USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43
Bains Historical 5, 50
William S. Buckland
249
BIOGRAPHICAL
moving army of pioneers with full confidence in his ability to achieve success wherever an honest man could deliver a full day's work for a full day's pay. Mrs. Buckland shared her husband's courage and enthusiasm, and the position they attained in the United States, and the high esteem in which they were held by those who had the good fortune to make their acquaintance and to enjoy their hospitality, proved the wisdom of their venture. John and Jeannette Buckland were the parents of four chil- dren, all born in Hokendauqua, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania: John M., the leading manufacturer of slag in the United States, now a resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Jeannette, married William Davies; Sarah, married Walter Thomas ; William S.
William S. Buckland received his education in the public schools of Lehigh county, but left high school at the age of fifteen to become an employe of the Thomas Iron Company, of Hokendauqua. The first work he did for this company was to carry pig iron, his daily wage being fifty cents. With true old-country sagacity, he utilized his spare time for study, and lost no opportunity, while within the yards, to learn the details of the iron business. His progress was rapid, and in the course of time he became, successively, assistant paymaster for the company and shipper. In addition to his regular work, he studied telegraphy and became an experienced operator. In 1898, when the Spanish-American War began, he was engaged as a dispatcher in a telegraph office at Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania. After consulting his parents and explain- ing to them his desire to enlist in the United States army for service during the war, he relinquished his position and went to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where, on April 28, 1898, he enlisted and was assigned to Company B, Fourth Regular Pennsylvania Regiment of Volunteers, in charge of Captain Medlar. Mr. Buckland went to the front with his regiment, landing at Porto Rico, and was on active service during the summer months of 1898, suffering all the hardships of that hurried cam- paign. In October of the same year, he was brought back to the United States, and in November, he was mustered out at Allentown, Pennsyl- vania.
Going to Jersey City at the conclusion of his military service, Mr. Buckland became freight router for the Lehigh Valley railroad, a position he held until the end of 1899. He then became chief clerk for the Empire Steel & Iron Company, a short connection marked by the most cordial and friendly relations between himself and his employers. He left the Empire Steel & Iron Company to accept a position of responsibility with the Janson Steel & Iron Company, at Oxford, New Jersey, with whom he was associated from 1900 to 1902. For some time previous to the date of his engagement with the Janson Company, Mr. Buckland's attention had been fixed upon the commercial possibilities of slag. He forsaw the use of this material for steel and concrete buildings, for roofing and paving, and for many other construction purposes for which no suitable material was then available at a reasonable cost. Slag, one of the refuse products of the iron and steel mills, seemed to him to have unlimited pos-
250
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
sibilities as a filling mixture, and, with characteristic energy, he had set to work to devise ways and means of collecting it and placing it upon the market. With his brother, John M. Buckland, he began to make tests of slag products. Inspired by that profound feeling for the value of min- erals, which seems to be an attribute of the Welsh character, the brothers continued their experiments and laid thereby the foundation for business careers as romantic and useful and interesting as any that may be heard of in Montgomery county.
In 1902, Mr. Buckland gave up his connection with the Janson Steel & Iron Company, and in partnership with his brother built a mill at Reading, Pennsylvania, for the manufacture of slag. Thereafter, for sev- eral years, in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles, privations of every kind, and such general discouragements as would have taken the heart out of men of a lesser breed, the Bucklands held to their great idea, and their faith in the ultimate success of their enterprise never wavered. They backed their experiments with every dollar they possessed, and toiled unceasingly to translate their dream into actuality. Like the Wright brothers, they were held up to ridicule, for there are always a few people in every community who consider every man with a new idea as a dangerous visionary. The Bucklands, however, did not take this amiss. They realized the apparent absurdity of trying to convert the unsightly slag heaps that disfigured the landscape in the neighborhood of the Pennsylvania iron and steel mills into a useful material for human needs, but they never doubted that it could be done, and, after fifteen years of continuous effort, they proved the value of their product and found a market for it. They demonstrated its usefulness as a roofing material ; as ballast for railroads ; as building material; as a paving mix- ture, and are now known far and wide as the pioneers of the American slag industry. John M. Buckland is the leading manufacturer of slag in the United States, and William S. Buckland's interests are second only to those of his brother. Of all the enterprises in which Norristown takes a justifiable pride, none is better liked than the slag works belonging to Mr. Buckland. The Philadelphia Slag Company, of which he is president, was organized in 1908, and during the same year the company built its present plant at Swedeland. In addition to this major enterprise, Mr. Buckland is a director of the Gehret Brothers Iron Works, at Bridge- port. He is also a director of Warren Ehret, slag roofers, of Philadelphia.
