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 26
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John Shoemaker, father of Hon. Joseph A. Shoemaker, was born in Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in 1790. After completing a common school education he learned the trade of harness maker, which line- of business he pursued during his entire active career. He was a resident of Jenkintown for many years, during which time he took an active interest in its welfare and improvement, and in liis old age, after retiring from business pursuits,. he removed to Horsham township, where his- death occurred in 1863, aged seventy-two years. His wife, Elizabeth (Logan) Shoemaker, daugh- ter of Joseph and Mary Logan, of Abington township, bore him eight children, as follows: Hannah, who became the wife of John Jones ; Maria, who became the wife of William Steel; Tacy, who became the wife of George Logan,. after the death of her sister, Jane, who was his first wife: Martha; Joseph A., mentioned here-
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VIER SHOE MAKER, more Then half a halland popu Mangoomery county we ligoriole fam- e molent in that te American branch The with Willian wowfitown, And !! & Ts descendants stantial and pub- ny of the state. or of Hon. Jo- wwwnedd to vn- ivania, and b. i he inherited Mlerprise and his business wide a rom arried Tacy re him the lin, Joseph !. Han ( Slu nøker.
uiker & Hon. Toseph .\
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of one we wife of John Jon's;
Wife of William Steel ;
&Ser i alleat fur Ler. Jane, who was his nrsi H Mac -; Tommy .1. mentioned here-
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
inafter ; Elizabeth; and John, deceased. Of this family all are deceased but Martha and Joseph. Joseph A. Shoemaker was born in Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, May 13, 1826. He was educated in the Friends' school at Gwynedd, then a flourishing institution, and he remained in that vicinity until he attained his thirteenth year. He then went to Philadel- phia county, and at the age of sixteen years be- came an apprentice to the blacksmith trade at Bridesburg, continuing in the same line after- wards in Upper Dublin township, Montgomery county. After completing his term of appren- ticeship he went to Broad Axe, Whitpain town- ship, remaining there two years. He then took up his residence in the state of Illinois, where he followed his trade of blacksmith for a short time, and upon his return east engaged in dealing in cattle and horses, and subsequently for one year was the tenant of a farm in Horsham township. His next occupation was the management of a sawmill in the same locality, which he operated with a fair degree of success for three years. In 1853 he located in Jenkintown, and engaged in the butchering business in partnership with his brother-in-law, George Logan. He prospered in this occupation, accumulating a sufficient com- petency to allow him to retire from active pur- suits in 1885. He then erected a handsome resi- dence on a small farm, where he has resided up to the present time, surrounded by every com- fort and convenience, and where he is enjoying to the utmost a life of ease and luxury, which is a fitting climax to his many years of toil. Among the positions of trust and responsibility to which he was appointed are the following: director in the Jenkintown National Bank, treasurer of the Philadelphia Droveyard, director of the Masonic Hall Association, and president of the North Cedar Hill Cemetery Company, at Frankford, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Shoemaker is a thoroughgoing Republi- can, having supported the candidates and prin- ciples of that party from its organization to the present time, a period of more than fifty years, and having always been active in its behalf. He filled the position of councilman in Jenkintown
for several years, and was president of the body for a time, devoting himself to the interests of the community in which he lives, as he has done in every office which he has held. He was the incumbent of the offices of assessor and assistant assessor, his good judgment and knowledge of real estate values standing him in good stead in these positions, and he also served repeatedly as an election officer. Owing to his prominence as a party worker he has frequently been a delegate to county and state conventions, and assisted in framing the party ticket which has been pre- sented to the voters of the county and the com- monwealth on different occasions. In 1887 he was elected a member of the house of representa- tives at Harrisburg, and was re-elected by a handsome majority in 1889, serving two terms with great credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents, in whose behalf he labored with industry, energy and fidelity. He was a member of the committee of the house at the session of 1887, through whose instrumentality the splen- did work, "The Birds of Pennsylvania," was printed and distributed to the members of the General Assembly, and through them to their constituents throughout the state. In the session of 1889 he was chairman of the committee on geological survey, a member of the committee on printing, and also of those on corporations, con- gressional apportionment, banks and banking, and the committee to compare bills. In his legis- lative career Mr. Shoemaker was ever the friend of the people, leaving nothing undone that was possible to promote prosperity and the general welfare. There is no kinder neighbor or friend than he and no one who is more ready to do a favor for those who are deserving. He is actively and prominently identified with various fraternal organizations, holding membership in the Masonic order. the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and the Order of American Mechanics.
