USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume III > Part 24
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And so I am forced to the conclusion that the only loyal and honorable course for me to pursue is to ignore the overwhelming sadness which the prospect of abandoning my life work evokes and to tender herewith my resignation as Head Master of The Hill School, effective whenever the Board of Trustees empowers you to accept it. I am con- fident that a successor can be found who will from the outset strengthen the administra- tion of the School by virtue of his full-powered and continuous devotion to its daily problems. He can serve The Hill better than I have had the opportunity and perhaps capacity to serve; he cannot love it more.
Let me thank the Trustees, through you, for their generous provision of my leave of absence. Please tell them how eagerly I shall continue to help the School in such ways as they may suggest from time to time, upon the invitation of the new
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Head Master and subject to the requirements of family business. At present I do not know how much time will be spent in Tennessee, how much in Pottstown; but I shall hope to keep in touch with the current of School life when I am here, always endeavoring to avoid the slightest hint of interference with the work of my successor.
The indefinable sorrow which sweeps over me at the prospect of laying down my incompleted work at The Hill is mitigated only by the comforting belief that the new Head Master will attain higher and better ends for the School than ever I could have accomplished.
Faithfully yours, With infinite regret that it seems necessary for me to request your official action in this matter, I am,
DWIGHT R. MEIGS.
This resignation became effective May 1, 1922, and the board of trustees unanimously elected as his successor Dr. F. Boyd Edwards (q. v.). His service to The Hill continues as a member of the board of trustees, and in those indissoluble ties of sentiment and fraternity that circumstances cannot alter. The following editorial held the first page of "The Hill School Bulletin" of April, 1922.
When Mr. Meigs became Head Master eight years ago, it was the genuine hope of his associates here that he would continue at this post for life, that as the third representative of his family he would carry on the Meigs' name and the Meigs' tra- dition to the remote future, when all of us together might give over the work of the School to the next generation of servants of The Hill. We who worked shoulder to shoulder with him saw his utter devotion to our common task, admired with intimate knowledge his superb ability, rejoiced enthusiastically in his success, and counted con- fidently on his strong leadership to a degree which none outside our immediate com- munity can realize. Our sorrow and disappointment at the recent announcement of his resignation were proportionately deep and heartfelt.
Our sense of personal loss in the imminent sundering of the ties which have long held us in close companionship in the common cause of the School cannot be escaped. But it is tempered by the profound and universal satisfaction which we feel in the work Mr. Meigs has done, and by our abiding faith in the foundations he has laid. We know that he has brought The Hill to a point of development where its perpe- tuity is beyond the shadow of a doubt. For that supreme achievement we owe him a debt of gratitude which we cannot pay, except by devoting ourselves more fully than ever before to carrying on the work he is leaving, just as he would have us carry it on.
The progress of The Hill under Mr. Meigs' direction through the past years is reviewed in part elsewhere in this number of the "Bulletin." But we cannot refrain from the attempt to express more intimately our loyalty to him as a man, our appreciation of his service to the School and to us all, and our recognition of the overwhelming personal sacrifice he is making to The Hill. Even those closest to him cannot know the full cost of that sacrifice to himself, but we know in part, and we honor him for what he has done, for what he has been, and for what he has given.
Some of Mr. Meig's war-time activities have been indicated in previous paragraphs. In addition to the adoption of military methods at The Hill, he took leading part in the labor imposed by war-time conditions as a member of the local Exemption Board operating under the Selective Service Act, chairman of the first Red Cross drive, and chairman of the War Chest drive, in which were included all Red Cross appropriations with the execption of the funds resulting from the first Red Cross drive. Mr. Meigs was also chairman of the Federal Labor Board for Montgomery county. His fraternal connections are with the Masonic order, in which he holds the Knights Templar degree, and his
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social memberships are in the Brookside, Berkshire and Plymouth coun- try clubs, the Merion Cricket Club, the Pine Valley Golf Club, Seaview Golf Club, the "Tin Whistle" Club of Pinehurst, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, the University clubs of New York and Chicago, the Yale clubs of Philadelphia and New York, and the Rotary Club of Pottstown. He is as ardent a devotee of golf as of tennis and is handicapped at 4 in the Philadelphia Golf Association, serving as chairman of the green committee of the Brookside Country Club, and being active in the Philadelphia green section of the United States Golf Association.
