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 65
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Prof. Ehrhart was an adherent of the First M. E. Church of Mahanoy City, and always a man of deep religious feeling which pervaded every inter- est of his life. The fine sentiments of friendship and appreciation of which he was capable were well shown in the memorial address he prepared for the Schuylkill County Institute upon the death of his beloved associate, Rob- ert Forbes Ditchburn (it was read by a friend, Prof. Ehrhart being too ill to deliver it). They labored together along the same line for over forty years. It was a tribute such as only a personal intimate friend could give, and ex- pressed with the delicacy of thought and language which Mr. Ehrhart emploved so well. Indeed, though he confined his remarks to his departed friend, they were so typical that in perusing them the mind unconsciously goes to the mirror which had the power to reflect so faithfully.
In the latter part of the Civil war, March, 1865, Mr. Ehrhart, though only a youth of seventeen, enlisted in Company G, 149th Pennsylvania Regiment, Volunteer Infantry, and he remained in the army until the close of the conflict, receiving his discharge in June. On June 24, 1897, he became a member of Severn Post, G. A. R., and he also belonged to Wash- ington Camp No. 112, P. O. S. of A. In politics he was a. stanch Republican.
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Prof. Ehrhart is survived by his wife and only child, Raymond Nelson Ehr- hart. He was married Sept. 11, 1877, to Julia C. Whitenight, daughter of D. E. and Catharine (Aurand) Whitenight, of Tamaqua, this county, and to them a son, Raymond Nelson, was born April 18, 1879.
On the maternal side Mrs. Ehrhart traces her genealogy back to the Huguenots of France, and in fact to the thirteenth century. Her mother was of French extraction, the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Aurand, of Tamaqua, Pa. The Aurand ancestors were eminent French Huguenots, hav- ing occupied positions of rank, and fled from France during the religious troubles consequent upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV, 1685. Leaving all behind them, they fled to Hol- land, and later removed to the city of Heidelberg, Germany. The ances- tor of the American branch, Jolin Aurand, emigrated to America on the 2d day of October. 1753, on the ship "Edensburg," from Rotterdam. He first settled at Maiden-creek, and then moved to Tulpehocken, amongst the Huguenot colony, near Reading, Pa., where most of his children were born.
RAYMOND NELSON EHRHART is a graduate of Cornell University, at Ithaca, N. Y., in electrical and mechanical engineering, and now turbine expert, and one of the head engineers, for the Westinghouse Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. He married the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Hopkins, of Huntingdon county, Pa. Mr. Hopkins was a commissioned officer in the 10th Pennsyl- vania Volunteers. Mr. and Mrs. Ehrhart make their home in Edgewood Park, a beautiful suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
CLEMENT B. GLUNZ, of Norwegian township, well known all over Schuylkill county as "Barney" Glunz, is following farming according to ap- proved modern ideas and has been successful in several branches of agricul- ture. Moreover, his fellow citizens long ago recognized the business ability under which his own interests prospered and turned it to good account by calling him into the public service, in which his work was no disappointment. His record as a useful member of the community is highly creditable.
Mr. Glunz was born at Pottsville, this county, Sept. 15, 1854, son of Ber- nard Glunz, and is of German extraction, his father having been a native of Westphalia, Germany. Bernard Glunz was a well-to-do merchant in Berlin, Germany; but having decided to try his fortune in the United States sold out his store and in the spring of 1848 came to America with his wife, Calenia (Feindt). They settled at Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., where for a short time he was in the employ of Benjamin Pott. Then he resumed merchandis- ing, having his store and home at the corner of Eleventh and. Market streets, Pottsville, where all his children were born. His enterprise and obliging methods attracted customers, and he carried on his business successfully for many years, until he retired from active life in 1874. As he prospered Mr. Glunz invested in property in Schuylkill county, purchasing a farm in Blythe township which he operated while carrying on his store, and he also owned the farm in Norwegian township now occupied by his son Barney Glunz. Ber- nard Glunz died in 1887, and is buried in the German Catholic cemetery ( No. 3) at Pottsville. He was the father of the following children: Charles, de- ceased; Frank, deceased; Henry, now residing with Thomas H. Wardle at Eighth and Grant streets, Pottsville (during the Civil war he served as a mem- ber of the 194th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and he receives a pension) ; Clement B .; Herman, living at Pottsville; and George, who died in infancy.
