USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 29
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It is interesting, therefore, to know something of the men who have played an important part in this wonderful de- velopment of vault construction and there is no one man who stands out so prominently in this respect as Mr. tune," for he believes this struggle in his
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early years contributed more than any- thing else to his high attainments in his chosen field of endeavor in after life.
At the age of thirteen and a half he found employment in machine and other iron working shops, where his taste for mechanics was developed, and at the same time he was enabled to earn the substantial portion of the means neces- sary to support his father's family. In the panic year of 1873 he took a position as traveling salesman for the Hall Safe & Lock Co., which position he held for many years. After this experience, he organized, in 1881, Hollar's Safe & Lock Co., at York, Pennsylvania, for the pur- pose of manufacturing vaults, safes and locks, and, after placing this company in a satisfactory condition, he sold his inter- est to the company afterwards known as the York Safe & Lock Co., and organized The Hollar Company, Engineers, De- signers and Superintendents of bank vault construction, associating with him, in this enterprise, Messrs. B. B. Comegys, president of the Philadelphia National Bank, John J. Knox, president of the Bank of the Republic, New York, and Robert E. Pattison, Governor of Pennsylvania, etc. These gentlemen, un- fortunately, have all passed away, others taking their places and thus continuing the business for some twenty-six years.
Mr. Hollar has managed the affairs of this company with great success. As a vault designer, he has the highest repu- tation. He is looked upon as an expert in such matters, and' in the formative days of the Company's business fre- quently did some of the more delicate and accurate work with his own hands, until such time as he could train men to meet his high views as to how first-class work should be done. Mr. Hollar de- votes his time largely to designing new forms of vault and lock protection, and in directing his assistants how best to carry out his ideas.
He is a man of enormous energy, con- scientious, most painstaking in his atten- tion to details and indefatigable in the pursuit of what he wishes to accomplish. Withal he is a man of marked individual- ity with a sense of integrity that nothing can swerve. Although his life is crowded with activity, Mr. Hollar has found time to share in the burden of civic responsi- bility and has been named as one of the Committee of One Hundred, and of the Committee of Seventy, and is a vestry- man of St. Stephen's Protestant Epis- copal Church.
Mr. Hollar was married October 9, 1875, to Miss Laura L. Rankin, of Mar- tinsburg, West Virginia. She was a descendant of John Hart, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence. By this marriage there were three children : William H. Hollar Jr., Mary Rankin Hollar and Richard J. Hollar. His first wife died in 1883. Then in 1887 Mr. Hollar married Miss Laura A. Traver, of Rhinebeck, New York.
KNOX, Philander C.,
Lawyer, Public Official.
Mr. Knox was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1853. IIe had for a classmate at Union College, William McKinley, on whose advice Mr. Knox became a lawyer, and subsequently At- torney-General in President Mckinley's cabinet.
KNOX, Robert Welch,
Lawyer.
Robert Welch Knox is a native of Buf- falo township, Washington county, hav- ing been born on the farm where his father had been born and still lives, Jan- uary 31, 1869. His father, William Knox, has all his life been a farmer, and is a man who has always been actively inter- ested in public affairs. He is a Democrat,
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and has served for many years as a mem- ber of the local school board. In church belief he is a United Presbyterian. His wife, Mina ( Meloy) Knox, died in Octo- ber, 1876, when Robert Welch Knox was only about seven years old.
Robert Welch Knox was brought up on the home farm, and attended the coun- try district school. Being desirous of higher education, he continued his studies at Washington and Jefferson College, and here he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1893. Immediately he entered the Law Department of the University of Buffalo, at Buffalo, New York, and from this institution he re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1895, and was admitted to practice in the State of New York. He then entered the law office of M. L. A. McCracken, at Washington, as a law student, and studied with him for one year more. In October, 1896, he was admitted to the bar of Washington county. He then opened his office at Washington, and from that time has been active in the practice of law. In the Washington County Bar Association he holds mem- bership, and he was in 1910 and in 1911 its president. Mr. Knox also has business interests in real estate holdings, and is a director in the Washington Trust Com- pany. He is also active in political af- fairs, as an upholder of the principles of the Democratic party. From 1902 to 1905 he was county chairman for his party, and in 1908 a delegate to the Dem- ocratic National Convention. He has fre- quently been a delegate in State conven- tions, and is now chairman of the Demo- cratic Committee of the Twenty-Fourth Congressional District and a member of the State Campaign Committee. Being interested also in social life, Mr. Knox is a member of the Bassett Men's Social Club. Washington was formerly called Bassett Town, and from this original name the club derives its designation.
