History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc, Part 72

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Publisher: W. Taylor
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 72
USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 72

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WILLIAM H. ECKELS. JR., proprietor of a general grocery and provision store on West Main Street, Mechanicsburg, was born on his father's farm. on the State road leading to Harrisburg, Silver Spring Township, this county, January 5, 1820. His grandfather, Nathaniel Eckels, a son of Francis Eckels, was born on the sea while his parents were coming to America; they were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who, on account of religious oppressiou, were driven out of the North of Ireland, and were among those bardy pio- neers who sought homes in America; they landed at Baltimore, Md., and settled in west- ern Pennsylvania. Nathaniel Eckels was born in 1744, and died in 1830. in the eighty- sixth year of his age; he had two sons: William and Francis, born near Carlisle, this county. William first married Miss Rebecca Huston, born in Silver Spring Township, this county, daughter of Jonathan and Margaret Huston, of Silver Spring Township, members of the old Silver Spring Church. Mrs. Eckels died in 1820, one hour after the birth of her son, William H., and she is buried on the Pine Hill, that being connected with Silver Spring. Mrs. Eckels, her father and mother have been taken to the Silver Spring grave-yard, where they now peacefully repose. Mr. and Mrs. William Eckels were members of the old Silver Spring Presbyterian Church; they had five children- three sons and two daughters-William H. being the only one living. Mrs. William Eckels, Sr., dying in 1820, aged thirty-three, Mr. Eckels then married Miss Jane Starr, by whom he had four children, one now living, James S., an attorney in Princeton, IH. William Eckels, Sr., married on third occasion Miss Hannah Starr, by whom be had three children, one now living, John S., residing near New Kingston, this county. The subject of this sketch remained with his father, engaged in farming until his marriage, in January, 1844, with Miss Elizabeth Adams, a native of Hampden Township, this county,

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a daughter of Isaac and Jane (Anderson) Adams. Some two years after his marriage he engaged in mercantile business at Sporting Hill, Hampden Township, where he remained until 1862, when he opened a general store in llogestown. His wife died in 1866, the mother of three children, one living: Agnes, wife of Samuel Sample, employed in steel works in Steelton, Dauphin Co., Penn. He and wife were raised in Silver Spring Town- ship; the former was born in Hampden Township. Mr. William HI. Eckels, after the death of his wife, retired from business and settled on a farm near Hogestown, now owned by Mrs. Gibble. He resumed business in Hogestown, three years later, with L. B. Ewalt, and also had a branch store, two miles north of Huston's mills in Silver Spring Township. In April, 1881, Mr. Eckels came to Mechanicsburg and formed his late partnership with Andrew O. Sample and established the business. This partnership was dissolved by mutual agreement, Mr. Sample taking the entire stock, and Mr. Eckels open- ing his present place of business, where he has succeeded in building up a fair trade. Mr. Eckels married, in June, 1881, Mrs. Jennie Armstrong, born in Silver Spring Township. this county, daughter of William and Rebecca Hershman, and to this union have been born three children: Minnie, Blanch and Olive. (Mrs. Eckels had two children by her first husband: Charles S., clerking for our subject, and Clara.) Mrs. Eekels is a member of the Evangelical Church. Mr. Eckels is an enterprising, representative business man and citizen. He has been a member of the board of trustees of the Presbyterian Church of Silver Spring Township for twenty-five years.

