USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania; also containing a separate account of the several boroughs and townships in the county, with biographical sketches, 2nd ed > Part 32
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In 1909 the works were sold to the International Steam Pump Company, of New York, the largest con- cern of the kind in the United States, their specialty being the construction of both steam and electrical pumps. The excellence of their product has long since given the Jeanesville shops a world-wide reputation.
Mr. Haydon was married in 1858 to Ellen F. New- ton, a native of Vermont. Her life has been character- ized by unselfishness and generosity. She was a sister- in-law of John O. Cleaver, a member of the firm of Rich and Cleaver, who opened Coleraine colliery dur- ing the forties.
Heberling, Daniel, one of the pioneer merchants of Carbon county, was born in Allen township, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, on February 10, 1801. He was of German descent, his father emigrating to this country from the district of Alsace-Lorraine, Germany. When a boy, Daniel learned the trade of a cloth weaver, and as the opportunity offered, attended the country schools. He also taught school for a while. In 1829 he was married to Mary Ann Leh. Finding the weaving trade insufficient to support his
DHleberling
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wife and growing family, he obtained employment on the Lehigh Canal, which was then in course of con- struction.
In the spring of 1833, "the year the stars fell," he and his wife, together with their child, Thomas, lo- cated in Weissport, then a part of Northampton coun- ty, and took possession of the Weissport House, which is still standing, and which was at that time the prin- cipal hostelry of the nearby locality.
There were at that time but two other houses in the place, namely, that owned by Daniel Arner, and the other, the home of Colonel Jacob Weiss, the latter oc- cupying the site where the Fort Allen Hotel now stands. Peter Snyder, of Lehigh Gap, built and owned the Weissport House, and gave Mr. Heberling posses- sion and a year's rent free, so anxious was he to have a good tenant.
Mr. Heberling was landlord of the Weissport House for three years; but having a strong aversion to hotel life, he moved out of the premises and launched into the general store business on White street, Weissport. At the same time he filled the office of justice of the peace and squire, serving in the latter capacity for a period of nine years. He also did considerable survey- ing locally. He was very successful as a merchant and had already amassed what in those days was consid- ered a competence, when the terrible flood of 1841 de- vastated Weissport and other places along the Lehigh river, and swept away or ruined everything he had in the world, save his family, his good name and repu- tation for honesty and square dealing. Nothing daunted, he procured a team (there being no railroads then) and drove to Philadelphia, where he had no trou- ble in inducing his creditors to start him anew. He was then forty years old, but still full of grit and am-
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bition. Gradually he recouped his losses and built up a bigger business than ever. In addition to the general store business he engaged in the building of canal boats on a large scale, in which he was also very successful. He dabbled somewhat in politics and was appointed associate judge of Carbon county in 1848-five years after the new county of Carbon was formed, and held office until 1851.
He was for many years, and up to the time of his death, a director in the First National Bank of Mauch Chunk. He was also largely interested in the Parry- ville Iron Works. In 1862 Weissport was again swept by a destructive freshet, but Mr. Heberling, profiting by his former experience, in the flood of 1841, had built himself a large and substantial brick dwelling and store, which defied the raging waters, and his losses were slight, while other houses in the town were swept from their foundations and carried down the Lehigh. After the waters receded Weissport was completely covered with huge logs, which had broken loose from the White Haven dams, being piled as high as some of the house-tops. Mr. Heberling, with characteristic shrewdness in the time of emergency, formed a part- nership with Jonas Bowman, erected a temporary saw- mill and cut up all the logs into marketable lumber, at a considerable profit. In 1868 Mr. Heberling moved to Lehighton, where he erected for himself and family a substantial home, in which he resided until his death, which occurred May 29, 1876.
His family consisted of Thomas J., James W., Dan- iel Christian, and Edgar Allen.
The latter was drowned while a student at Lafayette College. James, Thomas and Daniel were in their day prominent merchants of Mauch Chunk, the former also filling the office of associate judge of the county, to
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which position he was appointed upon the death of Judge Harry E. Packer. Thomas was elected to the office of prothonotary in 1861.
There are four daughters, Mrs. F. P. Semmel, Mrs. J. L. Gabel, Mrs. Benjamin Bertolet and Mrs. Lewis B. Balliet.
