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 21
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ship went to Pottstown and worked for more than a year for Eli Reigner, in a bakershop, where he finished his trade. Returning to Skippack, he worked ten months for John Alderfer on a farm. He then became employed as a butcher with Philip Davis, of Skippack, and remained with him for three years and ten months, and was then home with his father for a year. This was in 1892, and at the end of that year he went to Rox- boro, where he took charge of the bar for Eman- uel Brendlinger, a hotel proprietor, and has been in the hotel business ever since, including nine years at the Farmers' Hotel in Norristown, the last three with his brother, John T. Keyser, the present owner of the establishment.
Mr. Keyser has been for fourteen years a member of Ironbridge Lodge, No. 104, Knights of the Golden Eagle. He is a member also of Curtis Lodge, No. 239, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Norristown; and of Beaver Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men, No. 62, of Norristown; and of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. Politically he is a Republi- can.
Isaac C. Keyser (father) was born in Skip- pack township, October 21, 1837, and died Sep- tember 8, 1902. He married Elizabeth Tyson, born in the same township, November 22, 1839. They were married September 26, 1863. Their children were : Benjamin T., born August 4, 1865 ; John T., born January 14, 1867; Milton T., born July 26, 1869; Isaac T., born April 22, 1873 ; Am- brose T., born April 4, 1876, and died January 30, 1904; Franklin T., born in October, 1878; and Elizabeth T., born February 10, 1881.
John H. Keyser (grandfather) married Eliza- beth Cassel. Their children are: Mary married Charles Baringer, they having twins who died in infancy ; Sarah married Abraham Culp, their chil- dren being Isaiah and Elizabeth ; Magdelana mar- ried another Abraham Culp, but no relation of her sister's husband, their children being Amanda, Mary, Sally and John ; Eliza (deceased) married Frank Leidy, and had two children, Jacob and Anna; Catharine died unmarried; Isaac C. was the father of Milton T. Keyser.
Mrs. Isaac C. Keyser was the daughter of
Benjamin and Mary K. (Markley) Tyson. Mr. Tyson was born in Skippack, as was his wife. They were of an old Skippack family, having lived there for generations. The Tysons came originally from Germany. They were farmers and owned a homestead. Mrs. Mary K. Tyson died in February, 1904, aged eighty years, two months and fourteen days. Mr. Tyson and his father (who was Benjamin Tyson) were mem- bers of the Reformed church, and Mrs. Mary Tyson was a Lutheran. He served one term as county commissioner. Isaac C. Keyser was a Mennonite in religious faith, and his wife a mem- ber of Trinity Reformed church at Collegeville.
Benjamin and Mary K. Tyson's children were: Cornelius, who married Emma Rechner and had one child, May; Benjamin, who married Miss Wolford, their children being Harvey and Benjamin ; Markley, who married Elizabeth Bur- get, their children being May, Benjamin, Mary, Susie, Nevin and Alvin; Mary, who married Joseph Ruff, their children being Amanda, Ella and Ambrose ; Mary K., mother of Mrs. Isaac C. Keyser (Elizabeth Tyson) ; Deborah, who mar- ried William Y. Garges, their children being Minerva, Tyson and Mary; and Philip Tyson (deceased).
Benjamin T. (brother of the subject of this sketch) married Amanda Bean, and she dying December 21, 1890, he married (second wife) Miss Kate Dreibelbis, they having no children; John T., married Sarah Burgett, their children be- ing Howard, John, Helen, Benjamin and Verda.
Milton T. Keyser married May 3, 1898, Miss Barbara Feather, daughter of William and Lucy A. (Brey) Feather. Mrs. Keyser was born De- cember 27, 1876, in Topton, Bucks county, Penn- sylvania. William Feather was born at Swamp, March 29, 1836, and was all his life a brickmaker. He was a Lutheran in religion and a Democrat in politics, but never sought office. He married, in July, 1863, Miss Lucy A. Brey. Their children are : Clinton, who died in infancy ; Andora (de- ceased) ; Sarah, who married Howard Fisher, their children being Hattie, Samuel, John, Will- iam Lord and an infant; Milton, who married
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Miss Null, and they have two children, Gertie and Wayne, one being deceased; Annie, deceased ; William, who married Cenia Miller, their chil- dren being Russell and Willy; Albert, who mar- ried Sallie -, and has one child, Lillie ; Bar- bara, who married Milton T. Keyser ; John, de- ceased; Jacob, unmarried and resides with his parents in Allentown ; Lizzie, who married Clem- ent Hillegass and has one child, Sorden; Mary, unmarried, residing with her parents; Adam, who died in infancy ; Frank, who resides with his pa- rents; Josiah, who died in infancy; Tillie and Millie, residing with their parents. Mrs. Feather, nee Miss Brey, had the following brothers and sisters : Emma, Angeline, Edward, Mary, Hannah (deceased), Isaac, Henry (deceased), Albert (deceased), Tillie, Ella and John.
