Bios: Vol 2 - Part 1: Index and pp. 1-24: Ellwood Roberts' Biographical Annals, 1904: Montgomery Co, PA
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS
OF
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA
CONTAINING
GENEALOGICAL RECORDS 0F REPRESENTATIVE FAMILIES, INCLUDING
MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS AND BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS
ELLWOOD ROBERTS, EDITOR
"Knowledge of Kindred and the genealogies of the ancient families deservereth the highest praise.
Herein consiseth a part of the knowledge of a man's own self. It is a great spur to virtue to
look back on the earth of our line."-Lord Bacon.
"There is no heroic poem in the world but is at the bottom of a man."-Sir Walter Scott
ILLUSTRATED
VOL. 2.
T. S. BENHAM & COMPANY
AND
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
NEW YORK CHICAGO
1904
(Picture of Title Page)
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iii. INDEX.
Abington Library Society, 404
Abraham, William L., 509
Academy of the New Church, 341
Acuff, David, 490
Acuff, Jacob, 489
Acuff, William S., 222
Akins, Samuel, 394
Albright, Titus, 192
Alderfer, Christian, 121
Alderfer, Lewis S., 241
Allen, Francis O., 461
Allen, Theodore K., 209
Ambler, Isaac E., 312
Ambler, J. Irwin, 239
Ambler, Joseph M. E., 314
Anders, Daniel M., 74
Anderson, Mathias P., 504
Apple, Hannah, 120
Argo, Fordyce H., 278
Armstrong, John G., 499
Armstrong, William G., 200
Asure, Edward, 46
Baggs, Nicholas, 458
Baker, Theodore W., 148
Barlow, Andrew M., 401
Barnes, Edwin, 454
Barrett, J. Allen, 389
Bauman, Abraham L., 81
Bean, Abraham S., 495
Bean, Garret F., 175
Bean, Joseph V., 96
Bechtel, Samuel B., 303
Bennett, Mrs. W. Hodgson, 130
Bergey, Michael K., 245
Berkhimer, Allen, 446
Bertolet, Benjamin, 28
Bertolet, Ezra, 450
Bertolet, Ira D., 257
Bickel, Lewis J., 36
Bisbing, George W., 65
Bisbing, John, 426
Bisbing, J. Maurice, 452
Bisson, James W., 132
Blackburn, Irvin H., 260
Blackburn, William C., 258
Blair, Eugene, 203
Blake, Jonathan L., 34
Bliem, Franklin H., 418
Bobb, Henry, 59
Bostock, Herbert A., 503
Bowman, Jacob E., 496
Boyer, Jacob E., 111
Branin, M. Newton, 246
Brant, John, 361
Brecht, Samuel E., 249
Brinton, Horace G., 421
Britt, Edward F., 522
Brooke, J. Milton, 254
Brower, John E., 63
Brower, John G., 159
Brown, John L., 165
Brownback, E. G., 55
Brownback, Garret E., 160
Buchanan, John S., 17
Buckman Family, 403
Buckwalter, Henry L., 308
Buckwalter, Jacob, 435
Buckwalter, Joseph A., 152
Burling, Edward H., 437
Burton, John, 19
Campbell, George E., 250
Campbell, John J., 350
Carrell, John B., 529
Casey, William, 449
Cassell, Nathan, 42
Christman, Montgomery, 450
Clayton, Catherine, 308
Clayton, Samuel R., 206
Cleaver, Augustus M., 138
Cofrode, Daniel R., 362
Cole, Henry A., 126
Comly, John F., 105
Conard, Edward B., 47
Conard, William, 382
Conver, Samuel B., 237
Cooper, Richard L., 215
Cope, Leidy L., 38
Corson, Alan W., 445
Corson, George, 263
Corson, The Family, 346
Cottman, J. Frank, 208
Crouthamel, William A., 53
Craven, Robert S., 45
Cripps, Samuel G., 521
Culin, Charles H., 309
Custer, Harman, 370
Danehower, William H., 253
Davidheiser, Ephraim R., 414
Davidheiser, Reuben R., 94
Davis, George G., 214
Dehaven, William, 244
DeLong, Calvin M., 361
Delp, Jacob D., 243
Denckla, Hermann A., 147
Dentler, Roy W., 151
DePrefontaine, William, 217
Derham, Joseph J., 311
Detterer, William G., 327
Detwiler, Isaiah H., 181
Detwiler, William, 185
Dietterich, J. Eugene, 246
Dougherty, James E., 482
Downing, George M., 116
Doyle, John H., 268
Drown, William A., 412
Duden, Ralph M., 164
Duffield, Charles H., 41
Duffield, Richard E., 179
Earnest, William H., 497
Eden Mennonite Church, History of, 113
Ellis, J. Howard, 515
Ely, William P., 202
Engle, Noah, 540
Evans, Rowland, 462
Fager, John B., 383
Fagley, Noah, 165
Farenwald, Adolph, 219
Farris, George W., 489
Faust, James S., 171
Fell, Jacob F., 378
Fell, The Family, 500
Fetterolf, A. D., 11
Fetterolf, Adam H., 410
Fetterolf, Horace G., 293
Fillman, Henry B., 453
Fisher, Irwin, 517
Forrest, John W., 224
Foulke, Daniel, 493
Francis, John U., Jr., 83
Freas, George, 451
Freed, A. C., 90
Freed, Christian S., 63
Freed, Henry B., 236
Freed, Jacob L., 242
Freed, Yelles C., 238
Friend, Albert M., 271
Fritz, Mahlon K., 50
iv. INDEX.
Fronefield, Jesse, 487
Geatrell, Thomas B., 131
Gehret, John H., 16
Geiger, Milton Y., 83
Gerhart, Charles W., 493
Gheen, Phineas P., 279
Gilbert, Caroline, 227
Gilbert, Henry, 134
Gottshalk, A. H., 304
Gottshall, William S., 115
Grater, Elias T., 193
Greger, Charles B., 473
Greger, Clarence M., 84
Greger, Jacob B., 471
Greger, John B., 472
Greger, The Family, 470
Gregor, Thomas P., 474
Griscom, Anna H., 402
Grubb, Nathaniel B., 319
Hagenbaugh, Emmanuel L., 150
Haines, Robert B., 371
Hallowell, Edwin, 4
Hallowell, Elizabeth, 278
Hallowell, Franklin W., 296
Hallowell, Henry W., 476
Hallowell, Israel, 324
Hallowell, James F., 324
Hallowell, John J., 325
Hallowell, Jonas W., 322
Hallowell, Justinian K., 442
Hammond, Charles. Jr., 307
Hammond, Charles, Sr., 306
Hammond, Hubert R., 307
Hane, Charles, 257
Hansell, Charles, 136
Hansell, Hiram, 390
Hansell, The Family, 390
Harley, Aaron, 444
Harmer, Harry B., 282
Harper, Charles, 403
Harper, Smith, 485
Harper, The Family, 344
Harper, Thomas B., 344
Hartline, Samuel B., l09
Hatfield, Joseph S., 66
Hartman, Frederick J., 511
Haywood, Joseph M., 14
Heacock, Joseph, 366
Heebner, William D., 228
Heist, George D., 432
Henszey, William P., 13
Heyham, Theodore, 24
Hillegass, Charles Q., 51
Hiltner, Daniel F., 338
Hindenach, Almina M., 210
Hipple, Cyrus F., 368
Hipple, John S., 368
Hoffman, Frank W., 180
Hoffman, Irwin S., 95
Hoffman, Jacob, 58
Holland, Thomas, 375
Holler, Joseph F., 133
Holt, John H. J., 409
Hoover, G. Carroll, 441
Hovenden, Helen, 256
Hughes, Frank, 326
Hunsberger, Samuel D. 243
Hunsicker, Henry G., 434
Hunsicker, Henry T. 407
Hunsicker. John G., 226
Hunsicker, Margaret S., 518
Hunsicker, Melvin T., 290
Hunter, Joseph W., 369
Iredell, James W., Jr., 529
Iredell, Robert, 526
Isett, Benjamin F., 155
Isett, Jacob R.. 97
Jarrett, David, 262
Jenkins, J. P. Hale, 76
Johnson, Alba B., 3
Johnson, Francis C., 99
Johnson, Franklin L., 111
Jones, Benjamin F., 125
Jones, Horace C., 492
Jones, The Family, 490
Jones, Thomas J., 235
Kaiser, Carl, 227
Katz, Paul W., 135
Keck, David J., 164
Keck, Jonathan Y., 112
Keh1, William G., 141
Keller, Rudolph G., 542
Keyser, N. Byron, 270
Kibblehouse, George B., 67
Kibblehouse, John R., 79
Kibblehouse, Joseph, 89
Kilpatrick, James, 140
Kimbel, Evin T., 343
Kinsey, Jacob G., 231
Kline, John J., 146
Knapp, Charles S., 359
Knipe, Francis M., 128
Kohler, Frederick, 474
Koplin, Mahlon D., 54
Kratz, Chester A., 405
Kratz, Horace B., 288
Kriebel, George, Jr., 195
Knipe, Simon, 41
Kulp, John K., 43
Kulp, John M., 124
Kummerer, Isaac, 95
Landis, Henry G., 15
Landis, Samuel T., 272
Langstroth, Hugh T., 119
Langstroth, Thomas H., 119
Laros, Frank P., 181
Larzelere, Jeremiah B., Jr., 39
Latshaw, Ira D., 470
Latshaw, Samuel B., 469
Latshaw, The Family, 468
Leaf, Annie H., 294
Leidy, Washington F., 309
Leinbach, Jonathan L.,495
Leister, Alfred H., 123
Lessig, Joshua B., 422
Lessig, Othniel, 143
Levengood, David S., 170
Lewis, Alonzo R., 330
Lippincott, Henry H., 381
Lippincott, Joshua W., 380
Longacre, Davis, 127
Longaker, Elizabeth, 260
Loomis, Atmore, 240
Lorah, Augustus K., 363
Lower, William B., 384
Lownes, Lewis M., 224
Lownes, Robert C., 497
Lubbe, Francis H., 266
Lynch, Mrs. Emma, 330
Mann, Charles S., 264
Mann, Robert S., 339
March, Abraham H., 88
March, Matthias L., 318
Markley, Oswald, 247
Martin, Henry, 322
Martin, John J., 139
Matz, John, 234
McAvoy, Charles D., 516
McCafferty, George W., 100
McCann, John, 130
McCormick, John J., 440
McElroy, Mary A., 286
McGlathery, Grant R., 137
McHugh, James A., 326
McInnes, Hugh, 479
McLean, Hugh D., 22
McLean, John, 21
McLean, The Family, 20
McMahon, Francis X., 394
McMahon, Thomas, 357
McNamara, Charles G., 291
Meigs, William H., 507
Memorial Church of the Holy Nativity, 277
Mensch, Amandus C., 305
Mensch, Amon B., 125
Messinger, Harry C., 219
Metcalf, Edwin, 488
Metz, Henry G., 386
Metz, Peter A., 190
Metz, William K., 525
Michener, Isaac, 387
Miles, William, 311
Miller, William G., 364
Morris, Effingham B., 463
Morton, William, 280
Mowrey, Jacob H., 237
Moyer, Christian H., 82
Moyer, John, 401
Mullin, Israel, 207
Murphy, William H., 298
Nagle, Henry W., 117
Nagle, Louis A., 292
Newberry, Milton, 33
Newbold, John S., 454
Nice, Eugene E., 151
Nice, William J., 158
Nichols, Garrit S., 430
Ogontz, The School, 205
O'Neil, James D., 270
Orange, The Home, 328
Palmer, Frank, 438
Parsons, Amos, 106
Parry, Samuel, 381
v. INDEX.