Heberling, Dr. Homer, a Lehighton dentist, was born at Mauch Chunk on November 15, 1870, being the elder son of Daniel C. and Ellen (Struthers) Heberling. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Heberling, was one of the early merchants of Carbon county, while his mother's father was James Robb Struthers, Esq., the first dis- triet attorney of the county.
Graduating from the Mauch Chunk high school with the class of 1887, he enrolled as a student at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Having fin- ished his course he accepted a position as stenographer in the office of the general freight agent of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at South Bethlehem, Pa.
In May, 1888, he entered the employ of the firm of Whitney & Kemmerer at Philadelphia, remaining with them for seven years. During this time he was elected secretary of the Beaumont Coal Mining Company, of which W. B. Whitney was the president.
Entering the Philadelphia Dental Colllege in the fall of 1893, he was graduated from that institution in 1896. During his freshman year he retained his posi- tion with the firm by which he was employed, while keeping up with his classes in college. After his grad- uation he was engaged for a short time as an assistant to a leading dentist of Trenton, N. J.
Coming to Lehighton in the summer of 1896, with no other capital than his training, a good constitution, and plenty of grit and ambition, he established himself in
30
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the practise of his profession, gaining a patronage which has grown from year to year.
Dr. Heberling is a member of the Pennsylvania State Dental Society, the Susquehanna Dental So- ciety, and the Lehigh Valley Dental Society. He is a past master of the Masonic lodge of Lehighton, while being identified with the Robert Burns Scottish So- ciety of Summit Hill. He was the first treasurer of All Saints Episcopal church of Lehighton. His young- er brother James Struthers Heberling is the superin- tendent of the William T. Carter Junior Republic at Redington, Pa.
In 1901, Dr. Heberling was married to Katharine Victoria, the only daughter of Dr. Jacob G. Zern and his wife Ellen M., of Lehighton. She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They have one child, Jacob Zern Heberling.
Hongen, Robert J., sealer of weights and measures of Carbon county, is the son of Solomon and Catherine (Wentz) Hongen, both natives of Northampton county. Until he was eighteen years of age he worked on a farm, after which he learned the trade of a blacksmith. On reaching his majority he came to Lehighton, open- ing a shop at Weissport. Following his trade for about fifteen years, he subsequently engaged in the business of drilling wells. For three years he was the deputy sheriff of the county.
Upon the creation of the office of inspector of weights and measures in the county, in 1913, Mr. Hongen was appointed to fill the position. In this capacity he has rendered admirable service to the county, discharging his duties without fear or favor, thus assuring honest weight and measure to the consumer, while protecting the reliable business man against the unfair competi- tion of his dishonest rival.
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Mr. Hongen was one of the promoters of the First National Bank of Weissport, also serving as the presi- dent of town council of that borough. In 1915 he took up his residence in Bowmanstown, where he purchased the property formerly owned by Isaac Ux, converting the same into lots for building purposes, upon which substantial homes are being erected. He is also presi- dent of the water company of Dushore, Sullivan county.
Mr. Hongen was married on September 13, 1885, to Kate, daughter of Josiah Walck and his wife, Eliza, of Franklin township. Their surviving children are as follows: Webster J., Annie E., Mamie C., Horace G., Lola C. and Grace F. Hongen.
Horlacher, Andrew H., manager and principal stock- holder of the Allen Candy Manufacturing Company, of Weatherly, and an honored resident of that place, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on Oct. 31, 1852. He is the son of John and Catherine (Schneider) Horlach- er, and was one of a family of ten children.
Reared on his father's farm, and educated in the schools of his native country, he emigrated to America in 1868, locating at Philadelphia. Here he learned the trade of a baker, also acquiring his first knowledge of the manufacture of confectionery.
From Philadelphia he went to Allentown, later being employed for a brief period at Slatington, Pa.
In 1874, Mr. Horlacher located at Weatherly, estab- lishing a bakery which he profitably conducted for twenty-three years, when he sold his business to Harry Yeide.
In association with A. D. Roth, E. A. Acker, William Kohler, E. H. Bortz, and E. A. Butz, Mr. Horlacher, in 1897, organized the Allen Candy Manufacturing Com- pany, establishing the plant at Allentown, Pa. Two years later its location was changed to Weatherly,
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
where it has become an important industry, employing many workers. The machinery of the plant is the most modern and improved, while its output has in- creased from year to year.
