Floyd's Northumberland County Genealogy Pages 563 thru 587 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. JOHN T. CROMPTON, of Mount Carmel, has been identified with the industrial interests of that place since he came there in 1906 to take charge of the hosiery mills, the leading manufacturing establishment of the place. For three years before he was sent to Mount Carmel he was at Shamokin in the employ of the same concern. Mr. Crompton is a native of Philadelphia, Pa., born in 1861. His father, John T. Crompton, was born in England, whence he came to America in 1847 in a sailing vessel. The voyage took six months. He settled in Philadelphia, where he found employment with a cousin of the same name in the manufacture of paper boxes, continuing to follow this work until his death, which occurred in 1873 His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Gould, died only a few months before him. They were the parents of four children, namely: Georgiana, who died young; John T.; Georgiana, who lives in Gloucester, N. J.; and William, of Philadelphia. John T. Crompton received his education in the schools of his native city. He began work early, in a stocking mill but after a short period of employment there went to the State of Delaware, where he was engaged at farm work four years. In 1881 he located in New Jersey, where he also followed farm work and he was engaged in farming for fifteen years on his own account before he commenced commercial life. He embarked in the commission business in Philadelphia, at No. 305 Front street, where he continued for three years. He has since been employed with the W. F. Tauble (Inc.) Hosiery Mills. His first work for this concern was in New Jersey, in the dye house, and in 1903 he was sent to Shamokin, Pa., to take the position of assistant superintendent. On Sept. 13, 1906, he came to Mount Carmel to take charge of the mill at that point, where two hundred and fifty hands are steadily employed. The mill is the leading industrial establishment in Mount Carmel, and as such occupies an important place in determining the local welfare. Mr. Crompton, in his capacity of superintendent, has shown himself to he a man of ability and resource, and possessed of excellent judgment, and he is a respected citizen of his community. On June 3, 1886, Mr. Crompton married Mary Lovell, and they have three children, John, Ida and George. The family reside at No. 305 West Third street. Mr. Crompton is a member of the Knights of Malta commandery at Mount Carmel, and while in New Jersey he joined the I.O.M., Jr. O.U.A.M. and P.O.S. of A. HERBERT J. STANNERT, a leading business man of the borough of Northumberland, and the only lumber merchant at that point, is carrying on the business established by his father and occupies an important position in the commercial life of his section. He gives employment to a large number of men, having a variety of interests which keep him busy and attract capital to the town. The Stannert family has been settled in Northumberland county from the time of his grandfather, Jonathan Stannert, back of whose time we have little definite record. The name Stannert is of French origin, but as many English have French names, through the thousands of Normans who went over to England with the Conqueror, it cannot be stated of what nationality the early members of the family in America are. At the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes over one hundred thousand Huguenots fled to England and hundreds of their sons came to Pennsylvania as English. Again, William, Prince of Orange, had a whole brigade of Huguenots with his army at the battle of the Boyne (1690) in Ireland, most of whom stayed in Ireland after the victory, and many of them, or their sons, came to Pennsylvania with the Scotch-Irish. For this information we are indebted to the Rev. Dr. A. Stapleton, who thinks these Stannerts may have come to Pennsylvania from New Jersey probably the second or third generation in this country, there being many such families in Pennsylvania. General Stannert, of the Civil war, was from New Jersey. Jonathan Stannert, great-grandfather of Herbert J. Stannert, lived at Conshohocken, Pa., where he was a successful business man, a miller and merchant, and also had a farm. He had a number of children, who settled in the lower counties of Pennsylvania, and among them was a son Jonathan, who was born in Conshohocken. Jonathan Stannert, son of Jonathan, came to Chillisquaque township, Northumberland county, in 1829 or 1830, and there passed the rest of his active years, engaged, in farming, at Sodom. Originally he owned a large tract of land. Some years before his death he retired to Lewisburg, Pa., where he died and is buried. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian. His wife, Sarah (Sedginger), who hailed from Conshohocken, died two years before him. They were the parents of the following children: Samuel, Massey, Dorothy, William, Harriet, Hannah, John H., and two who died young. John H. Stannert, son of Jonathan, was born June 10, 1833, in Chillisquaque township, and attended the eight-cornered schoolhouse still standing in the central part of Chillisquaque township. Until eighteen he was employed at farm work, and then learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed until he entered the Union service during the Civil war. In 1862 he enlisted in Company D, 150th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, with which he served one year, becoming second sergeant of his company. He was discharged from Turness Lane hospital the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, but reentered the service and was superintendent of commissary un- END OF PAGE 563 til Lees surrender. After the war he was engaged in boating grain for a time, and later carried on the coal business at Lewisburg, Pa., in 1881 coming to the borough of Northumberland, where he has since made his home. He dredged sand from the west branch of the Susquehanna for twenty years, until his retirement, in 1905, when he turned the business over to his son, who has since continued the original line and added other branches, now having a large establishment. Mr. Stannert has long been one of the most respected residents of Northumberland, and aside from business has become particularly well known for his active association with religious work. He is an earnest member of the Methodist Church, has served as class leader, exhorter and trustee, and has endeavored to lead an exemplary Christian life. He has been one of the pillars of his church for many years. In 1854 Mr. Stannert married Mary Paul, daughter of Sampson Paul, of Lewisburg, and they have had eleven children: Ella (deceased), Thomas, Wilson P., Lawrence, Mary, Clara, Harry, William (deceased), Herbert J., a daughter that died in infancy, and Nellie. Herbert J. Stannert was born Nov. 12, 1871, and received his early education in the public schools of Lewisburg, later attending the Northumberland high school and Williamsport Business College, from which he was graduated in 1894. From that time he assisted his father, who is engaged principally in the sand business, succeeding him in 1905. Mr. Stannert not only deals in lumber, brick, slate and sand, but also handles all kinds of mill work. His business has reached large proportions, forty men being now given employment in the conduct of its various branches, Mr. Stannert being one of the busiest and most successful men in the borough. He has taken contracts of all kinds, having put up a number of buildings, including several dwellings, in Northumberland, does all kinds of cement work, and is daily increasing the extent and importance of his interests. He came to enter the lumber business, now his principal line, through contracting. Mr. Stannert has given his influence and aid to the promotion of various enterprises of importance to the general welfare of his locality. His standing in the community has been gained by able administration of his numerous undertakings, and his integrity and honorable methods are recognized by all who have been associated with him. His connection with the public affairs of the borough has been continuous from his young manhood, he having been a member since 1895 of the borough council, of which body he was president for some years. He is a leading member of the Republican party in his section, has been Republican borough chairman since 1909, and was prominently mentioned for the senatorship of his district until he himself discouraged the movement in his favor. Fraternally he holds membership in Eureka Lodge, No. 404, F. & A.M., and Lodge No. 196, I.O.O.F, both of Northumberland; and in Chapter No. 174 R.A.M., of Sunbury. On Dec. 25, 1895, Mr. Stannert married Ida U. Steffen, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Dangler) Steffen, of Snyder county, Pa., and they have one daughter, Mary Margaret. GEORGE M. HOWELL, general merchant, is a resident of the borough of Northumberland, Northumberland county, where he has his principal establishment. He began the business in partnership with his father Charles M. Howell, as junior member of the firm of C. Howell & Son, and still does business under that name. The Howell family is of English origin and has been settled in America from early Colonial times, the first ancestor on this side of the Atlantic having been Edward Howell, who was born in England and baptized July 22, 1580, came to America about 1639-40 and first settled at Lynn, Mass. Later he moved to Long Island, settling at Southampton, where he died. George M. Howell is directly descended from him. Charles Muirheid Howell, father of George M. Howell, was born July 17, 1851, at Van Camp, Columbia Co., Pa., and in 1889 settled with his family at Northumberland, Pa., where he became one of the foremost men of his day. He was a leading business man of that place, and in his later years took his son George V. Howell into partnership, under the firm name of C. M. Howell & Son. He died at Northumberland July, 4, 1907. Mr. Howell married Frances E. McCollum, who survives him and continues to make her home at Northumberland, and to them were born children as follows: Maude, wife of W. L. Gutelius, of Washington, D. C.; Edna, wife of Herbert W. Cummings, of Sunbury, Pa., ex-district attorney of Northumberland county; George M.; Charles M., a graduate of Bucknell University, now a civil engineer; and Edward L., a student at Bucknell University. George M. Howell was born Dec. 19, 1876, at Eckley, Luzerne Co., Pa., and began his education in the schools of Fayette county, this State, whither his parents moved in 1881. He also attended Bucknell University and State College, meantime moving with the family to the borough of Northumberland. His school days over, he entered into business life as his father's partner, under the firm name C. M. Howell & Son. Since the death of his father he has continued the business under the same name, and he still has his main office at Northumberland, where he has the leading general store in the place. He conducts two branch stores, one at Oneida, Schuylkill Co., Pa., and the other at Fern Glen (Gowen post of- END OF PAGE 564 fice), Luzerne Co., Pa., all under his personal management. Mr. Howell has been a highly successful business man, applying the most modern methods to the operation of his stores, all of which are run on a profitable basis. He is a well known citizen of Northumberland, and identified with the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in Eureka Lodge, No. 404, F. & A.M.; Bloomsburg Lodge of Perfection, fourteenth degree; and Bloomsburg Consistory, thirty-second degree. He is a member of the Phi Gamma Delta college fraternity. On March 15, 1902, Mr. Howell married Jennie L. Eckert, daughter of H. T. Eckert, of Sunbury, and they have had one son, George M., Jr., born Aug. 4, 1904. The family are Presbyterians in religious association. J. IRVIN STEEL, Jr., of Shamokin, editor and publisher of the Shamokin Daily Herald, is a newspaper man "by inheritance," his father and brothers having all born successful publishers. His father, J. Irvin Steel, Sr., a native of Huntingdon, Pa., died May 29, 1904, at Ashland, Schuylkill county, where he resided for forty years. He started the Ashland Advocate, later known as the Evening Telegraph, and also owned the Shamokin Dispatch. His wife, Mary (Gwinn), died in Ashland twenty years ago. They had sons Charles E. Steel, of Minersville, Pa., cashier of the Union National Bank; W. A. Steel, newspaper man in Seattle, Wash., and Cordova, Alaska; J. Irvin Steel, of the Shamokin Herald; Stewart Steel, of Ashland, printer; and Harry G. Steel, of Cordova, Alaska, a newspaper man. J. Irvin Steel, Jr., was born in 1865 at Ashland, Schuylkill Co., Pa., where he was educated. Coming to Shamokin eighteen years ago, he was associated during the first year of his residence in the borough with his father, who owned the Daily Dispatch. One year later he joined his brothers, Harry G. and Charles F. Steel, as one of the proprietors of the Daily Herald, a newspaper originally established in 1862 and published continuously since. It has been issued daily since 1888. About eight years ago Mr. Steel bought out his brothers' interests, becoming sole proprietor, and still continues as such. His only child, William A. Steel, is city editor of the Herald. The business is located at No. 712 North Rock street, and a profitable printing business has been established, book, legal, general job and commercial work of all kinds being turned out. On Jan. 17, 1911, Mr. Steel was appointed transcribing clerk of the Pennsylvania Senate. He is a member of Lodge No. 355, B.P.O. Elks. Politically he is a Republican, and is considered a high authority in the local political field, prominent in the councils of his party in Northumberland county. JAMES B. ENT, a farmer of Ralpho township, Northumberland county, was born at the place he now resides Dec. 16, 1859, and has followed general farming and trucking all his life. He was the first tax collector elected in his township, and has the reputation of being a reliable, intelligent man, a valuable citizen of the district in which he makes his home. Peter Ent great-grandfather of James B. Ent, was a native of Jersey, born Jan. 11, 1749, and died Feb. 28, 1829, aged eighty years, one month, seventeen days. He served as a flag bearer in the Revolutionary war. His wife, Sarah (Kent), born March 11 1755, died May 14, 1821, aged sixty-six years, three months, three days. Their daughter Susanna, who married William Brewer, was born May 16, 1784, and died Nov. 21, 1854, aged seventy years, six months, five days. Charles Ent, grandfather of James B. Ent, lived and died in Columbia county, Pa., where he followed farming, owning two large farms there, in Roaring creek valley. He was born June 25, 1788 and died Jan. 1, 1849. He married Elizabeth Mear's, and his children, all now deceased, were: Peter, John, Jackson, Daniel, Charles, Thomas, George, Samuel, Sarah, Angeline, Caroline and Mary. Samuel Ent, son of Charles Ent, was born Feb. 13, 1813, in Columbia county, and died Nov. 9, 1869. In his earlier manhood he followed cabinet-making and the undertaking business and later engaged at the carpenter's trade, many of the old structures around Elysburg having been built by him. In 1865 he erected the old Elysburg Academy building, now known as Odd Fellows Hall. He was a prominent member of the Democratic party, and served as commissioner of Northumberland county in 1858-59-60-61. A member of the I.O.O.F., he originally belonged to Mount Tabor Lodge, at Shamokin, which he served as noble grand, and when Elysburg Lodge was organized he became a charter member. In various ways he was considered one of the leading men of his district. On March 30, 1836, Mr. Ent married Lucy Clayton, daughter of William Clayton. She was born Dec. 17, 1814, and died March 31, 1883, and she and her husband are buried at St. Jacob's (Reed's) church in Ralpho township. They had children as follows: Elizabeth married Luther Hoover, and died in 1869, aged thirty-one years; Ellen S., born in 1840, died in 1863; William Clayton, born in 1843, died in 1869 (he served during the Civil war in Company F, 104th Regiment. Pennsylvania Volunteer Reserves); Louisa married Freeman Haas; Adeline is living