History of Schuylkill County, Pa. with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 43

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell
Number of Pages: 604

USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pa. with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 43

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The officers for the last term of 1880 were: President, R. Bevan; vice-president, J. J. Clarkson; master of cere- monies, H. W. Knabb; recording secretary, George W. Gearheart; financial secretary, H. J. Perry; treasurer, A. L. Laubenstein. The camp meets on Tuesday evening at Cleaver's Hall. Its condition is good. It is conducted as a co-operative mutual benefit association, and weekly benefits are paid to distressed members, and funds con- tributed toward defraying funeral expenses. While meeting all such claims promptly it has a surplus fund of about $2,000.

Hooker Post, No. 41, G. A. R. was established March 4th, 1867, with eleven charter members. The name of Hooker Post was adopted in January, 1870, and, on receipt of a letter stating that fact, General Joseph Hooker forwarded to the post an imperial portrait of himself, and a characteristic letter acknowledging the compliment. In 1879 and 1880 camp fires were held, which were largely attended and pecuniarily successful. The post officers for 1880 were: Commander, Captain James Callary; senior vice, Thomas Mills; junor vice, Edward Ebert; chaplain, Joseph Morris; surgeon, I. B. Jones; quartermaster, John C. Garner; quartermaster- sergeant, James Wythe. Meetings are held in Cleaver's Hall, Friday evenings.

Freck Commandery, No. 39, K. T. was constituted February 20th, 1871, with the following officers: Daniel Washburne, eminent commander; Martin M. L'Velle, generalissimo; Henry S. Bonar, captain general; Joseph M. Freck, treasurer; George H. Helfrich, recorder. Its past commanders are M. M. L'Velle, H. S. Bonar, Jonathan J. Hoagland, William H. Anthony, A. B. Day, Theodore F. Hoffman, Allen Wolfinger and Daniel A. Shiffert.

The officers for 1880 were: E. C., Daniel Shiffert; general, W. H. Anthony; C. G., Charles W. Hartman; treasurer, Peter E. Buck; recorder, George H. Helfrich.

Lincoln Temple of Honor and Temperance, No. 41 .- This temple was organized July 24th, 1867, with fifteen charter members. The following officers were elected and installed for the first term: W. C. T., George N. Dowden; W. V. T., Daniel Heil; W. R., A. B. White; W. F. R., Samuel Clarkson; treasurer, John T. Davis; WV. D. N., Thomas James; W. S., Henry Hadesty; W. G., John Jones.

The successive presiding officers have been Daniel Heil, J. T. Davis, Thomas James, F. M. Smith, Noah J. Owens, Edmund Samuels, Mordecai Jones, David Evans, O. H. Barnhard, W. R. Owens, Thomas Davis, Thomas Dawson, John J. Price, Ebenezer Davis, Wesley Hoff- man, Benjamin S. Reese, J. R. Beisel, John M. Price, William D Reese, Richard B. Jones, Richard G. Jones and Peter Lawrence.

187

LODGES AT ASHLAND-THE M. E. CHURCH.

The officers on the Ist of September, 1880, were: W. C. T., John Klock; W. V. T., E. W. Samuel; W. R., Wil- liam Raubenbush; W. F. R., W. H. Klock; W. T., James Price, sen .; W. U., Thomas Simpson, jr .; W. G., James Davis; W. S., James Price; deputy grand worthy chief, Thomas Davis.

Lily of the Valley Social Circle, No. 44, of the Temple of Honor and Temperance was instituted October 20th, 1868. Its officers in 1880 were: Sister presiding, Kate Lloyd; brother presiding, W. H. Klock; sister vice, Jen- nie Lloyd; brother vice, John Klock; sister recorder, Alice Murray; brother recorder, William Raudenbush; brother financial recorder, Thomas Soby; sister treasurer, Elizabeth Price; sister guard, Anna Vaughan; brother sentinel, James Price.

