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 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92
At the expiration of their term of enlistment, three months, Lieutenant Schall returned and or- ganized a company for three years' service, but received authority from the secretary of war, Simon Cameron, to organize a regiment at York, Pennsylvania. Upon the formation of this regi- ment, the Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry, he was appointed colonel but declining to accept that rank he was made lieutenant colonel and
served as such until May 9, 1862, when, a va- cancy occurring, he was promoted to the col- onelcy of his regiment. The early service of Col- onel Schall was mostly in the mountains of West Virginia, and during Lee's advance on Gettysburg he was engaged in a hotly contested fight at Win- chester, under General Milroy, where he lost nearly his entire command in killed, wounded and prisoners, and reached Harper's Ferry, after four days of fighting, with only sixty men and riding another colonel's horse, his own having been shot from under him. Colonel Schall was subse- quently transferred to the Army of the Potomac, Third Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Army Corps, and served in that command until the ex- piration of his term of enlistment. At the battle of Cold Harbor, he was shot through the right arm, while commanding the brigade, but remained on the field until the fight terminated, and only then sought medical attention for his injuries. Colonel Schall was honorably discharged from military service, October 14, 1864, and upon that occasion was the recipient of a letter from his su- perior officer, General James B. Ricketts, com- mandant of his division, in which he said :
"Your time of service having expired with that of your gallant regiment, I can not part with you without some expression of my high appre- ciation of your faithful service.
"Always zealous and reliable, you have shown the best quality of a soldier, which would bring certain promotion, had you decided to remain in the corps, which you have ornamented by your distinguished conduct throughout the arduous summer campaign, since crossing the Rapidan, in May last.
"I particularly recall your gallantry at Cold Harbor, where commanding a brigade, and wounded, you nobly refused to leave the field, and in the Valley where you shared in our glorious victories-Opequon and Fisher's Hill.
"I part with regret from so good a soldier, and wish you every success. in your future life."
Soon after the close of the war Colonel Schall located at Norristown and engaged in the iron business. In April, 1875, he was appointed re- corder of deeds for Montgomery county to fill a
92
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
vacancy and was subsequently elected twice to that position, serving in all for a period of seven years. In 1890 he was appointed postmaster at Norristown by President Harrison and served as such until 1894.
General Schall's connection with the National Guard of Pennsylvania began shortly after the war. He served as inspector of the National Guard under General John F. Hartranft, and after the latter's election to the governorship was appointed an aide on the General's staff, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. While General Hart- ranft was still in command of the division, in Sep- tember, 1879. General Schall was elected colonel of the Sixth Regiment, and was re-elected several times. In July, 1894, he was appointed a com- mand the First Brigade by Governor Pattison.
On September 3, 1873, General Schall was united in marriage with Mary A. Hooven, a daughter of James Hooven (now deceased), of Norristown. Politically the General is an ardent Republican, and has always taken an active and intelligent interest in civic and governmental af- fairs, at the same time keeping himself thoroughly posted on everything pertaining to military mat- ters. His life has been active and many-sided, its history comprising high records as a soldier, of- ficial, business man and citizen. General Schall is connected with the Grand Army of the Re- public and was its adjutant general for 1902; and is also a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Loyal Legion.
IRVIN POLEY KNIPE, eldest of the six sons of Dr. Jacob O. and Clara Poley Knipe, was born at Norristown, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1866, educated at the Norristown public schools and at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from the academic department of the latter insti- tution in 1886, and from the law department in 1889. From April, 1886, to August, 1889, he was a reporter on the Norristown Herald, and since 1889 has been practicing law in Norristown, in association with his preceptor, Hon. Irving P. Wanger, member of congress from the eighth Pennsylvania district, under the firm name of Wanger & Knipe. He has been borough solicitor
of Norristown for a number of years, and in a similar capacity represents a number of other boroughs in Montgomery county. In 1897 he compiled and published a comprehensive digest of the laws and ordinances of and relating to Norristown. On December 1, 1902, Mr. Knipe was elected chairman of the Republican county committee of Montgomery county.
On February 23, 1899, he married Margaret Richardson, also a member of the Montgomery county bar, daughter of John C. and Ellen ( Rit- tenhouse) Richardson. They reside in Norris- town. They are especially interested in local his- torical and genealogical matters and have prob- ably the largest private library thereof in the county.
The Knipe family settled in what is now Up- per Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, in 1763, when the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch purchased for three hun- dred and eighty-seven pounds sterling, a farm of one hundred and fifty acres on which he and his descendants lived for nearly a century and a half.
