USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. III > Part 40
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Mr. Sutton married, June 25, 1872, at "Llanelew," Haverford, Lower Merion township, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, Hannah Anderson. The wedding ceremony was performed by the then senior bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church, Rev. Matthew Simpson, assisted by Rev. Horace Cleveland, D. D., and Rev. M. A. Day.
Mrs. Sutton is the daughter of Isaac W. and Martha (Yocum) Anderson, and a great-great-granddaughter of Major Patrick Anderson, who bravely commanded a de- tachment of troops under General Anthony Wayne, during the Revolution. His son Isaac was a distinguished member of Con-
gress. She is a granddaughter of Dr. James Anderson, a prominent physician and landowner at and near what is now Ard- more, Pennsylvania. Children of William Henry and Hannah Sutton: 1. Howard Anderson, born 1873, a graduate of Wes- leyan University, class of 1895; now a practicing physician of Philadelphia. 2. William Henry, died in his third year. 3. Helen, wife of Newlin Evan Davis, a grad- uate of Wesleyan University ; now residing in Middletown, Connecticut. 4. Isaac Craw- ford, born March 10, 1887, a graduate of Wesleyan University and the law depart- ment of University of Pennsylvania; now associated with his father in legal practice ; he married, November 12, 1912, Miss Ruth Clarke, of Lexington, Kentucky. 5. Grace, now connected, and rendering important service, with the Charity Organization of Philadelphia. 6. Corona, residing at home. 7. Henry Craig, graduate of Cornell Univer- sity, C. E. and M. E., now practicing me- chanical engineering in Philadelphia. 8. Mildred, married, June, 1911, Olin McCor- mick, a civil engineer, now residing at P'ertli Amboy, New Jersey. 9. Joseph Aubrey, now a sophomore at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.
Mr. Sutton is highly regarded for his scholarly and legal attainments and has re- ceived from the National Temperance Uni- versity of Tennessee the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, while in 1909 Dickinson College conferred D. C. L.
As this brief outline of his career shows, he has been active in legal, church, fraternal. benevolent and philanthropic work, and is highly esteemed and honored by his brethren and associates.
REWALT, Dr. John W.,
Pharmacist, Prominent Citizen.
The late Dr. John W. Rewalt, of Middle- town, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, was a man whose influence will be felt for good for many years to come in the business
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world as well as in numerous other direc- tions. He was a son of William and Eliza- beth (Eshenour)- Rewalt, of Middletown, was born in that town in January, 1848, and died there, July 29, 1909. Dr. Rewalt was educated in the district schools of his native town, and at the age of fourteen years be- came a clerk in a general store. After a short period of this service, he entered the drug store of Mr. Blensinger, remaining there two years and obtaining during this time a thorough practical knowledge of the drug business. Having been thus prepared, he became a student at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and was graduated with honor from that institution. Soon after his graduation he entered into a part- nership with T. C. Laverty, in the drug busi- ness, this association continuing for a period of two and a half years, when the firm dis- solved. From that time Dr. Rewalt en- gaged and conducted a business alone until his death. Had Dr. Rewalt chosen to de- vote his abilities to financial matters, he would undoubtedly have made a success in that direction. He was one of the founders of the Citizens' National Bank of Middle- town, and president of this institution from its incorporation until the time of his death. As an evidence of the esteem in which Dr. Rewalt was held by his fellow citizens, it must be stated that at the time of the Middletown flood, he was made treasurer of the flood fund. He was Democratic in polit- ical opinion, and served many years as a member of the school board of the town. In matters connected with religion he was equally active and prominent. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church many years, and a large contributor to the building fund for the new edifice. As superintendent of the Sunday school he rendered effective service until his death. Dr. Rewalt married (first) Mary Eyster, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and had three children; he married (second) Mrs. Mary E. (Kendig) Fackler, of Middletown, and had: Dr. Rob- ert K. Rewalt, of Williamsport, Pennsyl-
vania, who was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsyl- vania; John K. Rewalt, a mechanical engi- neer, of Rochester, New York, was gradu- ated from Cornell University in the class of 1911, and married Norma Morse, of Ithaca, New York. The descent of Mrs. Mary E. (Kendig) (Fackler) Rewalt is as follows:
(I) John Jacob Kendig, born about 1620- 25, in Berne, Switzerland, married Jane Mylim and had five children.
