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 77

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Publication date:
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 77
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 77

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JNO. SCHERICH, a justice of the peace, fire and life insurance agent. Mechanics- burg, born near Lisburn, this county, April 7, 1812, is a representative of one of the old families of Cumberland County, Penn. He is the only son of Christian and Anna (Spitzer) Scherich, natives of Lancaster County Penn., the former of whom, a farmer, came with his father, Christian Scherich, to this county, when he was young. Jno. Scherich, the eldest of four children, worked on his father's farm near Lisburn until he was sixteen, when he was apprenticed to the carpenter's, cabinet-maker's and painter's trades, at New Cumberland and Shepherdstown, and at twenty years of age had learned his trade; having aptness and energy soon became one of the first mechanics of his day. He then located near Lisburn, where he carried on his trade. He superintended one section of the first railroad bridge across the river at Harrisburg. He quit his trade about 1850, bought a tract of land west of Lisburn, erected commodious brick buildings, and soon became one of the first farmers of the county. In connection with farming he extensively carried on the brick-making business for many years. In 1875 he came to Mechanicsburg and continued in the insurance business, in which he had been engaged for more than forty years. He was married. November 30, 1832, to Miss Rachael Millard, born near Lewisburg. York County, March 14, 1814, daughter of Jonathan and Phoebe (Thornburg) Millard, old set- tlers of York County. Mr. and Mrs. Scherich have been members of the United Brethren Church for the past forty years. While at Lisburn their home was the home for all Christian workers, always active in the cause of morals and religion. They have seven children living: Christian, a carpenter, but engaged in the agency business at Lisburn, married to Miss Eliza A. Floyd; Ann Jane, wife of Elias Rhiver, a puddler at West Fair- view; Jno. Andrew, a farmer near Lisburn, married to Miss Margret J. Hickernell; Phoebe Samantha, wife of Geo. Forry, a farmer near Mechanicsburg; Jonathan H. Clay (mar-

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ried to Rebecca Kerr), a farmer residing in Clay County, Nebraska; Rachael Ellen, wife of Geo. Levingston, carpenter and farmer, at West Fairview; Winfield Q. (married to Miss Mary A. McClure), a farmer near Churchtown. Mr. Jno. Scherich's great-grandfather, Christian, came from Switzerland and settled in Lancaster County, Penn .; he had two brothers, one of whom settled in Canada, and from these come all the Scherichs in the United States and Canada. The subject of this sketch died March 27, 1886, at the age of seventy-four years, and it can be justly said, that, for enterprise, energy and ability, he was unsurpassed. Not only being a practical mechanic and farmer, but also a close Scripture student, and notwithstanding his great asthmatic alfiction, his place was seklom vacant at church or Sabbath-school. Hle took an active part in the politics of the day, and, with his great memory, could give statistics and could refer to most of the important actions Congress and of the State Legislature for the past fifty years.