The immigrant records of Philadelphia show that Johannes Kneip (or Knip), aged thirty-eight, landed September 25, 1748, and Johannes Knipe September 30, 1754. The ancestor, whichever of these two he was, on May 24, 1789, wrote in Ger- man his signature "Johannes Kneip" to his will, and died in November, 1792, leaving among his large family a son David, who in turn was the father of Jacob, himself the father of Jacob Oliver, whose son is Irvin P. Knipe. Jacob Knipe, a widely known physician, settled at Falkner Swamp, New Hanover township, and there died August 28, 1883. His wife was Rachel Evans, descended from two different Welsh families of the same name, one of her ancestors being John Evans who came from Radnorshire, Wales, before the time of Penn, and settled at London Britain, Chester county; while the other, David Evans, was born in Wales, 1690, and about 1719 settled in Montgomery county on a plantation compris- ing the north corner of Montgomery township and the east corner of Hatfield which he entailed to his grandchildren by his daughter Rachel, and
Margaret Richardson Knife.
Jum P. Knife
مصر
93
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
which (prior to its division in 1823) was the lar- gest tract of land in Montgomery county in the hands of one person.
On his mother's side, Mr. Knipe's genealogy includes the families of Poley Boyer, Heebner, Warley, Rhoads and Bigony. Francois Pechenet (Bigonet, Bigony), believed to be of Huguenot origin and a native of Nismes, in the province of Languedoc, France, emigrated from Lisbon, "qualified" at Philadelphia, December 7, 1773, and settled at Falkner Swamp, where he married Mary Brandt, probably an emigrant from Ger- many.
In three generations of Mr. Knipe's family, including paternal and maternal ancestry, there were thirteen practitioners of medicine.
Miss Margaret Richardson, who subsequently married Mr. Knipe was admitted to the bar of Montgomery county, September 5, 1898. By a strange coincidence she, the first woman lawyer in the county, bore precisely the same name as Dr. Margaret Richardson, the first woman physi- cian in the same county, although in no wise re- lated. Mrs. Knipe's father was a member of the state legislature, and through her mother she is connected with the families of Royer, Shupe and Rittenhouse, being in direct descent from Will- iam Rittenhouse, the first papermaker in America, ancestor of David Rittenhouse, the eminent as- tronomer and scientist.
CAPTAIN JESSE B. DAVIS. For many years one of the best-known and most popular men of Montgomery county was Captain Jesse B. Davis of Norristown. His ancestors were Welsh and they were early settlers in America. The family is a large one and widely scattered over the counties of Chester, Montgomery and Bucks.
Hon. Roger Davis, the first of the family of whom anything definite is known, was a noted physician. He practiced in Charlestown town- ship, Chester county. He was a Democrat in pol- itics and represented his district in congress for two terms, from 1812 to 1816. That he was pop- ular and filled the position acceptably to his con- stituents is shown by the fact that he was given two terms, as was also his immediate successor,
Dr. William Darlington, another Democrat, who sustained, as his predecessor had done, the admin- istration of President Madison and the war for free commerce and sailors' rights, Dr. Davis having taken his seat just prior to the declaration of war against England, in the session of con- gress of 1812.
Dr. Roger Davis married Sarah Jones. Their eldest son, after the Welsh custom, was named Jones Davis. He was born in Charlestown town- ship, March 7, 1788. After receiving a good ed- ucation he studied medicine, graduating at an early age. His younger brothers, Roger and Thomas, also studied medicine, the latter after- wards becoming eminent as a practitioner at Trappe, and still later at Evansburg, where he died. He married Sarah Reiff. Their only child was a daughter, Mary Davis, who is still living, and resides in the Dr. Davis mansion.
Dr. Roger Davis, the youngest of the sons, also practiced medicine, but died of Asiatic chol- era in 1832.
As soon as he had graduated, and immediately after the declaration of war with Great Britain, Dr. Jones Davis offered his services and was ap- pointed surgeon's mate by President Madison. His commission, still in existence, signed by the president, bears date July 6, 1812, showing that he entered the service within a month after the dec- laration of war. He was attached to the Six- teenth Regiment of regular infantry, and at once marched by land to the Canada border. He was with his regiment at Lundy's Lane and at the sortie at Fort Erie, under Colonel (afterwards General) Winfield Scott. He aided in dressing the wounds of Colonel Scott received in the ac- tion at the fort. With his brigade he marched to Lake Champlain and he was for a short time stationed at the famous Fort Ticonderoga. After two years' service he left the army and began the practice of his profession at Pughtown, Chester county. On March 14, 1814, he married Char- lotte, daughter of Jesse Bean, of Norriton town- ship, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Their children were seven in number.
