USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume II > Part 3
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(IV) Joseph Hartzler, son of John L. and Elizabeth ( Hartzler) Byler, was born August 7. 1853. in Kishacoquillas valley. Union town- ship, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania. Like his forbears. he is of that hardy Swiss stock that long since has taken deep and permanent root in American soil. The family has flourished and grown strong in num- bers, in importance and in this world's goods. He was educated in the public schools of the township and was reared in the free life of the farm. When quite a boy he went to live with an uncle at Allensville, where he attended the village school. Leaving school he selected farin- ing as his occupation. After some years on the farm of his father-in- law. David J. Zook, he bought the Byler homestead of twenty-four acres, and there lived twenty years, doing general farming. For the past twenty-eight years he has been a minister of the Amish Mennonite church, having success in his ministerial work. He is held in high es- teem by not only those of his own faith, but all those who know him. He is a devout man, but broad minded and kindly, and commands the respect and love of his associates. He is a Republican in politics. work- ing in a quiet way for the ticket, but he has never aspired to office and has never held any. He married (first ) January 3, 1878. Nancy Zook, a native of Mifflin county, daughter of David J. Zook, like himself a devout member of the Amish Mennonite church. She died March 7. 1907. Children: 1. Lydia A., married Jacob A. Hartzler, and died in June. 1909, leaving four children : Carrie, John, Mand and Anna L. 2. John Ira, lives in Toronto, Canada, where he has charge of a Men- nonite mission church ; married Amanda Froyer ; three children : Hlarold, Orpha and John. 3. Carrie E., married John Yoder ; lives near Belle- ville, Pennsylvania; children : Paul and Elma. 4. David, died in infancy. 5. Sadie, attends Bible school in Toronto, Canada. 6. Joseph, at home.
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7. Titus, died aged four years. S. Ida Ruth. 9. Naomi. He married (second) February II, 1909, Mrs. Elizabeth Spicher, a native of Mif- flin county, daughter of John Zook. In all of Mifflin county there is no one who is more highly respected than Mr. Byler, and his family stands for sobriety, honor and right living.
(The Hartzler Line).
On the distaff side Mr. Byler descends from an honest, hard work- ing, conscientious family of men and women. His maternal grand- parents were Christian Hartzler and his wife, Elizabeth Kauffman, who were among the early settlers of Union township, where he lived and died on the farm that he owned for years. Both belonged to the Amish Men- nonite church, and they were God-fearing, law-abiding citizens of Penn- sylvania. Christian Hartzler was of direct Swiss descent, the family coming from near the line, which is largely German. His wife was of pure German extraction, and came from the large family of Kauffinans scattered the length and breadth of Germany. Their children were: Hannah, Nancy, Sarah, Samuel, Lydia, Elizabeth (see Byler III), Eri, who married Jacob Detweiler and makes her home in the south ; Fannie and John.
William Vollmer, of Burnham, Pennsylvania, exempli-
VOLLMER fies to a marked degree what energy, perseverance and well directed ambition will accomplish. He is of that all-conquering strain that time and circumstances never daunt, German- American. Since the year 1837 the Vollmers have added to the wealth, energy and greatness of the United States, bringing from the Father- land indomitable will and a determination to succeed, which in the end bring desired results.
(I) Henry Vollmer, father of William Vollmer, was born in 1816. at Gemmershein-on-the-Rhinc. Germany, of good, honest, well-to-do parents, who had long made their home in that romantic part of the Fatherland. At the age of twenty-one, in 1837, the spirit of adven- turous youth and enterprise induced him to try his fortunes in the United States, and he crossed the Atlantic, landing at New York. Later he went to Philadelphia, where he located, securing employment with the J. and J. P. Steiner & Company, a large mercantile house of that city. From
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an humble employee he rose to one position after another, later being admitted as one of the firm, and remained with Steiner & Company until they closed their business for two years during the civil war. In the meantime he had married Louise Steiner, born in Philadelphia, in 1824, but like himself of German parentage. They lived in comfortable circumstances and reared a family. After the closing of Steiner & Company, Mr. Vollmer entered business for himself, having with him his two sons, at No. I Bank street, Philadelphia. The business greatly prospered for several years and was increasing in every way until the panic of 1873, when like so many other firms many established much longer than his, he was forced to close. He retired to private life, lived quietly, and died in Philadelphia in 1905. His wife died in 1895. He was a staunch Republican and worked for the party, but neither held nor aspired to office. Children : 1. Emma, married I. L. Register ; living in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. 2. Henry. deccased. 3. Ida, died in infancy. 4. Amanda, died in infancy. 5. Phillip, a representative of the Lawrence Cement Company. of Philadelphia. 6. William, of whom further.
