Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery
p. 646
Surnames: SEIDER, YEAGER, WAGNER, ARMPREISTER
Among the prominent men of Reading, Pa., may be mentioned Jeremiah
Seider, of No. 927 Douglas street, who has for some years been
engaged in contracting. He was born Jan. 5, 1830, in Reading, son
of Daniel and Mary (Yeager) Seider.
Daniel Seider, who was a boatbuilder in Reading
in the early days, later removed to Northumberland county, Pa.,
where he engaged in farming until 1845, then returning to Reading,
where he carried on the work of carpenter. In 1850 he was engaged
in the Reading Cotton factory, and in 1862 as a soldier in the
Union army, he lost his life in the Civil war. He and his wife had
about twelve children, of whom Jeremiah was the fifth. Daniel
Seider was a Lutheran in religious belief, while his wife belonged
to the Reformed denomination.
Jeremiah Seider secured a somewhat limited
education in the schools of Reading. He enlisted on April 18, 1861,
and was made sergeant. He re-enlisted in the Ordinance department
and became first lieutenant of artillery, serving ninety days in
1863, and being now the only living officer of that command. After
being honorably discharged he engaged in the contracting business.
which he followed to the present time, and was for one year in
partnership with John B. Wagner. Mr. Seider was the first building
inspector of Reading, and has been one of the best known
contractors of the city. Although he has reached an age when most
men are willing to give up their active operations, Mr. Seider has
not thought of so doing. Standing six feet, one inch in height, and
weighing 200 pounds, he is robust and hearty, and is in full
possession of all his faculties, being able to read without glasses
as well as a young man of twenty.
Mr. Seider was married in April, 1856, to Leann
Armpreister, born 1830, and who died in November, 1904, aged
seventy-two years. To this union there were born two children:
Rosanna, deceased; and Jerome, deceased, formerly a letter carrier,
and also captain of Company I, 4th Reg. Pa. National Guards. Mr.
Seider is a member of McLean Post, G. A. R., formerly a member of
Chandler Lodge of Masons, and of the I. O. O. F. In politics he is
a Republican.
p. 1496
Surnames: SEIDERS, HOFFMAN, ENGELBACH, NAGEL, CLILLINGER, BURKERT,
PENNYPACKER, FISHER, MAST
Henry Seiders is a representative citizen of Hamburg, Berks county,
Pa., engaged in the manufacture of boilers. He was born May 2,
1858, in Lebanon county, this State, son of William and Mary
(Hoffman) Seiders.
Friederich Seiders, his grandfather, was born
about 1792, dying in 1847. His wife, Christina, bore him fourteen
children, among them being Jacob, Godlieb, Friederich, Godfrey,
Charles, and William.
William Sieders was born in February, 1822, and
died of dropsy, July 9, 1875. He was a boiler-maker by occupation.
He was the father of these children: Christina married John
Engelbach; Mary married William A. Nagel; Elizabeth died in her
nineteenth year; Charles married Crilla Clillinger; Rosa married
John Burkert; Henry; Lewis died in childhood; William died single
aged thirty-three years; Maud, deceased, married John Pennypacker;
Annie is deceased; three children died young.
Henry Seiders attended the
public schools of Reading-whither his family had removed when he
was still quite young?until he was thirteen years of age, and then
learned the trade of boiler-making, which he has followed ever
since. In 1886 he engaged in the manufacture of boilers at East
Stroudsburg, employing thirty-five men, and in 1901 sold out at
this place, coming to Hamburg in September of that year. Here he
engaged in the same business, and now employs a force of fifteen
men. His boilers have a ready sale in the open markets, and are
shipped to all countries of the world. He resides with his family
in his own residence at the corner of Grand and Third streets,
Hamburg.
