Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania; genealogy-family history-biography; containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens, past and present, Volume I, Part 15

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers
Number of Pages: 752

USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania; genealogy-family history-biography; containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens, past and present, Volume I > Part 15

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Augusta Dillman Evans, the youngest child of Susanna (Dillman) Evans, was born at Gilberton, receiving her early education in the public schools of that borough and afterwards entering the Scranton high school, from which she graduated in the class of 1907. She taught school for a term and then entered Smith College, graduating in the class of 1912, and becoming instruc- tor at Urbana College, of the University of Illinois. She enjoys the distinction of being the only woman instructor of agriculture in the United States. At present she is lecturing in Bozeman, Montana.

WILLIAM DILLMAN, the second son of Daniel K. Dillman, was born at Port Carbon Feb. 8, 1842. He received his education in the district schools taught by his father. He married Marietta Purnell (died 1910) and lived in Mahanoy City, New Philadelphia and New Brunswick, N. J. He was an engineer by trade. He served in the 5th Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, for ten months, having enlisted in the fall of 1864, and was wounded during his service. In politics he was a Republican. He died at New Brunswick, N. J.,

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March 14, 1912. William Dillman was of a genial, lovable disposition, and wherever he went he had hosts of friends.

HENRY CLAY DILLMAN, third son of Daniel K. Dillman, was born at Wadesville May 4, 1844. He received his education in the district schools at Wadesville and Phoenix Park, and assisted his father on the farm at Llewellyn. He served his country in the "War for the preservation of the Union," having enlisted Feb. 20, 1864, in Company F, 48th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers. He was discharged June 30, 1864, having been wounded at Tolopotomy, Va., May 30, 1864. Henry Dillman married Mrs. Mary O'Donnell, of West Virginia, in 1887, and in 1890 moved to Parkersburg, W. Va., where he now resides. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically Mr. Dillman is a Republican.

CATHERINE M. DILLMAN, third daughter of Daniel K. Dillman, was born at Wadesville, Pa., May 4, 1846. She attended the schools of Wadesville and Phoenix Park and assisted her mother in the home, also becoming an adept with the needle and an expert embroiderer and crocheter. Her life has been full of cares and afflictions, which she has met with characteristic energy, courage and faith. In her loyalty to the Reformed Church she has no superior. After teaching school one year Catherine M. Dillman married Jacob Starr, of Llewellyn. (He served his country four years during the Civil war, in Com- pany A, 50th Regiment, P. V., having fought in the battles of Spottsylvania and the Wilderness. ) Their children are Jennie Starr (married Henry Fox), Harry E. Starr, Laura Augusta Starr, Emma M. Starr, Ella M. Starr ( married Andrew O'Donnell), Daniel Dillman Starr ( 1876-1884), Robert C. Starr (1878-1884), Mathilda C. Starr ( 1880-1884), Howard Ellsworth Starr ( 1883- 1884), Calvin F. Starr (married Mrs. Bernadetta Van Derdoes), Frederick L. Starr (married Cena Bainbridge), and Myrtle S. Starr (married Irvin Starr). Catherine M. (Dillman) Starr is living at Llewellyn, in the same house she entered as a bride so many years ago.

Jennie Starr, eldest daughter of Catherine Dillman Starr, received her early education in the Llewellyn schools. She lived for a time with her grand- mother, Mrs. Daniel K. Dillman, from whom she readily assimilated a kindly disposition and Christian character. In 1890 Jennie Starr married Henry Fox, of Gilberton. She has had four children: Robert Fox (1891-1892), Blanche Fox (1893-1895), Clyde C. Fox (the well known telegraph operator at Gilberton) and Howard S. Fox (a graduate of Gilberton high school, class of 1915, a student of the ministry at Conway Hall, Carlisle, Pa., and a talented musician). Both young men are members of Camp No. 284, P. O. S. of A. The family are of the Reformed faith.