with her brother James B.; Charles W., born Feb. 19, 1850, died Nov. 2, 1869; George B., born April 19, 1853, died 31 March 7, 1873; Dora married Simon G. Kase; James is residing on the old home place. James B. Ent attended the local public schools and Elysburg Academy, and throughout his active life has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He END OF PAGE 565 now owns his fathers farm a tract of seventy acres near Elysburg and takes his produce to the Shamokin markets, where he finds a ready sale for his crops. Mr. has prospered by dint of persevering industry and devotion to his work. He is a man of solid worth, possessing the courage of his convictions, and votes the Prohibition ticket, and has served upon the local election board. He was the first tax collector of Ralpho township. In religion he is identified with the M. E. Church, being one of its active members, and socially he belongs to the I.O.O.F. and P.O.S. of A. On Nov. 2, 1881, Mr. Ent married Ida Grim, daughter of Amos and Elizabeth (Gilbert) Grim, of Dauphin county, Pa., and they have had three children Bertha, married to S. Kimber Fahringer (they reside at Tamaqua, Pa.); Harry, who died in infancy and Lucy. WEBSTER HERB YODER, shoe merchant at Mount Carmel has been established in his present line of business in that borough for several years and has made a success of his venture, being one of the most progressive young business men of the community, one whose enterprise and perseverance deserve the reward of prosperity. He is a public- spirited citizen, ready to enter into projects affecting the general welfare as well as his Prosperity. Mr. Yoder is a native of Schuylkill county, born Dec. 24, 1877, in Eldred township, son of Lewis K. Yoder, grandson of Peter and great-grandson of Anthony Yoder. The first of the Yoder (sometimes spelled Yodder and Yotter in the German) name in America were Yost and Hans (or Hance), brothers, who sought refuge in England from the religious persecutions suffered in their native Switzerland. They brought little with them to America besides their Bible. Upon their arrival in the New World they pushed on into the wilderness beyond Oley hills, and finally settled on the Manatawny. Yost Yoder was one of the most active of the early frontiersmen of Pennsylvania. His chief occupations were hunting and trapping, which he always combined with farming, or rather with the "clearing and cultivation of a plantation. It is certain that he and his brother were located in Pennsylvania before 1714. Nine children were born to Yost Yoder, and of seven of these the record is as follows: (I) Johannes Yoder, often called Yost, was born in 1718. After 1752 he removed to Reading, where he died April 7, 1812, and his remains were interred on his father's land at Yottersville (Yodersville), named after his family, now Pleasantville, in Oley township, Berks county. The following inscription marks his grave: "Hier Rhuet Johannes Yoder. Er wurde geboren 1718. Verelichte sich mit Catharina Lyster (Lesher) 1747 und zeughte 4 sohne und 5 tochtern. Starb den 7th April, 1812, nach seiner 66 yahr in der ehe gelebt hatte war alt warden 94 yahr und 14 tag." In 1747 be married Catharine Lyster (Lesher) and her tombstone records "b. 1730, d. 1812 having lived married 66 years and aged 82 years." (2) Jacob Yoder removed to the western side of the Schuylkill. On Nov. 6, 1757, at the age of twenty two years, he enlisted in the Provincial service of Pennsylvania, and was a saddler three year in Capt. John Nicholas Weatherholt's company. He was stationed in Heidelberg township, Northampton county, in March and April, 1758. Pa. Arch., 2d Ser., Vol. III. He served in the American Revolution as a private in Peter Nagle's company, and later in Capt. Charles Gobin's company, 6th Battalion, Berks county, Pa. He was in a detachment of the 6th Battalion to guard prisoners of war from the Hessian camp at Reading to Philadelphia. He married Maria Keim. (3) Samuel Yoder settled on a "plantation" near Lobachsville, about one and one half miles from Pleasantville, which he received from his father. He had children: John, Jacob, Samuel and Catharine. (4) Mary Yoder married Daniel Bertolet. (5) Catharine Yoder married John Reppert. (6) Elizabeth Yoder was the wife of Mathias Rhode and they had children: Jacob, John, Joseph, Abraham, Catharine, Maria and Esther. (7) Ester Yoder married a man named Cunius. The wolves in Oley wrought great injury among the sheep and hogs of the settlers. It was customary to make pitfalls and thus trap them. Many stories are told of Yost Yoder's efforts at their extermination. He sometimes disposed of five in a single night. He was a man of remarkable strength and powers of endurance, and possessed famous courage. He made customary hunting trips every fall into the Blue Mountains with his trusty rifle and faithful dog. On his trail at different stages of his journeys he had places of deposit for supplies in hollow trees. The Yoder Bible, dated 1530, was printed during the lifetime of Martin Luther. It was held continuously by the family until as late as 1860, and is now the property of Mary B. Yoder, daughter of David, son of Daniel. It is well preserved, though unfortunately the lid and date are torn away. This priceless treasure of their faith from the Fatherland was "as a lamp unto their feet" in their flight to America. The Yoders of Berks extended into New York and the West. In the list of representatives in the Fiftieth United States Congress was S. S. Yoder, of Lima, Ohio. Hans (or Hance) Yoder, the emigrant brother of Yost, was the builder and owner of what is now known as Griesemer's mills (burned in 1847, and rebuilt the same year). This property in the early days was the homestead of the Yoders of Oley. The survey of the plantation under proprietary warrant to Hance Yoder was returned March 25, 1714. At that time Oley township was END OF PAGE 566 the haunt of Indians, and of wolves, bear and other wild game. The wives of the German settlers also bore their part in the subjugation of the wilderness. One day while at work, extending their clearing in the forest, they having shut their children in the cabin as a protection from the beasts which roamed over their land, they were suddenly aroused by the report of a rifle in the direction of their cabin. As it was not unusual for predatory bands of bloodthirsty Iroquois from the north to roam over the country they hastened in the direction of the shot to see their cabin surrounded by a party of drunken savages, who having been refused admittance by the terrified children within retaliated by firing through the closed door. Mr. Yoder at once made an attack with a singletree, and soon put them to flight with threats of revenge. Returning with increased numbers they demanded satisfaction, but Mr. Yoder's coolness won him friends among them who forced the others to desist. Hans (Hance) Yoder was the father of four sons: Hans (2), Samuel, Peter and Daniel. The last named, born in 1718, died Aug. 21, 1749, aged thirty-one years, eight months, and was buried in the cemetery at Pleasantville. Anthony Yoder, great-grandfather of Webster H. Yoder, lived in the Mahantango Valley in Schuylkill county, where he followed farming. His wife was Sarah Howerter, and they are buried at the Howerter church in that valley. They had children as follows: Polly died unmarried; Elizabeth married George Moyer; Judith married Samuel Neiswender; Susan married Daniel Wetzel; Eva married Daniel Stitzer; Kate married Henry Hoffman; Sybilla married Jacob Zimmerman; Sarah married Josias Coppenhafer; Peter is mentioned below; Harrison and Reuben died in Schuylkill county. Peter Yoder, son of Anthony, was born in 1827 and died May 16, 1868, in Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county. He lived in the Mahantango Valley for many years, and was a stonemason by occupation. He married Harriet Klock, who after his death became the wife of Sebastian Zimmerman, Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman being now residents of Sunbury, this county. To Peter and Harriet (Klock) Yoder were born these children: Mary F. died young; Lewis K. is mentioned below; Emma married Joel Hepler, who is deceased; Julia married (first) Benjamin Fertig and (second) John Singmeister; Christiana married George Bennett; William H. died young; Peter is living at Scranton, Pennsylvania. Lewis K. Yoder, father of Webster H. Yoder, was born Feb. 28, 1856, in Eldred township, Schuylkill county, near the Northumberland county line. When a young man he learned shoemaking, and has followed that trade principally throughout his active years, except for a few years when he worked in the mines. In 1884 he made his home in Mount Carmel, where he has since resided. He married Sarah Herb, daughter of William and Catharine (Kehler) Herb, and they are the parents of six children, namely: Webster H. is mentioned below; Elmer, born Oct. 7, 1879, lives in Mount Carmel; Frank, born Nov. 21, 1881, lives in Pottsville; Alice, born Sept. 22, 1888, is now working for her brother Webster; Jennie, twin of Alice, is engaged as a teacher in Mount Carmel; Helen, born Jan. 12, 1897, is attending school. Webster Herb Yoder was a mere boy when his parents settled in Mount Carmel, so that he has practically been a resident of that place all his life. He attended the local public schools and when eleven years old began work as a slate picker, working as such for two years. He then entered the employ of Daniel D. Bolich, with whom he continued for ten and a half years, learning the shoe business thoroughly. For a short time afterward he was in the service of Gimbel Brothers, at Philadelphia, on Dec. 30, 1902, embarking in business in Mount Carmel on his own account. He has been at the same location, No. 22 South Oak street ever since, and has built up a large business as a shoe dealer, making a specialty of the Crossett shoe for men, the LaFrance for ladies, and the Educator shoe, "for the whole family." Mr. Yoder keeps up with the times in the changes which occur in his line of business, and is ever ready to adopt new styles and new methods which promise satisfaction to his customers, who by long continued patronage show their appreciation of his efforts. He is secretary of the Retail Merchants Protective Association of Mount Carmel and holds the respect of his fellow citizens of all classes who have, had dealings of any kind with him. On Oct. 6, 1906, Mr. Yoder married Isabella Anderson, daughter of George D. Anderson. He is an active member of the Church of God, of which he is a trustee, and he has been county secretary of the Northumberland County Sunday School Association for the past six years. Socially he is a member of Lodge No. 630, I.O.O.F. (of which he is a past grand), of Camp No. 231, P.O.S. of A., and of the Modern Woodmen Camp No. 8207. In political sentiment he is a Republican, but his activity does not go beyond the casting of his ballot. HENRY A. WOLF, a farmer of Jordan township, Northumberland county, has passed all his life there. He was born in that township in June, 1853, son of Henry Wolf and belongs to a family which was settled there in 1778, when Upper Mahanoy township was formed from Mahanoy, which formerly included all the territory in Northumberland county south of Line Mountain. END OF PAGE 567 Jonathan Wolf, the first of this line of whom we have record, was a taxable of this district at the time of the separation, in 1778. Anthony (Andoni) Wolf, son of Jonathan, was born Nov. 16, 1768, and was one of the early settlers in Jackson township, living where Michael later resided. This homestead farm is near Peifers Evangelical meeting house, and is now owned by Isaac Wolf, son of Michael. Anthony Wolf died March 29, 1852, and is buried at St. Peter's Church, Mahanoy. Michael Wolf (nephew of Anthony) was born Dec. 9, 1801, and died March 4, 1862. He was a farmer; owning the property which now belongs to his son Isaac. His wife, Mary M., born Feb. 21, 1795, died Feb. 7, 1882. They are buried at St. Peter's Church, Mahanoy. Their children were: Isaac, who is now (1910) one of the oldest residents of Jackson township; Samuel, born Nov. 18, 1830, who died May l0, 1902 (his wife Sarah, born July 6, 1841, died Jan. 20, 1885); Sophia; and Catharine, who married Jacob Hepner. George Wolf, son of Anthony, was born in the lower end of Northumberland county, and made his home in Jordan township, where Edward Schlegel now lives. The buildings which stood on the property in his time have, however, all been destroyed. He was a wool hat maker by trade. He died from the effects of a cold which he contracted after having a tooth extracted. To him and his wife, Esther (DeTurck), were born the following children: Catharine, who married Jacob Merkel and lived in the Mahantango Valley; Hettie, who married Daniel Weaver and lived in Juniata county, Pa.; Jeremiah, who lived in Lower Mahanoy township; Henry; and George, a farmer of Jordan township, whose children were Luzetta, Alice, Amos D. (1860-1892), George, Nathaniel, Henry, Morris, Minerva, Kate and William. Mrs. Esther (DeTurck) Wolf was a lineal descendant of Isaac DeTurck, a French Huguenot, who came to New York about 1709-10 and in 1712 became the first settler in what is now Oley township, Berks Co., Pennsylvania. Henry Wolf, son of George, was born in Jordan township Oct. 21, 1823, and died March 19, 1896. By trade he was a stonemason. For a number of years he lived with his son Henry A. His wife, Rebecca (Adam), was born in 1826, daughter of John Adam (whose wife's maiden name was Herb), and died in 1907, aged eighty-one years, six months, twenty-two days. They are buried in Urban at St. Paul's Church, to which both belonged, Mr. Wolf being a Lutheran and his wife a Reformed member of that church. He served as elder for a number of years. Twelve children were born to this couple: Hettie, who died young; John and William, twins, the former of whom is associated with his brother Henry in farming, Henry A. having a two-thirds interest, John a one-third interest, in the properties; Henry A.; Lydiann; Daniel, who lives on the tract belonging to his brother Henry (he married Emma Leffler and has two sons, Edwin and John); Elias; Rebecca Mary; and four who died young. Henry A. Wolf attended the pay schools conducted in the home district during his boyhood and later the free schools, and he was reared to farm life. When eighteen years old he began farming for himself, having had unusual training of the most practical kind. He was only eleven when hired by his uncle, Gabriel Adams, for whom he continued to work until he was eighteen. He farmed the property of his uncle Gabriel for twelve years, and meantime also burned and hauled lime. In the spring of 1884 he came to his present place, a farm of 136 acres in Stone Valley, in Jordan township, formerly known as the Isaac Wentzel farm, and there he has since lived and worked, following general farming with steady success. He has prospered, and acquired other property, owning a tract of thirty acres, also in Jordan township, which was formerly the farm of Henry Witmer, and a third piece, of forty acres, which was the John Wentzel home. All of his tracts are limestone soil and very productive under his management, which is thoroughly up to date. Mr. Wolf is a hard worker and deserves the success which has attended his efforts, and he is one of the most esteemed citizens of his locality. He has served as supervisor, and is at present one of the auditors of his township. He has also been an active member of the Reformed congregation at St. Paul's Church, Urban, to which his family also belong. Mr. Wolf is now serving as elder of the church, and is also one of the trustees. Though he has never had any instruction in music he plays very well, and for twenty-three years he served as organist of his church, his daughter Mrs. Baum succeeding him. In politics, like all of his family, Mr. Wolf is a Republican. In 1884 Mr. Wolf married Emma Dubbendorf, daughter of William and Julianna (Wiest) Dubbendorf, and they have had five children, one of whom is deceased. The survivors are: Mary F., wife of Edwin Baum, who has one child, Charles Edward; William Oscar, who married Beulah Brosius May 30, 1909, and has one child, Melvin Stanley; Harvey E., who married May Schlegel Jan. 1, 1910, and