USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 28
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The public service of Harvey S. Frederick is a record of high and unselfish attainment. For many years auditor for the borough of Sou- derton, he is also a member of the Board of Health, but he is best known throughout the country as prothonotary, in which capacity he served from 1916 until 1922. He took up the duties of this office by appointment of Governor Brumbaugh, to fill out an unexpired term, and in the fall elections of the same year the people gave the appointment their ratifica- tion with a plurality of over ten thousand votes, the largest ever received for this office in Montgomery county. This was the more remarkable because Mr. Frederick made no pledges, disclaiming subservience to either party, and frankly declaring himself the servant of the people and the champion of their rights and privileges. In the parlance of the political world he goes down in history as "the only man who ever car- ried water on both shoulders in Montgomery county and got away with it." The keynote of his record in office was economy. He brought to his
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work not only the ability and experience of a successful business execu- tive, but the indomitable energy of the man who, with his own ceaseless labor, accomplishes that which is set for him to do. A worker himself, he tolerated no idleness among his assistants, and as soon as he had gotten the reins of the office well in hand he permitted a part of the office force to find positions elsewhere. In this move and other efficiency and economy measures, he saved the county during his term of service no less than $20,000. Another achievement which stands to his credit, and which means much to the people of Souderton and vicinity, is the present status of the roads, for through his efforts all the toll regulations were rescinded from turnpikes in this part of the county, and the people of Souderton enjoy free roads. In 1922 he started a good roads association, which is to be called the Good Roads Association of the North Pennsyl- vania District. The cares of office and the oversight of his business, with which he must of necessity keep in touch to a certain degree, made these years a period of heavy strain, and Mr. Frederick was glad to turn over to his successor, in 1922, the duties of an office which he had not sought, still to which he had given his best.
Fraternally Mr. Frederick is widely prominent in the Masonic order. He is a member of McCalla Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lansdale Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Hutchinson Commandery, Knights Tem- plar, of Norristown ; Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia; and is also a member of the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. He is further affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. 128, the latter being a Norristown lodge. He is a member of the Reformed church.
Mr. Frederick married, in Silverdale, Bucks county, on June 5, 1895, Laura S. Gerhart, daughter of Mahlon and Amanda (Snyder) Gerhart. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick are the parents of four children, all born in Souderton, as follows: Leroy ; Floyd ; Pearl, deceased ; and Violet.
CHARLES ABRAHAM DE HUFF-For many years one of the most prominent business men and manufacturers of Royersford, Penn- sylvania, and for the past nine years postmaster of this borough, Charles Abraham De Huff is broadly representative of that progressive citizen- ship which is making the county of Montgomery one of the foremost sections of the State of Pennsylvania, both as a business center and as a residential region. Mr. De Huff is a member of one of the most promi- nent families of Eastern Pennsylvania, of French Huguenot origin, for generations resident in Lancaster county.
John De Huff, the founder of this family in America, was born in 1704, and came to this country with his people, who left France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, settling first on the eastern shore of Maryland. John De Huff came to Lancaster county from that section as a young man, and became very prominent in the early history of the town of Lancaster. He was a saddler by trade, and became very
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prosperous, lending his influence always to any good cause. In 1744 he served as chief burgess of Lancaster, and records show his death occurred December 25, 1757. He married Catherine Brecht, who was born at Gehriesheim, in the Palatinate, and was a daughter of Johannes and Catherine (Hoffman) Brecht, being one of their eleven children. John and Catherine (Brecht) De Huff were the parents of the following children: Johannes: Abraham, of whom further; Mathias; Susanna; Heinrich ; and Philip. The mother lived to the age of eighty-six years.
Captain Abraham De Huff, second son of the above family, was one of the most distinguished citizens of Lancaster. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, February 13, 1735, and died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 11, 1821. He also was a saddler by trade, but being a man of scholarly tastes, did much for the advance of culture in those early days, founding the Lancaster Public Library in 1759. He served as assistant burgess of Lancaster during the years 1761-62-63, and on November 8, 1775, was chosen a member of the committee of corres- pondence for Lancaster county. An avowed patriot from the earliest threat of war, he was appointed captain March 15, 1776, becoming a member of Colonel Samuel J. Atlee's Musketry Battalion, which joined what was popularly known as the "Flying Corps," under General Mercer. Taken captive by the enemy in the action at Fort Washington, Captain De Huff and his company were exchanged as prisoners of war on April 20, 1778. On April 1, 1780, he was appointed sub-lieutenant of Lancaster county. Captain De Huff married Mary Finch, of Philadelphia, who bore him nine children: Catherine; John; Maria; Henry; Mathew; Catherine : Abraham (2), of whom further; Sara; and Susanna.