(II) William, sixth and youngest child of Henry and Louise (Steiner ) Vollmer, was born in Philadelphia, April 24, 1861. Hle re- ceived his preparatory education in the public schools of the city, finally entering the Philadelphia Polytechnic School. where he threw himself heart and soul into the prescribed course. Owing to financial circum- stances he was compelled to forego the pleasure of graduating, and left school one year previous to that anticipated event. He entered at once the employ of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, of Philadelphia. Ile gave all of his spare time to the study of machinery, increasing his knowledge thereby. For eleven years he was an integral part of the vast works, and identified himself in every way with its interests. At the end of that time the company, recognizing merit, ability and loyalty. rewarded him by making him assistant superintendent, a position he held with credit to himself and the satisfaction of the company until October 17, 1910, when he was offered and accepted the place of superintendent of the Standard Steel Works, at Burnham, Pennsylvania. He holds that position at the present time.
Mr. Vollmer employes three thousand men, and the products turned out for a large and ever increasing market are, stcel castings, tires,
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rolled wheels, springs, iron and malleable castings. The output is shipped to the four quarters of the United States, Japan and the British colonies. The plant is running to its fullest capacity, and the demand for its products exceeds the supply. This has largely been accomplished through the broad constructive talent and farsightedness of Mr. Voll- mer, his quick appreciation of events and his ability to adapt himself, and the business which he superintends, to them. He is an extremely modest man, unassuming, but in a quiet and supremely effective way he has advanced the efficiency of his numerous employees to a standard that is rarely equalled, and never surpassed, in similar works. He is not ag- gressive in the ordinary sense, only progressive, and has risen to the topmost rung of his chosen business, in which he has been engaged un- remittingly for thirty-five years. He is persevering, mastering every detail, however minute or dull; is conservative, prompt, decisive and cool, with a determination to succeed that in the end generally makes for success. He maintains no elaborate suite of offices with flunkies to guard the doors, but is in the main room of the general office. He is always willing and pleased to listen to the humblest of the employees of the works, thus evincing his spirit of true American democracy and his inherited German love of justice. The keynote of his character is a desire to see everyone get "a square deal," and the motive of all his actions is to produce results. He married, in 1891, Gwenllian Hunt, born at Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Joshua Hunt, a mem- ber of a family of English descent, long established in America, the progenitor of which came over in colonial days. Mrs. Vollmer's ma- ternal grandfather, David Thomas, was the pioneer manufacturer of pig iron from anthracite coal, and is called the father of that special industry, carried on at Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. Children : 1. Roger H., a bright student in the department of agricultural engineering in the Pennsylvania State College. 2. William S., attending the Culver (In- diana ) Military School.
Robert and Hannah Pennell settled in Middletown
PENNELL township, now Delaware county, as early as 1686 and are the founders of the Pennells of Chester and Dela- ware counties, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They came from Boul- derton, in Nottinghamshire, England, bringing a certificate from "Friends
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at Ffulbeck", issued the third day of the fifth month, 1684, in conjunc- tion with Thomas Garrett, Hugh Rodnell. Henry Pennell and Richard Parker "with their wives and children intending to transfer themselves beyond the seas into East Jersey in America".
A John Pennell was in this country as early as 1689, residing in the vicinity of Darby and then a young man. In 1703 he married Mary Morgan, of Dublin Monthly Meeting, and settled in Concord township. But little is known of John, but Mary, his wife, became eminent as a minister among Friends. She was born in Radnorshire, Wales, was edu- cated in the Church of England, but at the age of thirteen years, she became convinced of the truth of the doctrines of the Quakers. When sixteen years of age she came to Pennsylvania and soon afterward united with the Friends Society, becoming a minister in 1722, and traveled extensively in the exercise of her holy calling, visiting the New England colonies and once going to Great Britain and Ireland.
Robert Pennell in 1687 was appointed constable of Middletown town- ship and was a farmer in fairly good circumstances. His wife Hannalı died in 17II, aged seventy-one years, he surviving her several years, until 1728. Children: Hannah, married John Sharpless, of Ridley ; Joseph, married Alice, daughter of William Garrett, of Darby ; . Min. married Benjamin Mendenhall, of Concord ; and William, married Mary, daughter of Thomas and Mary Mercer, of Thornburg. From Robert and Hannah Pennell sprang Isaac Pennell, born in Delaware county, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Society of Friends in good standing, as was his wife Jane. Children : John, died in Harrisburg; Joseph, of whom further: Sarah, married William Hat- ton, whom she survives, a resident of Philadelphia; Mary, married Wil- liam Hinkson and died in Philadelphia.
