Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I, Part 101

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846; J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1018

USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I > Part 101

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In April, 1861, Mr. Richards responded to President Lincoln's appeal for troops in the Civil War, by raising a company of infantry, which became Co. G, of the First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. They were mustered into service April 20, 1861, and Mr. Richards was elected second lieutenant. The company was discharged at the end of its term of enlistment, July 26, 1861. He assisted in raising another company for nine months, which on Ang. 16, 1862, was mustered in as Company E, 128th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and rendered meritorious serv- ices. He entered as first lieutenant and was promoted to captain Sept. 18, 1862, which commission he held until his discharge, May 19, 1863. He was wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville May 3, 1863. Upon the company's re- turn to Reading, he re-entered the employ of the railroad company which had retained his position for him. He died Sept. 5, 1908, after several months' illness.

ELMER E. STAUFFER, prominent in the business, re- ligious and social life of Boyertown and vicinity, comes of an old family whose early home was in the mountains of Switzerland. Extracts gleaned from various sources, chiefly from the diary of Hans Stauffer, written during his voyage from Switzerland, through Germany, Holland and England, to America, give the earlier history of the family.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

(I) Daniel Stauffer, a descendant of the ancient house born 1853, died 1857. (6) Rev. William Henry,

of Hohenstaufen, in Suabia, was born at Alzheim, near the Rhine, in Switzerland, about 1630, and there he also died.

(II). Hans Stauffer, son of Daniel, was born at Alzheim about 1650 or 1655. In 1685 he married a widow named Kinget Heisland. They belonged to a religious sect called Mennonites, and in 1709 they were driven by persecution to North America, but first they went to the Pfalz. The diary reads as follows: "In the year 1709, I, Hans Stauf- fer, left my own native land, the Schweitz, on the 5th day of November, with my wife and children,-Jacob, aged 13, Daniel 12, Henry 9, Elizabeth with her husband Paul Fried, and one child named Mary. After a stormy voyage, on Jan. 20, 1710, we arrived in London." In the spring after a perilous voyage they landed probably at Philadelphia, and settled at or near Valley Forge, Chester county, in the land of Penn. It is said that Hans Stauffer is buried in the Mennonite graveyard near Valley Forge. The sons who survived him were: Jacob, Daniel and Henry.

(III) Jacob Stauffer, eldest son of Hans, was born at Alzheim in 1696, and accompanied his father to America in 1710. At Valley Forge he married, and afterward moved to a place called Hereford (now Washington town- ship). The country was then a vast wilderness, and a remnant of one of the Indian tribes resided there. He was one of the first settlers and original purchasers of a plantation in that neighborhood, which adjoined the land where later the Roman Catholic chapel was erected. His grain was carried on horseback to the gristmill some- where below Norristown, twenty miles away. Like many of his descendants he was a Mennonite, and he is buried in the Mennonite cemetery adjoining his plantation. His children were: Henry, born 1725; Christian, 1728; Susan, 1730; Esther, 1732; Abraham, 1737; and John, 1737.

(IV) Henry Stauffer, son of Jacob, was born Aug. 13, 1725, and he died June 19, 1803. He went to Colebrook- dale township, where he purchased a farm and developed it. His grave is in the cemetery of the Mennonites at Boyertown, on a lot he gave to the congregation of that faith for burial purposes. In 1770 he married Maria Buckwalter.

(V) Jacob Stauffer, eldest son of Henry, was born Aug. 2, 1754, and he bought his father's farm in Cole- brookdale township, there following farming. He died March 20, 1839, and is buried in the Mennonite cemetery at Boyertown. This graveyard was given by him to the Lutheran and Reformed Churches. In 1785 he married Susanna Huff, and among their children were : Catherine, Esther, Maria, Judge John, Henry and Elizabeth.

