Floyd's Northumberland County Genealogy Pages 898 thru 920 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. THOMAS J. COATES, of Shamokin, member of the firm of T. J. Coates & Bro., who do a large business as contractors, can point to many evidences of his skill and executive ability in the number of public buildings which have been erected under his supervision during his career in this line. Eleven schoolhouses in Coal township alone are the work of this firm, which receives a generous share of the patronage in Northumberland county in its particular branches of work. Mr. Coates was born at Trevorton, Northumberland county, June 3, 1866, son of Thomas Coates, a native of County Galway, Ireland, who came to America in young manhood. His first location was in New York City, whence he went to New Jersey, there following the business of gardener. At Matteawan, N. J., he married Katie Donald, who was born in Queen's County, Ireland and with whom he came to Schuylkill county, Pa., before the Civil war, subsequently moving to Trevorton. Mr. Coates was killed in the mines in December, 1868. He is buried at Trevorton. There were five children in his family: John M., Elizabeth, Katie, Thomas J. and Margaret. Thomas J. Coates attended school at Trevorton and was only a boy when he began picking slate at the breaker. He was employed in the mines about twelve years before he went to learn the trade of cabinet- maker, at Trevorton. Later he took up carpentry, and in 1893 he engaged in business as a contractor at Shamokin, becoming associated in that line with his brother John M., under the name of T. J. Coates & Bro. They have had a profitable business from the beginning, and some idea of the magnitude of their operations, and of the class of work intrusted to them, may be gained from the statement that they have had the contracts for the following school buildings in Coal township: Washington, at Springfield; Stevens, at Bear Valley; Webster, at Hickory Ridge; Penn, at Boydtown; Lincoln, at Johnson City; Schaeffer, at Uniontown; Lafayette, at Fairview; Longfellow, at Hickory Swamp; Whitney, at Excelsior; McKinley, at Edgewood; and St. Edward's, at Shamokin. Among other important contracts which they have filled are those for St. Patrick's church and parsonage at Trevorton; for the Shamokin and Coal township almshouse; the first residences at Edgewood, and the first residences at Johnson City. The partner's are both men of high business and personal standards, and they deserve the prosperity which has rewarded their enterprise. Mr. Coates married Annie V. Coulston, daughter of William J. Coulston, and six children have been born to them: John William, Thomas, Annie, John, James and Catherine (who died in infancy). Mr. Coates is a member of St. Edward's Church and of the Holy Name Society. William J. Coulston, Mrs. Coates's father, who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Coates, was born in England May 15, 1825, and came to America in 1846 on a sailing vessel with 280 other passengers. He landed at New York City. Coming to Shamokin in 1866, he has since made his home there, being now one of the oldest residents of the borough. For several years he was in the employ of the late Thomas Baumgardner, at the mines. He is an intelligent man, and well informed. By his first wife, Catherine Cocklin, Mr. Coulston had children as follows: Himes, Thomas, John, Joseph, Thomas (2), Elizabeth, Susanna, Margaret, James and Martin H. By his second union, with Bridget Fenan, he had three children: Annie V. (Mrs. Coates), William (who is deceased) and William A. JOHN M. COATES, brother and business partner END OF PAGE 898 of Thomas J. Coates, was born in 1858 in New Jersey. He followed mining until he engaged in business with his brother. Mr. Coates has been a well known figure in public life in this county for a number of years, having been elected jury commissioner of the county in 1902 and reelected in 1906, and he has also served as assistant assessor of Coal township. He is a Democrat in political sentiment. He is a prominent member of St Edward's Church and of the Knights of St. Edward, of which organization he was the first auditor, still holding this office; he is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and secretary of his lodge. HETRICH. Johann Philip Hetrich, the ancestor of a large family of this name in Lower Northumberland county, was a farmer in Washington township, owning what is now the farm property of Henry Kobel. He was born July 24, 1785, and died March 1, 1853. His wife, Catharine (Reitz), born Oct. 24, 1786, died June 25, 1854, and both were members of the Himmel Church in that township, at which church they are buried. Their children were: John, Michael, Jacob, Nicholas, Samuel, Sallie (married Samuel Bobb), Mrs. Henry Hoffman and Mrs. Peter Reitz. John Hetrich, son of Johann Philip and Catharine (Reitz) Hetrich, was born Feb. 15, 1805, and was a farmer on the place now occupied by his grandson Charles B. Hetrich. He married Catharine Snyder (Schneider), who was born Dec. 15, 1809, and died Aug. 18, 1866. Mr. Hetrich died June 22, 1871. They are buried at Himmel's Church, of which they were Lutheran members. Their children were as follows: William, Elias, John S., Daniel, Samuel, Peter and Sarah (married John Hoffman). JOHN S. HETRICH, son of John, was born Dec. 1, 1830, on the old Hetrich homestead now owned by his son Charles B. He was a lifelong farmer and made his home at the old place. His activity in local affairs made him quite well known, as he served six years in the office of overseer of the poor and was also auditor of his township. Politically he was a Democrat. In religion he was a Lutheran and served as deacon and trustee of the church. He died July 21, 1904. In 1854 Mr. Hetrich married Eve Brosius, who was born June 2, 1834, daughter of Peter and Katie (Gonsor) Brosius, and granddaughter of Peter and Grace (Hepler) Brosius. She is a well preserved woman, though in her seventy-seventh year, and continues to reside on the old home place with her son Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Hetrich celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage March 12, 1904, a few months before his decease. They had the following family: Mary E., who died in 1909, married Jerre Snyder and lived at Waverly, Nebr. (they had ten children); Frank died young; Emma J. married R. B. Latsha and they live at Catawissa, Pa.; Ella C. died young; Charles B. carries on the old farm. CHARLES B. HETRICH, son of John S. Hetrich, was born July 1, 1869, at his present home, in Washington township, and received his education in the public schools of the locality. He was reared to farming and for eighteen years followed the business of huckster, going to the leading cities in the coat mining districts. In 1901 he began farming on his own account on the old Hetrich homestead, which comprises 140 acres on the road between Rebuck and Greenbrier. Part of the house is one of the old structures in the neighborhood, a landmark of the community. On Jan. 1, 1888, Mr. Hetrich married Katie F. Keiffer, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Kehres) Keiffer, and they have had four children: John O., Irin R., Sarah P. and Mary D. John O. Hetrich is a graduate of the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, Pa., class of 1909, and is engaged in teaching in Washington township. Mr. Hetrich and his family are Lutheran members of Himmel's Church, which he is serving as deacon at present. He is a Democrat on political questions. Nicholas Hetrich, son of Johann Philip, was born June 1, 1829 and died Jan. 21, 1864. He is buried at Himmel's Church. His home was in Washington township, and he was a wool carder and weaver by occupation. To him and his wife Harriet (Schlegel) were born children as follows: William, Benneville S., Edward, Seville (married Samuel Smith) and Emma (married Hiram Radel and Isaac Campbell). BENNEVILLE S. HETRICH, son of Nicholas, was born July 24, 1855, in Washington township, and was there reared, being trained to farm life from boyhood. In the spring of 1899 he began farming on the place in Jackson township where he has since resided, which consists of eighty acres of good land. It was formerly the Nicholas Drumheller farm, and the house on the property is an old one, having sheltered the pioneer for many years. One part is built of logs. Mr. Hetrich has made a success of his agricultural operations. He is also an experienced tradesman, having learned weaving and shoemaking, which he followed for a number of years before deciding to give all his time to farming. He is active in local politics, being a stanch member of the Democratic party. On Dec. 25, 1883, Mr. Hetrich married Mary Ann Seiler, daughter of Jacob Seiler. She died April 21, 1911. They had two daughters: Lizzie married Herbert H. Hilbush and went to live at Sunbury, this county, where she died Oct. 5, 1909, aged twenty-three years, eight months, eight days, leaving her husband with one son and one daugh- END OF PAGE 899 ter Mary Elizabeth and Henry B.; Mabel married George E. Rebuck, who is farming the homestead (he is a member of Lafayette Lodge, No. 194, F. & A.M.). Mr. Hetrich and his family are members of the Lutheran congregation at St. Peter's (Mahanoy) Church, which he has served as deacon, elder and trustee; he is in office at present. SEILER. The ancestor of the Seiler family in this region was John Jacob Seiler, born May 22, 1780, died March 12, 1866. In his earlier manhood he was a miller in Jordan township, Northumberland county, later settling in Jackson township, where he lived on the tract now owned by E. J. Otto. He also owned the farm in Jackson township which was afterward the property of his son William and is now owned by the latter's son Jacob, and was a prosperous man in all his undertakings. He married Elizabeth Heintzleman, and they had a family of ten children: Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, John, Elias (born July 5, 1818, died Aug. 6, 1872; wife Sarah, born April 9, 1822, died Aug. 27, 1900), George, Peter, Katie (married Daniel Zartman), Sallie (married Jacob Wagner) and Polly (married John Zartman). Jacob Seiler, son of John Jacob, was born Sept. 22, 1804, in Lower Mahanoy township, and became a farmer, living on the old Seiler homestead in Jackson township. He died Nov. 14, 1874, and is buried at St. Peter's Church. His wife Elizabeth (Ebright), was born Feb. 17, 1811, in Lower Augusta township, and died Dec. 8, 1900. They had children as follows: (1) Rebecca married Daniel Wirt by whom she had two children, John (who is an undertaker at Seven Points, Northumberland county) and Sarah Ann (wife of Dr. R. P. Haas, of Williamstown, Pa.); after Mr. Wirt's death she married Henry Dornsife, by whom she has children, Henry, I. (who has the largest restaurant in Kansas City, Mo.), Samuel Seiler (an attorney at law of Kansas City), Daniel Webster (who lives in California) and Elizabeth Agnes (unmarried). (2) Sarah Ann died Oct. 25, 1851, aged fifteen years, seven months, twenty-six days. (3) George died in infancy. (4) Harriet married Elias. R. Hilbush. (5) William is mentioned below. (6) Mary Ann married Benneville S. Hetrich. William Seiler, son of Jacob, was born Jan. 13, 1843, on the farm where he passed his entire life, becoming a farmer himself. He passed away Sept. 28, 1898. He was the owner of the homestead for a number of years and built the present buildings on the property. For a number of years he was actively identified with the administration of public affairs in his locality, serving as school director, tax collector, and in other offices, and he was a prominent Democrat in political matters. In religion he was a member of the Reformed congregation at St. Peter's Church, which he served officially for many years, being deacon and elder of that church. His wife, Hannah, was a daughter of Benjamin and Kate (Stein) Boyer, of Amity township, Berks Co., Pa., and they had three children: Isaac, who is buried at St. Peter's Church; Daniel, of Dauphin county, Pa.; and Jacob. JACOB SEILER, son of William and Hannah (Boyer) Seiler, was born Nov. 15, 1871, at the Seiler homestead, and was there reared to farming. After his marriage he began agricultural pursuits on his own account at the old home in Jackson township which has been in the Seiler name for so many years, Jacob Seiler being the fourth generation to possess it. The present barn on the place was built by William Seiler in 1876, and the house in 1880. The tract contains 110 acres, ten of which are in timber. Like his family generally, Mr. Seiler has interested himself in local public matters and church work. He is a Democrat and has held township office. He is a member of the Reformed Church, to which his family also belong, is at present serving as deacon of the church and has been interested in the Sunday school, having served as secretary and teacher. In 1903 Mr. Seiler married Kate Latsha, daughter of Adam and Wilhelmina (Fegley) Latsha, and they have one son, Rufus. ALEXANDER ROSS, who has carried on a hotel at the corner of Second and Water streets, in the borough of Shamokin, since 1906, was formerly for many years engaged in the principal industry of this section, the mining of coal. In his present enterprise he is in partnership with Thomas T. Williams, and they are doing a fine business, having a fine brick hotel with thirty guest rooms. Mr. Ross was born Sept. 25, 1852, in Lower Augusta township, Northumberland county, where his father, John Ross, settled upon leaving New Jersey, his native State. He was a young man when he came to this county, and here he passed the remainder of his life, engaged in farming. He died at the age of fifty years, and is buried at the Presbyterian church in Lower Augusta township. He married Margaret Messersmith, and to them were born the following children: Emanuel, Augustus, Alexander, John, Frank, Jane (married Ezra Badman, and died Dec. 2, 1879, aged twenty-one years, eight months eleven days), Mamie and Simon. Alexander Ross received his education in the public schools of his native township, and his first work was upon the farm. When sixteen years old he came to Shamokin, where he did railroad work for one year, after which he went into the mines and for thirty-seven years was employed at the collieries. In 1906 he built the substantial brick hotel at the corner of Second and Water streets, in Shamokin, where he has since done business, END OF PAGE 900 and the house is comfortable and convenient attracting a steady and profitable patronage. The proprietors are well known in Shamokin, where Mr. Ross has valuable real estate holdings, having met with considerable success in his business ventures. On Sept. 26, 1874, Mr. Ross married Emeline Newman, daughter of John Newman, of Shamokin, and they have three children: Charles, who is a miner; Ambrose W., a merchant in Shamokin; and Mary J., married to James T. Dormer, of Shamokin. Mr. Ross is a member of the Reformed Church and socially belongs to the Knights of Malta. He is an independent voter, supporting the candidates he prefers regardless of their party affiliations. JOHN T. ALBRIGHT, late of Turbut township, Northumberland county, was in his lifetime one of the respected citizens of his section, where he followed farming for many years. He was a native of Lehigh county, Pa., born in 1832, and came to Northumberland county with his parents when a boy. Mr. Albright learned the trade of bricklayer, which he continued to follow throughout his active years, and as such assisted in building The Baptist church at Turbutville. In his later life he followed farming near the Paradise church in Turbut township. He died in 1894, aged sixty-two years, two months, four days. In 1856 Mr. Albright married Mary E. Huntsinger, who was born Dec. 18, 1838, daughter of Rudolph and Mary (Heuelrich) Huntzinger, and granddaughter of Jacob Huntzinger, a native of Lebanon county, Pa., where he died. Jacob Huntzinger married Elizabeth Bowman, and they had children: Rudolph, Harry, Martin, Jacob, Peter, Mary E. and Catharine. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John T. Albright: David L. married Rosa Klapp and has one child, Ella (they reside in Lewis township, this county); Mary A. married Aug. F. Heller and has two children, Bertha and Jessie; Charles M., who is engaged in farming his father's old homestead, married Susan F. Klapp and has two children, Florence K. and Edna M. The mother of this family, Mrs. Mary F. (Huntzinger) Albright, died Jan. 21, 1911, at her home in Turbut township, and was buried in the cemetery of Paradise Reformed Church, where Mr. Albright is also interred. He was a member of that church, and he and his wife were among the most esteemed residents of their community. DEPPEN. Christian Deppen, the founder of this family in Pennsylvania, came hither from the German Palatinate, arriving (qualifying) at Philadelphia Sept. 16, 1736. He crossed the ocean on the vessel "Princess Augusta," from Rotterdam, Samuel Merchant master, along with a number of others from the Palatinate, their wives and children - in all three hundred souls, according to the historian Rupp. On the "List of Ships Foreigners" his name is given as Christian Dappen, and his age as thirty years. In the Captain's book his name appears as Christian Teppe. In his will his name is written, in plain English, Christian Deppe. Thus we find that there has been considerable uncertainty concerning the correct orthography of the name. It appears often as Deppe, Depew, and Dupee, and some genealogists declare its original form to have been that of the old French Huguenot name, DePui. Christian Deppen settled near Womelsdorf, in Heidelberg township, Berks Co., Pa. In the tax lists of Heidelberg township Christian "Deppy" is assessed as follows: 1767, on 300 acres, 3 horses, 3 cattle, 3 sheep; 1768, on 150 acres, 4 horses, 4 cattle, 5 sheep; 1779, on 220 acres, 5 horses, 15 cattle; 1780, on 395 acres, 5 horses, 12 cattle; 1781, on 395 acres, 5 horses, 8 cattle. The will of Christian Deppe, of Heidelberg township, is on record in the Berks county courthouse, as made Sept. 27, 1775, and probated in 1782, the year of his death. It was witnessed by Philip Moyer, John Casper Reed, and Adam Kalbach, and it begins thus: "I, Christian Deppe, an aged yeoman of Heidelberg township, Berks county." As the will contains no reference to his wife, it is presumed she was dead at the time it was made. At the time of his death Christian Deppe also owned fifty acres of land in Northampton county. In his will he refers to his "eldest and beloved son, Johannes, who shall have fifty pounds over and above his other share." His children as named in the will were: Johannes; Barbara (married Peter Zimmerman); Anna (married George Yeakly); Treanic; Elizabeth; Thomas; Peter; David, who died in 1804 (his German will is on record in Berks county courthouse); Joseph; Jacob; and Abraham, who died in 1840 intestate, and whose heir was Richard Boone, of Heidelberg. Joseph Deppy (one of the older sons of the pioneer Christian) in the Federal Census Report of 1790 is recorded as a resident of Heidelberg township, and as the head of a family consisting of himself, wife and three sons above sixteen years of age. Christian, Peter, William and George Deppen, natives of Berks county, were pioneers of Northumberland county. They located in that section now embraced in Jackson and Washington townships; in 1778 the name of Christian Deppen appears among the list of pioneers of Mahanoy township (both Jackson and Washington were originally embraced in Mahanoy township). This Christian Deppen and Peter Deppen, who were pioneers in Northumberland county, tradition states were sons of the ancestor Christian Deppy. The name END OF PAGE 901 of Peter is found in the will, but Christian is said to have been a heavy drinker, and poor probably on that account, and for this reason he was not mentioned in his father's will. He was unlike his brothers. Early in the nineteenth century he went to Mercer county, Pa., where he died. He was married three times, and among his children were son Washington and daughter Betsy. Peter Deppen came, as stated, from Berks to Northumberland county; after living there a short period he went to Ohio, finally settling in Missouri, where he was a prosperous farmer. His descendants in Missouri and the West are said to be many. Among his children were sons Zetic and Andrew. William and George Deppen, mentioned above as having settled in Northumberland county, were grandsons of the ancestor Christian through his oldest son, John, and from these two spring all the Deppens now living in Northumberland county. Whether Christian Deppy, the ancestor, was a Roman Catholic or not is uncertain, but tradition states that he was. His son Joseph was a Catholic, as were the latter's children, and a number of the family still adhere to that faith. Most of the name now living in Reading are members of St. Pauls Catholic Church. There were sixteen persons by the name of Deppen in the Reading city directory for 1908. William Deppen, one of the two grandsons of Christian mentioned as settling in Northumberland county, was a native of Berks county, born Nov. 20, 1779. He and his brother George settled near Herndon, in Jackson township, in 1810. He is buried at Stone Valley Church, in Lower Mahanoy township, where he died. He was a hat-maker by trade, but followed farming in Jackson township. His wife Magdelene (Seiler) bore him twelve children, namely: Abraham, Alexander, Isaac, John, David, William, Leah, Sallie, Caroline, Lydia, Mary and Elizabeth (who died in infancy). The father, William Deppen, who is buried at Stone Valley Church; died Sept. 3, 1848; his wife Magdelene, born Sept. 15, 1790, died Feb. 2, 1862. Their son David, born Aug. 29, 1824, died Feb. 21, 1850. Abraham Deppen, son of William, born Sept. 8, 1812, died Aug. 13, 1899, and is buried at St. Peter's Church, in Mahanoy township, where his wife also rests. He was a farmer, and also dealt in land and cattle, meeting with such success in his operations that at the time of his death he had an estate valued at $100,000. He was a resident of Herndon at that time. In 1832, together with a man named Mowery, he cleared the first five acres of what is now the site of the borough of Shamokin. In 1844, with his family, he left Jackson township in a Conestoga wagon drawn by three horses and moved out to Wayne county, Ohio. They arrived a day or two too late to take possession of the land for which they had arranged, so the family lived in their wagon and with a cousin until the land tangle was straightened out. This, however, was only the beginning of a series of troubles. They lived for two years upon the farm they had taken up, but the rust killed the wheat crop, and they subsisted on corn cakes and corn bread, pork and chickens, unable to obtain money or other food. Mrs. Deppen became so homesick that Mr. Deppen hitched up his Conestoga wagon and took her back East, the four children remaining alone upon the farm until the parents returned, after an absence of ten weeks. Then Mr. Deppen became homesick, and after another year the entire family returned to the old location in Pennsylvania. The last year in Ohio the wheat and corn crops had both frozen, and the family lived principally on soft corn and pumpkins. It was in 1846 that they made the return journey, and when they arrived at Liverpool, Perry Co., Pa., the pair of horses he drove were Mr. Deppen's only possessions. He settled on the opposite (east) side of the Susquehanna river, and, purchasing five thousand bushels of potatoes on his father's indorsement, obtained a new start. In 1847 he went out to Ohio again to harvest his wheat crop, which was excellent. Just fifty years afterward he went back again, to visit his old farm, which he had sold to Alexander Deppen, who became a successful farmer thereon. The land improved greatly under cultivation. In 1854 Abraham Deppen purchased half of the 300-acre island located in the Susquehanna river between Port Trevorton and Herndon, the other half being owned by a man named Strickler, who was the first man upon it. It was first known as Strickler island, later as Strickler and Deppen island. Mr. Deppen retained his interest until 1868 or 1869, when he sold to Peter Ziegler, since whose death his son George has owned it. The island comprises three hundred acres of the finest and most fertile land in the upper part of the State. Abraham Deppen married Mary Snyder, of Upper Mahanoy township, born in 1811, died in 1868. They were the parents of four children: Louisa (married Mr. Reuben H. Muth), George (of Herndon, Pa.), Joseph (of Mount Carmel, Pa.) and Alexander. GEORGE DEPPEN, son of Abraham, was born in 1836 at Locust Gap, Mount Carmel township, Northumberland county, and was reared in Jackson township, whither his parents removed during his early childhood. He attended the subscription schools, and spent his early years in farm work. In 1863 he embarked in the mercantile business in Snyder county, Pa., and later engaged in the same line at Herndon, of which town he is now one of the oldest residents. In 1868 he engaged in the grain and leather business, buying and shipping grain and dealing in hides for sole END OF PAGE 902 leather, etc., and has built up a large and lucrative trade in that line, being one of the most substantial citizens south of the Line Mountain in Northumberland county. The scope of the business has become so extended that many commodities are now handled, Mr. Deppen shipping grain and coal in large quantities, and dealing extensively in hay, feed, flour, leather and stoneware, while he also trades in wood pumps, shingles, terra cotta and galvanized pipes, his line being very comprehensive and a great accommodation to the local trade. He has always been recognized as a most progressive man, and has amassed a comfortable fortune. Mr. Deppen is one of the oldest justices of the peace in Northumberland county, in point of both age and service, having been first elected in 1865, though he did not take his commission at that time because the recorder had returned it just a day or two before he called for it, he delaying acceptance. He holds seven commissions, one for one year (by appointment) and six for five years each. He is a Democrat in politics, as are also his sons, and is a Lutheran in religious faith, though all his family adhere to the Reformed faith. In 1868 Mr. Deppen married Mary Mertz, of Freeburg, Snyder county, who died Aug. 17, 1898, at the age of fifty-one years, the mother of a large family of children, eleven of whom survive: Lizzie J. (married Harris Snyder), Laura (married Howard J. Engle), George E. (an attorney at law of Sunbury, Pa.), Henry C. (who manages his father's business at Herndon), Charles P. (car inspector at Herndon), Susan M., Carrie L., John E., Nettie I., Laurence R. and Abraham E. Ruth Alice died in infancy. HENRY C. DEPPEN. (best known as "Harry" Deppen), son of George, was born Dec. 26, 1875, in what is now the borough of Herndon, then a part of Jackson township. He obtained his education in the local public schools, and has been assisting his father ever since he was nine years old. He has continued to be associated with him, and is now the active head of the extensive business, into which he has infused new life by his energy and enterprising spirit. A number of the lines recently added to the original trade were taken up experimentally as promising incidental gains to the bulk and returns of the business, and have proved most profitable. The Deppens have the bulk of the borough trade in coal and feed, and their patronage extends all over the Mahantango Valley. Aside from this enterprise Mr. Deppen is interested in several local industrial concerns, and he and his brother George have been associated for some time as established agents for a number of the old- line high-class fire insurance companies. Mr. Deppen's business activities, however, have not made him indifferent to the public welfare, and he has been prominent in the administration of the borough government ever since it was instituted. He was elected a councilman at the first general election held after the organization of the borough, and has served continuously to the present time, being the oldest councilman in point of service, though the youngest in years. He has served two years as president of the council, and has been chairman of the ordinance, finance and street committees. Politically Mr. Deppen is a Democrat, and has considerable influence in the party He is a member of the Reformed congregation of Zion's Church, at Herndon, and useful in the work of that organization as he is in everything else which interests him. He is at present serving as secretary of the church consistory. JOHN ERNEST DEPPEN, son of George, was born May 15, 1881, at Herndon. He began his education there in the public schools, later attending Susquehanna University, at Selinsgrove, for two years. After assisting his father in business for a time he took a position as traveling salesman in New York and eastern Pennsylvania, and has since been successfully engaged in that capacity. He has been a member of the 12th Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, since 1898, and holds the rank of first sergeant. JOSEPH DEPPEN, son of Abraham and Mary (Snyder) Deppen, was born Dec. 2, 1837, in Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county. He received a limited education, the school he attended being taught in a gristmill in Dauphin county. When he became of age he engaged in the droving business, which he followed for three years, and afterward followed merchandising at Herndon for nearly two years. In 1869 he moved to Mount Carmel, where he carried on the hotel business for fifteen years, being proprietor of what is now the "Commercial House." He prospered and accumulated some means, and he has long been considered one of the substantial men of the place, being one of the organizers of the Mount