Chapter XXXIX

Biographical Sketches – Nockamixon

L. M. ALTHOUSE

…merchant, P.O. Kintnersville, was born in 1842.  The original Althouse in this county settled in Bedminster township.  Daniel, grandfather of L. M., married a Wirt, to whom  three children were born.  Samuel, the oldest, was born and reared on the original fifty acres of land purchased by his ancestors.  He married Sarah, daughter of Henry Mittman, of Bucks county, by whom he had nine children, of whom seven are living.  Our subject was the second son.  He lived at home till he was 21 years old, going to school during the winter months.  In 1868 he located at this place, where he has since continued in business.  He was married in 1866 to Sarah, daughter of Jacob Kiser, of Nockamixon township.  They have two children:  Charles Franklin and Sarah Estella, both attending school in Kutztown.  Mr. Althouse is a very active man.  His store is filled with all kinds of seasonable goods and is well patronized.  He is postmaster under the Cleveland administration. He belongs to the order of Red Men.  He is a member of the Reformed church and in politics a democrat.

FRANK BEAN

…postmaster and merchant, P.O. Nockamixon, was born in 1840.  His father, Jacob, married Elizabeth Trouger, daughter of Jacob Trouger, of this county.  They had nine children, Frank being the fifth son.  Jacob was a tailor by trade, an occupation he followed for some twenty years, after that farming the remainder of his life.  Frank remained at home till he became a young man, and with a good common-school education left home and learned the bricklaying trade, which he followed till 1872, when he located at this place.  In 1871 he was married to Rosa, daughter of Joseph Kiefer, of Northampton county.  No children as yet have blessed this happy union.  Mr. Bean has his establishment well stocked with all kinds of goods found in a country store.  He is a great reader and has quite an extensive library.

WILSON W. BEAN

…merchant and manufacturer, P.O. Nockamixon, was born in this township in 1853.  His father, Henry, was born in Richland township, this county, in 1813 and died in 1882.  His first wife was Sarah, daughter of John Hager.  Nine children were born to this union, of whom Wilson was the eighth.  The mother died in 1856.  The father was again married in 1861 to Sarah Fritz, who had four children.  Henry Bean was a shoemaker and followed that business up to the time of his death, doing a wholesale trade, the goods being mostly sold in this county.  Wilson W. learned the trade of his father and keeps an average of fifteen men employed in the manufacture of boots and shoes.  He married Ida, daughter of Josiah Rufe, of this township.  She has borne him two children:  Bertha Estella and Chester Clarence.  Mr. Bean has recently built a handsome new residence near his old home.  He is a member of the Lutheran church and superintendent of the Sabbath school.  In politics he is a democrat.

CAPTAIN JOHN E. CORCORAN

…P.O. Upper Black’s Eddy, was born November 8, 1827.  His father, Patrick Corcoran, came from county Kings, Ireland, about 1826, and located in New York city.  He married Hannah Fell, who bore him five children, John being the only son.  At the age of 16 he learned the cabinet-making trade and worked at it until he was 21.  At the age of 22 he joined the miners and engineers then located at West Point and remained there three years.  After that he was employed two years by the government of Mexico on the Rio Grande.  In 1854 he came to Bucks county and assumed charge of the hotel, then the property of his brother-in-law.  At the outbreak of the civil war he raised a company of volunteers, which joined the 140^th regiment as company G.  The regiment was soon mustered into service at Doylestown and proceeded to Washington.  He was engaged in battle at the Peninsula, at the siege of Yorktown and at Fair Oaks, receiving at the last-named battle a severe wound from a minie ball May 31, 1862.  In consequence of this wound he was out of active service two months.  At the expiration of that time he again joined his regiment and served until the expiration of his time, September 30, 1864.  He then returned to Bucks county and in 1866 was elected by the democratic party to the office of sheriff.  He served one term in that capacity with credit.

