Floyd's Northumberland County Genealogy Pages 468 thru 493
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CHARLES L. HAUSE, a business man of Milton where he has been
established in the plumbing and heating line since 1896, is a native of
that place, born Nov. 22, 1870, son of John. R. Hause.
Mr. Hause's great-grandfather was born in either Berks or
Northampton county, Pa., where he lived and died. He was a farmer by
occupation. The family is of German extraction. Among the children of
the great-grandparents were the following: Mrs. John Beck, who died in
White Deer Valley, Lycoming Co., Pa., leaving a family of eleven
children; Frederick, of Catawissa, a miller, who died there (he had a
small family); Mrs. Seipe, who died in Northampton county (she had one
son, Lewis, now deceased); Peter, who lived and died near Philadelphia;
and Henry C.
Henry C. Hause, grandfather of Charles L., was born in 1796 in
Northampton county, Pa., and died July 16, 1871, at Milton. In the
spring of 1834 he came to Northumberland county and bought a farm of
seventy acres in Chillisquaque township, which he cultivated until 1850.
He sold the place that year and moved to Milton, being one of the
pioneer builders of Shakespeare, which is now included in Milton. He was
a Republican in politics and a Lutheran in religion faith. His wife,
Catherine Matilda (Young) daughter of Jacob Young, of Northampton county
died May 22, 1866, at the age of sixty-eight years two months, seventeen
days. Ten children were born to them: (1) Jacob, born Nov. 28, 1818
died at Milton Sept. 29, 1903. He was a soldier in Company D, 112th
Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He married Anna Haupt, and they had
six children, Edward, John, Harry, Catharine, Lovina and Jane. (2)
George Henry married Angeline Foust, daughter of Philip, but left no
children. He died at Milton in 1864. Farming was his occupation. (3)
Hannah married Jacob H. Ernst and is still living in Union county, Pa.,
in her eighty-seventh year. She had three children, Henry, William and
Ida. (4) Sabina, who died at Milton April 11, 1860, married Benjamin
Snyder and had William O., Joseph H., Catharine and Ida. (5) Lewis
William went West in 1858 and settled at Aledo, Ill., where he died. His
family are in the West. He married Elizabeth Clark, daughter of William,
and they had a family of six children, Catharine E., Ida M., Elizabeth,
Leota, Emery and Clarence. (6) John R. is mentioned below. (7) Conrad
P. died in Easton, leaving no children. He married Lydia Pursel. (8)
Amandus F. married Mary Follmer, daughter of Henry Follmer, and they
left no children. He was killed in 1868 in Bradford county, Pa. by the
falling of a tree. (9) David B., born May 31, 1839, died Sept. 1, 1904.
He served during the Civil war as a member of Company E, 131st Regiment,
P.V.I. He married Katie Strine, daughter of William Strine, and they
had one daughter, Jennie, who is married to George C. Chapin, cashier of
the First National Bank of Milton. (10) J. Harrison, born Dec. 6, 1842,
in Chillisquaque township, Northumberland county, is now living retired
in Milton. He learned coach-making, and followed that business until his
retirement, in 1903. In September, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, 51st
Pennsylvania Volunteers, Col. J. F. Hartranft, and on Jan. 1, 1864,
reinlisted in the same company and regiment. He was captured at
Spottsylvania May 12, 1864, and was held prisoner at Andersonville for
ten months. He was exchanged May 10, 1865, and mustered out July 28,
1865. He served as second sergeant of his company. He is a member of
Henry Wilson Post, No. 129, G.A.R., of Milton, and of Regiment No. 108,
Union Veteran Legion; he also holds membership in Lodge No. 84, I.O.O.F.
On Nov. 28, 1868; he married Hannah S. Hullihen, daughter of Thomas and
Rebecca (Freeze) Hullihen, and they have had one son, Edward B., now a
dentist of Philadelphia and married to Catharine Datesman.
John R. Hause, father of Charles L. Hause, born March 11, 1830, in
Northampton county, Pa., came with his father to Northumberland when a
small boy. He followed the plasterer's trade for many years, and later
was employed in the car shops at Milton. His death occurred April 12,
1894. He was a Lutheran in religion, and in politics a Republican who
took a deep interest in the welfare of his party and an active part in
local interests. He married Mary A. Stimmel, daughter of Jonas and
Catharine (Dry) Stimmel; she had two brothers, Israel (who lives in New
Berlin)
END OF PAGE 468
and Amos (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. John R. Hause had children as follows:
Amos, who died young; William T., who died at the age of sixteen years;
Harry, living at Hazleton, Pa.; Charles L.; Frank, of Milton; Catharine
L., wife of C. E. Hoy; Anna, wife of Samuel Henry; and Mary, who lives
with her mother.
Charles L. Hause received his education in the public schools of
Milton. In 1892 be went to Lock Haven Pa., where he served a full
apprenticeship at his trade and in 1895 he went thence to Philadelphia
where he was employed at his trade about seven months. Business there
being slack, he came to Shamokin, Northumberland county, where he
followed his trade for six months, at the end of that time returning to
Milton, where he has since been located. On March 2, 1896, he entered
into partnership with E. F. Colvin, and they opened a place of business
at No. 124 South Front street, Milton. This partnership was dissolved by
mutual consent the 2d of August, following, Mr. Hause purchasing Mr.
Colvin's interest and continuing the business at the same stand for
several years. In April, 1907, he moved into the new home which he had
built at No. 119 Elm street, his new storeroom adjoining his residence;
the store is neat and well arranged, and there is a commodious shop at
the rear well equipped for all the needs of the business. He has built
up an excellent and profitable trade by close application to business
and satisfactory work for all his patrons, and he is a self-made man in
the best sense of the word. Fraternally he is well known in the
neighborhood, belonging to Lodge No. 184. I.O.O.F., of Milton; to the
Knights of the Golden Eagle, and to Lodge No. 13, B.P.O. Elks, and
Milton Lodge No. 256, F. & A.M.
In 1902 Mr. Hause married Bertha Gibson, daughter of Henry and Jane
(Thomas) Gibson, of Limestoneville, Pa., granddaughter of Joseph Gibson,
great-granddaughter of Henry Gibson and great-great-granddaughter of
Joseph Gibson. Mr. and Mrs. Hause are members of Trinity Lutheran Church
at Milton.
HARRISON H. HARTMAN, a lifelong resident of Turbut township,
Northumberland county, occupying the home place where his father settled
about three quarters of a century ago, was born there March 5, 1866, son
of Jacoby Hartman.
George Hartman, his grandfather, was born in Berks county, Pa.,
near the Lehigh county line, and moved thence to Columbia county, where
he made his first settlement in Frosty Valley, near Buckhorn. In 1838 he
bought a farm in Turbut township, Northumberland county, near Milton,
property now owned by the Heinens, but he never moved to this place,
dying in Columbia county, where he is buried, at Bloomsburg. His
children were: William, Joseph, Jacoby, Samuel, Kate (married Jacob
Hartzell) and Mrs. Bissy.
Jacoby Hartman was born April 21, 1816, in Springfield, Bucks Co.,
Pa., and received a fair education in the common schools of his home
locality. When a young man of about twenty he came to Northumberland
county, and here did farm work for others until he bought a place of his
own, a fine farm in Turbut township, near Milton, on East Broadway,
containing ninety-six acres of valuable land. He lived on this place,
and was actively engaged in its cultivation, until his death, which
occurred April 9, 1879; he is buried in Harmony cemetery at Milton. Mr.
Hartman was self-made and became one of the most prosperous farmers of
his district, where he was universally respected. He was deeply
interested in religious matters, a prominent member of the First
Lutheran Church at Milton, which he supported liberally, also taking an
active part in its work and enterprises. In political opinion he was a
Republican, but not active in party matters.
On Oct. 13, 1842, Mr. Hartman was married in Northumberland county
to Elizabeth Haag, a native of Berks county, born Nov. 13, 1823,
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Knauss) Haag. Mrs. Hartman died Feb.
11, 1880, the mother of the following children: William, John, Mary,
Emma, Sallie A., Hettie M., Harrison H., and two sons who died in
infancy.
Harrison H. Hartman attended the public schools of his native place
and worked with his father until the latter's death, giving the greater
part of his time to the supervision of the farm, which has been well
kept up all these years. The fine brick residence on the place, now
occupied by himself and his two sisters Sallie and Hettie, was built by
their father in 1878. These three are the only surviving members of this
large family. They are among the most respected members of the community
and bear worthily a name which has long been well represented in this
section. Through their mother they are descended from another family
worthy of mention, a brief account of which follows.
Hans Haag, the progenitor of this Haag family in America, came to
this country prior to 1734, and settled in Maxatawny township, Berks
county, where he paid tax and quit rent in 1734. In 1759 he was still a
taxpayer, his assessment then being eleven pounds. At the same time
Andreas Haag was a taxable, paying twenty pounds, and when the Maxatawny
Church at Bowers was built, in 1759, he gave one acre of land to the
church to be used, as he said in the deed, "as long as the sun and moon
shines." The latter's son, Andrew Haag, also contributed to the church;
he was then a young man. He was the father of John, grandfather of
George W. Haag.
END OF PAGE 469
John Haag, son of Andrew, was born near Bowers, in Berks county,
Feb. 12, 1794. In 1836 he moved to Northumberland county, settling in
Turbut township, where he purchased a farm of 160 acres from the
Kelchner estate. There he made his home and followed farming until his
death, which occurred Jan. 17, 1861. He married Elizabeth Knauss, also
of Berks county, born Jan. 21, 1795, who died March 21, 1869. Mr. and
Mrs. Haag were members of the Paradise Lutheran Church, of Turbut
township, and they are buried in the cemetery of that church. Seven
children were born to them: John; Catharine (deceased), who married
Peter Klapp; Beneville K.; Elizabeth (deceased), who married Jacoby
Hartman; Rebecca, who married William Balliet and lived in Montour
county; Hettie, who married William Gouger and also lived in Montour
county; and Sarah, deceased.
DAVID C. MYERS, proprietor of the Mansion farm in West
Chillisquaque township, Northumberland county, was born March 1, 1853,
near the city of Lancaster, Pa., son of Jacob Myers.
Jacob Myers was born in 1828 in Wurtemberg, Germany, was married
there to Fredericka Geiger, also a native of Wurtemberg, and came to
America with his wife when they were young people. They settled at
Lancaster, Lancaster Co., Pa., where they lived for about ten years,
meantime following farming. Then they journeyed up the canal to Muncy,
Pa., and thence through the forest to Sullivan county, where Mr. Myers
bought a farm and passed the remainder of his life. He died there in
1897, at the age of sixty-nine years. He became a much respected citizen
of that locality. To Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Myers were born the following
children: Louisa (married Albert Deckert), John, Jacob, Henry, David C.,
George W., Lafayette and Maria (twins, the latter the wife of Herbert
Done) William, James, Albert, Charles, Caroline (who married Ernest
Follmer), and two who died in infancy, Mary Ann and Fred, the latter
dying while the family were on the voyage to this country.
David C. Myers attended school in Sullivan county, Pa., and
remained with his father until he reached his majority. Learning the
carpenter's trade he began contracting in Lycoming county, Pa., and
followed that line for about fifteen years, meantime, also engaging in
the lumber business and in farming in that county. In 1890 he came to
his present farm in West Chillisquaque township, Northumberland county,
buying this land from the Van Kirk estate. It is a superior tract of 109
acres, and sold at one time for $30,000. The location is considered the
finest in the county, the water supply is of the best and abundant, and
the place has suffered no deterioration in Mr. Myers's hands. Besides
general farming he is extensively and successfully engaged in dairying,
keeping all Jersey cattle and selling his milk as far as Milton,
supplying a daily route. He is regarded as an excellent citizen in his
township, which he is now serving as president of the school board,
elected in 1908. There are seven schools in West Chillisquaque, and Mr.
Myers is giving faithful service in his present capacity, the welfare of
the cause of public education being of particular interest to him. While
in Sullivan county he served as constable. He is a Democrat in politics.
In religion he is a member of the Methodist Church.
Mr. Myers married Mary J. Feister, and they have had children as
follows: Virgie, who married Fred Burgenstock; Carrie, who married
William Burgenstock (brother of Fred); Bertha, wife of A. B. Good; Ethel
Clair, who is still in school; and Frank F.
Benjamin Feister, grandfather of Mrs. Myers, was of German origin
and was one of the pioneers at the Muncy creek, in Lycoming county, Pa.,
where he took up a large tract, several hundred acres of fine
timberland. He followed lumbering, prospered, and left a large estate.
He was buried above Muncy. He and his wife Mary had children as follows:
Charles; Margaret, Mrs. John P. Lake; Jane, Mrs. A. Sperry; George; John
U.; and Harriet, Mrs. Daniel Bubb.
Col. John U. Feister, father of Mrs. Myers, was born in Lycoming
county, Pa., and was a farmer and lumberman by occupation. During the
Civil war he served one year and nine months in the Union army. He died
in 1882, and is buried in Edkin Hill cemetery, in Sullivan county, near
the Lycoming county line. His wife was Margaret Edkin, daughter of
Francis Edkin, of Sullivan county, and they had the following children:
Annie J. married James Harting; Mary J. is the wife of David C. Myers;
Clara M. died when eighteen years old; Edward died young; Bernley C. is
a resident of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Martha married Herbert Bennette; May
married Samuel Woodside. Two children died young.
JAMES H. WORK, a farmer of East Chillisquaque township, has lived
in this section of Northumberland county all his life, and has owned his
present farm since 1898. He is of Scotch descent, his grandfather,
William Work, having been a native of Scotland, whence he came to
America when a young man. Settling in Delaware township, Northumberland
Co., Pa., he lived and died there, following farming. He is buried in
that township. His wife, whose maiden name was McCoy, was also from
Scotland, bore him the following children: James, Hoy, Mody, John,
Isabella, (married Jacob Shultz), Elizabeth (married L. Munsell) and
Lillie (who lived at Lock Haven).
John Work, son of William, was born in 1812 in Delaware township
and there followed farming
END OF PAGE 470
throughout his long life, dying in 1888 on the old homestead. He is
buried at the River Church, having been a member of the Reformed
congregation of that church. His wife was Mary Adams, of Northampton
county, Pa., and their children were: Susanna, who married Robert
Algert; R. M., living at Hagerstown, Md.; Christiana, who married Abe
Sterner; and James H.
James H. Work was born July 13, 1851, in Delaware township, and
there attended the public schools in his boyhood. Until he was twenty-
three years old he remained at home working with his father. When he
commenced farming on his own account he located in Turbut township, this
county, where he carried on agricultural operations for about ten years.
In 1886 he settled in East Chillisquaque township, where in 1898 he
bought the farm on which he now resides, and which formerly belonged to
Charles Newhart, ex-county commissioner of Northumberland county. It
consists of ninety acres of good land, and Mr. Work has not only
cultivated his place thoroughly but has also improved all the buildings,
making every effort to keep his property in excellent condition. He is
a conscientious, thrifty man, well known and universally respected.
Mr. Work married Priscilla Sterner, daughter of William and
Elizabeth (Loose) Sterner, and to their union have been born the
following children: Ambrose, who died when seven years old; Cora, who
died aged six years; Lulu, who died in infancy; Mary, who died at the
age of fourteen; William H., at home with his father; and Elizabeth, who
is also at home. Mr. Work is a member of the Reformed Church at Milton.
Politically he is a Democrat and interested in the success of his party,
and he faithfully filled the office of township auditor.
MILLARD M. HOUGHTON, proprietor of the "Eagle Hotel" at
Turbutville, Northumberland county, is a young business man who is
making a place for himself among the enterprising citizens of his
community. He was born Aug. 1, 1887, at Pine Summit, Columbia Co., Pa.,
son of James Houghton, and his ancestors have lived in that region for
some time, his great-grandfather, Joseph Houghton, having been a pioneer
miller there. He lived two miles from Pine Summit, and conducted a
gristmill for many years. Among his children were John and William.
