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 35
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ing the remainder of his life. His descendants in this portion of the county are to-day quite numerous. His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Walk. For more than twenty years Mr. Markley served as court crier of the county. He died in 1885.
Elmer S. Markley is the son of Stephen and Sophia (Mantz) Markley. Elmer spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, learning the trade of a shoemaker. After a time he opened a shoe and repair shop in Weissport, where he remained for fourteen years. Early in 1915 he opened his present store in Lehighton.
On November 8, 1890, Mr. Markley was united in marriage to Ella, daughter of Henry Meckes, of Al- brightsville, Carbon county.
He served as a member of Weissport town council for nine years, and has been influential in the councils of the Democratic party.
Mr. Markley is a member of the Order of Independ- ent Americans, the Red Men, and the Daughters of Lib- erty. He was one of the founders of the Carbon Coun- ty Historical Society.
Masonheimer, Rev. A. M., Ph.D., pastor of Salem's Reformed church at Weatherly, is the son of John Masonheimer, a native of the Palatinate, who emi- grated to America in 1827, establishing his home in Lehigh county. He was married to Barbara Rockel, a native Pennsylvanian, and they had seven children.
Alfred M. Masonheimer was born near Allentown, Lehigh county, October 25, 1853. Leaving the public schools at the age of twelve years, he drove a horse and cart about the iron mines near his home until he reached the age of sixteen. He then attended the Key- stone State Normal School and Palatinate College.
After teaching school for a number of years, he en- tered Ursinus College. Later matriculating at Yale
am masonhermer
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University, he was graduated from that institution with the degree of B.D. The degree of doctor of phil- osophy, pro merito, has been conferred upon him by Allegheny College.
Being licensed to preach the gospel in 1880, he was stationed for a year at Orange, Vermont. In 1881 he accepted a call to the Weatherly charge of the Reform- ed church, which also includes St. Matthew's church, in Packer township, and St. John's Reformed church at Rockport. He preaches at the two last named places on alternate Sundays.
During his long pastorate Doctor Masonheimer has left a lasting impression on the lives and characters of the people among whom he has labored, his broad, sym- pathetic and kindly nature, coupled with thorough equipment for his work, peculiarly qualifying him for the discharge of his duties as a pastor.
He has also been greatly aided and strengthened in carrying out his life's work by the ministrations of a sensible and devoted wife who always faithfully assists him in his pastoral duties, and who is greatly beloved by all who know her. She bore the maiden name of Catharine Ritter, being a daughter of Jeremiah and Lucy Ritter, of Egypt, Lehigh county, Pa. Their mar- riage was solemnized on March 25, 1881.
Since coming to Weatherly, Rev. Masonheimer has administered the rite of baptism to eleven hundred and seventy persons, confirmed nine hundred and thirty- five, and performed over five hundred marriages. He has also conducted nearly seven hundred and fifty fu- nerals. The total membership of his charge is six hun- dred.
He has interested himself, too, in the business and industrial welfare of the borough, being a director of the First National Bank, and having a voice in the af-
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fairs of the Weatherly Foundry and Machine Com- pany, the Weatherly Water Company, and other con- cerns.
He is a member of Hazle Lodge, No. 327, Free and Accepted Masons, of Hazleton, and of Sodi Lodge, No. 80, Knights of Pythias, of Weatherly.
Mr. and Mrs. Masonheimer are the parents of three children, all of whom are graduates of the Weatherly high school. Elva, the eldest is also a graduate of the Allentown College for Women, and is now a teach- er in the public schools of Weatherly. Williard is a product of Lafayette College, and is at present a stu- dent in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. Alfred, having graduated at the Hazle- ton high school, is now a sophomore at Franklin and Marshall College.
Maurer, Harry M., a foreman in the employ of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company at Lansford, is the son of Edwin and Sarah Jane (Miller) Maurer. His father spent his active life in the service of the same company that the son is now serving, being em- ployed in his youth as a brakeman on the Switchback Railroad, which was then used for the transportation of coal.
Harry M. Maurer was born in the Mahoning Valley, May 29, 1871. At the age of sixteen he started out to learn the trade of a blacksmith in the shops of the com- pany with which he is still employed. In 1910 his fa- ther was placed on the retired list, and he succeeded him as foreman.
