(Picture of J. P. Hale Jenkins)

 

J. P. HALE JENKINS. The Jenkins family of Montgomery county are descended from Jenkin Jenkin, a native of Wales, who emigrated to America, and settled in what is now Hatfield township, about the year 1729. The family Bible, printed in Welsh characters, shows the following record: Jenkin Jenkin died September 15, 1745, aged 86 years. Mary Jenkins died November 27, 1764, aged 74 years. John Jenkins, born February 15, 1719. Jenkin Jenkin was born, therefore, in 1659, and his wife Mary in 1690. Their son John was about ten years old when the family came to this country. November 17, 1730, Jenkin Jenkin bought of Joseph Tucker three hundred and fifty acres of land in Hatfield, "reaching from Gwynedd line nearly or quite to the cow path road and from the Montgomery line about to the road running from Lansdale to Colmar." He settled on this tract and when he made his will, in 1745, he was "of Hatfield."

Jenkin Jenkin, at his death, left four children, as follows: (1). John, who was born in Wales, married Sarah Hawkesworth, a daughter of Peter and Mary Hawkesworth. Sarah was born in 1720, in England, and died January 16, 1794. (2). Mary died unmarried. (3). Jenkin, Jr., married a Miss Thomas and had four children David, who died unmarried; Elizabeth, who married John Banes; Hannah, who died unmarried; and Eleanor, who married a McPherson. (4). Elizabeth, married John Hawkesworth, son of Peter and Mary, and had seven children.

The oldest child, John Jenkins, was the progenitor of all the family who now bear the name, his brother Jenkin having no sons. He bought land in Gwynedd, adjoining Lansdale, in 1746. He died in 1803 or 1804. His eight children were as follows: 1. John, born in 1742 and died in 1805, was an officer in the Revolutionary army. He married Elizabeth Lukens, widow of Abraham, and had six children: Owen, married Mary Tennis; Sarah, married Peter Hoxworth; Jesse, married Mary Aaron; John, married Ann Todd; Edward, married Margaret Server; and Elizabeth, married Issacher Rhoads. 2. Levi, married Susan Sheive and had nine children, including Rev. John S. Jenkins, a prominent minister of the Baptist denomination; and Levi, Jr., who married Sarah Smith and had six children, including Joseph S., Eder, John S., and Anne.

3. Ann, married Hugh Kousty. 4. Edward, born July 12, 1758, died in 1829. He married Sarah Foulke, daughter of Theophilus, and had six children: Charles F. married Mary Lancaster; Ann died unmarried; Jesse married Mary R. Ambler; Margaret

 

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Peter C. Evans; Rachel married Meredith Conrad; and Caleb died in childhood. 5. Jesse, born in 1760, died in 1794, unmarried. 6. Elizabeth married Owen Hughes and had eight children. 7. Mary married Peter Wentz and had seven children. 8. Sarah married Isaac Lewis and had three children.

John, who married Ann Todd lived to a very advanced age, dying at North Wales at the house of his son-in-law, Abel Lukens, October 5, 1830, in his ninety-seventh year. His children were seven in number: Naomi married Abel Lukens; Charles Todd married Sarah Lukens; Jane married Samuel Rhoads; Ann T. married Jacob B. Rhoads; Silas T. married Eliza Morgan; John S. married Eliza Steever; and Milton married Sarah Ellis.

Many of the family were noted for longevity, as has been seen, living to a good old age. John Jenkins, grandson of Jenkin Jenkins, who served as a first lieutenant in the American army, underwent the trials and privations which marked that period. His commission in the Continental army is still in existence, in possession of one of his descendants.

The Ann Todd whom his son John married, was the daughter of John Todd, and a grandniece of General Porter, of Revolutionary fame. John Jenkins engaged in agricultural pursuits, and also became prominent in local affairs, holding, at one time or another, all the township offices. He was a Democrat in politics, and from his long tenure in the position of assessor in Gwynedd township, covering forty-two years, he was often spoken of as "Assessor John." In his old age, however, he was known far and near as "Uncle John". He owned the property on which East Landsdale is now built, south and east of the railroad. He enlisted in the army for the War of 1812 but was prevented from serving by breaking his leg on the next day.

Charles Todd Jenkins, his oldest son, was the father of J. P. Hale Jenkins, who is one of the most prominent members of the Montgomery county bar, has been a candidate for state senator on the ticket of the Republican party, to which he is devotedly attached, and has held many minor positions, being now the solicitor of the board of county commissioners, an influential and responsible post. Sarah, wife of Charles Todd Jenkins and mother of the subject of this sketch, was a daughter of George Lukens, or Luken, as the name appears to have been originally spelled. Her ancestor was Jan Lucken, who came from Amsterdam, Holland, at the time of William Penn's second voyage to Pennsylvania, settling in Germantown and becoming the progenitor of a numerous and influential family.

Charles Todd Jenkins was born in Gwynedd township, April 3, 1812. He obtained a good common-school education and engaged in teaching, later in butchering and finally in the occupation of farming, which he followed for many years. For twenty-five years he was president of the Line Lexington Life Insurance Company and for thirty-three years treasurer of the Springhouse and Hilltown Turnpike Road Company, these positions occupying much of his time and attention during his later years. He was, in early life, an ardent Abolitionist, the cause of the downtrodden and oppressed ever appealing strongly to, his sympathies, and his house being a station on the underground railroad for the relief of runaway slaves.

In their religious affiliations, he and his wife were members of the Society of Friends. At one time he took an active part in politics and was twice a candidate for county treasurer although unsuccessful at the polls because of the large Democratic majority in Montgomery county at that time. He served for several years as school director in Hatfield township, and always took an active interest in educational progress. He felt that a vote was a matter of principle and his was the only vote cast in Hatfield township for John P. Hale when he ran for president in 1852.

 

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Charles Todd and Sarah Jenkins were married in 1840 and lead eight children as follows George L., a member of the firm of Burgen & Co., manufacturers of glass bottles in Philadelphia, now deceased; Comly, a resident also of Philadelphia; Parker, a freight agent for many years at Colmar station, on the Doylestown branch of the North Pennsylvania Railroad; J. P. Hale Jenkins, the subject of this sketch; Ella, who married Oliver M. Evans, teller of the First National Bank of Lansdale; Valeria, wife of George W. Chapin, a commission merchant of Philadelphia, residing at St. Davids; and two others who died in infancy. Charles Todd Jenkins died in 1899, and his wife died in 1896. Both lived to an advanced age, he being eighty-seven and she eighty years old.

The maternal grandfather of Mr. Jenkins was George Lukens, who was a schoolteacher for many years of his life and later a farmer in Towamencin township. His wife was Esther Jeanes, who, as well as her husband, was a member of the Society of Friends. They had a large family. Teaching until he was thirty-six years of age, he married Esther, who was eighteen, and then engaged in farming in Towamencin, near Kulpsville, where his grandson, George W. Lukens, now resides, being the owner of the old home farm. George Lukens died at the age of eighty-one years. His wife died at the same age.

J. P. Hale Jenkins was reared in Hatfield township, on the farm of his father, and attended the district and public schools, Lexington Seminary and Crittenden's Business College in Philadelphia. He then began the study of law in Norristown, in the office of George N. Corson, and was admitted to the bar April 30, 1874, and has practiced in Norristown continuously since, having a large clientage and doing much business.

On December 30, 1875, he married Miss Ella C. Slight, daughter of Augustus and Amanda (Bush) Slight. The couple have three children: Leila, Helen and Olive. Miss Leila is a member of the Montgomery county bar, having been admitted in June, 1902, and being the second woman admitted to the Norristown bar. She is a graduate of Vassar College, class of '99. Miss Helen attended Wilson College.

Mrs. Jenkins is a member of the First Baptist church of Norristown. Mr. Jenkins is a member of the following organizations: Chantry Lodge, No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons; also of Norristown Chapter, No. 190, Royal Arch Masons; Hutchinson Commandery, No. 32, Knights Templar; Lulu Temple of the Mystic Shrine; Norristown Lodge, No. 430, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and at present is one of the oldest representatives in continuous service in the grand lodge of Pennsylvania. He was the first exalted ruler of Norristown Lodge, No. 714, Order of Elks, and was district deputy, in 1902-1903.

Politically he is an active and earnest Republican and he has filled many important positions. He was solicitor for the borough of Norristown for six years; solicitor for the directors of the poor of Montgomery county for nine years; solicitor for the Norristown school board for six years and is at present solicitor for the county commissioners, having been re-elected in January, 1903.

Mr. Jenkins was a school director for some years, has been a delegate to several state conventions and was a delegate to the Republican national convention which nominated Blaine for president of the United States in 1884. He was a candidate for state senator in 1898, but was defeated by John A. Wentz, the Democratic candidate by the narrow margin of one hundred forty-five votes. He resides at 510 Swede street and has a well-appointed office immediately adjoining his residence.

He is secretary of the Turnpike Company of which his father was treasurer for so many years, and has been, for nearly a quarter of a century, a director in the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia. He has been a director of the Norristown Trust Company and the Philadelphia Casualty Company since their organization, and was a director of the Stony Creek Railroad Company for twenty years. He has been a member of the Valley Forge park commission for some years, having been appointed by Governor Stone, and takes an interest in everything relating to the preservation of historic remains of Washington's encampment there. He was identified with the Valley Forge Centennial and Memorial Association which had charge of the Anniversary exercises in 1878, and also actively participated in the management of the celebration in 1903, of the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the breaking of camp at Valley Forge.

 

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JOHN RAYMOND KIBBLEHOUSE, born November 15, 1873, is the son of George B. and Hannah C. (Shrawder) Kibblehouse, a family that is not only numerous in Gwynedd township but influential as well. John R. Kibblehouse was born on the farm which his father rented from Jacob Rhoads, on the Swedesford Road. He attended school at Maple Grove until his sixteenth year, at the end of which time he remained at home, assisting his father on the farm and in the dairy, until he married, October 1, 1896, Margaret Harp, born January 30, 1871, daughter of Alvin Williamson and Catharine (Harp) White. Their children: John Raymond, born in January, 1899, died January 4, 1901; George Clyde, born February 24, 1903.

