USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Warren County, New Jersey > Part 36
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(III) David Conover, son of William and Sarah Ann (Conover) Riddle, was born in Franklin township, Warren county, New Jersey, January 15, 1842, and is now living in Broadway, where he has spent his entire life, and is not only highly esteemed, but is regarded as being perhaps the most reliable authority on the history of the village. He was educated in the schools of Franklin township, and spent his early life on his father's farm. At the age of nineteen he was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade, and served his time under Henry Britton, after which he went back to the farm, where he remained for the next four years. He then started working at his trade, which has occupied him ever since. He has built most if not all of the houses in Broadway, and there are many landmarks in the surrounding country which bear evi- dence of his skill and mastery of his craft. Among other buildings should be men- tioned the store of Michael B. Bowers, the Presbyterian church, of Montana, New Jersey, and the remodeled Methodist Episcopal church at Broadway. He is a Demo-
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crat in politics, and has held quite a number of offices. He was postmaster of Broad- way for one term, during the first administration of President Cleveland; he has been commissioner of appeals, and is now serving in his thirty-second year as constable. For many years he has been a trustee of the Methodist church in Broadway. He is a member of Mansfield Lodge, No. 36, Free and Accepted Masons, of New Jersey, and he has been a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Red Men, and of the Order of American Mechanics.
He married (first), in September, 1861, Mary Jane, daughter of Stewart and Catharine (Taylor) Nixon, who was born in 1844, and died in 1868. He married (second), January I, 1873, Martha Elizabeth, daughter of Richard G. and Mary M. (Huff) Woolverton, who was born October 21, 1854. Children, two by first and one by second marriage: Edgar, died aged two years; Calvin, referred to below; James Arlington, born in October, 1874, died in March, 1875.
(IV) Calvin, son of David Conover and Mary Jane (Nixon) Riddle, was born in Broadway, Warren county, New Jersey, in April, 1865, and died at the age of twenty- six, unmarried. He received a good education in the schools of the township, and then entered the employ of the New York & Susquehanna Railroad Company, as an engine- wiper. He won his promotion to the post of engineer before his health failed him, and he was stricken down. He was a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.
SHILLINGER George Shillinger, the founder of the family of his name in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and Warren county, New Jer- sey, was born in Germany, in 1791 ; died in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in 1867. He came to this country as a young man, with his wife and eldest children, and became a man of some prominence in the community where he dwelt. His principal occupation was farming, but he derived no little income from the manufacture of gunstocks for the United States government. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church at Easton, Pennsylvania. He married Catharine Eberle, who died in 1872. Children : Andrew; William; John; Jacob, referred to below; Son, died in infancy.
(II) Jacob, son of George and Catharine (Eberle) Shillinger, was born in North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, July 27, 1833; died July 12, 1904, in Warren county, New Jersey. During his youth he was for some time a cooper, and afterwards was an em- ployee of the Stewart Iron Works, at South Easton. In 1866 he entered into a partner- ship with his brother-in-law, Isaac Kitchlin, and they embarked in the milling business, purchasing the mills at Cooksville, Greenwich township, Warren county, New Jersey. This mill they ran successfully until 1876, when it was destroyed by fire, and they then built the large mills that have been running ever since. In 1877 Isaac Kitchlin died, and Mr. Shillinger purchased his deceased partner's interests and conducted the busi- ness alone until 1896, when he turned it over to his two sons, Stewart A. and Samuel F. He married, August 9, 1856, Louisa, born January 5, 1837, died December 18, 1906, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Eberle) Kitchlin. Children: George L., referred to below; Samuel Forest, referred to below; John F., born June 6, 1866, died in infancy; Stewart Aaron, referred to below.
