USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume III > Part 17
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howard S. Stillwagon
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for over two decades he has been an active factor in the success of the company in the same capacity.
A Republican by political affiliation, and always a worker for the good of the party, Mr. Grater was brought forward in 1917, as a member of the Borough Council of Norristown. He took his seat in that body in November, 1917, and served until January, 1921 ; and he is a director of the Schuylkill Valley Protective Building and Loan Association. He is a member of the Brethren Church, of which he is deacon and trustee.
Mr. Grater married, on June 20, 1901, at Royersford, in this county, Bertha A. Oehlert, daughter of Robert and Emma Oehlert, and they have two children : Edgar, born July 17, 1904; and Mildred, born April 2, 1909.
HOWARD S. STILLWAGON-For years prominent and success- ful in various lines of business endeavor, Mr. Stillwagon has since devoted his time largely to his duties as a public servant, his broad experience and practical ability making him a factor in the public advance. Mr. Still- wagon comes of old Pennsylvania stock, and is a son of William H. and Emma J. Stillwagon, his father for many years a farmer in Montgom- ery county.
Howard S. Stillwagon was born near West Spring Mill, Lower Mer- ion township, March 15, 1869. His early education was acquired at the public schools of his native place and in the township of Radnor, and he prepared for his career at Pierce's Business College, in Philadelphia. As a youth of seventeen Mr. Stillwagon took up the duties of his first posi- tion in a grocery store at Ardmore, in this county, where he was em- ployed for three years. He then became identified with the lumber busi- ness at Rosemont, where he was assistant bookkeeper for about five years, thereafter entering the wholesale end of the lumber business in Philadelphia, and continuing for six years. On February 9, 1899, Mr. Stillwagon was appointed postmaster of Rosemont, in which office he served for seven years. Meanwhile, on July 1, 1899, he entered the real estate business in Rosemont, handling insurance also, and for years he went forward along this line of endeavor. In 1905 Mr. Stillwagon was elected clerk of the courts of Montgomery county, and was reelected in 1908, serving a second term. For three years he served as commissioner of Lower Merion township, and in 1915 was made justice of the peace of this township, in which office he is still active. In all his public serv- ice Mr. Stillwagon has displayed the same practical and progressive qualities which have made him successful in personal endeavor. He is most highly-esteemed by his contemporaries, of whatever political alle- giance they may be, and is himself affiliated with the Republican party. Fraternally, Mr. Stillwagon is widely known, being a past master of Cassia Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Ardmore ; of Montgomery Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of St. Albans Commandery, Knights Templar; and of Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America ; of the Order of Independent Americans; and of the Improved
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Order of Red Men. Since his residence in Ardmore he has been identified with the Matthew Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Stillwagon married, at Rosemont, Pennsylvania, on September 15, 1892, Mary Elizabeth Super, daughter of Lewis and Rachel Super, and they are the parents of four children: Grace E., who married Law- rence R. Davis, D. D. S., of Ardmore, Pennsylvania; Howard S., Jr .; Anna Florence ; and Algernon B. R.
J. FRANK RAMSAY-One of the successful business men of Con- shohocken, Pennsylvania, is J. Frank Ramsay, electrical contractor, who is also engaged in selling electrical appliances. Mr. Ramsay is a son of William and Sarah (Beneux) Ramsay, the last named of whom died in 1908, at the age of sixty-four years, and the former of whom is engaged in cultivating the homestead farm near Coatesville, Chester county, Pennsylvania, which has been in the possession of the Ramsay family for more than one hundred and twenty years.
Born in Ronk, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1883, Mr. Ramsay received his education in the public schools of Berwyn, Chester county, and when his high school course was completed learned the gen- eral electrical business. In 1900 he removed to Conshohocken, where he was employed as electrician of the Broad Street Station of the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company. That position he continued to hold for a period of eighteen years, at the end of which time, in 1918, he engaged in business for himself at Conshohocken as an electrical contractor. He has been notably successful in his business career and in addition to his electrical contracting business he also conducts a store for the sale of electrical appliances, located on Fayette street. Politically Mr. Ramsay gives his support to the principles of the Republican party. He frater- nizes with the Improved Order of Red Men, of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, of which he is past sachem ; and with the Knights of Pythias. His religious affiliation is with the Lutheran church of Conshohocken.
