(Picture of Dr. George Washington McCafferty)

 

 

DR. GEORGE WASHINGTON McCAFFERTY, of the staff of the male department of the Norristown Hospital for the Insane, is a young man, having been born in Philadelphia, July 13, 1870. He is the son of George Washington and Margaret (Watson) McCafferty, the former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of the county of Tyrone, Ireland. They had four sons and one daughter, as follows: Harry Somerville, deceased; Elizabeth Somerville, wife of Albert T. Clay, Ph. D., assistant professor to Professor Hilprecht of the archaeological department of the University of Pennsylvania; Dr. George W. McCafferty, of Norristown; Dr. Robert Watson McCafferty and Jean Somerville McCafferty, of Philadelphia.

Dr. George W. McCafferty was reared in Philadelphia and attended private schools until he entered the grammar school, from which he graduated in the senior class, at the Park Avenue Boys' Grammar School, when seventeen years of age. He then entered the biological department of the University of Pennsylvania for a two years' special course and was graduated in 1889. After four more years of study he graduated from the regular medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1893. He held positions in the Howard Hospital, Philadelphia, in St. Joseph's Hospital at Reading, and later m the Training School for Feeble Minded Children at Elwyn, Delaware county. From that institution he was appointed second assistant physician at the State Hospital for the Insane, at Norristown, and on January 1, 1897, he was made first assistant and still holds that position.

He belongs to the Montgomery County Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is a member of Charity Lodge, No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons; of Norristown Chapter, No. 190, Royal Arch Masons; of Hutchinson Commandery, No. 32, Knights Templar; and of the Alpha Mu Pi Omega Medical Fraternity.

Dr. McCafferty has had a very extensive experience in the kind of practice that fits him for the position which he now holds, and he performs the arduous duties it requires in a most successful and satisfactory manner.

In an institution like that with which Dr. McCafferty is connected, with a population of twenty-five hundred persons, including officials, attendants and others, there is a constant demand for attention on the part of the medical staff, and it is all the more so in view of the fact that by far the greater number of the inmates are as weak physically as they are mentally. It is a position which requires skill, tact and patience, with all of which qualities Dr. McCafferty is endowed in a large measure. The care and treatment of the insane is one of the most engrossing and exacting occupations in which any one can engage. Residence at such an institution, among the melancholy and unfortunate victims of dementia, has its disadvantages which all can appreciate. Much depends upon the tastes and inclinations of those in charge of the insane, but custom is everything and persons who propose to make it their life work soon become reconciled to the unpleasantness of contact with the insane. Theirs is not nor ever can be, however, an enviable position according to the general idea of what is desirable.

 

 

GEORGE F. P. WANGER, who is borough surveyor of Pottstown, has been for some years engaged in surveying and conveyancing. He is a native of Chester county, having been born

 

(Page 101)

 

in North Coventry township, May 1, 1863. He is the son of George (deceased) and Rebecca Price Wanger, of whom the father was a native of Berks county and the mother of Chester county. The couple had six children, five sons and one daughter, of whom four are now living Hon. Irving P. Wanger, congressman from the seventh Pennsylvania district; Newton Wanger; George F. P. Wanger; and Joseph P. Wanger.

George Wanger (father) was a farmer. He grew to manhood in Berks county, and then removed with his parents to Chester county, where he resided until his death, December 30, 1876, aged fifty-six years. His wife survives and resides with Congressman Wanger in Norristown. Mr. Wanger was of Mennonite descent, but for a number of years was on the official board of St. James's Methodist Episcopal church, Cedarville, the site of which church he had presented to the congregation. His wife was originally identified with the German Baptist Brethren, but is now a member of the Haws Avenue Methodist church on Marshall, street, Norristown. Mr. Wanger was a soldier in the war, enlisting first in the Keystone Guards, Company E, Nineteenth Regiment, for state defense. The regiment was in service for a short time only.

Later he served two months in Company D, Forty-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, which went to Chambersburg. He was a private.

Politically Mr. Wanger was a Whig, Republican, and Prohibitionist. He cast his first presidential vote for Henry Clay. He held the position of member of the school board of North Coventry. He was foremost in temperance and anti-slavery movements, a station of the "underground railway" being at his home, where many slaves were assisted to freedom.

Abraham Wanger (grandfather) was a native of Berks county, and was born December 11, 1787. By occupation he was a farmer. He married Mary, daughter of Abraham and Susanna (Shantz) Berge. They had a family of ten children, live of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. He was a member of the school board. He died April 23, 1861.

Abraham Wanger (great-grandfather) was also a native of Berks county. He was born December 15, 1761, and died March 18, 1793. His wife was Susanna, daughter of Jacob and Magdalena Shantz, who after his death married Henry Aker.

John Wanger (great-great-grandfather) was a native of Philadelphia afterwards Montgomery county, where he was born December 10, 1726. In 1754 he purchased the land which belonged to his father, where he resided until 1762, when he removed to Union township, Berks county, and bought 293 acres of land of Thomas Banfield for 860 pounds. December 15, 1788, he sold this property to his son Abraham, reserving a part for a home for himself and wife, for which he agreed to pay the "yearly rent of one grain of Indian corn, if demanded." He died January 5, 1803. He was "Court Martial Man" in First Company, Fifth Battalion, Berks County Militia in 1777.

Henry Wanger (or Wenger, as the name appears to have been spelled) (great-great-great-grandfather), the founder of the Wanger family in this country, came from Switzerland with other Mennonites in 1717, and located on one hundred acres of land which is now within the borough of Pottstown, purchasing it September 15, 1718. He was a farmer by occupation, and added other land to his original purchase. His wife's name was Elizabeth. He died in 1753, and his remains are supposed to have been interred in the Mennonite burying ground in East Coventry township, Chester county.

Rev. John Price (maternal grandfather) was a native of Montgomery county. He was a farmer and a preacher in the denomination known as German Baptist Brethren from early manhood. His wife was Mary, daughter of John and Hannah (Price) Rinehart, who was born May 17, 1783, and died April 23, 1863. He was born August 6, 1782, and died April 12, 1850. He had twelve children, ten of whom lived to have families. Three sons and one son-in-law were also preachers in the German Baptist Brethren church.

 

(Page 102)

 

Rev. George Price (maternal great-grandfather) was also a preacher among the German Baptist Brethren. He was born in Montgomery county, November 1, 1753. In 1774 he settled on land in East Nantmeal township, Chester county, where he resided until 1794, when he removed to Coventry township. Here he became an exhorter and leader in the Coventry church, which had been organized November 7, 1724, and in 1797 he was ordained to the office of bishop. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Rudolph and Mary (Becker) Harley. He died September 25, 1823, leaving several sons and daughters.

Rev. Daniel Price (maternal great-great-grandfather) was born in Montgomery county, December 11, 1723. On May 22, 1746, he married Hannah Weickerd, who was born October 14, 1726, and died July 6, 1796. He secured a patent for the land formerly owned by his grandfather, 200 acres, December 10, 1742. He was one of the auditors of the township, 1761, 1767, 1774 and 1775, supervisor of the township, 1783 and 1784. He died February 11, 1804. They had thirteen children, of whom seven married and had families.

Rev. John Price (maternal great-great-great-grandfather), a poet and a preacher, was born in Prussia, and had just entered his seventeenth year when he came to America with his father in 1719. His wife was an Indian girl. Their descendants, therefore, have a mixture of German and Indian blood. They had two sons, John and Daniel, the latter born after his father's death. His son John was also a minister, and settled in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, leaving many descendants. Rev. John Price was a personal friend of that noted printer, Christopher Saur, and occasionally wrote for his paper: In 1753 Saur published the following collection of poetry: "Der wandehare bassfertige Beichtrater oder Seeloorger, wills zur Erkentniss seiner Trinden gekomen ist a sie besenest hat. (Appx.) Geist liche ist andachtige Seider autgesetzt von Br. Johannes Preiss." He was one of the founders of the mother church at Germantown, which was organized December 25, 1723.

Rev. Jacob Price, or Preisz, as the name was originally spelled (maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather) was a native of Witzenstein, Prussia, where he owned nine acres of land. He was the founder of the family in this country. He united with the church soon after its establishment in Schwarzenau in 1708, and early became a preacher and missionary in Prussia. He was driven by religious persecution to Servestervin, Friesland, and came over with the first party of German Baptist Brethren in 1719. He settled on Indian Creek, in Montgomery county, in 1721, having bought 200 acres of land from Dirk Jansen in June, 1720. He is said to have been the second settler in this neighborhood.

George F. P. Wanger spent his boyhood days on the farm in North Coventry township, Chester county, and attended the public schools there. Later he attended the Pottstown high school, and was a teacher in the public schools of Pottsgrove township one year. He studied surveying, and in 1886 took a position in an engineering corps on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and was employed in that capacity over a year. He then went into the office of the chief engineer of the Wilmington & Northern Railroad, and was thus engaged about four months, when he became attached to an engineering corps of the Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad. Returning to the Wilmington & Northern, he remained with that company nearly three years, after which he joined the construction corps of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, being thus occupied for a year and a half. He then engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Pottstown, the firm being Weber & Wanger, which continued until 1898. While in that firm and from 1896 to 1902, Mr. Wanger was chief engineer, and had charge of construction of the Wilmington & Newcastle Railway, the Olean Street Railway, the Schuylkill-Haven Railway, the Montgomery & Chester Electric Railway, the Rapid Transit Railway between Dayton and Xenia, Ohio, the Merchants' Light, Heat and Power Company's plant at Youngstown, Ohio, and the Frostburg & Cumberland Electric Railroad, Maryland. In March, 1902, he opened an office in Pottstown, which he still continues. While living in North Coventry township he served on the school board, and was also justice of the peace.

 

(Page 103)

 

December 25, 1886, Mr. Wanger married Miss Ada Grubb, daughter of Henry and Kate (Pennypacker) Grubb. They have had seven children, three sons and four daughters, namely Helen G., John A., Isaac Price, Gertrude, Dorothy, Rebecca and Henry Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Wanger are members of the Baptist church, and he is the church clerk. He is a member of Stichter Lodge, No. 254, Free and Accepted Masons, of Eden Lodge, No. 34, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Wilmington, Delaware, and of Excelsior Encampment, No. 85, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Pottstown. He is also a member of Mount Vernon Conclave of Heptasophs. In politics he is a Republican, and a member of the school board from the second ward of Pottstown. He is the borough engineer of Pottstown, and assistant postmaster.

Henry Grubb, the ancestor of Mrs. Ada (Grubb) Wanger, was a native of Switzerland, and emigrated in 1717. He bought 150 acres of land, September 27, 1718, from David Powell in Frederick township, now Montgomery county. He located on Society Run, and was married to Catherine Addis, daughter of Thomas Addis, who was a large property owner in that township. They had a family of six sons and one daughter, who married and had families of their own. Henry Grubb died February, 1726 or 1727. His wife later married Jacob Frick and died January 27, 1748.

