USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > Commemorative biographical encyclopedia of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania : containing sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early Scotch-Irish and German settlers. Pt. 2 > Part 47
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Mr. Welker was married, June 12, 1856, to Catherine Spayd, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Spotts) Spayd. She was born in Northumberland county, Pa., May 18, 1834. They have ten children ; five are deceased : one died in infancy ; Elizabeth, born No- vember 19, 1859; John Henry, born May 15, 1862 ; Minnie Agnes, born August 28, 1869; Edward J., born July 7, 1874. Their living children are : Sarah Jane, wife of Au- gust Meals; Clara R., wife of John Shoop ; Ellen, December 7, 1866, wife of Horace W. Bailets ; Charles F., and George H., born August 11, 1876. Mr. Welker is earnest and active in all measures intended to pro- mote the welfare of the community. IIc has been superintendent of the Sunday- school at Red Hill for many years. Politi- cally he is a Republican. The family at- tend the Lutheran and Reformed churches. The parents of Mrs. Welker are both de- ceased. Her father died aged about sixty- four, and her mother aged eighty-two years. They had nine children, two of whom are deceased : John and Joseph. Their living children are: Jonathan ; Philip Levering ; Catherine, Mrs. Welker; Lydia, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Amanda.
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LYTER, HIRAM, carpenter and farmer, was born in Halifax township, Dauphin county, Pa., August 26, 1850. He is a son of Henry and Susan (Miller) Lyter, prominent and re- spectable residents of Halifax township. They had ten children : Ellen, who died in childhood; Sarah, wife of Samuel Chubb; John; James; Hiram; Joseph ; Mary ; Agnes, wife of Clinton Miller; Alfred ; Emma, wife of Ira Dunkle.
Hiram Lyter attended the common schools of Halifax township for three months of each year until he was nineteen years old. ' Dur- ing the other nine months his assistance was given in the regular work of the farm. For three years after his school days were ended he remained with his father, doing for him the work of a farm hand. At the age of twenty-two he began an apprenticeship of two and a half years at carpentry with Peter Klinger, Jackson township. His apprentice- ship over, he worked at his trade as a jour- neyman for seven or eight years. He then undertook carpenter work and contracting on his own account, and continued it about nine years. In the autumn of 1890 he re- turned to the business of farming and re- moved to the homestead in Middle Paxton township, where he has since resided and carried on his business.
Mr. Lyter was married, May 25, 1873, to Agnes L., daughter of Josiah and Margaret (Buffington) Weaver. They had seven chil- dren : Harry Edward, born September 22, 1875; Frank Newton, November 30, 1877; Annie Melinda, October 2, 1879; Charles Monroe, November 29, 1881; William Alton, April 9, 1886; Lizzie Lucretia, August 17, 1889; Susan Rebecca, March 6, 1894. Mr. Lyter is a Democrat. The family attend the Lutheran church.
Joseph Weaver, father of Mrs. Lyter, con- ducted an extensive cabinet making and un- dertaking business at Berryburg and Fisher- ville, Dauphin county. He died in August, 1873. Mrs. Weaver died in 1872. They had six children : Henry, died aged about seven years; John; Agnes L., Mrs. Lyter; Alice, wife of William Shell ; George; Phoebe, wife of William Burrell. Isaac Lyter, first cousin of Hiram Lyter, is at present county com- missioner of Dauphin county.
CONRAD, JACOB, farmer and watchmaker, was born in Clark's Valley, Middle Paxton township, Dauphin county, Pa., July 24, 1852. Ile is a son of Jacob and Sarah
(Hoover) Conrad. His grandfather, John Conrad, married Catherine Buche. Their children were: Jacob, Daniel, Frederick, John, and Mary, wife of John Saum. The parents of Jacob Conrad are both deceased. His mother died aged about fifty-nine. His father died April 29, 1887, aged about seventy-five years. They had ten children : Rebecca, born December 3, 1843, died Octo- ber 2, 1851, aged seven years; Catherine, wife of John Tobias; Adeline, wife of Michael Schaffer ; Rachel, wife of David Umberger ; Mary M., widow of Samuel Essinger ; Eliz- abeth, wife of Henry D. Bender ; Emeline, wife of Benjamin Hummel; Jacob, John P., and William H.
