USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume III > Part 18
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JOSEPH S. MILLER, M. D., had been recently graduated from a medical school and was getting his second year of practical training as an interne in a Camden (New Jersey) hospital when the United States entered the World War. He early enlisted in the service of his country and rose rapidly in the ranks, being a captain when discharged. He immediately settled in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and is rapidly becom- ing one of its best known and capable physicians.
Joseph S. Miller is the first son of Frank and Julia (Bobber ) Miller, prominent citizens of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, who were married in 1888. Frank Miller is a retired mining engineer and realtor, a staunch Democrat, and a leader in his party for eighteen years. They are the parents of: Anna, now Mrs. Michael, of Philadelphia; Joseph S., of whom further; Ella, private secretary to Dodge Brothers, of Philadel- phia ; Anthony, medical student in Hahnemann Medical School; Francis, first year in Hahnemann Medical School; and Stanley, a graduate of the high school (1922).
Dr. Joseph S. Miller was born in Shamokin, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, June 1I, 1894. After a preparatory education in the Pottsville, Pennsylvania, public and high schools, graduating from the latter school, class of 1913, he entered Hahnemann Medical School of Philadelphia, graduating with the degree of M. D. in 1917. He was an interne in the West Jersey Hospital of Camden in 1917 and 1918, leaving in the second year to enter the United States army. For nearly a year and a half he was stationed at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, giving medical treatment to the army officers and railroad employees who made their headquarters there. He was commissioned a captain of a company of five hundred and thirty-six men, and also was an instructor in chemistry and biology.
Upon his discharge with honor, December 22, 1919, he returned to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, which he had chosen for his home early in January, and took up the practice of medicine. Dr. Miller is a member of the National and Philadelphia Medical associations. Like his father,
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he has a taste and the ability for the handling of real estate, and is becom- ing (1923) somewhat interested in that line.
Dr. Miller fraternizes with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Economy Lodge, Collegeville; and the I. O. O. A., of Evansburg, Penn- sylvania ; the American Legion; and is a communicant of the Episcopal church, of Evansburg.
At Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1917, Joseph S. Miller was married to Margaret Mary Marr, daughter of Andrew and Anna (Michael) Marr, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Marr is a well known realtor of that city, now retired. Dr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents of one child, Margaret Lorraine, born June 25, 1919.
NELSON P. FEGLEY, A. B., LL. B .- Born and reared in Mont- gomery county, and trained for his profession in the educational institu- tions of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fegley now stands among the successful professional men of the day as attorney and counsellor-at-law in Norris- town. Mr. Fegley's family has long resided in this county, and he is a son of Henry and Frances (Place) Fegley, his father being a farmer by occupation. The mother is deceased.
Nelson P. Fegley was born in Skippack township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1883. His early education was acquired in the public schools of his native place, and he later attended Ursinus Academy and College, being graduated from the latter institution in the class of 1907, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. For his professional studies he entered the University of Pennsylvania Law School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1911, receiving the degree of Bach- elor of Laws. In November of the same year Mr. Fegley was admitted to the bar, and began practice in the law office of A. R. Place, with whom he was associated for nearly eight years. Upon the death of Mr. Place, which occurred in January, 1919, Mr. Fegley continued alone, and has since been thus engaged. He has now for nearly twelve years been in practice in Norristown, and is counted among the foremost men of the profession. In connection with his private practice Mr. Fegley is editor of the "Montgomery County Law Reporter," the duties of which office have been in his hands since January, 1919. He is a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association, also the State Bar Association, and in fraternal circles he is well known, being a member of Warren Lodge, No. 310, Free and Accepted Masons; Norristown Chapter, No. 190, Royal Arch Masons; Tall Cedars of Lebanon, Norristown Forest, No. 31 ; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also the encampment, and the Order of Independent Americans, the Keystone Automobile Club, and the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member and elder of the Presbyterian church, of Jeffersonville, in this county, the place of his residence.
Mr. Fegley married, on November 21, 1914, Mabel Gledhill, daugh- ter of Walter and Eliza Ann Gledhill, the latter deceased.
