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 63
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On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 1915, Mr. Brachman was united in mar- riage with Mae Mitchell, daughter of James and Mary ( McBreen) Mitchell,
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of Mahonoy City. The present residence of Mr. Brachman is the old family house which has been occupied by the Brachmans for more than half a century.
JOHN J. PAUL has been connected with the Pine Knot colliery in Cass township in the capacity of outside foreman since 1908, and has done his share in securing its profitable operation by conscientious attention to his particular duties. He has proved himself capable and trustworthy, and personally is deserving of the high regard in which he is held wherever known.
Mr. Paul was born at Tremont, Schuylkill county, in 1869, and his father, Emanuel Paul, was also a native of the county, born at Valley View. He followed mining until his accidental death, having been killed at the East Franklin colliery in West End.
John J. Paul had public school advantages in youth, and though he com- menced to pick slate at the breaker when eleven years old, spent part of the time at his studies until he grew a little older. He obtained the usual experience in different positions at the mines, until he became foreman at the Independ- ent colliery, where he remained for a period of five years. The next five years he was at Wadesville, this county, in the position of outside foreman, and in 1908 he came to the Pine Knot colliery, where he has since held a similar posi- tion. He has a wide acquaintance throughout the mining region of Schuylkill county.
Mr. Paul married Kate Miller, a daughter of William Miller, of Pine Grove, this county, and they have the following children: Esther, Charles, Ruth, Bertha, John, Edna, Edith, George and Mildred. The family are Meth- odists in religious association. Fraternally Mr. Paul is a Mason, belonging to Swatara Lodge No. 267, F. & A. M., of Tremont, this county.
CHARLES O'NEILL, a prosperous farmer of Butler township, Schuyl- kill Co., Pa., was born Oct. 31, 1846, at Minersville, this county, son of Philip and Mary (O'Neill) O'Neill, both natives of Ireland.
Philip O'Neill, the father, came to America at an early date and settled at Minersville after remaining for a time at Philadelphia. He was a weaver by occupation, but after coming to Minersville worked in the mines. He died there in 1851. Of his three children, two sons and one daughter, Charles is the only survivor. After the death of her first husband Mrs. O'Neill married Bernard Fuller, and they had eleven children, only one of whom is now living. Mrs. Fuller died in 1907 at the home of her son Charles.
Charles O'Neill attended the schools of Minersville but a short time, com- mencing work in the mines at an early age. He went to Ashland in 1867 and worked there in the mines for a time, about 1905 settling in Butler township. where he bought his present farm, which he has continued to reside upon and cultivate ever since. Mr. O'Neill was married June 8, 1872, to Mary Durkin, a native of Pottsville, and to them have been born twelve children, of whom Mary is the oldest living; Philip, who conducts a saloon in Mahanoy City, married Lucy Thomas, of Schuylkill county, and they have two children, Charles and Barbara; Charles runs an ice wagon; Peter, James, Irene and Thomas are at home.
John Durkin, father of Mrs. O'Neill, was born in Ireland and came to America after his marriage, settling at Pottsville, Pa. He followed mining after locating here. He and his wife Mary are both deceased. They had ten children: Patrick died in Ireland; Annie is the wife of Thomas Grady, of
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Ashland, Pa .; Sarah is the wife of a Mr. Casey, of Ashland; Mrs. O'Neill is next in the family ; Thomas resides in Ashland; John is living in Philadelphia ; Ella is the wife of Timothy McCarthy, of Ashland; and the remaining three are dead.
Both the O'Neill and the Durkin families are members of the Roman Cath- olic Church.
LEWIS A. KLINGER, a prominent farmer of Barry township, Schuyl- kill Co., Pa., was born in that township in March, 1880, and is a son of George Klinger and grandson of David Klinger. The members of the Klinger family are numerous all over Berks and Schuylkill counties, most of them being descended from a common ancestor, who came over from Germany about 1749 or 1750, and settled in this part of Pennsylvania.
David Klinger, grandfather of Lewis A. Klinger, was one of the early set- tlers of Barry township and was a farmer by occupation. His son, George Klinger, father of Lewis A., was a farmer all of his life, and resided in Barry township, where he died Dec. 2, 1908. He was married to Emma Morgan, daughter of Samuel Morgan, of the same township, an early settler and farmer. Mr. Morgan was born in 1812, and died at the age of eighty-five years. Mrs. Klinger is still living in Barry township. She is the mother of nine children, of whom Charles, Mabel, Eva, Sarah and Thomas are all deceased; John is a resident of Barry township, on the home place; Lewis A. is mentioned below.
