov.  13,  1866,  and  is  .a  son  of  John  and  Caro- 
line (Lutz)  Orlovsky.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  in  his  native  district 
and  had  the  advantages  of  the  commoa  schools  of  the  locality.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  years,  in  accordance  with  the  exactions  of  the 
government,  he  entered  the  Austrian  army,  and  thereafter  had  the 
valuable  educational  opportunities  afforded  in  the  military  school.  He 
served  the  required  four  years  in  the  army  and  then  received  his 
honorable  discharge,  with  the  rank  of  sergeant,  indicated  by  the  in- 
signia of  three  stars.  In  1890,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  he 
severed  the  home  ties  and  came  to  America.  He  took  up  his  residence 
in  Clearfield  county.  Pa.,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  bituminous 
coal  mines  for  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  removed  to 
Westmoreland  county  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  in  which  connection  he  was  employed  four  years.    In  1898 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  349 

he  took  up  his  residence  in  Coaldale,  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  hotel  business,  in  which  he  has  since  successfully  con- 
tinued. He  purchased  his  present  hotel  property  in  1904  and  has 
modernized  and  otherwise  improved  the  building.  Mr.  Orlovsky  was 
made  a  naturalized  citizen  in  1897,  and  is  arrayed  as  a  loyal  sup- 
porter of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  communicant 
of  the  Polish  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  is  affiliated  with  St.  John's 
Greek  society  and  St.  Peter's  society  at  Lansford,  and  with  the  local 
aerie  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  In  Nov.,  1897,  Mr.  Orlovsky 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Orlovsky,  daughter  of  Albert 
and  Mary  (Galont)  Orlovsky,  of  Salina,  Galician  Austria,  and  they 
have  five  children — ^John,  Paul,  Joseph,  Anna  and  Andrew,  Jr. 

Ottcrbein,  Martin,  is  one  of  the  honored  citizens  of  the  borough 
of  Yorkville  and  has  maintained  his  home  in  Schuylkill  county  for 
many  years.  He  has  been  prominently  identified  with  business  and 
civic  interests  here  and  is  now  living  practically  retired,  after  having 
accumulated  a  competency  through  his  own  well  directed  efforts.  Mr. 
Otterbein  was  born  in  Germany,  Dec.  2,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Margaretta  Otterbein.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  was  afforded 
the  advantages  of  the  excellent  schools  of  his  fatherland.  He  served 
three  years  in  the  German  army  and  took  part  in  the  war  between 
Germany,  Austria  and  the  Prussian  states  in  1866.  In  the  following 
year  he  immigrated  to  America  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the 
borough  of  Yorkville,  where  he  has  since  maintained  his  home.  His 
present  dwelling  was  erected  by  him  in  that  year  but  has  since  been 
enlarged  and  remodeled  and  is  one  of  the  attractive  homes  of  the  town. 
Having  learned  the  trade  of  stone  mason,  Mr.  Otterbein  followed  the 
same  as  a  vocation  until  1892,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  time  as  an 
independent  contractor  along  various  lines.  He  began  his  work  at 
the  trade  in  1875  and  in  1880  began  contracting,  especially  in  the 
enterprise  of  building  railroad  bridges.  His  ability  and  good  execu- 
tive powers  gained  to  him  success  and  prestige  and  his  business  career 
is  one  of  which  he  may  well  be  proud.  In  1893  he  engaged  in  the  coal 
business,  in  which  he  continued  until  1897,  ^^^  i^  the  autumn  of  the 
following  year  he  purchased  a  brick  yard  in  Yorkville.  He  operated 
the  same  four  years  and  then  sold  the  plant  and  business.  For  the  past 
thirty-one  years  he  has  held  an  interest  in  a  grocery  store  in  Yorkville, 
and  he  is  also  the  owner  of  valuable  real  estate  both  in  Yorkville 
and  Pottsville.  At  all  times  Mr.  Otterbein  has  held  himself  loyal  to 
the  best  interests  of  enlightened  citizenship  and  has  done  all  in  his 
power  to  further  the  advancement  and  wellbeing  of  his  home  borough 
and  county.  His  political  allegiance  is  given  unreservedly  to  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  and  he  served  fourteen  years  as  a  member  of  the  borough 
council  and  three  years  as  chief  burgess.  He  and  his  family  are  com- 
municants of  the  Catholic  church.  May  17,  1868,  Mr.  Otterbein  was 
imited  in  marriage  to  Miss  Theresa  Barber,  of  Pottsville,  and  they 
have  six  children — Marv  D.,  Emma,  Frank  G.,  Joseph,  Frederick  and 
Albert. 


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350  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Otto,  Aaron  H.,  proprietor  of  the  Edgewood  Farm  in  Hegins 
township,  was  born  September  14,  1846,  in  the  township  where  his 
family  have  lived  for  three  generations.  His  grandfather,  William 
Otto,  came  from  Berks  county  when  a  young  man,  bought  300  acres* 
of  land  in  Hegins  township,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  part 
of  Schuylkill  county.  He  was  born  the  25th  day  of  May,  1761,  was 
married  to  Margretta,  nee  Kessler,  who  was  bom  on  the  5th  day  of 
March,  1784,  and  thirteen  children  were  born  to  them — Anna,  Maria, 
Christiana,  Magdalane,  Catherine,  Jonathan,  Salome,  Daniel,  David, 
Peter,  Simon,  Henry,  Gertrude.  William  Otto  followed  farming  and 
carpentering  and  in  early  days  made  cabinets.  David  Otto  grew  up 
on  his  father's  farm,  which  farm  he  purchased  at  public  sale.  He 
married  Catherine  Hauberacher,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  nine 
children — Caroline,  William,  Marie,  Lydia,  Aaron,  Hiram,  Isabella, 
David,  Tobias — of  whom  only  two  are  living :  Aaron  on  the  old  home- 
stead, and  William  at  No.  529  North  Centre  Street,  Pottsville.  David 
Otto  was  a  Democrat,  served  on  the  school  board,  and  belonged  to 
the  Reformed  church.  He  died  in  the  year  1874,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
nine  years,  and  his  wife  died  in  1898,  aged  eighty-four  years.  Aaron 
received  a  common-school  education  and  has  always  been  a  farmer  on 
the  old  homestead.  He  devotes  considerable  attention  to  raising  vege- 
tables and  small  fruits  for  Donaldson,  Tremont  and  Minersville 
markets,  and  is  also  interested  in  poultry  raising,  especially  Rhode 
Island  Reds  and  white  Wyandottes.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  politics, 
was  for  two  years  tax  collector  and  was  for  seven  years  treasurer  of 
the  school  board.  He  is  a  member  of  Star  of  the  Valley  Castle,  No. 
451,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  of  Hegins;  Hegins  Grange,  No. 
1242,  Patrons  of  Husbandry;  and  Pomona  Grange,  No.  55,  of  Potts- 
ville. In  1869  he  married  Rebecca  Bressler,  and  they  have  had  three 
children.  Rufus  R.  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years;  he  fell 
from  a  cherry  tree  and  broke  his  spine  and  was  bedfast  for  sixteen 
weeks.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle, 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  the  Hegins  band.  Calvin 
F.  is  a  rural  letter  carrier  on  Route  Xo.  2  from  Hegins.  Harry  E.  is 
a  farmer  and  acts  as  substitute  for  his  brother  on  the  rural  mail  route. 
Both  are  unmarried  and  live  at  home  with  their  parents.  Calvin  be- 
longs to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  Hegins  and 
Pomona  Granges,  and  is  the  leader  of  the  Hegins  comet  band.  Harry 
is  a  member  of  the  Grange  and  Patriotic  Sons  of  America,  and  the 
family  belong  to  the  Reformed  church  at  Hegins. 

Otto,  Henry  H.,  an  enterprising  furniture  dealer,  undertaker  and 
embalmer,  of  Tremont,  was  bom  in  Helfenstein,  Pa.,  on  June  26,  1876, 
a  son  of  Bodo  and  Rebecca  (Harter)  Otto.  The  father  is  a  retired 
teamster  and  miner.  During  the  great  Civil  war  of  the  '60s  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Union  army  as  a  teamster,  having  enlisted,  in  1861,  in 
Company  D  of  the  48th  Pennsylvania  infantry.  The  regiment  was  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  throughout  the  struggle  and  participated  in 
all  the  engagements.     Mr.  Otto  was  never  wounded,  but  had  many 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  351 

narrow  escapes,  once  having  eight  bullets  pass  through  his  sleeves  and 
again  having  a  ball  pass  through  his  shoe,  without  injury  to  his  foot. 
At  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  he  was  captured  but  in  the  confusion 
incident  to  the  Confederate  victory  he  managed  to  eflfect  his  escape. 
He  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  sergeant.  Since  his  retirement  from 
active  labor  he  has  made  his  home  at  Mount  Carmel.  His  wife  died 
in  Dec,  1903,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years,  leaving  four  children,  of 
whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  youngest.  The  latter  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Mount  Carmel  and  when  he  had  com-r 
pleted  his  course  he  learned  the  cabinet-maker's  trade.  For  nine  years 
he  was  employed  by  S.  H.  McConnel,  of  Mount  Carmel,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time  he  came  to  Tremont  and  established  his  present  busi- 
ness. His  headquarters  are  finely  equipped  for  his  furniture  and 
undertaking  business  and  he  controls  a  large  patronage.  In  Sept., 
1903,  Mr.  Otto  married  Miss  Katie  Kehler,  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Sarah  (Wetzel)  Kehler.  Mr.  Kehler  died  in  1895,  and  his  widow  is 
still  living,  a  resident  of  Mount  Carmel.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Otto  have 
been  bom  two  children — Grace  Winona  and  Willard  B.  Both  parents 
are  members  of  the  United  Evangelical  church  and  Mr.  Otto  is  sec- 
retary of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  same.  He  is  also  a  past  officer  of 
Camp  No.  231,  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  at 
Mount  Carmel.  By  industry,  thrift  and  enterprise  he  has  made  for 
himself  a  prominent  place  in  the  commercial  life  of  Tremont. 

Ovens,  Thomas  W.,  the  proprietor  of  the  Ovens  School,  is  a 
native  Canadian,  having  been  bom  at  Duntroon,  Ontario,  on  Jan.  8, 
1879.  He  is  a  son  of  William  J.  and  Sarah  (McAllister)  Ovens,  both 
bom  in  Ontario  and  both  now  living  there,  the  father  operating  a 
fmit  farm  of  considerable  size.  On  the  paternal  side  the  family  is  of 
Irish  extraction  and  on  the  mother's  comes  of  fine  Scotch  ancestry. 
There  were  three  sons  in  William  J.  Ovens'  immediate  family,  the 
youngest  is  now  dead,  and  the  elder  of  the  two  surviving  is  Archie, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  grain  business  in  Everett,  Ont.  Professor 
Ovens  was  reared  to  young  manhood  in  his  native  country  and  received 
his  education  in  the  high  and  normal  schools  of  Collingwood,  grad- 
uating at  both  institutions.  He  also  attended  the  Ontario  business 
university  at  Belleville,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  with 
honors.  After  devoting  about  a  year  to  general  office  work  in  the 
employ  of  leading  Toronto  firms  Professor  Ovens  volunteered  his 
services  to  the  Presbyterian  church  as  a  home  missionary,  and  after 
due  examination  he  was  accepted  and  sent  into  the  wilds  of  New 
Ontario,  to  cover. a  section  of  wide  extent,  some  of  it  hitherto  little 
traveled  by  the  foot  of  white  man.  After  overcoming  many  difficulties 
and  making  many  long  overland  trips  by  snow-shoe  and  dog-sled,  he 
succeeded  in  establishing  two  churches  and  several  Sunday  schools  in 
these  remote  regions,  and  all  of  these  are  to-day  flourishing  institu- 
tions. Professor  Ovens  began  his  pedagogic  career  as  a  commercial 
school  instructor  in  the  Wisconsin  business  college  at  Sheboygan, 
Wis.,  which  position  he  held  about  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
period  he  became  the  founder  of  the  State  business  college  at  Sheboy- 


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352  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

gan,  and  for  the  following  three  years  was  the  chief  influence  in  its 
management.  When  it  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Wis- 
consin he  became  president,  but  withdrew  from  active  participation 
as  a  member  of  the  instruction  corps.  The  presidency  he  afterwards 
resigned  and  then  came  East,  where  he  spent  a  school  year  as 
principal  of  the  commercial  department  of  the  Scranton  business  col- 
lege. Professor  Ovens'  residence  in  Pottsville  dates  from  1905,  when 
he  assumed  charge  of  the  business  college  as  general  manager  and 
principal  instructor.  After  spending  a  year  with  the  business  college 
he  concluded  that  there  was  a  demand  here  for  an  institution  that 
would  offer  higher  training  in  commercial  subjects,  and  with  his 
characteristic  energy  and  despatch  he  went  to  work  and  founded  the 
Ovens  school.  The  curriculum  of  this  school  includes  courses  in 
English,  mathematics  and  all  commercial  branches,  besides  shorthand 
and  typewriting,  and  a  night  school  is  conducted  for  those  who  are  un- 
able to  attend  during  the  day.  The  average  attendance  at  the  school 
thus  far  is  forty,  and  two  regular  teachers  put  in  their  whole  time  instruct- 
ing, while  a  third  is  employed  temporarily.  The  site  is  a  convenient 
onCj  at  No.  i  South  Centre  street,  in  the  Mountain  City  building. 
The  graduates  are  in  demand  all  over  the  county  and  many  are  also 
placed  in  remunerative  positions  in  Reading,  Philadelphia  and  other 
cities.  June  3,  1903,  Professor  Ovens  married,  at  Sheboygan,  Wis., 
Miss  Ada  E.  Verney,  a  native  of  Guelph,  Ont.,  and  to  this  unicm  have 
been  born  two  children — Wilfred  and  Mildred.  The  professor  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  his  wife  is  a  Baptist  in  her 
religious  affiliations.  He  is  also  a  member  of  various  professional 
organizations,  including  the  National  Business  Teachers*  association 
and  the  National  Bookkeepers'  and  Accountants'  association.  Al- 
though his  residence  in  Schuylkill  county  has  not  been  of  gres^t  length 
it  has  been  of  much  influence,  and  he  has  become  one  of  the  most 
highly  respected  of  its  citizens. 

Owens,  William  L.,  who  is  principal  of  the  Bunker  Hill  school  of 
Pottsville  and  who  is  a  pioneer  educator  of  this  city,  was  born  in 
Beaufort,  South  Wales,  on  May  31,  1846.  He  is  one  of  the  eight 
children  of  Evan  Owens  and  the  other  four  survivors  are  George  L., 
of  Reading,  Pa.;  and  John  E.,  of  Harrisburg;  Jane,  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Stephens,  of  Reading;  and  Elizabeth,  at  home.  The  maternal 
grandfather  of  Professor  Owens  was  a  soldier  in  the  English  army 
under  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Water- 
loo. The  father  succumbed  to  miner's  asthma,  in  his  fifty-first  year, 
and  the  mother  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-four.  When  the  professor 
was  but  a  child  his  parents  immigrated  to  the  United  States,  the 
passage  taking  some  six  weeks,  in  a  sailing  vessel,  and  the  profes- 
sor's sixth  birthday  anniversary  was  passed  on  the  water.  His  boy- 
hood was  spent  in  the  mines  at  Mount  Laffee,  where  he  worked  until 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age-  An  explosion  of  gas,  in  which  six  others 
were  also  badly  injured,  so  crippled  Mr.  Owens  as  to  effectually 
prevent  his  further  active  participation  in  manual  labor.  He  then 
determined  to  become  an  educator,  and  at  once  turned  his  attention 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  353 

to  that  line  of  work.  In  June,  1867,  he  was  graduated  at  the  Potts- 
ville  high  school  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  he  began  teaching  in  that 
city.  For  forty  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  pedagogic  work  in 
Pottsville,  and  for  thirty  years  of  that  time  has  been  identified  with 
the  same  school,  having  been  principal  of  its  higher  department  all 
of  that  time.  Many  of  the  professional  men  of  the  city  who  have 
risen  to  positions  of  public  trust  and  esteem,  frankly  acknowledge 
that  their  success  is  in  large  measure  due  to  the  high  ideals  inspired 
by  Professor  Owens  while  they  were  pupils  in  his  school-room.  On 
Feb.  18,  1874,  occurred  Professor  Owens'  marriage  to  Miss  Martha 
Lee,  a  native  of  Pottsville  and  a  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
Lee,  both  deceased.  Mr.  Lee  was  a  mine  foreman  and  at  his  death 
left  the  following  named  children:  George,  Ann,  Grace,  Thomas, 
William,  Martha  (Mrs.  Owens),  Libbie,  Samuel,  and  Amy.  Amy  is 
a  teacher  in  the  Pottsville  schools  and  Samuel  is  a  teacher  of  music 
in  St.  Clair.  All  the  others  are  married.  The  children  born  to  Profes- 
sor and  Mrs.  Owens  are  four  in  number.  Thomas  L.,  the  eldest,  is 
married  and  is  engaged  as  a  professional  baseball  player  in  Toledo, 
Ohio;  Bessie  G.  is  employed  in  a  piano  store  in  Pottsville;  Amy  M. 
is  a  teacher  in  the  Pottsville  schools;  and  William  Lee  is  a  student 
in  the  high  school,  of  which  all  the  others  are  graduates.  The  family 
are  all  members  of  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Pottsville  and  the 
professor  is  a  member  of  Miners'  Lodge,  No.  20,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is  past  grand.  He  is  a  stalwart  Repub- 
lican and  is  a  member  of  the  Central  Republican  club. 

Palsgrovc,  Charles  B.,  the  well  known  cigar  manufacturer  of 
Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  in  that  borough  on  Sept.  6,  1846,  a  son 
of  Nathan  and  Anna  M.  (Bowen)  Palsgrrove.  An  ancestor,  George 
Palsgrove,  came  to  Philadelphia  from  Rotterdam  in  1732.  John  J. 
Palsgrove,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
what  is  now  Montgomery  county.  Pa.,  in  1777,  and  was  an  American 
soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Nathan  Palsgrove  was  born  in  Berks 
county  in  1818,  came  to  Schuylkill  county  in  1842,  and  in  that  year 
established  the  cigar  manufacturing  business,  which  is  now  conducted 
by  his  grandsons.  Charles  B.  Palsgrove  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Schuylkill  Haven  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  He  then  entered 
his  father's  establishment  and  learned  the  cigar  manufacturing  busi- 
ness. In  1863  he  enlisted  in  Co.  I,  39th  regiment  of  Pennsylvania 
volunteer  militia,  and  after  30  days'  service  was  honorably  discharged 
with  the  regiment.  In  i86i5  he  attended  the  Quaker  City  business 
college,  graduating  in  1867.  In  the  fall  of  1868  he  entered  the  office 
of  Charles  D.  Hippie,  then  district  attorney,  and  served  therein 
until  the  spring  of  1870,  when  he  took  an  extended  trip  to  the  west. 
He  attended  the  Keystone  state  normal  school,  at  Kutztown,  for  a 
year  and  a  half.  His  father  died  in  1877,  whereupon  he  took  charge 
of  the  business,  which  he  conducted  until  1904,  when  he  sold  it  to 
his  two  sons,  Nathan  C.  and  Palgrave  E.  Oct.  9,  1871,  was  cele- 
brated his  marriage  to  Miss  Eugenia  Deitrich,  and  to  this  union 
were  bom  nine  children,  all  of  whom,  with  the  exception   of  the 

23 -Vol.  II 


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354  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

youngest,  Arthur,  are  still  living.  Alice  E.  is  the  wife  of  John  D. 
Berger,  in  Uie  knitting  business  at  Schuylkill  Haven ;  Sarah  E.  is  the 
wife  of  Willis  J.  Lawrence,  of  Afinersville,  who  is  engaged  with  his 
father  in  the  dry-goods  business;  Nathan  C.  married  Miss  Ida  M. 
Miller,  of  Frackville;  two  sons,  Palgrave  E.  and  Henry  B.,  and  two 
daughters,  Mary  E.  and  Ada  E.,  are  at  home ;  and  John  W.  is  a  stu- 
dent in  business  college.  The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Re- 
formed church  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  When  the  Schuylkill  county 
district  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  was  organized  Mr.  Palsgrove  was 
one  of  the  moving  spirits  and  was  the  delegate  from  the  district  to 
the  national  convention  held  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  in  Oct.,  1887. 
Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  Jere  Helms  Post,  No.  26,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  he  was  commander 
of  the  same  for  ten  consecutive  years.  He  is  a  member  of  Page 
Lodge,  No.  170,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Schuylkill  Haven, 
and  is  a  past  master  of  the  same.  He  at  one  time  belonged  to  the 
Odd  Fellows — both  the  subordinate  lodge  and  the  encampment — ^the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Good  Templars,  and  became  a  past  offi- 
cer in  all  of  them.  He  also  belonged  to  Sons  of  America  and  was 
secretary  of  Camp  47  for  one  year.  Politically  Mr.  Palsgrove  is 
independent,  but  in  1878  he  was  elef:ted,  as  a  Democrat,  to  represent 
the  fourth  district  of  Schuylkill  county  in  the  first  biennial  session 
of  the  legislature  under  the  new  constitution.  He  is  a  man  of  excel- 
lent judgment  in  business  affairs,  kindly,  genial  in  manner,  and  withal 
a  model  citizen. 

Parker,  Hiram,  Jr. — ^The  business  firm  best  known  under  the 
title  of  Sparks  &  Parker  represents  one  of  the  pioneer  industries  in 
Pottsville  which  has  survived  the  ravages  of  time.  It  was  estab- 
lished by  Jabez  Sparks  in  1855,  for  the  manufacture  of  steam  boilers, 
stacks,  ventilating  fans,  the  repairing  of  machinery,  etc.,  and  this  is 
the  business  now  owned  ^d  conducted  by  Hiram  Parker,  Jr.  In 
1876  William  G.  Sparks  and  Hiram  Parker  became  the  constituent 
members  of  the  firm,  and  they  continued  as  such  until  the  death  of 
Mr.  Sparks,  in  1898.  For  a  few  years  following  this  event,  the 
estate  of  William  G.  Sparks  was  unsettled,  and  the  business  was 
continued  under  the  title  of  Sparks  &  Parker.  Mr.  Parker  then 
came  into  the  sole  ownership.  This  industry  during  the  hafl 
century  of  its  existence  has  afforded  profitable  employment  to  hun- 
dreds of  men,  and  is  one  of  the  few  ancient  landmarks  of  Pottsville. 
The  buildings,  solid  and  substantial  in  their  day,  show  the  effects 
of  the  passing  years.  But  the  interesting  life  history  of  Hiram  Par- 
ker, Jr.,  is  not  confined  alone  to  the  workshops  with  which  his  family 
has  been  so  long  connected.  He  spent  more  than  twelve  years  in 
the  United  States  navy,  covering  the  entire  period  of  the  Civil  war. 
His  duties  led  him  to  nearly  every  port  of  the  civilized  world,  and 
thus  he  rounded  out  an  experience  enjoyed  by  comparatively  few 
men.  He  enlisted  in  1861  as  assistant  engineer,  and  was  assigned  to 
duty  on  the  gunboat  Kanawha,  in  the  Gulf  Squadron,  under  com- 
mand of  Admirals  Farragut  and  Porter.  After  a  year  of  active  serv- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  355 

ice  in  this  capacity  he  was  detailed  to  take  a  prize  vessel  from  Mo- 
bile bay  to  New  York,  and  while  in  the  city  on  this  mission,  he  was 
examined  and  promoted,  and  was  then  assigned  to  duty  on  the 
gunboat  Louisiana,  in  the  North  Atlantic  Squadron,  with  headquar- 
ters at  New  Berne,  N.  C.  Just  prior  to  the  battle  of  Fort  Fisher  Mr. 
Parker  was  detailed  to  the  gunboat  Tacony,  on  board  of  which  vessel 
he  completed  his  Civil  war  service.  He  participated  in  a  number 
of  naval  battles,  notably  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Fisher,  and  the 
second  battle  at  that  point,  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  that 
Confederate  stronghold.  He  was  with  the  blockading  squadron  off 
Mobile,  and  in  the  historic  manoeuvers  of  the  Gulf  and  the  lower 
Mississippi.  After  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  he  was  with  the  South 
Pacific  Squadron  for  three  years,  and  spent  a  like  period  with  the 
South  Atlantic  Squadron,  principally  on  South  American  coasts, 
being  first  assistant  engineer  on  board  the  Lancaster.  He  was  acting 
chief  engineer  on  the  Powhattan  during  the  Cuban  filibustering 
troubles  following  the  close  of  the  Civil  war.  One  year  was  spent 
on  shore  duty,  thus  rounding  out  a  continuous  service  of  twelve 
years.  Hiram  Parker,  Jr.,  was  bom  in  Pottsville,  Oct.  4,  1841.  He 
is  a  son  of  Hiram  and  Sarah  P.  (Craft)  Parker,  natives  of  Massa- 
chusetts. His  father  was  bom  in  1805,  and  in  183 1  he  came  to  Potts- 
ville, where  he  conducted  a  merchant  tailoring  business  during  the 
remaineder  of  his  active  life.  He 'was  a  Presbyterian,  and  was  a  ruling 
elder  in  the  church  for  many  years.  He  died  in  his  eighty-third  year. 
His  wife  was  born  in  1803,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 
They  became  the  parents  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom 
but  two  sons  are  living.  The  sisters,  Mary  Elizabeth  and  Harriet 
Jane,  died  in  youth,  and  Charles  died  in  1905.  The  living  brother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  Samuel,  who  was  born  in  1838.  He 
is  a  farmer  living  at  Maryville,  Nodaway  county.  Mo.  Mr.  Parker 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville.  He  was  employed 
as  a  clerk  in  a  store  for  a  year  or  two  after  leaving  school,  and  then 
he  became  an  apprentice  to  the  machinist's  trade,  at  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Railroad  shops.  His  subsequent  business  career  has  already 
been  briefly  outlined  in  this  article.  He  has  been  twice  married.  In 
1871  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  E.  Sparks,  a  daughter  of  his  business 
partner.  Three  children  were  bom  to  this  union — ^Dr.  Jabez  S.,  a 
practicing  physician  in  Philadelphia,  and  Misses  Emily  Y.  and  Jessie 
C,  young  ladies  at  home.  Mrs.  Parker  died  in  1877,  ^"d  in  Septem- 
ber, 1884,  her  sister,  Miss  Julia  F.  Sparks,  became  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Parker,  and  the  mother  of  her  sister's  children.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  Mr.  Parker  is  a 
ruling  elder.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows' 
fraternities,  and  a  Republican  in  political  affiliations.  He  has  served 
a  number  of  years  as  a  member  of  the  Pottsville  school  board,  but 
never  sought  or  held  other  political  offices. 

Patterson,  B.  F.,  deceased,  the  late  superintendent  of  the  Potts- 
ville schools,  was  bom  in  Orangeville,  Columbia  county,  Pa.,  March 
12,  1835.    He  graduated  from  Lafayette  college  in  the  class  of  i860. 


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356  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  then  entered  Princeton  theological  seminary,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1863.  He  preached  for  one  year  in  Atsion, 
N.  J.,  and  then  came  to  Pottsville,  in  1865,  as  principal  of  the  high 
school,  a  position  which  he  'held  for  two  years.  April  I,  1867,  he 
was  chosen  superintendent  of  the  schools,  and  he  held  that  position 
continuously  until  the  day  of  his  death,  July  9,  1906.  The  following 
brief  tribute  to  his  memory,  appearing  in  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  necrology,  as  adopted  at  the  close  of  the  Teachers'  Insti- 
tute of  1906,  shows  the  appreciation  in  which  he  was  held  by  his 
fellow  laborers  in  the  cause  of  education :  "B.  F.  Patterson,  for  nearly 
forty  years  the  able  superintendent  of  the  Pottsville  schools,  was  a 
man  known  to  every  teacher  in  Schuylkill  county,  but  best  under- 
stood and  best  appreciated  by  those  who  knew  him  best.  He  was  a 
loyal  friend,  a  kind  and  helpful  neighbor,  an  upright,  law-abiding, 
peace-loving  citizen;  he  loved  his  home,  his  friends,  his  school  chil- 
dren, his  teaxrhers,  his  town  and  his  state;  with  many  of  the  fads 
and  frills  which  characterized  the  times  he  had  little  sympathy;  in 
the  defense  of  what  he  believed  to  be  right  and  just,  he  would  stand 
as  firm  as  a  rock  and  fall  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  rather  than  yield 
a  single  point.  He  died  in  early  summer,  loved,  and  revered  by 
his  teachers,  honored  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  now 
sleeps  in  the  Presbyterian  cemetery  on  the  hillside  near  the  laurels, 
overlooking  the  town  he  loved  so  well.  Resolved,  That  we  revere 
the  memory  of  these,  our  fallen  comrades,  cherish  their  virtues,  and 
emulate  their  examples  for  good. — S.  A.  Thurlow,  I.  D.  Reed,  J.  W. 
Cooper,  Maude  Butts,  Committee."  Superintendent  Patterson  was  a 
man  of  broad  views  and  great  intellectual  force.  He  was  a  thorough 
organizer,  an  excellent  disciplinarian,  and  an  educator  of  state-wide 
reputation.  His  long  continuance  at  the  head  of  the  Pottsville  schools 
placed  him  in  close  touch  with  the  educational  careers  of  two  genera- 
tions of  young  people  who  have  gone  out  into  the  world  of  business, 
while  other  generations  have  succeeded  them,  in  the  ever-changing 
evolutions  of  time.  Professor  Patterson  was  a  man  of  charitable 
nature  and  sympathetic  heart.  For  many  years  he  was  a  member 
of  the  board  of  dtrectors  of  the  Children's  Home  and  the  Pottsville 
benevolent  association.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  state  board  of 
education.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  of  superintendent  of  the 
Pottsville  schools  without  opposition  and  without  competition  from 
Outside  aspirants,  during  the  many  years  of  his  term  of  service,  the 
place  seeming  to  go  to  him  as  by  distinctive  right  and  consistency. 
Mr.  Patterson  left  a  wife,  two  sons  and  a  daughter  to  mourn  the 
death  of  a  loving,  indulgent  and  honored  husband  and  father.  The 
sons  are  Frank,  of  Washington,  and  Robert,  of  Mexico.  The  daugh- 
ter. Miss  Jennie,  is  with  her  mother  at  their  temporary  home  at 
Easton,  pa. 

Paul,  Harry  E.,  a  marble-cutter,  engaged  in  business  at  Port 
Carbon,  was  born  near  Landingville,  this  county,  in  1854,  a  son  of 
Tobias  and  Susan  (Lindemuth)  Paul.  Until  he  was  thirteen  years 
of  age  he  attended  the  public  schools,  and  then  for  a  number  of  years 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  357 

he  worked  at  anything  that  offered.  When  he  had  passed  his 
eighteenth  birthday  he  determined  to  become  a  marble-cutter,  and 
accordingly  started  in  to  learn  the  trade.  After  he  had  become  a 
journeyman  he  worked  at  the  vocation  until  1885,  and  in  that  year 
embarked  in  the  business  for  himself.  That  he  has  been  successful 
is  evident  from  his  continuance  in  this  line  of  enterprise,  and  from 
the  eminent  satisfaction  of  all  for  whom  he  has  done  work.  In 
politics  Mr.  Paul  has  been  allied  with  no  party  or  faction,  and  has 
cast  his  vote  for  the  man  he  has  considered  best  fitted  for  the  office. 
He  himself  has  been  a  school  director  for  a  good  many  years,  and 
has  been  chief  burgess.  In  1881  was  celebrated  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Mary  Hoffman,  daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  Hoffman. 
A  son,  Harry  E.,  Jr.,  is  the  only  child  of  the  union.  The  family 
are  attendants  and  supporters  of  the. Methodist  Episcopal  church  of 
Port  Carbon.  Mr.  Paul  is  well  known  in  fraternal  circles,  being  a 
member  of  Camp  No.  34,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America, 
of  Port  Carbon;  Lodge  No.  27,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows; 
and  the  lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Americans.  He  has  a 
brother,  Horace,  and  two  sisters,  Emma  and  Hannah,  living.  Through- 
out the  county  he  is  known  as  a  skilled  workman  and  a  man  of 
enterprise  and  integrity. 

Payer,  Stephen  F.,  proprietor  of  the  largest  and  most  modern 
general  store  in  McAdoo,  was  born  on  July  26,  1867,  in  Austro 
Hungary.  He  is  one  of  the  four  children  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth 
(Krautkremmer)  Payer,  the  others  being  Annie,  now  Mrs.  Joseph 
Paumer,  a  resident  of  Century,  Fla. ;  Joseph,  Jr.,  living  in  McAdoo, 
and  Wendele,  formerly  a  member  of  the  Hungarian  army,  who  holds 
a  position  in  the  service  of  the  government  of  his  native  land.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  government  schools  of  the  county 
of  Saros,  Austro-Hungary,  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  and 
then  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  first  in  McAdoo,  in  1882. 
His  first  employment  was  as  a  slate-picker  in  the  No.  4  breaker  of  the 
Lehigh  &  Wilkes  Barre  Coal  Company,  and  while  there  he  learned 
to  speak  the  English  language.  When  he  had  mastered  it  sufficiently 
he  accepted  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  Joseph  Matej,  of  Hazle- 
ton,  with  whom  he  remained  nine  months,  leaving  to  accept  a  similar 
position  in  the  employ  of  Michael  McGarrity,  also  of  Hazleton.  This 
kept  him  employed  for  two  years,  after  which  he  went  to  Bayonne, 
N.  J.,  and  for  the  following  five  months  he  worked  in  a  lumber-yard 
and  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  On  his  return  to  Hazleton,  in 
1887,  he  again  found  employment  with  Mr.  McGarrity,  but  after 
nine  months  left  him  to  go  to  Passaic,  N.  J.,  to  learn  the  trade  of 
weaver  in  the  woolen  mills  of  that  place.  This,  however,  he  was 
ccMnpelled  to  abandon  because  of  poor  health,  and  he  started  to  learn 
the  carpenters*  trade.  This  was  in  1888,  in  which  year  he  returned 
to  Hazleton  to  become  an  employe  of  Williams  &  Fertig.  Upon 
leaving  this  firm  he  entered  the  employ  of  Mr.  McGarrity  for  the 
third  time.  July  i,  1889,  he  came  to  McAdoo  and  opened  a  branch 
store  for  Martin  &  Newreth.     He  had  charge  of  the  store  for  two 


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358  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

years,  and  then,  in  September,  1891,  he  engaged  in  business  in  his 
own  name,  as  a  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes  and  men's  furnishings.  In 
February,  1904,  he  added  a  grocery  department,  so  that  to-day  his 
store  is  one  of  the  most  complete  as  well  as  one  of  the  largest  gen- 
eral merchandise  stores  in  Schuylkill  county.  Besides  his  mercantile 
business,  he  holds  the  agency  for  several  foreign  steamship  lines  and 
for  foreign  money  orders,  and  is  the  McAdoo  representative  of  the 
Springfield  (Mass.)  Fire  &  Marine  Insurance  Company.  He  also 
holds  a  commission  as  notary  public,  and  in  1903  was  made  justice 
of  the  peace,  which  office  he  still  retains.  In  politics  he  is  a  stalwart 
believer  in  the  principles  and  tenets  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
when  McAdoo  first  became  a  borough  he  was  for  four  years  one 
of  its  councilmen.  Oct.  7,  1888,  Mr.  Payer  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Fuchs,  the  ceremony  occurring  at  Hazleton.  The 
children  of  this  union  are  nine  in  number — Oscar,  Felix,  Adolph, 
Olga,  Stephen,  Jr.,  Cornell,  Gizella,  Alfred  and  Ida — all  of  whom 
are  living  except  Cornell,  who  died  at  sea.  Mrs.  Payer's  father  and 
mother  were  Stephen  and  Elizabeth  (Kurtz)  Fuchs,  who  came  to 
this  country  from  Hungary,  although  the  family  is  of  German  origin. 
The  Payers  are  communicants  of  the  Slavish  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Mr.  Payer  is  a  member  of  the  National  Slavonian  society,  the  First 
Slavonian  Catholic  union,  and  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  He  is  an 
excellent  type  of  the  progressive,  enterprising  foreig^-bom  citizen, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  public-spirited  and  respected  men  of  the 
community. 

Pepper,  Frank  J.,  member  of  the  firm  of  Thomas  Pepper's  Sons, 
wholesale  liquor  dealers,  of  Ashland,  was  bom  at  Mine  Hill  Gap, 
Schuylkill  county,  Jan.  6,  1865,  his  parents  being  Thomas  and  Eliza- 
beth (McDonald)  Pepper.  (See  sketch  of  Thomas  Pepper.)  He 
was  reared  to  manhood  in  Ashland,  and  after  attending  the  public 
schools  of  that  city  took  a  course  in  the  Bryant  &  Stratton  business 
college  of  Philadelphia,  thus  equipping  himself  for  a  business  career. 
Upon  attaining  his  majority  he  became  associated  with  his  father  in 
business,  and  when  the  latter  retired,  in  1897,  he,  with  his  brothers, 
Thomas  R.  and  John  W.,  succeeded  to  the  business,  which  is  now 
conducted  under  the  title  above  designated.  Mr.  Pepper  is* one  of 
the  public-spirited  men  of  Ashland,  always  takes  an  active  interest 
in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  advancement  of  the  city's  moral  and 
material  interests,  and  is  liberal  in  his  support  of  measures  to  secure 
those  ends.  He  is  aligned  with  the  Democratic  party  in  his  political 
views,  and  in  religious  matters  is  a  member  of  the  St.  Joseph's  Ro- 
man Catholic  church.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Holy  Name  so- 
ciety, the  Knights  of  St.  Joseph,  and  Ashland  Lodge,  No.  384,  Benev- 
olent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Nov.  25,  1890,  Mr.  Pepper  and 
Miss  Loretta  Sweeney  were  united  in  marriage.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Margaret  (Murphy)  Sweeney,  of  Ashland.  To  this 
marriage  have  been  bom  five  children,  viz :  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Francis, 
Thomas  and  Howard.     The  last  named  is  deceased. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  359 

Pepper,  Thomas,  retired,  for  many  years  a  prosperous  and  in- 
fluential merchant  of  Ashland,  was  born  at  Mine  Hill  Gap,  South 
Cass  township,  this  county,  in  March,  1842.  His  parents,  Patrick 
and  Marcella  (Reilly)  Pepper,  were  natives  of  County  Longford, 
Ireland,  and  were  married  in  New  York  city,  about  1836.  5"or  a 
number  of  years  the  father  was  employed  in  a  foundry  in  New 
York  city,  but  about  1839  ^r  1840  he  came  to  the  coal  regions  of 
Schuylkill  county,  where  he  earned  his  livelihood  about  the  mines 
for  a  good  many  years.  The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Ash- 
land, where  he  died  in  the  fall  of  1888,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five. 
He  was  the  father  of  twelve  children,  ten  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  Of  the 
ten  who  grew  to  maturity  Francis  and  Charles  gre  deceased;  Will- 
iam and  James  died  in  infancy.  The  others  are  Ann,  now  the  wife 
of  James  Bradley;  Michael;  John;  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Hugh  Tye; 
William;  Angelo;  and  Lizzie.  Thomas  Pepper  was  reared  at  Mine 
Hill  Gap  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  there. 
At  an  early  age  he  began  work  in  the  mines  as  a  slate-picker,  subse- 
quently becoming  a  driver  and  later  a  miner.  When  he  left  the 
mining  occupation  it  was  to  engage  in  the  bottling  of  non-intoxi- 
cating beverages  at  Ashland,  and  in  1872  he  embarked  in  the  whole- 
sale Uquor  business.  This  he  continued  to  conduct  personally  until 
1899,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interests  to  his  sons,  who  have  since 
been  operating  it  under  the  firm  name  of  Thomas  Pepper's  Sons.  In 
1863  Mr.  Pepper  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Mc- 
Donald, a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Hannah  (Patton)  McDonald.  Mrs. 
Pepper's  parents  were  natives  of  Ireland  and  England,  respectively. 
Eight  of  the  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pepper  grew  to  maturity — 
Frank,  Hannah  (Mrs.  Patrick  Laughlin),  Thomas  R.,  Mary  (now 
deceased),  John,  George,  Charles  V.,  and  Joseph.  The  family  are 
all  communicants  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  Pep- 
per is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  beliefs,  and  he  was  county  treasurer 
from  1891  to  1894  and  a  member  of  the  borough  council  for  two 
terms.  His  varied  business  interests  include  a  directorship  in  the 
Citizens'  National  bank,  of  Ashland. 

Peters,  W.  A.,  of  the  firm  of  W.  A.  Peters  &  Co.,  of  Tamaqua, 
dealers  in  dry  goods,  was  born  in  Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  28,  1875, 
a  son  of  W.  K.  and  Katie  (Moser)  Peters.  The  mother  died  in 
1895  at  the  age  of  fifty-five,  but  the  father  is  still  living,  an  honored 
resident  of  Slatington,  Pa.,  where  for  many  years  he  was  a  slate 
operator.  He  is  president  of  the  Farmers'  Union  Mutual  fire  insur- 
ance company  of  Pennsylvania,  with  office  at  Breinigsville,  Pa.,  and 
is  an  earnest  worker  in  the  Heidelberg  church.  There  were  seven 
children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  K.  Peters,  of  whom  one,  Edward, 
resides  in  Schuylkill  county  with  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  W.  A. 
Peters  acquired  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  after  com-* 
pleting  his  studies  there  took  a  special  commercial  course.  He  then 
went  into  the  mercantile  business  as  a  clerk  and  bookkeeper,  and 
after  becoming  thoroughly  acquainted  with  every  detail  he  opened  a 


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360  SCHU"     KILL  COUNTY 

store  in  Tamaqua.  This  wa^  in  1898,  and  since  then  he  as  con- 
tinued most  successfully  engaged  in  this  line  of  enterpri  .  Mr. 
Peters  is  unmarried.  He  is  .<  member  of  the  Reformed  chi  ich  and 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Among  his  friends 
he  is  recognized  as  a  genial,  hearty  fellow,  a  thorough  gentleman, 
and  a  man  of  unusual  business  sagacity. 

Philips,  Edwin  F.,  M.  D.,  who  for  more  than  thirty-five  years 
has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  at  Tower  City,  is  a 
native  of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born  at  Minersville,  Jan,  31, 
1849,  ^  son  of  Solomon  and  Leah  (Homberger)  Philips,  the  former 
bom  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  March  5,  1823,  and  the  latter  a  native 
of  Northumberland  county .j,  Solomon  Philips  was  a  tinsmith  and 
sheet-iron  worker.  In  his  early  life  he  was  employed  for  some  years 
at  Canton,  Ohio,  but  in  1847  he  located  at  Minersville,  where  he  has 
been  engaged  in  business  for  fifty-five  years.  He  is  a  Republican  and 
has  served  for  twenty-five  years  as  president  of  the  school  board. 
His  wife  died  in  December,  1904.  Their  children  are :  Dr.  Edwin  F. ; 
Calvin  B.,  postmaster  at  Frackville;  Willie,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years;  John,  station  agent  for  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  at 
Minersville;  Charles,  station  agent  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Railroad  at  the  same  place ;  Cora  A.,  married  and  living  in  California ; 
Clement  M.,  a  photographer  at  Minersville;  and  Harry,  despatcher 
for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  at  Palo  Alto,  Pa.  Dr.  Edwin 
F.  Philips  attended  the  home  schools  and  spent  one  year  in  Professor 
William  F.  Wyers*  military  academy  at  West  Chester.  He  then 
took  up  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Oscar  M.  Robbins,  of  Miners- 
ville, and  in  1868,  after  due  preparation,  entered  Jefferson  medical 
college  at  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1871.  Upon  com- 
pleting his  course  he  located  in  Tower  City,  where  he  has  since  lived 
and  where  he  has  built  up  a  successful  practice,  standing  high  with  his 
brother  physicians  and  the  general  public.  Dr.  Philips  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  medical  association  and  is  examiner  for  all  the 
leading  life-insurance  companies  doing  business  in  Tower  City.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations,  was  a  member  of  the  first 
city  council,  in  which  he  served  for  three  years,  and  was  for  many 
years  on  the  school  board.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Williams  Valley  Railroad  Company,  of  which  he  has  been  treasurer 
since  1891.  He  is  prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  being  a  member  of 
Swatara  Lodge,  No.  267,  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  at  Minersville,  and 
Pottsville  Commandery,  No.  41,  Knights  Templars.  He  also  belongTs 
to  Washington  Camp,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  May 
28,  1872,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Dr.  Philips  and  Miss  Emma, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Abigail  (Hoffman)  Acker,  of  Port  Clinton, 
where  her  father  was  a  well-known  contractor  and  builder.  To  this 
union  have  been  bom  five  children,  three  of  whom  survive.  Lulu  A. 
was  educated  in  the  state  normal  school  at  West  Chester  and  has 
been  a  teacher  for  six  years,  being  now  engaged  in  that  profession 
at  Wrightstown;  Maude  A.  also  was  educated  in  the  same  school, 
taught  one  year  at  Harrington,  five  years  at  Toms  River,  N.  J.,  and 


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BIOGRAPHrc^AL  361 

for  the  l.st  two  years  has  been  in  the  rrhools  of  Tower  City ;  Ray  A. 
attende  /tht  state  university  for  four  ^ears,  and  is  now  an  electrical 
engineei*. 

Phillips,  John  W.,  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank,  Mahanoy 
City,  is  a  native  of  the  borough  in  which  he  now  lives,  and  was 
born  on  Sept.  30,  1864.  His  parents,  Richard  and  Mary  (Evans) 
Phillips,  were  natives  of  Wales,  whence  they  immigrated  to  this 
county  during  the  early  history  of  the  regions  "beyond  the  mountain." 

Pilgram,  Arthur  J.,  a  representative  lawyer  and  borough  solicitor 
of  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of  Texas,  where  he  was  born  Feb.  18, 
1 85 1.  His  parents  were  John  and  Elise  Pilgram,  natives  of  Cologne, 
Germany.  John  Pilgram  was  educated  -n  his  native  country,  at  the 
University  in  Bonn,  and  was  an  architect  by  profession.  Arthur  J. 
Pilgram  was  educated  at  Lafayette  college,  Easton,  Pa.,  and  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1S72.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Schuylkill  county  Aug.  23,  1875,  and  has  been  in  active  practice  in 
Pottsville  for  twenty-six  years.  He  was  chosen  to  the  office  of  bor- 
ough solicitor  in  1899,  and  has  been  continued  in  the  same  to  the 
present  time.  He  was  a  candidate  for  the  Republican  nomination  for 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  Schuylkill  county  in  1907.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  political  views  and  is  a  member  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian church  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  Pilgram  was  married  Aug.  7, 
1877,  to  Miss  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Harriet  S.  Schertel, 
of  Pottsville. 

Ploppcrt,  Arsenius  R.,  one  of  the  representative  business  men  of 
Shenandoah,  was  born  in  Hesse-Cassel,  Germany,  Jan.  10,  1853,  and 
is  a  son  of  Gregory  and  Mary  Catherine  Ploppert,  who  passed  their 
entire  lives  in  Germany,  where  the  father  followed  the  trade  of 
blacksmith,  which  also  became  the  vocation  of  his  three  sons.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  afforded  the  advantages  of  the  excellent 
schools  of  his  native  land  and  as  a  youth  learned  the  trade  of  black- 
smith, under  the  direction  of  his  father.  In  1871  he  immigrated  to 
America.  He  made  his  home  with  relatives  in  St.  Clair,  Schuylkjll 
county,  until  he  established  a  home  of  his  own.  He  was  without 
financial  resources  when  he  came  to  the  United  States,  and  for  several 
years  he  followed  various  occupations,  bending  his  energies  to  the 
work  in  hand  and  showing  the  energy  and  good  judgment  which  are 
so  typical  of  the  race  from  which  he  sprang.  He  assisted  in  building 
the  dam  on  Broad  mountain  which  supplies  water  to  the  city  of  Potts- 
ville. In  1873  ^^  found  employment  at  Atkins*  colliery  on  Turkey 
Run,  and  later  he  worked  at  his  trade  at  Wiggins*  colliery,  where 
he  remained  for  seven  years.  When  the  property  changed  hands 
the  new  company  transferred  him  to  Boston  Run  colliery,  and  there 
he  followed  the  blacksmith  trade  about  seven  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  machinery  at  the  Indian 
Ridge  colliery.  After  being  thus  employed  about  seven  years  he  en- 
gaged in  business  for  himself,  as  a  huckster,  beginning  operations 
with  one  horse  and  wagon.  He  finally  opened  a  small  store  in  Shen- 
andoah and  the  same  was  placed  in  charge  of  his  wife,  while  he 


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362  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

personally  continued  to  make  sales  from  his  wagon.  He  finally  found 
it  possible  to  open  a  general  grocery  and  provision  store,  and  he  pur- 
chased the  building  which  he  then  made  his  business  headquarters 
and  which  he  has  since  remodeled  and  enlarged,  making  the  same 
serve  both  as  store  and  residence.  He  has  built  up  a  large  and  sub- 
stantial enterprise  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  reliable  and  honorable 
merchants  of  Shenandoah.  He  has  been  a  member  of  Rescue  hook 
and  ladder  company  since  1876,  and  has  proven  a  most  able  member 
of  the  fire  department.  In  politics  he  maintains  an  independent  atti- 
tude, and  he  and  his  family  are  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church, 
being  identified  with  the  Holy  Family  parish.  Mr.  Ploppert's  two 
brothers,  Leonard  and  William,  served  in  the  German  army  during 
the  Franco-Prussian  war.  Leonard  is  now  operating  his  father's  old 
blacksmith  shop  in  Germany,  and  William  died  in.  Pottsville,  Pa,, 
July  17,  1901 :  he  was  born  March  31,  1848,  and  was  a  hotel-keeper 
in  Pottsville  for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  death.  The  only 
sister  of  Mr.  Ploppert  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  sisterhood  of 
St.  Francis.  Her  religious  name  is  Sister  Wilhelmina,  and  she  is 
.now  teaching  in  the  parochial  school  of  Holy  Trinity  church  at  Co- 
lumbia, Lancaster  county.  Within  the  first  year  after  coming  to 
America  Mr.  Ploppert  saved  enough  money  to  pay  the  passage  of 
his  brother  and  sister  to  the  United  States,  and  for  some  time  the 
three  lived  together  in  Shenandoah.  Aug.  21,  1877,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Ploppert  to  Miss  Annie  Weweler,  who  was  bom 
at  Ashland,  Schuylkill  county,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Annie  C. 
(Falbrick)  Weweler,  both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  Ger- 
many. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ploppert  became  the  parents  of  seven  children — 
Catherine,  Joseph,  Caroline,  John,  William,  Arsenius,  and  Leo.  Caro- 
line and  John  died  in  childhood.  The  other  children  all  remain  at 
the  parental  home,  and  Joseph,  William  and  Arsenius  are  employed 
in  connection  with  their  father's  business. 

Portz,  Frederick,  Sr.,  who  has  rendered  efficient  service  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  county  poor  directors  of  Schuylkill  county, 
is  a  well-known  business  man  of  Pottsville.  He  was  bom  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  Dec.  13,  1841.  He  immigrated  to  America,  and  located 
in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  March  12,  1867.  His  parents  and  family  remained 
in  their  native  country,  where  his  mother  died  in  1878,  and  his  father 
in  1905,  at  the  advanced  apfe  of  eighty-seven  years.  A  brother,  whose 
name  was  Valentine,  died  in  Bavaria  the  same  year  of  the  father's 
death.  A  sister,  named  Henrietta,  is  living  at  the  old  family  home. 
Mr.  Portz  was  married  in  Pottsville,  in  1871,  to  Miss  Lucinda  Clare, 
who  was  born  in  this  town  in  185 1.  They  became  the  parents  of 
seven  children:  Frederick,  the  eldest,  has  been  a  salesman  and  fore- 
man in  Bright's  hardware  store  in  Pottsville  for  seventeen  years; 
George  is  employed  in  his  father's  business;  Valentine  and  Eddie 
died  within  the  same  week ;  Katherine  became  the  wife  of  Howard 
Menweiler,  who  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident  in  1905,  and  they 
had  two  children,  Carl  and  Catherine;  another  daughter,  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick Bernet,  resides  in  Mahanoy  City,  where  her  husband  is  a  mer- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  363 

chant;  Harry  C.  is  a  student  in  civil  engineering,  with  the  Philadel- 
phia &  Reading  company,  for  the  last  four  years.  Frederick  Portz, 
Sr.,  was  employed  as  foreman  of  the  fermenting  department  of 
Yuengling*s  brewery  for  fourteen  years.  He  engaged  in  the  liquor 
business  in  1881^  and  has  continued  at  the  same  stand,  No.  122  North 
Center  street,  until  the  present.  In  1902  he  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  the  office  of  director  of  the  poor  and  was  elected  to  fill 
a  vacancy  for  one  year.  He  was  re-elected  in  1903  for  a  three  years' 
term.  During  the  autumn  of  1906  he  accepted  a  nomination  for  the 
same  office  at  the  hands  of  the  "Lincoln  party,"  but  was  defeated  at 
the  polls,  as  were  all  the  party's  candidates  in  the  county.  Mr.  Portz 
is  a  member  of  Hayden  Lodge,  No.  44,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  of  which  he  is  a  past  grand.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Humane  fire  company.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church. 

Powers,  Rev.  James  F.,  D.  D. — ^This  distinguished  divine  has 
been  a  resident  of  Pottsville  for  more  than  twenty-two  years,  and 
so  closely  have  his  life  and  character  been  linked  with  the  history 
of  Trinity  Episcopal  church  that  neither  is  complete  without  mention 
of  the  other.  Dr.  Powers  came  to  Pottsville  in  1885,  from  the  ChurjJi 
of  the  Advent,  Philadelphia,  which  he  had  served  as  rector  during 
the  preceding  twelve  years.  He  was  then  in  the  full  vigor  of  mature 
manhood,  and  entered  at  once  heartily  upon  the  arduous  work  to 
which  he  had  been  called.  Trinity  church,  with  its  attendant  missions 
and  large  congfregation,  required  unremitting  labor  upon  the  part  of 
its  rector,  and  Dr.  Powers  was  ambitious  beyond  his  strength.  After 
a  successful  rectorate  of  eighteen  years,  disabled  by  rheumatism, 
which  so  crippled  him  as  to  render  it  impossible  for  him  to  discharge 
the  full  duties  of  his  office,  he  resigned  as  rector,  and  was  made 
rector  emeritus,  in  charge  of  the  pulpit,  which  position  he  has  held 
for  more  than  five  years,  preaching  every  Sunday  though  unable  to 
get  in  and  out  of  the  pulpit  without  help.  Dr.  Powers  was  born  in 
Spring^eld,  Vt.,  Nov.  28,  1836.  He  comes  of  an  old  New  England 
family  whose  founder,  Walter  Powers,  came  to  this  country  in  1654. 
His  grandfather,  Asahel  Powers,  served  three  years  as  a  soldier  in 
the  army  which  fought  for  American  independence.  His  father  saw 
service  in  the  war  of  181 2.  Dr.  Powers  is  a  son  of  William  B.  and 
Sally  Eveleth  (Belknap)  Powers.  His  mother  dying  before  he  was 
three  years  old,  he  found  a  home  among  relatives  and  friends  until, 
at  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own  resources.  His 
earliest  ambition  was  to  gain  a  college  education.  This  ambition,  by 
hard  work,  many  privations  and  the  kindly  help  of  friends,  he  was 
able  to  realize.  Pursuing  his  preparatory  studies  at  Phillips  Exeter 
acaderhy  and  the  Lewiston  Falls  academy,  he  graduated  from  Tufts 
college  in  1861 ;  from  this  institution,  in  addition  to  the  degrees  in 
course,  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Sacrae  Theologiae  Doctor. 
The  Pennsylvania  military  academy  cpnferred  upon  him  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  Uni- 
versalist  church  in  1863,  and  became  pastor  of  a  church  in  Cambridge, 


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364  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Mass.  Later  he  had  charge  of  the  old  First  Parish  church,  Maiden. 
In  both  places  he  met  with  marked  success.  Finding  himself  not  in 
perfect  harmony  with  his  ecclesiastical  surroundings,  he  entered  the 
Episcopal  church,  was  made  deacon  by  Bishop  Clark  in  1872,  and 
ordained  priest  in  1873.  His  first  charge  was  St.  James,  Woonsocket, 
R.  L  From  here  he  was  called  to  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  Phila- 
delphia, of  which  he  was  rector  nearly  twelve  years.  From  Advent 
he  came  to  Trinity.  For  seven  years  Dr.  Powers  was  archdeacon  of 
Reading,  when  he  declined  a  re-election;  for  fifteen  years  he  repre- 
sented the  diocese  of  Central  Pennsylvania  as  deputy  to  tjie  general 
convention  of  the  church.  He  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  who  was  Miss  Annie  S.  Greene,  of  Boston,  died  in  1874,  after 
a  married  life  of  twelve  years,  leaving  no  children.  In  1886  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Ethel  Wolfe,  of  Philadelphia.  This  union  was 
blessed  with  three  children — Frank  Ethelwulf,  James  Eveleth,  and 
Eleanor  Louise.  Notwithstanding  his  badly  crippled  condition,  which 
makes  it  impossible  for  him  to  get  about  without  help,  Dr.  Powers 
claims  that  his  general  health  was  never  better;  his  mental  vigor  is 
unimpaired,  and  his  pulpit  ministrations — ^though  he  must  sit  in 
preaching — have  lost  nothing  in  effectiveness.  Dr.  Powers  has  the 
respect,  the  confidence,  the  sympathy  and  the  best  wishes  of  not  only 
his  own  congregation,  but  also  of  the  entire  community.  "He  is  a 
logical  and  forceful  speaker,  of  dignified  bearing,  yet  affable  and 
agreeable  in  his  manner;  he  possesses  those  qualities  of  head  and 
heart  which  draw  to  him  a  large  circle  of  warm  friends,  and  is  pos- 
sessed of  an  energetic  and  sympathetic  nature  which  makes  for  God 
and  righteousness." 

Prcvost,  John,  deceased,  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Schuylkill 
county,  was  born  near  Phoenixville,  Pa.,  about  the  year  1788.  His 
parents  came  from  France,  settling  in  Canada,  but  later  removed  to 
Pennsylvania,  locating  near  Phoenixville,  Chester  county,  where  he 
was  bom.  As  a  young  man  he  learned  the  trade  of  saddler,  and 
about  1828  he  removed  to  Minersville,  where  he  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  most  of  the  time  engaged  in  the  hotel  business.  For  many 
years  he  held  the  office  of  city  treasurer,  and  he  was  also  postmaster 
for  a  considerable  period.  His  death  occurred  in  1863,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years.  Some  of  the  old  settlers  of  Minersville  still 
remember  .him  as  a  man  of  influence  in  local  affairs,  and  of  great 
force  of  <:haracter.  While  living  at  Phoenixville  he  married  Miss 
Mary  Jones,  and  to  this  union  were  bom  eight  children,  two  of 
whom — Etta  and  Susanna — died  at  the  ages  of  twenty  and  five 
years,  respectively.  The  other  children  were :  Louis  W.,  a  prominent 
physician  for  many  years  at  Tremont,  died  at  Minersville,  in  1900; 
Charles  C,  who  was  employed  in  various  stores  at  Minersville,  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty-one  years ;  Hiram  W.,  a  dmggist  at  Minersville, 
died  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight- years ;  Amelia  J.,  who  was  bora  on 
Oct.  I,  1831,  married  William  Spencer,  on  Nov.  3,  1853  (see  sketch 
of  William  Spencer) ;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Dr.  L.  J.  Hale,  lived 
in  Minersville  .for  some  time  after  her  marriage  and  then  removed 


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'  •  r»'  I'.i'l  cb'ir^rc  Ml  liic  ..M  Imtsi  }\ii  i-h  clur* '\   M 
'.     •   ..<•'  lie  !  H-t   wii'n  TMikcd  ^»iccc>>      Fintliiiir  ni..'N.*lt  n 
:'       y..    \\'\h  Ills  oxii -Kt^iKal  surrouiuliiijc:-,   li*-  »   ■■   ^^ 
•■    ■)    ..'  li.    ^\  :i--    iiia«U'     l-.a.'^n    by    Ui-li*)])   (.  tark    *i.    -  ■  ■_ 

•  '  •  ' '.    ;   iK   i^^J^v     il  ^-  :r  •:  :  i^aij^c  was  St.  Jamt:-.   •, 

!  ..         .•    li.   Wcis  <'aM-^  to  tlif  V  irirch  of  tlit^     .    ..'it,  i 
.  '   •  [.   hi.    v\a-^   f'-r-  •:    ii ';'ri\    twrlxc  ; '/ar^.      :  -*      .    \(l\. 
•'     .  ■•       .      -s  ^ .     i  . '1   St  w  M   V ^  itn  i  Ji".  i\>\\ iTs  \\  ■:     ari  ••     w( ' -n  • 

\  ;  .  ..  !'..    r.c;"K'i  :i   u  ■.■''TtH.n  :    f-^r  nt*«  •  "  yt-ar-    .'■    i-^tri 
.•     '  ••  ••  ■  ^<     'f  ".  .  lural   I'l-M  -Nlsani::  as  (Kjnii»    t  .  i;--.    ^-'ic.*. 

••     '.    ..;    *.'•     x*''i;'    ii.      lie    iia^    ''rcn    t -mcc    inaWi'.il.      fi  ^    hr>t 
......    ..',■,   <    •-    ^::       .   :•:.'<    S.   (.u.i..,  »>»'   rH..^t,,;>.  f']\('   ;m    Ihj^.  ;  !:•  r 

'.     ■:  .'  .       '  :  ^  '.w  ;'-at>,  1":^  "i;   pt.  ciiiKuL*!!.     In  *^>^''  I't  v,  ..s 

•  I    ■  .     .'■  'M  •)    ^\   .i:-      '.*     rhila<iclj>lua.      'J'hi^    uinon    w  '^ 
"     '       /.'    ^■:'       1 '.!'■'.  r!"  M  ail.    I'llulwulf,   Janios    I^vca'h.    a.' 

-  :  •      -..       ■  •  v'.  ith'-t.ip«'..L;  li:s  i>av!ly  crippled  cotvlilio!  .  .'^hi^* 
^    :*•:•-.  ;      I   *•  '-Ml   t'     li'jt   au'jut  \\ill'.ont  iiclp,   Dr.    1'   \.ci- 

<  .,*  ,-  r  i.  ;•  r  r  *■  h/alih  v.  \>  ikmt  JKtVr;  his  nieinal  vi^  .-*  is 
'■;'••  i  »  ■•  -  P'  ';  1^  ir.inL-traiions — thoii;^'h  he  mu^'t  ^i.  in 
]'•  '  .,.  '.'•:••  I  .1  •';  kil:  "1  t  IN  .'t:' i"i;*-s<.  I  Jr.  rowers  ha>  il- ^ 
'.     .  .'t.    In    (  i;  *■  '.  .,,(     t  i»-  ^  N  mi'tihy  arid  the  be^t  wishes  of  not  onl\ 

•  :  ^  ■••\'i  .  1  M'-  :  :  •  :  ,  .  m;  a^^o  or  tiv.*  t-iitTc  community.  *'He  is  n 
;  ,,  •'  ••  .1  :''..<  '  •-<  '*.'-,  of  <liL':'i»'t' 1  iK-arinj^.  }et  affabh^  and 
;•.■  't  .!-.  ;i,  *i'  .1.1' r -r  .  he  j^'^scs-.rs  tho>;o  qualities  of  head  and 
!i#-ii^  ',* "  •■  I  *' ^.^v  t'l  1:  ..  a  l\ii:r  circle  of  warm  friends,  and  i.s  ^ns- 
M.  v.t  Ml  '<  ,  I  K-i-.i^  a'.d  s\-.|iat)ictic  nature  wliich  makes  for  Gol 
and   ri  r  '^  -    >  -'•  -  ^ 

Prev^st,  JoMr,  /c  ^a^•'d.  fdr  niany  years  a  resident  of  Schuylkdl 
co;:;i'  .  \\.i"«  '»•.  ,  •«  \r  • 'l-neiiixviile,  f\a.,  alnnit  the  year  1788.  His 
prrc't-  <...'■  T  M,  :  uiie,  settHni^  in  Canada,  but  later  removed  to 
IV'Musv  lva;:;.i.    •  <-  mar    IMia-nixvilh*.    Chester   county,    where    ho 

\\  l^  ]x>rn.  \  '.  '.  '  '!i;  man  he  learned  the  trade  of  saddler,  anfl 
.bcut  iSj8  lie  rcP"  vt<l  ir»  MinersciHe,  where  he  passed  the  remainder 

•  ■t  liis  life.  'I'^M  01  the  time  enj^a^cti  in  the  h(^tel  business.  For  many 
Years  he  he-d  th*"  office  of  cit^  treasurer,  and  he  was  also  postmaster 
for  a  con.  id  Mable  pe:i";l.  H>  'leath  occurred  in  1863,  at  the  a^e 
of  scventv-t'. .e  years.  N)nie  of  the  old  settlers  of  Minersville  still 
renv'rT;i>fr  hi'"*!  as  a  i.ian  of  induence  in  local  affairs,  and  of  pTcaf 
force  or  charatt  r.  \\'hile  livm^^  at  riHenixville  he  married  Mi-^s 
Mar\  J-  ':es,  and  to  this  uir'on  were  born  eight  children,  two  oi 
\\hom-- I'^tta  at.d  Susanna — died  at  tiic  a;^es  of  twenty  and  five 
years,  respect'vdy.  1'he  other  chilrlren  were:  I.ouis  \\\,  a  prominent 
pinsician  for  man\  years  at  Tremont,  diui  at  Miners villc,  in  1900: 
rharles  C,  who  was  em])ioyed  in  various  stores  at  Mlnersville,  died 
.  t  ttie  age  oi  thirtv-  >ne  years;  Piram  \\\,  a  druggist  at  Minersville, 

!.:  (!  at  the  ag-e  of  sixtv  ei^dit- years ;  Amelia  J.,  who  was  bom  on 

<  ..  ♦.  T.  183T,  marr-ed  William  Spencer,  on  Xov.  3,  1853  fsee  sketch 
'  t   \*  illiam  Spencer")  :  IClizaheth,  who  married  Dr.  L.  J.  Hale,  bvon 

•  I    Minersville   for  son:e  time  after  her  niarriag-e  and  then   removed 


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.iOriM     PPir.V05T 


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*  .        \ 


\-  •*- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  365 

to  the  vicinity  of  Jenkintown,  where  she  still  resides ;  Mary  P.  is  now 
Mrs.  Jacob  Serrill,  of  Philadelphia,  where  her  husband  is  a  coal 
operator. 

Pribula,  Michael,  dealer  in  general  merchandise  at  Shenandoah, 
IS  a  native  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  empire,  having  been  born  in  the 
city  of  Kashau,  Sept.  22,  1863.  In  1881  he  came  to  America,  located 
at  Shenandoah  and  found  employment  as  a  slate-picker,  at  a  salary 
of  five  dollars  a  week.  From  this  position  he  passed  to  outside  work 
about  the  mines,  where  he  continued  until  March,  1887,  when  he 
opened  a  saloon,  which  was  the  beginning  of  his  present  successful 
establishment.  From  that  time  his  progress  has  been  steadily  upward. 
Beginning  on  a  small  scale,  he  has  increased  his  stock  year  by  year 
until  he  now  carries  a  complete  line  of  groceries,  provisions,  clothing 
for  working  men,  dry  goods,  notions,  etc.  He  owns  the  building  in 
which  his  store  is  located,  and  which  also  contains  dwelling  rooms 
and  a  saloon.  In  addition  to  this  building  and  his  stock  of  goods,  he 
owns  some  valuable  property  at  Berwick,  Pa.,  all  of  which  has  been 
accumulated  by  his  industry,  sound  business  judgment  and  skillful 
management.  H^e  is  connected  with  a  number  of  financial  institutions 
of  the  county,  being  a  stockholder  in  the  Merchants'  National  bank 
and  the  Shenandoah  Trust  Company,  of  Shenandoah.  He  is  also  a 
stockholder  in  the  Shenandoah  Electric  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Com- 
pany, the  People's  Electric  Heat  and  Power  Company  of  Mahanoy 
City,  and  a  bondholder  in  the  Schuylkill  Railway  Company  and  the 
Home  Brewing  Company,  of  Shenandoah;  he  has  also  invested  in 
other  railway  bonds.  Mr.  Pribula  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  con- 
victions and  takes  an  active  interest  in  promoting  the  cause  of  his 
party.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  St.  Stephen's  Catholic 
church,  which  is  attached  to  the  First  Catholic  Slavonian  union,  with 
a  membership  of  45,000  people.  In  connection  with  his  church  work 
Mr.  Pribula  is  identified  with  several  beneficial  societies,  notably  St. 
Stephen's,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  St.  Demeter,  a  Greek  society. 
Of  the  first  two  societies  he  is  president,  and  he  is  likewise  trustee 
and  treasurer  of  St.  Stephen's  church.  In  1884  he  married  Miss 
Lizzie  Kmetz,  a  native  of  the  same  locality  as  himself,  and  they 
have  three  sons  and  three  daughters  living  and  four  children  deceased.* 
Those  living  are:  Michael,  who  married  Miss  Mary  Sabol,  of  Sha- 
mokin.  Pa.,  a  native  of  Austria,  and  who  is  employed  in  his  father's 
store;  Mary,  wife  of  Szilard  Hosza;  and  Elizabeth,  William,  Frank 
and  Susie,  all  living  at  home  and  attending  school. 

Price,  David  John,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  Homeopathic  physician 
and  surgeon  at  Shenandoah,  was  born  at  Ashland,  this  county,  Jan. 
17,  1874.  His  parents  were  John  J.  and  Ann  (Reese)  Price,  the 
former  of  whom  was  a  native  of  Wales,  where  he  was  bom  in  May, 
1850.  He  came  to  America  in  young  manhood,  locating  first  at  Lans- 
ford  and  then  in  Ashland.  When  he  came  to  Shenandoah  it  was  to 
operate  for  John  B.  Price  a  branch  store,  which  he  subsequently 
purchased  and  conducted  under  his  own  name  for  thirtv  years.  The 
doctor  is  the  only  child  born  to  his  father's  first  marriage,  and  after 


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366  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  mother's  death  the  father  married  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Parry,  who 
bore  to  him  four  children,  of  whom  there  is  but  one  survivor.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  preparatory  education  in  the 
schools  of  Ashland  and  Shenandoah,  graduating  at  the  high  school 
in  the  latter  place  in  the  class  of  1893.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  matriculated  at  the  Hahnemann  medical  college  of  Philadelphia, 
having  previously  read  for  some  time  under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  J.  S. 
Kistler.  In  May,  1897,  he  was  granted  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  by  that  institution  and  in  the  fall  of  the  year  returned  to 
Shenandoah  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  has 
built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  practice  and  has  established  an  excellent 
reputation  for  himself  among  the  members  of  his  profession.  Dr. 
Price  is  a  member  of  the  Hahnemann  college  alumni  association  and 
of  the  county  and  state  medical  associations.  In  his  religious  ad- 
herency  he  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  is  a 
stanch  Republican  in  his  political  views,  although  he  has  never  aspired 
to  office.  Aug.  22,  1906,  he  married  Harriet  Wasley  Jones,  daughter 
of  John  R.  and  Martha  Jones,  of  Shenandoah.  Her  father  was  born 
in  Wales  and  her  mother  in  Schuylkill  county.  Pa..  In  a  fraternal 
way  he  is  prominent  in  the  Royal  Arcanum,  being  examiner  and  state 
deputy  grand  regent,  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
being  the  past  noble  grand,  also  one  of  the  trustees  of  John  W.  Stokes 
Lodge,  No.  515,  of  Shenandoah.  The  doctor  is  also  a  member  of 
the  county  board  of  United  States  pension  examiners,  the  office  being 
located  in  Pottsville. 

Price,  William  J.,  is  a  popular  and  well  known  business  man  of 
Shenandoah,  where  he  conducts  a  well  appointed  hotel,  at  the  corner 
of  Coal  and  Main  streets.  He  was  bom  in  Ringtown,  this  county, 
Aug.  28,  1864,  and  is  a  son  of  William  J.  and  Lydia  Price.  His 
father  was  likewise  bom  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  of  Welsh  descent 
He  loyally  tendered  his  services  in  defense  of  the  Union  when  the 
Civil  war  was  inaugurated,  becoming  a  member  of  the  48th  Penn- 
sylvania volunteer  infantry.  He  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Cold 
Harbor,  June  3,  1864.  Of  his  two  children  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
is  the  younger,  having  been  born  three  months  after  the  death  of 
the  father.  The  widowed  mother  later  became  the  wife  of  Amos 
Hauser,  of  Ringtown.  Of  the  second  marriage  one  son  was  bom, 
Oliver  Hauser,  who  is  now  a  resident  of  Ringtown.  Both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hauser  continued  to  reside  in  Ringtown  until  their  death.  Mr. 
Price's  sister  is  the  wife  of  William  H.  Reinbold,  of  Allentown,  Pa. 
The  subject  of  this  review  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  discipline  of  the 
farm  and  was  afforded  the  advantages  of  the  public  schools  of  Ring- 
town.  He  remained  at  home  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty 
years,  and  it  may  consistently  be  said  that  he  reveres  the  memory  of 
his  step-father,  who  was  as  solicitous  and  indulgent  as  could  have 
been  an  own  father.  Mr.  Price  followed  various  occupations  prior 
to  engaging  in  the  hotel  business,  in  which  he  has  met  with  gratify- 
ing success.  Price's  hotel  has  accommodations  for  twenty-five  board- 
ers, and  at  the  time  of  this  writing  the  house  is  being  enlarged  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  367 

Otherwise  improved  (June,  1907).  In  politics  Mr.  Price  is  independ- 
ent and  is  affiliated  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America 
and  with  the  local  camp  of  Sons  of  Veterans.  He  and  his  family 
hold  the  faith  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Dec.  23,  1883,  Mr.  Price  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sydney  E.  Singley,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Elizabeth  (Benninger)  Singley,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  father  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  blacksmith  trade  as  a 
young  man  and  for  twenty-eight  years  he  conducted  a  hotel  at  Slab- 
town,  this  county.  He  is  now  living  retired  at  Nuremberg,  this 
county,  his  wife  having  died  in  1900.  They  became  the  parents  of 
one  son  and  eight  daughters — Sarah  (deceased),  Catherine,  Miranda, 
Emma,  Lucy,  Sydney  Elizabeth,  Alice,  Minerva,  and  Christian.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Price  have  two  children.  Daisy  May  is  now  the  wife  of 
James  Davis,  who  conducts  the  livery  business  in  connection  with 
the  Price  hotel,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Dorothy  Elizabeth. 
Harvey  Alexander,  the  younger  of  the  children,  is  a  student  in  the 
state  normal  school  at  Kutztown. 

Purcell,  James  C,  a  native  of  Cass  township,  Schuylkill  county. 
Pa.,  was  born  Dec.  30,  1844.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of  Patrick  and 
Mary  Purcell,  early  settlers  of  the  county,  who  established  a  home 
in  the  Heckscherville  valley  as  early  as  1840.  They  were  natives  of 
County  Kilkenny,  Ireland.  The  father  was  a  miner  by  occupation. 
He  died  in  July,  1873,  ^^  ^he  age  of  sixty  years.  The  mother  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  Of  a  family  of  eleven  children  bom  to 
these  parents,  but  four  are  now  living.  The  others  are  Martin  E., 
who  is  a  mine  foreman  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron 
Company  at  Bear  Valley  colliery,  near  Shamokin;  Mrs.  Joanna 
L)mch,  who  resides  with  her  husband  and  family  at  Elmira,  N.  Y. ; 
and  Mrs.  Margaret  Brennan,  who  lives  at  Scranton,  Pa.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  article  has  spent  the  greater  portion  of  his  life  in  educa- 
tional work.  His  early  opportunities  were  not  the  best,  but  by  close 
application  and  hard  study  he  acquired  a  good  common  school  educa- 
tion, which  was  supplemented  by  attendance  at  a  night  school  for 
several  years  and  finally  by  a  course  at  the  state  normal  school  at 
Kutztown.  He  began  teaching  in  1864,  and  filled  the  position  of 
principal  of  the  East  Ward  schools  in  Mahanoy  City  for  six  years, 
earning  and  justly  meriting  the  reputation  of  a  first-class  educator 
and  disciplinarian.  At  this  time  the  schools  "north  of  the  mountain" 
were  not  under  close  supervision  by  the  county  superintendent,  owing 
to  the  difficulty  of  reaching  them,  and  because  of  a  multiplicity  of 
other  work  in  connection  with  the  office.  Teachers  in  the  country 
and  mining  districts  were  often  as  tardy  in  attendance  as  some  of 
their  pupils,  and  it  appears  that  time  was  sometimes  charged  when 
school  was  not  in  session.  To  obviate  this,  and  other  irregularities, 
the  county  superintendent,  by  virtue  of  law,  selected  a  superintendent 
for  the  district  then  embraced  within  Mahanoy  township,  including 
the  present  boroughs  of  Gilberton  and  Frackville.  The  school  board 
of  Mahanoy  township,  who  had  the  appointing  power,  was  composed 
of  three  Democrats  and  three  Republicans,  hence  it  was  barred  from 


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368  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

political  preferences.  At  the  request  of  the  school  directors  of  Ma- 
hanoy  township  the  county  superintendent  was  empowered,  as  per 
resolutions  of  the  school  board,  to  select  a  competent  teacher  as  dis- 
trict superintendent  for  the  schools  of  the  said  township.  As  there 
were  several  teachers  in  the  township  closely  connected  to  tlie  ma- 
jority of  the  directors  it  was  deemed  prudent  to  have  the  district 
superintendent  selected  from  the  teachers  outside  of  the  township  of 
Mahanoy.  Jesse  Newlin,  who  was  the  county  superintendent  of  the 
schools  of  Schuylkill  county,  recommended  Mr.  Purcell  as  competent 
and  well  qualified  to  fill  the  position  of  district  superintendent  of  the 
schools  of  Mahanoy  township,  and  Mr.  Purcell  was  accordingly  con- 
firmed by  the  board  of  directors.  The  school  district  of  the  town- 
ship at  the  close  of  the  term  for  several  years  prior  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  district  superintendent  was  in  debt,  but  at  the  close  of  the 
first  and  subsequent  years  of  Mr.  Purceirs  supervision  there  was 
each  year  a  nice  balance  in  the  school  district  treasury.  The  schools 
throughout  the  township  made  steady  and  rapid  progress,  so  much 
so  that  the  good  work  was  highly  commended  by  the  county  superin- 
tendent, Jesse  Newlin.  The  ** Molly  Maguires"  were  in  active  opera- 
tion during  this  time,  and  in  traveling  over  his  district  Mr.  Purcell 
frequently  came  in  contact  with  some  of  the  band.  In  fact,  on  one 
or  two  occasions  he  was  in  closer  relations  with  them  than  he  thought 
conducive  to  bodily  safety  or  peace  of  mind.  He  also  witnessed  some 
of  the  depredations  of  this  lawless  band  while  he  was  a  resident  of 
Shenandoah,  engaged  in  teaching  there  and  at  Gilberton,  where  he 
was  employed  for  seven  years,  after  leaving  the  office  of  district 
superintendent.  Mr.  PurcelV  has  always  been  an  advocate  of  higher 
qualifications  in  teachers,  and  correspondingly  higher  emoluments 
for  services  rendered.  During  the  summer  vacations  for  two  or  three 
years  after  retiring  from  the  superintendency  he  conducted  normal 
schools  at  Frackville  and  Gilberton,  thus  affording  teachers  at  those 
points  the  advantages  of  necessary  professional  training  at  their  own 
homes.  Mr.  Purcell  was  borough  superintendent  of  schools  at  Shen- 
andoah for  three  years,  and  was  employed  as  principal  of  the  schools 
of  Gilberton  in  the  spring  of  1881,  at  which  time  he  decided  to  accept 
the  nomination  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  office  of  register  of 
wills  and  clerk  of  the  orphans*  court,  a  position  to  which  he  was 
elected  at  the  general  election  of  1881.  After  serving  three  years  in 
this  position  he  was  appointed  by  Judge  Pershing  to  do  some  special 
work  in  several  of  the  county  offices,  and  about  three  years  passed  ere 
this  work  was  entirely  completed.  He  served  one  term  as  a  member 
of  the  Shenandoah  school  board  during  the  period  of  his  teaching  at 
Gilberton,  these  being  the  only  offices  to  which  he  has  since  aspired. 
In  the  year  1891  he  was  offered  a  position  as  teacher  of  the  Boys' 
Catholic  high  school  of  Philadelphia,  by  the  superintendent  of  schools, 
Rev.  Dr.  Fisher,  on  the  recommendation  of  Rev.  John  J.  Hickey,  at 
one  time  a  pupil  of  his.  This  position  he  was  compelled  to  decline 
because  of  circumstances  beyond  his  control.  The  subject  of  this 
article  has  been  twice  married,  first  on  Feb.  22,  1873,  to  Miss  Sarah 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  369 

Mohan,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Aresta  (Reed)  McAan.  Four  sons 
were  bom  to  this  union,  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy  and  two  are 
living,  Charles  A.,  at  home,  and  Joseph  V.  The  last  named  is  a  sales- 
man by  occupation.  He  is  a  young  man  of  liberal  education  and  fine 
business  qualifications.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Pottsville  high  sdiool, 
attended  Georgetown  (D.  C.)  college,  and  was  three  years  a  student 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Purcell  died  March  I,  1882. 
Nov.  23,  1893,  Mr.  Purcell  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  F. 
McConnell,  of  Pottsville.  Five  sons  have  been  bom  to  this  union: 
Alphonsus  Carpenter,  James  A.,  George  Vincent,  William  Stratton, 
and  Francis  Clare.  The  family  are  members  of  St.  Patrick's  Roman 
Catholic  church.  Mr.  Purcell  has  been  engaged  in  the  life  insurance 
btfeiness  since  1890.  At  present  he  is  the  representative  of  the  Man- 
hattan Life,  and  the  Fidelity  Casualty  Company.  He  has  been  suc- 
cessful as  a  business  man,  and  is  entitled  to  great  credit  for  his 
achievements  in  life,  particularly  on  account  of  the  pluck  and  deter- 
mination displayed  in  his  efforts  for  self-education  under  adverse  cir- 
cumstances. His  record  in  this  respect  is  a  worthy  object-lesson  to 
the  stmggling  youth  under  like  conditions. 

Radziewicz,  Charles,  proprietor  of  the  Eagle  hotel  at  Shenan- 
doah, was  bom  in  Russian  Poland,  July  25,  1852.  In  1871  he  came 
to  America  and  for  three  years  he  was  employed  in  the  iron  works 
at  Pittsburg,  puddling  and  rolling.  He  then  removed  to  Mahanoy 
City,  where  he  worked  in  the  mines  until  1885,  when  he  established  a 
general  store  on  South  Main  street,  Shenandoah.  Subsequently  he 
removed  to  East  Center  street,  where  his  store  was  burned  June  i, 
1895,  ^"d  in  the  fire  he  lost  everything,  even  to  the  clothing  of  him- 
self and  family.  The  fire  occurred  on  Saturday  and  by  the  following 
Tuesday  his  creditors  sent  him,  without  his  order  or  solicitation,  a 
large  stock  of  goods  and  the  business  was  immediately  reopened.  In 
August,  1895,  ^c  bought  the  Eagle  hotel  property  and  before  the 
close  of  the  year  he  retired  from  the  mercantile  business  entirely. 
The  hotel  is  a  three-story  brick  building,  with  twenty  rooms,  is  well 
equipped  \vith  modern  appliances,  and  is  doing  a  good  business.  In 
connection  he  has  a  fine  bar,  which  also  enjoys  a  liberal  patronage. 
Mr.  Radziewicz  is  a  member  of  the  societies  of  St.  Paul,  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  and  the  Guards  of  St.  Casimir  the  Prince,  in  the  last  named 
of  which  he  holds  the  office  of  major,  and  with  his  family  he  belongs 
to  St.  George's  Lithuanian  Roman  Catholic  church.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  his  party  affiliations,  but  can  hardly  be  termed  an  active 
politician.  On  Oct.  18,  1879,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Dora  Karczi- 
ewski,  a  native  of  Poland,  who  came  with  her  parents  to  Mahanoy 
Plane  in  her  childhood.  There  were  eleven  children:  Annie,  Joseph, 
Mary,  Edward,  Regina,  Pauline,  Julia  and  Lercadia  are  living,  and 
Casimir,  Amelia  and  Johnnie  are  dead.  The  eldest  son  is  employed  in 
the  department  of  mines  at  the  state  capital.  The  other  children  live 
at  home  with  their  parents. 

Ramonat,  Simon  A.,  is  one  of  the  influential  and  honored  citizens 
of  Lithuanian  birth  residing  in  the  borough  of  Shenandoah,  where  he 

24— Vol.  II 


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370  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

is  now  incumbent  of  the  office. of  justice  of  the  peace.  In  the  deter- 
mination of  questions  of  public  policy,  municipalities  as  well  as  nations 
occasionally  undergo  revolutions  in  politics.  In  the  election  which 
brought  Mr.  Ramonat  to  his  present  office  the  borough  of  Shenandoah 
passed  through  a  political  contest  of  a  magnitude  assuming  the  pro- 
portions of  a  Hotly  contested  national  campaign,  so  far  as  local  inter- 
est was  concerned.  Mr.  Ramonat  was  made  the  standard-bearer  of 
the  Citizens*  ticket  for  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  The  contest 
was  between  the  *'ins"  and  the  *'outs"  for  the  control  of  the  borough 
offices,  and  the  battle  of  ballots  was  fought  strictly  along  this  .line. 
Charges  and  counter-charges  were  made  with  prodigal  liberality^ 
and  the  contending  forces  were  arrayed,  "polled"  and  fitted  for  the 
fray  weeks  before  the  final  test.  On  election  day  every  available  rig 
in  the  town  was  called  into  service  at  fabulous  prices.  But  the  oppos- 
ing forces,  though  intensely  active  and  alert,  were  generally  orderly 
and  law-abidir^g.  The  **outs"  won  the  day  and  captured  municipal 
control  of  the  borough.  It  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  work  to 
decide  the  questions  in  controversy,  or  to  do  more  than  simply  to 
mention  the  matter  as  an  occurrence  in  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  one  of  the  principal  actors.  That  Mr.  Ramonat  was  nom- 
inated and  elected  in  recognition  of  his  special  fitness  and  eligibility" 
for  the  place  is  abundantly  shown  by  the  newspaper  comments  upon 
his  high  character  as  a  citizen  and  successful  business  man.  But  his- 
election  also  gives  recognition  to  a  large  class  of  foreig^-bom  citi- 
zens who  readily  adapt  themselves  to  conditions  existing  in  America, 
and  promptly  conform  to  the  customs  of  well  ordered  citizenship. 
Their  industry,  frugality  and  intelligence  soon  place  them  in  posi- 
tions of  independence  and  definite  prosperity.  Mr.  Ramonat  was  bom 
in  Lithuania,  Russia,  Sept.  30,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  Adam  and  Mar- 
tha Ramonat,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Germany  and  the 
latter  in  Lithuania.  The  paternal  grandfather  was  of  German  birth 
and  was  a  Lutheran  in  his  religious  faith.  Adam  Ramonat  died  when 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  but  three  years  of  age,  and  his  widow 
still  resides  in  Lithuania.  Of  the  seven  children  the  only  one  in 
America  is  he  whose  name  initiates  this  article,  the  others  having 
remained  in  their  native  land.  Mr.  Ramonat  attended  the  schools  of 
Lithuania  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  when  he 
severed  the  home  ties  and  valiantly  set  forth,  alone  and  without  finan- 
cial reinforcement,  to  seek  home  and  fortune  in  the  United  States. 
He  came  at  once  to  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  and  took  up  his  residence 
in  Shenandoah,  where  he  has  since  maintained  his  home  and  where 
he  has  won  substantial  success  and  made  for  himself  an  enviable 
reputation.  For  the  first  two  years  he  was  employed  about  the  mines 
and  in  the  meanwhile  he  put  forth  every  effort  to  familiarize  himself 
with  the  English  language.  He  then  showed  his  ambition  and  ap- 
preciation by  entering  the  Shenandoah  business  college,  in  which  he 
completed  a  thorough  course  and  was  graduated  in  1895.  After  leav- 
ing school  he  was  employed  as  driver  of  a  delivery  wagon  for  a 
grocery  for  one  year,  and  was  then  promoted  to  a  clerkship  in  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  371 

store.  In  1897  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  great  meat-packing  house 
of  Armour  &  Co.,  of  Chicago,  and  he  has  been  a  salesman  for  this 
company  in  this  section  of  Pennsylvania  since  that  year.  In  1904 
he  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  of  the  county  for  rep- 
resentative in  the  state  legislature.  He  polled  the  full  vote  of  his 
party  but  met  overthrow  in  the  avalanche  of  votes  which  gave  Roose- 
velt about  half  a  million  majority  in  the  state.  Mr.  Ramonat  still 
retains  his  position  with  Armour  &  Co.,  but  is  giving  a  most  careful 
and  able  administration  of  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  He  has 
been  notary  of  the  public  since  1905,  and  also  has  the  agency  for  a 
number  of  standard  fire  and  life  insurance  companies.  It  may  be 
inferred  that  he  is  a  busy  man,  but  he  is  well  fortified  in  capacity  for 
details  and  in  marked  energy  and  administrative  ability,  so  that  noth- 
ing is  neglected  that  demands  his  attention.  He  has  been  a  close  and 
appreciative  student  and  reader  all  his  mature  life  and  has  surrounded 
himself  with  the  best  of  standard  literature.  He  is  master  of  six 
languages,  in  each  of  which  he  is  able  to  read,  write  and  converse. 
He  serves  as  a  medium  of  communication  between  the  local  Lithu- 
anian people  and  their  relatives  and  friends  in  the  mother  country,, 
and  his  countrymen  place  inviolate  confidence  in  him,  coming  to  him 
for  advice  and  instruction.  He  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples and  policies  of  the  Democratic  party  and  he  and  his  family 
are  communicants  of  the  Lithuanian  Catholic  church  in  Shenandoah. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Society  of  St.  Joha 
the  Baptist,  and  the  Phoenix  Fire  Company.  In  1895  Mr.  Ramonat 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  McCuskey,  who  was  bom 
and  reared  in  Shenandoah,  and  they  have  two  children — Harold  and 
Evelyn. 

Ramsay 9  William  Potts. — This  well  known  attorney  at  Mahanoy 
City  was  born  at  Bloomsburg,  Columbia  county,  Pa.,  Dec.  24,  1852. 
He  is  a  son  of  John  Ramsay,  a  native  of  Coatesville,  Chester  county^ 
and  Mary  A.  (Downing)  Ramsay,  who  was  born  in  Orwigsburg^ 
Schuylkill  county.  Mr.  Ramsay  received  a  liberal  education  and 
chose  the  legal  profession  as  his  life  work.  He  was  admitted  ta 
practice  in  the  Schuylkill  county  courts  in  October,  1881,  and  has  been 
in  continuous  practice  here  since.  He  has  been  successful  as  a  lawyer 
and  sustains  a  high  standing  among  his  colleagues  at  the  Schuylkill 
county  bar.  Mr.  Ramsay  has  always  affiliated  with  the  Republican 
party  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  supremacy  of  his  party's 
principles.  He  has  never  aspired  to  public  office,  but  has  devoted 
his  time  and  talents  to  his  professional  work.  He  has  been  twice  mar- 
ried, first  to  Miss  Bess  Day  Ramsay,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Eliza- 
beth (Day)  Ramsay,  of  Chester  county.  Pa.  She  died  in  1887,  '^^v- 
ing  two  children,  Kenneth  and  Malcolm.  The  elder  son  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 1907.  He  was  a  bright  and  promising  young  man,  and  his 
untimely  death  was  greatly  deplored.  The  other  son  bom  to  this 
union  is  a  student  in  civil  engineering,  and,  incidentally,  is  assisting 
his  father  in  the  details  of  office  work.  The  second  marriage  of  Mr. 
Ramsay  occurred  in  1889,  when  Mrs.  Jessie  E.  Haas  became  his  wife* 


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372  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

She  is  a  daughter  of  James  L.  and  Harriet  G.  (Hansell)  Rowley. 
The  only  child  bom  to  this  union  is  Miss  Jessie.  The  family  are 
Presbyterians  in  religious  views.  Mr.  Ramsay  is  a  member  of  Mah- 
anoy  City  Lodge,  No.  695,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Raush^  JaxneSy  deceased,  was  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Mary  (Long) 
Raush,  and  was  born  in  Maiden  Creek  township,  Berks  county,  Pa., 
Sept.  12,  1837.  His  paternal  grandfather,  who  was  bom  in  Hesse, 
Germany,  came  to  the  United  States  about  the  year  1790,  and  located 
in  what  is  now  known  as  Maiden  Creek  township,  Berks  county.  He 
was  a  farmer  after  he  came  to  this  country,  and  was  a  very  influen- 
tial man  in  the  vicinity  where  he  lived.  His  son  Abraham  was  bom 
in  the  old  homestead,  in  Berks  county,  in  181 1,  and  died  in  the  same 
township,  in  1848.  He  also  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  had 
eight  children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters.  After  his  death  his 
wife  and  children  removed  to  Auburn,  Schuylkill  county,  where  Mrs. 
Raush  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  James  Raush,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  twelve  years  old  when  his  mother  and  the 
family  moved  to  Aubum.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and  passed 
his  boyhood  in  Aubum.  In  1862  he  became  a  brakeman  on  the 
Schuylkill  &  Susquehanna  railroad,  now  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading. 
He  was  later  promoted  to  the  position  of  engineer  and  continued  as 
such  until  1877,  when  he  became  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  St. 
Elmo  hotel  in  Auburn,  which  he  conducted  until  1888.  In  connection 
with  the  hotel  he  kept  a  feed  store,  coal  yard  and  grocery  store.  He 
continued  in  the  latter  business  after  selling  the  hotel.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  i860,  and  had  twelve  children.  Those  living  are  Peter,  Mun- 
roe,  Caroline,  Katherine,  David,  Laura,  Lillie,  Enoch,  and  Annie.  James 
Raush  died  Jan.  13,  1904.  In  1897  he  was  appointed  postmaster, 
which  position  he  held  until  his  death.  Enoch,  his  youngest  son,  is 
now  acting  postmaster  and  has  charge  of  all  his  father's  former  busi- 
ness. He  was  educated  in  the  Aubum  schools  and  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  became  associated  with  his  father  in  the  feed  and  coal  busi- 
ness. He  married  Elizabeth  Long,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Amanda 
(Boyer)  Long,  of  Aubum,  on  Feb.  23,  1902.  To  this  union  one 
daughter,  Katherine,  has  been  born.  Enoch  Raush  has  been  borough 
auditor,  and  was  elected  to  the  position  by  the  Republican  party,  with 
which  he  is  affiliated.  He  has  also  served  as  judge  of  elections  at 
different  times.    The  family  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church. 

Reber,  Henry  Albert,  is  one  of  the  prominent  business  men  of  the 
younger  generation  in  his  native  borough  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  where 
he  was  born  Nov.  27,  1874,  and  where  he  is  one  of  the  stockholders 
of  Meek  &  Company,  manufacturers  of  underwear.  He  is  one  of  the 
executive  officers  of  the  concern  and  gives  the  major  part  of  his  at- 
tention to  its  affairs.  Mr.  Reber  is  a  son  of  George  Washington  and 
Anetta  (Achabach)  Reber,  both  of  whom  were  likewise  bom  in 
Schuylkill  county — ^the  former  in  South  Manheim  township,  in  1834, 
and  the  latter  in  Wayne  township,  in  1836.  The  father  served  as  a 
member  of  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  in  the  Civil  war,  taking  part  in 
many  engagements  and  living  up  to  the  full  tension  of  the  great  con- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  373 

flict  through  which  the  Union  was  perpetuated.  He  was  wounded 
while  in  the  service  but  continued  with  his  regiment  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  when  he  received  his  honorable  discharge.  He  and  his 
wife  are  now  deceased.  His  principal  vocation  in  life  was  that  of 
boat-builder.  Henry  Albert  Reber,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  re- 
view, was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town  and  has 
here  maintained  his  home  from  the  time  of  his  birth.  Here  also  he 
has  risen  to  success  and  prestige  as  an  enterprising  business  man 
and  loyal  and  patriotic  citizen.  He  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  benefi- 
cent principles  and  policies  of  the  Prohibition  party  and  has  been  an 
active  worker  in  its  cause.  He  served  one  term  as  chairman  of  the 
county  board  of  executive  officers,  held  the  office  of  county  treasurer 
for  four  terms,  and  in  1904  he  was  a  presidential  elector  on  the  Pro- 
hibition ticket  of  the  state.  At  the  inception  of  the  Spanish- American 
war  Mr.  Reber  showed  his  patriotism  and  loyalty  by  enlisting  as  a 
private  in  Company  F,  4th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry,  on  April 
28,  1898,  and  he  received  his  honorable  discharge  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  His  command  was  held  in  reserve  and  was  not  called  into  action 
in  the  field.  Mr.  Reber  is  identified  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  America,  and  in  1905-6  he  was  president  of  the  Schuylkill 
county  Christian  Endeavor  union.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  devoted 
and  zealous  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  July  12,  1900,  Mr. 
Reber  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Irene  Fry,  daughter  of 
Valentine  and  Amelia  (Liebensberger)  Fry,  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  and 
the  children  of  the  union  are  John  William,  Paul  Valentine,  and  June 
Sarah. 

Reed,  Elmer  P.,  son  of  Henry  R.  and  Sarah  (Heffner)  Reed,  was 
born  at  Reedsville,  Wayne  township,  on  Jan.  6,  1874.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  after  which  he 
went  to  work  in  the  Lawrence  &  Brown  colliery,  at  Frackville,  this 
county,  being  thus  employed  for  two  years.  He  then  returned  to  the 
farm  of  his  grandfather,  for  whom  he  worked  until  the  death  of  his 
grandfather,  a  year  later.  Henry -R.  Reed,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  then  purchased  the  farm  from  the  estate  and  Elmer 
continued  to  be  associated  with  his  father  in  its  operation  until  1899, 
when  he  moved  to  Auburn,  Pa.  At  this  place  he  was  employed  in 
firing  the  boilers  for  the  Delaware  Seamless  Tube  Company  for  three 
years.  In  1902  he  returned  to  Wayne  township,  where  he  first  rented 
and  then,  in  1906,  bought  the  old  family  homestead  of  the  Reed 
family,  where  he  now  resides.  The  estate  is  the  one  on  which  the 
family  first  located  and  has  been  in  the  family  for  many  years.  Mr. 
Reed  was  married,  Aug.  26,  1893,  to  Miss  Carrie  Reed,  daughter  of 
Franklin  T.  Reed,  of  Wayne  township.  To  this  union  have  been 
bom  three  children:  Guy  S.,  Edna  A.  (deceased),  and  Marion  L. 
Mr.  Reed  is  a  member  of  the  local  organization  of  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America  at  Friedensburg ;  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
at  Cressona,  and  is  also  a  Granger.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
and  he  has  been  inspector  of  elections  several  times.    The  family  be- 


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374  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

longs  to  the  United  Evangelical  church  of  Reedsville,  Wayne  town- 
ship. Mr.  Reed  has  three  sisters  living — Katie,  wife  of  Natiian  Fahl, 
of  Reading;  Ellen  A.,  wife  of  Jeremiah  Mengle,  of  Rock,  Schuylkill 
county ;  and  Ida,  wife  of  Oliver  Moyer,  of  Western  Port,  Md. 

Reedy  Irvin  A.,  prosecuting  attorney  of  Schuylkill  county,  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Wayne  township,  this  county  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  Kutztown  normal  school.  He  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  last  named  institution  in  the  class  of  1894.  He  engaged 
in  teaching  in  his  native  township  for  three  years  and  was  principal 
of  the  EUwood  (now  Outwood)  schools  for  a  like  period.  He  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  the  late  Nicholas  Heblich,  Esq.,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  January,  1899.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
state  convention  at  Erie,  in  1902.  Mr.  Reed  was  elected  to  the  state 
legislature  in  1902,  and  he  was  the  unanimous  choice  of  his  party 
convention  as  the  nominee  for  the  office  of  district  attorney  in  1905- 
In  November  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected,  and  is  now  serving  the 
second  year  of  his  term. 

Reed»  Jacob  D.,  who  is  successfully  engaged  in  the  knitting  busi- 
ness in  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  bom  in  Wayne  township,  this  county, 
on  May  9,  1857,  a  son  of  EHas  and  Christiana  (Deitert)  Reed.  His 
education  was  a  limited  one,  his  opportunities  being  limited  to  some 
of  the  courses  afforded  by  the  common  schools  of  the  county.  For 
the  first  nineteen  years  of  his  life  he  lived  under  the  parental  roof, 
working-  on  his  father's  farm.  About  1876  he  came  to  Schuylkill 
Haven  and  entered  the  employ  of  William  Becker  to  learn  the  shoe- 
makers' trade.  He  continued  in  this  vocation  for  eighteen  years  and 
then,  in  1895,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  John  A.  Bowen  in  the 
knitting  business.  In  1900  a  third  partner,  Moses  Leininger,  was  taken 
into  the  firm,  and  later  in  the  same  year  Mr.  Bowen  retired,  disposing^ 
of  his  interest  to  Messrs.  Leininger  and  Reed,  who  have  since  been 
at  the  head  of  the  concern,  which  has  been  paying  good  dividends 
and  has  become  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  the  borough.  Jan.  8, 
1885,  Mr.  Reed  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  E.  Wommer, 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  Wommer,  of  Wayne  township.  To  this  union 
two  sons,  Ivan  W.  and  Willis  E.,  have  been  bom.  The  Reeds  are 
all  workers  in  the  United  Evangelical  church,  of  which  they  are  most 
devout  members.  In  politics  Mr.  Reed  is  a  Republican.  Some  idea 
of  the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow-citizens  and 
neighbors  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  he  is  now  serving  his 
fifteenth  successive  year  in  the  office  of  assessor. 

Reed,  John  H.,  of  Roedersville,  Washington  township,  Schuylkill 
county,  is  a  son  of  Elias  and  Christiana  (Deitert)  Reed,  and  was  bom 
Dec.  2,  1855.  His  father  was  born  in  Wayne  township,  and  followed 
farming  all  his  life;  he  died  in  1889  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years. 
The  mother  is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead  in  Wayne  township. 
John,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  second  son  of  a  family  of  four 
sons  and  six  daughters.  Wallace,  the  oldest  son,  died  at  the  age  of 
four  years,  and  Emma,  the  oldest  daughter,  died  when  she  was  about 
six  years  old.     Those  who  attained  maturity  are  John  H.,  Jacob  D., 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  .375 

Annie  R.,  Mary  E.,  Elizabeth  A.,  George  C,  Sallie  G.,  and  Susan  P. 
Annie  is  the  wife  of  A.  D.  Super,  of  Wayne  township ;  Mary  married 
Louis  Stahler,  and  died  June  3,  1895;  Elizabeth  is  the  widow  of 
Francis  M.  Luckenbill,  of  Wayne  township;.  Sallie  is  married  to 
Howard  S.  Mengle,  of  Wa)me  township ;  Susan  is  the  wife  of  Howard 
D.  Becker,  also  of  Wa)me  township,  formerly  of  Brunswick  town- 
ship, this  county.  John  H.  was  educated  in  the  Wayne  township 
schools.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  left  school  to  help  his  father 
on  the  farm,  and  he  again  attended  school  for  a  short  time  when  he 
was  twenty  years  of  age.  May  24,  1877,  when  he  was  twenty-two,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Alice  Berger,  daughter  of  Henry  Berger,  of 
Schuylkill  Haven,  and  he  continued  working  for  wages  on  his  father's 
farm  for  two  years  thereafter.  He  then  rented  a  farm  from  his 
uncle  for  two  years,  after  which  he  rented  one  in  Cressona  for 
four  years.  At  the  expiration  of  his  lease  he  bought  the  farm  on 
which  he  now  resides.  This  was  in  1888,  and  the  farm  has  been  his 
home  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  which  he  spent  in 
Schuylkill  Haven.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reed  have  had  five  children,  four 
of  whom  are  living.  Charles,  the  oldest  son,  died  in  infancy.  Those  liv- 
ing are :  Irene  M.,  wife  of  Charles  E.  Brown,  of  Washington  township ; 
Delia  L.,  wife  of  Irvin  Strouthour,  of  Pine  Grove,  formerly  of  Wash- 
ington township;  and  Anna  C.  and  George  E.,  both  living  at  home. 
Mr.  Reed  is  a  charter  member  of  Camp  No.  264,  Patriotic  Order  of 
the  Sons  of  America.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  although 
repeatedly  urged  to  run  for  office  he  has  always  declined.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  United  Evangelical  church  and  attend  the 
churd[i  at  Friedensburg.  Mr.  Reed  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school  for  six  years,  and  was  also  steward  of  the  church  for 
some  time.  Mr.  Reed  is  an  enthusiastic  farmer,  finding  great  pleasure 
in  the  tilling  of  the  soil,  and  believing  that  both  he  and  his  farm  be- 
long to  God.  He  is  a  conscientious  and  God-fearing  man,  and  lives 
his  life  according  to  the  Golden  Rule,  doing  good  to  others  and  living 
for  service  and  believing  that  the  talents  that  God  has  given  him  are 
to  be  used  for  the  upbuilding  of  righteousness.  His  life  has  been  one 
of  varied  experiences,  with  its  seasons  of  loss  and  of  prosperity,  but 
through  all  he  has  maintained  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  believing 
that  steady  devotion  to  one  line  of  business  is  more  likely  to  result 
in  advancement  than  if  a  man's  energy  is  dissipated  in  half  a  dozen 
different  enterprises. 

