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 87

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 87

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JOHN S. THOMPSON is recognized as one of the most progressive business men and public-spirited citizens of Reading, to whose material and civic advancement he has contributed through his business associations and ser- vice in official capacity, and he enjoys the most unequivocal popularity in the city which has been his home from boy- hood days. He is a scion of one of the well-known fam- ilies of the State, and has held positions of distinctive pub- lic trust in Reading, including those of postmaster and member of the city council and school board.

Mr. Thompson was born in Jonestown, Lebanon county, Pa., Feb. 15, 1857, and is a son of Nicholas and Harriet (Ingham) Thompson, the former of whom was born in Ireland, and the latter in Pennsylvania, being the daughter of the late Samuel Ingham, who was a representative busi- ness man and influential citizen of Myerstown, Lebanon county, where he was a successful contractor and builder, and where he was also engaged in the undertaking business. Nicholas Thompson came to this country with his parents when an infant. For a number of years he held the position of superintendent of the Union Canal. Later he became superintendent of the sheet-iron mill in this city, having been an ironmaster by trade. He was a man of much ability and was a citizen who ever commanded the high regard of his fellowmen. Both he and his wife con- tinued to reside in Reading until their deaths, and John S. Thompson was their only child.

John S. Thompson secured his early educational disci- pline in the public schools of Lebanon and Berks counties, and supplemented this by a special course in Brunner & Farr's Business College, in Reading. He initiated his busi- ness career by taking a position in the offices of the Union Canal Company, of which his father was then superintend- ent, and he was thus engaged for a period of three years. He then entered upon an apprenticeship at the trade of

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paper making, to which he continued to devote his atten- of ground adjoining the Textile Works, and this was one tion for five years, after which he was engaged for a of the first dwellings in the borough. It is situated on time in the butchering business in company with his father- the corner of Mory avenue and Van Reed road. in-law. In 1888 Mr. Thompson was appointed assistant In 1890 Mr. Janssen married Minnie Raeker, daughter postmaster of Reading under Calvin Goodman, and he of Henry Raeker, of Lippspringe, Westphalia, by whom he had four children : Harry, Minnie, Helen and Elsie (who died young).

retained this incumbency until 1891. At the conclusion of this service he became a special agent for the Reading Fire Insurance Company, with whom he was identified for four years, at the expiration of which time, in 1895, President Cleveland conferred upon him the appointment of post- master at Reading, an office for which he was specially well equipped, by reason of his marked executive ability and his former service in the postoffice. He gave a most ex- cellent administration and gained the unqualified commend- ation of the postal department and of the local public. He retired from office in 1899 and resumed his connection with the Reading Fire Insurance Company. One year later, however, there came a demand for his services in the office which he now holds, that of secretary and treas- urer of the Colonial Trust Company, of Reading. The company was organized in 1900 and he has held his present office from the initiation of its business, which has grown to be one of wide scope and importance. The company has erected a magnificent nine-story office building, the finest business block in the city, and in the same are located its finely appointed counting room and offices. The administrative ability and personal popularity of Mr. Thompson have been recognized factors in promoting the up-building of the business of the company, which is in- corporated with a capital stock of $250,000.

In politics Mr. Thompson is a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and for four years he represented the' Sixth ward in the city council, simultan- eously serving as a member of the board of education. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the Knight Templar degree, holding member- ship in the local lodge, chapter and commandery. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and he and his wife hold membership in the First Baptist Church.

On March 9, 1878, Mr. Thompson married. Miss Sarah A. Rader, daughter of the late George Rader, a representative business man of Reading, and to this union have been born two sons: George N., who is teller in the offices of the Colonial Trust Company, of Reading; and John P., who is an expert chemist, being employed as such in the Laboratories of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Al- toona, Pennsylvania.

HENRY KARL JANSSEN, manufacturer of textile ma- chinery at Wyomissing, was born at Barmen, Germany, Feb. 8, 1866, and was educated in the local schools there, attending until 1881. He then learned the trade of a ma- chinist in all its branches, serving the regular apprentice- ship of three years. Afterward he followed the customary life of a journeyman mechanic for four years, working in various machine shops in the industrial centers of the Rhine Province, for the purpose of becoming an expert machinist. With this experience he determined to emigrate to America, and in 1888 he went to New York City. He located in Brooklyn, entering the employ of the Castle Braid Company, and after working a while as all-around machinist became, on account of his proficiency, the fore- man of the place, and he filled this position until 1892. In that year he moved to Reading and formed a partnership with Ferdinand Thun, a German friend from Barmen, for manufacturing textile machinery. In the organization of the Textile Machine Works in 1900, Mr. Janssen became its president, and he has filled that position to the present time. He also was one of the incorporators and has served as vice-president of the Berkshire Knitting Mills and the Narrow Fabric Company since their organization, having assisted in establishing all of these industries at Wyo- missing.

