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 77
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
Adam Fisher ( father) was a carpet weaver by trade. He stopped at first in New York after landing in this country, where he found an old friend of his boyhood in Germany. This friend
453
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
of his early days proved to be unreliable, and Mr. Fisher lost all of his hard earnings. Undaunted by this experience, Mr. Fisher kept diligently at work. He finally drifted to Pennsylvania, and found two of his old friends from the old country. They were John and Peter Coleman, of Upper Salford township. They gave him work, and he was not long in accumulating a fair share of this world's goods. He continued to work at his trade as a weaver, and also did farm work, and as his savings grew purchased twenty-five acres of land, and then added to that until he owned forty-two acres, now the home of his son, where the father lived and died.
The Fisher family in Germany were very poor, and with little education to assist them, never kept any record of their ancestry. The subject of this sketch has tried for many years to trace the family genealogy in the old country, but without success. All that he has ascertained is that his father, Adam Fisher, came from Gilheim, Ger- many, stopped for a while in New York, and then journeyed to Pennsylvania, where he spent the remainder of his life. He had been a soldier for six years before emigrating from Germany. He was buried in the Schwenkfelder cemetery in Lower Salford township.
Mary (Heydrick) Fisher (mother) was the daughter of George Heydrick, of Lower Salford township. Mrs. Heydrick's sisters are Susanna, wife of Isaac Kreibel, a farmer of Lower Salford; Mary, wife of John Clements, a retired farmer who lives in Lansdale.
Mrs. Fisher's mother has two sisters, Hannah, wife of Reuben Kreibel ( deceased), and Rachel; unmarried and living at West Point, at eighty- five years of age.
In politics, Mr. Fisher is a Republican. He is a member of the Schwenkfelder church, and a man highly esteemed in his community.
DANIEL M. BISHOP, a well known farmer of Hatfield township, is a native of New Britain township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he was born January 7, 1862. He is the son of Joseph and Susan (Moyer) Bishop. He was educated in the schools in the vicinity of his
boyhood home, and on leaving school learned the trade of a carpenter, which occupation he fol- lowed until 1876, when he removed to Hatfield township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and purchased a fertile farm near the village of Line Lexington, where he has resided ever since, conducting it very successfully. He married in 1885 Miss Mary Ruth, daughter of John and Catharine (Swartley) Ruth, of New Britain township. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Bishop : Stella, Harry, Wilson and Raymond. Mr. Bishop is an active Republican, working and voting in behalf of the candidates and policy of that organization. He and his family attend the Mennonite church, to which his ancestors for several generations have belonged. He is a good neighbor, a progressive citizen, and a man highly respected by the community in which he lives.
Joseph Bishop ( father ) was a native of Bucks county. He was born in 1813, and educated in the schools available to farmers' sons in his day, there being little choice at that time in this re- spect. He engaged in the occupation of farming, which was that of his ancestors from the time they settled in the country, and followed it through life. He died in 1885, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a Whig, and later a Republican in politics and held the office of supervisor for many years. He was a member of the Mennonite church. He married Susan Moyer, of an old Bucks county Mennonite family. The couple had ten children, as follows: Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, Susan, Samuel, Jacob, Jonas, John, Enos and Daniel M., the last named being the subject of this sketch.
LEVI FREDERICK KEPLER, a very prominent farmer in Lower Pottsgrove township, was born in Montgomery county, February 28, 1839. He is the son of John and Sarah (Levy) Kepler, of Montgomery county.
John Kepler (father) was a cabinet maker possessed of great skill in his work. He lived in Montgomery county for many years, and made the furniture for all the families living in the vicinity of his home. He was a Democrat, and
454
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
a member of the Lutheran church. John and Sarah (Levy) Kepler had nine children, six of whom are deceased, having died at all ages be- tween twenty years and sixty-three years. The deceased are : Jonathan, Reuben, Copland, Han- nah, Sophia, and Isaac. The others are: Ed- ward, married Mary Ann Smith, daughter of Jacob Smith, he has always been a miller in Lower Pottsgrove township; Sarah Rebecca, married James Neall (deceased), of Philadelphia, where he was a civil engineer and a magistrate for many years ; she survives, and lives sometimes in Philadelphia and sometimes in Atlantic City ; Levi Frederick.
The grandparents of Levi Kepler lived at Milltown, New Hanover township, where he en- gaged in milling, farming, store keeping, and oil dealing.