Reed,  Thomas  M.,  justice  of  the  peace  at  Frackville,  was  born  at 
Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  May  14,  1862,  his  parents,  Obadiah 
and  Catherine  (Bensinger)  Reed,  both  being  natives  of  that  county. 
The-  paternal  grandfather  of  Thomas  M.  Reed  was  a  farmer  and , 
wheelwright  of  West  Brunswick  township,  and  the  maternal  grand- 
father was  a  shoemaker  at  Orwigsburg.  Obadiah  Reed  learned  the 
trade  of  pattern-maker  in  his  youth  and  followed  that  occupation  for 
many  years  in  Schuylkill  county,  living  for  more  than  half  a  century 
at  Port  Carbon.    The  last  five  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  Allen- 


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376  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

town,  Pa.,  where  he  died  March  31,  1907,  aged  ninety- four  years. 
He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children :  Francis, 
who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Shelbyville,  Tenn.,  June  ZT,  1863 ;  Eli, 
Mary,  and  Emily,  now  deceased;  Charles  W.,  David  A.  and  Thomas 
M.,  still  living.  Thomas  M.  Reed  was  reared  in  his  ^lat^ve  county 
and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  Selecting  the  tailor's 
trade  for  a  vocation,  he  graduated  in  Mitchell's  cutting  school  in 
1882,  and  in  1886  established  himself  as  a  merchant  tailor  and  fur- 
nisher in  Frackville,  also  handling  sewing  machines  in  connection 
with  his  business.  His  skill  as  a  cutter  soon  brought  him  a  good 
trade  and  he  continued  in  this  line  of  activity  until  1898,  when  he  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace,  which  office  he  still  holds.  He  is  still 
interested  in  the  tailoring  and  furnishing  concern  that  he  established. 
Mr.  Reed  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  views,  and  was  elected  to 
his  office  as  candidate  of  that  party,  having  previously  served  one 
term  as  a  member  of  the  Frackville  council.  He  was  a  member  and 
secretary  of  the  board  of  health  from  the  time  of  its  organization 
until  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Broad  Mountain  building  and  loan  association,  of  which  he 
was  president  for  several  terms,  and  of  which  he  has  held  the  office 
of  secretary  since  1898.  In  religious  matters  he  belongs  to  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  He  is  a  member  of  District  Lodge,  No.  823, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Frackville;  Frackville  Coun- 
cil, No.  828,  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  and  Frack- 
ville council,  No.  1656,  Royal  Arcanum.  On  Jan.  4,  1887,  Mr.  Reed 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Edith  L.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Adeline  (Robinson)  Baynton,  of  Pottsville,  and  to  this  union  have 
been  bom  four  children— Catherine,  Adeline,  Frances  and  Thomas  N. 
Reese,  Frank  C,  is  the  son  of  the  late  John  Reese,  who  \vas 
prominent  as  a  division  superintendent  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing Railroad,  as  a  mine  superintendent,  as  an  opponent  of  the  "Mollie 
Maguire''  movement,  and  in  the  social  and  business  affairs  of  the 
county.  He  and  his  wife,  who  in  maidenhood  was  Flower  Codring- 
ton,  were  natives  of  Wales,  whence  they  came  to  America  about  1863, 
and  established  their  first  home  at  Wadesville,  in  this  county.  John 
Reese  soon  became  prominent  in  mining  and  railroad  circles,  and  at- 
tained to  positions  of  responsibility  when  the  "Molly  Maguires'*  were 
in  their  ascendency.  He  was  soon  spotted  as  a  man  who  should  be 
removed,  and  numerous  attempts  were  made  to  carry  out  their  nefa- 
rious schemes.  At  one  time  three  men  were  detailed  from  among 
"the  faithful"  to  kill  him,  but  he  was  warned  and  escaped.  He  was 
fired  at  on  four  different  occasions,  and  his  clothing  pierced  with 
bullets,  but  he  escaped  personal  injuries  and  was  finally  killed  by  an 
explosion  of  gas  in  Kehley  Run  colliery,  in  July,  1880.  Two  other 
mine  superintendents  lost  their  lives  at  the  same  time.  The  house  of 
John  Reese  was  made  the  headquarters  for  the  law-abiding  citizens 
of  the  community,  and  members  of  the  family  were  obliged  to  remain 
on  upper  floors  to  escape  violence  from  prowling  "Mollies"  for  a 
period  of  seven  months.     Frank  C.  Reese,  of  this  sketch,  then  a  lad 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  377 

in  knee-breeches,  rendered  valiant  service  in  the  capacity  of  messenger 
boy,  warning  people  of  threatened  disaster,  and  communicating  with 
the  officers  of  the  law.  His  close  association  with  the  dangers  of  the 
time,  at  a  period  in  his  life  when  deep  impressions  are  made,  renders 
him  to-day  one  of  the  best  authorities  on  Mollie  Maguireism  in  Schuyl- 
kill county.  His  mother  contracted  a  second  marriage  and  now  lives 
in  Shenandoah.  Frank  C.  'Reese  was  born  at  Wadesville,  Schuylkill 
county,  Pa.,  on  Feb.  ii,  1865.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  locality,  but  his  educational  career  was  much  abbreviated 
by  the  untimely  death  of  his  father.  Being  but  fifteen  years  old  and 
the  eldest  of  six  small  children,  he  nobly  shouldered  the  responsibili- 
ties of  providing  for  them  and  his  widowed  mother.  He  secured 
employment  about  the  coal-breaker,  and  in  time  saved  the  means  of 
paying  for  an  eight  months'  course  in  Dickinson  seminary,  at  Will- 
iamsport.  After  returning  from  school  with  his  efficiency  much  in- 
creased along  the  Hne  of  clerical  work,  he  soon  established  an  en- 
viable reputation  among  the  officials  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
Company,  and  served  as  clerk  at  various  collieries  operated  by  this 
company.  The  people  of  Shenandoah,  where  he  then  lived,  also  recog- 
nized his  ability  and  faithfulness,  and  he  was  honored  with  nurrierous 
borough  offices,  including  those  of  assessor  and  auditor.  Very  early  in 
life  he  became  interested  in  Soule*s  shorter  methods  in  mathematics  and 
soon  became  an  expert  accountant,  applying  methods  wholly  unknown 
to  the  average  clerk,  yet  reaching  a,ccurate  solutions  of  complicated 
problems  in  incredibly  short  time.  This  has  been  a  feature  of  his 
life  work.  He  was  appointed  deputy  county  controller,  under  Ben- 
jamin Severn,  in  1894,  and  served  until  1896,'  in  which  year  he  was 
elected  register  of  wills  and  clerk  of  the  orphans*  court.  He  termi- 
nated his  service  in  that  office  Jan.  i,  1901.  Since  retiring  from  offi- 
cial life  Mr.  Reese  has  turned  his  attention  to  the  promotion  of  busi- 
ness enterprises,  in  which  he  has  had  a  varied  and  successful  career. 
Being  quick  in  discernment,  ready  in  the  application  of  means  to  ends, 
well  and  favorably  known  as  a  man  of  ability  and  integrity,  busi- 
ness often  comes  to  him  without  solicitation,  and  he  is  "on  the 
ground  floor"  in  almost  every  proposed  enterprise  which  is  to  be 
launched.  As  an  evidence  of  the  vast  amount  of  business  with  which 
he  has^  been  prominently  associated  within  a  few  years,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  cite  the  following:  He  was  secretary  of  the  Shenandoah 
Water  and  Gas  Company ;  president  of  the  Kehley  Run  Ice  Company ; 
president  and  secretary  of  the  Shenandoah  Powder  Company;  presi- 
dent of  the  Black  Diamond  Powder  Company,  of  Scranton :  manager 
and  secretary  of  the  Pottsville  Ice  and  Cold  Storage  Company ;  man- 
ager and  secretary  of  the  Snow  Shoe  Lumber  Company ;  manager  of 
the  D.  Duffy  &  Co.  Timber  and  Lumber  Company;  president  and 
manager  of  the  G.  A.  Bitting  &  Co.  Mining  and  Prop  Timber  Com- 
pany ;  manager  of  the  Reese  &  Brumm  Lumber,  Building  and  Supply 
Company,  limited;  and  secretary  and  manager  of  the  Anthracite 
Lumber  Company  of  Minersville.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  and 
owners  of  the  Penn  Tobacco  Company,  of  Wilkes  Barre,  and  was  one 


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378  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  the  owners  of  the  daily  and  weekly  Local,  a  newspaper  at  Ashland. 
But  while  the  foregoing  has  reference  principally  to  business  enter- 
prises which  were  organized  and  put  into  successful  operation  and 
then  sold  out,  Mr.  Reese  has  also  a  long  list  of  enterprises  still  in 
progress,  and  is  backed  by  boundless  capital  in  the  furtherance  of 
many  business  ventures  of  which  the  public  knows  nothing.  He 
stands  in  close  relations  with  the  heads  of  large  and  wealthy  corpora- 
tions in  distant  cities  and  states,  and  his  business  sagacity  and  versa- 
tility are  everywhere  recognized.  Frank  C.  Reese  was  married  in 
1886  to  Miss  Lizzie  Girton,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Martha  Girton, 
of  Shenandoah.  Both  parents  are  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reese 
became  the  parents  of  eight  children,  only  three  of  whom  are  living. 
These  are  Mabel,  bom  Jan.  3,  1891 ;  John  F.,  bom  Oct.  13,  1892;  and 
Frank  C,  Jr.,  bom  Sept  26,  1900.  The  deceased  children  were 
Blanche,  Hazel,  Sadie,  Ruth  and  Margaret,  all  of  whom  died  in  child- 
hood, the  eldest  being  but  eight  years  old.  Mr.  Reese  is  a  Republican 
in  political  views  and  a  firm  adherent  to  the  doctrines  of  his  party. 
He  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  local  politics,  and  is  a  recog- 
nized leader  in  Republican  councils.  He  is  a  Methodist  in  religious 
sentiments.  Mr.  Reese  is  a  member  of  John  W.  Stokes  Lodge,  No. 
515,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  Shenandoah,  in  which 
he  is  a  past  grand.  He  also  passed  the  principal  official  stations  in 
the  Shenandoah  encampment,  a  higher  branch  of  the  same  f ratemity ; 
the  local  encampment  is  now  disbanded.  He  is  a  member  of  Wash- 
ington Camp,  No.  112,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  at 
the  same  place,  and  served  several  years  as  secretary  of  the  camp. 
In  Pottsville  he  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  207,  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Manufacturers'  coAimercial  club,  and 
also  the  West  End  Hose  Company  and  the  Commercial  Club  of  Potts- 
ville. 

Reeser,  K  R.»  a  leading  plumber  and  tinsmith  of  Tamaqua,  was 
bom  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  Dec.  10,  1863,  a  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mary 
(Moser)  Reeser.  The  father  was  a  stone  and  brick  mason  in  the  later 
years  of  his  life,  although  he  had  formerly  been  an  hotel-keeper  and 
a  butcher.  He  died  July  4,  1891,  in  his  sixty-sixth  year,  and  his  wife 
died  July  3,  1896,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  Seven  of  the  nine  chil- 
dren bom  to  them*  are  still  living,  two  of  them  in  this  county.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Tamaqua, 
after  which  he  learned  the  trade  of  tinsmith  and  plumber.  For  fifteen 
years  he  was  in  the  employment  of  the  late  E.  J.  Fry,  and  then  was 
made  superintendent  of  the  water  department  of  Tamaqua.  In  1903, 
after  twelve  years'  service  in  that  capacity,  he  resigned,  and  for  a  year 
thereafter  operated  a  pipe-scraping  device  which  he  himself  had  in- 
vented. When  the  Hudson  Contracting  Company  of  New  Jersey 
purchased  that  business  he  embarked  in  the  plumbing  and  tinning  in- 
dustry. His  patronage  has  increased  from  time  to  time  until  now  he 
does  work  all  over  the  county,  big  jobs  as  well  as  smaller  ones.  In 
the  fall  of  1906  he  laid  the  pipe  of  a  new  line  of  the  Citizens'  Gas 
Company,  and  at  the  present  time  ha^  several  other  large  contracts 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  379 

on  hand.  July  22,  1889,  Mr.  Reeser  married  Miss  Sallie  Adams,  a 
daughter  of  Solomon  and  Cordelia  (Hendricks)  Adams,  residents  on 
a  truck  farm  in  Walker  township.  Mr.  Adams  has  the  finest  plum 
orchard  in  Schuylkill  county,  and  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  truck 
^rdeners  in  the  vicinity.  The  eleven  children  of  his  family  are  Re- 
becca, widow  of  Peter  Lowall,  of  AUentown;  George  W.,  a  moulder 
living  in  this  county ;  James  M.,  a  farmer  living  in  Walker  township ; 
Sallie,  now  Mrs.  Reeser;  Harry,  a  miller  of  Tamaqua;  Alfred,  on  a 
farm  in  Walker  township ;  Edward,  unmarried,  at  home ;  Isabel,  wife 
of  Ira  T.  Andy,  of  AUentown ;  John,  at  home ;  and  Charles  and  W^l- 
iam,  deceased.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reeser  have  been  bom  three  chil- 
dren— William,  a  student;  Edwin  Franklin;  and  an  unnamed  infant 
who  died  soon  after  birth.  Mr.  Reeser  himself  is  the  youngest  of  nine 
children.  His  brothers  and  sisters  are  Albert,  a  confectioner  of  Allen- 
town;  Sarah,  wife  of  O.  A.  Hunsicker,  a  farmer  in  the  western  part 
of  the  state ;  Kate,  wife  of  Joseph  Gilbert,  a  contractor  and  builder  of 
Lehighton,  Pa. ;  Samuel,  a  farmer  of  Walker  township ;  Isabella,  de- 
ceased, was  Mrs.  Henry  Endy,  of  AUentown;  and  Frank,  Mary  and 
Charles,  deceased.  Mr.  Reeser  is  identified  with  no  secret  order,  but 
l)Oth  he  and  his  wife  are  devout  members  of  and  earnest  workers  in 
the  Reformed  church.  For  the  past  fifteen  years  he  has  been  prom- 
inent in  the  state  militia,  the  first  five  years  as  a  private,  five  years  as 
a  sergeant  and  for  the  past  five  years  as  second  lieutenant  of  Company 
B,  8th  infantry  regiment  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard. 

Reeves,  William,  assistant  postmaster  of  Shenandoah,  was  born 
in  Mahanoy  township,  on  June  22,  1870,  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Jean- 
Tiette  (Morris)  Reeves.  The  parents  are  natives  of  South  Wales, 
where  their  marriage  was  celebrated.  The  father  first  came  to  the 
United  States  on  a  prospecting  trip  and  then  returned  to  his  native 
land  for  his  wife.  His  second  arrival  in  this  country  was  on  the  day 
that  President  Lincoln  was  assassinated.  He  located  at  Mahanoy  City 
and  engaged  in  mining,  moving  thence  to  Jackson's  Patch,  to  do  the 
same  sort  of  labor.  There  he  remained  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred March  17,  1873.  The  mother  is  now  living  in  Shenandoah 
with  her  son  Henry.  Of  the  five  children  born  to  the  parents  three 
are  living.  John,  Uie  eldest,  was  a  miner  living  in  Shenandoah,  and 
lie  died  in  Sept.,  1893,  leaving  a  wife  and  two  children;  Henry  is 
assistant  mine  foreman  at  the  Turkey  Run  colliery;  Thomas  is  em- 
ployed in  the  same  mine ;  and  a  daughter  died  in  infancy.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch,  who  was  the  fourth  child  in  order  of  birth,  received 
liis  educational  advantages  in  the  schools  of  his  native  township.  His 
•early  life  was  spent  about  the  mines,  chiefly  as  a  slate-picker.  Then 
for  a  time  he  was  a  mail-carrier  and  subsequently  assistant  shipper  at 
the  Knickerbocker  colliery.  He  left  the  Knickerbocker  concern  to  be- 
come shipper  at  the  Shenandoah  City  colliery,  and  later  held  the  same 
position,  combined  with  that  of  telegraph  operator,  at  West  Shen- 
andoah. Feb.  14,  1898,  he  was  appointed  assistant  postmaster,  under 
Daniel  W.  Bedea,  at  Shenandoah,  and  was  reappointed  to  the  same 
position  on  AprU  3,  1902.    Nov.  30,  1893,  M^-  Reeves  married  Miss 


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380  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Elizabeth  A.  Hughes,  a  native  of  North  Wales,  and  to  this  union  have 
been  bom  the  following  children:  John  Burton,  Qiarles  Wesley,  and 
William  Hughes.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  Mr.  Reeves  is  a  member  of  the  boards  of  trustees  and 
stewards.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  Shenandoah  Lodge,  No. 
511,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Shenandoah  Lodge,  No.  1377,  Royal 
Arcanum ;  Major  William  H.  Jennings  Council,  No.  367,  Junior  Order 
of  United  American  Mechanics ;  and  is  a  charter  member  of  Washing- 
ton Camp,  No.  183,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  Polit- 
ically he  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  aspired  to  political  office. 

Reick,  Robert  A.,  a  prominent  member  of  the  Schuylkill  county 
bar,  with  office  and  residence  at  Frackville,  is  a  native  of  the  county, 
having  been  born  at  Gordon,  on  Aug.  9,  1877,  ^"d  is  of  German  and 
French  extraction.  He  is  a  son  of  Christopher  C.  and  Ella  J.  (Towns) 
Reick,  the  former  a  native  of  Wiirtemberg,  Germany,  and  the  latter 
of  Danville,  Pa.  The  paternal  grandfather  was  among  the  early 
settlers  of  Cressona,  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  was  employed  for  a 
number  of  years  by  the  Mine  Hill  &  Schuylkill  Haven  Railroad,  now 
a  part  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  system.  He  was  with  this  com- 
pany up  to  his  death,  and  his  remains  rest  in  the  Spring  Garden  ceme- 
tery at  Cressona.  Christopher  C.  Reick  came  from  Wiirtemberg  with 
his  parents  and  is  now  the  superintendent  of  the  Mahanoy  planes  for 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad,  a  position  he  has  held  since 
1899.  Prior  to  that  time  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Gordon  planes 
for  several'  years,  but  these  are  now  abandoned.  Robert  A.  Reick  is 
one  of  three  sons  born  to  Christopher  C.  and  Ella  J.  Reick.  Harry  L. 
is  a  druggist  at  Mauch  Chunk  and  J.  Heilner  is  a  druggist  in  Phil- 
adelphia. Robert  A.  Reick  availed  himself  of  the  advantages  of  the 
schools  of  his  native  borough  and  graduated  at  the  Dickinson  sem- 
inary, of  Williamsport,  in  the  class  of  1893.  He  then  entered  the  law 
office  of  William  A.  Marr,  additional  judge  of  the  Schuylkill  county 
courts,  as  a  student,  and  on  Jan.  2,  1899,  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  courts  of  the  county.  June  3,  1902,  he  was  admitted  to  the  supreme 
court.  Mr.  Reick  located  at  Frackville  on  Feb.  i,  1899,  and  has  since 
been  ene:aged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  that  place,  where  he 
has  built  up  a  representative  clientage.  Since  March  4,  1899,  he  has 
held  the  position  of  solicitor  for  the  boroughs  of  Frackville  and 
Gordon.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in  1900  he  was  the  secre- 
tary of  the  county  committee  of  that  party.  He  is  a  member  of  Dis- 
trict Lod^e,  No.  823,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  at  Frack- 
ville, of  which  he  is  a  past  grand;  belonqfs  to  Mahanoy  City  Lodge, 
No.  69«;,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks;  is  a  past  regent 
of  Frackville  Council.  No.  1656,  Royal  Arcanum;  and  is  a  member  of 
Frackville  Council.  No.  828,  Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics, 
and  of  Washington  Camp,  No.  62,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of 
America.  Sept.  3,  1902,  Mr.  Reick  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Myrtle,  daughter  of  George  and  Laura  (Christian)  Bauchman,  of 
Frackville. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  381 

Reilly,  James  B. — ^This  well  known  attorney  and  politician  is  a 
native  of  West  Brunswick  township,  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  was 
bom  Aug.  12,  1845.  He  is  a  son  of  Bernard  and  Margaret  Reilly, 
natives  of  Ireland.  His  father  was  bom  in  Westmeath  county  in  1821 
and  came  to  America  in  1842,  locating  in  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  where 
he  died  in  1889.  He  resided  in  Pottsville  from  1850  until  his  death, 
and  spent  his  business  career  as  a  railroad  contractor.  In  this  he  was 
engaged  in  a  number  of  important  undertakings,  being  employed  by 
the  Canada  &  Atlantic,  the  Schuylkill  &  Susquehanna,  and  the  Phil- 
adelphia &  Reading  Railroad  companies.  James  B.  Reilly  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Pottsville  high  school  and  by  careful,  systematic  reading 
and  study  throughout  his  lifetime.  He  began  the  study  of  law  under 
the  tutorship  of  Hon.  F.  W.  Hughes,  and  was  admitted  to  practice 
before  the  Schuylkill  county  bar  Jan.  11,  1869.  From  that  day  until 
the  present  he  has  devoted  himself  assiduously  to  his  profession,  and 
has  acquired  a  large  and  lucra.tive  practice  in  the  courts  of  his  own  and 
adjoining  counties,  as  well  as  in  the  state  and  United  States  supreme 
courts.  His  first  political  office  of  prominence  was  that  of  district 
attorney,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  the  people  of  Schuylkill  county  in 
1871.  Upon  retiring  from  this  ofdce,  after  a  service  of  three  years, 
he  was  made  the  Democratic  standard  bearer  for  congressional  honors> 
and  was  elected  in  1874  to  a  seat  in  the  forty- fourth  congress.  Two 
years  later  he  was  re-elected  to  the  forty-fifth  congress,  and  at  the 
expiration  of  his  term  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Pottsville. 
In  1888  he  was  elected  to  the  fifty-first  congress  and  was  re-elected 
to  the  fifty-first  and  fifty-second  congresses,  serving  until  March  4, 
1905.  His  service  in  the  national  house  of  representatives  covers  a 
period  of  ten  years  out  of  twenty — ^a  most  distinguished  honor  when 
the  uncertainties  of  Schuylkill  county  politics  are  considered.  During 
these  many  years  of  service  Mr.  Reilly  was  ever  active  and  vigilant 
in  the  interests  of  his  constituency  and  the  supremacy  of  Democratic 
principles.  He  was  a  member  of  several  important  committees,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  Pacific  Railroad  committee,  the  select 
committee  on  the  Columbian  exposition,  and  the  committee  on  mines 
and  mining.  He  was  one  of  the  framers  of  the  bill  granting  pensions 
to  soldiers*  widows,  and  was  the  author  of  that  feature  of  a  bill  which 
relates  to  the  preferred  claims  of  workingmen  in  the  case  of  bankrupts. 
Mr.  Reilly^s  congressional  career  was  a  feature  of  his  life  work  to 
which  both  he  and  his  posterity  can  refer  with  just  pride.  He  has 
been  a  prominent  figure  in  Schuylkill  county  politics  for  many  years, 
and  has  served  his  party  in  various  positions  of  a  purely  honorary 
nature.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  which  nomi- 
nated General  W.  S.  Hancock  for  the  presidency,  and  has  served  as 
chairman  of  state  conventions,  etc.  Mr.  Reilly  is  interested  in  a  num- 
ber of  business  enterprises  in  Pottsville,  being  a  member  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  Schuylkill  Real  Estate,  Title,  Insurance  &  Trust 
Company,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Pottsville  board  of  trade.  James 
B.  Reilly  was  married  in  1868  to  Miss  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Owen 
Hoey,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  has  spent  his  manhood  years  as  a 


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382  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

resident  of  Pottsville.  Frank  X.,  the  eldest  son  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Reilly,  is  a  prominent  architect  in  Pottsville.  J.  B.  Reilly  is  a  man 
of  strong  intellectual  force,  an  independent  thinker,  and  a  logical 
reasoner,  but  is  exceedingly  tolerant  of  the  opinions  and  convictions 
of  others.  He  is  a  Roman  Catholic  in  religious  affiliations.  He  was 
appointed  United  States  marshal  for  the  eastern  district  of  Pennsyl- 
vania during  the  second  term  of  President  Cleveland,  and  estabUshed 
his  offices  in  the  Federal  building  in  Philadelphia,  but  retained  his  law 
offices  in  Pottsville.  He  now  gives  his  undivided  attenton  to  his  ex- 
tensive law  practice. 

Reinbold,  Samuel  A.,  a  dealer  in  timber,  oil  and  scrap-iron,  was 
born  in  Lebanon  county  on  Oct.  6,  1873,  a  son  of  Benjamin  F.  and 
Catherine  (Wolfe)  Reinbold.  The  father  in  early  life  was  a  mill- 
wright and  while  employed  as  such  invented  a  flour  bolt  which  came 
into  great  demand.  It  later  life  he  was  employed  in  the  building  of 
coal  breakers  and  while  engaged  in  that  work  he  received  injuries 
which  resulted  in  his  death,  on  Feb.  23,  1903,  within  a  month  of  the 
sixtieth  anniversary  of  his  birth.  For  many  years  he  was  a  school 
director  and  he  was  always  an  influential  factor  in  the  Lutheran 
•  church.  His  widow  is  living  at  Green  Point,  Lebanon  county,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-eight.  Of  their  sixteen  children  ten  survive,  and  only  one, 
William  Henry,  justice  of  the  peace  at  Tremont,  besides  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  resides  in  this  county.  Samuel  A.  Reinbold  received  a 
limited  education  in  the  public  schools.  When  a  lad  of  five  years,  in 
company  with  David  Hummel  and  Harry  Wolfe,  a  cousin,  he  was 
riding  behind  a  spirited  team,  when  the  rig  was  struck  by  a  railroad 
train.  Wolfe  was  instantly  killed  and  Hummel  died  from  the  effects 
of  his  injuries.  Mr.  Reinbold  had  his  left  arm  broken  in  four  places 
and  his  left  leg  fractured  in  three  different  places,  besides  other  in- 
juries, of  the  head  and  body.  Three  physicians  despaired  of  his  life, 
but  owing  to  the  watchful  care  of  Dr.  L.  A.  Shirk,  of  Lickdale,  his 
life  was  saved,  although  he  was  crippled  in  his  left  arm  for  life.  When 
he  had  completed  his  common  school  labors  he  learned  telegraphy,  and 
for  seven  years  was  the  operator  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  rail- 
road at  Cold  Spring  in  Lebanon  county.  While  there  he  was  also 
postmaster  under  the  McKinley  and  Roosevelt  administrations.  The 
station  was  discontinued  by  the  railroad  company  and  Mr.  Reinbold 
came  to  Pine  Grove  and  embarked  in  his  present  business.  He  has 
done  exceedingly  well  in  a  pecuniary  way,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  he  has  had  to  fight  trust  influences  at  every  turn.  On  Dec.  31, 
1898,  Mr.  Reinbold  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Gertrude  M.  Gates, 
of  Lebanon  City,  Pa.,  a  daughter  of  Franklin  P.  and  Ada  (Boughter) 
Gates.  Mr.  Gates  is  deceased,  but  his  widow  is  living,  a  resident  of 
Dunbar,  Fayette  county.  One  child,  Parthenia  Vinetta  by  name,  has 
blessed  this  union.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reinbold  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church  and  Mr.  Reinbold  is  identified  with  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America  and  the  Royal  Arcanum,  in  the  latter 
of  which  he  is  sentinel.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  reKef  association.    In  his  political  beliefs  he  upholds  the  tenets 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  383 

of  the  Democratic  party.  By  hard  work  and  perseverance  he  has 
risen  to  a  position  of  affluence  and  influence  in  the  community.  He 
is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  a  member  of  the  school  board. 

Reinharty  George,  proprietor  of  Reinhart's  hotel — formerly  the 
Lion  hotel,  corner  of  Tenth  and  Market  streets,  Pottsville,  was  born 
in  the  house  where  he  now  resides,  June  lo,  1856.  His  parents, 
George  and  Agnes  (Klitsch)  Reinhart,  were  both  natives  of  Hesse- 
Cassel,  Germany.  They  came  to  America  in  1848  and  settled  at  Potts- 
ville, where  the  father  followed  his  trade  of  shoemaker  for  about  fifteen 
years,  in  the  meantime  founding  the  Lion  hotel,  which  he  conducted 
in  connection  with  his  other  business.  After  giving  up  the  shoe  shop 
he  continued  to  conduct  the  hotel  until  his  death,  in  1871,  at  the  age 
of  forty-eight  years.  The  widow  and  a  son  Anthony  carried  on  the 
hotel  for  several  years,  or  until  1898,  when  it  passed  by  purchase  into 
the  hands  of  its  present  proprietor.  George  and  Agnes  Reinhart  had 
eleven  children,  five  of  whom  gvtvj  to  maturity,  viz :  Catherine,  An- 
thony, Mary,  George  and  Samuel  A.  George  Reinhart,  the  son,  re- 
ceived a  limited  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city. 
Upon  leaving  school  he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  at  which  he 
worked  for  five  years,  and  thereafter  he  was  employed  in  the  Potts- 
ville brewery  for  twenty- four  years.  In  1898  he  bought  the  hotel 
property,  as  above  noted,  remodeled  and  refurnished  the  house,  and 
has  since  conducted  it  under  the  name  of  Reinhart's  hotel.  Mr.  Rein- 
hart is  a  Democrat  in  political  views,  but  has  never  been  a  seeker 
for  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Mechanics'  benefit  society, 
and  Aerie  No.  134,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  with  his  family 
belongs  to  St.  John's  Roman  Catholic  church.  June  6,  1882,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Barbara  Reitzel,  whose  parents,  Henry  and 
Barbara  (Memmel)  Reitzel,  were  natives  of  Germany  and  pioneers 
of  Yorkville.  Her  father  died  April  7,  1870,  from  the  effects  of  a 
burn  received  in  the  Pottsville  mines.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reinhart  have 
five  children — Mary,  Frederick,  William,  Catherine  and  Margaret. 

Reinhold,  Eli  Spayd,  a  scion  of  one  of  the  old  and  honored  fam- 
ilies of  the  Keystone  state,  has  attained  to  distinction  in  educational 
and  business  affairs  and  has  long  been  known  as  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative citizens  of  Schuylkill  county.  He  is  a  man  of  high  scholar- 
ship and  his  influence  has  proven  potent  for  good  along  the  various 
directions  in  which  he  has  exerted  the  same.  Mr.  Reinhold  was  born 
in  Reinholdsville,  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  14,  1847,  ^"^  is  a  son  of 
Jacob  B.  and  Catherine  (Spayd)  Reinhold,  both  likewise  natives  of 
Lancaster  county,  where  the  former  was  born  Oct.  10,  1810,  and  the 
latter  in  Nov.,  1816.  The  original  American  progenitors  of  the  Rein- 
hold family  came  hither  from  Germany  in  1728,  being  of  the  noted 
family  of  German  philosophers  of  that  name  who  were  the  early  ex- 
ponents of  the  Kantian  philosophy.  One  of  the  two  brothers  who 
came  to  America  in  the  year  not«d  settled  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa., 
and  his  son  Christoff  served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  in  two  dif- 
ferent regiments  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  as  is  clearly  and  authen- 
tically indicated  in  the  woric  entitled  "Pennsylvania  in  the  Revolution." 


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384  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Six  of  the  family  were  valiant  soldiers  of  the  Union  in  the  Civil  war 
and  all  save  one  of  this  number  were  commissioned  officers.  In  the 
Seventeeilth  Pennsylvania  cavalry  were  Major  Reuben  Reinhold,  Lieu- 
tenant Uriah  R.  Reinhold,  and  Captain  M.  R.  Reinhold,  the  last  named 
of  whom  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  troopers  in  the  Shenandoah 
valley,  under  General  Sheridan.  Eli  S.  Reinhold,  to  whom  this  sketch 
is  dedicated,  secured  his  early  educational  discipline  in  private  schools 
and  classical  academies,  and  supplemented  the  same  by  courses  of  study 
in  the  Pennsylvania  State  normal  school  and  in  the  Eastman  business 
college,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  He  devoted  seven  years  to  effective 
school  work  and  gained  a  high  reputation  in  pedagogic  circles.  He 
taught  three  terms  in  Lancaster  county,  was  for  one  year  an  instructor 
in  a  private  school  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  thereafter  became 
principal  of  the  high  school  at  Mahanoy  City,  Schuylkill  county,  where 
his  work  was  most  highly  appreciated.  Here  also  he  was  chosen  super- 
intendent of  the  public  schools  of  the  borough  of  Mahanoy  City,  re- 
taining this  incumbency  two  years.  In  1871  Mr.  Reinhold  entered  the 
banking  business,  to  which  he  continued  to  devote  his  attention  for 
thirty-five  years,  with  distinctive  success.  In  1889  he  organized  the 
Union  National  bank  of  Mahanoy  City,  of  which  he  served  as  cashier 
until  1906,  when  he  resigned  the  office.  He  made  this  one  of  the  most 
successful  and  substantial  of  the  banking  institutions  of  the  state.  In 
the  midst  of  the  exactions  and  responsibilities  of  an  essentially  busy 
life  Mr.  Reinhold  gave  his  leisure  to  literature  and  science.  He 
gathered  a  most  valuable  collection  of  mineral  specimens,  which  he 
recently  presented  to  Bucknell  university,  in  memory  of  his  deceased 
and  only  son,  who  was  graduated  in  that  institution,  and  this  gift  con- 
stitutes what  is  known  as  "The  Milton  C.  Reinhold  Collection."  Mr. 
Reinhold  purposes  to  devote  his  remaining  years  to  congenial  pursuits. 
In  1907,  he  was  tendered  the  office  of  registrar  and  librarian  of  the 
Crozer  theological  seminary,  at  Upland,  Pa.,  and  has  accepted  the 
same. 

He  has  broadened  his  mental  ken  by  extensive  and  appreciative 
travel,  having  crossed  the  Atlantic  eight  times  and  having  visited 
Asia,  Africa,  and  all  European  countries  except  Austria.  He  is 
familiar  with  the  German  and  French  languages  and  has  friends  and 
correspondents  in  a  number  of  European  countries.  In  politics  Mr. 
Reinhold  is  a  Republican  with  independent  views,  and  he  has  been 
active  in  the  work  of  the  party.  He  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  state 
Republican  convention  on  a  number  of  occasions,  was  for  several  years 
a  member  of  the  borough  council,  of  which  he  was  president  one  year ; 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  held  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  council. 
He  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  second  oldest  living  past-master  of 
Mahanoy  City  Lodge,  No.  357,  Free  and  Acceoted  Masons,  and  was 
its  treasurer  until  his  removal  from  the  town.  Mr.  Reinhold  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  since  Feb.  4,  1866,  and  has  been  a 
vigorous  and  zealous  factor  in  various  departments  of  church  work. 
For  two  years  he  was  statistical  secretary  of  the  Pennsylvania  state 
Sunday-school  association.     April  10,  r866,  was  solemnized  the  mar- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  385 

riage  of  Mr.  Reinhold  to  Miss  Louise  J.  Compton,  of  Philadelphia,  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Clarissa  (Owen)  Compton,  of  Newport,  N. 
J.,  and  the  only  child  of  this  union  was  Milton  Compton  Reinhold,  who 
was  bom  March  8,  1867,  and  whose  death  occurred  March  i,  1894. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  the  classical  department  of  Bucknell  university 
and  became  a  successful  member  of  the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  served  several  years  as  a  commissioned  officer  of  the 
8th  regiment,  Pennsylvania  National  Guard,  with  which  he  did  duty 
during  the  Homestead  strike  campaign.  He  was  a  young  man  of 
sterling  attributes  and  distinctive  ability,  honored  by  all  who  knew 
him,  and  his  early  death  cut  short  a  career  full  of  promise. 

Rentschler,  Henry  D.,  M.  D.,  a  leading  physician  of  Ringtown, 
was  bom  in  Berks  county,  on  May  5,  1841,  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Sarah 
(Diehl)  Rentschler.  He  acquired  his  preliminary  training  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  county  and  in  the  Washington  Hall  academy, 
at  Trappe,  Montgomery  county.  After  a  period  of  study  in  the  office 
of  Dr.  D.  Schoener  he  matriailated,  in  1861,  in  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  1864  was  graduated 
at  that  institution  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  im- 
mediately began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Ringtown  and  since 
that  time  has  made  that  borough  his  home.  He  is  a  general  prac- 
titioner and  has  a  practice  which  extends  into  the  surrounding 
boroughs.  In  the  fall  of  1869  the  doctor  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Emeline  Rumbel  of  Ringtown,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Sarah 
(Seltzer)  Rumbel.  She  is  the  only  daughter  of  a  family  of  three,  her 
brothers  being  William  H.  and  Trenton  W.  To  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Rent- 
schler have  been  born  eight  children.  Ada  Letta,  the  eldest,  com- 
pleted a  course  in  the  Keystone  state  normal  school  at  Kutztowii  and 
subsequently  studied  music  in  a  seminary  at  Hagerstown.  She  mar- 
ried Dr.  George  R.  Shenk,  a  practicing  physician  of  Reading,  and  has 
three  children — Katherine  F.,  Florence  E.  and  Frederic.  Maurice 
married  Miss  Sadie  Rumbel,  daughter  of  Francis  Rumbel,  of  Ring- 
town.  He  did  not  finish  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  but  is 
now  in  business  at  Ringtown.  Walter  received  his  early  educational 
advantages  in  the  Bloomsburg  normal  academy  and  in  1892  matricu- 
lated in  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
1896  he  was  given  his  degree  and  has  since  that  time  been  practicing 
with  his  father.  His  wife,  by  whom  he  has  three  children — George 
Hughes.  Henry  D.  and  Emily — was  Miss  Edna  Hughes,  daughter  of 
George  Hughes,  of  Clearfield,  Pa.  Sadie  M.  graduated  at  the  Blooms- 
burg state  normal  and  became  a  popular  teacher  in  Ringtown.  She 
died  Feb.  7,  1907.  Harry  J.  is  a  machinist  employed  in  the  hosiery 
mills  at  Ringtown.  Robert  F.  is  a  graduate  of  the  Keystone  state 
normal  school.  He  taught  for  a  few  terms  and  then,  after  a  course 
in  a  commercial  college,  at  Reading,  he  accepted  the  position  he  now 
holds,  with  the  Brooks  Foundry  &  Steel  Company,  of  Birdsboro. 
Elizabeth  M.  graduated  in  the  musical  department  of  the  Bloomsburg 
normal  school  and  is  now  engaged  in  musical  instruction  in  Ring- 

26— Vol.  II 


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386  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

town.  Guy  H.  also  is  a  graduate  of  the  Bloomsburg  institution  and 
is  a  teacher  by  profession.  The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church.  The  doctor  himself  is  a  stanch  Democrat  in  his  political 
views  and  as  the  candidate  of  that  party  he  was  at  one  time  elected 
to  the  office  of  coroner.  For  twenty-eight  successive  years  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  school  board.  His  business  interests  are  not  con- 
fined to  his  professional  labors,  as  he  is  vice-president  of  the  First- 
National  bank  of  Ringtown  and  is  a  director  in  the  Merchants'  National 
bank  at  Shenandoah.  Dr.  Rentschler  is  well  known  in  fraternal  circles, 
having  attained  to  the  degree  of  Knight  Templar  in  the  Masonic  order, 
besides  which  he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, in  the  Ringtown  Lodge,  No.  287.  He  is  also  prominent  in  the 
county  and  state  medical  associations  and  his  name  in  connection 
with  any  ^terprise  is  a  synonym  for  energetic  action  and  honesty. 

Rentz,  Rev.  William  P.,  A.  M.,  a.  minister  of  the  gospel 
of  the  Lutheran  faith  and  the  much  respected  pastor  of 
the  English  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of  Pottsville,  is  a  native 
of  Lycoming  county.  Pa.,  and  was  bom  on  Sept  22,  iSsi. 
He  is  a  son  of  Peter  S.  and  Lydia  (Buck)  Rentz,  both 
natives  of  Lycoming  county,  where  the  father  was  a  farmer 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1873,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
three  years.  The  mother  lived  to  be  seventy-five  years  old.  The  family 
[consisted  of  six  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  the  daughters  and 
four  of  the  sons  besides  the  subject  of  this  sketch  survive.  They  are 
Harry,  John,  Ermin,  Pierce,  Mary  and  Emma,  all  married  and  all 
living  in  Lycoming  county  except  Ermin,  who  is  a  physician  in  Forest 
City,  Ore.;  Pierce,  who  is  in  Emporium,  Pa.,  where  with  another 
party  he  owns  a  foundry  and  machine  shop,  and  Emma  (Mrs.  Hess), 
who  lives  in  Tioga,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Rev.  Mr.  Rentz,  after  receiving 
a  preliminary  education  in  tiie  public  schools,  entered  Dickinson  sem- 
inary, at  Williamsport,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1872.  Four  years 
later  he  was  graduated  in  Pennsylvania  college,  at  Gettysburg.  He 
then  matriculated  in  the  theological  seminary  of  the  same  institution, 
and  when  he  had  completed  the  full  course  of  four  years  he  was  given 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  in  1880.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  received  ordination  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  in  the  general  synod 
of  the  Lutheran  church.  His  ministerial  career  was  beg^n  as  pastor 
of  the  church  at  New  Chester,  Adams  county,  where  he  remained  for 
some  two  and  a  half  years,  leaving  there  in  the  fall  of  1883  to  take 
the  Lionville  pastorate,  in  Chester  county.  In  the  spring  of  1888  he 
became  home  missionary  of  the  Lutheran  church  at  Atchison,  Kan., 
and  he  rendered  distinguished  service  in  that  capacity  for  nine  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  period  he  removed  to  Port  Arthur,  Tex.,  where 
for  a  year  and  a  half  he  was  engaged  in  ministerial  labors,  establish- 
ing a  church  and  overseeing  the  erection  of  an  edifice  for  the  congrega- 
tion. Rev.  Mr.  Rentz's  Pottsville  charge  dates  from  the  fall  of  1898, 
when,  in  answer  to  a  unanimous  call  from  the  congregation,  he  as- 
sumed the  duties  of  pastor.  The  Pottsville  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church  was  established  in  1851,  although  prior  to  that  time  there  had 
been  a  movement  on  foot  to  divide  the  German  Lutheran  congrega- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  '  387 

tion,  which  alternated  with  the  German  Reformed  congregation  in 
holding  services  in  a  block  house,  where  on  week  days  a  school  was 
kept.  The  separation  was  not,  however,  fully  consummated  until 
185 1,  since  which  year  the  English  church  has  had  a  steady  and  suc- 
cessful career.  The  congregation  today  comprises  some  seven  hundred 
members,  one  of  the  largest  Protestant  churches,  and  the  enrollment 
in  the  Sunday  school  in  all  departments  amounts  to  nine  hundred  chil- 
dren, undoubtedly  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  Pottsville.  Since  its 
organization  the  church  has  been  served  by  twelve  pastors,  some  of 
whom  remained  but  a  short  time  while  others  served  periods  of  ten 
years  or  more.  Rev.  Mr.  Rentz  is  now  beginning  his  ninth  year  and 
is  a  man  born  to  lead  in  good  works.  His  missionary  spirit  meets 
with  the  full  approval  of  his  people  and  his  advanced  ideas  upon  the 
questions  which  are  absorbing  the  public  interests  easily  place  him  in 
the  ranks  of  the  brainiest  and  most  intellectual  citizens.  His  treatment 
of  the  temperance  question  is  fair,  conservative  and  thorough,  and  wins 
for  both  him  and  the  cause  many  strong  friends.  He  carries  his  views 
on  this  question  into  his  political  career  and  is  a  strong  exponent  of 
the  tenents  of  the  Prohibition  party.  Sept.  30,  1880,  was  solemnized 
Mr.  Rentz's  marriage  to  Miss  Sue  C.  Suavely,  a  native  of  Lebanon, 
and  a  daughter  of  George  S.  Suavely,  who  for  many  years  was  a  coal 
dealer.  Three  children  have  blessed  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs^ 
Rentz.  George,  the  eldest,  is  now  a  student  at  Princeton  university, 
N.  J.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Pottsville  high  school  and  Pennsylvania 
college,  and  for  three  years  was  engaged  in  pedagogic  work,  the  last 
two  of  them  as  principal  of  the  Mifflinburg  schools.  Miss  M.  Helen  is 
a  graduate  9f  the  Pottsville  high  school  and  the  Maryland  college  for 
women  at  Lutherville,  Md.  In  June,  1906,  she  completed  the  course 
in  kindergarten  instruction  in  Temple  college,  Philadelphia,  where  she 
is  now  teaching.  The  youngest  child,  Marie  Elizabeth,  is  a  student  in 
the  Pottsville  high  school  in  the  class  of  1907.  Mr.  Rentz  has  been 
president  of  the  Sabbath  school  association  of  Schuylkill  county  since 
1902,  and  at  the  present  time  is  a  director  of  the  Children's  Home  at 
Pottsville  and  of  the  Tressler's  Orphans'  home  at  Loysville,  Pa.,  the 
latter  institution  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

Ressler,  George  W.,  M.  D.,  a  leading  physician  and  surgeon  of 
Ashland,  was  bom  in  Hegins  township,  this  county,  Sept.  22,  1863,  a 
son  of  George  and  Sally  (Geist)  Ressler.  Both  parents  were  born  in 
Northumberland  county,  where  both  the  grandfathers,  Samuel  Ress- 
ler and  Peter  Geist,  were  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Samuel 
Ressler  married  a  Miss  Kehler  and  the  wife  of  Peter  Geist  was 
formerly  Miss  Gratzer.  The  parents'  marriage  was  celebrated  in 
Northumberland  county  about  1845  and  soon  thereafter  they  removed 
to  Hegins  township,  this  county.  The  father  was  a  tanner  by  voca- 
tion and  for  sixteen  years  conducted  a  tannery  in  Hegins  township. 
When  he  retired  from  that  trade  he  engaged  in  farming  and  continued 
at  it  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.    He  died  in  1889,  leaving  a  family 


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388  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  ten  children.  Dn  Joel  G.  and  Emanuel,  twins,  were  the  first  bom, 
the  former  of  whom  is  deceased;  and  the  others  are  John;  Mary, 
wife  of  Jacob  Fisher ;  Eliza,  wife  of  William  King ;  Kate,  wife  of  Rev. 
Oliver  Schaeffer ;  Sarah,  Mrs.  John  F.  Long ;  James ;  George  W. ;  and 
Anna,  now  Mrs.  Ambrose  Mauris.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received 
his  early  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Hegins  township  and 
finished  his  preparatory  work  by  a  course  in  the  Lockhaven  normal 
school.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1881  in  the  ofiice  of  his 
brother.  Dr.  Joel  G.  Ressler,  at  Valley  View,  and  in  1884,  after  com- 
pleting^ the  course  of  study  afforded  by  the  JeflFerson  medical  college, 
.of  Philadelphia,  he  was  graduated  at  that  institution,  with  the  deg^e 
of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  began  his  professional  practice  in  his 
native  township  and  was  most  successfully  engaged  in  it  there  for  a 
period  of  eight  years.  In  1892  he  located  in  Ashland,  where  he  has 
since  been  practicing  with  marked  success.  May  15,  1884,  Dr.  Ressler 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Catherine  Tobias,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Catherine  (Troutman)  Tobias,  of  Hegins  township.  To 
this  union  has  been  born  one  child,  a  daughter,  Esther  J.  The  family 
are  all  members  of  the  Reformed  faith  and  worship  at  the  Zion  church 
of  that  denomination  in  Ashland.  In  his  political  views  the  doctor  is 
an  exponent  of  the  principles  of  Democracy,  but  has  never  held  nor 
aspired  to  office.  Professionally  he  is  identified  with  the  Schuylkill 
county,  the  state  and  the  American  medical  associations. 

Ressler,  John,  a  well  known  farmer  in  Hegins  township,  was 
bom  there  Sept.  26,  1848.  His  parents,  George  and  Sarah  (Giest) 
Ressler,  were  both  bom  in  Northumberland  county,  Pa.  In  1844 
they  came  to  Schuylkill  county,  settling  first  at  Valley  View,  where 
the  father  operated  a  tannery  for  about  thirteen  years,  but  in  1857 
he  bought  a  farm  of  106  acres  in  Hegins  township.  At  that  time  it 
was  but  slightly  improved  and  had  only  log  buildings  upon  it,  but 
by  hard  work  he  improved  the  place  and  brought  it  up  to  the  repu- 
tation of  being  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  neighborhood.  George 
Ressler  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed church,  and  was  a  popular  and  influential  citizen  in  his  day. 
He  died  in  1889  and  his  wife  in  1895.  They  had  the  following  chil- 
dren: Emanuel  and  John,  living  in  Hegins  township;  Mary,  who 
married  Jacob  Fisher,  of  Lancaster,  Pa.;  Eliza,  wife  of  William  B. 
King,  of  Dauphin  county ;  Kate,  who  married  O.  F.  Shafer,  of  Fores- 
ton,  111. ;  Sarah,  now  the  widow  of  J.  Long,  and  a  resident  of  He^rins ; 
James,  who  lives  at  DuBois,  Clearfield  county.  Pa.;  Georg^e  W.,  a 
physician  at  Ashland;  and  Annie,  who  married  A.  W.  Maurer,  of 
Hegins  township.  John  Ressler  received  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, and  has  followed  agricultural  pursuits  all  his  life.  He  now  car- 
ries on  a  general  farming  business  and  is  one  of  the  well  to  do  citi- 
zens in  the  community  where  he  lives.  Like  his  father  before  him  he 
is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  affiliations  and  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed church.  He  has  held  the  office  of  tax  collector  and  auditor, 
and  was  school  director  for  many  years.  He  has  been  twice  married. 
His  first  wife  was  Miss  Catherine  Artz,  and  to  this  union  were  bom 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  389 

seven  children,  viz. :  A.  C,  who  married  Cora  Geist  and  is  now  farm- 
ing on  the  old  homestead;  Kate,  now  the  wife  of  J.  D.  Dinger,  of 
Ashland ;  Jennie,  the  wife  of  G.  D.  Kuntz,  of  Hegins,  Pa. ;  Nora,  wife 
of  Harper  Williard,  of  Philadelphia;  George,  at  home;  Mary,  who 
lives  in  Philadelphia,  and  Sarah,  at  home.  The  mother  of  these 
children  died  in  Jan.,  1898,  and  the  father  married  Mrs.  J.  Hunt- 
singer,  of  Hubley  township. 

Rich,  Henry  J.,  a  well  known  merchant  and  prominent  business 
man  of  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of  the  borough  in  which  he  now  live^ 
and  was  born  on  May  9,  1843.  He  is  the  second  born  of  the  seven 
children  of  the  late  Job  Rich,  of  Pottsville.  His  father  was  one  ot 
the  pioneers  in  the  coal  business  and  was  a  resident  of  Pottsville  for 
fifty-eight  years.     He  was  a  native  of  South  Wales,  born  Sept.  10, 

181 2.  With  his  father's  family.  Job  Rich  located  in  Pottsville  in 
1836,  and  a  year  later  the  father,  whose  name  was  Isaac  Rich,  and 
his  son  Job  began  coal  operations  at  Wadesville,  this  county.  In 
1842  they  begaii  the  development  of  the  York  Farm  coal  property, 
this  being  operated  by  Job  Rich  until  1881,  when  he  sold  out  his  in- 
terests, and  he  devoted  his  time  thereafter  to  the  care  and  manage- 
ment of  his  varied  real  estate  interests.  Isaac  Rich,  the  founder  of 
this  family  in  Schuylkill  county,  was  a  practical  miner,  well  versed 
in  the  development  of  the  coal  industry.  He  died  in  Pottsville  in 
1848,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  By  his  marriage  with  Qiar- 
lotte  Tillott  he  had  a  family  of  five  children,  who  lived  to  years  of 
maturity,  namely:  George,  Job,  Isaac,  Jane  and  Jonas.  George,  in 
company  with  Charles  M.  Miller,  doing  business  under  the  firm 
title  of  Miller  &  Rich,  was  an  extensive  coal  operator  in  the  county. 
Job  Rich,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article,  was  a  man  of  lim- 
ited opportunities  in  early  life,  but  he  took  advantage  of  such  oppor- 
tunities as  were  afforded  during  his  subsequent  career  as  a  very  active 
and  successful  business  man.  To  use  his  own  language  he  was  "edu- 
cated by  the  circumstances  of  life."  He  was  a  man  of  exemplary  life 
and  character,  was  a  consistent  and  active  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  from  1836  until  his  death,  and  held  all  the  official 
positions  in  the  government  of  the  church.  He  died  Feb.  13,  1894. 
His  wife  was  Dorothy  Affleck,  a  native  of  Scotland,  bom  May  6, 

1813.  They  were  married  in  Pottsville  by  Rev.  William  Cooper,  in 
May,  1841,  and  became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  the  eldest  of 
whom  is  Isaac  B. ;  Henry  J.,  of  this  sketch,  was  the  second  bom ; 
Mary  F.  is  the  widow  of  George  W.  Simmons ;  Isabella  A.  is  the  wife 
of  Thomas  A.  Jones;  John  W.  is  a  farmer;  Charlotte  A.  is  unmar- 
ried and  living  at  the  old  homestead;  and  J.  Newton.  All  are  resi- 
dents of  Pottsville.  Isaac  B.  was  a  soldier  during  the  Civil  war,  and 
participated  in  a  number  of  engagements,  with  the  129th  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Henry  J.  Rich  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville  and  began  his  business  life  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits.  He  was  employed  as  a  salesman  in  the  hardware 
business  of  J.  C.  Bright  &  Co.,  subsequently  engaging  in  business  on 
his  own  account.    He  is  now  interested  as  principal  owner  and  man- 


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390  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ager  in  three  fine  groceries  in  Pottsville.  He  is  a  public  spirited  citi- 
zen, interested  in  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  his  native  town,  and 
contributes  freely  of  his  means  and  time  to  that  end.  He  is  an  active 
member  of  the  recently  organized  civic  society  and  business  men's 
association  in  Pottsville,  which,  acting  in  conjunction  with  the  board 
of  trade,  has  in  view  the  establishment  of  industrial  enterprises,  and 
the  promotion  of  entertainments,  etc.  Mr.  Rich  was  married  on  Oct. 
17,  1867,  to  Miss  Harriet  F.,  daughter  of  George  and  Elizabeth 
(Spencer)  Heaton,  natives  of  Yorkshire,  England,  but  later  residents 
of  Pottsville,  Pa.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rich  have  two  sons,  Norman  H.,  of 
Pottsville,  and  Howard  R,,  of  Reading,  Pa.  Mr.  Rich  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  political  affiliations,  though  imbibing  the  independent  po- 
litical spirit  so  prevalent  in  Pennsylvania  during  the  past  two  or  three 
years.  He  has  never  been  an  office-seeker,  but  has  accepted  the  office 
of  school  director,  as  a  duty  devolving  upon  all  good  citizens.  He 
served  as  a  very  active  member  of  the  building  committee  during  the 
construction  of  the  magnificent  Garfield  school  building,  decidedly 
the  handsomest  structure  of  the  kind  in  Schuylkill  county.  Other 
school  houses  were  erected,  enlarged,  or  extensively  repaired  during 
Mr.  Rich's  term  of  six  years,  from  1889,  and  the  school  park,  on 
Center  street,  was  transformed  from  a  cemetery  to  a  beautiful  spot 
for  the  comfort  and  entertainment  of  the  living.  Mr.  Rich  is  very 
justly  proud  of  his  record  as  a  member  of  the  Pottsville  school  board, 
a  thankless,  unrequited  office,  except  for  the  consciousness  of  duty 
well  performed.  The  family  are  Episcopalians  in  religious  views. 
Mr.  Rich  is  not  identified  with  any  secret  societies,  but  is  an  inter- 
ested member  of  the  Schuylkill  county  historical  society. 

Rickerty  Col.  Thomas  H.,  deceased,  who  is  well  remembered  by 
the  people  of  Pottsville  as  a  progressive  and  public  spirited  man, 
was  a  descendant  of  two  of  the  oldest  families  of  Schuylkill  county. 
His  grandfather,  Richard  Rickert,  was  a  native  of  Bucks  county.  Pa., 
but  came  in  his  youth  to  Schuylkill,  locating  near  Orwigsburg,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  farming,  mining  and  various  other  occupations 
until  his  death,  in  1857,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  He  was  a 
man  of  intelligence  and  stability  of  character  and  although  the 
greater  part  of  his  education  was  acquired  in  the  stern  school  of 
experience,  he  was  considered  a  Well  informed  man  on  most  of  the 
topics  of  the  day.  In  politics  he  was  an  old-line  Whig,  taking  an 
active  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  party.  Religiously  he  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Evangelical  association,  and  as  long  as  he 
lived  was  zealous  and  aggressive  in  the  conduct  of  its  affairs.  He 
married  a  Miss  Gilbert,  and  to  the  union  were  born  three  sons  and 
three  daughters.  One  of  these  sons  was  George  Rickert,  who  was 
bom  at  Orwigsburg  in  Nov.,  1810.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he 
engaged  in  mining  on  his  own  account,  at  Minersville,  hauling  his 
coal  by  team  to  Mount  Carbon,  where  it  was  shipped  by  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Schuylkill  canal  to  Philadelphia.  Subsequently  he  became 
a  successful  coal  operator  at  Minersville,  New  Philadelphia  and  other 
points,  continuing  in  this  line  of  activity  until  1872,  when  he  retired, 


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I 


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390 


i  It. 


'..:':    '1-  tr;ice  fine  i^wncries  in  i*ott>\\Ii 
:■    :.  '.prtTo^Unl  ui  tlie  growth  and  p'*'>> 
anV'  .huU'-,  t:**(  1%  .>f  h.is  means  and  lini 
-u  T>/...r   .»!    tlie   recently   org-anizeti   cix 
;:->.'■  vialLon  in  i\^itsville.  which,  actint, 
"^t  tiade,  ha>  in  view  the  estabhshinci 
ih(   promotion  of  eruc^tainmenf-,  etr. 
17.    i8(>7,    to    Mis>    Harriet    F.,    dai-/- 
(.Opened  j   Hea*^oti.  natives  of  YorK-:    • 
of  l^>tt^ville,  L'a.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kut^ 
I'ottsviile,  and  H^>ward  K.,  of  Kc-....: 
lican  in  his  |-H>!it}tal  atTuiati<»ns,  th   -  . 
litical  spirii  so  prevalent  in  IVnn^)i 
years.     He  has  never  been  an  0^*1. -^ 
of  school  chrector.  a^  a  dnty  iW\    '■  • 
served  as  a  \ttv  active  member  •'  :   - 
construction   xA   th<"    ma"-nitk"Mr    i    ; 
the   hatuis, -nie^t    -rri'^aiie   or'    ^i-' 
siIii)Ol   h"':>'*>    wetx    ei>\'trtl,   e'  "  •   . 
^'r.    Kicii\^  U'uu  ift   Mv   \t;M^ 
i  enter  ^tret-t,  was  tratisir*"i  «  i     - 
for  tht    ciMr.fort  and  enter!".  ■ 
ju-^tlv  proud  of  his  recor!  •\    - 
a   tbankie  -.   nnreqnite<i   (''r-.  .-.   < 
v>.ll    pe':i)rnied.      The    fai-    ' 
Mr.   Rich  IS  not  ivieiuifie.;   * 
t-^*'d  mer.tber  of  the  ^rh  .    *,  . 
Rickert,  Col,  Thoira*-   i :  , 
tiie    people   of    l'iH»-  \  !i  •• 
was  a  descendant  (u"  {\vo  .  . 
Hi^-  grand  fat  ]:-r.  Ri'S.-irl   !' 
but  came  lU  bi^  ;  ■  -tM      .   - 
he  was  c*  '•",.  -I    I'l    : 

.1'^'.    HI    15',7.     ■ 
<  iii^c^a-nce    a:r.I    -• 
:   of   his   cd;ii\t 
\\"  was  conMuv't'  ■ 
'V   day.     In   pobnc-    !. 
active  int/u-t   in  tlie  weU'ai^    -  : 
(»f   the    U^v^^  :•  r>   -  ♦    th"    1  v.\:  , . 
hved   wa-^  z'-aiou^  an!   i-^^^-  -• 
»  :arri«'d  a  Miss  (iiIih-t.  .,-<j  t^  t'..- 
tbrce  v'..t  <^htors.     ( 'ue  .t    tlu-^c   ^ '" 
!^^  M  M  ..•   *  'f  '  i;^'-l)urg  m   N-\  .    i'n.'v'' 
•   '^'i;'/*d   in    r.ininj;-  "U   his   ir.M,    ,i< 
■<..'i  '."  5   .\-i\  to   .\b>iMi*   III   ..'    wt'-' 
'•';■.. a  iS.   S;iui\lkill  can;«I  in  iMi:.*: 
■'    '      *'ii  (.oal  operator  at  \)".ii   ^  \ 
'■  .uuin^  in  this  h  h   <  t  at  tr- 


until  hi>  .i 
maji  <»!  11- 
jTreatcr    p  , 

topu* 


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.  -..ti.i.c  n-. 

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■■  ■  -   M  *«:ve  f  wn,  rffi  ' 

k     *    ' 

"' '  •  J-  an  acifv. 

»" 

^.;^iiu\— i   mer'- 

'; 

.  .    r*    I  :',  tf»e  tMiar-'t 

' 

1    •  ut   1  r'!"f-s.  and 

■  V    '  .      -•  *  on  *.).t 

■     '••  i    }\'i/al»eti: 

•      .  •      .     •    Nv..ient^ 

.  -^  ..;  ^   [1.,  of 

^  .»    I'vp-ub- 

•  -      '  three 

.    '    '     ,aBce 

He 

.-      ■    -'t,  the 
•■:.          •■  '  •'«  tity 

;  .>r 

.>ol    (M 

of  t^ 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  391 

and  lived  in  Potts ville  until  1891.  He  then  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a  Republican  in 
his  political  affiliations,  was  an  active  member  of  the  Evangelical 
church,  in  which  he  held  many  important  positions,  and  was  noted 
for  his  benevolence  and  public  spirit.  He  married  Miss  Amelia 
Hammer,  a  member  of  what  at  that  time  was  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent families  in  the  county,  and  she  died  in  July,  1890,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight  years.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  children,  all 
of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  Elizabeth  is  now  Mrs.  Linder,  of  Or- 
wigsburg;  John  R.  lives  in  Reading,  Pa.;  Emma  is  a  Mrs.  Bohan- 
non,  of  Philadelphia;  George  L.  is  in  Virginia;  and  Thomas  H.  is 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Col.  Thomas  H.  Rickert  was  bom  near 
Schuylkill  Haven,  North  Manheim  township,  Schuylkill  county,  Apr. 
8,  1834.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  started  in  life  in 
the  coal  business,  first  with  his  father  and  later  on  his  own  account. 
To  this  business  he  added,  1881,  that  of  railroad  contractor,  in  which 
he  was  eminently  successful.  He  assisted  in  the  construction  of  the 
Buffalo  extension  of  the  Lehigh  Valley,  the  Cumberland  Valley,  the 
Schuylkill  Valley,  the  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading 
railroads.  At  the  commencement  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  and  was 
made  quartermaster  of  the  7th  Pennsylvania  cavalry.  Later  he  served 
as  quartermaster  of  the  different  divisions  and  corps  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland  until  the  close  of  the  contest,  being  mustered  out 
of  service  at  the  close  of  the  war.  With  his  command  he  partici- 
pated in  practically  all  the  engagements  of  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland, among  which  were  Stone's  River,  Chickamauga,  Chatta- 
nooga, Missionary  Ridge,  and  the  battles  of  the  Atlanta  campaign, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Tennessee  with  Gen.  Thomas  and  was  in 
the  fights  at  Franklin  and  Nashville.  Upon  his  return  home  he  re- 
sumed his  business  as  a  coal  operator  and  became  a  director  in  the 
Safe  Deposit  bank  and  the  Edison  Illuminating  Company.  In  per- 
sonal appearance  Colonel  Rickert  was  a  man  of  commanding  pres- 
ence, handsome  in  both  form  and  feature,  and  was  endowed  with  an 
energy  that  few  men  possess.  Genial  in  his  disposition,  he  made 
friends  among  all  classes  of  people,  and  these  friends  remained  loyal 
to  him  through  all  time.  He  was  noted  for  his  public  spirit,  his 
benevolence,  and  his  fraternal  feeling  for  his  old  comrades  in  arms, 
Jiaving  been  a  member  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  Gowen  Post,  No.  23, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  Encampment  No.  19,  Union  Vet- 
eran Legion.  Although  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political  convic- 
tions, ,he  was  not  an  office-seeker,  but  was  always  willing  and  ready 
to  do  what  he  could  to  win  a  victory  for  his  party.  Sept.  23,  1856, 
Col.  Thomas  H.  Rickert  and  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry 
Van  Dusen,  of  Pottsville,  were  united  in  marriage.  This  union  was 
blessed  with  five  children,  two  of  whom  are  now  living.  Anna  T.  is 
the  wife  of  Dr.  T.  W.  Swalm,  of  Pottsville,  and  G.  Van  Dusen  Rick- 
ert married  Miss  Allie,  daughter  of  George  K.  McMurtrie,  of  Bel- 
videre,  N.  J.    Col.  Thomas  H.  Rickert  passed  into  the  Great  Beyond 


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392  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

on  Nov.   19,   1899,  and  his  death  was  sincerely  mourned  by  many 
people. 

Riland,  Albanus  S.,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  B.  and  Sarah  (Schoch) 
Riland.  His  paternal  grandparents  were  Andrew  and  Phoebe 
(Burkheart)  Riland,  descendants  of  Lord  Riland,  of  London,  Eng- 
land. His  maternal  grandparents  were  Jacob  and  Rachel  (Edleman) 
Schoch.  Samuel  B.  Riland,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  in  1795,  in  Berks  county,  and  his  wife  was  born  in  what  was 
then  called  Robinhood,  Philadelphia  county,  now  Philadelphia,  also 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  She  died  Sept.  15,  1825. 
Two  children  were  born  to  Samuel  and  Sarah  Riland — Albanus,  the 
subject  of  this  review,  and  Arabella,  who  became  the  wife  of  Charles 
Krecker,  of  Friedensburg,  both  being  now  deceased.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  Samuel  B.  Riland  married  Elizabeth  Mullin, 
and  to  this  union  were  born  three  sons  and  three  daughters,  viz.; 
Samuel  B.,  Jr. ;  Peter ;  Charles ;  Mary,  who  married  Thomas  Morgan, 
of  Montgomery  county,  later  of  Schuylkill  county;  Catherine,  who 
married  Daniel  Kemmerling,  of  Schuylkill  Haven;  and  Sarah,  who 
married  Daniel  Snyder,  of  Schuylkill  county.  Albanus  S.  Riland 
married  Anna  Nunemaker,  daughter  of  John  Nunemaker,  of  Wayne 
township,  on  May  16,  1850,  and  to  them  were  bom  three  sons  and 
one  daughter:  John  N.,  Daniel  S.  •  (deceased),  William  H.  and 
Mary  E.  (deceased).  Mrs.  Riland's  paternal  grandfather  was 
Jacob  Nunemaker,  who  came  from  Germany,  and  her  maternal  grand- 
father was  Peter  Smith,  bom  in  Berks  county.  Albanus  S.  Riland 
was  born  Dec.  22,  1824,  at  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia  county,  and 
moved  to  Norristown  with  his  parents,  and  to  Schuylkill  county, 
settling  in  Wayne  township  in  1838.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Friedensburg  church  for  fifty-eight  years,  and  has  been  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school  for  fifty-four  consecutive  years,  still 
holding  that  office  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  His  son,  William 
H.,  was  educated  in  the  Lebanon  Valley  college,  and  from  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years  has  been  occupied  on  his  farm,  where  he  is  now 
located.  He  is  the  agent  for  several  firms  dealing  in  agricultural 
implements  and  fertilizers.  In  politics  he  is  Republican,  and  has 
served  as  delegate  to  several  conventions.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  the  Knights  of  Malta, 
and  the  family  belongs  to  the  United  Brethren  church.  Nov.  22, 
1878,  he  married  Emma,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Steib)  Straub, 
of  Wayne  township.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Straub  are  natives  of  Ger- 
many. To  William  H.  Riland  and  his  wife  have  been  bom  four  sons 
and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  are  living,  viz.:  Albanus  S.,  Aug. 
18,  1880;  John  G.,  Dec.  20,  1881 ;  Harry  E.,  May  5,  1883;  Robert  S., 
Oct.  5,  1885 ;  Anna  M.,  May  14,  1889,  and  Dora  R.,  April  20,  1893. 
Albanus  S.  is  a  teacher  in  the  high  school  at  Shoemakersville  and  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Millersville  state  normal  school;  John  G.  is  also  a 
graduate  of  the  Millersville  normal,  and  is  a  teacher  at  Auburn; 
Harry  E.  is  employed  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  Robert  S.  is  a  machinist  at 
Reading;  Anna  M.  and  Dora  R.  are  at  home. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  393 

Riland,  Charles,  son  of  Samuel  B.  and  Elizabeth  (Miillin)  Ri- 
land,  was  born  Dec.  19,  1845.  He  attended  the  public  schools  until 
the  age  of  eighteen  years.  He  enlisted  in  the  i6th  Pennsylvania 
cavalry,  Troop  A,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Civil  war,  and  served 
under  General  Sheridan.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  home, 
where  he  and  his  brother  worked  their  father's  farm  for  a  year,  after 
which  Charles  went  on  his  brother's  farm,  remaining  three  years. 
Sept.  5,  1868,  Mr.  Riland  was  married  to  Sarah  Ann  Dish,  of  Wayne 
township,  and  after  his  marriage  he  continued  to  work  with  his 
brother  until  the  spring  of  1870,  when  he  moved  to  his  father's 
farm,  in  Washington  township,  remaining  there  for  four  years.  The 
next  move  was  to  Cressona,  where  he  remained  only  six  months, 
after  which  he  moved  to  the  small  farm  where  he  at  present  resides. 
This  is  a  farm  of  thirty-five  acres,  and  is  devoted  to  general  market 
gardening.  In  addition  to  this,  the  place,  known  as  Sunnyside  farm, 
has  become  a  resort  famous  throughout  all  the  country  for  its  chicken 
and  waffle  suppers.  Mrs.  Riland,  who  has  a  great  reputation  as  a 
fine  cook,  takes  full  charge  of  the  chicken  suppers  served  at  the  farm. 
The  guests  are  the  best  people  of  the  country  and  as  many  as  422 
persons  have  been  served  in  one  month.  The  total  number  of  guests 
for  1905  was  i,9SS,  which  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  commentary  on  the 
meals  served.  The  guest  book  shows  a  wide  range  of  patrons,  from 
England  on  the  east  to  California  on  the  west.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Riland 
have  four  children,  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of  whom  are 
living — Samuel  B.,  Anna  Lorinia  (married  to  Harry  Straut,  of 
Wayne  township),  Isaac  M.,  and  Harry  W.  Mr.  Riland  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  the  Junior  Order 
of  the  United  American  Mechanics  at  Friedensburg,  the  Grange  at 
Friedensburg,  and  Jere.  Helm  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  at 
Schuylkill  Haven.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  he  has  been 
township  assessor  for  nine  years.  His  family  are  members  of  the 
Evangelical  church  of  Friedensburg. 

Riley,  John  David,  M.  D. — This  popular  and  well  known  physi- 
cian of  Mahanoy  City,  was  born  at  Mahanoy  Plane,  Schuylkill 
county.  Pa.,  March  28,  1867.  His  parents  were  John  and  Matilda 
(Ferguson)  Riley,  both  natives  of  Pottsville.  His  father  was  bom 
in  1837,  and  died  at  Shenandoah,  at  the  age  of  forty  years.  The 
mother  lives  at  the  family  home  in  Shenandoah.  John  Riley  and  his 
partner,  William  Thickens,  established  the  first  store  at  Mahanoy 
Plane,  and  Mr.  Riley,  who  was  a  machinist  and  engineer,  erected 
and  started  the  first  pair  of  engines  at  Bear  Ridge  colliery,  which 
was  the  first  colliery  opened  in  that  locality.  John  Riley  lost  his 
health  in  the  army  during  the  Civil  war,  and  was  an  invalid  during 
most  of  the  time  following  his  discharge;  his  untimely  death  was 
Undoubtedly  the  result  of  disabilities  incurred  in  the  service.  He 
was  a  member  of  Company  L,  3d  Pennsylvania  cavalry,  and  served 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  for  a  period  of  three  years.  Dr.  John 
D.  Riley  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Shenandoah.  His 
professional  education  was  acquired  in  the  medical  department  of 


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394  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
honors.  He  has  been  in  successful  practice  at  Mahanoy  City  during 
most  of  his  career,  and  stands  high  in  the  medical  profession  of 
Schuylkill  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Schuylkill  county  medical 
society,  the  Pennsylvania  state  medical  society,  and  the  American 
medical  association.  He  was  married  Sept.  ii,  1895,  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Thompson,  a  daughter  of  David  and  Alice  (Timmons)  Thomp- 
son, of  Thompsonville,  Schuylkill  county,  prominent  early  settlers  of 
that  locality.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Riley  have  an  interesting  family  of  three 
children — Matilda,  John  and  Alice.  The  family  are  communicants 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  the  doctor  is  independent  in  his 
political  preferences. 

Roads,  George  MacCabe,  attorney  at  law,  of  Pottsville,  Pa., 
was  bom  at  Tamaqua,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  Oct.  7,  1857,  a  son  of 
Jacob  Oliver  and  Mary  Mackey  Roads,  the  former  of  whom  was 
bom  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  and  the  latter  at  Orwigsburg,  Schuylkill 
county.  Mr.  Roads  traces  his  ancestry  to  the  colonial  era  of  our 
country.  His  forebears  gave  valiant  service  in  the  Continental  army. 
Col.  Jonathan  Jones,  a  maternal  ancestor,  was  commissioned  a 
colonel  by  the  Continental  congress,  and  fought  and  won  distinction 
under  Arnold  in  his  wonderful  march  against  Quebec,  through  the 
wilderness  of  Maine.  His  plantation  near  Germantown,  Philadel- 
phia, was  used  by  the  Continental  army  under  General  Washington 
as  a  part  of  its  camp  when  it  was  stationed  in  and  about  Philadelphia, 
and  the  crops  and  improvements  on  the  farm  were  rendered  value- 
less by  the  occupation  of  the  army.  For  this  loss  Colonel  Jones  never 
asked  or  received  any  compensation  from  the  government.  Later 
generations  of  the  family  were  |5rominent  in  the  early  history  of  the 
state,  a  maternal  grandfather,  John  Roseberry,  having  been  an  emi- 
nent attorney  at  the  Schuylkill  county  bar.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
legislature,  was  commissioned  deputy  attorney  general  in  1819,  and 
was  a  major  of  the  Pennsylvania  militia  in  1814.  The  father  of  Mr. 
Roads  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  coal  operators  of  Schuylkill 
county,  wherein  he  conducted  mining  operations  for  forty  years,  and 
was  also  one  of  the  oldest  Knights  Templars  in  central  Pennsylvania 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1902,  at  which  time  he 
was  eighty-six  years  of  age.  George  MacCabe  Roads,  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  review,  received  his  academic  education  in  the  Potts- 
ville high  school,  after  which  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  the  late  Hon.  Lin.  Bartholomew.  He  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  July,  1880,  and  has  been  successful  in  this  line  of  endeavor 
in  all  that  the  word  implies.  While  he  may  properly  be  termed  a 
corporation  lawyer,  he  has  a  general  clientele,  and  a  diversified  busi- 
ness, though  he  principally  appears  on  the  civil  side  of  the  common 
pleas  court,  and  in  equity.  A  stanch  supporter  of  the  Republican 
party,  he  is,  however,  an  outspoken  advocate  of  party  independence 
in  the  selection  of  the  judiciary,  and  in  local  affairs  also  he  exercises 
the  right  of  independent  judgment.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania state  bar  association,  and  of  the  Schuylkill  county  bar  associa- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  395 

tion.  June  22,  1882,  Mr.  Roads  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Maud 
E.,  a  daughter  of  Col.  Z.  P.  Boyer,  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  and  to  them  have 
been  bom  four  children,  three  of  whom  are  living:  Catharine  B., 
George  M.,  and  Prall  B.  Roads. 

Rc^er,  EUias  R.,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Reber)  Roeder. 
The  family  line  for  five  generations  back  is  as  follows:  Herman 
Anton  and  Christian  Roeder;  Conrad  Roeder,  bom  May  13,  1757,  in 
North  Driedorf-Nafau,  Diellenburg,  Germany;  Kasper  Roeder,  born 
Aug.  3,  1788;  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Reber)  Roeder;  Elias  R.  Roeder. 
The  last,  Elias  R.,  was  bom  at  Roeders,  Schuylkill  county,  March  3, 
1861.  His  father,  who  was  a  stone-mason  by  trade,  but  also  fol- 
lowed farming,  died  in  1904.  Elias  was  educated  in  the  schools  of 
his  birthplace,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  went  to  work  on  his 
father's  farm,  remaining  there  until  1886,  when  he  went  into  the 
general  mercantile  business  at  Summit  Station,  where  he  has  con- 
tinued in  the  same  up  to  the  present  time.  Apr.  26,  1884,  Mr.  Roeder 
married  Caroline  Reber,  daughter  of  Daniel  Reber,  of  South  Man- 
heim  township.  Four  of  the  children  bom  to  them — ^two  sons  and 
two  daughters — ^are  living,  viz.:  Herbert;  Mabel,  married  to  Casper 
Roeder,  of  Summit  Station;  and  Joseph  D.  and  Edna,  at  home.  In 
politics  Mr.  Roeder  is  a  Democrat.  The  members  of  the  family  be- 
long to  the  Lutheran  church  of  Summit  Station.  Mr.  Roeder  was 
agent  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railway  Company  for  fifteen 
years  and  has  been  postmaster  for  nineteen  years.  Mr.  Roeder  has 
in  his  possession  an  interesting  historical  relic  in  the  shape  of  a  copy 
of  Freiheits  Presse,  a  German  paper  published  in  Orwigsburg,  on 
Nov.  10,  1826,  by  Grim  &  Thomas. 

Rogers,  Jerome  Bonaparte,  M.  D.,  a  regular  practicing  physician 
and  surgeon  of  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  where  he 
was  born  Oct.  20,  1876.  His  father,  Jerome  Bonaparte  Rogers,  was 
bom  at  Tom's  River,  N.  J.,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Mary  Allen,  was  a  native  of  Jo^ey  City.  The  mother  died  in  1877, 
and  as  the  father  spent  his  life  on  the  ocean,  Dr.  Rogers  has  been 
separated  from  his  immediate  family  during  most  of  his  lifetime.  His 
father  was  a  captain  in  the  United  States  navy,  commencing  with  the 
Civil  war,  and  continuing  in  service  until  retired  by  the  age  limit. 
He  died  in  the  year  1900.  Two  of  the  father's  brothers  were  officers 
in  the  Union  navy,  their  names  being  Alfred  and  Henry  C.  Rogers. 
The  evidence  of  the  honorable  service  of  Paul  Potter  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  is  unquestioned,  and  this  distinction  has  been  transmitted 
to  his  posterity;  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Samuel  (Potter)  Rogers,  being 
the  paternal  grandmother  of  Dr.  Rogers  of  this  sketch.  She  was  a 
a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  chapter,  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution,  her  number  being  three  hundred  and  eighty-five.  Dr. 
Rogers  is  the  only  one  of  his  family  remaining  in  the  east.  He  has 
one  brother,  two  full  sisters  and  a  half-sister  living  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  These  are  J.  Raymond  Rogers,  Aline  Rogers  and  Lulu  S. 
Rogers,  of  Portland,  Ore.,  and  the  half-sister,  Mrs.  D.  C.  Griswold, 
of  Redmond,  Washington.    Other  relatives  are  scattered  through  the 


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396  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

middle  west,  the  Hon.  Samuel  R.  Van  Sant,  ex-Governor  of  Minne- 
sota, being  an  uncle  of  the  Rogers  family  just  mentioned.  Dr.  J.  B. 
Rogers  was  educated  at  Pennington  seminary,  in  his  native  state, 
and  professionally  educated  at  Jefferson  medical  college  in  Philadel- 
phia, being  graduated  from  this  institution  with  the  class  of  1904. 
He  located  in  Pottsville  soon  after  completing  his  college  course,  and 
has  established  a  good  general  practice.  He  served  one  year  as 
resident  physician  at  the  Pottsville  hospital.  Dr.  Rogers  is  a  member 
of  the  Schuylkill  county  medical  society  and  of  the  American  med- 
ical association;  also  of  the  Phi  Alpha  Sigma  medical  fraternity.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  political  affiliations,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  in  Pottsville. 

Romberger,  John  G.,  proprietor  of  the  Valley  View  roller  mills, 
was  born  at  Curtin,  Dauphin  county.  Pa.,  Aug.  10,  1877.  His  father, 
whose  name  was  also  John  G.,  was  a  native  of  that  place,  and  his 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Anna  Clark,  was  bom  near  Hebe, 
Northumberland  county.  The  father  was  a  farmer  by  vocation  and 
passed  the  latter  part  of  his  life  at  Fishville,  where  he  died  in  1887. 
His  widow  is  now  living  at  Berrysburg,  Dauphin  county.  They  had 
thirteen  children,  of  whom  nine  are  yet  living.  Emma  is  at  Fish- 
ville ;  David  is  in  California ;  George  is  a  farmer  in  Hegins  township, 
Schuylkill  county ;  John  G.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Jennie,  Sallie, 
Charles,  Ellen  and  Hannah  live  at  Sunbury,  Pa.  John  G.  Rom- 
berger attended  the  common  schools  in  his  early  boyhood  and  at  the 
age  of  ten  years  he  began  working  on  the  farm.  He  continued  in 
this  occupation  for  several  years  and  then  started  in  to  learn  the 
miller's  trade  at  Boyer's  mill.  After  two  years  there  he  came  to 
Valley  View,  where  he  worked  about  a  year  for  H.  H.  Shrope  &  Bro. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  bought  the  mill  property  and  sixty  acres 
of  land,  thirty-five  of  which  were  under  cultivation.  The  mill  is  a 
substantial  brick  building,  with  a  capacity  of  twenty-five  barrels  a 
day,  and  equipped  with  modern  machinery  throughout.  His  brands 
of  flour  are  the  "Miner's  Favorite,^and  "Latest  Up  to  Date."  He 
keeps  two^  teams  constantly  employed  in  delivering  flour,  selling  his 
product  at  Tower  City,  Tremont,  Gratz,  and  other  near-by  towns, 
and  also  ships  considerable  quantities  from  Good  Spring.  The  prin- 
cipal crop  on  his  farm  is  wheat,  and  he  devotes  some  attention  to 
feeding  hogs  and  raising  poultry,  white  Leghorn  chickens  being  his 
specialty.  His  father  was  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  but  in  politics  he  himself  votes  independently  and  in  religious 
matters  affiliates  with  the  United  Brethren  church.  March  26,  1896, 
:Mr.  Romberger  married  a  daughter  of  Paul  Wolfgang,  of  Valley 
View,  and  they  have  six  children:  Paul,  Vernon,  Arlin,  Ellen, 
Charles  and  Hannah. 

Roth»  Charles  F^  a  prosperous  general  merchant  of  Ringtown, 
was  bom  at  Whitehaven,  Pa.,  in  1862.  He  is  one  of  two  children  of 
Charles  and  Eliza  (Bensceuter)  Roth,  the  other  being  a  sister,  Ida, 
now  Mrs.  Watson  Baker,  of  Kelley  Cross-roads,  Union  county.  Both 
parents  had  children  by  previous  marriages.    The  father's  first  wife 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  397 

was  a  Miss  Yost  and  the  children  were  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Henry,  John 
and  William.  The  mother  was  formerly  Mrs.  Brown  and  her  chil- 
dren were  George,  Emma  and  Mary.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
attended  the  public  schools  of  Whitehaven  and  did  not  leave  the 
parental  roof  until  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age,  working  meantime 
on  the  farm  with  his  father.  His  first  employment  away  from  home 
was  in  the  grocery  business  in  Union  county.  In  1893  he  came  to 
Ringtown  and  opened  a  general  merchandise  store,  which  he  has 
continued  most  successfully  since  that  time.  Since  his  coming  his 
patronage  has  increased  and  he  has  added  to  his  stock  proportion- 
ately, keeping  his  place  of  business  the  most  modem  in  the  borough. 
In  1888,  at  New  Mahoning,  Carbon  county,  was  celebrated  Mr.  Roth's 
marriage  to  Miss  Ella  K.  Amer,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Harriet 
Amer.  Mrs.  Roth  is  one  of  seven  children,  the  others  being  Nettie 
J.,  Emma,  Jefferson,  William,  Joseph  and  Brinton.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Roth  have  one  child,  William  Ernest.  The  mother  and  son  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  church,  and  the  father  is  a  Baptist.  Frater- 
nally Mr.  Roth  is  identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  America.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  no  particular 
party  in  local  affairs,  and  he  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  as  his 
conscience  and  judgment  dictate.  In  national  affairs  his  sympathies 
are  with  the  Republican  party,  and  he  generally  votes  for  the  party 
candidates  who  are  to  have  a  hand  in  the  framing  of  measures  of 
large  import. 

Kumbel,  Francis,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Ringtown  and  a  mer- 
chant whose  name  in  connection  with  a  project  or  enterprise  is 
synonymous  of  square  dealing  and  modern  ideas,  was  born  in  Union 
township,  this  county,  in  185 1.  He  is  one  of  the  seven  children  of 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Singley)  Rumbel  and  is  a  descendant  of  a  line 
of  Pennsylvania  pioneers.  The  paternal  grandparents,  Henry  and 
Salome  (Andrews)  Rumbel,  were  residents  of  New  Ringgold,  and 
the  maternal  grandparents,  Lawrence  and  Catherine  (Geahart)  Sing- 
ley,  were  born  in  Berks  and  Columbia  counties,  respectively.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  attended  school  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of 
age  and  then  put  in  his  time  for  three  years  on  his  father's  farm.  The 
year  he  attained  his  majority  he  started  business  in  Ringtown  by 
opening  a  tinsmith  shop  and  employing  a  man  to  teach  him  the  trade. 
Subsequently  he  added  other  branches  to  his  place  of  business,  until 
it  contained  grocery,  hardware  and  boot  and  shoe  departments.  A 
portion  of  these  interests  he  has  since  disposed  to  other  parties,  and 
he  oversees  the  management  of  the  remainder  himself.  In  1873 
was  solemnized  Mr.  Rumbel's  marriage  to  Miss  Violetta  Lebenberg, 
daughter  of  David  and  Rebecca  (Dornbach)  Lebenburg.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rumbel  have  been  bom  two  children — a  son  and  a  daugh- 
ter. The  son,  Ralph  Monroe,  is  an  electrical  engineer  by  vocation 
and  is  general  foreman  of  the  works  of  the  Western  Electric  Com- 
pany of  Chicago,  and  the  daughter,  Sadie  Rebecca,  is  the  wife  of 
Maurice  F.  Rentschler  of  Ringtown.     The  family  are  of  the  Luth- 


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398  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

eran  faith  and  the  parents  are  communicants  of  St.  John's  church  of 
that  denomination  in  Ringtown.  Mr.  Rumbel  is  identified  with  no 
political  party  or  organization,  and  has  never  held  or  aspired  to  pub- 
lic office.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  a  charter  member  of 
Lodge  No.  287  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Per- 
sonally he  is  a  man  of  clean,  wholesome  habits,  fine  carriage  and  a 
genial,  courteous  manner  that  makes  him  many  friends. 

Rumbel,  William  H.,  a  prosperous  fruit  grower  and  the  owner 
of  the  largest  orchard  in  the  Catawissa  valley,  was  born  Jan.  29, 
1854,  at  Ringtown.  He  is  one  of  three  children  of  Daniel  and  Sarsih 
M.  (Seltzer)  Rumbel,  the  others  being  Trenton  W.  and  Emma,  the 
latter  of  whom  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  H.  D.  Rentschler,  of  Ring- 
town.  The  public  schools  of  his  native  borough,  which  he  attended 
until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  afforded  all  the  specific  educa- 
tional advantages  Mr.  Rumbel  ever  received.  His  first  occupation 
was  as  a  helper  on  a  farm,  and  then  for  four  years  he  rented  and 
worked  a  place.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  had  accumulated 
sufficient  savings  to  purchase  the  farm  which  he  now  owns  and  man- 
ages. The  place  contains  the  largest  and  one  of  the  most  productive 
orchards  in  the  Catawissa  valley,  and  the  fruit  is  renowned  through- 
out the  region.  In  Oct.  1873,  Mr.  Rumbel  married  Miss  Louisa 
Sides,  one  of  the  nine  children  of  Samuel  and  Maria  (Bernard) 
Sides.  The.  names  of  the  others  are  John  B.,  Samuel  B.,  Daniel  K., 
Benjamin,  Barbara,  Sarah,  Delilah  and  Maria.  Barbara  is  Mrs. 
Jonas  Watson,  of  Kansas  City;  Sarah  is  Mrs.  George  Hastings,  of 
Lancaster  City;  Delilah  is  Mrs.  Elim  Glouner,  of  Lancaster  county; 
and  Maria  is  Mrs.  Harry  Maurer,  of  Lancaster  county.  To  Mr-  and 
Mrs.  Rumbel  have  been  bom  twelve  children — Valeria,  Gertrude, 
Grace,  Anna,  Clara,  Winifred,  Esther,  Philip,  Warren,  Carrie,  Earl 
and  Beatrice.  Of  these  Gertrude,  Earl  and  Winifred  are  deceased. 
The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Ringtown. 
In  political  matters  Mr.  Rumbel  is  a  Republican,  but,  aside  from 
service  at  two  different  elections  as  an  inspector,  he  has  never  held 
political  or  public  office.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Camp  No. 
265  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  at  Ringtown. 
He  is  a  man  of  fine  physique,  excellent  carriage  and  withal  is  a  most 
exemplary  citizen. 

Russell,  H.  B.  C,  an  officer  in  the  Pennsylvania  state  militia  and 
general  foreman  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  shops  at 
Tamaqua,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  county,  Dec.  6,  1873.  He  is  a  son 
of  James  and  Emma  (Bishop)  Russell,  both  native  Pennsylvanians 
and  among  the  early  residents  of  Tamaqua.  The  father  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  the  greater  part  of 
his  active  life,  and  was  a  quiet,  unassuming  citizen.  His  death  oc- 
curred Aug.  20,  1904,  when  he  had  reached  his  sixty-fifth  year.  The 
mother  survives  him,  making  her  home  in  Tamaqua.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest  of  the  seven  children  in  the  family.  Ida 
May  is  the  wife  of  John  Enterline,  a  traveling  salesman  whose  home 
is  in  Tamaqua ;  Blanche  lives  with  her  mother ;  Earl  is  a  printer  and 
superintendent  of  the  Tamaqua  Recorder;  James  H.  is  fireman  on  a 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  399 

passenger  locomotive  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading;  Rolson  King 
is  in  the  shops  with  his  brother;  and  Anna,  the  youngest,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  high  school  class  of  1907.  Captain  H.  B.  C.  Russell,  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  attended  the  public  schools  of  Tamaqua  and 
after  he  had  completed  the  courses  offered  there  he  went  into  the 
railroad  shops  and  served  an  apprenticeship  as  a  molder.  When 
he  had  mastered  that  trade  he  worked  at  it  for  a  few  years  and  then 
became  an  apprentice  to  the  machinist's  trade.  With  the  exception 
of  the  time  he  was  serving  his  country  in  the  Spanish-American 
war  he  has  been  continuously  employed  in  that  line  for  more  than 
eighteen  years.  His  selection  to  the  position  of  foreman  of  the  shops 
came  on  March  8,  1905.  He  has  general  charge  of  the  165  men 
employed,  planning  and  assigning  their  work.  On  Sept.  12,  1889, 
Captain  Russell  enlisted  in  the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard  as  a  pri- 
vate. His  connection  with  the  Tamaqua  company  continued  through 
several  years,  and  in  1898,  when  President  McKinley's  call  for  vol- 
unteers came,  he  went  out  as  first  sergeant  with  Company  B  of  the 
8th  Pennsylvania  infantry.  The  regiment  was  mustered  into  the 
service  at  Mount  Gretna,  and  went  from  there  to  Falls  Church,  Va., 
near  Washington,  D.  C.  After  four  months  of  camp  life  there  the 
organization  was  sent  to  Harrisburg.  While  at  the  latter  place  Ser- 
geant Russell  was  appointed  first  lieutenant  by  Governor  Hastings. 
The  following  six  months  were  spent  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  where  the 
promotion  to  captain  came  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch  from  Gov- 
ernor Stone.  Shortly  afterward  the  company  was  discharged  and 
came  home.  When  the  captain  left  for  the  front  his  friends  feared 
that  he  would  fail  to  pass  the  physical  examination,  as  he  weighed 
but  109  pounds  and  was  not  in  very  vigorous  health.  Outdoor  life 
was  apparently  just  what  was  needed,  however,  as  it  made  a  new 
man  of  him.  When  he  returned  he  weighed  210  pounds,  and  to-day 
he  is  in  the  prime  of  a  vigorous,  healthy  manhood.  On  Christmas 
day,  1898,  his  company  presented  him  with  a  handsome  sword  and 
belt,  as  a  token  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held.  June  28,  1905, 
Captain  Russell  married  Miss  Cinnie  Kantner,  a  native  of  Tamaqua, 
and  a  daughter  of  Wesley  and  Sophia  Kantner.  Mrs.  Russell's 
father  is  deceased,  but  her  mother  is  still  a  resident  of  Tamaqua. 
The  captain  and  his  wife  are  both  devout  communicants  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Russell  is  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge 
of  the  Masonic  order,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in 
which  he  has  held  all  the  chairs  and  is  now  a  trustee  of  the  ceme- 
tery and  hall ;  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Sons 
of  America,  the  order  of  Rebekahs,  and  the  hose  company  of  Ta- 
maqua. In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  believer  in  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  he  has  a  number  of  times  been  a  delegate  to  state 
and  county  conventions-  Personally  the  captain  is  a  man  of  fine 
physique,  soldierly  bearing  and  courteous  manner — an  ideal  soldier 
and  polished  gentleman. 

Rynkiewicz,  Walter  W.,  the  proficient  secretary  of  the  Home 
brewing  company  of  Shenandoah,  is  a  native  of  Russian  Poland, 


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400  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

where  he  first  saw  the  light  of  day  on  May  8,  1870.  When  a  child 
he  came  to  Shenandoah  with  his  parents,  and  since  that  time  he  has 
known  no  other  home.  His  educational  advantages  were  those  of 
the  public  schools  of  his  home  borough,  and  the  first  work  he  did  for 
a  livelihood  was  as  a  clerk.  When  he  had  served  a  year  in  that  ca- 
pacity he  embarked  in  the  meat  business  under  his  own  name.  This 
he  continued  most  successfully  until  1900,  the  year  of  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Home  brewing  company,  in  which  he  had  become  finan- 
cially interested  as  a  stocWiolder  and  a  director.  At  the  first  meeting 
of  the  stockholders  of  the  new  corporation.  Mr.  Rynkiewicz  was 
made  the  secretary  of  the  company,  and  at  each  annual  meeting  since 
that  time  he  has  been  re-elected  to  the  position.  Politically  he  has 
Democratic  leanings,  especially  in  regard  to  national  affairs,  but  the 
exercise  of  his  right  of  franchise  in  local  elections  is  influenced  only 
by  his  own  judgment.  The  only  elective  office  he  has  ever  held  is 
that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  of  which  he  was  the  incumbent  for  one 
term.  In  1897  Mr.  Rynkiewicz  married  Miss  Agnes  Kubilus,  a 
native  of  Shenandoah,  but  of  Polish  parentage.  To  this  union  there 
has  been  born  one  child,  Helen,  who  is  now* an  attendant  of  the  pub- 
lic schools.  Mr.  Rynkiewicz  is  a  son  of  Felix  and  Dominica  Rjm- 
kiewicz,  both  natives  of  Poland.  The  father  died  on  March  10,  1904^ 
leaving,  beside  his  widow,  a  family  of  six  children.  These  in  order 
of  birth  are  Frank,  Walter  W.,  Bertha,  Henry,  Ella  and  Felix.  The 
two  oldest  are  married  and  the  others  make  their  home  with  their 
mother  in  Shenandoah. 

Ryon,  George  W. — ^The  subject  of  this  biographical  review.  Col. 
George  W.  Ryon,  is  a  representative  of  one  of  Pottsville's  most 
honored  families.  He  is  a  son  of  Hon.  James  Ryon»  late  a  promi- 
nent lawyer,  who  served  as  president  judge  in  Schuylkill  county  from 
1862  until  1872,  and  represented  the  county  in  the  state  legislature. 
He  was  also  extensively  interested  in  coal  operations,  being  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  doing  business  under  the  title  of  John  Anderson  & 
Co.  He  was  married  in  1856  to  Miss  Charlotte  A.  Wolfe,  and  of 
their  three  children  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest,  the  others 
being  John  P.  Ryon,  of  Pottsville,  and  Mrs.  Florence  R.  Patterson. 
Judge  James  Ryon  was  a  brother  of  Hon.  John  W.  Ryon,  a  well- 
known  lawyer  and  politician  in  Pottsville.  Both  were  natives  of  Tioga 
county,  Pennsylvania*  but  spent  the  active  years  of  their  lives  in  this 
county.  Their  American  genealogy  is  traceable  beyond  the  period 
of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  two  of  their  ancestors  served  as  sol- 
diers in  that  strife  for  national  independence,  one  of  them  having 
been  a  quartermaster  under  Washington.  Hon.  James  Ryon  was  born 
at  Lawrenceville,  Tioga  county,  in  Oct.  1831.  His  wife  was  a  native 
of  York,  Pa.  She  died  in  Jan.,  1808,  and  her  husband^s  death  occurred 
just  two  years  later.  George  W.  Ryon,  the  subject  of  this  article,  was 
born  in  Columbia,  Lancaster  county.  Pa.,  March  24,  1862.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Pottsville  high  school  and  at  Lafayette  college,  in 
which  last  named  institution  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1884, 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.     Three  years  later  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  401 

degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred  upon  him.  Colonel  Ryon 
was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  bar  of  Schuylkill  county  in  1887, 
and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  active  work  of  his  profession.  He 
is  devoted  to  the  law,  and  ignores  the  allurements  of  office  and  the 
uncertainties  of  politics.  Colonel  Ryon  has  been  prominently  asso- 
ciated with  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  having  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  Company  H,  of  the  8th  regiment,  in  1887.  By  various 
promotions  he  became  lieutenant-colonel  and  assistant  commissary- 
general  on  the  staff  of  the  commander-in-chief,  Governor  Robert  E. 
Pattison.  He  retired  from  the  service  at  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
in  1895.  Colonel  Ryon  was  married  Oct.  9,  1888,  to  Miss  Mary 
Bruner,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  William  and  Jane  (Woodworth)  Bruner, 
of  San  Francisco.  Four  children  have  been  bom  to  this  union,  the 
eldest  of  whom  is  James  Bruner,  bom  July  23,  1889 ;  George  Wolfe 
was  bom  June  18,  1892;  Walter  Greenland  was  born  July  5,  1894; 
and  John  Woodworth  was  bom  Sept.  20,  1901.  Mr.  Ryon  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  political  views.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  in  Pottsville.  He  is  not  affiliated  with  any  social  or  beneficial 
fratemities  except  the  Order  of  Heptasophs.  He  is  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Schuylkill  county  historical  society. 

Sabold,  William  H.,  Sr. — The  subject  of  this  sketch,  has  been 
in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company  for 
more  than  forty  years,  a  record  in  railroading  which  is  seldom 
equalled,  and  a  standing  recommendation  as  to  faithfulness  and  effi- 
ciency. Mr.  Sabold  entered  the  employ  of  this  company  during  the 
Civil  war,  and  served  in  various  capacities  until  in  1883,  when  he 
was  promoted  to  his  present  position,  that  of  yard-master  of  the  ex- 
tensive yards  at  Palo  Alto.  Mr.  Sabold  served  about  a  year  in  the 
army  during  the  Civil  war,  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  175th  Penn- 
sylvania infantry,  under  command  of  Colonel  S.  A.  Dyer  and  Cap- 
tain Steele.  He  was  born  at  Pottstown,  Montgomery  county.  Pa., 
Oct.  5,  1840,  and  his  parents,  John  and  Mary  (Schick)  Sabold,  were 
also  natives  of  the  same  county.  They  are  both  deceased.  Mr.  Sa- 
bold was  reared  and  educated  in  Pottstown,  Pa.,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried in  1862,  choosing  for  his  life  companion  Miss  Annie  Favinger, 
a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Lydia  (Mauger)  Favinger,  of  Pottstown. 
Six  children  were  born  to  this  union,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Sallie, 
died  in  1864;  William  H.,  Jr.,  resides  in  Palo  Alto;  Anne  Liddle 
died  Sept.  5,  1906;  Harvey  is  a  resident  of  Pottsville;  Mrs.  Mary 
Berger  resides  in  Palo  Alto,  and  Miss  Bertha  is  still  under  the  pa- 
rental roof.  Mr.  Sabold  is  a  Republican  in  political  views,  and  the 
family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  The  parents  of  his  wife,  like 
his  own,  are  both  deceased.  The  family  resides  at  No.  404  West 
Bacon  street,  Palo  Alto,  and  is  well  and  favorably  known  throughout 
a  large  circle  of  acquaintances  in  Schuylkill  county. 

Sallade,  J.  Frank,  a  practical  marble  worker  and  proprietor  of  an 
establishment  at  1401  West  Market  street,  Pottsville,  was  bora  in 
Berks  county  on  July  25,  1866,  the  second  in  order  of  birth  of  the 

Vol.  11—26 


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402  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ten  children  born  to  William  H.  and  Elizabeth  (Gery)  Sallade.*  The 
family  is  of  Huguenot  extraction  and  the  father  was  a  teacher  and 
a  marble-cutter.  The  other  members  of  the  family  are  Alfred, 
Louisa,  Mary,  Jerome,  Sarah  Jane,  Annie,  Henry,  Ira  and  Stella. 
Of  these, Henry  and  Jerome  are  deceased;  Alfred  is  a  carpenter  in 
Lehigh  county;  Ira  is  a  cigar  manufacturer  in  Montgomery  county, 
in  which  three  of  the  sisters  live,  the  other  two  residing  in  Berks 
county.  All  are  married  with  the  exception  of  Stella.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  remained  at  home  until  he  had  reached  his  majority, 
attending  the  public  schools  and  learning  his  vocation  from  his  father. 
When  he  had  become  a  master  of  the  stone-cutter's  trade  he  hired 
out  at  different  places  as  a  journeyman,  in  the  course  of  his  labors 
entering  the  employ  of  Richard  Collins,  of  Pottsville.  There  he  re- 
mained for  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  in 
September,  1903,  he  established  himself  in  the  business  and  has  been 
measurably  successful.  He  employs  one  journeyman  and  does  all 
kinds  of  stone  and  granite  cutting,  including  monumental  and  build- 
ing work.  On  Dec.  27,  1902,  Mr.  Sallade  married  Miss  Helen  L. 
DeTurk,  of  DeTurksville,  and  a  daughter  of  Samuel  G.  DeTurk^ 
who  was  one  of  the  county  commissioners  at  the  time  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  new  court  house.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sallade  have  been 
born  two  children,  Amy  Evelyn,  now  twelve  years  old,  and  Roy  Ed- 
gar, eight  years  of  age.  Both  parents  are  members  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church,  in  which  faith  the  thildren  are  being  reared.  Mr. 
Sallade  is  a  proficient  musician,  playing  several  different  instru- 
ments, and  since  January,  1889,  has  been  clarinet  player  in  the  Third 
Brigade  band  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard.  During  the  sea- 
son of  theatrical  engagements  he  is  often  employed  at  the  different 
houses  in  Pottsville  as  a  member  of  the  orchestras.  His  ability  in 
this  line  has  been  of  much  practical  value  to  him  as  it  has  meant  his  at- 
tendance with  musical  organizations  at  inaugurations  of  president 
and  governors,  National  Guard  encampments,  etc.  Politically  Mr. 
Sallade  is  absolutely  independent,  exercising  his  right  of  franchise 
as  he  pleases.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Lily  of  the  Valley 
Lodge,  No.  281,  and  Franklin  Encampment,  No.  4,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  Washington  camp,  No.  36,  Patriotic  Or- 
der of  the  Sons  of  America.  He  is  a  skilled  and  capable  workman, 
of  rare  business  sense,  and  withal  an  exemplary  type  of  citizen. 

