USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume II > Part 39
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amanda, HE. Biddle
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his favorite recreation is automobiling. He is also well known through- out the county as an excellent auctioneer, and his services in that field are very much in demand.
On October 16, 1867, in Upper Dublin township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, Henry Cook Biddle married Amanda K. Brownholtz, daughter of Henry and Deborah R. (Gibbs) Brownholtz. Mr. and Mrs. Brownholtz, parents of Mrs. Biddle, were the parents also of four other children : George W., who now resides in Germantown, Pennsylvania ; Emma, deceased; Franklin P., who now lives in Chicago, Illinois; and Howard J., deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Biddle are the parents of five chil- dren : 1. Lewis, born March 29, 1869; associated with his father in busi- ness ; married Clara V. Erb, and they had three children : Earl, deceased ; Henry, deceased ; and Daniel F., who is associated with his grandfather and father in business. 2. Clark, born January 9, 1871, died November 20, 1897. 3. Laura, born July 2, 1873, died August 16, 1875. 4. Warren J., born December 13, 1878; married Maude (McCool) Fay, widow of Philip Fay. 5. Minnie Gertrude, born February 1, 1880, died September 19, 1880.
JOHN MORRIS MARKLEY, M. D .- Among the physicians in Schwenkville, Pennsylvania, is Dr. Markley, who enjoys a large prac- tice in the community and is actively interested in local civic affairs. He is a son of Josiah S. and Hannah (Keeley) Markley; his father is a retired farmer owning one hundred acres at Limerick, Pennsylvania, and was president of the Lutheran council and a school teacher in his younger days. Josiah S. and Hannah Markley were the parents of nine children, who were: Minerva, wife of William Blackwelder, of Joliet, Illinois ; Sally, died at the age of thirteen ; Francis, who died in infancy ; John Morris, of further mention ; Horace, deceased; J. Preston, a physi- cian at Laramie, Wyoming ; Irene, a nurse, widow of Dr. John Curtis, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Florence, died in infancy ; Erna, who lives with her father.
John Morris (J. Morris) Markley was born at Schwenkville, Penn- sylvania, December 22, 1870. He was educated in the Limerick public schools; Ursinus College, for a term of one year, 1888; University of Valparaiso, Indiana. 1893 to 1894; and the University of Pennsylvania from 1895 to 1898, where he studied medicine and received his degree of Medical Doctor. After completing his studies he was engaged as sub- stitute physician, at the Episcopal Hospital, in Philadelphia, for a period of six months. He also took over Dr. Scholl's practice in Green Lane, and that of Dr. Hearst, in East Greenville, and continued these prac- tices until 1900, when he moved to Graterford. From that year until 1922 he remained at Graterford, then came to his present location at Schwenk- ville. The new home which has just been completed for him is the fin- est in this vicinity. In politics he is a Republican and was school direc- tor in Perkiomen township for sixteen years. He is a stockholder in the Collegeville National Bank. Fraternally he is a Mason and a mem-
Mont-20
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ber of Warren Lodge, No. 310, of Collegeville. He also affiliates with Acacia Club, of Collegeville, and the Montgomery County Medical Society. In his religious faith he is a member of the Schwenkville Lutheran Church, of which he was a trustee for three years. He seeks recreation in tennis, gunning, truck and flower gardening.
On June 8, 1904, Dr. Markley was united in marriage with Amy Bean, a daughter of Manassas and Amanda (Eschbach) Bean, whose children were : Alberta, wife of Ruben Winters, of Royersford, Pennsylvania ; Amy, wife of Dr. Markley; Oscar; Howard; Agnes, wife of F. A. Morgan ; Edna, who died at the age of fourteen. Mr. Bean is a hotel keeper and was a school teacher for some years. Dr. and Mrs. Markley are the parents of the following children : Ethel, born May 1I, 1905, who will enter Hood's College, Frederick, Maryland, to pursue a course in physical culture ; J. Forrest, born July 20, 1912; and Donald, born March 24, 1914.
