USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > Genealogical and personal history of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Volume I > Part 27
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Ing by J.R. Rice & Sons Phia,
David Quempfle
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killed was the daughter of Mr. McMinn. After the accident he was active in the reorganization of both church and school.
Having settled at Newberry, in 1869, he in time became well ac- quainted with both the citizens and the different properties, and being interested in literary and biographical work contributed many interesting articles relating to that part of the city of Williamsport and of that part of the settlement to the local journals.
Of Mr. McMinn's antecedents many were numbered with the hosts of the colonial armies in the war of the Revolution, leaders among the heroes who struggled with savage tribes of the new continent and pio- neer settlers of the Keystone state who became hardy yeomen and left as their legacy, honor, industry and sobriety.
THE STUEMPFLE FAMILY.
The family of which this article treats was founded in this country by four brothers-David, John, Jacob and Frederick-who left their native place, Dettingen in Wurtemberg, Germany, about the year 1854. They are sons of John and Anna Marie (Eichner) Stuempfle, natives of Germany. They traced their ancestry to John Stuempfle, who was born in Dettingen in Wurtemberg, Germany, September 5, 1708, and died October 8, 1787. He married, October 29, 1754, Katherine Miller, who was born February 13, 1731, and died January 21, 1808. They reared four children: John Michael, born December 23, 1755, died November 2, 1839; he was a potter and miller. John, born May 15, 1758, mentioned hereinafter. Dorthea, born March 14, 1767, died De- cember 18, 1842. Katherine, born October 9, 1769. John Stuempfle, father of these children, was actively engaged in the pottery business.
John Stuempfle, second son of John and Katherine (Miller)
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Stuempfle, was born May 15, 1758, and died February 4, 1832. He was also actively engaged in the pottery business, being a potter by trade. He married, January 27, 1784, Marie Katharine Klein, who was born January 20, 1762, died October 14, 1829, daughter of John and Marie Klein. They reared a family of ten children, as follows: John Ulrich, born December 14, 1784, died October 8, 1787; Anna Katharine, born May 14, 1788, died October 16, 1810; Christine Margarete, born Feb- ruary 23, 1790, died March 20, 1792; Marie Dorthea, born April 16, 1791, died February 23, 1851; Christine Margaret, born October 2, 1793, died 1861 ; Marie Barbara, born January 29, 1797, died April 23, 1798; John, born February 5, 1799, died November 22, 1867; John Jacob, born February 5, 1802, died August 25, 1865; Christine, born December 4, 1804, died February 23, 1811; and John Michael, born December 16, 1806.
John Stuempfle, second son of John and Marie Katharine (Klein) Stuempfle, was born February 5, 1799. He was a potter by trade, which line of work he followed throughout his active career. He married, November 23, 1824, Anna Marie Eichner, born September 20, 1799, daughter of John David and Anna Marie (Diaz) Eichner, the former named having been a shepherd. Twelve children were the issue of this marriage : John Jacob, born October 25, 1825, died at Lam Lash, Can- ada, where he prospered greatly in the occupation of farming, married and reared a family. John, born March 27, 1827, went to Elmira, New York, after his arrival in this country, learned the trade of blacksmith and followed the same throughout his active career; he married and was the father of four children: John, Frederick, Pauline, and Cath- erine. His death occurred at Elmira. Anna Barbara, born August 3, 1828, died February 13, 1870, married John George Gockele. David, born March 6, 1830, mentioned hereinafter. Frederick, born Novem-
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ber 24, 1833, died August 31, 1904, at Elimsport, Pennsylvania. He first located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and followed his trade of blacksmithing for a number of years. He then sold out and purchased a farm in the White Deer Valley. He married and reared a family of five children : Julius, William, Elizabeth, Mary and Anna. Anna Maria, born January 9, 1835, died May 6, 1835. George, born August 22, 1836, died October 21, 1836. Anna Maria, born October 1, 1837, died October 30, 1837. Maria, born January 29, 1839, is now (1905) sev- enty years of age, resides in Germany, and is the mother of two chil- dren, a son and a daughter. Caroline, born January 28, 1842, died Feb- ruary 6, 1842. John Stuempfle, father of these children was frozen to death November 22, 1862. He was survived by his wife, who passed away April 8, 1874.
