USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 58
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Mr. Schultz wedded Miss Helen Louise Knoll, the daughter of Michael and Elizabeth ( Schaaf) Knoll, natives of Erie. Mrs. Schultz passed away April 28, 1907, in her forty-seventh year, leaving her hus- band and two children: Henrietta, the wife of Charles Gensheimer, of Erie : and Norberd Valentine, a student at the Erie high school. Mr. Schultz is a member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church and of the Alphonse Society. Although he is one of the most prominent and pro- gressive citizens of South Erie, who is interested in the promotion of all measures designed for the public good, yet he has never held a public office nor does he seek political honors. He rests content with doing what he can for the community in a quiet way, leaving the places of prefer- ment for others. In every sense he is valued citizen, whose industry is felt in the city's business life.
EDWARD HEUER. Prominent among the younger business men of Erie is Edward Heuer, who during his connection with the city's in- terests has proven himself one of the leaders in business circles, his labors
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being attended by successful accomplishment in the development and management of important commercial and industrial enterprises. He displays much of the spirit of the initiative in forming plans and his in- telligent appreciation of opportunities has ever been a salient factor in his success.
A native of Switzerland, Mr. Heuer was born at Brugg, Canton Berne, on the 17th of September, 1863, a son of John and Eliza ( Siegen- thaler) Heuer, also natives of the same canton. The father was a watch- maker by trade and engaged in business for many years at Brügg, where he was widely recognized as a prominent and valued citizen. He served as postmaster and in other official positions and was acting as post- master at the time of his death, which occurred in 1875.
In the acquirement of an education Edward Heuer attended the public schools of Brügg until he had completed the high school course by graduation with the class of 1880. He afterward pursued a course in bookkeeping at Biel in preparation for a commercial career and oc- cupied a position as bookkeeper in his native land previous to his emigra- tion to the United States in 1885. In that year he heard and heeded the call of the new world, thinking to enjoy better business opportunities on this side of the Atlantic. Upon arriving in America he established his home in Erie and entered upon his business career here by accepting a clerkship in the confectionery store of John Kalvelage. In 1886 he entered the wholesale grocery and liquor store, owned by H. V. Claus and C. B. Wuenschel, where he continued until September, 1888, when he became bookkeeper for the Eagle brewery, owned by Jackson Koeh- ler. There his ability won recognition and in 1890 he became manager of the brewery and at the same time became proprietor of the Eagle Brewery Bottling Works. Upon the organization of the Erie Brewing Company on the 1st of April, 1899, this organization controlling all the brewing plants in the city, Mr. Heuer became general manager of the extensive enterprise and is still holding this important position, in which connection he devotes his energies to administrative direction and executive control. In addition thereto he is also a director and stockholder in the company, nor has he confined his efforts alone to one line, for he is a man of resourceful business ability, capable of controll- ing varied interests. In 1901 he became connected with the Depinet Foundry Company and in connection with James D. Hay purchased the business the following year and reorganized it under the name of the Cascade Foundry Company. In 1907 they abandoned the old plant at the corner of Fifteenth and Cascade streets and removed to their new location, having erected an extensive building at the corner of Nineteenth and Plum streets, where they have one of the most modern and complete buildings and thoroughly equipped plants in the city. Here employment is furnished to more than one hundred mechanics and it is worthy of note that during the recent financial panic the plant ran to the full extent all the time, continuing as one of the important fac- tors in the industrial activity of the city. Upon the reorganization of the. company Mr. Heuer was made president and thus continues as the chief officer in an enterprise of large value to the city.
In addition to his other interests Mr. Heuer purchased a block of stock in the Colby Piano Company when it was reorganized in 1900 and was chosen a director and vice president of that corporation. He is also a director of the St. Mary's (Pennsylvania) Brewing Company
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTER, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
Admit G. Ely
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and as a stockholder is identified with numerous other enterprises which indicate the wisdom of his investments. He is a man of sound judgment and keen discernment in commercial affairs and his ability has carried him into important business relations.
On the 4th of September, 1888, Mr. Heuer was married to Minnie Coyle, a daughter of Charles D. Coyle, a retired farmer of Mckean township, Erie county, now residing at Miles Grove. Unto this mar- riage has been born a son, Charles E. S., who is now a student in the Chamberlain Military Institute at Randolph, New York, preparing for matriculation in Cornell University.
