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 91
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Jacob Hiltzheimer Rogers, eldest son and first
child of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born in Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, Au- gust 26, 1797. He intermarried with Priscilla Watson, by whom he had five children: Mary Hiltzheimer, William Charles, Benjamin Watson, Ann Steward, and Hannah Watson. He was a justice of the peace for several years, and a farmer. He died at the Turk's Hotel, Bucks county, Pennsylvania and is buried at the old Neshaminy church, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.
General William Tennent Rogers, second son of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born in Philadelphia, June 17, 1799. He intermarried with Sophia Pugh, daughter of John Pugh, Esq., of Doylestown, at which place he resided most of his life. The result of his marriage was ten children, eight sons and two daughters: John, Charles, James, Henry, Edward, William, Mar- shall, and Elizabeth. Two of his children died at birth, and were not named. William T. Rogers was a general of militia, and for several years editor of the Doylestown Democrat. He repre- sented Bucks county in the state senate for two years, the last as speaker. He was at one time supervisor of the Delaware Division of the Penn- sylvania Canal, besides president of various com- pany corporations. He was one of the originators of the Doylestown Cemetery Company, in which grounds he is buried.
David Rogers, the third son of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1800. July 6, 1828, he married Cynthia Watson, daughter of Benja- min Watson, by whom he had three children : George Washington, William Charles, and Mary Hiltzheimer. After his marriage he removed to Montgomery township, Montgomery county, and followed farming until the year 1856, when he re- moved to Norristown, where he resided, the only survivor of seven brothers and two sisters.
James Rogers, the fourth son of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born September 2 or 3, 1802, and died November 16, 1802, aged two months and two weeks. He was interred at Ab- ington county cemetery, Pennsylvania.
obert Rogers, the fifth son of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born December 1, 1803,
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and died September 6, 1804, aged nine months and six days. He is buried at Abington, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania.
Charles Rogers, the sixthi son of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born July 30, 1805, and died December 8, 1806, aged eighteen months. He is buried at Abington, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania.
George Washington Rogers, the seventh son of William C. and Mary Rogers, was born De- cember 13, 1806, and died at Philadelphia on Tuesday morning, November 10, 1825, aged nine- teen years. His remains were interred at Abing- ton, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania.
Susan Tennent Rogers, the eldest daughter of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, March 30, 1809. She married Andrew Yates Austin, her first cousin, and emigrated to Willoughby, Lake county, Ohio, where she resided until her death. The result of this marriage was eight children: John, Charles, David, Andrew, Lucius, Willis, Samuel and Susan. Mrs. Austin is interred at Willoughby, Ohio.
Mary Steward Rogers, the second daughter of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, was born May I, 18II, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. She married Elisha Tracy, a lawyer, and emigrated to Painesville, Lake county, Ohio. She was the mother of four children: Elisha, William, Lucy and Mary. Both she and her husband are dead, and are interred at Painesville, Ohio.
David Rogers, the third son of William C. and Mary H. Rogers, had three children, George Washington Rogers, the first son, was born June 15, 1829, and is a lawyer. He intermarried with Cara Bean and had three children : Cara, David Ogden and Austin. William Charles Rogers, the second son, was born June 23, 1833. He was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1858, and served in the rebellion of 1861 as a surgeon. He married Jennie Scott, of Philadelphia, and had two children, David and Frank K. Mary Hiltzheimer Rogers was born February 22, 1838. She married Walter H. Hibbs, and is the mother of four children : Easily, Georgie, Cynthia and Walter.
Benjamin Watson, the maternal grandfather of George Washington Rogers, was born Septem- ber 22, 1763, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He married Hannah Mckinstry, by whom he had four children : Priscilla, Cynthia, Hiram, and Ann. He entered the colonial army under Captain Beatty, in Colonel Proctor's regiment of the Pennsylvania line, and served the entire war. He was at one time attached to Morgan's rifle- men. He participated in the battles of Stony Point, Brandywine, Trenton, Cowpens and Ger- mantown, where he was wounded, then dis- charged at Charleston, South Carolina. He walked to Philadelphia barefooted and without pay. After lying in bed helpless for sixteen years from palsy, he died on November 20, 1836, aged seventy- seven years. He is interred at Old Neshaminy church, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.
