USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 27
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On October 15, 1857, at Philadelphia, Evan Davis Jones married Anna T. Potts, who died October 19, 1900, at the age of seventy-five years, daughter of William Potts.
The Potts family traces its ancestry to David and Alice Potts, the American ancestors who were the parents of ten children, the youngest of whom was Nathan, born about 1700, died in 1754. He married Esther Rhoads, and they were the parents of the following children: Stephen, born April 18, 1740, died November 10, 1801, married Jane Jones ; Nathan (2), married Priscilla Morgan ; Zebulon, of whom further; Alice, mar- ried Griffith Thomas ; and Isaiah.
Zebulon Potts, born about 1746, died November 3, 1800, married Martha Trotter, daughter of Joseph and Ann Trotter, and they were the parents of ten children : Ann, born July 30, 1772, died June 21, 1863, married Joseph Thomas ; Joseph, born August 10, 1774, died May 6, 1851, married Sarah Hughs ; Esther, born January 9, 1777; Hannah, born July 21, 1778; Alice, born October 21, 1781, married John Hallowell ; Esther, born March II, 1783, married Nathan Hallowell; Martha, born October 4, 1785, died August 2, 1873, married John Mather; William, of whom further ; Robert, born January II, 1790, died December 13, 1873, married Elizabeth Hibner ; and Daniel, born July 18, 1794.
William Potts, born November 13, 1787, died January 31, 1881, mar- ried, January 2, 1810, Ann Wager, daughter of Jesse and Sarah Wager, and they were the parents of seven children: J. Wager, born November
Jos & Branch M. A.
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20, 1810; Zebulon, born February 3, 1812; Sarah, born July 6, 1813; Martha, born October 27, 1814; Tabitha, born August 22, 1820; Anna T., of whom further ; and Tabitha T., born December 8, 1826, died June 4, 1885, married George Rittenhouse.
Anna T. Potts, daughter of William and Ann (Wager) Potts, was born January 21, 1825. She married Evan Davis Jones, and they were the parents of five children: I. Eliza, born February 15, 1859, died November 19, 1862. 2. William P., born September 15, 1861, married Elizabeth C. Coulston, and has four children : Evan D., Jr., born Janu- ary 10, 1891 ; Frances C., born September 26, 1894; L. Elizabeth, and J. William. 3. Evan, born November 4, 1864, died November 1, 1882. 4. Martha, born May 5, 1867, married Herman P. Miller, and has four chil- dren : Anna Margaret, born June 20, 1892, deceased ; Herman P., Jr., born August 10, 1895; Evan D. J., and Lillian J. (twins), born January 6, 1896. 5. Lillian, born August 10, 1868. She is first vice-president of Montgomery Hospital; treasurer of Mothers' Assistance Fund of Mont- gomery county, and a member of the Community Club, and the Society of Friends.
JOSEPH E. BLANCK, M. D .- For two generations there has been a Dr. Blanck who ushered new lives into the world and ministered to the sick and ailing in various parts of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Dr. George A. Blanck, father of Dr. Joseph E. Blanck, was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, and from the time of his graduation to within a short time of his death in 1892, was successfully engaged in practice. He married Amelia Solliday, and they were the parents of eight children: Dr. Joseph E., of whom further; Emma, Irene, Mamie, Eugene, George D., Deborah, and Lucy.
Dr. Joseph E. Blanck was born in Sumneytown, Pennsylvania, July II, 1863, and after receiving his preparatory education in the Sumney- town Academy, matriculated in Muhlenberg College, where he continued his studies for a period of two years and then entered Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, from which he was graduated with the degree of Medical Doctor in 1886. While pursuing his studies, Dr. Blanck taught school for four terms in Marlboro and Towamencin townships. When his medical course was completed he began practice, in 1886, in Green Lane, Pennsylvania, taking possession of the office in which his Grandfather Solliday had practiced from 1826 to 1859, and in which his father practiced for thirty-three years. During the nearly four decades which have elapsed since that time, Dr. Joseph E. Blanck has built up a very large clientele, and has ministered most efficiently and faithfully to a great number of patients who honor him for his skill and for his integ- rity of character, many of whom are deeply grateful to him for the skill and faithfulness which has been the means of saving the lives of loved ones.