In fraternal circles Mr. Heuer is very prominent. He is a member of all the Masonic bodies of the city and is a director and secretary of the Elks' Building Association, which has just completed the handsome new home of the Elks, at the corner of Eighth and Peach streets. This is one of the finest buildings of Erie, creditable alike to the city and the organi- zation by which it was erected. Mr. Heuer's fraternal relations also connect him with the Odd Fellows, the Eagles, the Maccabees and the Moose Lodge. He is likewise a member of the Shrine Club, the Country Club and the Maennerchor. He is also a member of the board of trade and chamber of commerce. In no public relation is he found want- ing. His interest in the welfare of the city is deep and abiding and is manifest in cooperation and support of many measures for the pub- lic good. His life has been one of intense and well directed activity, resulting in the attainment of substantial success.
DR. ADRIEL G. ELY, a leading physician of Girard, was born in Clarks- ville, Otsego county, New York, in 1820, and was a son of Sumner and Hannah K. (Gilbert) Ely, the former a native of Lyme, Connecticut, and the latter of Middlefield, Otsego county, New York. Sumner, the father, was educated at Yale College where, at the early age of seventeen years, he graduated in the class of 1804, and in which he has as class- mates J. Fenimore Cooper, John C. Calhoun, Ezra Stiles Ely and Royal R. Hinman. He studied medicine and then located at Clarksville where he became a prominent physician. In 1836 he was elected a member of the New York State Medical Society, in 1840 was made its president, and in 1852 its delegate to the American Medical Association. He also was made a brigadier general of the militia. His popularity was such that he was annually elected supervisor of his town for thirteen years, eleven of which were consecutive ; was also made a member of the state assembly for one year, and of the state senate for the term of four years, which body was, at that time, a part of the court for the correc- tion of errors, then the highest legal tribunal in the state. At his death, which occurred February 3, 1857, the New York State Medical Society honored him by directing that a biographical address on his life and character be prepared by one of its members, and be read at its next annual meeting in the city of Albany.
Adriel G., the son, received his education at Hamilton College, New York, and was a graduate of Geneva Medical College. He studied medi- cine with his father and Dr. R. G. Frary, of Hudson, New York, and after acting one year as assistant physician in Bellevue Hospital, New York City, began the practice of his profession in his native county. In 1845 he located in Girard, Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he acquired a large practice, and was frequently called in consultation and his ad-
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vice sought by other physicians far and near, and he amassed a fortune. He never married and died in Girard, March 27, 1887.
SUMNER STOW ELY, Girard, lawyer, a son of the above named Sumner and Hannah K. Ely and a younger brother of Adriel, was born at Clarksville, New York, April 12, 1823. He graduated at Hamilton College, Oneida county, New York. ranking the highest in his class in point of scholarship, and in due course received the degree of A. M. from the college. He studied law in the office of Judge Jabez D. Ham- mond, of Cherry Valley, New York, attended Fowler's law school, and was admitted to the bar at a general term of the supreme court held at Albany, New York. September 11, 1848. Soon afterward he was taken into partnership by Hon. Thomas B. Mitchell of Canajoharie, New York, ( then the most important lawyer in that part of the state) and practiced his profession there until January, 1855, when he removed to the city of New York and formed a law partnership with Winchester Britton, formerly of Troy, New York. The firm of Britton and Ely maintained law offices both in New York and Brooklyn. Mr. Britton resided in the latter city and during their partnership was twice elected district attorney of Kings county. Mr. Ely himself had a large and varied practice, becoming very proficient in those branches of law and practice relating to contracts, conveyancing, wills, trusts and titles to real estate, and very skillful in the preparation of all instruments required in those branches of legal business and in the investigation of titles to land.