Mr. Seiders was married March 10, 1882, to
Catherine Fisher, daughter of George and Mary (Mast) Fisher, and
four children have been born to this union; Harry A., Mary L.,
Glossie W. and Nellie E.
p. 1245 Surnames: SEIDERS, ENGLE, LEVAN,
HOYER, BREISH, RINGLER, ADAMS, BROWNMILLER, KREIG, FRAME, MAYER,
EMORE, GRANT, ROHRBACH, CLARK
Henry E. Seiders, who is engaged in the draying business at
Millmont, Berks county, is a veteran of the Civil war, in which
great struggle he took an active part. Mr. Seiders was born May 2,
1847, in Reading, Pa., son of Benjamin L. and Esther (Engle)
Seiders.
Lewis Seiders, the grandfather of Henry E., was
a boatbuilder by occupation, and was a man of substance and
sterling worth. He married Mary Levan, and to them were born the
following children: Isaac; Lewis; Solomon; Benjamin L.; Jackson;
John; Emma, who married Mahlon G. Hoyer, a soldier in the Civil
war; and Caroline, who married Reuben Breish. Lewis Seiders died at
the age of seventy-six years.
Benjamin L. Seiders was born Jan. 19, 1826, in
Reading, where his death occurred Sept. 11, 1861. Like his father,
he was a boat-builder, was employed as engineer on the Philadelphia
& Reading Railroad when wood was used for fuel, and also held a
responsible position with the Navigation Company of Reading. His
wife survived him some years, dying when seventy-four years of age.
Their children were: Katie, m. John W. Ringler, of No. 205 Bingaman
street, Reading; Mary A., m. the late Henry Adams; and Henry E. In
political matters Benjamin L. Seiders was a Republican.
The educational advantages of Henry E. Seiders
were decidedly limited, consisting of but three days attendance in
the Reading schools. When but fourteen years old he enlisted, July
31, 1861, in Co. L, 1st Pa. Cav., and while a member of that
organization was captured by the Confederates, May 2, 1863, at
Chancellorsville. For about three months he was kept a prisoner,
being confined in the famous Libby Prison, and was then paroled,
when he returned home. Shortly thereafter, however, he rejoined his
regiment, and served with it until the close of the war, receiving
his honorable discharge Aug. 16, 1865. Mr. Seiders' record in the
army is that of a brave and faithful soldier, and one of which any
man might well be proud. While giving Mr. Seiders' war record, the
following may be quoted which appeared in a Reading paper under the
caption "Soldiers meet after lapse of over forty years": "A reunion
took place in Reading on Memorial
Day, between Henry H. Brownmiller, burgess of
Orwigsburg, and Henry E. Seiders of Millmont. It was their first
meeting since the war. The 'Squire', who is a Civil war veteran,
had accepted an invitation to make an address at Boyertown. He
arrived in Reading in the morning, and learned that his car would
not be due for over an hour. While on Penn street he saw the
letters--'Keim Post, No. 76, G. A. R.' in front of the building at
No. 410. As he had some time to spare he dropped in, and one of the
first to greet him was Mr. Seiders. Each eyed the other closely,
and the 'Squire' finally said: 'Isn't your name Seiders, a member
of Co. L, 1st Pa. Cav.?' 'Yes,' was the reply, and a moment later
Mr. Brownmiller recognized his old comrade in arms. This was their
first meeting since June, 1865, at Chancellorsville, and a merry
time followed."
On his return to Reading after the close of the
war, Mr. Seiders secured employment in the rolling mill of the
Philadelphia & Reading Company, and later at John Kreig's mill,
continuing at this kind of work for twenty-five years, when he
became foreman in the coal establishment of A. L. Frame for a
period of five years. He was for one year engaged in the ice
business in Reading, and July 10, 1893, came to Millmont. Since
1899 he has been engaged in draying for the Prizer Painter Stove
works, owning all of his own teams. Mr. Seiders makes this business
a paying one, as he is known to be reliable and trustworthy and
faithful in carrying out the letter of any contract. He is a member
of the Keim Post No. 76, G. A. R., which he joined in 1899, and of
which he is past commander, and also of Lodge No. 169, I. O. O. F.,
Reading. From 1870 to 1872 Mr. Seiders served as a member of the
Reading police force, under Mayor Samuel C. Mayer.
