USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Chester County, Pennsylvania : comprising a historical sketch of the county, by Samuel T. Wiley, together with more than five hundred biographical sketches of the prominent men and leading citizens of the county > Part 81
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On September 2, 1875, Mr. Stiteler wed- ded Clara V. Keeley, daughter of Daniel Keeley, of Upper Uwehlan township. To their union have been born seven children, five sons and two daughters: Alma B. (de- ceased) : Jesse O. : Elsie M .: A. M. F., jr. ; Chester A. : Daniel K. ; and Henry B., now dead.
The Stiteler family is of German descent and its immigrant ancestor was the great-
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
grandfather of the subject of this sketch. George Stiteler (grandfather) was a demo- crat and farmer of Upper Uwehlan town- ship, and reared a family of eight children. One of the sons, Henry Stiteler (father), was born in 1807, and died in March, 1887, in his eightieth year. He was a man of influence in his community, and married Penninah Benner, who died in 1888, at seventy-eight years of age. To their union were born ten children, of whom eight are living. Three of the sons are William H., George and I. Newton, whose sketches appear in this vol- ume, and in the biography of the latter will be found an extended account of the ances- tral history of the Stiteler family.
w ILLIAM H. HODGSON, the able, well-known and popular proprietor of the progressive Daily Local News and Weekly Jeffersonian, of West Chester, has had 'a remarkably successful career in the field of journalism, where he has been active and prominent for a quarter of a century. He is a son of Hon. John and Elizabeth ( Hall) Hodgson, and was born at Doylestown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1830. William H. Hodgson received a good Eng- lish education, and on October 3, 1842, the day that his father assumed charge of the Jeffersonian, he entered the office of that pa- per to learn the art of printing. He was advanced from position to position, and in a few years was sufficiently qualified to be placed on the editorial force. In 1865 he became editor of the Jeffersonian, and on November 19, 1872, established the Daily Local News, the first daily paper of Chester county. It is an evening paper, and has been issued every day, Sundays excepted, since
its establishment. It is independent in politics.
On November 19, 1872, Mr. Hodgson was united in marriage with Wilhelmina Den- nison, of Philadelphia. They have one child, a son, Walter D.
William II. Hodgson is of English deseent. His grandfather, Rev. William Hodgson, was a minister of the Protestant Episcopal church, and in 1818 came to West Chester, where he was actively engaged in preaching until his death. He brought with him to this country his son, Hon. John Hodgson (father), who was born in 1808, and died in 1881, aged seventy-three years. He learned the "art preservative of all arts" in the office of the Village Record, at West Chester, and subsequently published for some time the Norristown Herald, which was a whig paper. From Norristown he went to Philadelphia, where he was engaged in the mercantile business until 1842, when he returned to West Chester, and on October 3, 1842, com- meneed the publication of the Jeffersonian, which remained in his hands up to 1865. In that year he was succeeded by his son, William H. Hodgson. He was a democrat in politics, and in 1857 served in the house of representatives as a member from Ches- ter county. Major Hodgson married Eliza- beth Hall, who was a daughter of a promi- nent eitizen of Bneks county. They had five children, three sous and two daughters, all of whom are dead except William H. and Mrs. J. Atwood Pyle, who resides in the southern part of the county.
William H. Hodgson is a democrat in politics, but has always refused to accept any political position, and gives his entire attention to his newspapers: His printing house is at No. 12 Sonth High street. It is a handsome and commodious two-story
William H. Wtedysen.
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
brick building, thirty-two by one hundred and ten feet in dimensions, and thoroughly and elegantly fitted up in every department, from the tasteful editoral offices on the sec- ond floor to the composing and press rooms in other parts of the building. He employs a regular force of thirty-five men. A tele- graph office is located in the building, and his' fine Hoe perfecting press, which cost $17,000, is the first of its kind that was ever used in an inland daily or weekly newspa- per establishment in the State of Pennsyl- vania. The machinery throughout the build- ing, although very fine and expensive, and placed in at a cost of $37,000, is to be re- placed to a large extent with that which is larger and more modern and costly, in order to secure more rapid work, a necessity aris- ing from the constantly increasing circula- tion of the Local News. The Jeffersonian, as its name would indicate, is and has al- ways been thoroughly democratie, and is fully in accord with the great cardinal principles of the Democratic party. The Local News is the most successful inland daily in the Keystone State, and has not its superior in the Union. It has a cirenlation of twelve thousand, and is read in every part of Ches- ter county and throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. It is a erispand entertain- ing home paper that exactly meets the wants of the people, and has always been one of the best advertising mediums in the State. The Local News has persistently been the firm and fearless advocate of measures for the best interests of the people, and the progress and prosperity of the county. It has always been a leader in every reform and progres- sive movement. Both papers are handsome and well printed sheets, containing State and National intelligence, as well as county af- fairs, the latter being a specialty.
