Floyd's Northumberland County Genealogy Pages 758 thru 782 File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Tony Rebuck. Tar2@psu.edu Electronic edition copyright 2001 by Tony Rebuck. All rights reserved. This electronic work may be freely distributed and displayed: (1)without modification, (2) on a strictly non-commercial basis, and (3) retaining this copyright notice. USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. JAMES KOHL, a retired farmer of Point township, Northumberland county, is a large land owner and one of the substantial citizens of that region, where he has resided for almost forty years. He is a son of John Kohl and grandson of Philip Kohl, the pioneer of the family in Northumberland county. Philip Kohl was born in Montgomery county, Pa., and moved to this county about 1840, at which time he was a widower. Locating in Lower Mahanoy township, about one and a half miles from Dalmatia, he there passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1844. He is buried at the Stone Valley Church (Zion's), while his wife is buried in Montgomery county. They had two sons and one daughter: Daniel, a farmer and cooper, who did not settle in Northumberland county, living in Montgomery county (he had children John and Leah); John; and Polly, Mrs. Zeiler, who lived in Montgomery county. John Kohl, son of Philip, was born in 1787 in Montgomery county, Pa., and came to Northumberland county in 1840 with his aged father, who made his home with him thereafter. He settled in Lower Mahanoy township, about one and a half miles from Dalmatia, and had a farm of 108 acres, which he cultivated, also following his trade of END OF PAGE 758 cooper. His wife, Catharine (Rhoads), came from the same section of the State as he did, and of their six children five were born in Montgomery county and the youngest on the farm in Lower Mahanoy above mentioned. Mr. Kohl was a Lutheran member of Zion's Stone Valley Church, where be and his wife are buried. Their children were: Betzy (Mrs. Benjamin Trego), Hettie (Mrs. Philip Heckert), James, Daniel Henry and John. James Kohl was born Dec. 6, 1831, in Frederick township, Montgomery Co., Pa., and was nine years old when he came with the family to Northumberland county, where he has since lived. He learned the trade of stonemason, which he followed for many years in Lower Mahanoy township, in 1872 removing to Point township. He followed farming in Point township until his retirement in 1898, and met with success in his agricultural operations, accumulating considerable property. He now owns two farms, one of 225 acres and another of eighty-seven acres. During his active years he devoted all his time to the cultivation of his land, and he attained his present prosperity by the most honorable methods, having a character which won him the respect of all his neighbors and friends. During the Civil war Mr. Kohl enlisted in Company B, 172d Regiment and served ten months. On Nov. 28, 1876, Mr. Kohl married Sarah Ann Bohner, daughter of Henry Bohner and widow of Amos Shipe, by whom she had two children: Lovina married Henry Dietz and they live in Point township; Maria married John S. Ballinger, and they have three children, Sarah, James and Mary. Mr. Ballinger was born in January, 1870, and is a member of a Snyder county family. He is now engaged in farming his father-in-law's place. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kohl. They are members of the Lutheran Church at Sunbury, and in politics he is a Republican. HENRY KOHL, son of John, was born Feb. 15, 1838, in Montgomery county, Pa., and was two years old when the family came to Northumberland county. He was reared in Lower Mahanoy township and continued to live there until 1872, when he came to Point township and bought 170 acres of land, half of which he has since sold to his brother James. Mr. Kohl has devoted all his active years to general farming with gratifying success. In 1910 he built a large barn upon his property. On March 27, 1872, Mr. Kohl married Louisa Bohner, daughter of Jacob and Salome (Reitz) Bohner, of Lower Mahanoy township, and they have two children, Mary and John Henry. Mr. Kohl and his family are members of the Lutheran Church, and he is a Republican in his political views. WILLIAM DREIBELBIS, who is engaged in farming along the Susquehanna river, near Dalmatia, Northumberland county, was born May 5, 1847, son of Abraham Dreibelbies and grandson of Isaac Dreibelbis, and is a member of a family which was established in America during the Provincial days of Pennsylvania. The name is now found with both spellings, Dreibelbies and Dreibelbis. The early home of this family was in southeastern Switzerland, in the part originally a portion of what is now the German Empire. John Jacob Dreibelbis (Dreibelbies) came to America from Hannesthal, Switzerland, crossing the ocean on the ship "Mary" from London, and landing at Philadelphia Oct. 26, 1732. Its passenger list showed sixty- nine male passengers over sixteen years of age, and one hundred and twenty-two women and children. It is probable that John Jacob was single. He used to say in the spring of the year, "now the Rhine is overflowing, because of the snow melting on the Alps." The exact date that he settled in Berks county is uncertain, but in 1743 he settled on the farm located about a quarter of a mile east of Fleetwood, now the property of Milton Shollenberger. This farm originally consisted of 157 acres, but it has since been divided into two farms, one now owned by Charles Leibelsberger. On the part owned by Mr. Shollenberger John Jacob Dreibelbis built the first set of buildings near a spring of fine water, which the Indians named "Dreibelbis Spring." This spring and the streams in that vicinity were alive with brook trout until some time before the Civil war. John Jacob Dreibelbis was a farmer and became a very extensive land owner. In 1759 he was the largest taxpayer in Richmond township, paying a federal tax of thirty pounds. On April 11, 1752, he obtained by warrant from the Province two tracts of land located in Richmond township, Berks county, one being for fifty acres and the other for one hundred. On Feb. 3, 1753, he obtained a warrant for one hundred acres, and on April 12, 1753, for five hundred acres. In appearance Mr. Dreibelbis was small and of dark complexion, with black eyes and hair, indicating that he was of Jewish extraction, as were the Kelchners, Wanners, Biebers and the family of Merkles in the same vicinity. He died in 1761. He married either a Merkel or a Rothermel, probably the first mentioned and daughter of Georg Merkle, and his six children, three sons and three daughters, were: Abraham; Martin; Jacob; Mary Elizabeth, who married John Wanner; Mary Magdalena, who married (second) Martin Wanner; and Philibena, who went with her brother Martin to Schuylkill Haven, married William Koch (her three daughters married, respectively, a Huntsinger, a Rausch and a Holler). The last will and END OF PAGE 759 testament of John Jacob Dreibelbis, made Feb. 1761, and probated Feb. 21, 1761, is written in good English and is on record in Will Book 1, page 94. To each of his three sons he gave a farm, and to each of his daughters 150 pounds in lawful money. "My oldest son Abraham shall have all that tract in Richmond township, 157 acres." "My executors shall build a house, for my son Martin on land given him lying on the Mesilm (Moslem) Road. The house must be 30 feet long and 24 feet wide." "My executors shall also build a house for my son Jacob, on land bequested to him near the road leading from Eastown to Reading." "And lastly I will and do order that my younger children shall be taught to read and write." The will is signed by the testator in good, legible German. The executors were Abraham Dreibelbis and "'my loving and trusty friend George Merkel." John Jacob Dreibelbis was buried in a private graveyard on the Shollenberger farm. He has no tombstone, but his grandson Daniel, who is also buried there has a marble tombstone. A number of the early members of the family are buried in this neglected spot. Abraham Dreibelbis, eldest son of John Jacob, was born about 1749 and died in December, 1803, and is buried in the same cemetery as his father. He was engaged in farming on the homestead, and at his death left a large estate. By his wife, Anna Margaret he had had children: Daniel obtained the homestead; Abraham obtained the gristmill; Peter received 300 pounds; gold and silver money; Maria Barbara married John Hask; Isaac; and Joseph. The three last, named Maria Barbara, Isaac, and Joseph were each bequeathed 900 pounds of money. Isaac Dreibelbis, son of Abraham, was born Aug. 3, 1778, in Richmond township, Berks Co., Pa., and was the pioneer of the family in Northumberland county, whither he moved in 1805. He settled in what is now Lower Mahanoy township, in which region his descendants are now quite numerous. He was a farmer, and the Benjamin Philips place near Hickory Corners is still pointed out as the "Essack" Dreibelbis farm, his name being given the German pronunciation. He was a tall man dark complexioned (showing plainly his Jewish origin) and very strong. He followed tanning as well as farming, and the old tannery which he continued to carry on until shortly before his death stood between the two houses on what is now the Benjamin Philips farm; the ruins may be seen from the road, part of the foundation yet remaining. Mr. Dreibelbis died June 29, 1853. and is buried at Zion's (Stone Valley) Church, with which he had been identified as a member of the Reformed congregation. "Essack" Dreibelbis was quite a character, and the old residents of the vicinity still delight to relate certain anecdotes concerning him. In his day the nearest tavern was at Georgetown. One night he and a neighbor spent some time at the tavern, and on their way home the neighbor, in misery over the results of a too free indulgence in applejack, laid down under a tree, saying: "Mein freund Essack; ich mus storben. Ich cons nimmermeir stenden." "Essack" replied: "Ach nein, freund: Du storbst nicht. So hab ich sahr oft gafaldt in meiner zeit." On one occasion he came home late and could not find the keyhole. His wife refusing, under the conditions, to comply with his command to "mach die dier ouf" he made the request again, and when she still refused he said: "Wen du nich ouf mocht den use ich em Essack sei schussel," brought the ax, and broke in the door. Afterward the ax was often referred to jocularly as "Um Essack sei schlissel." The wife is buried near Killinger, Pa. This pioneer couple reared a family of eight children, three sons and five daughters, as follows: Abraham is mentioned below; Isaac died in Kansas, where his son Joseph is in business, having a large store; Jacob, who was a saddler by trade, lived and died in Northumberland county and is buried at Dalmatia; Catharine married George Wert; Mary (or Polly), born in 1817, died in 1885, was the wife of Elias Boyer (1815-1891); another daughter married David Hain; Harriet married Joseph Licht; Sallie, who married Joseph Shreffler, is now (1910) in her ninety-ninth year, but is well preserved (she lives with her sons-in-law, Joseph Diehl and Henry Hendricks, and has her home between Danville and Northumberland). Abraham Dreibelbies, son of Isaac, was born May 23, 1812. He obtained the homestead and was a lifelong farmer in Lower Mahanoy township, where he died on his farm Jan. 12, 1863. He had one hundred acres of land under cultivation, and one hundred acres of woodland, and was one of the prosperous and substantial citizens of his day. Like many of his family he was of dark complexion, and physically was of medium size. He was a Reformed member of the Stone Valley Church. His wife, Elizabeth (Wentzel), was a daughter of Stophel and Leah (Adam) Wentzel. She married Peter Burrel after Mr. Dreibelbies died, and lived to be eighty years, seven months, eighteen days old, dying Sept. 9, 1900. To Mr. and Mrs. Dreibelbies were born children as follows: William; Isaac, who lives at Paxton, Pa.; Katie, Mrs. George Phillips; Polly, Mrs. Francis Bickel; Malinda, Mrs. Reily Messner; Benneville, of Dalmatia, Pa.; and Sarah, Mrs. B. F. Brown. William Dreibelbis was reared to farming, and about 1870 began that work on his own account at the place where he has since lived in Lower Mahanoy township. This tract consists of forty acres, besides which he owns a three-acre island in the Susquehanna river. Mr. Dreibelbis is a highly respected citizen of his community, where END OF PAGE 760 his industrious and useful life is known to all. He has served as supervisor of his district, having been elected to that office by the Republican party, of which he has been a faithful member. In 1869 Mr. Dreibelbis married Caroline Richenbach, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Longanecker) Richenbach, of Snyder county, Pa., and they have had a family of twelve children, three sons and nine daughters, namely: M. Elizabeth, now the wife of William Pardoe; Julian, wife of William Hogan; William A., who married Ida R. Heckert; Benjamin F., of Dalmatia, Pa.; Sarah R., wife of Isaac Hinkel; Myran Daisy, wife of Frank Fetter; Edward N., who married Gertrude Bohner; Triphena M., wife of Isaac Heintzleman; Cardia E.; Ella V.; Emma A.; and Cedia M. Mr. Dreibelbis and his family are members of the Reformed Church. The burial place of this branch of the Dreibelbis family has long been at the Stone Valley (Zion's) Church in Lower Mahanoy township. Isaac Dreibelbis, the second mentioned of the three sons of Isaac, the pioneer in Northumberland county, moved out to Kansas, where he became engaged in farming. He was also a tanner, having learned the trade from his father. He married Catharine Witmer daughter of George Witmer, and they had two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, the former of whom is now a business man in Kansas. Benjamin left home and has never since been heard from. Jacob Dreibelbis, the third son of Isaac, the pioneer in Northumberland county, was born Sept. 1, 1820. He learned the trade of saddler and became an expert in that line, following the business at Georgetown for nineteen years, after which he farmed in Lower Mahanoy township besides working at his trade. The horse collars he made were quite famous, and there was a steady demand for them, some of his orders coming from a considerable distance His farm consisted of seventy-four acres. He stood five feet, seven and a half inches, and was a heavy-set man, weighing over two hundred pounds. His death occurred Feb. 2, 1892, and he and his family are buried at Georgetown (Dalmatia), where he, like his family generally, belonged to the Reformed congregation; his wife was a Lutheran member of that church. Mr. Dreibelbis' first marriage was to Catharine Wert who was born March 15, 1823, daughter of Daniel Wert of Killinger, Dauphin county, and died April 11, 1873. They had a large family, viz.: Isaac, of Hegins, Schuylkill Co., Pa., who was a saddler by trade; Sarah, wife of Peter Walt of Dalmatia; Frank W.; Catharine, wife of John T. Wert; Jacob W., a butcher, of Millersburg, Pa.; Daniel, who lived below Matamoris, on the line of Dauphin county, and was killed while hauling railroad ties; Mary, wife of John S. Showers, of Oriental, Pa.; Charles, of Killinger, in the Lykens Valley, Pa.; and Emma, wife of Joseph Bingaman, of Dalmatia. For his second wife Mr. Dreibelbis married Wilhelmina Portzline, of Oriental, Pa., who was born in 1840, and died in 1888. She became the mother of two children: William H., of Stone Valley; and Gertie, who married Calvin Strasser, of Oriental, Pennsylvania. Frank W. Dreibelbis, son of Jacob, was born in 1850 at Georgetown, in Lower Mahanoy township, and is engaged at present in farming in that township. When less than nineteen years old he learned the milling business, which he followed for six years. In 1884 he began farming at his present location, having a tract of 115 acres, some of which is woodland. There is some limestone on this land. Mr. Dreibelbis is a Republican in politics, and since 1899 has been overseer of the poor in his district. He is a Reformed member of the Dalmatia Church, of which he was deacon seven years and