USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 31
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Samuel In Schulen
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that date to this. He also possesses two family Bibles of the date of 1614, in which the principal facts concerning his ancestry are recorded. The Shuler Bible and the ancient table came to him from the estate of his grandfather, Tobias Shuler.
Mr. Shuler's father, Tobias Shuler the second, was born in 1818 and died on September 10, 1907. Like his father, he was a tailor by trade, and owned a tailoring establishment at Collegeville, Pennsylvania. When the Civil War broke out, Tobias Shuler and his oldest son, Samuel Shuler, made haste to join the Union forces. Of fine physique and indomitable courage, Tobias Shuler joined the Pennsylvania Cavalry and was assigned to Company H of the Thirteenth Regiment. A dash- ing rider, fearless in attack, inspiring others with renewed courage by the force of his example, he made an ideal soldier. He took part in many battles, notably the Second Battle of Bull Run, and the actions at Antie- tam, Chancellorsville, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Raleigh, and the Battle of Gettysburg. His son, Samuel Shuler, was a drummer boy and currier with the army of General Grant and had the honor of carrying the last message despatched by General Grant to President Lincoln at the close of the war.
As Mr. Shuler's childhood was thus spent in the shadow of the Civil War, so later on, he had his mind enriched by authentic tales of the great struggle. He was too young at the time of the conflict to understand the full import of his father's and brother's prolonged absences from home, but as he grew older he realized the meaning of the campaigns to the full, and lived vicariously through the old days of battle when year after year he saw his father and Samuel setting out for the annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic. On his mother's part, there were war memories also, the Miller family through all its branches having been at one with the nation's cause. Mrs. Tobias Shuler who was born in 1818 and died on September 13, 1895, retained to the last a vivid memory of the days when her husband and son and the men of her father's family shouldered arms and marched to the front to take their places in the regiments of Pennsylvania.
Tobias Shuler and his wife had a large family, no less than ten chil- dren having been born to them in the old Shuler home at Collegeville. Of these children, Mr. Shuler is the seventh, the others, according to seniority, being: Samuel M., the Civil War veteran, who died February 8, 1923, at Mont Clare ; Matilda, who married Mr. Willauer, and is now deceased ; Mary, who married David Buckwalter, and is now a resident of Collegeville; Almira, who married Harry Yost of Collegeville, and is now deceased ; Katharine, who married Harry Denner of Norristown, and is now deceased; Josephine, who married Horace Updegrove of Rahn Station, Pennsylvania : and is now deceased: Harry M .; Raleigh, who was born while her father was stationed at Raleigh, South Carolina, in the course of the Civil War, and who was named Raleigh on this account, and who is now the wife of John Cassell of Mont Clare; Lydia, who died in infancy, and another daughter, unnamed, who died in early infancy.
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One of a large family, and growing up as he did in the era of business depression that followed the war, Mr. Shuler had his own way to make in the world. His home life was exceptionally happy. His parents were at great pains to give him a good education, entering him as a pupil of the public schools and fostering and encouraging his love of study. Remembering his school days, Mr. Shuler is not one of those who would decry the value of the rural school as an educational influence in Ameri- can life. He considers it a character building institution of the best kind and does not regret the hardships he experienced in the old days when school rooms were heated by wood burning stoves fed with logs from the nearby forests. In those days of the three "R's" school life was very real and the opportunity to acquire an education was regarded as an inestimable privilege by himself and his classmates.
When his school days were over, Mr. Shuler entered his father's place of business and learned the tailoring trade. He stayed with his father until he was twenty-eight years old and then, in 1886, took advan- tage of an opportunity to establish himself in an independent business at Mont Clare, where he has conducted a tailoring establishment with great success almost ever since. Exercising a skill that seems to have been handed down from father to son in the Shuler family, Mr. Shuler has had many offers from city firms, but he has preferred to carry on his own business and to spend his life in the surroundings that have been familiar to him from his earliest days. In 1908 he enlarged the scope of his business activities by establishing an ice cream and tobacco store, which he conducted until 1922, when he sold his interests and again gave to tailoring his entire time and attention. A true Pennsylvanian, with the stamp of that commonwealth upon his mind and character, Mr. Shuler is abreast of the times and keeps himself accurately informed in regard to political events at home and abroad. A lifelong Republican, he is an ardent admirer of President Harding and a supporter of the policies of the present administration at Washington. In local affairs, Mr. Shuler is all on the side of progress. For over fifty years, he has taken an active part in efforts made to reduce the waste of life and property occasioned by fire. He is a charter member and one of the organizers of the Mont Clare Fire Company, which was founded in 1874. His son Frank is also a member of the company and spares no effort to add to its efficiency in drill, membership, and equipment. When the new firehouse was built, in 1910, Mr. Shuler was a member of the building committee. A member of the Lutheran church, Mr. Shuler and the members of his family usually attend divine worship at the church of this congregation at Phoenixville.
