History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 70

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1390

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Samuel Lebenight, grandfather of Benja- min F., was a farmer who died in Hellam township. His son, John, was born in Lower Windsor township, and after marriage re- moved to Chanceford township. John Lebe- night died in Windsorville, in July, 1897, aged seventy-eight years, while his wife still lives, being now in her eighty-seventh year. John Lebenight was a consistent member of the United Evangelical Church, in whose faith he died. In politics he was a Republican.

Benjamin F. Lebenight was reared in the public schools, being taught first by Miss Big- ler, deceased (who became the wife of Joseph N. Reed), and at the age of sixteen years he finished his education under Dr. Bacon. Mr. Lebenight was reared to an agricultural life, and this he followed until his eighteenth year, when he learned the painter's trade, which he pursued for eight years in different parts of the county. He was then employed by Reuben Sprenkle of Red Lion as traveling salesman, remaining with him for two years, at the end of which time he bought his employer's busi- ness. He then formed a partnership with A. W. Shenberger, and after the latter's death, conducted the business alone for a period of about six years. Mr. Lebenight then formed his present connection with Mr. Ferree.

Mr. Lebenight was married in 1884, in Chanceford township, to Miss Mary Shenber- ger, whose father was Jacob Shenberger and whose mother, before marriage, was a Miss Smeltzer. One child, Walter A., has been born to this union. Mr. Lebenight is a stock- holder in the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Red Lion. In his religious views he is con- nected with the Reformed Church. In his pol- itical sympathies he is a stanch Republican, and is now serving his third term as school direc- tor of the borough. Mr. Lebenight is con- nected fraternally with the Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor commander.

DAVID E. WINEBRENNER, SR. With the canning industry of Hanover the name of

Winebrenner is most intimately associated. Thirty years ago David E. and his brother es- tablished there a canning business, which he has continued to the present time. It is an in- dustry which under modern conditions has had a wonderful growth-a growth which was foreseen by Mr. Winebrenner, and which he encouraged and stimulated by arousing an in- terest among the farmers of the vicinity and inducing them to raise the vegetables sufficient to supply a large work of this nature.

The Winebrenner family has for many generations been engrafted upon the soil of York county. Many years previous to the Revolutionary war, the Winebrenner ancestor of the county migrated from Germany. Peter Winebrenner, the grandfather of David E., was an early settler of Hanover and there for a number of years was engaged in the lumber business. He was a member of the German Reformed Church, and in politics was an old- line Whig. He married a Miss Mary Bargelt, and of their family of children, Henry, the father of David E., was born in 1807.

Henry Winebrenner acquired the saddlery and harness trade and later carried on an ex- tensive tanning business. This manufacture he began in 1845 and continued it successfully until within a short time of his death in 1884. He married Sarah F. Forney, who was born in Hanover in 1805, the daughter of Adam and Rebecca (Shriver) Forney. To Henry and Sarah F. Winebrenner were born six children, namely : Peter F. ; David E .; Mary J., wife of H. Wirt Shriver, Union Mills, Carroll county, Md .; Sarah R .; Martha C., at home: and Henry C., of Baltimore, Maryland.

David E. Winebrenner, the second son, was born at Hanover in August, 1839. He re- ceived a good common-school education in his native town, supplemented by instruction at a select school. His school days ended, the boy began his business career as an assistant to his father in the tanning business, remaining with him until 1874, when, as stated above, he saw in the canning industry the promise of a larger success and, with his brother, founded the es- tablishment, which until 1883, under the firm name of Winebrenner Bros., remained an ac- tive factor in the industrial life of Hanover. In that year the business was closed out, and in 1896 the firm of D. E. Winebrenner Com- pany was formed, D. E. Winebrenner, Jr .. be-

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ing admitted to the firm. The company put in new stock and machinery and engaged ac- tively in the canning of fruits and vegetables. The old building was remodeled and new ones added, until the establishment was recognized as one of the best equipped in that section of the country. By interesting the farmers to grow and supply vegetables, the company is now in the enjoyment of a large and profitable business. During the busy season they em- ploy a large number of hands to meet their heavy demands. Their products have a high standing in the trade and among the consum- ing public, and are shipped to the various States of the Union.