Mr. Shoemaker married, January 1. 1857, Esther Ann Harper, born June 1, 1837. daughter of William Harper, of Abington. Five children were born of this union, as follows: I. Clara S., born October 30, 1857. became the wife of Dr.
IO
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Henry W. Wass, January 1, 1880, and their chil- dren are: Mabel, born October 4, 1880, and Esther A. Shoemaker, born May 1, 1886. 2. William H., born June 29, 1859, died March 16, 1902; he married, April 19, 1899, Katherine Saam, and they were the parents of one child, Amalia I. Shoemaker. 3. Henry, born October 26, 1863, died January 21, 1865. 4. Lizzie L., born February 10, 1865, became the wife of Wil- liam H. Fretz, February 10, 1887, and their chil- dren are: Joseph Lewis, born January 3, 1889; Frank F., born March 19, 1895; Elizabeth L. S., born June 2, 1899 ; and Emily H., born Decem- ber 14, 1900. 5. Jennie L., born September 21, 1874, became the wife of Dr. Harry C. Millar, September 26, 1895, and their children are, Kath- erine S., born September 27, 1897, and Joseph Ambler Shoemaker Millar, born June 25, 1901. Mrs. Shoemaker, mother of these children, born June 1, 1837, died August 3, 1902. She was a most estimable lady of the old school type, and was much esteemed for her many deeds of kind- ness and charitable acts to the deserving poor of the neighborhood.
WILLIAM HARPER SHOEMAKER, de- eeased, who was born in Jenkintown, Pennsylva- nia, June 29, 1859, a son of Hon. Joseph A. and Esther (Harper) Shoemaker, was a representa- tive of a class of men whose value to a com- munity is not marked merely by the success that attends their efforts in business undertakings, but also by their character in public and private life. He was the descendant of two of the most prominent and most highly respected families of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, sketches of whom with particulars as to their ancestry ap- pear in another part of this work.
William H. Shoemaker was educated in the Friends' School in Abington, and afterward at- tended the Friends' Central High School located at Fifteenth and Race streets, Philadelphia. He then took a course in Pierce's Business College, graduating in 1880, after which he engaged in the butchering business with his father. At the expiration of two years he went to Colorado, re-
maining in the west a year. Upon his return to Jenkintown he again engaged in the meat busi- ness and continued the same for six years. In 1889 he purchased the ice business of James Sat- terthwaite at Ogontz, conducting it for a few years along the same lines as his predecessor, but, as Mr. Shoemaker was of a very progressive and enterprising disposition, he put in a machine for the manufacturing of ice, and in order to give the people of this vicinity a luxury drove artesian wells three hundred feet into rock to get the purest water that nature can produce. He was the first manufacturer of ice in this ter- ritory of Montgomery county, for which inno- vation he deserved and received great credit and praise. In addition to this extensive enterprise, he was also engaged in quarrying stone and sell- ing coal, and to these lines of work he devoted his personal attention up to the time of his de- cease. In 1893 he was elected a member of the town council, and during his several years in- cumbency of this office discharged his duties and obligations faithfully and efficiently.
Mr. Shoemaker was a model citizen, and a successful business man in every sense of the word. In public and private life he was ever faithful to the duties that devolved upon him, meeting promptly and fully every obligation that hie incurred. His name was synonymous with honorable dealing in all business transactions in which he was concerned. His short but active life demonstrated the possibilities that are open to young men, whose purpose is high and reso- lute, to become leaders in the affairs of business. It may be said of him that his death, which oc- curred March 16, 1902, was a shock to the whole community, of which he was an honored and useful member, all classes recognizing his ster]- ing worth. It is another instance in which death cut short prematurely an exceedingly promising career.
Mr. Shoemaker married, in Philadelphia, April 19, 1899, Katherine Saam, who was born in that city, July 6, 1867, daughter of Conrad and Amalia (Immel) Saam. They are the par- ents of one child-Amalia Immel Shoemaker-
and conamesa The same Tar Six yere. In
1 er ating the any Time as his predecessor, -To Je Any was af a very progressive oss colorante deposition, he pla in a machine o mmenning of ice, and in order to en pjl &l this viewity a luxury drove m -le three irendrai feet into rich to de The jones woon Uul nalure can produce. WE was die first wwwfacturer of ice in this ter- atag af ToutgonoMy county for which inno- valim The deserved and received great credit and Ora Jo addition to tos extensive enterprise, ne ww do engaged in quarrying stone and sell- The coat Mol to these lines of work he devoted To wareud aftention up to the time of his de- reise To (& phe was elected a member of the Wwwpuco wwi luring his several years in- 0000 1 his office discharged his duties and obogatinos Dathtully and efficiently.
