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 60
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JOHN MCKINLAY
RESIDENCE OF JOHN MCKINLAY
John Msunday
EMMARETTA K. MCKINLAY
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
He raises from one thousand to two thousand pounds a year, and finds a ready market for them in Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Mr. Mckinlay married, in 1894, Miss Emma Retta Vanluvanee, daughter of Richard Vanluvanee, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania. They have had no children. Mr. Mckinlay and his wife are very fond of traveling. They have toured the United States, and are very familiar with their own country. They have also traveled considerably abroad, and have recently returned from a tour to Egypt and other countries of the far east. Mr. Mckinlay is very fond of reading and is a well informed man on all subjects. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and he has been placed on the party ticket for congress and other positions Mr. Mckinlay is highly respected by all who know him.
The Mckinlays are of Scotch origin. John Mckinlay, father, was born in Scotland and was educated there. On arriving at manhood he de- cided to emigrate to the United States. He mar- ried, in Scotland, Miss Maragret Smith, and soon afterwards emigrated to this country, locating on his arrival in Venango county, Pennsylvania. He was an active and progressive business man, and accumulated a considerable fortune. The couple had two children born in Scotland, Alex- ander and William, besides John, who was born in Pennsylvania.
FRANCIS B. UPDEGROVE, the well- known grocer who is engaged in business at Sec- ond and Johnson streets, Pottstown, was born in Berks county, December 12, 1848. He is the son of William and Elizabeth (Bower) Upde- grove, both of them natives of Berks county. They had nine children, all now living, as fol- lows: Mary E., wife of Jacob Bickhart, of near Sanatoga ; Francis B .; Harrison B., of Salford Station : William B., a resident of Oklahoma ; Jacob, living at Avery, Kansas ; Susan E., wife of Aaron Mutter, of Frederick : Thomas F., of An- adarko, Oklahoma: Annie, of New Hanover township, and Ulysses G., of Huntsville, Kansas.
William Updegrove (father) was a shoe- maker by trade, but afterward a farmer in Mont-
gomery county, owning a farm in Frederick township. He removed from the farm six years before his death, locating some distance above Brendlinger's store, where he died, February 20, 1899, aged seventy-six years. His wife survives him and is in her eighty-second year. Both the parents were members of the Lutheran denomina- tion. He was a Democrat prior to Abraham Lin- coln's election as president of the United States but subsequent to that time he invariably voted the Republican ticket and supported the principles of that party.
Jacob Updegrove (grandfather) was born in Berks county. He was also a shoemaker by trade and followed that occupation until his death, al- though he owned a small piece of land which he tilled himself. His wife was Elizabeth (Schaef- fer) Updegrove. He was upwards of eighty- years old at the time of his death, as was also his wife. They had ten children.
Jacob Bower (maternal grandfather) was a native of Berks county. He was a blacksmith by trade and later a farmer. His wife was Susan Happel. He died in his eighty-fifth year on the farm in Frederick township, on which he lived with his son-in-law, William Updegrove. The couple had eight children who grew to maturity.
Francis B. Updegrove spent the first eighteen years of his life in Berks county, where he began shoemaking when a boy and worked at that occu- pation until of age, when he turned his attention to farming, which occupation he pursued to the age of thirty-five years, and then engaged in the grocery business in Pottstown, which he has con- tinued at the same stand since 1884. He owns his place of business, adjacent to which is his handsome residence. Mr. Updegrove received a public-school education and followed the occu- pation of teaching one winter, having charge of a school in New Hanover township.
On December 26, 1876, Mr. Updegrove mar- ried Miss Lydia Gilbert. Her mother was Sarah (Romie) Gilbert. Mr. and Mrs. Updegrove's children are : Sarah, William and Edna. Sarah married Sidney R. Kepner, of Pottstown. Will- iam is a clerk in his father's store. Both William and his sister Edna are attending the high school.
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Mr. and Mrs. Updegrove are members of the Emanuel Lutheran church. Politically Mr. Up- degrove is a Republican.
HENRY FRORER was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, near Soudersburg, August 12, 1830. His father, Christian Frorer, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and there learned and followed the tanner's trade. He married Miss Dorothy Schiel and about 1830 they came to America, settling in Philadelphia, whence they afterward removed to Lancaster county. They had a family of nine children. The father died about 1840 and the mother in 1853.