Abraham (2) De Huff, seventh child and youngest son of Captain Abraham (1) and Mary (Finch) De Huff, was born July 29, 1771, died in Yorktown, now the city of York, Pennsylvania, October 28, 1814. A coppersmith by trade, he became a large owner of property, and accumu- lated considerable wealth. A graduate of Princeton University, he was a leader of public thought and progress, and one of the foremost mem- bers of the Moravian church. He married Elizabeth Sitler, daughter of Mathias Sitler, of Baltimore, Maryland, and their children were: Henry ; Margaret ; Abraham (3), of whom further ; Daniel and Polly.
Abraham (3) De Huff, son of Abraham (2) and Elizabeth (Sitler) De Huff, was born November 8, 1798, and died July 1, 1895, in the ninety- seventh year of his age. Educated in the "pay schools," and by his cul- tured mother, he was an inventor of wide note, was a pioneer in many of his devices, and while he was a jeweller by trade, his inventions became famous in many fields of endeavor and were the means of inaugurating new eras in the industries. He was the inventor of the first horse-drawn hay rake, of the corn sheller, corn planter, washing machine and clothes wringer, of the block safety signal system for railway use, of the connec- tion safety clutch for steel rails, and of the turbine water wheel. Highly skilled as a jeweller, Abraham De Huff's miniature watches were exhibited at the Harrisburg Exposition in 1855, receiving an award
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of a bronze medal. One of his watches he presented to President Buchanan, who resided at "Wheatlands," the original Lancaster county home of the De Huff family. Another watch he sold to His Royal High- ness, the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, when he was touring the United States, a few years later, and a third watch is now in the possession of his grandson, Frank Leiben, of Seattle, Washington. He became very wealthy, and his genial manner and kindly spirit endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. He married, on November 14, 1826, at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Maria Reeves Lynch, eldest daughter of Matthew and Sarah (Logan) Lynch, who was born Novem- ber 3, 1806, and died August 31, 1891. She was a daughter of Henry Logan, and a niece of Harry Logan, an early member of Congress. They were the parents of three children: Henry Kauffman; Frances Marian ; and George Washington, of whom further.
George Washington De Huff, son of Abraham (3) and Maria Reeves (Lynch) De Huff, was born August 12, 1840, and died July 19, 1872, in the thirty-second year of his age. Brilliantly endowed by nature, and highly educated, he was a young man of the greatest promise, but was cut down in the flower of his youth, mourned by all. He married Hannah Davis, of Lancaster county, and their only child is Charles Abraham De Huff, whose name entitles this review. The mother was a daughter of the prominent Samuel Davis.
Charles Abraham De Huff, son of George Washington and Hannah (Davis) De Huff, now postmaster of Royersford, and long a leading manufacturer of this community, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, January 28, 1866. Educated in the public schools of York and New Holland, the young man felt little interest in the professions, and early apprenticed himself to the trade of carriage painting. After work- ing for one year as a journeyman, following the completion of his appren- ticeship, Mr. De Huff saw larger opportunities in the manufacture of cigars, and entered this field on a modest scale. Coming to Royersford in 1893, he established a cigar factory here, and also opened a retail store for the sale of cigars. Both these enterprises have prospered in a very large way. Mr. De Huff has always catered to private trade, confining production to the very choicest of brands, and his output goes from New York to California. to practically all the States of the Union. His leading brands are "LaCresta," "Marca di Espana," and "De Huff's Soli- taire," and are the favorites of connoisseurs in many parts of the country. In 1902 Mr. De Huff erected a fine two-story office and factory in Royers- ford, with space for expansion, and this is now one of the busiest plants in the community. Mr. De Huff's long activity in the business world has kept him much in the public eye, and in 1914 he was appointed by Presi- dent Wilson postmaster of Royersford, a position which he still fills. His administration in local postal affairs was marked in the beginning by some radical changes which have been acknowledged improvements. Progres- sive always, in every interest with which he has to do, Mr. De Huff has long been a local leader in the affairs of the Democratic party, and has also
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served as State delegate a number of times. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. His chief pleasure is in music, and he is an accomplished performer on the clarionet. For many years he was connected with the popular bands of New Holland and Royersford, and always gives his encouragement and support to musical interests. He is identified with the Lutheran church.