Levi Frederick Kepler left school when he was thirteen years of age, with a fair education and a determination to accomplish something in this world. He became a miller, and continued as such for about twelve years. When the war of the rebellion broke out he enlisted as a private in Company H, Fifty-fourth Regiment of Pennsyl- vania Infantry. His regiment was engaged in the following battles : New Market, Shenandoah Val- ley, Staunton, Cedar Creek, Winchester, Lynch- burg, Richmond, Fort Hill, Appomattox. He was present at the fall of Richmond, and was taken prisoner after the battle of Appomattox, and at the surrender of General Lee four days afterwards he was only a few feet from the General. He served in an independent division and in the first battle there were 168 killed and wounded. He served throughout the war, and rose from the rank of private to that of lieutenant, being com- missioned April 3, 1865.
On returning to his home, he again took up the milling business, and later carried on a pro- duce store in Philadelphia for two years. For the next five years he was clerk in the Security Bank. While thus employed he was married.
He married Miss Mary Ellen Gibbs, daugh- ter of George S. and Ellen (Mattes) Gibbs, of Philadelphia. They later removed to Eddington, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where they died
about twenty years ago. They are buried in Bucks county. Both were members of the Epis- copal church. John M. and Mary (Matthews) Gibbs (grandparents of Mrs. Kepler) lived in Philadelphia and kept a country seat in Bucks county. He is buried in Monument cemetery, Philadelphia, and his wife in All Saints' cemetery. John M. Gibbs was the son of a nobleman, and left many thousand pounds, and a family crest which is now in the possession of Mrs. Kepler.
After his marriage Mr. Levi F. Kepler re- moved to a farm in Bucks county, which had been the home of his mother's parents. He re- mained there five years, and then purchased his farm in Lower Pottsgrove township, Montgom- ery county, where he has lived ever since. In politics he is a Republican and is a member of the Episcopal church.
Mr. and Mrs. Levi Frederick Kepler have three children, namely: I. Frederick Gibbs, an engineer residing in Philadelphia, he married Maggie Bossert, of Montgomery county, and they have one child, Frederick. 2. George Gibbs, mar- ried Jennie Levengood, of Pottstown, and has one child, Emily. He resides in Philadelphia, where he is a hardware merchant. He is in very poor health. 3. Ellen Gibbs, married Will- iam S. Peltz, who is engaged in the express business ; they reside in Pottstown, and have two children, Louise Crispin Peltz, and Emma Fran- ces Peltz.
SARAH HUNSICKER LONGSTRETH, widow of the late Henry Longstreth, was born November 20, 1842, on the farm which was the home of her paternal grandfather, Jacob Hun- sicker, near Collegeville. She received a liberal education, being graduated from the Pennsylvania Female College, under Professor Sunderland, of Freeland, now Collegeville, this being the first institution of the kind in the state. She taught school for a member of years before her mar- riage.
Jacob, Jr., and Mary (Bechtel) Hunsicker, the parents of Mrs. Longstreth, were natives of Montgomery county. He spent his life in farm- ing, and built a house near the old homestead,
455
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
where he was born. He never joined any church. In politics he was formerly a Whig, and later a Democrat, but held no office. He died in 1879 at the age of sixty-six years. His wife died in September, 1878. Their children were: Sarah (Mrs. Longstreth) ; Anna Jane (Mrs. Warren Grater), died in 1875, aged thirty years; Ella M., died unmarried, at the age of forty-three.
Jacob Hunsicker, grandfather of Mrs. Long- streth, was born in Skippack township, Mont- gomery county. He was a farmer and miller, and settled on a farm in Perkiomen Valley, near Col- legeville, in 1811. Here he remained through life. He remodeled the house and made many improvements on the farm. He was reared a Mennonite, and was always a member of that church. In politics he was a Whig and a Repub- lican. His children were: Catharine (Mrs. D. Allebach) ; Esther (Mrs. G. Bean) ; Sarah (Mrs. D. Culp) ; Martin, a farmer; Jacob (father) ; Henry, died young; Benjamin, a merchant, died and left two children. Some of the children of Jacob Hunsicker were Mennonites, and some had no church relations.
Henry Hunsicker, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Longstretli, was a descendant of Valentine Hunsicker, who came from Switzerland. As far as is known the family were all farmers and me- chanics. They were all Mennonites, and some of them elders and bishops in the church. The children of Henry Hunsicker were: Abraham, Jacob (grandfather), John, Garret, Isaac, and Anna (Mrs. Johnson).
