Biographical annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, containing genealogical records of representative families, including many of the early settlers and biographical sketches of prominent citizens, Vol. I, Part 14

Author: Roberts, Ellwood, 1846- ed
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : T. S. Benham
Number of Pages: 826


USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Biographical annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, containing genealogical records of representative families, including many of the early settlers and biographical sketches of prominent citizens, Vol. I > Part 14


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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.


George W. Keys, who has been for a number of years in the office of the recorder of deeds at Norristown, either as recorder or as deputy ; Mary R., born October 3, 1852, unmarried, and is housekeeper for her father ; William A., born De- cember 1, 1859, married Annie Vandyke, and has seven children. Mrs. Kirk died March 17, 1892.


Mr. Kirk is a thoroughgoing Republican. Al- though not an office seeker, he has held the office of assessor four years, and supervisor for nearly twenty years, having been named by both parties for the latter position on several occasions. He is a member of the Masonic order. In religious faith he affiliates with the Society of Friends, al- though not a member. He is connected with Fort Washington Lodge, No. 308, F. and A. M.


John Kirk, the immigrant, located in what is now Upper Darby, in Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and was married the same year he located in Darby, to Joan, daughter of Peter Elliott. He died in 1805. They had a family of ten children. Most of those in Montogmery county are de- scended from John, the second son of John and Joan Kirk, including Jesse J. Kirk. He was born January 29, 1692. In 1712 he purchased from John and Sarah Ironmonger 200 acres of land in Abington township, Montgomery county, adjoin- ing Upper Dublin township, on which he spent the remainder of his life. He paid 260 pounds for the entire tract. He subsequently made an- other purchase of 500 acres of land in Upper Dublin township. He was a stone mason by trade, and in 1722 built the stone mansion for Sir William Heith on Graeme Park, in Horsham township. In the same year he married, in Ab- ington Meeting, Sarah, daughter of Rynear Ty- son. John and Sarah Kirk were the parents of eight children. The Kirks have intermarried with many prominent families of lower Montgomery.


WALTER COULSTON. The Coulston family, which is of Welsh descent, is one of the oldest and most prominent in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. The earliest ancestor of whom there is any authentic information was William Coulston (great-grandfather), who was


born on the old homestead in Whitemarsh town- ship, and was known as one of the most success- ful farmers of the vicinity. His children were: Charles, William, John, Thomas, Mary (Mrs. William Kettler), and Sarah (Mrs. Jacob Rorer), all of whom are now deceased. Thomas Coulston and Mr. and Mrs. William Kettler owned a fine farm in Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, and resided thereon the greater part of their lives.


William Coulston (grandfather) was a native of Whitemarsh township, born August 9, 1797. He was educated in the common schools of the vicinity, and his entire active career was devoted to farming pursuits. He married Ann Meredith, who was born October 29, 1802, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Meredith, the former named having been a descendant of an old family of Welsh descent, the immigrant hav- ing been David Meredith, who came to Penn- sylvania in 1700, and settled in Plymouth town- ship, Montgomery county. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Coulston, namely: James Meredith, Elizabeth, and Hannah. William Coulston died April 17, 1863, in his sixty-sixth year, and his wife, Ann (Meredith) Coulston, died March 25, 1833, in her thirty-first year.


James Meredith Coulston (father) was born near the old homestead in Whitemarsh township, January 27, 1831, and when about three years of age he accompanied his parents to the farm on on which he spent the remainder of his life. He assisted in farming during the summer months, and attended school in the winter months accord- ing to the usual custom among farmers. On the death of his father he inherited his portion of the estate, and later purchased the remainder from his sisters. He was an active Republican, always standing by the candidates and the policy of the party. He served a number of years as a member of the Whitemarsh school board, and also held other township positions, but was in no sense an office seeker. He was a director in the Montgom- ery Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and in other ways was active in promoting the interests of the community in which he resided. He usually at- tended Plymouth Friends' Meeting, although not a member of the society. He was affiliated with


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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.


