WILLIAM T. BATE, deceased, was a grandson of William and Mary Bate, and a son of William and Mary (Bennett) Bate. He was born October 25, 1818, at Tywardreth, Cornwall, England, and was brought by his parents to Liverpool, and subsequently to Manchester and other points in Lancashire, his father having been a blacksmith and boilermaker.

After a period spent in the schools of his native land, William T. Bate entered the shops under the supervision of his father, and acquired a general knowledge of the business.

In 1835 he began at Parconsoles, Cornwall, England, an apprenticeship under Richard Terrell and William West, the latter named having been a mechanical engineer. For twelve years he followed his trade of blacksmith and boilermaker in various portions of the country, and then, having concluded to seek a broader field for his skill and labor, he came to the United States, leaving England for New York on July 13, 1847, and arriving here after a tedious voyage of eight weeks. Soon after his arrival he found employment at Belleville, New Jersey, and later was engaged in other parts of the state, later removed to Connecticut, from whence he changed his place of residence to Westminster and Finksburg, Maryland, and then to Liberty, Maryland, where he engaged in milling.

In 1856 he was solicited to assume charge of the boiler and blacksmith shops of the Norris Iron Works, then the leading establishment in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania,

(Page 485)

where he was employed until 1857, when crying to the business depression and panic which prevailed at that time the works were closed. He then removed to Easton, Pennsylvania, where his family resided, and he was employed as superintendent of the Warren Iron Foundry at Phi1lipsburg, New Jersey.

About the year 1859 he returned to Norristown, where he again entered the employ of the Norris Iron Works in the same capacity, that of superintendent, remaining there until 1865 when he came to Conshohocken, but it was not until 1878 that his family removed to that town. Here he engaged in the manufacture of steam boilers in addition to blacksmithing and general work pertaining to the trade, the business being conducted under the firm name of William T. Bate & Company, comprising William T. Bate, his son, Richard H. Bate, and John Wood. The new enterprise, which was then located near the banks of the Schuylkill river, was soon put upon a successful and profitable basis through the well directed efforts of the members of the firm.

The partnership of William T. Bate & Company was continued up to 1868, when Mr. Wood withdrew from the business, and the firm of William T. Bate & Son was formed. In December, 1868, the business was removed to its present location in order to secure more commodious and suitable buildings, and since then the firm have erected others to meet the increasing demands of the trade. For a number of years they have been engaged in the manufacture of steam-boilers, gas apparatus, iron and brass castings, gasometers, core-barrels and all kinds of blacksmithing and machine work. The establishment is the most extensive of its kind in Conshohocken, furnishing employment to a large number of laborers, skilled mechanics and other artisans, and under the united efforts of both father and son the name of William T. Bate & Son has everywhere become recognized as a guarantee for superiority and perfect workmanship.

Many of the patents of the firm have received most favorable mention in the scientific journals of this and other countries, and have proved in practical use to be of the highest merit and of great value as contributions to the list of useful mechanical inventions. William T. Bate devised and perfected an ingenious and valuable steam generator which he patented, and which after numerous practical tests has proved of great value and use in the generation of steam, particularly to the merchant marine of this country and elsewhere.

Mr. Bate took an active interest in everything belonging to the business until within a few years of his death, when the increasing infirmities of age compelled him to leave details to others, and more particularly to the junior partners, his sons, Richard H. and John S. Bate. By his strict integrity and conscientious business methods he made all enviable reputation for the establishment which has been fully maintained by his sons, winning for them a prominent position in the manufacturing and commercial world. He was at the time of his death the oldest boilermaker in the United States, and was also the oldest member of the American Boiler Manufacturers' Association of the United States and Canada.

The first water gas model for Professor T. S. C. Lowe, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, when he was experimenting in the manufacture of that article, was made at the Bate Works, and the model is still in the possession of the firm.

Mr. Bate had probably more patents rallied to him in the line of boilers and gas generating apparatus than any other individual.

One of his latest devices was a low water alarm for boilers, an exceedingly useful device. He was a very superior draughtsman, and a fine example of his work in this line was a representation of the boiler plant of the Norristown Hospital for the Insane, which hangs upon the wall of the office of the Bate Company. It shows everything to the minutest detail and is elegantly drawn. Mr. Bate was a member of the Episcopal church, a Republican in politics, advocating the principles of his party, and was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and other organizations.

(Page 486)

Mr. Bate married, January 18, 1839, Miss Elizabeth George, of Cornwall, England, who died April 5, 1900. Elizabeth (George) Bate was a daughter of William George, of Cornwall, England. She was born November 20, 1818, and on July 13, 1847, came to the United States with her husband. She was a dutiful and faithful wife and an indulgent mother to her children. She was a most estimable lady of the old school type, and in her death the community lost a benevolent and good Christian woman.

The children of William T. and Elizabeth (George) Late were: 1. William, who married Elizabeth Rotes, and is now deceased, leaving a widow and seven children : 2. Edward T., who married Mary A. Hall, and is now deceased, leaving a widow and two children, mentioned at length hereinafter; 3. Mary, who became the wife of Charles Fairbairn, was the mother of six children, and is now deceased; 4. Richard H., of whom see forward; 5. Elizabeth J., who became the wife of Cadwallader N. Brooke, and they are the parents of five children; 6. John S., of whom see forward; 7. Ella F., who became the wife of W. C. Johnson, and has two surviving children; 8. Caroline A., who died in 1876, while her parents resided in Philadelphia; 9. George, who died in childhood; 10. Thomas, who died in infancy; 11. Clara T., who became the wife of George E. Stees; 12. Matilda, who died in infancy; 13. an unnamed child who died in infancy; 14. Abraham L., who died in infancy.

The death of Mr. Bate came rather suddenly on Wednesday morning, February 10, 1904, although he had been in poor health for many months. The employees of the works attended the funeral in a body, and the floral offerings were magnificent. The Rev. H. J. Cook, of Conshohocken, rector of Calvary church. officiated, and the remains were interred at Montgomery cemetery, Norristown, Pennsylvania. The pallbearers were six grandsons of deceased, namely Howard, Frank and Richard Bate, of Conshohocken, Albert Bate, of Manayunk, and George and Charles Fairbairn of Philadelphia. The Conshohocken Recorder made this comment, which touched a chord in the hearts of all who know him: "In the passing away of Mr. Bate, not only Conshohocken mourns, but all who ever came in contact with him, whether in business or otherwise. His honest and upright principles have always been recognized. His charitable hand was ever extended to the worthy."

Edward T. Bate, second son of William T. and Elizabeth (George) Bate, died April 17, 1889, in the forty-eighth year of his age, leaving a widow and two children: Laura A., deceased, and Frank Bate. He was an old soldier in the truest sense of the term, and had served his country valiantly daring the Civil war. Mr. Bate enlisted on August 10, 1861, in Company C, Eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry, for three years, and after serving the full term faithfully he reenlisted for a similar term, or until the close of the war.

Early in 1864 on account of good behavior and faithful service, he was detailed as an orderly at General Pleasonton's headquarters, and shortly after was made brigade postmaster. After the surrender of General Lee's army his brigade was ordered to Lynchburg, Virginia, for garrison duty, and Mr. Bate was assigned the position of mail agent between that place and Richmond.

During the performance of his duty, on the night of July 23, 1865, while returning too Lynchburg on a government mixed train on the South-Side Railroad, in an accident by which the train was precipitated a distance of eighty feet into a ravine by the collapse of a bridge, Mr. Bate received injuries that crippled him for life and finally caused his death. On recovering consciousness after the accident he found that he was partially buried in the sand and pinned fast beneath the tender of the locomotive.

Upon being released it was discovered that he could not move any part of his body except his head, which was uninjured, and to those who saw him then his partial recovery, even, seemed to have been a miracle. Those who knew him from knowledge acquired by actual presence with him during the four years of the war, have truly said that there was no better soldier in his regiment.

He took part with it in all the many battles of the Army Of the Potomac, and never shirked a duty, and it is said that he never responded to a sick call, for was never off duty on account of sickness. He was taken prisoner with others at the Battle of Chancellorsville, but later was exchanged and returned to his regiment.

