USA > Pennsylvania > Book of biographies; This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of the Seventeenth congressional district, Pennsylvania > Part 79
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Politically our subject is a staunch Repub- lican and has for years been active in the in- terest of his party. He has been a member of the common council of Shamokin, in which he now represents the Third Ward, and he served for one year as president of the body. Dr. Hollenback never sought public office, ex- cepting when he yielded to the wishes of his many friends and consented to become a coun- cilman. He is a member of St. John's Re- formed Church.
Our subject twice has been married, his first marriage being to Dorothea, daughter of Mi- chael M. Sober, who resided in the Irish Val- ley, Northumberland County. Mrs. Dorothea Hollenback died October 24. 1887, leaving three children, as follows: William S., who is a resident of Reading, Pa., and a piano-tuner by occupation; Hudson, a dentist practicing in Mount Carmel, Pa., who graduated from the Pennsylvania Dental College in Philadel- phia in 1891; and Edwin E., also a dentist, a graduate of the Pennsylvania Dental College from which he received his diploma in 1892, then engaging in practice with his father un- til 1898, when he established an independent office in Shamokin, Pa. Dr. Reuben Hollen- back was married December 6, 1888, to Savil- la, daughter of William Fidler of Shamokin, and to them have been born two children, Harry Franklin, aged eight years, and Flora Lillian, aged six years.
Dr. D. S. Hollenback, brother of our sub- ject, a prominent physician and surgeon of. . Shamokin, was born May 26, 1836, in Lower Augusta township, Northumberland County, being the eldest son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Sherry) Hollenback. He was educated in the township schools and at Freeburg Acad- emy, subsequently studied medicine in the of- fice of Dr. Eyster, now of Sunbury, Pa., and was graduated from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, in April. 1864. Soon after his graduation from Jefferson College Dr. Hollenback entered upon the practice of medicine and surgery in Shamokin, where he since has resided and has become one of the leading practitioners of the county. He mar- ried Clara, daughter of Isaac Sober of Sham- okin township, and to them has been born one child, William W. Dr. Hollenback is an ard- ent Republican, but never has been a seeker of office and has held only one public position.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
that of director of the poor, which he most ac- ceptably filled in 1876. Dr. Hollenback is a leading member of St. John's Reformed Church of Shamokin. He is widely known as one of the oldest practitioners of medicine in Northumberland County that are now ac- tively engaged in their profession.
OHN J. WEBSTER* is one of the larg- est lumber dealers of Sullivan County and is practically a resident of Estella, Elkland township, Sullivan County, Pa., where he owns a handsome residence, a large and well improved farm and other valuable property; he is temporarily located, however, in Forks township. He is the eldest son of Jonathan and Harriet (Blakeley) Webster, and was born at White Deer Creek, Montour County, Pa., October 8, 1836.
Jonathan Webster was born in England, where he learned the weaver's trade. Coming to this country he located at Philadelphia, where he worked at his trade for a short time. Being a skilled and successful workman lie soon obtained a more lucrative situation in a large woolen factory at White Deer Creek. By unceasing labor and close economy he saved a considerable sum of money which he invest- ed in land, which at that time was very cheap. He purchased 100 acres in Elkland township, where his son William now resides. In sum- mer, by patience and great effort, he slowly cleared the timber from the land that he might cultivate the soil. Out of the logs he built a log house, where he and his wife lived in true pioneer fashion. In winter he worked at his trade for Thomas Engham at Monroeton.
In this way by unceasing toil in both sum- mer and winter he was soon able to build larger and more substantial buildings, the
same now standing on the farm. In his house he put up a loom on which, during spare tinie, he wove cloth for his family, and also for his neighbors. He made a specialty of weaving handsome shawls, which were a source of won- der and delight to all his neighbors and friends; thus he was more prosperous than many in his vicinity and accumulated a nice property, the benefits of which he enjoyed to the day of his death, which occurred on the farm at the age of seventy-three. His religious life was based upon the doctrines of the An- glican Church. He was a Whig in politics and later a Republican. His wife died at the home of our subject in 1896, aged eighty-fout years. Their children were: John J., the sub- ject of our sketch; George, now deceased, who served in the Union Army in the Re- bellion; Ellen, deceased; William, of Elkland township; Jonathan, who was killed in the War of the Rebellion; James, of Sugar Run; Elizabeth, now deceased; and Marsden of Bradford County.