Mr. De Huff married, in 1885, Mary Foltz, of Terre Hill, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and their children are as follows: I. Grace, who became the wife of John H. Miller, of Hagerstown, Maryland, and died, leaving three children: George D., Mary Jane and John Charles. 2. George A., instructor in the high school at Midland, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, who married Larene Engle, and has three children : Ruth, Elizabeth, and Janis. 3. Mary E., who resides at home, and is active as a clerk at the Royersford post office. 4. Charles S., who resides at home and is employed in the Rising Sun Embroidery Works.
DR. S. ELIZABETH WINTER, of West Conshohocken, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, occupies a position in the public eye which is decidedly unique, even in these days of women's progressive accom- plishments. She is the owner and executive head of one of the most ideal institutions of its kind in the country, Inwood Sanitarium. Like a Phoenix, the present building was reared upon the ashes of the original one, the latter being burned to the ground in 1910, and the fine com- modious sanitarium of to-day being built as speedily as possible.
Born at Maryville, Tennessee, December 16, 1868, Dr. Winter is the daughter of Preston and Matilda (Kelly) Winter ; she is a descendant of a fine old Huguenot family compelled to seek refuge in America during the religious prosecution of the French. Early in life Miss Winter gave evidence of her ambition and she entered the Women's Medical College at Philadelphia, from which she graduated, 1892; then, instead of taking the usual six months or a year's experience in general hospital practice, she took a year's active work in the Lying-in Charity Hospital of Phil- adelphia. Dr. Winter's next step took her to Minnesota where she became an interne at the State Hospital at St. Peters, Minnesota. She afterward offered her services to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as a medical missionary to India. This offer was accepted and she was appointed physician-in-charge at the Miraj Hospital at South Marathi country, South Western India, gaining wonderful experience among the women and children, to whose treatment her work was con- fined. She had been stationed there a year when a very serious attack of rheumatism compelled her to return to this country.
Dr. Winter's great ambition had been to devote herself exclusively to the diseases of women, especially nervous trouble, concerning which she had very decided views. She accepted the appointment of physician at the Sheltering Arms of Philadelphia and later became the head physi- cian of the women's department of the Friends' Hospital for the Insane,
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Frankford, Pennsylvania, and was the first woman to occupy this office. It was while holding this position that the idea and opportunity of open- ing a sanitarium, devoted exclusively to the nervous troubles of women, came to Dr. Winter in the early summer of 1898.
She found during a drive with a friend through the hills and valleys of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, an ideal estate just outside of West Conshohocken, embracing over thirty acres of land, through which ran a stream of clear spring water and upon which was built a fine old stately mansion of dull grey stone. The property was leased with an option of future buying and Dr. Winter set about forming her organization, a small one at first, but a highly efficient one. She assumed the duties of director and physician in charge, with a professional nurse of unusual experience and extraordinary skill, Miss Anna Montgomery, who is now the supervising nurse, assisted by Miss Blanche Frank, and a good cook and hardworking maid, and in addition secured a reliable man, who is now chauffeur and supervisor of outside help, to take care of the heater and the grounds. With this equipment the Inwood Sanitarium near West Conshohocken was opened in August, 1898.
The fame of this institution spread rapidly and in 1901 Dr. Winter purchased the property ; the old mansion was growing too small to house the work being carried on, so "Arrowmink Hall" was built in an attrac- tive part of the grounds. It is a light two-story building, fitted up as an amusement hall, dance hall, bowling alley, and with baths, showers and other necessary equipment. The new building which took the place of the one destroyed by fire is a four-story stone structure, equipped throughout with all modern appliances, having its own drug room, bakery and other necessary working departments, and still Inwood Sanitarium goes on growing, its fame spreading abroad and the wonderful woman whose brain and ability brought about all this, goes on her way, rejoicing that she has been the means of restoring to health many women whose lives were being wrecked by diseases that had seemingly been incurable.
