Biographical annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical and genealogical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settlers, Part 62

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 62

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HON. JEREMIAH ALBERT STOBER, whose residence is in Schoeneck. Lancaster county, repre- sents the 14th Senatorial District in the State Legis- Jature.

Jacob Stober, his grandfather, was of German- born parentage. He is supposed to have been the first of the family to settle in Lancaster county. His home was in Clay township, and there he followed farming. His life was brief, as he was called away when he was but forty-two years of age. He was interred in the Brickerville Lutheran cemetery. His wife belonged to the Zartman family, prominent in Lancaster county for many years : after the death of her husband she made lier home with her only son, Elias, until her death.

Elias Stober. the father of Senator Stober, was born on the old Stober place in 1816. and made it his home until 1842. In 1837 he was married to Sarah Zeigler, a daughter of Dr. Charles Frederick Wolf- gang Zeigler, who had come from Stuttgart, Ger- many, when a young man. After his arrival in this country Dr. Zeigler was married to Mary Regar. and became the father of a family whose home was at Reamstown. For many years he practiced medi- cine at Reamstown, and died at Akron. in 1841. The first child of Elias and Sarah Stober was the subject of this sketch, who was born Jan. 20, 1842, on the

old homestead, the birthplace of both his father and grandfather.

About 1842 Elias Stober removed with his fam- Hlv to near Lincoln, then named New Ephrata. in Clay township, where he was engaged as a clerk in the general store of Levi S. Hacker, and became quite prominent in the community, being elected a school director soon after the establishment of the free school system. Another son and three daughters were here born to Mr. and Mrs. Stober, but not one of them survived the perils of childhood, and Sena- tor Stober remained their only living child. It was in this community that Elias Stober acquired suffi- cient means to enter upon a business career for him- self, and he accordingly established a general store in a building which is now occupied by the Lincoln National Bank. Some eight years later he bought the general store run by Allen W. Mentzer, and es- tablished himself at Schoeneck, where he continued in business until 1893. MIrs. Sarah Stober died Dec. 31. 1800. Both were devout members of the Brick- erville Lutheran Church, where they had attended from early youth.

Jeremiah Albert Stober. whose name introduces this sketch. is well known in the political circles of the northern part of Lancaster county, as Senator "Al. Stober." He spent his early boyhood in the vicin- ity of Lincoln, Clay township, and attended the local schools. One of his early teachers, William Ober- Iv. is still living in Ephrata, and another, the Rev. Isaac Keller, is the present pastor of the Baptist cir- cuit. of which Springville is the center. When about fourteen years old Alr. Stober attended the famous "Ephrata Academy." then conducted in the Cloister buildings at Ephrata. as a private enterprise under Prof. Hill. and a little later under Prof. Yeager, the father of the present editor and proprietor of the Ephrata Reviere. Here Senator Stober completed his common school education. His next step was to take a clerkship in the general store of S. P. A. Weid- man, under whose efficient eye he acquired a practi- cal knowledge of business in many of its most fa- miliar forms. At the end of two years he entered his father's store as a clerk. Shortly after this he marriel Harriet Musser. and moved to Schoeneck. Mrs. Stober was a daughter of William Musser, of Lincoln, and a sister of Edwin Musser, the present auditor of Lancaster county. At the time of her marriage Mrs. Stober was about twenty-four years of age. About a year after coming to Schoeneck. Mr. Stober was appointed postmaster, his commis- sion bearing the name of President Grant. His first presidental vote was cast for the re-election of Pres- ident Lincoln. and from that day to this he has al- ways been a stanch Republican. After serving as postmaster for about a year. Mr. Stober resigned to take the position of justice of the peace of West Cocalico township. For twenty-eight years he has been justice, except when he represented his dis- trict in the House of Representatives. In 1875 he was elected a member of the Legislature from the Third

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district of Lancaster county. He was re-elected and served four continuous sessions of the Lower House. At the expiration of this period he was again elected justice of the peace, and continued to serve in that capacity until his election to the State Senate in ISOS, from the 14th Senatorial District.

Senator Stober is an efficient member of the Up- per House, and keeps a vigilant eye on everything that might affect the interests of his constituents. He was active in securing the appropriation of $5.000 for the erection of a monument to the memory of the Revolutionary soldiers, who were buried at Mt. Zion, near Ephrata, and he delivered the historical address to an immense audience at its unveiling. Senator Stober served his country during the late war, and was a volunteer in the 50th Regiment, Pa. Militia. He is now a member of Major Ricksecker Post, No. 152, G. A. R., at Lincoln, and was a delegate from . this post to the last State Encampment.