He married, June 30, 1904, Sarah A., daughter of George W. and Elizabeth J. (Scott) Chaney, of Washington. They make their home at No. 205 Allison avenue, and have one daughter, Ruth Elizabeth. Both Mr. and Mrs. Knox are members of the Second United Presby- terian church.
NEUMAN, Henry L.,
Soldier, Business Man.
The great struggle of the Civil War ac- counts for the presence in the various oc- cupations of civil life of many veteran warriors, and Pennsylvania has no finer specimen of the type of soldier-business man than is presented by Henry L. Neu- man, of York, who in his early manhood was one of the bravest young soldiers in the Union army, and is now one of the most solid and progressive business men of his home city.
Jacob Neuman, father of Henry L. Neuman, was a son of Andrew Neuman, one of the early settlers of Conewago township, and, as his name denotes, of German ancestry. Jacob Neuman was a highly prosperous farmer of Conewago township, and a man respected by the en- tire community. He married Elizabeth, like himself a native of York county, daughter of William Lenhart, who for many years resided near Dover.
Henry L. Neuman, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Lenhart) Neuman, was born December 9, 1839, in Conewago township, and passed his boyhood on his father's farm, attending the district school dur- ing the winter months. Later he studied at the Dover public schools and for a short time was a pupil at a select school. Thus it might seem that he enjoyed but meagre educational facilities, but he de- veloped in boyhood the characteristic which has ever constituted one of the inost salient features of his mental or- ganization-that of making the most of
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opportunities. He probably learned more, most signal success. His concern is the restricted as he was, than many another would have done with the most liberal advantages.
In 1855 Mr. Neuman came to York and began his business career as a clerk in the dry goods store of Peter Wiest, remaining about six years. At the end of that time the outbreak of the Civil War revolutionized our national life, and Mr. Neuman, like so many other young men of that tremendous period, hastened to respond to the call to arms. He en- listed in Company A, 87th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel George Hay, and his regiment was promptly ordered to the front in Vir- ginia, where he participated in a number of engagements, in all of which he proved himself, by his coolness under fire and other soldierly qualities, to be of the flower of the volunteer army. In the battle fought near Petersburg, on the Weldon railroad, June 23, 1864, Mr. Nen- man received a severe gunshot wound, the ball passing through his left thigh. He was sent to the hospital at City Point, partially recovered, and in September, 1864, was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of enlistment. But for this enforced termination of his mili- tary career there is little doubt that he would have received merited promotion.
On his return to York, this brave young soldier took up the work of civil life, entering into partnership with Peter C. Wiest in the grocery and confection- ery business. His tireless industry, ap- titude for detail, and farsighted sagacity, were soon manifest in the increased trade and general prosperity of the concern, and in 1879 Mr. Neuman found himself in circumstances which justified him in dissolving the partnership and engaging in business on his own account. He ac- cordingly established himself as a manu- facturer of ice cream, and achieved, as a man of his type was certain to do, a
largest of its kind in York, having a sanitary plant of the most complete and modern equipment, conforming in every particular to the requirements of the pure food movement. In connection with this business he began to handle ice, selling largely both at wholesale and re- tail, and giving employment to eighteen or twenty men. The whole establish- ment proclaims its founder and head to be what he is-a progressive, wide- awake business man, and withal one hav- ing at heart the welfare of his employees, treating them always justly and kindly, and receiving in return their best service and hearty co-operation. While assidu- ous in business affairs, Mr. Neuman is moved by a generous interest in his fel- low-citizens and in all concerns relating to municipal reform and improvement. Taking no active part in public matters, he is nevertheless a quiet but potent fac- tor in many political and social move- ments. Widely but unostentatiously charitable, never has he neglected, in passing on to a position of wealth and influence, to assist those less fortunate than himself. In appearance he is the ideal veteran soldier-of imposing pres- ence, his white hair, beard and mous- tache in striking contrast with his alert, military bearing and piercing eye, his strong features softened by an expres- sion of the utmost kindliness and his air of command tempered by the most win- ning courtesy and affability. Mr. Neu- man is a member of Sedgwick Post, No. 37, Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Union Veteran Legion, No. 65, in which, since its organization in 1890, he has held the office of quartermaster. He and his family are members of the Re- formed church.