His regiment, which went into service twelve hundred strong, was mustered out on August 1, 1865, numbering less than three hundred. Mr. Bate was left upon a cot in the brigade hospital at Lynchburg, and was unable to get home until two or three months later.

He was a member of the George Smith Post, No. 79, Grand Army of the Republic, for several years, and at the time of his death the organization attended the funeral and conferred upon their dead comrade all the honors of war.

(page 487)

 

RICHARD H. BATE, junior member of the firm of William T. Bate & Son, proprietors of the extensive Montgomery Boiler and Machine Works at Conshohocken, and one of the leading and prominent citizens of that borough and Montgomery county, was born May 23, 1845, in Cornwall, England, a son of William T. and Elizabeth (George) Bate.

In 1817 his parents emigrated to this country and settled at Belleville, New Jersey and he obtained his early education in the schools of Westminster and Finksburg, Maryland. Subsequently his parents removed to Norristown. Pennsylvania, where he continued his educational advantages in the public schools of that town up to the year 1859, when he laid aside his school books and turned his attention to the acquiring of a practical vocation.

He indentured himself to learn the blacksmith and boiler making trade in the Norristown Iron Works at Norristown, his father at that time being superintendent of the works. He was an employee of that establishment up to 1865, at which time, having thoroughly mastered his trade and at the same time become familiar with every detail of the boiler and machine malting branch of mechanics, he became associated in business with his father under the firm name of William T. Bate & Company. The firm first consisted of William T. and Richard H. Bate and John Wood, and was established for the manufacture of boilers and general machinery, being located at Conshohocken.

In 1868 this partnership was dissolved, Mr. Wood retiring, and the firm was reorganized under the name of William T. Bate & Son, the present extensive Montgomery Boiler and Machine Works having been built for the manufacture of boilers, gas apparatus, core-barrels, castings, and all kinds of blacksmithing and machine work. The firm had made a small beginning in 1865, but the business tact and energy of the several members soon won for the firm prestige and a wide and well deserved reputation, with a consequence increase of trade extending to all parts of the country, and giving employment to a large force of men. In the manufacture of boiler and steam generators (and the same may be said of most of their products of manufacture) they have been using their own patents. As their business developed and extended they increased their facilities by the erection of new buildings, and now give employment to a large number of workmen and skilled mechanics. Some of their patents have been of a very important character, have received creditable mention in the various scientific journals of the country, and have proved in their application and actual use to be of high merit and valuable contributions to mechanical inventions.

Since the reorganization of the firm in 1868, Richard H. Bate has taken an active part in all matters pertaining to the business, assisting in the general management of the manufacturing, department as well as the trade. By strictly conscientious; and fair methods of dealing with the trade and all who come in contact with he has become a potent factor in the business, and has won for himself a prominent place in the manufacturing and commercial world.

As a citizen he has always been progressive and public-spirited, and has therefore been influential in the public enterprises of Conshohocken. Politically Mr. Bate has always been a firm advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and has taken an intelligent interest and active part in the advancement and success of that party. Though he has never aspired to public or remunerative office, he is at present serving his fourth consecutive torn of three years, in representing the third ward of his borough in council. He has been chiefly active and useful in the direction of industrial enterprises, being prominently identified with most of the business interests of the borough which have been brought forward for its development and general prosperity.

In addition to his extensive manufacturing interests, he is a director of the First National Bank of Conshohocken, and was for a number of years a director of the Conshohocken Electric Light Company, and a director and managing superintendent of the Conshohocken Gas Company. His aid and influence have been given to almost every movement which has for its object the promotion of the general welfare of his town and county. For over forty years he has been a member of the Montgomery Hose and Steam Dire Engine Company, No. 1, a volunteer organization of Norristown, in which he has rendered dutiful service.

(Page 488)

On June 30, 18O3, during the Civil war, he enlisted in Company E, Thirty-fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, under Captain F. Sullivan, in the ninety day service. He was, however, not called to the front, and was honorably discharged before the end of his term of enlistment.

On August 31, 1866, Mr. Bate was united in marriage to Mary M. Murray, who was born May 15, 1845, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth S. (Thompson) Murray, the former named being a prominent citizen of Norristown, Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, November 14, 1877, occurred the centenarian birthday celebration of Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson, the widow of Benjamin Thompson and grandmother of Mrs. Bate. She was born at Barren Hill, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, November 14, 1777. Aunt Betsey Thompson, as she was familiarly known, was a very remarkable woman,, and was seen on the streets of Norristown up to within a few years of her one hundredth birthday. Mrs. Thompson resided in Norristown all her life with the exception of ten years.

She remembered the town from its earliest beginning, in fact from the time when it was but a small village, and recollected when farmers passed through on their way to market on horseback. She also recollected when the yellow fever raged so violently in Philadelphia, and when prisoners were brought from the city prison to the county jail here, which was kept by her grandfather, William Stroud. She ate her first meal in Norristown at her grandfather's, and was also present at the last dinner ever eaten in the old county jail, her son, Archibald Thompson, then being a keeper in the jail, and afterwards for many years being the court crier. Mrs. Thompson was in possession of all her faculties with the exception of a somewhat impaired hearing at the time of her one hundredth anniversary celebration, and took great delight in relating her recollections of General Washington.

On one occasion during his term as President, General Washington, en route through Plymouth township, stopped at the Black Horse Hotel, and Mrs. Thompson, then a young girl, had the honor of handing him a drink of water and shaking hands with him.

Of her eleven children, those who grew to maturity were: Maria (Mrs. Everly), Archibald, Hannah (Mrs. McBride), James, William, Sarah (Mrs. Earl), Benjamin, Rebecca (Mrs. Rice), Elizabeth (Mrs. Murray), and Ann (Mrs. Weightman).

At the time of her one hundredth birthday, Mrs. Thompson had fifty-nine grandchildren and great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Of the latter group a little daughter Annie, of Richard and Mary M. (Murray) Bate, of Conshohocken, aged about three months, was the youngest.

Seven children, four sons and three daughters, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Bate: 1. Tillie E., born March 9, 1868. 2. Alice Estella, born December 14, 1869, who married H. A. Pennington, October 23, 1889, and had one child, Alice M. Pennington. 3. Howard Middleton, born April 25, 1872; married, February 11, 1902, Amelia Leitenburger. 4. Richard H., Jr., Born February 8, 1875, married, May 30, 1900, Annie M. Wafer, and their children are: Helen, Wilmer, and Richard H., 3d. 5. Annie E., born August 28, 1877. 6. Wilmer Middleton, born November 19, 1870, died January 10, 1806. 7. John S., born November 24, 1881, died April 12, 1887, Alice Estella (Bate) Pennington, wife of H. A. Pennington and mother of Alice M. Pennington, died one year after her marriage. She had been the assistant librarian of the Sunday school connected with the Methodist Episcopal church of

(Page 489)

Conshohocken, was an ardent Sunday school worker, and a zealous Christian woman. The members of her class attended her funeral services in a body and assisted in the last rites of laving to rest one who had been beloved by all who knew her.

The following are the resolutions passed at a special meeting of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday School Association of Conshohocken, and presented to the family.

The sad tidings have come to us that Mrs. Alice (Bate) Pennington has passed away from earth. For years she was a scholar in our Sabbath school, and afterwards was one of our librarians. She was uniformly faithful, cheerful, and kindly, never refusing any work assigned to her, and performing all duties with a glad and loving heart. We are grieved to think we shall see her face no more. We weep with her husband and bereaved family, and a large circle of friends who mourn her loss; we lament that the happy home so soon be darkened, that one so young and lovely in life should receive the summons of death; we cherish her memory, we emulate her virtues, and we lay this humble tribute of affection upon her untimely grave.

Resolved, That a copy of the above expression of sympathy be given to the family, and sent to the Norristown Herald and Conshohocken Record for publication.

Signed: Rev. T. M. Griffith, J. W. Drummond, Fannie Herron, Clara Ulrick, Sallie E. Keys.

