USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Biographical annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical and genealogical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settlers > Part 114
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J. EDWARD SHOMIER. As secretary and treasurer of The Keeley Stove Co., one of the pros- perous industries of Columbia, Mr. Shomier leads an active and influential life. He was born at Co- lumbia, July 17, 1868, son of John and Mary (Zcl- lers) Shomier, and grandson of John and Mary Shomier, Wurtemberg, Germany.
Jolin Shomier, when about twenty years of age. migrated with his parents from Germany to Colum- bia, Pa. About the same time Mary Zellers migrated from the Fatherland to America, and also located at Columbia where her marriage to John Shomier occurred. He died in 1869, at the age of thirty-six years ; she survived until 1888, passing away at' the age of fifty-eight years. Four children were born to John and Mary (Zellers) Shomier : Anna, de- ceased ; John, deceased : Mary, who married George Tille, manager of Lippincott's Wholesale Grocery House : and J. Edward.
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J. Edward Shomier was reared and educated in Columbia, was graduated from the Columbia high school, and soon after his school days ended, began his career in the present factory of The Keeley Stove Co. Six years later he was elected to the office of secretary of the Company, and several years there- after became also its treasurer, when these two offices were combined under one head. He has been filling these offices uninterruptedly ever since, and as an ! officer of the company he has been careful, indus- trious and progressive.
In 1896, at Columbia, Mr. Shomier married Ce- celia Westerman, a native of Columbia, daughter of John and Mary Catherine (Metzger) Westerman. Her father was born in Fruitville, Lancaster county. Oct. 26, 1854. son of Leopold and Anna (Wagner ) Westerman, and grandson of Mathias Westerman, who about 1850 emigrated with two of his nine chil- dren to America and settled in Lancaster county. Leopold Westerman was a carpenter and contractor, and died in Lisbon. Iowa. John Westerman, when a lad of fourteen years, entered the butcher shop of Milton Wike in Columbia, with whom he remained
six years. He then started in business for himself, and now owns a large establishment. He is identi- tied with various business interests, and is one of the most prominent public men of Columbia. In politics a Democrat. he was appointed postmaster during President Cleveland's second term, and has filled various local offices. Of his four children, Mrs. Shomier is the second. To Mr. and Mrs. Shomier have been born two children: John and Mary.
Mr. Shomier is a Democrat and is prominent in business, social and political circles. In religious affiliation he is a member of the Lutheran Church. He has prospered in business, and though vet con- paratively young in years ranks among the fore- most citizens of Columbia. He is a member of the local board of education, having been elected to rep- resent the Fourth ward, which is very largely Ke- publican. Mr. Shomier is assistant secretary of the Columbia Hospital Association, and a member of the board of managers of that institution.
HENRY G. GARBER, the well-known pro- prietor of Sunrise Farm in Manor township, Lan- caster county, two miles west of the city of Lan- caster, was born in West Hempfield township, the same county, March 7, 1863, a son of .Andrew and Susan ( Greider) Garber. He was reared on the old homestead, and the education acquired in the public schools of that locality was supplemented by two terms' attendance at Lebanon Valley College. Ann- ville, Pa. On leaving school he took up the occupa- tion of farming, conducting the home farm of 120 acres for ten years, and in 1898 located upon his present farm in Manor township, consisting of twenty-nine acres, upon which he has made many improvements, so that it is now one of the most de- sirable farms of its size in the locality. Mr. Garber is successfully engaged in general farming and dairying. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the Republican party, and as a public- spirited and progressive citizen gives his influence to all enterprises calculated to prove of public benefit.
On Dec. 15, 188;, Mr. Garber was united in mar- riage with Miss Frances Leonard, who was born near Millersville, in Manor township. Feb. 18, 1967; and they have become the parents of two sons : Harry, born Oct. 10, 1888: and Charles, born Oct. 19, 1891. The wife and mother is a consistent mem- ber of the Trinity Reformed Church.
