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 39
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
iams, who is prominently active in the councils of the Republican party.
Mr. Wagner is also identified with several in- dustrial enterprises, including the Kitchen Spe- cialty Company at Reading, manufacturers of tin specialties, and the Household Manufacturing Company of Royersford.
Mr. Wagner's success in life is largely the result of his own untiring efforts. He remained at home with his father until twenty-one years of age, giving his parents the benefit of his assist- ance and good management. Starting out on his own account in the world to make his way through life in a creditable manner, he earned with his own hands the money to pay his way through college and to enable him to pass a successful examina- tion for admission to the bar. He enjoys a good degree of patronage and is generally recognized as one of the rising young members of the Mont- gomery county bar. He is not now and never has been an office-seeker, preferring rather to devote himself assiduously to the study and practice of law. He does not court notoriety, but rather shuns it, being modest and retiring, although of a very genial disposition.
MILLER D. EVANS, a leading member of the Montgomery county bar, is almost a lifelong resident of Pottstown. He was born in Down- ingtown, Chester county, November 3. 1838, be- ing a son of William and Rachel ( Boomer) Evans, he a native of Delaware county and she of Chester county, this state. The couple had eight children, three sons and five daughters, of whom three are now living, as follows: Miss Mary H. and Miss Esther T. Evans, of Morgan- town, Pennsylvania ; and Miller D. Evans, of Pottstown. William Evans died in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, in 1855, aged sixty-three years. His wife died about 1889, aged eighty-nine years. Both were members of the Society of Friends, and although the sect is opposed to warfare, he was a soldier in the war of 1812 and held a commission as lieutenant from Governor Findlay.
William Evans (grandfather) was a native of Delaware county, of Welsh descent, and by occu- pation a farmer. He was a Revolutionary sol-
----
-
223
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
dier. He died at the age of sixty-six years, leav- ing a family.
The maternal grandfather died in Chester county.
Miller D. Evans lived in Chester county until he was thirteen years of age, attending the public and private schools there, and following the occu- pation of a teacher for seven years. He began studying law in Reading with Henry W. Smith, one of the leading members of the Berks county bar. In 1865 he was admited to the bar and began practicing at once at Reading. In 1866 he went to Montgomery county and was admitted to the bar there in that year. He has been practicing at Pottstown ever since.
He was an emergency soldier in 1862 for a short time, and in 1863 was a member of Com- pany F, Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, which was the first company in the field at Get- tysburg.
On May 22, 1872, he married Miss Annie L. Rittenhouse, daughter of General James and Lu- cinda (Trexler) Rittenhouse, of Berks county. They have had two children : Lucy R., who died at the age of eight years ; and James R. Evans, who is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic College, of Troy, New York, in the scientific de- partment. Mrs. Evans is a member of the Luth- eran Church of the Transfiguration of Pottstown.
Mr. Evans is a Republican although never taking a very active part in politics and holding no office except member of the Pottstown school board. He was its president for some years and solicitor of the borough of Pottstown for twenty years. He is attorney for the National Bank of Pottstown, the Pottstown Iron Company, the Warwick Iron Company, the Glasgow Iron Com- pany and a number of other corporations.
1
LOUIS E. TAUBEL, one of the leading manufacturers of Norristown, and proprietor of the Star Knitting Mills at Penn and Arch streets, Norristown, is a native of New Jersey, having been born at Riverside, that state, July 9, 1856.
His parents are Charles and Amelia (Clott) Taubel, natives of Hesse Darmstadt. Germany. They had eleven children, six sons and five
daughters, of whom seven are now living, as fol- lows : John ; Rosa, wife of Charles Hamil; Louis E .; Henry: William; Katie, wife of Theodore Snyder ; Hannah, wife of Augustus Weber. All are residents of Riverside except Louis E. Taubel, of Norristown.
The father was a shoemaker in early man- hood, at Riverside, which is still his home. For the past ten years he has lived retired. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Taubel's ancestors for many generations on both sides were Germans.
Louis E. Taubel grew to manhood at River- side, attending the public schools there, but his educational privileges were somewhat limited. He followed various pursuits and then started in the knitting manufacturing works as an engineer, and gradually acquired a knowledge of the busi- ness. In May, 1895, he came to Norristown and built the Star Knitting Mills in 1898, for the manufacture of all kinds of hosiery, and now gives employment to about three hundred and seventy-five persons. Mr. Taubel sells his goods in all parts of the world. The building which Mr. Taubel now occupies is one hundred and eighty- six feet long and forty-five feet in width, with three stories and basement, and separate dye houses, boiler and engine-room.
