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 43
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Mr. and Mrs. Fretz have six children as fol- lows: Jacob Rittenhouse Fretz, born July 22, 1886, completed his studies at the Perkiomen Seminary, at Pennsburg; Ely R. Fretz, born November 27, 1888; Viola R., born March 22, 1891; Allen R., born October II, 1893; Agnes R., born August 18, 1896; Osmund Philemon. born March 22, 1899.
ZION MENNONITE CHURCH AT SOUDERTON, PENN- SYLVANIA.
A large proportion of the early settlers of that part of Montgomery county were Mennonites. and hence it is only natural that members of the denomination should form a considerable portion of the population of its growing towns. Souder- ton is in the center of the Mennonite community, and has two churches of that faith, one belonging to the old, or Franconia, conference and one, of which Rev. Allen Myers Fretz is the pastor, ad- hering to the General Conference of Mennonites of America. The membership of these as well as of the other churches in Souderton, is drawn largely from the rural community. The Zion church belongs to the eastern district of the Gen- eral Conference. For several years prior to the organization of the congregation, services were held for the benefit of the members residing at Souderton, under the auspices of the Home Mis- sion and Church Extension Board of the District Conference, in a hall, and subsequently in the newly erected Reformed church.
In the autumn of 1892 a lot was purchased on East Broad street, when the erection of a church building was begun and continued through the winter. It was completed in May, and on the 2Ist and 22d of that month the edifice was form- ally dedicated. During the time the small con- gregation were so zealously pushing the erection of the church, a charter was procured. On February 8, 1893, the congregation was or- ganized with the following charter members, twenty-six in all: John D. Detweiler, Catherine Detweiler. Abraham D. Detweiler, Mary Det- weiler, David B. Detweiler, Annie B. Harr, Henry D. Detweiler, William D. Detweiler, John D.
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Moyer, Olivia Moyer, William G. Moyer, Han- nah Moyer, Levi S. Moyer, Annie Moyer, Abra- ham S. Moyer, William S. Moyer, Menno S. Moyer, Joseph P. Moyer, Mary Clymer, Adolph Leber, Amanda Leber, Hannah Taylor, Eli M. Fretz, Catherine Fretz, Isaac S. Borneman, Leah Hunsberger. Rev. Allen M. Fretz, pastor of the Deep Run church, in Bucks county, was chosen pastor. The call was accepted by him, as an en- largement of his field of labor. He took charge of the church on April I, of the same year, and still holds the position. Mr. Fretz's ministrations have been very acceptable, and many new mem- bers have been added to the congregation. On June 3, 1893, the pastor baptized five young con- verts. The aggregate of members from the be- ginning is 185, and the present membership, 154. The congregation, while it discourages all modern innovations such as are so common in church work for raising funds, was able, in May, 1898, to extinguish a building debt of about eight hun- dred dollars, besides giving substantial aid to various departments of church work.
The church has the following auxiliaries in the carrying on of its work: Sunday school, Christian Endeavor Society, Junior Endeavor Society, Ladies' Mission Society, Weekly Bible Study, prayer meetings, etc. Feeling that the common lodge system is in principle out of har- mony with Scripture teaching, many young men being induced to join them because of their boasted pecuniary advantages, the congregation in its constitution instituted and provided for a charity fund to which regular annual contribu- tions are made, for the assistance of the poor and sick where such assistance is needed. Regu- lar support is also given to the Mennonite Home for the Aged at Frederick this county; to the Home Mission and Church Extension work and the Foreign Mission cause of the Mennonite church, in India and among the Indians of America.
The preaching services as is common in nearly all Mennonite churches of eastern Penn- sylvania, are conducted in both German and En- glish, with a growing inclination to more En- glish and less German.
REV. JOSIAH CLEMMER, a bishop in the Mennonite church, was born May 1, 1827. He was ordained to the ministry in 1860, and became bishop in 1867.
The family are of German origin. In 1717, the ancestor of the family (great-grandfather of Bishop Clemmer) came to America with four sons : John, Valentine, Henry, and Abraham (grandfather).