On April 11, 1868, Henry E. Seiders was united
in marriage with Amanda Emore, daughter of Frederick and Caroline
(Grant) Emore, and to this union there were born the following
children: Henry F., of No. 831 Bingaman street, m. Ida Rohrbach;
Samuel W., of No. 1051 Culvert street, Reading, m. Fianna Clark;
Israel E. and Ammon O. are at home; Benjamin died when eighteen
years of age; and Emma died when seven years old. Mr. and Mrs.
Seiders are also rearing two of their
grandchildren--Charles H. and Benjamin F. Seiders.
p. 1178
Surname: SEIDLE, BEARD, CARE, JOHNSON, FOCHT, MOYER, BEARD, FINK,
CONNER, TAFT
Thomas C. Seidle, of George W., Beard & C., prominent and
successful building contractors at Reading, and chairman of the
Republican county committee, was born Jan. 22, 1866, in Birdsboro,
Pa., son of William R. and Elizabeth (Care) Seidle.
The forerunners of the Berks county Seidles were
three brothers, emigrants from Sweden prior to the war of the
Revolution, one of whom became the owner of land in Longswamp
township, which he sold later to purchase a tract near Stony Creek,
just above the Stony Creek mills in Exeter township, where he
erected an iron forge, subsequently becoming one of the pioneer
ironmasters of Berks county. He had three sons: Benjamin, Philip
and Nicholas, the first named of whom became associated with his
father in the forge at Stony Creek, and the latter two removed to
where the village of Gibraltar is located, Nicholas afterward
building what are known as the Yocum forges in Cumru township,
which he operated for some years. These he later sold and removed
to Reading, where the remainder of his life was spent in
retirement.
William R. Seidle, father of Thomas C., was a
native of Robeson township, Berks county. He became an
agriculturist and a rolling mill employee. He died from the effects
of an accident in July, 1893, in his fifty-sixth year, and his wife
Elizabeth Care survived him until 1905, when she died aged
seventy-two years. They were the parents of six children, namely:
Nicholas; Sarah (m. Henry Johnson); Thomas C.; Harry H.; William
and Annie. In religious belief Mr. Seidel was a Lutheran, while his
wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal faith. In politics he was
a Republican, and he was very patriotic, enlisting as a soldier in
the Civil war in response to President Lincoln's call for 100-day
men.
Thomas C. Seidel received his education in the
schools of Birdsboro, Pa., and as a boy started to work in the nail
factory of the E. & G. Brooke Iron Company, during the summer
months and in vacations, while still attending school in the winter
months. After graduating from the Birdsboro high school, he taught
school for six years, and passed a preliminary examination. This,
however, he gave up, and in 1888 he became assistant chief clerk
for L. H. Focht, being appointed chief clerk in 1890, a position he
retained until 1894, when he resigned to engage in the publishing
business, putting out "Thomas C. Seidle's Photographs of the Most
Eminent Modern Statesmen and Politicians of the United States of
America." This he continued to do with an office in Washington, D.
C., but two years later he sold out his interest to Harry Moyer, to
accept a position as bookkeeper with George W. Beard, and this he
retained until the incorporation of the firm under the name of
George W. Beard & Co., Inc., with George W. Beard, president;
Thomas C. Seidle, secretary and treasurer; and Andrew J. Fink, Jr.,
manager. This was unchanged until 1903, when Mr. Fink and Mr.
Seidle purchased Mr. Beard's interest, and they have since carried
on the business under the same firm name.
In 1892 Mr. Seidle married Ella V. Conner, a
native of Birdsboro, Pa., and to this union has been born one
daughter, Marion C., at school. Mrs. Seidel is a member of the I.
O. O. F., of Birdsboro; the K. G. E.; and the P. O. S. of A. He has
been prominent in politics, and is now serving as chairman of the
Republican county committee. For six years he served as school
director in Birdsboro, and has been delegate to many county
conventions. He was elected delegate to the national convention
which met in Chicago in June, 1908, and nominated Judge William H.
