Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

p. 1280

Surnames: GABEL, MOYER, LATSHAW, HILL, HEIST, BRUMBACH, RUTTER,
BAER, EDDINGER, STAUFFER, BECHTEL, BROWNBACK, HOCH, SCHANTS,
KEPNER, GEHMAN, KUNSENHAUSER, SCHANTZ, BERTOLET, SHANAMAN, KOCH,
LUDY, BOYER, HARBOLD, HOUCK, YOST, SCHAFFER, GRIM, DOTTERY, SELL,
SWOYER, EHST

The first ancestor of whom there is definite record is (1) John
Gable, who was probably from Switzerland, and he died on board the
ship,

which was bringing him to America. His widow
landed at Philadelphia about 1735, with Heinrich and an elder
daughter who later married a man by the name of Moyer. The widow
Gabel lived at Philadelphia a year or so, when a man Jacob Latshaw,
of Colebrookdale township, Berks county, came to Philadelphia to
find a housekeeper. He was pleased with Mrs. Gabel and took her, as
well as her children, back home with him. At first she was his
housekeeper, but later they were married. They moved to Chester
county and had a family. Heinrich Gable married in Colebrookdale
township, and became a large land owner.

George Gable, head of another branch of the
Gable family, and a man of substance was a Hessian soldier who
remained in this country after the Revolution. He located here at a
very early day, before records were kept of realty transactions in
Ruscombmanor township, where he died in 1825. His relationship to
the Boyertown Gabels, if any, was very remote. He made his last
will and testament Feb. 16, 1815, died Oct. 7, 1825 and the will
was placed on record in Will Book D, page 463. He and his wife had
these children: Henry, Adam, George, Sarah, Christiana and Susanna.

Henry Gabel, son of George Gabel, married
Catherine Hill. They lived in Earl township, and had issue as
follows: Polly (m. Jonathan Heist); Jacob (died at Reading); George
(m. Susanna Brumbach, 1816-1883); Catherine (lived in Amity
township); Henry (died unmarried); Sally (m. Samuel Brumbach), and
William (was deaf and died unmarried).

(II) Heinrich Gabel, son of John Gabel and the Widow Gabel, and the
direct American ancestor of the Gabel family to which Ephraim G.
Gabel belongs, was born in Alsace, Germany, May 16, 1734, and died
March 9, 1828, aged ninety-three years, nine months and
twenty-three days. He is buried at Boyertown in the Mennonite
graveyard. He located in Colebrookdale township in 1736, having
been brought to this locality by the man who afterwards became his
step-father. Here he was reared, and in early life worked upon the
farm, in the employ of Rutter Bros., pioneer ironmasters of Berks
county. They bought 1000 acres of land from the Penns, and some of
this came into the possession of Heinrich Gabel, Jacob and John
Baer, William Eddinger, and the Stauffer and Bechtel farms.
Heinrich Gabel was a large property owner, and was probably a
member of the Mennonite Church. He came with his mother to
Colebrookdale township when only two years old, and spent his life
in the same locality. He made his will April 5, 1815, and this was
probated March 22, 1828, and is on record in Will Book 6, page 182.
He married Elizabeth Brownback, who was born in 1741, died in 1817,
aged seventy-five years, eleven months and nineteen days. They had
children as follows: (1) Jacob, born May 9, 1774, died Sept. 29,
1823, aged forty-nine years, four months and twenty days; his wife
was Catharine, daughter of John and Magdalene Hoch. She was born
Dec. 19, 1784, and died May 24, 1886, aged 101 years, five months
and five days. Both are buried in the Mennonite graveyard,
Boyertown. Jacob was a farmer and owned the farm now owned by
Daniel Gable in Colebrookdale township. (2) John. (3) Elizabeth
married Jacob Bechtel. (4) Hannah married John Schants, of Lehigh
county. (5) Maria married Jacob Kepner. (6) Magdalena married Jacob
Hoch. (7) Catharine married John Gehman. (8) Susanna married a Mr.
Kunsenhauser.

