USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, comprising a historical sketch of the county > Part 64
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In politics Mr. Webb is a republican, and during the last few years has taken an ac- tive part in the political affairs of this county, both as an editor and a citizen. He is well posted on the political issues that divide the two great parties, and discusses them with marked ability. In religious sentiment he is an Episcopalian, having been reared in that faith, and deservedly ranks as one of the most enterprising and useful citizens of Dela- ware county. To his own indomitable energy and enthusiasm is largely due the success which has attended his newspaper enterprise, and having acquired a firm grasp on journal- ism and in financial matters while yet a young man, there is little room to doubt that a splen- did and successful future awaits him in the line of his chosen profession. Mr. Webb is still unmarried.
R ICHARD G. WEBSTER, V. S., one
of the leading veterinary surgeons of Delaware county, and the present veterinary inspector of this district, who has been in suc- cessful practice at Media since his graduation in 1887, is a native of Glen Riddle, this county, where he was born June 21, 1861. The family is of English extraction, and its American
founder was an English Quaker, who left his native land on account of the persecution suf- fered by his religions society, and settled in Pennsylvania about the time of William Penn. William Webster, paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born and reared in Delaware county. He was a farmer by occn- pation, and a member of the Society of Friends. His son, William Webster (father), was born on the old homestead in Middletown town- ship, this county, where he resided until 1884, when he removed to the village of Media, and continued to make this place his home until his death, in 1891, at the advanced age of seventy-six years. He was an orthodox Qua- ker in religion, and a whig and republican in politics. For more than a quarter of a cen- tury he served as secretary of the school board at Glen Riddle, and filled a number of town- ship offices. For many years he taught in the public schools of this county during the winter, while farming in the summer, and after abandoning the school room devoted his en- tire attention to agricultural pursuits. He wedded Elizabeth Larkin, of Chichester town- ship, this county. Mrs. Webster was a strict member of the Society of Friends, and de- parted this life in 1876, when in the fifty-sixth year of her age. Her remains sleep by the side of her husband, in the cemetery con- nected with the meeting honse.
Richard G. Webster was reared on his father's farm at Glen Riddle, and obtained a superior English education in the public schools there and at the Westtown boarding school, in Chester county. After leaving school he took charge of his father's farm, which he managed until the autumn of 1885. While still running the farm, in 1884, he en- tered the veterinary department of the uni- versity of Pennsylvania, in the first class or- ganized after the creation of that department, and was duly graduated therefrom in the spring of 1887. In the same year he located at Media for the practice of his profession, his office being at the corner of State and Church streets,
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where he remained until May, 1893, when he removed to his handsome new residence at the corner of Washington and Monroe streets. The veterinary practice of Dr. Webster is very extensive, and this fact, alone, is suffi- cient evidence of his skill and ability. Among his patrons are numbered many of the leading and most intelligent horsemen and cattlemen in this county. He has charge of the stock at the Delaware county almshouse, house of refuge, Williamson industrial school, Burm- brae asylum, Pennsylvania hospital farm, Swarthmore college, and other large public and private herds. Indeed it may be said that he has the leading veterinary practice in Delaware county. In 1888 Dr. Webster was appointed veterinary inspector for this dis- trict by D. E. Solomon, chief of the United States bureau of animal industry, and has performed the duties of that position with marked ability. This district embraces Dela- ware and Philadelphia counties.
In December, 1887, Dr. Webster was united in marriage to Annie Hutton, a daughter of William Hutton, of Chester county, this State. To that union has been born two children, both daughters : Edith and Willimay.
Dr. Webster is a member, and has served as president of the Keystone Veterinary Medi- cal association of Pennsylvania, is second vice president of the Pennsylvania State Veterinary association, and a member of the United States Veterinary Medical association. In religion he is a member of the Society of Friends, and in politics a stanch republican. For a number of years lie has been connected with the Media Fire Company. He is unassuming in manner, and greatly devoted to his profession and his family, finding in one a fruitful field for study and investigation, and in the other his highest enjoyment.