After his marriage John R. Kibblehouse established himself in Montgomery township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on the farm of Robert V. Leach, containing sixty-two acres of land, which he conducted as a dairy for one year. In the spring of 1898 he rented the farm of Conard S. Castner, on the Gwynedd Pike, being the old Castner homestead, containing 116 acres, with a quantity of meadow land, on which he still resides, operating it for dairy and general farming purposes. He owns fifteen or twenty head of fine cows. He is deeply interested in his occupation of farming, and is one of the most enterprising of the younger farming element in that section of Montgomery county. He thoroughly understands his business, and is one of the few who know how to make farming pay, even under the disadvantages as to prices of products being too low and wages too high which have prevailed for a number of years. In politics he is an earnest Republican, like all the sons of George B. Kibblehouse. He is always at the polls on election day, and willing to do anything that is possible to promote the interests of the organization, although he has never as yet aspired to public position of any kind. He has, however, been a delegate to county conventions of his party, and has been otherwise remembered in the distribution of party honors. He and his family are members of Boehm's Reformed church at Blue Bell.

Alvin Williamson White, father of Mrs. John R. Kibblehouse, is a son of William White, who resided at Chalfont, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. His mother was a Williamson, of an old Bucks family. Alvin W. White was born September 26, 1830, in Bucks county. He became a farmer by occupation. He married, August 19, 1858, Mary Catherine Harp, born September 5, 1838, their children being: John Henry, born October 3, 1859, married Guliellna E. A. Jenkins, of Worcester township; William McClellan, born November 19, 1862, married Louise Schultz; Edwin Norris, born May 27, 1865, married Bertha Worrall, daughter of Winfield S. Worrall, of Whitpain township; Alvin Williamson, born April 9, 1869, married Harriet Bacon, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania; Margaret Harp, wife of John R. Kibblehouse; Mary Catherine, born October 12, 1873, married February 16, 1898, Clarence Melvin Greger, born January 29, 1876, son of Charles and Emma Mills Greger, of Worcester township. Mrs. Kibblehouse is a capable manager, and a good helpmeet in every sense of the word, thoroughly domestic in her tastes and devoted to home interests.

(For further particulars as to the Kibblehouse genealogy, see biographical sketch of George B. Kibblehouse, elsewhere in this work).

 

 

HORACE REIGNER, flour miller and dealer in agricultural implements, was born in Lower Pottsgrove township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1858. He is the son of Jesse B. and Angeline G. (Bickel) Reigner, both natives of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. They had four children: Horace; Mary J., wife of George Haws of Cedarville, Chester county, Pennsylvania; Ida K., wife of Jonas A. Kulp of Chester county; Annie E., wife of Milton E. Dewalt of Royersford, Pennsylvania.

 

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Jesse B. Reigner (father) was a farmer residing in Montgomery county during his early life. Later he removed to Chester county, where he now owns a farm. For the past thirteen years he has lived retired in Pottstown. He and his wife are members of the Reformed church. He was a school director for a number of years. Jacob Reigner (grandfather) was born in Philadelphia. He removed to Montgomery county in the early part of his life. He was a blacksmith and a farmer, and was supervisor for many years. His wife was Lydia Gilbert, and they had nine children, six sons and three daughters. He lived to an advanced age, as did also his wife. His grandfather, or the great-great-grandfather of Horace Reigner, was Johan Reigner, who came from Germany to this country, and was the founder of the American branch of the family. He died in Falkner's Swamp, New Hanover township, Montgomery county. George Bickel (maternal grandfather) was born in Pennsylvania, and spent all his life in Montgomery county. His wife's maiden name was Gilbert. They had three sons and three daughters. Both died at an advanced age.

Horace Reigner lived for twenty years in Chester county, South Coventry township. He was reared on the farm, and attended the district schools. He attended the Pottstown high school and Penn Hall Academy, and afterwards taught four terms. He started in the mercantile business in Pottstown on April 11, 1881 and continued in that for about five years. In 1886 he built a flour mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1898. He immediately rebuilt the mill, and the new building was completed the following May. In connection with the flour mill he conducts an agricultural implement establishment.

On September 25, 1880, Horace Reigner married Miss Sarah Catharine Roberts, daughter of William E. and Ann (Gotwals) Roberts. They had two sons: Lewis Evan and J. Harold. Mr. and Mrs. Reigner are members of the Trinity Reformed church. Politically he is a Democrat, and was school director for several years. He resides at 215 High street, where he built a home in 1889.

Mrs. Reigner's mother was born in Union township, Berks county, and her father in Philadelphia. They had two children: Adelaide, wife of George J. Felker, of Morton, Pennsylvania, and Sarah Catharine, wife of Horace Reigner. Mrs. Reigner's paternal grandfather was William Roberts, a native of Wales. His wife was Sarah Moore. They lived in Philadelphia and had six children. Mrs. Reigner's maternal grandfather was Henry Gotwals, born in Pennsylvania. He was a farmer. His wife was Hanna Walters, and they had seven children. Henry Gotwals lived to an advanced age, and his wife to the age of ninety-six years.

 

 

(Picture of George Shannon)

 

GEORGE SHANNON. The Shannon family is one of the oldest in Montgomery county, dating back to colonial times, and it is undoubtedly of Scotch-Irish origin. When Montgomery county was separated from Philadelphia in 1784, a commission was named to purchase ground on the Schuylkill river, near the mouth of Stony creek, on which to erect a courthouse and prison. One of the members of this commission was Robert Shannon, who was a man who stood high in the community.

George Shannon, cashier of the First National Bank, was born in Norristown, November 5, 1821. He was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Harner Shannon, whose other children were Ann, James, Rose, John, Joseph and Samuel Lane, all now deceased.

The father was a tanner in early life and later a farmer, residing a few miles above Norristown, he having inherited the farm from his father. The grounds of the hospital for the Insane occupy a portion of the Shannon farm. When Samuel Shannon was well along in years, he sold the farm and removed to Norristown, where he died March 18, 1859, aged seventy-eight years. His widow, born December 11, 1785, died March 20, 1879, in her ninety-fourth year. Both were members of St. John's Episcopal church at Norristown, he being a member of its choir. He was a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and filled the positions of school director and road supervisor in Norriton town-

 

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ship for a number of terms. The grandfather of George Shannon was James S. Shannon, also of Norriton township. Like other members of the family he was a member of the Episcopal church (St. James') at Evansburg. Shannons were vestrymen at the old log church as far back as 1721. The wife of James Shannon was Elizabeth Lane, of another prominent family of the vicinity.

The maternal grandfather of George Shannon was John Harner, a resident of Whitemarsh and a successful farmer. He died on the old homestead, near Flourtown, well advanced in years. His wife was Rosanna Rutherford and they had a large family of children.

George Shannon was educated at the Norristown Academy, a noted institution in its day, under William M. Hough and other teachers. In 1842 he entered the Bank of Montgomery County, now the Montgomery National Bank, as a clerk, and soon rose to the position of teller, which he held until March, 1855. He then engaged in the manufacture of linseed oil, erecting a steam mill on Ford street, Norristown, pursuing this vocation successfully for a number of years. In 1864 he sold his oil interests and became one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Norristown, and has been its cashier ever since.

Mr. Shannon served as a school director for nearly a dozen years, being an efficient member of the board, and for nearly the same length of time he was a member of the town council.

April 16, 1850, he married Arabella, daughter of William and Eliza Steinmetz, old residents of Montgomery township, now deceased. They had two children, Flora A. and Walter. The former married J. Roberts Howell and some years after his death, W. Hodge Bennett. The couple reside at Norristown.

Walter died at the age of thirty-four years, leaving a widow, who was Elizabeth Jarrett. He also left two children-George and Walter Lane Shannon.

Mrs. George Shannon died in 1895. She and her husband were brought up in the Episcopalian faith and were always prominently identified with that church. Mr. Shannon is one of the trustees of the will of Wright A. Bringhurst, who left a large estate, the income of which is used in supplying the necessitous poor of Norristown and other places with food and fuel, the money bequeathed being invested in dwelling-houses by the trustees, and the rents used for these charitable purposes. Mr. Shannon is a life member of the Montgomery County Historical Society, taking an active interest in its work and aiding in the accomplishment of its objects by every means in his power. Politically Mr. Shannon is a Republican. He was a director of the Sunbury Lewistown Railroad for a number of years, but that road has been merged into the Pennsylvania system and has no longer an independent organization.

Mr. Shannon has resided since 1885 in a handsome residence on West Main street which he built in 1885. Having spent a long and useful life in the community, he is esteemed and respected by all who know him. Few men at his age are more active or more capable of attending to business than he. With all his faculties unimpaired, he takes a deep interest in all that is going on in the world around him.

 

 

ABRAHAM L. BAUMAN, a stone merchant and postmaster of Niantic, Douglass township, Montgomery county, was born July 15, 1834, in the township where he still lives. He is the son of John M. and Anna (Latshaw) Bauman.

Isaac Bauman (grandfather) and his wife died many years ago, and are buried at Balo, Berks county. They had several children. Abraham Latshaw (maternal grandfather) and wife were prominent citizens of Montgomery county, being farmers. They are also buried at Balo, Berks county.

John H. Bauman (father) was a farmer of Montgomery county. He was a member of the Mennonite church, and a Republican. His wife died at the age of about fifty years, and he lived to be eighty-four years of age. They are buried at Balo, Berks county. The children of John M. and Anna (Latshaw) Bauman: Isaac (deceased): William, a veteran of the Civil war, who is living at the Soldiers' Home, Columbia, Ohio; Anna (deceased); Eliza (deceased); David (deceased); and Abraham L.

 

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Abraham L. Bauman attended school until he was about seventeen years of age. He started to learn the trade of stone cutter as soon as he left school, and has continued in the stone business ever since. He worked as a stone cutter in Upper Hanover township for twelve years, and then entered into the stone business at Niantic. In 1892, he was visited with a fire, which destroyed his store completely. He did not lose heart, however, but rebuilt it on the same site in the same year. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1882 was appointed postmaster of Niantic, a position which he still holds. He is a member of the New Mennonite church, at Balo, Berks county, and is an organist in the church at Niantic, the Reformed Lutheran. Abraham L. Bauman married (first wife) Barbara, daughter of Jacob and (Mussleman) Bechtel. Mr. Bechtel was a farmer in Upper Hanover township, and had two children. Elizabeth, still living, and Barbara (Mrs. Bauman), died in 1872. Mrs. Bauman is buried at Balo, perks county. The children of A. L. and Barbara (Bechtel) Bauman: Amanda (deceased); Andora (deceased); Diana (deceased); Mahlon, born October 5, 1858; Oswin, a music teacher in Philadelphia, is still unmarried. Mahlon Bauman, son of A. L. Bauman worked on a farm in his youth. He married Leonora, daughter of Henry and Mary (Bolton) Huber, farmers of Niantic, both now deceased.