(II) Jacob, son of John Jacob and Jane (Mylim) Kendig, was born in 1650, died in 1728, and was of Conestoga, Pennsylvania. He married Onela, daughter of Hans Moyer, and had one son.
(III) Jacob, son of Jacob and Onela (Moyer) Kendig, was born in Conestoga, in 1675, and died, intestate, in 1735. He married Alice Wade, and had seven chil- dren.
(IV) Henry, son of Jacob and Alice (Wade) Kendig, was born in 1710, died in 1756, and was of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. He married Marie Wolf and had five chil- dren.
(V) Martin, son of Henry and Marie (Wolf) Kendig, was born June 3, 1750, and died at Waterloo, New York, March I, 1826. He was of Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and married, at St. James' Church, Lancas- ter, Pennsylvania, Mary Brennerman, and had nine children.
(VI) John, son of Martin and Mary (Brennerman) Kendig, was born in Sun- bury, October 4, 1770, and died in Middle- town, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1831. He married Elizabeth Hill, of Oley, Berks county, Pennsylvania, born September 18, 1770, died March 20, 1845. They had three children.
(VII) Daniel, son of John and Elizabeth (Hill) Kendig, was born in Middletown, March 16, 1802, and died December 31, 1876. He was engaged in the lumber busi- ness many years, and also conducted a plan- ing mill in partnership with Mr. Crist. He was an ardent Republican and Abolitionist,
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and was appointed by President Lincoln as United States assessor of internal revenue. He was one of the elders of the Presby- terian church of Middletown, and, upon the erection of the church, he was a generous contributor of the time and means at his disposal. For more than twenty-five years he was superintendent of the Sabbath school of this church, and was active in every movement in social life as well, that had for its object the betterment of existing conditions. When his last moments came he could truthfully say, as he did to those gathered about him, "I have tried to leave you a good name," and those who knew him best fuily realized that he had been more than successful. Mr. Kendig married (first) Susan Shelly, born March 21, 1807, dicd December 15, 1834, and had three chil- dren. He married (second) March 10, 1836, Sarah Rutherford, born in Paxton Valley, May 23, 1813, died in Middletown, March 28, 1873, and they had eight chil- dren, of whom Mrs. John W. Rewalt was the sixth child.
HARRIS, Robert H., Journalist, Public Official.
Through two generations of the name Harris, the town of Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, has owned a news- paper that in its growth from a weekly to a daily publication has ever presented to the citizens of the borough a "clean sheet," reliable in its report of current events, con- servative and truthful in editorial speech, and honorable in political fray,-"The Courier." This is the institution of that locality with which the name is indissolubly bound, and no monument could better speak its works than this journal, which has not only endured for more than forty years, but has steadily increased in prestige and circulation.
The Harris family in the United States begins with John F., a native of Devonshire, England, born in 1823. He immigrated to
the United States about 1859, coming directly to Pennsylvania and locating in Schuylkill county, near Mahanoy City, moving in 1874 to Frackville, in the same county, where his death occurred. In his native land he had been a rock miner and contractor, and in his new American home engaged in mining. He was a Republican in political action, and during the existence of the Labor Reform party, a movement that for a time held a large following, lab- ored diligently to advance its interests. In the height of its strength he was often sought as a candidate for office, but stcad- fastly declined, preferring private efforts to public responsibility. He married Mary A., daughter of George Greening, a native of Devonshire, England, by whom he was the father of three sons and one daughter.
Robert, son of John F. and Mary A. (Greening) Harris, was born in Devonshire, England, June 1, 1854, died January 16, 1896. In 1862, at the very early age of cight years, he was apprenticed to the printer's trade in a large establishment in his native land, but only served two years of his desig- nated time. In 1869 he came with his mother, sister and two brothers to the United States, joining his father in Maha- noy City, where the latter had been em- ployed in mining since his arrival about ten years before. Robert soon after obtained a position in the office of the "Mahanoy Gazette," and there finished the apprentice- ship he had begun in England, becoming a journeyman printer in November, 1871. He then came to Tamaqua to accept a position as foreman in the service of Evcland & Shiffert, owners and editors of the "Satur- day Courier," remaining in that capacity until February, 1872, when he purchased the interest of Mr. Shiffert in the paper. Thus began his relation with the "Courier" as part owner, and since then the words "Courier" and Harris have been ever linked.