Anthracite Lodge, No. 610, I. O. of G. T. was organized August 10th, 1878, with twenty-four charter members. The officers for the first term were: W. C. T., George W. Garrett; W. V. T., Helen F. Kantner; chaplain, Rev. James Robinson; secretary, W. S. Thirlwell; financial secretary, William Morgan; treasurer, Lin. Garner. The successive presiding officers have been Charles E. Steel, R. B. Clayton and A. L. Laubenstein. The officers for 1880 were: W. C. T., W. S. Thirlwell; W. V. T., Ella Brenzel; chaplain, Rev. James Robinson; secretary, B. W. Payne; financial secretary, Charles E. Steel; treasurer, William Morgan. The lodge meets every Wednesday evening in J. R. Cleaver's hall, Ashland.

ECCLESIASTICAL.

Methodist Episcopal Church .- In 1853 the preachers of Catawissa circuit, J. W. Elliot and F. M. Slusser, had appointments at Ashland. May 24th of the same year a class was formed here, with William Davis as leader, and sixteen members. The place of meeting was what is known as the stone school-house. Following are the names of the early preachers, with the time of service of each: 1853, J. W. Elliot, F. M. Slusser; 1854, R. W. Black, F. M. Slusser; 1855, Joseph Y. Rothrock, M L. Drum; 1856, Joseph Y. Rothrock, I. W. Stout; 1857, John A. De Moyer, Henry S. Mendenhall; 1858, John A. Moyer, P. B. Ruch.

In 1859 the membership of the church had increased to ninety-six, and a church edifice had been built; and the members desired that Ashland be made a station, which was accordingly done. Rev. Samuel W. Sears was appointed to the charge for the years 1859 and 1860, and his successors as follows: 1861, 1862, Aaron M. Kester; 1863, 1864, William M. Showalter; 1865, 1866, Benjamin F. Stevens; 1867-69, Abraham M. Creighton; 1870-72, Asbury W. Guyer; 1873-75, William A. Houck; 1876, 1877, Alexander M. Barnitz; 1878, 1879, William G. Ferguson ; 1880, John A. De Moyer, the present pastor.

In 1855, during the pastorate of J. Y. Rothrock and M. L. Drum, the society erected a neat framed church edifice, one story high, on the corner of Ninth and Brock streets, and it was dedicated in October, 1856, by Rev. Thomas Bowman, now a bishop of the Methodist Episco-

pal church. The cost of the building, $1,500, was fully provided for on the day of dedication.

In June, 1863, the trustees sold the church on the hill to the Evangelical Association, and bought two lots on the northeast corner of Centre and Eleventh streets, where they erected a new building. It is a brick struct- ure, two stories high, 65 feet deep and 40 feet wide. The corner stone was laid in the summer of 1863, by Rev. M. P. Crosthwaite, and the basement was dedicated by Bishop Levi Scott in January, 1864. The audience room was completed in the autumn of 1865, and dedi- cated by Rev. Aquilla A. Reese, of Baltimore, and others. The cost of lot and building was $8,000. The present membership numbers two hundred and sixty. Of the sixteen original members ten are still living, although but two of them are residing here.

In 1853 the first Sunday-school was organized, as a union school, by Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans, meeting in the stone school-house before mentioned. Abel G. Swift was the first superintendent; he was as- sisted by Jeremiah Logan and wife, William Davis, Eliza Davis and Jacob G. Gensel as teachers, with about forty scholars. In 1857 it was changed to a purely Methodist school, and Samuel Camp was appointed superintendent. The Methodist Episcopal school numbered one hundred and twenty-five officers, teachers and scholars. The school, organized as above stated, continues to the pres- ent time, and in 1880 numbered thirty officers and teach- ers and three hundred and fifty scholars. The present superintendent, Charles H. Barnard, became a scholar in the school in 1855, was appointed a teacher at fourteen years of age, was elected superintendent when nineteen, served about two years, then became a teacher again, and for the last nine years has been superintendent.

