Floyd's Northumberland County Genealogy  Pages 73 thru 96

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	WILLIAM W. FISHER, who has the leading jewelry establishment in the 
borough of Sunbury, is a man who has developed every branch of his 
chosen business, a fact which entitles him to rank among the most 
enterprising citizens of that place, in the best sense of the term.  By 
able management and good judgment he has drawn a high class of trade and 
raised the standards of excellence in his line until, through him, the 
community receives as good service as may be found in the larger cities 
of the State. He is a native of Milton, this county, born Feb. 13, 1861, 
and belongs to an old family of the county, one which has been settled 
here for a hundred and twenty-five years.
	Joseph Fisher, from whom this family traces its descent, was born 
in Saxony in April, 1734. At the age of thirteen years, it is said, he 
was apprenticed to learn a trade, and as was the custom in those days 
lived in his master's family. This family emigrated to America in 1747, 
Joseph Fisher and his sister Elizabeth accompanying them, and they 
landed in New Jersey, where the sister soon died.  Joseph remained in 
the western part of New Jersey and completed his apprenticeship. On June 
5, 1764, he married Catharine Minegar, who was born Aug. 24, 1746, in 
Holland, and they located in Warren county, N. J. During the 
Revolutionary war he entered the American service from Morris county, N. 
J. The home he had established, being amid the scenes of several battles 
and various movements of the Revolution, was destroyed and the 
surrounding lands laid waste by the armies, and he determined 
accordingly to move out to Pennsylvania. In 1788 he came to 
Northumberland county, on April 7th of that year purchasing from Samuel 
Reeder a farm of 100 acres along the Little Roaring creek.  He lived to 
a good old age, dying Dec. 29, 1819, after a short illness, and was 
buried Jan. 1, 1820, at Catawissa, beside his wife, who had died in 
1809: they rest in the old burial ground of the Lutheran Church at that 
place. They were the parents of ten children, born as follows: 
Catharine, June 29, 1765 (married Nicholas Shipman); Henry, July 23, 
1767 (married Magdalena Farley); Mary, Dec. 18, 1769 (married Samuel 
Mutchler); Hannah, Jan. 27, 1772 (married Caleb Farley); Elizabeth, July 
21, 1774 (married John Reeder); John, June 19, 1776; Moses, Sept. 23, 
1778 (married Elizabeth Bear); David, March 6, 1781; Jacob, Dec. 18, 
1783 (married Margaret Kimbpel); Joseph, May 20; 1786 (married Mary 
Kimbpel).
	John Fisher, son of Joseph, was born June 19, 1776, in Sussex 
county, N. J.  On Aug. 13, 1798, he married Elizabeth Mauser, who was 
born in 1775 in Bucks county, Pa., and died in 1844 in Noble township, 
Branch Co., Mich.  They had four children, namely: John married Lydia 
Lazarous; Catharine, born June 13, 1801, married Thomas Shane; William, 
born Oct. 19, 1806, married Eleanor Blue; Elizabeth, born Sept. 19, 
1809, married John Ritter.
	William Fisher, son of John, born Oct. 19, 1806, married Dec. 25, 
1827, Eleanor Blue, who was born Nov. 22, 1810, in Mahoning township, 
and after their marriage they resided for a time at Danville, where Mr. 
Fisher was employed in the store of Peter Baldy.  Thence they removed to 
Milton, Northumberland county, and later to Lock Haven, Pa., where they 
remained. seven years. For the next three years they lived in 
Philadelphia, during which time Mr. Fisher was burned out in the big 
fire of 1849, losing everything. He subsequently returned to Milton, 
where Mrs. Fisher died Jan. 28, 1878, and from that time until his death 
Mr. Fisher made his home with his daughter Margaret, who was the wife of 
Thomas Glover. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were the parents of nine children, 
born as follows:  B. Frank, June 15, 1829; Samuel J., April 8, 1831; 
William A., Oct. 21, 1832 (died Sept. 10, 1885); John K. B., Sept. 2, 
1834 (died April 12, 1848); Mary E., Oct. 8, 1836; Charlotte J., March 
25, 1840; Margaret E., April 24, 1842; Dudley R., Jan. 8, 1848 (died 
Sept. 21, 1850); Dudley R. (2), Sept. 25, 1850 (married Sept. 25, 1884, 
Catharine Ebright).
	B. Frank Fisher, son of William, born June 15, 1829, died Oct. 12, 
1867.  He was engaged in business at Reading, Pa.  On Jan. 28, 1858, he 
married Mary B. Grift, who died Feb. 24, 1878. They had four children: 
William W., born Feb. 13, 1861; Flora E., born Feb. 26, 1863; Harry B., 
who died in 1865; and B. Frank, born Sept. 16, 1866.
	William W. Fisher was a boy of ten when the family moved to 
Watsontown, this county, in 1871, and there he attended public school. 
In 1882 he founded a paper at Watsontown known as the Star, the first 
issue of which appeared April 1, 1882. He was in partnership, in this 
venture, with Lew C. Fosnot who is still interested.  Mr. Fisher sold 
his share to Dore Burr in November, 1883, and in March, 1884, the 
Watsontown Record and the Star were merged under the name of the Record 
and Star, under which title it has since been published, Lew C. Fosnot 
and his son, J. Clyde Fosnot, being the present owners. After severing 
his connection with the newspaper Mr. Fisher entered the stationery and 
book business in Watsontown, establishing a store in 1885, and for a 
time he also published band music.  In 1888 he went into the jewelry 
business at Watsontown, where he was located for several years.  In 1891 
he settled at Sunbury; having that year bought the jewelry business of 
M. J. Beckley, at No. 344 Market street, where he has since been 
established.  His store is now one of the finest in this part of the 
State, in regard to both stock and
	
	END OF PAGE 73
	
equipment, the fittings being attractive and in excellent taste, while 
his comprehensive stock includes diamonds mounted and unmounted, 
watches, sterling and plated silverware, cut glass and objects of art. A 
finely equipped repair department conducted at one end of the store, 
gives employment to several workmen, and diamond setting, watch and 
clock and jewelry repairing receive the most skillful attention from 
experienced mechanics.
	A special evidence of Mr. Fisher's enterprise is the optical 
department connected with his store. He himself took a course at the 
McCormick Neurological College, at Chicago, Ill., from which he was 
graduated, receiving his diploma July 19, 1904.  His equipment for the 
diagnosis of all kinds of defective vision is complete, and his 
understanding of the cause, treatment and cure of the various nervous 
disorders and other ills of the human system arising from such source 
has been proved in the numerous cases he has successfully handled. Thus 
it will be seen that his success is due to a combination of qualities 
which make him a valuable member of the community in which he resides.  
He is a Mason of high degree, holding membership in Maclay Lodge, No. 
632, F. & A.M. of Sunbury; in Northumberland Chapter, No. 174, R.A.M.; 
in Mount Hermon Commandery, No. 84, K.T., and in Irem Temple, 
A.A.O.N.M.S., of Wilkes-Barre.  He was a charter member of Maclay Lodge 
and was elected treasurer upon the organization, having held that 
position continuously since.  He is a past exalted ruler of Lodge No. 
267, B.P.O. Elks, of Sunbury, and is a member of the Temple Club and of 
the Americus Club, and president of the Sunbury Auto Club, which was 
organized July 30, 1909. In religion he is a member of the Reformed 
Church.
	On April 16, 1894, Mr. Fisher married Susan Stroh, daughter of 
George W. Stroh, of Sunbury Pa. She died Dec. 8, 1910.
	JOHN  HENRY  KREITZER,  of  Milton Northumberland county, 
proprietor of the largest wholesale and retail grocery establishment in 
that section of the State, president and treasurer of the Kreitzer 
Wholesale Candy Company, one of the most popular borough officials 
Milton has ever had, a leader of the Republican party and active in 
almost every phase of the life of his locality, is a citizen who 
deservedly holds the esteem and confidence of the entire community. Mr. 
Kreitzer has won his standing by hard work and ability in the management 
of his affairs, and a mere record of his many successful undertakings is 
sufficient to show how busy a life he leads. None but a man of energy 
and progressive disposition could handle the numerous enterprises he 
looks after so ably, and his judgment has been in demand in the 
execution of public trusts, to which he has been called time and again. 
He belongs to a family of German origin established in this county by 
his great-grandfather, with whom the record of the family history 
begins.
	Peter Kreitzer, a native of Germany, came to America when a young 
man, settling in Tulpehocken, Berks Co., Pa., in 1762, and there lived 
until his death. He was a farmer by occupation. He was twice married, 
his second wife living to be 105 years old, and both wives are buried in 
Berks county.  There were five children by the first union and ten by 
the second, among them being Frederick, who died in Berks county; 
William, who went to Illinois, where he died (he has two sons in Texas, 
both druggists); and Balser.
	Balser Kreitzer, son of Peter, was born in Berks county (at what is 
now Myerstown, Lebanon county) in 1800, and about 1826-27 moved to 
Milton, Northumberland county, where he lived and died.  After his 
settlement there he did day's work at first, but in time became a 
contractor, his principal business being lumbering, in the pursuit of 
which he cleared off most of the timber around Milton.  He formed the 
logs into rafts which he took to market. When the old Lutheran church on 
Mahoning street was sold at the time of the erection of the new edifice 
(subsequently destroyed by fire) he purchased it and remodeled it into a 
dwelling.  He himself was a Lutheran in religious belief, and assisted 
in the building of the first church of that denomination in Milton. In 
politics he was originally a Whig, later a Republican, and he took an 
interest in local affairs, holding minor township offices and later 
borough offices. He died in Milton in 1878, at the age of seventy-eight 
years, and is buried in Harmony cemetery. His wife, Mary (Zimmerman), of 
Berks county, Pa., died in 1884, at the age of eighty-four.  They had 
children as follows:  John, who was killed in the last battle of the 
Civil war; George Washington; Jacob, of Milton, formerly a shoe 
merchant, who married Sarah Beidelman and has children, Edith, Sedosia, 
Bertha, Frank, Carrie and George; Reuben, who was killed at Milton, on 
the railroad (he was twice married, his first wire being Emma Crawford, 
his second Emma Applegate); Sarah, who married Andrew Irvin, and died in 
1904; William, who served through the Civil war, and who died at Milton 
(he married Rebecca Ehrhart); Adam; and Moses, who died in early 
childhood.
	George Washington Kreitzer (known as Washington Kreitzer), son of 
Balser, was the father of John Henry Kreitzer.  He was born in 1828 at 
Milton, and as was the custom in that day began work early, being only a 
boy of ten when he began driving a team on the Union canal. His fondness 
for horses kept him in such work for some time. He drove a packet team 
for a while and in winter a stagecoach, also carrying the mail up and 
down
	
	END OF PAGE 74
	
the river for many years.  After a time he learned the butcher's trade, 
and being ambitious he saved his earnings, accumulating enough to enable 
him to start business independently.  He formed a partnership with 
Conrad Cares, under the firm name of Kreitzer & Cares, and engaged in 
the meat business in Milton, following that line in all for about eight 
years.  After his association with Mr. Cares was dissolved he had 
Charles Hoy for a partner.  Selling out his interest in the meat 
business, he was for a time in the employ of William Price Hull, dealer 
in coal and grain, and later followed the dairy business.  During his 
last years he assisted his son John.  A man of strong constitution, he 
continued to work hard to the end of his days and enjoyed it.  He died 
June 17, 1898, in his seventieth year, and was buried in Harmony 
cemetery.  He was a Republican in politics and served two terms as 
street commissioner.
	Mr. Kreitzer married Mary J. Lohr, daughter of John and Mary A. 
(Wilson) Lohr, of Iola, Columbia Co., Pa., and she survives him, 
continuing to make her home in Milton. The following children were born 
to this union:  Mary Catherine, who married John Byers, and lives near 
Milton; John H.; Sarah Elizabeth, who married William Cowles, formerly 
of Picture Rocks Pa., now living at Chester; Abraham  L., who died in 
infancy; Ada Nora, who married Augustus Berger, of Watsontown; and 
William Washington, who died aged seven years ten months.
	John Henry Kreitzer was born at Milton Oct. 24, 1858, and received 
his education there in the public schools, which he attended until he 
was fourteen years of age.  Like his father, he began work as a driver 
on the towpath, and when the canal season closed for the winter he found 
employment in the office of William Price Hull, at that time a prominent 
coal and grain dealer of Milton. After two rears in his employ he 
decided to return to school, as he was ambitious to gain a good 
education, and he was at his studies again for three years. On April 1, 
1877, he began clerking for Albert Cadwallader, who had a grocery and 
provision store in Milton, and made such good progress in learning the 
details of this business that on Aug. 12, 1879, he was made 
superintendent of James Buoy's grocery store on Mahoning street.  On 
Jan. 11, 1881, he purchased a half interest in this establishment from 
Mr. Buoy, the firm name being Buoy & Kreitzer. In May, 1883, this 
partnership was dissolved, Mr. Kreitzer purchasing Mr. Buoy's interest 
and continuing the business alone.  Such was the beginning of his 
present extensive business, the largest wholesale and retail grocery 
house in this section of Pennsylvania. It is located in a fine brick 
block which Mr. Kreitzer owns and adjoining which, in 1891, he built a 
large three-story warehouse; since the erection of this building he has 
enlarged his business  to include, besides the original lines of 
groceries and provisions, crockery, wooden and willow wares, grain, hay 
and feed.  In this connection he also deals extensively in country 
produce, which he ships to other markets.  In 1894 he organized the 
Kreitzer Wholesale Candy Company, dealers in confectionery, fruit and 
nuts, and he erected and owns the building occupied by this concern, 
adjoining his grocery establishment.  He is president and treasurer of 
this company, of which M. C. Kreitzer is assistant treasurer and M. E. 
Kreitzer secretary.  Mr. Kreitzer employs from twenty to thirty-five 
people, and four teams are used in the delivery and transportation of 
his goods.  Since 1898 Mr. Kreitzer has also had a retail store in West 
Milton, Union county.  Since 1894 he has owned a sand plant two miles 
south of Milton, shipping sand to all parts of Pennsylvania and various 
portions of New York State for use in foundry and concrete work, and a 
particularly fine quality for special uses. Such a record of unbroken 
success is the lot of few men, but Mr. Kreitzer has won all his triumphs 
by hard work and upright dealings, and he has the good will of his 
employees and of all who come in contact with him in business or other 
relations.
	Though he has never neglected his business in any way, Mr. Kreitzer 
has found time to take a public-spirited interest in the welfare of the 
community.  His influence being valuable, his work is much appreciated, 
for he has the faculty of infusing energy into movements that need 
encouragement and of putting through any work he undertakes. He has long 
been a member of the Board of Trade and is serving as a director, taking 
an active part in its enterprises. He is a stockholder in the Milton 
Driving Park and Fair Association, the Milton Knitting Mill and the 
Milton Trust & Safe Deposit Company. It was principally through the 
earnest efforts he put forth that the bridge which spans the river 
between Milton and West Milton was built, victory rewarding its 
advocates after three years of hard fighting in the courts; it was 
opened to travel in 1894.  He is the only citizen of Milton who has 
thrice been honored with election to the office of chief burgess, for 
terms of three years each, his services extending from 1894 to 1897, 
from 1900 to 1903, and from 1906 to 1909.  The issue upon which he won 
in his latest campaign when a candidate for this office was the 
obtaining of mountain water for the borough, and he made good all his 
promises, no place in the State enjoying purer water or better 
privileges than Milton.  Mr. Kreitzer had previously served three years 
as councilman, to which office he was elected in 1884; and three years 
as auditor, to which office he was elected in 1881; so that his active 
participation in public affairs has covered a long period. He has long 
been a valued worker in the Republican party. He was elected ward com-
	
	END OF PAGE 75
	
mitteeman in 1887; served two years as judge of election; and was 
delegate to the State convention in 1902.  He was chairman of the Anti-
Tramp convention that met in Philadelphia May 15, 1901.
	Mr. Kreitzer served nine years as secretary and treasurer of the 
Baptist Sunday school. He holds membership in the Presbyterian Church, 
and socially he unites with the Royal Arcanum.
	On Feb. 11, 1886, Mr. Kreitzer married Mary Catharine Ettla, 
daughter of Capt. George H. and Amanda C. Ettla, and they have one 
daughter, Mary Elizabeth.