Abraham Leonard. Mrs. Garber's father, was born in Manor township. Jan. 31, 1833, a son of Abraham and Annie (Rinehart) Leonard, and a grandson of Frederick and Elizabeth (Litz) Leon- : ard. Soon after his marriage Frederick Leonard left home for the purpose of entering the service in the war of 1812, and what hecame of him after that is unknown, as all trace of him was lost. He left only one child, Abraham Leonard, grandfather of Mrs. Garber. who was a farmer by occupation and ! a member of the River Brethren in Christ. He died
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
in May, 1898, at an advanced age, and his wife, who . was a native of Lancaster county, died in 1851. In ; line engines. That he has succeeded so well is due to his energy and perseverance, as he began his business career with little financial assistance.
their family were eight children, namely: George, a retired resident of Middletown, Ohio: Abraham, father of Mrs. Garber ; Levi, deceased : Frederick, a cigar manufacturer of Mountville, Lancaster coun- ty : David, a farmer of West Hempfield township, Lancaster county ; John, a farmer of the same town- ship ; William and Jacob, both deceased. Mrs. Gar- ber's father was reared and educated in his native
In 1803 Abraham M. Zimmerman was married to Aliss Lizzie Martin, a daughter of J. B. Martin. of New Holland, and to this union have been born two children : Annie E., and Ivan M. In his politi- cal belief. Mr. Zimmerman is a Republican, and is · a consistent and valued member of the Mennonite township, and at the age of twenty-three began | Church. Possessing all the qualifications for good farming for himself and continued to follow that ; citizenship, he well represents the best type of resi-
occupation until 1892, when he retired from active dent of Earl township, where he is universally es- tvemed. labor. He married Miss Fannie Johns, a daughter of John and Eve ( Benedict) Johns, and in 1885 he purchased a small tract of land on which they resided PEARSON E. GRUGER, of the firm of Gruger until her death, which occurred in August, 1891, 1 & Moedinger, South Queen street, Lancaster, deal- when she was fifty-four years of age. Of the four ers in stone work for cemetery and buildings, has been engaged in business in that city for almost forty years. children born to them, the oldest, a son, died in in- fancy ; Aldus married a daughter of John Brown. of Columbia, Pa. ; Milton is a resident of Manor town- ! ship ; and Frances is the wife of Henry G. Garber. Mr. Leonard has been a life-long Democrat in poli- tics, and in religious belief is a Lutheran.
ABRAHAM M. ZIMMERMAN, one of the . dler's trade, following it for a number of years. He worthy and energetic young business men of New | also engaged in coach trimming. He belonged to Holland, Lancaster county, the proprietor of The ; the Reformed Church, and was a member of the Mt. New Holland Machine Works-manufacturing as a : Lebanon Lodge of Masons, long since disbanded. specialty the Cob & Feed Mills-comes of German | He died in February, 1891, at the age of eighty-two origin, his grandfather. John Zimmerman having years. In 1833 he married Hannah Sallada, a daugh- founded the family, near Martindale, l'a .. where he : ter of John and Martha ( Vohr) Sallada, who was became a prominent farmer and the father of these , born in 1815, and died in 1897. children : Susannah, who married Isaac Martin. of Goodville, Pa .; Martin, the father of the subject of this biography; Israel, a farmer near Terre Hill, Pa. : and Mary, of Earl township.
Martin W. Zimmerman, a thrifty farmer of Earl township, married Anna Martin, and they became the parents of eight children : Aaron, an Earl town- ship farmer : Eli, also a farmer of Earl township : Abraham M .; Martha, wife of J. H. Sensenig, a jeweler of New Holland : Adam, a machinist : Mar- tin, a farmer ; George, a farmer, and Moses, at home.
