USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III > Part 13
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Adrian Baptiste Garnier was born in Vendome, a city of France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Loiret Cher, in 1830, and died in the village of Mount Bethel, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, September II, 1909. He was of Norman ancestry, and among his relatives was the famous French architect, Paul Garnier, the designer of many of the greatest of edifices in the French capital. He was a great traveler, and before reach- ing legal age had been to Africa and many European countries. In 1851 he came to the United States, first locating in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, there meeting Rachel Ann Stier, who later became his wife. She was a daughter of Jacob Stier, who owned a large pottery in Upper Mount Bethel, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, and the head of a large family, two of his sons becoming prominent in county politics. After his marriage, Mr. Garnier lost none of his desire for travel, and after establishing a home and profitable business in Elizabeth, New Jersey, is next found in the West, where gold was discovered in California. In the early sixties he went to Cuba, there becoming overseer of a plantation. After his return to the United States he became interested in oil well drilling, and at the time oil was discovered in the Parkersburg district of West Virginia, he was engaged by Colonel Glantz, an oil operator, to go to that field and drill. Mr. Garnier had learned the machinist's trade in France, and was a good, practical man in mechanical work. He continued in West Virginia as a contractor of oil well drilling, then removed to Quincy, Illinois, but after a few years there he returned East, locating in Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1880 he moved to Easton, Pennsyl-
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vania, and established the business of A. B. Garnier & Son, stoves and hard- ware, No. 118 Northampton street, which is still conducted by his son. He continued active in the business until a few months before his death, but the desire for travel never left him and he made several visits to France during the last twenty years of his life. On one of these journeys he was an official interpreter at the Paris Exposition. He took an enthusiastic interest in all movements for Easton's improvement and upbuilding, and was one of the city's ardent champions. Several months prior to his death he expressed a desire to go into the country, a wish that was gratified by his long-time friends, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Reichard, at whose home in Mount Bethel he died.
Mr. Garnier married a second wife, Mrs. Sarah (Weyganth) Miller. By his first wife he had a son, Lafayette Steuben, of further mention, and a daughter, Madeline, who during President Cleveland's administration was appointed a proofreader in the Post Office Department of the United States Government at Washington, and was in full charge of all parcel post readings. She was a fine linguist, speaker of several languages, and was acting inter- preter for the department. She continued in her position until her death, August 29, 1918. During her school life in France she was a classmate of a daughter of Lord John Russell, of England, also of a daughter of the King of Italy. Sarah Weyganth married (first), Dr. Miller, a brother of the "Poet of the Sierras," Joaquin Miller. Several years after his death, Mrs. Miller became the wife of Adrian B. Garnier, and at their home Joaquin Miller wrote "The Forty-Niners," one of his famous productions, his sister- in-law, Sarah (Miller) Garnier, taking it down from his dictation.
Lafayette Steuben Garnier, son of Adrain B. and Rachel Ann (Stier) Garnier, was born at Elizabeth, New Jersey, November 24, 1859. He there spent his youth, obtaining his education in the public schools and at St. Francis College, Loretto, Pennsylvania, spending three years at the last named institution. He then returned to the family home, which was then in Easton. He was then seventeen years of age, and as an entrance into busi- ness life became a clerk with Patterson Brothers, hardware dealers, at No. 27 Park Row, New York City. That position gave him his liking and train- ing for the hardware business, and three years later he resigned, returned to Easton, and spent two years with H. M. Norton, hardware dealer at Second and Northampton streets. He then joined his father, they establishing a general hardware business under the firm name of A. B. Garnier. Ten years later the firm name became A. B. Garnier & Son, so continuing until the father's death in 1909, when the name became A. B, Garnier's Son. Until the war with Germany, Mr. Garnier conducted a roofing department in connection with his business, his present line being hardware, guns, ammuni- tions and sporting goods. The business still is located at No. 118 Northamp- ton street and has always been a prosperous one, and the Garniers, father and son, rated business men of the first quality. Lafayette S. Garnier is an ardent Democrat, a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a man greatly liked and esteemed.
