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 131

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 131

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BIOGRAPHICAL

vives him. Of their seven children five are living, as

Christiana Bauer, daughter of John and Wilhelmina follows: Emma; Oliver; Edward; Fannie (m. E. M. (Beltz) Baner, of Reading, by whom he had ten chil- Quackenboss), and Charles W. The family as far as is dren: William m. Ella Brown; John H. (above) ; Em- known were members of the Reformed Church. Mr. ma m. Dr. Samuel Ermentrout; Edward m. Ella Beach- Herbine was a Democrat in politics.

Charles W. Herbine was educated in the common schools of his native city, and early in life accepted a po- sition with the Philadelphia & Reading Company, learn- ing the machinist's trade. After a period of twelve years with this company, he severed his connection therewith to engage in the hosiery business. This he conducted in a very successful manner, but finally sold out to the Pennsylvania Knitting Mills Company, and from the in- corporation of this concern he was its superintendent up to March 1, 1907, when he resigned and connected himself with the Gehris-Herbine Company. This enterprise, which employs about sixty hands, manufactures high-grade hosiery, and has a trade that extends to the leading cities of the country. It holds patents for its class of work on knitting machines and also dyeing machines. The officials of the company are: Charles W. Herbine, president and general manager ; L. Howard Gehris, secretary and treas- urer.

Mr. Herbine is a member of a number of social and secret societies, in all of which he is popular, among them being the Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Knights of Malta, as well as the Reading Hose Company. He is a Democrat in politics and was a candidate for council- man at the primaries in 1907.

Mr. Herbine married Mary Mathias, and to them there has been born one child, Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Herbine attend the Reformed Church.

JOHN H. KEPPELMAN. superintendent of the Gas Company at Reading since 1887, was born at Reading, Feb. 16, 1853, and educated in the local schools, graduating from the high school in 1870. He then learned the trade of molder in his father's iron foundry and worked at it for nine years; after; which he served as city clerk from 1879 to 1884. In 1887 the Consumers' Gas Company elect- ed him superintendent to manage its extensive operations, and he has filled that responsible position in a most efficient manner to the present time.

Mr. Keppelman represented the Sixth ward in the city councils from 1885 to 1897, four years in the common branch and eight years in the select; during which time many public improvements were ably advocated by him and established by a vote of the electors, more especially the sewer system and paved highways. Since his early manhood he has been an earnest adherent of the Demo- cratic party. He became a Freemason in 1881, in Teutonia Lodge, No. 367, which was mainly organized by his father in 1865 ; and he is a member of the Harrisburg Consistory, and of. the Shrine at Reading. He was chiefly instru- mental in having established at Reading the Reading Council of the Royal Arcanum, a mutual life insurance association, which has secured a large membership. Mr. Keppelman is president of the Board of Trade (1909). He is a member of the board of managers of the Read- ing Public Library, and a director of the First National Bank.

In 1876 Mr. Keppelman was married to Mary E. Ar- thur, daughter of Col. John E. Arthur, and Rebecca Moyer, his wife, of Reading, by whom he had three chil- dren : Mamie, who died in infancy; Robert, who died in youth; and Arthur, an attorney at Reading, m. to May Sternbergh.

John Joseph Conrad Keppelman, father of John H., was born in 1827, in Baden-Baden, Germany, where he learned the trade of locksmith. He emigrated to Penn- sylvania in 1848, and located at Pottsville, but he remain- ed there only a short while when he moved to Reading and engaged in the foundry business which he carried on quite extensively for many years, having established and operated very successfully three plants, the first on North Sixth street, the second on North Fifth street and the third in Riverside. He died in 1907. He married

er; Howard m. Ida Seiders; Ida m. Joseph Veasey; Katharine m. Dr. F. X. Wolf; Albert m. Catharine Schroeder; Theodore m. Sallie Rowe; and Florence m. Howard Frees.