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Clement B. Glunz was reared and educated at Pottsville. He assisted his father in the store until sixteen years old, since when he has lived and worked on the farm in Norwegian township, which he now owns, and whose develop- ment has been accomplished entirely under his care-much of it the work of his own hands. With the help of Eli Lord he cleared the land and prepared it for cultivation, Mr. Lord building the first log house and barn for Mr. Glunz's use. Several years later the latter erected another, more pretentious dwelling, to which in the year 1905 he made an addition, and the house and surroundings have been kept in such excellent condition that his residence is one of the most modern and attractive in the neighborhood. Though most of his land is given over to farming he has made a specialty of truck raising and dairying, and his products are in steady demand in the Pottsville markets, which he has attended for years. He has been very successful, and not only owns his home farm but another in Blythe township, in the Tumbling Run valley. His progressive agri- cultural methods and efficient public service have made him well known all over the county. For twenty years he served as tax collector and township treas- urer, and also as member of the school board, giving the highest satisfaction by his intelligent and conscientious performance of the duties of all these positions.
Mr. Glunz married Josephine Kramer, daughter of Christian and Appolonia (Stegmeier) Kramer, and she died May 16, 1907, the mother of a large family : Barney lives at home; George died in infancy ; Theresa married Robert Organ, who had a gold mine at Nevada City, Cal., where they reside; Charles, a clerk in the Pottsville post office, who married Catherine Hohman ; Mamie, wife of Leo Lotz, a well known grocer of Pottsville; Emma, at home; William, who died when twelve years old; Frank, living at home; Clemens A., also living at home, who married Julia Klare, daughter of Henry and Alice ( Sullivan ) Klare; Berthilla, at home; Alberta, at home; Vincent, who died in infancy : and Dorothy, at home. The family belong to the Catholic Church.
SAMUEL DEWALD, tax collector and supervisor of the borough of Auburn, and an old-time railroad man, was born in North Manheim township, Schuylkill county, Jan. 13, 1853, and is a son of Edward Dewald. The family is of German ancestry.
Edward Dewald was a farmer by training, but spent many years as a boat- man on the Schuylkill Navigation Company's canal. While he was chopping wood for the company upon the farm of his son-in-law, Benjamin Dewald, he was suddenly stricken with a fatal illness, his body being found some time later by the family. He married Catherine Steinbach, who was born Jan. 1, 1823, and died April 25, 1895, from the effects of an injury in a railroad acci- dent. She was a daughter of Philip Steinbach. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Dewald were as follows: Sarah, deceased, married Benjamin Dewald; Abra- ham married Kate Schoener: Benjamin married Hannah Becker; Samuel is mentioned below; Mildred married Amadeus Miller; Edward married Ida Rollman; George married Emma Miller; John married Mary Bartlett. Mr. and Mrs. Dewald were members of the Summerhill Evangelical Lutheran Church, and both are buried in the cemetery near St. John's Church, Auburn, Pennsylvania.
Samuel Dewald was educated in the schools of South and North Manheim townships, and early became a boatman on the canal. For a time he was a sta-
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tion driver, and then when the telegraph was introduced on the canal he became an operator. From there he went to work on the Schuylkill & Susquehanna railroad as a brakeman on the Broad Mountain line, putting in the empty cars and taking away the loaded ones. Then he went to Auburn to work on the main line of the Reading road. The total time he served as a railroader was twenty-seven years, divided as follows: Brakeman, eight years; conductor on coal trains, four years; fireman, four years; engineer, eleven years. When he retired from railroad work he opened a bakery at Auburn, conducted it for twelve years, and in 1909 sold out to his son Irwin. Mr. Dewald is now serv- ing the borough of Auburn as tax collector and supervisor, having held the former office for fourteen years, and the latter office for four years.
Samuel Dewald was married to Emmaline Bachert, who was born July II, 1852, in Drehersville, Schuylkill county, daughter of Nicholas and Sarah (Kramer) Bachert. By this union there were three children: Morris, born Sept. 17, 1872; Irwin, born Sept. 2, 1875, who married Estella Augusta Meck ; and Carrie, born Feb. 28, 1878, married to Charles Huntzinger, a railroad man, of Auburn. Mrs. Dewald died, and is buried in St. John's cemetery, Auburn. Mr. Dewald married for his second wife Sabina Bachert, who was born Oct. 27, 1868, in Pine Grove township, and is a sister of his first wife. To this union have been born four children: Frederick, born Nov. 17, 1890, died Oct. 29, 1906; Edith Catherine, born Jan. 9, 1893, died Sept. 22, 1893; Leroy Samuel was born Feb. 18, 1894; Raymond Edward, born Jan. 21, 1900, died Aug. 9, 1900.