Mr. Garnier married, in Easton, in 1885, Catherine Fahl, born in Cressona, Pennsylvania, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Ann Fahl. Mr. and Mrs. Garnier are the parents of three children: I. Russell, born October 4, 1887; now associated in business with his father; married Ruth Vanatta, and has a son, Lafayette Adrian. 2. Tunis Sanford, born in Easton, August 26, 1889; associated with his father. 3. Anna, born June 22, 1893, residing with her parents.
REV. ALBERT M. KORVES-The youngest of seven children born to Albert and Agnes (Buckschulter) Korves, of the Altenlingen province of Hanover, Germany, Father Korves came to the United States upon attaining
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legal age, as did his brother, Rev. Bernard Korves, of Ludwig's Roman Catholic Church, Philadelphia. Another brother, also a priest, remained in Germany, and is now deceased. Another brother also came to the United States, Henry Korves, who is a contractor of South Bethlehem, Pennsyl- vania. A sister became a nun of the Order of St. Francis. Albert Korves, the father, was a farmer, and gave his children all possible advantages under the conditions prevailing.
Albert M. Korves was born March 23, 1859, and until 1880 remained in his native land, there acquiring a good education in the State schools. In 1880 he came to the United States, and later prepared for the priesthood at St. Vincent's College near Latrobe, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, there completing a classical course which was supplemented by courses in philosophy and theology at St. Charles Seminary, Overbrook, Pennsylvania. Both these institutions are famed schools of the Roman Catholic church. He was ordained a priest on May 23, 1891, and was assigned to St. Joseph's parish, Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, as assistant. After eighteen months at St. Joseph's he was transferred to the Church of the Holy Ghost, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as assistant, and a year later to the Church of St. John the Baptist, at Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where he remained as assist- ant pastor four and a half years. After a short term of service at St. Paul's Church, Reading, and a brief period as assistant pastor in charge of the Church of the Sacred Heart at Allentown, Pennsylvania, he was sent to St. Ludwig's of Philadelphia, where he served as assistant for three and a half years to his brother, Rev. Bernard Korves, who was the permanent rector. From December, 1902, until November, 1911, he was pastor of St. Bonifacius Church at St. Clair, Pennsylvania, there accomplishing a great deal for both the material and spiritual good of the parish.
In November, 19II, he was installed pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Easton, and has since been the faithful, beloved leader of that church. The church has been almost entirely rebuilt during his pastorate, and is con- sidered the finest in the county and equal to any in eastern Pennsylvania, outside the largest cities. St. Joseph's Cemetery was bought and improved under the direction of Father Korves, and a grammar school employing four teachers in the training of two hundred and twenty pupils from the two hundred and fifty families of the parish is maintained. The patriotic spirit of the parish runs high; fifty-two men have gone from St. Joseph's into the United States Army and Navy. Father Korves has won his way to the hearts of his people, and the spiritual life of the parish has kept apace with its temporal property.
JAMES MILTON YEAKLE-On the home farm on the Nazareth road, one-half mile from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, James Milton Yeakle, the well known carriage manufacturer, was born. His father, Peter Yeakle, upon coming from Germany in 1830, settled in what was then called Smoketown. Peter Yeakle, a Bavarian by birth, married in Germany, where six of his children were born of that marriage, one of whom, Lizzie, wife of Joseph Yeager, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, is yet living. He came to Pennsylvania in 1830, and married, second, in Bethlehem, Margaret Johanna Zobel, who was born in Germanv. They were the parents of the following children : Catherine. unmarried; James Milton, of further mention; Mary, married Ferdinando Yost, of Bethlehem. Peter Yeakle was a farmer, and these chil- dren were born at the home farm near Bethlehem.
James Milton Yeakle was born March 28, 1860, and attended the public schools of Bethlehem and the Moravian Parochial School, his parents having moved to that town. He early began working on the farm in vacation periods, and later devoted all his time to that occupation. He continued farming until he was twenty years of age, then became an apprentice to Henry Sillers, who
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taught him the carriage builder's trade. For ten years after finishing his ap- prenticeship he continued to work at his trade as a journeyman, becoming an expert in carriage-making. Finally he decided to use his skill and knowledge for his own benefit and, renting the shop on Broad street, Bethlehem, where he had learned his trade, he began business for himself. He prospered to such an extent that he built a new and modern carriage-building plant, into which he moved two years after beginning business for himself, which build- ing he still occupies. This plant, built on the rear of the lots fronting on Linden street, consists of two three-storied buildings, one 30 by 68 feet, the other 30 by 30 feet. On the front of the lot he has built a fine pressed brick front building, which is used by the Packard Motor Car Company as a sales and service station. As a manufacturer of carriages, Mr. Yeakle has won high reputation, and at his plant a great amount of high-class work is turned out. He understands the practical side of his business from the rough frame to the finished product, and his years of experience have developed wise management and executive ability.
