USA > Pennsylvania > Lebanon County > Biographical annals of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent men and representative citizens and of the early settled families > Part 61
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The boyhood days of Franklin Mock were spent upon his father's farm and in attendance on the public schools. At an early age he decided to devote his life to farming, and so earnest were his endeavors to succeed that he 110W owns two fine farms, one the home place of 100 acres, known as the old Trout- man homestead, where he and his most excellent wife reside, and another piece of property of twenty-four acres, in a most excellent state of cultivation. On October 21, 1882, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mock and Miss Lydia Trout- man, of Jackson township. She was the daughter of Jonathan and Rebecca (Whilhelm) Troutman, the former of whom had for many years been one of the leading men of his locality, and at the time of his death was a large land owner. His birth occurred in 1818, and he died in 1892, deeply respected by all who knew him. In 1843 he married Rebecca Whilhelm, born in 1822, who died in 1894, and they became the parents of six children: Henry, deceased ; Jonathan; Rebecca, who married Elias Miller; Sara, deceased; Emma, de-
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ceased, and Lydia, Mrs. Mock. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mock.
In politics Mr. Mock is a Republican, and has always taken an active interest in local affairs. In religious matters he is a member of the Zion Lutheran Church, while his wife is a member of the Reformed Church of Mount Aetna. After a most active life these two most worthy people are en- joying the fruits of their labors in well earned peace, surrounded by all the comforts, as well as necessities, and are held in high esteem by their neighbors and friends.
JOHN A. IMHOF has for many years been familiar to the citizens of Lebanon. He is the son of a well known contractor, and he himself has been in the same business in the city for a number of years, being one of the lead- ing contractors in the city, and having erected many of its largest and most handsome buildings. He resides at No. 1021 Walnut street, and is looked upon as one of the substantial citizens of the city.
John A. Imhof is a native of Warwick township, Lancaster county, Pa., born January 24, 1849. His father was of the same name, and was a native of Baden, Germany, where he was born in the year 1812. At his majority he came to the United States, and located in Lititz, Lancaster Co. He was a carpenter, having learned his trade in the old country, and upon arriving in Lititz, engaged with a Mr. Kreider, one of the leading contractors of that vicinity. In the year 1850 he removed to a farm in North Lebanon town- ship, Lebanon county, one mile north of the city of Lebanon, where he com- bined farming with contracting in the city. For a number of years he was the leading contractor in Lebanon county, and put up many of the largest buildings in Lebanon. Some of these are noted, as the News building, on South Eighth street, the Daily Times building on Cumberland street, the Park- man residence, and the Moravian Church building. His death occurred in 1886. He was a man of great energy and strength of purpose, and was highly respected in the business world. In Lancaster county, in 1836, he married Catherine Graeff, who was born in the old country and came to America with her parents, the family locating in York, Pa., where the father died. Mrs. Imhof's mother then moved to Lititz and she died in Lebanon in 1869. To Mr. Imhof the following children were born : Ellen, deceased in girlhood; Amanda, who married August Jonas, and removed to Illinois and there died; Ferdinand, a carpenter of Lebanon; Ellen (2), who married Franklin Eisenhouer, of Forneydale; Winfield S., who resides in the Inde- pendent District of Lebanon; John A., the subject of this sketch; Henry,
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who also resides in the Independent District ; and Cleophas and Helen, who died in infancy.
John A. Imhof, the subject of this review, removed to North Lebanon township with his parents, where he attended the common schools, and being of a very studious turn of mind he succeeded in securing a fair education. The home farm engaged his attention until he was fifteen years of age, when he became apprenticed to a cigarmaker in Lebanon, with whom he worked two years. This trade, however, was not active enough to suit him, and he began learning the wheelwright's trade. Again he changed his occupation. and took instruction in the line of carpenter's work, following this until 1884. In this year he began contracting on his own account, and has since been en- gaged successfully at that business. Contractor Imhof is a man who has a fine grasp of details, and his work proves him a master of the building art. He is exceedingly punctilious concerning his contracts, and endeavors to live up to the conditions nominated in the paper. Some of the results of his work inay be seen in the beautiful residences of Dr. Reigel, Samuel Hartman, Thomas and Edward Schott. He has put up buildings in every ward of the city, and in a business way has been very successful. The fraternal orders of the Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows enroll him as a member, and he affiliates with the Moravian Church in religious matters.
