USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 63
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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY
in 18; he bought the business that had been established by his maternal grandiather more than forty years before. Since com- ing Into possession of the store he has made many improvements. and in long he opened a branch store at Good Spring. He car- ries a good assortment of dry-goods, nations, boots and shoes, hats, etc., and handles all kinds of produce. On Feb. 22, 188.1, Mr. Updegrave married Miss Florence, daughter of Emanuel and Maria Dunkleberger, of Hegins, Pa., and this union has been blessed by ten children, all of whom are living. Homer is a carpenter; Matie is in the store with her father ; and the others are Edith, Roy, Alma, Iva, Jacob, Millard, Harold and Naomi. Mr. Updegrave is a member of Washington Camp, No. 109, Patri- othe Order of the Sons of America, at Valley View, and belongs to the United Evangelical church, in which he was superintend- ent of the Sunday school for twelve years. In politics he affili- ates with the Democratic party, but can hardly be termed an act- ive party worker, though he takes a keen interest in all questions pertaining to the public weal, and is regarded as a progressive and public-spirited citizen.
Uttermul. Morton M .. superintendent of the Charles Baber cemetery of Pottsville, was born in Washington, D. C., on Jan. 27. 1855. He is of German ancestry, although his parents, Mor- ton M. and Virginia (Seibert ) Uttermul, were born in Washing- ton. His father and mother both died while he was still an in- fant and at the age of five years he was bound out to a farmer. After five years of life in that capacity he ran away and has since been entirely self-dependent. From the farm near Washington he came to Philadelphia and in time became employed by Hon. James Campbell. For seven years he was overseer of Mr. Camp- hell's summer residence at Radnor, Delaware county. While engaged in this work he married, in 1880. Miss Susan F. Betz. daughter of Peter Betz, a pioneer of Pottsville. Soon after his marriage he came to Pottsville to live and for a few years he earned a livelihood by performing the duties of gardener for most of the wealthy people of the city. In 1804 he received his ap- pointment as superintendent of the Charles Baber cemetery, which at the time consisted of sixty seven lots which were cared for by the superintendent. To-day more than 900 lots are under the charge of Mr. U'ttermal, and of this number he himself solicited the care of over 400. The cemetery comprises a large tract of land and contains over 17,000 graves. It was originally known as Mount Laurel cemetery and the first monument in it was erected by Eli Bowen. in 1855. in memory of his wife. The late Charles Baber owned a farm adjoining the cemetery and upon his death he bequeathed this farm to the trustees of Trinity Episcopal church for ceme- tery purposes. The mineral rights of the property have also been deeded to the trustees, so that there is no danger of any coal company ever undermining the property. The latter provi- sion has induced many people not living in Pottsville to place the remains of deceased relatives within its borders. Mr. Baber's
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trust has been faithfully performed and the cemetery, which has been named after him, has become one of the most beautiful burial spots in the state. This is in large measure due to the tireless labor and the artistic ability of Mr. Uttermal, who has spared neither labor nor skill in his efforts to beautify the grounds. To Mr. and Mrs. Uttermal have been born two sons and two daughters. Percy, one of the sons, has been employed by W. G. Payne, a well known florist, for the past four years and is now one of the foremen in the establishment, and Edward, the other son, is married. The daughters, Agnes and Virgie, are at home. In religious matters the family are all identified with the English Lutheran church. Fraternally Mr. Uttermal is asso- ciated with the Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Improved Order of Red Men. He is a fine example of the self made man and his life is one well worthy of emulation.
Veith, Charles A., M. D., a regular practicing physician and sur- geon in Pottsville, is a native of Ashland, Schuylkill county, Pa., where he was born Aug. 22, 1874. He is a son of John and Anna M. (Hartman) Veith, the former of whom was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1838, and the father of whom was born in Prussia, in 1844. Charles A. Veith received his elementary education in the public schools, and was graduated from the high school in Pottsville with the class of 1891. He was graduated at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania in 1894, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and was graduated from Johns Hopkins university in 1896. He then entered upon a professional career which has been successful, even beyond his most sanguine hopes. Dr. Veith is allied with the leading- professional societies of the state and county, and makes an effort to keep fully abreast of the' onward march of his profession. He has never held official po- sitions except of a professional character, but served as deputy county coroner and as physician to the Out Door Relief Society. In political views he is a Democrat and in religious faith a Roman Catholic. He was married June 12, 1900, to Miss Agnes J .. daughter of P. J. and Elizabeth McGorman. The only child born to this union is Master John C., a little gentleman of five years. The doctor gives his undivided attention to his professional work, and is not interested in fraternal organizations of any kind.