GEORGE SCHROEDER, carriage manufacturer, firm of G. Schroeder Sons & Co., Mechanicsburg, has been identified with this county since May 1, 1833. Ile was born at East Berlin, Adams Co., Penn., January 22, 1816, son of Henry and Elizabeth (Bowers) Schroe- dler, the latter a sister of Judge Mart Ilarmon Bowers, and a descendant of the Harmons, one of the oldest families of Cumberland County. Henry Schroeder, a tailor by trade, was born near Berlin, Germany, and came to America and alone to Pennsylvania when eighteen years old. He located in East Berlin, Adams Co., Penn., where he married Miss Malon, who died some four years after without issue. Ile was married on the second oeca- sion to Miss Elizabeth Bowers, of Adams County. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran Church. They had a family of three sons and two danghters, of whom two sons and one daughter survive. When George, the second son and child, was about twelve years old, his parents purchased a farm near Conowago Creek, four miles north of Gettys- burg, and here our subject remained until he was seventeen, when he came to Mechanics- burg and worked in Henry Kimmel's blacksmith shop one year; then bought out Thomas Ilarris and carried on a blacksmith shop and engaged in coach-making, plating, etc. In 1845 he established his present business which he has increased from time to time until now he has the largest carriage and buggy manufactory in the valley, giving employment to from twenty-five to thirty men. Ile has over $ 15,000 invested in this business. Mr. Schroeder was married at Lititz. Lancaster Co., Penn., September 13, 1834, to Annie Buch, daughter of Henry Buch, a weaver by trade. To this nnion were born five children : Luzetta (wife of James Irvin, a coach-maker, member of the firm), Harry B. (also a member of the firm; married to Miss Susan Wicks, of Brockport, N. Y.), William (also a member of the firm; married to Miss Mary Gesamon, and after her demise to Miss Laura Wise, of Mechanicsburg, this county), Mary (widow of Simon Bowman; is a clerk in the Treasury Department, Wash- ington, D. C.). Ellen (wife of Theodore Singeiser, member of Congress from Idaho Terri- tory). Mrs. Schroeder died in March, 1865, a member of Bethel Church. In 1867 Mr. Schroeder married Mrs. Martha Leas, born in this county, daughter of Robert Galbreath a descendant of James Galbreath, Jr., the founder of the family in Pennsylvania, and who was of Scotch-Irish stock, having immigrated to Pennsylvania, settling in 1712, at Done- gal, in what is now Lancaster County, where he bought large tracts of land from William Penn. He married, in 1735, Elizabeth Bertram, who, with her father, Rev. William Bert- ram, came from Edinburgh, Scotland-all these people were Presbyterians. James Gal- breath. Jr., was elected sheriff of Lancaster County in 1742 and judge of common pleas in 1745, and for many years served as justice of the peace. He removed to Cumberland County in 1760, and in 1763 was appointed judge of Cumberland County. He took an active part in the French and Indian war of 1755-56, and during the Revolution, in 1777, was appointed a colonel in this county, being at that time seventy-three years of age. Mrs. Schroeder died in November, 1881, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church (she was the mother of two children by her first marriage, one living, Dr. Harry Leas, of Mechanicsburg). Mr. George Schroeder is not only one of the old settlers, but is an enter- prising representative business man, standing high in the estimation of all who know him. He is a purely self-made, self-educated man. Early learning to depend on his own re- sources, he went bravely to work, and by close application to business, honest dealing and hard work, has made life a success. He owns six houses and lots, besides his own residence and shops. Mr. Schroeder has three grandsons and two grand-daughters, chil- dren of his son, Ilarry B.

FREDERICK SEIDLE, proprietor of F. Seidle's Wheel, Spoke and Bending Works, Mechanicsburg, was born in Philadelphia, Penn .. October 16, 1825, son of Frederick and Magdalena (Bergner) Seidle, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, who came to Philadel- phia in 1825. Frederick Seidle, Sr., engaged in the produce business in Philadelphia and Lancaster until 1836, when he purchased the old farm in Silver Spring Township, Cum- berland Co., Penn. He and his wife were members of the Mennonite Church; they had two sons and four daughters. Frederick. Jr., the eldest son and second chikl, remained on the farm until he was eighteen, when he came to Mechanicsburg and served an appren- ticeship at the carpenter's and cabinet-maker's trade. Ile was married, in November, 1850. to Miss Elizabeth Stevenson, born in this county, near Harrisburg, daughter of David and Leah (Shriner) Stevenson, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Scidle attend

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the Presbyterian Church. They had three children, two living: Albert E., married to Miss Marie Rogers, and William D. They assist their father in the management of his business. Mr. Frederick Seidle's life has heen one of activity and toil. He started with a very small capital, but by hard work good management and honest dealing has made life a success. He attended the Paris Exposition, receiving the Paris medal, and traveled over France, Germany, England, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, visiting many carriage manufacturing establishments, and took enough orders to keep his manufactory running over a year. In partnership with Mr. Samuel Eberly he engaged in the building business with all its kindred branches and established the spoke and bending business, where he also carries on the manufacture of the Seidle & Eberly hay rake, invented and patented by himself, and which has a large sale throughout the entire West. In 1860 they closed their business and engaged as bridge builders for the Government. After a year Mr. Seidle returned to Mechanicsburg and resumed the hay-rake business until 1865, when he re-entered the spoke and hending industry, which has since grown to its present great proportions.

