USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. I > Part 62
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Tilghman Ochs was reared upon his father's farm, following the plow in the early springtime and assisting in harvesting the crops in the late autumn. Through the winter months he at- tended the public schools, and was thus qualified to enter upon a practical business career. After completing his education he took up his abode in Allentown, where he learned the trade of ? bricklayer under the direction of Jacob Nagle and Joseph Seip. After completing his appren- ticeship he was employed as a journeyman by the former for six years, and then worked at fire- brick laying for twelve years. Since that time he has been engaged in contracting and building on his own account. He was first engaged in building blast furnaces in the iron region, and he has also erected many of the fine homes of Allen- town and the leading business blocks, together with other public structures. In 1885 he ad- mitted his son Milton to a partnership under the firm style of T. Ochs & Son, and this rela- tion was maintained until 1897, when the father retired. He, however, yet makes his home in Allentown, where he has a wide acquaintance, enjoying the high regard of his fellow men by reason of the honorable course he ever pursued in his business career. He is a member of the Rev. formed church, and in matters of citizenship has ever been public-spirited and progressive, being found as a champion of many measures that have for their object the welfare and promotion of the best interests of the community.
In 1854 Mr. Ochs was married to Sarah S. Long, of Allentown, a native of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Jacob S. Long. Mrs. Ochs died August 29, 1899, in the faith of the Salem Reformed church, of which she was a member. The children born of this marriage are as follows : Milton Tilghman Jacob ; John Victor Allen, who married Annie Moyer ; Oscar Henry Eugene, who married Helena Roth ; Ida Amanda Susanna, who is the wife of Lewis Hamman and had five children, but only one.
Raymond L., is now living; Emma Matilda, the wife of Oscar Keck, by whom she has one daugh- ter, Florence; Harry Ulysses Grant, deceased ; Clinton Marcus Franklin, who married Sallie Schmoyer, and has two children-Dorothy Ger- trude and Tilghman Daniel ; Emelia Nancy Aline, who is the wife of W. Bion Fritchman, of Free- mansburg ; Florence Gertrude Abigail, who is the wife of Charles C. Vogt, and has one child, Charles C., Jr. ; and Flora Lavina May, who married Oscar Wilson, and lives in Philadelphia.
DAVID FELLOWS MORE. John More, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born in Forres, Elginshire, Scotland, February 24, 1745. He became a skilled mechanic and re- moved to Rothiemurchus on the border of Inver- nesshire. In his early youth he enjoyed good educational advantages, which he improved, and after reaching his majority he followed the oc- cupation of his father, that of a carpenter and builder. When he was twenty-five years of age he became acquainted with Miss Betty Taylor and wooed and won the lady, their marriage be- ing consummated in 1770. Two children were born to them in their native land : John T., whose birth occurred in 1771, and Robert, who was born in 1772. Later in the latter year the parents crossed the Atlantic to the new world and after a short residence in New York city went by sloop up the Hudson river to Catskill, and thence to the present site of Hobart. Here another son, Alexander Taylor, was added to the family-the first white child born in Delaware county, New York. The Indians about that time were be- coming hostile and as it was unsafe to remain longer in their frontier home the family returned to Catskill, where four more children were added to the family circle-Jonas, Jean, James and David.
John More, the great-grandfather, took an active part in the war of the Revolution, and in 1786, after the close of hostilities, he returned to Delaware county, where his youngest son was born. In that county he built a hotel, which he conducted for a number of years. The settle- ment of Moresville had grown up around his
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home and he was appointed its postmaster and also filled the office of magistrate, by appoint- ment of the governor, continuing to act in that capacity until he was succeeded by his son, John T. More. In the year 1823 Mrs. Betty More, and in January, 1840, John Moore departed this life at a ripe old age, at which time he had two hundred and twenty living descendants.
