Biographical annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical and genealogical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settlers, Part 85

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 85

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Mrs. Susanna (Hess) Herr was a daughter of Jacob Hess, of Peguea township, born April 27, 1815 : she died Oct. 26, 1900. By her marriage with Mr. Herr she became the mother of seven children : Jacob H., of Willowstreet, born Aug. 26, 1840; Joseph, a resident of West Lampeter township, born Jan. 6, 1842: Maria, born Feb. 23, 1844, died in childhood : Christian H., born 1846, died Feb. 21. 1898, in Manor township, where he had followed farming, and at one time had been a school teacher ; Barbara, born Oct. 28, 1850, now the wife of Jacob Lindeman, of West Lampeter township; Elizabeth, born Sept. 13, 1853, now housekeeper for her brother 52

Abraham ; and Abraham H., born Oct. 5, 1855, re- siding on the old homestead. Christian Herr, the father of this family, was a Dunkard, but his wife belonged to the old Mennonite Church.

JACOB HERR, the oldest member of the above family, was born and reared on the old homestead and e:lucated in the public schools, and in the high school in Cumberland county. Remaining at home until I88o, he then located at Willowstreet, operat- ing a small tract of five acres, giving the most of his attention to the Lancaster and Willowstreet Turn- pike Co., of which he has been superintendent and treastirer. The office of secretary is also filled by him. He married. Jan. 13, ISSO, Mrs. Catherine, widow of Martin Kreider and daughter of Christian and Elizabeth ( Forrer) Mylin, born in Pequea township, July 8, 1835. They have one of the most pleasant homes found at Willowstreet. In religious belief they belong to the Mennonite Church, and they are highly respected for their many good qualities.

HENRY H. AMENT, who has followed carpet weaving and carpentering in Columbia for a number of years, was born March 19, 1835, in Manor town- ship, this county. The Ament family is one of the oldest and most respected in Lancaster county, where our subject's grandparents settled on their emigration from Germany, their native country.

George Ament. the father of Henry H., was born Sept. 16, 1702. He did a prosperous teaming busi- ness in the early days, carrying goods between Phil- adelphia and Pittsburg, when railway connections between those two places was yet a dream of the future. He was a man of many resources. By trade a carpet weaver, in his later life he became a farmer, and at the same time carried on business as a butcher. He died May 3, 1873, aged eighty years, seven months and eighteen days. He mar- ried Catherine Herr, daughter of Christian Herr, of Lancaster county, and they became the parents of nine children. namely: Christian; Catherine, who married Martin Manning, of Highville, this county; Benjamin, born Jan. 29, 1829, who died Sept. 22, 1870, aged forty-one years, seven months and twenty-four days, the father of nine children ; Eliza, who married Christ Kaufman, of Highville; Elias and Mary Ann. both deceased; Henry H .; and Abraham and Fanny, twins, the former a resident of Highville, the latter the wife of Jacob Kaufman, the brother of Christ, of Lancaster. The parents were members of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Ament passed away in 1885, aged seventy-four years.

Henry H. Ament was reared to farming pur- sttits, which he followed up to the age of nineteen years, meantime receiving a practical education in the common schools. He then learned the carpen- ter's trade, and he has also acquired a thorough knowledge of carpet weaving. Since 1888 he has been engaged at both trades, and he has prospered

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well --- industry and honest work bringing their own and just rewards. He resided at Highville until June, 1899, when he removed to Columbia, where he has since had his home. As a worthy member of one of the old respected families of the county, Mr. Ament is held in high estcem, and he is fully de- serving of the substantial place he holds in the re- gard of his fellow men.

In November, 1856, Mr. Ament was married, in Lancaster, Pa., to Miss Catherine Schoff, a na- tive of Manor township, and daughter of David and Susanna (Benedict) Schoff, of Lancaster county. Mrs. Ament died Aug. 1, 1896, aged sixty-one years. Of the children born to this union, Amos is a resi- dent of Columbia, this county ; Elizabeth is the wife of Henry Mellinger, of Columbia : Jonas and Frank- lin are deceased ; Elias is a carpenter in Highville ; David is deceased ; and Mary married Elmer Eslile- man, of Columbia. In religious connection Mr. Ament is a member of the Evangelical Church. He is independent in politics.

ADOLPH EFINGER, proprietor of the "Seventh Ward Hotel," is one of the popular and · successful German-Americans of whom the citizens of Lancaster are justly proud. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, the home of his ancestors, Dec. 30, 1853, a son of Bernard and Caroline (Crim) Efinger.