David Stuempfle, third son of John and Anna Marie (Eichner) Stuempfle, one of the four emigrant brothers mentioned at the begin- ning of the sketch, the other three being mentioned in the preceding chapter, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, March 6, 1830. He was reared and educated in his native land, and as aforementioned emigrated to the United States upon attaining young manhood. He located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 1853, went to work as a laborer, later took up the stone mason's trade, and from 1857 to 1867 was foreman in charge of the mason work on the Pennsylvania Railroad from Sunbury to Emporium. At the expiration of this service he formed a partnership with Gottlieb Gerstenlaur, and engaged in contracting. At the end of two years his partner died, and Mr. Stuempfle continued the business alone. His business increased in volume and importance with each suc- ceeding year, and by his honorable and straightforward transactions he won for himself an enviable reputation among the representative busi- ness men of the city. In 1875 he established the South Side Brick Works,
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which he owned and operated up to the time of his decease, August 14, 1903. He also dealt extensively in coal, cement and lime. Each enter- prise brought to him large returns, and he became the possessor of a handsome competence which enabled him to pass his declining years in ease and comfort. He always manifested a deep interest in the cause of education, and for a number of years served as a member of the school board from the Second Ward. He was a member and trustee of the German Lutheran church, and a Democrat in politics.
In Williamsport, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1853, Mr. Stuempfle was married to Catharine Barbara Huegele, of Wurtemberg, Germany, who came to this country prior to their marriage. They were the par- ents of eight children, two of whom died in infancy, and the surviving members of the family are as follows: Rose, widow of Frederick Mohn, issue : Catherine, deceased; Mabel, Louise, Alice, David, Florence and Helen Mohn. Gustave Adolph, who married Marie Eicher; issue : Mabel, Karl, Herman, David, Ernst, and Marie Stuempfle. Mary, wife of Jacob H. Bader, issue: Catherine and Anna Bader. John Frederick, who married Susanna Holler, issue: Henry and Mary Stuempfle. Catherine B., wife of David L. Erieg, and mother of one child, Theo- dore Erieg. Herman Otto David, who married Laura Weddigen.
At the death of David Stuempfle, father of the above named chil- dren, August 14, 1903, the sons took the business, changed the name to David Stuempfle's Sons, and have increased it considerably. They each have a separate department to manage, and being men of keen busi- ness ability and sagacity they are steadily reaping a good income. Gustave Adolph is the only one of the three who has entered into pol- itics, and he has served an unexpired term and one full term in the select council of the city government. In religion and politics they follow in the footsteps of their father, being members of the Lutheran
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church and staunch adherents of the principles of Democracy. They own their own homes, and their leisure time is devoted to their families. Gustave Adolph is a member of the F. & A. M. fraternity, Ivy Lodge No. 297, of Williamsport.
CAPTAIN EVAN RUSSELL.
Captain Evan Russell, of Williamsport, Lycoming county, Penn- sylvania, county surveyor and formerly chief of police of Williamsport, was born in Piatt township, Lycoming county, September 18, 1840, and is the only surviving son of Edward H. and Jane (Knox) Russell. He was reared in his native county, and his educational advantages were acquired in the West Branch High School, Jersey Shore, and at Dickin- son Seminary, taking a full course in mathematics and civil engineering. He gained his first practical experience as a surveyor, which vocation he followed for a number of years, and after his removal to Nippenose township operated a grist mill for several years. In May, 1861, at the breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted in Company A, Fifth Penn- sylvania Reserve, and for meritorious service was promoted to the rank of sergeant. In September, 1862, he was transferred to the Signal Corps, United States army, with the rank and pay of a sergeant of engineers. During his service of three years he participated in nearly every battle fought by the Army of the Potomac and had many hair- breadth escapes, having had a horse killed at the battle of Antietam, another wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, and in one engage- ment on the Rappahannock, while serving as a signal officer of a gun- boat, there were five solid shots sent through her hull.
