History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 149

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 149

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

her observation, impressed her with a desire to employ her intelligence and skill in the relief of human suffer- ing. She at once began the study of medicine, and in 1851 entered the Pennsylvania Female College, at Philadelphia, from which, after a thorough course, she graduated in 1853 as a member of the second class, receiving her diploma from that institution. On de- clining an advantageous and highly complimentary offer to enter hospital service, she again became a resident of Juniata County, aud at once secured, by her skill and unwearied devotion to her patients, a leading position in the profession. The arduous labor involved in a country practice influenced Dr. Richard-

EDWARD READING, M.D., was born in what is now Somerton, Philadelphia Co., Pa., January 3, 1829. His parents were Thomas and Maria Reading, the former born in Paper-Mill village, near Hatboro', Mont- gomery Co., Pa., and the latter in Bucks County, this State. His paternal grandparents were William and Ruth Reading, both natives of New Jersey. His maternal grandparents were descendants of the old and well-known Vandyke family, formerly of Bucks County, Pa.

Edward's early years were spent at home and at the old Bustleton Academy, then one of the popular institutions of learning of the old county of Philadel-

Margaret Richardson

son, four years later, to remove to Norristown, where, in a brief space of time, the demand for her services was equally great, not only in the county, but in ad- jacent portions of the State. She has been especially successful in cases of fever, and is frequently called into consultation at critical periods in the progress of the disease. Dr. Richardson was instructed in her youth in the doctrines of the Baptist Church, of which she is a member, as were also her parents, and her brother is a representative divine. The doctor was the first female physician in the counties of Juniata and Montgomery, as also the first to be called as an expert in the courts of the county. Dr. Richardson has been a constant practitioner for the last thirty-two years.

phia. At the age of eighteen he learned the trade of turning fancy articles in wood, at which business he remained until failing health compelled him to relinquish his chosen occupation. He then decided upon one of the professions, and chose that of medi- eine, commencing the study of that science in 1850. and in March of 1853 was graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa., and in the early part of the year 1853 located at what is now the borough of Hatboro', Montgomery Co., and commenced the practice of medicine, and by his skill and perseverance placed himself at once in the front rank of his profession, gaining a large and lucra- tive practice, which for thirty-one years he has held, and still retains the esteem and confidence of the

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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

community in which he resides, and has at various times occupied the different official positions pertain- ing to the borough of Hatboro'.

In his religious views he is a Methodist, and has for many years been an office-bearer in the church of his choice. He was one of the charter members of W. K. Bray Lodge, No. 410, Ancient York Masons, located at Hatboro', and was its first Worshipful Master. He was married, February 14, 1856, to Miss Jennie B., daughter of Lewis R. Willard, of Moreland township, Mont- gomery Co., Pa. Their children are Estella, born March 19, 1857, married, November 5, 1879, to Thomas E. Paxson, of Hathoro'; Lewis Willard, born January

Ann Bull, to whom were born children, Israel, Henry, Thomas, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Jemima, Ann, Mary and John. The youngest of these sons, John Newberry, married Miss Sarah Gordon, whose three children were Eliza (Mrs. Samuel Martin), George and Hannah (Mrs. George Shriver), but one of whom, Mrs. Shriver, survives. George Newberry was born in Cheltenham township, and early in life removed to Ohio, where he resided until his death. He married Catharine Shriver, of Springfield township, Montgomery Co., and had three children,-John (deceased), Milton and Anna M. Milton, of this number, was born in Chel- tenham township on the 4th of October, 1829, and

calling JAG

5, 1859, and in September, 1881, married to Miss Sarah McCamant, of Lancaster County, Pa. Lewis studied medicine with his father, entered Hahnemann Medical College in 1877, and graduated in March, 1880. He is now a practicing physician at Hatboro', where he is highly esteemed for his medical skill and genial qualities. Thomas, the youngest child, was born November 3, 1864, and was in 1885 preparing himself for the medical profession.

MILTON NEWBERRY, M.D .- Henry Newberry, the great-grandfather of Dr. Newberry, who was of Eng- lish descent, resided in Skippackville, Montgomery Co., prior to the Revolutionary war, and married Miss

removed, when an infant, with his parents, to Ohio, where he remained until his ninth year, when Mont- gomery County again became his home. After the ordinary advantages of education at the public school near his home, he pursued his academic studies at a private school at Hartsville, Bucks Co., and later at the Treemount Seminary, in Norristown.