Marble Hall Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.


On April 7, 1856, James M. Coulston mar- ried Tacy Amanda Freas, born December 19, 1836, daughter of Joseph and Ann (Nyce) Freas, and their children were : I. Annie F., born July 4, 1857, became the wife of Daniel H. Maguire, and their children are: Dora, James C., and Edna Maguire. 2. Alice H., born October 30, 1858, became the wife of Harvey W. Lentz, and their children are: J. Howard, Walter, Joanna, Fred- erick, and Tacy C. Lentz. 3. William C., born June 16, 1860, married Kate C. Ambler, who bore him one child, Alice L. Coulston ; William C. Coulston died September 30, 1900. 4. Eliza- beth C., born January 17, 1862, became the wife of William Potts Jones, and their children are: Evan D., Frances C., and L. Elizabeth Jones. 5 and 6. Thomas C. and Sarah R. (twins), born July 12, 1863 ; the former died in infancy, in the autumn of 1863. 7. Frances C., born January 29, 1868. 8. Joseph Percival, born April 25, 1870, mentioned at length hereinafter. 9. J. War- ren, born November 12, 1871, died November 18, 1871. 10. Walter, born February 2, 1873, men- tioned hereinafter. 11. Russell L., born January 12, 1880, died April 18, 1880. James M. Coul- ston, father of these children, died March 24, 1901. Few men were so much respected in their neighborhood as he, his kindly manner and genial disposition making him a universal favorite.


Mrs. Coulston, widow of James M. Coulston, who occupies the old homestead with her son, Walter Coulston, is a member of an old White- marsh family, of German origin, whose name was originally spelled Fries. George Freas, grandfather of Mrs. Coulston, married Barbara Wolf, and their children were: John, George, Samuel, Jacob, Benjamin, Daniel, Joseph, Will- iam, Mary (Mrs. Samuel Roberts), and Cath- erine ( Mrs. William Freas). Joseph Freas, father of Mrs. Coulston, was born May 6, 1794, on the homestead in Whitemarsh township. His youth was spent on the farm with his parents, he receiv- ing such education as the neighborhood schools afforded at that time. He decided to learn the trade of blacksmith, and became an apprentice to


his brother, Samuel Freas, at Plymouth Meet- ing. He remained at his trade for some years, but farming being more to his taste he abandoned the pursuit of his trade and returned to White- marsh. He purchased the home farm from his father and cultivated it for many years. In poli- tics he was a member of the Whig party, but he never sought or held office, preferring to devote his time and attention entirely to his business. He married, January 15, 1818, Ann Keely, born No- vember 17, 1792, daughter of Henry and Eliza- beth Keely, of Philadelphia county. Their chil- dren were: Henry, born in 1818; Joanna, born in 1820; Walton, born in 1822; Issachar, born in 1824; Elizabeth, born in 1826; John Quincy, born in 1828; Orlando, born in 1830; Caroline, born in 1834; Tacy Amanda, born in 1836, widow of James M. Coulston; Barbara A., born in 1839. Joseph Freas died November 22, 1879, survived by his wife, who passed away December 21, 1888.


Joseph Percival Coulston, third son of the late James M. Coulston and his wife Tacy Amanda (Freas) Coulston, was born on the family home- stead in Whitemarsh, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania, April 25, 1870. He was educated in the public schools of the township, and also attended the Norristown high school, where he completed his education and from which institution he was graduated. Returning to his home he assisted in farming the homestead, and later leased a fine farm in the same vicinity, which he has culti- vated and improved to a high state of perfection, and on which he has resided continuously up to the present time (1904). He has won the reputa- tion of being a model farmer, and he is also one of the well known and prominent citizens of the community, taking an active interest in all enter- prises that have a tendency toward the progress and development of his township and county. He is a Republican in politics, and active in the sup- port of party interests. In 1896 Mr. Coulston married Anna M. Miller, born June 7, 1876, daughter of George and Mary (Markley) Miller, the former named being one of the prosperous farmers of Whitemarsh. They are the parents of one child, Hannah Coulston, born May 28, 1901. Mr. Coulston and his family attend the


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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.