elder four years. In 1874 Mr. Dreibelbis married Lizzie Philips, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Philips) Philips, and they have had these children: Jacob F., who lives in Little Mahanoy township; Malinda, wife of John H. Bohner, of Elizabethville, Pa.; Katie, wife of William Koppenhaver, of Malta, Pa.; and Lubin L., who is a butcher at Dalmatia. Jacob F. Dreibelbis, son of Frank W., was born June 20, 1875, in Lower Mahanoy township, was educated in the public schools, and was reared to farm life. For five years he followed butchering, four years at Hickory Corners and one year at his present location, in Little Mahanoy township, to which he moved in the spring of 1906, when he purchased the place. This was an old Dunkelberger homestead, later owned by Samuel Long, and Mr. Dreibelbis purchased it from Silas Hensyl. The tract comprises about 160 acres, 100 acres of which have been cleared. The land is valuable, and there are a number of substantial improvements, including a large brick house. The water supply is as good as any in the State, both in regard to quality and quantity, and in 1910 Mr. Dreibelbis made a notable improvement on his place when he had the water piped from Trevorton Mountain to his home, both house and barn being now supplied with running water; this is what is known as red shell or gravel water, and is always pure and fresh. He has a complete farm stock, modern machinery, and all the facilities for carrying on his work in the most systematic and up-to-date manner, being one of the intelligent and progressive men of his neighborhood. In September, 1903, Mr. Dreibelbis married Mary A. Koppenhaver, daughter of John Koppenhaver, and three children have been born to them: Mabel Grace, Helen Irene and Leah Elizabeth. He and his family are members of the Reformed congregation at St. Peter's Church, Mahanoy. END OF PAGE 761 In politics he is a Republican, and he has served as election inspector. REBUCK. The name of Rebuck is perpetuated in Northumberland county in the post office Rebuck, named after one of the members of this family its representatives are numerous and among the most respected residents of their section, Washington township and the surrounding territory. According to tradition the first ancestor of the family in this country was from the German Palatinate and came to America to avoid service in the war then being waged in his native land. The older members of the family say that his name was Schaffer, but that he assumed the name Rebuck to prevent his being traced and taken back to the Fatherland, where punishment for such an offense as his was severe. This pioneer ancestor was known in the New World by the name John Adam Rebuck. He first located in Berks county, whence he came to Northumberland county, settling in Jackson township, in that part now embraced in Washington township. There is the old-established business stand, now for many years conducted and owned by the Kehres family, where the post office and hamlet of Rebuck are located. The hamlet contains about a dozen dwellings. The pioneer was a farmer. Among his children were Valentine, John Adam, Jr., and Michael. Of these, Valentine Rebuck in 1778 was among the taxables of Mahanoy township, which then included considerable territory in the lower end of the county. Michael Rebuck, son of John Adam, the pioneer, was born July 14, 1769, and died Oct 7, 1852, when over eighty-three years of age. He lived on Greenbrier creek, in Washington township, and was an extensive farmer, following agricultural pursuits all his life. He had a tract of 162 acres which is still in the family name, being now owned by his grandson, John Rebuck. He built the barn still standing on that property, and also a small dwelling house. He was a Reformed member of the Himmel Church. His wife, Catharine (Reis), born Aug. 21, 1775, died Nov. 7, 1858. Their children were: Bevvy, who married Peter Ferster; and Godfried, called "Big Godfried." Godfried Rebuck, son of Michael, was born July 28, 1798, and died May 29, 1875. He was a tall heavy man, with dark hair, was a farmer by occupation, and owned much land, living on the Greenbrier homestead of the Rebuck Family. He and his family worshipped with the Reformed congregation of the Himmel Church, and they are buried there. His wife, Catharine (Wagner), born March 26, 1801, died June 30, 1860. They had children as follows: Salome married John Schreffler; Daniel W. is mentioned below; Catharine married Harry Rebuck; Hannah married John Wetzel; Polly married Peter Snyder and (second) Henry Herb; Lydia married Philip Reitz; Harrison was born July 12, 1834; Jacob, born in 1837, died unmarried, in 1855; John, born in 1839, died unmarried, in 1861; Sarah married John Kieffer and (second) Jacob Reber. Of this family, Harrison was a farmer during his active years, and now lives at Herndon, Pa., with his son J. Wilson Rebuck. During the Civil war he was in the Union service as a member of Company K, 172d Regiment for nine months. He married Elizabeth Paul, who died in September, 1904, in her seventy-second year, and they had children: John, James, Elmira L., Augustus, J. Wilson and Reilly. Daniel W. Rebuck, son of Godfried and Catharine (Wagner) Rebuck, was born on the Greenbrier homestead in Washington township. Though he owned considerable land, he followed his trade of shoemaker principally, leaving the cultivation of the farm to his children. He made many new shoes and did repairing, and his sons also took up the trade. His farm at one time consisted of nearly three hundred acres. A tall, heavy and strong man, he was thrifty and industrious, and brought his children up in the same way. He was a regular attendant of the Himmel Church, many members of the Rebuck family belonging to the Reformed congregation there, and held various offices in that church. His wife, Lydia (Delp), daughter of George and Maricha (Thomas) Delp, bore him children as follows: Cassie, a widow, who has been twice married, first to Joseph Hepler and later to George Wolfgang; Charles, who died aged twenty-one years; Mary, who died when twenty years old; Joel; Lydia; Eliza, wife of Samuel Zartman; Elsworth; Daniel, deceased; and John. All the surviving members of this family live in Washington township. JOEL REBUCK, son of Daniel W., was born Sept. 8, 1854, on one of the Rebuck homesteads, and was reared to farm life, remaining at home until he reached the age of twenty-six years. He was twenty four at the time of his marriage, and two years later began farming on a fifty acre tract in Washington township, where he lived for two years. Thence he moved to another farm in the same township, the Elias Lahr place, where he lived until 1901. For the next two years his home was at Trevorton, from which place he returned to the farm for three years. at the end of which time he moved to his present place where he has resided since 1906. He has 110 acres of good land which is now cultivated by his son William. The large stone house was built in 1823 and remodeled in 1904. Mr. Rebuck has been an active and useful member of his community, and has served as supervisor and school director of Washington township, holding the latter office nine years. He is a Democrat in politics. He and his family attend religious worship at Himmel Church, where he END OF PAGE 762 has held all the offices and done his share of the work. Mr. Rebuck has the old German family Bible which his emigrant ancestor brought from the old country, and which contains an inscription specifying that it shall never be sold, but descend from the oldest to the next oldest of the family, always remaining in the Rebuck name. It bears the date 1748, and is highly prized by the family. In 1874 Mr. Rebuck married Amanda Lahr, daughter of Elias and Polly (Snyder) Lahr, of Herndon, Pa.; and they have had a family of eight children: Ida, who married Frank Klock, after his decease becoming the wife of William Reitz; Emma, who married Roy Snyder; Daniel; William E.; Agnes, who married Anthony Heath; Gertie, who married Daniel Dubendorf; a son that died in infancy; and Charles. John Adam Rebuck, Jr., son of John Adam the pioneer, born July 8, 1763, died in Upper Mahanoy township (of which Washington was then a part) June 15, 1835. He made his last will and testament Sept. 28, 1831, and it was entered for probate June 23, 1835. The executors were his sons John and Godfried. The will is on record in the courthouse at Sunbury, in Book 3, page 202. The wife it appears had died previously. The records show Maria (Haubt), wife of Adam Rebuck, born Jan. 20, 1763, died July 29, 1830. The following were his children: John, Adam, Conrad, Henry, Peter, Michael, Maria (married Jacob Robenhover), Frederick, Godfried, Jonas and Leonard. Nine of the sons grew to manhood and reared families. The son Godfried was called "Little Godfried," and had a son Godfried who because of his red hair was known as Red Godfried. Henry Rebuck, one of the sons of John Adam Rebuck, Jr., was born May 24, 1790, and died Oct. 17, 1817. He lived and died in Washington township, and he and his family are buried at the Himmel Church, of which they were Lutheran members. He owned a tract of seventy acres about one mile south of that church, his home place, and another tract of forty five acres in the same township. "Henner" Rebuck, as he was known, married Anna Maria Brosius, who was born May 10, 1795, and died Jan 13, 1869. They had two sons, Peter and Elias, both of whom were farmers in Washington township. The latter had the following children: Henry; John; Susanna, who married William Krissinger; and Maria, who married Luther Rebuck. Peter Rebuck, son of Henry, was born May 10, 1815, in Washington township, and died March 19, 1858, in the prime of life. He was a member of the Himmel Church, where be is buried. By occupation he was a farmer, owning the place of 118 acres now owned by his son Isaac. His wife, Catharine Ferster, daughter of Michael Ferster, was born Nov. 23, 1818, and died June 23, 1881. Their children were as follows: Benjamin, who never married; Samuel; Isaac, of Washington township; Daniel, born in 1851, who died in 1870; and Joseph, of Washington township. SAMUEL REBUCK, son of Peter, born on his father's farm in Washington township Aug. 3, 1845, obtained such education as the subscription schools which flourished in his boyhood afforded. He has always followed agricultural pursuits, and began farming for himself on his father's place of about 120 acres, living there from 1860 until 1895, when he removed to his present home. It is a ninety-six-acre tract situated between Mahanoy and Rebuck, and was formerly the Michael Smith farm. Mr. Rebuck has enlarged the barn, remodeled the house, and beautified his surroundings in many ways during his ownership of the place, which is nicely situated and shows the modern methods which he has employed in the management. In 1873 Mr. Rebuck married Dinah Reitz, daughter of David Reitz, and they had the following children: Alice, who is deceased; James; and Morris, a farmer, living with his father. On Sept. 17, 1886, Mr. Rebuck married (second) Katie Reitz, daughter of Peter and Mary (Hetrich) Reitz. No children have been born to this union. Mr. Rebuck and his family are Lutheran members of the Himmel Church. Michael Reitz, grandfather of Mrs. Samuel Rebuck, was a farmer, and lived a half mile north of Himmel's Church. He married Lena Eister, and they had children as follows: Peter, Abraham, David, Leonard, Jonas and Christiana. Peter Reitz, son of Michael, had a family of five children: John, Samuel, Louisa, Katie (Mrs. Samuel Rebuck) and Henry. Peter Rebuck, one of the sons of John Adam Rebuck, Jr., was a native of Washington township, born Jan. 12, 1794, and died March 21, 1857. He is buried at St. Peter's (Krebs) Church, near which he lived, owning the farm which now belongs to the Diener Estate, a tract of about sixty acres. There he lived and died. He was twice married, his second wife being Eve Groh, who is buried at Valley View Church. They had children as follows: Susanna, Helena, Lovina, and Peter. Peter Rebuck, son of Peter, was born March 4, 1829, in Washington township, and was a lifelong farmer, owning the property in that township which now belongs to Benjamin Stepp. He also followed carpentering, and was active in the affairs of the community as well as in his own business. He was a Democrat in politics and served as supervisor. His death occurred March 9, 1875, and he is buried at St. Peter's Church, of which he was a Reformed member. His first wife, Ly- END OF PAGE 763 dia (Ferster), born May 9, 1830, died Feb. 8, 1870, the mother of six children: Luther; William; Henry; Samuel, born in 1883, who died in 1882; Mary, who married William Seiler, of Valley View; and Harriet, born, in 1868, who died in 1870. Mr. Rebuck's second marriage was to Susanna Brown, and they had two children: John and Lovina. LUTHER REBUCK, son of Peter and Lydia (Ferster) Rebuck; was born Feb. 9, 1855, in Washington township, and was educated in the local public schools. When sixteen years old he went to learn the carpenter's trade with one Joseph Brosius. Subsequently he worked a year at Hickory Corners, and then for a number of years was employed in the lumber districts of the East. For seven years he followed tin-smithing. In the spring of 1895 Mr. Rebuck returned to Washington township, where he has since followed farming, owning a Rebuck farm which formerly belonged to Elias Rebuck, and which came to him through marriage into the Reitz family. It comprises 120 acres. On July 17, 1902, Mr. Rebuck's, barn was destroyed by lightning, together with the entire year's crop, entailing a heavy loss, but he immediately rebuilt; putting up a good barn 80 by 35 feet. Mr. Rebuck is a man of intelligence and broad views, his varied experiences and travel in his younger manhood having made him familiar with human life in its various phases. He has a number of old and valuable books, and an old family Bible which he cherishes greatly. On March 7, 1895, Mr. Rebuck married Maria Rebuck, daughter of Elias and Mary (Reitz) Rebuck, and granddaughter of Henry Rebuck. Their only child is Sarah Alice. Mr. Rebuck and his family are members of the Reformed Church. WILLIAM REBUCK, brother of Luther Rebuck, was born in Washington township Nov. 27, 1856, and has spent all his life in the same district. He was reared to farming, and worked as a hired man and laborer until able to start for himself, beginning farming at his present home in Washington township in the spring of 1899. His farm of eighty-one acres, an old Reitz homestead, was formerly the property of one Jonathan Reitz and later of Daniel Latsha. Mr. Rebuck is a Democrat, and gave several years public service as overseer of the poor of his district. He and his family worship with the Lutheran congregation of the Himmel Church. On June 28, 1887, Mr. Rebuck married Mary Amelia Reitz, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Reitz) Reitz and granddaughter of Daniel Reitz (who lived where Luther Rebuck is now located) and of Philip Reitz (who lived at the present home of Cornelius Adams). Mr. and Mrs. Rebuck have four children: Lydia A., Harvey E.; Ida L. and Gertie M. L. J. CHAMBERLAIN, of Shamokin, represents in his business interests the new order of amusements - a phase of the life of the community which has come into existence but recently, and made possible only by the wonderful advances in the science of photography accomplished within the last few years. He has the distinction of being the pioneer in the motion picture business in this section, and is at present the proprietor of two motion picture shows in Northumberland county, one at Mount Carmel and one at Shamokin. By enterprising methods and up-to-date service he has gained a large circle of regular patrons in both places, where his appeal to the best popular taste has likewise established him firmly in the good will of the citizens generally. Mr. Chamberlain was born in 1874 at Lock Haven, Clinton Co., Pa., son of William and Mary (Bottorf) Chamberlain, both of whom are deceased. His father was also a native of that place, and lived and died there. At the age of seventeen William Chamberlain enlisted