Source: Pennsylvania, A History, George P. Donehoo, (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1926), p. 19
Surnames: Hinkel, Hughes, Boone, Penrose, Kirby, Lightfoot, Tomlinson, King, Mussina, Winters
(The Yarnell Line)
On Doctor Hinkel's maternal side, his mother belonged to the Yarnell family who at one time owned most of the land in the vicinity of what is now Mount Carmel. The family is an old one in Pennsylvania, of English Quaker stock, Francis and Peter Yarnell having come from their native land with the Hugheses, Boones, Penroses, Kirbys and Lightfoots, and settled in Oley Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. They were among the fifty or more families left out when the township was erected, and the people to the "south part of Oley" therefore petitioned the Court of Philadelphia, in 1741, to erect, that part into a township, which petition was granted. Among the sixteen signers to this petition were Francis and Peter Yarnell. A member of the same family, Jesse Yarnell, kept a hotel on the old Minersville road at the crossing of Mahoney creek, near Otto's forge, Schuylkill County, about four miles south of Mount Carmel. An Indian path which led from the vicinity of Roaring Creek Township, Columbia County, to his hotel is referred to in the early official records of Northumberland County, as "Yarnell's Path." He married Hannah Penrose, of Roaring Creek Township, whose people, like his, came from Maiden-creek Township, Berks County, and were Friends.
Richard Yarnell, son of Jesse and Hannah (Penrose) Yarnell, was born April 10, 1791, and died October 14, 1847. He learned the trade of carpenter and millwright, and about the time that he reached manhood, the Centre turnpike was constructed resulting in a large increase in travel between Danville and Sunbury on the north and Reading and Pottsville on the south. A favorable opportunity was presented for the erection of a hotel on this important thoroughfare at the present site of Mount Carmel, which is about equidistant from Danville and Pottsville, and prompted by these considerations, Mr. Yarnell erected the "Mount Carmel Inn," a two-story log structure, situated on the southeast side of the turnpike immediately northeast of the "Commercial Hotel." Here he opened and conducted his hotel, and was fairly successful for several years, but having become surety for a friend who failed to meet his obligations, the property was sold and he removed to the vicinity of Bear Gap, where for several years, he was variously employed. He then located on a small cleared tract near the old Minersville road, and also resided at the Tomlinson Farm, after which he again engaged in hotel keeping at the Riffert tavern, where he died. The Riffert Tavern was a log structure standing on the east side of the turnpike, north of the Lehigh Valley depot; it is not known who erected it, and under the management of its early owners it had acquired a questionable reputation, but under the management of Mr. Yarnell, as its proprietor, it received the confidence of the traveling public. He married Mary King, daughter of John King of Ralpho Township, and we have record of two of their sons, Jesse and John, of whom further; both of whom lived at Mount Carmel. The former was born July 7, 1815, near Bear Gap.
John Yarnell, son of Richard and Mary (King) Yarnell, was born February 15, 1828, at the Tomlinson farm in Coal Township, Northumberland County, and learned the carpenter's trade with his father, working at that occupation for some years. He became a well-to-do contractor and builder at Mount Carmel. He married, in 1859, Henrietta Mussina, daughter of Henry B. and Elizabeth (Winters) Mussina, of Center County, Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of seven children: 1. Mary Elizabeth, who married William H. Hinkel. 2. Henry M. 3. Newton L. 4. Richard K. 5. Jerusha M., deceased. 6. John W. 7. William.
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