Sanner,  Fred  W.,  one  of  the  most  influential  members  of  the 
commercial  life  of  Tremont  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  that  borough, 
was  born  in  Miners ville,  Pa.,  Sept.  8,  1870,  a  son  of  the  late  Rev. 
Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Helentahl)  Sanner,  both  natives  of  Germany. 
The  parents  immigrated  to  this  country  in  1855,  coming  direct  to 
Schuylkill  county,  where  the  father  obtained  employment  in  the 
mines.  In  his  spare  moments  he  devoted  his  time  to  preparing  for 
the  Lutheran  ministry,  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hinterleitner,  of  Potts- 
ville, and  for  thirty-seven  years  after  he  had  completed  his  studies 
he  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  thirty-two  years  of  the  time  being^ 
Spent  as  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  congregation  at  Tremont.     In  1891 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  405 

he  left  the  ministry  to  become  the  cashier  of  the  private  bank  of 
Mr;  John  Werntz,  of  Pine  Grove,  and  remained  the  incumbent  of 
that  position  until  Dec.  19,  1897,  the  day  of  his  death.  His  widow^ 
now  in  her  seventieth  year,  is  still  hearty  and  robust  and  an  honored 
resident  of  Tremont.  There  were  eight  children  in  the  family.  The 
eldest,  a  coal  operator,  was  drowned  in  the  south.  Annie  is  the  wife 
of  Lewis  Ebener  of  Tremont,  and  Josephine  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Nicum,  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  church  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.  He  is 
also  a  prominent  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  Wagner  Memorial 
college.  Louise  is  Mrs.  John  Michel,  of  Tremont,  and  Alvena  is  the 
wife  of  Mr.  W.  C.  Hack,  of  Shamokin.  Mr.  Hack  is  a  very  promi- 
nent hardware  merchant  and  is  interested  in  business  with  Mr.  San- 
ner.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Tremont  National  bank.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  the  sixth  member  of  the  family  in  order  of  birth. 
He  attended  the  schools  of  Schuylkill  county  and  then  for  five  years 
was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the  hardware  store  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Mr.  Hack,  in  Tremont  From  there  he  removed  to  Tamaqua  and 
for  another  period  of  five  years  was  a  salesman  for  E.  J.  Fry.  The 
following  six  years  he  spent  as  a  salesman  for  Seligman  &  Co.,  of 
Tamaqua,  and  then  he  returned  to  Tremont,  where  he  and  his  brother, 
E.  D.  Sanner,  bought  the  hardware  store  of  W.  C.  Hack.  Since 
Dec.  29,  1903,  Mr.  Sanner  has  been  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  Tre- 
mont store.  In  July,  1906,  he  opened  a  branch  store  in  Minersville 
and  operates  it  through  a  resident  manager,  Mr.  R.  A.  Neifert.  He 
does  a  jobbing  business  largely  and  has  salesmen  on  the  road  from 
both  houses.  His  employes  number  twenty-six  men  and  his  patron- 
age is  by  no  means  limited  to  a  small  area.  Aside  from  his  hard- 
ware business  he  has  a  rather  extensive  trade  in  steam  heating  and 
plumbing.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the  Tremont  National  bank,  pres- 
ident of  the  board  of  school  directors,  president  of  the  Business 
Men's  association,  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  health.  On  Sept. 
25,  1895,  Mr.  Sanner  married  Miss  Anna  Kleckner,  a  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  and  Louise  Kleckner,  formerly  of  Tamaqua.  The  mother 
is  deceased,  but  the  father  is  living  and  makes  his  home  with  his 
daughter  in  Tremont.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanner  have  been  born  two 
children — Elizabeth  Louise  and  Harold  Linn.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sanner  are  devout  communicants  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Santee,  George  O.  O.,  M.  D.,  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  resident 
physician  of  the  Schuylkill  county  almshouse  and  secretary  of  the 
county  medical  society,  was  born  at  Petersville  in  Northampton 
county  on  Nov.  6,  1875,  and  is  one  of  four  children  of  James  M.  and 
Diana  (Kuntz)  Santee,  the  others  being  Herbert  J.,  Anna  M.  and 
Arta  L.  The  father  is  a  prominent  miller  and  represented  his  dis- 
trict in  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legislature  during  the  recent  ses- 
sion. In  early  life  the  doctor  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive borough,  and  subsequently  took  a  course  in  the  Keystone  state 
normal  school  at  Kutztown.  Then  for  three  years  he  was  engaged 
in  pedagogic  work  before  entering  the  Jefferson  medical  college  of 
Philadelphia,  where  he.  took  a  three  years'  course  and  was  gradu- 


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404  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ated  with  th^  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine-  In  September,  1897,  he 
beg^  his  practice  at  Cressona,  and  continued  in  his  private  profes- 
sional work  until  January,  1906,  when  he  received  the  appointment  of 
resident  physician  of  the  Schuylkill  county  almshouse,  and  at  the 
present  time  is  serving  in  that  capacity.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
but  has  never  served  in  any  official  position.  Fraternally  he  is  affili- 
ated with  the  Masonic  order  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  In  July, 
1893,  Dr.  San  tee  married  Rosa  Kleppinger,  daughter  of  Frank  Klep- 
pinger,  of  Northampton  county,  and  to  this  union  have  been  bom 
two  sons  and  a  daughter:  Russell  S.,  Sterling  G.  and  Annie  M.,  all 
living.  The  family  are  all  members  of  the  Reformed  church  of  Cres- 
sona, and  the  father  is  a  member  of  the  county  historical  society.  He 
is  also  prominently  identified  with  the  state  and  American  medical 
societies.  He  is  a  man  who  has  come  to  the  front  through  his  enter- 
prise and  ability. 

Saterlee,  Britten  W.,  assistant  trainmaster  for  the  Philadelphia 
•&  Reading  railroad  at  Cressona,  was  bom  Sept.  4,  1864,  at  Karthaus, 
Clearfield  county,  Pa.,  a  son  of  Britton  W.  and  Lucy  (Fenderson) 
Saterlee.  The  paternal  grandparents  were  Edward  N.  and  Lucy 
(Falkner)  Saterlee,  the  former  a  native  of  northeast  New  York,  and 
the  latter  of  northern  Pennsylvania.  The  matemal  grandparents 
were  John  and  Lucy  (Clemens)  Fenderson,  the  former  bom  in  Ban- 
gor, Maine,  and  the  latter  in  Massachusetts.  Mrs.  Fenderson  was  a 
first  cousin  of  Edward  Everett,  the  historian.  Britton  W.  Saterlee, 
Sr.,  enlisted  in  March,  1864,  ii^  Company  L,  of  the  7th  Pennsylvania 
cavalry  and  the  following  month  succumbed  to  typhoid  fever.  After 
his  death  his  widow  became  the  wife  of  John  C.  East,  who  was  a 
member  9f  the  146th  Virginia  Confederate  infantry  in  the  Civil  war, 
but  who  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  prior  to  the  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities. By  this  marriage  she  was  the  mother  of  three  sons  and  as 
many  daughters — Martha  M.,  Mildred  E.  (deceased),  John  L.,  Will- 
iam T.,  Carrie  S.  and  James  E.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended 
the  public  schools  of  New  York  state  from  1869  ^o  ^875  and  the  sol- 
diers' orphans'  school  at  White  Hill,  Cumberland  county,  from  1875 
to  1880.  His  first  employment  was  as  a  mechanic  with  the  Lycom- 
ing Rubber  Company  of  Williamsport,  where  he  remained  for  a  period 
of  eight  years.  For  one  year  he  was  with  the  Perkins  &  Miller  Limi- 
ber  Company,  of  Westlake,  La.,  and  then  in  1890  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion as  clerk  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  at  Williamsport. 
In  1893  he  was  made  freight  agent  at  Shippensburg  and  six  years 
later  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  assistant  trainmaster  at  Palo 
Alto.  The  next  year  he  went  to  Allentown  in  the  same  capacity  and 
in  1903  was  assie^ned  to  his  present  position  at  Cressona.  On  Sept 
10,  1882,  Mr.  Saterlee  married  Miss  Eda  L.  Managan,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Harriet  (Bixby)  Managan,  of  Tioga.  Nine  children 
blessed  this  union,  five  of  whom  survive.  Arietta,  the  eldest,  is  the 
wife  of  William  H.  Hansford,  of  Philadelphia,  but  formerly  of  Rich- 
mond, Va.  The  others  are  Harriet  L.,  Ida  M.,  Gerald  B.  and  Eda 
Hilma.     The    family    are    all    members    of    the    First    Presbyterian 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  405 

church  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  Saterlee  is  a  member  of  Cressona  Lodge, 
No.  426,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  of  Pottsville  Council,  No- 
965,  Royal  Arcanum.  In  his  political  views  he  is  absolutely  inde- 
pendent of  any  party  or  organization.  Although  his  residence  in 
Cressona  has  been  of  comparatively  short  duration,  he  has  come  to  be 
one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  the  community. 

Sauerbrey,  William  A.,  outside  superintendent  for  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  with  headquarters  at 
Ashland,  is  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Minnie  F.  Sauerbrey,  and  a  native 
of  Germany,  having  been  born  at  Hanover  on  Aug.  14,  1846.  He 
came  with  his  parents  to  the  United  States  in  1854,  before  his  eighth 
birthday,  and  located  in  Pottsville,  where  the  father  found  employ- 
ment as  a  miner.  Less  than  a  year  after  his  arrival  the  father  was 
killed  by  an  explosion  of  gas  in  the  mine.  The  widowed  mother  still 
survives  and  on  Feb.  25,  1907,  celebrated  her  103d  birthday.  Of  the 
six  children  in  the  familv  there  are  but  three  survivors,  the  two 
daughters — Mrs.  Joseph  feeighter,^  of  Hazleton,  and  Mrs.  Rebecca 
Kerschner,  of  Mahanoy  City — and  the  youngest  son,  the  subject  of 
this  memoir.  The  deceased  members  were  Frederick,  Charles  and 
Ernest.  The  mother's  eyesight  and  hearing  have  become  somewhat 
impaired,  but  otherwise  she  is  remarkably  well  preserved  in  mind  and 
body.  The  death  of  his  father  made  it  necessary  for  William  to  go 
to  work  while  still  a  boy  and  shortly  after  that  sad  event  he  entered 
the  employ  of  a  mining  company  as  a  slate  picker.  Mining  has  been 
his  life  work  and  he  has  worked  through  all  the  grades  until  he  be- 
came outside  foreman  for  the  St.  Nicholas  Company  at  St.  Nicholas. 
On  leaving  that  company  he  accepted  a  similar  position  with  the  Phil- 
adelphia &  Reading  concern  at  St.  Nicholas,  and  for  twenty-three 
years,  until  Feb.  19,  1904,  he  continued  in  that  capacity.  Then  he 
was  promoted  to  his  present  responsible  position  and  removed  to  Ash- 
land and  has  filled  that  position  since  with  capability  and  thorough- 
ness. On  Jan.  24,  1866,  Mr.  Sauerbrey  married  Miss  Mary  Beck, 
of  St.  Nicholas,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  (Schultz)  Beck, 
natives  of  Saxony,  Germany.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sauerbrey  were  nine  in  number,  viz.:  Emma  J.,  the  wife  of  Ivan 
Welhaf ;  Mary  M.,  who  married  Andrew  Bradbury,  and  is  now  de- 
ceased; Minnie  L.,  now  Mrs.  George  Mathias;  William  J.;  Kate  M., 
now  Mrs.  William  Coombe;  Charles  F. ;  Chester;  Harry  and  Rhoda, 
wife  of  Edgar  Maschal.  The  family  are  all  communicants  of  the 
English  Lutheran  church.  In  politics  the  father  is  an  exponent  of 
Republican  principles,  but  has  never  held  office.  Fraternally  he  is 
associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Eagle,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Scanlan,  William  J.,  M.  D.,  of  Shenandoah,  Pa.,  was  born  in 
Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill  county,  Oct.  20,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  Michael 
C.  and  Isabella  (McManagle)  Scanlan,  the  former  of  whom  was 
bom  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  1825,  and  the  latter  in  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  1827.     Michael  C.  Scanlan  was  an  active  worker  in  the 


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406  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ranks  of  the  Rq)ublican  party  and  in  1881  held  the  office  of  ^eriflf 
of  Schuylkill  county.  His  wife,  Isabella  McManagle,  was  one  of  the 
first  female  passengers  who  rode  over  the  famous  switchback  rail- 
road at  Mauch  Chunk.  Dr.  Wm.  J.  Scanlan  received  his  elementary 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Girardville,  Pa.,  and  later  attended 
the  Kutztown  normal  school,  where  he  graduated  in  1891.  After 
his  graduation  from  the  normal  school,  he  engaged  in  the  pedagogic 
profession  for  five  years,  when,  having  decided  to  make  the  medical 
profession  his  life  work,  he  entered  the  Medico-Chirugical  collie 
of  Philadelphia  in  1896  and  received  his  well  earned  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  from  that  famous  institution  in  1899.  After  his  gradua- 
tion he  located  in  Shenandoah  for  the  practice  of  his  profession  and 
is  rapidly  forging  to  the  front  rank  among  the  physicians  of  that 
city.  Dr.  Scanlan  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  is  a  communicant  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  and  is  also  a  member  of  its  attending 
organizations,  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  Knights  of  Annuncia- 
tion. He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Ramblers  social  club  and  the  Shen- 
andoah medical  society. 

Schaeffer,  Rev.  Isaac  M.,  pastor  of  Zion's  Reformed  church  at 
Ashland,  Pa.,  was  bom  near  Lyon  Station,  Berks  county,.  Pa.,  May 
31,  1867.  Four  generations  of  this  family  have  been  represented  in 
Berks  and  Schuylkill  counties,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America 
having  been  George  Schaeffer,  a  native  of  Rotterdam,  Germany,  who 
came  in  1759,  and  settled  in  Oley  township,  Berks  county.  He  was  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  fought  in  the  battles  of  Trenton 
and  Princeton,  was  at  the  capture  of  the  Hessians,  by  Washington, 
and  died  in  1792.  His  son,  Philip  Schaeffer,  paternal  great-grand- 
father of  Rev.  Isaac  M.,  succeeded  to  the  pioneer  homestead,  and 
spent  his  life  in  Berks  county,  engaged  in  farming.  Rev.  Isaac  M. 
Schaeffer  is  a  son  of  Daniel  B.  and  Lydia  (Merkel)  Schaeffer, 
natives  of  Richmond  township,  Berks  county,  the  former  bom  on 
Jan.  13,  1839,  and  the  latter  on  Jan.  2,  1842.  Daniel  B.  Schaeffer  is 
a  son  of  Isaac  and  Rachel  (Peters)  Schaeffer,  who  spent  their  lives 
on  a  farm  in  Berks  county,  and  Isaac  was  a  son  of  Philip,  thus  com- 
pleting the  American  genealogy.  The  parents  of  Rev.  Mr.  Schaeffer 
are  both  living  on  the  old  homestead  near  Lyon  Station.  Rev.  Isaac 
M.  Schaeffer  received  his  elementary  education  in  the  public  schools, 
and  prepared  for  college  at  the  Kutztown  normal  school.  He  entered 
the  sophomore  class  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  college  in  1886  and 
was  graduated  with  second  honors  in  the  class  of  1889.  He  was 
graduated  at  the  theological  seminary  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1892,  and 
on  June  19,  of  that  year,  entered  upon  his  pastoral  duties  at  Zion's 
Reformed  church  in  Ashland.  He  was  married  on  Sept.  2^^  1893 
to  Miss  Margaret  E.  Berstler,  of  Lancaster  county.  Pa.,  a  daughter 
of  Evan  and  Catherine  Amelia  (Dague)  Berstler.  Two  children  have 
been  born  to  this  union,  Marion  Naomi  and  Harold  Daniel.  The 
church  of  which  Rev.  Mr.  Schaeffer  has  had  pastoral  charge  for  the 
last  fifteen  years,  is  one  of  the  religious  land-marks  in  Ashland. 
Three  church  buildings  have  stood  upon  the  site ;  the  first  was  erected 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  407 

and  dedicated  in  September,  1858.  Rev.  Rudolph  Duenger,  D.  D., 
was  the  first  pastor,  and  to  his  untiring  energy  and  devotion  to  the 
cause  is  due  the  success  which  crowned  the  efforts  of  this  struggling 
congregation  after  many  years  of  discouragements.  H^  remained 
with  the  church  for  thirty-five  years,  and  his  resignation  was  re- 
luctantly accepted  on  April  20,  1891,  he  being  then  eighty-three  years 
old.  The  second  church  building  was  erected  under  Father  Duenger's 
pastorate,  and  was  dedicated  on  Feb.  10,  1883.  It  was  later  enlarged 
and  improved,  and  served  the  purposes  of  the  congregation  until 
replaced,  in  1901,  by  the  present  handsome  edifice,  remodeled  and  re- 
built from  the  old  structure,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000.  At  a  congregational 
meeting  held  on  Dec.  31,  1892,  Father  Duenger  was  elected  pastor 
emeritus,  at  a  salary  of  $200  per  annum,  and  this  generous  action  was 
reiterated  each  succeeding  year  until  his  death,  on  March  16,  1902, 
when  he  had  passed  the  nmety-fourth  milestone  in  his  eventful  career. 
The  organization  is  in  a  very  prosperous  condition,  and  steadily 
growing  in  numerical  streng^,  the  present  membership  being  over 
1,100.  This  church  enjoys  the  rare  distinction  of  having  had  but  two 
settled  pastorates  during  its  entire  history  of  fifty  years. 

SchaefiFer,  John  M.,  is  one  of  the  representative  business  men 
and  influential  and  honored  citizens  of  Shenandoah,  with  whose  ma- 
terial and  civic  upbuilding  he  has  been  prominently  identified,  tie 
is  further  entitled  to  recognition  in  his  history  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  he  is  a  native  of  the  old  Keystone  state,  where  his  entire  life 
has  been  passed.  Mr.  Schaeffer  was  bom  at  Jeansville,  Luzerne 
county,  Pa.,  Dec.  2,  1852,  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Billman) 
Schaeffer,  both  of  whom  were  bom  in  West  Penn  township,  Schuyl- 
kill county,  and  were  residents  of  Tamaqua,  this  county,  at  the  time 
of  their  death,  the  father  having  passed  away  in  1889  and  the  mother 
in  1892.  Isaac  Schaeffer  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  vocation,  and 
removed  from  Jeansville  to  Tamaqua  in  1865.  I^  ^^^  family  were 
three  sons  and  one  daughter:  William  enlisted  for  service  in  de- 
fense of  the  Union  in  the  Civil  war,  becoming  a  member  of  the  loth 
New  Jersey  volunteer  infantry,  and  died  while  in  the  service;  Jacob 
died  in  1880  in  Tamaqua;  Emma  is  Mrs.  Albertson,  a  widow,  and 
resides  at  Lansford,  Carbon  county;  and  John  M.  is  the  youngest  of 
the  children.  The  subject  of  this  review  was  reared  to  maturity  in 
Tamaqua,  where  he  duly  availed  himself  of  the  advantages  of  the 
public  schools  and  served  a  thorough  apprenticeship  at  the  hamess- 
maker's  trade.  In  1874  he  opened  a  harness  shop  at  Mahanoy  Plane, 
this  county,  and  continued  in  business  there  for  three  years,  when  he 
moved  to  Shenandoah,  where  he  has  since  been  actively  identified 
with  the  same  line  of  enterprise,  in  connection  with  which  he  has 
attained  to  distinctive  prominence  and  success-  He  has  a  large  and 
well  equipped  establishment,  gives  employment  to  three  men,  and  in 
connection  with  his  manufacturing  department  carries  full  lines  of 
hamess,  saddlery,  turf  supplies,  trunks,  suit-cases,  satchels,  etc.  He 
owns  the  building  in  which  his  store  is  located,  at  108  North  Main 
street,  and  the  substantial  and  attractive  structure  also  constitutes 


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408  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

his  residenpe.  Mr.  Schaeffer  gives  a  loyal  and  unswerving  allegiance 
to  the  Republican  party  and  is  one  of  the  leaders  in  its  local  ranks. 
He  is  an  active  worker  in  the  party  cause,  has  served  as  chairman  of 
the  board  of  county  commissioners  and  as  a  member  of  the  city 
council,  from  the  third  ward,  of  which  latter  office  he  has  been  the 
incumbent  since  1902.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and 
his  wife  and  daughter  hold  membership  in  the  Reformed  church.  In 
1873  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Schaeffer  to  Miss  Ella 
Mayer,  a  native  of  Columbia  county.  Pa.,  and  a  daughter  of  Moses 
and  Catherine  Mayer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schaeffer  have  one  child,  Annie, 
now  superintendent  of  the  telephone  office  in  Shenandoah  and  one  of 
the  popular  young  ladies  of  the  city. 

Schalck,  Adolph  W.,  was  bom  Jan.  16,  1845  ^^  Wiesbaden,  Ger- 
many. He  acquired  his  primary  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  city,  and  continued  his  German  studies,  so  that  he  is  today 
a  fluent  German  speaker  and  versed  in  German  literature.  Com- 
ing to  America  when  only  nine  years  old  with  his  father,  the  late 
George  Schalck,  they  at  once  settled  in  Pottsville,  which  has  been 
the  home  of  the  family  ever  since.  The  father  was  well  known  as  a 
ginsmith,  and  was  himself  a  celebrated  marksman.  He  was  also  a 
mechanical  genius,  and  for  many  years  a  highly  esteemed  citizen  of 
Pottsville.  Young  Schalck  on  his  arrival  in  Pottsville  was  at  once 
sent  to  the  public  schools,  and  having  learned  some  English  in  his 
native  country,  he  made  rapid  progress,  graduating  with  honors  in 
1859  in  the  high  school,  then  in  the  old  Bunker  Hill  school-house. 
He  then  visited  the  Pottsville  academy  (now  the  Henry  C.  Russell 
homestead)  to  further  pursue  his  studies.  He  wished  to  become  a 
mechanic  like  his  father  and  after  leaving  the  academy  worked  for 
a  year  in  his  father's  shop,  but  it  becoming  apparent  that  he  had  not 
inherited  the  father's  mechanical  skill  and  genius,  and  that  his  ap- 
prenticeship was  not  a  success,  the  father  himself  advised  him  to  look 
for  some  other  occupation-  In  i860  and  1861  he  was  engaged  in 
Philadelphia  as  a  salesman  and  clerk  in  a  wholesale  china  and  glass 
importing  house,  but  as  the  prospects  for  advancement  and  future 
independence  were  poor,  and  as  he  became  ambitious  for  a  profes- 
sional career,  he  returned  to  Pottsville.  He  then  became  a  reporter 
on  the  "Schuylkill  Democrat,"  at  that  time  the  German  Democratic 
organ  of  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  also  learned  the  rudiments  of 
the  printers'  art.  He  thus  early  became  interested  in  politics  and 
public  affairs  and  acquainted  with  public  men.  His  first  political  ex- 
perience was  in  the  campaign  of  1862,  when  the  late  Franklin  B. 
Gowen,  (subsequently  president  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Rail- 
road, and  Coal  and  Iron  Companies)  was  elected  district  attorney  of 
Schuylkill  county.  Mr.  Schalck  having  thus  become  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Gowen,  accepted  a  clerkship  in  his  office  after  the  latter's  election, 
and  for  six  years  was  closely  associated  with  Mr.  Gowen,  first  as  a 
law  student  and  clerk  and  later,  after  his  own  admission  to  the  bar 
on  March  16,  1866,  as  his  principal  assistant.    When  Mr.  Gowen  left 


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»■     r     '-     t^*!  '    iJ.'.iker    Hill   school-hou^o. 

■*.:'••  .  •  '        •"  I      li.-  w    the   Ilciiry  (,.  Rusbc'l 

•   'v       -  :•  -       ''e  wi'^hed  to  bcoi^me  a 

•  .      ■.'...'•    .i'..'v    tl. '  acad'HiV  work'-d   :or 

'    .      •  '  i         '■..■:       .    ;  Mi;'  apP'i'''iH  that  be  had  not 

<■  .    '\    "     •       •  :  t    .J    -■.:!   and   tj^-ernns,  and   that  bis   ap- 

.1        '    ;    *'  t     '       ■      :^^^"--^'  'v'  !'/•:-•!  bini>elf  advised  him  \u  L.-ok 

■  ^'■'.v'      t' <  :  ';   ./,   .>       ];.    iS(^<)  and    184)1    he   was   on^a^td    In 

■  i    .•\j  ''M  a-   '    -,  *    ■♦  - 1.  .  .id  c\vr\  in  a  wholesale  china  and  g'a>-^ 

■r    !->;   [i(.3    .     ••■•»     1-   MM    pn.M.  'MS   for   advancement   and    future 

'.CM  >    vi    "    :'»M-.     Ml   a^    ill.'  hccan-^e   ambitious  for  a   profes- 

"■    '  "r,  M-    i       rnt.'.  tM  J\.n:;\inc.     He  iL-m  became  a  reporter 

'\^   buyiv   1    J  >ci.jt.v..'i  /'  a"  tliat  time  the  German  Dcmrw-,-.u^? 

M  t'l   SH.ijv  kiU   COM'-'.,  whf'-c    he  a  :.o  karncd  the  rudime^.t«^  (»i 

, -MMter'^'   .'wi.      b-c   tb'].'-    eai  b'   bee. -me   interested   in    politics   a^il 

.s   atfair-  u.mI  acuual-'ted  wM.h  prJ'^ic  m<-n.     His  first  political  ex- 

"  "'I'   w   •    !ii    the   >..  M'Maii'-^   of    \b-f^^.    Ahen  the   \plo   Frai  klin    ]•. 

\»'M.   (^Mb-ri^a  I  tlv  presi<.  iir  (^f  t!ie  Philadelphia  ^  Keadiuir  Rail- 

M'  .    did  1    J..;  and   ''Hi  i  i  Mip.riies)    v\<i^  ek  cte^^  district  attorney  of 

'".     Tkill  rcuntv.     Mr.  SciKiK'k  i1a^■'nf^  tIuis  b"Conie  acquainted  with 

'    t  r*-\vvMi,  aLC<|'U-I  a  clerksbi})  in  bi>  office  after  the  lattcr's  electioM, 

■'   t  .r  six  \cars  was  <Jo'<dv  a^soeiated  witli  Mr.  Oowen.  first  a?  a 

"    -iu"letu  and  cb.-k  an  J  later,  after  nis  own  admi>sion  in  the  bar 

'  .  la'-^b  i^).  i8')M,  as  his  piii"MT»ai  assi.^tant.     VVb.en  Afr.  Gowui  ie^t 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  409 

Pottsville  in  1868  to  open  a  law  office  in  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Schalck 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  Pottsville  office,  having  associated  with  him 
the  late  George  De  B.  Keim,  an  old  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Gowen, 
who  later  succeeded  him  as  president  of  the  Readin^^  Company.  In 
1870  Mr.  Schalck  voluntarily  severed  his  associations  with  these 
gentlemen  in  order  to  establish  an  independent  practice  and  to  open 
an  office  for  himself,  which  he  successfully  did,  soon  ranking  among 
the  foremost  members  of  the  junior  bar  of  that  period,  and  acquiring 
a  large  and  varied  practice  in  the  courts  of  Schuylkill  county.  Since 
that  time  he  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  best  read  and  best  equipped  all- 
around  lawyers  at  the  Schuylkill  county  bar,  being  noted  for  his  in- 
dustry and  research  and  for  his  perseverance,  zeal  and  fidelity  to  the 
cause  of  his  clients.  Following  his  early  training  and  instincts,  he, 
like  so  many  other  young  lawyers,  soon  became  active  in  politics  and 
public  affairs.  He  has  been  for  many  years  prominent  as  a  public 
speaker  and  as  one  of  the  leaders  and  campaign  managers  of  his  party, 
serving  also  as  county  chairman  a  number  of  times,  his  first  chair- 
manship being  in  the  Centennial  year,  when  Governor  Tilden  of  New 
York  swept  the  county  for  president.  He  was  chairman  in  Governor 
Pattison's  second  campaigfn,  when  the  county  gave  him  a  rousing 
majority,  and  also  in  other  generally  successful  campaigfns.  During 
these  years  he  also  served  his  party  (when  not  as  chairman)  in  various 
other  capacities,  at  personal  sacrifices  and  without  recompense.  He 
has  always  been  a  firm  believer  in  the  principles  of  Jeffersonian  and 
Jacksonian  Democracy  and  a  patriot,  but  never  a  narrow-minded  or 
hide-bound  partisan.  In  1877  he  was  elQcted  district  attorney  of 
the  county,  serving  from  1878  to  1881,  during  the  termination  of  the 
MoUie  Mag^ire  troubles,  which  was  one  of  the  most  trying  periods 
in  the  history  of  Schuylkill  or  any  other  county.  He  also  served  as 
county  solicitor  for  a  number  of  years,  and  is  at  present  serving  in 
that  capacity.  In  his  long  professional  and  public  career  he  has  al- 
ways been  known  as  the  foe  of  corruption  and  graft  in  municipal 
and  political  affairs,  and  at  various  times  has  been  prominent  in  in- 
vestigations and  exposures  of  grafters  and  boodlers.  Mr.  Schalck  also 
saw  some  strenuous  military  service  during  the  Civil  war.  By  reason 
of  his  youth  and  for  want  of  a  robust  constitution,  he  was  rejected 
when  he  sought  to  enlist  in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  yet  he  actively 
participated  in  the  campaigns  of  1862  and  1863,  in  the  6th  and  27th 
Pennsylvania  regiments,  whose  duty  was  to  drive  the  Confederates 
out  of  Pennsylvania  and  back  across  the  Potomac.  He  is  an  active 
Grand  Army  man,  and  for  over  twenty-seven  years  has  been  the 
quarter-master  of  Gowen  Post,  No.  23,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
of  Pottsville.  He  is  interested  in  other  patriotic  movements  and  is 
well  known  as  a  public  spirited  citizen.  He  was  raised  in  the  Luth- 
eran church;  for  forty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  church 
council  of  the  Trinity  Lutheran  church  of  Pottsville,  and  was  for  many 
years  the  superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school,  in  which  he  is  still  a 
teacher.  He  is,  however,  most  liberal  and  tolerant,  recognizing  and 


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410  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

espousing  the  rights  of  all  other  religious  denominations  to  the  fullest 
exercise  and  enjoyment  of  their  religious  liberties.  Mr.  Schalck  mar- 
ried Emma  R.  Haeseler,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Charles  Haeseler, 
who  was  the  pioneer  homeopathic  physician  of  Schuylkill  county,  for 
many  years  in  active  practice  here,  and  whose  son,  the  late  Dr.  Charles 
H.  Haeseler  (Mr.  Schalck's  brother-in-law),  was  for  many  years  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  eminent  physicians  of  the' county. 
They  have  but  one  child,  Miss  Louise  G.  Schalck,  who  is  at  home,  an 
efficient  helpmate  to  her  father. 

Scheibelhuty  Leonard  C,  is  one  of  the  leading  general  merchants 
of  Yorkville,  which  pjace  has  been  his  residence  during  all  of  his 
comparatively  short  but  exceedingly  active  business  career.  He  was 
bom  there  on  Nov.  3,  1869,  a  son  of  Clemens  and  Christiana 
(Neidert)  Scheibelhut,  both  of  whom  were  bom  in  Hesse  Darmstadt, 
Germany.  The  father  was  among  the  pioneer  miners  of  Schuylkill 
county,  built  a  home  in  Yorkville  and  lived  there  until  1878,  when  he 
removed  to  Raven  Run  to  assist  in  the  opening  of  the  mine  of  Will- 
iam Heaton.  Later  he  removed  to  Shenandoah  and  from  there  to 
Tremont,  where  he  was  killed  while  sinking  a  slope  at  Kalmia  in 
1882.  He  left  a  family  of  five  children,  viz:  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph 
Stock;  John;  Monica,  wife  of  Frank  Hock;  Leonard  C.  and  Cath- 
erine. Leonard  C.  Scheibelhut,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  review, 
was  reared  in  Schuylkill  county,  and  at  the  tender  age  of  eight  years 
started  an  independent  career  as  a  slate-picker  in  the  employ  of  Will- 
iam Heaton  at  Raven  Run.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the 
mines  and  followed  that  occupation  until  1892,  when  he  embarked  in 
the  mercantile  business  at  Yorkville.  He  has  since  given  his  entire 
attention  to  that  line  of  endeavor,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  trade  has 
met  with  a  degree  of  success  commensurate  to  his  honest  and  pains- 
taking efforts.  Mr.  Scheibelhut  was  married  on  Sept.  23,  1895,  ^^ 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Catherine  (Yost)  Haupthy,  of 
Yorkville,  and  to  this  union  have  been  bom  five  children:  Clemens, 
Paul,  Anthony,  Laura  and  Albert.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  Pottsville.  Mr. 
Scheibelhut  is  a  member  of  the  Yorkville  Fire  Company,  No.  i ;  has 
served  as  treasurer  of  the  Yorkville  school  board  until  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  borough  of  Pottsville  and  Yorkville  when  he  resigned  in 
favor  of  the  Pottsville  treasurer;  was  president  of  the  Yorkville 
common  council  two  terms.  In  company  with  his  brother  John  he 
operated  a  colliery  on  Sharp  mountain  for  five  years,  from  1896  to 
1901.  Politically  he  gives  an  unswerving  allegiance  to  the  time- 
honored  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  has  never  appeared 
in  the  role  of  an  office-seeker,  and  the  honors  that  have  been  given 
him  have  come  unsolicited  on  his  part. 

Schilbe,  J.  A.,  one  of  the  more  prominent  citizens  of  Tamaqua 
and  a  carpenter  and  contractor  by  vocation,  was  bom  in  Tamaqua 
on  Oct.  23,  1858,  his  parents  being  Christian  and  Sophia  (Webber) 
Schilbe,  both  natives  of  Germany,  but  married  in  this  state.  The 
father  was  a  miner  who  came  to  the  United  States  in  1847  ^tnd  settled 


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'.  -a,  ^hcrc  for  praoticaUy  the  ^e,^t  '•:  - 
.:    t>!i   the   breakers    for  the   Little   Sclv./h 

V  ,ie«ea>e»l,  the  Tatiier's  death  having  ..v.   -    ■< 
.  'hrT  fi\e  chutlrcn  thiee  are  livinji:.    l^orm  .  u-*- -     •    -.. 
■;  ,    aire  (3t  :i'"'^'-<i\;  John  William,  dreea-'-.i.    •.  .•     .'^  ■  '.•  ■  '  .    ■ 
i    Ka.th;    "^('])hia    i>    Sirs.   '  leorj^e   SelMn.n;*'ii  .   ai  •      \\  -  -i.t    ..   ,< 
.     "'..irrha    •  ai'-criiie    Raah,   and    i>   tln^    father   r.i  *n\e    civi^i:... 
/i,'it  i^i  t!iiH   >keteli,  the  \()unt^esl  of  ih^  fa'-'i!),  «n  ..■]*!' t^-d  ttte 

*  :i  the    I  ai^r.-;'!.i  oiiNhc  schools,  and  bej^an  i^is  iiniu  iiiai  c.reer 
!'i:l  pi*  ki-r       ilt'  dit'ti  learned  the  traile  <»t   cabinet  and  pattern 

■  ■  i.   at  15i.-b')i'  -  {  'tii)iishment,  after  which  he  was  tV»r  els^iu  >car-v 

V  .*rter  \:  vlln  aMil  was  then  for  two  years  with  the  1  aniatiua 
::iactn^i'i:^  1  ..f  ;  •■n\.  Tnder  the  fir^t  administration  c-f  Grover 
e.and  he   -( ' -.  •  '    r-i    a  time  as  p<»>tmaster,  filling  out  the  unex- 

■  term  of  j>  »v  li'/ver.  I'pon  leaving  the  t)tfice.  in  June,  1HS9, 
die  inan^.tf  ni  .p  <;i  i'resi'ient  Harrison,  he  s«-arted  in  the  lumber 

■  --"  oil  a  -'!.. -^  ^vwr  Vor  nine  years  he  was  a  partner  of  Henry 
r,  bul  asi'H     i    .;i  liiat  he  ha?  conducted  a  bu^incss  of  his  own. 

•  ,  t-mph  .  -  •  V. -rrj -t\\v>  n:en  and  has  erected  many  <jf  the  more 
r  -ivMllt..^  ,.  .  i  h'ji!  in-'ir<,  a.nong  them  the  Lutheran  church 
.'■  j.  '•\  \'(<ji:t\  r<.  ^idence.  Resides  hi*-  lumber  yard  he  owns 
.  •  rai'-s  i  p'anuit'  IP  =i  '^i  tjoodly  proportion.     Ho  i^  also  on^^  of 

•  •"•-*    .  .  'u'  the    i'ir-.t    \a;i«»nal   bank  ami   the   in«.u  ..bent  of  the 

*  *:v;-irer  oi  the  sv'r-. -oi  board.    Un  (Jet.  13,  189T.  Mr.  Schilbe 
'.  \1   Ml  nutrrh'.<^-  t-   \:i>s  Anjia  Wetterau.  daughter  of  Jacob 

'    ■■•  r.ua  Wetter  :u  ••t    1  inipjua.     I>oth  her  parent>  are  deceased. 

—    \\^'  had  twi*   -i-^t,  r-  a^d  a  brother.     Martha   is   Mr>.  John 

:.  ,.    a:id    «  atii-.'^  ne     t-     Air..     Henry    Becker.    l)<>rh    hving    in 

.^   .1       The  bn»!l:er    a  t.vin  '^t   Mrs.  Schilbe,  (bed  in   lS<;6  at  the 

^ '.  .■■  V .  iiJKe  \tar-.     '!  ,j  ^t^.  aii<l   Mrs.  Schill>e  have  been  bom 

■  '  '.ti..  Krma  Anna  on-:  George  Albert,  the  first  and  last  lK)rn, 
iltt  ai>cs  of  tbrrt  uim!  ,i  ^  !.i'»Tnh^  re>i>eenvcly  :  the.  two  sons 
'.  i  'e*'unt,  ,?ijed  \\\<  v<  .  an^l  Herbert  Lawrence,  aged  >even 
•  :.  M-b'^iou'-  *t  aitr:-  A:-     ^*Ji>be  is  identified  with  the  <  uruuin 

-      :;  I'p.ieii  and  is  rj^^o  |.ri*ni:j]ent  in  fraternal  circles,      lie  ba> 

'i  V  thin;. ->e*:ond  Ot^T*\  of  MaMMiry.  is  also  a  Knight   Iti:iplar 

'pc  wa^  twentv   .v\i.  \.ar>  ij\  age  ha>  been  a  meipl'-r  *.t  the 

■J. 'It  (  >rder  of  {  Nid    !'e'Io\\^.     Snicc   l8<>4  he  ha^  h^u  'jms- 

■  .fp  Tapj.i'j'a  L -ii:^'.  ai.d  lu\^  -^  vi^ral  times  been  a  «U!*..;''.  :•- 
•i  1  Loiige  \  ['  a'so  claims  nieinbership  in  Mu'  La'  !«  i--  '  ^i-r 
.M'US  of  Am- rica    and  is  a  past  •  tticer  in   ukj'  or   the  o»  ivr,. 

•;'»*'Ut  the  C'^.p^v   Ik-  i>  recogpi^itd  a-  a  man  "f  -u  spu  ^s  sagaut;.. 

•  •  x^  scri'jaiioiiN  ho'iesty  and  sterling  wort--. 

rr,  John  C.  F.,   M.   D.,  deceased,   f- ^r   p. any   yeirs   a  lead- 

'     ■*  '  ip  and  snrg»*.>n  of  Schuylkill  o-,-  p^.  wa>  l^^'ip  at   Kasion, 

■14,    1X27,   a    s  ,n   of   John    (i     and    Kb '.•.^'' :h    -Johnson) 

The    father    \\'i>    born    in    Saxony,   (le.tp.au;.     ai>'>ut    lS^)2, 

'pip  I'nited  ^^^tatr^  hi  i8ji  attd  located  op  :he  Pelaware  river 

\  N'orthaPij)tor  cf.>unt\.     He  wps  ,^  r^-'   r  bv  vocation,  but 


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BIOGRAPrtlCAL  411 

in  Tamaqua,  where  for  practically  the  rest  of  his  life  he  was  outside 
foreman  on  the  breakers  for  the  Little  Schuylkill  Company.  Both 
parents  are  deceased,  the  father's  death  having  occurred  on  April  13, 
1889.  Of  their  five  children  three  are  living.  George,  the  eldest,  a  miner, 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-six ;  John  William,  deceased,  was  the  husband 
of  Dora  Raab;  Sophia  is  Mrs.  George  Schmauch;  and  William,  a 
miner,  married  Catherine  Raab,  and  is  the  father  of  five  children. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  completed  the 
course  in  the  Tamaqua  public  schools,  and  began  his  industrial  career 
as  a  slate-picker.  He  then  learned  the  trade  of  cabinet  and  pattern 
making  at  Bishoff's  establishment,  after  which  he  was  for  eight  years 
with  Carter  &  Allen  and  was  then  for  two  years  with  the  Tamaqua 
Manufacturing  Company.  Under  the  first  administration  of  Grover 
Cleveland  he  served  for  a  time  as  postmaster,  filling  out  the  unex- 
pired term  of  Dr.  R.  Boyer.  Upon  leaving  the  office,  in  June,  1889, 
after  the  inauguration  of  President  Harrison,  he  started  in  the  lumber 
business  on  a  small  scale.  For  nine  years  he  was  a  partner  of  Henry 
Becker,  but  aside  from  that  he  has  conducted  a  business  of  his  own. 
He  now  employs  twenty-two  men  and  has  erected  many  of  the  more 
modem  dwellings  and  buildings,  among  them  the  Lutheran  church 
and  the  J.  F.  McGinty  residence.  Besides  his  lumber  yard  he  owns 
and  operates  a  planing  mill  of  goodly  proportions.  He  is  also  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  First  National  bank  and  the  incumbent  of  the 
office  of  treasurer  of  the  school  board.  On  Oct.  13,  1891,  Mr.  Schilbe 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Wetterau,  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Christina  Wetterau  of  Tamaqua.  Both  her  parents  are  deceased. 
Mrs.  Schilbe  had  two  sisters  and  a  brother.  Martha  is  Mrs.  John 
Greasing,  and  Catherine  is  Mrs.  Henry  Becker,  both  living  in 
Tamaqua.  The  brother,  a  twin  of  Mrs.  Schilbe,  died  in  1896  at  the 
age  of  twenty-nine  years.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schilbe  have  been  bom 
four  children.  Erma  Anna  and  George  Albert,  the  first  and  last  born, 
died  at  the  ages  of  three  and  six  months  respectively;  the  two  sons 
living  are  Clement,  aged  twelve,  and  Herbert  Lawrence,  aged  seven 
years.  In  religious  matters  Mr.  Schilbe  is  identified  with  the  German 
Lutheran  church  and  is  also  prominent  in  fraternal  circles.  He  has 
reached  the  thirty-second  degree  of  Masonry,  is  also  a  Knight  Templar 
and  since  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Since  1894  he  has  been  treas- 
urer of  the  Tamaqua  Lodge  and  has  several  times  been  a  delegate  to 
the  Grand  Lodge.  He  also  claims  membership  in  the  Patriotic  Order 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  is  a  past  officer  in  four  of  the  orders. 
Throughout  the  county  he  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  business  sagacity, 
of  the  most  scrupulous  honesty  and  sterling  worth. 

Schimer,  John  C.  F.,  M.  D.,  deceased,  for  many  years  a  lead- 
ing physician  and  surgeon  of  Schuylkill  county,  was  born  at  Easton, 
Pa.,  March  4,  1827,  a  son  of  John  G.  and  Elizabeth  (Johnson) 
Schimer.  The  father  was  born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  about  1802, 
came  to  the  United  States  in  182 1  and  located  on  the  Delaware  river 
near  Easton,  Northampton  county.    He  was  a  tailor  by  vocation,  but 


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412  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

most  of  his  life  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  His  death 
occurred  in  1870,  ten  years  after  his  wife's  demise.  The  doctor  was 
the  youngest  of  the  three  children  in  the  family.  Maria  M.  is  the 
widow  of  Aaron  Serfass  and  Rosanna  C.  was  the  wife  of  C.  M. 
W.eygandt.  After  a  due  preliminary  training  in  the  schools  of  Easton 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  matriculated  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  March,  1850,  was  graduated 
at  that  institution  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  Imme- 
diately afte^  graduation  he  located  in  Tamaqua  and  from  that  time 
until  his  death  on  Sept.  7,  1894,  he  was  continuously  eng^ed  in  his 
professional  practice.  He  acquired  a  wide  reputation  for  surgical 
skill  and  was  often  called  by  other  physicians  to  assist  when  surgery 
was  necessar}'.  A  man  of  high  ideals,  kindly,  sensitive  nature  and 
sympathetic  touch,  he  was  almost  the  ideal  physician.  On  June  n, 
1848,  Dr.  Schimer  married  Miss  Anna  M.  Seip,  daughter  of  William 
and  Anna  M.  Seip  of  Bucks  county,  Pa.  Mr.  Seip  was  a  tinsmith 
and  plumber  all  his  life.  Of  his  seven  children  two,  besides  Mrs. 
Schimer,  are  living.  They  are  Miss  Margaret,  a  resident  of  Bucks 
county,  and  Quintus,  now  in  Missouri.  The  deceased  members  are 
Frances,  Sarah,  Catherine  and  Elizabeth.  Dr.  Schimer  and  his  wife 
had  eight  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Ella,  the  eldest, 
married  Roscoe  Reich  and  is  the  mother  of  four  children — Mabel, 
Evelin,  Herbert  and  Charles  Owen.  William  Gibson  married  a  Miss 
Qark  and  has  two  children — Ida  and  Asa  Frederick.  Charles  C. 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Alsbach  and  they  have  four 
children — Clarence,  Clifford,  Guy  and  J.  Charles  F.  Anna  Louise 
is  at  home.  Elwood,  deceased,  was  a  doctor  of  dental  science.  His 
wife  was  Miss  Theo  Knower,  and  they  had  one  child,  Helen.  Edith 
is  the  wife  of  William  H.  Williams,  a  chief  train  despatcher,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Emily  Schimer.  The  death  of  Dr.  Schirner  was  not 
only  a  loss  to  a  large  circle  of  friends,  but  to  the  whole  community. 

Schmicker,  Anthony,  director  of  the  poor  of  Schuylkill  county, 
the  cordial,  genial  host  of  the  modern  hostelry  in  Shenandoah  known 
as  the  "Hotel  Franey,"  was  bom  in  Germany  on  Sept.  11,  1864,  and 
is  the  eldest  of  the  seven  children  born  to  William  and  Wilhelmina 
(Hotta)  Schmicker,  who  came  to  Ashland  in  1867.  The  father  was 
a  representative  of  different  breweries  in  Shenandoah  and  vicinity, 
and  remained  in  the  employ  of  the  last  one  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  His  death  occurred  on  Feb.  18,  1903.  The  mother  is  still 
living,  a  resident  of  Shenandoah,  where  the  family  has  been  located 
for  some  thirty-seven  years.  Of  the  children  Lizzie  is  employed  as  a 
seamstress  at  the  almshouse  in  this  county;  William  is  in  Reading; 
Wilhelmina  is  a  Sister  of  Christian  Charity  at  St.  Louis;  and  Kath- 
erine,  Frank  and  Joseph  are  variously  employed  in  Shenandoah-  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  still  an  infant  when  his  parents  removed 
to  this  country  and  all  his  educational  advantages  were  acquired  in 
the  public  schools  of  Schuylkill  county.  Aftef  the  completion  of  his 
school  work  he  was  variously  employed  in  Shenandoah  until  Novem- 
ber, 1902,  when  as  the  successful  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party 


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BIOGK'M'IIICAL  413 

hi:    ..        ^.  .'tv-^1   to  the  oince  of   (lircctr>r  of  lii-    r  '^^  recently 

ji-..-  •  •  .  :i  ilic  lli'lcl   I'Vaiu^y  and  is  now  co'i'ltu    •■:.  •nanner 

f.}-.::v  •••'-.•    - 'ii^iart'Tv    to   t'hc    public    at    Imj^c.       '  "4y 

•i   i:^-'"   {  ciii'l  ap{)«>inU\i  tlHoug-liOiit,  lunini^  \nii    "•■ 
U'.'i-..    vv'icn    Mr.    Sclr.nickcr   assumed    tl:e    <^^\-{.- r     .ii.,. 
n:  -U  rii  c(mi\  eniences  of  ^teani  lieal,  <  kctnc  I'^'in,  «)•*    •'  •. 
cic.      i 'le  dining  room  is  cs{.)ccially  hand^•)ll;^  'u  u.-%   ti".  :  . 
i-  i;'*^A'H''i  with  grea*  arti^tir  taste.     J>y  no  !rA.i;>  a  .    .  •.'  .,• 
cstabli-dimcni  ib  the  bar,  furnished  with  the  eh' •!',«-»   a;  -I   •••.•.-t 
of  l.<juur.s  and  ciirar-.     (  )n  h'cb.   i,   18S7,   Mr.   ^<iv.  ;.u,.     ^j>        ^^^il 
in  t'-'*  b<>nds  of  holy  wedlock  to  Mi<s  Mar\    .N'-  '*:\i.  ,-    !an|^hl^  ijl 
\ValV;r  and  Mary  Mv:Halc.     Mr.  and   Mrs.   M.  tia!-.   arc  -  ih   Jiativei 
cf    helaiHl,   and   alter   their   marriage   in   th<*    !\:M-:::ld    I  ^ 

America  in  i8^)J  with  two  of  their  children.     'I'he\   l«;*aie« 
ville,  where  the  lather  was  Tor  many  \ears  cnjiraj^^ed  m  n  TIjc 

mother  died  on  June   r,  i^;<n»  and  the  fatlxr  now   makes  i^    'fi 

I'hiiadelj)hia  with  two  of  his  rhildren,  Tatr^ck  and  Anna.  Mrs. 
Schmioker  is  c>ne  of  nine  chil  Iren  born  t(»  h«T  parents,  the  others 
being  Jolin,  Patrick.  Ricliard.  Walter,  James,  Dclij.  .Xnna  and  Kate, 
the  last  named  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  To  Mr.  ;.ni'  \lr>.  Schnn'cker 
have  been  horn  eight  childnn,  fi\e  of  wlKnn  are  i:\'i:ii>-.  They  are 
William,  Joseph,  Anna,  Madeline  and  John  and  t'  v  .^ceased  mem- 
bers were  Mary,  John  and  an  unnamed  infant.  11"..  t'ij.iily  are  all 
communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  tlioup^h  tl.:  father  is  a 
member  of  the  Holy  Family  congregation,  a  Geriiian  ^p^akirg  organ- 
ization, and  the  mother  of  the  Church  of  the  AnmmciaMiin,  where 
services  are  conducted  in  English.  Mrs.  Schmicker  i.^  oun-invnt 
in  tlu'  Ladies'  Aid  S'A^iety  of  her  church  and  her  husband  i-^  a  num- 
ber of  all  the  societies  conducted  under  church  su}>erv]sion.  '•  he 
eldest  son  of  the  family  i=>  a  talented  musii  :a»^..  1^-  st'iuying  the  .uui'=, 
and  although  but  eighteen  vears  of  age  is  ^v-r"  ir-ii.mt  and  andvi^-is. 
Probably  no  man  in  lh(  county  is  better  known  or  i.  .'■"  pc'pular  t-'.-in 
Anthony  Schmioker. 

Schmidt,  Christian,  is  presick-nt  of  tlu  ,.  .•..  i:  '  ■•  ^^:  f  ..••.]  i,:'.- 
of  Shenandoah.  Ths  is  r>ne  of  the  h.iv'ir.;'-  •  ••  •■  '.'r'-.j  '*•  *wu^. 
in  the  lx)rough  and  was  incorporated  in  i*ny»  ■  '  ^-  ••  .'t,  who 
was  th*^  prime  mover  \u  its  establishment  aTt  I  ■  '  -  '  •  ,.'  ^  :ii<  u. 
The   brewery   is   the  outgrowth   ol   a    nc(.L'n:'   t.      .     .  1    ')f   '.ho 

organizers  '^f  ilv  pr'-^siMlities  of  success  in  the  u-'f  ■  .  ••  •:.:'■  "-le 
industry  which  r\.u]'\  sur  \ssfiilly  coniTnte  with  tiit  :  •  •  •■*  'Ut- 
SUA  manufactiTtT  .  Thi  buiMings  erecfi-;  w.':e  j  m  •"  •  '  ;. 
inteiliL'^-nt  apprv^ian  -n  (,f  the  needs  of  -ueh  a  ,  •  1  ■"  !  .  -  •  •  ^ 
with  t»^'^  modem  ^m- ntifir  meth«-<ls  in  the  biA-\:;'  »  '»  .  .'. 
was  no  la"or  noi  <  ^ij-'usr  spared  to  obtain  tin-  b(  :  '  :  « ''•  ^w'  .;.- 
pllance'i  an*.  I'l'^  <•  ti'-unalion  of  the  manac^'emiTU  vv^  .  «  x^  !.  It 
has  b«'*'n  p'  »"'t.  'r^  th^  testimony  and  exannnatinn  of  ,  .  :  .  .  ...  n.icts 
-^nd  yY.\^\c'\,Vny  tf  :t  the  acnv  of  c'^anlin^.-s  and  prrit\  l- .^  ion  at- 
tained in  the  o,!r  n*  of  the  Home  Rrewing  C^»'i>;  an^  It  was  ri  cog- 
nized   rJ    thi;  .'"»;  t..  r    tti;,r    to   establish    a    patroiiage    and    hold    it   the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  413 

he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  director  of  the  poor.  He  recently 
purchased  the  Hotel  Franey  and  is  now  conducting  it  in  a  manner 
eminently  satisfactory  to  the  public  at  large.  The  hotel  is  finely 
equipped  and  appointed  ^throughout,  having  been  refurnished  and  re- 
fitted when  Mr.  Schmicker  assumed  the  control,  and  has  all  the 
modem  conveniences  of  steam  heat,  electric  light,  hot  and  cold  water, 
etc.  The  dining  room  is  especially  handsome  in  its  furnishings,  and 
is  frescoed  with  great  artistic  taste.  By  no  means  a  small  part  of  the 
establishment  is  the  bar,  furnished  with  the  choicest  and  best  brands 
of  liquors  and  cigars.  On  Feb.  i,  1887,  Mr.  Schmicker  was  united 
in  the  bonds  of  holy  wedlock  to  Miss  Mary  McHale,  a  daughter  of 
Walter  and  Mary  McHale.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McHale  are  both  natives 
of  Ireland,  and  after  their  marriage  in  the  Emerald  Isle  came  to 
America  in  1862  with  two  of  their  children.  They  located  at  Miners- 
ville,  where  the  father  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  mining.  The 
mother  died  on  June  i,  1904,  and  the  father  now  makes  his  home  in 
Philadelphia  with  two  of  his  children,  Patrick  and  Anna.  Mrs. 
Schmicker  is  one  of  nine  children  born  to  her  parents,  the  others 
being  John,  Patrick,  Richard,  Walter,  James,  Delia,  Anna  and  Kate, 
the  last  named  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schmicker 
have  been  born  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  living.  They  are 
William,  Joseph,  Anna,  Madeline  and  John  and  the  deceased  mem- 
bers were  Mary,  John  and  an  unnamed  infant.  The  family  are  all 
communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  though  the  father  is  a 
member  of  the  Holy  Family  congregation,  a  German  speaking  organ- 
ization, and  the  mother  of  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  where 
services  are  conducted  in  English.  Mrs.  Schmicker  is  prominent 
in  the  Ladies'  Aid  society  of  her  church  and  her  husband  is  a  mem- 
ber of  all  the  societies  conducted  under  church  supervision.  The 
eldest  son  of  the  family  is  a  talented  musician,  is  studying;  the  piano, 
and  although  but  eighteen  years  of  age  is  self-reliant  and  ambitious. 
Probably  no  man  in  the  county  is  better  known  or  more  popular  than 
Anthony  Schmicker. 

Schmidt,  Christian,  is  president  of  the  Home  Brewing  Company 
of  Shenandoah.  This  is  one  of  the  leading  manufacturing  concerns 
in  the  borough  and  was  incorporated  in  1900  by  Mr.  Schmidt,  who 
was  the  prime  mover  in  its  establishment  and  other  business  men. 
The  brewery  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  recognition  on  the  part  of  the 
organizers  of  the  possibilities  of  success  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  home 
industry  which  could  successfully  compete  with  the  product  of  out- 
side manufacturers.  The  buildings  erected  were  put  up  with  an 
intelligent  appreciation  of  the  needs  of  such  a  plant  and  in  harmony 
with  the  modem  scientific  methods  in  the  brewing  of  beer.  There 
was  no  labor  nor  expense  spared  to  obtain  the  best  of  help  and  ap- 
pliances and  the  determination  of  the  managenient  was  to  excel.  It 
has  been  proven  by  the  testimony  and  examination  of  expert  chemists 
and  physicians  that  the  acme  of  cleanliness  and  purity  has  been  at- 
tained in  the  output  of  the  Home  Brewing  Company.  It  was  recog- 
nized  at  the*  outset  that  to  establish   a  patronage  and  hold   it  the 


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414  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

product  of  the  concern  must  not  only  be  the  equal  but  the  superior  of 
that  of  outside  concerns  which  had  a  strong  foothold  in  Shenandoah. 
That  this  end  has  been  achieved  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  many 
of  the  rivals  have  been  supplanted  altogether  and  others  have  found 
their  patronage  greatly  decreased-  The  man  to  whose  energy  and 
effort  so  much  of  the  success  of  the  company  is  due  is  Mr.  Schmidt. 
He  was  born  at  Treverton,  Northumberland  county,  in  1858,  a  son  of 
Philip  and  Anna  Marie  (Schissler)  Schmidt,  both  native  Germans^ 
who  in  i860  removed  to  Ashland,  and  after  five  years  there  to 
Girardville.  At  the  end  of  three  years  another  change  was  made  and 
the  paternal  home  was  established  in  Shenandoah.  While  still  in  his 
boyhood  Mr.  Schmidt  went  to  work  in  a  coal  breaker  and  for  eighteen 
years  was  employed  in  different  capacities  about  the  mines.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-six  be  embarked  in  the  hotel  business  and  at  the  same 
time  accepted  a  position  as  distributing  agent  for  the  Lauer  Brewing 
Company  of  Reading,  continuing  to  serve  with  this  company  until 
he  became  established  in  his  own  business  in  1900.  In  1880  Mr. 
Schmidt  married  Miss  Catherine  Bender,  a  native  of  Germany,  who 
came  to  the  United  States  with  her  parents  when  she  was  but  eleven 
years  of  age.  To  this  union  have  been  born  these  children — Mary, 
wiie  of  Charles  Knapp  of  Yatesville;  Elizabeth,  Catherine,  Christian, 
J.,  Agnes,  Annie,  Helena  and  William.  The  family  are  all  members 
of  the  Catholic  church  and  devout  and  regular  attendants.  Politically 
Mr.  Schmidt  is  an  active  worker  in  behalf  of  the  Democratic  party 
and  as  the  candidate  of  that  party  has  been  elected  to  the  offices  of 
borough  councilman,  tax  receiver  and  member  of  the  board  of  health, 
and  in  the  latter  position  he  is  now  serving  his  tenth  year.  He  is  a 
member  of  certain  social  organizations  recognized  by  the  creed  of 
his  church  and  of  the  Rescue  Hook  and  Ladder  Company.  His  own 
experiences  in  his  struggle  for  existence  in  earlier  days  have  made  ot 
him  a  valuable  friend  to  the  working  man.  Personally  he  is  un- 
assuming and  unobtrusive  and  is  classed  as  one  of  the  most  progres-^ 
sive  and  influential  citizens  of  Shenandoah. 

Schmidt,  William  J. — ^The  Mount  Carbon  brewery  is  one  of  the 
substantial  industries  of  Pottsville,  as  well  as  a  typical  representative 
of  the  results  of  industry,  coupled  with  good  judgment  and  business 
sagacity.  In  1872,  G.  Lorenz  Schmidt,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
seven,  emigrated  from  his  native  land,  Bavaria,  Germany,  and  located 
in  Reading,  Pa.,  where  for  five  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of  Lauer 
&  Co.,  brewers.  In  1877  he  leased  from  Mr.  Lauer  what  was  then 
known  as  the  **Orchard  Brewer\%''  now  extinct,  and  operated  that 
until  1887.  In  the  meantime,  having  decided  to  enlarge  the  sphere 
of  his  efforts,  he  constructed,  in  1886,  the  valuable  property  now 
known  as  the  Mount  Carbon  brewery.  Such  portions  of  the  old 
Orchard  plant  as  could  be  made  available  in  the  construction  of  the 
new,  were  removed  to  the  site  and  utilized  in  the  new  structure-  This 
property  was  put  in  operation  in  May,  1887,  and  was  conducted  suc- 
cessfully by  the  founder  until  his  death,  on  Aug.  20,  1893.  G.  Lorenz 
Schmidt  came  to  America  without  means,  and  the  valuable  property 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  415 

which  he  acquired  within  the  space  of  twenty-one  years,  was  wholly 
the  result  of  his  own  unaided  efforts.  Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Schmidt, 
the  business  has  been  operated  very  successfully  by  his  sons,  under 
the  title  of  the  Lorenz  Schmidt  estate.  The  brewery  is  located  on 
Center  and  Main  streets,  Mount  Carbon.  The  principal  structure  is 
a  handsome  brick  building  135  feet  front,  by  a  depth  of  40  feet.  The 
brewery,  proper,  is  four  stories  high,  while  the  ice  house,  storage 
rooms,  stables,  office  and  residence  are  ample,  and  in  some  cases,, 
elaborate  structures.  The  plant  throughout,  is  equipped  with  the 
most  modern  and  improved  appliances  for  the  purposes  designed.  Of 
eight  children  born  to  G  Lorenz  and  Theresia  (Peters)  Schmidt, 
three  are  living,  namely:  William  J.,  G.  Lorenz,  and  Frederick  E. 
The  sons  are  employed  in  the  business  of  the  extensive  estate,  as 
manager,  foremen,  salesmen,  etc.  The  father  of  this  family  was  a 
soldier  during  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  and  of  the  German  Lutheran  church ;  was  a  good 
citizen,  a  kind  and  indulgent  husband  and  father,  whose  untimely 
death  was  greatly  deplored. 

Schoen,  Jacob  B.,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Schoen  Bros., 
cigar  manufacturers  of  Pottsville,  was  bom  at  Trevorton,  Northum- 
berland county.  Pa.,  Jan.  25,  i860,  a  son  of  Adam  and  Annie  Maria 
Elizabeth  (Burnhardt)  Schoen.  The  father  was  born  in  Rhine  Palz, 
Byron,  Germany,  Aug.  5,  1833,  ^"d  the  mother  was  born  in  the  same 
vicinity,  Nov.  26,  1835.  They  came  to  America  in  1853,  ^"d  were 
married  in  this  county  in  1855,  locating  at  Middleport,  Schuylkill 
county,  Pa.  The  Schoen  family  is  descended  from  pure  German 
stock,  their  ancestors  for  many  generations  back  having  been  natives 
of  the  "Rhine  Country,"  near  the  boundary  between  Alsace  Lor- 
raine, (then  a  province  of  France)  and  the  German  possessions.  The 
paternal  grandfather,  Henry  Schoen,  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Burnhardt,  were  natives  of  the  same  locality  in  Germany, 
and  sprang  from  wealthy  and  influential  families,  both  of  which  were 
identified  with  the  farming  interests.  The  grandfather  Schoen  was  a 
man  of  stalwart  frame,  brave  and  fearless  nature,  and  was  a  soldier 
in  the  regular  army  of  Germany,  enlisting  in  the  cavalry  in  1799. 
He  was  a  superb  horseman  and  a  favorite  with  the  king.  His  father 
was  a  member  of  the  German  aristocracy,  and  a  man  of  wealth. 
During  the  Napoleonic  wars  he  exchanged  an  acre  of  land  for  a 
loaf  of  bread.  He  was  impoverished  by  his  country's  wars  and  died 
poor.  In  1853  he  came  to  America  and  died  at  Wilkes  Barre  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years.  His  wife  died  in  a  New  York  city  hospital 
the  day  after  her  arrival  in  America.  Her  maiden  name  was  Cath- 
erine Engle.  The  maternal  grandparents  of  Jacob  B.  Schoen  were 
Philip  and  Elizabeth  (Graff)  Burnhardt,  who  were  born,  and  spent 
their  lives  in  Germany.  The  grandfather  was  a  man  of  great  intel- 
ligence, was  the  legal  adviser  of  his  neighbors  and  a  valued  and 
useful  citizen  among  them.  He  was  a  wealthy  farmer,  and  a  fancy, 
linen  weaver.  Adam  Schoen  and  his  consort  were  the  parents  of  a 
numerous  family,  of  whom  Charlotte,  now  Mrs.  Christ  Schultz  of 


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416  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Silver  creek,  is  the  eldest ;  Adam  died  at  the  age  of  two  years ;  Jacob 
B.  and  Philip,  constituting  the  firm  of  Schoen  Bros.,  were  the  next 
in  order  of  birth ;  Amelia  is  the  widow  of  Jacob  Burch,  late  of  Potts- 
ville,  and  Magdalene  is  the  wife  of  Miles  K.  Staller,  an  expert  pen- 
man,  of  Mount  Carmel.     The  present  extensive  business  firm   of 
Schoen  Bros,  was  originated  in  November,  1894,  when  Philip  Schoen 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  cigars.     The  beginning  was  on   a 
limited  scale,  occupying  one  room  in  the  William  Bumham  build- 
ing at  Port  Carbon,  and  employing  but  one  assistant.    The  business 
proved  prosperous  from  the  first,  and  his  brother  Jacob  B.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  taken  in  as  a  partner  during  this  incipient 
stage.     In  January,   1901,  Philip  started  a  factory  at   Hinkletown, 
Lancaster  county,  and  developed  a  fine  business  which  was  merged 
with  the  firm  of  Schoen  Bros,  in   1902,  and  the  business  was  en- 
larged to  a  considerable  extent.    This  is  under  the  direct  supervision 
of  Jacob.     Both  he  and  Philip  travel  constantly  in  the  interest  of 
outside   trade.     Many  thousands   of  cigars   are   thus   distributed   to 
buyers  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Virginia,  and  as  far  west  and 
south  as  Arkansas.     The  manufacturing  department  gives  constant 
employment  to  a  large  force  of  men,  employed  at  the  present  time, 
Mr.  Schoen  has  been  a  salesman  of  exceptional  ability  and  has  repre- 
sented one  of  the  largest  cigar  manufactures  in  Philadelphia.     On 
Nov.   19,   1892,  he  married  Miss  Olive  E.  Olewine,  then  of  Phila- 
delphia but  a  native  of  Pottsville,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  five 
children,  namely:     Elva,  Edith,  Isabel,  Margaret  and  Richard.     Mr. 
Schoen  is  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party  and 
has  held  the  office  of  councilman  in  Pottsville  for  two  terms  and  a 
like  position  in  Port  Carbon.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Central  Repub- 
lican club  and  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  while  his  religious*  affilia- 
tion is  given  to  the  Presbyterian  church.     Mr.  Schoen  is  a  splendid 
business  man  and  owns  considerable  real  estate  in  Pottsville,  in  which 
community  he  has  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

Schoen,  Philip,  a  member  of  the  extensive  business  firm  of  Schoen 
Bros.,  of  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born 
at  Locust  Dale,  Sept.  27,  i86t.  The  parental  home  was  transferred  to 
Pottsville  in  that  year  and  he  attended  school,  first  under  the  tuition  of 
Miss  Measey,  in  the  old  Kopitach  building,  and  later  was  transferred 
to  the  watchful  care  of  Prof.  Johnson  at  Bunker  Hill.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  left  school  and  engaged  in  driving  team  for  his  father, 
who  was  then  engaged  in  general  teaming  and  transfer  business.  Two 
years  later  he  was  entrusted  with  the  care  and  driving  of  a  heavy  team 
in  the  service  of  Stein  &  Trough,  and  in  1878  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  C.  M.  Atkins  Company  at  the  Pioneer  furnace,  No.  2,  engaged  in 
"snapping  cinders."  In  1879  he  was  weighmaster  at  Port  Carbon  for 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  was  in  the  employ  of  W.  H.  Shuman,  a  South  Center  street 
merchant.  Philip  Schoen  was  then  variously  employed  until  Novem- 
ber, 1894,  when  he  began  the  manufacture  of  cigars  on  a  limited  scale. 
During  the  incipient  stage  of  this  business  his  brother,  Jacob  B.,  was 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  417 

taken  in  as  a  partner.  The  firm  was  successful  from  the  start  and  has 
grown  until  at  the  present  time  it  is  an  important  industry  in  the  city 
of  Pottsville.  As  an  evidence  of  the  success  of  this  business  enterprise, 
it  may  be  stated  in  this  connection  that  the  subject  has  recently  pur- 
chased a  farm  of  thirty-seven  acres,  known  as  the  property  of  the  late 
Dr.  George  W.  Brown.  Half  of  this  land  has  been  platted  in  town  lots 
'  and  constitutes  what  is  known  as  Schoen's  addition  to  Port  Carbon. 
(For  further  information  in  regard  to  the  firm  of  Schoen  Bros,  and  for 
the  ancestry  of  Philip  Schoen  see  the  sketch  of  Jacob  B.  Schoen  appear- 
ing in  this  volume.)  Philip  Schoen  was  married  on  Oct.  31,  1889,  to 
Miss  Annie  S.,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Kline,  a  .contracting  painter  of 
Schuylkill  Haven.  The  only  child  bom  to  this  union  is  a  daughter, 
Laureta,  born  Feb.  i,  1891.  Mr.  Schoen  is  a  Republican  in  political 
views,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  success  of  his  party  princi- 
ples. He  was  a  member  of  the  monumental  association  at  Port  Carbon 
which  erected  the  handsome  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  soldiers 
of  the  Civil  war.  He  is  a  progressive  and  public  spirited  citizen,  and 
an  active  and  successful  business  man. 

Schoener,  George  M.,  proprietor  of  a  popular  cafe  in  Shenan- 
doah and  member  of  the  city  school  board,  was  bom  at  Pottsville,  Pa., 
June  6,  1862,  his  parents  being  Richard  J.  and  Adelia  (Griesmerr) 
Schoener,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  but  of  German  ancestry.  They 
are  now  living  in  Philadelphia.  The  father  and  four  of  his  brothers 
served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war.  The  children  of  Rich- 
ard J.  and  Adelia  Schoener  were  Harry,  who  died  in  childhood ;  Car- 
rie, now  Mrs.  Silverman  and  lives  in  Philadelphia;  and  George  M., 
whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  George  M.  Schoener  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  St.  Clair,  where  he  lived  with  his  grandfather, 
Richard  Dennis  Schoener,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  began  life 
as  a  stage  driver  for  his  uncle,  A.  J.  Schoener,  on  the  line  running  from 
Shenandoah  to  Frackville.  He  continued  in  that  occupation  for  about 
ten  years,  when  the  aggressions  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  made  the 
business  unprofitable  and  the  line  was  discontinued.  He  then  embarked 
in  the  restaurant  business  in  Shenandoah  and  continued  in  that  until  he 
started  his  present  place  of  business  in  1906.  Mr.  Schoener  is  a  pro- 
nounced Republican  in  his  political  views,  always  takes  an  active  part 
in  campaigns,  in  1905  was  a  candidate  for  county  commissioner,  and 
the  following  year  was  elected  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  is  a 
member  of  Sie  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America  and  the  Fratemal  Order  of  Eagles,  and 
affiliates  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  all  his  societies  he  is  de- 
servedly popular  because  of  his  generous  nature  and  genial  disposition. 
Mrs.  George  M.  Schoener  was  Miss  Lena  Gross,  daughter  of  Charles 
Gross,  a  representative  member  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respected 
families  in  Schuylkill  county.  The  only  child  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Schoener — a  son  named  Harry — died  in  early  childhood. 

Schraedley,  George  R.,  bookkeeper  for  the  well  known  firm  of 
Sparks  &  Parker,  was  bom  in  Trevorton,  Northumberland  county.  Pa., 
Dec.  9,  1879,  a  son  of  Isaac  N.  and  Matilda  Pauline  (Reick)  Schraed- 

27— Vol.  II 


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418  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ley.  The  father  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  bom  at 
Silver  Creek,  where  he  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Railroad  Company  as  a  clerk  and  accountant  for  more  than 
thirty  years.  The  mother  was  born  at  Trevorton.  Both  parents  are 
living,  their  home  being  at  Silver  Creek.  They  have  a  family  of  four 
sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  Frederick  William,  the  eldest,  mar- 
ried Miss  Annie  Shipe,  and  is  supply  clerk  at  Silver  Creek  colliery. 
Their  only  child  is  Miss  Violet.  George  R.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  the  second  in  order  of  birth ;  Ada  May  is  at  home ;  John  Andrew 
is  a  brakeman  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railway  and  lives  at  St. 
Clair;  Guy  Elmer  and  Catherine  Frances  are  at  home.  George  R. 
Schraedley  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Ashland,  and  com- 
pleted a  business  course  at  Williamsport  commercial  college,  being 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1900.  He  was  bookkeeper  for  the  Wyland 
Manufacturing  Company  at  Williamsport  for  one  and  a  half  years,  and 
occupied  a  similar  position  for  a  like  period  with  the  Dark  Water  Coal 
Company.  He  then  accepted  a  more  lucrative  position  in  the  employ 
of  the  Jersey  Central  Railroad  Company,  but  his  wife's  health  being 
delicate  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  the  mountains  and  took  up  his 
residence  at  Port  Carbon,  where  he  has  since  resided.  In  November, 
1905,  he  accepted  his  present  position  with  Hiram  Parker,  whose  sketch 
appears  in  this  volume.  Mr.  Schraedley  was  married  on  Feb.  17, 
1903,  to  Miss  Amelia  Runkle,  a  native  of  Mahanoy  City,  Schuylkill 
county,  and  a  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Jennette  S.  (Bebelheimer) 
Runkle.  Her  father  is  a  carpenter  and  contractor  in  Mahanoy  City. 
Mrs.  Schraedley  is  the  only  daughter  and  eldest  child  in  a  family  of 
six,  her  brothers  beine  Earle  Edwin,  John  Raymond,  Daniel  Bebel- 
heimer, Willard  and  Alonzo  Phaeon,  all  at  home.  Edwin  is  a  car- 
penter, employed  with  his  father,  and  John  R.  is  a  clerk  in  the  employ 
of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Schraedley  have  one  son,  George  Isaac,  born  Sept.  23,  1904.  They 
are  members  of  Saint  Paul  Lutheran  church,  in  Port  Carbon.  Mr. 
Schraedley  is  a  Republican  in  political  sentiments,  but  has  never  as- 
pired to  public  office. 

Schrink,  Gustavus  C,  postmaster  at  Pottsville,  and  a  prominent 
resident  of  the  place  since  1879,  is  a  native  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  where 
he  was  born  May  i,  1856,  a  son  of  Rev.  Christian  and  Julia  (Hoff) 
Schrink,  natives,  respectively,  of  Wiirtemberg  and  Alsace  Lorraine  in 
southwestern  Germany.  Mr.  Schrink  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  city,  but  by  far  the  greater  part  of  his  education 
was  acquired  in  the  more  practical  school  of  experience.  At  the  age 
of  eleven  years  he  became  an  apprentice  to  the  printer's  trade  in  the 
office  of  a  German  newspaper  published  in  Newark.  While  quite 
young  Mr.  Schrink  became  infatuated  with  the  theatrical  stage  and 
appeared  for  some  time  in  the  role  of  a  German  comedian,  but  pa- 
rental counsel  dissuaded  him  from  this  and  he  became  a  traveling  sales- 
man in  the  hardware  trade.  His  association  with  actors  and  his  natu- 
ral inclination  toward  the  stage,  however,  had  led  him  to  the  acquire- 
ment of  some  of  the  accomplishments  of  that  profession.    He  became 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  419 

an  excellent  singer  and  a  talented  musician,  while  he  is  also  quite 
noted,  locally,  as  a  writer  of  poetry.  While  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  a  traveling  salesman,  he  was  sent  to  Pottsville  to  establish  a 
branch  store  for  his  employer,  Mr.  E.  G.  Ford.  This  he  did  in  1880, 
was  soon  advanced  to  the  position  of  general  manager  and  because  of 
his  business  ability  was  made  a  partner  under  the  firm  title  of  G.  C. 
Schrink  &  Co.  The  partnership  was  dissolved  two  years  later  by  the 
withdrawal  of  Mr.  Ford,  and  Mr.  Schrink  continued  to  conduct  the 
business  successfully  until  1899,  when  it  was  sold  out,  Mr.  Schrink 
being  then  commissioned  as  postmaster  at  Pottsville.  President  Mc- 
Kinley's  choice  in  this  was  approved  four  years  later  by  Mr.  Schrink's 
reappointment  to  the  office  by  President  Roosevelt.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  has  always  been  an  active,  working  Republican,  and  has 
wielded  a  strong  influence  in  shaping  the  policies  of  his  party.  Per- 
haps no  man  in  Schuylkill  county  has  a  wider  acquaintance,  or  is  more 
favorably  known  among  influential  politicians  throughout  the  state 
than  G.  C.  Schrink.  His  jolly,  companionable  temperament  brings 
him  in  close  touch  with  the  people,  while  his  high  standing  as  a  citizen 
and  politician  renders  his  acquantance  desirable  on  grounds  of  policy. 
Mr.  Schrink  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1895  ^"d  served  four 
years  as  a  member  of  that  body,  being  accorded  honorable  positions 
at  the  head  of  some  important  committees.  He  was  assistant  sergeant- 
at-arms  in  the  Republican  national  conventions  of  1900  and  1904  and 
witnessed  the  nominations  of  the  two  great  champions  of  human 
rights,  McKinley  and  Roosevelt.  He  has  always  taken  an  active  in- 
terest in  local  aflfairs,  bearing  his  share  of  the  honors  of  municipal 
and  school  offices.  After  a  service  of  twelve  years  on  the  school 
board,  he  resigned  that  office  when  appointed  postmaster.  During  his 
residence  in  New  Jersey,  he  served  four  years  as  a  sergeant  in  Com- 
pany F,  1st  New  Jersey  state  militia.  He  was  married  on  May  24, 
1887,  to  Miss  Sarah  Kimmel,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Anna  (Big- 
ler)  Kimmel,  of  Harrisburg.  Her  mother  was  a  sister  of  the  late 
Gov.  William  Bigler.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schrink  are  members  of  Trinity 
Reformed  church.  They  have  no  children.  Mr.  Schrink  has  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  social  organizations,  charitable  institutions 
and  athletic  sports:  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Pottsville  hos- 
pital ;  has  been  a  liberal  contributor  to  that  beneficent  institution  and 
to  the  Pottsville  Benevolent  Association;  served  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  control,  and  also  as  a  member  of  the  Third  Brigade  band, 
but  accumulating  business  interests  compelled  his  resignation  from 
active  membership  in  these.  He  continues  active  affiliations  in  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle, 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  the  Heptasophs,  the  Humane  Fire  Com- 
pany; is  secretary  of  the  Pottsville  gun  club,  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania club  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  a  member  of  the  Pottsville 
Liederkranz.  In  his  home  life  Mr.  Schrink  is  a  happy  medium  be- 
tween the  social  and  the  convivial.  His  hospitality  is  only  bounded 
by  the  limits  of  the  market,  and  the  social  characteristics  of  the  fam- 


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420  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ily  are  such  as  to  impress  the  visitor  that  his  stay  is  altogether  too 
brief.  He  has  fitted  up  a  basement  room  at  his  residence,  which  he 
designates  as  his  "den,"  in  which  he  entertains  his  friends.  This  is 
truly  a  work  of  art.  The  walls  are  adorned  with  portraits  and  biog- 
raphies of  every  prominent  politician  in  the  state  aiid  nation.  He  has 
steel  portraits  and  brief  biographies  of  every  president  from  Wash- 
ington to  Roosevelt,  and  a  complete  political  history  of  the  United 
States,  this  department  being  especially  complete  with  reference  to 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  Relics  from  all  nations  are  to  be  found  here 
and  the  vari-colored  electric  lights  which  surround  the  room  show 
off  the  interior  to  the  best  possible  advantage.  Mr.  Schrink's  "den" 
is  really  "a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy  forever."  His  wireless  tele- 
phone is  an  innovation  in  the  mechanical  world  which  only  the  genius 
of  Europe  could  produce.  It  is  one  of  the  many  handsome  parlor 
adornments.  The  "old  court  house  chair"  reposes  snugly  in  a  con- 
*  spicuous  comer  in  the  "den,"  and  should  not  be  ignored  by  the  curi- 
ous visitor.  Last  but  not  least  comes  the  suggestion  that  the  nine 
barrels  of  native  wine  are  not  without  merit ! 

Schuettler,  Leonard,  a  well  known  merchant  tailor  of  Pottsville, 
was  bom  in  the  province  of  Wiirtemberg,  Germany,  Sept.  22,  1870. 
He  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  tailor's  trade  in  his  native  town  of 
Wachbach,  and  came  to  America  when  a  lad  of  sixteen  and  a  half 
years.  His  parents,  Conrad  and  Margaret  (Moser)  Schuettler,  na- 
tives of  Wiirtemberg,  remained  in  their  native  country  until  1890, 
when  they  came  to  America,  and  are  now  living  in  Pottsville,  tiie 
father  retired  from  active  business.  They  have  a  family  of  five  sons 
and  two  daughters  living,  viz.:  Charles,  George,  Frederick,  Leonard, 
August,  Catherine  and  Mary,  all  married  and  engaged  in  life's  stmg- 
gles  on  their  own  account.  The  brothers  are  mostly  engaged  in  me- 
chanical pursuits  and  all  reside  in  Pottsville  except  Frederick,  whose 
home  is  in  Reading.  Mr.  Schuettler  received  a  good  common  school 
education  in  his  native  land,  which  was  supplemented  by  a  thorough 
course  in  English  at  a  night  school  in  Philadelphia,  being  employed 
in  that  city  during  his  first  five  years  in  America.  He  was  married 
there  on  Aug.  6,  1892,  to  Miss  Pauline  Kloepfer,  who  was  bom  in 
Wiirtemberg  and  came  alone  to  America  in  1889.  She  is  a  daughter 
of  Carl  and  Caroline  Kloepfer,  natives  of  Germany,  where  they  both 
ended  their  days.  Mr.  Schuettler  brought  his  family  to  Pottsville  in 
1893,  and  established  his  present  business  at  No.  222  North  Center 
street,  which  is  also  the  family  residence.  He  employs  four  workmen 
in  his  business  and  has  a  well  established  reputation  as  a  first-class 
tailor.  Himself  and  wife  are  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
church,  in  which  he  is  one  of  the  deacons.  He  is  secretary  of  Hayden 
Lodge,  No.  44,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  has 
been  an  active  member  for  the  last  ten  years.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Liederkranz,  a  popular  German  musical  society,  and  is  a  first 
tenor  singer.  Mr.  Schuettler  is  a  Republican  on  national  issues  and 
independent  in  local  politics.    The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schuettler 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  421 

includes  the  following  named  children :  Charles,  Mary,  Emil  and  Mar- 
garet.   The  three  first  named  are  in  school. 

Schultz,  J.  W.,  M.  D.,  a  leading  physician  and  president  of  the 
board  of  health  of  Tremont,  was  bom  in  Schuylkill  county  on  March 
i8,  1873,  ^  son  of  J.  H.  and  Emma  (Ziebach)  Schultz,  both  bom  in 
Pennsylvania  of  German  parents,  and  now  residents  of  Tremont.  The 
doctor  is  the  eldest  of  their  four  children.  The  others  are :  Stella  S., 
at  home;  Anna  L.,  a  teacher  of  music;  and  Clarence  F.,  manager  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Telephone  Company  at  Harrisburg.  After  com- 
pleting the  courses  offered  in  the  common  schools  of  Tremont  Dr. 
Schultz  found  employment  as  a  clerk  in  a  drug  store.  His  ambition 
was  to  become  a  physician  and  this  work  was  a  stepping  stone.  Dur- 
ing the  three  years  he  remained  in  the  position  he  did  reading  in  a 
medical  line  under  Dr.  R.  H.  Hess,  of  Tremont,  and  when  he  had 
accumulated  sufficient  money  matriculated  at  the  Medico-Chimrgical 
college  of  Philadelphia.  In  1895  that  institution  granted  to  him  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  and  he  returned  to  Tremont  to  engage 
in  practice.  From  year  to  year  this  practice  has  grown  until  now  it 
covers  a  large  territory  and  occupies  his  entire  time.  By  successful 
work  and  strict  attention  to  duty  he  has  attained  to  a  position  of  emi- 
nence among  the  physicians  of  the  county.  He  is  a  broad  and  varied 
reader  and  has  thus  kept  in  touch  with  the  trend  of  thought  of  the 
great  leaders  of  the  profession  and  his  ideas  are  the  most  modern. 
When  the  809th  district  was  created  on  Jan.  i,  1906,  he  was  appointed 
local  state  registrar.  His  fellow  citizens  of  Tremont  have  shown  their 
appreciation  of  his  ability  and  skill  by  placing  him  at  the  head  of  th** 
board  of  health,  where  he  has  more  than  fulfilled  every  expectation. 
On  Oct.  3,  1905,  Dr.  Schultz  married  Miss  Eva  Zimmerman,  of  Sun- 
bury,  Pa.  They  have  no  children.  Mrs.  Schultz  is  a  communicant  of 
the  Episcopal  church.  The  doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Schuylkill 
county  medical  association,  but  is  identified  with  no  secret  societies. 

Schum,  Albert  D.,  a  well  known  contractor  and  builder  of  Potts- 
ville,  was  bom  in  that  city  on  Jan.  18,  1849,  his  parents  being  Daniel 
and  Mary  A.  (Erdman)  Schum,  both  natives  of  Berks  county,  Pa., 
though  the  mother  came  to  Pottsville  when  she  was  but  four  years 
old  and  there  lived  until  her  death  on  March  15,  1905,  in  the  eighty- 
first  year  of  her  age.  Her  father,  John  Erdman,  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Schuylkill  county,  locating  there  in  1828,  and  spent  most  of 
his  life  in  Pottsville,  where  he  followed  his  trade  of  boat  builder, 
though  he  owned  a  fine  farm  in  Hegins  township.  Daniel  Schum  was 
a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  came  to  Pottsville  in  1839  and  worked  as  a 
joumeyman  until  1870,  when  he  succeeded  to  the  business  of  his 
brother  Jonathan,  and  continued  in  the  business  as  a  contractor  and 
builder  until  his  death  on  March  6,  1893,  in  his  seventy-third  year. 
Five  children  of  Daniel  and  Mary  A.  Schum  grew  to  maturity,  viz.: 
Frank,  Albert  D.,  John,  Benjamin  A.  and  Katie  A.  Frank  and  John 
died  after  reaching  manhood.  Albert  D.  Schum  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Pottsville,  where  he  learned  the  carpenters'  trade  with  his 
uncle  Jonathan,  beginning  in  1865.    Upon  the  death  of  his  uncle  ia 


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422  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

1870  he  continued  with  his  father  until  the  latter's  death  in  1893,  when 
he  inherited  the  business,  which  he  still  successfully  conducts.  Thus, 
for  nearly  half  a  century,  the  Schums  have  been  engaged  in  the  build- 
ing trade,  and  many  of  the  handsome  residences -in  and  about  Potts- 
ville  were  erected  by  them.  Mr.  Schum  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  prin- 
ciples advocated  by  the  Republican  party,  though  he  is  not  what  could 
be  called  an  active  political  worker.  He  is  a  member  of  Girard  Lodge, 
No.  53,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  Camp  No.  14,  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America ;  and  Mountain  Castle,  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle,  in  which  order  he  is  the  present  district  grand  chief. 
He  married,  in  1871,  Miss  Lizzie,  daughter  of  John  K.  and  Sarah 
(Seitzinger)  Femsler,  of  Pottsville.  Three  of  the  children  bom  to 
this  marriage 'are  living,  viz.:  Daniel  A.,  Maude  M.  and  John  K. 
Maude  is  now  the  wife  of  William  Vogel. 

Schwalm,  Alfred  A.,  justice  of  the  peace  of  Hegins  and  a  market 
gardener  on  a  small  scale,  is  a  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Diebert) 
Schwalm.  At  the  time  of  his  birth.  May  23,  1857,  his  parents  were 
occupying  a  portion  of  the  grist  mill  which  the  father  owned  in  Hub- 
ley  township,  their  house  not  having  been  completed.  The  father  was 
a  native  of  Hubley  township  and  the  mother  of  Orwigsburg.  For 
some  years  the  father  was  proprietor  of  what  is  known  as  Hoffman's 
mill,  in  Hubley  township,  and  subsequently  he  and  his  brother  Peter 
operated  the  Hartman  mill,  now  owned  and  operated  by  E.  M.  Stiely. 
The  Hoffman  mill  is  a  landmark  in  Schuylkill  county,  having  been 
-erected  in  the  early  days  of  its  history.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
acquired  an  early  preliminary  educational  training  in  the  public 
schools  of  Hubley,  and  then  matriculated  at  the  Shippensburg  normal 
school.  After  leaving  that  institution  and  receiving  a  certificate  as  a 
teacher  he  engaged  m  pedagogic  work  and  was  at  it  for  nineteen 
years,  all  of  the  time  in  Hegins.  In  1885  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  and  at  successive  elections  since  that  time  he  has  been  re- 
elected to  the  office.  When  he  retired  from  his  work  as  a  teacher 
he  purchased  a  tract  of  26  acres  of  land  just  outside  of  the  cor- 
poration limits  and  here  he  has  since  been  farming  in  a  small  way, 
more  for  recreation  than  remuneration.  Sixteen  of  the  26  acres  are 
under  cultivation,  mostly  in  garden  stuffs  and  fruits.  In  1877  Mr. 
Schwalm  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alvaretta  Fisher  and  four 
children  are  the  result  of  this  union.  Leonora,  the  eldest,  is  the 
widow  of  Alfred  A.  Otto,  her  husband  having  died  in  April,  1905; 
Sarah  Louise,  a  graduate  of  the  Keystone  state  normal  school  at  Kutz- 
town,  is  now  engaged  in  teaching;  John  DeWitt  is  an  operator  for 
the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad ;  and  Anna  A.,  the  youngest,  is  at 
home  attending  school.  The  family  are  all  members  of  and  workers  in 
the  Reformed  church  of  Hegins,  of  which  Mr.  Schwalm  is  an  elder 
and  secretary.  Fraternally  he  is  prominent  throughout  the  county, 
being  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  726,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows; Camp  No.  145,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America;  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  and  Grange  No.  1,242,  of  the  Patrons 
of  Husbandry.    In  all  these  organizations  he  is  either  a  past  officer  or 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  423 

the  incumbent  of  some  official  position  at  the  present  time.  His  po- 
Htical  relations  are  strongly  Democratic,  and  as  the  successful  candi- 
date of  that  party  he  has  held  the  office  of  township  clerk.  Mr. 
Schwalm  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  popular  with  his  fellows  and  a 
sagacious  business  man. 

Schwalm,  Joseph  W.,  a  prosperous  merchant,  whose  general 
store  is  one  of  the  largest  in  Pine  Grove,  was  bom  in  Schuylkill 
county  on  Nov.  22,  1870,  a  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Diebert) 
Schwalm,  both  natives  of  the  Keystone  state.  The  father  was  for 
many  years  a  miller,  and  when  he  retired  from  that  work  he  took  to 
farming,  which  he  still  follows  in  a  small  way,  although  he  is  seventy- 
five  years  of  age.  His  wife  died  in  the  spring  of  1904  at  the  age  of 
^sixty-eight.  There  were  six  children  in  the  family.  Alfred  A.  is  a 
'justice  of  the  peace  at  Hegins  and  is  a  farmer;  Oliver  died  in  in- 
fancy; Charles  A.  succumbed  to  typhoid  fever  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Samuel  Buffington,  died  in  July,  1902, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years;  and  Jackson  M.  is  a  farmer  near 
Valley  View.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  youngest.  He  re- 
ceived a  common  school  education  and  after  the  completion  of  his 
scholastic  labors  he  spent  his  time  on  his  father's  farm  until  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age.  Then  for  three  years  he  taught  school  in  the 
winter  and  did  farm  work  in  the  summer  months.  When  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age  he  removed  to  Pine  Grove  and  became  employed 
as  a  clerk,  remaining  in  that  capacity  until  1895.  I"  April  of  that 
year  he  embarked  in  the  general  merchandise  business  for  himself  and 
has  been  most  successfully  conducting  it  since.  Two  years  after 
starting  in  business  he  purchased  the  property  on  which  the  store  is 
located,  as  well  as  the  dwelling  and  the  lot  adjoining.  The  patronage 
of  the  store  has  increased  from  year  to  year  until  now  Mr.  Schwalm 
employs  three  clerks  and  in  the  busy  seasons  even  requires  more  help. 
He  has  by  careful  management  been  able  to  keep  his  industry  going 
tlirough  the  hard  times  occasioned  by  strikes  and  lay-offs,  and  his 
industr>%  perseverance  and  honesty  have  made  for  him  a  high  place 
among  the  leading  merchants  of  the  town.  In  July,  1889,  Mr.  Schwalm 
married  Miss  Lizzie  Saltzer,  of  Schuylkill  county,  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Henry  C.  and  Ellen  (Kemble)  Saltzer.  After  Mr.  Saltzer's  death 
his  widow  became  the  wife  of  Edward  Aungst,  and  is  living  in  Pine 
Grove.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schwalm  has  been  blessed 
with  seven  children,  viz.:  Allen  Quay  and  Alvin  Clay  (twins),  Harry 
William,  Guy  Joseph,  Stanford  Saltzer,  an  unnamed  son  (deceased), 
and  Esther  Elizabeth.  The  parents  are  both  devout  communicants  of 
and  earnest  workers  in  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  the  father  is 
treasurer  of  its  Sunday  school.  He  is  also  prominently  identified 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle,  the  Independent  Order  of  America,  and  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men.  Mr.  Schwalm  takes  an  active  interest  in  local 
politics  and  in  1898  was  elected  to  the  borough  council  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket.  In  his  second  year  of  service  he  was  president  of  that 
body  and  it  was  during  his  term  that  the  paved  roads  movement  was 


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424  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

introduced  and  about  half  a  square  mile  paved  as  an  experiment  In 
1901  he  was  reelected  for  a  term  of  three  years  and  continued  presi- 
dent of  the  council,  while  the  paving  of  Main  street  was  kept  up  each 
year.  During  his  adminstration  the  borough  also  paid  off  a  certain 
amount  of  its  indebtedness  each  year,  and  at  the  end  of  his  term  Mr. 
Schwalm  was  nominated  for  a  third  time,  but  declined,  owing  to  the 
press  of  his  personal  business  affairs. 

Schwalm,  Morris  S.,  a  well  known  farmer  of  Hegins  township, 
was  bom  on  Oct.  27,  1869,  a  short  distance  west  of  Valley  View,  Pa, 
His  parents,  Emanuel  and  Maria  (Coleman)  Schwalm,  were  both 
bom  in  Hubley  township,  where  the  father  followed  farming  in  his 
early  life.  He  was  for  thirteen  years  an  assistant  in  the  survey  of 
Schuylkill  county,  then  for  nine  years  managed  a  farm  for  Preston 
Miller  in  Hegins  township,  and  was  for  three  years  engaged  in  the 
merchandise  business  at  Locustdale.  He  has  always  taken  an  active 
interest  in  politics  as  a  Republican;  was  tax  collector  for  six  years; 
served  three  terms  as  constable,  and  for  the  last  seven  years  has  been 
postmaster  at  Heg^s.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  church. 
Emanuel  and  Maria  Schwalm  had  eight  children,  of  whom  four  are 
now  living.  Alice  B.  is  the  wife  of  A.  B.  Kehler,  of  Locustdale; 
Morris  S.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Charles  is  foreman  in  a  chair 
factory  at  Sheboygan,  Wis. ;  and  Clara  is  the  wife  of  J.  T.  Hardy,  of 
Ontario,  N.  Y.  Morris  S.  Schwalm  attended  the  home  schools  until 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  he  learned  the  trade  of  butcher  and 
followed  that  occupation  for  twenty  years  at  Locustdale  and  Barry, 
Pa.  On  April  28,  1905,  he  bought  die  farm  known  as  the  Fred  Ebert 
place  in  Hegins  township,  built  a  new  nine-room  house,  in  which  he 
now  lives,  and  has  since  that  time  devoted  his  attention  to  farming. 
He  has  75  acres  of  good  land,  well  improved,  and  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  progressive  farmers  of  the  township.  Although  he  does 
a  general  farming  business,  he  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  Poland 
China  and  Chester  White  hogs  and  Rhode  Island  Red  chickens.  Mr. 
Schwalm  is  an  ardent  Republican  in  his  political  views.  In  1902  he 
was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  state  legislature,  but  was  de- 
feated in  the  election.  While  living  at  Barry  he  joined  Camp  No. 
441,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  he  is  a  charter 
member  of  Hegins  Camp,  No.  145,  of  that  order.  Mr.  Schwalm  has 
been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Laura  Young,  of  Ash- 
land. To  this  union  were  bom  four  children — Marie,  Lauretta,  Ger- 
tmde  and  Alverona.  Mrs.  Schwalm  died  in  March,  1899,  ^tnd  in 
June,  1901,  he  married  Miss  Carrie  Billman,  a  teacher  of  Barry.  Mr. 
Schwalm  was  tax  collector  of  Barry  township  for  six  years,  and  with 
his  wife  belongs  to  the  Lutheran  church.  He  began  life  with  small 
capital,  but  by  industry  and  good  management  he  has  achieved  suc- 
cess. 

Schwalm,  Peter,  a  retired  farmer  of  Reiner  City,  was  bom  in 
Hubley  township,  Schuylkill  county,  Aug.  21,  1836,  a  son  of  Frederick 
and  Catherine  (Stein)  Schwalm,  both  natives  of  Schuylkill  county. 
The  patemal  grandparents,  John  and  TilHe  Schwahn,  came  from  Ger- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  _  425 

many  and  were  among  the  pioneers  of  Hubley  township.  Frederick 
Schwalm  was  a  farmer  all  his  life  and  a  member  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church.  He  and  his  first  wife  had  thirteen  children,  of  whom 
six  are  now  living.  William  is  a  retired  farmer  and  lives  at  Valley 
View;  Emanuel  is  the  postmaster  at  Hegins;  Daniel  is  a  farmer  in 
Hubley  township;  Peter  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  a  twin  sister  of 
his,  Catherine,  lives  in  Indiana;  and  Louisa  lives  in  Illinois.  After 
the  death  of  Catherine  Schwalm  the  father  married  Sarah  Sufing. 
She  died  without  issue,  and  he  married  Harriet  Dieter,  by  whom  he 
had  three  children.  Otilla  and  Elizabeth  are  deceased  and  Jackson 
lives  in  Hegins  township.  Peter  Schwalm  was  educated  in  the  sub- 
scription and  public  schools,  his  father  being  a  director  of  the  first 
free  school  in  the  township,  and  lived  at  home  until  he  was  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  when  he  took  charge  of  his  brother  Samuel's  farm 
for  a  year  and  a  half  while  the  latter  was  in  the  army,  where  he  served 
for  three  years  and  one  month  during  the  Civil  war.  Peter  then  bought 
the  Schrob  grist  mill,  which  he  operated  for  several  years,  when  he 
sold  out  and  came  to  Porter  township,  where  he  had  purchased  129 
acres  of  land  in  the  spring  of  1866,  paying  $5,500  for  it,  though  it 
was  only  partially  cleared  apd  had  old  buildings  on  it.  Some  parts 
of  the  farm  were  so  wild  and  overgrown  with  underbrush  that  the 
foxes  came  close  to  the  farm  house  in  broad  daylight  and  carried  oflF 
the  chickens.  Peter  trapped  thirty  foxes  durine  the  first  few  years. 
This  farm  he  improved  and  put  in  good  condition,  living  there  until 
1895,  when  he  built  his  present  residence  at  Reiner  City,  his  son, 
George  M.,  taking  charge  of  the  old  home  farm.  He  also  owned  an- 
other farm  in  Hegins  township,  which  is  now  owned  by  his  son  Ells- 
worth. Mr.  Schwalm  is  an  unswerving  Republican  in  his  political 
opinions;  has  served  on  the  school  board,  as  tax  assessor  and  tax 
collector,  and  belongs  to  the  Reformed  church  at  Orwin.  On  April 
23,  1861,  he  married  Miss  Maria  Schrob,  born  Oct.  29,  1843,  ^  Hegins 
township,  her  parents,  John  and  Elizabeth  (Holdemann)  Schrob, 
having  been  among  the  early  settlers  in  that  part  of  the  county  and 
both  died  there.  They  were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  of 
their  six  children  four  grew  to  maturity.  Jacob  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five  years;  Amos  lives  at  Valley  View,  Schuylkill  county,  and 
Catherine  lives  in  Kansas.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schwalm  have  been  born 
seven  children:  Elizabeth,  now  deceased,  married  Alfred  Hand  and 
had  two  children,  Harry  and  Ira  W.  Harry  died  in  infancy  and  Ira 
married  Elizabeth  Jobe  and  has  one  son,  Elbert.  Ellsworth  is  a 
farmer  in  Hegins  township  as  already  mentioned;  he  married  Jane 
Kessler  and  his  children  are  Elmer,  Ralph,  Ruth,  Beulah,  Effie  and 
Lloyd.  One  son,  Claude,  died  in  infancy.  Elmer  married  Gertrude 
Stutzman  and  has  one  daughter,  Eva.  George,  who  runs  the  old 
home  farm,  married  Agnes  Haertter,  and  his  children  are  Lottie,  Lil- 
lie,  Corine  and  Elma.  Albert  T.  has  for  eighteen  years  been  a  teacher 
in  Porter  township.  William  O.,  a  retired  merchant  at  Tower  City, 
married  Annie  Bixler,  and  his  children  are  twin  sons,  Ira  and  Ray, 
and  one  daughter,  Merle.    Mary  E.  married  Thomas  Moser,  a  teacher 


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426  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  Porter  township,  and  their  children  are  Irma,  Clair,  Lyle,  Glenn, 
Ruth  and  Paul.  John  P.  is  a  hardware  merchant  Sit  Reinerton.  He 
married  Catherine  Lebo  and  has  two  children — Beatrice  and  Harold. 

Schwenky  John  P.,  formerly  foreman  of  the  storage  yards  of  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company  at  Schuylkill  Haven, 
was  bom  in  that  borough  on  Dec.  6,  1858,  a  son  of  Jacob  R.  and 
Mary  A.  (Krebs)  Schwenk.  He  was  an  attendant  of  the  town  schools 
until  he  reached  his  eighteenth  year,  driving  mules  on  the  canal  tow- 
path  during  his  vacations.  For  a  time  after  leaving  school  he  worked 
on  the  canal  landings  loading  boats,  etc.,  and  continued  in  that  occu- 
pation until  March,  1882,  when  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the 
coal  clerk  at  Mine  Hill  crossing  and  remained  there  for  more  than 
six  years.  In  August,  1888,  he  went  to  work  in  Weber  Bros.'  shoe 
factory,  but  did  not  remain  there  long,  leaving  in  January  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  accept  a  position  in  the  shops  of  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Company  as  car  repairer.  On  June  10,  1890,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  responsible  position  of  foreman  of  the  Schuylkill  Haven 
storage  yards,  but  resigned  that  position  on  Feb.  28>  1907,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  employed  in  the  bleachery  of  the  Union  knitting 
mills  as  receiving  and  shipping  clerk.  On  May  25,  1878,  was  solemn- 
ized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Schwenk  and  Miss  Kate  C.  Pflueger,  daugh- 
ter of  Emanuel  B.  and  Amanda  (Feger)  Pflueger,  of  Schuylkill 
Haven.  Two  children  were  bom  to  this  union,  a  son  and  a  daughter, 
both  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Schwenk  is  a  member  of  Web- 
ster Council,  No.  23,  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 
He  is  an  intensely  religious  man  and  one  who  carries  out  the  precepts 
of  the  Golden  Rule  and  the  Ten  Commandments  in  his  daily  life.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  and  earnest,  devout  workers  in  the 
United  Evangelical  church.  For  the  past  twenty-three  years  he  has 
been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  and  for  fifteen  years  has 
been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Besides  these  offices  he  is 
choir  master  and  assistant  leader  of  the  prayer  meeting  class. 

