History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 128

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

PETER V. JOHNSON was born in Rush township, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, son of Henry R. and Mary (Vastine) Johnson. His father was a millwright and followed that business in his younger life, but in after years he engaged in farming. His family consisted of eight children, six of whom grew to maturity: Jackson B., who was killed in the army and buried near Hagerstown, Maryland; Thomas J., who enlisted in 1862, in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served nine months, participating in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Freder- icksburg, and the Wilderness; Peter V .; Lydia, widow of Jesse Conway; Ann, wife of J. S. Bassett, and Katharine, wife of T. W. Campbell. Peter V. Johnson was educated in the common schools, and taught school during his early life, but is now a farmer. He married Mary A., daughter of Casper J. Reed. Politically he is a Republican.

CHAPTER LII.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

ZERBE (TREVORTON), CAMERON, LITTLE MAHANOY, JACKSON, LOWER MAHANOY, WASHINGTON, JORDAN, AND UPPER MAHANOY TOWNSHIPS.

J. B. NEWBAKER, physician and druggist, was born at Halifax, Dauphin. county, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1820, son of Philip and Mary M. (Rahm) New- baker. He attended the schools of his native borough, after which he began the study of medicine with Dr. S. P. Brown, of Halifax, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1852. He located in Lower Augusta township, where he practiced his profession two years. He then removed to Jersey Shore, Lycoming county, where he remained one year, when he again located in Lower Augusta township; there he remained until 1861, and then settled in Trevorton and established his drug business, which he has since conducted in connection with his practice. He was married in 1842 to Caroline, daughter of Henry Maize, of Dauphin county, by which union they have four children living: Phillip, a physician of Danville; Louisa, wife of A. L. Bastress, of Lycoming county; John J., of Dauphin county, and Mary M., wife of J. J. John, of Lykens, Pennsylvania. In 1862 the Doctor was com- missioned by Governor Curtin assistant surgeon of the Fifty-sixth Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, with which he remained three months, when he was com- pelled to resign on account of failing health. In 1864 he was again commissioned by Governor Curtin, and was attached to the White Hall

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HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

hospital, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and the Seminary hospital, Alexan- dria, Virginia. In politics he is a Democrat, and in 1871 was chosen to represent this county in the State legislature. He has served in the office of township treasurer, also as school director many times. He is a member of the Baptist church, is connected with the Masonic and I. O. O. F. frater- nities, and is recognized as one of the representative citizens of Northumber- land county.

JAMES RENNEY, deceased, was the pioneer of Trevorton. He was born in England, about the year 1788, and in 1830 immigrated to this country and first settled in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, but soon after removed to Sunbury, where he became acquainted with Hugh Bellas. About 1833 this gentleman with Burd Patterson and others employed Mr. Renney to take charge of the Gap coal veins near the site of Trevorton, his duty being to develop the coal lands and hold possession of them. He at once removed his family to the place, and built the house he lived in at the time of his death, August 29, 1878. When Mr. Renney settled at what is now Trevorton his nearest neighbor was a mile distant and the nearest store was at Sunbury, twelve miles distant. As soon as the coal veins had been fully located the work of laying out the town began. Hospitality was one of the leading traits of his character, and for years their lonely house was the headquarters of all who visited that region. Mr. Renney married Ann Bell, May 7, 1816, at Long Benton, England; she survived him, dying June 9, 1886, in her ninetieth year, at the residence of her son-in-law, William Foulds, of Tre- vorton. Their descendants are fourteen children, eighty-four grandchildren, and over one hundred great-grandchildren. Eleven of their descendants served in the Union army, their son, James B., dying at Yorktown of disease contracted in the service. In all relations of life both Mr. and Mrs. Renney were honorable, upright, and charitable, and to him is largely due the early growth and development of the town of Trevorton.