(VI) Judge John Stauffer, son of Jacob, was born July 4, 1792, and he died Nov. 28, 1854. He was a great friend of education, and was a leading citizen of Boyer- town. The Stauffer mansion, which he erected and which is now occupied by Elmer E., is a fine building, and con- tains much hand carved wood. Judge John Stauffer mar- ried Elizabeth Keely, and they had twelve children, among whom was William K.

born Ang. 28, 1857, was educated at Mt. Pleas- ant Seminary, Palatinate College (one year), and Ur- sinus College, from which he graduated, after which he agaitı graduated at the Northwestern Theo- logical College, at Naperville, Il1. He entered the ministry of the Evangelical Association, and is now stationed at Lyons, N. Y. He married Sybilla Schneider, of Suspen- sion Bridge, N. Y., and their children were : Grace, Milton, Edith (deceased), Edna, Ruth, William and Arthur. (7) Francis G., born Aug: 6, 1859, married Feb. 22, 1881. Lizzie Keiper, of Naperville, Ill., where he also attended Northwestern College, and was graduated. Their child- ren were: A son born in 1886 (died in infancy) ; and Leslie De Witt, born April 3, 1888, a noted athlete taking a college course in Wesleyan College, Delaware, Ohio. Francis G. is in the fence and wire business. (8) Elmer E. is the youngest in the family.

(VIII) Elmer E. Stauffer was born on the old Stauffer homestead July 2, 1864. He was educated in the public schools of Boyertown, Mt. Pleasant Seminary, and Lafay- ette College, Easton, Pa. He took the civil engineering course, but on account of his father's ill health, he was compelled to abandon his college education for the time, and consequently did not graduate at Easton, but later, in January, 1886, graduated from Bryant & Stratton's Business College at Philadelphia. After his return home he engaged in conveyancing, together with the real estate business. He did most of the grading and surveying for the borough of Boyertown, and in 1907. when the brick street paving was put down, he was elected by the council as engineer with an assistant to oversee that the work was done according to the specifications. He is associated in business with Horace F. Tyson, under the firm name of Tyson & Stauffer, dealing in lumber, coal and feed at Barto, and doing an extensive business. Mr. Stauffer is a director in the Boyertown Casket Company, a posi- tion he has held since 1902. He is notary for the Nat- ional Bank of Boyertown, and is secretary of the Fairview Cemetery. He and his family are members of the Trinity United Evangelical Church, Boyertown, and he served the church faithfully as treasurer and trustee many years. He has been superintendent of the Sunday school since his young manhood, and in many ways has proved him- self an earnest worker in the cause of Christ. Mr. Stauf- fer has settled up many large estates, among these being the Kuser, Levengood and Bleyler estates. He was also executor of his father's estate. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, but in home elections often votes the Re- publican ticket, always trying to vote for the best man and for the best interests of the community. He was a member of the school board three years, and was also secretary, and helped on the plans of the present high school.

On Oct. 16, 1888, Mr. Stauffer married Andora F. Ty- son, daughter of Abraham and Susan ( Fetterolf) Tyson, of Royersford, Pa. Mrs. Tyson was a sister of Dr. A. H. Fetterolf, President of Girard College, Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Stauffer have three children: Eva May, Walter Tyson and William Everett.