Bernard Efinger was a man of more than ordin- arv attainments, and althoughi he never wandered from his native land, he contributed not a little to the steady advancement of the locality in which he lived. In early life he took to surveying as a de- sirable means of livelihood, and so successful did he become, that he was given a public position as surveyor, the arduous duties of which he creditably maintained for more than half a century. He was interested in politics also, and his popularity and general fitness may be best estimated from the fact that he was burgomaster or mayor of Aixheim, Wurtemberg, for about thirty years. His death oc- curred in 1897, at the age of seventy-four ; his wife died in ISSt, at the age of fifty-four. They were members of the Catholic Church, and had the fol- lowing children besides Adolph: Remius, who came to America in 1860, is a tinsmith in Philadelphia; Catherine, who died in Germany, married Francis Gruler : Otto is a farmer in Germany; Mary is liv- ing in Germany ; and Anna is also a resident of Ger- many.

More ambitious than his sire, Adolph Efinger sought to enlarge his sphere of action by removal to the United States in IS71, his objective point be- ing Lancaster. Pa., where resided an uncle, Jacob Efinger. Under this uncle he served an apprentice- ship as a cabinet-maker for three years, following which he engaged as journeyman in his trade for six years. For twelve years he was employed in a planing mill, and in 1889 started in the hotel busi- ness, of which he has made a success. He has en-

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tered actively into general town affairs, and as stanch Republican has been a member of the city council since 1898. Fraternally he is associated with the Masons and Odd Fellows, but is not a member of any church, although his family attend the Ger- man Lutheran Church. His wife was former !: Mary J. Dinkelberg, a native of Lancaster, and win has borne him two children, Bertha K. and Philip C. Mr. Efinger is well adapted to the occupation in which he is engaged, his tact, geniality, and all : around good fellowship, contributing in no smail measure to his success as host to the traveling public. He is exceedingly well posted, has a thorough know !- edge of human nature, and by virtue of his appli- cation and integrity has acquired a substantial place among the moneyed men of Lancaster.

REV. WILLIAM FRANCIS SHERO, A. M., rector of St. John's Free Episcopal Church, in Lan- caster, is a gentleman of far more than ordinary literary genius, and is doing splendid work in the parish to which he has ministered since September, 1898, having officiated there for one year while fill- ing the office of headmaster of Ycates' Institute. In the rectorship he is the successor of the late lamented Rev. J. E. Pratt.

MIr. Shero's paternal ancestors were French Huguenots, who left France at the time of the Revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes, going first to Ger- many, and from that country to America. His grandfather came to America, bringing with him an | infant son, Lewis, who became the father of the Lan- caster clergyman. Lewis Shero married Clarissa Francis, daughter of Egbert Francis, who was lead- ing a retired life at Fredonia, N. Y. Of this union there were born seven children, all of whom are living.

Rev. William Francis Shero, A. M., was born near Fredonia. N. Y., in 1863, and was educated in the normal school in his native town, and in the University of Rochester, from which he was grad- uated in 1887. He then attended the Theological Seminary in New York City, from which he was to be graduated in 1890, but left in 1888 to engage in teaching. For four years he worked in the school room, in the meantime continuing his theological studies, while he was principal of the schools at Smethport, Pa. During this time he took a post- graduate course in the University of Rochester. writing a thesis on "The Dis-establishment of the English Church." and in the study of political econ- omy was awarded the first prize-a sum of $300 in money. Mr. Shero was ordained deacon Dec. 22, 1889, and priest, Feb. 22, 1891. His first call was to Angelica, N. Y., where he served one year and a half. and for four years was chaplain of DeVeaux College at Niagara Falls. At the end of that period he came to Lancaster to take the position of head master of Yeates' Institute, a position he filled with credit for two years, and then, as noted above, be- coming rector of St. John's Free Episcopal Church.

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The degree of Master of Arts was bestowed upon him by Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y., in 1890.

Mr. Shero was married June 12, 1891, to Miss Lucy S. Rogers, a daughter of Col. Lucius Rogers, a veteran of the war of the Rebellion, and now serv- ing as postmaster at Kane, Pa. In 1869 the Colonel was electedi prothonotary of Mckean county, and three years later he was elected a member of the General Assembly. For eleven years he was journal and reading clerk of the State Senate. and was elected county treasurer in ISS9. Col. Rogers is a veteran journalist of much reputation, and by the dignity and candor of his work has made a name for himself that will long endure in Mckean county. Col. Rogers has two other children beside Mrs. Shero, Fantine Livia, the wife of Dr. W. P. Bundick, of Mt. Jewett, Pa .; and H. Smull, a lawyer at Mt. Jewett, who bears the name of Mr. Smull, of "Legislative Hand- book" fame. Mrs. Shero has Bishop Kidder, of Bath and Wells, England, among her more dis- tinguished maternal ancestors, among whom is also found Noalı Webster. From the union of Mr. Shero with Miss Rogers, were born two children, Lucius Rogers, and Livia Francis.