On November 10, 1899, at Camden, New Jersey, J. Frank Ramsay married Myrtle Pope, daughter of William and Catherine (Charles) Pope, and they are the parents of seven children, all born at Consho- hocken, Pennsylvania: Howard Beaumont, Myrtle Virginia, Catherine Dorothy, William Frank, Robert Horace, Warren Arthur, and Charles Ernest. The family residence is at No. 131 East Eighth avenue, Con- shohocken, Pennsylvania.
HARVEY T. HEATH, one of the younger men of Ambler, Penn- sylvania, who has started out in business for himself, having a two- story brick garage on Main and Butler avenues, is a son of James S. Heath, born October 30, 1860, who is chief engineer of the Jenkin Rub- ber Company, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. His mother is Mary Heath, born July 29, 1865.
Harvey T. Heath was born in Trenton, New Jersey, August 24, 1893. He attended the public educational institutions of Ambler, and was grad- uated from the grammar school in 1915, then spent some time in high
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school. When sixteen years of age he began his business career as a clerk in the grocery store of J. W. Freas, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, remaining for two years. His liking for mechanics led to his securing a position in the garage of H. J. Deramies, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he learned his trade as an expert mechanician. He then joined his father, James S. Heath, in the automobile business, and after some years moved to Ambler and started a garage of his own. He has a fine two- story building, fifty by sixty feet, fitted with everything needed for the care and repair of all motor vehicles, and is busily engaged with his increasing custom. In politics he is a Republican, in his fraternal affil- iation a member of Lodge No. 214, Patriotic Order Sons of America, and is a communicant of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Heath married, November 9, 1917, Margaret Elizabeth Myers, daughter of Lee A. and Alice Myers, and they are the parents of two children : Harvey T., born November 23, 1918, and Alice Marie, born July 29, 1919.
FRANK C. BECHTEL-In all essential respects Frank C. Bechtel is a self-made man, the foundation of his success being plain, honest hard work. The most of his opportunities he has himself created, and he has utilized them in an intelligent and capable way, being ranked to-day among the men of worth and substance in Pottstown, where he makes his home.
Levi Bechtel, father of Frank C. Bechtel, was born in Washington township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, and while a young man, carried on the undertaking business at Bechtelville, Pennsylvania, later enter- ing the lumber business, together with farming. He died in 1905, at the age of eighty-two years. Levi Bechtel married Catherine Cleaver, who passed away in 1912, at the age of eighty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Bechtel were the parents of eleven children: Hiram C., a millwright by trade ; Lavinia, wife of E. H. Stauffer, of Bechtelville; Amanda, wife of Joshua Fry; Mary, deceased ; Sarah, wife of John Zuber, of Reading, Pennsyl- vania; Olivia, wife of Horace D. Heins; Amos; Catherine, deceased ; Elizabeth, wife of William Moyer, of Reading; Frank C., of further mention ; Edwin C., who is engaged in the flour and feed business at West Leesport, Berks county.
Frank C. Bechtel, son of Levi and Catherine (Cleaver) Bechtel, was born in Washington township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1872. He attended school in his native district for some years, after which he spent one year at the J. W. Arms Academy. He then termi- nated his studies and served an apprenticeship to the millwright trade with Angus Wolf & Company, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He remained here for seven years, after which he secured a position in the Quaker City Flour Mills, Philadelphia, where he spent the next twelve years, going thence to West Leesport, where he took over the Pleasant Valley Roller Mills, carrying on business successfully there for nine years, or until April, 1920, when he removed to Pottstown and estab- lished the Pottstown Roller Mills, at South and Hanover streets. The
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building was formerly used as a flour and grist mill for many years. On August 5, 1920, Mr. Bechtel launched his business there, consisting of flour and feed mill. The building, which is of brick and stone construc- tion, has four floors and basement, with a storage capacity of 25,000 bushels, and a grain elevator. He now employes six men. His flour is shipped to many of the big cities throughout the United States, being handled through brokers. He also retails coal and wood.
In politics Mr. Bechtel is a Republican, but in no sense of the word is he an office-seeker, preferring to devote himself exclusively to his business affairs. Mr. Bechtel affiliates with the Loyal Order of Moose; the Knights of Malta; Pottstown Business Men's Association; and the Flour and Feed Men's Association of Pennsylvania. He attends the Transfiguration Lutheran Church of Pottstown.
