USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 19
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Horace B. Kratz was born on his father's farm at Hendricks, in Fred- erick township, and received his education in the Jones School in the same township. When his school days were over he remained at home, engaged in farming with his mother, until he was twenty-two years old, when he accepted a position as teamster with Samuel H. Longaker, of Schwenksville, where Mr. Kratz has ever since lived. This connection was destined to afford Mr. Kratz a life occupation and to lead him to success. He continued to work as a teamster for two years, or until 1890, when he began to learn the miller's trade with Mr. Longaker for the purpose of becoming a partner in the firm. In 1889 he married Mr. Longaker's only daughter, and to the mutual respect and friendly busi- ness relations of the two men was added a bond of family relationship.
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Their association endured without a break until the death of Mr. Long- aker in 1903.
The history of the business began with the building of the mill and the formation of a partnership by Wasser and Zandt, in 1864. The enter- prise prospered in spite of the trade uncertainties and period of depression caused by the Civil War, and finally came into Mr. Longaker's posses- sion. Mr. Longaker was born September 15, 1841, and began to learn the milling business as an apprentice under John Z. Hunsberger. As soon as he became a master of the trade, he formed a connection with Wasser and Zandt, for whom he worked for several years before purchas- ing their interests in the business and becoming its sole owner. From him, Mr. Kratz acquired his thorough knowledge of the miller's trade, spending the three years from 1890 to 1893 in study and practical work at the mill. In 1893 he became Mr. Longaker's partner and, together with him, carried on the business successfully. On March 21, 1903, Samuel H. Longaker died, and Mr. Kratz then assumed full control of the business.
He conducted it alone until April 1, 1907, when he took Edwin L. Miller into the firm. A man of long experience as a miller, Mr. Miller took an active part in the work of the company and the association was mutually agreeable. On July 1, 1915, however, Mr. Miller left the firm in order to accept an offer which he believed more to his advantage, and since that time, Mr. Kratz has been the sole owner and manager of the mill.
At the present time, the property consists of three buildings. The main building is the one originally built in 1864 by Wasser and Zandt, but it has been greatly enlarged and improved at each transfer. It is a three-story building, sixty feet by thirty-five, and fitted with the latest and best equipment known to the trade for cleaning and grinding grain. The basement provides additional space for storage and less important operations which can be carried on by artificial light with perfect efficiency. The other buildings consist of two floors each, the first cover- ing an area forty feet by twenty-two, and the second being sixty feet by twenty. The H. B. Kratz Milling Company is an unquestioned leader in its field and Mr. Kratz numbers his customers by the hundred. Vigor- ous and energetic, he has carried on the traditions of his family, con- tributing greatly to the prosperity of the community and taking his place as a leader in the progress of the county during the last thirty-five years. A man of substance and vision, he has been an ardent supporter of con- structive legislative and business policies, maintaining the highest standards at all times and thus contributing in full measure to the present position of power and influence occupied by the State his ances- tors helped to establish.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Kratz has served as a director of the school board of Schwenksville for ten years, and held the office of burgess for a term of four years. He is a member of the Perkiomen Valley Busi- ness Men's Association ; the Pennsylvania Millers' Association; and the
Mont-10
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Southeastern Pennsylvania Feed Merchants' Association, of which he was an organizer, and of which he is at present secretary and director. He is also a member of the board of directors, and treasurer of the Schwenksville Building and Mutual Loan Association. His interests are not confined to the milling and sale of grain and flour, but include feed, salt, sand, and similar commodities.
In religious faith Mr. Kratz and his family are members of the Men- nonite church, which has played so large a part in the development of the State. He takes a great interest in the activities of the congregation and is always ready to support the church in any undertaking. His principal recreations are gunning and fishing, and he seldom fails to bring in a full bag at the end of a day devoted to these open-air sports.
On July 27, 1889, Horace B. Kratz married, at Schwenksville, Sally B. Longaker, daughter of Samuel H. and Elizabeth (Bartman) Longaker. Mrs. Kratz was born on September 28, 1868, and died August 21, 1922, deeply mourned by her family and friends, who had known and loved her throughout the course of a life devoted to the highest ideals of American home-making and social life, in which she was always ready to help any one who might need assistance, whether in the cares of daily work or in the larger problems which beset mankind.