Mr. Horlacher has been the manager, treasurer and principal stockholder of the company since its organ- ization.
He was married on March 15, 1874, to Emma, daugh- ter of George Koehler, of Northampton county. Their domestic life has been ideal in its harmony and tran- quility. Four children have been born to them: Liz- zie S., wife of A. D. Roth; William H., Jennie M., wife of T. C. Sigman, and Nellie F., wife of Floyd T. War- ner.
Mr. Horlacher has been a leading member of the Lutheran church of Weatherly almost since its estab- lishment, having been a trustee and treasurer of that organization for twenty-five years.
As a member of town council and in the capacity of a private citizen and business man, he has worked effectively for the prosperity and well-being of the community in which he lives.
Isenman, Joseph H., a Lehighton grocer, was born in Baden, near Offenburg, Germany, April 4, 1854. His father, Severin Isenman, was an inn keeper, and was the father of eleven children, four of whom grew to maturity.
In 1872, being then eighteen years of age, Mr. Isen- man emigrated to America, locating in Mauch Chunk, where he secured employment in the foundry and ma- chine shop then conducted by Messrs. Stroh and Al- bright. A year later he entered the service of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company at Packerton, be- coming a car repairer. He remained with the company
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for many years, and was finally promoted to the posi- tion of night foreman of the Packerton yards.
In 1895 Mr. Isenman erected the building at the cor- ner of Third and Coal streets which he now occupies, opening a general store. Five years later he sold his stock and leased the building to the firm of Rehrig Bros., who held possession for six years, when Mr. Isenman again assumed control of the business.
Mr. Isenman was married in 1873 to Veronica Lu- henska, of Jamestown, a suburb of Lehighton. Four children were born to them, as follows: Annie, Emma, Agnes and Charles Isenman.
Annie is the wife of Henry Schwartz, of Lehighton; Emma is married to William Coyle, of Tresckow, Car- bon county, while Agnes is the wife of Charles Dierkes, of Lehighton. Charles married Johanna Toomey, of Bethlehem. Mrs. Isenman died in 1899.
Mr. Isenman has served as a member of the town council of Lehighton, and was one of the organizers of the Lehigh Valley Building and Loan Association, of which he is also a director. Mr. Isenman is a member of the Catholic church, while he is a supporter of the Democratic party. He is progressive and never fails to manifest an interest in questions affecting the wel- fare of the community in which he lives.
Jenkins, Thomas L., a veteran educator of Carbon county, now assistant principal of the schools of East Mauch Chunk, was born at Nesquehoning, Pa., Janu- ary 7, 1865. He is the son of Richard and Ann (Eman- uel) Jenkins, natives of Merthyr Tidvil, Wales, who came to America in 1841, first settling at Tamaqua, Schuylkill county.
The father was, during the greater part of his ac- tive life, a mine foreman for the Lehigh Coal and Nav- igation Company at Nesquehoning. When Thomas
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was six years of age, the family removed to a farm in Packer township where he grew to maturity.
He was educated at the West Chester State Normal School and at Palm's Business College, Philadelphia. For twenty-five years he has been a school teacher, having occupied his present position for ten years. Many of his former pupils owe their success in life largely to the native ability and enthusiasm which he brought to his calling.
On April 2, 1886, Mr. Jenkins was married to Han- nah, a daughter of Solomon Gerhard, one of the early residents of Packer township. They have two sons, both of whom are successful teachers. Albion, the elder, who has had several years' experience, is a graduate of the Keystone State Normal School and is now a student at Columbia University. Rayel is also a graduate of the first named institution, and is at pres- ent teaching in the public schools of Los Angeles, Cal- ifornia.
Johnson, John E., tax collector of Summit Hill, was born there on January 19, 1889. His grandfather, Henry Johnson, was born in Ireland, coming to Amer- ica at the age of eight years. He grew to manhood at Summit Hill and was a Forty-niner, joining in the rush to the gold fields of California. But he returned to Summit Hill and became the father of ten children. The eldest of these, Harry, the father of the subject of this sketch, was married to Mary A. Breslin, of Allen- town. He was for a time a miner, and for twenty-five years conducted a general store at Summit Hill. The following children were born to this pair: John, Fred, Harry, Anna, Maud, and Lenore.
The father died on October 23, 1906, aged forty-four years, while the mother still lives.
