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 39
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of character. He is a member of the Masonic Or- der and is a Knight Templar, as well as a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. His po- litical sympathies are with the Republican party, and his religious faith is that of the Episcopal . Church.
On Jan. 23, 1879, John H. Graeff was married at Columbia, to Miss Louisa Kistler, who was born in Lancaster, Sept. 9, 1858. Her father, John J. Kistler, was a native of Switzerland, and her moth- er, nee Sophia Mythaler, was born in Baden. They came with their respective brothers and sisters to Lancaster in 1847-48, and there they were mar- ried, their parents remaining in the old world. MIr. Kistler was born in 1823, was by trade a carpenter and died Sept. 15, 1885. Mrs. Kistler was born May 15, 1827, and is yet living, making her home with her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. her parents, the others, in order of birth, being Em- ma, who married Charles Evans, an iron worker; Mary, the wife of Edward Edwards, a retired busi- ness man of New York; William, a stationary en- gineer of Steelton, Pa .: Albert, a carpenter and builder residing in Brooklyn, N. Y .: and John, a telegraph operator in New York City. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Graeff has been blessed with five children, namely: Stella, George D., William L., John H. and Margaret C.
John Lorentz, her father, died in Lancaster in 1834, , began the manufacture of cigars. He left that bus-
PIERCE LESHER was born in the village of Reamstown, Lancaster county, May 9, 1853, and spent his early life upon the farm. He received his education in the public schools of his native town and in the State Normal School at Millersville. For four years he engaged in teaching school. and then : iness to enter the United States Internal Revenue service on July 4, 1885, becoming a deputy collector under Hon. John T. MacGonigle, collector of the 9th District, at Lancaster, taking charge of the dis- tilled spirits accounts. and heid that position under Collectors MacGonigle and Hensel until March II, 1880, when he resigned to become assistant cashier of the Conestoga National Bank at Lancaster. His . connection with that institution lasted until Aug. I, 1880, at which time he re-entered the Revenue service as cashier under Collector Hensel. filling the office until the end of Mr. Hensel's term. He continued in the Revenue service, as deputy under Collector Sam Matt. Fridy, Esq., the successor of Mr. Hen- sel, and as chief deputy under Collectors Shearer and Hershey. On Jan. 1, 1900, he resigned from the Revenue service to take the position of treasurer of The Lancaster Trust Co. During the last three years of Mr. Lesher's connection with the Revenue service he was chairman of the examining committee on the Revenue and Post Office civil service boards, which position he filled with much ability. On April 1. 1903. he resigned as Treasurer of The Lancaster Trust Co. to accept the position of General Superin-
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Pierce Lester
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tendent and Treasurer of the knitting mills of the Lesher-Raig Knitting Co., Limited, located at Reamstown, Pa., in which industry he is largly in- terested.
While in the Revenue service Mr. Lesher was called upon to pass through the most trying ordeal of his life, having been in confidential relations with the United States secret service men from June, 1898, until April, 1899, no other people in Lancaster dreaming of what was going on in their midst in the : way of counterfeiting money and revenue stamps, in what is known as the Jacobs-Kendig counterfeit- ing cases. The secret service men made Mr. Leshi- er's home on West Chestnut street a place of meet- ing, usually calling there at dead of night. Ladders and tools of all sorts were stored there, and Mr. Lesher never knew when he retired for the night, but that he might be called to join some midnight or early morning raid. These expeditions put him to his wits' end to smooth over matters to inquiring neigh- bors, so as to conceal the real object of these night- ly errands. His high character and unimpeachable standing, however, carried the matter over success- fully. When it became neccessary to aquaint his superior officer with what was going on, he wired the authorities at Wahsington, and the whole mat- ter was carried through to a successful conclusion. Åll parties connected with this scheme were arrested, their goods, counterfeit plates, printing presses and a large quantity of counterfeit cigar stamps being seized and forfeited to the Government. In connec- tion with this case, twelve persons were arrested, convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment, it having been the most gigantic scheme ever at- tempted at counterfeiting in the United States. In the part taken by Mr. Lesher, in assisting to bring the guilty parties to justice, he displayed great cool- ness, shrewdness and courage, for which he received the highest praise from those under whom he served and the public at large.