Abraham Grubb (great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Wanger), a son of Henry Grubb, was born May 19, 1726. He was a cordwainer in Frederick township, but before 1753 became a resident of North Coventry township, Chester county, where he died July 27, 1808. His wife, Elizabeth Frea (or Frey) was born June 6, 1734, and was six years old when she came with her parents from the fatherland. She died October 2, 1823. Abraham Grubb had ten children. A son, Abraham, settled in Lincoln county, Ontario, and has a large number of descendants scattered over Ontario, the United States and the British to Virginia, where he funded a family.

 

(Page 104)

 

David Grubb (great-grandfather of Mrs. Wanger) a third son of Abraham Grubb was born July 19, 1768, and was, a farmer in North Coventry. He married Mary, daughter of Rudolph and Barbara (Bach) Harley. His wife was born July 25, 1773, and died March 16, 1851. They had a large family. He died September 5, 1852. Moses Grubb (grandfather) was born December 18, 1807, and was a prominent farmer of North Coventry, and was married three times. His first wife was Hannah Rixtine, his second Catharine Hunsberger, and his third Ann Stubblebine, widow of Daniel Benner, who still survives. He had one son, Henry R., by his first wife. She died April 30, 1875.

Henry R. Grubb (father) was born August 17, 1841, and until a few years ago was farming in North Coventry. He married, December 3, 1863, Kate I., daughter of Arnold and Mary (Lubold) Pennypacker, who was born September 26, 1842. They are living at Pottstown.

 

 

JOSEPH B. WILSON, merchant and assessor in West Pottsgrove township, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, February 17, 1850. He is the son of John and Maria (Speakman) Wilson.

John Wilson (father) was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he lived as a farmer all his life, except five years, from 1845 to 1850, which he spent in Berks county. During this five years he was engaged in the iron business. He died in 1885?, aged sixty-five years. His wife was Maria (Speakman) Wilson. She survived him some years, and they are both buried in the Brandywine burying ground, which adjoined their farm in Chester county. They had twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, seven of whom are now living, as follows: 1. Edmond, married Rebecca Mattlan. They live in Chester county, and are farmers. They have four children. 2. Isaac, married Ella Simm, and they are farmers in Chester county. They have three children. 3. Joseph B. 4. Ellis, unmarried, and

 

(Page 105)

 

Maria (Mrs. Rahn); Joshua, of Limerick; Sarah (mother). By the second marriage, the children were: Philip and Josiah (deceased); Hetty, unmarried; Amanda (Mrs. H. Keiser); Aaron (deceased); Henry (deceased), who served in the Rebellion. William and Sarah Yerger had twelve children: Maggie (Mrs. M. Tyson); Henry F., the subject of this sketch; Mark L., a butcher residing at Saratoga; Susana (Mrs. R. Kachell) (second marriage Mrs. Weise); Jesse, died at the age of twenty-six years; William, residing in Utah; Joshua, a farmer in Chester, county; George, a hotel keeper at Pleasant View; Katie (Mrs. William Mock, who died and left one child, three having died young). Mark worked with the Telegraph Corps on the Reading Railway for sixteen years.

Henry F. Yerger was born and reared in Montgomery county, remaining under the parental roof until he was eighteen years of age. He learned the carpenter trade with Samuel Hallman, serving an apprenticeship of two and a half years, for which service he received thirty dollars ($30.00) and a box of carpenter's tools. He was employed at the carpenter trade about twelve years. He went to Chicago, October 10, 1871, staying there two years, and then went to Boston after the great fire. He was there four months, and then went on a tour through Canada to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, and thence home. After working at his trade for three years, he then engaged in farming. On February 13, 1877, he married. He rented for a time and then bought the farm which he now occupies. It contains fifty acres of choice land. Mr. Yerger has cleared off the woodland, built a commodious barn, and put the farm in good condition. He is a farmer and a dealer in stock, buying horses and cattle and selling them, being very successful in the business. His farm is equipped with improved machinery.

Mr. Yerger married Miss Fanny Schwenk, daughter of John and Sarah (Zern) Schwenk, both of Montgomery county. John is the son of Samuel Schwenk. Samuel Schwenk was the son of Abraham Schwenk, who came to this country from Switzerland. Samuel Schwenk served in the war of 1812. In religion he was a Lutheran. By occupation he was a farmer, blacksmith and tanner, being an enterprising and public-spirited man. He died in 1865. He was a strong Republican in politics.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwenk: David, Fanny (married three times, her husbands being Bigony, Smith and Fry); John, father of Mrs. Yerger; George; Mrs. Shoemaker; Samuel, Enos, Eliza (Mrs. Koons). Mr. and Mrs. Schwenk were Lutherans.

John Schwenk, a farmer by occupation, lives retired. His wife was the daughter of Abraham Zern, of German descent, and a shoemaker by trade. He died in 1872, and was a member of the Reformed church, being a deacon and elder therein.

The children of John and Sarah Schwenk Eliza A., unmarried; Fannie, wife of Henry F. Yerger ; John, died at the age of twelve years; Enos, died at the age of six years; Henry, a farmer; Hannah (Mrs. W. Hepner).

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Yerger: John W., born in 1878, unmarried; Sallie, born in 1880; Michael, born in 1882 (deceased); Moses S., born in 1887; Fanny, born in 1890 (deceased). The entire family are members of the Reformed church. Mr. Yerger has filled many church offices. He was treasurer for eight years, deacon for eight years, served twenty years as trustee, and has been president of the board for seven years.

Mr. Yerger takes much interest in educational matters, and has been a member of the school board of the township, serving three terms or twelve years in all. He has also been treasurer and president of the board. He has also filled other township offices. He has been manager of the Horse Company of Gilbertsville for fourteen years, and also collector of same.

 

 

JOHN FOULKE COMLY, son of Zebedee, is a descendant of an old family of Friends long settled in Montgomery county. His mother was

 

 

(Page 106)

 

Phebe Kneedler, of another old family which located in colonial times in that section of Pennsylvania. John F. Comly was born April 6, 1857, on the farm on which he now resides. His birth was in a log house which was erected in 1780, and which is still standing, being occupied by a tenant.

John F. Comly attended the public schools of North Wales until he reached his eighteenth year, when he entered as a student at the school conducted in Norristown for many years by Dr. John W. Loch and his predecessor, Rev. Samuel Aaron, known as Treemount Seminary. He continued at that institution for two years, after which he returned to the homestead and assisted his father in farm work, taking upon himself its management until the death of Zebedee Comly, his father, which occurred in April, 1880, when he came into full possession, conducting it as a dairy.

Mr. Comly married, February 14, 1893, Hannah Yerkes, daughter of Peter and Jane (Davis) Shoemaker, farmers, of Plymouth township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. The couple at once took up their residence at Comly Manse, as the farm is now known. Mrs. Comly was born October 6, 1856, and comes of an old Friends' family, the Shoemakers being of German origin but domiciled in Pennsylvania from the time of William Penn. The mansion in which Mr. and Mrs. Comly reside was erected by his father in 1857, and is eligibly located at some distance from the highway, surrounded by ash, maple and pine trees, and a hundred acres of fine farm land which slope towards the Wissahickon. Mr. and Mrs. Comly affiliate with the Society of Friends, although not members of any denomination. In politics Mr. Comly is a Republican, but not a seeker after office or emoluments of any kind. He is however, interested in the promotion of party success.

Zebedee Comly (father) was the son of Clement Comly. He was an industrious and prosperous farmer who accumulated a competence by industry and good management. In politics he was a Whig, and later in life a Republican. He married Phebe Kneedler, of Gwynedd township. Their children: Rebecca Jones, deceased; Joseph Kneedler, deceased; Catharine, married Justus Jones, son of Elias Jones, her husband being deceased, and she residing in Philadelphia; Ann, married Rev. George Diehl Foust, of North Wales, a minister of the Lutheran church; Clement, born June 4, 1847, married September 22, 1874, Elizabeth, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Scheetz) Sickler, of Camp Hill, in Whitemarsh township; Elizabeth Y., unmarried, and re-sides in North Wales; John F., subject of this sketch.

The Comlys have intermarried with many of the leading families of that section of Montgomery county, and are widely known and highly respected for uprightness and other excellent qualities.

 

 

AMOS PARSONS, one of the best-known citizens of Lower Merion township, was born in Marple township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1828. He married Miss Mary Ann Sibley, March 2, 1854. She is a daughter of Jacob and Catharine Sibley, of Athensville, in Lower Merion township, now Ardmore. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have had the following children: Jacob Sibley, Luther C., who married Kate Note, daughter of William Note, they having no children; Mahlon, who married Maggie McElhenny, they having eight children, as follows: Edgar, Helen, Elvira C., Hester, Mary P., George D., Katie P., Harriet U.

Mr. Parsons received his early education in the common schools of Marple township. At the early age of ten years he was placed in the tannery of George and Joseph Rhoades, at Marple, and set to work to earn his living. At the age of sixteen years he was apprenticed to John S. Moore, also of Marple township, to learn the blacksmith trade, remaining in this position for three years, and acquiring a good knowledge of the trade. He then removed to Merionville, now Merion, in Montgomery county. He began life for himself by establishing a blacksmith shop and wheelwright shop, in which business he has been eminently successful. After making a competence at his blacksmith and wheelwright shops, he retired from his occupation in 1885, relinquishing the business to his two sons, Jacob S. and Luther C. who are now successfully engaged therein.

 

(Page 107)

Mahlon Parsons, father of Amos Parsons, was a native of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, where he was born April 17, 1792. He married Rebecca Ford, of Easttown township, Chester county. She was the daughter of William Ford, also of Chester county. Mahlon Parsons was a manufacturer of whetstones. He died January 13, 1856, and his wife died on September 7 of the same year. Joshua Parsons, grandfather of Amos Parsons, was born in 1762, and was a farmer by occupation. He died May 12, 1849. Richard Parsons, great-grandfather, was the immigrant. He came from England in 1745, and settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where the family are still numerous and greatly respected.

 

 

WILLIAM E. RHOADS was born August 18, 1835, in Pottsgrove township, Montgomery county. He is the son of Charles and Margaret (Egolf) Rhoads.

Charles Rhoads (father) lived in Pottsgrove township, and a part of the present village of Stowe was his land, and he built nearly all the houses in that village in the vicinity of his home. He was a blacksmith by trade, and lived on his farm in Pottsgrove nearly all his life. He died in 1887, aged seventy-three years, his wife having died in 1856, aged forty-four years to the hour. They are buried in Pottstown cemetery. Charles and Margaret (Egolf) Rhoads had seven children, six now living. 1. Henry, born July 6, 1833, married Sarah Yergey (deceased). He lives in Douglas; township, Berks county, where he is a farmer. They had ten children. 2. William E. Rhoads. 3. Rachel, born 1839, married Jeremiah Reifsnyder (deceased). She lives in West Pottsgrove township. They had no children. 4. John, born 1842, died 1855. 5. Daniel, born 1844, married Sallie Boone, and they live in Reading, where he is a laborer. They have one child. 6. Mary, born 1846, died 1901. She married William H. Rutter, of West Pottsgrove township, and a merchant in that township. He died in 1902. Two children survive. 7. Adam, born 1849, married Asenath Dampman. They live in Pottstown, where he is a farmer. They have four children.