has one child, Nevin Lee; and Nora S. JOHN P. CARPENTER, present solicitor for the municipality of Sunbury, and formerly justice of the peace of that borough, is an attorney who has risen steadily in his profession since he commenced practice, in 1893. He has been a hard worker, zealous in the discharge of his public duties and successful in the conduct of his private cases. Mr. Carpenter is a native of Snyder coun- END OF PAGE 568 ty, Pa., born Oct. 18, 1867, at Beavertown, son of Alvin M. Carpenter and grandson of Giles Carpenter. Giles Carpenter was a native of Germany and was one of three brothers who emigrated to America. He was a wheelwright and miller by occupation, and for a number of years conducted a mill at Ephrata, Lancaster Co., Pa., where he reared his family. He married Jane E. McClintick, who was born and brought up in Mifflin county, Pa., and they became the parents of thirteen children, only four of whom survive, namely: Amanda (deceased), Martha (deceased), Margaret (wife of Philip Lash; they live in Michigan), James (deceased), Belinda (wife of Amos E. Sellers and living in Lancaster, Pa.), Hiram (who died young), Sylvester (deceased), Arabella (deceased), Cincanna (who died young), Louisa (who died young), Alvin M., Samuel L. (of Lancaster, Pa.), and one that died young. Two of the children died of scarlet fever while the family lived at Ephrata. Alvin M. Carpenter, son of Giles, was born Aug. 21, 1841, in Lancaster county, Pa., and was reared principally on the farm. When sixteen years old he commenced to learn the trade of cabinetmaker, which he continued to follow for fifteen years, meantime locating in Adamsburg, Snyder county. He then began farming in that county, being thus engaged in Beaver township for a period of thirty years, and in connection with agricultural work he follows huckstering, buying and selling produce, in which line he has established a profitable trade. Occasionally he does carpenter work and painting, being an excellent mechanic and an all-around thrifty man. For eighteen years Mr. Carpenter taught singing classes, and in that connection is widely known to young and old in his locality. On July 29, 1866, Mr. Carpenter married Ellen Feese, daughter of Reuben and Eliza (Middlewerth) Feese, of Beavertown, Pa., and they have had a family of eight children: John P. is mentioned fully below; Gertie May is deceased; Charles E. lives in West Virginia; Rev. Sanford is a well known minister of the Evangelical Lutheran denomination, at present located at Carthage, Ill.; Elsie married George C. Walker, and they are farming people at Beavertown; Harry M. is deceased; Ira J., of Sunbury, is engaged in railroading; Bessie E. is the wife of Roy E. Eisenhour, of Sunbury. Mr. Carpenter and his family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, in which he has long been a prominent worker, having served as elder and trustee, and for a number of years as superintendent of the Sunday school. John P. Carpenter received his early education in the public schools, later attending the State normal school at Bloomsburg and Susquehanna University, at Selinsgrove, from which latter institution he was graduated in the class of 1891. During the next two years he taught school in Rockefeller township, Northumberland county, meanwhile reading law in the office of C. B. Witmer. In fact he gained most of his advanced education while supporting himself by teaching, having taught a number of terms before his graduation from the university, two in Lower Mahanoy township, this county. In 1893 he was admitted to practice before the Northumberland county bar, and he is now qualified to practice before the Supreme court (to which he was admitted in 1898), the Superior court (since 1909) and the Superior and Circuit courts of the United States. His public honors came to him unusually early in his practice. In 1899 he became justice of the peace for the borough of Sunbury, continuing to hold that office for two successive terms until 1909, and he is the present solicitor for the borough of Sunbury, having held that position since 1907; in March, 1911, he was reelected to succeed himself for another term of three years. In that capacity he defended the borough in the case of Cake versus the borough of Sunbury, in which a new principle of law was involved, and had the case decided in favor of the borough. His professional work is above reproach, and his patronage comes from a substantial class of clients, whose confidence is a gratifying recognition of ability. From young manhood Mr. Carpenter has been an active member of the Republican party, in whose councils he is quite influential. He was a delegate to the district convention that nominated Dr. E. W. Samuel, of Mount Carmel, for Congress. In 1894 Mr. Carpenter married Hannah Minerva Witmer, daughter of Isaac L. Witmer, of Lower Mahanoy township, and they have two children, Anna Ellen and Alvin Witmer. The family are active in church work in affiliation with Zion's Lutheran Church, in which Mr. Carpenter holds membership; he has been a member of the church choir since 1891. Fraternally he is a member of Lodge No. 167, B.P.O. Elks, of Sunbury, and of Col. James Cameron Camp, Sons of Veterans, also of Sunbury. DAVID J. JONES, who is engaged in business at Shamokin, Northumberland county, as a coal dealer and contractor, has lived in the borough from boyhood and has made his own way to a substantial and respected position in the community. He is one of the foremost contractors of this section, where much of his work is in evidence. Mr. Jones was born Jan. 25, 1871, in Danville, Montour Co., Pa., and is of Welsh descent, his grandfather, a native of Wales, having brought END OF PAGE 569 his family to America and settled near Danville. He was employed in the ore mines, and died at Danville, where he is buried. John T. Jones, father of David J. Jones, was born in Wales in 1833 and was fourteen years when he came with his father to this country. He learned shoemaking, and in time became a shoe merchant at Danville, where he was a leading business man for a number of years. At the time of the construction of the Reading railroad he made the shoes for the men employed in that work. He died at Danville March 28, 1874, at the comparatively early age of forty-one years. Mr. Jones married Elizabeth J. Williams, daughter of Thomas R. Williams, and she died Feb. 4, 1886, the mother of nine children, viz.: The first three died young; Sarah is deceased; Margaret married (first) William Humphrey and (second) Hugh Wier; May married (first) Harry Young and (second) H. P. Ridel; David J. is mentioned below; Elizabeth is the wife of John Tasker, of Shamokin, Pa.; John is deceased. David J. Jones was eight years old when he came to Shamokin, and when he was nine he commenced work as a slate picker at the Sterling colliery. Later he was employed by Cruikshank & Emes for a time and after that by Thomas Baumgardner at the Enterprise colliery, as door tender, remaining at the latter works until he reached the age of twenty years. He then spent a year at the Cameron colliery. In September, 1893, he turned to teaming, on his own account, and soon was interested in contracting, which he has since followed, having now one of the most extensive contracting businesses in Shamokin. His combination of interests has proved very profitable, the various branches of work he carries on giving constant employment to his men and teams. His interests now include, besides coal dealing and contracting, moving (for which he has a large dray) and excavation work of all kinds. He did the excavation work for the building of the new Dime Trust & Safe Deposit Company. His business is located at No. 132 East Arch street. The fact that he constructed five and a quarter miles of the State road from Shamokin to Paxinos gives some idea of the magnitude of his undertakings. He has the confidence of a wide circle of patrons and is considered a reliable and intelligent citizen, being well known among the solid business men of the borough. Many dwellings there are of his construction. On Dec. 26, 1892, Mr. Jones married Bessie Maude Keiser, daughter of Reuben Keiser, and they have had the following children: David (deceased), Sarah, George, May, Maude, Paul, John (deceased) and Fred. The family home is at No. 132 East Arch street. Mr. Jones is a prominent member of the Baptist Church, in which he has been an enthusiastic worker, having served fourteen years as deacon, the same length of time as trustee, sixteen years as leader of the choir, and nineteen years as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a Republican in politics and socially a member of Garfield Lodge, I.O.O.F. Henry Keiser, great-grandfather of Mrs. David J. Jones, was of German origin and was born June 25, 1784. He moved from Berks county, Pa., to Union county, and thence to Northumberland county, finally settling in the Irish Valley, where he engaged in farming to the end of his days He died Nov. 13, 1864, and his wife, who was born Aug. 5, 1781, died Oct. 11, 1852. Henry Keiser, son of Henry, was born in 1811 and passed all his life in Northumberland county, dying in 1873. He settled in Shamokin, where he carried on a general mercantile business. He was a member of the Evangelical Church. He and his wife, Catherine (Reaker), had a family of six children. Reuben Keiser, son of Henry and Catherine (Reaker) Keiser, was born in Shamokin May 15, 1852, and is now living there in retirement. He was long employed as a clerk in his brother's store, following this work about twenty-eight years. He married Sarah Hornberger, daughter of John Hornberger, of Minersville Schuylkill Co., Pa., and a family of ten children was born to this union, namely: Mary, Bessie Maude (Mrs. Jones), John, Reuben, G. Bert, Helen, Hazel, Winfield, Jacob and Frank. JOHN PHILLIPS, a prosperous farmer of the Plum Creek district in Rockefeller township, was born June 26, 1868, in Lower Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, son of Jacob Phillips. This Phillips family is of old Berks county (Pa.) stock, the progenitors of the line in this country having settled in that part of Bern township, Berks county, now embraced in Center township, that county. From this locality came several of the name to Northumberland county, settling in Mahanoy township. Mr. John Phillips traces his descent from the early Berks county settlers through two lines, his father's mother, Susanna (Phillips), having been a daughter of Georg Phillips, the first of his line to come to this county. He was born in Berks county March 24, 1774, and died April 8, l852. His wife, Sarah (Fuchs), died Sept. 25, 1836, aged sixty-one years, three months, twenty-six days. They are buried at Zion's (Stone Valley) Church in what is now Lower Mahanoy township. Their children were: John; Heinrich (born Jan. 9, 1803, died Oct. 23, 1853); Maricha, who married Peter Brosius; Elizabeth, who married Peter Witmer; Catherine (born April 9, 1805, died Sept. 30, 1889), who married Michael Witmer (born March 29, 1804, died Jan. 28, 1842); Sally, who married Heinrich Fox; Chris- END OF PAGE 570 tine, who died unmarried; and Susanna, who married Jacob Phillips. Solomon Phillips, the progenitor of the family in America, came to this country in the ship "Phoenix," Capt. John Mason, which arrived at Philadelphia, Pa., Aug. 28, 1750, he being the only Phillips among the 339 passengers. He settled in Bern (now Center) township, where many of the name now reside, and lived to advanced years, as did his son Michael. He reared a large family, two of his sons being Michael and Heinrich. Michael's son, John H., attained the age of 105 years, and the latter's son Jacob lived to be ninety-two years old. Heinrich Phillips resided near Belleman's Church, where he and his wife Esther (Mogel) lie buried. They reared children as follows: Peter, Jacob, John, Samuel, John Adam and several daughters. Jacob Phillips, father of Jacob Phillips and grandfather of John Phillips, was born in Berks county, and came to Northumberland county when eighteen years old. He settled in Lower Mahanoy township, where he found work among farmers, one of whom was Georg Phillips, whose daughter Susanna he afterward married. After his marriage he commenced farming on his own account in Lower Mahanoy, where he remained a number of years, moving thence to a farm he purchased in Jordan township, the property now owned by his son Elias. He cultivated this place for several years, later purchasing the George Phillips farm in Lower Mahanoy, to which he moved, making his home thereon until his death, which occurred there April 20, 1862, when he was fifty-four years, ten months, four days old. So well had he prospered by steady industry that at the time of his death he owned the two farms mentioned and one in Snyder county, and had several thousand dollars in money. He and his wife Susanne, who died Aug. 16, 1892, at the age of eighty-one years, eight months, twelve days, are buried at the Zion's (Stone Valley) Church. They were the parents of fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, viz.: Isaac, Elias, Benjamin, John, William, George, Jacob, Sarah (who died May 15, 1895, aged fifty-eight years, nine months, six days, married William Schaffer, who died May 6, 1895, aged fifty-nine years, one month, twenty-four days), Ann (married Samuel Spotts), Catharine (married Isaac Spotts, brother of Samuel, who married her sister), Malinda (married Isaac Trego), Susanna, (married Emanuel Boyer), Lizzie (married Frank Dreibelbis) and Emma J. (died young). Jacob Phillips, son of Jacob, was born in Lower Mahanoy township and there has spent the greater part of his life. In about 1874-75 he lived at Richfield, on the border of Snyder county, returning to his native township, where he farmed throughout his active years. He still owns a farm in that township which he has rented to his son Monroe. In 1908 he retired from hard work and has since made his home at Hickory Corners, in Lower Mahanoy township. Mr. Phillips has served as overseer of the poor and as supervisor. He is a Democrat in politics, and a Lutheran in religion, he and his family belonging to the Lutheran congregation of Zion's Church, at Stone Valley, which he has served as member of the church council. He married Hettie Leister, daughter of John Leister, late of Lower Mahanoy township. They have had five children: Frank, who lives in Lower Mahanoy; John; George, of Philadelphia; Charles, of Sunbury; and Monroe, of Lower Mahanoy. John Phillips was reared on the farm and worked for his parents until twenty years old. He then moved to Upper Augusta township, where he farmed for about twelve years, in 1902 purchasing his present farm, in Rockefeller township, which was formerly the old Philip Weiser place. It contains 121 acres of the best land in the valley, and has been highly improved, Mr. Phillips himself having made many changes which have materially increased its value. In 1909 he built the residence, and the two wagon sheds and silos, etc., are also of his construction. In addition to general farming he specializes in dairying, keeping on an average twenty-five milk cows and having always from ten to fifteen young cattle. His milk team goes to Sunbury daily. Everything about his property indicates progress and intelligent management, good judgment and the best of care, and the returns have amply repaid him for all his trouble. Mr. Phillips is a public-spirited citizen, willing to assume his share of the duties of government, and is at present serving as overseer of the poor. He is a Democrat in politics. On March 24, 1887, Mr. Phillips married Lizzie Bordner, daughter of George and Susanna (Phillips) Bordner, of Lower Mahanoy township, and seven children have been born to them, as follows: Julius Augustus, Mary M., Maude E., Charles N. (Boyd), John E., Lottie I. and Verna. Mr. Phillips and his family are members of the Lutheran Church. JOHN U. HOPEWELL (deceased) was a farmer at Point township, Northumberland county, during thirty years of his active life, and his son, the late John C. Hopewell, was a native of that township, where he passed all his life. This family is descended from John Hopewell, a native of New Jersey, who came thence to Pennsylvania, settling in Northumberland county. James Hopewell, son of