Justice; born in Douglass Township, Berks County, Pa., Aug. 12, 1822; educated in the township schools; taught in the public schools and then conducted for seven years the Douglassville Academy. Subsequently he followed surveying and conveyancing, and in 1850 was elected a Justice of the Peace, which office he still holds, having been re-elected from time to time; he is now one of the oldest Justices in Pennsylvania in point of continuous service. He has been an officer of numerous local corporations and was a member of the School Board of Douglass Township for a long period; has been Secretary of the Douglassville and Yellow House Turnpike Company since its organization in 1867; was Secretary and Treasurer of the Douglassville Bridge Company for seventeen years, and one of the managers of the Perkiomen and Reading Turnpike Company; was elected a Director of the Boyertown Mutual Fire Insurance Company in January, 1886, and still holds that office. He was one of the organizers of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry (Grangers) in Pennsylvania, and in September, 1873, was elected the first State Master; in January, 1875, he was re-elected at the annual meeting of subordinate Granges, held in Williamsport, Pa., but upon the expiration of this term declined a re-election; while State Master he represented the Pennsylvania State Grange at meetings of the National Grange held as follows: St. Louis, Mo., January, 1874; Charleston, S.C., January, 1875; Louisville, Ky., November, 1875, and Chicago, November, 1876. Address, Reading, Pa. (pp. 457-458)
Born April 6, 1846, in Leesport, Berks County, Pa.; adopted at the age of four years by Jacob Rieser, a farmer, his mother and two sisters and a brother having been drowned in a freshet in the Schuylkill River in the spring of 1850; his father lost his life in the Civil War. Dr. Marks was educated in the public schools, and attended the Freeland Seminary at Collegeville and the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, Pa.; he taught school for three years, and then commenced the study of medicine; was graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, March 3, 1869; commenced the practice of his profession in Leesport, but removed in January, 1871 to Reading, Pa., where he is still in active practice. He has been a member of the Reading Board of Health for a number of years, and is a member of the Hahnemann Medical Society of Reading. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 460)
Physician, chemist; born in Reading, Pa., Feb. 9, 1855; was graduated from the Ashland High School; took a full course at the Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, and was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1878, receiving prize of $100 for his thesis on a chemical subject; studied at the University of Göttingen, 1879; Tubingen, 1882, and Christiania, Norway; LL.D., Pennsylvania College, 1899; Assistant Demonstrator of practical chemistry, 1878-1879; Demonstrator same, 1879-1889; Assistant Professor Chemistry, 1889-1897, Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology since 1897, medical department of the University of Pennsylvania; Dean of faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 1889-1897; Dean of the faculty of medicine, 1882-1902, University of Pennsylvania. Member of the American Chemical Society, American Physiological Society, Fellow College Physicians, Philadelphia; Sigma Xi. Married, April 24, 1884, Mary W. Wormley. Member of the University Club. Author of "A Course for Systematic Qualitative Testing" (with G. E. Abbot), 1879; "Chemical Analysis of the Urine" (with Edgar F. Smith), 1881; also translated "Medicus' Qualitative Analysis," 1892. Contributor to numerous American and German chemical journals. Address, 1718 Pine St., Philadelphia, Pa. (p. 461)
Lawyer; born in Kutztown, Pa., in 1846. After attending the public schools of his native town, he studied law in the office of Hiram H. Schwartz, and was admitted to the bar Aug. 13, 1878. He then opened a law office in Kutztown, and was elected a Justice of the Peace, and has been re-elected successively since. Has served in the School Board, and also is Borough Solicitor. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 464)
Born in Bucks County, Pa., Feb. 22, 1817; the son of Benjamin and Letitia Matthews. Having received an academic education, he began the study of medicine in Doylestown, Pa.; was graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1840, and then entered upon the practice of his profession at Fleetwood, Pa., where he remained until 1860. He then located in the village of Temple, and continued there, in active practice, until June, 1873, when he was succeeded by his son, Dr. Franklin Matthews. Since his retirement he has been a resident of Reading, Pa. In 1843 he married Mary Ann Stitzel, and eight sons were born to them, six of whom (three being physicians) are living. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 466)