The funeral of Wilmer Middleton Bate occurred January 13, 1896, from the home of his parents in Conshohocken. The services were conducted in the Presbyterian church by Rev. Mr. Miller, of the Methodist Episcopal church, Nineteenth and Christian streets, Philadelphia: Rev. J. W. Bradley, pastor of the Conshohocken Methodist Episcopal church, and Rev. J. T. Sheppard, pastor of the Conshohocken Presbyterian church of which the deceased was a member. The pall bearers were: Harry Buckle, Frederick Eickfeldt, Bertram Caine, George Glenzinger, James Machonachy, and Lewis Dunlap, all friends of the deceased. The floral tributes from relatives and friends were numerous and magnificent.

The following are the resolutions passed by the committee of the Conshohocken Public School upon the death of Wilmer Middleton Bate.

WHEREAS. In his all wise providence our Heavenly Father has seen fit to call from among us Wilmer Middleton Bate, a fellow-member of our Literary Society, and a member of the first class of the division of the High School. We must therefore bow in humble and contrite submission to the will of Him "who doeth all things well," and await that final day when all who sleep shall wake, and when all that is dark and mysterious in His providence here, shall be made plain; therefore, so be it.

Resolved. That in his early death, the community has lost one, who gave promise of becoming one of its foremost citizens, the Society a true, efficient and highly esteemed member, the school a conscientious and dutiful pupil, the class its brightest scholar, and the parents a model christian young man, and an illustrious son.

Reso1ved, That we sincerely sympathize with the deeply stricken family, and tender them our heartfelt sympathy in this their sad hour of affliction. No word of condolence can express the deep feeling of sorrow which pervades in our hearts, but it is the will of the divine power who orders all things for the best, and we commend them for consolation to Him who alone call comfort the afflicted and support them in the time of their sore distress.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions of respect be entered on the minutes of the Society, published in the Conshohocken Recorder, and a copy sent to the bereaved family.

By order of committee. Signed by Prof. J. H. Landis, Eva Y. Rowley, Edmund K. Williams, Ivy L. Gilbert, William Bailie.

 

 

FRANZ ANTON HINDERBERGER, a well known citizen of Plymouth township, was born August 31, 1850 in Waschbeiren, Wurtemberg, Germany. He is the son of Joseph and Anna Mary Hinderberger. Mr. Hinderberger came to America in 1867 and settled in Brownsburg, Bucks County Pennsylvania, and later located in West Philadelphia, where he engaged in butchering, and in 1875 removed to Newtown, and later to Richboro, both in Bucks county, and in 1882 to Blue Bell, in Whitpain township, and followed farming.

In 1884 he purchased the farm on which he now resides (the Charles Roberts place) and has lived there ever since. He is a member of the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church of Centre Square, and is a Democrat in politics.

(Page 490)

Mr. Hinderberger married in 1875 Carolina Beisswanger of Philadelphia, daughter of John J. and Catherine (Holzworth) Beisswanger. Their children: Anna Catharine, married Alexander Vogel, they having one son, Alexander; Henrietta Danfield married Robert C. Snyder, the couple residing in Philadelphia and having one son. Ellwood Anton Snyder; Maggie Elizabeth (deceased); Sadie Fredericka and Lillian Carolina.

The father of Mrs. Carolina, wife of Franz A. Hinderberger, was John J. Beisswange, who was born in Germany in 1814. He died in Philadelphia in 1899. He was a carpet weaver, and followed that trade in Philadelphia. Catherine Holtzworth, his wife was of German parentage. her father, a blacksmith, having died on the passage to this country.

Mrs. Hinderberger's paternal grandfather came to this country with six children, four sons and two daughters, all are dead but one, Christian Beisswanger, now living in Philadelphia.

 

 

ROBERT LOVETT, for a number of years one of the supervisors of Plymouth township, was born May 27, 1863, in Lower Merion township. He is the son of Joseph and Letita (Hamm) Lovett.

Joseph Lovett (father). was born in Ireland in 1830. He was the son of Goodman Lovett, of county Tyrone. Joseph Lovett emigrated to this country at an early age and attended school in Philadelphia. He followed the occupation of boating on the Schuylkill Canal for many years, making trips between Port Clinton and Philadelphia. At the age of fifteen years he was made master of a canal boat.

In 1858 he located at Spring Hill, in Whitemarsh township, and was occupied as a pilot for thirty-one years. From 1861 to 1864 he was in the employ of the United States government on transports. He has in his possession at his present home of the Germantown road in Plymouth township a cannon shot fired from the Confederate works along the Potomac river, which struck his craft near Alexandria Virginia.

In 1888 he abandoned canal boating and bought his present home, where he has resided ever since. He is an active Democrat in politics, and was road supervisor for five years.

He married twice. his first wife being Catherine, daughter of Patrick McBride. They had five children all of whom are deceased. Joseph Lovett married later Letitia Hanna, of Lower Merion, daughter of William Hanna.

The couple have six children, five sons and one daughter, as follows: Robert, William. married Susan Kochel; Benjamin, married Mabel May; Mary Ann, married Charles Wolf; Joseph, deceased; Isabella, deceased, Joseph and John. The parents as well as the children are members of the Catholic church.

John Lovett (grandfather) was of Irish birth and came to Philadelphia in early life. He worked on Girard College during its erection.

(Page 491)

He was a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Catholic church. He married Elizabeth McBride in Ireland. She was the daughter of John McBride. Their children numbered eight as follows: Patrick, John, Terence, Alexander, Mary Ann, Thomas, Joseph and Benjamin. All are (deceased except Joseph and Benjamin, the latter living in Philadelphia.

Robert Lovett attended the neighborhood schools in Conshohocken and Lower Merion township. He was in the hotel business in Conshohocken, and later engaged in farming in Lower Merion, moving from there to the Kolb farm in Plymouth, where he has resided since. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, affiliating with Minnie Kannie Tribe of Norristown; also of the Knights of the Golden Eagle of Cold Point, he is a Democrat in politics, and has been road supervisor for several years. He is a Catholic.

Mr. Lovett married Josephine Warren, of West Philadelphia, on September 6, 1885. She is the daughter of William and Janetta (McAnneny) Warren. Mrs. Lovett's father came to America from Germany, and was a carpenter by trade. He was the father of nine children, five of whom are living, as follows John G., Mary Anne, Jennie, James Allen, Josephine.

The children of Robert and Josephine Lovett are: Letitia, born February 10, 1897: Joseph, born May 26, 1888: Katie, born December 12, 1890; Mary, born April 10, 1892; Nellie, born January 31, 1893; Anna Mabel, born June 10, 1894; Jennie, born December 2, 1896; William R., born February 8, 1898: John, born January 14, 1900; James Allen, born August 23, 1902.

 

 

ELIAS K. FREED, one of the best known business men of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was born in Franconia township, a few miles distant from his present home, July 1, 1830. He is the son of John Fry and Katharine (Kolb) Freed. He attended free and paid school of the district, one of them being a German school taught by his relative, Jacob S. Freed, a man of considerable learning and ability. Another of Elias K. Freed's teachers was Enos Freed Gerhart, also a relative. These facts prove that the Freeds were not an illiterate family, but, on the contrary, that they knew how to appreciate learning at its true value. Education at that day had its limitations, however, one of these being time.

At the age of fourteen years, Elias K. Freed left school and learned the trade of shoemaking. After serving an apprenticeship of several years he made that his occupation for twelve years longer. In 1857, having accumulated some capital, as well as established his credit on a firm basis, being known among his neighbors as a man of enterprise and energy, he began business on his own account in the retail lumber trade at North Wales, opening on January 1, of that year. The North Pennsylvania Railroad was then being completed, and his foresight was shown in his efforts to make North Wales a station of more than ordinary importance.

Always on the alert for improvements, Mr. Freed has kept abreast of the times, and has done much towards establishing the prosperity of the place. At the time of the opening of the new railroad and the establishment of Mr. Freed in business, there was but one house of any importance in North Wales, that of Mr. Hurst, now renovated and considerably improved, known as the Main Street Hotel. Mr. Freed remained in the lumber business for four years as an individual operator. He took as partners Jonas and David Moyer, which arrangement continued for several years.

In the meantime Mr. Freed interested himself in the milling business, and secured an establishment at North Wales. He introduced improved methods of manufacturing flour and feed. In the course of time Mr. Freed, having bought out the interests of the Moyers, took his son, Rhine Russell, into the firm and also his son-in-law, which partnership existed as the E. K. Freed Milling Company until July 1, 1901, when the interests of the firm were purchased by the Eastern Milling and Export Company, Mr. E. K. Freed continuing to operate the establishment for that corporation.