(III) John Gabel, son of Heinrich and grandfather of Ephraim, was
born on the homestead July 25, 1766, and died Aug. 21, 1830, aged
sixty-four years and twenty-six days, and is buried in the
Mennonite burying ground at Boyertown. By occupation he was a
farmer, and owned a large property, which is now cut up into a
number of farms, it having consisted of more than 400 acres. John
Gabel was a very large man, weighing more than 400 pounds at the
time of his death. In height he was over six feet and was of fine
proportions, and possessed magnificent strength. He had a very kind
heart, and was a very liberal man and good citizen. He married
Elizabeth Schantz, who was born in Lehigh county, in 1772, and died
in 1855. She and her husband had children as follows: Henry married
his cousin, Elizabeth Gabel, and settled in Pottsgrove township;
Susan married Joshua Bechtel; Catharine married Daniel Bertolet;
Elizabeth married John Shanaman; Jacob settled in Canada, and
married and died there; Abraham (born Oct. 11, 1709, died Oct. 23,
1885, aged eighty-six years and twelve days) conducted the store,
oil mill and farm at Gabelsville, becoming worth over $100,000,
married Elizabeth Ludy (1805-1855); David; Peter, born in 1805,
died the same year; Maria (1814-1869), married Levi Koch, who
bought his father-in-law’s farm and lived upon it; Rebecca died
after attaining maturity; Frank settled in Indiana; John went with
his brother, Jacob to Canada; and Daniel.

(IV) David Gabel, son of John and father of Ephraim, was born in
Colebrookdale township, on the same farm, in August, 1808, and died
in February, 1889, aged seventy-two years. He was a farmer and
owned the homestead, which consisted of about 150 acres of good
land. He built an addition to the barn and remodeled the house, and
through his tireless industry became a wealthy man. He was an
excellent mechanic and did all his own iron work, sharpened his
plows and other tools. Mr. Gabel was also a good woodworker, and
was always kept busy. Later he sold the upper farm property in
1856, and bought the adjoining farm of 104 acres; still later he
bought another tract of forty-nine acres from Henry Gabel, his
first cousin, and on this tract he erected the mill, replacing a
stone and frame mill property standing to the north of the mill now
in use. He also put up the house and barn standing by the mill.
This property he sold to his sons, Ephraim and Henry, before his
death, and it is now owned by Daniel, the youngest, who bought it
in 1904 from Henry. He married Mary A. Gabel, his first cousin,
daughter of Jacob and Catharine (Hoch) Gabel, and they became the
parents of children as follows: Ephraim G.; Hannah; William died in
1865; Lavina died in 1886, unmarried, and she and her grandmother
were buried at the same time, having died a day apart; Elizabeth
married John H. Boyer, a farmer of Amity township; Kate married
Horace Harbold, of Amity township; Henry G., living at Larned,
Kans., is a miller by trade, his mill having a capacity of 200
barrels of flour per day; David is of Morysville, Colebrookdale
township; Jacob is a well known cattle dealer of Boyertown; Daniel
G. conducts the Gabel mill at Gabelsville; and a daughter and a son
died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Gabel were members of the Mennonite
Church, and are buried in the graveyard of that denomination at
Boyertown.

Ephraim G. Gabel, a son of David and now a
retired farmer of Boyertown, was born in Colebrookdale township,
Berks county, on the farm owned by Aaron Houck, which was one of
the old Gabel farms, Sept. 10, 1835. He obtained his education in
the subscription schools of his neighborhood, where the teacher was
paid two and one-half to three cents per day for each pupil. Mr.
Gabel only attended public school fifteen days, Colebrookdale
township being the last to adopt free schools. He was reared upon
the farm, and when seventeen he began learning the miller’s trade
at Gabel’s mill, which he followed until he was twenty-one. He was
in the business with his father for three years, and with his
brother Henry three years more. In 1873 he moved to Boyertown,
where he has since resided. When he located here he and his brother
David engaged in the coal, flour, feed and hardware business and
continued in it until 1884, when he sold his interests to Benjamin
Yost, and has since lived retired. He is a man of substance, and
resides in a large brick house at Third and Chestnut streets. He
owns a house in Boyertown, one at Pottstown and one at Engelsville.
Since 1895, Mr. Gabel has been a director in the Lead & Zinc
Mining Company, of Joplin, Mo., a very flourishing industry.

