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 7
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America, and he was elected the first national as- sistant president of the united organization. He has for more than twenty years of its existence taken an active interest in the work of the Mont- gomery County Historical Society, presiding at its meetings, reading an occasional paper, and participating in its reunions and annual outings. In every relation of life he has performed his duty and won the esteem and respect of his fellow citi- zens because he has fairly earned such distinction. Courteous in his manners, unostentatious in his- bearing, he is in every situation the same digni- fied, pleasant and earnest man. It is largely through his instrumentality that the Hoover Fam- ily Association has been organized, its annual re- unions being a delightful feature in its history.
T. ELLWOOD LIVEZEY. The Livezeys- are an old family in Plymouth township, although their first ancestor in this country settled at Abington, in which neighborhood many of the name are still found. . The name is often pro- nounced Leusley at the present day, and there would seem to be some reason for such pronun- ciation as William Penn conveyed to Thomas Leuisley or Leusley of Norton, in the county of Chester, England, March 2-3, 1681, two hundred and fifty acres of land in Pennsylvania.
At Chester Monthly Meeting in Pennsyl- vania, Eleventh-mo. 3, 1686-7, Jonathan Livsly and Rachel Taylor proposed marriage with each other, he residing in Dublin township, Philadel- phia county. A month later they were given the liberty to proceed and accomplish their intentions of marriage. The will of Thomas Livezey, of Dublin township, dated Sixth-mo. 12, 1691, was proved Fourth-mo. 22, 1692, showing that he died between these dates. In the will are men- tioned his son, Jonathan ; daughter, Ann Little- more and her three children; daughter-in-law, Rachel Livezey; daughter, Margaret Lorenson and her three children ; grandson, Thomas Live- zey; and granddaughter, Mary Livezey. The records of Abington Monthly Meeting show that he died Eighth-mo. 19, 1691, and was buried in Oxford township, near Tacony bridge.
Jonathan Livezey died Ninth-mo. 23, 1698,.
J. Ellerod Lingen
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in Dublin township. He was the son of Thomas, and left a widow, Rachel (Taylor) Livezey, who later married Joseph Gilbert of Byberry. Jona- than Livezey was the ancestor of the Livezeys of Montgomery and adjoining counties. His wife, according to a tradition in the Gilbert fam- ily, had been brought by her father to America to prevent her from marrying a person of whom he disapproved. The children of Jonathan and Rachel (Taylor) Livezey : Mary, born Twelfth- mo. 9, 1687; Thomas, born Tenth-mo. 17, 1689, died Third-mo. 5, 1759, married, in 1710, Eliza- beth Heath ; Jonathan, born Third-mo. 15, 1692, died Third-mo. 24, 1764, married, in 1717, Esther Eastburn ; Martha, born Third-mo. 1, 1694, mar- ried, Seventh-mo. 25, 1721, Robert Thomas; Rachel, born Second-mo. 15, 1696, married, in 1717, Evan Thomas; David, born Twelfth-mo. 20, 1697, died Seventh-mo. 1750, married, in 1721, Rebecca Hinkson. It may be added that Mary Livezey married John Paul, and that Rachel, the mother of the children named above, had five children by the second marriage with Joseph Gilbert, one of whom, Benjamin, was the Indian captive whose story of many years spent with the savages is so interesting. He was twice married, his first wife being Sarah Mason and his second, Elizabeth Peart.
Thomas Livezey (great-great-grandfather) who married Elizabeth Heath, was a member of Abington Monthly Meeting. His son, Thomas (great-grandfather) was born First-mo. 25, 1723, and died of palsy, Ninth-mo. 11, 1790. He married, at Abington, Fourth-mo. 2, 1748, Martha Knowles, who was born Fourth-mo. 24, 1723, and died Eleventh-mo. 2, 1797.
Martha, the wife of Thomas, was the daugh- ter of Francis Knowles, whose parents were John and Elizabeth. Francis was born Twelfth-mo. 2, 1685 at West Chester, in Berkshire, Great Britain.
Samuel Livezey, (grandfather) son of Thomas and Martha, was born First-mo. 26, 1760. He was considered unfit for manual labor in his youth on account of a delicate constitution, and therefore engaged in mercantile business.
When he was about fifty years of age he became a minister of the Society of Friends, and so con- tinued until his death. He established the store at Plymouth Meeting, on the property which has continued in the family ever since. His wife was Mary Wood. He located at Livezey's store near Plymouth Meeting in 1788. His children were : Thomas; Martha, who married Jacob Al- bertson; Rachel, who married Jonathan Mauls- by; Samuel; Mary, who married Lewis Jones ; Joseph; and Ann, who married William Ely. Samuel Livezey died Ninth-mo. 3, 1840, in his eighty-first year.
