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 68
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Politically he is a Democrat and is active in the support of the principles of his party. He lives at No. 330 King street. He is president of the Pottstown News Publishing Company, a direc- tor of the Pottstown Manufacturing Company, and treasurer of the Beshore Drug Company. He is a member of the Montgomery Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Carroll Brewster Law Club.
J. FRANK VOORHEES, steward of the Montgomery County Home, descended from an old family who were among the earliset settlers in this county, and were pioneers of America. He was born in Whitemarsh township. July 6,
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1859, and reared on the farm. He received his education in the common schools of the vicinity. Mr. Voorhees is the son of Jacob S. and Sarah E. (Jones) Voorhees, both of whom were resi- dents of this county.
Jacob S. Voorhees ( father ) was born in Phila- delphia, November 6, 1832, and was the son of Elias F. and Elizabeth ( Swallow) Voorhees, both of New Jersey, and he was the son of Roelof Voorhees, also of New Jersey. His father, Hendrick G. Van Voorhees, was born in Long Island, and he was a son of Garret Cortiss Van Voorhees, also of Long Island, and he was a son of Cortiss Stevens Van Voorhees, who was born in Holland in 1637, and who was a son of Cortiss Albert Van Voorhees, who, before 1600, resided in front of the village of Hess, Province of Deiught, Holland. In 1660 he landed on Long Island and settled near New Amsterdam, which is now known as New York City. He bought a large tract of land, and was a farmer by occu- pation. He was magistrate from 1675 to 1683. J. Frank Voorhees is great-grandson of Roelof Voorhees, who was reared on Long Island, and afterwards moved to New Jersey, at which place he dropped the"Van" from his name.
Elias F. Voorhees (grandfather) married Miss Elizabeth Swallow, of New Jersey. Mrs. Voorhees was the daughter of Jacob Swallow, who was a farmer by occupation, and of Welsh descent. Their children were: Jacob (father) ; Martha ( Mrs. J. Wolf) ; Mary (Mrs. J. Clark ) ; Rebecca, died single ; Elwood B.
Jacob S. Voorhees ( father) was born in Phila- delphia, and when but six years of age was taken to raise by his grandfather, Jacob Swallow, who lived in Montgomery county. He remained with his grandfather working on the farm, until the war of the rebellion, at which time he was thirty years of age. In 1858 he was married and set-
tled in this county. In September, 1861, he en- listed in a Bucks county regiment in Company K, One Hundred and Fourth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, Colonel W. W. H. Davis, a part of the Army of the Potomac. He served with the regiment for three years and two months, and was never wounded in an encounter nor captured
by the enemy. He helped raise the regiment, and himself recruited ten men and was a non-com- missioned officer. Jacob S. Voorhees married Sarah E. Jones, daughter of William Jones, who was a resident of Bucks county, and was a farmer by occupation. Mrs. Voorhees was born in Mont- gomery county, and is of Welsh descent. Their children were: Sylvester; Wilhelmina; Rebecca ; William; Sarah E. (mother). Mrs. Voorhees was a member of the Friends' Society, and Mr. Voorhees a member of the Baptist church.
In 1861 Jacob S. Voorhees enlisted with Colonel Davis, of Doylestown, and served his country long and faithfully until the end of the war was near at hand. In consequence of all the hardships and the exposure he was forced to go through he received injuries from which he has never recovered. At the present time he is living retired at Audubon. After the war he re- turned home and engaged in farming. Politically he is a Republican, and has held quite a number of township offices, among them being anditor. At present he holds the position of postmaster at Audubon. He formerly affiliated himself with the Presbyterian church, and takes an active interest in the Mite Society connected therewith. Their children : J. Frank (subject of this sketch ) ; Martha ( Mrs. J. Jones Phillips, of Kennett Square. Mr. Phillips is secretary and treasurer of the Good Roads Company) ; Elizabeth (Mrs. E. Sweeny, her husband is deceased, he was formerly editor of the "West Chester Republi- can") ; William E., (connected with the American Road Machine Company, Kennett Square) ; Jennie (Mrs. Razor, of Norristown) ; John H., merchant of Kennett Square, and a prominent man; Bertha, single, a stenographer employed by Mr. Linch, the florist; Walter S., who is acting in the capacity of clerk.