In 1866 a belfry and tower were added to the church and a bell, weighing one thousand pounds, was put in position. In 1873 the seats in the audience room were re- modeled, the room was frescoed, the whole church inside and out painted, a carpet put down, the basement pa- pered, a new organ procured, and a parsonage, costing $3,500, built. It is of brick, twenty-five feet wide, forty- eight deep, two stories high, with slate roof. A neat iron fence was put around the church and parsonage, and a substantial brick pavement was laid on Eleventh street; all costing $6,000. The society was incorporated in 1879. In July, 1880, the members of the Sunday-school took upon themselves the work of remodeling the base- ment, in which they met, at a cost of $185, which amount was all subscribed before or on the day of reopening, Sunday, August Ist.

Welsh Congregational Church .- This society was or- ganized in 1844, and for some time held meetings in the old Market street school-house. Rev. John Edwards was its first pastor, and he remained about seven years. In 1856 a church building was erected on Spruce street, near Ninth street, at a cost of $2,000.

The Sunday-school was organized in 1855, with seventy scholars, and John James became its first superintendent.

188

HISTORY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.

It now numbers fifty scholars; William Price is superin- tendent.

The successive pastors of this church have been as follows: Thomas Reese, whose term of service commenced about the year 1860; Rev. William B. Williams, a young graduate of Yale, who succeeded him in 1869, and on his resignation was followed by Rev. J. W. Pugh, in 1871; Rev. R. Williams, who succeeded Mr. Pugh in the same year, and remained until 1876, since which time the pul- pit has remained vacant.

Welsh Baptist Church .- This society was organized in 1855 by Rev. B. W. Thomas, who became the first pastor. The early members had been connected with the church at Minersville. Until 1857 the congregation worshiped in the old school-house. In that year a church building was erected on the corner of Twelfth and Market streets, at a cost of $3,000. After a pastorate of about seven years Mr. Thomas resigned, and was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Thomas for a short time. A vacancy of some years was occasionally varied by a few weeks or months' services. Rev. B. W. James was the next stated pastor, followed by Rev. L. M. Roberts, whose term of service expired in January, 1880, when he returned to Wales. The pulpit is now vacant.

The first Sunday-school was organized in 1855, with David Vaughan as superintendent, and thirty scholars. The number of scholars in 1880 was seventy, and Thomas M. Davis was superintendent.

Memorial Church of St. John .- This Episcopal parish was organized November 25th, 1855, and services were first held in the basement of the Mahanoy (now Repplier) Hotel. The first service was conducted by Rev. William Byllesby, rector of Minersville church, and was held De- cember 10th, 1855. Rev. J. M. Bartlett soon afterward became the first rector. A church building was begun at the time. It is of stone, in the Gothic order, with a seating capacity of 400, and, with the rectory and school buildings, cost $5,000; it occupies a commanding and central position on ten enclosed lots. The rectors of this church have been, besides the first named, Revs. Rowland Hill Brown, Otho Fryer, J. P. Frigett, Daniel Washburn, who served for ten years, and the present pastor, C. E. D. Griffith, elected in 1879.

The Presbyterian Church of Ashland was organized in the summer of 1856, by Rev. J. B. Spottswood, its first pastor. Meetings were held for some time in the Walnut street school-house, and March 15th, 1857, Rev. J. D. Weller, of Bloomsburg, under the authority of the pres- bytery of Northumberland, effected a formal organiza- tion, and an arrangement was made for the use of the Methodist church edifice for a time.

The first ruling elders were William Atwater, James H. McElwain, D. J. McGibbon, John Shelly and R. C. Wilson. Rev. D. Barber was the first resident pastor.

In September, 1859, the Welsh Congregational church was engaged as a place of worship, and at the same time three lots were purchased on which to erect a building. The house, built during the succeeding year, is a sub- stantial brick building, located on the corner of Ninth

and Walnut streets, and is capable of seating two hun- dred and fifty persons. It has latterly undergone a thor- ough transformation.

Rev. R. C. Bryson was settled as pastor in September, 1859, and was followed successively by Revs. W. E. Honeyman, M. Hartzel and J. L. Jenkins. The present pastor, Rev. James Robinson, was ordained and installed pastor May 4th, 1875.

