FREAS STYER was born June 7, 1859, in Whitpain township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Wm. Augustus and Elizabeth Keeley (Freas) Styer and kindred to the numerous Whitpain township families of that name, his ancestors having located in Whitpain township prior to the Revolution. Wm. Augustus Styer, like most of the family and their forefathers, was a farmer and was the father of a family of eight children, of whom six, Henry Q., Hannah, Freas, Martha C. (Naylor), Horace E. and Ellis K. are living. The son Freas is unmarried and has always maintained his home with his parents, who are still living. Their residence until 1898 was the farm of l00 acres in Whitpain and since then in the borough of Norristown.

Freas Styer spent his childhood and youth on the farm and participated in all the labor thereof, attending the public schools in the winter months and afterwards attended Treemount Seminary, Norristown and Centre Square Academy, several terms. During 1879-1880 and 1880-1881, he taught in the public schools of Plymouth township, at the same time continuing his studies and preparing himself both intellectually and financially for college. He entered the freshman class, Classical Course, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, in September, 1880, and was graduated therefrom in June, 1885, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in 1888 the same institution conferred on him the degree Master of Arts.

In June, 1885, Freas Styer registered as a law student in the office of N. H. Larzelere, Esq., and was admitted to the bar of Montgomery county in October, 1887. Since that time, he has devoted himself to the practice of his, profession, and has obtained a large clientage and has become widely known as a skillful and successful practitioner. At the beginning of the present year (1904) he associated with himself, Herbert U. Moore, Esq., an active and talented young barrister, and since then they have been practicing law under the firm name of Styer & Moore.

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Mr. Styer, in addition to his law practice, has always been actively interested in business and financial matters. He was one of the organizers and a director and vice-president of the Consumers Ice Company from its organization; one of the organizers and a director in the Cedar Hollow Lime Company, a director in the Penn Trust Company, solicitor and director for the several Building and Loan Associations and other corporations.

Mr. Styer has always been an active Republican in politics but has never been an office seeker, unless a desire for the District Attorneyship nomination, in the early years of his professional career, can be considered such. He has, however, for a number of years represented his ward in town council and occupied the position of solicitor and clerk to the board of directors of the poor.

Freas Styer, like his father and grandfather before him, is a member of the Society of Friends, and is a regular attendant of its religious meetings.

 

 

WILLIAM B. RICHARDS, one of the most successful farmers and fruit growers in his section of Montgomery county, was born on the farm which he now occupies, May 16, 1854. He is the son of Samuel S. and Elizabeth W. (Justice) Richards.

Samuel S. Richards (father), was born December 10, 1822, at the old homestead in Plymouth township near Norristown. He was the son of Caleb and Jane W. (Walker) Richards. Samuel S. Richards received a common-school education and learned the trade of carpentering, which he followed until the time of his marriage. In 1853 he removed to Plymouth township and purchased the property known as the Letitia Gallinger farm; and occupied it to the time of his death. He was a member of the Society of Friends and attended worship at Plymouth Meeting.

In politics he was a Republican, and gave effective support to its principles. He was a delinquent internal revenue collector under David Newport for three years during the progress of the Rebellion.

On February 10, 1853, he married Elizabeth W. Justice, of Haverford, Delaware county, who was a daughter of John M. and Betsy P. Justice. John M. Justice was a great-great-grandson of John Morton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The children of Samuel S. and Elizabeth W. Richards were: William B., born May 16, 1854; Mira L., born October 1, 1856, and died August 22, 1857; J. Justice, born October 25, 1858, and died June 20, 1861; Mary J., born February 18, 1860, and died April 18, 1869; Carroll B., born February 12, 1866, now living on a farm in Whitpain township near Blue Bell. He married, February 21, 1894, Esther L. Taggart, daughter of Austin L. and Hannah: Taggart. Austin L. Taggart was a well-known farmer in Upper Merion township, and represented Montgomery county in the house of representatives for several years.

Caleb Richards (grandfather), of Schuylkill township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, married Jane Walker, a descendant in the fifth generation of Lewis Walker, of Chester Valley, who left Wales in 1686, arriving in Pennsylvania in 1687 after a tedious passage of thirteen months. Lewis Walker settled in Radnor, and Second-month (April) 22, 1693, he was married at Haverford Meeting-house, to Mary Morris. Lewis was not satisfied, however, with his Radnor home, and he became the first settler of Tredyffrin township in Chester county, in 1705. Tredyffrin township lies in the great valley in the most easterly part of Chester county, adjoining Upper Merion township in Montgomery county.

Lewis Walker's children were: Daniel, Elizabeth, Joseph, Hannah, Enoch, Abel and Isaac. Isaac Walker married Sarah, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Jerman. Their children were eleven, as follows: Joseph, Mary, Lewis, Mary, Hannah, Benjamin, Azael, Rachel, Abel, Isaac and Leah. Joseph, eldest son, married Sarah Thomas.

Their children, thirteen in all, were: Zillah, Isaac, Priscilla, Thomas, Joseph, Sarah, Mary, Naomi, Lewis, Joseph, Enoch, William and Jesse.

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Of these, Isaac married first Mary Pugh, and their children were: Sarah, Ann, Joseph, Hananiah, Asahel, Mary, Priscilla, Zillah, Jane and Rachel. The Richards family are old residents of Chester county, their ancestor having come from Wales and settled near Valley Forge on the Schuylkill river. They and the Walkers and other families of that vicinity have intermarried very frequently. The children of Caleb and Jane (Walker) Richards were as follows: John Richards, died 1875, married Mary Ann Thomas and Eliza Eastburn, their children dying young; Isaac W. Richards married Susanna W. Sands; Samuel S.. Richards married Elizabeth Justice.

After the death of Caleb Richards his widow married William Hallowell and had three other children, as follows Kate Hallowell, who married William H. Jenkins; Caleb E. Hallowell, who married Hettie Yerkes; and Benjamin Hallowell. Caleb (grandfather) died Second month 2, 1824.

William B. Richards attended the neighborhood schools until he attained the age of fifteen years and then went to Treemount Seminary at Norristown for two years. He has been engaged in the occupation of farming very successfully, as has been said, ever since. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and was school director in Plymouth township for a period of five years. He is a Republican in politics, and in religious faith a member of the Society of Friends, attending Plymouth Meeting. In addition to ordinary farming he give much attention to fruits and choice vegetables, grain and hay. He also attends market in Philadelphia. He produces strawberries and other small fruits of large size and fine quality.

On November 23, 1876, he married Jane L. Cleaver, daughter of Josiah and Martha Cleaver, of Montgomery township, Montgomery county. Josiah Cleaver was born April 17, 1848, and is a farmer. The children of William B. and Jane L. (Cleaver) Richards are J. Randolph, born December 31, 1877, married on March 31, 1902, Katie Coughlin, and is living in Philadelphia; J. Cleaver, born January 5, 1880, is at home with his father; Samuel S., born January 10, 1882, is at home with his father; Lizzie J., born October 17, 1885, and Jennie C., born September 26, 1889, are at home; and Helen, born March 30, 1893, died April 8, 1893.

 

JESSE M. DAVIS was born November 9, 1849, on the homestead in Plymouth township. He is the son of Francis and Catherine (Hellings) Davis. Francis Davis (father) was born December 18, 1810, being the son of Samuel and Mary (Diehl) Davis. He received a common-school education at Sandy Hill and spent his life on the McAillough farm in Plymouth township, which farm he owned. In politics he was a Republican.

On December 3, 1835, he married Catherine Hellings and they had five children. Catherine Hellings was born July 14, 1817. The mother died May 24, 1883. Francis Davis died October, 1886. His children were: Mary Ann, born October 11, 1836, and died in 1876; Samuel, born July 17, 1839; Susanna, born July 16, 1842; Margaret, born April 29, 1847; and Jesse M. Mary Ann married, on January 21, 1858, David Zell, they having three children, Meredith, Howard (deceased) and Frank. Samuel married, on February 11, 1864, Lidie Mitchell, they having two children, Edward and William. Susanna, deceased, married on January 31, 1868, Henry Hentz, they having two children, Kate and Mary (married Arthur Hile). Margaret married Charles Alvin Cox, they having the following children: Charles, who married Kate Schofield; Frank, who married Annie Donnehower; Bertha; Wilson, who married Miss Jackson.

Samuel Davis (grandfather) was born August 13, 1783, and died May 19, 1822. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and for that was turned out of the Friends church. He married Mary Diehl and had four children: Thomas, Mary Ann, Susanna and Francis. His sister, Mary Ann, married David Harry.

Thomas Davis (great-grandfather) was born August 9, 1756, and married Lydia White. His brother William was born March 25, 1854.

Samuel Davis (great-great-grandfather) was born in 1710 in Wales, England. He married Jane Reese, May 24, 1736, and later Susanna Hughes, in 1753, in Plymouth township. The

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children of his second wife were Thomas and William.

Jesse Davis has spent all his life on the homestead. He went to school at Cold Point. When the Fifty-first Regiment of Norristown was home on a furlough during the Civil war he tried to join as a drummer boy but failed to be sworn in as did the rest of his companions bent on the same mission. He is a grain farmer and a fruit raiser, making truck-raising a specialty. He attends the Philadelphia market. He is an ardent Republican but has never sought or held office. On March 31, 1880, he married Kate L. Klander of Roxborough, daughter of George and Kate Klander. They have three children: Jessie K., born July 19, 1884; Clara L., born July 16, 1888; and Georgetta L., born June 16, 1890.