Abraham M. Zimmerman was born July 31. 1869, and was reared on the farm, although his nat- ural inclinations were in another direction. His education was acquired in the common schools of Earl township, but as early as fourteen years he de- cided to become a machinist. By the time he was nineteen years old he started to serve his apprentice- ship, and the following three years were spent in Lancaster. In 1895 he came to New Holland, and the same year organized his present flourishing business, starting with a repair shop, working him- self, while his brother Adam began to learn the trade. Later, he merged his business into a manti- facturing plant, a great demand having been created for his specialty, the New Holland Cob & Feed Mill, and at present the factory is running with full force of twenty-one men in order to fill the orders for these
valuable machines and also for his improved gaso-
The family is of Huguenot descent. Peter Gruger, the grandfather of Pearson E., died when his son Adam (Pearson E. Gruger's father) was only ten years old. Adam Gruger was born in Le- high county, Pa., in June. 1808, and learned the sad-
Pearson E. Gruger was born in Stouchsburg,. Derks Co., Pa., Oct. 1, 1834, but when a boy came to Lancaster with his parents, and attended the pub- lic schools there, finishing his education at the old Franklin College (now Franklin and Marshall Col- lege), then located on North Lime street, Lancaster. At seventeen years of age he became apprenticed to marble cutting with Major Charles M. Howell, re- maining with him five years. For the next six years he worked in Philadelphia, and then returned to Lancaster, where he has since engaged in business. supplying granite, marble and other stone work for buildings and monumental work. His work is found in some of the notable structures of the city. The business, of which he is the senior proprietor, is located at No. 25 South Queen street, and is a large one; the marble works are located in the rear of the mansion erected by the Metzger family over one. · hundred years ago.
On May 20. 1858. Mr. Gruger married Rebecca, daughter of the late Philip Metzger, and eight chil- dren were born to this union, as follows: Charles, Florence ( who died in infancy ), Margaret, William. Francis, Walter, Catherine and Harry. Mrs. ; Gruger died Jan. 9, 1875, aged thirty-eight years. On Dec. 25. 1883. Mr. Gruger married Miss Salome. daughter of the late David Nauman. Mr. and Mrs. Gruger are members of Trinity Reformed Church
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
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of Columbia, and for many years Mr. Gruger was an elder. He is active, useful and prominent in everything with which he connects himself. In poli- tics he is an independent Republican. Possessed of more than ordinary intelligence, he is favorably known to every one in the community, and his record in public and private life is irreproachable. Dir. Gruger is a designer and sculptor of some note, and his work has always and everywhere been most favorably received. He is now the oldest active member of his craft in the city, venerable Major Howell having long since retired from active busi- ness.
ROBERT K. WOOD. One of the promising young farmers of Little Britain township, who en- joys the confidence and esteem of the citizens of his community, is Robert K. Wood, a representative of one of the leading families of southern Lancaster county. He was born Oct. 6, 18;3. a son of Jesse and Maggie ( Killough) Wood. His home has always been on the farm owned by Abner Carter, near Wood's chrome mines, and since IS;I operated by his father, Jesse Wood. His education was obtained in the public school at Eastland, the Friends' Normal Institute of Rising Sun, Md., and a three months' course in agriculture at Pennsylvania State College. Since 1897 he has been a member of the school board of Little Britain township, since March, ISyo, serv- ing as its secretary. His political affiliations have ever been with the Republican party, and he is a member of the religious society of Friends, to which all of his paternal ancestors have belonged since set- tling in America.
Robert K. Wood was married, Dec. 18, 1901, to Hanna M., daughter of Robert A. and Lucretia M. (Fisher) Way, of Stormstown, Centre Co .. Penn- sylvania.
Jesse Wood, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born Feb. 26, 1840. a son of James and Mercy M. (Carter) Wood. He is a prominent and thrifty farmer in Little Britain township, a member of the Society of Friends. and in politics, a Repub- lican. On Dec. 19, 1872, he was married to Maggie Killough, of Fulton township. The only child of this unton was Robert K. of this biography.
