History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 96

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

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The grandfather of Mr. Collins was also John Collins, and he was born in Fawn town- ship and later came to Hopewell, now East Hopewell township, and settled upon a farm of about 300 acres, where he passed the balance of his life. A brother served in the Revolu- tionary war. John Collins, the grandfather,

married Margaret Gemmill and they had chil- dren, as follows: James, and William, soldiers of the war of 1812; John, father of David M .; Samuel, who died in East Hopewell township; Margaret, Mrs. Gemmill, who died in York township; David, who lived and died in In- diana; Alexander, who died in Philadelphia; Grace, who married William Liggitt and died in York township; Jane Ann, who married Jackson W. Grove, and died in East Hope- well: Cornelius, who died near Shrewsbury, and who was the father of the present cashier of the Shrewsbury bank. The family was founded in America by William Collins, the great-grandfather of David M., who came from the North of Ireland.

David M. Collins was reared a farmer's boy, and attended the public schools until about seventeen years old. He was a very apt student and took advantage of every opportu- nity to increase his knowledge. He recalls as among his early teachers familiar names to many residents of East Hopewell township- David P. and W. N. McAlister, Mary Cul- mary, Eugene Elderdice (who later became a preacher), Matthew H. McCall (now president of the First National Bank of York), John L. Grove (now a U. P. minister), Sarah M. Smith, James and Andrew Ramsay and An- drew G. Collins. As stated Mr. Collins was reared on the farm, and under his father's ca- pable training he learned the many secrets of agriculture. After the death of his father, in 1886, he bought the home farm, which em- braces 123 acres of fertile land of a rolling character. He has it well-cultivated and well- stocked, and has erected sheds, barns and other buildings useful in the growing and curing of his various crops, including tobacco.

Mr. Collins was married March 13, 1890, by Rev. John Jamison, pastor of the Hopewell U. P. Church, in Lower Chanceford township, to Miss Catherine Mary Wallace, daughter of John T. and Millicent (Gibson) Wallace, the former of whom died in the fall of 1890, and the latter, in 1903. The children of this union are: Robert Murray, born July 14, 1893: John Thomas, Nov. 27, 1894: Margaret Jane. Jan. 9. 1896; Samuel Jamison, Dec. I, 1900: Elinor Elizabeth Gibson, June 7, 1902. and Martia Grace, born July 6, 1904. Mr. Collins is a member of the Guinston U. P. Church of Chanceford township and has been one of its trustees for the past eighteen years.

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BIOGRAPHICAL

He is a stanch Republican in politics and has served two terms as township auditor. He is a man of upright character and one of East Hopewell's representative citizens.

WILLIAM H. PETERS, of Dallastown, is a member of one of the old and influential families of York county, where he is a repre- sentative of the third generation of the family. He was born on the old homestead in York township, York county, Pa., June 23, 1849, son of William and Mary ( Wilhelm) Peters, both of whom were likewise born and reared in that county.

William Peters, the father, devoted the ma- jor portion of his active career to agricultural pursuits, having been one of the prominent and influential citizens of York. township, where he ever commanded the unqualified esteem of all his associates. He died in 1892, at the age of seventy-six years, and his widow has ( 1905) attained the venerable age of eighty-nine years, being a resident of the village of Spry, where she resides with her elder daughter. Her parents were Henry and Catharine (Schrock) Wilhelm, the former having been a captain in the war of 1812 and well known, under his military title, throughout that sec- tion of the State. He died in 1882, well ad- vanced in years, and his wife was ninety-six years of age at the time of her demise. The paternal grandfather of William H. was David Peters. William and Mary (Wilhelm) Peters became the parents of seven children, as fol- lows: Eliza J., single; Moses died in boy- hood; Mary is the wife of William H. Cona- way, of Spry, York county; William H., our subject, is a twin to Mary; Susan, the wife of Lewis Ahrens, of York; Elizabeth died aged six, and another child died in infancy unnamed.