John, was born in New Jersey in 1797 and came to Northumberland county with his parents, spending the remainder of his life in this region. For many years he was a clerk in Cowden's store, at Northumberland borough, where he died Jan. 29, 1839. His wife, END OF PAGE 571 Elizabeth Ulp, was born in December, 1800, and died July 18, 1850. They made their home at Northumberland. Their children were as follows: Mary E., born in 1823, married Daniel Voris, and died in 1848; Elsie, born in 1825, married Capt. William Gray, and died in 1847; Rebecca B., born in 1827, married Hiram Young, and died in 1850; John U. is mentioned below; James H., born in 1834, died in 1896 (his family live at Scranton, Pennsylvania). John U. Hopewell was born Dec. 4, 1829, at Northumberland, at the corner of Market and Third streets. He followed various occupations. For some years he was engaged as a boatman, later carried on the coal business, was engaged in butchering for a time, and for thirty years followed farming in Point township, where he owned over two hundred acres of land. He was not only successful in the management of his own affairs but took an interest in the direction of public matters in the locality, serving as supervisor, school director and overseer of the poor. An all-around useful citizen, he was respected throughout the community, and was a pillar of the Methodist Church, of which he was an active member and for some years an exhorter. In politics he was a Republican. He died Nov. 11, 1908. On May 25, 1854, Mr. Hopewell married Sarah C. Young, who was born Dec. 7, 1834, and who survives him. Thirteen children were born to their union, as follows: Mary E., born in 1855, married James Smith; Rebecca, born in 1857, married John P. Mertz; Margaret G., born in 1858, married John F. Hummel; Sarah H. J., born in 1860, married Michael E. Sanders; Eliza J., born in 1861, married William Botts, and died in 1910; William Y., born in 1863, married Margaret London, and died in 1897; John C., born in 1866, is mentioned below; James H., born in 1868, married Harriet Yoxtheimer; Hiram B., born in 1870, married Hannah P. Renner; Robert V. G., born in 1872, married Jennie Sampsel; Minnie R., born in 1873, married Charles O. Heintzelman; Bessie M., born in 1876, married George C. Schaffer; Ella C., born in 1878, died in 1881. John C. Young, father of Mrs. Sarah C. (Young) Hopewell, was born Aug. 5, 1789, and died Oct. 11, 1845. His wife, Margaret C. (Philips) Young, born April 5, 1802, died Sept. 11, 1878. They were farming people, and lived in Union county, but both are buried in the Riverview cemetery, at Northumberland. Their children were born as follows: Philip, Nov. 25, 1820; George, Oct. 19, 1822; Hiram, Dec. 6, 1824; John, June 14, 1827; David, Oct. 30, 1830; Mary E., Oct. 10, 1832; Sarah C., Dec. 7, 1834; Rebecca, Oct. 16, 1836; Peter, Sept. 29, 1838; William, June 23, 1841; Eliza J., Dec. 3, 1844. JOHN C. HOPEWELL, son of John U. Hopewell, was born Oct. 14, 1866, in Point township, and spent his youth upon the farm, obtaining his education in the local public schools. When fourteen years old he went to learn the trade of nailer at the Johnson mills, and followed that calling for some time, but for three years he was in such poor health that he was able to do little manual labor. After that he bought a coal digger, and for the three years before his death was engaged in digging coal, finding this business quite profitable. Mr. Hopewell died Sept. 20, 1909, and is buried in Riverview cemetery. He was a Republican in politics, and in religion a member of the Methodist Church, in which he was quite active, serving as steward. His family also belong to that church. On Feb. 12, 1888, Mr. Hopewell married Catharine E. Miller, daughter of Joseph E. and Catharine (Herr) Miller, and two children were born to them: Catharine G. is a milliner and dressmaker, assisting her mother, who is engaged in dressmaking; and Beatrice E. is attending school. JOSEPH E. MILLER, father of Mrs. Hopewell, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., Sept. 5, 1840, and his family is an old and honored one in that county. Henry Miller, his grandfather, was one of three brothers who settled near Salunga about the time of the Revolution. He was a large land owner, a successful farmer, and a member of the Old Mennonite Church. He lived to he nearly seventy years old, and always enjoyed the confidence and respect of the entire community. He married a Miss Shenk, whose father was one of the pioneer settlers in the valley of the Chickies, near Salunga, where he preempted and patented several large tracts of land and built two mills upon the stream named. One of these is still known as the Shenk mill, the other as the Garner mill. To Mr. and Mrs. Henry Miller six children were born. The eldest, John Miller, was the father of Joseph E. Miller. He was born Oct. 15, 1797, and died Sept. 23, 1850, a farmer and a man of influence. He was long a member of the school board, and served for many years as supervisor. He was a Whig in politics, and, like his father, a Mennonite in religious faith. On March 22, 1825, he married Elizabeth Erb, who was born Nov. 9, 1904, and died Aug. 29, 1863. They had a family of eleven children: Emanuel, born Jan. 11, 1826, died in infancy; Daniel, born May 22, 1827, died Oct. 23, 1895, at Elizabethtown, Pa., where he had been first a farmer and then for many years an innkeeper; Susanna, born Feb. 19, 1829, married David Weaver, of Manheim; Henry E. died at Lititz, Lancaster county, where he was a very prominent citizen; John E., born Aug. 22, 1823, learned the trade of a tailor and is engaged as a cutter at Portsmouth, Ohio; Andrew, born April 8, 1836, died when one month old; Elizabeth, born April 29, 1837, died Feb. 16, 1839; Joseph E. is men- END OF PAGE 572 tioned below; Reuben E., born Oct. 14, 1842, is a laborer at Salunga; Catharine, born Oct. 21, 1844, married Levi B. Zook, a farmer living near Lititz; Elizabeth, born Feb. 7, 1847, died Aug. 22, 1863. Joseph E. Miller lived at Landisville and was a farmer in his native county until 1893, in which year he came with his family to Point township, Northumberland county. For nine years he farmed the Thomas Baumgardner property of 220 acres there, at the end of that time returning to Lancaster county. He and his wife Catharine (Herr), daughter of Abraham Herr, now live near Columbia; Pa., engaged in farming. They have had children as follows: Mary married James Probst; Catharine E. married John C. Hopewell; Joseph G. is a resident of Columbia, Pa.; Harry G. lives with his parents; Frances A. (deceased) married Harry Beats; two children died young. CHARLES C. LARK, a very successful practitioner at the Northumberland county bar, and a man of high ideals and sterling integrity, was born in Mifflin township, Dauphin Co., Pa., March 12, 1874, son of Emanuel S. Lark. The Lark family is of Swiss origin. George Lark, great-grandfather of Charles C., was born in Mifflin township; Dauphin county, and became a farmer there. He died at the age of twenty-nine years, and is buried at Buffington church in his native township. He married Elizabeth Enterline, who married (second) Captain Snyder, of Lykens township, Dauphin county. After the death of her second husband she made her home with her son George, and died there aged seventy-five years. To George and Elizabeth Lark were born four children: Amos and Elizabeth, who died young; John; and George, who settled at Berrysburg, as a merchant, and was the father of Leon, Elizabeth, Edward, William B., Mamie, Annie and Clara. John Lark, son of George, was born on the old homestead in Mifflin township Feb. 7, 1826. He learned the stonemason's trade as a young man, but never followed it. He devoted his time to farming, and died in Salina, Salina Co., Kans., aged seventy-two years, and is buried there. He married Leah Shoop, daughter of Jacob Shoop, and they had two children: George, who died in infancy; and Emanuel S. Emanuel S. Lark, son of John, was born in Mifflin township, on the same farm on which both his father and grandfather were born, Feb. 8, 1853. He attended the local schools, Freeburg Academy, in Snyder county, Berrysburg Seminary and Millersburg Academy. He taught ten terms of school in Dauphin and Northumberland counties, and was very successful as an instructor. Turning his attention to farming on the old homestead, he remained there for three years, after which he farmed for one year in Jackson township, Northumberland county, and then lived two years in Lower Mahanoy township, Northumberland county. In 1880 he came to Shamokin, and found employment in the mines, where he remained about six years. The next five years he passed in a general hauling business, and the succeeding five years as conductor on a freight train for the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company. On Oct. 1, 1903, he assumed the duties of his present position, that of superintendent of the Shamokin cemetery, and his efficiency is well attested by the carefully kept condition of that beautiful city of the dead. His residence is at No. 53 Marshall street. He is a member of St. John's Reformed Church. Mr. Lark has been twice married. In 1873 he married Emeline Boyer, daughter of Benjamin and Catharine (Stine) Boyer, the former of whom was born in Berks county, Pa., of French Huguenot ancestry, later settling in Lower Mahanoy township, Northumberland county. Mrs. Lark was born Oct. 21, 1847, and died April 9, 1895, and was buried in Shamokin cemetery. The children born of this union were: Charles C.; Carrie C., who died aged eighteen years; John B., a physician, located at Trevorton, Pa.; Leah B., still living with her father; H. Wilson and Thomas F., overall manufacturers at Shamokin, trading as Lark & Lark; and Edward H., a salesman for Lark & Lark. Emanuel S. Lark married (second) Nov. 12, 1908, Mrs. Margaret Umpleby, daughter of William and Susan Weitzel. Charles C. Lark was but six years of age when his parents came to Shamokin. He was graduated from the Shamokin high school with honors in 1893, and for a number of years was engaged in teaching, for four years being principal of the Coal township schools. In 1894 he began the study of law in the office of John Quincy Adams, Esq., and was admitted to the Northumberland county bar in 1898. During his preparation for his profession he engaged in teaching. In 1898 he formed a partnership with Frederick B. Moser, under the firm name of Lark & Moser, which was dissolved in October, 1906. Mr. Lark was also been admitted to practice before the Supreme and Superior courts of the State, and the United States District and Circuit courts. He has been employed in a large number of important cases tried in Northumberland and other counties since his admission to the bar, among which deserving special mention are Bucher vs. Northumberland County, and Commonwealth vs. Angelo Molignani. The former of these cases involved the liability of the county for alleged negligence on the part of the county commissioners in failing to keep in good condition the sidewalks in the public street adjoining the courthouse at Sunbury. In the de- END OF PAGE 573 fense of the county he contended that there was no liability; and even though owners have been held responsible for their negligence in not properly maintaining the sidewalks abutting on their properties under similar circumstances, Mr. Lark was successful in convincing the Supreme court of Pennsylvania that the county is a quasi municipal corporation, a political subdivision and the agent of the State in the erection and maintenance of the courthouse and its appurtenances, and the State not being liable, its agent, the county, cannot be either. This case at the time attracted wide attention and was commented upon editorially by the large metropolitan newspapers; it was the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. The case against Molignani was one in which the defendant was charged with murder. On the fifth day after the commission of the crime the trial was begun, and it was very generally predicted that the defendant would have to answer with his life. The jury, after having deliberated for five full days, decided that the defendant was not guilty of first degree murder. Mr. Lark's address to the jury in behalf of Molignani is said to have been one of the most logical and finest oratorical efforts heard in the local courts in years. He is regarded as a resourceful lawyer, and as an eloquent pleader before a jury. He is faithful to the trust his clients repose in him, and is honorable in his dealings. In 1903-05 he held the office of county solicitor. Mr. Lark has been active in politics, has frequently appeared as a delegate in Republican county conventions, and in 1901 was a delegate to the State convention. Mr. Lark is a member of St. John's Reformed Church and was, for a number of years, a member of its consistory and superintendent of its Sunday school. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Shamokin Lodge, No. 255, F. & A.M.; and Caldwell Consistory, thirty second degree, at Bloomsburg. He also belongs to James A. Garfield Lodge, No. 1061, I.O.O.F. Camp No. 30, P.O.S. of A.; the Royal Arcanum and Independence Fire Company. He is a member of the Temple Club. In the spring of 1910 Mr. Lark began organizing the Dime Trust and Safe Deposit Company with a capital of $125,000, and a surplus of $125,000. He was successful in his efforts and on May 16, 1910, this institution was opened for business and on April 1, 1911, moved into its handsome five story, fireproof building at the corner of Independence and Market streets, Shamokin. In its directorate are some of the best and most substantial business men of Shamokin. The building occupied by this institution is without doubt the finest in Pennsylvania outside of the large cities. Ever since its opening day the Dime Trust and Safe Deposit Company has been gradually growing, and, although the youngest financial institution of Shamokin, it enjoys the unqualified confidence of its patrons. Mr. Lark is a director and solicitor for this institution. He is also a director and solicitor for the Central Building & Loan Association of Shamokin, as well as a number of other corporations. On Nov. 5, 1896, Mr. Lark was married to Lucy Cornelia Hamilton, daughter of the late Maj. E. C. Hamilton, of Shamokin, and they have three children, Cornelia E., Leah H. and Miriam R. HAUPT. The Haupt family, which now has a number of representatives in Shamokin, was founded in this country by Conrad Haupt, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, who settled in Berks county; Pa. He had five sons: Conrad, who settled in Lower Augusta township, Northumberland county; Daniel, who settled in Bellefonte, Center county; Samuel, who settled in Schuylkill county; John, who settled in the western part of the State; and Henry, the ancestor of the Haupt family here under consideration. Henry Haupt son of Conrad, the emigrant ancestor, was born toward the close of the eighteenth century. He came from Berks county to Northumberland when a young man and was a pioneer in the Mahanoy valley, settling in Coal (now Cameron) township; he had about four hundred acres of land in the valley. He served five, years in the Revolutionary war and after its close was engaged in fighting the Indians for two years; he was a private in Capt. Michael Hoelman's company, Chester county militia, in 1781 [page 858, Vol. V, 5th Series, Pennsylvania Archives]. At one time during the war he had nothing to eat for three days but a chicken hawk and a rattlesnake. He died about 1847. He was a Democrat in politics and quite active in the affairs of his locality, filling a number of minor township offices; in religious belief he was a Lutheran. His children were: Jacob, who died in the Mahanoy Valley; Benjamin, who died in the Mahanoy Valley; John; George, who died in Lower Augusta; Susanna, Mrs. George Kreamer; Annie, Mrs. Samuel Derr; Mary, Mrs. Henry Klock; Mrs. Daniel Kreamer, of Schuylkill county; Sarah, Mrs. George Derk; and Hetty, Mrs. Gideon Derk. John Haupt, son of Henry, was born April 26, 1808, in Cameron township, and grew up on the homestead. He learned the trade of stonemason, which he followed in connection with farming, and was a substantial citizen of his day. He held various township offices, and was identified with the Democratic party in politics and in religion with the Lutheran Church, of which he was an active member and liberal supporter, and in which he held the office of elder. He died in November, 1873, and is buried at the White church near END OF PAGE 574 Gowen City. Mr. Haupt married Catherine Maurer, like himself a native of Cameron township, and a daughter of Philip Maurer, and she survived him, making her home with her son John. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Haupt: Sarah, Mrs. William Yoder, living in Jefferson county, Pa. Catherine, who lives in Philadelphia; Mary, who married Washington Smink and (second) John Bohner; Benjamin; Annie, Mrs. Jared Howerter; Philip, a resident of Cameron township; John, of Cameron township; and William, of Shamokin. Benjamin Haupt, son of John, was born Jan. 15, 1841, in Cameron township, and was reared upon the farm settled by his grandfather, remaining there until he entered the government service during the Civil war. He was drafted in 1862 and assigned to the 172d Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, serving nine months. After his army service he engaged in mining, which he followed for seventeen years, in 1880 engaging in the butcher business in the borough of Shamokin. He removed from his first stand after several years to the place where he was located many years, then located two doors below, buying out Joseph Reitz, and in 1893 came to the corner of Market and Mulberry streets. He died Oct. 6, 1902. He was a much respected citizen of Shamokin, where he served as a member of the borough council, and was also quite active in church work, being a trustee of the Evangelical Church at Shamokin, in which he held membership. He was a Republican in political matters. In 1863 Mr. Haupt married Catharine Henninger, daughter of Thomas Henninger, and five of the eight children born to this union survive, namely: Joseph H., Elizabeth (married George E. Long), Jennie (wife of N. E. Stepp), William T. and Harrison E. Augustus died in 1903. The mother of this family died in 1880, and in 1882 Mr. Haupt married Elizabeth Daniel, daughter of Elias Daniel, of Schuylkill county, Pa. One child was born to this union, Charles D. JOSEPH H. HAUPT, son of Benjamin, was born May 14, 1866, at Bell's Tunnel, near Mount Carmel, this county, and came to Shamokin with his parents in childhood. He attended the public schools, and began work as a slate picker, being employed at the mines until he reached the age of eighteen. He has since followed the butcher business, and since February, 1904, has had a store of his own, at present conducting two establishments in Shamokin, one on Eighth street and one on Independence street. He has built up a lucrative trade, which is constantly on the increase, and his satisfactory service and sincere desire to please customers have had their reward in the long continued patronage of many who have dealt at his establishments. He is a very favorably known citizen of the borough, and though not particularly active in local matters outside of business he is interested in the success of the Republican party and has served as delegate to county convention. Mr. Haupt married Emma R. Williams, daughter of James Williams, of Shamokin, and they have one son, W. Earle, who is now a high school pupil. The family home is at No. 220 Sunbury street. Some years ago Mr. Haupt had a remarkable escape. He and Judge L. S. Walter, of Mount Carmel, were passengers on the Lehigh Valley railroad train wrecked at Dunellen, N. J., Jan. 9, 1899, and though seventeen persons in the coach in which they rode were killed they were uninjured. WILLIAM T. HAUPT, son of Benjamin, was born at Shamokin April 26, 1876, and there received his education in the public schools. He learned the butcher's trade with his father, but for some years during his early life was engaged at slate picking in the summer months, finding employment at the mines for a number of years. However, butchering has always been his principal occupation, and he was engaged with his father until 1902, in which year he and his brother, Harry E. Haupt, engaged in business on their own account. They occupy their father's old stand at No. 259 South Market street Shamokin, a building which was erected in 1896. The Haupt homestead, next door, was erected in 1869. The firm, which is known as Haupt Brothers, does a thriving business, carrying both meats and groceries, and the trade is large and steadily increasing, thanks to the Haupts commendable methods and judicious catering to the wants of their customers. Mr. Haupt married Jennie Miser, daughter of Jonathan Miser, of Snyder county, Pa. They have no children. He is a Republican in politics, and socially holds membership in the Sons of Veterans, the I.O.O.F., the Royal Arcanum, the K. of P., and the local lodge of the B.P.O. Elks. YOCUM. The Yocum family of Northumberland county to which Adonijah F. Yocum and George W. Yocum, cousins, belong was founded here by their grandfather, who was a member of the old Berks county (Pa.) family of Yocum or Yocom. The name has long been familiar to the inhabitants of that section of Pennsylvania, and the family is particularly prominent in the lower end of Berks county. The earlier generations were identified with Oley township, but Nicholas Yocom, who founded the family in Cumru township, settling there about the beginning of the last century, came from Douglassville. Late in the seventeenth century a colony of Swedes settled at the Wissahickon, near Philadelphia. In 1701 a number of these Swedes, among whom were three "Yocom" brothers, settled along END OF PAGE 575 the eastern bank of the Schuylkill, in the locality of Douglassville, Berks county. Surveys for land for these pioneers were made Oct. 21, 1701, and patents were issued between 1704 and 1705 for these lands: One J. Jonas "Jocum" (then "Yocomb," so spelled Yokham, Yocum and now Yocom), youngest of these brothers, had a patent granted him by the Penns for 350 acres in Amity township. On the eastern bank of the Schuylkill where the Douglassville bridge spans the river, is an historic stone house erected in 1716 by Mounce Jones. He was a son-in- law of J. Jonas Yocom, and was an executor, with Peter Yocum, of the will of J. Jonas Yocum. This document was made Aug. 8, 1757, and was witnessed by Mordecai Thomas and Joseph Millard, Quaker people of Union township. The will was entered in Berks county courthouse for probate Dec. 27, 1760, and he left a large estate, equitably divided among the following children: Peter, who obtained one of the homesteads; Judith Mary; Margaret and John. At the making of the will, the "beloved" wife of the ancestor was still living. The son John, who had died prior to the making of his aged father's will, left his widow Margaret and three sons, Jonas, Peter and John, the youngest child born after the father's death. The ancestor amply provided for his widowed daughter-in-law. Moses Yocom, of Douglass township, a descendant of J. Jonas, made his will May 20, 1823; it was probated Feb. 28, 1824, and is recorded in Will Book D, page 449. His wife Susanna survived him. The executors of the will were Daniel Yocom and Joseph Fritz. His children were: Moses, John, Peter, George, Mary, Ann and Hannah. The will of Maria Yocom, of Douglass township, probated in 1829, provides that each of the legatees of her will shall buy a large family Bible for each of their children. Her children were: Ann, who married Jonas Yocom; Rachel Ragsize, who had a daughter Mary; and Daniel Yocom. Daniel Yocom, son, and Jonas Yocom, son-in-law, were executors of the will. John Yocom (son of John, and grandson of J. Jonas) was born in 1749 and died Oct. 14, 1823. He had a son Moses, born on the homestead in Amity township Oct. 11, 1786, who died Aug. 30, 1850. Moses Yocom was married to Susanna, a daughter of Jacob and Anna Weaver, who were the parents of Peter Weaver, who was the father of Col. Jeremiah Weaver. Susanna (Weaver) Yocom was born Aug. 18, 1791, and died May 19, 1872. Moses and Susanna Yocom had a son William, born Jan. 23, 1817. He married Mary B. Kline, a daughter of George Kline, and they had a son William B. Yocom, a prominent man of Amity township. The grandfather of Adonijah F. and George W. Yocom was undoubtedly of this stock. Moving from Berks county after his marriage to Northumberland county, he settled in Shamokin township at the present location of Paxinos. He and his wife are interred in the old Presbyterian burial ground near Reed's station. Their children were: Alexander, Peter, Daniel, Michael, Mrs. Hettie Carr and Mrs. Boughner. Alexander Yocom was born May 19, 1824, at Paxinos, Northumberland county, and learned the miller's trade, which he followed for some time, in all about eighteen years, first at Klinesgrove, later at Powers' mill and subsequently at Roaring Creek. He then bought the Adam Gilger farm of 109 acres, in what is now Ralpho township, now owned by his son George W., and at that place devoted himself to farming until his death, which occurred March 24, 1893. He is buried at the Methodist church at Bear Gap, in which church he held membership and served as deacon. To him and his wife Martha Jane (Lot) were born children as follows: Mary J., who is deceased; Anna E., wife of William Fisher; Clara B., wife of John Unger; Sarah E, wife of William F. Adams; and George W. GEORGE W. YOCUM, son of Alexander, is a well known farmer of Ralpho township, born Feb. 22, 1864, at the place where he now resides. He obtained his schooling in the locality, and for a time after his school days were over was employed at the farm work with his father. Going to Shamokin, he was engaged in railroading three years and for one year he was clerk in the grocery of Amos Mengel, at Shamokin. Returning to farm work, he spent two years cultivating different farms and in 1891 located on the home-stead, whereon he has since lived. He purchased the property in 1908. Many improvements have been made on the place during his occupancy. He is enterprising and thrifty, attends the Shamokin markets, and conducts his work in a business-like manner. Mr. Yocum has taken an interest in the public administration and has served as overseer of the poor of Ralpho township. In politics he is a Republican, and in religion a Lutheran; being a member of Blue Church. In 1885 Mr. Yocum married Sallie A. Pensyl, and they have a family of five: Martha S., Edward B., S. Alexander, William C. and Caroline G. George Pensyl, Mrs. Yocum's grandfather, married Mary Keller, and they had a large family: Solomon, Jacob, Jeremiah, George, Daniel, John, Henry, Leah, Polly, Hannah, Susanna and Elizabeth. Solomon Pensyl, son of George, was a farmer and merchant and a well known man of his district, serving as tax collector and in other township offices. He died at Riverside May 24, 1904, and his widow, Caroline (Epler), is still living at that place. Their children were: Mary Ellen, END OF PAGE 576 deceased, who was the wife of E. B. Vought; Sallie A., Mrs. Yocum; Harriet S.; wife of John Clingman; and H. Willington, who died young. Michael Yocum, brother of Alexander, above, was born at Paxinos, in Shamokin township, and followed farming all his life. He died at the Ridge, in Shamokin township, in 1845, and is interred in the old Presbyterian burial ground near Reed's station, in Ralpho township. His wife, Anna (Fahrensworth), died at the age of sixty-seven years, and is interred in the Baptist burial ground in Shamokin township. They had children: John lives in Trevorton, this county; Sarah J., widow of Michael Yarnold, lives at Sunbury; Susanna, widow of Hiram Dill, lives in Shamokin township; Adonijah F. is mentioned below; Francis died young. ADONIJAH F. YOCUM, who is engaged in the teaming business at Shamokin, was born Jan. 1, 1844, in Shamokin township, and received his education in the public schools. He assisted his mother as soon as he was able, his father having died when he was an infant. During the Civil war he served nine months in the Union army, enlisting in Company C, 131st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Subsequently he spent one year at Trevorton, in 1864 moving to Shamokin and locating at the place where he still resides, No. 28 South Shamokin street. For a period of twenty-four years he followed mining, and he then engaged in the hauling business, in which he has established quite a profitable patronage. He is a steady-going, reliable man, and has the respect of his fellow citizens. In politics he is a Republican, in religion a Lutheran. Mr. Yocum married Harriet Fegley, daughter of John Fegley. She died March 24, 1905, and is buried at Shamokin. The following children were born to this union: Hannah F., William and Bertha all died young; George C., who is a merchant and has other business interests at Shamokin, married Clara Haupt and (second) Anna Johns; Harry E., who is associated in the store with his brother George, married Gertrude Crason and their children are Marion, David, Harry and Edward; Benneville married Annie Isaacs, and died in 1910. JOHN J. LAUGHLIN, express agent at Mount Carmel, Northumberland county, until recently station agent of the Lehigh Valley & Pennsylvania Railway Company at that point, was born Dec. 28, 1862, in Schuylkill county, Pa., son of Lawrence Laughlin. The father was a native of Ireland and came to America when a young man, settling in Schuylkill county. He was a contractor at the mines and also did railroad contracting, and he met an accidental death at Ashland, Schuylkill county, when only twenty-seven years old. John J. Laughlin attended school at Ashland and there began work as a clerk in the employ of the railway company with which he is still connected, in 1879. He was the first agent at Ashland, whence he was transferred to Centralia, Columbia county; and thence to Girardville, Schuylkill county. He was also at Lost Creek, Schuylkill county, for a time before receiving his position as station agent at Mount Carmel, in the fall of 1898. This is an important station, and nine clerks are engaged here. The first railroad opened to Mount Carmel was the old Northern Central, in 1854, and the next was the Lehigh Valley, in 1866. The present Lehigh Valley & Pennsylvania station at that point was constructed in 1907. Mount Carmel is a great shipping point, and there has been a steady increase of business which greatly enhanced its consequence during Mr. Laughlin's incumbency of the position. He proved a competent and resourceful man in the place, possessing good judgment in the transaction of the business of the station, and gained and held the respect of his fellow citizens in his adopted place. On Nov. 1, 1910, he resigned as joint agent to accept the agency of the Adams and Southern Express Companies at Mount Carmel. While living in Columbia county, Pa., Mr. Laughlin was elected justice of the peace for two terms, on the People's ticket. On Sept. 16, 1890, Mr. Laughlin married Catherine Flanagan, daughter of Peter Flanagan, a merchant of Ashland, Pa., and they are the parents of six children, namely: Howard, Mary, Margaret, Nellie, Lawrence and John. Mr. Laughlin is a Catholic in religious faith and is a prominent member of the Knights of Columbus having been the first grand knight of the Mount Carmel organization. He is also a member of the local lodge of Elks. PROF. WILLIAM MENDON KLECKNER, an educator of several years standing in Sunbury, founder and principal of the Sunbury Commercial College and in charge of the commercial department of the Sunbury high school, has made a high reputation in his special field and has become widely known in the pursuit of his chosen calling. Taylor Kleckner, his father, was a native of New Berlin, Pa., born in 1848, and died May 29, 1904, in Lewisburg, Union county, aged sixty- six years. In his earlier life he followed farming, later becoming a salesman for the Champion Reaper Company, for whom he traveled twenty- four years, his territory covering Union, Snyder and Northumberland counties. He was a Lutheran and an active church member, serving some year, as deacon of the Dreisbach Church. Politi- END OF PAGE 577 cally he was a Republican. He married Angeline Spotts, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Derr) Spotts, and two