Mr. Shero has met with much success as rector of St. John's Parish, and his people are devotedly attached to him. Of a deeply spiritual nature, his fine social qualities render his work doubly effective. and with a fine pulpit presence and power he has all the elements which enter into the success of a priest. His record in Lancaster is a story of honest and hon- orable labor, of deep devotion, and of faithful effort for the improvement of his people.

SIMON PETER WAYNE, an old and well- known engineer on the Pennsylvania railroad, with his residence in Columbia, Lancaster county, was born in Colebrook, Lebanon Co., Pa., on the old Robert Coleman estate, May 15, 1847, a son of David C. and Sarah ( Knipe) Wayne, natives, respectively of Hanover, York county, and Schaefferstown, Lebanon county, in which latter place they were married.

David C. Wayne was a miller by trade, at which calling he worked from the age of fifteen to 1878, when advanced years precluded further work in the mills, and he then engaged in the patent medicine business until ten years prior to his death, when he retired. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. David C. Wayne were born the following named children : William H., who died from the effects of an injury received on the old State railroad ; Mary A., widow of John Evman, who was master painter at Pitts- burg for the Pennsylvania Railroad Co .; Catherine. deceased wife of Samuel Clair: Sarah, widow of Isaac Hogentogler, of Columbia; John, who was wounded at the battle of Malvern Hill, June 30. 1861, while serving in Co. I, 23d P. V. I., died in hospital at Washington, D. C., in October, 1861 : David A., a locomotive engineer, was killed in a rail- road wreck; Simon Peter was the next in order of

birth : Elizabeth married James Devine, a railroad engineer at Elizabethtown, Pa .; Emma is the wife of Milton Monahan, a railroad conductor at Phila- delphia : Rebecca, of the same city, is the widow of Jacob Michael, who was a locomotive engineer ; and Lydia married Amos Lewis, a railroad engineer at Shippensburg, Pa. Mrs. Sarah (Knipe) Wayne was very active and earnest in her work for the United Brethren Church, and in 1856-1858 col- lected the money with which was built the first church edifice of that denomination in Columbia, the first sermon having been preached in German in the dwelling of David C. Wayne, by the Rev. Christian Kaufman, to the embryo congregation of that faith. David C. Wayne was born Oct. 1, ISog, and died Jan. 1, 1888, and his wife was born Sept. 18. 1814, and died April 28. 1882, the family having come to Columbia about 1849.

Simon Peter Wayne, at the carly age of eight vears, was sent out by his parents to earn in part his own livelihood, and among the farmers of the neighborhood he found employment until fifteen years of age. He was then apprenticed to John Q. Denney, to learn the molder's trade, and was to re- ceive fifty cents per day the first year ; seventy-five cents per day the second year : and one dollar per day for the three following years. He was in the shop, however, but little over a year when the war of the Rebellion broke out, and all the molders in the factory, save one, went to the front. Young Wayne was then tested by his employers, and found to be capable of casting a molding, and his wages were fixed at $2 per day, until the expiration of his apprenticeship. He next worked as a journeyman for Malby. Case & Co., and other foundrymen until January, IS,4, when he was given a place, on the 15th of May, as fireman for the Pennsylvania Rail- road Co., and six years later, Aug. 20, 1880, he was promoted to engineer, a position he still occupies. In ISor he was transferred to Philadelphia, as pas- senger engineer, but in November, 1893, was re- turned to Columbia as freight and extra passenger engineer.

Mr. Wayne was united in marriage, March 13, 1867, in Lancaster, with Miss Kate Mayer, and to this union was born one child, William M., whos died at the age of three years and twenty days.

Mrs. Kate (Mayer) Wayne was born in Bern- ville. Berks Co., Pa .. March 13, 1848, a daughter of Gotlieb and Mary (Boyer) Mayer, natives of Ger- many and Berks county, Pa., respectively. Gotlieb Maver came to America in boyhood. and learned the miller's trade under David C. Wayne, father of Simon Peter. To his marriage to Mary Boyer were born seven children, namely: Kate, now Mrs. Wayne: Anna, wife of Orrick Richards, paper- hanger in Columbia : Clara, widow of John Hinkle; Elizabeth, wife of H. P. Young, retired, in Middle- town. Pa. : Ella, in Columbia; John, in Marietta ; and Emma, who died young. Mr. Maver died in Columbia at an advanced age in the faith of the

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Lutheran Church, and his widow, who was born May 21, 1824, is also a Lutheran and still resides in Columbia.