On December 17, 1896, Frank C. Bechtel was united in marriage with Sarah Emma Renninger, daughter of John H. and Maria (Hoffman) Renninger. Mrs. Bechtel passed away September 29, 1919, at the age of forty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Bechtel had the following children : Eva, deceased ; Catherine, born February 14, 1901, attended McCann's Business College (Reading), class of 1918; Miriam, born March 2, 1906; John Franklyn, born March 1, 1908; Sarah A., born December 14, 1915. The family home is at No. 267 York street, Pottstown.
A lover of sports, Mr. Bechtel devotes some time to his favorite pas- time, that of hunting, but largely is his time taken up with business affairs, which are ever urgent in their demands. Frank C. Bechtel can review his life with satisfaction, and trace his way to his present station with the proud thought that he has been the architect of his own for- tune, and has won his way through sheer pluck and that indomitable energy which in its last analysis is the fundamental characteristic of the successful man.
RAYMOND B. MILLER, proprietor of the electrical supply busi- ness located at No. 16 North Hanover street, in Pottstown, Pennsyl- vania, carries a full line of electrical supplies and household accessories and does a general electrical contracting business.
Mr. Miller was born in Waynesboro, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1884, son of David T. and Amelia (Mays) Miller, and received his education in the public schools of Lebanon. When school days were over, he began his career as an electrical man, by associating himself with electrical concerns in Lebanon and learning the business from the bottom upward. He continued to follow that line of business as an employee until 1918, at which time he engaged in business for himself in Pottstown. His thorough knowledge of every branch of the busi- ness, his wide acquaintance with the people of his section, and his ex- cellent business methods have brought him deserved success and he has filled some of the most important wiring and installing contracts given in Pottstown and vicinity. Among other contracts most efficiently filled by him was the installing of the motors in the Water Company's plant, and the wiring and installing of lighting in the Bernhart building and in
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the new addition to the Young Men's Christian Association. Mr. Miller does not specialize in any one branch of his line but does a general elec- trical business. His religious interest is with Trinity Reformed Church, with which his family is affiliated, and he also is a member of the Young Men's Christian Association.
Mr. Miller married, on September 17, 1907, Beulah Lesher, of Read- ing, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of one child, Eleanor B. The family residence is at No. 223 North Evans street, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
ELAM E. SCHELL-Among the well known and successful busi- ness men of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is Elam E. Schell, of the Pottstown Printery, whose plant is located at Nos. 74-76 North Char- lotte street, in Pottstown.
Mr. Schell was born in Limerick township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, January 9, 1880, son of Jacob R., a retired farmer, and of Elizabeth (Stauffer) Schell, both of whom are living in Pottstown. He received his education in the public schools of his native district and then at an early age began his active business career. About 1897 he decided to learn the printer's trade, and in that year associated himselt with the Pottstown "Daily News" as an apprentice. He learned the art of printing in all its practical branches, remaining with the "Daily News" for about eight years, at the end of which time he took charge of the printing plant of the Mission Printing Company, which was established in 1907 by the Rev. H. F. McNally for the purpose of doing church printing. This connection he maintained until 1918, when, after the death of Mr. McNally, he formed a partnership with Daniel L. Evans and purchased the business. The new owners changed the name, for- merly the Mission Manufacturing Company, to the Pottstown Printery, and are conducting a successful and growing business. They do a gen- eral job printing. business in Pottstown and vicinity, and require the services of six employees. They are prepared to do all kinds of high- grade work and enjoy the patronage of many who require first quality work.
Mr. Schell is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose ; of the Improved Order of Red Men; and of the Royal Arcanum, of which he is a past regent. His religious affiliation is with St. Paul's Reformed Church, which he serves as a member of the board of deacons and as superin- tendent of the Sunday school, having filled the latter position for twenty- five years. He is also a member of the Young Men's Christian Association.
Mr. Schell married, on October 21, 1902, Ida Embody, of Pottstown, daughter of Edwin K. and Matilda (Benner) Embody. Mr. and Mrs. Schell reside at No. 374 North Evans street, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
CHARLES HENRY KUHNT-Having succeeded in establishing a prosperous bakery in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Mr. Kuhnt has turned over the reins of office to his son and son-in-law and lives in
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retirement. He is a son of Gottlieb and Caroline Kuhnt, both of whom were natives of Germany, where the father was born January 19, 1834, and died May 22, 1901, having been engaged in business as a dyer. The mother was born November 17, 1836, died February, 1921, and was buried at Trappe, Pennsylvania. She was the widow of Mr. Knoblich, of Ger- many when she married Mr. Kuhnt, and after his death came to this country to reside with her son. One other child was born to them, Ernest, deceased.