 

 

LEWIS JUDSON STANNARD was born May 2, 1875, in Rutland, Vermont. He is the son of Edward J. and Mary Jane (Childs) Stannard.

Edward J. Stannard (father) was born December 12, 1829, in Rutland, Vermont, being the son of Herman Stannard. He spent his early life at school, and on completing his education, went into the sheep and cattle raising business and followed that occupation successfully for thirty years. In 1876 he removed to Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and settled in Whitpain township, buying the William Zorn's farm at Broad avenue, where he devotes himself to general farming. He is a Republican in politics but never aspired to public office, preferring to attend strictly to his farm. He attends St. Thomas' Episcopal church of White Marsh. He married, May 3, 1869, Mary Jane Childs, born August 26, 1838, of Philadelphia. She is the daughter of Oliver and Edith (Shaw) Childs, of Jefferson county, New York.

They have had six children, three of whom are now living, as follows Ethelyn Minerva, born July 7, 1871; Oliver Edward, born November 12, 1873, who married Emma Deprefontaine of Blue Bell and has two children, the family residing at that place; and Lewis Judson, born May 2, 1875. The other children died in infancy.

Lewis J. Stannard attended school at Sandy Hill three years and at Norristown nine years. After leaving school he worked on the farm with his father until he reached his majority. He then rented a farm at Blue cell. From there he removed to Horsham and in 1899 removed to Plymouth township and bought the Brooks farm where he at present resides. He attends Philadelphia market with a line of poultry, dairy products and vegetables and also raises grain, hay, etc.

March 18, 1896, he married Bertha E. Rile, of Penllyn, in Lower Gwynedd township, a daughter of Albert G. and Mary (Craft) Rile. They have two children: Mary Elizabeth, born June 15, 1898, and Edith Rile, born May 18, 1900.

Albert G. Rile was born in Philadelphia, being the son of Charles and Sophia (Kneedler) Rile. His parents removed to Blue Bell, where in his early days he attended school. After his school days were over he followed farming up to recent years and now resides at Mount Airy. He is a Democrat in politics and in religious faith a member of the Reformed church of Blue Bell. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Mary Fleck of Springhouse and (second wife) Mary Craft, daughter of Jacob and Eliza Craft, of Gwynedd, who is also now deceased.

There were two children by the first marriage: Ella, the elder, married Edward Preston, the couple living at Wissahickon. Their children are Alda H., Marion A., Edward and Ralph W. Anna, the second child of Albert Rile, lives in Philadelphia. By the second marriage there were three children, as follows: Charles Henry married Elizabeth Shepard, daughter of Isaac Shepard, of 1.lroodaker, having three children: Joseph Clarence, William Shepard and Josephine; Ida Virginia married Charles Hansell, of Philadelphia, the couple now living at Chestnut Hill and having two children, John Rile and William Harold; Bertha is the wife of Lewis J. Stannard.

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Henlan Stannard (grandfather of Lewis) was the son of Samuel Stannard. Samuel Stannard was an officer in the Revolutionary Army, enlisting in the Seventh Regiment of Connecticut Militia under Colonel Charles Webb and Captain Nathaniel Tuttle, July 14, 1775. He participated in the siege of Boston and in the battles of Germantown and Monmouth. He was in winter quarters at Reading during the winter of 1778-1779 and at Morristown in 1779-1780. He became sergeant, August 18, 1780, and at the close of the war returned to Fairhaven, Vermont, and received an appointment as captain of the Vermont State Militia. Heman Stannard was a sheep and cattle raiser at Rutland, Vermont.

 

 

THOMAS J. MARCH, of the March-Brownback Stove Manufacturing Company, Pottstown, was born in Lawrenceville (now Parkerford) Chester county, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1844. He is the son of Michael and Susanna (Christman) March.

Michael March (father) was born July 24, 1803, in East Vincent township, Chester county. In his younger days he was a carpenter, contractor and farmer. He became one of the founders of the March-Brownback Stove Company, at Lawrenceville, Chester county, in 1848. He carried on the business for many years, beginning in a small way and employing, at the time of his death, one hundred and fifty persons. He died in his seventy-seventh year. He married Miss Susanna, daughter of Henry Christman, also of East Vincent township, she dying in her eighty-first year. Michael March was a member of the Reformed church, while his wife was a Lutheran. He was a man of influence in his community, was active in the interest of the Republican party, and was a firm, ardent adherent of its policy. He served as school director for many years, and was one of the political leaders of his day. Michael and Susanna (Christman) March had six children: B. Franklin; Henry C., deceased; Ellen, who married James Brownback, of Linfield; Webster, deceased; Thomas J.; and Emma C., who married Rev. J. P. Miller.

Frederick J. March (grandfather) was born in Limerick township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He was a carpenter, contractor and a farmer, and removed to Chester county, where he died in East Vincent township. He died in his sixty-seventh year and left a large family.

Frederick March (great-grandfather) was the first representative of the family in Pennsylvania. He was of German descent and settled in Limerick township, Montgomery county.

Colonel Henry Christman (maternal grandfather) was the eldest of three brothers and was born March 14, 1779, and died August 12, 1864. On February 26, 1806, Colonel Henry Christman married Eleanor Root, daughter of Sebastian Root. She was born April 10, 1787, and died August 19, 1854, while on a visit to her daughter, Margaret Buckwalter, at Parker's Ford, Chester county.

They lived on a farm adjoining the old Christman homestead, and also adjoining the farm of his brother Jacob. Colonel Henry Christman and his brothers were all stout, able-bodied men of good height and build, and were successful farmers. Henry Christman was the owner of an oil mill, which he converted into a flour mill about 1835, and which he retained until his death. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel in the First Brigade in the Militia of Delaware and Chester counties, by Governor Simon Snyder, and served in the war of 1812.

Colonel Henry and Eleanor (Root) Christman had the following children: George, born February 10, 1807; Sarah, born February 14, 1809; Susanna, born March 24, 1811; Henry, born August 13, 1813: Catharine, born September 22, 1816; Eliza, born October 1, 1818; Eleanor, born April 10, 1821; Maria, born February 10, 1823, and Margaret, born November 10, 1824.

Of these children Sarah and Eliza died in childhood. Margaret married Isaac Buckwalter, and died January 16, 1885, leaving two daughters. Catharine married Isaac Shantz, and died July 28, 1866, leaving two children, a son and a daughter. Susanna married Michael March (father), and died April 19, 1891, leaving four children. Maria married Abraham Pennypacker (deceased) and has four sons living. Eleanor resides with her sister Maria Pennypacker. Henry died suddenly, July 24, 1865, unmarried George married Miss Sarah Beerbower, December 23, ,1827. In the autumn of 1843, after a prolonged illness, he died of fever, being in his thirty-seventh year. His widow afterwards married Henry Huzzard and died April 27, 1863, in her fifty-sixth year.

Henry Christman (great-grandfather) was born December 25, 1744, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and settled in Vincent township, Chester county, where he became the owner of a large tract of land on French creek. He lived on this farm during the Revolutionary war, and it is handed down as a tradition that he used his horses and wagons continuously in the cause of the patriots. By trade he was a saddler. He died September 16, 1823, and was buried in the family burial plot-at Zion's church, in East Pikeland, Chester county. He married Susanna Keeley, who was born February 25, 1750, and died September i9, 1823, three days after her husband's death, and lies buried by his side.

Daniel Christman (great-great-grandfather) arrived in Pennsylvania, September 5, 1730, with forty-five colonists from the Palatine and their families, one hundred and thirty persons in all, in the ship "Alexander and Ann," William Clymer, master, from Rotterdam, last from Cowes. March 27, 1735, he bought of Martin Funk and Magdalena, his wife, one hundred acres, and the following day sixty acres, situated in Frederick township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania.

Daniel Christman finally settled in Worcester township and in 1734 paid quit rents in that township. He was a member of the Lutheran church, as all the Christmans have been, and in 1748 contributed five shillings toward paying for a bell for the New Hanover Lutheran church.

This information is principally obtained from the Colonial Records of Pennsylvania. It also shows that between 1730 and 1771 eleven Christmans with their families, arrived at Philadelphia, and swore allegiance to King George, the Second. The children of Daniel Christman were as follows: Anna Ella, who was married, in December, 1749, to Johannes Grob, who lived in Coventry township, Chester county; Felix, who was born in 1733 and removed to Vincent township, Chester county; Elizabeth, born in 1734; Jacob, born in 1737, and died in Frederick township, February 27, 1804; George, born 1739, a joiner, living in Frederick township; and Henry (great-grandfather), born in 1744.

Thomas J. March spent his boyhood days at his birthplace, Parker's Ford, and attended the common schools. At the age of eighteen he entered the Millersville State Normal School, studying there two terms, and leaving the school to enter the service of the state during the invasion by the Rebels in 1863. He taught school the following winter. Receiving, as a representative of the seventh congressional district of the state, the appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, he entered as a cadet there June 15, 1864, and graduated in 1868, and was at once assigned to the Seventh Regiment United States Cavalry, as second lieutenant, under General G. A. Custer, and was on frontier service for four years.

