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 19
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most intelligent class of readers. Mr. Westafer wields a ready and facile pen. keeps thoroughly abreast of the times, and gives his patrons a first- class, instructive and newsy journal, taking care to make it a paper suitable for all ages, and a proper fireside companion. His efforts have been success- ful, and the influence he wields in the Republican party ranks is a very important political factor. Mr. Westafer has a complete job printing department connected with his office.
Mr. Westafer has held a number of positions of responsibility. For nine years, despite the cares of a growing business, he has been the very efficient president of the board of health, and has shown his interest in the schools by serving as director for three years. For twenty-eight years he has been a valued member of the I. O. O. F., and no one in his vicinity doubts his adherence to the principles of the Republican party.
In September, 1872, in Elizabethtown. Mr. Westafer was united in marriage with Miss Esther Weaver, who was born March 9, 1848, a daughter of Daniel and Magdalena (Minnich) Weaver, of West Donegal township, where the former was en- gaged as a carpenter and also in farming. The two children born to this union are: Jenny L., wife of Ambrose Raffensberger, who is the telephone pole inspector at Elizabethtown; and George W .. who married Birdie Angstadt, and has three children, Vera, Ruth and John G. Since April 1, 1902, George W. has been engaged as a partner with his father in the printing business, under the firm name of John G. Westafer & Son, and he is also in the green-house business. The family are connected with the Lutheran Church, and are prominent in the social life of their town.
LUKINS PENROSE, of Liberty Square, Pa., was born in Drumore township, on the farm which he now owns, Sept. 6, 1845, a son of Ben- jamin and Hannah (Lukins) Penrose, the former a native of Bucks county and the latter of Mont- gomery county.
Benjamin Penrose was born in 1803 and was a son of Israel Penrose, who married Susan Folk, both being natives of Bucks county. The children born to Benjamin and Susan Penrose were: Jane, who died unmarried ; Elizabeth, deceased, who mar- ried William Ambler, of Martic township; Edith, deceased. who married James Martin, of Union county, Ohio: Benjamin, the father of Lukins ; and Joseph, who married Margaret Lukins.
Grandfather Israel Penrose came to Drumore township with his family in 1828 and purchased the farm and the mill property which is now known in this locality as Hess' Mills, and lived there until his death, in 1857. Beniamin Penrose, the son of Israel and the father of Lukins, was married about 1835, to Hannah Lukins, and the eight children born to this union were: Edith, the widow of Isaac Shoemaker, of Drumore township : Everard, a resi-
dent of California; Israel A., a retired farmer Fairfield, Pa .; Lukins; Annie Elizabeth, who i. unmarried ; Sarah S. Rutter, who is living in 1: more. The others passed away in infancy. Et .. .. min Penrose died in 1881.
Lukins Penrose was reared on the pleasant farm and learned his father's trade in the mill. : in 1865 he began farming operations, contin ... through these years to carry on agricultural wr . and his fine farm of 180 acres, which he inher: from his father, is well improved and very valt ::
Lukins Penrose was married on Dec. IT. IN". to Miss Rachel Ankrim, of Drumore township. .... passed out of life on Dec. 17, 1883, leaving a vas: - place which has never been filled. In every way : was a good woman, a kind friend, and was devar ! to her home and family. The children born to ti union were: Benjamin E., born Nov. 9, 1874. [ ... married, and living in Union county, Ohio ; Han: Elizabeth, who was born July II, 1879, and is n. : her father's very capable housekeeper; Alice M ..... born April 2. 1881, who resides with her un .... Israel Penrose. at Fairfield : and Joseph, born Ju: 5, 1883. who died on April 23. 1901.
In his religious belief Lukins Penrose is a O :::.- ker. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Per- :: enjoys the esteem of the community, is an excel ..... farmer, an accommodating neighbor, a kind and in- dulgent father, and a man who represents in ever: way a high type of citizenship.
GEORGE W. BAIR, a resident of Earl tow"- ship, was born in Leacock township, near Ellsworth. a son of Joel Bair and a grandson of Joel Bair.
Joel Bair, the grandfather, was a farmer in Lea- cock township, and was classed among the lars .. land owners of the day. He married a Miss W.E. by whom he had the following family: Geory. who died in Upper Leacock township ; Joel, the ::- ther of George W .: Daniel, who died in Chi : Henry, a resident of Chester county; Jacob, wi - died in Chester county; Hetty, who married D. Musselman, and removed to Adams county: Ca :... erine, the widow of Henry Kurtz, of Cocal : township : Christina, married to Jacob Hersh both deceased ; Caroline, who married Daniel Ei. both now deceased.
