USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Lives of the eminent dead and biographical notices of prominent living citizens of Montgomery County, Pa. > Part 20
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FRANKLIN DERR.
FRANKLIN DERR.
As a tradesman, I took care not only to be really industrious and frugal, but also to avoid every appearance of the contrary. I was plainly dressed, and rarely seen in any place of public amusement .- Franklin's Autobiography.
Of all the business men that have distinguished Norristown during the past fifty years, no one has been more eminent in most respects than Franklin Derr, who came here from the "Swamp" a poor boy to learn the trade of a stone-cutter. His career and success have been the more remarkable from the fact that his immediate predecessors in the calling failed to . "make it pay." Alexander Ramsey, Morton Kelsey and John Niblo in turn had failed even to sustain themselves or make a living by the mallet and chisel. But they lacked habits of sobriety and patient industry, which, as in Mr. Derr's case, are sure to yield their reward in due time.
The name of Derr, by its etymology, is manifestly German, but when or whence the family emigrated to this country we know nothing beyond the fact that Franklin Derr's grandfather was settled at Shamokin, Pennsylvania; that his christian name is believed to have been John, and his wife's maiden name Rushough; that from that place his son John (Franklin Derr's father) came to work for Jacob Schneider, who was a tanner living in the upper end of our county. After laboring some time at his trade with Mr. Schneider, he married his daughter Elizabeth, and sister of Henry and Isaac Schneider, of New Hanover. Shortly afterwards, with a very small capi- tal, he and his wife removed to Hamburg, Berks county, where he purchased fifty acres of land and started a tannery, which business, in connection with farming, he followed till the time he died, May 24th, 1827, aged 53 years, I month, and 13 days. His wife survived him about two years, dying August IIth, 1829, aged 46 years, I month, and 25 days. John and Elizabeth Derr were exemplary, hard-working people, and had twelve children, none of whom had come of age at the death of the father in 1827. Having so large a family for which to provide, he left but a limited estate, that did not divide an in- heritance above five hundred dollars to each, and the children were soon scattered.
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FRANKLIN DERR.
Franklin Derr was born at Hamburg, Berks county, July Ist, 1815, and at the age of twelve years came to live with his uncle, Henry Schneider, a farmer of New Hanover (usually called "Swamp"), where he remained, enjoying limited oppor- tunities of education, till old enough to learn a trade. About the year 1832 or 1833 he came to Norristown and apprenticed himself to John Niblo, who then followed the marble-mantel and stone-cutting business, on the lot now occupied by the Arcade Buildings, Nos. 40 to 48 East Main street. Here he served faithfully nearly four years, and some time after being free formed a partnership with his late master under the firm name of Niblo & Derr, but which continued a short time only.
Niblo, being somewhat of a sporting character, did not pros- per financially, and left suddenly. Mr. Derr then took into partnership his cousin, Simon Schneider, and a live firm went to work with a will. Soon after getting started Mr. Derr mar- ried Sarah Ann, daughter of Henry Kerr, of Norristown. He and his partner then proceeded to build themselves two uni- form brick dwellings on Swede street. In a short time after Mr. Schneider's health gave way, and he died of consumption, leaving Mr. Derr alone in the business, which he pushed from that time forward with redoubled vigor.
The site of the stone-yard being wanted by Mr. Sower, the proprietor, for building purposes, Mr. Derr about 1842 traded his dwelling on Swede street with David Heebner for his large house and open lot near Barbadoes street, where he removed his yard, and had ample room for an increasing business. To this he purchased about 1844 the adjoining lots on the west of his line, and erected a number of frame stores. He also bought some unoccupied front below him, with adjoining dwellings. These subsequent purchases increased the frontage on Main street to two hundred and fifty feet by three hundred feet on Penn street. The frame stores before mentioned are now be- ing replaced by permanent brick structures by the heirs.
Very soon after getting established here, Mr. Derr, by giv- ing close attention to business, fulfilling contracts with prompt- ness, by energy and advertising his work, obtained orders for mantels, house and tomb work from distant places.
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FRANKLIN DERR.