From October 11, 1868, to November 20, 1870, he was in Kansas and the Indian Territory, and was wounded in the battle of Washita with the Kiowa and Cheyenne Indians, November 27, 1868, besides participating in numerous other engagements with hostile Indians.

In 1871 he was attached to the Schofield Tactics Board in St. Louis, Missouri, and February 11, 1871, he was again assigned to frontier duty, at Fort Lyon, Colorado. He resigned March 10, 1872, and returned to civil life, entering the firm of March, Sisler & Co., stove founders, at Limerick Station, Montgomery county. He has been engaged in the stove manufacturing business ever since.

The March-Brownback Stove Company had its origin in works established at Lawrenceville, now Parker's Ford, in 1848, by March & Buckwalter, the members of the firm being Michael March, Isaac Buckwalter and Ezekiel Thomas. Thomas and Buckwalter soon sold out their half-interest to Mr. March. In 1849 John Church and Thomas Church purchased a half interest, and the firm became March & Church. In 1850 James L. Ellis bought out the Churches and the firm became March & Ellis.

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The firm went through various changes until 1866, when the works were transferred to Limerick Station, Montgomery county, now Linfield. After 1877 the firm was known as March-Brownback & Company until it was incorporated under its present title. In 1889 the concern was incorporated under the name of The March-Brownback Stove Company and the business was removed to Pottstown in 1892, to much larger and more extensive works, located on the block bounded by Charlotte, South, Penn and Queen streets, occupying the entire block. The officers and directors of the company are: Franklin March, president; James Rogers, vice president; T. J. March, treasurer; H. M. Ebert, secretary; and James Brownback, A. K. Shaner, M. W. Bailey, and Dr. J. Elmer Porter.

January 29, 1880, Thomas J. March married Miss Emma C. Kulp, daughter of Jacob and Maria (Geist) Kulp. They have one son, Michael Henry, now a student at Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. March are members of Trinity Reformed church, of which he is an elder.

Mr. March is a member of Stichter Lodge, No. 254, Free and Accepted Masons. He is commander of M. E. Richards Post, No. 595, Grand Army of the Republic. He is a member of the Order of Foresters, one of the board of trustees of the Pottstown Hospital, secretary of the Brancote Land Company and treasurer of the March-Brownback Stove Company. In politics Mr. March is a Republican and a strong protectionist. He resides at 433 High street, Pottstown.

 

 

WILLIAM W. POTTS was born at Swedeland, where he now resides, December 1, 1838, being the youngest son of Robert T. and Eliza M. (Hitner) Potts.

Robert T. Potts (father) was born on his father's farm in Plymouth township, January 11, 1790. After leaving school he worked in the store of Harman Yerkes at Harmanville for a time. He soon went to Philadelphia and entered the employ of Isaac Lawrence, whose partner in business he afterwards became. The firm carried on a large dry-goods business and after the death of Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Potts associated himself with Mr. Reynolds and later Mr. McFarland, the firm name becoming Potts, Reynolds & Co.

In 1840 Mr. Potts retired from the business and removed to a farm of one hundred acres in Swedeland, where he lived until his death. In politics he was an active Whig and was a candidate for congress at one time.

In 1828 Robert T. Potts married Mrs. Elizabeth McCalla Weaver, daughter of Daniel Hitner of Marble Hall, and widow of William Weaver. She had two sons by her first marriage Abraham and William Weaver. Her grandfather, Daniel Hitner, was a soldier of the Revolution and was killed at the battle of Germantown. Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Potts had five children, as follows: Henry Clay, who died in 1851; Ellen E.,. widow of Robert Lewis Rutter; of Philadelphia; Ellery Charming, who married Caroline E., daughter of Abraham R. and Caroline E. Cox. of Norristown; Martha T., who married Dr. Charles Shafer, of Philadelphia, and died March 13, 1878 and William W.

Robert T. Potts died December 13, 1873, at Swedeland, at the age of eighty-four. His wife died in 1851, at the age of fifty-nine.

Zebulon Potts (grandfather) was born on the old homestead near Plymouth Meeting House in Plymouth township and afterwards engaged in farming in the same township. He was the first sheriff of Montgomery county after its organization and was state senator. He died while he was serving his second term in this office. He was a firm member of the Society of Friends but was disowned by the Society on account of his having entered the Revolutionary Army. He took part in the battle of Brandywine and other historic struggles and was a member of the committee of safety with Robert Morris and others. A price was set on his head by the British government. He served as justice of a court in Philadelphia.

In 1771 Zebulon Potts married Martha Trotter of Philadelphia, and they had ten children, as follows: Ann, Joseph, Esther, Hannah, Alice, Ester, Martha, William, Robert T. and Daniel.

Nathan Potts (great-grandfather) was born and reared at Bristol. He later settled near

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Plymouth Meeting House in Plymouth township, and followed his trade of blacksmithing in connection with farming. He was a member of the Society of Friends. In 1736 Nathan Potts married Esther Rhodes and they had six children Daniel, Stephen, Nathan, Alice, Zebulon and Isaiah.

David Potts (great-great-grandfather) came to America from Bristol, England, with Markham, and settled at Bristol, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was a young man at the time of his immigration. In religion he was a member of the Society of Friends and by occupation a farmer. He married Alice Crosdale in 1693. She came to America in the ship "Welcome" with William Penn.

William W. Potts attended the public schools at Swedeland and in 1851 entered Haverford College and in 1854 entered the Pennsylvania State College at Bellefonte. On completing his education he enlisted in Company K, Fourth Pennsylvania Infantry, in April, 1861. After his return from the war he resumed his agricultural pursuits at Swedeland where he has lived ever since. In politics Mr. Potts is a Republican and served as a school director for some time, being treasurer of the board part of the time. He has been a member of Charity Lodge, No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons, since 1865; a member of Zook Post, No. 11, Grand Army of the Republic, Norristown; and a member of the Montgomery County Historical Society.

November 9, 1870, William W. Potts married Ella H., daughter of Dr. George W. and Abby Holstein, of Bridgeport. They have five children: Brita H., Helen R., Carrie, Abbie (deceased), and Ella.

William W. Potts enlisted April 20, 1861, as a private in Company K, commanded by Captain Walter H. Cooke, Fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel, afterwards Major General John Hartranft. They were mustered into service at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, and were supplied with arms and knapsacks but no uniforms. They started at once for Perryville, Maryland, where they encamped, and while learning the drill did duty in keeping the line open between Philadelphia and Washington. From Perryville they were sent to Annapolis, Maryland, where they remained for some time. They next went to Washington and from there to Alexandria, where they remained until their time expired. While at Alexandria their line was attacked and the skirmish which resulted was one of the first of the war.

As their time expired just before the battle of Bull Run they were requested to stay until after the battle. A vote was taken and Mr. Potts was one of those who voted that they should stay. He was discharged at Harrisburg, July 26, 1861, by reason of the expiration of his term.

After remaining at home for a few months he enlisted again as second lieutenant in a company raised in Delaware county. They went to Harrisburg but as the company was not accepted he and his men enlisted in Company F., commanded by Captain Frank Crosbey of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers. The company was raised in Chester and Delaware counties and nearly half of its men were members of the Society of Friends. As the officers of the company had all been chosen when he entered it, he was again a private. Later he was made corporal and afterwards sergeant. Being the only one in the company who had seen service he acted as drillmaster until he was wounded.

From Harrisburg his company was sent to Washington and camped at Arlington Heights, Fort Albany, where they remained until the Antietam campaign, when as a part of Crawford's First Brigade, First Division, Twelfth Army Corps, then commanded by General Mansfield, September 7, 1862, he marched to Richville, Maryland, and on the 9th of the same month started in the Maryland campaign. On the evening of the 15th they had crossed South Mountain and had pursued the enemy to Antietam creek, when on the 17th, Mr. Potts was engaged in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil war with William Dollar, one of his company, he was in Advance of the line and received a gunshot wound in the right foot which ended his active service. He was sent to Harrisburg where he placed himself in the hands of a private physician. He was mustered out of service February 10, 1863, at Harrisburg, by reason of wounds received in battle.

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Mr. Potts has taken a very active part in the Patrons of Husbandry, laboring earnestly in behalf of farming interests throughout the county and state. His grange connection was probably responsible for his entrance into politics. He became a candidate for the legislature in 1898 and made many speeches throughout the county in behalf of the legislative ticket but failed of election, only Messrs. Sexton and Fetterolf being elected on the Republican ticket that year.

Mr. Potts has also taken an active interest in the work of the Montgomery County Historical Society, having been chairman of the committee which erected the Lafayette monument at Barren Hill. He is a public-spirited man, and an earnest worker in everything calculated to benefit the community in which he lives. He is devoted to farming interests and stands high among the agriculturists of his own township and of the county.

 

 

DAVID K. HIGH. David High (grandfather) was born in Hilltown township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the ordinary schools of the township, and on relinquishing school studies engaged in farming, which he followed all his life. He was a careful and industrious farmer who succeeded well and enjoyed the respect of the whole community. In politics he was a Whig, and although he never cared to become an applicant for office he always assisted in the selection of the persons who were to act in an official capacity. Among his children was John High.