On October 18, 1881, Mr. Shuler married, at Collegeville, Sally K. Young, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Krause) Young, who was born February 26, 1861, and died October 23, 1899. Her father and brother are both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. James Young had four chil- dren : William, who is employed as a conductor on the Reading Rail- road of South Jersey ; Elizabeth ; Sally K., who is Mrs. Shuler ; and a little girl who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Shuler had three children :
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Reuben, who was born January 15, 1883, and who is engaged in business as a mould maker ; Laura, who was born July 2, 1885, and who died some time after her marriage to Dan McMonagle, the owner of a cigar store at Phoenixville ; and Frank L., who was born June 16, 1888.
Mr. Frank L. Shuler is engaged in business as a barber at Phoenix- ville, Pennsylvania, one of the finest establishments in the city. During the World War, he served in the United States army, enlisting for service overseas on October 2, 1917, at Lansdale. He was sent to Camp Meade, Maryland, and remained there in training until January, 1918. In that month, he was transferred to Chickamauga, Georgia, and assigned to duty with Company F, Third Battalion, Eleventh Infantry. In April of the same year, he was transferred to Camp Merritt and on the 24th of April sailed for France with his regiment. He landed at Brest, May 8, 1918. In the following September, he was transferred to Company K, Third Battalion, Eleventh Infantry, which was at that time a part of the Fifth Division, and served with this unit until the end of the war. He took part in the trench warfare in Alsace-Lorraine, at St. Die, and in the Vosges Mountains ; and was engaged in open battle at St. Mihiel, in the Argonne Forest, and on the Meuse River. After the signing of the Armistice, he was assigned to service with his company in the Army of Occupation stationed at Chiffon, in the Duchy of Luxemburg, where he remained from November, 1918, to July, 1919. In July, he sailed from Brest for home and debarked at Hoboken, July 24, 1919, after having served continuously throughout the greatest war in history. He was discharged from the service two days later, on July 26, at Camp Dix, New Jersey, holding the rank of corporal. He had been promoted to this rank on September 17, 1918. In his military service, Mr. Shuler, there- fore, has maintained the high traditions of his family and proved himself a worthy descendant of the house which gave so much to the cause of union in the dark days of the Civil War.
Mr. Frank L. Shuler married Ida Cassell, of Mont Clare, in 1919. They have no children.
JOSEPH MARK ELLENBERGER, M. D., one of the well known practicing physicians of Norristown, is a direct descendant of a member of the William Penn Colony. This first ancestor, who came from Palatinate, Germany, and received his grant of land in 1756, directly from the King of England, a portion of which is still owned by the family, was Isaac Ellenberger, the great-great-grandfather of Joseph Mark Ellen- berger. Next in line was Henry, then Joseph Ellenberger, followed by Joseph Ellenberger, the father of Joseph Mark Ellenberger, who was the youngest of a family of five children. Joseph Ellenberger was born in 1844 on the old homestead at Anville, and died in 1910. His wife was in maidenhood, Mary Mark, her birth occurring in 1840, while she passed away in 1914. Their children are: Harry, who resides on the old family homestead; John; Harvey; Maurice; Christie, and Joseph Mark. The son, Harry, now has in his possession the original grant written on
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sheepskin, covering a section of land, of which 167 acres remain in the ownership of the present family.