RUFUS E. SHAPLEY, jeweler, Mechaniesburg, was born in Hummelstown, Dauphin Co., Penn., December 23, 1840, son of Edmunds and Eliza (MeElrath) Shapley, whose family consisted of eight children, four sons and four daughters. Edmunds Shapley, a cabinet-maker by trade, lived for a time in Carlisle, and died in Mechanicsburg in May, 1876, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Rufus E., the eldest son, attended school io Hum- melstown until, when twelve or thirteen years of age, he moved with his parents to Uniontown, Carroll Co., Md., where he attended school until he was eighteen, when he began to learn the trade of cabinet-maker with his father. This was of brief duration, however, as he commenced an apprenticeship to the jeweler's and watch-maker's craft in Uniontown in 1859, at which he remained uutil, while on a visit to Hummelstown, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, in 1862. While a volunteer in Pennsylvania he was also drafted in Maryland, and although himself a soldier and not able to be in two places at the same time, was compelled to pay $300 commutation on account of the Maryland draft. After ten months' service, on the disbandment of his company, he was mustered out, receiving honorable discharge, and in 1863 located in Shippensburg, where he first engaged in the jewelry business upon his own account. Two years afterward he came to Mechanicsburg, and here, after a brief partner- ship of two years with the late J. W. Swartz, an old resident jeweler of the place, he established his present business in April, 1867. Our subject was married February 14, 1864, to Emma E. Landis, born in Cambridge, Lancaster Co., Penn., daughter of Isaac and Catharine ( Wademan) Landis, both of Pennsylvania. To this union were born two chil- dren: Laura C., born May 8, 1865, and Edith R., born January 8, 1874. Mr. Shapley is a member of Eureka Lodge, No. 215, F. & A. M., Lodge No. 215, I. O. O. F., Col. H. I. Zinn Post, No. 415, G. A. R., Mechanicsburg. He is one of the enterprising representative citizens of Mechauiesburg. The family, of English and Irish descent, is among the oldest of the early settlers of the county.

ROBERT N. SHORT, physician, Mechanicsburg, was born on the Cumberland River, Pulaski Co., Ky., September 6, 1831, the eldest son in the family of eight children of Mil- ton and Mary (Tate) Short. When our subject was seven years of age his parents removed to Lawrence County, Ind., where he worked on the farm, attending school during win- ters. This and two years at Spring Creek Academy, and private tutorship under Prof. E. F. Eaton, constituted his school advantages. In 1850 he hegan the study of medicine, graduating from the Southern Medical College in 1853. He then attended a full course of lectures at St. Louis University Medical Department, session of 1853-54, and subsequently graduated from Miami Medical College in 1871; practiced medicine in Jefferson Parish, La., about two years; went thence to Palestine, Crawford Co., Ill., two years; later to Springville, Lawrence Co .. Ind., in partnership with his brother, Wesley Short, M. D .. in 1861; moved to Centreville, this county, in October, 1861, devoting his time to the prac- tice of medicine and surgery until October, 1865, when he located at Mechanicsburg, Penn., where he has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. Dr. Short married, April 12, 1860. Miss Anna E., daughter of Robert and Sarah (Sehoek) Wil- son, and to this union were born the following named children: Sarah T , born December 11, 1861, died August 7, 1882; Robert W., born September 22, 1863 (a graduate of Mechan- iesburg High School, at present attending the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg., Dr. Short is a member of Eureka Lodge, No. 302, F. & A. M., Samuel C. Perkins Chapter, No. 209, R. A. M., and St. John's Commandery, No. 8. K. T., and Mechanicsburg Lodge, No. 215, I. O. O. F .; has been a member of Cumberland County Medical Society since its organization (1866), and was its president from 1876 to 1877. He has been a member of the State Medical Society since 1867, and of American Medical Association since 1880. He was appointed United States Examining Surgeon July 31, 1885.

JAMES A. SIBBETT. ex-prothonotary, auctioneer, Mechanicsburg, is a representa- tive of one of the old families of Cumberland County, Penn. His grandfather, John Sib- bett, horn near the city of Armagh, County Armagh, Ireland, was a shoe-maker by trade; he and his brother Robert were the only sons of their father. Robert Sibbett was one of

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the "united men " in the rebellion against England, but did not come to America; his brother, John, when a young man, eame to America and settled in Chester County, Penn., in 1788; was married here to Miss Bridget Montague, and came to Cumberland County, Penn., in the spring of 1823 or 1824, locating at Churchtown; a short time thereafter he moved to Mount Holly Springs; he was a member of the first Presbyterian Church of Car- liste. To Mr. and Mrs. John Sibbett were born three daughters and seven sons: John and James (twins). Robert, Samuel, Andrew. Thomas, Aaron, Molly, Jane and Elizabeth. John, the eldest, born near West Chester, Chester Co., Penn., in 1792, married Miss Annie Lightfoot, who was born in Maryland in 1801, and who moved with her parents to this county about 1807; he came to this county about 1817, and, being a shoe-maker, made the first pegged shoes in Cumberland County, making his own pegs. Ile died August 7, 1832. His widow died February 4, 1857. They had seven children, two living: Elizabeth, born August 20, 1820, residing in Mechanicsburg, is a member of the Church of God, and James A., the youngest, born in what is now Jacksonville, Cumberland Co., Penn., March 7, 1832. Ile worked on the farm. attending school winters, until he was eighteen, when he began to learn the tailor's trade at Churchtown; was married, May 29, 1856, in Mechan- icsburg, to Mrs. Jane Stroop, who was born in New Bloomfield, Perry County, May 20, 1834, daughter of Conrad and Sophia (Shober) Roth, old settlers of Perry County. Mr. and Mrs. James A. Sibbett are members of the Church of God. They have had six chil- dren: Robert E., an employe of the Cumberland Valley Railroad at Bridgeport, Penn .; Charles L., who died, aged twelve months; Curtis A., a painter of Mechanicsburg, married to Mrs. Mary Koser; Harry L., Kate A. and Lizzie. At the breaking out of the late war of the Rebellion our subject became a member of Company A, One Hundred and Fifty- eighth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the army until honorably dis- charged in October, 1863, when he returned home, and in the spring of 1864 came to Mechaniesburg, soon after being employed in the quartermaster's department at Harris- burg, under Maj. Richenboch until the close of the war. He then engaged with W. Y. Johnson & Bro., forwarding agent, who owned individual cars, for two years: then resumed his trade of tailor until 1880, when he was appointed census enumerator for the Third Ward of Mechanicsburg, by Ilon. J. Simpson Africa. In 1881 Mr. Sibbett was nom- inated and elected, by the people of Cumberland County. prothonotary of the county for three years, since which time he has been engaged as auctioneer. Ile is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the Encampment; a member of Capt. Colwell Post, No. 201, G. A. R., Carlisle. In politics he is a Democrat. He has a nice residence on North Market Street, Mechanicsburg, where he and his family reside.

