USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. I > Part 25
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He returned to his native state in 1782 and in 1794 married Eliza F. Price, daughter of Elisha Price, Esq., of Chester, Penn'a., and as a farmer he lived upon his paternal estate, until his death. The brave and honored soldier, the kind and obliging neighbor and friend.
Mary Ann (Barr) Butland was a grand-
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daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann Cummings, who were the parents of seven children : Peter, Clarissa, Dolly, Abraham, Sally, Nathan, and Margaret Cummings. Joseph Cummings was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia in 1778, and his death occurred about the year 1814. His wife, Mary Ann Cum- mings, was born in Rhode Island in 1738, her parents having removed to that state from their native land, Germany, and her death occurred in Wilkes-Barre in 1842, aged one hundred and four years. She was among the number of residents who barely escaped with their lives in the Wyoming massacre, after enduring many hard- ships. While Washington was encamped at Valley Forge, Mrs. Cummings and several other women walked from Wilkes-Barre to Philadel- phia to carry homespun clothing to their hus- bands and sons. Her husband was a member of Washington's army at this time, and there- fore she received a pension up to the time of her death. She was an expert shot with a rifle, and it is related by a witness that she shot at and badly wounded a large buck near her residence in Wilkes-Barre. The buck charged her fiercely, and she split its head with an axe that stood by, the blow killing it. Joseph Cummings was an active participant in the war of 1812.
Mary Ann (Barr) Butland was a daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Cummings) Barr, who were married at Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1816. They removed to Philadelphia and resided in that city for many years, Mr. Barr being engaged in the boot and shoe business. The following named children were born to them: William, Mary Ann, Joseph, and John R. Barr. William Jacquett Barr, the eldest child, was born in South- wark, but for a period of twenty-five years was a resident of the fourteenth ward. In early life he was a member of the volunteer fire depart- ment, being connected with the Vigilant Fire Company. Prior to the war he was employed in the mint, served as captain of the Warren Guards of the volunteer soldiery, and when the struggle began he is said to have been the first man to leave the mint. He entered the three months' service as captain of Company C,
Twenty-third Regiment, under the command of Colonel Dare, and also served in the next six months' campaign with the same rank. He then re-enlisted for three years, and served as captain of Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Regiment, until his discharge on account of sun- stroke and partial paralysis encountered in his service. His regiment participated in the battle at Falling Waters, and ably supported Perkins' Battery. He was a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 115, Free and Accepted Masons ; Harmony Chapter, No. 52, Royal Arch Masons; Mary Commandery, No. 36, Knights Templar ; Post No. 2, Grand Army of the Republic, and the Mexican Veterans' Association. Captain Will- iam Barr was an attaché of McCalls' Opera House. He married Margaret Young, of Phil- adelphia, and his death occurred at his residence, 1312 Mt. Vernon street, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. John R. Barr, third son of Sam- uel and Margaret Barr, located in Easton, Penn- sylvania, in 1850. He served four terms in the city council, and was a prominent member of the following orders : Masonic Lodge, No. 152, of Easton ; Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; Improved Order of Red Men; Society of Amer- ican Mechanics; Master Car and Locomotive Painters' Association of the United States and Canada. He entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company as master painter in 1870, and resigned in 1900.
John Butland, son of John and Mary Ann (Barr) Butland, was born in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, December 15, 1847. After his gradua- tion from the public schools of Philadelphia he learned the trade of ornamental painter, and from 1869 to 1871 served in that capacity, and also filled the position of foreman of the ornamental department for David Garis of Easton, Pennsyl- vania. In the latter named year he entered the service of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Easton as master painter, and by the faithful and con- scientious performance of the duties allotted to him has been retained in their employ from that date to the present time, which covers a period of thirty-two years. Mr. Butland has always adhered to the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal
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church, and has held the offices of trustee, class leader, exhorter and Sunday-school superintend- ent. In politics he is a Republican, and has served as a member of the state committee for two terms, also as president of the board of control (schools). Mr. Butland tried to enlist as a drum- mer boy in the One Hundred and Tenth Pennsyl- vania Regiment, was rejected on account of size and age, but went to the front and was brought home by force of the law. This little incident served to show the patriotic spirit of the boy, and this most excellent characteristic has dominated and ruled all his actions throughout his entire career. He is a prominent member of the Royal Arcanum, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Master Car and Locomotive Painters' Asso- ciation of the United States and Canada.