Dwight R. Meigs married, in London, England, August 31, 1909, Ruth Averell, of Rochester, New York, a descendant of English ancestry, daughter of William H. Averell, and niece of Mrs. E. H. Harriman. William H. Averell was a Yale graduate and a prominent banker. Mr. and Mrs. Meigs are the parents of one child, Marcia, born December 5, 1910. Feminine interest and influence at The Hill has always been strong and uplifting and the part played by Mrs. Meigs during her hus- band's administration was in line with the high ideals of former days, and Isaac Thomas, '05, editor of "The Hill School Bulletin," paid tribute to her in the following words :
Mrs. Meigs has not only presided graciously and charmingly as hostess at The Hill since her coming, but she has worked ceaselessly in the phases of school life where her help was most needed. She took thought constantly for the boys who were in the Infirmary, for the homesick and discouraged, who were always cordially urged to drop in of a winter afternoon at the tea-room for a cheering cup and a cinnamon- bun. She exercised a most beneficial supervision over pantry and dining hall, and saw to it personally that the employees had proper place and opportunity in their quarters for reading and recreation. She carried on Mrs. John's former task of attending to pictures and mural decorations throughout the school buildings. She has worked artistically to beautify the school grounds by planting shrubs and trees and flowers. Her success is evident in every nook and corner of the campus and fields and grounds of The Hill property.
Mrs. Meigs ably seconded the efforts of her husband during the war period, and gave unreservedly of her time, strength and means to all agencies of victory.
HOWARD SEVERN (H. SEVERN) REGAR-Son of a Montgomery county manufacturer, H. Severn Regar elected the same career, and is now a partner of the firm of H. K. Regar & Sons, manufacturers of hosiery, the company's plant at Bridgeport, his home at Norristown, Pennsylvania. He is a man of culture, an ardent naturalist, and the creator of the Regar Museum of Natural History at Norristown, an institution founded to house the wonderful collection of William H. Werner, a Pennsylvania naturalist, who gave forty-six years of his life to making this collection of the birds of the United States native to twenty-four States and territories. That collection was in years gone by an attractive feature on the boardwalk at Atlantic City, and was purchased by Mr. Regar from Mr. Werner's son in June, 1915. The Regar Museum of Natural History is housed in a two-story fireproof building at De Kalb and Fornance streets, Norristown, which is also
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Frank Ramingen.
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the home of the Audubon Club of Norristown. The museum was officially opened by the burgess and members of Norristown Town Council with appropriate ceremonies on December 5, 1915.
Howard Severn (H. Severn) Regar, son of Howard Kafroth and Anna Eugenia Regar (now of Norristown, Pennsylvania), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 28, 1889. Later, Norristown became the family home, and there he was graduated from high school, class of 1907. He then pursued courses of technical study at Philadelphia Textile School, whence he was graduated in 1909. The following year he entered the employ of the Wildman Manufacturing Company of Norristown, Pennsylvania, then in 191 I became an employee of Rambo & Regar, Inc., of the same city, a connection that continued nine years, 1911-1920. In the latter year he aided in organizing H. K. Regar & Sons of Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of hosiery, and is now (1923) a member of that firm.
Mr. Regar is a Republican in politics and is now, for the third term, representing the Eighth Ward in the Norristown Town Council, having served continuously since 1912, his third term of four years to expire in 1924. He is a member of the Masonic order, affiliated with Charity Lodge, No. 190, Free and Accepted Masons (master in 1920) ; Norristown Chapter, No. 190, Royal Arch Masons; Hutchinson Com- mandery, No. 32, Knights Templar (commander, 1923-1924) ; Cryptic Council, No. 51, Royal and Select Masters; Philadelphia Consistory, thirty-second degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and Lulu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Other organizations of which he is a member are the Norristown Rotary Club ; Montgomery County Fish, Game and Forestry Association; Cedar Hollow Country Club; Montgomery County Historical Society; Norristown Audubon Club; National Association of Audubon Societies; and the American Ornithologists Union. In his church relations he is connected with St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church of Norristown.