When the lands now forming Prospect Park in the city of Brook- lyn, were taken by the city for public purposes, he was employed by the commissioners of estimate and assessment to examine the title and ownership claims to each parcel of land taken, and the encumbrances on it. This was a large undertaking, the greatest of the kind that had been given to any one lawyer in either New York or Brooklyn, and which required more than a year, with the aid of a number of sub- ordinates. for its completion. It involved the determination of many difficult and intricate questions, especially as to the ownership of old and abandoned highways running through the land. These had be- come thoroughfares, not by any legal condemnation, but had developed from Indian trails or footpaths leading from various localities on Long Island to the New York ferry, before Brooklyn became a city, and the claimants to various parts of these abandoned roads, now that the land had become very valuable, were numerous, and were represented by many able attorneys who contested his decisions when against them, as they were in many instances. The accuracy of his work and the cor- rectness of his decisions were attested by the fact that the supreme court confirmed, in every particular, the report of said commissioners, which was based on his report to them; and it has never been disturbed. Ile continued the practice of law in New York City until 1887, when he retired from the practice of his profession, and located in Girard, Penn- sylvania, where he has since resided, now occupying a large part of his time with agricultural pursuits. He never sought or would accept public office. though residing at Canajoharie. his party would have made him a judge if he would have consented to become a candidate. The quiet walks of private life were more congenial to his tastes and retiring disposition, and he kept them in the belief that more solid happiness was there to be found than in any public position. He has remained a bachelor, but nevertheless maintains an establishment at "Elyhurst." the
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name he has given his residence on Main street. His home is one of the finest in Girard, and, though, eighty-six years old, its owner con- tinues very active both mentally and bodily.
DR. BENJAMIN C. ELY, the well known Girard physician, son of the above named Sunner and Hannah K. Ely, and a younger brother of Adriel and Sumner S. Ely, was born at Clarksville, New York, Decem- ber 22, 1825. He also was educated at Hamilton College, New York, studied medicine with his father, and attended medical colleges in the cities of Albany and New York, and at Castleton, Vermont, by which last named institution he was made an M. D., in June, 1850. He prac- ticed his profession for four years at Mckean, Erie county, Pennsyl- vania, and in 185% located in Girard, where he attained a high rank as a physician ; where, also, he established and maintained a first class drug store, and died July 17, 1904. He married Elizabeth Crippen Caryl, of Worcester, Otsego county, New York, by whom he had eight children, seven of whom and his wife survive him, and one of whom (Theodore J.) established and is the head of the widely known "Theo. J. Ely Manufacturing Company," of Girard.
OTTO GEORGE HITCHCOCK, secretary of the Hays Manufacturing Company with which he has been identified since boyhood, is a native of Erie, this county, born October 14, 1874. His parents are Andrew J. and Katrina (Wuertz) Hitchcock, natives respectively of the state of Connecticut and of Germany, the former being born in 1850 and the latter in 1845. The parents were married at Titusville, Pennsylvania. where for many years the father was engaged in railroad work. He re- moved to Erie in 1814 and has been for some time a foreman for the Hays Manufacturing Company. Both are active and faithful members of the Presbyterian church.
Otto G., of this sketch, received his elementary education in the public schools of Erie and completed it under various private tutors. In 1893 he entered the employ of what was then and is now the Hays Manufacturing Company, as an office boy and advanced gradually but surely to his present responsible position as vice president and secretary, to which he was elected when the business was reorganized in 1900, under its present name of the Hays Manufacturing Company. Mr. Hitchcock is widely known in connection with the work of the Chestnut street Presbyterian church, having been organist of the choir for twenty years and long an active member of its board of trustees. He is also deeply interested in the social and reformatory work of the Y. M. C. A., being a director of the local organization. Married, in 1901, to Miss Henrietta Van Cleve, daughter of Rev. R. S. Van Cleve. a dis- tinguished divine of Erie, he has become the father of two children, namely, Frances, aged six and Katrina Hitchcock, three years of age.
THE DOLL FAMILY. Many of the more thrifty and prosperous pioneer settlers of Pennsylvania were born across the seas, and brought with them to this country those habits of industry, honesty and perse- verance that soon placed them on a plane of success far beyond that to be attained in their native land. even by the most rigid economy. Pron- inent among these hardy pioneers was the Doll Family, whose native
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home was in Germany, and which is now represented by two brothers, Dr. John Doll, and Conrad M. Doll, retired business men of Erie.