for service in the Civil war; becoming a member of Company F, 1st Regiment of Pennsylvania Light Artillery, Volunteers, with which he served faithfully. Mr. and Mrs. William Chamberlain had a family of five children, Harry, Bert, Nora, Floy and L. J. L. J. Chamberlain attended school at Lock Haven and was particularly well educated in music, to which he has devoted his principle attention. He entered the amusement business at the age of eighteen in the capacity of musician with traveling organizations, and within a few years was at the head of his own band, known as "Chamberlain's All American Band," acting as director and general manager. This organization toured the country successfully with the stellar attractions, also traveled for a while in company with his brothers, under the name of Chamberlain Brothers, whose "Railroad Shows" exhibited for a number of years in vaudeville houses and under canvas. At that time the motion picture business was in its infancy. With keen foresight of the possibilities of motion photography Mr. Chamberlain turned his attention to the new field, and for a number of years exploited traveling organizations of that character. On Aug. 28, 1907, in company with Capt. J. M. Shindel, he opened the first successful motion picture theater at Mount Carmel, known as The Theatorium, which is still in operation, standing high in the local public favor. On April 28, 1908, under the firm name of Chamberlain & Shindel, they opened the Theatoriurn motion picture house at Independence and Ninth streets, Shamokin, which has been in successful operation since, and which, indeed, was the first place of the kind to meet with success in the borough. It has the reputation of being the most END OF PAGE 764 popular and best patronized show of the kind there, and the latest and most ingeniously arranged films are shown, the entertainments being varied and so well up to high standards that the audiences are of profitable proportions and high class. Chamberlain & Shindel acquired extensive amusement interests, including park, vaudeville and motion picture theaters, and they were associated until June, 1910, when Captain Shindel retired from the firm, his interests being purchased by Mr. Chamberlain, who has since been sole owner of the business. In April, 1911, he was instrumental in organizing the General Amusement Company, Incorporated, of which he is president and general manager, which has now in preparation the establishing of a chain of theaters throughout the country. The first theater to be operated by the new company will be opened at Sunbury Nov. 1st of this year; it will have a capacity of one thousand, is modern in every particular, and considered to be one of the finest houses of the kind in the State. Mr. Chamberlain is engaged as dealer and agent for moving picture and electrical supplies as well as promoter and operator of amusement enterprises, maintaining his main office at No. 819 Washington street in the borough of Shamokin. Thoroughly experienced in all branches of the business, he has catered successfully to the wants of the amusement loving public, and has made a permanent place for himself and his enterprises in his home community and among his fellow citizens at large. Mr. Chamberlain married Blanche Custard, of Lock Haven, and they have one son, Boyd D. The family are Methodists in religious connection. Mr. Chamberlain is a member of Shamokin Lodge of Elks, No. 355; of Aerie No. 560, F.O.E., of Lock Haven; of Lodge No. 144, K. of P., and of the Maccabees. ALBERT HACKENBERG, a retired citizen of Point township, Northumberland county, was born April 5, 1835, at Freeburg, Snyder Co., Pa., son of Jesse Hackenberg and grandson of Peter Hackenberg. Peter Hackenberg was a native of Germany. Coming to America when quite young he settled at Freeburg, Snyder Co., Pa., and followed farming during his active years, retiring a number of years before his death, which occurred about 1845, when he was advanced in years. He had prospered in his agricultural operations, and was a substantial citizen, owning several farms. For some years he served as a justice of the peace of Washington township, Snyder county. He was a member of the German Reformed Church, and is buried at Freeburg. To him and his wife Susanna (Shaffer) were born six sons and four daughters: Hannah, who married Mr. Balliet; Mrs. Samuel Sheller; Mrs. Jacob Straub; Mrs. Samuel Sceller; Jesse; Peter L., who lived at McEwensville, Pa., later moved to Michigan, and returning to Pennsylvania settled at Milton in 1861 (he married Mary E. Hood); Jacob, who lived in Center county, Pa.; Daniel who lived in Center county, Pa.; Samuel, who was killed in the Mexican war; and John, who died at New Berlin, Pennsylvania. Jesse Hackenberg was born about 1816 at Freeburg, Pa., but for many years he lived at Northumberland, Northumberland county, where he died and is buried. His death occurred in November, 1887, when he was past seventy years of age. By occupation he was a carpenter. He was a member of the Baptist Church. His wife was Susanna Nagel, and they had a family of twelve children: Jacob, Daniel, Jesse, Albert, Susanna, Mary, Hannah, Betsy, Amelia, Catharine, Deborah and David. Albert Hackenberg attended school for a few months in the winter season during his boyhood, and was reared to the practical work of farming, which he has followed practically all his life. For a few years, however, he was at Montandon, this county, where he kept a grocery store, and where for about half a year he was associated with his brother-in-law, Samuel Fry, in general merchandising. He came to Point township in 1847, and with the exception of his brief stay at Montandon continued to live in that section until 1897, in which year he moved to Northumberland borough. There he made his home until 1908, when he returned to his farm in Point township, which is a valuable tract of fifty-three acres, in the form of a square. He has a most desirable home, having built a new house upon the property, for which he paid $8,500. Mr. Hackenberg has served his township eleven years in the office of supervisor, and he is regarded as a valuable citizen, a man deserving of the esteem and good opinion of his neighbors. He is a Republican on political questions. He belongs to the Lutheran Church at Northumberland, with which his family also unite, and served as a member of the church council. He has been a director of the Northumberland Cemetery Company for twenty-one years, and served as president of the board for six years of this period. On Nov. 28, 1858, Mr. Hackenberg married Maria Brouse, daughter of Samuel and Catharine (Knouse) Brouse, who lived in Point township, and granddaughter of Henry Brouse, who came from Germany. Mrs. Hackenberg's maternal grandfather, Abraham Knouse, lived near Kratzerville, Snyder county. Mr. and Mrs. Hackenberg have had two children: Alice S. married Charles Ertley and they live at Northumberland; Harvey Edward, who lives at Cleveland, Ohio, married Lizzie Miller (by whom he had one child, Harvey J. A.) and (second) Annie Lawrence. END OF PAGE 765 STAHL. There are two branches of the Stahl family in Northumberland county whose progenitors came hither from Northampton county, the descendants of John and Adam Stahl. As the former lived in Northampton county for some time before removing to this county, and as the latter was a native of that county, it is possible they were related, though the present records do not establish the fact. John Stahl, a native of Germany, born Aug. 18, 1741, came to America when a young man, and lived for some years in Northampton county, Pa. He was one of many signers of a petition addressed to the Honorable Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania relative to conflicting civil and military laws then existing. The petitioners were from Northampton county, which was the early home of John Stahl in this country, as stated, and the same volume of the Pennsylvania Archives in which the foregoing is recorded shows (page 190) that he was captain of the 6th Company of the 2d Battalion from Northampton county; (page 859) that he was captain of the 5th Company, Associators, of Militia of Northampton county, which was part of the 4th Battalion from Sept. 18 to Nov. 18, 1780; (page 29) that he was second lieutenant of Capt. John Roberts 5th Company, 1st Battalion of Northampton county Militia. In Volume IV, page 349, John Stahl, captain, is mentioned among soldiers of the Continental Line who received depreciation pay; in Volume VI, page 8, he is mentioned in the muster roll of Cumberland county militia, in 1777, as of Capt. Thomas Askey's Company. It is known that he served as quartermaster and recruiting officer, was with the army at Valley Forge during the memorable winter of hardship and at the crossing of the Delaware, Christmas night, 1776. Being a skilled mechanic, a gun and blacksmith, his services were often valuable in repairing implements of war during the Revolution, and he had as many as twenty men working under him at one time, engaged in making guns for use in that war. His son Philip had one of these guns. After the war he (having already married) moved to Northumberland county, Pa., where he took up four hundred acres of land in what is now Lewis (then Turbut) township. He died Feb. 27, 1809, and is buried in the old Fullmer Church graveyard. His wife, Elizabeth, born in 1746, died in September, 1832. They were the parents of the following children of whom we have record: Jacob, born Feb. 16, 1776, who died Sept. 3, 1796; Johann Philip, born Dec. 17, 1781, who died March 24, 1832; and John George, born June 11, 1791, who died Aug. 4, 1820. The son John settled in Niagara county, New York. Johann Philip Stahl, son of John, born Dec. 17, 1781, in Northampton county, Pa., was a lifelong farmer, and died in 1832. He came to Northumberland county with his father after the Revolutionary war, and he eventually obtained part of the four hundred acres his father took up, his tract containing 115 acres, now owned by Charles F. Rovenolt. He farmed and followed blacksmithing. He was a member of the Reformed Church, and he and his father were among the organizers of the Paradise Union Church, among the first officers of the congregation and among its leading members ever afterward. In Northumberland county he married Elizabeth B. Eshbach, who was born Dec. 15, 1776, daughter of Johannes Eshhach (1747-1815) and his wife Catharine (1749-1831). Mrs. Stahl died March 9, 1844, the mother of the following children: Thomas died young; William died in infancy; George is mentioned below; Mary married Henry Hill and died when over eighty years old; Elizabeth, born March 9, 1811, died March 17, 1844; Catharine, born Oct. 11, 1816, died May 10, 1844, unmarried; Sarah married Samuel Stahl and died about one year after her marriage. George Stahl, son of Johann Philip, was born on the farm where he afterward made his home, and received his education in the local public schools. Though his advantages were limited, he received a practical foundation and being an intelligent man became well informed. He followed farming all his life, dying at his old home in 1894, and the present set of buildings on the place were put up by him. He was quite active in the affairs of his day, being a supporter of the Democratic party in political matters and a member of the Reformed Church on religious questions. He served in the State militia, in which he was orderly sergeant; served six years as school director, was supervisor and township treasurer, and a useful man generally in his community. He was an earnest worker in the Paradise Church, serving as deacon, elder and trustee, and was a man of high Christian character, respected by all who knew him. His grandfather, John Stahl, in company with Michael Koons and John Deiffenbacher, had purchased two acres of ground from John Christ for the sum of fifteen pounds, and on that plot the first church of the congregation was erected in 1808. On May 2, 1843, Mr. Stahl married Elizabeth Deshler, who was born in Northampton county Sept. 26, 1817, daughter of Jacob Deshler, of Northampton county, who came to Northumberland county in the early thirties; his wife was a Bower. Mrs. Stahl died Jan. 16, 1860. She and her husband had the following named children: William J., of Union county, Pa., who married Sarah Watt and had two children, one being Edwin (living in Indiana); Thomas P., unmarried, who lives at McEwensville, Pa.; Mary E., unmarried, of Aaronsburg, Pa.; Levi H.; Edwin O., born March 4, 1850, of McEwensville, who END OF PAGE 766 married Mary A. Mengis (born June 21, 1861, died Dec. 9, 1895) and had four children; John O., who died in 1862, aged eleven years, and David F., who died in 1862, aged nine years, both dying of diphtheria; and George Calvin. LEVI H. STAHL was born March 5, 1849, on the Stahl homestead in what was Turbut township, and received his education in the old subscription schools of the locality. He was an enthusiastic student, took a leading part in the old-fashioned spelling bees of the day, and by steady application improved himself materially. He served as a supply teacher in his neighborhood. He was reared to farming and also acquired a practical knowledge of wood working. In 1888 Mr. Stahl went to farming on his own account in Delaware township, on one of his wife's grand-father's farms, living there for three years, since when he has been a farmer in Lewis township. In 1908 he settled at his present home, a farm of 100 acres formerly the homestead of Samuel Menges who settled there in 1832 and made his home there until 1841. Mr. Menges then moved to an adjoining farm, to the east, where he died. Many Indian relics have been found on Mr. Stahl's place, among them two Indian mills of which he has retained possession. He is serving at present as one of the auditors of his township, and was a member of the road board when the new law came into existence. Politically he is a Democrat, and he is a prominent member of the Lutheran Church at Turbutville, to which his family also belong; he has been a member of the church council since 1898. In 1881 Mr. Stahl married Kate L. Menges, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Smith) Menges, and they have had four children: Nellie, who is married to Oliver Rissel and has three children, Edith L., Lee F. and Myron L.; Ramah T.; Rosa E.; and Frank P. Adam Stahl, a native of Northampton county, Pa., became a pioneer settler in Union county, this State, in that part now embraced in Snyder county. He had a farm in Union township, three miles west of Port Trevorton, near Keiser's Church, and besides farming distilled applejack and rye whiskey. He died at an advanced age, late in the fifties, and is buried in the cemetery at Keiser's Church. He and his wife were Lutherans in religious faith. He is remembered as a venerable old man, with long white hair hanging down over his shoulders. His children were: Benjamin and Jacob, both of whom settled in Ohio; Daniel, who settled on the homestead farm; Frederick, who settled on a farm adjoining the homestead; John, who settled on a farm adjoining the homestead; Mrs. Jacob Sholly; Mrs. Dieter Heintzleman; and Mrs. Simon Sholly. John Stahl, son of Adam, was born in 1814 in what is now Snyder county, and received the limited educational advantages there afforded in his boyhood, but as soon as old enough, to be of any use he was put to work helping to clear the land and get it under cultivation. The winters were occupied in pulling stumps and other work for which there was no time in the summer season, so he had little opportunity to attend even such indifferent schools as were conducted in the neighborhood at that time. But he prospered by industry and owned his own farm. He died July 12, 1879, and is buried in the cemetery at Keiser's Church. He and his family were Lutherans in religion. He married Mary Shotsberger, daughter of Jonathan Shotsberger, and she preceded him to the grave, dying July 12, 1868, aged fifty years. All of the seven children born to them survive: Elias S., of Selinsgrove, Pa.; Levi, who lives on his father's homestead at Verdilla, Snyder county; William, who lives two and a half miles west of