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 88
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Dr. Bressler married Miss Sarah A. Tonner, daughter of Rev. John N. Tonner, of the Methodist Church, who died at Canton, Ohio. Eight chil- dren were born of this union, seven of whom are living: Dr. John T., a dentist of Shepherdstown, Cumberland county: George B., mentioned below : Emma Barnett and Clara V., of York: Dr. Wilbur C., a dentist of York : Andrew Curtin, a traveling salesman of York : and Ella M., at home. The fa- ther of this family died in February, 1894, at the
age of seventy-four years : and the mother died in 1868, when thirty-eight years old.
George Bowman Bressler was born in Pelle- fonte, Center county, April 23, 1851. He was par- tially educated in the public schools of York, and after leaving the city schools took an academic course. When only fourteen years of age he tried to enlist in the Union army, at Harrisburg. The officer in command of the station, seeing that young Bressler, though much under age, was bright and trusty, made him a clerk at the recruiting station, where he remained until the close of the war. When he was seventeen years of age he became an apprentice at printing in the office of the True Dem- ecret, at York, and in ISto came to Lancaster to enter the employ of Pearsol & Geist, proprietors of the Express, where he remained until his entrance upon a clerkship in the post office in 1874, under Postmistress Hager. At a later pcriod he became a letter carrier, but he was thrown out of service by a change in the National administration. After working for some time in the Lancaster Watch Works Mr. Bressler became a grocer, in the fall of 1885.
In 1892 MIr. Bressler was elected an alderman on the Republican ticket. from the Fifth ward of Lan- caster, and so satisfactory was his administration of the duties of that position that in 1897 he was again elected, without opposition, and he was again honored with re-election in 1902.
George B. Bressler was married, Aug. 13. 1874, to Miss Eleanor Henry, daughter of the late Benja- min Henry, one of the oldest and most respected citizens of Lancaster. To this marriage three chil- dren have been born: Elcanor, wife of W. Hayes Farley, a jeweler of Lock Haven; Charles H., at home ; and Anna L., wife of William E. Dietz, of Sutton, West Virginia.
Mr. Bressler, like his father, is devotedly at- tached to the Methodist Church. Fraternally he is a member of Lamberton Lodge, No. 476, Royal Arch Masons, and of the Lodge of Perfection.
SAMUEL H. BOYD. Among the well-known business men of Columbia of established reputations is the present tax collector of that borough. Samuel H. Boyd, who for the past twenty years has been elected annually to that responsible position. A more direct evidence of general public esteem and confidence it would be difficult to find. Mr. Bord was born in Columbia Aug. 20, 1850, son of John and Elizabeth ( Stanley) Boyd, both of whom were na- tives of Lancaster county. His paternal grandpar- ents were James and Mary ( Fisher) Boyd. The grandmother, a native of Columbia, died a victim of cholera. The maternal grandparents of Sammuel H. were James and Catherine (Hinkle) Stanley, of York county, Pennsylvania.
John Boyd, father of Samuel H., was a life-long railroad man. For many years he was keeper of the warehouse at Columbia for I.each and for the Penn-
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sylvania lines. He died in 1871, aged fifty-five years. His wife died in 1865, aged forty-five years. Both were buried in Mt. Bethel cemetery. Five children were born to them, namely: Mary A., who married David Weish, of Columbia, died Dec. 29, 1902; James, deceased ; Ella, wife of Dr. H. \. Gress, of York county, Pa .; Catharine, widow of Joshua T. Hughes, of Columbia, who was killed at the Electric Railroad plant during a cyclone in that borough in May, 1896; and Samuel H.
Samuel H. Boyd, the youngest of the family, has been a life-long resident of Columbia, and a life-long resident of the home he now occupies. He received a good education in the public schools, and in the earlier years of his manhood he entered the railroad service, for twelve years being employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in caring for the ware house at Columbia. In 1880 he was appointed tax col- lector by the school board of Columbia, and has been elected ench term since, filling the duties of the office in a businesslike and satisfactory manner to the peo- ple of Columbia, and with credit to himself.
In politics Mr. Boyd is a Republican. He at- tends the Methodist Episcopal Church. Prominent in the fraternal orders of the borough, he is an active member of the I. O. O. F. of Columbia, and of the A. O. M. P. of Ridgely. Mr. Boyd has evinced ex- cellent business qualities through life and possesses a good competence in consequence.
