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 39
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In the summer of 1892 he began the study of law in the office of Hon. James S. Biery, of Allentown, being admitted to practise in the courts of Lehigh county in 1895. During the following year he became a member of the bar of Carbon county, locating at Lansford, and being the first attorney to open an office in that town. During his residence at Lansford he served as the so- licitor of the borough.
In 1898 he was nominated by the Republican party for the office of district attorney, and upon his election he removed to Mauch Chunk.
As the prosecuting officer of the county, he was painstaking and efficient, serving a single term. Since then he has been engaged in the general practise of the law.
Mr. Sitler has been admitted to practice in the high- er courts of the state, and in the district court of the United States. He has established a reputation as a careful, conscientious lawyer, always mindful of the interests of his clients, while living up to the best tra- ditions of his profession.
In 1897 he was married to Amanda, daughter of Nathan and Sarah Balliet, of Mahoning township. Their three children are: Helen, Mary and Charles Everett.
Smith, Alfred F., cashier of the Citizens' National Bank of Lehighton, was born in East Penn township, Carbon county, on December 29, 1872.
M. L. SMITH.
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His father, Owen Smith, was a native of Lehigh county, where he remained until his sixteenth year, when he came to East Penn township, where he fol- lowed the vocation of a farmer. He was married to Sallinda Andreas, who was of Englishi descent, and who bore him seven sons, all of whom grew to ma- turity. During the eighties the family removed to Mahoning township, where the mother died in 1897, being in her sixtieth year. The father died in 1909, in the seventy-third year of his age.
Alfred F. Smith acquired his early training in the public schools, later attending the Kutztown State Normal School, and taking a course in the American Business College at Allentown. He taught school for three years in Mahoning township, and for a time served as a clerk in a general store in Lehighton.
For two years he was a bookkeeper in the employ of H. A. Buchman, of East Mauch Chunk. In 1898 Mr. Smith accepted a position as bookkeeper and general manager for O. J. Saeger, a wholesale dealer in fruit and produce at Lehighton. Following this he served as a traveling salesman for a wholesale grocery firm, of Bethlehem, Pa.
Early in 1909 he entered the Citizens' National Bank of Lehighton, as a teller, succeeding A. S. Beisel as cashier of that institution on July 1, 1910.
Mr. Smith wedded Lillie McLean, daughter of Rob- ert McLean, of Mahoning township, on May 21, 1896. Their children are: Ralph A. and Russel R. O. Smith.
Mr. Smith is an adherent of the Reformed church, while being a supporter of the principles espoused by the Republican party.
Smith, Marshall L. Born in Chester county, Pa., in 1839, and not coming to this immediate section of the state until middle life, M. L. Smith, who was the son
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of Charles and Margaret Smith, is nevertheless enti- tled to a secure place in the list of those who left the impress of their personalities upon the life and activ- ities of Carbon county. He sprang from Colonial stock, and received his early education in the public schools of his native county.
While still quite young he engaged in the milling business for a short time. Later he read law in the of- fice of Charles Pennypacker, subsequently chief bur- gess of West Chester, and a cousin of ex-Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker, of Pennsylvania. Forsaking the law for a business career, he opened a real estate and insurance office in West Chester.
In 1876 Mr. Smith engaged in the manufacture of paint ore in Chester county, removing his plant two years later to Lehigh Gap, and later to Slatington, at which places he conducted his business for ten years. For a number of years he was also interested in a coal washery at Buck Mountain.
In 1887 Mr. Smith came to Hudsondale, situated in Packer township, obtaining a lease on the grounds and buildings formerly occupied by the machine shop and foundry of S. W. Hudson. Here Mr. Smith made the greatest business success of his career, manufacturing paint ore or ochre, on quite an extensive scale. The mill where the grinding is done has been operated day and night almost continuously for nearly a quarter of a century, furnishing employment to quite a number of workers. The product is shipped principally to a sin- gle firm. the George W. Blabon Company, of Philadel- phia.
