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 98
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In 1869 Mr. Wohilsen married Catherine Klenck. a native of Hanover, born in October, 1849. daugh- ter of Henry Klenck. a farmer of Germany, who never came to this country. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wohlsen, Mary married Stewart Griffith, teller of the Union Trust Company; Anna married Henry Behren ; P. Harry is mentioned be-
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low ; William H. is connected with his father's mill : John O. is shipping clerk for his father; Catherine is attending school in Philadelphia; Clarence L. and B. Frank are living at home : Minnie and Emma died when young. In religious connection Mr. Wohlsen is united with the Lutheran Church, and has been a member of the vestry for the past twelve years. Fraternally he holds membership in the I. O. O. F., the Red Men and the Freemasons, in which latter he has reached the Knight Templar degree. His political sympathy is with the Republican party. He was appointed by the court to the board of park commissioners.
P. Harry Wohilsen was reared and educated in his native city, and at an early age commenced working with his father in the planing-mill, in which all his business career has been passed. When a young man he took a course at business college. attending until he was eighteen, at which time he was made superintendent in the mill, a position in which he was retained until January, 1901, when he went into business with his father, having ably demonstrated his ability and fitness.
On Sept. 26. 1901. Mr. Wohisen was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Shaub, daughter of Samuel C. and Elizabeth Shaub, of Lancaster, where the wedding was celebrated. He is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. and socially is connected with the Masonic fraternity. . His political support is given to the Republican party. As a well-bal- anced, industrious young man, full of energy and business "go." Mr. Wohlsen holds an enviable place among the younger men in the business cir- cles of Lancaster county.
REV. SANFORD B. LANDIS, a zealous and popular minister of the Mennonite Church, is as yet a young man, in the full vigor of life's prime, having been born in Leacock township, Lancaster county, Aug. I, 1867. His family is one of the old- est. best known and most esteemed of that bailiwick, and he himself is one of the most popular and respected members of his community. His grand- father, Benjamin Landis, married Mary Buck- walter.
Jacob Landis, father of Sanford B., was born in the township of Upper Leacock in 1840, and fol- lowed the vocation of a farmer until twelve vears after his marriage, when he removed to Philadel- phia and engaged in the business of a commission merchant. He was successful in this venture, and continued in the same line of trade until his death. which occurred Feb. 6, 1890. In 1859 he married Mary Bender, and to this union came three daugh- ters and two sons: Nettie, Emma, Ida, Theodore and Sanford B. All the daughters are married, Nettie to Aaron D. Landis, Emma to Harry L. Sheaffer, and Ida to Abram Landis. Theodore, on reaching manhood, became associated with his father in business, and is still a commission mer- chant in Philadelphia.
Sanford B. Landis enjoyed in youth only the rather limited educational advantages afforded by the common schools, but he improved them to the utmost. Naturally fond of study, he devoted ever. spare hour to adding to the store of knowledge oh- tained at school. and throughout life he has been ? constant, thoughtful and critical reader. He is also fond of cultivating the soil, in which vocation he has been exceedingly successful, owning a choice farm in the eastern part of East Lampeter township. which he has highly improved. In ISgo he was cnosen and ordained to the Mennonite ministry, and he has since officiated in the Mellinger and Stump- town districts, where his devoted spirit. kindly dispo- sition and broad charity have made him honored by the community, and best loved by those who know him best.
On Jan. 24, 1892, Sanford B. Landis married Miss Nora Landis, daughter of Adam and Lavinia Landis. Three children have been born to them, Edna May, John Ellis and Elma.