children were born to them: William Mendon and a daughter, the latter dying in infancy. William Mendon Kleckner was born Nov. 9 1872, at Vicksburg, Union Co., Pa., and obtained his early education in the public schools of that locality. Later be became a student at Bucknell University, after which he entered the Williamsport Commercial College, at Williamsport, Pa., from which latter institution he was graduated in 1900. Receiving a license to teach public school, he took charge of the commercial department of the Sunbury High school in 1902, and has since continued to fill that responsible position. The department has attained a high standard of efficiency under his management, and the importance of his work, together with the able manner in which he has handled it, has gained him many admirers among pupils and patrons. In 1902 he founded the Sunbury Commercial College, located on Fairmount avenue which has had a continued career of prosperity, the average attendance being one hundred students. Professor Kleckner is a conscientious, untiring worker, devoted to his calling and sparing neither time nor pains in his efforts to bring the best in his pupils to the surface, and his success has been marked. On Aug. 6, 1905, Professor Kleckner married Ida Mussina, daughter of Henry B. and Eve (Hoover) Mussina, of Mount Cannel, Northumberland county. They worship at the Methodist Church, and socially he holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America. In political sentiment he is a Republican. LONG. The Longs of Northumberland county, descendants of George Long, have been represented principally in the prosperous agricultural class, but at present one member of the family, Peter D. Long, is a well known shoe merchant of Sunbury, where his uncle, Benjamin C. Long, is now living in retirement after a long and active life as a farmer. David D. Long, brother of Peter D. Long, is a well-to-do farmer of Little Mahanoy township. We give the line of these from the emigrant ancestor. George Long, a native of England, settled on the farm near Augustaville, in Rockefeller township, now owned by A. J. Smith, and formerly by Andrew Gonser. Mr. Long took up the land by warrant from the government of Pennsylvania. Here he lived and died, and he is buried at the Augustaville Stone Church. He was a lifelong farmer, and made great improvements on this property. The original set of buildings on the place were located on the road leading from A. J. Smith's to the old Shipman mill, in what is now the meadow about two hundred rods north of Mr. Smith's home; all have been razed. George Long served in the war of 1812 on the American side, and he may have been a soldier in King George's army during the Revolutionary war. Perhaps he was better known by the name of John George Long. He was a member of the church at Augustaville, which he helped to build. He was twice married, his first wife dying in middle age, and she was the mother of all his children, namely: George, a farmer, who lived in Upper Mahanoy township, and who had, among other children, sons Henry, John, Samuel and William (who was killed by a train, at Paxinos); Henry, who was a cripple and never married; and John. John Long, son of George, was born in 1805 in Rockefeller township, this county, and died in Montandon, May 20, 1888, aged eighty-two years, six months, one day, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Seabolt. He was a farmer in Rockefeller township, owning and cultivating the place which is now the property of Albert Witmer. In stature he was comparatively small, five feet, five inches in height, but he was vigorous, as may be judged by the advanced age he attained. His wife, Anna Camp, born Oct. 18, 1808, died March 27, 1880, and they are interred at the Ebenezer Methodist Church in Rockefeller township, of which Mr. Long was a member. Their children were as follows: Elizabeth, Samuel C., Catharine, Henry (of Trevorton, Pa.), Jane (married William Zimmerman), John (died in February, 1888, in Indiana), Julia (married John Seabolt), Benjamin C. and Lucinda (unmarried, who lives in Mifflinburg. Pa.) Samuel C. Long, son of John, was born Dec. 22, 1828, in what is now Rockefeller township, and died April 28, 1890, aged sixty-one years, four months, six days. He learned the trade of miller, which he followed for about fifteen years, during that period operating what was known as John Dunkelberger's mill, on Mahanoy creek, for a time, he had learned the business there. He next went to Rockefeller township, where he did milling for Hiram Miller, and he also followed the butcher trade in that township for some years. In 1867 he returned to Little Mahanoy township and began farming on the David Dunkelberger farm, which he purchased, and which then comprised 170 acres. He continued to make his home there to the end of his days. Mr. Long was a man who took an intelligent part in the interests of his community, served his township a number of years as supervisor, and was an active member of the Little Mahanoy Lutheran Church, of which he was elder and trustee. Politically he was a Democrat. In 1854 Mr. Long married Lydia Dunkelberger, who was born in 1833, daughter of David and Anna Marie (Smith) Dunkelberger, and died Sept. 18, 1907, aged seventy-three years, eleven END OF PAGE 578 months, nineteen days. Mr. and Mrs. long are buried at the Little Mahanoy Lutheran Church. They were the parents of the following children: Peter D.; Mary, who died young; Elizabeth, who married Frank Bobb (he is deceased); Phoebe J., who married Joseph D. Wagner; David D.; and Louisa, who died when two years old. PETER D. LONG, son of Samuel C., was born Dec. 6, 1854. He was reared in Rockefeller township until his parents settled in Little Mahanoy, in 1867, and there he worked on the farm which his father purchased from his maternal grandfather, David Dunkelberger. He remained there until he attained the age of twenty-two years, at which time he went to Shamokin to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed there for three years. He next went to Clinton county, Pa., entering the shops of the Pennsylvania Railway Company at Renovo, and he continued to work for that company for twelve years, though he did not continue at his trade. Beginning the freight service, he was engaged in that branch for six years after which he was changed to the passenger service, and during the last three years of the period mentioned he was a conductor of a passenger train between Renovo and Erie. He began as brakeman and rose by merit to the responsible position as passenger conductor. At the time he left the Pennsylvania service he was offered an appointment in the passenger service of the Baltimore and Ohio Company, but he had decided to begin business on his own account, and he has never had good reason to regret his choice. In 1890 he came to Sunbury, where he bought out the good-will, stock and fixtures of Jasper Slaymaker, who conducted a shoe findings and harness manufacturing business. He carried this on successfully for a few years, but in the meantime he had discovered a more congenial and profitable field in the shoe dealing line, and he accordingly sold out, in 1892, to Frank Simpson (who has since died). That year he opened his present store at No. 732 Market street, Sunbury, where he is engaged exclusively as a shoe dealer, carrying the largest line of footwear in the borough. He handles all the leading makes, and doing a business of large proportions is able to keep a very complete line, being the leading merchant of his kind in Sunbury. His customers come from a wide territory around Sunbury. Mr. Long is best known as a shoe merchant in and around Sunbury, but he has not confined his energies to the one line by any means, being connected with various other local enterprises of importance to the community. He has served as president of the Business Men's Association, has been a director of the Sunbury National Bank since 1909, and has to some extent engaged in real estate dealing, winning a reputation for good judgement in all his ventures. He has served nine years as member of the school board and was treasurer of that body. In political faith he is a Democrat. In 1880 Mr. Long married Lizzie Leathers, daughter of John Leathers, who lived and died in Union county, Pa. They have had two children: Charles O., who graduated from Bucknell University, at Lewisburg, Pa., in the civil engineering course, is now holding a responsible position in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railway Company, stationed at Bellwood, Pa.; and Florence is a graduate of Sunbury high school. Mr. Long and his family are members of the Lutheran Church at Sunbury. Fraternally he is a member of True Cross Commandery, No. 122, Knights of Malta, of Sunbury. DAVID D. LONG, son of Samuel C. Long, was born Oct. 15, 1865, and grew to manhood on the home farm, the place formerly known as the David Dunkelberger farm (now owned by J. F. Dreibelbies) in Little Mahanoy township. When he began farming on his own account it was on that property, where he lived for thirty-three years, owning it for ten years. He farmed it one year for his father, for whom he worked until he was twenty-two years old. In 1900 he purchased his present farm, which then consisted of 142 acres, forty-two of which he has since sold. It is located between Line Mountain and a quarter of a mile east of Hunter Station. This was at one time the Jonathan Dunkelberger homestead, but Mr. Long purchased it from Isaac D. Raker. The present owner has made a number of improvements, and the fine barn on the place was built by him in 1902, to replace one destroyed by fire the evening of Jan. 13th, that year; the cause of the fire has never been known. Though Mr. Long has never served an apprenticeship at any trade, and has made farming his principal business, he is a skilful mechanic in various lines, and has done carpenter work for many in his neighborhood, giving the utmost satisfaction. He has also worked as a stonemason, blacksmith and barber. Besides being an industrious and substantial citizen, he has proved a most useful member of his community, where he has served nine consecutive years as school director (being secretary of the board eight years of that time) and four years as supervisor; he was elected to the latter office when only twenty-four years old. He is a Democrat in political connection. He and his family are members of Immanuel's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Little Mahanoy, of which he has been deacon, elder and trustee. On March 28, 1889, Mr. Long married L. Cora Kerstetter, daughter of Felix and Elizabeth (Beachell) Kerstetter, and granddaughter of Philip and Catharine (Eisenhart) Kerstetter. Mr. and Mrs. Long have had a family of ten children, namely: Alvin C. (in U. S. Navy), R. Frederick END OF PAGE 579 (attending Sunbury high school), L. Lizzie, Mary M., Samuel F., John M., E. Paul, Catharine L., Eva J. and J. Daniel. Leonard Kerstetter, Mrs. Long's first ancestor in Northumberland county, was an early settler in the western part of Cameron township. He owned a tract of forty-four acres on which he farmed, erected a house and barn on this place, and died aged about eighty years. He is buried in Cameron township. In 1776 the names of Leonard and Martin Kerstetter appear among the pioneers of Mahanoy township, but in the first assessment of Cameron township, in 1814, Leonard's name appears among the taxables. His name appears in 1803 among the organizers of St. Jacob's Lutheran and Reformed Church, in Upper Mahanoy township. His wife's maiden name was Gerhard, and she is buried by his side. They had a large family, namely: Leonard, Philip, John, George, Daniel, Michael, Susan (married Peter Weigel), Hannah (married John Reichard), and Mary Elizabeth (married Michael Derk and died in May, 1898, aged one hundred years, three months, eighteen days, at the home of her nephew, Simon Peter Kerstetter, in West Cameron township; she is buried at St. Peter's Church in that township). Leonard Kerstetter (2), son of Leonard, was a farmer in the western part of Cameron township, where he and his wife, Barbara (Heller), are buried. They had five children: John, who died young; Simon Peter; Isaac; Catharine, who married David Kraemer; Salome, who married Solomon Gottshall. Philip Kerstetter, son of Leonard, lived at Trevorton. He was a farmer for some years, in his later life hauling coal. He was twice married, and by his first wife (who was a Schleigh) had five children, Robert, Elizabeth, Sallie, Henry (who died young) and Adam. To his second marriage, with Catharine (Eisenhart) Stein, widow of Jonas Stein, were born three children: Felix, Mary and Catharine. John Kerstetter, son of Leonard, was a farmer in Cameron township. His children were: John Abraham, Adam, Salome and Elizabeth. George Kerstetter, son of Leonard, was a farmer and landowner of Cameron township, and is buried there. His wife was a Derck, and their children were: Daniel, George and Levi. Daniel Kerstetter, son of Leonard, lived in the eastern part of Cameron township, near Gowen City. He engaged in work around the coal mines. He married Lusenna Wary, and among their children are Alexander and Joseph. Michael Kerstetter, son of Leonard, lived in Bear Valley, two miles from Shamokin, where he did work about the coal mines. He married a Martz, and they had a large family. Their son William is out west. Charles was another son. Simon Peter Kerstetter, son of Leonard (2) and grandson of Leonard, was born June 3, 1840, and spent most of his life in Cameron township, working in the coal mines. On April 15, 1866, he married Elizabeth Hingham, and of their four children three are deceased, the survivor Benjamin Franklin Kerstetter, being a farmer. He sold the farm in Little Mahanoy and moved onto their property in Cameron township. Benjamin F. works at the coal mines and on his small farm. He married R. Agnes Long, and their children are: Elizabeth, Lloyd, George, Francis and Tretha (now deceased). BENJAMIN C. LONG, son of John, was born Dec. 30, 1841, and was reared on the home farm near Augustaville now owned by Albert Witmer. He worked for his parents until he was twenty-two years old, at which time he moved to the place of his father-in-law, Samuel Kelly, in Plum Greek valley. He lived and farmed there from 1863 until his retirement, in 1901, a period of thirty-eight years, during which he prospered and acquired the farm, which consists of 120 acres of valuable land in Rockefeller township. This tract is all fertile, level land, and the place is equipped with fine, large buildings, erected by Samuel Kelly, who was one of the thrifty farmers of his day in that vicinity; he was a man of means and influence in his neighborhood, owning considerable good land, including the farm of 130 acres adjoining the 120-acre tract above mentioned. In 1901, when he gave up arduous labor, Mr. Long moved to Sunbury, where he has since made his home, but he still retains the ownership of the farm, which he rents to his son Samuel E. He also owns his residence at No. 209 Catawissa avenue, Sunbury. Mr. Long has been prominent and active in church work and local public affairs. He served nineteen consecutive years as school director of Rockefeller township, having been elected for seven terms (twenty-one years), but gave up the last two years of his seventh term upon his removal to Sunbury. He served as tax collector at a period when nearly all the bills were paid in silver, and when out on a collecting trip would put the money in a bag under the seat of his buggy. He and his family were long leading members of the Lutheran Church at Plum Creek, but since removing to Sunbury have joined the church there. Mr. Long has held many church offices, and has served a number of terms in the church council. Wherever he is known his opinion is valued and his advice sought, and he is much esteemed by all his associates in every relation of life. In 1862 Mr. Long married Rosanna H. Kelly, END OF PAGE 580 daughter of Samuel and Anna Maria (Miller) Kelly, of Rockefeller township, and they have had a family of nine children, namely: Anna Maria married Charles Heckert, of Rockefeller township; Clara E. married George M. Hoffman, of Sunbury, Pa.; Charity L. married Calvin N. Furman and they live in Sunbury; Emma