USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III > Part 40
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Jesse Collins Kane, youngest son of John L. and Rachael (Collins) Kane, was born at Port Carbon, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1866, and in 1877 his parents moved to Philadelphia, where he was educated and grew to manhood. When thirteen years of age he began working, during his vacations from public school, in a comb factory in Philadelphia, and at the N. H. BIOG .- 35
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age of fifteen found employment in a hosiery mill operated by William V. Gunn. He began in the hosiery mill as a general utility boy, and there re- mained for some time, gaining a familiar acquaintance with several depart- ments of the mill. From hosiery he passed to rug manufacture, being in the employ of the Bromley Rug Manufacturing Company until 1886. In that year he entered the employ of the Chipman Knitting Mills, beginning as a knitter in their Philadelphia plant. In 1896 he moved to Easton and was made foreman of the knitting department of the Easton plant, then newly organized. One building only was then completed, and that has since undergone many changes while others erected later have been greatly en- larged. The capacity of the mill in 1896 was four hundred dozen daily, now the number of dozens manufactured is three thousand five hundred. Mr. Kane continued as foreman until 1913, then was advanced to the rank of superintendent of the Easton plant. He has thoroughly mastered every detail of the business he superintends, and has won his way to that responsible posi- tion from the bottom. Industry and energy have kept him constantly on the road to greater responsibility, and when promotion came he was ready and waiting his opportunity. Mr. Kane was reared in the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a Republican in his politics. His fraternal orders are the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Patriotic Order Sons of America.
Mr. Kane married, in Philadelphia, March 13, 1899, Elizabeth Pichetty, of Philadelphia, daughter of Barclay and Mary Pichetty.
OLIVER LA BAR-Before 1730 three brothers, Peter, Charles and Abraham LaBar, came from France to Pennsylvania, landing in Philadelphia. From there they made their way up the Delaware river to a point which they believed beyond the limits of civilization, and there located a tract of land and built a log cabin. The site of that cabin is now, less than two cen- turies later, about one-half mile south of the village of Slateford. These LaBars were the first to clear land north of the mouth of the Lehigh, but they became very friendly with the Indians, who furnished them needed articles and also taught them something of the Indian language. The LaBars all married, but finding other settlers coming in, they moved north of the Blue mountains, where they permanently settled. Several years later, George LaBar, a son of Peter, returned south of the mountain and settled near the LaBar log cabin built by his father and uncles. There he lived to the great age of one hundred and six years, his son George, however, dying in 1874, aged one hundred and eleven years and nine months. There are many LaBar descendants living in Mount Bethel township, and north of the mountain in Monroe county.
Oliver LaBar, Bangor's eminent citizen and leading business man, is a great-grandson of Isaac LaBar, born in Upper Mount Bethel township, where he later became a farmer and for some years proprietor of the old Slatington Hotel. This was in the olden times, when logs were rafted down the Dela- ware river, and in this work he also had a part. Isaac LaBar was a son of Peter LaBar, and was of the second generation of his family in Pennsylvania.
Samuel LaBar, son of Isaac, and grandson of Peter LaBar, was born in Upper Mount Bethel, and there followed agriculture all his life. He was a man of enterprise, and when the First National Bank of Bangor was organ- ized, he was elected to a membership of the first board of directors.
Reuben H. LaBar, son of Samuel LaBar, was born in Upper Mount Bethel township, and there devoted his life to agriculture. He had other interests, however, and when the First National Bank was chartered he was one of the original subscribers to the stock and served many years as a director. It is a matter of interest to know that the president of that bank, Oliver LaBar, is a son of Reuben H., and a grandson of Samuel, who was cne of the first directors.
Frank J. Knowau
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Reuben H. LaBar married Catherine Paff, and they were the parents of three children : Oliver, of further mention; Grace, married George Ward, of Easton, Pennsylvania ; and Laura, who died aged sixteen years.