On Nov. 25, 1885, Mr. Lesher was married to Kate P. McGinnis, daughter of the late Thomas J. and Sarah (Powell) McGinnis, the latter of whom died when the daughter was but three years old, from which time she made her home with her uncle, the late Mitchell J. Weaver, whose home she and her husband, with their two children, Mary Helen and Clara Elizabeth, now occupy. Mr. Lesher is a vestryman of St. John's Episcopal Church, and fra- ternally is prominent in Masonic circles. He was one of the organizers of the Home Building & Loan Association and served on its board of directors. He was also one of the chief promoters in the organ- ization of the Ephrata & Adamstown Railway Com- pany and the building of their road, and he is a mem- ber of their board of directors. Mr. Lesher always took a great interest in matters pertaining to his na- tive town and was the first to agitate the building of this line through the same, and it was owing to his efforts, mainly, that this was accomplished. He is also a director of the Adamstown & Mohnsville Rail-
way Co. Apart from this, Mr. Lesher has made a good record as a citizen and business man, by the intelligence, fidelity and ability he has brought to bear alike on his private and public labors, and he is much respected at home and abroad for his manly qualities and his genial and companionable spirit.
Nicholas and Dorothy Lesher, remote ancestors of Pierce Lesher, came to America from the Paia- tinate prior to 1730. and made their home in Lan- caster county. Here they had three sons, Nicholas, Abraham and John. John married Elizabeth Bink- ley, and had one son, whom he also named Jolin, and who married Catherine Miller. To John and Catherine ( Miller) Lesher were born three sons, Henry, John and William, of whom John was the father of Pierce Lesher.
John Lesher married Rebecca Matz, of Spring township, Berks Co., Pa., daughter of George and Elizabeth Matz, and a granddaughter of Lawrence Matz, who was of German descent. By this union their were two children. Pierce Lesher and Mrs. Clara L. Evans, the latter a widow, and living at Reading, Pa. Mr. Lesher's great-grandfather, John Lesher, bought a farm at Reamstown, Lancaster county, which has been in the possession of the Lesh- er family ever since, and is now owned by Pierce Lesher, whose name opens this sketch.
WILLIAM CONNARD HOAR. This gentle- man has been fortunate enough to acquire a know !- edge of the mysteries of two callings, one being that of a blacksmith and the other that of a farmer, but the latter seems best to please him, as he has re- linquished the former, and is still engaged in his pursuit of the latter in Salisbury township, Lan- caster countv.
William C. Hoar was born in Buyerstown, Salis- bury township, Lancaster county, March 12, 1835, a son of James and Mary ( Evetts) Hoar, natives of Salisbury township, who were married Aug. 5, 1819. James Hoar, the father. was born May 28, 1796, was a blacksmith all his days, and died in Buyers- town, Jan. I. 1353. His wife, who was born July 9. 1797, had been called away Aug. 31, 1840. Their remains rest in the old Friends churchyard in Sads- bury, among those of their ancestors of generations gone bv for years. Ten children graced the union of this highly respected couple, and in order of birth were as follows: Ann E., who was married to Michael Beam but is now deceased, her surviving husband being a retired farmer of Eden township; John B., also deceased : Robert, a retired farmer living in Leacock township : Rachel, widow of John Whiteside, a former veterinary surgeon in Parkes- burg, Chester county, where she still has her resi- dence: Sarah, deceased wife of William Hasson ; Mary C., living in Paradise township, the widow of William Shaffer; James. deceased; Margaret, who died when young; William C., whose name heads this biographical notice ; and Lettitia L., deceased. The paternal grandparents of William C. Hoar were
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James and Anna (Chamberlain) Hoar, of Chester county, early settled in Salisbury township, Lancas- ter county, and were of the most wealthy and re- spected Quaker families of this part of the State. Great grandfather Chamberlain was a man of means, and primarily a farmer in Sadsbury township, Lan- caster county, but he was also a sea captain and was eventually lost while making one of his voyages.
In Leacock township, in IS73, William C. Hoar was united in marriage with Miss Christiana E. Slack, who was born in Leacock township Oct. 27, 1847, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth ( Brower) Slack. To this union have been born three chil- dren, viz: Mary E., who died when but fifteen years old: and [. Willard and Anna J., both still under the parental roof.
William C. Hoar began his business life at the age of sixteen years in his father's blacksmith shop, or in about 1851. In 1855 the father retired, and William C. continued on with the business until 1882, when he sold out and purchased his present farm, in connection with which he conducted a blacksmith shop for two years, and then abandoned blacksmithing altogether. As a farmer Mr. Hoar has met with abundant success, and is classed among the best in the county. In fact, he follows the lines which inevitably lead to a victory over all opposi- tion, and to the triumphant subjection of all ob- stacles that impede the way, those lines being sound judgment, unceasing industry and conscientious per- formance of the duties pertaining to his calling.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoar are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Hoar has been a trustee for many years, and to the support of which they are constant and liberal contributors. In politics Mr. Hoar is a Republican, but has never manifested any desire to hold public office.