Harry E. Starr, the eldest son of Catherine M. (Dillman) Starr, was born at Llewellyn, receiving his education in the public schools of that town. He is a carpenter by trade, and for many years has followed the occupation of bridge building. He is located at Detroit, Mich. He is a Republican in politics.

Emma M. Starr was born and educated at Llewellyn. At present she is employed at the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia.

Ella M. Starr was educated in the Llewellyn schools. She married Andrew O'Donnell, of Parkersburg, W. Va., and has had the following children: Earl O'Donnell (a school teacher of Parkersburg), Dwight O'Donnell, Winifred O'Donnell, Amber O'Donnell, Quanita O'Donnell, Leighton O'Donnell (died 1908), Harold O'Donnell, and Chalmer O'Donnell.

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Calvin F. Starr graduated from the Llewellyn high school in the class of 1909. He became a telegrapher and afterwards was employed on many United States vessels as wireless operator, having several times been on the coast of Norway and the western coast of South America. At present he is stationed at Dallas, Texas. Politically he is a Republican. He married Mrs. Bernadetta Van Derdoes, of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Frederick L. Starr, the youngest son of Catherine M. (Dillman) Starr, graduated from the Llewellyn high school in the class of 1910. At present he is employed at Llewellyn. Fraternally he belongs to Camp No. 63, P. O. S. of A. He is a musician of ability, playing violin in Professor Gerhard's orchestra of Pottsville. Mr. Starr is a Republican, leaning towards Progres- sive ideas. He married Cena Bainbridge, of Llewellyn.

Myrtle S. Starr graduated from the Llewellyn high school in the class of 1910. She married Irvin Starr, of Llewellyn, and has two children: Violet Starr (born May 15, 1912) and Walter Dillman Starr (born Aug. 11, 1913).

Laura Augusta Starr received her education in the schools of Llewellyn. After graduating from the high school she taught school for one term at Friedensburg, and subsequently at Llewellyn. At present she is assistant high school teacher at Llewellyn, and is one of the most successful educators in that section of the county. She has devoted her time to the study of literature and music, and is well informed on all related subjects. Her summer vacations are spent profitably in travel and study. She is a member of the Reformed Church.

ELIZABETH A. DILLMAN was born at Phoenix Park Sept. 6, 1851. She was educated in the schools of Phoenix Park and Llewellyn, and taught school for a number of years prior to her marriage to Henry Christ, of Pine Grove. Her children are Robert, Amy (married a Mr. Hill), Nellie ( 1884-1892), Victor ( 1886-1894), Ralph, Roy and Rose (married Mr. Simm, of Donaldson). She has several grandchildren.

MARY A. DILLMAN, youngest child of Daniel K. Dillman, was born at Phoenix Park March 17, 1857, and was educated in the Llewellyn schools. She is a member of the Reformed Church. She married Joseph Boden (a mine superintendent at Donaldson). Nine children were born to them: Wil- liam H. Boden, Martha Boden (1877-1878), Frederick Boden ( 1880-1880), Charles Boden ( 1882-1882), Carrie E. Boden, Clyde Daniel Boden, Edith M. Boden, George Raymond Boden and Mary A. Boden.

William H. Boden, eldest son of Mary A. (Dillman) Boden, was born at Donaldson and was educated in the schools of Llewellyn and Shamokin. Having graduated from the Shamokin high school in the class of 1892, he taught in the grammar grades of the Shamokin schools until 1903, when he commenced to work for the International Correspondence Schools as district superintendent, and was located at Lock Haven, Williamsport, Lewistown, and Johnstown. At present he is employed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States at Johnstown. On June 18, 1903, he married Nora Wagner, of Shamokin. They have four children, Ruth, Madge, Paul and Louise Boden. William H. Boden is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics he is a Republican, leaning towards Progressive principles. Fraternally he is a member of the Royal Arcanum, Council No. 959, of Shamokin, Pennsylvania.

