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 7
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John N. Eby remained with his parents as long as they lived, and then moved to the farm which he occupied until recently. In March, 1902, he re- moved to the city of Lancaster, where he now re- sides. In political matters he is a Republican, and is known as a very intelligent and widely informed citizen.
BORDLEY S. PATTERSON. Among the honorable and well-esteemed citizens of Little Brit- ain township is Bordley S. Patterson, who was born on the farm he now occupies, near White Rock, in Lancaster county, Sept. 24, 1834.
The Patterson family is one of the oldest and most respected of Lancaster county. The founder of the family in this State was James Patterson, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1708, and immigrated to America in 1728. Coming to the State of Pennsylvania, he bought large tracts of land from the Government, and settled down in Little Britain township ; later he went to New York to meet his affianced bride from Ireland, Mary Montgomery, whom he brought back with him to Pennsylvania. He reared a family of ten children, William, John, Hannah, Mary, Samuel, Jane, Isa- bella, James, Elizabeth and Thomas.
James Patterson (2), son of James, and the grandfather of Bordley S. Patterson, was born in Little Britain township, Nov. 4, 1745. He married Letitia Gardner, and they had these children, Isa- bella, Francina, Robert, Marv, Elizabeth, Jane. James, Letitia and Rachel. all of whom have passed to another life.
Robert Patterson, son of James (2), and the father of Bordley S., was born March 21, 1787, and died March 31, 1861. He was first married to a Miss Ewing, and the four children born to this mar- riage were James, Gardner, Mary and Eliza. The second wife of Robert Patterson was Sarah Ship- pen, and three children were born to this union:
Bordley S .; Francis, deceased; and Edward B., a prosperous merchant in Oxford, Pa., lately removed to Philadelphia. During life Robert Patterson was not only a large landowner and prosperous farmer but he was also a prominent citizen and a leader in the Democratic party. Since early days the family has been connected with the Presbyterian Church.
Bordley S. Patterson was born on the farm he now occupies, Sept. 24, 1834, a son of the late Rob- ett and Sarah ( Shippen) Patterson. This old farm has been his home through life, and he still occupies the old stone mansion which was erected by his grandfather in 1806. So few of these old homes remain, in these days of change and mutation, that the old Patterson homestead has become an object of historic interest, and it is highly valued by its owners and occupants.
In the public schools of his locality Mr. Patter- son obtained his early education. going later to the Lititz and Mt. Jov academies. He began an agri- cultural life, which he has carried on with success. His farm of 135 acres in Little Britain township, near White Rock, is one of the best cultivated and improved in this locality, his elegant and com- modious residence, great barns and attractive sur- roundings making it an ideal country home. Mr. Patterson is also the owner of a one-half interest in a fine estate, comprising 140 acres in Colerain town- ship, which is as well managed and as productive as the home farm.
On Oct. 0, 1862, was celebrated the marriage of Bordley S. Patterson and Miss Emma M. Worth, of Chester county, Pa. She was born in 1841, a daughter of Samuel A. and Hester (Hoops ) Worth, both of whom were of English origin. Three chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Patterson : Robert L., who was born in 1864, married Elizabeth Colter, and is in business in Oxford, Pa .: Fred W., born in 1867, who married Miss Cora Welch, of St. Paul, Minn., and is engaged in the tea and coffee business in the above named city: and Eliza Ship- pen, born in 1874, the wife of Hugh A. Foresman, a publisher in Chicago, Illinois. In public, religious and social life Mr. Patterson is a leading citizen of Little Britain township. His devotion to the Jef- fersonian principles of the Democratic party has been life-long and he has been active in its councils. For seven years Mr. Patterson was the efficient township auditor, and he has served with satisfac- tion to all as judge and inspector of elections, and has not only been selected to serve several times on the grand jury of Lancaster county, of which he has been foreman, but also on the United States jury, his reputation as a most honorable and high-minded man making him desirable in responsible positions. In 1884 Mr. Patterson was elected a director of the Northern Mutual Insurance Company, and since 1893 has been treasurer of the company.
Mr. Patterson is a member of the Presbyterian Church in Colerain township, serving faithfully as trustee of that institution. A man with the high-
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est standards of integrity, charitable, generous and public-spirited, Bordley S. Patterson is a represen- tative man of this part of Lancaster county.
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DANIEL DENLINGER was born in Stras- burg township, Lancaster county, May 21, 1817, and died July 19, 1886. His remains are resting in the cemetery connected with Hershey's Meeting House in Salisbury township. He was a son of Elder Jacob and Mary (Kreider) Denlinger. The father was a miller, and was an elder in the Stras- burg Mennonite Church.