JOSHUA BRINTON, deceased, son of Moses and Hannah (Chamberlain) Brinton, of Leacock and Sadsbury townships, respectively, was born Feb. 28, ISTI, and died Aug. 4, 1892, and was bur- icd in the Society of Friends cemetery in Salisbury township. Moses Brinton was born in 1761, and (lied Nov. 23, 1846; his wife, who had remarried, survived until June 17, 1860. They were both con- sistent members of the Society of Friends and were buried in the Sadsbury cemetery.
In November, 1848, Joshua Brinton married in Philadelphia, Miss Mary E. Passmore, of whom further mention will be shortly made. To this union were born five children, viz: Phoebe, who is married to M. P. Cooper, a coal merchant in Chris- tiana, Pa., and has one child; Clara E., who is the wife of Robert U. Knox, a cattle dealer at Gap, Pa., and has borne one child, which is now deceased ; Mary and Joshua H., both of whom died young ; and J. Howard, still with his mother.
Mrs. Mary E. ( Passmore) Brinton was a daugh- ter of Enoch and Phoebe (Hollis) Passmore, who were married in Salisbury township in October,
1822. Enoch Passmore was a substantial business man and brewer and was conspicuous as a town- ship official. He was born March 16, 1785, and died June 6, 1858; his wife died at the age of thirty- nine. They were members of the Society of Friends and their remains were interred in the Sadsbury meeting-house cemetery. To Enoch and Phoebe Passmore were born eight children, viz: John, who died in infancy; Sarah, who was born Sept. 19, 1824, who married Benjamin Hershey. and died ; Mary E., born Feb. 3, 1827; Seneca, born Nov. 12, 1828, and who died young ; Emeline, born July 21, 1830, who died unmarried at the age of fifty : Enoch, born Oct. 19. 1831, now retired from the activities of business as ticket agent and lives at Kinzers, Lan- caster county; George W., born Feb. 11, 1833, and died in infancy: Horace, born Sept. 15. 1834, and died in the army. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Mary E. Brinton were John and Diana ( Davis) Passmore, and were farming people of some con- siderable prominence in Chester county.
The late Joshua Brinton was an excellent farmer butt not an excellent manager for the reason that his too generous nature induced him too often to expend his means in aiding his friends when he should have applied them to use nearer at home. Lacking only a wise economy, he was a consistent member of the Society of Friends and an unusually warm uphoffer of its principles and methods. In politics he was a Republican.
I. CLINTON ARNOLD, who stands among the prominent members of the Lancaster County Bar, is descended from one of the oldest and best Quaker families in Pennsylvania. Henry Brosius, his ma- ternal great-grandfather, is the same as that of the late Hon. Marriott Brosius, whose family history is very fully given elsewhere.
His maternal grandfather was Abner Brosius, who married Letitia Wilkinson about 1828. They were both natives of southern Chester county, Pa., but soon after their marriage they purchased a farm near Bethesda, Martic township. Lancaster coun- tv, where they resided until about the year 1864. when they removed to Lincoln University. Chester county, where Mr. Brosius died in 18-6. Mrs.> Brosius died in 1807, aged eighty-seven years. at the home of our subject's parents. They were both actively interested in the anti-slavery cause. and on on one occasion they concealed Fred Douglas, who had been a slave and was afterward widely known as a benefactor of his race, in their home. that he might escape the violence of a mob who tried to break up an anti-slavery meeting held in the neigh- borhood, by throwing rotten eggs, hooting and jeer- ing the speakers, and threatening to ride them on fails. They were ever ready to reach out a helping hand to the needy and oppressed.
William Arnold, his paternal grandfather. con- ducted a store. and at the same time engaged in the quarrying of slate, at Peach Bottom, Lancaster coun-
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tv. in the early days of the development of that industry in that section. He died in 1852.
William John Arnold, the father of I. Clinton, now resides on a farm near Peach Bottom, York county, Pa., where he has resided many years and has served several terms as justice of the peace, and was a member of the school board for twelve years. having been one of the promoters of the township high school of that section-a pioneer school of the higher grade. He married Amanda P. Brosius, in 1858. Five children were born to them, all of whom are living, as follows : I. Clinton, member of the Lancaster Bar; E. Willard, in the Northern Pacific Railway service, at Portland, Ore. ; Alice W., wife of Henry W. Evans, a farmer at Peach Bottom, Pa. ; Clarence E., a member of the Bar in San Fran- cisco, Cal. : and Mabel B., unmarried and engaged in teaching school. Four of these, I. Clinton, Alice, Clarence and Mabel, are graduates of the State Normal School, at Millersville. Pa .; the mother was a student there at the first session of the school. when it was founded by the late Hon. J. P. Wicker- sham, and she was a member of the first teachers' institute held in Lancaster county.
