USA > Pennsylvania > Book of biographies; This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of the Seventeenth congressional district, Pennsylvania > Part 46
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RS. GEORGE HASSERT. The subject of this sketch, a highly re- spected lady, resides at her home on the corner of Catherine and Fourth streets, Bloomsburg, Columbia County, Pa. She is the widow of George Hassert, who was born in Reichensachsen, Hesse-Cassel, Germany, November 5, 1824, and was a son of George and Elizabeth (Wagner) Hassert.
George Hassert, Sr., was a native of Ger- many and made his native country his home all his life.
George Hassert, Jr., was well educated in the schools of his native town and his youth was spent working in a mill and learning the trade of millwright which he followed some time. At the age of twenty years he enlisted as a soldier in the German army and served six years, during which time he participated in the war between Denmark and Germany in 1848; during the storming of Dabbelar Fort, in Denmark, he received a wound by a saber in the forehead and chin. He was also in the regular army at Baden, engaged in sup- pressing the rebellion, and was stationed at Carlsruhe. In 1851 he left the army and came to the United States, locating in Phil- adelphia, where he again took up his trade. which he followed until 1856. In that year he moved to Bloomsburg and followed his former occupation as millwright until 1875. when he entered into partnership with Peter S. Harman, a born mechanic, and began oper- ating a foundry and machine shop. They purchased the Barton farm upon which they erected a building 50 by 60 feet and began the making of Eclipse cooking stoves and heaters, and the Montrose plough. Their trade increased so rapidly that they were obliged to enlarge their establishment and. accordingly, in 1880 they built a large addi- tion and began the manufacture of mining
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cars and castings, and machinery for con- structing and operating mines, also a repair shop. The shop is equipped with the latest and most improved machinery; faces East street and is three hundred feet square; it gives employment upward to sixty men whose work is of the highest order. George Has- sert was one of the energetic and industrious business men of Bloomsburg and amassed a fortune.
George Hassert on February 12, 1854, was married to Magdalena Decker, who was born July 15, 1829. Her parents were Joseph and Christina (Pensal) Decker, both natives of Germany, where her father operated a farm and saw-mill until his death which occurred at the age of fifty-three years. Her mother died aged eighty-three years. They were the parents of seven children, Jacob, deceased; Joseph; Florein, deceased; Phillipena; Charles; Christina; and Magdalena, our sub- ject, who came to the United States in 1852. To Mr. and Mrs. Hassert. were born the fol- lowing children : Charles W., a machinist in the shops of Harman & Hassert, who wedded Martha Hartman. They are the parents of two children, Annie and Pearl; Henry, of Bloomsburg, was first united in marriage to Mary Echard, who died leaving two child- ren, Ira and Ray,-his second marriage was with Alice Earl and one child, Magdalena, blessed the union; Annie; Lizzie, wife of Ed- ward Sleppy of Kingston, Pa., and they had two children, Grace and Madeline, Grace died in 1889, aged fifteen years; Emma, the wife of Charles Erath of Wilkesbarre, Pa.,- to this union two children have been born, Bertha and Stanley; Ella, wife of William Armstrong of Bloomsburg, and they have one child, Martha; George, a bookkeeper of the firm of Harman & Hassert, wedded Carrie Wilson who bore him three children,-Lee.
Eunice, who died aged three years, and Martha, who died aged three years and eight months.
The demise of George Hassert occurred at Bloomsburg, October 26, 1889, the result of neuralgia of the heart. He was great'y mourned because he was loved and respected by all who knew him and he was a man widely known and esteemed for his integrity, hon- esty and uprightness, both in social and public life. He ever strove for the suppression of evil and the doing of good. He was a kind father and husband, and the esteemed lady whose name heads this sketch lost a dear com- panion at his death.
ARRY W. KLINE, the efficient and accommodating yard-master of the Northern Central R. R. at Shamokin, Pa., stands prominent among railroad men in his vicinity. He was born in Halifax, Dauphin County, October 21, 1865, and is a son of John F. and Elizabeth (Kris- singer) Kline. He was educated in the public schools of Halifax and at the Dauphin Acad- emy. At the age of eighteen he was employed by the Dauphin Bridge Company as time- keeper, which position he held for three years, and later on accepted a position with the Northern Central Railroad as yard-clerk at Sunbury, where he also remained three years, discontinuing the same to accept a similar position with the Philadelphia & Erie R. R. Co., still remaining in Sunbury two years more, at the close of which time he was again promoted and became train-master's clerk for the Sunbury division of the Philadelphia & Erie, and also the Northern Central Railroad. for a period of two years. But he was not content to rest here when there was "room
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DR. MARCUS HOWARD HARPEL.