William Houghton, son of Joseph, lived near Pine Summit, and
followed the trade of millwright, in which line he was a leading
mechanic of his section, having a high reputation for thorough and
excellent work. He also did some carpenter work on houses, being engaged
on the finer work of this kind. He was industrious and thrifty and owned
his own home and land, held local township offices, and was a useful and
highly respected citizen. He was particularly well versed in the
Scriptures, had a good memory, and delighted in explaining the Word to
his children and grandchildren. In political faith he was a Republican.
His widow, Mary (Allen), still survives, making her home with her
daughter, Mrs. Matilda Cressler, who lives near Pine Summit; she is now
(1910) past eighty-two years of age, and has been blind since 1905.
Children as follows were born to Mr. and Mrs. William Houghton: David,
who lives near Pine Summit; James; William, of Exchange, Pa.; Matilda,
Mrs. Lloyd Cressler; Phoebe, married to David Ware, of Moscow,
Lackawanna Co., Pa.; Harvey, proprietor of the "Ely House" at Plymouth,
Pa.; and one deceased.
James Houghton, son of William, was born Jan. 1, 1860, and was
reared on his father's place near Pine Summit. In his earlier manhood
he farmed, later working in the lumber woods and conducting the company
boarding house. He became an all-around lumber worker, contracting with
lumber firms to cut logs and peel bark during the spring of the year,
and made a success of this line. Since 1895 he has carried on the Pine
Summit Distillery. Mr. Houghton married Elmira Cox, daughter of
Montgomery Cox, of Pine Summit, and they have had three children:
Millard M., McCoy (deceased) and Joseph. Mr. Houghton and his family
are members of the Methodist Church, to which his father, William
Houghton, also belonged. Politically he is a Republican.
Millard M. Houghton attended the public schools of his home
district and later the high school at Turbutville, in which town he
lived for four years at that time. For several years he was, engaged in
farming, owning a farm of eighty acres at Pine Summit, which he
cultivated from 1906 to 1910, in September of which year he took charge
of the "Eagle Hotel" at Turbutville, as proprietor. He retains the
ownership of his farm.
On Dec. 24, 1909, Mr. Houghton married Ruth D. Watson, daughter of
George W. and Harriet (Smith) Watson, the former a prominent farmer
citizen of Anthony township, Montour county, where he owns two farms.
Mr. Houghton is a member of Lairdsville Lodge, No. 986, I.O.O.F.
HARVEY WENZEL, of Montandon, Northumberland county, has conducted
the "Wenzel House" at that point for a number of years, previous to
which he had been engaged in farming in this section. He is a member of
the third generation of his family in this county, and of the fourth
generation in America, his great-grandfather, a native of Germany,
having founded the family in this country. He settled in Berks county,
Pa., where he lived and died.
John L. Wenzel, grandfather of Harvey Wenzel, was born in Berks
county, and when a young
END OF PAGE 471
man moved to Lycoming county, this state, where he spent most of his
active years. The last sixteen years of his life however, were spent
near McEwensville, Northumberland county, with his son John, and he died
and is buried there. His children were: John; Daniel, who died in
Illinois; James, who died in Michigan; and Barbara, widow of John Smith,
living at Turbutville.
John Wenzel, son of John L. Wenzel, was born Jan. 12, 1826, in
Northumberland county, and died April 13, 1893. For many years he was a
well known contractor and builder, erecting many of the most substantial
houses and barns in his district and he owned a tract of sixteen acres
in Delaware township, where he resided. His wife, Catharine (Meixel),
was born Jan. 30, 1833, in Northampton county, and died Sept. 12, 1908,
at the home of her son Harvey, with whom she had made her home from the
time of her husband's death. Mr. and Mrs. John Wenzel were married July
4, 1858, in Union county, Pa, and to them were born the following
children: Mary E., born March 12, 1859, married John Yerich; John C. was
born July 1, 1860; Agnes, born Aug. 17, 1861, married Albert Hoffman;
Harvey is mentioned below; W. H. was killed on the Pennsylvania railroad
at the marsh crossing, near Montandon, in 1900 (there were four men in
the party, and the only one to escape with his life was Harvey Wenzel,
who received only a few bruises); Coy O. died in infancy; Elmer J. was
born April 15, 1872; Ida, born Feb. 15, 1874, married Forrest Harner;
Clarence D., born Feb. 15, 1879, is an express agent in the employ of
the Adams Company, running from Philadelphia to Buffalo and Harrisburg
to Buffalo.
Harvey Wenzel was born Jan. 15, 1863, in Delaware township,
Northumberland county, attended the public schools of the township and
also at McEwensville, and remained at home until he reached the age of
nineteen years. He and his brother John C. bought a farm of sixty-two
acres in West Chillisquaque township, along the river and farmed the
place for five years, at the end of which time they sold out. Harvey
Wenzel then moved to the Daniel Hartman farm near Montandon, where he
engaged in trucking for two years, thence removing to John Butler's
farm, where he was located for three years. He was next on the Harry
Knauss farm, and he continued trucking successfully for about seventeen
years in all, attending the local markets. In 1894 he bought the hotel
at Montandon from Stephen Dreisbach, and in 1895, held a sale of his
farm stock, after which he took up his residence at the hotel, to the
management of which he has since devoted most of his time and attention.
He remodeled the hotel, which is equipped with all modern improvements,
and all of the nineteen rooms are supplied with steam heat. Mr. Wenzel
has proved a highly successful hotel-keeper, and he is very popular with
the towns people and with the public generally. The hotel is an old
established business stand, but Mr. Wenzel has improved it in many ways
and brought it up to date, and he has erected a fine tavern which is a
great convenience.
Mr. Wenzel is regarded as a public-spirited citizen. He served his
township as member of the school board, and was president of that body
in 1897, when the fine schoolhouse at Montandon was erected; for one
year he was treasurer of the board. He has twice been a candidate for
county commissioner on the ticket of his party, the Republican, in 1904
and again in 1907, and though the tide went against him in both
elections the Second contest was very close. He is a man who enjoys the
good will of all who know him, for his upright life, both private and
public, and his friends are many. Socially he is an Elk, belonging to
Sunbury Lodge, No. 267. The family adhere to the Reformed faith.
Mr. Wenzel married Lucy C. Weaver, daughter of William S. and Sarah
(VanNonner) Weaver; of Richfield, Juniata Co., Pa., and they have had a
family of four children, namely: Lee W., Sterrett Mc., Barren V. and
Lecene C. (who died in infancy).
AMANDUS FRIES, who is engaged in farming about two miles east of
Montandon, Northumberland county, in West Chillisquaque township, has
owned and occupied that place since 1890, but he has been a resident of
the county since 1867. He was born March 1, 1849, in Albany township;
Berks Co., Pa., near the line of Lehigh county, son of Samuel Fries. His
grandfather Fries, who was a farmer and lived in Lehigh and Berks
counties, had children as follows: Harry, Mary and Samuel.
Samuel Fries lived in upper Berks; county and also in Lynn
township, Lehigh county, where he died in 1902. He is buried at the
Corner Church in Albany township, Berks county. He was a butcher by
occupation. His wife, Elizabeth (Peltz), was a native of Schuylkill
county, where she is buried, at Tamaqua. Their children were: Lewis,
Sarah, Amandus, Mary and Hannah.
Amandus Fries attended school in Lynn township, Lehigh county, and
in his youth was employed by Dr. Shade, at Steinsville. In the fall of
1867 he came to Northumberland county, of which he has since been a
citizen. He did farm work, and in 1890 bought his father-in-law's
homestead, the tract of forty-eight acres about two miles east of
Montandon, in West Chillisquaque township, which he has since occupied
and cultivated. Mr. Fries is an industrious and efficient worker,
END OF PAGE 472
and has made a success of his agricultural operations. He is a
respected member of his community.
In 1869 Mr. Fries married Margaret A. Cummings, daughter of William
and Hannah (Irwin) Cummings, and to them have been born six children:
Elizabeth; Robert C., deceased; Emma, deceased; Walter G.; Herman B., at
home; and Barry A., at home.
WILLIAM L. BRAUN, a practical and successful miller, at present the
proprietor of Braun's mill, near Milton, in Turbut township, this
county, is a native of Lycoming county, Pa., born at Nesbit, a small
town above Williamsport, in 1867, son of G. F. Braun.
Christian Braun, grandfather of William L., lived at Spielberg, in
the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, and there died at the age of forty-
eight years. He married his cousin, Magdalena Braun, and they had
several children, two of whom, Jacob and G. F., came to America, the
others dying young. Jacob settled near Buffalo, where be died leaving a
large family, who still make their home in that vicinity.
G. F. Braun was born at Spielberg, a little town of about four
hundred population, Dec. 3, 1831, and was twenty-two years of age when
he came to this country. He had learned the miller's and baker's trades
in his native land, and was thus well equipped to make his way to
prosperity, in America. He had married in Germany, and he and his wife
made the voyage to America in a sailing vessel, being on the water forty
days before they landed at New York City. Their first settlement was
made at Buffalo, N. Y., where Mr. Braun worked as a miller. He built a
home in what is now a very busy part of that city. In 1863 he located at
Nesbit, in Lycoming county, where he worked at milling. In 1892 he and
his two sons, John and William L., bought the Milton mill, and conducted
it under the name of G. F. Braun & Sons until the death of John, in
1902. The father still resides at Nesbit, where he has become very well
known, and where he is highly respected. To him and his wife, Annie,
were born children as follows: Louisa, Emma, John, Mary, Charles,
Tillie, William L. and Flora.
William L. Braun attended the local schools, and under his father's
careful instruction learned the miller's trade. In 1907 he purchased
his present property. This was a good mill, built in 1874 by William
Kemmerer, a native of Berks county. The roller process was installed
when Mr. Braun, his father and his brother John bought it. It has
four sets of rolls, and is modern throughout in its equipment. Mr. Braun
has a special brand of flour known as the "Streight," which has a very
wide reputation, and all his goods, in fact, find a ready sale.
Fraternally Mr. Braun is a member of Lodge No. 84, I.O.O.F., and
Aerie No. 1208, F.O.E., of Milton.
JOHN W. LUPOLD, train dispatcher at Sunbury for the Pennsylvania
railroad, has held that position since 1893 - the longest period on
record in Sunbury that any one man has served in that capacity. He was
born Feb. 3, 1867, at White Deer, Union Co., Pa., son of Samuel Lupold
and grandson of John Lupold.
John Lupold was a native of central Pennsylvania. After his
marriage to Sarah Yoxtheimer he lived in the vicinity of Sunbury,
Northumberland, county, for a time, and before the Civil war went to
Clinton county, this State, where he engaged in farming. There he died
in 1878, at the age of about eighty-one years. He is buried in that
county. His children were: Samuel father of John W. Lupold; William,
who lived near Lock Haven, Pa.; Henry, who lived at Loganton, Pa.; John,
who moved to Nebraska about 1873-74; and Solomon, who passed all his
life at Eastville, a small village across the valley from Carroll,
Clinton county (the post office was made Loganton after rural free
delivery was instituted, and the place was most commonly called Winter
Side, lying on the north side of the mountain, where winter snows always
remained longest), where he died in 1905.
Samuel Lupold was born in 1824 in the vicinity of Sunbury. In his
earlier years he was engaged in farming in Clinton county, Pa., and
later conducted a sawmill there, near Eastville, subsequently moving to
Union county, where he kept books for a lumber concern until his death,
which occurred in 1874, at Cooper's Mill, Union county. He was buried at
Watsontown, Northumberland county. Mr. Lupold was an ambitious man, and
by application became a well informed man. At the time of his marriage
he could neither read nor write, and he was self instructed, his
practical attainments being best indicated by the position he filled
during the latter years of his life. He was a member of the Reformed
Church. Mr. Lupold married Susan Kerstetter, daughter of Samuel and
Hannah (Barner) Kerstetter, of Clinton county, the latter of whom was a
daughter of George Barner and one of a family of twenty-two children.
Mrs. Susan (Kerstetter) Lupold died in 1886, in her fifty-ninth year.
She was the mother of the following children: Catharine died when
sixteen years old; William H. is a resident of Cameron county, Pa.;
Supera married Eli F. Garner and lives near Eastville, Pa.; Fayette
married Hiram Lefever, of Aurora, Nebr.; Sarah married William H.
Lesher; Harriet died when four years old, of poisoning; Minerva married
Daniel J. Huntington and died at Williamsport, Pa., in 1887; Mary died
in infancy; Samuel A.,
END OF PAGE 473
formerly of Montgomery, Pa., is now a resident of West Milton, Pa.,
where he is in the bakery business; John W. lives in Sunbury.
John W. Lupold obtained his education in the public schools of
White Deer township, Union county. In 1882 he learned cigar-making,
which he followed for several years, and when eighteen years old he
learned telegraphy at White Deer. He has since been engaged in railroad
work. He was employed at different points on the Philadelphia & Reading
road until 1889, when he changed to the Sunbury division of the
Pennsylvania road, in the fall of 1890 being transferred to Sunbury and
given a position in the superintendent's office. He was engaged as
message operator and copier in the train dispatcher's office until
promoted to train dispatcher in 1893. He has since filled this
responsible position, in which he has the longest record of any
incumbent at Sunbury. Mr. Lupold has been thoroughly identified with
local interests since he became a resident of the borough, and in 1908
he was elected a member of the board of education, from the Seventh
ward; he was a member of the building committee which had in charge the
erection of the Francis E. Drumheller school, erected in 1910, one of
the finest school buildings in this section and a great source of pride
in the borough. In political matters Mr. Lupold is a Republican, with
independent inclinations.
In 1890 Mr. Lupold married Grace M. Ely, daughter of James Ely, and
they have three children: Merrill, who was a member of the class of 1911
of the Sunbury high school; Martha Esther; and Ruth Elizabeth. In 1899
Mr. Lupold built the comfortable home at No. 307 Catawissa avenue which
he has since occupied with his family. They are members of the First
Reformed Church of Sunbury, which he served as an official for some
years. Fraternally he unites with the Royal Arcanum.
JOHN J. HOWELL, ticket agent at Northumberland for the Pennsylvania
Railway Company, has held his present position since May, 1872, and is
one of the respected residents of that borough. He was born Sept. 26,
1842, at Battle Creek, Mich., son of David W. Howell and grandson of
David W. Howell, and belongs to a family of English origin which has
been settled in America from Colonial times. The first ancestor on this
side of the Atlantic was Edward Howell, who was born in England,
baptized July 22, 1580, came to America about 1639-40 and first settled
at Lynn, Mass. Later he moved to Long Island, settling at Southampton,
where he died. John J. Howell is directly descended from him.
David W. Howell, grandfather of John J. Howell, lived and died near
Morristown, N. J. He married Keziah Pearson, who died at the home of
her son David in Bergen, Genesee Co., N. Y., May 14, 1857, and they had
children as follows: John Pearson, David W., Stephen and Arnold A.
David W. Howell, father of John S. Howell, was born July 8, 1808,
near Morristown, N. J., and moved West in 1835, settling at what is now
the site of Battle Creek, Mich. When a young man he began teaching
there, but later engaged in farming, upon his own land, which is now
known as Morgan park; it was then three miles from the town; His wife,
whose maiden name was Delia Elmer, was born July 19, 1811, and died Dec.
20, 1842, at Battle Creek, and was buried there. Mr. Howell
subsequently returned East with his children, settling at Bergen, N. Y.,
where he remained until his death, May 2, 1877. The children were all
born at Battle Creek, viz.: Elmer, who is deceased; Phebe A., deceased;
William H., who is still living at Bergen, N. Y.; and John J.