James Wood, father of Jesse and grandfather of Robert K., was born in Little Britain township, July 17, 1821, and was married Feb. 26, 1845, to Mercy M. Carter, also of Little Britain township. The children of this union were: Alfred, a farmer of Fulton township, whose sketch appears in another part of this volume: Susan, wife of Elwood H. Townsend, whose sketch elsewhere appears in this volume; Jesse: Mary, deceased wife of Davis E. Allen : Lucretia. wife of John W. Smedley, a retired farmer of Chester county ; Lewis, a farmer of Little Britain township, mentioned elsewhere; Ida, who died in young womanhood ; and James, a farmer of Little Britain, who is also mentioned elsewhere in this volume. James Wood was one of the leading
mien of the county. Not only was he a successful farmer but he was also a financier and man of affairs, he was president of the Farmers National Bank of Oxford from its incorporation to the time of his death, and at one time was commissioner of Lan- caster county. As a member of the Society of ¡ Friends his influence was wide spread. Few men in the county took a more intelligent interest in the Republican party than he. He died Ang. 0, 1894. James Wood was a son of Jesse and Sidney : ( Yarnell) Wood, of this county. Jesse Wood was a prominent farmer and mill-wright of his day. He was a son of Joseph Wood, a son of Thomas Wood, the founder of this branch of the Wood family in America. In the days of William Penn, Thomas Wood came to America to secure religious freedom. and was an important member of a colony of Quak- ers who settled near Philadelphia. The peaceful and law-abiding influence of this religious body still pervades the locality, and counts many of the best citizens among the members of the Society of Friends.
About 1760 Joseph Wood came from York coun- tv and settled on a farm in West Nottingham town- ship. Chester Co .. Pa., now owned by his great- grandson, jesse Wood. the father of Robert K .. of this sketch. Here he raised a family of eight chil- dren : Thomas, Joseph, Jesse, Lydia. Elizabeth, David, John and Day, several of whom afterward settled in neighboring parts of Lancaster county. All became agriculturists and this has been the fam- ily occupation in every generation.
Maggie K. Wood, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was born Oct. 6, 1849, a daughter of Robert and Sidney ( Hoopes) Killough, of Fulton township. Robert Killough was a farmer, and en- joyed the high esteem of the community, serving several years in various township offices. He was born Aug. 12, 1812, a son of John and Margaret (Porter) Killough, and always occupied the farm on which he was born. On jan. 2. 1845, he mar- ried Sidney Hoopes, of Fulton township. The chil- dren of this union were John, a hardware merchant of Clinton, Ill. ; Mary M., who died Sept. 15, 1885 : Maggie, wife of Jesse Wood, and mother of Robert K., Phianna, wife of Leander O. Wright. a farmer of Fulton township, who now owns and occupies the Killough homestead ; Janc E., wife of C. W. Moore. proprietor of Clinton greenhouses, Clinton, ILL .. but formerly of Fulton township; Phebe Roberta, liv- ing with her sister Phianna ; and Elmer E., of Clin- ton. Ill. Robert Hoopes died Jan. 5, 1886, and his wife, Sidney, on March 1, 1890.
LEWIS BACHMAN. Mr. Bachman was born in Bart township, Lancaster county, on May 15. 1851. Since reaching the age of twenty-three. with the exception of two years spent in farming, he has been in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. His first service for that corporation was rendered in the capacity of brakeman and he has
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
risen, through the grade of Hagman, to be con- ductor, having been appointed to that position in 1884. He is one of the company's moet valued men, bringing to the discharge of his duties a keen in- telligence and an unwavering fidelity. Ile is one of the Knights of Malta, and in political faith, a Democrat.
His father was Samuel S. Bacinnan, and his mother's marien name was Ann E., daughter of Jolin Rockey. Samuel S. was the son of George Bachman, who married a Miss Bingham, and spent his life in Lancaster county. He himself was a wheelwright and wagen maker, and a devant meni- ber of the M. E. Church, as was also his life. Sam- uel died in 1864, aged sixty-two years, and his wife. Lewis Dachman's mother, in r8;8. shortly before reaching the age of three score. They were the parents of five children, of whom Lewis was the fourth in order of birth. Mary E., deceased, the eldest daughter, married John i .. Garner. Delinda is the widow of John Af. Pichel, of Bart township. Martin R., the third child, and first son. died in 1875. The youngest child was Uriah, now a Lan- caster county farmer.