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at the top," and fortune favored him; he was promoted to assistant yard-master at Shamo- kin, for the Northern Central R. R., Decem- ber 9, 1897, and was still further promoted to yard-master January 1, 1898, which position he is now filling so acceptably to his employ- ers.
Philip Kline, grandfather of our subject, was a gunsmith by trade and a native of Hali- fax, Dauphin County, where he followed his chosen occupation for many years. In the Revolutionary War he rendered distinguished service to his country during that struggle for liberty and independence. He was united in marriage with Margaret Schulz and six children were the results of this union: John F., father of our subject: Elizabeth; Susanna; Clementine; Mary; and Alice. Politically he was a strong believer in the principles of Democracy, and was a prominent man in his day and generation.
John F. Kline, father of our subject, was born in 1825; he was also a native of Halifax, where he was reared and educated. He has a significant and very remarkable railroad ca- reer. While still a young man he entered the employ of the Northern Central R. R. Co., being given the charge of a coal and water station, and was gradually advanced to the position of conductor, which occupation he followed for thirty-five years, and since that time has been a watchman, having received injuries while in the service. He has been a good and faithful servant of his employers and is highly esteemed and respected by them. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1863 and served throughout the Rebellion. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post at Sunbury, where he is now spending his declining years. He married Elizabeth Krissinger, daughter of John Krissinger of Derry Station, Westmore- land County, Pa. She is now peacefully en-
joying life at the age of sixty-eight years. Their family consisted of six daughters and one son, our subject, as follows: Annic, wife of John Bottomstone of Halifax; Ida, wife of A. B. Milliken of Phoenixville, Pa .: Katic and Alice, who are at the homestead in Sun- bury; Ella, deceased; and Elizabeth, wife of B. F. Bright of Sunbury.
Our subject is a valued member of Lodge No. 21, F. & A. M., at Sunbury; and is also a member of the Cresco Social Club and the Sunbury Social Club.
R. MARCUS HOWARD HAARPEL, whose portrait appears on the preced- ing page, is a physician of Shamokin, with an extensive practice, and is one of the oldest and most successful homeopathic physi- cians of the Seventeenth Congressional Dis- trict of Pennsylvania. He was born February 1, 1838, in Orwigsburg, county seat of Schuylkill County, Pa., and is a son of Rev. Mark and Martha Ann (Morgan) Harpel. He was reared in Philadelphia, Northampton and Lancaster counties, Pa., and received his early education in the district schools. His prepar- atory education was secured mainly through his own efforts. In 1861 he entered the State Normal School at Millersville, Pa., having ob- tained the means to defray his expenses by teaching in the public schools of Lancaster County. After graduating at the State Nor- mal, being a young man of spirit and enter- prise, he aspired to fit himself for a profession- al calling, and chose for his life-work the prac- tice of medicine. He entered upon his prepar- atory work in the office of Dr. Joshua Baker. a prominent physician of Lancaster, Pa. After faithfully pursuing his studies he completed his preparatory course and entered the Home- opathic College of Philadelphia, graduating
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therefrom in 1867. After practicing his pro- fession for a short time in Canton, Ohio, he located in Shamokin, Northumberland Coun- ty, in the fall of the same year, September 25, 1867. He has continued in the active practice of his profession for more than thirty-one years, making a specialty of diseases of women and children, of the digestive organs and dis- eases of the throat and chest, and has met with marked success. He has noted with interest the material progress of the town, and well re- members when a greater part of the site of prosperous Shamokin was nothing more than a swamp.
Dr. Harpel is a man who has kept well abreast with the times in his profession, and his career has been that of a student not mere- ly in becoming master of books but by obser- vation and travel as well. His library is well stocked, not only with medical books but with many valuable works treating of science, trav- els, literature and general information. He has traveled extensively in the United States and Canada and also throughout Europe, having made two trips abroad and visited most of the important countries and objects of interest. During his active professional career he has found time, in addition to keeping well versed in his profession, to master the German lan- guage.