In the field of modern and progressive journalism William H. Hodgson has aimed to establish a representative weekly and a model daily inland newspaper, and his long years of persistent labor in that direction have been crowned with ultimate and abund- ant success.
A. P. RINGWALT, a respected citi- zen and a successful business man of Downingtown, is a member of the old and worthy Ringwalt family of eastern Penn- sylvania. He is a son of Col. Samuel and Anna (Parke) Ringwalt, and was born at Downingtown, Chester county, Penn- sylvania, January 5, 1851. Jacob Ring- walt, the immigrant ancestor of the Ring- walt family of Chester county, was a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and landed at Philadelphia, September 28, 1753. He settled at New Holland, Lancaster county, where he owned a large tract of land and filled many local positions of trust and re- sponsibility. He married Barbara Wagner, and had three sons, Jacob, Martin and George. Jacob, the eldest of these sons, married Catharine, daughter of Adam Dil- ler, and was a thoroughgoing, progressive and public-spirited man. Ile was instru- mental in the introduction of the English language among the German residents of his community, which step led to his sin- dering his connection with the Intheran and becoming a member of the Episcopal church. One of his sons, Col. Samuel Ring- walt, father of the subject of this sketelı, was born at New Holland, July 14, 1799. In early life he became active and promi- nent in the public affairs of his native county, where he filled many positions of trust and responsibility, and also served as deputy sheriff and brigade inspector. Ile
40
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was thus brought prominently before the public, who highly esteemed him for his genial courtesy and integrity of character. In 1840 Colonel Ringwalt removed to Downingtown, where he resided until his death, except when his duties as brigade- quartermaster under the gallant Meade called him to the field in defense of his conntry, where he served acceptably with the vigor of a young man, although sixty- two years of age. He, with Hon. John Hickman and other distinguished men of Chester county, protested against the pas- sage of the Lecompton bill, and he presided over an indignation meeting, whose ex- pression of condemnation voiced the senti- ments of many democrats, whom the results of that bill drove into the Republican party. He was a patriot. a respected citizen, and a successful practical farmer, to whom Col. John W. Forney referred in eloquent terms when writing of his interest in scientific agriculture and his devotion to his county, State and country. He died May 13, 1875, when in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and his remains were interred in North- wood cemetery. He was fond of books and society, held advanced views on agricul- ture, and ranked as a typical farmer. His first wife was Sarah McCausland, after whose death he married Louisa Luther, who died and left four children, and for his third wife he wedded Anna Parke, a daughter of Thomas Parke, a native and the owner of a large part of Downing- town, of which he built many of the first houses, and who was a whig and a member of the Society of Friends, and reared a fam- ily of seven children: John E., Thomas, Anna (Ringwalt), Abiah, Jacob, Jonathan and Mary. Mrs. Ringwalt, who died March 14, 1875, at sixty-three years of age, was
well educated, and was a woman of far more than ordinary attainments. By his third marriage Colonel Ringwalt had six children : Thomas P., who died in infancy ; Anna Mary, Jacob, Ella Virginia, Jane Edge and Abiah Parke.
By his second marriage (with Louisa Luther) Colonel Ringwalt had four chil- dren : John Luther, Geo. B. Porter, Louisa C. and Samuel. John L. and George B. P. became quite distinguished. John Luther . Ringwalt was prominently identified for many years with the leading papers of Philadelphia, as a writer, manager and as- sistant editor, and was editor of the Rail- way World at the time of his death. He was the author of the " American Encyclo- pedia of Printing," and "The History of the Development of Transportation Sys- tems in the United States." He was a Lu- theran, held positions in the mint and custom house, and was quite an orator. He was originally a Douglas democrat, but after 1860 supported the Republican party, except in 1880, when he spoke and worked for Hancock. He died from the effects of the la grippe, July 29, 1891, aged sixty- two years. His brother, George Bryan Porter Ringwalt, was associated with Col. J. W. Forney in editing the. Philadel- phia Press and Washington Chronicle, and was part owner of the Washington Critic. He held important positions in the custom house at Philadelphia until 1888, when he resigned on account of ill health. He was a man of rare talent, great ability, and gentle manners, and being a fine conversa- tionalist, was always surrounded by a clus- ter of cultured friends. He had artistic tastes, and his letters describing the Cen- tennial exhibits covered the widest range of subjects, showed his genins to be truly
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
versatile, and. won him a National reputa- tion as a newspaper writer. He died in the prime of life. Dr. Samuel Ringwalt was a distinguished physician of Lancaster county at the time of his death in 1864. Dr. Ringwalt leaves one son, John L. Ringwalt, of Philadelphia.