Mr. Imhof was married November 14. 1872, to Eliza Whitmer, a native of Lebanon county, and the daughter of Jacob Whitmer, deceased. One child was born to this marriage, Lily Mary, who died in infancy. Mr. Imhof is a man of great uprightness of character, and attracts to himself many friends, not only in the business circles, but in the social circles as well.
REV. EDWARD S. BROMER. There is no city in the eastern part of Pennsylvania which is more favored with pulpit material than Lebanon. Most of the ministers of the city are young, active, and energetic men, who are doing grand work in the Master's vineyard. The gentleman who is here named is a comparatively young man, but has already established a reputation for earnest and effective work in the denomination which he has had the honor to represent. He is filling at the present time the pastorate of the First Reformed Church, which gathers one of the largest congregations in the city.
Rev. Mr. Bromer was born at Schwenkville, Montgomery Co., Pa., March 19, 1869. His parents were Albert and Catherine ( Shepard) Bromer, the former a native of Germany, born in Kell, September 10, 1837. When
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a lad of but fourteen years, he came over to the United States, traveling the distance alone. He first located in the city of Philadelphia, where his sister was living, then went to Hazleton, Pa., where he worked for a time, and thence to Harleysville. He finally located in Schwenkville, where he engaged in the manufacture of clothing for many years, and where he is now leading a retired life. The mother was also born in the Fatherland, in 1840, her parents removing to the United States when she was but an infant.
Edward S. Bromer passed the period of his boyhood and youth in the town of Schwenkville, and his preliminary education was quite thorough. He then entered a preparatory school at Collegeville, and later matriculated at Ursinus College, from which institution he was graduated in 1890. With this literary preparation he entered the Theological Department of Yale University, and after a course of three years was graduated with honors. The last year of this period he was successful in securing one of the scholarships, entitling him to another year in the institution. He therefore remained the following year, directing his studies particularly to Biblical Theology. The spring of 1894 marked his settlement in his first charge, at Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Co., Pa., where he remained four years, meeting with marked success. In November, 1898, he was elected pastor of the First Reformed Church of Lebanon, one of the largest and most influential congregations in the city. Here he has already endeared himself to the hearts of his people by his self-sacrificing and intelligent efforts to increase the scope of the field. He is meeting with great success, and is most popular, especially among the younger members of his flock.
Rev. Mr. Bromer was joined in marriage in 1890 to Flora K., daughter of Henry and Lydia Schwenk. Mrs. Bromer was born in Collegeville. Penn- sylvania.
HENRY T. EUSTON, a very prominent citizen of Lebanon, Pa., was born on a farm on the outskirts of Lebanon City. in North Lebanon town- ship, July 14. 1840, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Thomas) Euston.
Thomas Euston was born in 1798 in Lebanon county, Pa., and died in November. 1868. He was a son of Francis Euston, of Scotch-Irish descent. who died when his son was six years old. Francis Euston was a school teacher and a Freemason, and he was interred by the latter order, near Jonestown. Thomas Euston was reared by his widowed mother in their humble little home in Lebanon. until he was old enough to "work out" with a neigliboring farmer. Later he learned the milling business, which, to- gethier with farming, he followed through life, giving a preference to the
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latter vocation. Mr. Euston was a reliable, sensible and well-balanced man, and his abilities were recognized by his fellow-citizens in his appointment to many of the offices of trust and responsibility. Thomas Euston married Elizabeth Thomas, daughter of Dr. Christian Eberhardt Thomas in Lebanon, and the following family of nine children was born to this union : Mary, who died in 1900; William T., who died in 1881; Susan, who died in 1894; Joseph R., who died in 1898; John J., who died in 1900; Louisa, who is the widow of Samuel Hauer, of Lebanon : Henry T .; Edward C., an architect in Lebanon; and Sarah J., who is the wife of Cyrus Heverling, of West Leb- anon. The mother of these children died in 1881 : she was a woman of many virtues.