John High (father) was born on the family homestead in Hilltown township. He was educated in the best schools that there were in his day, and became a farmer, which pursuit he followed until his death, He was a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and was always active in working for his party interests. He married Mary Kipper, daughter of a prominent farmer near Quakertown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. High had the following children Anna, Catherine, Barbara, Lavina, Caroline, deceased, Hannah, Jacob and David K., the subject of this sketch.

David K. High was born on the old homestead in Bucks county, June 3, 1833. He was educated in the public schools, and afterwards learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed successfully for more than forty years. The last few years he has lived retired at his home at Colmar, in Hatfield township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He at one time organized a construction company and conducted it successfully for some years. He removed to his present home in 1873. He owns a coal and lumber yard which he operated for some time in connection with his business as carpenter, but of late years he has rented the property to other parties. He is an earnest Republican in politics, but has always declined to be regarded as an applicant for office, preferring the independence of a private citizen. He attends the Mennonite church.

Mr. High married in 1858 Elizabeth Yeakel, who died in 1867. She was the daughter of Samuel Yeakel, of Hilltown, Pennsylvania. The couple had the following children: John, Addison, Jacob and Mary, the first three being deceased.

 

 

DAVID M. ELLIS was born near Hughesville, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, February 10, 1850, and grew to manhood there, obtaining a common-school education, which was supplemented by a short period at the Pennsylvania State College.

On reaching manhood he and his brother Charles rented their father's farm, and also two others in the vicinity, which they handled as dairy farms, carrying on that business for several years very successfully, using improved methods of making butter and other dairy products and being among the earliest of those engaged in shipping milk by railroad to Williamsport.

In 1882 Mr. Ellis sold his stock and machinery, abandoned the dairy business and became engaged in the sale of agricultural implements, first as an agent in Muncy, Pennsylvania, for two years, after which he traveled for the Harrisburg Car Company and for different organizations until the year 1892, when he went to Philadelphia, where he remained six years and then came to the Upper Merion farm, which had been in his wife's family for nearly two centuries. Here he engaged in general farming, making fruit-growing a specialty.

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In politics Mr. Ellis is a Republican. In Lycoming county he took an active part in politics as a party worker. In Upper Merion township, which has been his home the past few years, he has been twice elected as school director without any effort on his part. He is generally recognized as being among the most public-spirited citizens of his community, taking an active interest in all that concerns its welfare, and being an authority on all matters connected with farming, dairying and fruit-growing. He is an intelligent, cultured man, a thinker who understands the topic of which he treats. In different farmers' institutes that have been held in his section of the county in the course of the past few years, his papers on important subjects have attracted much attention, and have been published in the local newspapers at length.

On November 22, 1882, he married Elizabeth Brookfield Holstein, who was born in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1855. Their children are: Alice Holstein, who was born in Muncy, February 25, 1884, and died in Philadelphia, November 29, 1891 ; and William Holstein, who was born in Upper Merion, October 31, 1886, and is now attending Williamson School.

B. Morris Ellis (father) was born at Milton, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1820, and died December 5, 1881. He was educated first in the Muncy schools and afterwards in Westtown Boarding School, the famous orthodox institution, at Chester county, Pennsylvania. He was a law student for a time with his father, W. Cox Ellis, but his father changed his vocation and encouraged his son to direct his life in agricultural channels.

In 1848 he purchased a farm near Hughesville, where he passed the remainder of his life, being a recognized authority on fruit-growing and fancy stock-raising. He was for a number of years one of the vice presidents of the State Agricultural Society and held the position until his death. He was president of the Lycoming County Agricultural Society from its organization, was a life member of the State Horticultural Society and always manifested great interest in its meetings and its researches generally. He was a Democrat in politics until the breaking out of the Rebellion, and from that time a staunch Republican. He was a member and vestryman for years of the St. James' Episcopal church, of Muncy. He married Elizabeth, daughter of David and Mary (Eves) Masters, of Milleville, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1847. Mrs. Ellis was born October 22, 1824.

They had the following children: William Cox, born August 23, 1848, died November 18, 1849. David M. is the second. Charles, born September 14, 1851, is unmarried. J. Alder, born August 6, 1853, was a graduate of the State College and studied law at Williamsport with judge Bentley, being admitted to the bar, but died September 22, 1877, a few weeks after he had gone to Pittsburg to open a law office. William Holstein, born December 10, 1854, married October 5, 1887, Jessie H. Moore, of Blair county, Pennsylvania, and they have two children, Edgar, born July 26, 1888, and Margaret, born November 12, 1890. Rebecca Morris, born April 25, 1858, married Robert K. Reeder, an attorney-at-law, of Muncy, who has been in the state legislature, and they have the following children: Emily, born August 29, 1893, Elizabeth, born November 2, 1894; Rebecca Morris, born September 18, 1896; and Robert K., Jr., born May 16, 1900. Annie Holstein, born February 1, 1860, married Harry Linn, of Williamsport, who died October 5, 1896. Their children were: Virginia Morris, born October 5, r886; and Elizabeth, born February 25, 1892.

William Cox Ellis (grandfather) was born in Fort Muncy, at Muncy. He became a prominent attorney and served as a member of the state legislature and as a member of congress from his district. He was cashier for many years of the State Bank of Milton. He married Rebecca Morris, of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.

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Mrs. David M. Ellis is a daughter of Isaac Wayne and Alice (Hallowell) Holstein. Isaac Holstein was born January 25, 1823, on the farm where David M. Ellis now resides, and lived on the farm all his life. He attended the pay schools of his day and afterwards spent several years in Treemount Seminary, then under the direction of Samuel Aaron.

After the death of his father he and his brother William H. purchased the interest of their sisters in the farm, and in the division of the place by lot, the old homestead fell to Isaac Wayne. In politics Mr. Holstein was an ardent Republican, and was a warm supporter of the cause of the Union during the Civil war. He devoted his time and means to the Union soldiers, who to this time decorate his grave on Decoration Day. He was a member and vestryman of Old Swedes' Episcopal church. He took a great interest in the public schools and filled the, office of school director for several terms.

He was a delegate to county conventions and was township auditor, assessor, and held nearly all the township offices. December 27, 1854, Isaac Wayne Holstein married Alice Hollowell, and their children were: Elizabeth Brookfield, who was born November 23, 1855, and married David M. Ellis; William Hollowell, born August 21, 1858; and Mary Alice, born August 21, 1865, who married William A. Armstrong, March 11, 1886. He is engaged in the electrical business in Philadelphia, and their children are: Lillie Etta, born August 22, 1888; William A., born July 18, 1890; and Isaac Wayne Holstein, born July 30, 1892.

Isaac Wayne Holstein died April 8, 1884, and his wife died November 15, 1895. They are buried in Old Swedes' churchyard. Mr. Holstein was a member of Curtis Lodge of Odd Fellows, of Norristown, and he and his wife were charter members of the Patrons of Husbandry.

George W. Holstein, grandfather of Mrs. David M. Ellis, lived at Peach Park, adjoining the old Holstein homestead. In 1812 he was secretary of the Mount Joy Horse Company, also captain of the Second Troop of Montgomery county and lieutenant of the Second Battalion. August 25, 1824, George W. Holstein was one of the committee of six who invited Lafayette to visit Valley Forge, Whitemarsh and Barren Hill, and other points of historical interest in Montgomery county. In November, 1827, he was elected one of the first directors of the DeKalb street bridge. He died February 10, 1841, aged sixty-three years, leaving three sons, Isaac W. (father), William H. and Dr. George W. Holstein.

Samuel Holstein (great-grandfather) owned two hundred and seventy-eight acres of land in Upper Merion township, and it is said that he shot deer on his estate until 1760. He had four sons Major Mathias, Charles, Colonel George W. and William.

Mathias Holstein (great-great-grandfather) was born December 2, 1717, and died December 10, 1768, being buried at Swedes' church. He married Magdalena, daughter of Marcus Hulings, of Morlatton, which was a Swedish settlement near what is now Pottstown. Mathias, Holstein was one of the leaders in erecting Swedes' church in 1760. His. wife was carried on a squaw's back when young, and on her wedding day, her friends came down the river in canoes. She survived her husband many years.

Matts Holstein (great-great-great-grandfather), the immigrant, was born in Philadelphia, in 1644, two years after the second emigration of the Swedes to America. He died in 1708. His wife was Brita Gostenberg, and they had three sons: Andrew, Mathias and Frederick, and two daughters: Deborah and Brita.

He built a stone house about a mile from the Schuylkill river and within the present limits of Bridgeport, which bore the name of Swedes' Ford. He died in 1738, aged sixty-one years. It is believed that the Holstein ancestor arrived in America in 1637, in one of the vessels, "Key of Calmar" or the "Bird Grip," late from Gottenburg. They bought land from the Indians and made the first permanent settlement in Pennsylvania.

 

 

FRANK P. FARRALL, the son of Patrick L. and Bridget (Nugent) Farrall, was born on his father's farm in Upper Merion township, August 22, 1865.

Patrick L. Farrall was born in the barony of Dartmore, County Tyrone, Ireland, about 1834.

