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 76
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92
447
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
pleted his studies. He is the son of William and Rachel (Plush) McHarg. William ( father) was the son of Ferguson and Mary McHarg.
Ferguson McHarg (grandfather) was an East Indian trader and merchant. On a trip to Liver- pool for goods, his vessel was lost on the ocean, and he perished with the rest of those on it. He left his widow and two children, John and Will- iam, in Scotland. John became a sea captain and for many years followed that occupation. He died in the West Indies, leaving a widow and two sons, James and John, in Scotland. Ferguson McHarg had a brother John, who came to America, land- ing in South Carolina, where he fell into the hands of the British, but was released, and then went to New York and later to Pennsylvania, where he located in Montgomery county, buying land in Lower Providence township, about 1816. He built a house, and then sent to Scotland for his nephew, William McHarg (father), who was born in 1800, in Ayrshire. The nephew came to Pennsylvania, and he and his uncle lived to- gether until the death of the latter, who left him the farm by will. William McHarg was twice married, his first wife being Isabel Francis. The couple had one child, a daughter, who died young. Mrs. McHarg dying, her husband married (sec- ond wife) Rachel W. Plush, daughter of Law- rence and Mary Plush, both of German descent, although residents of the vicinity, Lawrence Plush having left Europe and come to America because of Napoleon's wars in the early part of the last century. He was kidnapped, and about to be sold, but made his escape and arrived in America, locating in Lower Providence, where he bought land containing the well-known copper mines which were very extensively worked at one time. He sold the land and returned to his native country to attend to the settlement of his father's estate, and on embarking on a vessel to return to America, he was lost at sea. His children were: Catharine, Christian, Rachel (mother).
The children of William and Rachel McHarg : Mary, unmarried; Isabel, wife of William F. Mason, a retired merchant of St. Paul; John S., subject of this sketch; William, who lives re-
tired at Trappe; Rebecca, died in 1898; Anna, unmarried.
William McHarg (father) was one of the prominent members of Lower Providence Presby- terian church, being an elder for many years. He stood very high in the community, and was widely known and respected.
John S. McHarg and two sisters reside in the village of Audubon, not far from the home of the great naturalist. None of them have married. The sisters preside over the home. Their brother John spent several years in Minnesota with his brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. William F. Mason, where he was engaged in clerking. Returning to Montgomery county, he turned his attention to farming, in which as well as in every other business he has undertaken, he has been successful. He is a Republican, and has filled the office of school director. In religious faith, he and his sisters, like all the McHarg family, are strict Presbyterians.
HENRY H. HERNER, son of Henry and Elizabeth (Hallman) Herner, was born in Chester county, October 16, 1850.
Henry Herner (father) was a stonemason and resided for many years in Chester county, Penn- sylvania. He was a Democrat in politics and a Lutheran in religious belief, holding many offices in his church. He was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth (Fry) Herner, of Montgom- ery county, and they had three children, as fol- lows: I. John, married and has a family. He resides in Spring City, where he is a stonemason. 2. Katherine, married Evan Brooks, of Potts- town, where he is engaged as a carpenter. 3. Mary, married John Christack (deceased), who was a carpenter. His widow resides in Trappe, Upper Providence township. Henry Herner (father) married for his second wife Elizabeth Hallman, and they had one child, Henry H. Herner. Henry Herner (father) died in 1892, and was buried in Montgomery county. He lived with his son Henry H. Herner until the time of his death. Elizabeth ( Hallman) Herner, his wife, died in 1856. Henry Herner (grandfather) emi- grated from Germany and settled in Montgomery
448
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
county. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.
Henry H. Herner attended the public schools until he was fifteen years of age, and then worked on the farm. He spent five years in the trade of carpentering before he purchased the farm where he at present resides. He is a Republican, and has been election inspector for a number of years. He is a member of the Patrons of Hus- bandry, Knights of the Mystic Chain, and the Junior Order of American Mechanics.
Henry H. Herner has been married twice. His first wife, whom he married November 2, 1876. was Mary Bouchert, daughter of Eli and Harriet (Bickel) Bouchert (deceased). Mrs. Mary (Bouchert) Herner died fifteen years ago. They had two children : I. Erwin, married Sarah Buchert, daughter of Hezekiah Buchert. Erwin Herner resides in Pottsgrove township, where he is engaged in farming. 2. John, married Gertrude Moyer, and is employed by the Philadelphia Traction Company.