Seiberty  David  H.,  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  bank  of 
Pottsville,  Pa.,  is  a  native  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  he  was  born  on 
April  28,  1839.  He  is  a  son  of  Philip  and  Catherine  (Hummel)  Sei- 
bert,  the  former  a  native  of  Chambersburg,  and  the  latter  of  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.  The  early  life  of  Mr.  Seibert  was  spent  in  the  Keystone 
state,  which  has  also  been  his  home  since  about  the  close  of  the  Civil 
war.  He  enlisted  in  1862  as  a  private  in  Company  A,  126th  Pennsyl- 
vania infantry,  and  served  about  one  year.  In  recognition  of  his 
business  qualifications,  he  was  appointed  chief  clerk  in  the  quarter- 
master's department  in  the  department  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  later 
occupied  a  similar  position  with  the  post  quartermaster  at  Philadel- 
phia. His  clerical  position  relieved  Mr.  Seibert  of  the  menial  services 
of  the  camp  and  field,  yet  he  filled  an  important  post,  as  essential  to 
the  well-being  of  the  armies  as  that  of  carrying  a  gun  or  "policing" 
the  camp.  The  young  soldier  was  especially  fortunate  that  he  pos- 
sessed the  necessary  ability  to  perform  such  services.  Mr.  Seibert 
was  educated  at  Chambersburg  academy.    On  Jan.  14,  1873,  he  entered 


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.L  O  'TNTY 

'  .  ,      ;    '      •     *   ■       '         ivirvr,   'j'v   Iniia,   'v  lair,   I  i 
'  •  •        '         ,.   ■  ,<•  -v. a  t    :i  crchani  at  R'  n  .  - 

-  ;      1  *         1!  /:  ■  .^-  i\^o  c'i:l'''tit  —  iM-airice  ai"- 
-V.  .  :<.    ;  yNj.  iV,  ;  >r:.it'ly  f  -riM-jti  ot  thc  siorag^c  \o'. 
■  ■.    ■    .  \   r^'  4  ■•;*■.    ^.  -M!  art!   Ir  -n  ',«»r.;  any  at  Schu; '"- 

.   '  ^     '    •  -v'i  on   ivct     ^•.   iSiS.  a   ^on  of  #!av 

'     *       .-..•      ^      A^';k      iiv*  \\;:>  an  attn    'mU  f)f  the  i.  ; 
.     -  ':        ..  at'.'.'iuli  \L\ii-    <Irivij  1'  ii   ik'>  f>n  i\  ^ 

'   .       .::oiis.     }'Ui  a  IT'U'  attc:   kavr.ig  --ci!..   t    » 
.   -  .    '*.^  loading  0-  at^.  etc  ,  and  ».  /niumci  ni  .- 
[       .  '   '      .    .1.   1882,  \\:.c.i  iH*  hot'anio  a  cV-rk  m  tiie  of. 
;     .        'r-   Hill  cro^Mi.i,  and   rtn^aincl  tlit-rc   f<»r 
'Cii'ot.   iS8t'<.  tic  wont   t«/   svo^-K  '11  \\  .'!>cr   ; 
.  p"L  ren:ainriKf  .■  I'jni^,  leaviij  in   lanu.r 

-  axt^pt  a  p'.^^ii'  n  ill  lie  ^h  ^p  .f  the  ]'r.  ...■ 
.i»v  t-  (.ar  r»])a'rcr.  (Jn  June  T  :>.  .>^',*'.  .■ 
'\    .i-i'^l'o'e  f»o-ition  of  forcfuan  oi  the  ><.lii) 

«        -     \''T  !i'^icnf*i  riiat  |x»^'i'i->n  on  Ktli.  28,  I*./ ^7 

'  -n   erij)I<'Vt\l   in    tin.    tileav'h*':  v   of   :ho    i   :•:    - 
.i.»  and  >lh;>i»ing  CiC-k.     <  >n  Ma/  J5,  i8*.'",    . 
'  '    .^f  oi  Mr.  >,-^iAOMk  :r.d  Mib>  Kate  i,.  I'fnu  . 
.-.v.-*    J*,    and     AiT'o.id.i    i/o-^^v-v)    }-'t1'ie^er.    (.r 

■  '   .     nijdren  Vvere  t»'»r-.  to  d^i-  i.nio:!    a  ^-ni  ai.^     • 
1  died  i:i  infan'\\.      ^'r.   ^•;.';\i.nk  is  a  mt-n'..- 

■  r     Xo.   2\,  Jtnv  'r   '    '■  le''   of    L'nito<l   .A'neriOri. 

•  !  •*■  ^'soly  rciii;'«'n^  :  ...  1    i  ,  '  <    'e  a  ni^  rarries  >--;t 
-•    ,:.''!  Kiiir  and  dir    •  .«    '  u.  '  !5,*'itlnient.s  in  l-is  <i,r, 

.    -   '\iiV  are  nKnib<*T-  .  i   and  "arne^t,  devort   \\«  :* 
'     anj^i'i-.al  churcli.      l"*  '    the    »>'i-t  twen*\  ibre**  y- 
/-'*  :.'/  'I  :Lnt  of  tlv    S..:  <  a>    >cli-^'l.  and   fur  titr- ■ 
1      i^  '    of  die  b-  .'»"    *  f  f'ii>tsv'-       t'e^ide^  liie^i    «    . 

•  •*  *r  a.;d  as'-i^lani  t'  .-i*-.  '^  »,f  th<.   j.r:i\er  n.eeting  t., 
K-  t,   r  .:vid  H.,   {.le^ioM.r  »,f  tlie  lV;n'>\  Ivania  Xatvi. 

•  a.,  is  a  »:;un'      •   i  udi.r-un.iis,  !nd.,  where  la  \<    - 
,  '     ..^<'>.     He  i>    1  - 'M  -'i   J  Intip  and  <'atntrine  (Hr  • 
::  ,    ■    r.^ter  a  i.a'i   e  -t'  ',.',' t   i-M-!>nru.  and  the  latter     ■ 
i)^:i^     ;a       The  raiiv    1    t    ..f   .\'   .   >eihert   n  ;s  ^pent  11;   r:- 
state,  ^^ '■    -I    \t-      i-  '  i»«    :i  hi-^  !•'.•  ie  since  a\  »ut  tii  •  ckwe 
war.     t  u   e.  .»-:  d  '••   P^  2  a^  a  pr:   :/e  m  C'^'ni»any  A.  I2'*r 
vania    i '^riit^v.    <   'i    -eived    at>«' .t    one    \tar.      In    recogn:  . 
hnsinesw   i.juald'hai.  ':n,   he   \va-   :;';•. -^ted   c  .lef  rlcrk  m   '"' • 
nia>ier's  departin'-VT  m  the  d.t  jMrtuu-.r  «-t  the  Srs^^n.-^ha:  ' 
Oct  itju'd  a   ^indlar  p     -ti  )'i    AUh  th.e   i-^-r  (ji;ariern:.*-ter  a 
v\'-i      H'-  •-'er^cal  i    '-•  ■    n  r  h*  ved   \i:.  >,dM  i»t  ot  th"  re- 
"i    i      »  ..  '•,    :*nd  *'e    '     ••*   he  i^Wm  m^   -.  ijv)rtant  po,-t,  r> 
{' «•  *  '  ■'  '•    ';     .'   ti  .    .i^.,.i''     .A.    tha'   of  v,arr\injr  a  gn'i  <• 
d't    ca.'  .         !  '  r       •   *   ,   .^i  'm  tr    v,  av  t'-;.««  ia'Iy   tortnnat*- 
scs<«  .!    •!■'•   iv.      •- .-     ; 'j'-i'      to   ptrforni   >neh   services 
*va»  c^lrv^i'.-!  a*  l  '  )      "T-r  nr^  ;*ci'!e'  'v.    (  )ii  Jan.  14,  i."^7. 


I,. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  427 

the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  bank  in  Pottsville  and  served 
eighteen  years  in  the  position  of  teller.  Following  this  long  period  of 
apprenticeship  his  advancement  was  rapid  until  he  reached  the  high- 
est honors  within  the  gift  of  the  corporation.  He  was  promoted  to 
assistant  cashier  on  Jan.  20,  1891,  and  three  months  later  was  elected 
cashier,  a  position  which  he  held  for  almost  ten  years.  On  March  19, 
1901,  Mr.  Seibert  was  chosen  president  of  the  institution  which  he  had 
served  so  long  and  faithfully,  and  this  is  the  position  he  still  holds. 
It  is  needless  to  give  the  people  of  Schuylkill  county  any  introduction 
to  the  Pennsylvania  National  bank,  as  it  is  one  of  the  few  monetary 
institutions  in  Pottsville  which  has  stood  the  test  of  years  and  passed 
through  the  financial  panics  of  four  decades  with  an  unsullied  record. 
It  was  opened  for  business  on  Sept.  18,  1866,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$100,000.  The  capital  was  doubled  in  1875,  and  the  institution  has 
been  growing  in  popular  favor  with  all  the  passing  years.  Mr.  Seibert 
was  married  on  March  15,  1865,  to  Miss  Ellen  E.,  daughter  of  John 
S.  C  and  Charlotte  E.  (Lewis)  Martin,  of  Reading,  Pa.  The  only 
living  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seibert  is  Dr.  Albert  A.  Seibert,  of  Potts- 
ville, a  specialist  on  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat.  He 
married  Miss  S.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Gen.  Henry  L.  Cake,  of  Tam- 
aqua.  They  have  no  living  children.  The  subject  of  this  article  is  a 
Republican  in  political  views,  but  has  neither  sought  nor  held  political 
office.  The  family  are  Presbyterians  in  religious  affiliations,  and  Mr. 
Seibert  belongs  to  the  Masonic,  Odd  Fellows  and  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  fraternities. 

Selgrade,  John  J.,  Jr.,  an  enterprising  insurance  man  of  Girard- 
ville,  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Rutton)  Selgrade,  and  was  born  in 
the  borough  where  he  now  lives  on  July  21,  1872.  He  is  one  of  a 
family  of  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  the  other  members  being  Jacob, 
Roman,  Joseph,  Harry,  Mary  and  Barbara.  After  completing  his 
work  in  the  public  schools  the  subject  of  this  sketch  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years  found  employment  as  a  breaker  boy.  Labor  of  some  kind 
around  the  mines  and  collieries  furnished  him  a  livelihood  until  1896. 
when  he  left  the  work  to  embark  in  the  insurance  business.  The  field 
offered  a  larger  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  his  inherent  ability 
and  his  success  shows  plainly  his  fitness  for  the  position.  On  July  26, 
1899,  Mr.  Selgrade  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Sheran, 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Katherine  (McGuire)  Sheran.  The  Sherans 
were  both  bom  in  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  early  in  the  decade  between  1870  and  1880.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Selgrade  have  been  born  four  daughters,  Marguerite,  Mary,  Helen 
and  Anna.  The  family  are  all  communicants  of  St.  Joseph's  Roman 
Catholic  church  and  Mr.  Selgrade  is  a  member  and  secretary  of  St. 
Joseph's  Catholic  Legion,  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  believer  in  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  as  the  candidate  of  that  po- 
litical organization  he  has  three  times  been  elected  to  the  office  of 
auditor.  At  the  present  time  he  is  the  representative  of  the  Pruden- 
tial Life  Insurance  Company  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest 
solicitors  in  point  of  service.    He  comes  of  a  family  of  pioneers  and 


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428     *  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

patriots  on  the  maternal  side,  having  had  three  uncles  in  the  army  of 
the  United  States  both  during  and  after  the  Civil  war.  One  uncle^ 
Armour  Rutton,  was  killed  in  the  last  day  of  fighting  in  the  Wilder- 
ness; another,  Roman,  was  a  member  of  the  company  sent  out  to 
assist  General  Custer  and  arrived  at  the  Little  Big  Horn  just  too  late 
to  be  of  service  to  that  distinguished  leader  and  his  gallant  band. 
Ferdinand  Rutton,  the  mother's  youngest  brother,  is  now  living  in 
Philadelphia,  but  for  fifteen  years  was  a  soldier  in  the  r^^lar  army. 
Mr.  Selgrade  is  a  man  of  fine  business  capacity,  excellent  judgment 
and  genial,  hearty  manner  which  makes  him  a  host  of  friends. 

Seltzer,  Henry  H.,  the  genial  register  and  clerk  of  the  orphans' 
court,  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill 
county.  He  is  the  youngest  son  and  ninth  child  iit  a  family  of  twelve 
children  born  to  Conrad  and  Dorothea  Seltzer.  One  member  of  this 
family  died  in  childhood  and  eleven  are  now  living.  Conrad  Seltzer 
and  his  wife  were  both  natives  of  Germany,  but  were  married  in 
Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  Dec.  lo,  1839,  whither  Mr.  Seltzer  had  immi- 
grated in  1832,  a  portion  of  his  father's  family  accompanying  him  at 
Siat  time.  Conrad  Seltzer  was  among  the  pioneers  in  the  butchering 
business  in  Pottsville  and  Minersville,  and  established  a  large  and 
profitable  business  as  a  dealer  in  live  stock — the  nucleus  of  the  present 
Seltzer  Packing  Company,  operated  by  his  sons.  He  served  one  term 
as  county  treasurer,  being  elected  in  1864  by  the  Democratic  party, 
with  which  he  affiliated.  He  was  an  active  and  conscientious  member 
of  the  German  Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  held  the  positions  of 
elder  and  trustee  for  many  years,  and  his  wife,  who  in  maidenhood 
was  Dorothea  E.  Roehrig,  was  a  consistent  Christian  woman  and  a 
devoted  wife  and  mother.  Conrad  Seltzer  was  a  worthy  example  of 
the  results  which  may  be  achieved  by  industry,  economy  and  intelli- 
gent eflFort.  He  began  his  business  career  in  America  in  a  very  hum- 
ble manner,  occupying  a  small  log  house  at  Fishbach,  a  suburb  of 
Pottsville,  where  the  Seltzer  pacWng  house  is  now  located.  This, 
one  of  the  largest  industries  of  its  kind  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  is 
the  outgrowth  of  his  business  sagacity,  augmented  by  that  of  his  pos- 
terity. He  died  in  Pottsville,  Sept.  2,  1890.  Following  are  the  names 
of  the  children  of  Conrad  and  Dorothea  Seltzer:  William  H.  and 
Albert  W.  are  engaged  in  the  meat  packing  business  and  proprietors 
of  the  Seltzer  Packing  Company;  Amelia  is  the  widow  of  Dr.  R.  F, 
Krebs,  late  of  Reading;  Charles  F.  is  a  harness  dealer  in  Pottsville; 
Josephine  became  the  wife  of  C.  R.  Kear  and  resides  at  Minersville, 
in  this  county ;  John  C.  is  manager  of  Swift  &  Co.'s  business  at  Read- 
ing ;  G.  Fred  is  in  the  plumbing  business  in  Pottsville ;  Edward  is  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  fruit  growing  at  Shelton,  Maryland ;  Clara  is 
the  wife  of  F.  P.  Mortimer,  a  prominent  merchant  in  Pottsville ;  Henry 
H.,  of  this  sketch,  was  the  next  in  order  of  birth,  and  Bertha  E.  com- 
pletes the  family  circle.  She  is  the  wife  of  Frederick  E.  Zerbey, 
superintendent  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company,  with  home 
at  Wilkes  Barre.  Henry  H.  Seltzer  was  bom  in  Norwegian  township, 
Schuylkill  county,  Dec.  1,  1863;  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  429 

of  Pottsville,  and  was  employed  with  his  brothers  in  the  packing  busi- 
ness for  some  thirteen  years.  He  learned  the  brewing  business  with 
the  firm  of  D.  G.  Yuengling  &  Son,  and  was  employed  by  this  firm  as 
brewer  of  ale  at  their  establishment  in  Harlem,  N.  Y.,  for  six  years. 
He  was  deputy  sheriff  of  Schuylkill  county  in  1904-05,  and  was 
elected  to  his  present  position  from  that  office  at  the  general  election 
of  1905.  He  took  possession  of  his  office  on  Jan.  i,  1906,  and  has 
surrounded  himself  with  a  corps  of  capable  and  obliging  deputies  and 
clerks.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  political  affiliations,  and  a  recognized 
leader  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  Besides  the  offices  mentioned,  he 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council  and  school  board.  On 
Aug.  II,  1886,  Mr.  Seltzer  married  Miss  Carrie  E.,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward and  Susan  (Wagner)  Nagle,  of  Pottsville.  His  wife's  family, 
like  his  own,  is  one  prominently  identified  with  the  history  of  Potts- 
ville. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seltzer  are  without  children,  but  their  domestic 
lives  are  happy  and  congenial.  The  subject  of  this  article  sustains 
relations  with  a  number  of  fraternal  societies,  the  most  prominent 
among  which  are  Camp  No.  14,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  Amer- 
ica, of  Pottsville;  Lodge  No.  207,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks ;  Aerie  No.  r34,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  the  Humane 
Fire  Company. 

Seltzer  Irvin  A.,  for  many  years  a  prominent  and  distinguished 
teacher  of  Schuylkill  county,  was  bom  in  Ringtown,  where  he  now 
resides,  on  Dec.  20,  1866,  and  is  one  of  five  sons  bom  to  Benjamin 
and  Barbara  (Breisch)  Seltzer.  The  others  are  Arlen  F.,  Harper  A., 
Richard  R.  and  Emerson  B.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  been  an 
educator  the  better  part  of  his  life.  In  1885  he  began  teaching  in  Ring- 
town  in  the  imgraded  school.  Four  years  later  he  was  graduated  at 
the  Keystone  state  normal  school  at  Kutztown  and  spent  the  school 
year  of  1889-1890  as  principal  of  the  Milford,  Pike  county,  schools. 
In  1890  he  returned  to  Ringtown  and  was  elected  principal  of  the 
high  school.  For  fifteen  years  he  was  the  incumbent  of  the  position, 
resigning  during  the  term  ending  in  June,  1905.  He  attended  the  nor- 
mal school  at  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  for  a  time,  taking  a  scientific  course 
in  that  institution,  and  in  1905,  after  successfully  passing  the  exam- 
inations given  at  the  Bloomsburg  state  normal  school,  he  was  granted 
a  teacher's  certificate  in  the  new  normal  course.  Since  his  resigna- 
tion as  principal  of  the  high  school  he  has  relinquished  all  pedagogic 
work  and  confined  himself  to  market  gardening.  He  owns  a  farm 
of  108  acres  just  outside  of  Ringtown,  beautifully  located  at  the  base 
of  a  mountain.  It  was  formerly  a  portion  of  the  old  Dresher  place 
and  contains  within  its  boundaries  the  famous  Dresher  spring.  On 
Sept.  27,  1902,  Mr.  Seltzer  married  Miss  Anna  S.  Dresher,  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Anna  (Lindermuth)  Dresher.  She  is  one  of  thirteen 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living,  the  others  being  Peter,  Boyd,  George, 
Henry,  Charles,  David,  Mahala,  Elizabeth,  Nima,  Emma,  Fannie  and 
Ida.  The  Seltzers  worship  at  the  Ringtown  Lutheran  church.  Mr. 
Seltzer's  name  in  connection  with  any  educational  project  in  the  bor- 


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430  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ough  or  county  is  ample  proof  that  such  enterprise  is  for  the  good  of 
the  community. 

Seltzer,  J.  Walter,  D.  D.  S.,  a  popular  dentist  of  Pottsville,  is 
a  son  of  William  H.  and  Anna  B.  (Thumm)  Seltzer,  both  natives  of 
Schuylkill  county,  where  the  Seltzer  family  has  been  prominent  in 
business  and  social  life  since  early  pioneer  days.  Conrad  Seltzer,  the 
paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  article,  was  a  native  of 
Marburg,  Hessen,  Germany,  bom  Sept.  17,  181 7,  and  came  to  Potts- 
ville  wi3i  a  portion  of  his  parental  family  in  1832.  He  established 
the  extensive  stock  and  packing  business  now  operated  by  his  sons, 
William  H.  and  A.  W.  Seltzer,  the  former  being  the  father  of  Dr.  J. 
Walter,  of  this  sketch.  Conrad  Seltzer  began  his  business  career  in 
America  with  limited  means,  and  occupied  a  small  log  house  at  Fish- 
bach,  near  the  site  of  the  eastern  steel  mill,  but  later  developed  through 
his  industry  and  efficient  management  the  packing  company,  which  is 
to-day  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  the  kind  in  the  county.  His 
first  venture  in  business  was  as  proprietor  of  a  meat  market,  which 
was  located  opposite  the  Exchange  hotel,  on  Center  street.  He  was 
in  the  same  business  at  Minersville  for  several  years,  but  in  1858  re- 
tired to  his  farm  known  as  the  *' Bull's  Head/'  and  there  continued  as 
a  general  breeder  of  and  dealer  in  stock  until  he  retired  in  1889.  This 
was  the  nucleus  of  the  extensive  packing  business  and  trade  in  stock 
since  developed  and  maintained  by  the  sons.  Conrad  Seltzer  was 
married  on  Dec.  10,  1839,  to  Dorothy  E.  Roehrig.  They  had  a  fam- 
ily of  twelve  children,  eleven  of  whom  lived  to  years  of  maturity.  Mr. 
Seltzer  served  one  term  as  county  treasurer,  elected  as  a  Democrat  in 
1864.  He  was  a  zealous  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church,  in 
which  he  held  numeous  offices.  His  death  occurred  in  Pottsville,  Sept. 
2,  1890.  Dr.  J.  W.  Seltzer  was  born  in  Pottsville,  July  8,  1878,  and 
his  elementary  education  was  acquired  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town.  He  chose  dental  surgery  as  his  life  profession;  was 
graduated  at  the  Philadelphia  dental  college  in  the  class  of  1902;  en- 
gaged in  practice  in  Philadelphia  for  about  a  year,  going  thence  to 
Mahanoy  City,  Schuylkill  county,  for  two  years  and  a  half;  and  in 
September,  1905,  he  opened  his  present  offices  in  Pottsville,  making 
his  home  with- his  parents.  Dr.  Seltzer  is  a  young  man  of  excellent 
professional  qualifications  and  has  been  successful  beyond  his  most 
sanguine  hopes.  He  is  a  member  of  Pottsville  Lodge,  No.  207,  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Xi,  Psi,  Phi,  college 
fraternity.  In  political  views  he  supports  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party  and  his  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  German 
Lutheran  church. 

Seltzer,  Prof.  Livingston,  the  popular  and  efficient  county  super- 
intendent of  schools  in  Schuylkill  county,  is  descended  from  Revo- 
lutionary stock  and  traces  his  ancestry  in  the  county  to  the  earliest 
settlers  of  McKeansburg.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Baltzer  Bock, 
served  under  Washington  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  participated 
in  a  number  of  battles  under  that  renowned  chieftain,  notably  that  of 
Trenton,  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  rfessians,  who  there  con- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  431 

fronted  Washington's  army.  The  paternal  great-great-grandfather  of 
Livingston  Seltzer,  also  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  British,  confined  in  their  prison  pen  on  Long  Island,  where  he 
died  from  exposure  and  starvation  and  his  ashes  still  repose  near  the 
scene  of  his  cruel  death.  Baltzer  Bock,  mention  of  whom  may  be 
found  in  the  historical  volume,  founded  the  first  English-speaking 
school  in  Schuylkill  county,  this  .school  being  opened  in  1794  at  Mc- 
Keansburg.  He  donated  land  for  educational  and  religious  purposes, 
the  church  which  his  beneficence  founded  being  opened  for  religious 
worship  a  few  years  later  than  the  school.  Prof.  Livingston  Seltzer 
was  born  in  New  Ringgold,  Schuylkill  county,  March  20,  1862,  a  son 
of  William  W.  and  Hannah  M.  Seltzer,  both  natives  of  Schuylkill 
county,  the  former  bom  at  Patterson  in  1831,  and  the  latter  at  Mc- 
Keansburg  in  1835.  William  W.  Seltzer  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil 
war,  serving  about  two  years  as  a  member  of  Company  K,  48th  Penn^ 
sylvania  infantry,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged  by  reason  of 
disability  incurred  in  service,  being  at  the  time  of  his  discharge  a  cor- 
poral of  his  company.  Professor  Seltzer  received  his  elementary  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  McKeansburg  and  then  entered  upon 
a  course  of  normal  training  at  the  state  normal  school  at  Kutztown, 
where  he  graduated  as  president  of  the  class  of  1887.  He  was  em- 
ployed as  a  teacher  in  Rush  township  for  one  year  after  his  gradua- 
tion, when  he  accepted  a  more  lucrative  position  at  Tower  City,  and 
continued  there  for  two  years,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  principal- 
ship  of  the  Palo  Alto  schools.  This  position  he  held  for  fifteen  years 
or  until  elected  to  the  county  superintendency  in  May,  1905.  Mr. 
Seltzer's  practical  experience  in  all  grades  of. the  teaching  profession 
amply  qualifies  him  for  the  arduous  duties  of  this  important  office  and 
his  peculiar  adaptability  to  the  work  is  recognized  by  all.  He  prefers 
to  stand  aloof  from  party  differences  in  political  matters  and  this  char- 
acteristic in  his  nature  enables  him  to  judge  impartially  of  the  merits 
of  all  who  come  before  him  in  an  official  capacity,  with  the  result  that 
the  examination  paper  under  such  an  official  must  stand  upon  its  own 
merits,  a  condition  which  does  not  exist  in  all  cases.  Mr.  Seltzer  has 
been  twice  married,  his  first  wife  having  been  Miss  Kate  E.,  daughter 
of  the  late  George  and  Hannah  GangloflF.  This  union  was  blessed 
with  a  son  and  daughter,  Raymond  Livingston  and  Hilda  Edith,  pop- 
ular young  people  just  budding  into  years  of  maturity,  and  both  about 
to  graduate  from  the  Kutztown  state  normal  school.  Mrs.  Seltzer 
died  in  1895  and  three  years  later  the  professor  was  married  to  Mrs. 
Vienna  Kershner,  his  present  companion.  Professor  Seltzer  is  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  past  master  of  Pulaski 
Lodge,  No.  2x6;  a  member  of  Mountain  City  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  and  Constantine  Commandery,  Knights  Templars.  He  also 
belongs  to  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America  and  Sons  of 
Veterans. 

Sembach,  John,  a  retired  miner  and  one  of  the  substantial  citi- 
zens of  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  Alsace,  France,  Aug.  6,  1842.  His 
parents  were  George  and  Mary    (Yerk)    Sembach,  both  natives  of 


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432  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

France,  where  the  father  was  a  laborer.     In  1866  they  came  to  the 
United  States  and  the  father  and  youngest  son  obtained  employment 
as  slate  pickers  at  the  No.  10  colliery  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Naviga- 
tion Company  and  did  some  gardening  as  well.    The  father  died  in 
1893  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  and  his  wife  passed  away  three  years 
later  at  the  age  of  seventy-one.     They  were  both  earnest  and  con- 
scientious members  of  the  Lutheran  church.     Of  their  twelve  chil- 
dren but  six  are  now  living  and  but  one  besides  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  Jacob,  a  teamster  of  Tamaqua,  is  in  this  county.    John  Sem- 
bach  came  to  the  United  States  in  1857  with  neighbors  and  friends, 
tocating  first  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained  for  a  number  of  years, 
working  on  a  farm  most  of  the  time.    He  then  purchased  a  farm  in 
Maryland  and  sent  for  his  father  and  mother,  but  they  were  not  sat- 
isfied with  agricultural  life  and  he  brought  them  to  Tamaqua  in  Au- 
gust, 1866.    He  obtained  employment  first  as  a  laborer  about  the  mines, 
but  subsequently  was  made  a  miner  and  continued  at  that  labor  until 
he  retired  in  1900.    He  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  public 
affairs  and  for  a  year  was  a  member  of  the  town  council.    On  April 
II,  1868,  Mr.  Sembach  married  Miss  Salome  M.  Lercher,  who  came 
to  the  United  States  from  the  same  region  in  France  where  he  was 
bom.     Five  of  their  children  are  living.     Albert  George  is  a  bar- 
tender, in  Philadelphia ;  John  married  Miss  Helen  Samuels,  of  Cata- 
sauqua,  and  is  a  teamster  in  Tamaqua;  William  married  Miss  Lizzie 
Smouth  and  is  a  barber ;  Sallie  is  the  wife  of  John  Mellens^  a  carpen- 
ter in  the  Reading  shops,  and  the  mother  of  three  sons,  John  W.,  and 
Harry  and  Ellsworth  (twins)  ;  and  Fred  is  a  plumber  in  Tamaqua. 
The  deceased  members  are  George,  who  died  young ;  Charles  was 
killed  while  employed  on  the  railroad,  and  left  a  widow,  formerly 
Martha  Lindeman,  and  two  children,  Elizabeth  and  Charlotte;  Mary 
was  but  thirteen  months  old  when  she  passed  away ;  Jacob  died  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  years ;  and  Hannah,  who  died  in  her  third  year,  and 
Martin  at  the  age  of  six  months,  passed  away  within  eleven  days  of 
each  other.    Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sembach  are  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church,  in  which  for  fifteen  years  Mr.  Sembach  was  a  deacon. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.    He 
is  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  the  community. 

Sheafer,  Peter  W. — The  annals  of  Schuylkill  county  present 
the  names  of  many  men  prominently  identified  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  region,  particularly  in  the  coal  industry,  but  no  name 
is  more  thoroughly  endeared  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  than  that 
of  P.  W.  Sheafer.  He  was  a  man  broad  enough  to  embrace  the 
whole  scope  of  human  intelligence  with  reference  to  those  things 
which  engaged  his  Hfe^time  energies,  and  the  results  of  his  labors 
are  of  incalculable  value  to  the  generations  which  are  to  succeed 
him.  Peter  W.  Sheafer  was  born  in  Halifax,  Dauphin  county, 
Pa.,  March  31,  1819.  He  was  the  son  of  Henry  Sheafer,  a  prom- 
inent pioneer  of  Dauphin  county,  who  was  president  of  the  Lykens 
Valley    Railroad    Company;    developed    and    superintended    the 


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.1.^'  \i''jnji"Cst  ^on  obtained  oniplo. '::.•■  : 
■/!:('r\  r-i  the  Lcl/j^h  Co:\\  an<l  N'a-.  .. 
:.'- lolling  as)  well.     The  father  diei' 
V     u'^u  h'S  wife  passed  aw  a},  tr.ret  y*';-' 
i^c.     Thoy  wore  hcth  earnest   and  ^'-^'t 
111',  "at'   t.hurch.     (A  tiicir  t^^clve  '^* 
"ni  'lut  one  besides  t^ie  subject  of  t 
^u'rvji.a.  is  in  this  countv.     h-hn  >■/' 
•  ■-  .  •    I  S3 7  with  neighbors  and  frier   - 
Ivif  h*'  rcn\iin«'d  for  a  nninlh  r  of  j^^y 
:r  "n'i.f.     He  thin  purchased  a  farn^    • 
■'ur  u?^  1  nunhtr,  but  they  were  nr.t  ^. ' 
.'  lie  hroi'tdn  them  to  THmai[ua  m 
'"  r.  .'•t  t'lr^t  as  a  laborer  about  the  niiij- 
..nu'i  and  Lor.tiniied  at  that  labor  ur^-' 
iiwavs  taken  a  lively  interest  in  pul    - 
Mv  i>ii)fT  of  the  town  council.     (  )n  Apr 
d  Mi-s  Salome  \f.  Lercher,  who  can^- 

■  -' nie  reiiion  in  France  where  he  wi- 
:i-'-   hvnii^.      Alb^t   George   is   a  h^r 

■  r.:,^:['^i\  Mi-^  Helen  Samuels,  of  Cata 
=  ;ira«jua:  W'dl'am  married  ^^i^-  Liz/i-. 

i>  lilt*  wife  of  John  Mellens,  a  caqx:r 
'••'0  innthcr  of  three  sons,  John  \\'.,  aP'. 
-^.u]   Krrvl  is  a  plumber  in  Tr'ma(}v-'- 
f..r.^e.   who   di^-d   young:   Charles    a  .- 
railroad,   anfl   left  a  widow,    f'^r'.^"T' 
!.i!iren,  KHzaheth  and  Charlcttc:  V^i' 
I  '.n  slie  parsed  away;  Jacob  di^^^d  at  t' *- 
'.^'Vah,  who  died  in  her  third  >e;ir    ar 
*lis.  j.a  >cfl  away  within  eleven  r:.^ 
^•v.  ?'inl»ach  are  m- nbers  of  the  L." 
f  tut  :en  yt-ars  Mr.  Sembach  was  a  do?;  - 
'  id  fraternally  he  is  identified  with 
Lays  and  the  Knights  of  Pxthias.     i 
vt  t.s  (,f  the  eommimity. 
T  nals    of    Schuvlkili    county    pr»  ■ 
^•inently  identified  with   the  dev*  • 
.;-  ::i  t!u»  coal  industry,  hut  nv  1 
i'»  t»;e  ii(\arts  of  the  people  than 
1   :nai'   br'Uid   eni>utrh  to  embratt 
J  '\':o  with  reference  tw  tho<e  t* 
.  -    .i«'N.  and  ihe  results  of  his  '. 
h^   .N'm-ra- i-  Tjs  winch   are  to  .-u.' 
"•»  -r^i    in    l!:ili^a\.    Dauphin    c 
Mt    s. '11  of  Tlt'-iiy  Sheafer.  a  r* 
^  .    V  ^  .  J  A\  .t<  prt'.si(l(  rt  of  tl:e  I  <    ■ 
'I 'v  ;    :    'i      rid     <'iperintondo  . 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  433 

Lykens  Valley  coal  mines  at  Wiconisco,  and  in  1834  introduced 
anthracite  coal  into  the  Susquehanna  markets.  Peter  W.  Sheafer 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  locality,  and  this  pre- 
liminary training  was  supplemented  by  a  thorough  course  at  Ox- 
ford academy,  New  York.  His  early  associations  with  his  father's 
business  had  much  to  do  in  shaping  his  future  life-work,  and  it 
was  in  the  real  battle  of  life  that  he  finished  his  education  in  the 
full  measure  of  years  allotted  to  man.  While  but  a  youtll,  Mr. 
Shaefer  became  interested  in  the  geological  formation  of  the  coal 
measures  in  the  Lykens  Valley,  with  which  he  was  familiar,  and 
this  led  to  further  investigations,  and  ultimately  to  his  being  chosen 
as  a  member  of  the  first  geological  survey  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
1836  Professor  Rogers  selected  this  youth  of  seventeen  as  a  mem- 
ber of  his  corps,  and  he  was  assigned  to  duty  with  Professor 
Whelpley,  during  the  years  1837  ^^^  1838,  in  surveying  and 
mapping  the  southern  and  middle  anthracite  coal  fields.  At  this 
time  was  worked  out  the  complex  structure  of  these  main  basins, 
showing  their  canoe-like  shapes,  their  combination  of  steep  and 
gentle  Mips,  and  the  general  conformation  of  the  coal  measures 
with  such  a  degree  of  accuracy  that  the  second  geological  sur- 
vey, thirty  to  fifty  years  later,  simply  elaborated  their  work.  Mr. 
Sheafer  resigned  his  position  in  1839,  ^^  again  assist  his  father, 
with  wHom  he  remained  until  1848,  when  he  moved  to  Pottsville 
as  a  surveyor  and  engineer,  first  assisting  and  then  succeeding 
Samuel  B.  Fisher.  From  this  time  until  the  end  of  his  life,  Mr. 
Sheaf er's  services  were  in  universal  demand  by  the  land  owners 
and  coal  operators  in  the  Schuylkill,  Mahanoy,  and  Beaver  Mead- 
ow districts.  His  reports,  of  which  there  are  hundreds,  cover  al- 
most every  tract  in  these  regions.  Mr.  Sheafer  in  cooperation 
with  William  Parker  Foulke  and  other  gentlemen  of  Philadelphia, 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  state  appropriation,  in  185 1,  to  complete 
the  work  of  the  first  geological  survey,  and  thereby  gave  to  the 
world  the  admirable  work  of  Professor  Rogers.  With  the  re- 
sumption of  this  work,  in  185 1,  Mr.  Sheafer  took  charge  of  the 
underground  portion  of  it,  and  connected  every  working  mine 
with  the  accurate  surface  survey  conducted  by  others  of  the  corps. 
Professor  Lesley  said  of  Mr.  Sheafer :  "He  was  the  geologist  of  the 
survey  in  185 1,  par  excellence,  knowing  more  of  the  field  than  the 
rest  of  us  combined."  There  were  a  number  of  men  engaged 
on  this  survey  who  have  attained  eminence  in  their  profession. 
Mr.  Sheafer  laid  out  the  towns  of  Ashland,  Girardville,  Mahanoy 
City,  Shenandoah,  Mount  Carmel,  Gilberton,  Mahanoy  Plane  and 
others  of  the  prosperous  towns  and  villages  of  Schuylkill  and 
adjoining  counties.  He  located  the  first  mines  in  the  Shenandoah 
and  Mahanoy  valleys,  and  lived  to  see;  that  part  of  the  county 
grow  from  a  wilderness  to  a  populous  and  prosperous  community, 
and  the  coal  production  from  nothing  to  millions  of  tons.  His 
untiring  energies  were  devoted  to  the  development  of  the  coal 
fields  in  the  anthracite  regions,  and  his  familiarity  with  the  geo- , 
logical  formations  led  to  his  services  being  sought  in  other  local- 

28— Vol.  II 


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434  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ities.  Mr.  Sheafer  was  employed  in  the  examination  of  coal  lands, 
and  in  the  development  of  mines  all  over  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  His  reports  cover  investigations  in  Nova  Scotia,  Rhode 
Island,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Alabama,  Tennessee,  Kentucky, 
Indian  Territory,  Texas,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Wyoming  and 
Washington.  In  1889  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  coal 
waste  commission  to  investigate  the  economical  production  of 
anthracite,  of  which  commission  he  was  a  member  at  his  death. 
He  was  frequently  called  to  give  expert  testimony  on  coal  and 
coal  lands,  one  of  the  latest  occasions  of  this  kind  being  in  the 
celebrated  Coxe-Lehigh  Valley  case,  before  the  Interstate  com- 
merce commission.  During  the  active  years  of  his  life,  Mr. 
Sheafer  compiled  many  maps  and  tables  of  the  coal  trade,  this 
accumulation  of  valuable  statistical  matter  being  sufficient  to  fill 
many  volumes  of  rare  scientific  literature.  One  of  his  works  was 
the  historical  map  of  Pennsylvania,  published  in  1875,  ^Y  the  his- 
torical society  of  Pennsylvania.  This  production  shows  patient 
research,  and  wonderful  aptitude  for  statistical  details.  The  En- 
cyclopaedia Britannica  was  indebted  to  Mr.  Sheafer  for  an  ex- 
haustive article  on  coal,  published  in  the  American  supplement 
to  that  work.  He  also  delivered  addresses  before  various  scien- 
tific societies,  and  read  papers  before  the  American  association  for 
the  advancement  of  science,  of  which  organization  he  was  an 
honored  member.  He  was  also  a  member  of  many  other  societies 
of  a  literary  and  scientific  character,  among  which  may  be  men- 
tioned the  American  philosophical  society,  the  Academy  of  natural 
sciences,  of  Philadelphia,  the  historical  society  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  Amercian  institute  of  mining  engineers.  In  local  affairs 
Mr.  Sheafer  took  an  active  interest,  and  was  foremost  in  the  pro- 
motion of  educational,  religious  and  charitable  interests.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Pottsville  board  of  education  for  a  number  of 
years,  during  which  time  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the 
high  school.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Potts- 
ville benevolent  association,  organized  in  1877,  and  its  kindred 
charitable  institution,  the  children's  home.  He  was  one  of  the 
originators  of  the  Pottsville  Athenaeum,  and  was  the  president  of 
this  literary  society  for  several  years.  Many  valuable  books  were 
donated  to  this  institution  from  his  private  library.  Mr.  Sheafer 
was  largely  interested  in  various  enterprises  for  the  employment 
of  the  people,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  development  of 
Pottsville.  His  political  affiliations  were  always  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  in  the  success  of  which  he  manifested  great  interest. 
He  was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  during  the  campaign  of 
1884.  The  only  public  office  which  he  ever  accepted,  except  as 
previously  mentioned,  was  the  honorary  position  of  United  States 
assay  commissioner,  to  which  he  was  appointed  in  1879.  M^- 
Sheafer  was  married  in  1848  to  Miss  Harriet  N.  Whitcomb  of 
Springfield,  Vt.  Three  sons  and  one  daughter  survive  him.  The 
subject  of  this  article  continued  an  active  business  career  through- 
out his  entire  lifetime,  never  relaxing  his  energies  until  stricken 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  435 

with  the  fatal  illness  which  carried  him  away  on  March  26,  1891. 
He  died  at  Brown's  Mills-in-the-Pines,  N.  J.,  whither  he  had  gone 
to  recuperate  failing  health.  Mr.  Sheafer  was  an  active  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  but  his  philanthropy  was  not 
bounded  by  church  creed,  and  he  contributed  of  his  means  to  the 
support  of  religious  enterprises  of  whatever  name  or  doctrine. 

Shearer,  Robert  C,  business  manager  of  the  Chronicle  Publishing 
Company  of  Pottsville,  was  born  in  that  borough  on  March  18, 
1874,  a  son  of  James  R.  and  Rachel  (Dewald)  Shearer.  The  father, 
a  native  of  Milton,  Pa.,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army  during 
the  Civil  war  and  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  engaged  as 
a  contractor  and  builder  until  his  death,  in  1888.  The  mother 
was  born  in  Reading  and  prior  to  her  marriage  was  a  school  teacher 
in  the  Pottsville  schools.  Her  demise  occurred  in  June,  1902.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  second  child  of  his  father's  second 
marriage,  the  first  having  died  in  infancy.  He  has  a  half-sister^ 
Mrs.  H.  E.  Wyckoff  of  Ridley  Park,  Delaware  county.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  of  his  native  city,  but  did  not  go  farther  than 
the  grammar  grades,  leaving  school  to  go  into  the  job  printing 
office  of  an  uncle,  Robert  D.  Colborn.  When  he  had  mastered  the 
printer's  trade  he  went  to  Philadelphia  and  worked  for  a  time, 
but  upon  his  return  he  purchased  his  uncle's  interest.  Previous 
to  his  return,  however,  he  canvassed  for  nearly  a  year  in  the  in- 
terest of  Johnson's  Universal  Cyclopaedia.  In  1901  Mr.  Shearer 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  job  printing  plant  to  the  Chronicle 
Publishing  Company  and  entered  the  employ  of  that  concern  as  a 
solicitor.  In  that  capacity  he  remained  three  years  and  then  in 
May,  1905,  Mr.  Charles  Meyers  purchased  the  plant  and  Mr. 
Shearer  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  business  department,  the 
position  he  now  holds.  On  Aug.  17,  1899,  Mr.  Shearer  married 
Miss  Amy  C.  Bassett,  a  native  of  Pottsville.  The  first  child  born 
to  this  union,  a  son  named  William  died  in  infancy.  A  second 
child,  Emily  Rachel,  is  still  living.  In  religious  matters  Mr. 
Shearer  is  identified  with  the  Baptist  church  and  his  wife  is  a 
communicant  of  the  Episcopal  faith.  Politically  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  the  only  secret  order  to  which  he  belongs  is  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Heptasophs.  He  is  recognized  as  a  leading  busi- 
ness man  and  is  a  prominent  factor  in  the  commercial  life  of  the 
city. 

Sheidy,  Phaon  E.,  captain  of  Company  G,  4th  Pennsylvania 
infantry,  borough  treasurer,  furniture  dealer  and  undertaker  of  Pine 
Grove,  was  bom  on  Nov.  22,  1874,  in  the  township  where  he  now  re- 
sides. He  is  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Allamina  (Seidel)  Sheidy,  both 
bom  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  where  for  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  the 
father  was  a  farmer.  For  a  score  of  years  he  was  proprietor  of  the 
Hotel  Pennsylvania,  during  which  time  he  was  a  member  of  the 
borough  council.  The  mother  is  now  sixty-nine  years  of  age  and 
she  and  her  husband,  who  retired  from  active  business  life  some  years 
ago,  make  their  home  in  Pine  Grove.  Their  six  children  are  Ella, 
the  widow  of  James  R.  Merkle  of  Lebanon ;  Linnie  V.,  living  in  Pin^ 


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436  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Grove;  Mary  A.,  proprietress  of  a  department  store  in  Pine  Grove; 
Anna  M.,  a  saleswoman  in  the  same  store ;  Carrie  E.,  wife  of  George 
W.  Boyer,  a  lumberman;  and  Phaon  E.,  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 
The  captain  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  Pine  Grove,  rounding  out  his  scholastic  training  with  a  course  in 
the  Westchester  state  normal  school  and  another  in  the  Eastman  busi- 
ness college.     His  first  employment  after  leaving  school  was  as  a 
traveling  salesman   for  a   Philadelphia  firm  dealing  in  ladies'  and 
misses'  manufactured  clothing.     In  this  work  he  continued  for  two 
years  and  then  returned  to  Pine  Grove  to  enter  the  store  conducted 
by  his  sister  Mary.    After  four  years,  in  Feb.,  1904,  he  became  the 
manager  of  the  Hotel  Pennsylvania  and  has  been  most  successfully 
conducting  it  since.    In  April,  1906,  he  purchased  the  furniture  and 
undertaking  business  of  the  late  P.  F.  Seidel  and  has  been  managing 
it  since  that  time  in  connection  with  his  other  business.    About  six 
years  ago  he  was  elected  borough  treasurer  and  is  still  the  incumbent 
of  the  office.     When  the  call  came  for  volunteers  for  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  Mr.  Sheidy  went  out  from  Pine  Grove  as  a  private. 
The  organization  to  which  he  belonged,  Company  G,  4th  Pennsyl- 
vania infantry,  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States 
on  April  10,  1898,  and  in  July  he  was  made  a  corporal.    After  the 
company  was  mustered  out  and  again  became  a  part  of  the  National 
Guard  of  the  state  he  received,  in  March,  1899,  a  promotion  to  the 
rank  of  first  lieutenant  and  in  June,  1904,  was  made  the  captain  of 
Company  G.     While  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  the  regi- 
ment was  sent  to  Porto  Rico  and  was  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  be- 
fore Guama  when  the  news  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  brought 
Many  times  during  the  past  few  years  the  company  has  been  called 
upon  to  suppress  labor  riots.    In  a  religious  way  the  captain  is  con- 
nected with  the  Evangelical  church  and  he  stands  high  in  Masonic 
circles,  being  a  mem&r  of  Pine  Grove  Lodge,  No.  409;  Tremont 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Hermit  Commandery,  No.  24,  Knights  * 
Templars,  of  Lebanon;  Williamsport  Consistory,  Ancient  and  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite,  and  Rajah  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Reading.    He  is  also  identified  with 
the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  the  Junior  Order  of  American  Me- 
chanics and  the  Army  and  Navy  club  of  New  York  city. 

Shepherd,  Watson,  F.,  a  prominent  and  well  known  attorney  in 
Pottsville,  was  b6rn  in  Buckingham  township,  Bucks  county,  Pa., 
Dec.  28,  1844.  The  family  name  has  long  been  established  in 
Bucks  county.  Joseph  Shepherd,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject 
having  been  a  native  of  Plumstead  township,  a  pioneer  farmer, 
who  died  in  middle  life.  His  son,  Cornelius  Shepherd,  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  article,  married  Jane  Fell,  a  daughter  of 
Eli  and  Rachel  (Bradshaw)  Fell,  of  Bucks  county,  and  this  union 
was  blessed  by  a  family  of  six  sons  and  five  daughters.  Cornelius 
Shepherd  was  a  thrifty  farmer  and  a  man  who  took  an  active  in- 
terest in  local  politics.  He  was  generally  in  sympathy  with  any 
measure  to  enhance  the  public  welfare  of  the  community  and  his 
philanthropy  was  shown  in  his  acceptance  of  the  office  of  director 


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;'•  —  •^^  a  (It'i)artrHnit  store  In  Pi:"  f'ir-^  c 
!.  I   <    ^"t.^.t*  i^torc ;  Carrie  h..  wife  <».  •  leo'  -^ 
u\    i  i'l'?on  E..  tht*  sul  jt^ct  of  ^V\^  i.^^rj.  .:'- 
nr/!,!nin;ii  y  C(lnc:ui<.>n  in   tfl^^  piihl'-C   ^•v  >• 
'"'.:  h:-  >cl»'>ia.>tic  traiT'-tiir  wiM^  a  ^''^!i-"-'.      "* 

i^  <  'iK*i}\  an-l  nnf'tt  er  in  ihe  ICi-t  i  an  V 
'    ■   '■  ly^'jnt    after   l- 'ivm^   scIvh.I    wh-    -^ 
I     ' 'n-la^i^^lj^liia    firm    (lea;'.iv    '"    Ir-  iu-.^'     i. 
*     n^        hi   this   work   he  C'mt'niuii    i""   '  ' 
'      j  :i  e  *»r(«\e  to  rnier  'lie  -^tnre  c   '^    'i- *• 
r  f    :r    ;    ir-,  in   Feh.,   ^'^J4,  '•  '   hec<.  ."»  ■   :' 
•r  ^'  ''.  '  \t   an<l   has  bc/n   -.r*' <t   '^-  ccc     ."..■ 
A"-    I.    I'Vrf)    he  iHireliaNed  t'u    f  TMlur'^  .: 
'.'    l.r-'  1'.  b    Stitiel  and  lias  ''f'cn  ir.  m  ■    '^v^ 
\    Ti.'i    \.  -Ji   >!s  odur  bi;^i;K'->^.      A;--:' 
,  -  .\  ^h  t-t  .-*  rcr  'th.l  is  .-li.l  ;''e  i:ir^'  *: 

''    \- '  fM   ,,jt    fr.«'T.   Tmu-  Grtjvc  .-i'   a  m.'.*  - 
'v ''    I,    1.   (\<iu[)any  <  t.  j*':    ' '  mi  ^    . 
.  ..     '  V  ^t' .     ;   it:     ;   .    ^t'i\j(e  of  tiv     I'liivt    S*  i 
•    •     •!   •    :••  y  \    ''    r ..-  iiuivie  a  c<>r;v  ral.     A*t    •  *' 
•  )  <-   ii  ;\:-  '    ^■-.,-■'1   l«-e.i  ne  a  pa^t  •.'!*  the   V ':\"j^ 
.-'   'v   r.'C— .c*.'    •;■    *'.:\^-.    I>^(V>,   a  ])r' ui    ■;   i:    l'^    '1'  • 
'    .      '  \'  ..  ;^  .it  t   ui        !!  '     !^.  I.',  was  made   t^•    «'ppta'r.   ^r 

*        •  *  ■     .     ii,    M.-     '.:,•  '    <■     the   United    St.ue<   the    -  ^. 

•■    '    IV -r^M  U    ,    ■{.    I  .»  .     -irawn  r.p  in  hnr  « -f  \..'.i-^  h,- 
:         :    -       .        r  *.  ;).o  iuu<    »f  ^!  «*  o     •*.:i('>n  of  ho<^tilitie^  w^^  ^  br«>*/^t 
'-.    .    •    '  -.-".^  t!H*  ;<*it   t'^^v  \.-ti>  the  coMipany  ha^  been    'm.:  1 

M      1    ^  •   -  l:d  or  r-..  \-       In    1  T'!i;^ujU"=:  wa\    the  rr'.taln  >    ^'^- 

V'  '.  '  "  :  ■  '.  ■  lAar.'i'tal  'M'^^'-, --j  and  he  elands  hi^l  v^  .Ma-  .'t 
1.  •'  '-;..*  n  end  r  -^f  r>u  •  •••  v..  Lf.d}::^e.  Xo.  ^*¥i:  In-v  .i- 
I  '  t-  •  •  1  A:ch  >  '^^('1^*::  \U.-.  -t  (  rr.tmandery,  N(».  ^  ;,  ivn.; ""  ^- 
J  ■  ti/'  '-^  •  L(  hanon  ;  \\  :^!!afn-' <  :t  Con^'>tor\.  Ajicit'nt  a-:d  Ao- 
«.  t'l  >r.  *i;  :  Rite.  '»' tl  .\ajah  .'M^ide,  A.r:cient  Arabic  (jr^'t  t  .  - 
'^  •  '-  ('t  '■  '.  Mvstic  Si'f'^e.  at  Kt^ati^^.  lie  i--  aV>o  idirutifie  1  \\:''". 
t  <  ^  ^  ;i  L '  <  1  'f:e  t  Joldm  F.aq'e.  tK  Junior  (  'r(h  r  of  .^mcrie.n  a'-- 
''.-../-      ^d.  ;..f'    \rn'\  and  Navy  .-liib  of  Xtv\   Vork  eity. 

Shcpbc  d,  Watson,  F.,  a  prominent  and  well  kn  ^nn  at  ton:  y  ii 
.\-  ;-■''. e,  was  boTn  in  P.nck  n^Lrham  to\\n^h:p,  riuck^  c<.»Mni\  Ta., 
•  '•  .  -:S,  1^44.  The  family  name  has  lontx  been  est;M)liNhol  ^i 
'  .  --^  e  niily.  jo-eph  Shepherd,  tht  grandfather  f^  the  snl-jn 
'  ^I'.LT  lu't'i!  a  native  of  Phtmstoad  townslnj),'  a  pioneer  fa'iitM, 
»  ii'-*  <iif'vl  in  midtile  lite.  His  ^-»n,  (  i^rneHn^  She;«]ier'l,  the  fath.o- 
<  »  liJ';  ^^tibjeet  of  this  artieb\  married  lane  h\dl,  a  ilautrhti-r  *  * 
Ii.  and  Ivacht-*!  t  i>ratbhaw  )  ¥^V,  of  Hti^k^  coiirity.  and  thi<  •  ni  -r^ 
w:  s  blt's-.ed  by  a  family  ni  six  ^ott^  and  five  tbini^hters.  C- »r!ie!'u -^ 
Sh.'pheMl  wa-  a  thnfty  farmer  and  a  ivin\  who  toc^k  an  acti\t  m- 
t'-rtst  m  loeal  politics.  He  was  general  I  v  in  sympathy  witli  :.r\ 
tL^a'^tire  t-o  e.i'nanre  the  public  welfare  ^>f  the  comnmnity  and  i^i-^ 
pi;  anthn.py  wa.s  shown   in   his  accq)tance  of  the  office   of  vlire::rc 


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r  BIOGRAPHICAL  437 

of  the  poor  at  a  time  when  a  cholera  epidemic  prevailed  in  the 
county.  Both  the  Shepherd  and  Fell  famdlies  are  of  Quaker 
lineage.  Eli  Fell  was  of  a  large  family,  some  of  whom  attained 
prominence  in  public  life.  Watson  F.  Shepherd  of  this  sketch 
is  the  youngest  of  seven  children  who  lived  to  years  of  maturity. 
He  early  evinced  a  strong  propensity  for  study  and  as  a  boy  at- 
tended the  public  school,  known  as  the  "Friendship"  school,  in  his 
native  township.  He  was  then  sent  by  his  father  to  New  Britain 
seminary,  where  he  prepared  himself  for  a  teacher.  After  attend- 
ing one  session  at  the  seminary  he  .taught  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  county  for  two  and  one-half  years,  when  he  entered 
Tuscarora  academy,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1865.  He  then 
entered  upon  the  study  of  his  chosen  profession  under  Hon.  Henry 
P.  Ross  of  Doylestown,  a  leading  lawyer  of  the  county  and  state^ 
and  who  served  as  judge  of  the  courts  of  Bucks  and  Montgomery 
counties.  Mr.  Shepherd  was  admitted  to  practice  in  Bucks  county 
in  September,  1867,  but  having  an  ambition  to  go  to  a  new  field, 
he  came  to  Schuylkill  county  and  opened  an  office  at  the  beginning^ 
of  the  following  year.  Here  his  legal  talents  were  at  once  recog- 
nized, his  advancement  as  a  successful  lawyer  at  the  Schuylkill 
county  bar  was  very  rapid  and  he  went  at  once  to  the  front  rank. 
He  early  manifested  an  interest  in  politics  and  was  soon  .recog- 
nized as  a  leader  in  the  councils  of  Democracy.  For  fifteen  years 
he  served  as  solicit6r  for  the  county  alms-house  and  filled  other 
minor  offices,  but  was  never  an  office  seeker  in  the  sense  in  which 
that  term  is  generally  understood  until  in  1886  he  became  a 
standard  bearer  of  the  Democratic  party  for  the  office  of  repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  and  while  he  and  his  friends  made  a  gallant 
fight  they  went  down  in  the  defeat  of  the  party.  A  fusion  of 
Republicans  and.  Greenbackers  strengthened  the  former  to  the 
point  of  success,  although  Mr.  Shepherd  polled  more  votes  than 
any  other  candidate  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  In  1906,  he  was 
again  nominated  by  his  party  for  the  same  position,  but  after 
an  animated  canvas  of  several  months  the  election  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  the  Republican  candidate.  Mr.  Shepherd  has  been  fre- 
quently a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  his  party  and  of 
the  state  organization.  He  is  a  member  of  Camp  No.  14,  Patri- 
otic Order  Sons  of  America  of  Pottsville,  and  he  and  his  family 
belong  to  the  first  Presbyterian  church. 

Shepp,  Daniel,  deceased,  for  many  years  a  leading  figure  in  the 
commercial  life  of  Schuylkill  county  and  resident  of  Tamaqua, 
was  born  in  Reading,  Pa.,  March  26,  1830,  a  son  of  Daniel  and 
Elizabeth  (Zacharias)  Shepp,  of  German  lineage.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  Conrad  Shepp,  was  born  in  1773  in  the  Fatherland 
and  left  Frankfort-on-Main  to  locate  in  Reading,  where  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  on  the  outskirts  of  North  Reading.  His  wife  was 
a  Miss  Khlos  and  they  had  a  family  of  six  children,  five  daughters 
and  a  son.  The  son,  Daniel,  Sr.,  was  born  on  Feb.  2,  1802,  and 
was  reared  on  the  farm,  inheriting  the  place  upon  his  father's 
death,  in   1837.     Politically  he  was  a  stanch  Democrat  and  in  re- 


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438  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

lig^ous   matters   was   a   member   and    for   many   years   an    elder    in 
the   Reformed  church.     His  wife,   Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Zacharias,  was  bom  Sept.  30,  1800.    Their  children  were  Susan- 
nah, Elizabeth,  Samuel,  Rebecca,  Daniel,  John  and  Jacob.     Daniel, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared  on  the  old  homestead  and 
received  his  educational  training  in  the  common  schools  and  the 
Unionville  academy  in  Chester  county,  Pa.     In  1851,  with  twenty 
other  men   from   Reading  and   vicinity,   he   started   for  the   gold 
fields  of  California  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.     For  seventeen 
months  he  was  successfully  engaged  ^  in  mining  and  in   1852   re- 
turned to  Schuylkill  county  with  $5,000  to  his  credit.     On  Nov. 
I,  of  that  year  he  accepted  a  position  as  bookkeeper  for  W.   H. 
Climer  &  Co.,  operating  the  Mount  Laurel  furnace,  and  stayed 
with  that  firm  for  sixteen  months.     In  March,  1854,  he  came  to 
Tamaqua  and  in  partnership  with  A.  W.   Kaufman  and   Daniel 
Baum  built  the  stone  flour  mill,  known  as  the  Tamaqua  steam 
mills  and  operated  under  the  firm  name  of  Daniel  Shepp  &  Co. 
After   two   years  Adam   Aulthouse,    Mr.    Shepp's    brother-in-law, 
obtained  possession  by  purchase  of  the  Baum  and  Kaufman  stock 
in  the  concern  and  until  1861  the  industry  was  conducted  under  the 
firm  name  of  Shepp  &  Aulthouse.     In  that  year  Henry  F.  Stid- 
fole  bought  out  Mr.  Aulthouse's  interest  and  for  six  years  the  firm 
was  Shepp  &  Stidfole.     From   1867  the  concern  went  under  the 
name  of  Daniel  Shepp  &  Co.,  although  from  1867  to  1891  Joseph 
B.   Hirsh   held   the   stock   originally   owned   by   Stidfole.     In    the 
latter  year  by  purchase  the  entire  stock  of  the  company  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  Shepp  family,  Daniel  Shepp  having  the  manage- 
ment of  it  until  his  retirement  from  active  business  life.     He  was 
widely   interested   in   mining,  having  large   interests   in   different 
sections  of  the  anthracite  region.     On  March  i,  1869,  in  company 
with  Conrad  Graeber  and  John  Kempel,  he  purchased  the  lease 
of  the  Locust  Gap  colliery  in  Northumberland  county,  and  for 
five   years,   under   the   name   of   Graeber   &   Shepp,   worked    this 
property.     In  1874,  Kempel  sold  out  to  J.  B.  Hirsh,  John  Graham 
and  Simon  Stein  and  the  company  under  the  same  name  continued 
the  operation  of  the  mine  for  another  five  years.     In  December, 
1882,  Mr.  Shepp  became  associated  with  Joseph  Mitchell  in  the 
operation  of  the  East   Lehigh  colliery,  near  Tamaqua,  and  con- 
tinued his  connection  until  his  death,  the  *firm  being  known  as 
Mitchell  &  Shepp.     In  1886  a  firm  known  by  the  name  of  Daniel 
Shepp  &  Co.,  consisting  of  Mr.  Shepp  and  Hezekiah  Haldeman 
engaged  in  shipping  coal  in  Carbon  county  and  in  the  same  year 
Mr.    Shepp    opened   up    one    of    the  largest   veins    of   coal    in   the 
anthracite  region.     Its  width  varies  from  125  to  150  feet,  and  its 
product  was  sold  to  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  company. 
In   1896  Mr.  Shepp  purchased  Haldeman's  interest  and  operated 
the  mines  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  H.  and  E.  M.  B.  Shepp.    He  was 
the  sole  owner  of  a  tract  of   16,000  acres  of  timber   land   near 
Lock  Haven,  and  in  1887,  in  order  to  furnish  means  for  the  de- 
velopment   and    exploitation    of    the    land,    he    built    ten    miles    of 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  439 

railroad  to  connect  it  with  the  Erie  railroad.  He  had  also  4,000 
acres  in  Lycoming  county,  and  was  for  a  time  president  of  the 
Blue  Mountain  Manufacturing  Company,  which  controls  13,000 
acres  of  land  in  Schuylkill  county.  When  the  Edison  Illumina- 
ting and  Power  company  of  Tamaqua  was  incorporated  in  1885 
he  was  made  its  president,  having  been  one  of  five  organizers  and 
incorporators.  For  more  than  a  score  of  years  he  was  president 
of  the  Tamaqua  Banking  and  Trust  Company,  and  was  prominent 
as  one  of  its  organizers.  In  politics  Mr.  Shepp  was  a  Democrat 
and  as  such  served  in  the  borough  council  for  a  period  of  twenty- 
eight  years,  twenty-four  of  which  he  was  the  executive  head  of  that 
body.  Always  deeply  interested  in  religious  work  he  was  an  active 
and  zealous  member  of  Trinity  Reformed  church  from  the  time 
of  its  inception  and  for  thirty-six  years  was  superintendent  of  its 
Sunday  school.  Probably  in  the  fraternal  circles  of  the  state  and 
county  Mr.  Shepp  was  as  well  known  as  anywhere  else.  In  the 
Masonic  fraternity  he  was  a  past  master  of  the  Tamaqua  Lodge, 
No.  238;  was  at  one  time  the  high  priest  of  Tamaqua  Chapter, 
No.  178,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  was  a  past  eminent  commander 
of  Ivanhoe  Commandery,  No.  31,  Knights  Templars.  He  was  also 
identified  with  Ringgold  Lodge,  No  318,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  was  a  past  grand,  and  for  thirty  years 
was  treasurer  of  Scott  Encampment,  No.  132.  On  Oct.  14,  1857, 
Mr.  Shepp  married  Miss  Mary  Isabella  Boyer,  daughter  of  Joshua 
and  Susannah  Boyer,  and  to  this  union  were  born  seven  children. 
Mary,  the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  P.  N.  K.  Schwenk.  Sketches 
of  William  H.,  Daniel  F.  B.  and  Joseph  H.,  the  second,  fifth  and 
sixth  in  order  of  birth,  appear  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The 
others  are:  Anna  L.,  Edward  M.  B.  and  Rosa  B.  Mr.  Shepp's 
demise  occurred  on  Feb.  4,  1901,  and  his  taking  off  was  not  only 
a  grevious  loss  to  his  family  and  a  large  circle  of  friends  but  to 
the  whole  community. 

Shepp,  Daniel  F.  B.,  cashier  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Tam- 
aqua, and  a  director  in  the  same  institution,  was  born  at  Tamaqua 
on  May  16,  1875.  An  outline  of  his  family  history  can  be  found 
in  the  sketch  of  his  father,  Daniel  Shepp,  elsewhere  in  this  vol- 
ume. After  a  due  preliminary  course  in  the  common  schools  of 
Tamaqua,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  graduated  at  the  Tama- 
qua high  school  and  then  matriculated  at  the  Selwyn  Hall  mili- 
tary academy.  Upon  the  completion  of  his  course  there  he  en- 
tered Lehigh  university  and  in  1898  received  a  certificate  of  grad- 
uation and  the  degree  of  Civil  Engineer.  Before  commencement, 
however,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  B,  8th  Pennsylvania 
infantry  to  serve  during  the  Spanish-American  war,  but  before  he 
was  mustered  out  has  risen  to  the  rank  of  corporal.  The  regiment 
was  encamped  in  Virginia  in  the  early  part  of  the  campaign,  but 
was  later  at  Augusta,  Ga.  Mr.  Shepp's  brother,  Edward  M.  B., 
who  went  into  the  Spanish-American  war  as  a  corporal  is  now  a 
captain  in  the  state  militia.  Daniel  F.  B.  Shepp,  when  his  com- 
pany was  mustered  out,  entered  the  employ  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  and 


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440  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Navigation  Company  as  a  civil  engineer.  At  the  close  of  six 
years'  service  with  that  corporation  he  returned  to  Tamaqua  and 
accepted  his  present  position  as  cashier  of  the  First  National 
bank.  On  Sept.  14,  1904,  Mr.  Shepp  married  Miss  Ellen  Carter  Cal- 
loway, of  Tamaqua,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Ellen  (Carter) 
Calloway.  Mr.  Calloway,  whose  death  occurred  in  December, 
1905,  was  for  many  years  president  of  the  First  National  bank. 
His  uncle  was  a  prominent  associate  of  Daniel  Boone  in  the  lat- 
ter's  Kentucky  career.  Mrs.  Calloway,  who  is  still  an  honored 
resident  of  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  England  and  came  to  this 
country  while  still  very  young.  Her  family  was  a  large  one 
whose  name  is  closely  allied  with  that  of  other  pioneers  in  the  coal 
industry  of  Schuylkill  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shepp  have  one 
child — ^William  Calloway.  Both  parents  are  members  of  the  Epis- 
copal church  and  Mr.  Shepp  is  one  of  the  vestrymen. 

Shepp,  Joseph  H.,  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Wabash  Milling 
Company,  was  born  in  Tamaqua  on  Feb.  17,  1881,  a  son  of  Daniel 
and  Mary  Louise  (Boyer)  Shepp  and  the  youngest  of  the  four 
boys.  The  others  are  William  H.,  at  the  head  of  the  Wabash 
Milling  Company,  of  whom  a  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
volume ;  Capt.  Edward  M.  B. ,  a  promoter  and  capitalist  prominent 
throughout  the  state ;  and  Daniel  F.  B.,  a  graduate  of  Lehigh  uni- 
versity as  a  civil  and  mining  engineer,  and  now  cashier  of  the 
Tamaqua  First  National  bank.  Joseph  H.  Shepp  received  a  due 
preliminary  training  in  the  schools  of  Tamaqua  and  subsequently 
in  the  Wyoming  seminary  of  Kingston,  preparing  for  college  at 
the  latter  institution.  Instead  of  taking  a  collegiate  course,  how- 
ever, he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Corn  Exchange  National  bank 
of  Philadelphia.  He  remained  there  three  years,  until  the  death 
of  his  father,  in  1903,  when  he  returned  to  Tamaqua  and  accepted 
his  present  position.  Mr.  Shepp  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church  of  Tamaqua,  of  which  his  father  was  one  of  the  prime 
movers  and  organizers.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  Tamaqua  Camp,  62, 
Sons  of  Veterans.  For  three  years  he  was  a  corporal  in  a  company 
of  the  state  militia,  but  the  only  service  he  saw  was  when  his 
organization  waa  called  upon  to  maintain  order  during  labor 
troubles.  Politically  he  is  an  earnest  believer  in  the  principles  of 
Jeffersonian  Democracy,  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the 
office  of  legislator  from  the  Third  Schuylkill  county  district  in 
the  fall  of  1906  and  is  now  editor  of  the  Evening  Recorder.  He 
is  a  young  man  of  fine  physique,  excellent  habits  and  good,  sound 
business  sense  and  his  host  of  friends  predict  for  him  a  brilliant 
future. 

Shepp,  William  H.,  president  of  the  Wabash  Milling:  Company 
of  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  that  city  on  Feb.  21.  1866.  He  is  a  son 
of  Daniel  and  Mary  L  (Boyer)  Shepp,  the  former  of  whom  is 
deceased.  After  a  due  preliminary  training  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  town  he  matriculated  at  the  Heidelberg  university  of 
Tiffin,  Ohio,  and  in  1887  was  graduated  at  that  institution.     In 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  441 

1889  he  graduated  in  the  theological  department  of  Ursinus  college, 
Collegeville,  Pa.,  and  engaged  in  active  work  of  the  ministry  for  five 
years  in  Ohio  and  Delaware  as  a  Presbyterian  missionary.  On  account 
of  failing  health  he  returned  to  Tamaqua  and  engaged  in  business. 
In  March,  1894,  he  purchased  a  third  interest  in  the  Shepp-Hirsh 
milling  industry  and  since  that  time  has  been  identified  with  the 
flour  and  feed  business.  The  firm  was  incorporated  under  the 
corporate  title  of  the  Wabash  Milling  Company  on  July  7,  1899, 
and  is  the  largest  wholesale  and  retail  flour  and  feed  establishment 
in  this  section  of  the  state.  Mr.  Shepp  is  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  Blue  Mountain  Manufacturing  Company,  located  in  Berks 
and  Schuylkill  counties.  This  concern  is  capitalized  at  $100,- 
000,  and  owns  12,000  acres  of  timber  land.  He  is  also  one  of  the 
administrators  of  the  estate  of  the  late  Daniel  Shepp,  who  died  on 
Feb  .  4,  1901.  For  two  years  before  the  father's  death,  on  account 
of  his  father's  physical  disability,  William  H.  had  entire  control 
of  the  large  estate.  On  Oct  8,  1889,  Mr.  Shepp  married  Miss 
Louise  Fink,  a  native  of  Hamburg,  Pa.,  and  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Matilda  (Heinley)  Fink,  deceased.  Three  children  have  blessed  this 
union,  viz.:  Harold  L.,  Hazel  M.  and  Parma  A.  Both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Shepp  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  Mr. 
Shepp  is  one  of  the  trustees.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Improved-  Order  of 
Red.  Men,  and  the  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

Sherman,  A.  B.,  M.  D.,  deceased. — ^After  a  life  well  and  honor- 
ably spent,  Dr.  A.  B.  Sherman,  one  of  the  oldest  if  not  the  oldest 
practicing  physician  of  his  time  in  Schuylkill  county,  died  at  his 
residence  in  Mahanoy  City,  Dec.  10,  1906,  in  his  seventy-eighth 
year.  His  death  brought  deep  sorrow  to  the  hearts  of  a  very  large 
circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances,  and  many  of  his  patients  mourn 
the  loss  of  his  invaluable  services.  He  wajs  one  of  the  pioneer 
physicians  of  the  county,  and  enjoyed  a  very  extensive  practice  in 
his  profession  covering  a  period  of  forty-eight  years,  during  which 
time  he  followed  his  life's  work  in  Montrose,  Susquehanna  county, 
though  the  greater  part  of  which  was  spent  in  Schuylkill  county. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  force  of  character,  public-spirited,  strong  in 
his  convictions  and  fearless  in  standing  by  them,  and  performed 
many  humane  acts  and  valuable  services  for  his  fellow  man  with- 
out the  hope,  desire  or  expectation  of  gain.  He  numbered  among 
his  friends  many  of  the  leading  men  in  the  county,  both  of  the 
past  and  present,  and,  while  never  having  held  public  elective 
office,  was  unusually  honored  in  many  and  arduous  capacities,  the 
duties  and  services  of  which  he  performed  with  signal  ability. 
Most  of  his  professional  life  was  spent  in  Girardville  and  the  re- 
sults of  his  labors  there  stand  as  a  monument  of  honor  to  him. 
He  was  the  president  of  the  Girard  saving  fund  association  during 
its  early  and  prosperous  days ;  served  as  deputy  coroner  for  fifteen 
years  including  the  strenuous  events  of  Molly  Maguire  times ;  for 
a  like  period  of  time  he  served  as  out-door  physician  to  the  board 
of  poor  directors  and  in  that  capacity  aided  many  in  distress.     He 


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442  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

was  a  charter  member  of  the  Schuylkill  county  medical  society, 
took  great  interest  in  its  deliberations  and  in  the  advancement  of 
his  profession,  always  seeking  to  promote  it  to  a  higher  plane  of 
perfection.  The  latter  part  of  his  busy  and  honorable  career  was 
lived  in  Mahanoy  City,  where  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board,  of  which  he  was  president  and  later  treasurer.  He  was 
president  of  the  United  States  pension  examining  board  for  sev- 
eral years ;  a  director  of  the  Citizens'  National  bank  of  Ashland  for 
many  years ;  and  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic,  Odd  Fellows  and 
Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America  fraternities.  Dr.  Sherman  was 
a  man  of  rugged  physique,  commanding  presence  and  kindly  coun- 
tenance; of  fine  traits  of  character,  highly  respectable,  a  man  of 
honor  in  all  things,  and  of  eminent  ability  in  his  chosen  profes- 
sion; of  kindly,  fatherly  and  sympathetic  disposition  with  the 
sick,  and  untiring  and  unyielding  in  his  efforts  to  heal.  He  left 
to  survive  him  a  widow  and  two  sons  who  deeply  mourn  the 
loss  of  a  loving,  devoted  and  cherished  husband  and  a  kind  and 
indulgent  father.  The  sons  are  A.  C.  Sherman,  a  prominent  young 
attorney  of  Mahanoy  City,  and  Dr.  Harry  U.  Sherman  of  Easton, 
Pa.,  both  of  whom  are  well  known  and  highly  respected  citizens. 
The  interment  of  the  earthly  remains  of  the  deeply  mourned  and 
lamented  Dr.  A.  B.  Sherman  occurred  at  Pottsville,  in  the  Charles 
Baber  cemetery,  on  Dec.  14,  1906,  Rev.  T.  Maxwell  Morrison  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  assisted 
by  Rev.  H.  A.  Keyser  of  Grace  Reformed  church,  officiating. 

Shiiferstine,  E.  K,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Tamaqua,  Schuylkill 
county.  Pa.,  Oct.  i,  1874.  His  parents,  Henry  D.,  and  Mary  A. 
(Swoyer)  Shifferstine,  were  natives  of  Lehigh  county,  but  have 
spent  most  of  their  lives  in  Tamaqua.  The  father  came  to  that 
place  as  a  boy  of  seventeen,  and  began  working  for  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  Railroad  Company,  being  employed  in  the  motive  de- 
partment of  that  corporation  for  about  thirty-two  years.  He  has 
been  retired  from  active  business  during  the  last  eighteen  years 
and  he  and  his  wife  are  living  at  Tamaqua.  Dr.  E.  E.  Shifferstine 
is  the  only  living  child  of  these  parents.  But  two  children  were 
born  into  the  family  and  the  other  one  died  in  infancy.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  article  has  had  excellent  educational  opportunities, 
which  he  has  made  an  effort  to  turn  to  his  advantage.  After  being 
graduated  from  the  Tamaqua  high  school  in  the  class  of  1891  he 
accepted  a  position  in  a  drug  store  for  about  eighteen  months, 
when  he  began  his  preliminary  work  in  the  study  of  medicine. 
He  had  as  preceptors  two  or  three  well  known  men  in  Weissport, 
Mauch  Chunk  and  Tamaqua  and  was  well  prepared  for  entrance 
upon  his  collegiate  studies.  He  was  graduated  at  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  in  June,  1899,  and  following  his  graduation  he  was 
employed  in  the  State  hospital  for  injured  persons,  at  Fountain 
Springs,  this  county,  for  over  four  years,  the  last  eighteen  months 
being  spent  as  assistant  to  the  general  superintendent.  He  spent 
eight  months  abroad,  visiting  and  studying  in  the  hospitals  of 
Berlin  and  Munich,  Germany.     In  June,   1905,  the  doctor  estab- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  443 

lished  l;inis''lf  in  i;cneral   ]M<icticc  *»'     !         ' 

perienct!   as  a  h<)S])ilal   surgeon   in   iIm     •  .   -   • 

lavorahle  intU'dtiction  to  the  peopit*  ;i-    '  -    , 

a  sncct.s^Uil   ]H<jte>slonal   career.     !!• 

various  medio:;!  b.(jcieties  within  \\\<  "-  . 

Schuvlkill   c(ninty   niedii^il     >ociety      I 

Pennsylvania  state  nifMlical  societ\,    ^ 

and   \\  ah  secretary  of  tj-.e   An;:;l()-.\t' 

r.erlin,    Gerinan\.      In    the'  Iratei  n.  '    . 

ni»'niber  uf  the  \'ari'>us  Masonic  b(Mi:  ■  . 

sec'>n(l  det;rf  e  an*!  has  pas.^ed  all  the  c 

honored  orc^anizati'Mi.     i 'elides  this,  he  •- 

and   F  rotect.ve  Order  oi  l-.lks  and  Pa'^- 

in  Taniacjiia.     He  is  a   Rep\d)lican  in   !'"     .  ' 

Shindel,  Charles  Shoener,  a  pro  mine 
and    i's   pie-.ent  potmaster.   vva^    horn    *'. 
a  son.  oi  Conrad  Fry  and  Mary  [j.-nise   .-' 
cestry  back   to  the  tarly  colonial   ]ttTi<'(!  -  ' 
bears  having'  immi,u;ritv(l  to  this  .- )untr\     .. 
niate/nal  side  repre<e'i;aii   es  of  the  fav. .1^ 
Intionary    war    and    four    ^reat-unele^    i^.a/;-   ' 
the    \\'\omni^    mas^aoie.      C  liarle-    S.     '    1  !    - 
tion    at    \\'yonn"ng    seminary    at    Kinj.;^..  \.i-.    ; 
he  has   continually   beeti   identified    uuh    :'a     ..  • 
the  city  --f  his  birth,     ile  \\as  fortne'';    uu.. 
busine^^,   is   at   this   writi  \^  ]Mesident   k  <       v-    '    ,•   . 
in^  (  e)mpany,  and  is  alho  Ncrvinj:^  thi--   ■   *    :  d  ..   - . 
which  is  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  v  ni.h  •.*>••  .^ 

ciii/ens  and  a  mark  of  af>pr6\al  of  the  h  •-'.•t^.* 
which  he  has  conducted  that  important  ..trie*'.      !   ■ 
j)orter   r>f    the    principals    and    policies    i". -r    w  ;  ' 
l).irty  stands  sponsor  and  is  an  acti\e  >vo' k  \     ^  • 
party,  ha^'m^r  be^  n  honored  by  beitit:   elect    >   ^'      *    ; 
city  for  two  terms  prior  to  his  apiJonttmer-    <-    ^'   -' 
frateruc^l    and    social    way,    he    i>    a    nu-uper     *.      i  .  ^         .     '        ; 
Xo.    5';2,    IJenevolent    and    Protective    (h-'i-.r    i,\     i  :    >,     •    . 
Scranton.^  MoheL'*an    and    Tama(jua    chih>.     F'*:-  ^  <  /  \.     .\<     .-     . 
family  are  members  of  the   Lnthrran   cii.rc'\     k   v    i     '>.    :.       <... 
Mr.  Shindel  led  to  the  altar,   Miss   Ivv-tbi'   ^!    \>\\  a  d.^i  :'  *' - 
Daniel  and  Mary  I.  ( }»'.);L,'^er)  Shepp  ot    {  ;,-^       '-.,    :•...■;  to  .'    .^    "  '  »i, 
have   been   born    two   children.    Alary    I--   •-.     im.i    !s:i',"l    \   ,^-..    m 
aL,^ed  res])ecifully  ten  and  seven  }c:'^^.      '^'r    ^histl- i     a^^e^  .•  ...ta* 
interest   in   matters  pertaining  to  ai^ricMii.: -'    -,j  ids   a   j^r     ^    ,,.,,! 
of    his    leisure    time    in    that    basic    in  l\.  ti\        jo    n  i'.ajLies    a    >':iall 
farm   for  his  mother,  the  same   bcin-^^  joccit.  I    r    larnes'  il'«-.    Pa., 
wliere  the  family  lived  fur  vears  p':>  •  t'  d-e  ik-ath  ot  ilie  father. 

Shoemaker,  William  H.,  a  uiNm^.  \  e-t^utud  pi(»neer  of 
'Schu\lkill  county,  was  born  in  Poll -- .■  iv  -r  <  >ct.  17,  iS3.\  a  son 
of    Marshall    G.'and    Kebe-xa    (Welliv^rj     >P'.emaker.     The    Shoe- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  443 

lished  himself  in  general  practice  at  Tamaqua.  His  previous  ex- 
perience as  a  hospital  surgeon  in  the  same  locality,  served  as  a 
favorable  introduction  to  the  people  and  the  doctor  at  once  began 
a  successful  professional  career.  He  is  an  active  worker  in  the 
various  medical  societies  within  his  reach,  being  a  member  of  the 
Schuylkill  county  medical  society,  Lehigh  medical  association, 
Pennsylvania  state  medical  society,  American  medical  association, 
and  was  secretary  of  the  Anglo-American  medical  association  of 
Berlin,  Germany.  In  the  fraternal  associations  the  doctor  is  a 
member  of  the  various  Masonic  bodies,  has  attained  to  the  thirty- 
second  degree  and  has  passed  all  the  collateral  degrees  in  that  time 
honored  organization.  Besides  this,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America 
in  Tamaqua.     He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations. 

Shindel,  Charles  Shoener,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Tamaqua,  Pa., 
and  its  present  postmaster,  was  born  in  that  city  April  29,  1867, 
a  son  of  Conrad  Fry  and  Mary  Louise  Shindel.  He  dates  his  an- 
cestry back  to  the  early  colonial  period  of  our  country,  his  fore- 
bears having  immigrated  to  this  country  in  an  early  day.  On  the 
maternal  side  representatives  of  the  family  took  part  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  and  four  great-uncles  named  Gore,  were  killed  in 
the  Wyoming  massacre.  Charles  S.  Shindel  received  his  educa- 
tion at  •  Wyoming  seminary  at  Kingstown,  Pa.,  since  which  time 
he  has  continually  been  identified  with  the  business  interests  of 
the  city  of  his  birth.  He  was  formerly  engaged  in  the  insurance 
business,  is  at  this  writing  president  of  the  Tamaqua  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  and  is  also  serving  this  second  term  as  postmaster, 
which  is  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow 
citizens  and  a  mark  of  approval  of  the  business-like  methods  with 
which  he  has  conducted  that  important  office.  He  is  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  the  principals  and  policies  for  which  the  Republican 
party  stands  sponsor  and  is  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  that 
party,  having  been  honored  by  being  elected  chief  burgess  of  his 
city  for  two  terms  prior  to  his  appointment  as  postmaster.  In  a 
fraternal  and  social  way,  he  is  a  member  of  Tamaqua  Lodge 
No.  592,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  of  the 
Scranton,  Mohegan  and  Tamaqua  clubs.  Religiously  he  and  his 
family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  On  Feb.  11,  1896, 
Mr.  Shindel  led  to  the  altar,  Miss  Rosabel  Shepp,  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Mary  I.  (Boger)  Shepp  of  Tamaqua,  and  to  this  union 
have  been  born  two  children,  Mary  Louise  and  Isabel  Dunham 
aged  respectfully  ten  and  seven  years.  Mr.  Shindel  takes  a  great 
interest  in  matters  pertaining  to  agriculture,  spends  a  great  deal 
of  his  leisure  time  in  that  basic  industry  and  manages  a  small 
farm  for  his  mother,  the  same  being  located  at  Barnesville.  Pa., 
where  the  family  lived  for  years  prior  to  the  death  of  the  father. 

Shoemaker,  William  H.,  a  universally  esteemed  pioneer  of 
Schuylkill  county,  was  bom  in  Potts ville  on  Oct.  17,  1832,  a  son 
of   Marshall   G.   and   Rebecca    (Welliver)    Shoemaker.    The   Shoe- 


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444  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

maker  family  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  history  of 
Pennsylvania  and  the  United  States  for  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  Jacob  Shoemaker,  the  paternal  great-grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1760 
and  served  in  the  Continental  army  throughout  the  Revolutionary 
war.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  education,  both  in  the  English  and 
German  languages,  and  lived  to  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-nine 
years.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors  on  July  4,  1849,  ^^ 
Bloomsburg,  Pa.,  and  was  one  of  the  last  of  the  Revolutionary 
war  veterans  of  that  locality.  Andrew  G.  Shoemaker,  a  son  of 
Jacob,  married  Catherine  Girton  and  to  them  was  bom  a  son, 
Marshall  G.,  in  181 1,  while  they  were  residents  of  Columbia  county. 
The  latter,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  (1832-34)  spent  in 
Pottsville,  remained  in  his  native  county  until  1865,  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits.  He  then  removed  to  Shenandoah  and  em- 
barked in  the  same  line  of  business,  in  which  he  continued  untii 
his  death,  in  1881,  in  his  seventy-first  year.  His  wife  died  two 
years  later  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  The  maternal  grandfather 
of  William  H.  Shoemaker  was  Jacob  Welliver,  born  in  New 
Jersey  and  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  While  still  a 
youth  he  removed  to  Columbia  county  and  settled  on  the  Black 
run.  There  he  continued  to  reside  until  the  Wyoming  massacre  cf 
July  3,  1778,  drove  all  the  settlers  of  the  vicinity  to  Harrisburg. 
From  there  Mr.  Welliver  went  to  Philadelphia  and  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Continental  army,  in  which  he  served  until  the  close  of 
the  Revolution.  He  received  no  pay  for  his  services  as  he  was 
not  regularly  enrolled,  and  at  the  cessation  of  hostilities  returned 
to  his  farm  on  the  Black  run,  where  he  died  in  1842  at  the  age  of 
eighty-nine  years.  William  H.  Shoemaker,  immediate  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  his  educational  advantages  in  the  common  schools  and 
in  Bradley's  select  school  in  Bloomsburg.  When  he  had  completed  his 
scholastic  work  he  became  a  clerk  in  his  father's  store  and  the  postoffice 
at  Buckhorn.  He  remained  with  his  father  in  that  capacity,  with  the 
exception  of  fourteen  months  when  he  was  engaged  in  teaching, 
until  1857,  in  which  year  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  firm 
and  the  name  changed  to  M.  G.  &  W.  H.  Shoemaker.  After  the 
father's  removal  to  Shenandoah  in  1865  he  conducted  the  business 
at  Buckhorn  alone  for  twelve  years  and,  although  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat, he  was  appointed  postmaster  by  President  Lincoln  to  succeed 
his  parent,  who  had  served  twenty-five  years  in  the  position.  Up- 
on his  removal  to  Shenandoah  in  1877  he  relinquished  the  office, 
having  been  re-appointed  to  it  by  Johnson,  Grant  and  Hayes.  In 
the  spring  of  1883  Mr.  Shoemaker  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace 
and  was  re-elected  to  the  office  at  each  successive  election  until 
1905.  For  a  number  of  years,  also,  he  was  a  member  of  the  bor- 
ough council  and  was  president  of  that  body  from  1879  ^^  1883. 
He  is  a  stalwart  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  has  always  taken  an  active  and  influential  part  in  the 
political  campaigns.  His  elevation  to  public  office  has  always  been 
as  the  candidate  of  that  party,  and  he  has  filled  every  position  with 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  445 

credit  to  himself  and  honor  to  his  constituents.  Beside  the  offices 
he  has  held  since  a  resident  of  Shenandoah  he  was  township  auditor  of 
Buckhorn  from  1854  to  1877.  Mr.  Shoemaker  in  December,  1857, 
married  Miss  Effie  Farley,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Peter  John 
Farley,  of  Stark  county,  Ohio,  and  to  this  union  were  bom  two 
sons.  Edward,  the  elder,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Dickinson  law 
college  and  is  now  a  practicing  attorney  of  Shenandoah.  He  mar- 
ried Myrtle  Sands,  of  Bloomsburg,  Pa.,  and  makes  his  home  in  Shen^ 
andoah.  San  ford  W.,  who  has  been  employed  as  a  clerk  for  a  number 
of  years,  is  at  the  present  time  a  formidable  candidate  for  the  office  of 
justice  of  the  peace.  His  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Maizie  Liddell,  a 
daughter  of  Alexander  Liddell  of  Mahanoy  City.  He  resides  with  his 
family  in  Baltimore,  Md.  The  Shoemakers  are  all  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  the  father  has  been  for  more  than 
forty  years  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  identified 
with  Washington  Lodge,  No.  265,  of  Bloomsburg.  Mr.  Shoe- 
maker's popularity  with  his  fellow  citizens  may  be  easily  judged 
when  it  is  known  that  his  retention  in  elective  office  as  a  candi- 
date of  the  Democratic  party  was  in  a  district  which  is  normally 
largely  Republican. 

Shugars,  Hiram,  is  not  only  an  estimable  citizen  of  Pottsville, 
but  his  occupation — that  of  tin-roofing,  spouting,  and  repairing 
with  heating  work  a  specialty — makes  him  one  of  the  most  useful 
and  necessary  adjuncts  to  the  thriving  city  in  which  he  has  his 
residence*  Mr.  Shugars  was  born  at  Catawissa,  Columbia  county, 
Pa.,  June  6,  1845,  and  is  descended  on  both  the  paternal  and  ma- 
ternal sides  from  pioneer  families  of  Pennsylvania.  His  parents 
wfere  Jacob  and  Mary  (Hartzel)  Shugars,  both  of  whom  were  na- 
tives of  Columbia  county,  where  they  resided  during  life,  the 
father  dying  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  and  the  mother  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-seven.  The  father  followed  farming  as  his 
life's  vocation.  As  stated  above  both  families  were  of  pioneer 
stock  in  Columbia  county,  the  maternal  grandfather  dying  there 
at  the  extreme  old  age  of  ninety-three  years.  The  subject  of  this 
review  was  reared  in  Columbia  county  and  received  his  educational 
training  in  the  public  schools.  In  his  preparation  for  a  business 
career  he  served  an  apprenticeship  of  three  years  at  the  roofing 
business  in  Washingtonville,  Montour  county,  after  which  he 
worked  as  a  journeyman  for  twenty  years,  ten  years  of  that  time 
having  been  spent  in  Pottsville,  where  he  located  in  1875.  I"  1879 
he  embarked  in  business  for  himself  along  the  lines  specified  in 
the  introductory  sentence  of  this  review,  and  he  has  since  suc- 
cessfully conducted  the  same,  until  now  he  has  an  establishment 
which  is  universally  recognized  as  an  important  center  of  indus- 
try in  the  city  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  Shugars  was  married  on  July  4, 
1873,  selecting  as  his  helpmate  Euphemia  Blee,  of  Jerseytown, 
Montour  county,  and  to  this  union  one  son  was  born — William  B., 
who  is  the  manager  of  the  Rettig  brewery  at  Pottsville.  William 
B.  Shugars  married  Martha  Potts,  and  he  and  his  ^ife  are  the 
parents  of  two  children,  M.  Elizabeth  and  Kathryn  L.    Hiram  Shugars 


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446  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

is  a  member  of  the  English  Lutheran  church  at  Pottsville,  and  his 
political  predilections  are  marked  by  a  strong  adherence  to  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

Shugars,  Wflliam  B.,  the  efficient  and  popular  manager  of  the 
Rettig  Brewing  Company,  of  Pottsville,  is  a  scion  of  families 
founded  in  America  in  the  colonial  era,  and  the  name  which  he 
bears  has  long  been  linked  with  the  annals  of  the  old  Keystone 
state,  of  which  he  is  a  native  son.  Mr.  Shugars  was  born  at 
Washingtonville,  Montour  county,  Pa.,  May  19,  1873,  a  son  of 
Hiram  and  Euphemia  Shugars,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Columbia  county,  Pa.,  June  6,  1845,  ^^d  the  latter  in  Montour 
county,  Nov?  9,  1847.  One  of  the  great-great-grandfathers  in 
the  paternal  line  served  as  a  post  rider  in  the  Continental  ranks 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  original  American  an- 
cestors in  the  maternal  line  came  to  this  country  in  1740.  William 
B.  Shugars  was  a  child  at  the  time  of  his  parents*  removal  to 
Pottsville,  and  in  this  city  he  was  reared  to  maturity,  receiving 
good  educational  advantages.  He  is  an  expert  accountant,  has 
been  identified  with  the  executive  affairs  of  the  Rettig  Brewing 
Company  since  1896,  and  is  now  manager  of  its  office  and  busi- 
ness. In  politics  he  is  independent  and  his  religious  faith  is  that 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  a  popular 
member  of  Pottsville  Lodge,  No.  207,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  young  man  who  stands  high  in  local  busi- 
ness and  sbcial  circles  and  his  pleasant  home  is  notable  for  its  gra- 
cious hospitality.  On  Sept.  12,  1901,  Mr.  Shugars  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Martha  W.  Potts,  daughter  of  Charles  P.  and 
Sally  (St.  Clair)  Potts,  of  Pottsville,  and  this  union  has  granted 
three  children — Margaret  Elizabeth,  Marshall  B.  (deceased),  and 
Kathryn  Louise. 

Shunvway,  Jay  Garrison,  editor  and  publisher  of  "The  Call"  at 
Schuylkill  Haven,  was  born  at  Goshen,  Cape  May  county,  N.  J.> 
Oct.  20,  1869.  He  is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  New  England 
ancestry,  his  great-grandfather,  Amasa  Shumway,  having  been 
born  in  Vermont  in  1788.  About  1820  he  removed  to  Mexico^ 
Oswego  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died  in  1855.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  a  strict  follower  of  the  religious  doctrines  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married  Hannah  Spencer, 
an  English  woman,  by  whom  he  had  a  family  of  nine  children,  one 
of  whom,  Orsman  Otway  Shumway,  was  the  paternal  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  bom  at  Mexico,  N.  Y.,  in 
1825,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  removed  to  Fulton  in  the 
same  county,  where  he  opened  a  book  and  stationery  store  which 
he  conducted  successfully  for  a  number  of  years,  when  he  was 
burned  out.  He  then  accepted  the  principalship  of  Faley  seminary,, 
holding  that  position  for  six  years.  He  served  as  police  justice 
for  a  number  of  years  when,  in  1867,  he  removed  to  Vineland, 
N.  J.,  and  again  engaged  in  the  book  and  stationery  business,  in 
which  he  continued  until  his  death,  in  1871.  He  was  prominent 
in  political  affairs,  and  was  twice  the  Republican  nominee  for  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  447 

office  of  state  senator,  but  the  district  being  strongly  Democratic, 
he  went  down  with  the  defeat  of  his  party.  For  many  years  he 
was  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He 
was  twice  married,  his  first  wife,  who  in  maidenhood  was  Lydia 
Snyder,  was  the  mother  of  Channing  Shumway,  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  article.  He  was  born  in  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  21,  1844. 
Channing  Shumway  was  the  only  child  born  to  this  union  who 
lived  to  years  of  maturity.  The  father's  union  with  Amanda  Bald- 
win was  also  blessed  with  one  son,  Otway  Shumway,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Oswego,  N.  Y.  Channing  Shumway  was  married  on 
Dec.  20,  1868,  to  Miss  Deborah,  daughter  of  William  F.  Garrison, 
one  of  the  most  prominent  ship-builders  of  Cape  May  county,  N.  J., 
and  a  son  of  William  Garrison,  a  pioneer  ship-builder  of  the  New 
Jersey  peninsula.  Jay  G.  is  the  only  surviving  child  born  to  this  union, 
his  brother,  Otway  H.  having  died  on  Nov.  5,  1896,  and  his  mother, 
Deborah  (Garrison)  Shumway,  died  Feb.  10,  1874,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-eight  years.  On  Feb.  9,  1876,  Channing  Shumway  married 
Miss  Ella  J.  Whitfield,  of  Pottsville,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Whit- 
field, a  native  of  England,  who  was  bom  near  Liverpool  in  1807, 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1824,  and  settled  in  Pottsville  in 
1 83 1.  Here  he  conducted  a  dry-goods  business  for  forty-six  years, 
or  until  his  death.  He  was  class-mate  of  Edward  Everett,  Judge 
Story,  Longfellow  and  others  who  achieved  national  greatness. 
Three  children  were  bom  to  the  father's  second  marriage,  Jessie  W., 
Lucia  D..  and  Channing  R.  The  father  of  J.  G.  Shumway  spent 
his  early  years  after  his  graduation  from  Faley  seminary  as  a 
clerk  in  the  postoffice  at  Fulton,  N.  Y.  He  enlisted  in  1863  as  a 
member  of  Company  A,  24th  New  York  cavalry  and  served  under 
that  intrepid  commander,  Gen.  Phil.  Sheridan.  His  regiment  was 
in  the  second  division  of  Sheridan's  cavalry  corps,  which  was  de- 
tached for  service  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  while  the  re- 
mainder of  the  corps  was  maneuvering  in  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley. Beginning  with  the  Wilderness  campaign,  Mr.  Shumway 
participated  in  all  the  battles  and  skirmishes  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  and  a  number  of  raids  into  the  enemy's  country,  up  to 
and  including  the  capitulation  at  Appomattox.  He  received  a 
painful  wound  in  the  battle  of  June  19,  1864,  in  front  of  Peters- 
burg, and  was  honorably  discharged  in  June,  1865.  Returning 
from  the  army,  Mr.  Shumway  was  employed  in  the  postoffice 
at  Washington,  D.  C,  for  one  year,  resigning  that  position  to 
accept  one  in  the  employ  of  Joseph  Fayal,  of  Jefferson  county,  N. 
Y.  He  was  in  the  grocery  business  in  New  Jersey  for  three  or 
four  years  and  was  a  general  agent  for  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson 
Sewing  Machine  Company,  leaving  that  position  in  1870,  to  come 
to  Pottsville,  where  he  spent  five  years  in  the  book  and  stationery 
business.  In  1875,  he  was  manager  of  the  Pottsville  Evening 
Chronicle ;  became  treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the  Standard 
Publishing  Company,  when  that  corporation  absorbed  the  Chron- 
icle, publishing  the  Chronicle  as  a  daily,  and  the  Standard  as  a 
weekly,  until  Dec.  30,   1899,  when  he  sold  his  interests  and  re- 


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448  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

moved  to  Philadelphia.  He  has  since  held  a  lucrative  position  in 
the  accounting  department  of  a  large  mercantile  establishment.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  in  Pottsville,  has  attained  to 
the  Knights  Templars  degee,  and  is  also  a  member  of  Gowen  Post, 
No.  23,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  in  Pottsville.  Jay  Garrison 
Shumway,  the  subect  of  this  review,  was  educated  in  the  Potts- 
ville public  schools.  He  learned  the  printing  business  in  youth, 
and  on  Dec.  i,  1886,  entered  the  employ  of  me  Standard  Publish- 
ing Company  as  a  job  printer.  After  about  a  year  in  this  posi- 
tion, he  accepted  the  offer  of  Alfred  M.  Slocum  of  Philadelphia, 
and  held  the  position  of  pressman  in  that  city  for  about  one  year. 
He  then  returned  to  the  ^'Standard,"  and  assumed  charge  of  the 
job  press  room  until  April,  1889,  when  he  became  a  reporter  on 
the  paper,  and  was  finally  promoted  to  the  editorship,  a  position 
which  he  held  from  November,  1892,  to  Jan.  i,  1900,  when  the 
paper  was  sold.  He  served  in  various  positions  following  this, 
principally  with  the  International  Correspondence  Schools,  until 
Nov.  nth,  1901,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  "Call,"  which  he  now 
owns  and  publishes.  It  is  a  six-column  folio,  published  weekly; 
is  independent  in  politics  and  under  its  present  management  is  a 
spicy  and  readable  exponent  of  the  local  news.  The  plant  is  well 
equipped  for  the  large  patronage  in  job  work  and  commercial 
printing  which  it  receives.  Mr.  Shumway  was  married  on  Oct. 
18,  18^,  to  Miss  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  William  O.  and  Sarah 
(Burries)  Davies.  Her  father  was  born  in  Chester,  England,  Feb. 
27,  1847,  came  to  America  in  1862  and  soon  became  prominently 
identified  with  the  mercantile  department  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Coal  and  Navigation  Company.  He  was  superintendent  of  two  or 
more  stores  at  different  places,  and  his  headquarters  were  frequently 
transferred.  He  was  a  member  of  the  engineering  corps  which 
established  the  Saint  Paul  &  Duluth  railroad,  later  becoming 
freight  accountant,  paymaster  and  traveling  auditor  of  that  road, 
until  he  resigned  in  1883  ^^  become  superintendent  of  the  South- 
west Virginia  Improvement  Company,  with  headquarters  at  Po- 
cahontas, Va.  He  resumed  mercantile  pursuits  in  1885,  when  he 
accepted  the  superintendency  of  two  company  stores  at  Snow  Shoe, 
Pa.,  remaining  there  until  1889,  when  he  moved  to  Wilkes  Barre, 
and  assumed  the  management  of  a  commission  house.  In  1892  he 
came  to  Pottsville  as  general  agent,  and  traveling  accountant  for 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company,  a  position  which  he  held  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  on  Nov.  18,  1902.  Mr.  Davies  was  a  Mason,  and 
a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows.  He  was  married  at  Mauch  Chunk, 
P^.,  to  Sarah  Burries  on  Aug.  19,  1872,  and  they  had  nine  children, 
the  eldest  of  whom  is  Mrs.  Jay  G.  Shumway.  Mr  and  Mrs.  Shum- 
way have  two  children,  Jay  Davies,  bom  July  4,  1900,  and  Will- 
iam Garrison,  born  Oct.  27,  1905.  Mr.  Shumway  and  wife  are 
members  of  Saint  Matthews  Lutheran  church  in  Schuylkill  Haven. 
Siegfried,  Ulysses  Grant,  an  efficient  locomotive  engineer  in  the 
employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  on  the  Sunbury 
division,  whose  home  is  in  Pottsville,  was  born  at  Selinsgrove  June- 


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C^Il^^  ^  ^l  /^-tyLA^ 


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BJt.)GRAPHI(  AL  ^  * 

•    -r.  Xo-r.unlwrlaiKl  county,  on  April  21.   iS*j;.     }\e  '.>   '•!.' 
tue  /'   If'rm   Wrn  to   Bciijainin   B.  and  Cathor.nc    (i'hr'V"- 
iricil,  ihe  GthcTs  b«MT;g  Simeon  C,  Mellmont,  Kl'iP^a  :ii''I  r     '  . 
j^Ta  ('ic'l  \vhilfr  siili  aa  infant  anil  Simeon  pas-t.:  .i^-.i.    ;-.   *'*■.. 
p>st  >var      Tlie  ;r:ttcrnal  grandfather,  Simeon  i.'r-  '^  :->v  -  .  .'■ 

I  iiit'-u    .'Mate.-,    fr^m    England   and   located   in    >!<.  it  '  . 

