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 43
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The Brinton family, one of the oldest in the State, has always been prominent in the manage- ment of local affairs, has been influential in the So- ciety of Friends. and after the organization of the Republican party was largely instrumental in secur- ing the abolition of slavery.
ABNER PEOPLES, a retired farmer and es- teemed citizen of Strasburg township, was born Feb. 27, 182% in New Providence, Pa., son of John and Susan ( Miller) Peoples, both deceased.
John Peoples was a son of Francis Peoples, a farmer of Lancaster county, who had a family of five children, namely: William, Francis, Samuel. John and Sarah, all of whom have passed out of life. John Peoples. the father of Abner, was born Dec. 10. 1793, died in New Providence, Dec. 23.
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1862, and was a merchant, farmer and lime-burner and one of the leading citizens of his community. About ISIS he married Susan Miller, of Lancaster, and seven children were born to them: Mary, born Dec. 6, 1820, deceased ; Anna, born Jan. 16, 1823, deceased; Abner: Amanda, born Nov. 6, 1827; Leah, a widow, born Oct. 14, 1820, who lives in New Providence, Pa. : Hiram, born in Feb. 1835, a retired farmer of New Providence : John, born July 29, 1837, who reside in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.
Abner Peoples was reared on a farm and re- ceived his education in the schools of his township. When he started out in life for himself it was as a poor boy, and his present financial position has been secured by the exercise of industry, persever- ance and economy. His fine farm of 12; acres, with its excellent improvements, attests his success, and he is fully justified in passing hus declining years in rest and retirement. In his carlier years he was a Whig, but has been an active Republican since the formation of that party. Both he and his wife are valued members of the Mennonite Church.
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On Nov. 9. 1848. Mr. Peoples was united in mar- riage to Miss Martha Hess, of Peques township, born Sept. 28, 1823, and daughter of John Hess. A family of four children has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peoples, as follows: Lettie, born Jame 20. 1849, married to Henry Groff, of Providence town- ship, a farmier; Mary, born in :852, the wife of Frank Gachnour, a carpenter of Providence town- ship : Susan, the wife of Dr. L. M. Bryson, of Para- dise township: and Thaddeus, who died at the age of fourteen years.
Mir. Peoples has an ancestry of which he may well feel proud, both the Peoples and Miller families being among the leading ones of the county. Great- grandfather Miller was one of the oldest settlers of that part of Lancaster county, was born in 1713, and married Mary Brubaker, born in 1719. Their son David, the grandfather of Abner Peoples, was born in 1754. married Mary Souder, born in 1753, and they had a family of nine children : Jacob M., born in 1776: Annie ML .. 1778; David, IfSt : Elizabeth. 1784: Mary, 1786; Catherine, 1788; Daniel. 1700; Isaac. 1793, and Susan, the mother of Abner Peo- ples, was born in 1797. All these good people lived worthy lives and at death were mourned with re- spect and affection. Since the days of the Revolu- tionary war the families of Peoples and Miller have been identified with the most of the progress and advancement in educational and religious lines in this vicinity. Abner Peoples is a most worthy rep- resentative of this combined ancestry.
NISSLY. The pioneer of the Nissly family in America was Jacob, who emigrated from Switzer- land in 1719. and settled in Mit. Joy township, Lan- caster county. Pa., where he took up a large section of land, purchased from William Penn. The land remained in the Nissly family for about 150 years, when it was bought by David Wolgemuth, who still
owns it. Jacob Ni-sly was naturalized in 1729. VE his children, (1) Jacob jr. married and became the father of three sons. Henry, Jacob and Martin : (2) John ( Hans) married a Miss Sechrist, and had six sons, Michael. John, Jacob, Abraham. Samuel and Martin: ( 3) Martin married a Miss Snyder: (4) Henry is mentioned below : and the daughters, three in number, married respectively, into the Buhrman, Ebersole and Steward families.
Henry Nissly, son of the pioneer. Jacob, was born in 1722, and made his home on a mill property, with Too acres of land, on Chickies Creek in Rapko town- ship. His descendants now live in Clay township. He married a Miss Reif and they became the parents of eight clubtren: Barbara, who married Michael Brandt: Anna, who married Jabez Shucy: Henry; Martin : Catherine, who married Dr. Michael Kaut- man, of Manheim borough ; Jacob : Maria and Abra- ham, who both died in mfancy.
Martin Nissly, son of Henry above mentioned, was born Jan. 16. 1759. and located in what is now known as Clav township about 1787. on a farm of nearly 175 acres. He married Elizabeth Hallocker, and had two children : Catherine, who married Ben- jamin Bollinger; and Henry, married to Catherine Martin.