Taft for President of the United States.
p. 1579
Surnames: SEILING
George Seiling, fresco painter in Reading from
1850-1890, was born Aug. 22, 1818, in Bavaria, and was there
educated. He studied art at Bremen intending to become an artist,
but soon inclined to frescoing. He emigrated to America when
nineteen, and located at Carlisle, Pa. After remaining there, and
at Hamburg, until 1846, he removed to Reading and there carried on
the business of church interior decorating until he died, June 27,
1893. He produced many master-pieces of a religious character in
various churches in Pennsylvania, several of which are in Reading
and others in Philadelphia.
p
1223
Surnames: SEITZINGER, WENRICH, HART, ENCK, GRAUL, BROWN, PICKENS,
STIRK, DREXEL, FRITZ, GOOD, HOFFMASTER
Mandon W. Seitzinger, junior member of the well-known plumbing firm
of Fritz & Seitzinger, of Reading, Pa., was born March 1, 1869,
in Wernersville, Pa., son of Josiah H. and Sarah (Wenrich)
Seitzinger.
Josiah H. Seitzinger was born April 26, 1836, in
Heidelberg township, Berks county, son of Joseph and Elizabeth
(Hart) Seitzinger, the former of whom was born in Berks county, and
for many years engaged in blacksmithing and farming in Heidelberg
township, then going to Lebanon county, where he died. Josiah H.
Seitzinger attended the schools of his native township, and under
his father learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for
thirty years in Reading, for a number of years being in the
Philadelphia & Reading shop. On Jan. 19, 1858, he married Sarah
Wenrich, daughter of Jacob Wenrich, of Robesonia, and they had
children as follows: Katie M., born April 28, 1859, m. Davilla
Wenrich, and they reside in Heidelberg township; Ida L. E. , born
May 1, 1860, is single; Morgan W., born Oct. 25, 1861, died when
twenty-four years old; Sarah A., born May 10, 1863, m. Levi Enck,
and resides in Reading; Milton W., born June 9, 1866, m. Annie
Graul, and they reside in Reading; Mandon W.; Clara P., born June
10, 1871, m. Warren W. Brown, and they reside in Reading; Maggie
A., born Dec. 8, 1872, m. (first) James Pickens and since his death
has married again; Morris J., born Sept. 10, 1874, m. Annie Stirk;
Monroe W., born Oct. 21, 1876, resides with his mother in Reading;
and Eva E., born June 1, 1879, died when four months and fifteen
days old.
Mandon W. Seitzinger was educated in the schools
of Reading, after leaving which he became a newsboy. Later he
engaged at the Reading Hardware Works, his next employment being in
a cigar factory. In 1888 he apprenticed himself to John Drexel at
the plumbing business, and for thirteen and one-half years worked
as a journeyman. In 1905 Mr. Seitzinger formed a partnership with
J. Howard Fritz, and since that time they have conducted a first
class business at No. 328 N. Sixth street, employing on a average
ten people. Their specialty is steam and hot water fitting. They
carry a full line of stock connected with the business. Mr.
Seitzinger is a member of the P. O. S. of A., and Juniata Tribe,
No. 174, I. O., R. M. He votes independent of party ties, and his
religious belief is that of the Lutheran Church.
On Nov. 27, 1895, Mr. Seitzinger married Miss
Elizabeth Good, daughter of Peter and Emeline (Hoffmaster) Good.
Mr. and Mrs. Seitzinger have no children. They have resided in
their own home at No. 921 Windsor street, Reading, since the spring
of 1902.
p. 779 Surnames: SEITZINGER, COLLINS, GETZ, BARBEY
In the early death of William W. Seitzinger, which occurred at his
home Sept. 21,1909, there was lost to the city of Reading one of
its most enterprising young business men. Mr. Seitzinger was born
in 1860, in Philadelphia, Pa., son of Jacob J. and Hannah (Collins)
Seitzinger.
