USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 35
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John pugh
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of his birthplace and was completed at Radnor Seminary. As a young man Mr. Pugh enlisted from Delaware county in the 124th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Holley, of Media, Penn- sylvania. He served throughout the period of the war, participating in all the major engagements in which this regiment bore a part, and received a slight wound in the ear. Immediately following his honor- able discharge from the service, Mr. Pugh settled in Conshohocken. Buying out the interest of Hatton Pugh in a well established feed and grain business, he became associated therein with his brother, Samuel Pugh, and for more than fifty years was thus actively engaged. They materially expanded the business, adding a coal department, and took a leading part in the business affairs of the community. Long a stock- holder in the First National Bank of Conshohocken, Mr. Pugh was made its president, and served for a full decade in that responsible position, having been the sixth president of this institution. In 1916 he retired from all active participation in business affairs, but is still interested in the general advance and keeps in touch with the movement of the times. Always a Republican by political faith, he has never been a seeker after the honors of office, but has been a faithful and loyal worker for its interests.
John Pugh married, on June 13, 1867, at Philadelphia, S. Catherine Leedom, daughter of John and Susanna Leedom. The Leedom family is an old one of Delaware county, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Pugh are the parents of an only child, Harry C., of whom further.
Harry C. Pugh was born at Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, April 7, 1868. His education was begun in the local public schools, and he is a graduate of the Conshohocken High School. His early business experi- ence was in the employ of his father and uncle, the firm of S. & J. Pugh, in the flour, feed and coal business, in Conshohocken. Spending a few years in this connection as office assistant, Mr. Pugh then entered the employ of the First National Bank of Conshohocken. Beginning as errand boy, he worked through the various grades of responsibility, becoming successively clerk, bookkeeper, teller, and cashier. This last- named office he now holds, having filled every position in the institution up to president. The First National Bank of Conshohocken holds a very important place in the economic welfare and security of the community, and bears a share in all forward movements affecting the world of finance. During the World War the bank supported heavy Liberty Loan activities, handling a total in the five issues of about a quarter of a billion dollars. In the last three issues Conshohocken stood as the banner community of Montgomery county. Harry C. Pugh supports the Repub- lican party in affairs of both local and wider import.
Harry C. Pugh married, in October, 1905, Mary Whitnack, daughter of Cornelius and Margaret (Ennis) Whitnack, natives of Newcastle, Delaware. Mr. and Mrs. Pugh have one son, John Covert, born in Con- shohocken, October 13, 1911.
Mont-18
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DAVID WOOD HARRY, M. D .- Among those citizens of Mont- gomery county who, after contributing a life of earnest endeavor and worthy achievement to the community in which they live, have gone to their well-earned reward, is David Wood Harry, whose death occurred April 10, 1914, he then being in his seventy-seventh year.
Mr. Harry comes of very old Colonial stock, tracing his ancestry to David Harry, son of Reese Harry, probably of Welsh descent, who settled in Montgomery county at an early date, and there purchased a tract of 1250 acres of land, a portion of which is now included in the borough of Conshohocken, the remainder being in Whitemarsh township. Part of this land is still owned by the family. The line from David Harry to David Wood Harry is traced through Reese Harry, son of David Harry, who was born about 1701, died in 1778, and resided upon a section of the ancestral land, a portion of which he later deeded to his son, John Harry, great-grandfather of David Wood Harry.
John Harry married Alice Meredith, and they were the parents of the following children: Sarah, born in 1763; Mary, born in 1769; and David.
David Harry was born on November 17, 1771, on the homestead ; he married Ann Davis, daughter of Thomas and Lydia (White) Davis. They were the parents of: Samuel; Benjamin, of whom further ; Reese ; Mary, who married Joseph Yerkes; and David, all of whom, with the exception of Benjamin, are deceased.