Lutheran church, at Barren Hill, Pennsylvania.


Walter Coulston, fifth son of the late James M. Coulston and his wife Tacy Amanda (Freas) Coulston, was born in Whitemarsh township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, February 2, 1873. He obtained his early education in the public schools of Whitemarsh and Norristown, and this was supplemented by attendance at the Pierce Business College, Philadelphia. After pur- suing the course in that institution he returned to the farm, where he has since remained, en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, of which he is especially fond, and universally recognized as a practical and progressive farmer. In politics he follows in the footsteps of his father, being a staunch Republican. He is a member of the Pa- triotic Order of Sons of America, and of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He attends the Lutheran church at Barren Hill, Pennsylvania, is a man of the highest honor and integrity, is faithful in the performance of his duty to his mother, with whom he resides, and is highly respected by all who enjoy his acquain- tance. Mr. Coulston is unmarried.


MICHAEL PIERCE O'BRIEN was de- scended from an old and eminently respectable family of County Meath, Ireland, where his grandfather, Michael O'Brien, was born, who was an only child of his parents, and was edu- cated and reared to manhood in his native county, where he was a merchant for many years and an extensive land owner. He married and had an only child, Christopher O'Brien, who was given a practical education and was reared to man- hood on his father's estate. He married Cath- erine Gugarty, and to this union were born the following named children: I. Michael, whose name introduces this review, and who was bap- tized Michael Pierce O'Brien ; 2. John, who mar- ried Mary A. Tracy ; 3. Rosanna, deceased ; 4. Margaret, who married James Tracy; 5. Maria ; 6. Elizabeth ; 7. Matthew, who married Mar- garet Ryan; 8. Henry. Of these children, Maria, Elizabeth and Henry reside at present at Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Both the parents -Christopher and Catherine (Gugarty) O'Brien


-lived to be over three score years of age, the father having died in his native land.


Michael Pierce O'Brien was born on his fa- ther's estate, February 18, 1829. His early mental training was acquired in the schools of the neighborhood and under private tuition, and this was supplemented by a course at Maynooth College, a celebrated institution of learning of those days in the city of Dublin, Ireland. At the early age of nineteen the young student, be- ing desirous to satisfy his ambition in life, de- cided to come to the United States and accord- ingly in 1848-49 sailed for Philadelphia with many others, sons and daughters of the Emereld Isle. Upon his arrival here the ambitious youth at once made his way into the valley of the Le- high in Pennsylvanina. Here he found employ- ment, and became connected with the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, where he remained for some time, subsequently coming to Consho- hocken, where he accepted the position of general agent for the railroad company, and here it may be said that the company could have had no bet- ter representative than Michael P. O'Brien. He was the soul of honor and integrity, and by dili- gence, perseverance and husbanding his resources he was enabled to engage in other enterprises in Conshohocken, becoming identified with Colonel James Boyd, of Norristown, and Charles H. Stinson, of the same place, under the firm name of the East Conshohocken Quarry Company, which was engaged in the quarrying of Consho- hocken stone, probably the finest in the country for building purposes. This enterprise proved very remunerative under the judicious manage- ment of these gentlemen. Later Mr. O'Brien be- came engaged in building and real estate enter- prises in Conshohocken and vicinity, which under his capable management proved very profitable.