The "Tamaqua Courier" traces its history back to the establishment of the "Tamaqua Legion" in 1849, owned and edited by J. M.
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and D. C. Reinhart, the name soon after- ward being changed to "Tamaqua Gazette," and subsequently to "Tamaqua Anthracite Gazette," under which name it suspended publication in 1861 for two months, and was then sold to R. I. Leyburn, who changed its name to the "Anthracite Jour- nal." At this time Captain Leyburn enlisted for the Civil War, leaving the paper editor- less, and a year later Messrs. Fry & Jones announced proprietorship until his return. The paper was then sold to the Monitor Publishing Company and issued as the "Sat- urday Courier," and again changed hands, this time passing into the ownership of Messrs. Eveland & Shiffert, in 1871. Dur- ing the next year Mr. Harris succeeded Mr. Shiffert in part ownership, and the paper was continued under the control of Eve- land & Harris. Subsequently the firm pur- chased the equipment of the "Anthracite Monitor," a labor reform journal estab- lished in 1871, and which at one time held a large circulation and wielded a powerful influence. By this transaction they acquired the following and good will of the patrons of the "Monitor" and the prestige of the old "Legion," of which "The Monitor" was the outgrowth, the first paper printed in Ta- maqua. In 1878 Daniel M. Eveland retired, and Harris & Zeller took up the manage- ment of the publication. At this time "The Courier" was changed to a daily, the grow- ing demands of the borough necessitating such a move and to offset, as well, the in- crease of the competition instituted by the establishment of "The Item," a daily paper owned by Levi Huppert. "The Item" was soon discontinued by reason of the death of the proprietor, and in 1881 "The Courier" partnership was dissolved, Mr. Harris be- coming sole possessor. Until January, 1893, "The Courier" was published as a weekly paper; in that year it was trans- formed into a semi-weekly; and in 1901 became a daily, as it now continues.
Mr. Harris was a member of Tamaqua Castle, No. 68, Knights of the Golden
Eagles, of which he was the first presiding officer, later holding the title of past chief, besides being a representative to the Grand Castle for five years, and until December, 1892, master of the historical records. He was also one of the organizers of the Ta- maqua and Lansford Street Railway Com- pany, incorporated November 2, 1891. He married Sophia M., daughter of Marcus Meyers, born in Bavaria, Germany, May I, 1874.
Robert H., son of Robert and Sophia M. (Meyers) Harris, was born in Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1879. He was educated in the public schools of his birthplace, graduating from the high school in 1897, later obtaining a course in business methods and practices in the Pierce Business College, Philadelphia. On May 12, 1898, being a member of Company B, Eighth Regiment National Guard of Penn- sylvania, hie enlisted with this command for the Spanish-American War, and served al- most eleven months as a corporal of this command. In 1902 he accepted a position as clerk in the employ of the Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York, in their Philadelphia office, but after nine months spent in this service he returned to Ta- maqua and became associated with his brother, John M., in the management and editing of the "Evening Courier." After his return to his native borough it was not long before he found his place in the affairs of the town, and has ever been one of the chief promoters of any project tending toward the betterment of any phase of the city's life, aiding greatly by giving such movements desired publicity through the columns of "The Courier." He was always thoroughly well informed concerning the different branches of the borough govern- ment, as was necessary for one in his busi- ness, and it was not strange that, on the death of Arthur M. Heath, chief burgess of Tamaqua, Mr. Harris should be appointed by the court to fill out the unexpired term. He assumed the duties of his temporary
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office in 1912, and on November 4, 1913, was chosen by the voters of the borough to fill that office for a full term of four years, his tenure of office expiring in 1917. Mr. Harris, in political preference, may be best described as an independent Repub- lican, for while he sympathizes with most of the principles of the Republican plat- form he does not commit himself to its sup- port in all of its movements. Mr. Harris affiliates with the following orders: Ta- maqua Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Knights of the Golden Eagles; Tamaqua Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; Loyal Order of Moose ; the Buffaloes, and the Royal Arcanum. He also holds membership in the Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce. In religious faith he is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He married, June 14, 1906, Gertrude, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Jervis) Bryant. They are the parents of one son. Robert M., born April 23, 1909.
MOHN, John Gerner, Leading Manufacturer.