Mr Somemaker was a model citizen, and a succesful Miness man in every sense of the weed la poblle and private life he was ever falten! the flo dates hat a volved upon him, wooling poumpily .. 0. 1 . every obligation that To wewirred. Bu mone was synonymous with bo His short but active purpose is high and reso- Tome wissom sakdere in the affairs of business. Wrmed be . ud of The, that liis death, which oc- win Mart Th Icot was a shock to the whole www. of which he was an honored and III werbes dl classes recognizing hi. st-rl- w dh WEwennother instance in which death air Wino prematurely an e ceedingly promising
MR Shoemaker frie 1, in Philadelphia, Noril 2x 1800. Fathertee Saam, who was born m Jor city, tul & 186- laughter of Conrad al Melia n'y can They are the par- nie of x: 0004-Uma Immel Shoemaker-
1
Normater
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born June 12, 1900. Conrad Saam was born in Marburg, Germany, in 1831, and died November 3, 1898. His wife, who survives him, was also a native of Marburg, Germany.
CHARLES DE PREFONTAINE, of Blue Bell, Whitpain township, Montgomery county, who has long been usefully identified with the interests of the community, is of French descent, and his American ancestors date back to the co- onial period. His great-grandfather, John De Prefontaine, born in Philadelphia county, was a surveyor and conveyancer. He married Anna H. Buck and their son Benjamin was born in the county named, in 1790, and died there, fifth day, tenth month, 1828. He was a teacher by occu- pation. He married Phœbe Walters, and they were the parents of three children-Ann Eliza, who married Samuel Jones; Rebecca, who mar- ried Charles Paradee; and John.
John De Prefontaine, youngest child in the family named, was born September 30, 1819, and died October 5, 1894. He married Mary Megar- gee, who was born October 16, 1819, and survived her husband nearly two years, dying September 20, 1896. About 1848 this couple removed to a neighborhood above Germantown, near the Mont- gomery county line, where they lived and culti- vated a farm for about six years. For three years thereafter they lived upon a farm near Doyles- town, in Bucks county, and then settled at Jarret- town, in Upper Dublin township, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Their children were as follows: Charles, who is further referred to hereinafter ; Walter, born October 28, 1845, and died unmarried in 1866; Anna, born in March, 1848, and married Francis Houpt, of Dresher- town ; Joseph, born June 6, 1850, and died Janu- ary 28, 1854; Albert, who was born in 1852, and married Emily Irvin, and resides in Philadelphia ; and William, of Jarrettown, who was born April 12, 1855, and married Ida Tyson, of Horsham.
Charles De Prefontaine, eldest child of Jolin and Mary (Megargee) De Prefontaine, was born in Milestown, Philadelphia county, Penn- sylvania, January 7, 1844. As was usual, Charles began to aid in the farm work as soon as he was
of suitable age, and his school attendance was lim- ited to such times in the winter as his labor was not necessary, and did not exceed more than four or five years altogether, closing with a brief at- tendance at the Germantown Academy, when he was in his seventeenth year. He made the best of his opportunities, however, and supplemented the instruction he had received with diligent private reading, thus equipping himself for a creditable discharge of every duty that came to him in after life. On leaving school he clerked in a store for an uncle, Albert Megargee, and then took em- ployment with another uncle, William Megargee, a dairyman and farmer, for whom he sold milk for two years at Milestown, just over the Mont- gomery line, in Philadelphia county. On Feb- ruary 22, 1867, he married Emma Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Donivan) Shields, of Philadelphia. On April Ist, of the same year, Mr. De Prefontaine removed to Blue Bell, in Whitpain township, which has since been his place of residence. He at once rented a building and opened a general store, which he conducted with such great success that in 1875 he was en- abled to purchase the property, and he removed his now greatly increased business to the adjoin- ing building, which he now occupies. In 1867 he was appointed postmaster and he has con- ducted his office with such ability and integrity that he has been continued therein to the present time, covering the remarkable period of thirty- seven years.