(III) George L., son of Jacob and Louisa (Kitchlin) Shillinger, was born in Shimertown, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1857, and is now living in Phillipsburg, Warren county, New Jersey. He received his education in the public schools, and then began his successful career as a merchant. For many years he has been a member and president of the Phillipsburg board of trade, and he has taken a most active and prominent part in organizing several of the building and loan asso- ciations of the town. He is a Republican in politics and has served several times on the township school committee of Greenwich, as member of the board of freeholders for three terms of Lopatcong township, and was the first and only Republican elected as
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surrogate of Warren county. He is a Lutheran in religion, and has been for many years a trustee of the Lutheran church in Phillipsburg. He married Mantie, daughter of Tunis and Sidney (Lewis) Gardner, of New Village, Warren county, New Jersey, the descendant of an old Quaker family of that region. Children: I. Ada M., born August 15, 1879; married Lussell Schwab, of Phillipsburg; one child, Erma May. 2. Anna L., born October 7, 1883; married Kline Mellick; one child, Jennie. 3. Jennie U., born July 20, 1896. 4. George L., born March 11, 1898.
(III) Samuel Forest, son of Jacob and Louisa (Kitchlin) Shillinger, was born in South Easton, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1862; died in Stewarts- ville, Warren county, New Jersey, February 15, 1910. He received his early education in the Stewartsville schools, and spent the last three years of his life as a gentleman far ner of Stewartsville. His boyhood was spent in his father's mill, and as a young man he went into the lime business for three years. He then took up farming for him- self, and after spending eleven years in this occupation he entered into partnership with his brother, Stewart A. Shillinger, and in 1896 they bought their father's mill property, and shortly afterwards purchased from John O. Wagner a farm of one hundred acres. In 1906, when the two brothers dissolved partnership, Mr. Shillinger took the farm as his share and returned to farming, which occupied him until he built his fine residence cn the corner of Beacon and Edison avenues, Stewartsville, when he retired from active work. He was a Republican in politics and at the time of his death was serving on the board of education. He was a Lutheran in religion. He was a member of Bethlehem Lodge, No. 140, Free and Accepted Masons, of New Jersey ; of DeMolay Commandery, No. 6, Knights Templar, of Washington; of Phillipsburg Chapter, No. 53; of Warren Lodge, No. 53, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Stewartsville.
He married, June 14, 1883, Sarah C., born December 1, 1860, and is now living in Stewartsville, daughter of John I. and Jemima (Beers) Burd, of Montana, New Jersey. Her father, John I. Burd, born in 1823; died March 15, 1889. He married, October 24, 1846, Jemima Beers, born February 22, 1825; died December 5, 1873. Chil- dren : i. George Burd, born September 13, 1847; died June 22, 1853, in childhood. ii. Mary E. Burd, born November 20, 1849; married Leonard Smith. iii. Jacob C. Burd, born October 13, 1851; died November 8, 1859, in childhood. iv. Elisha Burd, born September 30, 1853; died in Belvidere, New Jersey, March 13, 1908. v. Stewart Burd, born May 7, 1858; died August 23, 1861, in infancy. vi. Sarah C. Burd, referred to above. vii. William J. Burd, born August 19, 1865; a practicing physician at Belvidere. viii. Emma Ida Burd, born March 27, 1873; died March 13, 1874, in infancy. Children cf Samuel Forest and Sarah C. (Burd) Shillinger: I. Lnella Mina, born March 27, 1889; died June 17, 1891, in infancy. 2. Ruth Josephine, born October 18, 1891; mar- ried, June 22, 1910, Abraham R., born September 28, 1885, son of Jacob and Mary A. (Roseberry) Stecker; he is assistant foreman of the oil gang at the Edison Cement Werks, and his wife is a graduate of the Easton Academy, class of 1908.