G. W. GRIM

…physician, P.O. Revere, was born in Montgomery county in 1832.  His great-grandfather, John Grim (a native of Prussia), with his wife, by the name of Fisher, and a family of twelve children, first settled on the present site of Norristown, Montgomery county, about the year 1700.  The children grew up and scattered into Berks, Lehigh and Schuylkill counties.  The grandfather, George Grim, remained in Montgomery county and was married to Elizabeth Favinger, whose parents also emigrated from Prussia.  He had one son and two daughters.  The Dismant, of English and Irish extraction, whose family first settled in Upper Providence township, Montgomery county, in the beginning of the eighteenth century.  Our subject is a son of this union.  He remained at home with his parents until 14 years of age, when his father was killed on the Reading railroad.  The following nine years were employed in stove moulding, teaching and attending school at Washington Hall, Trappe, Montgomery county.  He received a good academic education, after which he took up the study of medicine and was graduated from Jefferson Medical college, of Philadelphia.  In 1857 he married Elizabeth Koons, by whom he has had the following children:  Ida, deceased; F. Harvey, a graduate of Jefferson Medical college; Warren, deceased; George Melvin, at home, also a graduate of Jefferson Medical college; A. Florence, now Mrs. Bigley; I. Webster, Frank S., Harry E., Cora B., Nora E., and James S.   In 1859 Dr. Grim came to Nockamixon township and has since been engaged in practice here.  He also superintends the work on his farm.  The family are members of the Reformed church, and the doctor is a democrat.

HENRY AND AUSTIN McCARTY

…the former a farmer and the latter a retired merchant, P.O. Bucksville, are sons of Nicholas McCarty.  Edward and Thomas McCarty, with their parents, Nicholas and Unity, came from the south of Ireland and located in Haycock and Nockamixon townships.  Four children were born to Edward, one of whom died when quite young.  Thomas, Nicholas and John grew to manhood and at their father’s death inherited equal shares of the two hundred and fifty acres purchased by their father.  Thomas remained on the homestead and had two sons:  Nicholas B. and Justus.  Nicholas, at the age of 21, married Julia Kohl and had two sons, Henry and Austin, and four daughters.  Henry was born in 1836 on the original tract purchased by Edward, a part of which he now owns.  In 1871 he was married to Mary Ellen, daughter of Allen and Lydia McCarty, of Haycock township. Their children are:  Arthur, Nora, Selesta, Grace and Blanche.  Mr. McCarty purchased from his mother the farm consisting of forty-eight acres and has always led the life of a farmer.  He is a member of the Catholic church and in politics a democrat.

AUSTIN, the second son of Nicholas, was born in Nockamixon township in 1838.  He received a good education and remained at home on the farm until he was 25 years old.  In 1872 he married Lucinda, daughter of Nicholas Buck.  They have three children:  Frank, Henry and Stella.  Mr. McCarty has been an active and progressive man.  He was a merchant at Bucksville for many years.  He has retired from the mercantile business, but still retains the position of postmaster.  In 1881 he was elected by the democratic party to the office of recorder, which position he faithfully and ably filled.  The family are members of the Catholic church.

THOMAS Y. McCARTY

…merchant, P.O. Bucksville, was born in 1850.  Thomas and Edward McCarty, two brothers, came from Cork, Ireland, to America about the year 1737, and purchased two hundred and twenty-three acres of land in Haycock and two hundred and fifty in Nockamixon.  Edward took possession of the land in Nockamixon.  He is known to have had two sons, Nicholas and John.  Thomas is presumed to have had no children and adopted his brother’s son, John, as the latter came into possession of the land in Haycock township at the death of Thomas.  John had three sons and one daughter.  One of his sons, Nicholas, was the father of three sons, Ross Thomas, John D. and Paul Abner, who was the oldest, and who married Louisa McIntyre, who bore him seven sons and two daughters.  Paul died in 1869.  His widow is still living, at the age of 77.  Thomas Y. was the youngest son.  In 1877 he married Isabella McCarty.  Four children have been born to this union:  Leo, Angels, Roscoe and Alacoque, all of whom are now living.  Nine years ago Mr. McCarty located at his present place, where he carries on quite an extensive business, dealing in general merchandise.  He has also a farm, the work of which he superintends.  He is a member of the Catholic church and a republican.