John J. Howell was only four years old when his father settled at
Bergen, N. Y., where he grew to manhood. He attended public school and
when old enough began to do farm work, later supplementing his early
education by a course in commercial work and telegraphy at the business
university of Rochester, N. Y., graduating in 1865. He began work at
Bergen, where he was employed by both the Western Union and New York
Central Companies before his removal to Williamsport, Pa., in 1869. He
was there engaged upon the P. & E. division until he changed to
Northumberland, Northumberland Co., Pa., in May, 1872, where he has
since remained in the employ of the Pennsylvania Company. He has a
record of fidelity and good work of which he may be proud and is a
trusted and competent employee. Mr. Howell is a Democrat in political
sentiment, but he has never taken any active part in politics or public
matters. He and his family attend the Episcopal Church.
On Nov. 28, 1873, Mr. Howell married Mary E. Shuman, daughter of
Jacob L. Shuman, of Catawissa, Pa. Her two brothers are living in
Shamokin. Mr. and Mrs. Howell have had one daughter, Lucille, now the
wife of Arthur Jameson. Mr. and Mrs. Jameson, who reside at Rochester,
N. Y., have four children, John J., Philip H., Charles D. and Cecelia M.
(born Dec. 29, 1910).
DANIEL E. SMITH, of Rebuck, in Washington township, has been
engaged at his trade of blacksmith at that point for the past twenty-
five years, and he also owns a farm in the township. Mr. Smith was born
May 19, 1852, in Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, son of
John Smith and grandson of Michael Smith.
Michael Smith was born in Oley township, Berks Co., Pa., whence he
came to the Swabian
END OF PAGE 474
Creek Valley, in the eastern end of this county, in 1818. Among his
children were: John; George, who settled in Berrien county, Mich.;
Peter, who settled in Indiana or Illinois; Mrs. Joshua Fetter and Mrs.
Neidlinger, both of whom settled in Michigan; and Mrs. Peter Rowe.
John Smith, son of Michael, was born in October, 1810, in Oley
township, Berks county, and came with his parents to Northumberland
county, settling on the farm in Upper Mahanoy township now owned by
Jefferson Snyder. He was a black-smith, and followed his trade for
thirty-six years at Rough and Ready, Schuylkill county, and he was also
a farmer for many years, following that occupation in Upper Mahanoy
township. He died Aug. 28, 1901, in his ninety-second year, at Rough and
Ready, where he is buried. Mr. Smith was a Lutheran in religion; a
Democrat in politics. His wife, Rachel (Erdman), daughter of George
Erdman, died April 27, 1860, in middle life. Their children were born as
follows: Mary, March 6, 1834; William, July 13, 1835; Lydia, Dec. 29,
1836; Elias, Dec. 24, 1887; John, Oct. 27, 1839; Catharine, March 17,
1842; Nathan, Oct. 16, 1843; Elizabeth, Oct. 15, 1846; George, Nov. 29,
1849; Daniel E., May 19, 1852; Henry, March 15, 1858.
Daniel E. Smith went to learn the trade of blacksmith in 1871 and
worked six years at this trade. Then he married Hannah Smeltzer and
moved to Hollowing Run, where he remained for two years, at the end of
that time moving on his father's farm in Upper Mahanoy township for one
year. He then moved to Leck Kill and worked at his trade for three
years, next moving to Klingerstown, Schuylkill county, where he worked
at his trade for four years. In 1886 he settled at Rebuck, where he has
since had his home. Mr. Smith has continued to do general blacksmithing
throughout this period, and he has made an excellent living. He also
owns a farm of sixty-three acres in Washington township, at what is
known as Cherrytown. Mr. Smith has taken an active interest in public
affairs, having held local offices, is a Democrat on political
questions, and a Lutheran in religion, he and his family being members
at the Himmel Church, where he has served as elder.
On Jan. 28, 1877, Mr. Smith married Hannah Smeltzer, daughter of
Daniel Smeltzer, and they have had a daughter, Sallie Bixler, now the
wife of Joseph Fetterman. Mr. And Mrs. Fetterman live on Mr. Smith's
farm in Washington township. They are the parents of eleven children:
John E., Daniel L., William E., Howard C., Charles R., Ella B., Sarah
I., Gertie V., George S. and David C.
John Schmeltzer, grandfather of Mrs. Daniel E. Smith, was a native
of Bethel township, Berks Co., Pa., and came thence to Northumberland
county before 1810. After some years residence there he and his family
moved to Lykens Valley, in Dauphin county, where he continued to live
until his death, May 30, 1835, when he was past fifty-five years of age.
He is buried in the Lykens Valley. Mr. Schmeltzer is described as a
short-set man, and he was a carpenter by trade. His wife, Grace (Shutt),
died in May, 1851, when past sixty years of age, in Lower Augusta
township, Northumberland county, and is buried there. Eight children
were born to this pioneer couple: Sarah married John Wolfgang; Daniel is
mentioned below; Elizabeth married Jacob Fox; Katie married George
Wolfgang; Peggy married Jesse Ummel; John died unmarried; Annie married
John Wolfgang, who was a brother of George Wolfgang.
Daniel Schmeltzer or Smeltzer was born Nov. 10, 1805, in Washington
township, Northumberland county, was a laborer, and owned a small farm.
He died March 16, 1888, at Sunbury, where he was visiting, and is
buried at the old Lutheran Church in Lower Augusta township, to which
district he had removed in 1841. He held various church offices, serving
many years as elder. His wife, Catharine, born in September, 1807, was a
daughter of Jonas Wolfgang, of Deep Creek Valley, Schuylkill county, and
died in June, 1881, in her seventy-fourth year. She is buried by the
side of her husband. They had eight children, namely: Sarah married
James M. Young; Elizabeth died in her eighteenth year; Dinah married
George Leitzel; Elias and John died in infancy; Catharine married George
Leitzel after the death of her sister Dinah; Lovina married William
Buchner and after his death Jacob Haupt, who is also deceased; Hannah is
the wife of Daniel E. Smith.
Mrs. Hannah (Smeltzer) Smith has a number of relics which belonged
to her immediate ancestors, some old dishes, a large German Bible which
belonged to her grandfather, John Schmeltzer, and which bears the date
1785, and an old grandfather clock that was made in 1809 by Josiah
Smith, the case being made by John Schmeltzer, to whom it belonged. It
is still a good timekeeper, and shows the date and movements of the
moon. It descended from John Schmeltzer to his son Daniel, after whose
death it came into the possession of Mrs. Smith.
JOSEPH LEWIS, a retired farmer living at Shamokin, was born in
Shamokin township Aug. 15, 1829, son of Mathias Lewis and grandson of
Mathias Lewis, a native of Switzerland. The grandfather came to America
when a young man and settled in New Jersey. Later he came to Irish
Valley, in Shamokin township, this county, where he died, and he is
buried at the Summit Church. His wife, Margaret Mutzler, is buried
END OF PAGE 475
at the same place. They had children: Henry, John, Ellis and Mathias.
Mathias Lewis, son of Mathias, was born in 1794 near Belvidere, N.
J. He was a cooper, and followed his trade in Shamokin township, where
he was also engaged in farming. He died Jan. 19, 1890, aged ninety-five
years, and is buried at the Summit Church. His wife, Elizabeth Mutchler,
daughter of John, is also buried there. Their children were: Margaret
died young; John died at the old home; Jeremiah is living in Shamokin
township; Joseph is living in Shamokin township; Catharine married a
Moody; Amos is deceased; William is deceased; Reuben is deceased;
Susanah married Henry Richie.
Joseph Lewis attended the old pay schools in Shamokin township and
was reared upon the farm. He learned the stonemason's trade with Frank
Teitsworth, and followed this work until about 1908, being employed
about the collieries and his own district. He resides at his homestead
in Shamokin township.
In 1857 Mr. Lewis married Susanna Wikel, who was born in 1833 in
Cameron township, daughter of John and Rebeca (Derr) Wikel. They had a
large family: George F. died when five years old; Alfred D. is living in
Shamokin; Emma married Cameron Bendel; Elmer is living in Shamokin;
Charles K. lives in Shamokin township; Fraetta married Pierce Leiby;
Knibly W. lives in Shamokin township; Elizabeth married C. P. Gass;
Rosie B. married Harry Clark and (second) Freemar Lewis; Josephine, twin
of Rosie, died in infancy; Amanda F. married C. B. Malick.
JOHN W. FURMAN, of Stonington, is senior member of the firm of J.
W. Furman & Brother truck farmers who occupy a leading place among the
business men in their line in Northumberland county. Their place is
known as the Hollis Dale Market Garden. Mr. Furman was born Aug. 4,
1876, in Shamokin township, where he has always, resided.
Samuel Furman, his grandfather, was born July 6, 1810, lived in
Shamokin township, where he followed farming throughout his active
years, and he died upon his farm there Feb. 24, 1875. His brother
William lived in that part of Augusta township now known as Rockefeller,
and was the grandfather of David A. Furman, of Rockefeller township.
Samuel Furman married Margaret Weeks, who was born in 1814 and died Dec.
6, 1897, aged eighty-three years, four months, three days. They had
children as follows: Jane married William Conrad; Mahala married
Cornelius Rebuck; Kate married Charles Chapman and (second) H. M. Yordy;
Rebecca died April 17, 1859, aged eighteen years, eleven months,
thirteen days; George O. was the father of John W. Furman; Ida married
Isaac Kreeger; Harriet died Sept. 26, 1851, aged nine years, one month,
ten days; Mary died Sept. 26, 1851, aged one year, four months, seven
days; John D. died March 2, 1847, aged one year, five months, three
days.
George O. Furman was born in Shamokin township, Northumberland
county, and has followed farming. He at one time owned the old
homestead, but is now located at Stonington, in Shamokin township. He
married Hulda Jane Willour, daughter of Peter Willour, who was a veteran
of the Civil war, and they had the following children: John W.; Rosa A.,
now the wife of Michael H. Mowery and living at Gosstown, Northumberland
county; Freeman W., member of the firm of J. W. Furman & Brother; Lewis
S., living at Stonington; and Theora Maude, who lives in Sunbury.
John W. Furman, born Aug. 4, 1876, in Shamokin township, was reared
there and has followed agricultural pursuits all his life. In 1900 he
located at Stonington, in Shamokin township, where he bought the old
Henry Klase farm, later owned by Peter Willour, this tract comprising
twenty-one acres of very fertile truck land. He has made vast
improvements on the property since it came into his possession. In
association with his brother, Freeman W. Furman, he does an extensive
business in the raising and marketing of truck, and the name of this
firm, stands for all that is progressive and up-to-date in that line. J.
W. Furman & Brother attend the Shamokin markets, where there is a steady
demand for their garden stuff. Their work is carried on in the most
intelligent manner. Their land is irrigated, they have erected a fine
greenhouse, and everything about the place betokens the enterprise and
advanced ideas of these young farmers, who have won high standing among
agriculturists in their section.
On Dec. 4, 1900, J. W. Furman married Emma Eister, daughter of
Jacob Eister, of Shamokin township, a veteran of the Civil war. They
have three children, Andrew O., Mary F. and Franklin F. Mr. Furman is a
member of the Miller's Cross Roads Methodist Church, which he is serving
as trustee and secretary of the board. He is a member of the I.O.O.F.,
and is in every respect one of the leading young men of his township.
FREEMAN W. FURMAN was born Feb. 14, 1882, in Shamokin township, and
was reared upon the farm. In 1906 he joined his brother in the trucking
business. He is a member of the Miller's Cross Roads Methodist Church
and of the I.O.O.F.
WILLIAM H. KUEBLER, a business man of Sunbury, has been engaged in
his present line, plumbing and heating, ever since he commenced work,
and is proficient in all its branches. He carries a general line of
stoves and boilers and
END OF PAGE 476
does contracting in plumbing and similar work, finding an excellent
field in the borough and surrounding territory. Mr. Kuebler was born
July 16, 1877, in North Manheim township, Schuylkill Co., Pa., son of
George E. Kuebler and grand-son of William Kuebler.
William Kuebler was a native of Wittenberg, Germany, born in
August, 1805, and served as an officer in the German army, his honorable
discharge papers being still in the family. Coming to the United States
in 1831, he first located at Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa., where he
followed butchering for some time. His next location was at Shamokin,
where he also worked at that trade some years, and in February, 1844, he
settled at Pottsville, Schuylkill county, where he was engaged in
butchering in partnership with John Moser, under the firm name of Moser
& Kuebler. This association lasted for many years. Later, his health
having become impaired by illness, Mr. Kuebler bought a farm to which he
moved, a place of fifty-three acres in North Manheim township,
Schuylkill county, which he cultivated until his death. However, he
also continued the business of butchering, in which he was succeeded by
his son Jacob. Mr. Kuebler was a devout Lutheran in religious faith, a
man true to all his obligations in life, possessed of a dogged honesty
which won him the respect of all who knew him. He married Mary Gass,
daughter of Jacob Gass, and she survived him many years, dying at the
age of seventy-nine. He died in June, 1871. They are buried at
Pottsville. Mr. and Mrs. Kuebler had children as follows: John died in
infancy; John Jacob lived at Pottsville: Amanda died when fourteen years
old; Sophia married Daniel Mertz and both are deceased; George E. is
mentioned below; Harry, who was engaged as wholesale agent for a
hardware firm, died at Shamokin in the winter of 1909; John (2) died at
Snydertown in Shamokin township, after his marriage; Sarah is unmarried
and resides at Pottsville.
George E. Kuebler was born Dec. 20, 1843, at Shamokin, and was
three months old when his parents moved to Pottsville, in which city and
vicinity he grew to manhood. He attended the local schools, and in his
earlier manhood followed butchering and carpentry in Schuylkill county,
eventually settling down to farming there, in North Manheim township,
where he remained for some years, on the old homestead. Thence he moved
to Rockefeller township, Northumberland county, in 1883, buying the
Krigbaum homestead of twenty-five acres upon which be has since made his
home. Mr. Kuebler has proved an intelligent and useful citizen of the
different communities with which he has been identified, served three
years as auditor of Schuylkill county and held various local offices,
and has served sixteen years as overseer of the poor in Rockefeller
township. He has been active in the administration of public affairs and
an efficient worker in the Democratic party, which he supports with his
vote and influence. Mr. Kuebler joined the Masonic fraternity at
Schuylkill Haven, Pa., being made a Mason in Page Lodge, No. 270, F. &
A.M.; later he became a charter member of Cressona Lodge, No. 426, at
Cressona, of which he was worshipful master in 1879, and from which he
transferred to Sunbury Lodge No. 22. He is a member of the Grand Lodge
at Philadelphia. Formerly he was an active member of both the Odd
Fellows and the Red Men, in which he passed all the chairs, and he was
interested in the work, but he has dropped all connections of this sort
except his Masonic affiliations. He and his family worship at the Plum
Creek Lutheran Church, which he served for a number of years in the
church council.
In November, 1871, Mr. Kuebler married Sarah Fasold, daughter of
Henry and Catharine (Weiser) Fasold, of Rockefeller township, and grand-
daughter of Philip Weiser, through whom she traces her descent from
Conrad Weiser, the celebrated pioneer and Indian interpreter. Mr. and
Mrs. Kuebler have a family of five children: Gertrude E., wife of Dr.
Horatio Warren Gass, a prominent physician of Sunbury; R. Ellen, wife of
George F. Keefer, a civil engineer of Sunbury; William H.; Emma F.,
unmarried and living at home; and Margaret who lives in Sunbury with her
sister, Mrs. Gass.
William H. Kuebler attended public school in Rockefeller township
and worked for his parents until he was twenty-one years old. Meantime,
in 1892, he had come to Sunbury to learn the trade of tinsmith, which he
followed for three years, after which he learned plumbing and heating in
the employ of Harry Bastian and Isaac Reitz. In 1903 and 1904 he
attended the New York Trade School, from which he was graduated in the
spring of the latter year, in the department of heating and plumbing,
and upon his return to Pennsylvania he formed a partnership with A. H.