J. W. MECKERT, the well known con- tractor and builder of Glen Olden, and a popular exhorter in the Evangelical church, is the only son of John and Christina ( Breatty )
Meckert, and was born January 12, 1843, near Pottstown, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania. The family is of German extraction and have long been residents of this State. John Meckert ( father) was a shoemaker by occu- pation, and followed that business nearly all his life. He resided for a time in the city of Philadelphia, but later removed to Montgom- ery county, this State, and settling near Potts- town, combined farming with shoemaking, and latterly conducted his farming operations on an extensive scale. In politics he was a demo- crat in early life, but being opposed to slavery he afterward affiliated with the Republican party, and in religion was a strict member of the Lutheran church. He was twice mar- ried. His first wife was a Miss Johnson. After her death he married Christina Breatty. By this second marriage he had a family of five children, one son and four daughters: Annie E. Smith, Emma Piatt, Mary Shultz, John W., the subject of this sketch ; and Phæbe Faber. John Meckert died at the age of sev- enty-four years, and his wife departed this life in 1880, in the seventy-sixth year of her age.
Their only son, J. W. Meckert, was reared principally on his father's farm in Montgomery county, and obtained his education in the public schools of that county and at Frederick institute. After completing his studies in the latter institution, at the age of sixteen, he became an apprentice to the carpenter trade, and having thoroughly learned that business he worked as a journeyman for a number of years in Montgomery county and elsewhere. In 1870 he began contracting and building on his own account, in Montgomery county, and successfully conducted the business in that county until 1888, when he removed to Glen Olden, Delaware county. Here he purchased land, erected himself a liandsome residence, and continued his business as a contractor and builder, making a specialty of fine houses of artistic design. He employs some thirty workmen in his building operations, and is
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OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
widely known for the superiority of his work, always using the best material and personally seeing that every detail is carefully looked after and each building completed in exact accordance with contract and specifications. Mr. Meckert has given considerable attention to the study of architecture, and understands the artistic and æsthetic sides of house con- struction as thoroughly as the more utilitarian purposes of building. The conscientious care and undoubted ability which characterize his business operations, have met with hearty recognition, and Mr. Meckert has become one of the most popular and successful men in his line to be found in this part of the Key- stone State.
On February 2, 1865, J. W. Meckert was united in marriage to Martha M. Anderson. To Mr. and Mrs. Meckert was born a family of three children, two sons and a daughter : J. W., jr., David A., and Lilly P., all living at home with their parents in their beautiful residence at Glen Olden.
In the fall of 1862 Mr. Meckert went out with the emergency men called to repel Lee's threatened invasion of Pennsylvania, but took part in no regular engagement. He after- ward enlisted as a substitute in Co. M, 179th Pennsylvania infantry, and served for nine months, participating in the battles of the Peninsula campaign, taking part in various foraging expeditions, and being engaged in a number of minor skirmishes in front of Lee's army. In July, 1864, he re-enlisted in Co. G, 197th Pennsylvania infantry, and waslocated at Baltimore and Rock Island, doing guard duty in camps where Confederate prisoners were kept. He was finally discharged in March, 1865, and returned to Pennsylvania.
Politically Mr. Meckert has always been a republican. He is a member of Schuyler Post, No. 51, Grand Army of the Republic. For twenty-three years he has been a mem- ber of the Evangelical church, in which for a number of years he has held the position of exhorter, class leader and trustee. He ac- 28
tively assisted in building the Eighth street Evangelical church, and has at all times earn- estly supported the various religious and ma- terial interests of his denomination, and done much to advance the general cause of Chris- tianity in the world.
EV. JOHN A. CASS, pastor of the Union Evangelical church at Swarthmore, editor of The Swarthmore, the only newspaper published in the borough, and secretary and treasurer of the College Tract Residence Com- pany, is a worthy representative of a fine New England family that traces its trans-atlantic origin to old England. He was born at Corn- ville, Maine, October 3, 1843, and is the eld- est son of Enoch C. and Sarah (Williams) Cass. His great-grandfather was born and reared in England, but came to America dur- ing the colonial period, and settled in New Hampshire, where he married and reared a large family. His son, Moses Cass (grand- father), was born in that colony, and while yet a young man served as captain in the war of the Revolution. He lived for many years in New Hampshire, but died in Maine, where his last days were spent. He married and had a family of children, one of whom was Enoch C. Cass (father), who was born in the State of New Hampshire in 1804. There he grew to manhood, but soon afterward removed to Maine, where he continued to reside until called away by death in 1870, at the age of sixty-six. He was a contractor and builder by occupation, an old-line whig in politics, and was called to fill a number of county and township offices. He married Sarah Williams, a native of New Hampshire, who died in 1890, aged eighty-four years. She was of English extraction and a direct descendant of Oliver Cromwell, the great Protector.
