USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. II > Part 53
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James Laird was a very prominent man in his community, served in the Revolutionary war, participated in the battle of Brandywine, and by his numerous friends and acquaintances was al- ways accosted as Captain Laird. He was a mem- ber of the Pennsylvania state senate from 1806 until 1812, representing the district comprising Northumberland and Luzerne counties. He and his father sold their lands in what was then Lan- caster county and removed to Northumberland (now Columbia) county, about 1797 or 1798. James Laird wedded Mary McFarlane, and their children were William, Mary and John. His second wife was a Miss Watson, and their chil- dren were Thomas, Samuel and Jane. When James Laird was serving as state senator his daughter Mary, the mother of Thomas Daugh- erty, would ride on the pillion of his saddle to Harrisburg, where she was left to attend school, while her father attended the sessions of the legis- lature at the state capital in Lancaster. Her death occurred when she was seventy-nine years of age and she, too, was laid to rest in Derry churchyard in Columbia county.
Thomas Daugherty, after attending the pub- lic schools until twelve years of age, entered upon his business career as a clerk in a general store at Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was engaged in the location and con- struction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad as a member of the engineer corps from 1853 until the completion of the road in 1856. During the three succeeding years he was bookkeeper for Packer Douglas, at Nesquehoning, Pennsylva- nia. Early in the year 1859 he went to the west, crossing the plains from Leavenworth to Den- ver, Colorado, with an ox team. In the latter state he was engaged in prospecting and mining until the early part of 1861, and during the win-
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ter of 1859-60 he served as assistant clerk of the Colorado legislature under the provisional gov- ernment, while, following the adjournment of the assembly, he taught the first school in the territory, at Golden City, Colorado. In the spring of 1860 he was with the prospecting party that discovered the California Gulch diggings at the headwaters of the Arkansas river, where twenty years later the Leadville diggings were opened. When he went west in 1859 he traveled for two hundred miles through the Buffalo range. The prairie at intervals was covered for miles with herds of buffalo, so that the district appeared to be one vast buffalo robe, thousands of the ani- mals being on their way to the northern feeding grounds. Large numbers of them were slaugh- tered by the Pike's Peak emigrants, who generally only made use of the hump and tongue, the bal- ance of the carcasses being devoured by the great packs of wolves that followed in the path of the emigrant trains.
Following the outbreak of the Civil war, Thomas Daugherty was mustered into the United States service on the 18th of April, 1861, and served for three months under the president's first call for seventy-five thousand men, as a mem- ber of Company A, First Regiment of Pennsyl- vania, Volunteers, commanded by Captain James L. Selfridge. He became a mem- ber of Captain William J. Palmer's in- dependent company, the Anderson Troop, on the 12th of October, 1861, at Carlisle, Penn- sylvania. The company was raised under an order of the secretary of war, and acted as body- guard for Major General Anderson, of Fort Sum- ter fame, then commanding in Kentucky, and Mr. Daugherty became a fourth sergeant of the company. He participated in the battle of Shi- loh, or Pittsburg Landing, Perryville, Murfrees- boro, or Stone River, and was at Fort Donelson the day after the surrender, where he saw Gen- eral Grant for the first time. He was also in the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, and in numerous smaller engagements. For a time he was on duty in the Gault House in Louisville, Kentucky, and witnessed the shooting of General Nelson by Jefferson C. Davis. On the 26th of March, 1863,
Mr. Daugherty was mustered out of service with the entire company.
In the following year Mr. Daugherty became . bookkeeper at the Yorktown Colliery in Carbon county, Pennsylvania, and continued in that po- sition for thirty years, during the last eight years of which time he was also a member of the firm, the business being conducted under the name of George H. Myers & Company. In November, 1894, he removed from Yorktown Colliery to Al- lentown, and became interested in the independent telephone business. He was one of the organ- izers and the president of the Lehigh Telephone Company, and remained at its head until the busi- ness was merged into that of the Consolidated Companies of Pennsylvania, of which he is now a director. He is also a member of the direc- torate of the Inter-State Telephone Company of New Jersey.
Mr. Daugherty cast his first presidential vote for Bell in 1860, but since that time has been a stalwart Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian church of Allentown, of the Grand Army of the Republic, of the Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution, and is a thirty-second degree Mason.