(II) Joseph, son of Isaac and Jane Pennell, was born in Philadelphia in 1832, died in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1904, and was brought to Mifflintown for interment. He was educated in the Friends School in Philadelphia, and prior to his marriage came to Mif- flintown in the employ of the Pennsylvania railroad. He entered mer- cantile life in Mifflintown after his marriage and continued without in- termission until 1900, being at the time of his retirement one of the oldest merchants in the borough. He was an honorable, energetic and prosperous business man, and while not strict in his views, was a Quaker
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by birthright and inclination. He belonged to the Masonic order and was a man well liked and most highly respected. A Republican in poli- tics, he never sought or accepted public office. He married in Mifflin- town, Rebecca Mickey, born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1839, daughter of Frank M. and Elizabeth (Souders) Mickey, both born in Perry county. Frank M. Mickey was a supervisor of the Pennsylvania railroad and early located in Mifflintown, where he was a captain of the military company, a member of the Lutheran church and a Republican ; children : Rebecca, married Joseph Pennell, whom she survives, a resi- dent of Pittsburgh; Lewis, a veteran of the civil war, resides in Balti- more, Maryland: Jacob, died in Shamokin, Pennsylvania; Ann, mar- ried George Anderson and resides in Altoona, Pennsylvania; John, now living retired in Mifflin, Pennsylvania : Robert, now residing at Alexan- dria, Pennsylvania, in the employ of the Pennsylvania railroad; Kate, died unmarried. Children of Joseph and Rebecca (Mickey) Pennell : Frank M. M., of whom further; William, now cashier of the Postal Telegraph Company at Pittsburgh: Amy, married Thomas Evans and resides in Avalon, Pennsylvania : Clarence, who is now in the employ of the Pennsylvania railroad, and is residing at Wilkinsburg, Pennsyl- vania.
(III) Frank M. M., eldest son of Joseph and Rebecca ( Mickey ) Pen- nell, was born in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, February 28, 1862. He was educated in the public schools of the borough, then entered Millersville State Normal School, whence he was graduated, class of 1882. After teaching in the public school one year, he began the study of law, read- ing under the preceptorship of Louis E. Atkinson, an eminent lawyer, and was admitted to the Juniata county bar in 1885. Although entitled to practice, he desired still deeper knowledge of the law and he entered Albany Law School, Albany, New York, one of the very oldest and best law schools in the United States, from whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 1886. Returning to Mifflintown, he entered into partner- ship with his former instructor in the law, and as Atkinson & Pennell. they conducted a successful general practice in county, state and federal courts of the district, until Mr. Atkinson's death in 1910. Since then Mr. Pennell has conducted business alone. The firm was among the leaders at the county bar and bore a reputation for honorable, upright dealing, coupled with a legal learning and skill that attracted the best
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class of business. The offices are yet retained in Mifflintown, where Mr. Pennell conducts his legal business upon the same high plane of honor and efficiency. He has few outside interests, the law being to him a jealous mistress and to his profession he gives the best of his learning and talent. He has banking interests in the Juniata Valley National Bank and is a director of the Mifflintown and Patterson Water compa- nies. He was one of the charter members of the Pennsylvania State Bar Association and also secretary of the Juniata Bar Association. In politics he is a Republican and from 1887 to 1890 was the elected dis- trict attorney of Juniata county. He is solicitor for the fifth district of the Pennsylvania railroad, and occupies a similar position with the Tuscarora Valley railroad.
He married. December 28, 1887, Ida, daughter of James and Mary (Ewing ) McCauley, of Mifflintown : children : Rebecca. died aged four years; Edred J., born December 29. 1890, graduate of Mifflintown high school and Gettysburg College, class of 1912, now a student at the University of Pennsylvania. The family are attendants of the Presby- terian church, Mr. Pennell being a member of the Mifflintown congre- gation.
The Neelys are first mentioned in Juniata Valley records NEELY in 1773. in Lack township. Juniata county, tax lists. They are of the Scotch-Irish stock so potent and so prominent among the "makers" of Pennsylvania and, as one writer states, "the race that never bred a Tory." The emigrant came from county Lon- donderry, Ireland, prior to the year 1750.