Abraham Bechtel, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Longstreth; was a farmer and a descendant of an old Montgomery county family. They were Mennonites. His children were: David, died in Montgomery county ; Nancy (Mrs. H. Bechtel) ; Susan (Mrs. J. Kratz) ; Abraham, Elizabeth, married (first husband) Joseph Johnston, and (second husband) George Kratz ; Mary (mother) : Philip, Esther (Mrs. Rosenberger) and married (second husband) R. Longaker; John and Henry.
Sarah (Hunsicker) Longstreth still lives on the property formerly part of her father's farm and where he died December 1, 1879. In 1865
she married Henry Longstreth, who was born in Chester county, January 6, 1838.
Henry Longstreth was reared on the old Longstreth homestead at Trappe, which was originally a hotel, but is now owned and occu- pied by Isaac Longstreth. He received a good education in the common schools and in Free- land Seminary. He afterwards taught school for several winters, and helped his father on the farm during the summer. He was a sergeant in Captain Benjamin F. Bean's Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers. He enlisted August 4, 1862, to serve nine months, and was honorably dis- charged May 18, 1863. He served again in the Emergency service in 1863, but saw no fighting. After his marriage in 1865 he removed to a farm near Linfield, Limerick township, Montgomery county, situated in the Schuylkill Valley, and spent the rest of his life in farming. He nad the most improved farm machinery, and con- ducted his farm very successfully. He was a busi- ness man far above the average, and commanded respect of all who knew him. On August 25, 1875, death separated him from his sorrowing wife and children. In politics he was a Repub- lican.
John and Catharine (Kline) Longstreth were the parents of' Henry Longstreth. He was born in Chester county, and learned the blacksmith trade. Later he became a farmer, attending market regularly. He was a man of very strong convictions. He was of English origin. His wife was born in Montgomery county, and they both died there. She was of German descent, and a member of the Reformed church. Their children : Henry, married Sarah Hunsicker : Re- becca (Mrs. Rhoads) ; Anna, died at the age of twenty-two years; Morris, died unmarried ; Samuel, Isaac, and two who died in infancy. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Longstreth kept her family together, and reared her children with credit. Her children were: Earnest H., born August 22, 1866, was graduated at Ursinus College, at Collegeville, and first obtained em- ployment in the First National Bank of Norris- town, and later held a position in the Mant-
456
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
facturers' Bank of Philadelphia, and other trusted positions. He was secretary and treas- urer of the Security Trust Company, Camden, New Jersey, when he died, March 30, 1900, cut off in a promising career. Mayne R., born Feb- ruary 27, 1869, graduated from Ursinus College, Collegeville, with two honors, in 1889, and later from the law department of the University of Pennsylvania. He is practicing his profession in Philadelphia, and shows great ability as a lawyer. He is at present assistant city solicitor of Philadel- phia. He is unmarried. In politics he is a Republican, and takes an active interest in his party.
PHILIP WILLIARD, farmer, banker and accountant, is one of the best known residents of Trappe. He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, September 24, 1830, and was reared to the business of farming and tanning. He was edu- cated in the neighborhood schools and graduated at Jefferson College. He is a son of John and Elizabeth (Lindesmith) Williard, he of Frede- rick county, Maryland, she of Somerset county, Pennsylvania. They married in Ohio. John Wil- liard was the son of Philip and Catharine (Knouff) Williard, both natives of Maryland, who removed to Ohio in 1805 and settled in the Wilderness Woods, where he made a farm on which he lived until his death. He never sought for notoriety but was a highly respected man. He died at the age of eighty-seven years. He was a member of the Reformed church. His chil- dren were: Elizabeth (Mrs. J. Fox) ; John . engaged in the Northumberland county coal (father) ; Catharine (Mrs. A. Anderson) ; Ros- anna (Mrs. H. Loughlin).
John Williard (father) was born in Mary- land and went to Ohio with his father's family and settled. His father established a tannery and employed a man to instruct his son John who afterwards conducted it, attending to farming in connection with his other business. He was an active Democrat and filled the office of justice of the peace for thirty years, being widely known as Squire Williard. He enjoyed the respect of the whole community. He died at the homestead
at the age of ninety years. His wife died twenty years earlier at the age of sixty-five years. She was the daughter of Jacob and Susan (Cris- singer) Lindesmith. They were of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, but removed to Ohio, where he was a farmer, his acres being heavily timbered. He died at sixty-five years of age, his wife at ninety-two. Their children: Eliza- beth (mother), Hannah, Mary, Rachel, Peter, Benjamin, David, Jacob.