(VII) William K. Stauffer, son of Judge John, was born in Boyertown Sept. 19, 1819, and he became a fore- most man there. He died April 1, 1891, in a room im- mediately below the one in which he was born. This old JOHN A. MATTHEW, a prominent citizen and success- ful hardware merchant at Womelsdorf, Pa., was born in that town Nov. 21, 1846, son of Elias and Elizabeth ( Man- derbach) Matthew. His paternal grandfather lived at Newmanstown, Lebanon Co., Pa., and is buried there. home has some sixty acres of valuable land, and this Mr. Stauffer cultivated. He was a surveyor and convey- ancer many years, and was a useful man in his district. He was secretary of the cemetery board, and in this was succeeded by his son Elmer E., who also succeeded him as Elias Matthew was born at Newmanstown, Pa., Nov. 18, 1816, and died Sept. 12, 1893, aged seventy-six years, nine months, twenty-four days. By trade he was a stone- cutter, and he became quite well-to-do, owning his own home. He married Elizabeth Manderbach, born March 18, 1824, and died Nov. 30, 1888, aged sixty-four years, eight months, twelve days. Her father, John Manderbach, served as sheriff of the county. To Elias Matthew and wife were born five children, as follows: Maria m. John treasurer of the old Boyertown Water Company. Mr. Stauffer was a pillar in the Evangelical Church, and did much for the benefit of that church. He married Harriet Gilbert, daughter of Henry and Lydia (Spang) Gilbert, the former of whom, now deceased, was a miller in Cole- brookdale. She was born Nov. 6, 1824, and now lives with her son Elmer E. They had children as follows: (1) Irwin G., born 1846, died 1849. (2) James G., born 1848, died 1849. (3) Sidney G., born 1850, died 1851. (4) One K. Beidler, of Cumberland county, Pa .; John A .; Sarah born in 1852 died unnamed. (5) George Washington, m. S. L. Gabel, deceased: Adda m. S. E. Illig. a harber

415

BIOGRAPHICAL

at Womelsdorf; and Harry D., a successful merchant at and member of the school board. Fraternally he was one Berlinville, Pa., m. Mame Bennethum. of the early members of Williamson Lodge, No. 307, F.

John A. Matthew attended the schools of his native & A. M., of Womelsdorf; a charter member of Germania town, and also the schools in Heidelberg township. His Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Reading; and formerly belonged to Goethe Lodge, Harugari. He died Jan. 20, 1899, aged seventy-six years, ten months and five days. boyhood days were passed upon a farm in Ohio, but when the Civil war broke out he returned to his home, and enlisted from Womelsdorf in June, 1863, becoming a member of Company K, 42d Pennsylvania militia, which IRA P. ROTHERMEL, eldest son of John K. and Su- sanna E. (Peters) Rothermel, was born in Maiden-creek township, Berks Co., Pa. His father was a descendant from one of the earliest families in the county, and a prominent farmer in Richmond township, and our subject's youth was mostly spent in assisting in the arduous duties of the farm. The advantages of a liberal educa- tion, however, were not denied him. He was educated in the public schools of his township, Brunner's Scientific Academy at Reading, and the Keystone State Normal School, at Kutztown. After teaching a country school in Ruscombmanor township for one year, he entered Lafayette College, from which institution he graduated in the classical course in the year 1885. was enlisted for three months, but was in service only six weeks, going as far as Hagerstown, Md., and then returning to Womelsdorf. On Feb. 12, 1864, he enlisted a second time, becoming a private in Company B, 55th Pa. V. I., under Gen. Ben. Butler, in the Army of the James. He participated in the following engagements : Drury's Bluff, Va. (in which the regiment lost over 300 men), Cold Harbor. Siege of Petersburg, Chapman's Farm, Fort Gregg, Fort Baldwin, Hatchers Run, and then followed Lee to Appomattox. He was mustered out Aug. 29, 1865. After the war he was unable to work for nearly two years because of a sore foot. In 1868 he bought out the omnibus route from Womelsdorf to the railroad sta- tion, which he ran daily for twenty years. In 1888 he opened a hardware store on High street which he still conducts, and in which he has been very successful. He owns his own building, and this has a frontage of sixty- six feet. In politics he is a Jefferson Democrat, and he has filled a number of local offices of trust and respon- sibility, among them those of burgess of Womelsdorf. treasurer of the borough and councilman. He was a mem- ber of the school board for six years and treasurer for a number of years. He and his family are Lutheran mem- bers of Zion Union Church.

Mr. Matthew married Lizzie Geissler, of Reading, and they have had five children: Luther H., associated with his father in business; Paul A., a tinsmith; Grace E .. at home; and Anna Martha and Rosa May, who both died in infancy.