John A. Cass was reared in Maine, and ob- tained his primary education in the public schools of that State. His academic studies were pursued at a leading Massachusetts acad-
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
emy, and later he entered the Wesleyan uni- versity of Middletown, Connecticut, from which institution he was graduated with honors in June, 1872. Soon after graduation he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for eleven years he had charge of the churches in and around Boston. During this time Rev. Mr. Cass had the financial manage- ment of several large churches, and won quite a reputation by his success in cancelling church debts and building and repairing church edi- fices. After eleven years continuous service his health failed, and in hope of regaining it he went to Europe, where he traveled exten- sively in England and on the continent. Re- turning to the United States in 1873, he be- came officially connected with the Fidelity Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia, with which he remained until 1892. In that year Mr. Cass severed his connection with the life insurance business to organize the College Tract Residence Company, a real estate and improvement organization of Swarthmore, Delaware county. He is now secretary and treasurer of this company, and a member of the borough council of Swarthmore. Rev. Mr. Cass has also been pastor of the Union Evangelical church, the only church in the borough, and he founded The Swarthmore, an eight-page four-column weekly newspaper, of which he is editor and proprietor. It is ably edited, and being the only paper in Swarth- more and neither sectarian nor partisan, has become very popular, having already secured a circulation of more than one thousand cop- ies. Mr. Cass has fine literary taste, and be- ing well educated and master of a pleasing style, has done a great deal of literary work for the different magazines of this country. When he came to Swarthmore to reside, in May, 1892, it was with the intention of only staying one year, but he found this such a de- lightful place to live that he has made it his permanent home. In politics he is a repub- lican, but has never taken any very active part in political affairs.
In 1872 Rev. Mr. Cass was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Lucy E. Pack- ard, youngest daughter of Samuel Packard, of Readville, Maine. To their union has been born a family of four children, two sons and two daughters : Alfred C., now (1893) in his nineteenth year; Ella L., aged sixteen ; Florence H., in her thirteenth year ; and Al- bert K., aged ten -all living at home with their parents, in their beautiful and finely ap- pointed residence at Swarthmore.
R OBERT E. HANNUM, who began the practice of law in the city of Philadelphia, where he was associated with Judge Cadwal- lader, was for many years one of the leading members of the bar of Delaware county. In his high character as a man, and his splendid ability as an attorney, he represented the ideal type of the American lawyer, and won and held the highest esteem alike of the court, his professional brethren, and a clientage equal to that of any legal practitioner of his time. He was born at Concord, Delaware, Decem- ber 10, 1805. His boyhood was spent princi- pally in his native State, where he acquired a superior English education, and soon after leaving school turned his attention to the law as offering the most congenial field for the ex- ercise of his acknowledged talent. After his admission to the bar he practiced for a short time in Philadelphia, where he was the asso- ciate and close personal friend of Judge Cad- wallader. of the Philadelphia bar. The resi- dence of Mr. Hannum was at Chester, Dela- ware county, and he soon became prominent at the bar of this county, to which his prac- tice was thereafter mainly confined. He was elected on the republican ticket to the office of district attorney, and acceptably discharged the duties of that position. In political senti- ment Mr. Hannum was in full accord with the Republican party, and did much for its suc- cess, especially in the trying times of our great civil war. The sturdy rectitude of his char-
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OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
acter, as a man and a lawyer, is indelibly im- pressed on the minds of his brethren at the bar and all his contemporaries who were privi- leged to know him well. He was conspicuous for honest dealing with the court, great fidelity to the interests of his clients, and uniform courtesy and candid treatment toward his pro- fessional brethren. In short, he possessed, in a marked degree, the many admirable traits which distinguished the zealous, faithful and honest lawyer - a type all too rare in modern days. At the time of his death he was the senior member of the Delaware county bar, and a committee consisting of Judge John M. Broomall, William Ward, John B. Hinkson and William B. Broomall, was appointed to draw up resolutions expressive of the senti- ments of his associates in the law. These gen- tlemen formulated a handsome tribute to his character, as a lawyer and a citizen, which was duly adopted, spread on the record, and printed by the press of this county. Although he met with great success in the practice of his pro- fession, and was remarkable for his activity and energy, Mr. Hannum had inherited physi- cal infirmities which interfered with his prac- tice in later years, and no doubt prevented the full expansion of the genius with which he was endowed.