JOSEPH ELCOCK, retired merchant, Mechanicsburg, has been identified with Me- chaniesburg since the fall of 1866. He was born on the old homestead farm of his father near the " Half Way House," in Warrington Township, York Co., Penn., November 13. 1813; son of Richard and Mary ( Wagoner) Elcock. Richard Elcock was born in Ireland and came alone to America when nineteen years old, settling in York County, Penn. ; was a weaver by trade, but followed farming in York County, where he was married, and lived to be seventy-two years old; his widow lived to be about seventy-four; they were Presby- terians. They had five sons and two daughters. Joseph, the youngest, attended school and worked on his father's farm until he was sixteen, when he went to what is now Frank- lingtown, York Co., Penn., where he learned the tailor's trade. Three years later he started West on foot, and was gone twenty weeks. Settlements were few and far between, and Mr. Elcock went as far as Oberlin, which was then a town three years old. To give some idea of his pluck as a boy, he cleared $9 a month while gone by working at his trade, buying and selling watches, etc. He returned home and worked at his trade in York and Cumberland Counties, but subsequently managed his father's farm until the spring of 1838, when he took charge of the " Half Way House." owned by his father, which stood on the old York road between York and Carlisle. Our subject was married here, Octo- ber 10, 1838, to Miss Elizabeth Stroninger, who was born in York County, Penn., daughter of Daniel Stroninger. Mr. and Mrs. Elcock left the hotel in 1840, and moved to their farm near Mount Pleasant, where Mrs. Elcock died September 9, 1850. To this union were born six children: Mary A., wife of David Biddle, a merchant of Mechanicsburg. a member of the firm of T. J. Elcock & Biddle; Jacob R., who resides in Kansas, married to Miss Christianna, daughter of Daniel Kahm; John, engaged in the manufactory at Be- ment, Ill., married to Miss Ferrins; Theodore, unmarried, traveling in the West; Thomas J., of T. J. Elcock & Biddle, merchants, Mechanicsburg; Eliza J., wife of David Myers, a farmer residing near Mount Pleasant, York Co., Penn. On January 1. 1852, Joseph Elcock, our subject, married Miss Mary Branamon, horn near Bowmansdale, Cumberland Co., Penn., daughter of Jacob and Mary (Ginter) Branamon. Mr. Branamon was a miller and farmer, and he and his wife were old settlers of York County, Penn., members of the Church of God. Mr. and Mrs. Elcock have had four children, two living: Lillie, wife of Samuel Hanck. a hardware merchant and manufacturer, a member of the firm of Seefert & Hauck, Mechanicsburg, Penn .; Samantha Lizzie, born February 20. 1854. died August 13, 1879; Sarah Ellen, born September 4, 1858, died March 29, 1881; and Anna F., residing at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Elcock have been members of the Church of God for the past forty-four years. Our subject remained on his farm in York County, engaged in pottery manufacturing and farming until 1855, when he opened a store in Mount Pleasant, and ran this in connection with his farm and pottery until 1866, when he came to Mechanicsburg and engaged in mercantile trade. From 1875 to 1878 he conducted a furniture store. He engaged in the plow manufacturing business in 1878, and patented the Cumberland Valley Plow, and also the " Self-sharpening Cumberland Valley Plow," which business he continued until June, 1883, when he sold out to the present manufac- turer, Robert Shapley. Mr. Elcock helped organize the Second National Bank of Mechan- icshurg, and is still a director of this bank. He is purely a self-made, practical man, full of activity and life. He never used tobacco in any form, and was never under the influence of liquor. When a boy he drove teams from his father's farm, in York County, to Balti- more, Md., hauling flour to merchants in that city (this was before the railroads were built). Mr. Elcock is of Irish and German descent; his mother's people came from Ger- many to America in an early day.