Benjamin Harry, son of David and Ann (Davis) Harry, was born on the homestead, May 14, 1809, and there he passed practically his whole life. He received his education in the Joseph Foulke Boarding School in Gwynedd township, and when his studies there were completed, entered his father's mill on the banks of the Schuylkill, where he made himself thoroughly familiar with every detail of the business. Sometime later he took charge of the business, which he successively managed until it was sold. He then devoted his time and his energy to the management of his private interests, which were extensive. Politically, he gave his support first to the Whig party and later to the Republican organization, but resolutely declined to serve in public office, even when elected to fill the position of burgess of the borough. He was by birthright a Friend and worshipped with the Plymouth Meeting. In 1836 he married Lydia F. Wood, daughter of James Wood, who established the rolling mills at Conshohocken, and granddaughter of John Wood, of Plymouth, who was the son of James Wood, one of the earliest settlers of that township. Benjamin and Lydia F. (Wood) Harry became the parents of six chil- dren : David, of further mention; Anna; James; Mary ; Winfield, and John.
David Wood Harry, son of Benjamin and Lydia F. (Wood) Harry, was born in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1837, on the present site of St. Mary's Church parsonage, and died April 10, 1914, in his seventy-seventh year. He received his preparatory education in Tree- mount Seminary, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and then entered the
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Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, from which he graduated in 1859, later going to the Medical College of the University of Pennsylvania, gradu- ating in 1866, with the degree M. D. He served as a surgeon on the ocean liner "Tonawanda," and when, during this period of service, a French liner in distress was rescued by the "Tonawanda," young Dr. . Harry gave first aid so efficiently and promptly that as an expression of appreciation he was presented with a beautiful set of instruments by the French Government. Two years later, in 1868, he engaged in general practice in Conshohocken, but after a time he was made treasurer of the J. Wood Brothers Manufacturing Company, and this office he continued to hold to the time of his death. He was well known and highly esteemed as a successful business man and as a public-spirited citizen, as well as a much loved friend, and he was always actively interested in the public welfare of the community in which he was born and in which the greater part of his life was spent. Politically he gave his support to the Repub- lican party, and his religious affiliation was with the Society of Friends, though he had not a birthright there because his father married "out of meeting."
On December 6, 1871, Dr. David Wood Harry married, at Arrowfield, Chesterfield county, Virginia, Mary S. Wood, daughter of David E. and Mary (Friedley) Wood, David E. Wood, her father, being the son of Israel Wood, of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, but having gone to Virginia at the close of the Civil War. Mary (Friedley) Wood was the daughter of Jacob Friedley, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, Jacob Fried- ley being the son of Henry Friedley, of Revolutionary fame. David Wood and Mary S. (Wood) Harry became the parents of two children : David, Jr., who is a lieutenant in the United States navy, and Benjamin Reese.
CALVIN D. YOST-A man of cultural attainments, college profes- sor and public servant, the Rev. Calvin D. Yost has added much to the character of his community by rendering it valuable service. Not only is he devoted to religious and educational pursuits, but to the civic inter- ests of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where he resides.
The ancestral line of Mr. Yost traces to Johannes Yost, who settled in Frederick township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in the first half of the eighteenth century. Johannes Yost was born in 1721, and arrived in this country in 1738, at the age of seventeen. He married, October 31, 1749, Maria Elizabeth Schneider, and to them were born eight children, as follows: Johannes, Johann Peter, George; Daniel, of whom further; Maria Elizabeth, Daniel, Christiana, Johan Adam, Johann Jacob. Johannes Yost died in his ninetieth year, January 28, 18II.
Daniel Yost, son of Johannes and Maria Elizabeth (Schneider ) Yost, was born October 14, 1759. He was a well educated man, and a public- spirited citizen, being justice of the peace in Marlborough township, Montgomery county, and holding the same office later in Brunswick
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township, Berks (now Schuylkill) county. In 1811, upon the organiza- tion of Schuylkill county, he became an associate judge, and the com- mission so given and signed by Governor Simon Snyder, is in the pos- session of Rev. Calvin D. Yost. Judge Yost died November 2, 1839, and was buried in the cemetery of Christ Church, McKeansburg, Pennsyl- vania. He married Barbara Hillegas, February 7, 1786. They were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, Mary, Katherine, Daniel ; Jonathan, of further mention; Barbara, Joseph, John, William, and Benjamin.
Jonathan Yost, son of Daniel and Barbara (Hillegas) Yost, was born May 16, 1795. He was a blacksmith and farmer in Schuylkill county until his death, January 17, 1865. He married Mary Kleckner, born March 30, 1800, and they were the parents of the following children : Daniel J., of whom further ; Benjamin K., Jonathan K., Catherine, Maria, Joshua, Caroline, Israel, Charles S., Priscilla, Lizzie, and Sarah. Mrs. Yost survived her husband until 1878.