BENJAMIN OWEN BRACKBILL (de- ceased). A man of quiet manners yet forceful in his influence upon the community in which he lived until cut off by an untimely death, was Benjamin Owen Brackbill, a representative of a sterling old Lancaster county family, a life long farmer and a cit- izen who won the esteem and good will of his many acquaintances. He was born in Paradise township. Lancaster county, Sept. 19, 1848, son of Benjamin and Susan (Howry) Brackbill. He was reared in Paradise township, where members of his father's family still reside, attending the district schools, and in the serenity of agricultural life de- veloping a character of strength and of many lov- able traits. He was married in the Mennonite Church of Salisbury township, Nov. 5. 1878, to Miss Anna Martin, whose ancestors were old and prominent pioneers of the county. She was born in Salisbury township Aug. 14. 1853, daughter of . Joseph and Mattie ( Oberholtzer) Martin, natives. respectively, of Salisbury and Warwick townships. and the granddaughter of Abraham and
(Hurst) Martin, prominent farmers of Lancaster county, and of Samuel and Martha Oberholtzer. also farmers of Lancaster county. Abraham Mar- tin, the paternal grandfather, was twice married. his second wife having been Anna Hostetter. Joseph Martin, the father of Mrs. Brackbilll, was born in 1822, and was a life long farmer. He died in September, 1900, aged seventy-eight years, and was buried in the old Mennonite cemetery near Far- mersville. His wife, Mattie, died in 1869, aged forty-one vears, and was buried in Hershey's ceme- terv. They were devout members of the Mennonite Church. To Joseph and Mattie Martin were born the following children: Elizabeth, who married John Keener, a farmer near Strasburg ; Magdalena. who married Elam Landis, and is now deceased ; Anna, wife of Mr. Brackbill; Samuel, who resides
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on the old homestead in Salisbury; Abraham, de- ceased ; Henry, deceased ; Isaac, deceased; Joseph, deceased ; and David, deceased. Joseph Martin, the father, was twice married, his second wife hav- ing been Catherine Oberholtzer, a sister of his first wife. To this second marriage was born one child, Susannah, who died young.
To Benjamin O. and Anna (Martin) Brackbill were born children as follows: Martin, a book- keeper at Lancaster; Edith S .; Abraham B., a student at Millersville State Normal School; Isaac D .; Mary E .; Joseph E. ; and Moses A. Benjamin Owen Brackbill settled upon the farm of eighty acres in Salisbury township, which he continued to occupy until his death Sept. 26, 1896. He was buried in the Old Hershey Mennonite Church ceme- tery in Salisbury township. He was a consistent member of the Mennonite Church, to which faith his surviving family adheres. In politics he was a Republican. Aided by the worthy efforts of his de- voted wife he made a success of the farm and was regarded as a prosperous and enterprising agricul- turist. His widow survives, and is highly respected for her womanly qualities and her devotion to home and children.
JACOB L. BRISON, of Columbia, is of Irish ancestry. His grandfather, William Brison. came to this country in 1773, settling in Lancaster county. He was a farmer, hale and robust, and lived to the extraordinary age of ninety-four.
William Brison, father of Jacob L., a farmer, was born in Paradise township, as was also his wife, Martha Harsh, whose father, Jacob, was a veter- inary surgeon. Mr. and Mrs. William Brison re- moved from Paradise to Bart township in 1848. There, in 1852, the wife died, at the age of thirty- two. He survived her forty-five years, passing away in 1897, in Strasburg, after passing his eighty-fifth milestone. Both rest in New Holland cemetery. Their seven children were named: Mary E., Jacob L., James, Martha E., Amanda, Louis and Win- field. Mary E. and James are deceased. Martha E. is the wife of Fred Stively, a farmer of Stras- burg township. Amanda is unmarried, and lives in Lancaster. Louis is a successful physician of Paradise, and Winfield holds a responsible position in connection with the railroad repair department at Quarryville.
Jacob L. Brison grew up on his father's farm, and in 1876 began life's battle on his own account. Going to Columbia. he worked for three years for the Pennsylvania road as brakeman. He spent three and a half years in the position of fireman, and was then placed in charge of an engine. He is still in the company's service in that capacity, his experi- ence. fidelity and capability standing him in good stead. He is a Republican in politics, and, through his natural intelligence and ready grasp of public questions, has won for himself. the sincere esteem of all who know him.
Mr. Brison married, in October, 1869, Susan Huber, of Quarryville, who was born in Providence township March 21, 1850. Her parents were Henry S. and Fanny Barr Huber. Mr. Huber was a far- mer, and died in 1887, at the age of sixty-five, his wife passing away in 1856, in her forty-first year. Mrs. Brison was their fourth child. After her mother's death her father married Anna Barr, by whom he was the father of one child. Mary E .. who died in childhood. Of the brothers and sisters of Mrs. Brison. Christianna, died in infancy ; Anna married Amos Groff, whose biography may be found elsewhere; Elam is a shoemaker in New Providence : Christian is a farmer ; Fanny died be- fore reaching womanhood.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Brison has been blessed with a daughter and two sons. Anna. the eldest child, married Willard P. Lindermuth, of York, a railway brakeman. Charles M. is foreman of the Grey Iron Works, and married Mary Spong. William H., the youngest son, lives at home.