Abraham Clemmer lived in Montgomery county. He had three sons, Henry, Abraham and John (father).
John Clemmer was a farmer. He had four sons and four daughters, as follows: Abraham, married Sarah Swartley, and had one son, Josialı, and two daughters (Sarah and Mary Ann) dying in 1852. Abraham married (second wife) So- phia Bechtel, and had a son Henry ; she dying. he married his third wife, who still survives, having one son, Abraham, and one daughter. His third wife, Anna, was previously married to Jacob Nice.
John Clemmer, born in 1825, married Eliza Moyer ; the couple had two daughters who died in infancy. Mrs. Clemmer died in 1863, and he then married (second wife) Margaret Boorse, having one son, John Henry Clemmer.
Henry Clemmer, born in 1837, married Mary Ruth. Their children: Joseph, Tobias, Henry, Abraham and Michael. Henry also had one daughter, Annie, who died at the age of seventeen years.
Elizabeth Clemmer, born in 1820, married Henry Bergey, and had two sons and three daughters. Henry Bergey died in Canada, and she married (second husband) Joseph Hallman.
Susanna Clemmer, born in 1830, married George Rosenberger and had one daughter.
Mary Ann Clemmer, born in 1830 (twin-sister of Susanna) married David Hagey, and had one son, Oliver, and one daughter, who died in in- fancy. Oliver Hagey married Sarah Benner and has two sons, David and Willie.
Anna Clemmer, born in 1840, married John Rosenberger. The couple have had three sons and six daughters, as follows : Harry, Levi, John, Mary Ann, Lizzie, Susanna, Katie (deceased),
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Ella and Annie. Harry married Miss Lapp; John married Miss Moyer; Levi also married; Mary Ann married William Godshall; Lizzie married Henry Hendricks; Ella married Henry Heckler ; Anna married T. R. Haldeman.
Rev. Josiah Clemmer married Sarah Kulp, November 9, 1851. They had eight children, five sons and three daughters: Jacob, John, Josiah, Jonas, Hiram (died at the age of twenty years), Susanna, Mary and Sarah (died at the age of seventeen years). Mr. Clemmer married (sec- ond wife) Lydia Derstine, on December 24, 1884. Mrs. Clemmer is the daughter of Jacob and Eliz- abeth (Gehman) Derstine. Her brothers were: John, George, Jacob, Jesse, Abraham, Samuel, Noah, Isaac, and her sisters, Sarah, Kate, Eliza- beth, Anna, Mary and Hetty.
Mrs. Sarah Clemmer, daughter of Jacob Kulp, a minister of the Mennonite church, died on No- vember 8, 1883, aged fifty years. One of her chil- dren, Jacob, married Catharine Benner, and had three children as follows: John, unmarried ; Sarah, married John Hensel ; Lizzie, unmarried. Jacob died at the age of thirty-six years.
John Clemmer, born September 1, 1861, mar- ried Lizzie Free, and had two sons, Jacob, died at the age of two years; and Elmer, married Miss Greeser, they having two daughters, Beth and Mary. John Clemmer is a miller.
Josiah Clemmer, born June 1, 1867, married Ella Hunsberger, in 1885. Their children : Har- vey, Clayton, Willis, Norman and Josiah. Josiah Clemmer is a farmer.
Jonas Clemmer born August 9, 1870, married Laura Loudenslager. He died April 6, 1901. His wife died in 1898. Their children: Katie, Ellwood and Wallace. Jonas Clemmer married (second wife) Barbara Freed in 1899, and had one son, Raymond.
Hiram Clemmer, born January 28, 1874, died May 10, 1894.
Susanna Clemmer, born October 29, 1855, married Samuel Derstine and had nine children, of whom Irvin, Josiah, Lizzie, Erma and Edna survive.
Mary Clemmer, born December 27, 1857, mar-
ried Charles Brunner. Their children: Hiram, Harvey, Katie, Sarah, Mary, Ella, Barbara (de- ceased). Mary died and Mr. Brunner married (second wife) Mary Oberholtzer and had five children, Hanna, Lizzie, Elverdy, Charles and Edwin. Of the children by the first wife, Hiram married Lizzie Belger, and had a son, Morgan; Harvey married a Miss Hendricks, and had one son ; Kate married Henry Mininger, and had three children; Sarah married Ulysses Alderfer.