In his religious belief Mr. Gabel is a
Mennonite. He has always refused public office, preferring to
attend to his own affairs. In 1864 Mr. Gabel was married to Sarah
Schaffer, born in May, 1834, daughter of John and Esther (Hoch)
Schaffer. They have one daughter, Miss Amanda, who is at home with
her parents. She is an artist of rare genius both with her pencil
and in oils. Not only has she produced some canvases that are very
valuable, but she has done some excellent work in dry point etching
and her china painting is beautifully artistic. Miss Gabel was
educated in the Boyertown high school, and she is a young lady of
exceptional talents.

(V) Daniel G. Gabel, manufacturer and dealer in high grade flour,
feed and grain and prominent in the affairs of Colebrookdale
township, residing near Boyertown, was born in the vicinity, Oct.
26, 1855. He obtained his education in the district schools, and
when eighteen began to learn the milling business with his brother
Henry G., with whom he was employed for seven years. In 1881 Mr.
Gabel rented the mill property from William K. Grim in
Colebrookdale township, and this he operated one year, when he
began farming on the Gabel homestead, and there remained until
1902. Two years later (1904) he bought the milling business from
his brother Henry G. This mill was built in 1860 by David Gabel,
his father. It is located one-half mile northwest of Boyertown, and
is the center of considerable milling business. Mr. Gabel is a
successful business man, and has an up-to-date mill. He has a full
roller process and gives employment to three men, and enjoys a
large local trade, selling his flour at Boyertown and Pottstown,
and throughout Chester county. He makes three brands of flour, the
leader being the “Violet,” which is a patent process flour. The
other brands are the “Mayflower” and the “White Rose,” and he also
handles one of his brother’s products, “Kansas Patent.” In addition
to his flour trade, Mr. Gabel has a large trade in bran, middling,
maizeline, cottonseed meal, linseed meal, cakemeal, rye, corn and
oats, etc. He owns the old original homestead of the Gabel family
where Heinrich Gabel lived and died. The property now consists of
111 acres, although it was originally larger in extent. On the old
homestead is a historic home built early in the eighteenth century
by the Rutters who were the first settles on it. The present barn
was built by John Ehst, in 1840.

In religious belief, Mr. Gabel is a member of
the Mennonite Church. He was twice married. On Jan. 24, 1880, he
married (first) Emma Bechtel, born Nov. 1, 1853, and died April 22,
1882, aged twenty-eight years, five months and twenty-one days,
daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Ehst) Bechtel. Two children were
born of the first marriage: Elmer, born Dec. 27, 1880, died Jan.
29, 1902, aged twenty-one years; and Emma died in infancy. On Nov.
5, 1887, Mr. Gabel married (second) Hettie Bertolet, daughter of
Daniel and Esther (Bertolet) Bertolet, of Oley township. To this
union were born two children: Edna B.; and Daniel B. (died in
infancy). Miss Edna graduated from the Sternberg School of Music at
Philadelphia, June 27, 1908. She is a fine musician and a charming
young lady. Mr. and Mrs. Gabel reside in a fine, large house, which
is beautifully and artistically furnished, and surrounded by
grounds that are well laid out. Mr. Gabel is a man who is very
liberal in his convictions and is willing to allow others to hold
their own opinions even if they are not the same as his own. Among
other heirlooms much prized is an old fashioned china closet filled
with china much of which is almost priceless and has descended to
him from long dead ancestors.

(IV) Abraham Gabel, son of John and Elizabeth (Schantz) Gabel, was
born Oct. 11, 1799, and died Oct. 23, 1885, aged eighty-six years,
twelve days. He conducted the store, oil mill and farm at
Gabelsville, and at his death left an estate of $100,000. He was a
Mennonite in religious faith, and his remains rest in the Mennonite
cemetery at Boyertown. He married Elizabeth Ludy (1805-1855) and
they had seven children: Mary married Jonathan Dottery; Daniel L.,
John died at Gabelsville; Frank lived at Amityville; Amos died at
Gabelsville; Elizabeth married Jacob Gabel (her first cousin), son
of John Gabel; and Josiah lived at Lehighton.

