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 18
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Dr. Robinson had one son, Z. Webster, by his first wife, Mary A. (Trout). On Jan. 18, 1911, he married (second) Mary Virginia Smith, daughter of William Emery Smith. No children were born to this marriage.
WILLIAM EMERY SMITH, father of Mrs. Mary V. Robinson, was born in Canada, and came to Schuylkill county when yet a boy. In his earlier man- hood he was employed as a stationary engineer, and later engaged in the coal business, being one of the early operators in this region. He lived retired for several years before his death, which occurred Sept. 16, 1913, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Robinson, in Pottsville. His wife, Elizabeth ( Ansty). was born in England, and come to America when a young girl. She died March 7, 1904. Their children were as follows: Alfred J., Charles E., Agnes
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A., E. Clare, Robert L. (deceased), William E., Jr., Jennie E. (deceased), Mary V. (Mrs. Robinson) and John S. (deceased).
JACOB D. REED, of Schuylkill Haven, is the leader in a leading industry of the borough and all southern Schuylkill county, where the Union Knitting Mills have filled a large place in promoting and maintaining prosperous condi- tions, permanent in value and influential also by affording practical demonstra- tion of the advantages of this region from the manufacturer's standpoint. Mr. Reed's personal success has borne good fruit for the community in which his ambitions have been realized. He himself has always been a man of zealous public spirit, doing a good citizen's share in the furtherance of projects which need substantial support for their realization, and sharing the responsi- bilities of local religious and social enterprises. Mr. Reed was born May 9, 1857, at Reedsville, in Wayne township, this county, son of Elias Reed.
Elias Reed, father of Jacob D. Reed, was a native of Wayne township, Schuylkill county, was a lifelong farmer, and died in 1889 at the age of fifty-seven years. His wife is still living on the old homestead in Wayne township. He married Christiana Deibert, and they had a family of ten children, four sons and six daughters, of whom Wallace, the eldest son, died when four years old; Emma, the eldest daughter, died when about six years old; the rest attained maturity, viz .: John H., born Dec. 2, 1855, now living in South Manheim township, Schuylkill county ; Jacob D .; Annie R., the wife of A. D. Super, living in Wayne township; Elizabeth A., the widow of Francis M. Luckenbill, of Wayne township; Mary E., who married Louis Stahler and died June 3, 1895 ; George C .; Sallie G., who married Howard S. Mengel, of Wayne township; and Susan P., married to Howard D. Becker, of Wayne township.
Jacob D. Reed attended the public schools of his native township, and remained at home until nineteen years old, working for his father on the home farm. In the year 1876 he came to Schuylkill Haven, where he learned the shoemaker's trade with William Becker. It was his calling for nearly twenty years, until he engaged in the knitting business with John A. Bowen in 1895. In 1900 a third partner was admitted to the firm, the late Moses Leininger, of Orwigsburg, and six weeks after his admission to the business Mr. Bowen withdrew, Mr. Reed and Mr. Leininger buying his interest in the business. They continued it with increasing trade until Mr. Leininger's death, and on April 1, 1914, Mr. Reed purchased the Leininger estate interest, becoming sole proprietor. The establishment is conducted under its old name, the Union Knitting Mills. The plant is 40 by 115 feet in dimensions, located on William street, and there is a large bleach house doing custom work, with a capacity of four thousand pounds per day. One hundred and fifty people are employed, a fact which brings it into the class of important establishments in the thriving town of Schuylkill Haven. The product is ladies', misses' and children's underwear, in ribbed light weights, and Mr. Reed has a patent on ladies' closed union suits which are a special feature at this factory. The mills are always busy, and never known to close down for want of orders. The output is sold to the jobbers and Mr. Reed also takes the output of another mill, at Manheim, Lancaster Co., Pa. His sincere desire to see business advantages on a good basis in the borough led him to cooperate in the organi- zation of the Schuylkill Haven Trust Company, one of the substantial bank-
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ing institutions of this section, of which he was an original director, and is still serving as such.
On Jan. 8, 1885, Mr. Reed married Emma E. Wommer, a daughter of Jacob Wommer, of Wayne township, where he was a well known farmer. They have two sons: Ivan W., who is now assisting his father at the mill, and Willis E., a pupil in the local schools.