Family of Henry Kulp : Catharine, born Feb- ruary 3, 1798, married to John Freed, whose oc- cupation was farming, and who was a Mennon- ite in faith. Jacob B., born in November, 1799, died in 1875, aged sixty-eight years. Jacob was married to Anna Alderfer, who was a minister.
Polly Kulb married to Peter Hendricks. They had the following children: Henry Kulb was born January 24, 1804, and died Angust 8, 1869. He married Elizabeth Shoemaker. They had the following children : Jacob, Henry, Sam- uel, Michael, Susan, Eliza and Sarah. Abraham Kulb was born January 11, 1806, and married Elizabeth Landes. Mr. Kulb was a weaver and farmer by occupation and was a member of the Mennonite church. Sallie Kulb married Joseph Swartz. William Kulb married Mary Frederick, and had the following children: Abraham and Sallie.
Bishop Clemmer says of his mother: Her maiden name was Swartley. She was a grand- daughter of Henry Rosenberger, who came to America from Germany between 1720 and 1730. He was a Mennonite deacon. He settled in Fran- conia, at Indian Creek. He gave the ground for a graveyard where there have been buried about a thousand persons. He was married to Barbara Oberholtzer in the year 1745. They lived to- gether twenty years, having nine children, seven daughters, and two sons who died young. The daughters were: Anna, Lizzie, Barbara, Mary, Maudalin, Sarah, Susan. Sarah married John Swartley, she being my grandmother. They had six sons and two daughters: John, Henry Sam- uel, Joseph, Abraham and Philip, Elizabeth and
Joel Supple
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Mary (my mother), who married John Clemmer (my father).
FRANCONIA CONGREGATION.
Rev. Henry Funk was the first minister of Franconia congregation. The first meeting house was built of stone in the year 1730. It had a seat- ing capacity of over seven hundred, with a mem- bership of about four hundred and fifty. The third house was built of stone. The church has a membership of six hundred with seats for eight hundred or nine hundred.
Josiah Clemmer was chosen to the ministry in 1860. His co-workers in the ministry are Jacob Landes and Michael Moyer. Henry Nice was chosen to the ministry in 1839 and died in 1883, aged seventy-nine years. Jacob Godshall was chosen to the ministry in 1804, and was elected bishop in 1813. He died in 1845, aged seventy-five years. Abraham Clemmer, Sr., was elected deacon in Franconia congregation in 1839, and died in 1879, aged eighty-five years. Abra- ham Clemmer, Jr., was elected deacon in 1879. Jacob Freed was ordained to a deacon in 1884. Abraham Clemmer was ordained as a minister in 1904.
JOEL SUPPLEE, son of Charles and Eliza- beth Supplee, was born on a farm operated by his father, on April 6, 1848. He attended the "Eight Square" school which stood on the Allentown Road, and later the school on the Morris Road near the Heebner farm, finishing his early educa- tion at Gwynedd school. He was then about six- teen years of age. He then attended the Frederick Institute in Frederick township, which was in charge of A. P. Supplee and brother, for two terms, after which he was actively engaged in farming until he reached manhood. In 1853 his father bought the farm of Jacob Ruth, containing seventy-five acres, on which Mr. Supplee now lives. He married, June 15, 1872, and his daugh- ter, Laura May, born May 1, 1874, gradu- ated at the Norristown high school and later at the Pierce Business College, Philadelphia, after which she worked nine years as stenographer for
the Keasby, Mattison Company, Ambler, and died July 2, 1903. Mr. Supplee's wife was Harriet, daughter of Edward and Catharine Ann (Lay- man) Preston, of Gwynedd township ; her father was a well-known blacksmith of the neighborhood whose shop was located near where is now a corn station on the Stony Creek Railroad. In 1880 Mr. Supplee succeeded to the management of the farm and purchased it when his father's estate was set- tled.