Nelson P. Jegley
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FRANCIS PIERCE NOBLE-During recent years in Montgomery county the Great Reaper has taken a group of men who were identified with that period of industrial prosperity which was inaugurated with the closing of the nineteenth century and the opening of the twentieth. In this group Francis Pierce Noble was a figure at once prominent and self- effacing. His activities brought him much in the public eye, yet he always forgot himself for and in his work, both as a leading manufac- turer of Conshohocken and as a public servant. A native and lifelong resident of this State, he was a son of James and Beulah (Hugg) Noble, his father an early brass manufacturer of Philadelphia.
Francis Pierce Noble was born in the city of Philadelphia, June 23, 1859, and died in Conshohocken, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, April 21, 1920. His education was acquired in the public and high schools of his native city, and was therewith completed, as he felt no interest in a professional career. His first industrial experience was as a brass worker at Merrill's Brass Foundry, at the corner of Fourth and Race streets, in Philadelphia, where he was active for five years. He then became identified with the Cornelius Brass Foundry, on the corner of Twelfth and Brown streets, Philadelphia, continuing with this con- cern for three years. His next position was in the capacity of assistant superintendent at the Seville Chandelier Works, where he was active for ten years, at their Philadelphia plant. In 1892 Mr. Noble came to Conshohocken to become associated with the J. Ellswood Lee Company, and remained with this concern for two years. Then in 1894 he estab- lished in Conshohocken, in partnership with his son, Pierce Noble, a glass foundry, which became and still is one of the important industrial interests of this borough. Francis P. Noble's wide experience and splendid executive ability placed this industry on a solid foundation and built it up to a largely prosperous and broadly useful plant, and now his son is carrying the business on with continued success, having taken over the management following the death of his father. In civic and national affairs Francis P. Noble was broadly interested. As a young man he served two enlistments in the Pennsylvania National Guard, first in Company E, of the 6th Regiment, with the rank of first sergeant, and later in Company F, of the 2nd Regiment, with the rank of first lieutenant. His interest in military affairs ended only with his death. A Republican by political affiliation, Mr. Noble's only interest in public office was the service he could render to his fellow-citizens. He never sought nor desired public honors, but his practical business ability and experience were needed in the affairs of the community, and the office sought the man. He was for a number of consecutive years elected to the Borough Council, and also to the Board of Assessors; and was prac- tically throughout the period of his residence in Conshohocken a mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce. His religious connection was with St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Noble married, in Philadelphia, on December 22, 1879, Anna M. Nullet, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Smith) Nullet, her father a leader
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in political affairs of Philadelphia in a day gone by. Mr. and Mrs. Noble were the parents of four children: Eugenia, born October 23, 1880, deceased; Estella, born March 4, 1886; Pierce, born February 26, 1890, who is now at the head of the business; and Joseph, born July 4, 1892, all born in the city of Philadelphia. The grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Noble are as follows: Dorothy, born April 14, 1911; Edwin, born November 18, 1913; Rhea, born January 13, 1919; Francis P., born June 21, 1918. The three first mentioned are the children of the daughter Estella, the last named the child of the son Pierce. The fam- ily home is at No. 1005 Forrest street, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
In the death of such a man as Francis Pierce Noble, the people in general, as well as the friends and family, feel a sense of loss. Too few men of his calibre are given to the world. In his upright life and useful activities the entire community found help and encouragement ; and now that he is gone his name is spoken with reverence. He will long be remembered among all whose privilege it was to know him.
BENJAMIN F. EVANS-For two decades Mr. Evans has been engaged in the fire insurance and real estate business in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the city of his birth and life time residence, he now repre- senting a group of the largest and strongest fire insurance companies in the United States. He is an insurance expert whose knowledge of the business is thorough, covering every detail of agency work, schedule rating, proper preparation of policies, settlement of losses, and those other vital points which are overlooked by the average insurance man. His agency, now located in the New Curren Arcade, Nos. 51 to 55 East Main street, Norristown, has gained the confidence of insurers who testify to the business-like, intelligent service rendered them, not only in securing satisfactory settlements when losses occur, but in advice, direction, and expert service in insurance matters generally. He is a son of Thomas and Maria (Hart) Evans, his parents born in Wales, Great Britain, who came to the United States, first settling in the coal regions of Pennsyl- vania, later in Norristown. Thomas Evans died in Norristown in 1910, his wife, Maria (Hart) Evans, preceding him to the spiritland in 1908. They were the parents of two sons, Rev. Thomas H., D. D., a graduate of Dickinson College and a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Benjamin F., of this review.