(V) Daniel L. Gabel, son of Abraham, was born at Gabelsville,
Colebrookdale township, Feb. 5, 1836, and died July 29, 1904, aged
sixty eight years. When a young man he worked in a mill at
Pottstown, Pa., but later became a clerk in his father’s store.
When only twenty-six, he engaged in a general merchandise business
at Pikesville, where he had a store for three years. He then came
to Kutztown, where he kept a store for three years, and then went
to Philadelphia, in 1866, and embarked in a queensware business.
This he conducted for several years and eventually took two
partners and enlarged his business, which was located at Third and
Arch streets. Several years later the property burned, and he then
became a traveling salesman following his line for twenty-seven
years, and was very successful. At the end of that time he
purchased and for three years conducted the “St. Almo Hotel,” at
Philadelphia, when he retired to Lyons, in Berks county, where he
lived until his death. His widow then sold her home at Lyons and
came to Kutztown, where she now resides on White Oak street. In
addition to this property she owns her father’s farm near Bowers in
Maxatawny township, which consists of 150 acres, and is one of the
best farms in the county.

Mr. Gabel was reared in the Mennonite faith, but
when he and his wife went to Lyons they united with St. John’s
Lutheran Church of Kutztown.

In 1861 Mr. Gabel married Mary A. Sell, a
daughter of John and Susanna (Swoyer) Sell, of Maxatawny. Her
paternal grandfather and great-grandfather were both named George,
and they both owned the homestead that is now her property. Mr. and
Mrs. Gabel had children as follows: Annie died unmarried at the age
of forty-one years; Edwin died in infancy; and George died at the
age of eighteen years.

The Gabel family is one of the oldest, as well
as most substantial of those who have done so much to make Berks
county what it is today. Members of it may be found all over the
country, and wherever they are there is prosperity, substance and
integrity. The virtues, which distinguished the forebears, have
descended to the younger generations and make them very desirable
residents of the several communities where they are not located. It
is to such men as Heinrich Gabel that the country owes so much, and
his name is revered not only by his descendants, but other who
appreciate the part he took in the development of Berks county.

p. 397

Surnames: GABLE, LIVINGOOD, FREESE, VOGELBACH

Rev. Zenas H. Gable, a prominent clergyman of the Lutheran Church,
who came to Reading Aug. 17, 1873, having accepted a call to six
different congregations, is one of the most highly esteemed and
beloved ministers of his denomination in this section of the State.
The Rev. Mr. Gable was born Aug. 13, 1842, in Northampton county,
Pa., son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Livingood) Gable, and grandson of
Jacob and Elizabeth (Freese) Gable. The Gable family originated in
Germany, and its founder in America was Peter Gable, who with his
wife Christiana came to Bucks county in 1702.

The children of Jacob and Elizabeth (Freese)
Gable were: Daniel, Mary, Sophia, Aaron, Tobias and Lucy A. Jacob
Gable died March 8, 1842, aged sixty-eight years, and his wife Feb.
24, 1856, aged seventy-eight years.

Daniel Gable was born in Bucks county, Pa., Sept
18, 1805, and was a farmer and carpenter, which occupations he
followed all of his active period, dying Aug. 26, 1886, aged
eighty-one years: His wife passed away July 1, 1897, when
eighty-seven years old. Their children were: Edwin, Charles and
James, deceased; Sally A.; Thomas M., and Zenas H.

Zenas H. Gable was educated in the common
schools and at Gettysburg (Pa.) College, from which he was
graduated in 1865, subsequently attending the Mt. Airy Seminary,
and graduating in Theology in 1868. He was ordained June 10, 1868,
his first charge being at Scenery Hill, where he was located from
1868 to 1873. He came to Reading Aug. 17, 1873, and took charge of
the following congregations, which he has faithfully served to the
present time: St. John’s, Gibraltar; St. Mark’s, of Birdsboro; St.
James, of Geigertown; Allegheny, of Alleghenyville; Wyomissing, of
Gouglersville; and Robeson, of Plowville. New churches have been
built in each of his parishes during his pastorate. He also
organized a congregation at Shillington and a church was built in
1876. He celebrated his quarto-centennial in 1898, in each of his
churches. The Rev. Mr. Gable is a man whose earnestness and piety
have made him a power in the community. Not only is he a clear and
convincing preacher and spiritual teacher, but he is also an able
administrator, as the material prosperity of his congregations
shows.