A lifelong member of the Republican party and one who has sup- ported its principles and policies through thick and thin, Mr. Buckland is a dominant figure in the political life of the State. A great admirer of Theodore Roosevelt, he has, in both his private and political life, endeavored to exemplify the same loyalty and steadfastness that so endeared Roosevelt to the masses. He had charge of the Roosevelt Memorial in Montgomery county, and the choice of a leader, for the work of perpetuating the high ideals and the absolute integrity of the former president, could not have fallen upon a better man. As the Republican leader of Montgomery county in the last gubernatorial cam-
251
BIOGRAPHICAL
paign, Mr. Buckland was active in bringing Mr. Pinchot to the highest elective office of the State. In addition to the political fellowship that exists between Mr. Buckland and the governor, there is a personal friend- ship of long standing. Besides his interest in State and national politics, Mr. Buckland is keenly interested in local political affairs, and is now treasurer of the Montgomery County Armory Board. He was a promi- nent figure during the war, and never lost an opportunity of serving the country for which, as a boy, he had risked his life in the swamps of Porto Rico. He gave freely of his substance, and supported the Loan Drives, encouraging others to do likewise. He was tireless in his efforts to assist the Red Cross and other agencies engaged in mitigating the misery occasioned by the war, and his efforts did not cease when the armistice was signed, but have continued to the present time, as the funds for the relief of the homeless refugees in the Near East attest. Known at least by name to many veterans of the Spanish-American War, Mr. Buckland is commandant of Post No. 52, of the Spanish-American War Veterans, at Norristown, whose zeal has raised it from a minor post to first rank among the posts of this organization in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Buckland is a member of Lodge No. 127, Free and Accepted Masons, of Oxford, New Jersey; Harrisburg Consistory of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ; Rajah Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Reading, Pennsylvania; Norristown Lodge, No. 714, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Norristown Club, and the Engineers' Club, of Philadelphia. In religious faith, he is a Presby- terian, and an active worker for the good of the church.
On November 25, 1903, he married, at Oxford, New Jersey, Evelyn Lampshire, daughter of Nicholas and Henrietta (Reed) Lampshire, her father now living in retirement at Belvidere, New Jersey, and formerly the proprietor of a general store at Oxford, New Jersey. Mrs. Buck- land has a brother, Leopold, and a sister, Ruby, who is now the wife of George Boardman. Mr. and Mrs. Buckland are the parents of two chil- dren: Jeannette, born September 22, 1904, now a student at Martha Washington Seminary, at Washington, D. C .; Evelyn, born October 8, 1906, who is now attending Bishopthorpe Manor, at Bethlehem, Penn- sylvania.
LOUIS RANDALL WINTER, JR .- The work in which Mr. Win- ter's career has thus far been spent in the shaping of public thought and giving to the public the trend of affairs through the medium of the newspaper, that educational force which in the United States has been brought to its highest plane of efficiency and power. Now as the editor and publisher of the "Main Liner," at Admore, Pennsylvania, he is a living influence for progress in Montgomery county. Mr. Winter comes of a Philadelphia family, and is a son of Louis R., Sr., and Lydia S. (MacMullen) Winter, long residents of that city, the father a machine shop superintendent for many years, and a progressive, forward-looking citizen. The family consisted of four sons, of whom Mr. Winter's
252
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
brothers are Raymond E., of Stratford, New Jersey ; Walter M., of Gar- rett Hill, Pennsylvania, and Donald A., of Philadelphia.