Not less prominent is he in public than in business life, for his service covered over eleven years as councilman and four years as burgess of Beth- lehem. He was the last burgess elected prior to the consolidation of the three Bethlehems into the city of Bethlehem, His term also witnessed the end of the discussion concerning the advisability of a "hill to hill" bridge to connect Bethlehem with South Bethlehem and West Bethlehem. Burgess Yeakle was an ardent supporter of the plan from its inception, and his per- sistent advocacy was a helpful factor in its final adoption. The money needed to erect the viaduct is fully subscribed, but it was thought wise to defer erection of the bridge until the edge of the great war should release more steel for structural purposes. That happy time has just arrived (November 9, 1918) and soon the long looked for improvement will become a fact. Mr. Yeakle is a member of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, and has always been one of the men to aid with personal effort and means all movements for Bethlehem's improvement. He is a member of the Moravian church. In politics he is a Democrat.
Mr. Yeakle married, June II, 1891, Fannie Irene Hummel, daughter of James R. and Elmina Hummel, of Bethlehem township, Northampton county, her father a substantial farmer of that section. Mr. and Mrs. Yeakle have no children.
WILSON MACKEY SKINNER, D.D.S .- Since 1908 Dr. Skinner has been a practitioner of dental surgery in the city of Easton, coming to this city after an eight years' residence and professional connection in Phillips- burg, New Jersey, the place of his birth. Though his change of residence was from one State to another, it was not nearly so radical in its professional relations, for he remained within easy reach of the clientele of his earlier practice.
Dr. Skinner is the son of Peter Wilson Skinner, born in 1844, who died in 1896, having been all of his life engaged in flour mill operations in New Jersey and the owner of the first roller process mill in that State. He was the son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Wilson) Skinner, the former a farmer of Car- penterville, New Jersey. Elizabeth (Wilson) Skinner was a daughter of Polly (Bryant) Wilson, a descendant of William Cullen Bryant. Peter Wil- son Skinner married Catherine Osmun, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Wilson (Mackey) Osmun. Joseph Osmun, born in 1804, died in 1872; mar- ried, 1826, Elizabeth Mackey, born 1802, died 1885, were Warren county, New Jersey, people. Elizabeth (Mackey) Osmun was a daughter of Jeremy and Magdalene (Titman) Mackey, born respectively 1774. 1779. died respec- tively, 1850, 1857, at Belvidere, New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Skinner were the parents of three children: Joseph Osmun, a lawyer of New York City,
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who for several years was assistant district attorney of that place; Jennie Lois, a teacher in the public schools of New York City ; and Wilson Mackey.
Dr. Wilson Mackey Skinner, son of Peter Wilson and Catherine (Osmun) Skinner, was born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, July 9, 1878. There he at- tended the public schools, being graduated from the high school in the class of 1897, then choosing the dental profession as the field of his life work and entering the dental department of the University of Pennsylvania. Even before the endowment of the splendid Evans dental department at the Uni- versity, which is excelled by none in the country, the dental school at Penn- sylvania bore high reputation, and in 1900 Dr. Skinner was graduated there- from. His professional practice began in that year, but he has ever been a tireless student, and few men have kept in closer touch with the advances and changes in their callings than has Dr. Skinner with all of the discoveries and improvements in dental surgery. He has taken post-graduate courses in orthodontia and the application of the X-Ray to dental surgery, and has added X-Ray machines to his Easton office equipment, being the first dental sur- geon in his city to make practical use of the relation of Roentgenology to his profession. He graduated from the Williams School of Orthodontia, of Ithaca, New York. An enviably large clientele is silent testimony to his standing in the dental circles of the city, and among his fellow practitioners he is known as an able and talented surgeon, a firm supporter of the best ethics of the profession, and a strong believer in the value of the interchange of ideas and theories through the medium of professional organizations. Dr. Skinner holds membership in the Easton Dental Association, the Lehigh Valley Dental Association, the Susquehanna Dental Association, and the Pennsylvania State and National associations. From 1900 until 1908 he was in practice in his native city, in the latter year opening offices in the North- ampton National Bank building, of Easton, where he has since been located. His acquaintance in Easton is very large. He is a member of the Easton Board of Trade.