Joel Bair, the father of George W., was IT and reared in Leacock township, where he began as a farmer, making that the occupation of his li? . About 1862 he moved into Earl township, where i:" bought a farm of 126 acres, on which he erect : good buildings, and there he lived until his death !. This home is now owned by two of his sons. i: course of time he became one of the better know" and substantial citizens of the county, and h : more than a local reputation as a farmer and stret raiser. He and his wife, Leah Bushong. wer. members of the Reformed Church. She was 3 daughter of John Bushong, and was born in Ens: Lampeter township. Her death occurred in 188 ;.
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at the age of sixty-six years. Mr. Bair died in 1890, at the age of eighty years. To them were born seven children: Eve Anna, the wife of Dilier Rauck, of Chester county : Israel, a resident of New Holland ; John B., a resident of Leacock township : Amanda, the wife of Elam Kling, a resident of Earl township; George W .; Amos O., who died when two years old; Jason D., a merchant in Leacock township.
George W. Bair was born July 6, 1853, was reared on the farm and had his education in the public schools. When he was twenty-five he began farming on his own account in Upper Leacock township, in which occupation he was engaged for one year. when he returned to Earl township, and in 1884 located on the farm where he still resides. This farm contains sixty acres, and is cultivated so that it ranks among the very best in the county. He owns a second farm of thirty-two acres, adjoin- ing his home place, and both are well improved. Mr. Bair is an enterprising and public-spirited man. and takes a deep interest in anything that looks to the public good. He has filled the office of super- visor and has been a member of the County Repub- lican Committee. For the last six years he has dealt largely in phosphates.
ยท Mr. Bair was married Nov. 19, 1878, to Miss Laura J. Bushong, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Zook) Bushong, who was born in Upper Leacock township in 1857. To this union have come four children : Elva Mary, who died at the age of ten months: Ira Garfield, born Oct. 8, 1881 ; Mabel Leah, who died when two and a half years old; Edna I., born Jan. 20, 1887.
Mr. and Mrs. Bair are members of the Reformed Church, in which he is an elder. He is president of the Consistory, and superintendent of the Sab- bath-school connected with the local church. Mrs. Bair is a teacher in the Sunday-school, the son is librarian, and the daughter is organist. Mr. Bair united with the church when he was seventeen years of age, and when he was twenty was made a deacon. Since 1894 he has been an elder of the church, which he has represented at the Classis.
WALTER S. BUNTING, a prominent and re- spected farmer of Colerain township, Lancaster county, was born in the home where he is now liv- ing, and is a son of Robert and Margaret (Morgan) Bunting, natives of Colerain and Pequea townships, respectively.
The mother was a daughter of William Mor- gan ; the father was the son of Walter Bunting, who came from Ireland and established the present homestead in 1782. Here in 1791 he erected a stone barn which remained in a good state of pre- servation until Aug. 23, 1902, when it was burned. The stone house on the property was built in 1817, and it is one of the good and solid structures of the Present time. Here Walter Bunting and his wife died, leaving four children :
Elizabeth Bunting, -
who married a Mr. Smith, and moved to Ohio : Mar- garet Bunting, who married a Mr. McCov, and also moved into Ohio: William Bunting, who lived and died in Chester county: Robert Bunting, the father of Walter S., who settled with his wife on the Bunt- ing homestead, where he lived and died. During his active years Walter Bunting added many solid improvements to the farm, and brought it into a high state of fertility. He died in 1880, and his widow two years later. They were among the foun- ders of the Presbyterian Church in Colerain town- ship, and were devoted members of that body. In politics he was a Democrat, and at various times was elected to local positions in Colerain township.
Robert Bunting and his wife had seven children. (1) Nancy Bunting married A. J. Miller, and lives in Philadelphia, where he holds a position with the Pennsylvania Railroad, with his office at Broad street station. They have six children : John : Mar- garet B., the wife of Joseph P. Rea, of Philadelphia ; Mary : Louisa : Emma ; and Francis. (2) William lives in Philadelphia. (3) Ella was educated at the Union High School, is unmarried. and makes her home in Philadelphia. (4) Robert died when a young man. (5) Walter S. (6) Mary Bunting died when a young woman, (7) Thomas Bunting died in childhood.