Having chosen medicine as a profession, he entered the office of Dr. John A. Martin, of Whitemarsh, and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania (Medical Department) in 1855. Dr. Newberry at once beeame associated with his former preceptor at Whitemarsh, and continued this professional relation

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

until the fall of 1858, when the latter retired from active practice. The doctor at once entered upon a successful career as a practitioner, his field of opera- tion having widened until the demands of an arduons profession leave little leisure for other pursuits. He was married, on the 29th of April, 1858, to Lucinda C., daughter of Frederick A. Martin, M.D., of Bethle- hem, Pa. Their children are two sons, Frederick M. and George (deceased). In his political affiliations Dr. Newberry is a stanch Democrat, and while manifesting a personal interest in all public measures which affect

township, Montgomery Co., where he was a consider- able land-owner and a man of superior mechanical attainments. He was in his religious convictions a stanch Presbyterian and member of the Old Provi- dence I'resbyterian Church. He was one of the first justices of the peace appointed by Governor Mckean and held the office until his death. Mr. Todd married Miss Hannah Boyer and had children, John, William T., Hannah and Isabella. John Todd was born on the homestead in 1776 and devoted his life to the pursuits of a farmer. He filled several important

the county and State, has declined political prefer- ment. He is a member of the Montgomery County Medieal Society, which lie represented as delegate at the meeting of the State society in 1858, likewise serv- ing as delegate from the Pennsylvania State Medical Society at the meeting of the American Medical Association, which was convened at Washington the same year. Dr. Newberry, though of Quaker descent, is a member of the Reformed congregation of the Union Church of Whitemarsh.

JOHN TODD, M.D., was the grandson of Andrew Todd, who resided in Freeland, Upper Providence

county offices and held appointments under Governor Porter. By his marriage to a Miss Campbell were born children,-Robert, Andrew, Hannah, Mary and Eliza. By a second marriage, to Christianna Bough- man, were children,-John, William T., Samuel M .. Charles W. B., Christianna and Emily.

John, of this number, was born April 25, 1830, on the homestead farm, and received his education at the Freeland Seminary, after which he entered upon the study of medieine with Drs. Keeler and Groff, of Harleysville, Montgomery Co., graduating in 1857 from the Pennsylvania Medical College. He at

Womankley, MA

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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

once made Boyertown, Pa., his residence, and there began the practice of his profession, his skill and attainments meeting at once with a prompt recognition. In the spring of 1868, Dr. Todd sought a more extended field of labor in Pottstown. Here he has been especially successful, and while not pur- suing any branch of the profession as a specialty, has established a large and increasing obstetrical practice. He was married, in 1857, to Amanda, daughter of J. K. Smith, of Philadelphia, whose only daughter, Amanda, is Mrs. George Kramer, of Philadelphia. He was again married, in 1861, to Sarah M., daughter of Daniel Heller, of Boyertown, and has children Blanche, (Mrs. Irvin G. Kulp, of Pottstown), Bertha C., Sallie H., Mary and John. Dr. Todd was formerly a member of the Berks County Medical Society, and is now a member of the Pottstown Medical Society, as also a trustee of the Bringhurst Trust, established for the benefit of the poor of Pottstown. He is a Free and Accepted Mason, and identified with Stichter Lodge, No. 254, of Pottstown. In politics he is a Democrat and has for nine years served as a member of the Borough Council, though the attractions of official life have not been sufficiently powerful to draw him from the work of his profession. He is a Lutheran in his religious faith and a member of the Church of the Transfiguration, of Pottstown.

ARTHUR D. MARKLEY, M.D., was born in Colum- bia, Lancaster Co., Pa., April 28, 1832. His father, Jacob F. Markley, was born in the borough of Strasburg, Lancaster Co., Pa., and in due time be- came a physician, he having in the mean time married a daughter of the late John Hamilton, Esq., of Lea- cock township, Lancaster Co.

Arthur's early school-days were spent in the schools of Columbia, and subsequently in the Lancasterian School, at Harrisburg, and still later was a member of Captain Partridge's Military Academy, in the capital city of Pennsylvania, until the close of that institu- tion.

Having acquired a fair education in the above- named schools, he was then engaged as a clerk in a wholesale drug-store in Philadelphia, Pa., where he remained three years. From this wholesale house he went to Phoenixville, Pa., where for five years he had entire charge of a drug-store. At the expiration of his term of service at Phoenixville he commenced the study of medicine with the late Dr. Samuel Solli- day, and subsequently with Dr. Joseph B. Dunlap, of Norristown. During this time he took a three years' course of study at the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he graduated in the class of 1857. He then located at Montgomery Square, Pa., where he commenced the practice of medicine, re- maining there till the summer of 1861, when he volunteered in the United States navy in defense of his country. He remained in the service till the autumn of 1862, when he returned to his home and family.