Mr. Wayne is one of the kindest and most charit- able of men. He has had educated in music several children not members of his family, and has reared three as his own. At present he has living with him a niece, Miss Bessie E. Young, whom he has reared from the age of two to seventeen years, although her father is quite wealthy, and is a resident of Middle- town. Mr. Wayne is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, in which he holds three offices, those of corresponding secretary, chairman of the board of legislation, and chairman of the com- mittee of adjustments. He is also a member of the general board of the Pennsylvania system. Mr. Wayne is a past grand in the I. O. O. F., a Knight of Malta, and past chancellor, K. P. He also be- Jongs to the Columbia Fire Department. In politics he is a Republican, and has served in the borough council two consecutive terms as president, an honor never before conferred upon a president of the Co- lumbia council. By appointment he also filled out an unexpired term of six months as chief burgess of Columbia. From a business point of view Mr. Wayne is a self-made man, as he has through his integrity and industry, been given by the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Co., lucrative employment which has enabled him to acquire a competency for the years when old age will make his being able to sit under his own vine and fig tree, without a thought of the morrow, a blessing indeed. For the kindness and favors shown him by the company he has a feeling of gratitude, which grows deeper and stronger as the years go by. His elegant home on Chestnut street is an evidence of what a man may acquire by living an industrious and frugal life, and should be an incentive to the coming generations of railroad men to do likewise, and, like Mr. Wayne, to be hon- ored and respected by all.

WILLIAM D. SNYDER has long been well and favorably known among business men in Co- lumbia, where he has risen to special prominence in his important position of manager for the Keeley Stove Company.

Mr. Snyder was born Feb. 13, 1843, in Chillis- quaque, Northumberland county, this State, son of John Frederick and Mary (Dehart) Snyder, also natives of the Keystone State. The paternal grand- father of our subject, John B. Snyder, was born in Montgomery county, where he spent the greater part of his life, following the trade of shoemaker. He was a Democrat in politics, and understood well the political issues of his day, taking an active part in the local affairs of his town. For three years he was a member of the town council, for eight years served as overseer of the poor at Milton, and in numerous other positions aided in the upbuilding of his community. He was a true Christian gentle man, greatly interested in the progress of the Re-

formed Church, of which he was a member. He participated in the Black Hawk war, serving a. captain of a company that was sent to the front. John B. Snyder married Sarah Elizabeth Rumer. a native of Northampton county, this State, and the: had three sons and one daughter, of whom J. Fre i- erick. our subject's father, was the eldest. The oth- ers were Peter ; Albert, who was killed during the Civil war; and Sarah. The grandfather died in 1875.

J. Frederick Snyder was born in Montgomer; county. where he made his home until his marriage. and he was given a good education in the public schools. On reaching mature years he began clerk- ing in a store, and continued to act as salesman from 1842 to 1860, after which he followed boating on the Pennsylvania Canal, which occupation he abandoned in order to accept work offered him in a sawmill, for which he received better pay. He passed away while residing in Milton, in 1887, when in the sixty-fifth year of his age, a devout mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. J. Fred- erick Snyder was twice married, and by the first union were born five children, of whom William D. was the eldest: Sarah, the next in order of birth. is deceased: Mary is the wife of Jeremiah Dates- man, and resides in Columbia ; and the two remain- ing members of the family. twins, are deceased. The wife and mother passed to the land beyond in 1850, at the age of thirty-one.

William D. Snyder received his early education in the common schools of Milton, after which he took a course in the high school, and he subsequent- ly received instruction from Rev. A. G. Dole, pastor of the Reformed Church of Milton, studying Eng- lish grammar, rhetoric and geometry. At the age of eighteen he engaged in boating, continuing thus until he apprenticed himself to learn the trade of a tin smith. Mastering the business in three years, he followed it with fair success until 1872, when he formed a partnership with Mr. Overpeck, the firm name being Overpeck & Snyder. They carried on a thriving trade in tinsmithing and sheet iron work until the death of the senior partner in 1876, when the style was changed to W. D. Snyder & Co., and continued as such for the following three years. At the end of that time our subject disposed of his interest in the business, remaining with the new firm, however, until 1881, when he went to Middle- town. becoming superintendent of Raymond & Campbell's mounting establishment in that place. 3.fter remaining there a short time, however, he lo- cated in Columbia in the employ of the Keeley Stove Co. On Thanksgiving day, 1891, Mr. Snyder was elected to the position of manager of the concern by the board of directors, and has remained in that capacity ever since, to the satisfaction of all con- cerned. He is a thorough business man, and what- ever he undertakes is bound to succeed. The firm are doing a paying business, transacting over $200,000 worth of business each year, and give eni-

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ployment in all departments to aboutt one hundred and forty men. The factory is a large structure, five stories in height, including cellar, located on Maple and Second streets. They have also a sales- room at No. 21 South Charles street, Baltimore.

