USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 15
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office most acceptably until 1890. In March, 1892, he was appointed general agent for Schuylkill county for Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Philadelphia, Pa., in which capacity he is still acting and to whose interests he gives the same assiduous attention that has marked all his business connections. By his own efforts and through his indomitable courage and business acumen he has forged to the front rank of the business men of Pottsville and Schuylkill county and holds financial interests in a number of the progressive industries of this section. He is a director in the Schuylkill Trust Company, of Pottsville to which city he removed from St. Clair on Oct. 15, 1901; is a director in the Central building associa- tion ; a member of the executive committee of the Pottsville civic society, and while a resident of St. Clair was a director and stock- holder in the St. Clair shirt factory. Mr. Duffy has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs; served as president of the board of trade of St. Clair for a number of years; was a mem- ber of the Armory hall association and the St. Clair saving fund association. During his younger days he manifested his interest in the military by becoming a member of Company K, 7th regi- ment, Pennsylvania National Guard, enlisting as a private in 1873 and receiving his discharge as first sergeant in 1878. He is an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party, on whose ticket he was clected clerk of the courts as previously mentioned, while he also served in the borough council of St. Clair. He has attended several conventions of the party and for many years served as a member of the executive committee and as its secretary. He is especially active in fraternal affairs, being one of the oldest mem- bers of St. Michael's beneficial society of St. Clair, which was or- ganized April 14, 1870. On Aug. 20, 1896, he was elected national president of the I. C. B. U., in which capacity he is at present acting. The union has a membership in several states and in Canada. He has also been connected with the organizations of temperance societies and is a charter member of Schuylkill Council, No. 431, Knights of Columbus, of Pottsville. Before he had reached the age of sixteen years he became a member of the Workingmen's benevolent association and subsequently was a member of the execu- tive committee and general secretary of the M. and L. A. A. for the anthracite region which organization had a membership roll of more than 50,000. Mr. Duffy and his family are members of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church of Pottsville. On Nov. 10. 1874. at St. Mary's Church, St. Clair, was solemnized, by Rev. Philip McEnroe, the marriage of Mr. Duffy to Miss Letitia Howard, a daughter of Thomas H. and Ann (Dolan) Howard, of St. Clair. and to this union have been born nine children, three of whom are deceased. Those living are Martin F., attorney-at-law of Potts- ville ; Annie. John. Joseph, Letitia, and Tillie. Willie died at the age of seven and Maggie and Francis in infancy.
Dungan, Rev. George W., M. D .- Religious societies of Shen- andoah had their start almost simultaneously, the seven years be- tween 1865 and 1872 witnessing the advent of nearly every church 9-Vol. II
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now established there. The Congregationalists were probably the first Protestant organization, a church of that creed having been officially dedicated on July 22, 1800, with nineteen members. Prior to that time, however, and as early as 1804, some of the more zealous adherents had organized a Sunday school and it was this school which became the nucleus of the congregation to which the Rev. Mr. Hughes, a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist, preached the first sermon delivered within the borough limits in 1864. In the spring of 1865 this Sabbath school was reorganized and became a union school, its services being conducted at the old "Brown school house," where preaching services were often held. Among the early settlers of the borough were many of the followers of John Wesley and in the late bo's these people laid the foundation for the organization of a Methodist Episcopal church. They formed themselves into a society and ultimately became the charter mem- bers of the Shenandoah church. The prime movers in the incep- tion of the idea of having a church of their own were Richard and Alice Knight, George and Dorcas Depuy, Levi J. Emily and Annie Hoffman. Robert and Mary Weightman, Alfred and Ann Callen, John C. Roxby and Daniel Shappel. Occasional preaching services were conducted by Revs. J. Mullen and James A. Dixon, who served as pastors of the Mount Carmel church in the early days. In 1867 the society purchased a lot and erected a frame building