Henry T. Euston was reared in Lebanon and received an excellent com- mon school education, putting it to practical use by becoming an instructor for several years, alternating with work at his trade of bricklaying, teaching through the winters and working through the summers. Mr. Euston's record during the Civil war is one of interest and honor. On August 14, 1862, he enlisted, becoming a private in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty- seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was soon made corporal, being further promoted on March 1, 1863, to the rank of sergeant. He was mustered out May 29, 1863 (expiration of term of service). The regiment participated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. On July 2, 1863, he was commissioned second lieutenant of Company H. Forty-eighth Regiment, of the Pennsylvania Emergency Troops, and was discharged from the service when that body was mustered out August 26, 1863. Later he was employed as clerk to a sutler in the Ninety-third Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, and was with that regiment during the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. Later, after the organization of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, he was commissioned captain of Company G. Eighth Regiment, and participated in the trouble then existing in the coal regions.
After returning from the army. Mr. Euston began work at his trade of bricklaying and on June 3, 1865, he went to work at the Lebanon Furnaces, a concern owned by G. Dawson Coleman, and from that date until the present time he has been continually in the employ of the Coleman family in some capacity. In 1870 he was made foreman of the bricklayers and masons that furnace, and ten years later he was advanced to be superintendent of the furnaces. a position of great responsibility. While superintendent he, in connection with P. L. Weimer, invented a device for cooling the top of a blast furnace and a charging apparatus. In connection with this he was made manager of outside business for the Coleman family, and on July 1, 1900,
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the furnaces having passed out of the possession of the Coleman family, he was made superintendent of their farms. While working at bricklaying and masonry, he began the work, in the fall of 1879, of building the Colebrook furnace.
In 1896, upon the organization of the Lebanon Water Company, he proved to be the most available man for the responsible position of secretary and treasurer, and still fills the office, at the same time being also the treas- urer and secretary of the Lebanon County Electric Light, Heat and Power Company, and secretary and treasurer of the Lebanon Stone Company. In local political life, Mr. Euston has been an active and useful Republican, has served as justice of the peace, as school director in North Lebanon township, and as a member of the school board from the Fifth ward, city of Lebanon, and has been auditor for Independent District. North Lebanon township, continuously, with one year's exception, since 1880. In fraternal associa- tion, Mr. Euston belongs to Sedgwick Post, No. 42, G. A. R., and to Camp No. 65, P. O. S. of A., and also Lebanon Valley Commandery, No. 5, of the same association.
On July 3, 1869, Mr. Euston was united in marriage with Miss Julia A. Lantz, who was born in Jonestown, Lebanon Co., Pa., and is a daughter of Capt. Elijah G. Lantz, a prominent citizen of that place. Three children have been born to this union, namely: Charlotte E., Mary Elizabeth, and Martha Kathryn.
The stepping-stones by means of which Mr. Euston has attained his present prominence, were energy. honesty and persevering industry. Few men are more highly regarded in his community, and he counts personal friends by the score.
JACOB K. LIGHT, justice of the peace at Jonestown, Lebanon county, and one of the prominent men of this locality, was born in Lebanon county, November 16, 1855, a son of Hiram Uhrich and Maria ( Kreider) Light. The father was born at Black Oak Hill, Swatara township, Lebanon Co., Pa., in 1833.
Peter Light, the great-grandfather, owned 500 acres of land a short distance from Lebanon, and this he left to his two sons, Jacob and David. His children were as follows: Jacob; David, who married Catherine Hun- sicker ; Peter, who also married; and Elizabeth, married to Rev. Christian Peffley.
Jacob Light, son of Peter, and grandfather of Jacob K., married Eliza- beth Uhrich, a daughter of Henry Uhrich, born in East Hanover township,
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Lebanon county. Their children were: Hiram Uhrich; Elizabeth married J. H. Witmeyer ; Barbara married Samuel Yeagley; Magdalena married D. WV. Zeller; Susan married Reuben L. Light; and Jacob U. married Salley Light.
Hiram U. Light married Maria Kreider, born in 1833, at Schnitz creek, Lebanon county, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth ( Shaeffer) Kreider. The children born to the parents of our subject were Jacob K., who wedded Lucinda A. Rank; Milton K., who married Anna Kreider; Reuben K., who married Ida Bomberger; Lizzie M., who married W. J. Bowman; Daniel K. who married Emma Layser; Annie, who died at the age of eight years; John K., who married Katharine Uhrich; Allen U., who married Mary Steckbech ; and Louisa, unmarried.