John Keppelman, the grandfather, was a distinguished soldier under Napoleon, and for valorous conduct at the battle of Wagram was awarded two medals of honor, which have come into the possession of his grandson, and are highly prized by him. He died at the age of forty- six years, and his wife lived to be ninety years old. They had four children, but their son John was the only one to come to America.

ABRAM HERR, D. D. S., one of the leading dental practitioners of Reading, Pa., is a member of one of the earliest settled families of Lancaster county, Hans Herr, a Mennonite minister, having emigrated from Switzer- land, and settled in that county in 1709. Dr. Herr was born in Lancaster county, July 27, 1839, son of Abram and Hannah (White) Herr, grandson of Abram, Sr., and great-grandson of Hans Herr.

Abram Herr, Sr., the grandfather of the Doctor, was a farmer and distiller in Lancaster county, and followed these occupations throughout life, becoming very success- ful. He was a prominent man of his generation, and was a leader in the ranks of the Whig party. He and his wife were members of the Mennonite Church. They were the parents of the following children : Abram, Mar- tin, John, Barbara and Sallie.

Abram Herr, son of Abram, Sr., was born in 1803, in Lancaster county, and early in life began driving teams between Philadelphia and Pittsburg, before the days of the railroad in Pennsylvania. He married (first) Han- nah White, by whom he had six children: Annie, Lo- vina, Elizabeth, Martha, Mary and Dr. Abram. His first wife died in her fifty-fourth year, and he married (sec- ond) a Mrs. Long, but no children were born to this un- ion. Mr. Herr died in 1892 at the age of eighty-nine years.

Dr. Abram Herr received his preliminary education in the schools of his native county, after which for a year he studied under Dr. Farnstock. He then went to Ash- land, Ohio, where he spent two years studying dentis- try, then going to Philadelphia. After practising in the latter city for two years, he came to Reading in 1866, opening an office on Penn street, above Sixth, where he was located for seven years. In 1876 he located at his present place. He has been a close student and is a care- ful practitioner, is successful in his business, and is very highly esteemed in his community, where he has taken a great interest in local matters, especially in education.

In 1861 Dr. Herr married Louisa Ferguson, and to them were born eight children, only three of whom now sur- vive : (1) Elmer E., born in Ashland, Ohio, May 31, 1862, m. Catharine Schrack, of Reading, and has three chil- dren : Lulae L., a teacher in the Reading public schools; Villanella, m. to Edward Rush, of Philadelphia, where they reside; and Chester A., a telegrapher for the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company, at Reading, m. to Gertie Frey, of Reading, where they reside. (2) Luther, born in Reading, Oct. 29, 1867, now living in Philadelphia, m. Catherine V. Hartman, of Reading, and has seven children : Walter A., working on railroad locomotives for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. with his father who is foreman of the plant; Franklin R., preparing for college in the central boys' high school, Philadel- phia; and Luther, Jr., Hellen L., Meriam N., Carrie and Marie, all in school. (3) Walter S., born in Reading July 1. 1875, a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Dentistry and now practising dentistry with his father, m. Ella J. Potteiger of Reading, and has one son, Abram Walter Scott. Dr. Abram Herr is a member of the Read- ing School board from the Eighth ward. He is a stanch

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Republican in politics, and fraternally is connected with Gockley, a farmer of Cocalico township, Lancaster Co., the I. O. O. F., being a charter member of Vigilance Pa., who had settled there before 1790. Lodge, No. 194.