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John conducts a confectionery and ice cream busi- ness, being also a notary public. He was elected to the office of tax collector in 1913.
John F. Breslin, his maternal grandfather, was a veteran of the Rebellion. Mr. Breslin is a member of the Sons of Veterans and is active in borough and church affairs, being a member of St. Joseph's church at Summit Hill and of Archbishop Ryan Council No. 1552, K. of C., of Lansford.
Johnson, Thomas, a member of the firm of Johnson Brothers, conducting two of Carbon county's leading clothing and furnishing stores, was born at Mauch Chunk in 1876.
John Johnson, his father, was born in Ireland, emi- grating to America in 1875, and locating at Mauch Chunk. He was united in marriage in the late sixties to Annie Sweeney, also a native of Erin, the pair build- ing their home at Mauch Chunk, where they have lived continuously since that time. The following children were born to them: Mary, Daniel, Thomas, Patrick, John, Joseph, James and Michael. John and the two last named are deceased.
Thomas Johnson was educated in the parochial and public schools of Mauch Chunk. After various em- ployments he learned the clothing business, establish- ing a store, in association with his brother, Joseph, at Mauch Chunk in 1903. Subsequently Patrick and Dan- iel were also admitted to the partnership. Honest practises and fair dealing bringing success, the firm opened a branch store in Lansford in 1907, this being under the immediate supervision of Daniel and Joseph.
In 1908 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Margaret MeLaughlin, of Lansford. Anna and John are their two children. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and is identified with the Knights of Columbus.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Kemmerer, Arthur, a well-known young business man of Lehighton, was born there, April 8, 1882. He is the son of George H. and Ella (Schwartz) Kemmerer. His. ancestors settled in America prior to the Revolution and had a hand in establishing the independence of the country.
Arthur graduated from the Lehighton high school with the class of 1900. He is also a graduate of the American Business College, of Allentown.
He worked in the office of G. B. Markle and Company, miners and shippers of coal at Jeddo, Pa., for a year, after which he returned to Lehighton and secured an interest in the Lehigh Coal and Hardware Company. A few years later he and his father gained full control of the business, of which he is now the active head, the firm being known as the Kemmerer Hardware Com- pany. This is the largest store of the kind in the com- ty, dealing in hardware, seeds, coal, fertilizers, cement, etc.
In 1913, Mr. Kemmerer organized the Lehighton Heights Realty Company, of which he was made the manager and treasurer. This company is developing a fine new residential section in South Lehighton. Mr. Kemmerer was also one of the organizers of the Le- highton Board of Trade, having served as president of that body. As a member of the Lehighton Athletic As- sociation, he was the manager of the baseball team of the town for a number of years. He was a member of the committee which had charge of the erection of the handsome new building of Zion's Reformed church, costing over $125,000.
Mr. Kemmerer is a trustee of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Lehighton. He was mar- ried on October 24, 1907, to Carrie E., a daughter of
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Harry Mock, of Jeddo. Their children are: Marion and Harry.
Kemmerer, George H., one of the leading business men of Lehighton, was born there on December 17, 1857. John G. Kemmerer, his grandfather, a native of Lehigh county, came to the Mahoning Valley in 1818, settling on land now owned by Henry Smith and Charles Lobein. The family name appears in the rec- ords of Salisbury township, Lehigh county, as early as 1744, when Thomas Kemmerer, who emigrated from Wurtemberg, Germany, took up his abode there. Mr. Kemmerer's great-grandfather served as a soldier under Washington in the Revolution. Thomas Kem- merer, formerly president of the First National Bank of Lehighton, and twice prothonotary and elerk of courts of Carbon county, was an unele of the subject of this sketch, as was William Kemmerer, who was a prominent merchant in Lehighton a generation ago.
George H., son of Theodore and Mary Anna ( Hamm) Kemmerer, began life as a clerk in a general store. Later he learned the trade of a cabinet maker in an es- tablishment conducted by his father, who was also an undertaker. In 1887, in association with A. O. Swartz. he succeeded to the furniture and undertaking business of his father, the firm still continuing in the old loca- tion.
In 1902 Mr. Kemmerer acquired an interest in the Lehigh Coal and Hardware Company, now known as the Kemmerer Hardware Company, gaining full con- trol in 1908. His son, Arthur, is a partner in this en- terprise.
