USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Lives of the eminent dead and biographical notices of prominent living citizens of Montgomery County, Pa. > Part 18
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The regiment was finally paid off, started for home on the 27th, and the officers proceeded at once to reorganize and recruit for the three years' service under the call for three hundred thousand men. They made up their rolls at home, and reported, unassigned, at Camp Curtin, early in September. The first to submit its roll was Captain William J. Bolton, on the 10th, and became by rule Company A. Thus five companies were soon brought from Mont- gomery county, forming the right wing of the regiment. The other five were recruited from Centre, Dauphin, Union, Snyder, North- ampton, and Lycoming. The regiment was organized under the immediate supervision of Colonel Hartranft, for all acknowledged
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COL. EDWIN SCHALL.
his ability. Its staff officers were finally adjusted as follows: Colo- nel, John F. Hartranft ; Lieutenant Colonel, Thomas S. Bell, of Chester county ; Major, Edwin Schall ; Quartermaster, John J. Freedley; Surgeon, John P. Hosack; Assistant Surgeon, James D. Noble; Adjutant, Daniel P. Bible; Chaplain, Daniel G. Mallery. The regiment was mustered into service on the 28th of September, and left for Baltimore and Annapolis on the 16th of November, pre- paratory to going upon the Roanoke Island expedition under Burn- side. This was intended as a midwinter invasion to draw attention from Washington and break up facilities for blockade running. After much hardship and endurance the expedition was entirely successful, and returned, not without considerable losses, however, to help McClellan in his ill-starred retreat from Richmond. It only arrived in time to join Pope at the second Bull Run, and to suffer afterwards from McClellan's stupid strategy at Antietam and Burn- side's disaster at Fredericksburg. Thus, after commencing their term of service gloriously in North Carolina, the regiment, with the loss of two of its bravest officers (Lieutenant Colonel Bell and Cap- tain Bolton, one dead and the other desperately wounded), took up its weary march westward. The circumstances of the corps were such as to test the metal of young Edwin Schall, who had now al- most become its commander in the absence of Colonel Hartranft, or rather from the latter's accession to the command of the brigade.
Thus also the Fifty-first, from the bleak mountains of the Blue Ridge in winter, were transferred to the arid plains of Mississippi in midsummer, where, after enduring incredible hardships, they were permitted to assist in the taking of Vicksburg and hear the glorious news of Gettysburg, all within a week. It is needless to follow that brave regiment and its officers to East Tennessee, where hardships and sieges still more laborious and self-denying were en- dured for another year, or recount its share in the final triumph at Petersburg and the end of the war in 1865. Through all this glo- rious tour of duty, up to the time of his death, Colonel Schall bore his part and did his duty. It is only necessary to transcribe a little of the testimony of comrades to his kindness, bravery, fidelity, and ability in command, till he laid down his life for his country at Cold Harbor, June 3d, 1864.
Major Schall, as he first ranked, was the synonym of fidelity to duty and kindness to those under his command. His courage was not of the animal but strictly of the moral sort. This was the secret of his gentleness and reliability. He always held his life a waiting
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COL. EDWIN SCHALL.
sacrifice for his country. Of his forbearance toward the men Cap- tain Parker, the historian of the Fifty-first, writing of the terrible march after the taking of Jackson, Mississippi, says:
"After marching five or six miles they (the men) began to give out. Lieutenant Colonel Schall saw that each man had tried to outvie his companions by endurance, and as there was no object to straggle for, the men sinking from actual exhaustion, he dismounted from his 'Bobby,' placed the most wearied ones on the horse, and allowed them to ride until they became a little rested, when a couple more invalids would take their places on the saddle and behind it."
Again, on embarking the troops from the Mississippi campaign, Colonel Schall used extraordinary efforts to get his men sheltered from the burning sun, but failed on account of the brutality of the captain commanding the boat.
