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 29
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FRANCIS CONRAD HOOVER, a com- petent and experienced farmer whose home, "The Pines," at Blue Bell, is one of the attractive
country places of Whitpain township, Montgom- ery county, Pennsylvania, is descended from some of the earliest of the German settlers of the Lehigh Valley. The family is now widely rep- resented in the professions and in many lines of business throughout the state, and the present generation is sustaining the honorable record which was the bequest of the forefathers.
Philip Hoover, grandfather of Francis Con- rad, was a sturdy and energetic farmer, a man of large capacity and uncompromising principles. He was a leader of public opinion in his town- ship, and a generous supporter of every good cause. Among his children were Hiram, now Judge Hoover of Hooverton, and Frederick Will- iam, who was the eldest son and the father of Francis Conrad Hoover.
Frederick William Hoover, was born Janu- ary 17, 1806, and was reared to the varied ac- tivities of his father's farm. He attended the country schools, and after finishing his school work, succeeded to the management of the home- stead farm. He was a capable man and a worthy citizen. His industry and frugality enabled him to provide the comforts of life for a large family. His wife was Maria Fleck, who died June II, 1878, and his death occurred March 20, 1859. (For full history of the Hoover family see sketch of Judge Hoover in this work.)'
Francis Conrad Hoover, seventh son and eighth child of Frederick William and Maria (Fleck) Hoover, was born January 22, 1845, in Warrington township, Bucks county, Pennsyl- vania. He attended the district school until he was fifteen years old, when he went to live with an uncle, Andrew Jackson Hoover, a farmer of Gwynedd township, Montgomery county. He re- mained here as assistant farmer, teaching country school during the winters, until his marriage in 1870. For two years after this he was estab- lished on his uncle's farm as dairyman and man- ager, in which capacity he developed much skill. Following this engagement, he moved to the farm of B. P. Mertsner of Whitpain township, Mont- gomery county, known as The Evergreen, which he worked on shares for twenty-three years. His record as tenant of this farm is most unique, for
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during the whole time of his residence there, no written agreement between him and the owner of the property was ever made concerning a division of profits or of crops and their relations were al- ways most friendly and harmonious. No better testimonial as to the character of both men could be given than this simple statement. It implies a living up to the golden rule that is most unusual in the fierce business competitions of our times. In the spring of 1895. having purchased the Will- iam Dull property, known as The Pines, below Blue Bell on Skippack pike, Mr. Hoover left the Evergreen farm, which he had conducted so successfully for so many years, for comparative ease and retirement. At The Pines he has only twelve acres of land, highly productive, but it fur- nishes him occupation and interest, while afford- ing a leisure earned by years of arduous labor. Mr. Hoover has always maintained an interest in public affairs, and he has been school director in his township for twenty years, as well as for sev- eral years justice of the peace. He and his family are prominent members of the Reformed church, belonging to the congregation of Boehm's church at Blue Bell, where Mr. Hoover has been superin- tendent of the Sunday-school for twenty-five years, as well as for many years an elder and the director of the choir. He is a Democrat, though he has ever held to principle before party. His fair-mindedness, kindliness, and integrity, have won universal esteem.
He married Marietta, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Wilson) Danehower, of Spring House, Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, on March 15, 1870. She was born November 18, 1843, being one of five children. The children born of her marriage with Mr. Hoover are as fol- lows : Bertha Elizabeth, born September 25, 1875, who married Abram A., son of John and Priscilla Nash of Warrington township, Bucks county, on October 4, 1900, and has two children,-Muriel Frances, born October 10, 1901, and Eleanor Ruth, born January 3, 1903; Marie and Ada Emily. The two youngest daughters are living at home and Ada Emily is attending the high school.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MURPHY, a leading farmer and dairyman of Whitpain town- ship, Montgomery county, is a man who takes a lively interest in public matters and is always in- terested in new ideas for the general good. As a farmer he keeps in touch with the most approved modern methods, and he is careful in the breed- ing and selecting of his stock.
John Murphy, father of Benjamin Franklin Murphy, came from the north of Ireland and set- tled in Jarrettown, Upper Dublin township, about 1850, four years before his son Benjamin F. was born. He was a farmer, possessed of the lively disposition and cheerful humor of his race. He took a leading part in township affairs, and was especially interested in public education. He served as supervisor of public roads and was fearless and independent in the expression of his political views, which accorded with the prin- ciples of the Democratic party. He married Mary Ann (Dean) Gillen, a widow, who bore him four sons, John Fitzwater, Benjamin Frank- lin, Andrew Jackson and George Dean, who were given all the advantages afforded by the public schools. John Murphy died August 20, 1887, aged sixty-five years, and his wife died in 1861.