About ten years after coming to Hudsondale, Mr. Smith acquired through purchase the property where the mill stands and the farm adjoining. He then be- came an enthusiastic farmer, and the results of his
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agricultural operations were such as to justify the pride that he manifested in this phase of his business. About this time Mr. Smith also acquired a residence in Weatherly, where he soon became a dominant fac- tor in municipal politics. He was five times elected to the office of burgess, and proved himself to be perhaps the most progressive and fearless executive that Weatherly had until then. The borough building and the electric light plant were both erected during his administrations. while many other improvements of a public nature, championed by him. were made through- out the town. He believed in the strict enforcement of the borough ordinances and treated all classes of citi- zens impartially and alike. He was a man of positive convictions and of masterful personality, nature har- ing endowed him with strong combative qualities. while he had cultivated a ready wit and a nimble tongue. He delighted to debate on political questions. giving an opponent no quarter. and maintaining his own position against any odds. He was a life-long Republican.
Beneath a somewhat brusque exterior he carried a heart as tender and as loyal as a woman's. being al- ways ready to give comfort and help of a more prac- tical nature to those who were in distress or in any way in need of assistance. He was constitutionally an optimist, allowing no misfortune to long overwhelm or cloud his spirit.
Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Mary Eliza- beth Reazor. a daughter of John and Jane Reazor. of Norristown. in 1860. Six sons and two daughters were born to them: Charles W .. Ida May. Talbot S .. Allen H., William M .. Cora. Thomas E .. John M.
Mr. Smith died of pulmonary trouble at his home in Hudsondale after a prolonged illness on February 20. 1909. being aged nearly 70 years. His remains repose
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in Union Cemetery at Weatherly. All of his children excepting Talbot preceded him in death. His widow, patient and kindly to the last, departed this life on July 8, 1912.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Presbyterian church, and was connected with the Masonic fraternity at Hazleton.
Smitham, James, one of the best equipped of the younger members of the bar of Carbon county, is the son of Thomas and Anna (Meese) Smitham, being of English descent.
His father is living retired at Nesquehoning, Pa., where he has resided for the last fifty years.
James was born at that place on March 12, 1872, gaining his preliminary training in the common schools and attending Millersville State Normal School, where he graduated in 1891. He then pursued a course in the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., after which he taught school for two years at Nesquehoning. Subsequently he enrolled as a student at Dickinson College, preparatory to entering Princeton University, graduating in the classical course from the latter in- stitution in 1897.
Choosing to follow a legal career, he studied law at Harvard and in the offices of Bertollette and Barber at Mauch Chunk, being admitted to the bar in 1900, and successfully practising his profession since that time. In 1906 he was appointed referee in bankruptcy for Carbon county, which position he still holds.
Mr. Smitham was married to Anna S. Pierce, of Williamsport, Pa., on June 18, 1904. They have two children, Thomas and Mary, the family residing at Mauch Chunk.
Mr. Smitham is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Snyder, John B., a veteran school teacher and a Le- highton justice of the peace, was born in Penn Forest township, Carbon county, May 14, 1863. He is the son of William H. and Mary A. (Koch) Snyder. The fa- ther, who was a carpenter and millwright, was a soldier in the Civil War, while the mother was the eldest daughter of Enos Koch, one of the early commissioners of Carbon county. John Snyder, the great-grandfa- ther of the subject of this sketch was a native of Ger- many. He was one of the first settlers of Bushkill township, Monroe county. His son, William Snyder, was the grandfather of John B. Snyder.
The latter, as a boy, worked on a farm and in the lumber woods. At the age of fifteen he went to Bear Creek, Luzerne county, where he was in the employ of A. Lewis & Company, a large lumber firm. He also served as shipping clerk for the Spring Brook Lumber Company. His spare time in the lumber woods was spent in educating himself. Later he attended select schools in Scranton, Lock Haven, and Baltimore. Mr. Snyder also attended the Polytechnic Institute, of Gil- berts, Monroe county, and pursued courses offered by the Scranton Correspondence Schools; the Wilkes- Barre New Century Correspondence School, and the Dansville, New York, Correspondence School.
He taught school for twelve terms in Penn Forest township, besides serving for years in Franklin and Mahoning townships. During the past eight years he has been supervisory principal of the Union Hill schools of East Weissport.
Mr. Snyder was elected as a justice of the peace for Lehighton in 1911 and is still serving. He has also held various other borough offices. He is a member of the Teachers' League of Pennsylvania, and is an active Democrat. -
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On July 6, 1890, he was married to Emma J., daugh- ter of Franklin Smith, of Drake's Creek, Carbon coun- ty. Their children are as follows: Mary A., wife of Henry Monk, of Franklin Heights; Anna E., wife of Albert Neibel, of Paterson, N. J., Webster, of Provi- dence, R. I., and Herbert.