Daniel J. Yost, son of Jonathan and Mary (Kleckner) Yost, was born July 22, 1820, and as a young man learned the milling trade, to which business he devoted the greater part of his life, only in later life forsak- ing it to conduct a general store in McKeansburg, Pennsylvania. Daniel J. Yost married Lydia Bretney, of Carbon county, in 1854, and to them were born the following children : Milton H., who died in 1879; Ella I .; Jonathan I., married Kate Anna Stein ; Alice M., wife of James E. Green- awalt; Calvin D., of whom further ; James A., married Carrie Bensinger. Although a public-spirited citizen, Daniel J. Yost never sought public office. He was a Republican in politics. In religion, he was a consistent member of the Reformed church, as were his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him. His death occurred October 16, 1899, at the age of seventy-nine, and he was buried beside the remains of two generations of Yosts, in Christ Church Cemetery, at McKeansburg, Pennsylvania. Lydia (Bretney) Yost lived to be eighty-one years of age, her death occurring October 16, 1910.
Calvin D. Yost, son of Daniel J. and Lydia (Bretney) Yost, was born November 5, 1866, in Walker township, Schuylkill county, Penn- sylvania, where he obtained his early education in the public schools. At the age of seventeen he began to teach in East Brunswick town- ship, and continued in that work for four successive terms, ending in one of the schools of Walker township. Meanwhile he carried on his preparation for college, attending the Keystone State Normal School in spring and summer of these years. In September, 1887, he entered Ursinus College, graduating four years later, in the class of 1891, as valedictorian, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. From 1891-93 he pursued the study of theolgy in the Ursinus School of Theology. The following year he spent in study at Yale University, and on June 1, 1894, was ordained to the Gospel ministry in Emmanuel Reformed Church, Minersville, Pennsylvania, where he continued as pastor until 1896, when he accepted the principalship of the high school in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. This position he filled for five years. In 1901 he
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assumed the pastorate of the Pleasantville Reformed Church, in Bucks county, where he remained until April 1, 1906. Having received a call from St. John's Reformed Church, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, he accepted the same, and served this church until November 1, 1907, when, at the earnest solicitation of Dr. George L. Omwake, he accepted the position of general secretary of the Reformed Evangelical and Educa- tional Association, an organization devoted to the interests of Ursinus College. In 1910 Mr. Yost was elected librarian of this college, and instructor, and at the present time is assistant professor of German, as well as librarian. He has contributed articles to periodicals, and has done some editorial work. He was active in organizing the College- ville Summer Assembly, an inter-denominational conference for Chris- tian workers, serving as secretary and treasurer since its beginning.
Mr. Yost has served in the Borough Council of Collegeville, and as its president. He is a Mason, a member and past master of Warren Lodge, No. 310, Free and Accepted Masons ; also a member of the Penn- sylvania State Education Association, of the Pennsylvania German Soci- ety, and of several other bodies.
On August 28, 1894, Mr. Yost married (first) S. Ida Wagner, daugh- ter of Charles B. and Sarah M. Wagner, of Mahanoy City. To them one son was born, Merrill Wagner, June II, 1895, a graduate of Ursinus College, class of 1915, receiving the degree of Master of Arts after completing post-graduate studies in Harvard University, being a teacher at the present time. He took part in the World War, entering the United States army on December 28, 1917, and trained in Camp Meade, Mary- land, where he received the rank of corporal. He saw active service in France, with Company C, 304th Field Signal Battalion, in the Argonne, at St. Mihiel and Verdun, and was wounded five days before the armis- tice was signed. From the base hospital at Bordeaux he was brought to the United States, and honorably discharged at Camp Dix, January II, 1919. After the death of his first wife, which occurred June 20, 1895, Mr. Yost married (second), July 14, 1897, Millie K. Wagner, a sister of his first wife. They are the parents of the following children : 1. Ethel- bert B., born October 4, 1899, enlisted at Camp Crane, Allentown, Penn- sylvania, April 27, 1918, and as first-class private served with Base Hos- pital No. 82, in France, from August 31, 1918, to June 9, 1919, the greater part of this time at Toul. He received his honorable discharge at Camp Dix, June 16, 1919. He is a graduate of Ursinus College in the class of 1921, and is now teaching in the Eastview School, Shenchowfu, Hunan, China. 2. Margaret A., born August 4, 1903, is a student in Ursinus Col- lege, also pursuing studies in piano and organ music, and is organist in Trinity Reformed Church, Collegeville. 3. Calvin D., Jr., born March 10, 1910.
