Biographical annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical and genealogical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settlers, Part 41

Author: Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899. dn; Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [Chicago, Ill.] : Beers
Number of Pages: 1186

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 41

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Charies Grosh was born and reared in Manheim township, Lancaster county, and in early life learned the blacksmith's trade at Kissel Hill. On his re- moval to Lititz, he erected a shop at that place and engaged in business there until called to his final rest at the age of eighty years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan Shober, died at the same age. They were both connected with the Moravian Church. Of their fourteen children eight grew to years of maturity, namely: Maria, wife of Elias Buch, of Lititz, who died in March, 1900: Sarah, deceased, the wife of James Wolle, of Bethlehem, !'a .: Caroline, the widow of Francis Lawall. resid- mg at Bethlehem, Pa. : Samuel E. ; Henry Harrison, a veteran of the Civil war, who was a coachmaker and partner of Samuel E. from 1857 until his death ḷ 1802; Herman, a confectioner of Bethlehem, Pa .: Augustus, a blacksmith by trade, and a soldier of the Civil war, is now deceased; and Agnes, who died in 1807.

Samuel E. Grosh was reared in Lititz and edu- rated in a private school conducted by John Beck. During his vacations he worked on a farm and at the age of sixteen commenced learning the black- smith's trade with his father. After mastering that

occupation he learned the trade of coachmaking at Allentown, Pa., and then worked as a journeyman two years. Forming a partnership with his brother in IS57, they erected a shop in Lititz. and engaged in the manufacture of coaches, carriages, etc., for many years, doing a large and profitable business which is still carried on by Samuel E .. who has given his entire time and attention to this work. The plant was enlarged in 1884 by the erection of a large frame building used as salesrooms and fin- ishing department. The company keep on hand a good supply of finished work, and the vehicles turned ont by them are among the best in the market. Mir. Grosh is a Republican in his political views, is an intelligent and progressive man, and has efficiently served as a member of the school board of Lititz for eighteen years.

On Feb. 4, 1858, Mr. Grosh married Miss Aman- da C. Kramer, who was born on Pine Hill. Lancaster county, in 1832, a daughter of William Kramer, and of this union seven children were born, namely : Horace E. and Charles William, both mentioned more fully below: Lawrence K .: Bertha. wife of Walter Souders, of Lititz: Ruth, at home: and two deceased. The family are members of the Moravian Church, of which Mr. Grosh has been a member of the board of trustees for eighteen years.

Horace E. Grosh, the oldest son of Samuel E., was born Jan. 17. 1850, and was educated in the public schools and the Lititz Academy. At the age of fifteen years he entered the mercantile establish- ment of H. H. Tschudy. in whose employ he re- mained a short time, and then spent four years with his father, learning .the blacksmith's trade. In the fall of 1881. he went to New Haven, Conn .. where he followed the latter occupation for two years, and from there went to Charleston, S. C., and Savannah, Ga., returning to Pennsylvania overland through Virginia. From 1883 to IS84 he was a traveling salesman for the firm of B. F. Johnston & Co .. book publishers. In the fall of 1884 he was elected su- perintendent of correspondence of the publishing concern and turned his attention to the discharge of its duties The following spring he was made a member of the firm of B. F. Johnston & Co .. with which he was connected until 1889. when he re- tired from the hook business. He has since followed mechanical pursuits, organized the Richmond Brass & Machine Works. at Richmond, Va .. and became the secretary and treasurer. His next venture was with the Burton Electric Company in the manufac- ture of Burton electric heaters for street cars. but in the fall of 1895 he returned to Lititz, where he now resides, and in 1896 was made keeper of the Lititz Springs grounds, which position he now holds. 1885 he married Miss Lizzie Huber. a daughter of John Huber, living near Lititz, and four children were born to them, all of whom are living, viz : Mary Esther. Francis Edmund, Robert Samuel and Anna Elizabeth.

