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 > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42
Robert Eadie emigrated to America in 1828, and settled in Schuylkill county, where he became a miner, which occupation he had followed in his native coun- try. He was married to Miss Margaret Hunter, of Pottsville, in the year 1830. She was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1810, and was a first cousin of David Liv- ingstone, the eminent African explorer.
Robert Eadie was killed in a mine accident at Nes- quehoning, July 6, 1853.
J. G. Eadie was born December 26, 1835, at New Cas- tle, Schuylkill county, Pa., and in early life was a school teacher. Later he worked about the mines for several years, while in 1854 he secured a clerkship in the store of Packer, Douglass & Company at Nesque- honing. In 1857 he came to Weatherly, entering the mercantile establishment of W. W. Blakslee in a cler- ical capacity.
From 1866 to 1869 Mr. Eadie conducted a store at Rockport, Lehigh township; returning to Weatherly he opened a general store, and by good business prac- tices and fair dealing soon achieved success. He was elected chief burgess in the year 1872, still remembered as the time when Weatherly, in common with many other localities, was devastated by small-pox, requiring courage and executive ability on the part of the author- ities to cope with the scourge. Mr. Eadie has held va- rious other offices of trust and responsibility, but of re- cent years has devoted his time more exclusively to his private affairs.
He was twice married, his first wife having been Elizabeth Stetler, a daughter of Joseph Stetler, of Rockport, whom he wedded on July 3, 1861. The sur-
PUBLIC LIBRARY
AND 1. 2. 4 FC .M
NE.
DAVID EBBERT.
437
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
viving children of this marriage are: Margaret I., Andrew J., Janet, who is the wife of H. E. De Pue, of Newark, N. J .; Robert, Bessie L., married to Daniel Helker, of Weatherly; Blanche, wife of Dr. Dreibelbis, of Lehighton; Grace K., who is now Mrs. John Peifer; Florence, and Harriet E., the wife of William James, of Elizabeth, N. J.
Mrs. Eadie died in 1895, and in 1897 Mr. Eadie was married to Mrs. Lydia McNeal, of Chilocothie, Ohio. She died early in 1913.
Ebbert, David, who was a foremost citizen of Le- highton, was born in Heidelberg township, Lehigh county, on December 17, 1842. He was the son of Jacob and Mary (Straub) Ebbert. Educated in the public schools, he was early compelled to make his own way in life.
During the spring of 1863 he came to Lehighton, serving in the employ of Thomas Kemerer for several months. At the expiration of this period he estab- lished himself as a dealer in flour, grain and feed, later also entering the livery business, which he successfully carried on until his death.
In 1867 he was married to Hannah Hartz, a grand- daughter of Colonel Jacob Hartz, one of Carbon coun- ty's heroes in the war of the Revolution. Two daugh- ters, Mary S. and Ellen J., were born to them. The former become the wife of Edward H. Brannix, of Philadelphia, while the latter married M. S. Jordan, of Scranton, Pa., residing at Lehighton.
Mr. Ebbert was connected with various local indus- tries and enterprises. For years he was director of the First National Bank of Lehighton. His death occurred on April 1, 1905.
Edwards, Philip, a veteran educator and miner, now living at Beaver Meadow, was born in Cornwall, Eng-
438
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
land, July 19, 1839. At the age of nine, having spent a few years in the Ludgvan parish school, he already began to earn his own way as a worker about the tin mines of his native country.
When twenty years of age, he emigrated to the United States, locating in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he became a copper miner. Having a thirst for knowledge, he saved enough from his earnings to enable him to pursue a course at Union Seminary, Ypsilanti, Mich.
Coming to Pennsylvania in 1866, he taught school for thirteen years in Carbon and Luzerne counties. For a time he was also employed in a clerical capacity in the general offices of Coxe Brothers and Company, at Drifton, Luzerne county. While so engaged, he did a useful work in fitting many of the foremen and other employes of this large concern to meet the educational requirements prescribed by the more stringent mining laws which had then been recently enacted. This was accomplished through the agency of a night school which he conducted.
Mr. Edwards has held various positions in connec- tion with the mining industry since relinquishing his work as an instructor, but he still takes a lively interest in educational matters. He has held the offices of school director and street commissioner in Beaver Meadow, while he has been the tax collector of the borough since 1906.