The Harpel family, of which Dr. Marcus Howard Harpel is a worthy scion, is one that has been prominently identified with the pro- fessional history of Eastern Pennsylvania for about a century and a half. The founder of the family in America was John Jeremiah Har- pel, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, who, desiring wider range for the exercise of his industry and talents, immigrated to Amer- ica in 1750 and located in what was then known as Faulkner's Swamp, near the present borough of Pottstown. in Montgomery Coun-
ty, Pa. He occupied himself in cultivating his farm there and spent the remainder of his life in that locality. David Harpel, the grand- father of our subject, was born on that promi- nent homestead and was reared there. When a young man he went to Philadelphia and built a hotel at the junction of Fifth street and the old York road. He operated that hotel very successfully for many years, when, hav- ing accumulated a competency, he retired from active life and spent the remainder of his days with two of his sons, David and Jacob, who were prominent tailors of Philadelphia.
Rev. Mark Harpel, our subject's father, was a man of more than ordinary linguistic pow- ers, possessing an unusually complete knowl- edge of Latin, Greek, French, and German. He was born in Philadelphia, October IO, 1810. His early education was received in church schools, and when quite young he as- sisted his brother Jacob in conducting a pri- vate academy for boys. Having been designed for the ministry by his parents, he began the study of theology in 1826, under Rev. Mr. Waage, in Bucks County. Five years later he was commissioned as a licentiate of the Penn- sylvania Synod; at its meeting in 1832 both he and his brother, Jeremiah, were ordained to the work of the Lutheran ministry. More than forty years of Mark Harpel's life were devoted to earnest, faithful work for the Mas- ter in the states of New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania. His first regular charge was Salem, N. J., where he remained until 1836, when he re- moved to Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, Pa. There he met his future wife, Martha Ann Morgan, a daughter of Joseph Morgan, and in April, 1837, they were united in the holy bonds of matrimony. Subsequently he served congregations in the counties of Northamp- ton, Berks and Lancaster. filling many of the principal pulpits. His active ministerial la-
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bors were brought to a close at Brickerville, Lancaster County, some twenty years ago, when he removed to the city of Reading. While residing there, in 1872, death entered his happy home and in the early springtime removed his daughter, Emma M., who had just reached the years of womanhood; and, again, when the late October winds were sigli- ing their farewell to the dying year, his be- loved wife passed to her final rest in the beau- tiful mansion above. The light and love of home were now gone, and in the spring of 1873 Rev. Harpel went to Philadelphia and made his home with his brother, David. Soon, however, he desired to be with his children, and the latter years of his life were spent in visiting them, making his home with his son, Dr. M. H. Harpel, of Shamokin. There he passed the closing days of a noble, useful life, and fell asleep in the early morning of No- vember 16, 1892. He was laid to rest at the Charles Evans Cemetery, in the city of Read- ing.
Nine children, five sons and four daughters, survived Rev. Mark Harpel and mourn the loss of a kind and affectionate father: Dr. Marcus Howard of Shamokin; Dr. E. New- ton of Philadelphia, now deceased, who re- sided at the corner of Broad and Morris streets; Dr. Francis E. of Danville; Dr. George W. of Mount Carmel; Prof. William F., superintendent of the public schools of Shamokin, a sketch of whose life will be found elsewhere in this volume: Mrs. Amanda L. Cornish; Mary A .; Mrs. Flora V. Thomas of Philadelphia; and Mrs. Martha C. Studenroth of Lexington, Pa.
On July 2, 1868, Dr. Marcus Howard Har- pel was united in marriage with Mary A. Haas, and they are the parents of the follow- ing children: Edward Francis, a practicing physician of Shamokin; Flora L., who is at
home, being actively engaged as secretary for her uncle, Prof. William F. Harpel, and who took a full course of medicine, studying under her father; William Luther, a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery at Philadelphia; Frederick Theodore, who was a member of the 8th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., dur- ing the war between the United States and Spain, and received an honorable discharge November 10, 1898, and has resumed his studies in Hahnemann Medical College, Phil- adelphia, from which he will graduate in the spring of 1900; and Howard Mark, a student of law in the college at Carlisle, Pa.
Dr. Harpel also has two adopted children, Lily and Nellie Haas, children of his wife's brother. Our subject is a man of broad and liberal ideas, not bound by the edicts of any sect, clan, or party in social, political or re- ligious matters, and is very popular.
ILLIAM B. FAUST, an attorney- at-law, who has built up a very lu- crative practice in his chosen pro- fession at Mount Carmel, Northumberland County, Pa., was born in Reading, Berks County, Pa., August 5, 1853. He is a son of Samuel and Margaretta (Miller) Faust.