The children of Mahlon and Leonora Bauman Ellwood H., born 1887, and is clerking in a store in Boyertown; Charles H., born November 10, 1889.

Abraham L. Bauman married (second wife) about 1873, Mary, daughter of Samuel Christman. Her mother was a Miss Smith. Samuel Christman was a farmer in Douglass township. The children of Abraham L. and Mary (Christman) Bauman: Frank, married Annie, daughter of Jacob Moyer, of the same township, who lives in Boyertown, where he is engaged in mercantile business, and has no children; Calvin, unmarried, living in Philadelphia, where he is engaged in the omnibus business; Frederick, born May 2, 1879, unmarried, assists in the store, and is also a telegraph operator; Margaret, born in 1882, married John, son of Mrs. J. Mann, living at Sassamansville, where he is a farmer, they having one child, Jennie, unmarried, residing with her parents.

 

 

CHRISTIAN H. MOYER, retired grain merchant, of Souderton, is a native of Franconia township, where he was born April 10, 1846. He was educated there in the public schools, and after leaving school, learned the trade of cigar maker, which occupation he followed successfully for several years. With the passage of time he decided to seek some more congenial work, and in accordance with this decision he engaged in the grain buying business, at first at his home, and later at Hatfield and still later at Souderton, where he now resides. He removed to Souderton in 1869, where he established a large and lucrative business in a short time. He continued in business until 1903, when he turned the business over to his brother, Enos H., who now conducts it. Mr. Moyer is an influential member of the community, and is respected by all who know him. He married, on December 1, 1867, Miss Susan Cassel, daughter of Joseph Cassel, a farmer of Towamencin township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. They have no children.

Mr. Moyer is the son of Jacob and Mary (Hackman) Moyer, of Franconia township. In politics he is an active Republican, and contributes towards party success in every way that he can. He has served in the town council of Souderton two terms, and was one of the most useful members of that body, endeavoring to promote the interests of the community. He is a director of the Souderton Improvement Company. He and his family attend the Mennonite church.

Jacob (father) was the son of Christian Moyer, who resided in Lower Salford township. He was educated in the public schools of that township and later in life removed to Franconia township. He was twice married, his first wife being Miss Cassel, by whom he had four children. His second wife was Mary Hackman, by whom he had also four children, one of them being Christian, subject of this sketch. Christian Moyer (grandfather) was descended from a well known family of Lower Salford Mennonites. He obtained such education as was to be had in the schools of that day. He married and had several children, among them Jacob (father). The family were farmers and upright men and women who devoted their entire attention to the cultivation of their homesteads and the rearing of their children.

 

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MILTON Y. GEIGER, a prominent farmer of Upper Pottsgrove township, was born May 18, 1858, on the farm in Upper Pottsgrove where he now lives. He is the son of John and Rachel (Yergey) Geiger.

John Geiger (father) lived on the farm in Upper Pottsgrove township where his son Milton now lives. He was a blacksmith and a farmer. Both he and his wife were Lutherans, and in politics he was a Democrat. His wife died about twenty-two years ago, being fifty years old at the time of her death. He survived her for several years, dying in 1891, at the age of seventy years. Both were buried in Pottstown. John Geiger built the house which now stands on the Geiger farm, in 1780 Jacob Geiger (grandfather) and his wife emigrated from Europe and lived in Pottstown. They have been dead many years.

John and Rachel (Yergey) Geiger had eight children, as follows: 1. Malinda (deceased), married Peter Egolf, who survives her and lives in Pottstown, being engaged in the lumber business. They have two sons. 2. Emaline (deceased), married Daniel Rhodes, who is at present engaged in the shoe business in Pottstown. They had one son and one daughter. 3. William, married Laura Engle (deceased), and lived in Reading where he is a carpenter and builder. There is one child living. 4. John Jacob, married Lella _____and they live in Pottstown. He is an iron worker. They have one child. 5. Edmund, married Catherine Mauger, and they live in Limerick township. He is a farmer. They have no children. 6. Columbus Y., unmarried and living with his brother, Milton Y. 7. George W., married and lives in the West, in Iowa, when last heard of. There has been no word from him for several years. 8. Milton Y.

Milton Y. Geiger went to school until he was thirteen years of age, and for seven years after leaving school assisted his father on the farm. He learned the trade of carriage making at Boyertown followed this occupation for six years. For the next two years he was employed on a railroad in Philadelphia, and then removed to his farm in Upper Pottsgrove, where he has lived ever since.

On January 24, 1880 Milton Y. Geiger married Mary Bowman, daughter of Aaron and Valeria (Hill) Bowman. The wife's parents resided in Upper Pottsgrove township, where Mr. Bowman followed the occupation of a farmer for many years. They now reside with their son-in-law, Milton Y. Geiger. Mr. and Mrs. Milton Y. Geiger have two children: Charles, born in 1880, and living in Ohio, where he is engaged in business as a florist. Valeria B., born in 1894. Geiger is a Democrat in politics and has served as a school director for a dozen years. He was a member of the Order of Foresters of America. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church of Pottstown.

 

 

JOHN U. FRANCIS, Jr., a popular merchant and postmaster of Oaks, Upper Providence township Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, was born at Oaks, May 3, 1873, and attended the common schools in the neighborhood of his home.

John U. Francis (father) and his wife, Mary J. (Gotwals) Francis, were born in Montgomery County. He was reared on the old homestead, and when he arrived at the proper age learned the painting trade, which he followed. In 1862 he enlisted for a nine months' service in the Civil war, in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers. He served his full term in the Army of the Potomac, when he received an honorable discharge, and returned to Oaks. He resumed his trade and later entered into the employ of the railroad as car inspector at Perkiomen junction, where he still remains.

 

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The children of Mr. and Mrs. Francis were: Minnie (Mrs. F. Deiry); Jacob, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania; John U., the subject of this sketch; T. Edwin, of Philadelphia, and Arnold, also of Philadelphia.

John U. Francis (grandfather) was born, lived all his life and died in Montgomery county. He was well educated, taught school, and attended the university to prepare himself for a physician. However, he abandoned his profession and became a farmer. He married Lydia Smith, one of six children, the others being: James, Joseph, Anthony, Rebecca, and Mary. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Francis were: Mira (Mrs. Williams); Elizabeth (Mrs. E. Kirk); Lydia A., died young; Mirthune (Mrs. J. Tilman); Rebecca (Mrs. Sneider), and John U. (father).

John U. Francis (great-grandfather) was reared in Upper Providence township, near Audubon, and became a prominent farmer. He married and had the following children: Joseph, Thomas, John U. (grandfather), Isabella, and Elizabeth.

Joseph Francis (great-great-grandfather) succeeded to his father's farm in Upper Providence township, where he lived and reared his children. He was a widely known man. He was never a member of church. He married Mary Phillips, and they had the following children: Margaret, died at the age of two years; Elizabeth, died young; John U. (great-grandfather); Sarah, died young; Emma (Mrs. Weikel) Thomas, died at the age of four years. Mrs. Francis was a daughter of Mr. Phillips, a native of Ireland, and a drover in this country. He was a member of the Baptist church, and died at Eagleville. His children were: Joseph, Alexander, Martha (Mrs. Rhemholf); Mary (Mrs. Francis).

Thomas Francis (great-great-great-grandfather) came to America in the same ship with William Penn, and was among the first settlers of Pennsylvania. He was of Welsh descent, and a farmer. He married Margaret Umstead, whose family were Holland Dutch. He served in the Revolutionary war, but little is known of his life. He was never a church member. He settled on a farm near what is now Audubon, and died at the age of eighty-two years.

Their children were: Margaret (Mrs. William (McHarg); a son who died unmarried; John U.; Joseph (great-great-grandfather), and Elizabeth (Mrs. Corson).

Rev. Jacob G. and Anna (Poley) Gotwals, the maternal grandparents of John U. Francis, Jr., were natives of Montgomery county. He was a Dunkard preacher, and died at Oaks in 1902. His wife is still living at Oaks. Their children were all reared Dunkards. They were Mary J. (mother); Elizabeth, married (first husband) J. Price and (second husband) Mr. Richardson; Ida (Mrs. Dr. Rambo); John U.

John U. Francis, Jr. has always lived at Oaks. When young he commenced clerking, being only twelve years of age at the time. After several years' experience he secured employment with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. After three years he returned and bought out the store, in 1896, both buildings and goods. He carries a general stock, and is a practical and successful merchant. He was appointed postmaster in 1899. He was assistant postmaster for a number of years previously. He devotes strict attention to business, and is recognized as one of the leading men of the community.

In 1893 Mr. Francis married Miss Anna B. Hallman, daughter of Abraham Hallman. Her mother was Miss Bechtel. Mr. Hallman is a farmer in the vicinity of Mont Clare. He was supervisor of the township. He is a Republican in politics, and a well-known and highly respected citizen.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hallman are: Elizabeth (Mrs. H. Aked); Anna B. (Mrs. J. U. Francis); Ada (Mrs. J. H. Kindy); Abraham. The family are Mennonites.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Francis are J. Herbert, Arthur R., and Paul. They are Dunkards in religious faith, and Mr. Francis is a Republican.

 

 

CLARENCE MELVIN GREGER, son of Charles and Emma (Mills) Greger, is a native of Worcester township, his father having rented

 

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for a time a farm in that place, on which he was born, January 29, 1876.

Clarence M. Greger attended the public school at Franklinville, in Whitpain township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, until he had reached his sixteenth year, after which time he remained at home and assisted his father in the management of the farm until his marriage, February 16, 1898, to Mary Catharine, daughter of Alvin Williamson and Mary Catharine (Harp) White, of Bucks county, Mr. White being a farmer in that county.

After his marriage Mr. Greger removed to Linden Lodge, the farm of Miss Abigail W. Foulke, daughter of the late Daniel and Lydia Foulke, of Gwynedd township, on the Bethlehem turnpike, a short distance above Springhouse, where he remained for one year, after which he operated, in conjunction with his father in Whitpain township, the farm known as the Singerley home farm, containing over 200 acres of fertile land, formerly the property of William M. Singerley. Mr. Greger remained there one year and then leased the property known as the Hill Farm, containing 116 acres, the property of his uncle Thomas P. Greger, and adjacent to the Evergreen Farm. He managed the place as a dairy, remaining two years, when he removed to the estate of Edward M. McDonaldson, in New Britain township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, the farm containing 167 acres of improved land- meadow and woodland, where he established a considerable dairy, managing it until march, 1904, when he leased the farm of Henry G. Keasbey, on the Swedesford Road, in Lower Gwynedd township, containing a hundred acres of land.