DR. REUBEN D. WENRICH, proprietor of the "Grand View Sanatorium," near Wernersville, was born in Low- er Heidelberg township May 15, 1842. He received his preliminary education in the township schools until he was fourteen years of age and for the next five years attended advanced institutions at Womelsdorf, Stouchs- burg, Pughtown, Trappe and Millersville. He then took a complete course in Duff's Commercial College at Phil- adelphia in 1861. During the winter months from 1858 to 1862, he taught public school, and while teaching he determined to become a medical practitioner. In the summer of 1862, he entered the office of Dr. D. D. Det- weiler at the Trappe, where he continued during that sea- son, and the next summer he read medicine in the office of Dr. William J. Schoener, at Strausstown, Berks coun- ty. During the winter months he attended lectures in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsyl- vania, graduating from that institution in 1864. He then selected Wernersville as a place to start the prac- tice of medicine, and after carrying on a successful prac- tice there for nearly ten years he became a partner of Dr. James W. Deppen, an experienced physician at Wer- nersville, in medical practice. They also engaged in a general merchandise business, and dealt in coal, lime and lumber. Dr. Wenrich was associated with Dr. Dep- pen in a most agreeable and successful manner until his decease in 1895, a period covering more than twenty years.

In 1879, Dr. Deppen and Dr. Wenrich purchased the "Mountain Home," a famous health institution situated on the South Mountain, two miles south of Werners- ville, which had been carried on for about thirty years by different parties. Then they directed their attention to this great enterprise and gradually withdrew from business operations at Wernersville. Their joint man- agement of it until Dr. Deppen's decease was very suc- cessful. they having increased and improved the plant in various ways, and developed its patronage to extend throughout the United States. They changed the name to "Grand View Sanatorium," and it has been so known up to the present. Its situation commands a magnificent view of the Lebanon and Schuylkill Valleys, reaching to the Blue Mountains on the north, and to the city of Read- ing on the east, a view which has won the admiration and praise of the numerous patrons of the institution. On the settlement of Dr. Deppen's estate, Dr. Wenrich be- came the sole owner of the institution, and since then he has secured adjoining farms and woodland, there- by increasing the total land area to ahout 600 acres. Costly permanent improvements were made to the plant. in January, 1907, comprising a large carriage house and barn, 101 x 120 feet; extension of main building for commodious dining-room to accommodate the guests, numbering at a time from 100 to 200; and power-house for installing electric plant and boilers for power, light and heat for the buildings. It is recognized as one of the finest and most complete health resorts in the United States.

On the organization of the National Bank at Wer- nersville in April, 1906, Dr. Wenrich gave it his ac- tive encouragement, and he has since served as one of the directors thereof.

In 1865 Dr. Wenrich married Miss Sarah Gockley, daugh- ter of Moses Gockley. of Wernersville, and by her he had seven children: Dr. George G .. a graduate physi- cian of the University of Pennsylvania, m. to Anna May Coar; Dr. John A., also a graduate physician from the State University, m. to Grace Alvana Gaddis (he and his brother are on the medical staff of the Sanatorium) ; Eva Ann, m. to Alvin J. Gibbs, of Canton, Ohio; and four who died young. Mrs. Wenrich died in 1896, aged forty-eight years. Her father was the son of Deitrich and Eva (Moore) Gockley, and the grandson of John

Dr. Wenrich's father was Adam Wenrich, a farmer of Lower Heidelberg. He was married to Eliza Klopp, daughter of John Klopp, of North Heidelberg, and by her had five children : Richard M. m. Mary Koch; Frank- lin J. m. Sarah Klopp; Emma E. m. Franklin Miller ; Reuben D .; and Jemima m. Jacob S. Yoder. The father died in 1851, aged forty-seven years; and the mother died in 1877, aged sixty-eight years.

Matthias Wenrich, Jr., father of Adam, was a farm- er of Heidelberg. He married Sophia Kalbach, and by her had eleven children : Daniel m. Hannah Hain; Adam; John m. Anna Schaeffer; David L. m. Magda- lena Gockley; Maria m. John Fisher; Catherine mn. Chris- tian Walhorn; Sarah m. John F. Miller; Sophia m. Jo- seph Nagle and upon her decease he m. her sister, Su- sanna; and Elizabeth m. Michael Hain, who upon her decease m. her sister Rebecca. The father died in 1840, aged seventy-seven years, and his wife in 1841, aged seventy years.