JACOB EMMINGER, retired farmer, Mechanicsburg, was born near Quincy, Wasb-

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ington Township, Franklin Co., Penn., October 21, 1816, son of David and Magdalena (Miller) Emminger, natives of Silver Spring Township, this county, and Washington Township, Franklin Co. Penn., respectively, and parents of ten children. Jacob, the sec- ond son and third child, was ten years old when he came with his parents to Silver Spring Township, this county, where he worked on his father's farm, attending school during winters. He was married on the old farm, January 2, 1840, to Miss Sarah Lehn, a native of Silver Spring Township, this county, daughter of David and Christina (Barnhart) Lelin. After his marriage Mr. Emminger farmed in Silver Spring Township until 1861, when he bought his present place in Upper Allen Township, where he remained until 1869 and then moved to Mechanicsburg and purchased his home on the corner of Market and Green Streets. To Mr. and Mrs. Emminger were born six children, four now living: Susannah E. (wife of Jacob D. Raffensberger, a music dealer in Mechanicsburg), Mary C. (wife of John C. Bowman, justice of the peace and merchant in Mechanicsburg), Naomi J. (wife of Henry Hertzler, a farmer in Upper Allen Township). Martin L. (who resides at Yonkers, N. Y., a grocer and merchant, married to Miss Mary J., daughter of Dr. Ring- land). Mrs. Emminger died in March. 1874, a member of the Lutheran Church. Our sub- ject is not only a representative of one of the oldest families of Cumberland County, but is one of the enterprising farmers and citizens. He stands high in the estimation of all who know him as an upright Christian gentleman. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.

SAMUEL N. EMINGER, ex-clerk to the county commissioners, Mechanicsburg. is a native of Cumberland County, born in Silver Spring Township, February 19, 1829. His grandfather, Andrew Eminger, born in Germany, but who came to this country at a very early date, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war; he married Miss Christiana Bruner and settled in Silver Spring Township, this county. Our subject's father, David Eminger, married Magdalena Miller, born in Franklin County, Penn., and had a family of seven boys and four girls. He was elected director of the poor in 1828, and afterward ran as a Masonic candidate for the Legislature, but was defeated in the anti-Masonic raid by twelve votes. Samuel N. attended the schools of Mechanicsburg and afterward at Eminger's schoolhouse, Silver Spring Township, and was one of the students in the first Cumberland Valley Institute, under Mr. Franklin Gillau, when it was opened on the Van Huff prop- erty, now opposite Eckel's drug store. He attended two years. In 1844 he learned the trade of coach-maker under his brother-in-law, George Hauck, and from 1849 to 1851 traveled in Virginia and the Carolinas, Tennessee and Florida. He returned to Mechan- icsburg and bought the first patent and brought the first wire tooth sulky rake into Cum- berland County about 1852, and started to manufacture them in company with George W. Miller, but subsequently sold his interest to Frederick Seidle who had then a factory in Mechanicsburg. In 1855 Mr. Eminger was nominated deputy sheriff under Sheriff Bow- man. He resigned in the fall of 1856 and was elected register of wills in the fall of 1857, serving three years. He was appointed by Judge Graham jury commissioner, and served three years. In 1864 he was appointed special agent of the Treasury Department under Andrew Johnson, He resigned on the 1st of March, 1868. and his resignation was accepted in June following. From this time till 1873 he was with D. M. Osburn & Co., who were engaged in manufacturing reapers. From that time (1873) on, he was in the sheriff's office till 1877; served as deputy register under Martin Gnswiler, and after, until elected clerk to the county commissioners in 1879, which office he filled until 1885. He married, September 4, 1856. Rachel, daughter of George and Mary (Halbert) Singheiser, by whom he had four children, three living: Arabella (married to D. A. Ulrich, of Upper Allen Township, this county); H. Foster, and Luella (a graduate of the high school). During the war Mr. Eminger enlisted in Company F, First Pennsylvania Volunteer In- fantry, when they were called temporarily for the defense of Pennsylvania; was elected lieutenant aud promoted to quartermaster. The company served only for a short time. Mr. Eminger is a member of Eureka Lodge, A. Y. M., Past Master by service, and also of the I. O. O. F., No. 215. In politics Mr. Eminger is a Democrat, and has for many years been strongly identified with the politics of the county. He has twice been chairman of the Democratic County Committee, and has been a delegate to many of the State conven- tions. In 1878 he was elected conncilman of the North Ward and served three years, not- withstanding that this was a Republican ward.