Charles William Grosh, the second son of Sam-

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uel E., was born Aug. 11. 1860, and also attended : a Mennonite, his wife a member of the German Re- the public schools and Lititz Academy. At the age formed Church. He died in November. 1850. aged sixty-eight, she Jan. 19. 1874, in her eighty-six :!. year. Henry N. was their only son, and they had five daughters, Maria, Ann, Elizabeth, Matilda and Sarah. Ann and Elizabeth both died unmarrie !. Maria is the wife of Samuel Caldwell. of Williams- port. Matilda has been twice married. her first hts- band being I. S. Clarkson, and her second James Marshall. of Allegheny City, Pa. Sarah became the wife of B. F. Spangler, of Columbia, and died in 1859. of fifteen he commenced clerking in the mercantile establishment of H. H. Tschudy, and was in his em- ploy two years, after which he learned the trade of body making in the carriage establishment of his father and uncle. He subsequently spent almost two years in William Lee's body establishment at Easton, Pa., and then went to Omaha, Nebr., where he was employed by A. J. Simpson, a carriage man- ufacturer, for five years and by other concerns for two years. He has traveled extensively over the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific and as far Henry Neff Kehler is a substantial and indu- ential citizen. His farm comprises 140 acre -. an1 is one of the best in Lancaster county, as his House is also one of the handsomest. His title to this prop- erty may be traced back to William Penn, and he has. as a treasured heirloom, the original conveyance from that great apostle of the doctrines of George Fox. Mr. Kohler has been a director in the First National Bank of Columbia for thirty-five years. and is held in high esteem for his keen intelligence. sound judgment and business integrity. Pris: 40 the outbreak of the Civil war, his political affiliation was with the Democratic party, but since that apoch he has been a Republican. He is a consistent mem- her of the Presbyterian Church. south as Mexico. Returning to Lititz in 1891. he took a position in his father's manufactory, and in 1899 became a member of the firm, which is known as S. E. Grosh & Co. He is not only an experienced body maker, but a painter and finisher as well. and now has charge of the woodwork and finishing de- partments of the factory. He was married. Nov. S. 1893. to Miss Mar Siegfried. of Easton. Pa., daugh- ter of Neander and Emma Siegfried, and they have three children living, Emma, Mary and Alice: one died in infancy, Charles W .. Jr. Like the other members of the Grosh family they are connected with the Moravian Church and take a prominent part in its work. For a number of years Charles W. Grosh has taken an active interest in Y. M. C. On Feb. 23. 1871. in Luzerne county, Mr. Kehier married Miss Catherine Stewart Knox, and they had one child. Heury N., Jr., at present teller for the Columbia Trust Company. A. work, was the first president of the organization in Lititz, and is now serving as recording secretary. He is also secretary and and treasurer of the Lititz Springs Association. He is a Republican in poli- tics.

Lawrence K. was born Sept. 13. 1862. and on Nov. 22. 1893, married Catherine Brandt, of Li- titz. They have two children. Earl B. and James Theodore. He worked in Lititz both as a black- smith and a cigar-maker, but since 1900 has been engaged in the insurance business, with his office in the postoffice building, Main Street, Lititz.

HENRY NEFF KEHLER has for four-fifths of a century resided in his present home at Locust Grove, in West Hempfield township, Lancaster county, having been born there April 17, 1821.

'The family is of Swiss descent. the paternal grandparents. Joshua and Maria Kchler, having emigrated from Switzerland in early life. The fa- ther of Henry Neff Kehler, who was also named Joshua. was born at Strasburg, this county. but took up his residence at Locust Grove in 1814. There he successfully cultivated a farm, devoting especial at- tention to the raising of cattle, and at the same time conducted the "Locust Grove Inn." Joshua Kehler married Anna Neff, daughter of Henry and Anna (Oberholser) Neff. of West Hempfield. and grand- daughter of Daniel Neff, who was descended from Francis Neff. the earliest American progenitor of the family, who emigrated from Switzerland in 1717. because of religious persecution, and settled in Ma- nor township, Lancaster county. Joshua Kehler was

Mrs. Kehler was born at Jersey Shore. Lycom- ing county. Pa. The first American progenitor of her father's family was her great-grandfather. John Knox. who came to this country in 1785 from Badly- money, County Antrim, Ireland, and located near Taneytown. Md. He had married Jane Robinson. who came to America in 1785. with her family of several children. At that time john, the grand- father of Mrs. Keller, was but twelve years of age. He married Catharine Stewart, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth! ( Hunter) Stewart, the latter a daugh- fer of Cant. Samuel and Catherine ( Chambers ! Hunter. John Hunter Knox. Mrs. Kehier's father. was a man of superior education. having graduated from both Milton Academy and Dickinson College. He was by profession a civil engineer, but also dealt extensively in lumber. He was a Republican, and prominent in politics, though he never craved office and persistently declined all offers to place him in nomination : however, he consented for a time 10 serve as justice of the peace. He held a captain's commission in Co. D. Itth Pa. Regiment, command- ed by Col. Coulter, but his untimely death. on Feb. 28. 1862. at the age of forty-seven, cut short a ca- reer which bade fair to be as distinguished as it was useful. Few men in his county were more gener- ally popular or more sincerely mourned. He mar- ried Ann F. Moran, who survived him until March 28. 1885, when she too passed away at Hazleton. in her sixty-niath year. Mr. Knox was a member

BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY

631

of the Methodist Church, his wife of the Presbyter- jan. Mrs. Kehler was their first-born child and only daughter. She has three brothers, all of whom are married : John M., a wholesale grocer of Hazle- ton: Robert S., a farmer of Manor township, this county ; and James R., a machinist of Richmond, Virginia.