Robert More, the second son of John and Betty More, was born in Rothiemurchus, In- vernesshire, Scotland, July 8, 1772, and was brought to America by his parents during his infancy, so that his youth and manhood were spent in Moresville. Having fallen in love and being desirous of making a home for his bride before their marriage, he went into the wilder- ness and began the development of a farm. Three miles from his father's home he found a spring of pure water, and, deciding to locate in that lo- cality, he planted his first crops. Not long after- ward he led to the marriage altar Miss Susan Fellows, and as the years passed they became the parents of six sons and one daughter, and when the daughter was but ten years of age the wife and mother died. Mr. More afterward wedded Miss Polly Moffitt with whom he lived happily until August, 1848, when she, too, was called to her final rest. Mr. More was a most devoted hus- band and father, and found his greatest happi- ness in providing a comfortable home for his wife and children. He added to his farm from time to time until it comprised four hundred and thirty acres, and later he gave portions of this to each of his sons-David F., Alexander and Edward A. What then remained after making these be- quests he sold to his son Alexander in the fall of 1831. Later he purchased a farm at Pratts- ville, to which he removed the following winter, and there he resided up to the time of his death,; which occurred February 19, 1849.
Alexander More, the father of our subject, and a son of Robert and Susanna (Fellows) More, was born in Roxbury, New York. Septem- ber 14, 1799. As a boy he displayed a quick, active mind and when in school made the best of his opportunities. In his youth he also assisted his father in the support of the growing family.
Finally he married Miss Sarah Church, whose beauty and gracefulness attracted his attention early in life, and at the time of their marriage he was but nineteen, she seventeen years of age. His father then gave him fifty acres of land, but not being satisfied with so small a farm he re- moved to Blenheim, Schoharie county, New York, where he resided for three years, at the end of which time he sold his property there, returned to Roxbury, and purchased his father's farm, to- gether with the tract . which his father had pre- viously given hnm and which he had sold before his removal to Blenheim. He became extensively engaged in the dairy business, and made such an excellent quality of butter that it found a very ready sale on the New York market. He was a man of many sterling qualities, honest in all his dealings, and his genuine worth gained for him the warm regard of all. He held some important offices in his town and was looked upon as one of the leading citizens of his community. His wife proved to him a faithful companion and helpmate on life's journey and carefully reared her six children in the Christian faith. She died of typhoid fever, April 9, 1862. Alexander More finally sold his farm to his son David. In May, 1864, he married Miss Sarah Van Loan Peck, who died in 1868, and later he removed to Rond- out, New York, where his death occurred on the 16th of September, 1872.
David Fellows More, the youngest child of Alexander and Sarah (Church) More, was born in Roxbury, New York, December 26, 1839, and after attending the public schools in his early youth was sent at the age of sixteen years to the Delaware Literary Institute, at Franklin, New York. While there he became converted, and the whole tenor of his life was changed. Later he was a student in Roxbury Academy, in which he prepared for college. In 1860 he matriculated in Rutgers College, but fail- ing health caused him to abandon his studies be- fore the completion of his collegiate course. The following year he purchased his father's farm, and in June, 1861, further completed his ar- rangements for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Helen L. Dutton, of Meredith,
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Delaware county. They began their domestic life on the old homestead, but in 1865 he sold that property and purchased his brother's interest in the canal store at More's Corner. In that same years his wife died and the following year, after disposing of his store, he entered the United States Christian Commission, in the Army of the Potomac.
Mr. More was found to be an invaluable worker in that connection and did effective work among the colored troops, and in April, 1865, entered Richmond with the Union army and dis- tributed the first food supplied there from any Union source. Subsequently he superintended the distribution of five hundred barrels of flour sent by the United States Commission, and later he was made storekeeper at City Point.
On his return to civil life Mr. More entered the employ of William C. More & Company, at Rondout, New York, the senior partner being his brother. Upon the death of this brother he be- came a partner with his brother-in-law, Mr. Crosby, under the firm name of Crosby, More & Company, and filled that position for five years. While thus connected with commercial interests Mr. More was married, on the 8th of October, 1867, to Mrs. Sara Ten Broeck, a daughter of the Hon. T. J. Hubbell, of Pennsylvania. In Sep- tember, 1868, he was ordained an elder in the Presbyterian church and for some time there- after devoted his time and energies to church work, in addition to his duties in business circles. In 1872 he removed to Rock Island, Illinois, where he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber in connection with J. S. Keator, putting ten thousand dollars into the business, but a finan- cial panic largely demoralized all trade interests the following year and Mr. More closed out his business, every dollar of his indebtedness, how- ever, being honorably met.