William H. Peters was reared to the invig- orating discipline of the farm, while his edu- cational advantages were such as were af- forded by the common schools of his native township. He continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until he had attained the age of twenty-three years, when he secured a clerical position in a general store in Dallas- town, where he remained until 1874, and through this association gained valuable busi- ness experience. In the year mentioned he removed to Baltimore, Md., where he was em- ployed until 1876, when he returned to Dal- lastown and accepted a clerkship in the mer-

cantile establishment of Charles H. Keesey, with whom he remained for the ensuing six years. In 1886 Mr. Peters commenced his in- dependent business career by engaging in the manufacture of cigars in Dallastown, where he also became a wholesale dealer in baskets of local manufacture. He built up an excellent trade in the cigar department of his manufac- tory, but so rapidly did the scope and import -. ance of his basket industry increase that he found it expedient after a few years to dispose of his cigar business and devote his entire at- tention to the basket enterprise; this lie still continues, making shipments to di- verse sections of the Union and realizing ex- cellent financial returns. In 1899 he again identified himself with the cigar business, which he handles on an extensive scale in a wholesale way, utilizing the local product but not maintaining a factory of his own. He is known as an energetic, far-sighted and pro- pressive business man, while his personal in- tegrity and his loyalty as a citizen have ce- mented the respect and good will of all with whom he has been variously associated. In political allegiance he is identified with the Democratic party, and has served in various local positions of trust, having for the past fif- teen years held a school directorship in Dal- lastown, and previously for nine years, a simi- lar position in another district of York town- ship. In 1873 he was assessor of that town- ship and in the following year served as tax collector, while for fifteen years he was justice of the peace in Dallastown, retiring from the office in 1901. Mr. Peters is identified with a number of local enterprises of importance, aside from that of which mention has already been made. He is a member of the director- ate of the First National Bank of Red Lion, the Dallastown Water Company and the Mer- chants' Cigar Box Manufacturing Company, and is a director and the treasurer of the Southern Mutual Fire Insurance Company and the Dallastown Musical Association, being also one of those associated in the ownership of the Dallastown market house. Mr. Peters is a charter member of Dallas Lodge, No. 1017. I. O. O. F., which was organized in 1894, and he served as its treasurer for a period of ten years. Both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church.

On June 1. 1884, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Peters to Miss Katie E. Martin,

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

who was born and reared in York county, being a daughter and the third of seven children born to Hiram and Leah E. (Leber ) Martin, who were well known and honored residents of Windsor township. Of the other children these facts are briefly recorded : Milton D. and David are residents of the city of York; Sam- uel is a prominent farmer of Lower Windsor township; Melinda (deceased ) was the wife of David G. Miller, of York; Ida is the wife of Jacob Livingston, of York, and Miss Sarah resides in Lower Windsor township. To Mr. and Mrs. Peters have been born ten children, of whom eight are living, namely: Stacy E., who is a member of the class of 1908, at Get- tysburg (Pa.) College: Martin L., who is a popular teacher in the public schools of York county, and Hiram .M., Florence E., William H., Jr., Martha L., Grace V. and Mary V., who remain at home in attendance at the pub- lic schools.

ALBERT H. DIEHL, secretary and di- rector of the Mt. Wolf Furniture Co., Ltd., a flourishing concern at Mt. Wolf, is descended from an old York county family, identified with its history for generations. He was born Jan. 15, 1871, in East Manchester township, son of Charles H. and Lydia ( Bare) Diehl.

Charles Diehl, paternal grandfather of Al- bert H., was born Dec. 27, 1819, and for a num- ber of years followed farming in Manchester township, where he owned a fine farm of sev- enty-five acres near Mt. Wolf, as well as a few smaller tracts in other parts of York county. His wife was Miss Sarah Gross, who was born March 26, 1824, in Manchester township, and who died Feb. 19. 1900, aged seventy-five years, ten months and twenty-three days. She had outlived her husband by many years, for his demise occurred Sept. 12, 1870, at the age of fifty years, eight months and fifteen days. Both are buried in Union cemetery. The chil- dren born to them numbered four, namely : Charles H .; John, a cigar manufacturer, who died in York; Mary, who married S. K. Bare, of Manchester township; and Daniel D., for sixteen years a cabinet maker at Mt. Wolf.

Charles H. Diehl was born Sept. 29, 1849, and on reaching manhood chose farming as his occupation. He bought the old homestead and farmed it for sixteen years, when he sold it to Mathias Baker, and moved to Dover township, settling on the Michael Gross farm. Later he

moved to Mt. Wolf, and is engaged there at present in his son's establishment. He was married Dec. 25, 1869, to Miss Lydia Bare, daughter of Samuel and Sarah ( Kohler ) Bare, of Manchester township, and to their union five children have been born, namely: Albert H .; Sarah, at home; Edward, of Mt. Wolf, who married Miss Martha Feiser ;. Phebe, at home; and Samuel, at home, a wood carver by trade.