Charles Henry Kuhnt was born in Silesia, Germany, February 7, 1864, and obtained his education in that country before coming to Baltimore. Maryland, June 30, 1882. The following October he moved to Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, where he worked in various positions until 1887, and then learned the bakery business with F. K. Steeble, remaining with him two years. After working in several other bakeries he established a business of his own in 1899, and continued to reside in Philadelphia until 1907, when he moved to Collegeville, on November II, and the bakery which he moved here is now managed by William E. Kuhnt, his son, and Ralph Graber, his son-in-law, Charles Henry Kuhnt having retired from business in 1921.
In politics Charles Henry Kuhnt is a Republican and became a fully naturalized citizen of this country, December 3, 1904. He is a stock- holder in the Metropolitan store, a five and fifty cent store, and in the Peter's Home Building Company, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In religion he is a member of the Lutheran church at Trappe, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Kuhnt returned to his native country, and while there met Pauline Bergmann, whom he. married January 26, 1891, at Silesia, Ger- many. She was a daughter of Traugott, a brick mason, and Susan (Schnabel) Bergmann. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kuhnt, who were: A boy, died at birth ; William E., born May 14, 1893; Frieda, born April 30, 1894, wife of Ralph Graber; Carl, born February 20, 1909, at present attending school.
E. FRANK FINK-One of the well known and substantial business men of Pottstown, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, is E. Frank Fink, who is owner and manager of the electrical appliances and contracting business located at No. 268 King street. Mr. Fink carries a full line of supplies and household appliances and also specializes in commercial house-wiring.
Born in Douglas township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, June 19, 1870, son of William B., a landscape gardener, and Mary R. (Kolb) Fink, both deceased, Mr. Fink received his education in the public schools of his native district and then learned the trade of the carriage builder, in which line he was succesfully engaged until 1900. He then became associated with the Rapid Transit Company of Philadelphia, and with the Atlantic Coast Electric Company as dispatcher at Asbury Park, New Jersey. His next business connection was with a concern engaged in handling electrical supplies, and in 1914 he engaged in that business for himself in Pottstown, locating on Charlotte street. The venture was
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successful, and at the end of five years the business had grown to propor- tions which made necessary the securing of larger quarters. In Decem- ber, 1919, Mr. Fink removed to his present quarters at No. 268 King street, where the enterprise has continued to grow. He employs an efficient and intelligent corps of helpers, and enjoys the patronage of a steadily-increasing number of those who desire excellence of quality, promptness of service, and reliability and integrity of business methods. Mr. Fink has won the confidence and the esteem of his business associ- ates and of a large circle of personal friends, and is recognized as one of the progressive and enterprising business men of Pottstown. His relig- ious affiliation is with the Presbyterian church.
E. Frank Fink married, on November 16, 1920, Minnie E. Sherman, of Port Carbon, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and they are the par- ents of one son, Jonathan Sherman, who was born April 30, 1922.
DORA (WEIDNER) ZWEIER-Mrs. Dora (Weidner) Zweier, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, has been very successful in her first and only business venture. She sensibly chose a profession that was not only suitable, but in which she had long experience, that of housekeeping, and she has practiced it on a rather large scale, as proprietress of the Eitherton rooming house with its annex. She was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1858, daughter of Edwin H., a former carpenter, and Rebecca Y. (Shultz) Weidner, of Lehigh county. Her education was gained in the district schools of her county.
For many years Mrs. Zweier lived with her uncle in Lansdale, taking care of him and of his home, and is now (1923) living in the same house in which for nineteen years she was his housekeeper. She is now owner of the "Eitherton" with its large annex, and has been very fortunate in her career as its manager. It is probably one of the finest of its kind in Montgomery county. Mrs. Zweier has been for years a supporter of all temperance movements, and is a charter member of the Women's Chris- tian Temperance Union of Lansdale. She is a Republican voter, also an ardent member of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, and is, with her family a communicant of the Reformed church, of Lansdale.
