History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 96

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

making a specialty of women's diseases. He is the surgeon of the Demorest Sew- ing Machine Company and has recently opened the Williamsport Private Sanitarium, in connection with Dr. P. W. Von Scheliha. Dr. Spence was married in 1889 to Gertrude, daughter of M. Burr Casselberry of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. His wife is a member of the Second Presbyterian church of Williamsport. The Doctor is a . Republican, and is a member of the K. of G. E., I. O. O. F., and the Knights of Maccabees.

JOHN P. HAAG, physician and surgeon, was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, September 20, 1864, son of Philip and Sarah (Lehman) Haag. He received his education in the Binghamton Institute, Binghamton, New York. He read medicine under Dr. Max J. Reinhold of Williamsport, and was graduated from the Hahne- mann Medical College in 1888, having been previously graduated in surgery in 1886. He began his practice in Williamsport, and has built up a good business. He is a member of the State Medical Society, is a Republican in politics, and belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. He was married in 1889 to Eva, daughter of James Derr, of Williamsport. Dr. Haag and wife are members of Mulberry Street Meth- odist Episcopal church.

MRS. M. G. COLEMAN, M. D., is the eldest daughter of John and Mary (Anderson) Young, of Glasgow, Scotland, where the subject of this sketch was born. She came with her parents to the United States in 1827, and first settled in New York, whence her father removed to Rhode Island, where he was engaged upon the public works. The family subsequently lived in Pottsville and Wilkesbarre. Pennsylvania, and at several other points whither his business called him. He finally settled in Lycom- ing county, where he was manager of the Astonville Iron Works. He was also con- nected with the Morris Run Coal Company in a similar capacity for many years, and, being a practical geologist, he was for some time mineral agent for the Mount Savage Iron Works in Maryland. He subsequently purchased a farm in Tioga county, and died in 1875 at the residence of his eldest son in Troy, Pennsylvania. The death of his wife occurred in 1861. He was the eldest son of Robert Young, the highest worthy Grand Master in the Masonic fraternity at Glasgow, Scotland, at the time of his death. The subject of this sketch received an academic education at Elmira and Canandaigua, New York. She subsequently taught school at Ralston, Jackson, and Block House, Lycoming county, and at Blossburg and Tioga, Tioga county, and was governess two years on a plantation at the South. After the death of two brothers and a sister from typhoid fever within a period of eight days, because of improper treatment, as she fully believed, she resolved to study medicine. She read medicine two years, and attended lectures three years at the Pennsylvania Medical University, graduating in 1858. She opened an office at Williamsport, where she has been engaged in the active duties of her profession for the past thirty- four years. She is a close student, and keeps fully abreast of contemporary prog- ress in medical science. She is the first lady physician to locate in the West Branch valley, or in fact, in northern Pennsylvania. She makes a specialty of women's diseases, and has fitted up her home for the care and comfort of patients from a distance. Her office contains the Hoffman electro-therapeutic bath cabinet, where she gives Russian, Turkish, electro-vapor, and electro-medicated baths. She was married in 1864, and has one son, Albert C., of Washington, D. C. She is a mem- ber of the Second Presbyterian church of Williamsport.

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

ANDREW S. RHOADS, D. D. S., was born in Moreland township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1831, son of William and Elizabeth (Scott) Rhoads, natives of Montgomery and Bucks counties, respectively. His father was a cabinet maker and undertaker; he worked in Philadelphia for a number of years, and also kept a store in Montgomery county. He came to Williamsport in 1859, where he engaged in cabinet making and undertaking, and died in 1863. His widow survived him until 1884 and was a member of the First Presbyterian church of Williamsport. Andrew S. was the third son in a family of seven children, and was reared in Montgomery county; he was educated in the public schools. and graduated from the Loller Academy, in that county. He afterwards studied dental surgery in Philadelphia and practiced there until 1858, when he came to Will- iamsport. He at once opened an office in that city, and is now its second oldest dentist, and enjoys a large and lucrative practice. Dr. Rhoads is a member of the Susquehanna Dental Association, and is recognized as a leading member of his profession. He was one of the original stockholders of the First National Bank of Williamsport, also of the Williamsport Bridge Company, and was a director in the latter institution for many years. He is a member of the firm of Jenks, Rhoads & Company, Limited, shirt manufacturers and laundrymen, which business was estab- lished in 1886. He is a Republican, has served as a member of the school board, and is at present representing the Second ward in the common council. Dr. Rhoads was married in 1861 to Catharine G. Harris, whose father, William Harris, was at one time sheriff of Lycoming county. One son, Joseph G., has been born of this union, and is a member of the firm of Jenks, Rhoads & Company. The Doctor is a member of the Second Presbyterian church, in which he holds the offices of deacon and trustee. He was one of the organizers of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion of Williamsport, and is a member of that society.