Albert H. Diehl was sent to the Manchester public schools until he was sixteen, and then he started to learn the trade of a cabinet maker with his uncle, Daniel D. Diehl. After three years with him he worked another three years for the Weaver Organ & Piano Company in York and then, buying out his uncle, settled in Mt. Wolf. He has built a substantial three- story structure, where he is engaged in the undertaking business, and he also manages a large furniture concern, carrying only the bet- ter line of furniture. For a period of three years he was also in business in York Haven, but his establishment in Mt. Wolf was so suc- cessful that it demanded his entire attention, and he sold the former business in 1898. In 1901 Mr. Diehl bought the place where he now resides, adjoining his store, and put up a fine double house. A self-made man, and one who has every qualification for success in his line, Mr. Diehl has never been selfishly absorbed in his own affairs, but has always been genuinely interested in the best welfare of the county, and is always ready with his services to further any good movement. He is a Republican in politics, and in religious affiliation a member of the United Brethren Church, where he has been assistant class leader for seven years.

On March 12, 1893, Mr. Diehl was united in marriage with Miss Suetta Krebs, daughter of Henry and Suetta (Schaeffer) Krebs, of York county. Five children have been born to them : Charles H., Roy S., Sarah, James A. and Esther.

LEVI A. RINELY is a native of York county, having been born on a small farm in Lower Windsor township, in what is now known as Yorkana village, on Aug. 2, 1841. His father died only three days after his birth. He is a son of Peter Rinely, who was a day laborer, and, owing to the latter's untimely death, has practically no information concern- ing the family genealogy or the personal career

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BIOGRAPHICAL

of his father. His mother died in Lower cther interests. In politics he is a stalwart ad- Windsor township. Levi A. is the younger of the two children born of this marriage; his brother. Peter, died in York a number of years ago and was survived by his widow, whose maiden name was Frey.

Few pleasures and fewer advantages at- tended the youth of Mr. Rinely, his widowed mother being unable to provide for his main- tenance, so that he was placed among strangers when a mere child, and reared by various per- sons in whose homes he lived, having no op- portunities for securing even a rudimentary education and being obliged to work assidu- ously when a small boy. At the age of twelve years he entered upon an apprenticeship at the trade of shoemaking, receiving his instruction under the direction of Joshua Hendle, in what is now the village of Yorkana, and being thus bound out for a period of three years, within which period he became a skilled workman. After completing his apprenticeship he was employed at his trade until 1866, when he en- gaged in business on his own responsibility. In the meanwhile Mr. Rinely had given evi- dence of his patriotism and his loyalty to the Union, in 1862 enlisting in Company C. 130th P. V. I., under Captain Jenkins and Colonel Zinn. He enlisted for a term of nine months and continued in active service for seven days after the expiration thereof. when he received his honorable discharge, at Holmesburg, where he had enlisted. He took part in the battles of Antietam and Chancellorsville, besides numer- ous engagements of minor importance.

After the close of his military service Mr. Rinely returned to York county, and in 1866 engaged in the boot and shoe business at Long Level, manufacturing the major portion of the goods which he sold. He remained one year at that place and then came to East Prospect and opened a shoe shop. He established a good trade in the early years and his hold upon pop- ular confidence and esteem was such that he was able to gradually increase the scope of his enterprise. He continued to be there actively engaged in the boot and shoe business until 1891, though he had long previously aban- doned work at the bench to devote his atten- tion to the management of a well equipped store. He retired from this business in the year named, since which time he has given his attention principally to dealing in farm lands and to the management of his real-estate and

vocate of the principles of the Republican party, and fraternally is affiliated with River- side Lodge, No. 503. A. F. & A. M., at Wrightsville. He has ever been loyal to the duties and obligations of citizenship and has won success by worthy means, while he is de- serving of the more honor on the score of being the architect of his own fortunes. At the time of his marriage his scholastic attainments were represented solely in an ability to designate the letters of the alphabet. After he engaged in business for himself he depended to a large extent upon his wife in the handling of his ac- counts, but he applied himself so diligently to study, in which his devoted wife aided him, that he soon learned to read and write and fin- ally to figure. becoming able to rely entirely upon himself, while through reading and ob- servation he has become well informed. When he located in East Prospect he did not have "two pennies to rub against each other," as he states it, while his clothes were barely sufficient to cover his nakedness. On Sundays he would steal away to the woods, in order that he might not be seen by those who had proper apparel for the day. He was sober, honest, industri- ous and provident. and thus gained a start in life, winning success in the face of obstacles that would baffle the average man.