Henry Frorer attended the common schools, but received only limited educational privileges, and it was necessary for him to earn his own living at an early age. He had always been a reader, however, and ever kept well informed on the leading topics of the time. When he was fourteen years of age, his mother, who was then a widow, removed to Philadelphia where Henry served an apprenticeship with the building firm of Lanning & Sill. After learning his trade he followed it in Philadelphia until 1891. In 1861 he became a builder and a contractor, continuing so until he abandoned active life. He remained in Philadelphia until 1891 and then located near Bryn Mawr where he built many fine houses. The summer home of George W. Childs, called Wooton, which became famous as a gathering place for famous men, Pembroke Hall at Bryn Mawr College, the Bryn Mawr Hospital, the summer homes of Lincoln Godfry, Charles Stewart, and many others, were his handiwork. In 1895 Henry Frorer built St. Thomas' Episco- pal church, near the Dupont Circle, in Washing- ton, D. C.
In 1895 Mr. Frorer bought the Maple Croft farm near King-of-Prussia, consisting of one hundred and six acres of land, a handsome house. grounds, and buildings. On this farm he spent the remainder of his life, surrounded by every comfort. In every sense of the word Mr. Frorer was a self-made man, as he started in life with only his hands and the energy which was inherited from his German ancestors. In politics
he was independent and voted for the man or party that he thought would do the most for the country. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity, Montgomery Lodge of Philadelphia.
September 29, 1862, Henry Frorer married Miss Catharine, daughter of Thomas and Ann (Clark) Charlton, who were natives of Ireland, but were married in Philadelphia. Mrs. Frorer was born in Philadelphia, December 26, 1836. Their children : Robert C., who was born April 28, 1864, and died December 7, 1902, married Miss Sarah Neuman and had two children, Henry R. and Elizabeth N. Henry, Jr., who was born August 7, 1867, and died May 6, 1899, married Miss Susan Lynch and had two children, James R. and Catharine C. Thomas, born October 13, 1871, died March 17, 1876. Mr. Frorer died July 26. 1904.
JESSE B. REIGNER, a farmer residing at No. 358 Charlotte street, Pottstown, was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1834. He is the son of Jacob and Susanna (Bickel) Reigner.
Jacob Reigner (father) was born either in Philadelphia or in Montgomery county, and fol- lowed the trade of blacksmithing for many years, tilling the soil for the last few years of his life. He owned a farm in New Hanover township. and also one in Pottsgrove and Limerick townships. He was supervisor for about twelve terms. For a short time before his death he lived retired on a farm in New Hanover township, dying at the age of seventy-three years. His wife survived him. He was a lieutenant in the State Militia. Mr. and Mrs. Reigner belonged to the Reformed and Lutheran churches respectively, and he was a deacon, later a trustee and finally an elder in his church. Mr. and Mrs. Reigner had nine chil- dren, six sons and three daughters; William, de- ceased: Sophia, who married Frederick Missi- mer and both are deceased; Caroline, widow of Harry Specht; John; Jesse B .; Aaron B., of Pottstown; Mary, wife of Benjamin Fryer, of New Hanover township; and Henry and Jacob B., of Pottstown.
John Reigner (grandfather) was a native of
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Pennsylvania and lived in Philadelphia for some time. He died while still a young man, in 1808. His wife married again and died in Philadelphia. He had two children. His father, the founder of the family in this country, emigrated from Ger- many.
The maternal grandfather of Jesse B. Reig- ner was a farmer in Pennsylvania. He had a large family and lived to an old age.
Jesse B. Reigner was reared on his father's farms in Pottsgrove, New Hanover and Lim- erick townships and attended the old-fashioned subscription schools. After reaching manhood he worked by the day for one year and then rented a farm for two years, in Pottsgrove township. He next purchased a farm of eighty-two acres in Chester county, four and a half miles south of Pottstown, and lived there twenty-nine years. At the end of that time he removed to Pottstown, but still owns the homestead where he resided for so long a time. He had been engaged in Pottstown for a number of years before he left the farm, selling agricultural implements, flour and feed. He has resided in Pottstown for about sixteen years.
On September 20, 1857, Mr. Reigner married Angeline G., daughter of George and Lydia (Gil- bert) Bickel. They have four children, Horace, Mary Jane, Ida Kate and Anna Emma. Horace married Sarah Catharine Roberts, they having two children, Lewis Robert and Jesse Harold. Mary Jane married George Haws, they having three daughters, Annie Blanche, Laura and Lil- lian May. Ida Kate married Jonas A. Kulp, they having three sons, Irvin, Ernest Ray and George. Anna Emma married Milton E. Dewalt, they hav- ing seven children, Elsie Lillian, Annie Mabel, Ida, Harry, Jennie, Howard and Bessie.