Jacob Conrad was educated in the district schools of Middle Paxton township. He was at school in winter and at work on the farm in summer until he reached the age of seven- teen, when his school days ended, and he became regularly engaged in farming. Two years later he left the farm and worked in a saw mill for three years. Coffrode, Saylor & Co. employed him one year in bridge building, and then he spent one year in farming on his own account. He next en- tered the employ of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company in the capacity of track walker, in which occupation he has con- tinued up to the present time. Mr. Conrad employed his leisure time in learning watch- making, and has established a large and profitable business in his neighborhood.
On January 9, 1876, Mr. Conrad was mar- ried to Sarah Ellen, daughter of John and Mary (Reicht) Bowman. They have two children, Edward Franklin, born April 4, 1877, and Flora May, born January 31, 1880. Mr. Conrad is a Republican. The family attend the Lutheran church. Henry Bowman, grandfather of Mrs. Conrad, mar- ried Elizabeth Urich. Their children are : Margaret, wife of James Howden ; Christian ; Mary, wife of Nicholas Snyder; Hannah, wife of Michael Dunkle; Uriah, and Jacob. The parents of Mrs. Conrad are both de- ceased. Her mother died November 29, 1877, aged forty-nine years. Her father died March 25, 1894, aged sixty-five. They had nine children : Uriah, died aged six months ; John, died aged four months : Leah Jane, died aged two years; Anna Rebecca, wife of Aaron Shaffer; Sarah Ellen, Mrs. Conrad ; Henry; William ; Mar- garet Alice, wife of Peter Witman, and Hannah Cora, wife of James Nelson.
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" GERBERICH, ANDREW T., merchant tailor, was born in Lower Paxton township, Dau- phin county, Pa. He is a son of Adam and Marie (Tittle) Gerberich. Andrew Gerberich, great-grandfather of Andrew T., was one of seven brothers who emigrated to this country about 1700. His son, John Adam Gerberich, had nine children, one of whom was Adam Gerberich, father of Andrew T. Gerberich. He died aged seventy three years. His wife, Mary (Tittle) Gerberich, died aged sixty- eight. They had nine children : Elias, David, John, Adam, Andrew, Sarah, Daniel, William, and Elizabeth. Jacob Tittle, the maternal grandfather of Andrew T. Ger- berich, emigrated from England. He mar- ried Mary Fisher, a native of Lebanon county, Pa. They had seven children : David, Sepina, Sarah, Elizabeth, Kate, Mary, and Jacob.
Andrew T. Gerberich went with his par- ents to Annville, Lebanon county, Pa., where his father kept an inn for one year. The family then removed to a farm in East Han- over township, Lebanon county, where An- drew enjoyed the advantages of the common schools in winter and assisted at farm work in summer. At fourteen years of age he be- gan an apprenticeship of three years at tailor- ing with Edmund K. Kimmel, at Lebanon, Pa. After learning his trade he remained nine years in the employ of Mr. Kimmel as a journeyman. He then worked cight months for William Woelfly, at Jonestown, after which he returned to Lebanon and worked six months for Michael Wagner. He was then employed again by Mr. Kimmel for six months, but on account of dull trade was forced to seek employment in other fields. For one year he was with a lumber firm, engaged in asserting lumber. Mr. Gerberich now began business on his own account, opening a shop for tailoring in East Hanover township, Lebanon county. Thir- teen months later he removed his business to Linglestown, Pa .; after two years he sold his property there and removed to Dauphin, where he has built up a large and profitable business. He is still carrying on this trade with gratifying success.
Mr. Gerberich was married, in 1858, to Elizabeth, one of the four children of David Hoostick. Their only child, William C., died at the age of nine months. Mrs. Ger- berich died in 1860, aged about twenty-six Years. Four years latter Mr. Gerberich mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of John and Mary
(Masener) Shope. They have had four chil- dren : Freeman O., Harvey J., William S., and Carrie Vernon, wife of Harry J. Sin- mons. Mr. Gerberich is a member of Pax- ton Lodge, No. 621, I. O. O. F., at Dauphin. He is a Republican. The family attend the Lutheran church.