Louis Randall Winter, Jr., was born in the city of Philadelphia, August 20, 1887. His education was begun in the public schools of his native city, and he spent two years at the Central High School of Phil- adelphia. He then became a part of the journalistic world of his native city, in the capacity of a reporter on the "North American" (1907-II). Thereafter, becoming identified with the "Philadelphia Public Ledger," he remained with that paper, also as a reporter, for about two years. Then, in 1913, Mr. Winter became a "Main Liner" correspondent for various Philadelphia dailies, taking care of the news happenings in several towns and cities between Philadelphia and Paoli. For nearly seven years thus active, he then settled permanently in Montgomery county, establishing his office in Ardmore, where he founded the "Main Liner," a weekly, the first issue of which appeared January 3, 1920. This publication has taken a place in Montgomery county which is acknowledged as a position of leadership in public advance. A Republican in his political convictions, Mr. Winter's editorial policy aligns with this party, and he advocates its principles fearlessly and convincingly, this, however, being his only activity along political lines, as he feels no interest in the honors or emoluments of public office. He is a member of St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church of Ardmore.
Mr. Winter married, on April 21, 1915, Mary W. MacReynolds, daughter of William W. MacReynolds, of Ardmore.
ROY A. HATFIELD-One of the foremost business men of Norris- town, Pennsylvania, is Roy A. Hatfield, of the firm of Hatfield & Hillis, of that city. He is a Republican in his political views and has been honored by his fellow-townsmen with the office of county commissioner for six years. Many of the important developments in this section and city have had their inception from him, and he has the confidence of his many friends and acquaintances who know his ability and conscientious integrity.
Roy A. Hatfield is the son of Daniel and Margaret Hatfield, and was born at Pottstown, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1872. He received the usual schooling in the public institutions of that city and completed his educa- tion in the well known Hill School of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1888. After varied endeavors in a business way, he established the R. A. Hatfield Coal Company, which made a rapid growth for a year and a half, and was then further advanced by joining with J. T. Hillis, forming the co-partnership of Hatfield & Hillis, one of the most important concerns engaged in that line. Aside from business and his activity as county commissioner, Mr. Hatfield is fra- ternally connected with Norris Lodge, No. 620, Free and Accepted Masons. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, of Norristown, Pennsylvania.
At Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on June 1, 1899, Roy A. Hatfield was married to Helen Saylor.
Ry Antaufield, 1
253
BIOGRAPHICAL
LUTHER FRANKENFIELD-A member of the well known firm of W. John Stevens, Inc., of Glenside, Mr. Frankenfield was born at Sundale, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1873, son of Henry and Eurania (Hillpot) Frankenfield. On his father's side, Mr. Frankenfield is descended from a long line of Pennsylvania ancestors, Simon and Eve Frankenfield arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the ship, "Elliot" from Rotterdam, in 1748, and later settling in Springfield, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Simon's son, Adam, was born between 1746 and 1748. Michael, second son of Adam, was born in 1772. His son, Michael, born in 1809, was the father of Henry, father of subject.
Luther Frankenfield's father, Henry Frankenfield, who was born in 1839 has had a long and honorable career. Henry Frankenfield was president of the Tinicum School Board for six years and has always taken an active interest in educational affairs. A carpenter and builder by trade, he built up a prosperous business at Sundale and his influence and workmanship may be found in many of the finest buildings in Bucks county. Mr. Frankenfield's mother was born May 27, 1846, died April 25, 1922. Mr. Frankenfield was the fourth in a family of five children: Horace, who was born in 1867, and who died in 1904; J. Eli, who was born in 1869; Henry Herbert, who was born in 1871 ; Luther, of whom further ; Miriam, who was born in 1879, and who married Reuben Fabian, a brother of Mr. Frankenfield's wife.