-a'  i(xt  of  liiib  >kcl<;h  attended  tlic  public  i*c^)'    ''*=  .'t  *    ■  ' 
trv    ur.:ii  he  was  tliiricc!i  year.^  of  a^*'  <ttn    iiaj'   -Vi  '.    '    - 
\\\*n  n\\u\.<.     \Viie:i  \\c  had  completed  tha:   r..     .•  •     ,■'/:   .» 
a  t.T-n  and  there  'v»m«iine'l  for  a  i>eri(.d  o'   ■   *.■'   •   -*'■.     '     •  .    '  •■ 

a   iol    as  rvdiUrin  widi  a  j^'-'-vernii^ent  survi*.'..;    ...  .-  *.      ' 

I;i  iiaii   Teiritory  i^id   on    iiib   return   ea^t   <!-.*;       •  '       ■     '■ 

I'enn  ;l\tuna  K.'t'::oa*i  i"tmipany\)n  Nov    i  •  '  -..-,• 

fireman.     Un  Feh.  ^J,  ot  ihe  fo'-nving  \\..r.  !..    '        '■         -  .  -  •♦  . 

rotu^ville  div-siun  ;rul  iii  i8<,i2  was  prouu^tt.'^'  •"  •  ■•  ■         ■    - 

n.otive  eng-inct'f.      jn    i8<x)   Mr,    Siegfried   j^».'i.  .■        '  *    *        •^ 

daUf^-hter  of  WfJ  j.-i  iiawk.  (jf  Mainville,  Lu/.  -       ■    ■  . 

h.'ve  no  children  and  K^Mi  a^c  membun..  of  th      ...  '  i 

i'ottsville.     Mr.   ^u^irH".'.   is   j^ronn'nent  in   f  :     .-•   /  *       •    . 

out  the  slate,  tx^ibi;  '.'ww  tkd  with  all  the  pr  •'  •    •.-      •  ;  .t 

Scottish    Rite    May^fii     m"    »{h*    IMrlatlelr^fiia   C(.}  ^  ■     .^• 
Can:p  Xo.  y.\  I'atnolif  -Jui.  r  of  the  Sons  of  A  i  -  : .    -     *        .     ^   ■ 
Seneca  Tril)e.  Nn.   n.  iM'.rc>ved  *- ^rder  of  R'.  i  M-'*,   '   ''■?•-  ..    . 

No.  20,  Independt -It  ()>  '.  •  of  ^ '''d  Fellows;  I  r '^  ,  >  •  •      •  .     ♦ 

No.  4,  of  the  sa..i*'  k^w^w.  and  the   nrotherhcK)d  <\'   i    •       ■   *  .      :    • 
gineer*^.     He  ha-:  p:-- *  '   tiirur.j:-'  all  the  chair*-  ot  t:\    '  . 

or^ranization,  i.^  a  pr,-t   --.v '\  n^  •»/  th.e  Red   M;'.^  n  -)>•.  ■*  v         i 

Enjiiine'Ts'   Hroirci'   v    1,  ard  at   the  present  ti':K    i<   >>  "    "      '  ■ 
year   as  trea-incr   nf   Me   ]:\^t  T.a'^u'd  order.      1<1'/'  .1. 
f)endent  of  pane  or  fa-t:-!  mi  ti>'  exercise  (>f  hi-  r*  ;  1       ■    •  .         t    ^ 
as  to  candidati-    f'^r   i.xal  .•^^lOt-.  h-it  generally  \-  :■>  -   r  -    .•  :  -   - 

ticket  in  state    xud  n:*''.'"il  ati.:.  -.      Mrs.  Si^gfrK-I  ^-••  '  ' 

and  a  sister  livi'-i,^ — \j»r,;>(i^  J*''^}''   li'>vd,  Hanisnn,    ;^  -  .         ■.  "    • 
and  Mary.     Anot'.er  .^isttr.  Am  i    dirvi  a  few  yta^^    iv  >       .        ^       , 
fried  home  in  I'o^tsville  is  <  ne  •»!  t  le  handsomest  a    v  .  .1    ;• 
most  homelike  p!  1  ^e-  of  tht   cuy. 

Silliman,    Ekiward    S.— nefm  :e   an!    beneficee.t    n.i^     **  •       .     - 

made  by  the  luMiorc  !  "^'il^  iret  or  .!^'\  iT.diioir  np'^^n  tlr  .i-r 
indnstrial  historv   of  S'h'..\lkill  c  >i' uv  .:Md   'm-^  nan:e  n.--'.^   .\   . 
of  lasting  disti:i<  tit.n   jo.n  the  Tr-'.  .jf  iV^l  \v  ho  priri.iv^    v-  ■»    '1 

the  upbuilding  ot  I'n-  ta.rtcd  >cct''»n  o*  :!ie  Mat'.-  In-t.^r*  '  -.  • 
tegrity  and  slreni^'h  of  J-araoter,  ht-  v. as  w-'ll  e.;iiipp«  i  1-  r  -.^  * -.•  ^' 
distinctive  victorit  >.  mi  the  hatiV  ^n  lifo  anti  ;."  maintaisr  •-  ar  '  .^■'■' 
lable  hold  upon  t-';e  -t  .»if;il' n.c  T>id  good  will  •:  his  fellov  r  •  n.  Mr. 
Silliman  was  bc«rn  <o  l)^•  ne,  r)<M  ks  connn-.  i\a.,  June  jo,  iS^o,  \\'t< 
reared  to  manhood  1*'  ;?••-  >tau.'.  received  the  a' i vantage^  ♦  f  tl»*"  .-•  r- 
luon  schools  ami  e' **'  '  dev^-l  tk- !  that  agi;«''-^'^ivxness  and  >tai'ri*v  -t 
character  which  e\trr.KM  y  [  a  t-1  him  in  t'  e  forefront  a^  a  C(»iis"r'ac- 
tive  worker  and  e\e'"tl\t\  i  K-  c.mie  to  ^lahanoy  City  at  tut  u  ^K•  of 
the  outbreak  oi  tne  Civd   vvar   i»t   the  ]>';r[>ose  of  engaging   in  '-. »il 

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BIOGRAPHICAL  449 

tion,  Northumberland  county,  on  April  21,  1865.  He  is  one  of  the 
five  children  born  to  Benjamin  B.  and  Catherine  (Christine)  Sieg- 
•fried,  the  others  being  Simeon  C,  Mellmont,  Elmira  and  Emma.  El- 
mira  died  while  still  an  infant  and  Simeon  passed  away  in  his  twenty- 
first  year.  The  maternal  grandfather,  Simeon  Christine,  came  to  the 
United  States  from  England  and  located  in  Snyder  county.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  coun- 
try until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age  and  then  started  work  in  the 
iron  mines.  When  he  had  completed  that  he  accepted  a  position  on 
a  farm  and  there  remained  for  a  period  of  four  years.  On  obtaining 
a  job  as  rodman  with  a  government  surveying  party  he  went  to  the 
Indian  Territory  and  on  his  return  east  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  on  Nov.  10,  1887,  at  Sunbury,  as  a 
fireman.  On  Feb.  22,  of  the  following  year,  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Potts ville  division  and  in  1892  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  loco- 
motive engineer.  In  1890  Mr.  Siegfried  married  Miss  Ida  Hawk, 
daughter  of  William  Hawk,  of  Mainville,  Luzerne  county,  Pa.  They 
have  no  children  and  both  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church  of 
Pottsville.  Mr.  Siegfried  is  prominent  in  fraternal  circles  through- 
out the  state,  being  identified  with  all  the  prominent  orders.  He  is  a 
Scottish  Rite  Mason  of  the  Philadelphia  Consistory;  a  member  of 
Camp  No.  36,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America  of  Pottsville; 
Seneca  Tribe,  No.  41,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men;  Miners'  Lodge, 
No.  20,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  Franklin  Encampment, 
No.  4,  of  the  same  order,  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  En- 
gineers. He  has  passed  through  all  the  chairs  of  the  Odd  Fellows' 
organization,  is  a  past  sachem  of  the  Red  Men,  a  past  chief  of  the 
Engineers'  Brotherhood,  and  at  the  present  time  is  serving  his  fifth 
year  as  treasurer  of  the  last  named  order.  Politically  he  is  inde- 
pendent of  party  or  faction  in  the  exercise  of  his  right  of  franchise 
as  to  candidates  for  local  offices,  but  generally  votes  the  Republican 
ticket  in  state  and  national  affairs.  Mrs.  Siegfried  has  six  brothers 
and  a  sister  living — Alfred,  Jerry,  Boyd,  Harrison,  Wright,  Claude 
and  Mary.  Another  sister,  Anna,  died  a  few  years  ago.  The  Sieg- 
fried home  in  Pottsville  is  one  of  the  handsomest  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  homelike  places  of  the  city. 

Silliman,  Eklward  S. — Definite  and  beneficent  was  the  impress 
made  by  the  honored  subject  of  this  memoir  upon  the  economic  and 
industrial  history  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  his  name  merits  a  place 
of  lasting  distinction  upon  the  roll  of  those  who  primarily  conserved 
the  upbuilding  of  this  favored  section  of  the  state.  Instinct  with  in- 
tegrity and  strength  of  character,  he  was  well  equipped  for  winning 
distinctive  victories  in  the  battle  of  life  and  for  maintaining  an  invio- 
lable hold  upon  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  his  fellow  men.  Mr. 
Silliman  was  bom  at  Berne,  Berks  county,  Pa.,  June  20,  1820,  was 
reared  to  manhood  in  this  state,  received  the  advantages  of  the  com- 
mon schools  and  early  developed  that  aggressiveness  and  stability  of 
character  which  eventually  placed  him  in  the  forefront  as  a  construc- 
tive worker  and  executive.  He  came  to  Mahanoy  City  at  the  time  of 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  coal 

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450  V         SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

mining  and  became  one  of  the  pioneer  operators  in  this  part  of  the 
great  anthracite  district.  In  1861  he  sank  the  first  shaft  and  built  the 
first  breaker  in  the  Mahanoy  valley,  and  this  mine  is  now  known  as  the 
North  Mahanoy  colliery,  owned  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal 
and  Iron  Company.  Prior  to  opening  this  property  Mr.  Silliman  had 
been  a  resident  of  Pottsville,  and  had  become  convinced  that  abun- 
dant coal  deposits  were  waiting  development  in  the  Mahanoy  valley. 
His  convictions  in  this  regard  led  him  to  exploit  his  ideas  by  per- 
sonal eflfort  and  investment  and  he  secured  from  Biddle,  Troutman  & 
Dundas,  of  Philadelphia,  a  large  tract  of  land  in  this  locality.  At 
that  time  the  nearest  coal  operations  were  at  Girardville,  ten  miles 
distant  from  the  point  where  he  established  his  colliery.  On  Jan.  14, 
1862,  the  first  shipment  of  coal  was -made  from  this  new  breaker,  and 
this  is  to  be  recorded  as  the  initial  shipment  within  a  radius  of  eight 
miles  of  the  present  Mahanoy  City.  Mr.  Silliman's  name  gave  title  to 
the  colliery,  which  at  that  time  had  a  capacity  for  producing  100,000 
tons  of  coal  annually,  with  about  350  individuals  represented  on  the 
pay  roll.  After  operating  this  colliery  for  about  eight  years  Mr. 
Silliman  and  his  father  disposed  of  their  interest  in  the  mine  to  the 
Crane  Iron  Company,  of  Catasauqua.  It  may  be  stated  incidentally 
that  the  father  was  sheriflf  of  Berks  county  as  early  as  1832.  Soon 
after  the  sale  of  the  mine  a  strike  occurred  among  its  operatives  and 
the  breaker  was  burned.  The  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron 
Company  shortly  afterward  secured  control  of  the  property,  and  to- 
day it  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  profitably  operated  collieries  in 
the  region.  After  retiring  from  the  enterprise  noted,  Mr.  Silliman 
built  an  iron  furnace  at  New  Ringgold,  but  the  undertaking  was  not 
a  financial  success  owing  to  a  general  depression  in  the  iron  market 
at  that  time.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  soft  coal  fields  and 
became  the  operator  of  an  extensive  mine  at  Houtzdale,  Clearfield 
county,  where  he  was  again  a  pioneer  in  developing  the  coal  field,  as 
he  had  previously  been  at  Mahanoy  City.  He  later  acquired  a  tract 
of  1,600  acres  of  valuable  coal  land  near  Sheppton,  Schuylkill  county. 
Apart  from  this  intimate  connection  with  the  early  developments  of 
the -coal  industry  in  this  section,  Mr.  Silliman  contributed  in  a  splen- 
did and  generous  way  to  the  upbuilding  of  Mahanoy  City,  which  con- 
tinued to  be  his  home  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  May  i,  1904. 
In  1864  he  effected  the  organization  of  the  First  National  bank  of 
Mahanoy  City,  and  thereafter  he  regularly  attended  the  meetings  of 
its  directorate  until  within  a  few  months  prior  to  his  demise.  He  was 
elected  president  of  the  bank  in  1866  and  filled  this  important  execu- 
tive office  thereafter  until  he  was  called  from  the  scene  of  life's  en- 
deavors. He  was  the  organizer  of  the  Mahanoy  City  Water  Com- 
pany, which  supplies  the  city  and  also  many  collieries  with  water,  and 
was  president  of  the  company  from  its  inception  until  Jhis  death.  He 
was  also  president  and  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Mahanoy  City 
Electric  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company  and  the  Mahanoy  City  Gas 
Company,  and  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Humane  Hose  Company. 
In  1875  Mr.  Silliman  organized  the  Siliiman  Guards,  and  the  organi- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  451 

zation  is  now  perpetuated  as  Company  E,  8th  regiment,  Pennsylvania 
National  Guard.  Even  these  brief  statements  indicate  the  diversity  of 
Mr.  Silliman's  interests,  and  show  the  broad-minded  attributes  of  the 
man.  He  did  not  hedge  himself  in  with  the  narrow  lines  of  individual 
business  aggrandizement,  but  foimd  pleasure  in  the  forwarding  of 
enterprises  for  the  general  good  and  was  a  man  unostentatious  and 
kindly,  easy  of  approach,  generous  and  tolerant.  His  influence  and 
helpfulness  permeated  the  life  and  being  of  his  home  city  and  county 
and  his  capitalistic  support  did  much  to  bring  about  the  magnificent 
development  of  this  section.  Honesty  and- integrity  dwelt  with  him 
as  constant  guests  and  he  commanded  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
all  classes  of  people.  In  1858  Mr.  Silliman  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Sarah  Keller,  whose  death  occurred  in  1894.  They  became  the 
parents  of  four  children :  Ellen,  now  the  wife  of  George  H.  Jackson, 
of  Philadelphia ;  Edward,  James  and  Charles,  who  remain  residents  of 
Mahanoy  City.  Mr.  Silliman  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  and  his  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the 
Republican  party. 

Silliman,  Edward  S.,  president  of  the  First  National  bank  and 
also  of  the  City  Water  Company  of  Mahanoy  City,  was  bom  Nov.  4, 
1865,  21  son  of  Edward  S.  and  Sarah  (Keller)  Silliman,  both  repre- 
sentatives of  pioneer  families  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  James  Silliman,  was  elected  sheriff  of  Berks  coimty. 
Pa.,  in  1832.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  and  educated  in 
Mahanoy  City  and  he  has  been  a  resident  of  his  native  borough  dur- 
ing most  of  his  life.  He  is  prominently  identified  with  the  business 
and  social  affairs  of  Mahanoy  City,  with  which  the  family  name  has 
long  been  associated.  Mr.  Silliman  is  a  Republican  in  his  political 
views,  and  affiliates  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Union  Republican  club  of  Philadelphia,  the  Young 
Men's  Republican  club  of  Mahanoy  City,  and  the  Central  Republican 
club  of  Pottsville.  Of  the  fraternal  societies  he  holds  membership  in 
the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  in  Mahanoy  City.  Mr.  Silli- 
man was  married  on  Dec.  7,  IS)05,  to  Miss  Mabel  S.  Beck,  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Matilda  (Strauch)  Beck,  of  Schuylkill  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Silliman  are  the  happy  parents  of  a  little  daughter.  Miss  Mary 
B.,  born  in  September,  1906. 

Silliman,  H.  I.,  editor  of  the  Tamaqua  Evening  Courier,  was 
born  at  Mahanoy  Plane,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  Dec.  15,  1876,  a  son 
of  John  H.  "Sillyman,"  the  youngest  son  of  John  Sill)mian,  who  was 
the  eldest  of  four  brothers  prominent  in  the  development  of  the  tim- 
ber and  mining  interests  in  the  county  in  early  days.  These  were 
James,  Thomas,  Samuel  and  John  Sill}Tnan,  who  came  to  Pottsville  in 
1820  as  contractors  in  the  building  of  the  turnpike  between  Reading 
and  Sunbury.  After  completing  this  work,  they  tumed  their  attention 
to  the  timber  business  for  a  time,  and  later  engaged  extensively  in 
mining  operations.  The  mines  on  the  "America  Tract"  at  Pottsville 
were  opened  and  operated  by  the  Sillyman  brothers,  as  was  also  the 
Bear  Ridge  tract,  in  the  Schuylkill  valley.     Later  they  worked  the 


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452  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

collieries  at  Crow  Hollow,. St.  Clair,  Middleport,  Patterson,  Tusca- 
rora  and  Mahanoy  City.  They  were  all  married  and  reared  large  fam- 
ilies, some  of  whom  retain  the  original  spelling  of  the  name,  while 
others  have  substituted  'i"  for  "y»"  and,  whether  right  or  wrong,  the 
name  is  also  found  written  "Selliman."  The  family  was  intensely- 
loyal  to  the  national  government  during  the  Civil  war,  each  family 
contributing  to  the  volunteer  service,  one  of  whom,  James  I.  Silliman, 
was  one  of  the  "First  Defenders,"  and  died  soon  after  being  dis- 
charged from  the  three  months'  service  in  1861.  He  was  the  first  Civil 
war  soldier  buried  in  the  Pottsville  cemetery.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  has  spent  all  of  his  mature  years  in  journalism  and  other  lit- 
erary work.  He  was  educated  at  the  Tamaqua  high  school  and  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  began  his  newspaper  career.  For  the  last  eight  years 
he  has  been  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Tamaqua  Evening  Courier,  and  in 
addition  to  this  work  contributes  to  the  columns  of  other  newspapers 
and  magazines,  having  been  the  regular  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Sun  from  the  southern  coal  fields  during  the  last  seven  years. 
Mr.  Silliman  is  active  and  influential  in  the  business  affairs  of  Tama- 
qua ;  is  prominently  identified  with  various  lodges  and  social  organiza- 
tions ;  is  a  member  and  secretary  of  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  59,  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  is  also  treasurer  of  the  Elks'  home, 
and  is  a  member  and  secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Panther 
Creek  Valley  hospital  association.  John  H.  Silliman,  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  article,  was  for  many  years  trainmaster  on  the  Shamo- 
kin  division  of  the  Reading  railroad,  with  headquarters  at  Mahanoy 
Plane.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  Tamaqua,  subsequently  going 
south  and  engaging  in  the  contracting  business.  In  1889  he  returned 
to  Mahanoy  Plane  and  resumed  the  duties  of  his  former  position 
there. 

Sillyman,  Conard  B.,  an  insurance  agent  of  prominence,  whose 
place  of  business  is  at  122  West  Mahantongo  street,  Pottsville,  was 
bom  at  St.  Clair  on  July  13,  1871.  He  is  a  son  of  Conard  B.  and 
Mary  E.  (Van  Horn)  Sillyman,  both  natives  of  Schuylkill  county, 
and  on  the  father's  side  is  a  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  Schuylkill 
county  pioneers.  The  father  was  in  his  earlier  life  engaged  in  mining, 
but  abandoned  it  to  enter  the  insurance  business,  in  which  he  contin- 
ued until  his  death,  in  1892,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years.  The  mother 
and  the  four  children  are  still  living.  The  eldest  child,  J.  Hiram,  is 
engaged  in  the  insurance  business  in  Qeveland,  O. ;  James  S.  is  a 
salesman  in  Pittsburg;  and  the  daughter,  Mrs.  E.  S.  Layson,  resides 
in  New  York.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  youngest  of  the  four. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville  and  when  he  had  com- 
pleted his  education  he  began  his  business  career  in  his  father's  office. 
There  he  continued  to  work  until  the  father's  death,  when  he  assumed 
the  management  of  the  whole  establishment.  The  business  includes 
three  branches — life,  fire  and  accident  insurance — ^and  from  year  to 
year  has  increased  in  volumes  until  it  now  ranks  among  the  largest 
agencies  as  regards  the  amount  and  the  number  of  policies  issued.  In 
politics  he  is  independent,  but  is  generally  ranked  with  the  Repub- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  453 

licans.  He  has  never  aspired  to  nor  held  office  or  any  official  posi- 
tion. In  1900  Mr.  Sillyman  married  Miss  Minnie  B.  Heebner,  of 
Port  Carbon,  a  daughter  of  Henry  R.  Heebner,  a  general  merchant 
of  that  place.  They  have  no  children.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sillyman 
are  members  of  and  earnest  workers  in  the  First  Presbyterian  church 
of  Pottsville,  and  Mr.  Sillyman  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  public 
spirited  and  enterprising  of  Pottsville's  citizens. 

SimondSy  Prof.  Benjamin  S.,  principal  of  grammar  school  No. 
I,  of  Pottsville,  and  an  educator  known  all  over  the  county,  was  born 
at  Hartland,  Vt.,  July  2,  1865,  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  four  children 
bom  to  Benjamin  S.  and  Mary  Jeannette  (Kean)  Simonds,  the  for- 
mer bom  in  New  Hampshire  and  the  latter  in  Vermont.  The  father 
was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  all  his  active  life  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  October,  1902.  The  mother  died  in  1877.  The 
other  members  of  the  family  are  William,  who  is  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness in  Woodstock,  N.  H. ;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  A.  H.  McLean,  also 
in  the  lumber  business  at  Lincoln,  N.  H. ;  and  Robert  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  bar  at  St.  Johnsburg,  Vt  Professor  Simonds  re- 
ceived his  preliminary  educational  opportunities  at  the  Mclndoc 
academy,  where  he  prepared  for  college.  In  the  fall  of  1884  he  en- 
tered Dartmouth  college  in  the  classical  course,  graduated  there  in 
1888,  and  after  three  years  more  of  work  was  given  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  His  padagogic  career  was  begun  the  same  year  that  he 
entered  college  and  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  all  the  time  he  was  in 
the  institution.  Immediately  after  receiving  his  master's  deeree  he  was 
offered  a  position  as  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  Bradford  county 
institute  of  Starke,  Fla.,  which  he  accepted  and  held  for  a  year.  When 
he  retumed  north  to  spend  his  vacation  he  was  elected  assistant  in  the 
Pottsville  high  school  and  assumed  the  charge  that  fall.  He  continued 
in  the  position  until  1906,  when  the  board  of  school  directors  se- 
lected him  to  take  charge  of  g^mmar  school  No.  i,  at  the  head  of  a 
teaching  force  of  three  instmctors.  In  1896,  at  Ludlow,  Mass.,  Pro- 
fessor Simonds  married  Miss  Marion  J.  Quick,  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Mrs.  Simonds  is  a  graduate  of  an  academy  at  Plainfield, 
Conn.,  and  of  Mt.  Holyoke  college;  in  the  class  of  1891.  Just  prior  to 
her  marriage  she  was  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  a  private  3chool  of 
Pottsville.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simonds  have  been  bom  three  children — 
Carlton  N.,  Robert  T.  and  Marion  B.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  the  father  is  identified  with  a  number  of  in- 
surance and  beneficial  societies.  He  is  a  past  gjand  of  Miners'  Lodge, 
No.  20,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  a  member  of 
Franklin  Encampment,  No.  4.  He  also  claims  membership  in  the 
American  academy  of  sciences,  the  Midwinter  educational  club,  the 
Schuylkill  county  educational  association,  and  the  board  of  trade  of 
Pottsville.  Of  the  two  last  named  organizations  he  is  the  secretary. 
Professor  Simonds  is  very  prominent  in  all  professional  and  social 
affairs  of  the  community,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  broad  culture 
and  fine  intellectual  capacity. 


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454  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Skweir,  Andrew,  a  merchant  of  McAdoo  and  postmaster  of  the 
borough,  was  bom  in  Austria  in  June,  1857,  one  of  eight  children 
born  to  Tinko  and  Anna  (Daulinak)  Skweir.  A  brother,  Albert,  who 
lives  in  Ohio,  is  the  only  other  member  of  the  family  in  the  United 
States.  Another  brother,  Nicholas,  and  five  sisters,  Anna,  Mary, 
Paulina,  Fannie  and  Eva,  are  all  living  in  Austria.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  native  country  until 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age  and  then  for  five  years  worked  on  his 
father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  came  to  the  United 
States  and  located  in  Jeansville,  Pa.,  where  he  obtained  a  position  as 
hoisting  and  pump  engineer.  After  eight  years  in  that  place  he  re- 
moved to  Hazleton  and  engaged  in  the  wholesale  liquor  and  grocery 
business.  Two  years  later  he  came  to  McAdoo,  which  was  then  a 
settlement  with  but  few  inhabitants,  erected  a  building  and  engaged  in 
the  grocery  and  hardware  business,  which  he  has  since  been  most 
successfully  conducting.  For  some  time  now  he  has  held  the  office  of 
postmaster.  In  1887  was  solemnized  Mr.  Skweir's  marriage  to  Eva 
Yankowicz,  of  Jeansville,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  Yanko- 
wicz.  She  has  three  brothers  and  a  sister,  viz. :  Andrew,  Wasiel,  John 
and  Julia.  The  children  bom  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Skweir  are  ten  in 
number,  viz.:  Antonio  (I),  (deceased);  Anna,  John,  Antonio  (II), 
Michael,  Mary,  Paulina  (deceased),  Andrew  (deceased),  Julia  and 
Helen.  The  family  are  all  communicants  of  the  Greek  Catholic 
church  of  McAdoo.  In  politics  Mr.  Skweir  is  an  ardent  believer  in 
the  tenets  of  the  Republican  party,  and  as  the  candidate  of  that  party 
was  twice  elected  to  terms,  a  period  of  six  years,  in  the  borough  coun- 
cil.   He  is  also  a  prominent  member  of  the  Citizens'  club  of  McAdoo. 

Slater,  Harry  P.,  a  real  estate  dealer  and  proprietor  of  the  Cen- 
tennial hall  at  Pottsville,  was  bom  in  that  city  Aug.  29,  1844.  His 
parents,  George  W.  and  Anna  S.  (McCartney)  Slater,  were  both  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania,  the  father  of  Union  county  and  the  mother  of 
Germantown,  their  families  having  been  among  tfie  pioneers  in  those 
sections  of  the  state.  George  W.  Slater  located  in  Pottsville  in  the 
early  '40s,  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  and  mining.  In 
1863  he  purchased  the  town  hall,  which  had  been  erected  in  1840,  and 
conducted  it  as  a  place  of  amusement  until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1876.  The  structure  was  immediately  rebuilt  in  more  modem  style 
from  the  first  story  up  and  he  continued  to  operate  it  until  his  death, 
when  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  his  son.  The  mother  also  is 
deceased.  Harry  P.  Slater  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
city  and  in  early  life  leamed  the  printer's  trade.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  served  for  nearly  four  years  as  a  marine  in  the  United  States 
navy,  serving  under  Porter,  Dahlgren,  Farragut  and  other  illustrious 
commanders.  In  1868  he  went  west  and  spent  several  years  in  Den- 
ver, Col.,  and  Helena,  Mont.  He  then  returned  to  Pottsville,  which 
city  he  has  ever  since  considered  his  home,  though  he  worked  for 
some  time  in  the  government  printing  office  at  Washington,  and  was 
also  employed  in  the  treasury  department.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican 
in  his  political  affiliations  and  takes  a  keen  interest  in  all  questions 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  455 

pertaining  to  the  public  welfare.  He  is  a  member  of  George  G. 
Meade  Post,  No.  6,  Army  and  Navy  Veterans,  of  Pottsville.  He 
married  Miss  Clara  K.,  daughter  of  Frederick  Speacht,  of  Pottsville. 
Her  grandfather,  who  settled  at  Pottsville  in  1831,  served  under  Na- 
poleon and  was  at  the  burning  of  Moscow.  Mr.  Slater  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  wide-awake,  public-spirited  men  of  Pottsville,  always 
ready  to  do  his  part  to  further  any  movement  for  the  advancement  of 
the  material  interests  of  the  city,  while  his  judgment  as  to  values  of 
realty  is  second  to  none  in  the  county. 

Slattery,  Daniel  I.,  is  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Slatteiy 
Bros.,  at  Tuscarora,  the  fame  of  which  general  merchandise  estab- 
lishment is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  limits  of  the  village  in  which 
it  is  located,  but  extends  throughout  all  of  the  surrounding  country 
from  which  it  draws  a  gratifying  patronage.  Mr.  Slattery  was  bom 
in  Tuscarora,  Aug.  31,  1869,  a  son  of  John  J.  and  Alice  (Kelly) 
Slattery,  the  former  a  native  of  Canada,  and  the  latter  of  New  Phila- 
delphia, Schuylkill  county.  The  father  migrated  to  the  United 
States  in  the  early  '60s  and  settled  in  Port  Carbon,  where  he  followed 
the  business  of  boating  on  the  Schuylkill  canal  for  a  number  of  years. 
In  1864  he  located  at  Tuscarora  and  engaged  in  the  general  mercantile 
business,  .which  occupation  he  followed  until  his  death  in  March, 
1895.  He  left  a  family  of  seven  children,  viz.:  Margaret,  wife  of 
James  Kenna ;  Geprge,  deceased ;  John  J. ;  Daniel  I. ;  Thomas  F. ;  James 
B.  and  Dennis  J.  Daniel  I.  Slattery,  to  whom  this  review  is  more 
particularly  dedicated,  was  reared  in  Tuscarora  and  received  his  edu- 
cational training  in  the  public  schools  of  that  place.  At  the  early  age 
of  twelve  years  he  secured  employment  as  a  slate  picker  and  began 
his  independent  career.  Later  he  worked  in  the  mines  for  seven  years 
and  then  entered  his  father's  store,  where  he  was  employed  until  the 
time  of  the  parent's  death.  He  and  his  brother,  Thomas  F.,  then  suc- 
ceeded to  the  business  and  have  since  conducted  the  same  under  the 
firm  name  of  Slattery  Bros.  They  have  the  oldest  as  well  as  the 
leading  mercantile  establishment  in  the  village  of  Tuscarora,  and  the 
sons  are  well  maintaining  the  reputation  so  firmly  fixed  by  their  hon- 
ored father  in  the  matter  of  upright  and  honest  dealing.  Daniel  I. 
Slattery  is  a  member  of  St.  Jerome's  church  at  Tamaqua,  and  fra- 
ternally he  has  membership  in  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  591,  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Lodge  of  Foresters  at  Tus- 
carora. Aside  from  his  mercantile  business  he  is  interested  as  a  stock- 
holder and  operator  of  the  Bell  colliery,  located  in  Schuylkill  town- 
ship, and  the  Slattery  Bros,  are  proprietors  of  the  Port  Carbon  col- 
•  liery,  located  in  Ea3t  Norwegian  township.  In  politics  Mr.  Slattery  is 
a  Democrat  and  during  the  past  twelve  years  has  filled  the  position  of 
justice  of  the  peace. 

Smith,  Albert,  a  resident  of  Yorkville,  who  holds  the  position  of 
section  foreman  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  was  born 
in  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  county,  June  4,  1846,  a  son  of  Albert  and 
Magdalena  (Siegel)  Smith,  the  former  born  in  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, Germany,  and  the  latter  in  the  province  of  Alsace-Lprrairie^, 


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456  .SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

which  was  then  under  French  dominion.  The  father  came  to 
America  about  1840  and  located  in  Yorkville,  Schuylkill  county. 
Pa.,  where  he  became  identified  with  the  coal-mining  industry.  He 
later  engaged  in  farming  and  for  many  years  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  Mine  Hill  Railroad  Company  as  foreman.  He  died  in  his  forty- 
ninth  year  and  his  wife  survived  him  by  a  number  of  years.  Of  their 
nine  children  seven  grew  to  maturity.  The  names  of  the  children  are 
here  entered  in  order  of  their  birth:  Elizabeth,  Albert,  Henry,  An- 
drew, Margaret,  John,  Kate,  Joseph,  and  Bernard.  Elizabeth,  An- 
drew, Margaret,  John,  Kate  and  Joseph  are  now  deceased.  Th^  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  manhood  in  Schuylkill  county  and 
received  limited  educational  advantages  in  his  youth,  as  he  early  as- 
sumed the  practical  responsibilities  of  life.  In  1856  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Mine  Hill  Railroad  Company  as  water  boy,  and  since 
1864  he  has  been  continuouslv  in  the  service  of  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Railroad  Company.  Since  1870  he  has  held  his  present  posi- 
tion as  foreman  and  has  resided  in  Yorkville  during  the  long  inter- 
vening period.  In  politics  he  is  independent  and  he  and  his  wife  are 
communicants  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  church  in  their  home  town. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Telief  association.  A 
letter  which  Mr.  Smith  received  from  Rufus  Wilder,  of  Cressona, 
former  superintendent  of  the  Mine  Hill  Railroad,  dated  Jan.  31,  1900, 
contains  statements  which  are  worthy  of  reproduction  in  this  sketch: 
"I  remember  your  father,  Albert  Smith,  who  was  section  foreman  of 
the  Mine  Hill  railroad  from  West  Wood  to  Germantown.  I  also  re- 
member you  as  a  very  good  little  boy  for  the  repair  force  on  that 
section.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  still  employed  by  the  com- 
pany. It  shows  you  have  always  been  a  faithful  employe,  as  your 
father  was  before  you.  A  half  century  has  passed  since  you  entered 
the  service  of  the  company,  and  I  trust  that  in  that  time  you  have 
earned  and  received  deserved  promotion."  On  May  28,  1871,  Mr. 
Smith  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Catherine  Christ,  daughter  of 
George  and  Margaret  (Rice)  Christ,  of  West  Wood,  and  they  have 
seven  children — Eliza,  Albert,  Jr.,  George,  Margaret,  Edward,  Charles 
and  William.    Eliza  is  now  the  wife  of  Howell  Quinn. 

Smith,  Daniel  H.,  a  merchant  and  dealer  in  farm  implements  at 
Haas,  Pa.,  was  bom  in  Eldred  township,  Schuylkill  county,  Oct.  9, 
1850,  a  son  of  John  S.  and  Judith  (Herb)  Smith,  the  father  being  a 
mechanic  in  Haas  during  all  of  his  mature  years.  He  was  a  master 
at  his  trade  of  blacksmithin^  and  was  able  to  design  and  make  any- 
thing within  the  sphere  of  his  business.  The  paternal  grandfather  of 
Daniel  H.  Smith  was  also  named  John  Smith  and  was  among  the 
pioneer  carpenters  and  boat  builders  of  Pottsville.  He  located  in 
Eldred  township  in  an  early  day  and  both  he  and  his  son  John  S. 
were  identified  with  the  development  of  that  township,  contributing 
their  share  toward  its  material  growth  and  prosperity.  They  owned 
farms  which  they  tilled  in  connection  with  their  mechanical  work. 
John  S.  Smith  was  a  Republican  in  political  preferences,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  of  God.    Daniel  H.  Smith  is  the  eldest  of  ten  chil- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  457 

dren  bom  to  his  parents,  the  others  being  Charles,  of  Ashland,  Pa. ; 
William,  in  Eldred  township;  Felix,  deceased;  John,  a  farmer  in 
Eldred  township;  Mary,  of  Mount  Carmel;  Catherine,  deceased;  Liz- 
zie, of  Tower  City,  Pa.;  Sarah,  wife  of  William  Beisel  of  Sha- 
mokin,  Pa.,  and  Lewis,  deceased.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  started  on  his 
business  career  independent  of  home  counsels  or  restrictions.  He 
married  Miss  Susanna  Derr,  of  Fountain  .Springs,  Pa.,  and  they  have 
four  children  living,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  John,  having  died  at  the 
age  of  four  years.  The  eldest  is  Emma,  now  the  wife  of  James  Knerr, 
of  Eldred  township ;  Jane  is  «iarried  to  E.  W.  Brosius,  also  of  Eldred 
township;  Cyrus,  a  blacksmith  by  occupation,  married  Clara  Hepler 
and  resides  at  his  parental  home ;  Dirzah  became  th6  wife  of  William 
Treon  and  resides  at  Locust  Dale,  Pa.  Mr.  Smith  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  blacksmith's  trade  during  his  youth,  and  worked 
at  that  business  for  thirty-four  years.  He  owns  a  farm  which  he 
conducts  in  connection  with  his  mercantile  business  at  Haas.  This 
includes  a  full  line  of  staple  and  fancy  groceries,  drugs,  confectionery, 
tobacco  and  cigars,  farm  implements,  etc.  He  has  been  assessor  of 
Eldred  township  for  fifteen  years;  served  twelve  years  as  a  member 
of  the  township  school  board;  has  been  local  agent  of  the  North 
Western  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  for  twenty  years;  and  has 
been  postriiaster  at  Haas  for  twenty-one  years.  He  is  a  man 
thoroughly  well  read,  and  a  leader  in  the  councils  of  Republicanism. 
His  friends  are  legion,  and  his  acquaintance  extends  to  tihe  remotest 
comers  of  the  county. 

Smith,  Francis  H.,  a  representative  dairyman  of  the  borough  of 
Yorkville,  is  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county  and  a  member  of  one  of 
its  honored  families.  He  was  bom  in  the  family  home  on  the  site  of 
the  present  academy  of  music  in  the  city  of  Pottsville,  Nov.  7,  184^, 
a  son  of  William  C.  and  Diana  (Cake)  Smith,  the  former  bom  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  the  latter  in  Pottsville.  The  matemal 
grandfather,  Levi  Cake,  was  a  scion  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families 
of  Pennsylvania,  of  which  he  was  a  native,  and  he  himself  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Pottsville.  He  was  a  boat  and  ship  builder  by 
trade  and  assisted  in  the  building  of  many  of  the  boats  that  plied  the 
canal  between  Pottsville  and  Philadelphia  in  the  early  days.  He  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  Pottsville  until  his  death.  William  C.  Smith 
settled  in  Pottsville  in  1840.  He  was  a  machinist  by  trade  and  upon 
coming  to  Pottsville  entered  the  employ  of  Wren  Bros.,  who  then 
conducted  what  was  known  as  the  Eagle  foundry.  Three  years  later 
he  became  superintendent  of  the  machine  shops  of  Haywood  &  Snyder 
and  later  held  the  same  position  with  the  firm  of  Snyder  &  Millens, 
with  whom  he  remained  until  1855,  when  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Benjamin  Pomeroy  and  son,  under  the  name  of  Pomeroy,  Smith 
&  Pomeroy,  in  the  same  line  of  business.  The  partnership  was  dis- 
solved three  years  later  and  Mr.  Smith  thereafter  conducted  a  machine 
shop  of  his  own  until  1861,  when  he  engaged  in  the  coal  business 
at  Hekscherville,  this  county,  operating  the  East  and  West  Pine  Knot 


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458  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

collieries  until  1864.  In  1866  he  removed  to  Shamokin,  Ngrthumber- 
land  county,  where  he  successfully  operated  the  Lancaster  colliery 
until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  on  Nov.  20,  1896,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  years.  He  left  a  competency  to  his  widow  and 
children.  Of  the  five  children  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  first 
bom ;  Emma,  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Jacob  R.  Kiser,  who  was 
associated  with  her  father  in  the  coal  business ;  Ralph  H.  is  deceased ; 
Warren  M.  went  to  Australia  in  1880  and  died  there ;  and  Burton  B. 
is  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  Shamokin.  Francis  H.  Smith 
was  reared  to  maturity  in  Pottsville,  in  whose  common  schools  he 
received  his  early  educational  discipline,  learned  the  machinist  trade 
under  the  able  direction  of  his  honored*  father,  and  was  identified 
with  the  work  of  his  trade  for  twenty-one  years.  He  was  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company  for  twenty-one 
years,  having  previously  been  superintendent  of  the  Monmouth  Vein 
Consolidated  Coal  Company,  at  Locust  Gap,  Northumberland  county, 
from  1864  to  1868.  For  the  past  decade  he  has  successfully  conducted 
a  dairy  farm  at  Yorkville,  where  he  has  a  finely  improved  property 
and  controls  a  large  and  appreciative  patronage.  Mr.  Smith  was  a 
leal  and  loyal  soldier  of  the  Union  in  the  Civil  war,  having  enlisted 
on  Aug.  18,  1862,  in  Company  B,  129th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  in- 
fantry, with  which  he  took  part  in  numerous  engagements,  the  more 
important  of  which  were  the  battles  of  Antietam,  Keameysville, 
Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville.  He  received  his  honorable  dis- 
charge at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  May  18,  1863.  In  his  political  adherency 
Mr.  Smith  is  found  arrayed  as  a  stalwart  supporter  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  English  Luth- 
eran church.  Dec.  29,  1864,  recorded  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Smith  to 
Miss  Caroline  Heller,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Magdalene  (Byle) 
Heller,  of  Mount  Carbon,  this  county,  and  of  their  four  children  only 
one  is  living — Calantha,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  J.  Cavanaugh,  a 
successful  railroad  contractor. 

Smith,  William  Frank,  who  conducts  a  modem  and  well- 
equipped  general  store  in  Nuremberg,  was  born  in  Nescopeck,  Luzerne 
county.  Pa.,  May  19,  1869,  a  son  of  Albert  and  Sarah  Jane  (Raber) 
Smith.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  township,  round- 
ing out  his  educational  preparation  by  a  course  in  the  Orangeville 
acadeniy  and  subsequently  attended  the  Bloomsburg  normal  school. 
During  his  attendance  he  was  also  engaged  in  pedagogic  work,  this 
arrangement  continuing  for  eight  years.  On  Oct.  11,  1^3,  Mr.  Smith 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  May  Readier,  daughter  of  Philip 
and  Lydia  (Hess)  Readier,  of  Luzerne  county,  by  the  Rev.  W.  D. 
Donat,  pastor  of  the  Wapwallopen  charge,  Pa.  In  1896,  in  partnership 
with  William  M.  Kershner,  he  opened  a  general  store  under  the  firm 
name  of  Kershner  &  Smith.  In  January,  1901,  the  partnership  was 
dissolved,  Mr.  Kershner  resigning  and  being  succeeded  by  Mr.  John 
C.  Weiss.  The  concern  was  managed  under  the  firm  name  of  Smith 
&  Weiss  until  September,  1904,  when  Mr.  Weiss  withdrew  and  Mr. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  459 

Smith  undertook  the  entire  responsibility.  That  he  has  made  a  suc- 
cess of  his  venture  is  evident  by  the  increase  of  patronage  from  year 
to  year  and  the  continual  enlargement  of  the  capacity  of  the  store. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  are  members  of  and  active  workers  in  the 
Emanuel  Reformed  church  of  Nuremberg,  and  he  is  identified  with 
the  Nuremberg  Lodge,  No.  1075,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, being  a  past  officer  in  the  same.  He  is  a  man  of  good  business 
capacity,  absolute  integrity  and  well-merited  respectability. 

Smell,  Rev.  Edwin  H.,  the    eloquent    and   popular    pastor    of 
Christ  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  is  a  native 
of  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  born  April  2,  1861,  a  son  of  Rev.  B.  S. 
SmoU,  a  native  of  Upper  Hanover,  Montgomery  county,  Pa.     The 
father  was  a  Lutheran  minister,  in  which  laudable  work  his  life  has 
been  spent,  and  his  grandfather,  Peter  Smoll,  was  a  soldier  during  the 
Revolutionary  war.     Peter  SmolFs  wife,  though  not  bearing  arms, 
contributed  her  share  of  service  to  the  cause  of  national  independence, 
as  she  accompanied  her  husband  in  his  perilous  work  and  assisted  in 
every  way  possible  to  render  his  burdens  lighter.    The  hand  of  this 
noble  woman  soothed  the  pains  of  the  sick  and  wounded  and  ten- 
derly cared  for  the  dying.     She  was  of  Irish  birth,  devoted  to  her 
young  husband  and  the  cause  which  he  served,  and  no  sacrifice  was 
too  great  for  her  to  make  for  the  benefit  of  either.    Rev.  Edwin  H. 
Smoll  received  his  elementary  education  in  the  schools  of  Pennsburg, 
Montgomery  county,  Pa.,  and  on  June  25,  1882,  was  graduated  at 
the  Muhlenberg  (Lutheran)  college  of  Allentown,  Pa.,  after  which 
he  completed  3ie  course  in  theology  at  the  Lutheran  seminary  on 
Franklin  street,  Philadelphia.    He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Lutheran  church  at  Allentown  on  June  2,  1885,  and  in  August  of  the 
same  year  was  called  to  the  Millersville  parish  in  Lancaster  county. 
There  he  served  three  congregations  until  Nov.  7,  1886,  when  he  was 
called  to  his  present  charge.    This  embraces  three  churches,  with  the 
central  congregation  at  Schuylkill  Haven.    Christ  church  is  a  strong 
and  prosperous  organization,  embracing  on  its  roll  of  membership 
many  of  the  leading  citizens    of    the    borough.     A    handsome  new 
church  edifice  has  been  erected  within  the  years  1905-1906,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  principal  church  buildings  in  the  town.     In  addition  to 
this,  Mr.  Smoll  has  pastoral  charge  of  the  congregations  at  St.  Paul's 
church,  in  South  Manheim  township,  and  St.  John's  church  at  Fried- 
ensburg.     These  are  all  very  old  organizations,  established  in  early 
pioneer  days,  and  are  under  the  control  of  the  general  council  of  the 
Lutheran  organization  in  the  United  States.    Air.  Smoll  was  married 
on  Oct.  2,  1889,  to  Miss  Mada  A.,  daughter  of  Charles  F.  and  Ellen 
(Laubenstine)  Weaver,  of  Cressona,  Pa.    Their  only  child,  a  daugh- 
ter named  Ruth  Irene,  was  bom  March  22,  1892,  and  is  now  a  diligent 
student  in  the  high  school.    Mr.  Smoll  is  independent  in  his  political 
views,  holding  aloof  from  party  ties  and  obligations.     He  votes  for 
tnen  rather  than  measures,  and  regards  the  political  machinery  of  the 
country  as  too  much  under  the  domination  of  so-called  "party  lead- 


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460  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Snyder,  A.  J.,  proprietor  of  a  bottling  establishment  in  Tama- 
qua,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  county  on  Sept.  4,  1857,  a  son  of  Michael 
and  Salome  Snyder.  The  mother  was  born  in  this  county  and  the 
father  in  Northumberland  county.  He  was  a  millwright  by  trade, 
but  the  latter  part  of  his  active  life  was  spent  in  farming  in  Schuyl- 
kill county.  He  died  in  1887  at  the  age  of  sixty  years  and  his  wife 
passed  away  a  year  later  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine.  Several  of  the  minor 
political  offices  were  filled  by  the  father  and  he  was  for  many  years 
an  officer  in  the  Lutheran  church.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
fourth  in  order  of  birth  of  the  twelve  children  in  the  family,  of  whom 
ten  survive.  Amanda  is  Mrs.  William  Lemke,  of  Tower  City;  John 
H.  is  an  invalid ;  James  W.  is  a  railroad  man  with  headquarters  in  Har- 
risburg;  Aaron  L.  met  his  death  in  an  accident  on  the  railroad  in 
1887;  Amos  F.  resides  on  the  old  homestead  in  Barry  township,  this 
coun^ ;  Simon  P.  is  a  mill  owner  of  Barry  township ;  Michael  F.  is  a 
farmer  in  the  same  township ;  Mary  is  married ;  Sarah  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  Okenhause,  a  farmer  living  near  Tower  City;  another  sister 
is  Mrs.  Schwahn,  of  Gowen  City,  Pa.;  and  the  other  child  died  in 
infancy.  A.  J.  Snyder  attended  die  public  schools  in  his  native  town- 
ship and  spent  the  first  few  years  of  his  life  after  the  completion  of 
his  scholastic  training  on  his  father's  farm.  From  the  farm  he  went 
to  Taylorsville,  where  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  hotel  business 
for  four  years  and  for  four  more  conducted  a  saloon.  From  Ash- 
land he  removed  to  Tamaqua  and  embarked  in  the  bottling  business. 
For  fourteen  years  now  (1907)  he  has  been  most  successfully  con- 
ducting this  business  and  is  now  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  substan- 
tial business  men  of  Tamaqua.  He  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as 
member  of  the  school  board,  for  three  years,  under  Dr.  D.  S.  Mar- 
shall, he  was  deputy  coroner,  and  also  served  as  deputy  under  Dr.  C. 
A.  Bleiler,  .of  Frackville.  On  May  ttj,  1882,  Mr.  Snyder  married 
Miss  Christina  Billman,  bom  in  the  township  of  Barry  on  Jan.  5, 
1856,  and  a  daughter  of  C.  M.  and  Christina  Billman.  Mrs.  Snyder 
died  on  May  2,  1906,  leaving  besides  the  bereaved  husband  five  chil- 
dren. Lizzie  Ann  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Weidner,  of  Carbondale,  and 
the  mother  of  a  son,  Albert  Jackson;  Martha  E.  is  now  serving  her 
fourth  year  as  a  teacher  in  the  Tamaqua  schools ;  and  the  others  are 
Vema  S.,  Edna  Florence  and  Andrew  Charles.  The  family  are  com- 
municants of  the  Lutheran  church  and  the  father  is  fraternally  iden- 
tified with  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks. 

Snyder,  Amos  Franklin,  a  substantial  farmer  and  dealer  in  farm 
implements,  was  born  in  Barry  township,  Schuylkill  county,  July  18, 
1861,  a  son  of  Michael  and  Salome  (Schrope)  Snyder,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  Northumberland  county,  and  the  latter  in  Hegins 
township,  Schuylkill  county.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended 
township  and  district  schools  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  and 
then  started  to  earn  a  livelihood  by  following  agricultural  pursuits. 
Subsequently,  in  1886,  he  began  a  jobbing  business  in  farm  implements 
as  a  matter  of  diversion  rather  than  business,  but  at  the  present  time 


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.^,  Patriotic  (  n'i*\-     i  tii«-  >.-! 

.-.    II  actnt'ly  i'l».:'>Liiu  J  \\:!li  a*'\    --  i 

■'•'jU'cl,  Chii.'^ruin  ^"''rlfiuiai.  ♦•♦" 
Snyder,  Charles  A.,  a  v.  o''      < 
I  ative  oi  tlie   K<>^tf.i,.'   >' it,*,   !'..\     . 
^^■.  iiU-.  April    i(),'  \Hi,y.     li:.    ;.    '.•  ,     '     .     , 
11!    ."-(iiUN  ikill    couTitv.    (  ^-t     '),    r  ■  ^,    4     ' 
!i,init>  was  Lcali  Hoclitr  l*'\ia    \^  i  -  u     •     i     • 
j>raii<hMreiit-^  on  both  suits  v  rrt,  .. 
horkcn  rt^i-Mi  uf  licrk^  c-n  ■•'>      ...  '    .    . 
of  the  Ijiiheraii  clniuli  -^^    ^■.  «•-    • 
Win^  a   'Ivic^-att'  t(»  t'^-    !.-■:. 
aI->{)  p,trti(i;)aiHs  in  tin*  I)    ■■   'i 

<|nent  wais  in  whirh  tli«'    ^  •*>''. 

n.  Snydtr  ^iT^((I  throt?;^*  i  .' 

autl   i^jr^l  ]'»nii^y]vaii:,.   v     • 

f<hicat'.  .1  ii'  iIk-  public  5v'  •••^'■ 

I'jvm  his  ci'hi'i.-si'.'U  to  i\      '...    .  ■    -■ 

he    has    t  \  cr    >ince    copi"     ■   ■ 

clicnta^*-^'.     He  is  a  Ki  i^"'*  ^  .■"■  .  ■  '    ^  '    -  ' 

active  iiiterr-i  in  ,ill  p.^'s  -     ,    .'".n  ,     . 

pubHc   s;  Inn. Is.      He   b--    ;  '••:    .1-      i*  •    -■ 

torney.  c«'*nptrol1er,  ai':'l    1'   ;    'I  '-v'   i^i     n     *:    . 

sented  the  lourth  ihs.'u't  *»t  >< '•      ".w/  ..• -     . 

In   reli^^ious    nuitlors,   Ir's    i;'*.;  ■  '   bv '.    ,<^    i  »    i,.- 
church,  and  in  frater^^.d  »'•  v  It  -   ,/ir.  "su^  :- r  \> 
Order  of  Red  M<  n,  the   Kti  iJv^  <  f  t;..    C.  '   ■   '   i 
tective  Order  Sons  of  An.<riOa.     t 'i^   ?'»ri\    -m.    t.-<<, 
united  in  inarriaL,^e  to  ^li-^  I  atira,  -Irii';''   <-:  --^  t 
(Hoifman)    Arters,   oi   (,hiirc!il»»\Mi.    I.aj:  . -t   :    . 
was  long  and  favorably  known    i-  one  *»i   :i'     '."- 
tors  of  Schuylkill  county,  whiic  lie  carrv  n  :!v  e 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  .  461 

it  has  grown  to  such  dimensions  as  to  absorb  a  large  part  of  his  time. 
He  does  considerable  market  gardening  besides  his  general  farming, 
delivering  his  produce  to  dealers  and  private  customers  in  Barry.  On 
Feb.  22,  1885,  Mr.  Snyder  married  Miss  Abbie  Erdman,  daughter  of 
Abraham  and  Mary  (Troutman)  Erdman,  and  six  children — ^three 
sons  and  as  many  daughters — have  blessed  this  union.  They  are: 
Charles  N.,  Leon  E.,  Raymond  P.,  Mamie  I.,  Grace  V.  and  Elsie  A. 
The  family  are  all  members  of  and  devout  workers  in  the  Lutheran 
church  6i  Barry.'  For  six  years  Mr.  Snyder  was  superintendent  of 
its  Sunday  school  until  about  two  years  ago,  when  the  church  organ- 
ized a  branch  school  and  he  was  given  charge  of  it.  In  politics  he  is 
a  leader  in  the  local  councils  of  the  Democratic  party  and  as  the  can- 
didate of  that  political  organization  has  been  honored  with  election 
to  the  offices  of  assessor  and  school  director.  Fraternally  he  was  at 
one  time  associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  but  of  late  years  has  not 
been  actively  identified  with  any  secret  organization.  He  is  a  public- 
spirited.  Christian  gentleman,  enterprising,  active  and  enthusiastic. 

Snyder,  Charles  A.,  a  well  known  attorney  of  Pottsville,  is  a 
native  of  the  Keystone  state,  having  been  bom  at  Pillow,  Dauphin 
county,  April  16,  1867.  His  father,  William  Herb  Snyder,  was  born 
in  Schuylkill  county,  Oct.  6,  1844,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Leah  Hoeffer  Brua,  was  bom  at  Pillow,  Dec.  23,  1843.  The 
grandparents  on  both  sides  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  the  Tulpe- 
hocken  region  of  Berks  county,  and  were  prominent  in  the  formation 
of  the  Lutheran  church  in  America,  one  of  the  ancestors,  Peter  Brua, 
being  a  delegate  to  the,  first  Lutheran  synod.  The  ancestors  were 
also  participants  in  the  Indian  and  colonial  wars  and  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  while  the  family  has  been  represented  in  all  the  subse- 
quent wars  in  which  the  United  States  have  been  involved.  William 
H.  Snyder  served  throughout  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  in  the  io8th 
and ''172nd  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry.  Charles  A.  Snyder  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  afterward  took  up  the  study  of  law. 
Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  began  practice  in  Pottsville,  where 
he  has  ever  since  continued,  and  where  he  has  a  representative 
clientage.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  affiliations  and  takes  an 
active  interest  in  all  public  questions,  particularly  those  affecting  the 
public  schools.  He  has  served  as  city  solicitor,  deputy  district  at- 
tomey,  comptroller,  and  for  three  terms,  from  1903  to  1907,  repre- 
sented the  Fourth  district  of  Schuylkill  county  in  the  state  legislature. 
In  religious  matters,  his  family  belong  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  in  fraternal  circles  Mr.  Snyder  belongs  to  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  and  the  Pro- 
tective Order  Sons  of  America.  On  May  21,  1891,  Mr.  Snyder  was 
tmited  in  marriage  to  Miss  Laura,  daughter  of  Charles  D.  and  Ellen 
(Hoffman)  Arters,  of  Churchtown,  Lancaster  county.  Her  father 
was  long  and  favorably  known  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  educa- 
tors of  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  came  in  the  early  '70s.     Mr.  and 


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462  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Mrs.  Snyder  have  two  children:  Ruth,  born  Oct.  9,  1892,  and  Droz 
Brua,  born  April  12,  1900. 

Snyder,  Simon  P.,  now  operating  a  mill  near  Barry,  is  a  son  of 
Michael  and  Salome  (Schrope)  Snyder,  and  was  bom  in  the  township 
where  he  now  resides.  May  29,  1866.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  township  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  and  then  for 
a  number  of  years  assisted  his  father  in  the  management  of  the  farm. 
When  he  started  business  for  himself  he  embarked  in  the  mill  industry 
and  has  followed  no  other  line.  He  is  also  known  as  a  maker  of  ex- 
cellent cider,  which  has  attained  quite  a  reputation  for  its  purity,  and 
\$  a  manufacturer  of  picket  fencing.  On  July  15,  1888,  Mr.  Snyder 
married  Miss  Emma  Schucker,  a  daughter  of  John  Schucker,  and  to 
this  union  have  been'  born  fourteen  children.  Of  these  but  four 
survive — Harry  A.,  Maude  S.,  H.  Lottie  and  Mary  Ethel.  The  family 
are  all  earnest  and  conscientious  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  of 
Barry,  of  which  Mr.  Snyder  has  for  many  years  been  one  of  the 
deacons.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school  and  has  been 
the  recipient  of  many  official  honors  at  the  hands  of  his  party,  among 
them  those  of  supervisor,  tax  collector  and  auditor.  For  many  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  but  of 
recent  years  has  been  inactive.  He  still  claims  active  membership, 
however,  in  Barry  Camp,  No.  441,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of 
America.  Mr.  Snyder  comes  of  a  fine  line  of  pioneer  Pennsylvanians. 
his  father  having  been  born  in  Northumberland  county  and  his  mother 
in  Hegins  township  of  Schuylkill  county.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
John  Snyder,  was  a  man  of  prominence  in  his  day,  and  his  maternal 
grandfather,  Andrew  Schrope,  married  a  member  of  the  Crawford 
family,  famous  in  the  annals  of  Keystone  state  history. 

Spayd,  Prof.  H.  H.,  a  well  known  educator  in  Schuylkill  county, 
is  a  native  of  Myerstown,  Lebanon  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was  bom 
on  Oct.  26,  1845.  At  the  dawn  of  young  manhood  he  left  his  studies 
to  enter  the  service  of  his  country  and  served  three  years  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  C,  149th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry.  He  par- 
ticipated in  many  of  the  hard-fought  battles  with  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  among  which  may  be  enumerated  Pollock's  Mills,  Fred- 
ericksburg, Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Laurel  Hill,  North  Anna, 
Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor,  Todd's  Tavern,  Totopotomy,  Six  Mile 
House,  Boydtown  Road,  Petersburg  (battle  and  siege)  and  the  two 
battles  of  Hatcher's  Run.  The  campaign  from  the  Wilderness  to 
Petersburg  was  one  continuous  battle  when  the  soldier  at  the  front 
was  never  out  of  range  of  the  enemy's  bullets.  It  must  also  be  re- 
membered that  every  battle  was  preceded  by  skirmishing  as  an  initia- 
tive measure  and  that  there  were  often  hot  skirmishes  which  were  not 
immediately  followed  by  general  engagements.  These  were  equally 
as  disastrous  to  the  men  engaged  and  usually  involved  greater  physical 
exertion  than  the  battle-front.  Mr.  Spayd  was  thrice  wounded  during 
his  term  of  service.  He  received  a  serious  wound  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  and  was  left  on  the  field,  which  subsequently  fell  into  the 
enemy's  hands.     Being  unable  to  walk,  he  was  allowed  to  be  retaken 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  463 

by  his  friends  and  was  cared  for  by  them  in  hospitals  at  Gettysburg, 
Baltimore,  Md.,  and  Germantown,  Pa.,  until  he  was  sent  to  the 
front  in  December,  1863,  after  being  nearly  six  months  under  treat- 
ment. In  May,  1864,  began  the  very  active  campaign  which  ter- 
minated at  Appomattox  and  the  subject  of  this  article  participated  in 
the  stirring  events  of  the  time.  He  received  two  slight  wounds  during 
the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  campaign  and  while  besieging  Peters- 
burg took  part  in  the  battle  at  Weldon  railroad  in  an  eflfort  to  cut  the 
enemy's  source  of  supplies.  He  was  discharged  as  color-bearer  of 
his  regiment.  Mr.  Spayd  returned  to  his  parental  home  at  the  close 
of  the  war  and  resumed  his  educational  work  so  summarily  inter- 
rupted. His  educational  opportunities  were  of  the  best  and  after  com- 
pleting the  work  of  the  public  schools  of  Myerstown  and  the  Academy 
at  the  same  place  he  took  courses  at  the  Millers ville  state  normal 
school,  the  Palatinate  college  at  Myerstown  and  at  the  Elmira,  N.  Y., 
business  college.  He  engaged  in  teaching  at  the  age  of  nineteen  and 
this  has  been  practically  his  life  work.  His  first  teaching  was  in 
Lebanon  county,  but  subsequently  he  secured  a  position  on  the  teach- 
ing force  of  Rush  township,  Schuylkill  county.  In  1871  he  was  elected 
principal  of  the  Minersville  grammar  school,  to  accept  which  he 
retired  from  the  principalship  of  the  Llewellyn  schools  where  he  had 
been  employed  during  the  preceding  two  years.  For  thirty-five  years 
Professor  Spayd  has  been  identified  with  the  Minersville  schools  in 
the  capacity  of  an  instructor  or  superintendent.  In  1883  ^^  was 
chosen  to  the  position  of  superintendent,  which  he  has  since  occupied. 
He  is  thoroughly  identified  with  educational  interests  in  the  state, 
being  a  life-member  of  the  state  teachers'  association;  a  member  of 
the  national  educational  association;  one  of  the  councillors  of  the 
American  institute  of  civics;  a  member  of  the  National  geographic 
society ;  the  American  association  for  the  advancement  of  science ;  the 
history  teachers'  association  of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland ;  and 
a  charter  member  of  the  Schuylkill  county  historical  association.  In 
Grand  Army  circles  he  has  held  nearly  all  positions  in  the  gift  of  the 
local  post,  as  well  as  appointments  on  the  staflf  of  the  department  and 
national  commanders.  For  a  number  of  years  he  served  as  inspector- 
at-large  for  Schuylkill  county.  Professor  Spayd  has  always  been  an 
active  worker  in  local  institutes,  and  a  wise  and  helpful  counsellor 
in  the  administration  of  educational  affairs  in  Schuylkill  county.  He 
is  popular  among  all  classes  of  people  and  the  many  young  people 
who  have  gone  out  into  the  world  of  business  from  his  careful  train- 
ing are  his  best  friends.  His  scholarly  attainments  and  exerpplary 
life  entitle  him  to  all  the  honors  bestowed  upon  him.  H.  H.  Spayd 
is  a  son  of  John  and  Catherine  (Haak)  Spayd  and  is  descended  from 
German  ancestors,  though  several  generations  removed.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  George  Spayd,  was  lx)rn  in  Ephrata,  Lancaster  county. 
Pa.,  but  located  in  Lebanon  county  about  the  year  1826.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation  and  a  German  Baptist  in  religious  affiliations. 
He  died  in  the  vicinity  of  Myerstown  about  1875.  His  wife,  who  in 
maidenhood  was  a  Miss  Conrad,  became  the  mother  of  eight  children. 


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464  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

one  of  whom,  John  Spayd,  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  John  Spayd  was  born  at  Ephrata,  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  in 
1 819.  He  married  a  daughter  of  William  Haak  of  Myerstown,  by 
whom  he  had  a  family  of  ten  children.  He  was  a  farmer  during  the 
active  years  of  his  life,  took  active  and  intelligent  interest  in  public 
affairs,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Republican  party.  His 
death  occurred  at  Schaefferstown  in  1891,  his  wife  surviving  him  for 
a  number  of  years.  Professor  Spayd  married  Miss  Sarah,  a  daugh- 
ter of  David  D.  and  Sarah  Donaberger,  of  Myerstown.  They  have 
no  children,  but  reared  and  educated  a  nephew,  A.  B.  Warner,  who 
is  «ow  engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account.  Professor  Spayd  is 
an  independent  Republican  in  his  political  views  and  has  taken  an 
active  interest  in  the  supremacy  of  party  principles,  though  never  an 
office  seeker.  He  is  opposed  to  dishonest  politics  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple that  he  opposes  dishonesty  in  private  affairs  and  if  the  disrup- 
tion of  the  party  is  necessary  to  purge  it  of  corruption  and  "graft," 
he  accepts  the  alternative.  In  religious  affiliations,  he  has  been  a 
life-long  adherent  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  has  been 
a  zealous  worker  in  the  cause  of  Christianity.  In  the  Baptist  church 
of  Minersville  he  has  been  ever  active  as  a  working  Christian  and 
has  cheerfully  borne  the  burdens  and  honors  of  official  positions.  The 
Sunday  school  has  also  engaged  his  attention,  both  as  a  teacher  and 
superintendent. 

Speacht,  Jacob  F.,  of  Pottsville,  is  a  prominent  contractor  in  all 
kinds  of  concrete  work  and  controls  a  large  and  important  business 
in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  is  a  scion  of  one  of  the  honored 
pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill  county,  which  has  been  his  home  from 
the  time  of  his  birth.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Barbara  (Gottshall) 
Speacht,  both  of  whom  were  likewise  bom  and  reared  in  Schuylkill 
county.  The  paternal  grandparents  of  Mr.  Speacht  were  Gottlieb 
and  Lena  (Wagner)  Speacht,  who  immigrated  to  America  from  the 
historic  old  city  of  Strasburg,  now  the  capital  of  the  German  province 
of  Alsace-Lorraine  but  at  that  time  a  part  of  France.  Gottlieb 
Speacht  had  served  for  six  years  in  the  French  army  under  the  great 
Napoleon.  His  immigration  to  America  took  place  in  1830  and  he 
located  in  Pottsville,  where  he  engaged  in  the  work  of  his  trade — ^that 
of  gunsmith — and  also  did  an  extensive  business  in  the  manufacture 
of  copper  utensils  for  the  pioneers  of  this  section.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  continued  residents  of  the  county  until  their  death,  honored  by 
all  who  knew  them.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  a  native  of  Germany  and  he  also  was  one  of  the  sterling 
pioneers  of  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  assisted  in  the  early  develop- 
ment of  the  coal  mines.  John  Speacht  was  bom  and  reared  in  Potts- 
ville and  for  an  average  lifetime  was  here  employed  as  a  night  watch- 
man, having  been  in  the  employ  of  one  concern  for  thirty-seven  years 
and  of  another  for  sixteen  years.  He  is  now  living  retired  and  he 
and  his  wife  have  a  pleasant  home  on  West  Market  street,  Pottsville, 
in  which  house  they  have  resided  for  almost  a  half  century.  The 
children  of  this  honored  couple  are:  William,  John,  Charles,  George, 


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GEO  .  SPENlCfR 


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BIOGKAPHiCAL 

i:*-!^y  and  Robert.     The  «».-v  fl?ri.'*if(  t   i 
/;«ey.     The  subject   of  t;:>     \:U-\i  is   \n  \ 
•     Pottsville  for  hi^  ciriv  '.  >  c-"--  ..J  U  ;'^  ■ 
V^i rental  homo  until  he  1\;  '.   ;•>  :   •   '  t"  ti  _  . 
'.'    iuiving  in  the  mcanwh'k   ••'■'    •"  "  .'^t'-l  i».  v^    ■- 
-    i;<    purchn^vd  a  farm  m  N^.  r'       •    .    •,  -n  tn^v 
)n  to  tlic  manaij^Mhent  (..it.     •  -•  .  •   ur  :'  >    ;« 
"^    -till  owns  the  pronern  .   v, '^  ;i    ■     ■*  ^P   i:^ii>r.' "'■- 
■  *.ve   rultjvation.      In    i^X';    \''.    ^'l'^  '''*''^    '"*  '  ''K'-u    *'» 
"    )\rt   c^t^J'i'^hcd   himself    a-    a    v<'  •  *'<A    *'  ntrac'  -.     n 
.-ate  v.('rk.     lie  has  bnilt  up  a  ■.-■.-    !»''-'''■-■.   j»v- 
^-  .'  lar^e  numhcr  f  f  men  in  the  bn-;.   -    "-  -ij.  ar*-  ;  .;.!:'^^: 
fi.  teams,     lit  t;.keb  a  loyal  hite"  "  *"    u  .-M  'n  ^;  ^.t-r'^t    i  % 
tM..i  irroiieral  V''l:ar<'  of  the  co-v  >>o'.  •         •  i  it^   i''*''  -'^ 
ai'lv  ^,end(  nt  of  i<ri!<isan  Hi'^tatir  i..     ]'•    .  .-i  ).-  M.tt    a'". 
..'0  ^renurtn  i  :iii..i  iti  ^.irircli.     !an    2.,  :*■.■'    Mr.  S  >:    crt 
ri    i.jarriaL'C   tn    M^^.^   <  *»ra    W  err.i -*     ••  *.   :■.  *   -if    i\-<:,Ml 
'."/ahethville,  Dcut'inn   cn'U'^'"     in       '  m   ■    ••.ivt    no  e-  '» 

Gfior^e,   deceased,    in    i^\':n\     y  .  ; -^    -i    i  r  •  -    ;-^Mit    ti:  I 

^^Iiners\  ille,    I'a  ,    \\  o      ^■)'!i    n;  r:.;'^^-.  <.    tM-^^Tid     ^m 

'   Sc  was  rer.re«,   to  k  .-■.-:' ■  '^  U    v 'i      i   ^mi  of  (jv-i.^&ir 

'-    <  Hearst)    *^vf  :•  ^  r.      'm    «  --^    a  ^'-      ■    -    ■  f  f^  t-i'.  *ao 

..iiiigrated   t'      \:     '-^u    "<  ^    '  ^  «'  '     ••    •  .  •  -      '  ^i!   c-i-i -. 

'allowed   t!''-   %.*  ,  ■      •      T    :..''.'   i   r    .   -     .     ..  ^    of  >^  i  - 

tfie  j>ositi(''"  .  t   i:   -.     '■  ,  .-  -.T  *.  *       '  ■■  ,  r  <■  \  n  -neq 

'^e.     In  li'f  .    '.           '      I*.    ;■        '    •  '*:  J.  •    ;  n  h's 

I   and   f-^*'-  V  '  .'     :    ^    ;••  ,       ."  -                         .•..-:  ••n 

'.  occurred'  •..:;•.      c '  •   -r  .<:  ti;'* 

"•V  which   'i          .        !.             '          ■  '^'u   N    r 

■ '  -    in   the    ;..    •        "  ■      -    '         -  ■•''., 

•  -'  an'i  '           .,  .        ;.  ■     <^-  /    ^ 

■       -d   "i.  ;-'    ,         ■        •  -         .'         ;  . 


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••••  ::j  ^.'u:   n  i^\  tl-.'t  j)arty.     He  :i  : 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  465 

Jacob  R,  Emma,  Henry  and  Robert.  The  only  daughter  is  now  the 
wife  of  Harry  Boughey.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  indebted  to 
the  public  schools  of  Pottsville  for  his  early  educational  training  and 
he  remained  at  the  parental  home  until  he  had  attained  to  the  age  of 
twenty-seven  years,  having  in  the  meanwhile  been  engaged  in  various 
pursuits.  In  1900  he  purchased  a  farm  in  South  Manheim  township 
and  gave  his  attention  to  the  management  of  the  place  for  the  ensu- 
ing three  years ;  he  still  ^owns  the  property,  which  is  well  improved 
and  under  effective  cultivation.  In  1904  Mr.  Speacht  returned  to 
Pottsville,  where  he  established  himself  as  a  general  contractor  in 
all  kinds  of  concrete  work.  He  has  built  up  a  large  business,  gives 
employment  to  a  large  number  of  men  in  the  busy  season,  and  utilizes 
from  eight  to  ten  teams.  He  takes  a  loyal  interest  in  all  that  concerns 
the  progress  and  general  welfare  of  the  community  and  in  political 
matters  he  is  independent  of  partisan  dictation.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  Jan.  22,  1898,  Mr.  Speacht 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cora  Werner,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Werner,  of  Elizabethville,  Dauphin  county,  Pa.  They  have  no  chil- 
dren. 

Spencer,  George,  deceased,  for  many  years  a  prominent  coal 
operator  of  Minersville,  Pa.,  was  bom  in  Yorkshire,  England,  in 
1806,  where  he  was  reared  to  manhood.  He  was  a  son  of  George 
and  Hannah  (Hearst)  Spencer.  In  1828,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years,  he  immigrated  to  America  and  located  in  Schuylkill  county, 
where  he  followed  the  vocation  of  mining  for  a  number  of  years, 
having  held  the  position  of  mine  boss  at  the  old  North  America -mines 
near  Pottsville.  In  the  early  '30s,  he  began  mining  operations  on  his 
own  account  and  followed  this  line  of  endeavor  until  his  accidental 
death,  which  occurred  on  Jan.  4,  1862,  due  to  a  gas  explosion  at  the 
Harper  colliery  which  he  was  operating  at  that  time.  Mr.  Spencer 
was  a  pioneer  in  the  anthracite  industry  in  the  Schuylkill  region, 
where  he  opened  and  operated  a  number  of  the  most  productive  mines, 
and  by  thrift  and  industry,  amassed  a  comfortable  fortune.  He  was 
a  man  of  unflinching  integrity  and  always  to  be  found  in  the  foremost 
ranks  on  all  questions  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  his  community. 
Amon^  his  numerous  coal  operations  was  the  old  Spohn  vein,  where 
the  Williams  colliery  now  stands  at  Fishbach.  In  1837  he  located  in 
Minersville,  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  became  interested  in  the 
mines  at  Wadesville;  later  in  partnership  with  others  he  operated  a 
colliery  at  Beaver  Meadow  and  opened  a  new  colliery  in  Carbon 
county,  Pa.,  where  they  founded  the  village  of  Jeansville.  In  1850 
he  removed  to  Jersey  City  in  order  to  take  charge  of  the  coal  ship- 
ments from  the  mines  in  which  he  was  interested,  but  in  1853  re- 
turned to  Minersville  where  he  opened  the  Peach  Orchard  colliery 
and  later  the  Oak  Hill  colliery  in  South  Cass  township.  He  then 
leased  the  Harper  colliery  at  Minersville  where  he  lost  his  life.  Mr. 
Spencer  was  an  earnest  member  and  supporter  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  in  politics  was  originally  an  old  time  Whig, 
becoming  a  Republican  on  the  organization  of  that  party.    He  married 

80-Vol.  II 


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466  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Mary,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Williams  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  the  following  children:  William,  deceased,  a  review  of 
whose  life  will  be  found  on  other  pages  of  this  volume;  Thomas, 
deceased;  Hannah,  widow  of  Edward  Cooke  of  West  Bethlehem; 
John,  deceased;  George,  agent  for  the  Dupont  Powder  Company  at 
Ashland,  Pa.;  Rachel,  widow  of  Dr.  Thomas  Patterson,  late  of 
Mahanoy  City;  and  Mary,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Wm. 
Taylor,  manager  of  the  stores  of  the  Forest  Improvement  Company 
at  Heckshersville  and  Forestville,  Schuylkill  county. 

Spencer,  William,  deceased,  for  many  years  identified  with  the 
coal  mining  industry  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Norwegian  town- 
ship, Schuylkill  county,  about  1830.  His  father,  George  Spencer,  a 
sketch  of  whom  appears  in  this  volume,  was  a  pioneer  coal  operator 
of  Schuylkill  county,  conducting  collieries  at  Duncanville,  in  the 
Black  valley,  and  about  Minersville.  William  Spencer  received  an 
academic  education  and  upon  leaving  school  became  associated  with 
his  father  in  mining  operations,  acting  as  superintendent  of  the  col- 
lieries at  Oak  Hill,  and  later  at  Buck  Mountain,  near  Hazleton,  Pa. 
In  1849,  when  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  drew  hundreds  of 
young  men  in  that  direction,  he  left  Pennsylvania  for  the  new  El 
Dorado,  making  the  long,  tedious  voyage  around  Cape  Horn  to  San 
Francisco.  He  did  not  remain  long  in  California,  and  after  his  re- 
turn to  the  east  he  conducted  coal  yards  at  Paterson,  N.  J.,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  father's  mining  interests  in  Schuylkill  county.  When  the 
war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the  5th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry, 
under  Col.  Benjamin  C.  Christ,  for  the  three  months'  service.  The 
regiment  was  on  camp  duty  most  of  that  time  at  Harrisburg,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  was  never  actually  engaged 
with  the  enemy.  The  5th  was  mustered  out  on  July  25,  1861,  and 
Mr.  Spencer  immediately  re-enlisted  in  a  Pennsylvania  cavalry  regi- 
ment, where  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  major  and  served  with  distinction 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  After  peace  was  restored  he  became 
superintendent  and  general  manager  of  the  Buck  Mountain  colliery 
and  company  store  near  Hazleton,  Luzerne  county.  His  early  training 
and  long  experience  in  mining  and  handling  coal  made  him  a  practical 
expert  in  that  line,  especially  in  the  anthracite  field,  where  most  of  his 
active  career  had  been  passed.  About  1881  or  1882,  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  Andrew  Robertson,  of  Pottsville,  in  the  development  of 
the  bituminous  coal  fields  of  West  Virginia.  Their  mines  in  that  state 
were  located  near  Vivian,  McDowell  county,  where  his  death  occurred 
on  Dec.  13,  1904.  He  had  gone  there  to  look  after  his  extensive 
interests,  contracted  pneumonia,  and  died  after  a  short  illness,  the 
event  causing  deep  and  widespread  sorrow  in  Minersville,  where  he 
had  resided  for  many  years.  Mr.  Spencer  was  one  of  the  most  puWic- 
spirited  citizens  of  Minersville,  and  was  always  foremost  in  every 
movement  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  city  and  its  institutions.  He  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Minersville  Electric  Light  Company:  a 
director  in  the  Minersville  Water  Company;  and  was  connected  with 
the  First  National  bank.     Through  the  exercise  of  good  judgment 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  467 

and  his  superb  business  acumen,  he  amassed  a  considerable  fortune, 
every  dollar  of  which  he  gained  by  upright  methods.  On  Nov.  3, 
1853,  Mr.  Spencer  married  Miss  Amelia  J.  Prevost,  a  daughter  of 
John  Prevost,  a  brief  biography  of  whom  will  be  found  in  this  vol- 
ume, and  she  alone  survived  him,  their  one  child  having  preceded  the 
father  to  the  Great  Beyond.  Mr.  Spencer's  remains  were  brought 
to  Minersville,  and  were  followed  to  their  last  resting  place  by  a 
large  concourse  of  friends.  He  has  gone  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly 
endeavors,  but  he  left  his  impress  indelibly  stamped  upon  the  industries 
and  institutions  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  his  influence  will  doubtless 
be  felt  for  years  to  come. 

Sperbeck,  Rev.  Henry  C,  until  Nov.  i,  1906,  the  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Port  Carbon,  was  bom  in  Hadley,  Mass.,. 
Nov.  21,  1 87 1,  a  son  of  William  H.  and  Mary  (Saphore)  Sperbeck,. 
and  one  of  their  five  children,  the  others  being  William,  Edwin,. 
Daniel  and  Lillian.  After  due  preliminary  discipline  in  the  common 
and  high  schools  of  his  native  town,  Rev.  Mr.  Sperbeck  matriculated 
at  New  Windsor  college,  New  Windsor,  Md.,  and  after  a  full  course 
of  four  years  he  was  graduated  with  honors.  He  then  entered  the 
theological  seminary  of  Princeton  university  and  after  a  three  years^ 
course  was  ordained  a  minister  of  the  gospel  of  the  Presbyterian 
faith.  His  assignment  to  the  Port  Carbon  pastorate  came  in  the  fall 
of  1904  and  he  preached  his  first  sermon  in  that  city  on  Nov.  7. 
The  Presbyterian  church  of  Port  Carbon  was  built  in  1834  and  the 
first  pastor  was  Rev.  Sylvanus  Haight,  who  served  for  two  years. 
In  1836  Rev.  W.  M.  Sellars,  a  German  Reformed  minister,  assumed 
charge,  and  he  was  followed  by  Rev.  Robert  McCartee  of  New  York 
state.  During  the  nine  years  from  1841  to  1850  several  different 
pastors  were  in  charge  and  in  the  latter  year  Rev.  T.  H.  Wardlaw 
took  the  charge.  He  was  followed  in  turn  by  Rev.  A.  M.  Lowry  and 
Rev.  Silas  A.  Davenport,  the  latter  serving  from  1853  ^o  ^^77  >  from 
1878  to  1882  Henry  S.  Bell  was  the  pastor,  and  from  the  latter  year 
to  1886  A.  A.  Murphy  .was  the  minister.  Rev.  Mr.  McAskie,  who 
succeeded  Mr.  Murphy,  resigned  in  1890  and  his  place  was  taken  by 
Rev.  Henry  Tolson.  Mr.  Tolson's  term  ended  in  1893  ^^^  from 
Jan.  25,  1894  until  the  April  before  Mr.  Sperbeck  assumed  the  charge, 
the  pastor  was  Rev.  James  Boal.  Since  the  erection  of  the  church 
in  1834  there  have  been  in  it  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  baptisms  and 
sixty-two  weddings.  During  Mr.  Sperbeck's  incumbency  of  the 
pastorate  the  church  was  in  a  most  flourishing  condition.  The  size 
of  the  congregation  increased  and  numerous  repairs  were  made  on 
both  the  church  and  the  parsonage.  In  1900  Mr.  Sperbeck  married 
Anna  N;  Null,  a  daughter  of  George  F.  and  Louisa  (Ecoff)  Null  of 
Wilmington,  Del.  Two  children,  Miriam  and  Warren,  have  blessed 
this  union.  On  Nov.  i,  1906,  Mr.  Sperbeck  accepted  a  call  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Watsontown  Presbyterian  church.  His  going  was 
a  loss  not  only  to  the  congregation  to  which  in  two  years  he  had  be- 
come endeared  and   respected,  but  to  the  community  as  a   whole. 


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468  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Hosts  of  friends  in  Port  Carbon  predict  for  him  a  great  future  in  his 
ministerial  work. 

Spiese,  Franklin  P.,  a  merchant  of  Tamaqua  and  prominent 
throughout  Schuylkill  county  as  a  financier  and  capitalist,  was  bom 
in  East  Coventry  township,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  20,  1855,  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Hannah  (Moser)  Spiese.  He  comes  of  good  German 
stock,  and  his  ancestors  were  among  the  pioneers  of  Chester  county. 
The  paternal  grandfather,  George  Spiese,  was  bom  in  Wurtemburg, 
Germany,  but  early  in  life  immigrated  to  the  United  States  and  in 
1780  located  in  Chester  county,  where  he  entered  a  tract  of  land 
under  the  homestead  law.  There  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days 
and  his  remains  lie  buried  in  Shenkel's  cemetery  near  by.  It  was 
upon  this  tract  of  land  that  Jacob  Spiese  was  bom  in  1800.  When 
Tie  grew  to  manhood  he  learned  the  trade  of  miller,  and  although  he 
ivas  engaged  in  that  vocation  for  a  number  of  years  he  turned  his 
attention  in  later  life  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Politically  he  was  a 
stanth  believer  in  the  principles  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy  and  in  a 
religious  way  was  intensely  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Reformed 
church.  His  death  occurred  in  1868.  His  wife,  Hannah  Moser,  was 
bom  at  Douglassville,  Berks  county,  Pa.,  in  1809,  ^"^  died  in  Chester 
county  in  1879.  Her  father  was  John  Moser,  a  descendant  of  one 
of  the  pioneer  families  of  Douglassville.  By  her  marriage  to  Jacob 
Spiese  she  became  the  mother  of  nine  children,  five  sons  and  four 
daughters.  Franklin  P.  Spiese,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  although 
bom  in  East  Coventry  township,  was  reared  in  North  Coventry  town- 
ship^ whither  his  father  removed  when  the  son  was  but  a  year  old. 
His  early  surroundings  were  those  of  farm  life  and  his  educational 
training  was  acquired  in  the  Franklin  school,  of  North  Coventry  town- 
ship. On  Jan.  4,  1872,  he  left  the  parental  roof  and  started  out  to 
make  his  fortune.  His  first  employment  was  under  his  brother  as  a 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Catawissa  railroad  at  Tamaqua.  After  four 
months  of  service  there  ill  health  compelled  his  resignation  and  he 
entered  the  carpenter's  trade  as  an  apprentice,  serving  a  full  term  of 
four  years.  On  March  8,  1877,  he  embarked  in  the  wholesale  and 
retail  shoe  and  leather  business  at  Tamaqua,  being  associated  at  first 
with  William  H.  Beyel,  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  H.  Beyel  &  Co. 
This  partnership  had  continued  but  two  weeks  when  Mr.  Spiese  pur- 
chased Mr.  Beyers  interest  in  the  business  and  for  the  two  years  fol- 
lowing conducted  it  alone.  In  1879,  Henry  A.  Spiese  became  asso- 
ciated with  him,  the  firm  name  being  F.  P.  Spiese  &  Co.  The  brothers 
were  together  until  May  24,  1883,  when  Henry  A.  retired,  leaving 
Mr.  Spiese  to  conduct  the  business  without  assistance  until  April  i, 
1885.  On  that  date  William  R.  Jones  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
firm,  the  name  of  which  remained  the  same,  and  continued  to  hold  it 
until  Dec,  1900,  when  he  withdrew.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Spiese  has 
conducted  the  business  alone.  He  has  not  devoted  himself  solely  to 
the  mercantile  business,  but  has  extended  his  interests  in  many  other 
directions  and  his  influence  has  been  felt  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
growing  industries  of  the  town  and   county.     On  July  8,   1885,  a 


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'  ..  ■    ..'A  •  :i(IT    lie   ^:'<^l  t    tlU'   U":  ajr.'    T   (.'    il.- 

..     .  ■  ..    i.     !>••■'    *   in   "^^  rnkel-   cf^'ii- t   7%    near  t '".      •'    ■ 
*    . ;:      .'  .     '.   '''it-    (;ii'»l>  >jfic.-t'  Wcls  b(;ni  in    ;"nh».     \'     >.•. 
>     1       •.-.'•     -,  *^  H-  '-mU  t:  0  tr.'i'I'^  of  irM^T,  an*"!  a>'-'--    '» 
.   r'   ^[. 'I   \.i(.r.:i    I'. I    a  niin;H  r  of  yvars  he  t'  *:...: 
'"    '  .''T    5"e   ^1   .\^'. '•^•i:!'i:r.u   pnr.^ir/.s.      V<  ili'icall-    h'*   ^^'/^   a 
'.i'    - :   .*:  !'.e  y.r- .;  j»u  s  j^f    [v  M.  r^oui.in  Dcinocraev  aii«l  ii     i 

*  ;  s  A  1^  U'.s  "iN!i^«iv  iTorcNted  in  the  \\')rk  of  ti:c  RefoTp  v  i 
;        '  .      I''''  ij  •  *,  oe-.M!!tJ  ii.  ivv^.     fiis  wife,  Hannah  Mo^m  ,  was 

.  •  1  >■    -1^' •  ^^'-iilt  ,  1':  i!h  cr-initv,  Pa.,  in  i8(X>,  arul  tH«*d  in  Chv'-t^r 

^-    1  ■    '  w    i-^*;  .     H*  r  f:i'^'"'r  wp*:    T-hn   Moser,  a  descendant  of  (v^e 

t'     ' '.    ,  '  "  '.  f-   t;:n,:Me«;  ,.f  Dun;  la'^^'ille.     I  .y  her  iriarrirvj^-e  to  jav:iib 

;.'•  (    '•'•  1», '^I'.H'   the   r^Jthvr  oi   n.rie   children,  five  sons  and    four 

*  ■'  »  -^  ■•  riaitkhn  P.  ^nie^e,  tile  suhject  of  this  sketch,  although 
h  !:  1.1  ^  •  >t  Coventry  Iom  iiKhip,  was  reared  in  North  Coventry  town- 
s' ;  ,  »\ii!'-her  his  father  removed  when  the  son  was  but  a  \ear  old. 
Fi'^  e<4Tly  *^utroini(li:i'^s  were  tliose  of  farm  life  and  his  educational 
t.aining  was  acquired  in  the  Franklin  school,  of  North  Coventry  town- 
ship. On  Jan,  4,  1872,  he  left  tlie  parental  roof  and  started  out  to 
n^ake  h.is  fortune,  I  lis  first  en^'ployment  was  under  his  brother  as  a 
clerk  in  the  oHkc  of  the  Catavvissa  radroad  at  Tamaqua.  After  four 
months  of  ser\'<e  there  ill  health  compelled  his  resignation  and  he 
entered  the  Caipenter's  trade  as  an  apprentice,  serving  a  full  term  of 
four  years.  On  March  8,  1877,  he  embarked  in  the  wholesale  and 
retail  shoe  and  leather  business  at  Tanaqua.  heingf  associated  at  frst 
wi*^h  William  II.  Revel,  und(T  the  firm  name  of  W.  Fl.  Bevel  &  Co. 
Tiiis  partner^^liip  had  contintied  hut  two  weeks  when  Mr.  Spiese  pur- 
chased ]\!r.  I  ley  el's  interest  in  the  business  and  for  the  two  years  fol- 
lowing conducted  it  alone.  In  1870,  Henry  A.  Spiese  became  as5o- 
cia^.d  with  hi'^i,  the  firm  name  being  F.  P.  Sriose  &  Co.  The  brothi-rs 
were  tOi,^c(her  until  May  24,  1883,  wdien  Ht-nry  A.  retired,  leavins: 
Mr.  Spi(^c  to  cond'ict  the  busines«i  without  assistance  until  April  i, 
r^S5.  On  that  date  William  R.  Jones  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
f'"n.  tlie  name  of  which  remained  the  same,  and  continued  to  hold  it 
tvtil  Dec,  TO<'K).  when  he  withdrew.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Spiese  has 
r  >n(hirted  the  bi\sine?«:  alone.  He  has  not  devoted  himself  solely  to 
thr  mercantile  busin'\ss,  hut  has  extended  his  interests  in  many  other 
fhrertions  and  his  influence  has  been  felt  in  the  c^reater  y)art  of  the 
jrrowing   industrie.-   of   the   town    and    county.      On   July   8,    18S5,    a 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  469 

charter  was  granted  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  Edison  Elec- 
tric Illuminating  Company,  of  which  he  had  been  the  chief  organizer 
and  has  been  secretary  and  manager  from  the  time  of  its  inception. 
In  1887  the  Tamaqua  board  of  trade  was  organized,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  being  active  in  bringing  about  its  organization.  In  con- 
nection with  four  of  his  associates — Daniel  Shepp,  Henry  A.  Weldy, 
Dr.  C.  B.  Dreher,  and  Samuel  Erode — ^he  built  the  first  mill  building 
in  the  borough  of  Tamaqua,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  hosiery 
and  employing  female  labor.  This  building  was  leased  to  the  Tamaqua 
knitting  mills,  of  which  Mr.  Spiese  became  a  large  stockholder,  but 
due  to  mismanagement  on  the  part  of  the  contractors  the  business 
proved  to  be  a  failure  and  the  money  invested  an  entire  loss.  But 
nevertheless  the  board  of  trade  proved  to  be  of  considerable  benefit 
to  the  business  and  industrial  interests  of  the  borough  of  Tamaqua 
and  the  surrounding  community,  and  the  mill  thus  established  was 
followed  by  others,  until  at  the  present  time  there  is  an  absolute 
scarcity  of  labor  to  operate  the  establishments  of  this  character  which 
are  now  located  in  this  town.  In  1891  he  was  one  of  the  incorporators 
who  took  out  a  charter  for  the  Tamaqua  &  Lansford  Street  Railway 
Company,  was  also  its  first  president  and  continued  in  that  capacity 
through  its  rather  stormy  career  until  the  road  was  finally  built, 
when  in  1898  he  retired  from  the  office  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Lewis  A.  Riley,  of  The  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  Company,  which 
had  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  stock.  Mr.  Spiese  continued,  how- 
ever, as  a  director  until  the  street  railway  company,  the  Edison  Elec- 
tric Illuminating  and  The  Citizens  Gas  Light  Companies  of  Tamaqua ; 
the  Edison  Electric  Illuminating,  the  Anthracite  Electric  Light  and 
Power,  and  Union  Traction  Companies  of  Pottsville ;  and  other  light- 
ing companies,  were  merged  and  consolidated,  through  the  J.  G. 
'WAiite  &  Co.,  Inc.,  into  the  Eastern  Pennsylvania  Railways'  Company, 
of  which  he  was  elected  one  of  the  first  directors,  having  been  a 
director  of  each  of  the  consolidated  companies  from  their  inception. 
In  1894  he  purchased  a  controlling  interest  in  the  Citizens  Gas  Light 
Company  of  Tamaqua,  became  its  secretary,  treasurer  and  manager 
and  continued  in  that  office  until  July  i,  1906,  when  as  above  stated 
it  was  taken  over  by  the  consolidation.  In  1894  he  and  several  asso- 
ciates purchased  a  considerable  body  of  land  east  of  Tamaqua,  and 
organized  the  Tamaqua  Land  and  Improvement  Company  in  1897, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  secretary  of  the  organization.  This 
corporation  was  instrumental  in  materially  aiding  in  the  development 
and  extension  of  the  residence  district  of  the  borough  of  Tamaqua. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  original  stockholders  and  a  director  of  the 
Cumberland  Valley  Telephone,  the  American  Subway  and  The 
Schuylkill  Subway  Companies,  all  of  which  were  affiliated  with  the 
United  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company,  and  he  is  at  present  one 
of  the  original  subscribers  to  the  stock  of  the  American  Union  Tele- 
phone Company,  which  succeeds  to  the  business  of  the  above  named. 
For  many  years  a  director  of  The  Tamaqua  Banking  and  Trust  Com- 
pany, and  at  the  next  election  for  officers  following  the  death  of 


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^  470  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Daniel  Shepp,  he  succeeded  to  the  presidency  and  continued  in  that 
position  until  the  concern  was  changed  from  a  state  to  a  national  bank 
in  1904,  when  he  became  president  of  the  new  institution  thus  organ- 
ized, and  has  remained  its  president  since  that  time.  This  bank 
enjoys  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  the  town  and  county  in  which 
it  is  located  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  con- 
servative institutions  in  the  state.  About  1902  he  became  interested 
in  the  organization  of  a  company  known  as  The  National  Metallurgi- 
cal Company  for  the  development  of  a  mine  and  the  operation  of  a 
copper  smelter  at  Matehuala,  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  and  he  also 
has  mining  interests  in  Colorado.  In  1906  in  connection  with  Judge 
W.  A.  Marr,  Alexander  Scott,  H.  S.  Allbright,  George  C.  Deifen- 
derfer,  Dr.  C.  B.  Dreher  and  others,  he  organized  The  Scott  Lumber 
Company,  which  purchased  a  large  timber  tract  in  Marlborough 
county,  S.  C,  and  is  now  operating  large  mills  at  Marlborough  and 
Bennettsville,  S.  C.  They  also  acquired  by  purchase  the  Bennetts- 
ville  and  Cheraw  railroad,  which  is  in  operation  and  they  are  further 
building  an  extension  of  fourteen  miles  to  develop  the  agricultural 
resources  and  handle  the  lumber  and  other  freight  in  that  section. 
In  the  former  corporation  he  is  a  director  and  secretary  and  of  the 
latter  a  director.  In  1906  he  became  interested  in  the  development 
of  the  resources  on  the  island  of  Haiti  and  upon  the  organization  of 
the  United  Haiti  Corporation  was  elected  a  director  and  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  company,  the  intention  of  this  company  being  to  build 
railroads  and  develop  the  mining  and  agricultural  resources  of  the 
island.  He  has  been  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  American  in- 
stitute of  electrical  engineers,  having  secured  his  admission  to  that 
society  by  reason  of  his  connection  with  and  management  of  the  elec- 
trical industry,  having  been  in  charge  of  the  construction  and  devel- 
opment of  the  Tamaqua  company  for  upwards  of  twenty  years.  In 
poHtical  matters  Mr.  Spiese  for  many  years  was  a  power  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  of  the  state,  but  when  William  J.  Bryan  was  nominated 
and  the  free  silver  issue  became  the  strong  feature  of  the  party's 
platform  in  1896  he  resigned  his  membership  in  the  state  central 
committee  and  supported  William  McKinley  for  president.  Since 
that  year  he  has  been  allied  with  no  poHtical  party  or  body,  and 
-exercises. his  right  of  suffrage  as  his  conscience  and  judgment  dictate. 
He  Has  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  his  town,  was  its 
treasurer  for  a  number  of  years  and  is  a  life  member  of  the  school 
directors  association  of  Schuylkill  county.  In  fraternal  circles  he  is 
widely  known.  On  Oct.  28,  1873,  he  joined  Camp  No.  57,  Patriotic 
Order  Sons  of  America,  and  in  1875  he  became  a  member  of  Schuyl- 
kill Commandery  No.  i,  located  at  Schuylkill  Haven.  At  Milton,  in 
1877,  he  was  unanimously  elected  state  vice-president  of  the  order,  at 
Pittsburg  in  1890  was  made  president,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  office 
at  the  annual  gathering  at  Gettysburg.  He  had  the  distinct  honor 
of  being  the  first  man  to  be  re-elected  to  that  office.  His  service  as 
president  entitles  him  to  a  life  membership  in  the  state  camp,  and  a 
voice  and  vote  in  that  body  as  long  a?  he  continues  his  membership 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  471 

in  the  order.  In  1897  he  was  elected  to  the  responsible  office  of 
treasurer  of  the  national  camp  and  has  continued  in  that  office  until 
the  present  time.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  national  executive  com- 
mittee consisting  of  five  officers  and  having  jurisdiction  over  this 
rapidly  growing  order  in  the  entire  United  States.  In  the  Masonic 
fraternity  he  has  membership  in  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  238,  Tamaqua 
Chapter,  No.  177,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  the  Williamsport  Consistory  of 
the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  Masons,  thirty-second  degree 
and  Rajah  Temple  of  Reading,  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order,  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine,  being  a  life  member  of  the  latter  organization. 
He  is  a  life  member  of  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  592,  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  a  trustee  for  the  bondholders  of 
the  club-house  recently  erected.  In  1895  he  was  elected  a  director 
of  the  centennial  and  memorial  association  of  Valley  Forge,  Pa.,  and 
upon  the  death  of  Freeland  G.  Hobson  was  elected  treasurer  of  the 
organization.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  the  first  president 
of  the  Citizens'  Fire  Company  of  Tamaqua;  was  the  first  president 
of  the  Tamaqua  board  of  health  when  it  was  organized,  and  has 
served  a  second  term  in  that  body.  In  religious- affairs  Mr.  Spiese 
is  affiliated  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  On  Aug.  28,  1880 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Bowden,  a  daughter  of 
William  Bowden,  who  was  one  of  the  early  mine  operators  of 
Tamaqua,  having  come  to  this  country  from  England.  A  daughter, 
Edna,  who  died  in  November,  1887,  was  the  only  child  to  bless  this 
union. 

Spotts,  John  O.,  division  manager  of  the  United  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company,  was  bom  in  Northumberland  county,  Pa.,  March 
18,  i86(i,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Bingaman)  Spotts,  also  natives 
of  Northumberland  county.  They  spent  their  lives  mostly  in  the 
hotel  business.  In  1^863  they  moved  to  New  Pittsburg,  Wayne  county, 
Ohio,  and  remained  there  in  hotel  keeping  until  the  spring  of  1872, 
when  they  returned  to  Snyder  county.  Pa.,  and  remained  there  until 
the  early  '80s,  when  they  removed  to  Shamokin  Dam.  The  mother 
died  in  1876,  at  McKee's  Half-Falls  in  Snyder  county,  and  the  father 
remarried  in  1878.  In  1886  he  removed  to  Georgetown,  where  he  is 
now  living,  retired  from  business.  There  were  five  children  bom  to 
the  father's  first  marriage,  and  four  to  the  second.  Of  the  former 
Fietta  was  the  eldest.  She  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Kerschner,  a  physician 
in  Georgetown;  Clarence  is  an  engineer  in  the  same  place;  Leon  is 
employed  by  the  United  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company;  Philip 
is  a  railroad  employe  at  Sunbury;  and  John  O.  of  this  sketch  com- 
pletes the  family  circle,  except  that  one  child  not  included  in  the  num- 
ber mentioned,  died  in  infancy.  John  O.  Spotts  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  and  began  his  independent 
career  as  a  driver  of  mules  on  the  Pennsylvania  canal,  his  route  from 
end  to  end  embracing  more  than  1,000  miles.  He  followed  this  busi- 
ness for  fifteen  years,  the  last  ten  of  which  he  was  owner  and  prin- 
cipal operator  of  a  boat.  He  was  employed  one  year  in  the  rolling- 
mill  at  Milton,  when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  General  Electric 


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472  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Light  and  Power  Company  of  that  place,  and  in  December,  1900,  he 
engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Schuylkill  Telephone  Company's 
lines,  operating  principally  in  this  county.  On  Feb.  i,  1901,  he  was 
promoted  to  "wire  chief,"  and  his  headquarters  established  at  Potts- 
ville.  In  May,  1904,  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  division  man- 
ager, and  placed  in  charge  of  all  the  company's  lines  south  of  Broad 
mountain.  This  division  embraces  1,500  telephones,  and  thirty-nine 
employes  under  his  jurisdiction.  To  him  is  entrusted  all  new  con- 
struction work,  repairs,  the  employing  and  discharging  of  operatives, 
etc.  Mr.  Spotts  was  married  at  Port  Trevorton,  Snyder  county.  Pa., 
on  Sept.  II,  1881,  to  Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  John  M.  and  Mary 
Arnold,  Her  father  was  killed  in  the  Civil  war.  The  parental  family 
includes  six  children  living  and  one  deceased.  Her  brother,  Edwin 
S.  is  third  assistant  postmaster  general;  John  S.  is  a  practicing 
physician  in  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Grant  S.  was  employed  in  the  pension 
department  until  he  died,  in  September,  1905 ;  Ida  Bell,  wife  of  Pierce 
Bingaman,  resides  at  Port  Trevorton ;  Carrie  married  Sherman  Leon- 
hart,  a  railway  postal  clerk,  and  lives  at  Harrisburg;  Isora  is  un- 
married, and  lives  with  her  mother  at  Port  Trevorton.  Seven  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spotts,  the  eldest  of  whom, 
Lottie  L.,  is  chief  operator  at  the  Pottsville  exchange;  Edwin  A.  is 
the  wire  chief  at  Pottsville;  Mildred,  Anna,  Sheridan  and  Lillian  are 
in  school;  and  Allen  is  everybody's  "baby.^'  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spotts 
and  their  eldest  daughter  are  members  of  the  Evangelical  church. 
Mr.  Spotts  is  a  Republican  in  political  views  and  a  member  of  the 
Central  Republican  club.  He  is  also  an  interested  and  useful  member 
of  the^  Schuylkill  county  historical  society. 

Springer,  Daniel  E.,  an  enterprising  plumber  of  Tamaqua,  was 
born  in  that  city  on  May  29,  1870,  a  son  of  William  and  Mary 
(Reichelderfer)  Springer.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Joseph 
Springer,  bom  on  March  5,  1800,  owned  and  operated  one  of  the  first 
sawmills  in  Schuylkill  county.  It  was  located  on  the  Little  Schuyl- 
kill river  six  miles  south  of  Tamaqua,  and  proved  a  source  of  wealth 
until  1850,  when  a  flood  destroyed  practically  all  of  the  plant.  What 
remains  of  the  wrecked  machinery  may  be  seen  at  what  is  known  as 
"Springer's  curve"  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad.  He  died 
in  1884.  Both  he  and  his  wife  (nee  Martha  Jennings)  were  devout 
Methodists  and  when  they  died  the  whole  community  felt  keenly 
the  loss  of  two  kindly,  upright  Christian  characters.  William 
Springer,  the  father,  was  one  of  the  earliest  engineers  on  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading  road,  having  been  the  man  at  the  throttle  of  the 
old  "Witcha"  when  that  locomotive  pulled  the  trains  over  wooden 
rails.  He  died  when  he  was  sixty-three  and  his  widow  passed  away 
when  she  was  a  year  older.  Of  the  fourteen  children  bom  to  them 
nine  are  still  living,  and  eight  of  them  are  married.  Daniel  E. 
Springer  received  his  educational  advantages  in  the  Tamaqua  schools 
and  when  his  father  died  he  left  school  to  do  his  part  in  helping  to 
support  the  family.  He  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  plumbing 
trade  and  twelve  years  later  started  in  business  for  himself.     That 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  473 

he  has  been  successful  is  easily  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  has 
recently  been  enabled  to  build  a  fine,  modern  residence,  yet  when  he 
was  married  in  1892  he  had  but  forty  dollars,  five  of  which  went  to 
the  minister.  With  real  estate  and  personal  property  he  is  worth  about 
$12,000.  His  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Elizabeth  Storch,  of  Tamaqua, 
and  by  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Springer  she  is  the  mother  of  four  chil- 
dren—George Lester,  Ra)miond,  Helen  and  an  unnamed  baby.  Both 
parents  are  members  of  the  St.  John's  Reformed  church  and  Mr. 
Springer  is  identified  with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  of  which 
he  is  a  past  officer,  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  being  a  trustee  of 
that  organization  at  the  present  time,  the  American  Hose  Company, 
the  Tamaqua  club,  and  the  Rod  and  Gun  club.  He  is  known  through- 
out the  city  as  a  skilled  workman,  and  a  man  of  unsullied  character. 