THOMAS FOULDS, SR., was a practical English miner, who immigrated with his family to this country in 1849, locating at Good Spring, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in mining until 1851, and then removed to Trevorton. When the two mines were consolidated in 1853, he was appointed superintendent, which position he filled until 1858. While superintendent he discovered the vein of coal known as Zero, which underlies No. 1, and was overlooked by Professor Rogers in his geological survey, and for this discovery Mr. Foulds was presented with a handsome gold watch by James L. Morris, president of the company. After severing his connec- tion with the colliery he was engaged in manufacturing powder, and after- wards in connection with his son, Thomas, and Robert Goodwill, leased the Bear Valley mine, and subsequently purchased the Union Hotel at Trevor- ton, which he conducted until his death in 1876. In politics Mr. Foulds was a Republican, and a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. He married

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Dorothy Metcalf in his native land, and his family consisted of three sons and five daughters: Thomas; William; Annie, wife of Joseph Ditchfield; Jane, wife of Alexander Simpson, of Scranton; Richard, deceased; Mary, de- ceased wife of James Caldwell; Carrie, wife of Scott Dawson, of Wilkesbarre, and Julia, wife of Daniel Campbell.

THOMAS FOULDS, proprietor of the Pennsylvania House, Trevorton, is the eldest son of Thomas and Dorothy Foulds. He was born at Tupton Moor, North Winfield parish, Derbyshire, England, September 16, 1830, and came to America with his parents in 1849. He followed mining in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, until 1851, when he located in Trevorton, and subse- quently entered the employ of the late William H. Marshall, and in company with him went to Centralia, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged one year prospecting for coal. He returned to Trevorton, and opened all the princi- pal gangways of the North Franklin colliery, except two on the west side of the Gap. In 1856 he purchased his present place of business, and in 1857 assumed charge of the hotel. In the same year Mr. Foulds went South with Mr. J. W. Beebe, of New York City, and took charge of the bituminious coal mines for a New York company near Montevallo, Alabama, and while there was successful in introducing coal on the steamboats on the Alabama river. Returning to Trevorton in 1858, in connection with his hotel he engaged in the mercantile business, which he conducted until 1867, and again embarked in the coal trade at Bear Valley, and was also connected with the Rock Ridge Coal Company of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Foulds's early ad- vantages were limited, but he educated himself by a knowledge gained from books and close observation of things around him. In 1862 he invented an improvement in ordnance known as the needle gun, for which he refused ten thousand dollars. In 1872 he invented a pump, and also invented a con- denser (or what is commonly known as an exhaust in receiving pipes of pumps), for which he was awarded the only medal for condensers at the Cen- tennial Exposition in 1876. In 1885 he received letters patent for an im- provement in injector condensers, and in July, 1890, he patented an exhaust steam receiver. A metallic railroad tie is his latest invention, for which letters patent have recently been received. He is also well known as the proprietor and manufacturer of the tonic called "Uncle Tom's Bitters," for which he received a trade mark in 1886. He was the originator of the slid- ing scale adopted by the Bear Valley Coal Company in the regulation of its payment of wages for mining coal, previous to the adoption of the same by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. Mr. Foulds has served in the various township offices, and in his political affiliations is a Democrat, but was a zealous exponent of the Greenback party, and was its candidate for the legislature in 1879. In religious faith he is an Episcopal- ian. Mr. Foulds was married in 1849 to Margaret Framey, a native of Queens county, Ireland, who died, May 10, 1863, leaving two children:

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Julianne, wife of J. L. Beury, of West Virginia, and Anastasia, wife of Jere- miah Pannel, of Kentucky. His second wife was Mary Knapp, daughter of Henry Herb, and by this union they have had one child, Thomas H., deceased. Mr. Foulds is connected with the F. & A. M., the K. of P., and the I. O. O. F.

WILLIAM FOULDS, SR., proprietor of the Union House, was born at Tup- ton Moor, North Winfield parish, Derbyshire, England, in 1833, son of Thomas and Dorothy (Metcalf) Foulds. His early life was spent in England, where he followed mining, and in the employ of his father, who was engaged in the manufacture of coke for some years previous to his immi- gration to the United States in 1849. Mr. Foulds's entire business trans- actions, prior to the death of his father, who came to Trevorton in 1851, were confined to his business, as he was connected with him in all his enter- prises. On the death of his father in 1876 the hotel in Trevorton passed to him, since which time he has given that business his sole attention. Mr. Foulds was married in 1855 to Eliza B., daughter of James Renney, the pioneer of Trevorton, and by this marriage they have had sixteen children. Those living are: George; M. Eliza, wife of Peter Badman; Mary A., widow of S. N. Derrick; Susan, wife of Thomas Moore; Alice E .; Sophia J .; Martha B .; Florence J., and Thomas J. In politics Mr. Foulds is an independent voter. He is a member of Trevorton Lodge, I. O. O. F., and Augusta Encampment.