Mutschler in Middleburg, Snyder county, with whom he was in business
from April 1st to September 1st 1904, when he sold out to his partner
and came to Sunbury. Here he installed the heating system in the
cottage houses for the converting works, for George H. Keefer, of Mount
Carmel, a leading contractor of Northumberland county, and in 1905 he
commenced the plumbing and heating business for himself at No. 445
Market street, at which location he remained about three years. In 1907
he built his present place of business at Nos. 49-51 North Sixth street.
Mr. Kuebler employs four men, and is doing a prosperous business, which
he has built up by the most creditable methods and honorable dealings.
On Feb. 18, 1909, Mr. Kuebler married Nellie
END OF PAGE 477
a member of the Plum Creek Lutheran Church and active in its work,
serving as deacon and as secretary of the church council. He and his
family are now connected with the Zion Lutheran Church at Sunbury.
Socially he belongs to the Protected Home Circle.
WILLIAM H. STRAUB, now successfully engaged in the hardware
business at Milton, Pa. is one of the progressive and enterprising
citizens of Northumberland county. He was born near Womelsdorf, Berks
county, Jan. 18, 1860 son of Jacob Straub.
Jacob Straub, the father, was a native of Stuttgart, Germany, who
came to America in 1850 settling in Reading, Pa. In a short time he
moved to Tulpehocken township, Berks county, and there followed his
trade of tanner and currier. In 1867 he went to Danville, and after
twelve years came to Milton, Pa., where he was employed at tanning by
Wm. Reber. He died in 1900, and is buried at Milton. He married Leah
Ebling, a native of Berks county who died in 1902. To this union were
born two children. Pauline and William H. Anthony Straub, a brother of
Jacob, also a native of Germany, came to America and settled at Reading,
Pa. Like his brother he gave his services to his adopted country during
the Civil war, and he died at the National Soldiers Home, Dayton, Ohio.
Jacob Straub was a sergeant of company F, 167th Pa. Vol. Inf., from Nov.
12, 1862, until Aug. 12, 1863, under Capt. Josiah Groh, and Col. Charles
A. Knoderer.
William H. Straub attended the public schools of Danville, spending
three years in the high school. He came with his parents to Milton, and
here learned the painter's trade, which he followed for himself for a
period of twenty years. In July, 1904, he bought the hardware business
located at No. 16 Broadway, from H. Judson Raup, one of the leading
stores of the district. He has developed the business on a broader
scale, and has a fine patronage.
Mr. Straub married Mary Bower, daughter of Harrison Bower, of
Selinsgrove, Pa., and they have one daughter, Leah, who graduated from
the Milton high school, class of 1911. Mr. Straub is a Republican in
politics. With his family he attends the Reformed Church. Fraternally he
belongs to Milton Lodge, No. 256, F. & A.M.; Lodge No. 84, I.O.O.F.; and
Castle No. 265, K.G.E.
At the outbreak of the Spanish American war he was appointed
captain of Co. C, Second Battalion, 12th Pennsylvania Volunteers. After
being out twenty-four hours he was commissioned major of the regiment.
They were stationed at Camp Alger, Virginia. He is at present a major in
the 12th Regt., N.G.P.
FRANK J. McDONNELL, merchant at Locust Gap, Northumberland county,
has been a lifelong resident of that place, having been born there April
3, 1873. The family has been settled in this portion of Pennsylvania
for about seventy-five years.
John McDonnell, Mr. McDonnell's great-grand-father, lived and died
in Ireland. His children were: Patrick, who came to this country and
settled in Schuylkill county, Pa., where he died; John, who died at sea
in 1843, while on his way to America; Michael, who died at Locust Gap,
Northumberland Co., Pa.; and Peter.
Peter McDonnell, son of John, was the grand-father of Frank J.
McDonnell. He was born in Ireland, and came to this country in 1838,
landing at New York City. Coming thence to Pottsville, Schuylkill Co.,
Pa., he followed mining there until 1861, in which year he located at
Locust Gap, Northumberland county, among the early settlers at that
place. He was employed in the mines for some years and then engaged in
the hotel business (conducting the hotel later run by his son) from 1865
until the year of his death, 1875. He is buried at Beaverdale, this
county. He was an intelligent and active man, and took part in the
public affairs of his home neighborhood in both Schuylkill and
Northumberland counties, serving as supervisor of Cass township while
resident of Schuylkill county and as school director and auditor of
Mount Carmel township after settling in Northumberland county. He was a
member of the Catholic Church. His wife, Hannah (Patton), a native of
England, was a daughter of Thomas Patton, also a native of England, who
settled in Minersville, Schuylkill county, in 1838; his sons opened the
first coal mines in that region. Mrs. McDonnell died in 1895. Nine
children were born to Peter and Hannah (Patton) McDonnell, viz.: John,
Thomas, Elizabeth J. (wife of Thomas Pepper, of Ashland), George,
Andrew, Mary (wife of Jacob R. Betz), Hannah (wife of Henry J. Omlor),
and Catherine and Mary A., who are deceased.
John McDonnell, son of Peter, was born Dec. 27, 1840, in Schuylkill
county, and was reared there, at Mine Hill Gap. He began work at the
mines as a laborer, and came to Locust Gap in 1860, being now one of the
oldest residents at that point. After about nine years employment
around the mines here he was made inside foreman at the Locust Gap
Colliery, in 1869, holding that position about four years, when he was
given the place of hoisting engineer, being thus employed until 1882.
For the next ten years he was in the hotel business at Locust Gap, being
propri-
END OF PAGE 478
etor of the "National Hotel" until 1892, when he engaged in the
wholesale liquor business, in which he still continues. Though aged
seventy years, and one of the oldest living residents of Locust Gap, Mr.
McDonnell is still active in its affairs and looks after his business
with the same care he has always given to its management. It is many
years since he severed his connection with the mines, but he is still
interested in that leading industry of the locality and has many
interesting reminiscences of his experiences in the old days when the
"Molly Maguires" flourished. He is a Democrat in his political views and
a Catholic in religion. He served three years as school director of
Mount Carmel township.
On May 20, 1865, Mr. McDonnell married Catherine McCarthy, who was
born Oct. 12, 1839, and died Jan. 10, 1899. She was a daughter of
Francis and Ann (Lynch) McCarthy, both of whom came from County
Longford, Ireland. To Mr. and Mrs. McDonnell were born eight children:
Peter A.; Anna, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Frank J.; Mary, who
married Daniel J. Harvey; Agnes, now Sister Marcellian, at Port Carbon,
Schuylkill county; Catherine, wife of James V. McAndrew; and John,
deceased.
PETER A. McDONNELL, eldest son of John McDonnell, was born at
Locust Gap Feb. 22, 1866. For several years he was employed as a
telegraph operator and later was engaged as a clerk in a colliery office
and as bookkeeper in Mount Carmel. During Mr. Frank VanDevender's first
term as register and recorder he was employed as a clerk in the office,
being retained during Mr. VanDevender's second term. He resigned near
the end of that term to accept the appointment of warden at the
Northumberland county prison, which office he had been filling two years
at the time of his sudden death, Jan. 23, 1908. Mr. McDonnell succumbed
while being operated upon for appendicitis. To quote from the Sunbury
Daily Item of Jan. 24, 1908: "As jail warden he displayed great
executive ability and during his time of service saved the county
$5,000, even though he had more prisoners under his care than ever
before in the history of the jail. Personally he was possessed of those
qualities which won for him the lasting friendship of all who knew him
and but to know him was to love him. Always of a cheerful disposition,
his life was one bright ray of sunshine which was helpful to everybody
with whom he came in contact and made him one of the most companionable
of men. Of sterling worth and integrity, he was always upright and
honest, true and steadfast to his friends, who were legion. He was the
embodiment of all that was good and right and was a man in the true
sense of the word, whose death is deeply mourned and is a personal loss
to the entire community."
Mr. McDonnell married Mary Grathwhole, who survives him with five
children. They made their home on North Second street Sunbury. Mr.
McDonnell was a member of the Locust Gap Division of the Ancient Order
of Hibernians, the Mount Carmel Lodge of Eagles and the Mount Carmel
Lodge of Elks. His remains were taken to his father's home at Locust
Gap, where the funeral was held from St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
FRANK J. McDONNELL received his elementary education at Locust Gap
and later attended St. Mary's College at Emmitsburg, Md. Returning to
Locust Gap, he became a clerk for James A. McCarthy, continuing with him
ten years, during four years of which time he was manager of the store.
He then engaged in the hotel business, which he carried on four years,
selling out in 1910. Meantime, in June, 1909, he had entered the general
merchandise business, which he now owns, giving all his attention at
present to that line, in which he has met gratifying success. He has a
full line of goods, keeping a supply in advance of the demands of his
customers, whom he pleases by excellent service and a large, well
selected stock. He is one of the leading citizens of Locust Gap, always
ready to lend his aid or influence to projects for advancing the welfare
of the community.
On June 12, 1900, Mr. McDonnell married Mary Ruane, who was born in
Ireland. They are members of the Catholic Church, and socially he holds
membership in the Mount Carmel Lodge of Elks, the A.O.H. and the
Foresters. He is a Democrat in political matters.
L. H. GUYON, who conducts an old established merchant tailoring
business in Sunbury, was born Aug. 26, 1878, in Harrisburg, Pa., son of
Lucian Joseph Guyon.
Joseph Guyon, his great-grandfather, lived near Lake Erie, in New
York State, where he died. His son, Joseph Guyon, grandfather of L. H.
Guyon, spent most of his life in Wayne county, Pa., where he was a
farmer. He died there. His wife was Sarah A. Jones, and they had two
sons: Charles, who died in York State; and Lucian Joseph.
Lucian Joseph Guyon was born in Wayne county, Pa., in 1844, and
died in Sunbury, in July, 1899. He was a well known railroad man and for
many years was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, first as
engineer, later being promoted to road foreman of engines. In 1890 he
located at Sunbury, in which borough he remained till his death. His
wife, Margaret (Hays), died in 1894, and they are interred at
Harrisburg. Mr. Guyon was a Mason, a member of the chapter and
commandery at Harrisburg, and of Lu Lu Shrine, at Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
L. H. Guyon attended the public schools of Harrisburg and for two
years was a student at State College. He then came to Sunbury and
learned the machinist's trade in the Pennsylvania
END OF PAGE 479
railroad shops, following this work from 1896 to 1901, after which he
conducted a foundry and machine shop for a time. For a few years he was
with the Edison Electric Light Company. In 1907 he engaged in the
merchant tailoring business at Market Square, taking the establishment
founded by his father-in-law, T. W. Scott, in 1881. He has managed the
business admirably, the trade being in a thriving state.
Socially Mr. Guyon is a Mason, a member of Lodge No. 22, F. & A.M.,
Northumberland Chapter, No. 174, R.A.M., Mount Hermon Commandery, No.
85, K.T., and Zembo Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S., of Harrisburg. During the
Spanish American war he was a member of Company E, 12th Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteers.
Mr. Guyon married Mary E. Scott, daughter of T. W. Scott, of
Sunbury, and they have a family of four children: Mary F., Lucian J.,
James T. and Hayes S.
ELMER F. SMITH, of Milton, Northumberland county, has made his home
in that borough from boyhood and is one of the respected citizens of the
place. He has long been engaged as an engineer on the Philadelphia &
Reading railroad.
Mr. Smith was born May 1, 1855, at Fitchburg, Mass., son of Elijah
Smith and grandson of John Smith. The grandfather was a native of New
England and spent most of his life in that region, eventually settling
at Birdsboro, Berks Co., Pa., where he followed his trade, shoemaking,
until his death. His children were Elijah, Eliza and Harriet (who
married John Culp, of Reading).
Elijah Smith was born in Massachusetts and during his young manhood
followed farming in his native State. In 1869 he came to Northumberland
county, Pa., later settling in Montour county, where he carried on
farming the remainder of his days. He died May 4, 1893, and was buried
at the Exchange in that county. He was twice married, his first wife
being Angeline Walks, by whom he had seven children: Molly, who married
John G. Coder, a contractor of Harrisburg (he died 1910); Adam, who is
living in Illinois; Elmer F.; Rebecca, deceased, who was the wife of
David Fry; Howard, living at Mechanicsburg, Cumberland Co., Pa.; Agnes,
deceased; and Milton, a resident of Montour county.
Elmer F. Smith received his early education in the schools of his
native place, and coming to Northumberland county with his father when
fourteen years old also attended school at Milton for a time. He
remained with his father until he was eighteen years old, when he went
to learn the carpenter's trade at Milton, following that work for a
period of five years. In 1872 he entered the employ of the Philadelphia
& Reading Railway Company, being engine house man for a few years, until
he commenced as fireman, and by 1876 was a full fledged engineer. He
has been engaged as such ever since, and is now on the Milton branch,
running the Milton annex. He is one of the well known and faithful old
employees of the company, justly enjoying the confidence and esteem of
all with whom he has been associated in his many years service as an
engineer.
Socially Mr. Smith holds membership in the Knights of Malta, the
Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Independent Fire Company, and he is
well known in the local ranks of the Democratic party. He has served
three years as member of the borough council of Milton.
On Oct. 15, 1874, Mr. Smith married Annie A. Fryer, daughter of
Jacob Fryer, of Milton, and they reside at No. 220 Mahoning street,
Milton. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had two children: Lottie, who is the
wife of Harry Kint and has one child Robert; and Charles Franklin, an
employee of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, who married
Grace Reed.
CHARLES DOUGHTY WHARTON, Sr. (deceased), was an active and well
known figure in the business life of Sunbury for many years as
proprietor of what was in his day known as the "Washington Hotel," now
the "Neff House." He conducted one of the best hotels in the district,
where few men enjoyed wider acquaintance or more deserved popularity. A
native of Philadelphia, Pa., born Feb. 27, 1798, Mr. Wharton when a
young man came from that city to Sunbury, of which place he continued to
be a resident until his death, which occurred when he was in his prime,
June 10, 1847. On Oct. 19, 1821, he married Maria Donnel, who was born
in Sunbury Oct. 10, 1803. She died in Sunbury, and they are buried in
the old cemetery at Sunbury. Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Wharton, six dying unnamed. The others were Mary Elizabeth, born July
11, 1824, who married Dr. D. W. Shindel; Henry D., born Nov. 28, 1826;
Charles D., born May 5, 1829; Edward Gobin, born Aug. 25, 1833; Amelia
Donnel, born April 15, 1839, who was the wife of the late Thomas D.
Grant; and Durell Jordan, born Sept. 18, 1843.
Henry D. Wharton, eldest son of Charles Doughty Wharton, Sr., was
born in Sunbury Nov. 28, 1826. He learned the trade of printer under
Colonel Best, then editor of the Intelligencer, at Danville, Pa., and
for several years was employed in the office of the Sunbury American,
where he was working when the Civil war broke out. One of the first to
respond to the call for volunteers, he went to the front April 23, 1861,
as a member of Company F (Capt. Charles J. Bruner), 11th Pennsylvania
Volunteer Regiment, with which he served his term of three months. At
its expiration
END OF PAGE 480
he enlisted for three years in Company C (Capt. J. P.S. Gobin), 47th
Regiment, and he served to the close of the war, having reenlisted at
the end of the three years, in the same command. His record throughout
was one of faithful and honorable service.
At the close of the war Mr. Wharton resumed his trade, having been
given a position in the government printing office at Washington.