Paul, Ellwood, 250
Peirce, Thomas M., 420
Pennepacker, John B., 416
Pennypacker, Samuel W., 1
Penrose, Abel, 184
Pension, Thomas M., 216
Pfeiffer, Josephine, 305
Phipps, Thomas S., 475
Prizer, Frederick C., 225
Quillman, Benjamin, 398
Quillman, Philip, 276
Rahn, Norman H., 87
Rainey, John, 254
Rambo, Thomas J., 144
Rapine, Jacob, 201
Read, Louis W., 373
Reed, Willoughby H., 176
Rees, Rebecca C., 299
Reigner, Horace, 79
Reiner, Isaac Z., 248
Rempp, Jacob G., 425
Renner, James K., 122
Rhoads, William E., 107
Richards, Arthur E., 278
Richards, Henry A., 173
Richards, Isaac, 300
Richards, James B., 154
Ridington, Thomas T., 408
Righter, Charles C., 506
Righter, George W., 61
Rile, Thomas J., 523
Roberts, Howard C., 71
Roberts, Hugh, 508
Roberts, John C., 465
Roberts, Samuel, 22
Roberts, Samuel, 56
Roberts, William T. B., 443
Rogers, George W., 72
Ruth, Henry L. S., 241
Saylor, John C., 411
Schissler, A. J., 108
Schlater, Seth S., 235
Schlichter, Benjamin F., 129
Scholl, Seth L., 232
Schuler, Thompson H., 288
Schultz, Edwin K., 166
Schwenk, A. Z., 186
Seasholtz, Peter, 85
Seipt, Anthony H., 524
Selden, Wilson, 231
Shaffer, Albert, 335
Shaner, Harvey G., 118
Shannon, George, 80
Shearer, Samuel D., 425
Shepherd, William, 142
Shive, J. Monroe, 302
Shoemaker, Morris H., 23
Shriver, George W., 399
Shuler, Oliver E., 69
Simmers, Joseph H., 439
Simons, Charles A., 283
Sines, Charles J., 287
Slifer, Charles C., 251
Slifer, F. Sebring, 362
Slingluff, George B., 513
Sloan, Louis F., 334
Smith, Charles A., 514
Smith, Harry H., 158
Smith, Hutchinson, 91
Smith, James B., 220
Smith, Richard S., 431
Smith, Rush B., 142
Snyder, Jesse H., Jr., 145
Solliday, George W., 336
Solly, William F., 466
Souder, Edmund, 50
Sperry, Aaron, 448
Steever, Ephraim, 204
Stemple, George W., 512
Stemple, Julia, 523
Stephens, William M., 447
Stewart, Thomas J., 526
Stiles, George M., 481
Stinson, Stephen P., 187
Stofflet, Jacob D., 414
Stong, Frank B., 335
Stout, Adaline, 511
Stout, Sylvester C., 286
Styer, Lewis, 513
Styer, Samuel, 281
Sunderland, James W., 537
Suplee, The Family, 351
Supplee, John, 465
Sutton, William H., 428
Swartz, Aaron S., 397
Taylor, Bayard, 337
Taylor, Jonathan, 339
Taylor, Thomas, 375
Thomas, David, 499
Thomas, Edwin R., 498
Thomas, Isaac, 218
Thomas, J. Quincy, 455
Thompson, John G., 317
Tomlinson, Benjamin K., 400
Towill, Edward, 247
Trace, Henry B., 110
Treichler, Charles O. F., 69
Trinley, Jacob T., 156
Triol, William S., 274
Twining, Edwin, 188
Tyler, Benjamin A., 172
Tyson, Sarah H., 391
Unruh, William, 275
Van Arstdalen, Christopher, 199
Vansant, John B., 211
Vaux, Emily N., 358
Wagner, Jonas S., 413
Wagner, Michael W., 49
Wahl, Jacob, 89
Walker, William C., 215
Walker, William C., 483
Walt, Henry K., 86
Walters, George, 411
Wanger, George F. P., 100
Watson, Franklin, 212
Weak, Charles H., 287
Weand, Henry K., 396
Weidner, Uriah, 331
Wentz, David H., 333
Wentz, John A., 456
Wentzel, James M., 415
White, Silas 163
Wickersham, Edwin, 162
Wildman, John, 213
Wilkinson, Alfred, 92
Williams, Alfred K., 197
Williams, Parker S., 375
Wills, Morgan R., 284
Wilmer, John, 461
Wilson, Joseph B., 103
Winter, Reuben, Sr., 169
Wise, Johanon R., 512
Wismer, Christian A., 194
Wood, George B., 336
Worrell, George, 329
Yeager, George, 157
Yeager, Sherman, 149
Yeakel, Mrs. Daniel, 273
Yeakle, Samuel, 9
Yeakle, William, 388
Yellis, H. H., 376
Yerger, Henry F., 104
Yerkes, Frank E., 220
Yerkes, Joseph B., Jr., 409
Yetter, Lewis P., 263
Yohn, Henry H., 70
Yost, Jacob, R., 7
Yothers, Algernon G., 365
Young, H. Oscar, 223
Young, William H., 58
Zendt, Milton D., 486
Zimmerman, William D., 479
(Page 1)
HON. SAMUEL WHITTAKER PENNYPACKER, Governor of Pennsylvania, is descended from
an old colonial family of Dutch origin. He was born at Phoenixville, Chester
county, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1843. He has been a prominent figure in
historical, judicial and political circles in the past quarter of a century,
achieving distinction in several lines of effort such as falls to the lot of
few men.
The father of Governor Pennypacker having removed to Philadelphia, to accept an
appointment to a professorship in the Philadelphia Medical College, he attended
the Northwest Grammar School, and later obtained a scholarship in Saunders'
Institute, in West Philadelphia.
On the death of his father after several years' residence in Philadelphia, he
returned to Phoenixville, where he attended the Grovemont Seminary. He prepared
for Yale University, but circumstances prevented his entering that institution.
In 1862 he attended an examination of teachers in Montgomery county, and taught
school the following winter in the village of Mont Clare, opposite Phoenixville.
In 1863 Mr. Pennypacker enlisted in the service of the United States, and was
mustered in some time prior to the battle of Gettysburg. The organization to
which he belonged was the Twenty-sixth Emergency Regiment of Pennsylvania
Volunteers, and he was a member of Company F, of Pottstown. The regiment was
the first force to encounter the Confederate army at Gettysburg.
On his return from military service, Mr. Pennypacker entered upon the study of
law, and enrolled himself as a student in the Law Department of the University
of Pennsylvania. At the same time he entered the office of Hon. Peter McCall, a
well known lawyer of Philadelphia. He graduated in 1866 with the degree of
Bachelor of Laws conferred by the University, and immediately entered upon the
practice of the legal profession, in which he was very successful.
In the same year in which he engaged in law practice he was elected president
of the Bancroft Literary Union, and in 1868 he was chosen president of the Law
Academy. In 1886 he was appointed a member of the Philadelphia Board of
Education. He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States
in 1887. In 1889 he was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas of
Philadelphia by Governor James A. Beaver. In November of the same year he was
elected to the position for the term of ten years, and in 1899 was re-elected
to the position for ten years longer.
Judge Pennypacker's career on the bench made him a reputation as a jurist of
learning and ability. His decisions were very seldom reversed by the Supreme
Court of the commonwealth. His opinions were models of good sense, sound
reasoning, and enlightened judgment. He stood high in the judiciary of
Philadelphia, whose reputation for integrity, ability and learning is second to
none in the country. In this position judge Pennypacker was honored by his
fellow members of the judiciary, and enjoyed the esteem and confidence of all
with whom he came in contact.
(Page 2)
The governorship is the first political position held by Judge Pennypacker. At
the time of his nomination for the office by the Republican State Convention,
June 11, 1902, he was President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas No. 2, of
Philadelphia. He was placed in nomination in the convention, which met at
Harrisburg, by Hampton L. Carson, the present attorney general of the
commonwealth, and his lifelong friend. Mr. Carson, in nominating judge
Pennypacker, said "He was in early manhood a teacher in a village school in
Montgomery county; later a law student of remarkable attainment in the office
of that great teacher, Peter McCall, a graduate of the law department of the
University of Pennsylvania; an honored and successful member, of the
Philadelphia bar; a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United
States; a historian and a scholar, with the principles and the lives of our
noblest patriots imprinted on his heart and inspiring his speech and pen; a
citizen of public spirit and of high ideals; a man of sturdy common sense and
courageous probity of character.
"Esteemed, beloved, and honored, a jurist of learning and capacity; a judge who
has worn the ermine for twelve years without spot or stain; a public servant
faithful to ever trust; a leader fitted by nature and training to command
respect and silence calumny, let us carry the soldier lad of 1863 from the
steps of the Capitol to the Governor's chair, to adorn the service of the state
with the name, the talents, and the character of Samuel W. Pennypacker."
After a canvass of unusual interest and activity, in which the late Robert E.
Pattison, twice governor of the state, was the Democratic opponent of judge
Pennypacker, he was triumphantly elected to the position, his plurality
exceeding 156,000. He entered upon the duties of the office, early in January,
1903. He had never previously entered the domain of politics, in which he his
been as successful as elsewhere, a seat on the bench, where candidates are
usually supported by Democrats and Republicans alike, not being included in
political positions. Governor Pennypacker is thus a jurist of extensive
learning and great legal ability, a citizen of the highest character for honor
and integrity, and a historian of colonial days who is everywhere recognized as
an authority on such subjects. He is the executive of a great commonwealth whose
citizens have good reason to be proud of him. A descendant of early German
settlers, he personifies the sterling virtues of a race that has in the course
of a century past furnished so many Governors of Pennsylvania, three others of
whom-Porter, Shunk and Hartranft-have been, like himself, citizens of the
county of Montgomery.
In 1899 Judge Pennypacker purchased the ancestral homestead of the family at
Pennypacker's Mills and has since occupied it as his country-seat, only leaving
it in the winter months for his city residence. The mansion was the residence of
Samuel Pennypacker during the Revolutionary war, and became the headquarters of
General Washington at the time the American army was encamped on the Perkiomen.
Two letters written by the General while there are preserved in the house,
which is of the old colonial style, eminently adapted to the antiquarian tastes
of Governor, Pennypacker.
The Montgomery County Historical Society, of which Governor Pennypacker, is a
member, has erected near the mansion a monument of native granite, suitably
inscribed, to mark the encampment of Washington's army, on this historic ground.
As he was an able and impartial judge, Governor Pennypacker has been a model
executive of the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He has never given his
approval to a measure which was not calculated to promote the honor or
prosperity of the state and the best interests of its citizens.
When the passage of road legislation, was demanded by the people of the state,
and, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives were deadlocked, he
insisted that the bill for highway improvement, be passed. It was adopted,
resulting in the present State Highway Department, over which Governor,
Pennypacker appointed a worthy citizen of Montgomery county, Joseph W. Hunter,
to preside. As a member of the Valley Forge Commission, for years prior to
assuming the duties of the executive of Pennsylvania, Governor Pennypacker had
exerted himself to preserve from, destruction the historic remains of the
occupation of the place by Washington and his army. As governor, he has urged
upon the legislature the duty of providing the means for improving and
beautifying Valley Forge Park, and his suggestions have been followed by both
bodies. It is impossible to enumerate all the instances in which Governor
Pennypacker has upheld the honor and promoted the welfare of the state, but
they are many, indeed. He has been a faithful and efficient governor, as he was
all that a judge should be in the course of his judicial experience.
(page 3)
Governor Pennypacker has been for many years an active and leading member of
the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and a frequent visitor to its building at
Thirteenth and Locust streets, Philadelphia. As its president he has done much
towards placing the institution upon a basis commensurate with the importance
of its objects. Governor Pennypacker is also president of the Philobiblon Club;
vice-president of the Sons of the Revolution and the Colonial Society; past
commander of Frederick Taylor Post, No. 19, Grand Army of the Republic, of
Philadelphia; member of the Society of Colonial Wars, and of the Society of the
War of 1812. He is a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania.
He is the author of "Pennsylvania Colonial Cases," "Pennypacker's Supreme Court
Reports," "A Digest of the Common Law Reports," "The Settlement of Germantown,"
"Hendrick Pennebecker," "Historical and Biographical Sketches," and more than
fifty books and papers. His library of early Pennsylvania publications is the
finest of the kind in existence, containing over eight thousand books,
pamphlets and manuscripts, many of them exceedingly rare and valuable. He is a
connoisseur in colonial antiquarianism, and an authority upon everything of the
kind, having made a lifetime study of it.
Governor Pennypacker married, October 20, 1870, Virginia Earl, daughter of
Nathan B. Broomall, of an old Chester county family. Their family consists of
three daughters and a son.
ALBA BOARDMAN JOHNSON, of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, of the Baldwin Locomotive
Works, Philadelphia, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1858. He
is descended from one of the oldest New England families, being a descendant in
the eighth generation from Lieutenant Timothy Johnson.
Lieutenant Timothy Johnson (1) was born in England in 1644. He brought to
Boston a company of British cavalry, and served in the Colonial and Indian
wars.
His children were John, born 1676; Timothy, 1679; Mary, 1682; Samuel, 1684;
Mercy, 1687.
Captain Timothy Johnson (2), eldest son of Lieutenant Timothy Johnson, was born
in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1679, and died in 1771. He was in the military
service and fought at Louisburg. His children were: Samuel, Asa, William,
Timothy, Ada; Sarah (married Captain Peter Osgood); and Martha (married first)
Joseph Parker, and (second) Robert Russell.