Mr. Neuman married, October 15, 1867, Amanda, daughter of John Wan- baugh, and the following children have been born to them: Edward W., James
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W .; Margie, wife of Huston E. Landis; that period, they belonged to the more Daisy, wife of Charles V. Boring, of Pittsburgh; and Mary. Mrs. Neuman is a woman of attractive personality, to her husband a true helpmate and sympathe- tic counsellor, and withal a most tactful and popular hostess. The home over which she presides is a centre of genial hospitality, Mr. Neuman being devoted to his family and friends, and holding no place so dear as his own hearthstone.
Both on the field of battle and in the arena of business, Mr. Neuman has ren- dered notable service to his day and gen- eration, to his country, to the Old Key- stone State, and to the city of York, and has been awarded the tribute of merited praise and the undisputed palm of vic- tory. His record, both in peace and war, proves that the qualities essential to the true soldier and the typical business man are the same- dauntless courage, high-souled honor and unfaltering devo- tion to duty.
PRUGH, Edwin N., Musician, Manufacturer.
Among the progressive business men of the Iron City who are daily advanc- ing the material prosperity of the com- munity is Edwin N. Prugh, vice-presi- dent of the firm of Conroy-Prugh Com- pany. While Pittsburgh trade annals contain records of many men who have been the architects of their own fortunes, there has been no record more creditable by reason of undaunted energy, well- formulated plans and straightforward dealings than that of Mr. Prugh.
The Prugh family were early settlers in the States of Pennsylvania and Mary- land. The great-grandparents, the pro- genitors of the family in this country, were natives of Prussia, Europe. They emigrated to America between the years 1720 and 1725, landing at Philadelphia. Like most of the original emigrants at
humble class in society, and came here when young and vigorous to better their condition in life. This is known from the fact that they "sold" themselves to the shipmaster to defray the expenses of their passage from the Old to the New World. Upon their arrival at Philadel- phia they were sold as mere servants to liquidate the expense attending their passage over the seas. The father then instituted arrangements by which he paid for his own freedom and also that of his sweetheart. They were united in mar- riage and settled at a place known then as Trappe, in Eastern Pennsylvania, and from this union has come the numerous Prugh family of America. Of their Eu- ropean ancestry but little is now known, as is the case of many of the earlier famil- ies who sought for themselves a home in the New World. It is related, however, that three brothers came over at the same time; one of them became dissatis- fied and returned to his native land; the second brother remained, but was sep- arated from the progenitor of this branch of the family, and there seems to be no trace of him or of his descendants, if indeed he ever married and had children.
Conrad Prugh, supposed to be the only child of the American emigrant ances- tors, was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1742, and died December 30, 1806. He married a lady who emi- grated from Germany-Lucie Marie Finkebeiner, born June 27, 1743, and died May 3, 1816, aged sixty-seven years five months three days. A few years after his marriage, Conrad Prugh re- moved to Frederick county, Maryland, where he purchased a tract of land of one hundred acres. He was by trade a shoemaker, and followed this and carried on his farm. To this couple were born sixteen children, including two twins who died in infancy. The remaining children by this marriage were as fol-
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lows: Frederick, Jacob, Henry, Kather- C. and Charlotte (Hassler) Prugh, was ine, Elizabeth, Hannah, George, Hester, Peter, Susan, Abner, Mary, John and So- phia.
Jolın Prugli, son of above, was born November 25, 1795, in Frederick county, Maryland. On November 25, 1816, he married a Miss Haines, of his own coun- try. By this union were born ten chil- dren : Jesse, David H., John H., Peter, Henry, Nathan, Gideon, Jacob, Catherine and Thomas. About 1814 he moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, near Dayton, and took up a section of land upon which he developed a splendid farm, which is still in the family. He was a man of strong mental traits and an irreproach- able character, and stood high in the opinion of his neighbors.