Abial P. Ringwalt, the subject of this sketch, received his education in Heins' academy, at Downingtown, Chester county, learned the trade of printer, and was en- gaged with his brothers, John L. and George B. P., in'the printing and publish- ing business on the corner of Seventh and Chestnut .streets, Philadelphia, from 1868 to 1872. In the last named year he re- turned to Dowingtown and became a flor- ist, his brother, George B. P., being in partnership with him until his death. Since then A. P. Ringwalt has conducted the business by himself, making specialties of carnations and roses. He also owns a farm of fifty-two acres in the west. ward_of the town, and a flouring mill which he operates.
In politics Abiah Park Ringwalt is a re- publican. He is a member of St. James' church of Downingtown, in which he is an active worker, a vestryman, and of whose Sunday school he has been superintendent for many years. Mr. Ringwalt is indus- trious, energetic and reliable, and has won confidence and friendship in Downingtown by his courtesy, promptitude and straight- forward course in business.
H ON. JESSE MATLACK, postmaster Jof Milltown, Pennsylvania, since 1849, is 'airex-member of the Pennsylvania house of representatives, and a highly respected and honored citizen of Chester county. He is'a son of Isaiah and Phœbe ( Hoopes) Mat-
lack, and was born at Milltown, East Goshen township, Chester county, Pennsylvania. April 21, 1821. He received his education in the common schools and at Hoopes board- ing school of West Chester, and some years after his father's death came into possession of the home farm and the Milltown hotel, formerly known as the "Sheaf of Wheat." Ilis farm contains two hundred and thirty- four acres of choice land and is very pro- ductive, while the hotel, which he afterward changed into a dwelling house, was very popular under his administration. Mr. Mat- lack has served as a tax collector, assessor, auditor, school director, and justice of the peace of his township; and in 1849 was ap- pointed postmaster of Milltown, the'duties of which office he has discharged ever since, excepting the time he was one of the repre- sentatives of the county in the Pennsylvania legislature. He is a member of Goshen Baptist church, in which he has served as deacon, trustee, and clerk, and of whose Sunday school he has been superintendent for a quarter of a century.
The Matlack family is of English origin. and was founded in the new world about 1638, by three brothers, one of whom be- came a resident of New Jersey, while the other two settled in that part of Chester which is now Delaware county. From one of these two brothers was descended Jesse Matlack, sr., the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Jesse Mat- lack, sr., was born in East Goshen township, where he was a large land holder and pros- perous business man. He also had consid- erable property in West Chester, and owned the old Green Tree hotel, and the site of the North ward of West Chester. He was one of the noted sportsmen of his day, went out on the chase in English fashion, and as a
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fox hunter was hard to excel. He was a whig and a Friend, and held during his life- time most of the local offices of his town- ship. He died in 1830, at sixty-six years of age. He married Sarah Phillips, of Mill- town, Delaware, and left a family of ten children, four sons and six daughters : Anna Way, Mary Phipps, Sarah Massey, Cather- ine Worrell, Lucina Muse, Susan Osborne, Isaiah, Washington, Robert and Jesse. Isaiah Matlack (father), the eldest son, was born in 1790, and died in 1833, at the early age of forty-three years. He followed farm- ing, and kept the "Sheaf of. Wheat," after- ward known as the Milltown hotel. In 1818 he married Phobe Hoopes, a daughter of John Hoopes, of Goshen township. Their family consisted of three sons and five daughters : Rebecca ; Hon. Jesse ; Sallie, wife of John C. Mercer; Margaret; Phœbe, who married J. M. Baker, of Chad's Ford, and is now dead; Anna, wife of T. W. Hemphill, of Delaware county; J. Hoopes, of West Chester; and Isaiah F., a merchant of Parkesburg, who married Sallie MeClellan.