Benjamin F. Evans was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, August II, 1878, and there completed grammar and high school study. He finished his school years with a course at Pierce's Business College, in Philadelphia, then began his career as a business man, as clerk in the employ of the United States Steel Corporation, in Philadelphia. For two years he continued in that position and then began his independent career. In 1903 he established his present business in Norristown, Penn- sylvania, his first offices being in the Miller building. Two years later he moved to the Shoemaker building, thence four years later to the Stinsm building, and five years later, on June 1, 1923, to the present commodious offices in the New Curren Arcade. In addition to his promi-
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nence in the local insurance field, Mr. Evans has a Philadelphia office in the Lincoln building which he has maintained since 1915. He is a director of the First National Bank, of Norristown; a director of the Bridgeport-Atlantic Spinning Company, a director of the Norristown Wholesale Grocery Company, and of Norristown Hospital. He is a Republican in his political faith and in religious affiliation is connected with Haws Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church. His clubs are the Plymouth Country, and the Norristown. Mr. Evans is a talented vocalist, possessing a rich baritone voice, highly cultivated and trained for solo and concert work. He is widely known throughout his section of Pennsylvania as a soloist and has appeared in programs broadcasted from the Wanamaker station in Philadelphia. He is soloist in the choir of Haws Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, and has made frequent appearances on the concert stage. In 1923 he visited Europe on pleasure bent and to obtain a clearer idea of the economic question now affecting the peace and security of the whole world.
In Norristown, Pennsylvania, on June 18, 1903, Mr. Evans married Mary Gotwals, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Detwiler) Gotwals, of Norristown. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are the parents of two daughters; Mary, born in Norristown, April 30, 1906, and Kathryn, born in Norris- town, September 30, 1908.
HARRY RENNINGER-George J. Renninger, father of Harry Ren- ninger, was a confectioner by trade. He married, December 31, 1879, Sarah J. Lunney, of Philadelphia, and resided in that city, in Edge Hill, and in Glenside, Montgomery county. They were the parents of eight children : George J., of the firm of Smith & Peters, Philadelphia ; Francis X., a lawyer of Glenside and Norristown, Pennsylvania; Blanche R., married Albert Zellfelder, a building contractor of Philadelphia and Glenside; Harry, of further mention ; Philip, Charles P., Sarah R., and Fred F.
Harry Renninger, son of George J. and Sarah J. (Lunney) Ren- ninger, was born at Edge Hill, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, December 12, 1888, and was educated in the public schools of Edge Hill and Philadelphia, graduating from North East High School, in Phila- delphia, in 1908, and attending the Wharton School, University of Penn- sylvania, class of 1912. He was an employee in the real estate business with Renninger & Renninger, at Glenside, until June 1, 1916, when he assumed the entire control of the business and so continues, his agency including a general line of real estate and insurance, with a mortgage loan department. He is a director in the Glenside Trust Company ; second vice-president of the Ambler Trust Company ; director and treas- urer of the Remln Building and Loan Association, of Edge Hill ; director of the Waverly Building Association, of Glenside ; director of the Roslyn Building and Loan Association; director of the Fairmount Avenue Building and Loan Association, of Philadelphia ; director of the Commu- nity Building Association, of Ambler; and has other connections with the business of his section. He served as real estate assessor of Chilten-
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ham township from 1916 to 1920 inclusive. Mr. Renninger is a Repub- lican in politics, a member of the Masonic order, affiliated with the bodies of both the York and Scottish Rites; is a member of Lu Lu Temple, Philadelphia ; Philadelphia Consistory ; Philadelphia Forest, No. 10, Tall Cedars of Lebanon ; a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Norristown; Patriotic Order Sons of America, of Glenside; and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of the Philadelphia Board of Realtors, Alpha Tau Omego fraternity, Glenside Fire Company, president and director of the Glenside Lumber & Coal Company, a member of the Glenside Business Men's Association, Old York Road Chamber of Commerce, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and a member of Carmel Presbyterian Church, Edge Hill, Pennsylvania.