Thomas Livezey (father), born Fourth-mo. 27, 1803, died Tenth-mo. 2, 1879. His brothers selecting other business, he became a farmer and storekeeper. He was an influential man in Friends' meeting and in the community, although not a minister, as was his father. His wife was Rachel, daughter of Joseph and Mary Richard- son, of Attleboro (now Langhorne), Bucks county, Pennsylvania. She was born Eighth- mo. 27, 1808 and married Tenth-mo. 18, 1832. She died Sixth-mo. 1890, in her eighty-second year.
The Richards came from England in early colonial times, and have become connected with many Friends' families in eastern Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Thomas and Rachel R. Livezey had seven sons, as follows: Dr. Edward Live- zey, born Eighth-mo. 28, 1833, and died Fourth- mo. 15, 1876; Samuel, born Third-mo. 9, 1835 ; Joseph R., born Ninth-mo. 20, 1838; John R., born Sixth-mo. 21, 1842, and died Second-mo. 13, 1867 ; Henry, born Twelfth-mo. 24, 1843, and died Ninth-mo. 24, 1846; Henry 2d., born Sixth- mo. 25, 1847, died Twelfth-mo. 4, 1873; and Thomas Ellwood, born Eighth-mo. 11, 1849.
Dr. Edward Livezey studied medicine with Dr. Hiram Corson, graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1859, served a year and a half in the Wills' Eye Hospital and a year in the Pennsylvania Hospital, also subsequently in the Government Hospital at Broad and Cherry streets during the Rebellion, and located at No. 507 North Sixth street, Philadelphia, where he
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had a large practice at the time of his death, which occurred suddenly. His wife was Mary Balderston. He left several children.
Samuel, second son of Thomas and Rachel Livezey, was engaged for many years in the meat packing business in Chicago, but of late years has resided in Norristown. He married, Elev- enth-mo. 20, 1877, Mary Roberts, daughter of Hugh and Alice A. Roberts. A sketch of his wife appears elsewhere in this work. Samuel and Mary R. Livezey have one son, Thomas H., born Tenth-mo. 18, 1879. He married, Tenth- mo. I, 1902, Joanna M., daughter of William (deceased) and Caroline R. Miller. They reside on Marshall street, Norristown.
Joseph R. Livezey, third son of Thomas and Rachel, has long been engaged in the real-estate business in Philadelphia. He married Deborah, daughter of Joseph Morgan. They have two children, Sarah and Morgan.
John R., fourth son, studied conveyancing and was engaged in that business at the time of his death. He died unmarried.
Henry, Ist, died in infancy. Henry, 2d, read law with Judge F. C. Brewster, of Philadelphia, and Daniel H. Mulvany, of Norristown. He was admitted to the Norristown bar, November 10, 1869, and when his promising career was cut short by death he was associated with the late Judge Boyer.
Thomas Ellwood Livezey, the subject of this sketch, was a farmer on the homestead, which has been for three generations in the family. The house in which he resided was built prior to the Revolutionary war. The farm is one of the finest in Plymouth valley, being underlaid with limestone and having extensive quarries which are no longer worked. It has been brought to a high state of cultivation and is very productive. T. Ellwood Livezey married, Elev- enth-mo. 16, 1871, Mary E., daughter of James and Mary (Holt) Childs. Their children : Rachel R., married Samuel Ifill of Germantown, born Eighth-mo. 19, 1872; Anna C., born Tenth- mo. 23, 1874, married Dr. William G. Miller, of Norristown; Mary J., born Twelfth-mo. 21, 1877, died Eighth-mo. 17, 1878; Emma, born Ninth-
mo. 30, 1879, died Fifth-mo. 13, 1891 ; Thomas J., born Sixth-mo. 24, 1881; Walter C, born Ninth-mo. 14, 1884; Tacy B., born Fourth-mo. 30, 1887, died Fifth-mo., 13, 1891; Emily R., born Seventh-mo. 16, 1894.