JOHN G. GEISSLER, father of Mrs. Matthew, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, where his father, also named John G., carried on tinsmithing. He learned his father's trade, beginning at the age of thirteen years, and after finishing his apprenticeship assisted his father in the business. In the spring of 1847 he came to America, ar- riving in Reading in April. Here two of his uncles were engaged in the tinsmithing business, and they gave him employment. He wrote home to his father of the great opportunities open in Reading, and as a consequence John G., Sr., crossed the ocean in the same year, bringing the entire family, and soon becoming well established in the stove and tinware business in Reading. All the sons made their father's trade their life work with the exception of John M., of Minnesota, who is an extensive farmer and member of the State Legislature.

On Jan. 1, 1861, John G. Geissler, Jr., started in the stove and tinware business for himself at Sinking Spring, and in 1863 transferred it to Womelsdorf, where he was afterward located, later being assisted by his son, Charles B. Their establishment was one of the largest of the kind in the county. It occupied all of the building on Front street, once used by Congressman Ermentrout's ancestors as a hat factory. As long as he lived Mr. Geissler worked in the store from morning till night, and accomplished a great deal in the course of the day. For some years he did not go on roofs, but in his younger days preferred roofing to any other branch of his trade. He had a comfortable residence at the corner of Second and Franklin streets, Womelsdorf. He married Margaret, daughter of George Buck, long since deceased, of Temple, a Revolutionary soldier. Mrs. Geissler died in 1883. Their children were: Elizabeth (Lizzie) m. John A. Matthew ; Augustus, of Minnesota, is engaged in the stove and tin- ware business; Charles B. is with his father; Maggie m. N. D. Snyder, of York; James A. is in the hardware busi- ness in Minnesota; John M., of Womelsdorf, was for fifteen years with A. S. Valentine & Son; Miss Rosa kept house for her father. Mr. Geissler was one of Womelsdorf's most useful citizens, and his friends were numerous. He had been a member of the town council,

The following year Mr. Rothermel came to Reading, and began the study of law under the direction of Frank R. Schell, Esq., and after the latter's decease, which oc- curred a few months later, he entered the law offices of Jacob S. Livingood, a distinguished lawyer, under whose preceptorship he continued and concluded his law studies. He was admitted to the Berks County Bar Jan. 21, 1888, and later to the Supreme court and the Superior court of this State. Since his admission to the Bar he has assiduously carried on his profession in a successful man- ner, mostly in the line of office practice and in the settle- ment of estates.

Mr. Rothermel became affiliated with the Freemasons at Reading in 1891, where he joined Chandler Lodge No. 227, Excelsior Chapter No. 237, and Reading Commandery, No. 42, Knights Templar. In manner, Mr. Rothermel is modest and unassuming, by nature kind and genial, hon- orable in all his dealings and generous to every one in word and deed.

Mr. Rothermel was married to Elizabeth Grim, and they have three children, John G., Daniel G. and Catha- rine G. The family are active members of St. Paul's Memorial Reformed Church. Mrs. Rothermel is a daugh- ter of Daniel P. Grim, of Kutztown, and a grand-daughter of Col. Daniel B. Grim, who conducted a large farm, tannery. general store and hotel at Grimville, in the up- per section of this county.

BENJAMIN E. BIEBER, chief burgess and prominent citizen of Topton, where he is the owner and proprietor of a general store, was born on the old Bieber homestead, in Longswamp township, Berks Co., Pa., son of Jonas and Annie (Eck) Bieber.

Jacob Bieber, grandfather of Benjamin E., was a farm- er and laborer in Longswamp township, and was very well known. He married Susan Keim, who was born in Oley township, Berks Co., Pa., and they had six children, namely: Jonas; Jacob; Susan (m. Samuel Warmkessel) ; Elizabeth (m. Jacob Long) ; Hettie (m. a Mr. Weiser) and Mrs. Reuben Walb.