Mr. Daugherty was married January 15, 1859, to Miss Jane Hewitt. She was a school girl of Brooklyn Center, Susquehanna county, Pennsyl- vania, until twelve years of age, at which time the family removed to Nesquehoning, Carbon county, and there she afterward gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Daugherty. She is a descend- ant of Jedidiah Hewitt, who removed about 1800 from Rhode Island to Susquehanna county, Penn- sylvania, and there her father, Abel Hewitt, was born in 1804. He was a man of much ability, was an uncompromising Democrat through his entire life, and for many years served as a jus- tice of the peace in his native county, and also for a term in Carbon county. He was school di- rector for many years, and took an active and helpful interest in all matters pertaining to the public schools and their substantial development. He died at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, and was buried in Fairview cemetery, Allentown, Pennsylvania. He married Julia Fish, a daugh-
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ter of Anthony Fish, who was born at Mystic, Connecticut, whence he emigrated to Brooklyn, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The Fish family is a large and influential one in this state, and has furnished many soldiers and statesmen to Penn- sylvania.
The children of Thomas and Jane ( Hewitt) Daugherty are as follows: Oscar Hammond, born in 1860, died at the age of nine years ; Wil- liam Hewitt, born in 1862, died at the age of twenty-two years; Mary Laird, born in 1865, died at the age of twenty years ; George Hammond, born in 1868, is living in Allentown; Nellie An- drews, born in 1872, is the wife of Charles F. Huber, superintendent of the Lehigh & Wilkes- Barre Coal Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- vania ; Abel Hewitt, born in 1869, is married and lives in Bethlehem ; Lillian Jane, born in 1874, is at home ; and Julia Estelle, born in 1877, married W. A. Polock, son of the Rev. Dr. J. F. Pollock, pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Allen- town.
George Hammond Daugherty, son of Thomas Daugherty, was born in Audenried, Pennsylva- nia, attended the public schools, and afterward became a student in the Bloomsburg State Nor- mal School, but because of ill health he put aside his text books before graduation. He then went to Colorado, and after his health was improved he returned to Pennsylvania and attended the Shortledge Academy at Media. When his course of study there was completed, he entered Pierce's Business College in Philadelphia, where he pur- sued a complete commercial course and was grad- uated with the class of 1887. Thus well equip- ped for business life he entered the office of George H. Myers & Company, coal operators, his father being interested in the business. Later he went to Birmingham, Alabama, where he es- tablished a foundry for the casting of hardware specialties. He conducted that enterprise for eight' years, but misfortune overtook him, his entire plant being destroyed by fire. After this disaster he returned to Allentown, where he started the Daugherty Iron Foundry for the man- ufacture of general castings made to order. He also makes a specialty of grate bars. This busi-
ness was founded in December, 1900, and is now in a profitable condition.
Mr. Daugherty is a stanch Republican in his political views, and in religious belief is a Pres- byterian. While in the south he was married to Elouise Brooks, of Tuskegee, Alabama, a daugh- ter of Hon. A. L. Brooks, and a niece of Hon. C. WV. Thompson, one of the leading politicians of the south. She has one brother, Lothair Brooks, of Ensley, Alabama, who married Minnie Woods, and they have three children, Edith, Lothair, and George, the younger son being named for George H. Daugherty. "Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty have one child, a daughter, Jean Brooks Daugherty.
EDWARD RUHE, notary public and real- estate operator of Allentown, belongs to that class of American citizens who, while promoting in- dividual success, also add to the general pros- perity of their respective communities through the establishment of enterprises or progressive business measures which promote general growth and business activity. Such has been the char- acter of the life work of Edward Ruhe.
He was born in Allentown, November II, 1831, a son of John Frederick and Elizabeth (Kramer) Ruhe, and his father was a son of John Frederick and Catherine Maria Harriet Mackenroth. His father was twice married, his first wife having beeen Catherine Keiper, by whom he had nine children, as follows : John, Frederick, Augustus L., William, Louisa, who became the wife of Obadiah Weaver, who died in Princeton, Illinois ; Matilda, who became the wife of Jacob Heckman; and Henrietta, who became the wife of Henry Ritter, and two chil- dren of the first wife died in infancy. After the death of his first wife John Frederick Ruhe, Jr., married Elizabeth Kramer, a daughter of Nich- olas Kramer, and their children were also nine in number : Eliza, who became the wife of Owen Sarger, and has seven children ; Clarissa Louisa, who died at the age of thirty years; Amelia, who died at eighteen years of age; Mary, who is the wife of Samuel Seem, and had one child, de- ceased; Rebecca S., who became the wife of William H. Ettinger, and after his death became.