On this farm he established a dairy, with a herd of twenty cows, in which he takes much pride, making every effort to succeed in his business. He is energetic, capable and industrious, and has an excellent assistant in his wife, who does all that is possible to contribute to the success of the enterprise in which she and her husband are engaged.

In politics Mr. Greger follows the lines laid down in three generations of his family, and acts with the Democratic party. While he has never participated very actively in party affairs, he has always supported the ticket with his vote and his influence. In religious faith the family are members of St. Mark's Reformed church, at Pleasantville, Bucks county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence M. Greger: Elizabeth M. born May 19, 1899; Marion White, born September 4, 1901.

Charles E. Greger (father) is the son of David and Catharine (Blake) Greger, who are now long deceased. They were lifelong residents of Whitpain township.

Charles E. Greger was born November 9, 1843, at what was then the Greger homestead, near Blue Bell, and married, December 28, 1867, Emma, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Heyser) Mills, of Worcester township. Charles Greger was for a number of years one of the tenants on the farms of the late William M. Singerley, and was an energetic and successful farmer. He now resides in Worcester township where he follows that occupation.

 

 

PETER SEASHOLTLZ, a retired farmer, residing at 39 High street, Pottstown, was born in Boyertown, Berks county, March 31, 1831. He is the son of Henry and Katie (Moothart) Seasholtz, his father being a native of Norristown, and his mother of Berks county. They had ten children, of whom Peter is the only one now living.

Henry Seasholtz (father) removed to Berks county when he was twenty-one years of age, married, and farmed there all his life. He was a school director for some years. His first wife, Mrs. Katie (Moothart) Seasholtz, died in 1839, and he married (second wife) Kate Behr. They had one child, now deceased. He was a Lutheran in religious faith. Henry Seasholtz died in 1864, at the age of sixty years. His father died near Norristown many years ago. Peter Moothart (maternal grandfather) was a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. He lived in Berks county, and died there at the age of eighty years. He was married three times, and had a large family.

 

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Peter Seasholtz was reared in Berks county on a farm. In 1850 he went to Pottstown, and worked at the trade of a wheelwright until the war broke out. He enlisted in Company A, Fifty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, commanded by General Brook. He served as a private three years and two months, and took part in the following battles: Fair Oaks, the Seven Days' fight in the peninsula, and the battle of Gettysburg. He was assigned to General Hancock's corps, and served the rest of the time with him. After the war he engaged in carpentering for a time, later in carting and hauling, and in the bottling business. He was the proprietor of the Commercial House for two years, after which time he bought a farm in Berks county, and farmed there until 1901, but resided in Pottstown during the whole time. His early schooling was secured in Berks county under the subscription system.

April 5, 1855, he married Amelia Levengood, daughter of Peter and Sarah (Yocom) Levengood. They had three children: Eugene Howard, Lina Virginia, and Sallie Idell. Eugene Howard died at the age of two years and six months. Lina Virginia married John Schypence, and lives in Philadelphia. They have two children, Donald LeRoy, and Ethel Amelia. Sallie Idell died aged three years.

Mr. and Mrs. Seasholtz are members of the Lutheran Church of the Transfiguration. Mr. Seasholtz is a member of Anatonia Lodge, No. 214, I.O.O.F. he is a Democrat, and is a member of the town council from the first ward.

 

 

HENRY K. WALT. Energy, industry and perseverance have been the essential factors in the business career of Henry K. Walt, a resident of Wyncote, Cheltenham township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and vice-president of the firm of Bell, Walt & Co. (incorporated), extensive manufacturers and jobbers of boots, shoes, etc. The progenitor of the Walt family came from Germany early in the eighteenth century, and settled in Salford township, Montgomery county. His name was Henry Walt.

Frederick Walt (grandfather), son of Henry Walt, the immigrant, was the owner of a tract of land consisting of nearly three hundred acres in Upper Salford, Montgomery, county, Pennsylvania. By means of unremitting labor he succeeded in bringing his farm under a high state of cultivation, and the products therefrom yielded him a goodly income, whereby he was enabled to provide his family with all the necessaries and some of the comforts of this world's goods. His wife was a member of the Krause family. Mr. Walt lived to all advanced age, passing away in the eighty-fifth year of his age.

Francis Walt (father) was educated in the neighborhood schools. He was reared as a farmer, and followed that occupation all his life, conducting his operations on a farm of ninety acres, which was a portion of the land conveyed to him by his father. He was honorable and upright in all his dealings, took an interest in local affairs, and was honored and esteemed by his neighbors and friends.

He was united in marriage to Linda Klein, and their family consisted of ten children, namely: 1. Amanda, who became the wife of William Pennypacker, and their children were: Ellwood, Jacob, who died at the age of seven years, Sallie, and Frank. 2. Jacob, who died in childhood. 3. Henry K., mentioned at length hereinafter. 4. Susan, who became the wife of Peter S. Boyer, and their children are Regina, Peter, Linda, Susan, and Stettin. 5. Allen, who died in infancy. 6. Frederick, who died in infancy. 7. Hannah, who became the wife of Amandus Nyce, and they were the parents of one child, Mabel. 8. Franklin, who married Amanda Krause, a daughter of Daniel Krause, and their family consisted of two children: Melvin, deceased; and Francis. 9. Sarah, who became the wife of her brother-in-law, Amandus Nyce, after the death of her sister Hannah, and their children are: Mary, Charles H., and Laura. 10. Esther, who became the wife of Samuel Heaney, and their children are: Harry, and Earl. Francis Walt, father of these children, died in 1884, aged seventy-three years.

Henry K. Walt was reared on his father's farm, and obtained his edification in the public schools in the vicinity of his home. When he was sixteen years of age he went to Philadelphia, and there learned the trade of shoemaking, completing his apprenticeship with William H. Smith, at Salfordville. He then engaged in business on his own account, locating in Upper Salford township, where he remained for a period of almost three years. He then located in Schwenksville and engaged in the business of manufacturing shoes, which line of trade he continued for eight years, after which he went to Philadelphia, and for five years served in the capacity of salesman with the wholesale firm of T. Ross Sansom & Co., dealers in boots and shoes. At the expiration of this period of time he organized the firm of Bell, Walt & Co., their business being devoted to the manufacture and sale of boots, shoes, etc. The firm has since been incorporated, Mr. Walt being elected to the position of vice-president.

 

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In addition to his private business affairs, which have always been conducted along honorable and straightforward lines, and therefore remarkably prosperous, he was largely instrumental in the organization of the Jenkintown Trust Company, of which he was elected president, which responsible position he holds at the present time (1904). He is also president of the Wyncote Improvement Association, and a director of the Central Trust and Savings Company of Philadelphia. He is a member of the board of commissioners of Cheltenham township, and serves as vice-president of the same. Mr. Walt has always been progressive and enterprising in his ideas, and in all projects that have for their end and aim the advancement of the community in which he resides he evinces a deep and material interest. He is an ardent supporter of the principles of Republicanism, taking an active interest in the candidates and measures of that party. He is a member of the Masonic order, Montgomery Lodge No. 19, of Philadelphia, Past Master of the same lodge, Past High Priest of Houghton Chapter No. 400 and a member of the Knights Templar.

Mr. Walt married Mary E. Roth, born April 19, 1846, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Boyer) Roth. Three children were born to them, as follows: Sallie, born January 30, 1868, who died April 3, 1875, at the age of seven years; Laura, born September 12, 1869, who died April 9, 1870, in infancy; and Mary E., born September 12, 1871, who became the wife of Dr. Milton Neiffer, and they are the parents of one daughter, Marie Neiffer. Mr. Walt is a member of the Lutheran church of Goshenhoppen, but he and his family attend the services of the Presbyterian church at Wyncote.

 

 

DR. NORMAN RAHN. Isaac Rahn, grandfather of Dr. Norman H. Rahn, was a native of Perkiomen township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He was reared on a farm, and obtained such education as was to be had at the schools of that day in the neighborhood in which he lived. He followed the occupation of farming and general storekeeping, and was very successful. He married Miss Smith, of that vicinity, and reared a large family. One of the children was Isaac S. Rahn, father of Dr. Norman Rahn, who was born on the family homestead, in 1842. He was educated in the public schools of Frederick township. He then became proprietor of the hotel at Perkiomenville, Montgomery county, in which business he has been very successful. In politics he is an earnest Democrat, although he never aspired to public office. He is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a prominent member of his community, always anxious to promote its interests, and is respected by all.

Mr. Rahn married Miss Elizabeth Hendricks, daughter of John Hendricks, all auctioneer and farmer of Worcester township, Montgomery county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Rahn: Horace, John, Bertha Perry, and Norman, the subject of this sketch.

Norman Rahn was born at the old homestead at Perkiomenville, June 8, 1873. He was educated there in the township schools, and on leaving the home schools entered the Sumneytown Academy and then the West Chester State Normal School, where he graduated with high honors in the class of 1896. He then entered upon the profession of teaching, which he followed for three years, in the meantime becoming a student of the Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, and graduated from that institution with honors in 1901. He then went to Norristown, where he held the position of resident physician at the Charity Hospital, doing also special work in some of the Philadelphia hospitals. Later he removed to Souderton, where he has since been engaged in the successful practice of his profession. Ha has a pleasant home, and enjoys a lucrative practice. Dr. Rahn married, in June, 1904, Miss Clara Prizer, daughter of John G. Prizer, cashier of the Schwenksville National Bank.

Dr. Rahn is a member of the State Medical Society, and of the Montgomery County Medical Society. He is a member of the Masonic Order, and also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellow. He and his wife attend the Lutheran church. Dr. Rahn is a rising young physician and undoubtedly has a brilliant future before him.

 

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(Picture of Abraham H. March)

 

ABRAHAM H. MARCH, head of the A. H. March Packing Company, of Bridgeport, his residence being at 618 Swede street, Norristown, is a native of the last named borough, where he was born March 18, 1858. He is the son of Reinhart and Caroline (Hallman) March, also natives of this county. The couple had ten children in all, seven sons and three daughters, only six of whom are now living, as follows: Elmira, wife of Enos Getman, of Norristown; Reinhart P., of 1803 Berks street, Philadelphia; George W. March, a well known builder and business man of Norristown; Professor Jerry March, widely known as a musical instructor, now residing at 704 North Sixteenth street, Philadelphia; Abraham H.; and Alice, wife of Louis Martin, of 2223 St. Albans Place, Philadelphia.

