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 19
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The Bruners, Mrs. Thompson's family, have been in Pennsylvania since Provincial days. Her great-grandfather, Ulrich (or Owen) Bruner, a native of Switzerland, was born on Whitsunday, June 4, 1730. He sailed from Rotterdam to America, via Cowes, England, on board the ship "Mercury," May 29, 1735, in company with a number from the Palatinate, among them Henry Brunner (the name being variously spelled). In 1755 Ulrich was mar- ried to Fronica Gross (or Bross), a native of Pauls, Germany, who had settled in Bucks county, Pa., in 1744, and they had born to them six sons and five daughters, of whom nine names are on record, viz .: Maria, John, Isaac, Fronica, Ulrich (or Owen), Barbara, Isaac, Jacob and Magdalena. The mother of this family died Feb. 27, 1796, and the father Feb. 19, 1821, at the advanced age of ninety-one years.
Owen Bruner, one of the above named children, was born July 5, 1762, and on March 2, 1787, married Elizabeth Weaver, daughter of John and Barbara Weaver, prominent and wealthy Mennonites of Earl township, Lan- caster Co., Pa. He died Nov. 29, 1843. Mrs. Elizabeth Bruner died March
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12, 1853, at the age of eighty-five years. She bore her husband ten children : John, born Jan. 7, 1788, died Jan. 15, 1814; Barbara, born Dec. 4, 1789, was married to John Good ; Abraham, born Sept. 24, 1791, married, Dec. 15, 1814, Rebecca Evans, and died March 3, 1870; Owen (or Ulrich), born Oct. 24, 1794, died April 1, 1845, the husband of Ann Martin; Jacob, born June 20, 1796, married Ruth A. Talbot ; John, born Dec. 29, 1799, married Maria Jones ; Isaac, born April 2, 1802, was a physician, and died Dec. 29, 1828; Elizabeth, born Sept. 30, 1804, was married to Dr. William Happersett ; Daniel I., born June 22, 1807, was also a physician, and died in 1888, the husband of Elizabeth Davies; and Fronica (or Frances), born June 23, 1810, was mar- ried to John Kenega.
ANDREW B. COCHRAN, late of Pottsville, one of the foremost civil and mining engineers in this section of Pennsylvania, had a career of over forty-nine years in that profession. Practically all his life was spent in the same line of work. A man of unpretentious disposition, yet with marked ability and high ideals, he was a quiet force for progress and the establishing of lofty standards in the community where he lived during the greater part of his active years. Of Scotch-Irish descent, he was a son of Andrew Coch- ran, a native of County Derry, Ireland, who came to the Uinted States about 1820 and passed the rest of his life in Pennsylvania. His first location was at Lancaster, whence he subsequently moved to Philadelphia, dying there at an advanced age. He was extensively engaged in the lumber business, having interests both at Philadelphia and at Williamsport, Pa., at the latter place erecting the first sawmills built there. During his later years he also dealt in real estate and was engaged in conveyancing. He married Sarah Boyd, who was born at Lancaster, Pa., and they had a family of six children: Sarah, Eliza, Martha, Mary, Andrew B. and Richard, all deceased.
Andrew B. Cochran was born July 14. 1836, in Philadelphia, and obtained his early education in the public schools there, taking a four years' course at the Central high school. Then he learned the business of conveyancing. In February, 1859, he came to Pottsville to take a position with P. W. Sheafer and began the study of mining engineering. Remaining with Mr. Sheafer until 1862, he then went to New York City and became associated with his father, who was in New York at that time looking after mining speculations in which he was interested. On his return to Pottsville, in September, 1866, Mr. Cochran entered the employ of Harris Brothers, with whom he continued until 1868, that year forming a partnership with George B. Strauch, their business being civil and mining engineering. This association lasted until 1873, in which year Mr. Strauch retired because of failing health, and for a number of years afterwards Mr. Cochran did business alone, until he took his son into partnership in 1889. The firm name then became A. B. Cochran & Son, and when Andrew B. Cochran died, May 14, 1908, the son succeeded to his interests, which he is still conducting.