On June 24, 1897, Mr. Maurer was married to Louise, daughter of Charles Fessler, of Lansford. Her father was one of the first engineers on the Panther Creek Valley Railroad. Prior to her marriage she was for eight years a teacher in the public schools of Lansford.
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The pair have an only son, Edwin H., who was born October 8, 1903. Mr. Maurer is a member of the P. O. S. of A. and of the Tamaqua Masonic lodge. The fam- ily attended the Reformed church.
McCabe, P. H., principal of the schools of East Mauch Chunk and one of the successful educators of Carbon county, was born at Nesquehoning, April 6, 1857. His father was Patrick McCabe, who was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1820. He emigrated to the United States in 1849, locating in New York city, where for a number of years he supported himself by doing clerical work. Coming to Nesquehoning he be- came a coal miner, which occupation he followed the re- mainder of his life.
He was married to Mrs. Sarah Bradwell, a native of Sunderland, England. She came to America in 1832. James, deceased, and Patrick, were their only children.
Patrick H. McCabe received his elementary educa- tion in the schools of Nesquehoning, and at the age of fourteen entered the mines. In 1876 he went to Mil- lersville State Normal School, after which he taught school for a number of terms. Later he attended Val- paraiso University, where he graduated in the Latin scientific course with the class of 1883. He is also a graduate of Eastman Business College, of Poughkeep- sie, N. Y.
Prof. McCabe has devoted all his time and energies since reaching man's estate to educational work. He taught school at Coalport, Summit Hill and at Nesque- honing, serving for thirteen years at the last named place. For eighteen years he has been principal at East Mauch Chunk, and the schools under his supervi- sion have steadily increased in efficiency and excellence during that period, the majority of the graduates lead- ing successful lives in their various fields of endeavor.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
On June 30, 1887, Mr. McCabe was wedded to Emma Grover, daughter of Nathan Grover, of East Mauch Chunk. A boy and a girl, both of whom died in in- fancy, were born to them.
McCormick, David, editor and owner of the Lehigh- ton Press and postmaster of Lehighton, was born at Hickory Run, Carbon county, on April 21, 1873. He is the son of William C. and Elizabeth (Arnold) Mc- Cormick, and has lived in Lehighton virtually all his life.
He acquired his education in the public schools of the borough, and early manifested a liking for news- paper work. When but a lad of fifteen he entered the service of O. B. Sigley, the well-known Mauch Chunk printer and newspaper man, as an apprentice. Having mastered the art which he chose to follow, he proceed- ed to Philadelphia, where he was employed for a year as a journeyman, after which he returned to accept a position as foreman and local reporter for Mr. Sigley After a period of two years, he was induced to take the place of foreman for the Lehighton Press, which had then but recently been established; this position he held for two years.
Having, by this time, attained a thorough and practi- cal knowledge of the business in its various details, and being possessed of energy and ambition, Mr. McCor- mick, on November 16, 1896, purchased the Press and the printing establishment that was conducted in con- nection therewith. He immediately proceeded to build up and improve the property of which he was now the sole owner, and his efforts have been crowned with excellent results. Not only has the paper been enlarged to twice its former size, but its circulation has been more than trebled since he assumed control.
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David MCormick
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CAPT. WILLIAM C. MCCORMICK.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Mr. McCormick was the first to introduce the type- setting and folding machine in Carbon county, while his establishment has facilities for job printing that would do credit to the plant of a larger town than Le- highton.
The Press is issued weekly, and faithfully mirrors the important happenings of the region in which it circulates. The trenchant pen of its editor has given the paper a commanding position among the journals of the Lehigh Valley.
Mr. McCormick was appointed postmaster of Le- highton early during the year 1911; immediately upon assuming the duties of the office, his progressive spirit was made manifest in the remodeling of the interior of the postoffice and in the introduction of new furnish- ings and a more modern equipment, adding to the com- fort and convenience of the employes of the office and the public alike.
He has been an active member of Lehighton's oldest fire company for many years, being the treasurer of that organization; he is also a member of the Masonic order, of the Sons of Veterans, and of various other organizations.