The Childs family have long been domiciled in Montgomery county and are of English de- scent. Henry Childs of Colds Hill, Hertford- shire, England, was eminent as a writer and speaker among Friends and was on intimate terms with William Penn, the founder of Penn- sylvania. He bought from Penn five hundred acres of land on January 20, 1687. Accom- panied by his son Cephas, he came to America in 1693 and located in Plumstead, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Henry settled finally in Ann Arundel county, Maryland, and in 1715 gave the Bucks county land to his son Cephas, who settled on it, having married in 1716, Mary At- kinson, of Philadelphia. They had nine chil- dren, of whom Henry, born January 1, 1725, married Mary Shoemaker of Gwynedd, August 3, 1750. Their children were: Sarah, John, Isaac, George and Thomas. Of these John (great-grandfather of Mary Childs Livezey) was born April 3, 1755, in Plumstead, from which place his father removed with his family in 1776 to Cheltenham, Montgomery county. John married, June 5, 1777, Mary, daughter of Peter Phipps of Abington. They had twelve children, eight of whom grew to maturity, namely : Mary, Peter, Sarah, James, Tacy, Eliz- abeth, John and Margaret. Peter (grandfather) was born in 1780, in Cheltenham. He married Sarah Rogers and had children, two of whom, James (father) and Sarah, survived to advanced years. Peter married (second wife) Rosanna Lee, of Lower Merion, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Crickbaum) Lee. Their only child was S. Powell Childs, a prominent farmer and leading Republican of Plymouth township, now deceased. James Childs was a farmer residing for many years near Montgomery Square, but the latter part of his life he spent with his daugh- ter's family on the Livezey farm at Plymouth Meeting. He survived his wife several years, and died at the age of eighty-seven years.
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T. Ellwood Livezey was educated in the Friends' School at Plymouth Meeting and at- tended Friends' Central School in Philadelphia one year but was compelled to withdraw at the end of that time on account of ill health and be- cause his services were needed at home in assist- ing his father on the farm, in which he always took much interest, preferring agricultural pur- suits to any other employment. He made farm- ing his lifework and was very successful in it. He was in every respect a first class farmer, his stock being of the finest and best breeds, his crops among the largest in the county, and every- thing about the farm well cared for. Genial in disposition and always ready to accommodate a friend or neighbor, few men were so popular in the community as he. In politics he was a Re- publican but he never sought or held office, pre- ferring to attend strictly to business connected with his occupation of farming. He succeeded his father as director in the First National Bank of Norristown, which position he held until his death. He was an active member of the Society of Friends, and for a number of years held the position of overseer in Plymouth Preparative Meeting. For twelve years prior to his death he held the office of treasurer of Gwynedd Monthly Meeting, filling the position with great acceptability. He not only manifested much in- terest in the meeting but also in the school at- tached to it, being for twenty-five years a mem- ber of the school committee, and for twenty years its treasurer. His hospitable home, being convenient to the meeting house at Plymouth, has for several generations been a resort for Friends in attendance at meetings, and the rites of hospitality were well maintained by T. Ell- wood Livezey until his death, which occurred on Tenth-month 8, 1903, as the result of an accident, and by his widow and sons since his death.
JOHN T. DYER, one of the most prominent business men of Norristown, is a native of Lehigh county, where he was born April 19, 1848. His ancestors were English Friends or Quakers. They were among the early settlers of Pennsylvania. He is the son of Richard H. and Caroline ( Hoff-
man) Dyer. The Dyers settled in the vicinity of Dyerstown, Bucks county, the family giving name to the place. 1136168
Jesse Dyer (grandfather) was a farmer by occupation. He was born at Dyerstown and died near Doylestown, Bucks county, in 1855, at the age of eighty-two years. He was a member of the Society of Friends (Orthodox). He married Lucinda Hough. The couple had three sons, Thomas P., Richard H. and John S. The father was a successful business man and accumulated a competence.
Richard H. Dyer (father) was born in War- rington, Bucks county, in 1817. He was educated in the schools of the vicinity, obtaining a good education. On reaching manhood, he engaged in teaching in the public schools of Lehigh county. After being occupied in this vocation for several years, he became interested in building and con- tracting, combining these occupations with the lumber business. He was also engaged in gen- eral merchandising, shipping produce to Phila- delphia and New York. His strict integrity and careful attention to business brought him suc- cess in all the enterprises with which he was connected. He was an earnest, enterprising and public-spirited citizen, doing all that he could to promote the welfare of his community, contribut- ing liberally of his means to every worthy object. He married Caroline Hoffman. The couple had six children as follows: William G., John T., Eugene, Elizabeth, Emily and Laura. In 1854 Mr. Dyer removed to Slatington, residing there until his death in 1876.