On the social side Mr. Hannum was as largely gifted as in intellect. He was always genial and pleasant, and loved the companion- ship of old and trusted friends, among whom he unbent and seemed to enjoy himself with the abandon of a boy. He was a man of great tenderness of heart, and those who were asso- ciated with him most closely knew best how deep were his feelings and affections. His hospitality was almost unbounded, and many yet live who can testify to his philanthropy and generosity. Especially was this trait noticeable in his treatment of young men studying for the bar or just beginning practice. Many men now prominent in our courts have cause to remember him with gratitude, and love to keep his memory green, watered by the dews of ad-
iniration and respect. With all his kindness of heart, Mr. Hannum was a man of decided opinions, and when occasion demanded, was very emphatic in their expression, having a force of will which was exceedingly strong when once aroused, and never inclined to com- promise on matters of principle, nor when he was manifestly in the right. He was a Quaker in religion, all his life, and died at his home, in the city of Chester. He resided on Provi- dence avenue, near where he had purchased a farm of thirty-five acres, on which was a handsome summer residence. This farm he stocked with fine horses and other improved stock, in which he took great interest, and con- tinued to manage it until his death. The house in which he resided was erected in 1730, and is one of the historic mansions of Pennsyl- vania.
Mr. Hannum married Georgiana Bartram, a daughter of George W. Bartram, and by that union had a family of fourteen children, four sons and ten daughters: Maria, who married Hiram Hathaway, of the city of Chester ; Su- sanna ; Georgiana, deceased ; Robert E., wed- ded Mattie Farson, a daughter of Enoch Far- son, of the city of Philadelphia ; Catharine B., deceased in childhood ; Louisa, Mary A., Pocahontas B., George B., who married Clara Simpson and now resides in Wilmington, Del- aware : Elizabeth, deceased in childhood ; Eliza, became the wife of Samuel B. Bailey, of Philadelphia ; William G., Pantina C., deceased ; and J. E. Mrs. Georgiana Han- num, the mother of this family, is still living.
J. E. Hannum, the youngest son, enlisted August 15, 1862, in the 15th Pennsylvania cavalry, and took part in the engagements at Antietam, Murfreesborough, Stone River, Lookout Mountain, and in a number of other important battles. He had two horses shot from under him, was appointed steward of the field hospitals of the 42d colored regiment, at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was finally mustered out of service at that place June 27, 1865. He is a democrat in politics, and a mem-
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
ber of L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free and Accepted Masons.
On January 27, 1866, Mr. Hannum was mar- ried to Mary E. Farson, of the city of Phila- delphia, and to them have been born six chil- dren : Albert B., Leon L., Henry, Enoch F., Norval and Mattie F., the last named now at- tending school in Philadelphia. Henry is now the second officer in command of the steam vessel J. B. Thomas, plying between New York and San Francisco. All the others are in business in Philadelphia.