For more than fifty-six years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been a prominent Sunday school worker. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1873 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to S. Ellen, daughter of Daniel McClain, of Beaver Meadow. They are the parents of five surviving children.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTER, IFHOX AND IDA FONDATIONS.
Edwin L'onbody
439
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Enbody, Hon. Edwin R., who was one of Carbon county's best known and most public spirited citizens, was a descendant of Henry Enbody, his great-grand- father, a native of France, who settled in the Mohawk Valley about the middle of the eighteenth century.
His grandfather, David Enbody, who was a pioneer resident of Mauch Chunk, first devoted himself to agri- cultural pursuits near Berwick, on the Susquehanna. He married Rebecca Turnbach, of Sugarloaf Valley, Luzerne county. Their son, Josiah, the father of E. R. Enbody, was born near Berwick, in 1818, being quite young when his parents removed to Mauch Chunk. On reaching man's estate, he became a boat builder on the Lehigh Canal. He served for several years as the chief burgess of Mauch Chunk.
His wife bore the maiden name of Tabitha Bayne, being the daughter of John Bayne, an early settler of Mauch Chunk, and an ark runner on the Lehigh.
E. R. Enbody was born at Mauch Chunk on October 11, 1844. After mastering the elementary branches of English learning in the public schools, he pursued a course of study at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa. At the age of seventeen he entered the employ of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company as a clerk, continuing so for several years.
In 1868 he became the chief bookkeeper for W. T. Carter and Company, miners and shippers of coal, at Beaver Meadows. In association with John Martyn and a number of New York capitalists, he had an in- terest in the opening and development of the mines now operated by Coxe Brothers and Company, near Beaver Meadows.
For eleven years Mr. Enbody lived at Weatherly, where he was in the service of the Lehigh Valley Rail- road. Returning to Mauch Chunk in 1884, he assumed
440
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the superintendency to the Mauch Chunk Water Com- pany and the Mauch Chunk Gas Company, occupying the former position the remainder of his life.
For years he was active as a labor leader, and asso- ciated with such men as T. V. Powderly and Henry George. During this phase of his career, he had a hand in bringing about the adoption of the Australian ballot system in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Enbody was elected to the office of associate judge of Carbon county by the Democrats in 1899, serving for the term of five years. In 1910 he was chosen to membership in the state legislature.
Always interested in religious work, he was an elder of the Presbyterian church of Mauch Chunk for more than twenty years.
His marriage to Cornelia D. Brodhead, daughter of the late Hon. A. G. Brodhead, a prominent official of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Mauch Chunk, was sol- emnized in 1867. She died on September 15, 1903, leav- ing three children: Albert B., Richard M. and Josiah W. Enbody. The first named is road foreman of loco- motives for the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Mauch Chunk, while his brothers are located in New York.
Edwin R. Enbody died suddenly at his home on May 21, 1912, having but a short time previously been re- nominated withont opposition for his seat in the legis- lature.
Eshleman, Dr. Edwin F., a physician and surgeon of Parryville, and treasurer of Carbon county, was born at Seiberlingsville, Lehigh county, on July 30, 1865.
Jacob Eshleman, his father, a farmer and black- smith, was a native of Bucks county, while his mother before her marriage, was Sophia Werley.
441
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Edwin was one of a family of six children and in early life labored on his father's farm and at the forge. Having prepared himself as a teacher at the Kutztown State Normal School, he taught school for six terms.
Entering Jefferson Medical College, he graduated with the class of 1893. During the same year he lo- cated at Parryville, where he has practised his pro- fession since that time. He is the only physician in the town, having also built up a large practice in the surrounding country.
Doctor Eshleman has been a warm friend of educa- tion, and his previous service as a teacher has well fitted him for the discharge of the duties of a school director, which position he has filled continuously al- most since becoming a resident of Parryville. He has also been the overseer of the poor in the borough for a like period.
As the candidate of the Republican party, he was elected to the office of county treasurer by a handsome majority in 1911.
Fraternally he is allied to the Knights of Malta and to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, while being a mem- ber of the Lutheran church.
On October 31, 1891 he was married to Lizzie, daugh- ter of Charles Scheirer, of Mickleys, Lehigh county. Their two children are Gerald and Grace Eshleman.
Evans, Thomas E., postmaster of Audenried, is the son of Owen R. and Margaret Rosser Evans, the form- er a native of Wales, and the latter from Schuykill county.