Along with his professional responsibilities Dr. Blanck has taken an active interest in public affairs. He gives his support to the principles
Mont-14
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and the candidates of the Democratic party, and from 1917 to 1919 repre- sented his district in the State Legislature, where he served on the health, building and accounts committees. He has been a member of the Demo- cratic County Committee for thirty years, serving for four years of that time as vice-chairman, and serving also as a delegate to the State Con- vention. In local affairs he has served faithfully and well, and for fifteen years has been secretary of the school board. Fraternally he is well known, being a member of Perkiomen Lodge, No. 595, Free and Accepted Masons, of East Greenville, Pennsylvania ; a member of the Tall Cedars of Lebanon ; the Improved Order of Red Men, in which he has held the office of chief of records for fifteen years ; the Patriotic Sons of America ; and he is examiner for the local Mystic Circle. He also is a past grand sir knight marshal of the Knights of Friendship, a State body. Dr. Blanck keeps in touch with the most advanced developments of his pro- fession through membership in the County and State medical societies, and in the American Genetic Society; and takes an active interest in things historical, being a member of the Montgomery County Historical Society, the Pennsylvania German Society, and the National Geograph- ical Society. His religious affiliation is with the Lutheran church of Sumneytown, which he has served as elder for six years.
Dr. Blanck married, on October 20, 1888, at Green Lane, Pennsyl- vania, Amanda Reiff, daughter of Joseph and Mary Tyson (Skippack) Reiff, and they are the parents of three children : Hattie M., who married Adolphus Ott, and lives in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; Luella, who married Dr. Newton Allebach, and lives in Souderton ; and Myrtle, who married William Righter, and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
JOHN DAVID HAMPTON-One of the prominent men of Consho- hocken, Pennsylvania, who retired from active business to devote his entire time to his municipal office, is John David Hampton, the tax col- lector of the city. A vigorous farmer boy, he worked for thirty-five years in various capacities, from the lowest to the superintendency of the Woods Rolling Mill at East Conshohocken. He is a son of David Hampton, who died in 1905, when ninety-six years old, and had been a mill operator for the most of his life, and of Sarah (Harner) Hampton, who died when her son was eleven years old.
John David Hampton was born at Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1854, and has one brother, Richard Hampton. He was educated in the public schools of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, but left early to go to work with his uncle on a farm. He was only sixteen years of age when he secured a position in the Woods Rolling Mill of East Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and was the roller of a department when he resigned in 1910. A lifelong Republican, and one whose interest in the city was recognized as real and unselfish, he was elected tax collector in 1904 and has continued in office since. It was the increasing duties and work of his position that impelled him to retire from the iron trade six years later, and during the last twelve years his attention has been centered on
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his important work. He has been a director in the school board. For three years he served with the Sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, and his fraternal connections are with the Blue Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Conshohocken, the Brotherhood Union, and the Loyal Order of Moose, of which he has been treasurer since its incep- tion. He is a communicant of the Episcopal church of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Hampton married (first) Mary Rhinehart, who died at Consho- hocken, Pennsylvania, in 1913. He married (second) Anna Tyson, daughter of Sarah and John Tyson. Mary (Rhinehart) Hampton was the mother of three children: Amy, Anna and William.
WILLIAM PAINE LANDIS-In legal circles in Montgomery county the name of William Paine Landis is a prominent one and his legal practice is very extensive, while he is widely known also in financial circles both locally and in Philadelphia. Mr. Landis comes of an old Pennsylvania family and is a son of Joseph Christian and Elizabeth (Gardner) Landis, both now deceased. His father was chemist and superintendent of the Moro-Philips Chemical Works of Camden, New Jersey, during the greater part of his active career. He was a noted figure in military circles, having been lieutenant of Jackson's Artillery, and later captain of the Frankford Artillery, Pennsylvania National Guard, prior to the Civil War.