During the terrible siege of Vicksburg, when every inch of ground of the advance of Johnston's army had to be contested, Schall's regiment lay three days in rifle pits on the picket line. On the third day of the attack the enemy arose to their feet from their en- trenchments and advanced with fixed bayonets for a charge upon the works, when Schall immediately warned his command that "the charge must be repelled let the sacrifice be what it may," and it was not driven from its position (History of the Fifty-first, page 358). And finally, in the Wilderness, when he gave up his young life for his country, he was leading a charge upon the enemy's works where every one, as he advanced, seemed to court death, and where space gained on either side was purchased only by precious lives. Here he fell, aged 29 years, 3 months, and 18 days. His body was brought to Norristown, and lies entombed in Montgomery Ceme- tery, where a handsome monument commemorates his deeds. It is a marble obelisk, standing fifteen feet above the pedestal, and contains on one of its faces the following inscription: "Edwin Schall-A dutiful son-An affectionate brother-A faithful friend -A brave soldier-An efficient officer-A sincere christian."
In person Colonel Edwin Schall was under the common stature, but well formed, of comely, pleasant features, very amiable, cour- teous, and universally beloved. He probably had not a private enemy in the world. He was never married.
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REV. JOHN H. UMSTAD.
REV. JOHN H. UMSTAD .*
Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace ... Psalm XXXVII, 37.
John Horning Umstad, a very eminent minister of the. "Brethren," as they call themselves, usually known as Dunkers, or German Baptists, was born in Upper Providence township, Montgomery county, January Ist, 1802. He was not relig -- iously brought up, but received a fair education, such as the- common schools of the locality afforded. In 1829, when in his twenty-seventh year, he married Ann, daughter of Daniel and Frances Brower, and sister of Abraham, Christian, and. Daniel R. Brower. John H. and Ann Umstad had born to them four children, one son (who died in infancy) and three daugh -. ters. One of these, Sarah, grown up, and a member of the society, died several years ago unmarried. The surviving children and grandchildren of Rev. Mr. Umstad and wife are: Catharine B., intermarried with Louis Detrich, and Frances B. with Milton Davis, the latter of whom occupy the old home- stead, situated near the Schuylkill, below Port Providence, in Upper Providence township. The children of Milton and Fanny B. Davis are: Anna Clara, Sallie Kate, John U., Nathan D., Benjamin C., Jemima C., and Emma U. The children of Louis and Kate Detrich are: Anna Elizabeth, William Henry, John U., and Katie.
The period from 1830 to 1840 was one of extensive revivals . of religion all over this region of country, in which all evan- gelical sects more or less participated. So in the fall of 1831 a great awakening commenced in the neighborhood where Mr. Umstad lived, conducted by brethren of the Dunker persua- sion. He had a sister, Mrs. Isabella Fitzwater, who already belonged to the church, but being of a lively disposition, and fond of worldly enjoyments, Mr. Umstad had not up to that time given religion any attention. His sister, however, who was very devoted, and deeply concerned for her brother, was without doubt largely instrumental in bringing him within the
*The material from which this Life is drawn is mainly gathered from a memorial off him by J. Quinter, as published in the " Brethren's Almanac for 1875."
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REV. JOHN H. UMSTAD.
influence of the revival. The result of a series of meetings was that the husband of Mrs. Fitzwater, Mr. Umstad, and also Rev. Isaac Price, both since eminent as preachers, were converted and baptized. This was in the fall of 1831, and the inroad made upon the society of the neighborhood opened the way for the organization of a church in the locality. Accordingly, in 1834, Green Tree Church was built on land belonging to or adjoining Mr. Umstad, and he and Isaac Price, who lived be- yond the river, were ordained ministers. Of his labors and efficiency from this time forward his memorialist, Mr. Quinter, says :
" Brother Umstad's labors in winning souls were very suc- cessful. He labored not only in the public ministry, but also much in private. He was instant in season and out of season. The cheerfulness of his christianity, added to his natural viva- 'city, made him an agreeable companion, and when in private 'company with his friends he seldom failed to use the opportu- nity of recommending Christ to them, which was often done successfully. The anniversary of his birth occurring on New Year's day, it was his custom to observe that period in a de- votional manner, and for many years after his conversion he had prayer meeting in his house on the first night of the new year. In his public preaching he was warm and pointed, and his direct appeals to sinners were often very strong."
ยท He was blunt and outspoken even to eccentricity, but these qualities were but a spice to his exuberant honesty and kind- ness of heart. Soon after his baptism and union with the church he laid aside the fashionable attire he had hitherto worn, and conformed to the garb usual with his sect. He was very de- voted to the general interests of the society of which he was a 'minister, but towards the close of his life became dull of hear- ing, which greatly hindered his usefulness in this respect. His health began to decline a few years before his death, and the winter preceding his departure he did not preach any, being so advised by his physician. As he lived close to the meeting- house, however, he occasionally met with the church and de- livered a short exhortation. He preached his last sermon to the people of his charge, to whom he had so long ministered, April 13th, 1873, and left home on the 15th to visit his daughter and her family at Baltimore, where he arrived on the
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190
HON. BENJAMIN FRICK.