JOHN GRADY. Conspicuous among the busi- ness men of Marietta, Pa., where he conducts a suc- cessful livery business and is identified with much of the commercial and public life of the town, is John Grady, a son of Adam and Catherine (Hei- wick) Grady, born Nov. 7, 1840.
Adam Grady was a native of Hessen Cassel, Germany, where he married Catherine Helwick, and in 1839 brought his family to America, settling in Marietta, where he lived a busy life as a laborer, always doing his full duty until his death, in 1888. at the age of eighty-one; his faithful wife passed away two months previously, at the age of seventy- nine. Both had been consistent members of the Reformed Church. They reared these children. only two of whom survive: Catherine; John, the subject of this biography; Harry C., who served in the Civil war, and is now in the tobacco business. in Marietta : Anna, who married Christian Troub; and Frederick.
John Grady was reared in Marietta, where he attended school and worked in the surrounding farming region until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he entered the army as a wagon master, be- ing sent first to Harrisburg, later to Hagerstown, Md., and then with his train followed the Army of the Potomac, continuing to be thus engaged until 1863. At this date he enlisted as a private in Co. K, 199th P. V. I., and remained until the close of the war, faithfully serving his country, and was honorably discharged and mustered out, near Rich- mond, Virginia.
After the close of the war, Mr. Grady returned to his home and took up peaceful pursuits, finally becoming interested in tobacco culture, in which he was eminently successful, and he remained in this business until 1885, when he opened up a first-class livery establishment.
Mr. Grady was first married in 1866, in Mari-
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etta. to Miss Mary A. Hartman, and the children born to this union are: Charles A., who married Mar (. Heidler, is a representative of the Penn- sylvania Construction Co .; and Tillie A. married Elmer E. Paules, manager of the livery business, in Marietta. The mother of these children was born in Marietta, a daughter of Sanittel and Elizabeth ( Ockard) Hartman, of Lancaster county, and died in 1888. The second marriage of Mr. Grady was in Maytown, in 1892, to Mrs. Lucinda ( Sherbahn) Shainer, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary ( Reiff ) Sherbahn, of Maytown, where the former was a bric !: manufacturer. Mr. Sherbahn died in 1865 at the age of fifty-five, while his wife survived until 1876. and both were interred in the Reformed ceme- tery in Maytown : the former had lived a consistent life as a member of the M. E. Church, and the latter of the Reformed Church. Their children were: Margaret: Lucinda: Horace. of Nebraska; Abra- ham. of Michigan: Benjamin. of Ohio; Albert, of Nebraska: Anna, who married Albert Collins, of Danville, Ill. ; William, deceased : and John, of Ne- braska. almost all of the sons being engaged in the brick business.
The first marriage of Mrs. Grady was to Jere- miah Shafner, a native of Maytown, where he car- ried on a tailoring business for a number of years. although he was retired from active life at the time of his death.
Mr. Grady has ever been identified with the in- terests of the village in which he resides. In politics he is an Independent, and efficiently served East Donegal township as supervisor for seven terms, and also one term as tax collector. His fraternal connections are with the O. U. A. M .. the M. C., the I. O. R. M .. the G. A. R. in all of which organi- zations he is justly popular, and he is a worthy mem- ber of the Reformed Church. In the community. Mr. Grady's standing is high, and he is generally recognized as one of the representative citizens of his town.
DR. DORATHEA JOHANNA LOUISA GRASNICK, widely known among the better peo- ple of Lancaster county, has done much to relieve physical suffering in her community. Her maiden name was Paschke, and her parents lived in Berlin, Germany, where she was born. Her grandparents were farmers. Anton Paschke. Dr. Grasnick's father, has been a locomotive engineer on the Emperor's railway, running out of Berlin, for over forty years, and received a reward from the Emperor at the end of thirty-six years of continu- ous service on that line. Her only brother, August Paschke, is a machinist; and her only sister is the wife of Karl Schonert, a candelabra manufacturer, formerly of Berlin, but both now living in
Lancaster.
Mrs. Grasnick was educated in private schools in Berlin, and then attended the high school in that grand old city, finally taking special studies in medi-
cine in a Berlin institute, and receiving her diploma. She married Hugo Grasnick, who is a graduated electrician, and their two sons are: George F., a drug clerk, who married Anna Elizabeth Warner, and lives in Atlantic City : and Erich. a young man of nineteen, who is still pursuing his studies.