DR. GEO. FULMER, born October 14, 1829, son of Christian and Sarah (Pifer) Ful- mer, and the oldest practicing physician in Mechanicsburg, having located here as a physi- cian in 1853, is a graduate of Jefferson College, Philadelphia. Christian Fulmer, a stone- cutter by trade, died in 1841 aged fifty-three, and his widow in 1860 aged seventy-two. They had a family of three sons and two daughters, twoliving: Christian and George. The sub- ject of our sketch attended school in Mechanicsburg, under Prof. John Hinkle, until he was sixteen years old, when he began teaching in this county, continuing in the profession until he was nineteen; then read medicine with Dr. P. H. Long, and in 1853 graduated from Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, after which he formed a partnership with his preceptor, Dr. Long, and continued that partnership until 1860. when they dissolved, since which time Dr. Fulmer has practiced alone. In 1861 he passed an examination at the

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State capital, Harrisburg, and received a certificate of examination from Surgeon-General Phellips, signed by Andrew G. Curtin, governor, and registered to hold himself in readi- ness for duty, and, in 1861, was assigned to a regiment, Chattanooga, Tenn .. but on account of his practice and his family, he did not accept the commission. Dr. Fulmer was mar- ried. February 18, 1854, to Miss Susan Long, sister of Dr. P. II. Long and daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Springer) Long. To this union have been born tive children, three now living: Emma M. graduate of the Irving Female College, married to Dr. M. K. Bow- ers, Harrisburg, Penn .; Robert B. born in Mechanicsburg, Penn., September 18, 1865; and Bertie M., residing at home with her parents. Dr. Fulmer is a member of the Lutheran Church. He is one of the oldest practitioners of medicine in Cumberland County.

EUGENE C. GARDNER, editor and book-keeper for the "Thomas Printing House," and insurance agent, Mechanicsburg, was born at York Springs, Adams Co .. Penn., July 16, 1847, son of Benjamin F. and Sabina (Moul) Gardner, old settlers of York Springs. The family consisted of four children, of whom Eugene C. is the only one living. Our subject was but ten years old when his father died. His mother resided with her father, Conrad Moul, proprietor of "York Springs Summer Resort" until 1858, when she located in Mechanicsburg. Eugene C. Gardner attended the common schools and the Cumberland Valley Institute. In 1865 he was employed as a "typo" on the Cumberland Valley Jour- nul. In 1867 he was appointed local editor of the Valley Domocrat, owned by Hon. T. F. Singiser. In February, 1871, Mr. Gardner, with R. H. Thomas and A. H. Brinks, purchased the Valley Democrat and changed the name to the Valley Independent, and a year later they purchased the Cumberland Valley Journal and consolidated the two papers into the present Independent Journal. In 1874 Mr. Gardner sold out his interest to H. C. Demming, of Harrisburg. Penn., and has since been engaged in the fire and life insurance business. In 1878 he accepted his present position as local editor of the Independent Journal. Our subject was united in marriage, June 5, 1871, with Miss Sue A., daughter of Robert and Sarah (Schock) Wilson. Mrs. Gardner is a member of the Lutheran Church. To this union have been born four children: Earl W., Pauline S., Bertha E. and S. Grace. Mr. Gardner is secretary of Integrity Council, No. 197, O. U. A. M .; secretary of W. C., No. 164, P. O. S. of A .; and is president of the Washington Fire Company, Mechaniesburg. In politics he is a strong supporter of the Republican party.