On January 26, 1879, he married Miss Rosa Gerner, daughter of Frederick and Mary Gerner. They had four children, three sons and one daughter : William, George and Edward, and a daughter, Mary, who died aged six years and three months.
Mrs. Taubel died in April, 1900, aged forty- one years. She was a member of the Moravian church at Riverside but after coming to Norris- town united with the First Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Taubel and his son, William, are also members. He is also an Elk. Politically Mr. Taubel is a Republican but is not a politician nor has he ever sought or held office. He is recognized as one of Norristown's most enter- prising and public-spirited citizens.
The establishment of Mr. Taubel, like many others of its class in Norristown, is a boon to working people, furnishing steady employment
224
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
throughout the year to several hundred persons. In the summer of 1903 he established a branch manufactory at Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, em- ploying forty-five people. In his Norristown build- ing he mannfactures all his packing boxes. Such men as he, who have the ability to plan and op- erate profitably enterprises of this character are public benefactors, enabling hundreds of families to procure by their industry the means necessary to pay rent, store bills and other household ex- penses. The fact that Norristown has been fairly prosperous even during the years of financial de- pression, is due largely to the energy of such men as Mr. Taubel, who are willing to invest their capital and devote their time and attention to business that furnishes employment to those who desire it. The more of such manufactories, especially where they are judiciously managed, the better it is for the community in which they are located.
ALBERT CRAWFORD is descended from one of the old colonial families of Montgomery county. He was born in Lower Providence township, January 27, 1826. He grew to man- hood in the same neighborhood in which he now lives, and was educated in the common schools of the vicinity. He is the son of Joseph and Re- becca (Francis) Crawford.
Joseph Crawford (father) was the son of Jo- seph and Ann (Edwards) Crawford. Ann Ed- wards was the daughter of Revolutionary fame. The Edwards family were of Welsh descent. The Crawfords were from Ireland originally, al- though they have been long domiciled in this country. Joseph Crawford served in the militia during the Revolutionary war, being with Wash- ington when he crossed the Delaware to attack the Hessian troops at Trenton, and participating in other movements of that period. He was about eighteen years of age at the time of the action at Trenton. At the end of the war he set- tled in Roxboro, where lie married. In 1795 he purchased the farm on which Albert Crawford now resides. He lived on this farm the greater part of the time until his death which occurred in 1844. He was a lifelong member of the Pres-
byterian Church. He was a director in the Bank of Montgomery county, now the Montgomery National Bank. He was a practical and suc- cessful farmer. Politically he was a Whig, but never aspired to public office. Major Edwards, the father of Mrs. Ann Crawford, was a resident of Montgomery county. About 1775, he sold a part of his farm to his son John, and farmed the remainder of it, dying about 1795. The children of Joseph and Ann Crawford were: Joseph (fa- ther) ; Margaret, wife of Captain Abram Brower ; and Alexander, who died unmarried.
Joseph Crawford (father) was born and reared in Lower Providence township, and after reaching manhood he gave all his attention to farming the homestead. He died in early man- hood, in 1830, being less than thirty years of age. He was a Whig in politics. His wife survived him many years, and educated the children. Later the widow married (second husband) Jacob Culp. She was the daughter of John Francis, a prominent farmer of the township, whose other children were: Ann ( Mrs. George Highley) ; Deborah (Mrs. H. Loucks) ; Eliza (Mrs. Thomas Shepard) ; and Felix, who died when a young man. All were Presbyterians, and were buried at the Lower Providence Church.
The children of Joseph and Rebecca Craw- ford were: Ann (Mrs. Joseph Rhoads) ; Albert, mentioned hereinafter ; and Amanda (Mrs. Sam- nel F. Jarrett). The children by the second mar- riage (Mrs. Crawford to Jacob Culp) : Joseph, who died in 1903 ; and Emma ( Mrs. Dayis).
Albert Crawford was born and reared on the homestead farm, which he inherited under his father's will. When he grew to manhood, he sold it to his sister Ann, and took possession of the farm on which he now lives, which had been left him by his grandfather. He has been en- gaged in general farming, raising some stock, and attending Philadelphia markets. He also fattened cattle. In addition to the home farm of one hundred and fourteen acres, Mr. Crawford owns a tract of forty acres on the Perkiomen, and sev- eral Norristown properties. He has been a suc- cessful farmer, and is a broad-minded, intelligent business man. He has been a Republican from
--
Albert leraufone
---- - ------ -
225
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
the formation of the party, but has never aspired to office. He was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but is not a member of any church. He is a man of integrity and honor, widely known and highly respected.