Harry Renninger married, in Glenside, October 9, 1913, Ruth Searing, who died February 13, 1917, daughter of O. Coe and Ella (Baker) Sear- ing, her father a Philadelphia business man. Mrs. Renninger left a son, Kendall S., born September 1, 1914. Mr. Renninger resides at No. 300 West Mt. Carmel avenue, Glenside. His recreations are those of the out-of-doors, and he mixes well his work and his play. He was active in the home work of the war period, and is at present secretary and a director of the Glenside War Memorial Association. He is also a mem- ber of Lu Lu Temple Auto Club, and Lu Lu Temple Yacht Club. Few men have done as much in a philanthropic way as has Harry Renninger, who gives liberally to all things that are helpful and beneficial to the town of Glenside, and its surrounding country.
JESSE WALT KLINE, United States postmaster at Graterford, Pennsylvania, has many business interests in the community. He was born at Graterford, September 13, 1876, son of John Smith and Sarah (Walt) Kline. Both of his parents are living. His father, who was a blacksmith by trade and had a wide reputation for the excellence of his work, is now retired from active participation in business affairs. Mr. Kline is one of a family of six children, his sisters being: Annie, who died at the early age of nineteen years ; Sallie, who married Joseph Nice, and is now deceased; Katharine, who married A. M. Smith, and is now deceased; Ella May, who is now the wife of Alvin Underkolfer; and Stella, who died at the age of sixteen. Jesse Walt Kline is the eldest of the family.
Mr. Kline received his education in the public schools, and after com- pleting his studies decided to learn a trade and eventually to establish himself in an independent business. After careful consideration he formed a connection with Richard Singmaster, of Schwenkville, for the purpose of learning the barber's trade. He made rapid progress and soon became a master of the tonsorial art. Although he has since enlarged the scope of his interests Mr. Kline still continues to exercise this trade and has many customers who appreciate his careful work and the spotless and attractive appearance of the premises in which he conducts his barber work. He established himself as an inde-
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pendent barber at Graterford, on January 18, 1895, and as his business increased and he acquired a wider experience of men and affairs, he decided to establish a general store. This new venture was immediately successful and he still continues to manage it. In addition to the reg- ular stock of a general store he deals in candy, cigars and cigarettes, and supplies the townspeople with newspapers and magazines. His goods are always of the highest quality and his customers have the utmost confidence in his service, knowing that their orders will be promptly and carefully filled.
Besides the work of the barber shop and the general store, Mr. Kline is engaged in the management of an automobile livery, operating three passenger omnibuses and one truck which is much in demand for light hauling. This service is particularly appreciated by the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding farmsteads, and Mr. Kline has many patrons who are attracted by the freshness of his vehicles and the abso- lute trustworthiness and reliability of his drivers. In politics Mr. Kline is a Democrat. He was appointed United States postmaster at Grater- ford by President Wilson, March 23, 1915, and has ever since filled this office with the greatest fidelity and devotion. He is a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and belongs to the Schwenkville Lodge, of that order. In religious faith he is a member of the Lutheran church, and as a believer in militant religion and the inestimable value of church influence in the life of the community, he takes an active part in the work of the parish. A progressive and far-sighted citizen, Mr. Kline is greatly admired for his stand on the side of constructive and liberal policies, and his opinion on political matters is regarded with respect by the members of all parties.
On April 1, 1900, he married, at Schwenkville, Laura Fly, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Gross) Fly. Mr. Fly, who died in 1919, was a prominent dairyman and had creameries at Pine Run, Bucks county ; Howertown, Northampton county; Graterford and Perkiomenville, in Montgomery county. Mrs. Kline has two brothers: Henry, who lives at Bridgeport, Connecticut ; and Joseph, who lives at Sellersville, Penn- sylvania ; and one sister, Edith, who married Daniel Meyers, and lives at Dublin, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Kline have two sons: Stanley, born in February, 1905, a student at Spring Garden College in Philadel- phia, where he is engaged in the study of electrical engineering, for which he has a decided and remarkable talent; and Harold, born in October, 1910.