Dr. Skinner is a music lover in the fullest sense of the word, for his knowledge of the musical classics is wide, and he is a vocalist of no mean ability, having for several years sung in the church choirs of Easton and Phillipsburg. Another avocation from which he derives great enjoyment is the study of Biblical literature. He is a member of the International Bible Students' Association, and follows closely the work of that organization. In political action he follows an entirely independent course, being allied with no party. His busy and useful life, which contains so much more of potential service to his fellows, has been directed by high ideals and the firm resolve that is necessary to convert worthy ideals into acts that benefit those with whom a man lives.
Dr. Wilson Mackey Skinner married, April 15, 1903, Janet Bellemont, daughter of William and Ellen (Cousins) Speirs, who was born in Hawley, Pennsylvania. Her parents were natives of Scotland, coming to the United States in 1868, William Speirs being one of the pioneers in the silk manu- facturing industry in this country. He located in Paterson, which has since become so prominent in that industry, and there organized the company which first successfully manufactured broad silk. The horizontal warping mill, which revolutionized the silk weaving industry and which is now in every large mill in the world, was his invention, and before his death, which occurred in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1918, he saw the business of which he had had so large a vision grow and develop far beyond his most hopeful dreams. Mr. Speirs was prominent in many circles in Paterson, New Jersey, and was a past master of Orange Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of that place. Mrs. Skinner was reared in Paterson and Washington, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Blair Hall, Blairstown, New Jersey. Mrs. Skinner shares the musical tastes of her husband, and is an active member of the Women's
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Club, especially interested in the literary, dramatic and musical chapters. Dr. and Mrs. Skinner are the parents of three children: William Frederick, Joseph Osmun, and Robert Gordon. The family home is at No. 120 Parkcr avenue, Easton, their country home at Roxbury, New Jersey.
FRED D. KUTZ-Now (summer of 1919) a candidate in the primaries for the Democratic nomination for the office of sheriff of Northampton county, Fred D. Kutz bids fair to receive the full support of his party and that of his political and personal friends when the choice is finally made. He is a native son of Easton, his father, Daniel L. Kutz, now deceased, also born in 1837 in Northampton, his birthplace a farm not far from the city of Beth- lehem. He died in Easton in 1906. Daniel L. Kutz obtained his education in the district schools, but when a boy his parents moved to Easton, where the father engaged in the furniture business in what was later known as the Kutz building on Northampton street, the site of the present Fox & Fulmers. Daniel L. Kutz, after finishing school, began working in his father's furniture store and became thoroughly familiar with the business, and when it was finally closed out by the elder Mr. Kutz, Daniel L. and his brother John Kutz established a combined hardware and harness store business, also opcrating a carriage-building shop and a livery barn, the latter in the rear of their place of business on Church street. After the death of John Kutz, Daniel L. Kutz continued the business several years, finally retiring to a life of. contented ease, which continued until his death at his home, No. 626 Ferry street, at the age of seventy-three. Daniel L. Kutz was a lifelong Democrat and a veteran of the Civil War. He served as a member of Easton's School Board for' several years, and was a member of the First Lutheran Church. He married Anna Griffith, of Easton, who died in Easton at No. 833 Walnut street, aged seventy-three years, daughter of Henry and Mary Griffith. Children : Fred D., of further mention ; Myra E., of Easton.
Fred D. Kutz was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, November 1I, 1871, and educated in the public schools. After school years were over he began busi- ness life as a clerk, but later he entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, remaining with the Lehigh for seventeen years, holding various positions. After retiring from railroad employ he established in pri- vate business as a contractor of cement construction of various kinds, his business location, Easton. He is a Democrat in politics, and is slated as candidate for the party nomination for sheriff of Northampton county. He is a member of Easton Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Jacksonian Club, and both he and his wife are member of Christ Lutheran Church.