About 1852 or 1853, by order of the court, the County Commissioners set about erecting a new court house, which was ordered to be built of Montgomery county marble pro- cured from Upper Merion and Whitemarsh quarries. Mr. Derr secured the contract to supply and dress the stone, and erect the stone part of the building, which was a very heavy job, and was completed in 1854 or 1855. About the same time he received the order for supplying marble for the new banking-house of the then Bank of Montgomery County.
At this time Mr. Derr was a director of that bank, and its issues having been counterfeited, the medallion likenesses of several of its officers were engraved on the new note. The portraits of Mr. Derr graced the ten-dollar bills.
In 1853 Franklin Derr had the melancholy trial to lose his wife by death, leaving him four children, all needing more or less a mother's care.
As his business widened, and contracts became heavier, Mr. Derr felt the importance of quarrying his own stone instead of buying it out of second hands. So, in 1857, he purchased the interest of Samuel Brooks, of the firm of Adams & Brooks, in the Reeseville quarries, Upper Merion. This gave him stock at cost, and his promptness in filling the heavy contracts here having given him a reputation abroad, he began to receive large orders from Philadelphia and elsewhere for marble for building purposes. Among others he furnished most of the blue dressed stone for the Philadelphia post office, which was erected in 1862 or 1863 near the Custom House; and also, at a later period, furnished large quantities for extensions to Girard College. The remaining interest of Brooks in the quarry has been purchased since Mr. Derr's death by the Derr brothers.
In 1856 Mr. Derr was married a second time to Miss Sarah Adle, a lady of rare social and domestic virtues, who survives him. Shortly before or after his marriage he refitted his house, adding a third story, a marble doorway and facing to the front base. A short time afterwards he erected a mill in the stone- yard, driven by steam, thus having in operation all the facili- ties of the most favored establishments in the land. In 1869
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FRANKLIN DERR.
Mr. Derr contracted to erect the Soldiers' Monument that graces the Norristown Public Square, furnishing it completely at a cost of about five thousand dollars. His son Henry was the main designer of the monument, which does credit to all concerned.
It remains only to detail Mr. Derr's efforts of a semi-public nature, and describe his character as a man. Though earn- estly devoted to his private business and interest, he was always alive to any project of a public nature likely to promote the business of the town. In this respect his character contrasts favorably with some other of our wealthy men, who scarcely could be induced to invest a dollar for such a purpose.
Accordingly, when the rupture took place between the Old and the New School Presbyterians in 1855, and the latter party were deprived of their house of worship and resolved to build a new one, Mr. Derr, though a Lutheran by sympathy, took hold with a few other wealthy men, and was instrumental in building the Central Presbyterian Church in 1856-7, making himself liable for a time in a considerable amount. When the proposition was started to organize the First National Bank and sustain the new financial policy of the Government, he became a heavy stockholder, and was a director from its start till his death. In the project of making a branch road to con- nect Norristown with the North Pennsylvania railroad Mr. Derr was the most active man of the town, spending days booking subscriptions to form a basis for the enterprise. Still again, in 1876, when a manufacturer of agricultural machinery proposeď to locate in Norristown, Mr. Derr invested in the undertaking while the prospect was not one of certain profit by any means .. He was also active in having sewers constructed to afford drainage for his own as well as the uses of others. He was the agent of the Stony Creek Railroad Company in purchasing the Freedley property to secure it an outlet and an intersection with the Norristown track.
Though a man deeply devoted to his private interest, and making the closest bargains he could, he was always honora- ble in contracts and engagements to the letter; and while he wanted from his hands an honest day's work, he was never a
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FRANKLIN DERR.
harsh and exacting master, that regarded not the interest or feelings of his employes. The best proof of this trait of his character was found in the fact that he employed John Hill as polisher for over twenty years continuously, Charles Dignan as saw-man nearly as long a period, and others in like manner.
When men grow rich through the employment of the labor of others in this way, it is always a satisfaction to bear this tes- timony in their behalf. Franklin Derr labored, saved, and drove industry for a little over forty years; and without doubt built up the largest fortune ever acquired hereabout by follow- ing a mechanical trade. All his early gains certainly were made by industry, saving, and by employing labor, and not by investments in corporations or fixed property. In his later years, however, he became as much an investor as a user of money.
