USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 24
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J. EARL MARSHALL-Recently allied with the textile industry as one of the owners and executives of the Norristown Dye Works, J. Earl Marshall is counted among the successful young men of Mont- gomery county. The Marshalls are a very old family of Delaware county, Pennsylvania.
J. M. Marshall, Mr. Marshall's father, was born at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, about 1862, and is a son of James Thomas and Matilda (Holstein) Marshall. Early in life J. M. Marshall entered the cotton mills and learning the trade of spinner, was employed in that capacity with the Trainer Spinning Mills Company, at Trainer, Pennsylvania,
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until about 1900. Then removing to Norristown, he became identified with the Wyoming Spinning Company, at the foot of Swede street, accepting the position of superintendent of the mill. In the summer of 1913 Mr. Marshall purchased the equipment of the plant, which he operated until 1920, at which time the equipment was sold for export to Japan. On March 1, 1921, Mr. Marshall, in company with his elder son, J. Earl Marshall, bought the present interest. This was a long estab- lished and successful business, located at No. 15 West Marshall street, Norristown, and as the Norristown Dye Works the business is rapidly expanding under the present management. J. M. Marshall is a member and past master of Norristown Lodge, No. 620, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Modern Woodmen of America, is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a trustee of the church and member of its official board. He married, on September 25, 1895, Sarah E. Webb, of Chester, Pennsylvania, and their two sons are: J. Earl, of further mention; and Frank H., who was born November 3, 1901, and is now in business with a cousin in the Voshelle Sign Service.
J. Earl Marshall was born August 13, 1896. Receiving his early education in the public schools, he was graduated from high school in 1916, then had the advantage of a commercial course. After finishing school he was employed with his father until the mill equipment was sold as above mentioned. Thereafter, for one year, Mr. Marshall was identified with the McCarter Iron Works, and in 1921, again became asso- ciated with his father, this time in the newly acquired dye works. He was one of the active executives of this business, and was contributing materially to its progress. They were dyers for the textile trade, dyeing yarns, hosiery, knit goods, etc., covering the entire field of cotton, wool, worsted, and artificial silk. Their territory includes Montgomery, Berks, Philadelphia and Delaware counties, in this State, and also reached the New York and Brooklyn trade. They employed a full complement of expert mechanics, had the most modern equipment and kept in touch with the advance of science and invention in their own and allied fields. The business was constantly increasing under their hands, and was counted one of the really significant industries of the borough of Norris- town. In September, 1922, the business was sold to residents of Phila- delphia, who removed the equipment to Brooklyn to establish there. J. M. Marshall then retired from active business. J. Earl Marshall then became associated with the American Steel Equipment Company of Phil- adelphia, in their department known as the American Heat Treating Plant.
J. Earl Marshall served in the World War, entering the service on September 4, 1918. He was detailed to Camp Greenleaf, Georgia, and assigned to the Medical Department, but the armistice intervened before he was called into active service, and he received his discharge on Decem- ber 27, 1918. He is a member of the American Legion and Norristown Lodge, No. 620, Free and Accepted Masons, is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, and active in the work of the church.
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J. Earl Marshall married, on June 30, 1919, Emily S. Furlong, daugh- ter of A. J. Furlong, of Norristown. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall have one son, Gordon Kenneth, born February 21, 1922. The family reside at No. 1332 Markley street, Norristown.
LAWRENCE ROSS DAVIS, D. D. S .- In the dental profession in Montgomery county, Dr. Davis has won a leading position, his office being located at Ardmore, and his residence at Narbeth, Pennsylvania. His practice, however, extends throughout many of the adjacent com- munities in this part of the county, and he is numbered among the prom- ising young men of the day. A native of this State, he is a son of How- ard E. and Sarah (Barker) Davis, of Narbeth.
Dr. Davis was born in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1898. His education was begun in the public schools of Narbeth, to which com- munity the family removed in his childhood, and his high school course was covered in Lower Merion township. Thereafter, entering the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, he was graduated from that institution in 1919 with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. Locating in Ardmore in 1920, Dr. Davis took up the practice of his profession, and although only a comparatively short time has elapsed, he is taking a leading position in dental circles in Montgomery county.