The children of John and Elizabeth Williard : Elias, Jacob, Philip, subject of this sketch ; John, George, Joseph, Peter, Adam, Susanna, wife of Rev. Mr. Hays, a Presbyterian minister ; Rosanna (Mrs. D. Patterson) ; Catharine (Mrs. Jonathan Niswonger) ; Elizabeth (Mrs. James Kennedy) ; Matilda, died unmarried ; Mary, died unmarried. All grew to maturity and all married except the two last mentioned.
Philip Williard remained with his father un- til he had grown to manhood. He was educated for the ministry, but his health failed and he taught school several years. He continued his study for the ministry until 1864, teaching some in Pennsylvania. He then entered the employment of the Excelsior Coal Company, Mr. Kingsley, of Boston, being the principal of the firm, and was the trusted confidential bookkeeper and cashier of the firm for thirty-seven years or more, when he retired. He went through all the "Molly Maguire" troubles, but had no difficulty himself as he confined his attention strictly to business. In 1860 he married, and during the time he was operations his wife remained at Trappe. He bought a home and later the homestead farm where he still lives. He retired from the coal business in February, 1902, and is now enjoying a life of rest. He is a self-made man, as he started out in life with five dollars.
He married Anna E. Prizer, born at Trappe, in 1832, the daughter of Henry and Catharine (Dewees) Prizer, both of prominent families. Henry Prizer was a highly educated man and the instructor on the piano of the first academy of this country. He was also a civil engineer and did a
.Hilliard
457
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
great deal of surveying in Montgomery county. Some of the foremost men in the county were edu- cated by him, but he was cut off in his useful life and died at the age of thirty-eight. His wife reared the family with credit. She was the daugh- ter of David Dewees, who was prominent in the politics of Montgomery county, serving as high sheriff and in other capacities. The chiil- dren of Henry and Catharine (Dewees) Prizer were: Mary C., wife of Rev. John R. Kooken, a well known minister, a pioneer educator of Penn- sylvania, and at one time a professor at Millers- boro Academy, Pennsylvania, who also estab- lished and conducted the second seminary of Montgomery county, near Norristown, (Freeland being the first), and after many years of teaching and preaching in the Reform church, he accepted the appointment under President Buchanan's ad- ministration of consul to Trinidad, where he continued until the change in the administra- tion, when he returned to Pennsylvania, and when the Civil war commenced he raised a company and served as captain until killed in battle at Fredericksburg, where he is buried in the national cemetery; Anna (Mrs. Williard) ; Margaret, died unmarried.
Philip and Anna Williard had the following children : Percival D., a farmer on the home- stead, who married Anna Showalter and has one child, Andrew R .; Mary C., the wife of William Bromer, who is a prominent clothing manufac- turer of Schwenksville, has three children, Ruth A., Williard and C. Harrold ; Chester K., formerly a clerk in a store at Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, and now employed by a traction company in Philadelphia, married Mary Ellen Raup and has one child, Mildred E. The family are members of the Reform church. Politically Mr. Williard has always been a Democrat and was the first treas- urer of Trappe borough. He is a stockholder, vice- president and director of the Royersford National Bank, and has been an elder in his church for twenty-five years, and school director at Trappe for fifteen years. Mrs. Williard died in February, 1900.
The Williard family were French Huguenots and were driven from their native country by re-
ligious troubles. They settled on River Rhine, from where they emigrated to this country, set- tling first in Maryland and then in Ohio.
WILLIAM H. WIAND, of the firm of Davidheiser & Wiand, contractors and builders of Pottstown, was born in Chester county, Penn- sylvania, December 4, 1860. He is the son of John and Lydia (Larkins) Wiand.
John Wiand (father) was born in Pennsyl- vania, and spent most of his life in tilling the fields, but afterwards lived retired at Royers- ford for many years, and died July 4, 1904, at the age of eighty-four years. He removed to Montgomery county about 1885. His first wife, Lydia Larkins Wiand, died at the age of thirty- two years. She was a member of the Reformed church. John Wiand married (second wife) Mrs. Brown, and they had three children : Sallie, wife of Harry Freed; Edward; Harry Wiand. The children of John Wiand and Lydia (Larkins) Wiand were: Lizzie, deceased; Kate; Monerva, wife of Harry Siebold; William H .; Isaac, and Elwood.
William H. Wiand was reared on a farm in Chester county, and attended the district school at East Coventry. When still very young he began to work for himself, earning only his board and clothes until he was sixteen years old. At that time he commenced to learn the carpenter trade with Henry Ecker, of Chester county, and remained with him two years. For the next three years he was employed by Ellis Hall, also of Chester county and then removed to Pottstown.