Reinhart March (father) was a wheelwright by occupation, living in Norristown for many years. He also conducted a hotel at various times. During the Rebellion he enlisted in the Fifty-first Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and served three years, lacking two weeks. He was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness, during General Grant's memorable campaign near the close of the war, from which injury he afterwards died. He was a private and participated in most of the battles in which the Army of the Potomac was engaged. He was about forty-five years of age at the time of his death. His widow died in 1875 at an advanced age. Both were members of the Lutheran church.

The paternal grandfather of Abraham H. March was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and was of German descent. He died in middle age.

William Hallman (maternal grandfather), was born in Limerick, where he spent most of his life and died at the age of ninety-two years. He was a farmer and had a large family of children.

Abraham H. March, at the age of nine years, was placed with a farmer, remaining there and performing the ordinary duties of farm life until he was seventeen years of age, attending at intervals the district schools of the neighborhood. He then engaged as a clerk in the grocery store of his brother Reinhart, in Norristown, for about two years, withdrawing from that occupation to conduct a butchering business for fifteen months. Relinquishing that business he purchased a grocery store on Marshall street which he conducted for seven years and a half. His next change was to operate his brother-in-law's pork-packing business at Bridgeport, which he purchased on July 18, 1888, and has conducted ever since. The establishment was incorporated July 1, 1902, under the name of the A. H. March Packing Company, of which Mr. March is the president. The plant is one of the most extensive and thoroughly equipped in eastern Pennsylvania, twenty-five or more men being employed, and its product having a high reputation among dealers and consumers wherever it is known. Mr. March is an active and progressive business man, achieving success through his energy, attention to business and judicious methods of operation.

On June 1, 1879, he married Miss Louise Charbonnier, daughter of Mames and Laura Charbonnier. The couple have had six children, as follows: Leon, Abraham, Paul, Frank, Earl and George. Leon died at the age of six months, Abraham in his eighth year, and Frank at the age of two years. Mr. and Mrs. March are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church of the Trinity, Norristown, in which he is also a deacon.

 

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Mr. March is connected with several philanthropic and benevolent institutions, including the following: Charity Lodge No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons; Norristown Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Hutchinson Commandery, No. 32, Knights Templar of Norristown; Philadelphia Consistory, Masonic Temple, Broad and Filbert streets, and Lulu Temple, Spring Garden street, Philadelphia. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason. He is senior warden of the blue lodge; past high priest of Norristown Chapter, and past commander of Hutchinson Commandery. He is also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics Mr. March is a Republican but has never sought or held office.

 

 

JACOB WAHL, of Upper Pottsgrove township, was born in Wittenburg, Germany, January 14, 1863. He is the son of John and Barbara (Schnell) Wahl.

John Wahl (father) was born and died in Wittenburg, Germany. He died in 1881 at the age of fifty-six years, and is buried in Wittenburg, Germany. He and his wife spent their lives on a farm. In religious faith they were Lutherans. Barbara (Schnell) Wahl emigrated to America in 1882 and is now living with her son, John Wahl, in Pottstown. Mr. and Mrs. John Wahl had eleven children, five of whom are now living: 1. Mary, married John Long. They reside in Philadelphia, where he is engaged in the iron industries. They have four children, 2. John, married Alice Reaber. They live in Pottstown, and he is engaged in the bakery business. They have no children. 3. Christina (deceased), married Julius Spellman. They had six children, who are now living. 4. Christian, married Anna Mauger, and he is a baker in Pottstown. They have one child. 5. George, married Emma Sands. They reside in Pottstown, where he is an insurance agent. They have one child. 6. Jacob. The rest of the children remained in Germany, and are deceased. Michael Wahl (grandfather) was also born, lived and died in Wittenburg, Germany, and was a farmer.

Jacob Wahl spent seven years in attending school in Germany, and then learned the cooper trade, which he followed for nearly four years. Being impressed with the idea that his industry and thrift would count for more in America, he crossed the ocean and landed in America, at Castle Garden, May 2, 1890. For some time he was employed as a puddler in Pottstown, and then worked a farm. After four years spent in the vicinity of Pottstown, Mr. Wahl went to Minneapolis and St. Paul, where he was employed by a railroad company. He soon returned, however, and bought his farm in Upper Pottsgrove township. June 2, 1890, Jacob Wahl married Rose, daughter of John and Barbara (Prager) Gutohrle. John Gutohrle and his wife lived in Wittenburg, Germany, where he was a railroad employee. He died several years ago, at the age of seventy-seven years, and his wife survives him. He is buried in Germany, at Beltersroth. He was a soldier in the war of 1848, and his wife receives a pension from the government. They were members of the Lutheran church.

Jacob and Rose (Gutohrle) Wahl have had four children, as follows: Jacob, born in 1893; Barbara Rose, born in 1895; Otto, born in 1897; Frederick, born in 1899. In politics Mr. Wahl is a Democrat, and was a member of the Knights of Labor for some years. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church. He has improved the property where he lives to a great extent, his ambition being to surround himself and family with all the comforts of life.

 

 

JOSEPH KIBBLEHOUSE, one of the most energetic and successful of the younger farmers of the township of tipper Gwynedd, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is the son of George B. Kibblehouse, one of the best and most successful farmers in the county. He was born April 1, 1867, in Whitpain township where his father at that time resided on a rented farm. Soon after his birth his parents removed to Gwynedd, now Lower Gwynedd township, and settled in the locality overlooking the Wissahickon, in which their farming operations were conducted for more than a quarter of a century.

 

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Joseph Kibblehouse attended school in Gwynedd, engaging in agricultural pursuits when not employed in the acquisition of learning. He attended the Gwynedd school, not far distant from the Friends' Meeting-house, until he had entered his sixteenth year, and on relinquishing school work, remained on the homestead farm until his twentieth year, when he went to learn the trade of carpentering with Albert Beck, a widely known contractor and builder of Ambler. He remained with Mr. Beck three years, and acquired a very complete knowledge of the trade, working also for others in this line.

Mr. Kibblehouse married, April 3, 1890, Mary Emma, born September 2, 1867, daughter of Isaac and Catharine (Booz) Custer, well known farmers of Upper Gwynedd, near North Wales. After his marriage, Mr. Kibblehouse located on the farm of Henry G. Keasbey, on the Swedesford road, in Lower Gwynedd, now occupied by Clarence Greger, which he operated as a dairy, and had a herd of fifteen cows on the average. He prospered in farming, and a few years ago purchased a farm on what is known as the extension of Walnut street, North Wales, containing fifty acres of land. The buildings are modern and eligibly located, and the farm is admirably suited for dairy purposes to which it is devoted.

In politics Joseph Kibblehouse adheres to the family traditions, and is an earnest Republican, working effectively in behalf of the party principles and candidates. He is not, however, so much of a politician as his brothers Ralph and John Raymond, preferring to devote himself entirely to the management of his farm and dairy in which he has been very successful. Mr. and Mrs. Kibblehouse are both members of the Reformed church (St. Luke's) at North Wales. Mrs. Kibblehouse obtained her education at the public schools at North Wales and at Franklinville, in Whitpain township. She is an active, earnest woman who is well informed on all that is going on in the world, and at the same time looks carefully after her household. The couple have one child, R. Earl, born September 21, 1895, and is attending school at North Wales.

Isaac Custer, father of Mrs. Kibblehouse, was born on a farm in Worcester township, near Belfry, in 1825. He was reared on the farm and attended public schools. He married Margaret, daughter of Nathaniel and Christiana Booz, their children being: Christiana, married J. Henry Rader, of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and Mary Emma, wife of Joseph Kibblehouse. (The Kibblehouse family and that of Shrawder, to which the mother of Joseph Kibblehouse belongs, have been very fully dwelt upon in the sketch of George B. Kibblehouse, father of subject, elsewhere in this work.)

 

 

A. C. FREED, a popular and well known citizen of Royersford, is a native of Montgomery county. He was born March 17, 1848, and spent his boyhood years in farm pursuits, his education being limited. He was the son of Michael and Sarah (Cassel) Freed, the family being of German descent.

Michael Freed (father) was a cabinet maker and machinist. He was an inventor and made the first fodder cutter, and gave away the right for others to manufacture. He was a member of the Dunkard church, and a man of the highest integrity. His wife was a daughter of Yellis Cassel, a farmer who lived in Lower Salford township. Their children were: Samuel H., hardware dealer at Harleysville; Abraham H., the well known book collector and antiquarian; Sarah (mother); Mary (Mrs. S. Harley); Kate (Mrs. J. Cassell). Michael Freed's children Joel, a carpenter and machinist; Mary (Mrs. M. Gutsehall); Aaron C.; Yellis, a machinist; Henry, a painter and paper hanger; Samuel, a produce dealer and business man.

Aaron C. Freed remained with his father until he was twelve years of age. He learned cigar making and remained at that occupation for three years, and then learned the shoemaker's trade which he followed for six years at Royersford. He then engaged in the restaurant business and so continued until 1893, when he opened the Hotel Freed, and continued as the proprietor of this, the principal hotel of Royersford, up to June 1, 1904, when he sold it to his son Morris. Hotel Freed is centrally located, being a four-story brick building, and was built by Mr. Freed in 1885. It has been remodeled at different times, and is now modern and up-to-date in every respect, being fitted with electric lights, steam heat and water throughout the building. After disposing of the hotel, Aaron C. Freed engaged in the steam and hot water heating business, he having invented several useful devices and perfected a steam and hot water arrangement for heating houses, etc. He is a good financier and business man, broad-minded and intelligent, widely known and highly respected. He is a Republican in politics, and served several terms on the town council of Royersford.

 

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Mr. Freed married, in 1871, Miss Mary Binder, who was born in 1849. She is the daughter of Amos and Mary (Verger) Binder, he a prominent farmer. He was a Lutheran in religious faith, and died in April, 1902. His wife preceded him in death. She was also a Lutheran. Their children: Amanda (Mrs. William Yerger); Emma (Mrs. D. Bowman); Louisa (Mrs. A. Crade).

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Freed: Sarah (Mrs. George Kehl); her husband, who was cashier of the National Bank, died, and she married (second husband) U. S. G. Finkbinder; Morris, and John. Mrs. Freed is a Lutheran. Her husband was reared in the Dunkard church, but is not attending to any creed very strictly.