at the corner of Oak and White streets. The building was put up at a cost of $5.000 and had a seating capacity of 400 people. In the spring of 1868 the church became a charge of the Philadelphia conference and was assigned its first regular pastor in the person of Rev. Eli Pickersgill. Three years later, during the pastorate of Rev. J. Rit Boyle, it -was necessary to enlarge the church building in order to accommodate the increased membership, and $5.000 more was put into the structure, which was then able to scat com- fortably 600 people. This building served until it was burned to the ground on Nov. 12, 1883, and within the next two years the modern, handsome brick structure which is now the home of the congregation, was erected. The Sunday school of the church, as such, was organized in 1868 with Levi J. Hoffman as superin- tendent and a corps of twenty-three teachers, and had an enroll- ment of 114 pupils. The ministers who have had charge of this congregation and the dates of their service are as follows: Eli Pickersgill, 1868-69: J. A. Cooper, 1869-70; J. T. Swindells, 1870- 71 : J. Rit Boyle. 1871-74: N. B. Durell. 1874-76; J. Pastorfield, 1876- 79: W. P. Howell, 1879-8: W. L. McDowell, 88-83. der whose pastorate the church was burned : Wilmar Coffuson, 1883-87, under whose direction the new church was erected : John Stringer, 1887- 88: - Pickersgill, 1888-90: William Powick, 1891-94: John F. Meredith, 1895: Alfred Heebner, 1896-97; John T. Swindells. 1898- 99. for a second term : Oliver E. Stocking. 1900-01 ; and since 1902. Rev. George W. Dungan, the present pastor. Dr. Dungan is a son of Benjamin and Sarah Dungan, both natives of Philadelphia, and was born in Monroe county. He received his preliminary educa-
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tional advantages in the public schools and in 1873 took up the study of medicine in the Hahnemann medical college of Phila- delphia, at which he graduated with the degree of Doctor of Med- icine in 1876. For five years he was successfully engaged in the practice of the medical profession in Stroudsburg, Monroe county, and in 1881, in response to a conviction which had been growing for some time that he could better serve the cause of humanity in the ministry than in any other way, he took the examinations and was admitted to the Philadelphia conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. His ministerial life began at Tannersville, Monroe county, a charge which he held for three years. His other pastorates before coming to Shenandoah and the lengths of the same were as follows: Richmond, Northampton county, two years ; Tremont, this county, three years; Lehighton, Carbon county, five years; Hancock street, Philadelphia, two years; Bridesburg, Phil- adelphia, two years; Bangor, Northampton county, three years ; and Pine Grove, this county, one year. From Pine Grove Dr. Dungan came to the Shenandoah Methodist Episcopal church, the membership of which at present numbers 405, with a Sabbath school of 500. Since his advent a fine pipe organ and a system of steam heating have been installed at a cost of $3,500 and the exter- ior has been painted at a cost of $500. The parsonage of the church is at 118 South Jardin street, and is a commodious, comfortable dwelling. Dr. Dungan is one of seven children born to his parents. An elder brother, Jonathan, is a minister of the Methodist Epis- copal church and now has a charge at Mauch Chunk; two other brothers, Charles and Benjamin F., deceased, were proficient me- chanics; two sisters are living and both are widows, Mrs. E. B. Katz of Scranton and Mrs. Mary P. Johnstone of Philadelphia. Dr. Dungan has been twice married, first to Miss Emma C. Mc- Donough of Monroe county, and to them were born two children. Robert J. is now in business in Philadelphia. He spent a winter in the Klondike and relates many interesting tales of his ex- periences there, one of them concerning a trip of a mile and a quarter on his hands and knees to save his life after he had so injured a leg as to be unable to walk. The other child is the wife of Rev. Fred Poole, formerly a missionary to China and now in charge of the Chinese mission at Philadelphia. Dr. Dungan's pres- ent wife was Miss Hattie L. Koons, daughter of ex-sheriff Koons, of Lehighton, Pa.
Early, James. This well known resident of Coaldale is a native of Summit Hill, Carbon county, Pa., and was born Sept. 19, 1838. He is a son of John and Catherine (Scott) Early, natives respec- tively of counties Derry and Donegal, Ireland. They came to America in 1834 and settled at Summit Hill, where they were mar- ried, and where the father spent his remaining years working about the mines. He was crushed to death in a coal breaker, in 1854, being then fifty-four years old. His wife died in 1874, at the age of seventy-four years. These parents reared a family of six children, of whom Eliza, the first born, and only daughter.