FRANKLIN H. DEISHER-The Royersford Foundry & Machine Company came into existence in 1890, having been established by Y. C. Freed and Atmore Loomis for general machine shop work. The organ- ization, which was incorporated in 1904, consisted of the following per- sonnel: Y. C. Freed, president ; Atmore Loomis, treasurer and secretary until the latter's death in 1914, when Franklin H. Deisher became secre- tary. In 1916 there was a change made in the officers of the company as follows: Franklin H. Deisher became president and treasurer; H. R. Willi, vice-president and secretary; and J. Carroll Deisher, assistant treasurer.
The building which houses the organization at first was a three-story brick one with a floor space of one hundred and twenty-five thousand square feet, and employed fifty men. Since then two large additions have been built on to the foundry and two added to the machine shop, which indicates how the enterprise has prospered. The company spec- ializes in power transmissions, sells roller bearings, punch and sheering machines, consisting of drill presses, emery grinders, buffeting and pol- ishing stands, and also deals in tumbling barrels and Royersford com- mercial bearings, employing altogether two hundred and twenty-five men. The organization is well-balanced and sound, and the works are rated as one of the most completely equipped of its size in the State.
Since 1905 Franklin H. Deisher has been connected with the Royers- ford Foundry & Machine Company, of Royersford, and for the past six years has been elected president and treasurer of the organization, and has become widely prominent in manufacturing circles. His life so far has been an active and busy one, and although ample in its rewards, is all richly deserved.
Peter Deisher, father of Franklin H. Deisher, was born in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, and for many years previous to his death was engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Phoenixville. He married Valeria E. Seidel, a native of Hamburg, Pennsylvania, who now resides in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. Deisher were the parents of the following children: John M., a resident of Phoenixville; Sue, wife of
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Frank L. Moister; Carrie E., wife of J. W. Good, of York, Pennsyl- vania; Franklin H., of further mention; Charles S., a resident of Read- ing, Pennsylvania; William H., a resident of Lewiston, Pennsylvania ; and Emma, wife of William Loeber, of Baltimore.
Franklin H. Deisher, son of Peter and Valeria E. (Seidel) Deisher, was born in Ashland, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1872. He was educated in the public schools of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and after graduating from the high school there secured employment in the office of the Phoenixville Iron Works, where he remained for a short time, entering subsequently Pierce's Business College, Philadelphia. After completing his studies there he secured a position in the auditing department of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, in New York City. Three years later he resigned from this position and went to Royersford, where together with his brother he engaged in the baking business at Fourth and Main streets. Here they continued successfully for three years under the firm name of Deisher Brothers, and then sold the business and removed to Collegeville, where for the next three years they carried on the same kind of business, subsequently selling out and removing to Phoenixville, where they again engaged in the baking business. Two years later Franklin H. Deisher left the concern and returned to Roy- ersford, where he secured a position as bookkeeper with the Royersford Foundry & Machine Company, which he held for nine years, or until 1914, when he was elected secretary of the organization, and two years later became president and treasurer of the company. Besides being the head of the above-named big enterprise Mr. Deisher is also a director of the Spring City Building and Loan Association. Mr. Deisher is widely known in Masonic circles, being a member of Spring City Lodge, No. 553, Free and Accepted Masons ; Rajah Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Philadelphia Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He also affiliates with the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and holds membership in the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, the Phoenixville Country Club, and the Manufacturers' Club, of Philadelphia.
At Spring City, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1896, Franklin H. Deisher was united in marriage with Amanda E. Bickel, daughter of E. Allan and Sarah Jane (Priest) Bickel, of Spring City. Mr. and Mrs. Deisher are the parents of two children : I. J. Carroll, born October 31, 1897. After graduating from the Spring City High School in 1915, he matriculated at Ursinus College, receiving from that institution the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1919. While at college he was a member of the Schoff Literary Society. In 1919 he became assistant treasurer of the Royersford Foundry & Machine Company, and having always been interested actively in football and baseball, plays on both the con- cern's teams. He married on June 24, 1922, Mazie Richmond, a grad- uate of Ursinus College, class of 1921, the daughter of Howard and Anna Richmond, of Salem, New Jersey. 2. Grace Evelyn, born November 4, 1910, and a student at Spring City High School, class of 1927.