J. Frank Voorhees was reared on a farm, and attended the Philadelphia Market for fifteen years very successfully. When about twelve years old he was employed as a farm hand, and attended the public schools of the vicinity during the winter months. Mr. Voorhees is, one might say, a selfmade man, for by his own efforts and honor- able inclinations he has built for himself an
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enviable reputation. He married at the age of twenty-five years, and worked the Wetherill farm on shares, where he remained for eighteen years, doing the work successfully and satisfactorily. In 1900 he was appointed superintendent of the Montgomery County Home, at which place he has given entire satisfaction. He has increased the revenue of the home above any superintendent that preceded him. There are three hundred acres of land adjoining the Home, and there are about two hundred and ten inmates; about sixty females and the remainder male. He care- fully looks after each little detail himself, and has a thorough knowledge of all the stock and every- thing connected with the Home. In politics Mr. Voorhees is a Republican, and has used his in- fluence and worked for his party interests. He held offices both in the township and county for seven years, and was elected a state delegate to Harrisburg in 1896, and shortly afterward re- ceived his present appointment. He has filled each and every one of these positions with great credit to himself, and with entire satisfaction to all.
In 1882 he was married to Miss Elizabeth H. Boyer, who was born in Frederick township, . this county, January 29, 1861. She is the daugh- ter of Daniel S. and Anna M. (Davidheiser) Boyer. Mr. Boyer is a son of George Boyer, who was of Pennsylvania German descent, and by trade a weaver, and was one of the earliest set- tlers of this county. Their children : Levi; Lewis ; Benjamin; Peter; Isaac; Daniel S. (father of Mrs. Voorhees) ; Catherine (Mrs. Jacob Ren- ninger). Mr. and Mrs. Boyer and their entire family were members of the Lutheran church.
Daniel S. Boyer was reared on the farm, and after his marriage settled on a farm and followed that pursuit, to which he has given all his atten- tion, and yet occupies the large farm in Upper Pottsgrove township. In addition to his farming he raises quite a good deal of stock. He is very prominent in his neighborhood, being widely known and respected by all. Both Mr. and Mrs. Boyer are members of the Lutheran church.
In politics, Mr. Boyer favors the Democratic party, but he has never aspired to office. Mrs.
Boyer is the daughter of George Davidheiser, and was born in this county. Mr. Davidheiser was a farmer by occupation and handled flax extensively. He was a member of the Lutheran church. Their children were: Catherine (Mrs. -) re- sides in the West ; Ellen ( Mrs. I. Rhodes) ; Anna (mother of Mrs. Voorhees).
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel S. Boyer : Irvin D., a farmer; Sarah (Mrs. Hartshaw) ; Elizabeth (Mrs. J. Frank Voorhees) ; Horace, a farmer; Anna (Mrs. F. Wagner) ; Ella (Mrs. Wm. Booth) ; Lewis, a carpenter ; Catherine, yet single.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Voor- hees : Daniel J., born December 5, 1882, is a civil engineer ; Gertrude D., born August 17, 1884, died October 28, 1892; J. Ralph, born October 17, 1887, died December 9, 1899; Blanche B., born March 13, 1894, residing at home.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Voorhees are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Voorhees is also a member of the Royal Arcanum, Knights Templar, Masons, Knights of Pythias, I. O. O. F., Knights of the Golden Eagle, and the Beneficial Society, of Eagleville.
JOHN SCHRACK, grandson of John and Mary E. Schrack, and son of Charles Norris and Harriet Schrack, was born at Norris Hall, in Norriton township, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, January 4, 1847, the estate of his father, descending from the Norris family, their an- cestor having purchased from the son of William Penn, the founder of the colony. On the old estate is a family burial-ground, established by Charles Norris in 1812, in which the remains of fifteen members of the family have been interred from time to time.
Mr. Schrack spent his youth on the family homestead, attending the public school at Port Indian until he had reached the age of seventeen years. His conscientious devotion to duty and his standing in the school may be gathered from the fact that he often took entire charge of it in the absence of the teacher. He subsequently at- tended Freeland Seminary, at Collegeville, where he received a substantial education, studying
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foreign languages under Professor J. Shelly Weinberger ; mathematics under Dr. A. H. Fet- terolf, now president of Girard College, and other branches of learning under equally able preceptors of the institution, now Ursinus College. He also took a partial course in the study of medicine under his brother, David Schrack, M. D., long since deceased.
When Mr. Schrack arrived at manhood, his father gave him an interest in the management of the farm, which they conducted successfully until the spring of 1881, when the farm was placed in the care of a tenant, and they retired from active agricultural pursuits.
Mr. Schrack married Eleanor McMinn, only daughter of the late Rev. Charles Collins, D. D., of Philadelphia. Their children are: Eleanor Collins, wife of Mr. H. N. Arkless, of Norris- town; and Harriet E., residing with her parents.