(III) Stewart Aaron, son of Jacob and Louisa (Kitchlin) Shillinger, was born at Cooksville Mills, Greenwich township, Warren county, New Jersey, February 27, 1870, and is now living in Stewartsville. He received his education in the public schools of Stewartsville, where he has resided all his life, and as a young man learned the trade of miller, working in his father's mills. In 1896 he entered into partnership with his brother, Samuel F. Shillinger, and they bought their father's mill and purchased a large amount of farming land. The two brothers operated the mill together until 1896, when the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Shillinger taking the mill property as his share of the capital has conducted the business alone ever since. The mill is run by water power and has the most improved machinery, the roller process employed being first installed by Mr. Shillinger's father in 1884. It has a capacity of twenty-five barrels per day and is one of the largest mills in the county. Mr. Shillinger puts out some of the best and most favorable known brands of flour on the market. his specialty being
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the "Choice Family" and the "Morning Star" brands. He finds a very profitable market near home and he does a retail as well as a wholesale business. He lives in the house which was built by his father in 1870, when the latter came to Warren county, but in 1907 Mr. Shillinger remodeled it and installed all modern improvements, making it one of the most desirable residences in Stewartsville. He is a member of Warren Lodge, No. 53, Junior Order of American Mechanics, of Stewartsville; of Bethlehem Lodge, No. 140, Free and Accepted Masons, of New Jersey; of Phillipsburg Chapter, No. 53; of Washington Commandery, Knights Templar. He is a Republican in politics, and for six years served on the board of trustees of the Lutheran church, of Stewarts- ville.
He married, in Stewartsville, June 25, 1891, Mabel S., daughter of Charles and Etta (Stewart) Barber, who is a graduate of the Trenton State Normal School. No chil- dren.
Jacob Scheimer, the founder of the family at present under consideration,
SHIMER was born in Gersheim, Rheinpfalz, Bayern, Germany, about 1679, and was buried in the graveyard of the old. Saucon church, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1757. He emigrated to Germantown, Pennsyl- vania, some time before 1722, but about six years later removed to Bebbers township, Philadelphia county, and in 1734 to Skippack, Pennsylvania, where he remained for two years, and then finally settled himself on the uplands above Redington, North- ampton (then) Bucks county, Pennsylvania. For many years the place, now a part of Redington, was known as Shimertown, and is so marked on the old maps of Northamp- ton county. He married (first), between 1720 and 1722, Margaret, daughter of Heivert and Elizabeth (Rittenhouse) Papen, who died shortly after March 26, 1730, and (sec-
ond) Elizabeth -, who survived him. Children, six by first marriage: Abraham, married, 1749, Lena Westbrook; Anthony; Elizabeth, married - - Vickerson; Mary,
married Michael Shoemaker; Catharine, married - - Young; Sarah; Jacob, referred to below; Conrad, born about 1736, died in December, 1760, unmarried; Samuel; Ed- ward, referred to below; Peter; Isaac, born August 6, 1749, died April 10, 1838, mar- ried (first) Gettart, (second) Elizabeth Kichline; John.
(II) Jacob (2), son of Jacob (1) and Elizabeth Scheimer, was born in Skippack, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1734, and died June 6, 1764, at Shimertown. During the Indian troubles of 1755-56 he enlisted as a private under Captain Jacob Arndt. He married, June 13, 1758, Rosina Seip, who was born in Michelstadt, Odenwald, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, September 7, 1739, and died about 1822. After her first husband's death she married (second) his brother, Edward Scheimer, referred to below. Children: Peter, referred to below; Samuel, born December 5, 1762, married, April 24, 1791, Elizabeth Schuelpp; John, born April 4, 1764, married Salome Van Buskirk.