G. W. KLUMP, of the firm of Klump & Hertz, dentists. was born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1841, son of Charles and Annie Elizabeth (Bastian) Klump. His father is a native of Germany, and came to Pennsylvania in boyhood. was educated in the schools of Tioga county, and engaged in farming. He after- wards removed to Delaware, where he now resides. His mother was a native of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and her grandfather, George Bastian, owned the land on which Newberry now stands. The subject of this sketch was reared and princi- pally educated in his native county. In 1863 he entered the United States Signal Corps, and served as an acting signal officer until the close of the war. He studied dentistry, graduated from the Pennsylvania Dental College, and in 1867 he located in Williamsport, where he has since practiced his profession. Dr. Klump is recog-

nized as one of the leading and successful dentists of the city. He is a stockholder in the Merchants' National Bank and the Susquehanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company. He is a member of the State Dental Society, and is at present its treasurer, and a member of the State examining board. He is also a member of the American Dental Association, and is one of the clinical instructors of the dental department of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Klump was married, September 10, 1872, to Annie M .. daughter of John I. Berry, and has one child. George W. B. He and wife are members of St. Paul's Lutheran church, in which he is an elder. He is a Republican, and a member of the Masonic order, and is connected with the lodge, chapter, and commandery.

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N. ROBERT HUBBARD, dentist, was born in Russell, Massachusetts, July 12, 1859, son of William Henry and Sarah (Perkins) Hubbard, natives of the same place. His father was a member of the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment during the late rebellion, and died of sickness in the hospital at Alexandria, Virginia. Our subject was reared in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he received a common school educa- tion. He studied dentistry under two preceptors, took one course at the Philadel- phia Dental College in 1881, and was graduated from the University of Maryland in 1889. He began practice in Springfield, Massachusetts, and in the fall of 1882 he removed to Williamsport, where he was associated with Dr. Mundy until 1885, at which time he established his present office and has since enjoyed a lucrative practice. He was married in June, 1888, to Miss Lizzie, daughter of John J. Everett, of Lock Haven. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and is a Repub- lican in politics.

CHARLES W. HUNTINGTON, of the firm of Rhoads & Huntington, dentists, was born in Orwell, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, December 11, 1852, son of the Rev. Charles and Eliza Ellen (Ridgway) Huntington. His father was a native of New York State, and a minister in the Presbyterian church; his mother is a native of Pike county, Pennsylvania, youngest daughter of Charles Ridgway. Charles W. was reared in Port Jervis, New York. and was educated in the public schools of that town. He studied dentistry, and graduated from the Philadelphia Dental College in February, 1886. He came to Williamsport, April 1, 1886. formed a partnership with Dr. Rhoads, and has since practiced his profession as a member of the firm of Rhoads & Huntington. Dr. Huntington was married in 1882 to Alice, daughter of David B. Kinne, of White Lake, Sullivan county, New York, and has two children: Amy Hortense and Barton Kinne. He is an elder in the Second Presbyterian church, is clerk of the session, and is assistant superintendent of the Sunday school. He is connected with the I. O. O. F., is a member of the Young Men's Christian Association, and politically is a stanch Prohibitionist. He cast his first vote for Smith and Stewart, Prohibition candidates, in 1876. Dr. Huntington is descended in the ninth generation from the emigrant ancestor of his family on American soil. The family history is traced to 1632. Samuel Huntington, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a member of this family.