T. is the widow of A. Johnson Savidge and lives with her children in Sunbury; Samuel E. is a resident of Rockefeller township, cultivating his father's farm; Edna R. married Harvey Troutman, of Sunbury; John F. is a farmer of Rockefeller township; Edith married Charles Malick and they live in Upper Augusta township; Olive married Eugene Thomas and they live in Sunbury. MICHAEL P. TIERNEY, attorney at law, and borough solicitor of Northumberland, is a native of that place who, though young, has made a good start in his profession and bids fair to take an honorable place among the successful lawyers of his section. He was born in the borough Jan. 12, 1884, son of Michael Tierney. Michael Tierney was born Oct. 10, 1843, in County Galway, Province of Connaught, Ireland, son of Patrick and Winifred (Comer) Tierney. In 1870 he came to America, making his first location at Danville, in Montour county, Pa., where he was employed in the iron works, living and working there for a year and a half. He next went to Scranton, where he remained only three months, however, thence going to Oxford, Warren Co., N. J., where he was employed for three years, until a strike broke out. It was then he came to Northumberland, in 1876, his father-in-law, Patrick Carroll, living near, at New Berlin, Pa. Here he has since made his home. When he settled in Northumberland he had a little money, which he lost, however, through no fault of his own, lending it to a man who was sold out before Mr. Tierney could make his claim. For fifteen years Mr. Tierney worked for the Van Alens, iron-masters, as a puddler, after which he was given charge of the Taggart mill at Northumberland, continuing there until Mr. Taggart died and the concern dissolved. Mr. Tierney took advantage of his respite from work to make a visit to his aged mother, who was then about eighty years old, but after he had been back home only two weeks he was summoned to return to Northumberland, where he was appointed watchman at the cap factory. This establishment was destroyed by fire in 1909, since when he has lived retired. He and his family occupy a nice residence at the corner of Second and Orange streets, Northumberland. In 1873 Mr. Tierney married Annie Carroll, daughter of Patrick and Susan (Doonen) Carroll, of New Berlin, Pa. She died in June, 1907, at the age of fifty-two years, and was buried in St. Joseph cemetery, at Danville, Pa. Eleven children were born to this union, namely: Patrick, James, Mary, Thomas, Minnie (deceased), Michael P., Sue, Catherine, John, Harry and Daniel. The family are all members of the Catholic Church at Sunbury. Michael P. Tierney received his literary education in the public schools of the borough of Northumberland, graduating from the high school in 1901. In 1903 he became a clerk in the employ of the Trolley Company in the office of S. P. Wolverton, at Sunbury, and in time began reading law in the same office, being admitted to the Northumberland county bar Oct. 12, 1907. Meantime, in February, 1907, he had been elected justice of the peace of the borough; in 1908 he was elected attorney for the borough, and is also borough solicitor. Thus he found a field immediately for legal practice, and in addition to his public duties he has had considerable private work, having a steadily growing patronage. He has his office in the Morgan building at Northumberland. Hardworking and enterprising, he has every prospect of an active future. On July 18, 1910, Mr. Tierney married Eva Mailey, daughter of John H. Mailey, postmaster of Northumberland. He is a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church at Sunbury. JOHN K. HETRICK, who lives near the Wolfs Cross Road Church in Rockefeller township, has been a prosperous farmer and well known office holder of that township for many years. He was born May 29, 1854, in Lower Mahanoy township, this county, and belongs to an old Pennsylvania family. His remarkable memory has enabled him to learn by heart the complete record of the family from the time of his great-grandfather, Philip (or John Philip) Hetrick. There is a tradition that the early Hetrick or Hetrich family of Northumberland county, Pa., was first located in Berks county, this State, where in 1759 one William Hettrich was a taxable of Bern township, paying a Federal tax of eight pounds. It is likely that this William Hettrich was the father or an elder brother of Philip Hetrich (Hettrich), a pioneer of Washington township, Northumberland county. It is certain the family is one of long standing in Pennsylvania, as the Pennsylvania Archives record the names of Christopher and Nicholas Hettrich among the immigrants to the Province before 1750. The probability is that Christopher, Nicholas, William and Philip were brothers, and that they first settled in Berks county, William remaining there. In 1778, in the list of taxables of Mahanoy township, which then embraced all that part of Northumberland county south of Line Mountain, are found the names of Nicholas and Christopher Hettrich, natives of Germany. END OF PAGE 581 Philip Hetrich (Hettrich) was a pioneer of what is now Washington township, where the family has since been well represented. In the communion list (April, 12, 1818) of the Lutheran congregation of the Himmel Church there the name is conspicuous. It is likely Philip was one of the four Hettrichs above mentioned and the same person who landed at Philadelphia from the ship "Louisa" Oct. 3, 1753. John Philip Hetrick, great-grandfather of John K. Hetrick, was born July 24, 1785, and died March 1, 1853. He lived in what is now Washington township, Northumberland county, owning and occupying the property where his grandson, Daniel Hetrick, later resided, now owned by Henry Kobel. He and his wife, Catharine (Reitz), born Oct. 24, 1786, died June 25 l854 are buried in the old cemetery at the Himmel church in that township. Among their children were: Michael, Nicholas, Mrs. Abraham Deppen, Mrs. Henry Hoffman and Daniel. John Hetrick, son of John Philip Hetrick, was a native of Washington township, followed farming, owning the property where Charles Hetrick now lives, and shortly before his death retired, moving to the Himmel Church locality. He died at the age of sixty-five years and is buried at Himmel's Church. His first wife, Catharine (Snyder), died long before him, and he subsequently married her sister Elizabeth. All his children were by the first marriage, namely: Daniel; Peter, of Punxsutawney, Pa.; John, who died on the homestead; William, who died in Washington township; Samuel, of Upper Mahanoy township; and Sarah, who married John Hoffman. Daniel Hetrick, son of John, was born in what is now Washington township, and there passed all his life, owning and living upon the farm which is now the property of Henry Kobel. He had a tract of 121 acres. Mr. Hetrick was a tanner as well as farmer, having a tannery on his farm which he conducted for many years. He died at the age of sixty-nine and is buried at the Himmel Church, of which he was a Lutheran member. For ten years he held the office of justice of the peace, and he was one of the first board of school directors of Washington township, entering upon the duties of that position when the public school system of the township was established, in 1870. Politically he was a Democrat. His wife, Susanna (Kramer), died about two years before him. They were the parents of eleven children: James was an invalid and lived at home until his death; John K. is mentioned below; Clara M. married Wilson Rebuck; Charles died in Washington township; Frank met his death in the Klondyke, where he was frozen to death with nine other men; Elizabeth (deceased) married F. L. Kehres; Catherine is the widow of Robert Garman; Ellen married Martin Kehres; Lewis is a resident of Sunbury, Pa.; Daniel lives in the borough of Northumberland; Ida died in infancy. John K. Hetrick worked for his father in the tannery and on the farm. When a youth of seventeen he commenced to learn the trade of plasterer, which he has followed off and on ever since, at present taking contracts, in the fulfillment of which he gives employment to several men. His work in that line is principally in Sunbury and the vicinity. After his marriage he went to work for his uncle Elias in Lower Augusta township, in the tannery, where he had been employed for two years when his uncle died. He has since resided in Rockefeller township, where he owns two tracts of land, the smaller comprising twelve acres, upon which his buildings are located. The other contains forty acres, near by. In 1907 Mr. Hetrick remodeled his residence, and he has made many improvements, of various kinds, upon his property. He is a thrifty and systematic worker, and has prospered deservedly in his undertakings. Though busy with his own affairs he has found time to take part in the work of the Democratic party in his locality and has also been called upon to fill a number of public positions, having served six years as school director and eighteen years consecutively as assessor. With his family he belongs to the Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church at Wolfs cross road, in the work of which he has long been active, having served in the church council and as superintendent of the Sunday school for a considerable length of time. On May 29, 1872, Mr. Hetrick married Amanda Kehres, daughter of William and Catherine (Erdman) Kehres, of Washington township, and four children have been born to them: Theda V. married Curtis Hummel and died about one year after her marriage; Rosa F. married Charles F. Schreffler and they live in Rockefeller township; Sapora married Charles Bobb and they live in Sunbury; Samuel O. died when six months old. Mr. and Mrs. Hetrick have adopted and reared five other children: William Sultzbach, who is now in Nebraska; Galen Hoffman and William Kehres, both now in Sunbury; Dean Brosius, born April 15, 1895, who still lives with them; and Margaret Greggson, who is still in their hospitable home. HIRAM M. HAAS, of Sunbury, farmer, trucker and florist, is a prosperous business man who has been active in various lines during his busy life and has made a substantial success. He has served in various public offices and has proved a good citizen in every capacity in which his ability and integrity have been tested. Mr. Haas is a grandson of Lawrence Haas, who lived in Jackson township, Northumberland county. He was possessed at one time of considerable means, nearly all of which he lost going security END OF PAGE 582 for supposed friends. He died early in August 1803, and his administrator was one Daniel Haas, probably a son. Among his children were: John S.; Isaac, who lived and died in Jackson township; Daniel, who was a miller and farmer in New York State; Mrs. Smith; and Harriet who married Jacob Bower. John S. Haas, son of Lawrence, was born May 6, 1810, in Northumberland county and received a common school education. He resided in Mahanoy and Jackson townships until 1850, when he moved to Upper Augusta township and there in 1856 purchased the McCarthy & Davis mill, then known as the Sunbury mill property, but since known as Haas's mill. There he lived the remainder of his days, following milling and also farming, to which he had been reared, until his retirement, and accumulating a comfortable property by industry, good management and honorable dealing. He was unassuming and mingled little with his fellowmen, but he was universally respected, and he held several local offices, serving as school director and for many years as overseer of the poor. When a young man he joined a militia company and became quite prominent in that connection, rising to the rank of major and later to that of colonel; he made a commanding appearance, especially upon horseback, and attracted much attention upon public occasions. His death, which was caused by paralysis, occurred Nov. 30, 1885, at the age of seventy-five. On Dec. 6, 1835, Mr. Haas married Margaret Deppen, who was born March 4, 1812, near Womelsdorf, Berks Co., Pa., and died Dec. 13, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Haas were members of the German Reformed Church, and in politics he was a Democrat. Socially he belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are buried in Pomfret Manor cemetery. They were the parents of four children, all of whom died in infancy except Hiram. Hiram M. Haas was born March 4, 1846, in Jackson township, and was in his fifth year when his parents settled at the Mill property in Upper Augusta township, in the neighborhood of Sunbury. He received his education in the public schools of the borough and at the Missionary Institute at Selinsgrove, this county, which he left in 1867, later attending the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., for five months. From early life he assisted his father and was long associated with him in the management of his affairs, also conducting the mill for a time on his own account. It was equipped with a full roller system and known as the Sunbury Roller Mills. After his father's death he leased the mill and again took up farming, in which he had been previously interested, subsequently operating the mill again in connection with his agricultural operations, making high-grade flour by steam, water and roller processes. He found the mill very profitable, there being a ready market for the products, which had an excellent reputation. Mr. Haas lives in Fast Sunbury, on Haas avenue (named in his honor), where he built the "Haas mansion" in 1890, and he has large interests in and out of the borough. He has seventy-five acres of land to the east of Sunbury, most of it now included in the borough, and is engaged in the cultivation of same as a general farmer, track gardener and florist. The Susquehanna Silk Mills are located on this property. He also has a farm of 165 acres in Upper Augusta township, which he rents. His interests are extensive and he devotes the greater part of the time to their management, being one of the prominent business men of his section of Sunbury, which was formerly known as Purdytown and formed an independent borough before its annexation. His home is included in what is now the Ninth ward. However, with all his numerous private interests, he has found time for valuable public service, having served three terms as school director of what was then Purdytown, a member for two terms of the East Sunbury council, township auditor three successive terms, and recorder. In political sentiment he is a Democrat with independent inclinations. Mr. Haas was for some rears affiliated with the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Royal Arcanum at Sunbury. In 1870 Mr. Haas married Luzetta, daughter of John Hull, a merchant of Snydertown, this county, and to them have been born children as follows: John F., of Sunbury, who married Harriet O. Detrich, of Sunbury; Edward L., of Sunbury, who died in August 1910, at the age of thirty-seven years; Isaac J., of Sunbury, married to Amy E. Fasold, of that borough; Bessie May; Hiram W., of Sunbury; Mary Margaret; Essie Mabel; Nellie Jane, and Marian Valeria. DANIEL ST. CLAIR was a native of Scotland, and came to America when twelve years old. He was in the Revolutionary war, in which he was drum major, and the four fingers of his left hand were shot off in the war. He was a scholar and a good penman and taught school. His wife had a property in Lower Augusta township which Jack Smith now owns, and William Wynn owns another part of the old St. Clair holdings. Mr. St. Clair married Isabella Auchmudy, a daughter of Arthur and Sarah (Mills) Auchmudy, pioneers of the county. Daniel and Isabella St. Clair are buried at Fisher's Ferry. Their children were: Daniel, David, Casper, George, Abraham, Sarah, Anna, Lydia, and a son whose name is forgotten. Daniel St. Clair lived on rented land. He is buried in upper Dauphin county. By his first wife, Katie Hubb, he had two children, Sarah END OF PAGE 583 and Walter. To his second union, with Betzy Dietrich, were born: Hiram, Washington, Isabella, and one that died in infancy. David St. Clair lived and died at the Cart House. He was well- to-do. He married Amelia Reider, and they had a son George. Casper St. Clair married Mary Clymer, from Berks county, Pa. For a time they rented, and later lived along the mountain in Lower