Ex-Mayor; born in Lancaster, Pa., April 17, 1824; educated in the public schools of that city; removed to Reading in his eighteenth year to engage in mercantile pursuits; was senior member of the firm of Mayer & Hart in the dry goods business. With the exception of a few years, when he resided in Philadelphia, he has lived in Reading continuously since 1841. He was elected Mayor of that city in February, 1871, and served one term. Since the end of his official term he has led a retired life. His daughter, Mary Hunter Mayer, is principal of the Girls' High School, Reading Pa., elected in 1897. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 467)
Editor of the Reading Herald; born in Harrisburg, Pa., thirty-seven years ago; son of James McCormick, a prominent manufacturer; educated at Harrisburg Academy, and at Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1887; was assigned the honor of class poet; entered the ranks of journalism, first serving on a Boston newspaper, and then in Philadelphia and Bethlehem, Pa.; founded the Allentown Leader; then purchased a one-half interest in the Reading Herald and removed to Reading, Pa.; later acquired sole ownership of the Herald, of which he is now the editor and publisher; member of the Reading Press Club and Berkshire Country Club; founder of the Boys' Friendly Club and Olivet Boys' Club of Reading. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 478)
Manufacturer; born in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pa., Dec. 6, 1822, of Scotch descent; educated in the public schools, and became interested in the construction of anthracite furnaces; removed to Reading in 1852, and commenced the manufacture of fire brick, establishing the firm of McHose & Co., which is still in existence, although Mr. McHose has retired. He was also in the iron business for some years; was the first President of the Keystone National Bank of Reading; has served in Select Council, in the Reading School Board, and in the Board of Water Commissioners; was President for one term of the Reading Water Board, and of the Reading Public Library; was also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Young Men's Christian Association. Elected a Presidential Elector on the Republican ticket in 1884. He was married on March 5, 1846, to Miss Letitia Weider, of Lehigh County. Their children are: Susan E., wife of Jerome L. Boyer; Ambrose A., Wilson V., and Isaac, Jr. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 486)
Manufacturer; born in Reading, Pa., in 1855; son of the late David McKnight, who was a prominent banker; educated in the public schools, graduating from the Reading High School in 1872 as valedictorian; then entered Amherst College, Mass., and graduated therefrom in 1876; read law in the office of his brother-in-law, Charles H. Schaeffer, and was admitted to the bar Nov. 12, 1878; became interested in manufactures and now devotes his attention to the management of the Mt. Penn Stove Works, of Reading, Pa., of which he is Secretary and Treasurer; prominently identified with the Reading Board of Trade; Republican in politics. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 488)
Born in Jennersville, Chester County, Pa., March 19, 1869; educated in common schools of Chester County, Wilmington Conference Academy, and Dickinson College. Married Miss M.Y. Stevenson, of Columbia, March 5, 1902. Address, 37 S. Fourth St., Reading, Pa. (p. 493)
Instructor of Natural Sciences in the Boys' High School, Reading; born in Reading, Pa., the youngest son of Matthias Mengel, the oldest lawyer at the Berks County bar; educated in the public schools; was graduated from the Reading High School in the class of 1886; took up the study of chemistry, and was graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1891. For some years had investigations, particularly entomology; appointed entomologist of the Peary Expedition to North Greenland sent out by the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences in 1891, and accompanied the expedition to Greenland; continued his scientific researches upon his return from that expedition; meanwhile engaged in business, becoming Secretary and Treasurer of the Reading Suburban Real Estate Company, which laid out the town of Wyomissing, Reading's most beautiful suburb. Elected Instructor of Natural Sciences in the Boys' High School, Reading, Pa., in 1896, which Position he still holds. Has one of the largest collections of Lepidoptera in the world. Is a lineal descendant on the maternal side of Capt. John Soder, who served seven enlistments in the War of the American Revolution. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 497)