The father emigrated to America, unattended and alone at the age of thirteen years. He first located at Cumbola, Schuylkill county, later becoming a mine foreman at New Philadelphia, in the same district.
442
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Coming to Tresckow, Carbon county, he held the posi- tion of a mine foreman for the German-Pennsylvania Coal Company for over twenty years. The closing years of his life were spent at Nanticoke, Luzerne county, where he died in 1890, aged 64 years.
Thomas Evans was born at Cumbola on March 27, 1864. Four years later his parents removed to Tresc- kow, where he attended school. At the age of fifteen he was given employment in the offices of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. Subsequently he be- came a stationary engineer, in which capacity he is still employed by this company.
He had served both as an auditor and as tax col- lector of Banks township. His appointment as post- master of Audenried was made on March 30, 1899.
On June 10, 1884, he was married to Sarah, daughter of Evan Cann and his wife Rebecca, of Yorktown. Their children are Olive V., Harry, Roy, Lillian and Gordon. Olive is a trained nurse, Harry a machinist, and Roy a plumber. Lillian and Gordon remain at home.
Farrar, John K., an Audenried physician and sur- geon, was born at Montreal, Canada, on November 1, 1867. His father, Rev. John Farrar, a minister of the Episcopal church, was a native of England, and grad- uated at Oxford. He was married to Mary King, of Sheffield, England, emigrating to Canada about 1860. The father died in 1905 at the age of sixty-six years.
John King Farrar was educated at Geneva College and at the University of Virginia. Entering Jefferson Medical College, he was graduated from that institu- tion in 1891.
In September of that year he located at Audenried, becoming the assistant of Dr. W. R. Longshore, to whose practise he succeeded. He is the local physician
Percy E. Faust
443
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
and surgeon of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company and of C. M. Dodson and Company, miners and shippers of coal, and has a large practise.
Faust, Percy E., editor and owner of the Weatherly Herald, the only newspaper published in the upper end of Carbon county, was born on the old Faust home- stead, now the property of John Bittner, in Packer township, March 28, 1868.
His grandfather, John Faust, who came from Schuylkill county in 1829, was one of the early settlers of Packer township. He was born in 1797, and lived to a ripe old age, being endearingly referred to for many years as "Old Daddy" Faust.
His wife died in 1864, having borne him thirteen children. One of his sons, Edward, who was born in 1839, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He spent his boyhood in Quakake Valley, and on reach- ing man's estate, was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Ephraim Balliet, of Packer township. The family made their home in Weatherly, where Mr. Faust was for twenty-five years employed as a blacksmith by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. He died in 1897.
The future owner of the Herald attended the public schools until his fifteenth year, when the desire to do something practical seized him. Accordingly, he for- sook the founts of learning and worked as a laborer for two years. He then entered the office of the Herald as an apprentice, learning to set type. One year later, being then scarcely eighteen years of age, he attained, through purchase, the ownership of the paper and the job printing business that went with it, beginning his career as a full-fledged newspaper man at an age when most boys are still attending the public schools.
The Herald was started in 1880, by H. V. Morthimer, and its early career was one of many changes and
444 i
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
vicissitudes. Mr. Faust became its owner in 1886, succeeding Harvey B. Smith, now a Philadelphia news- paper man. Under his direction the Herald has pros- pered and has grown in circulation and in influence from year to year.
It is now issued every Friday, and is always a wel- come visitor in the many homes that it reaches. Clean, newsy and reliable, it always reflects a spirit of op- timism and good cheer. It has never invaded the pri- vacy of the home, while filth and scandal are carefully excluded from its columns.
In 1890 Mr. Faust was married to Eva, daughter of John and Abigail Hoover, of Weatherly. Their do- mestic life has been ideal and happy. Their children are: Robert, Ruth, Ray, Edward, Grace, Burdell, Eliza- beth and Theodore. Two others died in infancy.
Mr. Faust has filled various offices of trust in the borough, among the number those of councilman and of school director. For fifteen years he served as bor- ough treasurer, while he has also been secretary of the board of trade since its organization in 1898, and he is the treasurer of the Anthracite Building and Loan Association.
He is active in the councils of the Democratic party in the county, while he and his family are members of the Methodist church.