Mrs. Kratz's mother died in 1901, and her father married (second) Mrs. Annie Rawn Ironbridge, a widow. The marriage took place in October, 1902, only a few months before Mr. Longaker's death. Mrs. Kratz was his only child.
Mr. and Mrs. Kratz had three children who died in childhood: Eliza- beth Mary, who was born April 28, 1892, and died July 10, 1892; Samuel L., who was named for his mother's father and was born May 25, 1896, and died May 6, 1899; and Le Roy L., who was born July 14, 1899, and died August 19, 1900. Their two surviving children are: Clarence R., who was born September 7, 1905; and Claude Henry, who was born March 31, 1912. Clarence R. Kratz has just completed his preparatory studies at Perkiomen Seminary and is a student of mechanical engi- neering at Ursinus College, having entered that institution of learning in September, 1922.
WILLIAM HALLOWELL-The Hallowell family of which Wil- liam Hallowell of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, was representative, traced American residence to the time of William Penn's coming to Pennsylvania, John and Mary (Sharpe) Hallowell coming to the province about 1682 from Nottinghamshire, England. They settled at Darby in Delaware county, but in 1696 John Hallowell bought an estate of six hundred and thirty acres at Abington, and there resided until his passing. By his first wife, Sarah, he had one child; by his second wife, Mary (Sharpe) Hallowell, he had nine children, six of them born after the arrival in Pennsylvania. The family has long been numerous and influ- ential in the section embraced in Chester, Delaware, Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, Pennypack, in Montgomery county, a section
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greatly favored as a residence by the family. Nathan Hallowell, a descendant of John Hallowell and his second wife, Mary (Sharpe) Hallo- well, was the father of William Hallowell, of Conshohocken, to whose memory this review is dedicated. Nathan Hallowell, born June 26, 1782, died July 15, 1856, was a man of business eminence, one time president of the Schuykill Navigation Company. He married November 25, 1804, Esther Potts, and they were the parents of eight children: Robert, Ann, Martha, Sarah, Charles, Elizabeth, William, of whom further, and Nathan.
Esther Potts, wife of Nathan and mother of William Hallowell, was a daughter of Zebulon and Martha (Trotter) Potts, granddaughter of Nathan and Esther (Rhodes) Potts, and great-granddaughter of David and Alice (Crosdale) Potts. David Potts came to Bristol, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, when a young man, and in 1693 married Alice Crosdale, who came to Pennsylvania in the "Welcome" with William Penn. He was a farmer by occupation, and in religious faith a member of the Society of Friends.
Nathan Potts, of the second generation in Pennsylvania, was born in the province at Bristol and in early manhood settled near Plymouth Meeting House, in Plymouth township, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, where he owned a farm and operated a smithy, he, being a skilled blacksmith. He married Esther Rhodes, in Bucks county, January 22, 1736, and they were the parents of five sons: Daniel, Stephen, Nathan, Zebulon, of whom further ; and Isaiah ; also a daughter, Alice. Stephen, the second son, was an apprentice in the printing office of Benjamin Franklin. Nathan Potts was a member of the Society of Friends and in 1754 was laid at rest in the burial ground at Plymouth.
Zebulon Potts, the fifth child and fourth son of Nathan and Esther (Rhodes) Potts, was born at the home farm near Plymouth Meeting House, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1746, died March 17, 1801. He was a farmer of Plymouth township, his home near Sixth avenue, Conshohocken. He became one of the prominent men of his day ; was a constable of Plymouth township, prior to the Revolution ; was the first sheriff of Montgomery county after its organization ; was State Senator (dying during his second term) ; was an ardent patriot, serving with Robert Morris and others on the Philadelphia Committee of Safety ; and was justice of a Philadelphia court. While Zebulon Potts was outspoken in defence of the cause of the Colonies, his deeds kept pace with his speech. He raised a company of militia and was with his men at the battle of Brandywine. He served faithfully on the Committee of Safety, was very active in procuring provisions for the soldiers during the winter at Valley Forge, his loyalty being rewarded by the British with the offer of a reward for his capture, and by his church (Friends) with dismissal for his warlike activity.