To Elder and Mrs. Denlinger were born the fol- lowing children: John: Jacob: Barbara, who was twice married, first to Michael Sensenig, and then to David Eshleman : Henry K .; Daniel; Abram,-all of the foregoing being dead ; Isaac, a retired farmer of East Lampeter township.
Daniel Denlinger was married Nov. 5, 1840, in Lancaster, Pa., to Margaret Hershey, by whom he had the following family: Abram H., who mar- ried Mary C. Keneagy and is a retired farmer in Paradise township, with a family of eight children ; Anna, the widow of John Ranck, having her home in Paradise township, where she has one son ; Jacob, who died in infancy : Mary, married to Jonas Eby, in the creamery and tobacco business at Gap, Pa., and the mother of eleven children ; Esther, married to John Eshleman, a retired farmer of Salisbury township, and the mother of ten children; Eliza- beth, of Paradise township, wife of Amaziah Brack- bill, and mother of seven children : Daniel, married first to Anna Mary Kreider, by whom he had two children, and second to Fannie Landis, by whom he had five: Margaret, wife of Adam Kreider, a farmer of Leacock township, to whom she bore eleven children, six of whom are now living.
Mrs. Margaret Denlinger was born in Salisbury township, Jan. 17, 1824, and was a daughter of Abraham and Anna (Eby) Hershey. Her father, who was a farmer, died Jan. 9. 1844, lacking but fifteen days of being fifty-seven years old; his widow survived many years, passing away Feb. 29, 1896, at the age of ninety-five years, two months and fourteen days. They were both buried in Hershey's burying ground in Salisbury township. They were members of the Mennonite Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Hershey were the par- ents of Margaret and Peter, a retired farmer of Leacock township. By a previous marriage with Maria Secrist, Mr. Hershey had the following chil- dren : Jacob S., deceased ; Fronica, who died young. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Denlinger were Jacob and Anna Hershey. Jacob Hershey, who was the son of Andrew Hershey, was born in Lan- caster county. Andrew Hershey was the son of Andrew Hershey, who came from Switzerland in 1709.
Daniel Denlinger remained at home with his brother Henry until his marriage, when he began farming in Salisbury township, where he was en-
gaged in the cultivation of the soil until 1869, when he removed to the farm on which the remaining vears of his active life were passed. Four years be- fore his death he removed to the home in which his family are living at the present time.
Mr. Denlinger was a man of character and standing in the community in which he spent his honorable and useful life. His widow, who is still living, bears up wonderfully well under the pressure of years, and is still alert and active.
SAMUEL HARNER. There are few residents of Martic township more highly esteemed through- out its extent than Samuel Harner, a member of one of the old and well-known families of Lancaster county. Samuel Harner is now a citizen of Bethesda, Pa., but he was born in Montgomery county, Sept. 7, 1826. His parents were Joseph and Mary (Slingluff) Harner, his grandfather being Jolin Harner, who for many years conducted a blacksmith business in Montgomery county, and was the father of nine children, all of these having passed out of life, John, Joseph, Jacob, Daniel, Henry, Samuel, Elizabeth, Ann and Susan.
Joseph Harner, the son of John and the father of Samuel, was born in 1790 in Montgomery coun- ty, and in early life he was a merchant there. After removing to Lancaster county he was engaged in farming and lime burning. His death was at the age of eighty-eight years. In 1820 he was united in marriage to Mary Slingluff, and their seven chil- dren were: John S., of Martic township: George, deceased ; Samuel ; Marv, the wife of Thomas Cully, of Martic township; Elizabeth, deceased, wife of J. Harrison Long, of Drumore township ; Joseph, of Martic township ; and Jesse, a retired farmer of Drumore, more extended mention of these promi- nent citizens of Lancaster county being found else- where.
Like many another young man, Samuel Harner began life with limited means, but the application of energy and industry has brought a sure result. In advanced years he finds himself surrounded by all of the comforts of life, and capable of enjoying the same, surrounded by affectionate relatives and sin- cere friends. He was married on Jan. 7, 1868, to Miss Amanda Mclaughlin, who was born Dec. 30, 1849, a daughter of Joseph and Martha (Marron) Mclaughlin ; to this union, on Jan. 17, 1869, was born one son,-George E., who on Oct. 1, 1895, married Miss Emma Harner, the adopted daughter of Joseph Harner, of Martic township. Three chil- dren have been born to this marriage, Florence, Virgil and Samuel J. Harner, Jr. Mrs. Amanda Harner died April 5, 1902.