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He is the son of James and Catharine (McDermott) Farrall. His early life was spent in farming and in 1848 he came to America on the sailing vessel, Patrick Henry, being thirty-three days on the ocean and landing in New York. He went to Philadelphia at once and obtained employment. His first work was in unloading a cargo of straw in Philadelphia, and his next was in wheeling coal at the Green street coal wharf. He soon afterwards came to Norristown and in 1855 bought his present home.

Patrick L. Farrall married Bridget Nugent, daughter of Miles and Bridget (Dorsally) Nugent, of County Tyrone, Ireland. Their children are: James, who married Mary Campbell and has the following children: Alice, Helen, Agnes, Catharine, James and Charles; Catharine J., who married John Lappin; Mary, who was born March 19, 1864, and resides at home; Annie, who married Alexander Griffith and has two children, Alexander and Carrie; Rosy, who married John Gallagher (deceased) and had four children, Mary, Rosalina, Agnes and Joseph; Frank P.; Elizabeth, a sister of the Immaculate Heart convent, Philadelphia; Ella, a graduate of the West Conshohocken high school and now a teacher in that school; Agnes, also a graduate and teacher in the West Conshohocken high school; and Alice, a graduate of the West Conshohocken high school and a teacher in Bridgeport.

James Farrall (grandfather) was a resident of County Tyrone, Ireland, where the family had resided for many years. Many of the family followed the trade of butchering, while some were hatters. They were all Roman Catholics. The children of James and Catharine (McDermott) Farrall were: Owen (deceased); James; Ann (deceased); Mary Jane; and Patrick.

Frank P. Farrall received his education in the public schools, and for several years worked as a sawyer for the Hendom Marble Company. In 1892 he was elected township supervisor on the Democratic ticket by a majority of seventy-nine, the term of office being two years. In 1894 he opened a general country store and in connection with this store carried on the egg and poultry business until 1901.

In that year he was again elected supervisor by a majority of seventy-seven, and in February, 1902, he was re-elected by a majority of one hundred and fifty, the largest ever attained by any one in he township. He is a member of the Catholic church in West Conshohocken.

Frank P. Farrall married Miss Annie, daughter of William and Mary (Gallagher) McElhenny, who was born January 13, 1869. Her father came from County Donegal, Ireland. He worked on the Richmond wharfs in Philadelphia for a time and then went to Norristown and was employed in the stone quarries. From Norristown he removed to Bridgeport where he remained until 1900, since which time he has been in Ireland, visiting his native place, and also visiting England.

Frank P. Farrall and Annie McElhenny were married April 20, 1893. Their children are Mary, born August 29, 1894; Gertrude, born August 30, 1896; Francis, born April 10, 1898; and Elizabeth, born July 14, 1902.

 

 

WILLIAM DANIEL NIPPES was of German parentage. He was for many years a resident of Mill Creek, in Lower Merion township, where he owned a farm which he managed until his death. He was a gunsmith by trade and was noted for his skill in that art. He manufactured rifles and small arms for the government, and just prior to the war of the Rebellion he made and delivered to the United States authorities arms to the value of twenty thousand dollars, for which he never received any pay. When a proposition was made to pay the bill, it was opposed by Jefferson Davis, afterwards president of the so-called Confederate States, saying there was no money in the United States treasury with which to pay it.

Mr. Nippes was originally a Democrat, but was in no sense an office-seeker. After the beginning of the war for the Union he became a Republican and continued a member of that party until his death. He belonged to the Lower Merion Baptist church, as did his wife, having joined it when quite a young man. Both were buried in the Baptist church cemetery. He was a man of good ability and well educated.

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Of his children: Louisa married Josiah Shinn and they had one child, Rebecca. Caroline died unmarried. Sarah Ann died at the family home. Julia Ann resides on the home farm. Emeline (deceased) married William Booth, who owns the farm and mill. Albert died of smallpox, in childhood, on the home farm. Sergeant is the father of William D. Nippes.

Sergeant Nippes was born on the homestead and grew to manhood on the farm. He was well educated. Although capable of entering the ranks of business or professional life he preferred farming. After his marriage he bought the farm now owned by his son William D. Nippes, and lived on it until his death. He was a successful farmer. He was active in his party councils. He and his wife both belonged to the same church and are buried in the same cemetery as his father. He married Miss Margaret Stillwagon, only daughter of William Stillwagon. The Stillwagons were an old family of Lower Merion township, and lived near Mill Creek, where they were farmers.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sergeant Nippes were four in number: William D., born March 12, 1841, at Mill Creek, is the subject of this review. Josephine, born in 1838, on the Stillwagon farm, married William Nobblett, of Philadelphia, who served in the Civil war and died as a result of the privations and hardships of a soldier's life. George, born in 1843, married Miss Anna Rambo, and they had ten children. Albert, born in 1847, is married.

William D. Nippes came to his present home when a small boy, and was reared there. He worked on the farm in summer and attended the neighboring schools two months in the winter.

He married Hannah Levan, born June 15, 1844, in Berks county, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Marias) Levan, and came to Montgomery county with her family in girlhood locating in Conshohocken, where her father was a farmer, butcher and cattle dealer. The Levans were a famous French family who came to America from France in the early days of the Republic.

Mr. and Mrs. William D. Nippes have had eight children, as follows: Margaret E., born August 16, 1867, married William Upright. Their children are Orville, Malvin, and Florence, who died in childhood.

Henry E., born October 18, 1868, married Miss Lizzie McCain. Their children are Jennie E., Wilson and Morris. Amanda, born November 23, 1870, married Henry Rigley. Their children are Emeline and Clarence. Emeline, born April 7, 1872, married Frank Shenline.

Sergeant, born May 1, 1874, married Marion Opil. They have one child, Russel Nippes. William D. Nippes is a Democrat in politics and although he takes a great interest in politics he has never sought or held office. He bought his farm in Upper Merion township in May, 1902, and has been very successful in raising crops.

 

 

THOMAS S. STREEPER, a well-known farmer of Plymouth township, was born August 16, 1851, in Whitpain township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and is the son of Samuel C. and Mary (Shay) Streeper.

The founders of the Streeper family in America were four brothers who emigrated from Germany. Jacob Streeper (paternal grandfather) and his wife were farming people in the vicinity of Chestnut Hill. They had five children: Samuel, Jacob, Harriet, Maria and Margaret, all deceased.

Samuel C. Streeper (father) was born in Springfield township, Montgomery county, in 1802. He was the son of Jacob and Lydia (Samuel) Streeper. Samuel C. Streeper received a common-school education at Chestnut Hill, and spent the early part of his life in following the carpenter trade. At the time of his death and for many years previous to it, he was a farmer. He died at the age of seventy-one years.

Samuel C. Streeper married Mary, daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Mullen) Shay, both deceased. Mrs. Mary (Shay) Streeper died at the age of fifty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Streeper had five children, as follows: Lydia and Jessie, deceased; Amanda; John, who married Emma Paine and lives in Philadelphia; and Thomas.

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Jesse Shay (maternal grandfather) and his wife were farming people and old residents of Horsham township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Sarah (Mullen) Shay was a member of the Society of Friends. They both lived to an advanced age, and had six children, one of whom is now living, Thomas B. Shay, of Florida.

Thomas S. Streeper was reared on the farm in Whitpain township where he was born, and received a common-school education. He lived in the same place until he was thirty-five years of age, when he married and removed to his present home in Plymouth township. He understands his business of farming thoroughly. Like his father he has always been a Republican, and is a public-spirited man.

On February 17, 1886, Thomas S. Streeper married Maria Taggart, born December 21, 1863, daughter of Austin L. and Sarah (Rudy) Taggart. They have two children: Amanda, born December 27, 1886, and Austin T., born April 8, 1891. The former is a graduate of the high school and is now attending the West Chester Normal School.

Mrs. Thomas S. Streeper is a member of St. Thomas' Episcopal church, of Whitemarsh. Austin L. and Sarah (Rudy) Taggart lived in Upper Merion township,. He was a very prominent member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and from this circumstance, as well as his championship of the interests of farmers, he became known throughout Pennsylvania as "Farmer" Taggart. He was born in Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, November 21, 1836. His father was a merchant and lumber dealer, and he came of a long line of ancestors, of whom the first in Pennsylvania settled in the state in 1740. The Taggarts were always characterized by independence in thought and action. Austin L. Taggart's great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and was killed in battle.

In the year 1850 the family removed to Montgomery county where Austin was educated in public and private schools. At an early age be began work as a surveyor, running the lines and making the maps for a number of counties in Michigan. Returning to Norristown, he engaged for a short time in the mercantile business, but his tendency toward agriculture was too strong to permit him to remain in that business. He became a resident of Upper Merion, owning and tilling one of the best farms in that township.

In 1886 the Republicans of the county named him for the legislature. Accepting the nomination with relutance, he was elected and entered heartily, earnestly and efficiently upon his legislative duties. He was re-elected in 1888, 1890 and 1892, having charge of the important granger tax bills, prepared and endorsed by the state organization of Patrons of Husbandry. He was also on many important committees, including railroad, public buildings, and accounts.