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JOHN B. CLEMENS-In 1890 John B. Clemens came to Morwood, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, as a clerk, and six years later became owner of the business which he has developed to its present large pro- portions. His line is general merchandise, which in a farming commu- nity is an elastic term, meaning a varied line of mechanical farm acces- sories and general machinery. To this Mr. Clemens has added a line of general insurance, fire, storm and burglary. He is justice of the peace, and secretary of the association of business men who in Montgomery county and Eastern Pennsylvania have combined for the best interests of both dealer and customer. Mr. Clemens is a native son of Montgomery county, and although but in the prime of life has accomplished a great deal and made for himself an honored place among the prosperous, influ- ential business men of his county. He is a man of most pleasing person- ality, is broad of mind and vision, public-spirited and progressive, no forward movement ever lacking his support. John B. Clemens is a son of John O. Clemens, a harnessmaker, now deceased, and his wife, Cath- erine (Bergey) Clemens.
John B. Clemens was born at Lederach, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania, February 21, 1868. He was educated in the public schools. He was variously employed until 1890, when he became a clerk in the general store at Morwood, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, a posi- tion he filled for six years, then purchased the business and has con- ducted it very successfully until the present. In addition to the lines of general merchandise carried, and these are very full, it is interesting to note the special lines Mr. Clemens carries or represents, lines that would indicate mechanical understanding or skill. These are: Silent Alamo electric light and power plants, Empire milking machines, gasoline en- gines and accessories, Duro water system.
Mr. Clemens is also a director of Schwenkville National Bank ; one of the directors of the White Hall Insurance Association of Chalfont, Penn- sylvania, an association for the protection of merchants; director and secretary of the Business Men's Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Pennsylvania, a company for merchants and controlled by merchants; this company, incorporated under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, is composed of reputable and successful merchants, who are large owners of real and personal property, and who desire and must have fire pro- tection, the object of the company being to provide its members with safe fire insurance at first cost. This is to be done by reducing the expenses to a minimum, and by saving stockholders' profits for its policy holders. This company was organized in 1907, and as its capable, effi- cient secretary, Mr. Clemens has become widely known. The home office is in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Mr. Clemens is secretary of the Business Men's Association of Eastern Pennsylvania, organized May 15, 1900, that association now including the membership of the old Bucks County Merchants' Association, and the former Business Men's Association of Montgomery County.
In these organizations Mr. Clemens has taken deep interest and is recognized as one of the strong men that have made their successful
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existence possible. During Governor Pennypacker's administration he was appointed a justice of the peace by him, and has ever since retained that office. This, with his mercantile business, his secretaryship, his fire, storm and burglary insurance business, would indicate a man of energy and system, for without both it would be impossible for the most talented inan to carry the responsibilities Mr. Clemens does. He is a member and a trustee of Zion Mennonite Church of Souderton.
In the fall of 1890 John B. Clemens married (first), in Morwood, Lizzie Keoher, who bore him three children: Herbert K .; Enos. de- ceased; and Raymond H. Mr. Clemens married (second), November 14, 1899, Hannah Bean, daughter of David H. and Elvina (Weisel) Bean. Mr. and Mrs. Clemens are the parents of four children : David B., born January 19, 1901 ; Paul B., born February 17, 1903; Frances B., born September 19, 1905; John B. (2), born December 8, 1906. The family home is in Morwood, Pennsylvania.
GEORGE HUBER YERGER-A name which will long be honored in Montgomery county, especially among the people of Souderton and Telford, is that of George Huber Yerger, prominent citizen, member of the two leading fraternal orders, and head of one of the most popular mercantile enterprises of the community, the Hillside Avenue Music Store, where his genial and friendly spirit made him one of the out- standing merchants of this borough. Mr. Yerger was a son of Henry and Anna (Huber) Yerger, well known and highly esteemed farming people of Pottstown.