Mr. Schrack has long been identified with the Presbyterian denomination, and has been an elder in the Port Kennedy Presbyterian church, where he and his family worship, since 1887. For nearly twenty-five years his residence has been at 615 West Marshall street, Norristown. He is also the owner of a fine country-seat at the junc- tion of White Hall Road and Germantown Pike, in Norriton township, where with his family he usually spends the summer months.
Mr. Schrack is a man of superior culture and literary tastes, devoting much time to reading and study. Various articles from his pen have appeared from time to time in the columns of the "Norristown Herald", and elsewhere. In politics he is and always has been a staunch Republican, never holding office, notwithstanding the fact that numerous flattering proffers of political pre- ferment have been tendered him from time to time. These have invariably been declined, his ambition and tastes centering in other channels of usefulness.
The first Schrack in America arrived from Germany in 1717, and settled on 250 acres of land near Trappe, Upper Providence township, Mont- gomery county. He died February 22, 1742, aged sixty-three years.
John Schrack (grandfather) was born in 1780.
He married Mary Elizabeth Norris. Their chil- dren were: David, a farmer in Norriton town- ship, who married Elmina, daughter of Christian Weber, and had two daughters, Kate and Elmina, the latter marrying William Porter, and having two children, David and Elmina; Norris (2), a farmer in Norriton, and father of John Schrack ; John (3), who studied medicine with Dr. Benja- min Johnson, of Norristown, graduated at Jeffer- son College, and practiced in Norriton, Provi- dence and Worcester townships; Eunice (4), married Colonel Augustus W. Shearer, and had the following children: Mary, married E. B. Moore, who had one son, Augustus; Kate, mar- ried William Owen ; John Schrack, married Mar- tha Ambler; Naomi, married George Longaker ; Eliza, married Dr. Daniel Brower ; Lydia, married J. Roberts Rambo.
Mary Elizabeth Norris Schrack (grand- mother) was a member of the Quaker family of Norris for whom Norristown and Norriton town- ships were named.
Charles Norris Schrack (father) married in 1841, Harriet, youngest daughter of Rev. Syl- vanus Haight, pastor of Providence Presbyterian church, and Charles N. and Harriet Schrack had three children : David, a prominent physician dur- ing his life time ; John, subject of this sketch, and Charles Norris.
SAMUEL Z. SCHWENK, superintendent of the Ellis-Keystone Agricultural Works, of Potts- town, was born in Limerick township, Montgom- ery county, near Sanatoga, on October 19, 1852. He is the son of David and Elizabeth (Zern) Schwenk.
David Schwenk (father) was reared in Lim- erick township, where he died in 1872, at the age of fifty-four years. His wife lived until 1897, and died at the age of seventy-three years. They were farmers. In religious faith they belonged to the German Reformed church. David and Elizabeth (Zern) Schwenk had five children, three sons and two daughters, four now living : Mary, widow of Jacob Gilbert, of Philadelphia ; Abraham, of Gratersford : Emma, wife of Leon- ard Schurg, of Ringing Rocks ; and Samuel Z.
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Samuel Schwenk (grandfather) was a native of Pennsylvania, and was of a German family. He was a farmer in Skippack township, Mont- gomery county, and lived to be nearly seventy- five years of age. He married Rachel Smoyer, of Lehigh county, and they had eight children, five sons and three daughters. Abraham Zern (ma- ternal grandfather) was born in the state of Pennsylvania, and was a shoemaker by trade. As is indicated by the name, the Zern family are of German descent. Abraham Zern lived to an ad- vanced age, and left a large family.
Samuel Z. Schwenk was reared in Limerick township on the farm, and received his education in the schools in the vicinity of his home, where he lived until he had reached the age of maturity. When nineteen years of age he began to devote his attention to the carpenter trade, which he followed for a number of years. In 1873 he removed to Pottstown with his mother, and worked in the planing mill for some years. In March, 1879, he became connected with the Ellis-Keystone Agri- cultural Works, and has been superintendent of the company for twenty-three years.
On September 25, 1875, Samuel Z. Schwenk married Miss Clara Hillegass, daughter of Will- iam and Susan ( Reigner) Hillegass. They had three children : Alice, died in infancy ; J. William, a telegraph operator on the Pennsylvania Rail- road; George A., a student in the Pottstown High School. In religious faith Mr. Schwenk is a member of the Reformed church, and his wife belongs to the Lutheran denomination. Politi- cally Mr. Schwenk is a Republican. The fam- ily reside in a substantial home at No. 926 High street, which Mr. Schwenk built in 1872-3. Mr. Schwenk is a stockholder in the Iron National Bank, the Pottstown National Bank, the Citizens' National Bank, the Security Company, of Potts- town, and the Pottstown Gas and Water Com- pany.