Benjamin Franklin, second child and second son of John and Mary Ann Murphy, was born September 16, 1854, in Whitemarsh township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. After leav- ing school he was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade, and for eight years he was occupied with the work of carpentering and building. Ulti- mately, however, he returned to the farm and to the activities of his earlier years. He bought the property formerly known as the Chalkley Potts farm in Whitpain township, which is now his home. The land is rolling and well drained, and he has brought it to a high state of cultivation. His dairy herd is carefully bred, and selected with much intelligence. In it are strains of Holstein, Guernsey, and Alderney blood.
March 28, 1878, he married Julia Frances, fifth daughter and ninth child of John Jacob and Louisa Hoffman. Her parents were Lutherans, and with her husband and family she adheres to
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that denomination. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, are as follows : George Dean, born June 26, 1879, died June 23, 1881 ; John H., born March 26, 1882, died August 5, 1882; Ida L., born August 7, 1883, died February 24, 1885 ; Harvey, born January 13, 1886; Emma Blanche, born November 9, 1887, Benjamin Franklin, born January 5, 1890, Walter H., born August 12, 1893 and Clara M., born October 11, 1895, are at home.
In politics Mr. Murphy is a Democrat when national issues are involved and votes indepen- dently at local elections. He was supervisor of his town for ten consecutive years, and was a mem- ber of the Independent Order Odd Fellows for twenty years, but withdrew from the organiza- tion.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FAMOUS is a member of a well known family long resident west of the Schuylkill river. He was born in Tredyffrin township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, at the lo- cality known as "The Eagle." He is the son of John and Susanna (Shenaman) Famous.
When he was of the proper age he attended the public schools of the district, assisting at the same time in the farm work at home. Mr. Famous married, on March 7, 1874. Hannah Elizabeth Davis, who was born in Camden, New Jersey, June 9, 1856, only daughter of Charles Gordon end Anna McDowell Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Ben- jamin Franklin Famous have eight children, as follows: Thomas McDowell, born March 17. 1875: Benjamin Franklin, born December 17, 1876; Anna Louise, born January 17, 1878, who married Albert Momme, and has two children, Benjamin Theodore and Marion Elizabeth : Emma Catharine, born January 25, 1881 ; Oscar Ernest, born June 6, 1883 : Smedley Darlington, born February 8, 1886; Caroline Troubat, born August 26, 1888; Clarence, born November 24. 1895.
John Famous ( father) was a farmer by oc- cupation, and was prominently associated with others of his community in general improvements. He served for some time as a supervisor of pub- lic roads of Tredyffrin township, where he died
in 1885, in his seventy-ninth year, his wife hav- ing died in 1859, in her thirty-ninth year.
Charles Gordon Davis (father of Mrs. Ben- jamin F. Famous) was born July 24, 1828, at Branchtown, in Philadelphia. He was the son of Henry and Louisa Gordon Davis, now deceased. Charles Gordon and Anna (McDowell) Davis' other children, besides Mrs. B. F. Famous, were Charles Thomas, George Henry and Phineas Louis. Mrs. Famous' mother, Anna McDowell, was a direct descendant of Toby Leach, who came with William Penn.
Benjamin Franklin Famous, Jr., married Lydia L., daughter of William and Lydia Keech Meigs, on April 4. 1901. They have two chil- dren : Emanuel Bollinger, born March 15, 1902, and Benjamin Franklin, third, born August II, 1903.
The farm of the Famous family in Whitpain township is known as "The Willows." It con- tains seventy-seven acres of rolling land in a high state of cultivation, and is well located. The prin- cipal interest of Mr. Famous is his dairy. Among the cattle found at The Willows, are strains of Alderney, Guernsey and Holstein stock.
In religious faith, Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Famous and family are Lutherans, attending St. John's Lutheran church. In politics Mr. Famous is a Republican and was supervisor for eleven years in Tredyffrin township, Chester county. His father and two of his brothers had also been su- pervisors of that township.
JESSE CHILDS SHOEMAKER, one of the most substantial farmers of Whitpain township, was born September 6, 1854, at the old homestead of the Shoemaker family, near Blue Bell, in that township, being the son of Charles Kenderdine and Sarah (Childs) Shoemaker. He attended the Sandy Hill public school in Whitpain town- ship, until his seventeenth year, and remained at home assisting his father for several years with the farming.