Besides Inwood, Dr. Winter owns a sanitarium at Media, Pennsyl- vania, and another at Ashville, North Carolina. She is a member of several of the prominent associations in connection with her profession, among them the American Medical Society, the Philadelphia County Medical Association, the Philadelphia Urological Society and the Mont- gomery County Historical Association.
A great lover of animals, Dr. Winter has, in her own way, independ- ently of societies, done much for the prevention of cruelty to animals. She teaches all her patients a love of animals and of outdoor life, agree- able, healthful, mental occupation being one of her most potent means of curing.
Inwood Sanitarium is a monument to the energy and ability of Dr. S. Elizabeth Winter and the faithful, efficient women with whom she has been associated, and stands as an example of the work of women in the medical line, for no man is engaged in the executive administration of this sanitarium or treatment of cases of this only sanitarium in the world operated by women, for women. There are several specialists who
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are consulted on various cases for the sanitarium, mostly on cases which have been sent there by themselves, Drs. Francis Dercum, Charles Potts, Charles K. Mills, P. J. McCarthy, Wharton Sinkler, and other prominent physicians of Philadelphia and from other parts of the country. There is also a resident physician and upwards of thirty nurses on the regular force, besides a housekeeper and supervisors.
LUCIAN B. MILLER-Descendant of a family which has produced many ministers of the Lutheran church, and himself active in the build- ing of two churches and serving most efficiently as deacon, Sunday school superintendent, and member of the choir in the Lutheran church at Red Hill, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, Lucian B. Miller has ren- dered valuable service in the upbuilding of the moral life of the com- munity. He is a successful manufacturer, and is well and favorably known in Montgomery county.
Jacob Miller, grandfather of Mr. Miller, married Mary Detwiler, and among their children was Jacob Miller, Jr., father of Lucian B. Jacob Miller, Jr., was a farmer and also a shoemaker, and lived beyond the allotted three score and ten years, passing from this life in 1892, aged seventy-three years. He married Caroline Frederick, who was born in New Hanover, near Boyertown, Pennsylvania, and died in 1911, at the age of eighty-seven years. They were the parents of seven children: Edwin; Conrad; Lucian B., of whom further; Amelia; Calvin; Daniel; and Henry.
Lucian B. Miller was born in Bucks county, near Red Hill, January 6, 1851, and received his education in the public schools of that locality. When he was thirteen years old he associated himself with Henry Wieder, of Red Hill, a manufacturer of cigars, with whom he learned the trade. Later he spent six months in farming, but in 1876, after his marriage, he established a business of his own, beginning in a very small way in one room of his home, his wife being his only assistant. They manufactured good, honest cigars, and gradually the little germ of a manufacturing plant grew. Larger quarters were secured and other operators than the wife swelled the volume of production. Still the growth continued, larger and larger quarters being required until, at the present time (1922), the business is housed in a modern factory of three stories, comprising more than 20,000 feet of floor space. The "Medita- tion" cigar is one of the most popular in the State of Pennsylvania, and with the steady increase of popularity of his chief product, comes steadily increasing prosperity for the business. A fair proportion of the profits of this successful manufacturing plant goes to the support of various activities which seek the social, moral, and spiritual uplift of the com- munity, especially to the various lines of work in which the Lutheran church is engaged. An unusually large number of ministers of that denomination have been produced by the Miller family, and a very large number of those who are not ministers are deeply interested in the work of that denomination. Mr. Miller's two great-uncles, Jacob Miller and
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Conrad Miller, were both ministers of the Lutheran church. Rev. Jacob Miller preached at the Red Hill Lutheran church for twenty years, dying later at Reading. The Rev. Conrad Miller spent his life at the Lutheran church at Swamp, where he died and is buried. Mr. Miller has given freely of his time and his means in forwarding the building of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, and takes a very active part in the public affairs of the community. He is president and one of the organizers of the Electric Light Company ; president and one of the founders of the Borough Water Company ; founder of the Board of Trade of the borough of Red Hill; and has himself built more than fifty homes in that borough. His modern, well-equipped factory was built in 1891, and he strives in every way to promote the welfare of the borough and of his employees.
Fraternally he is well known. He is a member of Perkiomen Lodge, No. 595, Free and Accepted Masons, of which body he has been treasurer for twenty-five years; of Pottstown Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and of Pottstown Commandery, Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias ; Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past master ; Knights of the Golden Eagle; Knights of Friendship; and the Patriotic Order Sons of America. His religious affiliation and that of his family is with St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Red Hill, which he serves as member of the council and as deacon. He has been super- intendent of the Sunday school for twenty years, and has been a member of the choir for many years.