Carmel Savings Bank, which he is still serving as director. In 1867 he married Eva Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hoffman, of Jordan township, born Jan. 17, 1841, who died Jan. 18, 1896, and to them were born four children, namely. Lizzie, Ada, Joseph and Gertrude. The family are all members of the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Deppen is an active Democrat in politics. ALEXANDER DEPPEN, a retired farmer now living at Dornsife, was born Aug. 16, 1839, in Washington township, Northumberland county, son of Abraham and Mary (Snyder) Deppen. He was reared to farm life, and when twenty years old began farming on the upper part of White island, where he remained in all for thirty-three years engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1889 he came to Jackson township, and he has since carried on two large farms, though he is now retired from active labor. He made his home in Herndon END OF PAGE 903 from 1904 until the spring of 1910, when he moved to Dornsife. For seventeen years he lived on his farm at Dornsife. Mr. Deppen is a Democrat in political opinion, and a Lutheran in religious faith. In 1859 Mr. Deppen married Catharine Stepp, daughter of Bastian Stepp, of Jackson township. She died in 1885, at the age of forty-two years, the mother of a family of seven children, two sons and five daughters: William S. (of Dornsife), Charles (of Altoona, Pa.), Agnes (who died at the age of twenty-four years), Emma, Minnie, Jane and Lizzie. In 1904 Mr. Deppen married Mrs. Sarah A. (Kerr), Stewart, widow of James Gordon Stewart. Mrs. Deppen had eleven children by her first marriage, James (who has a son, James Edward), Mary, Edward, Sadie, Jane, and six who died young. Twenty years ago Mrs. Deppen and her first husband, with six children, went from Pittsburg to Seattle, Wash., where they kept house for a year, then moving to Portland, Oregon. Mr. Stewart then went to California, thinking he would like it better, but as he did not he returned to Oregon, and they kept house there for two years. The youngest child died and was buried out there, after which the rest of the family returned to Pittsburg, where Mr. Stewart died. In a few years Mrs. Stewart, with her youngest daughter, went out again to Oregon, where she has two married daughters. On the trip out eight mountain robbers held up the train six miles out of St. Paul, at Fergus Falls, Minn., blowing the express car to pieces with dynamite, and this delayed them so that it was eight days before they arrived in Portland. Mrs. Deppen stayed there a year with her two daughters, returning to Pittsburg. One of her sons lives in Lancaster, Ohio, one in Coreopolis, Pa.; one of her daughters lives in Harrisburg. She has one sister living in Pittsburg, and one in Shiremanstown, Pa., and two brothers in Washington, D. C. Joseph and Sydney Ann (Horn) Kerr, parents of Mrs. Deppen, were natives of Allegheny county, Pa., and the father was a tailor by occupation. He was a Scotch Presbyterian in religious faith. He died in 1869, and is buried in the South Side cemetery, at Pittsburg, while the mother, who died in 1885, is buried at Baltimore. They had a family of thirteen children, Lizzie, Robert, Thomas, Julia, Emma, Sarah A., and seven who are deceased. Mrs. Sydney Ann (Horn) Kerr belonged to a noble German family. Her father came to America when young, and here passed the remainder of his life. His father, a man of wealth and high rank, died, and the son was notified and summoned to claim his inheritance, but he was afraid to cross the ocean, and never received the property. WILLIAM S. DEPPEN, son of Alexander, was born July 18, 1861, was reared to farming, and has followed that calling all his life. On March 26, 1884, he began farming the place in Jackson township then owned by his grandfather, Abraham Deppen, which he cultivated for the next fourteen years. The following two years he farmed for Joseph Tressler, and then for two years for his father on a 165-acre farm in Little Mahanoy township. In the spring of 1901 he moved to his present farm in the same township, near Dornsife, a tract of fifty-nine acres located on the north side of Mahanoy creek, formerly the homestead of Michael Peifer. Mr. Deppen remodeled and enlarged the house and has since resided on this place. He is an energetic and prosperous farmer, a substantial member of the community and a citizen willing to do his duty in every relation of life. He served three years as school director in Jackson township, and in 1910 was reelected for his second term in that office in Little Mahanoy. He is a Democrat in political faith. On Sept. 16, 1883, Mr. Deppen married Emma Last, daughter of David Last, and they have one daughter, Ada V., now the wife of Irwin Peifer (son of George C. Peifer) and mother of three children, Elmer L., Eva and Vera. The family are Lutheran members of St. John's Church at Pump Station, which Mr. Deppen has served officially as deacon and elder. David Last, father of Mrs. Deppen, was a cooper by trade, and lived in the Kratzerville district in Snyder county. He died about 1867, when about forty-nine years old, and is buried at Haddley's Church in Snyder county. His wife, Harriet (Leitzel), daughter of John Leitzel, died about 1878, at the age of sixty-two, and is buried at the same place. They had three children: Mary, wife of Lewis Pontius; Ella, wife of Charles Wetzel; and Emma, wife of William S. Deppen. George Deppen, grandson of Christian Deppy, the ancestor, was born June 21, 1787, in Berks county, Pa., and came to Northumberland county with his brother William, as previously stated, in 1810. He was a lifelong farmer, and upon his removal from his native county settled on the farm now owned by Isaac Tressler, a tract one and a half miles north of Herndon. This place he sold and purchased an adjoining farm, on which stood a gristmill. From the latter property he removed to the farm now owned by his grandson, Samuel Deppen, a fine place of fully 200 acres in Jackson township. He died Feb. 7, 1850, and his wife, Maria Magd. Greise, a native of Berks county, born April 3, 1785, long survived him, dying Aug. 11, 1869. They are buried at St. Peter's Church, in Mahanoy township. He and his family were Reformed members of St. Peter's, which was a union church, and he served as an official; he was an old-time Whig in political opinion. To END OF PAGE 904 Mr. and Mrs. Deppen were born four children, namely Rebecca, who married John Haas, of Sunbury; William; John, who died in Herndon; and Isaac, who spent much of his life at Herndon and died in Snyder county, Pennsylvania. William Deppen, eldest son of George, born in 1814, was a merchant in Jackson township and other places in this county for forty years, at one time owned much real estate, and was a prominent man in his section. He engaged in the mercantile business at Augustaville when a young man, and was subsequently at Mahanoy, in Jackson township, for eighteen years. In the spring of 1860 he located at Trevorton, where be was a merchant for about two years, until his retirement from business. He died Jan. 8, 1876, and is buried at Mahanoy, in Jackson township. He was a member of the German Reformed Church, and a Republican in politics. His wife, Susan Lantz, who survived him, was of Lower Augusta township, this county, and to them, were born children as follows Mary, Samuel, William (all three died young), Benjamin F., George W., Richard L. (of Shamokin) and Sarah A. (married and living in Trevorton). George W. Deppen, who was cashier of the First National Bank of Sunbury, died in January, 1909. Benjamin F. Deppen, son of William, was born in 1847 in Jackson township, Northumberland county, and received his education in the public schools. He was appointed station agent of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company at Trevorton, and held that position for twenty years, in 1889 engaging in the mercantile business at that place. He married Susan Herb, who died in 1888, leaving four children, viz.: Laura M., Susan M., Samuel H. and William R. Mr. Deppen is a Republican in politics. John Deppen, son of George, was born July 4, 1815, in Jackson township, and died Dec. 11, 1893, at Herndon, where he had lived retired for ten years. He followed farming during his active years, owning the place which is now the property of his son Samuel. He was a devout Christian, he and his family worshipping with the Reformed congregation of St. Peter's Church, which he served as deacon and elder. He and his brother William married sisters, his wife being Catharine Lantz; she was born Nov. 16, 1819, and died Jan. 7, 1889, the mother of four children: Mary married Albert Holshue; Samuel is mentioned below; William H., born March 15, 1856, died Dec. 10, 1877 (he married Kate Tressler, and they had two sons, Irwin and William, both of whom live at Harrisburg, Pa.); Susan married William F. Bower. SAMUEL DEPPEN, son of John, was born Sept. 5, 1853, in Jackson township, attended the common schools in the home district, and was reared to farm life. He worked for his parents until he was twenty-four years old, in the spring of 1878 commencing to farm for himself on the homestead, where he continued for thirty years, in the spring of 1908 renting the farm and moving to Herndon, where he now makes his home. Since settling in the town he has driven a dray, doing all kinds of hauling. He is of the third generation of his family to own the old homestead, which is located on the road from Herndon to Dornsife. The house on the place is of logs, and was built about 1800, by a Schaffer. The present barn, 85 by 38 feet in dimensions, was built by Samuel Deppen in 1900 to take the place of the one destroyed by lightning Aug. 23d of that year, together with the year's crop, farm implements, and a horse and three head of young cattle. Mr. Deppen has always been active and progressive, and has taken part in the local government to some extent. He was school director in Jackson township for the long period of twenty-one years, seven terms of three years each, and was president and treasurer of the school board many years, serving with honor and credit; his has been the longest record of service held by any one man up to this time in Jackson township. He and his family worship at St. Peter's Union Church at Mahanoy, of which his father and grand-father before him were active members and supporters. In 1878 Mr. Deppen married Lucy Ann Zartman, daughter of Adam and Susan (Forney) Zartman, of Jackson township. They have had three children: Carrie married W. P. Zartman, a lumber merchant of Shamokin, Pa.; Mamie married Calvin Ziegler and lives in Philadelphia; Susan married John Witmer and resides at Herndon. STEPHEN A. PRAMUK, of Shamokin, Northumberland county, was born Aug. 20, 1872, in Austria, son of Andrew and Anna (Steffick) Pramuk. The father, also a native of Austria, died in that country, and the widowed mother came to America with her four children. She now makes her home with her son Stephen in Shamokin. The family consisted of four children, as follows: Stephen A. and Andrew, twins, the latter now in his brother Stephen's employ; Michael, who lives. in Shamokin; and Mary, married to Bert Yankoskie and living in Shamokin. In the spring of 1882 Stephen A. Pramuk came to America with his mother, the family landing in New York City., Their first home here was in Clearfield county, Pa., where they remained only a short time, however, settling in Shamokin in 1883. Though a mere child at the time they lived in Clearfield county Stephen A. Pramuk was employed at the coke ovens there, and upon coming to Shamokin began work at the mines as a slate picker, later following mining. In 1896 he gave up that work and engaged in the hotel busi- END OF PAGE 905 ness in the borough, continuing same for about six years, until he commenced, his present business, in 1902. He has since been established at No. 314 South Market street, where he is engaged as a wholesale dealer in liquors, wines, beer, ale and porter, having a steady patronage. He is a man of good business ability and an excellent manager, as the growth of his trade testifies. On April 15, 1909, he was appointed receiver for the Shamokin Brewing Company. He still keeps up his interest in his former work as a director of the Miners' Loan Association. Socially be is a well known member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and of St. Mary's Church and its affiliated societies: In politics he is a Democrat. On Sept. 8, 1896, Mr. Pramuk was married to Matilda M. Zuschian, also of Austria, and they have had the following children Mary, Stephen, Adolph, Clara, Bernard, Albert and Benjamin. The family live at No. 816 South Market street. PROF. SAMUEL G. SMITH, of Trevorton, has been a teacher at the place for several years and has followed the profession in this county since 1887, though not continuously. He is connected with the high school. Mr. Smith was born in this county, at Leck Kill, March 21, 1870, and belongs to a family which has long been settled here. He is of the fifth generation in this country, his great-great-grandfather having emigrated from Germany and settled in Berks county, Pa., where be died. Jacob Smith, great-grandfather of Professor Smith; came to this region from Berks county in the early days, before the Indians had left, and settled in what is now Upper Mahanoy township. He was a land owner and cleared considerable land, and also followed hunting and fishing, game being plentiful in these parts in his time. His children were: Jacob and John died in the West; Elizabeth married Solomon Shankweiler; Samuel married Sarah Arnold; Mary married John Core; Jonathan, who died at Greenbrier, this county, married Sarah Snyder; Peter, who died at Leck Kill, married Elizabeth Geist. Samuel Smith, son of Jacob, owned the original homestead in Upper Mahanoy township and followed farming throughout his active years. He died upon his farm and is buried at Leck Kill. He married Sarah Arnold, whose father was a resident of Berks county, Pa., and they had children as follows: Daniel died at Trevorton; William is mentioned below; Louisa, now the only survivor of the family, is unmarried and living at Sunbury; Mary; Elizabeth, who married Daniel Stoplich and (second) William Raudenbush, died at Locust Dale, Schuylkill County; Sarah married Daniel Snyder, of Greenbrier; John died at Waverly, Iowa; Harriet married Henry Haas, and died in Upper Mahantango township, Schuylkill county; Catharine married Henry Snyder, and died at Danville, Pennsylvania. William Smith, son of Samuel, was born in 1831, and lived on the original Smith homestead near Leck Kill, in Upper Mahanoy township, spending all his life there. The farm consists of 135 acres of excellent land, and he was a thrifty and prosperous agriculturist. He was one of the most progressive men of his day, one of the first to advocate the establishment in his district of free schools, which at that time were not generally looked upon with favor, and served