In 1892 he was again a candidate but was defeated by Charles I. Baker, his majority being twenty in a poll of twenty-seven thousand, one hundred and four votes. Mr. Taggart at once filed a notice of contest, alleging that fifty-five students of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, a Catholic institution at Overbrook, had illegally cast their votes for Mr. Baker. Mr. Taggart claimed that they had no residence within the meaning of the law to entitle them to vote in the county. The house elections committee sustained Mr. Taggart's contentions, the house adopted its report, and on April 18, 1893, he was sworn in. He died very suddenly in February, 1894.

Mr. Taggart was a member of the Twentieth Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment during the war. He was mentioned at times in connection with the succession to the United States senate, and, but for his untimely death, might have become the Republican nominee for governor. He was a good talker, a deep thinker, and thoroughly independent in all that he said and did. He left a widow and eight children, all of whom reside in Norristown or its vicinity.

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REV. JOSEPH H. HENDRICKS, an earnest and eminent expounder of the gospel, who enjoys the distinction of having served the same charge- Trinity Reformed church, Collegeville, Pennsylvania- longer than any other living pastor in Montgomery county, is a son of the late Abraham H. and Mary (Hunsicker) Hendricks, and his birth occurred in Upper Providence township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, December 21, 1834.

The family name was originally Hendricksen, and the first settlers in this country of this name came from Holland, and are characterized in the often recited history of the settlement of Germantown, Pennsylvania, as a liberty-loving people. The name is also quite conspicuous in the extended German histories of the countless martyrdoms of the non-resident Christians on the continent of Europe. There are a large number of persons in the United States who bear the name of Hendricks, and possibly the most prominent among them was the late Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, who served in the capacity of United States senator, governor of Indiana, and vice-president of the United States with Grover Cleveland, dying shortly after his inauguration in the last named office.

Henry Hendricks (grandfather) was a prominent leader of the Mennonite denomination. He married and the following named children were the issue of the union: John, Benjamin, Abraham H., Elizabeth and Nancy Hendricks. Abraham H. Hendricks (father) was a farmer by occupation, residing in Upper Providence township, Montgomery county. In religious faith he was a Mennonite. He was united in marriage to Mary Hunsicker, daughter of the Rev. John Hunsicker, and granddaughter of the Rev. Henry (Heinrich) Hunsicker, both very prominent and influential Mennonite bishops in their day and generation in eastern Pennsylvania.

The Hunsicker families are descended from Valentine Hunsicker, who came from Switzerland and settled in Skippack township in 1717. Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks were the parents of the following named children: John; Elizabeth, wife of David Reiner; Roger; Joseph H.; Mary, wife of R. R. Casselberry; and Sarah, wife of Joseph Casselberry.

Joseph H. Hendricks was reared on his father's farm and his preliminary education was obtained in the neighboring schools. In the spring of 1851 he entered Freeland Seminary, now Ursinus College, and in the fall of 1852 he took charge of a public school at Milford Square, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. During the four consecutive winters he figured in the role of public school teacher, attending boarding school in the summer months.

In February, 1856, he became assistant teacher in Freeland Seminary, then a very popular boarding-school at which there were many young men in attendance qualifying themselves to become public school teachers and to follow other lines of professional work, there being but one normal school in the state at that time. From the position of assistant teacher in the common English branches, in two years he was promoted to teach the higher mathematics and was also appointed vice-principal of the institution. While he was serving in this double capacity he was, according to the usages of the Mennonite church, at a meeting of the Christian Society, at Freeland, now Collegeville, held in 1860, elected on trial to the office of the gospel minister. As was expected, he at once began to attend to some of the duties of the gospel ministry as best he could along with his school work, although under very serious disadvantages, but having succeeded fairly well, by the direction of the said Christian Society, he was on June 25, 1861, ordained to the office of a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, invested with all the powers usually belonging to that office, by the laying on of hands, the Revs. Abraham Hunsicker, Israel Beidler, Abraham Grater and Henry, A. Hunsicker, officiating.

The Christian Society materialized and was incorporated in the spring of 1855, and was composed of the above named ministers and about forty, adherents who had been disowned and disfellowshipped by a branch of the Mennonite church of which they had all been members, because of them so charged too liberal views of Christian doctrine, church fellowship, education, and kindred subjects. During the Years 1854-55 the society built for itself in Freeland, now Collegeville, what is styled the "Christian Meeting House", which was opened for public worship the following spring. The Christian Society, through the stated

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preaching. of the gospel, during the first half dozen years of its existence, made substantial progress in the peculiar work designed for it, and it was, therefore, wisely determined to arrange for a more perfect church organization, by the preparation of a discipline, election of a church council, pastor, etc. In February, 1862, Mr. Hendricks was elected pastor of the Christian Society, and on the first Sunday in April, 1862, was installed as such, the Rev. Israel Beidler preaching the sermon and delivering the charge to the congregation, and the Rev. Henry A. Hunsicker delivering the charge to the pastor. Prior to 1862 the brethren who had so faithfully preached in the "Christian Meeting House" received no pecuniary compensation for their services. The original Christian Society, subsequently Trinity Christian church, remained independent of ecclesiastical connection with other churches until 1888, when, after all necessary and proper steps in the premises had been, taken, it became connected with the Reformed (German) church of the United States. In 1892 the Skippackville church was also formally made a part of the same denomination. The Collegeville charge, as it is now, is made up of Trinity church, Collegeville Trinity church, Skippackville; and Ironbridge Chapel, Rahn's Station; and with its three Christian Endeavor societies, its three Sunday-schools, and its other auxiliary church societies, is a very influential charge, and has grown to its present proportions and prominence under the efficient pastorate of Rev. Hendricks.

During the first two years of Mr. Hendrick's pastorate he continued his relations with Freeland Seminary as teacher and vice-principal, but in entering upon the third year, he wholly severed his relations with it, A. H. Fetterolf, Ph. D., LL.D., now president of Girard College, becoming his successor. During the following three years of the pastorate, in addition to his ministerial duties, he cultivated his father-in-law's farm adjoining the church property, the congregation in the meantime being educated in the way of contributing with commendable generosity towards the support of the gospel.

In February, 1867, he purchased his father's property which was located near the church and at once moved thereon, residing there to the present time. The life-work of Mr. Hendricks has been closely and indissolubly intertwined with what is now Trinity Reformed church, he having been connected with the Sunday-school since the spring of 1856, serving twenty-eight consecutive years as superintendent, and also taught and led the singing, in all the past history of the Sunday-school and still continues to do it.

The church building has been materially enlarged, improved and beautified, and the church-yard and cemetery grounds have been extended to twice their original size. He was never missed officiating at a funeral on account of sickness, has only missed in a third of a century three church services on account of bodily sickness, and in all these years has had but on brief "pastor's vacation". The late Moses Auge wrote of Mr. Hendricks some years ago, that he is "greatly beloved by his own congregation, and is much in demand outside of his own churches, especially to officiate at funerals. He is a fluent and forcible preacher, speaking entirely ex tempore, in a rapid, earnest and convincing manner, impressing every one with the absolute conviction of the truth of what he is saying". He has delivered numerous addresses at Sunday-school picnics, public school commencements, national Thanksgiving and Decoration days, and to the Grand Army of the Republic Posts, for which he has received words and testimonials of high appreciation.

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Although Mr. Hendricks did not go through the curriculum of a college course, yet, June 22, 1881, the board of directors of Ursinus College, upon the recommendation of its faculty, conferred on him "the honorary degree of Master of Arts, for his personal worth and merits as a scholar".

Ursinus College is located right in the heart of the parish of the Collegeville church, and its professors and a large number of its students are regular attendants at public worship, and a number of members of the church are either directors or graduates of the college.

Mr. Hendricks has always been a liberal supporter and patron of the institution, being for many years one of its directors and a member of three of its leading committees, and his personal interest is further shown by the fact of his having three children and two sons-in-law as graduates of the institution. He is a popular and eloquent preacher, and is greatly beloved by his three congregations. Few men in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, either professional or otherwise, are so well known or so highly respected as he, and few more worthy of emulation.

In the fall of 1858 the Rev. Mr. Hendricks married Kate Hunsicker, youngest daughter of the late Rev. Abraham Hunsicker, the founder of Freeland Seminary, and a sister of the Rev. Henry A. Hunsicker, the proprietor and principal of the institution.

Their children are: Ella M., wife of F. G. Hobson, of Collegeville, attorney-at-law, and treasurer and trust officer of the Norristown Title, Trust & Safe Deposit Company; Bertha, wife of the Rev. Charles E. Wehler, pastor of St. Paul's Reformed church, Manheim, Lancaster county; Abraham H., of Pottstown, the popular lawyer, who has served two terms as district attorney of Montgomery county, and whose wife is the daughter of Addison T. Miller, of Limerick; and Sara C., wife of Professor J. T. Ebert, who is the present principal of the Schissler Business College of Norristown, Pennsylvania.

 

 

OLIVER M. EVANS. The first ancestor of the Evans family in this country was John Evans, who came from Wales and settled in Philadelphia in 1696, removing later to Chester county.

He married, and among his children was a son John, born in 1700 and died in 1738. This John Evans married Jane, daughter of Robert Howell, and among their children was a son, Peter Evans, born in 1722. He was a well-known physician, and during the Revolutionary war was a commissioner of supplies for the Continental army, the depot being where is now North Wales, in Montgomery county. He was a justice of the peace, and tried the cases of the members of the Hilltown Baptist church who refused to bear arms during the Revolution. He married Rachel Evans, a daughter of David Evans, of Gwynedd township. The couple had several children, among them John (grandfather). David Evans died September 18, 1763, aged seventy-three years.