Dr. Davis is a member of Cassia Lodge, No. 273, Free and Accepted Masons ; Montgomery Chapter, No. 262, Royal Arch Masons ; St. Albans Commandery, No. 47, Knights Templar; and Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and the Penn Athletic Club of Philadelphia. He has been an athlete of noteworthy attain- ments since high school days, serving on the high school basketball team throughout the course, on the baseball team after his freshman year, and on the track during his senior year. He played on the University of Pennsylvania Basketball team during 1917-18, and was its captain during the scholastic year of 1918-19. He acted as coach in basketball at Haver- ford School for the past three years and Haverford College for three years. His favorite recreations are golf and tennis.
Dr. Lawrence Ross Davis married, in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, on September 15, 1920, Grace Elizabeth Stillwagon, a member of a very old Pennsylvania family, granddaughter of William H. and Emma J. Stillwagon, and daughter of Howard S., whose life is reviewed in this work, and Mary Elizabeth (Super) Stillwagon. Dr. and Mrs. Davis have two children : Lawrence Ross, Jr., born November 15, 1921 ; and Jane Elizabeth, born February 22, 1923.
PAUL E. LOOMIS-When the borough of Royersford, Pennsyl- vania, was young and very small, Atmore Loomis formed a partnership with Yelles Freed and bought the plant of the Royersford Foundry and Machine Company and continued active until his passing; then his son, Paul E., came into business prominence, and as president of the Hilltop
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Garage and Machine Company, Inc., now the Royersford Screw Machine Product Company, Inc., is at the head of an important enterprise.
Paul E. Loomis is a son of Atmore Loomis, and grandson of Esau Loomis, the latter born in Nantmeal township, Chester county, Pennsyl- vania, his father in Whiteland township, of the same county, his birth date February 28, 1853. Atmore Loomis obtained a fair education, began business life with the Philadelphia & Reading railroad, and was employed by that company in various positions, finally being made station agent at Royersford, a post he filled for several years. He then entered the employ of the American Wood Paper Company, at Manayunk, Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, continuing with that corporation until the fall of 1891, when the partnership to which we have previously referred was formed, and he thus continued in business until his death, August 2, 1912.
Atmore Loomis was a Prohibitionist in politics, and for twenty years was a member of Town Council, being president of that body for a number of years. He was a member of the Masonic order, affiliated with Royersford Lodge, No. 585, Free and Accepted Masons, and Harrisburg Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; was a charter member of the local lodge of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America. In religious belief Mr. Loomis was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, serving as a member of the board of trustees, also as treasurer and in other capacities. He was a good citizen, upright in life, public-spirited and progressive, and highly esteemed in his community.
Mr. Loomis married, in 1876, Fannie Rennard, daughter of Jacob Rennard, of Port Kennedy, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and to them three children were born: Florence M., who married Charles Shel- lenberger ; Mabel G .; and Paul E., whose career is herein reviewed.
Paul E. Loomis was born in Royersford, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania, December 24, 1886. He was educated in the public and high schools of Royersford, then graduated from Drexel Institute, class of 1905, after which he entered the shops of the Royersford Foundry and Machine Company, his father's business, and there served an apprentice- ship at the machinist's trade. He then took a business course in the Pottstown Business College, class of 1910. After graduating from busi- ness college he went to Philadelphia and entered the employ of the Lans- ton Monotype Machine Company, remaining there five years, when he returned again to Royersford and entered the employ of the Royersford Foundry and Machine Company as foreman in charge of the second floor of the works, continuing with the company until 1920, although he had established and had in operation a flourishing garage. That business, the Hilltop Garage, which is in a building 50 x 130 feet, with basement, was established in a small way in 1913 by Mr. Loomis as a side issue. The business grew rapidly for several years until 1920, when Mr. Loomis gave it his entire time and attention. In June, 1920, he incorporated the business as the Hilltop Garage and Machine Company, of Royersford, Paul E. Loomis, president ; H. E. Anderson, secretary ; and Howard S.