Henry Rhoads (grandfather) lived in New Hanover township, Montgomery county, where he was a farmer. He died many years ago. His wife was a Miss Hoffman, and died at the age of ninety years. They were buried at the Six Cornered church in New Hanover township. Adam Egolf (maternal grandfather) lived in Pottsgrove. He was a prosperous farmer and shoemaker in his day, and lived retired many years before his death. He died aged eighty-six years, and his wife, Anna (Moser) Egolf, died at the age of eighty-seven. They are buried in the Pottstown cemetery. They had six children besides one who died in infancy: Aaron, John, Margaret, Rachel, Mary Ann, and Sarah, who is the only one living.

The place where Adam Rhoads lives has been the home of the family for generations, and many interesting stories are told of the different objects, which have been handed down from father to son. The great-grandparents of William Rhoads lived, reared their children, and died on the very ground where the house now stands, and the land which the ancestor tilled is still fruitful under the hands of his descendants. The great--grandparents on the maternal side were Michael and (Shadler) Egolf. He was an early settler in the township, and he and his wife are buried in the Pottstown cemetery.

William E. Rhoads went to school until he reached his twentieth year, when he started to work on the farm, where he has been actively engaged ever since. He is one of the leading men of the community, and feels a deep interest in Stowe and the surrounding country. He is connected with the mercantile enterprises of the place.

William E. Rhoads married Rebecca, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Geist) Reiff. Mr. and Mrs. Reiff lived in Chester county, and he was a blacksmith and a farmer in that county for many years. He died at the age of seventy-eight, and his wife at the age of seventy-three years, and they are buried at Mount Zion cemetery. They were very prominent residents of that county. They had five children: Henry, Emma, Rebecca, Allen and Taylor.

 

(Page 108)

William E. and Rebecca (Reiff) Rhoads were married December 24, 1864, and had one child, Harry Rhoads, born October 18, 1866, married Sadie, daughter of John Stott, of Reading. Harry Rhoads is conducting a grocery store in Reading. They have no children.

William E. Rhoads is a Democrat in politics, and has held the offices of school director, judge of elections, and others. The family are members of the Lutheran church of Stowe. In 1865, the year after his marriage, Mr. Rhoads suffered severely from a fire which destroyed entirely his stock and crops. He has rebuilt the buildings to a large extent, and few farms will be found which are better equipped with everything necessary to carry on farming in a scientific manner. In 1902 he formed a partnership with Mr. J. B. Wilson, and conducts a grocery in the village of Stowe.

 

 

A. J. SCHISSLER. A thorough course in a business college has, of late years, been an almost indispensable part of the preliminary training of those who have wished to enter commercial life or mercantile pursuits. Indeed the knowledge of business forms and methods of procedure, that even years of experience in actual commercial affairs would not impart, can be acquired during a comparatively short course in one of these excellently conceived schools. Pennsylvania has a number of such institutions of learning, and of these the two founded by A. J. Schissler, M. A., are among the most highly regarded.

Aloysius J. Schissler was born in Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1864. He is the second youngest son of the eight children of J. Michael and Mary (Schall) Schissler. His grandfather, Frederick Schissler, was born in Baden Baden and there spent his entire life. He was at one time mayor of Baden Baden, was a Lutheran in religious faith and was a man of much influence and prominence in his community. He married and had five children, four sons and one daughter. The father of A. J. Schissler was born in Baden Baden, Germany, February 2, 1818, and emigrated to the United States while still a young man. In 1844 he settled in Philadelphia and entered the mercantile world as a grocer. For a short time he continued in this pursuit and then embarked in the baking business. In political affairs he affiliated with the Democratic party, and was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. He was a soldier of the Civil war, stationed at Alexandria, Virginia. He died in Manayunk, Philadelphia, March 2, 1887, in the seventieth year of his age, and his wife died April 19, 1869. She bore the maiden name of Mary Schall and was born in Baden, Germany, in 1827, a daughter of Anthony S. and Margaretta (Neimauer) Schall, who came to America in 1832 and settled in Manayunk. Her parents had ten children. Her father died in 1850, her mother on the 11th of August, 1871. They were members of the Catholic church.

Professor Schissler was reared in his native country and in the public schools of Manayunk he received the groundwork of a thorough education. To this he subsequently added whatever of knowledge he could glean from the books within his reach. Later he entered a business college in the city of Philadelphia, where he took a full course of instruction in every department, and developed those business characteristics for which he has since been famous, graduating in 1887. On leaving this institution he began the actual battle of life as bookkeeper for McClain & Vantier, of Philadelphia, Penrose A. McClain of that firm, now being internal revenue collector. Mr. Schissler shortly afterwards resigned from this position to enter the employ of J. Ripka & Company, cotton and woolen manufacturers, of Manayunk, whom he served in the diverse capacities of bookkeeper, salesman and general manager. He remained with the company for a period of over three years or until their retirement from business. During the time in which Mr. Schissler had been with them he had become thoroughly conversant with every detail of the business., and when his employers retired he became the owner of the factory. The same year that he had completed his business course he had established the Schissler College of Business and Shorthand at Manayunk. Of this he has since disposed, but until the completion of the school year of 1893-94, in addition to his other extensive interests, he maintained a close personal supervision over the institution. His success in this latter institution prompted him to found a like institution, which he opened on September 14, 1891, at Norristown, also under the title of the Schissler College of Business and Shorthand, which school has since received his entire time and attention. The first session opened with but ten pupils, but by the end of the year this number had been increased to twenty-five. In 1892 this number had grown to seventy-six, and two years later the enrollment had reached five hundred and ten-a growth that speaks eloquently for the facilities for first class business training which are offered.

 

(Page 109)

 

The Schissler College at Norristown is one of the finest and best equipped institutions of its kind in the United States. Its corps of teachers has been continually increased to meet the demands of its growing patronage, and every facility for practical business operations has been provided in liberal abundance. Shorthand, type-writing and bookkeeping are among the specialties taught here; and its Philadelphia office, situated in the Betz Building, is calling the attention of hundreds of young men and women to the institution. The reputation that Professor Schissler has acquired among the prominent bankers, professional and business men of Pennsylvania, is indicated by the fact that when he incorporated the institution in 1888, to widen its scope, he secured among its stockholders and directors some of the bed known citizens of the state, and the institution has gained a national reputation. The college patronage is not con-fined to Pennsylvania or the United States alone, having twenty-four students from foreign countries, representing Porto Rico, Cuba, Canada, England, France and Germany. Our subject, in 1893, was the youngest member of the International Business Educators Association of America. Mr. Schissler spends much of his time traveling in the interests of his college and no educator is better known throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

In political affairs Mr. Schissler, while extremely liberal in his views, has always leaned toward the Republican party, supporting the general policy of that organization. In local affairs, however, he is decidedly inclined to independence, and casts his ballot for the man that he thinks will best serve the interests of the people. In his business affairs he has shown ability and talent for general management, and has built up an establishment which entitles him to rank with the enterprising and progressive citizens of the commonwealth.

On the 18th day of September, 1890, Professor Schissler was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Cecilia Wunsch, daughter of Auselina and Margaretta Wunsch, of Manayunk, Philadelphia. To Mr. and Mrs. Schissler have been born five children:-four daughters and a son, namely: Marie Frances; Margaret Louisa, deceased; Charles Elliott; Louisa Cecelia; and Florence.

 

 

SAMUEL B. HARTLINE was born July 25, 1862, in Shanesville, Berks county, Pennsylvania, being the son of Samuel G. and Leah Anna (Bell) Hartline.

Samuel G. Hartline (father) was a blacksmith for many years, and later a farmer. He removed from Berks county to the farm where his son now lives, in Upper Pottsgrove township, in 1885, and died eight years later, at the age of sixty years. In politics he was a Democrat, and he and his family were Lutherans. They had two children Margaret, born in 1859, died in 1864, aged five years, four months and six days; Samuel B.

George Hartline (grandfather) lived in Berks county, where he was a mason by trade, and also engaged in farming. He married Katherine Gousert, and they died many years ago. They are buried in Oley church cemetery. Their children were: Benjamin, George, Edwin, Daniel, Samuel and Sallie. Charles Bell (maternal

 

(Page 110)

 

grandfather) lived in the vicinity of Pottstown all hi; life. He was a farmer and was always a prominent resident of Montgomery county. He served in the war of 1812, and was sixty-one years of age when he died. He married Margaret Garver, who died in 1890, aged ninety-one years, having survived her husband about thirty-three ears. Their children : Harriet, Rachel, Mary, Edith, Margaret, Leah Anna (mother), Charles, Calvin, and two who died young.

Samuel B. Hartline was in school until he was sixteen years of age, when he left school and started to work in a brick yard, where he remained for several years. Since that time he has been engaged on the farm. He also does a large milk business.

Samuel B. Hartline married Emma, daughter of William Browning, of Philadelphia. William Browning was a revenue collector and a prominent man in Philadelphia. Both he and his wife died young. Samuel B. and Emma Hartline had three children: Raymond Browning, born 1888, died March 6, 1901; Helen M., born 1890; Leonard Browning, born 1893.

 

 

HENRY B. TRACE, of West Pottsgrove township, Montgomery county, was born April 23, 1843, at Perkiomen junction, same county. He is the son of Nathan and Nary (Baker) Trace.

Nathan Trace (father) was a native of Berks county, where he removed when his son, Henry B. Trace, was six years of age. He lived on a farm in Berks county for forty years, dying in 1894 at the age of seventy-four, and is buried at Mount Zion's cemetery, Chester county. His wife died in 1857, being thirty-seven years of age at the time of her death. She is buried in the Pottstown cemetery. They belonged to the Lutheran denomination. Mr. Trace was a Democrat in politics. Nathan and Mary (Maker) Trace had seven children, five sons and two daughter;, as follows: Rebecca, married M. Yergey, and lives in Pottstown, where he was a carpenter, but is now deceased, they having fourteen children: Henry, William, married Elizabeth Engle residing in Monocacy, where he is a farmer, being a veteran of the Civil War, and they have nine children; Ellen (deceased), married Daniel Engle, and lived in Pottstown, where he is a butcher, and they had four children; John, who is employed in the iron industries in Berks county, married Lizzie Beidenbach, and they have four children; Frederick, unmarried, is an iron worker, being employed by the Valley Mill, in West Pottsgrove township; Augustus (deceased), died unmarried many years ago.