Oliver LaBar, only son of Reuben H. and Catherine (Paff) LaBar, was born at the home farm in Upper Mount Bethel township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, May 2, 1868. He remained at the home farm, his father's assistant, until of legal age, then came to Bangor, where he entered the employ of the First National Bank as bookkeeper. This was in 1889, and from that time his service has been continuous. He had obtained a good education in the district school, and he had still further improved himself by self-study, so that when he came to the bank he was fully equipped to fulfill all the requirements of his position. For six years he continued in the book- keeping department, then, in 1895, was appointed teller, a post he filled until 1901, when he was chosen cashier. Six years were passed at the cashier's desk. In 1907 he was elected president of the bank that he entered fresh from the farm eighteen years earlier. This rapid rise from the bottom to the top of the ladder of banking success is the truest test of the quality of Mr. LaBar's capabilities, and proves him to have been honorable, ambitious and deserving, else he could not have achieved the success he has. He is also president and a large stockholder of the Bangor Water Company ; organ- ized and is an officer in the Rosato Water Company, and interested in the South Easton and Blue Mountain Consolidated Water Company ; and assisted in organizing the Pennsylvania and Sterling Silk companies. He has other banking interests, and also interests in the slate quarrying companies of Bangor and vicinity. In politics he is a Democrat, and for the past four years, 1915-19, has been a member of the Board of Prison Inspectors.
Mr. LaBar married Mary C. Miller, daughter of Isaac F. and Maria Hester Miller. Mr. and Mrs. LaBar are the parents of a son, Paul R. LaBar, now a student in the Bangor High School.
FRANK J. GROMAN-When Reuben E. Groman came to South Beth- lehem about the year 1870, he was a skilled bricklayer, and shortly after his arrival he began business for himself as a contractor and brick manufacturer. He continued in business until his death in 1904, but the name is perpetuated in business circles by his three sons : Frank J., Thomas H. and Charles H. Groman, prominent building contractors of the city of Bethlehem, Pennsyl- vania. Reuben E. was a son of Charles, son of Samuel, son of Samuel (I) Groman, who was born in Lower Saucon township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, of German parentage. He moved from Lower Saucon to the State of New York in 1835, and there continued farming operations until his retirement several years prior to his death at an advanced age. Samuel Groman married Maria Wagner, born July 28, 1778, died April 10, 1854, and was buried in the cemetery of the East Salisbury church in Lehigh county. They were the parents of seven children: Charles, Samuel (2), John, Jacob, Hannah, Mrs. Griesemer and Polly Meikel. Jacob, Hannah and Mrs. Griese- mer, with their families, moved to Wabash county, Illinois. John, the third son, lived in New Jersey, unmarried; Samuel (2) is the ancestor of the Gromans of Bethlehem.
Samuel (2) Groman, second son of Samuel and Maria (Wagner) Groman, was a farmer of Lower Saucon township, Northampton county. He married Catherine Gangawere, and they were the parents of eight children: Charles, head of the next generation in this branch; John, David, Joseph, Solomon, Jacob, Elemira, married George Moyer; and Catherine, who married Jere- miah Schwart.
Charles Groman, eldest son of Samuel (2) and Catherine (Gangawere) Groman, was born at the homestead in Lower Saucon township, Northamp- ton county, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1805. His mature years were spent in
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Salisbury township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in farm- ing until his death, August 30, 1877. He married Elizabeth Gangawere, born April 19, 1805, died March 1, 1877. They were both members of the East Salisbury church and were buried in the cemetery attached to that church. Charles and Elizabeth (Gangawere) Groman were the parents of eleven children : I. Sarah, born September 22, 1822, married Jacob Blank, who was killed in a railroad accident in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; they were the parents of ten children, one of them, Charles F. Blank, the prosperous miller of Sunbury, Pennsylvania. 2. Maria, born January 14, 1828, married Charles Holman, of Allentown, and had four children: John, James, Anna and Oscar F. 3. William, born October 14, 1829, married Amelia Rhodes, of South Whitehall township, Lehigh county; children: Oliver D .; William; Laura, married Rev. William Cope; and Alice, married Marcus Focht. 4. Reuben E., of further mention. 5. James A., born November 9, 1833, married Sophia Steiner, and they were the parents of seven children: Judge Clinton A., pre- siding judge of Lehigh county courts; James E. (2); Andora, married John P. Quier ; Blanch E., married Robert Eck; Emma, married William Deibert; Wallace C .; and Harry L. 6. Robert, born January '29, 1836, served in the Union Army during three years of the Civil War. 7. David, died young. 8. Louisa, died young ; 9. Lovinia, married Reuben Schooll. 10. Amanda, mar- ried Henry S. Miller. II. Clarissa, married Edward H. Buchecker.