Snyder, William F., a prominent Franklin township farmer and lumberman, was born in Mahoning town- ship, June 20, 1856. The archives of Pennsylvania show that the Snyder family was settled in the south- eastern part of the state as early as 1735. The first comers were redemptionists, being natives of Germany. Charles Snyder, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, served in the patriot army in the Revo- lution.
William is the son of Nathan and Esther (Moser) Snyder. The mother was one of the numerous descend- ants of Burkhart Moser, who formerly held much of the land now owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The Snyder family since the early days pro- duced many gunsmiths and blacksmiths. William learned the trade of a blacksmith from his father, and he followed it for about fifteen years, most of the time in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. About twenty-five years ago he succeeded his father as the owner of the farm where he now lives, the elder man having settled upon it in 1861. The farm consists of 138 acres. Mr. Snyder also has other real estate hold- ings, dealing to some extent in mine timber and lumber. He served for a number of terms as a school director of Franklin township.
On November 20, 1881, he was married to Annie, daughter of Owen Schoenberger, of Lower Towamen- sing township. Their children are as follows: Chester, Esther May, Mabel, and Howard. Mr Snyder is a
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charter member of Big Creek Grange. He is a Repub- lican, and belongs to the Reformed church.
Steinheiser, Charles R., chief burgess of Mauch Chunk and the superintendent of the Mauch Chunk Water Company, was born at Lehigh Gap on July 23, 1861. His grandfather, George Steinheiser, was a Ba- varian soldier in the army of Napoleon, and took part in the campaign against Russia. He was numbered among the thirty survivors of his regiment in the re- treat from Moscow.
Charles Steinheiser, the father of the subject of this sketch, fought on the liberal side in the Revolution of 1848. Emigrating to America in 1849, he settled at Lockport, Lehigh county, following the trade of a car- penter. He was married at Slatington to Mary A. Yost, a native of Germany, and they became the parents of six children, two of whom survive: Charles R., and Mary, the widow of Henry W. Sibbach, of Mauch Chunk.
Charles R. Steinheiser came to Mauch Chunk with the family of his father in 1872. In 1877 he entered the employ of the Mauch Chunk Iron Works, for which firm he was an erecting engineer for twenty-five years. From 1906 to 1912 he was the general foreman of the company. In the latter year he became the superin- tendent of the Mauch Chunk Water Company.
Mr. Steinheiser was a member of the school board of the borough for eight years, and has served as the assistant chief of the fire department of the town. He was appointed chief burgess in 1915 to fill out the un- expired term of Frederick Bertolette, deceased.
He was married on April 16, 1885, to Ella S. Ruch, of Mauch Chunk. They have two children, Clinton E. and Mabel F. Steinheiser. Clinton is a graduate of Lafay- ette College and of Princeton Theological Seminary,
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being now the pastor of a Presbyterian church in Pat- erson, N. J. Mabel is a product of the West Chester State Normal School, and is now a teacher in the schools of Mauch Chunk.
Stemler, Quentin, president of the Citizens' National Bank, of East Mauch Chunk, also successful as a deal- er in grain, feed and livestock, was born at Stemlers- ville, Carbon county, April 19, 1870.
His father was Reuben Stemler, a farmer, while his mother, before her marriage, bore the name of Louisa Smith, both being natives of Carbon county. Their children were Masina, the wife of Lewis Christman, of Weissport; Emma, who is married to Harry Pettit, an electrician at Palmerton; Elmira, wife of Pharon An- drew, of Lehighton; Quentin, James, Charles, Wilson and Oscar.
Having acquired a common school education, Quen- tin was called upon, in his twentieth year, to take the place of his father as the head of the household, the elder Stemler having been removed by death. As the oldest male member of the family he discharged the duty thus devolving upon him with kindness and fidel- ity, and when those who were younger had become self- supporting, he came to East Manch Chunk, where he conducted a local express business for seven or eight years. Later he went into the cattle business, supply- ing the butchers of the lower end of Carbon county, and handling several car loads of stock weekly. In addition to this he conducts a large grain and feed store in East Mauch Chunk.