Wachter, Rudolph, is one of the substantial business men of York- ville, where he conducts one of the leading meat markets of the bor- ough, and he is held in unqualified esteem in the community, where he has at all times stood as a type of sterling citizenship. Mr. Wachter is a native of Würtemberg, Germany, where he was born, Jan. 16. 1846, and he is a son of John and Clementina (Riede) Wachter, both , of whom passed their entire lives in the fatherland. Mr. Wachter was afforded the advantages of the excellent schools of his native land, and at the age of sixteen years he began an apprenticeship at the butcher's trade, in connection with which he traveled about his own country, as well as in Switzerland and France, as a journeyman butcher, being thus engaged for a period of six years and becoming
& Ht YLKILL. COUNTY
an expert in has vocation, In 18%, appreciative of the superior ad- vantages afforded in the United States, he immigrated to this country and made Schuylkill counts his destination He located in Pottsville. where he worked at his trodde as a journeyman about two years, and m ist he opened a meat market of his own He conducted the same unid 18:2. when he removed to the city of Philadelphia, where he was engaged in the same hne of enterprise for the ensuing ten years. In 1855 he returned to Pottsville, where he was employed in the Seltzer packing house for three years, since which time he has maintained his home in Yorkville, where he now controls a liberal and representative patronage and where he has a model meat market in a most eligible location. He is a Democrat in his political adhereney and served seven years as a member of the borough council. and three years as chief burgess, ever exercising mature judgment and discrimination in the discharge of his official duties and having closely at heart the material and civic welfare of his home town and county. He and his family are communicants of the German Catholic church. and he is a member of the local organization of the German Mechanics. of which he has been president for fourteen years. May 15. 1870. Mr. Wachter was united in marriage to Miss Magdalena Yeastadt. daughter of John and Barbara | Ritzel) Yeastadt, of Yorkville, this county, whither they came from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Wachter became the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living-George. Albert, Emma, Rudolph, Jr., Bertha, Catherine. William and Leo. Bertha is now the wife of Harry E. Dolan, of Yorkville.
Wagner, Charles C., of Frackville. Pa., in which city he ranks as one of the foremost and most enterprising citizens, was born in Alsace Lorraine, France, Aug. 2. 1845, and is a son of Henry and Sophia ( Kline) Wagner, the former of whom was a native of Ger- many. In 1843 Henry Wagner removed to St. Avoir, France, where he was superintendent of a distillery until 1849, when he returned to Prussia and with his brother-in-law. Jacob Snyder, conducted a stone quarry which furnished the stone for the building of the famous bridge over the Saar river at Saarbrucken. This business was continued until the fall of 1850, when Mr. Wagner immigrated with his family to the United States and located at Tumbling Run, Schuylkill county, where he was engaged in superintending the Schuylkill Valley rail- road between Middleport and Tuscarora until 1872. While engaged in this work he purchased a farm of seventy-two acres at Tumbling Run. and this was operated by his children while he was engaged in his railway duties. In 1872 be removed to Frackville and purchased a number of town lots, on which he erected substantial buildings. He continued to reside there until his death, in July, 181, at the age of eighty-four years. He was a man of great business acumen and was a zealous worker in and an ardent member of the Lutheran church, in which organization he had at various times held all the executive offices. Mr. Wagner was twice married. his first wife having been Margaret. a daughter of Conrad Kline, of Guettingen, Germany, who
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bore him two children-Catherine, who married Engelbert Sanner, and Henry C., both of whom were born in Prussia. She died in 1843, at the age of twenty-seven years, and Mr. Wagner led to the altar her sister, Sophia Kline, and they became the parents of these children- Charles C., the immediate subject of this review, and William C., Caroline, Reinhart A., and Augustus. Charles C. Wagner was reared in Schuylkill county from the age of five years and was educated in the public schools of the day. At the age of thirteen he lost three fingers of his left hand while employed about the mines, and later he served an apprenticeship of three and one-half years at the tailor's trade, in the shop of Charles Bensinger, of Middleport. When the somber cloud of war called for the defenders of the Union, our sub- ject was one of the gallant boys who donned a suit of blue and went forth to brave the hardships of that most memorable of civil wars, the war between the states. Sept. 12, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, 19th infantry, and he was honorably discharged at the expiration of his three months' service. Feb. 22, 1863, he re-enlisted, in Company I, 48th Pennsylvania, and served until the close of the war. He took part in many of the severe engagements of the war, among which may be mentioned the battle of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, White Oak Swamp, Petersburg, and the siege of Peters- burg. He was wounded in the right leg at Fort Hill, on Apr. 2, 1865, and was honorably discharged from the service at Harrisburg, Pa., in June, 1865. On his return home he took up the peaceful battle of life with the same characteristic courage which had dominated his actions in the nerve-wrecking time of war. He entered the tailoring business at Mahanoy City, Pa., where he remained until 1876, after which, with his brother, William C., he was engaged for two years in conducting a butcher shop at Gilberton, this county. They then re- turned to Mahanoy City, where they were engaged in the same busi- ness until 1881, when they located in Frackville and conducted the business under the firm name of Wagner Bros. until 1894, when the firm was reorganized. This association continued until 1898, when the subject of this sketch became the sole proprietor, and he con- ducted the business most successfully until Sept., 1906, when he dis- posed of it to his sons, who have since continued it under the name of Wagner's Sons. This is the largest concern of the kind in the county outside of the city of Pottsville. Mr. Wagner maintains a decp inter- est in his old comrades in arms, as is vouched for by his membership in John S. Meredith Post, No. 485, Grand Army of the Republic, of Frackville. He is a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party, in whose ranks he is an active worker. having served as a mem- ber of the borough council of Frackville for nine years, and as a mem- ber of the school board for three consecutive terms. He is a man of sterling worth and integrity and is always to be found among the foremost in promoting matters that pertain to the public welfare. He is one of Frackville's most enterprising citizens, and by upright deal- ings and sagacious business acumen he has earned a competency. He is interested in many business and financial industries, being connected
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with the Pennsylvania Lumber Company of South Carolina, the Scott Lumber Company of Bennettsville. S. C., the Chircan and Bennetts- ville railroad of South Carolina, and is a stockholder in and a director of the First National bank of Frackville. Pa. Both he and his family are members of the Lutheran church. Feb. 22. 1870, Mr. Wagner married Susannah, a daughter of John and Adelina ( Hlarter ) Oerther. of Mmersville, Schuylkill county, her father being a native of Alsace Lorraine, France, and her mother of Schuylkill county. This union has been blessed with seven children- Claude (deceased), Edith, Henry .. Eveline. Wilham C., Mary and Carl.
Wagner, Emil C., a prominent and well known citizen of Girard- ville, was born in Giessen, Germany, May 20. 1846. In 1849 he was brought to America by his parents, who located in Philadelphia and remamed there throughout the remainder of their lives. Major Wag- ner is a son of Louis and Christina ( Berg) Wagner, natives of Gies- sen. Germany, where the former was born in 1808. Louis Wagner learned the shoemaker's trade in his native country, and followed that business as a manufacturer or dealer throughout a long and active lifetime. He died in Philadelphia in 1883. The parents of Major Wagner had a family of five sons and four daughters, the survivors of whom are variously located in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The subject of this article was educated in the public schools of Philadel- phia, and learned the machinist's trade with the firm of William Sel- ler- & Co., in that city. He worked at his trade until 1867, when he accepted a clerkship in the employ of the Philadelphia &Trenton Rail- road Company, which position he resigned in 1869 to accept a more lucrative and responsible one as assistant superintendent of the Girard estate in Columbia and Schuylkill counties. This position he has held continuously up to the present time. After his appointment he located at Girardville and he soon became identified with the business affairs of the borough, which was to continue his home for so long a period. He was at once recognized as a leading spirit in business and social affairs. He has been an active worker in the promotion of almost every feature of local development. whether large or small, and has long since been recognized as a public-spirited and valued citizen. He was a leading spirit in the organization of the First National bank of Girardville, in 1890, and has been its president since that time. He was active in the organization of the Girardville Gas Company and is now its treasurer. Major Wagner was elected a member of the first school board organized in Girardville after the incorporation of the village as a borough. in 1870, and has always manifested a great in- terest in educational affairs, having been a member of the local school board almost continuously for twenty-five years or more. He has also served several terms as president of the Schuylkill county school directors' conventions. He was active in securing the establishment of the state hospital for injured persons, at Fountain Springs, served twenty years as secretary of the board of directors of that institution, and is now the treasurer of it also. In military affairs the major has been equally active and zealous. He was a prominent figure in the 8th