Lawyer; born in Caernarvon Township, near Morgantown, Pa., on Jan. 13, 1814. His boyhood days were spent on his father's farm, and he received his early education in the local schools. In 1834 he went to Reading and became a student at law in the office of Elijah Dechert. He was admitted to the bar on April 9, 1840. In 1845 he was elected a Magistrate, and when Reading became a city in 1847 he was elected one of the first Aldermen. He served as Alderman continuously until 1860. He was a member of the Reading School Board for some years, and School Treasurer from 1866 to 1868; he was also Treasurer of the Berks County Agricultural Society a number of years. In 1868 he was again elected Alderman, and served until 1873; was reelected in 1875, and filled two consecutive terms ending in 1885. Subsequently he was appointed by the Governor a Notary Public. He was a Director of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of Reading for some years, and connected with local enterprises. He is still in the active practice of his profession. Married Miss Amelia Soder, Jan. 7, 1862; their children are Dr. Matthias S. Mengel, Elverson, Pa., and Prof. Levi W. Mengel of the Faculty of the Boys' High School, Reading. Was previously married to a Miss Phipps, of Chester County, Pa. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 497)
Manufacturer; born in Mount Holly, N. J., Sept. 29, 1844; educated in private schools in New Jersey, and at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.; Mayor of the City of Reading from 1890 to 1893; member of the Board of Health for a number of years and of the Board of Park Commissioners; member on the part of Pennsylvania of the World's Fair Columbian Exposition; Trustee of the State Asylum for Chronic Insane at Wernersville, Pa.; President of the Reading Board of Trade for several years and of the Reading Benevolent Society; engaged in manufacturing lumber at Williamsport; was formerly in the wholesale lumber business in Norristown, and is at present in the same business in Reading, Pa.; married Emma P. Rambo, Nov. 30, 1871. In politics he is a Cleveland Democrat. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 500)
Publisher; born in Lebanon County, Pa., Sept. 19, 1843. After working on a farm until sixteen years old, and attending the public schools, he learned the printing trade in a newspaper office, the Pennsylvanian, published in Lebanon, Pa.; he became foreman of the office and held that position ten years. On Jan. 1, 1869, he removed to Reading, Pa., to commence the publication of the Repulikaner von Berks, a German weekly newspaper; this he continued until several years ago, when the paper was merged with the Kutztown Journal; he also publishes several organs of the Reformed denomination, and has published a number or books, some of which have commanded a wide sale. For several years he has been President of the Law and Order Society of Berks County. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 502)
Lawyer; born in Hamburg, Pa., June 6, 1860; youngest son of Edward Miller; educated in the borough schools and at the Keystone State Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1879; read law in Reading, and was admitted to the bar Nov. 12, 1883; located in his native town, where he is practicing his profession; at present Deputy County Controller. Married Margaret Romich in February, 1897. He is an active member of the Hamburg Board of Trade; he served as clerk of Town Council, and has held the office of notary public. Address Reading, Pa. (p. 504)
Banker; born in Hamburg, Pa., fifty-seven years ago; son of Edward Miller; educated in the public schools. He entered into business at an early age; served an enlist[t]ment in the Civil War; upon his return was elected cashier of the Hamburg Savings Bank, the only banking institution in the borough, and has held the office ever since. Served in the Hamburg School Board twenty-three years and was Treasurer of the School District for twenty years; was clerk of the Borough Council, and is now President of the Hamburg Board of Trade. Married Amanda Bean Oct. 12, 1874. Address, Hamburg, Pa. (p. 505)
Manufacturer; born in Adamstown, Lancaster County, Pa.; educated in the public schools; removed to Pine Grove, Pa., when a young man. He went to Reading, Pa., in 1870, and commenced the manufacture of hats with John Hendel and William L. Reed; the destruction of the establishment by fire the following year caused a dissolution of the partnership; he became again engaged in the same business, and in 1874 formed with Levi Miller of Pine Grove the firm of John R. Miller & Co.; has continued the business under this firm name, but as sole proprietor, since 1878. He served a number of years in the City Councils of Reading. Member of the Board of Trade, and has been both a Director and Trustee of this organization; Director of the Second National Bank of Reading. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 505)
