USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume III > Part 15
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 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46
NORVIN S. WILE-Occupying a prominent position with the Dill Company, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Wile is well known as a successful business man and member of several fraternal and social organizations. He is a son of Jonas and Sarah Jane (Spare) Wile, whose other children are: Bertha, wife of Carrol Baldwin ; Adele; and Estelle. The father was engaged in farming and dealing in truck gardening until his death, which occurred in December, 1914.
Norvin S. Wile was born at Fairview Village, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, February 2, 1879. He obtained his education in the pub- lic schools of Worcester township, graduating from the high school in
John , Mountain
455
BIOGRAPHICAL
1895, and then studied at the West Chester Normal School for two years, 1895 and 1896 inclusive. After completing his education he taught school in Worcester township for a period of one year, then entered the employ of the Dill Company, as salesman, in which capacity he continued until 1908. At that time he became the general manager of. this company and has since held that position. The Dill Company manu- factures medicines of various sorts, pills, etc., and employ sixty-six per- sons in their plant and forty salesmen.
In politics Mr. Wile is a Republican. He has held the office of presi- dent of the Norristown Wholesale Grocery Company for four years, and is a stockholder in the Dill Company. Fraternally he is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose; Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he is affiliated with the Consistory of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; and is a member of Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Philadel- phia. He is also a member of the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia ; Norristown Club; Plymouth Country Club ; and the Whitemarsh Coun- try Club. In religion he is a member of the Haws Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church. His favorite recreation is fishing.
Mr. Wile was united in marriage, March 21, 1905, at Norristown, Pennsylvania, with Elizabeth Brenlinger, a daughter of Emanuel (deceased) and Lovina (Leidy) Brenlinger. The father was a hotel keeper in Norristown and Roxborough, Pennsylvania, for eighteen years. A brother of Mrs. Wile, Emanuel L. Brenlinger, Jr., is vice- president of the Dill Company. There were no children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wile.
JOHN EDWARD MOUNTAIN-Coming from Canada to this country as a young man, John Edward Mountain has worked his way up to an important place in the steel industry and in certain business developments of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. He is the son of William Mountain, who died in 1911, at the age of seventy, and Levina (Taylor) Mountain, who died in 1910, when nearly sixty-five years of age. Mr. Mountain was a ship carpenter, later a mine carpenter, and was born and lived his whole life in New Brunswick, Canada.
John Edward Mountain was born at Hillsboro, Albert county, New Brunswick, September 4, 1855, and was educated in the local schools. He spent nine years as a telegrapher in the General Stores Company of his native place. In 1880 he located in Springfield, Illinois, and was for seven years connected with the Ridgley Steel and Iron Company of that place. He then moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and as open hearth melter superintendent, spent three years in the Shoenberger Steel Works, leaving to go for the next twelve years with the Park Steel Company of Pittsburgh. In 1902 he accepted a position with the Alan Wood Iron and Steel Company, as general superintendent of the Ivy Rock plant, where he has given twenty years of most able service. Among his inter- ests, aside from the steel industry, is the Norris Building and Loan Asso- ciation, of which he is a director. For years a Republican in his political views, he is auditor of Plymouth township.
456
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
He is fraternally affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a life member; and the Blue Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, No. 190, Norristown ; past high priest of Norristown Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Philadelphia Consistory; Hutchinson Commandery, Knights Templar, of Norristown; and Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. He is a Presbyterian in his religious faith.
At New Brunswick, Canada, November 8, 1874, John E. Mountain married Rachel Terrice, daughter of James and Rachel Terrice, and they are the parents of six children : Willoughby H., with the United States Corporation at Gary, Indiana; John R., in the open hearth department at Gary, Indiana; Frank L., bricklayer in the steel department at the Ivy Rock plant of Alan Wood Iron and Steel Company in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania; Genevieve E., now Mrs. Malcolm Evans; a child who died in infancy ; and Mabel, who married Charles H. Detmiler, now resid- ing in Los Angeles, California.
FREDERICK KARL SCHLUMBERGER-A visitor coming to Lansdale, Pennsylvania, receives a deep impression of the hospitality of the place if he is fortunate enough to go to the Broadway Hotel and meet its affable proprietor, Frederick Karl Schlumberger. A genial host, a well-informed citizen, he not only makes the chance visitor feel at home, but can give him a knowledge of the city and create a liking for it. He has a host of friends.