Mrs. Grasnick arrived in America April 12, 1803. coming directly to Lancaster, where she has been practicing her profession with great success. Her success has been marvelous, and her services are much sought for among the ladies of this city, as her treatment of physical ailments to which she devotes her attention is successful far beyond the ordinary. No woman in the city is more respected. and her gentle manners have made her welcome everywhere; while in the sick room she inspires confidence and hope.
Mrs. Grasnick is a consistent member of the Lutheran Church, and is greativ esteemed by a large circle of clients among whom she numbers many of the most prominent ladies of the city.
GUY L. ALEXANDER, M. D., physician to the County Hospital and Insane Asylum at Lan- caster. Pa., was born at White Rock, in Little Britain township. Lancaster Co., Pa., Oct. 13, 1871, son of Vincent K. and Harriet E. (Levis) Alexan- fler. natives of Colerain township, Lancaster county, and Cecil county. Md., respectively.
Vincent K. Alexander was born in 1844. and in his early life was a farmer by occupation, but now resides in Lancaster. In politics he was a Repub- lican, and always gave liberally of his time and money toward the support of party issues. He took an active part in local affairs, serving as county com- mitteeman of the lower end of the county : deputy Internal Revenue collector. for four years; was school director in the lower part of the county. His wife was also born in 1841. Both are members of the Presbyterian Church. Three children were born to this union: May Curtis, Norris Day and Guy L. The paternal grandparents, John and Mary (King) Alexander, were of Irish birth. and came to this country in 1814 settling in Lancaster county, Pa. Here the father engaged in the charcoal iron busi- ness, and was the pioneer ironmaster of the county for twenty-one years, until his retirement.
Dr. Alexander was reared upon a farm. attend- ing the schools of his district until he was seventeen years of age, when he went west to Omaha, where he was in the employ of the county surveyor for two years. About this time many were going to Port- land, Oregon, with the belief that there was plenty of money to be made in that city, and Dr. Alexander was one of those who made the trip. Arriving in the city, he entered the employ of the Evening Telegram, a new paper, as assistant cashier, remaining in that capacity for three years. During all of this time Dr. Alexander had been attracted toward the medical profession, and at the expiration of his three years in Portland he returned to the State of his birth.
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and entered the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, being graduated from that institution in the class of Isos. Immediately after graduating Dr. Alexander began practice at the Buck, in Lancaster county, continuing there three years. In 1901 he located in Lancaster, where he opened an office, and accepted the appointment of physician to the County Hospital and Insane .Asy- lum, in which capacity he is showing great ability and skill, treating the unfortunate ones under his care. Although young in his profession. Dr. Alex- ander is recognized as a physician of ability, and his general practice is steadily increasing. In politics. like his father. Dr. Alexander is a Republican, and is interested in local matters. His religious .connec- tions are with the Presbyterian Church, in which body, as in society generally, he is very popular.
JOHN S. BLANK, one of the leading and thor- oughly representative citizens of Earl township, Lan- caster county, was born in Leacock township July 27, 1844, a son of Jacob and Maria (Stoltzfus) Blank.
John S. Blank was reared on the farm, receiving his education in the public schools. As there was much work to be done on the farm, and the school house a long way from his home, the schooling which Mr. Blank received in his youthful days was limited. He is a good reader, and has been a close observer of the life around him, so that he has the most practical of all educations, that worked out in the great school of life, with experience for a task-master. When he was about twenty-nine years old Mr. Blank began farming operations for himself, locating on a farm in Earl township, which became his by right of owner- ship in 1871, and where he still keeps his home. It lies about a mile north of New Holland, contains eighty-six acres, and is regarded as one of the fine farms of the county. Here he has made many valu- able improvements, and has thoroughly improved and modernized his residence. The appearance of the place indicates thrift and industry, an impression which is strengthened by closer acquaintance with the good people who make their home here. He is one of the successful farmers of the county, and owns two other places in Salisbury township.
Mr. Blank was married in Leacock township, Feb. 24, 1874. to Miss Fannie Renno, a daughter of Jacob and Fannie (Fisher) Renno, born in Leacock township, Aug. 27, 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Blank have the following children: (1) Jacob R., who was born July 14, 1877, married Katie Stoltzfus, and is a farmer in Upper Leacock township, living on a twelve-acre farm belonging to his father; (2) Mary R., born June 8. ISSI, is the wife of Ezra Zook, and lives on the old homestead with her father, Mr. Zook farming the land : (3) Fannie R., born Nov. 2, 1884, is at home : (4) Daniel S. was born April 14, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Blank are thoroughly upright and honorable people. and are highly respected by all who know them. They are members of the Amish
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Church, and their influence is pronounced for all good and true measures that look to the improve- ment of the community in which they live.