A veteran of the Civil War before he was nineteen years of age, and a veteran hat manufacturer of his native State, 1871-1914, Mr. Mohn has in war and in peace proven his worth and fitness to rank with the men of his State in all that pertains to good citi- zenship. The firm of J. G. Mohn & Brothers has passed through all phases of commer- cial life during forty-three years of exist- ence, has been all swept away by fire at three different times but each time has risen above all calamities until to-day it is recog- nized as one of the strong firms of Reading with a plant among the very largest in the State devoted to the bat manufacture. The firm, founded in 1871, is yet constituted of the three brothers who were the original members, Jeremiah G., Richard and John Gerner Mohn, sons of William Mohn, grandsons of Daniel Mohn, great-grandsons of Ludwig Mohn, and great-great-grand-
sons of Johannes Mohn, who founded the family in Pennsylvania, coming from Ger- many.
Johannes Molin, born in Hanoom, Ger- many, in 1700, came to Pennsylvania in 1733 with his wife and four children, on the ship "Elizabeth." Records show that he purchased land in what is now Spring town- ship, Berks county, and there died in 1764. William Mohn, his great-grandson, was at Mohn's Hill, Brecknock township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, September 6, 1804, owned the homestead which he cultivated for several years, then purchased a grist mill at Adamstown, which he operated for ten years. He established a school and church at Mohn's Hill and was an earnest and faithful member of the Evangelical church. Several years after his death his son, Jeremiah G. Mohn, purchased the prop- erty on which the church stood and in 1895 presented it to the congregation worship- ping there as a memorial to his parents, the church ever since being known as Mohn Memorial Church. William Mohn was three times married, his first wife, Polly (Ger- ner) Mohn, being the mother of his nine children, seven sons and two daughters. She died May 16, 1851.
John Gerner Mohn, youngest son of Wil- liam and Polly (Gerner ) Mohn, was born at Mohn's Ifill, Berks county, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1846. He was educated in the public schools there and at Adamstown, two miles distant. He was his father's as- sistant in mill and farm work until seven- teen years of age, then on February 23, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, Fifty-fiftlı Regular Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, serving until honorably discharged, .August 31, 1865, and mustered out at l'etersburg, Virginia. He saw hard service during the last two years of the war, was engaged with the Army of the Potomac in several of its hardest battles, but escaping all the perils of war he returned home uninjured. On the termination of his war service he learned the trade of hatter with John and George
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Hendel, the latter his brother-in-law, who were then operating a factory at St. Law- rence, in Exeter township. He remained with that firm until 1871, becoming expert in all that pertained to hat manufacture as there practiced. In 1871 the brothers named previously, and an elder brother William, purchased the hat factory of their brother- in-law, George Hendel, which the latter had established in Reading in 1867, on Maple street, south of Chestnut. They organized as Mohn Brothers and with a factory force of fifty hands began the manufacture of wool hats. Three years later William Mohn died, and on January 1, 1875, the reorgan- ized firm, consisting of the present partners, began business as J. G. Mohn & Brothers.
The firm's first factory on Maple street was destroyed by fire, March 17, 1875, but was rebuilt the same year, operated until January I, 1881, then sold to the Reading Fur Hat Company. In 1878 they purchased the factory of Kutz Arnold & Company, on Eleventh street, south of Chestnut, also leased the Levan factory on the rear of 1026 Penn street, operating all until the sale of the Maple street factory in 1881. The Eleventh street plant, employing over one hundred and fifty hands, was almost totally destroyed by fire, September 6, 1892. It was rebuilt and operated with energy and success until February 13, 1899, when dur- ing a violent storm and blizzard, covering roofs and sidewalks under two feet of snow, the plant caught fire late in the evening, and before it was checked the fire fiend had for the third time swept away a valuable plant belonging to the Mohn Brothers. A fourth factory was built and equipped with all the latest and best form of hatmaking machinery and appliances, and business re- sumed with undaunted courage. Success followed and in 1905 a large addition to their plant was erected, the number of hands was largely increased and to-day their plant is one of the largest in the State devoted to hatmaking, their products going to all parts of the United States, Canada and to several
South American countries. The brothers had all practical hat factory experience be- fore joining forces, Jeremiah G. and Rich- ard in the shipping departments and office, John G. in the manufacturing department. They have all worked for the prosperity of the business, the success of one being the success of all, and in their harmonious and concerted association, the firm presented a strength not represented by capital, but far greater the strength of three in one.