Several years later he was transferred thence to the interior
department, afterward to the subtreasury department in Philadelphia and
eventually to a position in the United States mint in that city, which
he was holding at the time of his death, Feb. 1, 1898. However, he was
not in the government service continuously throughout this period. Under
Cleveland's administration be shared the fate of many Republicans, being
removed from office, but he was reinstated during McKinley's second
term. He spent various periods in Sunbury between his terms of service
in the government employ, and for several years was employed as clerk in
the office of Hon. J. B. Packer, for whom he had the warmest friendship
and admiration. He had many friends in the borough, being a man of
kindly disposition and genial manners, always cordial in his meetings
with friends and acquaintances. He was a member of the Presbyterian
Church, and during his residence in Sunbury identified with the church
choir, of which be was an interested and faithful member. A few years
before his death, while engaged at a manufacturing plant in
Philadelphia, he was knocked down and clubbed by a robber, his injuries
being so severe that he never wholly recovered from the effect. He was
at work in the mint, however, up to within a few days of his decease.
Mr. Wharton was a prominent member of G.A.R. Post No. 2, of
Philadelphia, in which body he had high standing. He was buried in
Monument cemetery. He was twice married, but left no children.
Charles D. Wharton, Jr., son of Charles Doughty Wharton, Sr., was
born May 5, 1829. When the war with Mexico broke out he was serving in
the United States navy, and he took part in the operations at the siege
of Vera Cruz, being boatswain and one of a small number who rowed ashore
and in a hand to hand fight, with cutlasses, drove back a squadron of
Mexican lancers who had surrounded Gen. Phil. Kearny, whom they
succeeded in rescuing. For this brave act Congress passed a special
vote of thanks, a copy of which, bearing the seal of the secretary of
the navy, Mr. Wharton preserved to the end of his life, as well as a
document showing his part in the affair. He also received a sum of
money in consideration thereof. On the breaking out of the Civil war he
enlisted in Company F, 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers, afterward enlisted
in the 45th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers (Governor Beaver's old
command), was in Company F, 36th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and in Company
G, 184th Pennsylvania Volunteers, serving until discharged July 14,
1865, by reason of the close of the war. Among the principal
engagements in which he took part were Gettysburg, Antietam, South
Mountain, Falling Waters and Petersburg. After the war he returned to
his trade, that of molder. On March 11, 1886, be entered the
Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Erie, where he remained
until his death, in 1887, at the age of fifty-eight years. An Erie paper
said, in an obituary notice:
"He was a grand hero, yet his gentle, childish ways would never
give the impression that he had fought hand to hand with Mexican
lancers, or, with yardarm locked to yardarm, served the smoking guns.
Probably not half a dozen of his comrades in the Home know his record."
Services were held over his remains at the Home, and the body was
then sent to his son at Sunbury for burial beside his wife, who had died
some years before. A detail of comrades accompanied the remains to the
railroad station. "He lived the life of a soldier, and the good deeds
he did live on and help to make the world better."
Mr. Wharton married Mary Irwin, daughter of Martin and Rachel
(Irwin) Irwin, and a sister of Jarid C. Irwin, of Sunbury, Pa. They had
these children: William A., John A., Charles M., Mary A. and Edith E.
Durell Jordan Wharton, only surviving member of the family of
Charles Doughty Wharton, Sr., was born in Sunbury Sept. 18, 1843. He
learned shoemaking, and has followed that trade all his life. Like his
brother, he served his country faithfully during the Civil war, becoming
a soldier in the 3d Pennsylvania Artillery. On June 8, 1868, he married
Isabella Thompson, daughter of Samuel Thompson, of Sunbury, and she died
Dec. 10, 1910, aged fifty-nine years, nine months, five days. By this
union there were three children: Annie Jordan, born April 6, 1870, who
died April 1, 1871; Mary L., born April 16, 1872; and Henry Donnel, born
Jan. 1, 1874, who died April 25, 1877.
Mary L. Wharton, daughter of Durell J. Wharton, was married Feb.
22, 1911, to Charles Caldwell, who was born at Columbia, Pa., Sept. 5,
1873, a son of Joseph R. and Emma F. Caldwell, residents of Columbia.
Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell took an extensive wedding trip, through the South,
visiting among other places Washington, D. C. and Old Point Comfort. Mr.
Caldwell is a whole sale dealer in cigars in Sunbury, manufacturer of
the well known brand El-Serena, and does a large business. Mrs. Caldwell
is an active worker
END OF PAGE 481
in the Presbyterian church, and highly respected among a large circle of
friends and acquaintances. She owns her home at No. 242 Chestnut street.
HENRY BILLMEYER, lumberman and farmer, of Milton, Northumberland
county, has carried on operations in both lines on an extensive scale,
and is one of the best known men of his section. He is a large land
owner, and still oversees his agricultural work and does custom mill
work, but does not undertake as large contracts as he handled in his
younger years, though he has not by any means relinquished business
activity. Mr. Billmeyer was born Oct. 17, 1842, on the old family
homestead in Montour county, Pa. The family is of German origin, and his
first ancestors in this country settled at Lewisburg, Union Co., Pa.,
where they were among the pioneers. Three brothers, Martin, George, and
Andrew Billmeyer, moved thence to what is now Liberty township, Montour
county, where they took up land which is still owned by their posterity.
Of these, Andrew was the great-grandfather of Henry Billmeyer.
Andrew Billmeyer, born in 1756, died upon his farm in Liberty
township Feb. 2, 1825, aged sixty-eight years, two months, ten days.
His wife, Fanny Bruner, born in 1758, died Feb. 8, 1823, aged sixty-five
years, five months, sixteen days, and they are interred in a private
burial ground upon the homestead. Their children were: Andrew, Jr.,
George (born 1779, died 1853), Martin, Mrs. Mary Lesher, Mrs. Benjamin
Knauss and Mrs. Kelly.
Martin Billmeyer, son of Andrew, was born in 1777 in Montour county
and there passed his entire life, dying Dec. 6, 1855, aged seventy-eight
years, three months, twenty-eight days. He was a farmer and distiller
of rye, apples and peaches, and was a prosperous and well known man of
his time. His wife, Margaret (Emerich), born in 1790, died March 4,
1870, aged eighty years, twenty days, and they too are buried in the
family plot before mentioned. Their children were as follows: Jacob;
Polly, who married John Hower; Catharine, who married Isaac Blue; John,
who died unmarried; Daniel, born in 1817, died in 1884, who married
Christian Cumings, born in 1822, died 1893 (they left no children);
Peter, who married Hailey Roat; Sarah, who married John Gouger;
Marlin, who married Maria Kramm; Fanny, who married Benjamin Gresh;
Andrew J., born in 1831, died in 1906, who married Malinda Bowers; and
Harriet who married Jackson Moss.
Jacob Billmeyer, son of Martin, was born upon the homestead, and
died there May 30, 1881, aged seventy-two years, six months, seventeen
days. He followed farming throughout his active years. He married Eliza
Mower, who was born in 1813, and died Feb. 5, 1873, and they rest in the
family burying ground on the old homestead. A family of seven children
was born to them, namely: Hon. Alexander is mentioned below; Henry is
mentioned below; Sarah married Martin Blue; Mary married Frank Umstead,
of Washingtonville, Pa.; Margaret married David Springer, who is
deceased, and she makes her home in Liberty township; Howard married
Kate Luekens and lives in Montour county; Daniel is living in Montour
county.
Hon. Alexander Billmeyer, son of Jacob, is a prosperous lumberman
and the owner of fourteen large farms, thirteen of which are situated in
Montour county. On Nov. 4, 1902, he was elected Congressman from his
district, the Sixteenth, and served two years. He married Angelin Blue,
daughter of Daniel Blue, and they have had five children: Ella married
Glenn Crawford; Alice married Thomas Vincent, of Danville, Pa.; Mary
married Dr. H. A. Sweigert, of Lewistown, Pa.; Hiram married Nellie
Jamson, of Danville; Florence married Gilbert G. Kulp, of Shamokin, Pa.
Mr. Billmeyer is one of the most prominent men in central Pennsylvania.
He is a director of the Danville National Bank and a trustee of the
Danville Asylum.
Henry Billmeyer received his education in the pay schools conducted
in the neighborhood of his, home during his early life, and at a tender
age commenced to assist his father on the farm, learning the practical
lessons of life with far more thoroughness than was considered necessary
for literary training. When he was about twelve years old he often
drove an old yoke of oxen (belonging to his father) for his father and
grandfather, who lumbered at the old water sawmill. He was young, but
did what his grandfather told him to do. When a large cow which they
owned had twin calves, it was decided to raise them for an ox team.
They were black, with white laces. The grandfather told Henry he would
give him ten dollars to break them and the boy took the offer. When the
grandfather took sick and made his will, he willed the twin oxen to
Henry. This proved to be the main team used to get the logs into the
mill, and also did most all the plowing work. His sisters, who also
drove them, made muslin fly nets for them. Henry and his brother Alex
lumbered with them until Henry was almost twenty-one years old, at which
time he was drafted for the Union service for three years, or during the
war. At that time the oxen were about twelve years old. To help raise
money for a substitute - he had to hire a man not subject to draft or go
himself - he sold them to his uncles in Juniata county, Jacob and George
Mower, taking them over the mountain through Northumberland to
Selinsgrove, and got seventy-five dollars, which was all the money he
had. He rode them like horses. He had to report at Bloom to be examined,
and was found fit for service. He and his brother Al-
END OF PAGE 482
exander then pledged two colts and a buggy which they had for two
hundred dollars - and all the money they had was two hundred and
seventy-five dollars. Meantime he had reached his majority. His brother
advised him not to go into the army at once, so he hired a substitute, a
man named George Smith, from Canada, for $625. He promised to come back
if he lived, but that was the last Mr. Billmeyer ever saw of him. Mr.
Billmeyer has always felt that this team of twin oxen which helped him
in his early lumbering and farming operations, and then sold for enough
to partly defray the expense of hiring a substitute for army service,
contributed much to the beginning of his success. When he and his
brother Alexander were young men they left the cornfield one day in 1863
to buy timber. Their capital was five dollars in gold, and they gave
three dollars to Andrew Robbinson for a fine dog they wanted, paying the
other two down on some timber. Such was the humble start from which
these two well known business men built up their prosperous mill and
lumber operations. Mr. Billmeyer would cut the timber and haul it to the
mill in the daytime, and he and his brother would saw the logs with an
up and down saw run by water power, doing this work at night by the
light of pine knots. In time they leased a sawmill from Judge Moore and
Mr. Snyder, of Danville, and located it on the Simington farm, in
Montour county, and as they prospered they were able to buy it paying
$3,000 for it. It was a thirty-horse power plant, and they turned out a
large amount of work with it. After buying it they moved it to John
Watson's farm, near Washingtonville, Montour county, and the brothers
divided the work, Henry Billmeyer attending to all the teaming and
cutting of the timber and Alexander Billmeyer looking after the sawmill.
They moved it still later to George Smith's farm, Mr. Smith being an
uncle of Mrs. Henry Billmeyer, and here the accommodations were at first
so inadequate that they had to sleep in the sheds and stables until they
could build suitable quarters. For about two years before dissolving
partnership the brothers were located on a large tract which they had
bought from James Lowery. When they divided their interests Henry
Billmeyer took the old homestead of 111 acres in Liberty township, his
brother continuing the mill alone, still selling to the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Company, which took their mill output.
After the old homestead came into his possession Henry Billmeyer
improved it greatly, putting up an entire set of new buildings, and he
also continued milling, buying a plant and doing sawing for his
brother. His mill was stationed first at Mooresburg, in Montour county,
whence he shipped his product to Wooden & Jackson, of Berwick, Pa. Later
it was on the Frederick farm in Chillisquaque township, Northumberland
county, whence he moved it to his lower farm in Montour county, its
present location. There he still continues to do custom work, and he
looks carefully after his agricultural operations, which are extensive.
His lower farm was an old McMahan farm, and when he first bought it
contained 220 acres, to which he has since added; it has fine buildings.
The soil is excellent and the place is valuable in every way. Mr. and
Mrs. Billmeyer spend their summers there, making their home in Milton
the rest of the year. He is one of the most progressive citizens of his
section, and his undertakings have not only proved profitable to him but
also a benefit to every locality in which he has had interests.
On Jan. 17, 1869, Mr. Billmeyer married Hannah Flora, who was born
Dec. 30, 1851, daughter of James and Sarah A. (Smith) Flora, and they
have had three children: Sarah A., wife of H. B. Montgomery, of Milton;
Carrie Ellen, wife of John D. Swanger, of Milton; and James H., born
Sept. 1, 1872, who is unmarried and assists his father in business.
James Flora, father of Mrs. Billmeyer, was born in Montour county.
He followed farming for a number of years, and later engaged in the
hotel business at Mausdale, that county, maintaining a high reputation
for integrity and strict management. His wife, Sarah A. (Smith), was
the daughter of John Smith, and they are buried in the Odd Fellows
cemetery, at Danville, Pa. They were the parents of seven children: Jane
E., Sallie, Mary C., William C., Hannah, Caroline and one that died
young. The family are Lutherans in religions belief.
REUBEN JOHN GLICK, attorney at law of Shamokin, Northumberland
county, is a member of an old Schuylkill county family, being a
descendant in the fifth generation from his emigrant ancestor, John
Glick, a native of Germany, who came to this country with four brothers
and settled in the upper part of Bucks county, in what is now Lehigh
county, Pa. There is a Johanne "Klick" buried at Wessnenville, Berks
Co., Pa. who was born Oct. 29, 1715, and died March 23, 1781. His wife,
Magdalene, was born April 23 in 1724, and died April 23, 1790, on her
sixty-sixth birthday.
John Glick, Jr., son of the emigrant, and the next in line to
Reuben John Glick, was born in what is now Lehigh county and passed the
greatest part of his life in that region, tilling the soil and owning
and operating a distillery. He continued thus until he reached the age
of seventy, when he removed to Tiffin, Ohio, living there in retirement
until his death.
Reuben Glick, son of John Glick, Jr., was born in Lehigh county, on
the old Glick homestead on March 19, 1809. He passed all his life
there,
END OF PAGE 483
engaged in the peaceful pursuits of farming, and died Jan. 1, 1892. He
was a member of the Evangelical Church and in political faith was an
old-line Whig until after the disruption of the party, in 1858, when he
became a Republican. He married Elizabeth Allen, who was born July 5,
1807, daughter of Moses Allen, the latter born Sept. 16, 1781, of
English descent; Mr. Allen lived for a number of years in Warren county,
N. J. Mr. and Mrs. Glick had six sons and one daughter: William
Wallace C., born Dec. 19, 1830; Moses, Dec. 25, 1833; Hannah Charity,
Sept. 8, 1837; Joseph Miller, Aug. 13, 1840; John W., Sept. 12, 1842;
Edward A., Feb. 16, 1845; James Monroe, Aug. 12, 1847.
Joseph Miller Glick was born Aug. 13, 1840, in Lehigh county, was
reared on his father's farm and attended the schools of his native
township. In May, 1864, he enlisted for service in the Union army,
becoming a member of Company C, 133d Regiment, Volunteer Infantry, with
which he served four months. In 1866 he settled at Girardville,
Schuylkill county, where he passed the remainder of his life, becoming
one of the most prominent citizens of that place. He engaged in the shoe
business, building up a lucrative trade in that line, in which he was
interested until his death, meantime also acquiring other valuable
business interests. He was secretary of the Girard Savings Bank and Loan
Association, the Girardsville Gas Company and the Palace Theatre
Company. In 1875 he was one of the organizers of the Citizens National
Bank of Ashland and served as a director from that time until his death;
he was also one of the organizers of the First National Bank of
Girardville. Mr. Glick was a stanch Republican, and before Cleveland's
first administration held the office of postmaster at Girardville for
fourteen years. He also served as a member of the borough council.
On Aug. 26, 1866, Mr. Glick married Mary Margaret Hower, daughter
of John Hower, of Girardville, and she preceded him to the grave, dying
in October, 1887. Mr. Glick died May 17, 1894. They are buried at
Girardville. They were the parents of three sons: George W., born Feb.