Hannah Mckinstry, wife of Benjamin Wat- son, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, De- cember 12, 1759, and died July 22, 1822. She is buried at Old Neshaminy church, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.
Priscilla Watson, the oldest daughter of Ben- jamin and Hannah Watson, was born October 2, 1793. She married Jacob H. Rogers, and is now deceased.
Cynthia Watson, the second daughter of Ben- jamin Watson, was born June 1, 1795. She mar- ried David Rogers, July 6, 1828; both are de- ceased.
Hiram Watson, the only son of Benjantin and Hannah Watson, was born July 22, 1797, and died February 23, 1814. He is interred at Old Ne- shaminy church, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.
Ann Watson, the youngest daughter of Ben- jamin and Hannalı Watson, was born October 18, 1799. She married Nathan Wier, her first cousin, and died April 26, 1877. She is interred at Harts- ville Presbyterian church, Bucks county, Penn- sylvania.
ELMER B. ZIEGLER, one of the best known teachers of Montgomery county, is a na- tive of Limerick township, where he was born January 16, 1872. He is the son of Augustus Ziegler, a prominent farmer of that township.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Mr. Ziegler was reared on the homestead farm, spending his youth in farm work, alternat- ing with attendance at neighborhood schools. He was also for a time a pupil at a private school in Pottstown. He was a student in the West Chester State Normal School one term, remaining at that institution until 1889, and then went for a term to the State Normal School at Kutztown, Berks county, returning to the West Chester Normal School and graduating from that insti- tution in 1898. He then entered upon his career as a teacher, in which he has been very successful, being now one of the leading educators of the county. He taught schools in his own township for several years, leaving that vicinity for a wider field of usefulness in a short time. He next took charge of the public schools at Barren Hill, in Whitemarsh township. He was elected principal of the Hatboro public schools, remaining there for three and a half years. When Professor J. Horace Landis was appointed county superin- tendent to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Hoffecker, Professor Ziegler became an ap- plicant for the principalship of the Conshohocken public schools, the position which he now holds. Although there were a very large number of ap- plicants, Professor Ziegler secured the appoint- ment, resigning his position at Hatboro. He has given excellent satisfaction to the directors and patrons of the Conshohocken schools because of the able manner in which he has carried on the work of instruction.
Professor Ziegler married, in 1895, Miss Lydia M. Boyer, daughter of Peter Boyer, a farmer of Upper Salford township, the couple having had four children, of whom three died in infancy, and a daughter, Leota, who is living. In politics Professor Ziegler is a strong Republican. In religious faith himself and his wife are attached to the Lutheran church.
The schools of Conshohocken have had able teachers in the past thirty years, and the school board of that borough are especially desirous of maintaining the excellent reputation they have achieved. When Professor Hoffecker was elected to the county superintendency on the retirement of Abel Rambo in 1878, he had been teaching
very successfully in Conshohocken for several years. His successors were able instructors, so that the high standard of the schools has been maintained. The predecessor of Professor Lan- dis was J. Warren Schlichter, also from that section of Montgomery county of which Pro- fessors Landis and Ziegler are natives. It is a somewhat curious fact that the teachers of Con- shohocken schools for many years should all have belonged to the Pennsylvania-German element which is so numerous and so influential in the upper section of Montgomery county.
DR. JAMES J. KANE. Patrick Kane, fa- ther of Dr. James J. Kane, coroner of Montgom- try county, Pennsylvania, was a native of Ire- land, where he was born in 1819. He obtained his education in the national schools, and on leaving school devoted himself to farming inter- ests, in which he met with success. Being a man of steady habits he made good progress in his oc- cupation, but wearying of the restraints imposed on himself and his countrymen in his native land, he decided to emigrate to the United States. On arriving at Philadelphia remained in that city a short time, and then went to Norristown, where he succeeded in obtaining employment in a cotton factory, in which employment he re- mained for many years. He died in 1901. He was an earnest Democrat and a strong believer in Jeffersonian principles. He married Miss Elizabeth Hamill, who is still living. She is a daughter of James Hamill, who came from Eng- land to this country. Mr. and Mrs. Kane had the following children : Thomas, Catharine, Mary, Margaret, and James J., the last named the sub- ject of this sketch.