Walter S. Bunting was educated in the Union High School, and remained on the home farm until his marriage, in February, 1877, when Mary L .. the daughter of James and Margaret ( MeIntyre) Lind- sey, became his wife. James Lindsey was born in Lower Oxford township, Chester county. Marga- ret McIntyre was born near Oxford. After their marriage they settled on the John Lindsey home- stead in Chester county. John Lindsey, the grand- father of Mrs. Bunting, came from the North of Ire- land in 1782, to make his home in Chester county, where he lived and died on a farm. leaving five chil- dren, James, John, Jackson. Mary and Hannah. The homestead fell to James Lindsey, and there Mrs. Bunting was born. She was educated at the home schools, and the Oxford Seminary.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bunting settled on a farm adjoining their present location. where they lived seven years. In 1885 they moved to the old Bunt- ing homestead, where he has lived to the present time. He is a man of standing in the community. On his present farm he has made many very sub- stantial improvements, has put hot and cold water and steam heat into the building, and has greatly im- proved the place. He is the father of four children : ( T) Robert J., secured his education in the Union High School, and taught school for two years in Colerain township. In 1899 he secured a lucrative po- sition at the Broad Street depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia. (2) Mary E. attended the Union High School, from which she graduated, and the West Chester State Normal, where she was grad- uated in the class of 1901, and is now one of the teachers in the Colerain Union School. (3) Walter
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
S. and (4) Albert M. were twins : Albert died when two and a half years oldl : Walter S. is now a student at the Union High School.
Mrs. Walter S. Bunting belongs to the Presby- terian Church, with which her husband is also con- nected. In politics he has always been a Democrat, and for seven years was school director.
The Bunting's are an old and prominent family In Colerain township. The old stock were all Pres- byterians, and were widely known all over the county as prosperous and successful farmers, and worthily wears an honored name.
HENRY B. NISSLEY, now a retired farmer at Florin, Pa., is somewhat advanced in life, and has put behind him useful and industrious years as his contribution to the welfare of his native com- munity.
Mr. Nissley was born March 28, 1846, the son of Christ E. and Fanny ( Breneman) Nissley. both of whom were born in Rapho township. For fifteen years prior to his death the father was a retired farmer. A man of some prominence in the commun- ity, he filled the position of school director for eighteen years and was a shrewd and thrifty farmer, of good habits and high character. In 1891 he passed away at the age of seventy years, and his widow in 1894. at the age of sixty-four years. They were both members of the Mennonite Church, and were buried at Landisville. To them were born : Henry B .; Samuel, a farmer in West Hempfield township : . Jonas, a farmer in West Hempfield: Anna, who married John Stehman, of Lancaster county; Catherine, who married Daniel Forney : Fanny, who married Amos Shelly, a farmer in the township of Mt. Joy; David, deceased ; Ellen, liv- ing in Lancaster, Pa. : Emma, who married Witmer Rohrer, a foreman in the silk mill at Lancaster.
The parents of Christ E. Nissley were Samuel and Emma (Eby) Nissley, who were honest and industrious farming people near Petersburg, where they both died on their farm. The maternal grand- father of Henry B. Nissley was Henry Breneman, of Lancaster county.
Henry B. Nissley was twice married. Nov. 30, 1869, in Lancaster. Pa., he was married to Rebecca B. Brubaker, by whom he became the father of these children: Alice, who died at the age of twenty-three years ; Isaac B., a farmer in Salunga, Pa. ; Frances B. and Enos B. are at home : Minnie ; Paris; Walter B., a farmer in this county ; Ira B., deceased. Mrs. Rebecca B. Nissley was born in Rapho township, and died Oct. 1I, 1888. She was buried in Gravbill's cemetery in East Donegal town- ship, and was a daughter of Isaac and Rebecca (Hershey) Brubaker, both of whom died on their homestead in Rapho township.
Mr. Nissley and Mrs. Kate (Hoffer) Risser were married May 18, 1800, in Lancaster, Pa. Mrs. Nissley is the daughter of Jacob and Mary ( Herst) Hoffer, of Dauphin and Lancaster counties, re-
spectively. Her father died in 1881, at the age o. sixty-four, and her mother in 1877. at the age u- sixty years. They were both buried in the ceme ?? connected with the Green Tree meeting house : Mt. Joy township. They were members of the t -. man Baptist Church, and were good, honest peep ... of industrious habits and fine character.
Jacob Hoffer came to Lancaster county in Iss". and remained there until his death. To him : :... born these children: Mary. Isaac, David and E: all deceased: Kate, Mrs. Nissley: John, deceas. : : Tobias, a retired farmer in Elizabethtown. Pa .. Elizabeth, the widow of Peter Nissley, and living at Elizabethtown.