On October 14, 1896, Mr. McCormick was married to Bertha Hollenbach, daughter of Elias F. and Mary Hollenbach. Their children are: Robert D. and Mary E. McCormick.
McCormick, William C., a veteran of the Civil War, and a foremost citizen of Lehighton, was the son of David McCormick, who was of Irish birth, but the de- scendant of a Welsh and Scotch ancestry.
David McCormick was born in the year 1800, immi- grating to America at the age of twenty-eight, and set- tling in New Jersey. He assisted in constructing the Morris Canal, connecting the Delaware river with the
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
harbor of New York, and was subsequently appointed to the superintendency of the canal, which was more than a hundred miles in length. In 1851 he came to Carbon county, being thereafter engaged in the lumber business. He married Mary Lockwood, a native of Connecticut, who was thirteen years his junior, and who bore him six sons and two daughters. The father of these children died on March 23, 1854, while his wife survived him nearly half a century, passing away April 28, 1900.
William C. McCormick was born in New Jersey on March 23, 1834. He was educated in his native town, where he grew to maturity, and, in 1851, he removed with the family of his father to Carbon county, where for a short period he followed lumbering. Later he learned the trade of a wheelwright, which he pursued successfully for some years.
He saw service in the cause of the Union during the Civil War under two separate enlistments. He was first a member of the One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and upon re-en- listing on March 16, 1864, was enrolled as a private in Company G, Third Regiment Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, which was attached to the Army of the James. He was soon advanced to the rank of quarter- master sergeant, being subsequently commissioned by Governor Curtin as a second lieutenant, with the rank of captain, though he never served in that capacity, due to the fact that the opportunity did not present itself before his discharge, in November, 1865.
He was one of the number to whom was assigned the duty of guarding Jefferson Davis during the time when the president of the fallen Confederacy was confined as a prisoner in Fortress Monroe. The calm resigna- tion and lofty fortitude displayed by the former south-
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ern leader in his hour of defeat and humiliation excited the admiration of Captain McCormick, between whom and Davis a feeling of mutual respect and friendship sprang up.
Mr. McCormick held most of the offices in the gift of the people of Kidder township, where he lived prior to his removal to Lehighton in 1876. During his resi- dence here he also filled many positions of trust and responsibility. He was a member of town council for nine years, and served for the same period of time on the school board, of which he was the president for a time. He was elected to the office of burgess of Le- highton in 1906. In the discharge of the various duties of these offices, his conduct was always characterized by progressiveness and a desire for the public good.
For more than twenty-five years Captain McCormick was prominently identified with the Lehigh Valley Emery Wheel Company, which was engaged in the manufacture of emery and corundum wheels at Weiss- port.
He was married on August 20, 1860, to Elizabeth Arnold, a native of Monroe county, who was born May 28, 1832. They became the parents of the following children: Agnes, deceased; James, deceased; Thomas, deceased; William, Edwin, Mary E., David, Amanda A., and Ann, deceased. The mother of these children died on August 27, 1880, and on December 22, 1881, Mr. McCormick wedded Emma E. Christman. Two children were born of this union: Lillian and Ella McCormick.
Captain McCormick was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was honored with the position of com- mander of the Lehighton Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. His death occurred on March 14, 1909.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
McGinley, John J., clerk of courts of Carbon county, is a native of Summit Hill, where he was born on Jan- uary 10, 1877. He is one of the ten children of Dennis and Bridget (McCullion) McGinley. His father, who was a miner, died in 1894 of the complaint which short- ens the lives of so many underground toilers,-miners' asthma.
John left school at the age of eleven years to earn his livelihood as a slate picker on the breaker. Subse- quently he availed himself of the opportunity of at- tending night school, however. Having grown to ma- turity, he became a brakeman on the Panther Creek Valley Railroad. Unfortunately, in 1903, while put- ting on a brake, the chain broke, and he was precipi- tated to the roadbed, having both legs cut off. After many legal delays, subterfuges, and court trials, he finally succeeded, in 1912, in placing the responsibility for the accident upon the company owning the car, and was awarded a substantial verdict.
In 1906 Mr. McGinley was chosen as tax collector of Summit Hill, and three years later he was elected as the Democratic candidate to the office of clerk of courts, which he is now filling.