John T. Dyer was educated in the public schools of the vicinity, and after leaving school was employed as a clerk in one of the quarries at Slatington. He soon became interested in rail- road construction, superintending the building of new lines. In 1880 he engaged extensively in railroad contracting on his own account, his first large contract being on the New York, Ontario & Western. He did much of the construction work on the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley line, which led to still more important contracts. He soon afterwards located permanently in Norris- town. He also was extensively engaged in execut-
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ing other railroad contracts, including the follow- ing : Bay Ridge and Annapolis Railroad ; fourteen miles of the Ohio River Railroad, from Parkers- burg, West Virginia, south, and a similar stretch on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Mr. Dyer has also done much work on trolley line construction in Norristown and elsewhere, em- ploying large numbers of men, and pushing his contracts with great energy and success. He built the terminal at Waterbury, Connecticut, and several sections of the Trenton Cut-off Branch of the Pennsylvania railroad.
Mr. Dyer married, December 11, 1879, Mary ยท F., daughter of the late Dr. Cornelius S. Baker, a prominent physician and druggist of Norristown. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Dyer are: Elsie, Caroline, Frederick, John L., William Gordon and Marion.
Mr. Dyer is a Democrat in politics and was for several years a member of the board of trus- tees of the Norristown Hospital for the Insane, by appointment of Governor Pattison. In these as in all other positions in which he has been placed, Mr. Dyer has performed his duties faith- fully and conscientiously, endeavoring to pro- mote the public interests by every means in his power. He is also connected with several Nor- ristown corporations, including the Merchants Ice Company, with extensive plant at Markley and Marshall streets. Mr. Dyer has for a number of years been very extensively engaged in stone- crushing at Howellville and near Norristown, also at Trap Rock quarries at Birdsboro, Penn- sylvania, carrying on the business on a very large scale. He is interested in many local enterprises, and is generally recognized as a liberal and pub- lic-spirited citizen. By his industry, energy and business ability, he has achieved a position and a reputation among the business men of eastern Pennsylvania such as few have attained.
The Bakers (Mrs. Dyer's family), are of New England origin, although long domiciled in east- ern Pennsylvania. David Baker (grandfather) was a native of Connecticut. He came to New Jersey settling near New Brunswick. His son, Cornelius Baker, studied at Yale College, enter- ing the medical department, where he studied
under Professor Tully, then at the head of that department. He graduated from the institution most creditably. Dr. Baker married a daughter of Professor Tully, who did not, however, live very long. He practiced medicine at Churchville, Bucks county, for a time, and married (second wife) Miss Elizabeth Feaster, of a prominent family, long settled in that section of the state. Dr. Baker also practiced medicine at Carlisle two years, and then removed to Norristown where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1886, in his seventy-second year. The family resided on DeKalb street, and he conducted for many years the drug store at the west corner of Main and DeKalb streets, which, since his death, has been conducted by his son, Theodore W. Baker, and George W. Grady, the firm being Baker & Grady.
BENJAMIN THOMAS. The Thomas fam- ily are of Welsh origin but they are among the earliest settlers in this section of Pennsylvania. The progenitor of the American branch of the family was William Thomas, who came from Wales about two hundred years ago, locating in Philadelphia. His descendants are widely dispersed throughout the country, while many members of later generations are yet located in Chester county.
Thomas Thomas, father of Benjamin Thomas, was a teacher, surveyor and convey- ancer. He was a son of Benjamin and Abigail (Powell) Thomas, and was born in Charlestown township, Chester county, December 24, 1805. He made the best possible use of such educa- tional facilities as were available in country dis- tricts at that time and succeeded in acquiring sufficient knowledge to enable him to enter upon life as a teacher, an occupation in which he ac- quitted himself most creditably for many years: While teaching in the old subscription and com- mon schools of that day, he combined with the task of instruction the business of a surveyor and conveyancer for many years. He removed to Norristown in 1830 and taught in the schools of that borough and vicinity for a number of years. He subsequently located in Upper Merion, and
Beri chemas
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
later in Bridgeport, where he followed teaching and conveyancing, and then engaged in a whole- sale coal business which he successfully con- ducted during the remainder of his life, his son Benjamin being associated with him in his later years. He was a man of high character and an exemplary member of the Protestant Episcopal church. He was a Whig until the dissolution of that party, when his abhorrence of human slavery led him to become a Republican and he voted for its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, and affiliated with it during the re- mainder of his life. He commanded the entire respect of his fellows and was called to fill various local offices in the various villages in which he made his home. In his early manhood he was a member of a local military company. In 1836 he married Susanna Fryer, born July 15, 1813. a daughter of William and Catherine Fryer. To them were born five sons and one daughter : Benjamin, William F., Charles S., George W. H., John W. and Mary E. A., all of whom are living except George, who died No- vember 21, 1891. He was engaged very extensively in the real estate, insurance and conveyancing busi- ness at Bridgeport. John W. is the foreman of the Herald job office in Norristown, having oc- cupied that position many years. The father of this family died in 1886, aged eighty-one years. His widow survived him about ten years dying about 1896, at the advanced age of eighty-three years.