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the wife of Dr. David Engleman, of Easton, Pennsylvania ; Henry E., who married Mary Miller, and has six children; George L., who married Mary Stem, and has four children, two sons and two daughters; Edward; and Thomas W., who married a Miss Buck, and has four children.
In his early boyhood days Edward Ruhe was a student in the public schools of Allentown, and afterward attended the Allentown Academy, which was taught by Professor Chandler, assisted by Collis H. Sampson. At the close of his school days he entered the employ of Owen and Joseph Sarger to learn the hardware business, and re- mained with that firm for eleven years, his effi- ciency continually increasing and winning him promotion from time to time, so that he became familiar with the trade in both principle and de- tail. His next business connection was with Thomas B. Wilson, a dry goods merchant located at No. 707 Hamilton street. In April, 1861, Mr. Wilson retired after thirty-five years connection with the business interests of Allentown, and Mr. Ruhe became his successor. He conducted the store until 1865, when he sold out to John S. Dillinger, and for a year thereafter lived a retired life, having no business connection. He was then again engaged in merchandising as dealer in dry goods for a year, when he sold out to E. S. Shimer & Company and associated himself with Colonel Tilghman H. Good in the real estate and insurance business. This partnership was maintained for two years, at the end of which time Mr. Ruhe was appointed internal revenue assessor for the sixth congressional district of Pennsylvania, comprising Lehigh and Montgomery counties. He served in that capacity from May 6, 1869, until May 20, 1873, when the law regarding such offices was changed, but he was retained in the public service as collector of the district until the Ist of January, 1876, when the sixth district was merged into the fifth district of Pennsyl- vania. During a portion of that time Mr. Ruhe was a director of the Allentown National Bank, and in January, 1876, he was appointed notary public by that bank, and has since acted in that
capacity. In 1892 he was also appointed notary public to the Lehigh Valley Trust and . Safe Deposit Company.
Aside from his official service Mr. Ruhe has been an active factor in Allentown, contributing in large degree to the maternal improvement and substantial upbuilding of the city through his real estate operations. In 1880, in connection with Samuel A. Butz, Reuben J. Butz, and Al- fred G. Saeger, he purchased considerable prop- erty in both the east and western sections of what was then Allentown, and began building houses in order to meet the demand for modern dwell- ings. They built altogether one hundred and one houses, fully equipped with modern conveniences, and these dwellings were sold at a reasonable figure. As this undertaking proved so success- ful, Mr. Ruhe continued his operations in real estate. In company with Elmer E. Ritter, Thomas E. Ritter and Andrew Smith he. built between sixty and seventy more houses, and dur- ing the same period he erected fully twenty as an individual enterprise, all of which have proven desirable property, and the demand is now greater than Mr. Ruhe and his associates in bus- iness can meet. They erect comfortable, mod- ern homes which they sell at reasonable figures and on easy terms, and through their extensive building operations they have contributed largely to the improvement and substantial growth of the- city. In 1884 Mr. Ruhe was instrumental in forming the Elliger Real Estate Association, the object of which was to purchase the Elliger farm of seventy acres, improve it and place the land in marketable condition. He has certainly made very judicious investments in realty, and while he has never taken advantage of the necessities of his fellow men in any trade transactions, but has made his sales at terms fair alike to the owner and the purchaser, he has nevertheless by the ex- tent and scope of his labors realized a handsome income from his real estate operations. Mr. Ruhe is also the vice-president of the Allen Insurance Company.