Conrad Trace (grandfather) lived in Berks county, where he followed his trade of a tailor. He died many years ago at the age of eighty years. He married Rebecca Baker, who also lived to be very old. They are buried in Pottstown cemetery. John Baker (maternal grand-father), and his wife Rebecca (Stineruck) Baker, lived on a farm in Berks county. They lived to an old age, and are buried in Amity township, Berks county. They had six children: Henry, John, Frederick, George, Charles, and Maria, of whom Henry lives retired in Philadelphia.

Henry B. Trace devoted most of his time until he was fourteen years of age to acquiring an education, and afterwards was occupied in farming for six years. In 1862 he enlisted in the Third Pennsylvania Regiment of Heavy Artillery, and served until the close of the war. He was discharged June 28, 1865. On returning to civil life he entered the employ of the iron mills, where he remained for thirty-three years, meanwhile purchasing the farm where he now lives, and which he has owned for twelve years.

On December 16, 1872, Henry I. Trace married Anna, daughter of Samuel and Anna (Levengood) Davidheiser. Mr. and Mrs. Davidheiser lived on the farm which is now the home of Mr. Trace for many years, he dying at the age of eighty-eight, and his wife at the age of sixty. They are buried in Pottstown. Mr. Trace purchased his farm from their estate after their death. David and Anna (Davidheier) Trace have had three children who are living, and one is dead. The living are: Edward, born September 3, 1882, is employed at Glendale as an iron worker being unmarried; Mary Ellen, born April 27, 1885, resides with her parents; Anna born July 2, 1888, also resides with her parents.

 

(Page 111)

 

Mr. Trace is a Republican in politics, and he and his family are members of the Lutheran church of Pottstown.

 

 

JACOB EDWARD BOYER, a farmer of West Pottsgrove township, was born August 10, 1840, in York county, Pennsylvania. He is the son of John and Eva (Diehl) Boyer.

John Boyer (father) was born in York county, Pennsylvania, and lived in that county and Cumberland county, which adjoins it, all his life. He was a millwright, and in the latter part of his life became the owner of a mill. He died at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the age of seventy-four years, and is buried in St. John's churchyard, Cumberland county. His wife survived him ten years, dying at the age of eighty-eight. She is buried in the same place. In politics he was a Democrat, and the family were members of the Lutheran church. John and Eva (Diehl) Boyer had eleven children: Israel (deceased), married Anne Zimm, who lives in Virginia, they being residents of Centre county at the time of his death, and having two children; Sarah (deceased) married Edward Pleager (deceased), they having lived in York county, and having one child; John (deceased) married Caroline Herring (deceased), they having been residents of Cumberland county, and having no children; Amelia, married Dr. Bigler, a practicing physician in York county, and they have three children; Amanda (deceased), married William Shoemaker, and had three children, they having made their home in Washington, D. C.; Rebecca, married Henry Heyd, and lived in Mechanicsburg, he being superintendent of an iron industry of Harrisburg, they had no children; Adeline, married J. W. Moser, they being farmers in Berks county, and having ten children; Elmina, married Irwin Barrett (deceased), they having resided in Florida, which is still her home, he having been a carpenter, and they had one child, Miles, who is unmarried, and is a truck raiser in Florida; Permilla, unmarried, lives in Florida also; Jacob E., subject of this sketch.

John Boyer (grandfather) was a native of York county, Pennsylvania, and died at an advanced age many years before Jacob E. Boyer was born. He and his wife were buried in York county, where he was a farmer. Jacob and ___ (Pleager) Diehl (maternal grandparents) ware residents of York county, and are buried at York, Pennsylvania.

Jacob Edward Boyer went to school until he was twenty-two years of age, and was afterwards engaged in farming and milling until the death of his parents. For nine years he managed a farm for himself, and then spent a year in Topeka, Kansas. After returning from the west he lived on a farm in Berks county for six years before removing to his present home.

In Mechanicsburg, June 15, 1879, Jacob Edward Boyer married Clara, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Smith) Eppley. Mr. and Mrs. Eppley are both deceased, she having died May 10, 1883, and her husband in April, 1902, she dying at the age of forty-one, and he at the age of eighty-eight. He was a merchant and farmer in Cumberland county, and they are buried in St. John's churchyard, that county. They had eleven children. Jacob Edward and Clara (Eppley) Boyer have three children: Permilla, born January 20, 1883, married George Francis, son of Hiram and Emma D. Francis, the couple living with J. E. Boyer, and having one child, Charlotte May, born December 12, 1901; Walter E., unmarried, born August 1, 1886; Bertha Irene, born January 17, 1890.

Mr. Boyer is a Democrat in politics, and the family are members of the Lutheran church, of Stowe.

 

 

FRANKLIN LUTZ JOHNSON, son of William and Hannah (Lutz) Johnson, is a native of Chalfont, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he was born December 11, 1853. He was educated in the public schools of New Britain and Hilltown townships, in Bucks county, and in those of Horsham township, Montgomery county. After relinquishing school studies, he lived with his parents until his arrival at manhood, when he went to Upper Darby township, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania. He was employed there in the butchering business with his uncle, G. Mahlon Lutz, with whom he remained for seven years. He married, in 1878, Anna M., daughter of Isaac Lyster, a farmer of Delaware county.

 

(Page 112)

 

Their children: Alma M. B., born March; 3, 1879, is unmarried, and resides at Yeadon, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania; William Harry, born June 3, 1880, is unmarried, and resides at Yeadon, where he is engaged in the dairy business; I. Lyster, born November 1, 1884, died November 1, 1888; Norman B., born in June, 1886, died in 1892. In the spring of 1880, Franklin L. Johnson established himself as a dealer in meats in the West Philadelphia market. In 1890, he retired from the market and devoted his time and attention to the meat trade in his immediate neighborhood. He is a Republican in politics, and takes an active interest in party matters. He was a member of Yeadon town council for five years. Later he was prominent in the Independent movement. He was also a member of the board of health in that borough for some time.

In the year 1900, Mr. Johnson decided to devote his attention to farming, and with that end in view purchased the George Thomas farm in Upper Gwynedd, containing 108 acres of land including 4 acres of woodland. The farm adjoins the "Comly Manse" farm and that of Francis Clark Johnson. The land is rolling, sloping to the beautiful Wissahickon which flows through it.

Mrs. Johnson having died, Mr. Johnson married, October 14, 1896, Anna Elizabeth Missimer, daughter of Ingelbert Leopold and Elizabeth (Moyer) Missimer, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Johnson was educated in the public schools of Reading, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Johnson operates the farm as a stock feeding establishment, killing the stock and selling the meat in the Philadelphia market. He has been very successful, and has a very desirable home in every respect.

William Johnson (father) was born in New Britain township, Bucks county. His father was a native of England, and emigrated to America, coming to Bucks county about 1820. He married Ann Ruth, whose parents resided near Line Lexington, in that county.

William Johnson was born October 30, 1827. He was reared on a farm, attending the schools of the district, and engaged in farming all his life. He married, January 30, 1853, Hannah, a daughter of Adam and Margaret (Bisbing) Lutz. Their children: Franklin L., subject of this sketch; Emma Elizabeth, born July 2, 1855, married, November 16, 1876, Claude Clymer, and has one child, Edward B., born February 13, 1878, and her first husband dying, married (second husband), February 25, 1882, J. J. Lewis; Roberts Moore, born November 13, 1859, married, in 1882, Lillian Rice, of Lambertville, New Jersey.

 

 

(Picture of Jonathan Y. Keck)

 

JONATHAN Y. KECK, wholesale butcher and meat packer of Pottstown, is a native of New Hanover township, where he was born March 25, 1860. He is the son of Daniel H. and Elizabeth (Yoder) Keck.

Daniel H. Keck (father) was a farmer all his life. He was a very useful man in his neighborhood, filling the position of justice of the peace for a period of eighteen years. He also took an; active interest in educational matters and was a member of the New Hanover school board for nearly twenty years.

Daniel H. Keck was one of the best-known residents of that section of Montgomery county, where he lived all his life. In. early manhood he taught school for fifteen years. He died February 26, 1896, in his sixty-sixth year. He was buried at Swamp. Mr. Keck was a Lutheran in religious faith. He was also, an active member of the Patrons of Husbandry. He and his wife had eleven children, two of whom died in infancy, and a third, a daughter, when sixteen years of age. The living children, are: Jonathan Y.; David J.; Joel Y.; Henry Y.;. William M.; Sarah, who married John Schwenk;: Emma, who married Oscar Seigenfuss; and Cora, who married William Gaugler.

David Keck (grandfather) married Rachel Hoch. He was a farmer and resided in New Hanover township all his life. The family originally settled in Oley. Mrs. Keck was born in 1802 and died October 2, 1868, in her sixty-sixth year. Mr. Keck was born in 1802 and died in 1886, at the age of eighty-four years. Both were members of the Lutheran church, and were buried at Sassamansville.

 

(Page 113)

 

The maternal grandparents of Jonathan Y. Keck were Jacob and Anna (Eshbach) Yoder. They were farmers and resided in Douglass township, affiliating with the Mennonite persuasion, and leading quiet, uneventful lives. The couple had fifteen children, of whom five are living, as follows: Elizabeth (mother); Abraham; Jacob, living in Virginia, where he is a school superintendent; Jonathan, who lives retired; and Mrs. Harriet Mensch, residing in New Hanover township. Jacob Yoder (great-grandfather) also resided in Douglass township. He was a farmer by occupation.

Jonathan Y. Keck attended the public schools of the neighborhood until he was about fourteen years of age and then turned his attention to farming, which he followed for about five years, when he went to Pottstown, where he engaged in the business of quarrying stone for about two years. He then obtained employment in a rolling mill for another year. After farming for himself three years he returned to Pottstown and engaged in the carting business for a few months, then started a retail butchering establishment, gradually enlarging his business, and is now engaged as a wholesale butcher and meat packer. He began in this line in 1886. His brother David joined him in the business in 1897, and the firm is known as J. Y. Keck & Brother, doing business at Nos. 17-23 Third street, Pottstown. In the plant he gives employment to fifteen men constantly. They cover a large field, handling the trade between here and Philadelphia, also in that city. They reach south to Washington, D. C., and as far south as the Carolinas, and also in Reading and Lebanon. The business is one of the principal enterprises of Pottstown. He erected the building which is used for the purposes of the firm, who operate a large establishment. Mr. Keck also built the house in which he lives. The wholesale business was started in the year 1900 and has been successfully carried on ever since. Mr. Keck has purchased several farms in the vicinity of Pottstown, where he keeps the stock intended for slaughtering, fattening them during the winter. He is a very enterprising business man, and the firm of which he is the head enjoys great prosperity.

Mr. Keck was married, August 13, 1880, to Hannah, daughter of Frederick and Caroline Nagle. Mr. Nagle was a quarryman and owned many of the quarries in that section of the county. Both he and his wife have been deceased many years.