George Huber Yerger was born near Pottstown, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1873, and died July 14, 1920. As a boy he attended the public schools of Pottstown, and gained a thorough grounding in the essentials of edu- cation. As a young man he entered the hotel business, and was active for years along this line of endeavor, with marked success, having been located in Telford, Pennsylvania. He was, however, possessed of a keen appreciation of good music, and this taste governed the trend of his later activities. In the year 1895 he started in the music business in Telford, and in 1908 Mr. Yerger came to Souderton and established the present business here at No. 32 Hillside avenue. From the beginning he carried a very complete and excellent line of musical instruments of every description, making a specialty of pianos and victrolas with the accom- panying records. He did a constantly increasing business, and at his death was rated among the leading merchants of Souderton. He was also a director of the Telford Building and Loan Association. In every branch of civic and patriotic activities Mr. Yerger felt a deep interest, and politically supported the Democratic party, although he never accepted nor desired public honors or emoluments. He was a man who readily responded to the pleasure of congenial companionship, and this trait of his character found expression in his cordial fellowship with the fraternal orders of which he was a member, the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He did not fail to acknowledge the power and dignity of religion and his responsibility
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toward Christian work, and was a member of the Lutheran church of Telford, Pennsylvania.
George Huber Yerger married, in Telford, May 6, 1891, Lizzie L. Kulp, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth Kulp, and their only son, Abraham Paul, is now the head of the business interest which the father laid down. A sketch of the son's life follows :
ABRAHAM PAUL YERGER-The name of Yerger has for many years been a prominent one in the State of Pennsylvania and in the county of Montgomery, and Abraham Paul Yerger is one of the lead- ing merchants of Souderton, standing at the head of the interest which was founded by his father, and which is now a widely patronized and largely successful music store. Mr. Yerger is a grandson of Henry and Anna (Huber) Yerger, farming people of Pottstown in a day gone by, and is a son of George Huber and Lizzie L. (Kulp) Yerger, formerly of Telford, and in more recent years prominent in Souderton, a review of his father's life appearing in the preceding sketch.
Abraham Paul Yerger was born in Telford, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1895. His education was received in the Telford and Souderton schools. As he came to enter the world of men and affairs, he chose the electrical business as his field of future endeavor, and became an apprentice in this field. He was, however, influenced to change the trend of his activity through his father's success in the music store, and for eight years was identified with the Weymanns, of Phila- delphia. Mr. Yerger returned to Souderton, in 1919, to take charge of the business which until that time his father had conducted, and thus relieve the elder man of responsibility, in the hope that his failing health would improve, but the following summer the father passed away, and the business fell to the only son, who has since conducted it as his suc- cessor. Mr. Yerger took up the work thus sadly left in his hands with the progressive spirit of his honored father, who had brought it to a high degree of success, and he has carried it constantly forward, keep- ing in touch with the general advance in this and allied fields, and he now stands among the truly progressive and influential men of the day in Souderton. He moved the business from No. 32 Hillside avenue to a building he erected at No. 133 Main street, after the death of his father. Always deeply interested in everything that pertains to the welfare and upbuilding of this section, Mr. Yerger is a director of the Telford Building and Loan Association. Politically he supports the Republican party, but has thus far taken no interest in public affairs beyond that of the forward-looking citizen. Fraternally he is prominent, being a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Royal Arch Masons, Knights Templar, and also of the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is identified with the Reformed church of Souderton.
Mr. Yerger married, in Souderton, April 3, 1915, Adelia Kratz, daugh- ter of George B. and Catherine (Smith) Kratz. They have two daugh- ters, Ruth Elizabeth and Catherine Alma.
Eng by & & Withany Br Wi
alexander Bright
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BIOGRAPHICAL
ALEXANDER KNIGHT-Retiring business men find Ambler, Pennsylvania, a pleasant place in which to live, and many, like Alexander Knight, have made it their home. For nearly a half century his was an active part of the commercial life of Philadelphia, and it was not until 1914 that he resigned his place and began to enjoy himself, free from the cares of trade. Tracing his ancestry through six generations born in America back to Gloucestershire, England, he is a grandson of Alex- ander Knight, M. D., born February 6, 1786, died in his forty-second year, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, a med- ical practitioner of the city of Philadelphia and at one time port physi- cian. He married Mary Knorr, and they were survived by three daugh- ters: Elizabeth, who married William Dorsey; Livinia, who married Elihu Pedrick; Rebecca, who married Joseph G. Henszey ; and one son, George Knorr, of whom further.
George Knorr Knight, only son of Dr. Alexander and Mary (Knorr) Knight, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1818, and in 1854 seeking health and the country life congenial to his tastes, came to Ambler, then Upper Dublin, where he bought a tract of forty-five acres. In 1863 he purchased the general store, lumber yard and coal business with ten acres of land from Joseph L. Wilson, which property he leased to Samuel Comley for several years, Mr. Knight remaining an agriculturist.