faithfully as school director, in which capacity he was able to accomplish much for the cause of free education. There were few men in the township better or more favorably known. For fifty years he was a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, and he was a faithful member of the Reformed Church, taking an active part in its work. His death occurred in 1907. Mr. Smith married Caroline Falck, daughter of Solomon Falck, of Greenbrier, this county, where she now resides. Four children were born to them: Richard F. is now a successful farmer at Enterprise, Oregon, where he took up a homestead; Savilla married F. D. Snyder, of Girardville, Pa.; Carolyn married H. G. Snyder, and lives at Girardville; Samuel G. is a resident of Trevorton. Samuel G. Smith attended the public schools of his native township. and was also for a short time a student at the academy at Gratz, Dauphin county. But as he was obliged to assist his father upon the farm he continued his studies at home, and by hard work fitted himself to take the State board examination, which he passed in 1887. He began teaching that year, and for five years was engaged at Greenbrier, after which he taught the school at Leck Kill for six years. His next charge was Diehl's school, and from there he went to the Zion school. For some time afterward he engaged in business pursuits. Going to Frackville, he began clerking in a general store and was thus employed for a period of six months, following which he became manager for the Burt & Rogers branch store at Mount Carmel, where he remained until the store was closed out. In 1907 he settled at Trevorton, where he has since made his home, following his profession. Professor Smith has a high reputation as an educator, his conscientious, thorough work winning him friends among pupils and fellow teachers, and he is a citizen of recognized worth. In 1890, Mr. Smith married Minnie J. Mengel, daughter of Manasses Mengel, and they have a family of five children Carolyn, William, Howard, Herman and Esther. Carolyn graduated from the Trevorton high school in 1910. Mr. Smith is a member of the Reformed Church, his wife of the Evangelical Association. END OF PAGE 906 WILLIAM WELTER, proprietor of the "Eagle Hotel," at Brady, near Shamokin, Northumberland county; has the oldest stand of the kind in that district. He himself has done business there since 1904. Mr. Welter was born Dec. 10, 1873, at Brady, Coal township, Northumberland county, son of Luke Welter, a native of Germany who came to America in young manhood and settled at Minersville, Schuylkill Co., Pa. Later he moved to Brady, Northumberland county, among the early residents of that place, and there followed his trade, blacksmithing, to the close of his active life. He married Johanna Shissler, daughter of George Shissler, who came to America from Germany, bringing his family, and made his home at Trevorton, Northumberland county. Mr. Welter died July 4, 1904, Mrs. Welter surviving until August 1906. They were the parents of the following named children: Peter, who lives at Brady; Annie, married to Jacob Bosch; Michael, living at Brady; William; and John, of Brady, who married Laura Fry. William Welter received his education in the public schools and when ten years old went to work at the Greenback breaker, picking slate. In time be became a miner, and he was thus engaged until 1904, when he engaged in his present business, purchasing the old "Eagle Hotel" stand at Brady. He is an enterprising and obliging business man, and his place is well conducted and well patronized. Mr. Welter is a member of St. Edward's Catholic Church, of Shamokin, and fraternally he belongs to the F.O.E. REED. The Reed family of Little Mahanoy township is of old Berks county (Pa.) stock, and from the similarity of names between those of the earlier generations in Northumberland county and the posterity of the progenitor in Berks county there is no doubt that the branch in which we are interested descend from Johan Leonhard Rith, a German by birth, who was the ancestor of a numerous race. The name has undergone various changes in spelling. Johan Leonhard Rith, born in 1691, died in 1747. He was one of the many of his nationality who suffered under the terrible oppression of Governor Hunter, of Schoharie, N. Y., his being one of the twenty-three German families who in 1723 fled through the wilderness in spite of the deep snow, to the land of the Tulpehocken in Penn's Province. That these early pioneers suffered terribly is well known. The awful cold, the primitive conditions, hunger, and the savage Indians made the journey nearly unbearable, but their undying faith in their Maker, and the comforting solace of the Bible, inspired them to superhuman efforts, and they finally reached their destination, where peace was found beyond the power of the tyrant. John Leonhard Rith married Analisa Catrina, and their union was blessed by the birth of these children: (1) Johan Nicholaus (born June 4; 1715, died Jan. 7, 1788) married Maria Barbara Seibert (born May 18, 1722, died Oct. 14, 1807), and had children, Jacob, Mrs. Jacob Schaeffer and Mrs. Jacob Anspach. (2) Johan George (born in 1717, died in 1791) married Catrina Elsa, and they had children, John Leonard, Catharine (married Henry Minnich, who removed to Virginia), Jonas, Peter and Frederick. (3) Johannes Friderick (born March 15, 1718, died Dec. 24, 1794) married Maria Engel, and they had a son, Jacob, whose son was John Jacob (married Eva Maria Seibert). John Jacob Rith was born April 10, 1770, and died Nov. 1, 1835, and George and Edward Reed, living at Ottawa, Ill., are of his descendants. (4) A daughter; Margaretha or Wilhelmina, married Heinrich Zeller. (5) Leonhard, Jr. (born Sept. 10, 1723, died April 28, 1801 or 1803). (6) Peter married Maria Catrina Ziegler, and they had three children, John, Barbara (married Jacob Moyer) and Catarine (married Adam Lehman). (7) Jacob (born in June, 1746, died March 28, 1821) married Margaret and their children were: John Jacob, John and several daughters. John Jacob married Margarid Emerich, and among other children they had a son, John. John Jacob in 1840 sold his farm and went West, and some of his descendants now live in the vicinity of Dayton and Martinsburg, Ohio. Johan Leonhard Rith was not the only one of that name, however, who had settled in Schoharie, N. Y., later to come to the Province of Pennsylvania before 1740, as it is thought that the following were all relatives, they coming from one place and settling permanently in the Tulpehocken Valley: Michael, Casper, Adam, George and Peter. Michael Rift (Reith, Reed), one of the pioneers from the Livingstone Manor, and later of the Schoharie, N. Y., came to the Tulpehocken settlement in Berks county in 1723. and there took up land lying adjacent to the land of John Leonard Rith and George Reith. The relationship of these three is not known, but there is no doubt that they were related, probably being cousins. The map of the Tulpehocken settlement made by Mr. Charles Lindenmuth, a very accurate piece of work made with much difficulty, shows the location of the Reith settlements. It was published in the "Pennsylvania German," Volume V, in October, 1904, and appeared also in a recent Berks county work. The first ancestor of the Reed family in Northumberland county was Leonhard Ried, son of "John and Eva Maria Ried." In the record previously given, Johan Leonhard Rith had a son Johannes Frederick, whose son Jacob was the father of John Jacob, who married Eva Maria Sei- END OF 907 bert. It would seem likely that this Leonard Ried was their son. He was born March 10, 1790, and died Feb. 22, 1852. His wife, Elisabeth, born Feb. 18, 1784, died Feb. 10, 1861. He was a native of Marion township, Berks county, and came to what is now Little Mahanoy township, in Northumberland county, before his marriage. His wife. whose maiden name was Dunkelberger, was a member of one of the very earliest families in what is now Little Mahanoy township. This family experienced the hardships of life as entailed by the primitive conditions of the times. They settled on the tract of land which has since remained in the family, now owned by their grandson Samuel S. Reed, and Leonard Ried also followed his trade of stonemason in addition to farming, helping. to lay the foundations for many houses and barns in the vicinity. He and his wife were Lutherans, members of the Little Mahanoy Church, where their remains rest. Their children were William; Amos, who settled in Rockefeller township (his wife, Rebecca, born Aug. 21, 1826, died Nov. 23, 1850); Solomon; Catharine, who married Peter Fetterman; and Elizabeth, who married Abraham Shaffer. William Reed, son of Leonard, was born March 16, 1811, and lived in Little Mahanoy township on the farm now owned by his son Simon F. Reed, of Shamokin. This property comprises fifty acres, and be had another tract, of forty-five acres, in the same township. A prominent man of his day, he was well known in public life and church affairs, having served as school director, constable and treasurer of his township, and as deacon, elder and trustee of the Lutheran congregation at the Little Mahanoy Church, of which he was a member, his family also belonging to that church. In politics he was a Republican. On April 8, 1834, he married Elizabeth Fegley, daughter of Daniel and Hettie (Rothermel) Fegley. Mr. Reed died Oct. 27, 1880, Mrs. Reed surviving until Oct. 30, 1900, reaching the age of eighty-seven years, five months, nine days. They had children as follows: Hiram F.; William, who died in Nebraska Jan. 17, 1910; Maria, who married Benjamin Snyder; Caroline, who married Galen Smith; Simon F.; Daniel, of Shamokin; Elizabeth, who married Andrew Long; Jeremiah F., who died in 1877 (he was born in 1854); Hannah, who married George Buffington; and Freeman, of Shamokin (his wife, Lydia, born Feb. 21, 1862, died April 3, 1900). SIMON F. REED, of Shamokin, Northumberland county, was born Jan. 15, 1846, on the homestead of his father, William Reed, in Little Mahanoy township. His education was obtained in the local public schools. Until he was twenty-seven years old he worked for his parents, meantime learning the miller's trade, which, however, did not agree with his health. In 1868 he began to learn the tanner's trade, which he continued to follow until 1882, in which year he took up farming on his own account. He was thus occupied for a number of years, until his removal in 1897 to Shamokin, where he has since made his home, residing at No. 800 West Pine street. Though not of recent years an active participant in public affairs, Mr. Reed was long one of the most popular officials in his township, which he served as auditor for a period of twelve years, as school director and as supervisor. In political connection he is a Republican. Like most of his family he is an active member of the Lutheran Church, he and his family attending services at Little Mahanoy Church, which he has served as deacon, elder and trustee. On Dec. 26, 1876, Mr. Reed married Emma J. Byerly, daughter of Elijah and Mary (Bower) Byerly, and the following children have been born to this marriage John E., Beulah J., Molly M., Mary O., Sophia E., Maggie M., Isaiah and Emma A. John E. Reed, son of Simon F. Reed, was born Dec. 7, 1877, in Little Mahanoy township, and there received his education in the public schools. He has lived in Shamokin since 1897, and there learned the carpenter's trade, which he follows, and in which he has been quite successful. Since 1906 he has owned his own home, at No. 44 South First street. On March 17, 1901, Mr. Reed married Rosa Schlegel, daughter of Daniel Schlegel, and they have had two children: Francis, born Oct. 31, 1901, and Forrest, born Dec. 2, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Reed are members of the Lutheran Church. Solomon Reed, son of Leonard, was born on the farm in Little Mahanoy township now owned and occupied by his son Samuel S. Reed, which contains thirty-eight acres of cleared land and some woodland. He followed farming during the summer season, in winter finding plenty of work at his trade, that of wheelwright. He prospered, and acquired another farm property, the tract of 112 acres in the Mahantango Valley, about one mile from the Stone Valley church, now owned by Daniel Schmeltz and Isaac Reitz; he built the frame house which now stands on that place. He took an interest in all local affairs, serving as supervisor and school director of his township, and as deacon and elder of the Little Mahanoy Church, of which he was a Lutheran member. In politics he was a Republican. He died Aug. 7, 1901, aged seventy-nine years, one month, eleven days, and his wife, Catharine (Shaffer), daughter of Jacob Shaffer, died Nov. 19, 1895, aged seventy years, six months. They had children as follows: Susanna married Isaac Reitz; Isaac, born in 1849, died in the Mahantango Valley in 1869; Alexander died at the homestead; Samuel S. is mentioned below; Hiram is a resident of Little Mahanoy; Henry M. is mentioned below; Emma J. is the widow of Daniel Reitz; Sarah married E. B. Raker. END OF PAGE 908 SAMUEL S. REED, son of Solomon Reed, was born June 16, 1854, on the farm in Little Mahanoy township which he still occupies, this having been the property of his grandfather, Leonard Ried. He received his education in the local schools and was reared to farm life, working for his parents until he attained the age of twenty-seven, at which time he married. In 1881 he began farming on his own account in Jackson township, on the place now owned by John Daniel, and continued to reside there for twenty years, farming the land on shares for his father-in- law, Daniel Kobel. He then purchased his father's place, owning seventy- two acres, forty-five of which have been cleared, and has since lived on the property. The old part of the dwelling was built by Leonard Ried in 1833, and the newer part by his son Solomon in the seventies. The barn was built by the present owner in 1908. Mr. Reed is an active citizen of his community, has served as supervisor of his township, and is at present a member of the school board, to which he was elected in the spring of 1910. He is a Republican in politics and a Lutheran in religion, he and his family belonging to the Krebs Church at Mahanoy, which he has served officially as deacon and elder. On Dec. 25, 1880, Mr. Reed married Catharine Kobel, daughter of Daniel and Eliza (Kerstetter) Kobel, and they have had thirteen children, among whom were: Francis (who died aged twenty-one years), Emma J. (married William Peifer), Daniel, Charles (who is a blacksmith), Katie Sallie, Cora, Adam, Lena May. HENRY M. REED, son of Solomon Reed, was born Sept. 30, 1859, on the farm in Little Mahanoy township now owned by his brother Samuel S. Reed. He was reared to farming from boy hood, and at an early age learned the trade of wheelwright, as well as carpentering, practically growing up with a knowledge of such work. For about one year he worked as carpenter