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regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania, in Girardville, in which he served as captain of Company F for a number of years, and afterward as a major in the regiment. He was always foremost in promoting the interests of the organization during his connection therewith. Major Wagner was a member of the American Institute of Engineers, and served many years as surveyor of the borough in which he lives. In political affiliations the major is an uncompromising Republican, and wields a potent influence in the councils of his party. He is active and prominent in the Masonic fraternity, having attained exalted stand- ing in the councils of that time-honored organization. He has served as division commander of the Knights Templars in Schuylkill county, and is a member of the Philadelphia Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He has held active membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for more than thirty-five years, has passed all the principal official stations in that organization, and at present is senior trustee of the grand lodge and president of the Odd Fellows' orphans' home near Sunbury. In March, 1869, he was united in marriage to Margaret H., daughter of John and Sarah Kerr, of Phila- delphia. Two children blessed this union: Charles W. is a civil and mining engineer, and Christine L. is the wife of Capt. J. F. Barn- hard. Mrs. Wagner died in 1893. In Oct., 1895, Major Wagner married Miss Laura E., only daughter of Jacob Ulmer, of Pottsville, Pa.
Wagner, John F., shipping clerk of the Tamaqua Manufactur- ing Company, at Tamaqua, was born in that city on July 19, 1861. He is a son of Michael and Rebecca ( Billmian) Wagner, the latter of whom died in June, 1894, at the age of fifty-nine. She was an active and earnest worker in the United Brethren church. The father for many years conducted a baggage-transfer business in Tamaqua and is now retired, making his home with a daughter, Mrs. Walters. The other members of the family are George W. and Harry, both firemen ; Samuel P. and Benjamin F .; Lavina, now Mrs. J. C. Wal- ters, of Tamaqua ; Sarah J., Mrs. George F. Beerman, a resident of Birdsboro, Pa .; Louise, formerly the wife of Frederick Stirk, and after his death Mrs. Heisler; and Miss Clara, a trained nurse in charge of one of the wards of the Pottsville hospital. John F. Wag- ner acquired his educational advantages in the Tamaqua schools and his first employment was in picking slate at Coal Dale. This labor occupied him for eight months and then he accepted, in May, 1876, a position in the freight house of the Philadelphia & Reading rail- road. After eight years of service he resigned to become a brake- man, and in a year and a half was promoted to freight conductor. From this position he returned to the freight office and he served as collector and bill clerk for a period of twelve years. The last posi- tion he held in the freight office was that of chief clerk, but after ten months of service ill health compelled his resignation. July 12, 1897, he accepted his present position with the Tamaqua Manufacturing Company, with which he has since been continuously identified. His especial duty is really in assisting the general manager, C. E. Christ.
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SLITUSIKILI COUNTY
In the political circles of the arts Mr. Wagner is well known. Ile has been the mennbent of the office of justice of the peace in his sard and for three years held the office of auditor, May 1. 1. Mr. Wagner was united in marriage to Miss Agnes A. Butkey, a native of Tamqua and a daughter of Renben Barkey. After Mr. Buthey's death his widow married agam, being now the widow of William 1. Davis, and mamtaming her home in Philadelphia. Mrs. Wagner is one of my children four daughters and two sons. By her marriage to Mr. Wagner she is the mother of two sons, Norman Paul and karl John, both kearing the trade of machuust. The fam- ils are all members of the United Brethren church, and Mr. Wagner is identified with the Independent Order of Americans. He is a man of much inventive genius, and on May It, wo, the government granted him a patent on an automatic car-coupler of his own inven- tion. Bestles this he is part owner, with James Il. Westen, of the Tamaqua Manufacturing Company, of a patent granted July 24. tinh, on a soldering iron.
