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 II > Part 22
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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
NATHAN EVANS, late of Pottsville, was one of the most progressive men of the borough in his generation. The various enterprises to which he devoted his energies were typical of the man, whose alert mind and keen foresight were substantial factors in the development of his adopted town. He contributed his full share towards the work of progress in his day, and the history of his career forms part of the history of the locality.
The Evans family has been established in eastern Pennsylvania for over a century. John Evans, a native of Wales, came to America when a young man, and settled in the Conestoga valley, in Lancaster county, Pa., where he owned a large tract of land and followed agricultural pursuits. He died Aug. 12, 1813, when comparatively a young man. On April 9, 1799, he married Margaret Jones, who was born June 28, 1776, and survived him a number of years, dying Sept. 24, 1826. She was a member of the Jones family, well known in the city of Reading and elsewhere in Berks county. She remarried after Mr. Evans's death, becoming the wife of John T. Bechtel. Six children were born to her union with Mr. Evans, namely: Reese, John C., Nathan, George, David, and Ann (who died young).
Nathan Evans, son of John, was born in 1807 in Conestoga Valley, Lan- caster Co., Pa. When a young man he became employed as a clerk at the Joanna Furnace in Berks county, and when about twenty-one years old he came to Pottsville, Schuylkill county, with which place he was identified the remainder of his life. Here he was engaged in the shipping of coal, in which line he was a pioneer in this section, and he had a line of canalboats occupied with his trade. Later he and Samuel Silliman were associated in coal opera- tions, having a colliery at what was known as Crow Hollow, in Schuylkill county. They did a successful business, and Mr. Evans continued his con- nection therewith for several years. In company with John Ruch he built a mill at what is now the corner of Norwegian and Railroad streets, Potts- ville, the first steam flourmill to be constructed in. this locality. They were engaged in its operation for many years, Mr. Evans retiring when he with- drew from this business. He passed his last years in the enjoyment of well earned leisure, dying in 1884, and is buried in the Charles Baber cemetery. He was a member of Bloomsburg Lodge, F. & A. M., of Pottsville, and highly respected among his brother Masons, as he was wherever known.
Mr. Evans married Ann B. Barde, daughter of Samuel Barde, of Birds- boro, Berks Co., Pa., and she lived to her ninety-fourth year, passing away in 1894. Nine children were born to this union : Sarah, who died young ; Louisa B .; George ; Anna, deceased ; Charles B .; Mary, deceased, who was the wife of Lewis P. Garrigus: Clement, deceased; Annie S .; and Howard, of Colorado. The daughters Louise and Annie, and son Charles B., continue to occupy the old home at No. 1313 West Norwegian street, Pottsville. The family are members of the Episcopal Church.
CHARLES B. EVANS, son of Nathan, was born at Pottsville March 17, 1839. He served in the Union army throughout the Civil war, enlisting April 17, 1861, with the "First Defenders," and received his honorable discharge in July, 1865. He became a private in the Washington Artillerists, April 18, 1861 ; was made corporal of Company G, 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volun- teer Infantry, Aug. 20, 1861 ; sergeant of same command, 1862, serving as such until 1865. At the second battle of Bull Run he was wounded, the bullet passing through the calf of his left leg. He is an honored member of Gowen Post, No. 23, G. A. R., and of the Union Veteran Legion. After the war Mr.
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Evans returned to Pottsville, where he was engaged in the lumber business for many years, at present leading a retired life. He and his sisters are among the most highly esteemed residents of Pottsville. [Charles B. Evans died in December, 1915.]
ALLEN JOSEPH DEIBERT is engaged in the cultivation of valuable farm land at Orwigsburg which has been owned in his family for three gen- erations, during which time the Deiberts have filled a place among the most substantial and respected citizens of this section of Schuylkill county. Honest, industrious and capable, they have won the esteem of their neighbors in every relation of life by sincere effort, and deserve the high standing they enjoy. Allen J. Deibert is a son of Nathan Deibert and grandson of Joseph Deibert.
Joseph Deibert, the grandfather, born Nov. 5, 1810, was a prosperous farmer in the vicinity of Orwigsburg, owning two tracts of land, about two hundred acres in all, much of which was cleared by his own labor. He lived on the place now owned by Jacob Moyer, and died there Feb. 22, 1895. His wife, Elizabeth Sheipe, born April 7, 1816, died May 31, 1896, and they are buried in the cemetery of St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Orwigsburg. Joseph Deibert was a faithful member of that church, which many of his descendants have also attended and supported. Politically he was a Democrat. To Joseph and Elizabeth (Sheipe) Deibert were born the following children: Diana, who married William Freed, of Orwigsburg, Pa .; Henry; Charles, who mar- ried Mary Riegel; William, who was twice married, his second wife being Susan Riegel; Daniel; Joseph ; Nathan; Elizabeth, wife of William Yeager; Rebecca, who married Joseph Boyer; and Sarah, wife of Joseph Swalm.