Asa Johnson (3), son of Captain Timothy Johnson (2), died in 1749.
Benjamin Johnson (4) son of Asa Johnson (3) was born in June, 1744, and died
October 21, 1832. He married Elizabeth Boardman, of Topsfield, Massachusetts,
and they became the parents of nine children: 1. Boardman (below); 2. Hannah,
born April 26, 1767; 3. John, born December 2, 1771; 4. Benjamin, born November
15, 1773; 5. Daniel, born January 11, 1776; 6. Elizabeth born November 27, 1778
7. Mary, born November 8, 1780; 8-9. Samuel and Josiah Cummings (twins) born
December 9, 1784.
Boardman Johnson (5), eldest child of Benjamin (4) and Elizabeth (Boardman)
Johnson, was born September 23, 1769, and died in 1858. He married Kezia
Foster, and to them were, born nine children: 1. Cyrus (see below); 2. Hannah,
born August 23, 1793, married Samuel, Silsbee, and died June 2, 1842; 3.
Portius, born December 5, 1794, married Theis Croxford, and died January 20,
1846; 4. Charles, born July 20, 1797, married Betsy Wiggins, and died January
21, 1840; 5. Benjamin, born June 14, 1802, married Louisa Willington, and
(second) Eliza Chadburn; 6. Mary Ann Johnson, born September 2, 1804, married
Samuel A. Morse, and died June 20, 1842; 7. Laura Jane, born August 31, 1806,
died May 3, 1829; 8. Augusta, born June 27, 1809, married Harvey Morton, and
(second) Joseph Graves, and died November 21, 1834; 9. Samuel Johnson, born
September 23, 1815, married Ann Mary Upton.
(Page 4)
Cyrus Johnson (6), eldest child of Boardman (5) and Kezia (Foster) Johnson, was
born December 29, 1799, and died May 4, 1853. He resided in Jackson, Maine. He
married, January 10, 1823, Hepzibah Page, who was born March 25, 1802, and died
February 22, 1886. They were the parents of thirteen children: 1. Samuel A.,
(see below); 2. Asa Foster, born October 28, 1823; 3. Erastus, born October 20,
1826; 4. Nathan, born March 8, 1829; 5. William, born May 8, 1834; 6. Kezia,
born January 7, 1831; 7. James Brainerd, born May 30, 1841 8. Henry White, born
February 18, 1828, died December, 1878; 9. Hannah Silsbee, born January 2, 1833;
10. Charles Portius, born February 12, 1836; 11. George Meder, born April 21,
deceased; 12. Mary Ann, born April 17, 1843; 13. Julia Augusta, born December
27, 1846.
Samuel Adams Johnson (7) of Ivyland, Pennsylvania, third child of Cyrus (6) and
Hepzibah (Page) Johnson, was born in Atkinson, Maine, February 16, 1825. He
married (first) December 24, 1849, Clorinda Lorena Driggs, of Vernon,
Connecticut, by whom he had two children: Martha Lorena Johnson, born September
23, 1850, married William Real De Krafft, June 13, 1872, and had Esther, born
August 1, 1873, died December 17, 1889; Elsie, born October 27, 1874, married
October 18, 1900, to Rev. Charles R. Miller, pastor of First Presbyterian
church of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania; William, born November 25, 1878; Harriet,
born September 7, 1880; Marguerite, born July 8, 1886; and Mary Louisa Johnson,
born November 9, 1854, married Albert A. Line, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, died
December 25, 1877.
He married (second) July 22, 1855, Alma Sarah Kemp. She was born in Sullivan,
New Hampshire, July 20, 1822, daughter of Benjamin and Abigail (Woods) Kemp,
and granddaughter of Benjamin and Abigail (Nuns) Kemp. Benjamin Kemp was a
soldier in the Revolutionary war, a private in the New Hampshire militia, under
Captain James Likens, in the regiment commanded by Colonel Thomas Bartlet.
Samuel Adams and Alina Sarah (Kemp) Johnson were the parents of two children,
Alba Boardman Johnson (8), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1858;
and Hattie Augusta Johnson, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January 4, 1862.
She married, February 7, 1883, William Henry Hall, and has two children Alma
May Hall, born January 12, 1884, and Samuel Payson Hall, born October 30, 1885.
Alma Sarah (Kemp) Johnson died July 5, 1882, and Samuel Adams Johnson married
(third) September 25, 1884, Helen Dickinson (White) Johnson.
Alba Boardman Johnson (8), son of Samuel Adams Johnson (7), received his
education in the city of Philadelphia, in the public schools, and graduating
from the Central High School in 1876.
In the following year, at the age of nineteen, he entered the Baldwin
Locomotive Works,. Philadelphia, as junior clerk, and became a partner in 1896,
having been associated with the corporation during his entire active career. He
makes his residence in Rosemont, Montgomery county, and takes an active part in
promoting the interests of the community.
Mr. Johnson married, April 30, 1883, Miss. Elizabeth T. Reeves, daughter of
Biddle and Ruthanna Reeves, granddaughter of Joel Reeves, great-granddaughter
of Henry Reeves. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of three children 1.
Reeves Kemp, born February 26, 1884; 2. Alba Boardman, Jr.; 3. Ruth Anna, born
January 6, 1896.
HON. EDWIN HALLOWELL, of Willow Grove, Abington township, Montgomery county,
Pennsylvania, was born on the family homestead, where he has resided up to the
present time (1904). He is a descendant of John Hallowell,
(Page 5)
the emigrant, who became the progenitor of a numerous and influential family,
and from whom descended most if not all of the Hallowells of Bucks and
Montgomery counties.
John Hallowell, the emigrant, was twice married, as appears from the records of
Abington meeting. His first wife, Sarah, bore him one child, John, born in
England 12 mo. 8, 1672. His second wife was Mary, daughter of Thomas Sharpe,
who came with him from Hucknow, in the parish of Sutton, Nottinghamshire,
England, bringing a Friends' certificate dated 12 mo. 19, 1682.
Of this marriage there were nine children, the first three born in England, and
the others in America, as follows: Sarah, born in 1677 Thomas, 1679; Mary, 1681;
John, 1685; Elizabeth, 1687; Hannah, 1689; Samuel, 1692; Benjamin, 1694; Jane,
1696.
John Hallowell, on first coming to this country, settled near Darby. On 6 mo.
15, 1696, he bought from Silas Crispin, executor of the estate of Thomas
Holmes, a tract of land containing six hundred and thirty acres in Abington
township, adjoining Upper Dublin, and on the line of the Manor of Moreland for
upwards of a mile, paying therefor 58 pounds and 16 shillings. Shortly after
this purchase, John Hallowell removed to his new property, living at first in a
rude cabin which, he constructed partly in the ground on the sunny side of a
hill, making a habitation which in early days was known as a cave, similar to
those constructed by some of the early settlers of Philadelphia. This was at or
near what has recently been the residence of the well known horseman, Philip R.
Theobald, about a mile and a half southwest of Willow Grove, in one of the
finest neighborhoods in Montgomery county.
The Theobald farm formed a portion of the original Hallowell tract. Up to the
time of the Theobald purchase from Benjamin Hallowell, son of Isaac and Sarah
Hallowell, about 1850, the property had remained in the Hallowell family, and
the adjoining one hundred-acre tract has remained in the family name for
considerably more than two centuries.
John Hallowell conveyed to his eldest son, Thomas, 8 mo. 1, 1702, two hundred
and twenty acres of his tract with the improvements thereon. The remainder,
four hundred and eight acres, he divided equally, 4 mo. 11, 1706, between two
younger sons, Samuel and Benjamin, as they came of age.
Thomas Hallowell conveyed, 12 mo. 25, 1730, his two hundred and twenty-acre
farm derived from his father to his eldest child, William, who purchased from
William Dunn, in 1730, one hundred acres in Moreland, which he conveyed, 6 mo.,
3, 1736, to his son Thomas Weaver, who had previously occupied it. This tract
was situated a mile northwest of Willow Grove, and is the farm which is now
owned by Joseph Hallowell, father of Dr. William Hallowell, of Norristown, now
long deceased, and on which he was born more than a century ago, he having been
a son of Joseph Hallowell, and grandson of Thomas Hallowell. Thomas died in
1788, and his son Joseph in 1843, William dying fifty years later, so that the
three generations of the same family, represented by these three individuals,
owned the property for a time somewhat exceeding a century and a half, this
being a very remarkable instance of longevity in one family.
Benjamin Hallowell, the youngest son of John and Mary (Sharpe) Hallowell, born
10 mo. 31, 1694, died 10 mo. 18, 1758. He settled in Abington and married Mary,
daughter of John and Mary Rodgers, at Abington Friends' Meeting, 10 mo. 26,
1715. Mary was born 2 mo. 10, 1690, and died 1 mo. 23, 1766.
Their children were Sarah, born 7 mo. 17, 1716, married Benjamin Holt; Mary,
born 9 mo., 11, 1718; Martha, born 3 mo. 29, 1721, married James Hawkins;
Hannah, born 9 mo. 9, 1723, married Thomas Palmer; Elizabeth, born 6 mo. 16,
1725; and Benjamin, born 1 mo. 10, 1728.
Benjamin Hallowell, youngest son of Benjamin and Mary (Rodgers) Hallowell,
married Eleanor Tyson, seamstress, daughter of Peter Tyson, at Abington
Meeting, 4 mo. 21, 1752. Eleanor was born ______ and died 10 mo. 11, 1777.
Their children were: Peter, born 1 mo., 22, 1753, married Rachel Taylor; Sarah,
born 2 mo., 8, 1755, married Joseph Tyson, son of Rynear Tyson, at Abington
Meeting, 10 mo. 17, 1782; Mary, born 2 mo. 22, 1757; and Hannah, born 2 mo., 2,
1760.
(Page 6)
Peter Hallowell, eldest son of Benjamin and Eleanor (Tyson) Hallowell, married
Rachel Taylor. Their children were: Julianna, born 9 mo. 2, 1782, died 3 mo. 1,
1785; Joel, born 5 mo., 26, 1784; Sarah, born 2 mo. 25, 1786, died 1856;
Eleanor, born 11 mo. 11, 1789; Martha, born 5 mo. 21, 1792; Benjamin, born 2
mo. 3, 1795, died 1795; and Benjamin T., born 7 mo. 11, 1797.
Benjamin T. Hallowell, youngest son of Peter and Rachel (Taylor) Hallowell, was
born in Abington township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, 7mo. 11, 1797. He
was educated in the neighborhood schools and at the Joseph Foulke Academy, a
celebrated institution of learning in its day. He then taught school for some
time in Abington and Moreland townships, after which he took up farming in
Abington township, and subsequently purchased the homestead farm from his
cousin, Thomas Hallowell. He resided thereon during the remaining years of his
life, and his children have occupied it up to the present time.
Mr. Hallowell was an enterprising and progressive citizen, and took an active
interest in public affairs. He was an ardent supporter of the principles of
Democracy, and was elected by his party to the office of justice of the peace,
serving in that capacity for a number of years.
In 1845 he was nominated for the position of assemblyman, elected on the
Democratic ticket, served one term creditably, and succeeded himself in 1846.
The following year he was again the choice of his party for the office, but was
defeated in 1848 he was again his party's candidate, and was elected by a
substantial majority. His whole career during his public service was marked
with a high sense of duty and fidelity to his constituents.
Benjamin T. Hallowell married, in 1833, Eliza Buckman, daughter of Phineas and
Letitia (Hough) Buckman, and their children were: Buckman, who married Mary
Weckerly; Reuben, who resides in Denver, Colorado; he enlisted in Company I,
One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, served
honorably nearly three years, and was discharged after the close of the war.
Edwin, born 4 mo., 2, 1844, mentioned hereinafter. Joshua I., who resides in
Salt Lake City, Utah. Franklin, who resides in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Sallie,
who became the wife of Davis W. Sill; Mary B. Benjamin T. Hallowell, father of
these children, died 9 mo. 1884, respected and esteemed by all who knew him.
Eliza (Buckman) Hallowell, the mother, died 9 mo. 1877. She was a most
estimable lady of the old school type, and her decease was regretted by a large
circle of friends and acquaintances.
Edwin Hallowell, third child and third son of Benjamin T. and Eliza (Buckman)
Hallowell, was born on the family homestead, near Willow Grove. He was educated
in the neighborhood schools, and was reared to manhood under the parental roof.