Mr. Freed has always taken an active interest in local affairs, recognizing local needs acid endeavoring to advance the interests of the community by every means in his power. He has encouraged local improvements, including the Water Company and the electric Light Plant. In politics Mr. Freed is a Republican, but he has never aspired to any office beyond those merely local in their character.

Mr. Freed married, in December, 1839, Elizabeth Shutt, of near Harleysville. Their children: Sallie F., married Franklin Slaughter Kriebel, and resides at North Wales, the couple having one child; Rhine Russell, engaged as chief coiner at the United States Mint in Philadelphia, and resides at North Wales. He has been engaged with his father in local enterprises, and has King been recognized as a party leader in Montgomery county. He was elected register of wills on the Republican ticket in 1899. He has recently purchased a controlling interest in the North Wales Record. Mr. Freed is a very active and successful party worker.

(Page 492)

The original mill at North Wales was built by J. H. Egner in 1860, and was then operated as a grist mill and distillery. It was forty by sixty feet in dimensions, and three stories in height, with an attic. At the time of finishing the mill the proprietor was obliged to sell it, and E. K. Freed and the Moyers became the purchasers. The new firm removed the machinery connected with the distillery, and changed that part of the building into a planing mill, using the other portion as a grist mill. In March, 1862, the building was destroyed by fire, but it was quickly rebuilt for a merchant and grist mill, with five run of stones and a forty-horse-power engine.

In 1866 Jonas D. Moyer withdrew from the firm, and in 1868 David Moyer withdrew also, selling his interest to Henry W. Moyer, E. K. Freed & Company then operated the mill on the old plan until 1876, when they put in the new roller process.

In 1881 Mr. Moyer sold his interest to Mr. Freed, who gave a third interest in the business to his son-in-law, Frank S. Kriebel. The mill was then rebuilt for manufacturing flour by the roller process, and its capacity greatly increased at the same time. It was the first roller process mill in the county and the third in the state. Later, Mr. Freed gave his son, Rhine Russell Freed, a one-third interest in the business.

Mr. Freed has been for many years the president of the First National Bank of Lansdale, and has also filled many other important financial and other positions. He is highly respected in the community in which he lives, and for whose welfare he has so long been actively interested.

 

 

MISS AMANDA STOUT. The Stout family are old settlers in the lower end of Montgomery county Pennsylvania. Three brothers are said to have come to America together, namely: Jacob, Christian and Hosea. They were natives of Germany, and came from one of the Rhine provinces. Christian went south and prospered, rearing a large family. Hosea settled in the state of New Jersey, and became the ancestor of a numerous family. Jacob settled in Upper Dublin township, in what is now Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and it is from him that the Stout family in this country originated. He was a farmer by occupation. He married and reared a family. One of his children was Peter, great-grandfather of Miss Amanda Stout. He also became a farmer, adding to that occupation the business of a drover, in which he was very successful. He married and reared a number of children. One of his sons was George, who was born on the homestead in Upper Dublin township. He was educated in the schools of the vicinity, and followed the business of farming throughout his life.

The father of Peter Stout of this review married Hannah Rapine, of a family long resident in this vicinity of Barren Hill, also in Montgomery county. The couple had the following children, all of whom are now deceased: John, Agnes, George, Caleb and Peter, second cousin of the subject of this sketch.

Peter Stout was born on the Upper Dublin homestead, April 1, 1826, the farm being located in three townships, Cheltenham, Springfield and Upper Dublin, and being known as "Edge Hill," from the chain of elevations so named in the lower part of Montgomery county. He was educated in the public schools, and on leaving school learned the trade of stone mason, which he followed for a number of years, and then turned his attention to farming, which occupied him until his retirement from active labors a few years before his death. He died August 25, 1900, in Springfield township, to which he had removed and purchased a farm in 1868.

In politics Mr. Stout was an active Democrat, and kept close to his party affiliations, esteeming it a virtue to hold fast under all circumstances to his political principles. He served as assessor of the township for the remarkably long period of twenty-one years, and his records of valuations were never called in question by property owners, he being a man of good judgment and of sterling honesty. He was kind and considerate to those around him, and was highly esteemed for his excellent qualities. Enjoying the confidence of his friends and neighbors, they still delight in recalling his admirable traits of character, his friendliness toward all with whom he came in contact, and his devotion to the interests of the

(Page 493)

community in which he was so valued a member. Fraternally Mr. Stout was a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He attended the Reformed church at Flourtown.

Mr. Stout never married, but had as his housekeeper and companion Miss Amanda Stout, a second cousin. He left to her at his death the bulk of his property, and she resides on the Springfield homestead. Miss Stout is a person of rare womanly qualities, an excellent manager, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know her.

 

 

JOHN S. FRITZ, of Douglass township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, a successful and enterprising agriculturist, whose extensive operations have yielded him goodly returns, is a descendant of a family who were among the early settlers of Berks county, Pennsylvania. He was born in the township in which he now resides, Douglass, November 24, 1846, a son of Joseph and Mary (Saucerman) Fritz and grandson of John Fritz.

John Fritz (grandfather) came with his parents to Berks county when a mere child. He was educated in the common schools adjacent to his home, and later served an apprenticeship at the trade of blacksmith, which he followed during the active years of his life. Several years prior to his death, he removed to Douglass township, Montgomery county. He was a Democrat in politics, the principles of which party he firmly believed in and upheld. He married a Miss Sands, of Berks county, and their children were Daniel, Samuel, John, Sarah A., a child who died in infancy, and Joseph.

Joseph Fritz (father) was born in Douglass township, Montgomery county, in 1804. He was indebted to the common schools of his township for his education, and after laving aside his books he took up the trade of tinsmith, which line of work he continued at for a number of years, but later turned his attention to farming. He adhered to the principles laid down by Thomas Jefferson, and was active in his support of the candidates of that party, but never sought or held public office. He was a man of irreproachable character, genial and kindly in disposition, and won and retained the friendship of all people who came in contact with him. He married Miss Ada Saucerman, deceased, a daughter of John Saucerman, a farmer of Berks county. The issue of this marriage was as follows: Amelia, who died in early life; Levi, who died in childhood; Willoughby, Henry, Joseph, Mary A., and John S. After a life of usefulness and activity, Joseph Fritz (father) died. He and his family attended the Lutheran church.

The common schools of Douglass township, his birthplace, afforded John S. Fritz an opportunity of obtaining a practical education, which is so essential to success in life. He chose farming as an occupation, which he has continued ever since, and in addition to this conducts a feed mill in the same township. He also has a fine fruit orchard from which he realizes a goodly harvest, and the fruit being of a superior quality finds a ready market and good price. He manages both his farm and mill in a practical way, and well deserves the success which has attended his efforts. Like ]its forefathers, he is a stanch Democrat, and a regular attendant at the Lutheran church. The respect in which he is held in the community is evidenced by the fact of his having been chosen to fill the position of school director, the duties of which office he discharged creditably and efficiently.

Mr. Fritz married Naomi Shanley, a daughter of David Shanley, a farmer of Berks county. By this union the following named children were born, all of whom are unmarried: Joseph N., Edmund W., Ida C., Mary E., John H., Emma N., and James Fritz.

 

 

J. WELLINGTON GODSHALK. The founder of the American branch of the Godshalk family, represented in the present generation by J. Wellington Godshalk, an enterprising business man and an esteemed citizen of Towamencin township, was Garrett Godshalk (great-grandfather), who was one of the pioneer settlers of Towamencin township, Montgomery county, clearing up a tract of land which he later cultivated and resided on. Although of foreign birth, a native of Germany, he took an active interest in the affairs of his adopted country, to which he ever remained loyal and true. He believed in the doctrines of the Mennonite church, and contributed liberally toward the erection of the first church of that faith in Montgomery county. By his marriage he became the father of a number of children.

(Page 494)

Garrett Godshalk, Jr. (grandfather) was born on the homestead in Towamencin township. After completing a common school education he took up farming, which line of work he pursued throughout the active years of his career. In connection with this he was a minister of the Mennonite church. He was a man of honorable, upright principles, and in every relation of life performed his duty faithfully and well. His political affiliations were with the Democratic party. He married Annie Fry, a native of Towamencin township, who bore him the following named children: William, Jonas, Mary, Margaret, Barbara and Daniel.