The estate was very large at the time of his death, and dying intestate it was administered to by his sons, assisted by James Hooven, Esq., President of the First National Bank. His children and heirs are the following: Henry A., intermarried with Ellen, daughter of Florence and Ann Sullivan, of Nor- ristown; Annie E., wife of Charles W. Holmes; John J., mar- ried to Elizabeth West, daughter of George West.
In person Franklin Derr was stoutly built, rather under than over the average height, fair complexion, dark hair, round, pleasant features, and a very genial companion. Though not having much book learning, he was a man of wonderful shrewd- ness and good sense.
He was a life-long Democrat in politics, but would occa- sionally break out of the ranks when unsuitable men were nominated. He died March 16th, 1877, in his 62d year, and his remains lie buried in Montgomery Cemetery, where his children have erected a square, fluted column or obelisk of white marble some twenty-five feet high above the pedestal. It is the most imposing monument in the enclosure, and bears near its base the name "Derr."
213
CHARLES BOSLER.
CHARLES BOSLER.
A good conscience is a continual feast, and a peaceful mind the antepast of heaven. -Reynolds.
The Bosler family of Shoemakertown, Montgomery county, as the name indicates, is of German origin. The grandfather of the subject of this biography, with his wife, came from Ger- many to Philadelphia, where Joseph, the father of Charles Bos- ler, was born. Joseph Bosler, when a young man, removed to Shoemakertown, and engaged in the business of hauling grain and flour to and from the mills at that place. He married Hannah MacBride, of Paoli, Chester county, by whom he had two sons and three daughters: Joseph, Charles, Ann, Emma, and Ellen. Their eldest son, Joseph, died June 23d, 1828, and his widow January 16th, 1831. They are both buried in Friends' burial ground on Chelten avenue, Cheltenham.
Charles, the second son of Joseph Bosler, Sr., and the sub- ject of this biography, was born August 27th, 1810, and re- ceived a good common school education. He married Mary Watson, daughter of William and Hannah Gillingham, of Buckingham, Bucks county. They had four children: Wil- liam G., born December 2d, 1840; Joseph, born February 24th, 1846; Charles, a twin brother of Joseph, died in infancy; and Hannah.
William G., the eldest son of Charles Bosler, was well edu- cated. He was a man of patriotism and enlarged public spirit. Accordingly, when the great rebellion broke out, he enlisted in 1862 as a private in Company C, One Hundred and Thir- tieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served for nine months, the full time of enlistment. He was promoted during the period to the position of Sergeant Major of the regiment, and also to Lieutenant of his company. He saw considerable service in his short term, being wounded in the battle of Fred- ericksburg, and, for so brief a period, left the army with a very notable record. The next year, when Governor Curtin called upon the people for "emergency" men to repel Lee's invasion, he again enlisted, this time in Captain Samuel W. Comly's cavalry company, serving about two months, till the raid was
Fromended. the time he returned from the army until the
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CHARLES BOSLER.
period of his death, he was a very active and influential Repub- lican, on one or more occasions acting as secretary of county conventions. * In 1868, because of his public spirit and eminent fitness for the place, he was chosen transcribing clerk of the Senate at Harrisburg, serving three years in that capacity till January, 1871, when he returned home, and died on the 19th of March following, leaving no heirs, as he had never been married.
At the time of his death, as some years before, he had been in partnership with his father in the milling business, which he learned in his youth. Shortly after his decease his brother Joseph took his place in the firm, and it was still in form as before, "Charles Bosler & Son." In about two and a half years after the death of William G. Bosler, in the fall of 1873, the father died also, leaving the concern in the hands of Joseph Bosler, his second son. The latter, on the 8th of October, 1869, had married Cynthia G., daughter of Watson and Mary L. Comly, of Byberry, Philadelphia. They now (1878) occupy the old family homestead, and have had born to them two children, Mary W. and Carrie C.
Having given most of the family history, including the youngest generation, we will return to detail some interesting incidents of the life and character of the late Charles Bosler, the subject of this biography. When his father died, in 1831, encouraged by friends, he at once took his father's place in haul- ing the grain up and the flour down to Philadelphia, till March, 1847, when he had so thriven that he was encouraged to buy of Charles Shoemaker the flour mills at Shoemakertown. From this to the time of his death, a period of twenty-six years, he pushed the merchant milling business with great energy. He received but a common school education, yet quickness in accounts was his distinguishing characteristic in dealing. This, added to industry and excellent judgment, were guarantees of success.