Fenner, Joseph A., postmaster of Weissport, was born at Fennersville, now called Sciota, Monroe coun- ty, Pa., May 4, 1856. His grandfather was Hon. Henry Fenner, who represented the legislative district to which Monroe county then belonged in the general as- sembly of Pennsylvania. He also held various other offices of public trust and was one of Monroe county's most prominent men.
445
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Joseph Fenner, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Monroe county and built and oper- ated a large tannery at Fennersville. He was post- master of his native town for more than fifty years, while he also enjoyed the distinction of being elected to the office of county treasurer on the Republican tick- et, notwithstanding that Monroe, then as now, was strongly Democratic.
In early life he was married to Susan Marsh, daugh- ter of Amos Marsh, a native of Monroe county. Their children were: Josiah, William, Calvin, Theodore, Jerome, Milton, Erwin, Frank E., Joseph A. and Effie J., who is the wife of Joseph Strohl, of Cementon, Pa. Four others died in infancy.
The family removed to Weissport, Carbon county, in 1871, where the father conducted the Weissport House until his death, which occurred September 1, 1875. His widow died in 1907, being aged nearly nine- ty years.
Joseph A. Fenner received a public school education and at the age of seventeen began life as a clerk in the general store of Lewis Weiss, at Weissport.
Later he entered the forwarding office of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Packerton, where he remained for thirteen years. For three years he had charge of a section of the auditing department in the company's offices at Mauch Chunk.
In 1890 Mr. Fenner relinquished his position with the railroad company to open a general store at Weiss- port, which he conducted until 1906, when he disposed of the business to George B. Begel.
Mr. Fenner was appointed postmaster of Weissport by President Mckinley in 1897, having held the office continuously since that time. He has served as a member of Weissport's town council a number of
446
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
terms and has several times been elected to the office of chief burgess. For years he was a prominent figure at Republican county conventions, while he has repre- sented his party at district and state gatherings on various occasions. He is unmarried.
Freyman, Ira E., a Weatherly physician, was born at Tannersville, Monroe county, Pa., February 17, 1880. His grandfather, Edward Freyman, whose birthi occurred in 1828, is a native of East Penn township, Carbon county, where, for many years, he conducted a farm. He was married to Rebecca Ruch, and their only child was Lafayette Freyman, who was born De- cember 26, 1851.
Lafayette Freyman was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Steigerwalt, of West Penn township, Schuyl- kill county. He was a carpenter, and at the age of eighteen entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Rail- road Company at Packerton. Subsequently he re- moved to Tannersville, where he found employment at his trade. In 1882 the family came to Weatherly, and Mr. Freyman spent all but a few of his remaining years in the service of the Lehigh Valley company. For a short period he had charge of his father's farm in East Penn township. He died on October 26, 1908.
The children of Lafayette Freyman and his wife were Harvey, Lillian, Ira and Calvin. The two first- named died on the same day of diphtheria ; Calvin was for some years a machinist at the Washington Navy Yard, and is now a veterinary surgeon at Washington.
Ira Freyman received his early training in the schools of Weatherly and Lehighton, graduating from the high school of the last named place in 1896. In 1897 he completed the course of study offered by the American Business College, of Allentown, after which he taught school for a number of years. He was em-
..
447
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ployed as a clerk by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com- pany at South Bethlehem for a year, and then entered the Medico-Chirurgical College at Philadelphia. While there he was president of the athletic association and of the Phi-Rho Sigma Fraternity. He graduated with the class of 1907.
Doctor Freyman served for a year as the assistant of Dr. R. Truckenmiller, of Freeland, after his gradua- tion, and then opened an office in Weatherly. He has disproved the old adage that a prophet has no honor in his own country, because his already large practice is steadily growing.
Mr. Freyman was married to Elva S. Hunter, a daughter of the late J. W. Hunter, of Weatherly, on November 24, 1905. Their only child, Gordon C., was born March 10, 1907.
Mr. Freyman is a member of the Reformed church, and belongs to the Knights of Malta and to the Pa- triotic Order Sons of America.
Freyman, William G., senior member of the law firm of Freyman, Thomas and Branch, of Mauch Chunk, is frequently referred to as the Nestor of the Carbon county bar. He is the son of George and Catherine (Kistler) Freyman, both natives of Pennsylvania. His father was a farmer and carpenter, also conducting a general store. He spent his declining years in Mahon- ing township where he died in 1849.