Henry H. Herner married (second wife) Sallie A., daughter of Conard and Elizabeth Snell, of Montgomery county. They have two children : Elsie S. and Austin E.
JOHN DUDDY, who was one of the best known farmers of Whitpain township, where he owned for many years the farm on the State Road, formerly the Caleb C. Cresson property, was born in County Galway, Ireland, in 1830, and came to the United States at an early age. After spending sometime in Philadelphia, he re- moved to Montgomery county and entered the employ of Charles Wood, and later, of Caleb C. Cresson of Whitpain township, with whom he lived for a number of years. There he met his future wife, Ann Toohey, who was a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, and was also em- ployed by the Cresson family, having come to this country when quite young.
After the marriage of John Duddy and Ann Toohey, Mr. Cresson, realizing the loss he would sustain should Mr. and Mrs. Duddy leave him, built for their use a home of such proportions as to cost nearly six thousand dollars, which in
those days was not only considered a large sum of money but also thought to be quite a fortune, and this act of Mr. Cresson illustrates very well the great esteem he entertained for them and the value he placed upon their services.
After remaining some years on the Cresson farm, during which time several children were born to them, Mr. and Mrs. Duddy removed to Upper Merion township, where they had pur- chased a small farm. Later they moved to Hor- sham township, where in conjunction with his brother Thomas, who had removed from Phila- delphia, John Duddy bought what was known as the Grant homestead. After remaining there for some years, Mr. and Mrs. Duddy returned to the Cresson farm, to become master and mistress of the place where they married and spent their earlier years.
Of their thirteen children, but two survived. Ellen Josephine, who bought the home farm, October 14, 1903, and now occupies the resi- dence built by Mr. Cresson for her parents ; and Martin Francis, now deceased, who May 29, 1901, married Laura N., only daughter of George and Jane Lawrence Arp, and resided with the family of his wife, the Arp farm adjoining the Duddy or Cresson farm. Martin F. Duddy died October 6, 1903.
John Duddy was known principally for his interest in agricultural affairs and was proud of his record as a successful tiller of the soil. He took great interest in his stock, and was very appreciative of a horse that had "go" in him. His cattle always showed the effects of care and attention.
In politics, Mr. Duddy was a Democrat, and while he never held even minor offices he always took an interest in party affairs. In religion the Duddy family were Catholics, and in whatever parish they resided always attended and contri- buted to the support of the church. In later years. Mr. and Mrs. Duddy attended St. Patrick's Cath- olic church, at Norristown, from which church they were buried.
Mrs. Ann Toohey Duddy was of a modest, retiring nature, but ever ready to perform a. kindness and render a service unasked. Her
JOHN DUDDY
ANN DUDDY
449
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
many acts of charity and kindness are remem- bered by the old people of Whitpain township, and in times of distress and death many families of her neighborhood found her "a friend in need and a friend indeed." Mrs. Duddy died March 1, 1896, and John Duddy died February 1, 1901.
THOMAS S. GILLIN, borough engineer of Ambler, and well known as a surveyor, is the son of James and Anna Matilda (Felten) Gillin. He was born September 27, 1853, on the farm on which he now lives.
In his early youth he attended the old Eight Square school, which was the place at which many of the young men and women of his gen- eration were educated. He also attended for a time the select school of William Arrott, of Penllyn. Still later he was a pupil at Sunnyside School, Ambler, taught by the Misses Knight, which was very popular in its day, but has re- cently been discontinued after a prosperous career of more than thirty years. He next became a student at the Polytechnic College, of which Dr. Alfred L. Kennedy was the head for many years. He graduated from that institution in the class of 1877. He then remained at home one year, at the end of which time he engaged in railroad engineering in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, on the Gould and Vanderbilt systems, and assisted on the surveying corps of the South Pennsylvania Railroad until 1882, when the corps was disbanded at Pittsburg, and he returned home and resumed work on the farm. In the meantime he engaged in local survey and topo- graphical work, and since the incorporation of Ambler into a borough he has been employed as its engincer. On May 19, 1885, Mr. Gillin mar- ried Mary Hannah, born January 28, 1863, dauglı- ter of Tilghman V. and Elizabeth Rebecca (Breinig) Rhoads, of Fort Washington, and lo- cated at Lilac Lane Farm, the Gillin homestead1. The house, which was built in 1768, is a good ex- ample of the old colonial style of architecture, be- ing such a home as the prosperous German farmers of that day were wont to erect, having an eye to general convenience as well as comfort. It is a long two and a half story building, con-
structed of stone, with low ceilings and great open fire-places, in which are large iron cranes that were used in former times for a support over the fire for kettles in which were made the delicious apple butter for which that section of the county was famous. Everything about the mansion and the farm indicates thrift and abund- ance on the part of its fortunate owners. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Gillin are: James Rhoads, born March 4, 1886, resides with his pa- rents and is a student in the Department . of Mechanical Arts in the Drexel Institute, Phila- delphia ; Mary Matilda, born March 29, 1887, at- tended school at Sunnyside Academy, Ambler, and was also a student at St. Joseph's Academy, at Chestnut Hill, resides with her parents, at Lilac Lane Farm.