	JOSIAH M. KAUFFMAN (deceased) was a prominent citizen of Lower 
Augusta township, this county, until his removal in 1892 to Sunbury, 
where he passed the remainder of his life and where his family now 
reside.  He was a man of sterling worth and high personal character.  
Mr. Kauffman was born in Lower Augusta township Jan. 7, 1860, son of 
Daniel and Sarah (Burns) Kauffman and grandson of Daniel and Mary 
(Ressler) Kauffman, of whose family the following still survive: John 
R., of Sunbury; Levi, of Paxton, Pa.; Caroline, Mrs. James Coldren, of 
Sunbury; Lucy, Mrs. Brocious, of Buchanan, Mich.; Malinda, Mrs. I. J. 
Renn, of Asherton. Pa.; and Rachel, Mrs. James Lower, of Asherton. The 
family is well known, its various branches being well represented 
throughout this section of the country.
	Daniel Kauffman, son of Daniel and Mary (Ressler) Kauffman, was 
born Jan. 21, 1834, in Upper Mahanoy township, this county, and was 
quite young when the family moved to Lower Augusta township, where he 
resided for many years, engaging in farming. Retiring from agricultural 
pursuits he removed to Sunbury, when elected county commissioner, and 
there passed the last twenty-five years of his life.  He served one term 
of three years, 1888-90, as county commissioner, and at the end of his 
service in that office bought the "Empire House" on Third street, which 
he continued to carry on until a few years before his death. He then 
removed to his late residence on Pine street where he passed the 
remainder of his days in peaceful retirement. About three weeks before 
his death he was taken to the Mary M. Packer hospital, where he died 
after two serious operations, Aug. 25, 1910. With the exception of this 
illness Mr. Kauffman, though past seventy-six years of age, had enjoyed 
unusual health, being as strong and active as men many years his junior. 
His family had always been noted for remarkable vitality, and his death 
was the first in their circle in thirty rears.  Mr. Kauffman was a good 
business man and gave creditable service as county commissioner, being a 
citizen highly respected throughout his wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances.  During the Civil war he served the Union as a member of 
the 172d Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and he became a member of 
William A. Bruner Post, No. 335, G.A.R.  The flag in Cameron park flew 
at half mast upon the occasion of his death.
	In 1857 Mr. Kauffman married Sarah Burns, daughter of John Burns, 
of Lower Augusta township, and he survived her only a few weeks, her 
death taking place when she was seventy-four years old, exactly seven 
weeks before the day of his funeral, which was held August 28, 1910. 
They are buried in the Kauffman lot in Pomfret Manor cemetery.  Mr. 
Kauffman was a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, and the funeral 
services were held at his late home on Pine street by Rev. J. N. 
Wetzler, of St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kauffman were survived by three children, namely: Silas D., of 
Conestoga, N. Y.; Mrs. Clarence Parsons, of Nanticoke, Pa.; and Mrs. 
Morris Swartz, of Urban, Pa., as well as the widow and children of their 
late son, Josiah M. Kauffman, of Sunbury. They had a number of  
grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
	Josiah M. Kauffman, son of Daniel and Sarah (Burns) Kauffman, 
received his early education in the public schools of Lower Augusta 
township and later attended the academy at Selinsgrove, this county.  He 
taught school for seven years in Lower Augusta township and one term in 
Upper Mahanoy township, holding a professional certificate, and 
meanwhile followed farming during the summer season, having been trained 
to that vocation from early boyhood. He owned the homestead of his 
grandfather Daniel in Lower Augusta township (now the property of H. S. 
Bowersox) and farmed that place for one year; for eleven years he lived 
upon and cultivated one farm in Lower Augusta township.  Moving with his 
family to Sunbury in 1892, he there passed the remainder of his life, 
dying April 25, 1908. He is buried in Pomfret Manor cemetery. In 1898 he 
erected the building at Nos. 416-418 Market street where Mrs. Kauffman 
is still engaged in business. Mr. Kauffman was an intelligent citizen, 
capable in the management of his own affairs and public-spirited in his 
interest in such matters as affected the general welfare.  He served as 
justice of the peace in Lower Augusta township, resigning the office 
when he removed to Sunbury, was active in local affairs generally and 
well known socially, belonging to Lodge No. 22, F. & A.M., and to the 
Lutheran Church. He was a regular attendant upon church services and an 
efficient worker in church and Sunday school, serving four years as 
Sunday school superintendent before his removal to Sunbury. He was a 
stanch Democrat in political matters.
	On July 30, 1882, Mr. Kauffman married Esther Bohner, daughter of 
Henry and Esther (Haas) Bohner of Plum Creek, Northumberland county,
	
	END OF PAGE 76
	
and they had a family of four children:  Sarah Maud, who assists her 
mother in the millinery business, is the wife of Waldo Shipman; Myrtle 
May is a public school teacher in Sunbury; Harry S. is an electrician 
engaged in business at Bloomsburg and Danville, Pa.; Bessie Mabel is a 
trained nurse.  The family are Lutherans and Presbyterians in religious 
connection.
	When the family removed to Sunbury Mrs. Kauffman opened a millinery 
establishment at No. 416 Market street, where she is still located, and 
she enjoys the leading trade in the borough as well as a large share of 
the custom from the surrounding district.  She carries a full line of 
millinery, and is an obliging and capable business woman, well deserving 
the success which has rewarded her efforts. In 1909 she erected a double 
residence at Nos. 417-419 Woodlawn avenue, Sunbury.

	CAPT. JACOB F. HOFFMAN, now living retired at Herndon, 
Northumberland county, is a native of Dauphin county, Pa., and a member 
of a family long established in that section.  His great-great-
grandfather settled in Berks county, in what was then the Province of 
Pennsylvania, early in the eighteenth century, and his great-
grandfather, John Nicholas Hoffman, was at the battle of Brandywine, 
during the Revolutionary war, where he picked up a spent case shot. The 
Hoffmans have been patriotic citizens, members of the family having 
served in the Revolution, the war of 1812 and the Civil war.  At the 
close of the latter five sons of Amos Hoffman were still in the service, 
while another, Henry, had done his part also as a soldier.
	Jacob Hoffman, son of John Nicholas, was the grandfather of Capt. 
Jacob F. Hoffman. He was born in the Lykens valley, in Lykens township, 
Dauphin Co., Pa., was a substantial farmer, and an influential man in 
his community, serving as member of the State Legislature from 1822 to 
1824. His wife, who was a Ferree, was of French descent.  They had 
children as follows:  Jacob, who lives at Harrisburg, now (1910) nearly 
ninety years old; Amos; Hannah, who married John Rumberger; Sarah, who 
married Michael Forney; and Mrs. Abraham Hess.
	Amos Hoffman, son of Jacob, was born in May, 1809, in Lykens 
township, Dauphin county, was a lifelong farmer, and died at 
Girardville, Schuylkill county, about 1899, in his eighty-ninth year. He 
is buried at Berrysburg, Dauphin county. He married Amanda Harper, and 
they were the parents of ten children:  Henry, who served in the Civil 
war as a private in the 8th Illinois Cavalry; Thomas W., who became a 
lieutenant colonel in the Civil war; Capt. Jacob F.; Edwin A., who 
served as sergeant in the Civil war; John H., who was a drummer in the 
Civil war, though but fifteen years old at the time; George M.; Charles 
H.; Joseph W.; Henrietta, wife of William Willard; and Adaline, wife of 
Charles Koser.
	Jacob F. Hoffman was born Dec. 25, 1841, in Lykens township, 
Dauphin Co., Pa., and there received his elementary education in the 
public schools, later attending Berrysburg Seminary several terms.  For 
one term he taught school.  He then engaged in the general merchandise 
business at Pillow, Dauphin county, and afterward at Berrysburg, where 
he enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining the 26th Regiment of 
Pennsylvania militia, which was among the first troops in the field in 
the emergency just before the battle of Gettysburg.  This command met 
White's Cavalry and defeated them, then fell back to Fort Washington, at 
Bridgeport, where they were held during the battle with other troops. 
After the battle they followed Lee as far south as Greencastle.  They 
were regularly sworn into the Federal service, uniformed and paid by the 
Federal government, and the regiment has a monument at Gettysburg. The 
company to which Captain Hoffman belonged was mustered out at Harrisburg 
in the latter part of July, 1863.  After that he went to Harrisburg and 
clerked for Kelker Brothers, and in August, 1864, he again entered the 
service, becoming first lieutenant of Company A, 208th Regiment, 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was sent to the front with other 
troops, arriving at Bermuda Hundred in September, 1864.  It was brigaded 
with the 200th, 205th, 207th, 209th and 211th Pennsylvania regiments, 
forming the light brigade commanded by Colonel Patter of the 12th New 
Hampshire Regiment, and which for about two months did picket duty 
between Dutch Gap and Petersburg.  In the latter part of November it was 
transferred to the Army of the Potomac, in which the six regiments 
mentioned formed the 3d Division of the 9th Army Corps, commanded by 
Gen. J. F. Hartranft.  The brigade did reserve duty with the 1st 
Division, consisting of the 200th, 208th and 200th Regiments. On March 
25, 1865, General Gordon made an assault upon Fort Steadman and 
batteries 9, 10, 12 and 13, which he captured. The 1st Brigade, 3d 
Division, came to the rescue and fought the enemy successfully.  Captain 
Hoffman was wounded in the right thigh during this engagement. When the 
2d Brigade came to the relief of the 1st both brigades charged the 
enemy, which fled across the lines, and all that had been lost to the 
1st Division of the 9th Army Corps was recaptured, but with a loss of 
4,500 men in dead, wounded and captured.  On the Belfield raid Captain 
Hoffman had charge of the advance guard over the Jerusalem Plank Road, 
also commanding Company A of the 208th Regiment at Hatchers' Run and 
Fort Steadman. After being wounded he was sent to City Point hospital 
and from there home on leave of absence.

END OF PAGE 77

Recovering to some extent, he rejoined his regiment at Alexandria, Va., 
but was not accepted for duty and was sent to Armory Square hospital, at 
Washington, D. C. He was mustered out by order of the war department 
June 23, 1865.
	Following the Civil war Captain Hoffman and his brother Col. Thomas 
W. Hoffman embarked in the general merchandise business at Port 
Trevorton, Snyder Co., Pa., where they carried on a store for thirty 
years, doing well throughout that period.  From 1896 the Captain 
followed other avocations. Meantime, in January, 1891, he had taken up 
his residence at Port Trevorton, where he made his home until his 
removal to Herndon, Northumberland county, in 1902.  There he has since 
lived in comparative retirement, though he maintains business relations 
with the John Winston Publishing House of Philadelphia, and the National 
Silverware Company of the same city, not being content to be entirely 
without occupation.  He is a much respected resident of the borough, 
where he is well known.
	Captain Hoffman's first wife, Martha (Witmer), daughter of Abraham 
Witmer, of Juniata county, Pa., died Oct. 16, 1892, after eighteen years 
of married life, aged forty-one years, ten months, twenty-eight days.  
She was the mother of two sons:  Charles H., who is engaged as shipping 
clerk at Burnham, Pa., at the Logan Steel & Iron Company; and Edwin S., 
a machinist employed at the National Gun Works, Washington, D. C.  On 
Jan. 2, 1905, Captain Hoffman married (second) Mary Agnes Blasser, 
daughter of Abraham D. Blasser.
	For many years Captain Hoffman has been an active member of the 
G.A.R., is at present serving as assistant patriotic instructor, and is 
chaplain of John C. Arnold Post, No. 407, of Port Trevorton.  In 
religious matters he is identified with the United Brethren Church, of 
which he has been a member since 1874. He held the office of class 
leader for twenty-two years, was Sunday school superintendent for eight 
years, and is now superintendent of the Union Sunday school a Herndon.  
He is also president of the Northumberland county district of the State 
Sunday School Association. Captain Hoffman was made a Mason in Lafayette 
Lodge, F. & A.M., in l869.

	THOMAS REESE WILLIAMS, postmaster at Mount Carmel, has in various 
ways been associated with public affairs there, directly or indirectly, 
for many years.  He was at one time city editor of the Mount Carmel 
Daily News, was recently the representative of the district in the State 
Legislature and has served as a member of the school board from the 
First ward. In all these associations he has proved a reliable and 
capable worker, worthy of the trusts reposed in him.  Mr. Williams is a 
native of Schuylkill County, Pa., born Feb. 1, 1875, at Minersville, but 
has lived at Mount Carmel since he was a year old.
	David Williams, grandfather of Thomas Reese Williams, was a native 
of South Wales and came to America in 1829.  His first location in this 
country was at Carbondale, Lackawanna Co., Pa., where he was engaged as 
foreman for the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. In 1836 he removed to 
Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., thence to Summit Hill, Carbon Co., this 
State, where for five years he operated the mine known as Spring Tunnel.  
He then became general agent for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, 
which position he held until his death, Nov. 6, 1848. His wife's name 
was Sarah.
	Benjamin H. Williams, son of David and Sarah, was born July 19, 
1833, at Carbondale, Lackawanna Co., Pa., and grew to manhood in this 
State, receiving his education in the various places at which the family 
lived. In 1852 he went out to California, where he spent five years, 
engaged in gold mining.  Returning to Pennsylvania he remained a year, 
in 1858 again going to California, where he continued to reside until 
1874. He has since made his home in Pennsylvania, and has been a 
resident of Mount Carmel since 1876. For a number of years after 
settling in the borough he followed coal mining, but he retired from 
that business several years ago, and since 1905 has been engaged in the 
grocery business at No. 15 North Maple street. He is a substantial and 
respected citizen of Mount Carmel, where he is well known. In politics 
he is a Republican.
	On June 20, 1859, Mr. Williams married Catharine Morgan, of 
Minersville, Pa., and they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their 
marriage June 20, 1909. Eleven children were born to their union, 
namely: David is a resident of Mount Carmel and engaged as fire boss at 
the Richard Colliery; George is engaged in the hotel business at Mount 
Carmel; Franklin is deceased; Wesley is superintendent of the Black 
Diamond coal mine near Seattle, Wash.; Thomas Reese is mentioned below; 
Garfield lives at Seattle, Wash.; Emma (deceased) was the wife of Squire 
William Amour, of Mount Carmel; Sarah E. married Roscoe Fegley, 
deceased, and resides at Mount Carmel; Carrie is the wife of Henry Marsh 
and lives in Philadelphia; Lottie is the wife of David Muir, of 
Shamokin, Pa.; Ella M., unmarried, lives with her parents.
	Thomas Reese Williams was a year old when his parents settled at 
Mount Carmel. He attended the local public schools and later was a 
student at the Shamokin Business College, from which he was graduated, 
in 1893, after which he did office work for some time at Mount Carmel.  
He read law under Hon. Lincoln S. Walter, at Mount Carmel, and at this 
period gained his first experience in the postal service, being a local 
mail carrier for
	
	END OF PAGE 78
	
four years and three months. For one year he was city editor of the 
Mount Camel Daily News. In 1905 Mr. Williams bought the well known 
"Valley House"  near the Pennsylvania railroad station in Mount Carmel  
and conducted that hotel for three years and three months, making a 
success of the business.  In 1908 he was elected to the State 
legislature on the Republican ticket, receiving a flattering majority, 
and gave most satisfactory service throughout his term. He received his 
appointment as postmaster of Mount Carmel, to succeed the late George H. 
Cope, on Jan. 28, 1910. Mr. Williams is a director of the Miners and 
Laborers' Building and Loan Association.
	On Sept. 18, 1902, Mr. Williams married Edith Wightman daughter of 
Charles and Sarah Wightman.  To them has been born one son, Glenn.