John J. Webster was brought to Elkland township by his parents when he was six months old. There he was reared as a farmer and at the age of twenty-one bought eighty acres of the George Molyneux tract near what is now Estella, it being at that time an un- touched wilderness. There he built a smali boarding-house and kept a country tavern, at the same time commencing the work of clear- ing his farm. This venture was so successful that eighty acres more of the same tract were added to his farm. Being a man of energy and enterprise he was desirous of obtaining the most possible good from the natural re- sources of his land, so he built a saw-mili on his grounds and manufactured lumber from the timber in his own forest, also sawing for his neighbors who came from miles around bringing logs to his saw-mill. After years
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of toil and industry he succeeded in improv- I seven children, Fanny, May, Helen, Frank ing his farm to his own taste and now enjoys the honor and distinction of being one of the most prominent agriculturists in his section of the state.
One of the noted features of this elegant farm is a fine apple orchard of 150 trees. Mr. Webster has given the care of this splendid farm of 160 acres to a tenant, for he is so busily engaged elsewhere that it is impossi- ble for him to give his personal attention to farming; he realizes, however, that much more money can be made in the lumber busi- ness than in farming, consequently he is ex- tensively engaged in lumbering on the large tracts of timber land owned by the Union Tanning Company in Forks township.
Mr. Webster has been twice married. His first wife was Jane Kaye, daughter of William Kaye of Elkland township. She died about the age of twenty-five leaving four children: Carrie, who married Frank May and is the mother of seven children, Bertha, Millie, George, Lloyd, Merton, Dorothy, Lorine; Charles G., who married Ella Brown and has five children, George, John, Seth, Della, and Blanche; Anna, who married A. F. Moly- neux, and also has five children, Tina, Revival, Ada, Walter and Wetsel; and Walter, a car- penter and wagon-maker by trade. Mr. Web- ter's second wife was Mrs. Catherine Camp- bell, daughter of Samuel Norton and widow of Henry Campbell. Mrs. Campbell had two children by her first husband, viz .: Jennie, who married George Morton and bore him two children, Essie and Nellie; Irene, who married Lyman Caufer, and also had two children, Katie and Violet.
Our subject and his second wife have been blessed with a family of five children, three sons and two daughters, namely, Merton, who married Rosa Brown, and had a family of
and Frances, twins, and Georgie and George, also twins, now deceased; Nellie; and Harry. Few men many years older than our subject can boast of such a numerous family of chil- dren and grandchildren. Mr. Webster is a leading spirit in the Methodist Church and has served as a member of the building com- mittee ever since joining the church. Politi- cally he is a Republican, and has served in many township offices and one term as county commissioner. Socially he is past grand of Sullivan Lodge No. 522, I. O. O. F .; also a member and past president of the Elkland Grange.
B. COTNER .* Among the citizens of Upper Augusta township the gen- tleman whose biography we write occupies a prominent position among the prosperous and enterprising farmers of North- umberland County, Pa. He was born in Lib- erty township, Montour County, Pa., in 1835, and is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Stèin) Cotner.
The Cotner family is of German extraction, and was founded in this country by our sub- ject's grandfather, who was a native of Ger- many. He located in Muncy, Pa., where he resided until his death, being killed by In- dians; he was a soldier of the Revolutionary War. Daniel Cotner was born at Muncy, Pa., but when he grew to manhood he moved to Derby township, Montour County, Pa., where he bought a large tract of land and carried on farming. Later he moved to Liberty town- ship, Montour County, where he resided until his death. He was an earnest and public-spir- ited citizen, possessing many friends, and his death was deeply lamented by hosts of ac- quaintances. He was joined in marriage with
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
Elizabeth Stein by whom he reared a family of eight children, namely: John, who died young; David, deceased, was a farmer, and his wife was Sarah McGee; Daniel, who is a farmer of Montour County and was united in marriage with Mary Worlina; A. B., our sub- ject; Susan, who wedded Daniel Moyer, and both are now deceased; Barbara Ann, wife of Robert Lyons of Upper Augusta township; Catherine, wife of Emery Johnson, a farmer of Hastings, Mich .; and Marion, deceased.