Mr. Reed has filled all the offices in the United Evangelical Church, being at present a class leader, and when the new church was erected acted as a member of the building committee. Socially he is a member of the Royal Arcanum. In political opinion he is a Republican, but he has never taken an active part in such affairs. He served fourteen successive years as assessor, the length of his service showing how highly his labors were prized.
ALBERT W. SELTZER. As treasurer of the Seltzer Packing Company and vice president of the Merchants' National Bank of Pottsville Albert W. Seltzer is a leader in the business activities of Schuylkill county. The former enterprise, in which his principal interests center, was founded over forty years ago by his father, Conrad Seltzer, and has been maintained ever since by members of this family, whose business ability and other substantial qualities entitle them to be classed among the leaders of this part of Pennsylvania. The firm at present includes Albert W. Seltzer and his brother, William H. Seltzer.
Conrad Seltzer, the father, was a native of Germany, born Sept. 17, 1817, in Marburg, Hesse. He came to the United States when a youth in the year 1832, accompanying part of his parents' family. Locating in Fishbach, a sub- urb of Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., he began to work as a butcher, following the occupation in which most of his immediate ancestors had been engaged. He was one of the earliest men in that business at Pottsville. His first inde- pendent business venture was as proprietor of the meat market located in Pottsville, on Centre street, opposite the "Exchange Hotel." For several years he also followed his business at Minersville, Schuylkill county, in 1858 giving it up and retiring to his farm, which was known as the "Bull's Head." There he continued in practically the same line, as a general breeder of and dealer in live stock, being thus engaged until his retirement in 1889. In this branch of the business also his careful plans and energetic methods made him successful, and his steadily increasing interests formed the basis of the exten- sive packing business which his sons have developed and still conduct. Mr. Seltzer proved his value to the community in other relations as well. He was recognized as a financier of notable ability, a fact which his election as treas- urer of the county in 1864 attested. He served one term of two years in that position. As a conscientious member of the Lutheran Church he was devoted to its welfare, and served for many years as elder and trustee. Though he began life humbly, his first home at Fishbach being a small log house near the site of the eastern steel mill, he came to be one of the most substantial business men of Schuylkill county, and the industry which has grown out of the begin- nings he made is now one of the largest of its kind in eastern Pennsylvania. His death occurred at Pottsville Sept. 2, 1890. He was a Democrat in politics.
On Dec. 10, 1839, Mr. Seltzer was married in Schuylkill county to Doro- thea E. Roehrig, like himself a native of Germany, and now also deceased. Twelve children were born to their union, namely: William H., now president of the Seltzer Packing Company and a resident of Pottsville, married Anna B. Thumm; Albert W. is' next in the family ; Amelia is the widow of Dr. R. F.
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Krebs, late of Reading, Berks Co., Pa .; Charles F. is engaged in business as a saddler and harnessmaker at Pottsville; Josephine is the wife of Charles R. Kear, of Minersville, Pa., president of the First National Bank of Minersville and of the Minersville Water Company; John C. lives at Reading, Pa., where he is connected with the Farmers' National Bank; Clara is the wife of F. P. Mortimer, a prominent merchant of Pottsville; Frederick is carrying on a livery business in Pottsville; Dolly died at the age of twenty-six years; Edward L. is engaged in farming and fruit growing in Shelltown, Md .; Henry H. is serving as register of wills of Schuylkill county; Bertha E. is the wife of Frederick E. Zerbey, superintendent of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, residing at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Albert W. Seltzer was born July 7, 1843, at Pottsville, Schuylkill county, and was given a public school education in that town. He had been working for a time when he enlisted for service in the Civil war in August, 1862, becom- ing a member of Company A, 129th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which he joined at Harrisburg. After serving his term he received his honorable discharge May 26, 1863. He saw considerable active service, taking part in all the engagements of the Army of the Potomac during that period, and twice received flesh wounds. Subsequently Mr. Seltzer studied for a term at the Eastman business college at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., graduating in July, 1864. As early as 1866 he went into the live stock business on his own account, his natural aptitude for this line no doubt being responsible for much of his early success. However, the expansion of the business along modern lines has progressed steadily. In 1887 he became associated with his brother William in the pork packing business. They erected a plant on Water and Temple streets (the one still occupied), having a main building 200 by 200 feet in dimensions, with wing 175 by 175, three stories high. Within five years the business had attained such proportions that employment was given to thirty- five men, and fifty thousand hogs were slaughtered annually, besides fifteen hundred head of cattle, about six hundred calves and a large number of sheep and lambs. The firm name, originally Seltzer & Bro., is now the Seltzer Packing Company. The present organization was effected in 1891, the officers being: William H. Seltzer, president; A. W. Seltzer, treasurer and secretary. The business has continued to gain in size and importance until it is now the leading industry of the kind in this section of the State.