Isaac T. Keyser is unmarried. Ambrose T. Keyser married Miss Rachel McKoons of Nor- ristown, there being no children; Franklin T. Keyser married Miss Mabel L. Trainor, of Phil- adelphia; and Elizabeth T. Keyser married George A. Brooks, of Philadelphia, June 26, 1901.
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WILLIAM H. RODENBAUGH, for many years chief-of-police in Norristown, has had a varied experience in investigation of a criminal character. He has made several journeys half way across the continent or more to bring back selfconfessed murderers and other offenders.
The Rodenbaughs are an old family in Mont- gomery county. Michael Rodenbaugh was born in 1780 in the vicinity of Plymouth Meeting. On reaching manhood he became a farmer and team- ster between Pittsburg and Philadelphia in 1824, hauling produce from one of these cities to the other. He followed this occupation all his life. He was a Friend, as were his wife and family. In politics he was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party when he became a member thereof. He married and had the following chil- dren : Nathan (father) ; Benjamin, who in 1849 went to the gold regions of California, which was the last heard of him; Susan, who married Thomas B. Evans (first husband) and David Bowers (second husband), dying in 1900; Will- iam; Mrs. Mary Ambler ; Michael, who married
Mary Jane Doan, and died at Germantown in 1899, while his widow formerly residing at Chest- nut Hill, died in October, 1903; Elizabeth, who married Maland Zearfass, and died in 1863; and Ezra, who died in 1895.
Nathan Rodenbaughı (father) was born in Whitemarsh township, October 29, 1813, in the old Rodenbaugh homestead. He grew to man- hood on the farm, receiving a common school ed- ucation, and following in the footsteps of his father, driving team most of his life. About 1870 he joined the First Baptist church in Nor- ristown and died in that faith. He was a Whig and a Republican in politics though never an office-seeker. He did not miss voting during his long life and always took a deep interest in the primary meetings of the party. He married in 1834, Margaret, daughter of Nathan and Mar- garet (Wolf) Macolly, her family being of Dutch descent. They had the following children : Eliza- beth, who died April 7, 1863 ; Benjamin, who died April 9, 1863 ; Charles, who was born March 29, 1841, married Elizabeth Keyser, and his second wife was Eleanor Price, of Philadelphia; Catha- rine; William H .; Margaret, who was born in 1848, and died in 1850; Sylvester, who married Jennie Hauk, of Phoenixville, who is deceased; Arrabell, who married Nathan Haines Jones, of New Jersey, and now resides in Philadelphia ; and Howard, born March 29, 1856, who married Jane Keeler, of Norristown, and lives in Skip- pack.
Nathan married (second wife) Tamson Ma- colly in March, 1865, they having one child, Sarah, born in 1866, married Elroy Williams. They have one child, J. Merrill Williams. Nathan Rodenbaugh died June 29, 1899. His first wife died in August, 1864; and his second wife died August 1I, 1890.
William H. Rodenbangh is the oldest chief- of-police in length of service in the state of Penn- sylvania, and the second oldest in the United States. He was born December 19, 1847, on the old homestead in Plymouth township. His father removed to Norristown in 1851, where the son has since resided. His education was obtained at the public schools of Norristown, he being one
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of the first pupils at Sandy street building. When but ten years of age he worked in a brickyard in the summer, going to school in the winter. He continued in this laborious occupation until 1862, when he ran away and went to a recruiting sta- tion and tried to enlist but could not get himself accepted. After the severe whipping he received on account of his unappreciated patriotism, he commenced work in the Hooven Rolling Mill. Although the balls weighed more than he did, he earned a dollar and twenty-six cents per day, which was then considered good wages for a boy. He worked at this for two years, when he commenced driving team for his father, who was a teamster at the Hooven Mills. He continued as a teamster for two years and then became an apprentice with Lewis H. Davis at the trade of bricklaying, serving in this capacity for three years, during which time Mr. Davis constructed many of the prominent buildings in Norristown, among them being the Albertson Trust Building, the Acker Building and others. He worked at his trade until 1876, when he entered the Norris- town police department as patrolman, serving as such for eighteen months, when, on April 1, 1878, he was appointed chief-of-police and has filled the position from that time to the present without a break. His first case of importance was in con- connection with the detectives Henry Weil and George Jackson, who arrested Tom Taylor, leader of the famous Masked Burglars' gang. Taylor had been a fugitive from justice for some time. He was in hiding at Port Indian and liv- ing with a Mrs. Klinetop as her husband. She was the mother of the famous Klinetop Sisters, variety actresses. Mrs. Klinetop was known to be the owner of a handsome little dog, and as she came to Norristown for her mail, her dog at- tracted the chief's attention, he having been noti- fied that the owner of the dog was involved with Tom Taylor. The chief took the steamer with her one day and located her at Port Indian, then in company with the detectives named, all in disguise of other men, they watched in that vicinity ten days and were rewarded on Sunday evening by accomplishing his capture. He was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years.