	JOHN A. WERT, proprietor of the Wert department store at Shamokin, 
has been sole owner of that establishment since 1890 and began his 
mercantile career in the borough several years previously.  His 
interests have expanded steadily,  his connection with various 
enterprises  of the borough showing him to be a man of progressive as 
well as active impulses.  His ability as a manager has had many 
practical demonstrations.
	Mr. Wert was born in Jordan township, Northumberland county, June 
30, 1864, son of Moses Wert and great-grandson of Henry Wert.  The name 
is spelled Wirt by many members of the family, and the earlier spelling 
was probably Wirth, as shown by tombstone records. The Werts are of 
German origin.  Adam, the first of this line to come to America from 
Germany, arrived in this country with his wife Eva before the 
Revolutionary war, and settled at or above what is now the site of 
Millersburg, in Dauphin county, Pa.  These pioneers had nine sons, who 
settled in different parts of the country, the family becoming scattered 
over New Jersey, the Carolinas, Ohio and through the West, besides 
having many representatives in Pennsylvania.
	John Wert, the second, father of Henry, lived in the Lykens Valley, 
about two miles above Millersburg.
	Henry Wert (or Wirt) was a pioneer farmer of the Mahantango valley 
in Northumberland county, having settled in that section when the 
Indians still roamed the forests, and the red men were neighborly with 
"Henner" Wirt, to whom they bade farewell when they left the region. He 
and his wife Elizabeth are buried side by side at the Stone Valley 
church in Lower Mahanoy, where we find the following tombstone records: 
Johann Heinrich Wirth, born Dec. 22, 1769, died June 2, 1846; his wife 
Elizabeth, born Nov. 30, 1771, died Sept. 6, 1838.  They had children as 
follows: John and Michael, who both lived in the Mahantango valley 
(Michael was born March 16, 1798, died Dec. 27, 1872; wife Lydia,  June 
18, 1809, died  Sept. 2, 1884); Henry and Philip, who lived in the Sugar 
Valley, near Lewisburg, Pa.; Mrs. Philip Kerstetter; Mrs. Michael 
Schaffer, and Mrs. Peter Bischoff.
	John Wirt son of Henry, lived for a number of years in the 
Mahantango Valley, in 1838 settling at Mandata, where he engaged in the 
milling business. That year he built the frame mill at Mandata which is 
still standing, and he followed the business for a number of years, 
prospering continuously.  He acquired considerable land about Mandata.  
He and his family worshipped at the Stone Valley church, where he and 
his wife Barbara, daughter of Mattias Witmer, are buried, their 
tombstone records reading as follows:  Johannes Wirth, born Nov. 16, 
1795, died Sept. 8, 1852; his wife Barbara, born Nov. 30, 1794, died 
July 30, 1871.  Their children were as follows: Lydia married David 
Campbell; Elizabeth was the second wife of David Campbell; Catharine 
married Jacob Garman; Anna married Frederick Snyder; Mary married  
Martin Harris; Michael died soon after his marriage to Mary Lesher; John 
married Judith Wentzel; Daniel (born May 6, 1829, died Sept. 5, 1855) 
was a particularly well built and strong man, and operated the Mandata 
mill for ten years (he and his wife Rebecca Seiler had one son, John, 
and one daughter, Sarah); Moses married Mary Ann Spotz.
	Moses Wert, son of John, was born Jan. 24, 1832, in the Mahantango 
Valley in Lower Mahanoy township, Northumberland county.  He was a 
lifelong farmer, living in Jordan township, near Mandata (where he had a 
tract of two hundred acres), until fourteen or fifteen years before his 
death, when he retired.  Upon giving up active labor he settled in 
Herndon, where he died in 1904. His widow still occupies their home at 
that place.  He was a man well known and highly respected, and though he 
devoted himself principally to the management of his own affairs, he 
served as supervisor. He was a Democrat in politics and in religion a 
Lutheran, his family adhering to the same belief.  In his earlier years 
he belonged to the Stone Valley Church, but after removing to Herndon he 
became a member of the church there, and he is buried in the Wirt and 
Shaffer family plot at Herndon. He was a devout Christian and an 
enthusiastic church worker, serving in various church offices and taking 
a keen interest in the welfare of the Sunday school.
	Mr. Wert married Mary Ann Spotz and they had four children, namely:  
Clara Rebecca married George T. Shaffer, of Herndon, who is deceased; 
Emma J. married John P. Tressler, of Herndon; Alveretta, who died in 
1886, was the wife of Dr. Fred D. Raker, of Shamokin; John A. married 
Ellen S. Eisenhart.
	John A. Wert received the public school ad-
	
	END OF PAGE 79
	
vantages in his native township and later attended Berrysburg Academy. 
He remained at home with his father until he reached the age of eighteen 
years, since when he has been identified with his present line of 
business. Beginning as a clerk in the employ of J. P. Tressler, at 
Herndon, he came thence to Shamokin in 1884 and for one year clerked in 
the store of C. L. Sowers and D. K. Haas. Later he was engaged for two 
years with D. K. Haas, whom he bought out in 1887, in 1888 forming a 
partnership with N. C. Wolverton. They did business as Wert & Wolverton 
until 1890, in which year the association was dissolved, and Mr. Wert 
has since done business alone. In 1899 he erected the fine store in 
which the business has since been located, at Nos. 215 to 219 West 
Spruce street. The store is well stocked with seasonable and up-to-date 
goods, Mr. Wert having the faculty of meeting the demands of his 
customers and the good business judgment to introduce new lines which 
create further demand, the trade multiplying of itself as one good 
suggestion followed another. His high reputation for honorable dealing 
he strives to maintain in every possible way.
	Though merchandising has been his principal interest Mr. Wert has 
done what every enterprising business man should do, encouraged the 
introduction of modern business institutions of every kind into his 
community, and he is a director of the Market Street National Bank, 
director and vice president of the Croninger Packing Company and 
director of the West Ward & Black Diamond Building and Loan Association.  
He is a prominent member of Trinity Lutheran Church, in which he has 
held all the offices and has served as Sunday school teacher. 
Fraternally he belongs to Lodge No. 664, I.O.O.F., and to Camp No. 30, 
P.O.S. of A., being particularly prominent in the latter organization as 
president of the P.O.S. of A. Hall Association.
	On Jan. 27, 1887, Mr. Wert married Ellen S. Eisenhart, daughter of 
Daniel and Sarah (Beisel) Eisenhart, and they have a family of seven 
children, namely: Alva M., W. Ray, Minnie G., Howard D., Norma L., Sarah 
E. and Mary E.
	CURTIS Q. McWILLIAMS is one of a group of energetic citizens of 
Shamokin who have long been regarded as arbiters of matters affecting 
its advancement.  His judgment and foresight especially in the field of 
public utilities, have made him a valuable factor in their promotion, 
and for a quarter of a century he has been identified with almost every 
important enterprise of the kind undertaken in the borough. Progressive 
in his own affairs, he has advocated many public improvements in advance 
of their apparent usefulness, an he is regarded as a farseeing, 
intelligent businessman with a broad outlook on questions affecting 
public and private interests.
	Mr. McWilliams was born in Shamokin Sept. 10, 1852, son of J. Scott 
and Catharine (Fagely) McWilliams and grandson of Robert McWilliams. The 
latter settled at Elysburg, Northumberland county, where he died.  He 
married Margaret Craig (a sister of his brother David's wife) and they 
had five children: Sarah (died unmarried), John Scott, William J., 
Samuel W., and Mary H. (married Paterson Johnson and resides at 
Danville, Pennsylvania).
	John Scott McWilliams was born in what was then Shamokin township, 
and died in 1893. He is buried at St. Peters (the Blue) church, in 
Ralpho township, Northumberland county, where both his wives are also 
interred. His first wife, Catharine (Fagely), died in 1854, and he 
subsequently married her sister Ellen, who died Feb. 11, 1900.
	Curtis Q. McWilliams was reared at Elysburg, where he received his 
early education in the public schools and at the academy. When fifteen 
years old he came to Shamokin, where he had found employment as clerk in 
the store of Valentine Fagely, later entering the employ of Reuben and 
William Fagely, pioneer business men there. Ambitious to gain a better 
education than he had been able to acquire in his boyhood, he went to 
the famous Eastman Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1870, 
and the following year was given charge of the store of William and 
Reuben Fagely, continuing with them in that capacity until the autumn of 
1874. He then resumed study once more, attending Lafayette College, at 
Easton, Pa., where he remained for two terms. In April, 1875, he left 
that institution to look after the various interests of Renlen Fagely, 
remaining with him until he died, after which he acted as executor of 
the estate.
	Meantime, on May 1, 1878, Mr. McWilliams began his independent 
business career, becoming a partner of the late Darlington R. Kulp in 
the lumber business, under the firm name of Kulp & McWilliams.  The 
following year they added two lines, ice and brick, and on Jan. 1, 1882, 
W. C. McConnell became a member of the firm, which from that time was 
known as Kulp, McWilliams & Co. On Aug. 15, 1886, this partnership was 
dissolved, Mr. Kulp taking the lumber interests, Messrs. McWilliams and 
McConnell continuing as partners in the ice and brick business until 
1903. Mr. McWilliams then sold his interests in that business. However, 
he still retains other important connections. He is a stockholder in and 
director of the Guarantee Trust & Safe Deposit Company. For many years 
he has been one of the chief workers in the management of the various 
water companies which have had such a large share in the prosperity of 
Shamokin and surrounding places. He was one of the corporators of the 
Roaring Creek, Anthracite and Bear Gap Water Companies, and served as 
treasurer of all three of these con-
	
	END OF PAGE 80
	
cerns from the time of organization, being president, treasurer and 
manager of the Bear Gap Water Company and president and manager of the 
Roaring Creek Water Company.  He is now also president of the Shamokin 
Water Company, of which he was the treasurer from May, 1886, until 1899. 
His familiarity with the workings of these companies, and his long 
experience in their administration, make him an authority and a valuable 
counselor, as the success of the various companies attests.
	Mr. McWilliams was married Oct. 7, 1879, to Louisa Geywitz, 
daughter of John and Anna (Schmid) Geywitz, natives of Wurtemberg, 
Germany, who came to Shamokin before their marriage. Mr. Geywitz died in 
1888, his widow continuing to make her home in Shamokin. To Mr. and Mrs. 
McWilliams were born four children, Guy E. (born Sept. 23, 1882, died 
Nov. 26, 1898), Ida Catharine (born May 20, 1885), John Scott and 
Douglass E.  The family belong to Trinity Lutheran Church.
	Socially Mr. McWilliams is a Mason, holding membership in Elysburg 
Lodge, No. 414, F. & A.M., Shamokin Chapter, No. 264, R.A.M., and 
Shamokin Commandery, No. 77, K.T.  In political matters he is a 
Republican. He is a member of the Union League, Philadelphia.

	FAGELY.  The Fagely family is of German origin and was founded in 
Pennsylvania by Jacob and Maria Eve Fagely, who came to this country 
from the Old World in 1733 in the ship Samuel, of London, Hugh Percy 
master, from Rotterdam last from Deal, which qualified Aug. 17, 1733. 
Jacob Fagely was thirty-two years old at the time, his wife, Maria Eve, 
twenty-seven; their son Christian, was four years old.
	Christian Fagely, son, of the emigrant, had a son George.
	George Fagely, son of Christian, had a son Christian, who was the 
great-grandfather of Mr. Curtis Q. McWilliams, of Shamokin.
	Christian Fagely, son of George, was born Sept. 28, 1764, in 
Maidencreek township, Berks Co. Pa., and moved with his family to 
Shamokin township, Northumberland county, in 1808. There he spent the 
rest of his life, engaged in farming purchasing a large tract of 
uncultivated land which he cleared and improved, becoming one of the 
leading and most prosperous agriculturist in his community. He died Dec. 
31, 1845, and is buried at the Blue church. He was a Lutheran in 
religious faith. His wife, Magdalena (Lehman) who was born April 1, 
1773, in Berks county, died June 19, 1843, and is buried at the Blue 
church in Northumberland county.  They were married in June, 1792, and 
had a large family, as follows Elizabeth, born March 16, 1794, married 
Henry Martz, and died in May, 1870; Catharine, born Dec. 4, 1795, 
married Jacob Unger, and they went West where they died; John was born 
Feb. 28, 1797; Benjamin, born Nov. 21, 1798, died unmarried; Hannah, 
born Dec. 1, 1800, died young; Solomon, born June 19, 1802, died Sept. 
6, 1883; Hannah (2), born March 31, 1804, was the last survivor of the 
family; William, born Jan. 5, 1806, died Feb. 17, 1874, unmarried (he 
was the first postmaster at Shamokin); Amos was born Feb. 1, 1808; Mary 
Magdalena, born March 21, 1810, died young; Nathan, born June 30, 1812, 
left a daughter; Reuben, born July 25, 1814, died Feb. 21, 1880, 
unmarried.
	Solomon Fagely, son of Christian, born June 19, 1802, in 
Maidencreek township, Berks county, was reared in Shamokin township, 
Northumberland county, having been but six years old when the family 
settled there. He was educated in the common schools and was reared to 
farming, which he followed principally all his life, also conducting a 
hotel at Mount Carmel two years and later operating a mill at Paxinos 
for several years. He then returned to the old homestead, where he 
farmed the rest of his life. He was a prominent man in the community in 
his day. With his wife and family he belonged to the Lutheran Church, 
and in politics he was originally a Democrat, later (after the breaking 
out of the Civil war) a Republican. He died Sept. 6, 1883, and is buried 
at the Blue church.
	In 1823 Solomon Fagely married Maria Eve Klase, who was born Dec. 
20, 1803, in Northampton county, Pa., and died Feb. 13, 1887; she, too, 
is buried at the Blue church.  She was a daughter of Valentine and Maria 
Eve Klase, the latter born Oct. 1, 1766, in Northampton county, Pa., 
dying Aug. 2, 1838; she is buried at Snydertown, Pa. Eleven children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fagely: Eliza, born Oct. 4, 1824, in Shamokin 
township, married Solomon Weaver, of Sunbury, and died Aug. 22, 1879 
(she is buried at Sunbury); Valentine, born in 1826, in Shamokin 
township, lived at Shamokin in retirement; Hosanna, born March 17, 1828, 
in Shamokin township, died Sept. 17, 1883, and is buried at Sunbury (she 
was twice married, first to John Sober, and second to Henry Tregellas, 
of Sunbury); Catharine, born Aug. 28, 1830, in Shamokin township, was 
the first wife of S. Scott McWilliams, and died Oct. 31, 1854; Caroline, 
born Jan. 26, 1832, in Shamokin township, married Willoughby Haas, of 
Shamokin township, died May 25, 1906, and is buried at the Blue church; 
William, born Nov. 20, 1833, in Shamokin township, died Aug. 5, 1856, 
and is buried at the Blue church; Henry K., born March 15, 1836, in 
Shamokin township, lived in Sunbury, where he was proprietor of the 
Standard Wire Nail Works and of a general merchandise store; Harriet, 
born April 7, 1838, in Shamokin township, died July
	
	END OF PAGE 81
	
1, 1839, and is buried at the Blue church; Ellen, born Jan. 8, 1840, in 
Mount Carmel, Pa., was the second wife of J. Scott McWilliams, and died 
Feb. 1, 1900; Mary Eve, born March 9, 1843, in Shamokin township, died 
March 21, 1860, and is buried at the Blue church; George K., born Nov. 
24, 1845, in Shamokin township, was formerly sheriff of Northumberland 
county.