James Gillin (father) son of Robert and Catharine (Hamilton) Gillin, was born October 9, 1805, near Belfast, in County Antrim, Ireland. He emigrated to this country, reaching the port of Baltimore in the spring of 1830. Having spent seven weeks on the voyage to this country, he remained some time in Baltimore to rest, and then, in company with several others, set out on foot for Philadelphia, there being no railroads at that early datc. On arriving in Philadelphia he applied himself at once to his trade of stone mason, and devoted himself to the improvement of his condition. In the fall of that year, having heard of the demand for stone masons in Mauch Chunk and its vicinity, he journeyed to that place, but, a very hard winter setting in soon afterwards, he found very little doing at his trade, but found many opportunities of making money that are ordinarily neglected by mechanics. He was not afraid to work, and he shoveled snow and what- ever else offered itself, so that by the opening of spring he had still untouched the money he had earned the previous winter in Philadelphia. He returned to that city in 1831, where he rejoined his parents and the rest of the family who had meantime come from Ireland, encouraged by the good accounts lic and others had sent them. They came by way of Canada. James Gillin con- tinued for some time to work at his occupation of stone mason, but about the year 1843 he began
29
450
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
dealing in horses and cattle, his occupation of drover often taking him as far west as the valley of the Ohio. In this business he was associated for a time with a brother of the late Jeremiah Black, who occupied a prominent position as judge. and was a member of the cabinet of Presi- dent James Buchanan. On October 6, 1840, Mr. Gillin married Anna Matilda Felten, daughter of Anthony Felten, of Norriton township, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, and located at the corner of Twenty-ninth and Master streets, Phila - delphia, engaging in business as a dairyman and farmer, and remaining there until 1853. In the spring of that year he purchased the farm of Isaac Ellis, in Lower Gwynedd township, con taining 105 acres of excellent land, well tim- bered, and its farm and dairy products, under the management of Mr. Gillin and his wife. supplying some of the most prominent families of Germantown and Chestnut Hill with what they needed in this line. The children of James and Anna Matilda Felten Gillin were: Catherine, born in 1841, married James Mann, a farmer, of Lower Gwynedd, and had eight children as fol- lows : Margaret, Jennie, Thomas, Gillin, Harvey, Matilda, Cynthia. Francis ; Robert Hamilton, born December 3, 1843, in Penn township, Philadei- phia, now Twenty-ninth and Master streets, at- tended in his youth a public school in that neigh- borhood, and, after the removal of the family to the farm purchased by the father in Montgomery county in 1853, he attended the Eight Square school, previously mentioned, until his sixteenth year, also attended the William Arrott School, after which he remained at home on the farm assisting in its cultivation and in the marketing of its products; James, born 1845, deceased ; Jane, born 1848, married Lewis F. Sloan, son of Robert Sloan and his wife, who was a Miss Shively, whose parents were farmers of Mont- gomery township: Margaret Ross, born 1851, married Maurice Weiss, son of Casper Weiss, who resides at Flourtown; Thomas S., subject of this sketch.
By the will of James Gillin his real estate was left to his sons. Robert and Thomas, on the death of their mother, as owners in common.
Since that time there has been a division of the estate, Robert taking for his share of the prop- erty fifty-four and one-third acres of the north- eastern part, on the higher ground and including the woodland, and Thomas retaining thirty-two acres of improved land with the buildings at- tached, including the mansion, which is rendered dear by the many associations connected with it. In this capacious residence he has abundant room for his specimens in ornithology, in which pur- suit he is greatly interested.