Jonas Bieber followed farming and shoemaking all his active life. He was married in early manhood to Annie Eck, daughter of Daniel Eck, and they had the following children: William E .; Benjamin E .; George E. (m. to Annie Geist) ; Emma (m. to Charles A. Fegley) ; Eliza- beth (m. to Alvin Dunkel) ; Mary (unmarried) ; Louisa, twin sister of Benjamin (m. William Weil, who survives her) ; Susan (m. Henry Slicher) ; and Lillie (m. Jonas O. Weiler).

Benjamin E. Bieber was reared in the neighborhood of his place of birth and he attended the local schools. His first work was done around the iron ore mines, but later he became a clerk in the general store at Topton, of which he is now proprietor. He carries an excellent stock and does a very satisfactory business. He has been active in the public affairs of the community and enjoys the confidence of his fellow citizens to a very large extent.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

As chief burgess of the town, he fills the highest office in their gift.

In 1886, Mr. Bieber married Montana Gerhart, daughter of John and Sarah ( Romig) Gerhart, the latter of whom was a daughter of John and Sallie ( Frederick ) Romig. Mr. and Mrs. Bieber have one son. Lloyd J., born Oct. 7, 1887. He is a graduate of the Topton high school, and is now learning business methods as his father's assistant in the general store. The family belong to the Topton Lutheran Church, in which Mr. Bieber has served as a deacon for about sixteen years. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

LEVI B. SMITH. The Smith family from which Mr. Levi Bull Smith was descended is of Scotch extraction, the name being originally McDonald. During the reign of James I. of England they crossed the North Chan- nel into Ireland, taking up their residence in the north- eastern section of that country, where they left numerous descendants. The change of name is accounted for by an interesting circumstance handed down in the family tradition. Just before the battle of the Boyne, when the King, William III., was reconnoitering that famous field, his horse cast a shoe. There was no farrier to replace it, but McDonald, in whose neighborhood the incident occurred, being, like many other farmers of the region, something of a blacksmith, volunteered his services, shod the horse, and thus enabled the King to proceed. From that time his neighbors, who like himself were in sym- pathy with the cause of William, dubbed McDonald "the Smith." and the name clung to him, and was adopted by his family as a patronymic.

Being staunch Presbyterians, the Smiths, together with a large proportion of the Irish tenantry, at a subsequent period resisted the rigorous proceedings of the Established Church of England to enforce the provisions of the "Sacramental Test" law, under which they were required not only to pay tithes to the Church, but to conform to all its requirements respecting marriage and civil rights,; under pain of invalidation of all religious acts performed without its pale. To enforce obedience to this arbitrary measure, the absentee landlords raised the rents of all their recusant tenantry, and otherwise rendered their con- dition intolerable. This was among the causes which in- duced the Scotch-Irish emigration in the first half of the eighteenth century to the Colony of Pennsylvania, found- ed preeminently upon the principle of absolute liberty of conscience.

Among the earliest of the emigrants were John Smith and his wife Susanna, of County Monaghan, Ulster, who came over in 1720, the year after the enforcement of the "Test." After a long and stormy voyage they landed at Philadelphia, and took up their new residence in Uwchlan township, Chester Co., Pa. With her brother John came Mary Smith, who married William Fulton, one of their grandchildren being Robert Fulton, born in Little Britain, Lancaster county, whose name is indissolub- ly linked with the evolution of the invention of the steam- boat.

Pennsylvania after Independence. In 1777 he was ap- pointed lieutenant of the county of Chester, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, which office he held until 1786, being charged with the arduous and responsible duty of raising, arming and provisioning the military forces of the district. He was sheriff of the county in 1777 and 1778; member of Assembly in 1785-86, and during the same per- iod a trustee of the loan office. In 1791 he was elected a justice of the peace and continued in that office until his death in December, 1803.

Robert Smith was a staunch Presbyterian, and an elder of the church at Brandywine Manor, of which the Rev. John Carmichael, like himself an ardent patriot, was pas- tor during the Revolutionary period. He married in 1758 Margaretta Vaughan. daughter of John Vaughan, of Uwchlan township, who survived him until 1822, dying at the age of eighty-six. They had eleven children. Of their sons, Jonathan was for many years connected with the first United States Bank and with the Bank of Penn- sylvania, of which latter he was cashier, and was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Insurance Company ; John was an iron-master, and Joseph an iron and shipping merchant of Philadelphia.