Jesse Matlack is a stanch republican, and has always taken an active part in politics. In 1876 he was elected by his party as a member of the Pennsylvania house of rep- resentatives, and his services in that honor- able body were of such a satisfactory char- acter to the republicans and his constituents of all parties, that he was re-nominated and re-elected by a very handsome majority. During his second term he was placed on several important committees of the house, and by his good judgment and the conserva- tive course of action which he advocated on several important measures, won the respect and good opinion of his fellow members of the legislature.
On March 4, 1854, Mr. Matlack married
Phæbe Bishop, of Delware county, who died in March, 1861, aged twenty-eight years, and left four children : Rebecca, wife of R. H. Pierce, a clerk in the auditor's depart- ment of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany, in Philadelphia ; Phoebe, who married S. A. McMaster, a jeweler of Avondale; Anna, wife of S. L. Dicks, a merchant of Goshenville; and Mary. On June 16, 1866, Mr. Matlack wedded Martha A. Steele, a daughter of Peter Steele, and by his second marriage has two children: Joseph E., a clerk at Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Emma W.
In all positions of life Jesse Matlack has discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity. He is well known for his enter- prise and honesty and for his devotion to his church and the best interests of his fellow citizens.
APT. LEWIS H. EVANS, who made a good army record during the civil war, and has since served as register of wills in this county, and also represented old Chester in the State legislature, is a pros- perous farmer residing near Font. He is a worthy representative of a worthy Welsh family, whose members have been natives of this county since 1722, and several of whom have been prominent in her history. Captain Evans is the fourth son of Ezekiel and Eleanor (Beitler) Evans, and a native of Upper Uwchlan township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he was born July 1, 1832. Ile grew to manhood on his father's farm in that township, and acquired a fair education in the common schools of his neighborhood, which was supplemented by a course of study in Professor Gause's sem- inary at Marshallton, this county. After leaving school he engaged in farming until
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
1861, when, on June 6th, he enlisted as a non-commissioned officer in Co. K, 4th Penn- sylvania reserves, and served three years, being mustered out of the service July 17, 1864, as a first lieutenant of his company, to which office he had been promoted in 1862. His command was attached to the army of the Potomae, and he personally participated in all the historic contests of that army previous to the battle of the Wilderness, just before which his regiment with others was detached and sent into western Virginia. There he took part in the battle of Cloyd Mountain, during which he was shot and seriously wounded in the arm. After the war closed Lieutenant Ev- ans was commissioned captain by Governor Geary, which title he has ever since borne. He was a brave soldier and made a fine rec- ord in the army. After returning from the war, Captain Evans purchased a farm in Lancaster county, where he was engaged in farming for three years, but in 1870 he re- turned to his native county and settled again in Upper Uwehlan township. Here he pur- chased his present fine farm of one hundred anil forty-five acres of very choice land, and has since given his time and attention to its cultivation. He has been quite successful in his business, and ranks among the most industrious, enterprising and prosperous farmers of his section. Politically Captain Evans is a staneh republican, and in the fall of 1872 was elected to the position of reg- ister of wills for Chester county, the duties of which office he faithfully discharged for a period of three years. In 1887 he was nominated and elected as a member of the house of representatives of Pennsylvania, and served in the sessions of the State legis- lature for 1887 and 1889, being active in the interests of his constituents, and both useful
and influential in the important sessions of those years. He is a member of the For- restry commission of the State of Pennsyl- vania, and has been secretary of the Fair- mount Creamery association of Uwchlan township, of which latter he was one of the organizers and charter members. They are successfully manufacturing gilt edge butter and milk sugar. Captain Evansis also a lead- ing member of. Gen. Geo. A. McCall Post, No. 31, Grand Army of the Republic.
The family to which Captain Evans be- longs was planted in America by Evan Ev- ans, of the parish of Treeglws, Montgom- eryshire, Wales, who came to this country in 1722, and on November 17th of that year purchased two hundred and fifty acres of land adjoining Uwchlan Friends" meeting house, near where Lionville now stands. Here he engaged in farming, though in the old country he had been a "felt maker," and here he lived until his death in 1731. His widow married Charles Gatlive, of Uwchlan, July 21, 1735. The children of Evan Evans were : Martha, married Stephen Hoopes; Mary, wedded William Clayton, and after his death married Isaac Marshall ; Margaret, became the wife of John Tod- hunter; Evan, died unmarried; Susanna, married Isaae Serrell, and afterward Robert Carter ; Thomas, Ann, Edward and Richard. Aun and Edward died young, and Evan took the real estate after he became of age. but dying in 1748, bequeathed all except forty acres to his brother Thomas, and the remainder to Richard, the latter of whom married Phebe Whelan in 1763, became a member of Uwehlan meeting December 4. 1777, and with their children -Thomas, . Sarah, Margaret, Mary and Catharine-re- moved to Hopewell, Virginia, some years later. Thomas Evans ( great-grandfather of
.