The Seltzers are worthy successors of their ambitious father and their many sterling qualities have placed them among the most valuable citizens of Pottsville from early manhood. Besides his interests as a packer, Albert W. Seltzer is particularly well known as vice president of the Merchants' National Bank of Pottsville, which position he has filled ever since he became a director of that institution in 1909. He is also a director of the Pottsville Mutual Fire Insurance Company. His numerous personal interests, however, have not prevented his serving his fellow citizens more than capably as member of the city council for thirteen years and of the school board for thirteen years, the community thus having the benefit of his counsel and judgment in the management of local affairs. His public spirit has been demonstrated in many instances. Though a Democrat in politics he is independent of party when loyalty to his principles is at question. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Pulaski Lodge, No. 216, F. & A. M. He is a member of the German Lutheran Church, and has long served as elder and deacon, forty years in the former office.
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Mr. Seltzer was married Feb. 22, 1866, to Emma R. Kohler, whose father, Jacob Kohler, was a pioneer resident of Pottsville. Five children were born to this marriage: Dorothea Elizabeth is the wife of William T. Knight, clerk in a silk mill, and they have two children, Albert and Dorothea; Charles A., who is clerking for his father, married Effie Scott, and their two children are Karl Luther and Ruth E .; Marie is the wife of W. J. Schmidt, who is em- ployed by the Seltzer Packing Company ( they have no children) ; Alice A. is the wife of Daniel Miller Foster, of Youngstown, Ohio, and they have three children, Amie Louise, Dorothea Elizabeth and Emma Kohler; Amie Louise lives at home.
COL. WILLIAM THOMPSON was born May 22, 1834, at Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa. He was of Scotch lineage, and his American ancestry dates to 1735, when John and James Thompson, whose forbears had been among the Scotch Covenanters who removed to Ireland early in the eighteenth cen- tury, left County Antrim, and landing in Pennsylvania took up their residence in Chester county. William Thompson, the grandfather of Col. William Thompson, served in the Revolutionary war. His father, Samuel Thompson, was born in 1792, and died in Pottsville, Pa., in 1851. His mother was Eliza- beth Cunningham, of Newton Hamilton, Mifflin Co., Pennsylvania.
As a youth Colonel Thompson received a most careful training, and to this fact may be attributed that combination of ability and integrity which in early life secured him positions of honor and trust, and in later years brought to him a large financial reward. When the war of the Rebellion broke out he had not reached the age of twenty-seven, yet he had already taken high rank as a business man in the town of his birth, and was at the head of a well established and profitable banking concern. Full of patriotic ardor, his im- pulse was to go at once to the front, but the exactions of his position were such that in justice to others, as well as himself, some months of delay were unavoidable before he felt that he could follow the trend of his inclinations and become an active defender of the Union. In September, 1862, War Governor Andrew G. Curtin gave him authority to recruit a cavalry company in Schuylkill county, and on Nov. Ist he was mustered into the service as captain of Company H, 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry, which belonged to the 2d Brigade, Ist Cavalry Division, and served under the successive commands of Generals Pleasanton, Buford, Merritt and Devin, with the greatest efficiency and distinction. For several months, commencing in May, 1863, Captain Thompson commanded Gen. George G. Meade's escort-Companies D and H, and later was with Gen. P. H. Sheridan in his battles; his active service, in fact, included participation in nearly every engagement in which the Union cavalry took part in the operations of the Army of the Potomac during the last two years of the war. He was severely wounded in the right shoulder at Kearneystown, Va., when three divisions of Union cavalry made a charge upon General Early's entire force, to divulge its strength and plans. He was elected major Feb. 13, 1865, and a month later, March 13th, was brevetted lieutenant-colonel "for meritorious and distinguished services." It was only when incapacitated by his wounds that he was ever absent from the front ; and, with these exceptions, he never lost a day's duty while he was in the service. He was mustered out on June 20, 1865. His army career involved the numberless hardships in camp and field to which an impetuous and truly patriotic soldier is subject, but from the hour in which he secured his first
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recruit under Governor Curtin's commission to the prouder one when he was first in command of his regiment in a reconnoissance towards Appomattox Court House, at midnight, April 8, 1865, which demonstrated the presence of. the Army of Northern Virginia in force, every responsibility was promptly taken, every duty cheerfully performed, every discomfort uncomplainingly en- dured. His record as a soldier, from first to last, was a brilliant one and brought with it its own immediate reward. He was loved by his command, respected by his superior officers, and honored by all.