Luther Frankenfield received his education in the public schools, completing the curriculum in his sixteenth year. Upon leaving school, he became a farmer and spent two years on the land. At the end of this period, he became an associate of his father and from him learned the trade of a carpenter. This business connection lasted for nine years, during which Mr. Frankenfield received a thorough training in the execu- tion of architectural designs and had an unrivalled opportunity to acquire, under his father's direction, the best kind of practical building experience. In 1900, when his father began to restrict his building oper- ations, preparatory to retirement from business, Mr. Frankenfield went to Jenkintown and found employment which enabled him to take the building course of the Scranton Correspondence School during the years 1901 and 1902. This done, he established himself in Jenkintown, and worked for various firms as a master carpenter and superintendent of construction. In 1911 he became affiliated with the firm of W. John Stevens, Inc., of which he is now a member. Mr. Frankenfield has become an authority on building and building materials. He believes in better houses and in every form of building improvement, and scores of dwelling places in Bucks and Montgomery counties bear witness to his skill and ability. With a distinct leaning towards the traditional and well established forms of domestic architecture, Mr. Frankenfield believes, nevertheless, in a certain amount of diversity as opposed to a dull and depressing uniformity. He believes that a house, if funda- mentally sound from an architectural standpoint, should be allowed freely to express the individuality of its owner. This willingness to
254
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
carry into execution the wishes of owners has resulted in many delight- ful houses remodeled and beautified under his direction, and his advice is constantly being sought by people. His ability is recognized and in everything that pertains to building and public policy in regard to build- ing enterprises, he is one of the leaders of thought in Montgomery county.
In politics, Mr. Frankenfield is a Democrat. Both in Bucks and Mont- gomery counties, he held office on election boards. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the Jenkintown Lodge, No. 337, of that organization, and of the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America, at Jenkintown. His chief recreations are automobiling and gunning. In religious faith, he is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church of Melrose, Pennsylvania. He has been a deacon of the church since 1905, and serves as secretary of the church organization and of the church council.
On August 2, 1902, he married, at Revere, in Bucks county, Ida Rebecca Fabian, daughter of Casper and Katharine (Sigafoos) Fabian. She is a graduate of the Keystone Normal School and was a teacher in Bucks county. Mrs. Frankenfield's mother died in 1906, and her father in 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Frankenfield have three children: Frank, who was born June 6, 1903, is now a pupil at the Wharton (night) School, and is employed as chief bookkeeper for the American Tin & Terne Plate Company, of Philadelphia ; Henry and Howard, twins, were born Octo- ber 9, 1907, and are now attending Jenkintown High School.
CHARLES LICHTENWALNER, D. D. S .- Among the professional men of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, none has a higher standing than Dr. Charles Lichtenwalner, who located there in 1904. A dentist of thorough training, added to a unique ability, he has been successful from the start, and has a large clientele. He is the son of Frank S. and Mary (Butz) Lichtenwalner, his father a miller, and was born at Trexlertown, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1872.
After attending the public schools of this locality he matriculated in Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was graduated in 1893, with the degree of Master of Arts. He taught school in Tarry- town, New York, for a period of four years, and then was a professor in a private academy for some time. He then entered the College of Den- tistry, New York City, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1903. The next year he moved to Lansdale, and has been engaged in practice during the years which have followed, in offices having the best modern equipment.
His fraternal associations are with the Masonic order, and his relig- ious affiliations with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lansdale, of which he is a councilman.
At Lahaska, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1913, Dr. Lichtenwalner married Lillian M. Koch, daughter of Frank and Ellen (Moll) Koch, residents of Lahaska. Dr. and Mrs. Lichtenwalner are the parents of one son, Charles, Jr., born August 23, 1914.
255
BIOGRAPHICAL
WILLIAM M. HILLEBEITEL-It is more than two hundred years since the first early ancestors of William M. Hillebeitel settled in Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, and the family has ever since been identi- fied in an influential way with the development of this section. Mr. Hille- beitel was born on the old homestead in Salford township, June 23, 1849. His first ancestor was Martin Hillebeitel, an elder of the Reformed church, who came here about 1708, and he is buried in the old Gossen- hoppen Cemetery. Martin Hillebeitel's sons were: Adam, John and Jacob, the first-named being William's great-grandfather. The sons of Adam Hillebeitel were named Daniel, John and Jacob, and Daniel was William's grandfather. His children were Jonas, Adam, Daniel, Jessie, Mary and Hannah. Of this family, Daniel was the father of Wil- liam M. Hillebeitel, his mother having been Barbara Moore. The father followed the occupation of farmer and shoemaker during his life, and died in 1893, at the age of seventy-nine years. The mother lived to be eighty-five years old, her death occurring in 1904. Daniel and Barbara (Moore) Hillebeitel became the parents of eleven children, named as follows: George; Henry; Daniel; Mary; Catherine; William M., of further mention ; Franklyn ; Elizabeth ; Jessie ; John ; and Barbara.