After leaving the common schools of his native
city Mr. Seitzinger entered the University of Pennsylvania, from
which he was graduated, and in April, 1896, he took up civil
engineering. Later he became associated with Mr. James K. Getz, as
secretary and treasurer of the Reading Shale Brick Company, a
prominent business concern, and in this capacity he was serving at
the time of his death. He was an able business man, and was popular
in business and fraternal circles. Mr. Seitzinger was a thirty-
second degree Mason, a member of Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.,
and was also connected with the Wyomissing and Berkshire Clubs. In
religious belief he was a Lutheran, and attended Trinity Church of
that faith, of which his widow is a member.
In 1895 Mr. Seitzinger married Miss Anna L.
Barbey, the eldest daughter of John Barbey, a sketch of whose life
will be found elsewhere.
p. 1222
Surnames: SELAK, FRILL, REINER
Frank C. Selak, for some time a business man of Reading, Pa., but
best known, perhaps, in connection with his work as a musician and
conductor of an orchestra, was born in York county, Pa., Oct. 17,
1860.
Mr. Selak grew up in York county, attending the
public schools, and while yet a mere boy showed marked promise
along musical lines. During his youth and early manhood he was
employed in several capacities, but through it all he kept up his
musical studies and was for many years actively connected with
various organizations of that nature. For a long time he was
president and treasurer of the Germania Band, and in that position
rendered valuable service. In 1903 he organized Selak's Band and
Orchestra, and for four years was the conductor of that body. His
musicians became very favorably known and besides furnishing the
music for the Carsonia Park Association for several years, he and
his men were called upon at many of Reading's social functions,
banquets, etc. while their fine music made the equally well known
and popular in Carlisle, York, Harrisburg, and other cities in the
southeastern part of the State.
After settling in Reading Mr. Selak went into
business and was prominently engaged in carrying on a bird store.
For a number of years he was located on South Sixth street, and did
a flourishing business, but finally sold the property and
established himself in the Mansion House Building. His health
failed, however, and he was obliged to give up his business and
take up his residence on a farm of 100 acres, which he owned in
Cumru township, Berks county, one of the finest farms of that
section. There he devoted himself to the culture of gold fish,
having twenty large ponds, and, with every facility at hand for
breeding them successfully, has made his venture a profitable one.
Mr. Selak owns some valuable property in Reading, including a
handsome residence, which he has remodeled and made into one of the
most desirable places in the city. This was the well-known George
Frill mansion at No. 118 South Fifth street. In the fall of 1908,
he built a large aquarium (30 x 65 feet), in the rear of his Fifth
street residence, which he devotes to the purpose of breeding
Japanese goldfish. This has been pronounced one of the most up to
date and finest in the country. Entirely a self made man, Mr. Selak
has won his success by strict attention to business, and has won an
enviable reputation among Reading's men of affairs. He is a member
of the Reading Board of Trade, and as such always used his
influence to promote the city's best welfare, both commercially and
financially. He is a Democrat in politics, but has never sought
political preferment.
In 18889 Mr. Selak married Miss Rosie Reiner, of
Reading, and their union has been blessed with four children,
Edmond, Maria (deceased), Carl and Florence. The family are
connected with the St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church.
p.
799
Surnames: SELLERS, HEINLY, SOLLER, JOHNSON, BODDER, LEIDY, FABER,
BOYER, MCNOLTY, MARRET, KELCHNER, HESSER, HORNE, TOBIAS, BODENHORN,
STEIN, SKELTON, WHITE, TREXLER
Elmer Jacob Sellers, druggist at Kutztown since 1887, was born at
Windsor Castle, Berks county, June 18, 1861, son of Mahlon A. and
Leah (Heinly) Sellers, both descendants of early families of
Pennsylvania.
(I) The home of the Sellers family (the name being originally
spelled Soller) was in Germany, in a town called Vinom, near the
city of Mannheim, on the Bergstrasse, in the Palatinate, and the
progenitor was Philip Henry Soller. He there learned the trade of a
butcher, and after following it some years, until about 1730, he
with his wife and four children, emigrated to America, landing at
Philadelphia. He then proceeded up the Schuylkill Valley to the
Skippack, and after remaining there a short time bought two hundred
acres of land along the creek, one mile below Sellersville, in
Bucks county, and on this plantation he carried on farming during
the remainder of his life, dying at the age of sixty-five years. He
had ten children?seven sons and three daughters?Philip, Leonard,
Philip Henry, John, Paul, Peter, Jacob, Elizabeth, Magdalena, and
Margaret.