Clyde D. Boden was born at Shamokin, and was educated in the public schools of that town, graduating in the class of 1905. After leaving school he worked as bookkeeper for Riley & Co., of Centralia. At present he is business

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

manager for the Shamokin Daily News, having previously been with the Herald. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the following fraternal organizations: I. O. O. F. and P. O. S. of A. He has recently been elected auditor for Shamokin.

George R. Boden is a graduate of the class of 1911, of Mount Airy, near Philadelphia. He is a tailor by trade, and employed as tailor at Leader & Hamilton's store, in Shamokin, Pa., but has decided leanings towards agri- culture. He is a member of the Reformed Church. In politics he is inclined to Republican principles.

Edith M. Boden was born at Shamokin and graduated from the high school in the class of 1908. She is a teacher in the public schools and also an enthusiastic Sabbath school worker. She is an attendant at the Reformed Church.

Mary A. Boden, a native of Shamokin, graduated from the high school at that town in 1914. At present she is employed in the telephone exchange. She is quite a musician, and is a member of St. John's Reformed Church of Shamokin.

Carrie E. Boden is at home assisting her mother.

MARGARET DILLMAN was the eldest child of Peter Dillman, Sr., and Susanna (Krause) Dillman. She married Jacob Kruger, of Ringtown, and had the following children: Susanna married Mr. Walters; Daniel Kruger married Mary Eisenhut; William Kruger married Mary Maderi; David Kruger married Mary Mitchel; Rebecca Kruger married John Brady; Francis Kruger married Mary Yocum; Henry Kruger; John Kruger.

MARY DILLMAN was the third child of Peter Dillman, Sr., and Susanna (Krause) Dillman. She was born in ISII, and died in 1893. She married John Schneider (1813-1898), of Ashland, and had the following children : (1) Mary Emma Schneider (married George Slatterbach, who was killed in the Civil war, and they had one son, Frederick Slatterbach, formerly of Ash- land, but who now resides in Philadelphia) ; (2) Elizabeth Schneider; (3) Henry Schneider (killed in the Civil war) ; (4) Josephine Schneider (married Cornelius Eister, of Shamokin, Pa., and has the following children and grandchildren: William Elmer Eister married Annie Flannagan and has one child, James Cornelius Eister; Mathilde Ada Eister married Samuel Watkins, of Lansford, and has two children, William J. Watkins and Ethel M. Watkins; Katherine Eister died at the age of thirteen years; Charles E. Eister married Florence McIntyre and has the following children, Lester, Myrtle, Ethel, and a baby) ; (5) Mathilde Schneider (married Peter Featheroff and has the following children, Mathilde Featheroff-married Henry Walter and has had six children, John, William, Ethel, Mildred, Emma and Helen Walter, Dr. Daniel Featheroff-married Lottie Schall and had one baby girl who died, Elizabeth Featheroff-died at the age of seven years, Margaretta Featheroff, Mary Featheroff-died at the age of two years, John Featheroff, Henry Featheroff-married Rose Hodges and resides in Philadelphia, and has five children, Edward, Ethel, George, Wilber and Dorothy, Herbert Featheroff, and Clarence Featheroff-married Agnes Mohr and has one child, Alice Featheroff) ; (6) Margaretta Schneider ( 1848-1914) ; (7) Ada Schneider (married Manuel Straub, of Shamokin, and has several children, and grand- children).

LUCYANNA DILLMAN, born in 1815, was the sixth child of Peter Dillman, Sr., and his wife Susanna (Krause) Dillman. She married thrice, first,

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Jeremiah James ; second, James Boyle; third, Philip Powell. Her children are : Lucyanna James (married Jacob Everhardt, and had ten children, Jacob Everhardt, Peter Everhardt, Solomon Everhardt-married Ida Derr, and has one child Thelma Everhardt, David Everhardt, Mary Everhardt, Darius and Jeremiah Everhardt, twin boys-both of them died, Adam and Eve Ever- hardt, twins, and Robert Everhardt) ; Mary James (married George Liske) ; Jolın James (died young) ; Martha James (died young) ; Katherine Boyle; and Philip Powell.