Benjamin Thomas, eldest son of Thomas and Susanna (Fryer) Thomas, was born in the town- ship of Upper Merion, February 25, 1838. At- tending the district schools whenever he could. he acquired a practical education which well fitted him for the busy useful life which was before him. At fourteen years of age he left school and entered upon the active duties of life, taking the position of clerk in the book and stationery store of the late Franklin D. Sower, on Main street, Norristown. Later he learned the trade of a machinist with Ezekiel Potts & Company, Bridgeport, and followed that occu- pation for a number of years in different estab- lishments. He then associated himself with his
father in the coal business, as already stated, continuing in this partnership until the death of his father, March 30, 1886, when he became sole proprietor, and remained in the business until 1902, carrying .on an extensive and profitable trade in a territory having a radius of forty miles. On the death of his brother George, in 1891, Benjamin Thomas succeeded also to his insur- ance and conveyancing business, proving as suc- cessful in it as in his original avocation. Care- ful and painstaking in the investigation of titles and in the preparation of wills, deeds and other legal documents, Mr. Thomas is possessed of all needful qualifications for his business, and commands the confidence and patronage of the best classes in the community. He has been prominently connected with various enterprises in Bridgeport, having been one of the organizers of the Fame Building & Loan Association, of that place, and has served as its secretary since its formation, in 1871. He has also been a di- rector of the Montgomery National Bank of Nor- ristown since 1890, and when its president, John Slingluff, was removed by death in 1899, he be- came his successor at the head of the board of directors, and was elected president of the bank, in which position he has acquitted himself to the entire satisfaction of both owners and patrons of the institution.
Mr. Thomas is a member of Charity Lodge, No. 190, F. & A. M .; Norristown Chapter, No. 190, R. A. M. and Hutchinson Commandery Knights Templar ; of Norris Lodge, I. O. O. F .; and several other benevolent and fraternal or- ganizations. He is one of the most interested members of Christ ( Swedes) church Upper Merion, having served as a vestryman for more than a quarter of a century and being also its treasurer and one of its wardens.
In politics Mr. Thomas is a Republican by inheritance and conviction as well, and he is an earnest worker for party success at elections in- volving local, state or national issues. He has served as councilnan, clerk, school director and treasurer of the borough of Bridgeport. In 1887 he was elected recorder of deeds of Montgomery county, on the Republican ticket, serving the
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term of three years. In all these various posi- tions, as well as in his ordinary pursuits, Mr. Thomas has acquitted himself with such ability and integrity as to earn the genuine regard and confidence of the community, who number him among their most useful and honored members.
October 18, 1871, Mr. Thomas married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Catherine Van Horm, of an old and well-known Bucks county family.
HOWARD M. JENKINS was descended from the old Welsh stock which has given to Montgomery county so many of its prominent cit- izens. The immigrant ancestor of the family was Jenkin Jenkin, who came from Wales about 1729. He was born in that country in 1659. His wife was born in 1690, being much younger than her husband. He died September 15, 1745, at the advanced age of eighty-six years; she died No- vember 27, 1764, at the age of seventy-four years. On November 17, 1730, Jenkin Jenkin bought of Joseph Tucker land in Hatfield, 350 acres, ex- tending from the Gwynedd line to the Cowpath Road, and from the Montgomery township line to the road extending from Lansdale to Colmar. He settled on this land and described himself as be- ing of Hatfield when he made his will in 1745. Jenkin Jenkin left four children : John, born Feb- ruary 15, 1719, in Wales, married Sarah Hawkes- worth, daughter of Peter and Mary, and had eight children; Mary, died unmarried ; Jenkin, Jr., married a Thomas, and had four children, David, who died unmarried, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Eleanor ; Elizabeth, married John Hawkesworth, son of Peter and Mary, and had seven children. John Jenkins, son of Jenkin Jenkin, was the pro- genitor of the Jenkins family in this county. He died in 1803 or 4. The children of John Jenkins : John, born in 1742, died in 1805, married Eliza- beth Lukens, widow of Abraham, and had six children, Owen, Sarah, Jesse, John, Edward, Elizabeth; Levi, married Susan Sheive; Ann, married Susan Konsty; Edward (great-grand- father), born July 12, 1758, died in 1829, mar- ried Sarah Foulke, daughter of Theophilus, and had six children, Charles F. (grandfather), mar-
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