The Sunday-school has about one hundred members. H. M. Clayson is superintendent.

Zion German Reformed Church .- The first organiza- tion of this church was effected by Rev. R. Duenger in 1856, with a congregation of fifteen families. They wor- shiped in a school building on the corner of Tenth and Walnut streets. Rev. Mr. Duenger was elected pastor in 1856, and he has served the church until the present time.

In July, 1857, the corner stone of a church building was laid, and it was completed and dedicated in Septem- ber, 1858. It is a frame structure, 30 by 40 feet, with a stone basement, located on the corner of Eleventh and Market streets. It is valued at $3,000. The member- ship of the church is 280.

The first Sunday-school was opened in 1859, with August Voshage as superintendent until 1865, Peter Heinze from that date until 1872, and Engel Horn from 1872 to the present time. The number of pupils in 1880 was 150; volumes in the library, 300.

St. Mauritius Church and School .- One of the most prominent and striking buildings in Ashland is the stone church of the German Catholics, standing on a commo- dious eminence. It is 44 by 110 feet in size, with a base- ment, and in its cut stone steeple are the town clock and two large bells. This building was commenced in 1857 by Rev. J. M. Meurer, who occasionally visited those of his creed and country 'a this place, and said mass for them in a hall belonging to one of the members until the church was ready for use. The first resident priest was Rev. J. B. Frisch. After a pastorate extending from March, 1858, to October, 1861, he was removed by Bishop Wood to St. Joseph's Church at Easton, Pa. Rev. J. B. Bach was the next pastor. He had charge of the con- gregation until December, 1867, and was a zealous and successful pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. J. F. Pape, and he, one year later, by Father Meurer, the pioneer pastor. The congregation founded by his efforts had grown to about 300 families and 1,300 souls. Father Meurer's successor was Rev. F. W. Longinus. He in- troduced the School Sisters of St. Francis. The present pastor is Rev. Anthony Nathe. He is engaged in build- ing a new school, for which a lot has been presented by F. B. Gowen, of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church .- The society of English-speaking Catholics worshiping in this church was organized and ministered to by Rev. Joseph O'Keefe, of Pottsville, and later by his coadjutor, Rev. Thomas Lindon, under whose ministry a church building was erected, in which mass was first celebrated on St. Pat-

Pelu & Buch 2

FERTILIZERS

0 PHOSPHATES etc.

SCALES

STABLES.

PETER E. .BUCK.

IRON & OIL WAREHOUSE.

PETER E BUON

HARDWARE

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STORE

RESIDENCE of PETER E. BUCK, CENTER ST., ASHLAND, PA.

PETER E. BUCK.

Peter E. Buck, wholesale and retail dealer in hardware, iron, steel, and miners' supplies, is perhaps the most widely known of the merchants of Ashland. Opening a store here in 1862, he has built up an extensive business, and the handsome block known by his name is filled from basement to attic with one of the best assorted stocks to be found in the county.

DR. DAVID J. MCKIBBIN, the subject of the present sketch, is one of the oldest residents of the Mahanoy coal region,having removed thither from Port Carbon in March, 1853. A few scattered houses and dense forests marked the valley in which now dwells fifty to sixty thousand souls, and which furnishes the great bulk of the coal from Schuylkill county. He was born in Philadelphia, October 15th, 1824; was at an early age sent to the Moravian boarding school at Litiz, Pa., but on the death of his mother he returned home, and continued his studies under the Rev. Sam. W. Crawford, and subsequently at the Universi- ty of Pennsylvania and in the office of Dr. George Fox, one of the surgeons of Wills' and Pennsylvania Hospitals. He graduated at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1846. During his student life he was appointed an assistant at the Eastern Penitentiary, under Drs. Edward Hartshorne and R. A. Given, gaining thereby an experience which ever thereafter proved most profita- ble. After graduating he located in Williamstown, N. J., thence he removed in 1848, to Middleport in the Schuylkill valley, subsequently to Port Carbon, and later to Ashland.