Selinsgrove, in Penn township, Snyder county; Hannah, widow of William Krebs, living at Wyoming, Del.; Aaron S.; Leah, who married John Aucker and lives near Keiser's Church; and Hiram, who lives near Thompson, in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. AARON S. STAHL, son of John, was born Oct. 4, 1849, in Snyder county, Pa., was reared to farm life and educated in the local public schools. At the age of twenty he went to learn shoemaking, to which trade he devoted all his attention for the next thirteen years, in Freeburg, Snyder county. He learned the business thoroughly, becoming a skillful mechanic, able to turn out all kinds of footwear, and made many gaiter shoes in the days of their popularity. Wooden shoe pegs were in general use at the time he took up the work, but he kept abreast of the progress of the times and improved his products whenever possible, taking out patents of his own and showing a spirit of enterprise throughout his connection with the business. He did repairing and had a good trade for custom work, making boots for which he received from six to fourteen dollars. After giving up the shoe business Mr. Stahl farmed for a time, and then for five years conducted the "Mount Pleasant Hotel." At the end of that time he removed to Shamokin Dam, and thence, in 1890, to Sunbury, where he has since made his home. In Sunbury he and his son Charles W. Stahl started Stahl's restaurant, at the present site of the "Aldine Hotel" and conducted the establishment successfully for a period of three years in partnership, the father then selling his interest to his son and taking the "City Hotel" at Danville, Pa., which he carried on for six months. In 1899 he engaged in the insurance business, which he has since continued, having his office at No. 336 Market Street. Mr. Stahl has established an excellent patronage in this line. He is a capable business man, and has the confidence END OF PAGE 767 of his patron's, who are numerous in Sunbury and the surrounding territory. On Feb. 25, 1872, Mr. Stahl married Salome Martin, daughter of George and Mary (Schaffer) Martin, who lived in Washington township, Snyder county, and seven children have been born to this union: Charles W., proprietor of a leading restaurant at Sunbury; William E., who is engaged in business in Sunbury; John Howard, who is engaged in business at Lewisburg; George Omar, telegraph operator in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railway Company, at Sunbury; Della G., who married O. P. Bell and lives at Williamsport, Pa.; and Mary and Harry, who died in infancy. Mr. Stahl and his family are members of the Reformed Church, and politically he is a Democrat. SHIKELLIMY, the Indian chief whose name for a score of years was associated with every important transaction affecting the Indians of the Susquehanna Valley, was a Susquehannock by birth, descended from the ancient Andastes, and thus returned to govern the land from which his fathers had been expelled. Like many of the more enterprising youth of his tribe, he had entered the military service of their conquerors; his valor in war was rewarded by adoption into the Oneida tribe, of which he at length became a chief, an exceptional preferment for one not a member of that nation by birth. The Iroquois, although not the actual occupants of any part of Pennsylvania, played an important part in its history throughout the Colonial and Revolutionary periods. They inhabited the fertile region south of Lake Ontario, and about the head-waters of the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna and the Allegheny rivers, including the valley of the Mohawk on the east and that of the Genesee on the west. Five tribes, the Senecas, Onondagas, Oneidas, Cayugas and Mohawks, originally constituted the confederacy, whence they were called the Five Nations; a sixth, the Tuscaroras, was admitted about the year 1712, and after that they were known as the Six Nations. Each tribe exercised exclusive jurisdiction in purely domestic affairs, while matters concerning the nation as a whole were determined by the great council at Onondaga. This was the center of their power, which was practically coextensive with the thirteen original States, embracing also southern Canada and a part of the Mississippi Valley. In the extent of their dominion, their absolute power, and the statecraft exercised in rendering conquered tribes subsidiary to their purpose, they have been not inaptly styled "the Romans of America." In all the arts of a savage people they excelled. Their fields were well cultivated, their towns were strongly fortified, their form of government secured practical unanimity in the execution of military projects; and in their intercourse with Europeans their chiefs often evinced a remarkable skillfulness in diplomacy and profoundness of policy. Their career of conquest was doubtless inaugurated by the subjugation of the immediately contiguous tribes, and thus, in the extension of their power to the south, the Andastes and Lenni Lenape were first brought under their sway. The Shawanese, Ganawese, Conoys and other Pennsylvania tribes also acknowledged their supremacy, and for the better government of these troublesome feudatories the great Onondaga council was constrained, in the early part of the eighteenth century, to place over them a resident viceroy. To this responsible position Shikellimy was appointed. It is not probable that he was appointed viceroy, before 1728; he was not present at the treaty with the Five Nations at Philadelphia in July of the preceding year, and LeTort does not mention him among the Indians of consequence whom he met "on the upper parts of the river Susquehanna" in the winter of 1727-28. The first conference that he attended at Philadelphia was that of July 4-5, 1728, but it does not appear that he took any active part in the proceedings. He was present on a similar occasion in the following October, when, after the close of the conference, the Council considered "what present might be proper to be made" to Shikellimy, "of the Five Nations, appointed to reside among the Shawanese, whose services had been and may yet further be of great advantage to this government." The secretary of Council had gained a more accurate idea of his functions three years later, when, in the minutes of Aug. 12, 1731, he gives his name and title as "Shikellimy, sent by the Five Nations to preside over the Shawanese." At the close of the conference which began at Philadelphia on that date, the governor having represented that he was "a trusty good man and a great lover of the English," he was commissioned as the bearer of a present to the Six Nations and a message inviting them to visit Philadelphia. This they accordingly did, arriving Aug. 18, 1732. Shikellimy was present on this occasion, when it was mutually agreed that he and Conrad Weiser should be employed in any business that might be necessary between the high contracting parties. In August, 1740, he came to Philadelphia to inquire against whom the English were making preparations for war, rumors of which had reached the great council at Onondaga. He was also present at the conference at Philadelphia in July, 1742, at the treaty at Lancaster in June and July, 1744, and at the Philadelphia conference of the following August. He does appear to have taken a very active part in the discussions, a privilege which, among the Six Nations, seems to have been reserved for the Onondagas. In April, 1748, accompanied by his END OF PAGE 768 son and Conrad Weiser, he visited Philadelphia, but no public business of importance was considered. Shikellimy's residence is first definitely located in 1729 in a letter of Governor Gordon to "Shikellimy and Kalaryonyacha at Shamokin." Within the next eight years he had removed some miles up the valley of the West Branch. In the journal of his journey to Onondaga in 1737 Conrad Weiser states that he crossed the North Branch from Shamokin on the 6th of March; on the 7th he crossed Chillisquaque creek, and on the 8th he reached the village where Shikellimy lived. "on the 8th reached the village where Shikelimo lives; who was appointed to be my companion and guide on the journey. He was, however, far from home on a hunt. Weather became bad and the waters high, and no Indian could be induced to seek Shikelimo until the 12th, when two young Indians agreed to go out in search of him. On the 16th they returned with word that Shikelimo would be back next day, which so happened. The Indians were out of provisions at this place. I saw a new blanket given for about one third of a bushel of Indian corn." The site of this village is beyond doubt on the farm of Hon. George F. Miller (1886), at the mouth of Sinking run, or Shikellimy's run, at the old ferry a half mile below Milton, on the Union county side. Bishop Spangenberg and his party passed over the same route June 7, 1745; after passing Chillisquaque creek and the "site of the town that formerly stood there," they "next came to the place where Shikellimy formerly lived," which was then deserted; the next point noted is Warrior's Camp (Warrior run). Spangenberg certainly did not cross the West Branch; if Weiser had done so in 1737 there is every reason to suppose that he would have mentioned it which he does not; from which, if there were no other data bearing on this subject it would be fair to conclude that in 1737 Shikellimy resided on the east bank of the West Branch at some point between Chillisquaque creek and Warrior run. But there are other data. When the land office was open for "the new purchase," April 3, 1769, there were very many applications made for this location. In all of them it is called either old Muncy town or Shikellimy's town. It is referred to as a locality in hundreds of applications for land in Buffalo Valley. Shikellimy, some time after Weiser's visit, between 1737 and 1743, removed to Shamokin (now Sunbury) as a more convenient point for intercourse with the proprietary governors. There he resided the remainder of his life. From this point he made frequent journeys to Onondaga, Philadelphia, Tulpehocken, Bethlehem, Paxtang and Lancaster, as the discharge of his important public functions required. On Oct. 9, 1747, Conrad Weiser says that he was at Shamokin and that Shikellimy was very sick with fever. "He was hardly able to stretch forth his hand. His wife, three sons, one daughter and two or three grand-children were all bad with the fever. There were three buried out of the family a few days before, one of them was Cajadis, who had been married to his daughter above fifteen years, and was reckoned the best hunter among all the Indians." He recovered, however, from this sickness, and in March, 1748, was with Weiser at Tulpehocken, with his eldest son, "Tagheneghdourus" who succeeded him as chief and representative of the Six Nations. He died in April 1749, at Sunbury. Loskiel thus notices this celebrated inhabitant of the valley: "Being head chief of the Iroquois living on the banks of the Susquehanna as far as Syracuse, N. Y., he thought it incumbent upon him to be very circumspect in his dealings with the white people. He mistrusted the Brethren (Moravians) at first, but upon discovering their sincerity became their firm and real friend. He learned the art of concealing his sentiments; and, therefore, never contradicted those who endeavored to prejudice his mind against the missionaries. In the last years of his life he became less reserved, and received those Brethren that came to Shamokin. He defended them against the insults of drunken Indians, being himself never addicted to drinking. He built his house upon pillars for safety, in which he always shut himself up when any drunken frolic was going on in the village. In this house Bishop Johannes Von Watteville, and his company, visited and preached the Gospel to him. He listened with great attention, and at last, with tears, respected the doctrine of Jesus, and received it with faith." There is ample evidence in contemporary records that Shikellimy's position was one of responsibility and honor rather than profit or emolument. In the general system of national polity of which the Iroquois confederacy was the only type among the aborigines of America, his post corresponded to that of a Roman proconsul. But there the parallel ceases. Although he was charged with the surveillance of the entire Indian, population of central Pennsylvania, and doubtless exacted a nominal tribute, no provision whatever was made for his personal necessities, to which, with characteristic diplomacy, the Provincial authorities were induced to contribute. The president likewise acquainting the board that the Indians, at a meeting with the Proprietor and him, had taken notice that Conrad Weiser and Shikellimy were, by the treaty of 1732, appointed as fit and proper persons to go between the Six Nations and this government and to be employed in all transactions with one another, whose bodies, the Indians said, were to be equally divided between them and us, we to have one half and they the other; that they END OF PAGE 769 had found Conrad faithful and honest; that he is a true, good man, and had spoken their words and our words, and not his own; and the Indians having presented him with a dressed skin, to make him shoes, and two deer skins, to keep him warm, they said, as they had thus taken care of our friend, they must recommend theirs (Shikellimy) to our notice; and the board, judging it necessary that a particular notice should be taken of him accordingly, it is ordered that six pounds be laid out for him in such things as he may most want." He was expected to hunt and fish, the natural modes of subsistence with an Indian, regardless of his station, but in the waning vigor of old age he was obliged to relinquish the chase, and in October, 1747, Weiser found him in a condition of utter destitution. This he describes as follows, in a letter to Council: "I must at the conclusion of this recommend Shikellimy as a proper object of charity. He is extremely poor; in his sickness the horses have eaten all his corn; his clothes he gave to Indian doctors to cure him and his family, but all in vain; he has nobody to hunt for him, and I can not see how the poor old man can live. He has been a true servant to the government and may perhaps still be, if he lives to do well again. As the winter is coming on I think it would not be amiss to send him a few blankets or matchcoats and a little powder and lead, if the government would be pleased to do it and you could send it up soon. I would send my sons with it to Shamokin before the cold weather comes." Upon the consideration of this letter it was immediately decided by Council that goods to the value of sixteen pounds should be procured and forwarded to Shikellimy by Conrad Weiser. The consignment included five stroud match-coats, one fourth of a cask of gunpowder, fifty pounds of bar lead, fifteen yards of blue "half-thicks," one dozen best buck- handled knives, and four duffel match-coats. On the occasion referred to (October, 1747) Shikellimy was quite ill. Before Weiser left Shikellimy was able to walk about "with a stick in his hand." The following March he was so far recovered as to visit Tulpehocken, and in April, 1748, he was at Philadelphia. After this he seems to have had a relapse, for on the 18th of June in the same year the Provincial Council was informed that he was "sick and like to lose his eyesight." He again recovered, however, and in the following December made a visit to Bethlehem. On the return trip he became ill, but reached his home with the assistance of Brother David Zeisberger, who attended him during his sickness and administered the consolations of religion. His daughter and Zeisberger were present when he died. The latter, assisted by Henry Fry, made a coffin, in which, with the possessions he had valued most highly during life, the mortal remains of the great viceroy were interred at the burial ground of his people. At his first appearance in Colonial affairs, Shikellimy had a son and daughter and probably other children. A present was provided for his wife and daughter at the conclusion of the treaty of October, 1728; and on Aug. 18, 1729, the governor sent him a