Senator Stober is prominent in fraternal circles, being a master Mason, and a member of Ashara Lodge, No. 398. F. & A. M., at Marietta ; a past grand of Lodge No. 408, I. (). O. F., at Reamstown, a member of Lodge No. 253, K. of P., at Lititz, in which order he was deputy grand chancellor, of Lancaster county ; a member of Camp No. 13, P. O. S. A., at Denver, in which order he has served two terms as District president for Lancaster county.

From a poor boy Senator Stober has risen to a condition of independence, and has accumulated a fair competence. In business life he is as prominent as he is in politics. In Schoeneck he has a modest but attractive home, and is in business as a dealer in leaf tobacco and a manufacturer of cigars. During his long service as justice of the peace, scrivener and surveyor, he has deeply impressed himself upon this section of the county, and he has made a name for himself above reproach.

WILLIAM BRINTON, in his life time a suc- cessful farmer, was born in November, 1785, and he died in the present honie of the family, which is sit- uated on the Newport Pike, about half way between Gap and Christiana, Lancaster county, Feb. 10, 1878. His remains are resting in a private burying ground on the family homestead.

The Brintons are of English descent. William Brinton, a native of England, came to America in 1684, and settled in Chester county, Pa. Moses Brinton, son of the emigrant and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Chester county in 1725, but in 1747 he located on land in Leacock town- ship, Lancaster county, given him by his father. He married Eleanor, daughter of Hattel Verman, a na- tive of Ireland, and died in 1789.

Joseph Brinton, son of Moses and Eleanor, was born Nov. 22. 1754. and died in 1809. He was mar- ried in 1784 to Susanna Rigbe, and their children were: William, whose name introduces this arti- cle ; James and Samuel, both deceased ; Mary, who married (first ) Joseph Cole, (second) David Town-

send, and died at the age of ninety years ; Sarah, born In 1793, who married Joseph Cooper, and died in 1858.

William Brinton engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life. and in 1858 located on the place vet occu- pied by his family. In Sadsbury township. Lancas- ter county. in 1823, he wedded Gulielma Cooper. by whom he had the following children: Cassandra R .. who married Thomas Harvey, and died the mother of three children ; Jane, who married Parvin Smith. became the mother of eight children, and is now de- ceased : Joseph, who married ( first ) Mary Howland, and i second ) her sister Anna : Susanna ; and Mary D. who married Joseph J. Hopkins, a farmer in Sadsbury township. Mrs. Gulielma ( Cooper , Brin- ton was born in Chester county, Pa., and died Dec. 29. 1870. at the advanced age of eighty-six. She was a daughter of James and Mary ( Paxton) Coo- per, of Chester and Berks counties, respectively. and a granddaughter of Calvin Cooper, of England. James Cooper was a fuller by trade, and spent his entire life in Chester county ; his children were ; Jo- seph. Gulichina, Cyrus and Aaron.

William Brinton was a man of pronounced Aboli- tion convictions : he took an active part in freeing slaves, and helping them on their way North. All the Cooper family belonged to the Society of Friends. Miss Susanna Brinton, who occupies the old home, has ample means to gratify her charitable inclina- tions, and has given among other substantial public benefits, two large iron fountains for watering horses to the borough of Christiana.

SAMUEL MCNEAL, a retired carpenter, of Gap. was born in Earl township. Lancaster county, Sept. 27. 1821, son of Archibald and Catherine (Corl) McNeal, both natives of this county.

Archibald McNeal, who resided in Sadsbury township, was a plasterer by trade, and while work- ing. in 1850. when in his seventieth year, fell from a ladder, and died. His remains were buried at Georgetown. His widow, Catherine Corl. born in April. 1795, died in Gap, in October. 1886, her burial being in the Gap cemetery. The children born to this union were: Daniel, deceased : Samuel. of this sketch : Cyrus, a retired carpenter of Bart town- ship: Jacob; John, deceased: Mary A., who died young : Henry, deceased ; Archibald. a carpenter, in Philadelphia ; Elizabeth, who died young ; Abraham. a carpenter at Pottsville; Rebecca, who married Thomas Nixon, a blacksmith at Gap : and Margaret, wife of Jacob Wise, a farmer of Salisbury township.

Until his marriage Mr. McNeal remained at home working for his parents, and after that he lived with them, and for some years followed his trade, which he had already learned. In 18; he moved to Philadelphia, where he lived until 1803. when he came back to spend his declining years among his old friends in Lancaster county. Mr. McNeal has been a successful man in his line of work and enjoys ample means. Both he and wife are consistent

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members of the Methodist Church in which he is one of the trustees. In his political sympathy, Mr. McNeal is a Democrat, but has never sought office.

