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 45
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Dr. Dirschedl married Laura W. Thomas, daughter of Prof. William S. Thomas, of St. Clair, Schuylkill county, whose family consisted of three chil- dren: Fannie married Harold Schum, of Pittsburgh, Pa .; Lucy married Horace Priest, of Pottsville ; Laura W., Mrs. Dirsched], received her education in the public schools and at the Millersville State Normal School, from which she was graduated in 1900. Dr. and Mrs. Dirschedl have two children, William Thomas and Mary Louise.
R. BRUCE CLAYTON has been closely associated with the administration of municipal affairs in Ashland for many years, his work in the various posi- tions of trust to which he has been chosen justifying the oft repeated honors he has received at the hands of his fellow citizens. A native and lifelong resident of the borough, his interest has been public-spirited and his efforts have been thoroughly loyal, showing a sentiment highly creditable to him. Mr. Clayton is a grandson of William Clayton, who was a pioneer of Columbia county, Pennsylvania.
Nelson Clayton, the father of R. Bruce Clayton, was born at Catawissa, Columbia county, and lived at Ashland, Schuylkill Co., Pa., from 1853 to the end of his life. By trade he was a carpenter, but after coming to Ashland he was engaged in business for several years, establishing a flour and feed store, which he carried on until 1859. Thereafter he was employed at his trade until his death, which occurred in 1878. At one time he served as assessor of Ashland. He married Mary Jane Zarr, a native of Union county, Pa., daughter of Benjamin Zarr, who was a pioneer of Union county; he was a hatter by trade. The Zarr family eventually moved to Catawissa, Columbia Co., Pa., where Mrs. Clayton's parents died. Mrs. Clayton, now (1914) eighty- three years of age, is living in Philadelphia with two of her daughters. She is the mother of five children, of whom R. Bruce is the eldest ; Winfield Scott died about 1860; Laura is the wife of E. P. Meiswinkle, of Philadelphia ; Cora B. is the wife of Brainerd Webb, of Philadelphia; Harriet M. is the wife of Harry K. Buchanan, of Lanark, Pennsylvania.
R. Bruce Clayton was born at Ashland Dec. 13, 1854, the winter of deep snow. His education was acquired in the public schools there, and when
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a youth he began to learn the trade of machinist in the machine shop of M. Garner. He followed the trade for twenty-five years in all as apprentice, journeyman and foreman, giving it up to assume the duties of postmaster of Ashland, to which important position he was appointed in 1897. He served nine years, being succeeded by Mrs. Patterson. He has since been chosen to other positions in the public service, having been inspector of the streets for some time, and for the last four years he has been sealer of weights and measures. Especially interested in promoting the public school efficiency of Ashland, he has been a member of the school board for eleven years, and for seven years secretary of that body. His work in this connection has been valuable and worthy of the appreciation it has received.
In 1878 Mr. Clayton was united in marriage with Matilda A. Kintzle, who was born in Bernville, Berks Co., Pa., daughter of John L. and Rosanna (Sheets) Kintzle, and granddaughter of Henry and Sarah (Boyer) Kintzle, who were early residents of Berks county. The family is of German ancestry. Mrs. Clayton's grandparents removed to Port Clinton, Schuylkill Co., Pa., and died there. Mrs. Clayton's maternal grandfather was also an early resident of Berks county. Mr. and Mrs. John L. Kintzle emigrated to the West and passed the remainder of their lives there, his death occurring in 1897, hers in 1911. Of their family of four children William, the eldest, is now a resident of Freeport, Ill .; Naomi is deceased ; Matilda A. is the wife of R. Bruce Clay- ton ; Anna is married to George Gheen, of Kansas City, Missouri.
Three children, all sons, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clayton: Nelson lives at Pottsville and is at present superintendent of the Pottsville Water Company ; he married Sarah Evans, of Ashland, Pa., and they have three children, Bruce Samuel, Sarah Dorothy and Nelson John. Robert Bruce, now living at Sonman, Cambria Co., Pa., married Gertrude Greshman, of Ashland ; they have no children. William R., who lives at Ashland, married Mariam Faust, of Reading, Pa., and they have one child, Thelma.