	FETTEROLF.  The  Fetterolf  (Federolf, Fetherolf) family, two of 
whose representatives in Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, 
are Edward and Daniel Fetterolf, brothers, is of Dutch origin, its 
founder in this country, Peter Federolf, having been a native of 
Wachbach, Holland, born in 1699. In 1729 or 1730 he married Anna Maria 
Rothermel, only daughter and eldest of the six children of Johannes and 
Sabilla (Zimmerman) Rothermel. In 1730 Peter Federolf and his wife 
accompanied his father-in-law to America, the voyage being made in the 
"Thistle," and about 1732 he and his wife and one of her brothers, 
Leornard  Rothermel, located in Hereford township Berks Co., Pa., where 
Peter Federolf acquired large acreage of what has become valuable 
farmland, upon which he passed the remainder of his life, dying there. 
His property was partly in Hereford township and partly in Longswamp 
township and he made his home near what is now Seisholtzville, near the 
line of Lehigh county.  Leonard Rothermel located in Perry township, 
Berks county, before the Revolution, and there died at an advanced age, 
leaving a large family.
	Peter Federolf was a man of more than ordinary importance in his 
locality, not only because he was a large land owner, but because his 
successful management of his own affairs showed him entitled influence 
and leadership in the conduct of such matters as affected the general 
welfare. He reared a family of seven children, who became connected by 
marriage with other substantial old families in the county, and all of 
whom are mentioned in his last will and testament (on record in the 
court house at Reading, Will Book B), made July 1784, and probated Sept. 
16, 1784, showing that he died during the summer of that year.  The 
witnesses to the will were Henry Bortz and Christopher Schultz, the 
executors Paul Groscup, of Rockland township, who was the testator's 
true and trusty friend (he was the ancestor of Judge Peter Grosscup, the 
Federal jurist of Chicago), Jacob Fetherolf, the eldest son, and 
Christopher Bittenbender, blacksmith, a son-in-law.  In later years this 
Christopher Bittenbender obtained the original Federolf homestead, on 
which is located the Federolf private burial ground, where the emigrant 
ancestor, Peter, is buried, as well as Christopher Bittenbender his 
wife, and some of their children.  The will sets forth that the son 
Jacob was to have three hundred acres of land; the son-in-law, 
Christopher Bittenbender, one hundred acres of land; the six children of 
the son Peter, who predeceased his father, three hundred pounds of money 
(divided between them); that the son Philip, deceased, left one 
daughter; that the daughter Catharine was twice married, first to John 
Siegfried and after his death to Abraham Zimmerman; that the daughter 
Barbara married a Hehn (name now spelled Hain); the daughter Magdalena 
married Christopher Bittenbender, who was a blacksmith and farmer, and 
who as previously noted eventually acquired the old homestead of Peter 
Federolf, which remained in the Bittenbender name until 1908. About 1840 
a valuable find of iron ore was discovered on this property,  and some 
of the Bittenbenders became wealthy thereby, the ore mines being worked 
until the early eighties.
	Jacob Fetherolf was born Feb. 16, 1762, and died April 6, 1823; he 
is buried at Wessnersville,  Berks Co., Pa. His wife Catharine, born May 
12, 1760, died Jan. 10, 1849.  (There was a Jacob Fetherolf, son of 
Peter, who died in Albany township in 1823, and whose will is on record 
in Will Book 5, page 412. He left sons John and Peter.)
	The will of a Peter Fetherolf of Berks county who died in 1840 is 
also on record (Will Book 8, page 242).  He died without sons, and John 
S. Kistler and William Mosser were the executors.
	Johann Peter Fetherolf, ancestor of the Northumberland county 
branch of the family, was born June 30, 1774, in Hereford township, 
Berks county, and was one of the six children of Peter Federolf, son of 
the emigrant Peter Federolf, mentioned as in the latter's will. He came 
to this region before his marriage and here wedded Anna Maria 
Dunkelberger, who was born Sept. 2, 1772. They lived for some years in 
Cameron township, where their children were born, later settling on a 
large farm in Upper Mahantango township, across the line of in 
Schuylkill county, which Mr. Fetherolf purchased from a man named Carl, 
who got the best of the bargain.  He did not tell Fetherolf that there 
was a mortgage upon the property, which he (Fetherolf) was obliged to 
pay, so that the transaction proved an expensive one.  Nevertheless, he 
became a most successful man, and by the of time of his death had 
accumulated a large estate. His original tract in Upper Mahantango 
township is now divided into three farms, the one on which the first set 
of buildings was erected, and on which Johann Peter Fetherolf, lived, 
being now the property of William Mattern. When he came to the 
Mahantango Valley the Mahantango creek was alive with fine fish, and he, 
and his family found them an acceptable addition to the larder in those 
days when variety in food could not always be obtained even by the well-
to-do. Johann Peter Fetherolf died Nov. 2, 1848, his wife on Feb. 7, 
1853, and they are buried at the Salem
	
	END OF PAGE 82
	
(Herb) Church, located immediately across the Northumberland county line 
in Schuylkill county, where some of their children also rest.  In 
religious faith the family were all Lutherans. Johann Peter Fetherolf 
was a saddler by trade, and he was a short-set man physically. His ten 
children were: Samuel, Peter, John, Joseph, George, Joseph (2), Daniel, 
Mrs. Josiah Geist, Mrs. Joseph Dunkelberger and Mrs. John Zimmerman.  We 
give some account of the six sons who reached maturity.
	Samuel Fetterolf, son of Johann Peter, was born Oct. 11, 1800, and 
died March 29, 1880. He was a worker in a fulling or carding mill, where 
wool was manufactured, the old establishment standing on the Little 
Mahantango creek.  Later he owned and operated a grist and saw mill, and 
he was a large land owner, having 360 acres of land at County Line, in 
which region he was a most useful and influential citizen, being a man 
of extensive business interests. In his grist and saw mill he gave 
employment to a number of hands, and he built a number of dams or 
retaining walls, upon which he expended considerable money, and which 
also afforded work for many men. He also built a large brick house and 
several barns. His example and encouragement were powerful factors for 
good in the development and betterment of his section, in more than a 
material sense.  He was a pillar of the church of his choice, he and his 
wife being active members of the Evangelical Association, and they are 
buried side by side at the Bingaman meeting-house near County Line, the 
Lower Mahanoy Church of that denomination. Mrs. Fetterolf, whose maiden 
name was Rachel Maurer, was born Dec. 15, 1807, daughter of John Maurer, 
of Lehigh county, Pa., and died Sept. 21, 1889, at the home of her son 
Daniel.  Their ten children were:  Elizabeth, Mrs. Peter Kehler; 
Catharine, Mrs. John C. Renn; Sarah, Mrs. George Kehler; Hannah, Mrs. 
Isaiah Kiehl; Lydia, Mrs. John D. Deibler; Felix, whose wife Elizabeth 
died Aug. 30, 1900, aged sixty-four years, six months, ten days; Daniel; 
Samuel; John, and Elias.  Of this family,
	Daniel Fetterolf, a farmer of Lower Mahanoy township, 
Northumberland county, born July 1, 1835, has been an agriculturist all 
his life.  In 1860 he began farming on his own account in Dauphin 
county, at County Line, being a tenant for ten years.  In 1870 he 
purchased his present farm, a tract of eighty-three acres which was 
formerly the John Kohl homestead (it was much larger in Mr. Kohl's 
time). Mr. Fetterolf has since occupied and cultivated this farm, and he 
has prospered steadily, in 1907 building the attractive frame residence 
which now adorns the property.  In politics he is a Republican, and he 
has served as election officer and filled the position of supervisor in 
his township.  His wife, Sarah, was a daughter of Joseph and Mary 
(Shutt) Spotts and granddaughter of John Spotts. Two children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Fetterolf: Amelia (deceased) married Jacob H. 
Schaffer, and their only son, Charles F., is mentioned elsewhere in this 
work; Alexander was accidentally killed in a runaway, when a young man.
	Peter Fetherolf (tombstone inscription Fettarolf), son of Johann 
Peter, was born Jan. 6, 1806, and died March 16, 1861.  He lived in 
Upper Mahantango township, Schuylkill county, following farming.  He 
married Sarah Reiner, born Feb. 26, 1805, who died Sept. 13, 1887, and 
they had children: Harris, Peter (who was an undertaker), Elias, Hettie, 
Katie, Mary (married Nelson Knorr) and Elizabeth (married Isaac Knorr).
	John Fetherolf son of Johann Peter, was a farmer.  His first wife, 
whose maiden name was Maurer, is buried with him at Kimmel's Church. She 
was the mother of Peter, Daniel and Jesse; and by his second wife, who 
was a sister of the first, he had one son, Frank Dengler Fetherolf, 
named after his sponsor, Frank Dengler.
	George Fetterolf, son of Johann Peter, was born March 11, 1809, and 
died Dec. 31, 1888. By trade he was a shoemaker, but farming was his 
principal occupation.  Through his wife he obtained the homestead of his 
father-in-law, Johann Nicholas Rebuck, which was located in Upper 
Mahanoy township on the public road between Rough & Ready and Urban, now 
owned by Edward Fetterolf, grandson of George.  His wife, Polly 
(Rebuck), born March 30, 1810, was a daughter of Johann Nicholas Rebuck 
(1771-1855) and his wife Magdalena Wolfgang (1777-1859).  She died aged 
eighty-five years, three days.  Mr. and Mrs. Fetterolf are buried at the 
Salem (Herb) Church, which he served in the offices of deacon and elder. 
They were the parents of ten children: Adam and Emanuel are mentioned 
later in this article; George is a resident of Illinois; Gabriel lives 
at Heplers, Schuylkill county; Dinah died unmarried; Amanda married 
George Wolfgang; four died young, George and three who were older than 
he. 
	Joseph Fetherolf, born May 25, 1813, died July 11, 1882. He married 
Abby Rice, who was born April 12, 1815, and died Dec. 24, 1890, and they 
were farming people in Upper Mahantango township, living near Heplers 
post office. Their children were: Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, Alice, Hettie, 
and Amelia (married James Thomas).
	Daniel Fetherolf, son of Johann Peter, married a Miss Miller, and 
they had one daughter, Katie, who married Henry Herb. Daniel Fetherolf 
died at a comparatively early age, of smallpox, and he and his wife are 
buried at Klinger's Church. (There is a Daniel Feterolf buried there, 
born April 27, 1804, died Aug. 13, 1830.)
	Adam Fetterolf, son of George, was born May
	
	END OF PAGE 83
	
27, 1834, in Upper Mahanoy township, of which his brothers and sisters 
were also natives, and has passed all his life there, being now one of 
the oldest residents of that section. He received his education in the 
German subscription schools conducted during his boyhood, and worked for 
his parents until he reached the age of thirty, soon after the Civil war 
commencing farming for himself on his father's place, where he continued 
to live. and work for eight years.  In 1877 he purchased his present 
place, to which he removed at that time, and which consists of 105 acres 
of valuable land.  He is a Democrat in political connection and a 
Lutheran in religion, he and his family belonging to the Lutheran 
congregation at the Salem (Herb) Church, which he served as elder four 
years. In 1867 he married Mary Brown, daughter of Michael and Peggy 
(Erdman) Brown; ten children have been born to this union: Sarah, Lydia, 
Nathan, Mary, George Henry, David, Harriet, Wilson, Victor, and one that 
died young.
	Emanuel Fetterolf son of George, farmed his father's homestead, of 
which he became the owner. It is located on the public road between Leck 
Kill and Klingerstown, the latter being his post office. He was a useful 
man in his district, serving as school director, and he was an active 
member of the Lutheran congregation at the Salem Church, which he served 
as deacon and elder.  He was a Democrat in politics.  He died Nov. 26, 
1894, aged fifty-seven years, ten months, six days, and is buried at the 
Salem Church. Mr. Fetterolf married Catharine Knorr, daughter of John 
and Catharine (Schadle) Knorr, and since his death she has become the 
wife of Nathan Steely, of Schuylkill county. By her union with Mr. 
Fetterolf she was the mother of seven children: Catharine married Samuel 
Ressler and they live in Upper Mahanoy township; Edward is mentioned 
later; John M. died at the age of twenty-seven years, unmarried; Daniel 
C. is mentioned later; Emma J. married Samuel Schmeltz and they live in 
Schuylkill county; two died young.
	EDWARD FETTEROLF, a farmer of Upper Mahanoy township, was born 
there, on his father's homestead, Oct. 2, 1867, and attended the 
township schools during his boyhood.  He was reared to farming, working 
for his parents until he reached the age of twenty-four, and in the 
spring of 1891 began cultivating his grandfather's place, where he lived 
for fifteen years.  He then purchased the fine farm he now owns and 
occupies, which contains fifty-eight acres along the road between Leck 
Kill and Line Mountain. It was the old John Diehl homestead.  Mr. 
Fetterolf has made a number of improvements on this property during his 
ownership, and he also owns the homestead of his grandfather, George 
Fetterolf now comprising 127 acres. He is a prosperous, enterprising and 
highly respected citizen of his district, where he has been chosen to 
the office of school director, in which he has been serving for the last 
five years.
	In December, 1894, Mr. Fetterolf married Cevilla Snyder, daughter 
of Levi Snyder, of Upper Mahanoy township, whose wife was a Diehl. They 
have no children.  Mr. and Mrs. Fetterolf are members of the Salem 
(Herb) Church, and he has served as deacon.
	DANIEL C. FETTEROLF, now farming his father's old homestead in 
Upper Mahanoy township, was born there Feb. 7, 1871, and received his 
education in the local common schools.  Farming has been his occupation 
all his life, and he worked for his parents until he attained his 
majority. In the spring of 1895 he began working the home place on his 
own account purchasing the property from his father's estate. This place 
was formerly the homestead of Paul Brosius, from whom George Fetterolf 
purchased it for his son Emanuel, father of the present owner. The house 
was built many years ago and was remodeled by the late Emanuel 
Fetterolf. The barn was erected in 1904 by Daniel C. Fetterolf, to 
replace the one destroyed by fire May 10th of that year. The farm 
contains 110 acres, which Mr. Fetterolf has under profitable 
cultivation. He is an industrious and intelligent worker, and has taken 
his place among the progressive farmers of his district.
	On Dec. 26, 1903, Mr. Fetterolf married Lydia Rebuck, daughter of 
Jonas and Rebecca (Malick) Rebuck, and they have had two children, 
Minnie G. and Lottie D.  Mr. Fetterolf and his family are Lutheran 
members of the Salem Union Church, located just across the 
Northumberland line in Schuylkill county. Politically he is a Democrat.