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.
Capt. Lewis H. Evans), was born near Lion- ville, this county, and spent his entire life on the homestead there, dying about 1807. On Angust 17, 1748, he married Eleanor Reese, a daughter of James Reese, of Uwch- lan, by whom he had six children : Evan, Ezekiel, Jesse, Isaac, Thomas, and Eleanor, .who married Henry Lewis, of Uwchlan. The eldest son, Evan Evans (grandfather), was born in Upper Uwchlan township, in September, 1749, on a farm near the Eagle hotel property. He devoted his life mainly to agriculture, was a federalist in politics, and served as a member of the State assen- bly in 1782 and 1783. He died July 16, 1823, aged seventy-four. On February 16, 1780, he married Jane Owen, a daughter of William and Jane Owen, of the same town- ship. She was born March 19, 1762, and died August 5, 1841. Their children were : Rebecca; Owen, who with his family re- moved to Illinois; Elinor, died young; Thomas, died in 1823, leaving one son - Boon; Sarah, married William Dunwoody ; Ezekiel, father of Capt. Lewis H. Evans; Margaret, married Benjamin Harley ; Wil- liam, died young ; Richard, born June 15, 1798, and died September 5, 1856; Hannah, married David Beitler; and Jane, who be- came the wife of Lewis Hurford. Ezekiel Evans (father), was born June 24, 1791, in Upper Uwchlan township, this county, where he passed a long and useful life, en- gaged principally in the cultivation of the soil and in stock raising. He died May 29, 1870, aged nearly eighty years. In politics he was first a whig and later a republican. He served as justice of the peace in his township for several years, and in religions conviction was a Quaker. About 1818 he married Eleanor Beitler, a daughter of John Beitler, of East Pikeland township, and by
this union had a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters : Thomas B., Han- nah, John B., Jane E., Mary Ann, Evan B., Lewis H. (subject of this sketch), Rebecca, Anna and D. Webster. Mrs. Eleanor Ev- ans died in September, 1870, in the seventy- sixth year of her age.
JOSHUA P. HARRY, a well respected citizen of West Pikeland township, who has been for several years actively and successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, is a son of William and Anna (Pusey) Harry, and was born in East Caln township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1842. He re- ceived his education in the common schools of West Pikeland township and West Chester State Normal school, which latter he attended for one term. Leaving school, he has been engaged ever since in farming on the home farm, which he now owns. His farm con- tains one hundred and twenty acres of rich, tillable and well improved land. In con- nection with farming and stock raising, Mr. Harry operates a first class dairy, and has steady demand in Philadelphia for his products. He is a republican in politics, and a member and deacon of Lionville Evan- gelical Lutheran church. He is methodical and prompt in whatever he does, and by in- dustry and good management has secured a competency. He was united in marriage with Martha Shafer, daughter of John and Martha Shafer, and to them has been born one child, a daughter; Florence, who is now attending Professor Darlington's seminary, of West Chester.
The Harry family is of English Quaker stock, and Jesse Harry, sr., the paternal grandfather of Joshua P. Harry, was a resi- dent of Columbia, Lancaster county, during
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
a part of his life. He was a blacksmith by trade, a whig in politics, and a consistent and useful member of the Orthodox Society of Friends. He married Catharine Mears, of Delaware, and reared a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters: David, Jesse, Robert, William, Deborah Foreman, Mary C., and Sarah Davis. Wil- liam Harry (father) was the eldest of the four sons, and during the early part of his life, resided in East Caln township. He afterward removed to Uwehlan township, which he left to settle in West Pikeland, where he purchased the farm now owned by his son, the subject of this sketch. Wil- liam Harry was a farmer by occupation, a republican in politics, and had been an ac- tive member of the Orthodox Society of Friends for many years before his death, which occurred April 1, 1873, when he was in the eighty-first year of his age. lle married Anna Pusey, who was a daughter of Joseph Pusey, and who died in 1876, aged seventy-two years. They reared a family of four sons and six daughters : Maria, Sarah, Sophia, Deborah, Edward, Lizzie, Hannah, Joshua (subject), William and Frank.
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