 

 

HUTCHINSON SMITH, a well known business man and real estate agent of Lower Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, was born at Huntington Valley, Montgomery county, October 20, 1835. He is a descendant of William Smith, the immigrant ancestor, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1684, and settled at Wrightstown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, thus making them one of the oldest families in that state. He married, 9th mo. 20, 1690, Mary Croasdale. One of their sons, William Smith, married Rebecca Wilson, and among their children was a son, Thomas Smith, who married Sarah Townsend. William Smith, son of Thomas and Sarah Smith, a representative of the fourth generation in this country, married Sarah Buckman, and among their children was John Smith, father of Hutchinson Smith.

John Smith (father) was born in 1803. He was educated in the schools adjacent to his home, spent the early years of his life on a farm, and then learned the trade of blacksmith, which he prosecuted for many years in Moreland township, having removed to that vicinity for that purpose. He was also a real estate agent and conveyancer, and for a period of time served in the capacity of president of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He filled the office of justice of the peace, and was also county commissioner for a time to complete the term of Samuel Shoemaker. He married Agnes Hallowell, daughter of Caleb and Mary (Waterman) Hallowell, and to this union were born the following children: Caleb H., who married Susan V. Hallowell, and had one child, Frances, deceased; Franklin, who married Sarah Linton, and had one child, Mary A.; Mary Hutchinson, mentioned at length hereinafter; Anna, deceased, who was well known among the Society of Friends as an able and prominent speaker. Mrs. Smith also was a prominent member of the Society of Friends, and always manifested a deep interest in all their affairs. The death of Mr. Smith occurred in July, 1867, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

 

Hutchinson Smith obtained his education in the schools of the neighborhood and London Grove Academy, completing his studies in the latter named institution. He then learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed for a number of years. He acquired forty acres of land at Huntington Valley, which he tilled for four years, after which he engaged in the mercantile business, locating at Weldon, in Abington township, continuing in the same line for thirty-one years. He then placed his business in the hands of his son, Frederick J. Smith, who still conducts the store.

In 1897 Mr. Smith engaged in the real estate and conveyancing business, having his office at No. 447 York avenue, Jenkintown. He has been a member of the board of directors of the Jenkintown National Bank since 1877, a period of twenty-seven years, and serves as treasurer of the Willow Grove and Germantown Turnpike Company, in which he has rendered efficient and valuable service toward perfecting the thoroughfare and in its management. He is a thoroughly reliable and careful business man, and enjoys the confidence of the community in which he has lived so long, and in which his career has been so useful and honorable.

 

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Mr. Smith married Mary Elizabeth Comly, 5-mo., 1, 1862, who was born 2-mo., 10, 1839, daughter of John M. and Mary Ann (Tyson) Comly, and their children are: 1. C. Comly, born 7-mo., 15, 1863. 2. Frederic J., born 10-mo., 18, 1867, married 10-mo., 7, 1897, Caroline W. Thomas, daughter of Joseph and Mary Thomas, and their children are: Joseph H., born 7-mo., 31, 1898; Franklin J., born 4-mo., 21, 1900; and Mary Elizabeth Smith, born 10-mo., 14, 1902. 3. Elizabeth H., born 6-mo., 7, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of Abington Monthly Meeting of Friends.

 

 

(Picture of Alfred Wilkinson)

 

ALFRED WILKINSON. Inventive genius is a rare gift of nature, a blessing conferred directly upon the few, but its reflex effect is felt and enjoyed by the million. Inventors are the advance guard in the army of progress-the pioneers in the onward march of civilization. Their ideas worked out and put into practical use, have directly caused greater changes in civic life than all the military revolutions since the beginning of the Christian era. Light, heat, power, travel, even food, have been improved, and are improving under the genius of the inventor. It is through the combination of the inventor and the constructor, however, that the benefits of improvement must surely reach the masses. Alfred Wilkinson, the subject of this sketch, is a man of action as well of mind. His father was an inventor and a skillful mechanic as well, and that Mr. Wilkinson's inclination turns with a natural fitness toward the line of invention and mechanical engineering is not at all surprising.

Alfred Wilkinson was born at Stockport, Chesshire, England, May 17, 1845. His parents were Joseph and Margaret (Lintott) Wilkinson. His paternal grandfather was a very well known clergyman of the Baptist church and a magistrate as well. He was a minister and colporteur of the church of Stockport, England, and was president of the Baptist Union Society, composed entirely of clergymen. For over fifty years he was an honored and respected magistrate and for a time was the high mayor of the city of Stockport. He was a gentleman of education and culture. His death occurred in 1884, at the age of ninety-six years.

Mr. Wilkinson's father, Joseph Wilkinson, was born in 1806. He was educated for the Baptist ministry but before he had attained his majority determined to turn his attention to mechanical pursuits. He quickly made his mark. He was the inventor of a cook stove, to patent which he came to this country in 1856. He also invented an automatic oil cup for steam engines, which has been used extensively in all the civilized nations of the world. He was a staunch Union man during the war of the Rebellion and served as a private messenger under President Lincoln during the civil conflict. He afterwards published a book, entitled "Views on the War, by a Soldier."

Mr. Wilkinson's mother was born in Sussex county, near London, England. She died in 1891, aged seventy-two years. She was the daughter of Richard and Sarah Lintott. Richard Lintott was an English army officer and retired with honors in 1859, and in the latter part of his life resided on a small farm in Sussex. They had only two daughters, both of whom are now deceased.

Alfred Wilkinson attended the schools of his birthplace in England and completed his common school education in Philadelphia, having come to this country with his parents in 1859. He also completed his mechanical education in that city, being given his credentials as an engineer in 1859. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the United States Navy and was assigned to the gunboat "Octorara." He served under Farragut in the battles in the vicinity of New Orleans and for meritorious service was promoted and made third assistant engineer. Mr. Wilkinson resigned from the navy on September 9, 1865, and returning to Philadelphia. was appointed mechanical engineer at the Port Richmond shops of the Philadelphia & Reading

 

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Railway Company. A few years later he opened an office in Philadelphia for steam engineering, which business he conducted until 1891. In that year Mr. Wilkinson organized a stock company at Philadelphia for the manufacture of Wilkinson's automatic stoker, which he had invented and patented. He was elected general manager of the works and treasurer of the company.

The manufactory, which is located at Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, and employs about forty men, is running steadily and is taxed to its utmost capacity to fill orders for the machine. The automatic stoker is an ingenious invention that feeds furnaces and cleans them of ashes. Ex-President Harrison used two of them in his residence and the Baldwin Locomotive Works employs seventeen, which feed and clean as many furnaces, while only requiring the attention of one man to keep then in order and work them properly. Mr. Wilkinson has invented several other useful machines and improvements to machinery, including a flexible metallic stuffing box, to take the place of packing pistols rods; the Land engine ejector condenser for steam engines; a balance slide valve for steam engines, and a gas consuming bridge wall for steam engines.

The plant is devoted to the manufacture of mechanical stokers, pressure regulators, pumps and engines as designed by Mr. Wilkinson, and bearing his name. The factory is a handsome structure, and the care and study which are evident in its location and arrangement testify to the mechanical ability of its designer and owner. The offices of the Wilkinson Manufacturing Company are in a separate building adjoining the shops, and the same care and taste in arrangement are shown there as in the portion devoted to manufacturing.

The main factory is two hundred and sixteen feet long and fifty feet wide. This is built of red brick with steel framework ad superstructure. Extending to the south from this shop, and for a wing at about the middle of its length are the boiler house and engine room. The steam generating set consists of a battery of two return, tubular boilers, each forty-eight inches in diameter and twelve feet long, having a rating of fifty horse-power each. Both these boilers are fitted with stoking devices. One has the Wilkinson Stroker and the other the Laird gravity furnace, both of which are the product of the Wilkinson Company.

The Laird gravity furnace consist of a series of grater bars, sloping at an angle of twenty degrees downward, from a point just within the arch of the boiler front. By the means of a pusher plate, actuated by a reciprocating water motor, the coal is fed from a hopper to the inclined grate, where it remains long enough to be coked. Then it is broken in and gravity carries it slowly down the incline. By the time it has reached the bottom of the grate, where the ash table is placed, combustion is practically complete.

The Wilkinson stoker, on the other boiler, is well known to the engineering world. It consists also of a series of grate bars sloping downward from the dead plate to the ash pit at the angle of twenty degrees from the horizontal. These bars side by side, form a grate the full width of the furnace. Instead of being stationary, as in the gravity furnace, these bars are movable. Along the front of the boiler, extending the full width of the furnace, is a shaft, given a semirotary motion by a small but powerful water motor. To this shaft, by means of cranks and links, the grate bars are attached. These cranks are set alternately at ninety degrees with each other, so that, as one half the grate bars are moving forward, the other half are moving backward, thus distributing the coal just enough to keep it moving the incline and to permit the air to pass through it freely thus aiding combustion. Each grate bar is hollow, is stepped along its fire surface and is perforated with a narrow slot along the riser of each step. Along the front of the furnace extends a steam pipe with small pipes leading into the end of each grate bar. These bars have flat machined surfaces for bearings at their upper and lower ends, and rest upon planed castings. These castings are likewise hollow and there are ports in the in the bearing surface of each bar, corresponding to ports in each bearing bar. Thus these hallow bearing castings become air trunks through which the pressure in all the hollow bars is equalized. When in operation, steam is admitted to the several small blast nozzles, and these induce a current of air into the hollow bars. This air pressure causes jets of air to spurt out through the slots in the grate surface directly under the bed of coal and furnishes all the draft necessary. The value of this device is that it can be used with any kind of fuel, since by no means can the air slots become clogged. On the boiler which is fitted with this stoker there is also a Wilkinson pressure regulator, which so controls the flow of steam to the induced air blast as to keep the pressure fairly constant.

 

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Mr. Wilkinson, besides being an occasional contributor to mechanical and engineering journals, is the author of "Steam Economy," a work issued in 1882, which gives the result of a series of practical tests made by him as a consulting engineer, and which has had a very large sale. He is a member of the Franklin Institute, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Manufacturers' Club, Philadelphia, is an active member of the Baptist church, Philadelphia; is a member of Lu Lu Shrine-a Templar Mason, being a member of Roxboro Lodge, No. 135, Free and Accepted Masons; Jerusalem Chapter, No. 3, Royal Arch Masons, and Corinthian Commandery, No. 32, Knights Templar.

On April 22, 1866, Mr. Wilkinson was united in marriage with Mary J. Sykes, daughter of William Sykes, of Chester, Delaware county, who died August, 1880. They had two children, Emma S., who married William S. Hogan, of Philadelphia, and has two children, Dorothy and Alford W.; and Margaret Ellen, who died in 1874 at the age of two years.