Mr. Ruhe was united in marriage to Miss Anna Wilson, a daughter of Thomas B. and Eliza Jane (Martin) Wilson, and a granddaugh-
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ter of James W. and - (Fogle) Wilson. Her parents had a family of nine children : Ellen Jane, who became the wife of Adame Eckert, by whom she had a son, John T. Eckert, and who since the death of her first husband has married Edward Deshler ; Mrs. Anna Ruhe; Laura, who died in childhood; Emma C., the wife of Dr. Theodore L. Yeager, who was mayor of Allen- town and also professor in the college there, and by whom she had four children; Mary L., tl wife of Professor Joseph H. Dubbs, of Franklin and Marshall College of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by whom she has four children; Clara M., who married Daniel H. Miller ; Henry J. ; Edward F., who married Emma Nonemacher and has two children ; and Thomas Bird, who married Emma Horne and has two children.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ruhe have been born five children. Thomas W. Wilson, the eldest, is con- nected with the Bay State Cut Sole Company of Boston, Massachusetts; Edward Henry died at the age of five years ; Elizabeth Jane is the third of the family ; Hattie A., is the wife of Frederick W. Herbst, and they had four children : Edward Frederick, who died at the age of four years ; Marguerite H., Alma E. and Frederic W .; and William Franklin, who married Annie J. Crader and is connected with Lewis P. Hecker in the in- surance business in Allentown. Mr. Ruhe and his family are members of the Lutheran church. He is a man of strong domestic tastes, his interest centering in his home and family, and because of this he has affiliated with no fraternal or social organizations, being a member of only the Liv- ingston Club. In political views, he is a stanch Republican; but has never been an aspirant for office. Although he has attained the Psalmist's span for three score years and ten, in spirit and interests he seems yet in his prime, being still an active factor in the business life of the city, while its welfare and substantial advancement along material, intellectual and moral lines are causes dear to his heart. Allentown has been his home throughout his entire career, and his honorable record is well known to his fellow citizens, who entertain for him the highest re- spect and most cordial good will.
ABRAHAM S. GRIM, actively identified with the business interests of the city of Allen- town, Pennsylvania, where he ranks among its public-spirited and influential citizens, is a lineal descendant of Gideon Grim, who came to Amer- ica in 1728, and who was the great-grandfather of Jacob Grim. Jacob Grim had a family of six children, five sons and one daughter. The names of the children were: Jacob, Jesse, Levi, Daniel, Henry and Mrs. John Bailey.
Jacob Grim, Jr., eldest son of Jacob Grim, Sr., married Mary Shimer, and three children were the issue of this union : I. Nathan, who married Susanna Shimer and their children are: Jacob L., who married Ellen Fogel, and they are the parents of three children-Annie, who became the wife of Alfred Kemmerer, issue one son, Jacob; Mary, who became the wife of Harry J. Smith, and the issue of this union was four chil- dren-Merritt, Stuart, Alice and Robert; and Lillie, unmarried; Catherine, who became the wife of the Rev. R. C. Weever ; and Abraham S., mentioned hereinafter. 2. Elizabeth, who was united in marriage to General Robert S. Brown, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and their children are : Dr. Albert, who married Clara Erdman; and Florence, who be- came the wife of Harry J. Brown. 3. Maria, who became the wife of the Rev. Joshua Yeager, and their family consists of four children-Amanda, wife of J. B. Reeme, and mother of one child, Effie Reeme; Robert, who married Miss Diely, and they are the parents of one child, Andrew Yeager ; Dr. Theodore, who married Emma Wil- son, and their children are Minnie, and Dr. Nor- ton J. Yeager ; and Maria, who became the wife of J. B. Reeme, and one child has been the issue of this union.
Abraham S. Grim was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. In early life he attended the pub- lic schools adjacent to his home, and then became a student of the college at Selins grove, Snyder county, after which he pursued a course at a business college in Poughkeepsie, New York. He then returned to the parental homestead and as- sisted his father in the work of the farm and the mill which he operated at that time. He re-
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mained at home for a period of about ten years, and then located in Bethlehem, where he served in the capacity of clerk in a store for some years, and then was appointed assignee of a large estate which required all his attention to bring about an amicable settlement to all concerned. After this was finally accomplished he engaged in mer- cantile pursuits on his own account, which he dis- posed of in 1897, and from then to the present time (1903) he has successfully conducted a brokerage business. Although Mr. Grim has never held any city or town office, preferring to devote his entire time and energy to the manage- .of his business affairs, yet he is not unmindful of his duties as a citizen, and takes a keen interest in all political questions which affect his city, state and nation. He holds membership in the Livingston Club, the leading social organization in the city. His political affiliations are with the Republican party,
Mr. Grim married Belle D. Schnurman, the. daughter of Henry and Clementine ( Fenrose) Schnurman, the latter named having been a daughter of Thomas and Rachel (Hillman) Pen- rose. Henry and Clementine Schnurman were the parents of five children, as follows: I. Ara- minta, wife of Joseph Schnurman and their chil- dren are: Harry, who married Mary Louden Slager, and their two children are Harold and Joseph ; William, who married and had two chil- den ; Clementine, who became the wife of Ger- hardt Myer, and they are the parents of one child, Adolph; Edith, unmarried; and Carl, un- married. 2. Rachel P., who became the wife of Bartholomew Mustange, and their family now consists of two children, Mark and Thomas M. Mustange. 3. Anna Matilda, wife of Simon A. Feldman, and mother of two children ; Abraham, unmarried; and Henry, who married Gertrude Hess, and they have one daughter, Anna ; 4. Belle D., aforementioned as the wife of Abra- ham S. Grim. 5. Henry T., who married Tillie Colver and their children are : Henry and Bessie Schnurman. Mr. and Mrs. Grim are the parents of one son, Henry S. Grim. The family are members and regular attendants of the Lutheran church.