He was a man of exceedingly kindly and am- iable disposition, thinking evil of none, but quick to call to order anyone who did wrong, and pos- sessing a native courage which made him fear no man. He was the man for any emergency that might arise; he rose rapidly in every posi- tion in which he was placed, with the faculty of accumulating money in every enterprise with


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MONTGOMERY COUNTY


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when he was a mereha it for mrocy anus 00-an extwelve land owner He married a | May an onis could Christopher O Brist when given a prachcal dinemme and Was rare in cran erine, Sugarty, and to tius mion were born. .. folk some named children 9. Michael. Where name ingrediens the review, and who we hep tized Michel Pieret D brich : 2. John whu www rien Mary A Tracmy 3. Rosanna, deccast 3Tury mmet humorried Tarves Tracy ; _ M . F. Matthew, he married Mar Kap ky. 8. Henry. Of these children Mama Elisabeth dnl H ury reside at presch st wwwwhohocken. Pennsylvan :. Both the par wunblog con catherine (Gugarty) ( Brien


JoHout Pierce O'Bier was born on ho, fa- rer's wat Formary 18 1829. His Early metal Galning was acquiredl in the schlo ds of de pand bompod and under private paris, and L Jeg q ofbeef inmtutico of Tuming of las dos in the city of Dublin, Ireland At The vody age of mineteen the young studend. be- low cost his ambition in life de- sl Ncome : the United States and accordl- ing) m 88 40 ailed for Philadelphia with man . com. lighter, of the Enereld ist When bis arr'val here the ambitious youth A chce made las try with the valley of The Le- 1115' 10 'nocyTo find Here he found employ- mini, said became con. et 1 with the Lehigh Valley Badr ad I apar where he remained Komme Time, superquimily coming to Consho- Jeden where he gerepted the position of general Murat railroad campagn, and here it may So fies the company could Iere had no bet- ler tips oss alan Micha UP' O'Brien. He Wwe Todo lomor and Inovnity, and by dili- pin e and hushan Ing his resources le -pusles to engage 1 other enterprises in Onlar bec ming ontified with Colonel TD. j Norrisewwh, and Charles H Se co le some place unler the firm n me Conshohoekco Quarry Company, www ejwaged in the quarrying of Consho- probably the finest in the country for healing purposes. This enterprise proved wore perimcrative under the judicious manage- out of these gentlemen. Lager Mr. O'Brien be- aww engaged in building and real estate enter- pois . in Conshohocken and vicinity, which under 1 cajathe management proved very profitable.


He was a man of exceedingly kindly and am- lable / position thinking evil f none, but quick to call lo orden anyone who dol wrong. and pos- sewing a native courage which made him fear no man. He was the non for any emergency that might arise. he rost rapidly in every posi- tion in which he was placed, with The faculty of accumulaung money 'in every enterprise with


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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.


which he became identified, and soon became recognized as an able financier. He filled many positions of trust in connection with banking and other institutions, serving for many years as president of the First National Bank of Consho- hocken, of which he was one of the organizers. He was also a director of the Norristown Trust Company, a director of the Norristown and Ger- mantown Railroad, and a director of the Ply- mouth Railroad, in both of which latter named institutions he took an active and earnest inter- est. It will thus be seen that his interests were varied and numerous, constantly demanding much of his time and thought. He, however, found time to take an active interest in civil and local affairs. Politically he was an ardent Dem- ocrat, but received the votes of men of all parties when he was a candidate for public office, and he was therefore an exceedingly hard man to defeat ; indeed, few men in any community have ever been so much respected for their sterling qual- ities.


Michael P. O'Brien was married March 18, 1853, to Mary Fox, who was born May 22, 1835, at Stanton, Leicestershire, England, a daughter of Thomas and Anna (Chesterton) Fox, and to this marriage were born the follow- ing named children: 1. Harriet Clark ( Mrs. David H. Tracey) ; 2. Catharine (Mrs. James Bullock). now deceased : 3. Anne (Mrs. Horace Hallowell) ; 4. Thomas C., deceased ; 5. Mar- garet, deceased ; 6. Mary, deceased : 7. Mary Louise; 8. Madaline (Mrs. Anthony N. Bul- lock) ; 9. Elizabeth Eustace (Mrs. Edward D. Britt) ; 10. Michael Pierce, Jr .; 11. Jane, de- ceased; 12. Louis Henry. . The father of these children, Michael P. O'Brien, passed to his re- ward August 24, 1900, beloved and esteemed by all who knew him. He was a consistent chris- tian of the Roman Catholic faith, and carried with him his religion into all the transactions of his daily life, performing every thing conscien- tiously in regard to the rights of others. He was a good citizen, a loving husband, and an indul- gent father to his children. Mrs. Mary (Fox) O'Brien is among the last of this generation of


the descendants of George Fox, the well known founder of the Society of Friends. She came to this country when but seven years of age.