Matthias Wenrich, Sr., father of Matthias, Jr., was a farmer of Heidelberg. His father was also named Matthias, and he was a farmer of the same township, his farm having continued in the name from 1739 un- til 1889.

JOHN W. FISHER, one of Berks county's represen- tative citizens and substantial men, who served as direc- tor of the poor of Berks county, and as justice of the peace of North Heidelberg township, was born Nov. 9, 1844, in Marion township, son of Daniel and Sarah (Gruber) Fisher.

It is traditional that this branch of the Fisher fam- ily had its origin in America in one Sebastian Fischer, who in 1723 was a member of a party of thirty-three families to come from the Schoharie Valley, N. Y., and settle in Tulpehocken and Heidelberg townships, Berks county. In 1759 these Fishers were taxables of Heidelberg township: Jacob who paid twenty pounds tax; Ulrich. who paid five pounds tax; and Adam and Ludwig, who paid one pound each: and from one of these ancestors descended John Fisher, the grandfather of John W.

John Fisher came to Berks county from Schuylkill county, and settled one mile west of Womelsdorf. where he engaged in farming. He married Elizabeth Leinin- ger, and to them were born these children: Elizabeth m. Henry Grime, of Penn township; John settled in Logan county. Ohio: Daniel; Henry lived in Marion township, m. Molly Kreicher, and had one son, Edwin; Jeremiah settled in Logan county, Ohio.

Daniel Fisher was born in Schuylkill county, in Aug- ust, 1814, and when a boy was brought to Berks coun- ty, where his early days were spent in farm laboring. By economy and industry he managed to save enough from his earnings with which to purchase a thirty-acre tract in North Heidelberg township, and there he spent the rest of his active life, engaged in truck farming. His last years were spent with his son John W .. at whose residence he died. Mr. Fisher was a man of high moral character, and was an active member of the Lutheran Church, in which he served as deacon. In politics he was a Democrat. To Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were born two children: John W .; and Albert Adam, a resident of Lower Heidelberg township.

John W. Fisher received his education in the public schools of North Heidelberg township, and also spent one year in Freeland Seminary. now Ursinus College. When hut seventeen years of age he began teaching school, his first term being in Centre township, and in all was an educator for twenty-five terms, sixteen of which were taught in the home district. In addition to school teaching, Mr. Fisher spent the summer months in work on his thirty-acre tract, and was also perform- ing the duties of justice of the peace, a position to which he had been elected when he was but twenty-one years old. In 1877 he leased a larger farm, belonging to Jonathan

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BIOGRAPHICAL

E. Stump, a tract of ninety-one acres, which was still later increased to 110 acres, and cultivated this prop- erty for twenty-six years on shares or one-half. Mr. Fisher subsequently purchased the farm adjoining, known as the William L. Klopp farm, which consists of 133 acres, and he also owned the eighty-acre tract purchased by him some sixteen years prior.

Mr. Fisher always took a great interest in edu- cational matters and held a permanent State certifi- cate. When but twenty-one years of age he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, in which he served for forty-one years and so impartial were his judgments that he never had a decision reversed. He was elected director of the poor in 1902, and served in that office for three years. He was always an active Democrat. In March, 1907, Mr. Fisher removed from the farm to Robesonia, and in the same year he erected a handsome double brick residence, in which he resided until his death. He was a director of the Farmers' Mu- tual Assistance and Fire Insurance Company, of Berks county, and served as treasurer of this organization for nine years. Mr. Fisher was a member of the Lutheran Church, while his widow is of the Reformed faith, and both have been active in church work.