(II) John Sellers, the fourth son, located in Hilltown township,
Berks county, and there he died at the age of fifty-five years. He
was the father of seven children, of whom two daughters and one son
died in infancy, those surviving to maturity being Abraham, Samuel,
John and Elizabeth. His wife was a daughter of William Johnson, a
native of Holland, was became a substantial farmer in Skippack.
When Mr. Sellers and his wife were married she could speak but
little German, and he little and very poor English.
(III) Abraham Sellers, eldest son of John, was born June 30, 1758,
and he died Sept. 27, 1831. He married Sophia Bodder, born March 9,
1762, and died Dec. 10, 1836, daughter of Peter and Regina Bodder.
Peter Bodder, born June 20, 1727, came from Germany, was bound as a
servant to Charles Leidy, and when free, married and settled in
Hilltown, Bucks county, where he died Aug. 25, 1805. His wife
Regina, also from Germany, born in December, 1735, died Dec. 3,
1808, and they had four children?Jacob, John Sophia, and Catherine.
To Abraham and Sophia (Bodder) Sellers were born the following
children: Tobias, born Sept. 19, 1781; Sarah, March 26, 1783;
Lydia, Nov. 26, 1785; Mary, June 24, 1787; Jesse, March 16, 1789;
John, Nov. 17, 1790; Cornelius, April 13, 1793; Amelia, Sept. 1,
1794; Tirza, March 13, 1797; Peter Franklin, Aug. 14, 1800; Joel,
Feb. 23, 1806.
(IV) Tobias Sellers, son of Abraham and Sophia, was married on
Easter Sunday, 1805, to Elizabeth Faber, daughter of the Rev. John
Theobald Faber, and they had eight children: Charles, born Oct. 2,
1806 (m. Hannah Boyer, daughter of Henry Boyer, of Boyertown);
Nathaniel, born July 27, 1808 (m. Magdaline McNolty, daughter of
Samuel McNolty); William, born March 23, 1810 (m. Jane Marret,
daughter of William Marret); Faber, born May 15, 1812; Evaline,
born June 17, 1815; Mahlon Abraham, born Aug. 22, 1818 (m. Leah
Heinly, daughter of Jacob Heinly and Maria Kelchner, his wife);
Henry Augustus, born Sept. 11, 1820 (m. Mary Hesser, daughter of
George Hesser); Washington John, born July 30, 1825 (m. Amanda
Horne, daughter of Pearson Horne). Tobias Sellers was a physician
of note, practising at Sumneytown, Montgomery county, and three of
his sons followed the same profession. He was one of the delegates
to revise the Constitution of Pennsylvania in 1837.
(V) Mahlon Abraham Sellers, son of Tobias and Elizabeth, was born
at Sumneytown, and his long and useful life closed at Philadelphia,
Dec. 16, 1901. His wife was born at the old hotel stand in Windsor
Castle, April 22, 1825, and died Jan. 22, 1901. Among their twelve
children were: Elenora E. Maria, born June 15, 1844, died Feb. 18,
1892; Oliver H. Tobias, born Feb. 8, 1846, lives at Hamburg, where
he is superintendent of the Prudential Life Insurance Company;
Andora Evelina, born June 2, 1848, died at Windsor Castle Feb. 20,
1852; Washington Mahlon, born Dec. 20, 1850, died March 3, 1863;
Tobias Faber, born May 8, 1853, has been in the employ of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Philadelphia for many years; Clara
Leah was born Oct. 6, 1855; Arpa Sophia, born March 16, 1858, died
Dec. 10, 1860; Elmer J. was born June 18, 1861; Oscar William, born
Oct. 3, 1863, is a druggist at Philadelphia; Lenus Theobald, born
June 2, 1870, died Oct. 10, 1885. Jacob Heinly, father of Mrs.