Both Jacob Freyman and John Kistler, the grand- parents of W. G. Freyman, were natives of Northamp- ton county, being descended from German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania at a very early day.
W. G. Freyman was born in Mahoning township on July 4, 1838. . He received a high school education, and taught school for five terms. During the war of the Rebellion he served as orderly sergeant of Company
448
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
G, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Regiment, Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry. At the expiration of his term of service he recruited a company of which he was commissioned lieutenant; but before it was mustered into service, the war closed, and he returned home.
Becoming a civil engineer, Mr. Freyman followed that calling for a dozen years, also engaging in mer- chandising.
Entering the office of General Charles Albright at Mauch Chunk, in 1871, he began the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1873. Under the firm name of Albright and Freyman, he became the partner of his former preceptor, which relation was severed by the death of the General, in 1880. This firm participated in the celebrated Mollie Maguire trials.
After practising alone for several years, Mr. Frey- man formed a partnership with James Kiefer, now a prominent attorney of Seattle, who had been a student in his office. Upon the retirement of Mr. Kiefer from the firm, at the expiration of five years, Mr. Freyman became associated with Horace Heydt, also a former student of his, under the name of Freyman and Heydt. Later, Eugene O. Nothstein, a nephew of the senior member of the firm was taken into partnership, alter- ing the title to Freyman, Heydt and Nothstein. Mr. Freyman had also been his preceptor.
In September, 1901, Mr. Heydt was elevated to the bench of Carbon county. From this time forth until the spring of 1912, when Mr. Nothstein died, the prac- tise of the firm was conducted under the name of Frey- man and Nothstein. Since then, Mr. Freyman has taken William G. Thomas and Benjamin Branch into partnership with himself. The practise of the firm, general in character, has embraced a wide range of important cases, and has been more extensive, perhaps,
449
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
than that of any other in the county. Special attention has been given to questions involving original land titles both in Carbon and adjoining counties.
Speaking of Mr. Freyman individually, he has es- tablished a well deserved reputation as a safe and sa- gacious counsellor, and his long experience has made him one of the most reliable lawyers of the Lehigh Valley.
In addition to his legal business, he is interested in a number of industrial and other enterprises. He is the vice-president of the Mauch Chunk Trust Company, while being a director of the Prince Manufacturing Company and president of the Carbon Metallic Paint Company. A supporter of the principles advocated by the Republican party, he has never sought nor held a political office.
In 1865 he was married to Matilda, daughter of George Gilbert, of Mahoning township. They have no surviving children.
Gangwer, Harry L., proprietor of the Verzi House at Weatherly, was born in that town on May 18, 1868. He is the son of Samuel Gangwer, Sr., one of the oldest residents of Weatherly, and the family of which he is a representative has been established in Pennsylvania for many generations.
After leaving school Mr. Gangwer learned the trade of a moulder, which he followed for about nine years in the shops of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company at Weatherly. Later he pursued his calling at Plain- field and at High Bridge, N. J., and at Lewistown and South Bethlehem, Pa. In 1904 he returned to Weath- erly to take charge of the Verzi House, becoming the owner of the property through purchase in 1910.
Mr. Gangwer was united in marriage to Gertrude, a daughter of William Buck, of Weatherly, on February
450
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
1, 1894. The pair have three children: Harry L., Ed- ward B., and Fern G. Gangwer.
Mr. Gangwer is an enthusiastic hunter and fisher- man, and has been a loyal supporter of the Republican party.
Gangwer, Samuel W., steward of the almshouse of the Middle Coal Field Poor District at Laurytown, is descended from a family that has lived in America since early Colonial times. His great-grandfather, Mathias Gangwer, came to Quakake Valley, near Tam- anend, from Lehigh county. He was a large land- holder and lumberman.
Jesse, son of Mathias Gangwer, was born in Lehigh county, following the trade of a carpenter. He was married to Mary Seip, of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill coun- ty. One of his sons, Samuel Gangwer, Sr., was born in Lehigh township, Carbon county, Feb. 26, 1832. When 20 years of age he married Susan, daughter of Isaac Harleman, of Rockport, with whom he had twelve children, ten of whom survive: Edward, Ida, wife of Hamilton Ballentine; Frank, Samuel, Benja- min, Herbert, Harry, Robert, Sterling and Warren.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.