Charles Supplee (father), born February 8, 1813, was the son of Jesse and Mary (Hoffman) Supplee, of Norriton township. He married, No- vember 18, 1841, Elizabeth Boisbon Printz, daughter of Abraham Printz, of Plymouth town- ship. Mrs. Supplee was born February 19, 1814. Their children : Jesse, born October 28, 1842, mar- ried April 7, 1869, Rebecca Jane, daughter of John Blakeley, and has children: Antoinette; Mar- garet, married and has three children, William, Elizabeth, and Mary; Abraham Printz, born Oc- tober 23, 1845, married Mattie Sedgwick, of Painted Post, Steuben county, New York, and (second wife) Laura V. Williams, of Pittsburg, where he died; Joel, subject of this sketch ; John died at the age of three years, twin brother of Joel.
Jesse Supplee (grandfather), son of David Supplee, was born December 20, 1784, and mar- ried Mary Hoffman, born October 27, 1791. Their children : Phœbe, born October 7, 1811, married Joel Supplee, son of Nathan Supplee, and had children: Charles Supplee (father) ; Catharine Supplee, born March 22, 1815, died unmarried April 20, 1874; Susanna Supplee, born February 10, 1817, died July 20, 1866, married Isaac Zim- merman and had five living children; Margaret Supplee, born February 13, 1820, married William Rickards, Philadelphia, and had one child, Jose- phine, who married Captain Hunt, died in 1903; Jane, born December 20, 1821, married Lorenzo Dow Smith, who had one child, Josephine, married Jacob R. Yost, real estate agent of Norristown; Elizabeth, born August 1. 1824, died July 24, 1878, unmarried; Mary, born March 20, 1828, died December 29, 1901, unmarried ; Job Supplee, born April 10, 1831, died March 30, 1901.
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David Supplee (great-grandfather), born May 31, 1753, and his wife, Susanna, born April 3, 175I, had the following children : Rachel, born March 29, 1775; Jane, born September 7, 1776; Asahel, born October 23, 1777 ; Tacy, born Janu- ary 4, 1779; Andrew, born January 16, 1780; Hannah, born April 5, 1781 ; Enoch, born June 12, 1783 ; Jesse, born December 20, 1784 (grand- father ) ; Lydia, born January 9, 1787; Pliebe, born March 18, 1788; Jonas, born April 8, 1789; John, twin brother of the last ; David, born Oc- tober 22, 1797.
Edward Preston, father of Mrs. Supplee, born October 27, 1818, in Gwynedd township, was the son of Jacob Preston. He married Catharine Layman. Their children : Mary Ann, born Octo- ber 17, 1847 ; Harriet ( Mrs. Joel Supplee ) ; Emma, . born 1856, wife of David Mumbower ; Elizabeth, born in 1858, unmarried.
MAURICE E. GILBERT, proprietor of the Mansion House, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was born in Pottstown, September 22, 1861. He is the son of Eli and Elizabeth ( Renninger ) Gilbert.
Eli Gilbert ( father) was born in Montgomery county, and he and his wife had the following children; Maurice E., William and Lillian (twins), Lillian having married Harlan Reif- snyder, of Brooklyn, New York, formerly of Pottstown. Mrs. Eli Gilbert was also born in Montgomery county. Mr. Gilbert was a car- penter and lived in Montgomery county all his life, dying June 25, 1897, at the age of sixty-five years, one month and four days. After leaving the business of carpenter he engaged in the bak- ery business for twelve years and then lived re- tired until his death. He served in the office of borough tax collector for one term. In politics he was a staunch Democrat.
Jacob Gilbert (grandfather) was born in Montgomery county and lived there all his life. He was a farmer and later lived retired in Potts- town, where he died. He was of German de- scent.
George Renninger (maternal grandfather) was a native of Pennsylvania and followed the trade of carpet-weaver most of his life. He died
in Pottstown at the age of nearly ninety years. They had two children : a son and a daughter, the son, John H., being a resident of Pottstown.