DR. J. ELMER PORTER, one of Potts- town's leading physicians and also its burgess, is a native of Chester county. He was born in South Coventry township, August 12, 1865. He is the
son of Samuel H. and Martha (Greenoff) Porter, lifelong residents of that vicinity. They have four children, three sons and one daughter, as follows : John W., of Staten Island, New York ; Samuel H., Jr., of Pottstown ; and Dr. J. Elmer Porter, and Adella.
Samuel H. Porter (father) is a farmer of South Coventry. He and his wife belong to the Reformed church. He has always been a Demo- crat in politics.
John Porter (grandfather) was a native of Philadelphia. The Porters are of Irish descent but have been long residents in Pennsylvania. The grandfather was a blacksmith by occupation. His wife was Elizabeth Hook. He died in 1875, at the age of seventy-five years. His brother Robert was superintendent of the United States mint at Philadelphia, and his uncle, David Rit- tenhouse Porter, was governor of Pennsylvania. A sketch of the family appears elsewhere in this volume. John Porter had five children. His father was John Porter, who came directly from Ireland.
Thomas Greenoff (maternal grandfather) came to this country from England and located in Chester county. He was proprietor of a large woolen mill. His wife was Elizabeth Van Fossen, of Norristown, and they had five children. He died at the age of ninety-five years.
Dr. J. Elmer Porter lived in Chester county until he was twelve years of age. He went to Pottstown to school and on completing his edu- cation was graduated from the Pottstown high school in 1882. Returning to Chester county he taught a country school one term. He then en- tered the drug store of John M. Cunningham, and acquired a knowledge of the drug business. He took up the study of medicine and was graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, on April 2, 1886. He was a resident physician in a Philadelphia Hospital one year, until April, 1887, and then went to Pottstown, where he has prac- ticed medicine very successfully since. In 1890 he went to London and spent six months in a hos- pitable there, gaining much valuable knowledge in surgery and therapeutics. He is at present sur-
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geon of the Pottstown Hospital. He belongs to the Philadelphia Medical Society and to the Jef- ferson College Alumni.
On June 13, 1894. he married Miss Alda E. Kehl, daughter of William D. Kehl, a prominent business man and banker of Boyntown, Berks county. Her mother was Deborah Hartman. The couple had one daughter, Martha Deborah Porter. Mrs. Porte died January 14. 1902, aged thirty- five years. She was a Lutheran. Dr. Porter is a Presbyterian in religious faith.
Politically Dr. Porter is a Democrat. His popularity is attested by the large majority given him for burgess. Dr. Porter was president of the Pottstown Gas Company for three or four years, and is director in the March-Brownback Stove Company. He has been prominently identified with other institutions in Pottstown.
JOHN S. SHELMIRE is descended on the paternal and maternal sides from old and promi- nent families who have been for several genera- tions residents of eastern Pennsylvania. He was born in Moreland township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, February 2, 1865, and is the eldest child of William and Sarah R. ( Wynkoop) Shel- mire, who were the parents of six other children, as follows : Eliza S., Curwen S., James W., Harry L., George M., and Jane L. Shelmire.
John S. Shelmire remained with his parents until he was twelve years of age, when he went to live with his aunt, Mary A. Shelmire, with whom he resided during the greater part of the next seven years, and assisted in a general way in the work of the store which she conducted. During this time he attended the Huntingdon Valley School, and during the winter of 1882-83 attended one term at Pierces Business College, a leading commercial school of Philadelphia. In 1884. after the demise of his father, he assumed the management of the homestead farm and con- tinued thus employed for four years. In 1889 he engaged in farming on his own account in More- land township, and in 1897 removed to the prem- ises he now occupies at Bethayres. Mr. Shel- mire has always taken an active interest in town- · ship and county affairs, and every enterprise that
tended toward the development and growth of the section in which he resided, and the welfare of the public received from him an earnest sup- port. In 1895 he was elected on the Democratic ticket for township register and assessor, held the office for four consecutive terms, during which time he discharged the duties to the satis- faction of the public. In 1901 he was elected by his party to the office of real estate assessor in Moreland township, and the following year became the candidate for the office of county commissioner. Upon his election he resigned the office of assessor to enter upon the duties of his new position, and during his term of county commissioner he and his fellow commissioners rendered important services in the erection and completion of the new County Court House at Norristown, which in architectural design and finish is one of the finest edifices in the state, and reflects great credit upon Montgomery coun- ty. Mr. Shelmire is a thoroughly conscientious man in all the affairs of life, and commands the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, to which he has given his support since attaining his majority.