John G. Mohn is also identified as a director with the Keystone National Bank and the Reading Hardware Company. Since attaining his majority he has been a loyal supporter of the Republican party and an active worker for party supremacy. He represented the Third Ward of his city in Common Council, 1874-76 and from 1876 until 1888 represented his ward on the School Board. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and since 1884 has served on the board of trustees. He has been prominently identified with the Young Men's Christian Association as a manager for over a quarter of a century, was treas- urer of the association for fifteen years and is one of the men whose earnest loyalty and liberality during all these years has made possible the handsome and commo- dious building in Reading, soon to be occu- pied by the association.
Mr. Mohn married Cecelia A. Harbster, daughter of William Harbster, deceased, and his wife Ellen (Matthews) Harbster. Mrs. Mohn is also a member of the First Presbyterian Church and a co-worker with her husband in church and charitable work. Since 1885 she has taught continuously in the Sunday school, has had charge of the mothers' meeting of the church for twenty years ; has been a member of the Widows' Home Association since its organization in 1874 and since 1898 one of the Board of Managers of the Home; has been treasurer since 1892 of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Young Men's Christian Association, and since 1890 identified with the work of the
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Reading Benevolent Society. The daugh- ters of John G. and Cecelia A. (Harbster) Mohn died young, a son, William Harbster Mohn, surviving.
William Harbster Mohn was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1872. He was educated in the public schools and at Blairstown Hall, New Jersey, beginning business life with his father and uncles in the hat factory of J. G. Mohn & Brothers. He did not take kindly to that business, and in a short time entered the employ of the National Brass and Iron Works, serving five years in the mounting department, then being promoted foreman of the department. In 1902 he became superintendent of the plant, continuing until 1908 when he formed a partnership with Edward Kershner as Mohn & Kershner. The firm are success- ful manufacturers of foundry and art metal goods, their plant, located on Robertson street below Weiser, employing from eighty to one hundred hands. Mr. Mohn is an active member of the First Presbyterian Church and Sunday school, having served for many years as treasurer of the latter. He married Hattie, daughter of Daniel L. Adams, founder of the Reading Radiator Works. Children: Katherine, student at National Park Seminary, Maryland; John Daniel, in second year of high school, Read- ing.
MOHN, Jeremiah Gerner,
Successful Business Man.
To estimate the value of a good man to his community is not an easy task, there are so many standards of value. The final award, however, is in just hands and a well spent life such as will herein be recorded will be properly appraised, and the results known by the Great Adjuster of Accounts. A human estimate of the value of the life and service of Jeremiah Gerner Mohn will underestimate rather than overestimate their value as he is a man whose right hand knows not what his left is doing, his good
deeds are many of them unknown save to the beneficiaries, yet he has not hid his light under a bushel and there is enough known of his commercial and religious char- acter and educational work to stamp him as one of the notable useful men of his day. Nor is the record closed, for as business success has given him increased resources in time and means, he has given to his brethren of both in a corresponding ratio.
Jeremiah Gerner Mohn, fifth son of Wil- liam and Polly (Gerner) Mohn, and a de- scendant of Johannes Mohn, the German immigrant, who came to Pennsylvania in 1733, settling in Berks county, as related in the preceding sketch, was born at Mohn's Hill, Berks county, Pennsylvania, near Adamstown, and there grew to youthful manhood. He attended school in both Berks and Lancaster counties, beginning business life at the age of eighteen years as clerk in a general store at Mohnsville, his cousin, S. K. Mohn, being proprietor. After three years' experience there he transferred his services to the general store kept by Mohn & Spatz, at Gouglersville, remaining there one year. For the ten succeeding years he was employed in stores at Rein- holdsville, Adamstown and Reamstown, the last four years being manager of the J. R. Redding store at Reamstown. In 1870 he became bookkeeper and shipping clerk in the hat factory of his brother-in-law, George Hendel, at Reading, and in 1871 joined his brothers in the purchase of the George Hendel factory and its subsequent opera- tion as Mohn Brothers, later J. G. Mohn & Brothers, yet one of the important indus- tries of Reading. Mr. Mohn has always been and is yet intimately connected with the firm as senior partner and to him as well as to his capable brothers is merit to be awarded for the development of an in- dustry and a plant among the greatest in the Pennsylvania wool hat factory trade.
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