RALPH BEAVER STRASSBURGER-In newspaper circles in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, the name of Ralph Beaver Strass- burger is widely prominent as owner of the Norristown "Times-Herald." Mr. Strassburger's extensive acquaintance in Montgomery county, and.
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indeed, in many sections of the United States, and his service in the United States navy, have made him a noteworthy figure, and his wide affiliations in club circles in the East link his name with many social and athletic interests. Mr. Strassburger is a son of A. J. Strassburger, a very prominent lawyer of Eastern Pennsylvania, district attorney and member of the bars of both Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. The mother, Mary (Beaver) Strassburger, was also a member of an old Pennsylvania family.
Ralph Beaver Strassburger was born at Norristown, Pennsylvania, March 26, 1883. His education was begun in the public schools of Norristown and he also attended private school, later being graduated from Norristown High School in the class of 1899. Spending two years at Phillips-Exeter Academy, he then entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, from which he was graduated in the year 1905. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Strassburger was ordered to sea in the naval service, in which he was active for a period of eight years. Then returning to civilian life, he entered the employ of the Babcock & Wilcox Company, steam boiler manufacturers, with which concern he was affiliated until the year 1921. At that time Mr. Strassburger pur- chased the Norristown "Herald," one of the long established newspapers of this borough, which was founded in 1799, and through its entire his- tory has been a force for progress, counting definitely in the early development and later prosperity of this community and this section of the State. As owner and publisher of this paper, Mr. Strassburger added to his interests in December, 1922, by the purchase of the Norris- town "Times," and on January 1, 1923, he consolidated the two news- papers, which he has since published under the name of the Norristown "Times-Herald." Mr. Strassburger's personal attitude toward life, both in public affairs and in those interests which affect every phase of human progress, naturally determines in a large degree the policies of this paper, and it is holding a leading position in the newspaper world of Montgomery county and casting abroad a strong influence for good in the community. Himself affiliated with the Republican party, Mr. Strassburger supports this party through the columns of the "Times- Herald." But his services to his country have by no means been wholly of a political nature. In 1913 Mr. Strassburger was appointed by Presi- dent Taft as Consul General and Secretary of Legation at Roumania, Bulgaria and Servia. He was later promoted to the more important embassy at Tokio, Japan, where he filled the exacting position of second secretary. Mr. Strassburger's naval service was under Rear Admiral W. B. Brownson, United States Navy, and he also served on the United States Steamship "Connecticut," under Admiral Robley D. Evans, United States Navy. In 1907 Mr. Strassburger was attached to the United States Steamship "Mayflower," then in service as the presidential yacht. Mr. Strassburger is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and his club affiliations include organizations in many and varied fields of interest. He is a member of the Colonial Society of Pennsylvania, of which he is councillor ; a member of the Pennsylvania
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Society Sons of the Revolution ; the Society of Foreign Wars; the Soci- ety of Mechanical Engineers; the Royal Institute of Naval Architects ; the American Lawn Tennis Association; and the University, the New York Yacht, the Racquet and Tennis, the Recess, the Army and Navy, the New York Press, the Turf and Field, the Bryn Mawr Polo, the Racquet, the Philadelphia Cricket, the Markham, the Radnor, the White Marsh Valley, the Rose Tree, the Huntingdon Valley, the Penllyn, the Sunnybrook Golf, the Metropolitan, of Washington, District of Columbia, and the Travelers' clubs. He is further a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Strassburger married, May II, 1911, at the Chapel of St. John, on the estate of Sir Henry Leonard, at West Wickham, Kent, England, May Bourne, daughter of Frederick G. and Emma (Keller) Bourne. Mr. and Mrs. Strassburger are the parents of one child : Johann Andreas Peter, born January 3, 1916.