2, 1872, is a mail agent on the Philadelphia & Reading road and makes
his home at Shamokin; he married Jennie Traylore and they have one
child, Alma. Reuben J. was born Aug. 15, 1874. A. Hower, born Dec. 9,
1883, is now managing the Glick shoe store at Girardville; he is
unmarried.
John Hower, Mrs. Mary Margaret (Hower) Glick's father, was the
first settler at Girardville, Schuylkill county, where he built a hotel
which he called the "Girard House" in honor of Stephen Girard, who often
stopped there. It was the first public house at the place and Mr. Hower
conducted it until his death, which occurred there. He married Lucretta
Gable, daughter of John Gable, and a large family was born to their
union, as follows: Harriet, who married Thomas Cherington (they reside
at Catawissa, Pa.); Mary Margaret, Mrs. Glick; Emma, wife of George W.
Barnhart; Elizabeth, wife of S. K. Cleaver; Clara, wife of John W.
Mertz; John; Clinton, deceased; William E.; Albert L.; and Thomas,
deceased.
Reuben John Glick was born Aug. 15, 1874, at Girardville. After
his preparatory education he attended the Bloomsburg normal school, from
which he was graduated in 1891. He then entered Lafayette College, from
which he was graduated in 1895, locating in Shamokin July 31st of that
year. He was admitted to the Northumberland county bar July 30, 1898,
and has since been engaged in legal practice. Mr. Glick has gained a
lucrative clientage, and the fact that he is solicitor for the poor
district shows that he has the confidence of his fellow citizens
generally, his high personal character being his best recommendation.
Mr. Glick has his office in the McConnell building.
Mr. Glick is quite prominent in local politics as a member of the
Republican party, of which he is a firm supporter. He holds membership
in the Elks at Shamokin. As a wide-awake, energetic and disinterested
citizen he is making a name and place for himself in the home of his
adoption which is but the just reward of his industry and intelligent
efforts.
HEIM. The Heim family of Northumberland county is numerously
represented in this portion of Pennsylvania. It is descended from
George Heim, one of three brothers from Wurtemberg, Germany, who settled
in Pennsylvania on their arrival in America. John in Berks county,
Andoni (or Andrew) in the Buffalo Valley and George in the Mahantango
Valley, in that section now embraced in Schuylkill county. He is buried
at Klingerstown in Schuylkill county, his grave being in a garden, but
unfortunately it has no marker. He was a man of more than ordinary
intelligence and of good education, was one of the early schoolmasters
of that region, and also followed surveying, doing all the surveying
required in his section at the time. He purchased considerable land
from the Indians over which there was subsequently litigation with the
Penns, they claiming title. Heim had a large strip of land which
extended from the Himmel Church in the direction of Klingerstown. He
resolutely opposed the window tax imposed by the English Crown upon the
pioneers during the Colonial days. He probably was single when he came
to America. His wife, however, was of foreign extraction, being of Irish
stock. They had among others these children: John (grandfather of
William H. Heim, of Sunbury), George (great-grandfather of Charles A.
Hime, of Jordan township, and of Dan-
END OF PAGE 484
iel D. Heim, of Shamokin), Paul (had a son Paul), Peter and Matthias.
John Heim, son of George, was born in 1756, in Upper Mahanoy, and
died in 1824, aged sixty-eight years. He is buried at Klingerstown, in a
garden. He was a prominent schoolmaster of his day and also followed
farming, having considerable land. He was a leading and respected
member of the community, doing all the writing and similar business for
his section. In 1790 the Federal Census records him as a resident in
that section of Berks county now embraced in Schuylkill county, in the
Upper Mahantango Valley, in which Klingerstown is now located. He then
had four sons all under sixteen years of age and two daughters. He was
twice married, and by his first union had seven children (another
account says he had seven sons and one daughter by first wife). His
second wife was Sophia Kohl, who remarried after his death and died
about 1863, at the ripe age of eighty-eight years, and is buried at St.
John's Church in Upper Mahanoy township. Eight children were born to
this union, namely: Molly married Peter Beisel; Christina married a
Straub; John, a carpenter, located in Richfield, Snyder Co., Pa.; George
lived near Heplers, Pa.; Rev. William was an Evangelical preacher (he
had an only daughter, Sallie, who married Dr. Hensyl, of Howard, Pa.);
Peter lived at Watsontown, Pa. (he had a son John, who is deceased, and
three daughters); Daniel is mentioned later; Jonathan, who located in
the West, had a large family, now located in Iowa and Indiana.
Daniel Heim, seventh child of John and Sophia (Kohl) Heim, was born
Jan. 15, 1816, in Washington township, Northumberland county. His
mother's second marriage occurred when he was about twelve years old,
and he soon afterward entered upon the battle of life among strangers.
For three years he found employment among the farmers, and then in Union
county learned the carpenter's trade and followed that and millwrighting
eighteen years. In 1850 he engaged in the merchandise business in his
native township, at Greenbrier, and followed it there for sixteen years,
building the large brick store and residence there which he occupied.
Thence he came to Sunbury and remained one year, in 1867 moving to
Danville, where he kept the "Danville Hotel" one year. In 1870, in
partnership with his son John, he embarked in the hardware business at
Sunbury, a business still carried on by his sons at the old location.
John Heim retired from the business in 1879, after which Mr. Heim
continued to conduct it on his own account during the rest of his life,
signing his own checks until two days before his death. The large brick
store at No. 415 Market street, still occupied by the business, was
built by him. Meantime he became interested in a manufacturing
enterprise in the same line, being one of the organizers of the Sunbury
Nail, Bar and Guide Iron Manufacturing Company, of Sunbury, of which he
was vice president from its inception. For some years he was a director
of the First National Bank. He prospered throughout his business
career, and at the time of his death, which occurred April 17, 1895, in
Sunbury, he was in comfortable circumstances. He was buried at Pomfret
Manor cemetery.
Mr. Heim served one year (1871) as chief burgess of Sunbury,
elected as the Republican candidate. He was a Democrat until 1860,
joining the Republican party as one of Lincoln's supporters. He was
always interested in the cause of free education, being its most active
advocate, in fact during his residence in Upper Mahanoy township, where
he served as school director. In his earlier manhood he was very
prominent in local military affairs, in which he took keen enjoyment.
Before the war he was captain of militia and lieutenant of a volunteer
company, and during the administration of Governor Johnston was
commissioned major of a uniformed volunteer battalion, holding that rank
five years. Of large physique and dignified carriage, he made a most
impressive appearance in his military capacity, for which he seemed
particularly well fitted. He always rode a fine horse. Six feet four
inches in height straight even in his old age, his was a commanding
presence, and a picture taken when he was seventy-nine years old shows
that he retained his aristocratic bearing and comeliness to the end of
his days. In fact, he was generally conceded to be the finest looking
man in his section. He was highly respected by all who knew him, in and
of the relations of life, for his resolute character and strict honesty.
He was well known in Masonic circles, belonging to Lodge No. 22, F. & A.
M., of Sunbury, and to Northumberland Chapter, No. 174, R.A.M., and was
a prominent member of the Lutheran Church, building St. John's Church,
in Upper Mahanoy township.
On Oct. 23, 1863, Daniel Heim married in his native township Mary
Hornberger, daughter of George and Polly (Maurer) Hornberger, the latter
a sister of Felix Maurer, at one time sheriff of Northumberland county.
She died in October, 1896. To Mr. and Mrs. Heim were born ten children,
namely: John H., of Sunbury; Lydia, who married Peter Gonsor; Hattie,
who married Samuel H. Snyder, and died in July, 1909; Sarah A., born
Nov. 3, 1843, who married Charles Schlegel, and died May 20, 1863 (she
is buried at St. John's Church in Upper Mahanoy); Louise Anna, widow of
Albert Haas, of Sunbury; James B., who lies in the National cemetery at
Baltimore, having died in 1865 on his way home, after being mustered out
at the close of his service in the Union army;
END OF PAGE 485
George W., of Sunbury; Capt. William Henry; Mary Ellen, who died in
1863; and Percival Oscar; of Sunbury.
CAPT. WILLIAM H. HEIM, son of Daniel, was born at Greenbrier,
Northumberland Co., Pa., Sept. 13, 1855. His early education was
obtained in the township schools, and he was one of the first pupils at
the Sunbury high school, then taught by one Professor Miller. In 1869 he
went to learn the job printing business under Youngman & Keefer, and one
year later became associated with his father as clerk in his hardware
store, with which he has since been identified. After the death of his
mother the business was purchased by his brother, George W. Heim, who
continued with it for twelve years, William H. and P. Oscar Heim
meantime entering into partnership with him. In 1899 William H. Heim
purchased their interests, and he now conducts the business as D. Heim's
Son. He is a substantial business man and highly respected in commercial
circles, has served as school director of Sunbury and was tendered the
nomination as representative of his district in the State Legislature,
but refused the honor, though he takes a public-spirited interest in the
welfare of the community. He has been active, however, in fraternal
life, and especially prominent in local military affairs. He is a
member of Lodge No. 267, B.P.O. Elks, of Sunbury, and was a delegate to
the meeting in California in 1909; is a member of Lodge No. 22, F. &
A.M. (pursuivant for many years), Northumberland Chapter, No. 174,
R.A.M., and Mount Hermon Commandery, No. 85 K.T., all of Sunbury, Pa.;
of the West Brand Consistory, and also of Irem Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S.
Capt. Heim has been connected with the National Guard since 1870.
He saw active service in the railroad riot of that year. He first became
a member of Company E, 8th Regiment which company later was transferred
to the 12th Regiment. In 1877 he organized Company E, and in 1898
organized Company C. He is now captain of Company K, 12th Regiment,
having held that office since June, 1898; Companies E and K have a large
armory at Sunbury. The Captain is a Republican in politics and a
Lutheran in religion, holding membership in Zion's Church at Sunbury.
Captain Heim has been twice married. On Oct. 25, 1877, he was
married to Annie L. Eyster daughter of Dr. Joseph Eyster, of Sunbury.
She died June 30, 1895, aged thirty-eight years, the mother of two
children, Daniel Claud (a farmer above Sunbury) and Mary Mabel (a
trained nurse of Philadelphia). In 1906 Captain Heim married Daise Rose
DeHaven, daughter of John DeHaven whose father built the Northern
Central railroad from Harrisburg to York. There is one child Lenora
DeHaven, by this union.
PERCIVAL OSCAR HEIM, hardware merchant at Sunbury, was born at
Greenbrier, in Upper Mahanoy township, Jan. 26, 1861, son of Daniel
Heim. He was educated in Sunbury, graduating from the high school, and
began clerking at an early age in his father's hardware store. For three
years he was in partnership with his brothers George W. and Capt.
William H. Heim, finally selling out to Captain Heim and opening up a
store of his own at No. 438 Market street. He is still established at
that location, having built up a profitable trade. Mr. Heim has the
reputation for business sagacity common to the members of his family,
and is one of the esteemed citizens of Sunbury in business and social
circles.
In 1890 he married Ellie Houghendobler, daughter of Zacharias
Houghendobler, of Milton, Pa., and they have had one child, Helen. They
are members of the Lutheran Church and he is a Republican in politics.
George Heim (2), the great-grandfather of Charles A. Hime, of
Jordan township, and of Daniel D. Heim, of Shamokin, was a son of the
George who came to this country from Germany, as previously recorded.
He was a resident of Mahanoy (now Washington) township, and was probably
buried at the Himmel Church. He had, among other children, Philip, who
it is said was a preacher and lived in lower Northumberland county.
George Heim (3), son of George (2), was born March 20, 1791, and
died Jan. 26, 1860; his wife, Susanna (Herb), born April 18, 1794, died
Oct. 28, 1872. They are buried at Himmel's Church, of which he was a
Lutheran member, and he was engaged as a laborer on the construction of
the old stone church, wheeling the stones up an incline. He lived near
this church, in Washington township, and did laborer's work, owning but
a few acres of land. His children were: John, Harry, Jonas, Daniel,
Jacob, Isaac, Anthony, Hettie (who married twice, her first husband
being named Bohner) and Susan (Mrs. Kautz).
Daniel Heim, son of George (3), was the father of Daniel D. Heim of
Shamokin, Pa. He was born in 1820, and died aged over seventy years. He
is buried at the Himmel Church, of which he was a Lutheran member. Mr.
Heim lived in Washington township, and was engaged as a carpenter and
undertaker, being succeeded in the business by A. Z. Drumheller. He
built some of the first coal breakers in Schuylkill county. A man of
progressive and intelligent mind, he was one of the early supporters of
the public school system in his section, being a staunch advocate of
free schools when it meant something to stand for popular education in a
hostile community He believed in the education of children and carried
his children to school when the snow was deep rather than deprive them
of any of the opportunities he valued so highly. He served as school
director and also as
END OF PAGE 786
supervisor of his township. In politics he was a Democrat.
Mr. Heim married Harriet Drumheller, daughter of Martin Drumheller,
and she lived to the age of eighty-two years, dying in 1901. They had
children as follows: Daniel D.; Joel, deceased; Susan, married to Conrad
Hoffman; Emeline, married to Joel Rebuck; Harriet married to Monroe
McKinney.
DANIEL D. HEIM, a retired contractor of Shamokin, was born in
Washington township May 18, 1847. He worked at the carpenter's trade
from youth, and when only in his sixteenth year left home and went to
work in Schuylkill county at nine dollars a day. Except for the time he
was in the mercantile business, at Shamokin, conducting a flour, feed
and produce store for three years, Mr. Heim followed the trade off and
on until his retirement, being one of the leading men in his line in
Shamokin, where he was given many important contracts. He built the
present high school of Shamokin (in 1894), the silk mill (in about
1900), the Weaver building and the Morgan Kearney building, all in
Shamokin, and did considerable work outside of that place. He employed
as many as seventy-five carpenters at a time; and often had three
hundred men on his payroll. As he prospered he acquired other important
interests, being one of the five original owners of the large silk mill
at Shamokin, and he helped to start and organize a number of enterprises
in that borough. Mr. Heim is a Republican and at one time wielded
considerable influence in political matters. He was once a candidate for
county treasurer, but was defeated. Fraternally Mr. Heim, affiliates
with the Elks at Shamokin; with the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and
P.O.S. of A. (charter member of Washington Camp No. 19) at Sunbury; and
the Freemasons, in the latter connection belonging to Shamokin Lodge,
No. 255; Shamokin Chapter, No. 264; Shamokin Commandery, No. 77;
Bloomsburg Council; Bloomsburg Consistory; and the Shrine at Reading;
In 1882 Mr. Heim married Grace Barnes, of Ashland, Pa., and six
children have been born to this union: Homer B., now of Chicago, Ill.;
Erma V., at home; J. Roy, of Williamsport Pa.; Ariel M.; Daniel E., and
James M. Mr. Heim and his family worship at Trinity Lutheran Church,
Shamokin.
Jacob Heim, son of George (3), was a resident of Washington
township and a blacksmith and farmer by occupation, following his trade
forty-six years, from the time he was eighteen years old. He owned a
small tract of twenty-eight acres in Jordan township (now owned by David
Geise), and was an industrious, respected citizen of that township,
which he served some years as overseer of the poor. He died Oct. 14,
1897, aged seventy-two years, six months, eighteen days. His wife, Anna
Anderson, was born in Berks county, and came to Northumberland county
with her mother, Mrs. Mary Anderson, who married for her second husband
a Mr. Kaufman. Mrs. Heim died Nov. 18, 1902, aged seventy-three years,
twelve days. She and her husband are buried at the Schwartz Church, at
Urban. They were the parents of eleven children: Sarah married Fred
Kohl; Emanuel settled at Omaha, Nebr.; William died on the homestead
April 24, 1902, aged fifty-one years, five months, eighteen days;
Charles A. is mentioned below; Louisa, who now lives out West, has been
twice married, first to a Wormer; Mary is the widow of Harry Ladler;
Polly married Frank Troutman; Daniel is a resident of Shamokin;
Magdalena died unmarried; Erisman died young; Ella died in infancy.