Rev. Peter C. Prugh, D. D., son of John Prugh, was born in Dayton, Ohio, September 13, 1822. Ile graduated at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, Marshall College, and was pastor of the First Re- formed Church of Xenia, Ohio, for twen- ty-one years. He was instrumental in establishing the Sailors' and Orphans' Home at Xenia, which was finally taken over by the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, and subsequently made a State in- stitution. For twenty-one years he was superintendent of the St. Paul's Orphans' Home at Butler, Pennsylvania. Since 1903 he has lived in retirement. He re- ceived the degree of Doctor of Divinity both from Franklin and Marshall Col- lege as well as from Heidelberg Univer- sity. He married Charlotte Hassler, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Hass- ler, of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Children: Edwin N., see forward; Dan- iel Kieffer, deceased; William S., of Pittsburgh; Rev. John H. Prugh, D. D., pastor of Grace Reformed Church, Pittsburgh, since 1880; Mary Augusta, wife of the Rev. Daniel N. Harnish ; and Miss Grace Prugh, both of Butler.
Edwin N. Prugh, son of Rev. Dr. Peter
born July 9, 1853, in Xenia, Ohio. He was educated in the public schools of Xenia, graduating from the high school with the class of 1872. He early dis- played a taste for music, and took a course in the Xenia Conservatory of Music, becoming proficient on the pipe- organ, and also as a singer. After leav- ing school he began his business career in Dayton, Ohio, and at the same time became organist in the First Presbyter- ian Church of that city. In 1881 he came to Pittsburgh and entered the serv- ice of the wholesale dry goods firm of Joseph Horne & Company. In 1885 he formed a partnership with John M. Con- roy, under the firm name of Conroy & Prugh, for the manufacture of mirrors, window and plate glass, this being the first firm of the kind between Philadel- phia and Chicago. The firm was begun in a small way, with limited capital, on Pennsylvania avenue, Northside, Pitts- burgh, but the business ability and un- tiring energy of the partners caused the business to grow steadily. In 1887, Mr. Prugh's brother, Daniel Kieffer Prugh, of Xenia, Ohio, was admitted to partner- ship, the style of the firm being Conroy- Prugh Company. A plot of ground was purchased on Western avenue, upon which the first buildings of the firm were erected, additional ground being subsequently bought adjoining and across the street, upon which was reared another large building. The firm now does a large mirror business throughout the United States, and furnishes glass to a majority of the building contrac- tors of Pittsburgh. Mr. Prugh has the quickness of the progressive man, and is alive with the spirit of the times. The most remarkable personal traits of Mr. Prugh are his untiring power of appli- cation, clear intelligence, and ability to meet and solve quickly the business problems on the successful handling of
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which depends the success or failure of many business enterprises. He is a man of deep convictions. Energy and inten- sity are strongly depicted in his counte- nance, as are executiveness and will- power, concentration, fidelity and ten- acity.
While devoting much of his time to business, Mr. Prugh does not allow it to engross all his time, and is interested in many movements for civic betterment, as well as being active in social affairs. He has served for a number of years on the Bellevue School Board, and belongs to the Mozart Club of Pittsburgh, the Bellevue Club, and serves on the board of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion. He is a member and an officer of Grace Reformed Church, Pittsburgh.
Mr. Prugh married, June 23, 1892, Laura, daughter of Captain George H. and Loretta (Shillito) Ghriest, of North- side, Pittsburgh. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Prugh: Elizabeth, Margaret, Ed- win Nevin, Loretta, Helen and Francis. The Prughs have a handsome home on Sprague avenue, Bellevue, and the entire family are socially popular.
A man of action rather than words, of remarkable business talents and un- tiring energy, Mr. Prugh demonstrates his public spirit by actual achievements that advance the prosperity and wealth of the community. Whatever is under- taken by him he gives to it his whole soul and lets none of the many interests intrusted to his care suffer for want of close and able attention and industry. Such men are indeed rare, and an honor to the community in which they reside.
MOUL, Charles E.,
Manufacturer, Financier.
scion of one of those ancient German families whose enterprise and wisdom so greatly helped to lay the foundations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The orthography of the name has with the lapse of years undergone a slight change, being spelled Maul on all deeds and records until some time after 1841, when it was altered to Moul by certain branches of the family.
Bartholomew Maul, the first of the name in York county, came hither from Germany in 1733, and took up a tract of land now covered by a portion of the city of York. He was one of the found- ers of Christ Lutheran Church, at York, and was one of the early county com- missioners. He died in 1755, bequeathing his property to his wife Elizabeth, his son George, and his two stepchildren, daughters of his wife by a former mar- riage.