for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, and was at one time wheelwright and blacksmith for the William P. Zartman Lumber Company. In 1882 he began farming on the homestead, continuing there until 1903, when he moved to the fine farm in Little Mahanoy which he has since occupied, and which he purchased in August, 1902 It was formerly owned by Samuel Dornsife, and had been in the Dornsife family for many years The original tract owned by the Dornsifes was much larger, however, Mr. Reed having 124 acres, some of which is in timber. There is excellent water, flowing near to the house. Mr. Reed is an up-to-date agriculturist, and his property is in excellent condition. Mr. Reed is a thorough mechanic, and during the winter months is employed at such work. He has taken considerable interest in the local public welfare, and has served six years in succession as member of the school board, of which he was treasurer throughout that period. He is a Republican on political questions. Mr. Reed married Anna Dornsife, daughter of Samuel Dornsife, and five children have been born to this union: Edwin, who married Emma Shaffer; David; Susan, wife of Roy Eyster; Minnie M., and Henry J. The family are Lutherans, belonging to the Little Mahanoy Church, where Mr. Reed has been deacon and elder. GEORGE W. MILLER, a prominent farmer and fruit grower of Shamokin township, was born there April 21, 1857, upon the old homestead taken up by his great-great-grandfather. The Miller family has long been established in Pennsylvania. George Miller, Sr., commonly called "Hunter George," emigrated from Germany some time during the seventeen hundreds, and after taking up considerable land in what is now Shamokin township, Northumberland county, built his little log house near the large spring of water on the Miller farm. In the year of 1792 his son John Miller purchased from him this land, called Pine Grove, and "Hunter George" took up some land near Hamburg, Berks Co., Pa., where he lived the remainder of his days. George Miller, Sr., derived his name of "Hunter" from his love of the chase, as he seldom did anything but hunt, fish and take up lands. John Miller, the son of George Miller, Sr. and great-grandfather of George W. Miller, was born in 1759. In 1785 he married Catharine Raker, and to them were born two sons and two daughters: George, David, Elizabeth and Sarah. He died Feb. 10, 1804, at the age of forty-five, his wife, who survived him many years, dying Aug. 19, 1854, at the age of eighty-five years. John and Catharine Miller are buried in the old Baptist graveyard near Deiblers station, in Shamokin township. George Miller, the oldest son of John Miller and grandfather of George W. Miller, was born June 17, 1794, upon the homestead. He married Dec. 23, 1820, Mary M. Startzel, daughter of George and Elizabeth Startzel, and by this marriage there were twelve children: Elizabeth (deceased), who married Daniel Smith; Catharine (deceased), who married Silas Farrow; John J., who died in Iowa in 1861; Rosetta, of Rutherford, N. J., who married Samuel Lewis; Amandus S., who married Hannah. J. Wolverton (parents of George W. Miller); Russia (deceased), who married Dr. Aaron Savidge; Juliann (deceased), who married Rev. Ephraim Barker; Allison R., who died in Illinois in 1870; William Johnson, of Springfield, Ill.; Clara L. (deceased) who married Dr. Isaac Huff; Emma, who married John Epler; and one son who died in infancy. Previous to the construction of the Reading Center turnpike this locality was not developed END OF PAGE 909 to any extent. Mr. Miller was one of the most enterprising men of his day. After clearing the land and assisting in constructing the turnpike he moved from his little log house by the spring into the large house he built along the pike. He then built. a large stone barn, in 1818, and when the stage began running Mr. Miller opened a hotel, which he conducted in connection with his farms until the Northern Central railroad was built. In politics he was a Democrat, and he filled a number of the township offices. He died July 24, 1880, at the advanced age of eighty-six years, his wife dying three weeks later. They are buried at the Blue Church. Amandus S. Miller, second son of George Miller and father of George W. Miller, was born upon the homestead Sept. 13, 1828, and there grew to manhood. He received a common school education and improved his opportunities so well that in early manhood he commenced teaching in the public schools, which experience undoubtedly accounted for the interest he always took in the cause of education. He was an influential citizen and highly respected, not only foremost in business matters but looked up to on various other questions. He engaged in farming on an extensive scale, cultivating some four hundred acres. Although he never sought public office he was continuously a member of the Shamokin Township Mutual Fire Insurance Company and assessor, and treasurer of the school board for years. Mr. Miller accumulated a large amount of property in Shamokin township and borough. He died Feb. 21, 1906, and was widely mourned. He was a Democrat in politics, and in religious faith a Lutheran. Amandus S. and Hannah J. Miller are buried in the St. Jacob's cemetery, near Reeds station. Ten children were born to their marriage: Florence V., who died when twenty-three years old; Ida M., deceased, who married John M. Kline; George W.; Silas W., deceased, who married Maggie Kase; Laura E., of Elysburg, Pa., who married W. H. O. Dyer; Julia F., of Shamokin, Pa., who first married Elsworth Dyer (deceased) and then W. F. S. McKee; Addison C., of Sunbury, Pa., who married Lizzie Snyder; John A., deceased; Cora E., deceased, who married Elwood Yocum; and Lulu V., who married Harry E. Snyder. George W. Miller was born on the homestead and brought up to farming and received a common school education. When twenty-two he entered the academy at Lewisburg and in the spring of 1879 he returned to farming, for his grandfather, and in connection taught school eight winters in Shamokin township. In July, 1880, Mr. Miller's grandparents died, three weeks apart, and the following fall, on Sept. 30, 1880, Mr. Miller married Rosanna Vastine. of Montour county. He continued farming his grandfather's farm for share until the expiration of the lease in 1884, when he and his brother Silas, W. Miller purchased their grandfather's land and divided it north and south, George W. retaining the old homestead, to the cultivation of which he has since devoted the greater part of his time and attention. He has 135 acres of land and his place is known as one of the finest along the pike. He makes a specialty of fruit growing, and has marketed as many as fifteen hundred bushels of peaches in a season. In 1899 he was elected justice of the peace, and efficiently filled that office for five years; for four years he served as tax collector; and is now filling the office of overseer of the poor for the sixth year. He is a leading member of the Democratic party in his locality, and in religion is a Lutheran, a member of the St. Jacob's (Reed's) Church. George W. and Rosanna V. Miller are the parents of nine children: Gussie May, deceased; David Otto, deceased; Florence Virginia, deceased; Ruth Ann; Blanche Helen; John Vastine; Janet; George Clyde, and Russell Conwell. KURTZ. The Kurtz family to which J. U. and Amandus Kurtz, brothers, both farmers of Turbut township, Northumberland county, belong came to this region from New Jersey, where the former was born. They are sons of Andrew Kurtz and grandsons of Henry Kurtz, who had brothers John and George. Henry Kurtz's children were: Henry and William died in Northampton county, Pa.; Jeremiah died in Monroe county; Andrew is mentioned below; Samuel died at Easton, Pa.; Levi died in Columbia county, Pa.; Amelia died in infancy; Charity died in Northampton county. Andrew Kurtz, son of Henry, moved to Berwick, Columbia Co., Pa., in 1842, and after one year's residence there moved (in 1843) to Northumberland county, purchasing a farm in East Chillisquaque township on which he settled. He followed farming, and was also extensively engaged in lime burning, producing more lime than any other one man in that vicinity. He became one of the foremost citizens of his community, filling nearly all the township offices, and he was a highly respected man, holding the confidence of his fellowmen to an unusual degree. In politics he was a Democrat, in religion a stanch Lutheran, as was also his wife, they being members of the church at Milton. When the church edifice was destroyed in the great fire at Milton he was one of the principal movers in the work of rebuilding, toward which he contributed largely. He married Sarah E. Diehl, who died at their old home in April, 1882, and he survived until March, 1885. They were the parents of nine children, only four of whom, however, reached maturity: Sophia, Mrs. END OF PAGE 910 John Fetzer; Amandus; and Sarah, wife of Abram Clemens, a farmer of East Chillisquaque township. J. U. Kurtz was born in October, 1840, in Hunterdon county, N. J. His education was obtained in the public schools of Chillisquaque township, which at that time were conducted for only three months each year, during the season when the pupils were not needed to assist with the work at home. Mr. Kurtz spent his summers working with his father on the farm and at lime burning, continuing thus until he was nineteen years old. In 1861, upon the breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted under Colonel Stewart for three months, at the expiration of which term he reenlisted, for three years, in Company A, 6th Pennsylvania Reserves. He received an honorable discharge, on account of disability, after twenty-three months of service. After the close of his service he went to Williamsport, Pa., where he was engaged in the lumber business for five years, in 1868 settling upon his present farm in Turbut township, which has been his home continuously for over forty years. It consists of ninety-two acres of fertile land, upon which he erected a house in 1870 and a barn in 1908. He continued the active work of farming until 1909, since when he has lived retired, enjoying the fruits of his early labors. Mr. Kurtz has never taken any active part in public affairs, but he was for many rears an interested member of the Grange, P. of H., in Turbut township, which he long served as trustee and treasurer. He is also a member of Henry Wilson Post G.A.R. In political matters he is a Democrat. In 1863 Mr. Kurtz married Sarah E. Bartoe, daughter of Paul and Rebecca (Lutz) Bartoe, of Columbia county, Pa. The Bartoe family moved to that section from Northampton county and the Lutz family lived formerly in Huntingdon county, Pa., and still earlier in Berks county. The name is also found with the spelling Lotts. Many of the family reside in Reading. To Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz have been born twelve children: George McClellan married Ida Ammon and their children are Leroy, Martha, Howard, Robert, Wilson, George and Alice; William Andrew continues to live at home; Edward E. married Elizabeth Royer, of Lewisburg, and they have children, Florence, Warren, Ethel, Clarence, Laviere and Oran; Elizabeth married John Bender, and has four children, Josiah, Mary, Sarah and Mildred; Margaret married Calvin Hoy and has one son, Paul; Ida married George Sypher and has one child, May; Elsworth married Emma Gibson; Harriet M. married Harry Karchner and has one child, Clifton; Mary Ellen married Elijah Derr and is the mother of two children, Sarah and Robert; Anna married John Dunkell and has a daughter, Ruth; Clara Jane married George Berkheimer and has one child, Lister; Bessie F. married Irwin Pick and has one child, George. Mr. Kurtz and his family are Lutherans, members of the Follmer Church. in which he has held official position. AMANDUS KURTZ, son of Andrew and Sarah F. (Diehl) Kurtz, was born Jan. 1, 1843, in Northampton county, Pa., and was quite young when he came with his parents to Northumberland county. He was reared on the old home farm, in his boyhood attending the local schools and later working with his father, with whom he remained until he was twenty-three years old. He has continued to follow farming since he began work on his own account. In 1874 he bought the old Krist farm of about 104 acres in Turbut township, good land with excellent water facilities, and thereon he has erected substantial outbuildings, his property being in fine condition. The third reunion of the Kurtz family was held at his place in the summer of 1909 and was a great success. The first meeting was held at the home of Abram Clemens, his brother-in-law, and the second at the home of his brother J. U. Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz has not only become well known in his district as a good farmer, but also as a progressive and public-spirited citizen, having given evidence of his sterling qualities in his faithful performance of the duties of various public offices. While in Chillisquaque township he was school director for six years, and he has served in that office for the same period in Turbut township, where he has also acted as supervisor. In political connection he is a Democrat, and he has been an interested member of the Grange for a number of years. His church connection is with the Trinity Lutheran congregation of Milton. Mr. Kurtz married Mary C. Shade, daughter of Samuel H. Shade, of Montour county, Pa., and they have had a large family: Herbert E. married Lillie Koser and they are living at Kelly Cross Roads, Union Co., Pa.; Andrew S. married Ida Stamm and their home is in the borough of Milton; Cora A. married O. J. Stocker and they are also residents of Milton; Sallie M. married C. E. Raup; Mazzie was accidentally killed when seven months old; Maggie B. married C. S. Murray and is living in Turbut township; Eva M. is at home; Albert, of Sunbury, married Edith Rank; John A. married Maude Barber and they live at Seattle, Washington. ELIAS E. BOWER, engaged in farming near Mandata, in Lower Mahanoy township, is a member of the fourth generation of his family to live in this region, where his great-grandfather, J. Matthias Bauer, settled in the latter part of the eighteenth century. J. Matthias Bauer was a native of Berks county, Pa., born near Reading March 6, 1754. Tradition and records apparently relating to him credit him END OF PAGE 911 with service in the Revolutionary war. About 1794 he came with his family to Northumberland county and settled in that part of Jordan township then still known as Jackson township, on the farm now owned by Jonathan M. Byerly. He himself erected the first set of buildings there, having been a carpenter. But he took to farming, having "taken up" and purchased between five hundred and six hundred acres of land; 133 acres of this land have never been out of the family name since he took it up. He was a small man, industrious and energetic, and it is related that he enjoyed a "scrap" occasionally. He