In 1849 he was elected a member of the Schuylkill County Medical Society, which he has frequently repre- sented in the State Society. With the exception of Dr. George W. Brown, of Port Carbon, Dr. McKibbin is the oldest surviving member of the county society as then constituted.

At the outbreak of the Rebellion he left his horse and vehicle on the street to aid in escorting the "Ashland Light Infantry," John E. Wynkoop captain, to Harris-

burg, where the "boys " were duly installed in Camp Curtin, and on the recommendation of Mr. Burd Patter- son, of Pottsville, he was commissioned by Governor Andrew Curtin surgeon of the 6th Pennsylvania volun- teers, Colonel James S. Nagle commanding, with which regiment he served in the Shenandoah Valley, under Gen- eral Patterson, being in the brigade commanded by Briga- dier. General George S. Thomas. At the expiration of three months' service he was mustered out, and in August, 1861, was commissioned surgeon of the 50th Pennsylvania volunteers, B. C. Christ colonel. While the regiment lay at Annapolis, Md., awaiting embarkation, he appeared before the army board at Washington, D. C., Surgeon Mc- Laren, U.S.A., presiding, and passing a successful examin- ation, returned to Annapolis in time to join the expeditionary corps for Port Royal Harbor, S. C., where he remained on duty as regimental surgeon until February, 1862. Thence- forward to the close of the war he was assigned to and per- formed various kinds of duties pertaining to army sur- geons, from that of an acting medical director of a de- partment, down to that of marching and field service. The Doctor nearly lost his life on the Winfield Scott transport, during a storm which overtook the squadron off Hatteras, in November, 1861; suffered from coast fever on Hilton Head Island, S.C .; and nearly succumbed to an attack of pneumonia, under Lookout Mountain, Tenn., whither he had removed his general field hospital after the battle of Missionary Ridge. He was sent home

on sick leave, and in view of his three years continuous services at the front, the surgeon-general relieved him from duty in the department of the Cumberland, and ordered him to report for duty at Washington, D.C. Here he remained until the close of the war, July Ist, 1865, when he resigned his commission and was breveted lieu- tenant-colonel for meritorious services during the war.

After a brief trip to Europe for recuperation, and two years residence in Philadelphia, he returned to Ashland, where he resumed the active duties of his profession. Although not a politician, he represented his district in 1876 and 1877 in the State Legislature. He married, early in life, Margaret A., daughter of Benjamin Cross, of Philadelphia, by whom he has two daughters now living.

GEORGE H. WREN, MANANOY CITY.

189

ZION'S CHURCH, ASHLAND.

rick's day, 1857, by Father Lindon. In September of English Evangelical Lutheran Church .- In April, 1858, Rev. W. L. Heisler, then a divinity student, was sent by the Lebanon Conference of the East Pennsylvania Synod that year Rev. Michael Sheridan became the pastor of the church, the building being at that time a mere shell and the society heavily in debt. Through his efforts the to Ashland, with a view to organizing an English Luth- indebtedness was liquidated, the church finished and eran church. He gathered a few families, and preached to them until the 16th of June, 1858, when he organized the English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ashland, with fourteen members, and became its first past pastor. A Sunday-school had been previously organized, with five teachers and fifteen scholars. Abel G. Swift was its first superintendent. At first the congregation worshiped in a framed school-house, on the corner of Fourth and Walnut streets. They built a church edifice in 1859, and dedicated it November 6th of that year. In 1869 a base- furnished, and in 1863 an addition built. The church building and parsonage are on Chestnut street. The parish, which originally included Centralia, Mt. Carmel, Girardville, and the planes, has been curtailed by the erection of other charges within its limits, and now only includes Ashland and Gordon. The membership of the church has fluctuated considerably, and at the time of writing this sketch it was principally made up of Irish immigrants from Connaught.