Sellers, kept the hotel at Windsor Castle from 1820 to 1843. This
hotel was then known as the "Black Horse Inn," its sign showing the
picture of a black horse. It was one of the oldest in that section
of the country, and was a two-story frame building, with five rooms
and a hall on each floor. It was torn down some years ago.
In 1836 Mahlon A. Sellers began as an apprentice
to the printer's trade, and served there years, receiving besides
board and clothing the first year $25, the second $50, and the
third $75. This was in the office of the Bauern Freund, published
at Sumneytown (now at Pennsburg). At the end of his apprenticeship
he traveled over the State, and worked in newspaper and job offices
at Doylestown, Harrisburg, Aaronsburg, Hamburg and elsewhere. For a
time he was one of the managers of the German weekly at Reading
called Stern im Oesten, and after ward published the Hamburg
Schnellpost. At Harrisburg, Mr. Sellers was one of three partners
who published a newspaper known as the Porter Banner, which was
popular among the State politicians of that day.
Mahlon A. Sellers named Windsor Castle because
it was the business center of the township. When he first located
there, Hamburg was the nearest postoffice, and through his efforts
a postoffice was established in 1856. He was appointed postmaster
and filled the office for forty-five years. For many years he took
much interest in military affairs, serving as captain of the
Windsor Cavalry, and being one of the organizers of the Windsor
Rifle Rangers. He aided materially in organizing the Windsor Mutual
Fire Insurance Company in 1844, and its annual meetings were held
at his hotel for many years. The company is still in existence and
in good standing. He also assisted in establishing the Windsor
Society for Detecting Horse Thieves in 1859; and he served as
secretary for many years. He started a creamery about 1876, which
is still carried on there. In 1847 he was elected justice of the
peace, and held the office for upwards of thirty years. From 1876
to 1879 he was clerk of the Quarter Session of Berks county.
For more than fifty years Mahlon A. Sellers was
proprietor of the hotel. For about fifty years a store was carried
on in a room adjoining the bar-room, but in 1840 a store building
was erected on the opposite side of the road. Mr. Sellers operated
the store for about twenty years until 1868. The hotel was very
popular through the courtesy and sociability of Mr. Sellers and the
superior cooking of Mrs. Sellers.
(VI) Elmer Jacob Sellers was educated in the public schools of his
native township, and at the Keystone State Normal School. At the
age of sixteen, he became an apprentice in the drug store of Adam
Bodenhorn, at Hamburg, and later that of Jacob Stein, at Reading,
serving an apprenticeship of three years. He then worked as a clerk
in different places, and in 1887 he became a registered pharmacist
when he purchased his present stand on Main street, Kutztown, and
he has since carried on a successful business.
Dr. Sellers is a man of high literary
attainments. He has written considerable poetry which has attracted
much attention; and he has also published a number of articles on
scientific subjects. He is an inventor, and some of his patented
inventions are in use today. In 1898 he invented a hitching post
for pavements.
On July 31, 1884, Mr. Sellers was married to
Sarah A. Skelton, daughter of James and Sarah Skelton, of Lykens,
Dauphin county. She died May 14, 1908, aged forty-four years. They
had two children: (1) Roy M., born July 26, 1885, educated in the
public schools of Kutztown and in the Keystone State Normal School;
took two years' course in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and
served as assistant under Dr. Robert White in Microscopy at the
Temple College of Pharmacy, graduating with first honors, June 1,
1907; became a registered pharmacist in 1908, and received the
degree of Pharmaceutical chemist from the Temple University in
1909. He is now assisting his father. He married Nettie G. Trexler,
daughter of David S. Trexler. (2) Bertha L, is a graduate of the
Keystone State Normal School, class of 1908. Mr. Sellers and his
family are members of the St. Paul Reformed Church at Kutztown. In
politics he is a Democrat. For three years he served as a member of
the borough council, for two years acting as president. For many
years he was a director of the Kutztown Park Association. He is a
member of Huguenot Lodge, No. 377, F. & A. M.; of the National
Association of Retail Druggists; and the Berks County Association
of Retail Druggists.
p.