After independence was won, he entered public life and was chosen the first sheriff of Montgomery county after it was set off as a separate county. In 1796 Zebulon Potts was elected Montgomery's first State
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Senator, and in 1799 he was reelected. In 1777 he was appointed an associate judge, sitting in Philadelphia. He was an effective public speaker and a man of strong native ability. He was very popular as a "stump" speaker, and a strong Federalist, although each time that he was elected to office he was the only Federalist chosen on his ticket. The following extract is from the Norristown "Herald :"
The County Senators :- In 1807 Jonathan Roberts, Jr., of Upper Merion (after- wards United States Senator), defeated John Richards for reelection. Mr. Richards had been defeated by Zebulon Potts in 1799. In 1801 Mr. Richards was elected to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Potts, who died that spring, and in 1803 was reelected, defeating General Andrew Porter. Senator Potts was carried into the Senate chamber to cast his last vote, as there was a matter of great importance before the Senate. He died shortly afterwards in Harrisburg, March 17, 1801.
It is a coincidence that Zebulon Potts and his grandfather, David Potts, the founder, should have died in office, David Potts while a mem- ber of the Provincial Assembly, Zebulon while State Senator.
Zebulon Potts married, in 1771, Martha Trotter, and they were the parents of ten children : Ann, born in 1772; Joseph, born in 1774; Esther, born in 1777, died in infancy ; Hannah, born in 1778; Alice, born in 1780; Esther, born in 1783; Martha, born in 1785; William, born in 1787; Rob- ert T., born in 1790 (lived in Swedeland), and Daniel T., born in 1794. Esther, the sixth child and fifth daughter, married Nathan Hallowell; their third from youngest child was a son, William, of this review.
William Hallowell, son of Nathan and Esther (Potts) Hallowell, was born in Conshohocken, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, August 15, 1818, died there May 18, 1912. He was a scholar at Miss Folk's private school at Conshohocken, and later attended the "Eight Square" School, out on the Harmanville road. In due time he became a carpenter's apprentice and later worked as a journeyman, finally becoming a con- tracting builder. He continued active as a contractor and builder until the close of his useful life and many of the fine homes of the Consho- hocken section were erected by him. In 1859 Mr. Hallowell built his own home on what is now Seventh avenue, a fine commodious mansion in the prevailing style, furnished throughout with rare and beautiful pieces now classed as antiques.
In the business world Mr. Hallowell bore high reputation as a man of integrity and ability. He was a director of the First National Bank of Conshohocken, and for several years was a member of the Town Council. He was a man of public spirit and very popular with his towns- men, who several times chose him for the office of burgess. He was a member of several fraternal and social orders, was a Republican in politics, and a member of Conshohocken First Baptist Church, serving as a deacon and as a member of the board of trustees. His friends were many, his sympathies wide and his life blessed in its results.
William Hallowell married (first), at Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, May 1, 1844, Harriet Thomas, who died March 12, 1847, daughter of Harriet Thomas. He married (second), at Balligomingo, Montgomery county, March 4, 1849, Matilda Preston, born December 23, 1817, died
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February 26, 1895, daughter of John and Hannah Preston. Children : Charles and Nathan by the first mariage; and by the second marriage five: Amazon D., died in infancy; Horace G. J., Hannah, Ella, and Matilda E.
HOWARD EARLE TWINING, M. D .- Although having been established in the practice of his chosen profession but a comparatively short time, Dr. Twining has already won recognition in medical circles that might well be the envy of a much older man. Success attended his efforts from the first, for he has already gained the confidence of a large clientele.
J. Howard Twining, son of Edwin and Hannah (Iredell) Twining, and father of Dr. Twining, was born at Germantown. Edwin Twining served in the First New Jersey Cavalry during the Civil War, and was wounded and escaped from Libby prison. He and his wife were the parents of six children : J. Howard, father of Dr. Twining; Mary, wife of Frank Dager, of Maple Glen, a farmer ; William P., a farmer of Johns- ville; Ida, wife of Wilson Jones, of Warrington, Bucks county ; Nellie ; and Iredell, a farmer of Mechanicsville. J. Howard Twining has been for many years engaged in general farming at Johnsville. He married Anna Wood Jones, a member of the Jones family of Conshohocken, Pennsyl- vania, and to them have been born the following children: Howard Earle, of further mention ; and Florence W., a graduate of Swarthmore College, class of 1921, and now in the advertising department of the Philadelphia "Record."