In 1864 Mr. Fisher married Ellen M. Lamm, daughter of the late Benjamin and Lydia (Ruth) Lamm, of North Heidelberg township, and twelve children were born to this union, the survivors all being of Berks county: Adelaide E. died at the age of sixteen years; Lillie A. m. Nelson L. Brossman, of North Heidelberg township; Emma V. m. Henry G. Stump, of North Heidelberg township; Sallie L. m. Michael A. Fox, of Jefferson township; Heela M. died at the age of six years; E. Nora is at home; Diana R. m. W. Alvin Christman, of Womelsdorf; William E., an attorney and builder of Reading, m. Minnie E. Moyer, of Heidelberg town- ship; John C., a minister of the Lutheran faith, ordained by the Ministerium of Pennsylvania in May, 1907, and now in charge of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of The Advocate in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa., in. Kathryn Wotring, of Allentown; Cora C. m. Lloyd K. Minnich, of North Heidelberg township; Anna G. m. Howard E. Brown, of Robesonia; F. May m. Herbert C. Schell, of Friedensburg, Oley township.

Mr. Fisher died Feb. 12, 1909, and his remains were interred in the family plot in Heidelberg cemetery, of which Association he was one of the organizers and secretary from the date of its organization, 1880, up to the time of his death.

MARCUS BEHM EACHES, business manager of The Reading Herald, was born in Reading April 15, 1869, and with the exception of one brief interval has been identified with printing and the newspaper business prac- tically from the time he was thirteen years old. At that age, in 1882, he entered the printing office of B. F. Ow- en, Nos. 515 and 517 Court street. Reading, and there served at the case and trade until 1889. In the latter year he became pressman in the employ of John B. Damp- man, owner of The Reading Herald, then located at No. 506 Court street. In the spring of 1890 he was ad- vanced from pressman to advertising solicitor, which position he held until 1895, when he changed to the Read- ing Eagle, having charge of the Eagle Book Store as manager for a period of twelve months. Following that, for about seven months, he was with the Pennsylvania Telephone Company as special agent, in November, 1896, returning to his connection with the Herald, with which he has remained ever since. He was advertising manager for three months after his return to the Herald, and was then appointed business manager, which position he has since occupied. Mr. Eaches takes pride in the fact that his associaton with the Herald covers a period of substantially twenty-eight years, as he was one of the first carrier boys on the Spirit of Berks (started by Daniel Francis and issued early in 1881), predecessor of the Herald, and has since retained his interest and connection.

During the Spanish-American war the Herald, origi- nally a morning paper, under the new ownership of William McCormick, the present proprietor (the business being looked after by Mr. Eaches), added an afternoon edition, running two complete papers from one equip- ment. The business of the afternoon edition so over- topped that of the morning edition that after a period of about eight months the morning edition was dropped altogether.

Mr. Eaches long ago demonstrated his reliability and worth in his chosen field. To his energetic and pro- gressive tactics the paper owes much of its popularity and success, and its steadily increasing growth is the best commendation of his policy. He is a man who has been successful, judged from the broadest standpoint, and not merely by the financial standards. In his act- ive career he has seen much of his country and has a wide acquaintance with associates in the same line of interest. He is a member of Reading Lodge No. 549, F. & A. M., the Press Club, and St. Paul's Reformed Church.

In 1892 Mr. Eaches married Mrs. Kate Shafer, and has one son, Robert Morse Eaches, born Dec. 28, 1894. The family residence is at No. 1154 Franklin street, Read- ing.

JOEL H. WELLER, merchant and successful business inan of Boyertown, Berks Co., Pa., was born near Hill Church, Pike township, Oct. 29, 1849. The family his- tory of the Wellers is very interesting and is as fol- lows :

(I) Peter (he spelled the name "Peatter") Weller came to America in 1749 from his native land, Germany, where he was born in the year 1720, and he located in District township. He died in 1795, aged seventy-five years, and is buried at the Hill Church, his grave be- ing marked by a monument erected in 1890 by his des- cendants. This monument was dedicated Aug. 24, 1890. Joel H. Weller and his father, Gideon Weller, were the moving spirits in erecting the monument to the mem- ory of their honored ancestors, and it was their ear- nest desire that the younger generations of the family should assume the responsibility of the care of ground and monument. Peter Weller had three sons: Philip, John Adam and Peter, Jr.