ISAAC B. GOOD. Many lines of trade are suc- cessfully pursued in the thriving little borough of Ephrata, Lancaster county, all of them requiring : close attention and energetic methods. Among those : who have succeeded admirably on account of his honest and energetic management is Isaac B. Good, who is a manufacturer of cigars and also the pro- prietor of a shirt manufacturing establishment.
Isaac B. Good was born Jan. 22. 1861. a sou of Joseph and Louisa ( Wariow ) Good. of Pequea town- ship. Joseph Good was a carpenter by trade, fol- lowing that occupation all his life, and died in 1877, at the age of forty-three. In 1851 he married Louisa Warlow, who survives him, and resides in Philadel- phia, and to them were born children as follows: Amos, deceased; Mary, deceased : Susanna, wife of John Hummell, of Philadelphia ; Enos, of Farmers- ville ; William, a cigarmaker, of Philadelphia ; Isaac B .; George, who died in infancy; Charles, foreman in a cigar shop in Reading, Pa .; Henry, residing in Ephrata : and Albert, a patternmaker in the rolling mills of Reading.
Although Isaac B. Good has made so successful a manufacturer, he was reared on a farm. and remained there until the age of twenty-two, receiving his edu- cation in the common schools of his district. Until 1893 he worked as a cigarmaker, and then opened up business for himself in that line, proving his business ability and succeeding so well that in 1894 he entered into the manufacture of shirts. Though his means were very limited at first, by the practice of economy and diligence he has accumulated considerable prop- erty, owning three valuable houses and lots in Eph- rata, in addition to other possessions.
Mr. Good was married July 14, 1884, to Miss Salinda Bowman, of Ephrata, a daughter of John L. Bowman, of Reading, Pa., and to this union one daughter has come, Katie F., born April 21, 1895. Mrs. Good was born Nov. 27, 1863. In politics Mr. Good is a Democrat, but he is not an office seeker, being occupied with his flourishing business. Pos- sessing the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens, Mr. Good may be justly regarded as one of the rep- resentative business men of Ephrata borough.
PETER Y. FOLTZ, a resident of Terre Hill, Lancaster county, is a worthy representative of an old and honored family in the community in which his industrious and useful life is passing. He was born near Center Church, in East Earl township. March 29, 1853, being a son of Squire Samuel B. and Mary (Yohn) Foltz, both of whom are now liv- ing in Terre Hill.
Peter Y. Foltz was reared on the family home- stead in Terre Hill, and was afforded his education in the public schools. When he was twenty-one years of age he set himself to learning the carpenter
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BIOGRAPHICAL ANNALS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
trade in East Earl township under J. W. Horst, and for the ensuing thirteen years was engaged in this work, a part of this time being associated with Mr. Horst as a partner in the building business. The Terre Hill school house stands as a monument to his constructive ability and honest dealing. After thir- teen years as a carpenter Mr. Foltz took up teaming f ductor, and on Sept. 4, 1899, was appointed regular 1 conductor. still retaining that position. He met with an accident Nov. 29, 1899, through which he lost his right arm.
in Terre Hill. and has since been engaged in that occupation, all the time employing two teams and part of the time three in his work. The teaming for the village of Terre Hill is substantially done by him, as he makes daily trips between that point and East Earl Station. He owns a farm of twenty-two acres, and devotes himself to its cultivation, also renting additional land, and keeping himself busy all the while. He has done some building for himself in : Terre Hill, and owns a comfortable and attractive home in the village. Mr. Foltz is an earnest Repub- lican and an intelligent and thoughtful voter.
Peter Y. Foltz was married. in 1875, to Miss Emma Coleman, a daughter of Abraham and Caro- line (Clime) Coleman, and a native of Terre Hill. They have a family of five children: Abraham, at home ; Harry, who married Miss Libbie Witmer, and is a resident of Terre Hill, where they have a family
. of two children, Jacob and James ; William, who is a cigarmaker and lives at home: and Samuel and . George, at home. Both Peter \. Foltz and his wife are members of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, : and he is very active in Sunday-school work, being superintendent of the school, as well as class-leader and trustee in the church.
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