	NATHAN F. MARTZ, of Sunbury, is the oldest living member of the 
Martz family, which has been settled in Northumberland county for at 
least a century, and he has long been known as the "grand old man" of 
that borough, where over half of his ninety years have been passed. He 
is a grandson of David Martz, the pioneer of this family in 
Northumberland county.
	The Martz (or Mertz) family is quite numerous in Berks county, Pa., 
where, in Longswamp township, the first ancestor to come from Germany 
made a settlement.  The name is perpetuated there by the town Mertztown, 
in Longswamp township, and Mertz's Church in the same section. Johannes 
Martz (also Maertz), the founder of this family in America, was one of 
242 passengers on the ship "Ann," which sailed from Rotterdam, last from 
Cowes.  He was a son or Johannes Maertz, of Stockhausen, Wurtemberg, 
about thirty-five miles northwest of Frankfort-on-the-Main, and forty 
miles northeast of Coblentz, in Germany. Johannes Maertz, the emigrant 
landed at Philadelphia Sept. 28, 1749. He settled in the vicinity
	
	END OF PAGE 84
	
of Lyons, Berks county, and the church located near his home was named 
Mertz's Church in honor of him. The births of his first four children 
are recorded there.  On May 24, 1756, he married Rosina Hase, daughter 
of Melchior Hase.  Their children were: Johannes, born July 17, 1757; 
Anna Maria, Dec. 2, 1760; Maria Salome, May 24, 1763; Melchior, April 
11, 1765; and Peter, March 9, 1769. The line in which we are interested 
at present descends from either Johannes or Melchior.
	David and Jacob Martz, brothers, moved from Berks or Lancaster 
county toward the close of the eighteenth century, settling on the 
Shamokin creek, three miles south of Sunbury, in Northumberland county.  
Jacob, however, did not remain long, moving to the Lykens valley, in 
Dauphin county, where he died and is buried. David Martz was a 
blacksmith, and followed his trade in connection with farming.  He 
married Barbara Miller, and they had a family of seven children, five 
sons and two daughters: David, Henry, Peter, Abraham and George, all of 
whom but Henry moved to Dayton, Ohio, where they died; Susan, who 
married John Richstine, and Elizabeth, who married Abraham Arter. The 
son Peter, of this family, was commissioned associate judge of 
Northumberland county April 12, 1833, qualified on the following day, 
and served a little more than a year.
	Henry Martz, son of David, was born on the homestead in Shamokin 
township, Northumberland county, and was a farmer by occupation. He 
married Elizabeth Fagely, daughter of Christian and Magdalena Fagely, 
pioneers of Shamokin township.  Mr. and Mrs. Martz both died in Shamokin 
and are buried in St. Peter's graveyard.  They had six children:  
Hettie, Katie, Mary Ann, George, Solomon and Nathan F., all now deceased 
but the last named.
	Nathan F. Martz was born July 20, 1820, in Shamokin township, 
Northumberland county. He spent most of his early days on the farm and 
when eighteen years old went to Mauch Chunk, where he became a clerk in 
the store of his uncles, Nathan and George Fagely. After eight years in 
their employ he formed a partnership with Robert Klotz, under the firm 
name of Martz & Klotz, and they carried on a general store for some 
time, until Mr. Klotz's enlistment in a military company; he served as a 
lieutenant in the Mexican war. During the period of that war Mr. Martz 
sold out to a Mr. Lowry and went into the butchering business, in which 
he continued for two years.  In 1851 he came to Sunbury, where he has 
since made his home. Here he was first associated with his uncles 
William and Reuben Fagely, who shipped considerable coal at that time, 
remaining with them until the completion of the Northern Central 
railroad, in 1856, at which time he became the first baggage-master for 
that road at Sunbury.  He held the position continuously for thirty-five 
years, until his retirement, and was undoubtedly one of the most 
familiar figures in this section of Northumberland county.  Mr. Martz 
has always been popular with his fellow citizens, who have shown him 
many evidences of their esteem. A social organization of the town has 
been named the Nathan F. Martz Club in his honor. Though he has passed 
the ninetieth anniversary of his birth he is remarkably well preserved 
and reads the newspapers assiduously without glasses, retaining his 
interest in local and national events and in everyday affairs of all 
kinds.  He was never addicted to the use of tobacco or liquor, and 
enjoys a game of cards as much as ever. Tall and of massive build, he 
has been blessed with a fine physique, and he is very active for one of 
his years, though he has long since retired from arduous labors.  He 
speaks both English and German.
	In 1842 Mr. Martz became a member of "Old '76 Lodge," at Mauch 
Chunk, of the I.O.O.F., and he is now one of the oldest living Odd 
Fellows in the United States. His first Presidential vote was cast for 
James K. Polk, but he left the Democratic party when Polk took his stand 
on the tariff question and has been a Republican since the formation of 
the party.  He has held local offices, having served four years as 
overseer of the poor, and was a member of the town council for several 
years.  He has been a member of the Reformed Church for seventy-six 
years, having joined when he was a boy of fifteen.  He first became a 
member of the Blue Church in Ralpho township, and later was a member of 
the First Reformed. Church of Sunbury, in which he and all his family 
have been active workers. He was a member of the consistory for half a 
century and has long been one of the pillars of the congregation. Mr. 
Martz lived on Market street for many years, but since 1885 has made his 
home at the corner of Fourth street and Woodlawn avenue.
	On Sept. 19, 1848, Mr. Martz married, at Allentown, Eliza Samuels, 
who was born Sept. 13, 1827, daughter of Jesse and Mary (Engleman) 
Samuels, of Allentown.  They celebrated their sixtieth anniversary Sept. 
19, 1908, and Mrs. Martz passed away Sept. 21, 1908. Six children were 
born to this union: One daughter died in infancy; William E. is a 
resident of Shamokin; Jesse S. died in 1856; Edward died Feb. 2, 1857; 
Ida V. B. is the wife of W. C. McConnell; Mary Elizabeth is the wife of 
Henry B. Smith.

	HENRY B. SMITH, of Sunbury, was born Nov. 19, 1855, in Womelsdorf, 
Berks Co., Pa., son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Haak) Smith, he being the 
second of their four children, two sons and two daughters.  The father, 
who was a lumber
	
	END OF PAGE 85
	
merchant, died in 1876, at the age of fifty-six years. The mother 
continued to live at Womelsdorf. Henry B. Smith had received all his 
schooling by the time he reached his thirteenth year, when he began to 
clerk in his native place.  At the end of a year he had saved twenty 
dollars, with which he started out, intending to go West.  By the time 
he reached Sunbury, Northumberland county, his money was so nearly gone 
that he took employment with Clement & Dissinger, merchants. with whom 
he remained for ten or eleven years, until he was ready to commence 
business on own account.  In 1882, having saved about two hundred 
dollars, he formed a partnership with S. C. Drumheller and embarked in 
the coal business. The following year he became associated with Mr. 
Drumheller and Walter Zeigler as H. B. Smith & Co., dealers in dry 
goods.  Mr. Zeigler withdrew from this partnership three years later, 
and Mr. Drumheller two years after that, Mr. Smith doing business alone 
as a merchant since 1887.  Their combined capital at the outset was but 
three thousand dollars; Mr. Smith has since increased his investment to 
many times that amount and he does a wholesale as well as a retail 
business, being one of the most substantial merchants in the borough of 
Sunbury.
	On Oct. 24, 1888, Mr. Smith married, in Sunbury, Mary E. Martz, 
daughter of Nathan F. Martz, and they have one daughter, Elizabeth Martz 
Smith.  In religion Mr. Smith is a member of the Lutheran Church. 
Socially he belongs to the Patriotic Order Sons of America, Roys Arcanum 
and Conclave.

	BINGAMAN.  The Bingaman family now numerous throughout 
Northumberland county descended from one John Bingaman, one of the 
"Hessian" soldiers (many of them came from Hessen Cassel, Germany) sent 
to this country in the pay of the British during the Revolutionary war, 
and one of those captured on Christmas nigh 1776, by Washington at 
Trenton. Many of those taken prisoner were held at Penn Common, Reading, 
Berks Co., Pa., until the close of the war, and John Bingaman was one of 
those who refused to leave this country, of which he became a loyal 
citizen. About 1790 he came to Northumberland county, where his first 
location was in the vicinity of Mahantango, in Lower Mahanoy township, 
about where Levi Kauffman now lives. There he conducted a hotel on the 
banks of the Susquehanna river, and according to family tradition the 
Indians used to visit him and drink his applejack. He afterward settled 
farther north in the township, on a large tract which is now the farm of 
Edwin Badman, and there he erected buildings and continued to make his 
home for many years.  Some years before his death he retired and went to 
live with one of his sons, at whose home he died about 1843. He is 
buried at the western end of the old graveyard of Zion's (Stone Valley) 
Church. As tradition has it that he was in his twenty-second year when 
he came to this country, in 1776, having been born in 1754, he was 
evidently about ninety at the time of his demise.  He was a tall, robust 
man, of strong character and convictions, and lived a peaceful, 
industrious and useful life.  His many descendants in Northumberland 
county have been numbered among the thrifty and successful farmers and 
business men of their respective communities. He married Anna Reed, born 
March 11, 1759, died Dec. 11, 1833, and they had six children: John; 
Adam; Nicholas; George; Eve, who married and moved West where she died, 
leaving one daughter; and Catharine, who married Peter Hain.
	John Bingaman, son of John, born April 27, 1801, died May 10, 1882; 
his wife Susanna died Nov. 20, 1903, aged ninety-eight years, one month, 
ten days, and both are buried at Georgetown, this county, where they 
died. He owned part of the homestead farm, which was later owned by John 
Kiehl and was still later purchased by David Rain.  His children were: 
Adam, John (better known as "Jack"), Sarah (married Enoch Raker), Mary 
(married William Wiest) and Eliza (Mrs. Sholl).  "Jack" Bingaman had a 
son William who was known locally as "Haughel Bill," and "Jack's" 
brother Adam had a son William who was distinguished from his cousin of 
the same name by the cognomen of "Deuvel's Bill." 
	Adam Bingaman, son of John the emigrant, was born July 5, 1791, in 
Lower Mahanoy township, and lived on and cultivated the farm in that 
township lying adjacent to the property now occupied by his grandson 
William E. Bingaman. He died Jan. 28, 1856, on his home place.  He owned 
another tract of 123 acres in the Stone Valley which had belonged to his 
father, and which is now owned by Edwin Badman. He was enterprising, and 
prospered in his farm work, and was also a popular auctioneer, crying 
most of the sales held in the neighborhood in his day; he was widely 
known in this connection.  He married Hannah Schroyer, born Feb. 9, 
1796, died Oct. 27, 1871, and they are buried at Zion's (Stone Valley) 
Church, of which he was a Reformed member. Their children were: John, 
Jacob, Abraham, William, Alexander, and Catharine  (married Elias 
Wiest).  Elizabeth, wife of Jacob, born July 13, 1819, died Aug. 9, 
1851.  Rebecca, wife of William, born March 29, 1839, died July 30, 
1866.
	Nicholas Bingaman, son of John the emigrant, was born Nov. 28, 
1798, in Lower Mahanoy township. He made his home on the farm of 100 
acres where Benjamin Bingaman now lives, and was a substantial and 
industrious man, engaging in
	
	END OF PAGE 86
	
huckstering as well as farming for many years; he made   trips with 
produce to Tremont and Donaldson every week.  At the time of his death 
he owned three farms.  He was a leading member and supporter of 
Bingaman's Evangelical Church, at the county line, which he served as 
class leader and exhorter, and was an upright and conscientious man in 
all the relations of life. He married Mary (Polly) Witmer, who was born 
Oct. 15, 1801, daughter of Christophel Witmer, and died Aug. 11, 1883, 
surviving her husband many years. He died June 10, 1860. They are buried 
at Bingaman's Church. They had children as follows: Annie married John 
Diehl; Catharine married John, Underkoffler; John; Hannah, who died of 
smallpox, married Isaac Schaffer and they had one son, Benjamin; Sarah 
married George Bohner and went to live in Dakota; Mary married Philip 
Grim; William W. and Elias are mentioned below; Caroline married Cyrus 
Buffington; Henry died in Dakota.  Sarah and her brothers Elias and 
William W. are now the only survivors of this large family.
	George Bingaman, son of John the emigrant, lived for some years 
with his brother Nicholas in Lower Mahanoy township, later moving out to 
Illinois, whither he made the trip in big covered wagons.  He located 
near Polo.  His wife was a daughter of Philip Zerbe, of Lower Mahanoy 
township, and among their children were: John, who was a tall man; and 
who is said to have become very rich; Jacob, who came East to marry; 
Lovana; and George. Long after reaching maturity these sons came East to 
visit.  John had no children.
	Of the posterity of Adam Bingaman, son of John the emigrant, we 
give herewith the record of three lines, those of his sons John, Abraham 
and Alexander.  John Bingaman was born in Lower Mahanoy township in 
1817, and was reared upon the farm. Early in life he became a boatman 
upon the Susquehanna canal, and in the winter drove teams to Pittsburg 
and Philadelphia, transporting farmers' produce to market.  Locating at 
Georgetown, this county, early in the forties, he engaged in the coal 
and lumber business, and in 1850 purchased what is now known as the 
"Bingaman House," conducting same in connection with his other affairs.  
In 1875 he built the brick store where he was engaged in the mercantile 
business until his death, and he also had extensive agricultural 
interests.  He was an ardent Republican in politics, but never took any 
part in public matters, his time being well occupied with his many 
private concerns. He was a member of the I.O.O.F. and in religion united 
with the Reformed Church.  He died March 31, 1889.  To his first 
marriage, with Louise Brosius, was born one son John, who lives in 
Virginia. By his second marriage, with Mary Wiest, who survived him, 
there were nine children, six of whom were living in 1890, namely: 
William O., Charles C., Mary (married Joseph Morgan), Harry W., 
Frederick W. and Lizzie.

	WILLIAM O. BINGAMAN, son of John, was born Feb. 6, 1856, and 
received a good education, attending the academies at Berrysburg and 
Freeburg and the State normal school at Shippensburg.  In 1875 he 
entered his father's store as clerk, and upon his father's death he 
purchased the business.  He has been a prominent citizen of Georgetown 
in public as well as business circles (serving as assessor, postmaster 
and tax collector of that town and Lower Mahanoy township) and as a well 
known member of the Republican party.  He married Lillie Bearer, of 
Snyder county, and they had three children, Blanche, John G. and Ella 
Corrine. The family belong to the German Reformed Church.