Jesse B., the subject of this sketch was born June 9, 1815.
-
94
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Samuel, born April 25, 1817, married Mrs. Margaret Emery. They had one son, Jones, now deceased. Samuel J. Davis died of pneumonia. He was buried in Pikeland cemetery in Chester county.
Hannah Matilda, born January 23, 1819, mar- ried William B. Shupe, and both are now de- ceased.
William B., born March 9, 1821, died Febru- ary 8, 1832.
John R., born March 27, 1822, died August 9, 1900. He was a coal operator at Scranton, where he acquired a large fortune. He married Miss Jessie Corson. They had two children, one of whom died in infancy and the other is Mrs. Math- ews, of Scranton. Mrs. Davis having died, John R. Davis married his first wife's sister Au- gusta, and they had two children, Annie and Walter E.
Charles Thomas, born December 14, 1830, married Hannah Slingluff. Their children are: Jolın R., Elizabeth A., Charlotte R., Hannah Ma- tilda, and Sarah Ellen. Charles T. Davis is a farmer and resides on the Davis homestead, near Shannonville, now Audubon, in a house built by a French refugee more than a century ago.
Sarah Ann, married Jackson Miller, and re- sides at Jeffersonville. Their children : Emeline, Mrs. Elizabeth Ambo, Eleanor, Eliza K., and two sons, who died in infancy.
After practicing medicine and following other employment for several years in Chester county, Dr. Jones Davis removed with his family in 1824 to Norriton township, near Jeffersonville, where he resided until 1828, when he, being an active Democratic politician, was nominated in the party convention for the office of sheriff of Montgom- ery county, to which he was elected. His com- mission was issued by Governor Schultze, and he served the full term of three years. During a part of this time, in addition to his official duties, he ran the Pawling grist mill at the foot of Swede street, Norristown. In 1832 he removed to Lower Providence township, where, in connection with his brother, Dr. Thomas Davis, he was extensively engaged in the practice of medicine, having his residence on a farm north of Jeffersonville which
he eventually bought. In 1842 Dr. Jones Davis was elected prothonotary of Montgomery county on the Democratic ticket, succeeding Josiah W. Evans. He served three years, having James B. Evans as his deputy.
He died September 18, 1860, his remains being interred 'in the burying-ground at St. James church, Evansburg, of which his wife had been a member for some years. His wife died October 26, 1845, resting in the same cemetery.
Captain Jesse Bean Davis was born at Pugh- town, Chester county, where his father was then practicing his profession. He was educated in the public schools of the vicinity and in the Man- tua Military School, Philadelphia, graduating from the latter in 1842, with the rank of second lieutenant. He secured the position of bookkeeper in the wholesale grocery of Marshall & Kellogg, Philadelphia, remaining two years. He then took charge of his father's farm and managed it for several years. Having a military education, he joined Captain Mathey's Democratic troop and trained with it for seven years. He then organ- ized a company of artillery called the "Washing- ton Grays," being elected its captain. During twelve years that he held this command he served in the Native American riots in Philadelphia in 1844. Soon after the company disbanded, in 1855, he was elected clerk of the courts, on the Democratic ticket, serving three years. In the legislative session of 1858-9 he was appointed transcribing clerk of the state senate. Previously Captain Davis had been elected colonel of the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment Pennsylvania State Militia. He also served for a time as major of its First Battalion.
Captain Davis was several times a candidate for the legislature, but was unsuccessful. In 1878 he was nominated and elected to the responsible office of county commissioner, serving three years. In 1868 he was named for prison inspector by Judge Chapman, being reappointed by Judge Ross in 1871. Part of the time of his six years' service he was president of the board. He was an earnest and efficient advocate of retrenchment and economy. Having begun dealing in live stock in 1860, in 1868 he bought a lot and erected build-
95
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
ings at Jeffersonville. He soon became the lead- ing drover of the vicinity.