Frederick Karl Schlumberger was born in Germany, the son of Adam and Rosine Schlumberger, the former a school teacher in Germany. He attended the public schools of his native country up to the age of eighteen. Like many another youth, America was an Eldorado to him, and he came here seeking his fortune. He succeeded better than most. Work was easily found, and he was soon busy in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City, staying there for five years. From New York City he went to Philadelphia, then came to Lansdale and secured the Broadway House and proceeded to make of it a first-class hotel. He has been its proprietor and manager for fourteen years.
Mr. Schlumberger has taken an active interest and part in the poli- tics of his county and is a staunch Republican. He was at one time auditor of Franconia township for two years. He is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a Forester. He is also a member of the Fish and Forest Association, and of the Citizens' Club. He is a communicant of the Lutheran church of Lansdale.
At Frankfort, Pennsylvania, Mr. Schlumberger was married to Louise, daughter of William and Meta Brown. Mr. Brown is a farmer and dairyman of long standing, at Frankfort. Mr. and Mrs. Schlum- berger have a daughter, Louise, born in 1916.
FLORENCE E. DONNELLY, M. D .- The number of women repre- sentatives in the professional class of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, is
457
BIOGRAPHICAL
not large, but none takes higher rank than Florence E. Donnelly, M. D., who located there in 1902, and has become one of its noted physicians. With ability, personality, and technical training of the highest order, she has attained remarkable success, and has a reputation that reaches beyond the borders of the city. She is the daughter of Hugh I. Don- nelly, who, a prosperous contractor and builder of Conshohocken, died at the age of forty-nine, in 1885, and Catherine (Murphy) Donnelly, who died at the age of sixty-three, in 1913. Her brother, Michael F. Donn- elly, is city solicitor of Philadelphia. She has two sisters, one, Doro- thy Donnelly, M. D., the well known physician of that name in Phila- delphia, and the other, Helen, widow of James F. Dixon.
Florence E. Donnelly was born in Dublin, Ireland, where her par- ents were visiting at that time, on June 16, 1872. She secured her first schooling in the public institutions of Conshohocken and her academic education in the high schools of the city. She then attended the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which she was grad- uated in 1902 with the degree of M. D. Immediately after the comple- tion of her professional training, she located her offices at No. 110 East Fourth avenue, Conshohocken, where she is now engaged in practice with a large and exclusive clientele. She is also on the auxiliary staff of the Montgomery County Hospital.
Among her professional associations are the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania State, and American Medical societies, and the Women's Medical College Alumni. She is an Independent in politics, and is a communicant of St. Matthew's Church of Conshohocken.
ROBERT E. JACKSON-In the town of Red Hill, Pennsylvania, Mr. Jackson has accomplished a great deal in the way of civic advance- ment. He has interested himself in many enterprises which have proven to be decidedly advantageous to the citizens of his community, and receives the respect and esteem of his fellowmen.
He is a son of John T. and Amelia Old (King) Jackson. The father was a veteran of the Civil War, serving in cavalry under General Sher- idan, and was wounded in action on several occasions. He was a har- ness maker by trade. His death occurred April 11, 1919, and he was buried in Saint Paul's Cemetery. Robert Jackson was one of four chil- dren, the others being: Annie, who married Robert Bartholomew; Emma, wife of Howard Wiltrout ; John.
Robert E. Jackson was born at Kutztown, Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, November 28, 1869. He secured his education in the public schools there. He first took up the trade of harness making, in which he con- tinued until 1892, when he moved to Red Hill to assume the duties of postmaster. For eighteen years he served in that capacity, maintaining his harness business at the same time. In October, 1913, he began his present business as a general sales agent for automobiles. From 1913 to March, 1922, he was agent for the Ford car, and in 1915 added the Willys-Knight and Overland, which is the only agency he is carrying at the present time. Mr. Jackson was connected in building a block of
458
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
ten houses in the town of Red Hill, and he has been a stockholder and secretary of the Red Hill Improvement Company since 1908. He is also interested in the Building and Loan Association ; for two years was pres- ident, now vice-president and director.