528
Surnames: SELLERS, JAMESON, MEDLAR, BACHMAN, FENSTERMACHER,
FREDERICK, RITTER, WITMAN, HEFFNER, WORMAN
James Philip Sellers, clothier at Reading for forty years and still
in active business, was born at Allentown, Pa., May 9, 1844, and
there educated in the public schools and the Allentown Academy. At
the suggestion of his uncle, James Jameson, he went to Reading in
1865, and after working in the Philadelphia & Reading Railway
Company's shop for eighteen months, entered the large wholesale and
retail clothing house of his uncle at the northeast corner of Penn
square, where he has continued to the present time.
For ten years Mr. Sellers was a salesman in the
store and his great interest and success in the business so won the
confidence of his uncle that he was then admitted as a partner in
the firm which has been trading for many years at the same stand as
J. Jameson & Co. In 1890 Mr. Jameson died; then the firm was
re-organized by the surviving partners, William A. Medlar, Mr.
Jameson's son-in-law, Charles S. Bachman, a former employee for
many years, and Mr. Sellers, as Sellers, Medlar & Bachman, the
nephew having taken the uncle's place as the senior partner in the
business, which evidences his superior character. In 1900 Mr.
Bachman withdrew from the firm on account of his age, and his
interest was purchased by William J. Frederick, of Allentown, a
nephew of Mr. Sellers, when the name was changed to J. P. Sellers
& Co. And thus it has continued to the present time. In 1908
Joseph Ritter Sellers, a son of the senior member, was admitted as
a partner.
In 1882 the electors of the Seventh ward elected
Mr. Sellers to represent them in the Common branch of the city
councils, and he served one term of two years, having been elected
on the Republican ticker. In 1890 he became identified with the
Board of Trade, and after serving on different committees, he
officiated as its president in 1901 and 1902. During the observance
of the sesqui-centennial of Reading in 1898, he was president of
the executive committee, and much of its success was due mainly to
his unremitting labors during a preparatory period of two years.
Mr. Sellers has also been identified with the financial affairs of
Reading, serving as a director of the Reading Mutual Fire Insurance
Company, and of the Pennsylvania Trust Company.
In 1868 Mr. Sellers was married to Elizabeth
Ritter, the only child of Joseph Ritter and Eliza Witman, his wife,
both of whom were descendants of the earliest inhabitants of
Reading. By her he is the father of a son Joseph Ritter, who
married Minnie Heffner, daughter of Daniel Heffner of Reading, and
they have one son James Heffner Sellers. Mrs. Sellers died in 1908.
She was a devoted member of Trinity Lutheran Church from her
childhood, as her parents and grandparents had been in the early
history of the church, and, on account of her superior voice was
chosen as a singer in the choir for fifteen years. She took an
active part in the Sunday-school work for many years, and also in
works of charity for the congregation as well as the community at
large.
Joseph Ritter, father of Mrs. Sellers, was the
honored court crier of the Berks county courts for forty years from
the establishment of the court house at Sixth and Court streets in
1840, and upon his decease in 1880 the judges and lawyers, at a
public meeting held for that purpose, passed highly complimentary
resolutions eulogizing his superior character. At a Bar supper,
Dec. 20, 1872, in appreciation of his distinguished services and
uniform courtesy, they presented him with a fine gold watch and
chain.
The father of Mr. Sellers was Philip Sellers, a
wholesale tobacco and cigar manufacturer at Allentown for fifteen
years. He died in 1851 aged forty-six years. He was married to
Elizabeth Worman, daughter of Henry Worman, of Allentown, who died
in 1876, aged seventy-three years. They had three children: James
P.; Henry; and Mary, m. to Benneville Frederick, of Allentown,
whose son William J. is now a member of J. P. Sellers & Co. His
antecedents were brought up in the vicinity of Sellersville in
Bucks county, Pennsylvania.