Mr. Dewald is a Republican, and previous to taking his present positions had served as school director of Auburn for three years. He is a member of Washington Camp, No. 45, P. O. S. of A., and of Auburn Castle, No. 168, Knights of the Golden Eagle, in the latter being a past chief and keeper of the exchequer, which position he has filled for the last twenty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Dewald are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Auburn.
Mrs. Sabina (Bachert) Dewald, wife of Samuel Dewald, is the daughter of Nicholas Bachert and granddaughter of Philip Bachert. Her great-grand- father Bachert was a Huguenot, and emigrated from France to Philadelphia, settling later in the lower part of Berks county, Pa., where he worked as a farm laborer.
Philip Bachert, the grandfather, was also a farmer, and resided most of his life in Schuylkill county. He is buried at Pine Grove, that county, while his wife is buried at Schuylkill Haven. Their children were: Louisa, wife of Abraham Dry, residing at Minersville; Michael, who married (first) Hannalı Rishel and (second) Lydia Rishiel; and Nicholas, father of Mrs. Dewald.
Nicholas Bachert was born Jan. 14, 1824, in Northumberland county, Pa. He was a farmer and miller, and once owned a farm in Pine Grove township, Schuylkill county. He worked in Batdorf's mill in Pine Grove township, then moving to Auburn, where he worked for a time in Moyer's gristmill, which was later bought by the Auburn Brick Company. He then retired and lived with his son-in-law until his death, which occurred Nov. 19, 1913, his remains being laid to rest in the Pine Grove cemetery. He was an Odd Fellow and a member of the Reformed Church. Mr. Bachert was married to Sarah Kramer, a daughter of Isaac and Mary (Riegel) Kramer, and they had the following chil- dren : Sabilla, born April 10, 1847, married Henry Strausser, who is deceased ; William, born Aug. 30, 1849, married Mary Koch, and both are deceased;
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Emmaline, born July 11, 1852, was the first wife of Samuel Dewald; Mary Ann, born Jan. 17, 1855, married Henry Luckenbill; George Washington, born March 28, 1857, lives in Wyoming; Elizabeth Catherine, born Sept. 20, 1859, died at the age of seventeen years ; Christianne, deceased, born May 14, 1861, married Joshua Christ; Amanda Jane, born May 28, 1865, married Jeremiah Zimmerman; Sabina, born Oct. 27, 1868, became the second wife of Samuel Dewald; Catherine Drusilla, born June 25, 1872, married Abram Fromm.
Isaac Kramer, maternal grandfather of Mrs. Dewald, was a laborer, and lived the greater portion of his life in Drehersville, Pa. He was married to Mary Riegel, and they had the following children: Joseph, Samuel and Sarah.
PHILIP H. UPDEGRAVE, of Valley View, is now engaged in agricul- tural pursuits and has been especially successful as a fruit grower. The fam- ily has long been settled in this section of Schuylkill county, Henry Updegrave, the grandfather of Philip H. Updegrave, having been an early resident of Hub- ley township, where he lived and died. By trade he was a shoemaker, and he also farmed, owning land in Hubley township.
John R. Updegrave was born Feb. 3. 1830, in Hubley township, and lived there until after his marriage, when he removed to Valley View, of which place he was a respected citizen. He learned his father's trade, shoemaking, and fol- lowed it. During the emergency days of the Civil war, in 1863, he entered the Union army, and was returning home after ten months' service when accident- ally killed. His body was buried in Hegins township. In Hubley township he was married to Elizabeth Artz, who was born in that township, where her father, Michael Artz, lived and died; he followed farming. Mrs. Updegrave died Sept. 18, 1891, at Valley View, and is buried in the Sacramento cemetery, in Schuylkill county. Of the five children born to her marriage with Mr. Upde- grave Philip H. is the eldest ; Daniel is deceased; Aaron is deceased; Fietta is the widow of D. D. Underkofler, and resides at Williamstown, Dauphin Co., Pa .; Salome died in infancy.
Philip H. Updegrave was born in 1853 at Valley View, and was reared at that place, where he obtained most of his schooling. He attended the State Normal School at Bloomsburg until promoted for graduation, studied for a time at the Kutztown Academy, and also in the State Normal school at Ship- pensburg, Pa., and meantime began teaching, which profession he followed altogether fourteen terms, in Porter and Hegins townships. He also did con- siderable work as a surveyor for the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company, assisting in the survey of their coal and iron lands, and it was through the influence of Preston Miller, chief civil engineer for that company, that he turned his attention to farming, which he has followed ever since. By per- severing thrift he has done well in general agriculture, and he has gradually ·made fruit culture his specialty. The work is arduous, but well worth while with markets so convenient and sure, and Mr. Updegrave is making the most of his opportunities. He commenced farming in 1877, when he bought the farm previously owned by Reuben Huntzinger, containing seventy-five acres. Later on he bought additional land, and now owns one of the best fruit farms in Schuylkill county. Mr. Updegrave has proved a valuable official of Hegins township, having been elected to the offices of assessor, school director and clerk, in all of which he has given services of a high order. His earlier experi-
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ence as a teacher has fitted him for particularly competent work on the school board.