Mr. Winebrenner was married in 1864 to Eliza B. Shriver of Carroll county. Md., the daughter of Andrew K. and Catherine Wirt Shriver. To David E. and Eliza B. Wine- brenner have been born three children, viz .: Helen S., M. Katharyn, and David E., Jr. Helen S. married C. J. Delone, a prominent attorney of Hanover. M. Katharyn is the widow of William Solliday, of Hanover, by whom she has one son, David Shriver Solliday. David E., Jr., is a member of the firm of D. E. Winebrenner Co. On April 14, 1898, he married Amelia D. Wirt, daughter of R. M. Wirt, president of the Hanover Savings Fund Society, and to them have been born three chil- dren : Robert E., Helen and Constance.

In politics David E. Winebrenner is a Re- publican. In 1891 he was elected chief bur- gess of Hanover, which office he acceptably filled for two terms. Himself and wife are members of the Emanuel Reformed Church. He has served the congregation as a deacon and for a number of years he was superintend- ent of the Sunday school. During the Civil war Mr. Winebrenner was one of the emer- gency men of Company I, 26th P. V. I., and he is now a member of Major Jenkins Post, No. 99, Grand Army of the Republic.

BENJAMIN KISSINGER was born Jan. 31, 1832, in Spring Garden township, son of William Kissinger and grandson. of Conrad Kissinger. His death, on March 8, 1902, at his home at No. 443 East Prospect street, re- moved one of the progressive and public-spir- ited citizens of York, a man of great force of character, and well known for his traits of thrift, perseverance and energy.

Conrad Kissinger came from Germany and

settled in Spring Garden township, York Co., Pa., where he spent his life employed in a brickyard. His son, William Kissinger, was for many years engaged in distilling with Jacob Brillinger. He married Rosanna Swartz, who died at the age of fifty-nine years, and he died in Columbia, Lancaster county, both he and his wife being buried in Prospect Hill cemetery. Their children were: Jacob, of Dayton, Ohio; William, who died at Mount- ville, Lancaster Co., Pa .; Maria, who married a Mr. Slusser and died in York; Matilda, of Columbia, Pa .; Elizabethi, widow of John Snodiker, living in York; Conrad, in the West; Benjamin; Annie, living in York; John, of Missouri; Rebecca, who lives in the West; and Philip, who married Emma Freed, and lives in York.

Benjamin Kissinger received a common school education, and learned the blacksmith's trade with David Kissinger. He then en- gaged in the manufacture of brick, in which he very successfully continued all his life, having decided to retire from active business at the time he was called away. He is buried in Prospect Hill cemetery. On April 10, 1852, Benjamin Kissinger was united in marriage with Caroline Adams, born April 24, 1834, daughter of Oliver and Catherine ( Pierce) Adams, the former of whom was a carpenter by trade, which occupation he followed in York and at Diehl's Mills, York county. He died in East York at the age of forty-eight years, his widow dying at the age of seventy- four, and they are both interred in Prospect Hill cemetery. Oliver Adams and his wife were the parents of the following children : William, deceased ; Catherine, deceased; Sarah, who married F. Idle, of the West; Annie, wife of Conrad Boyer, of East York; Hiram, de- ceased ; Caroline, the widow of Mr. Kissinger; Agnes, wife of Adam Blosser, of East York; and Amanda, the widow of Marcellus Freed, living in East York.

To Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Kissinger the following children were born: Alfred, who died at the age of three years, six months, thirteen days; Mary Louisa, the widow of Frank Emig: Sarah Bell, the wife of George Young, of East York ; William Benjamin, who died when eleven months old : Emma Jane, wife of E. Syler, of East York; John F .; C. Grant, who died at the age of one year, ten days; Annie Kate, who died when eight months old;

BENJAMIN KISSINGER

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BIOGRAPHICAL

Howard Augustus and Sevilla, twins, the lat- ter of whom is the wife of George Bush, of East York; Stewart Henry, who married Mary Heilman, and is employed with his brother in the brick manufacturing business, making his residence at East York; Charles H., who died when ten days old; and Caroline Estella, the wife of Elwood McSherry, of York.

Benjamin Kissinger was a lifelong Repub- lican and a stanch supporter of the principles of that party. He was a faithful member of Christ Lutheran Church, in which he had been deacon for six years. Mrs. Kissinger resides at their home in York, at No. 443 East Pros- pect street.

N. ALLEN OVERMILLER, M. D., en- gaged in the practice of his profession at East Prospect, is a native of York county, having been born in Loganville, Nov. 9, 1866, son of Michael and Elizabeth (Kroh) Overmiller, both of German lineage.

Michael Overmiller was born in Hopewell township, York county, and was there reared and educated. Having learned the mason's trade in his youth he devoted his attention to that vocation for a term of years, after which he was a successful merchant in the town of York for the long period of thirty years. He is now living retired in that place, where he is held in high esteem by all who know him. In politics he is a Republican, and his religious faith is that of the United Evangelical Church. His parents were natives of Germany, whence they emigrated to America and took up their residence in Hopewell township, York county, Pa., where they passed the remainder of their lives. The mother of the Doctor was likewise of German genealogy and was born at Glen Rock, York county, while she died in 1885, at Glatfelter's Station, where the family were re- siding at that time. Of the children of Mich- ael Overmiller and wife Miss Amanda re- mains with her father in York; Charles, de- ceased, married Amelia Herbst, of Glen Rock, who survives him, as do their two children, Charles and Ethel; Mary is the wife of Albert Glatfelter, of Hanover Junction; N. Allen is the East Prospect physician ; Jennie is the wife of Harry Groft, of Seven Valley, York county ; and James, who resides in York, married Mary Stine.

Dr. Overmiller secured his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools of

his native county, and depended upon his own exertions to a large extent in securing his fur- ther academic and professional training. After leaving the public schools he was for one year a student in Franklin and Marshall Col- lege at Lancaster, and when seventeen years of age removed to New York City, where he completed a course in pharmacy, thereafter re- maining in the metropolis for a period of nine years and being employed as an assistant to Dr. Charles Rice, then city chemist and one of the leading pharmaceutical scientists of the United States. In 1893 Dr. Overmiller matri- culated in the Baltimore (Md.) Medical Col- lege, where he completed the prescribed course and was graduated in the class of 1896, with the degree of M. D. He then served one and one-half years as interne in the Long Island City Hospital, where he gained valuable clinical experience. At the expiration of his interne- ship the Doctor returned to his old home in York county and established himself in the · practice of his profession at Yoe, where he re- mained until 1901, when he came to East Pros- pect, where he has gained distinctive prestige and popularity in his noble vocation, his prac- tice being of a general order and ramifying over a wide area of territory. He is a member of the York County Medical Society, the Penn- sylvania State Medical Society and the Amer- ican Medical Association. Fraternally Dr. Overmiller is affiliated with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, being identified with the local .organization at East Prospect ; with the lodge of the Mystic Chain at Yoe, of which he is past commander; and with the Knights of Malta at York. In politics lie gives an unswerving allegiance to the Repub- lican party, and both he and his wife are de- voted members of the United Evangelical Church, in the various departments of whose work they take an active interest. The Doctor has never been ambitious for public office, but has rendered effective service in various posi- tions of local trust, including that of school di- rector.