In 1868, upon his return to Lycoming county, Mr. Russell was nominated by the Republican party for the office of prothonotary, but
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was defeated by a majority of only two hundred and two votes. In 1883 he was nominated for county surveyor, but was again defeated by a very small majority. Upon the election of Daniel Steck as prothono- tary, he appointed Captain Russell his deputy, which office he filled until April 1, 1889, when he received the appointment of chief of police of Williamsport by Mayor Keller. In 1901 he was elected to the office of county surveyor, being the choice of his party for that office, and in 1904 succeeded himself in office. In July, 1885, Governor Pattison commissioned him captain of Company G, Twelfth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania. He is a member in good standing of Union Veteran Legion and Reno Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
In 1866 Captain Russell was united in marriage to Sarah William- son, daughter of James Williamson, of Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of two children: Hubert H. and Margaret, a graduate of Dickinson Seminary. She married Henry H. Meyer, chief clerk of the superintendent of the Pennsylvania and Northwestern Rail- road at Bellwood, Pennsylvania. Hubert H. is a civil engineer em- ployed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, being supervisor of the terminal division at Philadelphia. The family hold membership in the Grace Street Methodist Episcopal church, Captain Russell serving as trustee of the same for many years.
HILL FAMILY.
It is a family legend that the ancestors of the Hills were originally Scotch; that by reason of religious persecutions in the reign of James II they fled to Switzerland; that after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes they were expelled from Switzerland, along with the Swiss and French Huguenots, and sought refuge in the Palatinate in Germany.
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In the early years of the eighteenth century there was a large and con- tinuous immigration of German Palatines into Pennsylvania. About the year 1720 Jacob Hill arrived at Philadelphia with others then known and classed as Palatines. He settled as a farmer in the Maxatawney Valley, near the location of the present site of Kutztown in Berks county, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was one of the founders of the Moselem Lutheran church, still in existence in Rich- mond township, Berks county. He had three sons, John. Jacob Hill, Daniel Hill and Frederick Hill, and also several daughters.
Daniel Hill, the second son of Jacob Hill, was born in Maxa- tawney Valley in 1728. After reaching manhood he took up his resi- dence at the place known as Windsor Castle, in Windsor township, Berks county. He resided there as a farmer until about the year 1783, having reared a family of thirteen children. His wife having died, he married again and removed to Westmoreland county, about fifteen miles from the present site of Greensburg, having born to him a second family of twelve children, making twenty-five in all. He died in the year 1814, aged eighty-six years.
Jacob Hill, the oldest son of Daniel Hill, was born at Windsor Castle, Berks county, Pennsylvania, on the ninth day of May, 1750. At twenty-five years of age, on the first day of February, 1776, he en- listed in the Fifth Regiment of the Continental Line for two years. At the expiration of his term he re-enlisted and served continuously until the end of the war, amounting to seven years, six months and twenty days. He was present at the capture of the Hessians, wintered at Valley Forge and participated in many battles. In Volume 14, Penn- sylvania Archives, Second Series, pages 259, 276 and 289, the name of Jacob Hill appears as captain of the Fifth Company, First Battalion, Berks County Militia, commanded by Colonel David Hunter, May 17,
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1777, and again same battalion and commander, 1778, and again as captain of the Fifth Company, Fifth Battalion, Berks County Militia commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Cuneas, May 10, 1780.
On his discharge from the army in 1783, he was married to Chris- tina Gortner, daughter of George Gortner, who in 1773 had removed with his family from Windsor township, Berks county, to his farm in Muncy township, Northumberland, now Lycoming county, on Muncy Creek, about midway between Muncy and Hughesville. On a Sunday morning in the early summer of the year 1778, George Gortner and a visiting friend by the name of Markel were walking through his corn field inspecting the growing crop when an Indian in ambush along the bank of the creek arose and fired a shot by which Gortner was instantly killed.
Jacob Hill, after his marriage, resided at Windsor Castle, Berks county, for nine years, and on March 26, 1793, he removed to the farm he had purchased near Hughesville, Lycoming county. He died on the ninth day of January, 1823, six days after the death of his wife, Chris- tina. He was a thrifty and successful farmer and a man of strong moral and religious principles. He was one of the founders and princi- pal supporters of the " Old Brick " Lutheran church, situated midway between Hughesville and Muncy, in the yard adjoining which are the graves of himself and wife. He had three sons, John Hill, Daniel Hill and Jacob Hill, and five daughters, Susanna, wife of Henry Diffenbach; Catherine, wife of Frederick Steck; Elizabeth, wife of John Steck; Hannah, wife of Adam Sarver; and Christina, wife of John House- knecht.