John Smith, iron-master, father of the subject of this sketch, was born at the old homestead in Chester county April 8, 1762. In early life he was manager of the War- wick Furnace in Chester county, then owned by Col. Thomas Bull, a distinguished Revolutionary patriot, long associated with the iron industry in eastern Pennsylvania in connection with the well known families of Rutter and Potts. Having married in 1790 Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Bull and his wife Ann Hunter, John Smith re- moved in that year to Dale Furnace, in Hereford town- ship, Berks county, of which he had become co-owner with Thomas and Joseph Potts, Jr., and six years later went to Joanna Furnace, on Hay creek. Robeson township, hav- ing become partner in that establishment with his father-in- law, Colonel Bull, and Thomas May. Joanna Furnace was built in 1792 by Samuel Potts and Thomas Rutter, being named in honor of the wife of the former. The substantial stone mansion house, still standing, though modernized. was erected in 1793. Attached to the estate were numerous tracts of woodland, aggregating several thousand acres, from which the works were supplied with charcoal. Having eventually acquired the entire ownership Mr. Smith resided at Joanna until his death, which oc- curred April 2, 1815, when he was aged fifty-three. His wife survived him twenty years, dying in 1835. They left ten children, three sons and seven daughters. The former were: Thomas B., Levi B. and John Vaughan. Of the daughters, Ann Hunter married James Richards; Sarah Bull. Jacob Loeser ; Margaretta Vaughan, William Darling ; Elizabeth Bull, Joseph O'Brien; Susan Grier, Rev. George Burcker, and Jane Correy, Goodloe H. Bowman. Mary Cobean died unmarried.

Levi Bull Smith was born at Joanna Furnace Feb. 8. 1806. He received a liberal education, graduating at Princeton College in 1824. He subsequently studied law at the law school at Litchfield, Conn., and was admitted to the Bar of Berks county, Pa., Jan. 10, 1827. He mar- ried April 10th, of the same year, Emily H. Badger, a native of Bucksport, Maine (born Jan. 1, 1807), and a descendant upon the paternal side of the Buck family, of Puritan stock, who emigrated to New England in 1635. From 1829 to 1831 he was engaged in farming at the old Reading Furnace. in Chester county, and from 1831 to 1833 was in the mercantile business at Mount Airy, in Union township, Berks county. In the latter year he removed to Joanna, and became the partner in that works of his brother-in-law, William Darling, under the firm name of Darling & Smith. In connection with the manufacture of iron the casting of wood-burning stoves became the prin- cipal business. Mr. Darling, a prominent member of the county Bar, was an associate judge, and the active man- agement devolved on .Mr. Smith, who acquired even- tually the interest of his partner, and admitted his sons into partnership under the firm name of Levi B. Smith

John and Susanna Smith were the parents of fifteen children. One of these, Robert, was born on the voyage to America. The father died in 1765, and the mother in 1767. His three older brothers having gone out to seek their fortunes elsewhere, the family homestead came into the possession of Robert, who became a prosperous and respected citizen and was prominently connected in his later years with public affairs. During the French and Indian war he was in the Provincial service with the rank of sergeant. At the outbreak of the Revolution he en- tered warmly into the Patriot cause, and was commis- sioned captain of the 1st Battalion of Associators of Ches- ter county. In 1775-76 he assisted in the construction of .line of chevaux-de-frise across the Delaware below Philadelphia, designed to obstruct the progress of the enemy by the river to the city, and in the laying out of the land fortifications adjacent, under the direction of the Committee of Safety. He was a member of the Con- vention of 1776, which devised the first Constitution of & Sons. The manufacture of pig-iron exclusively was car-

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Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I, Part 101

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846; J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1018

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846; J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1018