Joseph Mark Ellenberger was born, November 27, 1882, at Anville, Lebanon county, and as a boy attended the public and high schools of his native community. After completing his studies in those depart- ments he entered Lebanon Academy from which he graduated in 1906. The following two years he spent studying at Lebanon Valley College, and in 1908 entered Hahnemann College at Philadelphia for a four-year course in the medical department, receiving his diploma with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1912. After graduation from Hahnemann Col- lege, Mr. Ellenberger went to New York City and spent two years as interne in the Metropolitan Hospital, Department of Public Charities. Leaving there in 1914, he located at Philadelphia, and from 1914 to 1917 was engaged in regular practice in that city. When the United States entered the World War, Dr. Ellenberger offered himself for enlistment in the Medical Corps of our army, but on account of being under weight he was not allowed overseas service. Instead he was sent to Bristol, in connection with the Merchants Ship Building Corporation, as superin- tendent of health and sanitation. He built and had under his supervision the operation of Harriman Hospital, at Harriman, Pennsylvania, having at one time seven assistants under his jurisdiction. He also had charge of the dispensary maintained for treatment of 1400 employes. When the war came to an end and this work was no longer required Dr. Ellen- berger resumed private practice, in Norristown.
As a modern and progressive member of his profession he maintains membership in the Montgomery County Medical Association, as well as State and National Medical associations. He is fond of the outdoor sports of baseball and golf, and during the time he lived at Bristol was a mem- ber of the Langhorne Country Club. He is also a prominent figure in fraternal societies, and is a well known member of Bristol Lodge, No. 970, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, also of Bristol Lodge, No. 25, Free and Accepted Masons.
On April 29, 1920, at Norristown, occurred the marriage of Dr. Ellen- berger to Natalia Schoettle, a daughter of George and Floentine (Wolfel) Schoettle. Mrs. Schoettle, mother of Natalia, was twice married and by her first husband, Henry Schmaulze, had two children: Philip, boss weaver at Abberfoil Mills, Chester, Pennsylvania; and Elizabeth, the latter now the wife of Harry Steele. By her second husband, George Schoettle, she had ten children, namely: Herman; George; William; Bertha, married to Edward Nairman ; Olga, single and a trained nurse ; Florence, single, who is employed as a bookkeeper ; Mable, wife of Victor Whitmer ; Marion, who is single; Natalia, wife of the subject, and Emma, who died in 1916.
JAMES W. HUNSBERGER-President of the firm of Samuel L. Shively & Company, the well known dealers in coal, lumber, and building supplies at Jenkintown, Mr. Hunsberger has had a long and varied career.
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He was born at Weimer, Colorado county, Texas, October 2, 1882, son of Ruben H. and Mary (Hamilton) Hunsberger. Ruben H. Hunsberger, who died in 1893, was a native of Pennsylvania and served for four years in the Pennsylvania Volunteers from Bucks county during the Civil War. At the time of his son's birth, he was engaged in business in Colorado county, Texas, supervising the installation of heating apparatus and ranges for a well-known company. After his death, his widow returned to Pennsylvania with her children. James W. Hunsberger has ever since made his home in this State. His brothers and sisters are: Free- man S. Hunsberger ; Walter Hunsberger, who is now dead; Clara Huns- berger, who married Henry White, and is now deceased.
Mr. Hunsberger received his education in the public schools of Phil- adelphia and, after his graduation from high school, proceeded to Banks' Business College for a thorough training in business methods and com- mercial subjects. After his graduation from business college, Mr. Huns- berger decided to become a student at the University of Pennsylvania for the course in liberal arts. He entered the University therefore and completed a year of study. At the end of his first year, however, he decided to begin his business career without further delay. Naturally gifted with financial and administrative ability, he formed a connection with the Sixth National Bank at Philadelphia. He entered the bank as a bookkeeper and during his connection with it, acquired a great deal of valuable practical experience. In 1903, he left Philadelphia, and came to Jenkintown, where he has since made his home.
Upon his arrival at Jenkintown, Mr. Hunsberger took an active part in the organization of the Jenkintown Trust Company, and was appointed its assistant treasurer. This trust company was capitalized originally for $125,000, which was later increased to $250,000. On April 1, 1920, the company was merged with the Jenkintown National Bank, adopting the firm name of the Jenkintown Bank and Trust Company. At the present time, the bank is widely known as one of the most progressive and stable financial institutions in the county, and has a surplus of $500,000. When the merger with the Jenkintown National Bank took place, Mr. Huns- berger resigned his position as treasurer of the bank, a position to which he had been promoted shortly after its foundation, in order to take the place of Mr. Samuel L. Shively as president of the lumber, coal, and building materials business founded by Mr. Shively. This change was made as Mr. Shively became vice-president of the Jenkintown Bank and Trust Company.