Dr. Peter Evans was evidently well to do, as he was taxed in 1776 for two hundred acres of land, two negroes, four horses and eight cattle. David Evans is rated in the list of the landholders and tenants of Montgomery township prepared in 1734 by order of John and Thomas Penn, sons of William Penn, as the owner of a hundred acres of land.

The Evans family were among the earliest settlers of Montgomery township. Jenkin Evans, who came from Wales, in 1717, purchased 108 acres of land of Thomas Shute.

This tract lay in the north corner of the township, adjoining the Hatfield line, and between what is now the Bethlehem turnpike and the Bucks county line. Jenkin Evans may have been a brother of David Evans, who bought a large tract of land in Hatfield about the same time, and who through the marriage of his daughter Rachel with Dr. Peter Evans became the ancestor of a numerous and prominent family in Hatfield, Montgomery and adjoining townships of what is now Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Rachel was the only child of David Evans.

John Evans (grandfather of Oliver M. Evans) was born February 13, 1767, and was a farmer by occupation. He married Elizabeth Evans, of the Chester county family of that name, his wife having been a relative of Hon. Henry S. Evans, at one time a senator representing Chester and Montgomery counties at Harrisburg. John Evans died October 15, 1824.

The Evans family furnished several physicians in the course of two centuries. Jonathan Evans, son of John and Elizabeth Evans, was one of them. He was the father of Oliver M. Evans, subject of this sketch. Jonathan Evans was born January 28, 1793, on the homestead in Hatfield township. He attended the neighboring schools, which supplied the elementary instruction he needed. After completing these studies he entered the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania and took the course then prescribed at that institution.

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He graduated with credit, and returned to his home in Hatfield township, where he practiced medicine for some time, and then removed to the city of Philadelphia, where he was continuously engaged in practice until his death, which occurred July 7, 1851. Dr. Evans was a Whig in politics, and took an active interest in the success of that organization. He was a man whose ideas were broadened by a liberal education and by contact with the world. His honesty and other admirable qualities gained for him the esteem and respect of all who knew him.

He was twice married. His first wife was Sarah, daughter of Rev. Joseph Mathias, of Bucks county. There was one child by the first marriage, Julia, long since deceased.

The second wife of Dr. Evans was Jane, the daughter of Owen Jenkins, of another old Montgomery county family of Welsh descent, being among the earliest settlers of Hatfield and adjoining townships. Dr. Jonathan and Jane Evans had two children, Oliver M. Evans, and Sarah J., who married Dr. John S. Jenkins.

It is somewhat remarkable that the members of the Evans family in different generations adhered so persistently to intermarriages with persons of kindred stock. Two of the ancestors of Mr. Evans married Evanses, and his mother was a Jenkins, whose frequent intermarriages with the Evans family had already established a sort of connection between them.

Oliver M. Evans was born in Hatfield township, April 28, 1831. He was educated in neighboring schools until his removal with his parents to Philadelphia, where he became engaged in mercantile pursuits. He gave up business on account of ill health, and went west for the benefit of his impaired constitution, remaining there for some. time until he had fully recovered his strength. He then returned to Hatfield township, where he conducted a store for three years, and in 1874 removed to Lansdale, then a mere village, where he accepted the position of teller in the First National Bank of that place. Mr. Evans filled that position acceptably for a period of nearly thirty years, when ill health made it necessary for him to resign, and he is now living retired in a beautiful home in that borough of which he has been so long a resident.

In politics he is a Republican, and has always shown an active interest in the promotion of the principles and policy of that organization. Like his father, Mr. Evans married a member of the Jenkins family, his wife being Ella, daughter of Charles Todd Jenkins, and sister of J. P. Hale Jerkins, of Norristown.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver M. Evans: Jennie, born January 25, 1872, married Arthur Drake; Evelyn, born January 8, 1874; Oliver Morris, Jr., born March 17, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were married January 31, 1871. He and his family are members of the Baptist church.

Mr. Evans' has filled every position in the borough government of Lansdale. He was a burgess for several years, and is now president of the board of health, a member of the borough school board, and a member of town council. He has also been borough treasurer. His integrity, business-like methods and progressive ideas in local government fit him peculiarly for the positions he has held from time to time, besides gaining him the confidence and respect of the entire community. He has a brief military record, having gone to the front during the Rebellion with a regiment of one hundred day men.

 

 

JACOB WAYNE HEEBNER, youngest child of Henry L. and Catharine (Schutt) Heebner, is a native of Norriton township, where he was born March 1, 1865. The Heebners are one old family in Montgomery county, of Schwenkfelder ancestry.

Henry L. Heebner (father) born December 8, 1826, was the oldest son of Joseph R. and Susanna (Letherach) Heebner. He was born on the old Heebner homestead, in Norriton township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the schools of the township, and on coming to the years of manhood, became a successful farmer, continuing in that occupation until the later years of his life, when he lived retired. He was a model farmer, a faithful husband and father and a good citizen, who enjoyed the esteem and confidence of all who knew him.

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In politics he was a Republican and held the office of school director in Norriton for several years. He died February 26, 1901. His wife is living. Their children are: Mary S., born January 7, 1854; Martha (deceased) born November 17, 1856; Catherine S., born March 2, 1861; J. Wayne, subject of this sketch. Catharine (mother) is the daughter of Jacob Schutt. She married Mr. Heebner, December 7, 1851.

Joseph R. Heebner (grandfather) was the son of Abraham and Catharine (Rittenhouse) Heebner. He married Susanna, daughter of Henry Letherach, March 21, 1826. Their children are Henry L. (father); Abraham L., born September 5, 1828; David L., born August 25, 1830, and died at the age of three days; Catharine, born December 24, 1831; Ann, born February 9, 1834; Benjamin L., born August 17, 1835; Joseph L., born April 7, 1837; William L., born January 1, 1840; and Enoch M., born June 20, 1843.

Abraham Heebner (great-grandfather) was the son of Christopher and Susanna (Wiegner) Heebner. His marriage to Catharine, daughter of Matthias Rittenhouse, took place December 1, 1791. Their children were: Sarah, born in 1792; Hannah, in 1794; Christopher and John, who died in infancy; Joseph, born in 1799; Susanna, in 1801; Catharine, in 1804; Rebecca, in 1806; Mary, in 1808; and Elizabeth, in 1811. Abraham Heebner died November 25, 1846. He lived on the farm in Norriton township afterwards occupied by Henry L. and J. Wayne Heebner, his descendants. Catharine, his widow, died September 27, 1851.

Christopher Heebner (great-great-grandfather) was the son of David Huebner or Heebner, the immigrant, who came to Pennsylvania with his wife Maria in 1734, along with the tide of Schwenkfelder immigration. Their children were Christopher, Susanna, Rosanna and George. David died in 1784 and his widow in 179;. Christopher married Susanna Wiegner, daughter of Hans Wiegner, May 3, 1757 Their children were: Melchior, born 1759, died 1781; John, 1761-1824; Sarah, 1763-1833; Abraham (great-grandfather) 1766-1846; Christopher, 1770; Susanna, 1773-1777; David, 1778-1783. Susanna, wife of Christopher Heebner, died January 17, 1814, aged seventy-six years. He died August 21, 1827, aged eighty years.

J. Wayne Heebner was educated in the township schools, finishing his schooling in Norristown, and then going back to the farm where he has remained ever since. Mr. Heebner married, in 1886, Miss Mary A. Wismer, daughter of Christian and Sarah (Cole) Wismer, the father being a farmer of Upper Providence township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. They have three children, Grace, Ralph and Earl. Mr. Heebner is a Republican in politics, and is active in party affairs, although not an office seeker in any sense of the term. Like his father he has held the position of school director and is still a member of the township school board, manifesting much interest in educational progress. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and of the Order of Heptasophs, showing an active interest in each organization. He is an attendant at the services in the Worcester Schwenkfelder church, with his family. Mr. Heebner is one of the progressive farmers of Norriton and is respected by all who know him.

 

 

CHALKLEY K. CLEAVER. Prominent among the enterprising business men of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is Chalkley K. Cleaver, who was born at the family homestead, 10th mo., 15, 1857. He is a descendant of one of the old and prominent families of that section of the state, having migrated thence from Germantown, where they settled upon their arrival in the country, in the time of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. Although originally Germans, they have been among the staunchest members of the Society of Friends in every generation of the family.

Peter Klever, the progenitor of the American branch of the family, was undoubtedly one of the company of German immigrants which included the Shoemakers, Lukenses, Conrads and others, who came from the Lower Rhine some time after the arrival of Pastorius and the earlier German settlers of Germantown, Pennsylvania. He is on record as having been naturalized in 1691, and

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He is on record as having been naturalized in 1691, and he died in Bristol township, Philadelphia county, adjoining Germantown, in 1727. He left children as follows: Isaac, who possessed land in Cheltenham, and probably removed to that township; John, who succeeded his father on the farm in Bristol township, and was the father of six children, namely: Elizabeth, Peter, William, Sarah, John, and Hannah; Peter, Jr., mentioned in this sketch; Derrick; Agnes; and two married daughters-Christiana Melchoir and Eve Adams.