Mr. Clayton and his wife and family are members of the Lutheran Church at Ashland. He has made many friends in his various social connections, being a member of Ashland Lodge, No. 294, F. & A. M. (which he has served as secretary ) ; of Griscom Chapter, No. 219, R. A. M .; of Ashland Lodge, No. 384, B. P. O. Elks (he is serving as trustee of same) ; of Prince of Peace Commandery, No. 39, K. T .; of Camp No. 84, P. O. S. of A. (in which his membership dates from 1871) ; and of the Royal Arcanum.
ABRAHAM L. ECKERT is a prosperous business man of Pottsville and a member of the present city council. He was one of the most active workers in securing the system of municipal government now in operation, and his public-spirited efforts in that direction have given him a high place in the gratitude of his fellow citizens. Mr. Eckert was born in Pottsville April 28, 1862, son of Josiah Eckert, who lived and died here. His death occurred when he was forty-six years old, and he is buried at Schuylkill Haven. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Bowman, died when fifty-one years old. Abra- ham L. is the only surviving child of their family.
Abraham L. Eckert attended public school in Pottsville and began work there as errand boy for Jacob Ulmer, the packer. After four years in his employ he learned steam and pipe fitting, following that work for about six years. At the end of that period he went to Florida, where he started an orange grove, and after it was destroyed by frost he spent two years assisting in the
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construction of the well known "Tampa Bay" hotel. After seven years in Florida he returned to Pottsville, where he embarked in the tea and coffee business, carrying it on for about six years. When the Spanish-American war broke out he enlisted in Company H, Pennsylvania Volunteers, serving for eleven months. Coming back to Pottsville again, he was engaged as solicitor for the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pa., continuing this work for four years. In 1902 he bought out the business of the Pottsville Ice Company, owned by James Green, and is now conducting same under his own name, dealing in coal and wood as well as ice. He has built up a large trade, keeping three teams constantly employed, and the satisfactory service which he has endeavored to render to all his patrons has held old customers and attracted many new ones. Mr. Eckert has been very keenly interested in the welfare of his home town, and of late has been particularly active as president of the City Charter Association, to whose objects he has given a great deal of his time, his reward being in the thorough success of the plans for the im- provement of local government. In November, 1913, he was elected a council- man, and is also acting as superintendent of public safety. Mr. Eckert is a prominent member of the Merchants' Association, and has been appointed State organizer of same. Politically he is independent of party ties, supporting the men and ideas he considers best adapted to achieve the best results in working for the general good. He is noted for absolute fearlessness in the exposition and defense of his convictions, by which he will stand regardless of cost. While in Florida he was one of five men who organized the first and only Republican association ever formed in Citrus county.
Mr. Eckert is a member of the I. O. O. F. (both lodge and encampment), the P. O. S. of A., the Order of Independent Americans and the Spanish- American War Veterans, in the latter connection belonging to Theodore F. Hoffman Camp, of which he was the first commander. He is a past com- mander of the United Spanish-American War Veterans.
Mr. Eckert was married to Ruth Harrington, daughter of Caleb and Margaret Harrington, and the four children born to this union are: Ruth, Nelson, Harrington and Iva. Mr. Eckert and his family are members of the Methodist Church in religious connection.
PERRY W. FEGLEY, of Orwigsburg, has been a member of the A. E. Brown Shoe Company throughout the period of its existence. A man of notable ability, strength of character and with no disposition to shirk the responsibili- ties of life, he has devoted himself sincerely to the upbuilding of every under- taking with which he has become associated, and the record of his useful service stamps him as one of the most valuable citizens of the borough. His often tried ability has made him a desirable coworker in movements de- signed for the common benefit, and he has never failed his associates in the numerous enterprises with which he has been identified.
The Fegley family has long been settled in Pennsylvania, Bernhard Fegley, the first of the name in this country, coming from Switzerland at an early date. He first located in Montgomery county, Pa., near Greenville, but died in Longswamp township, Berks county, in 1782. Little is known of his son, Peter Fegley, the progenitor of a large family in Berks county, except that he was born in Montgomery county and settled in Douglass township, that county, induced by the fact that his uncle (a brother of Bernhard) had made a permanent settlement there. Some members of the Fegley family write the
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name "Bird," the English version of the original name, and others "Vogel" or "Fogel." There are descendants of Peter Fegley living in New Jersey who use the English form.
Abraham Fegley, the grandfather of Perry W. Fegley, was born in Long- swamp township, Berks county, and was an early settler in the vicinity of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill county, making his home on the farm later known as the Martin Schaeffer place. There he followed farming all his active life, spending his closing years in retirement at Orwisburg, where he died in 1874. In December, 1813, he married Sohna Berger, and three children were born to them, two sons and one daughter, Charles, Nathan and Amanda. By his second marriage Abraham Fegley had two children, Reuben and Daniel.