Of the children of Jonathan Y. and Hannah Keck four are deceased and five living: Wilmer N., born April 6, 1882, a graduate of the Pottstown Business College, resides with his parents; Bertha May, born January 3, 1881, died January 23, 1885; Harvey A., born March 5, 1884, is a painter, and for one year has lived in Pittsburg, where he is engaged in contracting; Maud N., born October 5, 1887, and Bessie N., born January 24, 1889, reside with their parents; Lawrence, born February 9, 1886, died September 24, 1886; Daniel N., Born May 21, 1890, died at the age of six weeks; Jennie N., born March 19, 1892, resides with her parents; Jonathan N., born July 11, 1893, died on Christmas day, of the same year.

Mr. Keck is a Democrat in politics. He has been a member of the town council of Pottstown for twelve years, his last election occurring in the spring of 1904, when he received the largest vote ever carried by him,-double his opponent's vote. He is connected with several of the prominent enterprises of Pottstown. He belongs to the Order of American Mechanics, to the Patriotic Order of Sons of America, to the Foresters of America, the Masonic fraternity and Continental Beneficial Society. He has been a delegate to Democratic conventions of the county.

 

(Page 114)

 

HISTORY of THE EDEN MENNONITE CHURCH,

SCHWENKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

After William Penn had opened this country for settlers, the Mennonites regarded this a safe retreat against the persecutions which they had to endure in Europe. Many wended their way to the new world to find a home where religious liberty would be tolerated. From Crefeld, Muehlheim, Kriesheim and Holland, they came to this land of the setting sun, on the ship "Concord," and settled at Germantown, Philadelphia. From here they spread out to Montgomery county, and a congregation was founded at the Skippack in 1725, and this congregation is the mother of the Schwenksville congregation.

More than a century ago those of our denomination living west from Schwenksville assembled themselves in what is known as Herstein's school house, which was a customary place of church and school, with burial ground attached. It was named in honor of John Herstein, one of the foremost members. The congregation here numbered about forty members, but they never had a regular preacher. For a number of years they were served by the ministers from Germantown and Skippack. William Z. Gottshall, grandfather of the present pastor, was here ordained as deacon.

In the Schwenksville cemetery, opposite where Keeley's church used to stand, there stood a school house, like the one at Herstein's, used for church and school. Services were held there by the three different denominations, Lutherans, Reformed and Mennonites, the Mennonites holding services every four weeks. For some reason the Mennonites were not desirable partners to the other congregations in the use of the building. Accordingly, one cold Sunday morning, when Heinrich Hunsicker came to preach, no fire could be made, and upon investigation it was found that the stove pipe was stuffed full with wet snow. The Mennonites made no disturbance, but decided to build a house of worship for themselves. Deacon William Gottshall and Andrew Ziegler each offered, a piece of ground for this purpose, and a vote decided in favor of the latter. A stone structure was erected thereon in 1818. The building committee consisted of Henry Ziegler, William Z. Gottshall, Samuel Pannepacker, John Haldeman, John Bingeman, John Keelor, and John Herstein. The members from Herstein's united in this work, and subsequently had only occasional services in their school house. This place now became a branch of the Skippack congregation, with no minister of its own. Deacon William Gottshall used to go to the Franconia Conference to make arrangements for services with the different ministers, a different one preaching every, four weeks.

The congregation was not organized until October 28, 1847, when an organization was effected with thirty members. Steps were now taken to secure a minister, and on December 3d of the same year Moses Gottshall was ordained the first minister, in what was then known as Mine Hill congregation. In 1851 the old stone structure was razed to the ground, and a brick building erected inside the cemetery yard. About this time a Sunday school was started, but it met with considerable opposition. Under the pastorate of Rev. Moses Gottshall the congregation grew rapidly, and in 1850 it became an independent congregation, and he was ordained as bishop. In 1868 Samuel H. Longaker was chosen as assistant, but was released from active service two years later. In 1872 Nathanial B. Grubb was chosen as assistant, and continued until 1882, when he became pastor of the First Mennonite Church of Philadelphia. On October 15, 1884, William S. Gottshall, son of the Rev. Moses Gottshall, was ordained as his father's assistant, and November 24, 1886, as bishop.

The building of a new church being agitated, it was, after several years of hard struggling, wisely decided to build it in town. The ground was donated by Mrs. Mary Geiger, of Philadelphia, and the building was dedicated on November 18, 1894. The building committee consisted of Samuel H. Longaker, John H. Longaker, Isaac H. Freed, David H. Wasser, and John Z. Hunsberger. The building is a two-story structure, with convenient Sunday school arrangements in the basement, and an auditorium above. The congregation belongs to the Eastern District Conference, and also to the General Conference of Mennonites of North America. The present pastor, Rev. William S. Gottshall, is assisted by Rev. Harvey S. Gottshall, his nephew, whom he ordained to the ministry, March 16, 1902.

W. S. G.

 

(Page 115)

 

REV. WILLIAM S. GOTTSHALL is a direct descendant of Jacob Gottschall, a Mennonite minister who came to this country from Holland in 1702. He is believed to have been the second Mennonite minister in America. He remained among the Mennonites of Germantown a few years only, and then settled permanently in Skippack, where he became the pastor of that congregation. Rev. William S. Gottshall was born June 23, 1865, near Schwenksville. He is the son of Bishop Moses H. Gottshall, who was also a prominent Mennonite clergyman.

Bishop Gottshall (father) was born in the same house in which he died near Schwenksville, Frederick township, March 25, 1815. He was reared on the farm, and became himself a farmer by occupation, in accordance with traditions of the Mennonites, whose pastors usually followed some vocation aside from their ministerial calling. He was intelligent and naturally studious, but his education was limited, being only what the ordinary schools at that time furnished. He was the first pastor of the Schwenksville Mennonite congregation, having been elected in 1847. He was ordained a bishop in 1850. He organized the Bowmansville congregation in Lancaster county, in 1855, and the first Mennonite church in Philadelphia in 1865. The following congregations were in his charge as a bishop of the Mennonite church: Schwenksville, Bertolet's, Bowmansville, Deep Run, Boyertown and Philadelphia, but only in the first five at the time of his death, which occurred October 26, 1888, at the age of seventy-three years and seven months. Some idea of the esteem in which he was held may be conveyed by the number of people in attendance at his funeral, fully fifteen hundred being present. It was the largest ever held in that community. Twenty-seven ministers of different denominations were among those in attendance. Bishop Gottshall was one of the most influential ministers in the Mennonite denomination. He was a man of great piety, of strong convictions, and thoroughly imbued with the importance of right living. He was an eloquent and forcible speaker, exerting a powerful influence upon his audience as the words of truth came from his heart, and flowed from his lips. He had few equals for popularity among all denominations.

Rev. William S. Gottshall was occupied on the homestead farm until he was seventeen years of age, attending school in the vicinity of his home a few months during each winter in the intervals of farm employment. He also studied two spring terms at Perkiomen Seminary, Pennsburg, and one at Ursinus College. He began to teach public schools at seventeen years of age, being engaged in this occupation for three terms. On October 15, 1884, he was ordained to the ministry as his father's assistant, and on November 24, 1886, he was ordained as bishop. Through the kindly interest of one of the directors of Ursinus, the president of that college invited him to join the theological class at that institution, from which he graduated in 1889. The father's five congregations became also the son's, and he served them all for four years, resigning that at Deep Run in 1892, and that at Boyertown in 1895. In the last named year he organized the First Mennonite church of Pottstown, and became its pastor, his present charge comprising Schwenksville, Bertolet, Pottstown and Bowmansville.

Bishop Gottshall is an able, eloquent and forcible preacher, an earnest and indefatigable church worker, and is thoroughly devoted to the welfare of the congregations in his charge. He is widely known, and is highly respected by all who know him. He has held many prominent positions in the Mennonite church, including the following: Secretary for a number of years of the Home Mission Committee of the Eastern Conference; member of the Foreign Mission Board of the General Conference from 1893 to 1896; director of the Bethel College at Newton, Kansas, from 1896 to 1900: business manager of The Mennonite, the English organ of the church, from 1899 to 1901; secretary of the Eastern Conference since 1893; treasurer of the Home Mission Board of the General Conference since 1896; member of the Eastern Conference Publication Committee since 1899; and others. He has been elected a school director of the borough of Schwenksville. and is treasurer of the board, and chaplain of the Mennonite Home for the Aged, at Frederick, Pennsylvania.

 

(Page 116)

 

Bishop Gottshall married, on September 22, 1886, at Lincoln, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, Nancy K. Von Neida, daughter of Henry and Sallie Von Neida, of Bowmansville. Her ancestors were from Switzerland, where they belonged to the nobility. Their children: Aaron Elmer, born October 13, 1889; Jennie May, born January 24, 1892; Flora Alberta, born February 27, 1896; Paul Herbert, born February 12, 1898.

 

 

GEORGE M. DOWNING, principal of Abington Friends' School, at Jenkintown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is a son of Samuel Rhoads and Mary Miller (Goodwin) Downing, of East Goshen township, Chester county, Pennsylvania.

The Downings are an old family of Chester county. Thomas Downing, born at Bradninch, in Devonshire, England, in 1691, died at Downingtown, in 1772, aged eighty-one years. The village of Downingtown was named for him, its settler. He was three times married, his first wife being Ellen, his second Thomazine, by whom he had eleven children. The third of these, Richard, married Mary Edge, in 1741. He was born in 1719, and died in 1803. His wife was born in 1721, and died in 1795. Among the children of Richard and Mary Downing was Jacob, born 1756, died 1823. He married, in 1787, Sarah Sandwith Drinker. His wife was born in 1761, and died in 1807. Their children were Henry, Elizabeth, Mary, Henry 2d, Sarah, and Sandwith, all of whom married except the first, who died in infancy.

Sandwith Downing (grandfather) was born in Philadelphia, 10th-mo. 24, 1799, and died 4th-mo. 4, 1847, in Susquehanna county. He married, 12th-mo. 22, 1829, Lydia, daughter of Peter and Phebe (Sharpless) Smedley. She was born 11th-mo. 22, 1797, and died 6th-mo. 29, 1835. Samuel Rhoads Downing, father of George M. Downing, is their only child.

Samuel Rhoads Downing was in early manhood the editor and proprietor of the Chester Comity Times. A fearless anti-slavery man, he supported Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in 1860. In 1863 he sold the newspaper and took up his residence on the farm in East Goshen on which he still lives. He has been deeply interested in agriculture, road improvement, education and progressive measures generally. He has served for many years as a member of the state board of agriculture. He married, April 25, 1861, Mary Miller, daughter of Thomas and Phebe (Miller) Goodwin. They have three children, all sons, and all occupying useful stations in life. Henry H. is a physician in East Goshen township; Charles T. G. is a farmer on the homestead, and George fuller is the subject of this sketch.