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Crosby, treasurer, whose sketch follows. The same year he completed the erection of a two-story brick building, 50 x 138 feet, which is used as a machine shop and factory for the manufacture of Van Gilder water meters and for a general line of machine work. Lately, with the great interest in wireless telegraphy, the company has given considerable attention to the manufacture of radio accessories; in their plant they employ about twenty-five men. On February 5, 1923, the concern's name was changed to the Royersford Screw Machine Product Company, Inc., the officers being the same as when it was the Hilltop Garage.
Paul E. Loomis is a member of Royersford Lodge, No. 585, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master. He is also a member of the Philadephia Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; Rajah Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Reading, Pennsylvania ; the Knights of the Golden Eagle; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and is an official member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Royersford.
Mr. Loomis married, on September 6, 1912, Elizabeth Bingaman, of Coventryville, Chester county, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of two children: Atmore (2), born December 2, 1913; and Sarah, born March 16, 1916. The family residence is at No. 121 Fourth avenue, Royersford, Pennsylvania.
HOWARD S. CROSBY, treasurer of what was formerly the Hilltop Garage and Machine Company, Inc., but now the Royersford Screw Machine Product Company, Inc., of Royersford, Pennsylvania, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1885, son of Clement and Hannah (Dillworth) Crosby, and grandson of Thomas Crosby, a shoe- maker, who died in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, at the age of seventy-eight. Clement Crosby was born in Warwick township, Chester county, Penn- sylvania, and was employed later in life in the iron mills of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, until about 1887. He then became manager of the plantation and dairy farm belonging to Colonel Armstrong, at Hampton, Virginia. There he has remained until the present (1922), although he has long since retired from active participa- tion in business, having reached the age of seventy-one. He married Hannah Dillworth, born in Glenmore, Chester county, Pennsylvania, who is yet his companion and helpmate.
Howard S. Crosby was educated in Hampton (Virginia) schools, and for a time was employed by his father at the Armstrong dairy farm, driving a milk wagon and doing farm work. He then served a three years' apprenticeship at the barber's trade, afterwards learning the machinist's trade with the William H. Sellers Company, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He spent three years with that company, then was employed with the Lanston Monotype Machine Company, of Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, in the turning department, becoming assistant fore- man of the entire turning department and foreman of the automatic screw machine department of the plant. He remained with the last-named
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company fourteen years, then came to Royersford, where on June 1, 1921, he became associated with Paul E. Loomis (see preceding sketch) in the Hilltop Garage and Machine Company, Inc., now the Royersford Screw Machine Product Company, Inc., of which he is treasurer.
Mr. Crosby, while employed in Philadelphia, enrolled in a night class and was employed in the New Lyric Garage, at Cherry and Juniper streets, working at the garage certain evenings and Saturday afternoons. In this way he became familiar with automobile construction and is both an expert machinist and automobile mechanic. He is a member of the Masonic order, affiliated with Oriental Lodge, No. 385, Free and Accepted Masons, of Philadelphia; and with Philadelphia Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He is a member of the Star of Bethle- hem Lodge, No. 190, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past noble grand ; and is past chief patriarch of Jordan Encampment, No. 55, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of Wauseka Tribe, No. 48, Improved Order of Red Men ; the Midnight Sons' Club, of Royersford, and of the Baptist church.
Mr. Crosby married, October 31, 1915, Anna L. Stout, daughter of E. and Georgianna (Petitt) Stout. The family home is at No. 323 Chest- nut street, Royersford, Pennsylvania.
SAMUEL D. CONVER-With unusually comprehensive preparation for his career in the profession of the law, Samuel D. Conver has been active in practice in Montgomery county for more than twelve years, and has reached a position of assured success. Mr. Conver comes of a family long resident in this county, and is a son of Samuel B. and Susanna Con- ver. His father, who was an undertaker by occupation, and widely known hereabouts, was born in 1845, and died in 1914. The mother was born in 1850, and is still living.