I. Clinton Arnold was born Sept. 7. 1859, in Mar- tic township, Lancaster county, but spent his boy- hood days on his father's farm, near Peach Bottom. York county. There the life he led resembled that of other boys on farms in that dav, before railroads were common, and while the telegraph and tele- phone were as yet unheard of : but it was unlike that of many farmer boys, in that at home he was encour- aged to work not only at farm work, but in the great field of learning. His mother was never too tired or too busy to give help when he wanted it whether the matter was a hard spelling lesson or something else. So he learned the great lesson of work and application. which finally enabled him to do well in the field of labor which he chose. He got all he could from the district school, and then did the same at the Delta High school, traveling over three miles each morning to reach the school. Before he was quite seventeen years old, he began to teach, his cer- tificate being granted by B. F. Shaub, then superin- tendent of Lancaster county. He began his work at Post Tree school, in the village of Fairfield. Dru- more township, where he taught two years, and the following three years taught Harmony school, in the adjoining district, and a summer term at Home- ville, Chester county, Pa. In the meantime he had attended the Millersville State Normal School, and in 1882 graduated from that institution. After graduating he taught the Willow Grove school, in West Lampeter township, Lancaster Co., and the following year resigned that school to become prin- cipal of the Friends Select School, at Oxford, Ches- ter county. When about eight years of age, he de- cided that he would be a lawyer, when he was a man. and steadily kept that aim in view. Shortly after his graduation, he passed the preliminary examin- ation, and was registered as a law student of the
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Hon. Marriott Brosius. and in 1885, was admitted to practice in the several courts of Lancaster coun- ty, and later to the Supreme and Superior courts of Pennsylvania. He remembers with pleasure and gratitude his student days, and the early years of his practice, the interest and friendship extended to him by H. B. Swarr, a prominent member of the Bar and one time legal adviser, and afterward one of the executors of President Buchanan. Later Mr. Arnold and Mr. Swarr were closely associated in the practice of law, and continued so up to the death of the latter. In 1885 he was appointed notary pub- lic by Governor Pattison, notwithstanding he was a Republican, and he has held a commission as Notary ever since, with the exception of a few months. when he resigned, to act as special agent to investigate the mortgage indebtedness of Lancaster county in the census of 1890. He has always been regarded as a reliable counsellor and would always rather keep his clients out of litigation than to get them into it when it can be done without sacrificing their in- terests.
On Jan. 26, 1897, Mr. Arnold was married by Friends ceremony to Lucy Harris, daughter of Quinten P. and Mary B. Harris, of Salem, N. J., where Mr. Harris was engaged in farming, but is now living retired. One child, Harris Clinton, was born of this union in 1900. Mir. Arnold resides at No. 434 North Lime street. Lancaster, Pa. Relig- iously he inclines to the Friends or Quakers, from which he descended. Politically he is a Republican. and has taken an active part in all Republican cam- paigns ever since he became a law student. He be- longs to the Young Men's Republican Club. That he should take a keen interest in that political party is not to be wondered at. when the fact is recalled that his ancestors were among the earliest and stanchest Abolitionists of the country, and among the founders of the Republican party.
GEORGE BENKERT, whose School of Music is located at No. 147 East King street, has done much to improve and cultivate the taste for classical music in Lancaster, and is an artist of rare gifts in the study and teaching of his art.
William Benkert. the father of George, was born a in Carlshafen, Germany. He completed his musical training in a noted school in Homberg under Dr. W. Volckmar, and then became a teacher in the school and an organist in various places in Germany for a period of fifty years. Matilda Moeller, his wife, was a native of Kirchberg, Germany, and a daughter of Jacob Moeller, an organist and pianist of more than ordinary merit for a period of fifty-two years, and an intimate associate of Louis Spohr, the celebrated composer. Thus it is seen that not only has Mr. Benkert. of Lancaster, made himseif by hard work what he is, but that there is in his blood a sensibility to the attraction of musical art that would demand expression.
George Benkert was born in Hessen-Cassei, Ger-
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many, April 14, 1864. and accomplished his educa- tion in the Fatherland, studying music under the in- structions of his father and grandfather, at the Hom- berg Seminary, then becoming a pupil of Prof. Dr. W. Volkmar and G. Zanger, the latter famous as an instructor on the violin and in choral training. The effect of Mr. Zanger's instruction is seen in the great amount of choral and oratorio work which Mr. Benkert has successfully and brilliantly accom- plished in Lancaster.