On January 8, 1891, Mr. Wilkinson married Lorenna J. Sloughfy, daughter of John and Amanda Sloughfy, of Mount Etna, Berks county, Pennsylvania.

 

 

REUBEN R. DAVIDHEISER, Highway Commissioner of Pottstown, and a prominent citizen of that place, is a native of Montgomery county. He was born in Pottsgrove township, September 5, 1841. He is the son of Henry and Sarah (Reigner) Davidheiser, both natives of Montgomery county. They had eight children, six sons and two daughters, of whom four are now living, as follows: Ephraim, of Pottsgrove township; Reuben R., Mary Ann, wife of Henry Wise, of Pottstown; and Milton, of Pottstown.

Henry Davidheiser (father) owned a large farm in Pottsgrove, where he lived all his life. He died in 1885, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife survived him until 1891. She was seventy-two years old at the time of her death. He was a member of and an officer in the Lutheran church. His wife was a member of the Reformed church. Henry Davidheiser (grandfather) was a native of Montgomery County. The family came originally from Germany. He lived to be more than eighty years of age and had several sons and daughters.

Joseph Reigner (maternal (grandfather) lived during the whole of his long life in Pottsgrove township, where he owned a farm, and at one time conducted a pottery. His wife's maiden name was Kimmel. They had a large family.

Reuben R. Davidheiser was reared on his father's farm, and attended the district schools. When he became of age he went to Pottstown and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for many years, doing contract work for eighteen years. He has built many of the substantial buildings of Pottstown.

In 1866 he married Miss Sarah Kepner, daughter of Abraham and Lydia (Reifsnyder) Kepner. They had eight children, four sons and four daughters, as follows: Wilson, Mary, Olivia, Allen, Anna, Howard, Bertha and Milton Frederick. Wilson married Alma Engel. They live in Philadelphia, where he is employed in a machine shop. They have two children, Florence and Miriam. Mary married William Jones, of Pottstown. They have two children Mildred and Anna. Olivia married John Bickel, of Pottstown. They have one daughter, Helen. Allen married Martha Mowry, now deceased. They had one daughter, Ruth.

The other children are single. Mrs. Sarah (Kepner) Davidheiser died in 1897, at the age of forty-eight years. She was a member of the Lutheran church.

 

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In November, 1899, Mr. Davidheiser married Mrs. Anna B. Schick, daughter of Harrison and Abigail (Slonaker) Skean. Mr. Davidheiser is a member of the Lutheran church, and his wife of the Reformed church. Politically he is a Democrat. He was school director for many years, and burgess of Pottstown for three years, retiring in 1900. He is now serving his second year as highway commissioner.

 

 

IRWIN S. HOFFMAN, born June 21, 1872, in Upper Hanover township, is the son of Milton Y. and Mary (Schanley) Hoffman.

 

Milton Y. Hoffman (father) is now living in Upper Pottsgrove township, where he is engaged in farming. For many years he was a miller in New Hanover township, Montgomery county. He is sixty-three years old, and his wife fifty-two. In politics Mr. Hoffman is a Democrat.

Milton Y. and Mary (Schanley) Hoffman had nine children, one of whom is deceased. Ellen, married Joseph Bolgrove, and they live in Swamp; he is a teacher of music; they have no children. Agnes, married Samuel Koplin; they reside in Upper Pottsgrove township, he being engaged in the iron industry at Pottstown; they have three children. Annie, married John Hillegass; they live in Pottstown, where he is employed as a puddler; they have two children. Emma, married Joseph Nagle; they live in Douglass township, Berks county, where he is a hotel proprietor; they have two children, Emma, unmarried and lives with her parents. Mable, unmarried and also lives with her parents. Warren, married Laura Yohn, and they live in Douglass township, Berks county; he is a boiler maker they have no children. Irwin S.

Abraham Hoffman (grandfather) lived in Douglass township, Berks county, where he was a farmer and a justice of the peace. He was a very active Democrat, and held many offices. He married Esther Yerger. Abraham Hoffman died at the age of sixty-nine years, and his wife survived him some years, dying at the age of seventy-four years. They were both buried at Boyertown. In religious faith they were Lutherans.

Irwin S. Hoffman attended schools in the vicinity of his home until he had reached the age of fourteen years. He then began to assist his father in the management of the farm, taking an active interest in plowing and planting, cultivating and gathering in farm crops. He has spent his entire life since that time in tilling the soil, except for a few years when he was engaged in learning the trade of a miller with his father. He occupied the farm in Upper Pottsgrove township on which he now lives, in the spring of 1901, and during his residence there has very much improved the surroundings, beautifying it in every possible way by the erection of new buildings and otherwise.

Mr. Hoffman married Clara, daughter of Harris and Sarah (Gummery) Boyer, residents of Douglass township, Berks county, where Mr. Boyer was engaged as a miller for more than thirty years. Mrs. Boyer died in 1880, her remains being interred at Boyertown. She was a member of the German Reformed church.

Mr. Boyer married a second wife, leaving two children by the second marriage, and two by the first.

Mr. and Mrs. Irwin S. Hoffman were married November 10, 1892, in Boyertown. She is attached to the Reformed faith, and he is a member of the Lutheran denomination. In politics Mr. Hoffman is a Democrat, like all the Hoffmans for many generations. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman have two children: Grant Oscar, and Guy Milton, both living at the home of their parents.

Henry Stanley (maternal grandfather) lived in New Hanover township, where he was a farmer. He and his wife were Lutherans. They died many years ago, and are buried in the New Hanover Lutheran churchyard.

 

 

ISAAC KUMMERER, of Lower Pottsgrove township, was born August 26, 1855, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Jacob H. and Catherine (Muthard) Kummerer.

 

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Jacob H. Kummerer (father) was also born in Berks county, and removed to the Kummerer farm in Lower Pottsgrove township, Montgomery county, in 1867. He lived on this farm until fifteen years ago. Since that time he has been living in Pottstown retired. He is seventy-three years of age. He never followed any occupation but that of farming. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a member of the German Reformed church. His wife was born in Berks county, and died at the age of sixty-eight years. She was buried, November 20, 1901, in Edgewood cemetery, Pottstown. Jacob and Catherine Kummerer had nine children, as follows: 1. Jonathan (deceased). 2. Isaac. 3. Sarah (deceased), married Harry Porter (deceased). 4. Elizabeth (deceased). 5. Aaron (deceased). 6. Lydia, married Jacob Yerger, and they reside in Pottstown. He is a farmer. They have six children. 7. Mary (deceased), married Edward K. Miller, who lives in Pottstown. They have had three children, two of whom are living. 8. Catherine, married Irwin Walt, and lives at Saratoga, where they are farmers. 9. Emma, married John Staufenburg, and they live in Philadelphia. He is a grocer. They have five children.

Jacob Kummerer (grandfather) was born in Berks county. He lived near Boyertown, where he was a miller for many years. He married Anna Herb, who died many years before his death. He was ninety-eight years old when he died, and both he and his wife are buried in the Hill Church cemetery, Berks county. He lived retired many years. In politics he was a Democrat, and was supervisor of his township. He was a member of the German Reformed church. Jacob and Anna Kummerer had six children, three of whom are now living. Daniel Muthard (maternal grandfather) lived near Gablesville, Berks county. He was a weaver, and also conducted a nursery for many years. He married Elizabeth Derr, who died in 1883, aged eighty-one years. He died in 1876, and he and his wife are buried at Boyertown. They were Lutherans in religious faith.

Isaac Kummerer received a common school education, leaving school at the age of eighteen. For several years he helped his parents on the farm. On coming of age he went west, living in Salina, Kansas, for about a year, and in Pueblo, Colorado, a short time. He was employed on a railroad and spent some months in Crape Creek, a short time in Gunnison City, and then went to Utah. There he was engaged in the mule business until he returned to his home in the east. Since that time he has lived on his present farm.

Isaac Kummerer married Catherine, daughter of Samuel and Susan (Adams) Mest, residents of Berks county. Isaac and Catherine Kummerer were married March 29, 1884, in Berks county. They had seven children, as follows: Mabel Pearl (deceased); John Earl (deceased); Jacob Roy, Samuel Edward, Sallie Ernestine, Harry Harrison, William Eck.

Mr. Kummerer is a Democrat in politics. He is a member of the Order of Heptasophs. In religious faith Mr. Kummerer and his family are members of the Reformed church. Their home has been remodeled very much during the last few years, and is being made more comfortable and beautiful every year.

Mrs. Kummerer's father was a blacksmith in Berks county. His first wife died in 1875. They had five children, of whom three are living. Remarried (second wife) Rebecca Dotter, and they had two children. All the dead of the family are buried in Hill churchyard, Berks county.

 

 

(Picture of Joseph V. Bean)

 

JOSEPH V. BEAN, principal of the Chain street and John F. Hartranft public schools of Norristown, was born in Worcester township, Montgomery county, October 20, 1843. He is the son of Isaac B. and Sarah (Van Fossen) Bean, lifelong residents of that vicinity. They had four children, three sons and one daughter: Augustus, deceased; Joseph V.; Jacob V.; and Kate V., deceased, wife of Lewis Danley.

Isaac B. Bean was a stonemason in early manhood, but having lost his hand by an accident in 1843, he then learned watch and clock making, and later became a general merchant, and still later a wheelwright and a commercial salesman. He died in Fairview village, in 1889, aged seventy-one years. His wife survived him some years, dying in 1893, aged seventy-five years. Mr. Bean was not identified with any religious denomination, but his wife was a Mennonite. He was a stanch Republican.

The Beans came from Wurtemberg, Germany. Jacob Bean (grandfather) married, Cath-

 

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erine Boyer, and had a large family. He was a farmer and was noted in later life as a rake manufacturer. He was a Mennonite. His wife was also of German descent. The great-grandfather was Garrett Bean, a farmer by occupation.

Joseph Van Fossen (maternal grandfather) was also of Dutch descent, a Mennonite, and farmer by occupation. His wife was Sarah Rittenhouse. They had three sons and one daughter.

Joseph V. Bean was reared on the farm owned by his parents. His first lessons were received in the district schools. When he was ten years of age he left home to make his own way in the world. He later attended Freeland Seminary at Collegeville, now Ursinus College, until he was eighteen years of age. He then began clerking and followed that occupation for some years. When he had attained his majority, he commenced to prepare himself for the occupation of teaching, and took charge of a school in 1865, and has been so engaged ever since, excepting two years which he spent in mercantile business.