Henry Nissiv, son of Martin, and great-grandson of the pioneer Jacob, was born July 12. 1783, became a prominent farmer of Clay township, and passed away in 1800, at an advanced age. ffe married Catherine Martin, daughter of Perer and Catherine ( Flickinger ) Martin, the former of whom had lo- cated in Clay township in 1804. To Henry and Catherine ( Martin ) Nissly were born nine children : Peter, who married a Miss Pioutz, and has a son Jacob, reskiing near Richland, Lebanon county: Martin and Henry. deceased: Samuel : Elizabeth : John, deceased : Catherine and Anna, deceased ; and Isaac, who married a Miss Bryson, and died in 1862, leaving one child. Idla V., now living in Reading.
Samuel Vissly, son of Henry and Catherine (Martin) Nissiv, was born May 29. 1815. He was reared upon his father's farm, and received his cdu- cation in the common schools of the neighborhood. At the age of eighteen he went to Lititz to learn the cabinet maker's trade, and served his apprenticeship 3 of two years, after which he worked there for three years and then returned to the home farm, where he carried on his trade for the following two years. In 1840 his uncle. Peter Martin, instructed him in the mysteries of land surveving, and this Mr. Nissly has since followed. In politics, Mr. Nissly is a Repub- lican, but originally was an old-time Whig. casting his first presidential ballot for William Henry Har- rison in 1840. In 1850 he was elected justice of the peace, and has been re-elected every five years since. He is president of the Lincoln National Bank, and has been a director of the Northern Mutual Life In- surance Company since its organization in 1844. He has served as secretary, treasurer and president of the company in that time. Mr. Nissly is unmarried.
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HENRY P. BRENEMAN, a retired farmer now living in Florin, Pa., was born in Conestoga town- ship, Lancaster county, Pa., March 14. 1831, and is a son of Benjamin and Nancy ( Peters) Breneman. natives of Conestoga and Manor townships, respect- ively. They settled in the township of Mt. Joy in April, 1831. and spent their lives on the farm which they settled upon at that time. The father was a prominent man in the community, settled many es- tates, had been supervisor and school director, and was living a retired life at the time of his death. Largely instrumental in the organization of the Alt. Tov Fire Insurance Company, he exerted a wide in- fluence in its behalf. In 1865 he died at the age of seventy-one years, and bis widow, who survived ti- til 1879. reached the age of seventy years. They were both buried in the Kravbill cemetery in East Donegal township. They attended the Mennonite Church, though she was baptized in the Keformed Church. To them were born: Mary, who married David Brandt. a farmer in East Donegal township: Nancy, deceased : Henry P .: George, deceased, who became mute at the age of seven years. from scarlet fever : Aaron, a retired farmer of Florin: Kitty, the widow of Jacob Gish. of Chester county, Pa., living with her daughter : Fanny, the widow of George Hambright, of Florin : Isaac, a retired farmer, who died at Elizabethtown and. was buried in the Mt. Tunnel cemetery, leaving one son. Benjamin.
Henry P. Breneman has been twice married. In 1857 he was married in Lancaster county to C'ath- erine Flory, by whom he became father of the fol- lowing children: Henry, who married Anna Baker. and is now a retired farmer in Florin: Jacob, who married Malinda Hoffer. He has since died and is buried in Elizabethtown cemetery.
Mrs. Catherine ( Flory ) Breneman was born in Rapho township, and died in 1873 at the age of forty- two years, and was buried in the Kravbills cemetery. She was a daughter of Peter and Catherine ( Gantz ) Florv. of Lancaster county, both excellent people.
Mr. Breneman was married in Mt. Tor township. Nov. 18. 18;3, to his second wife, Mrs. Mary ( Ham- bright ) Barnhart. Mrs. Breneman was born in Rapho township, and is a daughter of George and Catherine ( Baker) Hambright, born in Rapho and Mt. Jov townships, respectively. They came to Florin in 1868, where the father died at the age of seventy-four. The mother died in 1871. at the age of forty-nine. They were buried in the Florin ceme- tery, and both were members of the United Brethren Church. Mary was their only child. The father was married a second time to Fanny Breneman, by whom he had the following children : Benjamin, who mar- ried Alice Caslow, and is a farmer in Florin, Pa .: Amos, who married Elizabeth Yetter, and is an operator in Florin: George, who died in 1900. an Operator. unmarried : John. now attending Annville College at Annville, Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania.