Mr. Crawford married, in 1855, Miss Ade- laide Corson, born in Lower Providence, near Arcola Station, October 28, 1834. She is the daughter of Charles and Sarah (Egbert) Cor- son, of the well-known family of that name in Montgomery county. Charles Corson's father and grandfather were both named Joseph Corson. The Corsons were originally French Huguenots, whose ancestor settled on Long Island, and later in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. The brothers and sisters of Charles Corson were: Alan W., teacher, surveyor, and in general one of the most useful men of his day: Sarah, who married Thomas Read; Mary (Mrs. Charles Adamson) ; Joseph, Charles (father of Mrs. Crawford) ; George, a well-known resident of Plymouth Meeting ; Dr. Hiram, who lived to a great age, and died in 1898; and William, a Norristown physician ; all are long since deceased. The fam- ily has very remarkable traits, and few have equaled them in the history of Montgomery county in ability and usefulness. All, including Charles, were identified with the Society of Friends, and were active in the anti-slavery cause. Charles died in 1878. His wife was the daughter of Laurence and Sarah Egbert. The children of Laurence and Sarah Egbert were: Thomas, George, David, Mary (Mrs. A. Corson) ; Sarah and Susan (twins), Susan being Mrs. James Rogers, and Sarah, the wife of Charles Corson.
The children of Charles and Sarah Corson were: Richard R., William. George, the well- known attorney, now deceased ; John J., a lead- ing real estate agent of Norristown : Laurence, who died at the age of forty years ; Adelaide, wife of Mr. Crawford: Susan (Mrs. Felix F. Highley, deceased) ; and Mary F., who died at the age of forty-nine years.
The children of Albert and Adelaide Craw- ford were: Joseph, a druggist, of Philadelphia, who married Mary Hayer, of Lancaster, in June, 1898, and they had three children, Sarah, who
died in infancy ; Anna H., and Joseph Crawford. J. Norman, who farms the homestead, who mar- ried Josephean Rittenhouse, and they have four children : Bessie F., Adelaide C., Albert N. and Harold R. Sarah C., wife of W. B. Henderson, who died in 1896, leaving two sons; and Mary, unmarried. At the death of their daughter, Mrs. Henderson, Mr. and Mrs. Crawford took charge of her two children and are rearing them. They are Joseph C., born October 17, 1892, and Alan T., born November 7, 1894.
JOSEPH J. McGINLEY, long identified with the Times Publishing Company of Norris- town, is one of the most active young business men of that borough. He is largely self-edu- cated, having left school at an early age to make his way in the world. He is the son of Francis and Mary (Walters) McGinley and was born at Norristown, August 20, 1868.
Francis McGinley ( father) is a native of Ire- land, where he lived until he was fourteen years of age. He then came to America with relatives and resided for a short time at Frankford, Phil- adelphia. He then went to Norristown and learned the trade of shoemaker. After complet- ing his apprenticeship in 1852, he worked as a journeyman for a number of years. He then be- gan business as a shoe dealer on his own ac- county, at 270 East Main street, where he still carries on the business, though now nearly sev- · enty years of age. Politically he is a Democrat and in religious faith a Catholic. He is highly esteemed as a man of honesty and integrity, who attends faithfully to every duty as a man and a citizen. In 1854 he married Mary Walters, daughter of Daniel Walters of Norristown, and the couple have ten chidren, as follows: Daniel, long engaged in the printing business in New York city : John, Frank and James, all deceased ; Clara, who married Charles Dale of Norristown ; Joseph J., the subject of this sketch; Annie and Bernard. who died younig ; Edward, a paper ruler by trade ; and Mary, a stenographer. Mrs. Mc- Ginley is also a native of Ireland, and is slightly younger than her husband.
Bernard McGinley (grandfather) was a na-
15
226
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
tive and lifelong resident of County Donegal, Ireland.