Daniel Godshalk (father) was born on the old homestead in Towamencin township, in 1817. He was indebted to the common schools of the neighborhood for his education, and on attaining the years when it was incumbent upon him to earn his own livelihood took up milling, which he followed throughout his lifetime. He was a practical, thoroughgoing man of business, and his reliable methods brought to him a large degree of success. He gave his support to the candidates and measures of the Republican party, to which great organization he gave his allegiance upon attaining his majority. By his marriage to Miss Angeline Weaver, deceased, a daughter of a prominent farmer of Towamencin township, the following named children were born: Emma, wife of Newton Johnson: and J. Wellington, mentioned at length hereinafter. Daniel Godshalk (father) died in 1897.

J. Wellington Godshalk was born in Worcester township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, May 11, 1864. His mother died when he was eleven years of age, and therefore his educational advantages were exceedingly limited, as he left school at that time. He then went on the farm with his uncle, assisting in the work to the best, of his ability, and remained there until he was sixteen years old.

He then served an apprenticeship at the trade of carpenter, becoming a proficient and expert mechanic, and this calling he has followed ever since in Towamencin township, where he now resides, and to which he removed in the early part of his business career. He has erected a large number of houses in various other townships besides the one he resides in, all of which reflect great credit on his ability and skill. He uses nothing but the best material in the construction of his houses, is careful and painstaking in his labor, even down to the minutest details, and in this way has won and retained an enviable reputation along the line of his calling. He is a Republican in politics, and has been the incumbent of several minor township offices. He is an active member of the Order of Eagles.

Mr. Godshalk was united in marriage, in 1896, to Drusilla Lukens, a daughter of Enos Lukens, a farmer of Towamencin township, and his wife Annie (DeHaven) Lukens. Their children are: Ernest, born in 1896: and Ralph, born in 1899. Mr. Godshalk and the members of his family attend the services of the Reformed church.

 

 

MRS. EFFIE M. LEWIS, widow of Harry J. Lewis, of Conshohocken, is a native of that place, where she was born May 20, 1866. She has long held a position in the office of the clerk of the orphans' court, and was the first woman deputized to act in an official position, in the court house at Norristown. Mrs. Lewis is the daughter of William Michigan and Mary Elizabeth (Peterson) Mahoney.

William M. Mahoney (father) was a native of Maryland. He married Mary Elizabeth Peterson, April 15, 1862. His wife, who was the third daughter of Tobias and Sarah Peterson, was born near Cherry Hill, Cecil county, Maryland, February 22, 1844. She was educated in private schools in that state. The oldest child of William and Mary E. Mahoney was Fannie Edith, born September 25, 1863, in Cecil county.

The following year the family removed to Conshohocken, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where was born Effie May, subject of this sketch, the family residing at that time on East Hector street.

(page 495)

Mr. Mahoney followed his occupations of carpenter, wheelwright and millwright. In 1870 the third child of Mr. and Mrs. Mahoney, Sarah Rebecca, was born. In the course of the following year Mrs. Mahoney's health failed, and she was taken to the residence of her father, Tobias Peterson, at Everett, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, to which place he had removed from Maryland in the hope that the mineral springs in that vicinity might improve beneficial to her health.

Mrs. Mahoney died in September, 1871, and was burial in the Lutheran cemetery near Everett. After her death her oldest daughter, Fannie, attended the public schools of Conshohocken and graduated therefrom in 1881. The four following years she taught school in the Eight Square School in Plymouth township, near Conshohocken. She married, September 2, 1885, James M. Morrison, master mechanic at the establishment of the Alan Wood Company, in Conshohocken. She died September 12, 1898, leaving her husband and two daughters- Marion, aged ten years, and Fannie, six years old. She was buried in Brandywine cemetery, at Wilmington, Delaware.

Effie May Mahoney, subject of this sketch, lived with her paternal grandparents, Elisha and Rebecca Weaver Mahoney, on their farm midway between Elkton and Northeast, in Cecil county, Maryland, on the line of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad, for three years after the death of her mother. When her father married the second time, he took her to his home in Conshohocken, and she attended the public schools there until she graduated in 1884. During 1884 and 1885 she taught as a substitute in the Lower Merion high school at Ardmore, the Mount Pleasant school, in Lower Merion, and in the Conshohocken public schools.

In August, 1885, she was elected to the advanced secondary department in the Conshohocken schools. On April 4, 1886, Miss Mahoney became the wife of Harry J. Lewis, eldest son of John Craig and Harriet (Gilbert) Lewis. Harry J. Lewis was born February 11, 1866, at Radnor, Pennsylvania, and when three years of age became a resident of Conshohocken, his parents removing to that borough. He attended the public schools of Conshohocken, graduating from the high school in 1882. He studied telegraphy and secured a position with the Philadelphia Reading Railroad Company at West Spring Mill. He also held similar positions at West Conshohocken, West Falls, and Richmond, Philadelphia. He was employed at the last named place when his death occurred, November 15, 1893.

Mr. Lewis was a fine musician and was organist of the First Baptist church of Conshohocken for ten years preceding his death. He was also prominently connected with the Patriotic Order Sons of America and with Gratitude Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Besides his widow, three children and his parents survived him. He left also an only brother, Rev. Daniel I. Lewis. His father, John C. Lewis, was for many years bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Conshohocken.

The family of Harry J. and Effie M. Lewis are: Edith A. May, born May 6, 1887; Herbert Fisk, born January 26, 1890; Elizabeth Louise, born April 19, 1892. Edith May attended the public schools, graduating in June, 1903.

In 1904 she attended and graduated from Schissler's College of business, Norristown. Herbert is a student at Girard College, Philadelphia. Elizabeth is a pupil in the Conshohocken high school.

After the death of her husband, Mrs. Lewis and her three children boarded with her aunt, Mrs. William Steele, on Seventh avenue, Conshohocken. Mrs. Lewis took a position with the J. Ellwood Lee Surgical Company of Conshohocken as forelady. Afterwards she did Spanish translating for the firm. She was the first to attempt the translation of their large catalogue into the Spanish language, and completed the greater part of that work before leaving the employ of the company.

(Page 496)

She became a student at the Schissler Business College in April, 1896, graduated from this institution and became one of the faculty, having charge of the typewriting department. In June, 1897, she was offered and accepted a position as typewriter and stenographer in the office of William P. Young, clerk of the court of Montgomery county. She retained this position until January, 1900, when Major Isaac N. Cooke, the newly elected clerk of the courts, appointed Mrs. Lewes his second deputy. Hon. William P. Solly, upon receiving his appointment as president judge of the orphans' court in 1901, approved the appointment of Mrs. Lewis as deputy clerk of the orphans' court, qualifying her as such on June 12th of that year. At the expiration of Major Cooke's term as clerk she was retained by the register of wills and clerk of the orphans' court, Henry A. Groff, as typewriter. Mrs. Lewis and her daughters are members of Calvary Episcopal church, Conshohocken.

William M. Mahoney, father of Mrs. Lewis, after the death of his first wife, married Virginia Matthews, his first cousin, of Cecil county, Maryland, December 24, 1875. They had two children, Verna Lee, born December 23, 1878, who is unmarried, and Arthur, born June 16, 1880. He is married and living in Chester, Pennsylvania. After the death of his second wife, which occurred December 25, 1885, William M. removed from Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, to Maryland. There he married his cousin, Miss Rachel Weaver, in 1892, and the couple reside of a farm near Mechanics' Valley, in Cecil county.

Mrs. Lewis is descended from Swedish and Irish ancestors. On her father's side her progenitor was Elisha Mahoney, who came from Ireland early in the eighteenth century, settling in Pennsylvania, but afterwards removing to Cecil County, Maryland, where he purchased a farm near Mechanics' Valley, and reared a large family of children. Numerous descendants are scattered throughout Maryland and Delaware, and are remarkable for their height, nearly every male member of the family being over six feet tall. The family are Protestants in religious faith. One of the sons of the immigrant was Stephen Mahoney, whose son, Elisha Mahoney, Jr., was the father of William Mahoney, who is the father of Mrs. Lewis. Elisha Mahoney, grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, was for many years section foreman on the P. B. & W. Railroad. He was prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity. The other children of Elisha Mahoney, Jr., are Alfred, Joseph, Martha, wife of Samuel Miller, and George.