In the building up of Wyomissing, and its erection as a borough in 1906, Mr. Janssen took a very active part, and at the first election of the borough officials he was chosen one of the councilmen. In 1897 he erected a home on a lot of Philadelphia.

Albert Janssen, father of Henry Karl, was born in 1834, along the lower Rhine on the borders of Holland. He learned the business of a book publisher and upon locating in Barmen when he was twenty-six years old, carried on that business, and continued it until his decease in 1878. He married Helen Benner, daughter of Jacob Benner, of Hesse Nassau, and by her he had six children : Albert and Helen, both of whom died when thirty years old; Henry Karl; Ernest, a dyer in Barmen; Johannes, a wholesale merchant at Barmen, and a member of the city council; and Paul, a provision merchant and hotel proprietor at Offenbach, in Hesse.

EDWIN FOSTER SMITH, civil engineer, in the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company since the year 1862, was born in Catawissa, Pa., Aug. 18, 1841, son of James Foster Smith and Ellen Eliza Cadwalader, his wife. Through his father he comes of Scotch-Irish ancestors, and on his mother's side is of Welsh descent. His earlier education was acquired at Reading, where he graduated from the high school with the class of 1858. He entered Union College, at Schenectady, N. Y., and graduated with the degree of A. B., later receiving from Union University the degree of Civil Engineer.

In October, 1862, Mr. Smith entered the service of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company in the engineer- ing department and remained in that employ until the year 1865, engaged on construction work and the locating and building of new branch lines of railroad. . During this period, also, he served two short term enlistments in the Civil war, one under the State of Pennsylvania in 1862 and one in the service of the United States in Company F, 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Volunteers, in 1863.

In the fall of 1865 he entered the service of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, of which he subsequently became the chief engineer and general manager. In 1872 there was added the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal in Pennsyl- vania and Maryland.

In the year 1891 Mr. Smith, who had for some years been the chief assistant engineer of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company, was called to take charge of the con- struction of the Reading terminal railway and station in the city of Philadelphia, one of the first of the large ter- minals in this country, and one that has attracted much attention, not only in itself and its appurtenances, but as changing the business conditions of a large surrounding district of the city. He has remained with the railway com- pany up to the present time in the practice of his profes- sion, in charge of hydraulic, steam and electrical plants, and given much of his time as consulting engineer to the development and installation of electrical plants operated by water-power. One of these is at Sewalls Falls, on the Merrimac river, New Hampshire, where the dam and struc- tures for creating the power were designed by Mr. Smith as early as the year 1892, and is one of the earliest examples of the modern system of distribution of power by elec- tricity. In the course of an extended practice of his pro- fession Mr. Smith has served as consulting engineer for many interests involving the solution of problems of hy- draulic engineering, designing and building a large part of the extensive water works system of the city of Reading; serving on the board of engineers appointed by the aque- duct commissioners of the city of New York in 1901, to report on questions of engineering construction in relation to the new Croton dam and Jerome Park reservoir; in the investigation of the conditions affecting the Castlewood dam, in Colorado; a general review of the subject of the location and plans for the Nicaragua ship canal, and many others. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Franklin Institute, and the Engineers' Club

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In 1867 Mr. Smith was married to Nancy King McCurdy, ing Railroad for six years, going then into the employ of daughter of Dr. J. K. McCurdy and Elizabeth, his wife, the United States Express Company, as cashier, and re- maining about six years in that connection. He was appointed by City Treasurer Hoffman Nov. 16, 1899, to fill out an unexpired term as assistant treasurer, and when Treasurer Tyson assumed control, April 7, 1902, he was re- tained in a position for which he had shown eminent qual- ifications. He was elected City Treasurer Feb. 18, 1908, and inaugurated April 6, 1908. of Reading, by whom he has three children. Mrs. Smith's father was a prominent druggist in Reading for many years, having his store on South Fifth street, near Penn; he took an active interest in educational affairs at Reading, officiating as the first president of the board of school controllers from 1865 to 1867; and he and his family were devoted members of the First Presbyterian Church for many years. He died in 1873.