Chief Rodenbaugh's next important case was the arrest and conviction, at different times, of the Geiyer gang, who had for some time been operating in and around Norristown. At one time the gang robbed a Norristown summer home of enough furniture to furnish two houses. They were arrested in the courthouse in the act of tak- ing out a marriage license. B. F. Geiyer has at various times been sentenced to terms of impris- onment equaling in the aggregate twenty-three years, all during Chief Rodenbaugh's term of service, he being his captor on all these occasions. Irwin, who assisted in robbing the country seat, served three years in the penitentiary and is now leading an honest life.
Another of Chief Rodenbaugh's experiences was the arrest and conviction of the Boemke gang of German burglars, who robbed Landis & Souder's store, at Souderton, of two thousand five hundred dollars worth of silk and other valuable goods. A week later they held up the Heckler family at the point of a pistol and robbed them. The Chief located them at a tramp boarding- house, kept by a giant German, and arrested them all. Ten burglars were given seven years each in the penitentiary and the lodging-house keeper received one year for harboring thieves and receiving stolen goods. The stock of goods was mostly recovered in Philadelphia and Bal- timore and in different places where they had been sent. Many of the valuable silks had been sold and were partly made up into dresses when recovered.
Chief Rodenbaugh has been in every state in the Union on official business connected with the pursuit of criminals, bringing persons accused of crime to Norristown, or obtaining extradition papers for their surrender. He has been in the far west among the mines and arrested criminals there, and has traveled thousands of miles hand- cuffed to a prisoner, the days and nights being passed in this way. In the Kaiser murder case a few years ago, Chief Rodenbaugh took an active part, the mystery being completely unraveled, and Clemmer, who fired the shot which killed Mrs. Kaiser on a lonely road in Upper Merion town- ship, two miles from Norristown, being hanged,
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while the wretched husband, who assisted in the murder, committed suicide in jail to escape the gallows.
On several occasions Chief Rodenbaugh has exchanged shots with burglars and other crim- inals, but was never seriously hurt except once, when he was stabbed in the face by a person whom he was trying to arrest. In nearly thirty years of service, Chief Rodenbaugh has been ab- sent from the station house only eight days on ac- count of sickness. Under Democratic and Re- publican administrations he has continued in office. He has, however, always been a staunch Republican and has never missed election, in- variably voting the Republican ticket. He has cast but one vote outside of Norristown.
In February, 1864, he became a member of the Humane Fire Company, and still belongs to it. He is also an Odd Fellow, being a member of Curtis Lodge; a Red Man, being a member of Beaver Tribe, and a Mason, belonging to Charity Lodge, No. 190, of that order. He is a member of Norristown Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and of Hutchinson Commandery, Knights Templar.
On June 6, 1876, Chief Rodenbaugh married Theresa J. Shanks, daughter of William M. and May (Crawford) Shanks. She was born in Co- lumbus, Georgia, where her parents were engaged in manufacturing, and where they resided during the Rebellion. Mrs. Rodenbaugh was born Feb- ruary 26, 1854. Her father was conscripted into the Southern army, but was not allowed to serve as his services as a manufacturer in making cloth for the Confederacy were too valuable. As soon as the war ended the family came north and lo- cated in Norristown, where they engaged in man- ufacturing. The oldest son, ex-Councilman John C. Shanks, is now with Dobsons at Falls of Schuylkill. The youngest brother fills a like position in a Rahway, New Jersey, manufacturing establishment.
Mr. and Mrs. Rodenbaugh have had three children : Sylvester, born June 21, 1878, died Oc- tober 3, same year ; Henry Nathan, born Novem- ber 20, 1879, graduated from the Norristown high school, and graduated also in the class of 1901
from the University of Pennsylvania, as a Me- chanical Engineer, being now located at Roanoke, Virginia, with the Norfolk & Western Railway Company in that capacity; Mary Crawford, born March 1, 1883, graduated from the Norristown high school in the class of 1902, and graduated from Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, in the class of 1903, and is now employed by the Norristown Trust Company.