SARAH DILLMAN Was the seventh child of Peter Dillman, Sr., and Susanna (Krause) Dillman, and was born in 1817. She married James Connelly, and resided at Shenandoah, Pa. She had the following children: Catherine Con- nelly ; Susanna Connelly (married Robert Potter and had four sons and one daughter, Joseph, James, Robert and Charles Potter, James moving to Tennes- see, where he died ) ; and James Connelly (married Agnes Behr).

JAMES DILLMAN (1819-1895) was the eighth child of Peter Dillman, Sr., and his wife Susanna ( Krause) Dillman. He resided at Shenandoah, Pa., and married Agnes Brocius. They had nine children, viz .: Mary, wife of a Mr. Oliver; Emma, wife of John Rhoads ; Susanna, wife of a Mr. Sherman ; Peter Dillman, 3d; Alice Dillman, wife of a Mr. Lindemuth; Jane, wife of a Mr. Dunn; Sarah, wife of a Mr. Hawley; Clara, wife of John George; and Dora Dillman.

CHARLES DILLMAN was the sixteenth child of Peter Dillman, Sr., and wife Susanna (Krause) Dillman. He was educated in and around Fountain Springs, Pa., and followed the occupation of farming. In his later years he lived at Ashland, Pa. He married Elizabeth Rice, and their children are: Peter Dillman, 4th, an Elder in the Mormon Church at Whitewater, Cochise Co., Ariz .; Joseph D. Dillman, residing at Rock Dam, Pa. (married Sarah Wolfgang, and had seven children); James Dillman, Jr. (married Sarah Betz) ; Sarah Dillman (died an infant, twelve months old) ; and Robert Dill- man, of Bethlehem, Pa. (married Christine Kaw).

PETER DILLMAN, JR., was the youngest son of Peter Dillman, Sr., and his wife Susanna (Krause) Dillman. He was born at Fountain Springs Sept. 30, 1830, and followed the trade of locomotive engineer, residing at Palo Alto, Port Carbon, and Tamaqua, Pa. He married Lydia Neff (born March 5, 1837- died Sept. 29, 1886), and had four children: Emma Dillman (married William Walker, of Tamaqua) ; Andrew Curtin Dillman (married Amanda Sherman, and resides at Pottstown, Pa.) ; Richard Dillman (died at the age of . four years) ; and Hannah Dillman (married Frederick Francis, of Reading, Pa.). Peter Dillman, Jr., died Sept. 8, 1888.

Emma Dillman married William Walker Oct. 21, 1876. They have the following children and grandchildren: - Lydia B. Walker married Claude C. Rhodes, and they have had one child, William Claude Rhodes; Howard Dill- man Walker, born 1877, died 1879; William Walker, born 1878, died 1904; Estella Walker married Alexander Thompson and has two children, George and Irene Thompson; Claude Walker married Annie Kinsel who died Oct. II, 1909, and had three children, Howard, Earl and Bertram Walker, and in 1914 Claude Walker married (second) Josephine Rimbach ; Clifford Walker married Estella Singly and has one child, Theodore Walker; Mary Josephine Walker, born 1891, died 1892; Esther Walker married Raymond Morgan and has two children, Frederick and Louisa Morgan; and George Dillman Walker Andrew Curtin Dillman, of Pottstown, Pa., has the following children and

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

grandchildren : William Dillman, who has three children, William, Helen and Marian Dilhnan; Howard Dillman, who has one child, Andrew Howard Dill- man; Raymond Dillman; Reba Dillman, who married Samuel Lawton; and Marian Dillman.