Howard Earle Twining was born in Horsham, Montgomery county, May 30, 1894. His preliminary education was obtained in the schools of Ivyland, after which he attended the Hatboro High School, from which he was graduated in 1911. He then entered Swarthmore College and won from this institution the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1915. Having in the meantime determined to adopt medicine as his life work and with this end in view, he accordingly matriculated at Hahnemann Medical College, completing the prescribed course with graduation and receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1919. He then served an interneship at Pittsburgh General Homeopathic Hospital for twelve months, and the following year was at Wilkinsburg, coming from there to Glenside, Pennsylvania, where he has since been established in his profession at No. 149 Easton road, devoting himself largely to obstetrics.
In November, 1917, Dr. Twining enlisted in the United States army and spent one year in the Philadelphia First Regiment Armory, being honorably discharged from service in November, 1918. He is an officer in the Medical Reserve Corps; belongs to the American Legion of Glen- side ; is medical inspector of the public school of Abington township; a member of Germantown Medical Homeopathical Society; on the staff of Abington Memorial Hospital at Abington ; a member of the Twenty- third Ward Club of Philadelphia; North East Shrine Club of Rockledge; the National, State and County Medical associations; the Kappa Sigma
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fraternity of Swarthmore College; Hahnemann Alumni; and in religion is a Quaker, belonging to the Society of Friends. Dr. Twining is also prominent in Masonic circles, having attained the thirty-second degree in Masonry, and being a member of the Pittsburgh Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite ; and Syria Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Pittsburgh. He is also affiliated with the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, Wilkinsburg Lodge, No. 748.
At Glenside, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1923, Howard Earle Twin- ing was united in marriage with Helen Gladys Jackson, daughter of Edmund Lathan and Viola (Ingersoll) Jackson, of Camden, New Jersey.
I. MERRITT SCHELLINGER-Among the late notably successful business men of Montgomery county was I. Merritt Schellinger, presi- dent of the Diamond Glass Company, who for many years was also presi- dent of the Keystone Building and Loan Association and vice-president of the Royersford Trust Company.
Mr. Schellinger was a descendant of old Colonial stock, being one of the few in the Schuylkill Valley who were descendants of "Mayflower" ancestry, his line being traced through John Howland. On the paternal side Mr. Schellinger traced his descent from the immigrant Cornelius Skellinks (later Schellinger), who came to this country prior to 1692, settling first either on Long Island or on Staten Island. In 1692, with a group of twenty or twenty-five families, he removed to Cape May county, New Jersey, where he purchased one hundred and thirty-five acres of land. With his family he located at Cold Springs, and there he established a saw and grist mill, which stood as one of the landmarks of the country some years ago when it was destroyed by fire. He owned a large tract of land lying north of Cold Spring Creek, upon which is located the old historic Cold Spring Presbyterian Church, the edifice now stand- ing, being the third house of worship erected on that site. The will of Cornelius Skellinks, dated 1742, mentions three sons: William, Abra- ham and Cornelius, I. Merritt Schellinger being a descendant of William.
William Schellinger was a pilot and a farmer. He owned large tracts of land on Cape May Point and lived near the steamboat landing in Lower township. Both he and his wife, Sophia (Stevens) Schellinger, lived to be eighty years of age and were highly esteemed among the people of their community. They were the parents of four children : William, who became one of the millionaire merchants of Cincinnati, Ohio; John; Aaron, of whom further; and Sarah, who married Joshua Townsend, a prominent citizen of Seaville, New Jersey, who was at one time a member of the Legislature.