On her mother's side, Mrs. Kehler is a great- granddaughter of Patrick and Arie ( Ruggles) Mo- ran, of Annapolis, Md., and a granddaughter of John and Mary ( Penny) Moran, the former of whom died in early life. The latter was a daughter of William and Jane ( McGowan) Penny, Scottish peo- ple of Drumore township, Lancaster county.

JACOB HERSHEY HERSHEY. From both paternal and maternal lines of ancestry this vener- able and cultured resident of West Hempfield town- ship, Lancaster county, inherits the name of one of the old families of the county. He is the son of Abraham and Nancy ( Hershey) Hershey, and on the paternal side the grandson of Christian and Elizabeth (Deal) Hershey and the great grandson of Christian Hershey, a pioneer settler and farmer of Warwick. now Penn. township, who in partner- ship with John Brubaker purchased a tract of 1,000 acres of land, upon a portion of which the village of Petersburg now stands, the land being divided between the two men. Christian, the grandfather. was a farmer of East Hempfield township, where he lived to a good old age.

Abraham Hershey, the father of Jacob H., was born in East Hempfield township. Feb. 4. 1790, and was reared on the old homestead, but in 1817 moved to Rapho township. He married Nancy Hershey, who was born in Warwick township. Feb. 12. 1798, datighter of Christian and Anna ( Fox) Hershey, and the granddaughter of Jacob Hershey, of War- wick, now Penn. township. Her father was a miller by occupation and he built the first structure at what is now known as Cassell's Mills. Nancy was a de- vout member of the Old Mennonite Church and Abraham, while not holding membership in any re- ligions society, exemplified in his life the virtues and principles of Christianity. He was supervisor of what is now Columbia, East Hempfield and West Hempfield townships, and was prominent in local affairs. In 1840 he retired from the farm to the village in Sporting Hill. in Rapho township, where he continued to live until his death, which occurred Feb. 24. 18(), at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife died May 28. 1875, aged seventy-seven years. A family of ten children was born to Abraham and Nancy Hershey. namely: Christian, born Sept. 5. 1814. died in November, 1879 : Isaac H., born March 25, 1816, died May 18, 1854; Jacob H., born Oct. 4, 1817 ; Jolin H., born Jan. 15, 1820. died Feb. 17. 1890: Daniel H., born March II, 1822, died June 30, 1872: Abraham H., born April 3, 1824, died Jan. 24, 1896: Harriet H., born March II, 1826. married to Henry N. Brubaker, of Freeport, Ill. :

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Anna H., born Oct. 4, 1828, died Feb. 1, 1862: Sol- omon H .. born April 10. 1831. who lived retired at Buffalo, N. Y., and died in September, 1900: Tobias H .. born Oct. 2. 1833, a hotel proprietor at Coluni- bia. Pennsylvania.

The third child, Jacob H., was reared on his fa- ther's farm in Rapho township and received the education which the common schools afforded early in the past century. At the age of eighteen years he began an apprenticeship to the saddlery trade, which he completed, continuing to work at his trade in Lancaster county until 1838, when he moved to eastern Ohio and was there employed at his trade for two years. Then returning to Pennsylvania. he continued the same vocation for two years more, devoting in all seven years to it. He then began his life work on the farm.

His marriage to Miss Susan L. Long occurred Nov. 14. 184t. in Lancaster. She was born in East Hempfield township, Aug. 21. 1821, daughter of Abraham and Anne ( Kauffman) Long. and the granddaughter of Christian and Anna ( Miller) Kauffman. Abraham Long was a farmer and to himself and his wife were born the following chi !- dren: AAbraham, deceased : Christian, deceased : Maria, who died young; Anna. deceased : John. de- ceased : Susan L. : Anna. who married Samuel Niss- ley and is now deceased: Benjamin. of Lancaster ; Fanny, now Mrs. Tandis, a widow in Landisville : Solomon. deceased ; and Maria, who married Abra- ham Perry. of Lancaster. Seven children were horn to Jacob H. and Susan (Long) Hershey, namely: Amelia, who married Rev. Levy H. Shenk. a Re- formed Mennonite minister, and is now deceased ; Washington, of Marietta, Pa. : Abraham, justice of the peace in West Hempfield township: Webster, a farmer of East Hempfield township : Benjamin, who lives with his father on the farm : Horace and Frank- lin, both deceased.