JOHN B. HALL was born in Geneva, New York, June 1, 1804, son of Moses and Phoebe (Burrows) Hall. He recieved a fair education and learned the blacksmith trade. Ill health compelled him to give up this vocation for some time, during which he cared for his aged grandfather, John Hall, after which he began work for his father, who promised to give him his shop and tools upon reaching his major- ity. , His health again failing, he traveled for a season, afterwards clerking in a store for a few years. About 1825 he formed a partnership with his father and did a prosperous business in a foundry at Geneva until 1832. Their beginning was the manufacture of ploughshares by hand-power and subsequently by engine. Mr. Hall was married in 1826 to Eugene, daughter of Peter Millspaugh, of Orange county, New York. She was a milliner by trade, and at the time was engaged in business with Mr. Hall's sister, Harriet Hall. Soon after marriage her husband purchased his sister's interest and Mrs. Hall continued the millinery trade until 1830 when they sold. In 1830 Mr. Hall came to Williamsport on a visit, and being encouraged

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by his friend, Dr. James Hepburn, he located here in 1832. A business arrange- ment was effected between him, Dr. Hepburn, and Tunison Coryell, and the engine which Mr. Hall had built while in Geneva was transported to Williamsport on wagons, and located in a building erected for a foundry by Messrs. Hepburn and Coryell, where the Williamsport Savings Institution is now located. Here these gentlemen, Coryell, Hepburn and Hall, conducted the first foundry in this part of the State, under the firm name of John B. Hall & Company. Among the impor- tant articles manufactured by them were the turn-out castings for the railroad from Columbia to Philadelphia, and the wicket castings for the Pennsylvania canal. In 1840 they constructed a building on ground which they had previously purchased, the present site of the Williamsport Machine Company. After the firm of John B. Hall & Company located in their new quarters, they increased their machinery by putting in several new lathes, planers, etc. In 1842 the firm dissolved and Mr. Hall did a large business for a number of years. During this time John A. Mont- gomery was a clerk for Mr. Hall for several years and afterwards his partner. Mr. Hall sold the foundry to Bowman, Vanderbilt & Murray, and in one year bought It back again and continued the business until 1865, when he sold to A. T. Nichols, and it was finally merged into the Williamsport Machine Company. He has since been retired from active business cares, although largely interested in real estate. He was one of the first directors of the First National Bank of Williamsport, serving many years, and is also one of the original stockholders of the West Branch Bank. He was one of the organizers and is a director of Wildwood cemetery. He was formerly identified with the Whig party, is now a Republican, and has served in the city council. His wife died, December 30, 1883, leaving no issue, but they reared and educated ten children, nine of whom were relatives. Mr. Hall was one of the organizers and original elders of the First Presbyterian church of Williamsport in 1833, and is the only one living of the original official members of that organization. He was also one of the organizers of the Second Presbyterian church in 1840. He gave $2,000 to assist in the erection of the first church edifice for this latter organization, and .$7,000 for the construction of the present building. He has been an elder for that congregation ever since its organization, and he and the widow of his brother, Stephen W. Hall, are the only two living of the original members of that church.

PHILIP AUGUSTUS MOLTZ, deceased, was born in Germany, February 22, 1825. His parents, John and Catherine Moltz, came to Baltimore, Maryland, when Philip was one year old, and he there grew to manhood, receiving but a limited education. He learned the machinist's trade in the Baltimore and Ohio railroad shops, of Balti- more, and worked there until 1854, when he came to Williamsport. He continued working at his trade in this city for two years, and then purchased the shop of Mayby & Bowman, now Rowley & Hermance, and carried on business until 1868, when he sold the shops, but had to take them back again in 1871. During that time he engaged in the planing mill business, in partnership with William G. Elliot. In 1877 he sold his machinery plant to Rowley & Hermance, and retired from active business, but did not live to enjoy the fruits of his industry, as he died, April 1, 1878. Mr. Moltz married Maria Harvey, of Baltimore, who survives him. Eight

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children were born of this nnion: William R., deceased; Jacob J .; Augustus; Jennie; Jerome; Annie, wife of F. J. Arend; Margaret M., wife of George Maxwell, and one who died in infancy. Mr. Moltz was a Democrat, and served in the com- mon council of Williamsport. He was a stockholder in the Lycoming National Bank, and in the First National Bank. He was connected with the Masonic order, and was a member of the Episcopal church.