Colonel Thompson's interest in his companions in the army did not end with the war. His regiment claimed the honor of firing the first gun in the great conflict at Gettysburg, and to him to a great extent is due the erection, on that historic field, of a grand monument to the memory of those who gave up their lives in the struggle. In private life, the old soldier of whatever rank was a comrade; the widows and orphans of the war the object of his tender and generous solicitude.
Upon the close of his service in the field, Colonel Thompson again turned his attention to the calling for which his early education and experience had so thoroughly fitted him. Possessed of a fair competence by inheritance from his father, he became a large stockholder in the Miners' National Bank of Pottsville, one of the oldest and most substantial banks in the State. He was elected a director of this institution on Jan. 13, 1882, and thereafter made its interests his life work, his long and honorable connection with it ending only with his death. He served as cashier from May 23, 1882, until Jan. 25, 1893, when he was elected vice president, and became president on Jan. 12, 1894. His dealings in real estate were judicious and profitable, and his property holdings included some of the finest business blocks in Pottsville. An attendant at the Presbyterian Church, Colonel Thompson was one of its most open- handed supporters, his contributions towards the successful efforts to secure the splendid pipe organ of that church being an example of his generosity. With the sterling and impregnable characteristics of the early Covenanters which came to him as an inheritance, he remained steadfast to his patriotic principles throughout a long and eventful life, and as a citizen his dealings were fair and equitable, his business transactions open and honorable.
Although Colonel Thompson never married, he was most genial and companionable, pleasant in all social relations, and fatherly and tender towards those endeared to him by ties of consanguinity. He died July 9, 1903, at Potts- ville, Pa., and was buried there in the Thompson family plot in the Charles Baber cemetery.
LEWIS C. THOMPSON. No name in Pottsville is more highly respected than that of Thompson, where through several decades of honorable associa- tion with business and social life its standing has been maintained without qualification. Various representatives of the family to which Lewis C. Thomp- son belongs have been notably successful, and he himself has the distinction of being at present the oldest business man in town. He has completed almost sixty years of continuous activity in the same line and at the same location. In company with Harry P. Stichter he established the first hardware concern in Pottsville, now incorporated under the name of Lewis C. Thompson, and he has been at the head for fifty years. The business is both wholesale and retail and the house is one of the best known in this part of the State, with substantial standing gained during a long career of reliable transactions. This Vol. I-8
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has been Mr. Thompson's principal interest, but he has other connections which show his sympathy with local conditions and willingness to assist them to prosperity whenever possible.
The early records of the Thompson family are of interest in this connec- tion. Its first ancestors in America came to this country from County Antrim, Ireland, about 1730-35. The family, however, is of Scotch lineage, of old Scotch Covenanter stock, which early in the eighteenth century moved from their home in Scotland to Ireland, residing temporarily in that country. John Thompson, Sr., and his brother James, upon their arrival in America located at Cross Roads, Chester Co., Pa. Then they removed to Hanover township, same county (now in Lebanon county), and later to a farm near Derry Church, about ten miles distant from Harrisburg. Here John Thompson married his second wife, whose maiden name was Slocum, and shortly afterwards removed to a farm three miles from Thompsontown, which was inherited by his sons Peter and Thomas, to whom he willed it; when Thomas died his interest went by bequest to Peter, who in turn left it to his son John Peter, who died in 1882. John Thompson, Sr., married for his third wife Sarah Patterson. By his first, whose maiden name was Greenleaf (or Greenlea), he had four chil- dren, one of whom, William, was the grandfather of Lewis C. Thompson. James Thompson, a brother of John Thompson, Sr., settled along South Mountain, Franklin county, where his descendants still reside.