From a small boy he was known among the neighbors (and particularly to Charles Shoemaker, from whose mill he hauled back and forth) as a lad of truth, industry, and promise. So it is related that when his father died, in very limited circum-
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CHARLES BOSLER.
stances, and his effects came to be sold, Mr. Shoemaker, the owner of the mill, urged young Charles, then only sixteen or seventeen years old, to buy the team and wagons, offering to be surety for him or advance him money to pay for them. This offer, so generously made by his kind patron, was gladly ac- cepted, and he began life where his father had. Shortly after reaching his majority, the real estate being also offered for sale, he was encouraged by the same kind friends to buy that like- wise. This put him into all the business his father had fol- lowed, and he pursued it with so much industry, energy and honesty, that he soon began to pay off incumbrances and grow rich, notwithstanding a generous and confiding disposition often subjected him to losses in trusting the honest but unfortunate poor. This kindly benevolent trait of character, which made him sympathize with worthy persons struggling against the adversities of life, and never allowed him to forget his early friends, is one of the golden memories that cling to his name. He always felt a warm regard for the Shoemaker family in later life, when he had become rich and able to reciprocate their former favors. An incident of his philanthropic nature is related something like this. A physician, by some new treatment, had cured his wife of a diseased member, where- upon, knowing of a customer in Philadelphia afflicted in the same way, he told the doctor to call on that person and tender like treatment, and further to say that "Charles Bosler will pay the bill." The physician did so, curing the patient, and Mr. Bosler redeemed his word, although the person healed owed him a large sum of money, which, in consequence of a fire, he could not pay.
Mr. Bosler was a man of lively, cheerful disposition, and everybody liked him, which no doubt accounted for a measure of his success in business. He was justly denominated a suc- cessful man, having no capital but industrious habits, integrity, and a strong will to start upon, and leaving at his death a large estate honestly accumulated. He voted the Republican ticket, and once was run for County Treasurer, but not being on the strong side failed of election.
In person Charles Bosler was of medium height, dark com-
216
DANIEL HIESTER.
plexion, and enjoyed good health till near the time of his death, which resulted suddenly, from apoplexy, while seated in his rocking-chair. His remains lie buried in Friends' cemetery, Abington. His widow survives him.
DANIEL HIESTER.
THE HIESTER FAMILY.
5
Our fathers! where are they, With all they called their own ?- Doddridge.
It is doubtful if there be any more distinguished name in Pennsylvania annals than that of Hiester. Daniel, son of John and Catharine Hiester, was born January Ist, 1713, in the vil- lage of Elsoff, in domains of the Count of Witzenstein, pro- vince of Westphalia, now belonging to the Empire of Ger- many. In the year 1737 he and his brother Joseph came to America, having been preceded by their elder brother John in 1732. Daniel settled in Goshenhoppen, then Philadelphia, now Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He had four sons and a daughter, the last of whom married Dr. Hahn. His son, Daniel, Jr., took a very active part in the affairs of his country during the Revolutionary war, as appears by the following ex- tract :
"October 21st, 1777, he was appointed one of the commissioners to seize personal effects of traitors. November 8th, 1777, appointed one of the commissioners to collect clothing. May 6th, 1778, one of the agents for forfeited estates. May 26th, 1782, a Brigadier General of the Pennsylvania militia. October 15th, 1784, one of the Councilors of Montgomery county. June 6th, 1785, appointed on the Board of Property. May 22d, 1787, a commissioner in the territorial dispute between Pennsylvania and Connecticut. July 19th, 1787, a commissioner for adjusting claims of Connecticut set- tlers in Pennsylvania."*
After the war General Daniel Hiester was the first represen- tative in Congress, under the present Constitution, from Berks
*Pennsylvania Archives.
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DANIEL HIESTER.
county, of which he had in the meantime become a citizen. In 1796 he removed to Maryland, where he was again elected repeatedly to the same office from the district composed of Washington, Frederick and Allegheny counties, until the time of his decease, which occurred in Washington city during the session of 1801-2.