George H. Downing was born in East Goshen township, April 1, 1868, and at the age of twenty years graduated from the Pennsylvania State College with the degree of Bachelor of Science. From 1890 to 1892 he was instructor in physics and electrical engineering in the Pennsylvania State College. He also taught in the University of New Brunswick at Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 1899 he was appointed principal of Abington Friends' School. He married, September 5, 1894, Ida May Cornog, daughter of George W. and Elizabeth Righter, of Radnor township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. She was born May 3, 1871, and educated at Friends' Central School, Philadelphia. The couple have a son, Harold Sandwith, born March 7, 1898. Professor Downing has filled the position he now holds very successfully, and is recognized as one of the ablest educators of the day.

Abington Friends' School was established by the monthly Meeting in accordance with the bequest of John Barnes, who by deed dated 2d-mo. 5, 1697, vested 120 acres of land in Abington township, near the present borough of Jenkintown, in trustees for the benefit of a meetinghouse, and the maintenance of a school. The meeting house and school afterwards located in a magnificent grove of oaks which still remains. The meeting-house was finished about the close of the seventeenth century, and the school was established later. The school was long a day school, but in 1886 the new building was erected, and later an addition built to it, the two forming the large structure now in use.

 

(Page 117)

 

The school is under the care of a committee appointed by Abington Monthly Meeting. It is the aim of the institution to supply a thorough education at a moderate cost, and to promote the moral as well as the intellectual welfare of the pupils. The main building is of stone, substantial and comfortable, well lighted and ventilated, and heated by steam. On the ground floor are the school rooms, office, reception room, laboratory and gymnasium, and the two upper stories are used as dormitories. The number of resident students is limited to sixty, thirty of each sex. In all the school grounds comprise ten acres. Owing to the endowment already mentioned, the land given by John Barnes, which now composes two fertile and productive farms, the school authorities are able to fix lower rates for board and tuition than are usual in institutions of this character. The income is applied to keeping up the standard of excellence in the school, and no part to the payment of dividends. The school has over a hundred pupils, and under the management of Professor Downing and an able corps of assistants, the whole under the supervision of a committee appointed by the Monthly Meeting, is in a most flourishing condition. The situation of the school is high and healthful, and it is located in a beautiful section of country. There is a valuable library for the use of students, and a series of lectures are given each year to the school and its friends. During the past seven years the students have published a monthly paper, the White and Blue, which is conducted with considerable ability. The course of study- is broad and the instruction thorough, so that the school is in every way a model of what such an institution of learning should be.

 

 

HENRY W. NAGLE, a farmer and quarryman of Pottsgrove township, was born in the township where he now lives, September 19, 1845 He is the son of Frederick and Caroline (Weaver) Nagle.

Frederick Nagle (father) was born March 11, 1821, in Douglass township, Berks county, and was baptized by Rev. Spencer. His wife was born October 26, 1826, being the daughter of Jacob Weaver. They resided in Glasgow for many years, being prominent residents of that place. He was a miller by trade. In politics he was a Democrat, and they were members of the Reformed church. Their children were as follows: Jacob, born February 19, 1844, died from a wound received in the Civil war, which resulted in lockjaw, dying in the hospital July 8, 1862, and is buried in Pottstown cemetery, was in Company A, Fifty-third Regiment, under Colonel Brooks; Levi, born April 16, 1848, lives in Florida, where he owns a large orange grove, married (first wife) Miss Scandall, and had four children, married (second wife) and has three children; Augustus, born April 8, 1850, died in infancy; William, born November 16, 1851, married Miss Levan, and had four children, only one of which is living, he died in 1883, buried at Mount Zion cemetery, his widow and child living in Philadelphia; Hannah, born October 6, 1854, married John Keck, a butcher in Pottstown, and they have five children; George, born April 16, 1857, married (first wife) Miss Reifsnyder, having three children, and (second wife) Miss Swavely, having- three children: Sarah, born October 26, 1858, married James Bechtel, an engineer for Ellis & Lessig, Pottstown, they having two children; Caroline (deceased), died in 1881, married Mr. Freedman, a lumberman in Luzerne county, they having no children; Harrison, born July 8, 1875, married and lives in Pottstown, they having one child; Henry W. Frederick Nagle (father) married (second wife) Emma Hartranft, who is living in Pottstown. They had four children, Harrison, Frederic, Joseph, Mary. Frederick Nagle died March 27, 1887, at the age of sixty-seven. Mrs. Nagle resides at 450 Beech street, Pottstown.

John and Sallie (Evans) Nagle, the grandparents of Henry W. Nagle, lived in Pottsgrove township, Montgomery county, where he was a miller during his lifetime. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a prominent resident of the county. He died at the age of eighty-nine, his wife dying several years before him, and they are buried in Pottstown cemetery. Their children: John, Levi, Samuel, Frederick, William, and several others who died young. Jacob and Hannah (Yocum) Weaver, maternal grand-parents of Henry W. Nagle, lived in Berks county, where he was engaged in the furnace buss-ness. He died at the age of eighty years, and his wife survived him for many years, both being buried in Pottstown cemetery. They had many children, all deceased.

 

(Page 118)

 

Henry W. Nagle received his education in the schools in the vicinity of his home, leaving school to work on his father's farm, at the age of fourteen. October 16, 1862, he volunteered his services to the Union, and enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Seventy-fifth Regiment, under Colonel Samuel A. Dyer, and afterwards joined the Sixty-eighth Regiment, Company H, under Colonel Tippen. He endured the hardships of war for three years, and participated in many battles and skirmishes. He was discharged in July, 1865. Returning to his home, Mr. Nagle worked for his father on the farm and in the stone quarry, and in time carried on the business for himself.

Henry W. Nagle married Barbara, daughter of Louis and Catherine (Keeler) Byer. Her father was a mechanic and a manufacturer in Pottstown for many years, and he and his wife are buried in Pottstown cemetery. They had eleven children: Amansina, Lucretia, Celeste, Jerome, Barbara, Mary, Jefferson, Louis, Henry and Catharine.

Henry W. and Barbara Nagle had four children: Louis Frederick, married Mary Shaner; Cora, married Anson D. Longaker, and they live in Pottstown, where he is a templet maker, they, have three children; Catherine, a milliner in Pottstown ; Anna, a teacher in the public schools of Pottstown.

Henry W. Nagle built the house in which he lives in 1884, and few better or more improved farms will be found than his. In politics he is a Republican, and has long been a school director for his township. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church of Pottstown. Mr. Nagle is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 595, Pottstown.

 

 

HARVEY G. SHANER, the leading hotel keeper of Douglass township, was born June 25, 1865, in Berks county, Pennsylvania. He is the son of William and Rebecca (Gross) Shaner. William Shaner died in 1884. His widow was born in 1836, and now resides in Boyertown. Her husband was forty-nine years of age at the time of his death. He was buried in Boyertown cemetery. Mr. William Shaner was a carpenter and builder. In politics he was a Democrat, and although never very active in party affairs, he was a leader in several progressive enterprises in the community in which he lived. The children of William and Rebecca (Gross) Shaner: Emma, married E. H. Johnson, and they live in New Hanover township, where he is a prosperous farmer, they having ten children; Jacob, married Sallie Stout, and they are farmers in New Hanover, they having seven children; Mary, married Dr. Boneman, a practicing physician of Boyertown, Berks county, they having four children Harvey, the subject of this sketch; and Catharine, died very young.

Jacob and Mary Shaner (grandparents) lived in Berks county. He followed the trade of carpet weaver throughout his life. They died many years ago and are buried at Boyertown. He was also a Democrat. Jacob and Mary Gross (maternal grandparents) also lived at Boyertown, and followed the occupation of farming. He died between 1870 and 1880, and his wife survived until 1897. They are buried at Hill Church graveyard, Berks county.

Harvey G. Shaner attended school until he was sixteen years of age, and then started to learn the trade of saddler. He followed this occupation for thirteen years, and then worked in the livery business in Boyertown for some time. After abandoning the livery business he took charge of the hotel which he still manages, in Gilbertsville.

On December 26, 1892, Harvey G. Shaner married Naomi, daughter of Milton and Emma (Fisher) Gilbert, of Gilbertsville, where he is engaged in business as a blacksmith. They have two children: Catharine, married James Leister, who resides in Gilbertsville, where he is engaged in dealing in horses, having two children; Naomi, wife of Mr. Shaner. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey G. Shaner have no children. Mrs. Shaner was married previously to Harry Hittle, they having one child, Bertha, born in 1884 and residing with her mother and stepfather. Mr. Shaner is a member of the Order of Knights of Friendship, No. 55, of the Ancient Order United American Mechanics, at Swamp, No. 976, also of the Ancient Order Knights of the Mystic Chain, No. 46, of Boyertown. He is also a member of the Royal Arch Masons of Norristown. In politics he is a Democrat, being a staunch supporter of the principles and candidates of the party, although he has never sought or held office. He has a high reputation as a hospitable and accommodating landlord,, and has greatly prospered in the hotel business.

 

(Page 119)

 

 

HUGH TENER LANGSTROTH, son of Thomas Henry Langstroth and Mary E.(Hauss) Langstroth, was born May 9, 1863, in the city of Philadelphia, where his father was engaged with a firm of interior decorators.

He attended the public schools of his native city until his sixteenth year, when he entered the employ of John B. Stetson, founder of the Stetson Hat Manufacturing Company, as an apprentice in the finishing department. He remained in this department as an apprentice for five years, becoming perfectly familiar with every detail of the business, being a careful and conscientious workman. He was steadily advanced by his employers, and ultimately attained the position of superintending foreman of the finishing department, and was in charge of more than five hundred skilled employees. The progress made by Mr. Langstroth in his particular line of work, attaining the commanding position which he holds with the John B. Stetson Company, speaks well for his energy, stability and general trustworthiness of character. In the affairs of church and politics, as well as educational work, Mr. Langstroth is greatly interested. In 1903 he purchased the well known place, "Shady Side," formerly the home of Dr. Tyson, at Penllyn, which he has greatly improved, and where he resides with his parents and sisters. Mr. Langstroth is unmarried.

 

 

THOMAS HENRY LANGSTROTH, son of Thomas and Hannah B. Langstroth, was born October 15, 1830, at Trenton, New Jersey. He attended the schools of his native town, and later the school at Mount Holly, New Jersey, kept by a Dr. Miller, a boarding institution for boys which had quite a reputation in its day. Leaving school at the age of seventeen years, he entered the store of Richardson & Company, on Market street, Philadelphia, as a junior clerk, but soon returned to his father's farm in Horsham town-ship, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania.

He remained there until his marriage in 1854 to Mary Elizabeth, born February 20, 1836, daughter of Jacob Weber and Ann (McVaugh) Hauss, farmers of Worcester township in the same county. For two years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Langstroth lived on the farm now owned by Jacob Hoffman, in Gwynedd township, same county, until the spring of 1857, when they removed to the town of Northeast, Mary-and, where he conducted a livery stable and mail route. He remained there until 1861, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, when he was drafted into the quartermaster's department of the Union army, and as wagon master piloted the supply wagon train to Washington, District of Columbia. In 1862 he was transferred to Fortress Monroe, and from that place followed up the Union army in its operations in eastern Virginia. In the fall of that year he returned to the northeast under the disability act, and immediately went to Philadelphia, where he recuperated and later enlisted in the Fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, commonly known as Governor Curtin's Regiment, and later; was honorably discharged. Subsequently he entered the employ of Hall, Garrison & Company, interior decorators, with whom he remained until 1888. In the spring of that year, Mr. Langstroth removed to Penllyn, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased an acre of ground from John C. Richardson, a contractor, and engaged in building on the property as his future home, having retired from active business life. He has always taken an active interest in the Republican party, of which he has been a lifelong member. In religious faith the family are members of the Presbyterian church.