On March 27, 1866, Mr. Rinely was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Smith, who was born in Lower Windsor township. York coun- ty, March 26, 1842, and was reared and edu- cated in York county, having attended school in East Prospect. She is a daughter of Cas- per and Elizabeth ( Gardner) Smith, who were born and reared in Germany, where their mar- riage was solemnized, and where three of their. children were born. In 1840 the family came to America and took up their residence in York county, where Mr. Smith followed his trade, that of wagonmaking, for many years, while his death occurred in East Prospect, in 1861. His widow passed away in 1875, and of their five children it is recorded that the two younger were born in York county, and the others in Germany, as before stated: John is now a resident of Freeport, Ill .: Mary died. unmar- ried, when thirty years of age: Joseph is a resi- dent of Gibson City. Il1. : Catherine is the wife of Mr. Rinely; Theresa is the wife of Leonard Olewiler, of York. Mr. and Mrs. Rinely have no children. The wife is a member of the

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

United Evangelical Church, joining the de- nomination in 1866. Mr. Rinely has been identified with the Jr. O. U. A. M. since 1890.

DRENNING. The Drenning family of Wrightsville is of Irish descent and the Ameri- can line goes back to the great-grandfather of Col. Richard W. Drenning, who was an early settler in Newcastle county, Del. He spelled his name Drennen, which some of his descend- ants changed to Drenan, and finally Drenning, the present form. The Drennens were linen weavers in Belfast and Donegal, Ireland. The great-grandfather came to this country about the time the Swedes were settling Delaware, and made his home near Newark, Newcastle county, that state, where his son James was born. The latter is believed to have been a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The chil- dren of James Drenning were as follows: (I) Ebenezer, who enlisted from Newark, Del., as a private in the war of 1812, was with Gen. Jackson, at the battle of New Orleans, after which he was sent with a troop of horse to a military post in one of the western territories. He was never heard from thereafter and was supposed to have been killed by Indians. (2) Samuel, who married Deborah Garrett, died near Newark, Del., leaving one child, Garrett. (3) William became the father of Col. Richard IV. Drenning and William Cochran Drenning. (4) Joseph died, unmarried, near Oxford, Chester Co., Pa. (5) Ruth, who married Rob- ert McIntyre, died in Oxford, Pa. (6) Mar- garet (known as Peggy) married James Barnes, and died on the farm in Fulton town- ship, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.

William Drenning was a lifelong farmer. He was born in 1796 on the family homestead, which was on the line between Chester county, Pa., and the adjoining county in Delaware. During the war of 1812 he and his brother Samuel were members of a military company known as "The Wasps," and were on their way to Baltimore when peace was declared. William Drenning married Mary Boyd, of Chester county, whose father, of Scotch-Irish blood, was Col. John Boyd, of Revolutionary fame. They began their married life on a farm in Chester county,. near Oxford, and there the family remained until 1846. In that year Mr. Drenning went to Fulton township, Lancaster county, where he took charge of the farm of Hon. Jeremiah Brown, which he man-

aged for eleven or twelve years. He then set- tled on a farm of his own in Fulton township, which he bought of Elwood Stubbs. In 1839 Mrs. Drenning died on the farm where she be- gan house-keeping. She and her husband were members of the Presbyterian Church. . From early days the Drenning family have been of that denomination, but when the split in the church occurred many went with the newer faction. In politics the family were always Democrats until William Drenning joined the Know-Nothing party, and later came over to the Republicans. A family story tells how his son and some youthful companions followed him to a secret meeting of the Know-Nothings, the boys thinking they were going to surprise the sober-minded widower in a visit to some lady. They hid in a loft in the unfinished house to which they traced Mr. Drenning, next morn- ing enjoying his perplexity when they alluded to matters discussed at the secret meeting.

William and Mary ( Boyd) Drenning were the parents of the following ten children : Mary ( deceased), who married Robert Barnes ; Jackson, a farmer and dairyman, who married Martha Merchant, and died in Chester county ; John, a farmer, who married Mary A. Heppen- stall and died in Wrightsville; William Coch- ran, who is mentioned below ; James K., who married Martha, daughter of John Reed, and is a farmer in Lancaster county; Helen, who married Henry N. Flora, of Wrightsville ; Samuel, a farmer, who married Annie McCall, and died in Lancaster county ; a child who died in infancy ; Col. Richard W., who is mentioned below ; and his twin sister Margaret, who mar- ried (first) a Mr. Pinkerton, and died in Chester county.