Aaron Schellinger was born in Lower township and received his edu- cation in the public schools of his native district. He became a ship carpenter in Philadelphia and built many sloops and pilot boats at what is now known as Schellinger's Landing. For many years he lived in a small, old-fashioned house, which was built with a great fireplace extend- ing entirely across one end of the building. His wife was energetic and
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thrifty, and for a time they kept a boarding-house. They must have both been energetic and thrifty, for in time they became wealthy, owning a fine farm of one hundred acres, on which he erected a substantial resi- dence. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and politically gave his support to the Democratic party. He took an active interest in public affairs, officiated as tax collector for his district, and for a time was wreck-master at Cape May. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, taking a very earnest part in its activities, leading the singing and giving liberally of his time and means for the furtherance of its work. He married Sophia Bennett, and they were the parents of five children : Elizabeth, who married William Smith, and became the mother of: Napoleon, Lorinda, Captain William (a sea-faring man), and Mary, who married Isaac Dickinson ; William, a carpenter and builder of Cape May, who married Mary J. McCray, and had a son Clarence and a daughter Hulda ; George, a farmer, who married Anna Maria Hand, and has two sons : Alexander and William; Jeremiah, of whom further; and Joseph, deceased, who was a machinist and coal dealer, and married Augusta Styles, they becoming the parents of a daughter, Gertrude. Aaron Schellinger, the father, lived to be eighty-eight years of age, and the mother was in her eighty-seventh year when she died.
Jeremiah Schellinger was a plasterer by trade. He married Louise Merritt, and they became the parents of two sons: I. Merritt, of whom further ; and Joseph ; both prosperous glass manufacturers at Royersford, Pennsylvania.
I. Merritt Schellinger was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Decem- ber 7, 1863, and received his education in Bellefonte Academy, at Belle- fonte, Pennsylvania, and at Princeton University, where he continued his studies for a year. He left college in order that he might begin his busi- ness career, and in 1884 came to Royersford, Pennsylvania, from Cape May, New Jersey, as president of the Diamond Glass Company. This official position he continued to efficiently fill to the time of his death. In addition to his responsibilities as chief executive of so large and important a concern as the Diamond Glass Company, he also held official position in various other financial organizations. When the Home National Bank of Royersford was organized, he was chosen vice-presi- dent, and later, when the Home National Bank was taken over by the Royersford Trust Company, he became vice-president of the latter organ- ization, which position he continued to hold the remainder of his life- time. He was one of the organizers of the Keystone Building and Loan Association of Royersford, and was president from the time of its organ- ization. The association grew very rapidly under Mr. Schellinger's able direction and at the present time is a $2,000,000 corporation.
Mr. Schellinger always took a keen interest in the welfare of Royers- ford, being ever ready to serve the community in every way possible. He had been a member of the council since 1918, and a short time after his election to the board, served as president, being reelected to that office in January, 1920. When Royersford Lodge, No. 585, Free and Accepted
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Masons, was organized, he was elected junior warden. This office he held until 1897, when he was elected treasurer, and the latter office he held when he passed away. He was a member of Pottstown Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Reading Consistory, of Reading, Pennsylvania ; and of Rajah Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of Pottstown; and with the Cape May Yacht Club.
On May 7, 1888, I. Merritt Schellinger married Jane Farrou, of Cape May, New Jersey, daughter of William and Ida (Lemmon) Farrou ; the former was chief of police; previous to that he was in the grocery busi- ness. He was retired when he died in Royersford in 1911. In 1889 he erected his first home in Royersford; his late residence on Sixth avenue and the Boulevard was built in 1903, and it was here his death occurred December 28, 1922, leaving in its wake a vacancy which will be hard to fill.
WALLACE M. KEELY-In 1911 Mr. Keely came to Norristown and established himself in the practice of law at No. 11 East Airy street, which was his headquarters up to 1918, when he moved to No. 15 East Airy street, his present location. The years which have intervened have brought him substantial returns, but which can only come as a result of superior merit and ability.
Nathaniel B. Keely, father of Wallace M. Keely, was born in Boyers- town, Bucks county, and died in Norristown in 1918. During his early life he was a school teacher in the public schools of East Greenville, Pennsylvania, and later engaged in the hotel business, first at East Greenville and later was proprietor of the Hartranft Hotel in this borough ; he was a Democrat in politics and always took an active inter- est in the affairs of his chosen party. He married (first) Sallie K. Stone- bach, a native of Upper Salford; she died in 1883, at the age of twenty- eight years, leaving four children: Bertha, a resident of Norristown ; Charles W., who is associated with the Northern Construction Company of East Orange, New Jersey ; Wallace M., of further mention ; and Sallie. Mr. Keely married (second) Mary Trumbauer, a native of Trumbauer- ville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and to them were born the following children : Allen T., bookkeeper at the State Hospital for the Insane at Norristown; Jennie, private secretary with the Diamond State Fibre Company ; Henry, deceased; and Frances Ruth, who is employed in the local post office.
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