Lawyer; born Aug. 28, 1857, in Maxatawny Township, Berks County, Pa.; educated in the public schools, at the Keystone State Normal School, Kutztown, from which he was graduated in 1875; at the Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pa., and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.; was graduated from the Law Department of the University Of Michigan in 1879; was admitted to the bar in Michigan, and then removed to Reading, Pa., where he was admitted to the bar on April 12, 1880. Elected District Attorney of Berks County and served from 1890 to 1893; County Solicitor, 1894-1897; Delegate to National Democratic Convention, 1896; member State Senate of Pennsylvania, 1897-1901; prominent in Democratic politics in Berks County for a number of years; Chairman Democratic County Committee for several terms. Married Emma L. Reider, March 23, 1889. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 507)
Theatrical manager; born in Newmanstown, Lebanon County, Pa., April 28, 1847; moved with his parents to Reading in 1848, and has been a resident of the city ever since. Educated in a private school, and at seventeen years of age entered a drygoods store as clerk at $75.00 a year; learned the business, and in 1868 opened the Globe Drygoods Store, which he conducted until the latter part of 1873. Meanwhile, he had become manager of the Academy of Music, the first modern theatre in Reading, erected by his father, Joseph Mishler, and opened Oct. 1, 1872. This he managed until 1886, when the present Academy of Music, of which he is the Manager, was erected by a stock company with himself as a member. In 1873 he established the Mishler Theatre Circuit of Eastern Pennsylvania, having theatres in nine cities, which he controlled for years. He now controls theatres in Reading, Allentown, Altoona, and Johnstown, Pa., and Trenton, N.J. In 1877-1878 he toured the country as Manager of the Swedish Ladies' Vocal Quartette, and was Manager of Bartholomew's celebrated "Equine Paradox" for five years. Mr. Mishler has been a contributor to various newspapers and has run special departments. He is a member of the Reading Press Club. He was one of the first Directors of the Penn Street Passenger Railway Company, organized in 1874; was one of the organizers of the Reading Board of Health, and in 1891 organized the Berks County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of which he was the President for five years. He has been engaged in public movements, many charities, and is at present Secretary of the Associated Charities of Reading, giving attention to systematic benevolence. On Dec. 18, 1894, he organized the Pennsylvania Bill Posters' Association and has been its President ever since. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 509)
President Reading Board of Trade; born in Spring Township, Berks County, Pa., Nov. 1, 1839, the fifth son of William and Mary Mohn. His education was acquired in the district schools and in Adamstown and Churchtown, Pa. At the age of eighteen years he secured a clerkship in the general store of S.K. Mohn, in Mohnsville, where he served three years. He was subsequently a clerk in stores in Gouglersville, Reinholdsville, Adamstown and Reamstown. For four years he was general manager of a store in the last mentioned place. He then removed to Reading, and in 1871 formed a partnership with his brothers in the hat manufacturing business. The firm of J.G. Mohn & Bro. is still in this business. For five years Mr. Mohn was also interested in the Mohn Hat Company, of Mohnsville, and for ten years in a hat commission house in New York. He has been a Director of the Penn National Bank since its incorporation in 1883; is a Director of the Reading Fire Insurance Company; and a stockholder and officer in a number of other companies. He was elected President of the Reading Board of Trade in January, 1903. He also served a term of four years in Select Council, being elected as a Republican. He was a delegate to the First General Conference of the United Evangelical Church in 1894, and delegate to the first East Pennsylvania Conference of the same denomination. He is now Treasurer of the Missionary Society and also Treasurer of the Albright College of that denomination. For some years he has been a member of the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Chautauqua at Mt. Gretna, Pa. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 512)