CHARLES A. HIME (HEIM), son of Jacob, was born in the Swabian Creek
district in Washington township, Sept. 10, 1852. He was reared to farm
life from early boyhood, his educational advantages, which were limited,
being such as the old pay schools afforded. He began to learn the
black-smith's trade when a mere child, and followed it at home with his
father, continuing to do his own blacksmith work to the present day. He
began farming for himself in 1882 in Jordan township at the place where
he now lives, his property being a half mile east of Urban. Here he also
began house keeping. Mr. Hime has a tract of forty-six acres cleared and
twenty-eight acres of woodland and in addition to farming does threshing
and lumber sawing, having an excellent business in both lines. He had
the fingers of his right hand sawed off by accident in May, 1904.
Mr. Hime is a self-made man, having attained the prosperity he now
enjoys by industry and the most honorable methods. He is thoroughly
respected and enjoys the esteem of all his friends and neighbors. He
served his township a number of years as school director and supervisor.
He is a Democrat in politics, and he and his family are members of the
Schwartz Church at Urban, of which he has been deacon and trustee.
In 1879 Mr. Hime married (first) Henrietta Schwartz, daughter of
Peter Schwartz, and she died Sept. 28, 1899, aged forty-eight years,
eleven months, six days, the mother of five children: (1) Sarah married
Amos Lohr, of Mandata. (2) Agnes married Robert Kline, of Shamokin.
(3) Katie, who is a deaf mute, is the wife of Ed. Litzenberger, and
lives at Allentown. (4) Ella married Victor Kieffer, of Shamokin. (5)
Mamie is unmarried and lives at home.
In 1902 Mr. Hime married (second) Mrs. Mary (Kieffer) Wolfgang,
widow of William Wolfgang, daughter of George Kieffer, and to them has
been born one child, Mildred Viola.
Jacob Wolfgang, the grandfather of William
END OF PAGE 487
Wolfgang, was born Oct. 13, 1787, and died Sept. 10, 1860. He and a
number of the family are buried at St. Jacob's (Howerter's) Church. He
had a number of children. He was a son of Michael and Cristina Wolfgang,
of Berks county, Pennsylvania.
Jacob D. Wolfgang, son of Jacob, was born in the Mahantango Valley,
and died July 8, 1898, aged sixty-six years, seven months, twenty-eight
days. He is buried at Hebe, as is also his wife, Elisa Kerdiner, who
was born Jan. 11, 1835, died Sept. 28, 1871. Mr. Wolfgang was a
Lutheran and a Democrat. By occupation he was a farmer, owning land in
Jordan township, Northumberland county. His family consisted of six
children: Henry married Eliza Peiffer; Catharine married Henry Shipe;
Lovina married John Kimmel; William is mentioned below; Elizabeth
married Felix Dieter; Polly married George Brosius.
William Wolfgang, son of Jacob D., died Jan. 28, 1900, aged thirty-
eight years, ten months, twenty-six days. He was a native of Eldred
township, Schuylkill Co., Pa., and followed farming there, owning a
seventy-acre tract. He was a Democrat in politics, and in religion a
Lutheran, belonging to Howerter's (St. Jacob's) Church. On March 28,
1880, he married Mary Kieffer, and to them were born six children:
Elizabeth died young; George is in the State of Washington; Anna married
Edwin Stepp; Cassie, unmarried, is in Ogden, Utah; Sophia, unmarried,
lives at Herndon; Willie is at home.
WILLIAM PLUNKET, who presided over the county courts under the
Colonial regime, was a physician by profession and education. He was
the first resident doctor of Northumberland county. He was a native of
Ireland. In personal appearance he is described as a man of large
stature, great muscular development, and powerful strength, while an
imperious disposition was among his distinguishing mental traits. This
is attested by several occurrences in his career which yet retain a
place in the traditions of this locality. On one occasion, with several
boon companions, he was engaged in some hilarious proceedings at an
Irish inn; the adjoining room was occupied by an English nobleman, who
had a curious and valuable watch, which he sent to Plunket with a wager
that he could not tell the time by it; that gentleman coolly put it in
his pocket and sent a message to the Englishman to the effect that he
should call upon him in person if he wished to know the time. This he
never did, evidently out of respect for Plunket's well known physical
prowess, and the latter, it is said, retained the watch to the end of
his life. At a later date he became involved in an assault upon an
English officer, in which the latter sustained severe bodily injuries;
although disguised, Plunket was recognized by his stature, and, in
imminent danger of arrest, was smuggled on board a vessel in a barrel or
hogshead. Thus he came to America, and located at Carlisle, Cumberland
Co., Pa., then the western limit of civilization. There he resided
during the French and Indian war, in which he served as lieutenant and
surgeon, receiving for his services a grant of several hundred acres on
the West Branch of the Susquehanna, to which he gave the name of
"Soldier's Retreat"; it was situated along the river above Chillisquaque
creek. He was residing thereon as early as 1772, as evidenced by the
fact that his improvements are mentioned in the return of a road in that
year. He was commissioned a justice for Northumberland county on the
24th of March, 1772, and officiated as presiding justice through-out the
colonial period. Of the twelve judges commissioned on that date he was
probably the only one who had personal knowledge of the methods of
procedure in the English courts, and on that account was probably chosen
to preside. In administering the criminal law, his sentences were
characterized by great severity. He presided over the courts for the
last time at May sessions, 1776. In January, 1775, he was a
representative from Northumberland county in the Provincial convention
at, Philadelphia, and in December of that year he led an expedition to
Wyoming. During the struggle for American independence he remained
neutral (through fear of forfeiting his title to Irish estates, it is
said), and does not thereafter appear in the public affairs of the
county.
While a resident of Carlisle Doctor Plunket married Esther,
daughter of John Harris, of Harris S. Ferry, father of John Harris, the
founder of Harrisburg. They were the parents of four daughters, of whom
Elizabeth, born in 1755, married Samuel Maclay, associate judge of
Northumberland county and United States senator; Isabella, born in 1760,
married William Bell, of Elizabethtown, N. J.; Margaret married Isaac
Richardson, and removed to Wayne county, N. Y.; and Esther married Col.
Robert Baxter, a British officer, and died about a year after marriage.
The Doctor resided for some years in the Maclay house at Sunbury, where,
after the death of his wife, Betty Wiley was his house-keeper. His
office, subsequently occupied by E. Greenough and David Rockefeller, was
on the site of E. W. Greenough's residence on Front street, Sunbury. He
became totally blind in the later years of his life, when a rope was
stretched from his residence to his office so that he could still go
back and forth without aid. As shown by his will, which is dated Jan. 3,
1791, and proved May 25, 1791, he died in the spring of that year, and
is buried in an unmarked grave in the Sunbury cemetery. Dr. B. H. Awl
had one of his medical works, "Synopsis Medicinae, or a Summary View of
the whole Practice of Physick," by John Allen, M. D., F. R. S., printed
at London in 1749.
END OF PAGE 488
HON. JAMES POLLOCK, who probably reached higher political position
than any other native of Northumberland county, Pa., was the last judge
to preside over her courts by appointment of the governor. He was born
at Milton Sept. 11, 1810, son of William and Sarah (Wilson) Pollock,
natives of Chester county, Pa., of Irish extraction.
Mr. Pollock's education was begun at the common schools of Milton
with Joseph B. Anthony as his first teacher, and continued at the
academy of Rev. David Kirkpatrick, where he prepared for the junior year
at Princeton, from which he graduated in 1831, with the highest honors
of his class. He then began the study of law under Samuel Hepburn, of
Milton, and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county on Nov. 5,
1833. He opened an office at Milton in April, 1834; two years later he
was appointed deputy attorney general for the county, serving in this
position until 1839. In 1844 he was elected to Congress from the
thirteenth Pennsylvania district as the Whig candidate. He was twice
reelected, serving in the Twenty-eighth Congress on the committee on
Claims, in the Twenty-ninth on the committee on Territories, and in the
Thirtieth as a member of the Ways and Means committee. On the 23d of
June 1848 he introduced a resolution for the appointment of a committee
to report upon the advisability and feasibility of building a
transcontinental railroad, as chairman of the committee so appointed
made the first favorable official report on this subject. On Jan. 16,
1851, within a brief period after the conclusion of his third
congressional term, he was commissioned as president judge of the Eighth
Judicial district (then composed of the counties of Northumberland,
Lycoming, Columbia, Sullivan and Montour), his judicial incumbency
expiring, by the terms of his commission, on Dec. 1, 1851, after which
he resumed the practice of law. In 1854 he was the candidate of the
Whig and "Know-Nothing" parties for governor, and was elected by a
majority of thirty-seven thousand over his principal competitor, William
Bigler, the Democratic candidate. He was inducted into office in
January, 1855, and served the term of three years; among the measures of
importance during his administration were the inauguration of a policy
of retrenchment in the fiscal affairs of the Commonwealth, the sale of
the main line of the public works, the passage of laws designed to
promote the efficiency of the public school system, and the adoption of
measures by which the suspension of specie payments by banks chartered
in the State was legalized during the crisis of 1857. In 1861 he was a
member of the Peace Conference which assembled at Washington and
presented the Crittenden compromise measures to the consideration of
Congress and in May of that year he was appointed by President Lincoln
director of the United States mint at Philadelphia. He retired from
this office in 1866, but was reinstated by President Grant in 1869, and
in 1873 became superintendent of that institution. The legend, "In God
we trust," was originally suggested by him for the national currency.
In 1879 he was appointed naval officer at Philadelphia and held that
office four years. His last official position was that of Federal chief
supervisor of elections, to which he was appointed in 1886. He died at
Lock Haven, Pa., April 19, 1890, and his remains were interred in the
Milton cemetery.
In personal appearance Governor Pollock was of commanding figure
and somewhat above the average height with dark eyes and hair, smooth-
shaven face, and a countenance expressive of intelligence and benignity.
In religious affiliation he was a Presbyterian, and was for some years
president of the board of trustees of the College of New Jersey at
Princeton, by which the honorary degree of L.L.D. was conferred upon him
in 1855.
As an attorney he was a better advocate than counselor. He was in
regular practice in the courts of Northumberland county from 1833 to
1844, and at intervals in his official career after that time. While his
judicial incumbency was the shortest in the history of the county, it
was long enough to secure for his abilities in this position an ample
recognition. H was an eloquent speaker, graceful, persuasive and
convincing, and possessed remarkable tact in gaining the sympathy and
approval of his hearers. Strong conscientiousness was a prominent
element in his character, and while his official acts were at times
subjected to violent criticism, the honesty of his intentions was
conceded even by his most determined opponents.
ZERBE. The Zerbe or Zerby family numerously represented among the
substantial and creditable citizens of the lower end of Northumberland
county, particularly in Lower Mahanoy township, are the descendants of
the brothers Daniel and Philip Zerbe. There was another branch of the
family in that township, now extinct, to which belonged John Zerbe, who
died in Lower Mahanoy, unmarried; and Philip Zerbe, a rafter on the
Susquehanna who owned a tract of land along the river, and who left
children, Levi (who served as a soldier in the Civil war), Isaac (also a
soldier in the Civil war), Reily (a soldier in the Civil war), Joel,
Susanna (married Isaac Messner), Elizabeth (married John H. Seagrist, of
Georgetown) and Magdalene (died unmarried).
In 1772, in the first list of taxables of Pine Grove township, then
a part of Berks county but now included in Schuylkill county, appear the
names of Benjamin, Daniel and Philip Zerby, who were brothers. The
following concerning the early representatives of this family in America
is taken from a recent work on Berks county: Zerbe -
END OF PAGE 489
Zerby (also Zerve, Zerwe and Zerben). - The Zerbe family of Berks was
very early settled in America. The original home of the family was in
France, but owing to their steadfast loyalty to their religious faith
they were obliged to find homes elsewhere, that they might worship as
they thought right. On their first coming to the New World they settled
in New York State, in the Schoharie Valley, and a little farther south
at Livingston Manor, from which places they followed the migratory tide
into the fertile valley of the Tulpehocken. Rupp in his "30,000 Names of
Immigrants" shows a Lorenz Zerbe who came from Schoharie to Tulpehocken
in 1723 and in addition to Lorenz mentions a John Philip Zerbe and a
Martin Zerbe among those above twenty-one years of age, who passed the
winter of 1710 and summer of 1711 in Livingston Manor, N. Y., and who
may have come to Tulpehocken at a later period. The name of John or
Johan has been a favorite one in the family, as appears from the tax
lists and vital statistics.
Daniel Zerbe, ancestor of one branch of this family now in Lower
Mahanoy township, is presumed to have come to Northumberland county from
the vicinity of Pine Grove, now in Schuylkill county. His wife, whose
maiden name was Wertz, he married after coming to this region, and they
are buried at Zion's Stone Valley Church, in the township where they
lived. He was a farmer, owning the place which now belongs to Jonathan
Zerbe, one of his descendants. Daniel Zerbe is described as a tall man.
His children were as follows: John married late in life, but had no
posterity; he died of smallpox. Daniel died unmarried in Lower Mahanoy
(there is a Daniel Zerbe, son of Daniel and Marie E., who was born in
August 1811, and died Feb. 8, 1861, aged forty-nine years, six months,
buried at the Stone Valley Church). Thomas is mentioned below. Joseph,
who was a laborer, lived in Lower Mahanoy, and he and his wire;
Catharine (Meek), are buried at Georgetown; their children were
Elizabeth, Henry (a soldier of the Civil war), Joseph, Daniel, George, a
daughter who died unmarried, Samuel (of Millersburg) and Jonas (of
Shamokin). Rebecca married David Schwartz and they subsequently moved
West. Elizabeth married Adam Allman and they lived in Lower Mahanoy.
George married Phoebe Spengel, and they lived in Lower Mahanoy and are
buried at the Stone Valley Church; they died of smallpox; their children
were Jonathan and Ellen, the former a resident of Loyalton,
Pennsylvania.
Thomas Zerbe, son of Daniel, spent all his life in Lower Mahanoy
township. In his early manhood he was engaged as a general laborer, but
he followed farming principally after commencing on his own account, and
about 1852 located on the place now occupied by his son Thomas, buying
the farm at that time. In 1857 he built the house still standing on that
tract; the barn was built by his son Thomas in 1870. He was interested
in polities, being quite active in the interests or the Republican party
in his locality, and was also zealous in church work, being a Lutheran
member or the Malta Church, where he is buried. He served as trustee of
this church for many years, and helped to build it in 1860. He died
March 23, 1867, aged fifty-eight years, two months, eighteen days. His
wife, Elizabeth, was a daughter of Martin Garman, who married a Michael.
She died June 27, 1894, aged seventy-eight years, three months, ten
days. Mr. and Mrs. Zerbe had the following children: Josiah, of Alma,
Nebr.; Thomas; Sarah, married to Henry Miller; Rebecca, married to
George Heitzman; Benjamin, of Beavertown, Pa.; Catharine, married to
Elias Paul; and Elias S., of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
THOMAS ZERBE, one of the foremost citizens of Lower Mahanoy
township, was born May 3, 1840, in the district where he still lives. He
was reared on the home farm, and in 1862 began to operate the place on
his own account. This is the property which has been in his family
since 1852, when his father purchased it, and which was formerly the
George Snyder homestead. It consists of fifty acres, besides which Mr.