GEORGE W. BIRELEY. One of the leading men of Eden township, who has been prominently identified with the best interests of Lancaster coun- ty all his life, and who, now in his declining years. enjoys the high regard and esteem of his fellow-citi- zens, is George W. Bireley, a retired farmer, who was one of the loyal citizens who fought for his country's flag during the Civil war.
Mr. Bireley was born in Leacock township, this county, July 6, 1835, a son of George and Mary (Kunkle) Bireley, both of whom were born in Stras- burg, in this county, the former in 1807, and the latter in 1813.
George Bireley, the grandfather of our subject, came of German ancestry, and Revolutionary stock. He settled in Strasburg, engaged in farming, and provided well for his three sons, John, who settled in Leacock township as a farmer, and died many years ago, leaving a family: Jacob, who settled for a tinie in Leacock township, Inter moving near Lan- caster City, where he engaged in farming all his life. and left a family at his death ; and George, the last named being the father of our subject.
George Bireley, son of George, and father of George W., settled in Leacock township, later moved to Strasburg, where he lived until 1859, and then removed to Chester county, in this State, making his home with his son, George W., who was living there at that time, returning with him to Eden township after the war, and lived with him until his death in 1886. He married Mary Kunkle, daughter of Hen-
i ry Kunkle, of English parentage. She shared with him all the hardships of pioneer life, and survived until March, 1901, dying in Chester county, at the home of hier son Zacheus, at the age of ninety years. These parents were blessed with seven manly sons. : and one daughter, namely: (1) Christiana, born in 1828, in Lancaster county, married James Shields. a native of Ireland, and after marriage they settled in Leacock township, where she soon died, leaving one daughter, Mary J., a telegraph operator in Har- risburg. (2) Henry, born in Lancaster county, in 1830, married Maggie Hoover. of Chester county, and they reside in Sadsbury township. When the Civil war broke out he was one of the first to re- spond to the call for soldiers, and after his return from serving his enlistment, he was made marshal of this district. and efficiently served as such until the close of the war, when he settled in Bart town- ship, where he lived until the time of his death ; his . wife dlied some years later. (3) George W. is men- tioned below. (4) Daniel, born in 1840, also offered his services to his country, enlisting in the 79th P. V. I., under Col. Hambright, of Lancaster, served . three years, and then, re-enlisting, he filled out the period until the close of the war. At the battle of Chattanooga he and six others were all that re- mained of a company of one hundred men, and he took part in many other severe engagements. return- ing home, however, in safety. He married Caroline Ikerley, of Strasburg, and they settled in Lancaster . county, but later removed to Kansas City, Mo., where they still reside and have a numerous family. (5) Jacob MI., born in Lancaster county, in 1842, aiso came forward, like his brothers, and offered his life to his country in the trying days of 1861. After a service of three years he too re-enlisted and re- mained in the service until the close of the war, and participated in all of the battles in which his regi- ment took part, until near the end, when he was taken sick, was sent home and died soon after, as much a martyr as if killed on the field of battle. (6) Winfield Scott and (7) Zachary Taylor, twins, born in 1846, both enlisted for service in the Civil war, when less than sixteen years of age, entering Co. D, 203d. P. V. I .. at Camp Cadwallader. Philadel- phia, but Winfield died in a hospital at Wilmington, N. C. Taylor served through the war. participat- ing in many hard-fought battles and returned with so honorable a record that he has been State marshal since. After his return he was married to Emma Steel, of this county, and they reside in Chester county. Their children are: Annie, wife of Will- iam Clinton, of Chester county : Clara, wife of Thom- as Hilton : Cora. wife of Frank Hilton : Winnifred ; Tohn B. ; Marshall ; and Roy. (8) William T., born in Lancaster county, was a soklier through the Civil war, belonging to the 122nd P. V. C., and from three enlistments had three honorable discharges. He,
too, survived the dangers of war, and after his re- turn was married to Mary Steel, of this county, and they settled in Eden township, where his death oc-
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
curred in ISO1. leaving a widow and family who are residents of Chester county, the children being Lillie, who married Howard Alexander, of Chester county, and has two children, Bertie and Robert : Susan, who married Newton McGinnis, and has one son. Will- iam: George D. and Benjamin F., both unmarried, and both residents of Chester.
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George W. Bireley, of this biography, was reared in the midst of a home where was taught industry and loyalty. His education was acquired in the dis- trict schools, and when his age warranted his en- gaging in work he soon found eniployment in the county in quarrying and lime burning. At that date this work was very extensively carried on in his lo- cality. In 1857 he was united in marriage to Sarah J. Hoover, the estimable daughter of Mathias and Anna Hoover, prominent farming people of Ches- ter county. Mrs. Bireley was born in 1835, and grew up in Lancaster county.