16th but little the worse for his journey. On the following Sunday night, the 20th, he was taken with severe pains and a. paralysis of the lower part of the body. The disease ran rapidly to a crisis, and he expired on the 27th, just a week after the attack. He died at the residence of his son-in-law, Louis Det- rich, in that city, in the 72d year of his age, and after about forty years devoted service in the ministry.
His remains were conveyed to his home, and on Thursday,, May Ist, he was interred in the cemetery of the church he had helped to found so many years before. At his funeral there were in attendance nearly twenty ministers and an immense: throng of sympathizing friends and neighbors.
HON. BENJAMIN FRICK.
A firm, unshaken, uncorrupted soul Amid a sliding age .- Thomson.
Benjamin Frick, a Senator of the State of Pennsylvania from Montgomery county, was born April 26th, 1796, in Coventry (now East Coventry), Chester county. The family is of Swiss origin, being among the early German emigrants of the Bap- tist persuasion who settled along the Schuylkill in Chester and Montgomery counties. Though not a member of the Dunkers or German Baptists, he usually attended their religious meet- ings, and lies buried in one of their cemeteries near where he was born. The names of his father and mother were John and Catharine. They lived and died in East Coventry, where Ben- jamin received a fair education, such as was common in coun- try places sixty years ago. Having married Ellen Davis about 1831, he commenced the lumber business near the Schuylkill, continuing in it as long as he lived, at his place, "Limerick Bridge," or, as subsequently called, Limerick Station, on the Reading railroad at or near the great bend of the river in that: township.
From early life Benjamin Frick was regarded as a man of great probity, firmness, and veracity. So when the question
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191
HON. BENJAMIN FRICK.
of forming a new county from parts of Chester, Montgomery and Berks, with a seat of justice at Pottstown, came up, party lines were broken down around that borough and on the north- ern and western borders of the first two counties, and candi- dates were often carried against considerable party majorities on both sides. Democratic party leaders in the lower sections of our county dreaded the loss of the heavy Democratic ma- jorities in the "upper end," and so many of them would vote for a Whig who was opposed to the division. The latter party, knowing that this feeling was strong in the centre and east of the county, brought forward Mr. Frick in 1852, who, while popular with his neighbors, was moderately opposed to the or- ganization of the new county of " Madison." He was thus nominated and run on that issue, and elected by 32 majority over John C. Smith, of Pottstown, his Democratic opponent.
The Whigs had no need to regret their choice, for Mr. Frick, though no talker, was a very industrious and faithful member. During his term of service he helped to unearth much of the corruption and favoritism that had crept into the management of the public works. He was also the active coadjutor of Hon. Henry S. Evans, of West Chester, who was prominent in the effort to sell the canals and reduce the State debt.
The following obituary, written by Mr. Evans in the Village Record of West Chester, on announcing his death, is but a just tribute to his efficiency and worth. After recounting his vari- ous public trusts, the Record says:
" In local and township affairs, in settlements of estates, his prac- tical good sense made him a valuable counselor. His manner was kind toward every one, courteous always, but always decided when decision was necessary. His prompt, almost intuitive judgment, and his lofty integrity, secured the confidence of his fellow-citizens in his worth, so that he was triumphantly elected Senator against an adverse party majority. The writer of this, who was his col- league, can bear testimony to his earnest and efficient devotion to every great interest of the Commonwealth. No one ever breathed a suspicion of the purity of the motives which incited him to action. He scorned the corrupt as he did corruption itself. He loved his State, and was jealous of its honors as of his own. As a Senator his voice was never heard in debate, but his influence was known and acknowledged by all. From his early education, long experience, and habits of reading, he was versed in the history of all the public measures and men of the State and country. He was not only hon-
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HON. BENJAMIN FRICK.
est, but. uniformly courteous and firm. Whatever was right had his support, and whatever was clandestine or wrong met his unqualified opposition. In the death of Mr. Frick the community have lost a useful and tried man, his friends one whose virtues will long be re- membered. He has gone to his long home, leaving a bright exam- ple of the noblest work of God-an honest man."