Springer,  Joseph  B.,  a  locomotive  engineer  on  the  Reading  divi- 
sion of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  was. born  on  a  farm 
near  Tamaqua  on  May  2,  1856.  Something  of  his  family  history 
may  be  learned  from  the  sketch  of  his  brother,  Daniel  M.  Springer, 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  After  completing  the  courses  offered  in 
the  schools  of  Tamaqua  and  Port  Clinton,  Joseph  B.  Springer 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  as  a 
brakeman  on  his  seventeenth  birthday.  After  four  months  of  that 
work  he  obtained  a  position  as  fireman  on  his  father's  locomotive 
and  held  it  until  Jan.  15,  1878.  On  that  date  he  was.  given  an 
engine  of  his  own  and  he  has  since  been  employed  in  the  capacity 
of  locomotive  engineer.  His  present  run  from  Tamaqua  to  Phila- 
delphia and  return  he  has  held  for  eighteen  successive  years.  He 
has  never  had  an  accident  of  any  consequence,  due  to  careful 
operation.  On  June  21,  1876,  Mr.  Springer  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Jennie  Sigenfuse,  a  native  of  Tamaqua  and  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Rebecca  Sigenfuse.  The  father  was  killed  at  Delano 
more  than  thirty  years  ago  and  the  mother  died  in  1888.  They 
were  both  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Springer  have  been  born  six  children — Joseph  D.,  a  plumber; 
Minnie,  Irene,  Clarence,  Edith  and  Mabel.  The  family  are  at- 
tendants of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  Mr.  Springer 
is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engi- 
neers. He  is  considered  a  man  of  keen  business  sagacity,  high 
principles  and  altogether  a  most  valuable  member  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Stabler,  Isadore,  a  retired  farmer  of  wealth  and  influence,  resi- 
ding at  Fountain  Springs,  was  born  in  County  Solothum,  Switzer- 
land, July  27,  1842,  and  is  one  of  two  children  born  to  Jacob  and 
Catherine  (Haner)  Stabler,  the  other  being  Francis  X.  The 
mother  died  in  1844  and  the  father  married  again  and  in  1855 
brought  his  wife  and  family  to  the  United  States,  locating  in 
Pottsville.  Then  he  found  employment  about  the  collieries  and 
breakers  for  several  years  before  he  removed  to  Ashland,  and 
subsequently  he  made  his  home  in  Union  township,  where  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  days.    His  remains  are  buried  in  the 


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474  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Catholic  cemefery  at  Ashland.  By  his  second  wife  he  was  the 
father  of  three  children,  Leon,  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Jacob  Dietz,  and 
Christian.  The  subject  of  this  memoir,  Isadore  Stabler,  had  little 
opportunity  to  acquire  an  education.  Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  his 
father's  family  in  Pottsville  he  was  "hired  out"  to  Mrs.  Fox  and  dur- 
ing the  two  years  he  was  there  attended  school  when  the  weather 
or  some  other  cause  did  not  permit  him  to  labor.  The  following 
year  he  was  employed  by  Edward  O'Connor,  a  former  commis- 
sioner of  this  county,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  returned  to  his 
father's  home,  which  at  the  time  was  in  Ashland.  For  two  seasons 
Mr.  Stabler  found  a  means  of  livelihood  in  picking  slate  and  then 
became  an  assistant  in  the  engine  house  at  the  Bancroft  mine.  He 
remained  in  that  capacity  some  two  years  and  the  season  im- 
mediately following  was  engaged  in  locating  coal.  Then  he  went 
to  the  Lost  Creek  No.  2  colliery  and  for  five  years  was  engaged  in 
the  various  departments  of  the  work  there,  leaving  to  go  to  Brush 
Valley,  Columbia  county,  to  conduct  a  small  truck  farm  which  he 
rented  from  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company.  While  living 
there  he  also  attended  to  the  boilers  of  the  Robinson  Coal  Company 
and  when  the  mines  became  idle  he  became  possession  agent  for 
three  years  of  most  of  the  coal  lands  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  Company 
at  Aristes.  In  1874  he  purchased  a  tract  of  87  acres  of  timber  land 
near  Fountain  Springs.  This  he  cleared  and  improved  and  made 
his  home  upon  it  until  1901,  in  which  year  he  retired  from  active 
life  and  turned  over  the  management  of  the  farm  to  his  sons.  In 
1902  he  erected  the  pleasant,  modern  dwelling  at  Fountain  Springs 
which  is  now  his  home  and  where  he  has  since  resided.  On  Oct. 
15,  1866,  was  celebrated  Mr.  Stabler's  marriage  to  Miss  Regina 
Dietz,  a  daughter  of  David  and  Regina  Dietz,  both  natives  of 
Wurtemberg,  Germany.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stabler  have  been  bom 
seven  children — Frank,  Kate,  now  Mrs.  Nicholas  Ringnary, 
Teresa,  Mathias,  Peter,  John  and  George.  The  family  are  all 
communicants  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  Stabler  is  a 
public-spirited  citizen  and  one  who  is  intensely  interested  in  the 
educational  advantages  of  his  township.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  school  board  of  his  township  for  a  number  of  years,  during 
which  time  two  new  school  houses  have  been  built,  all  the  others 
have  been  materially  repaired  and  renovated  and  the  debt  has  been 
reduced  from  $28,000  to  $11,000.  He  is  also  actively  interested  in 
politics,  being  a  stanch  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  As  the  successful  candidate  of  that  party  he  has 
served  a  term  as  township  treasurer.  In  1900  Mr.  Stabler  visited 
the  Paris  exposition,  also  his  birthplace  in  Switzerland,  the  Alps,  and 
returned  home  via  Germany,  arriving  home  on  Sept.  15  of  that  year 
after  an  absence  of  eleven  weeks. 

Starr,  Prank  D.,  junior  member  of  the  hardware  firm  of  Beddall 
&  Starr  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  was  bom  in  Llewellyn  on  Feb.  24,  1874, 
a  son  of  John  and  Susan  (Firling)  Starr.  His  educational  advantages 
were  those  afforded  by  the  common  schools  and  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  grocery  store.     From  this  work  he 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  475 

drifted  into  New  Jersey,  where  he  became  employed  at  Camden  on 
the  Atlantic  City  railroad.  On  returning  to  Schuylkill  county  he 
found  work  as  a  breaker  boy  and  remained  in  the  mines  for  a  period 
of  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  entered  the  employ  of  A. 
H.  Swalm  of  Shenandoah,  and  there  learned  the  hardware  business. 
Of  the  fourteen  years  he  was  in  Mr.  Swalm's  employ  six  were  spent 
as  delivery  man  and  eight  as  salesman.  In  1905  he  came  to  Schuyl- 
kill Haven,  where  he  formed  a  partnership  with  G.  W.  Beddall  in  tiie 
hardware  industry  and  since  that  time  has  most  successfully  been 
conducting  the  business.  The  store  is  finely  stocked  and  equipped 
and  is  one  of  the  most  modern  in  the  county.  In  religious  matters 
he  is  identified  with  the  Reformed  church,  being  at  the  present  time 
a  communicant  of  the  Trinity  church  in  Schuylkill  Haven.  While  a 
resident  of  Shenandoah  he  was  for  eight  years  a  deacon  of  the  church 
there  and  for  six  years  of  the  time  was  its  Sunday  school  superin- 
tendent. He  was  also  for  four  years  the  treasurer  of  the  county 
Sabbath  School  association.  In  August,  1895,  was  solemnized  Mr. 
Starr's  marriage  to  Miss  Helen  K.  Portz,  a  daughter  of  John  Portz 
of  Shenandoah.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  children — 
John  F.,  Leroy  A.  and  Margaret  S.,  all  living.  Although  the  Stan- 
family  have  lived  in  Schuylkill  Haven  but  a  comparatively  short  time 
they  are  a  valued  addition  to  the  social  and  religious  life  of  the  com- 
munity, and  the  father  has  won  for  himself  a  high  place  in  the  com- 
mercial circles  of  the  city. 

Stein,  Newton  H.,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  physician  of  Middleport, 
was  bom  in  Walker  township,  this  county,  June  8,  1877,  and  is  a 
son  of  Nathan  and  Messina  J.  (Ringer)  Stein,  natives  of  Schuyl- 
kill county.  The  paternal  grandparents,  Daniel  and  Lucinda 
(Greenwalt)  Stein,  removed  to  Walker  township  from  Berks  county, 

and  the  maternal  grandparents,  Stephen  and  (Baer)  Ringer, 

came  to  Schuylkill  county  from  Northampton.  Nathan  Stein  was 
lx)m  in  West  Pennsylvania  township,  but  spent  the  better  part  of 
his  life  in  Walker  township.  He  was  a  musician  of  note  and  was 
engaged  in  teaching  music  for  more  than  thirty  years.  During 
that  time  he  was  also  carrying  on  a  piano  business  in  Tamaqua. 
He  died  in  Tamaqua  on  Aug.  7,  1905,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three,  leav- 
ing a  family  of  four  children,  of  whom  the  doctor  is  the  eldest. 
The  others  are  Anna  M.,  Laura  J.,  now  the  wife  of  Howard  F. 
Reed,  and  Minnie.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  prelim- 
inary education  in  the  grade  and  high  schools  of  his  native  county 
and  in  1898  was  graduated  at  the  Keystone  state  normal  school  of 
Kutztown.  For  the  following  two  years  he  was  engaged  in  ped- 
agogic work,  and  at  the  end  of  that  period  received  a  state  certifi- 
cate. In  the  fall  of  1900  he  matriculated  at  the  Medico-Chirur- 
gical  college  of  Philadelphia  and  in  June,  1904,  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  In  September  of  that  year  he 
located  in  Middleport,  where  he  has  since  become  recognized  as  a 
physician  of  intelligence  and  skill  and  has  built  up  a  practice  far 
beyond  his  expectations.     In  politics  the  doctor  is  a  Republican,  but 


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476  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

has  neither  held  nor  aspired  to  offices  of  public  trust.  Professionally 
he  is  associated  as  a  member  with  the  Schuylkill  county  medical  as- 
sociation and  is  medical  examiner  for  the  Metropolitan  and  Pruden- 
tial Life  Insurance  Companies.  His  religious  convictions  are  with 
the  Grerman  Reformed  society,  at  the  church  of  which  faith  he  wor- 
ships. 

Stevens,  James  K,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Stevens  &  Bro., 
wholesale  and  retail  dealers  in  ice  at  Port  Carbon,  is  a  son  of  Asher 
and  Elizabeth  (Mortimer)  Stevens,  and  was  bom  in  the  borough 
where  he  now  resides  in  1857.  He  is  one  of  a  family  of  seven,  the 
other  members  being  Mrs.  Emanuel  Templin,  Eliza,  Hannah,  Oliver, 
D.  D. ;  Ambrose  and  William  W.  His  first  labor  after  leaving  the 
public  schools  was  as  a  carpenter  and  subsequently  for  a  number  of 
years  he  was  engaged  as  a  contractor.  For  the  past  few  years  he 
and  his  brother,  Oliver,  have  been  successfully  engaged  in  their  pres- 
ent business.  Mr.  Stevens  married  Miss  Henrietta  Conrad,  of  Potts- 
ville,  by  whom  he  has  had  five  sons,  one  of  whom,  Albert  J.,  is  de- 
ceased. The  others  are  Edward  P.,  Walter  C,  Clarence,  Mortimer 
and  Wesley.  The  family  are  all  members  of  and  workers  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Port  Carbon,  and  the  father  is  identi- 
fied with  the  local  lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America.  Oliver  D.  Stevens, 
junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Stevens  &  Bro.,  was  also  born  in  Port 
Carbon,  the  year  of  his  nativity  having  been  1861.  He  had  about  the 
same  educational  advantages  as  his  brother  James,  and  has  been  in 
the  same  business  with  him  practically  all  his  active  life.  His  wife 
was  formerly  Miss  Mary  Hay,  of  Port  Carbon.  They  have  no  chil- 
dren. Like  his  brother,  Oliver  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  he  and 
his  wife  are  attendants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  chiu-ch.  Oliver 
is  a  member  of  Pottsville  Aerie,  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  The 
firm  of  Stevens  &  Bro.  has  an  increasing  patronage  each  year  and  is 
growing  in  popularity.  Besides  their  ice  business  they  do  a  general 
drayage  business. 

Stewart,  Allen  Ncifcrt,  proprietor  of  a  leading  general  store  at 
Quakake,  was  born  at  Stewart's  Station,  Pa.,  Nov.  30,  1866,  and  is 
a  son  of  David  J.  and  Rosina  (Neifert)  Stewart,  the  other  children 
being  Adam,  Francis,  Frank,  Emanuel,  Adeline,  Samuel,  Edmond 
and  Paul.  Emanuel  and  Samuel  are  deceased,  and  Adeline  is  the 
wife  of  Isaiah  Kreischer,  of  Aristes,  Columbia  county.  Pa.  The 
Stewarts  are  of  Scotch  descent,  and  the  Neifert  (or  Neuferdt)  an- 
cestry is  German.  Family  traditions  and  records  state  that  Hans 
Jacob  Neuferdt,  the  great-great-great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  came  to  America  from  Wiirtemberg  on  the  ship  Nancy, 
Captain  Ewing  commanding,  and  on  Sept.  27,  1752,  when  in  his 
seventeenth  year,  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  required  of  all  male 
members  of  the  family,  to  King  George  the  Third  and  the  common- 
wealth of  Pennsylvania.  Hans  Jacob  Neuferdt  had  a  son,  Johann 
Jacob,  bom  in  1765,  who  came  to  Rush  township  in  1797.  Johann 
Jacob  married  Magdalena  Breiner,  born  in  1760,  and  they  had  a  son 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  477 

named  John  Jacob,  who  in  turn  became  the  father  of  three  sons, 
Peter,  George  and  John.  Peter  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  David  J. 
Stewart,  the  mother  of  Allen  Neifert  Stewart,  the  subject  of  this 
memoir.  The  latter  began  his  attendance  upon  the  Rush  township 
common  schools  when  he  was  but  seven  years  of  age,  having  to  go  a 
distance  of  two  and  a  half  miles  to  what  was  known  as  the  Liebig 
school.  No.  4.  This  was  the  only  institution  of  learning  he  attended 
until  he  reached  his  seventeenth  year.  Then  he  was  out  of  school 
for  about  five  years,  and  after  taking  aiiother  term  of  work  when  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old  he  took  an  examination  under  County 
Superintendent  George  W.  Weiss  and  received  a  teacher's  certifi- 
cate. Until  1889  he  was  engaged  in  pedagogic  work,  completing 
meantime  in  vacations  a  course  in  a  Reading  business  college.  On 
April  19,  1890,  he  opened  a  general  store  in  Quakake  and  has  con- 
tinued in  the  management  of  it  ever  since.  The  first  stock  of  goods 
was  valued  at  $1,000;  to-day  insurance  is  carried  on  $20,000  worth 
of  stock.  On  July  5,  1890,  Mr.  Stewart  received  an  appointment  as 
postmaster  of  Quakake  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  March  31, 
1906.  His  marriage  occurred  on  June  2,  1892,  to  Miss  Luella  M. 
Whetstone,  and  to  this  union  have  been  born  three  children — Harold 
Van  Allen,  Warren  Whetstone  and  Carl  Winfield,  the  latter  of  whom 
is  deceased.  Mrs.  Stewart  attended  the  public  schools  in  Walker 
township,  near  Tamaqua,  until  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  she  attended 
the  Millersville  state  normal  school  for  one  term,  after  which  she 
entered  the  pedagogic  profession  and  taught  for  tfiree  years.  Mrs. 
Stewart's  parents  are  Absalom  K.  and  Rebecca  (Andrews)  Whet- 
stone, and  her  paternal  grandparents  were  John  and  Barbara  (Mo- 
ser)  Whetstone.  Absalom  K.  Whetstone  served  in  the  Civil  war  as  a 
corporal  in  Company  E,  129th  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry.  His 
grandfather,  Isaac  Whetstone,  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution. The  original  Whetstone  farmily  came  from  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  and  wrote  their  name  "Whetstein."  Her  maternal  grand- 
parents were  Peter  and  Phoebe  (Houser)  Andrews.  The  brothers 
and  sisters  of  Mrs.  Stewart  were  seven  in  number — Qaude  Elias, 
Elmer  Ellsworth,  Alice  Rebecca,  Milton  Absalom,  Edwin,  Darwin 
Benjamin  and  Eva  Ellen — of  whom  Claude,  Elmer  and  Edwin  are 
deceased.  Milton  A.  Whetstone  Was  bom  near  Tamaqua  in  May, 
1873,  graduated  in  the  Kutztown  normal  school,  taught  in  the  public 
schools  of  Lansford  for  two  years,  and  when  the  Citizens'  National 
bank  opened  on  Jan.  i,  1904,  he  entered  upon  his  duties  as  cashier. 
On  Aug.  II,  1906,  in  company  with  Daniel  McGeehan,  assistant 
cashier  of  the  bank,  he  was  engaged  in  distributing  circulars  through 
the  country  announcing  an  increase  in  the  rate  of  interest  paid  by  the 
bank,  and  while  crossing  the  tracks  of  the  Tamaqua  &  Lansford 
electric  railway  on  the  Tamaqua  side  of  hill  No.  11,  the  carriage  in 
which  they  were  riding  was  struck  by  a  car.  Mr.  Whetstone  was 
thrown  under  the  car,  where  he  was  struck  on  the  head  by  the  box 
containing  the  air  pump,  and  death  ensued  almost  instantly.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  capable  business  men  of  Lansford. 


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478  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Mr.  Stewart  and  his  family  are  all  devout  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  to  which  faith  his  ancestors  for  several  generations  have 
belonged.  He  ranks  high  in  fraternal  circles,  being  a  past  officer  in 
Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  238,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Mizpah 
Chapter,  No.  177,  Royal  Arch  ^lasons,  and  is  a  member  of  Ivanhoe 
Commandery,  No.  31,  Knights  Templars.  He  has  also  held  office  in 
Camp  No.  578,  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  and  Council 
No.  217,  Junior  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics.  In  political 
matters  he  is  a  stanch  adherent  of  time-honored  Democracy,  and  has 
been  several  times  honored  with  public  office  at  the  hands  of  his  fel- 
low citizens.  For  many  years  he  was  township  auditor  and  at  the 
present  time  is  serving  his  sixth  year  as  the  incumbent  of  the  office 
of  township  clerk.  His  business  interests  include  a  financial  interest 
in  the  Tamanend  loan  and  building  association,  of  which  he  is  the 
treasurer.  He  is  also  heavily  interested  in  realty  in  Quakake  and 
owns  his  store  building  and  home,  which  is  one  of  the  prettiest  in  the 
county. 

Stine,  Edwin  S.,  chief  burgess  of  the  borough  of  Pottsville,  Pa., 
was  born  in  the  borough  of  which  he  is  now  the  executive  head,  on 
Nov.  8,  1876.  He  is  one  of  two  surviving  children  of  John  P.  and 
Elizabeth  (Stichten)  Stine,  and  his  sister,  Carrie,  is  living  with  her 
parents.  Another  sister,  Bessie,  and  a  brother,  George,  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  father  is  paying  teller  of  the  Miners*  National  bank  of 
Pottsville,  a  position  which  he  has  held  for  more  than  thirty-four 
years.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  education  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  township,  and  for  the  first  three  years  following  the 
completion  of  his  studies  he  was  engaged  in  the  restaurant  business 
at  Tumbling  Run.  For  a  period  of  two  years  thereafter  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  sub-treasury  of  the  United  States  at  Philadelphia.  When 
he  left  that  position  it  was  to  accept  a  responsible  clerkship  in  the 
office  of  the  county  commissioners  of  Schuylkill  county,  at  Potts- 
ville. This  latter  he  retained  until  his  elevation  to  the  office  of  chief 
burgess  of  the  borough  of  Pottsville,  in  February,  1906.  There  were 
five  other  candidates  in  the  field  when  he  was  chosen  and  his  election 
over  them  all  by  a  good  majority  is  ample  evidence  of  his  popularity 
and  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow  citizens.  Dur- 
ing the  war  with  Spain  Mr.  Stine  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company 
H  of  the  8th  Pennsylvania  infantry,  on  Apr.  28,  1898,  and  on  March 
7,  1899,  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  as  a 
corporal.  The  regiment  saw  camp  service  in  various  southern  states 
and  upon  the  reorganization,  after  the  mustering  out,  Mr.  Stine  was 
made  color  sergeant  on  the  regimental  staff.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Spanish-American  War  Veterans'  association,  the  Turtle  club,  a 
social  organization  of  high  standing  in  Pottsville,  and  the  West  End 
fire  company.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Lodge  No.  207,  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks;  Lodge  No.  134,  Fraternal 
Order  of  Eagles,  and  Seneca  Tribe,  No.  41,  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  479 

Stocker,  Remegius,  a  well  known  merchant  and  old  resident  of 
Shenandoah,  was  born  in  Northampton  county,  Pa.,  Jan.  31,  1830. 
His  father,  John  StoCker,  was  born  in  Switzerland,  but  came  in  his 
boyhood  to  America,  located  in  Northampton  county,  where  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Elizabeth  Kutz,  a  native  of  the  county,  and  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life  as  a  farmer  in  that  and  Union  counties.  The 
mother  died  in  1851  and  the  father  in  1869.  Of  their  children  three 
reached  the  years  of  maturity.  Remegius  is  the  eldest;  Mathias  was 
a  farmer  and  died  in  1902 ;  and  the  sister  is  now  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Scha- 
del,  living  in  Watsontown,  Northampton  county.  Remegius  Stocker 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Northampton  and  Union  counties, 
and  lived  upon  the  farm  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He 
then  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  with  which  he  has  ever  since 
been  connected.  In  1866  he  located  in  Shenandoah,  before  the  first 
line  of  railroad  was  completed  to  the  town,  which  then  had  a  popula- 
tion of  less  than  3,000.  For  a  time  he  was  in  the  lumber  business 
and  then  formed  a  partnership  with  Jonathan  Wasley  as  dealers  in 
general  merchandise.  During  the  days  of  the  "Mollie  Maguires," 
by  doing  a  large  credit  business,  the  firm  was  driven  to  the  wall  and 
the  business  was  closed  out  at  a  loss  of  some  $25,000.  Mr.  Stocker 
again  started  in  on  a  small  scale,  with  a  stock  of  groceries  and  pro- 
visions, and  this  stock  has  been  gradually  increased  as  his  trade  de- 
manded it,  until  to-day  he  has  a  well  appointed  store.  From  the  time 
he  first  came  to  Shenandoah  he  has  always  been  identified  with  every 
movement  for  the  advancement  of  the  town,  and  is  generally  regarded 
as  one  of  the  public-spirited  and  representative  citizens.  He  served 
for  six  years  on  the  school  board;  was  secretary  of  that  body  for 
three  years;  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the  gas  company  and 
other  public  utilities;  served  for  many  years  as  a  director  of  the  gas 
and  electric  companies,  and  his  advice  or  opinion  is  frequently  sought 
by  his  fellow  townsmen,  because  of  his  general  knowledge  of  aflFairs 
and  his  well  recognized,  sound  business  judgment.  Although  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  his  party  affiliations,  he  is  independent  in  his  local  politics,, 
believing  that  the  best  way  to  secure  good  local  government  is  to 
elect  honest  and  capable  men  to  office  without  regard  to  their  party 
associations.  In  1871  Mr.  Stocker  married  Miss  Mary  Van  Bus- 
kirk,  a  native  of  Union  county  and  a  daughter  of  John  Van  Buskirk, 
an  early  settler  in  that  part  of  the  state.  They  have  no  children  and 
both  are  members  of  the  United  Evangelical  church,  representing  the 
faith  of  their  ancestors. 

Stone,  John  W.,  the  popular  proprietor  of  the  Westminster  hotel 
at  Frackville,  Pa.,  was  born  in  Gloucestershire,  England,  Nov.  26, 
1863,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Susannah  (Stone)  Stone.  He  was  reared 
in  his  native  country,  where  he  received  his  early  education,  and 
where  he  remained  until  his  eighteenth  year,  when,  in  1881,  he  im- 
migrated to  the  United  States,  first  locating  in  Mahanoy  City,  Pa., 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  butcher  business,  which  trade  he  had 
learned  in  his  native  country.  After  several  years'  stay  in  Mahanoy 
City,  he  removed  to  Gilberton,  embarking  in  the  same  business,  in 


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480  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

which  he  continued  until  1894,  when  he  there  entered  the  hotel  busi- 
ness. In  December,  1903,  he  purchased  his  present  location  in  Frack- 
ville  and  removed  to  the  last  named  city.  His  hosteky  is  known  as  the 
Westminster  hotel,  and  is  the  leading  hotel  of  the  city.  Mr.  Sterne 
has  successfully  conducted  this  business  since  he  purchased  it,  and 
is  also  an  extensive  dealer  in  real  estate.  He  is  one  of  the  represen- 
tative and  progressive  business  men  of  the  city;  taking  a  deep  interest 
in  all  public  matters.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  First 
National  bank  of  Frackville,  in  which  he  is  a  stockholder  and  direc- 
tor. He  is  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party  and 
during  his  residence  in  Gilberton  served  in  the  city  council  and  as  a 
member  of  the  school  board  and  board  of  health.  In  March,  1885, 
was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Stone  to  Emma  J.  Weeks,  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Emma  J.  Weeks,  of  Gilberton,  and  to 
this  union  have  been  born  seven  children:  Susie,  now  the  wife  of 
George  Boner,  and  Gilbert  S.,  Berdie,  Marie,  John,  Benjamin,  and 
Lee,  Jr.    The  family  are  members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

Sjtoyer,  Rev.  WUliam  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  church 
of  Schuylkill  Haven,  is  a  native  of  Delaware  township,  Mercer 
county.  Pa.,  where  he  was  born  Dec.  i,  1869.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry 
S.  and  Armina  (Adams)  Stoyer.  The  first  school  he  attended  was  a 
select  one,  under  Prof.  J.  B.  Scott,  at  Transfer,  Mercer  county,  and 
then  he  was  a  student  at  an  institution  of  the  same  nature  at  Fre- 
donia,  under  Prof.  L.  R.  Eckles.  When  he  had  completed  his  pre- 
paratory work  he  entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  Edinboro,  in 
Erie  county,  and  graduated  with  the  class  of  1890.  From  this  insti- 
tution he  returned  to  Fredonia  and  took  up  a  scientific  course  in  the 
Fredonia  institute.  Then  he  entered  Thiel  college,  at  Greenville,  and 
in  1895  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  His 
theological  training  was  acquired  in  the  Reformed  theological  semi- 
nary at  Lancaster,  where  he  graduated  in  1898.  Mr.  Stoyer's  first 
charge  was  at  Tremont,  which  pastorate  included  the  congregations 
of  Llewellyn  and  Donaldson  and  the  congregation  at  Newtown,  which 
he  had  organized.  In  1901  he  accepted  a  call  to  become  pastor  of 
the  Auburn  Reformed  charge.  This  charge  included  the  Old  Red 
church  congregation,, and  those  at  New  Ringgold  and  Port  Clinton, 
and  subsequently  the  one  which  he  organized  at  Landingville.  His 
present  pastorate  dates  from  April,  1905,  when  he  relinquished  his 
Auburn  charge  to  accept  it.  The  church  heretofore  known  as  the 
Jerusalem  church  was  owned  jointly  by  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
congregations,  but  under  Mr.  Stoyer's  management  sufficient  funds 
were  soon  raised  to  purchase  the  Lutheran  interest  and  the  edifice 
was  renamed  as  the  First  Reformed  church.  Working  in  connection 
with  the  congregation  he  has  remodeled  the  building  and  the  par- 
sonage, and  has  installed  new  heating  and  lighting  systems  as  well 
as  new  furnishings  in  both.  The  parsonage  is  widely  known  as  the 
Bast  homestead,  and  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  places  in  the  Little 
Schuylkill  valley.  As  a  pastor  Mr.  Stoyer  is  immensely  popular  with 
all  whb  know  him,  and  his  sermons  are  plain,  straightforward  talks 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  481 

that  have  the  ring  of  sincerity.  In  June,  1902,  was  celebrated  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Stoyer  to  Miss  Bessie  E.  Stuck,  a  daughter  of  Hon. 
Benjamin  F.  and  Mary  J.  (Charlesworth)  Stuck,  of  Tremont.  Two 
sons  have  blessed  this  union — William  Henry  Franklin  and  Benjamin 
Irvin  Frederick.  In  his  political  affairs  Mr.  Stoyer  is  aligned  with 
no  party  or  faction,  but  votes  for  the  best  interests  of  the  community. 
Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Protected 
Home  Circle.  He  is  stated  clerk  of  the  Schuylkill  county  classes  of 
the  Reformed  church,  and  is  general  overseer  of  all  publications  is- 
sued by  the  denomination  in  the  county.  Rev.  Mr.  Stoyer's  strong- 
est and  most  able  efforts  in  the  ministry  have  been  the  organization 
of  new  congregations  and  the  freeing  of  old  ones  from  debt.  He  is 
distinctively  a  self-made  man,  and  one  whose  life  is  well  worthy  of 
emulation. 

Strauch,  Lambert  A.,  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  grain  and 
feed  mill  at  Cressona,  was  bom  in  that  borough  in  1881,  a  son  of 
Augustus  R.  and  Sallie  (Grimm)  Strauch.  His  paternal  grand- 
parents were  Isaac  and  Lavinia  (Heiser)  Strauch,  the  former  of 
whom  was  bom  in  what  is  now  the  township  of  North  Manheim, 
this  county,  on  Feb.  4,  1806.  He  was  a  boatman  on  the  Philadelphia 
and  Schuylkill  canal  in  his  early  life,  but  later  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  and  still  later  removed  to  Cressona,  where  he  built  and 
operated  a  flour  mill.  He  died  on  July  4,  1885.  It  was  at  Cressona 
that  Augustus  R.  Strauch,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born,  on  Aug.  8,  1857.  When  Isaac  Strauch  died  his  son,  Au- 
gustus, took  charge  of  the  mill  and  continued  to  operate  it  until  his 
death.  By  his  marriage  to  Sallie  Grimm,  Augustus  became  the 
father  of  two  sons,  Robert  D.  and  Lambert  A.  He  was  a  prominent 
man  in  the  borough  and  held  many  offices  of  public  trust,  among 
them  the  position  of  chief  burgess  for  one  term,  councilman  for  three 
years,  auditor  and  member  of  the  school  board.  Lambert  A.  Strauch 
attended  the  public  schools  and  after  availing  himself  fully  of  the 
educational  advantages  there  afforded  he  found  employment  in  his 
father's  mill.  During  all  his  active  life  he  has  had  no  other  employ- 
ment, having  operated  the  concern  under  his  own  name  since  his 
father's  death.  He  is  unmarried  and  makes  his  home  with  his  mother. 
In  religious  affairs  both  mother  and  son  are  associated  with  the  Re- 
formed church  of  Cressona.  Mr.  Strauch  is  recognized  as  a  young 
man  of  fine  business  capacity  and  his  friends  predict  for  him  a  most 
successful  future. 

Straughn,  Charles  T.,  of  Shenandoah,  is  one  of  the  able  and 
popular  representatives  of  the  newspaper  fraternity  in  Schuylkill 
county,  and  is  editor  and  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Shenandoah 
Evening  Herald,  besides  being  incumbent  of  the  office  of  county  con- 
troller. Mr.  Straughn  is  a  native  of  Cambridge,  Dorchester  county, 
Maryland,  where  he  was  born  Feb.  24,  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Levin 
and  Annie  Straughn,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  The  father 
was  editor  of  the  leading  newspaper  of  his  native  state  and  continued 

81— VoU  II 


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482  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

a  resident  of  Maryland  until  the  close  of  his  life.  The  subject  of  this 
review  was  afforded  the  advantages  of  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive place  and  as  a  youth  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  prin- 
ter's trade.  He  in  due  time  familiarized  himself  with  the  practical 
minutiae  of  the  "art  preservative  of  all  arts,"  and  boldly  pressed  his 
way  forward  into  the  reportorial  and  editorial  ranks  of  newspaper- 
dom.  That  he  has  succeeded  in  his  chosen  sphere  of  endeavor  is 
amply  demonstrated  in  the  superiority  of  the  paper  of  which  he  is 
now  editor  in  chief  and  which  covers  its  assigned  field  with  distinct- 
ive success,  besides  being  an  efficient  exponent  of  the  principles  and 
policies  of  the  Republican  party.  Of  this  party  Mr.  Straughn  is  a 
valiant  and  loyal  member  and  he  has  been  active  in  its  work.  He 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council  of  Shenandoah  and 
also  as  its  treasurer,  and  is  now  entering  upon  his  second  term  as 
county  controller,  in  which  office  he  has  made  an  enviable  record. 
He  is  public-spirited  and  progressive  and  has  done  much  to  further 
the  interests  of  the  county  in  which  he  maintains  his  home.  His 
religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which 
both  he  and  his  wife  are  members,  and  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  the  Juniof  Order  of  United  American 
Mechanics,  and  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  In  July,  1885,  Mr. 
Straughn  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Davies,  daughter 
of  Thomas  D.  and  Margaret  (Jones)  Davies,  of  Shenandoah,  and 
the  children  of  this  union  are  six  in  number,  namely:  L.  Emory, 
Thomas  D.,  William  S.,  M.  Anna,  Archibald  and  Margaret  J. 

Strause,  Frank,  son  of  Samuel  and  Susan  (Miller)  Strause,  was 
bom  in  Schubert,  Berks  county,  Sept.  28,  1856.  His  father  was  a 
carpenter  in  his  early  life,  and  in  later  years  a  hotel-keeper.  He  con- 
ducted a  hotel  in  Berks  county  for  twenty-two  years,  and  also  one  at 
Summit  Station  for  four  years.  He  spent  the  closing  years  of  his 
life  with  his  son  Frank,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  died  in  1904, 
aged  eighty-four  years  and  eighteen  days.  Frank  Strause  is  one  of 
.  a  large  family  of  children.  His  brothers  and  sisters  are-:  Mary, 
married  to  Simeon  Weber,  of  Berks  county;  Monroe;  Adam;  Ann, 
married  to  Andrew  Cottaman,  of  Myerstown,  Lebanon  county;  Ma- 
tilda (deceased) ;  Kate  (deceased)  ;  Caroline  (deceased)  was  the 
wife  of  P.  S.  Kremer,  of  Summit  Station,  Schuylkill  county;  Susan, 
married  to  Charles  Roeder,  of  Summit  Station;  Charles;  Jane,  mar- 
ried to  George  Krommes.  Frank  Strause  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  birthplace  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  after  which  he 
remained  at  home  with  his  father,  assisting  in  the  hotel  business  until 
he  was  twenty-two  years  old.  At  that  time  he  began  to  work  inde- 
pendently, for  two  years  cutting  wood  and  afterward  being  employed 
in  the  construction  department  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  rail- 
way for  about  three  years.  He  then  took  a  contract  for  cutting  wood 
and  worked  in  that  business  until  he  returned  to  hotel-keeping,  in 
which  he  remained  for  sixteen  years.  His  last  business  enterprise 
is  in  timber,  with  which  he  combines  a  general  mercantile  establish- 
ment, being  at  the  present  time  thus  engaged.    On  July  20,  1878,  Mr. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  483 

Strause  was  rnarried  to  Miss  Amanda  Roeder,  daughter  of  Elias 
Roeder,  of  Summit  Station.  To  them  have  been  born  five  children: 
Oliver,  Charles  V.,  Robert  L.,  Bessie  M.,  and  a  son  who  died  in 
infancy.  Bessie  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Babb,  of  Roeders,  Schuylkill 
county.  In  politics  Mr.  Strause  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  desired 
public  office.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Summit  Hill  Lutheran 
church.  Mr.  Strause's  son,  Charles,  manages  the  mercantile  business 
for  him,  and  also  attends  to  the  clerical  work  in  connection  with  the 
extensive  timber  business  in  which  Mr.  Strause  is  engaged. 

Strimaitis,  Anicetas  B.,  son  of  George  and  Agotta  (Laurinaitis) 
Strimaitis,  was  born  in  Lithuania,  a  part  of  Russia  near  the  boundary 
of  Germany,  on  Oct.  17,  1875.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  coun- 
try until  he  was  eleven  years  of  age,  when  he  worked  on  the  farm 
for  his  mother,  his  father  having  died  when  he  was  three  years  old. 
At  the  age  of  fifteen  Mr.  Strimaitis  decided  to  come  to  America,  and 
he  located  first  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  having  found  employment  with  a  butcher.  He  then  went 
to  Scranton,  Pa.,  locating  a  little  later  at  what  is  now  Avon,  where 
he  worked  in  the  mines  about  two  years.  He  then  came  to  Mahanoy 
City,  where  he  was  again  employed  in  the  mines,  remaining  there 
about  seven  years,  when  he  decided  to  change  his  occupation,  and 
became  a  partner  in  a  meat  market  in  the  same  place.  After  two 
years  he  went  to  Mount  Carmel,  where  he  worked  for  Weissinger 
Bros.,  in  the  same  business,  for  a  short  time,  coming  from  there  to 
Shenandoah,  Schuylkill  county.  Here  he  was  at  first  employed  in  a 
grocery  store  and  later  became  connected  with  the  Lithuanian  paper 
published  in  Shenandoah,  known  as  the  Darbuininku  Viltis,  where  he 
was  in  charge  of  the  outside  printing.  On  Feb.  17,  1905,  he  was 
appointed  head-keeper  of  the  infirmary  of  the  Schuylkill  county  alms- 
house, which  position  he  is  at  present  occupying.  Mr.  Strimaitis 
took  out  his  first  naturalization  papers  at  Scranton,  in  1895,  casting 
his  first  vote  for  President  McKinley  in  1896.  He  was  married  to 
Marguerite,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Strielkiute)  Lutkevicz, 
of  Mahanoy  City,  on  Oct.  30,  1900.  One  child  born  to  them  died  at 
the  age  of  eleven  months  and  thirteen  days.  Mr.  Strimaitis  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Szyono  Kriksztytoio,  of  Mahanoy  City,  also  of  the  S.  L.  A. 
of  America,  and  the  T.  M.  Dr.  of  America.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  club  of  Mahanoy  City,  which  he  organized,  and  of  the 
young  men's  club  of  the  same  place.  Mr.  Strimaitis  is  an  ambitious 
and  energetic  young  man,  and  during  his  residence  in  Mahanoy  City 
attended  a  night  school  that  he  might  become  more  conversant  with 
the  language  and  the  ways  of  the  Americans.  He  is  also  a  talented 
musician,  being  a  fine  violinist  and  a  composer  of  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music.  He  has  a  number  of  compositions  which  he  expects 
to  publish  soon.  Dec.  24,  1901,  while  working  in  the  mines  at  Elm- 
wood  colliery,  Mahanoy  City,  he  was  seriously  injured  by  falling 
coal,  and  was  in  consequence  in  the  hospital  for  eighteen  months.  In 
politics  Mr.  Strimaitis  is  a  Republican,  and  his  family  attends  the 
Lithuanian  church  of  Mahanoy  City. 


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484  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Strohmeier,  Bertram  A^  assistant  principal  of  the  Pottsville 
high  school,  is  a  native  of  Ashland,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  where  he 
was  bom  Aug.  24,  1883,  the  only  child  of  WilUam  and  Frances 
(Creasy)  Strohmeier,  also  natives  of  Ashland.  In  the  paternal  line, 
die  family  is  of  German  extraction.  The  mother's  family  is  of  Scotch 
antecedents  and  was  first  established  in  Columbia  county,  wh^e 
representatives  of  the  same  have  been  prominent  in  social  and  politi- 
cal circles  for  many  years.  The  parental  home  of  Professor  Stroh- 
meier was  transferred  to  Philadelphia  in  1895,  ^^^  after  a  brief  so- 
journ in  the  Quaker  city,  it  was  determined  that  the  mountainous 
region  of  his  native  county  would  prove  more  congenial  in  the  res- 
toration of  his  health,  which  was  then  rather  delicate.  Accordingly 
he  took  up  his  residence  with  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Daniel  Qiristian,  in 
whose  family  he  has  resided  since  1898.  He  was  graduated  from 
the  Pottsville  high  school  in  the  class  of  1902,  and  immediately  be- 
gan the  classical  course  at  Pennsylvania  college,  Gett}^sburg,  in  which 
he  was  graduated  with  honor  in  the  class  of  1906.  Immediately  after 
graduation,  Mr.  Strohmeier  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  Greek  and 
English  history  in  the  preparatory  school  of  his  alma  mater,  but 
declined  that  honor  when  elected  to  his  present  position  in  the 
Pottsville  schools.  Mr.  Strohmeier  has  always  taken  high  rank  both 
as  a  student  and  instructor,  and  has  carried  away  some  distinguished 
honors  from  the  oratorical  field.  He  won  the  intercollegiate  oratori- 
cal prize  of  the  Pennsylvania  Oratorical  Union  on  March  9,  1906. 
The  colleges  comprising  the  union  were  LaFayette,  Lehigh,  Muhlen- 
berg, Franklin  and  Marshall,  Ursinus,  Swarthmore  and  Pennsylva- 
nia college  at  Gettysburg.  Besides  the  distinguished  honor  conveyed 
in  this  achievement,  the  cash  prize  was  a  handsome  sum  of  money — 
not  at  all  unwelcome  to  the  average  college  student.  Professor  Stroh- 
meier is  a  zealous  worker  in  church  and  Sunday  school,  and  his  ora- 
torical talents  are  fully  appreciated  in  connection  with  this  line  of 
work,  wherein  his  leisure  and  holidays  are  fully  monopolized  in  de- 
livering public  addresses.  While  in  college  he  was  editor-in-chief  of 
the  "Spectrum,"  a  college  annual  published  by  the  junior  class.  He 
has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  athletic  sports  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Gettysburg  basket-ball  team  during  his  four  years'  stay 
in  the  town.  He  was  a  member  of  the  college  football  team  during 
his  senior  year.  He  is  also  an  interested  and  useful  "coach"  and 
organizer  in  connection  with  the  football  team  of  the  Pottsville  high 
school.  Mr.  Strohmeier  is  a  member  of  the  English  Lutheran  church. 
He  is  independent  of  party  in  political  aflFair,s  and  does  not  take  an 
aggressive  interest  in  politics,  except  as  a  student  of  history.  His 
fatiier  was  a  business  man  in  San  Francisco  at  the  time  of  the  recent 
devastation  by  earthquake  and  fire,  and  was  a  serious  sufferer  from 
the  destruction  of  his  property  and  business  interests. 

Sturtevant,  Benjamin  Franklin,  foreman  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  Company's  engine  house  at  Delano,  is  a  son  of  Caleb  and 
Mary  (Hodgson)  Sturtevant  and  was  bom  in  Halifax,  Mass.,  on 
Feb.  24,  1852.     He  is  one  of  two  sons  of  his  parents,  the  other  of 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  485 

whom,  Edward  by  name,  has  not  been  heard  of  for  several  years. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  Halifax 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  then,  in  July,  1869,  began  his 
active  bread-winning  by  accepting  a  position  as  apprentice  in  the 
locomotive  works  at  Taunton,  Mass.  In  the  spring  of  1873  he  went 
to  Hannibal,  Mo.,  and  took  a  position  as  locomotive  machinist  and 
fireman  for  the  Hannibal  &  St.  Joe  Railroad  Company.  He  remained 
there  until  late  in  1875  ^md  then  removed  to  Raleigh,  N.  C,  where  he 
worked  at  the  machinist's  trade  until  his  return  to  Hannibal  and  the 
employ  of  the  St.  Joe  railroad,  in  1876.  From  Hannibal  his  wan- 
derings took  him  to  Keokuk,  la.,  where  for  a  year  he  was  with  the 
Keokuk  &  St.  Joe  railroad  company.  For  the  next  few  months  he 
left  His  trade  to  prospect  in  the  gold  and  silver  regions  about  Den- 
ver, Colo.  On  his  return  to  the  east  in  1880  he  found  employment 
as  a  machinist  at  Ashley,  Pa.,  with  the  New  Jersey  Central  railroad, 
and  remained  in  that  capacity  for  a  period  of  eight  years.  Then  he 
was  transferred  to  Mauch  Chunk  and  made  engine-house  foreman,  a 
position  he  retained  for  a  period  of  about  five  years,  or  until  1893. 
It  was  in  that  year  that  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
railroad  company  in  the  same  capacity,  being  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Mauch  Chunk  engine  house  of  the  company.  From  Mauch  Chunk 
he  came  to  Delano  to  assume  the  duties  of  a  like  position.  On  Sept. 
28,  1880,  Mr.  Sturtevant  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Purdon,  of  Mahoning  township,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary 
(Kidd)  Purdon.  Mr.  Purdon  is  a  native  of  England,  the  place  of 
his  nativity  bein^  near  Hull,  and  his  wife  was  bom  in  Delaware.  Mrs. 
Purdon  was  twice  married,  her  first  husband  having  been  Griffiths 
Evans,  to  whom  she  bore  two  children — ^Anna,  now  Mrs.  McCready, 
of  Easton,  Pa.,  and  John  R.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sturtevant  have  two  sons, 
John  Thomas  and  Benjamin  Johnson,  the  former  of  whom  is  now 
serving  an  apprenticeship  in  the  shops  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  railroad 
company  at  Weatherly,  Pa.  Mrs.  Sturtevant  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  as  are  also  the  sons.  Mr.  Sturtevant  is 
a  Congregationalist  and  is  a  man  who  carries  his  religious  views  into 
the  exercise  of  his  right  of  franchise,  being  a  strong  upholder  of  the 
principles  of  the  Prohibition  party.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  of  the  encampment  of 
the  same  at  Wilkes  Barre. 

Stutzman,  Frederick  E.,  a  farmer  of  Hegins  township,  was  bom 
at  Fountain,  Pa.,  Sept.  8,  1851,  and  is  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
oldest  families  of  that  part  of  Schuylkill  county,  his  great-grand- 
father and  his  grandfather,  Christian  and  Peter  Stutzman,  respect- 
ively, coming  from  Lebanon  county  and  settling  in  Hegins  township 
m  the  fall  of  1826.  Peter  Stutzman  married  Elizabeth  Bonarty,  and 
they  had  eight  children,  viz.:  Christian,  David,  Michael,  Elizabeth,. 
Peter,  Catherine,  Israel  and  William  A.,  the  last  named  being  the 
father  of  Frederick  E.  William  A.  Stutzman  grew  to  manhood  on 
the  home  farm,  receiving  an  education  in  the  old  subscription  schools, 
and  in  I850  he  built  the  Fountain  hotel  at  Fountain,  which  house  he: 


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486  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

• 
conducted  for  twenty-five  years.  He  served  as  poor  director  of 
Schuylkill  county,  treasurer,  tax  collector  and  supervisor,  being  in 
his  day  one  of  the  active  Democrats  of  the  county.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Reformed  church.  His  first  wife  was  Catherine  Zerby,  a 
native  of  Schuylkill  county,  by  whom  he  had  six  children,  viz. :  Henry, 
who  died  in  Nebraska  in  1877 ;  Frederick  E. ;  Isaac,  deceased ;  Mary, 
deceased;  John  W.,  a  farmer  in  Hegins  township;  and  Andrew,  also 
a  farmer  in  the  same  locality  as  his  brother.  After  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  he  married  Helen  Roebuck,  of  Northumberland  county,  and 
to  this  union  were  born  three  children:  Celia  married  P.  M.  Artz 
and  is  now  dead ;  Carrie  is  single  and  lives  at  home ;  and  Emma  L.  is 
Mrs.  R.  A.  Bressler,  of  Hegins.  William  A.  Stutzman  died  on  July 
7>  ^90$'  Frederick  E.  Stutzman  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
and  lived  with  his  parents  until  he  was  twenty-seven  years. of  age. 
In  Sept.,  1874,  he  married  Miss  Melinda,  daughter  of  Michael  and* 
Mary  (Kehras)  Stutzman,  of  Fountain,  and  for  the  next  three  years 
he  farmed  for  his  father.  He  then  bought  sixty  acres,  where  he  now 
lives,  forty  acres  being  cleared  and  under  cultivation.  Since  coming 
into  possession  of  this  place  he  has  built  a  new  house  and  bam  and 
added  other  improvements,  among  them  a  fine  orchard.  Mr.  Stutz- 
man is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  convictions  and  has  served  as  town- 
ship assessor  and  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Grange,  and  holds  membership  in 
the  Reformed  church,  which  also  represented  the  faith  of  his  father. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stutzman  have  the  following  children*:  Harry  A.  is 
a  physician  at  Tower  City ;  Calvin  A.  married  Vinie  Smith,  of  Valley 
View,  and  has  one  daughter,  Olivia;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Artz,  a  butcher  at  Minersville,  and  has  two  children,  Ravmond  C. 
and  Mertie ;  Robert  E.,  a  butcher  at  Minersville,  married  Lizzie  Lau- 
derman  and  has  one  son,  Frederick  Jacob ;  Bella  is  the  wife  of  Oscar 
Snyder,  of  Tremont,  and  has  one  son,  Herman ;  and  Verda  A.,  Will- 
iam A.,  Christian  A.,  Lizzie  A.  and  Carrie  H.  are  at  home  with  their 
parents.  Harry  A.  was  educated  in  the  normal  school  at  West  Ches- 
ter and  attended  medical  college  at  Philadelphia,  graduating  in  1905, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  in  practice  at  Tower  City.  He  married 
Catherine  Williams,  of  Fountain,  and  has  three  children:  Lloyd, 
Alberta  and  Fernie. 

Stutzman,  Samuel  K,  a  farmer  of  Hegins  township,  is  a  native 
of  Schuylkill  county,  having  been  born  near  Hegins  on  April  19, 
1864.  His  parents,  John  and  Polly  (Holderman)  Stutzman,  were 
both  bom  in  the  county,  the  father  in  Hegins  and  the  mother  in  Hub- 
ley  township.  John  Stutzman  learned  the  trade  of  wheelwright  with 
Jacob  Wolfgang,  of  Valley  View,  and  ran  a  shop  at  that  place  for 
many  years.  In  187 1  he  bought  a  farm  of  sixty-six  and  one-half 
acres  in  Hegins  township,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death  he  fol- 
lowed the  vocation  of  farming.  At  the  time  he  purchased  the  farm 
it  was  badly  run  down,  the  buildings  being  out  of  repair,  etc.  He 
rebuilt  the  house  in  1872  and  continued  to  improve  the  place  until  it 
became  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  locality.     He  was  a  Democrat 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  487 

in  his  political  faith,  and  for  some  time  held  the  office  of  supervisor. 
He  died  July  3,  1903,  and  his  widow  is  still  living  on  the  farm.  They 
had  two  children :  Samuel  E.  and  Maria  A.  The  latter  married  Wil- 
lis Boyer,  and  is  now  deceased,  leaving  one  son,  John.  Samuel  E. 
Stutzman  received  a  common-school  education  and  has  all  his  life 
been  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  now  lives  upon  the  farm 
which  his  father  bought  in  187 1,  and  there  carries  on  a  general  farm- 
ing business,  devoting  considerable  attention  to  the  cultivation  of 
fruit.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of  Amer- 
ica, the  Grange  and  the  Reformed  church,  all  located  at  Hegins. 
He  takes  an  active  part  in  politics  and  has  held  the  offices  of  school 
director,  clerk  and  auditor,  always  discharging  his  duties  with  ability 
and  fidelity.  On  May  15,  1886,  he  married  Miss  Sallie  A.,  daughter 
of  William  and  Susan  Boyer,  of  Hegins  township.  Her  father  was 
bom  in  Schuylkill  and  her  mother  in  Dauphin  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stutzman  have  four  children:  Carrie  E.,  John  W.,  Susie  P.  and 
Reba  I. 

Super,  Albert  Haeseler,  M.  D. — ^This  popular  and  successful 
young  physician  was  bom  at  Pottsville,  Pa.,  Feb.  25,  1881.  He  is  a 
son  of  J.  Harry  and  Emma  (Haeseler)  Super,  the  former  a  native 
of  Perry  county,  Pa.,  and  the  latter  bom  at  Orwigsburg,  Schuylkill 
county.  The  father  located  in  Pottsville  in  1872,  and  has  spent  the 
intervening  years  in  that  borough  and  at  Minersville,  in  which  places 
he  has  been  prominent  in  church  and  musical  circles  and  in  those 
things  tending  toward  the  betterment  of  the  community.  The  pa- 
rental family  consisted  of  six  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  the 
si'bject  of  this  article.  The  others  are  here  named  in  order  of  birth: 
John  H.,  Jr.,  a  student  at  Dickinson  college;  Catherine  Mary,  Doro- 
tha  Emma,  Sarah  Louise  and  Frederick  Haeseler.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  completed  the  course  in  the  Pottsville  high  school  in  1898, 
being  graduated  with  the  class  of  that  year.  In  1899  he  took  up  his 
professional  studies  at  Hahnemann  medical  college,  in  Philadelphia, 
and  received  his  diploma  as  a  graduated  physician  and  surgeon  in 
1903.  He  spent  the  succeeding  year  in  hospital  service  at  McKinley 
memorial  hospital,  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  located  in  general  practice  at 
Tamaqua  in  1904.  He  is  the  president  of  the  Schuylkill  county 
Homeopathic  medical  society,  and  an  active  member  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania state  society  of  the  same  system  of  practice.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  United  Evangelical  church.  Dr.  Super  was  mar- 
ried in  Sept.,  1906,  to  Miss  Edna  M.  Kline,  a  native  of  Canton,  O., 
and  a  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Kline,  of  Tamaqua. 

Super,  Alvin  D.,  son  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Deiner)  Super,  was 
bom  in  Juniata  township.  Perry  county.  Pa.,  on  Oct.  8,  1857.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  after 
which  he  came  to  Pottsville  and  learned  the  plastering  trade,  at  which 
he  worked  for  three  and  one-half  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
he  came  to  Wayne  township  and  worked  on  a  farm  until  1894,  when 
he  purchased  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides,  and  which  he  has 
cultivated   since  that  time.     Besides   his  agricultural   operations   he 


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488  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

deals  in  fertilizers  and  is  an  agent  for  agricultural  machinery.  On 
Apr.  I,  1893,  Mr.  Super  married  Annie  R.  Reed,  daughter  of  Elias 
Reed,  of  Wayne  township.  They  have  had  two  children :  One  daugh- 
ter died  in  infancy,  and  Ruth  is  living.  In  politics  Mr.  Super  is  a 
Democrat,  and  the  family  are  members  of  the  United  Evangelical 
church.  Mr.  Super  has  recently  been  elected  superintendent  of  the 
'  Sunday  school,  and  is  also  class  leader  of  the  church.  He  has  six 
brothers  living:  Charles  W.,  professor  of  German  in  the  University 
at  Athens,  Ohio ;  Jefferson  E.,  a  farmer  in  Perry  county.  Pa. ;  Oranda 
B.,  professor  in  Dickinson  college,  Carlisle,  Pa.;  Daniel  R.,  president 
of  the  Cincinnati  Queensware  Company ;  J.  Harry,  chief  and  inspector 
of  police  of  Minersville,  Pa.,  and  Irving  H.,  a  teller  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania National  bank,  at  Pottsville,  Pa. 

Swalm,  Thomas  W.,  M.  D.,  a  prominent  Homeopathic  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  in  Pottsville,  was  bom  at  Orwigsburg,  this  coimty, 
June  15,  1856.  He  is  a  son  of  John  A.  and  Catherine  (Hoy)  Swalm, 
natives  of  Schuylkill  county.  The  father  was  bom  Dec.  19,  1826, 
and  died  June  2,  1894.  He  was  a  merchant  for  many  years  in  Mah- 
anoy  City.  The  mother  was  bom  May  5,  1829,  and  died  Jan.  3,  1887. 
Of  the  four  children  born  to  these  parents  Emma  is  the  eldest  and 
the  only  daughter.  She  is  the  wife  of  Albert  J.  Luburg,  and  resides 
in  Philadelphia;  Harry  A.  Swalm  is  a  merchant  in  Mahanoy  City; 
Dr.  Thomas  W.  is  the  third  in  order  of  birth,  and  Albert  H.  is  a 
hardware  merchant  in  Pottsville,  but  until  recently  was  located  in 
Shenandoah  in  the  same  line  of  business.  Dr.  Swalm  received  his 
general  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Mahanoy  City  and  at  New 
Berlin  seminary,  in  Union  county.  Pa.  He  began  his  professional 
studies  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  but  completed  his  course 
at  the  Homeopathic  medical  college  of  New  York  city,  in  which  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1878.  He  spent  .one  year  in  practice  in 
the  New  York  city  hospital  on  Ward  island,  and  in  1879  he  came  to 
Pottsville,  where  he  has  since  been  in  continuous  and  successful  prac- 
tice. Dr.  Swalm  has  no  specialties  or  hobbies,  but  is  devoting  his 
energies  to  general  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery,  according  to 
the  tenets  of  his  profession.  He  is  a  close  student  of  professional 
literature,  and  has  a  large  and  valuable  library  of  carefully  selected 
professional  books.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  and  county  medical 
societies  of  Homeopathic  physicians,  and  keeps  in  the  front  rank  in 
the  onward  march  of  his  profession.  Dr.  Swalm  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Pottsville  school  board  for  the  last  seven  years,  and  is  presi- 
dent of  that  body  at  the  present  time.  He  was  married  in  1893  ^^ 
Miss  Annie  Rickert.  His  church  affiliations  are  with  the  First  Pres- 
b}1:erian  church  in  Pottsville.  The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows is  the  only  fraternal  society  with  which  he  is  affiliated. 

Swank,  Robert  Porter,  a  well  known  attorney  at  Mahanoy 
City,  was  born  at  Delano,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  Oct.  17,  1868.  His 
father,  Josiah  Swank,  was  born  at  Mauch  Chunk,  Pa.,  Sept.  11,  1844. 
He  was  a  soldier  during  the  Civil  war,  serving  first  in  the  27th  regi- 
ment of  Pennsylvania  militia  during  the  "emergency  call"  of  1863, 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  489 

and  he  enlisted  on  Feb.  28,  1865,  as  a  private  in  Company  K,  of  the 
202d  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infantry.  He  was  honorably  discharged 
Aug.  3,  1865,  by  reason  of  the  close  of  the  war.  The  mother  of  Mr. 
Robert  P.  Swank  was  in  maidenhood  Miss  Anna  J.  Porter,  a  native 
of  Ballycairn,  Colerain,  Ireland,  where  she  was  bom  March  13,  1847. 
The  subject  of  this  article  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  De- 
lano, and  at  the  Pennsylvania  state  college,  near  Bellefonte,  being 
graduated  from  the  last  named  institution  with  the  class  of  1889. 
In  his  sophomore  year  Mr.  Swank  was  awarded  the  James  A.  Beaver 
prize  for  excellence  in  mathematics;  and  a  distinguished  honor  was 
conferred  upon  him  two  years  later,  when,  as  the  representative  of 
the  senior  class,  he  was  awarded  the  second  medal  of  the  American 
protective  tariff  league.  The  theme  of  his  essay  on  this  occasion 
was :  "What  Are  Raw  Materials  ?  Would  free  raw  materials  be  bene- 
ficial to  the  labor  and  industries  of  the  United  States  ?"This  contest 
was  open  to  the  senior  classes  of  all  American  colleges.  After  gradu- 
ation, Mr.  Swank  entered  upon  the  study  of  his  chosen  profession 
in  the  office  of  William  Wilhelm,  Esq.,  in  Potts ville.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Schuylkill  county  bar,  Feb.  13,  1893,  and  has  since  been 
admitted  to  practice  before  all  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  United  States 
courts.  He  is  a  Republican  in  political  views,  but  he  has  never 
sought  or  held  public  office.  Mr.  Swank  was  married  Dec.  i,  1898, 
to  Miss  Ida  M.  Hepler,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Catherine  P.  (Daniel) 
Hepler,  of  Eldred  township,  this  county.  Nov.  15,  1899,  Miss  Anna 
Catherine  Swank  was  born  to  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Swank. 
Mr.  Swank  holds  membership  in  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Young 
Men's  Republican  club  of  Mahanoy  City,  and  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
He  is  also  a  director  of  the  Union  National  bank  of  Mahanoy  City. 

Sweeney,  Patrick  Francis,  who  is  incumbent  of  the  responsible 
office  of  chief  burgess  of  the  borough  of  Shenandoah,  is  one  of 
the  honored  and  popular  citizens  of  the  county.  He  was  bom 
in  county  Mayo,  Ireland,  Nov.  2,  1862,  and  was  there  reared  to 
the  age  of  fifteen  years,  in  the  meanwhile  securing  a  good  com- 
mon-school education.  In  1877  he  came  to  America  in  company 
with  his  uncle  Michael  Sweeney,  and  he  remained  in  New  York 
city  about  eighteen  months,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  the 
latter  part  of  1879,  he  came  to  Shenandoah,  Pa.,  where  he  has 
since  maintained  his  home  and  where  he  has  attained  success 
through  well  directed  effort  and  honorable  methods.  Upon  com- 
ing to  Shenandoah  he  secured  work  as  a  laborer  in  the  mines 
and  finally  became  a  mining  contractor,  in  which  connection  he 
so  managed  his  affairs  as  to  gain  financial  success  and  a  reputa- 
tion for  being  a  thorough  and  reliable  business  man.  He  con- 
tinued actively  identified  with  mine  contracting  until  his  election 
to  the  office  of  chief  burgess,  Feb.  20,  1906.  He  assumed  the 
duties  of  the  office  on  the  first  Monday  of  the  succeeding  March. 
He  was  elected  on  the  Citizens'  ticket,  which  was  brought  forward 
to  compass  the  overthrow  of  the  ring  which  had  so  long  con- 
trolled governmental  affairs  in  the  borough,  and  the  magnificent 


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490  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

run  made  by  Mr.  Sweeney  testifies  alike  to  his  personal  popu- 
larity and  his  eligibility  and  to  the  attitude  of  the  voters  in  re- 
gard to  the  previously  existing  regime.  Mr.  Sweeney  has  ever 
been  a  stanch  friend  of  organized  labor,  and  his  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  same  have  been  timely  and  zealous.  He  first  joined  the 
Amalgamated  Labor  association  and  when  this  was  absorbed  by 
the  Knights  of  Labor  he  became  affiliated  with  the  latter  organi- 
zation, which  continued  in  existence  until  1888.  The  losing  of 
the  strike  in  that  year  sounded  the  death  knell  of  the  Knights  of 
Labor  in  the  anthracite  field  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1900  Mr. 
Sweeney  became  associated  with  the  United  Mine  Workers,  and 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  local  union,  No.  1685,  an  office 
of  which  he  has  since  remained  continuously  incumbent.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  the  organization  which  met  the  mine 
operators  in  New  lYork  city  in  1902,  and  though  the  committee 
was  unsuccessful  in  its  mission  the  miners'  demands  were  granted 
later.  Mr.  Sweeney  has  attended  all  the  joint  conventions  of  the 
three  districts  in  the  anthracite  field,  and  is  a  recog^nized  leader 
in  the  councils  and  deliberations  of  the  miners.  He  is  a  stalwart 
in  the  local  camp  of  the  Democratic  party,  in  whose  cause  he 
has  done  eflfective  service.  He  has  never  been  a  seeker  of  politi- 
cal office  and  his  present  position  is  the  first  he  has  held  in  the 
line.  He  and  his  wife  are  cummunicants  of  the  Church  of  the 
Annunciation,  Roman  Catholic.  June  19,  1889,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Sweeney  to  Miss  Ellen  T.  Reilly,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  Shenandoah,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Reilly, 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sweeney  have 
four   children — ^John    Emmett,   William,   Humbert,   and    Bessie. 

Szliakys,  Vincent  J.,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Darbininku 
Viltis,  meaning  in  English  the  Workingmen's  Hope,  at  Shenan- 
doah, was  born  in  Lithuania,  Oct.  19,  1870.  His  parents,  Barney 
J.  and  Elizabeth  A.  (Baltrukonis)  Szliakys,  still  live  in  that 
country,  as  do  his  brother  and  sister,  John  and  Petronello.  The 
former  conducts  the  old  home  farm  and  the  latter  is  married  and 
lives  in  the  same  vicinity.  Mr.  Szliakys  was  educated  in  his 
native  land,  taking  a  course  in  the  gymnasium  at  Mariampol,  in 
the  province  of  Suvalki.  Until  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age 
he  lived  at  home  with  his  parents,  serving  as  a  correspondent  for 
several  American  and  German  newspapers.  In  1896  he  came  to 
America  and  located  in  Shenandoah,  where  for  a  time  he  was 
editor  of  the  Garsas  Amerikas  Lietuvin,  a  newspaper  published 
in  the  Lithuianan  language.  When  the  paper  was  removed 
from  the  city  he  established  a  job  printing  office,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  about  a  year.  He  then  organized  a  company  and  be- 
gan the  publication  of  the  Viltis,  a  weekly  newspaper  printed  in 
the  Lithuanian  language.  In  1903  he  purchased  his  present  es- 
tablishment, which  under  his  management  has  been  successful 
from  the  start.  He  is  a  practical  printer,  has  the  only  book- 
printing  press  in  the  city,  and  has  turned  out  a  number  of  mis- 
cellaneous books.     Mr.   Szliakys   is   also  an   accomplished   writer 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  491 

and  a  ripe  scholar,  and  he  has  translated  several  novels  from  the 
Russian  and  Polish  languages,  as  well  as  having  written  several 
creditable  works  of  fiction,  most  of  which  have  been  issued  from 
his  own  plant.  At  the  present  time  he  is  engaged  in  a  transla- 
tion of  a  history  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war  from  the  Polish,  and 
in  compiling  a  history  of  the  Lithuanians  in  Shenandoah.  He 
is  unmarried,  is  a  member  of  the  Lithuanian  national  alliance 
and  the  Fatherland  Lovers'  association,  the  last  named  being  a 
society  for  the  publication  and  distribution  of  current  literature 
among  the  poor  people  of  his  native  country.  Full  of  energy, 
capable  and  optimistic,  he  is  popular  among  his  fellow  towns- 
men, especially  those  of  his  own  nationality. 

Tabor,  Adolph  P.,  holds  prestige  as  one  of  the  successful  and 
popular  business  men  of  Shenandoah,  where  he  has  made  his 
home  since  his  early  youth  and  where  he  has  gained  independence 
and  prosperity  through  his  own  well  directed  eflForts.  He  was 
born  in  the  province  of  Lithuania,  Russia,  July  lo,  1865,  and  in 
his  native  land  he  was  reared  and  educated.  -  He  imriiigrated  to 
America  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  and  at  once  took  up  his 
abode  in  Shenjindoah,  in  June,  1883.  His  parents,  Peter  and 
Frances  Tabor,  passed  their  entire  lives  in  Lithuania,  where  the 
father  followed  agricultural  pursuits.  Of  the  children  two  remain  in 
Lithuania — Mrs.  Rosa  Pilecky,  and  Joseph,  who  resides  upon 
the  old  home  farm  of  his  father.  Besides  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  and  the  two  just  mentioned  there  is  one  other  child;  Annie, 
who  came  to  America  about  1890  and  who  is  now  Mrs.  Pet- 
rowsky,  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut.  For  three  years  after  his 
arrival  in  Shenandoah,  Mr.  Tabor  was  employed  in  the  mines 
and  he  then  became  a  clerk  in  a  local  clothing  store.  In  1890 
he  opened  a  meat  market  at  the  corner  of  Center  and  White 
streets,  and  he  has  ever  since  continued  in  active  business  for 
himself.  He  now  owns  and  conducts  one  of  the  finest  restau- 
rants and  buffets  in  the  city,  the  same  being  located  at  the  cor- 
ner of  White  and  Center  streets,  diagonally  across  from  his  orig- 
inal meat  market,  which  latter  he  still  continues,  in  connection 
with  a  well  equipped  grocery  department.  *The  best  is  none 
too  good"  is  Mr.  Tabor's  motto  in  the  conducting  of  his  business 
and  the  popular  appreciation  of  his  eflForts  is  shown  in  the  large 
and  representative  trade  he  controls  in  his  two  business  estab- 
lishments. He  is  a  leader  in  the  local  ranks  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  has  done  efficient  service  in  its  cause.  He  has  held 
various  oflSces  of  trust,  and  in  1897  he  was  elected  chief  burgess 
of  the  borough  of  Shenandoah,  being  the  first  man  of  his  nation- 
ality to  be  thus  honored  by  any  municipality  in  the  United  States. 
His  administration  of  the  aflfairs  of  the  office  was  a  credit  to  him- 
self, to  his  nationality  and  to  the  borough.  While  incumbent  of 
this  position  he  organized  a  relief  association  to  aid  the  people  of 
the  borough  who  were  brought  to  the  verge  of  starvation  through 
insuflScient  work  and  pay,  and  he  has  at  all  times  manifested  a 
spirit    of    deepest    humanitarianism    and  benevolence.     No    man 


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492  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

stands  higher  among  his  own  people  than  does  he,  and  he  is 
a  broad-minded,  liberal,  loyal  and  public-spirited  citizen.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Lithuanian  Citizens*  society,  a  beneficial  order, 
and  is  also  affiliated  with  Aerie  No.  103,  Fraternal  Order  of 
Eagles.  Mr.  Tabor  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  St.  George's  Lithuanian  Catholic  church,  of  which  he  and 
his  family  are  zealous  communicants.  He  was  one  of  a  commit- 
tee of  three  who  visited  Bishop  Ryan  and  secured  permission  to 
organize  the  parish;  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  committee  which 
purchased  the  grounds  and  had  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  church 
edifice,  which  i$  one  of  the  finest  in  this  part  of  the  state.  Oct.  15,  1890, 
was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Tabor  to  Miss  Mary  V.  Ambrose, 
who  was  bom  in  Shenandoah,  Sept.  8,  1874,  a  daughter  of  Louis 
Ambrose,  who  is  now  living  retired  in  this  place.  They  have  two 
children,  Clemens  J.  and  Alberta. 

Taggart,  David,  M.  D.,  of  Frackville,  Pa.,  where  he  enjoys  the 
distinction  of  being  the  oldest  established  practitioner  in  his  noble 
profession,  was  born  in  Northumberland,  Pa.,  Dec.  19,  1856,  a 
son  of  Captain  James  and  Sarah  (Cowden)  Taggart,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Northumberland  county,  this  state,  of 
Scotch  Irish  and  Swedish  descent.  The  paternal  grandfather 
of  the  doctor  was  John  Taggart,  who  in  turn  was  a  son  of  David 
Taggart,  and  his  maternal  grandfather,  John  Cowden,  was  for 
many  years  agent  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  at  Pine 
Grove,  'Schuylkill  counfy.  Captain  James  Taggart  gave  valiant 
service  to  his  country  during  the  Civil  war,  as  Captain  of  Com- 
pany B.,  5th  Pennsylvania  reserves  and  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Charles  City  Cross  Roads,  Va.,  in  1862.  Dr.  Taggart  was 
reared  in  Northumberland,  in  whose  public  and  private  schools 
he  received  his  elementary  education.  Later  he  attended  the 
Friends'  central  school  in  Philadelphia  and  Swarthmore  college, 
Delaware  county.  Pa.  He  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  in 
Northumberland  in  1875  and  later  entered  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  famous  in- 
stitution he  graduated  in  1879,  with  the  well  earned  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  first  located  in  Shenandoah  for  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  the  fall  of  1879,  but  in  the  spring 
of  1880  he  removed  to  Mahanoy  Plane,  remaining  there,  however, 
only  until  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  when  he  located  in  Frack- 
ville where  he  has  resided  until  the  present  time  and  where  he 
enjoys  a  large  and  lucrative  practice  and  has  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.  In  1888  he  established  and  has 
since  conducted  a  drug  store  in  the  same  city,  and  under  his 
able  management  the  enterprise  has  prospered  from  its  initiation. 
The  doctor  is  a  member  and  active  worker  in  the  Schuylkill 
county  medical  society,  the  medical  society  of  the  state  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  American  medical  association.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  District  Lodge,  No.  823,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  of  the  Royal  Arcanum.  He  gives  stanch  allegiance 
to  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  and  has  served  as  school 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  493 

director  of  Frackville  for  two  terms.  On  Apr.  30,  1883,  was  sol- 
emnized the  marriage  of  Dr.  Taggart  to  Mary  Grant,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Jane  (Gibbs)  Grant,  of  Shenandoah,  and  they 
have  two  sons,  James  and  William,  the  former  of  whom  is  a  civil 
engineer  by  profession. 

Tallman,  Henry,  whose  death  occurred  on  Feb.  i,  1891,  was 
widely  and  favorably  known  as  the  proprietor  of  the  Brookside 
hotel  at  Sheridan.  He  was  of  German  ancestry,  his  parents,  Ja- 
cob and  Amelia  (Beller)  Tallman,  having  come  from  Germany 
to  America  in  the  early  '30s  and  settled  near  Gratz,  in  Dauphin 
county.  Pa.,  where  the  father  engaged  in  farming  and  working 
at  his  trade  of  stone-mason.  He  also  operated  the  first  hotel  at 
Wiconisco,  and  he  conducted  the  same  for  thirty-seven  years. 
He  and  his  wife  died  there.  They  were  both  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  five  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity,  viz.:  Jacob,  Matthew,  John,  Henry  and 
Amanda.  Henry  Tallman  received  a  common-school  education. 
In  1865  he  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Catherine 
(Satzler)  Schreffler,  of  Dauphin  county,  where  her  father  was  a 
farmer  and  carpenter.  Both  her  parents  were  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church  and  both  died  in  Dauphin  county.  They  had 
seven  children.  Sarah  married  John  Ballou  and  lives  in  South 
Dakota;  Elizabeth  married  Edward  Muench  and  lived  at  Pilot 
Mound,  la.;  Mary  A.  is  now  Mrs.  Henry  Tallman;  Catherine  is 
the  wife  of  John  Good,  of  Boone,  la.;  John  is  a  retired  farmer 
living  at  Polo,  111.;  Ellen  married  John  Wolf  and  she  and  her 
husband  are  both  deceased;  and  Louis  died  in  childhood.  Five 
years  after  his  marriage  Henry  Tallman  removed  with  his  family 
to  the  western  side  of  Porter  township,  Sqhuylkill  county,  bought 
the  Brookside  hotel  and  a  farm  of  eighty-six  acres,  and  lived 
there  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  politics  he  was  an  earnest 
advocate  of  Democratic  principles  and  held  a  number  of  local 
offices,  among  them  a  place  on  the  school  board.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church.  Since  his  death  the  widow  and  some 
of  the  children  have  continued  to  live  upon  the  farm,  where  they 
are  engaged  in  the  dairy  business.  They  had  thirteen  children. 
Harry,  John  E.,  Edwin,  Minnie  L.,  Kate  R.,  Charles  C,  John 
P.,  Bessie,  Lulu  E.,  George  O.,  Andrew,  William  and  Lettie  A. 
Harry  and  Edwin  are  in  the  hotel  business  at  Lykens,  Pa.; 
Charles  is  clerk  in  the  Grand  hotel  at  Schulkill  Haven;  John  P. 
is  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Hamburg,  Pa. ;  George  lives  at 
Northampton,  Pa.;  Kate  is  the  wife  of  John  Reinhard,  a  merchant 
of  Tower  City;  Minnie  died  at  the  age  of  four  years;  Bessie 
died  in  May,  1906;  Lettie  died  when  she  was  thirteen  years  old; 
and  the  others  live  with  their  mother.  In  1891  the  mother  and 
her  sons  built  the  house  in  which  they  now  live.  The  barn  was 
built  the  following  year,  and  in  1897  they  started  in  the  dairy 
business.  They  have  a  well  equipped  dairy,  with  fine  Jersey 
stock,  and  their  product  finds  a  ready  sale  in  Tower  City.    The 


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494  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

family  is  one  of  refinement  and  they  have  many  warm  friends  in  the 
community  where  they  live. 

Taylor,'  E.  W.,  superintendent  of  the  Pine  Grove  schools,  was 
born  in  this  county  on  May  9,  1871,  a  son  of  Rev.  William  and 
Mary  (Williams)  Taylor.  The  father  was  born  in  England  and 
came  to  America  in  1866.  He  obtained  employment  as  a  mine 
foreman  and  worked  at  it  until  his  death,  in  1891,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-seven.  He  was  a  local  preacher  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  his  voice  was  often  heard  in  the  pulpits  of  the  sur- 
rounding boroughs.  His  death  was  not  only  a  loss  to  the.  family 
and  his  friends  but  to  the  whole  community,  in  which  he  was 
recognized  as  a  man  of  ability  and  deep  piety.  His  widow  is  a 
resident  of  Donaldson.  Professor  Taylor,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  is  the  eldest  living  of  the  eight  children  in  the  family. 
Richard  R.  died  in  1883  at  the  age  of  thirteen;  Henry  died  in 
1884  at  the  age  of  eleven  years.  Dr.  Mary  M.  Taylor,  the  eldest 
daughter^  is  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Polyclinic  hospital  and  in 
the  Woman's  hospital  of  Philadelphia.  John  W.  is  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  university  and  is  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Dan- 
ville, Pa.,  Bessie  is  at  home,  Alice  W.  is  a  student  in  the  college 
of  pharmacy  at  Philadelphia  and  Anna  W.  is  at  home.  The  pro- 
fessor acquired  his  first  scholastic  knowledge  in  the  schools  of 
Millersville  and  graduated  at  the  normal  school  there  in  the  ele- 
mentary and  scientific  courses.  Subsequently  he  graduated  at 
the  Zanerian  art  college  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  His  first  charge  as 
teacher  was  at  Oneida,  where  for  two  years  he  was  in  charge  of 
the  schools.  During  the  following  nine  years  he  was  principal 
of  the  schools  in  Donaldson  and  in  Sept.,  1906,  he  assumed  his 
present  position.  Although  his  residence  in  Pine  Grove  has  been 
of  rather  short  duration  he  has  won  for  himself  a  large  place  in 
the  hearts  of  the  community,  by  his  genial,  courteous  manner, 
his  ability  and  his  grasp  of  intellectual  affairs.  He  gives  prom- 
ise of  bringing  the  schools  up  to  a  standard  never  before  at- 
tained. He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Luth- 
eran church. 

Taylor,  Frank,  the  principal  and  proprietor  of  the  Pottsville 
business  college,  was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.  He  comes 
from  the  original  Massachusetts,  and  New  York  Dutch  stock. 
His  parents  were  Ebenezer  G.  and  Hester  J.  (Stevens)  Taylor, 
the  former  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  the  latter  of  New  York. 
The  father,  who  was  a  merchant,  lived  to  be  eighty-two  years 
of  age;  the  mother  died  in  her  sixty-sixth  year.  The  professor 
is  the  youngest  of  the  four  children  of  the  family  who  attained 
to  maturity.  He  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  Port 
Byron  public  and  high  schools  after  which  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county  for  several  years. 
He  then  attended  the  Rochester  business  university,  now  known 
as  the  Rochester  business  institute,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
due  course.  After  this  he  taught  for  several  years  in  the  graded 
schools  of  his  native  county  in  the  capacity  of  principal.     At  this 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  495 

time  he  decided  to  take  Horace  Greeley's  advice  and  went  west 
as  far  as  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  where  he  took  special  work  in  the 
.Valparaiso  university,  after  which  he  engaged  in  high-school 
work  in  Michigan  and  Minnesota,  the  whole  taking  up  about  ten 
years  of  his  life.  He  first  became  engaged  in  commercial  teach- 
ing at  Buffalo,  leaving  that  place  to  accept  a  lucrative  position 
in  a  Jersey  City  institution.  After  he  had  taught  in  Jersey  City 
for  some  time,  he  removed  to  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  for  a  period 
of  five  years  was  principal  of  the  commercial  department  of  the 
leading  commercial  college  of  that  city.  The  professor's  resi- 
dence in  Pottsville  dates  from  1899,  when  he  purchased  the  busi- 
ness college  formerly  conducted  by  Prof.  J.  G.  Gerbarich  and 
became  its  principal.  The  courses  offered  at  the  institution  are 
the  same  as  those  offered  at  all  similar  schools  of  high  standing. 
The  success  met  with  has  far  exceeded  the  expectations  of  the 
most  sanguine,  and  the  graduates,  who  are  qualified  to  fill  highly 
important  positions,  are  in  general  demand  in  this  and  surround- 
ing territory.  In  1902  Professor  Taylor  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
R.  Qark,  a  native  of  Wilmington,  Del.  In  politics  the  professor 
is  absolutely  independent,  exercising  his  right  of  franchise  as  his 
best  judgment  dictates.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the 
Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  at  Wilmington.  Although  a  com- 
paratively recent  acquisition  to  the  social  and  commercial  life  of 
Pottsville  he  to-day  fills  a  large  and  prominent  place  in  the  re- 
spect of  the  citizens  of  the  community. 

Tcrrill,  Frederick  EUmer,  grocer  and  justice  of  the  peace,  of 
Llewellyn,  was  bom  in  that  town,  on  Apr.  11,  1864,  a  son  of 
John  and  Mary  (Ferris)  Terrill,  both  natives  of  Cornwall,  Eng- 
land. The  father  came  to  this  country  in  early  life  and  located 
in  Branch  township,  where  he  followed  his  occupation  of  miner 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Llewellyn  on  Jan.  18,  1893.  He 
had  a  family  of  fourteen  children,  nine  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity, and  seven  are  yet  living.  John  and  Stephen  F.  died  after 
reaching  manhood ;  Mary  A.  is  the  widow  of  Robert  Jones ; 
Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of  John  H.  Zimmerman ;  and  the  other  sur- 
viving children  are  James  R.,  Francis,  Edwin  W.,  Frederick  E., 
and  William.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  Frederick  E.  Terrill 
was  Stephen  Ferris,  native  of  Cornwall,  England,  who  was  among 
the  pioneers  of  Branch  township.  He  was  a  civil  engineer  by 
profession  and  lived  in  Schuylkill  county  all  his  life  after  coming 
to  America.  Frederick  E.  Terrill  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  the  age  of  eight  years  became  a  breaker  boy  in 
the  mines.  Subsequently  he  became  a  miner,  and  he  followed 
that  occupation  until  1898,  when  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness at  Llewellyn,  where  he  has  since  continued  in  that  line  of 
activity.  In  his  political  opinions  he  is  an  adherent  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  and  he  takes  an  interest  in  all  questions  of  public 
policy.  He  served  one  term  as  school  director  and  in  1897  was 
elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  Branch  township.  Since  then 
he  has  been  twice  re-elected  and  he  is  now  serving  his  third  term  of 


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"»    .1:  iii'Mi.    nnil    par!,   -.p-.trfi    in    the    lattles    of    Br;: 

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■  •         ■-   lii^    the  f'U'ier    (n    Wi^'ntu,    Lewis    C.    Hr?  • 

■-     Vritdi),  ruid   pTMily.     Sirnuel  Thompson  wa* 
'     '-  \' Ti.    Dn.TMtin   CM.  fity.   in    1702,   and   died   in    ' 
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':'-<.   t.f    Htrr^-'-M^.    \\  ho    (hed    .\ntr-    27,    i^.' 
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496  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

five  years  in  that  office.  He  is  a  supporter  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  belongs  to  the  Mechanics.  In  1902  Mr. 
Terrill  married  Miss  Amelia,  daughter  of  William  Adams,  of 
Tremont,  and  they  have  one  son,  Lester  W. 

Thomas,  Thomas  L.,  junior  member  of  the  wholesale  grocery 
firm  of  Van  Horn  &  Thomas,  has  been  a  resident  of  Mahanoy 
City  since  1864,  in  which  year  he  accompanied  the  parental  fam- 
ily from  Minersville  to  that  place.  He  was  graduated  from  the 
public  schools  of  Mahanoy  City  in  the  class  of  1880  and  two 
years  later  received  his  diploma  as  a  graduate  of  Eastman's  busi- 
ness college  of  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  Mr.  Thomas  entered  the 
employ  of  David  E.  Focht,  as  bookkeeper  in  Sept.,  1882.  On 
Nov.  I,  1890,  David  E.  Focht  was  Succeeded  by  Daniel  Stull  & 
Co.,  the  new  firm  being  composed  of  Daniel  Stull  and  D.  L.  Van 
Horn,  and  Mr.  Thomas  remained  with  the  firm  in  the  same  posi- 
tion that  he  had  filled  with  Mr.  Focht.  In  1900,  at  the  death  of 
Mr.  Stull,  a  copartnership  was  formed,  the  interested  principals 
being  Mr.  Van  Horn  and  Mr.  Thomas,  who  took  over  the  entire 
business  of  Daniel  Stull  &  Co.,  the  firm  name  being  changed  to 
Van  Horn  &  Thomas,  as  it  remains  to-day.  Mr.  Van  Horn  and 
Mr.  Thomas  are  the  sole  proprietors.  They  transact  a  general 
wholesale  grocery  business,  supplying  the  retail  trade  throughout 
a  large  area  of  surrounding  territory,  as  well  as  in  Mahanoy  City. 
Twenty-five  years  of  continuous  existence  and  operation  along 
honorable  and  aggressive  business  lines  have  brought  them  many 
friends  and  patrons.  The  founder  of  this  business,  David  E.  Focht, 
deceased,  was  a  son  of  the  late  James  Focht,  of  Pottsville. 

Thompson,  Heber  S. — ^The  well  known  family,  of  which  the 
subject  of  this  review  is  a  member,  has  been  represented  in 
America  since  the  year  1730,  when  two  brothers,  John  and  James 
Thompson,  arrived  from  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  and  established 
homes  at  Cross  Roads,  Chester  county.  Pa.  They  later  moved 
to  Hanover  township,  in  the  same  county  (but  now  in  Lebanon 
county),  and  from  there  to  a  farm  ten  miles  distant  from  Har- 
risburg,  near  Derry  church.  James  Thompson,  the  paternal 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  article,  settled  near  South 
Mountain,  in  Franklin  county,  where  some  of  his  descendants 
live  at  present.  William  Thompson,  grandfather  of  Heber  S., 
was  born  in  Cumberland  county,  in  1754.  He  served  in  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  and  participated  in  the  battles  of  Brandy- 
wine  and  Germantown.  By  occupation  he  was  a  farmer  and 
merchant.  He  married  Jane  Mitchell,  of  Chambersburg,  Pa., 
and  they  had  a  family  of  six  sons  and  three  daughters.  One 
son,  Samuel,  being  the  father  of  William,  Lewis  C.,  Heber  S. 
(subject  of  this  sketch),  and  Emily.  Samuel  Thompson  was  bom 
in  Thompsontown,  Dauphin  county,  in  1792,  and  died  in  Potts- 
ville, Pa.,  March  7,  1851.  Samuel  Thompson  was  twice  married; 
first  to  Ann  Alricks,  of  Harrisburg,  who  died  Aug.  27,  1828,  in 
less  than  a  year  after  marriage.  Aug.  6,  1833,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth  Cunningham,   of   Newton   Hamilton,   Mifflin   county.    Pa.,  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  497 

she  was  the  mother  of  the  four  children  named  above.     She  sur- 
vived  her   husband   until   Oct.   5,   1874,   when   she   died,   in   her 
seventieth  year.     Col.  William  Thompson,  the  eldest  of  the  four 
children  bom  to  these  parents,  needs  no  introduction  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Schuylkill  county.    He  was  for  many  years  identified  with  the 
Miners'  National  bank,  in  the  capacity  of  director  and  president; 
served  throughout  the  Civil  war  in  the  17th  Pennslyvania  cavalry 
and  was  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the  war  as  lieutenant  colonel 
of  his  regiment.    Lewis  C.  Thompson,  a  well  known  merchant 
of  Pottsville,  also  served  in  Company  A,  27th  Pennsylvania  emer- 
gency   regiment,    during    the    invasion    of    Pennsylvania    by    Gen- 
eral Lee,  in   1863.     Eniily  J.  became  the  wife  of  Major  Edward 
C.    Baird.     Major    Heber    Samuel   Thompson   was   borri   in    Potts- 
ville, Aug.   14,   1840.    He  acquired   his  elementary  education   in 
the  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  he  finally  entered  Yale  uni- 
versity, where  he  pursued  a  classical  course,  being  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  in  the  class  of  1861.    Ten  years 
later  he  received  from  the  same  institution,  the  honorary  degree 
of    Master    of    Arts.     During    his    college    course,    the    war-cloud 
had  settled  upon  the  country,  and  Mr.  Thompson  promptly  of- 
fered his  services.     He  enlisted  Apr.  16,  1861,  as  a  private  soldier 
in  Company  H,  of  the  25th  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  to  reach  the  national  capitol  in  response  to  the  presi- 
dent's call  for  "three  months'  volunteers."    His  term  of  enlist- 
ment expired  the  last  of  July,  1861,  and  in  October,  of  the  same 
years,  he  re-enlisted,  as  first  lientenant  in  Company  F,  7th  Penn- 
sylvania cavalry,  in  which  he  was   promoted  to  the  captaincy  on 
the  first  of  May,  1863.     March  18,  1864,  Captain  Thompson  was 
placed   on   detached   service,   as   acting   inspector-general   of  the 
First  brigade,  second  cavalry  division,  in  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland, and  served  in  this  capacity  until  Aug.  20,  1864,  when  he 
was  captured  as  a  prisoner  of  war.     Being  released  on  parole  of 
honor,  and  unable  to  effect  an  exchange,  he  resigned  his  com- 
mission  in   the    army,   and   was   finally    discharged   Jan.   24,    1865. 
The  militaiy  record  of  Major  Thompson   is  one  of  thrilling  ex- 
periences and  long  and  active  service.     He  participated  in  many 
of  the  hard-fought  battles  of  the  war,  among  them  being  Perry- 
ville  or  Chaplin  Hills,  Ky.;  Stone's  river  or  Murfreesboro,  Mc- 
Minnville  and  Shelbyville,  Terni.,  and  Chickamauga,  Ga.,  while  un- 
der Generals  Don  Carlos  Buell  and  William  S.  Rosecrans.    After- 
ward he  was  with  Gen.  W.  T.  Shefman  in  the  Atlanta  campaign 
an^  took  part  in  the  engagements  at  Noonday  creek,  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  about  Atlanta,  Jonesboro  and  Lovejoy's  station.     After 
participating   in   twelve   engagements  on   this   campaign.    Major 
Thompson  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Lovejoy's  station, 
Ga.,  Aug.  20,  1864,  and  this  ended  his  career  at  the  front.    He.  was 
in  prison  at  Macon  and  Augusta,  Ga.,  successively,  and  finally 
was  taken  to  Charleston,  S.  C.    He  was  paroled  from  the  pris- 
oner's hospital  at  Rikersville,  a  suburb  of  Charleston,   Dec.   18, 
1864.     Major  Thompson  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in 

32— Vol.  II 


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498  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  cause  of  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  war,  and  promptly  allied 
himself  with  the  fraternal  organizations  intended  to  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  the  far-away  days  of  the  '60s.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  First  Defenders;  Gowen  Post,  No.  23,  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic ;  Pottsville  Encampment,  Union  Veteran  Legion ; 
and  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States.  He  is  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  state  hospital  for  the  injured;  a  mem- 
ber of  the  county  visiting  committee  of  the  state  board  of  char- 
ities, and  a  member  oi  the  state  committee  on  lunacy.  He  is  ex- 
president  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Edison  Electric  Il- 
luminating Company,  director  and  ex-president  of  the  Miners' 
National  bank,  and  interested  in  many  other  local  institutions. 
Of  the  learned  and  technical  institutions,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  of  the  Historical 
Societies  of  Pennsylvania  and  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers.  Since  1874  Major 
Thompson  has  been  engineer  and  agent  of  the  Girard  estate  in 
Schuylkill  and  Columbia  counties.  He  was  married  Jan.  23,  1866, 
to  Miss  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Margarette  Beck,  of 
Pottsville,  Pa.  Their  four  children  are  Emily,  widow  of  the  late 
J.  Parker  Hood,  of  Philadelphia;  Samuel  Clifton,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  university,  class  of  1891,  and  of  the  School  of  Mines,  Colum- 
bia university,  class  of  1893,  now  a  mining  engineer  in  South 
Africa,  Margaretta,  wife  of  Col.  James  Archbald;  Heber  Harris 
of  Pottsville,  and  Eleanor,  deceased. 

Thompson,  James  W.,  the  genial  manager  of  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  company  and  agent  of  the  United  States  Express  com- 
pany at  Ashland,  was  born  in  that  borough  on  May  5,  1864.  He 
is  a  son-  of  James  W.  and  Esther  M.  (Jones)  Thompson,  the 
former  a  native  of  Durham,  England,  and  the  latter  of  Wales. 
The  father  came  .to  the  United  States  with  his  mother  and  his 
stepfather  in  1845,  and  located  in  St.  Clair,  where  he  remained 
until  1856.  In  that  year  he  came  to  Ashland  with  his  mother's 
family  and  entered  the  employment  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing railroad.  He  was  lever-man  and  timekeeper  at  the  Big 
Mine  Run  Plane  ifor  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years,  until  the 
plant  was  abandoned  by  the  company,  and  then  he  retired.  Hjs 
last  days  were  spent  in  the  home  of  his  son  James  W.  and  his 
death  occurred  in  April,.  1902,  in;  his  sixty-fifth  year.  Three  chil- 
dren grew  to  maturity  t)f  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the' 
second  in  order  of  i^irth.  The  others  ape-  John  C!  and  Elizabeth, 
the  latter  being  the  wife  of  William  Sniail;  Of  Shenandoah.  James 
W.  Thompson,  pf  this  sketch,  has  always  lived  4n  Ashland.  His 
educational  advantages  were  those  of  ^he  public  schools  of  that 
borough  and  while  still  a  youth  he  'entered  the  employ  of  the 
telegraph  company  as  messenger.  Then  by  study  and'  practice 
he  became  an  operator  and  in  1885  he  was  employed  as  such  in 
the  Ashland  oifice  of  the  company.  In  1887  he  was  miide  Ash- 
l^ind  manager  for  the  company  and  in  1896  became  the  agent 
at  Ashland  for  the  United   States   Express   company.     That  his 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  499 

service  has  given  satisfaction  to  his  employers  is  evidenced  by 
his  continued  retention  in  the  offices.  July  ii,  1890,  Mr.  Thompson 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lulu  Bailey,  of  Mahanoy  City, 
a  daughter  of  William  H.  and  Priscilla  (Haldeman)  Bailey.  This 
union  has  been  blessed  with  three  daughters — Ethel,  Grace  and 
Lulu:  the  last  mentioned  died  at  the  age  of  three  years.  The 
family  are  cummunicants  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and 
for  several  years  Mr.  Thompson  has  been  a  member  of  the  ves- 
try. He  is  prominent  in  fraternal  circles,  being  a  member  of 
Ashland  Lodge,  No.  294,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Griscom 
Chapter,  No.  219,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Prince  of  Peace  Com- 
mandery,  No.  39;  Knights  Templars;  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order, 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Reading;  the  Royal  Arcanum; 
and  Camp  No.  84  of  the  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America.  Of 
the  last  named  organization  he  was  state  Master  of  Forms  in 
1904  and  at  the  present  time  he  is  state  vice-president.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Ashland  board  of  trade  and  is  a  director  of 
the  Locust  Mountain  Saving  Fund  association.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  sought  public  office. 

Thurlow,  Stephen  A.,  is  a  prominent  educator  and  was  for 
many  years  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Pottsville,  Pa.,  and  is 
now  superintendent.  He  was  bom  at  Raymond,  Cumberland 
county,  Maine,  July  18,  1842.  He  is  a  son  of  Robert  and  Nancy 
(Smith)  Thurlow,  of  Raymond,  Maine.  His  ancestry  dates 
back  to  the  colonial  period  of  our  country,  the  originators  of  the 
family  on  both  sides  having  come  from  England  in  an  early  day.  Mem- 
bers of  the  family  took  part  in  our  colonial  wars,  and  paternal  and 
maternal  great-grandfathers  were  wounded  in  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Professor  Thurlow  received 
his  elementary  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  village  and 
after  having  been  a  student  at  Hebron  academy  and  Edward  Lit- 
tle Institute  in  Maine,  he  pursued  a  course  at  Amherst  college, 
in  Massachusetts.  With  the  exception  of  a  brief  military  serv- 
ice during  the  Civil  war,  in  which  he  was  a  private  in  Company 
K,  5th  Massachusetts  volunteers,  Professor  Thurlow  has  devoted 
his  entire  active  career  to  the  noble  profession  of  pedagogy,  in 
which  he  has  risen  to  a  high  rank.  While  a  resident  of  Maine, 
he  served  as  superintendent  of  schools,  an  elective  office  in  that 
state.  He  was  principal  of  the  high  school  of  Pottsville  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  which  in  itself  bespeaks  his  pro- 
ficiency as  an  educator.  He  is  not  only  an  instructor,  but  a  friend 
and  companion  as  well  to  all  his  pupils  and  many  of  the 
younger  generation  among  the  business  and  professional  citizens 
of  Pottsville  to-day  remember  with  pleasure  and  reverence  the 
master  who  guided  their  footsteps  and  aided  in  the  moulding  of 
their  character  when  he  and  they  performed  their  daily  tasks  together 
in  the  schoolroom.  As  a  mark  of  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by 
the  graduates  of  his  school,  Professor  Turlow  was  presented  Yy 
them  with  a  purse  of  $2,000  at  the  expiration  of  twenty-five  years 
of  service  as  principal  of  the  high  school.    This,  Professor  Tl  ur- 


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600  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

low  regards  as  the  greatest  honor  and  pleasure  of  his  life.  Upon 
the  death  of  Superintendent  Patterson,  Professor  Thurlow  was 
elected  supermtendent ;  which  position  he  now  fills.  Professor 
Thurlow  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  aflSliation,  and  religious- 
ly is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  time-honored  Masonic  fraternity,  and  the  interest  he  main- 
tains in  his  old  comrades  in  arms  is  signified  by  his  membership 
in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Eagle.  July  15,  1892,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Professor 
Thurlow  to  Mary  E.  Chase,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  F.  N.  and  Eliza- 
beth (Allen)  Chase,  of  Exeter,  N.  H. 

Tracy,  George  IL,  accountant  of  the  Shamokin  division  of  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  with  headquarters  at  Tamaqua, 
was  bom  in  this  county,  Nov.  4,  1863.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry  W. 
and  Catharine  B.  (Ray)  Tracy,  both  bom  in  Hartford,  Conn. 
The  father  came  to  Pennsylvania  about  i860  and  for  ten  years 
was  transportation  master  of  the  Reading  road ;  for  a  time  he  was 
paymaster,  and  from  1870  until  1897  he  was  superintendent  of 
the  Pine  Grove  division  of  the  road,  with  headquarters  at  Pine 
Grove.  He  held  his  position  under  two  receiverships,  and 
through  all  the  reorganization  of  the  road.  In  religious  matters 
he  was  always  a  leader  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  in  Pine  Grove,  in  1876.  For  many  years 
thereafter  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
church.  Fraternally  he  was  associated  with  the  Pine  Grove 
Lodge,  No.  409,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  the  Patriotic 
Order  of  Sons  of  America,  having  been  a  charter  member  and 
officer  in  each.  For  many  years  he  was  president  of  the  Building 
and  Loan  association.  In  1897  he  succumbed  to  peritonitis,  and 
his  widow  died  in  1901.  The  children  are  three  in  number.  Car- 
rie E.,  the  eldest  became  the  wife  of  Charles  E.  Logan,  station 
agent  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad  at  Pine  Grove ;  Har- 
ry died  at  the  age  of  seven;  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
youngest.  George  R.  Tracy  attended  the  public  schools  of  Pine 
Grove  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  railroad  as  scale  clerk 
at  Pine  Grove,  holding  the  position  from  May  10,  1880,  to  Aug. 
I,  1885.  From  the  latter  date  until  Sept.  i,  1887,  he  was  a  clerk 
in  the  master  mechanic's  office  at  Ninth  and  Green  streets  in 
Philadelphia,  and  for  the  following  two  months  was  clerk  in  the 
transportation  office  at  227  South  Fourth  street,  that  city.  On 
Nov.  I,  1887,  he  returned  to  the  master  mechanic's  office  and 
was  there  an  even  two  years,  leaving  that  position  to  become 
chief  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent  at  Pine  Grove. 
From  the  latter  position  he  went,  on  Dec.  10,  1897,  to  Shamokin 
to  become  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  the  Shamo- 
kin division.  Feb.  25,  1904,  he  was  given  his  present .  position 
as  accountant  for  the  division,  with  headquarters  at  Tamaqua. 
Nov.  22,  1888,  Mr.  Tracy  married  Miss  Ella  A.  Harding,  a  na- 
tive of  Rehrersburg,  Berks  county,  and  a  daughter  of  John   B. 


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and   Anna   Al.    (K-mc)    Hardin i;.     T'  = 
bf'en  born  four  children — Nor-r./iiv    :'••■ 
Heber,  and  Anna  Adele.     The  l    »     •' 
byteripn    church    of   l\una{u^,    a;- 
with  Tamaqua  Lo('Cc,   Xf.   ji>^     I 
Patriotic  (^rdtT  Sons  of  Anxtu  ■    -  • 

Tyson,  William  T.,  ca^hle'      : 
was  born   in   PoltsviHe,  on  y^r*-   j 
bus  and  C'atherine  A.    (\\'t».'r^ 
dren,  the  others  being  d  m  '  ii  . 
Agnes  C,  Mary  and   Edi.a.     '.     • 
forded  him  his  vurW  edncnt:- 'Jm.  ■ 
nated  at  the  high  bdiool  !u-  '. »  ' 
posit  ba^'k  of  P()it5:\  iile.     T::.   . 
he  came  to  St.  Clair  and  accept'-^'  'v    .  ' 
the  Citizens'  bank.     Mr.  Tyson  i*^    . 
and  has  a  state  wide  reputation    < 
the  present  holder  c  f  the  champ}-  : 
relay  races  (onduct(.d  e:\ch  vear  uu 
department   of   the   Un-w'-.sity   of    1' 
1890  and   nyiK).  v  on   prizes.     He    u- 
Poit5viile   Si-»o:i'!    .-•  .^-anization,  anr!   o*    :  ■ 
In  politics  hie  ta'  .  •   -.'dos  with   n^^  p-* 
never  held  nor  a^y:'--!  to  office  o^  t  ;!> 
formerly  Miss  BeuU'J)    '     Hoone,  a  o;  .  • 
of  St.   Clair.     Mr.   an-     \'rs.   'Iv.son    ■•   •- 
Mr.  Tyson  is  a  youn^^  -.t*.'--   or  c.'".'    ,  . 
vig"oror<s    manhood,    and    I*.  *•-     •    ■ 

ultimate  attainment  of  the  K-       ■•  • 

Ulmer,  Jacob,  deceased,  for 
with   the   business   life  and   in  • 
was  born  in  the  kingdom  of  V\  w  ■ 
man  empire.  Nov.  24,  1826.     ]ii-> 
mann)    timer,    were    natives    of 
their    entire    lives.     Jacob    I'lnn^r    -. 
boyhood    home,    and    upon    lea\  .1  i- 
trade.     When  he  was  twenty-fo.ir  • 
bind  and  cn)ssed  the  Atlantic  to  vr 
first  years  in  this  country  wti'-*   -;v  .*    . 
he  remained  until    1852,  wh-  n   ' 
he  assisted   in   building  the   tu«. 
IVfarch,    1855,    he   opened    a   :i-.;*t    ■ 
Pi  is  skill  as  a  butcher,  his  u'.-     '• 
his    L'orKi    judgment    in    ti  c    ^-  '• 
for  him  a  lucrative  btlsin^'^-'      I» 
now    used    by   the    Ulmor    j' 
on  North  Center  street,     i'.    ■    • 
on.  and  in  1873  he  bef,;an   *\'         • 
<>n  Dec   I.   i8^x>.  thi>  !r.  ■ 
]>any  and   Mr.   L'lm.-r  r   > 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  501 

and  Anna  M.  (Kline)  Harding.  To  Mrs.  and  Mrs.  Tracy  have 
been  born  four  children — ^Norman  Harding,  Harold  Ray,  Everett 
Heber,  and  Anna  Adele.  The  parents  are  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  of  Tamaqua,  and  Mr.  Tracy  is  also  identified 
with  Tamaqua  Lodge,  No.  238,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the 
Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  and  the  Royal  Arcanum. 