CLARENCE A. PAULUS, M. D .- Among the leading professional men of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, whose progressive activities are contributing to the general advance, Dr. Paulus, of Telford, is a noteworthy figure. Coming of an old family of Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, Dr. Paulus is a son of Emanuel and Sarah Paulus, his father during the early part of his lifetime a far- mer of that section, but later a business man at Easton, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Paulus was born in Bethlehem township, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1887. As a child he attended the public schools of Easton, and later determining upon a professional career, he entered Lerch Preparatory School, of Easton, Pennsylvania, where he covered the necessary course for matriculation in medicine. He then entered Muhlenberg College, at Allentown, Pennsylvania, and in 1911 entered the Medico-Chirurgical College, of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in the class of 1915, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Making a specialty of study and research along Chirurgical lines, Mr. Paulus has specialized in the same field in his practice, but has an extensive general practice also. His experience began with an interneship in the Frankford Hospital, after which he was assistant to Dr. Clyde Fish, of Pleasantville, New Jersey. Coming to Telford in June, 1917, he has practiced here since, with the interruption of his military service, and is now counted among the leaders of his profession in Montgomery county. Dr. Paulus enlisted for service in the World War on June 12, 1918, and was commissioned first lieutenant of the Medical Corps. Detailed to Camp Beauregard, he was placed in charge of several wards of the Base Hospital at that point, and later ordered to join Evacuation Hospital, No. 42, at Camp Green- leaf, Georgia, where he remained on duty until after the signing of the armistice. Released from active service in January, 1919, he is now a member of the Medical Reserve Corps, this enlistment expiring in 1923.
Dr. Paulus is serving the people not only in a professional and mili- tary sense, but as the chosen head of the civic body. A Republican by political affiliation, always deeply interested in the public welfare and
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active in the progress of the party, he has for several years been a mem- ber of the Telford Board of Health, and in 1922 was elected burgess of Telford for a term of four years. Dr. Paulus is a member of the Amer- ican Medical Association, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, the North Penn Medical Society, of which he was elected secretary in 1919, and still serves, and is also a member of the Bucks County Medical Society. His religious affiliation is with the Episcopal church.
Dr. Paulus married, in Philadelphia, on September 25, 1919, Mar- garet Hamilton, daughter of William D. and Mary Hamilton. Dr. and Mrs. Paulus reside in Telford.
PAUL M. BROOKE-Among the younger generation of successful attorneys in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and Glenside as well, is Paul M. Brooke. Since establishing himself in the practice of his chosen pro- fession in both places he has handled many important cases, practicing in both the Superior and Supreme courts.
J. Milton Brooke, father of Paul M. Brooke, was born in Cheltenham township in 1859. He was a farmer by occupation, but took an active interest in politics, and at one time was township treasurer and commis- sioner of Springfield township and prothonotary of Montgomery county. He married Sarah E. Titlow, a native of Springfield township, and they were the parents of the following children: Ethel, who graduated from Millersville State Normal School and afterwards taught in Abington township until her marriage to John K. Earnest; J. Warren, who resides on the home farm; Lillian, wife of W. Howard Calverley, Jr., of Ore- land, Pennsylvania ; Sarah M., deceased ; and Paul M., of further mention.
Paul M. Brooke, son of J. Milton and Sarah E. (Titlow) Brooke, was born at Laverick, now Enfield, November 20, 1892. He received the elementary portion of his education in the public schools of Springfield township, and then attended the Abington Friends' School at Jenkin- town, from which he was graduated in 1909. He then entered the Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania, receiving from this institution the degree of Bachelor of Science in economics, in 1913. Having in the meantime determined on law as his profession, he accord- ingly matriculated in the law department of the University of Pennsyl- vania. After completing the prescribed course, he graduated with the class of 1916 and won the degree of Bachelor of Laws, then was admit- ted to the Montgomery county bar, October, 1916. Throughout his school and college years he had proved himself an intelligent student, and at the close came to the opening of his career well equipped both with natural gifts and a training that was the result of careful prepara- tion. Immediately after passing his examinations, he came to Norris- town and opened an office at No. 51 East Airy street, and one at No. 410 York road, Jenkintown, which latter he retained until August, 1922, when he accepted the office of title and trust officer at the Glenside Title and Trust Company. In December, 1917, Mr. Brooke enlisted in the United States army and was ordered to Camp Dix, where he was assigned to the Quartermaster's Department, subsistence branch. He
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