SOLOMON PERRY GORGAS, banker, Mechanicsburg, is one of the pioneer chil- dren of Cumberland County, born August 31, 1815, on the old homestead farm, in Lower Allen Township. the youngest in the family of four sons and three daughters of Solomon and Catharine (Fahnestock) Gorgas, natives of Pennsylvania, who were married in Lan- caster County, Penn .. and came to this county about 1803, settling on the old farm now owned by their son, William R., in Lower Allen Township. Solomon Gorgas, Sr., was a prominent man of his day; was elected by the people of this county to the Legislature two terms; he opened a store and hotel on his farm in Lower Allen Township (the only store and hotel in that part of the county for many years), and died here September 21, 1838, aged seventy-four years, seven months and four days. His widow died August 9, 1853. aged seventy-nine years, five months and six days. Both were members of the Sev- en Day Baptist Church. Solomon P. Gorgas married. May 8, 1845, Miss Elizabeth Eber- ly, born in Hampden Township, this county, March 31, 1822, daughter of Benjamin and Barbara (Kauffman) Eberly, natives of this county. Our subject farmed in Fairview Township. York Co., Penn., until 1850, when he came to Mechanicsburg, this county, and in 1855 purchased fifty-six acres of what is now a part of the east side of the city. In 1859 Mr. Gorgas, in company with Levi Merkel, Jacob Mumma, Jacob, Levi F. and Samuel Eberly, William R. Gorgas, John Nisley and John Brandt, formed a banking company, under the firm name of Merkel, Mumma & Co., with John Brandt, president, and Levi Kauffman, cashier. In 1861 the bank became the Mechanicsburg Bank, chartered under the State law. Levi Merkel, president. In February, 1864. the bank was chartered as the First National Bank, with Solomon P. Gorgas, president, and re-chartered in February, 1883. To our subject and wife have been born nine children, of whom one son and three daughters are living: Kate E., wife of Dr. J. Nelson Clark, of Harrisburg, Penn .; Will- iam F., formerly connected with the First National Bank, in Mechanicsburg, now resid- ing in St. Louis, Mo .; Anna B., wife of Jacob H. Kohler. a member of the firm of J. B. Koh- ler & Co., manufacturers, Mechanicsburg, Penn .; and Mary E., wife of William C. Ilicks, proprietor of the " Peoples Tea Store," at Harrisburg, Penn. Mr. Gorgas has been identi- fied with this county for the past seventy years. He built the Irving Female College, of Mechanics burg. He and his wife stand high in the estimation of all who know them. They reside in the house in which they were married forty years ago. Mrs. Gorgas is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject is not only one of our old set- tlers, but one of the honest, upright, solid business men. He has held various local offices of trust in his town, and has lived to sce Mechanicsburg and Cumberland County undergo many interesting and important changes.

GEORGE HAUCK, county commissioner, member of the firm of Hauck & Comstock, machinists, etc., Mechanicsburg, is a representative of one of the old families of Cumber- land County, born on the old homestead of his father and grandfather, in Meadow Valley,

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Lancaster Co., Penn., July 6, 1823. His parents, George and Hannah (Senseman) Hanek, were horn in Meadow Valley, Penn. His father, who was a farmer, was a son of George Hauck, who came from Germany and settled in Meadow Valley, Lancaster Co., Penn., in 1760. He was a shoe-maker by trade, but followed farming. George Hauck was the fifth child and third son in a family of nine children, six of whom attained maturity. Our subject was but two years old when he came with his parents to Silver Spring Township, settling on a farm four miles northwest of Mechanicsburg, where George remained, attending school winters until he was seventeen years of age, when he began to learn wagon-making at New Kingston, this county. In 1843 he came to Mechan- icsburg and finished bis trade in the coach-making establishment of his brothers, and in 1845 bought a half interest in the business. His brother Adam dying in 1855, George Hauck bought out his interest, and later he and his brother Samuel bought ont the half interest that their deceased brother owned in what is now the Hauck & Comstock foundry. In 1860 George Hauck sold out his coach-making establishment and that same year he and his brothers bought out the partner's (Jeremiah Senseman's) interest and ran under the firm name of S. & G. Hauck until 1880, when they sold a half interest to George S. Com- stock, the business then being under the firm name of Hauck & Comstock. Mr. George Hauck has always been an active business man. He was elected county commissioner of Cumberland County in November, 1884; in September, 1885, he was elected director of the Alleu and East Pennsborough Fire Insurance Company, and treasurer in October, 1885. Mr. Hauck has been director of the First National Bank since 1863, and has served as president and director of the Mechanicsburg Gas and Water Company since 1856. He is a self-made mau, having learned early in life to depend upon his own resources, and stands high in the estimation of all as an honest citizen and gentleman. Although a commissioner of the county he is not a politician. Mr. Hauck is a Universalist in belief; his wife is a member of the Lutheran Church. They have ten children, four living: Sarah E. (wife of John A. Eherly, a land agent residing at McPherson, Kas.); David A. (married to Miss Mary Singiser, who died in 1884), is a foremau in the machine shops of Hauck & Com- stock; Abner J. (married to Miss Anna Henry) is car accountant in the car department of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railway at Cape Charles, Va .; Susan A. (wife of John A. Keesberry, chief clerk, car accountant's office of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Philadelphia). The Hauck family is of German descent.