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The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Breneman
were Adam and Mary ( Hosler) Hambright, of Conestoga and Rapho townships, respectively. Both died in Rapho township, where he was a farmer and carpenter, and they were buried in Hossler's ceme- tery in Fast Donegal township. The maternal grand- parents of Mrs. Breneman were George and Anna ( Hoffman ) Baker, who lived in Mt. Joy township. and were buried in Lebanon county, in the old Lutheran cemetery, which is just on the line. Martin Baker, the father of George, came from Ger- many.
Mrs. Mary ( Barnhart) Breneman, was twice married. Her first marriage was on June 4, 1856. when she was united to Henry K. Barnhart. in Ann- ville, Pa .. by whom she became the mother of two children: Katie Ann, who married John C. Zug. of Rapho township, where he is engaged in a mercantile business : and Emma M., of Lebanon. Pa .. who mar- riedl S. S. Zug, justice of the peace, and whose chil- dren. Elsie B., Roswell H. and Daisy B., are all at home. Mr. Barnhart followed farming and also operated a hotel at Milton Grove. He died in 18-2 at the age of thirty-six years, and was buried in the cemetery at Nit. Joy.
Henry l'. Breneman remained with his parents until he was twenty-six years of age, and then he-' gan a career for himself as a renter of one of his ia- there's farms in Mt. Jor township, where he spent a number of years, and then removed to a second farmi belonging to his father. On this he remained until 1880. when he came to Florin, to spend his declining years in the enjoyment of that peace and comfort to which his industrious years were well entitled.
Mrs. Breneman is a member of the German Ban- tist Church. and her husband belongs to the Repub- lican party. They are both excellent people and are deservedly popular among their neighbors.
LEVIS. GROSS. The great family of the name of Gross, members of which may be found all over the United States, was founded in Lancaster county. Pa .. by Johannes Gross, who was born in Germany about 1736. came to America while still a youth, and located in Penn township, where he engaged in farm- ing and thrived until he owned some 532 acres of the fertile land of Lancaster county, extending through both Penn and East Hempfield townships. His re- ligious connection was with the Lutheran Church and all records go to show that he was a most indus- trious and respected man, who left a large family be- hindi him. one of whom, Martin Gross, was the grandfather of Levi S. Gross.
Martin Gross (1) was born in 1768, lived a quiet. agricultural life. and died in April. 1837. He was a consistent member of the Lutheran Church. His wife was Elizabeth Weidler and a family of two sons and six daughters was born to them: George, who migrated to Dayton, Ohio, where he died : Martin. the father of Levi S .; Elizabeth, who married George Getz ; Charlotte, who married George Sahm : i Sarah, who married A. Shindle : Mary, who married
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John Getz: Susan, who died single; and Anna, who married Jacob Kimel. The parents were most worthy people, who were kind neighbors and lived in peace with their fellow-men.
Martin Gross (2) was a farmer by occupation, but died in 18447 at the early age of thirty-six years ; his wife, who had been Mlary Stetman, still survives, at the age of eighty-four, a beloved resident of her son's household. To them were born: John S., who resides with his brother Levi: Salinda, who married Levi II. Hess, of Manheim; Harriet, who married Isaac D. Espanshader, of Manheim township: and Levi S.
Levi S. Gross was born on the farm he now occu- pies, located two miles northwest of Petersburg, on Aug. 8, 1836, a son of Martin and Mary ( Stedman ) Gross : he was reared a farmer boy, and educated in the excellent public schools of his district. On Dec. 2, 1858, he was married to Miss Elizabeth B. Espen- shader, a daughter of Jacob Espenshader. and settled down to domestic life on the old homestead. where he continues to reside. This farm consists of eighty- one acres, and Mr. Gross has made many valuable improvements and has attended to the cultivation of the land in such a manner that its vield is enormous.
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However, although much interested in his agri- cultural life, Mr. Gross has found time to take note of the needs and wants of his community and was one of the organizers of the Northern National Bank. of Lancaster City and is one of its directors : for several years, he has been president of the Northern market, in Lancaster ; is also a stockholder and director in the Lancaster and Manheim Traction Company, and a director in the Northern Trust and Savings Com- pany. In addition to the responsibilities attaching to these positions, he has served on the school board for a period of nine years and has ever been most active in the ranks of the Republican party, repre- senting his township as a delegate to the county con- ventions and has most efficiently served on the county committee.