Wagner, Samuel P., traveling salesman for the Berger-Crit- tenden Milling Company, of Milwaukee, Wis., for the eastern por- tion of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, makes his home in Tama- qua, where he was born on May 15, 1872. A bit of his family history may be gathered from the sketch of John F. Wagner, a brother. Samuel P. Wagner was graduated at the Tamaqua high school in the class of 188 and subsequently went into the employ of F. R. Culp as bookkeeper and solicitor. He remained with Mr. Culp some seven years, until the death of the latter. Then Mr. Wagner was for three years connected with the Wabash Milling Company, leaving the em- ploy of that company to accept a position tendered him by the Min- neapolis Flour Manufacturing Company, of Minneapolis, in 18%). The subsequent merging of the latter firm with the Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company left Mr. Wagner without a position, but he soon accepted the responsible one which he now holds. He is deeply interested in the public welfare and has the unique distinc- tion of being the youngest man ever elected to a position on the board of school directors of Tamaqua. He was elected for a second term, but resigned when he removed from the ward. During two of his three years of service he was secretary of the board. On Jan. 20. 1805. Mr. Wagner was united in marriage to Miss Emma Eliza- beth Fox, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Fox, of Tamaqua. Two children have blessed this union, Erma Naoma and Paul Leroy, The family are affiliated with the Presbyterian church. Mr. Wag- ner is regarded as one of the substantial, thorough business men of the city.
Walters, Clarence E., one of the leading young business men of Tamaqua, where he is engaged in the real-estate and insurance busi- ness, was born in that city on July 19. 1878. He is a son of William and Alice t Lloyd) Walters, the former a native of Schuylkill county and the latter of Wales. The father was a member of the firm of Henry Walters Sons, iron workers, and was b rough councilman
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for a term. His death occurred on July 19, 1894. His widow is still living, and is an honored resident of Tamaqua. Of the ten children six survive. William J., the eldest, lives in Tamaqua and is a ma- chinist employed by the Philadelphia & Reading railway; Emma is the wife of William F. Barton, Jr., a resident of South Bethlehem; Anna M. is the wife of Rev. C. H. Higginson, a minister of the Prim- itive Methodist faith, in charge of a church at Scranton; Harry HI. is a real-estate dealer and insurance agent at Akron, Ohio; Clayton L. is employed as a machinist for the Philadelphia & Reading rail- road at Tamaqua ; Maria, Mrs. William Dennison, died at the age of twenty-one; Alice passed away when she reached the same age; Katherine died in infancy; and Samuel H., who was an invalid all his life, died in his thirty-first year. The subject of this sketch re- ceived all the scholastic training afforded by the schools of Tamaqua, graduating from the high school in the class of 1894. Subsequently he completed a commercial course and became an employe of the Philadelphia & Reading railroad, as messenger in their telegraph office in Tamaqua. His idea was to learn telegraphy, and after a year he had mastered the science and left his position to accept a more lucrative one in the office of S. Livingston, as bookkeeper. The latter position he held for about- eight years, and thereafter he was engaged in the same capacity by the H. A. Weldy Powder Company. In May, 1905, he embarked in his present line of business, in which he has since been most successfully engaged. That Mr. Walters is well known and that he is highly esteemed are evidenced by his elec- tion to the office of borough auditor. After serving one term he was elected for another, but he resigned the position in March, 1906, to become borough councilman. In the council his ability and capacity are recognized, for besides being chairman of the finance committee, he is a member of the light, water and police committees. On Aug. 16, 1899, Mr. Walters was united in marriage to Miss S. A. Woods, a native of Tamaqua and a daughter of J. H. and S. (Eisenhuth) Woods. Mr. Woods is a member of the firm of Bond & Woods. To Mr. and Mrs. Walters have been born three children-William W .. J. Hilton and Clarence Arthur. The family are members of the Primitive Methodist church, and Mr. Walters is the treasurer of the board of trustees and assistant superintendent of the Sunday school. Aside from his religious work in the church Mr. Walters is actively interested in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and was one of the charter members of the Tamaqua branch. He is now a member of the board of directors of that institution and chair- man of the religious work committee, besides being one of the board of trustees. His fraternal associations are with the Tamaqua Lodge, No. 238, Free and Acecepted Masons, in which he is junior master of ceremonies at the present time.
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