Mr. Benkert entered the Seminary at the age of seventeen years, and was graduated with the hon- ors of his class conferred by Prof. Dr. Volckmar, in organ and piano music. Leaving his native land in 1883, he landed at New York, and stopping for a short period with Julius Stern, of Brooklyn, an old schoolmate of his father, he afterward made his way to Lancaster, this city remaining his home to the present time. From 1883 to 1896 he was the organist and choir-master of Zion's Lutheran Church; for seven years he has been choir master and organist of the First Presbyterian Church, and the musical service in that church has becorne noted. He brought Sieveking, the great pianist, to Lancaster, and with his associates barely escaped a financial loss, but he was satisfied in the impulse the music of this great master of the piano gave to the higher musical culture of the city. Adele Aus Der Ohe was brought by him from New York on another occasion. and the interpretation of the piano rendered by this celebrated figure in modern music was a rich treat to all who love music. Mr. Benkert's musical pupils have presented numerous recitals to their friends in Lancaster, and their bril- liant and finished work attests the thoroughness of his instruction.
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Mr. Benkert was married in 1890 to Clara A., daughter of August J. Riske, a merchant tailor in Lancaster. This union has resulted in the birth of three children, two of whom, Catherine Olga and Anna Marguerite, are living. and one, William Au- gustus, is now dead, having passed away at the age of seven years.
Mr. Benkert has assisted in many charitable concerts, and organized the Mendelssohn Society, which has given the oratorios of St. Paul and Chris- tus, both by Mendelssohn, and many choruses from the best masters. Great indeed have been the results of the constant efforts of Mr. Benkert to cultivate a love for music in this community, and no man among us holds a deeper place in the affections of the people. than does this quiet and unassuming, but accomplished gentleman, an artistic pianist and organist of rare merit and genuine worth.
CHARLES H. SMITH, successor to G. Harry Reed, at the Old Lakeland Stables, No. 153 North Queen street, Lancaster, is conducting the largest livery business in the city, and has been in charge of same since March 20, 1902. No better equipped establishment supplies the needs of a cosmopolitan
community anywhere in the country. All manner of turnouts of modern construction are kept on hand, and a specialty is made of funeral and wed- ding rigs, equipages for pleasure parties and general driving, as well as busses and commercial wagons. About forty well groomed horses are kept in con- stant readiness, several of which present a dashing and spirited appearance before the tally-ho.
A native of Kinzers Station, Lancaster Co., Pa., Mr. Smith was born Feb. 11, 1872, son of Jolin S. and Mary E. (Slaymaker) Smith, of Williamstown. this county. John S. Smith was a hotel man in early life, and conducted the "Kinzers Hotel" for eleven years, previous to which he had been con- nected with the "Williamstown Hotel" for six years. He was one of the first to raise tobacco in Lancaster county, and was the very first to bring seed tobacco here. People would come for miles around to see the plant grow, and so successful was Mr. Smith that he became the largest tobacco packer in the county, and made a fair fortune in that line. He also manufactured cigars, and dealt extensively in coal, lumber and grain. He was a man of force and determination, and possessed personal characteristics which kept him in the front of public affairs as long as he lived. Before enter- ing the hotel business he had been a teacher. and he invariably kept abreast of the times, and was unusually well informed. Politics entered largely into his active life, and he held many important positions at the request of his Republican allies, being active in promoting the interests of his party. He was justice of the peace for many years in Williamstown, and while at Kinzers was post- master and ticket, freight and express agent. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and con- tributed generously toward its maintenance. Mr. Smith died in 1885, at the age of fifty-five years, while vet at the height of his energetic and useful career. His wife died in 1879, at the age of forty- seven. They were the parents of the following children: Clara S., of Harrisburg, Pa., married Ezra W. Frantz, a railroad engineer: Sarah E. is the widow of John M. Eckert, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Mary S. is the wife of H. S. Armstrong, a railroad engineer of Philadelphia : Emma L. is the wife of Clem A. Hoar. clerk of Trego county, Kans .: Addie V. is the wife of Nimrod Smith, railroad postal clerk at Harrisburg, Pa .; Lizzie H. is the wife of A. Newton Hoar, station master at Hunt- ington, Oregon; Charles H. is mentioned below. The paternal grandparents, John and Mary Smith, were natives of Lancaster county, where he engaged in the manufacture of harness and collars, and retired in later life.
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