On August 14, 1900, Miss Weidner was married to Daniel D. Zweier, of Lansdale. Mr. Zweier is foreman of the wood-working department of the Heebner Agricultural Works, and has been in their employ for thirty years. Mr. and Mrs. Zweier have one child, Mary Jane, a young lady of great refinement and pleasing personality. She is a graduate of the Lansdale High School.
JOSEPH P. ROBISON-In the activities which for many years have commanded the attention of Joseph P. Robinson, the borough of College- ville has greatly benefited, both from the civic standpoint and the eco- nomic. Long active in business in Philadelphia, Mr. Robison has for more than a quarter of a century been identified with the real estate and construction advance of Collegeville. A native of Montgomery county, Mr. Robison is a son of John and Elizabeth (Haws) Robison. John
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Robison was born in Salem, New Jersey, in the year 1809, and died in 1885, his early life having been spent on the farm and his later years in mercantile pursuits. These parents had a family of seven children : Harry H., now deceased, who was a merchant at Collegeville; Rachel, wife of Joseph Landis; Mary Ann, who died in infancy ; John C., now deceased; William, who served for four years in the Civil War under General Hartranft, and for five years on the frontier with the 9th Corps, under General Burnside; Morris E., who served with the 51st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and died at Newport News, Virginia, in 1863; and Joseph P., whose name heads this review.
Joseph P. Robison was born in Lower Providence township, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, December 10, 1846. His education was acquired at the Level School in that community, and as a young lad of fourteen years he went to Philadelphia, where he secured a position as clerk in the grocery store of William Hoffman. There he remained until his enlistment in the Civil War, when he was still under seventeen years of age, on June 29, 1863. He became a member of Company B, 34th Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, but being stationed at Reading, Penn- sylvania, he saw no active service at the front, and received his honorable discharge in August of the same year. Upon his return to civilian life Mr. Robison went back to Philadelphia and took charge of the grocery store of J. C. Keenan, where he was engaged until 1867, when he opened his own store at the corner of Front and Walnut streets, handling a general line of groceries. Although very successful in this venture, four years later Mr. Robison saw a larger opportunity and availed himself of it, becoming clerk at the St. Charles Hotel, in Philadelphia, to gain the practical experience which he was later to need. In 1875 he opened a hotel and restaurant at the corner of Third and Arch streets, in Phila- delphia, and for twenty-one years he carried forward these enterprises, attaining a large measure of success. In 1896 Mr. Robison retired from active business and taking up his residence in Collegeville became inter- ested in farming. Shortly afterward, however, the great opportunities of community development in the vicinity of Collegeville attracted his attention, and while still retaining his agricultural interests Mr. Robison handled real estate quite extensively, also entering upon a course of construction activity, building pleasant modern homes of moderate cost, which he sold. In this connection he did not confine his operations to the immediate vicinity, but built in surrounding towns and counties, a row of eight houses which he built in Newtown, Bucks county, Penn- sylvania, now being known as Robison's Row. His interest in civic progress very naturally led the people to seek his services in the public affairs and he was importuned for some time to accept the candidacy for mayor of Collegeville, but definitely declined any public honors. His political convictions are those of the Independent Republican. Frater- nally Mr. Robison holds membership in Stephen Girard Lodge, No. 450, Free and Accepted Masons, of Philadelphia ; Oriental Chapter, No. 183, Royal Arch Masons; and Kadacks Commandery, No. 29, Knights Tem- plar, all of Philadelphia. By religious faith he is a Quaker.
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Mr. Robison married, in Philadelphia, in the year 1872, Katharine Shive, of that city, daughter of Samuel and Lydia Shive, her father a farmer of Bucks county. The seven children of Samuel and Lydia Shive were: Hannah, wife of Gideon Groff; Katharine, now Mrs. Robison ; William; Levi; Monroe; Sally, now Mrs. Smith; and Emma, now Mrs. Daniels. Mr. and Mrs. Robison are the parents of five children : Ida L., born in 1872, who is now the wife of William S. Allen, formerly a shoe manufacturer of Philadelphia, now employed by the United States Gov- ernment ; John, born in 1875, died in 1896; G. Morris, born in 1884, mar- ried Helen Adrian, of Philadelphia, and is in the employ of the David Hess Estate, of that city ; Katharine, born in 1887, now the wife of Earl Kemmerer, a wholesale and retail confectionery dealer of Philadelphia ; and Joseph B., born in 1890, married Mildred Schrader, and is engaged as a shipping clerk in Norristown.
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