Mrs. Thomas Gillin is descended from a long line of honorable ancestors, of whom she may well be proud. Her father, Tilghman Victor Rhoads, was the son of Josiah and Hannah Rhoads. He was born in 1835, and died Oc- tober 27, 1872. He married, in 1862, Elizabeth Rebecca Breinig, of Allentown. He located in Philadelphia, some time after his marriage, but soon afterwards removed to Allentown, where he edited and published the "Lehigh Patriot," and had a book and stationery store. He was a staunch Republican in politics, and during President Grant's administration he held the position of United States internal revenue assessor in that district. While residing in Allentown, Mrs. Gillin attended the public schools of that city. The family removed to Fort Washington in 1878. The children of Tilghman V. and Elizabeth (Breinig) Rhoads were as follows : Mrs. Thomas S. Gillin, born January 28, 1863 ; William Breinig, born October 27, 1865, resides at Fort Washing- ton, where he is a real estate agent ; Magdalene Elizabeth, born April 8, 1867, married, March 27, 1889, Samuel Yeakle, son of William A. Yeakle, deceased, of Flourtown, and has one child, William, born July 30, 1893; Annie Vic- toria, born in November, 1870, married, August 24, 1897, David Brooke Johnson, son of Hophni and Elizabeth (Shrawder) Johnson, of Eagle- ville.
Thomas S. Gillin is a Democrat in politics, as was his father. He is a justice of the peace. His popularity is shown by the fact that he has been repeatedly elected to the position of borough engineer in the Republican district of Ambler. Ile frequently serves on road juries, in which liis
451
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
acquirements as a surveyor are of great value in assisting the members to agree upon their award. The family are members of the Upper Dublin Lutheran church, in whose graveyard the father and mother were interred.
ROBERT HAMILTON GILLIN was born in Penn township, in Philadelphia, being the son of James and Matilda (Felten) Gillin. The old farmhouse in which he was born stood at what is now Twenty-ninth and Master streets, where the father conducted a market garden and dairy. He attended school in that vicinity and at the Eight Square in Gwynedd township, after the removal of the family from Philadelphia to the old Isaac Ellis farm purchased by the father in 1853. He was nine years of age when they removed to the farm. He continued on it for some years, assist- ing in its management, and later, after the death of his parents, receiving a portion of his father's estate on which he now resides. He married, August 20, 1903, Annie, daughter of Evan Thomas and Cornelia (Hinkle) Kreider, of Phila- delphia. Mrs. Robert H. Gillin is a graduate of the Philadelphia Girls' High and Normal School, of the class of 1877, and taught in the schools of Philadelphia for a number of years. The portion of the farm occupied by Robert Gillin and his wife is known as Edgewood, from the situation of the buildings on the margin of the woodland. It is located on the watershed or ridge which divides the waters that flow on one side into the Delaware river and on the other into the Schuyl- kill. Mrs. Gillin taught in the graded school at Twelfth street and Fairmount avenue for several years. The house in which the couple reside is of colonial architecture. Shipments from the farm are made to commission merchants in Phila- delphia. Mrs. Gillin is one of four children.
R. MORGAN ROOT, outfitter and manu- facturer of Regal shirts and pajamas, of Potts- town, Pennsylvania, was born in North Coventry township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1848. He is the son of Eli and Sarah (Penny- packer) Root.
Eli Root (father) was born in Chester county, and learned the carpenter trade, which he followed
for a short time. He afterwards became a feed merchant, and later a farmer in Chester county, where he still lives. He is now in his eighty- seventh year. His wife died April 5, 1892, being seventy-four years of age at the time of her death. She was also a native of Chester county. Both were members of the Reformed church. They had seven children, three sons and four daughters, namely : Mary Jane, widow of H. H. Wanger, or Philadelphia; R. Morgan Root; Frank H., of Chester county ; Emma, wife of H. F. Yergey, who is president of the Columbia Wagon Works, of Columbia, Pennsylvania; Catharine Root, a teacher ; Maurice, of Texarkana, and Carrie E., wife of William H. Herr, of Columbia, Pennsyl- vania.
Jacob Root (grandfather) was born in Penn- sylvania. He was a carpenter by trade. He married Miss Safried, and they had a large fam- ily. He died at the age of thirty years. Jacob Root (great-grandfather) was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His father was Sebastian Root, who spelled his name Rutt. Sebastian Rutt was born in Berne township, Berks county, early in the eighteenth century, but moved to North Coventry township, Chester county, in early man- hood. The family were of English descent, and the name was originally spelled Roots.