Sarah Rebecca Mahoney, younger sister of Mrs. Lewis, resided after her mother's death with her grandparents, Tobias and Sarah Peterson, on their farm in Cecil county, Maryland, attended the public schools, and at the age of sixteen years became the wife of Jackson Willis. Her husband purchased a farm adjoining that of her grandfather, Tobias Peterson, where the couple reside, leaving six children: Clifford, Rexley, Daniel, Sarah Emma, Carl and Lillie.

The sisters and brothers of Mary Elizabeth (Peterson) Mahoney, mother of Mrs. Lewis were: Lydia Ann, educated for a teacher, and taught a school in Cecil county, near Poplar Hill, in a school house which was erected on her father's farm. She married William T. Steele, son of Joseph Steele, of that vicinity, and removed to Conshohocken in 1863.

Their two children were Frank, who died in infancy, and Lillie M., a teacher in the Conshohocken public schools since 1887. Sarah Jane, married her cousin, George Brown, and removed to Conshohocken in 1863, They had two children, Leola, married to Thomas Ritchie, of Cecil county, and Blanche, who died in childhood. Sarah and George Brown returned to Maryland in 1876, and both died there in 1903. John Thomas, died in infancy. Margaret Emily became a teacher at Everett, Pennsylvania, during her parents' residence there and returned with them to Cecil county, Maryland. She died in 1879, at the age of thirty-one years, unmarried. Hannah Louisa, died unmarried in Philadelphia in 1894, aged forty-four years. Alice Lucinda, married, May 6, 1886, Andrew Sentman. She has no children. George Tobias, born 1858, married, in 1877, Miss Belle Willis, resides on her father's farm near Appleton, in Cecil county, and became the father of a numerous family.

The Petersons are of Swedish origin. Tobias

(Page 497)

great-grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, married, in 1805, Ann Derrickson, also of an old Swedish family in Delaware. They removed on their marriage to Maryland, bought a farm near Scott's Mills, and reared a large family. She died in 1859 and he in 1865. They left ten children, as follows: Ann, Ruth, George, Lydia, Thomas, Tobias, Mary, Peter, John and Sarah. Ruth was the first of these children to die in 1878, the youngest being then over fifty years of age. Tobias, grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, born in 1814, married in 1838, Sarah Mullen, and died in Cecil county, in 1895. Mrs. Peterson died in 1891.

 

 

M. ANNA MOORE, formerly of King-of-Prussia, but now a resident of Norristown, is a descendant of an old colonial family long resident in Upper Merion township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. John Moore, described in the conveyance as a carpenter and supposed to be the immigrant and to have come from England not much before that time, bought four hundred acres of land from David Powell in 1709.

The land was situated near what is now Port Kennedy, in Upper Merion township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. One of his sons, probably born in this country, was John. The last-named had the following children: Catharine, born 2 mo. 20, 1725, married Thomas Mills; John, born 1st mo. 19, 1726, who married Jane, and died in 1777, while his wife survived until 1812, when she died at the age of eighty-three years. Reese, born 9th mo. 21, 1727, married Mary, and died 11th mo. 23, 1751; Sarah, born 7th mo. 9, 1730, married 5th mo. 3, 1748, Enoch Davis; Richard, born 2d mo. 18, 1731, died 1st mo. 10, 1757; Mordecai, born 4th mo. 3, 1735, married, 12th mo. 12, 1758, Elizabeth Davis, who was born 9th mo. 12, 1737, and died 8th mo. 15, 1817, while Mordecai died 4th mo. 22, 1802; Anthony, 2d mo. 4, 1737.

The children of John and Jane Moore: Ann, born 11th mo. 14, 1746, married Christopher Rue; John, born 9th mo. 28, 1752, married Deborah Davis, and died 3d mo. 16, 1822; Elizabeth, born 8th mo. 22, 1753, died 11th mo. 22, 1756; Hannah, born 7th mo. 3, 1755, died 11th mo. 20, 1756; Reese, born 4th mo. 5, 1757: Richard, born 10th mo. 2, 1758, died 10th mo. 27, 1825, married, 11th mo. 11, 1807, Abigail Eastburn; Rachel, born 7th mo. 20, 1760, married Abijah Stephens, son of David Stephens; Jonathan born 7th mo. 30, 1762, married Kittie _____ , and died 7th mo. 23, 1815; Jacob, born 3d mo. 1, 1765, died young; Isaac, born 3d mo. 1, 1765, died 3d mo. 8, 1765.

The children of Mordecai and Elizabeth (Davis) Moore: Hannah born 12th mo. 24, 1759, married, 10th mo. 12, 1795, hoses Coats, and had one child Eliza, born in 5th mo., 1797, who married William Cowgill and had two children, Catharine, who married Isaac L. Stokes, having one son, William C. Stokes, of Norristown, and Hannah, who married David Walker, her children being Eliza C., Winfield H. (deceased), Ella V., married Edward B. Conard, and Lewis; William, born 3d mo. 21, 1761; Reese, born 1st mo. 14, 1763, died about 1834, married, between 1795 and 1798, Sarah Roberts, who died 4th mo. 2, 1805; Jesse, born 7th mo. 21, 1765, who became a judge and married Widow Leitch, they having no children; Isaac, born 3d mo. 26, 1768, died 5th mo. 23, 1841, married, 4th mo. 1, 1799, Miriam Wells; Elizabeth, born 4th mo. 4, 1771, died 8th mo. 24, 1836, married, in 1797, Abijah Stephens, son of David Stephens, who died 10th mo. 23, 1825, she being disowned by Friends, 7th mo. 13, 1797, for marrying out of meeting; Mordecai, born 5th mo. 9, 1774. Abijah and Elizabeth (Moore) Stephens had several children of whom Eleanor, a first cousin of Robert Moore, father of the subject of this sketch, born September 13, 1802, married, March 22, 1821, David Zook, father of General Samuel K. Zook, who was killed at Gettysburg. Eleanor (Stephens) Zook survived her husband many years, dying May 17, 1901, being in her ninety-ninth year.

Dr. John Moore, born 4th mo. 18, 1778, married 4th mo. 24, 1804, Catharine Robeson. He died 5th mo. 22, 1836. Dr. John Moore was a minister of Race street meeting, Philadelphia. He wore in the early part of his ministry, a blue coat with brass buttons, buff vest, buckskin kneebreeches, and fair top-leather boots. It is related that when he first spoke in meeting, Nicholas Wahn, an eminent minister, arose as soon as he took his seat, saying, "Well done, lappel," [sic] and sat down.

(Page 498)

Reese Moore (grandfather) and Sarah (Roberts) Moore had the following children: Roberts, (father) born 8th mo. 18, 1798; Mordecai born 12th mo. 26, 1800; Anna Maria, born __? mo. 21, 1802, married Dr. John Charles Merillat, and died 8th mo. 22, 1853.

Mordecai R. Moore, named above, married Mary Thomas, who died 2d mo. 27, 1899. They had one child, Hannah, born 3d mo. 9, 1839, died 7th mo. 4, 1840. Mordecai R. Moore was associated about 1846 with James Hooven, of Norristown, in the iron foundry business. He was for many years a well-known citizen of Norristown. He died 1st mo. 11, 1866.

Dr. John Charles and Anna Maria Merillat had two children, William C., born 11th mo. 9, 1839, married 9th mo. 5, 1901 (second wife) Mary H. Foreman; Roberts Moore, born 5th mo. 5, 1841, died 12th mo. 5, 1845.

Roberts Moore (father) married, 2d mo. 15, 1838, Mary S. Bisbing. He was a farmer of Upper Merion township. He died 9th mo. 27, 1874. His widow died 5th mo. 11, 1875, aged sixty-eight years. Their children: Sarah, born 6th mo. 28, 1841, died 11th mo. 22, 1845; M. Alma, born 5th mo. 9, 1846; Mordecai R., born 5th mo. 16, 1848, died 8th mo. 21, 1848.