Seven children have been born to Levi Gross and his wife: Amelia, who resides at home : Lillie, who married Martin L. Nissley, of West Donegal town- ship ; Ida, who resides at home : Martin, who married Miss Lizzie Hershey, and resides in Penn township : Annie, who married John H. Stetman, of Penn town- ship ; Emma, who married Phares S. Moore. of West Hempfield ; and Clara, who resides at home.
Mr. Gross is one of the representative men of East Hempfield township and possesses the confi- cience and esteem of the community where he has so long made his home.
1863, at the age of seventy-five years, and their re- mains are now resting in the cemetery at Mt. Joy, to which they were removed from the cemetery in Alaytown. Both were members of the Ger- man Baptist Church.
John H. Brandt was actively engaged in farm- ing to within six years of his death, and was a man of much character and standing in the community, upright, honorable, straightforward and honest. John H. and Katie Brandt were the parents of the following family: John H., a miller in East Done- gal township, who died in ISSo : Michael H., a re- tired mason in Mt. Jov ; David H. : Fanny H .. who died unmarried ; Joseph H., who died in Middle- town, Pa., in April, 1899. Of the parents of John H. Brandt it is now remembered only that their names were John and Fanny Brandt.
David H. Brandt was twice married. In 1853 he was united with his first wife. Elizabeth Longe- necker, in Dauphin county, Pa. Born to this union were: Simon L., who married Lizzie S. Eshleman, and is now living in Marietta, Pa. : Alphas L., who married Alice Shenk, and is living with his par- ents ; John L., who died young: Tillie L., at home. Mrs. Elizabeth Brandt was born in Conewago, Dauphin county, and died Sept. 6. 1855. at the age of thirty-seven years. Her remains were interred in the Hoffer Church cemetery in Conewago town- ship. John and Barbara . Hofferi Longenecker, her parents, were natives and residents of Dauphin county, where her father engaged in farming, and in his younger life was a teacher.
The second marriage of David H. Brandt oc- curred in January, 1808. when he was united with Mary P. Breneman. of Mt. fov. Mrs. Mary Brandt was born in Millersville. Manor township, in July, 1824, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Anna (Peters) Breneman, both natives of Manor town- ship. They died in Mt. Jov, to which point they had removed in 1832. Her father died in 1872. at the age of seventy-one years : her mother died Nov. 15. 1879, at the age of seventy-eight years, and both were buried in the Kraybills Meeting House ceme- terv. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: Mary: Lizzie, who died young : George, de- ceased : Henry P .. of Florin. Pa. : Katie. the widow of Jacob Gish. now living in Chester county. Pa .; Aaron, a retired farmer near Florin: Isaac. de- ceased: Fanny. the widow of George Hambright, who lives in Florin.
David H. Brandt remained with his parents un- til his marriage, when he worked his father-in-law's farm in Dauphin county until his wife's death. Fol- lowing that sad event he removed to Mt. Jov town- ship, where he remained until 18-2. when he came to his present farm. a fertile and well cultivated place of 103 acres. He was an honored member of the Mennonite Church, and stood high in the esteem of his neighbors. In his politics he was a Demo- crat, and took a broad and enlightened view of the
DAVID H. BRANDT. late a retired farmer of East Donegal township, Lancaster county, was born in Mt. Joy township. Jan. 5. 1827, a son of John H. and Katie (Hosler) Brandt, of East Donegal and Mt. Jov townships, respectively. The father died in Fast Donegal near Maytown, in 1853. at the age of fifty-four years; the mother died in . affairs of the town and the nation, seeking to do the
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full duty of the citizen on all occasions. His death on April 9, 1902, at the age of seventy-five years, was a distinct loss to the community.
SIMON SEITZ MANN. M. D., enjoys a large general practice in Columbia. where he has been actively engaged in the duties of his profession for several years. Though yet a young man, he has the confidence and high regard of his patrons and fel- low citizens in an enviable degree, and he is a worthy representative of a family whose members have long been among the most respected citizens of Manor township, Lancaster county.