Zerbe owns another farm in the same township of fifty-four and one half
acres (formerly the Joseph Shaffer farm), and three islands in the
Susquehanna with a total area of about fifteen acres. His agricultural
work has been highly successful, but he has not given all his time to
this branch, being engaged to some extent as a lumber merchant and
operating a portable sawmill; he has employed as many as six men in this
line. In public affairs he has long been one of the most influential
men in his locality. He was overseer of the poor in his district for
many years, and in 1891 was elected county commissioner, in which office
he served two consecutive terms, six years; his majority was 1,180 in an
evenly balanced county, which speaks well for the confidence his fellow
citizens have in his integrity and ability. Mr. Zerbe has for many
years been one of the most enterprising workers in the Republican party
in his section. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, as a
member of Shamokin Lodge, No. 255, F. & A.M.; Shamokin Chapter, No. 264,
R.A.M.; and Shamokin Commandery, No. 77, K. T. He and his family belong
to the Lutheran congregation at the Malta Church, and he has served many
years as trustee.
On July 28, 1861, Mr. Zerbe married Catharine Messer, daughter of
Philip and Mary (Dockey) Messer, and they have had a family of seven
sons: Franklin died young; Charles A. was killed in a mine; John W. is
postmaster at Shamokin, Pa.; James M. is a resident of Reading, Pa.;
Joseph H. lives at Dalmatia; Daniel W. is located at
END OF PAGE 490
Bridgeport, Pa. (he was a soldier in the Philipines); one died in
infancy.
Joseph Henry Zerbe, son of Thomas, was born March 19, 1870 in Lower
Mahanoy township, and obtained his early education in the public schools
there. Later he attended the academy at Elizabethville, in Dauphin
county. At the age of eighteen years he took up telegraphy, which he
learned at Paxton, and he was soon given a station at Mahantango, where
he remained for eight years, being transferred thence to Dalmatia
(Georgetown), in his native county, where he still remains. This is on
the Northern Central road. Mr. Zerbe is the oldest, employee of his
company at that point. He has become thoroughly identified with the
affairs of the locality since settling there, and has served six years
as a school director, acting also as secretary of the board. His
political sympathies are with the Republican party, in which he is a
zealous worker, has been committeeman of his township for two years, and
has been chosen delegate to various county conventions. Fraternally he
holds membership in Millersburg Lodge, No. 364, F & A.M.; in Commandery
No. 364, Knights of Malta: in Council No. 854, Jr. O.U.A.M. of
Dalmatia; and Division No. 24, of the Telegraphers Union, with
headquarters at Williamsport.
On Feb. 7, 1890, Mr. Zerbe married Catharine Wright, daughter of
James and Mary E. (Rape) Wright, the former of whom came to America from
Ireland. Four children have been born to this union: Mary Irene,
Catharine Elizabeth, Thomas Clarence and James Henry.
Philip Zerbe founder of the other branch of the family now so well
known in Lower Mahanoy was born Dec. 17, 1776, lived between County Line
and Malta, in Lower Mahanoy township, and owned the farm now the
property of Alexander Deppen, a large and valuable tract. He died Nov.
19, 1857, and is buried at Zion's Stone Valley Church, as is also his
wife, Elizabeth, who was born Dec. 12, 1779, and died April 14, 1837.
They had children as follows: Philip P., born Dec. 24, 1808 who lived
and died in Lower Mahanoy and is buried at Vera Cruz (he died Jan. 24.
1862); Peter, who lived in Lower Mahanoy, and died at Tower City (he had
a daughter Susan); Joseph; Benjamin who never married; David; Gabriel
and Julia, who married William Lower and (second) Joseph Schaffer.
Joseph Zerbe, son of Philip, was born in Lower Mahanoy township,
and there owned the farm now in the possession of William Zyders, which
he sold upon his removal to Iowa, in 1858. There he resumed farming,
under primitive conditions at first and passed the remainder of his
days, living to an advanced age. He died in Cedar county, Iowa and is
buried there. His wife, whose maiden name was Heckert, was also from
Lower Mahanoy township, and she also died in Iowa, surviving her husband
many years. Their children were all born in Lower Mahanoy township,
viz.: David, Philip, John, Albert (who died out West), Amanda (Mrs.
Michael Heckert), Elizabeth (who married John Tschopp and M. T. Wertz),
Catharine (married William L. Schaffer), Polly (who was married in
California to a resident of that State, near Los Angeles) and Eve (who
married in Iowa).
Philip Zerbe, son of Joseph, enlisted in the Union service during
the Civil war, in July, 1864, and was fatally shot in the battle of
Petersburg; his burial place is unknown. He was a man of about thirty-
six at the time of his enlistment. When twenty-three years old he
married Polly Lessman, who was born March 4, 1824, daughter of John
Lessman, one of the Hessian soldiers who settled in this region. Mrs.
Zerbe lived at Vera Cruz to the end of her days, passing away Oct. 30,
1908, and is buried there. She was the mother of the following children:
William, of Tower (City, Pa.; Ambrose L.; John, who died young; Charles
W.; Sarah, who has never married; B. Frank; and Philip, who died in
Tower City.
AMBROSE L. ZERBE, son of Philip, was born Aug. 13, 1853, in Lower
Mahanoy township, where he grew to manhood. The day before his father
went to the war he obtained a place for the boy on a farm, and he
continued to hire out among farmers until he reached the age of twenty,
after which be was employed in the lumber business at Williamsport for a
few years. He also learned the trade of stonemason, which he followed
for seven years. In 1882 he purchased his present farm in Lower Mahanoy
township, a tract of 116 acres which was formerly the Jacob Schneider
farm and subsequently owned by the latter's son Frederick Schneider,
from whom Mr. Zerbe purchased it. He has since cultivated and improved
this place, building his substantial house in 1887, and be has attained
a position among the prosperous agriculturists of his section. He has
served six years as school director of his township, and has been an
active member of the Lutheran congregation of the Vera Cruz Church, in
which he has held office for many years, having been deacon, elder and,
at present trustee. In politics he is a Republican.
In 1875 Mr. Zerbe married Sarah Jane Tschopp, daughter of John and
Elizabeth (Zerbe) Tschopp, the latter a daughter of Joseph Zerbe. Five
sons were born to this union, two dying in infancy. We have the
following record of the others: (1) William Landis, born March 7, 1877,
was educated in the local schools and at the Keystone State normal
school at Kutztown, and has been engaged in teaching since 1895,
continually in Lower Mahanoy township, having a permanent
END OF PAGE 491
certificate in twenty-four branches. He was married to Annie Sophia
Lahr, daughter of John and Hannah (Boyer) Lahr, on Nov. 6, 1902, and
they lived at Dalmatia from May, 1908, to September, 1908, since when
they have resided on a property Mr. Zerbe purchased, a half mile north
of Malta (Vera Cruz). They have had four children: William Ambrose,
Aug. 15, 1904 (died Jan. 30, 1905); Katie Alvesta, May 26, 1907 (died
June 26, 1907); Emmett John, May 27, 1909; and Irving Herbert, July 3,
1911. Fraternally Mr. Zerbe belongs to Camp No. 9074, Modern Woodmen of
America, and Council No. 854, Jr. O.U.A.M., both of Dalmatia. (2)
Charles Henry, born Aug. 2, 1879, was educated in the local schools and
at the Central State normal school, at Lock Haven, Pa., and has been
engaged in teaching since 1903, continually in Lower Mahanoy township,
having a permanent certificate. In 1899 he was married to Katie Amelia
Shoffer, daughter of Jonathan and Naomi (Witmer) Shoffer, and with the
exception of a six months residence at Pillow they have lived at Malta,
now occupying a substantial house, formerly owned by his father and his
grand-mother. While at Pillow Mr. Zerbe was employed at the Pillow
Grange store. Three daughters have been born to him and his wife:
Florence Naomi, Sept. 18, 1899; Arlene Sarah, Dec. 28, 1901, and Clara
Miriam, Oct. 6, 1910. Fraternally Mr. Zerbe holds membership in
Dalmatia Camp No. 9174, Modern Woodmen of America. (3) Robert Blaine,
born Jan. 17, 1892, also attended the public schools, and Freeburg
Academy, was licensed to teach in 1909, at the age of seventeen years,
and taught his first term in West Cameron township; he has since been
engaged in Lower Mahanoy township.
Like the father, this family is identified with the Lutheran Church
at Vera Cruz, and prominent in the Sunday school, the sons being
respectively superintendent and secretary and organist, as well as
teachers.
CHARLES W. ZERBE, son of Philip, was born Nov. 12, 1857, in Lower
Mahanoy township, where he has passed practically all his life. He
received his education at the common schools and at the Soldier's
Orphans' school at White Hall, Pa., and in 1880 obtained a license to
teach public schools in Northampton county, and passing was installed at
the Union schoolhouse, where he continued for that term. He taught
eight terms in all in Lower Mahanoy, and two terms in Upper Paxton
township, Dauphin county, and made a high reputation in the profession
for conscientious and efficient work. For the next seven years Mr. Zerbe
was engaged at different vocations, in the northern part of the State,
and in 1903 he settled down to farming in his native township, where he
has since remained. The farm of 127 acres which he cultivates is located
along the Mahantango creek, and is in excellent condition, giving ample
evidence of the intelligent care bestowed upon it. He carries on his
work along modern lines, and in fact is progressive and aggressive in
everything in which he takes an interest. He enjoys the confidence of
his fellow citizens to an unusual degree, and has been intrusted with
public responsibilities of various kinds, having served his township as
auditor, school director, tax collector and assessor. He is still
holding the office of school director, his experience as an educator
making him a particularly useful man in that position, and he is giving
his own family all possible advantages.
On Sept. 25, 1888, Mr. Zerbe married Mary A. Messer, daughter of
Isaac and Susanna (Zerbe) Messer, of Paxton, Pa., whither they moved
from Lower Mahanoy in 1886. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Zerbe: Alva M., Susan M., Edith F., Sarah E., Charles R. and Isaac M.
Mr. Zerbe and his family are Lutherans, belonging to St. Paul's Church
at Vera Cruz, which he has served as deacon. Politically he is a
Republican.
Alva Messer Zerbe, son of Charles W., was born June 1, 1889, was
educated in the common schools, at Freeburg Academy, and Pennsylvania
Business College, Lancaster, Pa., and has been teaching school since
1910 in Lower Mahanoy township. On June 18, 1910, he married Esther
Amelia Kopenhaver, daughter of William L. and Cora (Snyder) Kopenhaver,
and a son, Clinton Eugene, was born to them Jan. 8, 1911. Mr. Zerbe is
prominently identified with the Lutheran Church and Sunday school,
serving the latter as officer and teacher; his wife is a member of the
Reformed church.
B. FRANK ZERBE, son of Philip, was born June 7, 1862, in Lower
Mahanoy township, where he is now engaged in farming. He was reared in
his native township and began his education in the public schools there,
when eight years old entering the Soldiers Orphan school at White Hall,
two miles west of Harrisburg, in Cumberland county, Pa., where he
remained until he reached the age of sixteen. Returning to live with his
mother in his native township, he worked some years for his brother
William, from 1885 to 1900, assisting him in the plastering business.
Since 1899 he has resided at his present home, west of Vera Cruz, having
a farm of twenty acres formerly owned by Jacob Schroyer and earlier by
the Snyder family. As the cultivation of this place does not occupy all
his time he also assists neighboring farmers, and is known as an
industrious, reliable man, one who has made his way by his own efforts.
On Oct. 2, 1897, Mr. Zerbe married Annie B.
END OF PAGE 492
Rothermel, and they commenced housekeeping in 1898 at Georgetown, the
following year removing to their present home. They have five children:
Tennye May, Bertha Emelie, Mark Stanley, Philip Andrew and Harry
Franklin. Mr. Zerbe and his family are Lutheran members of the Vera Crus
Church, which he is at present serving as deacon, and he is also active
in the work of the Sunday school. In politics he is a Republican.
Mrs. Annie B. (Rothermel) Zerbe is a granddaughter of Isaac and
Lydia Rothermel and daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Zartman) Rothermel,
who were the parents of nine children: George, Ida, Oscar, Annie B.,
Charles, Linda, Emma, Alice and Adam.
David Zerbe, son of Philip (1776-1857) and Elizabeth Zerbe, was
born in Lower Mahanoy township, where he passed nearly all his life. By
trade he was a carpenter and postmaker, and he also burned lime. He was
well known in his vicinity, having held local office, was a Democrat in
politics and a Lutheran in religion, and is buried at St. Paul's
(Schwartz's) Church at Urban. He died April 8, 1908, aged eighty-two
years, two months, fourteen days. Mr. Zerbe married Lydia (Ressler)
Wetzel, who was born April 18, 1826, daughter of Solomon Ressler, and
first married Solomon Wetzel. She is living at Trevorton, in failing
health. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Zerbe: Frank, a
resident of Trevorton; William A.; and Mary, wife of George Trautman, of
Shamokin.
WILLIAM A. ZERBY, son of David and Lydia (Ressler) Zerbe, was born
March 18, 1864, in Jordan township. He was reared to farm life, working
for his parents until he reached his majority, after which be began
farming at his present home in Jordan township. His first work on his
own account was as a lumber merchant and he established a sawmill as the
increase of his business demanded, having operated same since 1892 in
connection with his agricultural work. He has lumbered over three
counties, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Dauphin, selling his product
in the coal region, and employing as many as twenty men, besides
teamsters and help to cultivate his farm. His home place consists of
forty-eight acres in Jordan township, on the road leading from Hebe to
Klingerstown, and was formerly the John Wiest homestead. It is only part
of a much larger tract as the land was originally laid out. Mr. Zerby
is a Democrat and has been active in the interest of his party in lower
Northumberland county. He has served as school director, and is a
public-spirited citizen in every respect.
On June 12, 1888, Mr. Zerby married Emma Knorr, daughter of Isaac
and Elizabeth (Fetherolf) Knorr, and they have had six children: Edward,
Charles R., Clarence R., Lulu A., Homer Lee and Maizie I. Mr. Zerby and
his family are Lutheran members of the Church at Klingerstown, which he
has served as deacon for three terms of two years each.
Christian Zerbe, who lived in Kelly township, in what is now Union
county, Pa., is mentioned in the history of Union county as a trustee of
the first Lutheran Church there. His purchase of land there might have
been recorded in the Northumberland county office. He married Maria
Christina Strauss, daughter of John Philip Strauss, and their children,
as recorded at the Lutheran Church of Rehrersburg, were born as follows:
John George, March 20, 1774; John, Feb. l5, 1776; Maria Catharine, Jan.
16, 1778; Susanna, Jan. 31, 1780; Jacob, Feb. 8, 1782; Mary Christina,
Oct. 8, 1783; Henry, Nov. 11, 1785; Mary Salome, Oct. 29, 1787;
Elizabeth, May 25, 1789; Anna Mary, April 26, 1792; Samuel May 24, 1795.
DAVID ZERBE, a respected farmer citizen of Lower Mahanoy township,
was born Dec. 17, 1844, and has followed farming practically all his
life. On Aug. 13, 1864, he enlisted for three years in the Union
service, becoming a private of Company H, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and
had served but one year of his term when discharged because of the
termination of the war. From childhood he was employed among farmers,
continuing thus until twenty-four years old. For a short time he
followed blacksmithing, and he later was engaged at the carpenter's
trade in his native township for ten years. In 1870 he began farming in
Lower Mahanoy township, and he purchased the farm of seventeen acres
which he now occupies in the year 1902. It is fertile land, located
along the Mahantango creek, and was at one time the home of Daniel
Frantz. Mr. Zerbe has prospered by industry and good management, and he
has a nice home, acquired by his own efforts. He has served two years
as overseer of the poor in his township.
In 1868 Mr. Zerbe married Sarah Schaffer, who was born in 1844,
daughter of Franklin and Mary (Troutman) Schaffer, and she died leaving
no children. On Thanksgiving Day, 1901, Mr. Zerbe married Agnes Klinger,
daughter of Samuel Klinger, of Uniontown, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Zerbe are
members of the Reformed congregation at Zion's (Stone Valley) Church, in
which he has been a prominent worker, having served eighteen years as
deacon, and five years as elder. On political questions he is a
Republican.