Mr. Smith's father, James Foster Smith, was born at Pittsburg, Pa., on Christmas Day, 1813. He was descended from Scotch-Irish parentage, his grandparents having emi- grated to Pennsylvania about 1783 and settled at Pittsburg. In 1822 his parents removed to Blairsville, Pa., and there he received his preliminary education. At the age of twelve years he was obliged to support himself, and he devoted his leisure time to study, inclining toward mathematics and civil engineering. When eighteen years old he entered the service of the Portage Railway Company as rodman ; when twenty-three he became assistant engineer of the Cata- wissa Railway Company; and when twenty-four, the chief engineer of the Morris Canal Company, designing and building during the years 1837 and 1838 the tide-lock at the outlet of the canal in Jersey City, which is still in use. In 1839 and 1840 he was in the service of the Catawissa Railway Company, having designed the celebrated high trestle bridges on its line: and in 1841 and 1842 in the service of the New York & Erie Railway Company. In 1843 Mr. Smith became the superintendent of the lower division of the Schuylkill Navigation Company and served as such until 1845, when he was appointed the resident en- gineer, taking charge of the reconstruction of the canal between Philadelphia and Reading and finishing it in 1846. In 1850 he was elected the chief engineer, and removed with his family to Reading. He filled this responsible position until 1875, when he relinquished the more active duties and acted as consulting engineer until his retirement in 1885.

During his engineering career Mr. Smith designed and constructed many important hydraulic works, including many of the dams on the Schuylkill river, the Columbia dam across the Susquehanna river, 6,843 feet long; the coal shipping landings at Schuylkill Haven; and the exten- sive wharves, with automatic coal-transferring machinery, at Greenwich Point, on the Delaware river.

Mr. Smith resided forty-eight years at Reading, took much interest in local affairs, and was a devoted member of the First Presbyterian Church, having served as deacon, elder and trustee for many years. He died Jan. 31, 1898, aged eighty-four years.

EDWARD H. FILBERT. The successful government of a large city like Reading, Pa., requires the best efforts of substantial, reliable and public-spirited men, and one of these is found in Edward H. Filbert, City Treasurer.

The Filbert family is an old one in Berks county .- Gabriel Filbert. grandfather of Edward H., was born at Womelsdorf, where he was engaged in farming.

Adam Filbert, son of Gabriel, born in Womelsdorf, moved to Reading, Pa., April 1, 1880, and there died Jan. 5. 1902. aged sixty-six years. He was a miller by trade. He married Catherine Moyer, a member of one of the old- est families in Berks county, and daughter of Henry Moyer, a cabinet-maker and undertaker. They had six children, five of whom survive, namely : Annie, wife of Lee L. Hart- zel, with the Yocum cigar factory ; Charles F., a coal dealer at Reading; William H., a druggist at Saginaw, Mich. ; Ralph, a printer ; and Edward H., of Reading. Adam Filbert, the father, was a member of Williamson Lodge. No. 307, F. & A. M .; Excelsior Chapter, No. 237; R. A. M .. and Golden Rule Lodge, I. O. O. F.

Edward H. Filbert was born at Womelsdorf, Berks county, Jan. 15, 1871, on the old homestead, and after com- pleting his schooling in the City of Reading, he spent one year in Bright's hardware store as a clerk. He next be- came connected with the Reading Hardware Works, after which he was clerk in the freight department of the Read-

Mr. Filbert was married June 3, 1890, to Miss Clara L. Steiger, daughter of John and Henrietta Steiger, of Read- ing. She died May 5, 1905, survived by two children, Lee Edward and Marguerite.

Mr. Filbert is a member of the following organizations : Chandler Lodge, No. 227, F. & A. M .; Reading Lodge of Perfection, 14°, A. A. S. R .; Philadelphia Consistory 32°, A. A. S. R .; Excelsior Chapter, No. 237, R. A. M .; Reading Commandery, No. 42, K. T .; Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S .; Reading Lodge, No. 115, B. P. O. E .; Reading Aerie, No. 66, F. O. E .; Washington Camp, No. 163, P. O. S. of A .; Progressive Lodge, No. 470, I. O. O. F .; Wyo- missing Council, No. 1584, R. A .; Liberty Fire Company, No. 5; Schuylkill Camping Club; Ninety-eight Social Union ; Oley Valley Rod & Gun Club; Temple Club; and North Eastern Democratic Association. In politics he is a Democrat, and he is secretary of the 15th Ward Demo- cratic Club of Reading.