Nathan Deibert, father of Allen Joseph Deibert, was born Dec. 29, 1845, on the homestead farm, and obtained his education at Orwigsburg, attending the pay schools. He worked for his father until he attained his majority, and continued to assist him for four years afterwards, though in the mean- time he went to live on a tract of twelve acres which he owned, the place where his son Allen now resides. Then he bought some land from the home- stead 'tract, increasing the area of his property to forty-one acres, all of which was cleared and under cultivation. Mr. Deibert continued to operate this tract until his death, which occurred March 31, 1911. He did general farming, and marketed at Pottsville. Diligent, and honorable in all his transactions, he was a creditable member of a family generally known for solid worth, and like his father was a Democrat and a Lutheran, belonging to St. Paul's Church at Orwigsburg. Mr. Deibert married Susanna Gerber, who was born June 22, 1848, daughter of John and Louisa ( Bock) Gerber, natives of East Bruns- wick township, this county. Mrs. Deibert died a few months before her hus- band, on Sept. 27, 1910, and they are buried in the cemetery of St. Paul's Church. They had the following children: John Franklin, born Sept. 9, 1871, married Kate Heine; Annie Elizabeth, born Aug. 20, 1872, married Wellington Lengle; Allen Joseph is next in the family; Edwin Lewis, born Oct. 12, 1874, married Sallie Meck; Sallie Louisa, born Nov. 25, 1875, mar- ried Harvey Fisher; Gertrude May, born Jan. 5, 1877, married Paul Lengle ; Ada Rebecca, born Jan. 25, 1878, is unmarried; Charles Walter, born Nov. 13, 1879, married Maude Milton; Mary Alice, born Feb. 7, 1881, is unmar- ried ; Howard Nathan, born Nov. 16, 1882, married Jennie Fessler; George Abner, born May 29, 1884, married Gertrude Horton; Oscar Luther, born June 13, 1885, married Sadie Sechler; Florence Hannah, born Jan. 8, 1887, is unmarried; Elmer Robert, born March 31, 1889, is unmarried ; Alice Mabel,
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born June 20, 1891, died Oct. 15, 1896; Clayton Gerber, born April 13, 1892, married Mabel Frantz; Richard Ellsworth, born March II, 1894, died Sept. 30, 1900.
Allen Joseph Deibert, born July 26, 1873, in the borough of Orwigsburg, was reared and educated there, and received his agricultural training prin- cipally at home, working for his father until eighteen years old. After that he hired out to other farmers for several years, and then turned to railroad work, entering the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railway Company, by whom he was engaged as section hand for a period of fifteen years. In 1913 he bought his father's farm from the estate, and there he has since carried on general agriculture with steady success. He sells some of his produce in his own borough and some at Pottsville, and finds a ready market for all his crops. Mr. Deibert devotes practically all his time to his own business, but he is always found on the side of progress and local improvement in movements affecting his section. His political support is given to the Democratic party, and his religious connection is with St. Paul's Lutheran Church, the religious home of his family for several generations. Socially he belongs to Industrial Council, No. 437, Order of Independent Americans, of Orwigsburg.
Mr. Deibert married Amanda Heim, who was born Feb. 19, 1871, in Pickaway county, Ohio, where she began her schooling. Then the family moved to Chase county, Kans., where she also attended school four years, receiving the rest of her education in West Brunswick township, Schuylkill Co., Pa. She was sixteen years old when she left home, thereafter working out until her marriage. With her husband she belongs to St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Orwigsburg. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Deibert : Nathan Allen, born Feb. 15, 1902; Lillian Amanda, Oct. 22, 1903; Stella Levira, Dec. 12, 1905; Mahlon Edwin, Jan. 6, 1909. All have attended school in Orwigsburg.