Following his connection with the lumber trade, Mr. More became a Sunday-school evan- gelist in Illinois, and did most helpful work in the church as he traveled from town to town. Sub- sequently he returned to New York, where he became general secretary for the Young Men's Christian Association of Rondout, entering upon
the work October 1, 1881. After fifteen months of acceptable service there he was engaged by the international committee of the association for work in Vermont and remained in that state until 1883, when he once more resumed his labors as general secretary in Rondout. In the fall of the same year, however, he once more entered state work under the direction of the international com- mittee, visiting New Hampshire, Vermont, Hal- ifax, Nova Scotia, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the last named place he organized a Young Men's Christian Association among the railroad men, and afterward, in the interests of the work among railroad employes, he visited New York, Pittsburg, Altoona and other points. He did such splendid work in Fort Wayne in organizing the association and securing for it a suitable building that the people of the city persuaded him to establish his liome there, and he did so, be- coming general secretary. His work in that place continued until April 1, 1886, when he ac- cepted a call to the position of assistant state secretary of Wisconsin, and in the fall of 1887 he received a call from the state committee of New Jersey to become its secretary. He re- mained in the latter field of work six years, doubled the membership there, and increased the property until the realty holdings represented an investment of five hundred thousand dollars. Mr. More has always been a most active worker in the church and Sunday school, putting forth zealous, practical and consecrated effort for the advancement of the Master's cause, and when but sixteen years of age he organized a Sunday- school of which he became the superintendent. In every school with which he has been connected he has served as a teacher. He is now general secretary of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation in Bangor, and is an elder in the Presby- terian church here. He is also identified with the building interests of this city, having for nine years filled his present position, that of superin- tendent of the North Bangor Slate Quarry, where two hundred men are employed.
To Mr. and Mrs. More have been born three children, of whom they have every reason to be proud, namely Kathryn Le Fevre, Charles
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Church and David H. The elder son is a grad- uate of Lafayette College of Easton, Pennsyl- vania, and pursued a post-graduate course in Cor- nell University. At one time he was professor of civil enginering in Washington University, and subsequently was employed as a master engineer by a great building trust. He is now in the em- ploy of a firm in Chicago engaged in erecting very high steel buildings in that metropolis and other cities. The younger son, who is also a graduate of Lafayette College, is now studying medicine.
The representatives of the More family, from the time the great-grandfather of our subject came to America, down to the present, have ever been valued and progressive citizens of the vari- ous communities in which they have resided, and the life work of David More has been most help- ful to his fellow men, especially in the advance- ment of moral progress and improvement.
CLARK C. WISE. No name is more favor- ably known in trade circles in Bangor and this portion of the state than is that of Clark C. Wise. The entire Wise family are noted for daring en- terprise and persistency of purpose in business life, and, indeed, few men have done more for the progress and substantial upbuilding of Ban- gor than the Wise Brothers. During the years in which our subject has been a resident of this city he has not only witnessed its expansion and de- velopment from a small and unimportant town to its present proud position as a productive center, but has borne a helpful part in the work of ad- vancement, his career being a very busy and use- ful one. He now owns and operates a slate and blackboard factory situated in the borough of Bangor, and employes sixty operatives, the plant having a capacity of ten thousand school slates per day.
Mr. Wise is a descendant of an old family that was founded at an early day on the banks of the Delaware river and used that stream as a means of transportation in connection with their daily vocations. They were lumber dealers and rafts- men, and descendants of to-day are still exten- sively engaged in the lumber trade. The family
is of German origin, and John Weiss, the grand- father of our subject, was a worthy farmer and raftsman who resided at Stratford, near the Pennsylvania watergap. His wife was a Miss LeBar, and their family numbered five children : Micajah, David, Reuben, Jesse, and George. The parents spent their entire lives in or near Stratford.