PETER SIPE, cooper, proprietor of flour and feed store, corner of Chestnut and Simpson Streets, Mechanicsburg, was born in Franklin Township, York County, in Sep- tember, 1829; son of Martin (a cooper) and Mary (Freisinger) Sipe, also natives of York County, and parents of twelve children, of whom Sarah, Jake, Lydia, Peter, Leah and Maria are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Martin Sipe, were members of the Lutheran Church. The subject of this sketch, who is the third child, was but eight or ten years old when his father died, and at that early age started out to make his own way in life. He went to live with Peter Wolford, who is now a capitalist in Minneapolis, Minn., and worked with him at farming in York and Franklin Counties until he was fourteen years old, when he came to Churchtown, this county, and worked on a farm for Henry Lutz, four years; then went to work for Hon. William R. Gorgas, in Lower Allen Township, and while farming for him was married. February 29. 1848, to Miss Caroline Wilson, born in New Cumberland, this county, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Warts) Wilson. After his mar-

riage. Mr. Sipe learned the cooper's trade, under George Chapman, at Eberly's Mills, Mill- town. Lower Allen Township, and there remained until 1865, when he moved to Harris- burg where he worked at his trade two or three years, and then removed to Wheeling, W. Va. One year later he went to New Orleans, but after a short time returned to HIar- risburg. and six months later came to Bryson's Mills, Silver Spring Township, this county, and there remained until 1879, when he moved to Mechanicsburg, where he has since re- sided. He and his wife have had seven children, six now living: Mary, wife of Charles Murdock, a machinist, Mechanicsburg; Sarah, wife of John Strashauch, a butcher, Me- chanicsburg; Clara, wife of Joseph Bricker, a retired farmer; Barbara, wife of Sterling Glace, of Mechanicsburg; Ella, wife of Peter Stone, a tailor, of Mechanicsburg; and David L., a cooper, residing with his parents. Win. Henry Sipe, the oldest son. was killed at Fort Harrison, in the late war, in 1863. Mr. Sipe is a representative of one of the oldest families in the State.

FRANCIS H. STRICKER, founder and rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Me- chanicsburg, is a native of Germany, born in Rothenfelde, near Osnabruck, Province of Hanover, November 24, 1845; son of Frederick W. and Charlotta (Nollmann) Stricker, the former a merchant and manufacturer, of Rothenfelde; they were members of the Li- theran Church; they had four sons and four daughters. Francis H., the second son and third child, was educated in Germany until he was eighteen years old, when he came to New York City, and, in June, 1864. entered the Classical Institution at Gambier. Ohio, for two years; thence went to the Divinity School in Philadelphia, until 1871, when he