Abraham Shope, grandfather of the second Mrs. Gerberich, married Elizabeth Wasser. They had five children. Mrs. Shope died, . and Mr. Shope's second marriage was with Elizabeth McFadden, by whom he had eight children.
The mother of the second Mrs. Gerberich died July 17, 1885, aged about sixty-eight years. . She had nine children ; David, de- ceased ; Harriet, wife of Philip Felty; Eliza- beth, Mrs. Gerberich; Dr. Jacob W., served in the Union army nine months ; William, Calvin, John, George, and Mary, wife of Washington Manley.
HOFFMAN, DAVID, hotel proprietor, was born in Powell's Valley, Reed township, Dauphin county, Pa., January 8, 1852; son of George and Susanna (Miller) Hoffman. His grandfather, Nicholas Hoffman, died in 1865, aged eighty-two years. His wife is also deceased. They had a family of sons and daughters, of whom George, father of David Hoffman, was born October 26, 1814. George and Susanna Hoffman, the parents of David Hoffman, are both living. They have had fourteen children, three of whom died in early childhood : Margaret, died aged eighteen; John ; James ; Sarah, wife of Uriah Bowman ; Daniel ; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Smith ; David; Susanna, wife of William Tyson; William, Samuel, and Jacob. John Miller, maternal grandfather of David Hoff- man, died at the age of eighty-seven ; his wife, Pollie Miller, at the age of seventy- eight.
David Hoffman was educated in the pub- lic schools of his native township. He re- mained with his father on the farm until he was twenty-one, when he started out in life on his own account. IIe was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at stone cutting and masonry on their road between Baltimore and Harrisburg. He was engaged two summers at Harrisburg in building the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. In 1882 Mr. Hoffman returned to his old home and spent two years there. He then moved to the lower end of Reed township, where he lived three years, and then took the Dauphin
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Hotel, at Dauphin, which he managed two years, and then removed to a private resi- dence in Dauphin. Later, in the autumn of 1891, he purchased the Dauphin House, which he has occupied and managed since that time. Mr. Hoffman is an enterprising business man, and a generous dispenser of hospitality. He is interested and active in all movements to promote the prosperity of the community. Mr. Hoffman was married, February 13, 1883, to Malinda J., daughter of Cyrus and Elizabeth (Sweigert) Miller. Their children are: Harry Edward, born May 14, 1885, died October 8, 1891; Annie Elizabeth, born December 20, 1883; and Ray Coble, born February 22, 1891. Mr. Hoffman has served four years as council- man; he is a Republican. The family at- tend the Methodist Episcopal church. The father and mother of Mrs. Hoffman are both deceased. Her mother was born March 2, 1856.
-- MCKEE, HARRY, D., bridge builder, was born at Clark's Ferry, Middle Paxton town- ship, Dauphin county, Pa., June 10, 1860. He is a son of Henry and Catherine (Fore- man) McKee. Henry McKee was born in Scotland, September 7, 1819. He died in June, 1890. He was married to Catherine Foreman, born in Heilbronn, Germany. They had thirteen children, of whom there are living: Bella, wife of W. Oyster; Harry D., Luther P., and George B. Their mother is still living.
Harry D. McKee attended the common schools of Reed township until he was fif- teen, when he entered the Bloomfield Acad- emy, Perry county, Pa. After leaving this institution he engaged in mercantile busi- ness at Dauphin, in connection with his sister, Miss Bella McKee, their father fur- nishing the capital. Harry D. continued in this business until 1884, after which he was one year in the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. During this year he lived with J. A. Sweigert, the present superintendent of the road.
He then entered the employ of Clark, Reeves & Co., and was engaged in bridge and structure work under the supervision of Mr. R. A. Simmons. Remaining in the em- ploy of this company, now known as the Phoenix Bridge Company, he was promoted to the position of foreman of erection, which he has filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers, to the
present time. He has assisted in numerous structures built by the Phoenix Company throughout the United States. He is at present foreman of erection of the terminal buildings of the Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn, N. Y. He was married, May 10, 1885, to Annie M., daughter of Hugh and Martha (Bretz) Dougherty. Of their two children, one, Francis Simmons, is deceased ; and the other child is Luther Reed.