Soon after his marriage Jacob H. Hershey began the active life of a farmer in West Hempfield town- ship and soon became one of its most prominent cit- izens. He served as school director for three years and for thirty-five years was president of the Penn Mutual Insurance Company. In politics he is a Re- publican and his first presidential vote was cast for General Harrison. While years ago surrendering the active burden of farm life. Jacob Hershey still supervises the work on his broad acres : though over eighty-five years of age he retains the vigor and bright mentality of a younger generation, his facul- ties being unimpaired by the weight of years. He has always been a student and affords a splendid example of the truth that men of active minds have the greater promise of longevity and a serene old age. Forty years ago he was a school director and was so advanced in his ideas and so much ahead of his time that he introduced short-hand writing into the schools. He was also the first man to start un- derdraining wet land. He was also one of the or- ganizers of an Agricultural and Horticultural So-

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ciety. the only one of its founders still living. For thirty-five years he was the president of the Penn Township Fire Insurance Company and is at pres- ent connected with a Fire and Storm Insurance Company. He has been deeply interested in the genealogy and the early struggles of the pioneer families of Lancaster county and there has perhaps been no better local authority on matters of history than he. His investigation along many lines of re- search has been thorough and satisfying. so that his conversation gleams with the ripe and trenchant wisdom of well-spent years, and his fame as an orig- inal and sound thinker has gone beyond the immedi- ate circle of his friends and acquaintances. In brief, Jacob H. Hershey is of that stanch, sturdy type of enlightened humanity which blesses and honors the community where its influence exists.

ELWOOD SHOLLENBERGER SNYDER. . M. D., whose elegant home and cozy offices are located at No. 425 North Queen street, Lancaster. is one of the most prominent and eminently success- fui physicians and surgeons of that city.

Grandfather Peter Snyder was a prominent con- tracting carpenter and builder in Hamburg. Pa. Henry Snyder. his son, and the father of Dr. Say- der. married Miss Catherine Shollenberger, daugi- ter of Thomas and Susan Shollenberger, the former of whom was a nierchant tailor of Berks county. Five children were born to Henry Snyder and his wife: Walter. Ettie. Susan, Bertie L. and Dr. El- wood S.

Elwood Sholienberger Snyder was born in Len- hartsville. Berks Co .. Pa. Hle entered Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in May. 1896, coming to Lancaster and locating here in July of the same year. Purchasing the home of the late David Evans, county superin- tendent of public schools, Dr. Snyder at once pro- ceeded to remodel and enlarge the building. putting in a yellow pressed brick front and erecting an ele- gant entrance to his offices, on the south of the building-creating one of the handsomest private residences in that part of the city. The offices are connected with both telephones, and no physician or surgeon in Lancaster is better equipped with in- struments and apparatus for the successful pursuit of his noble profession. Professionally he helongs to the American Institute of Homeopathy. the Homeopathic State Medical Society of Pennsyl- vania, and the Goodno Medical Society (which is composed of Homeopathic physicians of the coun- ties of York. Dauphin and Lancaster).

Dr. Snyder is a man of prominence in many lines, and seems equally at home in both business and professional life. His public-spirited attitude and his liberal ideas have made him a valued stock- holder and director in the Union Trust Company. He represents the "Co." in the E. N. Johnson & Co. planing-mill business, one of the leading indus- tries in that line in the State .. The Doctor is gifted

by nature with a capacity for intense and concen- trated application, and he has always been found with the ability to meet the demands of any situ- ation.

Dr. Snyder has never ceased being a student. and he has continually advanced in his profession along with the progress made in his beloved science and has kept pace with its wonderful discoveries. In him is found that rare combination of keen busi- ness sagacity with open-hearted. open-handei gen- erosity which is seldom discovered, while his ur- banity and pleasant and genial personality render him a real physician, a popular comrade and a most agreeable and trusted friend. Being the personi- fication of energy and industry, he has made rapid strides both in business and in professional life. and has out-distanced many of his older competitors. His private life is an exemplary one and his home a center of refined social life. Yet in the prine of life, having accomplished so much, his friends are inclined to believe that more laurels await lum in the future.

MARTIN D. SHEAFFER was in his day a prosperous agriculturist of Upper Leacock town- ship. and though he passed away when comparative- lv a young man, he had made his way to a place in the front rank in his community.

Mr. Sheaffer was born in 1842. a son of Tsaiah and Joanna (Diller) Sheaffer. farming people . of L'pper Leacock township, this county. Their family consisted of the following named children: Rachei. Mrs. Sammel Myers. deceased : Diller, who died voung : Martin D .: John, a resident of Lamneter township, this county : Isaac. living in Kansas : Mary, Mrs. Isaac Kochel, deceased : Cyrus, of Bareville. Lancaster county : Adam, deceased : and Joanna. Mrs. John Good, of Bareville.