He is a member of St. Joseph's Catholic church, of Summit Hill. Of his brothers and sisters, Katie and Edward alone survive. They live at Summit Hill, which is also the home of his widowed mother.
Messersmith, Leonard C., active head of the firm of Messersmith & Bro., conducting a large furniture estab- lishment at Lansford, was born in Montour county, July 25, 1870. His grandfather, John Messersmith, who emigrated to this country from Germany, settled there. Leonard is the son of William J. and Elizabeth (Hendrickson) Messersmith, both natives of Montour county. He worked on a farm until his twenty-first
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year, when he learned the furniture business, which his father also had followed. For seven years he was with the firm of Gately & Britton, furniture dealers in Pottsville.
In 1902 Mr. Messersmith came to Lansford, and in association with George Moll and Abraham C. Messer- smith purchased the furniture business of J. R. Hall, Sr., the firm name being Moll, Messersmith & Brother. Two years later Mr. Moll retired from the firm, the brothers continuing the business under the name of Messersmith & Bro.
In 1907 the firm occupied its present place of busi- ness on Ridge street, which is the largest furniture store in Carbon county. Abraham is a contractor and builder in Pottsville, while Leonard is the active head of the store in Lansford, which has a large patronage throughout the entire Panther Creek Valley.
Mr. Messersmith was married on April 5, 1894, to Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Simms, of Chicago, but formerly of Schuylkill county. He is a member of the Masonic society and various other fraternal organi- zations.
Abraham C. Messersmith chose as his first wife Mag- gie, a daughter of the late George Evans, who was the proprietor of the Lansford House, and the pioneer hotel man of Lansford.
Mooney, Jacob A., a Palmerton justice of the peace, and conducting a general store in that town, is one of the six children of William and Catherine (Moyer) Mooney. The father was born in Bucks county, set- tling at Little Gap when a young man, where he fol- lowed the trade of blacksmith.
Jacob was born at Little Gap, September 12, 1872. At the age of eight he was a mule driver on the Lehigh canal. When he was thirteen his father died and he
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at once became the bread winner of the family. He was successively a huckster, a laborer and a farmer. In 1903 Mr. Mooney opened a general store in Palmerton, which he sold after some years and then repurchased. In 1913 he also engaged in the livery business. Dur- ing the same year he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, which he still holds. In this connection he does a large real estate and insurance business.
Mr. Mooney has taken an active part in municipal affairs in Palmerton and is prominent in fraternal and patriotic society circles.
He was married on August 24, 1895, to Sarah E., the daughter of Richard and Mary Green, of Aquashicola. Their children are as follows: Edith C., William R., Charles E., Ralph E., Virgie M., Alice I., and Jacob H.
Mr. Mooney is a progressive rather than a partisan in politics, while exercise of the qualities of justice and fair play has given him a foremost place among the minor judiciary of Carbon county.
Morthimer, George W., owner and publisher of the Evening Leader, the only daily newspaper published in Lehighton, is a son of the late Harry Vernon Morthi- mer, who for many years was one of Carbon county's prominent journalists. The elder Morthimer was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, March 17, 1828, coming to the United States at the age of ten years, and locating in New York city. He began life as an assistant steward on a sailing vessel, in which capacity he traversed the seven seas. Returning to the city of his adoption, he entered the newspaper field, serving under Greeley on the New York Tribune and on other metropolitan papers. During the decade of the fifties he came to Mauch Chunk, where he married Elizabeth Williams, a daughter of George Williams.
SeMorthimer
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
At the breaking out of the Civil War, Mr. Morthimer enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Twelfth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, serving practically through the whole war as quartermaster sergeant. On the close of hostilities he returned to Mauch Chunk and worked on the Coal Gazette, after which he started a paper known as the Union Flag, a weekly, which was subsequently purchased by General Charles Albright and absorbed by the Gazette. Mr. Morthimer then filled positions as reporter and editor on various publications in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and other towns in the coal regions. In association with George E. Boyle he launched a daily paper in Hazleton termed the Miners' Daily Advocate, which lived for a number of years. Returning to Carbon county he man- aged the Weekly News at Lehighton for a time, estab- lishing the Carbon Advocate in 1872, which paper he owned and published until 1902, when it was sold to P. M. Graul, the present owner.