The senior member of the Doll family in America was Caspar Doll, who was born in Neuengronan, province of Hesse-Nassau, Germany, the home of his ancestors for many generations. He spent the earlier part of his life in the Fatherland, and was there twice married. By his first wife, whose maiden name was Mary Scheidamantel, he had three sons, John, Conrad and Martin. She died January 29, 1814, aged forty-two years. Caspar Doll subsequently married Anna M. Fell, who bore him one son, George Doll. John Doll, his eldest son, emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1832, locating on a farm in Mckean township, Erie county. Two years later Conrad Doll, the second son of Caspar, came to Erie county, settling as a shoemaker in the city of Erie.
In 1831 Caspar Doll, following in the footsteps of his two older sons, set sail, with his wife, and his sons Martin and George, for the United States, landing, after a voyage of ten weeks, at Baltimore, Mary- land. Hiring there a wagon in which to transport the baggage, he and his family started on foot for Erie county, and at the end of three weeks arrived at their point of destination, footsore and weary, but happy and contented. Locating on a farm in Mill Creek township, he there spent the remainder of his life, dying February 22, 1866, aged ninety-one years, ten months and thirteen days. His widow survived him, passing away February 3, 1891, at the venerable age of ninety- seven years, and ten days. His son John died, in Erie, November 27, 1882, aged eighty years, eleven months and six days. His second son, Conrad Doll, died December 27, 1867, aged sixty-two years, nine months, and five days. Martin Doll, the third son, died December 29, 1900, aged eighty-eight years, seven months, and two days. George Doll, the only son of Caspar Doll by his second marriage, and the only sur- vivor of the family resides in Lima, Indiana.
Martin Doll, third son of Caspar Doll, was born in Hesse-Nassau, Germany, May 27, 1812, and was in his twenty-fifth year when he came with the family to this country. He was educated in the Father- land, and there learned the shoemaker's trade. On coming to Erie, he began working at his chosen occupation for his brother Conrad, with whom he formed a co-partnership in 1851. Three years later Conrad Doll withdrew from the firm on account of failing health, and Martin succeeded to the entire business, which he managed most successfully until 1883, when he sold his shoe store. He subsequently lived retired from active pursuits until his death, as above mentioned. When he first located in Erie, Mr. Doll leased a plot of ground on Peach street, between Seventh and Eighth streets, and there built him a home. In 1845 he purchased the third lot south of Fourteenth street, on the east side of State street, removed his house to his new lot, and there spent his remaining years, in the meantime purchasing the lot adjoining on the north. For these lots he paid $10 per front foot, and his estate, in 1907. sold the ground for $425 per front foot. When he assumed possession of his State street property, it was outside of the city limits, and he was elected, and served a full term, as school director of the Mill Creek township schools.
Among the passengers aboard the vessel in which Martin Doll crossed the ocean was Anna M. Frichkoon, who was born in Hesse- Nassau, March 19, 1813, and to whom his troth was plighted, and the
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following year, on July 29, 1838, their marriage was solemnized in Erie. Four children were born of their union, namely: Anna Margaret, born July 21, 1839, married John A. Schabacker, of Erie : John, born May 30, 1841 ; Conrad Martin, born October 23, 1844 ; and Elizabeth, born Decem- ber 3, 1846, is the widow of the late Martin Schabacker, of Erie.
John Doll, the oldest son of Martin Doll, was educated in the public schools of Erie, and began life for himself in 1854 as clerk in a dry goods establishment, in Erie. In 1866 he embarked in the drug business at No. 1512 Peach street, as a partner of his father-in-law, the late Dr. H. L. Wilkins, whose death occured in 1881. Dr. Doll then succeeded to the business, and conducted it skillfully and successfully until 1907, when he sold out, and retired from active business, having accumulated a competency. Dr. Doll is a man of much enterprise, and ability, and since 1897 has been much interested in the projection and construction of interurban street car lines. In that year, in company with the late Hon. P. A. Gibson, he projected and built the line from Erie to Cam- bridge Springs, with the exception of one mile, the work being done under the name of the Erie Transit Company, of which the doctor was secretary. This line, which was disposed of by Dr. Doll and his asso- ciates, is now one of the most successful and important interurban roads in the country. In 1901 Dr. Doll, Mr. Gibson, and F. L. Hoskins, pro- jected the interurban line known as the Erie, Cambridge and Corry Railway, the doctor being made secretary of the company. The grading of this new line has been completed for a distance of twenty-two miles, and when it is entirely completed, as it soon will be, it will be one of the most valuable roads in the state. In 1884 Dr. Doll was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Erie School Board, and was subsequently elected to serve for a term of three years. In 1873 he was made a Mason, and is now a member of the blue lodge, the chapter, commandery, consis- tory. and the Shrine, being very prominent in that organization.