In 1860 Martin D. Sheaffer was united in mar- riage with Miss Sarah Ann Sheibly, who was born Feb. 16. 1836, and of whose family more extended mention is given below. To this union were born three children : Susanna, who died when seven months old : Alice, now the wife of John J. Hich, a farmer of East Earl township : and Diller S .. who is mentioned farther on. Mr. Sheaffer followed farm- ing successfully up to the time of his death. which occurred in Upper Leacock township, Dec. 18. : 332. when he was forty years old. His remains rest in the Groffdale cemetery. He was a devout member of the Mennonite Church, with which his widow also unites. She now makes her home in Leacock town- ship.

DILLER S. SHEAFFER was born May 9. 18;1, in Earl township, was reared in Upper Leacock town- ship, receiving his education in the public schools there. He remained with his mother until 1886. spent the next five years at the home of his sister. and afterward resided on the fine farm in Leacock town- ship, where he carried on general agricultural par- suits and stock raising. Mr. Sheaffer inherited the

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Elwood S. Suyder, M. A.

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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY

thrifty traits of his ancestors, as the results of his Samuel Hackenberger was born in Concy town- ship, and his wife in East Donegal township ; both died in Bainbridge, to which point they removed shortly after their marriage. They lived in Bain- work showed. In political faith he was a Repub- lican, but was not particularly active in public affairs. In Sept., 1893. in Lancaster, Mr. Sheaffer married Miss Emma Burkholder. a native of West Earl i bridge the greater part of their lives, with the ex- township, and daughter of Isaac and Maria ( Rupp) 1 1 Burkholder. Her father was engaged in farming in West Earl township until his death. in 18SI, and the mother still resides there. Two children were born to Mir. and Mrs. Sheaffer, James B. and Carl I., the latter deceased. Mr. Sheaffer's death Nov. 14, 1901. at the age of thirty years, five months and 1

twenty-five days, was most untimely and cut short a very promising career.

The Sheibly family. to which Mrs. Sarah A. Sheaffer belongs. has long been prominent in this county. Henry Sheibly, her grandfather, came to America with his parents when but seven years of age, and passed the remainder of his life in Lan- caster county. A man of great industry, he accumu- lated considerable property, and cultivated his lands, on which he made improvements which still remain to testify to his excellent judgment. In iroz he built the stone residence still occupied by his grandson. Mrs. Sheaffer's brother, and in 1800 he erected a large barn which is still in use, and, like the dwelling. in a good state of preservation. In ISI; he built a large brick house on the farm, which is now occupied by his great-grandson. Ife passed away in 1817. at the age of seventy-two. Henry Sheibly first mar- ried a Miss Wenger, who died in 1704. and his sec- ond wife, Elizabeth ( Miller). was the grandmother of Mrs. Sheaffer. She died in 1840. at the age of seventy-four.

Henry and Susanna (Groff) Sheibly. Mrs. Sheaffer's parents, were both natives of Lancaster county, the former born April II. 1707. at Groff- dale, the latter on June TI. 1802. in West Earl town- ship. They were married March 12. 1822. and chil- dren as follows blessed this union: . Anna, who died young: Abram G., of Upper Leacock township : Elmira. Henry and Martin, who all died young : Maria, who married Tohn B. Landis : Susannah. late wife of Isaac Reif : Sarah Ann, who is the widow of Martin D. Sheaffer : Caroline, widow of Isaac Shaef- fer. of West Earl township: and Adam. who died young. The mother of these died in April. 1877, after a long life of usefulness, filled with kindly ac- tions and neighborly deeds. Mr. Sheibly survived until Tan .. 1885. passing away at the home of his daughter Caroline, in Farmersville. He was buried from his old home, and laid to rest in the family burving ground. For many years he was one of the prominent farmers of his town. active in local pub- lic affairs and in the work of the Reformed Church. in which he served as elder. He retired in 1859.

GEORGE W. HACKENBERGER, a druggist and retired teacher in Bainbridge, Lancaster county, was born in that borough Dec. 0. 1835, son of San- tel and Mary (Custer) Hackenberger.

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Biographical annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical and genealogical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settlers, Part 41

Author: Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899. dn; Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1903 Publisher: [Chicago, Ill.] : Beers Number of Pages: 1186

Author: Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899. dn; Beers (J.H.) & Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [Chicago, Ill.] : Beers
Number of Pages: 1186