Mr. De Prefontaine is a man of marked public spirit, and has always afforded his unstinted aid to all that would conduce to the welfare of the community, but has never sought a political of- fice. He has always given an earnest and intelli- gent support to the principles and policies of the Republican party. In religious faith, he and his family are Methodists, members of the congrega- tion that meets at the Union Meeting House near Blue Bell, and where are buried Mrs. De Prefon- taine, who died April 21, 1899, and a daughter, Anna Rebecca. Mr. De Prefontaine is a trustee and steward of his church, and for twenty-five years has been superintendent of its Sunday- school.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Charles De Pre- fontaine are as follows :
I. Mary, born January 20, 1868, married November 24, 1892, Nathan, son of William and Elizabeth (Myers) Megargee, of Ogontz. They reside in Denver, Colorado, where Mr. Megargee is a member of the firm of Megargee & Malen, preservers of fruits, etc. Their chil- dren are : Glenn Earle, born in 1897; and Nathan Leslie, born in 1901.
2. Kate, born August 19, 1870, married, March 27, 1894, Albert Tyson, of Horsham town- ship, and their children are Emma, Harold, and Russell.
3. Anna Rebecca, born August 21, 1871, died April 15, 1895.
4. Walter, born February 23, 1874 ; resides in Norristown, and is a music professor and director of music in the First Presbyterian church. He married, September 26, 1895, Rachel Mitchell, daughter of Charles and Mary Shaw (Conard) Shoemaker, and they are the parents of one child, Charles LeRoy, born October 25, 1896.
5. Clara, born November 14, 1875, married, July 30, 1895, Albert, a son of Mr. and Mrs. John Fry, of Penllyn, and their children are Alice, Florence, Rachel and Albert.
6. Emma, born April 18, 1877, married, March 24, 1897, Oliver Edward, son of Edward Judson and Mary Jane (Child) Stannard. (See Stan- nard sketch elsewhere in this work.) Their chil- dren are: Clara Elizabeth, born January 3. 1898; Ethelyn Minerva, who was born December 29, 1898, and died January 10, 1899; and Mary Jane Child, born July 26, 1901.
7. Alice B., born March 17, 1880, is unmar- ried, and resides with her father.
8. Charles, born August 8, 1882, assists his father in the conduct of the store. He mar- ried, March 23, 1904, Clara Shook, daughter of Albert and Cora Shook.
MRS. MARY SHAW (CONARD) SHOE- MAKER, residing at No. 1930 Judson Place, Philadelphia, is the daughter of Joseph Phipps and Rebecca Adamson (Shaw) Conard. She wac born December 9. 1840, in the family home-
stead, near Blue Bell, now occupied by her brother, Henry Fassett Conard. She attended the public school at Blue Bell until she reached her fifteenth year, and then remained with her parents until her marriage, on December 24, 1863, to Charles Shoemaker, son of Enoch and Rachel (Mitchell) Shoemaker, of Springfield township, Montgomery county.
Charles Shoemaker was born in Springfield township, July 8, 1836, and there lived until 1878, when he removed to Whitpain. He was reared to the occupation of farming and followed it all his life. He was interested in whatever seemed likely to benefit his community. In politics he was a Republican, believing its principles best cal- culated to promote the progress and prosperity of the state and country. After his marriage, he rented the farm of his father, who had bought it of the Mitchell estate, until the spring of 1878. He was identified with the Ambler Building and Loan Association from 1883, being a director for several years and holding the office of vice presi- dent at the time of his death, which occurred Jan- uary 6, 1898. He was one of the organizers and first directors of the Ridge Avenue farmers' mar- ket. Mr. Shoemaker was not a public man, car- ing little for politics, finding his pleasures after the toil of the day, in the refuge of his home and with home companions. Mr. and Mrs. Shoe- maker had nine children. Joseph Conard, the eldest, born July 10, 1865, attended the public school at Blue Bell, and married, February 17, 1887, Tacy C., daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Conard) Walton. He is managing the farm formerly occupied by his parents near Blue Bell, and has three children. Enoch, second son of Charles and Mary Shoemaker, born November 22, 1866, is deceased. Ella, born July 9. 1868, married John Bothwell, son of David and Mary (Bothwell) Park, of Horsham township, and they have two children, Benjamin P. W., born De- cember II, 1896, and John Bothwell. Rebecca Jane, born January 23, 1871, is unmarried and resides in Philadelphia ; Rachel, born September 10, 1873, married, September 26, 1895, Walter, son of Charles and Emma Elizabeth (Shields) De Prefontaine, of Blue Bell, and they have one-
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child, Charles Leroy, born October 25, 1896, and now residing in Norristown where Mr. De Pre- fontaine is organist at the First Presbyterian church. Annie Cora, born August 26, 1876, at- tended Abington Friends' School and the West Chester State Normal School, and is unmarried and resides in Philadelphia. Mary Klauder, born March 29, 1879, attended the public school at Blue Bell and also the Schissler College of Business at Norristown, is unmarried and resides in Phila- delphia. Charles, born September 30, 1881, at- tended the Blue Bell school and the Pierce College of Business, in Philadelphia, and is engaged in the insurance business in that city. Frank, born August 3, 1884, attended school at Blue Bell and the Schissler College of Business, and resides in Philadelphia where he is engaged in commercial pursuits.