On September 4, 1866, Dr. John Doll married Margaret C. E. Wil- kins, daughter of the late Dr. H. L. Wilkins, of Erie. The Doctor and Mrs. Doll are not affiliated by membership with any religious de- nomination, but attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
Conrad Martin Doll, the youngest son of the late Martin Doll, ob- tained a good common school education, and when fourteen years old began working with his father in the State street shoe shop. Becoming familiar with the details of management, he subsequently had sole charge of the business from 1865 until it was closed out, in 1883, when he gave up that line of industry, having never had any particular taste for shoemaking. The following three years he was employed in a coal office. after which he spent two years in railroading and for fifteen years there- after had charge of a steam hammer in the Jarecki Manufactory. In 1903 he retired from active pursuits, and is now enjoying the reward of his former years of toil.
Mr. Conrad M. Doll married, in 1865, Wilhelmina Diehl, who was born in Germany, January 30, 1842, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hinkle) Diehl, life-long residents of Germany. Mrs. Doll came to the United States in 1859, to join her brother, Frederick Diehl, who located in Erie in 1851, and is now one of the prominent residents of the city. Mrs. Doll died November 6, 1900, leaving two children, namely: Albert Martin and Henry John. Albert Martin Doll, secretary and treasurer of the Lovell Manufacturing Company, of Erie, married Wilhelmina
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Schabacker. Henry John Doll, bookkeeper for the Lovell Manufactur- ing Company, married Elmina Otto.
A. MATTHEW HESS, a leading member of the Select Council of Erie and one of the largest manufacturers of cigars in the city, is a native of its second ward and was born on the 12th of July, 1826. He is the fifth child and the third son born to Conrad and Elizabeth (Schellong) Hess, both natives of Germany, where they were married. Soon after- ward they emigrated to Erie, accompanied by the bride's mother. The coming of Conrad Hess to that city was accompanied by anything but bright prospects ; for sickness had detained the party several weeks in New York City, and he has been obliged to borrow money, so that he was in debt to the extent of eighty-five dollars ; his hat had blown from the train at Dunkirk, New York, so that he arrived bare-headed; and, to cap all. all the members of the family were total strangers in Erie. But the father did not sit down to think how forlorn was his outlook: he bought a new hat and was soon at work at his trade as a cigar maker, and in 18:0 had saved a little capital with which he established himself in business. The thirty succeeding years of industry and sobriety brought him into a position of independence, and in 1900, when he retired from active business, he visited his old home in the fatherland fully prepared to defend the superior advantages of his adopted country for those who "mind their own business." He is still a resident of Erie, and, in every respect, one of its substantial citizens. The eight children of his family were as follows: John C., now a cigar manufacturer of Erie : Conrad. Jr .. also of that city : Matilda, who married Frank Sieder, and Catherine. now Mrs. William Goulett, all of Erie: A. Matthew, of this biography : Anthony J., who resides at Latrobe, Pennsylvania : Emma, Mrs. Ray Zuck. and James A. Hess, also residents of Erie.
A. Matthew Hess was a pupil in the public schools until he reached the age of thirteen years, when he began to learn the cigar maker's trade under his father. He thus continued as an employee until 1900, when he opened a shop of his own, known to the union as factory No. 513. His business, which employs twelve skilled workmen, is now the second in Erie, and places Mr. Hess among the leaders in the trade. His sound qualities as a business man and his fairly-earned popularity with the industrial classes have brought him an influence which was generally recognized in February, 1908, when he was elected to Erie's Select Council. In that year he served as a member of the finance com- mittec, and in 1909 was placed on the committees on streets, gas and public grounds, and printing, health, water and markets and city hall, being chairman of the printing and city hall committees. Mr. Hess is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Masons, as well as being identified with the Erie Maen- nerchor and other local societies.
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