Mrs. Nissley's first husband was Christ Riss -. of Mt. Joy, by whom she became the mother of the following children: Ellen, who married Edwar : Ginrich, a retired farmer in Dauphin county ; Ma- nie, the wife of Christ Ginrich, a drover of Leban :: county, Pa .; Ulysses, who married Minnie Har ... and is a physician in Campbelltown, l'a. ; Dora, the wife of Frank Hershey, a machinist of Warre :- boro, Pa .: Phoebe, Christ and Herbert, at home : Ada, deceased. Christ Risser, who was born ::: Lebanon county. Pa., died in 1888, at the age of forty years, on the farm where his life was spent : the son of Christ and Mary ( Nissley) Risser. he was a man of considerable importance in the con :- munity where his well-ordered life was devoted to honest industry.
Henry B. Nissley remained with his parents un .. til he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he bought a farm of ten acres near Lancaster and engaged in truck farming for two years. The young farmer then sold his place and bought a large farm of 146 acres in East Donegal township, re- maining there for a few years, and then for nie years in Mt. Jov township, after which he returne : to his place and continued there until 1896. Ti ...: vear he came to Florin to make it his permanent home, and there he has remained until the present time. In Florin he is engaged in the raising : fruit, and rents his farm at a good figure.
In his political sentiments Mr. Nissley is a Re- publican. His wife is a member of the Germa .: Baptist Church. They are prominent and wealth: people, and well deserve a place in any record of tea better class of Lancaster county.
JOSEPH BARNETT, a retired hotel man .: Lancaster, is probably one of the best known c' ::- zens of Lancaster county, and he holds a high place in the regard of his fellow citizens wherever he !: known. For many years he was an active business man of the city where he yet makes his home.
Mr. Barnett was born in Lancaster Oct. 18, IS27. son of Joseph Barnett, a native of Germany, wi: . came to the United States during early manhood order to escape military service. He was naturali." ..! in Lancaster. He married Catherine Smith, w .... ) was born in the United States, and they became the
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Joseph Barnett
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
parents of children as follows: Charles, Henry L., Caroline, Mary Ann, Joseph and Jacob, of whom Joseph is now the only survivor. None of this fam- ils married. The father was a member of St. ! Mary's Church, while the mother belonged to the Reformed Church. She passed away in 1834, and Mr. Barnett followed her to the grave in 1844, ac the age of sixty-five years. Their remains rest in :
Lancaster cemetery. He was a blacksmith by trade, but for a number of years engaged in the hotel busi- ness, carrying on a hotel in the upper part of the city of Lancaster.
Joseph Barnett was reared in Lancaster and re- mained with his parents as long as they lived. He followed in his father's footsteps, learning the trade of blacksmith and machinist, for which he possesses considerable ability, and, rising gradually, became master mechanic for the Ohio & Mississippi railroad, at St. Louis, Mo., holding that position one year. In 1858 he returned to Lancaster, and made his home with his brother, Henry L., who was at that time conducting the old "Cadwell House" (now the "In- perial"), continuing in its management thirteen years. After his death, which occurred Oct. IS, 1878, Joseph Barnett took charge of the hotel, which he carried on until his retirement from business life, in 1891. As a hotel man he was highly successful, as, indeed, all the members of the family who have engaged in that line have been. his genial disposi- tion bringing the house much popularity and good
will. Though he now leads a quiet life, Mr. Bar- nett has in his day been a prominent, useful citizen, and as such won the esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He is now enjoying the ease to which a long life of activity entitles him. Mr. Barnett is a Democrat in political faith, and inter- ested in the success of his party.
ELIAS WOLF. Among the thrifty and well- established citizens of Akron borough is Elias Wolf, who successfully conducts a business in coal and lumber, and through a long career has won for him- self the respect and esteem of the whole community.
Elias Wolf was born Sept. 17. 1843, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Kemper) Wolf, of Ephrata township. Samuel Wolf was a son of Jacob Wolf, a well-known farmer of Lancaster county, was born int ISI0 and died on April 9, 1808: his wife, born in 1810, passed away in 1876. They reared these chil- dren: Sarah, who married Reuben Mohler ; George, deceased: David, deceased: Susannah; Samuel; Elias : Elizabeth ; Catherine, deceased.
Elias Wolf was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools of his district. Possessed of but limited means, he was both provi- dent and industrious and in the course of time ac- cumulated large means, at present being the owner of an excellent business and two fine farms near Ak- ron.