Joseph J. McGinley has been a lifelong resi- dent of Norristown, where he attended the pub- lic schools a short time, and afterward St. Pat- rick's parochial school until he was thirteen years of age. He worked in a woolen mill for three years, then resumed study for a year in the parochial school, and afterward learned the car- penter trade, completing his aprenticeship in the planing mill of Guest, Grater & Company. He attended night schools, taking a course in bookkeeping at Schissler's School of Business He also solicited newspaper and other advertis- ing and orders for periodicals for a time. In 1892 he accepted a position as bookkeeper with the Times Publishing Company of Norristown, grad- ually working his way upward until he has be- come its secretary and general business manager. Industry, careful attention to business and per- „sistence in what he undertakes, are his dis- tinguishing qualities, and they have made his in- fluence felt in the community in which he lives.
In politics Mr. McGinley is a Republican and he takes an active interest in the success of its candidates. He is clerk of the Bridgeport bor- ough council. He is a member of the Catholic church as are the other members of his family. He is interested in everything pertaining to the public welfare.
Mr. McGinley married, in 1897, Miss Bridget McHugo, daughter of Mrs. Margaret McHugo. The couple reside in Bridgeport. They have two children living : Alfred and Eleanor, and one de- ceased.
DR. HARRY O. DENGLER, the well- known veterinarian, located on West Main street, adjacent to the Hotel Hartranft, Norristown. comes from a Bucks county family, having been born in Quakertown, August 23, 1863. He is a son of William H. and Catharine Y. (Sterner) Dengler, both natives of eastern Pennsylvania. They had two sons and two daughters, of whom two are now living: James A., of Quakertown, and Dr. Harry O. Dengler, the subject of this sketch.
William H. Dengler ( father) was a tinsmith by trade and resided at Quakertown, carrying on business there. He died in April, 1898, aged sixty-six years. His wife survived until April, 1901. Mrs. Dengler (mother) belonged to the Lutheran church, and her husband to the Re- formed church.
Dr. Dengler grew to manhood in Quakertown, and received an elementary education in its pu's- lic schools. On reaching manhood he engaged in the occupation of a teamster, but soon abandoned it for something more in harmony with his tastes. In 1884, he entered upon studies preparatory to becoming a veterinary surgeon, Dr. C. J. Blank of Easton being his preceptor. In 1888 he graduated from Ontario Veterinary Col- lege, and began practicing his profession in Nor- ristown, on May 3, 1888, and has practiced there continuously since. Dr. Dengler is recognized as one of the most successful practitioners in his line
February 3, 1898, he married Miss Sarah Mc- Coy, daughter of Robert McCoy. They have one son, Harry O., Jr. Mrs. Dengler belongs to the Episcopal church.
Dr. Dengler is a member of the following or- ganizations : Charity Lodge, No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons ; Norristown Chapter, No. 190, Royal Arch Masons ; Hutchinson Commandery, No. 32, Knights Templars; and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
Dr. Dengler is a Democrat in politics but has never been in any way an office-seeker. He has been in the fullest sense of the term the architect of his own fortune. Starting out in life for him- self when a boy of twelve years, he earned the money with which he made his way through school and since that time has not been dependent upon anyone for pecuniary aid, but by his own industry, frugality, and good management has achieved success, and secured a generally recog- nized standing among the business and profes- sional men of Norristown. He has an extensive and constantly increasing patronage, and his reputation extends beyond the borders of the county. Ontario Veterinary College, of which he is a graduate, is one of the largest and best
227
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
veterinary colleges in the world, and to the in- struction which he there received, are largely due the ability and thoroughness which Mr. Dengler has displayed in the practice of his profession. His neatly-arranged and well equipped office testifies to his qualities of order and care.
CHARLES RAMEY, who lives retired at No. 1002 DeKalb street, Norristown, was born in Upper Merion township, March 28, 1826. He is the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Griffith) Ramey, both of whom were natives of Montgom- ery county. They had three sons and four daugh- ters, of whom Charles Ramey is the only one now living.
Jacob Ramey (father ) was a farmer and shoe- maker in early manhood, and later a farmer on what is called Walnut Grove farm near Consho- hocken. Soon after his marriage he was called out with his militia company, Captain Holgate commanding, to Marcus Hook, in the war of 1812. He came home with camp fever from which he recovered, but he died in 1828. After the war and until his death he was a farmer and a merchant, carrying on business in the "Bird-in- Hand" store, in the village now known as Gulf Mills, in partnership with his cousin, Daniel Alte- mus. He was thirty-seven years old at the time of his death. His wife survived until 1851, and was in her sixty-seventh year when she died. Both attended the Society of Friends Meeting.