William M. Hillebeitel attended the local schools of his native town- ship as a boy, then finished his education with a course at Professor Rambo's Academy. He worked on his father's farm until fifteen years of age, and later taught school, remaining in this profession until 1873. In that year he decided to engage in commercial life, and accordingly came to Hendricks and established the coal and feed business which he still conducts. In addition to this enterprise he also owns a large farm, the cultivation of which he superintends. Throughout his life Mr. Hille- beitel has interested himself in the various phases of community life, and taken an active part in the management of the affairs of the county. In this connection he has served as a county committeeman for thirty years, and also been a local school director. In his early days he assisted in the organization of the Milkmen's Association, which extended its activities through Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware, as well as Pennsylvania, and was secretary of the organization. This association, which is now out of existence, in its time did much to improve the conditions of the business of its membership.
Mr. Hillebeitel was also one of the organizers and a charter member of the Montgomery County Grange, and a leader in its activities, while among the well known social organizations in which he continues promi- nent may be mentioned the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Knights of Friendship. In his religious affiliation he adheres to the faith of his fathers, and maintains membership in the Reformed church of old Gos- senhoppen, of which he is secretary, and supports liberally both with personal service and in financial aspects.
The marriage of Mr. Hillebeitel to Elizabeth Kulp took place at Hendricks, November 14, 1872. His wife is a daughter of Henry and
256
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Rachel (Koch) Kulp. Mr. and Mrs. Hillebeitel have reared a family of seven children, whose names are: Harry K., Nelson, Mahlon, Wayne, Edward, Daniel and Raymond.
JAMES HERBERT EGAN-Among the leading attorneys of Nor- ristown, Pennsylvania, is James Herbert Egan who, although having been established in the practice of his profession but a comparatively short time, has already won a name for himself which might well be the envy of a much older and more experienced man in legal circles.
James Egan, father of James Herbert Egan, was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1845. He came to this country early in life and settled in Somerset county, where he gained the reputation of being an excellent landscape gardener, and consequently was kept busy in his particular line of endeavor. He married Harriett Blunden, of his native place. The Blunden family are extensive landowners in both Ireland and England. Mrs. Egan's brother, Sir William Blunden, is a resident of Castle Blun- den, and her brother John is a baronet. To Mr. and Mrs. Egan were born four children: Eleanor ; James Herbert, of further mention; Mary, a teacher at Palmyra, New Jersey, who is a graduate of the Millersville State Normal School; Harriett E., who is also a graduate of Millersville State Normal School and now a teacher at Palmyra, New Jersey.
James Herbert Egan was born in Somerset county, near Somerset, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1890. He attended the public schools of his native place and Lancaster High School, from which latter institution he was graduated in 1910. He then matriculated at Franklin and Marshall Col- lege, where he won the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1914, going thence to the University of Pennsylvania, where he entered its law school and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1917. In May of this same year Mr. Egan enlisted in the United States navy and was first sent to Cape May, later entering the Officers' Training School at the University of Pennsylvania, where at the time of the armistice he was ready for a commission. In December, 1918, having been honorably discharged from the service, he went to Camden, New Jersey, where for a few months he read law in the office of H. L. Nixon. He was admitted to the bar April 4, 1919, and the following month came to Norristown, where he established himself in the practice of his chosen profession at No. 501 Swede street. This remained his headquarters until July I, 1920, when he entered into partnership with J. Ambler Williams, forming the law firm of Williams & Egan, with offices at No. 402 De Kalb street. Since 1920 Mr. Egan has also been a member of the faculty of the Wana- maker Institute of Industries of Philadelphia, teaching real estate law and conveyancing.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.