Andrew B. Cochran was quite prominent in the Republican party, serving as county chairman and frequently as delegate to the State conventions. The only public office he held was that of borough surveyor of Pottsville, which he filled from 1871 to 1889 continuously. Socially he was well known in the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities, having been a member of Pulaski Lodge, No. 216, F. & A. M .; Mountain City Chapter, No. 196, R. A. M .; Constantine Commandery, No. 41, K. T., of Pottsville, and Lu Lu Temple,
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A. A. O. N. M. S., of Philadelphia; he was also a member of Lily of the Valley Lodge, No. 281, I. O. O. F., of Pottsville. In every association his high character and consistently honorable methods won him the unqualified esteem of those with whom he came into contact.
Andrew B. Cochran married Maria Gould, daughter of William and Catherine (Hill) Gould, of Pottsville, and they were the parents of two children, William A. and Kate G. Cochran. Mrs. A. B. Cochran died Feb. 26, 1907.
WILLIAM A. COCHRAN married Ella G. Carey, daughter of Daniel J. and Ellen A. Carey, of Philadelphia, and they have one child, Catherine Carey Cochran.
CHARLES EDWARD QUAIL, M. D., late of Auburn, Pa., practiced medicine at that place and in the surrounding territory of Schuylkill county throughout his professional career. He was a successful physician in the best sense of the word, leading a life of busy helpfulness in that capacity, yet he also found time to be of service to his fellow citizens in various public relations, and his life story is replete with the record of duties well done, many of them voluntarily assumed and many of them undertaken at the request of those who recognized his ability and respected his admirable character. Dr. Quail was a native of Baltimore, Md., born Oct. 9, 1841, son of Conrad Quail.
Conrad Quail was born in Alsace, Germany, of German parentage, and when he came to the United States, about 1825, settled at Baltimore. He was a contractor and builder, and followed that business on an extensive scale, having worked at St. Louis and other places as well as his home city. In 1843 he was engaged to superintend the erection of the arsenal for the government at Harper's Ferry, and while so employed met with an accident which caused the rupture of a blood vessel, resulting in his death, at the age of forty years, in 1845. Mr. Quail was a charter member of Columbia Lodge, I. O. O. F., the first body of that kind organized in Baltimore. He married Mary Ports, who was born in Carroll county, Md., and died at Hampstead, that county, in 1887, at the age of seventy-seven years. She is buried at Man- chester, Carroll county, but Mr. Quail was interred at Baltimore. Six children, four sons and two daughters, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Quail, namely: George W., deceased; Margaret, deceased; John H., a farmer near Hampstead, Md. ; William U., who died in Philadelphia in April, 1893; Charles Edward; and Susan, wife of Joseph Little, of Hampstead, Md., deceased about 1905.
John Ports, father of Mrs. Conrad Quail, was born in southern Pennsyl- vania, but spent his later years at Manchester, Md., where he died, in 1853, at the age of eighty-four years. He was a carpenter and contractor, and besides carrying on that business operated a large farm. Politically he was a Democrat, of the Jacksonian type, and his religious connection was with the Lutheran Church. He married Mary Wentz, and they had a family of eleven children, five sons and six daughters.
Charles Edward Quail began his education in the schools of Baltimore, and later attended Mount Irvin College, at Manchester, Md. He had begun his medical course at the Maryland University when the Civil war came on, and feeling that his first duty was to his country he enlisted, Aug. 2, 1862, in Company D, 8th Regiment, Maryland Volunteers, commanded by Col. Andrew Denison, and attached to the brigade of Maj. Gen. John R. Kenly, Army of
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the Potomac. During his service of two years and ten months, until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, he was in many actions, and was wounded at Spottsylvania Court House. The war over, he returned to his medical studies, was graduated from the Medical College at Maryland University, and for a year was an interne in the Baltimore Infirmary. Then he came to Auburn, Pa., in March, 1867, when he began independent practice, and he remained at that location until his death, which occurred Dec. 21, 1910. In connection with his practice Dr. Quail began the drug business, in 1892. Aside from general practice he had a number of professional connections, having served two terms as coroner, to which office he was elected in 1873; and a number of years as pension examiner, holding that position under Presidents Harrison and Mckinley; and continuing to serve in that capacity until his election to the State Senate. He was a member of the Schuylkill County Medical Society and the Pennsylvania State Medical Society.