On January 1, 1880, Mr. Shoemaker married Catharine Annie, daughter of William Grow and Catharine (Vaughan) Smith, and made his home for the following fifteen years at the Shoemaker
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homestead as managing farmer and dairy- man. In the spring of 1893. Mr. Shoe- maker bought the property known as the "Wood" farm, near Washington Square, in Whitpain, to which he soon after removed and where he has since resided. Mr. Shoemaker has always taken a lively interest in the affairs of his community in both a political and religious sense. In politics he is a Republican and has served as school direc- tor of his district and rendered valuable service to his party as a member of the vigilance commit- tec. Mr. Shoemaker is a member of Boehm's Re- formed church, Blue Bell, which Mrs. Shoe- maker and the children also attend. The children, eight in number, are as follows: Chauncey Har- vey, born January 13. 1881 : Catharine Vaughan, July 19, 1882 : Gertrude Myrtle, January 5, 1884 : Rachel Getty, March 23, 1886; William Grow, April 23, 1888; John Oscar, September 5, 1889; Charles Kenderdine, March 13, 1894; and Anna Ethel, March 10, 1897.
Charles ,K. Shoemaker ( father) was the son of Thomas Supplee Shoemaker and was born June 4, 1819. He died January 1I, 1892. He married Sarah Childs, who was born December 2, 1818, and died October 23, 1902. They had the following named children : Phobe Gouldy, born March 1, 1841, married in 1866, Charles C. McCann ; Matthias, who was born August 17. 1843. and died at Andersonville prison, in June, 1865. enlisted in response to the three-months call and later joined the Thirteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry ; George, born February 2, 1845, married, in June, 1864. Harriett Henshall, and lives at Olney, Philadelphia ; Emma Jane, born August 28, 1848, residles at Blue Bell ; an infant daughter, born October 16, 1850. died unnamed ; Albert B., born September 6, 1851, married Rachel De Haven, having three children living and resides at Jeffersonville, where he works as a carpenter and carries on business as a contractor : Jesse Childs is the next of the family ; Sarah C., born February 2, 1857, married Henry C. Hoover, and lives at Blue Bell, having two children : Charles Thomas, born November 10, 1859, died December 8, 1876; Anna C., boru March 29, 1864, resides with her sister, Emma Jane, at Blue Bell.
William G. Smith (father of Mrs. Jesse C. Shoemaker) was born July 23, 1823, he married Catharine Vaughan, of an old Lower Merion family, July 22, 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a large family of children, for data as to whom, see sketch of Thomas V. Smith. William G. Smith, who was a Democrat in politics, lived for many years at "Willow Lawn," a mill and farm in Norriton, and later in Norristown. He served a term as county commissioner. Mr. Smith was an extensive contractor, being a mason by trade, and built many county bridges.
Mrs. Shoemaker was born in Lower Merion township and attended the Lafayette school until her twelfth year.
The Shoemaker family were pioneers in the settlement of Pennsylvania. Jacob Shoemaker ( great-great-grandfather ) had several children as follows: Matthias (great-grandfather) born in 1736, and died in 1816; Barbara, born in 1738; Jonathan, born in 1739; Isaac, born in 1741; Hanah, in 1743; Elizabeth, in 1745; Sarah, in 1748 ; and David, in 1753.
Matthias purchased, March 28, 1777, from John Yedder, forty-seven acres of land, which with thirty-three acres bought about twenty years later from Henry Conard, constituted the Shoe- maker homestead where several generations of the name were born and reared. At Matthias Shoemaker's death, the farm came into posses- sion of his only son, Thomas.
The children of Thomas Shoemaker (grand- father) were: Enoch, born 1804; Job, 1805, died 1828; David, 1807; Alan, 1808; Matthias, 1810; Hannah, 1813, died 1817: Jesse, 1815, died 1854; Charles K., 1819, died 1892.
FRANK A. HOWER, deceased, for a quar- ter of a century the popular and efficient editor and publisher of The Home News, a weekly paper of Bryn Mawr. Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, was born February 29, 1848, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, one of four sons born to Dr. Joseph B. and Margaret E. (McNaughton) Hower.