Mr. Morthimer was the father of thirteen children, of whom the following survive: Harry, William, George, Thomas, Ralph, Melville and Jennie, who is the wife of John Lerch, of Cherryville, Pa.
George W. Morthimer was born April 2, 1866, at Mauch Chunk, and was educated in the schools of Le- highton, becoming a worker in his father's office at the age of ten years. At sixteen he had so far progressed as to warrant his father in placing him in practical charge of the Advocate.
Mr. Morthimer made two unsuccessful attempts to establish an evening journal in Lehighton. For about eighteen months he conducted the Truth, a small week- ly, at Lehighton, one of the features of which was his- torical and biographical sketches of local interest
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throughout Carbon county. It was absorbed by the Advocate.
The Evening Leader was established by Mr. Mor- thimer July 19, 1902, as a six-column daily, and in six months was enlarged to seven columns. This paper is newsy, well-edited and is popular as an advertising medium.
Mr. Morthimer is of Democratic persuasion, and has been prominent in the councils of his party for years. He was elected as auditor of Carbon county in 1893, and has served as secretary of the borough council of Lehighton and as a member of the school board.
In 1903 he was chosen burgess of Lehighton, while in 1909 he was returned to the same office without op- position. Mr. Morthimer was also assistant postmas- ter of Lehighton during Cleveland's first term.
He is a member of the Masonic order and of the Eagles, while he was one of the organizers of the Le- highton board of commerce.
On December 8, 1891, he was married to Margie I. Hunsinger, of Tremont, Schuylkill county. Guy V. Morthimer is the only offspring of their marriage. He is associated with his father in the conduct of the Leader.
Mortimer, Melville R., one of the sons of Harry and Elizabeth (Williams) Mortimer, was born at Leighton in 1881. The father, who was born in Scotland, was a printer and journalist of the old school, and in his day was one of Carbon county's most prominent and versatile newspaper men.
Melville learned the trade of a printer in the office of the Carbon Advocate, which was owned and edited by his father. On the breaking out of the war with Spain, he enlisted in Company K, Ninth Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel
Skelville R. Mortimer
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Dougherty, serving during the duration of the war.
Subsequently he entered the service of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Lehighton as a brakeman. Later he was a yardmaster and then became a conductor, be- ing still so employed. For a time he published the Carbon County Mail, a weekly newspaper, at Lehighton. He has served as a member of the borough council of Lehighton.
On May 17, 1900, he was married to Minnie S., daughter of Lewis P. Schierer and his wife, Emma, of Slatington.
Mr. Mortimer is a member of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen of the Order of Railway Conduc- tors, together with a number of fraternal and patriotic societies.
Mulhearn, Dennis C., a Mauch Chunk merchant and a veteran of the Civil War, is the son of John and Annie (Sweeney) Mulhearn, both natives of Ireland. who emigrated to this country in 1835.
The subject of this sketch was born at Mauch Chunk on December 7, 1846, the third of a family of six chil- dren. He early left school to become a slate picker on the breaker at Hacklebernie, later becoming a boatman on the Lehigh Canal.
In 1863 he ran away from home and joined Company E, Thirty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, becoming a drummer boy.
Being discharged from the service at the solicitation of his parents, he re-enlisted in the spring of 1864 as a member of the Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, attached to the Army of the Potomac. Sharing the fortunes of his regiment in all its movements, opera- tions and engagements, which included the battles of Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Reams Station and the siege of Petersburg, he was honorably discharged on
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November 25, 1864, as a result of the exercise of the same influence as before.
Returning to civil life, he became a brakeman on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. In 1867 he went west, assist- ing in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Coming back to Pennsylvania, he was employed in the operating department of the Lehigh Valley Rail- road until 1880. He then established himself as a deal- er in general merchandise in the town of his nativity, as he is still engaged.
Mr. Mulhearn occupied his present location on West Broadway in 1883. An old Irish lady, who was a satis- fied customer, designated his establishment as "Stohr Unric," the Celtic equivalent of "honest store." By this name it has since been known, and the aim of its owner has ever been that the name should be expres- sive of the fact.
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