Mr. and Mrs. Reigner are members of Trin- ity Reformed church, of Pottstown, he having been one of its deacons for a period of nearly twenty-five years. Politically Mr. Reigner is a Democrat. He was a school director for a num- ber of years and has been treasurer and collector, as well as township auditor, for some years. He was treasurer of the Creamery Association for sixteen years.
Mrs. Reigner's parents were natives of Potts- grove township and died on their home farm, the father at upwards of seventy years of age, his wife at sixty-eight. They had six children, of whom four are now living, as follows : Angeline G., wife of Jesse B. Reigner ; George C .; Augus- tus H .; and Amelia, wife of Nathan Barlow. Her father was a farmer, and after he retired was supervisor for a short time. Lewis Bickel (grand- father) married Susanna Reigner. Mrs. Reig- ner's maternal grandfather was John Gilbert. He died in Pottsgrove township at an advanced age. His wife was a Miss Shick.
HOWARD W. GEIST, of the firm of Geist & March, dealers in tin roofing and house furnish- ings, No. 453 High street, Pottstown, was born in Pottstown, September 12, 1862, and is the son of William and Sarah (Slonaker). Geist.
William Geist (father) was born in Mont- gomery county. He lived in Upper Pottsgrove township, where he was a farmer. In 1880, put- ting aside the work of the farm, he removed to Pottstown and lived retired until his death. He died in 1895, aged sixty years. His widow still survives. They were members of the Trinity Reformed church. In politics he was a Democrat, and served in the town council one term. Mr. Geist owned a great deal of property in Potts- town, his money being for the most part invested in town lots. William and Sarah (Slonaker) Geist had three children, one son and two daugh- ters : Howard W .; Elizabeth, wife of Howard S. Reifsnyder; and Emma S., wife of Josiah H. Erb.
Matthias Geist (grandfather) was also a na- tive of Montgomery county and was of German descent. He learned the black- smith trade, but devoted the greater part of his life to farming. He was the owner of a large tract of land in the northern part of what is now the borough of Pottstown, known as Mintzer's addition. He married Frederica Stetler and they had three children, two sons and one daughter. He died at the age of seventy- eight years.
Frederick Slonaker (maternal grandfather),
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a native of Montgomery county, lived for many years on his farm in Upper Pottsgrove township, at the same time carrying on his business of a carpenter and builder in Pottstown. He is now living in Pottstown, which has been his home for the last twenty years, he being now eighty-seven years of age. He married Elizabeth Yolin, who died several years ago, at the age of eighty years. They had a large family. Mr. Slonaker was a school director, serving very acceptably for a number of years. His father was Daniel Slon- aker, the family being of German origin.
Howard W. Geist has lived in the borough of Pottstown all his life with the exception of a few years spent in the country when he was very young. He attended the Pottstown public schools, the Hill school and the Franklin and Marshall College, at Lancaster.
After coming of age Mr. Geist was employed as a clerk in the shoe store of A. K. Edelman for one year, and with J. W. Evans, tobacconist, two years. He was next employed as a traveling sales- man for Eshbach & Kolb, cigar manufacturers, for a year and a half, when he entered the service of Slonaker & Son as a clerk, the firm being changed to F. Y. Slonaker soon after his con- nection with it. He continued in this position until Mr. Slonaker sold out to O. W. Wentzel in 1895, in which year Mr. Geist formed a partner- ship with D. K. March, which still continues, the firm name being Geist & March.
On November 28, 1894, Howard W. Geist married Miss Addie L. Wolf, daughter of Andrew and Annie (Missimer) Wolf. They had three children, as follows: Robert and Paul, both of whom died in infancy, and Louis.
Mr. and Mrs. Geist are members of the Trinity Reformed congregation and he is a deacon. Mr. Giest belongs to the following secret orders : Stichter Lodge, No. 254, Free and Ac- cepted Masons ; Manatawny Lodge of Odd Fel- lows, No. 214; the Foresters of America and the Royal Arcanum. Politically he is a Democrat and is president of the Pottstown school board, to which responsible position he was elected in 1902. He resides at 240 Beech street, and owns
five properties in Pottstown, besides some wood land in Schuylkill county.