message of condolence upon the death of his son and a shroud with which to cover him. Another son, Unhappy Jake, was killed by the Catawbas, with whom the Six Nations were at war, in 1743, and in a letter dated Jan. 2, 1744, Weiser informs Secretary Peters of the fact, suggesting also the propriety of sending the bereaved father "a small present, in order to wipe off his tears and comfort his heart." Several days before Weiser's arrival at Shamokin, Nov. 9, 1747, there were three deaths in the family, Cajadies, his son- in-law, the wife of his eldest son, and a grandchild. It is evident that he had more than one daughter at that time; "his three sons" are also mentioned. The eldest, Tachnechdorus, succeeded to the former authority of his father, and, with two others, "sachems or chiefs of the Indian nation called the Shamokin Indians," affixed his signature to the Indian deed of 1749. Conrad Weiser, writing to Governor Morris under date of March 1, 1755, styles him "Tachnechdorus, the chief of Shamokin, of the Cayuga nation," the latter part of which is difficult to harmonize with the fact that his father is uniformly referred to as an Oneida. His brother seems to have been associated with him; Richard Peters, the Provincial secretary, in his account of the eviction of settlers from lands north of the Kittatinny mountains not purchased from the Indians, states that his party was accompanied by three Indians from Shamokin, "two of which were sons of the late Shikellimy; who transact the business of the Six Nations with this government." Tachnechdorns was also known to the English by the name of John Shikellimy. In 1753 he had a hunting lodge at the mouth of Warrior run and resided at a small Shawanese town below Muncy creek on the West Branch. These facts are derived from Mack's journal, which also states that Shikellimy's family had left Shamokin, where they found it very difficult to live owing to the constant drafts upon their hospitality. In April, 1756, he was at McKee's fort, but greatly dissatisfied, as nearly all of his party were sick. Sayughtowa, a younger brother of Tachnechdorus, was the most celebrated of Shikellimy's sons. He lived at the mouth of the Chillisquaque creek Aug. 26, 1753, and in 1765 in Raccoon Valley. "In 1768 and 1769 he resided near Reedsville in Mifflin county, and has given his name to the Spring near that place, to Logans branch of Spring creek, in Center county, Logan's path, etc. * * * In 1774 occurred Lord Dunmore's expedition END OF PAGE 770 against the Shawanese towns, now Point Pleasant, W. Va., which was the occasion of Logan's celebrated speech, commencing 'I appeal to any white man to say if he ever entered Logan's cabin hungry and he gave him not meat' which will go down to all time, whether properly or not as a splendid outburst of Indian eloquence." "He could speak tolerable English, was a remarkably tall man-over six feet high-and well proportioned; of brave; open and manly countenance, as straight as an arrow, and apparently afraid of no one." Heckewelder, who thought him a man of superior talents, called on him in April, 1773, at his settlement on the Ohio below Big Beaver; the same writer says he afterward became addicted to drinking, and states that he was murdered in October, 1781, between his residence and Detroit. He was sitting with his blanket over his head, before a camp fire, his elbows resting on his knees, when an Indian who had taken some offense stole behind him and buried his tomahawk in his brains. His English name, James Logan, was conferred in honor of the distinguished Friend who was so long and prominently identified with Colonial affairs in Pennsylvania; he is generally known to history as "Logan, the Mingo." SNYDER. The forerunner of the Snyders of Lower Augusta township and that section of Northumberland county settled in that region before the Revolutionary war. (I) Casper Snyder, the pioneer of the family in Northumberland county, came from Germany and settled here before the Revolution. He was a large land owner, having nearly one thousand acres, including what is now a part of the Updegrove farm, the Thomas, Peter and Adam Snyder farms, the tract now owned by Dennis H. and Newton W. Snyder, his great- grandsons, etc. He was a farmer and tavern-keeper, his tavern being located on the old Harrisburg and Sunbury road, where his son Peter succeeded him in 1798 he built the old brick tavern known as "Blue Ball Tavern." He and his wife, Elizabeth Farst, are buried in the River cemetery at Fisher's Ferry, and according to the records there he was born May 2, 1745, and died Sept. 3, 1821. "Elizabeth," wife of Casper Snyder, born Feb. 5, 1754, died Aug. 12, 1823. They had the following children: (1) John, born Nov. 29, 1776, died April 29, 1851. (2) Polly, born Jane 24, 1782, died March 7, 1856, married a Mr. Updegraph and had three sons and one daughter, Isaac, Thomas, Adam and Sarah. Of these, Adam went to look after the vast fortune due the Snyders as heirs of the brother (of Elizabeth) Farst in Holland, but the connection was lost and he had no proofs to establish the claim. (3) Peter, born April 21, 1788, died Feb. 19, 1866. (4) Sarah (Sally) married John Hendershot (1790-1851) and died Feb. 23, 1863, aged seventy-two years, three mouths, one day. They had six daughters and two sons, Eliza (Mrs. David Shipman), Harriet, (who married Sylvanus Shipman, brother of David), Lydia (Mrs. Christian Fisher), Jane (Mrs. John Jones), Rebecca (Mrs. Sylvanus Shipman), Mary Ann (Mrs. Chambers Wynn), Isaac and Hiram. (5) George, born Sept. 3, 1785, died Feb. 9, 1812. (6) Casper lived near Sunbury, in Upper Augusta township. He had sons Thomas and Simon, and daughter Catharine, who married John Cooper (we have record of one daughter, Mary Cooper). (7) Catharine married William Silverwood and had sons, James, William and Hiram, and daughters, Elizabeth (Mrs. John McPresson), Sarah (Mrs. John Climer), Harriet (who first married Samuel Couldren) and Susannah (who married in the West). (II) John Snyder, son of Casper, was born in Lower Augusta township Nov. 29, 1776, and there made his home, owning the farm which is now the property of Martha Gass. His holdings were very large, his property having been divided into eight farms, seven of which he gave to his children. He owned and operated a distillery, cider press and sawmill and kept several teams busy transporting goods for him between here and Philadelphia, which was the market center for grain and provisions. A prominent and influential citizen of his day, he served twenty-five years as justice of the peace and held the rank of colonel in the State militia, standing at the head of the militia in his districts for some years. He died April 29, 1851. His wife, Maria Margaret (Fisher), known as "Peggy" (only sister of Christian Fisher), is buried in the Presbyterian cemetery. They had children as follows: George, Thomas, Elizabeth (called Betsy, married John Wynn), Peter J., John (died March 25, 1877, aged sixty-nine years, eleven months, eleven days; his wife Martha, born Dec. 23, 1808, died Jan. 11, 1862), Adam (born April 9, 1814, died Dec. 15, 1895; his wife Martha died Sept. 30, 1860, aged forty-six rears, five months, ten days), and Sally (born Jan. 10, 1809, married John Ebright and died July 23, 1850). (III) George Snyder, son of John, was born Sept. 2, 1801, and was a farmer by occupation, living on and owning the farm now owned by his son Solomon. He built the house and barn now standing on that property, the house in 1854, the barn in 1851. He and his wife were members of the Baptist Church. He died Feb. 2, 1866. Mr. Snyder was twice married; his first wife being Elizabeth Conrad, who is buried at the Stone Church at Augustaville, and by whom he had one son, John C., now living near Omaha, Nebr. His second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Stroh and widow of Jonathan Clark, was born Jan. 14, 1802, and died Aug. 22, 1884; she was from Lan- END OF PAGE 771 caster county. To this union were born four children: Solomon S., Samuel, Morris and one that died young. (IV) SOLOMON STROH SNYDER, son of George, was born May 27, 1836, and was reared on his father's farm. He learned various trades in his early life, being proficient as a carpenter, blacksmith and butcher, but farming has been his main occupation. In 1854 he taught subscription school, receiving fifty cents a month for each pupil. When twenty-nine years old he married and left home, beginning farming for himself in what is now Rockefeller township, having a farm of 153 acres there, near Seven Points. He cultivated and lived upon that place for twenty-one years, after which he was a resident of Sunbury for two years before coming to the old homestead farm, which he has since occupied, in 1889. Eighteen years later he sold the property in Rockefeller township. He has bought a place in Lower Augusta which comprises ninety-nine acres. His industry and intelligent labor have had their reward, and he has accumulated a substantial competence, having stocks in bank besides his landed property. He was one of the first stockholders associated with Henry Bower and gave him his first advice. In his more active years he showed his public spirit by various services to the community, having held the offices of overseer of the poor. (five years) and auditor, (six years), when Lower Augusta and Rockefeller townships were one. He votes independently, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. On June 4, 1865, Mr. Snyder married Rebecca Bohner, daughter of Henry and Susanna (Kieffer) Bohner, and they have had one son, Daniel B., who was born Nov. 4, 1866, and is engaged in farming on the homestead. He has been twice married, and has one son, William Allison (who is married and lives in Sunbury), by his first union, to Lillie Zartman. His second marriage was to Emma Kappenhaver, and they have two sons, Solomon and Benjamin. (IV) SAMUEL SNYDER, son of George, was born May 2, 1838, on his father's homestead, was reared to farming, and has lived on a part of the home place all his life, the place he now lives on consisting of eighty-one acres at one time included in his father's farm. He built the present barn there in the year 1862. He has served nine years as school director of Lower Augusta township and he and his family are members of the Baptist Church, in which he has been especially active, having served as deacon, treasurer and superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a Democrat in politics. On Sept. 2, 1860, Mr. Snyder married a daughter of Samuel Wynn, and in 1876 he built a house on the farm which they have since occupied. Four children were born to this union: Jacob is a resident of Rock Island, Ill.; George was accidentally killed in the freight yard at Sunbury April 6, 1892, at the age of twenty-six years, four months, three days; Ella M. married George Neidig and they live in Lower Augusta; Clara E. married Horatio Snyder and they live, in Lower Augusta. (IV) MORRIS SNYDER, son of George, was born April 12, 1845, in Lower Augusta township, where he still resides. He inherited his father's homestead, which he sold to the present owner, his brother Solomon, in 1889. In 1890 he purchased the farm where he now lives, a tract of 105 acres, where he has since lived and where he built the present dwelling in 1897. The farm was formerly the homestead of Sylvanus Shipman, who built the barn thereon in 1871. Mr. Snyder has made farming his principal business, but he has also given some attention to outside matters, having served twenty years as justice of the peace and settled up a number of estates. He is a Democrat in polities, and in religions connection he and his family are Baptists. In 1867 Mr. Snyder married Naomi Shipman, and to them have been born children as follows: Harry, Sylvanus, Rebecca E., Laura J., Josephine M., Ruth, Webster V. and Elmira. (III) Thomas Snyder, son of John and grandson of Casper, lived on Boyles run, in Lower Augusta township, owning and cultivating the place now known as the Michael Shingehrer farm. It comprised one hundred acres. Mr. Snyder married Esther Randall, who was born Feb. 25, 1806, and died April 8, 1871. He died Sept. 11, 1894, aged ninety-one years, one month, twenty-nine days, and they are buried in the graveyard of the Augusta Baptist Church, of which both were members Their children were as follows: Silas R. is mentioned below; Harriet married Levi Thomas; Barbara married John Shipman; Martha married Elias Sternling; Jane married Elias Yerdy; Matilda married William Spies, of Sunbury; Elizabeth married Foster Ely; Sallie married William H. Swinehart. (IV) SILAS R. SNYDER, son of Thomas, was born Oct. 24, 1834, and died Feb. 28, 1910 on the farm in tower Augusta where he had lived for about fifteen years. It consists of 130 acres, and was formerly the David Shipman place. For six years before moving to that property lived on the farm of his father Thomas Snyder. He served as tax collector of the township before Rockefeller and Lower Augusta were divided. Mr. Snyder was a soldier in the Civil war, serving his first term as a member of Company C, 131st Pennsylvania Volunteers, and his second term with the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry. He held the rank of corporal. He is buried at Fisher's Ferry. In 1865 Mr. Snyder married Lydia H. Shipman, END OF PAGE 772 daughter of David and Eliza (Hendershot) Shipman, and she still resides on the farm with her sister, Harriet E. Myers. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Snyder: Harris E. is in the railway mail service and makes his home at Harrisburg, Pa.; O. Perry died when seventeen months old; Jessie E. married Carey E. Burns and they live at Hollowing Run, in Lower Augusta township (he is now serving as county auditor). (III) Peter J. Snyder, son of John and grandson of Casper, was a native of Lower Augusta township, where he spent all his life. He was a farmer throughout his active years, and until about ten years before his death lived on the one farm, spending his declining days with his children. He died in June, 1893 or 1894, at the home of his son David, and was buried at the Presbyterian Church in Lower Augusta township. He was a Presbyterian in religious faith. His farm, consisting of 120 acres, is now the property of Martha M. Gass, of Sunbury; Mr. Snyder married Sarah Shipman, daughter of John and Margaret (McKinney) Shipman, and she preceded him to the grave, dying Nov. 2, 1883, aged seventy-two years, one month, eighteen days. Nine children were born to them, as follows: Jacob S. died in Shamokin; Abigail married Aaron Wilkeson; Mary married Isaac Cooper; David married Martha G. Heaton; Jackson died in Trevorton with his son Charles; Malinda married James Smith; Emeline married Lafayette Wilkenson; Sarah Jane died aged sixteen years; Martha Ann married George Gass. (IV) JACOB S. SNYDER, son of Peter J., was born May 27, 1838, in Lower Augusta township, and died at the home of his son Edward W., in Shamokin, March 4, 1909. He began to learn mill-wrighting when a boy, and followed the trade for a number of years in central Pennsylvania, building a number of mills operated by water power and helping to make a number of waterwheels; no iron was used in their construction. Later in life he took up farming, which he followed in his native township for a number of years upon the old Snyder homestead, which he owned. Though a member of the Presbyterian Church, he is buried at the Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church in Rockefeller township, as is also his wife. Mr. Snyder married Harriet D. Foye, daughter of John and Hannah (Keiser) Foye, of Rockefeller township, who had a family of five children, namely: Catharine, Samuel, Mary, Harriet and Daniel B. John Foye was a prominent man in his day and built many of the houses in Trevorton. Mrs. Jacob S. Snyder died June 11, 1904, aged sixty-two years, four days. She was the mother of four children, namely: (1) Edward W., who lives in Shamokin, taught school for twenty-three years. (2) Horatio A. is a farmer and "squire" in Lower Augusta and also teaches school. (3) Samuel G., born March 21, 1874, spent ten years in Shamokin, moving from there in 1898 to