At Easton, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1870, Mr. Butland was united in marriage to Katherine Hillberg, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Shafer) Hillberg, both of whom were natives of Germany. John Hillberg was a farmer by occupation; his father was an instructor of music and settled in Northampton county, Penn- sylvania, in 1836; his mother attained the ex- treme old age of ninety-six years. Elizabeth (Shafer) Hillberg died at the age of seventy-six years.
The following named children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Butland, their births occurring at Easton, Pennsylvania, and they acquired their education in the public schools of that city : Mary Annette, born August 23, 1871, married, at Easton, March 14, 1891, James Irwin, of Phil- adelphia. Charlotte Gertrude, born November I, 1872, married at Easton, March 14, 1891, H. S. Brader, of Easton. John Rollo, born April 30, 1874. Henry Jacquett, born June 30, 1878, learned telegraphy and is at present engaged in his occupation at Trenton, New Jersey ; he mar- ried, at Bartlett, New Hampshire, April 14, 1903, Laura M. Smith, of Bartlett, New Hampshire. Zelda Elizabeth, born August 30, 1887.
CHARLES P. BOWLBY. The Lawrence Organ Company, recognized as one of the im- portant manufacturing establishments of Easton,
and favorably known throughout the country, owes much of its success and prestige to the mechanical and managerial abilities of its man- ager, Charles P. Bowlby.
Mr. Bowlby is a native of New Jersey, born in Washington, in 1848, son of Stacy and Mary A. (Hazlett) Bowlby, both of excellent families. The father was a shoemaker by trade. His fam- ily comprised the unusual number of fifteen chil- dren, and it is remarkable that all but one came to years of maturity. Of the sons, three rendered faithful service to their country during the Civil war-Whitfield filled out a full term of enlist- ment, and later was drafted and again entered the army ; and Levi and Stewart served as team- sters with the supply trains of the Army of the Potomac. The father of this family died at the age of fifty-five years, the mother surviving him many years, and dying at the age of eighty-three years.
Charles P. Bowlby was reared and educated in his native town, where he also learned carpen- tering, and in which he was engaged until 1876. He had developed excellent mechanical abilities, especially in the higher grades of woodwork, and also a fine musical sense. In 1876 he began the manufacture of a reed organ which soon became famous under its name of the C. P. Bowlby Prin- cess Organ. Success attended him, and he grad- ually increased his facilities until his was one of the leading manufacturing establishments in Washington, comprising a three-story building covering an area of 140 by 40 feet, with base- ment, equipped with a 90 horse-power boiler and 75 horse-power engine, and employing a force of more than fifty operatives. In 1893 he added the manufacture of the Princess Piano, which became as celebrated as its namesake organ, and of these two splendid instruments he turned out two hun- dred each month, his shipments reaching as far as Great Britain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
Mr. Bowlby conducted his business with a high degree of success until 1898, when the gen- eral financial panic brought unexpected reverses. In the magnitude of his operations, covering the entire country and extending to foreign lands,
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of necessity a large proportion of his assets were in the form of open accounts and com- mercial paper which were not immediately col- lectible or convertible, while at the same time his own creditors were at home. Entirely solvent in ordinary times, or if he could await his collec- tions, he was in need of immediate means to meet pressing claims. At this juncture one in whom he reposed confidence, and who had proffered his assistance in tiding him over a crucial period, withheld his aid, and Mr. Bowlby suffered the bitter disappointments of witnessing the wreck- ing of the business of which he was the creator, and the sweeping away of the fruits of his many years of industry. Obliged to close out his affairs, he closed his establishment, settling up his affairs in an entirely honorable manner, with no stain upon his honor nor reflection upon his capa- bility, and set himself to a new beginning in life.