Rev. Mr. Gable was married Dec. 24, 1868, to
Thusnelda, daughter of Rev. Jacob Vogelbach, of Philadelphia, and
six children blessed this union, as follows: Matilda E.; Rev.
Charles Jacob; Sue A.; Rev. Luther D.; Edmund J., a druggist; and
Dr. Frank J., who attended Jefferson Medical College of
Philadelphia, graduating in the class of 1906. Mrs. Gable died
April 2, 1903. In political matters Rev. Mr. Gable is independent,
voting rather for the man than the party.

p. 577

Surnames: GAENZLE, SWEITZER, RHODES, ZIEBER, SNYDER, GABLE, LEIPPE

John Gaenzle, of the firm of Gaenzle & Leippe, proprietors of
the Reading Knitting Mills, is one of a large family of children
born to George and Margaret (Sweitzer) Gaenzle.

George Gaenzle came from Omden, Wittenberg,
Germany, to America in 1864, and settled in Reading where he
followed the business of cloth weaving, at which he was an expert.
Since 1889, however, he has been engaged in farming in the vicinity
of Reading. He married Margaret Sweitzer, also of Wittenberg, and
the following children were born to this union: Frederick, who is
connected with a cold storage plant at Lancaster, Pa., as an
engineer; John, senior proprietor of the Reading Knitting Mills;
Henry, connected with the firm of Curtis Jones; William and Frank,
in Hamburg; Kate, m. to Daniel Rhodes in the Philadelphia &
Reading service; Mary, m. to John Zeiber, also in the Philadelphia
& Reading Railroad service; Lena; Rosa, m. to Albert Snyder,
connected with Curtis & Jones in the shoe trade; and Annie, who
is housekeeper in her father’s home. It is somewhat unusual to find
a family as large as this into which Death has never entered. John
Gaenzle was born in Omden, Germany, July 27, 1860, and when his
parents brought him to Reading he was yet a child. He went to
school until he was ten years old, and then went to work in a
cotton mill, from which he went into a photograph gallery, learned
the business and followed it for himself for twelve years. Retiring
from this work he visited California for eight months, and on his
return to Reading bought the Reading Knitting Mills. The business
was first conducted under the firm name of Gaenzle & Co.,
Luther E. Gable being the Company.

In 1896, after Mr. Gable’s death, Charles E.
Leippe became a partner and the firm name became as at present.
This industry carries the name of Reading to as many distant
points, perhaps, as any other in Berks County. The company
justifiably claims to manufacture the best 84-needle stockings in
the United States, and ship goods all over this country and to
Australia. They are the third largest manufacturers of this class
of goods in the United States, and give constant employment to 300
people and more than these at times. In addition to the business
above mentioned, our subject is a director of the Reading Pure Milk
Company, and has other important interests. From 1895 to 1898 he
was one of the owners and directors of the Lancaster Cold Storage
plant, but disposed of the interest.

On April 1, 1883, Mr. Gaenzle was united in
marriage with Ellen Esther Gable, daughter of Amos Gable, the
retired artist, whose portraits and landscapes enjoy a reputation
not only in Pennsylvania, but all over the United States. To this
union was born a son Lester E. Gaenzle, Nov. 1, 1885, who is one of
the bright young men of this city, a graduate of the Reading high
school and of the mechanical engineering department of the Drexel
Institute, class of 1905.

Fraternally Mr. Gaenzle is a 32nd degree Mason.
He is a member of the Lutheran Church. He is one of the best types
of self-made men that the prosperous city of Reading contains and
it has numbers of them. He resides in a handsome home at No. 45
North Fourth street, where his friends are always received in the
most hospitable manner. He is in the enjoyment of the fruits of
honorable business methods and persevering industry.

p. 1715

Surnames: GAILEY, KELSO, ARRABAL, JONES, YOCUM, MORGAN

George Alexander Gailey, who has been successful in the
cultivation of the soil in Amity township, Berks county, was born
Nov. 25, 1864, at Altoona, Pa., son of William and Nancy (Kelso)
Gailey.