Mr. McKee is a skillful and successful me- chanic. His knowledge and ability in structural work have been gained by dili- gent study and long and profitable experi- ence. His reliability as a man, and his superiority as an artisan are demonstrated by the responsible position he holds. He had unusual advantages for developing his natural mechanical talents, under the super- vision of that prince of mechanics and fa- mous bridge builder, Mr. R. A. Simmons, familiarly known among the bridge build- ing fraternity as " Pop Simmons," a title ex- pressive of the general opinion as to his priority and prominence in the craft. He is a member of Fern Council, No. 774, Royal Arcanum, at Brooklyn, N. Y .; also of Brooklyn Lodge, No. 228, F. & A. M. He is a Republican.
The father of Mrs. McKee died July 14, 1883, aged seventy-six years. Her mother died October 16, 1883, aged fifty-two. They had seven children: John W., Philip D., James W., Annie M., Mrs. McKee; Carrie M., Harry U., and Daisy W. The grandmother of. Mrs. McKee lived to be ninety-three years of age.
- SWEIGART, MICHAEL, was born in Powell's Valley, Dauphin county, Pa., February 25, 1853. He is a son of Philip and Susan (Fawber) Sweigart. Philip Sweigart was born February 3, 1820, on the old homestead in Powell's Valley, Jefferson township, now Wayne township, where his grandfather originally settled before the Revolution. He died November 14, 1894. His wife died in May, 1870, aged about forty-five. They had nine children : Susanna, wife of William Rummel ; Elizabeth, wife of Reuben Kessler; Amos; Michael; Martha, wife of Nathan Zimmerman ; Samuel; Mary Ann, wife of Jonas Rudy; Emma Jane, and George Franklin.
Michael Sweigart attended the common schools of his native township during the winter months until he was twenty years of
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age. When he was twenty-one he began cultivating his father's farm in Jefferson township on his own account, and continued to do so for about eight years. From that time until 1892 he was farming in Fishing Creek Valley, Middle Paxton township. He then removed to Harrisburg, Pa., and was there one year, after which he returned to the homestead, and has resided there up to the present time. In the autumn of 1894 he established his extensive saw mill plant for manufacturing a variety of lumber pro- ducts. He supplies the farmers of the neigh- borhood, and has also a good share of the merchant trade.
Mr. Sweigart was married, February 11, 1875, to Lydia E., daughter of John J. and Margaret (Hoffman) Lantz, born January 20, 1849. They have four children : Charles F., born February 29, 1876; Harry W., March 1, 1878; Samuel C., November 28, 1881, and Maggie May, November 8, 1886. Mr. Sweigart is an energetic and prosperous man, and is exemplary in all relations of life. He is a Democrat. The family attend the Evangelical church.
John J. Lantz, father of Mrs. Sweigart, died February 6, 1888, aged about seventy- two. Mrs. Lantz died May 1, 1853, at the age of about thirty. They had nine chil- dren : George W .; John W .; Samuel N .; Mary A., wife of Samuel V. Enders; Sarah Margaret, wife of Benjamin F. Schaffer; Lydia E., Mrs. Sweigert; Eliza Jane, wife of Andrew Brusler; Katie, died in infancy ; also one infant, not named. The second wife of Mr. Lantz was Elizabeth Pyle. They had two children: Susan Amanda and Charles Grant.
-STENCE, EPHRAIM ELIJAII, farmer and merchant, was born in Fishing Creek Valley, Middle Paxton township, Dauphin county, Pa., May 22, 1854. He is a son of Joseph and Mary Ann (Douglas) Stence. His mother died May 10, 1887, and his father in June, 1890. Their children were : Frederick and Ephraim E.