ALBERT HELFFENSTEIN, one of the best-known residents of Norristown, who held the office of register of wills for three years, is the son of Jonathan and Emeline (Bush) Helffen- stein. He was born near North Wales, Febru- ary 10, 1840.
The Helffenstein family is very prominent in the history of the German Reformed church, of Pennsylvania, as its members for many genera- tions have been ministers in this church.
Rev. John Conrad Helffenstein (great-grand- father) was born February 16, 1748, in the Pal- atinate, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1772. During the remainder of his life he was- pastor of the German Reformed church at Ger- mantown, Pennsylvania, except for a short time- spent as a minister at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He died May 17, 1790. Three of his sons, Sam- uel, Charles and Jonathan, were ministers of the Reformed church.
Rev. Samuel Helffenstein (grandfather) was- the son of Rev. John C. and Mrs. (Kircher) Helffenstein, his mother having been a resident of Philadelphia. His health was very poor, espe- cially during the early part of his life, and he was. not sent to school. He was educated in the synod and was ordained a minister in 1797. He first served as pastor of Boehm's and Wentz's congre- gations in Montgomery county, and afterwards preached at the Race Street church in Philadel- phia for thirty-four years, until 1832. He then removed to a country home in Gwynedd town- ship, near North Wales, where he died October 17, 1866, aged ninety-one years. He was one of the most eminent ministers of the Reformed church that has ever lived in America. He was. the author of "The Doctrines of Divine Revela-
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tion as Taught in the Holy Scripture," which he wrote at the age of seventy-one years.
Rev. Samuel Helffenstein married Christina Steitle when he was a young man, and they had twelve children. Of these Samuel, Albert and Jacob became ministers. Another son was Dr. B. W. Helffenstein, long a resident of Norristown, and a practicing physician. He was also an ac- complished musician.
Jonathan Helffenstein (father) was born in Philadelphia in 1814, was a farmer by occupation and died in March, 1847. His mother survived him until 1860, being eighty-one years of age at the time of her death. He married Ameline Bush, daughter of Henry Bush, and she is enjoying good health at the age of ninety-two years. They had five children, as follows: Samuel B., Albert, Annie, Emanuel and Emily. Samuel B., born November 24, 1838, married, in 1873, Hannah R., daughter of Peter Streeper, of Whitemarsh. Samuel B. Helffenstein was the editor of the Nor- ristown Defender until his death. Annie, married Thomas B. Evans, of Norristown. They have two daughters, Addie and Winnie.
Albert Helffenstein lived at North Wales until he was fourteen years of age, when he removed to Norristown, and was employed as a clerk until his eighteenth year. He learned the trade of printing in the office of the Norristown Defender, then under the control of Colonel William P. Sey- mour, and in 1864, he and his brother, Samuel B. Helffenstein, purchased the paper from its owner, General Schall, and managed it success- fully for a number of years. In 1872, after sell- ing out his interest in the paper to his brother, he became foreman on the Norristown Times, where he remained until 1890. Until 1894 he served as register of wills of Montgomery county, and has since been engaged in the printing business. After the death of Samuel B. Helffenstein, Thomas B. Evans managed the Norristown Defender for the widow of Samuel and it after- wards came under the management of I. R. Cas- sel. At the sheriff's sale after Mr. Cassel's own- ership, Mr. Albert Helffenstein purchased the paper, with its stock and good will.
In 1861 Albert Helffenstein married Matilda
Earl, daughter of Lawson Earl, of Norristown. They have three children : Emily, who married Charles Howe, of Norristown; Mary, who mar- ried Thomas T. Stiles, of Norristown ; and Katie, wife of Thomas M. Williams, of Philadelphia.
Mr. Helffenstein has always been an active member of the Democratic party, working earn- estly for the success of its principles and candi- dates. He is a member of the Humane Fire Com- pany. He served for two months as an emer- gency soldier in Company H, Thirty-fourth Penn- sylvania Militia, being stationed successively at Harrisburg, Reading and Philadelphia. As an official Mr. Helffenstein was courteous and oblig- ing to all with whom he came in contact, perform- ing faithfully all the duties entrusted to him. As a citizen he fulfills every requirement, taking an active interest in elections and endeavoring to se- cure what he blieves to be best calculated to pro- mote the progress and prosperity of the com- munity. Few men are more worthy of respect or are so highly esteemed by their fellow-citizens generally.