The foregoing is high testimony in these modern times, when legislators so often lend themselves to schemes of plunder and self-aggrandizement.
Similar testimony to the foregoing appears about the same time in the Philadelphia Press, or possibly in the Norristown Herald. It says: " His excellent judgment, high-toned integ- rity, and strict attention to his duties as Senator and to the wants of his constituency, rendered his term one of especial notice. He went into and came out of office, and retained un- til the close of a long life the high regard of his fellow-citi- zens."
His connection with the officials of the Reading railroad as a receiver and forwarder of freight, as office agent, and other duties, at Limerick Station, was long continued and cordial, and only severed by his increasing infirmities, in 1869. On acknowledging the receipt of his resignation at that time, the Treasurer of the company, S. Bradford, Esq., says: " I regret that the infirmities of advanced age should have rendered it necessary for you to retire from the service of the company. I have highly appreciated your long and faithful services, and trust that the satisfaction experienced by a well spent life may afford you all the happiness which such a course always in- sures."
If further testimony of Mr. Frick's judgment, capacity to serve others, and of his incorruptible integrity, were needed, it may be added that he held the office of postmaster twenty years, and in 1836 was chosen Secretary of the Perkiomen and Reading Turnpike Road Company, a position he held thirty- five years, till 1871, when death canceled the trust. He was at one time a director in the Pottstown Bank, and for six years held a like position in the Bank of Montgomery County, at Norristown. He was also for a long time local business agent
193
HON. BENJAMIN FRICK.
of the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, to the full satisfaction of its directory, as shown by the extract copied above.
The children of Benjamin and Ellen Frick now living are: Catharine, now Mrs. Sisler, of Pottstown; James, also living in that borough; and Charles, who succeeded to the business and homestead of his father at Limerick Station.
Mr. Frick's health had been rapidly declining for some time, when, October 4th, 1871, he passed away, aged 75 years, 5 months, and 6 days. In stature he was tall and bony; hair and complexion dark; features elongated, indicating moral and mental force of a high order. We cannot close this notice of a citizen whose life is a legacy to the community better than by transcribing a letter written by himself in answer to a rela- tive (probably a cousin) in reference to the history of the family :
LIMERICK BRIDGE, March 10th, 1864.
Colonel Jacob Frick :
Dear Sir-Your favor of the 22d ultimo was duly received, and I deferred answering it, with the intention of first visiting the late home of my elder sister to consult and compile a more full family record than I have; but various causes seem to postpone my in- tended visit.
Your ancestor, I presume, is the Conrad Frick mentioned in the third volume of Colonial Records. I cannot claim so near an af- finity to him as I wish. My grandfather's name was Jacob, and he died in 1799, aged 82. He and his brother John, four years his senior, came into this country about 1740 from Switzerland. John Frick never married, but settled in Bucks county, where he acquired a farm, and died in 1794, aged 81 years. My grandfather, on marrying, settled about one mile east of Pottstown, where my father was born ; but in his early boyhood they moved to Chester Valley, about two miles from the Valley Forge camp ground, where they lived during the Revolution, near the scene of the Paoli massacre, their place affording an encampment for some days for the British and Hessians after the battle of Brandywine. The most thrilling incidents of that time that I ever heard were from the lips of Aunt Christina, who died twelve or fifteen years ago, her descendants possessing the old homestead until five years since, when it passed into the hands of strangers. Grandfather had three sons, of whom only John (my father) left descendants. Jacob, the oldest, was drowned when about 21 years old, and David, a younger brother, died at the age of 12. My father had six sisters, all of whom left families, and some quite numerous ones. They are scattered over most of the States of the Union (all the Western ones), including Missouri and Texas, and some even in Brazil and Mexico. My father left four sons and four daughters, of whom my youngest sister
194
CALEB P. JONES.
(Mrs. George Baugh) and myself are the only survivors. They all have descendants except my oldest brother, who died childless. I am within a month of being 68 years old, and have been a widower nearly twenty-eight years; have had nine children, of whom but four are living. One of the deceased left three children.
BENJAMIN FRICK.
CALEB P. JONES.
The reasoner, he who deeply searched the origin of things, and talked of good and evil, much of causes and effects .- Course of Time.