Upon attaining years of discretion he took an active interest in the management
of his father's estate. He became closely associated with the public interests
of this section of Montgomery county, and his thorough knowledge of the
organization of the Democratic party being at once recognized, he was made the
party candidate for the assembly in 1876. He was elected to this office and
served creditably one term, and in 1878 was re-elected, serving his
constituency during the second term with the same faithfulness and efficiency.
He served in the capacity of chairman of the county committee, in 1888, was the
delegate to the national convention, and in 1890 was chosen as the candidate for
representative to congress from the Seventh district. Mr. Hallowell made a
successful canvass, and was elected in a district which was largely Republican.
He served throughout the Fifty-second congress, and in 1892 was again his
party's nominee for the same office, but was defeated by his opponent by a very
small majority.
While Mr. Hallowell has not courted public office, he has at all times been an
earnest advocate and supporter of Democratic principles. He also evinces a deep
interest in the advancement and growth of the community in which he resides, and
furthers every enterprise calculated to promote its social and material welfare.
He is a member of Friendship Lodge, No. 400, Free and Accepted Masons, at
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
(Page 7)
JACOB R. YOST. The immigrant ancestor of the Yost family of middle Montgomery
county was Jacob Yost, who came from Germany in 1727, and purchased a tract of
land in the township of Whitpain. In 1732, he married Elizabeth Shambough, also
of German descent. He is named in the assessment list of Whitpain in 1734 as
owning eighty acres of land, some of which is still in the possession of lineal
descendants. There were at that time but twenty-four landholders in the township.
Jacob Yost had several children, among whom was Daniel Yost, great-grandfather
of Jacob R. Yost, subject of this sketch. He was born on the homestead at no
great distance from where is now the village of Centre Square. He was reared on
the farm and engaged in the business of weaving, then carried on by the family,
who introduced it into the township, it having been established at first in a
small log house, before the purchase of the farm in 1732. After that time it
was carried on still more extensively.
The Yosts were also famed far and near for their sickles, scythes and edge
tools, which they manufactured from 1760 to 1816 at the old homestead in
Whitpain. These implements were all forged by hand, and had an excellent
reputation wherever they were used.
The Yosts were among the earliest members of Boehm's Reformed church at Blue
Bell, in Whitpain township, and they appear to have arrived in the colony
somewhat earlier than any of their German neighbors.
The name Yost is found on some of the most ancient tombstones in its
interesting old burying ground. Two of the members of the family who lie buried
there, held the office of county commissioner, namely: Jacob Yost and Daniel
Yost. Six or seven generations of the family have been members of the
church-including Jacob R. Yost.
Daniel Yost (great-grandfather) was born March 14, 1736. He married Elizabeth
Spear, also of that section of Montgomery county. They had a number of
children, one of whom was Peter.
Peter Yost, born on the homestead, January 28, 1765, was a farmer, and also
engaged in the manufacture of scythes and other edge tools. There was a saw
mill on the property, which has long been in ruins. Peter Yost married
Elizabeth Ziegler, of a well known Montgomery county family of German descent.
(Page 8)
Among the children of Peter and Elizabeth Yost was Isaac (father). He was born
at Crooked Hill, Limerick township, was educated in the schools of the
vicinity, and followed farming on the homestead for some time, and learned the
tanner's trade with his uncle, Abraham Ziegler, near Skippackville. Later he
removed to Berks county, where he followed tanning for seven years, then
returning to the old home near Centre Square, and in 1873 removed to Centre
Square, where he died at the age of eighty years, and where his widow yet
resides, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. She was Miss Mary Reiff, of
Skippack township.
The children of Isaac and Mary Yost were: 1. Abram, died in 1892; 2. Michael,
who died in 1871; he married Mary Fetter, and to them were born the following
children: Annie C., who married Reuben C. Beyer, and they have one child; and
J. Irwin, single. 3. Jacob Reiff Yost.
When Jacob R. Yost was about eight years of age, his parents removed from the
upper end of the county where the father had been engaged in business as a
farmer, and returned to the homestead near Centre Square. He was born in New
Hanover township, May 16, 1843. He was educated in the schools of Whitpain, and
completed his education at Freeland Seminary, now Ursinus College. He then
entered the store at Centre Square, kept at that time by Ephraim Shearer, and
remained there about three years. He then engaged in the coal, feed and
machinery business at Gwynedd station, on the North Pennsylvania Railroad where
he was very successful and had an extensive and profitable trade. Having an
opportunity to dispose of his business, he sold out, purchased the store at
Centre Square of Mr. Shearer, his former employer, and conducted that business
until the autumn of 1881. Mr. Yost was a very active Democrat, which party had
at that time long been in the ascendant in Montgomery county, but from the year
1872, when the celebrated Grant-Greeley contest had undermined Democratic
strength, was gradually losing its prestige. Mr. Yost in 1880 was nominated by
way of recognition of his efforts in behalf of party success, for the office of
county treasurer. After a most active and energetic canvass of the county on
both sides, Mr. Yost was elected by one majority over his Republican
competitor, Samuel S. Daub, of Pottstown, in a poll of nearly twenty-five
thousand votes.
He entered upon the duties of the position on the first Monday of January,
1881, and, after closing out his business at Centre Square, removed with his
family to Norristown, where he has ever since resided, occupying a handsome
residence, No. 536 Swede street. He served three years very acceptably in the
position of county treasurer, and after the completion of his term, was
retained for another three years in the office as deputy treasurer by his
successor, Henry A. Cole. He then engaged in the real estate business with
Edwin S. Stahlnecker, who had filled the office of sheriff of the county, as
his partner, the firm being Stahlnecker & Yost, with offices on Penn street,
near Swede, Norristown. The firm was a success from the start, Mr. Yost's
extensive acquaintance throughout the county and his knowledge of the value of
property contributing greatly to their prosperity. The firm continued until
1893, a period of six years or more, and was then dissolved by mutual
arrangement, Mr. Yost purchasing his partner's share of the business, and
continuing it on his own account. He is one of the most successful real estate
dealers in Norristown, and is often called upon to testify as to the value of
land and other property in suits for damages and other cases where it is
necessary to have the judgment of experts, there being few men in the county
whose knowledge in such matters is equal to his own. Mr. Yost has since removed
his office to No. 30, Swede street, in the Albertson building, having a very
complete and well equipped suite of offices.
Mr. Yost married, in 1876, Miss Josephine V. Smith, daughter of Lorenzo D.
Smith, a well known resident of Whitpain township. Mrs. Yost was born June 2,
1846. Her mother was Jane Supplee, of an old Montgomery county family, who are
descended from Andreas Souplis (Andrew Supplee), a French Huguenot, whose
ancestors were driven from their native country by religious persecution, and
who settled in Germantown in the time of William Penn. They have one child,
Miss Mary, who is an artist of considerable ability.
Mr. Yost is one of the best known citizens of Norristown. Although a lifelong
Democrat he is not a partisan, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of the
whole community. He remembers being told by his great-aunt, who lived to an
advanced age, many interesting traditions of Revolutionary times. His ancestors
at the old homestead manufactured rifles as well as edge tools during the
contest with the mother country, and these weapons were used with good effect
on the patriot side. Some of these antique guns still remain in the
neighborhood, although, unfortunately, none of them are in the possession of
the family. A tool used by the Yosts in Revolutionary times in reaming out the
barrels of the rifles was sold recently at a public sale in the neighborhood
for a few cents. At the time of the attack by a band of Tories on the house of
Captain Andrew Knox, in Norriton township, February 14, 1778, an alarm was
given to the surrounding country, and a member of the Yost family set out for
the beleaguered mansion, but the enemy had been driven away before he reached
it with a stock of rifles intended for purposes of defense. The marauders had
retreated, and several of them were afterwards captured, two of them being
hanged for their share in the transaction.
Mr. Yost is a member of Boehm's Reformed church at Blue Bell, but his wife and
daughter are adherents of the Methodist faith, being members of the First
Methodist Episcopal church of
(Page 9)
Norristown. Mr. Yost's ancestor, Jacob Yost, the immigrant, was a
brother-in-law of the Rev. John Philip Boehm, the founder of the church, and
the Yost family have always been among its strongest and most influential
members.
SAMUEL YEAKLE, one of the most prominent and successful farmers of Whitemarsh
township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is the son of William A. and
Caroline (Rocker) Yeakle. He was born on the farm on which he now resides,
August 16, 1853. His early education was acquired in the schools of the
township, he attending what is now known as the Williams school, formerly the
"Eight Square" school. When he had reached the age of fourteen years, he
entered Treemount Seminary, Norristown, as a student, under the tuition of
Professor John W. Loch, and continued there four years, until he was eighteen
years of age. On his return to the farm he continued in the occupation of
farming with the exception of the years 1883 and 1884, when he was engaged in
the lime business. He then resumed agricultural pursuits, in which he has ever
since been employed on the farm on which his father lived.
On April 5, 1904, Mr. Yeakle took possession of the coal, feed and lumber
business at Fort Washington, which was previously conducted by David Knipe, and
is thus employed at the present, in addition to operating the farm.
Mr. Yeakle has always been actively interested in political affairs, being
prominent in the councils of the Republican party. In earlier years he served
on the township election board, being judge of elections for fifteen
consecutive years. He is at present a member of the school board of Whitemarsh
township, having been a director since 1892, and is the president of the board.
He has been identified with many local enterprises of various kinds. He has been
connected in membership with Zion Lutheran church, Whitemarsh, since he was
eighteen years of age. He is a trustee oŁ the church, and superintendent of the
Sunday-school since its organization as a Lutheran Sunday-school, in 1895. He is
also a trustee of the Union Cemetery, adjoining this church.
He has always been deeply interested in church work. Mr. Yeakle married, March
27, 1889, Madeline E., daughter of T. V. and Elizabeth Rhoads, of Allentown.
Mrs. Yeakle was educated in the public schools of Allentown and Fort
Washington. The father of Mrs. Yeakle, now deceased, was engaged in business at
Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was also United States revenue collector for that
district during and after the Rebellion. Mrs. Yeakle's ancestry on her father's
side was English, and on her mother's German, Prince Henry von Peterholz, of
Alsace-Lorraine, being her progenitor. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Yeakle have one son,
William R., born on the homestead, July 30, 1893. He is attending the Williams
public school, in Whitemarsh township. Miss Annie H. Yeakle, sister of Samuel
Yeakle, is a member of his family, and resides on the homestead. She was
educated at the Williams school, and at the Millersville State Normal School.
The first of this branch of the Yeakle family in this country was Christopher
Yeakle, who arrived in Philadelphia, September 24, 1734, being one of the
Schwenkfelder immigrants. There is no record of his birth except that he was
eighteen years of age when he came to this country, having accompanied his
widowed mother, Regina. His father, who died in Germany prior to the coming of
his family to Pennsylvania, was also Christopher. The son was born in Silesia,
and the mother in Liegnitz, Lower Silesia, at the town of Harpersdorf.
Christopher Yeakle followed the trade of cooper at his home in Cresheim,
Germantown, where the family settled. He erected a log house in 1743, which is
still standing. Later he purchased the property on which is now located the
Pennsylvania railway station at Chestnut Hill. He acquired considerable
property, and lived to a great age, dying January 3, 1810, when he had attained
ninety-one years and six months. His wife was Maria, daughter of Balthasar and
Susanna Schultz. She was also a native of Germany, and emigrated with the
Schwenkfelders to America, as did her husband.
(Page 10)
Christopher Yeakle (3) (great-grandfather) was born October 7, 1757, at
Chestnut Hill. He married Susanna, daughter of Rev. George Kriebel, June 6,
1782. They had eight children, five daughters and three sons, but two of the
latter died young. He lived and died on the farm inherited from his father, on
the summit of Chestnut Hill, where the Pennsylvania railroad station is now
located. He followed the occupation of farming, and also left considerable
property at his death, which occurred July 10, 1843. The house in which he
lived is still standing. The family were long-lived, he being in his
eighty-sixth year at the time of his death. He was a member of the
Schwenkfelder denomination, and had no special education beyond what was common
in his day. He was, like his ancestors, a highly esteemed member of the
community.
Samuel Yeakle (grandfather) was the youngest child of Christopher and Susanna
Yeakle. He was born August 25, 1798, at Chestnut Hill. In 1823 he married
Lydia, daughter of Abraham Anders. In 1824 he engaged in farming on the
property now belonging to the estate of Charles A. Yeakle, in Whitemarsh
township. He continued in that occupation until he retired to Norristown,
Pennsylvania, in 1853. He resided at the corner of Oak and DeKalb streets, in
that borough, until his death, which occurred April 3, 1887. His wife died
December 26, 1846. He afterwards married (second wife) Susanna, daughter of
Samuel Dresher, on November 19, 1850. She died November 2, 1881. He obtained
all ordinary education in English and German, and could read and speak both
languages. He served for a time as a member of the town council of Norristown.