On Feb. 10, 1846, Mr. MeNeal was united in marriage in Lancaster, to Miss Elizabeth Groff, and the children born to this union were as follows : William, a minister in the M. E. Church. resides in Monroe county, Pa., married Isabella Guthrie and they have one child; Cyrus is a machinist in Phila- delphia, married. Anna Baldwin, and they have had six children, three of whom are deceased : Mary died unmarried at the age of forty-seven years: and Susan married William B. Williams, a miller in Chester county, and has four children.

Mrs. McNeal was born in Strasburg, Lancaster county, Sept. 10. 1825, a daughter of George and Mary (Myers) Groff, of Lancaster county. the former of whom was a well-known brick manu- facturer, who was born in Lancaster in 1780, and died in 1842. His widow died in November, 1876, aged eiglitv-four years, and they were both interred in the cemetery of the German Lutheran Church. being consistent members of that religious body. Their children were: Samuel. George and Angel- ica, deceased; Kate, deceased, the wife of James Brady; Elizabeth, who became Mrs. McNel : Mich- ael, deceased : John, who is a painter in Oxford ; and Susan, deceased, who married William Strine.

RICHARD BLICKENDERFER, proprietor of the general iron foundry and machine works at Lan- caster, is one of that city's prominent business men and highly esteemed citizens.

The Blickenderfer family originated in Switzer- land, from which country came Christian Bicken- derfer, born in 1751, to join his two brothers, who had previously come to the United States. One of these located in Maryland, and the other settled in the western part of Pennsylvania, where he became conspicuous later as an Indian fighter. Christian, who was the grandfather of Richard, located in Lit- itz, Lancaster county, where many of his country- men of the Moravian faith had made their homes, and there he passed his life.

Henry Blickenderfer, father of Richard, was born in Lititz August 17, ISOS, and in 1832 married El- vina L. Beitle, who was born in Nazareth, North- ampton Co., Pa. He settled down in his birthplace to the business of manufacturing cigars, a line in which he engaged very extensively until 1849, when he moved to Neffsville, where he spent one year as manager of a hotel. From there he moved to Lan- caster, taking charge of the "Washington House," a hotel which occupied the site of the present "North- ern Market House," and there he remained until 1864, when he retired from activity. For a long period Mr. Blickenderfer was prominently identified with public affairs in Lancaster county. During the administration of President Buchanan he was census enumerator, and with efficiency filled various offices in the gift of the Democratic party. He was par-

ticularly well known as a Free Mason, being a mem- ber of both Council and Commandery (treasurer of the latter), and he belonged also to the Odd Fellow. and Red Men. His religious training was receive in the Moravian Church, of which he was a birth- right member. He died Jan. 31, 1897, and his walow still resides in Lancaster City ; although she was born in Iste, she still retains her faculties in a remarkable degree. Mr. and Mrs. Blickenderfer had children as follows: Ellen, born Feb. 14, 1834, mar- ried the late Judge Henry Starbuck, of Salem, N. C., whose son is now notable as being the youngest judge of the Superior Court in North Carolina : James, born August 20, 1835. is now a resident of Colorado: William, born April 5, 1837, is a grocery merchant in Lancaster (he served in the Civil war with credit to himself and his country) ; Edward, born Feb. 27, 1839, was in the dry-goods business in Lancaster, and died No 20. 1887; Richard is men- tioned below; Mary, born May 9. 1842, married Emanuel Weidler, of Re ling. Pa. ; Harry, born Feb. 26, 1846, served in the Civil war, was later, as a skilled machinist, a forer an in his brother's foundry, and died Jan. 12, 1891 :

icob, born March 8, 1845, is postmaster at Farmi ton, Wash. (he was also a soldier in the Civil war : Miss Emma, born August 5, IS48, resides with her venerable mother, in Lan- caster ; two died in infancy.