George Wise, the father of our subject, was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and after arriving at years of maturity wedded Miss Susan Yetter, also a native of the same county. Mr. Wise became an extensive lumber merchant, and eventually settled in Portland, Northampton county, being recognized as one of the leading business men of the town and an influential citi- zen. He supported every measure which he be- lieved would prove of public gocd, and was always found on the side of right, justice and improvement. As every true American citizen should do, he took a deep interest in the politi- cal situation of the country, but was never an office-seeker. His wife died in 1889, and he passed away in 1893. They were the parents of five sons and three daughters: Joseph H., Alice, Rosanna, Lewis R., Hiram, Hannah, Frank S. and Clark C.
In was in Portland, Pennsylvania, on the 28th of February, 1865, that Clark C. Wise was born, and in the public school there he acquired his education. In 1882 his brothers, Joseph, Reu- ber and Hiram, established a lumber business in Bangor, and soon afterward admitted our sub- ject to a partnership, the business being carried on under the firm name of Wise Brothers for four years, when Clark C. took entire charge of the concern and his brothers withdrew. He then carried on the business alone until 1891, when his brother, F. S. Wise, purchased an interest, and the firm became C. C. and F. S. Wise, thus continuing until 1900, when their entire plant was destroyed by fire, causing a loss of seven- teen thousand dollars. This would have utterly discouraged many a man of less resolute spirit than Clark C. Wise, but he immediately sought a new field of labor, and in 1901 established the blackboard and slate factory which he is now
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conducting. From the beginning the new enter- prise has proved a profitable one, and is now more than meeting his most sanguine expecta- tions. The plant is equipped with the latest im- proved machinery for the successful conduct of the business, and there is now a large annual out- put for which he finds a ready sale. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Wise purchased the Bangor Central Quarry, located in the center of the fa- mous Bangor veins. This enables him to quarry his own slate for manufacturing purposes, and put the finished product on the market from first hands. Mr. Wise is one of the only two independent slate operators in the Bangor valley.
On the 12th of December, 1884, Mr. Wise was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Yetter, a daughter of Joseph T. and Caroline Yetter, of Stone Church. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wise have a wide acquaintance in this part of the state, and enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of Ban- gor. As a citizen he is public spirited and pro- gressive, and has been a cooperant factor in many measures for the general good. He has served in several positions of public trust, was elected chief burgess of Bangor, was for three years town councilman, and for a similar period was a mem- ber of the school board. His social relations connect him with Bangor Lodge, No. 565, F. and A. M .; Bangor Chapter, No. 27, R. A. M .; Hugh de Payens Commandery, No. 19, K. T .; and Rajah Temple (of Reading), A. A. O. N. M. S. As a business man he is well informed, alert and enterprising, and in social circles he is popular.
FRANK S. WISE. From his boyhood days down to the present, Frank S. Wise has been con- nected with the lumber industry and has pros- pered in his undertakings until he now stands as one of the leading lumber merchants of North- ampton county. He comes of a family of German origin, and in the fatherland the patronymic was originally spelled Weiss, but after the family was founded in America a change was made to the present anglicized form of Wise. The first representative of the family in Northampton county was John Weiss, who removed from New
York city at a very early date in the development of the Lehigh valley. He married a Miss Le- Bar, a lady of French descent, and unto them were born several children, including: Charles, Reuben, Jesse, David, Macajah, and George H. The father owned a small farm, and in connection with its cultivation he engaged in rafting on the Delaware river, his home being situated near Slateford, between Portland and the watergap. There he lived and labored for many years, a much respected citizen of the community, and eventually died upon the old homestead which he had established.
One of his sons, George H. Weiss, the father of our subject, was born in Portland, where he was reared and educated, and where he became an extensive lumber merchant, carrying on a business of much importance to the city. He built a large saw mill at Portland, operating it throughout his business career, and his enter- prise and capable management made him a pros- perous resident of Portland. He was also largely engaged in rafting on the Delaware river, for much of his timber came from the north. Later in life he also devoted his energies to the lime trade, and Mr. Keller, his successor in the busi- ness, is now operating extensively in that line. He was elected to the office of chief burgess of his native borough, and conducted his official duties as he did his private affairs, with prompt- ness, dispatch and strict honesty. As a com- panion and helpmate on life's journey he had chosen Miss Susan Yetter, and during their happy married life eleven children were added to the family, eight of whom are yet living, namely : Joseph, Reuben, Hiram, Frank S., Clark C., Rose A., Alice and Hannah. The five sons are leading business men in the slate belt, and are either engaged in the slate industry or in the lumber business.