William P. Landis was born at Camden, New Jersey, September 2, 1873. His education was begun at the North East School and continued at Cooper School, both of Camden, after which he passed the preliminary examinations, and was registered as a student at law in the offices of Lockwood & Sinn, of the Philadelphia bar. Under these preceptors and later under a private tutor, Mr. Landis read law, and passing his final examinations was admitted to the Philadelphia bar, February 6, 1897. He was admitted to practice at the Supreme Court of the State in Janu- ary of 1900, and later was admitted to the Montgomery county bar. Mr. Landis began his career in the practice of law in Philadelphia where he remained until about 1901, when he accepted the position of assistant trust officer of the Merion Title & Trust Company, of Ardmore, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania. Upon the resignation of the trust officer, which took place in July of 1901, Mr. Landis succeeded to the office of title and trust officer, which he filled until November 1, 1920. At this time he resigned to resume the practice of his profession, at the same time taking up a business in real estate and insurance, forming the firm of Landis, Nagal & Kain, with offices in Ardmore. Mr. Landis has has further business affiliations, being president and trust officer of the Sixty-ninth Street Terminal Title & Trust Company, of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, also a director of that institution, which is located at the corner of Sixty-ninth and Market streets, within the boundaries of Upper Darby township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. He is also a director of the Ardmore National Bank. During the World War, Mr.
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Landis was a member of the Permanent Legal Advisory Board of Dis- trict No. I, under the United States Selective Service system. A Repub- lican by political affiliation, Mr. Landis has served for a number of years as a member of the board of health of Lower Merion township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American and Pennsylvania Bar associations and the Law Academy of Philadel- phia. Fraternally Mr. Landis is affiliated with Cassia Lodge, No. 273, Free and Accepted Masons of Ardmore; of Montgomery Chapter, No. 262, Royal Arch Masons, also of Ardmore; member of the National Geographical Society ; the Lower Merion Society for the Detection of Horse Thieves and the Recovery of Stolen Horses. He is a member of the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce, and of Saint Mary's Chapter, No. 262, Brotherhood of Saint Andrew. His clubs are the Cassia of Ardmore, and the Brookline of Brookline Square, Pennsylvania, and he is a member of Saint Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church of Ardmore.
Mr. Landis married, January 20, 1904, at Camden, New Jersey, Mary Worman, of Camden, New Jersey, daughter of Absolam Barritz and Sarah (Tinsman) Worman, and they are the parents of five daughters: Emily Haney, born October 11, 1904; Mary Alice, born January 26, 1908; Josephine Elizabeth, born November 6, 1909; Julia Gardner, born Decem- ber 16, 1913; and Elizabeth Fraser, born January 23, 1922.
OSWIN S. ALLEBACH-Substantially prosperous, a public servant carrying large responsibility, and an exemplary citizen prominent in the church, Oswin S. Allebach, of Worcester, Pennsylvania, is a representa- tive figure in the life and progress of Montgomery county. Mr. Alle- bach comes of a very old family in this section, and his grandfather, David G. Allebach, was a leading farmer of Towamencin township, Mont- gomery county, early in the last century, and a deacon of the Mennonite church. He was retired for many years, and died at the great age of eighty-seven years. He married Catherine Hunsicker, also a member of a pioneer family of Montgomery county, and they were the parents of the following children: Jacob; Helena; James; William H., of further mention ; David; and Catherine.
William H. Allebach, fourth child and third son of this family, was born in 1833, and died at Towamencin in 1894. He was active in agri- cultural pursuits throughout his lifetime, a man highly-esteemed in the community, and also a deacon of the church. He married Adelaide Shell, a descendant of another pioneer Montgomery county family.
Oswin S. Allebach, son of William H. and Adelaide (Shell) Allebach, was born in Towamencin township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in the locality known as Forty Foot Road, between Skippack and Kulps- ville, October 23, 1872. He acquired a thoroughly practical training in the fundamentals of learning at Pleasant Valley School. Taking a man's place with his father on the farm until he was twenty years of age, the young man then secured a position in the general store of J. Howard Gerhardt, at Telford, Pennsylvania, then later became associated with
Os alleback
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Gellers' general store at Lansdale, Pennsylvania, where he remained for three years. He then entered the butcher business in Lansdale, suc- cessfully carrying forward an independent interest for about four years. Then buying a farm in Towamencin township, he conducted the farm for seven years, also carrying on a very considerable butcher business. Sell- ing the farm, Mr. Allebach removed to North Wales, also in this county, and there conducted a grocery and meat store until 1911, when he settled permanently in Worcester. In all his business experience Mr. Allebach has commanded the highest esteem and confidence of his associates and contemporaries, and it is upon such a foundation that his present success is built. His practical business ability was needed in the public service, and on July 21, 1911, he was appointed postmaster at Worcester. His standing in the community is evidenced by the fact that through changes of political administration he has since continuously filled this responsible position and is still active therein. He is also a director of the Citizens" National Bank at Lansdale, director of the Business Men's Association of Eastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Allebach has for thirteen years been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of North Wales. Since he was seventeen years of age he has been a member of the Reformed church, and like his father and grandfather, he has for years been a deacon of the church and is also an elder.