Charles Fegley, son of Abraham, was born Sept. 4, 1814, in Longswamp township, Berks county. Moving with his father to the neighborhood of Orwigsburg, he passed his early life there, being reared to farming, which he continued to follow until the spring of 1839, cultivating the place in East Brunswick township. At that time he traded his farm for a boat, the "Jenny Lind," which he operated on the Philadelphia & Schuylkill canal until 1862. For the next ten years he was engaged in mine contracting in the Schuylkill coal region, and then located at Pottsville, where he was in the employ of the Reading Company. After a short residence there he settled at Orwigsburg, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred in 1898 in his eighty- fourth year. He was twice married, his second wife being Lovenia Hoffman, whom he married Dec. 24, 1849. Two children were born to this union, Henry C. and Perry W .; the former, born Jan. 20, 1852, graduated from Jeffer- son Medical College in March, 1877, and located at Ashland, where he had acquired a large practice at the time of his death, May 28, 1888, when he was thirty-six years old. The father was a member of the Democratic party, and belonged to the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Fegley died Aug. 3, 1902, at the age of eighty-four years. She was born April 26, 1818, daughter of Jacob Hoff- man, and a descendant of a family of German lineage of Halle, Prussia, which has been prominent in the medical profession since 1460. Its foremost member, Frederick Hoffman (1660-1742), was one of the founders of the Halle University in 1693, and its first professor of practice of medicine, which position he held until the time of his death, with the exception of four years (1708-1712) which he passed in Berlin as the royal physician. His grandson, Cornelius, having taken up his residence in Switzerland, emigrated to the Colonies in 1768, locating on the Schuylkill below the present site of Pottstown, from which place he entered the service of his adopted country as a captain in Colonel Magraw's 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, 2d Brigade, in 1776, and was with Washington on that memorable night when he crossed the Delaware river and surprised and captured the Hessians at Trenton. After the close of the war for independence, in 1783, he was mustered out of the service, took up his residence in Brunswick township, in what was then Berks county, at the present site of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill county, and followed farming the re- mainder of his days. His son, Jacob, retaining possession of the homestead, married Kate Benninger, and was the father of Mrs. Fegley.
Perry W. Fegley was born May 8. 1855, at Orwigsburg, Schuylkill county, and obtained his education in the public schools there. When a youth of six- teen, in the spring of 1871, he began an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, but as he did not care for the work he gave it up in October, and went to learn tinsmithing, which he followed until June, 1873. His next change was to
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the shoe business, with which he has ever since been connected. After serving a three years' apprenticeship with the Orwigsburg Shoe Manufacturing Com- pany, he was promoted to a foremanship in the factory, which he held until 1884, the year the firm of A. E. Brown & Company was formed. He became one of the partners when the concern was incorporated in 1910 as the A. E. Brown Shoe Company, and Mr. Fegley was elected president. When A. E. Brown died, his brother, Frank Brown, had his interest, and he is now secretary and treasurer of the company. Mr. Fegley has always acted as factory superintendent, and has the general oversight of the output, and his influence is felt in every department of the plant. The business is housed in a building 40 by 80 feet in dimensions, and from fifty-five to seventy-five hands are employed regularly. He is a director of the Schuylkill Haven Trust Company.
Though Mr. Fegley has been untiring in his devotion to the development of his business interests he has been equally solicitous for the general welfare and has done a good citizen's share in promoting the best interests of the town. He has always had the courage of his convictions in supporting untried but promising enterprises, and his good judgment has been proved on many occasions. In 1884 he was one of the most earnest advocates of the project to supply the town with water from the mountain reservoir, and though there was great opposition to the plan at first persevered until he had enough sup- port to insure its success. He has been a member of the school board, and was serving in that capacity when the first new school building was erected. For three terms he was a member of the borough council, in which body he gave the same efficient service which has characterized him in every relation.