Mr. Regar is a composer of music and has published "Fireside Love Dreams," a song of which he is the author of both words and music. He is also the author and composer of "The Blue and White," the Norristown High School song.
In Brockton, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1911, Mr. Regar married Grace I. Hall, daughter of Charles E. and Charlotte Hall of Brockton. Mr. and Mrs. Regar are the parents of two children: Jean, born July 18, 1912; and Charlotte, born September 7, 1913. The family home is at No. 1400 De Kalb street, Norristown. Mr. Regar is a pleasing public speaker, and among his printed addresses is one delivered before the Historical Society of Montgomery county, April 13, 1918, on "Museum Building and Its Value to a Community."
FRANCIS XAVIER RENNINGER-One of the noteworthy figures of the day in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is that of Francis Xavier Renninger, whose position as district attorney of this county has
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brought him much into the public eye. A native of this State, reared in its traditions and educated in its institutions, he has taken a place in the foremost ranks of the legal profession, has attained marked promi- nence in social and fraternal circles, and in recent years has been entrusted with responsibilities to the people, in the discharge of which he has definitely aligned himself with the principles of right and justice for which the people of the county and State have always stood.
The son of George and Sarah Renninger, Mr. Renninger struck out for himself in his chosen field without the aid of professional experience in his family, his father having spent his entire career in mercantile activi- ties, for many years being a confectioner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and still following this line of business. The father, however, encour- aged the boyhood ambition of the younger man, which has now placed him in a position of dignity and of wide influence.
Francis X. Renninger was born in the city of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, June 22, 1882, and his early education was acquired at the Edge Hill Grammar School and the Wyoming Boys' Grammar School, then continued at the Northeast High School of that city. Entering the law department of the University of Pennsylvania, the young man received his professional training at this, one of the leading institutions of learn- ing which this country has produced. He was graduated in 1904, and shortly thereafter being admitted to the bar, began practice in Norris- town, the county seat of Montgomery county, and in Philadelphia. Mr. Renninger from the first has commanded the attention of the profession, and his rise has been steady. As a general practitioner he has attained marked success, and with the growth of his practice the people have come to feel great confidence in his ability to serve the progress of good government in a public capacity. Mr. Renninger is a Republican by political affiliation, but he is first a citizen and always an exponent of progress, and wherein any aggregation of public sentiment falls short of this attitude, he counts it wanting. Appointed assistant district attorney by his party in January, 1916, he served for four years in that capacity, then was elected district attorney of Montgomery county for a period of four years, assuming the duties of this office in January of 1920. His record thus far has been such as to justify the vote which placed the responsibilities of office in his hands, and his uncompromising devotion to duty is a recognized phase of public matters in this county to-day. In connection with his other affairs Mr. Renninger is also prominent in the financial world of Norristown, and also of the county. He was one of the organizers and is solicitor of the Glenside National Bank, at Glenside, Pennsylvania, and is a director of the Montgomery Trust Company at Norristown.
The more personal interests which claim a share of Mr. Renninger's attention include wide fraternal connections. He is past master of Friendship Lodge, No. 400, Free and Accepted Masons of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and is district deputy grand master of the Eighth Masonic District, comprising partly the counties of Montgomery and Bucks. He is a member of Abington Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of Philadelphia
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Forest, Tall Cedars of Lebanon; of Philadelphia Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; and of Lu Lu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia. He is a member of Washington Camp, No. 331, Patriotic Order Sons of America ; a member of Saw Waw Tribe, No. 223, Improved Order of Red Men; and his college fraternities are the Alpha Tau Omega and the Phi Delta Phi, both of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also past president of the James Wilson Law Club of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds membership in the Carmel Presbyterian Church of Edge Hill, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Renninger married, on April 24, 1909, at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, Mary Hannah Robinson, daughter of Albert Henry and Ada Robinson, and they are the parents of five children: Marjorie, born October 20, 1911 ; Francis Kent, born February 26, 1913; Constance, born September 28, 1917; Mary, born April 18, 1919; and Elisabeth, born November 4, 1920.