Mrs. Geist's father, Andrew Wolf, was born in Germany, but her mother was born in Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Wolf came to America when six years old, and settled im- mediately in Montgomery county, where he died in 1895, at the age of sixty years. His wife is still living in Pottstown. They had ten children, four sons and six daughters.
Peter Wolf, grandfather of Mrs. Geist, died at Royersford, Montgomery county, at an ad- vanced age. His wife was Dorothy Wolf.
The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Geist was Joshua Missimer. He was born in Montgomery county. He married Deborah Frederick and they had four children, three daughters and one son. He was a school teacher and a farmer.
HARVEY SOUDER, the well known cigar box maker, of Souderton, is a son of James Souder, now deceased, of Franconia township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He was born on the homestead, May 19, 1863.
His opportunities for education were somewhat limited, but he gained what knowledge he could at the public schools of the vicinity prior to reach- ing his seventeenth year. when he entered his father's planing mill at Souderton to learn the business. It was while he was thus engaged that he developed the idea that has placed him on the top round of the ladder of success. He conceived the idea of the making of cigar boxes to supply the cigar factories that have sprung up at all the towns along the North Pennsylva- nia Railroad within the last few years. At first he made them in the evenings at home, in small quantities. He then decided to make a start with machinery adapted to the purpose, which he established in a room ten by twelve feet. There he started with fifty dollars capital and en- deavored with his indifferent appliances to manu- facture a hundred cigar boxes a day. From the beginning of the enterprise Mr. Souder met with success, and his manner of manufacturing them so pleased his customers that they sent in orders
Hb, S. Suder
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
for larger and larger quantities until he was overwhelmed by the rapidity with which his busi- ness expanded, and he was compelled to again and again increase his facilities. He erected a factory especially for the purpose of making the boxes, and put in new machinery better adapted than ever to their manufacture, using a two- horse power engine to operate it. Mrs. Souder, who was engaged in the tailoring business, con- ceived the idea of making use of the surplus power in her business, and continued increasing her plant until she had seven sewing machines in operation, and employed eight and ten assist- ants in her business. The cigar box manufacture had increased by this time to such proportions that a new establishment was erected, twenty by thirty feet in dimensions, and new machinery purchased, so that the work could go on with greater rapidity than ever, and a renewed effort could be made to supply the enormous demand for the boxes. Later another addition was made to the building, and another story placed upon it. At the present time Mr. Souder is turning out seven thousand boxes a day, and his business is constantly on the increase. He employs over eighty hands, and is unable to supply the demand.
Mr. Souder married, in 1884, Miss Elizabeth Blank, of Telford, daughter of William Blank. The couple have one child Walter. He is as- sisting his father in the mill. Mr. Souder is a self made man, and enjoys the respect and esteem of all who know him. He has prospered exceed- ingly, and owns several fine properties besides the handsome house in which he resides. In politics he is an active Republican. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent-Order of Odd Fellows. He is treasurer of the Progressive Realty Company of Souderton, an organization formed to benefit the town and its interests. He and his family attend the Lutheran church.
ELLIS MILLS, a dealer in dry goods, millin- ery, notions, etc., at 223-7 High street, Potts- town, was born in Lancashire, England, March 20, 1846. He is the son of William Mills.
William Mills ( father) was a cotton broker, buying and selling cotton in England. In 1869
he emigrated to America, and settled in Mana- yunk, where he died in 1872, aged fifty-three years. His wife died in England in 1848. In religious faith they were members of the estab- lished Church of England. They were both born in England. They had three children, two of whom are now living: Sarah Ann, wife of Mr. Walker, of Lancashire, England; and Ellis.
John Mills (grandfather) died in England in his eighty-ninth year, leaving a small family. The maternal grandfather of Ellis Mills also died in England.
Ellis Mills was educated in England. He came to America in company with his father when he was twenty-three years of age and has estab- lished a reputation for high character and ex- cellent business qualifications of which any man might be proud.
Soon after his arrival in America, on August 28, 1873, Ellis Mills married Miss Alice Stanney, daughter of Abner and Ellen Stanney. They have four children, as follows: Ellen Stanney Mills, a teacher; William and Charles Adams Mills, who are associated with their father in his busi- ness ; and Edna Lees Mills, a graduate of Rogers Hall School, Lowell, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Mills are members of the Episcopal church of Pottstown and he is a vestryman.