RICHARD LOBB, miner and farmer, was born in Cornwall, England, Janu- ary 7, 1837, son of Richard and Jane (Treawin) Lobb. When a child his parents removed to Monmouthshire, Wales, where he lived until 1851; at the age of nine years he commenced working in the mines. His father's death occurred when he was five years old, and his mother married William Pinches, who immigrated to this country, and in 1851 our subject, in com- pany with his mother and her family, joined his stepfather, who had located at Trevorton. Richard Lobb found employment at the mines, where he remained a few months, and in company with his stepfather went to Schuyl- kill county, where they were employed eight months, when they were engaged by Judge Helfenstein to shaft the Shamokin region, his stepfather being appointed foreman, in which work they were engaged six or seven years. They then went to Ashland, where they remained one year, and returned to Shamokin to work in Bear Valley colliery. In 1859 Mr. Lobb returned to Trevorton and remained one year working in the mines, after which he went to Lykens valley, where he remained until 1862, and again returned to Trevorton, where he has since resided. Mr. Lobb is also engaged in farming, owning some fifty acres at Trevorton, and a farm of two hundred forty acres in Maryland. He was married, June 17, 1855, to Mrs. Emia Jones, a native of Wales. Mr. Lobb is a Republican in politics, and has filled the office of overseer of the poor for Zerbe township. In his religious faith he is a Methodist, of which he is a life-long member; he has been

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Sunday school superintendent for many years, and one of the official members. of the Trevorton church. He is also a member of Shamokin Lodge, F. & A. M., Trevorton Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the K. of P. In 1864 he enlisted in the emergency corps. He is one of Trevorton's progressive citizens, and has responded liberally toward the building of all the church edifices of Trevorton. He is a warm friend to the cause of education, and manifests an interest in any movement tending to the advancement of his community.

BENJAMIN KNAUSS, deceased, was born in Northampton county, Penn- sylvania, in 1790, and was one of the early settlers of Trevorton. He served through the war of 1812, and held the commission of lieutenant. He was prominent in the old State militia, and held the commission of captain, being appointed by Governor Snyder. In 1810 he settled in Mifflinburg, Union county, Pennsylvania, and subsequently removed to Montour county, and in. 1853 came to Trevorton and engaged in the hotel business, keeping the Franklin House for many years. His death occurred in 1883. He was twice married; nothing of his first marriage is known by his descendants. His second wife was Miss Billinger, by whom he had seven children: Susan; Fannie; Margaret; Elizabeth; Benjamin; Ellen, and Daniel.

GOTHILF C. CRONE, deceased, was born in Westphalia, Prussia. In 1849 he immigrated to this country and settled in Reading, Pennsylvania. He subsequently removed to Lehigh county, where he was engaged in the mining of slate; one year later he removed to Middleport, Schuylkill county, and en- gaged in coal mining. In 1855 he located in Trevorton and for a number of years was employed in the mines at this place. He married in Prussia, J. W. L. Stollen. Their children are all deceased excepting three sons: H. Julius, of Shamokin; George F., of Shamokin, and Herman T., of Trevorton. His wife died while he was a resident of Middleport, Pennsylvania. In his religious faith he was a Lutheran, in which church he was an elder for many years, and superintendent of the Sunday school. While a resident of Tre- vorton he filled the offices of supervisor, tax collector, and poor director. In. politics he was a warm Democrat, and was one of Trevorton's enterprising- and solid citizens. His death occurred at Trevorton in 1868. .

HERMAN T. CRONE, butcher, was born in Westphalia, Prussia, in 1834, son of Gothilf C. and J. W. L. Crone. He came to this country in 1849. with his parents, and spent his early life in mining. He came to Trevorton. with his father and for some years was engaged in the same business. In. 1862 he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-second Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, serving nine months. In 1869 he engaged in his present. business, which he has since conducted. In 1882, under the firm name of Gillespie, Crone & Company, the Shamokin Powder Company was organized. He subsequently sold his interest and in connection with his brother George. F. established and erected their present work at Trevorton, under the firm name of H. T. Crone & Brother, manufacturers of powder. Mr. Crone was

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married in 1861 to Fredrica Knapp, who died in 1862, leaving one child, de- ceased. He subsequently married Mary S. Yuengling, of Trevorton, and by this union they have six living children: Emma C .; Louisa P .; Francis G .; Henry J .; Bertha C., and William. In his political sentiments Mr. Crone is a pronounced Democrat, and has filled the office of school director and tax collector. He has been connected with the K. of P. and the I. O. O. F., and is a Lutheran in religious faith, and a member of that church. Mr. Crone is one of the progressive citizens of Trevorton, and manifests great interest in all public matters; he is a warm supporter of all enterprises of a public character, and enjoys the respect of the people of the community.