The father of our subject was a hatter by trade. When the subject of this sketch was ten years old his father moved to Philadel- phia, and in August, 1863, removed to Sun- bury, Northumberland County, where he died in January, 1888.
William B. Faust received his primary edu- cation in public and private schools. He en- tered Mercersburg College, Franklin County. in 1869, remaining there until 1873. success- fully completing a preparatory course. In 1873 Mr. Faust entered the Franklin & Mar-
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shall College at Lancaster, Pa., where he re- mained for a year. In 1875 he began the study of law, the profession he had deter- mined to adopt, reading under the direction of A. N. Brice, a well-known attorney of Sun- bury, Pa., and he was admitted to the bar of the county June 8, 1877. He remained with Mr. Brice until September, 1878, when he removed to Mount Carmel, which place he has since made his home.
Mr. Faust is a member of the F. & A. M., and is also an active Odd Fellow. In politics he is a Republican and was a delegate to the National Convention of his party in 1896 which nominated William McKinley as its candidate for president. So closely has our subject devoted his energies to his profession he has never been a seeker after office, al- though he has been energetic in behalf of those who have sought public honors. Per- sonally Mr. Faust is a most genial companion, a very energetic man in every movement which is calculated to benefit either his pro- fession or the borough in which he resides.
OSEPH H. CATTERALL, superin- tendent of the American Car & Foun- dry Company's Rolling Mills at Ber- wick, Columbia County, Pa., a gentleman who is held in the highest esteem by his fel- low-workmen, was born in Bolton, England, October 6, 1861, and is a son of Ralph C. H. and Caroline (Reid) Catterall, and grandson of Joseph and Alice (Kirkman) Catterall.
Joseph Catterall, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Bolton, England. When young he learned the trade of a machinist, . which he followed all of his life. He immi- grated to this country and settled in Fall River, Mass., where he spent the remainder of his life. He passed from this life at the
age of seventy-six years. He was united in marriage with Alice Kirkman, who was also a native of England.
Ralph C. H. Catterall, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Bolton, England, and came to the United States in 1869, locating at Fa'l River, Mass. He prepared himself for the ministry in England, and preached in Fall River for a number of years, but devoted the greater part of his life to the ministry in this state, where he is widely known. Retiring. he moved to Wyoming, Pa., where he is now spending the declining years of his life. He chose for his life companion Caroline Reid, and they reared a family of five children : Joseph H., the subject of this review; Ralph C. H., a professor in the University of Chi- cago; William H., an engineer and assistant superintendent of the American Car and Foundry Company's Rolling Mill at Berwick; Alfred H., a prominent physician residing in Chicago, Ill .; and George H., who is now at- tending college.
Joseph H. Catterall in 1880 moved to the town of Berwick, Columbia County, and was employed in the erecting shop of The Jackson & Woodin Manufacturing Company; later he was employed in the rolling mills, where he afterwards acted as clerk. Having proved himself a reliable and competent workman, in 1890 he was promoted to the superintend- ency of the rolling mills, and has retained that position up to the present time. The mills were built in 1872 and comprise four trains of rolls, one a nine-inch. one a twelve-inch. and two eighteen-inch trains. The mill is lo- cated at the corner of West Third and Oak streets, and 325 men are employed in this de- partment. The entire plant of The Jackson & Woodin Manufacturing Company passed into the hands of the American Car & Foun- dry Company March 1, 1899.
ALEXANDER MONTGOMERY GEARHART.
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Mr. Catterall formed a matrimonial alliance with Jennie Frantz, a daughter of Emanuel Frantz, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and they are the parents of two children : Anna, born August 5, 1884; and Joseph 11., born January 25, 1891. Our subject has pur- chased the Opdike residence, which he has remodeled and transformed into a handsome home. Mr. and Mrs. Catterall are both regu- lar members of the Baptist Church of Ber- wick. He is a member of the I. O. O. F .; the Knights of Malta; College of the An- cients; and also of the Royal Arcanum. In political views he is an adherent to Repub- lican principles, and has served as auditor; in the town council, of which body he was elected president; and as a county commit- teeman. Mr. Catterall is a valued citizen of his community, is upright in his dealings, and is faithful in the discharge of all duties de- volving upon him.