Tyson,  William  T.,  cashier  of  the  Citizens'  bank  of  St.  Clair, 
was  bom  in  Pottsville,  on  June  23,  1880.  He  is  a  son  of  Corne- 
lius and  Catherine  A.  (Weaver)  Tyson,  and  is  one  of  seven  chil- 
dren, the  others  being  Cornelius  B.,  John  W.,  Mrs.  Frank  Riley, 
Agnes  C,  Mary  and  Edna.  The  public  schools  of  Pottsville  af- 
forded him  his  early  educational  training,  and  when  he  had  grad- 
uated at  the  high  school  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Safe  De- 
posit bank  of  Pottsville.  There  he  remained  until  May,  1904,  when 
he  came  to  St.  Clair  and  accepted  his  present  responsible  position  with 
the  Citizens'  bank.  Mr.  Tyson  is  a  man  of  great  physical  strength 
and  has  a  state  wide  reputation  as  an  athlete  of  ability.  He  is 
the  present  holder  of  the  championship  for  hand  ball  and  in  the 
relay  races  conducted  each  year  under  the  auspices  of  the  athletic 
department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  he  has  twice,  in 
1899  and  1900,  won  prizes.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baxters,  a 
Pottsville  social  organization,  and  of  the  St.  Clair  athletic  club. 
In  politics  he  takes  sides  with  no  party  or  organization  and  has 
never  held  nor  aspired  to  office  of  public  trust.  Mrs.  Tyson  was 
formerly  Miss  Beulah  T.  Boone,  a  daughter  of  William  A.  Boone, 
of  St.  Clair.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tyson  have  one  son,  Cornelius  H. 
Mr.  Tyson  is  a  young  man  of  great  promise,  in  the  prime  of  a 
vigorous  manhood,  and  his  many  friends  feel  confident  of  his 
ultimate  attainment  of  the  best  of  successful  promotion. 

Ulmcr,  Jacob,  deceased,  for  many  years  prominently  identified 
with  the  business  life  and  institutions  of  the  city  of  Pottsville, 
was  born  in  the  kingdom  of  Wiirtemberg,  now  a  part  of  the  Ger- 
man empire,  Nov.  24,  1826.  His  parents,  John  and  Agnes  (Reb- 
mann)  Ulmer,  were  natives  of  Wurtemberg,  where  they  passed 
their  entire  lives.  Jacob  Ulmer  attended  the  schools  near  his 
boyhood  home,  and  upon  leaving  school  learned  the  butcher's 
trade.  When  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age  he  left  the  Father- 
land and  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  seek  his  fortune  in  America.  His 
first  years  in  this  country  were  spent  at  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  where 
he  remained  until  1852,  when  he  went  to  Philadelphia.  In  1854 
he  assisted  in  building  the  first  railroad  into  Atlantic  City.  In 
March,  1855,  he  opened  a  meat  market  of  his  own  in  Pottsville. 
His  skill  as  a  butcher,  his  uniform  courtesy  to  his  customers,  and 
his  good  judgment  in  the  selection  of  his  stock,  soon  built  up 
for  him  a  lucrative  business.  In  1858  he  purchased  the  property 
now  used  by  the  Ulmer  Packing  Company  as  a  retail  market 
on  North  Center  street.  His  success  continued  as  the  years  rolled 
on,  and  in  1873  ^^  began  the  erection  of  the  Ulmer  packing  house. 
On  Dec  i,  1890,  this  business  was  incorporated  as  a  stock  com- 
pany and  Mr.  Ulmer  retired  from  his  active  management  of  the 


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502  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

concern,  though  he  still  retained  his  interests  as  a  stockholder^ 
and  head  of  the  company.  The  year  following  the  incorporation/ 
large  additions  were  made  to  the  buildings,  making  it  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  complete  institutions  of  its  kind  in  the  state.  All 
the  buildings  are  of  brick  and  iron,  five  stories  in  height,  with  an 
aggregate  floor  space  of  200,000  square  feet.  The  plant  is  well 
equipped  with  all  modern  appliances,  ample  yards  and  feeding 
pens  for  both  hogs  and  cattle,  has  a  capacity  of  500  hogs  daily, 
and  in  its  sanitary  appointments  is  superior  to  most  of  the  pack- 
ing houses  in  the  country.  In  1892  Mr.  Ulmer  severed  his  active 
connection  with  the  business  and  removed  to  Philadelphia,  to 
enjoy  a  well  earned  respite  from  the  cares  and  labors  of  an  active 
and  industrious  life  of  half  a  century,  his  son,  Jacob  S.,  assuming 
the  management  of  the  packing  company.  Jacob  Ulmer  was 
a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  business  acumen.  He  usually  saw 
at  a  glance  the  possibilities  of  a  commercial  proposition,  and  was 
equally  prompt  in  giving  it  tangible  shape.  Active,  progressive 
and  public-spirited,  he  soon  became  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
influential  and  useful  citizens  in  the  city  of  his  adoption.  In 
addition  to  his  packing  interests  he  became  associated  with  other 
industrial  enterprises,  all  of  which  profited  by  his  ability.  He 
served  as  a  director  in  the  Pottsville  Steam  Heat  and  Power 
Company,  the  Edison  Electric  Illuminating  Company  and  other 
industries  in  the  community.  In  fact  he  was  always  foremost  in 
every  movement  to  give  Pottsville  better  commercial  facilities, 
and  many  of  his  neighbors  frequently  came  to  consult  with  him 
on  matters  of  an  important  business  character.  On  such  occa- 
sions his  advice  was  freely  given  and  was  generally  heeded,  as 
all  who  knew  him  had  great  confidence  in  his  judgment  and  in- 
tegrity. Financially  he  prospered,  but  for  every  dollar  he  re- 
ceived he  rendered  a  just  equivalent,  strict  honesty  and  correct 
business  methods  being  the  very  foundation  stones  of  his  career. 
He  died  at  Philadelphia  on  Nov.  7,  1904,  but  his  example  and 
influence  still  live  in  Pottsville  and  will  be  felt  upon  the  affairs 
of  that  city  for  years  to  come. 

Ulmer,  Jacob  S.,  president  of  the  Miners'  National  bank  and  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  Jacob  Ulmer  Packing  Company,  was 
born  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  Sept.  27,  1858.  He  was  the  second  in  order 
of  birth  in  the  family  of  four  sons  and  one  daughter  of  the  late 
Jacob  Ulmer,  a  review  of  whose  life  will  be  found  in  this  volume. 
All  the  sons  are  identified  with  the  packing  business,  and  in  oper- 
ating the  retail  business  connected  therewith.  Jacob  S.  Ulmer 
whose  name  heads  this  article,  was  reared  and  educated  in  his 
native  town.  He  began  his  business  career  as  an  assistant  to  his 
father  in  his  business,  and  has  worked  his  way  to  a  position  of 
^prominence  in  business  aflFairs.  He  was  elected  a  director  of 
the  Miners'  National  bank  in  Jan.,  1897,  and  in  Feb.,  1904,  he 
became  president  of  that  well  known  monetary  institution.  He 
is  also  president  of  the  Jacob  Ulmer  Packing  Company,  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Pottsville  Steam  Heat  and  Power 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  503 

Company,  the  Pottsville  Water  Company,  and  up  to  the  trans- 
*fer  of  the  company  to  other  interests,  was  a  director  of  the  Edi- 
son Electric  Illuminating  Company.  Mr.  Ulmer's  business  in- 
terests are  varied  and  extensive,  and  they  receive  his  personal 
attention,  even  to  the  smallest  details.  He  is  a  courteous  and 
affable  gentleman,  and  his  numerous  employes  regard  him  in 
the  light  of  a  wise  friend  and  counsellor  as  well  as  a  generous 
employer.  Mr.  Ulmer  was  married  June  14,  1888,  to  Miss  Eldora 
B.  Dyer,  daughter  of  Lemuel  and  Mary  (Grove)  Dyer,  of  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.  He  has  a  family  of  seven  children  consisting  of  five 
boys  and  two  girls  and  ranging  in  age  from  four  to  seventeen 
years.  In  politics  Mr.  Ulmer  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Trinity  Lutheran  church  of  Pottsville,  and  is  connected 
with  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows  fraternities. 

Ulmer,  John  G.,  a  representative  of  a  prominent  and  well  known 
family  in  Pottsville,  is  the  eldest  son  born  to  Jacob  and  Mag- 
dalena  (Rinkle)  Ulmer.  A  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Jacob  Ulmer 
appears  in  this  volume.  The  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  a  native  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  then  a  province  of  France.  She 
was  bom  in  Sept.,  1834,  and  she  is  now  deceased.  John  G.  Ul- 
mer was  born  in  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  Jan.  13,  1857. 
He  was  reared  and  educated,  and  has  always  lived  in  his  native 
town.  He  has  been  identified  with  the  extensive  meat-packing 
business,  and  retail  dealing  in  meats  and  provisions  during  all  of 
his  mature  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  corporation  doing  busi- 
ness under  the  corporate  title  of  the  Jacob  Ulmer  Packing  Com- 
pany and  has  special  charge  of  the  retail  department  of  the  firm's 
business.  John  G.  Ulmer  was  married  Oct.  13,  1892  to  Miss 
Charlotte,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Catherine  (Fink)  Ber- 
ner,  of  Pottsville.  William  Berner  Ulmer  is  the  only  child  born 
to  this  union.  Mr.  Ulmer  is  a  Republican  in  political  sentiments, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  He  is  well 
advanced  in  Masonry,  having  attained  to  the  thirty-second  de- 
gree in  that  time-honored  fraternity.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Heptasophs  and  the  Humane  fire  company. 
Mr.  Ulmer  is  an  active  and  successful  business  man  and  is  a  citi- 
zen of  high  standing  in  the  community  where  his  life  has  been 
spent. 

Ulrich,  John  O.,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Tamaqua,  was  born 
in  Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  May  26,  1864,  a  son  of  John  and  Caroline 
(Medlor)  Ulrich.  The  mother  was  a  native  of  McKeansburg, 
and  she  died  Sept.  10,  1901,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  The 
father,  who  was  a  miller  by  vocation,  moved  from  Lehigh  county 
to  Hughesville,  Lycoming  county,  in  187 1.  In  1889  he  returned 
to  Lehigh  county  and  started  a  mill,  conducting  the  business  in 
both  places  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Oct.  16,  1903,  in  his 
sixty-sixth  year.  He  held  several  of  the  minor  political  offices 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  His  wife  was  affili- 
ated with  the  German  Reformed  church.    They  became  the  par- 


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604  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

ents  of  seven  children.  After  due  preliminary  training  in  the 
schools  of  Hughesville,  John  O.  Ulrich  matriculated  at  the  county 
normal  school  at  Muncy,  where  he  was  a  student  for  two  terms. 
For  another  term  he  attended  the  Central  state  normal  school, 
at  Lock  Haven,  following  it  with  several  terms  of  graduate  work 
at  the  same  institution.  In  the  fall  of  1884  he  entered  the  de- 
partment of  law  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  receiving  a 
degree  therefrom  in  June,  1886.  During  his  course  in  law  he 
spent  his  spare  hours  in  the  offices  of  the  Hon.  Wayne  Mc- 
Veagh  and  George  Tucker  Bispham.  The  year  of  his  graduation 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  he  immediately  began  active 
practice  in  Tamaqua.  That  town  has  since  been  the  center  of 
his  active  career.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  believer  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democratic  party,  and  ever  since  he  reached  his 
majority  he  has  taken  an  active  and  influential  part  in  the  state 
and  national  campaigns.  In  the  fall  of  1896  he  stumped  the 
state  of  New  York  for  the  Hon.  William  J.  Bryan.  From  1893 
to  1897  he  was  county  solicitor  for  Schuylkill  county  and  for  the 
past  ten  years  has  been  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  borough 
solicitor  for  Tamaqua.  On  Jan.  4,  1889,  Mr.  Ulrich  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Fannie  D.  Boyd,  a  native  of  Tamaqua  and 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  Boyd.  The  children  of  this  mar- 
riage are  two  in  number — Helen  A.,  who  is  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1907  in  the  Tamaqua  high  school  and  Frances  O.  Mrs. 
Ulrich  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Ulrich  is  well 
known  in  fraternal  circles:  he  is  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Frater- 
nal Order  of  Eagles,  and  the  Pennsylvania  German  Society. 

Umbenhauer,  Jamies  W.,  for  some  years  at  the  head  of  Com- 
pany G  of  the  4th  regiment  of  infantry  of  the  Pennsylvania  Na- 
tional Guard,  is  a  successful  contract  miner  of  Pine  Grove.  He  was 
born  in  that  borough  on  Oct.  9,  1849,  ^^^  is  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Sarah  (Spancake)  Umbenhauer,  the  former  of  whom  died  Feb.  7, 
1875,  ^t  the  age  of  fifty-seven,  and  the  latter  of  whom  is  still  a  resi- 
dent of  Pine  Grove.  The  father  was  a  laborer,  working  in  later 
life  for  the  railroad  company  as  foreman  of  the  repair  men.  Cap- 
tain James  W.,  of  this  sketch,  is  the  eldest  of  seven  children. 
Amanda  is  Mrs.  Levi  Aungst,  of  this  county;  John  was  killed 
when  forty-two  years  old,  in  an  accident  in  the  Lincoln  colliery, 
in  1895;  Andrew  died  in  June,  1905,  at  the  age  of  fifty;  Mary  is 
the  wife  of  CJeorge  W.  Hoover,  of  Pine  Grove;  Sarah  died  when 
a  year  old ;  and  Rebecca  is  the  wife  of  John  Hagey,  of  Lebanon. 
Captain  Umbenhauer  received  his  early  education  in  the  town- 
ship schools  and  his  first  employment  was  about  the  mines.  He 
subsequently  became  a  miner.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  began 
mining  for  Miller,  Greaff  &  Co.,  and  later  was  similarly  engaged 
for  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company  doing 
pillar  dropping.  In  this  work  he  has  been  engaged  almost  con- 
tinuously ever  since,  and  he  has  become  an  expert  in  this  line. 
He  now   employs  about  twenty-five   men   the   year  around,  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  505 

has  all  the  work  he  can  attend  to.  The  captain's  connection  with 
the  state  militia  dates  from  Jan.  9,  1877,  when  he  became  a  pri- 
vate in  Company  H  of  the  8th  infantry.  Subsequently  the  com- 
pany was  assigned  to  the  4th  regiment  and  became  known  as 
Company  G.  The  first  service  which  the  organization  did  was 
in  the  Pittsburg  riot  of  July,  1877.  After  passing  from  rank  to 
rank  Mr.  Umbenhauer  becdme  captain  of  the  company  in  1891. 
In  1892  the  company  was  called  out  to  suppress  the  strikers  at 
Homestead,  and  in  1897  it  was  called  to  similar  service  in  the 
Hazleton  region.  When  war  was  declared  between  Spain  and 
the  United  States  the  4th  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  service 
of  the  United  States  and  was  sent  to  Porto  Rico.  When  the 
news  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  came  it  was  drawn  up  before 
Guama  ready  to  give  battle.  The  regiment  was  mustered  out 
at  Pine  Grove  on  Nov.  16,  1898,  and  after  its  reorganization  was 
called  into  service  again,  at  Shenandoah,  in  1900,  and  in  1902. 
This  latter  duty  kept  the  men  out  ninety-two  days.  On  Feb. 
17,  1904,  Capt.  Umbenhauer  resigned  his  active  command  and  was 
put  on  the  retired  list,  after  twenty-seven  years  of  continuous 
sevice  in  the  state  militia.  He  has  always  been  active  in  the  pub- 
lic affairs  and  has  a  record  of  twenty-one  years  of  continuous 
service  in  the  borough  council.  It  was  during  his  tenure  of 
office  that  the  water-works  system  was  installed,  and  he  was  a 
member  of  the  finance  committee,  with  F.  B.  Wheeler  and  Aaron 
T.  Petty,  which  had  the  practical  control  of  the  whole  affair.  Mr. 
Umbenhauer  was  married  Feb.  4,  1875,  to  Miss  Mary  Russell, 
daughter  of  William  and  Susanna  (Dewald)  Russell,  of  Pine 
Grove.  Three  children  have  blessed  this  union.  Minnie  S.  is  a 
teacher  in  a  school  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  at  Beverly,  Mass. 
Robert  G.,  is  a  machinist  and  is  employed  at  Harrisburg.  His 
wife  was  formerly  Miss  Mabel  Snoke  and  they  have  one  child, 
Paul.  Edna  E.,  the  youngest,  is  employed  in  a  millinery  store. 
Mrs.  Umbenhauer  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  church, 
and  the  captain  is  affiliated  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons 
of  America,  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  and  the  local  union 
of  the  United  Mine  Workers. 

Umbenhen,  Rev.  John  H.,  Ph.  D.,  the  much  esteemed  pastor  of 
Trinity  Lutheran  church  of  Pottsville,  was  born  near  Myers- 
town,  Lebanon  county,  Pa.,  on  March  6,  1861,  a  son  of  Prof. 
George  and  Sarah  (Uhrich)  Unbenhen.  Both  parents,  who  are 
now  living  in  Myerstown,  are  natives  of  Lebanon  county.  The 
father  received  his  educational  advantages  in  the  Myerstown 
academy  and  began  teaching  while  still  a  young  man.  For  forty- 
seven  years  he  was  continuously  engaged  in  pedagogic  work  and 
became  one  of  the  best  known  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  popular 
teachers  in  the  state.  He  is  also  a  talented  musician,  and  for 
forty  years  has  been  the  organist  of  the  Myerstown  church. 
Three  children  were  born  to  Prof,  and  Mrs.  Umbenhen,  of  whom 
the  subect  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest  and  the  only  son.  The 
sisters  are  Mrs.  Sallie   Kreitzer  and   Mrs.  Anna  Stupp,  both  of 


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506  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Meyerstown,   where   their   husbands   are   engaged   in   business.    Dr. 
Umbenhen,   after   due   prelirninary   training    in    the     Myerstown 
public  schools,  entered  Palatinate  college,  and  when  he  had  com- 
pleted the   preparatory   work   there   he   matriculated   in    Muhlen- 
berg college,  at  Allentown,  which  institution  granted  him  a  cer- 
tificate of  graduation   in   1880.     He  then   entered  upon  his  theo- 
logical studies  at  the  Lutheran  seminary,  which  is  now  located  at 
Mount  Airy,  Philadelphia,  and  he  completed  a  three  years'  course 
in  that  institution  in   1883.     The  same  year  occurred  his  ordina- 
tion as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  by  the  Lutheran  ministerium  of 
Pennsylvania,,  and  his  active  work  began  as  pastor  of  the  Reams- 
town   parish   of   Lancaster    county.     There    he    rendered    distin- 
guished and  able  service  for  a  period  of  three  years,  leaving  only 
to  accept  a  call  to  a  broader  and  more  lucrative  field  at  Mount 
Joy.     In  1889,  after  he  had  been  pastor  at  Mount  Joy  for  some 
three  and  one-half  years,  he  received  an  offer  to  become  the  English 
assistant  pastor  of  Trinity  church.     The  call  was  accepted  and 
he  was  installed  as  the  associate  pastor  to  Rev.   Dr.  Hinterleit- 
ner.     Upon   the  retirement  of  the  latter,   in  the   fall  of    1892,   Dr. 
Umbenhen  was  selected  as  his  successor  and  the  same  year  as- 
sumed  the   full   pastorate.     This   position   he   has   since   filled   to 
the   most  eminent   satisfaction   of  the   congregation,   and   he   has 
become  a  power  for  good  in  the  civic  and  private  life  of  the  com- 
munity.    The    doctor's    male   ancestors   were   all    strong   Repub- 
licans, but  he  is  not  so  allied  with  any  political  organization  as 
to  allow  it  to  bias  his  influence  or  judgment  in  the  support  of  can- 
didates for  office.     Jan.  2,  1884,  was  solemnized  Dr.  Umbenhen's 
mariage   to   Miss   Nettie   Donges,   who   was   born   and   reared   in 
Myerstown,  a   daughter  of   George   and    Mary     (Tice)     Donges. 
Mrs.   Umbenhen's  maternal  grandfather  was  William  Tice,  who 
served  throughout  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  as  a  captain  in  the 
17th    Pennsylvania   cavalry.     To   Dr.   and    Mrs.    Umbenhen    have 
been  born  five  children,  of  whom  one,  Paul,  died  at  the  age  of 
six  years.  The  others  are  Marie,  Annette,  Rebecca,  and  Georgine. 
Ungcr,  Claude  W.,  who  maintains  his  home  in  Yorkville  and 
who  is  the  able  and  popular  manager  of  the  West  End  knitting 
mills,  of  Pottsville,  has  passed  his  entire  life  in  Schuylkill  county 
and  is  a  member  of  one  of  its  honored  families.     He  was  born 
in   West   Brunswick  township,  this  county,  Jan.   5,    1882,  and   is 
a  son  of  Samuel  and  Ellen  J.   (Kimmel)   Unger,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born   in   Berks   county,   this  state,   and   the   latter   in 
Schuylkill  county,  daughter  of  Daniel  F.   Kimmel,  a  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  sterling  families  of  the  county.     Samuel  Unger 
was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  sewing-machine  business  and 
in   Oct.,   1896,  he  established  the  West   End   knitting  mills,   for 
the  manufacture  of  women's  underwear.    The  plant  is  thoroughly 
modern    in    its    facilities    and    general    equipment,    operates    four- 
teen   knitting   machines    and    seventeen    finishing   machines,    and 
gives  employment  to  about  forty  hands.    The  business  is  a  sub- 
stantial  one  and  the  annual   transactions  have  now   reached  an 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  507 

aggregate  of  about  $60,000.  The  founder  of  the  enterprise  died 
in  1905,  and  the  business  has  since  been  successfully  continued 
by  the  estate,  under  the  management  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  is  known  as  an  able  and  progressive  young  business  man.  Mr. 
Unger  secured  his  early  education  in  the  excellent  public  schools 
of  Pottsville  and  since  leaving  school  he  has  been  identified  with 
the  business  of  which  he  is  now  the  manager,  so  that  he  is  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  all  details  of  the  same  and  is  able  to  handle 
its  practical  and  executive  aflfairs  with  proper  discrimination  and 
facility.  In  politics  he  is  not  dominated  by  strict  partisan  dic- 
tates but  maintains  an  independent  attitude,  and  he  and  his 
wife  hold  membership  in  Trinity  Reformed  church.  In  1902  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ada  Vietinghoff,  daughter  of 
William  Vietinghoff,  a  well  known  citizen  of  Pottsville,  and  they 
have  two  children — William  and  Barbara.  Mr.  Unger  takes  a 
deep  interest  in  the  geology  and  paleontology  of  Schuylkill 
county,  and  has  probably — ^with  the  exception  of  the  one  deposited 
at  the  United  States  national  museum  at  Washington — the  larg- 
est and  most  valuable  collection  of  carboniferous  fossil  plants  in 
America. 

Updcgravc,  Robert  R.,  dealer  in  general  merchandise  at  Val- 
ley View,  was  born  at  that  place  on  Oct.  25,  1864.  His  great- 
grandparents  came  from  England  at  an  early  date  and  settled 
in  Chester  county,  Pa.  His  grandfather,  John  Updegrave,  came 
to  Schuylkill  county  when  a  young  man  and  located  in  Hubley 
township,  where  he  followed  agnricultural  pursuits  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  married  Harriet  Kimmel  and  they  had 
a  family  of  thirteen  children,  twelve  of  whom  grew  to  maturity. 
William  is  a  carpenter,  Harriet  is  Mrs.  George  Spotts,  of  Miners- 
ville;  Sarah  married  Harry  Witmer;  Ella  married  Isaac  Evans; 
Aaron  is  a  butcher  at  Allentown ;  Emanuel  K.  is  a  merchant  at 
Sacramento;  Richard  lives  retired  at  Sacramento;  Justus  married 
Jacob  Strong  of  Sacramento;  Elizabeth  is  Mrs.  William  Klinger; 
Catherine  married  Samuel  Miller  of  Snyder  county,  and  John 
died  young.  Jacob  K.  Updegrave,  the  father  of  Robert,  received 
a  moderate  education  and  in  1863  came  to  Valley  View,  where 
he  married  Matilda,  a  daughter  of  Christian  Schreiber,  a  merchant 
of  that  place,  and  the  founder  of  the  business  that  is  now  con- 
ducted by  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Jacob  and  Matilda  Upde- 
grave became  the  parents  of  four  children.  Jane  is  Mrs.  R.  B. 
Dunkleberger,  of  Reading,  Pa.;  Alice  F.  married  John  W.  Heck- 
ert,  of  Hegins ;  Mary  E.  is  the  wife  of  Daniel  H.  Lesher,  of  West- 
port  ;  and  Robert  R.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In  1863,  about 
the  time  of  his  marriage,  Jacob  K.  Updegrave  bought  the  store 
from  his  father-in-law  and  he  thereafter  conducted  it  until  1883. 
From  that  time  until  1894  it  was  successively  run  by  his  sons- 
in-law,  R.  B.  Dunkleberger,  John  W.  Heckert,  and  Daniel  H. 
Lesher;  Robert  R.  Updegrave  attended  the  common  schools,  the 
normal  school  at  Kutztown,  Pa.,  and  schools  at  Lock  Haven,  Pa., 
and  Larned,  Kansas.     He  then  taught  for  about  seven  years,  and 


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608  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

in  1894  he  bought  the  business  that  had  been  established  by  his 
maternal  grandfather  more  than  forty  years  before.  Since  com- 
ing into  possession  of  the  store  he  has  made  many  improvements, 
and  in  1905  he  opened  a  branch  store  at  Good  Spring.  He  car- 
ries a  good  assortment  of  dry-goods,  notions,  boots  and  shoes, 
hats,  etc.,  and  handles  all  kinds  of  produce.  On  Feb.  22,  1884, 
Mr.  Updegrave  married  Miss  Florence,  daughter  of  Emanuel  and 
Maria  Dunkleberger,  of  Hegins,  Pa.,  and  this  union  has  been 
blessed  by  ten  children,  all  of  whorri  are  living.  Homer  is  a 
carpenter ;  Matie  is  in  the  store  with  her  father ;  and  the  others  are 
Edith,  Roy,  Alma,  Iva,  Jacob,  Millard,  Harold  and  Naomi.  Mr. 
Updegrave  is  a  member  of  Washington  Camp,  No.  109,  Patri- 
otic Order  of  the  Sons  of  America,  at  Valley  View,  and  belongs 
to  the  United  Evangelical  church,  in  which  he  was  superintend- 
ent of  the  Sunday  school  for  twelve  years.  In  politics  he  affili- 
ates with  the  Democratic  party,  but  can  hardly  be  termed  an  act- 
ive party  worker,  though  he  takes  a  keen  interest  in  all  questions 
pertaining  to  the  public  weal,  and  is  regarded  as  a  progressive 
and  public-spirited  citizen. 

Uttcrmul,  Morton  M.,  superintendent  of  the  Charles  Baber 
cemetery  of  Pottsville,  was  born  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  Jan. 
27,  1855.  He  is  of  German  ancestry,  although  his  parents,  Mor- 
ton M.  and  Virginia  (Seibert)  Uttermul,  were  born  in  Washing- 
ton. His  father  and  mother  both  died  while  he  was  still  an  in- 
fant and  at  the  age  of  five  years  he  was  bound  out  to  a  farmer. 
After  five  years  of  life  in  that  capacity  he  ran  away  and  has  since 
been  entirely  self-dependent.  From  the  farm  near  Washington 
he  came  to  Philadelphia  and  in  time  became  employed  by  Hon. 
James  Campbell.  For  seven  years  he  was  overseer  of  Mr.  Camp- 
helKs  summer  residence  at  Radnor,  Delaware  county.  While 
engaged  in  this  work  he  married,  in  1880,  Miss  Susan  F.  Betz, 
daughter  of  Peter  Betz,  a  pioneer  of  Pottsville.  Soon  after  his 
marriage  he  came  to  Pottsville  to  live  and  for  a  few  years  he 
earned  a  livelihood  by  performing-  the  duties  of  gardener  for  most 
of  the  wealthy  people  of  the  city.  In  1894  he  received  his  ap- 
pointment as  superintendent  of  the  Charles  Baber  cemetery,  which 
at  the  time  consisted  of  sixty-seven  lots  which  were  cared  for  by  the 
superintendent.  To-day  more  than  900  lots  are  und^r  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Uttermal,  and  of  this  number  he  himself  solicited  the  care  of 
over  400.  The  cemetery  comprises  a  large  tract  of  land  and  contains 
over  17^000  graves.  It  was  originally  known  as  Mount  Laurel 
cemetery  and  the  first  monument  in  it  was  erected  by  Eli  Bowen, 
in  1855,  in  memory  of  his  wife.  The  late  Charles  Baber  owned  a 
farm  adjoining  the  cemetery  and  upon  his  death  he  bequeathed 
this  farm  to  the  trustees  of  Trinity  Episcopal  church  for  ceme- 
tery purposes.  The  mineral  rights  of  the  property  have  also 
been  deeded  to  the  trustees,  so  that  there  is  no  danger  of  any 
coal  company  ever  undermining  the  property.  The  latter  provi- 
sion has  induced  many  people  not  livinc:  in  Pottsville  to  place 
the  remains  of  deceased  relatives  within  its  borders.     Mr.  Baber's 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  509 

trust  has  been  faithfully  performed  and  the  cemetery,  which  has 
been  named  after  him,  has  become  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
burial  spots  in  the  state.  This  is  in  large  measure  due  to  the 
tireless  labor  and  the  artistic  ability  of  Mr.  Uttermal,  who  has 
spared  neither  labor  nor  skill  in  his  efforts  to  beautify  the 
grounds.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Uttermal  have  been  born  two  sons 
and  two  daughters.  Percy,  one  of  the  sons,  has  been  employed 
by  W.  G.  Payne,  a  well  known  florist,  for  the  past  four  years  and 
is  now  one  of  the  foremen  in  the  establishment,  and  Edward,  the 
other  son,  is  married.  The  daughters,  Agnes  and  Virgie,  are  at 
home.  In  religious  matters  the  family  are  all  identified  with  the 
English  Lutheran  church.  Fraternally  Mr.  Uttermal  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle  and  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men.  He  is  a  fine  example  of  the  self  made  man 
and  his  life  is  one  well  worthy  of  emulation. 

Vcith,  Charles  A.,  M.  D.,  a  regular  practicing  physician  and  sur- 
geon in  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of  Ashland,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa., 
where  he  was  born  Aug.  22,  1874.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Anna 
M.  (Hartman)  Veith,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  in  1838,  and  the  father  of  whom  was  born  in  Prussia,  in 
1844.  Charles  A.  Veith  received  his  elementary  education  in 
the  public  schools,  and  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  in 
Pottsville  with  the  class  of  i^i.  He  was  graduated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  in  1894,  receiving  the  degpree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine,  and  was  graduated  from  Johns  Hopkins  university 
in  1896.  He  then  entered  upon  a  professional  career  which  has 
been  successful,  even  beyond  his  most  sanguine  hopes.  Dr. 
Veith  is  .allied  with  the  leading  professional  societies  of  the  state 
and  county,  and  makes  an  effort  to  keep  fully  abreast  of  the 
onward  march  of  his  profession.  He  has  never  held  official  po- 
sitions except  of  a  professional  character,  but  served  as  deputy 
county  coroner  and  as  physician  to  the  Out  Door  Relief  Society. 
In  political  views  he  is  a  Democrat  and  in  religious  faith  a  Roman 
Catholic.  He  was  married  June  12,  1900,  to  Miss  Agnes  J., 
daughter  of  P.  J.  and  Elizabeth  McGorman.  The  only  child  born 
to  this  union  is  Master  John  C,  a  little  gentleman  of  five  years. 
The  doctor  g^ves  his  undivided  attention  to  his  professional 
work,  and  is  not  interested  in  fraternal  organizations  of  any  kind. 

Wachter,  Rudolph,  is  one  of  the  substantial  business  men  of  York- 
ville,  where  he  conducts  one  of  the  leading  meat  markets  of  the  bor- 
ough, and  he  is  held  in  unqualified  esteem  in  the  community,  where  he 
has  at  all  times  stood  as  a  type  of  sterling  citizenship.  Mr.  Wachter 
is  a  native  of  Wiirtemberg,  Germany,  where  he  was  bom,  Jan.  16, 
1846,  and  he  is  a  son  of  John  and  Qementina  (Riede)  Wachter,  both 
of  whom  passed  their  entire  lives  in  the  fatherland.  Mr.  Wachter  was 
afforded  the  advantages  of  the  excellent  schools  of  his  native  land, 
and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  began  an  apprenticeship  at  the 
butcher's  trade,  in  connection  with  which  he  traveled  about  his  own 
country,  as  well  as  in  Switzerland  and  France,  as  a  journeyman 
butcher,  being  thus  engaged  for  a  period  of  six  years  and  becoming 


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510  SCHUYLKIl^L  COUNTY 

an  expert  in  his  vocation.  In  1868,  appreciative  of  the  superior  ad- 
vantages afforded  in  the  United  States,  he  immigrated  to  this  country 
and  made  Schuylkill  county  his  destination.  He  bcated  in  Pottsville, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade  as  a  journeyman  about  two  years,  and 
in  1871  he  opened  a  meat  market  of  his  own.  He  conducted  the  same 
until  1877,  when  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  same  line  of  enterprise  for  the  ensuing  ten  years.  In 
1888  he  returned  to  Pottsville,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  Seltzer 
packing  house  for  three  years,  since  which  time  he  has 
maintained  his  home  in  Yorkville,  where  he  now  controls  a 
liberal  and  representative  patronage  and  where  he  has  a  model  meat 
market  in  a  most  eligible  location.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
adherency  and  served  seven  years  as  a  member  of  the  borough  council, 
and  three  years  as  chief  burgess,  ever  exercising  mature  judgment  and 
discrimination  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  and  having  closely 
at  heart  the  material  and  civic  welfare  of  his  home  town  and  county. 
He  and  his  family  are  communicants  of  the  German  Catholic  church, 
and  he  is  a  member  of  the  local  organization  of  the  German  Mechanics, 
of  which  he  has  been  president  for  fourteen  years.  May  15,  1870, 
Mr.  Wachter  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Magdalena  Yeastadt, 
daughter  of  John  and  Barbara  (Ritzel)  Yeastadt,  of  Yorkville,  this 
county,  whither  they  came  from  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wachter  became  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of  whom  eight 
are  living — George,  Albert,  Emma,  Rudolph,  Jr.,  Bertha,  Catherine, 
William  and  Leo.  Bertha  is  now  the  wife  of  Harry  E.  Dolan,  of 
Yorkville. 

Wagner,  Charles  C,  of  Frackville,  Pa.,  in  which  city  he  ranks 
as  one  of  the  foremost  and  most  enterprising  citizens,  was  bom  in 
Alsace  Lorraine,  France,  Aug.  2,  1845,  ^^^  's  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Sophia  (Kline)  Wagner,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  native  of  Ger- 
many. In  1843  Henry  Wagner  removed  to  St.  Avoir,  France,  where 
he  was  superintendent  of  a  distillery  until  1849,  when  he  returned  to 
Prussia  and  with  his  brother-in-law,  Jacob  Snyder,  conducted  a  stone 
quarry  which  furnished  the  stone  for  the  building  of  the  famous  bridge 
over  the  Saar  river  at  Saarbrucken.  This  business  was  continued 
until  the  fall  of  1850,  when  Mr.  Wagner  immigrated  with  his  family 
to  the  United  States  and  located  at  Tumbling  Run,  Schuylkill  county, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  superintending  the  Schuylkill  Valley  rail- 
road between  Middleport  and  Tuscarora  until  1872.  While  engaged 
in  this  work  he  purchased  a  farm  of  seventy-two  acres  at  Tumbling 
Run,  and  this  was  operated  by  his  children  while  he  was  engaged  in 
his  railway  duties.  In  1872  he  removed  to  Frackville  and  purchased 
a  number  of  town  lots,  on  which  he  erected  substantial  buildings.  He 
continued  to  reside  there  until  his  death,  in  July,  1891,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  years;  He  was  a  man  of  great  business  acumen  and  was 
a  zealous  worker  in  and  an  ardent  member  of  the  Lutheran  church, 
in  which  organization  he  had  at  various  times  held  all  the  executive 
offices.  Mr.  Wagner  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  having  been 
Margaret,  a  daughter  of  Conrad  Kline,  of  Guettingen,  Germany,  who 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  511 

bore  him  two  children — Catherine,  who  married  Engelbert  Sanner, 
and  Henry  C,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Prussia.  She  died  in  1843, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years,  and  Mr.  Wagner  led  to  the  altar  her 
sister,  Sophia  Kline,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  these  children — 
Charles  C.,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  review,  and*  William  C, 
Caroline,  Reinhart  A.,  and  Augustus.  Charles  C.  Wagner  was  reared 
in  Schuylkill  county  from  the  age  of  five  years  and  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  day.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  lost  three 
fingers  of  his  left  hand  while  employed  about  the  mines,  and  later  he 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  three  and  one-half  years  at  the  tailor's 
trade,  in  the  shop  of  Charles  Bensinger,  of  Middleport.  When  the 
somber  cloud  of  war  called  for  the  defenders  of  the  Union,  our  sub- 
ject was  one  of  the  gallant  boys  who  donned  a  suit  of  blue  and  went 
forth  to  brave  the  hardships  of  that  most  memorable  of  civil  wars,  the 
war  between  the  states.  Sept.  12,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  B, 
19th  infantry,  and  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  expiration  of 
his  three  months'  service.  Feb.  22,  1863,  he  re-enlisted,  in  Company 
I,  48th  Pennsylvania,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  took 
part  in  many  of  the  severe  engagements  of  the  war,  among  which  may 
be  mentioned  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  Court  House, 
Cold  Harbor,  White  Oak  Swamp,  Petersburg,  and  the  siege  of  Peters- 
burg. He  was  wounded  in  the  right  leg  at  Fort  Hill,  on  Apr.  2,  1865, 
and  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  service  at  Harrisburg,  Pa., 
in  June,  1865.  On  his  return  home  he  took  up  the  peaceful  battle  of 
life  with  the  same  characteristic  courage  which  had  dominated  his 
actions  in  the  nerve-wrecking  time  of  war.  He  entered  the  tailoring 
business  at  Mahanoy  City,  Pa.,  where  he  remained  until  1876,  after 
which,  with  his  brother,  William  C.,  he  was  engaged  for  two  years  in 
conducting  a  butcher  shop  at  Gilberton,  this  county.  They  then  re- 
turned to  Mahanoy  City,  where  they  were  engaged  in  the  same  busi- 
ness until  1881,  when  they  located  in  Frackville  and  conducted  the 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Wagner  Bros,  until  1894,  when  the 
firm  was  reorganized.  This  association  continued  until  1898,  when 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  became  the  sole  proprietor,  and  he  con- 
ducted the  business  most  successfully  until  Sept.,  1906,  when  he  dis- 
posed of  it  to  his  sons,  who  have  since  continued  it  under  the  name  of 
Wagner's  Sons.  This  is  the  largest  concern  of  the  kind  in  the  county 
outside  of  the  city  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  Wagner  maintains  a  deep  inter- 
est in  his  old  jcomrades  in  arms,  as  is  vouched  for  by  his  membership 
in  John  S.  Meredith  Post,  No.  485,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of 
Frackville.  He  is  a  firm  supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party,  in  whose  ranks  he  is  an  active  worker,  having  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  borough  council  of  Frackville  for  nine  years,  and  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board  for  three  consecutive  terms.  He  is  a  man  of 
sterling  worth  and  integrity  and  is  always  to  be  found  among  the 
foremost  in  promoting  matters  that  pertain  to  the  public  welfare.  He 
is  one  of  Frackville's  most  enterprising  citizens,  and  by  upright  deal- 
ings arid  sagacious  business  acumen  he  has  earned  a  competency.  He 
is  interested  in  many  business  and  financial  industries,  being  connected 


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512  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

with  the  Pennsylvania  Lumber  Company  of  South  Carolina,  the  Scott 
Lumber  Company  of  Bennettsville,  S.  C,  the  Chirean  and  Bennetts- 
ville  railroad  of  South  Carolina,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  iand  a  director 
of  the  First  National  bank  of  Frackville,  Pa.  Both  he  and  his  family 
are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Feb.  22,  1870,  Mr.  Wagner 
married  Susannah,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Adelina  (Harter)  OerSier, 
of  Minersville,  Schuylkill  county,  her  father  being  a  native  of  Alsace 
Lorraine,  France,  and  her  mother  of  Schuylkill  county.  This  union 
has  been  blessed  with  seven  children — Claude  (deceased),  Edith, 
Henry  A.,  Eveline,  William  C,  Mary  and  Carl. 

Wagner,  Eknil  C,,  a  prominent  and  well  known  citizen  of  Girard- 
ville,  was  born  in  Giessen,  Germany,  May  29,  1846.  In  1849  he  was 
brought  to  America  by  his  parents,  who  located  in  Philadelphia  and 
remained  there  throughout  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Major  Wag- 
ner is  a  son  of  Louis  and  Christina  (Berg)  Wagner,  natives  of  Gies- 
sen, Germany,  where  the  former  was  bom  in  1808.  Louis  Wagner 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  in  his  native  country,  and  followed  that 
business  as  a  manufacturer  or  dealer  throughout  a  long  and  active 
lifetime.  He  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1883.  The  parents  of  Major 
Wagner  had  a  family  of  five  sons  and  four  daughters,  the  survivors 
of  whom  are  variously  located  in  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere.  The 
subject  of  this  article  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  learned  the  machinist's  trade  with  the  firm  of  William  Sel- 
lers &  Co.,  in  that  city.  He  worked  at  his  trade  until  1867,  when  he 
accepted  a  clerkship  in  the  employ  of  the  Philadelphia  &Trenton  Rail- 
road Company,  which  position  he  resigned  in  1869  to  accept  a  more 
lucrative  and  responsible  one  as  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Girard 
estate  in  Columbia  and  Schuylkill  counties.  This  position  he  has  held 
continuously  up  to  the  present  time.  After  his  appointment  he  located 
at  Girardville  and  he  soon  became  identified  with  the  business  affairs 
of  the  borough,  which  was  to  continue  his  home  for  so  long  a  period. 
He  was  at  once  recognized  as  a  leading  spirit  in  business  and  social 
affairs.  He  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  promotion  of  almost 
every  feature  of  local  development,  whether  large  or  small,  and  has 
long  since  been  reco^^ized  as  a  public-spirited  and  valued  citizen. 
He  was  a  leading  spirit  in  the  organization  of  the  First  National  bank 
of  Girardville,  in  1890,  and  has  been  its  president  since  that  time.  He 
was  active  in  the  organization  of  the  Girardville  Gas  Company  and  is 
now  its  treasurer.  Major  Wagner  was  elected  a  member  of  the  first 
school  board  organized  in  Ginffdville  after  the  incorporation  of  the 
village  as  a  borough,  in  1870,  and  has.  always  manifested  a  great  in- 
terest in  educational  affairs,  having  been  a  member  of  the  local  school 
board  almost  continuously  for  twenty-five  years  or  more.  He  has 
also  served  several  terms  as  president  of  the  Schuylkill  county  school 
directors'  conventions.  He  was  active  in  securing  the  establishment 
of  the  state  hospital  for  injured  persons,  at  Fountain  Springs,  served 
twenty  years  as  secretary  of  the  board  of  directors  of  that  institution, 
and  is  now  the  treasurer  of  it  also.  In  military  affairs  the  major  has 
been  equally  active  and  zealous.  He  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the  8th 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  513 

regiment,  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  in  Girardville,  in  which 
he  served  as  captain  of  Company.  F  for  a  number  of  years,  and  afterward 
as  a  major  in  the  regiment.  He  was  always  foremost  in  promoting  the 
interests  of  the  organization  during  his  connection  therewith.  Major 
Wagner  was  a  member  of  the  American  Institute  of  Engineers,  and 
served  many  years  as  surveyor  of  the  borough  in  which  he  lives.  In 
political  affiliations  the  major  is  an  uncompromising  Republican,  and 
wields  a  potent  influence  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  He  is  active 
and  prominent  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  attained  exalted  stand- 
ing in  the  councils  of  that  time-honored  organization.  He  has  served 
as  division  commander  of  the  Knights  Templars  in  Schuylkill  county, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Consistory,  Ancient  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite.  He  has  held  active  membership  in  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  for  more  than  thirty-five  years,  has  passed  all 
the  principal  official  stations  in  that  organization,  and  at  present  is 
senior  trustee  of  the  grand  lodge  and  president  of  the  Odd  Fellows' 
orphans'  home  near  Sunbury.  In  March,  1869,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Margaret  H.,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Kerr,  of  Phila- 
delphia. Two  children  blessed  this  union:  Charles  W.«is  a  civil  and 
mining  engineer,  and  Christine  L.  is  the  wife  of  Capt.  J.  F.  Bam- 
hard.  Mrs.  Wagner  died  in  1893.  In  Oct.,  1895,  Major  Wagner 
married  Miss  Laura  E.,  only  daughter  of  Jacob  Ulmer,  of  Pottsville, 
Pa. 

Wagner,  John  F.,  shipping  clerk  of  the  Tamaqua  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  at  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  that  city  on  July  19,  1861. 
He  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Rebecca  (Billman)  Wagner,  the  latter 
of  whom  died  in  June,  1894,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine.  She  was  an 
active  and  earnest  worker  in  the  United  Brethren  church.  The  father 
for  many  years  conducted  a  baggage-transfer  business  in  Tamaqua 
and  is  now  retired,  making  his  home  with  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Walters. 
The  other  members  of  the  family  are  George  W.  and  Harry,  both 
firemen;  Samuel  P.  and  Benjamin  F. ;  Lavina,  now  Mrs.  J.  C.  Wal- 
ters, of  Tamaqua ;  Sarah  J.,  Mrs.  George  F.  Beerman,  a  resident  of 
Birdsboro,  Pa.;  Louise,  formerly  the  wife  of  Frederick  Stirk,  and 
after  his  death  Mrs.  Heisler;  and  Miss  Clara,  a  trained  nurse  in 
charge  of  one  of  the  wards  of  the  Pottsville  hospital.  John  F.  Wag- 
ner acquired  his  educational  advantages  in  the  Tamaqua  schools  and 
his  first  employment  was  in  picking  slate  at  Coal  Dale.  This  labor 
occupied  him  for  eight  months  and  then  he  accepted,  in  May,  1876, 
a  position  in  the  freight  house  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  rail- 
road. After  eight  years  of  service  he  resigned  to  become  a  brake- 
man,  and  in  a  year  and  a  half  was  promoted  to  freight  conductor. 
From  this  position  he  returned  to  the  freight  office  and  he  served  as 
collector  and  bill  clerk  for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  The  last  posi- 
tion he  held  in  the  freight  office  was  that  of  chief  clerk,  but  after  ten 
months  of  service  ill  health  compelled  his  resignation.  July  12,  1897, 
he  accepted  his  present  position  with  the  Tamaqua  Manufacturing 
Company,  with  which  he  has  since  been  continuously  identified.  His 
especial  duty  is  really  in  assisting  the  general  manager,  C.  E.  Christ. 

83— Vol.  II 


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514  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

In  the  political  circles  of  the  city  Mr.  Wagner  is  well  known.  He 
has  been  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  in  his 
ward  and  for  three  years  held  the  office  of  auditor.  May  i,  1886, 
Mr.  Wagner  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Agnes  A.  Burkey,  a 
native  of  Tamaqua  and  a  daughter  of  Reuben  Burkey.  After  Mr. 
Burkey's  death  his  widow  married  again,  being  now  the  widow  of 
William  T.  Davis,  and  maintaining  her  home  in  Philadelphia.  Mrs. 
Wagner  is  one  of  «ix  children — four  daughters  and  two  sons.  By 
her  marriage  to  Mr.  Wagner  she  is  the  mother  of  two  sons,  Norman 
Paul  and  Earl  John,  both  learning  the  trade  of  machinist.  The  fam- 
ily are  all  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  Mr.  Wagner 
is  identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Americans.  He  is  a  man 
of  much  inventive  genius,  and  on  May  11,  1906,  the  government 
granted  him  a  patent  on  an  automatic  car-coupler  of  his  own  inven- 
tion. Besides  this  he  is  part  owner,  with  James  H.  Weston,  of  the 
Tamaqua  Manufacturing  Company,  of  a  patent  granted  July  24, 
1906,  on  a  soldering  iron. 

Wagner,  Samuel  P.,  traveling  salesman  for  the  Berger-Crit- 
tenden  Milling  Company,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  for  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia,  makes  his  home  in  Tama- 
qua, where  he  was  born  on  May  15,  1872.  A  bit  of  his  family  history 
may  be  gathered  from  the  sketch  of  John  F.  Wagner,  a  brother. 
Samuel  P.  Wagner  was  graduated  at  the  Tamaqua  high  school  in 
the  class  of  1889  ^^d  subsequently  went  into  the  employ  of  F.  R.  Culp 
as  bookkeeper  and  solicitor.  He  remained  with  Mr.  Culp  some  seven 
years,  until  the  death  of  the  latter.  Then  Mr.  Wagner  was  for  three 
years  connected  with  the  Wabash  Milling  Company,  leaving  the  em- 
ploy of  that  company  to  accept  a  position  tendered  him  by  the  Min- 
neapolis Flour  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Minneapolis,  in  1899. 
The  subsequent  merging  of  the  latter  firm  with  the  Northwestern 
Consolidated  Milling  Company  left  Mr.  Wagner  without  a  position, 
but  he  soon  accepted  the  responsible  one  which  he  now  holds.  He 
is  deeply  interested  in  the  public  welfare  and  has  the  unique  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  youngest  man  ever  elected  to  a  position  on  the 
board  of  school  directors  of  Tamaqua.  He  was  elected  for  a  second 
term,  but  resigned  when  he  removed  from  the  ward.  During  two  of 
his  three  years  of  service  he  was  secretary  of  the  board.  On  Jan. 
^9>  1895,  Mr.  Wagner  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Eliza- 
beth Fox,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Fox,  of  Tamaqua. 
Two  children  have  blessed  this  union,  Erma  Naoma  and  Paul  Leroy, 
The  family  are  affiliated  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Wag- 
ner is  regarded  as  one  of  the  substantial,  thorough  business  men  of 
the  city. 

Walters,  Clarence  E.,  one  of  the  leading  young  business  men  of 
Tamaqua,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  insurance  busi- 
ness, was  born  in  that  city  on  July  19,  1878.  He  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Alice  (Lloyd)  Walters,  the  former  a  native  of  Schuylkill  county 
and  the  latter  of  Wales.  The  father  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Henry  Walters'   Sons,   iron   workers,  and  was  borough  councilman 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  515 

for  a  term.  His  death  occurred  on  July  19,  1894.  His  widow  is  still 
living,  and  is  an  honored  resident  of  Tamaqua.  Of  the  ten  children 
six  survive.  William  J.,  the  eldest,  lives  in  Tamaqua  and  is  a  ma- 
chinist employed  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railway;  Emma  is 
the  wife  of  William  F.  Barton,  Jr.,  a  resident  of  South  Bethlehem; 
Anna  M.  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  C.  H.  Higginson,  a  minister  of  the  Prim- 
itive Methodist  faith,  in  charge  of  a  church  at  Scranton;  Harry  H. 
is  a  real-estate  dealer  and  insurance  agent  at  Akron,  Ohio;  Clayton 
L.  is  employed  as  a  machinist  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  rail- 
road at  Tamaqua;  Maria,  Mrs.  William  Dennison,  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one;  Alice  passed  away  when  she  reached  the  same  age; 
Katherine  died  in  infancy;  and  Samuel  H.,  who  was  an  invalid  all 
his  life,  died  in  his  thirty-first  year.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  re- 
ceived all  the  scholastic  training  afforded  by  the  schools  of  Tamaqua, 
graduating  from  the  high  school  in  the  class  of  1894.  Subsequently 
he  completed  a  commercial  course  and  became  an  employe  of  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad,  as  messenger  in  their  telegraph 
office  in  Tamaqua.  His  idea  was  to  learn  telegraphy,  and  after  a 
year  he  had  mastered  the  science  and  left  his  position  to  accept  a 
more  lucrative  one  in  the  office  of  S.  Livingston,  as  bookkeeper.  The 
latter  position  he  held  for  about  eight  years,  and  thereafter  he  was 
engaged  in  the  same  capacity  by  the  H.  A.  Weldy  Powder  Company. 
In  May,  1905,  he  embarked  in  his  present  lirte  of  business,  in  which 
he  has  since  been  most  successfully  engaged.  That  Mr.  Walters  is 
well  known  and  that  he  is  highly  esteemed  are  evidenced  by  his  elec- 
tion to  the  office  of  borough  auditor.  After  serving  one  term  he  was 
elected  for  another,  but  he  resigned  the  position  in  March,  1906,  to 
become  borough  councilman.  In  the  council  his  ability  and  capacity 
are  recognized,  for  besides  being  chairman  of  the  finance  committee, 
he  is  a  member  of  the  light,  water  and  police  committees.  On  Aug. 
16,  1899,  Mr.  Walters  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  S.  A.  Woods, 
a  native  of  Tamaqua  and  a  daughter  of  J.  H.  and  S.  (Eisenhuth) 
Woods.  Mr.  Woods  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Bond  &  Woods.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walters  have  been  born  three  children — William  W., 
J.  Hilton  and  Clarence  Arthur.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Primitive  Methodist  church,  and  Mr.  Walters  is  the  treasurer  of  the 
board  of  trustees  and  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 
Aside  from  his  religious  work  in  the  church  Mr.  Walters  is  actively 
interested  in  the  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
and  was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Tamaqua  branch.  He  is 
now  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  that  institution  and  chair- 
man of  the  religious  work  committee,  besides  being  one  of  the  board 
of  trustees.  His  fraternal  associations  are  with  the  Tamaqua  Lodge, 
No.  238,  Free  and  Acecepted  Masons,  in  which  he  is  junior  master 
of  ceremonies  at  the  present  time. 

Ward,  Rev.  Francis  M.,  pastor  of  the  Church  of  Immaculate 
Conception  at  Tremont,  was  born  at  Frankford,  Philadelphia,  Apr. 
10,  1867,  a  son  of  Bernard  Joseph  and  Mary  L.  (LaflFerty)  Ward. 
The  father  was  born  in  Preston,  England,  and  had  the  unique  dis- 


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616  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

tinction  of  being  the  youngest  soldier  in  the  English  army  during  the 
Crimean  war.  He  came  to  America  in  1858  and  during  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion  he  entered  the  service  as  a  private  of  Company  A,  40th 
Pennsylvania  volunteer  militia,  July  2,  1863.     He  served  in  the  3d 
brigade,  defenses  of  Philadelphia,  and  2d  brigade,  ist  division,  de- 
partment of  the  Susquehanna,  during  the  invasion  of  the  north  by 
the  army  of  Northern  Virginia.    He  was  mustered  out  Aug.  16,  1863, 
at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service.     He  re-entered  the  service 
as  a  private  of  Company  E,  12th  Maryland  volunteer  infantry,  July 
28,  1864.    He  served  in  the  defenses  of  Baltimore,  8th  corps,  middle 
department,  and  was  mustered  out  Nov.  8,  1864,  at  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  service.     He  again  entered  the  service  as  a  member  of 
Company  I,  nth  Pennsylvania  volunteer  cavalry,  Apr.  7,  1865,  and 
was  mustered  out  Aug.  20,  1865,  at  the  close  of  the  war.    After  his 
return  home  he  followed  his  trade  of  weaver,  and  in  the  year  1869 
he  invented  the  Turkish  bath-towel.    The  first  one  was  woven  in  his 
Jiome,  4201   Paul  street,  Frankford,   Philadelphia,  Pa.     Beloved  by 
all  who  knew  him,  he  died  on  July  26,  1904,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven 
years,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Dominick's  cemetery,  Holmesburg,  Pa. 
The  mother,  who  makes  her  home  with  her  son  in  Tremont,  was 
bom  in  Frankford,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  although  she  has  reached 
the  three  score  and  ten  mark  she  is  still  vigorous  and  hearty.  Father 
Ward  is  the  older  of  the  two  survivors  of  a  family  of  five  children. 
The  other  is  Edward  M.,  receiving  teller  of  the  Second  National 
bank  of  Frankford,  Philadelphia,  where  he  has  been  employed  for 
the  past  fifteen  years.     Anna  and  Fergus  died  in  infancy  and  Cor- 
nelius, a  machinist,  passed  away  at  the  age  of  thirty.    The  subject  of 
this   sketch   received   a   preliminary  education   in   the   common   and 
Catholic  parochial   schools   of    Frankford,    Philadelphia,  and    then 
learned  the  weaver's  trade.     After  being  engaged  in  that  labor  for 
five  years,  on  Aug.  30,  1884,  he  entered  the  Catholic  seminary  at 
Overbrook,  and  after  an  attendance  there  of  ten  years  h^  was  or- 
dained to  the  Catholic  priesthood,  on  May  19,  1894.    His  first  charge 
was  as  an  assistant  at  the  Church  of  Our  Mother  of  Sorrows  in 
Philadelphia,  where  he  served  from  May  26  to  Sept.  21,  1894.    After 
a  rather  short  and  temporary  assignment  as  assistant  in  St.  Joseph's 
church  in  Downingtown,  P^.,  he  was  sent  as  assistant  to  St.  Cather- 
ine's congregation  in  Wa)me,  Delaware  county,  and  he  had  the  honor 
of  celebrating  the  first  mass  in  the  church  edifice  which  he  in  part 
was  influential  in  building  at  that  place.    Two  years  after  his  arrival 
at  Wayne  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  Church  of  Saints  Peter  and 
Paul  at  Tower  City,  Pa.    His  stay  there  was  from  Dec.  7,  1896,  to 
Apr.  24,  1901,  and  in  the  time  he  cleared  the  parish  debt,  bought  the 
ground  for,  built  and  paid  for  the  parish  house,  remodeled  the  church 
and  cleared  it  of  debt.  From  Tower  City  he  came  to  Tremont  as  assist- 
ant pastor  to  the  Rev.  John  J.  McDevitt,  and  upon  the  latter's  death, 
on  June  4,  1901,  he  succeeded  to  the  pastorate.    His  parish  comprises 
a  district  of  fifteen  square  miles.    Since  assuming  the  charge  Father 
Ward  has  raised  the  debt  on  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  517 

tion,  remodeled  the  same,  has  secured  the  ground  and  has  built  and 
paid  for  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Snow  at  Keffer's  within  his 
parish.  He  is  much  beloved  by  his  parishioners  and  held  in  high  es- 
teem by  the  people  of  the  community,  irrespective  of  creed  or  faith. 

Waters,  Thomas  C,  tinner,  plumber  and  gasfitter  at  Shenan- 
doah, was  born  at  St.  Clair,  Schuylkill  county,  Dec.  2,  1849.     His 
parents  both  died  when  he  was  quite  young  and  he  was  reared  by 
his  grandparents,   Watkin   and  Dinah    (Jones)    Waters,   natives   of 
SouA  Wales.     In  1852  they  left  their  native  land,  with  their  three 
children,  for  America,  and  after  a  tempestuous  voyage  of  nine  months, 
in  which  they  were  shipwrecked,  reached  Halifax,  N.  S.     Mr.  Wal- 
ters received  a  cash  premium  for  his  wife  and  each  child,  as  was  the 
custom  then  for  any  one  immigrating  to  this  country  and  bringing 
his  family  with  him  at  the  time.     From  Halifax  the  family  came  to 
Philadelphia,  where  they  arrived  in  April,  1853.     Later  they  settled 
at   Five   Points,   where  the   grandfather   engaged   in   mining.     He 
opened  the  iron  mines  at  "the  timnel,"  near  St.  Qair,  and  held  a 
lease  on  a  large  tract  of  iron  ore  lands,  his  ore  being  sold  to  the  At- 
kins iron  works  at  Pottsville  and  the  St.  Clair  furnace.    Thomas  C. 
Waters  began  his  business  career  when  a  mere  boy  in  John  Cathers' 
foundry  and  machine  shop  at  St.  Clair.    In  the  time  of  the  Civil  war 
he  was  one  of  the  most  popular  drummer  boys  of  Schuylkill  county, 
stirring  up  the  patriotism  of  the  "Boys  in  Blue"  as  he  escorted  them 
to  Pottsville  on  their  way  to  the  front,  and  in  company  with  Samuel 
Shaffer,  a  fifer,  he  beat  the  solemn  dirge  over  the  remains  of  those 
.who  were  sent  home  for  burial.    He  finally  left  the  machine  shop  to 
enter  the  100  days'  service,  as  a  drummer  boy  in  the  Andrew  Curtin 
Guards,  of  St.  Clair,  a  company  named  in  honor  of  the  governor  and 
commanded  by  Capt.  John  Steel,  familiarly  known  as  "Scotty"  Steel. 
His  grandfather  would  permit  him  to  enter  the  army  only  on  the 
condition  that  Captain  Steel  would  promise  to  see  that  he  returned 
home  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  service.    The  company  broke 
up  in  a  wrangle  at  Harrisburg,  and  the  captain  ins^te^  upon  his 
return  to  St.  Clair,  according  to  the  agreement.    But  "Tonmiy"  felt 
it  to  be  a  disgrace  that  his  company  had  not  completed  its  term  of 
enlistment,  so  he  immediately  left  St.  Qair  and  went  to  Shenandoah, 
about  the  time  the  mines  were  opened  there  by  J.  O.  Roads  and  his 
associates.    Henry  Homcastle,  who  married  an  aunt  of  Tommy's,  a 
daughter  of  Watkin  Waters,  was  superintendent  over  the  machinery 
and  outside  workings,  and  it  was  with  him  that  young  Waters  found 
a  home.     For  a  time,  before  the  colliery  was  ready  for  business,  he 
was  engaged  in  carrying  milk  from  St.  Clair  to  his  aunt,  as  no  milk 
wagons  were  then  running  in  Shenandoah.    Once  a  week  he  would 
ride  on  the  old  "Hercules"  engine  to  the  head  of  the  grade  at  Frack- 
ville,  and  then  walk  from  there  to  Shenandoah,  carrying  a  two  gallon 
can  of  milk.     When  the  colliery  opened  he  found  employment  as  a 
driver  boy  in  the  old  No.  i  drift,  where  he  worked  until  he  began 
serving  his  apprenticeship  as  gunsmith,  in   1865,  in  St.  Clair.     He 
finished  learning  his  trade  in  Shenandoah,  and  in  1872  he  started  in 


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518  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

business  there  for  himself.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Bucks 
county,  where  he  remained  about  seven  years,  when  he  returned  to 
Shenandoah,  where  he  still  conducts  a  successful  establishment.  Soon 
after  coming  to  this  place,  during  the  war,  Jonathan  Wasley,  general 
superintendent  for  Roads  &  Co.,.  asked  him  to  bring  his  drum  from 
St.  Clair  to  play  for  a  military  company  that  was  being  organized. 
A  little  later  Thomas  Campbell,  a  fifer,  came  to  Shenandoah,  and  he 
and  Mr.  Waters  formed,  so  far  as  is  known,  the  first  fife  and  drum 
band  in  the  state.  Later  Mr.  Waters  joined  the  German  band,  which 
was  a  prominent  musical  organization  for  many  years.  Watkin  H. 
Waters,  a  son  of  Watkin  and  Dinah  Waters,  was  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  war,  serving  first  as  a  three  months'  volunteer,  then  in  Capt. 
Cloud  White's  company  in  the  3d  Pennsylvania  cavalry,  in  which  he 
re-enlisted  for  three  years,  being  mustered  out  with  his  regiment 
after  the  war  closed.  Waters  Post,  No.  146,  of  Shenandoah,  is  named 
in  his  honor.  Henry  Horncastle  was  in  the  army  during  the  Mexi- 
can war,  and  it  is  related  that  on  the  return  of  the  regiment  to  Potts- 
ville,  when  each  company  was  ordered  to  march  in  its  place,  Mr. 
Horncastle  marched  alone  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  the  only  sur- 
vivor of  his  company.  Mr.  Waters  is  a  member  and  trustee  of  the 
First  Congregational  church,  to  which  denomination  his  grandmother 
belonged,  his  grandfather  having  been  a  Baptist.  In  his  political 
opinions  he  is  a  Republican,  though  he  votes  for  those  whom  he 
deems  best  qualified  for  the  office  in  local  matters.  June  15,  1867, 
Mr.  Waters  married  Miss  Anna  Margaret  Sherman,  and  to  this  union 
were  born  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living.  The  eldest, 
Thomas  W.,  is  an  actor,  author  of  several  plays,  and  an  expert  pian- 
ist ;  Hai'vey  is  in  the  same  business  as  his  father  and  is  a  fine  comet 
player;  Lucretia  V.  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Bartlett,  of  Philadelphia, 
is  an  excellent  performer  on  the  piano,  and  has  three  children; 
Charles  B.  is  a  member  of  the  30th  battery,  United  States  army  field 
artillery,  and  is  stationed  at  Fort  Snelling,  Minn.;  and  W.  Harry  is 
an  apprentice  with  his  father.  The  mother  of  these  children  died 
March  28,  1902,  and  on  Aug.  10  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Waters  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Mary  Treon.  To  this  marriage  were  bom 
three  children,  only  one  of  whom,  Robert  Roosevelt,  born  Oct.  20, 
1903?  is  living.  Mr.  Waters  had  a  half-sister  and  a  half-brother.  The 
sister  was  burned  to  death  at  Girardville  in  1869,  and  the  brother  is 
now  living  in  Philadelphia. 

Weaver,  Ekiward  E.,  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Daniel  Wea- 
ver &  Son,  contractors  and  builders,  was  born  May  5,  1870,  in  Ta- 
maqua.  Pa.,  where  he  is  now  engaged  in  business.  He  is  a  son  of 
Daniel  and  Angeline  (Frantz)  Weaver.  His  father,  who  was  a  car- 
penter and  contractor,  was  born  in  Lehigh  county,  but  came  to 
Tamaqua  in  the  early  '60s  and  established  himself  in  the  planing 
mill  business  with  Jonathan  Alspach,  under  the  firm  name  of  Weaver 
&  Alspach.  Later  Edward  E.  Weaver  and  Isaac  Z.  Haldeman  pur- 
chased Alspach's  half  interest  and  the  firm  became  Weaver,  Son  & 
Haldeman,  thus  remaining  that  until  1902.     Daniel  Weaver  died  on 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  519 

Apr.  26,  1906.  He  was  not  at  all  interested  in  politics,  and  was  a 
member  of  Trinity  Reformed  church;  his  widow  is  still  living,  as 
are  their  three  children:  Alvin  H.,  Edward  E.  and  Elizabeth.  Eliza- 
beth is  now  the  widow  of  William  Reinhart  and  is  the  mother  of  a 
daughter,  Helen.  Edward  E.  Weaver  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Tamaqua,  and  after  he  finished  his  work  there  he  learned  the  paint- 
er's trade,  doing  carriage  and  house  painting.  In  the  winter,  when 
painter's  work  was  slack,  he  drove  a  one-horse  lumber  wagon  for  his 
father  and  finally  decided  to  become  a  carpenter.  After  serving  a  full 
apprenticeship  he  worked  at  the  trade  for  a  time,  and  on  March  4,1894, 
he  entered  into  a  partnership  with  his  father  and  Isaac  Z.  Haldeman, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Weaver,  Son  &  Haldeman.  This  continued 
until  1902,  when  Edward  E.  Weaver  purchased  Mr.  Haldeman's  in- 
terest in  the  business,  whereupon  the  firm  name  of  Daniel  WeaVer  & 
Son  was  adopted.  Since  the  father's  death  he  has  had  the  full  man- 
agement of  the  establishment.  The  firm  does  the  largest  mill  busi- 
ness, besides  its  retail  and  wholesale  lumber  and  building-supply 
business,  of  all  concerns  in  the  county.  June  i,  1907,  Edward  E. 
Weaver  purchased  the  estate's  interest  in  the  business  of  Daniel 
Weaver  &  Son  and  the  business  is  now  carried  on  under  the  firm 
name  of  Edward  E.  Weaver.  On  Jan.  25,  1894,  Mr*  Weaver  married 
Miss  Mary  Trewren,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  (Edmonds) 
Trewren,  who  resides  jn  Watertown,  Conn.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Weaver  have  been  born  two  children — Daniel  E.  and  Mary  Irene. 
The  father  is  a  member  of  the  Trinity  Reformed  church  and  the 
mother  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation.  Mr. 
Weaver  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  the  Sons  of  America,  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 

Weiscr,  Franklin  P.,  the  capable  division  engineer  of  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  with  headquarters  at 
Ashland,  was  bom  in  Minersville,  this  county,  Aug.  7,  1852.  He  is  a 
son  of  Moses  and  Catherine  (Schenck)  Weiser,  both  natives  of  Berks 
county  and  both  descendants  of  old  Pennsylvania  families.  The  pa- 
rents came  to  Schuylkill  county  in  1846  and  located  at  Minersville, 
where  the  father  was  an  undertaker  and  cabinet-maker  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  the  winter  of  1874.  The  mother  departed  this  life 
in  1880.  Of  the  ten  children  born  to  the  parents  seven  grew  to  ma- 
turity, of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  youngest.  The  names 
of  the  others  are:  Edward  S.,  Frederick  Alexander,  George  W., 
James  M.,  Theodore  (who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army  in  the 
Civil  war  and  died  in  Libby  prison),  and  Isabel  (widow  of  Washing- 
ton Littledales).  Franklin  P.  Weiser  received  all  the  educational 
advantages  afforded  by  the  Minersville  public  schools  and  studied 
mining  engineering  under  W.  R.  Symons,  of  Pottsville,  from  1872  to 
1879.  His  first  employment  under  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal 
and  Iron  Company  began  as  transit  man,  in  March,  1879,  1^  Ashland, 
where  he  has  remained  ever  since.  In  1883  ^^  was  made  resident 
engineer  at  Ashland,  in  1892  was  made  assistant  engineer,  and  in  1904 
was  promoted  to  division  engineer,  the  responsible  position  which  he 


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520  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

now  holds.  Dec.  14,  1882,  Mr.  Weiser  married  Miss  Martha  Lande- 
feld,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Louise  (Wagner)  Landefeld,  of  Ash- 
land. To  this  union  has  been  bom  one  daughter,  Florence  M.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Ashland.  Polit- 
ically Mr.  Weiser  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  held  office.  He  is 
prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  being  a  member  of  Ashland  Lodge,  No. 
294;  Griscom  Chapter,  No.  219,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Prince  of  Peace 
Commandery,  No.  39,  Knights  Templars;  and  the  Ancient  Arabic 
Order,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  Other  organizations  in  which 
he  claims  membership  are  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Ashland  lodge 
of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  known  through- 
out the  county  for  his  ability,  his  integrity,  and  his  public  spirit. 

Weissinger,  George,  &  Brother. — ^This  well  known  and  prosper- 
ous business  firm  represents  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  Potts- 
ville,  now  operated  by  the  brothers,  George  and  Harry  Weissinger, 
sons  of  the  founder,  the  late  L.  W.  Weissinger.  The  firm  title  is 
George  Weissinger  &  Brother,  and  they  are  extensive  dealers  in  stock 
and  butchers'  supplies,  but  their  principal  business  is  in  slaughtering 
and  packing,  shipping  and  selling  the  products  of  the  large  institu- 
tion. The  father  of  the  subjects  of  this  article  was  bom  in  Wiirtem- 
berg,  Germany,  Apr.  29,  1837.  He  was  a  son  of  Casper  and  Cather- 
ine (Seigel)  Weissinger,  natives  of  Wiirtemberg.  At  the  age  of 
about  sixteen  years,  L.  W.  Weissinger  came  alone  to  America  and 
located,  temporarily,  at  Reading,  Pa.,  where  he  was  employed  for  a 
short  time  as  a  laborer  on  the  canal,  at  eighty-one  cents  a  day.  He 
arrived  in  Minersville,  Schuylkill  county,  on  Thanksgiving  day,  1853, 
and  was  there  employed  by  Conrad  Seltzer,  in  the  butchering  business, 
for  a  period  of  four  months,  at  a  monthly  salary  of  five  dollars.  His 
next  field  of  labor  was  in  the  employ  of  John  Moser,  at  a  meat  market 
in  Pottsville.  He  remained  with  Mr.  Moser  about  two  years,  and  was 
in  the  employ  of  Lewis  Stoffregen  for  a  few  months,  but  up  to  this 
time  he  had  never  received  to  exceed  fourteen  dollars  per  month.  Mr. 
Weissinger  was  employed  by  Jacob  Rhoads,  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  for 
some  fifteen  months,  leaving  his  employ  in  March,  1857.  On  Apr.  i 
of  that  year  the  firm  of  Keifer  &  Weissinger  was  formed,  and  they 
opened  a  meat  market  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  this  being  Mr.  Weissin- 
ger's  first  venture  in  business  on  his  own  account  After  nineteen 
months  of  prosperous  business  Mr.  Keifer  retired,  and  Nov.  i,  1859, 
Mr.  Weissinger  established  a  market  of  which  he  was  the  sole  pro- 
prietor, and  which  he  conducted  successfully  until  1865,  in  which 
year  he  discontinued  the  slaughtering  business  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  dealing  in  cattle.  This  .was  the  nucleus  to  the  large  business 
now  conducted  by  the  sons.  The  father  began  this  business  on  a  com- 
paratively small  scale,  being  limited  in  means,  and  the  growth  and 
progress  of  the  venture  were  due  to  his  business  sagacity,  coupled  with 
long  familiarity  with  the  details  of  the  trade.  By  degrees  the  enter- 
prise was  placed  in  the  foremost  rank  of  similar  institutions  in  the 
state.  His  stock  yards  and  feeding  pens  were  established  at  Potts- 
ville, as  at  present,  and  a  trade  of  from  $10,000  to  $15,000  weekly  was 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  521 

nothing  unusual.  While  a  resident  of  Schuylkill  Haven — from  1859 
to  1865 — Mr.  Weissinger  invested  all  his  savings  in  the  stock  of  the 
Schuylkill  Haven  Direct  Iron  Company.  In  1873,  in  company  with 
the  late  Gideon  Bast,  he  rented  the  plant,  improving  the  works  and 
operating  the  business  until  1874,  when  he  purchased  the  entire  busi- 
ness enterprise.  He  enlarged  the  mill  and  conducted  the  business 
until  Jan.,  1880,  when  he  sold  a  two-thirds  interest  to  George  R. 
Kaercher  and  C.  F.  Rahn.  During  the  year  following  his  purchase,  in 
1874,  Mr.  J.  A.  Medlar  was  a  partner  with  Mr.  Weissinger,  but  he 
was  sole  owner  and  manager  for  about  five  years,  during  which  time 
the  business  was  extremely  prosperous.  In  1869  L.  W.  Weissinger 
purchased  several  tracts  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Pottsville,  and  upon 
one  of  these  farms  the  family  home  was  established  and  large  and 
commodious  buildings  were  erected,  making  one  of  the  finest  subur- 
ban estates  in  the  county.  L.  W.  Weissinger  may  very  properly  be 
classed  among  the  valued  pioneers  of  Schuylkill  county,  since  he  in- 
augurated new  industries  and  promoted  enterprises  conducive  to  the 
general  well-being  in  the  community.  Coming  into  the  country  a  poor 
boy,  entirely  dependent  upon  his  own  resources,  ignorant  of  the  lan- 
guage and  customs  of  the  land,  his  achievement  becomes  all  the  more 
commendable  and  praiseworthy.  The  life,  character  and  success  of 
this  honored  citizen  present  a  worthy  object  lesson  to  the  aspiring, 
struggling  youth  of  to-day,  and  few  there  be  who  have  not  better 
opportunities  than  he  did.  Mr.  Weissinger  was  married  Aug.  26, 
1858,  the  companion  in*  his  struggles  for  success  being  Miss  Rebecca 
Moyer,  of  Schuylkill  Haven.  This  happy  union  was  blessed  with 
eight  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom  lived  to  years  of  maturity. 
Mr.  Weissinger  was  a  man  of  modest,  unassuming  manner,  quiet  and 
unobtrusive.  He  was  a  pronounced  Democrat  in  his  political  faith, 
but  took  but  little  part  in  political  discussions,  giving  his  undivided  at- 
tention to  his  family  and  his  business.  He  never  aspired  to  political 
offices,  but  in  common  with  the  prominent  men  of  his  day  bore  his 
share  in  the  "burdens"  of  local  office.  He  was  a  man  universally 
esteemed  for  his  sterling  integrity  and  upright  character.  His  death 
occurred  in  May,  1903,  and  thus  a  valued  and  useful  citizen  was  con- 
signed to  that  abode  which  awaits  us  all.  George  Weissinger  was 
born  Aug.  4,  1862,  in  Schuylkill  Haven,  and  he  has  been  closely 
identified  with  the  business  founded  by  his  father.  In  Feb.,  1897,  he 
and  his  brother  Harry,  assumed  control  of  the  slaughtering  end  of  the 
business.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  as  is  ako  his  brother,  and 
both  are  able  and  popular  business  men.  George  is  married  and  has 
three  children,  and  Harry,  who  was  born  Dec.  20,  1870,  is  married 
and  has  one  child. 

Wells,  William  Guy,  a  prominent  attorney  and  counsellor-at- 
law  of  Pottsville,  was  born  in  the  town  where  he  is  now  professionally 
engaged,  the  date  of  his  nativity  having  been  March  7,  1859.  He  is 
a  son  of  William  B.  and  Anna  M.  (Kram)  Wells,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  Susquehanna  county,  in  1822.  The  father  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war  and  from  1848  until 


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522  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  time  of  his  death,  in  1896,  was  a  practicing  attorney  of  Pottsville. 
The  mother  died  in  1903,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  The  fam- 
ily consisted  of  four  sons  and  a  daughter,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living.  The  eldest,  Bard,  a  mining  engineer  by  profession,  died  in 
1892,  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years,  leaving  besides  his  widow  two 
children,  Margery  H.  and  William  B.,  both  of  whom  are  now  grown 
to  maturity.  Susan,  the  daughter,  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  George  F.  Whit- 
ney, a  practicing  physician  of  Orange,  N.  J.  George  K.,  a  civil  en- 
gineer, died  in  Sept.,  1905,  leaving  a  widow  and  a  son,  Oliver.  Frank, 
the  youngest,  is  a  commission  agent  of  Philadelphia.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  is  the  second  child  in  or^er  of  birth.  He  received  such 
educational  advantages  as  were  offered  by  the  public  schools  of  his 
home  borough,  and  then  matriculated  at  Lafayette  college,  in  Easton, 
Pa.  His  graduation  in  that  institution  occurred  in  1880  and  for  two 
years  thereafter  he  was  engaged  in  pedagogic  work.  Then  he  entered 
his  father's. office  and  began  the  study  of  law,  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1886.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  continuously  engaged  in  his 
professional  practice  and  has  become  a  leading  member  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill county  bar.  His  especial  work  is  along  the  line  of  disputed  titles 
of  land  and  in  cases  involving  real-estate  transactions.  Politically 
Mr.  Wells  is  independent,  although  he  generally  votes  the  Republican 
ticket,  but  he  has  never  aspired  to  offices  of  public  trust.  His  church 
connections  are  with  the  Episcopal  congregation,  and  he  is  a  devout 
communicant  in  the  Pottsville  parish  of  that  denomination.  His  fra- 
ternal affiliations  are  with  but  one  lodge,  Girard  No.  53,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is  a  past  grand.  He  has  never 
married.  The  Wells  family  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Con- 
necticut, whence  a  portion  of  the  descendants  emigrated  to  northern 
Pennsylvania  before  the  Revolution.  The  family  record  also  shows 
a  participation  of  some  members  in  the  Continental  army  in  its  opera- 
tions in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  taking  part,  in  the  latter  state, 
in  the  battle  of  Wyoming. 

Wcnzel,  John,  member  of  the  firm  of  Wenzel  Brothers,  hotel 
and  restaurant  proprietors  at  Tamaqua,  was  born  in  Schuylkill  count>% 
Feb.  12,  1864.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Susanna  (Korach)  Wenzel. 
The  father  was  a  miner  for  more  than  thirty  years  prior  to  going  into 
the  hotel  business,  which  he  followed  until  his  death,  Aug.  17,  1898, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  His  widow  makes  her  home  with  two 
sons,  John  and  Martin,  and  although  in  her  seventy-second  year  is  in 
vigorous  health.  There  were  seven  children  in  the  family,  of  whom 
five  survive.  Rebecca  is  the  wife  of  George  H.  Winsel,  of  Tamaqua ; 
George  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two,  and  Catherine  is  deceased ;  La- 
vina  is  the  wife  of  Elmer  Bailey;  Kate  is  Mrs.  William  Sieltzer,  of 
Pottsville;  and  Martin,  the  youngest,  is  associated  in  business  with 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  the  fourth  of  the  children  in  order 
of  birth.  John  Wenzel  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Tamaqua  and  then  for  a  number  of  years  was  employed 
on  the  coal  breaker.  When  he  became  associated  with  his  father  in 
the  operation  of  the  United  States  hotel  he  was  still  quite  young,  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  523 

for  a  number  of  years  he  was  clerk  in  the  hotel.  Upon  the  father  s 
death  the  two  sons  took  charge  of  the  business  and  have  been  at  the 
head  of  it  since.  The  hostelry  is  to-day  the  best  in  the  city,  and  it 
ranks  favorably  with  any  in  the  state.  Mr.  Wenzel  is  a  director  in  the 
First  National  bank  and  in  the  local  building  and  loan  association, 
and  is  treasurer  of  the  Tamaqua  club  and  the  Firemen's  Relief  asso- 
ciation. On  Nov.  II,  1896,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Krell,  of 
Tamaqua,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Krell.  Her  father  is  deceased, 
but  her  mother  is  still  a  resident  of  the  homestead  farm.  Two  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  blessed  this  marriage.  The  sur- 
viving child  is  Susannah  M.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wenzel  are  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Wenzel  is  also  identified 
with  the  Masonic  order,  as  a  Shriner,  with  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  America,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and 
the  American  hose  company. 

Wcmtz,  John  F.,  a  banker  and  financier  of  recognized  ability 
and  a  man  who,  by  perseverence  and  frugality,  has  risen  from  the 
lowly  and  more  humble  walks  of  life  to  a  position  of  affluence  and 
wealth  in  the  borough  of  Pine  Grove,  was  bom  in  Pine  Grove  (now 
Washington)  township,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  Apr.  26,  1835.  His 
parents  being  in  very  moderate  circumstances,  his  early  opportunities 
for  education  and  intellectual  culture  were  limited  to  poor  schools, 
and  he  had  little  opportunity  to  attend  them,  being  obliged  to  assist 
in  weaving  carpets,  cloth  and  linens  and  to  chop  cord  wood,  from  the 
early  age  of  six  years  to  that  of  ten.  During  this  time,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  a  kind  mother  and  by  attending  school  for  seventeen  days, 
he  learned  to  read  the  German  language  quite  well.  At  the  tender 
age  of  ten  years  he  secured  employment  as  a  boat  horse-driver  on  the 
Union  canal.  Many  were  the  hardships  endured  while  thus  employed ; 
every  twenty-four  hours  of  work  and  a  few  hours  of  sleep  made  a 
day,  and  thirty  days  a  month,  and  the  salary  was  four  dollars  a  month. 
This  employment  he  followed  for  seven  years,  rising  to  the  position 
of  captain  of  the  crew  when  but  fourteen  years  of  age.  While  thus 
employed  during  the  summer  season,  he  worked  for  farmers  and 
chopped  cord  wood  during  the  winter,  attending  school  when  the 
weather  was  too  disagreeable  to  work.  At  the  end  of  this  time  he 
was  engaged  for  one  year  in  building  locks  and  widening  the  canal. 
Subsequently  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  blacksmith  trade  for  two 
years.  During  his  apprenticeship  he  devoted  his  leisure  moments  to 
study  and  cultivating  his  mind  preparatory  to  entering  the  teacher's 
profession,  which  he  did  in  1855,  teaching  school  during  the  winter 
months  in  this  county,  and  working  at  his  trade  in  the  summer  up  to 
i860,  when  he  abandoned  his  trade  of  blacksmithing  and  followed 
teaching  exclusively  for  five  years.  From  1865  to  1886  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  traveling  salesman  in  various  lines,  attaining  more  than 
an  ordinary  degree  of  proficiency.  About  the  year  1875,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  business  as  a  traveling  salesman,  he  embarked  in  the 
money  brokerage  business  at  Pine  Grove,  which  he  conducted  success- 
fully up  to  1886,  when  the  demands  and  necessity  for  lo^al  banking 


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524  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

facilities  were  such  that  he  resolved  upon  opening  a  bank.  He  ac- 
cordingly merged  this  business  into  the  Pine  Grove  bank,  a  private 
institution  which  he  has  since  operated  with  a  marked  d^^ec  of 
pecuniar}'  success  to  himself  and  full  satisfaction  to  his  patrons,  and 
which  furnishes  convenient  and  satisfactory  banking  &<nlities  to  the 
citizens  of  Pine  Grove  and  vicinit>'.  He  has  a  capital  stock  of  about 
$150,000,  which  includes  a  $50,000  investment  in  real  estate.  He  docs 
a  general  banking,  loan  and  discount  business.  For'  the  last  twehrc 
years  a  branch  of  this  institution  has  been  running  at  Tremont.  He 
is  always  interested  in  public  affairs.  Besides  his  r^ty  in  the  borough 
he  is  the  owner  of  several  valuable  farms.  In  1865  Mr.  Wemtz  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and  he  has  filled  that  office  for  fifteen 
consecutive  years,  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  the  citizens. 
He  has  also  served  as  borough  treasurer  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
has  been  school  treasurer  for  a  number  of  years.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  was  an  active  worker  in  behalf  of  the  Union  cause.  Mrs. 
Wemtz  was  formerly  Miss  Catharine  Mars,  daughter  of  William 
and  Margaret  (Weaver)  Mars.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  and  her  Husband  is  a  past  officer  in  the  Pine  Grove  lodge  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Wharmby,  Frank,  proprietor  of  a  first-class  hostelry  at  Nur- 
emberg, is  a  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Green)  Wharmby,  and  was 
bom  in  Nottinghamshire,  England,  on  Nov.  24,  i860.  He  is  the  only 
son  of  a  family  of  five,  the  others  being  Rosina,  Lydia,  Jemina  and 
Sadie,  all  of  whom  are  living  except  Lydia.  Mr.  Wharmby  had  just 
b^^un  his  scholastic  work  in  the  English  schools  when  he  parents  im- 
migrated to  the  United  States,  locating  at  Girardville  in  1867.  Three 
years  later  the  family  moved  to  Gowen  and  Mr.  Wharmby,  although 
still  a  youngster,  went  to  work  in  the  breaker.  Shortly  afterward  Ae 
Wharmbys  removed  to  Nuremberg,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
resumed  his  educational  training.  For  a  number  of  years  he  alter- 
nated between  attending  school  in  the  winters  and  working  in  the 
breakers  during  the  summer,  and  when  he  was  fifteen  yfears  of  age 
he  went  to  Girardville,  where  he  again  obtained  work  as  a  breaker 
boy.  In  1 881  he  locatetd  in  Nuremberg  and  found  employment  as  a 
miner,  working  for  some  two  years  as  a  conductor  on  one  of  the  mine 
locomotives.  When  he  left  that  work  it  was  to  start  active  training 
for  a  foot  race,  and  then  he  embarked  in  the  hotel  business  in  the  Cen- 
tral hotel.  This  hostelry  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  county  and  is  espe- 
cially noted  for  its  wholesome  and  well  prepared  meals.  In  politics 
Mr.  Wharmby  is  an  ardent  upholder  of  the  tenets  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  he  has  been  the  recipient  of  many  honors  at  the  hands  of 
that  party.  He  is  now  serving  his  fourteenth  year  as  tax  collector, 
is  a  member  of  the  regular  county  committee,  and  has  been  a  del^[ate 
to  each  county  convention  for  the  past  twelve  years;  On  Sept.  18, 
1884,  was  celebrated  Mr.  Wharmby's  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Winters.  Mrs.  Wharmby  is  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children,  the 
others  being  Isadora,  Ella,  Mattie,  Cyms,  George  H.,  Wayne  and 
Uriah,  all  living  with  the  exception  of  Cyms  and  Uriah.    To  Mr.  and 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  525 

Mrs.  Wharmby  have  been  born  five  children — Bertha  May,  Ray,  Reta, 
Torell  and  Lorie.  The  family  are  attendants  of  the  Evangelical 
church  of  Nuremberg.  Mr.  Wharmby  is  a  member  of  the  Nurem- 
berg Lodge,  No.  1075,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which 
he  is  a  past  officer,  and  of  the  Shenandoah  Lodge,  No.  103,  of  the 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  He  is  a  model  type  of  citizen,  enterpris- 
ing and  public-spirited  and  a  genial,  hearty  host. 

Wheeler,  Frank  B.,  who  is  a  prosperous  lumber  dealer  and  a  con- 
tractor and  builder  of  Pine  Grove,  and  a  director  in  the  Tremont  Na- 
tional bank,  was  bom  in  this  county  on  Nov.  4,  1856.  He  is  a  son 
of  Guy  and  Theresa  (Blank)  Wheeler,  the  mother  born  in  Germany 
and  the  father  in  New  Jersey.  The  father  was  a  cabinet-maker, 
furniture  dealer  and  undertaker  and  for  forty-five  years  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Pine  Grove.  For  twenty-five  years  he  served  on  the  school 
board  and  the  efficiency  of  the  educational  system  of  the  county  to-day 
is  in  a  large  measure  due  to  his  efforts.  He  was  the  father  of  nine 
children,  of  whom  six  are  living.  Edward,  the  eldest,  died  in  1893 
at  the  age  of  fifty  years.  Louisa,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Edward 
Tracy.  Ferdinand  is  the  superintendent  of  the  gas  works  in  Los  An- 
geles, Gal.  Minnie  is  Mrs.  Robert  Banford;  Theresa  is  deceased; 
George  is  district  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  in  Philadelphia ; 
Gertrude  is  a  teacher  of  music  in  Pine  Grove;  and  Clara  holds  the 
position  of  teacher  of  music  in  the  Sunbury,  Pa.,  schools.  Frank  B. 
Wheeler,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  fifth  child  in  order  of  birth. 
He  received  his  education  in  the  Pine  Grove  schools,  where  for  a 
time  Judge  Henning  was  his  teacher.  His  first  labor  after  he  had  left 
school  was  in  a  planing  mill,  and  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter 
and  contractor  at  the  same  time.  His  start  in  business  for  himself 
was  made  in  1889,  when  he  began  operating  a  planing  mill.  He  soon 
purchased  a  lumber  yard  at  Tremont  and  another  at  Pine  Grove  and 
his  business  has  increased  from  time  to  time  until  now  he  employs 
about  twenty-five  men  in  the  building  season.  Many  of  the  resi- 
dences and  other  buildings  of  the  vicinity  are  evidence  of  his  work- 
manship. For  several  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  borough  coun- 
cil. On  May  30,  1879,  Mr.  Wheeler  married  Miss  Ida  Barr,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Capt.  J.  W.  and  Louisa  (Lumbert)  Barr.  Her  father  is  a  re- 
tired cabinet-maker  and  with  his  wife  is  living  in  Pine  Grove.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wheeler  have  been  bom  two  children — ^Robert  Guy  and 
Caleb  C.  Mr.  Wheeler  is  a  man  of  excellent  habits  unsullied  honor, 
unusual  enterprise  and  hard  business  sense. 

Whitehouse,  Clarence  A.,  a  prominent  young  attorney  in  Potts- 
ville,  is  a  son  of  W.  John  Whitehouse,  a  leading  lawyer  at  the  Schuyl- 
kill county  bar.  W.  J.  Whitehouse  is  a  son  of  David  and  Maria 
(Shakespeare)  Whitehouse,  natives  of  Staffordshire,  England.  They 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1848,  and  soon  afterward  located  ^t  St. 
Qair,  this  county.  They  later  moved  to  New  Philadelphia,  where 
they  lived  for  about  twenty-five  years.  David  Whitehouse  was  a 
machinist  during  his  early  life,  but  abandoned  his  trade  in  later  years, 
and  was  identified  with  the  coal  trade,  owning  and  operating  the 


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526  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Whitehouse  colliery,  near  New  Philadelphia.  He  retired  from  a/ctive 
business  about  1861.  W.  John  Whitehouse  was  bom  in  New  Phila- 
delphia in  the  year  1852.  He  was  educated  in  the  Pottsville  schools 
and  at  Cumberland  Valley  institute,  completing  his  education  at 
Dickinson  college,  at  Carlisle,  Pa.  He  was  a  teacher  in  Cumber- 
land Valley  institute  for  some  time  during  his  preparation  for  col- 
lege. He  studied  law  under  the  tutorship  of  Hon.  Lin  Bartholomew, 
in  Pottsville,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1874.  He  has  served 
as  district  attorney,  having  been  elected  as  a  Republican,  in  which 
party  he  has  always  been  an  able  counsellor  and  a  talented  and  ag- 
gressive campaign  worker.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  con- 
vention which  nominated  McKinley  and  Roosevelt,  and  was  a  presi- 
dential elector  on  the  Republican  ticket  in  1904.  He  was  a  formida- 
ble candidate  for  governor  in  1902,  and  withdrew  from  the  field  in 
favor  of  Pennypacker  a  few  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  nominat- 
ing convention.  He  was  a  delegate  from  Schuylkill  county  to  the 
Republican  state  convention  in  1906.  As  a  lawyer  Mr.  Whitehouse 
stands  well  to  the  front  at  the  Schuylkill  county  bar.  Jan.  13,  1878, 
W.  John  Whitehouse  married  Miss  Sallie  Wintersteen,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Shaw)  Wintersteen,  of  Port  Carbon.  Three 
children  were  born  to  this  union,  the  second  of  whom  is  Clarence  A. 
Whitehouse,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  in  Pottsville, 
Apr.  30,  1880.  He  is  a  man  of  liberal  education,  having  spent  his  life 
thus  far  principally  in  study.  After  leaving  the  Pottsville  high  school 
he  entered  Princeton  university  and  completed  the  full  classical  course 
of  that  renowned  institution,  being  graduated  with  the  class  of  1902. 
Two  years  later  he  was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  supreme  court 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  thus  thoroughly  equipped  for  his  life  pro- 
fession. He  is  associated  with  his  father  in  an  office  adjoining  and 
has  access  to  a  well  filled  library,  the  accumulation  of  years.  Clar- 
ence A.  Whitehouse  is  a  Republican  in  political  affiliations.  He  was 
married  June  28,  1905,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Bertha 
Wren.  A  son,  Clarence  A.,  Jr.,  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White- 
house  Aug.  31,  1906.  Mr.  Whitehouse  is  a  member  of  the  Pottsville 
Lodge,  No.  207,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  of  the 
order  of  Heptasophs,  No.  112.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Pottsville 
Outdoor  club,  Baxter's  social  club,  the  W.  J.  Whitehouse  Republican 
club  and  the  Schuylkill  county  bar  association. 

Whitmore,  Rev.  Samuel  L.,  D.  D.,  the  popular  pastor  of  the 
Trinity  Reformed  church  of  Pottsville,  was  bom  near  Staunton,  Au- 
gusta county,  Va.,  on  Sept.  30,  1853.  He  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Sophia  (Evers)  Whitmore,  both  natives  of  Rockingham  county,  Va. 
Paternally  he  is  of  Swiss  extraction,  and  on  the  mother's  side  has  a 
mixture  of  German-English  and  Scotch-Irish  blood.  The  father  was  a 
planter  and  was  one  of  the  few  southerners  opposed  to  slavery  and 
supported  the  Union  cause  during  the  Civil  war.  He  suffered  much 
from  the  depredations  of  both  Union  and  Confederate  armies,  and 
was  but  partially  reimbursed  when  hostilities  ceased.  His  first  wife 
died  in  1870  and  in  1874  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Kiser,  of  West 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  527 

Liberty,  Logan  county,  Ohio.  Samuel  Whitmore's  demise  occurred 
at  Mount  Crawford,  in  Rockingham  county,  Va.,  in  1897,  and  his 
second  wife  survived  him  until  March,  1906.  The  family  by  the  first 
marriage  consisted  of  eight  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  three 
are  now  living.  The  eldest  of  the  family,  Sarah  M.,  wife  of  Thomas 
L.  Beall,  died  at  Bridgewater,  Va.,  in  1878,  leaving  two  sons,  Samuel 
A.  and  Charles  E.  Rev.  David  M.,  the  second  born,  died  at  Martins- 
burg,  W.  Va.,  in  1883,  after  serving  six  years  in  the  ministry  of  the 
Reformed  church.  John  E.,  a  farmer,  died  at  his  home  in  Franklin 
county,  Ohio,  in  1880,  leaving  five  children — Sophia,  Laura  (now 
deceased),  Virginia,  Charles  and  Alice.  Rev.  Jacob  A.  died  at  Kerr's 
Creek,  Rockbridge  county,  Va.,  in  1883,  ^^^^^  five  years  in  the  min- 
istry, leaving  besides  his  widow,  a  daughter,  Jessie  E.,  now  Mrs. 
Elliott  Barker,  of  Farmville,  Va.  Rev.  George  A.  is  pastor  of  the 
Reformed  church  of  Millersville,  Lancaster  county,  Pa.  His  wife 
was  formerly  Miss  Elizabeth  Lichliter,  of  Woodstock,  Va.,  by  whom 
he  has  four  children — Bernard,  George,  Raymond  and  Ethel.  Kate 
is  the  wife  of  Hon.  E.  S.  Tabler,  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  of 
West  Virginia,  from  Martinsburg,  and  they  have  four  children — Dr. 
Homer  E.,  a  practicing  physician  of  Hancock,  Md.,  and  Mabel,  Esther 
and  Arthur.  Dr.  William  P.,  a  physician,  died  in  1886,  at  Shellsburg, 
Pa.,  leaving  a  widow,  formerly  Miss  May  Colvin,  and  two  children, 
William  and  May.  The  other  children  were  Charles  E.,  Sophie  E., 
Mary  Elizabeth  and  Howard  C,  the  last  named  of  whom  died  in 
infancy,  while  the  others  passed  away  in  childhood.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who  was  the  seventh  in  order  of  birth  of  his  father's  fam- 
ily, received  his  elementary  educational  training  in  the  common  schools 
of  Mount  Crawford,  Va.,  and  then  prepared  for  a  collegiate  course 
at  the  Mercersburg  academy  in  Pennsylvania.  He  then  matriculated 
in  the  classical  course  at  Mercersburg  college,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1877  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  During  the  last 
year  gf  his  collegiate  work  he  merged  with  it  the  first  year  of  his 
theological  work,  which  enabled  him  to  graduate  in  theology  in  1879. 
Three  years  after  graduation  he  was  granted  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,  and  in  1904  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
Dr.  Whitmore's  first  charge  was  the  church  at  Middlebrook,  Va.,  and 
subsequently  he  was  pastor  of  the  churches  at  Winchester,  Va. ; 
Adamstown,  Md.,  and  MifFiinburg,  Pa.  From  the  latter  place  he  was 
called  to  assume  the  duties  of  pastor  of  the  Trinity  Reformed  church 
of  Pottsville,  and  on  Dec.  i,  1899,  he  was  installed  in  the  new  posi- 
tion. Prior  to  his  coming  to  Pottsville  he  was  for  three  years  presi- 
dent of  the  Union  County  Sunday  School  association,  and  he  was 
the  first  president  of  the  Sabbath  association  in  Schuylkill  county.  At 
the  present  time  he  is  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  president  of  the 
Schuylkill  County  Ministerial  association.  On  Sept.  10,  1879,  Dr. 
Whitmore  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Stonebraker,  of 
Downsville,  Washington  county,  Md.,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Eliza  Stonebraker.  Mr.  Stonebraker  is  a  farmer  and  devotes  especial 
attention  to  the  growing  of  fruit  and  the  raising  of  stock.     To  Dr. 