Mr. Fegley and his family are all members of the Lutheran denomination, and he is a leading member of St. John's Church, having served as trustee from 1890 until 1896. In 1892, when the congregation decided to erect a new house of worship, Mr. Fegley became chairman of the building committee, and to his untiring efforts throughout the work of construction is due much of the credit for the beautiful Gothic brick church, which is one of the struc- tures that are a matter of pride to the borough. Mr. Fegley is a Republican in politics, and socially he holds membership in Bethel Commandery, No. 319, Knights of Malta; Industrial Council, No. 437, Order of Independent Amer- icans (of which he is a charter member) ; and Washington Camp No. 86, P. O. S. of A.
On Oct. 31, 1875, Mr. Fegley was united in marriage with Isadore Thorn, daughter of Theodore and Sarah (Richards) Thorn. Mrs. Fegley is a native of Pennsylvania. Seven children have been born to this union: Theodore C., born July 2, 1876, is a practicing physician located at Tremont, Schuylkill county ; Mabel Lavinia, born July 22, 1877, is the wife of Joseph M. Lam- bruskini, of Somerville, N. J., and has two children, Philip and Isadora ; Lillie, born May 26, 1886, is the wife of John J. Jacobs, of Orwigsburg ; Hilda, born July 14, 1887, formerly a teacher in Schuylkill county, is now the wife of Benjamin F. Rahn, and lives at Bath, Pa .; Perry W., Jr., born July 2, 1892, died at the age of eight years ; Harry G., born September, 1894, is a medical student at Philadelphia ; Paul Gerald, born in 1898, is attending school at East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
REV. JOHN DUMCIUS (Dumchus is the English form of the name) is at present in charge of the Lithuanian parish of St. Francis, at Minersville,
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which belongs to the diocese of Philadelphia. This parish was founded the year 1895, up to which time it formed a part of the German parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which originally included the Lithuanians, Poles, Slavs and Italians of the Catholic faith at Minersville and surrounding places, among them St. Clair and Pottsville. The parish is now made up of Lithuanians exclusively. The first church of this parish was being built at the corner of Laurel, Third and Line streets, on a leased lot belonging to the Reading Coal & Iron Company, when the site and building were judged not acceptable to all the parishioners and discussion arose over the matter in the congregation. Then an old Protestant Church on Third street was purchased and dedicated as a temporary place of worship for the Lithuanians. In 1906 a new lot was bought, comprising three acres of ground, which belonged to the Heisters' estate, for which $2,700 was paid. In 1910 the basement of a new church was constructed thereon, at a cost of $16,000, and the old church building was sold for $3,000. The present value of the church property is placed at $35,000, and there is a debt on it of $6,000. The rectory was built in 1907, while Rev. Vincent Dargis was rector. It is a frame building, cost $7,500, and is free of debt.
The first rector of the parish, Rev. Venceslaus Matutaitis, served from August, 1895, to January, 1899. Then as a mission it was under the charge of Rev. Albinas Kaminskas, rector of the Sacred Heart Church, New Philadel- phia, Pa., from January, 1899, to November, 1902, when Rev. V. Dargis was appointed regular pastor. He continued in charge here until Jan. 22, 1909, when he was called to New Philadelphia and succeeded by Rev. John Dumcius, who remained until May 25, 1910. Rev. Peter Abromaitis was then appointed rector, and after his death, which occurred in March, 1911, Rev. John Dumcius was again appointed. He has continued there since, laboring devotedly in the interest of the congregation. At the beginning there were only about 450 souls in the parish. The increase by natural growth and immigration has brought the number up to 2,500. There are a number of societies affiliated with the parish, well supported: St. George's, with 181 members; St. Vincent, 175: St. Francis, 76; St. Abinus, 45; Citizen, 85; St. Casimir's Soldiers, 52; SS. Peter and Paul, 67 ; Women's Sodality-Rosary, 90; two girls' sodalities, 45 ; Lithuanian Roman Catholic Alliance of America, one group, 256. There is one nun from this parish, Ursula Stemplis.
Rev. John Dumcius is a native of Lithuania, Russia, born Nov. 10, 1870, at Mockupia, Sintautai, Suwalki. He took a course in the gymnasium at Mariam- pol, and pursued his theological studies in the seminary at Seiny, graduating May 27, 1893. After twelve years as assistant in Lithuania he came to America, arriving Oct. 8, 1905, and for three years was rector at St. George's, Philadelphia. On Jan. 22, 1909, he became rector of St. Francis' parish at Minersville, Pa., in May, 1910, being transferred to Girardville, Schuylkill county, where he officiated for ten months, returning to his old charge in 1911. In addition to the immediate duties of the parish he has charge of the mission at St. Clair, with about 120 families, and of that at Reading, with about thirty-five families, attending each once a month. During his pastorate he has confirmed 200 annually, baptized 160, and performed thirty marriage ceremonies.