In his political views Mr. Snyder is a Prohibi- tionist, and believes that the time will soon come when that party will elect a president. He has been very active in church work since early man- hood, and has served twelve years as superintendent of the Sunday-school and eight years as deacon. In social affairs he is a prominent Odd Fellow, be- longing to Mutual Lodge No. 84, at Milton: and he is also a member of Milton Lodge No. 256, F. & A. M.

Mr. Snyder married, in February, 1865. Miss Sarah E., daughter of Peter Smith, of Milton. and to them was born one daughter, Mary, now the wife of Edgar Fager, of Columbia. Mrs. Snyder died in 1867, and our subject subsequently married Miss Nancy C., daughter of James McClosky, of Clinton county, this State. To them have been born four children : 'Zella, deceased : William Lloyd : Jennie B. ; and one that died in infancy.

WILLIAM B. SCHNEITMAN. a well-known implement dealer of Elizabethtown, was born in West Donegal township April 3. 1854, son of Mat- thias F. and Regina ( Brantley ) Schneitman. The parents were natives of Wurtemberg. Germany, where they remained after their marriage until 1844, when they came to America, locating in Eliza- bethtown. They remained in the borough a year, and then settled on a farm a mile from the town. where they lived and died. Mr. Schneitman passing away in 1876, at the age of seventy-two years. and his widow in 1884, at the age of seventy. Both were members of the Lutheran Church. They were the parents of the following family: Charles, who is deceased; Gotlieb, who lives in Lebanon county; Christianna, wife of Samuel Sherrer; Kate, wife of John Mashey, a farmer of Dauphin county : Henry. a furniture dealer in Case:, Iowa; Mary, wife of Israel Engle, of Lancaster county; William B .: and Louisa, who died young.

William B. Schneitman was married in Novem- ber, 1881, in Elizabethtown. to Mary Rutt. and to this union was born one child. Harry R. MIrs. Mary (Rutt) Schneitman was born in West Done- gal township April 3, 1856, daughter of Christian S. and Susan ( Allison ) Rutt. natives of West Don- egal and Rapho townships, respectively. Her father farmed all his life on the farm where he was born. He died Feb. 21. 1882, at the age of seventy-eight years, ten months, and his remains are resting in the Rutt cemetery, on the old homestead. which has been in the family for more than 200 years. Chris- tian S. Rutt and Susan Allison were married in Lancaster in (851, and to their union were born the following children : Peter, who is deceased : Mary. Mrs. Schneitman; and Simon, who is engaged in

the cultivation of the old farm in West Donegal. Mrs. Susan ( Allison) Rutt was born in Newtown. Rapho township, April 6, 1826, and is now making her home with Mrs. Schneitman. Her parents, Abraham and Susan ( Kauffman ) Allison, were na- tives of Ireland and Lancaster county, respectively, and both died at the home of their daughter, Mrs. . Susan Rutt, being interred in the old Rutt cemetery. They were members of the River Brethren Church. The father was a mason by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Allison were the parents of the following children : Barbara, widow of John Cassel; John. who died in Nansas: Abraham, a farmer in Kansas : Benjamin, Fanny and Anna, all deceased ; and Susan.

William B. Schneitman remained with his par- ents on the home farm until he was twelve years of age when he was bound out, working for his board during the winter, and receiving six dollars a month during the summer season. He made good use of the winter schools, and when he was twenty years old began teaching, in which capacity he was en- 1 gaged for two years. For the next eight years he , followed tobacco farming, and then took up the business in which he is now engaged. He moved to Elizabethtown in 1884, but also continued to carry on tobacco farming in West Donegal town- shin. While in that township he was clerk two terms, and in 1894 he was elected school director in Elizabethtown and re-elected in 1807. He and his wife are both members of the German Reformed Church, and in politics he is a Democrat. They are intelligent people, and enjoy an enviable stand- ing in the community.

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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 85

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