Reuben E. Groman, second son and fourth child of Charles and Elizabeth (Gangawere) Groman, was born at the homestead in Salisbury township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, November 27, 1831, died in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1904, after an attack of typhoid fever which weakened his heart. His youth was spent at the home farm, and on arriving at a suitable age he left home and learned the bricklayer's trade. After becom- ing a master workman he engaged in contracting and brick manufacturing in Salisbury, located in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and there from 1870 until his death, thirty-four years later, he was engaged as a contractor. All his life he was an ardent, active Democrat, was elected a commissioner of North- ampton county in 1893, and was a member of the Reformed church. He be- came widely known through his contracting activities and public service, and wherever known he was genuinely respected and well liked.
Reuben E. Groman married, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1852, Rev. Mr. Sellers officiating, Rebecca Bush, of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of three sons and seven daughters, one of the latter dying in infancy: Frank J., of further mention ; Thomas Harvey, born Sep- tember 8, 1857, a sketch of whom follows; Charles H., born January 23, 1862, a sketch of whom follows; Mary, married Edgar Sanborn; Lillian, deceased, married Charles Weiss; Elva, residing in Bethlehem ; Mabel, deceased ; Laura, deceased ; and Sarah deceased, married Milton Laufer. When the sons, Frank j., Thomas H. and Charles H., arrived at proper age, they learned the father's trade, helped in the brickyard, and finally, in 1880, the father and three sons became partners. Henceforth an extensive contracting and building business was transacted. In 1904 death removed the father, and together the sons operated until 1916, when Thomas H. retired to engage in private business. Frank J. and Charles H. continued the business which has been in the Groman name for nearly a half century. This firm has the distinction of having built the mammoth plant of the Ingersoll-Sargent Company at Easton, the largest building contract ever awarded in this district. They also built the filtration plant at the Bethlehem Water Works and the State Hospital at Rittersville, Pennsylvania, and on every hand are monuments to the skill and ability of this firm of builders, father and three sons. The site of the old brickvard established by Reuben E. Groman is now covered with handsome residences that the firm of Groman Brothers erected and sold.
Frank J. Groman, eldest son of Reuben E. and Rebecca (Bush) Groman, ivas born at Allentown, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, January 15, 1856, and
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there attended the public school. After the removal of his parents to South Bethlehem, he attended the old Ray School, and well recalls that in July, 1863, when Lee was reported as having invaded Gettysburg there was great excite- ment in Bethlehem, and on the school day, which was one of the three days on which the battle of Gettysburg was fought, the school children were sent home and the school closed. After leaving school, Frank J. learned the brick- layer's trade under his father's instruction, and in 1880 he and his two brothers were admitted to a partnership with their father, and together carried on an extensive contracting and building business. The father was the first to retire when his last illness laid him low in 1904, but as Groman Brothers the firm continued their successful building, real estate and contract- ing operations until 1916, when Thomas H. Groman withdrew, leaving Frank J. and Charles H. at the head of the business, which they still conduct. Frank J. Groman served as councilman from the First Ward, and all his life has been a supporter of the Democratic party. In religious preference he is a Presbyterian.
Mr. Groman married, in 1876, Alice M. Kratzer, who died in 1911, daugh- ter of Jacob and Lucinda (Smith) Kratzer, of an old Moravian family. Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Groman are the parents of six children : Ruby M., married Sinclair W. Childs, and has children: Franklin Groman; Sinclair W. C., Edgar and Lela ; Harvey Jacob, now deceased, married Bessie Buchman, and has a son, Joseph ; Charles F., married Ann Schafer, and has two children : Pauline and James Franklin; James R. W., now serving with the medical department of the United States Army; Rebecca M., residing at home; Alice M., married Arthur Faltz, and has a child, Doris.
THOMAS HARVEY GROMAN-Thomas Harvey Groman, second son of Reuben E. and Rebecca (Bush) Groman (q.v.), was born in Allentown, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1857, and there attended public school until the removal of his parents to South Bethlehem, where he com- pleted his studies. He learned the bricklayer's trade under his father, and with him continued as his assistant in his contracting and brick manufactur- ing until 1880, when Reuben E. Groman and his three capable sons formed a partnership which endured until the father's death in 1904. Groman Brothers then conducted business until 1916, the three brothers, Frank J., Thomas H. and Charles H. comprising the firm. In 1916, Thomas H. withdrew and established a crushed stone business, to which he has since devoted himself, owning stone beds, crushing machinery and teams. His new business is a prosperous one, for the demand for crushed stone was constantly increasing.