Postmaster; born Nov. 21, 1824, on Mohn Hill, Berks County, Pa; educated in common schools in Berks County, Pa. Postmaster at Mohnville, Pa. Wool hat manufacturer and interested in lumber and planing mill and now retired; married to Susanna Spatz, Aug. 24, 1847. He was one of the first settlers in the village of Mohnville, Berks County, in 1846. Republican in politics. Address, Mohnville, Berks County, Pa. (p. 512)
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Berks County; born at Tuscarora, Pa., Jan. 21, 1861; learned the printing trade in the office of the Mahanoy City Tribune; entered newspaper work, and for the past twelve years has been engaged as reporter for the Reading Eagle; served in two wars, having been a private in the Governor's Troop, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, of Harrisburg, during the Spanish-American war, and afterward a Second Lieutenant in the Thirty-ninth Infantry, United States Volunteers, this being one of the twenty regiments raised by special act of Congress to suppress the insurrection in the Philippines; was elected to the House of Representatives in November, 1902. Address, Reading, Pa. (pp. 512-513)
Lawyer; born in Reading, Pa., Nov. 10, 1846; son of John Leonard Montgomery; educated in the public schools, and then took up civil engineering as a profession. After several years of practical work in the field in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, he entered the office of Jacob S. Livingood, one of the oldest lawyers at the Reading bar, as a student at law. He also attended the law department of Harvard University for two terms. On Aug. 28, 1871, he was admitted to the Reading bar, where he has been in active practice ever since. Mr. Montgomery has given much attention to literary pursuits, and is the author of a. "Political Hand Book of Berks County, Pa," "History of Berks County," "Berks County in the Revolution," "Sesqui-Centennial History of Reading and Berks County," "History of Conrad Weiser," and various pamphlets and newspaper articles. He was married in 1874 to Miss Florence Bush, a daughter of Dr. Andrew Bush, of East Coventry Township, Chester County, Pa. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 513)
Pastor Reformed Church; born near Bethlehem, Pa., March 2, 1858; educated in the public schools and Lehigh University, graduating in 1883; received the degree of A.M. from his Alma Mater; studied theology in the Seminary of the Reformed Church at Lancaster, Pa., graduating in 1886; ordained and installed as pastor of Salem Reformed Church, Catasauqua, Pa., in 1886, which position he resigned June 12, 1904, to become Superintendent of Bethany Orphans' Home, Womelsdorf, Pa. Editor of the consistory department of the Reformed Church Messenger since 1893, and Professor of German in the Allentown College for Women since November, 1899. Translated a number of hymns into German, among them being "Lead, Kindly Light" and "Abide with Me, Fast Falls the Eventide." Married Matilda Applegate June 26, 1883. Democrat in politics. Address, Womelsdorf, Pa. (p. 518)
Clergyman; born on Aug. 12, 1861, at Hummelstown, Pa.; educated in public schools and Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa. Common school teacher, also teacher of Select School, normal and academic; minister of Gospel and Chaplain of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania during 1891 and 1892; married Annie Lefevre Nissley, Jan. 21, 1892; Pastor of Reformed Church at Hummelstown, Pa., from 1888 to 1892; at Altoona, from 1892 to 1904; at Reading, from 1904. Built new church at Altoona, costing $35,000. Is at present pastor of a congregation of about 1,200 members. Independent in politics. Address, 611 Washington St., Reading, Pa. (p. 526)
Physician; born at Gettysburg, Pa., Nov. 18, 1852; educated in Pennsylvania College and Muhlenberg College, where he graduated in 1868; subsequently studied medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1872. Dr. Muhlenberg is descended from a family of much honor in Pennsylvania, which began in America with Rev. Dr. H.M. Muhlenberg, pastor of one of the earliest Lutheran Churches in this country. One of his great-grandfathers was a General in the Revolution, his statue being in the Rotunda, of the Capitol at Washington. Opening an office in Reading, Dr. Muhlenberg soon gained a large practice and won a flattering reputation as physician and surgeon; at one time he served on the Board of Health of Reading. He is a member and was at one time President of the Bucks County Medical Society, and is Surgeon to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Address, Reading, Pa. (p. 528)
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