JACOB J. MOLTZ, proprietor of machine shop and foundry, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, July 5, 1851, and is the oldest surviving son of Philip A. Moltz. He was educated in the public schools of this city, and at Dickinson Seminary. He started as a check boy for William L. Purdy & Company, and afterward clerked for W. G. Elliot in the dry goods business, and subsequently for Elliot, Dietrick & Kline, remaining in that business for about five years. In 1870 he began to learn the machinist's trade with his father, and after completing his trade he worked for his father and afterward for Rowley & Hermance, until going into business. In 1878 he formed a partnership with his brother Jerome, and the firm of Moltz. Brothers carried on business up to June 30, 1885, when the firm was dissolved, and our subject has since continued alone. Mr. Moltz is a Democrat, and has been a member of the council one term. He has been treasurer of the Academy of Music since 1870. He is a prominent Mason, and is connected with the lodge, chapter,. and commandery. Mr. Moltz was married March 30, 1875, to Annie M., daughter of George Keller of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and has had four children: Ralph Elliot, May Keller, and two who died in infancy. The family are attendants of the First Presbyterian church of Williamsport, of which organization his wife is a member.

JEROME MOLTZ, proprietor of the Variety Iron Works, was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1860, and is the youngest son of Philip Augustus Moltz. He was educated in the public schools and at Dickinson Seminary, and learned the machinist's trade in his father's shop. In 1878 he engaged in business with his brother Jacob J., under the firm name of Moltz Brothers, which partnership existed until June 30, 1885. He established his present business, March 2, 1886, and manufactures all kinds of machinery. Mr. Moltz was married, August 15, 1885, to Elizabeth May, daughter of Elijah Gould, of Williamsport, and has had four children: Clyde, deceased; Harold; Gould, and Merrill. He is liberal in his religious views, and independent in politics.

E. A. ROWLEY, of the firm of Rowley & Hermance, manufacturers of wood- working machinery, has been prominently identified with the growth and pros- perity of Williamsport for many years. He was born in Lewis county, New York, May 16, 1836, and is a son of Isaac and Laura (Hunt) Rowley, natives of the same county, and farmers by occupation. The family is of English descent. Four brothers of that name immigrated to America soon after the coming of the May- flower, and settled near New London, Connecticut, and from them it is believed all of the Rowleys in the United States are descended. Our subject was reared in Rome, New York, and at the age of sixteen he went West, and is virtually the architect of his own fortune. He located in Michigan, and spent a portion of his time in learning the machinist's trade, and also conducted a large farm some four years. He thus earned money with which to prosecute his education, and attended

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Michigan Union College, at Leona, Michigan, a branch of Oberlin University. Mr. Rowley remained in the West fourteen years, and in the spring of 1868 he located in Williamsport, and engaged in a general machine business. In January, 1875, he formed a partnership with A. D. Hermance for the purpose of manufacturing machinery, and the firm of Rowley & Hermance became in a few years one of the most prominent and successful institutions of the kind in this part of the State, and it has won and retained an enviable reputation in the several markets of the country.

Mr. Rowley was chairman of the National Furniture Company from its organi- zation up to 1892, when he sold his interest in that concern. He also was one of the organizers, and is now president of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Williamsport; was among the organizers of the Kettle Creek Coal Mining Com- pany, and has been one of its directors since the beginning. He was a director of the Lumberman's National Bank until it went into voluntary liquidation, and was succeeded by the Susquehanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company, an organization with a capital of $500,000, and having many of the leading business men of the city backing it. Mr. Rowley served as vice-president of the latter institution from its organization up to the death of Robert P. Allen, December 6, 1890. In January, 1891, he was elected president, and has since filled that position in a creditable and satisfactory manner. He is a stockholder in the First National Bank and the Merchants' National Bank, and was a director in the latter until his election to the presidency of the Susquehanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company. He was one of the organizers of the Self-Locking Buckle Suspender Company, and is president of the same. He is also president of the Culler and Hawley Furniture Company, and vice-president of the Backus Manufacturing Company, two of the later additions to the manufactories of Williamsport. Besides his handsome home on West Fourth street, he owns a fine stock farm near the city, also valuable real estate in the West and in Washington, D. C.