The early childhood days of Frank A. Hower were spent in Lancaster where he acquired his
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education, graduating from the public schools at the age of fourteen years. Shortly afterward he entered the printing office of the Lancaster E.r- aminer to learn the printing trade, where he re- mained until May 26, 1864, when he enlisted in Company K, Ninety-second Regiment of Penn- sylvania Volunteers, then the Ninth Regiment Cavalry, as a bugler, and was mustered out with the company at Lexington, North Carolina, July 18, 1865. During one engagement he was shot in the calf of the right leg, and up to the time of his death the bullet was still imbedded in the fleshy part of the limb. He also partially lost the hearing of the left ear. At the close of the war Mr. Hower returned to Lancaster and resumed work at his trade; from there he went to Read- ing and worked on one of the papers in the capac- ity of compositor, and later went to Coatesville, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where in partner- ship with Dr. William George, he started the pub- lication of the Coatesville Times, which is still published in that town. After the paper had been in existence for a short period of time he dis- posed of it, being actively connected with the pub- lication of the Rochester, New York, Herald, and the Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Express. In 1876 Mr. Hower removed to Philadelphia, and being aware of the fact that Bryn Mawr was going to grow into a thickly populated center, located there and on June 1, 1877, established the Home Newe's, a weekly paper. His publication office at that time was in a cottage on the grounds where at present stands the Bryn Mawr Hospital. At first he had no printing material, type or presses, but gathered the local and other news of interest and had the typesetting and presswork done at Parkesburg, by William F. Potts. Several years later Mr. Hower fitted out a printing office in a building that stood on the ground owned by the Humphrey estate, opposite Dr. Charles T. Goent- ner's property, on Lancaster avenue, Bryn Mawr. After conducting business here for about two years, he sold the paper to Samuel A. Black, and on July 1, 1881, established The News, a weekly publication, in a building situated north of Lan- caster avenue on Robert's Road, where he re- mained until January, 1883, when the office was
removed to the "Old Temperance Hall," Lan- caster avenue and Buck road. The business was conducted in that building for nineteen years, but when about to issue the silver anniversary edition of the paper on May 22, 1902, the building was destroyed by fire. After this catastrophe the type was set in the parlor of the residence and the presswork was done in Philadelphia, until a suit- able location could be secured. On August 8, 1890, Mr. Hower again purchased the Home News from the heirs of Samuel A. Black, and consolidated it with The News, afterward calling the paper The News and Home Newes. On Au- gust 18, 1902, the office of the paper, as well as the residence, was moved to its present location, on Lancaster pike, a short distance east of the Bryn Mawr depot.
In politics Mr. Hower was always an adler- ent of the principles of the Republican party, and whenever an election was about to be held he was found working for the entire Republican ticket, whether local or national, using the, columns of his paper to further their election. Senator Mat- thew Stanley Quay and Senator. Boise Penrose often consulted him upon matters of vital interest to the party, counting him as one of the best co- workers in the political arena. His political acumen was recognized at numerous times by being called upon to officiate at conferences of the state and national leaders of the Republican party, and whenever his party controlled the ap- portionment of office he was foremost in the ranks to plead the cause of some friend for official ap- pointment, notwithstanding that he had been earnestly solicited at various times to become a candidate for at least some county office. In 1889, when the Haverford district was created by the division of the Bryn Mawr district, he was elected committeeman and continued in that office until 1901. For a number of years Mr. Hower was a member of the Knights Templar, Knights of the Golden Eagle, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and Typographical Union, but as his business enterprise occupied all of his time he allowed himself to run out in the orders. At the time of his death he was a member of Colonel Owen Jones Post, No. 591, Grand Army
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of the Republic, being one of its charter members. He was also a member of the Bucks-Montgomery Press League, the State Editorial Association, and the Pen and Pencil Club.
On June 4, 1879, Mr. Hower married Miss Anna M. Grubb, daughter of William B. and Catharine E. (Hagerty) Grubb, at the home of the parents, 2205 Spruce street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their children were : William G., Frank A., Charles M., James S., Thomas, Harry V., Catharine M., Anna M. and Mary M. Hower. Mr. Hower died October 23, 1902, and the funeral services were conducted at his late residence on Lancaster avenue, Bryn Mawr, by the Rev. James Houghton, pastor of the Church of the Redeemer. He was buried in his soldier's uniform, and the casket was draped in the Ameri- can flag according to a desire often expressed by him. The interment was made at Mount Moriah cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
JAMES VAN HORN, cashier of the Hat- boro National Bank, was born in Northampton township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, December 24, 1837, a son of Isaac and Cynthia (Craven) Van Horn, and a descendant of a family of Hol- land Dutch extraction. Abraham Van Horn was the first of this family to settle in Northampton township, Bucks county, locating there about the year 1720. He married Martha Dungan, and among the children born of this marriage was a son, Isaac Van Horn, who was born November 5, 1745, and married Mary Betts, who was born October 2, 1760, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Betts. Their children were as follows : Isaac was born January 25, 1787 ; Sarah, born November 5, 1789, became the wife of James P. Moore; Abra- ham was born January 10, 1791; Samuel, born October 1, 1792, married Phœbe Twining, and died April 7, 1846; John, born June 26, 1794. married Sarah Martindale; Aaron, born April 7, 1796, married Elizabeth Scarborough ; Martha, born March 29, 1799, became the wife of Jona- than Smith, August 10, 1819, and died January 3, 1857 ; Charles, born April 18, 1801, married Saralı Twining ; and Ann was born September 19, 1803.