(III) Peter, son of Jacob (2) and Rosina (Seip) Scheimer, was born in Shimer- town (now Redington), Northampton county, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1760, and died October 22, 1828. He purchased for $2,600 a farm of two hundred acres of land, with modern improvements, in Greenwich township, near Still Valley, Warren county, New Jersey, about five miles from Easton, Pennsylvania, which he gave to his son, John Lerch Shimer, referred to below. He married ( first) Anna Maria Lerch, and (sec- ond) Elizabeth (Kratzer) Lerch, widow of Philip Lerch. Children: John Lerch, referred to below; Abraham, born February 7, 1785, died March 10, 1859, married April 8, 1810, Margaret Leidy; Mary, born May 26, 1787, died June 2, 1864, married, 1812, Jacob Knecht; Susan, born October 19, 1789, died March 9, 1836, married, November 20, 1808, John Riehl; Elizabeth, born May 12, 1791, died May 15, 1853, married Samuel Leidy; Anna, born April 29, 1794, died July 6, 1857, married, March 20, 1812, Tobias Weaver; Samuel, born November 14, 1796, died January 18, 1867, married Susan Hein-
Residence of Win. B. Shimer, Phillipsburg, N. J. built 1850.
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bach; Rosina, born May 13, 1800, died February 23, 1873, married, in 1817, Joseph Weber.
(IV) John Lerch Shimer, son of Peter Scheimer, was born in Redington, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, January 5, 1782, and died in Warren county, New Jersey, August 12, 1854. Shortly after his marriage he settled on the farm in Warren county, given to him by his father, and by industry and thrift accumulated a large fortune. He became the owner of six large farms, situated in that region, four of them adjoining each other. The original farm of two hundred acres given to him by his father is still in possession of a Shimer, and the house in which he lived is still (in 1910) standing. He married, in 1804, Susanna, daughter of John Schwitzer, of Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, who was born there, October 10, 1785. He and his wife are both buried in the Old Straw Church graveyard, at Still Valley, Warren county, New Jersey. Children: Peter, born March 21, 1805, died August 27, 1855, married, 1830, Elizabeth Calvin; John N., born July 30, 1811, died December 8, 1885, married, December 18, 1834, Elizabeth A. Carpenter; Robert K., born September 25, 1813, died October 1, 1889, married, January 28, 1836, Mary A. Carpenter; Isaac, born February 21, 1816, died January 10, 1854, married, November 28, 1839, Catharine Baker ; William B., referred to below; Samuel Leidy, referred to below; Mary Jane, born May 16, 1824, died February 8, 1854, married John Smith.
(V) William B., son of John Lerch and Susanna (Schwitzer) Shimer, was born near Still Valley, Sussex county, now Warren county, August 28, 1820, and died Octo- ber 7, 1887. The public schools of this locality were poorly managed, and bore little resemblance to the finely equipped one of to-day, when the subject of this sketch was a boy. He is mainly self-educated. He was a practical and successful farmer, and was favorably esteemed throughout the township. He was a director of the First National Bank of Phillipsburg, and for many years he was an elder in the Old Straw Church. He married, November 7, 1843, Mary Margaret, daughter of Jacob and Sophia Shipman Sharp, who was born March 25, 1824; died June 4, 1884. Her father, Jacob Sharp, was born September 22, 1798; died April 19, 1843. Sophia Shipman was born May 13, 1805; died October 31, 1878. Children of William B. and Mary Margaret (Sharp) Shimer: Susanna V., born December 21, 1845, died February 11, 1860; Frank P., born July 1, 1851, died September 8, 1874; William S., of whom further; Thomas E., born December 1, 1866, died April 27, 1888.
(VI) William S., son of William B. and Mary Margaret (Sharp) Shimer, was born near Phillipsburg, New Jersey, January 17, 1865. He is still living and owns the farm that belonged to his grandfather, John Lerch Shimer, "at the forks of the road." He married Elizabeth Fine Pursell, who was born October 12, 1868, daughter of Phillip Fine and Mary Louisa (Stone) Pursell. They have one child, Isaac Sharp Shimer.