The marriage of Elias Wolf to Miss Miranda Germon, of the borough of Akron, occurred Feb. 20,
1867, and to this union have been born fifteen chii- dren: Emma Elizabeth, born Sept. 10, ISor, died 1 June 1, 1872; Sylvester, born Jan. 20, 18Co, died May 30, 1872; Ellen, born June 11, 1870; Harry, i born Oct. 17, 1871, died June 12, 1872; Harvey, hern April 28, 1873; Theodore, Aug. 22, 1874: Clara, Dec. 15, 1875; Ada, Aug. 9, IS ;;; Samuel. Jr., Sept. 25, 1873, and died May 17, 1879 : Maggie, Jan. 17. 1880: Mary, Ang. 23, 1881, died Marci: 6. INS2: Elias. Feb. 29, 1883 ; Bertha, March 13, 1884: Charles, July 20, died Jan. 19, 1887; and Sadie, Jan. 6, 1892.
In politics, Mr. Wolf is a staunch Republican and has heldl a number of the township offices, filling them most efficiently ; in his religious belief, he is a consistent member of the Dunkard Church. In all Ephrata township there is no man more highly re- gardled as one who is honorable and upright in all business dealings, and in every walk of life he has displayed those attributes which make a good citi- zen. kind husband and careful father.
HIRAM L. BATTEN, the efficient superin- tendent for the sub-station for the Conestoga Trac- tion Company, located at Mechanicsburg. Pa., was born in Upper Leacock township, Oct. Ii. 1849 : he was a son of Israel and Elizabeth ( Garber) Batten. the former of Upper Leacock and the latter of West Eari township. The death of the mother occurred on the old homestead in 1860, at the age of fity- three. The father still resides on the old farm. a woolen manufacturer who operated mills in West Earl and East Donegal townships, retiring from ac- tivity in 1870. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Church. The children born to them were: Anna E., who died in infancy; and Hiram L.
The paternal grandparents were Hiram and Susannah (Meixell) Batten, natives of Downing- town. Chester county, where he was brought up to the trade of stone mason, also teaching school dur- ing his younger days. In 1790 he came to Lancaster county and operated a hotel in Upper Leacock town- ship, and in 1800 purchased the farm property on which Israel Batten resides. The maternal grand- parents were John and Rachel (McArthur) Gar-s ber, natives of West Earl township and Chester county, respectively.
Hiram L. Batten remained with his parents in the home at Batten's Corner until his marriage. In his early years he attended the district schools and from eighteen to twenty he was a student at the Lebanon Valley College, and later at the Shippens- burg State Normal School. When about twenty- one years old Mr. Batten began to teach school, and from his beginning in Upper Leacock township he continued in that profession for twenty-one years. being recognized as one of the leading instructors in the county. On Feb. 10, 1901, he assisted in estab- lishing the sub-station at Mechanicsburg and was made its superintendent. For two and one-half
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
years he has been justice of the peace, while for the past fifteen he has been the valued agent for the Northern Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of Lan- caster county.
Mr. Batten was married Sept. 18, 1881, in Bird- in-Hand, to Miss Sallie Armstrong, and to this union two daughters have been born, Grace E. and Maud M. Mrs. Batten was born in Williamstown. Pa., a daughter of Jacob and Susan ( Fenninger) Armstrong, the former of whom was a railroad engineer, who died at the age of forty-one at Co- lumbia in 1874. The mother resides in Gordon- ville, Pennsylvania.
The family are consistent members of the Meth- odist Church, in which Mr. Batten has been a local preacher for five years and where they are most highly esteemed. In politics he has ever been in sympathy with the Republican party.
JOSEPH H. GOCHNAUER. One of the well- conducted farms of Lancaster county, Pa., located in East Hempfield township, midway between Petersburg and Landisville, is owned and success- fully operated by Joseph H. Gochnauer, a well-known agriculturist.
Joseph H. Gochnauer, a son of John and Re- becca (Hersh) Gochnatter, was born April 6, 1844, on the farm upon which he lives, and was reared and educated in East Hempfield township, passing all his years there, with the exception of ten months spent in the West. In 1873 he took charge of the farm by himself and since that time has brought his sixty acres to a high state of production, con- fining himself to general farming. Many substan- tial improvements have been made on the place since he took charge of it and it is one of the most valu- able and desirable in the neighborhood.
On Nov. 17, 1872, Joseph H. Gochnauer was married to Anna Hostetter, a daughter of Christian and Catherine (Frank) Hostetter, who was born in Manheim township, in Lancaster county, and three children have been born of this union: Christian H., who is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, of Lancaster City, in the class of 1000: John H., a pupil in the State Normal School at Millersville; and Joseph H., who is a student at Elizabethtown College.
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