Lawrence Ramey (grandfather) was a na- tive of Wales and came to Pennsylvania when a small boy. He was a farmer and also a shoe- maker. He died at the age of seventy-five years. His wife was Catharine Conrad. They had two sons and one daughter. Both were buried at Plymouth Meeting Friends burial-ground.
Charles Ramey's grandfather Griffith was a native of Montgomery county. He died in mid- dle life leaving four daughters and one son.
Charles Ramey has lived all his life in Mont- gomery county, and the greater part of it in Nor- ristown. He was reared on the farm and at- tended the district schools and the old Academy on DeKalb street, taught by Rev. Samuel Aaron, and still later Treemount Seminary, under the
care of Rev. Samuel Aaron, a Baptist preacher, and a gerat temperance and abolition lecturer. In March, 1850, he removed to Norristown, and engaged in the mercantile business on Main street, for thirty-three years. He retired in 1883.
On August 25, 1853. Mr. Ramey married Miss Ellen Wood, daughter of Timothy Wood. They had five children, two daughters and three sons : Ida W., Sallie M., William Howard, Charles Clifton and Horace. Ida died in 1876 at the age of nearly twenty-two years. Sallie M. married Frank L. Jones, of Norristown and they have two children, Charles Ramey and Helen Mary Jones. William Howard died June 9, 1885. in his twenty-eighth year. Charles Clifton mar- ried Irene Mitchell, and they had one child, Cath- arine, who died in infancy. Charles Clifton is employed by the Eastern Export Milling Com- pany in New York, which owns twenty-eight mills. He was born Thanksgiving Day, 1862. Horace, who was born August 11, 1864, and had been engaged in the bookselling business in Nor- ristown, died in 1882 when eighteen years of age.
Mrs. Ramey died August 31, 1892, aged sixty- seven years. She belonged originally to the old school Presbyterians, but was married by a Bap- tist minister and later united with the Episcopal church. Mr. Ramey's faith is that of the Friends. He has attended Quaker meetings since he was four years old. He belongs to Curtis Lodge, No. 239, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also Norristown Encampment. He joined the Odd Fellows in May, 1850, and the Encamp- ment in 1861. He is the oldest member of Curtis Lodge and is a veteran of Philadelphia Lodge since 1901. He also belongs to the Montgomery County Historical Society.
Politically he was first a Whig and has been a Republican ever since the organization of the party in 1856, and an active worker. He served as school director from 1851 to 1854. He has at various times owned considerable property in Norristown and Bridgeport.
His wife came from Malden in Ulster county, New York, where she lived until sixteen years old, coming then to Pennsylvania. She had four brothers and one sister. Her father was a ship
228
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
carpenter and built a great many boats on North river, as did his father before him. The family originally came from England. Her mother died when she was about eight years old.
Charles Ramey is a man of kindly disposition, who at an age which is attained by few still re- tains an active interest in all that is going on in the world around him. Having all his life been accustomed to intelligent observation of men and things, he has accumulated a vast fund of in- formation, and being a pleasing talker, he is rarely at a loss for listeners.
HARRY L. NASH, son of Joseph and Emily (Yeakle) Nash, was born October 30, 1866, near Fort Washington, in Upper Dublin township. When he was eight years old, his father sold the farm and purchased another on Church road, in Springfield township, which he owned for twenty- two years. The father died May 29. 1894.
Daniel Nash (grandfather) was born near Edge Hill, in Upper Dublin township, and grew to manhood there. He was a wealthy and influ- ential man, being the owner of several farms. He married Maria Shaffer. (For further particu- lars of the Nash ancestry see the sketch of Joseph Y. Nash, brother of Harry L. Nash.)
Harry L. Nash married Barbara, daughter of Robert and Mary (Odenwelder) Blair, on No- vember 25, 1894. She was born October 15, 1873, in Bath. Northampton county, Pennsyl- vania.
Mr. Blair was born October 4, 1848, in Bath, and grew to manhood there. His father, James Blair, was a native of Dur- ham, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was a farmer. Robert Blair was reared on the farm, attended the public schools of the neighbor- hood and supplemented the education which he gained there with several terms in Nazareth Academy. At the close of his school days he stayed on the farm with his father until his mar- riage to Miss Odenwelder, when he rented the farm of his father-in-law, on which he remained until 1877, when he removed to Montgomery county, locating in Whitemarsh township, where he rented the William Jeanes farm, remaining on
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.