Mr. Bowlby had, however, established an ex- cellent reputation as a master of his business, and in the year following his disaster he was solicited by the stockholders and directors of the Lawrence Organ Company, at Easton, Pennsylvania, to cast his lot with that corporation. He accord- ingly became manager of the company, in which capacity he has given to the establishment the advantage of his deep knowledge of organ man- ufacturing and of the commercial conduct of the business. Under his superior management the product of the factory has been largely increased, and new methods have been introduced in various departments, including the distribution of instru- ments direct to the home, without the large ex- pense incurred under the old method of employ- ing traveling salesmen, resulting in a decided saving to the actual purchaser. Mr. Bowlby has thus been connected with the Lawrence Organ Company for six years past, and during that period has added largely to his own reputation as a man of ability and integrity, as well as to the capacity and prestige of the great industry with which he is associated through his intimate knowledge of every detail of the business 'and his conscientious devotion to his tasks.
Mr. Bowlby was married to Miss Mary C. Sweeney, daughter of William and Barbara
Sweeney; her father was sheriff of Warren county, New Jersey, and served for several terms in the legislature of that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Bowlby have been born nine children-William S., Robert. W., Florence M., Harry R., Charles, Mary F., Elizabeth (deceased), Helen A., and Adeline C., deceased.
AARON RICHARDS is one of the well known business men of South Easton, where for a number of years he has conducted a mercantile enterprise. He is descended from good English stock, the family having been founded in Amer- ica at a very early day in the colonization and the development of the new world, the ancestral home being established in Pennsylvania, adjacent to the Lehigh Valley.
The grandfather of Aaron Richards was Jo- seph Richards. He bore the good old Bible name which frequently appears in the records of the family from generation to generation. Accom- panied by two brothers, he emigrated from Eng- land to America, but was the only one who re- mained in Williams township, Northampton county. Here he married and reared an inter- esting and prominent family. He was a farmer of some means, operating one hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, and gaining there- by a very desirable competence. Among his children was Joseph Richards, Sr., the father of Aaron Richards. This son was a native of Wil- liams township, and like most farmers he spent an uneventful but useful life, finding in the quiet pursuits of the farm ample opportunity to exer- cise his diligence and gain from his labors a com- fortable living. He operated one hundred acres of excellent land, fertile and productive, and never turned aside from agricultural pursuits to enter any other line of business activity. He married Miss Elizabeth Miller, who was also a native of Williams township, and to them were born the following children: John, William, Jo- seph, Charles, Jacob, Aaron, Henry and Eliza- beth, but only four of the number are now liv- ing. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and did valiant service in defense of his country. In his neighborhood he was a popular man, of
Oscar m. Richards
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good repute, and his upright life furnished an example well worthy of emulation to his fam- ily and friends.
Aaron Richards, whose name introduces this record, was born in Williams township, on the old family homestead, on the 28th of January, 1837. He was reared and educated there, spend- ing his youth on his father's farm, and after at- tending the district schools of the neighborhood became a student in the Easton Academy. Dur- ing the months of vacation and in the leisure hours he worked on the old homestead, early be- coming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist in the care of field and meadow. He also engaged in teaching school for some time, but decided to make neither of these callings his life work. Thinking that he would find merchandising a more genial and profitable field of labor, he turned his attention to that pursuit, in which he continued for five years. He then became proprietor of a hotel in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and conducted it successfully until 1876, when he removed to Easton, where he again engaged in mercantile business, in which he has continued up to the present time. He is now one of the representa- tive merchants of South Easton, well known in mercantile circles, having controlled a business that has increased in extent, importance and volume, since he came to the city.