After his return from the navy he located at Wor- cester, Pa., where he again commenced the practice of medicine, and remained there until the autumn of 1864, when he was elected by the Democratic party a member of the House of Representatives of the State of Pennsylvania, and served in the sessions of 1865, 1866 and 1867, and while there was a member of the standing committee on education, and on rail- roads; also on the special committee of the historical painting of the battle of Gettysburg. He was also honored with the Democratic nomination for Speaker of the House.

After the expiration of his term of service in the Legislature he became engaged in railroad enterprises, and was made the first president of the Perkiomen Railroad, which position he held until about a year after the consolidation of that road with the Philadel- phia and Reading road. He was also one of the originators of and a director in the Stony Creek Rail- road Company, which position he held until after the consolidation of that road with the Philadelphia and Reading road.

From Worcester he removed to Norristown, Pa., where he was engaged in the manufacture of paper, in what was known as the Stony Creek Paper-Mill, for about three years, when he leased the mill to other parties. It was subsequently destroyed by fire. While in Norristown he served his constituents in the Board of Councilmen of that horough. From Norristown he removed to New York, where he opened an office for the temporary practice of medicine, and for one year took advantage of and at- tended the Clinic Department of the Bellevue Hospi- tal. From New York he moved to Lansdale, Pa., where he remained for two and a half years in the practice of his profession, and in 1876 located in the town of Iłatboro', Pa., where he soon acquired a large and lucrative practice, which, through his skill in the science of medicine, be retained until 1884, when he transferred a large portion of his practice to his son, and now (1885) occupies his time in the conduct of his well-appointed pharmacy in Hatboro', and in con- sultation with other physicians in critical cases.

Dr. Markley is a member of William K. Bray Lodge, No. 410, A. Y. M., and one of its Past Masters, aud was in 1885 its representative to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of Hutchin - son Commandery, K. T., stationed at Norristown, Pa .. and has also been advanced to the thirty-second degree A. A. S. R., Orient of Philadelphia. He is also a member of Quaker City Lodge, No. 116, A. (). U. W., of Philadelphia. He was also one of the charter members of Lieut. John H. Fisher Post, G. A. R., and afterwards its surgeon.

Dr. Markley married, November 10, 1859, Miss Juliet, daughter of Abraham P'. Eyre, Esq., of Phila- delphia, the marriage ceremony being performed by Rev. Robert H. Pattison, father of the present Gover- nor of Pennsylvania. She died October 9, 1880, and

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

was buried in the Hatboro' Cemetery. His second wife was Miss Hannah Jarrett, eldest daughter of Abel Penrose, Esq., proprietor of Graeme Park Farm, Horsham township, Montgomery Co., Pa. This marriage occurred November 16, 1882, in pres- ence of ex-Mayor King, of Philadelphia, and was per- formed by Friends' ceremony.

He had by his first wife two sons,-Paul H., who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1882, and located in Hatboro', where he has a large practice; Edwin, his youngest son, is in 1885 in the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The issue

ultimately a farmer in New Hanover township. He married Anna Catherine, daughter of Samuel Sands, of Berks County, and had children,-Kate (Mrs. Robert Buchanan), George, John, Anne (Mrs. John M. Edson), William B., James, Samuel S., Jacob H. and three who died in infancy. Jacob H. was born on the 15th of August, 1836, in Pottstown, Montgomery Co., and early removed with his parents to a farm owned by his father in Berks County, from whence he returned again to his native couuty and settled in New Hanover township. He spent in his youth two terms at Freeland Seminary (now Ursinus , College), at the

A ro Scheetz Mrp

from the second marriage is one son and one | Trappe, and at the age of nineteen began the study of daughter.