Mr. Miller married, in Bucks county, May 27, 1873, Mary Anna Flieger, who was born July 18, 1847, and died September 12, 1920. She was prominent in the work of the church throughout her active life, sang in the choir, and was a faithful and efficient teacher in the Sunday school. She was the organizer of the Ladies' Aid Society and a charter member of same. She was a daughter of Jacob and Leander (Moyer) Flieger, the latter of whom was a descendant of one of the old Pennsyl- vania families. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Miller are: 1. An infant, who died young. 2. Elizabeth, born June 1, 1875, married William Gieg- ler, and has had four children: An infant, who died young; Estella, Russell, and Eleanor Mary. 3. Anne Caroline, born June 11, 1878. 4. Mary Estella, born November 11, 1880, married Thomas Henry, and has four children : Francis, Forest, Elvin, and Lester D. 5. Elverta Jane, born December 9, 1885, married Rev. Wallace Kenrr, a minister of the Lutheran church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and has four children: Mary, Catherine, Bessie, and Luther.
NATHANIEL HOWLAND BROWN, JR .- Among those who assisted in the development of a successful and useful business organiza- tion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nathaniel Howland Brown, Jr., one of the founders of the optical and scientific instrument business which since 1910 has been operated under the corporate name of Williams, Brown & Earl, deserves especial mention. His ancestry may be traced to Henry Brown, born in England, in 1615, who came to New England
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with his mother, Christian Brown, a widow, in 1638. Mrs. Brown with her sons, Henry and George, located in Salisbury, Massachusetts, where they were among the original settlers of the Salisbury colony. Mrs. Christian Brown died in Salisbury, December 28, 1641.
A descendant of Mrs. Christian Brown through her son, Henry Brown, was John Brown, born in Dover, New Hampshire, June 30, 1783, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1841. He married in Smithfield, Rhode Island, September 4, 1806, Mary Thornton, who was born July 3, 1788, and died November 27, 1851, and they were the parents of Nathaniel Howland Brown, Sr., father of Nathaniel Howland Brown, Jr., the prin- cipal character of this review.
Nathaniel Howland Brown, Sr., was born in Dover, New Hamp- shire, May 24, 1815. He located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in mercantile life as a dry goods merchant and there spent his active years. After retiring from the dry goods business, he removed to Norristown, Pennsylvania, and there died at his home, January 27, 1894.
He was three times married, his third wife, to whom he was married October 18, 1859, in Philadelphia, being Mary Sheppard (Reeve) Haines, born in New Jersey, March 5, 1822, died at the home of her son, Nathaniel Howland Brown, Jr., in Norristown, April 23, 1905. She was the widow of Job Haines at the time of her marriage to Mr. Brown, whom she also survived, the mother of two children by her second marriage, Nathaniel Howland, Jr., of further mention ; and Henry H .; both now deceased.
Nathaniel Howland Brown, Jr., son of Nathaniel Howland, Sr., and Mary Sheppard (Reeve-Haines) Brown, was born in Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 8, 1860. He was educated in the Friends' Boarding School at Westtown, Chester county, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated with the class of 1878. With school training completed, he entered the employ of Queen & Company, Opticians, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and became well informed in that line of business. Later he became asso- ciated with Henry S. Williams, and engaged in business at No. 39 South Tenth street, Philadelphia, under the name of Williams and Brown. The optical and scientific instrument business thus founded in 1885 grew steadily and rapidly, and in 1889 the firm was enlarged, becoming Wil- liams, Brown & Earl, Morris Earl being then admitted. In 1897, the firm moved to 918 Chestnut street at the present location, and in 1910, was incorporated as Williams, Brown & Earl, Inc., Nathaniel Howland Brown, Jr., vice-president. Mr. Brown who had been a most important factor in the development and the upbuilding of the business, did not long survive the incorporation, having died at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 17, 1910, but the business has continued under the old name and in the same location, Mrs. Brown, representing her husband's inter- ests, now her own. Politically, Mr. Brown gave his support to the prin- ciples and the candidates of the Republican party. He was a member of the Union League of Philadelphia and at the time of his death was a director of the Ersine Tennis Club of Norristown. He was the first
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