prospered in his work, and was a useful member of society. He died May 1, 1837, and is buried at the Stone Valley (Zion's) Church, having been a member of the Lutheran congregation of that church. Politically he was a strong Democrat. His wife, Catharine, born Jan. 1, 1760, died Nov. 25, 1836, and she is also buried at the Stone Valley Church. She bore him children as follows: Frederick, who died in Indiana; Jacob, who died in Ohio; Michael, who died in Buffalo Valley, Union Co., Pa.; Samuel; Elizabeth, Mrs. Henry Witmer; and another daughter who married Samuel Wolf, and they settled in Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania. Samuel Bower, son of J. Matthias, was born in Berks county, March 11, 1790, and was a mere child when his parents came to Northumberland county, Pa. He died Sept 12, 1867. By his first wife, whose maiden name was Bitterman, he had one son Aaron, who lived in Illinois. For his second wife he married Catharine Witmer, daughter of Matthias Witmer. of Lower Mahanoy township. She was born Feb. 12, 1795, and died Sept. 13, 1873. By this union there were two children: Elizabeth, who married Carl Rothermel; and Elias W. Elias W. Bower, son of Samuel, is now a retired farmer of Jordan township, where he was born May 3, 1832. He attended the old subscription schools of his day for terms of two or three months, and worked for his parents. He was married early, Aug. 20, 1850, and the second year of his marriage began as a tenant on his father's farm, farming with and for him many years. When Samuel Bower died Elias W. purchased the homestead, which he continued to farm until his retirement, in 1896. He now lives in a house near the homestead buildings. His farm consists of 133 acres, 120 acres of which are under cultivation. He himself erected nearly all the buildings of the farm, as well as part of the house where he lived. In August 1897, his barn was destroyed by fire, with the season's crops, causing a heavy loss, only partly covered by insurance. Mr. Bower has been a busy man, and a successful one and his integrity and trustworthiness have been recognized by his neighbors, who have chosen him to serve as supervisor and school director. He is a Democrat in politics. He is a tall, bearded gentleman, of pleasing appearance, and well liked by all who know him. Mr. Bower married Sarah Phillips, daughter of Henry and Sarah (Cable) Phillips, granddaughter of Johann Adam Phillips. Mrs. Bower was born July 16, 1832. She was the mother of thirteen children: Harriet is the widow of Samuel Bohner; Elizabeth married William Wert; Levi is deceased; Galen lives in Jordan township (his wife Lizzie J., born Oct. 6, 1849, died March 30, 1890); Susanna married Daniel Schlegel; James M., born July 30, 1859, was accidentally killed July 30, 1886; Morris is a resident of Royalton, Pa.; Sivilla - married Michael Hepner; Cyrus is married and lives in Cleveland, Ohio; Samuel is married and lives in Jordan township; Elms E. is mentioned below; Mary married Jeremiah Miller; Henry is a resident of Jordan township. Mr. Bower and his family are Lutheran members of the Urban (St. Pauls) Church, and he has given faithful service in all the official positions. Elias E. Bower was born May 20, 1869, and grew up as a typical farm boy. He has continued to farm all his life. For eight years he hired out among farmers in Jordan and Lower Mahanoy townships, and began farming for himself in the spring of 1897, in Jordan township, where he was located for seven years - two years on Bliss Boyer's farm and five years on his father's 140-acre farm. He then farmed the Gabriel Adam farm, in Lower Mahanoy, for two years, thence moving to the Mahantango Valley, where he purchased a 116-acre tract which he cultivated two years. Selling that place, he farmed the Mary Adams place for one year, and then moved back to the Serenus Hepner farm for two years, from there coming to his present place in the spring of 1909. The farm he now owns consists of 156 acres, and was the Jacob Still place, Henry Peifer owning it before his day. It was located a quarter of a mile north of Mandata. In March, 1896, Mr. Bower married Alice M. Wetzel, daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Glase) Wetzel, and by this union there are three children: Monroe L., William B. and Maud K. Mr. Bower and his family are Lutherans in religion, and on political questions he is a Democrat. William F. Bower, of Herndon, Pa., is a native of Jackson township, born Jan. 23, 1858, son of Jacob Bower. His grandfather. Jacob Bower, was one of the sons of J. Matthias Bauer, mentioned above, and was a native of Berks or Montgomery county, coming to Northumberland county in early life. He located in what was then Mahanoy township, and became a prosperous farmer, owning several tracts of land. In about 1835 he moved to Ohio, in the vicinity of Akron, where he lived until his death. His wife would not ac- END OF PAGE 912 company him to Ohio, remaining in Northumberland county, where she died. She is buried at the Stone Valley Church, in Lower Mahanoy township. Their children were: Henry, who lived in Illinois; Michael, born Sept. 12, 1812, who died Jan. 29, 1890, in Jackson township (his wife, Leah, born Sept. 15, 1815, died March 20, 1875); and Jacob. Jacob Bower, son of Jacob, was born in Lower Northumberland county, Pa., in 1817, and died near Herndon in 1902, aged eighty-four years, nine months. He is buried at Mahanoy Church. He was a farmer in Jackson township, owning a 200 acre tract on which he lived from 1848. The farm is now owned by Isaac Tressler, a son-in-law. Mr. Bower held local offices, and was a prominent citizen. His wife, whose maiden name was Haas, died in 1861. They had five children: Cyrus; Wilhelmina, who married Isaac Tressler, a farmer of Jackson township; Mary, who is unmarried; A. Clinton, of Shamokin; and William F. William F. Bower was reared to farm life. His home was at the mouth of the Mahanoy creek, and he was educated in the local public school. When twenty-two years old he was licensed to teach public school, and in 1881 he began teaching in Jackson township, being thus engaged four terms. He then clerked in the store, and in 1884 began farming in Jackson township, following that work three years. In 1887 he came to Herndon, where he has since lived. He started the first livery in the town, keeping three or four horses busy. He is a substantial citizen, and his public services have made him one of the best known men in the vicinity. When the borough or Herndon was incorporated, in 1902, Mr. Bower was elected to the council and has ever since been a member of that body with the exception of one year. He is now the president of the council. He was at one time auditor of Jackson township. He is a Democrat, and has been committeeman of his party. On May 24, 1881, he married Susan Deppen, daughter of John and Catharine (Lantz) Deppen, and they have had two children: Katie, who is a graduate of the Herndon schools, and has taught school a number of terms; and Walter, who is still a student. Mr. Bower and his family are members of the Reformed Church. MATTERN. The Matterns of Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, represent one branch of a family that settled in the adjoining township of Eldred, in Schuylkill county, in an early day, and they and other Matterns of eastern Pennsylvania are descended from one Peter Mattern, who in 1790 was a resident of Berks county, Pa. In 1802 he lived in Upper Mahantango township, then a part of Berks county but since 1804 embraced in the territory of Schuylkill county. He was a farmer by occupation Among his children were sons Peter, Jr., and Daniel, the line in which we are interested being the posterity of the latter. The Matterns of Berks county are descendants of Peter Mattern, William J. A. Mattern, chief clerk for the commissioners of Berks county, tracing his line through the son Daniel also. Daniel Mattern came from Upper Mahantango township to Eldred township before 1800, when the region was all covered with forest and took up a tract of 160 acres which he cleared. This is now the farm of George Maurer. He built a log house and a log barn, the first buildings to be erected upon the property, in the ownership of which he was succeeded by his son Daniel. He married Rosina Schollenberger, also of Berks county, and they had children as follows: David settled in Schuylkill county, where he died; Polly married Jacob Lubold and both are deceased; Joseph lived in the vicinity of Lenhartsville, Pa.; Nathan is mentioned below; Susanna married George Neiswender; Elias, now (1910) eighty-four years old, lives in Schuylkill county; Frank lived and died in Schuylkill county; Daniel is mentioned below. Daniel Mattern, son of Daniel, was born in Eldred township, Schuylkill county, was reared there, and followed farming in his native township until a few years before his death. He owned a tract of 160 acres. He then retired and moved to Ashland, where he lived with one of his sons, and where he died when about seventy-six years old. He is buried at Kehler's Church, in Schuylkill county. Mr. Mattern was a tall man and well built. He married Lydia Diehl daughter of Michael Diehl, and they had children as follows: Amos; Samuel, who was a rover, never making a permanent settlement; Daniel, who died in his sixteenth year; Michael, who never married; and Solomon, born July 28, 1853, who died unmarried Oct. 3, 1891, at the home of his brother Amos. AMOS MATTERN, son of Daniel, was born May 12, 1845, in Eldred township, Schuylkill county, and there lived until within a few months of his majority, meantime receiving his education in the local public schools. He has since lived in Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, engaged in farming, in which he has been very successful. For thirty-three years he owned and lived upon a tract of 110 acres in the northern part of the township, in the spring of 1909 moving to his present home, near Leck Kill. There be has a twelve-acre tract lying along the main road from Herndon to Minersville. Mr. Mattern has been a public spirited citizen, and has served as school director and for six years as supervisor of Upper Mahanoy township, where he is regarded with respect by all who know him. On Aug. 7, 1869, Mr. Mattern married Amelia Herb, who was born Oct. 19, 1847, daughter of Daniel Herb, and died Aug. 1, 1890. Seven chil- END OF PAGE 913 dren were born to this union James, who lives in Philadelphia; Felix D.; William H., of Schuylkill county; Edward H., who died in infancy; Lizzie, wife of A. Jackson Brosius; Monroe, of Upper Mahanoy township (his wife, Sylvia S., died Sept. 29, 1901, aged twenty-two years, five months, twenty-four days); and Charles D., of Shamokin. In l891 Mr. Mattern married (second) Catharine Cevilla Hornberger, daughter of George W. and Caroline (Schankweiler) Hornberger, of Upper Mahanoy township, and granddaughter of George Hornberger. There is one son by this marriage, George Calvin, who was educated in the public schools and at Hepler's select school and began teaching public school in the fall of 1909, being at present engaged in Upper Mahanoy township. Mr. Mattern and his family are Lutherans in religious connection. In politics he is a Democrat. FELIX DANIEL MATTERN, son of Amos, was born March 23, 1872, in Upper Mahanoy township, where he is now engaged in farming. He was reared to that occupation, and meantime received his education in the local public schools. In the spring of 1897 he commenced farming on his own account in his native township, renting for several years before he felt justified in buying farm land. In 1902 he came to the 120-acre property he has ever since cultivated, and which was formerly a Geist homestead. He has made a number of improvements on the place, has a full line of modern farm implements to facilitate his work, and has had encouraging success in the production of his crops as well as their disposal, attending the Shamokin markets. He is an intelligent and active citizen, and has served eight years as overseer of the poor in his district. He has been interested in the success of the Democratic party from a political standpoint, and has twice served as election judge in his precinct. On Dec. 21, 1895, Mr. Mattern married Clara Ida Geist, daughter of Andrew and Polly (Latsha) Geist of Upper Mahanoy township, and they are the parents of three sons: Jesse L., Willard W. and Guy D. Mr. and Mrs. Mattern are Lutheran members of the Himmel Church, which he formerly served as deacon. Nathan Mattern, son of Daniel and Rosina (Schollenberger) Mattern, was born Jan. 27, 1823, in Eldred township, on his father's farm, where he grew to manhood. He learned the trade of carpenter and followed it in his earlier years, later becoming a farmer in Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, on the farm where his son Aaron now lives. He owned this place, consisting of some sixty acres, as well as the seventy-five-acre tract now occupied by his son Jeremiah, in the same township. He was a well known resident of that section, a Lutheran member of Howerter's (St. Jacob's) Church and chorister for many years; he sang at many funerals in the neighborhood. Mr. Mattern died May 25, 1907, aged over eighty-four years, and is buried at Howerter's Church. His wife, Sarah (Diehl), daughter of Johannes Diehl, was born Dec. 19, 1819, and died April 15, 1881; she, too, is buried at St. Jacob's Church. Mr. and Mrs. Mattern had children as follows: Jeremiah; Joel, who has a family of five children; Aaron, who has a family of seven; Nathan, who has six children; Enoch, who is the father of ten children; Elizabeth, who married Abraham Brown and has three children; Sarah, who died in girlhood; John, who died in infancy; and Lydia, who died unmarried. JEREMIAH MATTERN, son of Nathan, was born Nov. 2, 1849, on his father's homestead in Upper Mahanoy township. He was reared to farm life, but he possesses an unusual amount of mechanical ingenuity and has learned several trades without serving a regular apprenticeship at any. His success as a well driller and thresher is well known all over this section, and he has established an extensive business in the latter line, being very busy during the season. He was the first man to bring a steam threshing apparatus into Upper Mahanoy and the surrounding territory, in 1881, when farmers were still possessed with the fear that their buildings would be in danger of being set afire if they allowed such an outfit on the premises. It was at this time, also, that he purchased the stationary sawmill he still operates, and he does sawing as well as threshing for many of his patrons on their own premises. The lumber he saws for himself he sells to the coal mining town. He works one tract of his land in partnership with his sons, his son Charles living on the farm, which now comprises 185 acres. There were originally 227 acres in the property, but Mr. Mattern sold part of it. He owns another farm in the same township, the place where he