Herndon, where he has since been clerk at the "Hotel Wiest." He is widely known to the traveling public, and is not only an experienced hotel man but particularly well fitted for the business, having a genial, pleasing disposition, and a faculty of treating those whom he meets with uniform kindliness, traits which have won him many friends. (4) Elvie G. married Ed. O. Bartholomew, a farmer of Rockefeller township. (IV) DAVID SNYDER, son of Peter J., was born Sept. 7, 1841, in Lower Augusta township. He was reared to farming, and followed that pursuit for some years, for fourteen years engaging in lumbering in Center county, Pa. He gave employment to a number of men in that line. In March, 1875, he came to Lower Augusta township, and here farmed his father's place for three years, in 1878 settling on the place in that township where he passed the remainder of his days, dying there Dec. 31, 1904, aged sixty-one years, three months, twenty-four days. His widow now lives there. The place contains sixty-eight acres, with an outlot of mountain land. Mr. Snyder made many improvements on the property which enhanced its value, remodeling the house and rebuilding the barn, to which he made a good-sized addition. At the time of his death Mr. Snyder was serving as school director of his township, and he had also served as overseer of the poor. But he was particularly active in church work, being a member of the Methodist Church, which he served in a number of official capacities, being class leader three or four years and Sunday school superintendent some years. He was always interested in the spiritual welfare of the community, and his wife, who was in hearty sympathy with him, has been a liberal contributor toward the erection of the new Methodist Episcopal Church, which was built in 1909. He was a Democrat in political sentiment Mr. Snyder married (first) Anna Maria Walker, who died March 6, 1869, aged twenty-four years, the mother of three children: Marietta married Jacob Snyder; Harry is an invalid; David W; lives in Union county, Pa. Mrs. Snyder is buried in Center county. On Oct. 26, 1870, Mr. Snyder married Martha G. Heaton, daughter of Michael and Mary (Walker) Heaton, of Center county, and three children were also born to this union: Prof. James Wilson Snyder, now superintendent of public schools at Slatington, Pa., married Gertrude Mendenhall, of Berwick, and they have one son, John M. Dr. John H. Snyder, of Washingtonville, Montour Co., Pa., married Lottie C. Bloom, of Augustaville, and they have two sons, Seth Scott and James END OF PAGE 773 Wilson, Jr. Ida Bell married Harry Snyder, who is office manager for a large concern in Grenloch, N. J.; they have no children. JAMES F. HECKERT, engaged in general farming and trucking in Point township, is one of the enterprising agriculturists of his section of Northumberland county, and a native of the township in which he resides, born Feb. 9, 1855. He belongs to an old established family, being a descendant of Casper Heckert, who emigrated from Germany and was an early resident of Lower Mahanoy township. He was born in 1758, and died in 1837 in Lower Mahanoy township, where he had a farm of nearly two hundred acres. Some of this land is still in the possession of his posterity, who are still numerous in this county and also well represented in the Western States. He was a member of the German Reformed congregation at the Stone Valley Church, where he is buried. There also is buried his wife Catharine, who was born Oct. 6, 1760 and died Dec. 6, 1828. They had children as follows: Johannes moved to a county in the western end of the State; Michael lived in Lower Mahanoy township and there died; Solomon, who lived on a farm in Lower Mahanoy township, had two sons, Jacob and John Frederick, a farmer, who lived in Lower Mahanoy township, had an only child, Katie, who died aged fifteen years; Philip was the grandfather of James F. Heckert. Philip Heckert, son of Casper, born in Lower Mahanoy township Dec. 9, 1796, died March 27, 1872. He was a farmer and had a large farm near County Line and the Stone Valley Church in Lower Mahanoy township. His wife, Anna Mary (Wert), daughter of Henry Wert (whose wife was an Enterline), a pioneer at County Line was born June 2, 1805, and died March 16, 1888 aged eighty-two years, ten months, fourteen days. Both are buried at Stone Valley Church, when Mr. Heckert was an official for many years. They had children: Daniel, Philip, Susanna (married Philip Tschopp), Michael, Mary (married Isaac Ressler), Emanuel, Rachel (died unmarried) Casper (who was a soldier in the Civil war and died as a result of disease contracted in the service; he was unmarried), Catharine (married William Lemon), Henry (who was a soldier in the Civil war), Andrew W. and Uriah (who was a soldier in the Civil war). Philip, Emanuel and Catharine are now the only survivors. Philip Heckert, son of Philip, lives in Rockefeller township, this county, near Augustaville where he owns a small tract of land. He is the oldest man in his township. Born Sept. 13, 1826, in Lower Mahanoy township, he was reared to farm life. In 1853 he moved to Point township, where he farmed as a tenant thirty years, and for sever years farmed the old Thomas Baumgardner farm. In 1883 he came to Rockefeller township, purchasing the sixty-eight acre tract (for $1,600) where he has since lived. He is a member of the Lutheran church and has served the church officially in his time. He is a remarkably well preserved man, and has a clear memory for dates and events. He speaks both English and German. To his marriage with Esther (Hettie) Kohl, daughter of John Kohl, late of Lower Mahanoy township, were born children as follows: Alexander, of Northumberland; James F.; a son that died in infancy (twin of James F.); Urias, who died aged thirteen years; Catharine, who keeps house for her father; John and Philip, both of whom died in boyhood; Charles, of Rockefeller township; and Ellen, widow of Francis Bloom, living in Sunbury (she has a son, Claud). Mrs. Heckert died March 14, 1904, aged seventy-six years. James F. Heckert was educated in the public schools of his native township, and was reared to farming, which he began on his own account about 1880. For several years he was a tenant farmer, in 1897 purchasing the property he now occupies and cultivates, a valuable tract of 125 acres in Point township, nicely located. It was formerly the Daniel Sterner homestead. At one time Mr. Heckert had three peach orchards. He devotes a large part of his land to garden truck, and attends the markets at Sunbury and Northumberland, where he has established an extensive trade, finding this branch of farming very profitable. Mr. Heckert has found time to give to the public service, and has filled local office, having been supervisor some years and school director for six years. He is a Republican in political opinion. In 1880 Mr. Heckert married Orpha A. Gibbons, daughter of Abel and Susan (Morgan) Gibbons, late of Point township. Seven children have been born to them, namely: Abel Irwin, Philip H., Martin L., Bertha M., Esther M., Susan M. and Daniel K. Mr. and Mrs. Heckert were married in the Lutheran Church at Northumberland, of which they and their family are members. He is at present serving as deacon. Andrew W. Heckert, another son of Philip, was born near County Line, in Lower Mahanoy township, and before his marriage went to Forreston, Ogle Co., Ill., where he learned the trade of carpenter. After a few years he returned to his native county, in Pennsylvania, this being in 1873, from which time he lived at Dalmatia, where he died. He married Mary Ressler, daughter of Solomon and Catharine (Haas) Ressler, of Lower Mahanoy township, and they went West together. Their six children were born there, before their return to Pennsylvania in 1873, viz.: Aletta C., Mrs. G. E. Shaffer; Mary M., wife of Frank Bordner and living in Nebraska; Susan E., unmarried; Carrie M., married to Joseph Reitz and living in END OF PAGE 774 Shamokin; Ida R., who married William Dreibelbies and lives in Lower Mahanoy; and William N., who died in infancy. ADAMS. David N. and Curtis M. Adams, brothers, have been business men of Sunbury from early manhood, the former in the painting and paper hanging business, the latter as a dealer in horse goods and shoe findings and manufacturer of harness. They are among the prosperous citizens of the borough, and both have served the municipality in public office. The Adams family has long been settled in Ralpho township, this county. Casper Adams, the first of the family in this country, was born April 25, 1755; at Langendiebach, Offenburg, Germany, and little is known of his early life. On coming to America he lived in Berks county, Pa., before coming to Northumberland county, where he was one of the earliest pioneers in Ralpho township, owning several hundred acres of land there. He cleared some of his land and followed farming. He died Jan. 26, 1832, and is buried at St. Peter's (the Blue) Church in Ralpho township. Casper Adams married, in Berks county, Elizabeth Hinkle, of that county, and they had a large family, six sons and six daughters, namely: Frederick (1792-1853), John, Samuel, Casper, Leonard, Peter, Nellie (married George Startzel), Susanna (married Samuel Startzel), Elizabeth (married Gilbert Liby), Polly (married Peter Strausser), Maria (married Jacob Kreher) and Catharine (married Samuel Anspach). Casper Adams, fourth son of Casper and Elizabeth (Hinkle) Adams, was born April 10, 1796, on the homestead farm in Ralpho township, and was there reared to farm life. When he became of age his father deeded 100 acres of land in Ralpho township to him, this being the farm afterward occupied by his son George C., near the Blue Church. Mr. Adams was a man of active mind, one who interested himself in the general welfare as well as in the promotion of his own interests, and he was one of the foremost men of his locality for many years, well known as a stanch Democrat and as one of the most liberal supporters of the Blue Church, with which be was identified all his life; he served as elder of that church and was one of the most generous contributors toward the erection of the church edifice. He married Susanna Startzel (daughter of John), who was born March 14, 1800, and died Jan. 22, 1873; Mr. Adams died Jan. 28, 1882, and is buried at the Blue Church. Their children were: Benjamin, who died in 1895, at the age of seventy-four years (his children were Edward, William and Lucinda); Daniel H., born in 1822, who died in 1892; Casper, deceased; George C., born Aug. 17, 1826; David, born in 1830; Jacob, born in 1833, who died in 1895; Samuel, deceased; William; Elizabeth (deceased), who married William Smith; Susanna (deceased), who married William Klase; Polly, Mrs. Fry, deceased; Angelina, who married William Smith; and Harriet deceased. David Adams, son of Casper, was born in 1830 in what is now Ralpho township, and was reared to farming pursuits, which he continued to follow all his life. He died in 1867, at the early age of thirty-seven years, and is buried at the Blue Church. Mr. Adams married Margaret Martz, daughter of David Martz, of the same locality, and she died Sept. 23, 1874, at the age of forty-three years. To them were born eight children, as follows: William H., who lives at Dryville, Berks Co., Pa.; Richard F., of East Orange, N. J.; David N.; Harvey F., of Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa.; Curtis M.; Lorenzo, who died in infancy; Mary H., who died of smallpox, in Shamokin; and Harriet L., wife of Harvey C. Sober, of Spring Grove, Va. (she visited Sunbury in the summer of 1910, after an absence of twenty years from the North). DAVID N. ADAMS, son of David, was born July 7, 1859, near Elysburg, in Ralpho township, and there received his education in the public schools. He was engaged at farm work until he reached the age of twenty years, when he went to Danville for a year, in 1880 coming to Sunbury, where he has since made his home. Here he learned the trade of painter and paper hanger, for fourteen years remaining in the employ of Ira T. Clement, until, in 1895, he commenced business on his own account. He has a shop in the rear of his residence, at No. 108 North Fourth street and has a large trade, which has shown a steady increase up to the present time. He employs from four to ten skilled men, according to the amount of work on hand. Mr. Adams served nine years as member of the Sunbury school board from the Second ward, and for one year of that time was treasurer of the board. He is a Republican in political sentiment. His religious connection is with the Methodist Church and socially he is a member of the Knights of Malta, belonging to Commandery No. 112. On Feb. 21, 1889, Mr. Adams married Christina Baldy, daughter of Thomas and Delilah (Bright) Baldy, and they have had a family or six children, all still at home with their parents. namely: Frank, Harry, Catharine, Thomas, David N., Jr., and Margaret. CURTIS M. ADAMS, son of David, was born April 4, 1862, in what is now Ralpho township and was brought up to farm life. In 1890 he engaged in the livery business in the borough or Shamokin, in partnership with F. H. Martz, and there remained two years, in the spring of 1892 coming to Sunbury, where he established himself in the same line. He continued in the livery business here until 1910, making a success of same, END OF PAGE 775 but in the meantime, in 1905, he had started his present business, to which he now gives all his attention. His store at No. 506 Market street is well stocked with a complete line of horse goods and shoe findings, being the leading leather store in Northumberland county, and he manufactures harness to order. Mr. Adams's previous experience in the livery business gave him thorough insight into the requirements of his present line, and he is in every way fitted to conduct what is recognized as the foremost establishment of the kind in this section. His business methods and standing are most creditable. Politically he is a Republican, has served as a member of the borough council, and is known as a public-spirited citizen. He has been an active member of the I.O.O.F. for some years, being a past grand of Lodge No. 203 and since 1908 a representative to the Grand Lodge. He is a member of the Lutheran Church. On April 4, 1895, Mr. Adams married Alice Silvine, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Tucker) Silvine, of Sunbury. Mrs. Adams's father died in November, 1908, aged eighty-one years. Her mother died in 1901. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Adams, namely: Ruth, Mary, Robert (who died in his third year), Florence and John Jacob. REUBEN F. MARTZ, farmer and lumberman of Shamokin township, was born Aug. 27, 1852, upon the homestead farm at Reed's station, son of Solomon Martz. The early members of the Martz family in America came from Germany and settled in Berks county, Pa., whence David Martz great- grandfather of Reuben F. Martz, moved into Northumberland county. David Martz and his brother Jacob moved from Berks county toward the close of the eighteenth century, settling on Shamokin creek, three mile south of Sunbury. He was a blacksmith, and followed his trade in connection with farming. He married Barbara Miller, and they had a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters David, Henry, Peter, Abraham and George, all of whom but Henry moved to Dayton, Ohio, where they died; Susan, who married John Richstine and Elizabeth, who married Abraham Arter. Henry Martz, son of David, was born on the homestead in Shamokin township, Northumberland county, and was a farmer by occupation. He married Elizabeth Fagely, daughter of Christian and Magdalene Fagely, pioneers of Shamokin township. Mr. and Mrs. Martz both died in Shamokin and are buried in St. Peters cemetery. They had six children: Hettie, Katie Mary Ann, George, Solomon, and Nathan, all now deceased but Nathan, who resides in Sunbury, Pennsylvania Solomon Martz, son of Henry, was born March 22, 1818, in Upper Augusta township, Northumberland county, and when seven years old went to live with his uncle, Solomon Fagely, in Shamokin township, remaining with him until he was eighteen years old. He then entered the employ of his uncles Amos, George and Nathan Fagely, who had a store at Mauch Chunk, clerking there sixteen months. Returning to Shamokin he engaged with William and Reuben Fagely in a similar capacity, continuing for a year, after which he went to Mount Carmel to work for Solomon Fagely, who kept a tavern there. He remained with him a year. At that time a stage line was started between Mount Carmel and Shamokin, and he was appointed driver and mail carrier, working as such for a few months. He then took the same position on the stage line between Pottsville and Northumberland, for one year, and he was the last survivor of those connected with this method of transportation in central Pennsylvania at that time. Returning to Shamokin, he was elected supervisor of Coal township, having charge of the roads from Mount Carmel to Trevorton, and filled that office two years. During the next seven years he was engaged in hauling coal over the railroad from Shamokin to Sunbury for William and Reuben Fagely, under contract, at the end of that time settling on the farm at Reed's station where he passed the remainder of his days. He died Oct. 4, 1894, aged seventy-seven years, and is buried at Reed's Church. Mr. Martz was always interested in the welfare of the community and the success of those enterprises that affected all its members. His generosity to those less fortunate than himself, his benevolence to all philanthropic movements, his sympathy with all who needed it, were as much the cause of the esteem he enjoyed as his industrious and successful career. He and his family attended the German Reformed Church, and when St. Jacob's was rebuilt, in 1870, he contributed all the brick necessary, one hundred thousand, his children giving the money to erect the steeple, $1,200. In politics he was a stanch Republican and greatly interested in the success of the party, though he never had any political aspirations for himself. He was overseer of the poor for one year after settling in Shamokin township. On April 6, 1841, Mr. Martz married Hannah Reed, born in 1815, died Dec. 15, 1895, aged eighty years, daughter of John and Eva (Howard) Reed, of Shamokin township and to them were born seven children: George O.; William F., who died young; Isabella, who died in 1875, aged thirty- one years; Sophronia, who died in 1874, at the age of thirty-three years; Reuben F., John Henry and Jesse R., all of whom live at Reed's station, Jesse being on part of the old homestead. Reuben F. Martz received his early education in the public schools of the home locality, later attending Elysburg Academy. After working some END OF PAGE 776 time for his father he entered the timber business, furnishing props for the mines. This he has continued to carry on in connection with farming, owning a tract of 120 acres, part of the old homestead, his property adjoining the lands of his brothers Jesse E. and John H. He has erected fine buildings on the place since it came into his possession, putting up his residence in 1903, and the property is not only valuable for its natural advantages but also for the judicious improvements which have been made on it. He has devoted all his time to his private affairs, taking no part in public life, though he has the public spirited interest in such matters which every good citizen feels. He is a Republican in politics. Mr. Martz married Emma M. Muench, who was born in 1860, daughter of Jacob F. Muench, and died Jan. 7, 1902; she is buried at Reed's Church. Eight children were born to this union, two of whom died in infancy, the others being: William, a graduate of Pennsylvania State College, now located in Chicago, Ill.; Hattie, wife of Edw. Michael, living in Sunbury; Solomon, a graduate of Bucknell College, now living at home; Frederick, who died when seven years old; Emma; and Ada. The family are Lutherans in religion. SNYDER (SCHNEIDER). The Snyders or Schneiders are a numerous and respected family of the southeastern section of Northumberland county, with which region they have been identified for several successive generations. Their first ancestor of whom we have record was one (I) Peter Schneider, who settled in Berks county Pa, in 1719, coming from New York with the first colony under the leadership of Conrad Weiser. (II) Abraham Schneider, son of Peter, had a son (III) Daniel Schneider, who was born in Bethel township, Lancaster (later Berks) county, and who was the father of (IV) Johann Nicholas Schneider, the first of the family in Northumberland county. He settled in what is now Upper Mahanoy township, being one of the very early settlers of the valley. He was a farmer by occupation, and lived on the farm now owned by Andrew Geist, the original place comprising a large acreage. He was born Sept. 10, 1749, and died Oct. 28, 1821; his wife Anna Maria (Bordner), born Nov. 25, 1756, died Dec. 23, 1827. They are buried at Himmel's Church, in which vicinity the family is numerously represented. Johann Nicholas Schneider and his family were Lutherans, and in 1778 helped to organize Himmel's Church, and in 1818 he assisted in the building of the new church, the old log structure being replaced by one of stone. Many of his descendants are buried there also. The early members of the family were all good singers, and they were not only active in the church and in the choir but also in the singing schools held at that day. To Johann Nicholas and Anna Maria Schneider were born six children: Johan Jacob, Johan Peter, Abraham, George, Maria Christina (1779-1859, married Andraes Geist) and Anna Catharine (born July 6, 1792, married Johan Georg Erdman, 1787-1858; she died Aug. 20, 1842, and is buried at Herb Church). (V) Johan Jacob Schneider, son of Johann Nicholas, was born Nov. 22, 1780, in Upper Mahanoy township, and died May 29, 1851. He was a lifelong farmer, succeeding his father in the ownership of the homestead; his dwelling was near Greenbrier. He married Magdalena Erdman, born June 7, 1783, died Oct. 31, 1861, and both were Lutheran members of Himmel's Church, where they are buried. They had a family of thirteen children: Jacob, John A., Joseph, Jonathan, George, Samuel, Peter, Andrew, Heinrich, David, Sallie (married Jacob Hoffa), Kate (married Jacob Hetrich) and Lydia (married a Moritz). (V) Johan Peter Schneider, son of Johann Nicholas, born Sept. 10, 1782, died Oct. 17, 1841. He was a farmer, and lived in Washington township, Northumberland county, near his brother Johan Jacob. His wife, Gertraut Maurer, born July 5, 1779, died April 1, 1844. They had sons John and George and daughters Sallie (married Jonathan Smith), Elizabeth (married Nicholas Drumheller), Catharine (married John Hetrich) and a daughter who married Abraham Deppen. (V) Abraham Schneider, son of Johann Nicholas, born Sept. 4, 1788, died Feb. 8, 1873. He lived south of his brother Jacob, in the same township, and his farm continued in the family, being owned until recently by his grandson, A. Morris Snyder. His wife, Susanna (Schweitzer), born May 14, 1790, died Jan. 23, 1870, and both are buried at St. John's Church, in Upper Mahanoy township. They had children as follows: Abraham (died April 18, 1894, aged 76 years, one month, five days; his wife, Susanna, died Nov. 13, 1898, aged eighty years, four months, eighteen days), George (who moved away from this region), John S., Daniel S., Simon, William (lived in Allentown, Pa.) and Catharine (married George Kahler). (V) George Schneider, son of Johann Nicholas, born in Upper Mahanoy township Dec. 5, 1794, died Oct. 26, 1875. He lived in the extreme eastern end of Upper Mahanoy township, on the farm near Howerter's Church now owned by his son Aaron W., and followed farming. Mr. Schneider learned the carpenter's trade with his brother Abraham. and followed it to some extent, helping to build the Old Stone Himmel's Church in 1818. His farm comprised 230 acres, and he built thereon the first house and the barn now used by his son Aaron, the latter being erected in 1841. He held END OF PAGE 777 the office of township supervisor and local election offices, and was a Democrat in politics. On March 4, 1818, George Schneider married Catharine Wagner, daughter of Jacob Wagner, born May 18, 1797, died Jan. 25, 1885; they are buried at the Howerter Church, of which all the family were Lutheran members. Mr. Schneider was a trustee of the church. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider had a family of twelve children: Solomon (who died young), Elizabeth (married Samuel Scmink), Charles, Hannah (married Abraham Erdman), Catharine, Lydia and Mary (twins, the latter dying young), Gideon, Helen, George (married a Long), Aaron W., and Abbie (married a Mr. Adkin). (VI) Aaron W. Snyder, son of George, was born April 14, 1840, on his father's farm, and was reared there and with the exception of one year when he lived with his brother-in-law, Daniel Reed, has passed his life on this place. He attended the old subscription schools which afforded the only advantage obtainable in the locality in his youth, and was reared to agriculture, which he has always followed. But he has also become a good mechanic, being a first class carpenter and blacksmith. In the spring of 1868 he began farming for himself on the old place, which is in Upper Mahanoy township, and he has prospered steadily, having a valuable farm, well managed and productive. Soon after the Civil war Mr. Snyder married Lizzie Erdman, daughter of Abraham Erdman (who married a Trautman), who lived near Rough and Ready, Schuylkill county, and nine children have been born to this marriage: Cora, who is unmarried; George, of Upper Mahanoy, who married Jennie Trautman (They have had three children, Earle, Rema and Elwood, the last named being deceased); Bertha, who died in childhood; Walter I., a farmer of Upper Mahanoy, who married Sallie Miller and has three children, Bessie, Minnie and Charles; Carrie, who married George Hornberger; Emma, who died young; Della J.; Charles D.; and Mamie A. (VI) John A. Snyder, son of Johan Jacob, was born March 29, 1803, in Upper Mahanoy township, where he lived and died, passing away April 18, 1867. He was a lifelong farmer, owning a fine place of 140 acres along the south side of Line Mountain, near Greenbrier. He was a Lutheran member and one of the most liberal supporters of and active workers in Himmel's Church; holding all the church offices, and helped to work on the old stone church mentioned previously as having been erected in 1818, helping to gather stone from the mountain. He was twice married, and both his wives were Reformed members of that church. His first wife, Maria (Schollenberger), is buried there. She was a daughter of Benedict and Christian (Moyer) Schollenberger, who came from Albany township, Berks county, and his second wife, Judith (Diehl), a native of Berks county, was a daughter of Michael and Sarah (Schollenberger) Diehl, her mother being a sister of Maria, his first wife. Mrs. Judith Snyder died Jan. 30, 1907, aged ninety years, two months, six days. Mr. Snyder had fifteen children by his first wife, eight sons and seven daughters, namely: Solomon, Michael, Benjamin, Amos, Jared, Aaron, John, a son not named, Regina, Susanna, and five daughters who died young, several close together, of diphtheria. To the second marriage were born six, three sons and three daughters: Peter D., Jeremiah, Tobias, Hannah (married David Schoffstall), Lydia (married John Schoffstall, brother of David) and Sarah (married James S. Reitz). (VII) Peter D. Snyder was born in the Swabian Creek Valley, and there lived for some time after reaching maturity, following his trade, that of saddler. In 1876 he moved to Jordan township, on the farm now owned by his son John M. Snyder, which he purchased in 1882. Here he passed the remainder of his days, following both farming and his trade. He died Oct. 8, 1901, aged fifty-two years, and is buried at Klingerstown. His wife, Fietta Reiner, daughter of Charles and Peggy (Masser) Reiner, from Berks county, frequently visited relatives and friends there. She died June 8, 1906, at the age of sixty, and is buried in the Snyder family plot at Klingerstown. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder had two children John M. and Charles, the latter of whom lives in Portland, Oregon (he married Sallie Deibert and has one child, Jesse). (VIII). JOHN M. SNYDER, son of Peter D. Snyder, was born Aug. 7, 1872, in Upper Mahanoy township, and was reared upon the farm, working for his parents until about twenty years old. Meantime he also learned the saddler's trade from his father, and followed it for some years; since he has made farming his principal business be has confined his work at the trade to his own needs and work for his neighbors. In 1908 he began farming on his own account but since 1906 he has owned the seventy-two acre farm in Jordan township, a half mile northwest of Klingerstown, upon which he lives, and which was formerly his father's property. It is just five minutes walk from the point where Schuylkill, Dauphin and Northumberland counties converge. This was the old Samuel Wiest homestead, and the house, which is of log construction, was built about eighty years ago. Mr. Snyder is enterprising and up-to-date in his farming operations, and gives special attention to the raising of chickens and hogs. On March 18, 1909, Mr. Snyder married Hattie Schadel, daughter of William and Catharine (Strohecker) Schadel. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are END OF PAGE 778 Lutheran members of the Klingerstown Church, and he is a Democrat in political principle, with inclinations for independent action when the occasion demands. (VII) TOBIAS SNYDER, son of John A., was born Dec. 11, 1851, on his father's homestead, and received his education in the common schools. He made good use of his opportunities for studying German, in which he is quite proficient. He was reared to farm life, and when he became of age took up farming on the place where be was born, and where he has continued ever since. His farm is a nice level tract of 140 acres, well improved under his management and he has greatly remodeled the dwelling, making an addition to the west side. The east part is a log house built by Benedict Schollenberger, and when Mr. Snyder remodeled it, in 1897, it was exactly one hundred years old. He is energetic and progressive, and has been successful in his work, so much so that besides his home property he owns four of the nicest farms in the valley; one is across the line in Washington township, adjoining Upper Mahanoy. His acreage is greater than that of any other one man in the section. One of his farms was the Abraham Geist homestead; another the Daniel Gonser homestead; another the Jonas Reitz homestead; and a fourth his uncle Jonathan Snyder's homestead. He has built new houses on three of these places, and the Snyder properties are easily distinguished from the fact that the houses are all painted white. Thrifty management and neatness of appearance characterize all his farms. Mr. Snyder is a representative citizen of Upper Mahanoy township, esteemed for his honorable and useful citizenship, and has given efficient service as overseer of the poor. He has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his day, and has an excellent memory, being particularly well versed in the early history of his family. He belongs to the Lutheran congregation of Himmel's Church, which he has served as deacon and elder, and he assisted liberally when the present beautiful church was erected in 1904. In 1880 Mr. Snyder married Emma Reitz, daughter of Jonas Reitz, and five children have been born to them: James L., a farmer of Upper Mahanoy township, married Mary Schreffler, and they have had three children, Charles, Florence and Dory; C. Howard, a farmer of Upper Mahanoy township, married Teney Smith, and they have had three children, William, Helen and Flossie; Ira C., who lives with his father, married Minnie Snyder, and they have had two children, Ambrose (deceased) and Edna; D. Francis, who lives on his father's Washington township farm, married Mary Rebuck and they have had two children, Emma and Sarah; Jennie M. married William Schreffler, brother of Mary (who