JOHN P. PLUMMER, retired, was born in the parish of Kilmerstone, Somer- setshire, England, June 9, 1821, son of Thaddeus and Ann (Pratton) Plum- mer. He was reared and educated in his native parish, and early engaged in mining. In 1856 he immigrated to this country and located at Trevorton, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. He found employment under Super- intendent Mowton at the coal breaker, and was soon promoted to foreman, which position he filled twenty years. He is the oldest outside operator now living in Trevorton, and one of the oldest citizens of the place. Mr. Plum- mer was married in 1842, in England, to Harriet, daughter of Thomas Gid- dings; her death occurred in 1854. They were the parents of three children : Joseph; William, and Harriet M., wife of Joseph Knight, of Ohio. Mr. Plummer married for his second wife Sarah, daughter of James Bellas. He is a member of the Baptist church, of the I. O. O. F., and politically is an independent voter.

Joseph Plummer, the oldest son of John P. Plummer, was born in Eng- land in 1844, and is a miner by occupation. He married Ellen Binscotter, a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, and their children are: Harry; Hat- tie, and Carrie. Mr. Plummer is a member of the Methodist church, of which he is a local preacher, and politically he is a Republican.

William Plummer, second son of John P. Plummer, was born in Eng- land, February 12, 1847, and has always followed the occupation of a miner. He married Rebecca, daughter of John Singer, and they have one child, William R. Politically Mr. Plummer is a Democrat, and has filled the offices of supervisor and township auditor. He is a member of the Method- ist church, and an industrious, public-spirited citizen.

DENNIS FITZPATRICK, proprietor of the Trevorton House, was born in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1834, son of Timothy and Mary (Hanlon) Fitz- patrick. His parents were farmers and his life was spent upon the home- stead until 1854, when he immigrated to this country. He found employ- ment at Plymouth Hill, Connecticut, where he remained a short time, when he removed to Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and obtained employment in the construction of the Lebanon Valley railroad. In 1857 he settled in Trevorton and engaged in mining, which business he followed until 1887,

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

and then went into the butcher business, which he conducted until Septem- ber, 1889, when he assumed the proprietorship of the Trevorton House. Mr. Fitzpatrick was married in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1854, to Mary, daughter of Thomas Joyce, and they are the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are living: Thomas; Mary A .; Dennis; Bridget; Ellen; John; Matthew; Johanna Amadia, and Maurice. In politics Mr. Fitzpatrick is a Democrat, manifests great interest in the success of his party, and has been treasurer of his township. In his religious faith he is a Catholic, and is a member of St. Patrick's church of Trevorton.

WILLIAM DEPPEN, deceased, was a son of George and Margaret (Greise) Deppen. His father was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, and settled in Jackson township, Northumberland county, near Herndon, about 1830, where he died. He had three sons and one daughter. William was the eld- est son, and when a young man he engaged in the mercantile business at Augustaville, subsequently living in Jackson township, at Mahanoy, for eighteen years. In the spring of 1860 he located at Trevorton and engaged in merchandising about two years, when he retired from active business. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the German Reformed church. He married Susan Lantz, of Lower Augusta township, and they were the parents of three sons and one daughter: B. F .; George W .; R. L., and Sarah A. He died in January, 1876; his widow survives him, and re- sides in Trevorton.

B. F. DEPPEN, merchant, was born in Jackson township, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1847, son of William and Susan (Lantz) Deppen. He was educated at the public schools, and was appointed agent for the Philadelphia and Reading railroad at Trevorton, which position he filled twenty years. In 1889 he established his present business. Politically Mr. Deppen is a Republican. He married Susan Herb, who died in 1888 leaving four children: Laura M .; Susan M .; Samuel H., and William R.