PERCIVAL K. GABLE, whose energies throughout his business career have been directed toward the conduct of various hotels, and who has thereby attained most gratifying success, is a representative of a family that through many gen- erations has been thus numbered among the pub- lic entertainers. The name of Gable figured con- spicuously in connection with the hotel business through more than a century, and is also found in the early annals of the state in connection with the transfer of property and the recording of deeds, which indicates that they were land owners, and belonged to the class which constitutes the substantial citizenship of a community.


It is definitely known that all of the Gables in America do not trace their ancestry to one source, for there is authentic record of the arrival of Peter and Maria Gabele in 1732, of Hendrick Gaabell a little later in the same year ; of Conrad Gable in 1738; of John Philip and Johan Fred- erick Gabel, brothers, in 1739; Anthony Gabel in 1751 ; John Peter Gable in 1752; Philip Henry and Sebastian Gabel in 1753; Johannes Gabel in 1754; and Conrad Gabel in 1773. Various dif- ferences in the orthography of the name appear, as there does in the place of location of these various emigrants to the American shores.


It is to Johan Philip Gabel that Percival K. Gable traces his ancestry. Johan Philip Gabel was a son of Johan Jacob and Maria Margaret Gabel, who were residents of Rabach, in Zwei- breucken, the Pfalz, Germany. There the son was born in 1698, was there reared, was married in 1735, and in 1739 came to America. He sailed on the ship "Samuel" from Rotterdam, Captain Hugh Percy in command of the vessel, and even- tually landed safely at Philadelphia. He was accompanied by his brother, Johan Frederick Gabel, and the original ship list gives the age of the former, on August 27, 1739, as forty-one years, and that of the younger brother as thirty- seven. Johan Philip Gabel settled in Upper Sal-


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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.


ford township, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, where he soon became recognized as a prominent and influential citizen. He was chosen an officer in the old Goshenhoppen church, being in 1774 one of four who signed for the Lutheran congregation a joint contract with the Reformed congregation for the occupation of the church, built jointly in that year. He is mentioned among the taxpayers of Upper Salford township, Mont- gomery county, in 1769, as the owner of one hun- dred acres of land, and his name appears among the taxpayers of 1774, where he is recorded as "Philip Gabel, Sr.," in order to distinguish him from his son of the same name. As his name does not appear in the tax list of 1779, it is evident that he must have died between 1774 and 1779, and was at least seventy-six years of age at the time of his death. His wife, Elizabeth Catherine Gabel, was a daughter of Heinrich and Maria Barbara Culman, and was born in Greselbach, Hernbasch, Germany, August 13, 1705. She became the wife of Johan Philip Gabel in 1735, and with two infant sons, Johan Frederick and Johan Peter, accompanied her husband to Amer- ica. Their other children were Johan Philip; Catherine Elizabeth, born March 15, 1741 ; Mar- garet, born June 6, 1743; and Maria Catherine, born November 3, 1744.


Captain Johan Philip Gabel, the third son of Johan Philip and Elizabeth Catherine Gabel, was the great-grandfather of Percival K. Gable. He was born in Upper Salford township, Montgom- ery county, Pennsylvania, on the 27th of October, 1739, exactly two months after his parents landed at Philadelphia. He, too, became active in pub- lic affairs, and his labors aided in shaping the early policy, and in formulating the history of his community. Early identified with the Lutheran church, he became an elder in the congregation, and did much to advance the cause of the church in this locality. He became a large landowner, a successful merchant and also a noted hotelkeeper, being the proprietor of the old Gabel House in the Springhouse and Sunneytown turnpike, about two miles north of Salfordville, which is still standing. That he was married in 1766 is indi- cated by the inscription on his tombstone that he