Bernard Alann, the grandfather of Simon Seitz, was born in Manor township, where his grand- father, Bernhart Mann, who emigrated from Huiff- enhart. Germany, in 1748, made his home. He al- ways followed farming, and became one of the lead- ing agriculturists of his section. owning 106 acres of valuable land, which he cultivated profitably ail his active life and which is now owned and culti- vated by his grandson, Jacob S. Mann. His neigh- bors and fellow citizens held him in the highest es- teem, and his counsel and advice were frequently sought by them ; noted no less for his business abil- ity than for strict honesty, he was often called upon to assist them in their business affairs, and he settied up and administered over fifty estates. He was also active in public affairs, and served his township as supervisor. Mr. Mann was a Democrat in political faith. He married Anna Wertz, also a native of Manor township, and a member of one of its old families, and they became the parents of eight chi !- dren, one of whom died in childhood. John is a farmer in Cumberland county, this State. Henry W. is mentioned below. Elizabeth is the wife of Eli Shuman, of Cumberland county. Margaret is the wife of John Sherick, of Manor township, this county. Annie is the wife of Levi Mann, of Manor township. Simon is engaged in farming in Manor township. Carrie is the wife of Henry Hershey, of Lancaster county. The father was a member of the German Baptist Church.
Henry W. Mann was born June 14. 1820, in Manor township, was reared on the old home farm, and received his education in the neighboring pub- lic schools. He remained with his parents up to the age of twenty-seven years, when he removed to the present family home, a 120-acre farm located one mile east of Washington borough, in Manor town- ship. He made the place one of the first in the locality, provided with all modern improvements, and managed in the most business-like manner. careful attention being given to all the many details necessary to the successful conduct of an up-to-date farm. Mr. Mann fully sustained the reputation borne by his ancestors for honesty and sterling in- tegrity. He and his family tmited with the Men- nonite Church. Henry W. Mann passed away Dec. 24. 1901. His son, Henry S., resides on and has taken the home farm.
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In 1856 Henry W. Mann married Miss Anna C. Seitz, who was born in 1833 in Manor township, daughter of Jacob and Annie Seitz, and eight chil- dren blessed their union. Amos died in early child- . hood. Jacob S. married Emma Herr: Eli S. mar- ried Annie Rohrer; George W. S married Annie Kauffman: Henry S. married Maggie Sherick; these four sons are engaged in farming in Manor township, the last named on the home farm. Enos S. married Mary A. Fuiton. of York county : be re- ceived a good common school education, engaged in teaching for a time, and was also employed three years as clerk of the Columbia National Bank, and two years in the Lancaster County Bank: studying medicine, he was graduated from the medical de- partment the University of Pennsylvania in 1896, and has since practiced medicine. being now lo- cated in Dallas town, York Co .. P'a. Simon S. is ; our subject proper. Hiram died in infancy.
Simon Seitz Mann was born Oct. 28, 1867, in Manor township, where he grew to manhood on the home farm. His early education was acquired in the local public schools, and he also attended the Millersville Normal, from which he was graduated in ISno. His medical education he received at the Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia. from which institution he was graduated in I804, and he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession, first as resident physician in the Chil- dren's Homeopathic Hospital of Philadelphia. then for three years at Honey Brook. Chester Co., Pa .. whence he went to Columbia. Dr. Mann has gained ground rapidly since locating in that town, and now has a lucrative and still increasing practice. While preparing for his life work he engaged in teaching for some time, and met with gratifying success in that line also. He is a director of the Columbia National Bank and the Columbia Telephone Com- pany. Socially Dr. Mann is a Mason (sixth de- gree) and a member of the Knights of Pythias. His political support is given to the Democratic party.
WILLIAM H. BUNN. It is seldom that there is found a United States official whose faithfulness, integrity and capability have enabled him to retain his position for more than forty-two years. yet such is the case with William H. Bunn. postmaster and merchant at South Hermitage, Lancaster county, Pa., where, under the firm name of William H. Bunn & Son, he is conducting a general store at the same place where he started in the fall of 186o.
William H. Bunn was born in Philadelphia. Dec. 23, 1828, the eldest of the nine children that consti- tuted the family of David and Catherine ( Martin) Bunn, natives respectively of Chester and Lan- caster counties. David Bunn was a carpenter by trade, as was his father before him, but the latter was also a farmer. David died in Cochranville, Chester county, in 1892, at the age of eighty-five vears, while his wife had passed away in 1871. when sixty-two years old. They were members of
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the Presbyterian Church and their remains were laid to rest in Brandywine Manor. Their children were named as follows : William H. : Martin A., who died in Illinois : Mary T., who died at the age of four: Martha. at the age of three: Mary F., at two; Emma, deceased wife of J. C. Buchanan ; Elizabeth, married to Park Rutherford, of High- land, Pa .; Benjamin, a farmer of Highland town- ship, Chester county ; and Hugh W., in the grocery business at Rockford, Ill. The paternal grandpar- ents of these children were Benjamin and Mary (Beerbrower ) Bunn, natives respectively of Potts- town, Pa., and Bucks county.
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