DAVID ROBINSON KENNEDY was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1802, and died at Port Kennedy, Upper Merion town- ship, Montgomery county, February 11, 1882. He was the son of Alexander and Margaret (Rob- inson) Kennedy.
The Kennedy family originated in Scotland, near Ayr, in Dunure, or at any rate settled there after one of the early struggles. They were High- landers. The first in history was Archibald Ken- nedy, the leader of a noble clan, who was made baron, also Marquis of Ailsa, and Earl of Cas- sillio in 1150, and was called Lord Kennedy. The family have been in possession of the estate in a continued line from the time of this Archibald Kennedy, who lived in 1150, until the present day.
The home in Ireland is a very beautiful estate, and in the time of William Kennedy included eight hundred acres of land. The Kennedy fam- ily are highly connected and well spoken of in Ire- land. Two of their number have been kings in that country, namely Brian and Mahon. They were praised by all and considered as honest and
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good monarchs who reigned for the good of the country.
The Kennedy coat of arms has the Arms Ar- gent, Chevrons Gutles, between three cross craslets fitchie and sable, the whole within a double tres- sure flory, a counter flory of the second crest, etc. The Kennedy Clan has a good plaid, the motto being, "Fight to the finish."
William Kennedy (grandfather) lived at Bally, Clouch county, Derby, Ireland. His wife was Tamahil Kennedy, and their children were: Margaret, who married James Mairs ; Mary, who married Mr. Johnson and removed to England ; William, who came to America with his brother Alexander ; Robert, who remained on the home- stead in Ireland, where the widow of one of his sons, now a very old woman, lives with her three sons ; and Alexander.
As has been said, Alexander and William Kennedy emigrated to America. Alexander set- tled at Port Kennedy, after a short time spent in Chester county, and William made his home in Exton, Chester county, Pennsylvania. At the time of his arrival at Port Kennedy. Alexander Kennedy was poor, and he entered into the employ of a wealthy man of the neighborhood. Through his industry and thrift he accumulated in the course of time a handsome fortune. At the death of its owner, Mordecai Moore, Mr. Kennedy pur- chased, in 1803, the farm now known as the Zook homestead. He moved to this farm in 1805 and continued to reside there until 1824, when he died, at the age of sixty-three years. Alexander Ken- nedy was a member of the Great Valley Presby- terian church, and both he and his wife are buried in the cemetery of this church. Like his sons he was a Democrat and was a man of wealth and in- fluence, owning a great deal of property in Ches- ter and Montgomery counties. He was the founder of Port Kennedy, as it is now called, or Kennedy's Hollow, its original name.
Alexander Kennedy married Margaret Robin- son. All his children, except the two eldest, who were natives of Chester county, were born at Port Kennedy, on the Zook farm. Their children were : William, deceased, who for a time was a merchant at Kennedy's Hollow, but later removed
to Kent county, Maryland; David Robinson ; Margaret ; Jane; Elizabeth ; Alexander, who re- moved to East Pikeland, Chester county; John, born October 18, 1815, who married, in 1841, Margaret S. Connell, of Lancaster county, and had eight children. He died September 4, 1877.
David Robinson Kennedy grew to manhood at Port Kennedy, attending the public schools. He owned and operated a limestone farm, and he and his brother John were the principal property holders in Port Kennedy. . He was a member of the Presbyterian church, the ground for which was donated by William Kennedy. The Ken- nedy brothers also were the principal contributors in erecting the church edifice. David Robinson Kennedy and his brothers built up a great part of Port Kennedy and furnished employment for a great number of people in their lime-manufac- turing establishment.
During the early part of his life Mr. Kennedy was a Democrat in politics but he became a Re- publican about 1857. He was not a politician but always supported his party financially and other- wise.
David Robinson Kennedy married Miss Vio- letta M., daughter of Colonel Abel and Mary (Moore) Reese. Colonel Reese was a member of an old Chester county family, and Reeseville, near Berwyn, was named for him. The family is of Welsh descent. The father of Colonel Abel Reese, was also named Abel Reese and was an ex- tensive landholder in the neighborhood of Ber- wyn, being a very wealthy man. Colonel Abel Reese commanded the Forty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, in the war of 1812. He and his wife were Presbyterians, and are buried in the same churchyard, in Great Valley, as Mr. Kennedy. The children of Colonel Abel and Mary (Moore) Reese were: Violetta M., born June 22, 1817, and Mary Ann, who married Squire James Sloan, of Philadelphia, afterwards of Port Kennedy.
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