At Yoe, York county, June 19, 1897, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Overmiller to Cordelia Upp, of Wrightsville. She was born and reared in that county and is a daughter of Jacob and Sarah J. (Flory) Upp. Dr. and Mrs. Overmiller have three children, namely : Stanley Quay, Roy A., and Elwood S.

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

WILLIAM DIETZ, SR., was born on the farm which he now owns, in Hellam township, Aug. 9, 1829. As noted elsewhere, the Ameri- can ancestor of the family was the great- grandfather of William, George Dietz. Through his son George, and his grandson, also George, William Dietz traces his lineage. George Dietz, father of William, was born Jan. 20, 1791, on the farm on which his son now lives. He married Christina Blessing, who was born in Hellam township, Oct. 12, 1794, daughter of Jacob Blessing, and there lied March 28, 1841. He continued to reside on the ancestral acres all his active life, and died at the home of his son Frederick, in Sep- tember, 1863. His wife died March 28, 1841. Both were members of Kreutz Creek Reform- ed Church. Mr. Dietz was a Democrat in poli- tics, and held several township offices. His five children were as follows : Mary Ann, born Dec. 19, 1816, who died young; Elizabeth, born March 30, 1819, who married Jacob Strickler, and died in Hellan township; Fred- erick, born Oct. 26, 1821, a farmer of Hellam township, who married Martha Strickler (de- ceased ) ; George, born Jan. 10, 1826, who mar- ried Catherine Bowman (deceased) and lives in Hellam township with his son George; and William, born Aug. 9, 1829, who is mentioned below. Jacob, a brother of George Dietz, was a contractor, and built the old court house at York, which preceded the present one.

William Dietz commenced his education in the subscription school at Kreutz Creek Church, and his first teacher was Jacob Landis ; his father paid fifty cents a month toward the support of this school. Later he attended the free school, which is now known as Rudy's, graduating at eighteen under Mr. Haugh. As a boy he worked in the fields with his father, using the cradle and scythe. When he reach- ed the age of twenty-one his father paid him regular wages of $10 a month. He remained at home after his marriage, and on the death of his father bought the farm, which now con- tains 102 acres, a portion of the original tract having been sold. Mr. Dietz retired from ac- tive life in the spring of 1904, after having been engaged in farming since 1857.

On Nov. 18, 1856, William Dietz married Caroline Bahn, who was born Jan. 29, 1834, on what is now the Benjamin Strickler farm in Hellam township. She was a daughter of

David and Rachel ( Whitman) Bahn. David Bahn was a half brother of Adam, father of Rachel Bahn, who wrote a history of the Bahn family. Mr. and Mrs. Dietz are the parents of the following six children : Emma Florence, widow of David Stoner, who lives in Hellam; Howard Bahn, who died on his farm in Wind- sor township in 1902, his widow, Sarah ( Mil- ler ) Dietz, living in Hellam; Mary Jane, who is Mrs. Albert Emig, of Hellam township; Lizzie E. and Annie C. (twins), who are at home: and William H., who married Ella, daughter of Alfred Bixler, and lives on the home farm. The Dietz family are all mem- bers of the Kreutz Creek Reformed Church, in which Mr. Dietz has served as elder and dea- con. He joined the church when he was seven- teen, and his wife became a member at about the same age. Mr. Dietz donated the land on which the new Trinity Reformed Church is built. He has been a Democrat all his life, casting his first vote in 1852 for Pierce, and has filled several minor township offices. Mr. Dietz is a fine-looking old gentleman, with a heavy head of white hair, and a clear, ruddy complexion.

W. M. GROVE, residing on his farm of III acres in Chanceford township, was born on the homestead farm in Windsor township, May 23, 1841, son of Matthew and Mary (Gemmell) Grove. His grandfather owned a great deal of land in the vicinity of Conrad's Cross Roads, and Matthew Grove, the father of W. M., worked this land.