John Hill, the oldest son of Jacob Hill, was born at Windsor Castle, Berks county, Pennsylvania, on the 24th of May, 1787. When his father purchased and removed to his farm near Hughesville he was a
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boy of seven years. Upon the death of his father in 1824, John Hill purchased the farm and resided there until the year 1855, when he re- moved to a residence he had erected in the Borough of Hughesville. In 1815 he married Catherine Steck, daughter of Baltzer Steck, by whom he had twelve children : Dr. George Hill; Rev. Dr. Reuben Hill; Dr. Charles M. Hill; Jacob and John, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, wife of Elwood Hughes; Sarah A., wife of Rev. Dr. P. Born; Susanna, wife of Rev. Joshua Evans ; Hannah, wife of Captain A. C. Mench; Martha, wife of Rev. C. J. Ehrehart; Mary C., wife of Rev. J. R. Dimm; and Margaret.
John Hill in his earliest manhood became a member of the Lutheran church, was one of the founders of the present Lutheran Church of Hughesville, and held official position in that church continuously until his death. John Hill was the uncompromising foe of intoxicating liquors. In 1830 he introduced the innovation of excluding all liquors from his harvest and hay fields, a step which produced severe criticism at the time and numerous predictions that he could not get his crops harvested. He soon demonstrated, however, that ready cash was a sat- isfactory substitute, and he never found it necessary to return to the custom then so prevalent of furnishing stimulants to hired men. He served several terms as justice of the peace, was a major of the militia for many years, and throughout his life was highly respected and es- teemed. In politics he was a Democrat until the second election of General Jackson, when he voted for Henry Clay. Thereafter he was a Whig until 1856, when he voted for Fremont, and from that time advo- cated and voted the Republican ticket. He died on June 1, 1873, at the age of eighty-six years, his wife Catherine having died a few years previously.
Dr. George, the oldest son of John Hill, was born in Wolf town)-
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ship, Lycoming county, on the 14th of January, 1816. His education was acquired at the Milton Academy under the instruction of David Kirkpatrick and David Ferguson. He chose the profession of medicine, and graduated at Jefferson Medical College in 1838. He immediately thereafter began the practice of his profession in Hughesville. Nine years later he removed to Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he continued the practice of medicine very arduously for seven years. In 1855 he purchased his father's farm near Hughesville and removed thereon. For forty-one years he managed the farm and prac- ticed his profession in that vicinity. He was highly esteemed as a physi- cian, and there were not many families for miles about him which during all these years did not receive the benefit of his professional ministra- tions.
On the Ioth of September, 1840, he was married to Rachel Hughes, daughter of Jeremiah Hughes, whose father, William Hughes, laid out and founded the town of Catawissa. The family of Hughes was promi- nent in the Society of Friends, their ancestors having come from Eng- land with Penn in 1682. Dr. George Hill died on the 27th of Novem- ber, 1896, at the age of nearly eighty-one years, his wife having died two years previously. He was an active and ardent member of the Lutheran church at Hughesville, then at Bloomsburg, and again at Hughesville to the end of his life, which was one of great activity and widely extended usefulness. Dr. Hill had seven children, six of whom survive him: J. Clinton Hill, a member of the bar of Lycoming county, located at Williamsport; J. Harvey Hill, M. D., a physician lo- cated in Baltimore, Maryland; G. Alvin Hill, M. D., a physician in Philadelphia ; Justin L. Hill, pharmacist in Williamsport; and Cornelia and Rachel Ada Hill, who reside in Hughesville.
J. Clinton Hill, the oldest son of Dr. George Hill, was born at
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Hughesville, Pennsylvania, on the IIth day of June, 1841. He gradu- ated at Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, in 1864, was admitted to the Lycoming county bar in 1867, and since that time has practiced law continuously at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. On September 8, 1870, he was married at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to Sophia Catharine Weise, daughter of Henry Weise, of Hagerstown, Maryland. He has five children : Harvey Russell Hill, a member of the Lycoming county bar, practicing at Williamsport; George Henry Hill, an electrical engi- neer with the General Electric Company at Schenectady, New York; Leila Catharine; Robert Clinton, in the West Branch National Bank of Williamsport; and Frederick Weise Hill.
George Henry Hill was married on the 21st day of December, 1899, to Hazel Thompson, daughter of William B. Thompson. They have three children, all of whom are boys.
CHARLES J. HILL.
Charles J. Hill, a highly respected citizen of Williamsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, traces his ancestry to Fred. Hill, who was an active participant in the Revolutionary war, having served as a member of the Fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, was present at Valley Forge during that memorable winter when the troops suffered so much hardship, and was mustered out of service during the year 1778. His remains were interred at Danville, Pennsylvania.