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married John Caldwell. The brothers were named James, William, John. Alexander and George. Mr. Early began his business career as a slate picker, in 1848, being then ten years ofl. With the ex- ception of four years spent in Wisconsin he continued his labors, in various capacities, about the anthracite coal mines until he engaged in the hotel business at Coaldale. This he con- tinned successfully for more than twenty years, and he has been a resident of that place for thirty years. April 22, 1801, he volun- teered his services to the cause of the Union, and was enrolled as a member of Company 11, 3d Wisconsin infantry, He took part in a number of skirmishes and battles, the principal of which were the battles of Winchester and Antietam. In the last named en- gagement he was wounded and permanently disabled. He carries the ball in his body to this day. It penetrated his left lung, caus- ing a most dangerous and treacherous wound. The subject of this sketch was married Jan. 18. 1872, when Miss Susanna Melcan, of Summit Hill, became the partner of his joys and sorrows through life. She is a daughter of Daniel and Martha ( Henry) Mclean. natives of county Derry. Ireland. Her father served thirteen months in the Union army, being a member of Company H. 81st Pennsylvania volunteer infantry. Mr. and Mrs. Early are the parents of two daughters, Letitia Roselle and Catherine Amelia. The family adhere to the faith of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Early has been a lifelong Republican in his political views, and has served as tax collector of Rahn township, of which the borough of Coaldale was formerly a part. Ile takes an active interest in the success of his political party, and in former years was quite aggressive as a local politician. He is prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both in the subordinate lodge and the encampment. Of the former he is a member of Lodge No. 576. and in the latter. Fountain Encampment. No. 170. Ile has passed the principal official stations in each. The subject of this article was a hard worker during his productive years, and is now enjoying the fruits of his early industry and economy. Ile has been retired from active business for a number of years.
Ebert, William H., a market gardener near Quakake, was born at Cressona, this county. March 22, 1858. He is one of the twelve children of Franklin and Deborah ( Kless) Ebert. The names of the children are: John. George. Frank, Cora. Amelia, Anna, Re- becca. Henrietta, Ida. Amy and Ellen. Ida. Ellen, Frank. Cora and John are now deceased. William H. Ebert. the subject of this sketch, attended the public schools of Cressona and Gilberton until he was twelve years of age and then went to work as wiper of engines for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company at Delano. After a time he learned the trade of boilermaker, and at this vocation he was in the employ of the railroad corporation for twelve years. When he left the service of the railroad company it was to enter the grocery business for himself. and this enterprise furnished him a livelihood for six years. He then purchased a farm of fifty-two acres near Quakake and he has been working this place as a market
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garden ever since. On June 20, 1877 Mr. Ebert married Miss Mary Jane Lindner, a daughter of Martin and Katherine ( Weix) Lindner. Mrs. Ebert's mother was born in France and her paternal grand- parents, Samuel and Katherine ( Herring) Lindner, were of Ger- man descent. She has a half-brother, Israel Boyer, three brothers, Moses, Albert and John, and three sisters, Katherine, Cordelia and Lydia, living; two other sisters, Martha and Sarah, are deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Ebert was born a son, Frank M., who when he grew to manhood married Miss Martha Seddon. The family are all communicants of the Lutheran church of Quakake. Mr. Ebert is not identified closely with any political party, but generally votes the Republican ticket, especially in national elections. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America.
Edwards, Luther B., an educator of note in Schuylkill county, where he was formerly principal of the Shenandoah high school, was born in Stawell, Australia, March 9, 1878. He is the eldest of three children of Rev. Thomas R. and Margaret B. Edwards, the others being Mrs. Winifred Charles, of Wilkes Barre, and Arthur, a student. Rev. Thomas R. Edwards was born in England and his wife in Luzerne county, Pa. ; they settled in Schuylkill county in 1890. Although the father is a regularly ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, he never engaged actively in pas- toral work. At the present time he is a mine inspector, in which work he has been engaged since coming to this county. Professor Edwards acquired his preliminary scholastic learning in the public schools and then attended the Keystone state normal school at Kutztown. When he had completed the courses offered there he took post-graduate work in the Millersville normal institution, where he was granted the degree of Master of Pedagogy. His first labors in the profession were in the county schools of Carbon county, where he remained one term. On coming to Shenandoah he was given a subordinate position in the schools, as teacher of the second primary grade, and after a year was given charge of a grammar school. The three years following he was assistant prin- cipal of the high school and in 1904 he was placed at the liead of the institution. The position carries with it a good salary and the preferment was attained wholly upon merit and honor. The cur- riculum includes normal-school, Latin, scientific, college-prepara- tory and commercial courses, elective on the part of the students. There were five assistant teachers, inclusive of the drawing and musical instructors. Prof. Edwards was a close student of peda- gogy and devoted to his profession, in which he attained high rank. In the fall of 1906 he resigned the principalship of the Shen- andoah high school and commenced the study of law at Dickinson college. His many friends predict for him a brilliant future in his chosen vocation.