Maurice E. Gilbert has lived in Pottstown al' his life and attended the public schools in that borough. At the age of sixteen years he began to learn telegraphy with the Western Union Tele- graph Company and was with them about four years. He was then employed in the nail factory and later in the Colfrode & Saylor Bridge Works until he took charge of his father's bread business. He next engaged in the hotel business, which he has followed since 1891.
On June 15, 1892, Mr. Gilbert married Miss Sarah Todd, daughter of Dr. John and Sarah (Heller) Todd. They have had two children. John and Marion. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are Lutherans in religious faith. Mr. Gilbert be- longs to the Patriotic Order Sons of America ; to the Foresters of America; to the Knights of the Golden Eagle; to the Improved Order of Red Men and to the Heptasophs. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a member of the town council of Pottstown, having been elected in 1895, and re- elected successively, although residing in a strong Republican ward.
Dr. John Todd, father of Mrs. Gilbert, is one of the most successful physicians of the county. He is a son of John and Christiana (Boughman) Todd, and was born at Freeland, now College- ville, April 25, 1830. Dr. Todd's grandfather, Andrew Todd, bought from the Penns a large tract of land in Upper Providence, which re- mained in the family until 1884. Andrew Todd was a man of great ability. He was one of the founders of Lower Providence Presbyterian church, and was the first justice of the peace ap- pointed by Governor Mckean. He held the office until his death, which occurred in 1834. Andrew Todd married Hannah Boyer and their children were John; W. T., who went west ; Isabella, who married Samuel Hamil, a Norristown merchant, who died in 1850; and Hannah, wife of Samuel McClintock, of Northumberland county.
John Todd, grandfather of Mrs. Gilbert, was born in 1776 and died in 1863. He was sheriff one term and two terms county treasurer. He
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was twice married-first to Miss Campbell, and after her death to Christiana Boughman. By the second marriage he had six children : Dr. John ( father), William T., Samuel M., Charles, Chris- tiana and Emily.
Dr. John Todd practiced in early life at Boy- ertown, after having studied medicine with Drs. Keeler and Groff, of Harleysville, and graduating from a medical college in 1857. Dr. Todd mar- ried, in 1857, Ida Amanda Smith, who died leav- ing one child, and he married (second wife), in 1864, Sarah M. Heller, daughter of Daniel Hel- ler, of Boyertown. They have five children : Blanche, wife of J. G. Kulp, a Philadelphia mer- chant : Bertha C. married Lyman Byers, a Potts- town electrician; Sarah, wife of Mr. Gilbert ; Mary and John. Dr. Todd was the candidate of his party for Congress in 1894 and is a director of the Bringhurst Fund, Pottstown.
JOHN CASSEL BOORSE, surveyor, con- veyancer and justice of the peace of Towamen- sing township, was born June 27, 1831, in the township of which he is still a resident. He is the son of Henry C. and Susanna (Cassel) Boorse.
Harman Boors (great-great-grandfather) em- igrated from Holland and settled in what is now Towamensing township, Montgomery county, about 1750. He lived near the present village of Kulpsville, and was a man of wealth and a leader in the community. He returned to his native land on business several times, and while return- ing to America for the last time, he died. His children : John and Henry, died unmarried; Peter, married, and died May 1, 1797; Arnold, and Harman (great-grandfather).
Harman Boors (great-grandfather) was also a farmer. He married and his children were: John (grandfather) ; Margaret, born September 8, 1765, left no children ; Peter, born August 28, 1767, married and left four children ; Henry, born December 25. 1769, died November 27, 1777; Anna, born September 22, 1772, married, Oc- tober 22, 1793. Abraham Hendricks ; Catharine, born March 28, 1775. married, November 10, 1796, Samuel Metz : Sybilla, born April 2, 1777, publisher of the Towamensing Item, which was
married Jacob Hendricks; Susanna, born Febru- ary 25, 1779. married, February 19, 1799, Jesse Lewis; Elizabeth, born February 17, 1782, mar- ried Samuel Kriebel.
John Boorse (grandfather) was born October 17, 1763, and died January 26, 1847. He mar- ried, June 8, 1797, Elizabeth Cassell, who died July 26, 1830. Their children : Abraham ; Henry C .; Magdalena, married Jacob Boyer ; Peter, Daniel, Joseph, Harman, Jacob ; Catharine, mar- ried James Lloyd; Mary, married Elias Cassel ; and Hubert.