Augusta township. They are buried at the Methodist Church. They had children as follows: Jeremiah died in Shamokin; Isabella, born Oct. 11, 1823, is still living, the widow of Robert Smith; Sarah Jane married Charles Reader; Mary E. married Alvin Reader; Andrew J. died in Chester county, Pa., in October, 1909, aged seventy-two years. George St. Clair lived in Schuylkill County, Pa., and St. Clair, in that county, was named after him. He married Polly Dietrich, and among their children were Matilda and Mary. Abraham St. Clair lived at Wilkes-Barre. He entered the army and sold his property for $1,500, though it was worth much more, being rich coal land. His wife was Ellen Courtright and their youngest child was Butler St. Clair. JOHN JACOB PEIFER, late of Shamokin, who was engaged in the leather and boot and shoe business at the corner of Arch and Market streets, had an extensive trade, supplying most of the shoemakers in his section. He was a substantial business man and a respected citizen, one of the best known residents of the western section of the borough. Mr. Peifer was the third of his name in direct line, being a son of John Jacob Peifer and a grandson of John Jacob Pfeifer (as the name was originally spelled), who was born Feb. 28, 1809, in Würtemberg, Germany, and came to America in 1852, making the voyage in a sailing vessel. He was married in Germany to Barbara Ziegler, a native of that country, born Jan. 19, 1806, and his wife and family accompanied him to the United States. They landed at New York, later coming to Pennsylvania and locating in Shamokin, where Mr. Pfeifer found work at the mines. For some time before his death Mr. Pfeifer had his home at Weigh Scales, near Shamokin, where he died June 20, 1863; his wife died Dec. 3, 1868, and both are buried at the Blue Church, of which they were members. Their children were John Peter, John Jacob, Barbara and Magdalena (married Patrick Mackin). John Jacob Peifer, son of John Jacob, was born Nov. 19, 1835, at the town of Beringer, in Wurtemberg, Germany. He was in his seventeenth year when he came with his parents to America, and he was employed at Shamokin and at Allegheny City before settling at Weigh Scales, near Shamokin, where he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He began as a repairman, later became a fireman and in time an engineer, being employed in the latter capacity until he met his death, May 6, 1869, at Brady, this county. The boiler of his engine exploded, throwing him into the adjacent bushes, and life was extinct when he was found. He was a popular and well liked man, and had proved a loyal citizen of his adopted country, serving in the Union army during the Civil war. Mr. Peifer married Anna Maria Bader, who was born Sept. 18, 1842, near the town of Dettingen, in Wurtemberg, Germany, daughter of John George and Christina (Bossart) Bader, and came to America when nineteen years old. Three children were born to this union: John Jacob; Mary Christina, born Aug. 27, 1866, who married Peter Mans and has one child, Dr. John P.; and Anna Dorothy, born Nov. 21, 1868, who married Charles Martin. After Mr. Peifer's death his widow married John Michael Sheese (Schiese), a native of Germany, who died at Shamokin Feb. 5, 1877. Mrs. Sheese still survives, making her home in Shamokin. By her second marriage she had children as follows: Elizabeth C., who is the wife of Elmer Long; Rev. George F., a Presbyterian minister formerly located at Montgomery, Pa., who recently moved to Oklahoma, where he is engaged as a printer, and Fredericka Matilda, married to John Henry Weitenhafer. John Jacob Peifer was born Oct. 27, 1864, at Mount Carmel, Northumberland county, and he began work as many boys in this region have done, picking slate at the mines. He was thus engaged during the summer season, in the winter months attending public school. When fifteen years old he went to learn shoemaking, which trade he followed from that time until 1884, in which year he returned to the mines. But after a comparatively brief experience in his former line he resumed shoemaking, in which he was ever after interested. In 1898 he engaged in business on his own account as a boot and shoe dealer and manufacturer, and he established a large business, having all the most modern equipment and conveniences for facilitating his work. He also dealt in leather and findings, supplying almost all the shoemakers in this section. His profitable and constantly widening trade was the best comment upon his business methods. Mr. Peifer died April 23, 1911, and was buried in Shamokin cemetery. Mr. Peifer was a Republican in politics and active in borough affairs, having served nine years as councilman, and as school director for some time, from the Third ward. Socially he belonged to the Knights of Malta, P.O.S. of A., Sons of Veterans, I.O.O.F. and Maccabees. He was a member of St. John's German Reformed Church, and a member of the choir. A man of genial and END OF PAGE 584 charitable disposition, he enjoyed the friendship and good will of a wide circle. Mr. Peifer married Isabella Otto, granddaughter of William Otto, a farmer of Schuylkill county, who died in 1830; his wife was Margaret Kessler. Henry Otto, son of William, was born in Schuylkill county June 21, 1825, and is now a resident of Shamokin. He married (first) Catharine Artz, by whom he had eight children, and by his second union, to Mary Fager, he had a family of eleven, of whom Mrs. Peifer was one. JEREMIAH LOWER, a retired citizen of Sunbury, has been a resident of that borough for the past twenty years; and until his retirement in 1906 was a successful business man. He is a native of Dauphin county, born near the Northumberland county line Oct. 2, 1845. Michael Lower (Lauer), his grandfather, a native of Schwartswald; Germany, was one of four brothers, all then unmarried, who came to America, and he located in Dauphin county; another brother settled near Harrisburg, Pa., another in the vicinity of Philadelphia, while of the fourth nothing was ever known after his arrival in this country. Michael Lower owned a large tract of land on the north side of Mahantango mountain, near Malta (Vera Cruz), and there he engaged in farming until his death. He was a Lutheran in religion, and is buried at Zion's (Stone Valley) Church. (One Michael Lauer, buried at that church, was born Feb. 1, 1781, and died July 13, 1834.) His wife survived him a number of years. They had children as follows: William was the father of Jeremiah Lower; Jacob settled in Juniata county, Pa.; Michael died near Mahantango Pa.; Daniel located at Brookville, Ogle Co., Ill., where he died; John died in the Lykens Valley March 6, 1904, aged ninety-two years, eight months, three days (his wife, Elizabeth, died Sept. 28, 1894, aged seventy-four years, sixteen days); Elizabeth married John A. Snyder; Rebecca married (first) Abraham Frymoyer and (second) John A. Snyder, whose first wife was her older sister, Elizabeth; Polly married John Chroyer. William Lower was born in 1815 and died in August, 1849, on the old homestead. He was a Lutheran in religions faith and is buried at the Stone Valley church. He learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed, and also farmed on the old homestead. His wife, Julia Zerbe, daughter of John Zerbe, of Lower Mahanoy township, died Feb. 28, 1904, aged seventy-nine years. They were the parents of two children, Jeremiah and Matilda, the latter dying in infancy. Jeremiah Lower received his education in the public schools of the locality where he had his early home and at the Missionary Institute, Selinsgrove. He was reared to farming, which he followed until he reached the age of forty-one years, cultivating land in Northumberland county; meanwhile he also conducted a butcher business for some time in the village of Vera Cruz, in Lower Mahanoy township. When he gave up farming he settled at Weigh Scales, this county, at which place he conducted the "State Road Hotel" (then known as "Hensyl's Hotel") for about two years, in 1889 moving to Ashland, Schuylkill county, where he was proprietor of the "Central Hotel" for a year. In March, 1890, he settled in Sunbury, where he has since made his home. For seven years he conducted the "Packer House" in this borough, in 1896 buying the saddlery and hardware business to which he subsequently gave his attention until his retirement conducting same for a period of nine years. Mr. Lower manufactured and dealt in all kinds of custom and factory made harness, saddlery hardware and shoe findings, handling a superior line of goods. Those of his own manufacture were of the highest grade. He made any kind of harness, doing the work in the most approved manner and the mounting as desired, and carried a most comprehensive stock, everything needed in the stable. He gave special attention to repair work, and enjoyed an excellent patronage. His store was at No. 506 Market street. Mr. Lower has taken a deep interest in the welfare of his adopted home, and has served two years in the borough council. He is a Republican in political opinion. In 1886 Mr. Lower married Wilhelmina Witmer, daughter of Isaac Witmer, of Lower Mahanoy township, and six children have been born to them: William R. is a resident of Sunbury, Julia V. married James R. Brosius and after his death married (second) G. W. Floyd, who is in the Federal service, and they live at Capitol Heights, Md.; Sarah A. is the wife of A. J. Kauffman and they live in Rockefeller township, this county; Mary E. married Frank Weiser, of Sunbury; Susan E. and Laura died in infancy. Mr. Lower and his family are members of the New Lutheran Church in Sunbury. He has always been an interested church worker, and has given many years' service in the councils of the different churches with which he has been identified at the various places in which he has resided. JOHN W. ZERBE, postmaster at Shamokin, Northumberland county, bears a name which has been known in this section from the time his grandfather came hither out of Berks county, founding a family which has ever since been counted among the worthy citizens of the region and in whose honor a township has been named. Zerbe valley and Zerbe run also help to perpetuate the name, and there is a Zerby in Center county doubtless of the same origin. The Zerbe Valley Railroad, a line fifteen miles long, was incorporated END OF PAGE 585 Sept. 7, l867, and became a part of the Philadelphia & Reading system in 1871. Among the registered passengers who came over in the early days appear the names of John Philip Zerbe, Martin Zerbe and Lorenz Zerbe, brothers, who according to Rupp's "30,000 Immigrants" made the passage together in 1710, coming across with the Huguenots. Lorenz Zerbe settled that year at Schoharie, N. Y., and in 1720-22 was one of those who emigrated thence to Pennsylvania, where he settled on the Tulpehocken creek, between what are now Womelsdorf and Bernville, Berks county. He had one son who is of record, John Zerbe, who in 1761 built a mill on the Tulpehocken creek which was in operation until burned, about five years ago (the letter from which most of this information was taken was written Nov. 23, 1909); the corner stone bearing the date was still in the wall a short time ago. It is the general contention of those who have been collecting family records that all of the Zerbes in this country are descended from this John Zerbe (son of Lorentz) and his two wives (he married Catarina Stup June 4, 1744), his children numbering twenty-four in all, twenty sons and four daughters. Some hold that the Zerbes are not all his descendants, but that they came from the three immigrant brothers mentioned but up to this time no record has been unearthed to show that John Philip and Martin Zerbe, the two brothers who accompanied Lorenz, were ever married. A great number, however, from various States, have been traced back to the twenty sons of John, and though many spellings of the name are found in the different branches of the family Zerbe, Zerbey, Zerby, Zerbo, Zerba, Zerbee all who bear it are supposed to he his posterity. In the first half of the nineteenth century many of the name went west, settling in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, etc., so that its representatives are now scattered well over the country, and many are found in the professions as well as among agricultural and mechanical workers. As to the origin of the name, it is found in France, spelled Zerbo; and in 1505 one Gabriel Zerbi, an Italian anatomist, wrote a work entitled "Anatomy of the Human Body," a copy of which may be found in the Astor Library, in New York City. Daniel Zerbe, great-grandfather of John W. Zerbe, of Shamokin, came to this region from Berks county by wagon and was among the early settlers in what is now Lower Mahanoy township. He lived about two miles from what is now Dalmatia. He is buried at the Stone Valley church in Lower Mahanoy township. To him and his wife, Maria, were born eight children: Thomas, the grandfather of John W. Zerbe: Joseph, who died in Dalmatia, Northumberland county; John, who died in Stone Valley (he left no posterity); Daniel, who died unmarried; George, who died at Georgetown, Northumberland county (he married Fibbie Spengel, and two of their children survive, John and Ellen); Rebecca, who married Adam Bowman and moved to Illinois, where she died; Catharine, who married David Schwartz, both dying in Michigan; and Elizabeth, who married Adam Alman. Joseph Zerbe, son of Daniel, married Catharine Meek, and they had thirteen children: Henry, of Shamokin, who married Fibbie Alman (he served three years during the Civil war as a member of Company L, 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry, entering as a private, and receiving promotion to the rank of corporal); Joseph, a miner living (at Mount Carmel; George, who died in 1908; Daniel, a resident of Dalmatia; Samuel who lives at Millersburg, Pa.; Jonas, of Shamokin; Elizabeth, married to Andrew Campbell; Catherine, married to Jacob B. Bright; and others who died young. Thomas Zerbe, son of Daniel, was a farmer in lower Mahanoy township, this county, where he lived and died. He married Elizabeth Gorman, and they had children as follows: Jesse was killed by a bull while at work at his barn. in Kansas; Thomas is the father of John W. Zerbe; Benjamin lives at Beavertown, Snyder Co., Pa.; Elias lives at Altoona, Pa.; Sallie is married to Henry Miller, and they live in Shamokin; Rebecca married George Heitzman, of Kansas; Katie married Elias Paul, who died in Shamokin. Thomas Zerbe, son of Thomas, was born in Lower Mahanoy township, Northumberland county; and came to Shamokin when a young man, finding employment at the mines. Later he settled on his father's homestead in his native township, taking over the farm, which he is still cultivating. He has not only been a prominent farmer, but he is a well known man in the county which he has served two terms as commissioner in the most intelligent and efficient manner. He is a Republican in politics, and a Lutheran in religious matter. Mr. Zerbe married Catherine Messner, daughter of Philip Messner, and to them were born seven children: A son that died in infancy Charles, deceased; John W.; James, of Reading, Berks Co., Pa.; Joseph, of Dalmatia, Northumberland county; Webster, of Lower Mahanoy township, this county; and another son that died in infancy. John W. Zerbe, son of Thomas, was born Feb. 16, 1864, in Lower Mahanoy township, and received his education in the public schools of the home locality. While yet at home he began to work in the mines, continuing thus until he was in his twenty-eighth year, when he was given a position in the police department of Shamokin, and he remained with that department for twelve and a half years, until appointed to the postmastership, in the year 1903. He has proved a capable and faithful official and has given general satis- END OF PAGE 586 faction in the office. His standing in the borough, both personally and as public servant, is unquestionably good. Fraternally he unites with the P.O.S. of A. and the Knights of Malta, and in church connection he is a Lutheran. In 1886 Mr. Zerbe married Clara Kerkam, daughter of Wilhelm and Elizabeth Kerkam, the former a well known business man of Shamokin. They have had three children, but only one survives, May.