The valuable farm in this township owned by Mr. Harner comprises 112 acres of well cultivated land, upon which he has placed most excellent im- provements. In his political belief Mr. Harner has been a life-long Democrat, actively supporting the candidates and measures of Democracy. Although
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not a member of any religious denomination, Mr. Harner is reverent in his feelings and liberally con- tributes to the Presbyterian Church, to which his wife belonged. The family is one which is held in high regard in this township as representing the best class of honest and honorable citizens.
SAMUEL J. BEARD, one of the prominent farmers of Penn township, belongs to a family which has been settled in Pennsylvania for several genera- tions. Grandfather Robert Beard came to America from Ireland, and resided for a short time in Ches- ter county, in this State, moving then into Lancaster county, where he resided until his death. By trade he was a charcoal burner and this was his occupa- tion during life. Five children were born to him and his wife: Joseph, who moved to York county and died there; Robert, who became a farmer in Dauphin county ; James, the father of Samuel J .; John, who is a farmer in Lebanon county ; and Mar- garet, who married John Crawford.
James Beard, the father of Samuel J., was born in Lancaster county, about 1795. In early life he followed the business of charcoal burning, but later purchased the farm where Samuel J. now resides, and turned his attention to agriculture until his death, in 1847. James Beard married Miss Ellen Jones, and they had nine children born to them: Martha, deceased wife of Henry Meixell; Mary, the widow of Jacob Krall; Robert, a farmer of Penn township; James, deceased, who lived in Reading ; Margaret, unmarried; Catherine, the wife of David Brosey; Eliza, the widow of Isaac Weachter ; Ellen, the widow of Abram Kauffman; Samuel J., the youngest of the family.
Samuel J. Beard was born in Penn township April 11, 1835, and was left fatherless at the age of twelve years. Until he was twenty-seven years of age he remained with his mother, a kind and duti- ful son. Mr. Beard received an excellent public school education, which was supplemented by one term in the Normal school, in Millersville. Possess- ing a quick intelligence and a love of study, he soon was qualified for teaching, and took charge of his first school before he was twenty-one years old. For twelve years he acceptably followed this profession. In 1866, at the death of his beloved mother, to whom he had shown every care, he purchased the old home- stead and since that time has given his attention to farming, demonstrating that he is as good a farmer as teacher.
In politics Mr. Beard is a stanch Democrat, and has taken a very active interest in the party councils in this locality. For fifteen years he served as jus- tice of the peace, for five years he was assessor, for the same time tax collector, and he served one term as school director.
The marriage of Mr. Beard was to Miss Mar- garet Keath, and to this union was born a family of seven children : Mary, the widow of Harry Dichm ; Lizzie, the wife of Jacob Moyer; Maggie, the wife
of Horace Biemesderfer ; Frank, a farmer of Me- chanicsville ; John, a farmer at Erbsdale; Charles, a miller, near Mount Hope ; and Howard, a teacher of West Park, in Penn township.
Mr. Beard has spent a long and useful life in this locality, is well known and most highly esteemed. He is a leading member of the Lutheran Church, one of the elders and one of its most liberal sup- porters. Mr. Beard may be justly called a repre- sentative man of Penn township.
JACOB CHARLES, one of the more prominent farmers of Conoy township, Lancaster county, was born in Manor township, in the same county, Dec. 15, 1841, and is a son of Christ. and Nancy (Funk) Charles, both natives of Manor township, where the father, who was born June 2, 1812, is still living. The mother, who died in June, ISGo, and was laid to rest in the Charles family burying ground in Manor township, was, with her husband, a member of the Mennonite Church. The following children were born to them : Nancy, deceased wife of Abraham Bankholder; Jacob; John, a farmer and one of the directors of the Mountville National Bank; Joseph, a farmer in East Donegal township; Christian, a farmer in Rapho township : Abraham, at home with his parents; Hettie, married to Martin Breneman, a farmer of Manor township; Anna, unmarried and living at home; Mary, who married Christ. Frank, and is dead. After the death of Mrs. Nancy Charles, at Forrey, in 1860, Mr. Charles was married a sec- ond time, Miss Elizabeth Witmer becoming his wife. She died in 1893. John Charles, the paternal grand- father of Jacob, married a Miss Habacker and spent his entire life in his native township, Manor.