 

(Page 120)

 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Langstroth: Edward Clifford, born April 12, 1855, married Mary Louisa, daughter of Christian Hagenswiler, of Philadelphia; Emma Frances, born June 12, 1858, resides in Philadelphia, unmarried; Annie Elizabeth, born March 16, 1860, married Henry Augustus, son of Lucius Maull; H. Tener, born May 9, 1863, engaged as a foreman in the hat finishing department of J. B. Stetson & Sons, Philadelphia, resides at the Langstroth home "Shady Side," Penllyn; Mary Ella, born March 25, 1866, married, February 20, 1889, Ellsworth Niblock, having two children, Pauline Eleanor, born June 4, 1890, and Ruth Elizabeth, born April 6, 1894; Benjamin Wilmer, born December 21, 1867, married Lillian Bell McClain, their child being Dorothy Margaret, and they living in Brooklyn, New York; Henry Herbert, born October 22, 1872, married Laura Anna daughter of Charles Hoover of Ambler, and had one child, Hugh Tener, born August 23, 1903, died in 1904; Sarah Hauss, born September 18, 1875, resides at "Shady Side," unmarried; Bessie Mabel, born May 31, 1879, unmarried, and resides at "Shady Side".

 

 

(Picture of John D. Apple)

 

MISS HANNAH APPLE, of Pottstown, is the daughter of John D. Apple, a successful politician and a very prominent man in his day. He was born in New York, August 23, 1808. His parents emigrated from England to America and both died soon after their arrival in this country, being buried in New York city. Besides their son, John D. Apple, they had a daughter, Mary, who was reared by James Evans, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She married Benjamin Engert and removed to Palmyra, Burlington county, New Jersey, where Mr. Engert followed farming They are both deceased. They had five children, of whom some survive.

John D. Apple was reared in Worcester township, Montgomery county, in a family of Friends named Hoxworth. He was apprenticed to learn the blacksmith trade, and completed his term, but never followed that occupation, fate having other things in store for him. Through his indomitable energy he became self-educated until he was competent to take charge of a school, after which his progress was very rapid. He located in the upper section of Montgomery county, where he soon became a prominent citizen.

John D. Apple was for many years the most prominent Democratic politician in the upper section of Montgomery county, and for many years the intimate and personal friend of Hon. John B. Sterigere, and his staunch supporter until the latter's death in 1852, at the age of fifty-three years.

Mr. Apple was elected a justice of the peace in Marlborough township, a position which he held for many years, transacting much neighbor-hood business and enjoying the confidence of the entire community. He engaged in the occupations of surveying and conveyancing and drew the drafts and title deeds for much property in that part of Montgomery county. Their fine execution and perfect accuracy attest his proficiency in the business and furnish abundant testimony of his artistic methods. He had no superior in this line. He was an extensive reader of standard works and magazines, and was one of the few American subscribers to Blackwood's Magazine, the Penny Magazine and other noted British publications. Of studious nature, he became a good Greek, Latin and French scholar and an excellent mathematician.

In his younger years John D. Apple took an active part in military affairs and was captain of the Sumneytown Artillerists, who served during the Philadelphia riots in 1844. Jesse Fenstermacher was second lieutenant and others of the company were Jacob Gilbert, George Gangler, William Gilbert, Daniel Heffner, Charles Hersh, Henry Hersh, John Kepp, Henry Nace, John Royer, Christopher Royer, Tobias Shuller, John Shuler and William Sheffer.

 

(Page 121)

 

On Sunday, May 19, 1834, John D. Apple married Sarah, daughter of John and Betty (Walter) Bitting, of New Hanover township. She was born November 11, 1807, and died June 23, 1884. Her father was a constable for many years and was a colonel in the War of 1812. His father, Anthony Bitting, was a colonel in the Revolutionary war. Anthony and Elizabeth Bitting came to America April 23, 1723, on the ship Franksheimer. He was a farmer.

The children of John D. and Sarah Apple were: Caroline, born August 8, 1836, and died January 5, 1837; Mary Ann, born May 3, 1838, and died March 23, 1892; Jane, born October 17, 1840, and died May 2, 1843; Hannah, born October 11, 1842; John Wright, born December 30, 1844, and died June 16, 1887; Sarah Jane, born February 5, 1849, and died unmarried, October 22, 1902; Lewis, born September 8, 1851, and died January 30, 1889.

J. Wright Apple, son of John D. Apple, attended the public schools and later Frederick Institute and Freeland Seminary, now Ursinus College, at Collegeville. In 1867 he entered the law office of George N. Corson as a student, and was admitted to the Montgomery county bar, August 17, 1869. He soon acquired a large practice and on January 1, 1876, was appointed solicitor for the county commissioners. In 1877 he was chosen district attorney and during his term of office had occasion to assist Henry S. Hager, district attorney of Philadelphia, in the noted case of Blasius Pastorius, which had been taken there on a change of venue, and acquitted himself with much credit. He was very diligent and energetic in the practice of his profession. He served as delegate to the Democratic conventions and was a local party leader. His death cut short his promising career.

Lewis C. Apple, youngest son of John D. Apple, was clerk to the county commissioners and served as deputy prothonotary of Montgomery county for three years. He and his brother are buried in the Pottstown cemetery.

John D. Apple died April 9, 1862, and his wife survived for twenty-two years. She belonged to the Lutheran church. All of the members of the family are buried in Pottstown cemetery, except the three eldest who were interred in Lower Salford township, Montgomery county.

Ten years after John D. Apple's death, in 1872, his family removed to Pottstown and built the home where Hannah Apple still lives. Miss Hannah Apple is the only surviving member of the family. She has reared and is educating Miss Mary Jane Toms, who lives with her. Miss Apple works a great deal for charity. She has a very fine collection of antiques.

 

 

CHRISTIAN A. ALDERFER. The Alderfer family were among the earliest settlers in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. They came to this country from Germany and settled near Philadelphia, later removing to Lower Salford town-ship, where they have long been domiciled. For many generations they have been among the thriftiest and most industrious residents of that section of Pennsylvania.

On of the descendants of the early settlers was Abraham, grandfather of Christian Alderfer, the subject of this sketch, who was born in Lower Salford township in 1812, and died in 1895. He was born on the family homestead, and was educated in the schools of the vicinity. He then turned his attention to farming, in which pursuit he was engaged all his life. He married Miss Elizabeth Bergey, of the same township, and by this marriage seven daughters and three sons were born, all of whom grew to maturity and were good citizens in their day. Their son Abraham was the father of Christian A. Alderfer. He was born on the Lower Salford homestead in 1839, and is still living. He was educated in Lower Salford schools, and then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed until recent years, when he has lived more of a retired than active life. He is a man of wonderful powers of observation, being decidedly above the average in natural ability. He is an active supporter of Republican principles and candidates, and while he has held no office he has at all times been willing to aid his party to the best of his ability with his vote and with his influence, and in any manner that is available. Mr. Alderfer married Miss Helena Allebach, of Lower Salford township, who is also living. They have had the following children: Wilson, Sophia, Henry, Hannah, Allen, Rinehart, Ann, Elizabeth and Christian A., subject of this sketch.

 

(Page 122)

 

Christian A. Alderfer was born on the homestead in Lower Salford, October 2, 1864. He obtained his education in the ordinary way in the public schools of the neighborhood, also assisting his father on the farm. In 1886 he went to Greenlane, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where he clerked in a store and acquired a knowledge of mercantile pursuits. Later he went to Zieglerville and established himself in mercantile business, remaining there five years. He then decided to remove to Souderton and engage in business, which he did, opening a shoe and clothing store in conjunction with his brother Henry, which they have very successfully conducted, being among the leading business men of Souderton.

Mr. Alderfer is an earnest Republican, and is a useful and valued member of the school board of Souderton. He and his family attend the Lutheran church. He is emphatically a selfmade man, and enjoys the confidence and good will of his fellow citizens without reference to party affiliations. Mr. Alderfer married, in 1888, Miss Lydia Alderfer, who died in 1904. She was the daughter of John Alderfer, of Lower Salford township. By this marriage the following children were born: Linford, Miriam, Edna, Curtis.

 

 

JAMES KRAMER RENNER, son of John R. and Elizabeth (Kramer) Renner, was born in Hilltown township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where his parents at that time resided. James attended the public schools of the vicinity until his sixteenth year. In the meantime he was working on the farm during the school term at intervals and in vacations, which were much longer than they are at the present time. When there was no work to be done at home he hired with neighboring farmers. At the age of eighteen years he engaged with Samuel Englemeyer to learn the carpenter trade, remaining with him for two years. He then returned to farming and was employed by Joseph L. Heebner, at Norritonville, for three years. Later he worked for Henry Metz, of Franconia, and then for Elias Kooker, of Worcester, for one year.

Mr. Renner married Susan, daughter of Mahlon Van Heist, of Worcester township. After his marriage he removed to Hatfield township, near Lansdale, and was employed for some time in the machine works of David S. Heebner & Sons. He also assisted his father-in-law on his farm in Worcester township for four years, renting it and operating it for a dairy for four years. He then removed to Skippackville, where he was for two years on a rented farm of fifty acres, operating it as a dairy. He rented several farms in succession, including that of John Bean, and also the farm of Henry Frick, in Whitpain township, where he remained for five years. He also rented the Reinhart farm, near Narcissa. After one year on the farm of Francis J. Houston, near Ambler, and some time spent at Montgomery Square, Mr. Renner became a tenant on the "Evergreen Farm" of William M. Singerly, in Upper Gwynedd, near North Wales, now owned by Thomas P. Greger. He next tenanted the farm of Dr. Kunkle at Fort Washington, formerly the Eberhard Flues farm, and returned in 1901 to the "Evergreen Farm," which he operates as a dairy, and in conjunction with his son manages the Davis Farm also, the first containing ninety-seven acres and the other 118 acres, or 215 acres in all. In politics Mr. Renner is a Republican, and has always supported the nominees of that party.

John Renner (father) was the son of Adam Renner. John Renner was a farmer and stone mason. He married, in youth, Elizabeth Kramer, and had a family of nine children, as follows Simon, married Hannah Frederick, and resides at Souderton; Sarah, married James Snyder and resides in Rockhill township; William, married Sarah Hunsicker, and resides at Perkasie; Elizabeth, married William B. Woodward, of Franconia; Noel, married Kate Brooks; Amanda; James K., subject of this sketch; Katharine; and John, married Mary Alexander.