Mr. Groman is a Democrat in his political faith, and was appointed mer- cantile appraiser for Northampton county. He is a member of the Reformed church and of the Masonic order, affiliated with H. Stanley Goodwin Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Ezra Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Bethlehem Council, Royal and Select Masters, all Bethlehem bodies; Hugh de Payen Commandery, Knights Templar, of Easton; and all bodies of Caldwell Con- sistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in which he holds the thirty-second degree. He is also a noble of Lulu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia. He is a member of the Northampton County Country Club and other Bethlehem organizations.
Mr. Groman married (first) Lizzie Brobst, who died May 22, 1911, daugh- ter of Benjamin and Caroline Brobst. They were the parents of three chil- dren : Helen May, married George Brossman; Margaret, married William Cummers; Reba, married Richard Dudley Jordan, and they have a son, Richard Dudley (2). Mr. Groman married (second), March 4, 1914, Mrs. Clara Horn, widow of Harvey Horn. The family home is at No. 427 West street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
CHARLES H. GROMAN-Charles H. Groman, third son of Reuben E. and Rebecca (Bush) Groman (q.v.), was born in Allentown, Lehigh county,
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Pennsylvania, January 23, 1862. He began his education in the public schools, but when he was about eight years of age, South Bethlehem became the family home and there he completed his studies. The family policy was for the boys to follow the father's trade, consequently, when school days were over, he joined his brothers and learned the bricklayer's trade. He was admitted with his brothers, Frank J. and Thomas H., to a partnership in the contracting and brick manufacturing business in 1880, and he has continued a member of the firm, which in 1904 was reduced to three members by the death of Reuben E. Groman, and in 1916 to two by the withdrawal of Thomas H. Groman. Frank J. and Charles H. still conduct the business, which is one of the successful and substantial contracting and building organizations of this section.
Like his father and brothers, all of whom served their community in official position, Charles H. Groman is an ardent Democrat, and from 1899 until 1902 was treasurer of Northampton county. He has also served as a member of the Common Council for about nine years, and is rated one of the progressive public-spirited men of the city. He is a member of the Moravian church, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and of other organizations, business, political and social.
Charles H. Groman married Mary L. Bachman, daughter of Milton L. and Caroline (Geyer) Bachman. They are the parents of a son, George Thurman Groman, now a machinist's mate in the United States Navy. He married Hannah Dwyer, and has three children: Mary Louise, Rita and Charles H. (2).
GLENN GEORGE KLOCK, M.D .- Son of an educator, who at the time of the birth of his son, Glenn George, was living in Emporia, Kansas, Dr. Klock saw a great deal of the country in his youth, as his father's engage- ments took him to various localities. It was not until he had attained his M.D. in 1910, that Easton became his home, and here he has won public confidence and a satisfactory as well as a satisfied clientele. He is a son of James E. Klock, Ph.D., whose active life was devoted to the cause of educa- tion and the profession of pedagogy. During his career as an educator he taught in various places and institutions ; was superintendent of public instruc- tion in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Helena, Mont .; was for many years head of the New Hampshire State Normal School, and is now living retired in the State of Florida, after a lifetime of active usefulness. He married Mary Roberts, and they are the parents of Dr. Glenn George Klock, of Easton, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Glenn George Klock was born in Emporia, Kansas. When the time came to begin his education, the family was living in Plymouth, New Hamp- shire, and there his education was begun in the public schools, finishing that course with graduation from high school, class of 1902. He then entered preparatory school at Powder Point, Duxbury, Massachusetts, whence he was graduated in 1903. He then entered the New Hampshire State Normal School, of which his father was head, and from there he was graduated, class of 1906. Deciding upon the medical profession, he prepared in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, and received his M.D. with the graduating class of 1910. He located in Easton the same year, opening an office for private practice and serving as resident physician to Easton Hospital. Each year since graduation Dr. Klock has supplemented his college training by post-graduate courses, and is a thoroughly well informed physician, having gone deep into the science of his profession. He is a member of the North- ampton Medical Society, Pennsylvania State Medical Association, and Physi- cians' Protective Association. He is devoted to his profession and has no other outside interests.