OSCAR D. PETERY, of Orwigsburg, has been an influential resident of his section of Schuylkill county for many years, his long service as an educator
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bringing him into touch with its citizens from all classes. Of late years he has devoted himself to business, and at present is also filling the office of justice of the peace, this being his second term.
Mr. Petery is a native of Pottsville, Schuylkill county, and a member of the fourth generation of his family in this country. His great-grandparents came from Alsace Lorraine, then provinces of France, and his great-grand- father was a year on the ocean because the vessel could not land on account of storms. The great-grandmother followed him to America with the chil- dren, but her husband had died in the meantime, so she had to struggle to raise her family.
Mr. Petery's grandfather was born in Lancaster county, Pa., and is buried in Wheeling, W. Va., where he had gone to look for a place to settle. He took sick and died while there. His companion, who is unknown, deserted him while he was sick and came East. So his widow was left also to raise her children, Edward, Francis and Jacob F. For a while she lived in Lancaster county, and for some time collected toll at one of the gates near Reamstown.
Jacob F. Petery, father of Oscar D. Petery, was born April 18, 1822, at Reamstown, and when a young man went to Millersburg, Berks Co., Pa., where he married a Miss Ressler. She died there not many years afterwards. Subse- quently Mr. Petery engaged with a cattle dealer to drive some stock over the mountains into Schuylkill county, and he started out with only fifty cents in his pocket. He settled in this county, his first location being at Tamaqua, where he was employed as a clerk, and later he was similarly engaged in a store at East Mines for some time. Thence he removed to Pottsville, where he was in the employ of Benjamin Haywood, the well known ironmaster, with whom he remained for twenty-five years in the capacity of chief clerk. Subse- quently he was engaged for some time with the Reading Company, at the Palo Alto Rolling Mills, as clerk. He died in Pottsville Oct. 2, 1901, and he is buried in the cemetery of St. John's Reformed Church at Orwigsburg. By his first marriage Mr. Petery had two children, one that died in infancy and Henry. His second marriage was to Louisa Boyer, who was born Nov. 24, 1834, at McKeansburg, Pa., daughter of Samuel Boyer, and died Jan. 21, 1897. She is buried with her husband in St. John's cemetery. They were the parents of six children: Horace C., who is deceased; Oscar D .; Dr. William E., a physician, of Philadelphia, Pa .; Ida E .; Clara A .; and Bertha M.
Mrs. Petery's grandfather, Henry Boyer, married Barbary (Bevy) Ben- singer, daughter of Fritz Bensinger, who was one of four brothers, Fritz, Michael, Frank and Benjamin. Samuel Boyer, Mrs. Petery's father, married Salome Lutz, daughter of Henry and Betsy (Schwatz) Lutz, the latter a daugh- ter of Jacob Schwatz.
Qscar D. Petery was born May 13, 1856, at Pottsville, where he attended public school. Later he became a student in the Keystone State Normal School, at Kutztown, Berks county, from which institution he was graduated, and he was subsequently a member of the faculty for two spring terms. He then returned to Schuylkill county, where he followed teaching for a period of thirty-three years, twenty-three of which were spent at Orwigsburg. In recent years Mr. Petery has given the principal part of his time to the business of coal washing on the Schuylkill river, near Landingville. In 1906 he was elected a justice of the peace, and five years later was re-elected. He also represents a number of insurance companies.
All activities of the borough have had the co-operation of Professor Petery.
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He was one of the organizers of the Keystone Club, of which he is secretary ; is a member of the Independent Americans and of the Sons of America ; and is also a Mason, being a member and past master of Schuylkill Lodge, No. 138, F. & A. M., of which he is secretary at present. He is a member of the hose company and of the Orwigsburg Band. His religious connection is with the Reformed Church, and in politics he has been identified with the Republican party. His efficient assistance and intelligent counsel are valued in all these associations.
Professor Petery married Kate Koch, daughter of Abraham Koch, of New Ringgold, this county, and six children were born to this marriage, four of whom are living: Marion K., Laura K., Edna K. and Dorothy C. The mother of this family died Oct. 31, 1908, and Mr. Petery has since married (second) Mrs. Ella Irish. There are no children by this tinion.
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