In his professional career Dr. Quail not only came into contact with citi- zens of every class of the community, but also acquired a close familiarity with local conditions, which with his practical character made him peculiarly fitted for public service. Though he measured up to larger responsibilities he was equally zealous in the performance of such duties as affected the home community only, and for thirty-three years he served as a member of the Auburn school board, of which body he was also treasurer. In 1900 he was honored with election as representative of his district in the State Senate, and was reelected in November, 1904. He was one of the active members of the Republican party in this section of the State, and was honored with the chairmanship of the county, which he held for two years. Dr. Quail from time to time had business interests also, being one of the organizers, in 1887, of the company which operated the plant known for five years as the Auburn Bolt & Nut Works, and he was president of that concern almost all of that period. He had a fine farm in West Brunswick township, lying one mile southeast of Auburn, as well as valuable real estate within the corporate limits of the borough. .
Dr. Quail always maintained a sincere interest in the welfare of his old comrades of Civil war days. He was a member of Jere Helms Post, No. 26, G. A. R., of Schuylkill Haven, served some years on the Soldiers' Orphans' commission, and was an active member of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Commission, his fellow officers being: St. Clair A. Mulholland, Philadel- phia, president ; George P. Morgan, Philadelphia, secretary ; H. H. Cumings, Tidioute, Pa .; Henry S. Huidekoper, Philadelphia ; E. A. Irwin, Curwensville, Pa. : Charles F. McKenna, Pittsburgh, Pa .; J. C. Stineman, South Fork, Pa .; E. L. Whittlesey, Erie, Pa. After the dedication of the State Monument at Gettysburg he went to Harrisburg to see Governor Stuart with reference to reimbursing the railroad companies for transporting the old soldiers to Gettys- burg to attend the dedication. He died suddenly in the Capitol, his death being the first to occur there after the completion of the building. His religious connection was with the Church of God, and he was a trustee and elder for many years and otherwise active in its work.
On June 4, 1867, Dr. Quail married Emma Catherine Weishampel, and their five children were born at Auburn, as follows: Charles Edward, born May 10, 1868 (died Dec. 22, 1872) ; Foster Koehler, born June 23, 1869 (died Dec. 21, 1892) ; Emma Luella, born Nov. 18, 1873; Flora Juanita, born March 23, 1877; Charles Edward, born May 28, 1879 (died April 3, 1902). Emma
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Luella was married Nov. 16, 1899, at Auburn, Pa., to Frederick Victor Filbert, Esq., of Pine Grove, Pa., the ceremony being performed by Rev. J. F. Meixell and Rev. H. F. Kroh. Four children have been born to this union: Marion Louise, Aug. 28, 1901 ; Frederic Quail, July 30, 1903; Edward Stuart, Nov. 6, 1906; and Margaret Luella, Jan. 24, 1915. Flora Juanita was married April 9, 1902, at Auburn, Pa., by Rev. S. M. Good, to Amos Yerkes Lesher, and they have had three children : Charles Quail, born May 7, 1904; James Edgar, Oct. 19, 1905; and Richard Yerkes, March 4, 1911 (died Sept. 15, 1912).
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Foster Koehler Quail, M. D., was born June 23, 1869, at Auburn, Pa., and obtained his early education in the public schools there. His studies were continued at the Pottsville high school, which he attended for six years, gradu- ating in 1887, after which he taught school for one year in East Brunswick township. He then began the study of medicine with his father, and in 1888 entered the Medico-Chirurgical College, at Philadelphia, from which he was graduated April 16, 1891, with high honors, being awarded the gold medal offered by Dr. W. F. Waugh, professor of medical practice. Then he was elected resident physician of the hospital of his alma mater, and while serving as such took the competitive examination for a position at the Philadelphia hospital, being one of the sixteen successful young men out of seventy. He took his position there Dec. 1, 1891, and remained there until appointed to the position of physician for the Turkey Gap Coal & Coke Company, at Ennis, IV. Va. Nine months after his arrival he was taken ill with typhoid fever, and died sixteen days later at Ennis, McDowell Co., W. Va., Dec. 21, 1892. He was buried Dec. 27, 1892, at Auburn, Pa., and Professor Thurlow of the Pottsville high school delivered an appropriate address at the funeral services. At a special meeting of the Alumni Association of the Medico-Chirurgical College proper resolutions were offered, and the large numbers of sorrowing friends who paid their respects at the funeral ceremonies testified to the high regard that this young man had already attained.
Charles Edward Quail, son of Dr. Charles Edward Quail, was born May 28, 1879, at Auburn, and after attending public school there was a student for five years at the Pottsville high school, from which he was graduated. He then began a course at the Medico-Chirurgical College, Philadelphia, but he died April 3, 1902, of nephro-typhoid fever, just three weeks before graduation. He was a member of the Church of God, and in fraternal connection of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. Like his brother, he was a young man of the highest promise, and his untimely death was widely and sincerely mourned.