Dr. James J. Kane was born in Norristown, November 5, 1859. He was educated in the schools of Norristown, attending also Treemount Seminary, taught by Professor John W. Loch. He then took a course in a business college in the city of Philadelphia. He entered a wholesale house as bookkeeper, and also clerked in different business establishments in that city. In 1889 he began the study of medicine, entering the Jeffer- son Medical College, in Philadelphia. He gradu-
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
ated with honor from that institution in 1892. He returned to Norristown, and established him- self in practice in which he has been engaged ever since. Dr. Kane was for a time a student in the office of Dr. William Corson, a Norristown physician of great ability and wide reputation.
Dr. Kane married, in 1898, Miss Jennie Stubblebine, a daughter of George and Elizabeth Stubblebine, of Cedarville, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. They have no children.
Dr. Kane is a very active Democrat in poli- tics, being an earnest worker in the interests of his party. He served two terms in the town council of Norristown, and in 1901 was the Dem- ocratic candidate for coroner of Montgomery county. He was elected over his Republican competitor, Charles B. Ashton, receiving a very large vote in Norristown, serving three years in that responsible position. He is an active mem- ber of the Knights of Columbus, of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and of the Foresters of America. He is a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society, of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and of the American Medical Society. He and Mrs. Kane attend St. Patrick's church (Catholic) of Norristown.
Dr. Kane enjoys an excellent reputation as a physician. He is scrupulously careful to avoid holding inquests in cases where there is no neces- sity for putting the county authorities to that expense. As a man, an official and a citizen, he is a model of propriety, and is justly honored with the confidence of the community in which he has always lived.
GEORGE HAMEL, SR., an old and respected citizen of Edge Hill, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania, highly esteemed for his sound business judgment and many excellent personal qualities, is a son of John C. and Catherine (Zink) Hamel, both of whom were of German descent.
John C. Hamel, the father of George Hamel, was a native of Amsterdam, Holland, and when a youth of about sixteen years of age was drafted into the French army under Napoleon. Pre- ferring freedom to his arduous service, he de-
serted and fled to America, landing in New York, whence he came to Philadelphia. There he en- tered a packing house, and after some years' ex- perience as assistant he embarked in the business. He remained until 1834 engaged in mercantile pursuits, and then purchased a farm in the sub- urbs, below the city, and later another in Ab- ington township, Montgomery county. His death occurred in Philadelphia, August 27, 1854. in his sixty-fifth year. He married Mrs. Catherine Zink, daughter of Henry Zink, and whose chil- dren were: Margaret (Mrs. Daniel Williams) ; Henry W .; George; Amanda L., (Mrs. Robert Zane) ; Emeline, who died in youth ; and John C., whose death also occurred at an early age. Mrs. John C. Hamel was born January 22, 1785, and her death occurred at Jenkintown February 13, 1880, in her ninety-sixth year.
George Hamel, son of the parents named, was born June 6, 1821, in Philadelphia, at the south- west corner of Tenth and Buttonwood streets, and his boyhood until his sixteenth year was passed there and at Eighth and Noble streets. He then removed to Montgomery county and resided upon his father's farm, meanwhile educating himself with such books and newspapers as he could obtain from different sources. He became inter- ested in the various branches of labor incident to the life of a farmer. August 21, 1841, he mar- ried Miss Hannah, daughter of John and Rachel Tyson. After his marriage he removed to a place then owned by Mrs. Hamel's grandfather, Ben- jamin Tyson, near Weldon, and later to an ad- joining farm in the same township. He em- barked for a brief time in mercantile ventures at Willow Grove, Montgomery county, and in 1854 made agriculture the business of his life. On this farm was a product known as gannister-stone, chiefly used in lining cupolas and converters in Bessemer steel works.
Mr. Hamel is largely identified with the best interests of Abington, having been for thirty years auditor of the township, and filled the office of school director for several years. He was for many years a director of the Willow Grove and Germantown Plank Road Company. He has been actively identified with Tacony Grange No. 59, of
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Montgomery county. His political convictions led to his affiliation with the Democratic party, which he represented during the years 1856-57-58 in the state legislature, serving on the committees on banks and banking, agriculture, and others of equal importance. He is a member and an elder in the Carmel Presbyterian church at Edge Hill, having formerly filled the same office in connec- tion with the Abington Presbyterian church, and has been superintendent of the Sabbath school at Edge Hill from which grew the present church organization, since its commencement in 1872.