 

(Page 123)

 

Mahlon Van Heist, father of Mrs. Renner, was raised on a farm and attended the district school. He followed farming all his life. He married Catherine, daughter of Isaac and Susan (Heebner) Cassel, of Norriton township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Their children: John Cassel, married Rachel Snyder, who died, and married (second wife) Martha Hallman, of Evansburg, and resides in Worcester township; Mary C., married Charles Lownes, and resides at Randolph Hotel, Twenty-third and Spring Garden streets, Philadelphia; Susan, wife of Mr. Renner.

The children of James K. and Susan Renner Clara Emma, born November 8, 1875, died October 31, 1876; Mahlon, born August 29, 1877, married Marion Graham, daughter of James Graham, of Lower Gwynedd, their children being Charles, born February 28, 1899, and James Raymond, born February 24, 1901, and Marion, born May 26, 1903; Mary Catherine, born May 26, 1880, deceased; Lillian Amanda, born July 16, 1882, died August 21, 1897; Susan, born March 25, 1886, died young; John Harrison died in childhood.

 

 

ALFRED HENRY LEISTER, born December 5, 1853, died October 26, 1903, was the son of Noah R. and Emeline (Frederick) Leister, both ,deceased and buried at Sassamansville. They died at an advanced age. Mr. Leister was a blacksmith by trade, and also followed farming in Montgomery county and Berks. The couple, who were members of the Lutheran church, had eight children as follows: Edwin, unmarried, residing at New Hanover Square, has been engaged in teaching, and also as a farmer; Alfred H., subject of this sketch; Benjamin Franklin, married Mary Jones, and is a farmer in Frederick township, they having one child, Wayne; B. Francis, married Catharine Christman (first wife) they living in Fagleysville, and having several children; he married (second wife) Sallie Young, the couple living in Norristown, where he was deputy county treasurer for several years, and is now a bookkeeper, they having no children; James N., married Catharine Gilbert, and is a farmer residing at Gilbertsville; Sarah Ann, died at the age of eight years; Irwin, married Miss Heinbach, they residing in New Hanover and having two living children; he is a farmer; Noah, married Mary Bortman, and has four children; he is a farmer in Berks county.

Philip Leister (grandfather) was a mason by trade, and was a resident of Montgomery county. His wife was Mary Leister. He died many years ago, at a very advanced age. He came from Bucks county, where he was born and reared. The couple had eight children: David, Noah (father), Joseph, John, Philip, Elizabeth, Catharine and Mary, of whom only Elizabeth and Joseph survive. Philip Leister's wife died about the same time as himself.

Noah Leister and his son Alfred Henry (subject of this sketch) died on the same day, October 26, 1903, and were buried at Sassamansville cemetery. Alfred Leister's maternal grandparents were Henry and Susanna (Fox) Frederick. They lived in Montgomery county. Both died many years ago. He was a farmer by occupation. They had the following children: Susanna, Elizabeth, Caroline, Emeline (mother), Edward, and one child who died very young.

Alfred H. Leister attended school until he was about fifteen years of age. He then went to college for a time, and taught school in New Hanover township for ten terms. He then worked at farming, and also in Philadelphia, where he learned cigar making. He then went into the creamery business, in which he was engaged until the time of his death.

Mr. Leister married, September 11, 1880, Catharine Jones, daughter of Edward Jones, whose wife was a Miss Cleaver. Mrs. Leister was born June 19, 1860. Her father was a farmer by occupation. Their children: Isaac, Lewis, Sarah, Emma, Catharine (Mrs. Leister) and Mary. Mrs. Leister having died in 1883, Mr. Leister married (second wife) in September, 1887, Sophia, daughter of Henry and Rebecca Erb, who lived in the same vicinity. He was a farmer and shoemaker. Both Mr. and Mrs. Erb are deceased. They were buried at Sassamansville graveyard. By the first marriage, Mr. Leister had one son Austin, who is twenty-two years of age. He resides in Philadelphia where he is engaged as a stenographer. He was born July 29, 1881. By the second marriage there are two children, Mamie Agnes, born July 2, 1889, and Minie May, born September 27, 1891.

 

(Page 124)

 

Mr. Leister was a Democrat in politics, as are all the family. He was a member of the New Hanover school board for six years, and township auditor for the same length of time. He was a member of the following organizations: Camp 104, Patriotic Order Sons of America; Lodge No. 228, Knights of the Golden Eagle; Council No. 976, Order United American Mechanics; Knights of Friendship, No. 55; Tribe 388, Improved Order of Red Men. The family are members of the Lutheran church at Sassamansville.

 

 

JOHN MATTHIAS KULP, son of Simon and Isabella (Davis) Kulp, was born in the house in which he now lives, in Upper Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, near the borough of North Wales, December 12, 1848. He attended the public school in North Wales until his fifteenth year, when he entered the Friends' Academy at Doylestown, remaining there for a term and a half. He then returned to the homestead and assisted his father in the varied duties of farm life.

Mr. Kulp married, March 29, 1881, Elizabeth, born October 8, 1856, daughter of Montgomery and Catharine (Stratton) Caracher, of Marietta, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, the couple locating at once on the homestead farm. Their children: Irvin Simon, born March 30, 1882, attended the Meredith school in Upper Gwynedd, near his home, until his sixteenth year, when he entered the Brunner Academy and School of Business, at North Wales, where he remained two years, and then returned to the farm, where he still resides, being unmarried; Charles, born July 12, 1883, attended the public school known as the Meredith School, and Brunner's Academy, and resides with his parents; Howard Montgomery, born September 25, 1884, attended the Meredith School, and resides with his parents; Benjamin, born April 15, 1886; John Leroy, born November 24, 1887; Jennie Caracher, born January 30, 1890; Irene S. born January 4, 1895; Helen Elizabeth, born January 6, 1901.

John Matthias Kulp, on reaching the age of manhood at first rented his father's farm, working it on shares, according to the custom in many rural neighborhoods. He continued thus until the death of his father, August 27, 1891, when he inherited the estate, being the only child of his parents. The farm contains sixty-eight acres of fine land. He gives attention to general farming and maintains a dairy, attending the Philadelphia markets. The family are members of the Montgomery Square Methodist church.

Mr. Kulp is a Republican in politics, and is actively interested in local elections and other matters. He has been a member of the board of school directors of the district for six years, having been its treasurer a portion of the time. He has been an active election worker for many years.

Simon Kulp (father), born September 14, 1819, and died August 27, 1891, was the son of Benjamin and Eleanor (Hoxworth) Kulp. He was born in the home now occupied by his son, John M. Kulp. He received an ordinary education and followed farming for a livelihood, being very successful in that pursuit. He married, November 19, 1844, Isabella, daughter of Benjamin Davis, of Chester county, Pennsylvania. The couple had two children, John Matthias Kulp, subject of this sketch, and Annie, who died in childhood. Simon Kulp was a Republican in politics, after the Whig party ceased to exist. He was active in party affairs, but never sought or held office.

Benjamin Kulp (grandfather), born August 20, 1779, died May 16, 1862, and was the son of Isaac and Rachel (Johnson) Kulp. Benjamin was a farmer by occupation. He married Eleanor Hoxworth, of an old family in that section of Montgomery county. He was a sister of the mother of General Winfield Scott Hancock. Their children: Ann, born December 8, 1806, married Asa Thomas, a farmer of Upper Gwynedd township; Isaac, born November 6, 1808, his wife being named Catharine; Enos, born August 27. 1810, married Sarah Boot: Rachel, born October 12, 1812, married Lewis Stagner; Margaret, born September 28, 1814, married Elias H. Keisen; Eleanor, born August 29, 1817, died young; Simon (father); Oliver, born July 18, 1825, married Mary Wright, daughter of a farmer of Horsham township.

 

(Page 125)

 

Isaac Kulp (great-grandfather), born May 30, 1750, died April 10, 1828, was a native of Gwynedd township, and a farmer by occupation. He married, April 16, 1778, Rachel Kolb, born November 12, 1753, died August 15, 1830.

 

 

AMON B. MENSCH, postmaster and merchant at Gilbertsville, in Douglass township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, was born March 26, 1866. He is the son of George and Harriet (Bickel) Mensch, of the same township. George Mensch (father) was a miller by trade. He was a native of Hereford township, Berks county, Pennsylvania. He died in 1896 at the age of sixty-five years. His widow is living with her son, Amon B. Mensch. She was born in 1834. George Mensch farmed the latter part of his life. He was a Democrat in politics, and was for many years a school director. He was a prominent and valued member of the community in which he lived. The couple had but one child, Amon B. Mensch.

Adam Mensch (grandfather) resided in Berks county. His wife's maiden name was Gruber. Mr. Mensch, who came originally from Bucks county, was a miller by trade. He filled many responsible positions, including that of justice of the peace. He resided for a time in Northampton county, but finally located in Berks county, coming thence to Montgomery county where he died. His children: Abraham, Peter, Jacob, Samuel, Evan, James, George, Charles, Mary, Annie, Sallie. They are all deceased except Dr. James Mensch and Mrs. Mary Gaumer. David Bickel (maternal grandfather) married Catherine Miller. Mr. Bickel was born and resided all his life in the vicinity of Pottstown. He was a cigar manufacturer, and later in life a farmer. Mr. Bickel died in 1886, aged seventy-eight years. She died four or five years later, at the age of seventy-six years. Both were buried at Union Cemetery, Boyertown. They were Lutherans in religious faith, and in politics Mr. Bickel was a Democrat. Mr. Bickel's father was Daniel Bickel. The family is one of the oldest in that section of Montgomery county.

Amon B. Mensch attended the public schools of the vicinity until he was about sixteen years of age. Having qualified himself for the position of teacher, he took charge of a school in Douglass township and followed that occupation for several years. He then engaged in clerking in the store of Hillegass & Hoffman, at Gilbertsville, which he afterwards purchased, the change being made September 22, 1890. He has continued business at the same place ever since. The time he was employed with his predecessors was about five years. Mr. Mensch was appointed postmaster under President Cleveland's first administration, and was reappointed by President McKinley. He was the first postmaster appointed by Mr. Cleveland in Montgomery county. The appointment by President McKinley was made shortly before his assassination. Mr. Mensch is a Democrat in politics. He was township auditor for one term, being also elected another term which he did not serve.

Mr. Mensch married, March 15, 1890, Sallie, daughter of Jonas C. and Rebecca (Gilbert) Krause. Mr. Krause is an insurance agent. He is a life-long resident of Gilbertsville. The couple have had seven children: James, Harry, John, Sallie (Mrs. Mensch), Susan, Lucian (deceased) and another who is deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Mensch have five children, as follows: Austin, born September 30, 1891; Newton, born July 31, 1892; Raymond, born February 6, 1897; Allen, born February 7, 1899, and Macie, born November 4, 1903, all residing with their parents. The family are members of the Lutheran church at Boyertown.