Mr. Jackson served one term as a member of the Borough Council. He is also a charter member and director of the Board of Trade. In his fraternal affiliations he is a Free and Accepted Mason, with mem- bership in East Greenville Lodge, No. 595, of which he is a past master ; the Golden Eagles, East Greenville; for fourteen years a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but has no connection at present with that order. He is a member of Saint Paul's Lutheran Church, of which he was an elder for a time.
Mr. Jackson married, May 5, 1891, at Red Hill, Pennsylvania, Annie Miller, daughter of Conrad and Sarah (Hoover) Miller. The children born of this marriage are: Florence, a graduate in law of Washington University, Washington, D. C .; Elmer, John, Helen, and Ella.
REES C. ROBERTS, one of the progressive business men of Ambler, Pennsylvania, who has been in the drug business there for nearly thirty years, has kept abreast of the times not only in his commercial affairs, but in politics, and is a great admirer of the late Theodore Roosevelt.
His father, Matthew Holstein Roberts, who died in August, 1882, at Richmond, Virginia, was a manufacturer of fire brick, and was a Civil War veteran, serving in the 192nd Pennsylvania Volunteers. He mar- ried Clara Virginia Connard.
Rees C. Roberts was born at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, November 27, 1870. He attended the public schools of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from the high school in 1888. For pro- fessional training he matriculated in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, College of Pharmacy, from which he gained his degree in 1892. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Philadelphia College of Phar- macy. Mr. Roberts' business career from 1892 until the present time (1922) has been confined to the retail drug trade. His business was incorporated in 1920 and the company maintains a popular, finely stocked and well equipped store in Ambler. He was a delegate to the Progressive Convention at Chicago, Illinois, in 1916. When the movement started to form a Theodore Roosevelt Division for service in the World War he promptly volunteered, and when the idea had to be abandoned, he was commissioned a first lieutenant by the Governor and recruited and organized at Ambler a platoon of infantry which combined with the Norristown platoon to form Company I, First Infantry, Pennsylvania Reserve Militia. Mr. Roberts also served as special enrolling agent of the Recruiting Service, United States Shipping Board, during the period of the war. He was treasurer of the Ambler Branch, American Red Cross. Mr. Roberts is affiliated with Lodge No. 308, Free and Accepted Masons, and is a Shriner, also a communicant and trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Ambler.
At York Springs, Adams county, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 1900,
459
BIOGRAPHICAL
Rees C. Roberts was married to Zula E. Trostel, daughter of Isaac and Catherine Trostel, and they are the parents of two children: Matthew Holstein, born April 8, 1902 ; and Catherine Trostel, born November 18, 1904.
JOHN L. BECHTEL has been closely associated with the business and community life of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, for many years. A young man only a year or two out of college, he returned to the town in which he had obtained his early education, and established himself in business. Since then his interests have expanded, and his sterling char- acter has won its way into the hearts of his fellowmen.
His father, Daniel D. Bechtel, was a well-known farmer, living just out of Black Rock, Pennsylvania, born August 6, 1837, and died in 1910; his mother Elizabeth Landers Bechtel, born November 4, 1838, died in 1894. They had two sons, Harry L., a real estate dealer in Philadelphia ; and John L., of further mention.
John L. Bechtel was born in Upper Providence township, near Black Rock, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1869. His early education came from the public school of his native town, and was continued in Ursinus Col- lege, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where he spent three years. His first entry into business life was by way of a lithographer company of Phil- adelphia, where he was employed as a bookkeeper. He did not remain here very long, and in 1895 established a furniture store, which he handled with increasing success until other lines of activity required so much of his time as to make it advisable to sell out in 1917. In the meantime he had taken up the profession of undertaking, and in 1895 received his license. He studied his work from every angle, and was one of the first in this section to do his own embalming, and now stands with the heads of his profession. In 1919 he branched out again, this time in the automobile business, tires and accessories, under the name of The John L. Bechtel & Son.