When the Citizens' National Bank, of East Mauch Chunk, was organized, in 1906, he became a stockholder and was chosen as its first president. Owing to the close proximity of the old and well-established banks of Mauch Chunk, just across the river, many doubted
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the feasibility of establishing this new institution, but Mr. Stemler manifested his confidence in the success of the venture from the start, and results have vindi- cated his judgment. The bank has grown stronger, slowly but steadily, and on July 1, 1910, a dividend of four per cent. on its capital stock was declared, while a substantial amount was added to the surplus fund.
Mr. Stemler was joined in wedlock to Aquilla Beltz, a daughter of David Beltz, one of Franklin township's foremost citizens, November 10, 1892. Harold, their only child, is now an attendant of the schools of East Mauch Chunk.
Mr. Stemler is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Red Men, while being an adherent of the faith of the Reformed church.
Strohl, Dennis, as his name indicates, is a repre- sentative of one of Carbon county's oldest families, his forefathers having been among the pioneer settlers on the north side of the Blue Ridge, in what is now Carbon county. His farm in Towamensing township is one of the most prosperous and best appointed in the county, manifesting every evidence of thrift and progressiveness.
His grandfather, Nicholas Strohl, was a farmer in Lower Towamensing township. He was thrice mar- ried and became the father of a patriarchial family of thirty children. His death occurred at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
Joel, the father of Dennis Strohl, was a farmer of Towamensing township. In early life he married Sarah Beer, who bore him seventeen children. Upon her death he married Katharine Hahn, with whom he had two children. He died March 10, 1910, being aged eighty-six years.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Dennis Strohl was born May 11, 1858, in Towamen- sing township. He was brought up on his father's farm, attending the district schools until he became seventeen years of age. For five or six years he was in partnership with his brother Amos Strohl, engaging in the business of contracting and building. During this period they erected many of the dwellings of the bor- ough of Weatherly. At the age of twenty-three, Mr. Strohl purchased 107 acres of brush land in Towa- mensing township, and by hard labor he carved out of this his present fine farm, upon which he has made many substantial improvements. Fourteen acres of the farm is devoted to a pear orchard, while sixteen acres is given over to apple trees. For a time Mr. Strohl also owned and operated the farm which origin- ally belonged to his father.
He was united in wedlock at the age of twenty-eight to Anna, daughter of William Henning, of Monroe county. Their children are: Calvin H., Homer E., Florence O., Theodore D., Pearl C., Norman C., Edna E. and Dorothy G. Strohl.
Theodore is a graduate of the East Stroudsburg State Normal School, and is now engaged as a teacher.
Calvin, born December 26, 1887, is one of the young- est justices of the peace in Pennsylvania, having been elected to that office when but a year past his majority. He is a product of the Polytechnic Institute, of Gil- berts, Pa., and has taught school for a number of terms. He has served as a member of the Republican county committee, and was a candidate for the office of jury commissioner in 1909, for which he was de- feated, having received a handsome vote, however.
Mr. Strohl and his family are members of the Re- formed church.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Swank, Philip R., well-known in building and loan association circles, and chief clerk in the coal traffic department of the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Mauch Chunk, is a resident of East Mauch Chunk. His father, Charles W. Swank, had charge of the shipping wharves of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company at East Mauch Chunk and at Coalport for many years. Philip R. Swank was born in Upper Mauch Chunk, March 23, 1860. His mother bore the maiden name of Margaret Andrews.
After leaving the public schools, he pursued a course at the Allentown Business College, where he gradu- ated in 1877, acquiring especial proficiency in penman- ship. He gained his first practical experience in asso- ciation with his father in the flour and feed business. In 1883 he went to Towanda, Pa., to conduct a gro- cery store, returning to his home after two years and entering the service of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. He has filled his present position since 1892.
Mr. Swank was one of the organizers of the Progres- sive Building and Loan Association of East Mauch Chunk, through the agency of which many of the sub- stantial homes of that place and vicinity have been erected. This association now has assets amounting to more than half a million of dollars, and is recog- nized by the Banking Department of Pennsylvania as one of the best conducted associations of its kind in the state, never having lost a dollar since it was started, in 1892. Mr. Swank served as its secretary and treas- urer for eighteen years, still holding the first named office. He also assisted in organizing the Lehigh Val- ley Building and Loan Association of Lehighton, and the Workingmen's Association, of Summit Hill, be- sides installing the systems of a number of similar in-
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stitutions in the county, and giving his services as an expert accountant.