That George W. Bireley was roused to patriotic action when the call came for soldiers to defend his country, did not surprise those who knew him best. He became a member of Co. D, 203d P. V. I .. and he took part in all of the engagements in which his regiment participated. until he was seriously wound- ed at Wilmington, N. C., and was placed in a hos- pital, where he remained until the close of the war. He also suffered from rheumatism and lumbago. as a result of the exposure and hardships endured in that great struggle.
At enlistment Mr. Bireley left his wife and two children in Chester county, and he returned there, but soon after removed to Eden and remained there until in 1890, when he purchased the Eden Furnace prop- erty. Mr. Bireley has been held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens for a long period, this being proven by his election for a season of sixteen years as supervisor of Eden township, while he has also efficiently served as county and school tax collector, and for nine years as county and township tax col- lector. Politically he is an ardent and active mem- ber of the Republican party.
In June, 18,9, occurred the death of Mrs. Bire- ley, at which time she left five children, Anna M., born in Chester county, in May, ISóo. who married Henry Wolf. of this county, and they reside in Eden township, their five children being Daniel J., George W., Lizzie S., Henry, Lena ; and Daniel J., born Feb. 3, 1862, in Chester county, who married Sallie Ha- gan, of this county, and they reside on his father's homestead, and their two children are Letta I. and Dora M .; Barbara A., born in December. 1866, in this county, is the wife of Harry Frackman, of Georgetown. and their four children are Annie, Jen- nie, Virgie and Etna ; Lydia P., born in July, 1870, is the wife of George Gaul, a farmer of Eden township, and their three children are Hilda, Enos and Myrtle : and Iva H., born in September. 1872, is the wife of William Althaus, a resident of Paradise township, and their two children are Walter and Earl.
On Dec. 29, 1881, Mr. Bireley. was married to
Augusta Louisa Kemmerly, a native of Lancaster county, and a daughter of Franklin and Christian". S. Kemmerly. The family came to America fro ... Germany in 1862. Mrs. Bireley was born in Ger- many Aug. 3. 1860, and she grew to fair young womanhood and was educated in this county. Four children have been born to this union, namely : Catherine E., born in April, 1886 ; George H., born in August, 1888 : Winfield S., born in April, 1891 ; and Agnes L., born June 9, 1895.
Few families in the country, and surely none in Lancaster county testified to their loval love of coun- try as did the honored one of which our subject is a member. Fitting, indeed, was it that the G. ... R. Post of this locality should be named in his honor. and that of the brave young brother who lost his life in the cause of his country. Mr. Bireley has taken a deep interest in this noble organization, an:l has been honored as its commander. Entirely aside from his war record. Mr. Bireley has won the con- fidence and esteem of the community by his honora- ble life, his public-spirit, and the interest and enter- prise he has always shown in the advancement of his section and people. Both he and wife are lead- ing members of the Lutheran Church, where he is a liberal supporter and regular attendant.
Mr. Bireley met with a misfortune in 1892 which has caused untokl regret to his many friends. By ac- cident he received a gun shot wound in the foot. which has necessitated his use of crutches. but it is the fervent hope of friends and acquaintances that time may remedy or mitigate the injury. Few men are more universally popular than is George W. Bireley of Eden township.
BENJAMIN P. MILLER. For nearly thirty years this weil known retired merchant of Lancaster was engaged in the wholesale grocery trade in that city. He established the business, which under his supervision grew and prospered. Late in the after- noon of life himself and business partner transferred the valuable business to their sons and retired from active life. The career of Mr. Miller has been such that he is entitled to great credit. Handicapped in his early life by ill health, yet filled with determina- tion, he did best that work which lay before him, changing the nature of his employment as he found it overtaxing his strength, until, in the creation of the wholesale house now so well and widely known, he found the vocation which has yielded adequate reward to his intelligence and well-directed application.