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entered the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, in New York City, whence he graduated in 1873, and the same year was ordained by Bishop Horatio Potter, and went as a missionary to Hankow, China, where he remained two years, learning the langnage in six months, so that he could read the service, and subsequently learned the language sufficiently to preach to the people. At the close of his labors at Hankow he traveled in China, visiting Shanghai aud Hong Kong: from here, in February, 1876, he went to Saigon, Anam; thence to Singapore; thence to Ceylon; thence across the Indian Ocean to Aden, Arabia: thence up the Red Sea to Suez, and through the Suez Canal, to Port Said, where he remained a short time; then crossed the Mediterranean to Naples, where he also remained a short time; then went to Marseilles, France, traveling overland through France to Lyons and Belford, where he visited the celebrated fortifications; theuce to Strasburg, Germany; thence to Mainz; thence to Coblentz and Cologne; remained in Germany visiting Munster and Osnabruck. (It was in these two cities the peace of Westphalia was negotiated.) He traveled over Germany, France and Switzerland, visit- ing many of the important and historical cities. In August, 1876, he came to the Cen- tennial at Philadelphia, Penn., and in October, same year, was given charge of St. David's Mission Church, under Bishop Stevens, at that city, remaining there until July, 1878, when he came to Mechanicsburg, and founded his present church. There was no church when Mr. Stricker came here and only eighteen members, but he went bravely to work, and with the assistance of these members, he has built up his present congregation, and in 1880 they erected their elegant stone church, corner of Keller and Market Streets. The church has a fine organ, presented by Mrs. William Watts, of Mechanicsburg. The edifice was opened in October, 1880, and consecrated free of debt, in April, 1881. It is not only out of debt but has a surplus in the treasury of several hundred dollars. Much credit is dne Mr. Stricker for his untiring energy and suc- cessful labor.

JOSEPH STROCK, retired, Mechanicsburg, was born near Churchtown, this county, September 15, 1805, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Wise) Strock, natives of this county; they were members of the Reformed Church first, and latterly joined the Church of God. Jacob Strock, who was a farmer, was accidently killed when aged seventy-three; his widow lived to be nearly eighty years. They had five sons and four daughters, all of whom attained maturity, and three sons and two daughters are now living: Mary, wife of John Zimmer- man, a farmer and justice of the peace, Smithville, Wayne Co., Ohio; Joseph; George. a retired farmer, Churchtown, Penn .; Rachael, wife of Jacob Coover, residing on a farm near Shepherdstown, this county; and David. a farmer in Clarke County, Ohio. Joseph, who is the eldest son, worked on his father's farm, attending the old log schoolhouse in Church- town until he was eighteen years of age, when he began the trade of cabinet-maker in New Cumberland, and there remained two years. He then worked in Carlisle, New Cumberland, Baltimore, Md., York, York Co., Penn., and Harrisburg, Penn., until the fall of 1829, when he came to Mechanicsburg. He was married December 24, 1829, to Miss Margaret Neagley, born in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland Co., Penn., daughter of Daniel and Eliza- beth (Stoner) Neagley, natives of Lancaster County, Penn. After his marriage Mr. Strock worked at his trade in Mechanicsburg two years, then moved to Trindle Spring, where he purchased a farm. He came to Mechanicsburg in 1871 or 1872, and purchased his present home property. Mr. and Mrs. Strock had nine children, seven now living: Daniel N., born November 18, 1830, married to Miss Mary Rathburn, they reside in Princeton, Ill., where he and his brother have a planing mill; Ann E., born November 20, 1832, married first to Dr. Samuel Long, second to P. Vanest, of Ohio, and third to John Mumper, her present husband (they reside on a farm in York County, Penn.); Mary A., born April 28, 1835, wife of William J. Shearer, a lawyer of Carlisle; William E., born November 16, 1836, unmarried, resides in Jackson County, Miss .; Sarah R., born July 26, 1838, married John C. Reeser, of Monroe Township; Jacob N., born June 13, 1841, married Miss Hettie Brandt, and after her death Miss Sarah Gibler, they reside on the farm of his father at Trindle Spring; Joseph H., born August 9, 1844, married first to Miss Etta Glime, and after ber death to Miss Lizzie B. Mumert, they reside in Princeton Ill. The mother of these chil- dren died May 29, 1852, she was a member of the Church of God. Mr. Strock married March 1, 1859, for his second wife, Mrs. Eliza Bigley, born in North Middletou Township, daughter of Frederick and Catharine (Snyder) Wonderly. Mr. Strock and wife are mem- hers of the Church of God. Mr. Strock is one of the old settlers and enterprising citizens of Mechanicsburg.

R. H. THOMAS was born in the city of Philadelphia January 28, 1834. His ances try on his father's side descended from the Welsh- English, and on his mother's side from the Scotch-Irish. Ile was educated in the public schools of Lancaster City, where his father Rev. E. H. Thomas had the pastoral charge of a large congregation. At the age of fourteen years he apprenticed himself to the business of house and sign painting, and wall decorating, which he followed during the summer months for some years. teaching school during the winter season. Impaired health caused him to relinquish this occupa- tion and turn his attention to mercantile pursuits. In 1851 he took up his residence in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, and, in 1854 was united in marriage with Miss Annetta,

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

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