In 1864, Mr. Richards was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Shank, a daughter of Ephraim and Catherine Shank. They became the parents of four children, three of whom are living : Oscar M., Lillian E., and Newton B. Mrs. Richards was born in Springfield township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in October, 1845. Both Mr. Rich- ards and his wife are consistent and faithful mem- bers of the Lutheran church, in which he holds the office of elder and treasurer, and in the work of the church he has taken a very active and help- ful part, contributing generously to its support. He is also the treasurer of the cemetery. In business circles he sustains an unassailable repu- tation, and he stands to-day strong in his honor and his good name-a man whom to know is to respect and esteem. John Richards, a brother
of Aaron Richards, is a prominent and influential resident of Trenton, New Jersey, and his son, Erwin Richards, stands very high in the circles of the Grand Army of the Republic, being now department commander of the state of New Jer- sey. He served his country faithfully in the great struggle for the preservation of the Union, and was wounded at the battle of Antietam, but afterward recovered his health and continued with the army until the close of hostilities, being now an honored veteran of the Civil war.
Oscar M. Richards, the eldest son of Aaron and Sarah J. Richards, is one of the intelligent and progressive physicians of Easton, whose patronage increases as the public learns of his. medical skill and surgical ability. He was born in Bursonville, Pennsylvania, in 1866, where his father was conducting a hotel. After mastering the rudimental branches of knowledge he pur- sued a high school course in South Easton, from which he was graduated, and next entered La- fayette College, in which he completed a course with honor in the year 1887. He is also a gradu- ate of the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, in the class of 1890, and he added to his theoretical knowledge broad and varied practical experience by serving in the Presbyterian Hospital as resident physician and surgeon for a year and a half. He also per- formed dispensary work for six months, and in 1893 came to South Easton, well equipped for the practice of his chosen profession. Here he has built up a lucrative practice, and has erected a beautiful home. Dr. Richards has served as. councilman for the borough of South Easton, and has been elected councilman for the eleventh: ward since the annexation of the borough to the. city of Easton. He is now the secretary of the United States Board of Pension Examiners, and is a member of the Northampton County Medi- cal Society and the State Medical Society. He was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Turner, a daughter of Amos and Anna V. Turner, and a native of South Easton, born in 1875. This wed- ding was celebrated in 1900.
Newton B. Richards, the younger son of Aaron Richards, has also been provided with
10
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splendid educational privileges. He has studied for the profession of dentistry, and won the de- gree D. D. S., but prefers to assist his father in his mercantile business, and is now one of the wide-awake, progressive and capable representa- tives of commercial interests in South Easton.
PETER WILHELM. When, after long years of earnest labor in some honorable field of business, a man puts aside all cares to spend his remaining days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, it is certainly a well deserved re- ward of industry.
"How blest is he who crowns in shades like these A youth of labor with an age of ease,"
wrote the poet, and the world everywhere recog- nizes the justice of a season of rest following an active period of business life. This was vouch- safed to Mr. Wilhelm, recently deceased, at his home in South Easton.
He was a representative of a family that has been represented in the Lehigh valley through several generations. His grandfather, Frederick Wilhelm, wedded a Miss Messinger, also a de- scendant of an old family. Both were natives of Easton, and were worthy people. Henry Wil- helm, their son and the father of our subject, was born in this city, March 6, 1795, and became a cabinet-maker, following that pursuit through- out his entire life and becoming a first class me- chanic. He wedded Miss Susan Eichman, a daughter of Peter Eichman, a worthy and re- spected man, and to them were born three chil- dren : Mary, born in 1818; Peter, born Septem- ber 28, 1820; and John H., born in 1824. The father died January 18, 1824, when only twenty- nine years of age, leaving to his widow the care of the three children. She survived her hus- band until October 23, 1887, and ever remained true to his memory. She was eighty-seven years of age at the time of her demise, for her birth occurred on the 18th of January, 1800. The daughter has also passed away.
Peter Wilhelm was reared and educated in his native town, where he started out in life on his own account as a poor boy. By close appli- cation to his work and faithfulness to duty he
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laid the foundation for the success which came to him in later years, and which sustained him in the evening of life. He was first employed as a laborer in the cotton mill, and drove a team on the tow-path for some time. Later he secured a position in the new nail mill, where he learned the business of making nails, spending three years as an apprentice and four years as a journeyman in that establishment. Throughout the remainder of his active business career he was employed in the wire mill, becoming an experienced and very proficient wire puller. His frugality, economy, industry and perseverance enabled him to gain a comfortable competence as the years passed by, and in 1888 he retired from business life. In the years of his activity, while he was still connected with his trade, he made judicious investments in real estate, becoming the owner of three fine dwelling houses, one of which he occupied as his own residence, while the rental of the other two brought to him a very gratifying income.