Conrad Maul, nephew of Bartholomew Maul, and great-great-grandfather of Charles E. Moul, at the age of twenty- five sailed from the Lower Palatinate of Germany, in the ship "Hampshire," from Rotterdam, Thomas Cheeseman, captain, the date of sailing being September 7, 1748. Conrad Manl, on arriving in Pennsylvania, settled in York county, as is shown by the record book of St. Mat- thew's Lutheran Church, wherein are inscribed the births of two of his chil- dren. A sheepskin deed now in the pos- session of one of his descendants was given to Conrad Maul by Thomas and Richard Penn, proprietors of Pennsyl- vania, in 1758, in the reign of George II., and is recorded in Philadelphia. Conrad Maul acquired considerable property in Heidelberg township, and during the Revolutionary War gave proof of loyalty to his adopted country, serving in a militia company com- manded by Captain Andrew Foreman. In 1776 this company was called into
Charles E. Moul, treasurer of the Han- over Wire Cloth Company, of Hanover, and one of the representative business men of York county, Pennsylvania, is a active service, and was again required
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to take the field in the autumn of 1777, shortly before the taking of Philadelphia. In 1781 Conrad Maul was with his com- pany when it was placed on duty to guard about twelve hundred soldiers who were prisoners of war at a cantonment four miles southeast of York. At the close of the Revolution, according to a family tradition, Conrad Mant, with two of his neighbors, made a trip on horseback to the Blue Grass region of Kentucky, with the intention of purchasing lands and settling there, but after an absence of several months news was received that the three pioneers had died. Philip Maul, the eldest son of Conrad, went with others to the region whither his father had gone, and found the horses and the graves of the three adventurers, but could not recover the money which they had taken with them. After his return home the Orphans' Court of York coun- ty, on December 4, 1783, granted a deed of the Conrad Maul property to Philip Maul. This deed is now in the posses- sion of a member of the family. Conrad Maul married Catharina -, born in 1729, in Germany, and they were the parents of the following children: Cath- arine, born February 16, 1750; Philip, mentioned below; Peter, and Conrad. The mother of these children died in 1806.
(II) Philip, son of Conrad and Cath- arina Maul, was born September 8, 1752, in York county, and married Elizabeth -, who was born in 1753. Their children were: Conrad, mentioned be- low; Henry; John, who removed to Ohio; and Elizabeth. Philip Maul died in 1841, surviving his wife, who passed away in 1836.
(III) Conrad, son of Philip and Eliza- beth Maul, was born in 1777, and mar- ried (first) Elizabeth Hoshour, who was born in 1783, and by whom he had the following children : Solomon, John ; Elizabeth, married
Nancy, married Henry Shireman; and Lydia, became the wife of Solomon Dan- ner. Mrs. Maul died in 1808, and Mr. Maul married (second) Anna Mary Hare, becoming by this union the father of the following children: Conrad, mentioned below; Charles, David, Josiah, Absalom, Jacob, Sarah, Lovina; and Maria, who married Abraham Thoman. Conrad Maul, the father, died in 1851, and his widow survived him twenty years, her death occurring in 1871, when she had reached the age of eighty years.
Conrad, son of Conrad and Anna Mary (Hare) Maul, was born in 1813, at Mouls- town, York county. Ile received his edu- cation in the subscription schools and in his youth learned the cooper's trade. In 1842 he purchased a small property near Hanover and began the manufacture of water-tight barrels, but soon abandoned it and turned his attention to the manu- facture of grain drills, reapers and mow- ers. In 1851 he introduced the Hussey reaper into Pennsylvania, and for twen- ty years thereafter was prominently and actively engaged in the manufacture of reapers and mowers, inventing and mak- ing many valuable improvements in this important class of machinery. In 1878 lie added a planing mill to the machine shop, and organized the firm of C. Moul & Company. Mr. Moul married Susan, born in 1817, near Mount Carmel Church, daughter of John and Nancy (Stauffer) Bollinger, the former born at Bollinger's Mill (now Dubb's Mill) Heidelberg township, and the latter a native of Lancaster county. Mr. and Mrs. Moul were the parents of four chil- dren: Joseph B .; Charles E., mentioned below; Sarah Jane; and Carrie, married Jacob Fitz, and died in 1884, leaving three sons-Ervin, Marcy and Earle. Mr. Moul died in 1893, leaving the rec- ord of an able and honorable business
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