Egan, Carby, who is now living retired in his pleasant home, 211 East Lloyd street, Shenandoah, was for many years identified with the coal mining industry of this section, being employed in
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various capacities and at various collieries from has boyhood days until he was well advanced in years, and having become well-to-do through his industry and careful husbanding of his resources, He is held in high esteem in the county which has so long been his home and is the owner of valuable realty in the city of Shenandoah. Mr. Egan was born in county Kerry, Ireland, and in that division of the Emerald isle were also born his parents. Thomas and Abbie ligan. In 1848 the family immigrated to America and located in the city of Philadelphia, where the father died shortly afterward. The widowed mother then removed with her six children to Port Carbon, Schuylkill county, and later they took up their residence at Saint Clair, this county, where the devoted mother passed the remainder of her life and where the family home was maintained for a quarter of a century. Such educational advantages as fell in the lot of the subject of this sketch were those offered in the somewhat primitive common schools of Saint Clair, where he was reared to maturity. As a boy he began to bear his share of responsibility and to assist in the support of the family. His first work was slate-picking in a colliery, and he received one and one- half dollars a week for his services. Later he was promoted to the dignified office of mule-driver at the mines, hauling coal to the surface, and he well recalls when the canal furnished the chief medium for transportation and when Port Carbon was at the terminus of the canal. After being employed about the mines for many years, Mr. Egan became a stationary engineer, and in this capacity he was employed at the Eagle colliery, operated by William H. Johns, He held this position about eight years and then, in 1864, removed to Shenandoah, where he entered the em- ploy of Miller, Rhoades & Company, in what is now known as the Shenandoah City colliery. He remained with this firm four years and during the residue of his days of active labor he was employed in various capacities about the collieries, turning his hand to what- ever work proved most profitable. He invested his savings in Shenandoah real estate, and the properties rapidly enhanced in value with the substantial upbuilding of the town, the result being that he attained to a position of independence through this source. At one time he owned twenty tenement houses, but he has recently sold a number of these properties. He also owns two houses in the village of St. Clair. In politics Mr. Egan is a stanch Democrat. but he has never sought nor held public office. He and his family are communicants of the Catholic church, being members of the parish of the Church of the Annunciation. Feb. 10. 1882. MIr. Egan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Roach, who likewise was born in Ireland, and of the four children of this union only one is living. Thomas, the others having died in infancy.
Elliott, William, a retired merchant of Tower City, was born in Durham, England, Aug. 19. 1830, and is one of two children born to George and Isabella (Taylor) Elliott, both natives of that county, where they passed their lives. The sister. Isabella, is deceased. After the death of George Elliott, who was a miner by occupa-
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tion, his widow married Richard Bainbridge, of Yorkshire, and to this marriage were born four children: Ellen, Thomas, Richard and George, the last named having been a soldier in the Crimean war. William Elliott began working in the mines when he was but seven years of age, beginning at Kalloe shaft, which is still in operation, and he continued about the mines in various capacities until 1857, in which year his stepfather was killed by an accident in the mines. In May of that year he left England on a sailing vessel, and after a five weeks' voyage landed in New York city. He came directly to Donaldson, Schuylkill county, and went to work at the mines on Middle creek, and later he was employed at East Franklin. He was then in the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad for a number of years, and while working for this company came to Tower City, in 1875, when the town con- tained but a few houses and less than 100 people. About two years after locating at Tower City he quit the mines and engaged in the general merchandise business under the firm name of Elliott & Son, in which line he continued until 1903, when he retired from active business. Mr. Elliott built the store building in 1877 and lived in part of it until he retired, when Mrs. Matilda Elliott pur- chased the present residence on Grand avenue. Ever since coming to Tower City Mr. Elliott has taken an active interest in the up- building of the town. As a Republican he was elected to the council, where