He is a charter member of the Memorial Presbyter- ian church of East Mauch Chunk, of which he was one of the founders, acting as an elder and clerk of the ses- sion. On March 21, 1882, he was married to Emma M., daughter of David Snyder, of Millport, Carbon coun- ty. They have two sons, David Lloyd, who is a gradu- ate. of Lafayette College, now identified with the Wilkes-Barre Railway Company, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Charles W. Swank, Jr., a public accountant, of New York.
Tachovsky, Joseph, a banker and business man of Palmerton, was born in Austria of Bohemian parent- age on August 19, 1878. He came to America while still a boy. Educated in the public and paroch- ial schools, he first worked in a pottery at Phœ- nixville, Pa., where his family then lived. At seventeen he was a clerk in a grocery store at South Bethlehem. For four years he conducted a meat market in the same place. Disposing of his business there, he came to Palmerton in 1904 to become the proprietor of the Waldorf Hotel. He also opened a meat market and established himself as a private banker and steamship agent. After some years he relinquished his interest in the hotel. Mr. Tachovsky was one of the prime movers in the establishment of the First National Bank of Palmerton, of which he is still a director. His pri- vate bank is one of the leading institutions of its kind in the Lehigh Valley. The fine, modern building in which it is housed was opened for business during the winter of 1914.
Mr. Tachovsky has been one of the most publie spirit- ed citizens of Palmerton. He is one of the members of the Palmerton Cooperative Association, and has taken
For Dachausky
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an active interest in the affairs of the athletic associ- ation of the town. He was the leader of the movement which resulted in the erection of the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, of which he is a member, being also the organizer of the Palmerton branch of the First Catholic Slavish Union.
Mr. Tachovsky was married on April 15, 1902, to Frances Viossak, of South Bethlehem.
Trainer, Harry E., a well-known Lehighton business man, was born at Packerton, Carbon county, on October 10, 1876. He is the son of Wilson and Catherine (Haupt) Trainer. The elder Trainer was born at Weissport in 1854, and in early life was a boatman on the Lehigh Canal. Most of his mature life has been spent in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, in the service of which he was engaged over thirty-seven years.
After leaving public school, Harry served in various capacities for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company for fourteen years. In 1907, in partnership with his father, he opened a general store at the corner of Third and Cypress streets, Lehighton, gaining a liberal patron- age, and being successful from the start.
Mr. Trainer has taken an active interest in municipal affairs. He is a member of Lehigh Fire Company, No. 1, and for four years served as chief of the fire depart- ment of the town. He is now a member of town council.
In February, 1898, he was united in marriage to Mary A., daughter of Jeremiah Roth and his wife, Matilda, of Lehighton. Mrs. Trainer was before her marriage a teacher of the schools of Lehighton. The pair have two children, Paul and Mark, both of whom are now students in the high school.
Mr. Trainer is connected with the Knights of Malta and with the Junior Order of United American Me- 37
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chanics. The family attends the United Evangelical church.
Twining, Edgar, whose connection with the financial interests of Mauch Chunk antedated the establishment of the national banking system, and who was until re- cently the cashier of the Mauch Chunk National Bank, was born at Parryville on October 10, 1840. He was the son of Jonathan R. and Susan (Balliet) Twining. His paternal ancestors were Quakers, being numbered among the early settlers of Bucks county, Pa., while his mother was descended from Paul Balliet, who emi- grated to America from Germany in the year 1738. He located in Lehigh county, where he became a large land owner and the father of a numerous progeny.
Jonathan Twining was the shipping agent of the old Beaver Meadow Coal Company at Parryville. When the freshet of 1841 destroyed the company's improve- ments there, the family removed to East Mauch Chunk, which then became the shipping point. Later the fa- ther became connected with the Hazleton Coal Com- pany at Penn Haven.
Edgar Twining acquired his early education in the public schools, later studying under private tutors both at Mauch Chunk and at Allentown. At the age of six- teen or thereabout he began life as a clerk in the store of Mathias Fegley at Mauch Chunk, where he remained for a short period. After several changes he became the weighmaster of the Hazleton Coal Company at Penn Haven. In January, 1862, he was appointed as a teller of the Mauch Chunk Bank, a state institution, which was succeeded in 1864 by the First National Bank, the predecessor of the Mauch Chunk National Bank of to-day.
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