Ephraim E. Stence went to the public schools of his township until he was sixteen, assisting at farm work during the busy sea- son. Hle worked for his father until he was twenty-six, when they became equal partners and co-operated in farming until 1887. At that time he bought his present homestead of eighteen acres, and also embarked in mer-
cantile business, which he has since con- ducted.
Mr. Stence was married, December 12, 1872, to Mary E., daughter of Challis and Sarah (Lambshore) Bailey. They have one child, Jacob Elijah, who was married, Au- gust 24, 1894, to Hattie E. G., daughter of George W. Reed. Mr. Stence is a Republi- can. The family attend the Evangelical church.
The father of Mrs. Stence, Mr. Bailey, is deceased ; her mother is still living. They had eight children : Laura, wife of Joseph Shartzer; Mary E., Mrs. Stence; Daniel, Charles, William, Joshua, Albert, and Susan. Joseph and Laura (Bailey) Shartzer had three children : Harry, died aged three months ; Susie, wife of George Hoover; and Mary. Mr. Shartzer's father was the son of Joseph and Mary (Shisley) Shartzer. He was a farmer, born in Middle Paxton township. He died in May, 1866, and his wife in 1861. They had six children: Agnes, Sarah, Amanda, Elizabeth, John, and Joseph. Mr. Shartzer's second wife was Sarah Fyle, by whom he had one child, Elmina.
STEESE, ALFRED DAVID FREDERICK, rail- way postal clerk, was born at Fort Hunter, Susquehanna township, Dauphin county, Pa., December 4, 1837. He is a son of Fred- erick and Catherine (Hassinger) Steese. His grandfather, Frederick Steese, was married three times and had a family of eighteen sons and three daughters. Frederick Stecse, Jr., father of A. D. F. Steese, died aged sixty- seven years. His wife was born in 1800 and died August 19, 1876. They had nine chil- dren : Reuben H .; Josiah G .; Julia A., wife of James Reed; Aaron W .; Sabra M., widow of Augustus Bell; Jane, wife of Thomas Milliken, Esq .; Catherine, Elizabeth, Bar- bara, and Alfred D. F. The family removed to Dauphin, Pa., April 1, 1838.
Alfred D. F. Steese attended the borough school during the winter and worked on the farm during the busy seasons until he was sixteen. He was for three months in the employ of the Susquehanna and Dauphin railroad as brakeman on a freight train, and was then promoted to be a conductor on a passenger train. He served one year in that capacity. He then voluntarily became brakeman on a passenger train, was after- wards made fireman, and so continued for one year. At the solicitation of his parent-
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.
he left the railroad service when he was eighteen, and they started him at boating on the Pennsylvania canal from Pittsburgh to Columbia, over the Allegheny mountains on cars, and thence by water to Columbia, He carried on this business one season, and then became locomotive fireman on the Northern Central railway on the first loco- motive run over the Susquehanna division under Engineer Preston Ifall. He held this position fifteen months, and was then pro- moted to engineer on the old " camel back " engine, No. 31. He ran the first locomotive into Sunbury on the Northern Central rail- way. His parents again prevailed upon him to abandon the railroad, and fitted him out with a boat on the Pennsylvania canal. He made four trips from Wilkes-Barre to Balti- more, and then sold his boat to the United States Government, being taken into Gov- ernment service and sent with his boat to Washington, D. C. His boat was loaded with munitions of war and sent to Acquia Creek, where he remained six months, and then returned to Dauphin. He was subse- quently prostrated with typhoid fever, and was attended by Dr. J. R. Umberger. Re- covering from this critical illness he returned to Alexandria, Va., and took charge of a lo- comotive on the Orange and Alexandria railroad in the service of the United States Government. He was captured by the rebels at Vienna, Fairfax county, Va., and barely escaped starvation before he reached the Union lines. He was again captured at Fairfax Station, again released, and made his way back to camp. He was employed by the Government as engineer until the close of the war. While he was in the ser- vice two of his firemen were killed by the enemy. After the war he was again in the service of the Northern Central Rail- way Company as engineer until Janu- ary 2, 1867. On April 1, 1867, he embarked in the mercantile business at Dauphin, Pa., and was in that business for ten years. IIe then failed, and for one year was engaged in fishing along the Susquehanna river. On August 29, 1879, he was appointed railway mail agent, and given a route on the Elmira and Baltimore railway postoffice. He has held that position since that date, and is truly a veteran railway clerk. His record is without a blemish, and he enjoys the con- fidence of the department.