Abraham Van Horn, second son of Isaac and
Mary (Betts) Van Horn, was united in marriage, June 3. 1812, to Susan Ruckman, born Novem- ber 9, 1787, daughter of James and Mary Ruck- man, the former born November 11, 1748, and the latter, a daughter of James Hart, born January 15, 1752. Mr. and Mrs. Ruckman were the parents of twelve children, namely: Susannah, born March II, 1773, died August 1, 1777; William, born October 30, 1774, died January 5, 1775; Jane, born December 10, 1775, died April 15, 1776; John, born February 20, 1777, is also de- ceased : William, born February 23, 1779, died September 27, 1797; Sarah was born April 15, 1781 ; Elizabeth was born June 25, 1783; Mary was born August 10, 1785; Susan, born Novem- ber 9, 1787, is mentioned before as the wife of Abraham Van Horn; Jane was born October 5, 1789; Isabel was born March 8, 1792; and Ann was born February 23, 1794. Abraham and Susan (Ruckman) Van Horn were the parents of eight children, namely : Isaac, born May 2, 1813, men- tioned hereinafter; Mary Ann, born August 19, 1815, who became the wife of Adrian Cornell, January 8, 1840, and died August 6, 1893 ; James Ruckman, who was born April 29, 1817, and died May 4, 1817; James R., born March 21, 1818, who married Anna Craven, January 24, 1872, and died May 4, 1888; Isabella, born June 9, 1821, who married George W. Hunt, October 27, 1847, and is still living ; Sarah Ruckman, born Febru- ary 11, 1826, who became the wife of W. Earle Campbell, February 9, 1853, and is still living ; Elizabeth, born July 16, 1828, who became the wife of George W. Craven, February 25, 1858, and both are still living; and Emily Jane, born August 7. 1832, who became the wife of William Godshalk, October 12, 1876, and died September 17, 1898. Abraham Van Horn, father of these children, died April 7, 1869.
Isaac Van Horn, eldest son of Abraham and Susan Van Horn, was united in marriage, October I, 1835, to Cynthia Craven, born May 27, 1817, (laughter of Thomas and Jane ( Krewson) Craven. Thomas Craven, born February 21, 1785, died August 21, 1868, and Jane ( Krewson) Craven, his wife, was born May 6, 1795. Their marriage ceremony was performed February 20, 1812, and
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they were the parents of the following named chil- dren : Anna Eliza, born October 14, 1813, died February 6, 1833; Matilda, born March 13, 1815, married Aaron Cornell, and died August 5, 1902 ; Cynthia, born May 27, 1817, is mentioned above as the wife of Isaac Van Horn; James R., born December 20, 1818, married Mary Cornell, and died December 22, 1847; Sarah, born January 27. 1821, died June 18, 1821 ; and Jane, born May 8, 1828, became the wife of William Moore, March 15. 1854. Isaac and Cynthia (Craven) Van Horn were the parents of the following named children : Charles Krewson, born August 3. 1836, died January 16, 1837; James, born De- cember 24, 1837, is mentioned at length herein- after ; Thomas, born October 11. 1840, married Elizabeth Webster Hart, September 15, 1862 ; and Julia A., born October 3, 1845, became the wife of Abraham A. Slack, September 14. 1870. Isaac Van Horn, father of these children, died Decem- ber 21, 1898, and his wife, Cynthia (Craven) Van Horn, passed away May 25, 1899.
James Van Horn, son of Isaac and Cynthia (Craven) Van Horn, was educated in the public schools, and Millersville State Normal School, and for a few years after completing his studies he taught in the public schools of Bucks county and Philadelphia. In 1861 he was appointed dep- uty recorder of deeds by his father, who at that time held the office of recorder of deeds for Bucks county. He subsequently served nine years in the internal revenue department, fifth district of Pennsylvania, and after the expiration of this period of time he was for four years superin- tendent of coal works in Armstrong county, Penn- sylvania. In 1876 he was elected cashier of the Hatboro National Bank, and has served in that capacity ever since. The high esteem in which he is held in the community is evidenced by the fact that he served as secretary of the Hatboro school board for nine years, has been borough treasurer for over twenty years, was burgess of the borough for three years, and is secretary of the board of trustees of Loller Academy. He is a member of the Abington Presbyterian church, and has been an elder since 1882. He is an ad- herent of the principles of Republicanism.
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