Jesse B. Davis married Eleanor A., daughter of John and Hannah Shannon, of Norriton town- ship. His wife was a member of an old and highly respected family in that section of the county. ' The couple had two children, John S. and Charlotte E., the latter now owning the old homestead of Captain Davis, No. 534 Swede street, and residing in it. Miss Davis has in her possession her grandfather's sword and his com- mission as surgeon's mate, as well as other cher- ished family relics, many of which have been handed down in the family by inheritance for more than a century.
Captain Jesse B. Davis died November 18, 1896, and his wife passed away November 19, 1881. Both were interred in Montgomery ceme- tery.
CHARLES B. ASHTON is of English de- scent, his grandfather, Benjamin Ashton, having been born and reared in England, and his father having lived in that country until after his mar- riage. He was born in Phoenixville, Chester county, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1858.
Benjamin Ashton (grandfather) was born in Hull, England. He was a manufacturer of cloths and broadcloths, and also was engaged in con- tracting and building. He built the famous docks and wharfs in his native city, and was a man of means. He married Miss Ann Stewart, a de- scendant of the famous Scottish Stewarts. Benja- min Ashton died in Sheffield, England, and was buried in that city. His wife married (second husband) John Cliffe, of Wortley, England, and after her death was buried in the same cemetery as her first husband.
Charles Ashton (father) was born in Shef- field. England, May 19, 1815, and grew to man- hood in that city. He married Caroline Butter- worth, daughter of John and Mary Butterworth, residents of Balby, near Dorchester, England. The Butterworths had lived in that section of Eng- land for generations. Charles Ashton was mar- ried October 28, 1843. His wife was born Febru- ary 28, 1823.
Charles Ashton (father) was a student in the parish school during the early part of his life. Here the text-book was the Bible. His education was completed in the Sheffield Academy and he afterwards was employed for several years by an iron manufacturing company at Sheffield. He was apprenticed to learn chemistry and the apothe- cary business, and after finishing his apprentice- ship he sailed for America, bringing with him his wife and two sons, George and Benjamin, and leaving his eldest daughter, Catharine, with her grandmother Cliffe. He arrived in America in 1848 and settled in Philadelphia. His first position was with the Sanerman firm, who put fire plugs in Norristown. About 1852 he removed to Phoenixville, Chester county, and was employed by the Phoenixville Iron Company until 1865. In 1867 he went to Bridgeport, having secured em- ployment with the Newbold Iron Company as a blacksmith and there remained a number of years. He afterwards became a traveling sales- man for Levi Oberholtzer & Company, which po- sition he was filling at the time of his death. In 1882 he and his family removed to Norristown. He was a member of the First Baptist church in Bridgeport for many years. Although an Eng- lishman by birth, reared under the free trade government, he was a firm believer in the Repub- lican policy of protection, and advocated it in an able manner on all occasions. He was an active member of the Republican party.
Charles and Caroline (Butterworth) Ashton had the following children : Catharine, born De- cember 9, 1844, in Sheffield, married Joseph F. Atkinson on April 2, 1874. Their children are: Theodora, Grace and Eveline. George B., born February 4, 1846, died November 12, 1850, in Sheffield, England. Benjamin, born March 29, 1848, died March 10, 1853, in Sheffield, England. Ann, born January 20, 1850, died September 25, 1853, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Esther, born March 12, 1851, died January 11, 1852, in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. Caroline, horn February 6, 1853. died August 5, 1898, in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. Mary Jane, born April 1. 1855, died September 28, 1881, in Phoenixville, Pennsyl- vania. Isabella Angeline, born May 20, 1857, died
96
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
February 25, 1859, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Charles B., born December 22, 1858, is in Phœ- nixville, Pennsylvania. Justitia Matilda, born May 1, 1861, died August 10, 1889, in Phoenix- ville. Sarah Elizabeth, born May 24, 1863, is unmarried.
Charles B. Ashton removed with his father's family from Chester county to Port Providence, Montgomery county, when he was five years old. Two years later the family removed to the Corner Store, near Montclare, Montgomery county. About 1867, they settled in Bridgeport, where Charles B. Ashton attended the public schools. His school days ended, he entered the employ of J. D. Sisler of Bridgeport, and remained with him one year. Not being satisfied with the op- portunities afforded in that business, he secured a position with William Stahler, druggist of Nor- ristown, with the intention of learning the pro- fession. In 1883 he matriculated at the Phila- delphia College of Pharmacy and in 1887 re- ceived his diploma for proficiency in his craft, which established him as a Doctor of Pharmacy, Ph. G., and qualified him a fully registered pharmacist under the laws of Pennsylvania.