resides. The house in which he lives has been greatly remodeled since it came into his possession, and the barn, though in excellent condition, has stood for many years, having been built by his father in 1872. He is one of the most successful men in his vicinity, and has been prominent in public as well as in business affairs, has served two years as supervisor, and is at present tax collector. In political faith he is a Democrat. In 1875 Mr. Mattern married Catharine Reed, daughter of David and Sarah (Falck) Reed, and fourteen children have been born to this union: Emma J. married William Mattern, and they live over the line in Schuylkill county, on property adjoining her father's; Sarah F. died when eighteen years old; Daniel H. married Nora Klock and they live in Shamokin; David died when just one year old; Mary C. married Monroe Mattern and they live in Upper Mahanoy township; Charles F., who lives on one of his father's farms in END OF PAGE 914 Upper Mahanoy township, married Cecelia Snyder; Rosa C. married Harvey Snyder and they live in Upper Mahanoy; Edward, Katie S., Minnie L. and William O. are at home; one daughter died in infancy; Florence L. and Lizzie E. are at home. Mr. Mattern and his family worship at St. Jacob's Church, of which he has been a prominent member, having formerly served as deacon and at present holding the office of trustee. DAVID L. DEWITT, late of Lower Augusta township, Northumberland county, lived and farmed for many years on the place now occupied by his widow and son Henry C. DeWitt and was a much esteemed citizen of the community. He was born in August, 1844, son of Jacob DeWitt and grandson of William DeWitt, whose father was Abraham DeWitt. William DeWitt, born in 1798, died in 1870. He was a pioneer of Lower Augusta township, where he followed farming, owning the property now belonging to Jackson M. Engle. He was twice married, his second union being with Elizabeth (Betzy) Tressler, who was born in 1806 and died in 1876. They are buried at the Mountain Presbyterian Church. The following children were born of the second marriage: Jacob is mentioned below; Isaac born June 11, 1823, died Jan. 20, 1906, married Elizabeth Krissinger (born March 11, 1824, died Dec. 11, 1905) and they lived in the Hollowing Run section in Lower Augusta township; William W. married (first) Mary Ann Latsha, and (second) Elizabeth Bowersox, and lived in the Hollowing Run district and at Herndon before moving to his present home, in Riverside, this county; Moses, who was married and lived in Lower Augusta, died Feb. 27, 1881, aged forty-six years, six months, eight days; Paul married Abigail Shipman and they lived near Augustaville; Abraham married Sarah Renn, and they lived in Boyles Run, in Lower Augusta township; Matthew lived in Rockefeller (originally Lower Augusta) township. Jacob DeWitt, son of William, was a blacksmith by trade and occupation. He lived at Patricksburg, in Lower Augusta township, where he owned his home and a small tract of land, and died Oct. 14, 1889, aged sixty-nine years, six months, twenty-four days. A Presbyterian in religion, he belonged to the Mountain Church in Lower Augusta. He married Mary Clark, daughter of John Clark, and to them were born these children: David L., Elmira (wife of Albert Conrad and living at Reading, Pa.) and C. William. The last named, born July 22, 1850, lives in Lower Augusta township; he married Malinda DeWitt, daughter of William W. and Mary Ann (Latsha) DeWitt, and they have had eleven children, of whom but three survive, Daniel, Flavy and Rosa. David L. Dewitt learned his fathers trade, blacksmithing, but a few years after his marriage settled down to farming on the place in Lower Augusta where his widow continues to make her home. This was in 1878. The farm contains fifty-five acres, which at one time belonged to John Snyder, who also owned land now in the possession of Harry E. G. Ney, adjoining. Mr. DeWitt was a thrifty man and made a good living off this place, and that he was trusted by his fellow citizens is shown in his long service on the school board, of which he was also secretary. In politics he was originally a Democrat, after the Civil war period supporting the Republican party. He served several years in the Civil war. In religion he was a devout Methodist, active in church life, serving many years as class-leader and superintendent of the Sunday school, in fact he was one of the pillars of the church. He died in May, 1897, aged fifty-two years, nine months, nine days, and is buried at the Mountain Presbyterian Church. On Dec. 27, 1868, Mr. DeWitt married Susan Snyder, daughter of John and Martha (Novinger) Snyder, of Lower Augusta township, the latter of whom came to this region from Berrysburg, Dauphin Co., Pa. Five children were born to this union: John J., who lives in Lower Augusta township, married Hannah Radel, and their children are Violet F. and Catharine M.; Henrietta married Charles L. Culp, of Rockefeller township, and they have one son, Albert D.; Mary A. married Timothy F. DeWitt, of Sunbury, and they have had four children, Russell B., Lena A. (who died in infancy), Evylin A. and Grace A.; George G. died when two and a half years old; Henry C. is now farming the home place for his mother and lives there. The last named was married Feb. 10, 1902, to Mary Wetzel, daughter of Isaac Wetzel, of Lower Augusta township, and they have three children, Ralph W., Sallie and Hazel I. Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. DeWitt are Methodists in religious connection. William W. DeWitt, son of William DeWitt, was born May 11, 1828, in Lower Augusta township, on the farm now owned by J. M. Engle. There he lived until he was about eighteen years old, after which he learned the trade of miller at Dornsife. For some time afterward he worked in the upper end of the Mahantango Valley, and also at Boalsburg in Centre county, in 1856 returning to Lower Augusta township, Northumberland county, where he purchased what is still known as the DeWitt mill property, now owned and operated by his eldest son, Daniel L. DeWitt, it having remained in the family continuously since. William W. DeWitt operated this mill for thirty years, from 1856 to 1886, and established the business on a most substantial basis. He then moved to Augustaville, whence after a few years END OF PAGE 915 he moved to Herndon, and from there in 1897 to Riverside, his present home. He has lived retired since he gave up the operation or the mill. While living at Augustaville he served a five-years term as justice of the peace, and previously he had been school director of his district for a number of years. He has also been very active in church work, he and his family being members of St. Peter's New Lutheran Church, in Hollowing Run, which he has served as deacon, elder, trustee and Sunday school superintendent. In politics he is a Democrat. Mr. DeWitt's first wife, Mary Ann (Latsha), daughter of Henry Latsha, died July 4, 1894, aged sixty-three years, one month, nineteen days, the mother of nine children: Malinda, Louisa, Daniel L., Miranda (born in 1860, died in 1881), Richard, Katurah, Thamer, Lizzie and William. In 1897 Mr. DeWitt married (second) Elizabeth Bowersox. No children have been born to this union. DANIEL L. DEWITT, son of William W. DeWitt, was born July 18, 1856, in the old log cabin at DeWitt's Mill in Hollowing Run, and he has; spent all his life at that place. His early education was obtained in the local common schools, and later he attended the Missionary Institute at Selinsgrove. When eighteen years old he entered the mill, and from that time until his father's retirement assisted him, learning the business thoroughly, both manufacturing and management. In 1886 he became owner and proprietor of this famous establishment, which has been a milling property ever since the development of the section began. It was originally built about 1785, the first mill in the Lower Augusta region or anywhere in this section, pioneer settlers from a wide territory bringing their grain to be ground. The original building still stands, but new gearing has been put in several times. It is a landmark in the community. Henry Masser owned it for some time, and Jonathan Herman succeeded him, the DeWitts having owned it since Mr. Harman's time. A forty-acre tract of land is connected with the mill property, and Mr. DeWitt has this farm under excellent and profitable cultivation. He has served as supervisor of his township, and for many years as deacon of the New Lutheran Church, of which he and his family are members. In politics he is a Democrat. A man of pleasant and genial disposition, he is a good companion and an intelligent entertaining conversationalist. On April 10, 1881, Mr. DeWitt married Thamer E. Bloom, daughter of John and Matilda (Shipman) Bloom, of Rockefeller township, and they have four children: Fannie, Grover C., George F. and Mary M. LEITZEL. The Leitzel family of lower Northumberland county are the posterity of Godfried Leitzel, who came hither from Berks county, Pa., and the earliest record we have of any of the name in Pennsylvania concerns one Johann Wolfgang Leitzel, who was one of the 216 passengers on the ship "Peggy," and qualified Sept. 24, 1753. He was thirty years old at that time. [Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. XVII, pages 399-401, Switzerland.] Godfried Leitzel, born Nov. 8, 1770, came from Berks county to Northumberland county when a young man, locating in what was then known as Mahanoy township, where he married Magdalena Wagner, born March 25, 1769. He was a farmer, and was the first to obtain a warrant from the State for the 300-acre tract he owned in what is now Jordan township. Stock raising, however, was the industry in which he took the greatest interest, and he prided himself on keeping strong, valuable cattle, having big, fine horses, as many as fifty sheep at a time, and a number of cows. He died Nov. 1, 1848, his wife Jan. 6, 1840, and they are buried at the Hebe Church, in Jordan township. Their children were as follows: (1) Samuel, who lived and died at Uniontown, was twice married, the children of his first union being William, Elizabeth, Moses, Catharine and Solomon. By his second marriage there were Henry, Julian, Lydia and Sarah. (2) George, born Dec. 19, 1793, died Jan. 7, 1815. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and though a strong young man died of disease contracted during his service. (3) Elias, born Dec. 24, 1799, died unmarried Nov. 15, 1836, and is buried at St. Peter's Church, Mahanoy. He was a stonemason, and helped to put up the first stone building in Pottsville. (4) Jacob was drowned in the Susquehanna river at Danville. He was unmarried. (5) Benjamin is mentioned below. (6) William married and moved from this region. (7) Lydia married Samuel Beissel. (8) Sophia married John Heckert. (9) Betzy married David Malich. (10) Helena (Lehna), born in 1808, died in 1809. Godfried Leitzel had a brother who had sons George, Jacob, John and Joel, all four of whom lived in one community near New Berlin, Snyder Co., Pa. They reared families and their descendants still live in that locality. In 1790 the Federal Census Report records the names of Frederick and Jacob Leitzel as heads of families in Bern township, Berks Co., Pa., Frederick with wife and one daughter, Jacob with wife and four daughters. Benjamin Leitzel, son of Godfried, was born Jan. 25, 1803, in Mahanoy (now Jordan) township, Northumberland county. He owned the 300- acre farm in Jordan township previously mentioned, and other land, near Klingerstown, and he was an enterprising worker, prospering in all he undertook. He followed farming during the END OF PAGE 916 summer months, and weaving in the wintertime. For seven years he served as a captain in the State militia, the local troops drilling at Mahanoy, where they met twice a year, and the battalion days were also held there. He was a good disciplinarian, a man of medium size, and one who commanded respect wherever he went. In polities he was a Democrat, in religion a Lutheran, and he held various church offices, serving as deacon, elder and trustee. Mr. Leitzel died Feb. 27, 1881, and is buried at Hebe. His wife, Elizabeth Byerly, daughter of Ludwig Byerly, born June 3, 1808, died March 20, 1891. They were the parents of eight children: Sarah married James Troutman; George B. is mentioned below; Lydia married William Troutman; Benjamin B. and David B., twins, are mentioned below; Elizabeth died young; twins, died in infancy. George B. Leitzel, son of Benjamin, is now one of the oldest residents of Upper Mahanoy township. He was born in Mahanoy (now Jordan) township Oct. 16, 1830, and was reared like the average boy in his neighborhood, having none of the advantages of free schools and advanced methods of training. But he acquired considerable practical information from the few books within his reach, and he had enough education to enable him to transact business intelligently, and to do his full share in administering the public affairs of the locality, his ability and trustworthiness being recognized to such an extent that he was called upon frequently to perform public service. From his youth he was trained to farm work, helping his father until he was nearly twenty- three years old, at which time his parents gave him a horse and buggy and turned over the cultivation of the 300-acre farm, which lies along the Mahantango creek in Jordan township. He has always been accustomed to handling horses, and has always owned one or more himself. After operating the home place for ten years he settled in the Schwabian Creek Valley in 1863, and for several years farmed an eighty-acre tract now owned by John Kahler. In 1868 he came to the farm where he now lives, a tract of 101 acres which was formerly owned by John Beissel, later by Isaac Kieffer and after him by Adam Arnold, whom Mr. Leitzel succeeded, acquiring it at an assignees' sale. The log house which Mr. Leitzel still occupies was built by Mr. Beissel in 1807 (the date was discovered in the west gable end when the house was being repainted, in 1909), and he also built the barn. The new house on the place, occupied by Mr. Leitzel's son Elmer, was built by Mr. Leitzel in 1902. He was always successful in his farm work, and at one time engaged in the sale of various farm implements. All his life he has taken an active interest in local events, and he enjoys a clear recollection of many phases of life in the early days in this locality. His is an interesting personality, and he is known and respected far and near. He is a member of the Democratic party and has taken part in its councils, frequently serving as delegate to county conventions, which assembled at Sunbury. For nine successive years he served as school director of Upper Mahanoy township; was overseer of the poor four terms; supervisor one term; and has held several precinct offices. He and his family are prominent members of the Lutheran congregation of St. John's Church, in Upper Mahanoy township, which