In 1877 Mr. Updegrave married Amelia Daniel, a native of Valley View, daughter of David and Lucy (Coleman) Daniel, both of Valley View. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Updegrave, Lillie, the eldest, is the wife of C. E. Snyder, of Valley View; Edna D. is the wife of E. J. Henninger, prin- cipal of school at Pine Grove, this county; Maud is the wife of Milton Schucker, of Valley View; John R. died in infancy ; Charles R. is a farmer at Valley View ; one son was stillborn. The mother of this family died in 1904, and Mr. Updegrave married (second), in 1906, Mrs. Matilda Zerbe, daughter of Benjamin Koppenhaver. Mrs. Updegrave formerly lived in Northumber .- land county, this State, later at Tower City, Schuylkill county. Mr. Updegrave is a member of the United Brethren Church, his wife of the Lutheran Church. He belongs to the Grange at Hegins.
ELMER WOOMER, of West Penn township, is one of a family of thrifty agriculturists who have done their part in developing its resources. Though he has been farming only a few years he has gone about his work so systematically and intelligently that he has made notable progress, and he has acquired considerable reputation 'in the locality for his fine fruit and poultry. His great-grandfather, Jacob Woomer, founded the family in Schuyl- kill county. He was a native of Bern township, Berks Co., Pa., and after his removal to this county was in the timber business at Rabbit Run, near Tamaqua, for many years. When he retired he lived with his son Isaac at Steinsville, Lehigh Co., Pa., where he died aged eighty-seven years. He is buried at Jacksonville, that county, and his wife, Susanna (Hufer), is buried at Lewistown, Schuylkill county. They had two children, Isaac and another son, whose name is unknown. Jacob Woomer was a Whig in politics, and a member of the Reformed Church.
Isaac Woomer, son of Jacob, was born Sept. 5, 1810, in Bern township, Berks county. He changed the spelling of his name to Womer. He was very young when brought to Schuylkill county, where he received his education, learning to read German very well. He worked for his father, in the timber business, and while so engaged constructed rafts and floated timber to Port Clinton, on the Little Schuylkill river and from there on the canal to Phila- delphia. Giving up the timber business, he learned the tailor's trade, which he followed for about fifteen years. Then he settled at Steinsville, Lehigh county, where he bought a farm of 100 acres, upon which he remained ten years. During part of that time he also conducted a distillery. Selling out he removed to Tamaqua, where he lived for two years, practically retired, and then moved to West Penn township and bought the farm (then consisting of II0 acres) where his son Monroe now resides. He sold off some of the land, retaining seventy-five acres, all clear, where he carried on general farm- ing until his death, his sons assisting him with the work. He died May 20, 1893, and is buried in the Odd Fellows cemetery at Tamaqua. At one time he held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His religious connection was with Zion's Reformed Church in West Penn township. Though a Republican for some time after the formation of the party, he later became a Democrat. Mr. Womer was married three times, and by his first wife, Elizabeth (Hoffman), had two children, Sarah and Abner, both of whom
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died in infancy. His second wife was Hannah Meier, daughter of Ifenry Meier, and their children were: William, born April 18, 1837, died aged twenty-two years; Luisiann, born March 16, 1840, died unmarried; Amandus, born Aug. 15, 1842, now deceased, married Annetta Woomer. The mother of these is buried at Jacksonville, Lehigh county. Mr. Womer later married her sister, Magdalena Meier, who was born Jan. 1, 1818, and died Jan. 9, 1898. She is buried at the Odd Fellows cemetery at Tamaqua. By this union there were the following children: Charles, born March 6, 1844, married Kate Houser, who is now deceased, and had three children; Wilson was born Jan. 13, 1846; Maria, born Jan. 12, 1848, is the widow of Frank Houser, and lives at Tamaqua (they had three children) ; Missuri Elmira, born Sept. 29, 1850, died young ; Monroe was born April 6, 1853; Caroline, born July 21, 1855, died in infancy ; James, born Jan. 1, 1857, died when about two years old; Franklin, born Jan. 11, 1859, now of Reading, Pa., married Matilda Kistler; Johann, born Nov. 18, 1861, is unmarried and has always lived on the home place, being now with his brother Monroe; Ida Jane, born March 27, 1863, died in infancy.