Our subject obtained a common school edu- cation and remained at home working on the homestead until he was twenty-four years of age, and after his marriage he conducted the homestead for seven years on his own ac- count. Selling out in 1866, he purchased his present property, known as the Henry Gulick homestead, where our subject's wife has re- sided all her life with the exception of seven years. Ninety-seven acres constitute the homestead, all of which has been put under a fine state of cultivation by our subject, and substantial outbuildings erected. In 1874 the present commodious barn was erected, and in 1886 he built his present home, a beautiful two-story brick house, containing both hot and cold water throughout, and all the other modern improvements. Mr. Cotner is a typi- cal farmer, and the general appearance of his home and surroundings tends to show that he is a careful, industrious and progressive man.
Mr. Cotner and Margaret Gulick were hap- pily united in the bonds of matrimony January 15, 1859. Her parents were Henry and Cath- erine (Eckman) Gulick, both natives of New Jersey, and were farmers of Upper Augusta township; they are both now deceased. They reared five children, namely: Charles, a farm- er who was first married to Rose Smith and after her death wedded Julia Grady; Samuel, who also lives in Upper Augusta township;
Mary, and Margaret, the wife of our subject, were twins,-Mary was wedded to Daniel Cotner, and both are deceased; and Niona, deceased. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Cotner was blessed by the birth of six children, as follows: Charles, a farmer of Rush township, who wedded Ellen Moore; Daniel, a prosper- ous lumberman of Sunbury, Pa., who was joined in hymeneal bonds with Stella Camp- Lell; Henry a resident of Danville, Pa., who married Daisy Gonsar; Alfreda, who died aged five years; George, who assists his father, married Ella Gulick; and Minnie. Politically our subject takes an active interest in advancing the principles advocated by the Democratic party and is a free silver man. He has been elected a member of the board of school directors and overseer of the poor, the duties of which positions he faithfully and hon- estly discharged. Mr. Cotner is a member and regular attendant of the Presbyterian Church.
ENERAL GEORGE W. BIGGER .* blacksmith of Muncy Valley, Sulli- van County, Pa., deserves to be called a self-made man, and is held in high esteem by all who have business relations with him. He was born in Franklin township, Lycoming County, Pa., in 1843, and is a son of James and Catherine (Race) Bigger, and a grand- son of William Bigger. The latter was reared by his uncle, James Bigger, and was in his carly manhood engaged in teaching district schools for a living. Not being satisfied to devote his life to educational purposes alone. he learned the glass-blower's trade, moved to Eagle's Mere, Sullivan County, Pa., and worked at his trade for several years; again the desire for a change overpowered him, and having been economical and saved some
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money, he purchased a farm, now owned by Jacob Dubler. There he lived and died, leav- ing two children, Margaret Hester and James. To the latter he bequeathed his farm.
James Bigger, father of our subject, was born in Yates County, N. Y., near Dundee. He, like his father, also, taught school when a young man, afterwards turning his atten- tion to agricultural pursuits on the farm he in- herited. Catherine Race, daughter of Abra- ham Race of Franklin township, became his wife; she pursuaded Mr. Bigger to sell the homestead, which he did, removing to Ly- coming County. There he lived for a num- ber of years, a highly esteemed and respected farmer, when he died while yet in the prime of life and in the vigor of his manhood, at the age of fifty-two years. He left his wife and ten children to mourn his demise. The children are, respectively: Robert, George W. (our subject), James, Lafayette, Garrett, Mar- garet, Marion, Henrietta, and Cynthia. Our subject's mother contracted a second matri- monial alliance with Mr. Henry Converse, and after his death, a third, with F. P. Meyers, also now deceased. She died August 23, 1897, aged eighty-two years, one month and twen- ty-eight days.