He had three children, all by his first wife, as follows: William A., Charles
A., and Abraham A. He was a faithful and consistent member of the Society of
Schwenkfelders, diligent and frugal, his manner of living corresponding with
the customs of the Schwenkfelders. He was a man of the strictest integrity, and
a valuable citizen.
William A. Yeakle, oldest son of Samuel Yeakle, was born in Whitemarsh
township, October 20, 1824, on the homestead. He received his education at the
public schools of the township, attending the Williams school. Before his
marriage he taught school at this place. He married, January 25, 1849,
Caroline, daughter of John Hocker, of Whitemarsh. They had two children, Annie
H. and Samuel Yeakle. Caroline, wife of William A. Yeakle, died May 16, 1857.
William A. Yeakle, after his school days were ended, continued a diligent
student and reader, having accumulated a large library of choice books, which
is still in the possession of his son, the subject of this sketch. His
religious affiliations were with the Schwenkfelders. William A. Yeakle began
farming immediately after his marriage, on the farm which had been owned by his
father-in-law, John Hocker, and purchased by his father, Samuel Yeakle. He
continued farming at that place until his death, which occurred August 11,
1888. He was actively interested in politics, being interested when quite a
young man. He was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party in
1856, when he became an ardent advocate of its principles, and was an active
worker in its behalf. He was an earnest Abolitionist. He served as judge of
elections in Whitemarsh township for many years. He was nominated for state
senator on the Republican ticket in 1874, and was elected, serving three years,
being the first Republican elected to that office under the constitution of
1873. He was a valuable member of that body. He always took an active interest
in local matters, and was a member of the Whitemarsh school board for sixteen
years. His action on local matters and in politics was based on the desire to
be right, and when he was assured of this he was very firm in his stand, and
not to be moved by any consideration.
Mrs. Caroline H. Yeakle, wife of Senator Yeakle, was a native of Whitemarsh
township, and descended from German ancestry. Her father, John Hocker, was a
prominent citizen of Whitemarsh. The founder of the Hocker family in this,
country was George Hocker, who came to Pennsylvania from Wurtemberg, September
16, 1751. He came into possession of the property now known as Erdenheim, now
owned by Mr. Carson, in Whitemarsh township. His son, Martin Hocker, afterward
became the owner of the farm now occupied by Samuel Yeakle, and afterwards
owned and occupied by his son, John Hocker.
William A. Yeakle was much interested in historical research, and was an active
worker in the compilation of the volume, "Genealogical Records of the
Schwenkfelders." He worked assiduously on local history until the time of his
death, in collecting facts.
He wrote a history of Whitemarsh township which appeared in installments in the
Norristown Herald, and was published in full in the first volume of "Historical
Sketches," published by the Montgomery County Historical Society in 1895.
William A. Yeakle was for some time engaged with his brother, Charles A.
Yeakle, in the manufacture of lime in Whitemarsh township, on the property
which is now the estate of Charles A. Yeakle, about the years 1870-75.
(page 11)
A. D. FETTEROLF was born near Collegeville, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania,
June 4, 1850. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools and in
Freeland Seminary. He is the son of Gideon and Esther (Hunsicker) Fetterolf,
both natives of this county.
Gideon Fetterolf (father) was reared and lived all his life in Montgomery
county. He died in 1894, aged eighty-seven years. He was in elder and a leader
in the Mennonite church, which is now merged into the Reformed church of
Collegeville. He passed most of his life in farming, but also spent some time
as a merchant in Royersford. He was widely known and highly respected. His
first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Bishop John Hunsicker.
They had the following children: Captain Henry H., of Collegeville,
ex-representative of the county; Adam H., president of Girard College,
Philadelphia; Susan (Mrs. A. Tyson); Sarah (Mrs. A. Grimley).
Gideon Fetterolf's second wife was Esther Hunsicker, daughter of Bishop Abraham
and Elizabeth Hunsicker. They had the following children: Abraham D., the
subject of this sketch; A. Curtin, connected with the International Merchant
and Marine Company, of New York; Horace G., a prominent manufacturer of rugs
and carpets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All the children inherited the
business sagacity of the parents, and hold various high positions in the world.
Adam Fetterolf, paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a
member of an old Berks county family. His children were Michael Samuel, Peter,
Daniel, Adam, Gideon (father), Rachel (Mrs. Correll).
Bishop Abraham Hunsicker (maternal grandfather) was born in Montgomery county,
July 31, 1793, and died June 12, 1872, at the age of seventy-eight years. He
was the son of Bishop Henry Hunsicker. He descended from a family of ministers,
and was a man who held liberal views and could look ahead of his time. His ideas
caused a division of the Mennonite church. The few followers remained together,
and in 1802 Rev. Joseph H. Hendricks was elected minister and took charge of
the church. The church flourished, and in 1888 merged with the Reformed Church
in the United States, and is among the strong congregations of that
denomination. It is still under Mr. Hendricks' supervision, as it has been for
more than forty years, and its success is a monument to Abraham Hunsicker's
views. Bishop Hunsicker was the founder of Freeland Seminary, and established
his son Henry as principal, the institution afterwards becoming Ursinus
College. Abraham Hunsicker had children as follows: Henry, who conducted
Freeland Seminary for vicars, and later settled in Germantown, where he still
resides; Horace; Elias, Mary, married Rev. J. T. Preston: Kate, married Rev.
Joseph H. Hendricks; Esther (mother), who still lives at Collegeville; Anna
(Mrs. John B. Landis); Abraham, and Benjamin A.
Abraham Hunsicker (father) was descended as follows: Bishop John Hunsicker was
his oldest brother. He was born in Montgomery county. Bishop Henry Hunsicker
was his father, and is a descendant of Valentine Hunsicker, who came from
Switzerland, and was among the early settlers of Pennsylvania. He was one of
the leaders of the Mennonite church.
(Page 12)
Abraham D. Fetterolf received a good education and started in life with
principles fixed by the training of his parents. At the age of sixteen he
became a teacher in the public school. When he became of age he went to
Philadelphia and engaged in mercantile pursuits. From 1871 until 1875 he was a
lumber inspector, and then formed a partnership which carried on a flour and
feed business. From 1888 to 1890 he was a member of the firm of Roberts &
Company Machine Works, at Collegeville. In 1882 he was elected a justice of the
peace of Upper Providence township, and served until he resigned to accept a
county office. In 1885 he was elected transcribing clerk of the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives, the following year was promoted to speaker's clerk;
in 1889 was journal clerk; in 1893, resident clerk; in 1895, chief clerk, and
in 1897 and 1899, resident clerk. In 1890 he was nominated for the office of
register of wills of Montgomery county, and failed of election by only a small
majority. In 1891 he was appointed deputy clerk of the courts of Montgomery
county. In 1892 he was unanimously elected chairman of the Republican committee
of Montgomery county, and that he conducted the campaign successfully is shown
by the fact that the entire Republican ticket was elected with a single
exception. He resigned this office to become secretary of the Republican state
committee during the campaign of 1893-4.
At the present time Mr. Fetterolf is burgess of the borough of Collegeville,
elected in the spring of 1903, and also has a real estate and loan investment
office in Philadelphia which receives the most of his attention. He is a
broad-minded business man, and widely known and respected. His home is on Main
street, Collegeville. Since July, 1889, Mr. Fetterolf has-been secretary of the
Perkiomen Mutual Fire Insurance Company. For years he was a director of the
National Bank of Schwenksville. He is a director in the Times Publishing
Company, of Norristown, and of other corporations. He became a Mason in Warren
Lodge, Trappe, and served as master in 1880, and as secretary for ten years. He
is a member of Royal Arch Chapter, Free and Accepted Masons, No. 190; of
Hutchinson Commandery No. 32, Knights Templar, of Norristown; and of the
Patriotic Sons of America. He is a director in the Valley Forge Memorial
Association.
He married (first wife) Miss Sallie Graybill, a native of Cumberland county,
Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Henry N. and Ann Musser Graybill, originally of
Lancaster county. He was a bishop of the Brethren church, and a prominent
farmer.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Graybill were: Martha (Mrs. H. A. Kaufman); Mary,
married Attorney J. S. Freeman; Sallie (Mrs. Fetterolf); Elizabeth (Mrs. L.
Royer); Rebecca, died unmarried; James M.; Christopher; Jay N., and Henry.
Abraham D. and Sallie (Graybill) Fetterolf had the following children:
Gertrude, died young; Henry, died in infancy; Clement G., received a good
education and gave promise of great success in the business world, was the
youngest member of the New York Produce Exchange, but was cut off in his early
manhood, dying February 23, 1899; Horace N., born in 1885, now a student at the
University of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Fetterolf died in 1889. She was a member of the
Reformed church of Collegeville.
On June 21, 1891, Abraham D. Fetterolf married (second wife) Miss Bertha
Kooken, who was born at Mercersburg, the daughter of John R. and Mary (Prizer)
Kooken, both natives of Pennsylvania of German descent. Mr. Kooken was a highly
educated man and a well known educator and minister of the Reformed church. He
conducted Elmwood Seminary, near Norristown, which was the second seminary in
the county. Under President Buchanan's administration he was appointed consul
to Trinidad-de-Cuba. When Lincoln became president he returned to his home, and
at the beginning of the Civil war raised a company and served as captain of
Company C, One Hundred and Tenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He
was killed in battle at Fredericksburg, and was buried in the national cemetery
at that place. Mr. Fetterolf still has Captain Kooken's sword in his possession,
and it is highly prized by the family. At one time Mr. Kooken was a teacher in
the Mercersburg Academy. His wife, who survived him
(Page 13)
some years, was the daughter of Henry Prizer, the first principal of what was
long known as Washington Hall Boarding School at Trappe. The children of John
R. and Mary (Prizer) Kooken were: Warren, of Philadelphia; Robert, died at the
age of twenty-two years; Bertha C. (Mrs. Fetterolf). Abraham D. and Bertha C.
Fetterolf have no children. The family are members of the Reformed church.
Judging from his past record and considering that Mr. Fetterolf is now in the
prime of his life, it is highly probable that new and still higher fields of
usefulness will be opened to him in the future.
WILLIAM P. HENSZEY, a member of the firm of Burnham-Williams Co., owning
Baldwin Locomotive Works, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also actively and
prominently identified with other corporations, is a man well endowed with rare
business and executive ability, and the high position he occupies in business
circles has been won through earnest and honorable effort. He is a native of
the city of Philadelphia, the date of his birth being December 24, 1832.
The family of which William P. Henszey is a member originated in Amblecote
county, England. Joshua Henszey (great-great-grandfather) was a noted glass
maker, conducting extensive operation in that vicinity, and achieving great
financial success. He was the owner of vast estates in his native country, and
was a man of high standing and influence. He married an English lady and they
reared a large family of children.
Joshua Henszey (great-grandfather), son of Joshua Henszey, was born in England,
reared and educated there, and about the year 1686 came to America, becoming the
founder of the American branch of the family. He was a glass maker by trade,
which occupation he followed in the vicinity of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in
which section of the country he settled upon his arrival in the new world. He
was united in marriage to Mary ________.
Joseph Henszey (grandfather), son of Joshua and Hard Henszey, was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Upon attaining years of maturity he accepted the
position of steward of the old Philadelphia Hospital, and his wife, Deborah
Henszey, served in the capacity of matron of the same. They, held the positions
for a number of years, and were faithful and conscientious in the performance of
their duties. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Ann, Joseph,
Joshua, Thomas and Samuel C. The father of these children, after a life of
great usefulness and activity, died in 1706.
Samuel C. Henszey (father), son of Joseph and Deborah Henszey, was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1788. He was educated in the best schools of the
day, the knowledge thus obtained thoroughly qualifying him for an active career.
He accepted a clerkship in the Bank of North America, in Philadelphia, which he
held for the long period of twenty years. He was later in life appointed
secretary and treasurer of the Western Saving Fund, retaining that position
until his death in 1862. He was a man of sterling qualities, and therefore
merited the respect and esteem in which he was held by all who had the honor of
his acquaintance. He married Priscilla H. Peddle, deceased, a daughter of George
Peddle, a member of an old Philadelphia family. They were the parents of several
children, among whom was a son, William P. Henszey.