Mr. Allebach married, at Lansdale, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1896, Lydia Cassel, daughter of Abraham H. and Lydia (Kriebel) Cassel, and they are the parents of four children: Katherine, born in Lansdale, January 24, 1900; Clarence, born in Lansdale, February 24, 1903; Mabel, born in Towamencin, June 16, 1907 ; and Elizabeth, born in North Wales, February 15, 1910.
HERBERT BENJAMIN SHEARER, B. S., M. D .- The professional activities of Dr. Shearer have included institutional, industrial, and mili- tary service in both medicine and surgery, and he is now conducting a thriving and steadily-growing practice at Worcester, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where he holds a foremost position in professional circles. He is a son of Benjamin F. and Elizabeth (Beidler) Shearer, his father formerly a general merchant of Bucks county, this State. The family consisted of two children: Herbert B., of further mention; and Gertrude.
Herbert B. Shearer was born at Dublin, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1883. His early education was acquired in the local public schools, and after a course at Perkiomen Seminary, he entered Brown University at Providence, Rhode Island, in the class of 1907. Then fol- lowed a course in science at the University of Pennsylvania, at Phila- delphia, closing in 1912 with the Bachelor degree in science. Entering the medical department in the University of Pennsylvania in the follow- ing fall, he was graduated in medicine in 1916, and spent one year as interne at Saint Timothy's Hospital, at Roxboro, Pennsylvania. Dr. Shearer was then active as surgeon at the Allenwood Iron and Steel
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Company until United States intervention in Europe became a fact, when he entered the military service as first lieutenant of the Medical Corps. Receiving his commission September 7, 1917, he was stationed at Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and later was transferred to the aviation section at Garden City, Long Island, after which he was sent to Camp Grant, at Rockford, Illinois, as assistant chief medical examiner. He eventually received his honorable discharge at Camp Dix on October 19, 1919. In the December following, Dr. Shearer came to Montgomery county and took up the general practice of medicine. He has developed an extensive practice and is looked upon as one of the successful men of the day in Montgomery county.
An independent in political convictions, Dr. Shearer has never thus far taken an active part in public affairs, although he keeps in touch with the general advance. He is a member of the American Medical Associa- tion, of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and the Montgomery Medical Society. Fraternally he is identified with Norristown Lodge, No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. He is a trustee of Perkiomen Seminary, of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania ; serves on the Auxiliary staff of Montgomery Hospital at Norristown, Pennsyl- vania; is a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, Alpha chapter, of Brown University, and Phi Alpha Sigma fraternity, Beta chapter, of the University of Pennsylvania. He is connected with the Schwenkfelder church. Dr. Shearer's chief recreative interest is the collection of his- torical relics, of which he has a great number and variety, especially bottles. He purposes soon to establish a private museum.
Dr. Shearer married, in Worcester township, Christine Schultz, daughter of John H. and Ellen M. Schultz.
CHARLES HAUPT BRUNNER-One of the well known and suc- cessful men of the legal profession in Norristown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is Charles H. Brunner, who has been engaged in legal practice in Norristown for several years and is now connected with the Penn Trust Company, in the title department. The Brunner family is an old one in Western Pennsylvania, where for several generations its members have made valuable contributions to the development of that section of the State.
Henry U. Brunner, father of Mr. Brunner, was born in Worcester township, December 23, 1840, son of Frederick Brunner. He received his early education in the public schools and then prepared for college in Trappe Academy. In February, 1860, he entered Franklin and Marshall College, from which he was graduated in July, 1864. Upon the completion of his college course he taught in the academy at Irwin Station, West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, for about one year. He then began a study of law under the direction of General Henry D. Foster, and was admitted to practice in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in August, 1866, and on the following September was admitted to the Montgomery county bar. He began practice in Norristown, and was appointed district attorney for
barbey S. Frederick
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the term ending in January, 1875, and elected then to succeed himself, that term ending in 1877. He married Mary A. Haupt, and they were the parents of two children : Blanche E .; and Charles Haupt, of further mention.