SEXTUS C. PURSELL

…Philadelphia, was born in Nockamixon township March 31, 1841.  He received his education in the public schools, the Milford, N. J. academy, and at the New York Conference seminary, at Charlotteville, N. Y.  October 1, 1863, he entered the service of the Belvidere Delaware railroad company, as clerk in the superintendent’s office, at Lambertville, N. J.  He remained in that position until December 1, 1867, when he resigned to accept the agency of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation company at Bethlehem, Pa.  He remained there but a few months when he was promoted to a position in the general office of the company at Mauch Chunk.  A change in the management of the company’s railroad led to his resignation, and he returned to his native place.  May 1, 1870, he again entered the service of the Belvidere road, in the office of the superintendent, and in the fall of the same year was elected member of assembly for Bucks county, and was re-elected in 1871.  June 1, 1874, he was appointed ticket agent for the Pennsylvania railroad company, at Kensington station, Philadelphia, and he still holds that position.  He was married January 14, 1875, to Camilla I. Gwinner.  They have had three children, one of whom died in 1885 at the age of nine years.

D. ROTHTROCK

…pastor of the Reformed church, P.O. Kintnersville, was born in Northampton county, Pa., in 1830.  His parents were Jonathan and Susanna (Derr) Rothtrock.  His grandparents were Samuel Rothtrock and his wife Anna Margareth, whose maiden name was Price.  His grandparents, and afterwards his parents, resided on the same farm, about one mile from Hellertown.  Samuel had four sons and six daughters.  Jonathan was the eighth child, and next to the youngest son.  He married Susanna, daughter of Daniel Derr, of Northampton county.  They had seven children, five sons and two daughters, all of whom are living.  Jonathan died when in his 74^th year, and his wife when in her 69^th year.  David was the fourth child.  He remained at home, going to school whenever he could, till he was in his 17^th year.  He then commenced teaching, and afterward for two summers attended Tremont seminary at Norristown, of which Rev. Samuel Aaron was principal.  From that time on, he was engaged in teaching during the winter months at first, and later nearly the whole year, till he was 25 years of age.  In 1852 he married Mary Ann, youngest daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Lerch) Hess.  They have two children, George W. and Jacob J., the latter a minister in Lansdale, Montgomery county.  It was in 1856 that Mr. Rothtrock began to study for the ministry, Dr. D. F. Brendle, pastor of several congregations of the Reformed church near Bethlehem, Pa., being his preceptor.  He was ordained in 1858.  He has been in charge of his present congregation for twenty-eight years, and since 1880 has been located at Kintnersville.  His church, of which he has so long been pastor, belongs to the Durham charge.

JACOB SUMSTONE

…deceased, was born in Nockamixon township in 1821 and died in 1886.  His father, Jacob, married Catherine Afflerback and by her had eight children, of whom Jacob, Jr., the fourth, was born and reared on his father’s farm.  He was married to Hester Clymer, to whom two children were born. She died in 1859, and in 1868 he was married to Mary Ellen, daughter of Peter and Mary (Springer) Laubenstine.  They have had six children, four of whom are now living:  Annie Mary, Alice, Lizzie and Eva; Katie May and Jacob Warren, the two youngest, are deceased.  Mr. Sumstone was in his day a prominent citizen, having taken an active part in the politics of his county.  His widow and children remain on the farm, which consists of one hundred acres, some of which are valuable timber land.  Mr. Sumstone owned other tracts of land in this and Springfield townships.  In politics he was a democrat.

History of the Counties of
 
Transcribed:  24 July 2008 by Patricia R. Smith Bastik