married James L. Snyder), and they have had two children, Lloyd and Anna (they live in Upper Mahanoy township). (VI) Jonathan Snyder, son of Johan Jacob, was born in the Swabian creek section of Upper Mahanoy township, and died in 1876, aged sixty- seven years. He was a farmer by occupation, and owned the place which is now one of the Tobias Snyder farms. He was active in church matters as a Lutheran member of Himmel's Church, and held various church offices, and he is buried at that church. He married Susanna Schollenberger, daughter of Benedict Schollenberger, of Albany township, Berks county, and they had children as follows: Simon S. is mentioned below; Jacob S. died on his farm at Leck Kill April 7, 1894, aged sixty-three years, ten months, twenty-nine days, his wife, Catharine, dying Aug. 26, 1903, aged sixty- seven years, three months, nine days; Cornelius, who was a carpenter by trade, built the famous Elijah Byerly barn in Lower Mahanoy township, the most modern barn in that township, and later removed to Laporte, Ind., where he died; Enoch, a blacksmith, went to the defense of his country in the Civil war, and because of his extraordinary strength was selected as one of the four hundred men detailed to erect the pontoon bridge across the Rappahanock river, being shot while engaged on that work, in December, 1862; Emanuel died at home, during the epidemic of spotted fever; Gehret (or Gehred), of Bloomsburg, Pa., was formerly a shoemaker, but has lately entered the hotel business, being proprietor of the "Exchange Hotel" at Bloomsburg; Henry M. is mentioned below; Lydia married Gabriel Reiner; Elizabeth married William Kehres; Sarah married William Kauffman. (VII) SIMON S. SNYDER, son of Jonathan, was born March 2, 1829, and died Jan. 3, 1904. During his earlier life he was a shoemaker and saddler, later becoming a farmer, and he owned the fine property which is now in the possession of his son Edwin W. He built the large Swiss barn (100 by 50 feet in dimensions) which stands on the place in 1871. He took some part in local affairs, serving as overseer of the poor in his district and for a number of years was a deacon of St. James Church in Upper Mahanoy township, of which he was a Lutheran member; he and his wife are buried at that church. Mr. Snyder married Leah Wetzel, born Nov. 20, 1829, died June 21, 1886, daughter of Peter Wetzel, and six children were born to this union: Lizzie (married Peter Paul), William W., Edwin W., Kate (married Joel Daniel and later Preston Fretz), Sarah E. (married Edwin Beisel and later Samuel Herb) and Susan (married Daniel Runkel). (VIII) Edwin W. SNYDER, son of Simon S., is one of the foremost agriculturists in his dis- END OF PAGE 779 trict. He was born Feb. 4, 1857, in Upper Mahantango township, Schuylkill county, received his education in the common schools, and was reared to farm life, working for his parents until he was thirty-three years old. He was paid wages from the time be was twenty-one. In the spring of 1890 he began farming for himself on the place where he now lives, in Upper Mahanoy township, located on the road from Line Mountain to Pitman, and about three-quarters of a mile from the Schuylkill county line. His farm contains 218 acres of the best land in the vicinity, and is in excellent condition in every respect, giving evidence of intelligent care and first-class management. He takes his produce to Shamokin. Mr. Snyder has won success by hard work, and he is deservedly one of the most respected men in his neighborhood. He has been a school director of his township since 1904, has served as overseer of the poor, and has proved his worth in many capacities. In political connection he is a Democrat. He and his family are members of the United Evangelical Church (the Union Church) in Eldred township, Schuylkill county On June 9, 1879, Mr. Snyder married Mary Ann Herb, daughter of Henry and Catharine (Fetherolf) Herb and granddaughter of Adam and Magdalena (Schwartz) Herb. Ten children have been born to this union: Clara J., Sadie (married Sylvester Fetter), Henry S. (married Mary Kersteller), D. Edwin (married Mamie Leitzel), Bessie L. (married Henry Wehry), Victor C., Lloyd E., Allen H., Gehret H. and Ora E. (VII) Henry M. Snyder, postmaster at Hickory Corners, Northumberland county, was born Sept. 27, 1851, in Upper Mahanoy township, on the old homestead. He received but meager educational advantages, his whole attendance at school covering only seven months, but by application and intelligent use of his time he has won the reputation of being the best read citizen of his section, and he is well up on current events, having an active mind and a taste for reading which has made many of his leisure hours enjoyable. With the exception of the ministers he has the largest and most comprehensive library in his district and his fondness for history is apparent in his selections. Mr. Snyder has led an active progressive life. Reared on the farm, he passed his early years in agricultural work, and when eighteen began to learn shoemaking and harness making, following same for thirty years. From 1871 to 1875 he was with his brother Gehret, in 1875 settling in Hickory Corners, where he has made his home ever since. In addition to his business he has found many duties in the public affairs of the place, where since 1893 he has held the office of postmaster, having been first appointed that year and reappointed every four years up to the present. During his earlier years Mr. Snyder was a very active worker in the Democratic party in his locality, having served fifteen consecutive years as township committeeman, and for twelve years was delegate to the county conventions. He was one of the confreres of Congressman Simon P. Wolverton who nominated him for the district on the occasion of his latest nomination, which was followed by his election. He was an ardent Democrat until 1896, when he joined the Gold Standard wing of the party. In 1901 Mr. Snyder was elected a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, which then had a membership of 1,800 in the United States. Mr. Snyder has been a correspondent for four county papers since 1898, and he was the principal contributor to an elaborate article published in the Philadelphia Record and other metropolitan papers in October, 1898, entitled "Homage in Cannon Roars." He is one of the stockholders in the Sunbury National Bank, and his judgment in financial matters is highly prized. On March 21, 1875, Mr. Snyder was married to Esther R. Zartman, daughter of Daniel and Hettie (Raker) Zartman, and they have had a family of six children: Daniel J., who is at present principal of the Mifflinville high school in Columbia county, Pa.; Harlan R. C., also a public school teacher, now supervising principal of the West Berwick schools in Columbia county; and four who died young, Halmer B., Wilson, Susanna and Esther. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder and their family are Lutheran members of the Zion's (Stone Valley) Church; Mr. Snyder served two years as deacon and was secretary of the Sunday school for a number of years. (VI) John S. Snyder, son of Abraham, was born in Upper Mahanoy township Dec. 16, 1824, and died Nov. 3, 1901, on his farm in that township Mr. Snyder was a well known man in his day. He followed shoemaking for fifteen years or more, and also operated a farm, owning a place of 120 acres, now the property of his son Elias Snyder. He was active in the public affairs of the community, serving many years in various offices, as constable, school director, supervisor and auditor, and was also prominent in church work, being a chorister of Himmel's Church for many years; then St. John's church was built, and he became chorister there, serving until a few years before his death. He was a useful and popular man in the locality, a stanch member of the Democratic party, and identified with the progress of his day in many ways. Mr. Snyder married Susanne Schreffler, born April 9, 1826, died June 28, 1902 (daughter of Godfried Schreffler), and both are buried at St. John's Church, in Upper Mahanoy township. END OF PAGE 780 Fourteen children were born to their union: Sarah married Andrew Dunkelberger, and they made their home in Michigan, where she still lives (Mr. Dunkelberger is deceased); Edward is a resident of Sunbury, Pa.; Mary is the widow of Jerry Beissel, of South Bend, Ind.; Rudolph is mentioned below; Luzetta is the widow of Joel Haning and lives at Pitman, Pa.; Elias lives on the old homestead; Emma; Sevilla married Daniel Herb, of Mount Carmel, Pa.; John has been lost track of by his family; Vesta married Robert Maurer, of Mahantango, Pa.; four died young. (VII) RUDOLPH SNYDER son of John S., was born Feb. 3, 1852, in Upper Mahanoy township, and received a common school education. He was reared to farming, working for his parents until he attained his majority, after which he engaged in huckstering for seven years, making weekly trips to Shenandoah and Mahanoy City. During this time he continued to live at home. Then, in the spring of 1881, he came to the place where he has ever since lived, following general farming, in which he has been very successful. He has an eighty-five-acre farm, formerly a Ressler homestead, and the property has been improved considerably during his ownership. In 1903 he built the present barn, and in 1909 he made an addition to the house. In 1881 Mr. Snyder married Sarah Alice Geist, daughter of Daniel and Cecilia (Updegraff) Geist, and nine children have been born to them, namely: Irwin (married Carrie Heim), Casper (married Minnie Bentzinger), Sadie (married Charles Mattern), Walter, Gurney, Alverta, Carrie, Willard and Millard. Mr. Snyder and his family are Reformed members of Himmel's Church. He is a Democrat in political opinion, and he has served six years. as school director of Upper Mahanoy township. (VI) Daniel S. Snyder, son of Abraham, was born Jan. 6, 1827, in, Upper Mahanoy township, and died March 18, 1903. He was a lifelong farmer, owning and living upon the place until recently occupied by his son, A. Morris Snyder, which comprises over two hundred acres in all; there are 148 acres of cleared land, besides the woodland. Mr. Snyder prospered, and he built the present barn in 1857; he also built part of the dwelling. Mr. Snyder was quite active in his locality, was a Republican in politics, and served some years as supervisor and also as school director of his township; he held the former office at the time the Mountain road, across Line Mountain to Shamokin, was built. Mr. Snyder married Sarah A. Smith, daughter of Samuel Smith, and she survived him, dying May 9, 1905, aged seventy-three years, seven months, nineteen days. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder and some of their children are buried at St. John's Church, in Upper Mahanoy township. They were Lutheran members of that church. They had the following family: Harriet, who married (first) Ed Erdman and (second) David Hepler; Martin, a farmer of Washington township, Northumberland county; Wesley, a farmer of the same township; Malinda, deceased, who married Dr. H. H. Malick; Ellen, who married William Houghton; Daniel, of Allentown, Pa.; Milton, born April 13, 1861, who died of diphtheria June 23, 1863; Samuel I., born Jan. 15, 1869, who died Aug. 2, 1873; Savira (or Sovira), born Oct. 21, 1856, who died of diphtheria May 30, 1863; Charles E., of Allentown, Pa.; A. Morris; and Daisy, who married Howard Geist, of Girardville, Pennsylvania. (VII) A. MORRIS SNYDER, son of Daniel S., is a prosperous farmer. He was born on the homestead in Upper Mahanoy township March 19, 1873, and received his education in the local schools and in the academy at Berrysburg, Dauphin county. Farming has been his life work, and in the spring of 1890 he began farming on his own account at the homestead, where he continued to live until he sold the place, in 1910. He and his brother Charles purchased the farm from their brother Daniel in 1890, and owned it in partnership for nine years, at the end of which period A. Morris Snyder purchased his brother's interest. In 1910 he bought the nice level place in Rockefeller township where he moved Nov. 24th of that year, and where he now lives. He is a successful agriculturist, owns a full line of up-to-date date farm stock, and markets his produce at Ashland and Girardville, sometimes making as many as four trips a week. On July 8, 1899, Mr. Snyder married Bella Jane Hetrick, daughter of Samuel and Hosanna (Dunkelberger) Hetrick and granddaughter of John Hetrick and of Joseph Dunkelberger. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Snyder: Willard D. (who died in infancy), Henry Alvin and Esther Pauline. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are Lutheran members of St. John's Church. He is a Republican in politics, and at present is serving as township auditor and supervisor. SNYDER (SCHNEIDER). Gabriel Schneider, a native of Berks county, Pa., located in the Lykens Valley, in Dauphin county, at what is now known as Uniontown, formerly Snydertown. He was known as "Gab" Schneider. A miller by occupation, he built a stone gristmill on the Mahantango creek which is still (1910) standing, and which after his day was owned by a Boyer. According to tradition this pioneer Schneider was buried at Uniontown. He had, among other children, a son David. David Schneider, son of Gabriel, succeeded his father in the milling business, conducting the mill for some years, until he sold it to Boyer; the lat- END OF PAGE 781 ter was succeeded by his son, Levi Boyer. After selling the mill David Schneider moved to Washington township, Northumberland county, where he operated what is now known as the Latsha mill. Continuing thus for some years, he moved to Tower City, Schuylkill county, where he died at an advanced age. His children were Henry (who lived at Sacramento, Schuylkill county) and Peter. Peter Snyder, son of David, learned milling at the Uniontown mill operated the Haas mill near Sunbury, in Rockefeller township, two years, and then came to Washington township, where he operated what is now known as the Latsha mill for two years. He died in April 1849, when less than thirty years old, and is buried at Himmel's Church. Peter Snyder married Elizabeth Hepner, daughter of Henry Hepner (married a Schaeffer), and two children were born to them, Sarah and Israel. The daughter is the wife of Isaac Brown, now a retired miller, and they live at Winfield, Union Co., Pa.; they had children: Elsworth, Irwin, Charles and Emma. ISRAEL SNYDER, son of Peter, was born Nov. 22, 1847, in Rockefeller township, Northumberland county, and in 1867 commenced to learn the carpenter's trade, which he has ever since followed. After five years at the trade he began to work as boss carpenter, and he has been engaged all over the lower end of Northumberland county as well as in Allentown and other cities in the eastern part of the State. He worked sixteen years for Acker, Slayman & Co., of Shamokin, and has long been in business on his own account employing from two to nineteen men, as the needs of his work demand. He built the large store and residence of A. G. Sleich at Gowen City, Northumberland county; two of the largest public schoolhouses in Shamokin; the three story 119-foot knob factory at Shamokin; the Lutheran and Reformed church at Gowen City; the U. B. church at Uniontown; and many houses and barns in different sections of the county. His high-grade work and success have brought him a large patronage, which he holds by the same methods through which it was won. In 1870 Mr. Snyder married Elizabeth Maurer, daughter of David Maurer, of Upper Mahantango township, Schuylkill county, and children as follows have been born to this union: a son that died in infancy; Alvin, who died aged two years, two months, eighteen days; Mary E., who married Edgar Romberger, of Schuylkill county, and has had Mazie, Willie, Annie, Howard (deceased) and Catie; and Annie E., who married Elmer Smith, of Shamokin, and has three children; George Israel, Emma E. and Allen. Mr. Snyder and his family are Lutheran members of St. John's Church. He is an independent voter, and has served his township three years as auditor.