RICHARD G. WOOD, JR .- The immigrant ancestor of the Wood family to which Richard G. Wood, Jr., belongs was James Wood, who was born of English parents in Dublin, Ireland, in 1706. He came to America about 1726, and settled between Kloat and Blue Bell, in Whit- pain township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. From this ancestor sprang the Wood families of Montgomery county who have been the builders of the extensive Wood industries at Conshohocken and Ivy Rock, further particulars of which will be found on preceding pages in this edition.
Richard G. Wood, Jr., is a son of Richard G. Wood, and grandson of Walter Dewees and Rosalind (Gilpin) Wood (q. v.). The father, Richard G. Wood, was born at Wooddale, Delaware, in 1849, and entered the W. Dewees Wood Company at Mckeesport in 1868. He ably assisted his father in building up that business, and was president of the com- pany when it sold out to the American Sheet Steel Company in 1900. He joined in forming the Alan Wood Iron and Steel Company in 1901, and as vice-president and manager of the steel works, was in a large degree responsible for its success. After Howard Wood's death in 1911, he was made president of the company and so continued until January, 1920, when he resigned to become chairman of the board of directors. The company owes him much for his progressive policy.
Richard G. Wood, Jr., is a member of the board of directors and general manager of the steel works department of the Alan Wood Iron and Steel Company.
DAVID RICHARDSON BEAVER, M. D .- For more than fifty years Dr. David R. Beaver has been devoting his life to relieving the suffering of the people of Conshohocken, for, though advanced in years, he still has a large circle of patients who demand his professional care.
David R. Beaver was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, about two miles above Valley Forge, April 18, 1842, son of Samuel, Jr., and
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Elizabeth E. (Brown) Beaver. Samuel Beaver, Jr., owned and operated a flour and feed mill in Chester county for many years, but sold his property and moved to Norristown, Pennsylvania. Later he bought a flour mill, saw mill and lumber yard at Bridgeport, which he operated for some years, then sold. He died in 1868, leaving four children : David R., of this review; Mary Ella, who married William Craig, both now deceased, leaving a son and daughter ; John, deceased; Anna, widow of Aaron Baker, and the mother of three children. After attending the public schools of Norristown and the private school of Professor Aarons, David R. Beaver entered the medical college of the University of Penn- sylvania, whence he was graduated, M. D., class of 1864. His studies in medicine were interrupted by the Civil War, the young student giving up his work to offer his services to the government. In the latter part of 1863 he returned to the medical school, resuming his interrupted course of training, and a year later (1864) completed his studies.
When Dr. Beaver volunteered he was commissioned by Governor Curtain a first lieutenant in the 12th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He saw much hard fighting, taking part in the battles of the Wilderness; Laurel Hill, where the engagement lasted one week of constant fighting ; also Spottsylvania, Bethesda, Cold Harbor, and Weldon railroad. After he had returned to his home he was requested by Governor Curtain to proceed to the veteran organization, the 9Ist Pennsylvania Volunteers, where he spent the entire summer at Petersburg, Virginia. Dr. Beaver finished his service as assistant medical purveyor of the above-mentioned organization, Army of the Potomac, his experiences having been stren- uous ones for a young man who had scarcely reached his majority.
After winning his M. D. degree Dr. Beaver practiced in Reading, Pennsylvania, for two years, then after a much needed rest, he accepted, in 1868, a position on the staff of Norristown Hospital, which he held for two years. He came to Conshohocken in1870 and has continuously resided and practiced here, ministering to the ailments of a large propor- tion of the population, ushering between three and four thousand of them into the world and soothing the departure of many. His office and home have been located for many years at the corner of Fayette street and Fourth avenue.
Dr. Beaver is a member of several professional associations, among them the Montgomery County Medical Society, of which he was presi- dent for one term ; the Pennsylvania State Medical Society ; the National Medical Society ; and is a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. In politics he is a Republican, his first vote having been cast for Abraham Lincoln and for all succeeding Repub- lican presidential candidates. In religion he is an Episcopalian. He has always taken a deep interest in the Pennsylvania National Guard and served on Governor Reader's staff with the rank of major.