Richard Blickenderfer was born in Lititz, Lan- caster county, Feb. 3, 18:1. His education was ac- quired in the public schocis, and at the age of cighi- teen years he entered a cabinet shop in Lancaster. There the first call for troops reached him, at the outbreak of the Civil war. and with loval enthusiasm hie assisted in forming Company B, of the Ist Re- serves, for three years' service, but owing to an acci- dent he never served in that company. On Oct. 14. 1861, he enlisted at Pitts. Pa., in Company C, 79th P. V. I., and was under Capt. Dysart until his death, in Kentucky, when Capt. Boone took charge. Mr. Blickenderfer remained with his company until Oct. 8, 1862, when, at the battle of Perryville, he was seriously wounded, a minie ball passing through his right leg. Although he was taken to hospital No. 8, Louisville, Ky., gangrene set in. and he was mus- tered out of the service at Louisville on March 27, 1863. A truly brave as well as loval man, the fol- lowing June found him engaged in forming Con- pan: D, of the 50th Emergency Regiment, in which he was commissioned second lieutenant. This regi- ment was engaged in guard duty along the Susque- hanna river, at Williamsport, Md .. and on the Po- tomac river. and was finally discharged, in 1863. Then Mr. Blickenderfer went to Washington, D. C., where he served in the Quartermaster's department until all danger of invasion was over. Returning to Lancaster, he re-enlisted. entering the 3d Heavy Artillery, with which he was stationed at Fortress Monroe for two months, later taking a transfer to Company E, 188th P. V. I., 24th Army Corps, and serving in the James River campaign. He was hon-

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orably discharged June 18. 1865. After this long, varied and faithful service Mr. Blickenderfer re- turned to Lancaster, but did not remain idle. Iie apprenticed himself to Arburger, McCollough & Co., for one year, and worked for them as a journeyman until April 1, 1866, as a patternmaker. In April, 1867, he started a brass foundry. After three months of such experience, the opportunity presented itself for him to enter into an iron foundry business, which he purchased from Marsh, Bank & Martin, and he operated the same at Duke and Chestnut streets until May II, 1879, at which time his plant was destroyed by fire. Mr. Blickenderfer was not to be discour- aged in this way, and after looking about a short time purchased his present valuable plant. This was built by William Diller, in 1855, and is located at

1 ! Water and Marion streets, extending back to Arch street ; the establishment comprises a general foundry and machine work shops, and employs a force of fifty-five men. By July following his loss by fire he had his new business in fine running order. He : has continued its operation ever since, and through energy and ability has placed it in the front rank among the industries in this part of the State.

In August, 1866, Mr. Blickenderfer married, in ; Lititz, Miss Clara A. Kryder, and to this union ; after his death made hier home in New Holland, Lan- have been born these children : Minnie O. mar- caster county, where she died ; Nancy married Isaac La Rue, after whose death she moved with her fam- ily to Ohio, settling at Skeel's Crossroads, in Washi- ington township, Mercer county, where her son. Uriah La Rue. still resides. ried H. L. Zook, a leather merchant and dealer in shoe findings in Lancaster; Charles H., who mar- ried Bessie Manby, is a patternmaker with his fa- ther; Bertha M. married H. L. Forry, who fills a clerical position in Lancaster; Miss Mabel E. is at home.

Mrs. Clara A. (Kryder) Blickenderfer was born in Lititz, Pa., daughter of Charles H. and Olivia Kryder, the former of whom was a tailor, but later engaged in the wholesale liquor business. For four years he operated a hotel in Neffsville, but his later years were spent in Lancaster, his death occurring in 1897, at the age of seventy-eight years. His first

wife died in 1863. They had these children: Ade- laide (deceased), who was the wife of Martin Groff ; Theodore (deceased), who married Fanny Miller, of Washington, D. C .; Mary (deceased), who mar- ried. George Wisner, a box manufacturer of Lan- caster ; and Clara A., wife of Mr. Blickenderfer. By his second marriage, to Sarah Christ, Mr. Kryder had one daughter, Sarah, now deceased. Mrs. Kryder lives in Lancaster.

In politics Mr. Blickenderfer is a stanch Repub- lican, but he always declines to accept office. He is justly valued as a comrade of the G. A. R. post in his city, and also belongs to the Royal Arcanum, of Lancaster, and to the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in Blue Lodge No. 43, Lancaster ; Chap- ter No. 43; Council No. 19: Commandery No. 13, Lancaster ; and Harrisburg Consistory, 32d degree. Like his forefathers, Mr. Blickenderfer belongs to the Moravian Church. Coming of a family which has taken an honorable part in the history of Lan- caster county, full of energy and business acumen,

he has fulfilled the expectations of his friends, who have with interest watched his upward career. MIr. Buckenderfer is regarded as a strong man in busi- ness, a most admirable citizen, and a representative factor, in many ways, in the progressive industrial life of this city.

ISAAC W. SLOKOM, president of the Chris- tiana National Bank, of Christiana, Lancaster coun- ty, and one of the most prominent men in his sec- tion of the State, comes of a family which has been represented in Lancaster county for over a century.