Wilson Woomer, father of Elmer Woomer, was born Jan. 13, 1846, in Lehigh county, Pa. He continued to work with his father on the home farm in West Penn township until he reached middle age, except that in 1869 he went to California and tried his fortune in the gold mines for a few years. Returning to the home farm after he was fifty years old, he tenanted a part of the homestead property and cultivated it until he retired. Then he moved to Reynolds, Schuylkill county, where he lives with his daughter Maude ( Mrs. William Schaeffer). He is a member of Zion's Reformed Church in West Penn township, and in politics supports the principles of the Democratic party. By his first marriage, to Emma Zehner, daughter of William Zehner, Mr. Woomer had four children. Dr. Albert, who is married, and lives at Cashtown, Adams Co., Pa .; Elmer; Lillian, wife of Amos Long, of Phila- delphia ; and Helen, wife of Ulysses Eberts, of Weissport, Carbon Co., Pa. His second marriage was to Alice Betz, by whom he had these children: Herbert, now living with his uncle Monroe; Roscoe, deceased; Claude, of Walker township, Schuylkill county, married Miss Wittig; Irvin, who married Mamie Hill, and lives at Tamaqua ; Minnie; Maude, Mrs. William Schaeffer, of Reynolds, Schuylkill county; Edith, living at Tamaqua; and Edna, living with her father.
Elmer Woomer was born May 11, 1875. in West Penn township, where he was educated, and worked on the home farm for his father until he was eighteen years of age. Then he began teaching in West Penn township, and followed the profession of school teacher for twenty-two terms in all, first at Zion's Church School (two years), then at the Zehner School, Steigerwalt's and Hunsicker's, in turn, teaching his last year at Zion's Church school again. In the spring of 1909 he bought his present farm of sixty-four acres in West Penn township, from Harvey Hoppes. There are fifty-nine acres clear, and he makes a specialty of truck along with general farming, has had great suc- cess in poultry raising, particularly Rhode Island Reds, and has valuable orchards-four hundred peach trees, two hundred and fifty apple trees, fifty pear trees and seventy-five plum trees. He markets his products at Tamaqua. Mr. Woomer is a member of Sittler Lodge, No. 1151, I. O. O. F., of Sittler, this county, is a Democrat in his political preferences, and like so many others
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of the family has united with the Reformed congregation at Zion's Church in West Penn township.
Mr. Woomer married Emma Schaeffer, who was born Jan. 11, 1880, in West Penn township, was reared and educated there, and lived at home until her marriage. She is a member of Zion's Lutheran Church. Mr. and Mrs. Woomer have one child, Mary Loretta, born June 4, 1912.
Jeremiah Schaeffer, father of Mrs. Emma Woomer, was born Feb. 6, 1854, in West Penn township. His father, Joseph Schaeffer, was a farmer in the Mahoning valley, in that township, having a tract of over one hundred acres, continued that occupation all his life, and died there when nearly eighty years old. His wife, Hannah (Kistler), died when over seventy years old, and they are buried at Zion's Church. Mr. Schaeffer was a Lutheran member of that church and an active worker in the congregation. Politically he was a Democrat. His children were as follows: Frank married Mary Rice, and they live on the old homestead; William, of West Penn township, married a Shoemaker and (second) Clara Behler, who is also deceased; Amandus, who lives at Bethlehem, Pa., married Ellen Steigerwalt, now deceased; Jeremiah is the father of Mrs. Woomer; Emma married Frank Mantz, of West Penn township.
Jeremiah Schaeffer, son of Joseph, was reared and educated in West Penn township. After working on the farm for his father he entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company as a section hand, and later learned the blacksmith's trade, which he still follows in West Penn township. He served his apprenticeship with Frank Houser, and when he had gained enough experience to start on his own account built a shop which he still operates. Later he conducted the "Liberty Hotel" as well as his blacksmith shop, on the same property, for twelve or fifteen years. At that location he owns fine buildings, all up-to-date, and one and a half acres of ground. He also owns six acres near Leibysville, in West Penn township. Mr. Schaeffer has been an interested worker in the Democratic party, and has been elected to town- ship offices, having served five years as supervisor and six years as school director. He performed his public services with the utmost fidelity. His religious connection is with the Reformed congregation of Zion's Church.
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