The lumber, coal, and building materials firm which was founded by Mr. Shively is still known as the firm of Samuel L. Shively & Com- pany, although it is in the possession of Mr. Hunsberger and his partner, Mr. Woodring. Always prosperous and widely known in its field, it has thrived no less under Mr. Hunsberger's management than formerly and the yearly volume of sales has increased to a gratifying extent. Mr. Hunsberger has customers in all parts of the State and deals only in commodities of the highest quality, supplying the leading builders and
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contractors and handling large quantities of coal for business enterprises as well as selling to householders.
Mr. Hunsberger has not given up all connection with the Jenkintown Bank and Trust Company, but is a large stockholder in that institution and serves on the board of directors. As one of the leading citizens of the community and an energetic and capable man of affairs, Mr. Hunsberger played an important part in the various activities carried on by the United States Government during the World War. He served as pub- licity manager of the drives for liberty loans and the war chest, taking complete charge of the posters, leaflets, personal appeals by prominent speakers, and all the work connected with the publicity department in the lower end of Montgomery county. He also served as treasurer of the war chest and, in the contest between the upper and lower ends of the county, succeeded in securing the leadership for the lower end.
In addition to his other business interests, Mr. Hunsberger serves as secretary and treasurer of the Mooreland Springs Water Company, and as secretary of the Abington Building Association, and of the Union Company, which was organized for the purpose of recovering lost or stolen horses and automobiles. He is a member of the Old York Road Chamber of Commerce, in which he represents Jenkintown. An ardent hunter, Mr. Hunsberger is a member of the celebrated Cape Fear Hunt- ing Club, which maintains a fine hunting preserve of five thousand acres in North Carolina, and is one of the most exclusive and notable organ- izations of sportsmen in the country. In religious faith, Mr. Hunsberger is a member of the Calvary Presbyterian Church, at Jenkintown, of which he is treasurer. He is a Mason, and holds membership in the Friendship Lodge, No. 400, Free and Accepted Masons, at Jenkintown ; Abington Chapter, No. 245, Royal Arch Masons, in which he held the office of past high priest in 1907; and the Philadelphia Consistory.
On October 17, 1914, he married, at Germantown, Philadelphia, Helen Rose, daughter of John C. and Mary (Gill) Rose. Mrs. Hunsberger's father is chief claim agent for the Pennsylvania railroad. She has two sisters: Mary, who married Dayton Lazelere; Althea, who married John R. Weaver, son of the former mayor of Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Hunsberger have four children: Althea Rose, who was born November 17, 1915 ; Helen Rose, who was born July 14, 1917; Mary Elizabeth, who was born March 14, 1920; Nan Ewing, who was born August 15, 1921.
ARNOLD H. FRANCIS-As vice-president and treasurer of the Collegeville Flag and Manufacturing Company, Arnold H. Francis is numbered among the successful business men of the county who are contributing materially to the economic welfare of that section of the State.
Mr. Francis is a son of John W. Francis, born in 1845, and Mary Jane (Gotwals) Francis, born in 1848, both of whom are residents of Oaks, Pennsylvania. John W. Francis, Senior, was custodian of the Lutetia Penn School Home, at Valley Forge, and the publisher of Wood-
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man's "History of Valley Forge." John W. Francis, Senior, served as a private in the Civil War, enlisting June 10, 1863, in Company B, 34th Pennsylvania Infantry, and participated in the engagements of that regiment, being honorably discharged at the close of the war.
Arnold H. Francis was born in Oaks, Pennsylvania, August 6, 1879, and received a good, practical education in the public schools of his native district. When he had completed the studies of the seventh grade, he began his active business career as a clerk in a country store. Later, he became a salesman in the employ of the Philadelphia Coach Material Company, in Philadelphia, with whom he remained until he accepted a position with the John C. Dettra Company, with whom he was employed as salesman and manager of their New York office. Upon the termination of that connection, he associated himself with the Flag Company, at Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and with that concern he has continued to be associated to the present time, where he first served as manager and later became a member of the firm. In 1922, the interests at Collegeville were incorporated under the name of the Collegeville Flag & Manufacturing Company, of which Mr. Francis was made vice-president and treasurer. His ability and efficiency have contributed in no small degree to the success of the business in Collegeville, and in the new organization, his experience and special qualifications will be important factors in the continued growth and prosperity of the concern. Along with his busi- ness activities and responsibilities, Mr. Francis has found time for civic service. As a member of the Collegeville Board of Councilmen, he gives to the community in which he lives the benefit of his business experi- ence, and renders valuable service in securing progress.