Jacob Kreider, the maternal grandfather, was born in 1799, and died in 1883, and his wife was born in 1805, and died in 1874. Their children were: Maria, born in March, 1833, married Hiram U. Light; Catherine, born in 1836, married Joel Brubaker; John, born in 1839, married Rebecca Ket- tering ; Reuben, born in 1842, married first Eliza Ulrich, second Leah Ulrich, sisters; Moses, born in 1844, married Mary Bomberger; Jacob, born in 1849, married Hannah L. Roth. The maternal great-grandfather, John Kreider, was born in 1774, and died in 1816, and married Maria Kropp. of Cumberland county, Pa. Their children were: Catherine, born in 1796, died in 1826. married Tobias Kreider; Barbara, born in 1797, married Michael Rider, of Center county, Pa .; Jacob, born in 1799, died in 1883, married Elizabeth Shaeffer; John, born in 1801, married Mary Bamberger, of Center county, Pa .; Maria, born in 1803, died in 1858, married Tobias Kreider ; Moses, born in 1805, died in 1877, married Catherine Kreider ; Henry, born in 1807, died in 1826, unmarried; Elizabeth, born in 1812, died unmarried; Louisa died in infancy ; Peter, born in 1815, died in 1851, married Catherine Hoke: and Rudolph, born in 1813, married Elizabeth Kreider.
Jacob Kreider Light was reared upon the farm and attended the district schools, where he obtained an excellent education, which he improved by extensive reading. Remaining at home until 1877, he began teaching school, and for sixteen terms was one of the successful teachers of Lebanon county, a portion of the time being spent as one of the teachers of the Jonestown high school. During all this time Mr. Light was improving his opportun- ities, and adding to his knowledge by attending various normal institutes, the Shippensburg State Normal in 1880: the Lock Haven State Normal in 1881, from which he was graduated in 1882. In 1891, he was elected justice of the peace, and holds that office to the present day. The affairs of his office
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pressing upon him, he relinquished his duties as a teacher in 1896, although he still takes a deep interest in educational matters.
On December 18, 1883, Mr. Light was united in marriage with Lucinda A. Rank, born in East Hanover township, Lebanon county, daughter of David M. Rank, a well-known farmer and real estate owner of that township. Few men are more popular than Mr. Light, who has firmly established him- self in the confidence of his fellow townsmen, and who with his wife has a large circle of friends not only in Jonestown, but throughout the county.
LEVI S. GERHART, of Fredericksburg, has long been a man of many interests. As a farmer, creamery proprietor, miller and investor in several financial enterprises, he has exerted a large influence upon the business affairs of his section, and is one of the solid men of the county, owning a large creamery, the old Stover gristmill, near Fredericksburg, and a splendid farm, and being a director of the People's National Bank of Lebanon, and of the Tulpehocken Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Myerstown.
Mr. Gerhart is of German descent, the founders of the American branch of the family having come from Germany and settled in Berks county about 1750. They had a son, Henry Gerhart, who settled upon a farm in Bethel township, Berks county, and engaged in agriculture and cattle dealing. He became prosperous, and owned four splendid farms, each comprising more than a hundred acres. He married and had six children: Wendell, John, Jacob G .. George and William were all farmers: Susanna married John Walmer, and they resided in Lebanon county.
George Gerhart. father of Levi S., was born in Bethel township. Berks county, Pa., in 1811. He was reared to farm work, and upon reaching manhood engaged in that occupation on his own account. after some time settling upon a farm in Lebanon county. There he pursued his industry with great energy and wisdom, becoming thoroughly successful, and one of the leading agriculturists of his section. He married Rebecca Peiffer, and. after her death, Eva Harnish, who is also deceased. By the first marriage there were three children : Pollie, who married John Edris; Isaac, who is now a Missouri farmer; and Mollie, who married Benjamin Meck, and resides in Missouri. By the second marriage there were fifteen children, eleven of whom grew to maturity ; Sallie, who was married to George S. Gerbrich, of Union township: Amanda, wife of John Edris, a farmer of Bethel township, Berks county; Malinda, who married Adam Gerbrich (they are now deceased) : Jolin, who is now deceased; Christina, who married John Spangler. of Bethel township; Levi S., who is mentioned below; Elias, a
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prominent building contractor of Bethel township; George and Eva, twins, the former a Berks county farmer, and the second the wife of Henry Urich, of Reading; Fianna, who married T. D. Brownmiller, of Schuylkill Haven; and Leah, who married Albert Rittle, a farmer of South Lebanon township. Mr. Gerhart, the father, continued upon his Lebanon county farm until his death, September 22, 1870. With the aid of his wife and children he made it one of the most attractive farms in the county, and in time became very well- to-do. He was a man of great force of character and practical ability. As a Republican he was influential in local affairs, and he did much to further the industrial interests of his section as well as to establish there a good govern- ment and progressive institutions. In the Reformed Church of Bethel town- ship, of which he was long a member, he was a strong leader.