(I) The first record obtainable is of William Neely, whose boyhood was spent near the present town of Roxbury. Franklin county, Penn- sylvania. He had a brother, Robert Neely, two years younger, who was stolen by the Indians about 1750. being then five years of age. 1Ie was reared by the tribe which captured him, taught their ways, adopted and given an Indian maid for his wife. The following letter written by Colonel James Perry. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a cousin of William Neely and of the captured boy (the original of which is now in the possession of Margaret J. Neely, of Galveston. Indiana), furnished the information which led to the identification of Robert Neely as the cap- tive :
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"Pittsburgh, Oct. 22, 1805. "Dear Cousin :
"Tho' you and I are so nearly related, I do not know that ever a line passed from you to me or from me to you. I have often Tho't that it could not be for want of friendship or natural affection, as I con- ceive we are both possessed of it. I would rather impute it to thought- less negligence. I came to live in this place last spring, to keep store. I, perhaps, may continue some time. My family, a number of girls, are grown up, three of them married. My two sons are now beginning to be able to do business for me. This day William Cinney called on me, on his return home. He told me you were anxious to hear from your brother, Robert, which I do not in the least doubt. I have, a few weeks since. received information of him. I had often heard of such a person, somewhere near the lakes. After I came to this place last spring, I heard of him on Buffalo Creek, about five miles from the Lake and eighteen above Niagara. I wrote a few lines to him, to know whether he was the same Robert Neely, which I suspected he was, and received an answer from Mr. Granger, Indian Agent, informing me he was the same. I had not given him any account of his friends until I was cer- tain lie was the person. A copy of Mr. Granger's letter you have, as follows :
" 'Buffalo Creek, Aug. 13, 1805.
"'Sir: Your letter to Robert Neely, dated April 21, was lately put into my hands. There is no doubt but the person, by the name of Rob- ert Neely, living with the Seneca Indians, about five miles from this place, is the person whom you inquire for. He has often mentioned to me the place where he was taken and some circumstances respecting his family, which correspond with your description. Previous to read- ing your letter to him, he was questioned on the subject. He said he lived near Connocogeague Creek, that he went with his uncle, Perry, to feed cattle, that his uncle was killed by the Indians and he was taken ; that his father and mother were dead, that he had a sister and he thinks he had a brother. Robert does not appear to have a perfect recollection of his family relations, but says he believes you are his cousin. He has mentioned to a person here that his father used to make whiskey. He is a man of about sixty years and his looks indicate living a long time with the Indians. He has imbibed their habits. He is very honest and industrious and gets a good living in their way. He still retains his native language, but speaks the Indian tongue better. He was very glad to hear from you, and requests me to write to you for a more par- ticular account of his family; says he thought his relations were all dead. He does not recollect anything about Braddock's defeat.
"'I am Sir, your obedient humble serv't,
" 'ERASTUS GRANGER, Agent of Indian Affairs.'
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" 'Col. James Perry.
"I have written to him as particular account of his friends as I could collect. I have never heard anything of your sister, Mary, since she went to Virginia. so that I could give very little account of her. I wrote to him that I thought you or some of your sons would go and see himn as soon as you heard where he was.
"I am, dear cousin, with respect,
"Your humble serv't, JAMES PERRY." "Mr. William Neely.
James Neely, son of William Neely, upon the knowledge contained in this letter, visited his uncle and tried by every inducement to bring him back to his family, but in vain. Devoted to his squaw, and inured to the life of the red men, neither the ties of blood nor the attractions of civilized life had any power over himn.
Early in life William Neely settled in Lack township. Juniata county, purchasing a tract of land from the Indians, which he cleared and im- proved, there residing until his death. The farm was held in the Neely name one hundred years until 1873; later it became the property of Robert Robinson. Mr. Neely was a Presbyterian, a prominent member of the church of that faith at Waterloo, Juniata county. He married Sarah Harvey, of Path Valley, Franklin county, and had issue: 1. John, of whom further. 2. William, married, in 1802, on the same day as his brother John, a sister of his brother's bride, Miss McFeaters, and died two weeks after his marriage. 3. James, married Martha McCon- nell and had two daughters : Mary, died in July, 1866, and Eliza, married Robert Alexander, moved to Wooster, Ohio, where she died. 4. Nancy, died in infancy.