he has served four years as deacon; while in Jordan township he served fourteen years in succession as deacon, and two years as elder. On July 23, 1853, Mr. Leitzel married Christina Schmeltzer, who was born Sept. 11, 1833, daughter of Daniel and Catharine (Wolfgang) Schmeltzer, and died in 1863; she is buried at Hebe. Eight children were born to this union: Elizabeth, wife, of Daniel Fetterolf, was burned to death, her clothing catching fire while she was burning rubbish in the garden; George died in infancy; Sarah and Hannah, twins, were born Sept. 13, 1856, and the former is now the wife of Jefferson Snyder, of Upper Mahanoy, the latter the wife of John H. Mullin, Esq., of St. Clair, Pa.; Cassie married John Snyder and they live at Frackville, Pa.; Daniel S. is mentioned below; Elias died in infancy; Lydia married Wash. Heddings and they live in Upper Mahanoy. In January, 1864, Mr. Leitzel married (second) Catharine Schmeltzer, who was born Feb. 28, 1839, daughter of Daniel Schmeltzer, and sister to Mr. Leitzel's first wife. Mrs. Leitzel's eyesight has become so seriously affected that she is now almost blind. To this union have been born seven children: Samuel married Lizzie Schlegel and they live in Jordan township; Benjamin Elmer lives on his father's farm, as previously mentioned; Emanuel is mentioned below; Sophia married Charles Diehl and they live at Friedensburg, Schuylkill. Co., Pa.; Mary P. married Willis S. Weirick, and they live near Wiconisco, Pa.; Polly married Wesley Erdman and they live in Upper Mahanoy township; Jennie married Albert Ziegler and they live at Dalmatia. The son Daniel S. and daughter Jennie were both born on Nov. 18, he in 1859, she in 1881. In 1909 Mr. George B. Leitzel had thirty-nine grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. DANIEL S. LEITZEL, son of George B. Leitzel, is one of the prominent citizens of Upper Mahanoy township, merchant and present postmaster at Leck Kill. He was born Nov. 18, 1859, in Jordan township, and received his education in the public schools of the home neighborhood. He was reared to farm life. When twenty-two years old he went to Bellevue, Ohio, where he lived for two years, returning to his native county. After working END OF PAGE 917 on the farm one year he engaged in the hotel business at Shenandoah, where he conducted the "Farmers' Hotel" for three years. In 1883 he went to St. Clair, Pa., where he successfully carried on what was then known as the "Marshall House" (now the "Exchange Hotel") for one year. Mr. Leitzel spent the year 1891 traveling with his wife and son through the West, visiting many places of interest and journeying out to the Pacific coast. Upon his return he again engaged in the hotel business at St. Clair, continuing there for five years longer, after which they moved to Upper Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, and operated a farm for two years. In the fall of 1900 Mr. Leitzel purchased the old established store and hotel stand at what is known as Leck Kill, having the only licensed place in the township of Upper Mahanoy. The first part of this name is derived from a German word meaning to lick; the early settlers in the region would put salt in a glen or ravine in the forest near by for the deer, who would come to lick it and could thus be more conveniently shot than if they had to be hunted - hence the name Leck Kill, a place where they came to "leck" and be killed. The hotel was established by Peter Beissel (1801-1873) in 1825, and has been a licensed place ever since. The building is 76 by 45 feet in dimensions, and the western part, which is of stone, has stood for fully one hundred years. The eastern part was constructed some years later. The post office was established here by Emanuel Geist. The place is the business center of the township, and for many years it has been the local polling place. Mr. Leitzel has been hotel-keeper storekeeper and postmaster since the spring of 1901, and he has made a thorough success of the business. His hotel is well patronized by the traveling public and residents of the locality, all of whom have a good word for Mr. and Mrs. Leitzel. The building is now heated with steam, and everything is conducted along modern lines. The store is well stocked with general merchandise and Mr. Leitzel does an extensive business, drawing his trade from a large area in this section, where he is not only well known but highly respected. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Mahanoy & Mahantango Telephone Company, and was the moving spirit in the organization of the company, of which he is now a director. Like his father Mr. Leitzel has been identified with the Democratic party for a number of years and wields considerable influence in its councils. He has been Democratic committeeman of his township since 1906. and has held the office of treasurer of the township since 1903. Such a record implies ability and satisfactory service to all concerned. Socially he is well known in the Masonic and Odd Fellows bodies, being a member of Shamokin Lodge. No. 255. F. & A.M., of Shamokin, and of Eureka Lodge, No. 260, I.O.O.F., of Leck Kill. He is a past grand of Eureka Lodge, and a member of the Grand Lodge, having been elected at Scranton, and having served as delegate to the State conventions held at Scranton, Pittsburg and Harrisburg. For many years he has been Treasurer of his home lodge. On Dec. 25, 1883, Mr. Leitzel married Annie M. Geise, daughter of John B. and Lilie (Boyer) Geise, of Gratz, Dauphin Co., Pa., and they have had one son, Ray G. Mr. Leitzel and his family are members of the Lutheran congregation of St. John's Church, of Upper Mahanoy township. RAY G. LEITZEL, son of Daniel S. Leitzel, was born Nov. 27, 1889. He received a liberal education, attending the local schools and later the Keystone State normal school, at Kutztown, and he was licensed to teach public school in this county by Prof. W. W. Fetzer. He taught two terms in Upper Mahanoy, but he now gives all his time to assisting his father in the hotel and mercantile business. On Nov. 23, 1908, he married Edna Acaley, daughter of Jeremiah and Rebecca (Wagner) Acaley, of Williamstown, Pa., the former of whom was a mine foreman in Dauphin county, Pa. Two children have been born to this marriage, Lester L. and Pauline M. Emanuel Leitzel, son of George B. Leitzel, was born in Upper Mahanoy township Oct. 28, 1869, and was there reared to agricultural pursuits, working for his parents until he reached his seventeenth year. At that time he became a clerk in his father's hotel at Shenandoah and was thus engaged fifteen months. Later he clerked at St. Clair for his elder brother, Daniel S. Leitzel, one year, and one year for his brother-in-law, John Mullen, and on March 1, 1892, he went out to Stella, Cowlitz Co. Wash., where he was on a cattle range for four months. July 4, 1892, found him at Hot Springs, Ark. Returning to Pennsylvania he followed railroading as a brakeman on the Reading road until 1907, since which year he has followed mining. For some years he and his wife lived at Frackville, where he still owns his home, in the spring of 1909 moving to Leck Kill. On April 20, 1905, he married Rosa Moyer, daughter of Wilson and Mira (Harring) Moyer. They have no children. Mr. and Mrs. Leitzel are members of the Lutheran Church, and socially he holds membership in Frackville Lodge, No. 823, I.O.O.F. DAVID B. LEITZEL, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Byerly) Leitzel, was born in Jordan township Feb. 26, 1839. He was reared there, becoming accustomed to farm work from boyhood, and though he never learned the trade also became a proficient blacksmith, and was employed in a blacksmith's shop one winter. He worked for his parents until he was twenty-four years END OF PAGE 918 old, and then spent a year in cattle droving, buying and selling cattle, this business taking him as far as Berks county. Before the Civil war period he had been farming on the paternal place, and he was, there for some years afterward, until he bought a farm of seventy-seven acres near Klingerstown. After cultivating that place for seven years he sold it, and afterward lived there again for a time. In 1904 he came to his present home, which is a quarter of a mile west of Hebe, the tract containing forty-four acres. Mr. Leitzel has owned several farms at different times, and he has done well in his agricultural work, to which he has devoted practically all of his time. He has been a useful citizen, and his executive ability has received substantial recognition from his fellow citizens, who have chosen him to serve as township treasurer, supervisor and overseer of the poor. Politically he is a Democrat. Mr. Leitzel married Mary Troutman, daughter of George and Jestina (Clark) Troutman, who lived in Jordan township. They have had a family of eight children: William, of Uniontown, Pa., at present engaged as stage driver; Frank, deceased; Emma, wife of David Strohecker; Oscar, of Jordan township; Adam, of Jordan township; Jane, who married Elsworth Shaffer and lives at Shamokin; James, of Jordan township; and Jestina, who married Oscar Bohner, and died in 1908. Mr. Leitzel and his family are members of the church at Hebe. BENJAMIN B. LEITZEL, twin brother of David B. Leitzel, was born Feb. 26, 1839, in Jordan township, and was reared like the ordinary farm boy of his time. His total attendance at school amounted to ninety-six days, for he not only had to help with the farm work in the summertime but in the winter helped thresh, riding the horses around on the threshing floor to beat out the grain. During the greater part of his independent business career he was engaged in hotel-keeping, in which line he was very well known in his day, keeping the hotel at Klingerstown for fully thirty years. He still lives at Klingerstown, where he now conducts a restaurant. Mr. Leitzel owns a thirty-acre tract in Lykens township, Dauphin county, upon which he lived for one year. He is a highly respected citizen of his community, and served some years as assessor of Upper Mahantango township. Politically he is a Democrat, in religion a Lutheran, his family also attending that church. Mr. Leitzel married Eve Elizabeth Tobias, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Wiest) Tobias, and she died Sept. 26, 1889, at the age of forty- seven years, the mother of nine children, five of whom died before reaching the age of two years. The survivors are: W. Oscar, Cyrus, Mary and John. W. OSCAR LEITZEL, son of Benjamin B. Leitzel, was born Nov. 19, 1866, in Upper Mahantango township, Schuylkill Co., Pa., and was reared at Klingerstown. There he received his education in the public schools; and he worked for his parents, assisting his father in his agricultural operations and in the conduct of the hotel, until he attained his majority. After his marriage he engaged, in farming on land belonging to his father-in-law, Moses M. Wiest, at Klingerstown, where he was located for six years. Meantime he began the implement business, and for two years after leaving that farm was principally engaged in selling farm machinery, later entering the general merchandise business at Klingerstown, where he was in partnership with Victor Wiest for ten months. When he gave up the store business he returned to the farm for five years, since the expiration of which period he has been interested in his present mercantile business at Klingerstown, having the largest general store in the western end of Schuylkill county. In addition to general merchandise he carries a large line of furniture, in which he has built up a profitable trade; he still deals in farm implements, and has the agency for the well known "Swab" wagons, his territory lying east of the Susquehanna as far as Ashland and south along the Schuylkill and Dauphin county line, including Deep Creek valley. Mr. Leitzel is considered the leading representative of the company which makes these wagons, as he sells from eighty to one hundred annually, and has sold thousands in his time. He employs from two to six clerks in his general store, and his large business has been built upon a foundation of fair dealing and honorable methods that make him one of the most esteemed as well as one of the most prosperous men of his community. He is a public- spirited citizen, and has been willing to give time and influence to promote the best interests of the neighborhood, being especially anxious to further the educational facilities in his township. When less than twenty-two years old Mr. Leitzel was elected justice of the peace, and he served fifteen years in that office, refusing a fourth term. On Sept. 5, 1886, Mr. Leitzel married Emma S. Wiest, daughter of Moses M. and Mary (Schadel) Wiest, and four children were horn to them, Richard, Dell, John and Frank. Mrs. Leitzel died in July, 1896, aged twenty-eight years, and is buried at Klingerstown. In February, 1897, Mr. Leitzel married (second) Cora Hollenbach, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Schaffer) Hollenbach, and they have had three children: Paul, Eve and Fred. Mr. Leitzel and his family worship with the Lutheran congregation of St. Michael's Church at Klingerstown, and he has been very active in the work of church and Sunday school, serving as deacon and elder, and at present END OF PAGE 919 as treasurer of the church; he has been identified with the Sunday school as teacher and superintendent for fifteen consecutive years. Cyrus Leitzel, son of Benjamin B. Leitzel, is the proprietor of the "Franklin House" at Mandata, Northumberland county. He was born Sept. 15, 1871, at Klingerstown, where be was reared and educated, and worked for his father until he reached the age of sixteen. For six years he was employed in the lumber districts in the State of Washington, in 1896 returning to Pennsylvania and settling at Klingerstown, where he was engaged in horse dealing and in the wholesale whisky business, selling whisky for Detweiler & Co., of Lebanon. He still continues both lines of business, being a well known horse dealer in lower Northumberland county, where he handles many head of horses yearly, and he has represented Detweiler & Co. continuously since 1896, selling their goods in Northumberland, Schuylkill, Perry, Juniata, Snyder and Dauphin counties. He continued to live at Klingerstown for a number of years before moving to Mandata, where he has been proprietor of the "Franklin House" since 1906. He has a farm of 100 acres between Mandata and Mahanoy in Jackson township (part of which was formerly the Abraham Klock homestead, the rest the Jacob Smith place, which he farms with the aid of hired help, and he has prospered in his various undertakings, being an excellent manager. In March, 1895, Mr. Leitzel married Carrie E. Boyer, daughter of John and Polly (Shartle) Boyer, and they have one daughter, Bessie J. Mr. Leitzel and his family are members of the Lutheran congregation of the Klingerstown Church. For ten years he held membership in the Klingerstown lodge of Odd Fellows.