The Jones family is one of the most numerous and respecta- ble in eastern Pennsylvania. The following is the genealogy of the family under consideration, as given by our subject's surviving brother and sister, Nathan H. Jones and Hannah M. Ogden, still residing in that classic homestead which Washing- ton occupied as headquarters during the long, dreary winter just one hundred years ago.
About the year 1700 John Evans, with his wife, son and two daughters, emigrated from Wales to Chester county, settling near the forks of the Brandywine, in East Bradford township. The son, according to a custom among Welsh people, received the surname of his father reversed, and was called Evan Jones. He married Sarah Woodward, and died in 1773. Of this mar- riage was born John Jones, who intermarried with Rachel Hayes, and they were the parents of James Jones. The latter married Ann Pusey in 1806. The descendants of this connec- tion were Caleb Pusey Jones (the subject of this notice), Nathan H. Jones, and Hannah, intermarried with Thomas Ogden, the last now many years deceased. Both Nathan H. and Hannah, as has already been stated, still reside on the Valley Forge property, the latter in the very house Washington occupied as his headquarters, and her brother in another mansion near by. The genealogy of the maternal ancestry, the Pusey family, is thus given: It came from Wantage, Berkshire, England, along with William Penn. Caleb Pusey, the elder, brought with him a nephew, Caleb Pusey, who was married in 1712 to Ann Car-
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CALEB P. JONES.
ter. They lived on a thousand-acre tract taken up from the proprietor, bounded on the Street road, a great thoroughfare leading from Philadelphia to Grove meeting-house. The elder Caleb was a member of the Colonial authorities very soon after the settlement, and was a useful man in settling difficulties among neighbors. In the line, down to the subject of our notice, the couple whose marriage has just been stated, and whose certificate, engrossed upon parchment and numerously signed by the members of Chester meeting, is still preserved by descendants, had two sons, Thomas and David. The former married Mary Swayne, and had three sons, Caleb, Thomas, and Jesse. The first, born in 1745, married Hannah Bailey in 1775, and they had five children, Ann, Caleb, Phebe, Lydia, and Susan. . Ann, the eldest, was married to James Jones, the father of our subject, as elsewhere stated.
Caleb P. Jones was the sixth and next to the youngest of the family. He, with most of the children of his parents, was born on the old Jones homestead in East Bradford township, Chester county, which property the father sold to enter a labor- combination enterprise, started at Valley Forge about the year 1826. This scheme did not prove a success, as originally de- signed, and it was soon dissolved. His father, James Jones, on the dissolution of the society, bought the old headquarters homestead, grist mill, and part of the old Valley Forge or Potts' estate, and the family, with an intermission of two years, from 1826 to 1828, have resided upon it ever since, now over half a century.
At a very early age Caleb P. showed a fondness for books and papers, reading then much solid matter, and was conver- sant with the Scriptures when quite young. Between the ages of fourteen and sixteen he was sent to Westtown boarding- school, an institution of Friends, where he made rapid progress in grammar, chemistry, and the higher mathematics. He was remarkably correct and thorough in elementary studies, be- came a very clear and forcible writer, and so terse and perspi- cuous in style that he usually took the lead in writing out resolutions and making brief speeches at temperance, anti- slavery and free soil meetings, to which his heart was deeply
196
CALEB P. JONES.
committed while he lived. He had joined the Methodist Epis- copal church in 1844, and that fire infused into his Quaker blood made him courageous and intrepid to the last degree when any great question of human rights, such as slavery or temperance, was concerned. He was a frequent contributor to the reformatory press, especially of the type just mentioned. After arriving at majority he went to teaching school, and con- tinued for several years near home, at Wilkesbarre and Phila- delphia. While thus engaged at the last place his health gave ivay in a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism. On re- covering he was advised to seek more active employment, and obtained a sort of supervisory position on the Reading railroad, which he held with a few intervals for twenty years, his resi- dence in the meantime being at Reading and with his sister at Valley Forge. Had he not been so heartily identified with , anti-slavery and temperance reform movements, in advance of the age, he had all the qualities to have made a successful poli- tician and legislator. Although social and very courteous, he was retiring in his habits. His delight was to read, store his mind with useful knowledge, and do good. He was, in fact, to his family and neighbors a walking Encyclopedia. His life was a busy one. At the time of his death he had an immense amount of literary labor projected, leaving some valuable papers worthy of publication behind him.
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