Samuel D. Conver was born in Lansdale, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania, February 13, 1886. His education was begun in the public schools of his native place, and he was graduated from the Lansdale High School in 1902. He attended Perkiomen Seminary at Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, for one year, and having covered his preparatory course there, entered Princeton University in the fall of 1903. He was gradu- ated from that institution in the class of 1907, taking his degree in Arts and Letters. His choice of a profession long since determined, the young man then entered the University of Pennsylvania Law School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1910. Admitted to the bar within the year, he began the practice of law at once, establishing offices in both Norristown and Lansdale. He has been very successful in his chosen field of endeavor, and is counted among the foremost professional men of the day in this part of the State. Mr. Conver takes a very prac- tical interest in the various avenues of advance along which civic affairs are trending. He is a director of the Montgomery Trust Company, of Norristown; is solicitor for the First National Bank of Lansdale, the North Penn Building and Loan Association, and the Honor Building and
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Loan Association. In political matters he gives his support to the Repub- lican party, but has thus far never accepted public honors. Fraternally Mr. Conver holds membership in Shiloh Lodge, No. 558, Free and Accepted Masons; Lodge No. 997, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Fraternal Order of Eagles, of Lansdale; and the Loyal Order of Moose, also of Lansdale. He is a member of St. John's Reformed Church.
Mr. Conver married, on June 14, 1915, at Richland, Pennsylvania, Grace E. Landis, daughter of I. Frank and Elizabeth Landis, and they have one daughter : Jean L., born November 30, 1921. The family home is in Lansdale.
ALVIN FRANCIS LEIDY, for nearly forty years, has been identified with the coal, feed, grain, and flour business of which he is now sole owner and manager. He is well known in Montgomery county, where his entire life has been passed, and he numbers among his many friends a large group of those who are associated with him in business and social activities. He is a descendant of Rev. John Leonhard Leydich, the line of descent being traced as follows :
(II) Rev. John Philip Leydich, son of Rev. John L. Leydich, was born April 28, 1715, and died January 14, 1784. He married Marie Cath- arina Homrighausen, who was born June 30, 1721, and died October 31, 1801, and they were the parents of a family of children, among whom was Philip.
(III) Philip Leidy (note the change in spelling) was born May 21, 1755, and died March 14, 1822. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He married Rosina Bucher, who was born February 22, 1760, and died November 2, 1849, and they were the parents of children, among whom was Samuel.
(IV) Samuel Leidy, son of Philip and Rosina (Bucher) Leidy, was born August 3, 1790, and died September 25, 1873. He married Hannah Schwenk, who was born August 11, 1793, and died April 3, 1857, and among their children was Philip (2).
(V) Philip (2) Leidy, son of Samuel and Hannah (Schwenk) Leidy, was born May 27, 1816, and died July 15, 1895. He married Elizabeth Krause, who was born September 13, 1816, and died November 27, 1891, and they were the parents of children, among whom was Ephraim K.
(VI) Ephraim K. Leidy, son of Philip and Elizabeth (Krause) Leidy, was born November 19, 1841, and died August 20, 1913. He was engaged in business for himself as a miller during the greater part of his life, though during the early years of his mature life he was a journeyman. He married Annie Beaver, who was born September 27, 1852, and died October 29, 1886, and they were the parents of four children: Alvin Francis, of further mention; Willard, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, died in infancy ; and Lillian, died in infancy.
(VII) Alvin Francis Leidy was born in Frederick township, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1871, and received his early education in the rural public school of his native district. He then
Roy S. Leidy
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entered Ursinus College, where he continued his studies for a period of two terms, 1885-86. In 1887 he became associated with his father, who was engaged in the coal, feed, grain and flour business at Delphi, Penn- sylvania, and since that time he has been continuously and successfully identified with that business. In 1906 it became necessary to find larger quarters to accommodate the rapidly increasing volume of business, and the plant was removed to the present location. Since the death of his father in 1913, Mr. Leidy has been sole owner and manager of the con- cern which has continued its marked growth. The main building, 100 x 70 feet, three stories high, and containing 21,000 square feet of floor space, is supplemented by five storage buildings, No. I, consisting of two sections, each thirty-four by twenty-four feet, and containing 1,632 square feet of floor space; No. 2, containing 4,000 square feet of floor space, used for storing hay; No. 3, at the railroad station, a building 30 x 60 feet, one floor, containing 1,800 square feet of floor space, and another 12 x 60 feet, consisting of two floors, tracks, and coal bins ; No. 4, 20 x 40 feet, one story, 800 square feet of floor space ; and No. 5, 20 x 10 feet, one story, used for meat scrap. With these exceptionally fine storage facilities, Mr. Leidy is able to give excellent service to his num- erous patrons and to conduct a business which is rapidly growing. Politically Mr. Leidy is a Democrat, and fraternally he affiliates with Warren Lodge, No. 310, Free and Accepted Masons, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and with the Knights of Friendship, of Zieglerville. His religious interest is with the Reformed Church of Keelers, near Boyer- town. Mr. Leidy has the original old family Bible which has been handed down from the Rev. John Leonhard Leydich.