(V) Samuel Leidy, son of John Lerch and Susanna (Schwitzer) Shimer, was born in Still Valley, Sussex (now Warren) county, New Jersey, August 13, 1822, and died in Phillipsburg, Warren county, New Jersey, February 3, 1887. He was engaged in farming until the outbreak of the civil war, when he obtained a government position in Trenton, and acted as captain of a volunteer company of reserve militia, stationed in that place. After the war was over Mr. Shimer purchased and operated a grist and sawmill. He was a member and one of the organizers of Grace Lutheran Church, Phillipsburg. He was a Republican in politics, and held several minor offices in the town. He married, March 11, 1847, Elizabeth, daughter of John M. and Sarah (Cline) Roseberry, who was born in Phillipsburg, in 1827, and is still living there. Children : John McCron Roseberry, referred to below; Flora, born in 1858, married, 1874, Frank P. Haggerty.
(VI) John McCron Roseberry, son of Samuel Leidy and Elizabeth (Roseberry) Shimer, was born in Still Valley, Warren county, New Jersey, October 12, 1850, and is now living in Phillipsburg, where he has been for many years one of the most success-
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ful business men of the town. He received his early education in the public schools of Still Valley and in the Allentown Seminary, and after graduating from the latter took a business course in New Haven, Connecticut. After spending a year in the organ and piano business, Mr. Shimer bought and operated a sawmill, which, however, he gave up after a year's trial, and embarked in the coal and hay business, to which he added the labors of a fire insurance agent. In 1868 he opened a general store in Phillipsburg, at 797 South Main street, which by his industry and ability he has made one of the largest and best in the city. His insurance business also has been most prosperous, and for many years he has been the representative in the town of all the leading companies. April 22, 1889, he was successful in his efforts to establish the fourth class sub post- office, known as Shimer's, Lopatcong township, Warren county, New Jersey, and President Cleveland, during his first administration, appointed Mr. Shimer postmaster. He is a Republican in politics, and has served as delinquent tax collector, and for over fifteen years as a justice of the peace. He is now serving as a notary public and a commissioner of deeds. He is a Lutheran in religion, and served for a number of years on the official board of the church in Easton, Pennsylvania. He is a member of Delaware Lodge, No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, of New Jersey; of Eagle Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons, and of the Charter Society. He married, March 9, 1868, in Phillipsburg, Sarah W., daughter of Samuel S. and Rebecca (Young) Stevenson, who was born in Phillipsburg, in September, 1852. Child: Elizabeth Roseberry, born Au- gust 21, 1871 ; married, February 8, 1906, Rev. William J. Hutchinson.
(II) Edward, son of Jacob (1) and Elizabeth Scheimer, was born in Bucks (now Northampton) county, Pennsylvania, February 28, 1741, and died in Shimertown, in the same county, February 16, 1815. He became the possessor of a great part of his father's original estate, and to this he added much more himself. He learned the trade of saddler, but does not appear to have practiced it very much. He was a zealous Luth- eran, a revolutionary patriot, and served as a member of the committee of safety of Northampton county, and as captain in the First Battalion, of the same county, under Colonel George Hubner, in 1777. He married, in 1765, Rosina (Seip) Scheimer, widow of his brother Jacob, referred to above, and the two are buried side by side in the burying-ground in their old home orchard, under large slabs, covered with long German inscriptions. Children: Jacob, referred to below; Isaac, born May 6, 1769, died January 1, 1838, married, 1796, Susanna, daughter of John Beyl, sister to his brother Jacob's wife; Abraham, born April 7, 1774, died in infancy; Susanna, born February 22, 1776, died August 16, 1863, married (first) James Bingham, (second) Dr. Peter Von Steuben.
(III) Jacob Shimer, son of Edward and Rosina (Seip-Scheimer) Scheimer, was born in Shimertown, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1767, and died October 5, 1845. He married, in April, 1791, Elizabeth, daughter of John Beyl, of Lower Saucon township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, who was born September 15, 1772, and died January 31, 1857. Children : John Beyl, born June 7, 1792, died July 29, 1878, married, April 7, 1816, Mary Schweitzer; Joseph, born May 2, 1795, died August 13, 1878, married, 1818, Catharine Hubler; Edward Beyl, referred to below; Isaac, born August 25, 1799, died December 17, 1863, married, May 12, 1824, Kate Apple; Jacob, born October 10, 1802, died in October, 1871, married, March 17, 1829, Fayetta Kesk; Elizabeth, born April 21, 1805, died 1899, married, October 22, 1822, Michael Butz; Samuel, born September 21, 1807, died 1897, married, September 21, 1852, Anna Kuhns; Abraham, born March 12, 1809, died January 1, 1881, married, May 23, 1837, Margaretta Johnston.