M. Anna Moore is descended from John Roberts, who emigrated from Wales in 1683, when he was sixty years of age, being a millwright by trade. He erected in Lower Merion township the third mill in Pennsylvania. He married, at Haverford meeting, 11th mo. 2, 1690, Elizabeth Owen, daughter of Owen Humphrey. She had emigrated with her brother John from Merionethshire, in Wales, in 1683, bringing with her a certificate of removal. She was married at sixteen years of age. John Roberts died in 1703. Their children were: Rebecca, born in 1691; John, born 6th mo. 17, 1695.

John Roberts married Hannah, daughter of Robert Lloyd, who was born in Wales, in 1669, and died in Merion in 1716. The daughter of Robert Lloyd, Hannah Lloyd Roberts, was born in 1699. She had one son, John Roberts. She married, second, William Paschall, and had several children, and (third) Peter Osborne, and had several children.

Another child of John and Elizabeth Owen Roberts was Matthew, born 4th mo. 13, 1693. He married Sarah Waters. Of their children, Jonathan, born in 1732, married Anna, second child of David and Anna noble Thomas, the parents having been married at Abington Meeting in 1731. Jonathan was a member of the colonial assembly and otherwise prominent.

The couple had a family of seven children, of whom the fifth in order was Jonathan Roberts, of Upper Merion, who became a United States senator from Pennsylvania, and was one of the best known citizens of Montgomery county. His sister Anna, the sixth child of Jonathan Roberts, Sr., died unmarried. The seventh child. John, was born 10th mo. 16, 1776. He married, 12th mo. 24, 1807, Sarah Bartolomew, of an old Upper Merion family. He died 8th mo. 14, 1846, and his widow died 9th mo. 12, 1847.

Sarah Roberts, daughter of Jonathan and Anna Roberts, eldest child of the couple, born 2d mo. 1761, married, between 1795 and 1798, Reese, son of Mordecai and Elizabeth (Davis) Moore. She was the grandmother of M. Anna Moore, subject of this sketch. (See biographical sketch of Sarah H. Tyson, elsewhere in this work, for further particulars of the Roberts ancestry of M. Anna Moore.)

Elizabeth (Davis) Moore, wife of Mordecai Moore (great-grandfather), was the daughter of William Davis. Their children: Tacy, born April 13, 1732: Isaac, born January 7, T735; Jesse, born March 13, 1736; Elizabeth (great-grandmother), born September 12, 1737, married, in 1758, Mordecai Moore; William, born November 19, 1739; James, 1741; Asa, 1743; Hannah, 1747.

The Davis family were descendants of Lewis David (or Davis as it afterward became), who came to America from Standwin, in the county of Pembroke, and dominion of Wales. He probably arrived about 1691 at Philadelphia, and settled in Haverford. He died in 1708. He had a son, James Lewis. Asa Lewis, born 8th mo. 8, 1743, son of William Davis, and grandson of Lewis, above, and his wife Florence; married, in 1769, Elizabeth Humphreys, and removed from Haverford to East Bradford, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in 1784. Their children were Elizabeth, William, Jane, James. Elizabeth married Jesse Reese; William married, in 1802, Mary Hibberd.

 

 

HENRY J. SOMMER, M. D., for several years one of the medical staff of the Norristown Hospital for the Insane, but now engaged in private practice in Norristown, having formed a copartnership with Dr. J. H. Weaver, with his office at No. 617 DeKalb street, is, as the name indicates, of German descent. He was born near Quakertown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1870.

(Page 499)

Henry J. Sommer (father) was born in Baden, Germany, January 6, 1837, his parents being Henry and Eve (Ohl) Sommer. He came to this country to take charge of a factory for L. Bamberger & Company, at the age of twenty-two years. He enlisted May 15, 1861 in the Twenty-ninth Regiment, New York Volunteers, from which he was honorably discharged. He then served in the United States navy in the marine corps until the end of the war. He started the manufacture of cigars in Bucks county for L. Bamberger & Company, and later bought out their entire stock and fixtures, giving work to about 450 employees.

He married Mary, daughter of J. A. and Anna C. Rhuel, of Philadelphia, May 16, 1866. The couple had five children, three sons and two daughters. Ferdinand and Edward are in charge of the business named above; Martha married E. C. Jones, of Conshohocken; and Mary, unmarried, resides with her parents.

Dr. Henry J. Sommer, Jr., bears the family name of Henry, which has been handed down for centuries, there having been a "Henry" in every generation of the family. He received an education in the common schools of the vicinity, and at the age of nineteen years entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, from which he was graduated with first honors, taking the gold medal for surgery, May 2, 1893. Two days later he was appointed assistant quarantine physician at the port of Philadelphia, but, the legislature having passed a new quarantine bill requiring the assistant physician to be of five years standing, he left, on appointment of a new assistant physician on June 29, 1893, and went direct to the Municipal Hospital for Contagious Diseases of Philadelphia, having received an appointment to the position of resident physician over the telephone.

There Dr. Sommer had charge of the small-pox camp during the epidemic of the summer of 1893, and later of the scarlet fever and diphtheria wards. On November 4, 1893, he was appointed United States Consul to Bombay, India, which position he sought for the purpose of making a special study, of cholera and leprosy. Owing to loss of health, Dr. Sommer was compelled to see all his cultures of germs, the work of over a year, die helplessly.

On his return to the United States, Dr. Sommer engaged in private practice at Tremont, in Schuylkill county, this state, in November, 1895, where he remained until January 17, 1897, at which time he received the appointment of assistant physician at the State Hospital for the Insane at Norristown, which position he filled very successfully until September 1, 1903, when he resigned his position at that institution and removed to Norristown, to take in private practice in partnership with Dr. J. K. Weaver. Dr. Sommer is an able physician, whose skill, learning and industry are certain to make him one of the most successful physicians of his day.

Dr. Sommer was married June 27, 1901, to Emily E., daughter of Samuel K. and Elizabeth Hergesheimer, of Germantown, Pennsylvania whose ancestors on the fathers side built and owned Strawberry Mansion, and what is now known as Laurel Hill Cemetery. Her mother is a descendant of Lord Burdett. They reside at No. 617 DeKalb street, Norristown.

 

 

REV. WILLIAM S. ANDERS, pastor of the Worcester Schwenkfelder church, is a son of Abraham and Rebecca (Schultz) Anders. He was born in Worcester township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, August 30, 1840. His great-great-grandfather, Balthasar Anders, was one of the little band of Schwenkfelder immigrants, who came from Silesia to Pennsylvania, and landed in Philadelphia, September 12, (old style) 1734. They nearly all located in what is now Montgomery county, where many of their descendants remain to the present day.

(Page 500)

Abraham Anders (father) was a farmer by occupation. He served for many years as a school director in Worcester township, being a friend of educational progress and a public-spirited citizen. He was a director of the Bank of Montgomery County at Norristown, later the Montgomery National Bank, for twenty-five years, and held important positions in several other corporations. He was active in business affairs but never aspired to public office, although political positions were frequently tendered him and invariably declined. In politics he was a Republican. In his religious belief he was a Schwenkfelder, like his ancestors. He was a member of that church for more than fifty years prior to his death, and for a number of years served as secretary. He was a man of sound judgment and in every respect a valuable citizen. He died December 28, 1887, at the age of eighty-one years.

He married Rebecca Schultz, daughter of George Schultz, the ceremony being performed May 14, 1839. George Schultz died October 29, 1801. Abraham and Rebecca Anders had the following children, seven in all, being five sons and two daughters: Rev. William S., subject of this sketch; Joseph S., died July, 1895; Susan, wife of Josiah D. Heebner, of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania; Charles S.; Abraham S., who died November 23, 1862; Mary S., who married Jeremiah K. Anders, and Amos S.

Rev. William S. Anders received his education in the public schools of Worcester, spending also two years as a student at Mount Kirk Seminary, in Lower Providence township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, which, was conducted for many years by Rev. Henry S. Rodenbough. Rev. William S. Anders taught school in early manhood for eight terms, one year in Towamencin township, three years in Worcester, and four in Norriton township. At the end of that time he removed to the farm previously bought by his father in Worcester township and engaged in farming.