Benjamin Heim, father of Mrs. Allen J. Deibert, was born on Sculp's Hill, in West Brunswick township, Schuylkill county, and lived to the age of seventy-five years. By trade he was a carpenter, and he also followed agri- cultural pursuits, he and his brother Jonathan owning in partnership a farm of 103 acres, of which about eighty acres were cleared. After farming on that place for a number of years Benjamin Heim sold his interest therein to his brother, and subsequently worked as a boatbuilder at Landingville, this county, until his death. He was a member of Zion's (Red) Church in West Bruns- wick township. Politically he was a Democrat. Mr. Heim's first wife, Sarah (Heckman), was born May 4, 1840, in East Ringgold, Ohio, and died Sept. 30, 1881, in Chase county, Kans., where she is buried. Subsequently he mar- ried Susanna Miller, who died at the age of sixty-one years, and is buried with him at Zion's Church. All his children were by the first union, viz .: Amanda is Mrs. Allen Joseph Deibert, of Orwigsburg: Sarah Alice is married to John Flammer: William Ellsworth died when sixteen years old; Eliza Henrietta married Morris Faust; Benjamin Herlin is deceased: Lucy Ellen married John Moyer: Jacob Franklin married Gertrude Follweiler; Jonathan Monroe married Lizzie Wilshire.
WILLIAM H. SIEFERT, one of the leading manufacturers in his line at Cressona, Pa., is proprietor of the Cressona Wagon Works, which he established in 1905. He was born in the city of Lancaster, Pa., March 30, 1865, and is a son of William Siefert, the family being of German descent,
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many of the name coming from the Fatherland and locating in various parts of the United States.
William Siefert, the father, was a resident of Lancaster, Pa., where he ran a blacksmith shop for many years, also building wagons for his patrons in the surrounding country. His children were as follows: William H .; Peter; Jacob; Annie, wife of Lee Albert; Charles; Joseph; George; Leonard; and Elizabeth, who is married and lives in England.
William H. Siefert received his education in Lancaster, Pa., where he learned the trade of wagonmaker with Jacob Norbeck. At the age of nineteen years he left Lancaster, and thereafter worked at different places, following his trade until he settled at York, Pa., where he remained for fourteen years. In 1905 he came to Cressona and established his present business. He now has a large number of men in his employ and commands a fine patronage, carrying a line of carriages and wagons at all times, besides building them to order.
On Jan. 30, 1896, Mr. Siefert was married to Emma Jacobs, of York county, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Siefert have had no children, but they have reared a son, Albert Louis Tomes, who is employed with his foster father in the wagon works. Mr. Siefert and his family are members of the Roman Catholic Church. He is a man of prominence in the community where he resides and is respected by all with whom he comes in contact.
JACOB WILLIAM CLAUSER, painter, decorator and paperhanger, of Auburn, Schuylkill county, was born Oct. 5, 1867, in Upper Bern (now Tilden) township, Berks Co., Pa., son of Simon Clauser and grandson of Wilhelm Clauser, all natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. The name of Clauser (or Klauser) is well known in the eastern part of Pennsyl- vania, many of the prominent families of that section being in some way connected with it by ties of blood. It is not known who was the founder of the branch of the family to which Jacob William Clauser belongs.
Wilhelm Clauser, the grandfather, was a farmer in Upper Bern town- ship, where he cleared and cultivated a farm of seventy acres. He was a Democrat politically, and he and his wife were active members of St. Michael's Church in Upper Bern township. Both lived to beyond threescore and ten, and are laid at rest near the church which they so faithfully attended in life. By his wife Elizabeth (Kauffman) Wilhelm Clauser had seven children, as follows: William married a Sauser; Daniel married Catherine Lindermuth ; Simon is mentioned below; Kate married Joseph Savage; Harrison married Rebecca Snyder; Adam married a Nunnemacher; Jacob married Sarah Long.
Simon Clauser was born in Upper Bern township, Berks county, and fol- lowed farming all of his life. He had a tract of twenty acres which he brought to a high state of cultivation and thereby supported a large family. He was a Democrat and a zealous member of St. Michael's Reformed Church in Upper Bern township, having served in all of the offices within its gift. He and his wife are both buried in the cemetery adjoining the church. Mr. Clauser married Mary Kline, a daughter of John Kline, and they had these children: Kate married Jacob Haas and lives in Reading, Pa .; Amelia mar- ried Nathaniel Kalbach, and both are deceased ; Emma married Henry Weid- man and resides at Bern Station, Pa .; Simon J. married Sarah Kramer, and is living at Summit Station, Pa .; Frank married Amelia Knoll and lives in Tulpehocken township, Berks Co., Pa .; Alice married William Kirst, of Ham-
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burg, Pa .; Joanna married Frank Dunkelberger and died at the age of twenty- four, of diphtheria; Agnes died when three months old; Mary married a Mr. Bowers, of Reading, and is deceased; Sallie married Howard Nunnemacher, and is deceased; Jacob W. is mentioned below; Lillie married Claude Reber, of Hamburg. Simon Clauser died at the age of eighty-one years, and his wife at the age of sixty-seven.