(IV) Edward Beyl, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Bey1) Shimer, was born June 27, 1797, and died in Easton, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1869. He married, March 18, 1821, Hannah, daughter of Peter Lerch, who was born November 2, 1802, and died
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September 3, 1864. Both she and her husband are buried in the old Forks graveyard, Northampton county, Pennsylvania. Children: Elizabeth, born January 31, 1822, died. September II, 1823; Sabina S., born December 17, 1823, still living, married, December 17, 1844, Samuel Messinger ; Maria, born February 12, 1826, still living, married, No- vember 26, 1850, Jacob Schall; Franklin L., referred to below; Reuben L., born Febru- ary 16, 1831. still living, married, October 3, 1849, Susan, daughter of Joseph and Cath- arine (Hubler) Shimer, his first cousin; Peter A., born July 20, 1833, still living, mar- ried, March 15, 1856, Ellen Werkheiser; Anna Elizabeth, born January 28, 1837, still living, married, May 28, 1859, William Werkheiser; Mary, born April 16, 1839, still living, married, May 4, 1861, Samuel Lerch.
(V) Franklin L., son of Edward Beyl and Hannah (Lerch) Shimer, was born in Easton, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1828, and died June 12, 1901. He was a farmer, a Republican in politics, and a Lutheran in religion. He married, August 31, 1849, Sabina, daughter of Charles Babp, who was born October 18, 1827, and died February 2, 1898. Both she and her husband are buried in the old Forks church burying-ground, Northampton county. Children: Josephine, born December 2, 1850, still living, married, December 4, 1869, Edward Weaver; Lovene A., born Sep- tember 13. 1852, died June 8, 1859; Charles Edward, born June 12, 1854, still living, married (first), March 29, 1873, Julia A. Hahn, (second), May 4, 1889, Salina Angle- meyer; Hannah, born March 12, 1856, died November 24, 1907, married (first), March I, 1884, Martin Ackerman, (second) Abraham Walters; Benjamin Franklin, referred to below; Erwin Babp, born November 26, 1870, still living, married, July 20, 1889, Caroline Messinger.
(VI) Benjamin Franklin, son of Franklin L. and Sabina (Babp) Shimer, was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, May 15. 1861, and is now living in Easton, Pennsylvania. Like his father, he is a farmer, a Republican in politics, and a Lutheran in religion. He married, May 15, 1880, Jennie, daughter of Aaron and Mary A. Mes- singer. Children : Floyd Aaron, referred to below; Mary Sabina, born June 6, 1885; Edward F., March 28, 1887; Caroline E .; Anna Maria, October 15, 1893; Lena May, October 30, 1896; Benjamin M., November 21, 1899; Emily F., March 4, 1902.
(VII) Dr. Floyd Aaron, son of Benjamin Franklin and Jennie (Messinger) Shimer, was born in Easton, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1880, and is now living in Phillipsburg, Warren county, New Jersey. He received his early education in the public schools of Easton and later graduated from Sandt's Academy. He then entered the department of pharmacy of the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, from which he received his Ph. G. degree in 1902, and his M. D. degree in 1905. Until he received his medical degree he worked as a clerk in a drug store, and then coming to Phillipsburg in the fall of 1905, he opened his present office at 88 Lewis street, where he has won for himself a reputation as one of the rising and most able of the younger generation of the city's physicians. He is a Republican in politics, and a Lutheran in religion. He is a member of Accho Chapter, No. 124, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; of Delaware Lodge, No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, of New Jersey, and of the Modern Woodmen of America.
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