Jacob Charles has been twice married, the first time Sept. 8, 1867, in Lancaster, when Miss Elvina S. Harnish became his wife. She was the mother of two children: Fanny H., who died young ; and Christ. H., who married Mary Lip, and is a farmer in Conoy township. Mrs. Elvina S. Charles was born in Manor township in 1849, and died Jan. 21, 1872. She was a daughter of Michael and Anna (Schenck) Harnish, both natives of Lancaster county.
Mr. Charles was married, for the second time, on Nov. 1I, 1875, in Lancaster, to Miss Lizzie F. Mease, by whom he has had the following children. all of whom are at home: Amos M., Jacob M. and Lizzie E. Mrs. Lizzie F. Charles was born in Man- heim township Aug. 16, 1842, and is a daughter of John and Mary (Frankford) Mease, farmer people of Lancaster county, where they died, and were buried in Neff's Church cemetery.
Mr. Charles remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-seven years, when he en- gaged in the tillage of a small farm in Manor town- ship. In March, 1878, he located on his present home, a fine farm of one hundred and nineteen acres, a magnificent property, with fine river frontage. He also owns an island farm across from his home,
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where he has forty acres of rich tillable land, and a farm of sixty-one acres in another part of Conoy township.
Mr. Charles is an honorable and upright man, whose long and useful life is a story of unwearied industry and straightforward and manly dealings. In politics he is a Democrat, and in his religion a member of the Mennonite Church. His peaceful and industrious life, his kindly heart and generous spirit have in no way put to shame his religious faith and profession.
GEORGE DILLER SPRECHER, whose com- modious dwelling at No. 213 East King street is one of the finest and most substantial in all Lancaster, is a lineal descendant of two of the oldest families in Lancaster county.
On his mother's side-the Dillers-the family is traced to Casper Diller (Deelor, as he wrote it), who fled from Alsace to Holland, going from there to England, where he married a lady of English birth and then came to America, landing in this country in the early days of the Penns, from whom he secured a grant for 500 acres of land. He lived to be 100 years old. Isaac Diller, descended from Casper Diller, was the grandfather of George D. Sprecher, and the latter's grandmother, Susanna Roland, was a daughter of Jonathan Roland, who served in the Revolutionary war. Through the Diller connection Mr. Sprecher was related . to George Washington, and the family tree is as dis- tinguished as it is large.
On the paternal side Mr. Sprecher can claim a lineage as ancient as that of the Dillers. On Oct. 17, 1732, Christopher Sprecher and Hans George Sprecher (brothers, and the latter the great- great-grandfather of our subject) came to America on board the ship "Pink." On Oct. 17, 1751, Jacob Sprecher, of Rotterdam, came to America on the ship "Jeanette;" with him came another Hans George Sprecher. On Oct. 11, 1752, Johann Peter Sprecher came to America, and on Oct. 18, 1752, Jacob Adam Sprecher arrived in the United States on the ship "Peggy." The Hans Sprecher who came to this country in 1751 settled in New York, and the first two Sprechers who came to America settled in Lehigh county. Hans George Sprecher, the first to come, had a son Philip, who settled in East Earl township, and was the ancestor of George D. Sprecher. One of Philip's sons went to Virginia, where he settled and reared a family, one of his sons being Prof. Sprecher, of California, who has three sons who are clergymen. George D. Sprecher's father was an extensive cattle dealer and hotel-keeper, and for a time was a farmer. Mr. Sprecher's (George D.'s) mother was a great- granddaughter of Col. John Huber, a veteran of the Revolution, her father having been Isaac Diller, a prominent farmer of eastern Lancaster county. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sprecher, only three of whom are living: George D., Will-
iam D. and Catherine, the latter the widow of the late John Reigart, all of Lancaster.
George D. Sprecher was born Feb. 12, 1821, in Earl township, where his father was engaged at farming. Receiving a partial education in the pub- lic schools, young Sprecher came to Lancaster at the age of eleven years, and entered the hardware store of Gen. Diller, a relative of Mr. Sprecher's mother, and who was the founder of Dillerville, this county. This was in IS32. From Gen. Diller's store young Sprecher entered the employ of Henry W. Gun- daker, and eight years later went to the late A. W. Russel. In 1844 he became part owner, and later sole owner, of a store. In 1854 Mr. Sprecher tore down the old A. W. Russel hardware building, on North Queen street, and erected the large and cle- gant building now occupied by Reilly Brothers & Raub. He was continuously in the hardware trade from 1832 to 1860, engaged in the slating business in 1854, keeping it up-with the hardware business -until 1860, and from the latter date continuing ex- clusively at slating until 1888, when he retired from active business.