CHARLES F. FILBERT, son of Adam and Catherine ( Moy- er) Filbert, and brother of Edward H., was born in Womelsdorf, Pa., in 1858. He attended the public schools there. In 1880 he engaged in the coal business at the cor- ner of Greenwich and Moss streets, Reading, and remained there seventeen years, meeting with good success in his undertaking, and building up a good patronage. The next five years were spent at No. 1141 Moss street, after which in 1900 he moved to No. 730 Oley, his present location. He sells all kinds of anthracite coal, and keeps two wagons running all the time.

On Oct. 22, 1885, Mr. Filbert married Mary Hans, daugh- ter of Richard V. and Martha E. (Shultz) Hans. They have one daughter, Martha, who married Walter M. Deem, and has two children, Mary and Richard. In religious faith they are Lutherans. Mr. Filbert is a popular member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, the Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Hampden Fire Company.

SAMUEL H. GRING. Among the representative busi- ness men of Reading, who have been identified with the large interests of the city, may be mentioned Mr. Samuel H. Gring, a prominent lumberman, contractor and financier. Mr. Gring was born in Cumru township, Berks Co., Pa., Oct. 7, 1832, son of David and Mary ( Hill) Gring, and grandson of David Gring.

The great-grandfather. Samuel, son of Johannes (who emigrated in 1743, and who founded the family in Amer- ica), came from Holland, and settled in Cumru township, where he became an extensive land-owner and died a wealthy man. His son, David, was born in Cumru town- ship, but in early life located at Tulpehocken creek, where he took up a tract of land, built mills, and like his father became very prosperous. He died at the age of eighty- eight years in February, 1847. By his first wife, a Miss Walsmith, he had eight children as follows: John, who was a minister of the Reformed Church ; William, a miller; David, father of Samuel H .; Daniel, a minister of the Reformed Church: Susan, who died unmarried; Mary, m. to a Mr. Lichty; Elizabeth, m. to a Mr. Troxel; and Kate, m. to a Mr. Ringler.

David Gring followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and at the time of his death. Jan. 26, 1890. aged eighty-three years, ten months, seventeen days. he was the owner of several farms and a good mill. He was a Whig, and later became a strong Republican, was prominent in the affairs of his day, and served as captain and major in the State militia for eleven years. He mar- ried Mary Hill, who died May 18, 1885, at the age of eighty- one years, seven months, twelve days. To this union were born twelve children, eight of whom grew to maturity, as

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follows : David, a miller; Daniel (engaged in farming) ; ing each with pins instead of by the nailing process which Samuel H .; Annie (m. George Zerr) ; Mary (m. Joshua Grill) ; John (a miller and tanner) ; Charles (proprietor of a hotel) ; and Franklin (a farmer). The family were all members of the Reformed Church.

Samuel H. Gring was educated in the schools of Spring township and remained on the home farm until twenty-five years of age, working about the home mill, driving a team, and turning his hand to any employment that presented it- self. He then went to East Cocalico township, near Denver, where he purchased a mill and remained until 1871, selling out in this year and removing to Newville, Cumberland county. Here he engaged in a lumber business, buying a tract of timber land which he converted into lumber for railroad purposes, and in 1876 he removed to Muhlenberg, locating in his present home two years later. This house was built about 1734, and at the time Mr. Gring purchased it it was the property of Dr. Muhlenberg. His next lumber enterprise was back of Lewistown, where he purchased a tract of pine and oak timber. He then went to Mount Rock, Cumberland county, and afterward in turn to a tract near Mechanicsburg, to near the Loop in Perry county, Pa., to Bloomfield, Perry county (where he operated two saw mills), to Turley Valley (where he operated three mills), to Huntingdon county, Pa. (where he carried on operations for three years), and to Bedford county, Pa., until 1886, in which year he purchased 10,000 acres of land, build- ing a railroad sixteen miles long to get lumber out, this road being known as the Diamond Valley Railroad. In 1890 he returned to Perry county and leased seventy-one tracts of timber land, surveyed the line to New German- town, a distance of thirty miles, and in September of that year grading was commenced, ties put down and rails laid. By Jan. 26th of the following year, sixteen miles of rail- road had been built, and the following year the road was built to Blaine, and in 1892 completed from Newport to New Germantown. Mr. Gring's son, David Gring, is the president of both of these roads, including the one from Duncannon to Bloomfield, which is known as the Perry County Railway, and father and son deal extensively in lumber in North Carolina, Virginia and throughout the South, also being the owners of twenty-five water com- panies.