(II) John, eldest son of William Neely, was born in Lack town- ship. Juniata county, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1774, died August 5, 1846. He also became a farmer, purchasing a tract of land in Tuscarora town- ship, same county. on which he resided until his death. He married Margaret McFeaters, in 1802, and reared a large family. She died July 24, 1845. Children: 1. William (2), died in Juniata county, No- vember 10, 1872: married Mary McConnell, January 30, 1834 ; she died July 14, 1864 ; children : Margaret Jane, of Galveston, Indiana ; Thomas McConnell, of Greenfield, Adair county, Indiana : John Harvey, of Nor- wich, Page county, Iowa ; Mary Adelene, married Joseph Gray, of Gal-
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veston, Indiana; Rachel Lucinda, married Peter Sassaman of Kokomo, Indiana; Nancy Anna, married Samuel McCulloch, of Shenandoah, Iowa. 2. James, married Margaret Alexander and moved to Ohio, where he died without issue. 3. Mary, died January 5, 1881 ; married William I. Patterson, died August 24, 1846; children : Robert H., de- ceased, a farmer of Tuscarora township, Juniata county ; Oliver J., moved to Shenandoah, Iowa; Nancy, married William I. McCulloch and moved to Shenandoah. 4. John (2), of whom further. 5. Robert Har- vey, died March 30, 1887; married Rachel Beale; children : James H., Charles, Ella F., and Mary P., died August 29, 1889. 6. Sarah, died November 7, 1883; married John McCoy and left three sons and three daughters, residing in Ohio; children : Margaret Ann, John Neely, Wil- liam Kennedy, David, Mary, Ellen.
(III) John (2), fourth child of John (1) and Margaret (Mc- Featers) Neely, was born in Tuscarora township. Juniata county, Penn- sylvania, June 6, 1814. From the age of three until his death at nearly four score years, he lived on the old homestead, one of the most pro- ductive and beautiful farms in the township. He attended the sub- scription schools, where his thirst for knowledge and studious habits enabled him to acquire a good education in spite of their limited ad- vantages. He became a prosperous farmer, his energy, industry and diligent business methods enabling him to acquire a competence. He was liberal in the education of his children, and his every thought was to equip them for lives of usefulness. His devotion to his family and to his church were ruling characteristics, and to further their interests he spared not himself. As the Neelys had been for generations, he was a Presbyterian, belonging to the Middle Tuscarora Church. He died at his farm in Tuscarora township, May 30, 1892, aged seventy-seven years, eleven months and twenty-five days.
He married, January 13, 1853, Margaret Jane Ewing, born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, November 20, 1831, who survives him (1913), their married life extending over a period of nearly forty years. Chil- dren: 1. William A. K., married Azile M. Burchfield, of Mifflintown, and moved to Wayne, Nebraska. 2. Virginia M., died November, 1910. 3. James M., died September 6, 1862. 4. J. Howard (twin of James M.), of whom further. 5. Anson Gilroy, died August 15, 1862. 6. S. Arminia, married L. A. Bower and resides in Denver, Colorado. 7.
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Peorus A., now a farmer on the old homestead; married ( first ) Annie Robinson, (second) Mrs. Margaret (Speer) McCulloch, widow of George McCulloch. S. Rev. David T., a minister of the Presbyterian church, now of Baltimore, Maryland; married Sarah Shelley. 9. Dr. Edgar C., a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, now a practising physician of Newville, Pennsylvania ; married Mary Dougherty.
(IV) J. Howard, fourth child and third son of John ( 2) and Mar- garet J. (Ewing) Neely, was born at the old homestead, Tuscarora township, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, September 7, 1858. After a course in the public school, he entered Millersville State Normal School. in Lancaster county, whence he was graduated, class of 1879. lle then took a preparatory course at Airy View and Tuscarora academies. en- tered Princeton University, whence he was graduated with degree of Bachelor of Arts, class of 1884. and three years later the degree of Mas- ter of Arts was conferred upon him. This study was not continuous, as an interval of some years occurred between his normal and academic course, during which he was engaged in teaching, and in 1879 and 1880 he was principal of the Hummelstown, Dauphin county, schools. After graduation from Princeton he resumed teaching, holding positions in Airy View and Mifflintown academies. During that period he began the study of law under the instruction of Alfred J. Patterson, of Mifflin- town. He continued legal study under Mr. Patterson until his admission to the Juniata county bar. August 26, 1886, then became his partner. practising as Patterson & Neely until 1892. In 1890 Mr. Neely was elected district attorney for Juniata county, serving three years. In 1892 the partnership existing as Patterson & Neely was dissolved and since the dissolution Mr. Neely has practised alone in Mifflintown. He is devoted to his profession and gives to the business entrusted him his entire time and energy. He is a Democrat in politics, as was his father, and has always taken an active interest in public affairs. He is a member of Union Lodge, No. 324. Free and Accepted Masons; New- port Chapter, No. 238, Royal Arch Masons: Lewistown Commandery. No. 26, Knights Templar, and in Scottish Rite Masonry, thirty-second degree. belongs to Harrisburg Consistory. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, both he and his wife belonging to the Mifflintown Presby- terian church.
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