Levi S. Gerhart was born in Bethel township, about two and a half miles northeast of Fredericksburg, March 13, 1848. He had the ordinary rearing of a farmer's boy of his day, and in the public schools of his neighborhood thorough drill in the common branches. As a young man, grasping the first practical opening within his reach, he embarked upon life as a farmer, and as such continued for many years. On April 2, 1870, he married Rebecca Peiffer, daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Edris) Peiffer, of Bethel township, and of this union there were six children: (1) Charles C., manager of his father's creamery in Fredericksburg, married Mary Spitler, and they had two children. The mother and one child passed away, Joseph, the other, still sur- viving. Mr. Gerhart married for his second wife Alice Boltz, and they have one son, Peirce. (2) Ida, who married I. Zeller, has two sons, Edwin and Alen. (3) George died at the age of twenty-two years. (4) Catherine mar- ried Charles Boltz, a farmer, and has one child, Ella. (5) Agnes S., who lives at home, teaches music. (6) Albert C. is the youngest.
After marriage Mr. Gerhart settled upon a farm and continued agricul- tural pursuits for about nineteen years, and, being practical and progressive in his methods, he did well in his enterprises. In 1889 he opened a creamery in Heilmandale, Lebanon county. Conducting the business in accordance with the latest scientific methods, he produced a most excellent grade of butter, which commanded the highest market price. The success of the enterprise encouraged him to branch out, and in 1894 he purchased another creamery, which was located in Fredericksburg, still retaining his connection with the first one. The second venture prospered even more than the first, and in 1897 the business had become so large that he found it advisable to sell his interest in the Heilmandale creamery and turn his entire attention to his establishment in Fredericksburg. In connection therewith
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he runs a branch creamery in Union township, seven miles west of Fred- ericksburg, where milk is brought and separated before being brought to the main creamery. Some time ago Mr. Gerhart put his son in charge of the Fredericksburg creamery, and in 1901 he purchased the old Stover gristmill, four miles south of Fredericksburg, to the management of which he has since devoted much of his time. He also has a creamery in connection with the mill. The mill is equipped with a full set of rollers and an extensive general milling business is done, from which Mr. Gerhart derives a large income. As fast as he has made money he has invested it so as to bring in good interest, and some years ago he purchased stock in the People's National Bank of Lebanon, and also in the Tulpehocken Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of Myerstown, and he is now acting as director of both corporations. He still owns his splendid farm in Bethel township, and is looked upon as one of the prosperous citizens of Fredericksburg.
Mr. Gerhart is essentially a business man, but also finds time for public and social duties. As assessor and tax collector he has done some efficient work in the township. He has served with marked ability and fidelity as deacon and elder of the Reformed Church of Hamlin, of which his family are also members. The P. O. S. of A. of Fredericksburg considers him one of its most faithful members. Politically he affiliates with the Republicans. He is a man of domestic tastes, with the best interests of his family thoroughly at heart, and he is also a most loyal and public-spirited citizen.
AARON G. SPANNUTH, a most highly esteemed citizen of Jackson township, and the proprietor of a general store at a point two and one-half miles north of Myerstown, is a descendant of a Lebanon county family which has been established here for the past 125 years.
On the memorable Christmas night of 1777, when General Washington crossed the Delaware and surprised and captured the German contingent of the British army, one Henry Spannuth was made a prisoner. He was a native of Brussels and had been hired as a British soldier, but after he had met his American captors and was released by them, like many others, he not only refused to take up arms again against them, but on the other hand, cast his lot in with the struggling patriots and assisted them in their battle for justice. After the close of the Revolutionary War, he settled in Lebanon county, Pa., on land now owned by Jonathan Yeiser. Here he reared his family and passed his days. His children were: Jacob and George (twins), Mollie, Elizabeth, Catherine, Christian, Eva and Sarah, all long since deceased.
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