After his marriage Matthew Grove bought a farm in Windsor township, where he resided until his death in 1880, in his eighty-seventh year. Mr. Grove was a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and an elder in the or- ganization at Guinston for many years. In his early political sympathies he was a Whig, later becoming a Republican. His wife, who was Mary Gemmell, was born on her father's farm in Chanceford township, and there she died in 1878, in her seventy-fifth year. The children born to this good couple were: Mary Jane (deceased), who was the wife of John Grove; Jacob H., who enlisted first for three years, then re-enlisted, after which as a lieu- tenant he met his death in battle in the Shenan- doah Valley in the fall of 1864, leaving a widow, Hannah Smith, who also died in 1864;

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BIOGRAPHICAL

Agnes Eliza, who married Zacharias Leshi, of Ohio; John G., of Lower Chanceford town- ship, who married Miss Elizabeth Grove; Mar- garet Ellen, deceased wife of P. Lefevre: Francis M., residing on the home farm, who married (first) Mary Jane Jacobs, and ( sec- ond) Helen Grove; W. M., whose biography follows; Sarah Martha, who married Frederick Smith, of Red Lion; Susan Ann, who married John A. Moore, of Hanover ; and one that died in infancy.

W. M. Grove attended the schools of his township until twenty years of age, and re- mained at home until twenty-three. In 1874 he married Miss Carrie Bigler, born in Cum- berland county, near Shiremanstown, daughter of David Bigler, deceased, and after marriage Mr. Grove farmed the Bigler homestead for two years. In 1876 Mr. Grove purchased his present home from David Detwiler, the farm consisting of III acres of land. At the time of its purchase, the land was badly in need of at- tention, it being so thoroughly run down that it was next to an impossibility to raise crops from it, but through persistent and intelligent efforts, Mr. Grove has brought it to a high state of cultivation. The house in which Mr. Grove and his family reside was built many years ago by a Mr. Himes, and is one of the township's landmarks.

To Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Grove the follow- ing children have been born: Howard, who married Miss Clara Wambaugh, and resides near Brogueville ; and Flora, who married Lat- imore Tosh, of Collinsville. Mrs. Grove is a member of the New Harmony Presbyterian Church of Brogueville, having united with that religious organization when a girl and been continuously very active in church work, being at the present time a Sunday school teacher. Mr. Grove is a member of the United Presby- terian Church. In politics he is a Republican. As stated, he has been very successful in his agricultural operations and ranks with the best farmers in the township. Finally, he is highly respected by his neighbors for his good citizen- ship, and for the efforts he has put forth in as- sisting to develop and improve the com- munity.

JAMES H. FULTON, the proprietor of beautiful "Walnut Glen" farm, was born in Stewartstown, York Co., Pa., Dec. 20, 1847. son of John Fulton.

David Fulton, the grandfather of James H., was a well-known farmer and influential citizen of his day in Hopewell township. He purchased 500 acres of land in that section, of which Mr. Fulton now owns the central part, it now being divided into several farms. David Fulton married Margaret Patterson, and both she and her husband died at the home of their son-the father of James H.

John Fulton was born in Hopewell town- ship, where he passed most of his life as a farmer, in 1881 retiring to Shrewsbury, where he died in 1901, aged seventy-three years. He served as revenue assessor for many years, and almost continuously as school director. He married Esther Anstine, who was born in Stewartstown, daughter of George Anstine, who served for several terms as a member of the Legislature. Children as follows were born to this union : James H .; George, Smith E., and Adam, all three deceased; Maggie, Mrs. Wilson, of Pocomoke City: Ida, Mrs. Ellsworth Peterman, of Shrewsbury; and Ruth, unmarried.