he served eight years, and for several years he was president of that body. For the past forty years he has been a member of Swatara Lodge, No. 267, Free and Accepted Masons, and he is also a member of the Royal Arch chapter of that fra- ternity. Mr. Elliott has been married three times. His first wife, to whom he was united in 1852, was Miss Jemima Little, a native of the Isle of Man. Two children of this marriage grew to maturity -Richard, now a resident of Tower City and for many years asso- ciated with his father in business, and Mary, wife of Joseph Salem, of Tower City. The mother of these children died in 1860, and in 1862 Mr. Elliott married Mary Tobias, of Donaldson. No children were born to this union and after her death he married, Nov. 14, 1875, Mrs. Matilda Dietrich, widow of John Dietrich, who lived near Valley View. She is a daughter of David and Hannah (Beck) Boyer, the father a native of Schuylkill and the mother of Carbon county, Pa. They both died at Orwigsburg. Their children were Violetta, now Mrs. Henry Schuck; Matilda ; Lawrence, a farmer in Washington ; George, who was a machinist in the railroad shops and who died at Allentown ; William, a Southeastern railroad man ; and Anna, who married P. E. Gerber, of Lehighton. Mrs. Elliott's first husband was Frederick C. Jenkins, who was a native of Wales, and who was for some time superintendent of the Tamaqua gas works. He died from the effects of a wound received at the battle of Cold Harbor, while serving in the Union army. Her children by this marriage are Violetta Hannah, wife of Isaac Morsup; Ann B., wife of Albert E. Scheoner ; and Mary, wife of James Thomp- son. Mr. Elliott's life is a good example to the young man just
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starting out to shape his fortimes. Beginning as a poor boy, with only a limited education, he has by industry, frugality and the exercise of his judgment acquired a competency of this world's goods, and by courtesy and square dealing he has won the con- fidence and respect of all who know him.
Enterline. Samuel Monroe, attorney and counsellor at law, was born in Leck Kill, Northumberland county, Pa., Nov. 22. 1857, llc is a representative of a large family born to George and Elizabeth AAnn (Malich) Enterline. His father was born in Lykins valley, Pa .. April 23, 1822, and the mother was a native of Northumberland county, Pa., where she was born Jan. 17, 1833. The subject of this article attended the rural schools in the vicinity of his farm home in Schuylkill county, and by that means and the laudable ambition to rise higher in the scale of knowledge, which inspired the desire for private study, he was enabled to pass a teacher's ex- amination in early manhood. He was sent into the mines at the age of sixteen, and though wearied with the daily toil, he con- tinned his nightly studies, with no tutor except the ambition which later brought its reward. After teaching for some time in the country districts, recognizing the greater demands upon the pro- fession and the possibilities for greater usefulness with more thorough equipment, he entered the Keystone state normal school, at Kutztown, and was graduated from that institution in 1880, at the head of his class. Returning to the vicinity of his home. he organized a class for normal training at Valley View, but after two weeks of successful work, this engagement was suddenly terminated by the destruction of the school building by fire. U'n- daunted by this misfortune, he turned his attention to a new field and within two days he had another class organized at Mabel, in Schuylkill county, though he traveled over fifty miles of the ad- jacent country in pursuit of students, In the fall of 1880, Mr. Enterline was elected to teach a school in the township in which he had conducted his private school during the summer, and he received a salary of $28 per month, for a term of five months. The following summer he reorganized his normal class, but found that his growing popularity as an instructor had overreached his ca- pacity, and he was obliged to supply an assistant instructor to meet the demands upon him. In the succeeding autumn Mr. Enter- line was elected to a position as teacher in Butler township. at a salary of $50 per month, for a term of nine months, On com- pletion of this engagement he was elected by the same board as principal of the schools at Fountain Springs, at a monthly salary of $75. The following year his services were transferred to the principalship of the schools at Locust Dale, under the jurisdiction of the same school board, and there he was employed for five years, thus completing a term of eight years in Butler township. In 1882 Mr. Enterline registered as a law student in the office of Hon. R. H. Koch, in Pottsville, and during six years of teaching he prosecuted the study of law as leisure permitted. But in 1888 he located in Pottsville. and for one year devoted himself to daily
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