Mr. Kemmerer was married in 1880 to Ella, a daugh- ter of Wendell Swartz, of Lehighton. Their children are: Arthur T., Esther, Anna, Bessie, wife of W. L. M. Hoffman, and John G. Kemmerer.
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Mr. Kemmerer is a member of the Lehighton Cham- ber of Commerce, and he and his family are communi- cants of the Reformed church.
Kemmerer, Mahlon S., a prominent coal operator and man of affairs, residing at Mauch Chunk, was born at Cherry Valley, Monroe county, Pa., on August 27, 1843. His father, Charles Kemmerer, who was a mill- wright by trade, was also a native of Cherry Valley, while his mother bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Price, being the daughter of John J. Price, an early lumberman of that section.
M. S. Kemmerer became a resident of Carbon county in his early youth. He was educated in the common schools and at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa. At the age of fourteen he began life as a clerk in a colliery store at Summit Hill, continuing in that ca- pacity until 1862. The memorable freshet of that year, paralyzing the transportation facilities of the Lehigh Valley, suspended operations in the coal regions. He then joined an engineering corps engaged in the work of rebuilding the Lehigh Canal.
A direct result of the freshet was the building of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, the legislature pro- hibiting the rebuilding of the canal between Mauch Chunk and White Haven.
The engineering corps to which Mr. Kemmerer be- longed undertook the survey of this road, and he re- mained with them for several years in the capacity of an assistant engineer. At the expiration of this period he accepted a position as mining engineer and assistant superintendent of the Upper Lehigh Coal Company, of Luzerne county. After four years of service in the employ of this company he began his active business career as a member of the firm of Whitney, McCreary
Thomas Kennedy .
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& Kemmerer, dealers in coal, the firm subsequently becoming Whitney & Kemmerer.
In 1876 he engaged in the mining of coal at Harleigh, Pond Creek and other collieries, achieving honorable success from the start. He became financially inter- ested in the Connellsville Coke and Iron Company, the Carbon Iron and Pipe Company and the Carbon Roll- ing Mill Company, in all of which enterprises he served as a director. He also served as secretary and treas- urer of the Virginia Coal and Iron Company, and as a director of the Alden Coal Company, of Wilkes- Barre.
Mr. Kemmerer is largely interested in mining prop- erties in the West, and the town of Kemmerer, Wy- oming, is named in his honor. For years he has held the controlling interest in the iron works at Parry- ville. He is also the president of the Mauch Chunk National Bank.
Governor Pattison appointed Mr. Kemmerer as one of the commissioners in the matter of revising the mining laws of the state. He has always upheld the principles advocated by the Republican party, and is a communicant of the Presbyterian church.
On December 1, 1868, Mr. Kemmerer was married to Annie L., daughter of Hon. John Leisenring, who was one of Mauch Chunk's foremost citizens. John L., Mahlon L., and Gertrude L. are their three children.
Kennedy, Thomas, president of the Seventh District, United Mine Workers of America, comprising Carbon county and portions of Luzerne and Schuylkill, is a son of Peter Kennedy, who emigrated to this country from Ireland in 1878, and located at Coal Dale, Schuylkill county. He was married to Mary, a daughter of James Boyle, of Lansford, in 1885. They had eight children, all of whom are yet living.
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The father was killed by a fall of coal in one of the mines of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in the year 1902.
Thomas Kennedy was born at Lansford, November 2, 1887. At the age of eleven he left school and began his life as a worker by picking slate in the breaker. He filled various positions in and about the mines. finally becoming a full-fledged miner. He early mani- fested an interest in economic problems, and at the age of sixteen began to show an understanding of the questions affecting capital and labor.
He has attended every national convention of the United Mine Workers as a delegate since he became seventeen years of age.
In 1908 Mr. Kennedy received a large vote for the office of secretary of his district, but failed of election. Two years later he was elected to the presidency of District No. 7, and is now the youngest district presi- dent of his union in the United States.
In this honorable position he is working intelligently for the amelioration and betterment of the condition of the men whose interests he represents. He took a leading part in the conferences between the representa - tives of the miners and the operators, resulting in the peaceful settlement of the differences between capital and labor in the coal region in 1912.
By virtue of the position he holds, Mr. Kennedy is a member of the Anthracite Conciliation Board, which came into being under the award of the Anthracite Strike Commission of 1902. He was married in 1912 to Miss Helen Melley, of Philadelphia.
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