The constant demands of his many and varied interests make Mr. Rowley a very busy man, but he always finds the time to lend a willing and generous support to every worthy object. As president of the board of trustees he has taken a com- mendable interest in the Young Men's Christian Association of Williamsport, and he was the first man to subscribe towards the erection of the new Association build- ing, on Fourth street. He was among the first to recognize the bright future of Eaglesmere as a summer resort, and proved his faith iu its ultimate success in being the first citizen of Williamsport to erect a cottage at that place. Though a stanch Republican, he has taken no active part in political matters, but always performs well the duties of an American citizen. He is a member of the First Baptist church, and has been a trustee in that society for many years. He is a liberal supporter of the religious, charitable, and educational institutions of his adopted home, and is recognized as a progressive and public spirited citizen. Mr. Rowley was married, November 10, 1866, to Emma P., daughter of Judson Olmstead of Hudson, New York, and has two children: Robert E., a Junior of Yale College, and Georgia Etta, a pupil at the Misses Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, New York.

ALBERT D. HERMANCE, of the firm of Rowley & Hermance, manufacturers, was born in Saratoga county, New York, August 8, 1847, and is a son of Richard and

AL Hermano

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Emeline (Dubois) Hermance, natives of New York State. His father was a farmer, but after settling in Saratoga county he erected a large foundry and machine shop. and engaged in the manufacture of stoves. He is the inventor of the low-down res- ervoir attachment for ranges and cooking stores, now in general use throughout the country, and is also the patentee of many other stove attachments, and is well known among the stove manufacturers in that part of the country. Albert D. is the third in a family of five children; he was educated in the common schools and at Still- water Seminary, and spent a short time at Fairfield Seminary. He remained in his native county up to 1860, and at the breaking out of the rebellion he went to Troy, New York, and engaged in a sash, door, and blind factory, to learn that business. In August, 1864, at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-first New York Cavalry, and was immediately sent upon detached service. He served on detached duty until the close of the war, and was then mustered out. In the autumn of 1865 he came to Williamsport, and found employment with Culver, Barber & Company, remaining with them until 1868. He then went to Green Island, New York, and took charge of Crampton & Belden's blind factory, which was the largest institution of the sort in the United States at that time, and remained with them four years. In 1872 he returned to Williamsport, and took charge of the planing mill of Culver, Barber & Company, which position he occupied one year. He also had charge of the American Match Stick Company for a short time. In the meantime he had originated a wood-working machine, which he patented in the spring of 1873, and then commenced manufacturing his patent. He traveled through the State introducing and selling his machine, and had a gratifying success. In January, 1875, he entered into partnership with E. A. Rowley, and the present firm of Rowley & Hermance was organized. Mr. Hermance's extensive practical experience has had much to do with the success of this firm. He is the originator of the Hermance Chemical Company, and is a stockholder in the Otto Chemical Company, the plants of which are located in Mckean county. He is a large stockholder in the Central Pennsylvania Telephone and Supply Company, and a director in that institution. He is also a director in the First National Bank of Williamsport, and a stockholder in the Susquehanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company, the Edison Electric Illumi- nating Company, and the Williamsport Water Company, and is a member of the Kettle Creek Coal Mining Company, and president of the Backus Manufacturing Company, which has a capital of $250,000. Mr. Hermance has large real estate interests in Williamsport, also iu Dakota and New York States. He was one of the organizers of the Ross Club, in which he is a director. He has always taken an active interest in political affairs, and has served as a member of the common coun- cil of the city. He is a stanch Republican, a member of Reno Post, No. 64, G. A. R., and'is connected with the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Hermance was married in 1870 to Agnes, daughter of E. M. D. Levan, of Williamsport. There are few business men of this city who have taken a deeper interest in its later growth and prosperity than Mr. Hermance, and few who have shown greater enterprise in the development of its manufacturing resources.

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History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 96

Author: edited by John F. Meginness Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1650

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650