	CHARLES C. BINGAMAN, son of John and Mary (Wiest) Bingaman, was 
born March 28, 1863, in Lower Mahanoy township, and attended school at 
Dalmatia, receiving a good education. He assisted his father in the 
management of his various business interests, store, hotel and farm, 
coal and lumber trade, etc., and, his father being the leading business 
man of Georgetown for years, he gained ample experience in that 
connection.  He eventually engaged in the hotel business at Dalmatia 
(Georgetown) on his own account conducting the "Bingaman House" for 
fourteen years. He sold it to the present owner in about 1907. Meantime 
he had gone to Jersey Shore, Lycoming Co., Pa., where he conducted the 
"Crawford House" for about four years, in January, 1905, removing to 
Sunbury, where he accepted a position as traveling man. After two and a 
half years in that work he took the "Keystone Hotel" at Selinsgrove, 
this county, which he carried on for about two and a half years, in 
October, 1910, becoming proprietor of the "Hoffman House" at Sunbury, 
one of the leading hotels of that borough.  It is located on Third 
street south of Market, in an advantageous situation near the 
Pennsylvania railway depot and the post office, and has forty guests 
rooms. Mr. Bingeman has been well fitted by long business experience to 
make a success of this hotel, which already has a well established 
patronage.  His reputation in previous ventures of the kind, his 
adaptability for the business and recognized executive talents all augur 
well for the future of the "Hoffman House."
	Mr. Bingeman is well known socially, belonging to Aerie No. 970, 
F.O.E., of Williamsport to the Owls at Sunbury, and to No. 1 Fire 
Company, one of the leading companies in the State, whose membership of 
341 includes the leading business men of the borough.
	In 1884 Mr. Bingeman married Ida L. Rothermel, daughter of Andrew 
Rothermel, of Dal-
	
	END OF PAGE 87
	
matia, and they have had two children: Clarence, who died when four 
years old; and Clinton C., his fathers assistant in business, who 
married Effie Fegley.
	Abraham Bingaman, son of Adam and grandson of John the emigrant was 
born Oct. 22, 18-, and died Feb. -, 190-.  He was a lifelong farmer, 
owning and cultivating the 123-acre farm which is now the property of 
his son William B., and there making his home. He built the present 
house on the farm now owned by J. M. Kiehl  and Daniel Kauffman. Mr. 
Bingaman served as school director of his township before the 
establishment of the free schools. To him and his wife Rebecca 
(Enterline) were born the following children: Adam E., William E., Jacob 
E., Belle (married Philip Drumm), Mary (deceased wife of John Host) and 
Jennie (married Adam Dubendorf).
	Adam E. Bingaman, son of Abraham, was born Dec. 25, 1851, on the 
original Bingaman homestead farm in Lower Mahanoy township, and was 
reared to farm life, working for his parents until he attained his 
majority.  He was then in the employ of his uncle Elias Wiest for some 
years and for four years burned lime for different parties. For another 
year he was engaged in hauling powder for the Berry Powder Company, and 
then farmed for the same employer three years.  For one entire year he 
was ill and unable to work.  Following this he was engaged in farming 
for his father, for a period of three years, in Lower Mahanoy township, 
and during the next five years found work in the lumber woods.  He then 
settled on the Harry Dornsife farm, where he was engaged in farming for 
six years, after which for four years he was in business threshing and 
cutting wood in Little Mahanoy and Jackson townships.  Selling his 
threshing outfit he began farming at his present place in Little Mahanoy 
township, near Hunter Station, in March, 1902, this being the old Conrad 
Raker homestead (his post office is Raker). It consists of some fifty 
acres, which Mr. Bingaman has under successful cultivation.
	In 1872 Mr. Bingaman married Margaret Elizabeth Byerly, daughter of 
Elijah and Mary (Bower) Byerly, and they have had a family of twelve 
children: Benjamin F., who died when eight years old; Abraham, of Little 
Mahanoy township; Mary A., who died when five years old; Israel & 
Joseph, both of Little Mahanoy township; George and Charles, both at 
Shamokin; and John, William, Fred, Isaiah and Eve, all at home.
	Mr. Bingaman and his family are Reform members of Zion's Stone 
Valley Church.  He a Democrat politically, was formerly supervisor of 
his township and is now serving as member the township road board.
	William E. Bingaman, son of Abraham, was born April 28, 1854, in 
Lower Mahanoy township. He worked on the farm for his father until he 
became of age, meantime obtaining his education in the subscription 
schools then conducted in the neighborhood and the public schools 
established during his boyhood, and still later he attended the academy 
at Freeburg.  He received a thorough training and received a license to 
teach public school in Northumberland county in 1874, spending his first 
term at what is known locally as the Washington schoolhouse in Lower 
Mahanoy township. In all he taught five terms in his home district His 
salary was a dollar a day, or twenty-two dollars a month for twenty-two 
days teaching. In the spring of 1880 Mr. Bingaman began farming on his 
fathers place, on shares, and in 1882 he purchased his present home in 
Lower Mahanoy township, which at that time contained thirty-five acres, 
to which he has since added about thirteen acres. This farm, which is 
located on the road between Hickory Corners and Pillow, was owned long 
ago by Isaac Witmer, a tailor; later by Elijah Byerly; next by Jacob 
Schaffer, and after him by William L. Schaffer, whom Mr. Bingaman 
succeeded in the ownership.  He is a respected and reliable citizen of 
his township, one who holds the confidence of his fellow citizens,  as 
evidenced by the fact that for six successive terms he was chosen 
auditor of his township. He is a Democrat in polities, and he and his 
wife are Reformed members of Zion's Union Church of Stone Valley.  He 
has been a deacon of that church since 1888. On Jan. 8, 1876, Mr. 
Bingaman married. Mary M. Kiehl, daughter of John and Esther (Frymoyer) 
Kiehl.  They have no children.

	JACOB E. BINGAMAN, son of Abraham, was born May 19, 1857, in Lower 
Mahanoy township, and there grew to manhood. After attending the local 
schools he went to Uniontown Seminary, then taught by Prof. Harry 
Eisenhower, and in 1880 received a license to teach, following the 
profession a few terms. His first term was spent in Jordan township, his 
second and third at the Stone Valley schoolhouse, and he gave excellent  
satisfaction. However, he returned to the pursuit to which he had been 
trained from boyhood, farming the Lessman place in Lower Mahanoy 
township for three years. He was next engaged as a huckster, driving a 
produce team weekly to  Pottsville, Minersville and Tremont for six 
years, during which period he and his family resided at Hickory Corners.  
In the spring of 1896 he became proprietor of the "Keystone Hotel" at 
Hickory Corners, conducting that house very successfully for the next 
eleven years, and in the spring of 1907 moving with his family to 
Dalmatia (Georgetown), where from July 24 until the spring of 1908, he 
was engaged in no special line. On the latter date he assumed charge of 
the "Na-
	
	END OF PAGE 88
	
tional Hotel" at that point, the leading hotel of this region. It is 
situated near the Central depot, and has twenty-two rooms, provided with 
all modern conveniences and comfortably furnished.  This hotel is 
conducted along modern lines, the accommodations are of the best, and 
the place has an appearance of thrift, neatness and good management 
which attract the best element of the traveling public. Mrs. Bingaman is 
an excellent cook, noted for the preparation of dainty and original 
dishes, and her assistance has done much to add to the popularity of the 
hotel.  Mr. Bingaman owns a lot in Dalmatia, some limestone quarry 
Property and four tracts of land - totaling twenty-one acres - in Lower 
Mahanoy township.  He has been active in citizenship, having served 
three years as township clerk in Lower Mahanoy, and after, the 
expiration of his term in that office was twice elected auditor, for 
terms of three years each. He is a Democrat on most Political questions, 
but independent when he thinks it necessary to follow his own 
convictions.
	In September, 1881, Mr. Bingaman married Fietta Harris, daughter of 
Isaac and Polly (Kemp) Harris, and granddaughter of George and ____ 
(Batteau) Harris, who came from Berks county, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Bingaman 
have had children as follows: Clara E., who is the widow of Harry H. 
Engel (she has a daughter, Helen); Jay A.; Winton V.; Melvin H.; Beulah 
G.; Garrett Q., and Fara U. Mr. Bingaman and his family worship at 
Zion's (Stone Valley) Church, he being a member of the Reformed 
congregation, his wife of the Lutheran. 
	Jay A. Bingaman, son of Jacob E., was born Oct. 15, 1884, in Lower 
Mahanoy township, attended the local schools, and later took a course in 
a Philadelphia Business College and a business course in the Scranton 
Correspondence School. He then obtained a position as clerk in a 
Philadelphia hotel, where he was engaged for four years, in the Spring 
of 1908 returning to Dalmatia where he became clerk for his father at 
the "National Hotel."
	On Aug. 1, 1908, Mr. Bingaman married Jennie R. Lenker, daughter of 
Cornelius and Rebecca (Witmer) Lenker and granddaughter of Isaac Lenker 
and of Isaac Witmer. One daughter, Helen Constance, has been born to 
this union.  Mr. Bingaman and his family worship with the Reformed 
congregation at Zion's (Stone Valley) Church. He is a member of the Jr. 
O.U.A.M. at Dalmatia.
	Melvin H. Bingaman, son of Jacob E., was born Feb. 28 1889, in 
Lower Mahanoy township, and there received his education in the public 
schools. He is at present engaged in assisting his father.  He is a 
Reformed member of Zion's (Stone Valley) Church.
	Alexander Bingaman, son of Adam and grandson of John the emigrant 
was born Aug. 25, 1838, in Lower Mahanoy township, on what was the 
homestead of both his father and grandfather. He was a farmer by 
occupation, for forty-nine years cultivating the tract now owned by his 
son  Jeremiah A. Bingaman, erecting the house and  the barn on that 
property in the year 1845, He and his wife began housekeeping  there 
Jan. 1, 1846, and he passed all his life on that place.  One of the well 
known and highly esteemed citizens of his  locality, he was for a number 
of years an official of Zion's (Stone Valley) Church, of which he was a 
Reformed member, held the office of township supervisor fifteen years, 
and served about the same length of time as constable and overseer of 
the poor. Politically he was a Democrat. Mr. Bingaman died in his native 
township July 29, 1895,  and is buried at the Stone Valley Church.  His 
wife, Catharine Radel daughter of Michael Radel, was born Dec. 25, 1834, 
in the second house north of the place where she settled upon her 
marriage, and though now over seventy-five years old is well preserved 
and in the enjoyment of, good health. Five children were born to this 
marriage: Sophia,  who died in her fourth year; Agnes, who died in her 
fourth year; Alveretta, wife of John Reitz, of Harrisburg; Jeremiah A.; 
and Malinda, wife of John Fetterolf, of Lykens Valley.

	JEREMIAH ADAM BINGAMAN, son of Alexander, a prosperous farmer and 
teacher of Lower Mahanoy township, was born in that township June 8, 
1867, at the place which is now his home.  He was reared to farm life, 
and began his education in the schools of the home district later 
attending the National Pen Art Hall and Business College, then located 
at Canfield Ohio, and the West Farmington College (also in Ohio), from 
which latter he was graduated in 1892, with the degree of B. S. After 
his graduation he went to Chicago, Ill., where he engaged as bookkeeper 
with the Sykes Steel Roofing Company, having general charge of their 
office from June 11, 1892, until June 16, 1894.  During the World's 
Columbian Exposition, held at that city in 1893, he was a guard at the 
fair grounds for seven and a half months. He left Chicago Dec. 23, 1894, 
and returning to Pennsylvania taught school in his native township for 
three consecutive terms, at the Mahantango schoolhouse.  He then taught 
the Stone Valley school for two terms, and Byerly's school in the same 
township for one term, and accepted a school for the following term 
which, however, he resigned after four months to take a position with 
the Standard Oil Company.  He was with the Baltimore branch which has 
headquarters at Salisbury Md., and filled the position of district 
manager, his territory comprising Wicomico and Dorchester counties, Md., 
and Northampton and Accomac counties, Va., as well as the ad-
	
	END OF PAGE 89
	
jacent island in the Atlantic.  He held the position from February, 
1902, until his resignation, in August, 1907, when owing to the 
condition of his health he deemed it advisable to resume farming.  He 
cultivates his father's old homestead, which consists of sixty-four 
acres of fine, fertile land, and is making a thorough success of his 
work. In addition to farming he acts as agent for the Aermotor Company 
of Chicago, manufacturers and dealers in wind machinery, and he also 
installs bathtubs and does various kinds of work in these lines.  He has 
been quite active in the public affairs of the township, of which he is 
an auditor, and he has been Democratic committee-man of his township 
since 1908, being one of the party's stanch supporters in his locality.
	On Dec. 24, 1896, Mr. Bingaman married Laura J. Wert, daughter of 
Peter and Sarah (Emerick) Wert.
	William W. Bingaman, son of Nicholas and grandson of John the 
emigrant, was born April 8, 1836, at the place in Lower Mahanoy township 
where he still lives.  With the exception of two years when he was 
engaged with George Bohner as an apprentice at the saddler's trade he 
always followed farming throughout his active years beginning on his own 
account at the age of twenty-two years, on his father-in-law's farm.  He 
lived eight years at that place, which period and the two and a half 
years he spent at Uniontown before his marriage, while in the employ of 
Mr. Bohner, constitute his entire absence from the home farm. This place 
comprises ninety-six acres which Mr. Bingaman sold in 1910 to his son 
Benjamin, who is now cultivating it. Mr. Bingaman always did his own 
harness-making and similar work while engaged in farming. He was a 
quiet, industrious citizen, prospering by hard work and good management, 
has never touched intoxicating liquor of any kind, and has never been in 
court even as a witness. In 1855 he married Polly Kocher, daughter of 
Peter and Sarah Kocher, and to them were born ten children, four of whom 
are deceased, including Charles.  The survivors are Jane, Joseph, 
Benjamin F., William, Lindon and Alice. Mrs. Bingaman was born at 
Orndorf. 
	Benjamin F. Bingaman, son of William W. was born Jan. 2, 1860, in 
Lower Mahanoy township, and was two months old when his parents settled 
at the old Bingaman homestead.   He has been used to farming from 
earliest boyhood, and in 1892 began to work for his uncle Elias 
Bingaman, with whom he farmed for six years.  He then moved upon his 
present farm taking possession of same in the winter of 1910.  He is an 
intelligent and thrifty worker, a reliable citizen, and a man respected 
wherever known.  He and his family are members of Trinity Evangelical 
Church (also known as Bingaman's Church) at the county line, and he has 
been one of the leading workers in that congregation, serving as class 
leader and trustee, and in official positions in the Sunday school, of 
which he has been superintendent for many years.
	On Aug. 10, 1888, Mr. Bingaman married Jennie Peiffer, daughter of 
Henry C. Peiffer, and they have had a family of five children: Roy (who 
is a teacher in Lower Mahanoy township), Spurgeon, Hale, Gertie and 
Harry.
	Elias Bingaman, son of Nicholas and grandson of John the emigrant, 
was born Oct. 12, 1838, in Lower Mahanoy township, and there received 
his early education in the pay schools then conducted in the vicinity, 
attending the free schools for one winter.  He worked for his parents 
until he became of age, when he began farming on a ninety-acre place 
adjoining his present home, remaining there for twenty-five years.  
Since 1889 he has lived at his present place in Lower Mahanoy, a farm of 
ninety-one acres, but he is not now actively engaged in its cultivation, 
living retired in the enjoyment of the earnings of his earlier years. He 
is a man of upright character and consistent Christian life, a faithful 
member of the Trinity Evangelical Church, in which he has been a most 
dutiful worker, serving many years as class-leader, trustee and 
exhorter.
	About 1867 Mr. Bingaman married Lucinda Dunkelberger, daughter of 
John and _________ (Geist) Dunkelberger.  She passed away Feb. 28, 1904, 
aged sixty-five years, eleven months, four days, and is buried at the 
Trinity Evangelical Church. 