"lived thirty-six years in wedlock, and five and one-half years as a widower," or a total of forty- one and a half years after his marriage, which reckoned back from the date of his death, Janu- ary 18, 1808, fixes the date of his marriage about July, 1766. His wife Margaret died September 5, 1802, aged seventy-seven years, nine months and five days, according to her tombstone, which would fix the date of her birth at November 30, 1724. Captain John Philip Gabel was her sec- ond husband. She was a daughter of Nicol and Maria Elizabeth Bittel, and on the 19th of No- vember, 1745, she became the wife of Killian Gouckler. By that marriage she had eight chil- dren: John George, John Michael, Mary Eliza- beth, Catherine, John Nicholas, Anna Margaret, Christina Barbara and John Gouckler. The mother and all of the children are mentioned in tlie will of Killian Gouckler, which was proved September 9, 1765, his wife being designated as his executrix. He was the owner of two hundred and ninety acres of land, on a part of which still stands the old Gable House in Upper Salford. It is referred to in the will as a tract of two hun- dred and eighty acres, but after the Gouckler es- tate became the property of Captain John Philip Gabel, through his marriage to Mrs. Gouckler, and the purchase of the interests of the other heirs, it was resurveyed, and found to contain ten acres more than the will designated. The draft and a memorandum of the resurvey for Philip Gabel are now in possession of Percival K. Gable.


Prior to 1757 the Gouckler-Gabel estate be- longed to "Jacob Nuss, late of Upper Salford township, in the county of Philadelphia," as the old Deed-Poll recites, and this property, "a cer- tain messuage or tenant plantation and two hun- dred and sixty acres of land situate in Salford township," under a court writ dated March 8, 1757. was seized by James Coultas, high sheriff of Philadelphia county, to satisfy a debt of four hundred and forty-two pounds (English), one shilling and six pence, owed by Jacob Nuss to Adam Clampffer, and was bought at public sale by William Clampffer, of Philadelphia, and trans- ferred. to him February 28, 1758. On the 9th of


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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.


March, of the same year, William Clampffer sold the property to Killian Gouckler, with an addi- tion which made the tract, as found upon resur- vey, to contain two hundred and ninety acres. Captain Philip Gabel not only became the posses- sor of this property, but also owned land ad- joining which he obtained from the Gouckler estate. There is extant a deed of sale of two tracts owned by Michael Royer, one of which is described as "by late Christopher Hanckband, now Philip Gabel, the younger's land." On the 9th of November, 1778, he bought for nineteen hundred and fifty pounds "a certain niessuage or tract of land situate on the south side of Main street, in Germantown," in the deed for which he is described as "Philip Gabel, of Upper Salford township, Innkeeper." On the 7th of April, 1794, this Germantown property was sold by "Philip Gabel, of Upper Salford township, late of Phila- delphia county, but since the division in the County of Montgomery and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Innkeeper, and Margaret, his wife." It is probable that what is known as the old Gabel House was built by Killian Gouckler, if not by the preceding owner, Jacob Nuss, and that Mr. Gouckler, as well as Mr. Gabel, con- ducted a tavern. Family tradition has it that the house was built either two years before or two years after the first church building of "Old Gosh- enhoppen," which would make the date of its erec- tion either 1742 or 1746, at any rate it has stood for more than a century and a half, a silent wit- ness of the events which have made history, shel- tering many an one whose acts have aided in shap- ing the annals of the state. Captain Philip Gabel prospered in his business undertakings as a farmer and innkeeper, and as opportunity af- forded increased his realty holdings. In the tax list of 1769 for Upper Salford township, Phila- delphia county, he is assessed for one hundred and fifty acres of land, four horses, six head of cattle, and one servant; in the list for 1774. for two hundred and sixty acres of land, four horses, four head of cattle, and one servant ; in 1780 his taxable property was valued at five thousand and fifty pounds ; and in 1783 he is taxed for two hun- dred and eighty-five acres, four horses, four head




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