Hannah Dillman married Frederick Francis, of Reading. They have had the following children and grandchildren : Mary Emma Francis married James S. Hill, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and they have two children, Agnes and Francis Hill; Esther Lydia Francis, born Dec. 15, 1882, died April 23, 1883; Frederick Dillman Francis married Edna Sewars, and they live at No. 951 Birch street, Reading, Pa .; Howard Jacob Francis married Blanche Nunna- macher, and they reside on Park avenue, Hyde Park, Pa .; Margaret and Martha Francis are twins; Leah Francis, born Nov. 5, 1894, died April 5, 1895; Elsie May Francis lives at No. 714 North 11th street, Reading, Pa .; Andrew Thomas Francis was born in 1903.

WILLIAM H. WALTERS, of New Philadelphia, has been the chief executive of that borough for so many years that he may without exaggeration be referred to as its leading citizen. He is now ( 1915) serving his sixth term as chief burgess, and there is no doubt that his popularity has endured by reason of the fact that throughout his long administration he has shown no lessening of public spirit or of desire to serve his townsmen to the extent of his abilities. Their continued support, on the other hand, has enabled him not only to inaugurate many ideas which promised well, but to carry them out most advantageously. Though Mr. Walters has well deserved the com- plimentary attitude of his fellow citizens towards him, it is only just to say that he has endeavored to merit it.

Mr. Walters is a son of Edmund Walters and grandson of Henry Walters, who came to this country from England. He was a machinist by trade, a skilled mechanic, and first located at Philadelphia, Pa., where he found employ- ment in the Baldwin Locomotive Works. He brought the first railroad train into Pottsville, as engineer; the engine had broken down at Port Clinton, and Mr. Walters made the repairs and ran it from that point to Pottsville. Later he settled at Port Carbon, this county, and afterwards had a foundry at Tuscarora, where he made car wheels for the Philadelphia & Reading Com- pany, being so engaged for about ten years. His next location was at Tamaqua, where he founded the well known Eagle iron works in 1868, building stationary engines and all kinds of mining machinery, for which he found ample demand in the immediate vicinity. The establishment was very successful under his management, and after his death his three sons, William, Henry and Edmund Walters, took over the business and continued it under the name of Henry Walters' Sons.

Edmund Walters, son of Henry Walters, learned the trade of molder in his father's shop, of which in time he became a part owner. However, when hvis eldest brother, William, died, the business was sold to the latter's widow. Edmund Walters married Harriet Cox, a native of Mechanicsville, Schuylkill county, and children as follows were born to them : John, William H., Edmund, Ambrose, Frank, George, Annie (wife of Allen Barton) and Dora (deceased).

William H. Walters was born Oct. 11, 1865, at Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, where he acquired an excellent education in the public schools. During the summer season he picked slate at the Hanto colliery. In his youth he began to learn the molder's trade in his father's shop, but after eighteen

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

months at that work turned to cigarmaking, serving his apprenticeship with ex-Sheriff Monroe Boyer, at Tamaqua. He followed this trade ten years in all in Schuylkill county, for eighteen months being engaged in the manufacture of cigars on his own account at Tamaqua. He then took charge of the new slope at the Palmer collicry, at New Philadelphia, for three years, after which he spent a short time at railroad work with the Philadelphia & Reading Rail- way Company, until he received the appointment of private detective for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. The next change he made was to Bethlehem, Pa., where he was employed at the government works for a year and a half, during which time he ran the first machine that cut armor plate. Returning to Schuylkill county, he took charge of the boilers at Silver Creek colliery for about two years, at the end of that time becoming special officer and assistant to the real estate agent of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Com- pany.

Mr. Walters has been a resident of New Philadelphia since 1886, and he has shown himself worthy of his honorable ancestry in his sense of responsi- bility towards the other members of the community and his high ideals of duty in the office of mayor, which he is now holding for the sixth term. His services began in 1895. Three times he was appointed by the court, and he has been chosen three times by popular vote. Such a tribute to worth deserves notice, and it is also remarkable that Mr. Walters is becomingly modest in presenting his opinions, though courageous in the support of his convictions when he thinks it necessary. He is a member of the Methodist Church, and for eight years served as superintendent of the Sunday school.