(II) Philip Weller had sons as follows: Abraham; John; Peter; George; Philip, and Jacob. The two broth- ers of Philip had no issue.

(III) Abraham Weller had sons as follows: John, Samuel, Peter and Abraham. John, brother of Abra- ham, and son of Philip, had these sons: Adam; George; Benjamin; Joseph, and Peter. Peter, brother of John and Abraham, had these sons: Charles; Jacob; Benja- min and David.

(III) George Weller, son of Philip, had these sons: Thomas, Gideon (father of Joel H. Weller), Israel, Joseph, David, Adam, George and Isaac.

(IV) Gideon Weller was born in District township on the Weller homestead, Dec. 13, 1821, died Jan. 5, 1909, aged 87 years, 22 days, and was buried at Hill Church. He lived in Pike township near Hill Church, on his farm of 100 acres, and during his active life he was a farmer. But he had been confined to his bed for some years be- fore his death. His first wife was Mary Hartlein, daugh- ter of George Hartlein, of Earl township. She died in 1872, aged forty-four. Their children were: Joel H .; Daniel, of Pottstown; Lewis, of Hill Church; Jessiah, of Hill Church; Mrs. Catherine Weiser, of Boyertown; Mrs. Amanda Kemp, of Landis Store, Pa. He married (second) Hettie Fronheiser, who died in 1898. By her he had five children: Olivia; Lizzie; Alice; Sivilla and James. Since 1899 the Weller family has had re-unions, and the gatherings which take place at Gideon Weller's are occasions of much interest and pleasurable enjoyment. The Weller family has long been identified with District township, where George Weller, the grandfather of Joel H. Weller, was born, as well as his son Gideon.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

(V) Joel H. Weller attended the schools of his town- ship for three months each winter, and this constituted a term. During the rest of the winter months he assisted his father by threshing with the flail and chopping wood. In 1865 he learned the tailoring trade from John Stauf- fer of Bechtelsville, and this he followed for fifteen years at Boyertown, to which place he came in 1871. In 1888 he engaged in the general merchandise business on Phil- adelphia avenue, where he has since continued, now controlling an excellent trade not only from the people of Boyertown, but the territory contiguous to it. He carries at all times a full line of general merchandise, and because of his enormous amount of business and his superior connections. he is enabled to offer specially attractive inducements. In addition to his other inter- ests Mr. Weller built three houses at Boyertown in 1890, which are very handsome residences.

In 1874 Mr. Weller married Miss Emma Bahr, daugh- ter of Joshua and Elizabeth ( Shauer) Bahr, of Boyer- town, and they have two children: Mamie (m. Thomas Gabel, of Boyertown) and Miss Olivia. Mr. Weller and his family are consistent members of the Reformed Church of the Good Shepherd of Boyertown, where he has served as deacon and elder. Formerly he was a member of Hill Church. In 1874 when the church at Boyertown was built, Mr. Weller collected $3,500 for its erection, and rendered the church very valuable assistance, receiving the heartfelt thanks of the congregation. He narrowly escaped with his life at the time of the Boyertown Opera House fire Jan. 13, 1908. being the last to leave the build- ing alive; he was confined to the house for months with the burns received, and has never fully regained his health. Mr. Weller is a large-souled, capable, energetic man, whose capacity for business and executive force is remarkable, as he demonstrated when he carried through the erection of the new church home, and the raising of the monument to the Weller family. Without him neither would have been accomplished. He is never con- tent with merely subscribing to any undertaking, but gives largely of his time and personal attention. In his busi- ness relations he is affable, courteous, prompt in meet- ing all obligations, and in every way has proven himself the right man in the right place whenever his services have been required to carry on anything, whether of public or private interest.

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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 131

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