William P. Henszey obtained his early education in the public schools of his
native city, Philadelphia, and then pursued a course of advanced studies at the
high school, from which he was graduated in 1848. He then entered the employ of
a wholesale boot and shoe house as clerk, and while serving in that capacity
made the start that resulted in his being in his present position. He purchased
a number of books and with no other aid began the study of mechanical
engineering.
In 1859 he entered the employ of the Baldwin Locomotive Works at Philadelphia
as a draughtsman, and by paying the closest attention to the details of the
work, and also by the display of mechanical genius and ability, rose rapidly in
the estimation of his employers, and in 1870 was admitted as a member of the
firm, since which time he has kept a general supervision over the engineering
department. He is a member of the board of directors of the Bank of North
America and the Delaware Insurance Company, and manager of the Western Saving
Fund. Mr. Henszey is a Republican in politics, has never sought or held
political office, but at all times is ready and willing to aid his party to the
extent of his power and ability. He is a member of the Society of Friends,
holding a birthright in Philadelphia Meeting.
(Page 14)
Mr. Henszey was united in marriage in 1857 to Miss Anna B. Hitchcock, a
daughter of Dr. Hitchcock, of Maine. One child was the issue of this union,
Mary L., wife of Dr. Thomas G. Ashton, and mother of one child, Anna H. In 1879
Mr. Henszey removed to his beautiful and commodious home at Wynnewood,
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania.
JOSEPH MAURICE HAYWOOD, publisher of the Ambler Gazette, is a native of Ambler,
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, having been born on his father's farm, now
within the borough limits, April 25, 1872.
Claudius William Haywood, grandfather of Joseph M. Haywood, was born in England
August 5, 1795, and came to this country early in the thirties. His wife died
not many years after. He was a cutlery manufacturer, and the owner of a large
plant at Sheffield, England, where he conducted a successful business, which he
sold on removing to the United States. He purchased a farm in, the vicinity of
Philadelphia, which he sold later, purchasing another at Germantown, which he
also disposed of, thereafter becoming the owner of a farm in Lower Merion
township, Montgomery county, which is still in the possession of his grandson,
Joseph M. Haywood. His last purchase of property was a farm in Lower Gwynedd
township, lying on the opposite side of the road from the home of Joseph
Haywood. He passed away on his eighty-second birthday, August 5, 1877. He was a
well-preserved man, whose strong convictions manifested themselves in what are
regarded as eccentricities. One of these peculiarities was his opposition to
the attendance of his children at public or private schools, they being taught
by him at home. He was, however, a practical business man, with a cultivated
taste for music, which he encouraged also in his children, teaching them music,
and each of them could play on an instrument of some kind. He had in all eleven
children, most of whom died young. William lived to the age of seventy-two,
dying in 1899, and Joseph, father of Joseph M. Haywood, is the only survivor of
the family.
Joseph Haywood, father of Joseph M. Haywood, after being schooled under the
care of his father, was employed at farming, commencing with a small tract of
land and adding to it by another purchase until he had sixty-eight acres, all
of which was included within the borough of Ambler, at its incorporation. He
was an advocate of the organization of the borough, but declined the honor of
being its first burgess. Later, however, he served three years as burgess,
afterwards was elected a town councilman, and on the expiration of his term was
unanimously re-elected, but declined to serve any longer, although at that time
a member of the body. For the past twenty years he has been connected with the
First National Bank of Ambler, was one of its incorporators, and a member of
the board of directors from the beginning. He served as secretary of the board
of directors for several years, and later was elected its president, serving in
that capacity until January, 1904, when, at his own request he was relieved from
the duties of that office, but consented to remain as a member of the board. He
takes an active interest in the Ambler Presbyterian church, of which his wife
was a charter member, and has served as president of the board of church
trustees from its organization. He also served for a number of years as
secretary and treasurer of the Ambler board of health. Mr. Haywood is an
independent Republican in politics. He is now seventy-two years of age.
(Page 15)
On March 17, 1865, Mr. Haywood married, Caroline Hartzell, daughter of Samuel
and Mary Hartzell, whose family consisted of the following named children:
Samuel, David, Thomas, Matilda (Mrs. Ward), Caroline (Mrs. Haywood), Sarah, and
Frank. Samuel Hartzell was, a mason by trade; for a number of years he lived in
Rockhill township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, but later removed to Manayunk,
where he and his wife died.
Shortly after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Haywood removed to London, Ontario,
Canada, where they remained four years, and where their first child was born.
Their children were: John Lincoln, who died at the age of two years and was
buried in Canada. Claudius William, born March 2, 1869, resides at Ambler on
the homestead, and is engaged in the operations of the Philadelphia Arms
Company, at Wayne junction, being treasurer of the same.
Joseph Maurice, born April 25, 1872, mentioned at length hereinafter. Venie,
born July 16, 1877. Caroline, born September 29, 1878, Mary Maud, born July 20,
1881. The last three named are unmarried. Mrs. Haywood, the mother of these
children, died suddenly on October 26, 1902.
Joseph M. Haywood was reared on his father's farm, attending the public school
of Lower Gwynedd township, and later Sunnyside school, at Ambler, conducted by
the Misses Knight, from which he was graduated in the year 1889. He at once
entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1893
with the degree of Bachelor of Science, having pursued the Wharton school
course in finance and economy.
In 1894 he entered the establishment of Arthur H. Thomas, proprietor of the
Ambler Gazette, and remained with him until February, 1897, when he purchased,
the newspaper plant and has conducted the same up to the present time (1904).
He has made many improvements, increasing the facilities for the publication of
a good newspaper, and thus largely increasing the circulation and making
progress generally. The paper enjoys a large patronage in one of the most
intelligent and thickly populated communities of Montgomery county.
The Gazette is generally regarded as one of the very best of the weekly
newspapers of the county. There is connected with the office a job printing
plant, which also comes in for a large share of public patronage. Mr. Haywood
is a Republican in politics and served the borough of Ambler for five years as
secretary and treasurer of the board of health.
Mr. Haywood married, October 15, 1902, Elizabeth B. Godfrey, daughter of Samuel
and Elizabeth Godfrey, of Ambler, and granddaughter of the late Andrew Godfrey,
who was for many years a hotel proprietor in Germantown, in which place his
death occurred. The children of Samuel and Elizabeth Godfrey are as follows
Annie (Mrs. C. W. Haywood); Margaret B., unmarried; Dr. Andrew, of Ambler; and
Elizabeth B., aforementioned as the wife of Joseph M. Haywood. Mrs. Haywood is
a member of Trinity Memorial Episcopal church, at Ambler, Pennsylvania.
HENRY G. LANDIS is principal of the public schools of Lansdale, Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania, to which position he was elected in 1902, and for which
he is eminently qualified, being endowed with a strong mentality, sound
judgment and rare executive ability. The family of which he is a member was
among the early settlers of Montgomery county, and the descendants thereof have
been active and public-spirited citizens of this commonwealth.
Abraham D. Landis, grandfather of Henry G. Landis, was born in Skippack
township, Montgomery county. The common schools of the township afforded him
the means of education, and subsequently he chose for his words in life the
occupation of farming, which he conducted along practical and progressive
lines, and which yielded him a goodly profit for his labor. He adhered to the
tenets of the Mennonite church, and his political support was given to the
candidates and treasures of the Republican party. He married Elizabeth Rife, a
member of an old and honored family, and thirteen children were born to them,
two sons of whom died in infancy.
The surviving members of the family were: George, John, Isaac, Henry, Garrett,
Elias, Samuel, Susanna, Elizabeth, Mary, and Abraham R.
Abraham R. Landis, father of Henry G. Landis, was born in Lower Salford
township, to which section of the county his father moved in the year 1840. He
obtained a good English education in the common schools of his native township,
and from the completion of his studies until recent years, when he retired from
active business, his time and attention were given exclusively to the
cultivation of the soil. His operations were attended with a large degree of
prosperity, and at the present time (1904) he is enjoying the fruits of his
many years of ceaseless activity. He has always taken an active interest in the
affairs of the Republican party, but has never sought political preferment. In
religion he is a follower of the Mennonite faith.
His wife, whose maiden name was Sabina Gargus, a representative of an old Bucks
and Montgomery county family, bore him the following named children: Elizabeth
A., wife of Frank M. Nace, and mother of five children; Abraham G., unmarried;
and Henry G. Landis.
(Page 16)
Henry G. Landis was born on the home farm in Lower Salford township, January
16, 1870. He attended the common schools in the vicinity of his home, and took
a term at the West Chester Normal School, graduating there in 1895 with honors.
He then taught school for two years in Lower Salford township, and two terms in
Church's school in Buckingham township, Bucks county. He was then elected
principal of the Chalfont grammar school, and served there two terms, and went
from there to New Hope, for five years. While in the latter two places he
instituted graduation exercises, which feature has added to the efficiency and
interest in the schools. In 1902 he was elected to his present position, that
of principal of the public schools of Lansdale, Montgomery county, and since
then has efficiently discharged the duties assigned him. He has more than five
hundred pupils under his control, all of whom thoroughly admire and respect him
for his many excellent characteristics, and in order to give the best
instruction possible, devotes his time to reading and study. He is well versed
in literature, mathematics and science, and topics of general interest, but
especially in the line which will aid him most in his chosen field of labor. He
is progressive without being radical, and leaves the imprint of his personality
upon his work. Mr. Landis firmly adheres to the principles of Republicanism.
In 1895 Mr. Landis married Sadie K. Markley, a daughter of Benjamin and
Margaret (Kulp) Markley, residents of Towamencin township, Montgomery county.
Three children have been born to them as follows: Ada Lourene, deceased; Henry
Elson, deceased; and E. Eugene. Mr. Landis and his family attend the Reformed
church, and he serves in the capacity of superintendent of the Sunday school
connected therewith.
JOHN H. GEHRET, the well known general agent and dispatcher of trains for the
Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company at Bridgeport, Montgomery county,
Pennsylvania, was born at Douglassville, Berks county, March 24, 1856. He
removed with his parents to Bridgeport in 1860, attending the public schools of
that borough until he was fifteen years of age. He entered the service of the
railway company in 1871, and has been employed in various capacities, having
occupied his present position at Bridgeport since 1888.
Levi Gehret (father) was born in Pricetown, Berks county. He was a stonemason
by occupation. He entered the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway
Company as a worker in masonry. Later he was appointed supervisor in charge of
the maintenance of the tracks at Schuylkill Haven, being transferred to
Douglassville, and in 1860 to Bridgeport, where he was employed in the same
capacity until 1891, when failing health compelled him to resign the position
after having been in the service of the company for a period of forty years. In
politics Mr. Gehret was a Democrat, but in the year 1896, when William McKinley
became the Republican nominee for the presidency, he decided to support him,
and remained a Republican until his death, which occurred May 28, 1902. Until
his marriage he was a member of the Lutheran church. He then withdrew from that
denomination and became with his wife a member of St. Gabriel's Episcopal church
at Douglassville. After the removal of the family to Bridgeport, they became
attached to Swedes (Christ) church, and Mr. Gehret was the efficient
superintendent of its Sunday school for a number of years. He was a member of
the Independent Order of Odd
(page 17)
Fellows for nearly a half century, and a charter member of Monocacy Lodge of
that order. He continued to hold his membership with that lodge as long as he
lived. He married Miss Sarah A., daughter of John and Sarah Kirlin. Mrs. Gehret
was born in 1824. Their children: Augustus B., married Miss Annie Deysher, they
living in Philadelphia, where he is employed as a carpenter for the American
Ice Company; George W., married Miss Rebecca J. Rambo, and resides in
Bridgeport, where he is an engineer in the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading
Railway Company, having served in that capacity since 1877; John H., subject of
this sketch.
John H. Gehret is a Republican in politics. In religious faith he is an
Episcopalian. He is a member of Washington Camp, No. 51, Patriotic Order Sons
of America, of Bridgeport. He has been a member of the Masonic order since
1881, and is connected with St. Albans Lodge, No. 529, of Philadelphia. On
October 31, 1882, Mr. Gehret married Miss Ida daughter of Ezekiel and Joanna E.
Potts.
Ezekiel Potts, father of Mrs. Gehret, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania.
February 17, 1819. He died May 4, 1882. He was for many years a manufacturer of
agricultural implements in Bridgeport, and later went into the oil business in
Bridgeport, having an office in Philadelphia, and so continued until his death.
In politics he was a Republican, and a Friend in religion. He married Joanna E.
Pugh, born in Lower Merion township, and who died in 1891. She also was a
Friend. Ezekiel and Joanna Potts had five children, of whom three are deceased.
The survivors are Mrs. John H. Gehret, and William H. Potts, of Philadelphia,
who is connected with the Pullman Palace Car Company.