FRANK COBB, assistant-treasurer and trust officer of the Royers- ford Trust Company of Royersford, Pennsylvania, was born in Wilton, New Jersey, January 7, 1884, son of William and Lena (Seifert) Cobb. He was educated in the public schools and Pottstown Business College, his business life beginning with his entering the employ of the Royers- ford Trust Company, as clerk, in March, 1904. During the nineteen years which have since intervened he has been through several promo- tions to his present official position, assistant treasurer and trust officer.
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Mr. Cobb is active in civic affairs. He is a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Junior Order United American Mechanics, Society of American Magicians, the Yogi Club, of Philadelphia, and in politics is a Republican.
Mr. Cobb married, October 21, 1915, Miriam Tyson, of Royersford, who died December 7, 1922. His residence is at No. 534 Walnut street, Royersford.
LEWIS TAWS MATLACK-When William Matlack (Matlock, Macklack) came to Chygoes Island, a tract of land on which Burling- ton, New Jersey, now stands, he was the first of a family in this country of which Lewis Taws Matlack, of Royersford, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is a ninth generation member. William Matlack was one of the Friends who came in 1677 from Cropwell Bishop, Nottingham- shire, England, to West Jersey. After landing at now Burlington, land was secured by purchase from the proprietors, and William Matlack, a carpenter, was employed in the erection of the first two houses built there, and helped to build Thomas Olive's corn mill, the first in West Jersey. William Matlack received from Daniel Willis as consideration for services rendered one hundred acres situated near the Indian town of Penisauken, between the north and south branches of Penisauken creek in Chester township, Burlington county. There he built a house, married Mary Hancock, in 1682, and reared a large family. He became a large landowner having one thousand acres in now Camden county, bought in 1701. In 1717 he bought two hundred acres from John Estaugh, attorney for John Haddon, on which stood the old Matlack graveyard, where the Matlacks of nearly all the elder branches of the family were buried. William Matlack lived to his ninetieth birthday and saw the forest retreat before the fields and the fields yield sovereignty to the town, he and Mary Hancock aiding in this march of progress. They were the parents of nine children, his eldest son, John, being next in line in this branch.
(II) John Matlack, son of William and Mary (Hancock) Matlack, was born in 1684, and died in 1765. He married, in 1707, Hannah Hor- nor, in Burlington Friends' Meeting, and settled on a two-hundred-acre tract of land three miles east of Haddonfield, New Jersey, on the north side of a branch of Cooper's creek, and there built a house that stood until 1875. John Matlack married (second), Mary Lee. His children were all by his first wife, a son, Isaac, is of further mention.
(III) Isaac Matlack, son of John and Hannah (Hornor) Matlack, was born March 14, 1708. He married, May 28, 1728, Rebecca Bates, born March II, 1710. Isaac Matlack kept a tavern at Haddonfield, New Jersey. They were the parents of a son, John, of whom further.
(IV) John Matlack, son of Isaac and Rebecca (Bates) Matlack, was born in December, 1733, and married Ann Ferguson. They had a son, Jacob, of further mention.
(V) Jacob Matlack, son of John and Ann (Ferguson) Matlack, was born December 19, 1762, in Waterford, now Camden county, New Jer-
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sey. In his application for a Revolutionary pension in 1832 he stated that in August, 1777, being then not quite fifteen years old, he volunteered for service against the British. He served all through the war and in June, 1834, was granted a pension of fifty-six dollars and sixty-six cents annually, he being then seventy-two years of age. He died in Philadel- phia, February 2, 1857, and was buried in Haddonfield, New Jersey. He married, December 28, 1782, at Old Swedes Church, in Philadelphia, Sebilla Ellis. They were the parents of a son, Mason, of further mention.
(VI) Mason Matlack, son of Jacob and Sebilla (Ellis) Matlack, was born March 9, 1794, died July 12, 1865. He was a contractor and builder. He married (first) Mary - -, who died December 25, 1817. He mar- ried (second), in 1820, Mary Montgomery, born November 3, 1801, died February 1I, 1824. He married (third), Matilda Eveline Deayman, born October 28, 1808, and died January 12, 1894. By his second wife he had a son who died young; by his third marriage, ten children, the eighth a son, Lewis Taws, of further mention.
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