Mr. Miller was born in Lancaster April 2, 1827, son of Martin and Elizabeth (Mylin) Miller, early residents of Lancaster county, and was but a year and a half old when his father died. When a child of ten years he removed with his mother from Lancaster to a farm in Rockhill, where he remained two years. He then attended school at Lancaster for two and a half years, after which he began an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade. Owing to ill health he aban- doned that trade a few years later, and embarked in
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Jewy Thiller~
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
1855 in business as a retail grocer at Lancaster, con- tinuing thus until 1865. The confinement incident to that business also in time proved unfavorable to his health. He had conducted the store successfully for ten years, and after traveling some time, selling gro- ceries, he engaged in business at Lancaster as a wholesale grocer. Two years later he admitted to partnership John I. Hartman, and for nearly thirty years the firm was prominently connected with the commercial interests of Lancaster. Wishing to see the business continued after their prospective retire- ment, their sons were thoroughly taught the details of the expanded trade, so that in the year 1895 the business was surrendered to them. Mr. Miller's business judgment is keen and accurate, his knowl- edge and interest in public affairs broad and thor- ough, and as one of the most prominent citizens of Lancaster he is held in the highest esteem by his numerous business and social friends and by all who know him.
Mr. Miller married, at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1862, Miss Mary C., daughter of Frederick Miller ; she died April 5, 1885. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller were born seven children, two sons and five daughters, namely : Ella L .; Charles A., wholesale grocer at Lancaster, who married, in January, 1892, Mrs. Jennie Gardner, and has one child. Mary : Ora, who married, Oct. 5, 1 1893, David S. Widmeyer, furniture dealer and un- dertaker, of Lancaster, and has one son, John Henry ; Mary ; Benjamin P., Jr. : Mabel G., who married, Oct. 20, 1901, Christian Engle ; and Edna M. In re- ligious affiliation Mr. Miller is an old and prominent member of St. John's Lutheran Church, having joined the church in 1854. He has served as town councilman for two years, being elected by the Re- publicans. In early life he belonged to the I. O. O. F.
OLIVER CROMWELL BALMER, the genial and successful manager of the Lancaster city office of the Western Union Telegraph office, is a native of Elizabethtown, Lancaster county, and comes of a long and useful line of manly and sturdy people. His ancestors were French Huguenots, who sought a refuge on these shores from bitter persecution, and have always been a hardy and long-lived race. Elizabethi ( Havbecker) Balmer. the grandmother of Oliver C., attained the venerable age of ninety-five years. Samuel Balmer, his grandfather. was a school teacher and a contracting carpenter. His brother, Daniel Balmer, served the State as member of the Legislature many years ago.
William Henry Harrison Balmer, father of Oliver Cromwell, now resides at Carnegie. Pa. He was for many years a druggist and merchant of Elizabethtown, this county. He married Martha, daughter of Mrs. Daniel Shank, living near Eliza- bethtown, and to this union were born five children, four of whom are living: Samuel H., shipping clerk of the Steelton Flour Mill Co., Steelton, Pa .; Oliver C., at Lancaster ; Elizabeth Haybecker, wife of A. T. Stewart, president of the A. T. Stew-
art Implement Manufacturing Company. at Carne- gie, near Pittsburg: Mabel Blanche, wife of Henry Hamme. shipping clerk of the York Wall Paper Company, of York, Pennsylvania.
Oliver Cromwell Balmer was born at Elizabeth- town Sept. 6, 1865, and was educated at Columbia, Pa., to which place his parents had removed. At the age of ten years he began carrying newspapers, and at eleven entered a store, becoming messenger boy for the Western Union Telegraph Company when not thirteen years old. This place he hekdl for three years, when he went to Harrisburg, in the em- ploy of the same company, also as messenger. He was appointed operator at the old Pennsylvania rail- road depot at Harrisburg. and filled that position for a year and a half. In 1833 he was appointed man- ager of the telegraph office in the "Brighton Hotel," subsequently taking charge of the main office at At- lantic City for a short time. In 1884 he was trans- ferred to Lancaster, to hold an operator's chair, and there he worked for a year and a half, when he was transferred to Harrisburg, to remain a year and a half. Hle was then transferred to Birmingham. Ala., and remained in the Southern city nearly a year, when he was recalled to Harrisburg to fill the position of operator and wire chief, continuing in that place until 1892, when he became manager at York. There he was employed until the opening months of rSop, when he was appointed manager of the Western Union office in Lancaster, an unbroken service in the employ of the Western Union Tele- graph Company of nearly twenty-three years.
Mr. Balmer was married to Miss Lilly D., daughter of Prof. D. G. Williams, for nine years superintendent of the public schools of York coun- ty, and who is now a notary public engaged in the insurance and real estate business. To this union two children were born : Oliver Cromwell, Jr .. and David Williams.