JOHN S. BUCHANAN was for a number of years the efficient postmaster at Ambler,
and one of its most energetic and successful business men. He is a native of
Rouseville, in Venango county, Pennsylvania. The family are of Scotch-Irish
descent, as the name indicates, the grandfather of Mr. Buchanan having been,
however, a resident of Venango and Crawford counties in his later years. He
died in 1879, at the age of eighty-seven years. John S. Buchanan was born March
4, 1861. He is the son of John and Jane (McClay) Buchanan, both of whom were
natives of Ireland and came to America in early life, being married in
Pennsylvania.
John Buchanan (father) grew to manhood near Titusville, in the oil regions of
Pennsylvania, whose enormous resources in the way of the product were as vet
unknown at that time. On reaching manhood he removed to where is now Oil City,
where, he purchased a farm, and when the oil fever broke out he at first leased
it and. afterwards sold it to the firm of Rouse, Mitchell & Co. Some time later
he bought another farm near Titusville, which he sold in 1864.
In 1865 Mr. Buchanan visited Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and purchased a
farm in Upper Dublin township, near where is now located the borough of Ambler,
at that time a small village known as Wissahickon, intending to remove to it at
once with his family. This was not to be, however, for on Mr. Buchanan's return
to his old home in the western part of Pennsylvania, he was stricken with
pneumonia, and after a brief illness died. He was an energetic farmer, without
any desire to figure in politics or otherwise in public notice. He was a highly
valued member of the community in which he lived, being of a social and
accommodating disposition. As a business man he displayed sound judgment,
making good investments, accumulating a considerable state, and leaving his
family in good circumstances. In religious predilections he was a Presbyterian.
Mrs. Buchanan survives him, residing at Ambler.
Soon after the death of her husband she decided to follow out the course upon
which he had determined in his lifetime, and she accordingly removed with her
two sons to Ambler and took possession of the farm which he had purchased
prior to his last illness. When later sons, Joseph and John S., were grown to
manhood, they, after acquiring the necessary knowledge to enter upon business
careers, sought other pursuits than that of farming. The family then rented the
farm and, securing a desirable home within the limits of Ambler, removed
thereto, becoming citizens of one of the most enterprising of the many
prosperous boroughs along the line of the North Pennsylvania Railroad within
the limits of Montgomery county.
(page 18)
The parents of Mrs. Buchanan never came to America, but died as they had lived,
in Ireland. Their children took a different view of things, however, and after
the death of both parents decided to seek a home in the new world. Leaving
behind them the old associations and severity; old ties, they, first having
made all necessary preparations for the voyage, emigrated to America and
settled in Pennsylvania.
They consisted of the following: Joseph McClay; Jane, mother of John S. and
Joseph Buchanan; Mary, unmarried; Anna (Mrs. A. Buchanan); Sarah (Mrs. John
Hopkins); and another sister who yet remains in Ireland. Mrs. Buchanan is a
member of the Presbyterian church. Her son Joseph is engaged in the real estate
business at Ambler.
John S. Buchanan was but four years of age when he came to Montgomery county.
He remained on the farm until he married, when he bought the farm, rented it
and removed to Ambler. His first employment in Ambler was in the capacity of
teller in the Ambler National Bank, in which position he remained for five
years. He then engaged in the real estate business, in which he continued until
1898, when he received the appointment of postmaster from President McKinley
through the influence of Congressman Wanger. Under his management of the
postoffice at Ambler it became one of the most important as well as one of the
best conducted in the county. He established it in a new and commodious
building, fitted up with every requirement needed for the accommodation of its
patrons. Besides being the center of a large and increasing business, the
Keasby & Mattison Company contribute very largely to its prosperity, because of
the enormous amount of mail which they send out daily. Several lines of rural
free delivery radiate from Ambler, increasing very materially the business of
the postoffice. While Mr. Buchanan was in the real estate business. his energy
and good business ability aided greatly in developing Ambler and in securing
for that borough a share of the advantages derived from the establishment of
manufactories within its limits. He did all that was possible to attract the
attention of those seeking new locations for industries, favored street and
other improvements, and everything in general that was calculated to advance
its interests and its growth. He was one of those who made the town a borough.
He was a member of the first town council of Ambler, and for several nears the
honored president of that body, serving twelve years in all, and being a member
when he was appointed to the position of postmaster. He was a notary public for
twelve years, and served in that capacity for the Ambler Bank. He is, as a
matter of course, a mail of pronounced views in politics, being an active
Republican and all earnest advocate of its principles and candidates.
In religious faith he is a member of the Presbyterian church. He was one of
those who were prominent in the erection of the new church of that denomination
at Ambler, and has for a number of years been one of its trustees. Mr. Buchanan
is a broadminded, liberal and progressive business man who is a benefit to the
community in which he lives. He is a large stockholder and also a director in
the Ambler National Bank. He is also a director of the Pettit Ornamental Iron
Company of Ambler. He is president of the Wissahickon Loan Association. In
February, 1904, he resigned the position of postmaster, and was elected cashier
of the Ambler National Bank on the retirement of John J. Houghton, who had acted
in that capacity for a period of twenty years from the time of its organization.
Fraternally, Mr. Buchanan is a member of the Masonic order, being a Royal Arch
Mason. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Buchanan married, in 1884, Miss Ellen H. Hough, a native of Bucks county,
Pennsylvania, who was born in 1863, being a daughter of J. Finley and Margaret
(Freas) Hough. J. Finley Hough was a son of Benjamin Hough, and Benjamin was a
son of Benjamin, Sr. The last named married Hannah Simpson, whose brother, John
Simpson, was the maternal grandfather of Ulysses S. Grant, the distinguished
general who succeeded in overthrowing the rebellion, and afterwards served two
terms as president of the United States. The generations of Houghs prior to
Benjamin, Sr., were: Septimus, Robert, John, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph and
Richard, the last named of whom was a native of Macclesfield, in the county of
Chester, in England. Richard Hough arrived at Philadelphia in the ship
"Endeavor," from London, July 29, 1683, bringing with him four dependants, as
follows: Francis Hough, Thomas Wood and wife, Mary; and James Sutton.
(Page 19)
Richard Hough settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he acquired two
tracts of land, both fronting on the Delaware river, one of them two miles
south of the present borough of Yardley, and the other immediately adjoining
the manor of Highlands. Richard Hough married Margery Clows, January 17, 1684.
He was a member of Falls Meeting of the Society of Friends. William Penn also
lived for a time in the vicinity, at Pennsbury the manor of Penn, and
occasionally attended Falls Meeting. Richard Hough was one of the commissioners
concerned in the organization of the county of Bucks. He also took an active
part otherwise in the government of the province, representing Bucks county in
the provincial assembly of 1684, 1688, 1690, 1697 and 1700, and also in 1703-4.
He was a member of the provincial council, the governing body of the colony, in
1693 and 1700. His first two terms in the assembly, in 1684 and 1688, were
eventful periods, owing to the appearance of a dissatisfied element. Richard
Hough was among the most trusted friends of the proprietor, William Penn. He
was a justice of the peace in Bucks county in 1700, and Penn appointed him, in
conjunction with Phineas Pemberton and William Biles, a member of a court of
inquiry to investigate the state of his affairs in the province of
Pennsylvania, showing his confidence in the capacity and sound judgment of
Hough.
The original name of the family, De la Haugh (Norman French) was changed at
first to De Hough, and in the sixteenth century to Hough. The family came to
England in the year 1066, with William the Conqueror. Richard Hough was drowned
in the Delaware river in 1705. The accident happened on the twenty-fifth of
March, when he was on his way to Philadelphia.
Some idea of the estimation in which William Penn held Richard Hough may be
gained from the fact that when he heard of his death, he wrote to James Logan:
"I lament the loss of honest Richard Hough. Such men must needs be wanted where
selfishness and forgetfulness of God's mercy so much abound."
J. Finley Hough, father of Mrs. John S. Buchanan, married Margaret Fries, a
daughter of Jacob Fries, of Ducks county, the family being of French descent.
Finley Hough was a miller by trade, conducting that business very extensively
in Bucks county. He died in 1888, and his widow resides with her daughter, Mrs.
Buchanan, in Ambler. Her other children are Dr. C. B. Hough, of Ambler, and
Horace Hough, who resides in Philadelphia.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Buchanan: Joseph, born in July, 1885;
Charles, born in April, 1888; Helen, born in December, 1895.
Mr. Buchanan, in addition to what the public schools afforded him in the way of
education, took a full course at the Pierce College of Business in Philadelphia.
He is a member of Ambler Lodge No. 1045, I .O. O. F., and of Fort Washington
Lodge, No. 308, F. and A. M. He was for many years secretary of the Ambler Real
Estate Improvement Company.
JOHN BURTON, of Springfield township, Montgomery county. Pennsylvania, an
enterprising and prosperous business man, whose reliable methods have brought
to him a large degree of financial success and given to him a prominent place
in business circles, was born in England, January 27, 1852, On the old
homestead, one of four children of John and Ann (Hand) Burton, both of whom are
now deceased.
(Page 20)
His educational advantages were obtained in the schools of his native country,
and after laying aside his school books he took up the study of gardening, and
for a period of time was employed in the Earl of Stamford's gardens in England.
In 1872 he decided to test the business opportunities of the United States, and
accordingly set sail on the steamship "Atlantic," landed in the city of New
York, and came on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He secured employment there at
his trade, and in 1876 did considerable work on the grounds of the Centennial
Exhibition held in that city. He then took up his resident in New Orleans,
Louisiana, residing there two years, after which he came to his present home in
Springfield township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He at once purchased
twenty-one acres of land and engaged in the florist business. The enterprise
was a success from the beginning, and has steadily grown in proportions from
year to year, until now (1904) he has a plant with over two hundred thousand
feet of glass in it, and is regarded as one of the leading rose growers in this
country. He was recently appointed assignee of Craig & Son, of Philadelphia,
florists and growers, and by his careful and conservative methods is bringing
this business along in a successful manner.
Mr. Burton is a staunch adherent of the principles of Democracy, and is a
leader in politics in his township. In 1891 he was elected to the state
legislature, and during his term of office discharged the duties with
distinction and credit, giving entire satisfaction to his constituents.
For ten consecutive years he served the township as school director, and the
cause of education has always found in him all earnest advocate. He is a member
of the Florist Association of America. Mr. Burton was united in marriage to
Elizabeth A. Lees, a daughter of George Lees, superintendent of a carpet works
in the city of Philadelphia. Their children are: Alfred, who married Edith D.
Harper, they have one child; George, married to Rose Taylor, they also have one
child; Alice and Elizabeth A., who are unmarried. The sons assist their father
in his business. The family are highly respected in the community, where they
enjoy the acquaintance of a wide circle of friends.
THE McLEAN FAMILY are of Scotch origin, and for many generations the clan owned
and resided upon the island of Mull, in Castle Duard. Their ancestors fought in
the crusades, as shown in their coat-of-arms by the dexter hand grasping the
cross. Sir Fitzroy Donald Mclean, the recent chief of the clan, resides in
Castle Duard. He visited America during the World's Fair at Chicago, and was
hospitably entertained by his American cousins.
The first ancestor of the McLean family of whom the have any authentic
information was driven from his home in Scotland on account of his earnest
support of the Stewart cause, which ended in the battle of Culloden. He settled
in Colerain, county Derry, Ireland, where he married and where all his children
were bore. Of his descendants, Daniel McLean married Elizabeth Douglas, who was
a descendant of Lord Douglas, of Scotland, the celebrated "Black Douglas," who
was the leader of the Douglas clan. The Douglas estates are located at Douglas,
in the province of Liddisdale. Scotland, and are in the possession of
descendants of James, who was called the "Back Douglas." He was the friend of
Robert Bruce, and fought at the battle of Bannockburn.
The following named children were born to Daniel and Elizabeth (Douglas)
McLean: James, Sarah, Daniel, Douglas, Margaret, John, and Hugh Douglas. Of
these James and Sarah, the two eldest, emigrated to the United States before
the rest of the family, settling at Summit Hill, Carbon county, Pennsylvania,
and their favorable report of the country resulted in the removal of the entire
family from Ireland.
In the year 1857 Daniel McLean, father of these children, removed to Montgomery
county and purchased a farm in Norriton township, which is now owned by the
estate of John McLean. He died there in 1860, his wife passing away in
Philadelphia in 1869, and their remains are interred in Pottstown. They were
members of the Brown Presbyterian church in Norristown. Pennsylvania. Mr.
McLean was a man of means, and well educated.