Lewis A. Klinger attended school in Barry township, lived while a child at Minersville, and was employed in the mines until he had attained the age of fifteen years. He then went to work on a farm, and has continued to follow agricultural pursuits up to the present time. In 1911 he purchased his pres- ent farm in Barry township, and has made of it a fertile and valuable tract. He does a general farming business, and has modern ideas which he applies to the work of cultivation and marketing of his products.
In 1904 Mr. Klinger was married to Nora Geist, a native of Barry township, daughter of Noah and Sarah (Gable) Geist, both of whom are living in Barry township. Mr. Geist was a soldier in the Civil war, serving in the 50th Penn- sylvania Infantry. Mrs. Klinger has two brothers living: Frank, at Mount Carmel, Pa., and Oscar, at Gordon, Pa. To Mr. and Mrs. Klinger has been born one child, LeRoy. They attend the Lutheran Church. Mr. Klinger is a member of the Barry township school board. He belongs to the P. O. S. of A. camp at Weishample, Barry township.
HENRY M. SEITZINGER, now living retired at Fountain Springs, belongs to a family identified with that locality from the beginning of its set- tlement. The place was so named by his first ancestor here, Nicholas Seit- zinger, and no family in this section of Schuylkill county is more deservedly honored.
The Seitzingers are one of the families descended from Hessian soldiers who remained in America following their services in the American Revolu- tionary war. Nicholas Seitzinger was a German by birth. He came to this country as one of the Hessian soldiers hired by England, and thus took part in the Revolution, but his sympathies were with the Colonial cause, and after the war he did not return to the old country. For a time he lived in Bucks county, Pa., removing thence to what is now Schuylkill county, where he took up 1,600 acres of land. The region was then a wilderness, but he set bravely about
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the task of making a home for himself and family, and it was he who estab- lished the town of Fountain Springs, which was really named in his honor. He is buried in the cemetery there. His family consisted of six children.
Peter Seitzinger, son of Nicholas, was born in Pottsville, Schuylkill county, and followed farming all his life, making his home in Butler township. He died in 1874, and he, too, is buried in the cemetery at Fountain Springs. His wife, Catherine (Shelley), born in 1808 at Pottsville, was a daughter of Charles Shelley, and member of a family which has been settled in Butler township from the early days. Mr. Shelley was a carpenter by trade. He is buried in the cemetery at Fountain Springs. Of the twelve children born to Mr. and Mrs. Peter Seitzinger, Alice, the eldest, is the widow of Thomas Connor, of Butler township; Catherine is the widow of Atkin Seltzer, of Butler township; they and their brother Henry are the only survivors of this large family. Among the deceased are Barbara, Amanda and Alexander.
Henry M. Seitzinger was born Jan. 21, 1845, and spent his early life on the farm in Butler township, acquiring such education as the neighboring pub- lic schools afforded. He followed farm work until his enlistment in the Union army, in 1864, with which he served until the close of the war as a member of Company G, 116th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out in 1865. Mr. Seitzinger saw service in many battles, and was wounded three times at the Po river. Returning home he resumed work on the farm, which he continued to follow for many years, his thorough and industrious methods and systematic labors bringing him steady prosperity. He is now living in retirement at Fountain Springs, enjoying the earnings of his earlier years. Mr. Seitzinger has interested himself in the public welfare of his locality, has served his township as supervisor, and as a worthy rep- resentative of a substantial family has always been reckoned among the best citizens of his locality. He is a member of the G. A. R. post at Ashland.
On Jan. 13, 1866, Mr. Seitzinger was married to Elizabeth Ebert, whose parents, William and Ellen ( Hughes) Ebert, were natives of Berks and Colum- bia counties, respectively. Mr. Ebert belonged to an old pioneer family of Berks county, and Mrs. Ebert was of Quaker stock which came to Schuylkill county in an early day and settled at Minersville. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ebert are buried in the cemetery at Fountain Springs. They were the parents of nine children, of whom Edward, the eldest, is deceased; Maria is deceased ; Regina, deceased, was the wife of Stephen Reese, of Ashland; Mrs. Seitzinger, the next in the family, was born at Minersville; Mary is the wife of James Seitzinger, of Gordon, this county; William is a resident of Ashland; Jerry is deceased ; Caroline is deceased.
Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Seitzinger, Laura is the wife of Peter Bilder, of Mount Carmel, Pa .; Caroline is married to Harry Connor, who is a physician at the State Hospital, Fountain Springs; Peter is deceased ; Mary is deceased; Catherine is the wife of John Williams, of Philadelphia ; Harrison and Luther live at Fountain Springs; Lucy is the wife of Yoel Kehler, of Locust Dale, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Seitzinger are members of the Fountain Springs Congregational Church.
FERDINAND FELTY, a farmer of Pine Grove township, is a descendant of an old family of Schuylkill county of German origin. The name was formerly written "Fallentine."
Martin Felty, grandfather of Ferdinand Felty, was born in Pine Grove
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township, and spent the greater part of his life there, dying in 1845, aged seventy-eight years. He owned a large amount of land, which has since been divided up into a number of small farms and is still for the most part in the possession of the Felty family. By occupation Martin Felty was a farmer. He was the father of seven children, three sons, John, Levi and another, and four daughters ; Levi married Lavinia Barshore. Politically Mr. Felty was a Whig, in religion a member of the Lutheran Church.
John Felty, son of Martin, was born in Pine Grove township, and like his father engaged in farming. He remained in his native township until his death, which occurred in 1847. He married Elizabeth Hossler, who was born in Berks county, Pa., her father coming to this county at an early time and dying here ; he is buried in Pine Grove. Mrs. Felty died in 1890. Six children were born to this marriage, viz .: Leo, who is deceased; Elizabeth, deceased ; Mary, deceased; John H., living retired in Pine Grove township; Levi, de- ceased ; and Ferdinand.
Ferdinand Felty, son of John, was born May 21, 1846, in Pine Grove town- ship, was brought up near his present home, and obtained his education in the public schools of the township. In 1864 he enlisted in the Union army, joining Company K, 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, took part in many battles, and lost his hearing while in the service. He was mustered out at Harrisburg. Upon his return home Mr. Felty engaged in farming in Pine Grove township, and he has met with more than average success. The house he now occupies is the old homestead place of Henry Felty, his wife's grandfather.
On April 14, 1866, Mr. Felty married Angeline Felty, a native of Pine Grove township, daughter of Seaward and Elizabeth Etta Felty, farming people, the former born on the place where Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Felty now live. He continued to reside there until his death, in 1885. Mrs. Elizabeth Felty was born in Berks county, Pa., where her family was settled from pioneer times. She died in 1872, the mother of twelve children, of whom but three now survive: Angeline, Mrs. Ferdinand Felty; Emeline, widow of William Reiger, of Lebanon, Pa .; and Catherine, Mrs. Behler, of Pine Grove.
Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Felty: Tressie, the eldest, is the wife of George Moose, of Pine Grove; Charles, who now gives his time to the operation of the home farm, married Lillie Klinger, of Pine Grove town- ship; Virgie is the wife of John Reinbold, of Pine Grove township; Gertie, twin of Virgie, is the wife of Wilson Minnich, of Schuylkill Haven ; the others are deceased.
Mr. Felty holds membership in the Lutheran Church. He keeps in touch with his Civil war comrades as a member of Wolf Post, G. A. R., of Pine Grove, and also belongs to the P. O. S. of A. camp at Suedberg. His sterling personal qualities, and the industrious, useful life he has led, account sufficiently for the unqualified esteem in which he is held by all his associates.
EZRA J. BOUGHTER has been a resident at Suedberg for over forty years, and is now living retired in the enjoyment of the competence won in his active days. He is a native of Lebanon county, Pa., and a representative of one of the early families of that section, where his grandfather, Joseph Boughter, was a pioneer. The latter was of Scotch descent. Of his children, Amos (now deceased) was a lawyer of Lebanon, Pa .; Sarah was the only daughter.
Levi Boughter, son of Joseph, was born in Lebanon county, and like
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his father became an iron worker. Moving into Lancaster county, Pa., he was engaged in the management of iron furnaces, and remained there until his death, which occurred at Marietta. He married Elizabeth Strohman, who was a native of York county, Pa., where her father, Joseph Strohman, was also born. The Strohmans moved to Lebanon county and settled in Union township. Mrs. Levi Boughter died in Lebanon county in 1865. She and her husband had two children.