G. W. Bigger spent the days of his boy- hood attending both public and private schools, leading the life most genial to a lad full of youthful spirits. He started out in life for himself by working in a saw-mill where he learned the art of manufacturing lumber. He soon became a contractor. He and his broth- er took lumbering jobs in Columbia County for John Wygett, in Lycoming County for E. Lyons and others. Reared on a farm, the free- dom of farm life had such a fascination for our subject that he quit the lumbering business and began farming, which occupation he fol- lowed uninterruptedly for twelve years; al-
though he found farming profitable, he real- ized that more money could be made in the lumber business, so he erected a saw-mill of his own at Eagle's Mere where he carried on an extensive lumbering business for four years, and reaped handsome profits. Wish- ing to invest his earnings safely where he could net good returns without the labor con- nected with the saw-mill he removed to Mun- cy Valley, bought a comfortable home, form- erly the D. C. Stephen's property, and became a dealer in agricultural implements. Soon after locating there he was offered the fore- manship of the blacksmith department of the Union Tannery Trust Company, which posi- tion he accepted and has retained for the past four years, a fitting compliment to his profi- ciency in filling it. Gen. Bigger finds this position not only lucrative but it interferes in no way with his former business, that of dealing in implements, which he still con- tinues. He was united in marriage to Ida A. Worthing, the affable and accomplished daughter of Henry B. Worthing, of Lycoming County, Pa., which union was blessed with seven children: Nellie E., who wedded T. J. Schug, of Muncy Valley, whose home is blessed with two bright children, Leon and Paul; Elinor, wife of David Kassinger, who occupies a position in a planing mill at Gaines, Tioga County, Pa.,-their home is also blessed with two bright-eyed little ones, Pearl and a baby; Edmond; Bradley; Hur- ley D .: Harold; and Ransom D., who are at the old home, where they assist their worthy parents in every possible way and add much to the joys of life. Gen. Bigger takes great interest in educational matters and has been school director for three years. He is a Re- publican, and is training his boys in the same political belief. Both he and his estimable wife are . willing workers in the Methodist
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
Church. Our subject has an honorable mili- tary record. In 1863 he enlisted in Company E, 43rd Regiment Pa. Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged. He re-enlisted in 1864 in Company E, 209th Pa., being dis- charged at the close of the Civil War the fol- lowing year. Thus we leave our subject, now scarcely past the prime of life.
R. ELISHA W. M. LOW,* who, with his brother, George L. Low, forms the firm of Low Bros., which is extensively engaged in the lime business at Lime Ridge, Center township, Columbia County, Pa., is also the owner of large landed interests and is one of the prominent business men of the county. He is a son of Isaac and Maria (Miller) Low, and was born in Briar- creek township, Columbia County, Pa., Sep- tember 9, 1829.
The Low family was established in America by three brothers, who came from Holland, the land of their nativity, one locating in New Jersey, another in New York State, and the third, the direct ancestor of our subject, near Muncy, Pa., on the West Branch of the Sus- quehanna River. It is not certain as to whether he was the great-great-grandfather of our subject or the great-grandfather.
John Low, the grandfather of our subject, followed the trade of a weaver, and through- out life resided on Muncy Hills, near Muncy, Pa. He was a soldier of the Revolutionary War and held the rank of a captain. He was twice married and was the progenitor of a large family of children.
Isaac Low, our subject's father, was born near Muncy, Pa., April 2, 1802, and was the youngest child born to his parents. At an early age he moved to Columbia County, and
for the first two years was employed by Jesse and John Bowman, two very prominent busi- ness men of that section at that time. He later became a partner with them, purchasing a team, with which he hauled produce to Philadelphia and New York City and store goods on the return trip. He continued at that line of work for two years. He married Maria Miller, a daughter of Abraham Miller, a farmer and a large land-owner in Briarcreek and Center townships. He then moved upon a farm near Berwick, and a short time after he and the Bowman brothers purchased the entire estate of Abraham Miller from the lat- ter's heirs. This property consisted of a large farm and mill property near Berwick and a farm of 308 acres at Lime Ridge. They con- ducted their business jointly for some years, but as the Bowmans were well advanced in years they wished to reduce their business re- sponsibilities and asked for a division of the property, allowing Mr. Low the choice of es- tates. He selected the 308 acres at Lime Ridge, part of which was cleared, and a tract of timber land on which the well-known lime- stone quarries are now situated. He devoted the remainder of his life to agricultural pur- suits, dying on the old homestead, May 27, 1847. He was a man of great industry, and through his own unaided efforts he attained great success. He was originally a Jacksonian Democrat in his political belief, but later in life became a Whig, being a candidate on the ticket of that party for the Legislature. Re- ligiously he was a consistent Methodist, being one of the pioneers of that faith in Columbia County. His marriage was blessed by the birth of ten children, namely: Thomas, who died in boyhood; Eliza, deceased, who was the wife of H. E. Freace; Elisha W. M .: Charles, deceased, who was a merchant of Orangeville; Mary F., the wife of H. C. Bar-
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
ton, a farmer on the old Low homestead at Lime Ridge; George L., deceased, who was a member of the firm of Low Bros., lime mer- chants of Lime Ridge; Maria Emily, deceased, who married John Nicely of Shickshinny, Pa .; Alice, deceased, who was the wife of Dr. Rit- tenhouse of Williamsport, Pa .; and Thomas B., who died at Army Square Hospital, Wash- ington, D. C., March 8, 1864, as a result of a combination of diseases which he contracted while in the service. He was a member of the 84th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., and actively partici- pated in many important battles. At the bat- tle of Chancellorsville he was captured by the enemy, but fortunately made his escape a short time after. He was a member of the In- valid Corps at Gettysburg, and as a result of exposure and poor treatment he contracted typhoid fever, from which he never recovered, dying at the age of twenty years and thirteen days.