Mr. Bachman was married, on Jan. 2. 1873. to Martha M. Stauffer, the ceremony being solemnized by Rev. W. O. Owen, at Colerain. She was born in Eden township. on Feb. 6. 1853. Her father was Jacob Stanffer, the son of John miel Barbara Stati fer, and her mother, before marriage, was Anna Landis, whose father's name was Peter. Jacob Stauffer was a miller, and died in 188;, having been born in 1817. Mrs. Stauffer died in Jon. 1878, in her sixty-third year. Their children were five it number : Maria. Henry, Barbara. Susan and Mar- tha, the youngest two being twins. Barbara is de- ceased, and Susan is the wife of Jacob Shelly, of Eden township.
Eight children Inve been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bachman. Harry, the oldest. married Lona Bud- ding, and resides in Columbia. Lizzie is the wife of Jaines Miller, of the same place. Charles is a telegraph operator at Hatborough. In April, 1200. he was married to Margaret, daughter of John and Mary Plank, of Lancaster City. The younger chil- dren, Amos R., Edwin, Anna. Mary L. and Clara, live at home with their parents.
LEVI H. HAVERSTICK (deceased) was born in Manor township, Sept. 20, 1850. a son of Levi and Catherine ( Hostetter) Haverstick. The par- ents reside in Manor township, but were born and reared in East Donegal township. Their history appears on another page, and the name of J. M. Haverstick, a brother, also appears elsewhere.
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Levi II. Haverstick was married Dec. 24. 1875, in Manor township, to Anna B. Miller, by whom he has had the following children : Benjamin M .. single, and at home : Lizzie and Mary. both unmar- ried, and at home : Anna, deceased ; Gertrude B .. and Levi H., also at home.
Mrs. Anna B. ( Miller; Haverstick was born in Manor township, and is a daughter of Abrahami and Elizabeth ( Kauffman) Miller. both of whom were born and reared in Manor township. Her fa- ther passed an honorable and useful life on the old home farm until 18no. when he died at the age of seventy years. His remains were interred in a pri- vate cemetery on the farm. His widow. who was born in 1826, now resides in Manor township. They were members of the Mennonite Church. Their family was as follows : Barbara, who is dead; Lizzie, deceased, married J. E. Witmer, of York couun : Anna B., whose name apears above; Mar". at home. unmarried ; Benjamin K., married ard living on the home farm.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Anna D. Haverstick were Abraham and Mary Miller; they vore farming people of Lancaster county, and stood very high in the community in which they passed their lives. Her maternal grandparents were Ben- iamin and .inna (Myers) Kaufman, also farming people.
Levi H. Haverstick remained with his parents until his marriage, when he established himself on the farm where his family may still be found. It consists of HIS acres, and has been maintained in a high state of cultivation. With his wife. he be- longed to the Mennonite Church, and both were recognized as among the solid and substantial pen- ple of the county. In politics he was a Republican, and in his life time was regarded as an influential citizen. The widow has operated the farm. but gives the farm dairy over to the management of he- son. They reside near Mit. Joy, and are associated with the best elements of that section of Lancaster county.
JOHN T. WEBER. Among the well-known educators of Lancaster county is John T. Weber. who belongs to one of the oldest and most honored families of this portion of the State of Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Jacob Weber, lived and died in Earl township, where he engaged in farming and also building, being a practical mechanic. Some of the first corn shellers used in Ear! township were built by him. Jacob Weber was also a minister io the Old Mennonite Church. His marriage to Miss Esther Musser connected him with another of the old settled families of Lancaster county, and resulted in the birth of eight children: . Henry, a farmer in Indiana ; John M .. a farmer in West Earl township, in this county: Jacob M .. a minister of the Men- nonite Church : Michael, the late father of John T .; Martha, the wife of Martin Buckwalter ; Catherine. the wife of Daniel Buchwalter: Annie and Eliza- | beth, deceased.
Michael Weber. the father of John T .. was born in Earl township. in 1834, and in carly life he was a farmer, but later engaged in the manufacture of a kind of condition powder for horses and cattic, a preparation which gained a wide sale. Michmac!
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