Fraternally he is well known, being a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Economy Lodge, No. 397, of Collegeville, Penn- sylvania ; Boiling Springs Lodge, No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons, of Rutherford, New Jersey; Lebanon Chapter, No. 42, Royal Arch Masons, Rutherford, New Jersey ; Norristown Forest, No. 31, Tall Cedars of Lebanon. His religious affiliation is with the Church of the Brethren of Green Tree, Pennsylvania.
On June 19, 1907, at Green Tree, Pennsylvania, Arnold H. Francis married Bertha Yerger, daughter of Solomon F. and Mary (Kulp) Yerger, both now residing in Schwenkville. Mr. and Mrs. Francis are the parents of six children : Joel Brown, born April 25, 1908; Warren, born May 20, 1910; Mary, born May 9, 1912; Bertha Irene, born Novem- ber 17, 1913; Ruth, born June 4, 1920, and Dorothy, born December 26, 1921.
J. ROSCOE SMITH, D. D. S .- A native of Norristown, and reared in the traditions of Montgomery county, Dr. Smith has attained a promi- nent position in his own city, as a successful dental surgeon. His family has long been identified with the industrial and social life of the city, and he is a son of Jethro J. and Clara Smith. His father has for many years been a well known steam fitter, and is still active in this line of endeavor.
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J. Roscoe Smith was born in Norristown, August 15, 1884. His early education was acquired in the public schools of his native place, and he was graduated from the Norristown High School in the class of 1902. Having made his choice of a career at an early age, he entered the Medico-Chirurgical College, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which institution he was graduated in the class of 1907. He has since prac- ticed very successfully in Norristown, his offices being located at No. 319 Swede street, and enjoys a large and constantly growing practice.
In the public affairs of the community Dr. Smith takes a deep interest, but although an active supporter of the Republican party, he is inter- ested only as a progressive citizen in political matters. Fraternally he is well known, being a member of Norris Lodge, No. 620, Free and Accepted Masons; Norristown Chapter, No. 190, Royal Arch Masons; Cryptic Council, No. 52, Royal and Select Masters; Hutchinson Com- mandery, No. 32, Knights Templar; Philadelphia Consistory, No. 32, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret; Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia; Norristown Forest of Tall Cedars, No. 31; Norris Hose Company, Volunteer Firemen; Norris Lodge, No. 430, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Norris- town Encampment, No. 37, of the same order; and Beaver Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men. He is a member of Trinity Reformed Church.
Dr. Smith married, on January. 10, 1903, at Philadelphia, Mary Eleanore Schook, daughter of Milton E. and Elizabeth Schook. Dr. and Mrs. Smith have four children : Clara E., born June 25, 1904; Walter E., born July 9, 1906; M. Eleanore, born September 29, 1907; and Dorothy E., born October 30, 1909.
WILLIAM S. BUCKLAND-A veteran of the Spanish-American War, Mr. Buckland naturally felt a deep interest in and sympathy for the boys who wore the khaki in the war with Germany, and both during the war and since, he has demonstrated that neither the soldier nor the gov- ernment has a heartier supporter nor a truer friend in all Montgomery county than he.
William S. Buckland, son of John and Jeannette (Morgan) Buck- land, was born at Hokendauqua, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, April 28, 1874. John Buckland, an iron moulder, was born at Ystradgynlais, Wales, in 1847, and died in Pennsylvania, in 1914. Jeannette Morgan was born at Britton Ferry, Wales, in 1849, and died in 1922. They were married in Wales and there maintained their residence until 1873, when the growing importance of the iron and steel industry in the United States, and the many opportunities this country presented to iron workers, induced John Buckland, who, moreover, always had a desire to visit Canada and the United States, to emigrate, although it was some- thing of an undertaking to dispose of his property and to transplant his family from Wales to a new and untried country. But he had the courage and the determination necessary for the task, and joined the westward-
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