WILLIAM COCHRAN DRENNING, for nearly twenty years a resident of Wrightsville, was born Jan. 26, 1828, near Oxford, Chester Co., Pa., and received his education in the sub- scription schools of the neighborhood. He was brought up to farm work, and remained with his father until he was twenty-three years old. He was apprenticed to the tanner's trade with James Thomas, a Quaker, and for a time fol- lowed that calling. In 1847 he went to Balti- more to learn the trade of a furrier with John Jay. Even in that day secession was in the air, and, although the politics of young Dren- ning were satisfactory to his fellow-citizens, the fact that he was from the North was against him. He became involved in a brawl, and at

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BIOGRAPHICAL

the end of a year returned to Pennsylvania. He worked at his trade in Lancaster county until 1851, when he went to Cuba and be- came overseer of slave labor on a plantation. His first six months' work gave such satisfac- tion that he was made major domo of the plantation, with the entire management in his hands, and he remained in that position seven years. Returning to Pennsylvania he found employment with Mr. Thomas, of whom he had learned his trade. In the meantime his brother- in-law, Henry N. Flora, had died, and Mr. Drenning came to Wrightsville to straighten out the business affairs of his sister. He has ever since remained there, engaged in various occupations. When the new cemetery was opened, in 1871, he was made superintendent, and continued in that position until 1897, when he retired from active business life. In church matters he inclines to the Presbyterian faith. He has always been a Democrat in politics. His first Presidential vote was cast for Polk; before that he had voted at a township election, where, to please his father, he cast 'his ballot for Judge Brown, one of his father's friends.

COL. RICHARD W. DRENNING is a wealthy hardware merchant of Wrightsville, where he has been a prominent citizen and business man since 1880. He was born in Oxford, Chester county, in October, 1838, and his mother died when he was three months old. Until he was ten or twelve years old he was cared for by two aunts. His father then took charge-of the farm of Associate Judge Brown, in Lancaster county, near the Quaker settlement of Goshen, in the neighborhood of Penn Hill church. two miles and a half from the birthplace of Rob- ert Fulton (now Fulton township), and there Richard grew to manhood. He attended school at Goshen in'a little brick building, 10x16 feet in dimensions. His schooling was much in- terrupted, as he was obliged to remain at home nearly every other day to assist in threshing and other farm work, and he left school alto- gether when he was seventeen.

Col. Drenning worked for his father on the farm until the outbreak of the Civil war, and, after the crops had been harvested, went to Philadelphia to join the army. On Oct. 2, 1862, he enlisted for four years' service in the U. S. Marine Corps, and was ordered to Wash- ington for instructions. He was assigned to a heavy ordnance testing battery at Geisborough Point, and, after four months there, was sent

to the navy yard at Washington for eight months, during that period being promoted to the rank of corporal. During his assignment at Washington a battalion of 500 marines was detailed to co-operate with General Gilmore in his attack on Fort Sumter. The attempt failed with a loss of many marines and blue- jackets. At the end of twenty-eight months Mr. Drenning received his discharge through the Secretary of the Navy. He then went to Philadelphia to receive instruction from Gen- eral Taggart in tactics and maneuvers, that he might take charge of a body of colored troops. However, he did not receive his commission. He remained in Washington a short time, and then returned home. In 1865 he married Sophia Wicks, whose home was in the neigh- borhood of Penn Hill, Lancaster county, and who was a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth ( Reynolds) Wicks.

After his marriage Col. Drenning engaged for a time in farming on shares in Lancaster county, and in 1869 located near Wrightsville, York county, upon the farm of his brother-in- law, Henry N. Flora, the husband of his twin sister Margaret. There he remained until the spring of 1880, when he came to Wrightsville and established a hardware business, handling also farm implements, fertilizers, etc. He has been very successful in this enterprise and has built up a large and flourishing trade. Four boys have been born to Col. and Mrs. Dren- ning, as follows: Silas Casey, chief train dis- patcher on the Pennsylvania railway system, at Baltimore, who married a Miss Shenberger ; Horatio Clifton, in the employ of the Penn- sylvania Railway Company, at Baltimore, who married a Miss Eichelberger, of York; William Herbert, clerk in the office of the superintend- ent of the Pennsylvania Railway Company at Baltimore, unmarried; and Walter Lee, tele- graph operator and collector for the Pennsyl- vania Railway Company at Wrightsville, who served as a private in Company I, 8th P. V. I., in the Spanish-American war.

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 96

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