Mr. Sprecher has been the builder and owner of scores of houses in Lancaster, having built the hand- some home he now lives in, in 1847, and building an addition to it in 1850. He is the owner of four large tobacco warehouses, two extensive mercantile prop- erties on East King street, and other properties. Great, indeed, have been the material improvements he has made to Lancaster, and these, with the rec- ord of his long life of integrity, will prove enduring monuments.
Mr. Sprecher married Miss Caroline Beates, daughter of the now sainted Rev. William Beates, who was for so many years pastor of Zion's Luther- an Church, this city, and who, emulating the Divine Master, refused to accept the slightest compensa- tion for his labors. He had a nominal salary of $300 per annum, and, after receiving it, annually, from his parishioners, turned it over for the pay- ment of the church debt. This remarkable man died May 16, 1867, at the age of ninety-one years, while administering the Holy Communion to his family.
Eight children were born of the union of George D. Sprecher and Caroline Beates, and all save three of these children, as well as the mother, have en- tered into rest. The survivors are Laura, wife of Henry S. Franklin, of the Steinman Hardware Company ; and Misses Emily B. and Anna M., at home. Mr. Sprecher is wonderfully preserved, men- tally and physically, for one of his years, and he is as active as most men of fifty, although within a few days of cignty-one years at the time this sketch was written, January, 1902. He is a trustee of Trinity Lutheran Church, and has been for fifty- two years ; and he is president of the board of trus- tees of the Home for Friendless Children, and presi- dent of the board of trustees of the Woodward Hill Cemetery Board ; and no man gives these positions
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D. Mporschen
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of honor and trust more intelligent or more pains- taking attention than docs Mr. Sprecher. His has indeed been a remarkable career, and his life is one that may well be emulated by the rising generation.
JACOB MUSSELMAN. A prominent and highly esteemed farmer of Lancaster county is found in Jacob Musselman, now living somewhat retired on a farm which has been his home since 1898. The birth of Mr. Musselman was in Earl township July 5, 1831, and he was a son of Samuel and Magdalina (Nolt) Musselman, a leading farming family of Earl township. Samuel Musselman was engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life and died on his old homestead, after five years of retirement, in 1862, at the age of sixty-six years. He was a son of Chris- tian Musselman, who was also a farmer of Earl township, and the family in its sixth generation now occupies the old farm, it being the property of Jacob Musselman and operated by his two capable sons. The old family home was erected in 1792 and has been the scene of the births, marriages and deaths of the family for over a century, still remaining in a good state of preservation, while those who fash- ioned it have long since crumbled into dust.
Magdalina (Nolt) Musselman, the beloved moth- er of our subject, passed out of life in 1842, at the early age of thirty-eight years. She was a daughter of Jonas Nolt, of West Earl township. She was buried in Groffdale cemetery, both she and her husband having been most worthy members of the Mennonite Church. The children born to them were : Anna, who died young : Christian, who was killed on the railroad in 1898, at the age of seventy- two years ; Jonas, who died in 1863 : Jacob ; Henry, who died in 1888; and Mattie, of West Earl town- ship, who married Michael E. Wenger.
The education of Jacob Musselman was acquired in the district schools of his neighborhood and he grew up on his father's farm, remaining at home until the death of both parents, when he took charge of the old place and continued to cultivate and im- prove it until 1898, when he retired from activity, in favor of his two sons, whom he had taught to be excellent farmers and good managers, like him- self.
Mr. Musselman was united in marriage on Jan. 12, 1858, in West Earl township, to Miss Mary Stoner. This estimable lady was born in West Earl township Sept. 15, 1831, and she was a daugh- ter of Henry and Catherine (Huber) Stoner, the former of whom was a native of Colerain and the latter of Warwick township. The father died in West Earl in 1869, at the age of seventy-three years, the mother having preceded him, in 1853, at the age of sixty years. They were buried in Metzler's meeting house cemetery, in West Earl township, and both were consistent members of the Mennon- ite Church. The grandparents of Mrs. Musselman were among the leading citizens of the county, Hen- ry and Margaret Stoner and Abraham Huber. The
brothers and sisters of Mrs. Musselman were: Elizabeth, deceased, who married John Musselman ; Jacob, who died young ; Catherine, deceased, who first married Joseph Nolt, and second, Martin Rohr- er ; Henry, deceased ; Samuel, a farmer of Ephrata township ; Barbara, deceased, who married Elias Miller; Susannah, deceased, who married Daniel Burkholder; Abraham, a retired farmer of Ephrata township; and Isaac, also a retired farmer of the same township.
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