In November, 1871, he married Miss Emma L. Rittenhouse, daughter of William R. and Elizabeth (Linderman) Rittenhouse. They had one son, Worthington R. Bean, who is assistant engineer in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing at Washington, D. C. He married Miss Mary Pugh. They had two children, Mary J. and Carey, deceased. Mrs. Emma L. Bean, wife of Joseph V. Bean, died in 1898, aged forty-nine years.

Politically Mr. Bean is a Republican. He was borough councilman from the tenth ward one year, elected as a Republican, but has not otherwise sought political preferment, being devoted to the duties of his calling. He has been actively engaged in school work for thirty-five years, and is a member of a number of teachers' associations. He has also taken an active part in lecture work, and otherwise been identified with the teachers' institutes of Montgomery county; held annually, usually at Norristown.

Professor Bean is the manufacturer of Bean's Herb Cure for diarrhea, dysentery and indigestion, which is highly recommended by those who have used it, and large quantities of it are sold.

He was prominent in musical and church work for a number of years, and had charge of the music, which consisted of one hundred voices and an orchestral accompaniment of twenty-five pieces, at the centennial celebration of Montgomery county.

Professor Bean has been for twenty-five years identified with the schools of Norristown, making the task of instructing the young his life work. His labors have been appreciated by the pupils with whom he has come in contact as well as by their parents and friends. He came to the Chain street school as principal in 1874. His political allegiance is given the Republican party and he held the office of councilman one term. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which he is a past master, and he belongs also to the Eagleville Beneficial Society.

 

 

JACOB R. ISETT, of Royersford, is a descendant of an old and influential family in Montgomery county. He was born in Limerick township, October 16, 1845, and was trained to habits of honest toil on the homestead as a farmer. He was educated in the common schools of the vicinity, also attending Washington Hall Institute, at Trappe, for a time. Mr. Isett is the son of Frederick and Henrietta (Shade) Isett. His grandfather and great-grandfather were also, named Frederick. They lived in Upper Providence township.

The immigrant, Frederick Isett, was one of two brothers who came to America from Holland in 1732. The name of Frederick is handed down in the youngest generation of the family, making the seventh in this country. The immigrant settled in Upper Providence, taking up land and making substantial improvements on it, and rearing a family. He was buried at the old Lutheran church, Trappe. He was a leader in church work and a member of the vestry. He reared a family of five children as follows: Frederick; Barbara; Betsey; Hannah and Jacob.

Frederick Isett (grandfather) was born at the old homestead. He learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed many years, being known through all the surrounding country as a fine mechanic. He made a specialty of edged tools. He owned his home, and was a broad-minded, intelligent man, being always above reproof in his community. He married Mary Hallman, of an old family in that vicinity. Their children were: Seth; Frederick; Samuel; Benjamin; John and Hannah.

 

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Frederick (father) was born July 26, 1812. He received a good education for that day, in the intervals of farm pursuits, and taught school for more than twenty years. In some respects he was a genius, being quite an artist. He learned the trade of plastering, and worked at it in the summer season, teaching school during the winter. In school he was noted for his exact and careful work and the maintenance of rigid discipline. After teaching for twenty years he gave all his attention to agriculture, being a practical and successful farmer.

In his younger days Mr. Isett was a Democrat in politics, but later he became a Whig and a Republican, but he never aspired to office beyond filling the position of school director. He served as secretary of the board.

Frederick Isett died November 11, 1899, at the age of eighty-seven years. He married February 4, 1841, Henrietta Shade, who descended from an old Montgomery county family. She was the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Shunk) Shade, her mother being a cousin of Francis R. Shunk, Governor of Pennsylvania. Jacob Shade (her father) was a prominent farmer of the township, owning part of the land on which Royersford is now located. Mary Shunk, his wife, was a school teacher.

The children of Jacob and Mary Shade were Jeriah, a minister of the Reformed church; Henrietta, mother of Jacob R. Isett; Daniel S., a physician; Jacob, a blacksmith, who was a Democrat in politics and was nominated for recorder of deeds, but was defeated by a small majority at the election.

The children of Frederick and Henrietta Isett were: Mary, married John Y. Eisenberg; Lavina, died at the age of twenty-four years, unmarried; Jacob R., subject of this sketch; Charlotte, married William Y. Eisenberg; Frederick S., a physician, who practiced in Philadelphia and died July 28, 1895; John U., member of a stove firm, and a dealer in coal and lumber at Royersford; Henrietta, married John M. Mauger. The parents were members of the Brethren church.

Jacob R. Isett was born and reared in Limerick township, and has been engaged in farming the most of his life, occupying the old homestead, a fine farm of some fifty acres. Mr. Isett makes his home at the old homestead. In 1901 he bought out all other interests in the home farm, and since has devoted much attention to it. Politically Mr. Isett is a Republican. He has filled several township offices, but has never aspired to higher positions. He is an active and intelligent business man, and has been successful in all his undertakings.

Mr. Isett married May 4, 1892, Miss Anna B. Amole, born in Chester county, on March 17, 1865. She was a teacher in the public schools for seven years. She is the daughter of Jonas and Ellen (Bisbing) Amole. Jonas is the son of Peter Amole, also of Chester county, the family being of German descent. He is a farmer by occupation and is well known and highly respected. The children of Peter Amole were Jesse, Jonas, John, Maria, married J. Shick; Leah, married J. Miller; Rebecca, married D. McFarlan; Ann, married George Ray; Elizabeth, unmarried. The parents belonged to the Reformed church.

Jonas Amole died in April, 1885. He was a carpenter by trade, and later a farmer. Politically, he was a Democrat. Mrs. Jonas Amole died in 1876. She was a daughter of Peter Bisbing, of Chester county, who was of German descent and a farmer by occupation. He affiliated with the Methodist church. Jonas Amole was married three times. His first wife was Rachel Carvel, their children being: George; Harriet, married J. Culp; Henry; Eber. Mr. Amole married (second wife) Ellen Bisbing. Their children were: Anna B., wife of Mr. Isett; Elmer, of Cincinnati, where he is manager of an ice machine company; Lyman, of Pottstown. By his third marriage to Mrs. Sarah Smith, a widow, the mother of three daughters, all dead, there were no children. Mrs. Amole's (third) maiden name was Sarah Skean.

 

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FRANCIS CLARK JOHNSON, one of the best known farmers and dairymen of Upper Gwynedd township, Montgomery county-, Pennsylvania, is the son of John Burman and Catharine (Knipe) Johnson. He was born June 24, 1840, on a farm then owned and cultivated by his father. He attended the public schools of his district, being one of the many pupils of Andrew Jackson Lewis, of Gwynedd Corners, where the latter taught many years, being afterwards a justice of the peace. At the age of fifteen years Francis C. Johnson was supposed, according to the custom of that day, to have advanced far enough in his studies to leave school forever, and thenceforth he devoted himself exclusively to work on the farm and in connection with the dairy.

The farm contained 108 acres of rolling land, of which 25 acres was woodland. The latter also afforded abundant exercise in chopping and hauling in winter, when work oil the farm in general was out of the question. He remained with his father until his marriage, in May, 1868, to Mary Elizabeth, a daughter of Captain William and Catherine (Zearfoss) Lawrence, of Whitpain township, in Montgomery county, his wife having been born November 1, 1840. She died March 6, 1885. Their children are: Clara Newport, born March 7, 1869, married John B. Baus, of Barto, Berks county, Pennsylvania; Einina Jane, born March 24, 1871, married John Wesley Klair, of Upper Gwynedd, and had children; Harry Kellogg, born December 3, 1873, who married Catherine Swank, of Skippack township, Montgomery county, a farmer; Conrad Knipe, born August 11, 1878, is unmarried, and resides with his parents: Helen Augusta, born June 15, 1882, married Elmer Frederick, and resides at West Point, in Gwynedd township.

Francis C. Johnson settled, after his marriage, on the homestead, renting it from his fattier, and maintaining a dairy of twenty cows. He went on in this way until 1881, when he purchased the farm on which he now resides, in Upper Gwynedd township, near North Wales. It contains 58 acres of improved land, including meadows drained by the Wissahickon. It adjoins "Comly Manse," the homestead of John F. Comly, and also the properties of Thomas P. Greger, Joseph Kibblehouse, and Franklin Lutz Johnson. Mr. Johnson maintains a dairy of twenty-one cows on his farm.

Francis C. Johnson married, second wife, Mrs. Ella C. Sperry, her maiden name being Kneedler, daughter of Jacob and Julia (Cressman) Kneedler, of North Wales.

Mr. Johnson is an active and public spirited citizen who is much interested in local improvements of all kinds. Politically he is a Democrat. He cast his first presidential vote for General George B. McClellan, and has ever since supported the party ticket in national campaigns. In local matters, he very properly allows himself to be guided by the character of the party nominees, and has frequently been found supporting Republicans for township offices. He has never sought or held office. In religious faith he is a member of St. Peter's Lutheran church, of North Wales. He is a member of the building committee of the church.

John Burnand Johnson (father) married, December 11, 1823, Catharine Knipe, also of Gwynedd township. In his earlier years, John B. Johnson followed the trade of coach building, constructing the kind of vehicles that were used as stage and mail coaches. Later he was engaged in the occupation of farming, in which he was very successful. He was a Democrat in politics, and took an active part in local politics, although he never held office. The children of John B. and Catharine Johnson were: William Burnand, born September 18, 1824, who married Sarah Rynear, of Philadelphia; Penelope Jane, born August 31, 1826, who married John Delp, a farmer, of Hatfield township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania; Charles Jackson, born February 29, 1828, who married Susan Miller, of Whitemarsh township, in Montgomery county; Conrad Knipe, born December 19, 1829, who married Anne Hahn, of Philadelphia; John Burnand, born December 16, 1831, died unmarried; Catharine Knipe, born December 18, 1833, who married Thomas Ralston, of Philadelphia; George Burnand, born November 8, 1835, who married Hannah Fleck, of Lower Gwynedd township, and lives at North Wales; Mary Ann, born December 17, 1837, who married Jacob Bernhard, a farmer of Whitpain township, adjoining Gwynedd; Francis Clark, subject of this sketch; Elizabeth Amanda, born December 27, 1842; Emma Louise, born March 22, 1846, married, April 16, 1867, John Jones Johnson, son of John Ellis and Sarah (Jones) Martin, of Gwynedd township, near Lansdale, and died in the year 1900.