John S. Shelmire was married January 2, 1889, to Elizabeth R. Bavington, who was born Angust 4, 1865, a danghter of Watson W. and Hannah (Snyder) Bavington, of Moreland town- ship. The issue of this union was one son, Stan- ley R. Shelmire, born February 13, 1897.
CHRISTIAN STOVER, a retired business man of Kulpsville, was born in Montgomery county, March 4, 1841, his parents being Jacob K. and Ann Stover. His grandparents were also residents of Montgomery county, the family this being established here at an early day.
Christian S. Stover was a student in the pub- lic schools until twelve years of age, pursuing his studies in the fall and winter months, and in the summer seasons working on his father's farm. At sixteen years of age he was apprenticed to learn harness-making. He then opened a shop in Kulpsville, which he conducted for thirty- eight years, retiring in 1898. Mr. Stover merely
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looks after his property in Kulpsville, where he owns eight houses and his store, which he rents. He served nine months in the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, as a private in Company C, in Civil war times. In politics he is a Republican.
He married Sarah Rosenbury, of Kulpsville, in 1869. They had four children, of whom two are living-Alvirda R., single, and at home; an:1 Cordelia. married Walter Kindig, and they have two boys, Jerrold D. and Walter Curtis, The two children deceased were Jennie, who died when eight years of age, and Linford, who died when eighteen years of age. He was a painter of some note.
PROF. J. SHELLY WEINBERGER. A few miles north of Quakertown, in Milford town- ship, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, are three Men- nonite meeting-houses within a radius of less than a mile, there being no others of that denomination within several miles. The country is fine open land and is still known as the "Swamp." Sixty years ago most of the people of the vicinity held to the faith of the Mennonites, and at a presiden- tial election those who voted usually cast their ballots for the Whig candidate. Each meeting- house had its school-house attached, and the most advanced in knowledge was called upon to act as schoolmaster. The truest type of the Pennsyl- vania German was found here. The inhabitants were farmers with the exception of a few me- chanics and store-keepers, and were noted for so- briety, industry, non-resistance and the avoidance of debt. Their over-cautious habits, however, prevented their taking the initiative in any new enterprise, and the fact that a thing was new was sufficient cause for its rejection. Hence their slow progress in earlier times. Amidst surround- ings and associations of this character dwelt the Weinbergers in humble style, their library con- sisting of a Bible, a hymn-book, a prayer-book, and a few printed sermons.
Joseph Weinberger's grandparents emigrated from the borders of the Rhine, in Germany, to this country. He married Mary Shelly. They had four daughters and a son. John Shelly Wein-
berger, named after his maternal grandfather, was the son.
Joseph Weinberger (father) could read and write German, and was highly esteemed because of his correct habits and resolute disposition. He died in the eighty-first year of his age. His grandmother became almost a centenarian.
Young Weinberger, born in 1832, was edu- cated in the common schools of the vicinity, and when seventeen years of age he joined the West Swamp congregation, at the Mennonite church, where his parents had worshipped. In addition to subscribing to the creed, he promised to obey the regulations of the church, and to preach if the lot should fall upon him. Bishop John H. Oberholtzer was the district school teacher. In- creasing· parish labors absorbed his time, and when Weinberger was nineteen years of age, the Bishop asked him to take his place as teacher. Being favored by the local director, who prom- ised to make the examination light, and to give him an opportunity to attend a boarding school a term before the district school commenced, and urged to accept by the Rev. Henry A. Hunsicker, principal of Freeland Seminary, the predecessor of Ursinus College, young Weinberger accepted and succeeded far above his expectations. When he was of age he resolved to take a collegiate course, and make teaching his life work. Funds were wanting, but his father finally decided to furnish the money, or rather half of it, taking a note for the remainder. He chose Yale College, where his classical teachers, Wayne MacVeagh and William L. Williamson, had just graduated. Two more years were spent at Freeland Sem- inary, in study, teaching and acting as prefect. In September, 1855, John Hunter Worrall, a senior, Joseph Alonzo Christman, a junior, Henry Royer, a sophomore, and Mr. Weinberger started for Yale.
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