The Gaileys and Kelsos in both this country and
in Ireland have intermarried. William Gailey was born in 1825 in
County Donegal, Ireland, and was twenty-five years of age when he
came to the United States, locating at Altoona, Pa., where he found
work in the car shops as a machinist. He was twice married, his
first wife being Mary Arrabal, who died young leaving a daughter,
Margaret, now the wife of William H. Jones, who lives on a farm
adjoining the Gailey tract in Amity township. In 1861, he married
(second) Nancy Kelso, daughter of John Kelso, of Douglassville, but
formerly of County Donegal, Ireland. With his young bride William
Gailey went to Altoona, whence after eighteen months they went to
Union township, Berks county, where Mrs. Gailey’s father had a
large farm. Mr. Gailey assisted in its cultivation for six years,
and in 1867 he bought a valuable tract in Amity township, above
Douglassville, consisting of seventy-five acres, and this has since
been the family home. Mr. Gailey died Aug. 23, 1898, aged
seventy-three years, and is buried at Douglassville. To him and his
wife was born one son, George Alexander, who resided with his
mother on the farm. William Gailey was of sturdy Scotch-Irish
stock, and a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, joining
the church of that denomination at Pottstown (This church was
organized with only nine members).

John Kelso, father of Mrs. Gailey, was born in
County Donegal, Ireland in 1779. In 1851 he came to America, and
settled in Union township, Berks county, where he engaged in
farming and prospered. He had a brother George who came to this
country unmarried in 1850, and the greater part of his life had his
home with his brother John. George Kelso died May 19, 1870, aged
seventy years. John and George Kelso had a sister Catharine
Allison, who in her widowhood came to America with her brother
George. She was born in 1789, and died in 1883, in her
ninety-fourth year. John Kelso died Nov. 6, 1877, in the
ninety-eighth year of his age. He married Isabella Kelso, in
Ireland, a distant relative. She was born Feb. 2, 1804, and died
May 13, 1886. They were the parents of five children: Joseph is a
well known resident and school director in Union township; Nancy
became Mrs. Gailey; John is a contractor in California; George died
at his home in Philadelphia Feb. 19, 1909, aged sixty-nine years;
and Jane is the widow of Aaron M. Yocum (1835-1878). The Kelsos
were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and their burial plot is at
Douglassville.

George Alexander Gailey accompanied his parents
to Berks county when he was very young, and he was educated in the
public schools of Union and Amity townships. He was reared to
farming, and in 1893, five years before his father died, he became
the farmer on the home farm. Like his father he has been very
successful in agricultural pursuits, and he has a dairy of fine
cows. He has also been making a specialty of fattening steers for
market.

Mr. Gailey is a Republican in political
principle, and a Presbyterian in religious faith. He married Jane
Morgan, of Douglassville, and their only child, Helen, is attending
school. Mr. and Mrs. Gailey are very highly esteemed by all who
have the pleasure of their acquaintance.

p. 664

Surnames: GANGER, EVANS, NYSE, LOW, FOLK, SPANGLER, NEWIL, ELDRIDGE

George P. Ganger, a prominent builder and contractor of Reading,
bears a reputation which is the fruit of years of earnest,
conscientious and conservative work.

From the form of the name it is thought that the
Ganger family originated in Germany, or France. but since settling
in Pennsylvania, mainly in Chester county, it has been very closely
allied to the Scotch and Irish, and practically nothing is known of
the earlier generations. Mr. George P. Ganger and Mr. J. Benton
Ganger are, with one exception, the only persons of this line
living who bear the name. The grandfather was a prosperous farmer
of Chester county, but little is known of him save that he married
a Miss Evans and had two sons, Levi and David. He died young. The
family were members of the Reformed Church, and it is supposed that
the grandfather was a Whig in his political views. The maternal
grandparents were German.

David Ganger was born in 1809 and grew up in
Chester county, receiving his education in the public and pay
schools of that region. After leaving school he learned stone
masonry, but as he did not like the work he soon turned his
attention to farming instead, and spent the rest of his life in
that occupation. He married Miss Eliza Nyse and they became the
parents of a family, three of whom lived to maturity. The daughter,
Sarah, died, however, in early womanhood. The surviving sons were
George P. and Levi.