Zion's Evangelical Lutheran Church (German) .- Rev. ment was fitted up for the Sunday-school, and in the Jacob Weber, who was born in Wurtemburg, came to summer of 1871 a parsonage was built at a cost of about $4,000. The value of the property belonging to the church is estimated at $60,000. It is free from debt. America in 1849, and arrived in Mahantongo, in this county, in January, 1857, as a missionary. June 14th of that year he preached his first sermon in Ashland, and four days later organized the above named congregation, Rev. Mr. Heisler, who resigned the pastorate in 1861, was followed by Rev. F. A. Barnitz in 1862; Rev. J. R. Sikes, 1864; Rev. S. Curtis, 1868; Rev. J. A. Hacken- berg, 1871; Rev. O. D. S. Marcley, 1875; Rev. D. E. Rupley, 1878; Rev. J. H. Weber, the present pastor, 1879. with 125 members. The meetings were held in the stone school house until 1860, when a small church was built on the corner of Fourteenth and Market streets, in which building the congregation worshiped until 1869, when it was removed, and the present large and commodious edifice was erected. The corner stone of this building was laid The church is prosperous. It has an active member- ship of 133, and a Sunday-school of 182, including teach- ers and officers. The superintendent of the Sunday- Grossman, and the pastor of Ashland. The consecration school is T. F. Barron, and Mrs. Joshua Weimer is su- October roth, 1869, in the presence of Revs. Robert Weiser, of Mahanoy City; Henterlinter, of Pottsville, took place May 29th, 1870, Rev. Messrs. Wedekind, of perintendent of the infant department. New York, and Sanner, of Tremont, officiating. Rev.

Rev. J. H. Weber, the present pastor, was born in J. J. Weber still retains the pastorate. The church mem- Cherry Valley, Otsego county, N. Y., August 17th, 1844, bership in 1880 was 350. The Sunday-school, organized and was educated at Hartwick Seminary, graduating in in 1860, with a membership of eight, now numbers two the class of 1869. He was licensed to preach December 23d, 1868. He was for two years secretary of the Frank- hundred and twenty-five. William Burmeister was the first superintendent, and filled the office until 1878, when F. E. lin Synod, and for one term on the examining committee Heinze, the present efficient superintendent, was elected.

of Hartwick Seminary.

GIRARDVILLE BOROUGH.

HE earliest efforts at development of this part of Butler, then Barry township, were made by the distinguished philanthropist after whom the place is named. Stephen Girard, of Philadelphia, having become the possessor of large tracts of coal land in this part of Schuylkill county, sent agents in 1832 to de- velop them and foster the building of a railroad from Danville to Pottsville. Although a portion of the road was completed, the effort to develop the mines prove unremunerative, and the death of the founder put a stop to the extensive works he had projected. Confident of the brilliant future of this part of his property, he made it a prominent part of the bequest left to the city of his adoption for the support of Girard College. The principal use to which the lands were put prior to 1862 was the clearing and sale of the fine pine timber that shaded the valley of the Mahanoy, three mills having been built by Mr. Girard's agents in the vicinity, which were operated under leases so long as lumbering remain- ed profitable. In 1841 John Hower, now the eldest resi- dent of the place, became the lessee, and he did much to develop the interests of the place, which at that time con- tained but few inhabitants.

In 1862, the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Railroad and the completion of the Gordon planes having attracted the attention of operators, coal lands on the Preston tract were leased to the Heatons and Colonel J. J. Con- nor, of Ashland, and in that year the first coal was mined and shipped, the first car load being sent by Colonel Con- nor as a present to the mayor of Philadelphia, who ac- knowledged the receipt in a letter of thanks, which stated that he had divided the coal between the two soldiers' restaurants in the city.

Further developments followed rapidly, and from a hamlet of about one hundred inhabitants in 1862 grew a thriving borough, which had a population of three thou- sand in 1875, and a coal trade for that year of more than nine hundred thousand tons.

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History of Schuylkill County, Pa. with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 43

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell Number of Pages: 604

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell
Number of Pages: 604