Mrs. Emma Catherine (Weishampel) Quail was born May 14, 1843, in Shiremanstown, Cumberland Co., Pa., and received her education in Baltimore, Md. She is a daughter of Rev. John Frederick Weishampel, and a grand- daughter of Christian Weishampel, who was born near the town of Hirsch- berg. Silesia, Prussia, about the year 1770. (Relatives of his family are be- lieved to be still living-1912-in that vicinity.) He married Catherine Bank- ard, daughter of Peter Bankard, in Baltimore, about 1802. He was drowned in Chatsworth run, during a freshet, in 1810, close by his residence, then in the suburbs, near what is now called German street, between Greene and Pine streets. He left three children : Barbara Ann, John Frederick and Christian. His widow married Andrew Uhl, who died about 1816, leaving two sons, Francis Adam and Andrew. She married a third husband, Jacob Miller, who
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died about 1852. She survived until 1862, and died at the age of seventy- seven years.
John Frederick Weishampel, son of Christian Weishampel, was born in Baltimore, April 4, 1808. He learned the printing business with John T. Hansche ; published several newspapers, among which were the Workingmen's Advocate, in support of the ten-hour system and other reforms, and The Experiment, the first daily penny paper issued in Baltimore (1834) ; removed to Shippensburg, Pa., in 1836, to publish a paper there; removed to Circle- ville, Ohio, in 1838, to print the "Religious Telescope" for the United Brethren Church; removed to Harrisburg in 1840, and to Shiremanstown, Pa., 1841, to conduct the "Gospel Publisher," organ of the Church of God, by which denomination he was licensed as a minister of the gospel, and preached fre- quently on circuits and as a missionary in both the English and German lan- guages during his life. He removed in 1843 to Marietta, thence in 1844 to Lancaster, in 1845 to Philadelphia, and thence in 1846 to Baltimore. On July 3, 1831, he married Gertrude Dorothea Koehler, who was born March 20, 1807, in Germany, and came to America when eleven years old. She died Feb. 14, 1871, and is buried in Green Mount cemetery, Baltimore. They had six children who reached maturity, viz .: (1) John Frederick, who married Mary E. Addison; (2) Dorothy, who died in infancy ; (3) Gertrude Dorothy, who married Robert Westley; (4) Benjamin Franklin, who married Cora I. Richards; (5) Mathilde Otillia, who married Lieut. Edward Francis Foster, First Lieutenant Quartermaster, Maryland Volunteers, Purnell Legion, on Dec. 13, 1864, at Baltimore, Md. (Lieutenant Foster died Sept. 5, 1880, and was interred in the National cemetery at Loudon Park, Baltimore, Md .; Mathilde O. Foster died in Philadelphia, Pa., July 14, 1910; buried in Robert- son family lot, "Rose Hill," Loudon Park, Baltimore) ; (6) Emma Catherine, who married Dr. Charles E. Quail; (7) Howard Washington, who died young ; and (8) Howard Burritt, who married Alice M. Uppercue and (second) Lelia Kratts, of Baltimore.
SAMUEL SILLYMAN (deceased) filled a large place in Schuylkill county for the thirty years and more of his residence in Pottsville. Though possessed of large private interests, he never allowed selfish considerations to impair his public spirit or blind him to the rights of his fellow citizens, which he respected as only a man of sterling conscience and liberal mind could do. His sympathies were not held within the limitations of business or family ties, but extended into all the activities of his adopted place, and his qualifications for leadership were so apparent that the influence of his example carried weight in many circles. It is worthy of note that his widow and daughters conducted the post office at Pottsville for a period of twenty-five years. All the representatives of the name have stood for a high order of citizenship, ranking with the best element in the community for moral, intellectual and social wortlı.