Mr. Kutz married, in Easton, September 7, 1893, Margaret E. Beers, daughter of John R. and Mary (Eckert) Beers, her father now alderman of Easton, representing the Sixth Ward, his life reviewed at length in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Kutz are the parents of a daughter, Margaret A.
WILLIAM JOSEPH HUMMEL-For ten years William Joseph Hummel has been engaged in independent business operations in Bethlehem, although his connection with the city and his participation in its industrial activity covers a much greater period of years. Mr. Hummel is a son of James R. Hummel, born at Hummel's Mill, Hanover township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, who for the past fifteen years (1919) has lived retired after a busy and active career as a farmer and bridge builder. James R. Hummel was a prominent figure in the life of his township and county during the years prior to his retirement, and filled practically every office of the town- ship, also serving a term as county commissioner. He retains his interest in the Lutheran church, in which he has been a devoted and lifelong worker. James R. Hummel married Eleima, daughter of William and Betsy Riegel,
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of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, and they had the following children: Fannie, married J. M. Yeakle (q.v.) ; Ella, married Elmer Heller, they the parents of two children; Preston, engaged in the plumbing business in Bethlehem, mar- ried Amy Rietter, and they are the parents of seven children ; William Joseph, of whom further.
William Joseph Hummel was born at Hummel's Mill, Hanover town- ship, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, March, 1873. He attended the country school in the vicinity of his home, and early in life was apprenticed to the Bethlehem Foundry & Machine Company, serving for four years. Sub- sequently he was employed by the Allentown Steel & Wire Company for two years, followed by seventeen years in the employ of the Bethlehem Steel Company in the capacity of foreman. His early and thorough training fitted him thoroughly for this responsible post, and his connection with the Beth- lehem Steel Company was one enjoyable and profitable. In 1909 he put into practice an idea he had pondered for some time, opening a small auto repair shop under the name of the West Side Garage. The success that attended this venture is demonstrated by the fact that his first building was but 10 by 20 feet, while when he disposed of his business by sale he was proprietor of a garage that had a storage capacity of ninety cars. In June, 1917, Mr. Hum- mel purchased the Barber Transfer Line, a business of twenty-nine years standing, located at No. 20 East Market street, in 1918 building his own garage at his present address. Here he has a capacity of sixteen cars, which he operates in a taxicab service in Bethlehem, also conducting a baggage transfer, and the prompt and courteous service rendered the Bethlehemn public has gained for his business, which operates as the Bethlehem Transfer Com- pany, an enviable reputation. Mr. Hummel is a communicant of Trinity Lutheran Church, fraternizes with the Bethlehem Lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and is a strong Republican in political faith. For many years Mr. Hummel served on the Republican County Committee, for three years was assessor of Bethlehem, but now confines his political activity to general support of his party.
Mr. Hummel married, April 30, 1900, Jennie, daughter of Carl and Ernes- tina Bleamer, her parents both natives of Germany, who, when young, made their homes in Easton, Pennsylvania. Children of William Joseph and Jennie (Bleamer) Hummel: Iva, Ernestine, Charles. James, Paul, died aged six years, and Betty Jane.
TOBIAS B. CLAUSER-The business connection of Mr. Clauser with the town of Seidersville covers a period of more than forty years, and during that time he has grown into many and enjoyable intimate relations in that town, serving it in public office as far as his private affairs would permit and discharging at every turn the duties of good citizenship. As postmaster and member of the board of education he has had opportunity to serve his fellows, and as a member of the official board of the Lutheran church he has worked diligently in behalf of his denomination and for the maintenance of a high moral standard in Seidersville.
Mr. Clauser is a son of Daniel and Susan (Brumbach) Clauser, both of Berks county, Pennsylvania, where Daniel Clauser was for thirty-five years a justice of the peace, his death occurring in 1878. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom four, Daniel, Mallon, Simon and Tobias B., sur- vive. Simon Clauser is a veteran of the Civil War, as were his brothers, Orlando and Levi, the last named gaining the rank of lieutenant.
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