The Conard family to which Mrs. Shoemaker belongs is one of the oldest as well as largest in Montgomery county, and is widely distributed elsewhere. Thones (or Dennis) Kunders, who was the founder of the family in this country, emi- grated from Germany in October, 1683, and was one of the early settlers of Germantown. In re- ligious belief he was a member of the Society of Friends, as are most of his descendants in this section of Pennsylvania. The first Friends' meet- ing in Germantown .was held at his house or cave, as their temporary homes hastily constructed in a new country, often were, soon after the arrival of the little band of immigrants. He had been a blue dyer in the fatherland, and he continued that humble occupation after settling in Germantown. The German immigrants believed in education, and as early as 1701 they made provision for it, by starting a school. In 1688 Thones Kunders was one of the little band of Germantown Friends who raised their voices against negro slavery, theirs being the first formal protest ever made in America in opposition to a system that ultimately led to such dreadful consequences in bringing about the war of the Rebellion. In 1691, on a charter of incorporation being granted to the vil- lage of Germantown, Thones Kunders was chosen as one of the burgesses. He resided at German- town a period of forty-six years until his death.
The name Kunders gradually became An- glicized into its present form. In 1722 Thones Kunders wrote his will and signed his name "Cunrads." In 1747, in the will of one of his sons, the name is spelled "Conrads," showing the evolu- tion to the established orthography of the present day, although another son spelled it "Conders," in accordance with the diversity of spelling that then often prevailed in the same family name.
Henry Cunreds, the youngest son of the im- migrant, on May 16, 1711, bought of Charles Mullen, a tract of two hundred and twenty acres and one hundred and eleven perches of land in Whitpain township. Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania. This tract was located near Blue Bell, and the small stone house which he built and in which he lived during the remaining forty-seven years of his life, was standing until within a few years. Joseph Conard, fifth son of Henry Cun- reds, and grandson of the founder of the family in this country, died in Whitpain in 1786. His second son, John Conard, married Sarah Childs. They had a family of eleven children, of whom the fourth was Joseph Phipps Conard, who mar- ried Rebecca Shaw in 1835. The couple had nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was one.
AMOS WALTON, a well-known farmer of Whitpain township, is the son of Eber and Anna (Shaw) Walton. He was born in the house in which he now lives, November 16, 1832, near Blue Bell. He attended the public school at Sandy Hill until his eighteenth year, after which he engaged in farming with his father and later became man- ager of the farm, and finally its owner. He mar- ried, January 28, 1858, Henrietta, daughter of Francis and Annie (Lebold) Vonderau. Their children are as follows : William Eber, born Jan- uary 17, 1861, married Naomi, daughter of Henry and Susan (Smith) Moser, March 8, 1889 : Fran- cis Vonderau, born November 7, 1863, married Emma L., daughter of Edward and Mary Ann (Betzold) Wilkey, of Spring House, Pennsyl- vania, April 3, 1888; Emma Vonderau, born Jan- uary 12, 1867, unmarried and resides with pa- rents ; Annie Vonderau, born November 16, 1874,
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married Warren, son of Evan and Laura (Beck) Brooke, of Cold Point, September 21, 1899.
The children of William E. and Naomi Wal- ton are : Herbert Moser, born December 3, 1889; Henrietta Vonderau, born August 4, 1890 ; Henry Moser, born January 27, 1892; Ellwood, born December 24, 1894: Flora Moser, born April 8, 1896; Grace Altamine, born October 22, 1898; Mabel Annie, born March 10, 1900; William, born May 24, 1901 ; and Ruth, born October 23, 1902.
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