Mr. Mills belongs to Manatawny Lodge, No. 314, I. O. O. F., the Royal Arcanum and other organizations. He has been a member of the I. O. O. F. over thirty years and of the Arcanum for twenty years. In politics he is a prominent member of the Republican party and has been a school director for three years. His residence is at 428 King street.
Mr. Mills settled in Pottstown in 1873 and established the business which has become the largest dry-goods store in Pottstown. He em- ployes from thirty to forty persons, and his store is one of the best appointed in Montgomery coun- ty in the line of dry-goods, millinery and notions. He is doing a wholesale and retail business, ex- tending over a radius of from ten to fifteen miles to the country stores. He has built up the busi- ness from a small beginning, and his store would to-day be a credit to any city. Mr. Mills is a self-
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made man and owes his success entirely to his indefatigable energy, progressive spirit and good management. He is highly regarded as a citizen of Pottstown.
JOHN H. JARRETT was born in Horsham township, June 24, 1858. He has resided in Norristown since 1889, and is one of the most successful liverymen in the state.
The Jarretts are an old family in Horsham township, their first ancestor having come from the highlands of Scotland and settled in Penn- sylvania at an early date.
Jonathan Jarrett (grandfather) was born on the homestead in Horsham township. He mar- ried Agnes Roberts, daughter of Joseph Roberts, and resided on the place of his birth all his life, being the owner of the farm. He was a prominent member of the Society of Friends. In politics he was a Whig and later a Republi- can. His children were Roberts and Tacy.
Roberts Jarrett was born on the homestead farm near the place of his father's nativity. He grew to manhood there, acquiring an education at the public schools of the neighborhood, and attending for one winter the school of Rev. Sam- uel Aaron, at Norristown. He married Tacy H., daughter of John and Rachel (Evans) Holt. She was born in Plymouth township, near Nor- ristown, July 2, 1828. She also belongs to a Montgomery county family of Friends, being a member of Gwynedd Monthly Meeting. Their children are John H., born June 24, 1858, and J. Roberts, born June 27, 1861. Roberts Jarrett was born in 1832 and died in October, 1860.
John Jarrett (great-grandfather of the sub- ject) was also a prominent resident of Horsham township. He owned a large tract of land form- ing the Jarrett homestead. It is divided into two farms, one owned by Charles Jarrett and the other by Mrs. Tacy J. Ambler. John Jarrett married Elizabeth Lukens. His children were: Jonathan (grandfather) ; Ann, who married Chalkley Kenderdine; Jane, who died young ; Mary, who married Charles I. Dagen ; Hannah, unmarried; Tacy, who married Richard Moore; and Miller J., unmarried. Tacy, widow of
Roberts Jarrett, married (second husband) Ben- jamin Borden, a well known Friend of Norris- town. They resided until his death on Willow street above Elm, Norristown. The past few years Tacy Borden has resided at the Friends' Home, Swede and Powell streets, and although advanced in years and suffering from impaired vision, her genial disposition and kindness of heart have made her hosts of friends.
John H. Jarrett grew to manhood on the family homestead in Horsham township, attend- ing Friends' School at Horsham and other neigh- boring schools. He also attended, for one term, a school at Wilmington, Delaware, of which Jonathan K. Taylor was principal. Later he studied one term at the West Chester State Normal School. After his marriage he con- ducted a store at Davis Grove, in Horsham town- ship, for eight years, being postmaster during that time. In the spring of 1889 he sold his store and removed to Norristown. Soon afterward the livery stable which he now occupies on Jacoby street, near DeKalb, was sold at sheriff's sale and was purchased by J. P. Hale Jenkins. John H. Jarrett soon bought it of Mr. Jenkins. The stables were small and badly arranged at that time. The previous owner had allowed the busi- ness to run down, and Mr. Jarrett started in a small way with only eight horses. He increased his facilities from time to time until his estab- lishment is among the most extensive in the county. He has fifty teams and his tally-ho is a familiar sight in the streets of Norristown, its owner seldom allowing any one but himself to drive it. He also owns another fine livery estab- lishment at Chain and Marshall streets, where a large number of horses and vehicles are kept, he having bought it July 8, 1902, and operated it since, with Edwin Conrad as manager.
In politics Mr. Jarrett is a Republican. He has been occasionally a delegate to county con- ventions, but is ordinarily too busy to give much attention to such matters. He is a member of the Masonic order, and of Norris Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of Lynwood Lodge, Ancient Order of United Workmen.
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