He married Sarah Arthur, of Philadelphia, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Mann) Arthur, and they were the parents of six children : Eliz- abeth K., now deceased, the founder of Sunnyside Boarding and Day School; Alexander; Mira Lavinia, deceased; Sarah A., who succeeded to the principalship of Sunnyside School; Cordelia E .; and George, deceased. Sunnyside School, which was conducted by the Misses Knight for three decades, was located at the corner of Main street and Butler avenue, Ambler, and was very popular, more than seventy-five pupils being enrolled at one time. During those thirty years many graduates passed out of Sunnyside and the old school had an important place in the educational life of its day.
Alexander Knight, eldest son of George K. and Sarah (Arthur) Knight, was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1846, and attended schools there, finishing in the schools of Ambler, which became the family home in 1856. He began his business career in 1867 as salesman in the Phineas Hough, Jr., Carpet Store, and con- tinued with that firm's successor, Thomas C. Lippincot, of Philadelphia, remaining in the service of that store seventeen years. He then resigned to go with Strawbridge & Clothier, of the same city, in their carpet department, twelve years being spent in that department as salesman. He was then advanced to the position of buyer and manager for his department and spent fifteen years in that position, resigning January I, 1914, when he retired from mercantile pursuits. As director of the First National Bank of Ambler, he still keeps in touch with the financial life of the time. Although not by profession a member of the Society of Friends, he favors the religious views of his Quaker ancestors. In poli-
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tics he has always been a staunch Republican, and in earlier years was an enthusiastic member of the old Republican Invincibles, a marching club of Philadelphia. He was appointed by Governor Pennypacker, in 1903, to serve on the commission entrusted with the duty of selecting a site and putting up a state institution for the feeble-minded of Eastern Penn- sylvania. The institution was located and built at Spring City in Ches- ter county.
Alexander Knight married, October 15, 1874, at Philadelphia, Cor- delia Grove, daughter of David B. and Elizabeth (Sorver) Grove. David B. Grove was born August 15, 1837, and died March 16, 1904, his widow surviving him until November, 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Knight are the par- ents of three children: 1. Alexander, born August 10, 1875, died in Union, Oregon, January 11, 1911. He married Mary E. Smith, of Phil- adelphia, niece of Alfred Smith, a traction magnate, and left a daughter, Mary Angelia Knight. 2. Harold Grove, born September 11, 1880, after preparatory education, read law with Robert Hinckley, of Philadelphia, and was admitted to the bar in 1901. He is engaged in the practice of his profession in Philadelphia with offices in the Witherspoon building, and in Ambler. He married Anna M. MacIlhenny, and they are the parents of Harold Grove (2), Nancy, and Alexander Knight. The family home is in Ambler. 3. Cordelia, married Charles Dorrance Jones, of Philadelphia, and they have a daughter, Cordelia Knight Jones, and sons, Charles Dorrance, and John Alexander Jones.
This branch of the Knight family descends from Giles Knight, who came on the "Welcome" with William Penn, accompanied by his wife, Mary (English) Knight, and their two-year-old son, Joseph. The Knights settled in Byberry, Pennsylvania, in 1682.
WILLIAM ISAAC ZYNER, D. D. S .- A member of an old Penn- sylvania family, Dr. Zyner has been engaged in the practice of dental surgery at East Greenville since 1906. He was born at Center Valley, Upper Saucon township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1876, son of the Rev. Milton A. Zyner and his wife, Susanna (Hixon) Zyner. His family came to Pennsylvania from Germany in the early part of the seventeenth century, and has given many prominent citizens to the State, contributing in full measure to the rise in power and prosperity of the region first chosen for its American home.
Dr. Zyner's father was a minister of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, and later served an independent charge at Tuckerton. Berks county, Pennsylvania. He was a practical farmer and took great pleasure in cultivating his own land. In addition to his other activities, he was engaged in teaching the children of his township, and many of the pupils who attended school under him were destined afterwards to rise to positions of importance and prosperity. He was regarded with respect and affection by all his neighbors and acquaintances, and it would be difficult to estimate the power of his influence for good upon the community.
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