Dr. Elisha W. M. Low was reared.on the farm and received his education in the public schools and in Dickinson Seminary, from which he graduated in 1854. He soon after took up the study of medicine with Dr. F. C. Harrison, a practicing physician of Blooms- burg, and graduated from the medical depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania March 6, 1857. It was his intention to go to South America and there take up the practice of his profession, but he did not, as he had made financial investments in Columbia County which required attention. He and his broth- er, George L., established the firm of Low Bros., lime merchants of Lime Ridge, and they soon commanded a large business, ship- ping lime extensively all over the country. George L. Low has since died, but our subject carries on the business under the old name. He is a large landowner, having two good farms in Center township, one in Bloomsburg,
and owns considerable farm land in Kansas and Nebraska. IIe is identified with many thriving enterprises in different sections of Columbia County; has been a director of the First National Bank of Bloomsburg for the past twenty-five years, and has served as its president since 1893. He has also been a trustee of the Danville Asylum for the Insane for a number of years. He has been an en- ergetic and untiring worker and has forced his way to a prominent place among the influ- ential citizens of the county, acquiring the esteem and respect of all with whom he is ac- quainted.
In June, 1861, he was joined in hymeneal bonds with Rebecca Hill, who also comes of a very prominent family of the county, by whom he has had nine children: Elmer E., a member of the firm of Low Bros .; Banks, who died at the age of six months; Helen May, at home; Elizabeth, who is at home; George L., a bookkeeper of Bloomsburg; Mary, who died in early womanhood; Alice; Thomas Hill; and John Vincent, who resides at home. Socially our subject is a 32nd Degree Mason. In religious attachments he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a director and ex-president of the Mountain Grove Methodist Camp Meeting Association. Polit- ically he is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He belongs to Wash- ington Lodge, No. 265, F. & A. M., of Bloomsburg.
J OHN T. THOMAS,* inside-foreman of the Cameron Colliery, holds one of the most important foremanships in the Seventeenth Congressional District and the anthracite region. To give an adequate idea of the responsibility of this position we will
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
mention that he has under his supervision six assistants and eight fire-bosses; this colliery gives employment to over 1,200 hands, and the daily output is between 1,400 and 1,500 tons. The miners work from eight to ten veins of coal. Mr. Thomas has been in and about the mines since he was ten years old, occupying many important positions, and is thoroughly acquainted with the responsibili- ties of his position. He was appointed inside- foreman on February 22, 1896, and has dis- charged the duties of his office exceptionally well.
Our subject was born April 25, 1854, in Carmarthinshire, at Ponta Barton, Wales, and is a son of Thomas and Rachel (Jones) Thom- as. He received only a few months' schooling in Wales, but entered the mines of that coun- try when only ten years old, and continued to work at mining until he immigrated to America, locating at once in Shamokin, where he soon secured employment about the mines. For three years he was fire-boss at Henry Clay Colliery, after which he occupied a similar po- sition for two years at the Garfield Colliery, which is now closed. In 1893 he was pro- moted to assistant-foreman of the Cameron Colliery, and served in that capacity for three years, when he was appointed to his present position.
The father of our subject was a miner in Wales, being an outside-foreman and check- weigher. He immigrated to this country one year after the arrival here of our subject, lo- cating in Shamokin. He has worked about the mines ever since. His family then con- sisted of our subject, three other sons, and three daughters. One brother, Benjamin, is now dead. Those living are John T., our sub- ject; Rachel, now the wife of David Thomas of Luzerne County, Pa .; Sarah Ann, wife of Enoch Edmonds, of Shamokin; William, who
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