Mr. Balmer belongs to the First Methodist Church of Lancaster, and is a teacher in the Sunday- school. In politics he is a Republican. He belongs to several benevolent organizations. As manager of the Western Union office he has made many friends by his unfailing courtesy and close attention to all busi- ness that passes through his hands.
G. J. P. RAUB. general insurance manager at Quarryville, was born in Eden township Aug. 15, 1852, son of Dr. John K. and Leah ( Peoples ) Raub. · The parents were both born in Lancaster county.
John K. Raub, after his marriage, settled in Hawkesville, where he taught school for a time, and then took up the study of medicine, which he prac- ticed for many years, becoming prominent both as a physician and citizen. He accumulated large means by putting the income from his practice in invest- ments which returned good interest. He moved to New Providence, where he practiced up to a short time before his death, in 1867. His wife is still liv-
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
ing, and is now the wife of Edward Aston, of New Providence. Dr. John K. Raub left one son and one daughter: G. J. P., and Lillie. The daughter was educated at the Millersville Normal School, married Elam K. Herr, formerly of Quarryville borough, but now residing at Bloomfield, Iowa ; they have two daughters, Ella and Miriam.
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G. J. P. Raub was educated at the Millersville State Normal School and Kutztown Normal School. His early life was spent as a clerk in a coun- try store, until he entered into partnership with F. WV. Helm, in a general store at New Providence, at which place he continued for five years. He then moved to Quarryville, where he entered into a part- nership with George W. Hensel, his father-in-law. The firm continued as Hensel & Co. until 1874, when Mr. Raub purchased Mr. Hensel's interest and con- tinued the business until 1890. He then sold out and engaged in general insurance for the Northwest- ern Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wis., which he has continued until the present time. Since 1890 he has engaged in the insurance business, and he is now manager of the district, a position of honor and profit. He received a medal from the company for careful and judicious management of its af- fairs. When he first began in the insurance business his territory consisted of parts of Lancaster and Chester counties, but now he has charge, in addition to the foregoing, of the counties of Franklin and Fulton, and a part of Schuylkill, in Pennsylvania, and of Washington, Frederick and Montgomery, in Maryland. In point of business Mr. Raub stands first in the State of any representatives of his com- pany, and has been awarded medals to that effect from the company.
In 1873 G. J. P. Raub married Miss Ella M. Hensel, daughter of George W. and Anna M. Hen- sel. He has two children: Florence H., who was born in 1875; and Charles H., born in 1879, who is a graduate of the State College of Center county, Pa., class of 1901.
In politics Mr. Raub is a Democrat, but he has never aspired to office. Fraternally he is a member of the order of Elks, Chambersburg Lodge. He and his wife are members of the Reformed Church of Quarryville.
Mr. Raub is scrupulously honest, and his integ- rity is well known and esteemed by all. He is a man of more than ordinary ability, and his life has been one of active business, which he has made suc- cessful by giving it his entire attention and time.
M. H. GROFF. Among the leading and repre- sentative citizens of Drumore township is M. H. Groff, who is a native of Lancaster county, born in West Lampeter township, Oct. 24, 1847, a son of Eli and Susan (Herr) Groff, the former of whom was a son of Jacob Groff, a native of Germany, who became a highly respected and well-known farmer of Lancaster county.
Eli Groff married Susan Herr about 1840, and
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three sons were born to them : Harvey H., whose young life went out on the terrible battle field in Vir- gina, in 1863, a member of Co. G, 21st P. V. C .: Aquilla, who died in Williamsport, Wyoming Co .. Pa., in his seventeenth year; and M. H. Groff, oi Drumore township.
Although in early life M. H. Groff possessed little in the way of worldly goods, he was full of energy and ability, and as the years passed on he accunit- iated means, and now is the fortunate owner of one of the best small farms in his township, which is improved with excellent and comfortable buildings. On Dec. 9, 1874, Mr. Groff was married to Miss Annie C. Rowe, of Drumore township, who was born on May 25, 1854, a daughter of Samuel and Annie (Tanger) Rowe, of Drumore, the former of whom was born July 3, 1826, and the latter April 22, 1827, and they both reside with M. H. Groff. Mrs. Groff has but one brother, Beniamin F. Rowe, who is a farmer of Dru- more township. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Groff : Samuel Chester, born in 1875. married Naomi Harnish, of Drumore, and they have one son, Maurice H. Groff ; Annie Myrtle, born in 1877, died at the age of twenty-one years ; and Iva S., born in 18SI, resides with her parents.
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