His older brother, John, moved to Chester county when a young man, was Major General of the militia of the district, and elected to the Tenth Congress from that county in 1808. Afterwards he moved to Pottstown, Montgomery county, and was President of the first Town Council. His son Daniel was Prothonotary of Chester county for a number of years, and was elected to the Eleventh Congress from there in 1809, serving during the two following sessions. Another son of Major General John Hiester was Samuel, a physician, who practiced a number of years in Pottstown, and afterwards re- sided, till the time of his death, in Chester county, near Potts- town. John R. Hiester, now residing in Pottstown, is a son of Dr. Samuel Hiester.
As a fitting sequel we add a general sketch of
THE HIESTER FAMILY.
The name of Hiester is so extensively connected with the general and State governments that a brief sketch of the whole family may not be uninteresting. Their remote ancestors were of Silesian origin. From that country they were distributed throughout Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Switzerland, and the countries bordering on the river Rhine. The immediate an- cestors of the present race of that name in this country emi- grated from Witzenstein, in Westphalia, and arrived in America in the early part of the eighteenth century (1737). They con- sisted of three brothers, Daniel, John, and Joseph, who, in the first place, all took up their residence at Goshenhoppen, then Philadelphia, now Montgomery county. Here Daniel at once purchased a farm, which was somewhat improved. Afterwards exploring, and becoming better acquainted with the country, they united in purchasing from the proprietary government between two and three thousand acres of land in Bern town- ship, now Berks county.
15
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DANIEL HIESTER.
Here John and Joseph settled, while Daniel remained at the old homestead. Having thus, with the characteristic prudence of that primitive day, first secured the means of supporting families, they soon formed matrimonial alliances with Ameri- can women, and sought in the pursuit of agriculture the fruits of enterprise and honest labor. As they had been induced to leave their native country by the vassalage of an oppressive government, they naturally cherished a lofty spirit of freedom. Accordingly, when the Revolutionary war broke out they were among the first to enroll themselves in the list of " Asso- ciaters." The efficient services of this class of citizen-soldiers, which were organized by electing two Brigadier Generals at Lancaster on the 4th of July, 1776 (afterwards rendered in the campaigns of New Jersey and the lower part of Pennsylvania), are well known matters of history. Daniel of Montgomery, John of Chester, and Gabriel of Berks, the three eldest sons of Daniel the emigrant, entered the service as field officers, the two former with the rank of Colonel and the latter with that of Major. William, the fourth and youngest son of Daniel, also enrolled, but, on account of his extreme youth and the infirmity of his parents, did not serve more than one campaign.
Joseph Hiester, afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania, the only son of John the emigrant, entered the service as Captain in "the flying camp," was made prisoner at the battle of Long Island, and confined on board the notorious Jersey prison ship. He was subsequently exchanged and promoted to the rank of Colonel. After the war he and his two cousins, Daniel and John, were elected to the rank of Major General of their re- spective districts. The popularity gained by these men, their devotion to country, and the public spirit always evinced by them during the Revolutionary war, never forsook them. After the return of peace they all enjoyed, by the suffrages of the people, a large share in the councils of the State and general government.
Joseph Hiester was elected a member of the convention which met in Philadelphia in November, 1787, to consider, ratify or reject the present Constitution of the United States; and in 1789 he was a member of the convention which formed
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DANIEL HIESTER.
the second Constitution of this State. Under that Constitu- tion he and Gabriel Hiester, who had also been a member of the convention which formed the first State Constitution, were repeatedly elected to the Legislature, the latter continuing either in the Senate or House of Representatives uninterrupt- edly for nearly thirty years.
General Joseph Hiester, after the removal of Daniel to Mary- land, represented his district, composed in part of Berks county, in Congress. About the same time (1807) that General John Hiester was chosen a member of the same body from Chester county, Joseph was re-elected for a series of years, until he re- signed in 1820, when he was elected Governor of the State.
The genealogy in the male line of the whole Hiester family may thus be given. The eldest of the emigrant brothers, John, moved to Berks county. He was born in Germany in 1707, and died in 1757. His son (second generation), Governor Jo- seph Hiester, was born in 1752, and died in 1832, aged 80. Governor Joseph Hiester's son (third generation), John S., born in 1774 and died in 1849, left two sons of the fourth genera- tion, Joseph M. and Frederick M. The former of these two had a son, Henry M. M., and the latter also a son, John, both of the last being of the fifth generation.
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