Frank S. Wise was born in Portland, Penn- sylvania, in 1862, and after enjoying the school privileges afforded by his native borough he en- tered his father's sawmill, and thus from an early age has been identified with the lumber business, gaining in his youth a knowledge which has been of practical value to him in the conduct
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of important and mammoth enterprises in later years. He was connected with his father's busi- ness in Portland until 1884, when he removed to Bangor and soon afterward, in connection with his brothers, C. C. Wise and Joseph, went to Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, where he pur- chased a tract of timber land of five thousand acres on which was growing both hard and soft timber. Later a large fire which there occurred in the forest caused them a loss of forty thou- sand dollars. In 1881 Reuben, Joseph and Hi- ram Wise, under the firm name of Wise Brothers, opened a lumber yard in Bangor, which they conducted successfully until 1886, when Clark C. Wise became the owner of the enterprise and built a planing mill. This was operated by him until 1891, when Frank S. Wise was admitted to a partnership, and was. thus associated with his brother in business until 1901, when he pur- chased his brother's interest. On the 24th of July of the previous year, the mill was destroyed by fire, causing a loss of seventeen thousand dollars. After that fire the present mill was built and equipped with the latest improved ma- chinery. The plant is a splendid one, and Mr. Wise stands to-day as one of the leaders in the lumber industry in Northampton county. He deals in lumber of all kinds, and also carries all kinds of building materials. He likewise manu- factures doors, sash and blinds, and is now at the head of a mammoth business, controlling a large capital and employing many workmen. Through this avenue he keeps much money in circulation in the county, and thus contributes directly to the general prosperity. He also has extensive lumber interests in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, the business there being conducted under the firm style of F. S. Wise & Company.
From his boyhood days Mr. Wise has been connected with the lumber trade, and his per- sistency of purpose has undoubtedly been one feature of his success. He has become thor- oughly familiar with the lumber trade, both in principle and detail, and, keeping in touch with the advancement of the times in all business lines, he has expanded his own enterprise and made of it one of the leading industrial concerns of this
part of the state. It is true that the days have not all been equally bright; there have been times when the storm clouds have gathered, and when it required a steady hand and calm judgment to direct the course of the work so that disaster would not bring utter ruin. Twice suffering heavy losses through fire, he did not allow this to discourage him, but serving rather as an im- petus for renewed effort, he set to work to re- trieve his lost possessions, and has been accorded the patronage which progressive business meth- ods, combined with straightforward dealings, always merit.
In 1881 was celebrated the marriage of Frank S. Wise and Miss Clara A. Snyder, a daughter of Jacob A. and Rebecca Snyder. They have become the parents of eleven children: George H., Samuel J., Sadie M., Fred F., Margaret E., Mildred, Grace, Helen, Frank S., Ronald and Clare. Of these, Grace and Helen have now passed away. Mrs. Wise is a native daughter of Bangor, and is a representative of one of the old families of this section of the state.
JOSEPH A. LONG, who has been engaged in the hardware business in East Bangor for ten years traces his ancestry back to Germany. The founder of the family in America was Peter Long, who was born in the fatherland, and when a young man crossed the Atlantic to the new world, believing that he would have better busi- ness opportunities in this country, having heard very favorable reports concerning the new repub- lic, which only a few years before had gained independence from Great Britain. It was about 1788 that Peter Long settled in what was then called Mount Bethel, Northampton county, Penn- sylvania. He purchased a tract of land from the government, consisting of over one hundred acres. He married a Miss Albert, and unto them were born five children, as follows: John, Eliza- beth, Joseph, Abraham. and Jacob. The last two were twins.
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