Ezra J. Boughter, son of Levi, was born Dec. 25, 1839, in Swatara town- ship, Lebanon county, and was reared in that county. He attended the public schools. When the Civil war broke out he was living in Lebanon county, and there he enlisted, Oct. 4, 1861, in Company B, 93d Pennsylvania Regi- ment. He served all through the rest of the war, and was mustered out at Washington, D. C., with the rank of sergeant. In 1864 he was made cor- poral, and later promoted to sergeant. He took part in several of the battles of the Army of the Potomac.
Returning to Lebanon at the conclusion of his army service Mr. Boughter clerked in a store for a time and later worked in the rolling mills. Then he moved to Suedberg, Schuylkill county, and is now leading the leisurely life to which his industrions career entitles him. While in Lebanon county Mr. Boughter held the office of assessor, but he has not taken any direct part in public affairs since settling in Schuylkill county. By reason of his Civil war service he holds membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, belong- ing to Wolf Post, of Pine Grove, of which he is senior vice commander. He is also a prominent member of the P. O. S. of A., and was the first com- mander of the camp at Suedberg. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Church.
In 1864 Mr. Boughter was married to Mary A. Lewis, of Lebanon, daugh- ter of Jolin and Keziah (Boyce) Lewis, of York county; Mr. Lewis was a furnace worker. Mrs. Boughter died Aug. 6, 1910, the mother of nine chil- dren, namely : John, the eldest, is a resident of Pine Grove township; Laura is the wife of Frank Ditzler, of Pine Grove township; Lillie is the wife of William A. Reed, of Suedberg; Robert lives at Suedberg; Mary is married to Harry Schneck, of Pine Grove township; the others are deceased.
JOHN E. HUNTSINGER has been a prosperous young business man of Valley View, meeting with notable success in the same line his father follows at Hegins, where he became established over thirty years ago. As furniture dealers and undertakers of unquestioned reliability they command the greater share of the business in their field in this portion of Schuylkill county.
The Huntsinger family here under consideration has been in Pennsylvania since the Provincial period. It is of German origin, and the emigrant ances- tor, John George Huntsinger, arrived in this country Oct. 2, 1743, on the ship "Jacob," Capt. Adolph de Grove, from Rotterdam, via Shields, England. There were 290 more of his countrymen among the passengers. He had the following children: Susanna, George, Daniel, Viola, Michael, Henry, John, Jacob, and another daughter.
Jacob Huntsinger, youngest son of John George, grew to manhood in Pennsylvania and here passed the rest of his life. He was survived by a family of ten children: George, Samuel, Phoebe, William, Jacob, Edward, Elizabeth, Sarah, Charles and Frank B.
George Huntsinger, son of Jacob, and next in the line of descent we are
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tracing, was the father of eleven children : Elizabeth, Mary, George, William, Joseph, Emanuel, Hannah, David, Reuben, Marcus and Harriet.
Reuben Huntsinger, son of George, was in his day one of the leading farmers in the vicinity of Valley View, Schuylkill county, owning the tract near that town which is the property now of P. H. Updegrove. There he made his home until his death. He married Angeline Artz, and they became the parents of eight children: Samuel A., Josiah H., Catherine, Lucy, Eman- uel M., Caroline, Reuben R. and Abby.
Samuel A. Huntsinger, son of Reuben, was born in 1847 at Valley View, Schuylkill county, and there grew to maturity. He had excellent educational advantages for the period, attending the local public schools until seventeen years old, and meantime assisted with the farm work at home. He turned from agriculture to take up the carpenter's trade, at which he served a full apprenticeship, afterwards working as a journeyman for twenty years. Dur- ing that period he had been advancing steadily, preparing himself for all branches of his chosen calling, and when he started business at Hegins on his own account, in 1884, he was well equipped for a successful career. In the year mentioned he commenced to manufacture cabinets, furniture, porch work, handrails and window frames. He also secured a certificate as under- taker, being called upon for all the work of that kind needed in the town and much of the adjoining territory. His trade in all lines has shown a constant increase, a substantial evidence of the appreciation of the com- munity for his thorough work and intelligent attention to all patrons.
Mr. Huntsinger married Louisa Schwartz, who was born in Hegins town- ship, daughter of Abraham Schwartz, a farmer of that township, and they have had eleven children, namely: Cora is the wife of William Minnick, of Hegins township, and has a large family, Alma, Stanton, Charles, Bulu, Ira, Albert, Laura, William and Myrtle; Catherine A. is married to William Dierff, of Minersville; Tamie is the wife of Samuel Herb, of Hegins; Ellen G. is the wife of Harry Coleman, of Hegins; Francis E. is a resident of Hegins ; Mary J. lives at home ; John E. is next ; Sadie A. is the wife of Elmer Miller, of Hegins; James V., Emma E. and another are deceased.