In the infancy of James H. Fulton his father located on the farm now occupied by him, and the boy attended the Zion (town- ship) school until sixteen years of age, his first teacer being Miss Myers and his last Fran- cis Wilson. On Thanksgiving Day, 1885, he married Miss Mary Ellen Edgar, daughter of James and Susan (Cross) Edgar. Mrs. Fulton died in 1901, in the faith of the Presby- terian Church, and is buried in Stewartstown cemetery. Mr. Fulton is a Democrat, and he is now serving his third term as school director in Hopewell township. He is serving his third year as a director of the People's Na- tional Bank of Stewartstown.

The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James H. Fulton : Fay Lillian, student at the Millersville Normal School ; Es- ther Wilson, Pearl and Amelia Jane, living at home: Paul, deceased ; and John Grover, at home.

GEORGE T. KERR, passenger and freight agent of the Northern Central Railway Company, Hanover, Pa., was born at Wrights- ville, York county, in June, 1865, son of George WV. and Jane V. ( Bahn) Kerr, both of whom were born and reared in Wrightsville. The father in early manhocd learned and followed the carpenter's trade, and afterward became a

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

leading contractor and builder in Wrightsville, his native place. Six children were born to George W. and Jane V. Kerr, as follows : Ida L .; Alice E., who married D. W. Weltzhoffer; Morgan B .; George T .; Sarah J., deceased ; and Glen W., at home.

George T. Kerr attended the public schools and finished his education in the select school at Wrightsville. Leaving school he was em- ployed for a time as a clerk in a store, and later by William McConkey, a merchant of Wrights- ville, with whom he remained for some time. In 1882 he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railway Company, at Wrightsville in the capacity. of clerk, thence was transferred to the Frederick di- vision, and for a time was stationed at York. In 1883 he came to Hanover in the capacity of clerk for the same road. In the spring of 1883 he was appointed agent at Taneytown, Md., and in 1893 was again transferred to Hanover, this time as passenger and freight agent, a position which he still holds. In 1889 Mr. Kerr married Ann R. Miller, of Keysville, Md., daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Troxell) Miller. Three children were born to this union : Edgar Poole; Elizabeth J. ; and Anna R. Mr. Kerr is a member of Patmos Lodge, No. 348, A. F. & A. M., of which he is past master and trustee; also a member of Gettys- burg Chapter, No. 79, R. A. M., and Gettys- burg Commandery, No. 79, K. T. He is a member of Hanover Lodge. No. 763. B. P. O. E., of which he is also trustee. Mr. Kerr has also served as a member of the school board of Hanover, representing the Second ward.

SAMUEL K. HOSHOUR, of Glen Rock, was born Jan. 12, 1839, at Glen Rock, a mem- ber of an old York county family, and a son of J. V. and Magdalena (Koller) Hoshour. The paternal grandfather followed the tanner's bus- iness near Spring Grove, York county. There his life was passed, and there he reared his family, those who survived infancy being : S. K., who became a noted linguist and be- longed to the faculty of an Indianapolis (Ind.) college; David; Sally, wife of Samuel Keesey ; Lydia, wife of Charles Klinefelter; Betsy, who married William Sechrist; and Josiah V.

Josiah V. Hoshour was born and reared at Spring Grove, Pa. For some years after at- taining manhood he taught school, and then

took up surveying, a calling that was very lucrative in those days. Subsequently he be- came superintendent of construction for the Northern Central Railroad Company from New Freedom to Hanover Junction, and still later he became financially interested in a foundry and machine shop at Glen Rock. Josiah V. Hoshour was one of the earliest cit- izens of Glen Rock, having resided there before the railroad construction caused the "boom" which developed the place. Being a man of education, a graduate of Gettysburg College. he was naturally prominent in all the affairs of his section and to him Glen Rock is indebted for its euphonious name. He testified to his interest in educational matters by giving much time as a member of the school board; was, in fact, earnest and prominent in promoting everything that promised to be of substantial benefit to the place. It is difficult to mention anything connected with the early development of Glen Rock in which he did not prominently figure, he having done more, probably, than any other one man to ensure the town's pros- perity.

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 70

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1390

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1390