JACOB H. SCHEETZ, M.D., is of German antece- dents. His great-grandfather, Philip Scheetz, who re- sided in Berks, had among his children a son George, who first settled in Montgomery County, Pa., and at a later date made Chester County his home. He married Hannah Brooke, whose children were a son Jolın and a daughter Martha, the wife of Solomon Engle. John, who was a native of Montgomery County, where he followed his trade of cooper, later became the landlord of the Red Lion Hotel and

medicine with Dr. William A. Van Buskirk, of Potts- town. 1Ie, in 1856, became a student of the Pennsyl- vania Medical College, in Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1858. The doctor established him- self in practice at Emmaus, Lehigh Co., Pa., and re- mained two years, when his removal to Hereford township, Berks Co., occurred. Here he remained until his patriotic instincts moved him to enlist dur- ing the war of the Rebellion in the Forty-seventh Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was at. tached to the Nineteenth Army Corps and partici-

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

663

pated in varions engagements in connection with the Red River expedition. He remained three and a half years in the service, fourteen months of which time were spent as post surgeon at Fort Jefferson, in the Dry Tortugas. On returning to his native State he chose Pottstown, an advantageous field, and has since that date been actively engaged in professional labor. His ability as a diagnostician found speedy recognition, and brought a practice which is both suc- cessful and profitable. Dr. Scheetz was, as a Demo- crat, formerly active in the political arena and served three years as a member of the Borough Council, one

upon the homestead until his death, at the age of thirty-one years. He was united in marriage to Eliza- betli Kolb, of the same township, whose children were two sons, Benjamin K. and William K., the latter a resident of North Wales, where he is engaged in the business of a hardware merchant. Benjamin K. was born on the 19th of August, 1838, at the home of his paternal grandfather, in Perkiomen township, and in youth became a resident of Lower Salford township, where he received a common-school education, and, later, entered the Freeland Seminary (now Ursinus College), at Collegeville. He early discovered a predi-

9Kg. Johnson

year of which he filled the othice of chief burgess. He lection for the profession of medicine, and in 1859 is a member of the Pottstown Medical Association and usually participates in its deliberations. The doctor was married, on the 1st of December, 1864, to Miss Sarah Jane Robinson, of Mercer County, Ky. Their children are Ella ( Mrs. George Hartman), Alma, Barclay B, and Claude Melnotte.

BENJAMIN K. JOHNSON, M.D .- The ancestors of Dr. Johnson emigrated from Holland about 1625 and settled in Perkiomen township, Montgomery Co., where Joseph Johnson, his grandfather, resided. He married Magdalena Brochdtheiser, and had, among his five sons and four daughters, Abraham, who remained

entered the office of Drs. Keelor and Groff, of Harleys- ville, Montgomery Co., continuing his studies in the Medical Department of the Pennsylvania College, in Philadelphia, from which he worthily obtained a diploma March 2, 1861. His first location was at Applebachsville, Bucks Co., where he remained five years, and, though still a resident of the county, re- moved at the expiration of this period to Dublin, where his professional career embraced a period of two and a half years. Dr. Johnson, in 1868, made North Wales his residence, and remained actively engaged in his profession until his removal, in 1884,

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

to Norristown, his present field of labor. He has from the beginning been successful as a practitioner, and, while not making a specialty of any branch of medical science, has given much thought and study to diseases of children and the treatment of fevers. The doctor was married, on the 7th of November, 1861, to Miss Rosa Linda, daughter of the late Jonas C. Godshalk, of Lower Salford township, Montgomery Co. Their only son, Elmer E., now a student of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, will, on the completion of his classical studies, adopt his father's profession. Dr.

as a thrifty farmer. His children were three daugh- ters-Hannah, Eliza and Catharine-and six sons,- John, Conrad, David, Daniel, Jacob and William. Jacob was born in Gwynedd township, Montgomery Co., Pa., in 1804, and died in 1883. He studied medicine with Dr. Clarke, of Montgomery County, and later attended the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, after which he settled as a practitioner in New Hanover township. He was united in marriage to Rachel, daughter of David Evans, of Hatfield township, in the same county, and

r.O. mjs

Johnson is in politics a Republican and a descendant of stanch Whig ancestors, though he has never par- ticipated in the active work of the party. He is a member of the North Wales Lodge, No. 16, Indepen- dent Order of Odd-Fellows, in which he has taken high rank. The family of Dr. Johnson early espoused the faith of the Mennonite Church, though his asso- ciations are with Trinity Lutheran Church, of Nor- ristown, as are also those of his wife and son.