The Sillyman family has an interesting history, the members of its several branches in this locality showing characteristics of mental and moral strength which have come to be expected of them. The original spelling of the name, Sillyman, has been changed by some of the family to Silliman, and it is also found in the form "Selliman." The Schuylkill county family here treated is allied with several others of the locality, and they are descended from a Berks county family of honorable standing. James Sillyman, father of Samuel
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Sillyman, lived in Bern township, Berks county, where he spent all his active years. His sons having established themselves at Pottsville, he removed to that place late in life and ended his days there. He is buried in the Presby- terian cemetery. He married Susanna Hughes, daughter of Thomas Hughes, of Bucks county, Pa., and children as follows were born to them: Alexander, who served in the war of 1812; Thomas, who was the first postmaster at Potts- ville, appointed Jan. 11, 1825, served until succeeded by George Taylor, who was appointed June 7, 1825, and died there (at one time he owned most of the land upon which the borough of Cressona now stands, and he sold a valu- able farm there to the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company) ; James, who died in Pottsville; Samuel; John, deceased at Pottsville, who was the grandfather of H. 1. Silliman, well known in that borough and all over Schuyl- kill county as editor of the Tamaqua Evening Courier and Pottsville Journal; Nancy, who married Jeremiah Kirk, and died in Pottsville; Susan, Mrs. Fister ; and Jane, who died unmarried.
Samuel Sillyman, son of James, was born Sept. 26, 1797, at Hamburg, Berks Co., Pa., and came to Pottsville to live in 1825. In 1820 he and his three brothers, Thomas, James and John, had been engaged in this region as contractors in the construction of the turnpikes between Reading and Sunbury. Following the completion of this work they turned their attention to the tim- ber business for a time, later acquiring extensive interests as mine operators. They were among the pioneers in that line in the local field, opening the mines on the "America" tract at Pottsville. Samuel Sillyman followed the mercantile business at Pottsville for a number of years, being associated in that line with his brother Thomas and with George Fister, and was highly successful. However, from 1839 until his death he devoted practically all his energies to the coal business, and he started a number of profitable collieries, and was owner or part owner of several of the best paying properties in the Schuylkill district. The Bear Ridge tract, in the Schuylkill valley, the Saint Clair shaft, Crow Hollow, and collieries at Middleport, Patterson and Tus- carora, were all included in the good producers he operated. But he shared the common fate of coal operators in meeting with heavy losses, though it was characteristic with him that financial reverses even more than prosperity served to bring to the surface the true worth of the man. He could meet adversity bravely, and apropos of this we quote a sentence from his obituary : "In this emergency his prominent characteristics stood out in bold relief, and that honesty, not of policy but in principle, which had marked his entire life, gained its appreciative admiration in the spontaneous expressions of regret for his misfortunes which came from all who knew him." Such was the esteem in which he was held by those well able to judge him. At one time Mr. Silly- man was a large landowner at Pottsville.
Mr. Sillyman was always looked up to as a trustworthy adviser, and in numerous instances the weight of his approval alone was sufficient to win the confidence of investors and the public in enterprises which needed their sup- port. No act of his ever caused a reversal of this opinion, the unquestioned honesty marking all his own transactions proclaiming his principles plainly. His success was based upon continued perseverance and activity, coupled with the application of sound methods, and not the result of sharp practices or the manipulating of unfair advantages. Mr. Sillyman endeavored to use his wealth wisely and unselfishly. A number of men who attained prosperous position were kept on their feet during their early struggles by the financial
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assistance he extended, and his wise counsel was always to be had for the asking. The worthy poor, also, the unfortunate of all classes, found in him a friend whose sympathy took the most practical turn, his generosity relieving the distress of many a family. In expression of public spirit he was excelled by none. He understood the value of fostering high ideals and setting up worthy standards, whatever the undertaking, and thus the material growth of the town bore the impress of his good judgment. The town hall was erected under his superintendence ; he was a prominent member of the building com- mittee in charge of the construction of the Schuylkill county courthouse ; sev- eral of the largest hotels, and a number of stores, offices and private residences, including many of the most creditable structures of the day, were erected through his encouragement and set an example for the future which is still in effect. He was one of the first to agitate the erection of the Henry Clay monument at Pottsville, the first Clay monument erected in the country, and himself contributed over three thousand dollars to the fund, the largest single donation. He was one of the prime movers in securing the removal of the county seat from Orwigsburg to Pottsville. Mr. Sillyman was the first captain of the local military company, having been commissioned captain of the Pottsville Guards, Volunteer Infantry, Aug. 3, 1828; he resigned this com- mission in 1831. His support was never withheld from any good cause. In all his intercourse with his fellowmen he so won their affection as well as respect that it was truly said he had many friends and no enemies. About four years before his demise the citizens of Pottsville gave him a public dinner, for the purpose of expressing appreciation of his value as a citizen, and pre- sented him a handsome service of plate.
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