Henry C. Boorse ( father) was born October 14, 1799, in Towamensing township. He mar- ried, March 5, 1822, Susanna Cassel. He died April 26, 1869, and his wife, April 6, 1856. He was a farmer and held several township offices. Their children : Barbara, born December 8, 1822, married Henry K. Zeigler, of Skippack, and died in March, 1866; Ephraim, born January 24, 1825, married, March 16, 1845, Elizabeth K. Ziegler, daughter of Abraham K. and Rachel (Krause) Ziegler, and they have six children; he is a re- tired coal and lumber dealer of Norristown ; Jolin C., the subject of this sketch; Catharine, born December 6, 1836, married William Bechtel, of Collegeville, Montgomery county, and died May 7, 1877 ; Susan, born September 9. 1839, died De- cember 18, 1856.
John C. Boorse was educated in the public schools in the neighborhood of his home, and in the Washington Hall School, at Trappe. After leaving school he worked on the farm until his marriage.
On January 21, 1855, John C. Boorse married Mary, daughter of Samuel and Mary. Rittenhouse, of Towamensing, and a descendant of the cele- brated David Rittenhouse, the astronomer. Their children : Alinda, born May 29, 1856, died Janu- ary 31, 1857 ; Mary Ann, born December 18, 1857, married Humphrey W. Edwards, of Kulpsville; Malinda, born January 3, 1860, died August 31, 1860; Ella, born March 21. 1862, married Dr. D. K. Bechtel, of Kulpsville; Lizzie, born March 25, 1864, married Allen H. Tyson, of Lansdale; Henry R., born September 21, 1866, editor and
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established in 1885; Alma, born December 9, 1868, married Henry C. Hunsicker, of Norris- town; Nora, born June 7, 1871; Edith, born October 21, 1879.
In 1855 Mr. Boorse bought the old homestead of the Boorse family from his father and lived there until 1868, when he removed to his present home. In 1855 he was elected township assessor, a position which he held for eight years. He has also filled the office of school director for six years, that of judge of election for two terms, has been a member of the election board since 1869, and was a leading member of the Republican county committee for many years. In 1862 he was elected to the office of justice of the peace and has served ever since. He has always en- deavored to settle cases so that they should not be referred to the court, and has received the highest praise both from the judges and from the people in general. In 1870 he received the appointment to take the census of Towamensing and Lower Salford townships and acquitted himself with credit. In 1865 he was nominated for county commissioner, but failed of election by a small majority. He was a delegate to the state conven- tion at Lancaster in 1875 and voted for John F. Hartranft for governor. He is a member of the Montgomery County Historical Society.
Mr. Boorse made the original survey for the borough of Lansdale, and was official surveyor of that borough from 1872 to 1881. He was one of the original directors of the Lansdale Water- Works Company, a director and secretary of the Lansdale Cemetery Association ; one of the orig- inal members and secretary of the Towamensing Creamery Association : a director in the Perkio- men Fire and Storm Insurance Company of Montgomery county, and one of the originators of the Kulpsville Literary and Library Associa- tion. He was one of the leaders in the movement which established a telephone line from Norris- town to Kulpsville, by way of North Wales and Lansdale. Mr. Boorse has, in fact, been prom- inent in every progressive movement of his com- munity.
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He belongs to the I. O. O. F., Providence Lodge No. 345, having become a member in
1867. He has been its trustee, treasurer, and the representative to the grand lodge, and a director in the Odd Fellows Endowment Association, of Pennsylvania. He became a member of Charity Lodge No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons, Nor- ristown, on October 10, 1872. On January 25, 1875, he was knighted in the Knights Templar, Hutchinson Commandery No. 32, Norristown, and also belongs to Norristown Chapter No. 190, Royal Arch Masons.
SAMUEL ROSS GORDON, son of Ross Gordon, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, January 4. 1834. His father married Miss Fannie Nutt, and emigrated from Ireland to America, settling in Bucks county about 1825.
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