Jacob William Clauser was educated in the township schools and assisted his father on the farm until he was fifteen years of age. Then he went to Wayne township, Schuylkill county, where he became apprenticed to his brother Simon J., learning paperhanging, decorating and painting. After the end of his apprenticeship he remained with his brother for three years more, and then went to Pottsville and entered the employ of Spehrley & Shappell, with whom he continued in the same line of work for eight years. He then went into business for himself at Summit Station, Wayne township, continu- ing there for seven years, but as the greater portion of his business engage- ments were in Auburn he decided to settle there. Since his removal to Auburn twelve years ago he has built up a business of about three hundred rooms a year ( decorating and papering), and employs on an average six painters all the year round.
Mr. Clauser married Carrie V. Krammes, who was born near Summit Station July 2, 1869, daughter of C. H. Krammes, of Auburn. By this mar- riage there have been born five children: Alberta Agnes, born Oct. 13, 1887, married to Wilson Reed, of Auburn, Pa .; Earlin Francis, born July 8, 1891 ; Clarence Clayton, born July 17, 1899; Reynold Ray, born March 30, 1905; and Arthur Jacob, born June 26, 1908. Mr. Clauser is a Democrat, has held the office of auditor of Wayne township for two terms of three years each, and is now serving his third three-year term as councilman of the borough of Auburn. He is a member and past president of Washington Camp No. 507, P. O. S. of A., of Summit Station, was financial and recording secretary of his home camp for thirteen years, and has been delegate to the State camp. Formerly a member of the Summit Reformed Church, he is now a member of the Reformed Church at Auburn.
John Kline, maternal grandfather of Jacob W. Clauser, was a farmer of Upper Bern township, Berks county, where he cultivated a piece of ground comprising thirty acres. He married a Nunnemacher, and they had three children, only one daughter surviving at this writing. Both parents died in extreme old age, and are buried in St. Michael's cemetery, Tilden township, Berks county.
The Krammes family, of which Mrs. J. W. Clauser is a member, is of German origin and is one of prominence in this section of the State. A detailed sketch of the family will be found in the personal sketch of C. H. Krammes, of Auburn, elsewhere.
ERNEST GRUBE is one of the notably progressive farmer citizens of East Brunswick township, enterprising in the management of his business undertakings and public-spirited in all matters involving the general welfare. His praiseworthy attention to public affairs and to the religious activities of the locality has won the approval and gratitude of the best element, and he has surely had his reward in the good results which have marked the wake of his efforts.
Mr. Grube belongs to a substantial German family which was founded in
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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
the township over fifty years ago. His grandfather, Christian Grube, lived in the province of Hanover, Germany, and was a silver miner by occupation. He died at the comparatively early age of thirty-six, leaving a wife and five children, namely: Charles, the father of Ernest Grube; Charlotte; Louisa, Mrs. Charles Heberling; Dorothy, Mrs. John Weist; and William, who was one year old when his father died. The mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Shear, was a native of Hanover, Germany, and died at the age of seventy-seven in East Brunswick township, Schuylkill Co., Pa., at the home of her son-in-law, Charles Heberling. She was a member of the German Lutheran Church, and is buried in the Frieden's Church cemetery. Mrs. Grube came to America with her children eighteen years after her husband's death, the family settling in Baltimore, Md., for two years, and removing thence to Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania.
Charles Grube, son of Christian, was born in Klausthal. Province of Han- over, Germany, and he was reared and educated there. Like his father he became a silver miner, and continued to follow that occupation until twenty- five years old, when he came to America with his brother William, landing at Baltimore, Md. After some residence there the brothers came to Schuyl- kill county, Pa., locating at Lewistown, in Walker township, and for a time worked out among the farmers of that section. Subsequently they settled in East Brunswick township, this county, where they bought a tract of about sixty-six acres, which they cleared and settled on, each brother putting up his own farm buildings, though the land was operated in partnership. They con- tinued to live there for a period of about thirty years, and at the end of that time Charles Grube sold his share of the tract to his son-in-law, Henry Weast. Then he returned to Baltimore, where he had a dairy and milk route for a few years, giving it up to take employment in the William Wilkens bristle works, as a jointer. There he remained as long as he was able to work, retiring about four years before his death, which occurred about 1909, when he was seventy-seven years old. While a resident of Schuylkill county Mr. Grube belonged to the Frieden's Lutheran Church of New Ringgold. Polit- ically he was identified with the Democratic party. All of his children were born to his first marriage, to Melsena Depmeier, who died aged forty-eight years and is buried in the Frieden's Church cemetery. His second marriage was to Mrs. Julia Smith, who is also deceased, and is buried with Mr. Grube at Baltimore. We have the following record of his family: Malinda is the wife of Frank Kroll, of Philadelphia, Pa .; Hannah married Daniel S. Bock, of Lehighton, Pa .; Louisa married Henry Weast (deceased) and (second) Henry Keffer, and is a resident of Leesport, Pa .; Ernest is next in the family ; John, of Scranton, Pa., married Hannah Dillinger; Christian, who lives in East Brunswick township, married Clara Dennis.