Mr. Walters married Catherine Boyer, daughter of Cornelius Boyer, and they have three children: Cornelius B., now chief supply clerk for the Phila- delphia & Reading Company, resides at St. Clair, this county; he married Sarah Zimmerman, daughter of Robert, and they have a daughter, Emma. Harriet is the wife of Harry F. Schulze, a contractor and builder, of New Philadelphia, and they have two children, Edna K. and Wilda C. Edna is living at home.

HENRY A. WELDY (deceased) lived at Tamaqua for about fifty years, and filled a place of conspicuous usefulness in the upbuilding of several of its most valuable business institutions. During all but the first decade of his residence there he was one of the proprietors of what grew to be a large industrial establishment, the powder mill which early in the present century became absorbed by the trust. This was always his chief interest and held first place in his attention, his best efforts being devoted to the improvement of the plant and the expansion of the trade. But it did not prevent him from seeing the necessity for other enterprises, some in the class of private business, some in the nature of public utilities, with which he associated himself to the advantage of the community as well as the profitable employment of his own capital. His judgment was esteemed so much that his sanction of any under- taking was sufficient to make it considered worthy the favor of local investors generally.

Mr. Weldy spent his early life at Reading, Berks Co., Pa., and when he retired returned to that city, passing his closing years there. He was born there Sept. 19, 1831, and his father and grandfather were also natives of that place, the latter born in 1768, deceased in 1853; he was married in 1797. The grandfather was a carpenter by occupation. John Weldy, father of Henry A.

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Weldy, started work in the hardware trade at Reading when fifteen years old, and was engaged in that line until his death, which occurred in 1877. His wife, Margaret, died in 1835. They had three children: Catherine, born in 1827, who died in 1829; Joseph, born in 1829, who died in 1833; and Henry A.

Henry A. Weldy acquired a thorough common school education, having the best advantages the town afforded in his day, and when seventeen years old commenced an apprenticeship at the cabinetmaker's trade with B. & H. Rhein. But when he completed his term he turned to pattern-making, working at that for the Little Schuylkill Railroad Company, at Tamaqua, Pa. He was so occupied from 1853 until March, 1862, at which time he joined C. F. Shindel in the purchase of a small powder mill located on the Little Schuylkill river, from H. Huhn. The firm was known as H. A. Weldy & Co., and they engaged in the manufacture of blasting powder. The name remained the same after the admission of E. F. Shindel to the partnership, the next year, and they continued the business until April, 1871, when one of the mills was blown up, entailing considerable loss. Mr. Weldy remained with the business, but the Shindels sold their share to Du Pont, de Nemours & Co., with whom Mr. Weldy was associated until his retirement, at the time the Tamaqua busi- ness was merged into the powder trust. Throughout that time it was carried on under the name of H. A. Weldy & Co., and had a record of constant growth under Mr. Weldy's capable management. As the trade increased the mill was enlarged to meet new requirements and equipped with modern facilities for operation, and the progressive policy followed was substantial evidence of Mr. Weldy's wide-awake spirit, always on the alert for new contrivances or improved methods and quick to see their defects or advantages. He had personal oversight of the mill until 1901, when it became part of the property of the nation-wide concern, and from that time had no active connection with business affairs. Among other Tamaqua concerns with which he was identified we may mention the Edison Electric Light Company, which he helped to organize, and of which he was president and a director for some years; and the Tamaqua Boot & Shoe Manufacturing Company, which he established in 1888. The latter business attained such proportions that forty-five persons were employed in the factory, and the annual output was valued at $50,000. The shoe factory was closed out in 1898, on account of the illness of C. S. Weldy, who died April 1, 1900. The powder mill was dismantled in 1908, the real estate being sold to the Anthracite Water Company.

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Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania; genealogy-family history-biography; containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens, past and present, Volume I, Part 15

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers Number of Pages: 752

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers
Number of Pages: 752