Mr. Hamel, in his long and active career, has witnessed the rise and development of many of the most important agencies of the industrial world of to-day. He recalls the time when coal first came into vogue as fuel for domestic pur- poses ; when the Conestoga wagon was superseded by the locomotive engine ; and has seen the intro- duction of petroleum oil, illuminating gas, the tel- egraph, the telephone, the reaper and binder, and the sewing machine.
The children of George and Hannah (Tyson) Hamel were : 1. John C., born May 29, 1842, mar- ried Jane S. Stevens, November 4, 1868; their children are George M., Maria S., and Grace R. 2. Mary C., born June 23, 1844, died August 25, 1892. 3. Margaret, born April 4, 1846. 4. George, born March 5, 1848; died in youth. 5. Charles T., born April 11, 1850; died in youth. 6. George Hamel (second), born October 7, 1852, married Sarah Mann, and their children are Harrold M. and Ethel R. 7. Franklin P., born August 28, 1854, died in youth. 8. Hannah, born October 13, 1856; died in infancy. 9. Rachel T., born February 5, 1858, who became the wife of Joseph Douckenmiller and their children are Florence, who became the wife of Rev. Albert F. von Tobel, and son Earl. 10. Ida Amanda, born March 12, 1860, who became the wife of Frank T. Comly, and their children are John A. and Hutchinson S. Comly. 11. Harry I., born No- vember 14, 1862; married Elizabeth Rhine, and their children are Alfred R., Catherine A. and Tyson Hamel.
Hannah (Tyson) Hamel, the wife of George Hamel, Sr., passed away at her home in Abington
township, Montgomery county, May 28, 1896. She was a most estimable woman, and was be- loved and esteemed by a wide circle of friends for her many deeds of kindness and benevolence. She was a member of the Presbyterian church.
L. R. FELTY, one of the best known busi- ness men of Kulpsville, where he was engaged in the tailoring business, was born in 1847. He was descended from the sturdy Pennsylvania-German stock which makes up so large a proportion of the population of that section of Montgomery county.
In politics he was a Republican, although he never sought or held office. In religious faith he was a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Felty died in 1903, at the age of fifty-six years. He left a widow and two daughters, two other children having preceded him in death. Mr. Felty was a man who was actively interested in all that concerned the welfare of the community in which he lived, and he enjoyed the esteem and con- fidence of all around him.
JONATHAN CLEAVER. The Cleavers of Montgomery county are the descendants of Peter Klever, an early German settler of Germantown. Peter Klever was naturalized in Germantown in 1691, and died in Bristol township, in Philadelphia county, in 1727. In the direct line of descent from Peter Klever (the surname being afterward changed into Cleaver) was Jonathan, great-grand- father, who had a son, among others, named Will- iam (grandfather), who located in Upper Merion township, between Bridgeport and King of Prus- sia. He donated the land on which was erected the Union school, since better known as Stewart Fund Hall, because of the bequest of William Stewart to the school in 1808. In his will Stew- art says, in designating the school that is to bene- fit by his estate: "At the school house erected on a lot of ground conveyed by William Cleaver to cer- tain persons in trust for the use of a school," etc. In 1831 William Cleaver was one of the "contributors" to the school. William Cleaver had a son Jonathan who married Anna Jane Wood, the families on both sides being members of the Society of Friends.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Jonathan Cleaver, the subject of this sketch, was born at King-of-Prussia, in Upper Merion township, February 24, 1854. He was educated at the schools of the vicinity, and on leaving school took a position in the rolling mill of J. Wood & Brothers, at Conshohocken, who were relatives on his mother's side, remaining there sev- eral years. He subsequently learned the trade of plumbing in Manayunk, and was employed as plumber and gas-fitter at the Albion Print works in Conshohocken. In April, 1886, he started in business for himself in Conshohocken, and he has been engaged in it very successfully ever since. He does a large business, not only in Conshohocken, but in the surrounding country.