Ernest Grube was born Aug. 17, 1862, in East Brunswick township, where he grew to manhood and received a common school education. He worked for his father until he attained his majority. When he commenced life on his own account he went to Philadelphia, where he was employed as a driver by the Knickerbocker Ice Company, and assisted in unloading vessels. Going West, for a time he was located at Janesville, Wis., where he was employed as a telegraph operator, and from there went to Chicago, where he remained for two years as operator in the employ of the Western Union Company. His next change was to Hamilton (now Savage), Minn., where he was employed as a telegraph operator by the Chicago, St. Paul., Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad
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Company, and he subsequently worked at Windom and Le Sueur, that State, remaining two years at the latter place, where he was married. Returning to Savage, he was again stationed there for a considerable period, working for the railroad company mentioned ten years in all, and on leaving that employ returned to his old home in East Brunswick township, Schuylkill county. Here he bought the Frank McGorvin farm of 148 acres, forty of which are under cultivation, devoted to general crops. Mr. Grube has had excellent returns for his labor, and markets his produce at Tamaqua. He has taken an active part in local affairs, was formerly auditor of the township, and is at present a member of the board of school directors, of which body he served seven years as secretary. He is independent in politics, giving his support to the men and measures he likes best, regardless of party. Mr. Grube is a Lutheran in religious faith, belonging to the Frieden's Church at New Ringgold, in which he holds the office of trustee at present.
Mr. Grube married Minnie Catherine Ipsen, who was born at Elmshorn, Holstein, Germany, Oct. 24, 1867, and received her education there, being twelve years old when she came to America with her parents. She is also a member of the Frieden's Lutheran Church at New Ringgold. Mr. and Mrs. Grube have had the following children : Melsena, born Feb. 22, 1893, attended the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, Pa., class of 1915; Lucy, born Feb. 12, 1895, died in infancy, and is buried at Le Sueur, Minn .; Harriet, born Feb. 17, 1896, is teaching at the Bachert school in East Brunswick township; Erna was born Jan. 26, 1900; Doris, June 26, 1902; Jessie, Oct. 20, 1904; Ernest, March 15, 1907; Marian, July 26, 1910; Marvin, June 2, 1913.
Mrs. Grube's grandfather was a native of Elmshorn, Holstein, Germany, and passed all his life at that place, where he was engaged as a mail clerk. He and his wife died and are buried in Germany. They were faithful mem- bers of the German Lutheran Church. Their children were: August, Carl, Ferdinand, Herman, Edward; Adolph, Minnie and Louisa.
Adolph Ipsen, father of Mrs. Grube, was born Dec. 18, 1842, at Elms- horn, was reared there, and received an excellent common school education. When twenty years old he became a mail clerk in the post office with his father. About thirty-five years ago he came to America with his family, landing at New York City, whence they proceeded to Le Sueur, Minn., where he still makes his home. He was in the employ of the same railroad company as his son-in-law, Mr. Grube, retiring after a service of twenty years. His wife, whose maiden name was Anna Catherine Schumacher, was also a native of Germany, born Aug. 14, 1844, daughter of Peter and Lucy (Kelting) Schu- macher, and the following children were born to this union: Augusta, now the wife of John Buckland, of Crookston, Minn .; Minnie Catherine, Mrs. Ernest Grube ; Carl; Margaret, who died in Germany; Ferdinand, who died in Germany; Celia, who died when twenty-two years old; Julius and Jessie, at home; Lucy, Mrs. Henry Brocker, of Mankato, Minn .; and Adolph, who lives at home. The parents are members of the German Lutheran Church, and Mr. Ipsen is a Democrat in his political views.
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