LEXANDER MONTGOMERY GEARHEART, whose portrait ap- pears on the opposite page_the pop- ular station agent of the D., L. & W. R. R., and one of the most prominent and highly respected citizens of Danville, was born in Danville, July 26, 1846, and is a son of Bon- ham R. and Elizabeth S. (Boyd) Gearheart, grandson of George Gearheart, and great- grandson of Capt. Jacob Gearheart.
The great-grandfather of our subject, born in Germany, immigrated to this country prior to the Revolutionary War, and located in the state of New Jersey in what is now known as Hunterdon County. As he had many friends in Eastern Pennsylvania he sold his property and with his family moved to North- umberland County by means of horses and
wagons, encountering many difficulties and hardships on the way. Upon reaching the farm now owned by William F. Gearhart the party stopped to rest in a deserted log- cabin which stood there; upon examination they found the land very fertile and at once decided to locate there; Mr. Gearhart pur- chased land and, being an industrious work- er, made money rapidly and, as his means justified, he purchased more land from time to time until he owned 500 acres. With the aid of his sons he set about clearing his pur- chase and built the frame house in which Will- iam F. Gearhart now resides, which was erect- ed over one hundred years ago and the house is still in good condition. He set out an or- chard which was completely destroyed in 1846 by a hail storm. He was a man of strong constitution which has been one of the char- acteristics of the family up to the present time. He lived to old age as did his wife, Catherine Kline. He was the father of the following children: Jacob, born in 1763, died aged seventy-eight years; Herman, born in 1765, died aged seventy years; William, who died in 1854 at the age of seventy-eight years: George, the grandfather of our subject : Tunis; John, died in 1858 aged seventy years: Charles, born in 1783, died aged eighty years: Isaac; Catherine; Mary; and Betsey.
The beautiful farm of 200 acres located one mile from Riverside, along the bank of the Susquehanna River, was the property of George Gearhart, the grandfather of our sub- ject, it being a present from his father. He resided there throughout his entire life, fol- lowing the pursuits of an agriculturist; his farm is now a part of South Danville. Hc was. twice married, his first wife being Achie Runyan, who died young, leaving the follow- ing children: Bonham R .; Benjamin: Eliza: and Rebecca. His second marriage was with
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Phoebe Lutt, by whom he reared three chil- dren, namely: Achie, George, and Herman.
Bonham R. Gearhart, our subject's father, was born on his father's homestead, and, af- ter attaining a liberal education in the com- mon schools of that township, entered Jeffer- son Medical College of Philadelphia, gradu- ating therefrom before he attained his ma- jority. Prior to his locating in Danville, he practiced his profession at Washingtonville, Turbotville, and Sunbury; he was regarded as one of the most skilful and successful physi- cians and surgeons of Montour County. He passed from this life, aged forty-two years, the cause of his death being pneumonia. His wife was Elizabeth S. Boyd, a daughter of William Boyd, a resident of Danville. She is now past her eighty-second year and is en- joying fairly good health. Her children were: Achie, deceased; William B .; George Mc .; a daughter who died in infancy; Bonham R .; James B .; Jasper B .; our subject; and M. Grier.
Alexander Montgomery Gearhart attended school until he was fourteen years of age and then began his business career as a news- boy on the railroad; later he became freight agent on the Catawissa R. R. at Danville; sub- sequently he was employed in the D., L. & W. R. R. freight office of that borough, and in 1869 became clerk, in which capacity he remained four years, when he was promoted to his present position, succeeding William Rote.
Our subject served six years on the school board and was its treasurer for thirteen years; three years marked his service in the town council, one year as president. He is now treasurer of Danville Lodge, No. 127, I. O. H. Mr. Gearhart was wedded to Martha Y. McCoy, a daughter of Robert McCoy, a na- tive of Northumberland County, Pa. Mr.
McCoy was a carpenter by trade who came to Danville when a young man and carried on contracting many years, building some of the best business blocks and dwellings in the city. He erected the G. M. Shoop mansion; Conk- lin Block; Schultz Block; and many other buildings in the surrounding towns. He died in 1886 aged sixty-three years; his wife was Eleanor Vorise, a daughter of James Vorise, and she died in 1892 at an advanced age. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: Martha, the wife of our subject; Mar- garet, the wife of B. F. Rumbaugh; John B., of Danville; Samuel A., also a resident of Danville; Jennie, who married W. F. Jacobs; Arthur, deceased; and James, William, Annie, and Sally, who died in youth.
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