	SAMUEL STILL, farmer and fruit grower of Lower Augusta township, 
belongs to a family which has for several generations been settled in 
Dauphin county, this State, where the Stills were represented among the 
early residents. The Federal Census Report of 1790 shows Benjamin, 
Charles, Christian, David, Elisabeth, John, Samuel, Thomas and William 
Still as heads of families in the several counties of Pennsylvania.  The 
family to which Isaac Still, grandfather of Samuel Still, belonged is 
known to have moved to Dauphin county from another section of the State, 
and it is known that the Stills were located in the Lykens Valley before 
1800.
	Mr. Still's great-grandfather was an English man, and his wife was 
a German woman. She died at an advanced age, suffering a stroke while 
sitting at the table.  This was when her great grandson, Samuel was a 
boy of about seven years.  Isaac Still, the grandfather, passed his 
earlier life at Elizabethtown  along the Sweet  Arrow Creek, in 
Lancaster county, and when his son Jacob was about six years old moved 
across the Peters mountain in Armstrongs Valley, one and three-
	
	END OF PAGE 90
	
quarters miles from Halifax, Dauphin county, where he remained until his 
death.  He was a farmer, and willed his farm to his son Jacob. Of his 
six children, one son and five daughters, we have record of but three: 
Jacob, Polly (married John Miller)  and Elizabeth (married James 
Buchanan).
	Jacob Still, only son of Isaac, was born in 1808, and passed 
practically all his life in Halifax, Dauphin county, where he died at 
the advanced age of eighty-six.  He was a farmer, and came into 
possession of the paternal farm, which he continued to cultivate 
throughout his active years. His wife Elizabeth (Bailey), born in 1812, 
died in 1869. They are buried at Long's Church in Dauphin county.  
Twelve children were born to this couple: Mary, Sallie, Jacob, Samuel, 
David, Hannah, Nancy, William, Maggie, a twin of Maggie that died in 
infancy, Daniel and Louisa.
	Samuel Still was born Oct. 11, 1840, in Halifax, Dauphin county, 
and was reared upon the farm, where he began work at an unusually early 
age. He handled the plow when only eight years old, and continued to 
work for his parents until he was seventeen, after which he learned the 
potter's trade at Elizabethville.  After four years in that line he 
turned to the carpenter's trade, which he followed for nearly forty 
years; in the boroughs of Shamokin and Herndon and the territory 
surrounding them.  He worked on houses in Herndon when the place 
contained only four dwellings.  For one year he assisted on bridge work 
at Rondout, N. Y. He rose to the grade of boss carpenter, and taught the 
trade to a number of apprentices.  In 1886 Mr. Still bought his present 
property, the "Klondyke" fruit farm, in Lower Augusta township, to which 
he has added until now it contains eighty-two acres, in 1902 buying the 
homestead of Samuel and Harriet Coldren, formerly a Clements homestead.  
Mr. Still raises considerable fruit, and though now seventy years old 
continues to attend the Sunbury markets weekly, finding ready sale for 
all his products. He is a progressive farmer, and has reaped rich 
returns for his up-to-date methods and careful management.
	In 1866 Mr. Still married Rebecca Zearing, daughter of John 
Zearing, of Halifax, Dauphin Co., Pa., and to this union were born eight 
children, of whom but two survive: Harry, who lives at Sunbury; and 
Sylvester D., of Lewistown, Pa. Mrs. Still died about 1883, and she and 
her six children are buried at Zartman's Church, in Jackson township. In 
about 1884 Mr. Still married (second) Rosilla Coldren, daughter of 
Samuel and Harriet Coldren, and they have one daughter, Hattie J., who 
is unmarried and lives at home.  Mr. Still is a member of the 
Evangelical Church at Herndon.

	CHARLES P. RINEHART, a prominent citizen of Upper Augusta township, 
engaged in general farming and dairying, a man who has been thoroughly 
identified with the development and progress of his section, was born 
May 19, 1851, in Sunbury, near which borough he now lives. He is a 
grandson of John Rinehart (Rhinehart), a native of Germany.
	John Rinehart was born in 1772, and emigrated to America about 
1790. He had to serve three years to pay the expenses of his passage, 
and his time was bought by one Gideon Wolf, of Lancaster county, Pa., in 
whose household was also Elizabeth Oberhoff, like himself a native of 
Germany, who had come to America eighteen months before John Rinehart. 
She was to serve five years to defray the cost of the voyage, but when 
John Rinehart's period of redemption, had expired, the young couple 
having decided to marry, Mr. Wolf released her from the remaining six 
months of her period of service. Young Rinehart could neither read nor 
write at that time, but he was strong and industrious, and he made his 
way in the world without assistance. The young couple married as soon as 
Mr. Rinehart was free, but continued to live in the Wolf family for 
another two years, after which they continued to live in Lancaster 
county for several years longer.  He was naturalized there.  He kept 
hotel until his removal from that county, paying twelve dollars for his 
license. Removing to Montgomery county in 1812 he remained there a few 
years, thence coming to Sunbury, Northumberland county, and soon 
thereafter settling in Upper Augusta (then Augusta) township, where Mr. 
Rinehart acquired a farm of 100 acres. He also had a piece of property 
in Sunbury. Besides farming, he did threshing, and one season after 
threshing his own grain he worked out for a tenth, receiving ninety 
bushels of grain as his share that year.  He continued to farm in 
Northumberland county until his death, which occurred in 1837, and he is 
buried in the lower cemetery at Sunbury.  In religious faith he and his 
wife were Lutherans.  She died in 1845.  They had children as follows: 
Elizabeth, Mrs. Steel, lived in Philadelphia; Sarah, Mrs. Collins, lived 
in Baltimore; Mrs. Crosby lived in Philadelphia; Mary married Martin 
Huhn and they lived out West; Louisa, Mrs. Reed, lived in Sunbury; John 
went to Michigan in an early day and there followed farming; Charles was 
the father of Charles P. Rinehart.
	Charles Rinehart, youngest son of John, was born Jan. 31, 1817, in 
Augusta township, this county, and was reared on the homestead. In his 
early life he assisted with the farm work at home, but when a young man 
he commenced boating on the Pennsylvania canal, and followed that 
occupation for about a quarter of a century.  Mean-
	
	END OF PAGE 91
	
while he resided in Sunbury, where he became a well known citizen, 
filling a number of the borough offices. He built a residence on Front 
street, where he resided from the time he began boating until he left 
Sunbury.  In 1868 he bought the farm in Upper Augusta township, near 
Sunbury, now owned by his son Charles, and there engaged in farming 
until his death, which occurred in 1890, when he was seventy-three years 
and one day old. He is buried in the lower cemetery at Sunbury. Mr. 
Rinehart was a Democrat up to the time of the Civil war, when he gave 
his support to Lincoln and thereafter was identified with the Republican 
party. He was actively interested in political issues, and did his share 
in the administration of local  public affairs, serving as overseer of 
the poor and as school director of his township, where he was considered 
a highly useful citizen. In religion he was a Lutheran.  Mr. Rinehart  
married  Mary  Crissinger,  who  was born April 24, 1808,  daughter of 
Jacob Crissinger, and died in 1884, aged  seventy-seven years.  Six 
children were born to their union: Martha married George W. Fisher, who 
is now deceased, of Sunbury; Sarah C. married George P. Krohn, of 
Sunbury; Amelia died when thirteen years old; Susanna married Charles F. 
Martin, of Sunbury; Margaret Louisa married William Kreisher, of 
Sunbury; Charles P. lives on the home farm.
	Charles P. Rinehart attended the schools of Sunbury, and began to 
assist his father at an early age, boating on the canal from 1860 to 
1868. When seventeen he settled on the farm with his father, and has 
ever since been occupied with the cultivation of that place.  On Dec. 
16, 1868, he and his father commenced the dairy business, which he has 
continued ever since in connection with general farming, having now made 
a specialty of that line for a period of forty-two years. He is 
considered one of the most reliable dairy farmers in this district. At 
present he keeps twenty cows, and his dairy products are marketed in 
Sunbury.  Mr. Rinehart's farm contains 184 acres and is one of the best 
in the township, not only because of the quality of the land but in the 
way of improvements, the buildings being substantial and in good order, 
and the other improvements up-to-date in every respect.  In 1891 he 
built the large brick residence, which is equipped with all modern 
conveniences and is a valuable addition to the property. He has not only 
found time to attend systematically to his personal interests, but he 
has taken a public-spirited interest in the general welfare and has held 
various local offices.  For three consecutive terms he was auditor of 
his township, has been a member of the board of supervisors and since 
1899 has been a school director, during that time filling all the 
offices of the board except that of secretary.  Politically he is a 
Democrat.  Socially he belongs to the Royal Arcanum and the Conclave of 
the Lance and Shield at Sunbury. When he was a boy of nine years he was 
in Philadelphia just after the election of Lincoln, whom he remembers 
seeing there.
	On March 12, 1885, Mr. Rinehart married Clara Ella Stroh, daughter 
of John Stroh, of Riverside, and they have had five children: William 
C., who graduated from the township schools and later attended 
Susquehanna University, now assisting his father; Mary A.; Charles O., 
who died when two years old; John J., who graduated from the Sunbury 
school in 1911, when sixteen years old; and Anna E.  Mr. Rinehart and 
his family are Lutherans in religious connection.
	Philip Stroh, the pioneer of Mrs. Rinehart's family in this 
section, was a native of New York State, and came to Northumberland 
county, Pa., about the year 1825. He settled in Upper Augusta township, 
at what is now known as Klinesgrove, and there followed farming, owning 
a tract of land. He died in New York State and is buried there. His 
wife, Elizabeth (Oberdorf), daughter of Peter Oberdorf, long survived 
him, and is buried at the Klinesgrove Church, where Mr. Stroh and his 
family were members of the Lutheran congregation.  In politics he was a 
Democrat.  Mr. and Mrs. Stroh had the following children: Peter lived 
near Seven Points, this county; Samuel, a machinist of great ability, 
who built rolling mills, lived for a time at Danville, Pa., and later at 
Reading, Pa.; Mary Ann married Jacob Evert and they lived in Upper 
Augusta township; Elizabeth was Mrs. Kocher; David, a carpenter, lived 
and died at Danville; John, a farmer, lived at Riverside (he was the 
father of Mrs. Rinehart) Solomon is mentioned below; William, who was a 
blacksmith, lived and died at Pittston, Pennsylvania.
	Solomon Stroh, son of Philip, was born June 13, 1825, in the State 
of New York, and was brought by his parents to this section.  The 
removal was made by wagon. He learned the trade of blacksmith, and 
proved to be a mechanic of unusual skill, making hinges, handcuffs, and 
ironwork for bridges, mills, houses, etc. He was a remarkable man in 
many ways, and one of the notable citizens of his time in this region, 
taking an active part in every movement with which he was identified. He 
served some years as councilman in Sunbury.  He was one of the 
organizers of the volunteer fire department of the borough, rendering 
valuable service to the community as head of the Washington Fire Company 
for a number of years. He was a prominent Democrat party chairman of his 
ward, and chosen as delegate to many county conventions. A prominent 
member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, he was past grand of Lodge No. 
203, passed all the chairs in the encampment, and was the first 
representative from
	
	END OF PAGE 92
	
his town to the meeting of the Odd Fellows' Orphans' Home Association, 
located near Sunbury. For many years he acted as chaplain of his lodge. 
In the days of the old State militia he was an officer, and did 
efficient work in that capacity. A strong, robust man, six feet in 
height, and of commanding presence, he was an attractive figure, and he 
was as popular as he was widely known. He was a member of Zion's 
Lutheran Church and a zealous worker in its behalf, serving as deacon 
and elder, holding the latter office at the time of his death. For some 
years he was superintendent of the Sunday school, which he served 
efficiently as librarian for the long period of thirty years, being 
active in all the departments of the church and Sunday school, in both 
of which he was highly esteemed.  He died at Sunbury April 12, 1898.
	On Sept. 12, 1850, Mr. Stroh married Mary Zimmerman, who was born 
May 4, 1827, daughter of George and Mary (Hall) Zimmerman, and still 
makes her home in Sunbury.  Though past eighty she is well preserved and 
still active, and she is highly esteemed in Sunbury, where she has had 
her home for so many years.  She, too, is an active member of Zion's 
Lutheran Church, and she taught one of the classes in its Sunday school 
for fifty-five years, relinquishing the work only because of her 
advancing years.  Her sympathies have always been practically shown in 
her activity in the church work, and she also sang in the choir for a 
number of years.  To Mr. and Mrs. Stroh were born eight children, as 
follows: Naomi, born in 1851, married W. A. Heller, and is deceased; 
George, born in 1853, died in 1856; Samuel, born in 1855, is a resident 
of Sunbury; Jeremiah, born in 1857, died at Sunbury in 1906; William, 
born in 1859, lives at Sunbury; Annie E., born in 1862, died in 1874; 
Stella and Miriam are unmarried and at home.