Richard Pennypacker (maternal grandfather) was born in Pennsylvania in Montgomery county. He was a farmer. The Pennypacker family is of German origin, and dates back several centuries in Montgomery county. The first of the name in this country was Henry, who made a pur- chase of land on Skippack creek on Christmas day. 1702, on which he settled, and in 1708 pur- chased two hundred acres more in the same vicinity. About 1705 he married Eve Umstead, daughter of John Peter Umstead, of Germantown. He died April 4. 1754, aged more than eighty years. He had eight children, as follows: Mar- tha, born 1706; Adolph (Olif) 1708, died in May, 1789: Peter, 1708, died in 1770; John, born in 1713. died 1784; Jacob, 1715, died 1752; Henry, 1717, died 1792. Peter married Elizabeth Key- ser, Martha became the wife of Anthony Vander- slice. The Pennypackers are a very numerous
452
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
family in Montgomery, Chester and adjoining counties, and members of the family are still among the most substantial citizens along the Perkiomen and Schuylkill, as well as elsewhere. Governor Pennypacker is one of the most promi- nent members of this family, and he has published a very complete genealogy of the descendants of Henrich (Henry) Pennebaker. Richard Penny- packer (maternal grandfather) married Cathe- rine Roberts, of Welsh and Scotch origin. He died at an advanced age, leaving a large family.
.R. Morgan Root was reared on his father's farm in Chester county, attending the district schools and Oakdale Seminary. He resided with his parents until reaching manhood, when he mar- ried. He then engaged in the hardware busi- ness in Pottstown, he being associated with Lewis B. Reifsneider, the partnership continuing for about eighteen months. In 1876 Mr. Root en- gaged in his present business, and has followed it continuously since. He also had a similar store in Philadelphia, at 206 North Eighth street, which he disposed of on April 23, 1903.
On August 15, 1871, Mr. Root married Eliza- beth, daughter of Abraham and Mary Ann ( Hol- man) East. They had five children, as follows : C. Cleaver, J. Lawrence, Carrie, Howell and Mary. C. Cleaver Root assists his father in the store. He married Miss Jane Cofrode, daughter of Daniel R. Cofrode. J. Lawrence Root was married to Miss Elizabeth Hoch, of Philadel- phia, in 1893. The other children are unmarried.
Mr. and Mrs. Root are both members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Root is a member of the following social and fraternal organizations : Stichter Lodge, No. 254, Free and Accepted Masons; Pottstown Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Nativity Commandery, Knights Temp- lar ; Madison Lodge, No. 466, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Royal Arcanum, of which he was one of the original thirteen members to organize the council, July 5, 1878, and was its secretary for twelve years; the Order of United American Mechanics, the Patriotic Order of Sons of America, and others. Politically Mr. Root is a Democrat. He was elected delegate at large to the proposed Constitutional Convention in
1891, and polled the highest vote in Philadelphia of any delegate in the state on the Democratic ticket.
J. Lawrence Root, the second son of Mr. Root, was in the hospital corps and served as orderly under Major. Ashenfelter in the Spanish-Ameri- can war. His eldest son, C. Cleaver Root, was a member of the National Guard, and was en- camped at Homestead, on the Cinder Banks, in. the famous riots of 1891.
ADAM FISHER, a substantial farmer of Worcester, is a native of Lower Salford town- ship, where he was born August 29, 1848. He- acquired his early education by attending the schools of the vicinity in which he lived. He left school before reaching the twentieth year of his. age. He then worked at home for his father, con- tinuing to live on the homestead until he mar- ried and purchased it. He married Mary, daugh- ter of Jesse Snyder, of Towamencin township,. in February, 1881, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. John Kriebel, at the home of the wife's father.
Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have had seven chil -. dren: Jesse S., born in 1883; Edwin who died at the age of eleven months ; John, who is twenty- years of age and lives with his parents, and has. been engaged in attending a business college- in Philadelphia; Lydia, who is in her nineteenth year, and resides with her parents; Adam, who is. thirteen years of age; Ada, who is ten years old,. and Mary who died at the age of seven months.
The founder of the Fisher family in America. was Adam Fisher, who came from Germany. Nothing in known of his ancestry except that he ..
was the son of Jacob Fisher, and came to this. country in 1836. After many adverse exper- iences he located in Pennsylvania, where he mar- ried Maria, daughter of George Heydrick, on. December 22, 1839. Their children were: Susanna, Mary and Adam, the last named the sub- ject of this sketch.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.