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528  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  Mrs.  Whitmore  have  been  bom  five  children.  Irma,  the  eldest, 
is  a  talented  musician.  She  was  united  in  marriage  on  Apr.  20,  1904, 
to  H.  P.  Wamelsdorf,  of  Cartersville,  Ga.  Samuel  H.  graduated  at 
Franklin-Marshall  college  in  June,  1906.  Charles  Frederick  gradu- 
ated at  the  Pottsville  high  school  in  1902,  then  took  a  a  year  of  post- 
graduate work  and  is  now  engaged  in  the  study  of  law.  Edna  L. 
graduated  at  the  Pottsville  high  school  in  the  class  of  1904  and  at  the 
present  time  is  taking  post-graduate  work  in  language,  literature  and 
music.  Thomas  Carroll  died  in  infancy.  The  doctor  is  a  Republican 
in  his  political  beliefs,  with  a  strong  leaning  toward  independence  in 
local  affairs.  While  stationed  at  Mifflinburg  he  joined  the  Masonic 
order,  which  is  the  only  organization  of  the  kind  to  which  he  belongs. 
[Since  the  above  was  written.  Dr.  Whitmore  received  a  call  to  Grace 
Reformed  church,  Chicago,  111.,  which  he  accepted,  and  he  removed 
with  his  family  to  that  city  Feb.  i,  1907,  his  present  address  being 
1007  Jackson  boulevard,  Chicago.]    • 

Wilde,  Elmer  W. — ^The  subject  of  this  biographical  review  is 
one  of  the  leading  musicians  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  not  only  that, 
he  is  also  an  artist  of  no  mean  ability.  His  parlor  is  adorned  with 
paintings  from  still  life  and  of  animals,  and  these  evince  superior 
talent.  Professor  Wilde  is  a  representative  of  an  old  and  prominent 
family  in  the  county,  his  father,  George  Wilde,  having  come  fropi 
England  in  1824,  and  established  a  home  in  Pottsville.  He  was  a  son 
of  Jeremiah  Wilde,  who,  with  his  wife  and  family,  located  at  Jalappa 
and  later  removed  to  Young's  Landing,  where  these  ancestors  ended 
their  days.  George  Wilde,  father  of  Professor  Wilde  of  this  sketch, 
was  reared  and  educated  in  Pottsville.  He  was  but  four  years  old 
when  he  came  from  England,  and  seventy-two  of  his  seventy-six  years 
of  life  were  spent  in  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.  In  the  early  days  he  was 
a  driver  on  one  of  the  horse  railroads  which  conveyed  the  coal  from 
the  mines  to  the  boat-landing.  He  was  thoroughly  identified  with  the 
pioneer  days,  and  is  well  and  favorably  remembered  by  the  men  of 
his  time  as  a  progressive  and  successful  citizen.  He  died  in  Shenan- 
doah, at  the  home  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Professor  Wilde,  in 
the  year  1896.  His  wife,  who  in  maidenhood  was  Harriet  Huffman, 
was  bom  in  Hamburg,  Pa.,  in  1823,  and  departed  this  life  in  Shenan- 
doah, Dec.  28,  1885.  She  was  buried  on  the  first  day  of  Jan.,  1886. 
They  became  the  parents  of  five  sons,  of  whom  Prof.  Elmer  W. 
Wilde  is  the  youngest.  His  eldest  brother,  William  R.,  is  an  employe 
of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company,  with  which  corporation  he  has 
a  lucrative  position  at  Hazleton,  Pa. ;  John  F.  is  a  locomotive  engineer 
employed  on  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  railroad,  with  home  at 
Belle  Plain,  la. ;  Summerfield  C.  also  was  a  railroad  employe,  with 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  Company,  and  incurred  a  fatal 
disease  at  Plattsmouth,  Neb.,  from  which  point  he  was  brought  home 
to  die.  He  died  at  the  home  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  in  1902,  at 
the  age  of  forty-seven  years ;  G.  Asbury  is  owner  and  manager  of  an 
extensive  manufacturing  industry  at  West  Pittston,  Pa.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  article  received  a  thorough  educational  training  in  the 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  529 

schools  of  St.  Clair,  where  he  was  born  Oct  i6,  i860.  This  disci- 
pline has  been  supplemented  by  a  lifetime  of  constant  study  and  care- 
ful reading  and  observation.  Very  early  in  life  he  displayed  excep- 
tional talents  in  music,  and  decided  upon  making  the  teaching  of  that 
fascinating  science  his  life  work.  After  making  considerable  progress 
under  the  teaching  of  local  professors  and  by  private  study  and  prac- 
tice, he  placed  himself  under  the  instruction  of  Prof.  Gustavus 
A.  Voelkler,  of  Williamsport,  Pa.  Completing  his  course  there  in 
1882,  he  began  his  career  as  a  teacher  of  instrumental  music  in  Shen- 
andoah, and  he  has  thus  continued  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
Every  hour  of  the  day  and  early  evening  is  taken  up  with  a  thor- 
oughly organized  system  of  private  instruction,  and  his  eager  stu- 
dents consider  themselves  especially  fortunate  if  they  can  maintain  a 
place  on  his  well  filled  prog^ramme.  Mr.  Wilde  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Riley  orchestra  since  1900,  and  has  materially  assisted  in  making 
this  one  of  the  leading  musical  organizations  in  Schuylkill  county.  He 
was  the  first  instructor  of  the  Annunciation  cadet  band,  which  is  a 
popular  organization  composed  of  boys  between  the  ages  of  ten  and 
sixteen  years.  At  the  celebration  of  "Old  Home  Week*'  in  Pottsville 
during  the  autumn  of  1906  none  of  the  forty  musical  organizations 
in  attendance  elicited  half  so  much  applause  as  Professor  Wilde's 
band  of  boys  from  Shenandoah.  The  professor  is  very  justly  proud 
of  the  achievements  of  this  organization,  one  of  whose  members  is 
his  own  son.  He  has  retained  the  leadership  since  the  organization 
was  effected  in  March,  1906,  and  the  grateful  boys  vie  with  each  other 
in  demonstrations  of  friendship  and  loyalty  to  their  talented  leader. 
He  is  the  instructor  of  the  Shenandoah  high  school  band,  composed 
of  sixteen  members,  and  has  been  organist  at  various  churches  for 
long  or  short  periods,  according  as  his  other  engagements  permitted. 
One  of  these  engagements  was  at  the  Greek  Catholic  church,  where 
he  was  the  first  organist  in  the  first  church  of  that  denomination  es- 
tablished in  America.  Professor  Wilde  was  married  May  3,  1890, 
when  he  chose  for  his  life  companion  Miss  Lillie  A,  Parrott,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Mary  A.  Parrott,  early  settlers  of  Thomaston,  Schuyl- 
kill county.  The  only  surviving  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilde  is 
Bertram  G.,  who  was  born  March  29,  1891.  He  is  a  student  in  the 
high  school  and  is  making  rapid  progress  in  his  educational  career. 
He  possesses  a  retentive  memory  and  superior  talents,  both  as  a  mu- 
sician and  student  of  general  educational  topics.  He  inherits  great 
musical  talent  and  has  already  demonstrated  his  ability  in  that  line. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  is  an  excellent  performer  on  the  comet  and 
saxaphone,  both  very  difficult  instruments  as  viewed  through  the  eyes 
of  musicians.  All  help  and  encouragement  is  given  the  young  man 
in  the  development  of  his  talents.  He  is  a  member  of  the  cadet  band, 
as  has  been  previously  intimated;  a  member  of  the  Riley  orchestra, 
which  of  itself  is  a  distinguished  honor,  and  of  the  high  school  orches- 
tra. He  is  the  companion  of  his  father,  and  is  treated  as  a  social  and 
professional  equal  rather  than  as  a  child  subject  to  the  restraints  of 
home  life,  for  the  "child"  has  passed  within  the  pale  of  young  man- 
34-voi.  II 


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530  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

hood  and  is  mature  beyond  his  years.  Professor  Wilde  owns  and  oc- 
cupies a  fine  home  at  ii6  North  Jardin  street,  erected  in  1904,  and 
modem  in  all  appointments.  This  site  was  formerly  the  home  of  his 
parents,  and  therefore  has  many  cherished  associations.  The  family 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which  for  generations 
past  has  been  the  religious  home  of  their  ancestors.  Mr.  Wilde  sus- 
tains membership  in  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Patriotic  Order  of 
the  Sons  of  America.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Rescue  hook  and 
ladder  company,  a  volunteer  organization  for  the  protection  of  the 
city  against  fire,  and  for  social  purposes  as  well.  He  has  never  taken 
an  active  interest  in  political  matters  except  on  national  issues,  when 
he  casts  his  vote  and  influence  with  the  Republicans.  On  questions 
of  temperance  and  morality  he  is  a  Prohibitionist,  but  he  has  never 
espoused  the  cause  of  a  political  organization  along  those  lines.  He 
believes  that  there  is  sufficient  good  in  the  time-honored  and  fire- 
tested  Republican  party  to  regulate  such  evils  as  are  controllable 
through  politics,  and  is  willing  to  leave  the  balance  to  moral  $uasion 
and  the  influence  of  the  churches.  Professor  Wilde  is  a  gentlemaa 
of  exalted  social  standing  in  the  community  where  his.  life  has  been 
spent,  and  his  superior  tdents  place  him  within  the  ranks  of  the  lead- 
ing musicians  of  the  state  and  nation.  He  is  affable  and  pleasant,, 
easily  approachable  by  the  most  humble,  and  is  generous  hearted  and 
sympathetic  toward  the  unfortunate.  These  God-g^ven  characteristics 
have  made  him  friends  by  the  thousands,  reconciled  his  few  enemies, 
and  rendered  life  a  pleasant  sojourn,  even  though  occasionally  beset 
with  thorns. 

Wildcrmuth,  Charles  Wesley,  of  Pottsville,  is  a  representative  of 
one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  Schuylkill  county.  He  was  bom  at 
Orwigsburg,  on  Oct.  21,  1839.  His  parents,  John  and  Susanna  (Als- 
paugh)  Wildermuth,  were  early  settlers  of  that  locality.  Mr.  Wilder- 
muth  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  hi's  youthful  days  and 
learned  the  cigarmaker's  trade.  During  the  Civil  war  he  served 
under  two  enlistments,  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia,  first  in  the  27th 
regiment,  and  later  in  the  39th.  He  was  finally  discharged  in  August, 
1863.  Since  the  close  of  the  war  he  has  been  engaged  in  his  present 
business,  and  has  the  largest  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  county. 
He  deals  in  cigars,  newspapers,  blank  books,  office  supplies,  maga- 
zines, notions,  etc.  The  leading  dailies  of  the  country  are  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  business,  and  a  convenience  which  is  appreciated  by 
the  reading  people  of  the  community.  The  institution  gives  steady 
employment  to  three  or  four  clerks  and  a  myriad  of  newsboys.  Mr. 
Wildermuth  married  Miss  Mary  Foy,  daughter  of  David  and  Eliza- 
beth Hinckle,  of  Pottsville.  A  son  and  four  daughters  were  bom  to 
this  union :  Fred  A.,  Delia,  Mame,  Tena  and  Ella.  They  are  mostly 
employed  in  the  father's  business.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  affili- 
ated with  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows'  fraternities.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  political  views  and  the  family  are  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  531 

Williams,  James,  tobacconist  and  dealer  in  goldfish  and  canaries, 
4n  Tamaqua,  was  bom  in  Cornwall,  Eng.,  on  Aug.  22,  1847,  ^  son  of 
James  and  Sarah  Williams.  The  father,  who  was  a  miner,  left  for  the 
gold  diggings  of  Australia  in  1853  and  died  there  in  1879.  The 
mother  died  in  1893  ^^  ^^e!  age  of  sixty-three.  The  family  consists 
of  three  daughters  and  two  sons,  all  living.  Elizabeth  is  Mrs.  Robert 
Carter,  of  Cornwall,  Eng. ;  Sarah  is  Mrs.  Matthew  Morris,  of  the  same 
place ;  Emily  became  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Lamp,  and  lives  in  Australia ; 
and  Zachariah  is  in  the  state  of  California.  James,  the  third  in  order 
of  birth,  attended  the  public  schools  for  a  time  and  then  became  em- 
ployed as  a  miner,  working  in  tin  and  copper  ore.  When  he  had 
attained  his  majority,  in  1869,  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  found 
employment  as  a  laborer,  but  soon  afterward  he  began  mining  on  his 
own  account.  This  furnished  him  a  means  of  livelihood  until  1878, 
when  he  became  brakeman  on  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  railroad, 
continuing  in  the  position  until  Aug.  6,  1886,  when  an  accident  in 
which  he  was  involved  cost  him  the  use  of  his  right  hand.  The  com- 
pany mad^  him  gate  tender,  on  Oct.  11,  1886,  and  for  four  years  he 
had  charge  of  the  crossing.  In  1887  he  had  established  his  tobacco 
store,  leaving  his  son  William  H.  in  charge  while  he  attended  the  gates, 
but  by  1890  the  business  had  grown  to  such  proportions  that  it  be- 
came necessary  for  him  to  resign  his  position  with  the  railroad  and 
assist  in  the  work  of  the  store.  As  a  side  issue  Mr.  Williams  deals  in 
canaries  and  goldfish,  and  in  all  his  lines  he  has  done  exceptionally 
well  in  a  financial  way.  For  many  years  he  had  the  unique  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  champion  "go-as-you-please"  racer  of  Schuylkill 
county.  The  title  was  acquired  in  a  race  held  in  Seitzinger's  hall  in 
Tamaqua  on  Apr.  11,  1879,  ^^  ^  track  thirty-four  laps  to  the  mile. 
When  the  twelve  hours  allotted  to  the  race  had  expired  Mr.  Williams 
was  found  to  have  covered  sixty-three  miles,  while  his  nearest  com- 
petitors had  made  forty-seven  and  one-third  and  forty-three  and  two- 
thirds  miles  respectively.  After  holding  the  record  for  many  years 
Mr.  Williams  offered  a  silver  medal  to  any  one  who  could  beat  his 
record,  and  on  Saturday,  Jan.  7,  1899,  a  twelve-hour  go-as-you-please 
w^s  held  in  Allen's  opera  house,  on  a  track  twenty-five  laps  to  the  mile. 
Four  contestants  were  entered — Thomas  McMullen,  Patrick  Boyle, 
Thomas  Jones  and  Edward  Boyle — and  the  race  was  run  between 
II  a.  m.  and  11  p.  m.  McMullen  covered  fifty-one  miles  and  five 
laps,  but  was  compelled  to  leave  the  track  at  8 124  p.  m. ;  Patrick 
Boyle  traveled  sixty-one  miles  and  seven  laps;  Thomas  Jones  sixty- 
two  miles  and  seven  laps,  and  Edward  Boyle  sixty-four  miles  and 
twenty-three  laps.  On  Feb.  4,  1899,  Mr.  Edward  Boyle  was  given 
the  championship  medal  for  Schuylkill  county.  The  only  restrictions 
as  to  the  holding  of  this  are  that  it  must  remain  in  the  county  and 
should  the  record  which  won  it  be  broken  it  must  be  turned  over  to 
the  winner.  In  Aug.,  1872,  Mr.  Williams  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Henryetta  Booth,  bom  Dec.  20,  1850.  To  this  union  were  bom 
nine  children.  William  H.,  the  eldest,  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in 
Tamaqua  on  Sunday,  April  6,  1873.     He  attended  the  public  schools 


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632  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  the  first  five  years  after  he  had  completed  his  scholastic  labors 
he  spent  in  his  father's  store.  He  spent  his  spare  time  learning  teleg- 
raphy and  for  four  years  was  a  Western  Union  operator  at  San  Fran- 
cisco. On  his  return  to  Tamaqua  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Phila- 
delphia &  Reading  Railroad  Company,  with  which  he  remained  for 
a  period  of  two  years.  For  different  periods  and  at  different  times 
he  was  at  San  Francisco  again,  in  Arizona  and  other  places,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1899  returned  to  Tamaqua.  For  three  years  he  was  employed 
by  the  railroad  as  a  brakeman  and  for  the  two  years  following  as 
telegraph  operator.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  gave  up  railroad  life 
and  became  the  Tamaqua  agent  for  the  Reading  bakery.  Besides  this 
he  conducts  a  novelty  store.  On  Oct.  12,  1900,  he  married  Miss 
Florence  Seitzinger,  of  Tamaqua,  a  native  of  the  town,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Harry  and  Sarah  Seitzinger.  Three  children  have  been  bom 
to  this  union — Herbert  Marron,  Harold  Arlington,  and  Mae  Isabel. 
The  family  are  all  members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church,  and 
the  father,  who  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  promising  of  Tama- 
qua's  younger  business  men,  is  identified  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows.  The  second  son  of  James  Williams  is  Zachariah,. 
a  railroad  man  living  in  Tamaqua.  He  married  Mabel  Erig,  and  has 
a  son,  Gordon.  James  Howard  is  a  plumber;  he  married  Miss  Kate 
Foulk  and  has  two  sons,  James  and  Paul.  Joseph  Taylor  married 
Minnie  Walker,  and  is  the  father  of  an  unnamed  infant  son.  Ella 
Williams  and  Jane  Williams  are  unmarried;  Clayton  died  at  the  age 
of  three;  and  Emily  May  and  Edgar  are  at  home.  Death  annulled 
Mr.  Williams'  first  marriage  in  Oct.,  1893,  and  later  Miss  Amanda 
Reiner,  daughter  of  William  Reiner,  a  farmer  of  Schuylkill  county, 
became  his  wife.  Two  children — Thomas  William  and  Bessie — 
blessed  this  second  union.  Mr.  Williams  is  a  kindly,  courteous  gen- 
tleman, and  one  of  whom  it  can  be  truthfully  said  that  he  never 
knowingly  did  any  dishonorable  thjng.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  "square  deal,"  and,  what  is  of  vastly  more  importance, 
he  is  a  thorough  practitioner  of  his  belief. 

Williams^  Thomas  T.,  warden  of  the  Schuylkill  county  prison 
at  Pottsville,  was  born  in  South  Wales  on  Oct.  15,  1857,  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Catherine  (Williams)  Williams.  Both  parents  were 
natives  of  South  Wales,  where  the  father  was  born  in  1830.  They 
came  to  the  United  States  witli  their  family  in  1861  and  located  in 
Minersville,  where  the  father  was  a  miner  until  his  death,  in  1875, 
some  two  years  after  his  wife's  death.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is 
the  eldest  son ;  Mary  died  in  Wales,  at  the  age  of  two  years ;  David 
is  engaged  in  mining  at  Shenandoah;  Mary  (II)  died  in  this  county, 
at  the  age  of  three  years ;  Sarah  is  the  wife  of  John  Seiders.  of  Leb- 
anon ;  and  John  died  at  Mahanoy  City,  Nov.  29,  1877.  Thomas  T. 
Williams  received  a  limited  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
home  town  and  until  1885  was  engaged  in  mining  in  different 
branches.  In  that  year  he  was  appointed  county  tax-collector  and 
served  until  the  law  was  changed  to  provide  for  a  new  means  of  col- 
lection.   A  year  before  his  appointment  he  had  been  elected  a  mem- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  533 

ber  of  the  borough  council  and  he  served  a  full  term.  For  ten  years 
he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  carrying  on  a  fire-insurance  business 
at  the  same  time.  Another  five  years  was  spent  as  docket  clerk  of  the 
county,  and  then,  on  Apr.  i,  1903,  came  his  appointment  as  warden 
of  the  Schuylkill  county  prison,  to  which  he  has  been  re-elected  by 
the  commission  each  succeeding  year.  His  position  requires  the 
charge  of  an  average  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  prisoners,  with 
terms  ranging  from  ten  days  to  twelve  years,  and  the  overseeing  of 
the  work  of  the  nine  employes  of  the  establishment.  The  female 
department  is  under  the  charge  of  Mrs.  Williams,  as  matron,  and 
the  warden's  home  is  within  the  building.  Besides  this  work  Mr. 
Williams  is  connected  with  a  fire-insurance  agency,  which  is  now 
being  carried  on  actively  by  a  son,  and  is  proprietor  of  the  Williams 
knitting  mills,  located  at  Shenandoah,  Pa.,  in  which  are  manufactured 
ladies'  fine  Swiss  vests.  On  Jan.  8,  1882,  Mr.  Williams  married  Miss 
Emily  Saeger,  a  native  of  Shenandoah,  and  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Eliza  Saeger,  the  former  of  whom  came  to  Shenandoah  from  Eng- 
land in  i8(5i.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saeger  died  in  Shenandoah.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  have  been  bom  three  children.  Herbert,  the 
eldest,  first  saw  the  light  of  day  on  Jan.  i,  1883;  ^^  ^^  a  graduate 
of  the  Shenandoah  high  school  and  is  now  an  attomey-at-law,  located 
in  Shenandoah.  Thomas,  bom  Aug.  29,  1884,  graduated  at  the  Potts- 
ville  high  school,  and  is  now  a  student  in  the  engineering  course  of 
Lehigh  university.  Emily,  the  only  daughter,  was  bom  Apr.  3,  1889, 
and  is  a  student  in  the  senior  class  of  the  Pottsville  high  school.  Mrs. 
Williams  and  the  children  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Williams  removed  from  Minersville  to  Shenandoah  in 
1879  and  remained  there  until  his  appointment  as  warden,  in  1903, 
when  he  brought  his  family  to  Pottsville.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch 
exponent  of  the  tenets  of  the  Republican  party  and  his  elevation  to 
public  office  has  always  been  through  the  medium  of  that  organiza- 
tion. He  has  been  a  delegate  to  practically  all  the  county,  district 
and  state  conventions  of  his  party  since  he  became  of  age.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
in  which  he  has  held  membership  since  1882,  and  is  a  past  grand  of 
Lodge  No.  591,  of  Shenandoah.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  of  Pulaski  Lodge,  No.  216,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
of  Pottsville. 

Willman,  George  F.,  who  is  numbered  among  the  enterprising 
business  men  of  the  city  of  Shenandoah,  where  he  has  passed  the 
major  portion  of  his  life,  has  built  up  a  large  and  prosperous  plumb- 
ing, roofing  and  tinning  business  and  in  this  line  holds  precedence  of 
no  uncertain  order.  He  was  bom  at  Oleyline,  Berks  county,  Pa., 
May  8,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of  Charles  E.  and  Mary  E.  (Snyder)  Will- 
man,  both  of  whom  were  bom  in  Berks  county,  this  state.  The 
father  was  a  tailor  by  trade  and  in  1871  he  located  in  Shenandoah, 
where  he  opened  a  shop  and  where  he  eventually  built  up  a  prosper- 
ous merchant  tailoring  business.  He  continued  a  resident  of  this  city 
until  his  death,  which  occured  June  30,  1904,  and  he  was  well  known 


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534  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

and  highly  esteemed  as  a  citizen.  His  wife  died  in  1881.  Of  the 
seven  children  five  are  living:  William  is  agent  for  the  Atlantis 
Refining  Company,  at  Mahanoy  City,  this  county;  George  F.  is  next 
younger;  Susan  R.  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Sampsel,  of  Shenandoah; 
Charles  is  engaged  in  the  meat  market  business  at  Mount  Carmel, 
Northumberland  county;  and  Dora  is  employed  in  a  grovery  store 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  The  subject  of  this  review  is  indebted 
to  the  public  schools  of  Shenandoah  for  his  early  educational  train- 
ing, and  as  a  youth  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  tinner's 
trade,  in  the  establishment  of  Bedell  Brothers.  From  1887  u"^*^ 
1904  he  was  employed  as  a  journeyman  tinner,  and  he  then  engaged 
in  business  for  himself,  establishing  the  enterprise  which  he  now 
conducts,  at  11 7- 119  West  Coal  street.  He  carries  a  select  line  of 
stoves,  ranges,  furnaces,  gas  heaters,  tinware,  and  other  household 
furnishings,  and  is  the  leading  plumber  and  roofer  of  the  city.  His 
ability  and  his  personal  popularity  in  the  community  have  enabled 
him  to  build  up  within  a  comparatively  brief  interval  a  large  and 
prosperous  business  and  he  enjoys  the  unequivocal  esteem  of  all  who 
know  him.  Mr.  Willman  is  a  member  of  Henry  Horncastle  Camp, 
Sons  of  Veterans,  with  which  he  has  been  identified  for  twenty-two 
years.  His  eligibility  for  membership  is  based  on  the  fact  that  his 
father  served  three  years  as  a  member  of  the  179th  Pennsylvania 
volunteer  infantry,  which  was  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
Two  of  his  uncles,  Maberry  E.  and  Franklin  E.  Willman,  were  like- 
wise valiant  soldiers  of  the  Union.  The  latter  became  a  prominent 
and  influential  citizen  of  Shenandoah,  where  he  met  a  tragic  death, 
at  the  Keeley  Run  colliery,  July  30,  1880,  when  he  and  two  com- 
panions were  killed  by-  the  deadly  carbonic-oxide  gas  in  the  mine  in 
which  they  were  employed.  The  subject  of  this  review  also  holds 
membership  in  the  local  camp  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the  Sons  of 
America  and  in  Rescue  hook  and  ladder  company.  The  family  are 
members  of  Trinity  Reformed  church  in  Shenandoah.  In  politics 
Mr.  Willman  is  a  loyal  supporter  of  the  principles  and  policies  for 
which  the  Republican  party  stands  sponsor,  and  he  takes  marked 
interest  in  public  affairs  of  a  local  nature.  He  represents  the  Third 
ward  on  the  board  of  education  and  received  the  largest  majority 
ever  polled  by  any  candidate  for  this  office  in  his  ward.  Sept.  29, 
1887,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Willman  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Katz,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Frederica  Katz,  who  were  then 
residents  of  Shenandoah.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willman  became  the  pa- 
rents of  four  children — Mary  E.  and  Evelyn  A.,  who  remain  at  the 
parental  home;  and  George  and  Bertha  E.,  both  of  whom  died  in 
early  childhood. 

Wilson,  Rev.  James  J.,  pastor  of  the  parish  of  Sts.  Peter  and 
Paul,  at  Tower  City,  was  bom  at  Manayunk,  Philadelphia  county, 
Pa.,  Oct.  18,  1874.  His  parents,  Francis  and  Sarah  (Boyle)  Wilson, 
were  both  natives  of  county  Antrim,  Ireland.  The  father  was  a 
contractor  and  builder,  and  followed  that  vocation  in  Philadelphia 
and  Washington,  D.  C,  for  many  years.    He  was  killed  in  an  acci- 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  535 

derit  at  Rose  Glen,  Pa.,  in  1880,  when  he  was  sixty-five  years  of 
age.  The  mother  died  in  1882,  aged  forty-nine.  Of  their  seven 
children  two  are  now  living,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  a  sister, 
Mary,  who  lives  with  him.  After  attending  St.  John's  school.  Father 
Wilson,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  entered  St.  Joseph's  college  at 
Philadelphia,  a  secular  institution.  Upon  leaving  St.  Joseph's  col- 
lege he  was  admitted  to  St.  Charles'  seminary,  Overbrook,  Mont- 
gomery county.  Pa.,  in  which  institution,  after  remaining  nine  years, 
he  was  ordained  a  priest  in  1900.  He  received  as  first  appointment, 
Minersville,  Schuylkill  county,  where  he  was  associated  with  Rev. 
P.  J.  McMahan  for  one  year  and  nine  months.  On  Apr.  8,  1902,  he 
took  charge  of  the  parish  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul  at  Tower  City, 
where  he  has  since  continued.  This  church  was  started  in  1896  by 
Rev.  F.  M.  Ward,  who  remained  in  charge  for  four  years  and  three 
months.  He  was  succeeded  by  Father  Corcoran,  who  was  pastor 
until  succeeded  by  Father  Wilson.  The  congregation  numbers  fifty- 
seven  families — over  300  persons  in  all — ^and  is  in  a  prosperous  and 
harmonious  condition.  Sir)ce  coming  to  Tower  City  Father  Wilson 
has  made  over  $5,000  worth  of  improvements  and  has  otherwise 
displayed  commendable  zeal  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion.  His  genial  disposition  and  public  spirit  have  made 
for  him  many  warm  friends  in  the  field  of  his  labors,  and  the  general 
hope  is  that  he  may  remain  for  many  years  in  Tower  City  to  carry 
forward  his  good  work. 

Wilson,  John  Miller,  foreman  of  the  shops  of  the  Philadelphia 
&  Reading  railroad  at  Palo  Alto,  is  a  Scotchman  by  birth.  He  is 
a  son  of  John  and  Martha  (Miller)  Wilson;  the  date  of  his  nativity 
was  Aug.  18,  1854,  and  the  place  Kilwinning,  Ayrshire,  Scotland. 
His  ancestors  for  generations  back  were  bom  and  reared  in  Ayrshire, 
where  the  paternal  grandfather  was  a  master  weaver  in  the  days 
before  machinery  came  into  use,  and  the  maternal  grandfather  was 
land  Stewart  of  one  of  the  big  estates  of  the  district.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  received  a  limited  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
country  and  entered  upon  his  career  as  a  mechanic  in  July,  1870,  in 
the  James  Robertson  General  and  Patentee  Engineering  works.  Just 
five  years  later  he  completed  his  apprenticeship  and  left  the  Robert- 
son works  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  W.  &  A.  Maconey  Company, 
one  of  the  leading  machinery  firms  of  the  British  Isles.  Subsequently 
he  was  in  the  service  of  many  other  firms  until  June,  1882.  In  that 
month  and  year  occurred  Mr.  Wilson's  marriage  to  Miss  Christina 
Clement,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Florence  (Murchie)  Clement. 
He  brought  his  bride  to  America  on  their  wedding  trip,  and  while 
visiting  his  brother,  Charles,  at  Wilkes  Barre,  Pa.,  Mr.  Wilson  was 
the  recipient  of  a  handsome  oflFer  from  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
Company.  He  accepted  the  position  and  remained  with  the  com- 
pany for  a  period  of  twenty-two  years,  the  first  two  years  of  which 
time  were  in  the  Wilkes  Barre  shops.  Then  he  was  made  foreman 
of  the  wrecking  gang  on  the  Wyoming  division,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  until  June,  1887,  leaving  it  to  accept  the  foremanship  of 


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536  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  erecting  shop  of  the  company,  where  the  locomotives  were  built, 
remodeled  and  repaired.  The  latter  work  kept  him  busy  until  Aug. 
I,  1898,  when  he  received  a  promotion  to  the  foremanship  of  the 
same  department  of  the  company  at  Manchester,  N.  Y.  He  also  had 
general  charge  of  the  wrecking  crews  of  two  divisions,  and  during 
his  inctmibency  of  the  position  he  served  under  three  master  me- 
dhanics  and  two  superintendents  on  the  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
division,  two  superintendents  and  six  master  mechanics  on  the  Buf- 
falo division,  and  three  yard  masters  at  Manchester.  He  added  ma- 
terially to  the  equipment  of  the  shops  and  oversaw  the  renovation  and 
remodeling  of  the  engine  house  and  the  other  buildings.  On  Sept 
30,  1904,  Mr.  Wilson  left  the  employ  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  company 
and  removed  to  Bridgeport,  Pa.,  to  become  general  foreman  of  the 
Philadelphia  &  Reading  company.  On  March  23,  1905,  he  was 
transferred  to  Palo  Alto  and  assumed  the  duties  of  the  position  which 
he  is  now  holding.  Mr.  Wilson  is  the  father  of  five  children — Will- 
iam C,  Charles  G.,  Martha  Ruth,  Mary  Christina  and  John  Ronald. 
Another  daughter,  Florence,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years  and  ten 
months.  Mr.  Wilson's  brother,  Charles,  was  until  1896  a  master 
mechanic  in  the  employ  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  railroad  company  at 
Wilkes  Barre,  and  left  that  corporation  to  accept  a  similar  position 
in  the  Nottingham  lace  mills  of  Wilkes  Barre.  His  wife  was  for- 
merly Miss  Margaret  McKinszy,  a  native  of  Thomhill,  Perthshire, 
Scotland.  Mrs.  John  M.  Wilson  has  a  sister  living  in  this  country, 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Fred  C.  Paine,  of  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  and 
who  is  the  mother  of  one  child,  Beatrice.  The  Wilsons  are  all  devout 
members  of  the  Presb)rterian  church.  In  politics  Mr.  Wilson  has 
always  been  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  but  the  emoluments 
of  public  office  never  appealed  to  him  and  he  has  always  refused  to 
become  a  candidate  for  positions  of  official  trust.  Fraternally  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Caledonian  club,  a  Scottish  organization  of  Wilkes  Barre, 
which  had  its  birth  on  Jan.  25,  1883. 

Winkelspecht,  John  F.,  superintendent  of  the  William  F.  Tau- 
bel  hosiery  mills  of  Tamaqua,  was  bom  in  Riverside,  N.  J.,  on  Aug. 
17,  1865.  His  parents  are  Felix  and  Elizabeth  (Kreps)  Winkel- 
specht,  the  former  a  native  of  Germany  and  the  latter  of  New  Jer- 
sey. The  father  was  bom  in  1838  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1858,  locating  in  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  a  laborer  all  his  active 
life.  He  is  a  devout  member  of  the  Catholic  church  and  reared  his 
family  of  nine  children,  all  of  whom  are  living,  in  that  faith.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public  and  parochial  schools  of  his 
native  town  and  after  completing  the  courses  offered  there  he  went 
into  a  hosiery  mill.  When  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age  he  was 
made  a  foreman  in  the  mill  and  since  that  time  he  has  been  either  at 
the  head  of  a  concern  or  a  department.  His  first  employment  was 
with  the  Riverside  Hosiery  Company,  with  whom  he  remained  for 
twenty  years.  In  Aug.,  1902,  he  came  to  Tamaqua  to  accept  the 
superintendency  of  the  Taubel  mills,  and  his  retention  in  the  position 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  537 

shows  that  he  is  at  least  fulfilHng  the  requirements.  Since  his  com- 
ing the  output  has  materially  increaged  and  there  has  been  little  or 
no  labor  trouble  among  the  231  operatives  employed— due  in  large 
measure  to  Mr.  Winkelspecht's  ability.  On  Aug.  19,  1885,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Sundermeier,  a  native  of  New 
Jersey  and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  Sundermeier,  natives 
of  Germany,  and  now  residents  of  Riverside,  N.  J.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Winkelspecht  nine  children  have  been  born.  Agnes,  the  eldest, 
is  the  wife  of  Thomas  Trainer,  of  South  Bethel,  Pa.,  and  is  the 
mother  of  two  children,  Jerome  and  Myrtle.  Josephine  is  Mrs. 
James  McLochlin,  of  Tamaqua.  Wilhelmina  is  an  operative  in  the 
mill  of  which  her  father  is  the  superintendent.  The  others,  Qinton, 
Irene,  Xavier,  May,  Ora  and  Phillip,  are  all  at  home.  The  entire 
family  are  members  of  the  Catholic  church.  Although  their  residence 
in  Tamaqua  is  of  rather  recent  date  they  have  come  to  be  regarded 
as  valuable  social  and  commercial  additions  to  the  community. 

Winn,  Capt.  Samuel,  chief  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal 
and  Iron  police  force,  was  born  in  St.  Clair,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa., 
July  24,  1844.  His  parents,  Samuel  and  Mary  (Moore)  Winn,  who 
were  natives  of  England,  immigrated  to  this  country  about  1830. 
The  father  was  identified  with  mining  interests  at  St.  Clair,  but  died 
in  middle  life.  The  mother  died  in  St.  Clair  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven.  They  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  two  sons,  Samuel 
and  Thomas,  being  the  only  survivors.  The  sisters  were:  Elizabeth, 
who  married  Oliver  Wolverton,  and  died  in  St.  Clair,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one  years;  Mary  A.,  who  was  the  wife  of  J.  P.  Sherman, 
and  who  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years;  Agnes,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Constantine  Hess,  a  carpenter  and  contractor,  and  who  died 
in  Omaha,  Neb.,  aged  fifty-nine  years.  Thomas  Winn,  the  survi- 
ving brother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  a  retired  mechanic  at 
St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  where  he  has  lived  for  the  last  thirty-two  years. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  carpentry  in  St.  Clair,  and  followed  that 
business  for  many  years  before  going  to  Missouri.  He  has  a  wife 
but  no  children.  He  served  from  i^i  to  1865  in  the  5th  Pennsyl- 
vania cavalry.  Captain  Winn  left  school  to  answer  the  call  of  his 
country  in  Sept.,  1861,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company 
F,  7th  Pennsylvania  cavalry.  His  regiment  was  stationed  for  the 
most  part  in  the  Western  department,  attached  to  the  14th  army 
corps.  With  this  organization  he  participated  in  every  battle  and 
skirmish  in  which  his  company  was  engaged,  but  escaped  personal 
injury.  He  held  the  rank  of  quartermaster-sergeant  and  was  dis- 
charged in  1865,  after  four  years  of  continuous  service.  Returning 
to  his  maternal  home,  Captain  Winn  was  unemployed  for  about 
eighteen  months  following  his  discharge,  and  was  for  a  like  period 
employed  as  weigh  master  at  the  Port  Carbon  furnace.  He  began 
prospecting  for  ^oal  and  iron  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  about 
1868,  and,  incidentally,  testing  the  merits  of  the  famous  "Diamond 
drill,''  which  has  revolutionized  the  old  system  of  prospecting.  In 
1875  Captain  Winn  was  commissioned  by  the  state  as  a  member  of 


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538  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

the  Coal  and  Iron  Police,  and  has  been  connected  with  this  formida- 
ble organization  for  more  than  thirty-one  years.  He  was  appointed 
a  lieutenant  in  1895,  and  in  1902  he  was  promoted  to  his  present 
position,  that  of  captain  and  chief  of  the  force.  This  is  an  organi- 
zation which  has  existed  in  the  coal  regions  for  many  years,  attain- 
ing the  greatest  efficiency  as  protectors  of  life  and  property  during 
the  reign  of  "MoUie  Maguireism."  It  is  fostered  by  the  state  and 
is  composed  of  brave  and  fearless  men,  thoroughly  disciplined  and 
inured  to  the  hardships  of  their  perilous  work.  The  primary  object 
is  the  protection  of  coal  and  railroad  property  during  strikes  of  em- 
ployes, but  the  duties  do  not  end  there.  Many  a  private  citizen  has 
been  protected  against  deadly  assault  and  his  property  saved  from 
destruction.  The '  Pottsville  contingent  is  a  formidable  force, 
equipped  with  the  most  approved  arms,  and  ready  at  all  times  for 
any  emergency.  Captain  Winn  was  a  resident  of  Frackville  for 
twenty-five  years  and  was  married  there,  on  Jan.  8,  1880.  The  lady 
of  his  choice  was  Miss  Sadie,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Amelia  Har- 
ris, late  of  Frackville,  where  they  both  died.  They  had  a  family  of 
four  sons  and  four  daughters — William  (deceased),  John,  Samuel, 
Benjamin,  Jane,  Amelia,  Sadie  and  Mary  Ann.  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Winn  became  the  parents  of  four  children,  namely:  Mary,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Clarence  Morgan,  of  Pottsville;  Thomas,  who  died  in 
infancy;  Olive,  who  is  a  youn^  lady  at  home;  and  John  Harvey, 
who  is  paying  clerk  for  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron 
Company  at  Pottsville.  They  also  reared  and  educated  an  adopted 
daughter.  Miss  Sadie  Moore,  who  was  a  member  of  the  family  for 
sixteen  years.  She  is  now  happily  married  to  W.  A.  Nice,  a  pros- 
perous business  man  at  Frackville.  Captain  Winn  has  been  a  life- 
long Republican,  but  has  never  aspired  to  public  office.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Frackville  borough  council  for  about  eight  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  John  S.  Meredith  Post,  No.  485,  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  and  has  served  in  various  official  capacities  in  this 
organization.  He  is  liberal  in  religious  views  and  has  never  been 
connected  with  any  church  organization. 

Wiszinski,  B.,  a  prominent  citizen  and  a  leading  merchant  tailor 
of  Mahanoy  City,  was  bom  Aug.  15,  1873,  '"  Russia.  All  the  edu- 
cational advantages  he  was  able  to  have  were  acquired  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  native  land,  and  when  he  had  completed  his  scho- 
lastic training,  he  there  started  to  learn  the  tailor's  trade.  Before 
he  had  fully  completed  his  apprenticeship,  however,  he  came,  in  1890, 
to  the  United  States.  He  landed  in  New  York,  where  he  remained 
about  six  months  and  completed  his  apprenticeship.  From  New 
York  he  came  to  Pennsylvania,  locating  near  Hazleton,  where  he 
worked  as  a  breaker  boy  and  also  did  some  work  in  excavating  cel- 
lars, for  two  months  and  a  half.  Then  he  came  to  Mahanoy  City  and 
found  employment  in  his  vocation  until  June,  1896.  In  that  month 
and  year  he  opened  a  tailoring  establishment  of  his  own  at  311  West 
Centre  street,  directly  opposite  his  present  place  of  business,  and  a 
year  later  removed  to  323  West  Centre  street.     Since  1898  he  has 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  539 

been  occupying  the  store  he  is  now  in,  and  it  has  come  to  be  known 
as  one  of  the  most  up-to-date  and  modem  places  of  business  in  the 
city.  In  1902  Mr.  Wiszinski  became  financially  interested  in  the 
hotel  business,  but  it  did  not  prove  a  paying  venture  and  he  disposed 
of  his  holdings  two  years  later,  since  when  he  has  devoted  all  his 
time  and  attention  to  the  development  of  his  merchant  tailoring 
industry.  In  1903  he  was  the  successful  ,candidate  for  election  to  the 
borough  council,  and  he  is  tp-day  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of 
representative  of  the  First  ward  in  the  city  legislative  body.  Mrs. 
Wiszinski  was  formerly  Miss  Anna  Miloski,  a  native  of  the  United 
States,  and  she  has  borne  her  husband  three  children.  Florence,  the 
first  bom,  died  in  1903,  at  the  age  of  two  years;  Bernard  is  now 
three  years  old,  and  Edmund  is  two.  The  parents  are  members  of 
St.  Joseph's  Lutheran  church,  of  Mahanoy  City.  Mr.  Wiszinski  is 
an  exemplary  type  of  foreign-born  American  citizen — frugal,  indus- 
trious and  honest. 

Well,  Joseph,  deceased,  a  former  sheriff  of  the  county  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Hotel  W6ll  in  Pottsville,  was  born  in  Pottsville  on 
Nov.  14,  1853,  in  an  hotel  on  the  same  lot  which  the  modern  hostelry, 
the  Hotel  Woll,  now  occupies.  He  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Magda- 
lena  (Young)  Woll,  the  former  a  native  of  Prussia  and  the  latter 
of  Bavaria,  Germany,  both  of  whom  came  to  this  country  in  their 
youth  and  were  married  in  Pottsville.  The  father  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  but  did  not  follow  it  for  any  length  of  time,  pre- 
ferring to  engage  in  the  hotel  business,  and  for  more  than  half  a 
century  he  was  "Mine  Host"  in  an  hotel  which  stood  on  the  spot 
which  the  Hotel  Woll  now  adorns.  The  father  died  in  1884  and  the 
mother  in  1893.  The  thirteen  children  in  the  family  were:  Mary, 
Catherine,  Peter,  John,  Magdalena,  Elizabeth,  George,  Joseph,  Philip, 
Mary  (2d),  George  (2d),  and  two  unnamed  who  died  in  infancy. 
The  living  of  this  number  are  Magdalena,  now  Mrs.  Bodenfield,  of 
Portland,  Ore. ;  Elizabeth,  the  widow  of  Louis  Gottschall,  of  Potts- 
ville; Peter,  who  lives  in  Pottsville;  Philip,  who  is  proprietor  of  the 
United  States  hotel  at  Tamaqua;  and  George,  now  proprietor  of  the 
Hotel  Woll.  Joseph  Woll  received  his  educational  advantages  in 
the  public  schools  of  Pottsville,  most  of  his  training  being  secured 
in  the  Bunker  Hill  school.  When  he  had  finished  the  prescribed 
scholastic  work  he  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith,  at  which  he 
worked  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  which  he  left  to  engage  in  the 
hotel  business  with  his  father.  This  was  in  1880,  and  aside  from  the 
three  years  he  spent  as  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  sheriff  he  had 
no  other  occupation  after  that  time.  In  1895,  ^it  the  cost  of  $16,000, 
Mr.  Woll  erected  a  new  and  modern  hostelry  on  the  site  of  the  old 
building.  It  is  four  stories  in  height,  and  contains  thirty-six  g^est 
rooms,  besides  the  offices,  dining  room,  etc.  In  politics  he  was  a 
stanch  exponent  of  the  principles  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy,  and 
the  county  convention  of  that  party  in  1891  made  him  its  nominee 
for  the  office  of  sheriff.  He  was  duly  elected  and  in  January  of  the 
following  year  was  installed  in  the  office,  where  he  served  a  full  term 


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540  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

of  three  years.  Mr.  Woll  was  married  in  1873  to  Miss  Catherine 
Brennan,  a  native  of  Schuylkill  -county,  and  to  this  union  were  bom 
ten  children — William  (deceased),  Mary,  Gertie,  Katie,  Lizzie, 
Bertha,  Agnes,  Joseph,  Jr.,  Hildegarde  and  Eugene.  Katie,  Ger- 
trude and  Joseph  are  married.  All  the  family  are  communicants  of 
the  St.  John  Roman  Catholic  church.  Mr.  Woll  was  a  member  of 
the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  St.  John  the  Baptist  association,  and 
the  Good  Intent  fire  company.    His  death  occurred  Nov.  26,  1905. 

Wonders,  Newton  M.,  who  conducts  a  photographic  studio  at 
10  West  Market  street,  Pottsville,  is  a  native  of  New  Franklin,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  bom  Oct.  17,  1862.  He  is  a  son  of  Peter  D.  and  Fred- 
erica  (Bammerlin)  Wonders,  the  former  a  native  of  Berks  county, 
Pa.,  and  a  carpenter  and  cabinet-maker  by  vocation.  His  death 
occurred  in  Alliance,  Ohio»  in  1877.  The  mother,  a  native  of  Ber- 
lin, Germany,  is  living  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  is  still  hale  and  vig- 
orous, although  she  has  passed  her  eighty-fifth  year.  Of  the  twelve 
children  bom  to  the  parents  there  are  *  seven  survivors.  Lafayette 
lives  in  Alliance,  Ohio;  Benton  M.  in  Cleveland;  Mrs.  Marietta 
Thomas  in  Hiram,  Ohio;  Francis  M.  in  Frankfort,  Ind. ;  Mrs.  Laura 
P.  Teeters  in  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Solon  L.  in  Lan,caster,  Pa.;  and  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  in  Pottsville.  The  deceased  members  are  Mrs. 
Lucy  L.  McGlone,  who  died  in  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  in  1898;  Allan, 
who  died  of  fever  while  serving  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil 
war,  in  his  twenty-first  year;  Emma  J.,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
eiglhteen;  and  Florence  and  Louise,  who  died  in  infancy.  Newton 
M.  Wonders  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  Alliance,  Ohio,  and  when  he  had  completed  his  scholastic  work 
he  went  to  work  for  his  brother  in  the  photographic  business.  After 
he  had  mastered  the  trade  he  worked  at  it  with  his  brother  in  Alli- 
ance and  other  places  and  then  went  to  Cleveland,  where  he  was 
very  successful  in  a  remunerative  way  in  contract  work.  His  resi- 
dence in  Pottsville  dates  from  1891,  in  which  year  he  came  to  Potts- 
ville and  purchased  the  excellent  studio  which  he  is  now  managing. 
He  has  undoubtedly  the  bulk  of  the  business  in  his  line  of  work,  and 
his  success  has  been  attained  by  hard  work  and  a  desire  to  please  his 
patrons.  In  1889  Mr.  Wonders  married  Miss  Anna  E.  Weitzel,  of 
Lebanon,  a  daughter  of  H.  P.  and  Emma  E.  Weitzel,  both  of  whom 
are  now  deceased.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wonders  have  been  born  three 
children,  one  of  whom,  Dorothy  L..  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years. 
The  others  are  Jettie  L.  and  Henry  P.  The  parents  are  members  of 
the  English  Lutheran  church. 

Woolcock,  John,  is  a  well  known  resident  of  Pottsville  and  has 
been  identified  with  the  coal  mining  industry  from  his  boyhood  days 
to  the  present,  being  now  concerned  in  the  operation  of  mines  in 
West  Virginia,  where  he  has  valuable  interests  in  the  line.  He  was 
born  in  County  Waterford,  Ireland,  Aug.  8,  1844,  and  is  a  son  of 
William  and  Grace  (Jobe)  Woolcock,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
Cornwall,  England.  They  came  to  America  in  1845  ^"d  made 
Frackville,  Schuylkill  county,  Pa.,  their  destination.    Here  the  father 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  541 

was  employed  in  the  coal  mines  until  his  death,  in  1865,  as  the  result 
of  an  explosion  in  the  mines.  His  wife  survived  him  by  a  number 
of  years  and  remained  a  resident  of  this  county  until  her  demise. 
Of  their  eleven  children  nine  attained  to  years  of  maturity :  Edward, 
Elijah,  Thomas,  Elizabeth  A.,  William,  Mary  J.,  John,  Joseph  and 
Amelia.  Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of  George  Robinson,  and  Mary  is  the 
wife  of  Eli  Lee.  John  Woolcock,  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  an  infant  in  arms  at  the  time  of  the  family  immigration 
to  America  and  he  was  reared  to  maturity  in  Schuylkill  county,  to 
whose  common  schools  he  is  indebted  for  such  educational  advantages 
as  came  to  him  in  his  boyhood  and  youth.  Like  the  average  boy  in 
this  mining  section*  he  early  began  to  work  in  the  mines,  and  he  ad- 
vanced through  the  various  grades  of  promotion  to  the  holding  of 
positions  of  importance  and  responsibility  in  and  about  the  mines  of 
Schuylkill  county.  In  1886,  having  acquired  an  interest  in  mines  in 
the  Pocahontas  coal  region  of  West  Virginia,  he  removed  to  that 
section,  where  he  maintained  his  residence  for  the  ensuing  sixteen 
years,  and  where  he  still  retains  important  coal  mining  interests. 
In  1904  he  returned  to  Schuylkill  county  and  located  in  Pottsville, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  In  politics  he  exerciseS;  his  franchise  in 
support  of  those  men  and  measures  approved  by  his  judgment,  not 
being  held  to  close  partisan  lines.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  communicants  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church.  In  1877  was  solemnized  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Woolcock  to  Miss  Jennie  Dolbin,  daughter  of  Goodman 
and  Mary  (Thomas)  Dolbin,  of  Frackville,  this  county,  and  the 
children  of  this  union  are  Wilbur,  Goodman  and  Sarah. 

Wren,  George  H.,  proprietor  of  the  Grant  iron  works  at  Maha- 
noy  City,  is  a  native  of  Pottsville,  born  Nov.  12,  1847.  He  is  a  son 
of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Hay)  Wren,  the  former  of  whom  was  bom 
in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  June  10,  1823,  a  son  of  William  and  Jane 
(Macbreth)  Wren.  When  Thomas  Wren  was  quite  young  his 
parents  immigrated  to  Nova  Scotia,  where  his  father  died.  His 
mother  brought  her  family  to  Pennsylvania,  and  finally  located  at 
Pottsville.  There  Thomas  served  an  apprenticeship  of  four  years 
and  eight  months  at  the  molder's  trade,  in  the  machine  shops  of 
Messrs.  Haywood  &  Snyder.  He  then  formed  a  partnership  with 
his  brothers,  John  Y.  and  James,  and  carried  on  business  for  about 
two  years  at  the  old  Eagle  foundry,  then  on  the  present  site  of 
the  freight  depot  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Railroad  Company. 
In  1850  Thomas  Wren  and  brothers  built  the  Washington  iron  works 
in  Pottsville,  and  in  1851  they  manufactured  the  machinery  for  the 
first  rolling  mill  in  the  country  which  made  the  "T"  rail  and  bar  iron, 
that  plant  being  located  at  Fishbach,  a  suburb  of  Pottsville.  The 
Washington  Iron  Works  Company  was  dissolved  by  mutual  consent 
in  1864,  and  Thomas  Wren  turned  his  attention  more  closely  to  coal 
operations,  in  which  he  had  been  interested  for  some  years  pre- 
viously. He  owned  and  operated  collieries  at  St.  Clair,  Mount  Laf- 
fee,  and  had  large  interests  in  the  workings  at  Eagle  Hill.     Besides 


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542  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

his  extensive  connection  with  the  coal  and  iron  business,  Mr.  Wren 
has  long  been  identified  with  banking  interests  both  in  Pottsville  and 
Mahanoy  City,  and  also  in  the  organization  and  operation  of  manu- 
facturing industries  and  savings  associations  in  other  localities.  He 
established  the  Grant  iron  works  at  Mahanoy  City  in  1865,  this  be- 
ing the  industry  now  owned  and  operated  by  George  H.  Wren,  the 
subject  of  this  article.  Thomas  Wren  has  been  twice  married,  six 
children  being  bom  to  his  union  with  Mary  Hay,  his  first  wife.  She 
died  May  10,  1853.  Oct.  i,  1861,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Sarah  P.  Shorno,  by  which  union  three  children  were  bom.  George 
H.  Wren  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  at  Pottsville  and  at  East- 
man's business  college,  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  He  was  gradu- 
ated from  this  institution  in  Nov.,  1864.  He  went  to  Mahanoy  City 
in  1865  and  accepted  the  position  of  manager  and  bookkeeper  in  the 
Grant  iron  works,  then  owned  and  operated  by  his  father.  In  1867 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  R.  R.  Lee,  the  firm  title  being  Lee  & 
Wren,  and  purchased  the  father's  interest  in  the  business.  This  copart- 
nership existed  for  ten  years,  during  which  time  the  firm  had  built  the 
Elmwood  colliery  and  sunk  the  slope  for  the  same,  and  also  com- 
menced the  operation  of  the  Rough  Diamond  colliery.  These  mining 
interests  have  decreased  very  materially  since  the  absorption  of  most 
of  the  coal  lands  in  the  vicinity  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal 
and  Iron  Company.  Much  of  the  iron  work  required  in  operating 
the  mines,  or  in  establishing  new  collieries  in  the  vicinity  of  Maha- 
noy City,  has  been  made  by  the  Grant  iron  works,  as  well  as  a  large 
amount  of  machinery  for  other  manufacturers.  The  plant  is  equipped 
with  modern  appliances  for  turning  out  a  diversified  class  of  work 
and  affords  remunerative  employment  to  an  average  of  fifty  or  more 
skilled  mechanics.  The  buildings  are  substantial  and  amply  suffi- 
cient for  all  requirements.  See  history  of  Mahanoy  City  in  Volume 
I.  Mr.  Wren  was  married  Nov.  8,  1870,  to  Miss  Lillie  A.,  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Mary  Bedall,  of  Port  Carbon.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Mary  B.  and  Thomas  B.  Mr.  Wren  is  a  Republican  in  political 
affiliations,  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  the  family  are 
Presbyterians  in  religious  preferences. 

Yearick,  Rev.  Zwingli  A.,  the  popular  pastor  of  Trinity  Re- 
formed church  of  Shenandoah,  is  a  native  of  Madisonburg,  Center 
county,  Pa.,  where  he  was  born  on  Aug.  12,  1845.  He  is  one  of 
eight  children  born  to  Rev.  William  R.  and  Susanna  (Hackenburg) 
Yearick,  both  natives  of  Center  county,  and  is  the  representative  of 
the  fifth  generation  of  the  family  in  America.  The  name  Yearick 
was  originally  George,  but  the  orthography  was  changed  in  the  early 
years  of  Rev.  William  R.  Yearick's  lifetime  so  as  to  preserve  as 
nearly  as  possible  the  original  German  pronunciation  of  the  name. 
The  founder  of  the  family  in  the  United  States  was  John  George 
George,  who  left  his  home  in  the  Palatinate  in  southern  Germany  in 
1753  and  sailed  from  Amsterdam  and  located  in  Lowhill  township, 
Lehigh  county,  Pa.  His  son,  Adam  George,  removed  to  Center 
county  in  1787  and  his  son,  John  George,  was  the  father  of  Rev. 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  543 

William  R.  Yearick.  The  latter  served  the  Reformed  church  for  a 
period  of  forty-two  years  continuously  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
one  years.  Th€  children  of  his  marriage  to  Susanna  Hackenburg, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years,  were,  in  order  of  birth : 
Zwingli,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  John  Nevin,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  years  and  was  buried  with  his  mother;  Sarah  M., 
who  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  T.  S.  Land,  D.  D.,  president  of  the  Allen- 
town  college  for  women ;  Ada  O.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-six 
years;  Talitha  A.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifty  years;  Carrie  E.,  who 
lives  at  Sellersville,  Bucks  county;  Ursinus  W.  D.,  who  prepared 
for  the  ministry  of  the  Reformed  church  at  the  theological  seminary 
at  Lancaster  and  died  at  the  age  of  forty  years ;  and  Calvin  H.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  fifiteen.  After  death  had  annulled  the  first  union 
the  father  married  again,  Miss  Wilhelmina  Harple,  of  Bucks  county, 
becoming  his  wife.  To  them  were  born  six  children,  of  whom  but 
two  survive — Susan  E.,  the  wife  of  Dr.  L.  C.  Johnstonbaugh,  of 
West  Bethlehem,  and  J.  Leidy,  now  studying  in  the  Lancaster  theo- 
logical seminary  to  become  a  minister  of  the  Reformed  church.  Rev. 
Zwingli  A.  Yearick  of  this  sketch  received  his  collegiate  education 
at  Franklin  and  Marshall  college,  in  Lancaster,  and  upon  graduation 
he  had  the  honor  of  delivering  the  philosophical  oration.  His  theo- 
logical training  was  received  in  the  seminary  in  the  same  city  and 
his  ministerial  life  was  begun  in  the  summer  of  1875,  when  he  was 
assigned  to  the  pastorate  of  the  New  Berlin  charge,  where  he  had 
four  congregations  under  his  care.  Two  years  later  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Turbotville,  Northumberland  county,  and  there  had  charge 
of  three  congregations  for  five  years.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he 
removed  to  Aaronsburg,  Center  county,  which  at  the  time  had  three 
congregations  in  the  pastorate.  Before  he  left,  in  1889,  to  assume 
a  position  in  a  larger  field  at  Mercersburg,  he  had  organized  two 
new  congregations  and  had  been  the  moving  spirit  in  the  erection 
of  three  church  edifices.  The  Mercersburg  charge  comprised  three 
congregations  at  the  time  of  his  assumption  of  the  pastorate,  and  in 
the  six  years  he  was  there  one  new  congregation  was  organized,  two 
churches  and  a  parsonage  were  built,  another  church  was  rebuilt 
and  the  fourth  was  extensively  repaired,  besides  which  a  heavy  debt 
was  raised.  In  Dec,  1895,  Mr.  Yearick  was  made  pastor  at  Lewis- 
burg,  which  at  the  time  comprised  but  one  congregation.  He  soon 
afterward  organized  a  second,  and  served  both.  His  pastorate  in 
Shenandoah  dates  from  March,  1899,  when  he  assumed  the  charge  of 
Trinity  church,  with  a  membership  of  450.  His  coming  gave  an 
impetus  to  the  work;  the  debt  of  $1,000  which  was  on  the  church 
has  been  raised  and  the  building  has  been  materially  repaired  and 
renovated,  at  a  cost  of  $1,500.  The  sum  of  $3,500  has  also  been  raised 
for  a  parsonage  and  its  improvements.  The  Sunday  school  has  an 
enrollment  of  300  students,  under  the  charge  of  twenty-two  teach- 
ers, and  the  church  societies  are  the  Missionary  society,  the  Ladies' 
Aid  society  and  the  Willing  Workers'  society,  the  last  mentioned 
being  for  children.     On  Sept.  20,   1881,  Mr.  Yearick  married  Miss 


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544  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

Mary  Emma  Shurtz,  who  was  born  near  Turbotville,  a  daughter  of 
Frederick  and  Margaret  A.  Shurtz.    Mr.  Shurtz,  who  was  a  farmer, 
died  May  i8,  1892,  in  Shenandoah,  Iowa.    Mrs.  Yearick  received  her 
educational  advantages  in  the  public  schools  of  White  Pigeon,  Mich., 
whither  her  father  removed  while  she  was  still  a  young  girl.     The 
children  of  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yearick  are  seven  in  number.  Will- 
iam, the  eldest,  is  a  graduate  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  college  and 
is  now  principal  of  schools  at  Alexandria,  Pa. ;  Bertha  Alice  is  a  stu- 
dent in  the  senior  year  at  the  Keystone  state  normal  school,  at  Kutz- 
town ;  and  the  others,  Clara  May,  Emma  M.,  Mary  A.,  Ruth  E.  and 
Susan  W.,  are  all  in  the  public  schools  of  Shenandoah.    Mr.  Yearick 
is  at  present  the  secretary  of  the  ministerial  association  of  Shenan- 
doah, a  position  he  has  held  for  several  years.  .He  is  an  independent 
in  his  political  views  and  does  much  good  in  a  quiet  and  unassuming 
way.     While  a  believer  in  the  cause  of  temperance  he  is  sane  and 
rational  in  his  sentiments  and  does  not  believe  that  the  moral  status 
of  the  community  can  be  helped  by  a  violent  antagonism  to  the  saloon 
element.     He  is  persuaded  that  a  rigid,  conscientious  enforcement 
of  the  laws  by  the  court  and  by  the  county  and  municipal  officials, 
the  enactment  of  local  option,  the  use  of  moral  suasion,  the  inculca- 
tion of  religious  principles,  and  the  development  of  a  proper  public 
sentiment,  are  the  correct  methods  by  which  to  undo  all  social  evils, 
whether  they  be  inherent  in  the  saloon  or  in  other  vicious  institutions. 
Voder,  Nathan  D.,  proprietor  of  the  **Grand  View*'  farm,  near 
Hegins,  was  bom  in  Eldred  township,  Schuylkill  county,   Sept.  4, 
1842.    He  is  a  son  of  William  and  Briggitta  (De  Long)  Yoder,  both 
natives  of  Pennsylvania — ^the  father  of  Schuylkill  and  the  mother  of 
Berks  county.     George  Yoder,  the  grandfather  of  Nathan,  and  his 
brother,  Abraham,  were  the  first  of  the  name  to  settle  in  Schuylkill 
county,  locating  in  what  is  now  Eldred  township,  where  they  secured 
large  tracts  of  land  and  engaged  in  farming.    Abraham  also  built  a 
saw  and  grist  mill,  one  of  the  first  in  the  county,  and  this  mill  is  still 
standing.    George  Yoder  married  Elizabeth  Reiner,  of  Berks  county, 
and  they  had  six  children — Mary,  Sallie,  Hattie,  Elizabeth,  William 
and  Charles — all  now  deceased.    William  Yoder  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  as  well  as  a  farmer.     He  also  taught  school  for  a  while  and 
was  an  active  worker  for  the  temperance  cause.    He  was  interested  in 
music,  was  a  good  singer  and  a  fine  performer  on  the  clarinet.  When 
the  old  Lutheran  church  was  built  in  Eldred  township  he  was  one  of 
the   contributors   and  always  took  great  interest  in   its  work.     In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  though  he  was  never 
a  seeker  for  office.    He  was  a  poet  of  considerable  ability.    He  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-five  years,  and  his  widow,  who  lived  with  her 
son  Nathan  during  the  last  twenty-four  years  of  her  life,  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy-eight.    They  had  five  children.     Mary  Jane  mar- 
ried George  Hepler,  and  is  now  dead,  and  the  others  are  living  at 
Hegins,  where  Enos  D.  is  a  watchmaker  and  jeweler;  Lewis  D.  is  a 
wheelwright,  and  William  D.  is  a  painter.     Nathan  D.  Yoder  was 
educated  in  the  local  schools  and  at  Freeburg  academy,  after  which 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  645 

he  began  teaching.  His  first  term  was  at  Helfenstein,  his  second  at 
home,  and  he  then  taught  six  terms  at  Fountain.  He  then  moved  to 
Hegins  and  has  taught  in  all  twenty-four  terms.  In  1865  he  bought 
sixty-five  acres  of  land  in  Hegins  township  and  commenced  farming. 
In  1888  he  bought  the  farm  of  112  acres,  known  as  the  Wagner 
place,  some  of  which  he  has  sold  oflf  as  lots  in  the  village  of  Hegins. 
He  devotes  considerable  attention  to  fruit  and  stock  growing,  though 
he  raises  all  kinds  of  grain,  and  also  owns  and  operates  a  saw  mill. 
His  farm  is  one  of  the  best  improved  in  the  township  and  shows 
evidence  of  the  intelligence,  and  industry  employed  in  its  manage- 
ment. Jan.  29,  1864,  Mr.  Yoder  was  married  to  Miss  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  Hannah  (Maurer)  Hepler,  of  Eldred  township, 
and  they  have  had  the  following  children:  Oliver  H.,  a  teacher, 
married  Lillie  Jones  and  their  children  are  Howard,  Clarence,  Nel- 
son, Ir^ne,  Dorothy  and  Alice;  Hannah  died  in  childhood;  Jennie 
is  the  wife  of  Walter  Till,  of  Philadelphia,  and  has  one  daughter, 
Mildred;  Ida,  who  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Strausser,  who  is  in  the 
asylum,  a  disabled  engineer,  has  one  son,  Albert,  and  lives  with  her 
father,  following  the  occupation  of  dressmaker;  Mima*  taught  for 
a  time  and  is  now  the  wife  of  Rev.  E.  S.  Faust,  a  minister  of  the 
Reformed  church,  at  St.  Thomas,  Pa.,  with  one  son,  Lawrence  Y. ; 
William  F.  taught  for  several  years,  graduated  at  the  state  normal 
school  in  West  Chester,  and  is  now  attending  Franklin  and  Marshall 
college,  at  Lancaster;  Alvina  is  at  home  with  her  parents;  Emma 
also  is  at  home;  Clara  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years;  Jacob 
H.  is  attending  school  at  West  Chester  preparing  for  college;  Lu- 
ella  is  teaching  at  Reinerton;  and  Daisy  is  deceased.  Mr.  Yoder 
is  a  Republican  and  was  for  ten  years  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
belongs  to  Hegins  Lodge,  No.  726,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, of  which  he  was  secretary  for  thirty  years,  and  served  four 
terms  as  district  deputy  grand  master.  He  and  family  are  members 
of  the  United  Evangelical  church.  He  is  a  friend  of  popular  educa- 
tion and  is  a  careful  reader  of  scientific  agriculture  as  well  as  Chris- 
tianity and  political  subjects. 

Yuengling,  David  G.,  deceased,  founder  of  the  great  brewing 
establishment  of  D.  G.  Yuengling  &  Son,  of  Pottsville,  was  bom  on 
March  6,  1806,  in  the  kingdom  of  Wiirtemberg,  now  a  part  of  the 
German  empire.  He  received  his  education  in  Sie  schools  of  his  na- 
tive province,  learned  the  brewing  business  there  and  in  1827  came 
to  America.  His  first  two  years  m  this  country  were  spent  in  Balti- 
more, Md.,  where  he  landed,  but  in  1829  he  went  to  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  after  a  short  residence  there  came  to  Pottsville.  Here  he  built 
a  small,  unpretentious  brewery  on  Center  street,  and  from  this  hum- 
ble beginning  has  developed  the  extensive  plant  of  the  D.  G.  Yueng- 
ling &  Son  bi;ervery,  one  of  the  best  equipped  in  eastern  Pennsylva- 
nia. Mr.  Yuengling  continued  actively  connected  with  the  concern 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1877.  For  almost  half  a  century 
Mr.  Yuengling  was  closely  identified  with  the  commercial  life  and 
municipal  affairs  of  Pottsville.  During  this  time  he  was  active  in 
35--V0I.  II 


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546  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

promoting  the  interests  of  the  city  in  various  ways.  Not  only  was 
he  successful  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  brewing  concern  which  still 
bears  his  name,  but  he  was  also  connected  with  other  industrial  en- 
terprises that  have  been  of  ereat  benefit  to  the  city.  He  was  the 
first  president  of  the  PottsvilTe  Gas  Company,  holding  the  office  for 
3.  number  of  years,  and  the  present  successful  status  of  the  company 
is  due  in  a  g^eat  measure  to  the  superb  executive  ability  he  displayed 
in  the  management  of  its  affairs  during  the  earlier  years  of  its  exist- 
ence. He  was  for  some  time  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Pottsville 
Water  Company,  and  was  actively  associated  with  several  institutions 
of  similar  character.  Politically  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  in  munici- 
pal politics  wielded  a  large  and  beneficent  influence,  as  he  also  did 
in  county  affairs.  Mr.  Yuengling  was  a  member  of  the  German 
Lutheran  church  and  took  a  commendable  interest  in  all  its  good 
works.  For  several  years  he  held  the  office  of  vestryman  and  when 
the  German  Lutheran  church  was  erected  in  Pottsville  he  gave 
$10,000  to  the  cause.  While  this  fact  is  generally  known  and  ap- 
plauded, he  gave  away  many  a  dollar  in  unostentatious  charity,  of 
which  no  one  knew  except  the  beneficiary  and  the  all-wise  Creator. 
Mr.  Yuengling  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Betz,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  three  sons  and  seven  daughters.  One  son,  Frederick, 
succeeded  to  the  management  of  the  brewery  upon  the  death  of  his 
father.  (See  sketch  elsewhefe.)  Notwithstanding  Mr.  Yuengling 
took  great  concern  in  public  matters  he  could  never  be  prevailed 
upon  to  accept  public  office.  He  was  a  business  man  and  his  highest 
ambition  was  to  achieve  success  in  his  chosen  vocation.  In  all  his 
long  and  useful  career  he  never  trampled  upon  the  rights  or  im- 
munities of  his  fellow  men,  but  was  always  open  and  above  board 
in  his  dealings,  strictly  honest,  and  "even  his  failings  leaned  to  vir- 
tue's side.'*  Consequently  his  death  was  sincerely  mourned  by  a 
large  number  of  friends  and  his  loss  will  be  felt  for  years  to  come, 
especially  among  those  with  whom  he  was  most  intimately  asso- 
ciated. 

Yuengling,  Frank  D. — The  gentleman  whose  name  begins  this 
article  represents  the  third  generation  of  his  family  who  have  been 
prominently  identified  with  the  brewing  establishment  of  D.  G. 
Yuengling  &  Son.  He  is  a  son  of  Frederick  G.  Yuengling,  a  sketch 
of  whom  will  be  found  in  this  volume,  and  was'  bom  in  Pottsville, 
Sept.  27,  1876.  Neither  time  nor  money  was  spared  in  his  education, 
and  perhaps  the  trend  of  his  life-work  was  changed  by  the  untimely 
death  of  his  father.  After  leaving  the  public  schools  of  Pottsville 
he  attended  the  Hill  school  in  this  city  for  three  years;  pursued  a 
two  years'  course  at  Phillips  academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  and  a  course 
of  two  years  at  Princeton  university,  Princeton,  N.  J.  He  was  then 
called  home  to  assume  charge  of  the  business  which  now  engages  his 
attention,  and  which  was  conducted  by  his  father  until  his  death. 
This  arduous  duty  involves  the  superintendence  of  the  large  and  in- 
tricate business  in  all  its  varied  details.  Somewhat  more  than  a  hun- 
dred men  are  employed  in  the  various  departments  and  about  thirty 


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"TBE  new  YORxl 
PUBLIC    UCf.AHVl 

1 


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'/  6^^^  i^^  G 


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K  w 


.ii;tl    \\.'ij^f"'fs    arc    HI    .      .'•'.' 
,  '    -'ih-i  to  the  retail   tr;ulc      ■      -■•■  *.'*     • 
1    '-     V.  Il»-k"SaU'  «kMiviul  is   w  ; 

T  t'xccllciit  bn^iiU"«.s  Mtia'u:   t  »  :     . 
-•;,    HJ07.   he  nuirrir.l   .^v.:^u-    -   •       t" 
arc   well   kiKjWTi   ami  ]>iM>o;::i    . -r    •.     ' 
Mr.    Yuen^hnj^  hnhU   iiuint)rr.-!i;;>   •:      : 
nevolent   and   Trotective   ()r<Ur     .f    '  '     . 
iiity.     !{e  is  a  meniher  of  the  I'liit^.' 
i'(ntsville  chih.  J'c'ttsville  C^onini'-rei  .1    •'  ■, 
a  director  of  tin    P»  i:ii.-^  Kania  >"at:-  t.<:  ' 
cuo'Matic>n. 

Yuengling,    Frederic  k    G.,    decea  ol. 
ElizalKti     i  Hetz )    Ym.nuiiTitr.    was    l>^>ii) 


i!i    th^t 
..1  I    1.. 


'_.    t*!!     lan.     J 

^ch<»oU   be 

lit    a    pri^a'.- 

t^pleted    Piv 

\.   Y.      I  i- 

father  ^  t,.-- 


184H,   and   ■:  . 
I^ottsville  p\ 
Center  count;, 
v.,   in    1S65,  a'       *     • 
C()llef2:e,   of   Pouj,^^'- 
had  the  nianapi^eiiu  ..» 
when  he  went  to  lair. 
WluMi   he    returned   iv 
I>rewini:^   Po:iii)aTi^*.  of   1'';.;,.  .  ' 

more  pract»oal  kn.>\  Icdt^^c  of  il 
sociated  with  hi-    vithi  r  under  i- 
Son.      C  See  skUJi    )f  David  G.    \ 
•ained  by  the  bT-A-^rx,  though  both 
r»  their   eternal   rtAud.      The  bre\\« 
•'.1^:0  street,   Tr-tt^^ilic.  tn^ploys  ovei 
♦nts;  about  thutv    tcj'ins  are  kept  In 
hict   to   the    retai-   t^;.  le   in   the   a-l; 
•    trade  extetuK  tlr  >ti«.rh(>ut  Stl^t'.'t' 
' -'nciii,  Luzerne  ami   Lvct^ning  :."•: 
■  .delphia,    P.(>ston    aiul   other    L^ 
<  of  this  brewfry   is  <hte   :i'   ,.    ■ 
'  iti')n  and  technical  skill  or   f- 
•   vears  of  his  life  to  !i:.^.    ••'. 
.  r,  which  ba^  e  since   • 
^      Mr.  yue;iLdin|T  vsa-  .• 
thoui^h  b*-  IS  best  t-  •- 

•  .'•■■   ^hat    still  bears   I.-     :, 

•  *    •      (Minpany;    vi'*   ] 

*>    .I'ld'the    S' 

l-t     V     .    '» 

\ecijti\t    'i-iii^v  \.  • 
1  man  of  raif*  ta'-i 
In  fratt  rual  en    '. 
.  ^^.e  and  Accept t-l     . 


r  M  a  (I'tr.  »< 

-:'v.      F;     , 


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^IOGRAPHICAL  547 

teams  and  wagpns  are  in  constant  requisition  in  distributing  the 
product  to  the  tetail  trade  in  surrounding  towns  and  villages,  while 
the  wholesale  demand  is  very  large.  Mr.  Yuengling  is  a  young  man 
of  excellent  business  attainments  and  fine  executive  ability.  On  Apr. 
24,  1907,  lie  married  Augusta  C.  Roseberry,  of  Pottsville,  and  they 
are  well  known  and  popular  among  the  young  people  of  Pottsville. 
Mr.  Yuengling  holds  membership  in  Pottsville  Lodge,  No.  207,  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  in  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity. He  is  a  member  of  the  United  States  Brewers'  association,  the 
Pottsville  club,  Pottsville  Commercial  club,  Good  Intent  fire  company, 
a  director  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  bank  and  of  the  Union  Hall 
association. 

Yuengling,  Frwkrick  G.,  deceased,  a  son  of  David  G.  and 
Elizabeth  (Betz)  Yuengling,  was  bom  in  Pottsville,  Pa.,  Jan.  26, 
1848,  and  died  in  that  city  on^Jan.  2,  1899.  After  attending  the 
Pottsville  public  and  high  schools  he  entered  the  State  college,  in 
Center  county,  graduated  at  a  private  school  on  Staten  Island,  N. 
Y.,  in  1865,  and  then  completed  the  course  in  Eastman's  business 
college,  of  Poughkecpsie,  N.  Y.  Upon  finishing  his  education  he 
had  the  management  of  his  father's  brewery  at  Pottsville  until  1871, 
when  he  went  to  Europe  to  study  the  art  of  brewing  in  that  country. 
When  he  returned  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Berger  &  Engel 
Brewing  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
more  practical  knowledge  of  the  business,  and  in  1873  he  became  as- 
sociated with  his  father  under  the  firm  name  of  D.  G.  Yuengling  & 
Son.  (See  sketch  of  David  G.  Yuengling.)  That  name  is  still  re- 
tained by  the  brewery,  though  both  the  father  and  son  have  passed 
to  their  eternal  reward.  The  brewery  is  located  on  West  Mahan- 
tongo  street,  Pottsville;  employs  over  100  men  in  the  various  depart- 
ments; about  thirty  teams  are  kept  in  constant  use,  distributing  the 
product  to  the  retail  tr^de  in  the  adjacent  towns,  while  the  whole- 
sale trade  extends  throughout  Schuylkill,  Northumberland,  Dauphin, 
Lebanon,  Luzerne  and  Lycoming  counties,  as  well  as  to  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Boston  and  other  large  eastern  cities.  The  eminent 
success  of  this  brewfry  is  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  thorough 
preparation  and  technical  skill  of  Frederick  G.  Yuengling,  who  gave 
the  best  years  of  his  life  to  improving  the  quality  of  their  beer,  ale 
and  porter,  which  have  since  been  kept  up  to  the  high  standard  he 
established.  Mr.  Yuengling  was  also  interested  in  a  number  of  other 
enterprises,  though  he  is  best  remembered  as  the  active  head  of  the 
great  brewery  that  still  bears  his  name.  He  was  president  of  the 
Pottsville  Gas  Company;  vice-president  of  the  Schuylkill  Electric 
Railway  Company  and  the  Schuylkill  Real  Estate,.  Title  Insurance 
and  Trust  Company ;  and  a  director  in  the  Safe  Deposit  bank  and  the 
Pottsville  Walter  Company.  In  all  these  corporations  the  high  order 
of  his  executive  ability  was  demonstrated,  and  his  associates  esteemed 
him  as  a  man  of  rare  tact  and  discrimination  in  the  management  of 
affairs.  In  fraternal  circles  he  was  a  member  of  Pulaski  I^dge,  No. 
216,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  which  he  was  deservedly  popu- 


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548  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

lar  because  of  his  liberal  charity  and  general  good  fellowship.  He 
was  a  member  of  and  liberal  contributor  to  the  Trinity  Episcopsd 
churchy  his  Christianity  heiufr  of  that  practical  kind  that  influenced 
his  conduct  in  his  relations  with  his  fellow  men.  In  April,  1873,  Mr. 
Yuengling  and  Miss  Minna  Dohrman,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  were 
united  in  marriage,  and  to  this  union  were  bom  two  children.  The 
eldest  is  deceased.  The  widow  and  surviving  son,  Frank  D.,  still 
reside  in  Pottsville. 

Zapf,  Charles,  a  prosperous  brewer  residing  in  Minersville,  was 
bom  in  Baden,  Germany,  June  22,  1836,  a  son  of  Charles  and  Cecelia 
Zapf.  The  father,  who  was  a  lumberman>  reared  a  family  of  ten 
children,  of  whom  but  three  are  living.  The  subject  of  this  review 
received  such  educational  advantages  as  were  afforded  by  the  schools 
of  his  native  land  and  then  learned  the  trade  of  brewer  and  cooper. 
Iljis  residence  in  the  United  States  dates  from  1854,  in  which  year 
he  immigrated  to  Philadelphia.  Liter  in  the  same  year  he  went  to 
Pottsville  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  old  George  Lawer  Brewing 
Company,  subsequently  working  in  that  town  for  F.  C.  Kuenczler 
and  J.  G.  Yuengling.  In  1870  he  came  to  Minersville  and  for  five 
years  was  in  the  employ  of  Daniel  Frier.  Then  he  embarked  in  the 
brewery  business  on  his  own  account  and  has  continued  in  it  most 
successfully.  The  concern  now  employs  seven  men,  including  Mr. 
Zapf's  two  sons,  and  manufactures  a  beer  noted  for  its  purity  and 
wholesomeness.  Mr.  Zapf  s  other  business  interests  include  a  direc- 
torship in  the  Minersville  Savings  bank.  On  Aug.  17,  1856,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Catherina  Eberly,  a  native  of  Schuylkill 
county,  and  a  daughter  of  the  late  Christian  and  Rosena  Eberly.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zapf  were  born  four  children.  William,  the  eldest,  is 
engaged  in  business  with  his  father.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Hart, 
by  whom  he  has  one  child,  Earl.  Fred,  also  engaged  in  business 
with  his  father,  married  Miss  Jennie  Schrop  and  is  the  father  of  two 
children,  Clyde  and  Helen.  Matilda  is  Mrs.  Patrick  Gilmore  resi- 
ding in  Williamstown ;  and  Louisa  is  Mrs.  James  Clendenning,  of 
Chester,  Pa.  The  parents  are  both  members  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran church,  in  which  faith  the  children  were  reared.  In  1861  Mr. 
Zapf  enlisted  at  President  Lincoln's  call  for  75,000  volunteers  for 
three  months'  service.  The  regiment  was  exposed  to  hardships  and 
exposure  in  Virginia  and  was  on  the  way  to  participate  in  the  first 
battle  of  Bull  Run  when  it  was  learned  that  the  action  had  ceased. 
When  his  term  of  enlistment  had  expired  he  was  mustered  out  and 
did  not  return  to  the  service.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Minersville 
post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  but  is  identified  with  no 
secret  organization.  Mr.  Zapf  is  a  man  of  innate  business  sagacity, 
enterprising  and  enthusiastic  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  citi- 
zens of  the  community. 

Zerbey,  Joseph  Henry,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Pottsville 
Daily  Republican  and  Weekly  Schuylkill  Republican,  who,  by  his 
own  personal  efforts  and  with  the  assistance  of  his  two  newspapers, 
has  done  much  to  build  up  his  native  town  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  was 


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IS 


SCHUYLKILL  CO^'MY 


a   i'K'Tr»l)cr  of  a  I  id  libera!   c   itr-       -:    *  •   U<   "'.  "Ji^fty    Mpi-or>pal 
. ::,   hi"  t 'hri'^tiHaitv  being  ••:   t^'at  :  .a  jcr^   ki'ia  il\at  luliuenced 

'    '  ■     '  fn  April    187^.  Mr. 


'  i  !;•♦-  m  }  i>  iclaiionb  witi.  hi>  f. 


,    ■.^•'   aii'l    Miss    MitiM.i    I -O' •  rr- 

.   .   tn  ••'luriai;'.,  a.f!   ••>  tii;>  lai'-ti 

■    ■>   flocrasod       The   v  ul'^w    c^-iU 

-:   ..      !li     T'')tt>Vi!l:\ 

'•:  ''adcii,  (Jtnnarj\,  Jvi^  ./ *    -^ 
-     t.    '['*ie    tallaT,    wju-    -Ni^    a    •'■    '•>• 


j'\  ■ 


t:  l^md  " 

V 

t\ , 

ti.r   ill   l: 

*. 

f-l 

:iMi   to    f' 

1 

to    tnt'"- 

t,  . 

,,. 

•    .l>-\  rM  t': 

•■\ 

»\ 

.,   of    I'^.-oklyii.    \.    Y.,    v^ere 
v\'<*  '■  :v  rn  t\^o  ohiWrin.     The 

■  rr      V-  •;    -'  '1,    Ft?itk    D.,    Still 

^  r.   .:»np«:   in   M':;ors\  :llc,  was 
*  ■   a  son  ot  V  !i:trlvs  and  Cecelia 
-  •  .nati,   rt-ared   a    lainily   of  ten 
.*j      'I  i.o  subuTt  ot  t:  IS  review 
as  wC'-  art'^'rdcd  bv  *be  sell  ;</i<? 
'u'  trad*    of  brewer  and  cooper. 
V'lw    i>^54,  in   w^.lch  year 
.rnt  to 
••;\vin: 


t».  N  date>  f 

l.ator  in  Uu  .>a'-i.-  year  }\. 
•  t    ttv*   o^d    Oc. •'^ifc    L,u\^•^^ 


.u 


hat   t»»*wi    tor    F. 


Kiienc: 


•  -     1,  i . .       I !"".    ••'in-  '••  11 
.  \.''  ^    t\Vo  ^'Ms.   :iiMi   T'-.i     -t  .. 

W.a  ^'  -rv::R'.u-   s.       Mr.    /a}.!"-    • 

r"".r.ip  in  the  Mi^K-r-^viIlt    ^1.. 
T'lited  in  m  irrML:**  '■  ■    ^    -  -  ' 
e-junty,  and  a  dan.c'ler  ,^f  t-.  • 
Mr.  and  Mr^.  Zajd*  wen    1>^  i :. 


•-<•  iic  .--.  '  i'  t.,    \hnersvil:c  and   f-M    t  .c 
))jiii-'l   ]•-'■-       ''hen  he  ei  loarkid  i'    the 
*!  a«'rtN'^-'    ;'i.d   lu*<  cnUinued   in   .f   loosi 
•w   •"     ^'  •\  ■    .srsiu   n:en.   iiK'lut't^ig    Mr. 
■  ■•  !  '■'      -t    .HM '•   n».)rt"d   f'")t    it^   r'wiiy   atjd 
.    '  ii>    .v\->   ip'' TC^i?  mcl,itU*  a  <lu''.  - 
1 .  .'•  .     t..'.nK'.     On  Aner.  i""     <^(i,  he  was 
'•^I'l.i   i^bcrly,  a  native  t'-    Schu\':kin 
.  •  :   '.    t.  hi  i^rian  and  Ivo^tria  Tberly,     lo 
•    (fiiMren.     WilHani.  l!ie  rlf'.e>t,  is 


cn*^a^e(l  in  bn^in*\'s>  with  hi-   fa*    r.     fie  niarried  M:^s  Mary  Hart. 


by  v\hom  he   has  one   cbiid.   }",»ri 
with  his  father,  married  Mi^s  /■  '/' 
children,   Clyde  an»l    HeKn.      N'aw 
ding   in   Willian^town  ;   a. id    L.^a.-,     : 
Chester,   V-i      The  ] parents  art   \»y''\   ' 
eran  cluirch,  in  whi<-fi  failh  the  c''?!   ' 
Zapf  enlisted   at  TVe-^ideiU   Lineal*  ■ 
three  tu^'nth.-.'  "erMLf.      1  lie  re^nr.«  - 
exposi'Tt   in  Vir^Mnia  an*!  was  on  t]  •• 
battle  oi  Ru!]   Kun   \vhen  it  was  io.-T-, 
When  his  tcim  cf  rnl'-iMH'tit  ha-'  e\^ 


IVed.  also  eng-a.i^ed   in  business 
^v  hrop  and  is  the  father  of  two 
\   >-    ^i^s.    Patiick  (lilinorc   resi- 
:      >lri>.    f.mv,  <   Clend«^nnin|:^.   of 
'     ^libers  cf  the  Gennan  Luth 
v'.j  were  reared.     In   1861   Mr 
•i'l    for   7".cx>^:)  v^^hinteers   f»' 
A  1^  .  \oo-»d  to  iiard.ships  ar\^. 
••    .» ,  ■.    to  na'ticipate  in  the  fir 
•>- i"'     ii  1^  die  action   ha<i  cease" 
Jje  WHS  mnsttMed  out 'a* 
'  le'iibei   oi  the   Miners\ 


did  not  return  to  the  service.     He 
p<'-t  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  k'n:nl)ij^,  I*Mt  is  identified  witli 
secret  oi^ranizati'^n.     Mr.  Zapf  is  a  n-an  ■>(  rinate  bu.-»iness  saga 
cntcrpiising  and  enttiusia<tic  and  is  held  in  high  tsteeni  by  the 
zons  of  tiie  community. 

Zcrbey,    loseph  Henry,   editor  and    prfpr'^t'^r  of  the    Pott- 
Daily    Republican   and   Weekly    Schinlkill    Repu^divan,    who,   ^■ 
t>wn  personal  efforts  and  with  the  assistance  t*:'  ]n^  two  news- 
ha,  done  nuich  to  build  up  his  native  town  ot   I'ottsville,  P* 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  549 

born  June  15,  1858,  the  third  one  of  the  five  sons  of  William  Merkle 
Zerbey  and  his  wife,  Sarah  Louise.  The  father,  William  Merkle 
Zerbey,  was  bom  in  OrwigsbUrg,  Schuylkill  county,  in  1824,  and 
twenty  years  later  removed  to  Pottsville,  in  which  place  he  resided 
until  his  death,  in  181^1.  Father  Zerbey  was-  possessed  of  unusually 
lovable,  energetic  characteristics  and  was  noted  for  his  strict  integ* 
rity  and  perfect  habits.  He  originally  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter, 
but  early  in  life  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  window  decorations, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  one  of  Pottsville's  prominent  merchants, 
being  admired  by  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  Quiet  and  un- 
ostentatious, he  refused  political  preferment  a  number  of  times,  being 
content  to  act  as  an  official  of,  first,  the  Evangelical,  and  afterward 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  also  of  several  financial  institu* 
tions.  The  mother,  Mrs.  Sarah  Louise  (Swalm)  Zerbey,  also  a  na- 
tive of  Orwigsburg,  was  bom  in  1832  and  is  still  living  at  the  time 
of  the  publication  of  this  sketch.  The  children  bom  to  William  M. 
and  Sarah  L.  Zerbey  were  Ella,  widow  of  Charles  D.  Elliott,  for 
some  years  the  associate  editor  of  the  Daily  Republican;  William, 
deceased ;  Adelia  E.  married  Frank  A.  Harper,  an  official  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia ft  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  and  after  his  decease 
she  married  Horace  S.  Kirk,  a  foreman  of  the  Philadelphia  ft  Read- 
ing car  shops;  John  F.,  for  years  a  bank  cashier,  next  clerk  to  the 
county  commissioners,  and  latterly  national  bank  examiner;  Heber 
S.,  formerly  a  tutor  by  profession  and  afterward  succeeding  to  the 
business  of  W.  M.  Zerbey  &  Son,  window  decorations,  stationery, 
etc.;  Robert  A.,  for  several  years  associate  business  manager  of  the 
Daily  Republican,  died  in  1893 ;  Frederick  E.,  division  superintendent 
Wilkes  Barre  district,  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company;  and  Sara  Fran- 
ces, wife  of  W.  B.  Hill,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  pianos,  etc., 
in  New  York.  Joseph  H.  Zerbey,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
married  June  16,  1880,  to  Cora  E.,  daughter  of  Gen.  Joshua  K.  Sig- 
fried,  of  Pottsville.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Zerbey  have  had  a  family  of 
five  children:  Miss  Frances,  Miss  Edith,  deceased;  Joseph  Henry, 
Jr.,  and  two  little  girls,  Misses  Mildred  and  Elizabeth.  The  family 
home  is  located  on  Howard  avenue,  at  the  corner  of  Fifteenth  street. 
Joseph  H.  Zerbey  was  educated  in  the  excellent  schools  of  Pottsville 
and  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  1875,  before  he  was  seven- 
teen years  old,  standing  one  of  the  highest  in  his  class.  Shortly  there- 
after he  took  up  permanent  work  at  his  chosen  vocation,  in  the  office 
bf  the  Schuylkill  Republican,  then  being  published  at  Minersville,  a 
suburb  of  Pottsville.  He  thoroughly  acquainted  himself  with  all  the 
duties  of  the  various  departments  of  the  newspaper  and  publishing 
business,  starting  in  as  the  latest  apprentice,  altfiough  he  was  urged 
to  at  once  devote  all  his  time  to  the  business  department,  but  he 
worked  as  a  printer  in  the  daytime  and  at  night  labored  long  hours 
at  the  business  and  reportorial  work.  The  Schuylkill  Republican, 
which  in  its  prime  was  undoubtedly  the  most  wide-awake  and  best 
representative  weekly  newspaper  ever  printed  in  the  Schuylkill  coal 
region,  was  established  Dec.  14,  1872,  by  Charles  D.  Elliott  and  John 


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550  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

O.  Beck,  at  that  time  both  well  known  practical  printers,  actively 
engaged  in  the  newspaper  business  in  the  county  seat    Deeming  tiiat 
there  was  .a  first-class  opeijing  for  a  good,  up-to-date  county  news- 
paper representing  the   free,   unbiased,  untrammeled   views  of  the 
people  of  the  region,  these  veterans  combined  their  energy  and  ex- 
periences, and  on  the  above  date  began  the  publication  of  this  old- 
time,  splendidly  popular  newspaper  at  Minersville,  four  miles  from 
Pottsville.     With  varying  fortunes  the  two  partners  worked  in  har- 
mony imtil  June  of  1874,  when,  as  a  result  of  failing  health,  Mr. 
Beck  retired  and  C.  D.  Elliott  became  the  sole  editor  and  proprietor, 
continuing  at  the  business  until  Sept.,  1878,  when  J.  H.  Zerbey,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  who  had  been  in  charge  of  the  Pottsville 
branch  crfBce  from,  and  set  type  for,  the  first  publication  of  the  paper 
in  1872,  and  afterward  a  regular  employe  of  the  concern,  became  a 
partner,  and,  a  year  later,  in   1879,  Mr.  Zerbey  acquired  the  sole 
ownership  of  the  entire  establishment  from  Mr.  Elliott,  who  went 
west  to  engage  in  the  newspaper  business  in  his  native  state  of  Wis- 
consin.    For  a  weekly  newspaper  without  any  daily  paper  affiliation 
the  Schuylkill  Republican  always  maintained  a  widespread  reputa- 
tion as  a  fearless,  outspoken  exponent  of  the  interests  of  the  people, 
favoring  anti-ring  Republicanism,  opposed  to  corporation  and  class 
domination,  and  at  all  times  advocating  the  rights  of  the  masses  as 
against  the  usurpation  of  the  classes.     With  the  inception  of  Mr. 
Zerbey's  sole  ownership  and  active  editorship  new  life  was  put  into 
the  publication  in  every  department,  as  well  as  the  latest  machinery 
and  appliances  added  to  the  equipment,  and  with  this  and  the  new 
energy  thus  directing  its  management  the  paper  took  on  fresh  im- 
petus and  soon  was  commanding  such  an  extended  influence  in  the 
coal  region,  and  had  such  a  large  number  of  readers,  that  it  was 
deemed  best  to  move  the  publication  office  to  Pottsville,  which  was 
done  in  April,  1884.     The  proprietor  felicitated  himself  with  what 
was  considered  a  splendid  achievement  at  that  time,  making     the 
change   without   intenference   with   the   regular   publication   of   the 
paper,  the  printing  office  apparatus  being  moved  from  the  one  town 
to  the  other  and  continuing  its  publication  uninterruptedly  without 
assistance  from  any  other  establishment.     In  Pottsville  the  Schuyl- 
kill Republican  was  located  in  the  Clay  building,  opposite  the  Acad- 
emy of  Music,  within  half  a  block  of  Center  street,  on  Mahantongo 
street,  almost  exactly  on  the  site  of  the  first  early-day  postoffice  of 
the  town,  a  place  which  had  been  the  scene  of  numerous  newspaper 
failures,  which  same  fate  was  predicted  for  the  Schuylkill  Repub- 
lican at  that  time  by  many  people,  even  counting  among  these  some 
of  the  paper's  best  friends;  but  there  never  was  such  a  word  as  fail 
in  the  make-up  of  the  proprietor  of  this  newspaper  establishment. 
After  a  busy  experience  as  a  weekly  paper,  at  the  end  of  five  months, 
without  any  preliminary  preparations,  it  was  suddenly  decided  by  Mr. 
Zerbey,  on  Oct.  28,  1884,  to  start  the  publication  of  an  every-day- 
except-Sunday  issue,  and  on  that  date  the  Pottsville  Daily  Republican 
was  bom.     In  size  the  new  candidate  for  public  favor  was  hardly 


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BIOGRAPHICAL  551 

larger  than  a  window  pane,  but  it  was  "chuck  full"  of  news  and  original 
matter.  From  the  start  the  paper  at  once  jumped  into  public  favor, 
and  notwithstanding  the  field  was  supposed  to  be  thoroughly  occu- 
pied by  the  then,  well  established  daily  papers,  morning  and  evening, 
yet  the  newcomer  made  rapid  strides  on  the  road  to  ultimate  great 
success,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years  was  enlarged,  receiving  telegraphic 
dispatches  and  putting  in  new  presses  and  type.  From  1884  to  1895 
the  Daily  Republican  continued  in  its  original  quarters,  although  it 
needed  more  elbow  room  and  additional  facilities,  as  the  business  kept 
on  constantly  increasing,  with  the  paper  being  enlarged  from  time  to 
time.  On  July  5,  1895,  the  entire  plant,  with  its  afternoon  and  weekly 
publication  business,  together  with  a  well  organized  job  and  book 
binding  trade  and  all  the  extensive  equipment  necessary  thereto,  was 
moved  to  an  old  foundry  building  at  the  comer  of  Howard  and  Rail- 
road streets,  without  losing  a  single  edition  of  the  daily  paper,  the 
entire  publication  being  continued  with  the  office's  own  equipment  and 
the  whole  business  going  on  uninterruptedly  as  if  no  heavy  machinery 
or  hundreds  of  tons  of  apparatus  had  to  be  moved.  While  the  paper 
was  being  published  in  these  temporary  quarters,  work  on  a  new  build- 
ing on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  and  the  gathering  in  of  the  latest  ma- 
chinery and  up-to-date  appliances  were  pushed  ahead.  On  Dec.  9, 
1895,  the  handsome  new  four-story,  specially  constructed  printing- 
office  building  was  declared  completed,  the  old  equipment  was  moved 
back,  and  then,  with  the  addition  of  the  new  machinery  and  other 
appliances,  including  linotype,  stereotyping  and  perfecting-press  ma- 
chinery that  had  already  been  put  in  place  in  the  new  home,  the  pub- 
lication of  the  daily  paper,  at  that  time  running  five  editions  a  day, 
was  continued  without  interruption,  notwithstanding  the  removal  from 
the  temporary  to  the  new  permanent  building,  several  squares  apart. 
For  weeks  after  the  new  building  was  occupied,  in  the  midst  of  one 
of  the  bitterest  winter  seasons,  heavy  canvas  had  to  be  used  to  take 
the  place  of  the  regular  basement  front,  which  had  been  unavoidably 
delayed,  and  yet  in  spite  of  these  and  other  mechanical  difficulties  the 
different  editions  of  the  paper  were  printed  uninterruptedly.  From 
the  occupancy  of  this  new  building  and  the  addition  of  its  splendid, 
fresh  equipment,  the  progress  of  the  Pottsville  Daily  Republican  was 
specially  pleasing  to  its  editor  and  proprietor,  a  wonderment  to  its 
friends  and  the  envy  of  its  enemies.  To-day  the  Pottsville  Republican 
enters  into  nearly  12,000  homes  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  of 
Pottsville,  and  it  stands  forth  as  one  of  the  most  successful  newspaper 
ventures  the  interior  of  the  state  has  ever  witnessed,  this  result  being 
the  outcome  of  the  tenacious  determination  and  unceasing  hard  work 
of  Joseph  H.  Zerbey,  the  editor  and  proprietor  since  1879  of  the 
Schuylkill  Republican,  weekly,  and  of  the  Pottsville  Daily  Republican, 
founded  by  him  in  1884.  In  its  time  the  Pottsville  Daily  Republican, 
under  Mr.  Zerbey's  able  direction  and  careful  editorship,  has  accom- 
plished great  work  for  the  home  community,  and  has  always  been 
found  leading  the  vanguard  in  the  battle  for  additional  local  indus- 
tries, purification  of  home  government,  building  up  of  the  hard-coal 


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552  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

region  and  the  elevation  of  the  condition  of  the  people  generally. 
Among  the  special  results  accomplished  by  Mr.  Zert«y  and  his  Dauly 
Republican  were  the  inception  of  the  movements  that  led  to  die  present 
day  extensive  Tilt  silk  mill,  and  the  numerous  shirt  and  stocking 
factory  industries ;  the  affording  of  rival  steam  railway  facilities  for 
die  lower  Schuyllcill  coal  field,  whereby,  through  the  Repobfican's 
advocacy,  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  Pennsylvania  railroad  companies 
built  into  Pottsville;  the  improvement  of  the  tel^japh  and  telephone 
facilities;  the  active  encouragement  and  participation  taken  in  the 
organization  of  the  Steam-Heat,  the  Anthracite  and  Edison  Electric 
Light  and  other  local  utility  companies;  the  erection  of  the  first 
private  business  building,  the  Daily  Republican  office,  of  fire-proof 
construction;  the  building  of  the  electric  railway  in  Pottsville,  with 
Mr.  Zerbey  as  the  secretary,  his  father-in-law.  Gen.  J.  K.  Sigfried, 
president,  and  his  brother,  John  F.  Zerbey,  the  treasurer,  which  was 
the  sixth  organization  of  its  kind  to  be  started  in  the  United  States ; 
the  establishing  of  a  Board  of  Trade,  of  which  Mr.  Zerbey  has  been 
the  president  for  many  years;  and  the  popularizing  of  the  Pottsville 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  a  conservative  institution  that  has  done 
much  for  the  town,  and  of  which  for  nearly  a  score  of  years  Mr. 
Zerbey  has  been  president.  'Besides  all  these,  he  is  a  director  in  a 
number  of  public  institutions  and  associations,  a  member  of  the  Potts- 
ville club,  and  one  of  the  active  spirits  in  the  Outdoor  club,  with  hand- 
some quarters  in  the  western  limits  of  town ;  and  also  specially  worthy 
of  note  is  the  very  prominent  part  taken  by  Mr.  Zerbey,  and  endorsed 
by  his  newspaper,  in  the  construction  of  the  magnificent  $160,000 
church  edifice  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  congregation,  a 
structure  which  is  undoubtedly  the  most  imposing  at  this  time  of  all 
the  public  institutions  that  have  yet  been  erected  here  in  Pottsville. 
Mr.  Zerbey  was  chairman  of  the  congregational  meeting  that  decided 
to  enter  upon  the  construction  of  a  new  church,  and  also  was  a  very 
active  member  of  the  building  committee  in  charge  of  its  construc- 
tion, and  was  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  of  the  board  of 
trustees  These  are  some  of  the  many  splendid  achievements  which 
are  drawn  out  of  the  laborious  work  of  the  editor  and  the  important 
influence  of  his  newspaper.  In  political  work  Mr.  Zerbey,  with  his 
newspaper,  has  been  very  influential  and  •  successful,  always  being 
ready  to  assist  in  curing  the  evils  in  the  Republican  party  whenever 
they  became  too  glaring.  During  its  career  the  Republican  has  been 
very  largely  instrumental  in  revolutionizing  the  conducting  of  the 
county's  business  affairs,  and  for  the  eight  years  preceding  1906,  it 
formulated  and  made  a  success  of  the  system  whereby  the  county  was 
given  the  best  administration  of  the  county  commissioners*  office  that 
it  has  ever  had,  resulting  in  numerous  economies  and  a  very  heavy 
decrease  in  the  county's  debt  and  tax  rate.  Several  times  in  its  history 
the  Republican  has  seen  fit  to  assist  in  the  defeat  of  unworthy  party 
candidates,  and  one  year,  by  maintaining  its  own  county  organization, 
the  Republican  elected  an  entire  reform  legislative  delegation,  where- 
by the  local  professional  lobbyists  were  relegated  to  the  rear,  never 


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BIOGRAPHICAL   -  553 

to  get  baek  their  complete  contrpl  of  the  party's  machinery.  Before 
the  publication  of  the  Daily  Republican^as  started  it  was  only  a  very 
unusual  exception  for  a  Republican  nominee  to  be  elected  to  any 
office  in  Schuylkill  county,  but  as  a  result  of  the  Republican's  efforts 
to  improve  the  administration  of  local  affairs  and  the  thorough  sup- 
port given  its  movements  by  the  general  public,  the  political  com- 
plexion of  the  county  has  been  reversed  and  Schuylkill  placed  among 
the  regular  Republican  majority  districts  of  the  state.  Mr.  Zerbey  has 
always  been  a  strong  friend  of  the  working  men  and  has  assisted 
very  materially  in  ameliorating  their  condition;  he  is  a  firm  believer 
in  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and  while  taking  an  active 
part  in  politics  has  nevertheless  always  refused  political  preferment,  de- 
clining all  proffers  of  nomination  and  appointment  to  office,  declaring 
his  unswerving  devotion  to  his  newspaper  work,  and  considering  that 
of  sufficient  honor  and  prominence,  a  field  wherein  he  mav  act  at  all 
times,  free  and  untrammeled,  for  what  he  thinks  will  be  for  the  best 
interests  of  his  party  and  of  the  people  generally.  His  unrelenting 
battles  against  public  wrong  and  his  plain,  outspoken  utterances  have 
made  him  at  times  bitter  enemies,  but  he  has  never  let  these  or  any 
thoughts  of  personal  comfort  swerve  him  from  doing  what  he  con- 
siders is  right.  He  is  known  for  always  making  his  word  good,  and 
for  his  willingness  to  lead  the  forlorn  hope  in  matters  of  public  im- 
portance, by  his  tenacity  of  purpose  frequently  turning  impending 
disastrous  defeat  into  splendid  success.  In  his  profession  Mr.  Zerbey 
is  very  highly  thought  of,  and  has  been  frequently  importuned  to  en- 
gage in  newspaper  ventures  in  some  of  the  large  cities.  For  a  quarter 
of  a  century  he  has  been  the  resident  correspondent  for  the  coal 
region  of  the  Associated  Press  and  its  affiliated  organizations,  besides 
acting  as  regular  correspondent  for  such  prominent  metropolitan  pub- 
lications as  the  New  York  Sun,  New  York  World,  Philadelphia 
Record,  etc.  At  present  he  is  president  of  the  Schuylkill  County  Edi- 
torial Association,  and  when  the  newspaper  men  of  the  state  in- 
augurated their  movement  for  advertising  and  purchasing  business 
co-operation  Mr.  Zerbey  was  made  the  president  of  the  Publishers' 
Business  League  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Editorial  Associa- 
tion; he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Pen  and  Pencil  Qub,  with  head- 
quarters in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Zerbey  has  been  a  great  traveler,  al- 
ways declaring  that  travel  was  the  best  means  of  self-education.  He 
is  an  intense  American,  and  the  only  secret  society  he  ever  acquiesced 
in  joining  was  that  of  the  Patriotic  Order  of  Sons  of  America. 

Zimmerman,  John  H^  a  well  known  contractor  and  builder  of 
Pottsville,  was  bom  in  the  borough  where  he  now  resides,  Nov.  28, 
1856.  His  father,  Henry  Zimmerman,  was  bom  in  Northumberland 
county,  in  1819,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Abigail 
Heiser,  was  a  native  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  Schuylkill  county.  In  1832 
Henry  Zimmerman,  then  thirteen  years  of  age,  came  to  Pottsville  and 
entered  upon  his  apprenticeship  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  When  he 
was  twenty-one  he  began  work  as  a  journeyman  and  he  continued  in 
this  way  for  several  years,  when  he  engaged  in  contracting  for  him- 


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554  SCHUYLKILL  COUNTY 

self,  conducting  the  business  successfully  until  1888,  when  he  prac- 
tically retired,  though  the  work  was  carried  on  under  his  namQ  until 
his  death,  in  1895,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  During  his  active 
career  he  erected  many  residences  in  Pottsville  and  vicinity,  as  well 
as  a  number  of  bank  and  business  blocks,  and  several  public  build- 
ings. He  left  a  family  of  nine  children,  viz.:  Catherine,  Charles  E., 
Emma,  John  H.,  Samuel  H.,  Anna,  Mary,  Carrie,  and  William  H. 
Catherine  is  now  Mrs.  C.  W.  Wells;  Anna  is  Mrs.  E.  H.  Powell; 
and  Carrie  is  Mrs.  W.  R.  Whitney.  John  H.  Zimmerman  received 
his  education  in  the  Pottsville  public  schools,  graduating  in  the  high 
school  with  the  class  of  1875.  He  then  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
with  his  father,  and  in  1885  became  a  partner  in  the  business,  soon 
afterward  assuming  the  active  management,  and  upon  his  father's 
death,  he  became  the  sole  proprietor.  His  long  experience  has  emi- 
nently qualified  him  for  the  erection  of  any  class  of  buildings,  and  his 
wide  acquaintance  in  his  native  county  has  placed  him  among  the 
foremost  men  in  his  line.  Promptness  and  good  workmanship  are 
his  distinguishing  characteristics,  and  it  has  always  been  his  policy 
to  carry  out  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  his  contracts.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  ever  since 
he  attained  his  majority,  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  belief,  and 
takes  an  active  interest  in  every  movement  that  has  for  its  object  the 
advancement  of  the  moral  and  material  welfare  of  Pottsville. 


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DEC   14  1928 


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