During the first three years of his residence in that borough Mr. Wiand was employed by Davidheiser & Mauger, afterwards forming a partnership with Mr. M. R. Davidheiser. The firm has been in business as contractors and build- ers ever since that time.
On February 8, 1885. William H. Wiand mar- ried Miss Celinda Keller, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Moyer) Keller. They had three children, two of whom are now living: Blanche and William. Charles died in infancy.
Mr. Wiand is a member of the Trinity Re- formed church. Politically he is a Democrat, and
458
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
was a member of the town council of the horough of Pottstown for three years. He belongs to Madison Lodge, No. 466, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1883 Mr. Wiand built a good home at 32 East Fifth street, Pottstown, where he now resides. He also owns several other de- sirable residence properties in Pottstown, and the firm of which he is a member having built many such buildings.
Mrs. Wiand's parents were early settlers in Berks county. They had nine children, five of whom are living. Charles Keller died in 1891, and his wife, Elizabeth (Moyer) Keller, now re- sides with her daughter, Mrs. Wiand, in Potts- town.
ANDREW LYLE HART, for many years a carpenter and contractor of Penllyn, was the son of Solomon and Hannah (Lyle) Hart. He was born November 22, 1826. He died November 25, 1874, at his home in Penllyn. After attending the free schools of the district for a number of years, young Hart became an apprentice to the carpenter trade. He had previously, however, been self sustaining by doing such work as he could find among the farmers of the neighbor- hood. On completing his apprenticeship, he was employed with different builders.
He married, January 12, 1852, Jane McCool, daughter of John and Mary (Sines) McCool, of Penllyn. Her father was a saddler. Mr. and Mrs. Hart had six children-Mary Elizabeth, born October 6, 1852, died July 10, 1853. Annie Wharton, born April 16, 1855. She attended school at Plymouth Meeting and at the Eight Square School, in Gwynedd township, until her fifteenth year. She married, March 28, 1878, Evan Jones Moore, son of Henry and Elizabeth (Rapp) Moore, of Lower Gwynedd. The third child of Andrew L. and Jane Hart was David DeHaven Hart, born in February, 1857, died May 10, 1902. He attended school at Plymouth Meeting and at the; Eight Square School in Gwynedd, and also Sunnyside Academy, a select school at Ambler. He married, in 1881, Mary Catharine, daughter of Henry and Sophia (Buchert) Titlow. They lived in Norristown,
and had one child, Edna Sophia, born November 24. 1881. Allen Lyle, fourth child of Andrew L. and Jane Hart, born June 8, 1859, attended the Lower Gwynedd school and Sunnyside Academy, at Ambler. He learned the trade of a miller, and was engaged in this occupation for some time, but is now motorman of the Philadel- phia Traction Company. He married, in 1883, Laura, daughter of Thomas and Susanna Miller, their children being Morris Robbins, born in Octo- ber, 1883 ; Mildred Acker, born December 23, 1886, died in 1893; and Melville, born October 4, 1896. Emily, fifth child of Andre.v L. and Jane Hart, was born November 18, 1863. She attended the neighboring schools until her fifteenth year. She inarried, May 27, 1885, Franklin Buzby, son of James and Mary Ann ( Moore) Buzby, of Lower Gwynedd. They reside at Penllyn. Their chil- dren are : Grant Hart, born July 10, 1886, attends Temple College, Philadelphia ; and Allen Lyle, born August 23, 1887, attends the public school, at Ambler. Harry, sixth child of Andrew and Jane Hart, born October 16, 1868, attended neigh- boring schools until he was eighteen years of age. He married, in 1896, Nellie, daughter of Martin and Catharine Neville. They reside at Penllyn, and have one child, Neville, born April 12, 1902. Mr. Hart is telegraph operator on the Philadelphia and Reading Railway.
Solomon Hart (father) born October 22, 1796, was the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Fisher) Hart, of Whitemarsh township. He was born and reared on a farm. He married Hannah Lyle, and had several children, among then Andrew L., subject of this sketch, and Ell- wood Lyle, born July 20, 1830, who is living re- tired at Centre Square, but was for many years a mason and contractor. He married, November 10, 1856, Kate, daughter of John R. Smith, and Elizabeth Young, of Plymouth township.
Andrew L. Hart, after his marriage, settled in Plymouth township, where he worked at his trade for Contractor Pierce, and also engaged in job- bing. In the spring of 1862 he removed to Penllyn, where he engaged extensively in con- tract work, erecting many large houses and barns in that section of Montgomery county. He is
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.