In Norristown, Pennsylvania, on November 17, 1869, Dr. Beaver married Mary Eliza Patterson, who died on November 13, 1921, daughter of George and Lydia (Adams) Patterson. Dr. and Mrs. Beaver were the parents of seven children: 1. John Douglas, born in 1870; died
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October 1, 1884. 2. Reid, born in 1872; died August 3, 1873. 3. Eugene, born in February, 1873; died in July, 1910. He was a soldier of the United States, serving in the regular army as cavalryman in the Philip- pines and four years in the Marines. 4. Burd Patterson, born in 1876; died June 2, 1911. 5. Mary, born in 1879; married Henry Lundly Crow- ther, and resides in Philadelphia. 6. Margaret Shippen, born in 1884; married July 29, 1903, Stuart Benton Moloney, a mechanical and elec- trical engineer, and resides at Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. 7. David Richardson, born in 1886, died August 20, 1886.
WILLIAM FRANKLIN DANNEHOWER-A legal career that dates to 1880 has been the chief instrument of William Franklin Dannehower's service to his community, while in many relations aside from professional connections he has long had influential touch with affairs of his district. Progressive and public spirited, he has long found time in the midst of busy general practice for matters of public import, has been a factor in many works of improvement, and is con- spicuously identified with the best in his profession and in good citizen- ship.
Mr. Dannehower was born in Zieglersville, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. December 17, 1854, son of John G. and Susanna C. Danne- hower, his father a farmer of Zieglersville and later a hotel proprietor at Tylersport, Pennsylvania. From the public schools he proceeded to the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, subsequently studying at the Excelsior Normal Institute at Car- versville, Pennsylvania, there completing preparations for college. Matriculating at Lafayette College, he was graduated with honor in June, 1876, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. At Lafayette Col- lege he was president of his class and is now its secretary, honored by election "forever."
Mr. Dannehower began legal study in the office of G. R. Fox, Esq., at Norristown, in the fall of 1878, and while a law student he served as editor of the Norristown "Register," deputy clerk in the prothono- tay's office, and local correspondent of several Philadelphia dailies and the New York "Herald." He was admitted to the Montgomery county bar on June 7, 1880 ; to the State Supreme Court on April 21, 1885; and since the former year he has devoted himself to a general practice that has developed large and lucrative proportions. His legal work has taken him into all the State and Federal courts as solicitor for numerous corporations, municipalities, county and township officers, and as attor- ney for private individuals, and in a large proportion of these cases victory has been his reward. His professional activity has included works of authorship in the enlargement and revision (1923) of "Stur- geon's Pennsylvania Law and Procedure in Divorce," and he is now revising and bringing up-to-date "Dill's Constable's Guide," second edition, for publication in the fall (1923). He has been secretary of the Montgomery County Bar Association since its organization in 1885;
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secretary of the Montgomery Law Library Committee since 1905; and is a member of the Pennsylvania State Bar Association, which he has served on numerous important committees. Mr. Dannehower has been a director of the Penn Trust Company of Norristown for thirty years, and its solicitor for twenty-two years; has been a director of the Perkio- men railroad for twenty-five years; and is solicitor for three national banks.
A Democrat in political faith, Mr. Dannehower has long been a leader in party affairs, serving two terms as chairman of the Local County Standing Committee, 1886-88, and in 1887 as secretary of the Democratic State Central Committee. On several occasions he has been the Democratic candidate for public office in the Republican stronghold of Montgomery, including the burgess of Norristown, district attorney and judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery county, and although his vote has always shown support from all parties, he has never overcome the great normal Republican majority. Mr. Danne- hower has been president and secretary of the Jefferson Democratic Club, was a member of the late Harmony Club, and is a member of the Norris- town Club. While at college he was elected to the Phi Kappa Psi fra- ternity, of which he has been an officer ; and he affiliates with Norris- town Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he has filled the exalted ruler's chair ; and Lodge No. 620, Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Dannehower is a member and has been a vestryman of Christ's (Swedes) Church, Upper Merion, Montgomery county, and was formerly secretary of the Trinity Lutheran Church Council, Norristown. The scope of his activities and interests has been broad and brought him into a place of prominence and esteem in the district which has been the scene of his notably useful labors. A review of Mr. Dannehower's career, described in a local journal at the time of his candidacy for the county judgeship, concludes with the statement : "He has always enjoyed the entire confidence of the bench and bar of Montgomery county." This conservative statement has always met with hearty concurrence by his colleagues and contemporaries, regardless of political consideration.
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