Jonathan Cleaver (father) was born in Ches- ter county, Pennsylvania, September 21, 1825. He was educated in the schools of the vicinity and in West Chester Academy. He engaged in farm- ing after leaving school, and afterwards pur- chased a farm in Plymouth township, Montgom- ery county, Pennsylvania. It contained one hun- dred acres, and was located near Conshohocken. Having sold the farm he returned to Chester Valley, remaining there until 1857, when he re- moved, first to New Centreville, Chester county, and later to Valley Forge. He died there in 1862, and his remains were interred in Valley Friends' burying ground. He had six children- three sons and three daughters, as follows : Anna W., wife of Jonas Everhardt : William, Jonathan, subject of this sketch ; Mary ( deceased) who mar- ried John DeHaven ; B. Harry, who died at the age of eight years ; and Jennie, wife of J. Ellwood Lee, the well known head of the J. Ellwood Lee Company, surgical instrument makers, of Con- shohocken.
Mr. Cleaver is an active Republican in poli- tics. He is a member of Washington Camp, No. 121, Patriotic Order Sons of America, of Con- shohocken ; of Fritz Lodge, No. 420, Free and Accepted Masons, and of other organizations.
Mr. Cleaver married. October 25. 1883, Kate, daughter of Linford L. and Emily Shepherd, of Whitpain township. Mrs. Cleaver's father was an extensive dealer in cattle, and was widely known in business of this kind. He was a son of
Levi Shepherd, of near Montgomery Square, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Linford L. Shepherd died March 15, 1894, at the age of ser- enty-three years. His widow who is the daughter of Amos Jones, who resided near West Point, in Gwynedd township, and had a large family of children, most of whom are now deceased, resides with her sons and daughters in Conshohocken. Her children are six in number: Lizzie, Kate (Mrs. Cleaver) ; Hester, Eugene, Eulalie, and Linford. (For further particulars of the Shep- herd family, see the sketch of William Shepherd, elsewhere in this work).
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Cleaver : Francis and Emily, both deceased ; Will- iam, Jonathan, Jr., Holstein DeHaven and Ches- ter Shepherd.
BENJAMIN E. BLOCK, one of the best known business men on Main street, Norristown, though he is a comparatively a young man, has achieved remarkable success in his line of furni- ture and housekeeping goods generally. He con- ducted the same business very successfully for many years on Swede street above Lafayette. Finding that he needed more ample accommoda- tions for his rapidly increasing business, he pur- chased a building formerly owned by the Meeh estate on Main street below Swede. Before he was able to get possession of the building, how- ever, in order to make the necessary alterations to adapt it to his purposes, the congregation of the Central Presbyterian church secured a new loca- tion on Airy street, in the western portion of Nor- ristown, and their property on Main street near Swede was placed on the market. Mr. Block, with his accustomed foresight and good judg- ment, saw the advantages of the site for the estab- lishment of his business, and purchased it for a very reasonable price, and at once made the alter- ations necessary to convert it into one of the finest stores on the principal business street of Norristown, in which he conducts a very exten- sive business. He is a large stockholder in the Peoples' Building and Loan Association, and is also interested in a number of other local enter- prises.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
He resides on Swede street near Chestnut. He is a man who is very highly esteemed in the com- munity in which he lives, his great business enterprise and his interest in everything cal- culated to promote the prosperity and growth of Norristown, commending him to his fellow citi- zens generally.
ALBERT G. KEHL. The Kehls are an old family of German descent who have been long settled in Pottstown. A number of the family have been engaged in the occupation of tailoring, in which they have been very successful. Albert G. Kehl is the son of John and Catharine (Geist) Kehl, the father having been a leading tailor of Pottstown, who was a prominent citizen, being a member of town council, and interested in a number of local enterprises. He died in 1899, at the age of sixty-eight years. The mother was the daughter of Henry Geist, of another old Potts- town family. Mrs. Kehl died several years before her husband, and both were buried in the Potts- town Cemetery, in the family vault. The couple left two sons, the other being William G. Kehl, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work.
Albert G. Kehl, the subject of this sketch, was born in 1862, in Pottstown. He attended the public schools of that borough until he was six- teen years of age, when he learned the tailoring trade with his father. Mr. Kehl married Miss Binder, of a prominent family long resident at Boyertown, in Berks county, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Kehl's place of business is at No. 240 High street. He resides at No. 6r South Han- over street. Mr. Kehl is a member of the Ma- sonic order, and of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks, as well as of other organiza- tions. He stands well in the community, enjoy- ing the respect and confidence of all who know him.
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