On June 3, 1871, he was called as a probationer to the ministry in the Schwenkfelder church. In October, 1873, he was installed as one of the pastors of the Worcester, Towamencin and Salford churches. He married, February 1, 1868, Susan H. Krause, who was a daughter of Aaron and Lydia (Heebner) Krause, of Worcester township.

In politics, Mr. Anders is a Republican. He served for some years as a school director, being well qualified for that position by his previous experience as a teacher. Since 1889 he has been a director of Ursinus College. He is also a director of the Montgomery National Bank at Norristown. He is identified with the management of several industrial companies.

From 1871 to 1893 he farmed extensively, but since the latter year has given his time entirely to his pastoral labors. Although serving in an official capacity in several business enterprises he allows nothing in connection with them to interfere with his church work. During the last year he has suffered much from illness, greatly affecting his usefulness in his ministerial calling. In this affliction, due to heart trouble, he has the sincere sympathy of all who know him. Rev. William S. Anders has been a very faithful worker, not only in the church but also in the Sunday school. For forty-two years he has been a worker in the latter, either as superintendent or as teacher.

 

 

THE MAUCK FAMILY. Mrs. Addie Mauck Slenker, of New Berlin, Pennsylvania, the senior member of the family writes (1896) "The Mauck family came from Germany I have always understood, and there were only a few of the name, and those are not living here and I doubt if they have any information as to their ancestry."

Conrad Mauck lived in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and departed this life September 3, 1823. He married Catherine Zohler, who was born February 5, 1765. She was the daughter of Christian and Margaretta Zohler, and was born in Hanover township, Montgomery county,

(Page 501)

Pennsylvania, and died March 2, 1829. They had two sons: Aaron, mentioned at length below; and John Henry. The last named was born May 25, 1810, and died June 29, 1859. He married Eliza Henkle, and they left issue as follows: Addie, who married James Slenker; Emma, who is unmarried; and Ella, who died unmarried.

Aaron Mauck was born January 29, 1814, at New Berlin, Pennsylvania. He became a practicing physician at Pottstown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, from whence he removed with his family to Laurel, in the state of Delaware, where he resided up to the time of his demise. Dr. Mauck married February 14, 1838, Eliza Longnecker, whose family were residents of Middletown, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, her parents being Henry and Elizabeth (Kendig) Longnecker.

To Dr. and Mrs. Mauck were born the following named children: Clarence, Edwin, who married, but had no children; and Alice, who became the wife of Thomas Hodson, an attorney of Baltimore, Maryland, who was for some time a member of the senate of that state. Alice (Mauck) Hodson died either in the year 1879 or 1880. Dr. Mauck died either in 1858 or 1859, at the age of more than three-score years, and his wife, Elizabeth (Longnecker) Mauck, died either in the year 1900 or 1901, in Baltimore, Maryland, aged eighty-seven years.

Clarence Mauck, eldest son of Dr. Aaron and Elizabeth Mauck, was born in 1839, in Indiana, while his parents were sojourning in that state. His preparatory education was acquired in various sections of the country in which his parents resided for the time being. He was a student at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, March 27, 1861, and joined the First Regiment United States Cavalry, under the command of his maternal uncle, Colonel Henry Longnecker. His services began at Fort Columbus, New York; from May 10 to June, 1861, he was at Carlisle Barracks, in Pennsylvania; he joined his regiment on July 19, 1861, and served therewith at Fort Wise, Colorado, until November, 1861, and at Fort Leavenworth Kansas, until February, 1862. He was in the field in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia, to October 13, 1864, when he was wounded in action at Rome, Georgia, and was on sick leave on surgeon's certificate of disability to November 26, 1864; on recruiting service to November, 1865; with regiment in Texas to September 1, 1867; on leave to November 1, 1867; conducting recruits to and with regiment in Texas (on expedition operating against Indiana in Texas) to April 23, 1870; on leave to August 16, 1870; with regiment at Fort Concho, Texas, to May 11, 1871; at Fort Richardson, Texas, to July 8, 1871; in the field on expedition against Indians in Indian Territory and Texas, to November 18, 1871; at Fort Richardson, Texas, to June 14. 1872; in the field, operating against Indians, to September 30, 1872; at Fort Richardson, Texas, to March 4, 1873; at Fort Clark, Texas, to April 30, 1873; on scout in field, in Texas and Mexico after marauding Indians, to August 30, 1873; at Fort Clark, Texas, to February 21, 1875; at Fort Sill, Indian Territory, to August 26, 1875; on leave to January 27, 1876; with regiment at Fort Reno, Indian Territory, to April 18, 1876; at Fort Elliott, Texas to July 30, 1876; at Camp Robinson, Nebraska, to November 1, 1876; on Powder River expedition to January 5, 1877; with regiment at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, to May 26, 1877 at Fort Elliott, Texas, to September 20, 1878; in pursuit of and in operations against Cheyenne Indians to November 27, 1878, at Fort Elliott, Texas, to April 16, 1879; on sick leave and on surgeon's certificate of disability to April 23, 1880; commanding post of Fort Stanton, New Mexico, May 25, to August 31, 1880; sick at post September 20, 1880; on sick leave and on certificate of surgeon as to disability until his death at San Antonio, Texas, January 25, 1881. Lieutenant Mauck became known in the service as a courageous and faithful soldier, and during the nearly twenty years of his service made an admirable record. The following is an abstract from the same as it appears in the office of the War Department at Washington.

(Page 502)

"Clarence Mauck was appointed second lieutenant of First Cavalry March 27, 1861. He was promoted to first lieutenant May 9, 1861; captain Fourth Cavalry, November 5, 1863; major Ninth Cavalry, March 20, 1879. He was brevetted captain December 31, 1862, for gallant and meritorious services in the battle of Stone Run, Tennessee; and major on October 11, 1864, for gallant and meritorious services during the Atlanta campaign."

Major Clarence Mauck was married at Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1867, to Helen Wood, who was born December 25, 1841; being the eldest child of John and Elizabeth (Wells) Wood, both of Conshohocken. Their children were: Clara W., born at Austin, Texas, died at the age of five months; Herbert Sherman, born April 9, 1871, at Fort Concho, Texas, married Anita C. Franco, of Guayaquil, Ecuador, and has one son, Frederico Franco Mauck; Victor, mentioned hereinafter; and Mabel, born January 19, 1875.

Victor Mauck, third child of Clarence and Helen (Wood) Mauck, was born at Fort Clark, Texas, December 6. 1874.

 

 

DANIEL NASH. The Nash family are old residents of Upper Dublin and adjoining townships of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Daniel, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in the township mentioned, was educated there in such schools as existed at that time, and on leaving school turned his attention to farming, to which occupation he devoted himself the remainder of his life. He was an industrious and thrifty farmer and was very successful in his occupation. Among his children, of whom there were a large family, was James, the father of the subject of this sketch.

James Nash was born on the homestead in Upper Dublin township in 1833, and died in 1894. He was educated in the ordinary schools of the neighborhood, which were far inferior to what they are at the present time, and after farming for a livelihood for a few years removed to Springfield township, also in Montgomery county. He was a Democrat in politics, but not an office-seeker, but held the position of real estate assessor for several years, for which his excellent judgment as to values especially fitted him. He married Miss Emily Yeakel, of Springfield township, a member of an old and prominent Schwenkfelder family. The children of Mr. and Mrs. James Nash: Elvie, Joseph, Harry and Daniel.

Daniel Nash was born on the homestead in Springfield township, March 1, 1875. He was educated at the Five Points School in that township, and after leaving the neighborhood school, took a course in the Pierce College of Business, an old and useful Philadelphia institution. He graduated from it after completing the course he chose. He then engaged in the milk business, which he has pursued very successfully ever since. Mr. Nash is one of the most prominent young business men of Montgomery county. He married, June 27, 1901, Miss Sarah G. Matz, daughter of John H. and Emily (Harner) Matz, of Springfield township. They have one child, John Earl Matz.

In politics Mr. Nash is a Democrat, but has never sought or held a county office. he has, however, been the assessor of the township for several years and has also filled the responsible position of township auditor. He is a member of the junior Order United American mechanics, the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his family reside in a pleasant home at Flourtown. They attend the Lutheran church.