Charles Haupt Brunner was born in Norristown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1877, and received his early educa- tion in the public schools of that city, graduating from the high school with the class of 1894. He then became a student in Franklin and Mar- shall College, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1898 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then took up the study of law under the direction of Montgomery Evans, Esq., of the borough of Norristown, where he pursued a course of study for three years. Montgomery Evans, Esq., is now president of the Norristown Trust Company. After his graduation, Mr. Brunner engaged in general prac- tice in Norristown, but soon began to specialize in real estate and probate law. He rapidly built up a large and important clientele, in addition to which he has, since January 1, 1920, served the Penn Trust Company, in the title department. He is member of the board of directors of the Penn Trust Company, having been a member of that organization since July, 1920, and is well known as one of the able and responsible attorneys of Norristown. Politically he gives his support to the principles and the candidates of the Republican party, though he has never sought nor desired political office. During the World War he was active in all the campaigns, both for Liberty Bonds and the War Chest, and was an important factor in carrying his section of the city "over the top." He is well known in fraternal and club circles, being a member of Norristown Lodge, No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Norristown Chapter, No. 190, Royal Arch Masons. He is also a member of the Chi Phi college fraternity of Franklin and Marshall College; and of the F. and A. F. fraternity. He is a member of the Norristown Club. His religious affiliation is with Trinity Lutheran Church of Norristown.
Charles Haupt Brunner married, on November 11, 1903, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Maude Morrow Bitner, daughter of Jacob R. Bitner, a retired paper manufacturer of Eden, Lancaster county, and of Ella (Morrow) Bitner. Besides Maude Morrow Bitner, Mr. and Mrs. Bitner are the parents of two other children: Lillian W .; and Bertha M. Mr. and Mrs. Brunner are the parents of two children : Charles Haupt, Jr., who was born June 19, 1905; and Robert Bitner, who was born July 30, 1906.
HARVEY S. FREDERICK-In the borough of Souderton, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, Harvey S. Frederick is known as a mem- ber of the old and prominent Frederick family of Souderton, as the owner and proprietor of the largest shoe store in proportion to the population of the town in the United States, and as one of the foremost men in the public life of the borough and county. Mr. Frederick is a son of Jonas B. and Emaline Frederick, both deceased, and he inherited from his
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father the present shoe business, which was founded by his grandfather in 1845. The mother died at the age of sixty-four years, six months, fourteen days, December 19, 1915.
Harvey S. Frederick was born in Souderton, Pennsylvania, June 29, 1875. Receiving his early education in the public schools of his native place, he later attended North Wales Academy, completing his prepara- tion for his career at the Pierce Business College of Philadelphia. As a young man Mr. Frederick entered the shoe business established by his grandfather, then in the hands of his father, who manufactured and sold shoes, his work being done by the old hand methods now superseded by machinery. The son continued with his father, making this business his life work, and since the retirement of his father he has carried it forward alone. From the early methods and occasional tentative experiments in newer customs to the present ultra-modern mercantile establishment is a far cry, and the transformation has been accomplished by Harvey S. Frederick himself. He was the first in this section to inaugurate a modern shoe store, and he has brought together many devices for the comfort and convenience of his patrons, many of these being the result of his own ingenuity and taste. Through a novel lighting device he has arranged arbor lights in the show cases, and modern mirrors for foot inspection, making the choosing of shoes a pleasure. The most attractive feature of the store is a rest nook, with wicker chairs shaded by palms, where shoppers may take a delightful breathing space between errands. Six clerks are kept busy handling the trade, and Mr. Frederick has pro- vided for their use a kitchenette lunch room of the most modern type. The cordial relations between employer and employee are reflected in the atmosphere of the store, and it has become one of the most popular shoe stores in a wide region, many patrons coming from the surrounding communities. Mr. Frederick holds membership in the National Shoe Retailers' Association, and the Pennsylvania State and the Philadelphia Retail Shoe Dealers' associations, and is widely recognized as a leader in the trade.
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