	ISAAC BLOOM, now living retired in Sunbury, has made his home in 
that borough since 1872.  His active years were for the most part spent 
in lumbering, and as rafts-man and pilot on the Susquehanna river he 
became thoroughly familiar with that stream, upon which he has had many 
interesting experiences.  He was born Jan. 27, 1842, in Pike township, 
Clearfield Co., Pa., son of John Bloom, and is a descendant of a family 
now numerous in Northumberland and Clearfield counties, descended from 
two brothers who came into Pennsylvania from New Jersey.  In the 
archives of that State are recorded the names of five Bloom brothers who 
served in Baxter's Brigade of New Jersey volunteers. One was killed in 
action. After the war one remained in New Jersey, the other three coming 
to Pennsylvania.  Of these Stephen Bloom, the ancestor of Urias Bloom, 
of Sunbury, settled in the Shamokin Hills, in Northumberland county; 
William, the ancestor of Isaac Bloom, whose name opens this article, and 
of Amos Bloom, also of Sunbury, took up a large tract of land in 
Clearfield county; the third settled in a valley near Bellefonte, in 
Center county, where a large number of his descendants have since lived.
	William Bloom, as stated, took up a large tract of land in 
Clearfield county, at what is known as the "Peewee's Nest." He was born 
in New Jersey in 1752, and lived to the age of 104 years; he is buried 
at Curwensville, Clearfield county.  He followed farming on land which 
he himself cleared and where he erected a log house and barn. His wife, 
like himself a native of New Jersey, also attained an advanced age, 
living to be ninety-eight. They were the parents of eleven children, 
seven sons and four daughters: Abraham, James Isaac, John, William, 
Benjamin, Peter, Mary  (married Matthew Caldwell) and three daughters 
whose names are not recalled.
	From the above source there is a large posterity, and we quote the 
following from the Philadelphia North American of Aug. 18, 1909, as 
being of interest in this connection:
	"The Bloom reunion was held at the 'Peewees Nest,' on the bank of 
the Susquehanna river, near Curwensville, Pa. The Bloom clan is one of 
the largest in Clearfield county.  They are descendants of William 
Bloom, a native of New Jersey, and a Revolutionary war veteran, who came 
to Clearfield county with his wife in 1796.  They came up the West 
branch of the Susquehanna river in a canoe and settled on the spot where 
the family reunion was held.  The ancestor Bloom and his helpmate had 
eleven children, seven sons, four daughters, and from them are descended 
the many hundred of Blooms of Clearfield and surrounding counties. The 
eighth generation of the family participated in the reunion in 1909. The 
Blooms have figured extensively in the affairs of Clearfield county 
since its organization. They are a hearty and tall people, noted for 
longevity and multiplicity.  Ross Bloom, of near Curwensville, who was 
eighty-eight years old, attended the gathering of the family.  Benjamin 
Bloom, who attended  the reunion,  .  .  .  is  seventy-seven years old, 
and the father of thirteen children, eleven of whom are living. He has 
so many grand-children that he fears missing some should he endeavor to 
count them, scores of great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grand-
children.
	"The Blooms are members of the Democratic party. During the Civil 
war the family sent many of its sons to do battle for their country."
	Isaac Bloom, son of William, was like all his brothers and sisters 
born in Clearfield county. He was a farmer by occupation, and owned the 
farm on which he died. He married Mary (Polly) Apgar, who survived him, 
dying in 1870 at a ripe old age, and they had a family of twelve 
children,
	
END OF PAGE 93
	
six sons and six daughters, namely: John, James A., William, George, 
Reuben, Benjamin, Caroline (Mrs. Owens), Priscilla (married John Norris 
and had eighteen children), Geneise (married Samuel Taylor), Mrs. George 
Ogden, Margaret (married Nicholas McCracken) and Mrs. George Garrison.
	John Bloom, Jr., son of Isaac, was born Feb. 4, 1809, in Pike 
township, Clearfield Co., Pa., and was a prosperous farmer, owning about 
three hundred acres of land. He served three years as constable, and for 
a number of years as supervisor, and was a man well known in his 
district.  He was a Democrat in politics and a Methodist in religion.  
On Oct. 24, 1833; John Bloom married Mary Ann Jordan, who was born April 
9, 1812, eldest of the large family born to John and Eve (Lawyer) 
Jordan, and granddaughter of Peter and Mary Magdalena Lawyer.  Mr. Bloom 
died in August, 1883, at the age of seventy-four years and his wife died 
at the age of eighty-five. They are buried at Bloomington, Clearfield 
county Their children were born as follows: Frederick Sept. 24, 1834; 
Eliza, March 3, 1836; Matilda Nov. 10, 1837; Rachel, Dec. 11, 1839; 
Isaac, Jan. 27, 1842; John Jordan, April 8, 1844; Mary J. Dec. 21, 1845; 
Sarah A., Dec. 24, 1847; Susan April 7, 1849; Jerusha, May 11, 1851; Eva 
A. Nov. 7, 1853; Alfred, May 27, 1856.
	Isaac Bloom received his education in the common schools of Pike 
township. He was reared on the farm, and after reaching manhood 
continued to follow farming, during the summer season, in the winter 
time working in the lumber wood with which he was also familiar from 
boyhood.  Rafting on the river was a great business in those days, and 
he was thus engaged on the west branch of the Susquehanna for many 
years, making his first trip when only fourteen years old. He made two 
trips every spring for about fifteen years bringing some of the finest 
square timber ever sent down the river to Marietta.  Some of the logs he 
brought down contained 125 feet of good solid timber. For seven years 
Mr. Bloom engage as a pilot on the Susquehanna, where there are many 
dangerous falls and rocks to be avoided. He skillfully passed all known 
by name to the pilot as "White Break," "Side Pocket," "Steppin Stone," 
"Sandy Harbor," "Mashannon Falls, "Wood Rock," "Karthus House," 
"Buttermill Falls," etc.  In 1872 Mr. Bloom and his family moved to 
Sunbury, where they have since resided. After settling in this place he 
was engaged in superintending lumber jobs for different parties, later 
served five years as street commissioner of the borough, was janitor at 
the courthouse for three years and for another three years was head of 
the carpet weaving department at the Northumberland county jail before 
his retirement, in 1908.  He has been an active Democrat ever since he 
attained his majority, having missed but two elections in all that time.  
He has long been a leading member of the Methodist Church, of which he 
has served as trustee and steward since 1880. As a citizen he has 
commanded the respect of his fellow men in every relation of life.
	In 1867 Mr. Bloom married Sarah E. Kline, daughter of John F. and 
Eliza (Mittler) Kline, and to them have been born nine children: Carrie 
K., who is engaged in school teaching; J. Byron, who makes his home in 
Sunbury; and Charles W., Arthur M., Lucy, Chester C., Emma, Henry O. and 
Mary E., all of whom died in infancy.
	John Jordan, Mr. Bloom's maternal grand-father, was born Dec. 4, 
1790, and Eva, his wife, was born Aug. 8, 1792. They had a large family, 
born as follows: Mary Ann, April 9, 1812; John, May 12, 1814; David, 
June 10, 1816; Margaret June 15, 1818; Samuel, Nov. 12, 1820; Rachel, 
Nov. 17, 1822; Daniel, July 2, 1825; Janiza, May 15,1827; one that died 
in infancy, May 10, 1829; Leir, June 17, 1830; Susan, May 12, 1832; 
William, April 29, 1834; Sarah Ann, July 9, 1836.

	AMBROSE PERSING, senior member of the firm of Persing & Cooke, of 
Arters, Northumberland county, proprietors of the Shamokin Valley Roller 
Mills, was born Dec. 29, 1860, at St. Clair, Schuylkill Co., Pa., son of 
Matthias Persing, in his day a prominent contractor of this county. 
Several generations ago the family was settled in New Jersey, where 
William Persing, great-grand-father of Ambrose Persing, lived, at 
Greenwich, in  Sussex county. There all his children were born,  among 
them being William, Jr., and John, both of whom came to Northumberland 
county, Pennsylvania. 
	William Persing, Jr., born in New Jersey April 23, 1773,  settled 
in Shamokin township, Northumberland county, where he died Feb. 19, 
1853. He is buried at the old Blue Church. He was a man of enterprise 
and had large interests, engaging in farming, building a gristmill which 
he operated, and also carrying on a rope walk and distillery. He was an 
extensive fruit grower, the most extensive in his section, using the 
fruit in his distillery. He also made peppermint products. William 
Persing was twice married, his second union, being with Margaret 
Dimmick.  The children of his first marriage were born as follows: Mary, 
1795; Philip, 1797; Matthias, 1800; William, 1802; Samuel, 1804; Isaac, 
1807; John, 1809. To the second marriage were born: Hannah, 1812; 
Elizabeth, 1814; a son and a daughter, twins, who lived only a few days; 
Abigail, Feb. 11, 1817;  Peter, June 28, 1819; Rebecca, Dec. 24, 1821; 
Daniel, April 10, 1825; and Susanna and Margaret, twins, July 2, 1829. 
	John Persing, the other son of William Persing  who came to 
Northumberland county, was born
	
END OF PAGE 94
	
March 12, 1775, and on removing to Pennsylvania settled in Schuylkill 
county, where he followed farming. Coming later to Northumberland 
county, he settled in the Irish Valley on land later owned by Joseph 
Bird, and engaged in farming and distilling.  He died March 18, 1858, at 
the home of his son Matthias, and is buried in the old Presbyterian 
graveyard near Deiblers station, below Shamokin. Mr. Persing was married 
in 1797 in New Jersey to Anna Eve Larkins, who was born March 28, 1776, 
and died July 13, 1850. They were the parents of the following children: 
William, born March 28, 1797; Mary, born Sept. 12, 1800, who married 
John Shipman; George, born Feb. 1, 1802, who died Nov. 23, 1824 (his 
death was caused by a falling tree); Sallie A., born March 28, 1804, who 
married Michael Taylor; Catharine, born Oct. 18, 1806, who married Isaac 
Teitsworth; Benjamin, born April 7, 1809; Matthias, born Dec. 21, 1810; 
Susanna, born Feb. 10, 1813, Mrs. Willitt; Nancy, born April 19, 1815, 
who married Jacob Goss; Washington, born June 3, 1818, of Illinois; and 
Alfred, born Sept. 15, 1822, who died Oct. 23, 1824.
	Matthias Persing, son of John, born Dec. 21, 1810, in New Jersey, 
was reared on the farm in Shamokin township, and himself took up 
farming, owning a 100-acre tract, now the property of K. C. Leisenring. 
By trade he was a stonecutter, and he did contracting in that line, one 
of the last large contracts which he filled being for part of the stone 
work on the Sunbury, Hazleton & Wilkes-Barre railroad. After this he was 
associated in the contracting business with Andrew Knoble, under the 
firm name of Persing & Knoble. Among other important work which Mr. 
Persing performed was the mason work on the large coal breakers at 
Shamokin. He was one of the leading men of this region in his day, 
employing large numbers of men, and showing great ability in all his 
undertakings, which were ambitions enough to give him a place among the 
most progressive men of his time. He died April 25, 1874, at Elysburg, 
and is buried in the graveyard at Reed's Church, at Reed's station, 
below Shamokin. Politically he was a Republican, socially a Mason, a 
charter member of Elysburg Lodge, No. 414, F. & A.M., of which he was a 
past master "by merit." In religion he was a Presbyterian, and served as 
deacon of his church. He married Joanna Parent daughter of John Parent, 
an Englishman, among whose children were also John, Elizabeth, Sophia 
Sarah, Caroline and Ellen.  Mrs. Persing died about 1871. The following 
children were born to this union: Emanuel S., born in August, 1843 who 
died in 1909; Alson, who died in infancy; Joanna, who died in infancy; 
Emma, Mrs. George W. Heffly, deceased; Hamilton S., who died at 
Williamsport, Pa. (he left a daughter, Carrie C.); Edward E., who died in 
1907 at Altoona, Pa.; Ida V., Mrs. Adolphus Hartman, deceased; and 
Ambrose.
	Ambrose Persing began his education in the schools of the home 
locality, later attending Elysburg Academy.  At the age of eighteen 
years he commenced to learn milling, at Paxinos, and in 1885 engaged in 
milling upon his own responsibility, leasing the mill at Arters for two 
years. He then became associated with Ritter & Son, of Lairdsville, 
Lycoming Co., Pa., continuing with them for two years, at the end of 
which time he and his brother Emanuel S. Persing formed a partnership, 
buying the Shamokin Valley Roller Mills at Arters, in Upper Augusta 
township, which they operated under the firm name of Persing Brothers.  
In 1892 Frederick W. Cooke bought the interest of Emanuel S. Persing in 
these mills, and he and Ambrose Persing have since done business 
together as Persing & Cooke. They turn out a number of popular brands of 
wheat flour, Golden Sheaf and White Falcon among others, and make a 
specialty of buckwheat flour, which is famous over a wide territory, 
having few equals. The firm also deals in flour, feed, grain, etc., and 
has a large patronage in every line.  The business has long been the 
leading industry of the town and vicinity. Mr. Persing has taken an 
active part in the public affairs of his community, having served 
fourteen years as auditor of Upper Augusta township, and he is at 
present assistant postmaster at Arters.  In political connection he is a 
Republican, and socially he is a Mason, belonging to Elysburg Lodge, No. 
414, F. & A.M.
	On March 28, 1885, Mr. Persing married Ida E. Cooke, daughter of 
Edwin and Catharine (Casey) Cooke, and sister of his business partner. 
Mr. and Mrs. Persing have no children.  They are members of the Church 
of Christ at Sunbury.

	FREDERICK W. COOKE, member of the firm of Persing & Cooke, 
proprietors of the Shamokin Valley Roller Mills, at Arters, in Upper 
Augusta township, is not only one of the able business men of his 
section but also well known in his connection with its public affairs.  
He was born July 27, 1861, in Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., son of 
Edwin Cooke, and has passed all his life in Northumberland county.
	Edwin Cooke was born in Shropshire, England, came to America in 
1857, and settled down to farming in Ralpho township, Northumberland 
Co., Pa., where he had a tract of 150 acres. He was a Methodist in 
religion and particularly interested in church affairs, helping to 
rebuild the present Oak Grove Church. He died in 1902, at the age of 
sixty-five years, and is interred in the Oak Grove burying ground, near 
Paxinos. He married Catharine Casey, a native of Limerick, Ireland, whom 
he met aboard the vessel while coming to America.  She still survives, 
living on the old
	
     END OF PAGE 95
	
homestead, and is well preserved in spite of her advanced years.  Six 
sons and five daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Cooke; Edwin H., 
now of Union Corners, Pa.; John J., who lives near the homestead, in 
Ralpho township; Sarah J. (deceased), who married Hamilton Persing; 
Frederick W.; Ida E., wife of Ambrose Persing; George W., of Ralpho 
township; Daniel W., of Pittsburg, Pa.; James A., of Rush township; 
Kate, who died aged five years; Kate, wife of W. E. Fisher, of Paxinos; 
and a daughter that died in infancy.
	Frederick W. Cooke began to learn the trade of miller at Paxinos 
when twenty years old. For seven years he conducted the Shamrock Mill, 
located near Paxinos (then known as Hughes station mill), and in 1892 
formed his present partnership with Ambrose Persing, with whom he has 
since been engaged in the milling business under the name of Persing & 
Cooke. This firm has had a career of continuous prosperity, and has a 
large custom, drawn from a wide territory.  In addition to 
manufacturing, they deal in flour, feed, grain, etc.  Among their 
various brands Golden Sheaf, White Falcon and Silver Cloud are the 
leaders, and their buckwheat flour, of which they make a specialty, has 
a wide reputation, so much so that the supply has never been equal to 
the demand, although they have never advertised it, or done any 
soliciting.
	Mr. Cooke has no political affiliations, voting independently, but 
he has taken considerable part in the public affairs of his locality, 
having served eighteen years as overseer of the poor in Upper Augusta 
township.  He was also supervisor one term, refusing to serve longer 
though re-elected.  He was elected justice of the peace, but refused to 
accept the honor.  He was instrumental in having the postoffice at 
Arters - the only one in the township -  established, in 1895, was the 
first postmaster, and is still serving in that capacity.  In 1900 Mr. 
Cooke took a course in Spencerian penmanship under Prof. A. C. Crawford, 
of Sunbury, and he became a master of skillful and legible penmanship, 
having a high reputation in that capacity. Socially he is widely known, 
belonging, to Lodge No. 22. F. & A.M., of Sunbury, and Lodge No. 203, 
I.O.O.F., of Sunbury. He was originally a member of Elysburg Lodge, No. 
414, F.& A.M., of which he was worshipful master. He and his family are 
members of the Church of Christ at Sunbury, of which he is the elder.
	On Jan. 29, 1885, Mr. Cooke married Laura Fenstermacher, daughter 
of G. Washington and Caroline (Zhenders) Fenstermacher, of Franklin 
township, Columbia Co., Pa.  She died Oct. 2, 1908, aged forty-four 
years, the mother of six children: Frank married Josephine Feffingwell 
and they live in Upper Augusta township; George W. married Margaret Ruch 
and they live at Northumberland; Frederick W., Jr., was drowned when 
seventeen months old; Jesse A. died of diphtheria when five years old; 
Roy A. is at home; and Ida L. is at home. On Nov. 19, 1910, Mr. Cooke 
married (second) in Philadelphia Mrs. Martha L. Huff.