One June 6, 1891, at Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, Alvin Francis Leidy married Ella M. Sweisford, daughter of Josiah A. Sweisford, a farmer of Frederick township, who was born October 23, 1839, and is still living, and of Marie (Geiger) Sweisford, who was born March 25, 1845, and died March 20, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Leidy are the parents of five children : I. Raymond, who was born May 15, 1893, and died May 30, 1893. 2. Roy S., who was born September 15, 1895, and died in France, October 30, 1918. He was a graduate of Perkiomen Seminary and was beginning his second year at Princeton when he enlisted for service in the World War, November 2, 1917. He was sent first to Camp Meade and later, January 7, 1918, to Newport News, Virginia, from which place he sailed April 3, 1918, with Company M, 4th United States Infantry, Third Division. He landed in Brest, France, April 12, 1918, and was sent to the front in time to take part in the battles of the Aisne, Champagne, Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne, defensive sector. He was killed on the field of honor in the last-named battle, Meuse-Argonne, October 20, 1918, and his body was later brought home and buried, on New Year's Day, 1922, with military honors. The Ameri- can Legion Post at Schwenkville, Pennsylvania, is named for him, the Roy S. Leidy Post, and his mother was presented with his service medal. 3. Elizabeth, born December 13, 1896, died at the age of three years, five
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months, and twenty-one days. 4. Anna Marie, born February 14, 1908, is a second year student in high school. 5. Katherine S., born February 24, 1910, is a senior in the public school and will graduate with the class of 1923 ; she will also enter high school in September of the same year, 1923.
PAUL D. MILLER-A member of the sixth generation of a family noted for their industry and ability, Paul D. Miller of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, is making a name for himself among the younger business men of the city. Coming in 1919, in the three years that have followed he has started and developed the second largest undertaking establishment in Conshohocken. His father, J. Franklin Miller, who died April 22, 1916, at the age of forty-nine, was a resident of Franklin county, Penn- sylvania, farming the homestead upon which four generations of his family had lived and worked before him. Mary Elizabeth (Coble) Miller, mother of J. Franklin Miller, is a descendant of a family orig- inally from Holland, the Millers coming to Pennsylvania from the Northern part of England in the early part of the seventeenth century. J. Franklin Miller married Minnie Divelbliss, of ancient Franklin county family, early iron-masters, she is a daughter of David, and granddaughter of William Divelbliss. Mrs. Miller is still living.
Paul D. Miller was born in Peters township, Franklin county, Penn- sylvania, February 26, 1893, and gained his early education in the public schools. After attendance at Cumberland Valley Normal School he pursued a course of study at Pennsylvania Business College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, then was an apprentice for two years under David Martin, undertaker, at Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Later he attended Eckels College of Embalming, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated in 1914. He followed this very thorough training with five years of actual experience, and thus perfecting his knowledge of his voca- tion, he established his present business in Conshohocken in 1919, at No. 125 Third avenue, corner of Central avenue, a quiet section of the city.
Mr. Miller, aside from his professional associations with the Mont- gomery County Funeral Directors' Society, is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows; the Knights of Pythias, of which he is a trustee; the Tall Cedars of Lebanon (Norristown, Pennsylvania) ; the Improved Order of Red Men; Patriotic Sons of America; and Fritz Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, all of Conshohocken; he also is a member of the Elks Club, of Norristown, Pennsylvania ; a communicant of the Lutheran church of Conshohocken, a deacon, teacher of a Sunday school class for men and boys, and past president of St. Mark's Lutheran Brotherhood.
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