GEORGE W. HAUCK, dealer in stoves, tinware and hardware, Mechanicsburg, was born in Mechanicsburg, Penn., May 6, 1841, son of Adam and Susannah (Wonderly) Hauck. Adam Hauck was an iron manufacturer and at one time a partner of Jeremiah Senseman, with whom he did business under the firm name of Senseman & Hauck, which afterward became S. & G. Hauck and is now Hauck & Comstock. Adam and Susannah Hauck had four children. George W., the second child and son, attended the common schools and Cumberland Valley Institute until he was nineteen. He began to learn the tinner's trade at the age of fifteen, and from nineteen until twenty-six worked at his trade in Cincinnati (Ohio), Rochester, Wabash (Indiana), Harrisburg and other places. In 1867 he formed a partnership with his uncle, F. Wonderly, and engaged in the stove and tinware business until 1869, when Mr. Hauck bought out Mr. Wonderly, and soon after formed a partnership with his brother S. F. Hauck, which continued until August, 1878, when he bought out his brother's interest and has since conducted the business alone. He and his brother, S. F. Hauck, and J. K. Seifert and S. H. Coover organized the Huston Net Com- pany, afterward purchasing Mr. Coover's interest, and the net industry is now owned and conducted solely by G. W. and S. F. Hauck, doing business under the name of Huston Net Company. George W. Hauck, married, January 5,1869, Miss Alice Starr, of Quaker descent, born in Lisburn, this county, daughter of Reuben T and Elizabeth (Lloyd) Starr. Mrs. Hauck is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. To this union have been born three children, two now living: Walter L., born August 6, 1875, and E. Starr, born March 19, 1877. Mr. Hauck has one of the finest and most modern houses in the county, on South Market Street, where he and his family reside. He is one of the enterprising, responsible citizens and business men of Cumberland County. His family is of German descent, his ancestors having settled in Pennsylvania in a very early day. Mr. Hauck is a charter member of K. of P. Lodge and O. U. A. M., Mechanicsburg.

SAMUEL F. HAUCK, of Seifert & IIauck, wholesale and retail hardware merchants and fly-net manufacturers, Mechanicsburg, was born in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland Co., Penn., August 30, 1850; son of Adam and Susan M. (Wonderly) Hauck, also natives of this county, and who had three sons and one daughter. Samuel F., the youngest, at- tended school until he was sixteen, when he went to Harrisburg, Penn., and clerked for U. R. Buck & Bro., grocers; worked for them and at the tinner's trade until 1869, when he formed a partnership with his brother, George W., and opened a tin and stove store in Me- chanicsburg. In 1872 he, in company with others, formed the Hauck Bros. & Co. Patent Faucet Company. In 1879 he sold out his interest in the stove and tinware business, formed his present partnership, and cstablished his hardware trade. In 1881 he engaged in the leather fly-net manufacture under the present firm name of "The Huston Net Company." Mr. Hauck was married in December, 1870, to Miss Ella Hertzler, a native of near Shepherds-

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Author: Publication date: Publisher: W. Taylor Number of Pages: 1280

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher: W. Taylor
Number of Pages: 1280