JACOB O. KNIPE, M.D., a grandson of David Knipe, was of German ancestry and resided in Gwynedd township, Montgomery Co., where he was known

had children,-David, Mary, Francis M., Sarah (Mrs. H. K. Whitner), Jacob O., Hannah E., Septimus A. and Rachel A. Francis M. and Septimus are both practicing physicians in Frederick and New Hanover townships, respectively, in the same county. Jacob O. was born September 3, 1837, in New Hanover township, and received more than ordinary advan- tages of education, first in the neighborhood and later at the Freeland Seminary, after which he was a pupil of the Mount Pleasant Seminary, at Boyertown, and concluded his studies at the Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa.]¿He pursued the study of

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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

medicine with his father and brother, and graduated from the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1862. He at once established himself at Norris- town, and early acquired a reputation for skill as a general practitioner. His success in this extended field of labor has precluded any subsequent change of location. Dr. Knipe was married, in 1865, to Clara, daughter of Jeremiah Poley, of Norristown. Their children are Irvin P., Reinoehl, Jay C., Francis Warren (deceased), George L. and Norman L. Dr. Knipe is a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society, in which he has filled the respective offices of secretary, treasurer and president. He is also a mem- ber of both the State and national medical associa- tions. He fills the appointment of member of the board of visitors for the county in connection with the public charities of the State. The doctor supports the principles of the Democracy in politics, though rarely a participant in the exciting scenes incident to a political campaign. He is in religion a supporter of the Lutheran Evangelical Church.

MAHLON PRESTON, M.D., a grandson of Mahlon Preston, who resided in West Grove township, Ches- ter Co., where he was a farmer. By his marriage to Amy Coates were born children, -William, Isaac C., Coates, Seymour, Hannah (Mrs. William W. Thomas), and Beulah (Mrs. W. W. Thomas). The birth of Isaac C. occurred in West Grove, from whence he removed to Caln, in the same county, where he was both a farmer and a commission merchant. He mar- ried Mary, daughter of Issachar Price, of the same county, and had children,-Frederick 1 .. and Mahlon. The latter was born in Caln in January, 1839, his boyhood being spent with his parents and at the home of his paternal grandfather. He was later placed under the guidance of Jonathan Glause, a cel- ebrated instructor of the day and at the head of the Greenwood Dell Academy, in Chester County, after which he taught at the same school and also in Dela- ware County. In 1855 he began the study of medicine with Dr. J. B. Wood, of West Chester, and graduated in 1861 from the Homoeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia. Dr. Preston engaged in practice at Meadville, Pa., and later at Rome, N. Y. After a temporary residence in Chester he, in 1862, made Norristown his home, and soon acquired a lucrative and steadily increasing practice. He was married, in 1867, to Mary, daughter of Hon. David Krause, of Norristown, and has children,- Frederick H. Catharine K. and Emily K. The doc- tor is a member of the State Homoeopathic Medical Society, of the American Institute of Homoeopathy and of the International Hahnemann Association. He has at various times read papers of interest before these societies. Dr. Preston was educated in the religious faith of the Society of Friends.

DR. ELLWOOD M. CORSON,1 the only surviving son of

George and Martha Corsou, was born June 15, 1842. Being endowed with great mental qualifications, and having received an excellent preliminary education, he entered the office of his uncle, Dr. Hiram Corson, but after the first year entered the military hospital at Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, as assistant, and, like his cousin Joseph K., and with him, attended lec- tures in the university and the sick in the hospital until he graduated, in the spring of 1863. They thus, in the language of Mr. Augé, "heard lectures during the day and attended sick soldiers at night, stealing hours from sleep for study and the practical duties devolving on them as assistants to the surgeons."

After graduation he was at once commissioned assist- ant surgeon and attached to the Sixty-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, from which time he was with the army until within a week or two of the date of the battle of Gettysburg. He was prostrated with typhoid fever and was sent from Antietam to Baltimore to be treated, where he was lying very ill when the battle re- ferred to was in progress. After recovering from a most severe illness he was transferred to New York and from thence sent on board a monitor to Charleston Ilarbor. Of the trials, privations and dangers which our soldiers passed through in these months of daily cannonading none can speak truly save those who endured them. There he remained until the rebels abandoned the city. After the war he continued in the navy and served for a time in the Marine Ilospital in Philadel- phia as assistant surgeon to his uncle, Surgeon George Maulsby, U.S.N. Life in the navy was distasteful to him; he therefore resigned and at once began practice in Norristown with his uncle, Dr. William Corson, and at the present writing has skill aud repu- tation as surgeon and physician, which the most fortunate may well envy. He married Miss Margaret Wilkinson, daughter of Samuel Wilkinson, of New York City, and niece of Mrs. E. Cady Stanton, the eloquent champion of "Woman's Rights." They have three children.

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 149

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534