James McLean, the eldest son of Daniel and Elizabeth McLean, was a merchant at Summit
(page 21)
Hill, Carbon county, and was interested in coal shipping. It was during his
time that the first coal was shipped from Summit Hill to Mauch Chunk.
Sarah McLean, the eldest daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth McLean, became the
wife of Alexander Sampson, who settled near Pottstown when the family left
Summit Hill, and there followed agricultural pursuits. Alexander Sampson was
cousin to the late Admiral Sampson of the United States Navy.
John McLean, fourth son of Daniel and Elizabeth McLean, was born in county
Derry, Ireland, and at the age of nine years came with his parents to the
United States. After acquiring a common school education he attended Lafayette
College, and in 1849 went with his brother Douglas to California, that being
the time of the gold fever. They went by the way of Cape Horn in a sailing
ship, and were six months in making the voyage. They engaged in gold mining, in
which John was very successful, but his brother died there, and his remains lie
in California. Upon his return from California, John joined his parents on the
farm, and at his father's death purchased the interest of his brothers and
sisters in the property, which he owned up to the time of his decease. He was a
Democrat in politics, and served as school director for several years in N
Norriton township.
He was among the first to advocate the public school system and the purchase of
school books out of the funds of the township, and at all times manifested great
interest in the cause of education. He was judge of elections for many years,
and also a delegate to his party conventions.
In 1881 he was elected prothonotary in Montgomery county on the Democratic
ticket. He held the office one term, and was renominated by his party, but
defeated at the election in 1884 by William L. Woodward, the Republican
nominee. He was a member of the Lower Providence Presbyterian church for many
years, to which his wife and family also belonged. He was a member of its board
of trustees for several years, and was active in Sunday school work, being a
Bible class teacher. He was one of the charter members of Charity Lodge, Free
and Accepted Masons, of Norristown, and a member of Hutchinson Commandery,
Knights Templar.
Mr. McLean married, July 21, 1868, Margaret McIntry, daughter of James and
Margaret (Sinclair) McIntyre, who was born in county Antrim, near Giants'
Causeway, Ireland, May 6, 1838. In 1846 her father came to America with his
family, which consisted of his wife, son and daughter, and settled in
Whitemarsh township, near Chestnut hill, on a farm more recently owned by the
estate of Daniel Williams. On this farm he remained twenty-one years, for a
time as a farm hand and afterwards as a renter.
In 1859, having accumulated some money, Mr. McIntyre purchased a farm in
Whitpain township, on which he remained until 1866, when he purchased a farm
now forming part of the tract belonging to the Norristown Hospital for the
Insane. He then purchased the Summers farm, on which he resided until his
death, April 11, 1987. His wife died January 5, 1881, and was buried by her
husband in the cemetery attached to the Lower Providence Presbyterian church.
Mr. McIntyre was a Republican in politics, but never sought or held office. He
and his wife were for many years members of the Lower Providence Presbyterian
church.
Their children were: Margaret, aforementioned as the wife of John McLean, and
James, both in Ireland. The children of Mr. and Mrs. McLean were as follows
Elizabeth, born May 21, 1869, married William Taggart, their children being:
Margaret S., Martha L., Austin L., and Elizabeth McLean Taggart. John Douglas,
born October 19, 1870.
He graduated at the Norristown high school in 1888, and also graduated at
Prickett's Commercial College, in Philadelphia. He then entered the University
of Pennsylvania, graduated from its medical department in 1894, and is now
practicing medicine in Philadelphia. He married Agnes R. Williams, of
Philadelphia. They have one child, Sydney R. McLean. Mary Agnes, born May 25,
1872. She graduated in 1889 at the Norristown high school, spent two years in
the State Normal School at West Chester, and has been a teacher in the schools
of Montgomery county for twelve years.
James S., born November 29, 1875. He graduated from the Norristown high school
in 1895, and later from the Drexel Institute as an electrical engineer, and is
following- that profession at Rochester, New York. Hugh D., born August 13,
1878. He attended the public schools of his neighborhood and the Norristown
high school, and is now conducting the operations on the home farm. John
McLean, the father of these children, died January 28, 1888. He was buried with
Masonic honors in the Lower Providence Presbyterian cemetery.
(Page 22)
Dr. Hugh Douglas McLean, the youngest son of Daniel and Elizabeth McLean, was
born in Colerain, county Derry, Ireland, in 1837, and two years later came with
his parents to this country, they locating at Summit Hill, Carbon county,
Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools, and previous to 1850 entered
Lafayette College, later matriculating at Jefferson Medical College, from which
he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He had but just
graduated when the rebellion began, and he at once offered his services, which
were accepted, and he was appointed by Governor Andrew G. Curtin as assistant
surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry,
commanded by Colonel Moorhead. The regiment became a part of the second corps,
and Dr. McLean served with it two years. Then on account of sickness he came
home, and shortly afterward resigned. He was with his regiment in all its
marches, skirmishes and battles until after the battle of Gettysburg.
Immediately after the war Dr. McLean opened an office at No. 1331 Pine street,
Philadelphia, where he practiced up to a few years ago, when he retired from
active (duties. He has been a member of the Philadelphia Medical Society for
many years. He has also been actively identified with the Masonic order for
nearly half a century. He is a member of the Loyal Legion of the United States;
and has been a member of George G. Meade Post No. 1, Department of Pennsylvania,
Grand Army of the Republic, since its organization. He is a member of the
Chambers-Wiley Memorial Presbyterian church, of Philadelphia. In politics he is
a Republican. He has been abroad four times, his travels extended over Europe,
Asia, Africa and Australia.
In 1876 Dr. McLean married Mary Simpson daughter of John Simpson, who was an
attorney of Belfast, Ireland, where both he and his wife lived and died, and
where Mrs. McLean was born. Samuel Simpson, brother of Mrs. McLean, now
deceased, was for many years a prominent attorney in New York city. Mrs. McLean
died October 15, 1899.
SAMUEL ROBERTS, one of the best known business men of Conshohocken,
Pennsylvania, is a descendant of Welsh Quaker stock so prominent in the lower
section of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. The founder of the American branch
of the family was Robert Cadwallader, who came from Wales and settled at
Gwynedd, and his children, in the Welsh the manner at that time, took the
surname Robert, which in the process of time became Roberts. Cadwallader
Roberts, or Robert, accompanied the first settlers of Gwynedd in 1698, and the
parents and other children came a few years later.
In the (direct line of descent from Robert Cadwallader was Jesse Roberts
(great-grandfather), born May 9, 1766, died October 22, 1851. He was the father
of several sons, among whom was Samuel Roberts (grandfather), born September 1,
1795, who in early life resided in Plymouth, where he followed his trade of
blacksmith. He settled on a farm at Springtown in 1830, residing thereon up to
the time of his decease in December, 1877. His religious views were in accord
with the doctrines of the Society of Friends, and his political affiliations
were with the Whig and Republican parties.
He married Mary Freas, and his children were Hiram, Mary, Jesse, George, Ann,
Myra, Hannah, Samuel, Samuel (second), Isaac, Leah and Rachel.
George Roberts (father) was born at Plymouth, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1825. He
accompanied his parents on their removal to Springtown, in which place he
resided with the exception of a few years in Norristown, where he died on the
13th of November, 1878, in his fifty-fourth year. The active years of his life
were devoted to agricultural pursuits. He took an active part in the affairs of
the Republican party, but never sought or held public office. For many years he
served in the capacity of secretary of the school hoard of Norriton township.
(Page 23)
He married Sarah Ann Schlater, who was born at Plymouth, Pennsylvania, the 80th
of April, 1829, daughter of William Schlater, and the following named children
were born to them: William, Samuel, Winfield, deceased; Mary, deceased; George,
Elizabeth and Anna. The mother of these children died June 1, 1862, at the early
age of thirty-three years, leaving a family of small children. Mr. Roberts
married for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Fulmer, no issue. Mr. Roberts was
killed by the cars at the depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Thirty-second and
Market streets, Philadelphia.
Samuel Roberts, second son of George and Sarah Ann (Schlater) Roberts, was born
at Springtown, a few miles from Norristown, Pennsylvania, on the family
homestead, December 7, 1853. He was educated in the public schools, and after
completing his studies decided to learn the trade of cabinet making. He
followed this occupation in Norristown until 1874, When he removed to
Conshohocken, in which borough he has eves since resided.
In 1886 Mr. Roberts engaged in business on his own account. He entered into
partnership with Samuel Meredith, under the style of Roberts & Meredith, and
they are conducting an extensive business in the selling and hanging of wall
paper, also in the sale of carpets and all kinds of furniture. They are
practical, thoroughgoing business men, and therefore deserve the success which
has attended their well-directed efforts.
Mr. Roberts is a director and stockholder in the Conshohocken Building and Loan
Association, and the Tradesmen's Building and Loan Association of Conshohocken.
He is a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, also Fritz Lodge, No. 420, Free and Accepted Masons, of
Conshohocken. In politics he is a Republican.
Mr. Roberts married, in 1877, Miss Martha Mereditb, a daughter of Samuel
Meredith, a well known resident of Norristown, Pennsylvania. One child was the
issue of this marriage, Howard M., who married Katherine Bodey, of
Conshohocken, and they are the parents of one child, Katherine. Howard M.
Roberts is employed in business with his father.
MORRIS HALLOWELL SHOEMAKER, a leading real estate agent, who is also largely
interested in life and fire insurance business. His office being located in a
building erected and by himself at the north corner of Swede and Airy streets,
Norristown, is the son of Isaac Longstreth and Jane (McLean) Shoemaker, both
deceased. He was born in Upper Dublin township, Montgomery County February 13,
1860. He is the youngest of nine children, four of whom are living. They are
John, Mrs. Emma S. Cottman, of Jenkintown William M., and Morris H. Shoemaker,
all residing in Montgomery county.
Morris H. Shoemaker was reared on the homestead in Upper Dublin township,
attending the public school at Prospectville until he was nine years of age,
when his father rented his farm and removed to Jenkintown, where he attended
Abington Friends' School.
In 1870 Isaac L. Shoemaker removed to Norristown, and he entered the schools of
that borough, graduating from the high school in 1878. It was the wish of the
father that his son should become a lawyer, and he accordingly entered the
office of George W. Rogers, Esq. but after a few months deckled that he did not
care to pursue legal studies further. He secured a position in a large
mercantile house in Philadelphia, in which he filled a number of situations for
several years. During this time he obtained considerable knowledge of insurance
and real estate business, and decided to make it his future occupation. He
resigned his Philadelphia position in March.
(Page 24)
In April, 1893, he opened an insurance and real estate office at the corner of
Swede and Airy streets, Norristown, he having secured desk room of Rogers &
Long, where a few years previously he had abandoned the study of law. This
office is at the present time a leading insurance office of the county, Mr.
Shoemaker representing about twenty-five of the strongest and largest fire
insurance companies in this country, besides a number of foreign companies. He
has given particular attention to local manufacturing risks, and controls more
of such than all the other Norristown agencies combined. Mr. Shoemaker also
gives considerable attention to the real estate business, and has charge of the
sale and leasing of a large number of properties, doing a large business in the
collection of rents. Owing to the retirement of Mr. Roger, from active law
practice, and the ill health of Mr. Long, his partner, and the fact that Mr.
Shoemaker had firmly established himself in business at his present location,
he purchased the property of Mrs. H. U. Brunner, the owner, April 1, 1901. He
immediately remodeled and greatly extended the building, transforming it into a
well appointed office building, and it is occupied by a number of leading
attorneys, its location near the court house making it among the most desirable
and eligible in Norristown for the purpose to which it is devoted.
In politics Mr. Shoemaker is a Republican, and he has held various positions in
his ward. He is treasurer of the Montgomery Building and Loan Association, and
is interested in a number of local industries and corporations.
In April 1896, Mr. Shoemaker married Mary, eldest daughter of the late
Alexander Hooven, and the couple established themselves in the home of his
father, No. 820 DeKalb street, which he had purchased after his father's death,
and in which he still resides. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker have on child, Eleanor,
born in 1899.
Mr. Shoemaker is descended on his father's side from Peter Shoemaker, a member
of the Society of Friends, who emigrated from Germany, and landed in
Philadelphia, August 14, 1685, in the vessel "Frances and Dorothy," from
London. His mother's parents were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. They were buried
at the old Presbyterian church, at Abington. His father was a member of Gwynedd
Monthly Meeting of Friends. He is a pewholder and a frequent attendant at St.
John's Protestant Episcopal church, Norristown, of which Mrs. Shoemaker is a
member.