He was appointed druggist for the State Hos- pital for the Insane for the southeastern district of Pennsylvania, at Norristown, and served very acceptably for a term of four years, when he re- signed that he might enjoy a visit of six months with his sister's family in England.
After returning to America he held several positions, the most prominent being with Haz- zard & Hazzard Company, of New York city, at their Newport branch. He left this firm in 1893 and opened his drug store at the corner of Arch and Airy streets, Norristown, where he has since been engaged in business, besides operating a branch store at the intersection of Fourth Ford and Holstein streets, Bridgeport, since February, 1904.
Mr. Ashton is a staunch and active Republican and has been honored by his party with the office of coroner, being appointed by Governor Stone on January 2, 1901. He has been a member of the Republican county committee for six years and has represented his party in senatorial conven-
tions for a number of years. He has been a mem- ber of the Baptist denomination for twenty years, and has been prominent as a teacher in the Sun- day-schools, and in the church choir. He was baptized in the Bridgeport Baptist church and transferred his membership by letter to the Nor- ristown Baptist church. Later, with sixty-seven others, he withdrew from this church, the object being to organize the Olivel Baptist church, the third Baptist church in Norristown, which was organized in 1903. He was elected trustee and chorister of the new organization.
On June 22, 1896, Charles B. Ashton mar- ried Mary, only daughter of Joseph and Melissa (Lang) Ruch. Mr. and Mrs. Ashton have one son, John F. Lang Ashton, born August 22, 1898.
Mr. Ashton is active among the druggists of Pennsylvania and is an energetic worker in the Montgomery County Druggists' Association, of which he is secretary. He represented the organi- zation in the National Association of Retail Drug- gists, which met at Cleveland, Ohio, in Septem- ber, 1902. Mr. Ashton is a member of Charity Lodge, No. 190, F. and A. M., of Norristown ; Norristown Chapter, R. A. M., of Norristown; Hutchison Commandery, No. 32, K. T .; Norris- town Lodge of Elks, No. 714; and Linnwood Lodge, A. O. U. W., of Norristown.
MRS. CHARLES HOLCOMB. Charles Holcomb (deceased), a prominent farmer and blacksmith of Abington and Cheltenham town- ships, was born in Cheltenham, near Ogontz, No- vember 5, 1825. He was the son of Edward and Charlotte (Marple) Holcomb, his mother being the daughter of Joseph and Hannah Marple.
When Charles Holcomb was between six and seven years of age, his parents removed to Ab- ington village. There he spent his boyhood days, and later learned the blacksmith trade with Isaac Rittenhouse, of Willow Grove. He established himself in business at the locality known as Ab- ington Corner, remaining there until 1863, when he purchased twenty-seven acres of land in More- land township, adding to it by further purchases until he had increased it to eighty-seven acres. For ten years he also engaged in blacksmithing
P
MARY E. JOHN E.
MARIA L. HOLCOMB
CHARLES HOLCOMB
HOLCOMB FAMILY.
---
97
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
at that place, but then relinquished that branch of his occupation, and thereafter devoted himself solely to farming. He died August 7, 1903. He married, at Hatboro, April 7, 1870, Maria L., born October 1, 1836, daughter of Zachary and Priscilla (Barnes) Francis. The couple had two children : John Edward, born May 1, 1872, and Mary Elizabeth, born March 13, 1875. The Hol- combs are members of the Society of Friends.
Zachary Francis, father of Mrs. Holcomb, was born in Abington township in 1800. He was a farmer, and spent his entire life in that vicinity. He died September 10, 1868. Pris- cilla Barnes Francis, mother of Mrs. Holcomb, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania. She was married in 1835. Their children : Maria L., Mrs. Holcomb; William; Mary Jane, wife of Jesse Webster.
Edward Holcomb, father of Charles Hol- comb, was a native of New Jersey, where he was born in September, 1791, coming with his par- ents to Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, when he was but four years of age. He married Char- lotte Marple in 1823. She had been previously married to a man named Hawkins. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Holcomb : Charles, subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth Jenkin, born in Abington, February 5, 1828, died July 2, 1869; John J. born September 2, 1830, married first, Emma Cowell, there being by this marriage two living children, viz : Charles E. and Sarah, wife of James Rollinson. His second wife was Har- riet Charloteen, by whom he had one child, Eliza- beth C., they having also an adopted son, James Henry, who married Hannah Trank, deceased, · they having two children, Charlotte, deceased, and Helen, wife of Howard Gilbert.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.