The Slokoms are of English origin, and four generations of the family rest in a private burying- ground in Lancashire, England. Isaac Slokom, great-grandfather of Isaac W., came to America from his home in Lancashire after his marriage. He first came to Pennsylvania, and located in the WIT- oming Valley, about two years before the famous ; massacre, carrying on farming there until a short time prior to that event, when he removed to Jeffer- son county, W. Va. There he passed the remainder i of his days, and his family of three children grew to maturity in that section : Thomas was the grand- father of Isaac W .; Jane married James Heath, and

Thomas Slokom migrated to Pennsylvania in 1798, and first resided in Providence, Lancaster county, in ISto settling in Sadsbury township. There he carried on farming, and he also conducted the old "Red Lion Hotel," which he erected. until his death, Aug. 1, 1833. His remains rest in Sads- bury graveyard. Thomas Slokom married Susanna Miller, and of the eight children born to this union Samuel, father of Isaac W., was the last survivor. Mrs. Slokom died in 1842, at the home of one of her daughters, Mrs. Cross. in Redford, Mich. She was a descendant of Jacob Miller, who was born in 1663. emigrated to America from Germany, and purchased a large tract of land in the Pequea Valley. in Stres- burg township, this county. His son Samuel was the first child born in the Swiss colony. Henry Miller, a descendant of Jacob, was a member of the convention that framed the Constitution of Pennsyl- vania.

Samuel Slokom was born Feb. 5, 1817, in Sads- bury township, where he spent his entire life. When his father died he fell heir to the hotel and forty acres of land connected with that property, and he carried it on for six years. In IS4I he sold this place and purchased an improved farm in Wayne county, Mich., intending to settle there, but deciding to re- main in his old home he bought a farm of 108 acres in Bart township, and worked the same for about six years. His next purchase was a farm of thirty acres near Christian, and during his three years' residence

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on that place he carried on the Noble foundry in the village. During the last year he was in partnership with William F. Baker, to whom he sold his interest in 1853. He then invested in a farm at Coopers- ville, consisting of 102 acres. with three residences, a store and a blacksmith shop, and resided there for one year. The next year he carried on the Buone farm, of TOS acres, which he had purchased. In

1857 Mr. Slokom removed to the old Pownall farm at Christiana, comprising 128 acres, which he pur- treasurer. His next position was in the Mechanic- Bank of Lancaster, where he was paying teller ic: two years, and for the two years following this con- chased of Junius P. Marshall, and there he spent the i remainder of his life, which closed in 1889. As | may be inferred from the various transactions in . nection he was chief clerk and assistant superintend- real estate referred to, Mr. Slokom was a man of , ent of the Lancaster Mig. Co., which conductei keen judgment in land values, and he dealt largely what is now known as the Penn Rolling Mills. He was then internal revenue collector for a year and a half. at the expiration of which time he went to Washington, D. C., to take a position in the Treas- ury Department, where he was a clerk for two years. From this time until 1880 Mr. Slokom acted as cashier of the National Bank of Christiana, in the Jatter vear succeeding his father in the presidency of . that institution, which he has ever since retained, so managing the business that it has been successful tar beyond the expectations of its founders. He has also been president of the Christiana Water Co., since its organization. in which he was one of the prime movers. He was also instrumental in the for- mation of the Christiana Building & Loan Associa- tion, in 1800, and has been one of the directors from 1 that time to the present. in real estate, having executed over three hundred title deeds for lands. As a business man he was recognized by all who knew him to possess superior ability, which, combined with wonderful energy and industry, was the means of bringing him a fine com- petence. His judgment in the ordinary affairs of life was unusually sound, his practical common sense and wide knowledge of human nature, applied to every problem which presented itself, enabling him to foresee clearly many results to which others were blind or indifferent. As was natural for a man of such strong character, he exerted considerable in- fluence in his section, and he was respected wherever ʻ his name was known. Mr. Slokom was chiefly in- strumental, in 1882. in the organization of the Chris- tiana National Bank, of which he was elected presi- dent, and he held that position until his death. For over twenty years he was a director in the Lancaster County Mutual Insurance Co., of which he served as president a number of years prior to his decease. Mr. Slokom acted as justice of the peace fifteen years, and was county commissioner one term. In 1855 he lacked but one vote of receiving the nomina- tion of his party for the State Senate. His political affiliation was originally with the Democratic party, but he voted for Fremont, and from that time was an active worker in the Republican party.

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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 62

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