CHARLES A. BLAKSLEE, a coal dealer of Mauch Chunk, engaged in business as a mem-
ber of the firm of W. H. Arndt & Company,
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was born in Mauch Chunk July 4, 1859.
His paternal grandfather, Zopher Blakslee, was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in the eighteenth century, and was provided with excellent educational advantages for that time, attending some of the best schools of the day. He chose agriculture as a means of livelihood, and was identified with farming interests in this state throughout his entire life. He married, and among the children born of that union was James I. Blakslee, the father of Charles A. Blakslee. His birth occurred on the old family homestead in 1805, and he departed this life in 1901. He was educated in the common schools, after which he returned to the home farm and assumed its management, carrying on farming for a number of years. Later he operated a boat on the canal. About 1833 he removed to Mauch Chunk, and became associated with Judge Packer as a con- tractor and builder. The growth of the town and county are attributable in considerable measure to his efforts, and with the substantial improve- ment of the community he was actively and prom- inently identified. He subsequently entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, and rose to the office of superintendent of the road. His business judgment was sound, his advice always carefully given, and because of his reliability and his fidelity to every trust re- posed in him he won the respect of all with whom he came in contact. His wife, Caroline Ashley, now deceased, was a daughter of Charles Ashley, of New Hampshire, and their children were Eu- gene H., Alonzo P., Asa P., and Charles A., and one that died in childhood.
Charles A. Blakslee was a public school stu- dent in his early boyhood days, and afterward entered a preparatory school in New York. When he had completed his education he obtained em- ployment in the general office of the Lehigh Val- ley Railroad Company, and later became superin- tendent of the Locust Mountain .Wood Company. He next entered the retail coal business, with
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GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
which he is now identified in Mauch Chunk as a member of the firm of W. H. Arndt & Com- pany. In politics, he is independent, and in Ma- sonry, he is quite prominent, his membership bc- ing with Carbon Lodge, No. 242, F. & A. M .; Lilly Chapter, No. 181, R. A. M .; Packer Com- mandery, No. 33, K. T .; and with the Mystic Shrine, belonging to Irene Temple, He is also connected with the Mohegan Club, and he at- tends the Episcopal church. He is likewise a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and he was one of the organizers of the Fire Company, with which he is still connected.
Mr. Blakslee was married, in 1885, to Jean S. Broadhead, a daughter of Andrew J. and Ophelia (Easton) Broadhead. Her father is now living retired in Flemington, New Jersey. The children of this marriage are Gertrude Eas- ton, and Ophelia Easton, at home.
JACOB MILLER, whose wide acquaintance and honorable life has made him one of the lead- ing and respected citizens of Weatherly, was born in Nescopec township, Luzerne county, Pennsyl- vania, on the 23d of October, 1843. He is a son of George and Catherine (Nuss) Miller, the former a native of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Columbia county, this state. The father followed agricultural pursuits throughout his business career and made his home in Luzerne county, where he reared his family, numbering ten children, six of whom are yet living, namely: Sallie A., Adam, William, John, Jacob and Maria.
Jacob Miller spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native township, early becom- ing familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. When not en- gaged in the work of the fields he attended the public schools of the neighborhood, and in 1860, when a youth of seventeen years, removed to Weatherly, where he entered the employ of the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company, and contin- ued with its successor after the business was merged into that of the Lehigh Valley Com- pany. His connection with the. two companies covers forty-two years. His first work was with
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