Dr. Klock married Dorothy, daughter of John Crater, of Easton, and they are the parents of a son, James Glenn, born in Easton, April 24, 1918.
Charlo the Grousan
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GEORGE LAWRENCE XANDER-A native son of Easton, Pennsyl- vania, Mr. Xander has spent most of his life within the limits of the city of his birth. He is an honored member of the Northampton bar, also of New York City, and Supreme and Superior courts of Pennsylvania, his father, Jonathan Xander, a prominent contractor and business man of Easton in his day.
George L. Xander, son of Jonathan and Anna H. Xander, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and there finished public school courses. He then entered Lafayette College, and shortly after graduation became principal of the South Bethlehem High School. He prepared for the profession of law in the office of Hon. R. E. James, and partly at Columbia University Law School, and was admitted to the bar of Northampton county in 1886, and has since been continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in Easton. He was admitted to the State and Federal courts of the district in due season, his practice now extending to all. He has also been admitted to practice in the courts of the city of New York. He is a member of the legal societies, the Jacksonian Club, and other political organizations, and in politics is a Democrat. In 1912, Mr. Xander was the unsuccessful candidate of his party for district attorney at the party convention.
JOHN DANIEL HOFFMAN-John Daniel Hoffman, a leading member of the bar of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and one of the influential citizens of the city of Bethlehem, came to this city at an early age with his parents and sister, Emma Victoria, and has resided here continuously since the spring of 1872. He is a son of Michael Samuel and Lucy Ann (Fehnel) Hoffman. The father was born at Siegfried, Northampton county, Pennsyl- vania, September 29, 1833, and although coming from a long-lived family, died on January 8, 1889, at the age of sixty-five years. He was engaged for a number of years as a stove dealer and tinsmith. He became very promi- nent in the community of his adoption, and was much respected and esteemed by his fellow citizens. One of his brothers, John Hoffman, was a veteran of the Civil War, having fought from the beginning to the end of that momen- tous struggle in the army of General Grant. Mrs. Hoffman, Sr., who also comes of a long-lived family, still makes her home in this region. Her brother-in-law, David Kraus, is also a Civil War veteran, and now makes his home in Oklahoma, where he is still active at the age of seventy-six.
John Daniel Hoffman attended the public schools of Bethlehem as a lad, and a little later went to the Bethlehem High School, where he was one of the best pupils in the institution and was class valedictorian at his graduation in 1878. He then entered Swartz's Academy, at Bethlehem, and graduated there in 1879, having completed his preparation for college. He next entered Lehigh University, at Bethlehem, and after the usual academic course of four years was graduated with the class of 1883. Mr. Hoffman had, in the mean- time, determined to adopt the law as a profession, and with this end in view entered the office of Gen. W. E. Dorster, a sketch of whom appears later in this work, as a student-at-law. For three years he remained there, studying his chosen subject, and to such good purpose that at the end of that time he passed his bar examinations and was admitted to practice at the Northampton county bar. Subsequently, Mr. Hoffman took a post-graduate course at Lehigh University, and was awarded the honorary degree of Master of Arts by the institution in 1889. From that time to the present, Mr. Hoffman has continued in active practice, and has now reached a position of leadership in legal circles here. To this day he remains an ardent student of the law, and is universally regarded as an authority on the theory and practice of the profession. He has also the rarer talent of applying his theoretical knowl- edge most brilliantly to the practical legal problems that are submitted to him, so that he is one of the most capable men before the bar in this part of
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the State, and much of the important litigation of the region is entrusted to him. Mr. Hoffman is a Republican in politics, and was his party's candidate for the State Legislature in the autumn of 1908, and in 1914 for the United States Congress. For four terms he served as borough solicitor, and did excellent service to the community during those years. Ever since his early youth, Mr. Hoffman has been a devoted student of the classics, and even today, in the midst of a practice that makes the most insistent demands upon his time and energy, he still seeks and finds his recreation in this schol- arly avocation. Mr. Hoffman is a member of the State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, but although a man of strong social instincts, he is not a member of any clubs, and the only fraternity to which he ever has belonged is the Phi Beta Kappa of his college. In his religious belief he is an adherent of the Moravian church, the town of Bethlehem having been founded by members of this faith in early Colonial times, and he has been always an active and enthusiastic worker in the church there.
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