John E. Huntsinger was born at Hegins, this county, in 1883, and was reared there. He obtained his education in the public schools, and began his business career as his father's assistant, in that capacity recelving a thor- ough training in carpenter work, to which he gave the principal share of his attention for five years. He also acquired a comprehensive knowledge of undertaking, by practical èxperience and regular training, taking a course in the Eckels School of Embalming at Philadelphia, from which he was graduated April 24. 1905. He continued to be associated in business with his father until he opened his own establishment, at Valley View, where good judgment and up-to-date service have had their reward in liberal patronage. Personally he has a character which wins him friends among the most re- spected residents of the town.
On Jan. 16, 1904, Mr. Huntsinger married Frannie E. Coleman, of Hegins, daughter of John and Maria ( Maurer) Coleman, who now live near Hegins, Mr. Coleman having retired after a considerable experience as a farmer. He and his wife are both from Mahantongo. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Huntsinger : Elvin, Ruth and Reuben. Mr. Huntsinger and his wife hold membership in the German Lutheran Church.
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ALBERT STEPHENS, of Tower City, is proprietor of the "Hotel Stephens," operating the establishment formerly owned and conducted by his father, and which has been a popular place of entertainment in the borough for many years. He has proved an excellent business man in that connection and has also acquired a valuable farm property in Porter township, having a substantial start on the road to prosperity.
Mr. Stephens was born at Tower City March 2, 1881, son of James S. Stephens. His grandfather, James Stephens, a native of England, left his family in that country and started for America alone, and it is supposed he was drowned at sea, as the ship sank and he was never afterwards heard from. His children were: James S. Frederick, Samuel and Elizabeth.
James S. Stephens was born in England and spent his early life in that country, coming to America when eighteen years old. He settled in Schuyl- kill county, Pa., where he worked as a rockman in the mines, being also employed in that capacity at Williamstown, Dauphin county, this State. For some time he was engaged in the hotel business at Tower City, where he died at the age of fifty-seven years; he is buried in the Greenwood cemetery near the borough, in Porter township. His wife, Mary Ann (Williams), of Mon- tour county, Pa., also lived to the age of fifty-seven years. They had the following children: Three who died young: Bessie, unmarried, a trained nurse, now located at Pasadena, Cal., where she is superintendent of the Pasadena hospital; Frank, a miner, of Tower City; Albert ; and Herbert, who lives in Philadelphia.
Albert Stephens had the best advantages afforded by the local public schools, attending the preparatory and high schools at Tower City, and passed his early years as most boys in the vicinity have done, at work in the mines. He also assisted his father in the operation of the hotel at Tower City, and in 1904 bought the business for himself, which he has found to be a wise investment. The hotel is at the corner of Seventh street and Grand avenue, and is a well known stopping place for the townspeople as well as strangers. Under Mr. Stephens' careful management it has been improved in many respects, and he has been well repaid in the increased patronage attracted to the house. He owns a fine farm of seventy acres in Porter township, located at Reinerton, upon which he has a tenant. Mr. Stephens is a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias at Tower City and of the Loyal Order of Moose at Lykens, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Stephens married Emily Reiner, daughter of John Reiner, of Reiner City, Porter township. They have no children.
The Reiner family is one of long standing in this section of Schuylkill county, Pa. John Reiner, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Stephens, lived in the Mahantongo valley, where he followed farming. Later in life he re- moved to Clearfield county, Pa., and he died at the home of his daughter Esther. His children were: George and Jacob (twins), John and Esther.
George Reiner, son of John, above, was born in the Mahantongo valley, lived for a time in Hegins township, this county, where he carried on farm- ing, and in 1854 settled in Porter township, where he bought a tract of 150 acres at what is now known as Reiner City. The town was built on his land and named after him. The post office is known as Muir. He became a prominent citizen of the township and was called upon to fill many offices of trust, serving as tax collector, supervisor and treasurer, and his cooperation could always be relied upon for any good cause, his honorable intentions mak- Vol. II-28
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ing his participation particularly desirable. He died upon his farm when sixty-three years old and is buried at Reiner City; his wife, Eliza (Snyder), lived to be over seventy. They had the following children: John; Christiana, widow of John Schneider; Lydia, wife of Henry Unger; Henry and George, who live at Reiner City; and Elizabeth, widow of George Evans.
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