Peter Cleaver, Jr., third son of Peter Klever, settled in Upper Dublin prior to 1734, as his name is given in the list of taxables for that year in said township, as the owner of a hundred acres of land.

His name is frequently mentioned as a road juror, etc., in the early records of Philadelphia county, from which Montgomery county was formed in the year 1784. The name of his wife was Elizabeth Cleaver. He died in 1776, leaving a will in which he mentions his sons-John, Isaac, Ezekiel, Peter, and Nathan and his daughter, Elizabeth, who became the wife of John Roberts, of Whitpain township, a brother of Ruth Roberts, who became the wife of Nathan Cleaver, brother of Elizabeth.

Nathan Cleaver, son of Peter Cleaver, Jr., was born in Upper Dublin township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He was a farmer by occupation, and on his marriage with Ruth Roberts, daughter of John Roberts, of Whitpain township, he removed to Montgomery township, same county, and purchased one hundred and thirty-seven acres of land which had been part of the Isaac Jones property, located in the extreme lower end of the township.

His children were: Phebe, who became the wife of Amos Griffith; David, who married and had several children, namely Edward, a resident of Chicago, and father of a family of children; Annie, wife of Wilmer A. Wood, of Horsham; Jesse; and Rebecca; who died a few years ago at the Friends' Home, in Norristown, Pennsylvania; Jonathan, who married Ann Jones, and was the father of one son, Elias, who married Ann Acuff; Nathan, Jr., who married Martha Shoemaker; and Salathiel, of whom mention is made later in this sketch.

Salathiel Cleaver, son of Nathan and Ruth (Roberts) Cleaver, was born loth mo., 1780, and was an active and industrious farmer of Montgomery township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. His wife, Mary (Shoemaker) Cleaver, daughter of Daniel Shoemaker, of Upper Dublin township, bore him the following named children: Lydia; Nathan, who married Deborah Conrad, and Sarah C. James, of Byberry, is their daughter; Josiah, who married, 4th mo. 11, 1844, Martha P. Lukens, daughter of Peter and Mary Lukens, and among their children are: Mary, Daniel (deceased), Jane, wife of William B. Richards, of Plymouth township, near Norristown, and Phebe, wife of Charles Keisel; Daniel; Silas, mentioned at length below; and John, mentioned at length in the following paragraph. Silas Cleaver was born 2d mo. 7, 181g. He was educated at the Joseph Foulke boarding school, and after completing his studies he entered the mill of William Ely, in Whitemarsh, and learned the trade.

The following eight years he operated the Walnut Mill, in Upper Dublin township, and then purchased the property on the Wissahickon, since known as Cleaver's Mill, and now operated by Chalkley K. Cleaver, son of John Cleaver. Silas Cleaver attended strictly to business, prospered in his undertaking, and had made all preparations to retire, and had bought a handsome house, when he died rather suddenly, 2d mo. 18, 1884. He was a man of the highest integrity and stood well in the community in which he lived. He was noted for gentleness, which is a characteristic of the Society of Friends, causing them to be greatly beloved, and as a business man and in every other relation of life he was all that a man should be, and his memory will long remain among the succeeding generations. He married, 3d mo., 9, 1848, Mary E. Rupert, daughter of John Rupert, who is still living and now resides in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

John Cleaver, son of Salathiel and Mary (Shoemaker) Cleaver, was born November 1, 1822, on the homestead in Montgomery township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He remained on the farm with his parents until he was nineteen years of age, and his education was acquired in a private school on his father's property, and later at the boarding school of Joseph Foulke, in Gwynedd.

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He decided to learn the trade of a miller, and, accordingly, he entered a mill on the Pennypack, near Bustleton, in Philadelphia county, as an apprentice. Having finished his apprenticeship two years and a half later, he went to Byberry, in the upper end of Philadelphia county, where he remained one year, at the expiration of which time he formed a partnership with William Buckman, long since deceased, this business relation continuing two years. In the spring of 1848 an opportunity presented itself for engaging in business with his brother, Silas Cleaver, who owned a mill on the Wissahickon, in Whitemarsh township.

This business relation was of the most satisfactory character and continued until the year 1884, when the partnership was dissolved by the death of Silas Cleaver. William J. and Chalkley K. Cleaver, sons of John Cleaver, having been admitted into the firm the previous year, they continued the business until the death of William J., which occurred August 31, 1888. The business was then conducted by John Cleaver and his son Chalkley K., John acting as salesman and collector in Norristown and elsewhere, and since the death of the former named, in 1901, Chalkley K. Cleaver has managed it alone. John Cleaver was for some time a member of the Commercial Exchange, in the city of Philadelphia. In politics he was an earnest and uncompromising Republican. He was deeply attached to the principles of the Society of Friends, of which the family have for many generations been members. With his family, about the year 1885, he removed to Norristown, and for many years thereafter he served as overseer in that meeting, and he was also prominent in other society work.

Mr. Cleaver married, November 11, 1852, Sarah J. Kenderdine, daughter of Chalkley and Ann (Jarrett) Kenderdine, of Horsham township, Montgomery county.

Their children were: William J., born 2d mo. 3, 1854, deceased; Anna K., born 6th mo. 3, 1855; Ella, born 7th mo. 5, 1856, and died 1st mo. 17, 1860; Chalkley K., born loth mo. 16, 1857; Mary R., born 9th mo. 14, 1859; Emma, born 10th mo. 16, 1862; Sarah, born 3d mo. 9, 1864; Tacie K., born 11 mo. 21, 1865; Silas C., born 12th mo. 17, 1866, and died 6th mo. 10, 1883. Anna K. Cleaver married George Rex, 2d mo. 26, 1880, and they reside in Philadelphia. He is a son of Joseph and Amanda Rex. Their children are: John C., born 2d mo. 26, 1881, and died 7th mo. 26, 1881; Joseph, born 4th mo. 8, 1882; William, born 11th mo. 18, 1885; and Sarah C., born 6th mo. 6, 1888, and died 5th mo. 3, 1894.

Mrs. John Cleaver is a descendant of Thomas Kenderdine, the head of the American family of that name, who was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, about 1650, and died at his home near Byberry Meeting, in Abington township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, 8th mo. 2, 1713.

He married Margaret Robert, daughter of John Robert, prior to 1680, and among their children was a son Thomas, who was born about 1692, and died in 12th mo., 1779, being buried 12th mo. 5, of that year.

In 1720 he married Dorothy Roberts, but not through the Meeting, he not having the consent of his parents. Being dealt with, he delivered a paper of condemnation, was retained in membership and became a very active member at Horsham. Another son was Joseph (great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Cleaver), who was born 12th mo. 14, 1703, and died 2d mo. 23, 1778. His estate was not settled, however, until 1785. He married, 7th mo. 28, 1738, Mary Jarrett, and their family consisted of one son, John, and six daughters, Margaret, Mary, Hannah, Rachel, Sarah, and Jane. John (great-grandfather of Mrs. Cleaver) married Hannah Morgan, and their children were: Joseph, Issacher, and John. Issacher (grandfather of Mrs. Cleaver) was born 10th mo. 13, 1780, and died 8th mo. 15, 1848. He married, 10th mo. 31, 1804, Sarah Morgan, daughter of Morgan and Ann (Roberts) Morgan, and their children were: Chalkley, Morgan, Issacher, Ann Morgan, Hannah, Elizabeth and Jane. Chalkley Kenderdine (father of Mrs. Cleaver) was born 9th mo. 5, 1805, and died 2d mo. 23, 1885. He married Ann Jarrett, 1st mo. 2, 1828, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Lukens) Jarrett, and their children were: Tacie, born 4th mo. 29, 1829, and died 3d mo. 16, 1898; Sarah Jane, born 7th mo. 21, 1832, widow of John Cleaver; Letitia, born 5th mo., 2, 1838, who married Will-

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Ambler, 3rd mo. 8, 1860; and Elizabeth, born 5th mo. 24, 1840. The Kenderdine family are numerous in Bucks county as well as in Montgomery, and have intermarried with a majority of the old families of Friends.

Chalkley Kenderdine Cleaver, second son of John and Sarah J. (Kenderdine) Cleaver, was educated in the public schools of Whitemarsh, the Friends' Central School, in Philadelphia, which has a high reputation for thoroughness and discipline, the Lauderbach Select School, in Philadelphia, and the West Chester Normal School, where he completed his studies. On leaving that institution he decided to learn the milling trade with his father, and later he was admitted as a member of the firm. After the death of his father he assumed entire charge of the business, and has since conducted it with great ability and success. He has introduced much improved machinery, and under his judicious management every department of work has been brought up to a high standard of efficiency.

In politics Mr. Cleaver is an earnest Republican, the policy of that party corresponding with his convictions as the true theory of government. He is a member of the junior Order of United American Mechanics. He attends Friends' Meeting at Plymouth.

Chalkley K. Cleaver married, 5th mo. 27, 1884, A. Laura White, daughter of Thomas and Mary White, the former named being a retired cattle dealer of Norristown, and a descendant of an old county family. Their children are: Ella W., born 8th mo. 27, 1885; Mary A., born 8th mo. 5, 1889; and S. Isabel Cleaver, born 7th mo. 17, 1895.