JAMES COOPER, proprietor of the House of All Nations, Trevorton, was born in Staffordshire, England, January 26, 1818, son of William and Su- sannah (Jones) Cooper. At the age of ten years our subject commenced the life of a miner, which he followed in his native land until 1863, when he im- migrated to this country and settled in Trevorton, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, where he found employment in the mines. He subsequently removed to Shamokin, was employed in the mines near that place until 1869, and then returned to the mines at Trevorton. In 1870 he went to Mahanoy City, but the following year he returned to Trevorton. In 1872 he opened his present hotel, which he had purchased in 1869, and has since been en- gaged in the hotel business. Mr. Cooper was married, November 15, 1845, to Jane Sunland, of England, who died, May 26, 1885. She was the mother of seven children, all of whom are dead except Mary A., wife of Otto Lout, of Trevorton, and James, who resides in Clearfield county, Pennsylvania.

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Mr. Cooper was again married, November 17, 1885, to Mrs. Betsy Whittle, a native of England, and a daughter of Abraham and Jane Roper, also na- tives of England. Politically our subject is a Republican, and has filled the office of township supervisor. He has been a member of the I. O. O. F. and the K. of P. He is one of the oldest living miners in Trevorton, and has always manifested an interest in the growth of his adopted home.

JOSEPH KLINE, tinsmith and merchant, was born in Berks county, Penn- sylvania, January 25, 1829, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Keene) Kline. He was reared and educated in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed twelve years. In 1863 he settled in Trevorton, and purchased his present business from his brother, who had established it some time previously. Mr. Kline was married in 1852 to Catharine Bumgardner, of Lebanon county, and by this union they are the parents of six children: William H .; Joseph A .; George M .; John E .; Addie K., widow of Henry Foulds, and Ulysses Grant. In politics Mr. Kline is a Republican; he has served as school director and in other township offices, and is a member of the Evangelical church, in which he was class leader twenty-four years.

ABRAHAM ROTHERMEL, a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, settled in what is now Little Mahanoy township about 1800. He married Mary Yea- ger, who bore him six sons and three daughters: William, deceased; Sam- uel, of Philadelphia; Joel, deceased; David, deceased; Lewis, deceased; Reuben; Annie, wife of Samuel Wagner, of Illinois; Susan, wife of John Hensel, of Little Mahanoy township, and Maria, wife of Solomon Dunkel- berger. He purchased some three hundred acres of land in Little Mahanoy township, where he lived and reared his family. He was a prominent Whig, and for many years filled the office of justice of the peace. He was one of the organizers of the German Reformed church of that township, and gave liberally toward the erection of the church edifice.

WILLIAM ROTHERMEL, eldest son of Abraham Rothermel, was born upon the homestead in 1805, where he was reared and obtained such education as could be had at the schools of that period, and was engaged in farming a number of years. In his latter years he engaged in the mercantile business in Little Mahanoy township, which he carried on until his death in 1851. In his political sentiments he was a Republican, and a life member of the German Reformed church. His wife was Juditah, daughter of Daniel Herb, of Upper Mahanoy township, and by this union they were the parents of eleven children: Rebecca, wife of Gail Smith; Maria, widow of Matthias Boughner; Samuel, of Ashland, Pennsylvania; Sarah, wife of Daniel Greoff; Catharine, wife of James Raker, of Little Mahanoy township; Will- iam, who served through the war of the Rebellion as a member of the Sev- enty-seventh Indiana Volunteers, subsequently enlisted in the United States regular army, and was killed by the Indians in Arizona; Daniel H .; Eliza-

Joseph Haus m.D.

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beth, deceased, who married William G. Maurer; Lavinia, wife of Nathaniel Reitz, of Illinois; Lawisa, wife of Rev. J. H. Wohlfarth, of Illinois, and Susan, wife of William Wright.

DANIEL H. ROTHERMEL, merchant, was born upon the old homestead, April 10, 1840, son of William and Juditah (Herb) Rothermel. He was educated in the common schools, and engaged in farming in his early life, and with his father as clerk. In 1870 he located at Trevorton and estab- lished his store, which he has since conducted. In politics he is a Repub- lican, has served in the office of township treasurer, and is the present tax collector. Mr. Rothermel was married in 1875 to Mary E., daughter of Felix Maurer, of Upper Mahanoy township, and by this marriage they are the parents of four children: Minnie M .; Harry M .; Reuben R., and Clara B. Mr. Rothermel is one of the leading citizens of Trevorton, and is a liberal supporter of all enterprises tending to promote the interests of his town or county. He was one of the largest subscribers towards the building fund for the erection of the new Evangelical church of Trevorton.

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History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 128

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829- Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424