Z ACHARIAH T. BARTLESON,
proprietor of the Millview hotel in South Chester, who for twenty years was success- fully engaged in the retail grocery trade in that borough, and has held a number of offi- cial positions there, is a son of Mark and Mary ( McKnight) Bartleson, and a native of Radnor township, this county, where he was born February 23, 1847. Mark Bartleson (father) was born and reared in Delaware county, obtained a common school education, and after reaching man's estate engaged in farming in this county. He also conducted a hotel for some years, known as the Old Fox hotel, on the Lancaster pike, in this county, before the advent of railroads, and when there was still a vast amount of travel on the turn- pikes of the country. From 1847 to 1850 he served as county commissioner, being elected on the whig ticket, to which party he adhered until the formation of the Republican party in Pennsylvania, when he joined that organiza- tion and ever afterward gave it a loyal sup- port. His death occurred in 1888, at Fern- wood, this county, when he was in the eighty- fifth year of his age, having been born in 1803. He married Mary McKnight, of this' county.
Mrs. Bartleson was a native of Delaware county, and died in 1878, aged seventy-seven years.
Zachariah T. Bartleson was reared princi-
pally in Harford county, Maryland, where his father resided for several years, and ob- tained a good practical education in the pub- lic schools of that State, which was afterward supplemented by a three years' course in the State Normal school at Millersville, Pennsyl- vania. After leaving school Mr. Bartleson engaged in teaching, spending two years in that occupation in Delaware county and one year in Lancaster county. In 1872 he came to South Chester, this county, and embarked in the grocery business, which he continued successfully for a period of twenty years. Retiring from the grocery trade in 1892, he assumed the management of his present hotel property in South Chester, known as the Millview hotel, in which business he has ever since been engaged. He has an excellent hotel, a fine bar, and a good patronage, being well qualified for the position of landlord and extremely popular with the general public.
In 1873 Mr. Bartleson was united by mar- riage to Beaula D. Hill, of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Bartleson have two children : Bertha A. and Elizabeth E.
In politics Mr. Bartleson has been a life- long republican, but while always taking a lively interest in political and public affairs, has never become a politician in the modern acceptation of that term. He has served for three years as treasurer of the borough of South Chester, and as school director for a period of eleven years, during which time he has done much to secure the efficiency of the public schools, and has always faithfully dis- charged every duty pertaining to the various official positions he has been called upon to occupy.
JOHN D. SCHIEDT, a prominent and prosperous farmer of Chadds' Ford, this county, where he has resided since 1881, is a son of Gotlieb and Mary (Hamm) Schiedt, and was born March 2, 1854, at No. 1324 Law- rence street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The family is of German descent, as is indicated
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OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
by the name, and was planted in America by the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who left the Fatherland in early manhood to find a new home in the western world. He was a butcher by occupa- tion, and locating in the city of Philadelphia, followed that business there all his life. He became very prosperous, and for a number of years conducted his operations on an extensive scale. The principles of democracy appealed to his sense of fitness in governmental affairs, and he early attached himself to that party and earnestly supported it all his life. In re- ligion he adhered to the faith in which he had been reared in Germany, and was a strict mem- ber of the German Lutheran church of Phil- adelphia. He married and reared a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters : Barbara Zhorn, Regina Schilling, Jacob, Peter, Frederick, Abraham and Gotlieb. Gotlieb Schiedt (father) was born and reared in the city of Philadelphia, where he has resided all | his life. He secured a good common school education, and afterward learned the butcher trade and general meat business with his father, and has made that the chief occupation of his life, having conducted a popular meat market on Market street, that city, for more than a quarter of a century. He resides in a handsome home, at No. 1325 North Sixth street. Following the footsteps of his father, he has been a life-long democrat, though never actively participating in practical politics, and in religion is an earnest and devoted member of the Lutheran church. He married Mary Hamm. To them was born a family of five children, two sons and three daughters : Anna Hond, John, the subject of this sketch : Mag- gie Chandler, deceased ; Cornelia and Harry, who is in the meat business with his father in Philadelphia ; Mrs. Mary Schiedt is also a member of the Lutheran church.
John Schiedt grew to manhood in his native city of Philadelphia, and was educated under private tutors and at McGuire's and Louder- back's private schools in that city. Leaving 284
school at the age of seventeen, he entered a large dry goods house in Philadelphia as clerk and salesman, and remained in that capacity for a period of nearly ten years. He then re- signed his place, and removed to a farm owned by his father at Chadds' Ford, Dela- ware county. Here he engaged in agricul- tural pursuits, and has successfully followed that occupation to the present time.
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