Mr. Bechtel is connected with a number of technical societies, among which are the Funeral Directors' Association of Pennsylvania ; the Mont- gomery County Funeral Directors' Association ; and for three years was president of the National Funeral Directors' Association. He has been for the past decade a member of the school board, has served on the Borough Council both as member and as president, and in his political faith is a Republican. He fraternizes with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has been for many years a communicant, and for fifteen years an elder in the Trinity Reformed Church, of Collegeville.
At Fairview Village, on June 4, 1891, John L. Bechtel was married to Clara A., daughter of Jacob and Henrietta (Dettra) Custer, and they are the parents of two children : 1. Carl L., born June 6, 1894, graduate of Ursinus College, 1914, with degree of A. B., who taught for a time in Berwin, Pennsylvania, in a private school. He later was for some time with the B. F. Goodrich Tire Company, of Philadelphia, and in 1919 joined his knowledge of the motor trade with his father's business acumen, as John Bechtel & Son. He was married at Reading, Pennsyl-
460
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
vania, to Anna Urban, of Philadelphia, and they are the parents of one daughter, Florence, born November 25, 1917. 2. Alma, born April 2, 1897, a graduate of the Collegeville High School, and of the Coombs Conservatory of Music. She was married on July 29, 1921, to William C. McAllister, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania.
CHARLES P. DEVLIN-Veterans of the Civil War are growing fewer as the years go by and of those that remain there are not many who saw such long dangerous service as did Charles P. Devlin. His army life reads like a romance. After much persuasion, his mother, who had five brothers already in arms, two of whom were on the Confederate side, permitted her twelve-year-old son to enlist. Almost without train- ing he was thrust into battle, and for four years was with the armies most actively engaged, and did a man's fighting in practically all the great battles of the war; when finally the strife was over he marched in the Grand Review at Washington with half a year to live before he would be seventeen. To-day (1923), after fifty-eight years, Mr. Devlin sits on the porch of his tavern, itself dating to the Revolutionary War, and will tell anyone interested, the tales of those boyhood days and of the exciting years that followed. Charles P. Devlin is the eldest son of Hugh Devlin, who was a reed maker in Philadelphia at the time when reeds were much used for weaving, and of Mary (Toner) Devlin, whose brothers, Arthur and Patrick, were in the Southern armies, while Edward, Peter and James, were on the Union side.
Charles P. Devlin was born January 21, 1848, in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, and was attending school when the Civil War broke out. He promptly enlisted and was discharged when his mother found it out and objected, but by persevering he finally won the consent of his Spartan mother, and at the age of twelve years and eight months joined, on September 9, 1861, Company F, of the 73rd Regiment of Pennsylvania.
He was with the Army of the Potomac in all the battles, including those of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and was then transferred to the Army of the Southwest at Bridgeport, Ala- bama, for the purpose of relieving General Rosencrans, who was hard pressed. While with this army he participated in the engagements of Wauhatchee, Tennessee, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge. In the latter battle he found himself opposed to his Uncle Arthur, and of the 370 men in his regiment that entered the fight, only 73 survived. His term of enlistment expired at this time and he promptly reënlisted the next day. He marched with Sherman from "Atlanta to the Sea," and was present at one of the last incidents of the war, the surrender of Johnson at Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1865. Then came the Grand Review at Washington, when as a four years' veteran, although only sixteen and a half years old, he marched before President Lincoln. On Independence Day, 1865, he was mustered out at Alexandria, Virginia. One of the curiosities of his war time experience was that he cast his first vote when only fourteen. He was then what he is now, a Democrat, and voted for General McClellan. His being able to vote at so young
Charles To Devlin
-
461
BIOGRAPHICAL
an age grew out of the law that any man, regardless of age, could vote if actively engaged in army duties.
After his discharge there came the difficulty of a livelihood to make, and he met it by going to Philadelphia and getting a job in a brewery. For twenty years he worked for Christian Smith & Sons, brewers, soon rising to a foremanship, or head maltster, and served in this capacity for most of the time. He later spent three years with the Bergdoll Brewing Company and a year with the Francis Blackburn Malt House.