The line of descent is traced through his son, Martin Hill, a shoe- maker by trade, and one of the early settlers of Hughesville, Lycoming county. His wife, who was a granddaughter of Jeptha Hughes, in whose honor the town of Hughesville was named, bore him a family of six sons, as follows : Joseph, who married a Miss Doane, and reared a large
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family of children; Jesse D., mentioned at length hereinafter; George W., who married Lavina Morris, and they reared a large family of children : Jacob R., who married Emella Kahler ; Daniel S., whose death occurred while a student at Dickinson Seminary ; H. Nelson, who married Elizabeth Little, who bore him a number of children.
Jesse D. Hill, second son of Martin Hill, was born in Hughesville, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, 1824. His educational advantages were those afforded by the common schools of that day, after which he worked on the farm and also assisted his father in the shoemaking trade. He assisted in the construction of the Muncy Creek Railroad, which added so greatly to the growth and development of that section of the county. He was prominently identified with local affairs, serving acceptably in the capacity of school director and a member of the borough council. He was united in marriage to Nancy Morris, eldest child of David and Elizabeth (Weasner) Morris, one of the original settlers of Penn town- ship, whose family consisted of six other children, namely: Lucetta, who became the wife of Charles B. Howard, and mother of two children, Josiah and William Howard; George, who settled out west; Nelson, who died in Los Angeles, California ; he was survived by a wife and a num- ber of children; Ermina, who became the wife of George Busler, and their children were: Sherwood, Samuel and Ellen Busler; Emily, who became the wife of Albert C. Henry; Agnes, who became the wife of a Mr. McCaslin, and their children were: Howard and Agnes McCaslin. Seven children were born to Jesse D. and Nancy (Morris) Hill, as fol- lows: Mary, who became the wife of George C. Hughes, one child, William, unmarried; Sarah, who became the wife of William Strouse, no issue; she is now deceased ; Martha, who married, first, William Tall- man, one child, Lucretia; second, Daniel H. Poust, no issue; Gertrude, who became the wife of Tilghman Hayes, of Kansas City, Missouri, two
i
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children ; Charles J., mentioned hereinafter; Flora, unmarried; Franklin McClellan, who died in infancy.
Charles J. Hill, only surviving son of Jesse D. and Nancy ( Morris) Hill, was born in Hughesville, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, 1858. He attended the public schools of his native town, completing his studies at the age of fifteen years. He gained his first practical experience in the employ of the Muncy Creek Railroad, with which corporation he remained until twenty-one years of age. He then became an employe of the Hughesville Furniture Company, accountant, in which capacity he served until 1888, in which year he went to Muncy with John Flynn, who purchased an interest in the Muncy Manufacturing Company, and Mr. Hill was appointed manager and treasurer of the same. In 1891 he went to Lockhaven and became interested in a corporation for the manu- facture of furniture, but owing to various causes this enterprise failed. Two years later, 1893, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, to assist in upholstery work, but after a residence of three years there returned to Lycoming county, and since that date, a period of eight years, has been employed as assistant by the J. K. Rishel Furniture Company. He is faithful and conscientious in the performance of his duties, and well merits the con- fidence reposed in him by his employers. In 1886 he was elected to the office of burgess of Hughesville, and also served as a member of the town council. His religious views coincide with the doctrines of the Lutheran church, and he is also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.
Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Sarah F. Brown. Their children are: Josephine, William C., Florence.
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THE QUIGEL FAMILY.
The original of this name was Quickel, and Quigel is the Angli- cized form of the name. In the year 1736 there landed at Philadelphia from the ship Fantana, sailing from Rotterdam, Holland, a number of German emigrants, among whom were a John Michael and a John Philip Quickel, " over sixteen years old," with other members of their families, among whom were Christain, George and Peter Quickel. It is probable that this family came down the river Rhine in Germany to Rotterdam from the Palatinate or Grand Duchy of Baden, where are now to be found families of the same name, Quickel. The name Quigel and its preceding variations, is to be found mentioned in a work on the " Teutonic Name System," by a German author whose name is not recalled. The root of the name is derived from the old Norse language and originally meant "sword." The founder of the family was evi- dently a maker of swords, or very dexterous in handling them-hence the surname.
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