In 1851 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Wilhelm and Miss Adelaide Weaver, a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Weaver, and a native of Easton. They became the parents of three chil- dren, only one of whom is yet living : William H. The son wedded Miss Elizabeth Fritz, and to them were born three children. The daughter married James H. Wright, of Allentown, Penn- sylvania, and they became the parents of two children, but one has now departed this life. In Easton where he so long resided and where his active business life was passed, Mr. Wilhelm was well known. He reached the eighty-fourth mile- stone on life's journey, and in the evening of life was respected and honored, veneration and re- gard being extended him by young and old, rich and poor, throughout the community. Mr. Wil- helm died June 19, 1904, universally regretted.
JACOB GIES is living retired in Easton, as his former activity and close application to business paved the way for his withdrawal from active connection with business interests, having brought to him the competence which now en- ables him to rest from further labor. There is much that may with profit be set down concern-
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ing his life history for the force of his character, his thorough understanding of business methods and his enterprise, were the qualities which brought him success and furnish an example that is well worthy of emulation.
Mr. Gies was born in Germany in 1843, and emigrated to the United States in 1854, being then in his twelfth year. He accompanied his parents, Peter W. and Elizabeth Gies. The fa- ther was a farmer in his native land, and fol- lowed the same pursuit advantageously in his adopted country. He located in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1859, but finally re- moved to Carbon county, this state, where he followed the occupation of farming until his life's labors were ended in death in 1880. To him and his wife were born five children, four of whom survive.
Jacob Gies acquired a good education in the schools of Lehigh and Carbon counties and mas- tered well the English language. With a boy's ready adaptability he learned the tongue spoken in his adopted country, and also soon became familiar with the manners and customs of the people here. In 1864 he took up his abode in Easton, where he became apprenticed to the trade of a boiler maker, a pursuit which he followed as a life work and until his retirement from active business cares. For eighteen years he was em- ployed by the Lehigh Valley Company, and cer- tainly no higher testimonial of his capability and fidelity could be given, for his long service in- dicates beyond question how excellent was his work and how worthy he was of the trust reposed in him.
In 1867 Mr. Gies was united in wedlock to Miss Catherine Siegfried, a daughter of Anthony and Magdalene Siegfried. She was born in South Easton on the 22nd of March, 1841, and died on the 26th of August, 1888, after traveling life's journey happily with her husband for about twen- ty-one years. To this worthy couple were born eleven children, seven of whom are yet living, namely : Kate, Elizabeth, Lena, Mary, Henry, William and Herman. Of these Henry and Will- iam are now machinists, and Herman is going to college. Kate became the wife of James
Mowery, and to them was born one child. Eliza- beth is the wife of John Collins, and by this mar- riage there are two children. Lena is the wife of Charles McNabb, and they have one son. Mr. Gies has spent a somewhat uneventful life but one of usefulness and his sterling worth is recog- nized by his host of friends. He and his family are members of the Roman Catholic church, of which he has ever been a worthy communicant. He stands to-day as one of the honored repre- sentatives of our German-American citizenship in Northampton county, and is as true and loyal to the interests of his adopted land as any of its native sons.
WILLIAM COYLE, of Easton, is prominent among the energetic, far-seeing and successful business men of central Pennsylvania. His life history most happily illustrates what may be at- tained by faithful and continued effort in carry- ing out an honest purpose. Integrity, activity and energy have been the crowning points of his suc- cess, and his connection with various business en- terprises and industries have been a decided ad- vantage to this section of Pennsylvania, promot- ing its material welfare in no uncertain manner. He is extensively engaged in dealing in coal and ice, his business having reached mammoth and profitable proportions.
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