Mr. Steese was married, February 15, 1858, to Mary Davis. They had six children :
Elmina, born October 4, 1866, died Novem- ber 17, 1866; Julia Frances, born January 26, 1850, wife of Dr. Thomas L. Poffenber- ger, dentist, Harrisburg ; Louis Mershon, born August 11, 1862; Martha Davis, wife of Dr. F. Gerberich; Sabra Bell, December 12, 1875.
Mr. Steese has been president of the bor- ough council of Dauphin for three consecu- tive years. He is a Republican. Since 1867 he has been a member of the Perry Blue Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M. The family attend the Presbyterian church.
Christian Dull, grandfather of Mrs. Steese, married Elizabeth Essex. They had nine children : Charles, James, Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Theresa, Hannah, mother of Mrs. Steese, and Helen. Rev. John W. Davis, the father of Mrs. Steese, was born at Newburyport, Mass. He was the son of John Davis, and was a Presbyterian minis- ter. He had charge of the church at Dau- phin at the time of his death, which oc- curred August 14 or 15, 1868. He resided in New York before coming to Dauphin. His wife, Hannah Dull, was born in 1808, and died September 13, 1872. They had seven children : Charles A., served nine months in the Union army ; Elizabeth ; Mary, Mrs. Steese; Martha A., widow of William Blerut- ter ; Thaddeus, killed at the battle of Mis- sionary Ridge; John W., participated in Sherman's march to the sea ; Sarah, wife of Martin Hiner, of Harrisburg.
Josiah G. Steese and Aaron W. Steese, brothers of A. D. F. Steese, both enlisted in the Union army, were honorably discharged from the same, and returned home. Their father, Frederick Steese, was one of the de- fenders of Baltimore, in 1814, when General Ross was shot by the two American youths at North Point, near Baltimore.
-BAKER, HENRY, farmer, was born in Lob- anon county, Pa., January 31, 1819. He is is a son of Frederick and Catherine (Eshel- man) Baker. His grandfather, Frederick Baker, Sr., married Elizabeth Kinsey. They had five sons and three daughters. The mother of Henry Baker was born April 12, 1794, and died January 19, 1852. His father was born October 22, 1893. They had nine children : Elizabeth, born Novem- ber 9, 1817; Henry ; Isaac, February 1, 1821 ; John, January 15, 1821; Rudolph, January 16, 1826; Jacob, May 6, 1828; David, September 8, 1830; Frederick, April
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2, 1834; Catherine, May 27, 1839. The sec- ond wife of Frederick Baker, Jr., was Mary Flory, to whom he was married March 29, 1853. Their children are, Mary, born March 5, 1854, and Joseph, December 12, 1856.
Henry Baker attended private schools in Londonderry township. When a boy he also assisted his father in weaving and farm work. He remained with his father until he was twenty-eight, and then began farm- ing on his own account, having rented a farm in West Hanover township. For five years he worked on rented farms and in 1853 removed to his present homestead, which he has cultivated since that date.
Mr. Baker was married, December 9, 1847, to Anna Mary, daughter of John and Mollie (Paynter) Foreman. They have three chil- dren : Rudolph, born December 10, 1850, died August 14, 1852 ; Mary Ann, born Janu- ary 9, 1846, wife of James L. Brown, who died April 14, 1873 ; she afterwards married J. W. Wade; David, born January 11, 1862, married July 25, 1886, to Annie M. Lehman, daughter of John and Mary Ann (Reese) Lehman; they have five children: Mary Alice, born January 20, 1887; Charles An- derson, August 30, 1888; Elizabeth Agnes, January 6, 1891 ; Sarah Adeline, January 5, 1893; and James Albert, January 14, 1896. Mr. Baker is a Republican. He was an old line Whig, and cast his first vote for President for William Henry Harrison. The family attend the German Baptist church.
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