About this time he had the honor of being elected to the State Sen- ate, and put in four years of able work for his party. Upon his return in 1892, he quit the brewing business and purchased a hotel at Eleventh street and Girard avenue, Philadelphia, which became very popular under his genial management. He kept this establishment until 1908 and then retired, but a few years later he was advised to go into the country to live on account of his health, and he selected Trappe, Penn- sylvania, as the place that best suited him. He opened the famous Lambs Tavern at this place, which is said to have been built in 1742, and during the Revolutionary War was a relay post and station for couriers. In this present day it is a place for friends and cronies to meet and smoke and talk over the good old days with mine host, Charles P. Devlin.
Mr. Devlin has had a share in the inception of many organizations. He was a member of original Ringold Hose Company of Philadelphia, a volunteer company, and remained in it until 1870, or until it was replaced by a paid fire department in 1872. He joined the George E. Meade Post, No. 1, Civil War Veterans, of Philadelphia, and the Union Veterans Legion Encampment, No. 73, of the same city. He has fra- ternal relations with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 2; the Fraternal Order of Eagles, No. 42, of which he was treasurer for several years ; the Loyal Order of Moose, No. 54; the Ancient Order of Hibernians, No. 1I, of which he was president for three years and treasurer for one; the F. O. A., of which he was president and treasurer for some time; and the Volunteer Firemen's Association, all of these societies being of Philadelphia. His clubs are: The West Kensington, the oldest in Philadelphia; the Quaker City Tourist, of which he is a charter member; and the James Page Library Association, the second oldest Democratic club in the United States. In religious affiliation he is a Roman Catholic.
Charles P. Devlin married (first), in 1868, at Philadelphia, Elizabeth Cavanaugh, deceased. He married (second) Mary F. Delaney, on Feb- ruary 3, 1893, at Philadelphia.
FREDERICK H. BELTZ-The cigar manufacturing business has engaged the attention of Mr. Beltz for many years, and he has a large factory in Schwenkville, Pennsylvania, and branches in other towns, doing a very successful business. He is active in the affairs of the bor- ough, and a highly-respected citizen.
-
462
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Mr. Beltz's parents, Michael and Rosa (Henzler) Beltz, were natives of Germany, the father, born in 1818, since deceased, coming to this country and settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and later, in 1863, settled on a thirty-acre farm in Upper Salford township; the mother came to America in 1850, settling in Philadelphia, where they were married before moving to Upper Salford township. They were the parents of six children : Lena, wife of Jacob Shade; John ; Marietta, wife of Charles Schraishuhne; Michael; Frederick H., of whom further ; and Rosa, wife of John Richard.
Frederick H. Beltz was born at Souderton, Pennsylvania, August II, 1864, and educated in the public schools in Upper Salford township. Later he learned the trade of cigar making, in Tylersport, with John Deetz, with whom he remained for four months, in 1884. From that time until 1892 he secured employment in various cigar concerns, and then established a factory of his own in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he continued until 1898, and then moved to Graterford, Pennsyl- vania, and in 1900, to Schwenkville. Here he remained, and built a factory building, two stories and basement, 44x88 feet. He also has branches at Yorkana, York county, Pennsylvania ; Hoppenville, Mont- gomery county ; and at Perkiomen Heights. The total production in his factories is five million cigars yearly, of the brand name "El Murillo."
He is a Democrat in politics, and ever since the organization of this borough has been a member of the board of school directors. The Building and Loan Association of Schwenkville, organized in April, 1915, has had him as its president from that time. He is fraternally a member of Warren Lodge, No. 310, Free and Accepted Masons, of Col- legeville; Philadelphia Consistory ; Lu Lu Shrine of Philadelphia ; also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Norristown; Knights of Friendship in Zieglersville; and Patriotic Order Sons of America, of Schwenkville. He is associated with the Acacia Club, of Collegeville, and is an elder of the Reformed church. His recreative interest is fish- ing. The fact of his having had three sons in service in France, and that he was enabled to act as chairman of the first home defence, is especially gratifying to him.
On April 3, 1890, Mr. Beltz was married, at Norristown, to Laura Tyson, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Fox) Tyson, the father a farmer at Skippack, Pennsylvania. Other children of Mr. and Mrs. Tyson were: George; Lillian, wife of Chester Freeman; Annie, widow of Clinton Grace ; Minerva, wife of John Fisher; and Mary, wife of Harry Heperly.
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.