William Thompson, grandfather of Lewis C. Thompson, was born in 1754 in Thompsontown, Hanover township, Dauphin Co., Pa. He followed farming and merchandising. During the Revolutionary war he served as a soldier in the Colonial cause, and participated in the battles of Brandywine and Ger- mantown. He married Jane Mitchell at Chambersburg, Pa., and they had a family of nine children, six sons and three daughters.
Samuel Thompson, son of William, was born in 1792, in Thompsontown, Dauphin county, and died March 7, 1851, in Pottsville, Schuylkill county. On Nov. 6, 1827, he married Ann Alricks, of Harrisburg, Pa., who died Aug. 27, 1828, aged twenty-nine years, ten months. On Aug. 6, 1833, he married (second) Elizabeth Cunningham, of Newton Hamilton, Mifflin Co., Pa., who was born March 3, 1805, and died in her seventieth year, Oct. 5, 1874, at Potts- ville. Four children were born to this union: Col. William, born May 22, 1834, served through the Civil war in the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was mustered out at its close as lieutenant-colonel of his regiment ; he became a prominent man of Pottsville, particularly in his connection with the Miners' National Bank, of which he was president. Lewis C., born Nov. 7, 1835, is mentioned below. Emily J., born July 21, 1838, died Nov. 17, 1880; on Oct. II, 1866, she married Maj. Edward Carey Baird, who died Nov. 14, 1874, and they had one child, Bessy Carey Baird, born in Depere, near Green Bay, Wis., who was married to Joseph Archibald, of Scranton. Heber Samuel, who completes the family, is fully mentioned elsewhere in this work.
Lewis C. Thompson was born Nov. 7, 1835, at Pottsville, where he obtained his early education in the public schools, later attending school at Chambers- burg, Franklin county, and continuing his studies at the Bolmar Academy, West Chester, Pa. His business life began early. In April, 1855, in partner- ship with Harry P. Stichter, he established a wholesale and retail hardware business at the corner of Centre and Market streets, Pottsville, the firm of Stichter & Thompson being the pioneer in the town in that line. This associa- tion lasted until the spring of 1865, when Mr. Thompson purchased Mr. Stich-
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ter's interest and associated with him his brother, Heber S. Thompson, the firm becoming L. C. Thompson & Company. Later Heber S. Thompson with- drew, and from that time the business was carried on by Lewis C. Thompson himself until May 1, 1911, when it became incorporated, as previously stated, with the following officers: Lewis C. Thompson, president; William M. Thompson, vice president; J. Harry Benner, secretary and treasurer, and L. C. Thompson, William M. Thompson, J. Harry Benner and W. K. Wood- bury, directors. Though Mr. Thompson's time and attention have been directed principally to the affairs of this concern, he has formed other asso- ciations, and is at present a director of the Miners' National Bank of Potts- ville, and a director of the Union Hall Association. He has always taken an active interest and part in the life of the borough as a member of the Potts- ville Club, and a prominent worker in the First Presbyterian Church ; he served as president of its board of trustees when the present church building on Mahantongo street was erected, in 1874. Mr. Thompson's cordial manner in business as well as social circles has won him the friendship of all he has met, and he had made his success with the interest and good will of his associates.
During the Civil war Mr. Thompson enlisted in Company A, 27th Emer- gency Regiment, raised when Lee invaded the State in 1863.
On June 10, 1862, Mr. Thompson married Rebecca Frances Bruner, who was born in Chester county, Pa., near the line of Berks county, daughter of John and Maria (Jones) Bruner. The following children have been born to this union: Elizabeth May was educated at Bradford, Mass., and on Feb. 20, 1890, became the wife of Frank Bailey Parsons, of Northampton, Mass., who died March 16, 1911, his widow now residing at Pottsville, Pa .; Mary Louise married, Jan. 24, 1900, Henry T. Blodgett, of New York City, and they reside at East Paget in the Bermudas; Carrie Frances, born in 1866, died in infancy ; William Mitchell was educated in the local schools and the Hill school at Pottstown, also spending a year in Phillips Academy, at Andover, and since 1892 has been in business with his father (he was married Jan. 7, 1902, to Mary Jane Sturman, daughter of Joseph T. Sturman and Sarah E. Go- lightly) ; Elsie received her education in the select schools, and is now living at home. In 1875 Mr. Thompson began the erection of his beautiful residence at No. SOI West Mahantongo street, which he and his family have occupied since July 4, 1876.
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