On Dec. 14, 1856, Mr. Samuel H. Gring married Cath- erine Hoyer, daughter of Simon Hoyer, a bridge-builder. She died June 8, 1900, aged sixty-three years. Nine chil- dren were born to this union: David, of Newport, m. Emma Caldwell, and has five children-Bruce, Rodney, Herbert, Wilber and Elizabeth; Kate m. Daniel B. Snyder, and had nine children-Sue S., Evan G., Lucy M., Charles L., Lester B. and four that died young; Elizabeth m. John Leitheiser, and has two children-Hattie and Grace; Sam- uel, deceased, m. Annie Fisher, and has one child-Bertha; Charles died at the age of twenty years; Susan died at the age of four years; and three died in infancy. In re- ligious belief Mr. Gring and his family are members of the Grace (Alsace) Reformed Church of Reading, he being a member of the finance committee. In politics a Repub- lican, he was treasurer of the township of East Cocalico, Lancaster Co., Pa., during the latter years of the war. .

RAYMOND MOHR, the founder of the well-known firm of Raymond Mohr & Son, of Birdsboro, this county, was a resident and business man of that place for the long period of half a century, having settled there in 1857. He made his early success as a contractor and builder, and later displayed equal ability in the undertaking and furniture line, having for many years the only establish- ment of the kind ever conducted in Birdsboro. His son, Edwin F. Mohr, has succeeded to his interests, having been associated in business with his father since 1895.

Mr. Mohr. was born Sept. 30, 1834, near Gibraltar, in Robeson township, this county, on his father's farm, the property at present occupied by Mrs. James Trate. Samuel Mohr, his father, was a carpenter by calling, and had a great reputation as a builder of barns, following the method then in vogue of hewing the timber from the tree, and framing it together with tenon and mortise, fasten-

now prevails. Although Samuel Mohr had acquired little education, he had a marvelous faculty of being able to designate beforehand each stick and make an accurate gen- eral list of the lumber that would be required for a build- ing. His son, Raymond, gave evidence of a mechanical turn, and the father taught him the trade, making him as capable as himself in the ability to specify requirements of materials for a building. The son became noted as an excellent workman, rapid, and decidedly industrious. By his own efforts he became a fine draughtsman, and in nearly every case designed and made the general and detail draw- ings for the buildings he erected.

After receiving some education in the township school, Raymond Mohr came to Birdsboro in 1857. In 1858 he married Mary, eldest daughter of the late Daniel Focht, of Robeson. Upon deciding to make Birdsboro the scene of his life's work Mr. Mohr purchased the lot where his late residence now stands, on Furnace street, at a time when only two houses were on said street. He erected his own house, putting on all the weather-boarding and the finish with his own hands. He then began the contracting and building business, in which he soon developed a large trade. In one year he erected for E. & G. Brooke, of the town, forty-eight dwelling houses. He erected No. 1 and No. 2 blast furnaces for the Brookes, the nail factory building, the mansion now occupied by George Brooke, and a large addition to the present Birdsboro residence of Robert E. Brooke. The two mansions erected by the late Mrs. M. T. Clingan, at Clingan Station, were built by Mr. Mohr, as were also many of the large store buildings and good class of residences in the town. In his early days he erected the pipe mill and other manufacturing buildings for Seyfert & McManus, at Reading. He was especially capable in the erection of heavy work, under- stood rigging and the use of hoisting apparatus, and was an excellent handler of large forces of men.

Mr. Mohr's father was an undertaker, and taught his son the trade, and in 1860 Raymond Mohr engaged in the business at Birdsboro. When he learned the trade only coffins were used as the casements for corpses, and they were made by hand. The present handsome finishings were unknown, and they were devoid of linings, a bundle of shavings serving for a pillow. The lids were made of wood and put on with ordinary wood screws. The best ones were rubbed with wax to secure a polish, and a hot flat iron was used to rub the melted wax to a gloss. There were no hearses, the coffin being placed on a spring wagon, and around it sat as many of the friends as could get into the vehicle.

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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 87

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