George P. Ganger was born in Chester county,
Sept. 10, 1843. He was brought up to farm work, in the meantime
attending the public schools also, until he was nineteen, when he
entered upon a four years’ apprenticeship to the stone mason’s
trade. Having mastered thoroughly his business he went at the age
of twenty-three to Reading, and settled there permanently as a
mason and builder. He has steadily increased the scope of his
operations, and is now one of the foremost builders in the city. He
has done a great deal to make Reading one of the desirable
residence cities in the State. He has on his own account built over
200 houses, ranging in value from $2500 to $3000, besides a large
number under contract for friends and patrons. His work is always
first class and done in the most conscientious manner. During his
first fifteen years in Reading Mr. Ganger was employed by the
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, and helped to construct many
of the bridges and depots along that well known line. A number of
the handsomest structures in the city are Mr. Ganger’s work, among
the most notable being the city hall, St. Peter’s Methodist Church,
and the Evangelical Church, Mr. Eckert’s home, and a great number
of other residences.

Mr. Ganger married, in 1871, Miss Christie Low,
daughter of James Low, of Lebanon county, and four children have
been born to them, namely: David, who died in infancy; Sarah, m. to
Albert Folk; Mary, m. (first) to Charles Spangler, had one
daughter, Mabel, and (second) to John Newil; and Lulu, m. to H. M.
Eldridge. Mr. Ganger and is family are members of the M. E. Church.
In politics a Republican, he takes. however, no active part in
public affairs. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and also
of a number of other organizations.

p. 1157

Surnames: GANSTER, REBHOLTZ, LIBBERT, KLOS, SEUBERT, HARBSTER,
KRONISE, KALTENBACH, SCHLEGMILCH

Ed. C. Ganster, proprietor of the “Hotel Ganster,” No. 200
Schuylkill avenue, Reading, Pa., was born in this city, Oct. 30,
1867, son of Jacob and Catherine (Rebholtz) Ganster.

Peter Ganster, the emigrant ancestor of the
family in this country, came from Bavaria, Germany, to Reading in
the early part of the eighteenth (?) century. He was a forgeman and
expert iron-worker and owned and operated an iron foundry in his
native country. On coming to the United States he lived retired
until his death, which occurred about the year 1860. He and his
wife, who bore the maiden name of Christina Libbert, were the
parents of: Joseph, of Reading, m. to Margaret Klos; Margaret, m.
to Anthony Seubert, of Lebanon, Pa.; George P., deceased;
Catherine, deceased, m. to Anthony Kronise; Jacob; and John,
deceased. In religious belief the family were devout members of the
Catholic Church. Politically Mr. Ganster was a Democrat.

Early in life Jacob Ganster learned the
machinist’s trade, and followed that occupation for several years.
During the Civil war he enlisted in Company A., 3d Pa. V. I., June
4, 1861, and was honorably discharged Feb. 13, 1863, on account of
disability, having been wounded in battle in Virginia. After
returning home he resumed his trade, and subsequently engaged in
the flour and feed business at Franklin and Orange streets,
Reading. On Dec. 30, 1870, he was accidentally killed, while making
a heroic effort to stop a run-away horse, which was drawing a wagon
containing a man, woman and child. The occupants of the vehicle
were saved, but Mr. Ganster died of his injuries. He left his widow
with three children: Ed. C.; Charles; and August. Mrs. Ganster died
July 5, 1894, aged sixty-three years, in the faith of the Roman
Catholic Church, of which her husband had also been a member.

Ed. C. Ganster received his education in the
schools of Reading, as well as the parochial schools, and later
business college. His first employment was for the Harbsters of
Reading, in the hardware store, and at the Johnston foundry. At the
age of thirteen years he began clerking for Conrad Kaltenbach,
remaining with that gentleman for ten years, when he purchased the
stock of his employer and carried on a general store until 1905, in
this year closing out his business to engage as a hotel keeper.
Locating at No. 200 Schuylkill avenue, Mr. Ganster proceeded to
improve the property, and has now one of the most modern little
hotels in the city. It has fifteen finely-furnished rooms, supplied
with electric lights, steam heat, and other modern conveniences,
and he always carries on hand a full line of the choicest cigars,
liquors, etc. Mr. Ganster has been very successful in this venture,
his hotel proving one of the most popular of its size in the city.

In 1890 in Reading, Mr. Ganster married Miss
Mary Schlegmilch, a native of Lancaster county, and to this union
one child has been born, Leo, a stenographer in the employ of the
Reading Hardware Company. Mr. Ganster is a member of the Knights of
St. John, being first vice supreme president of the Order, and is
also connected with the Bonifacious Brotherhood. In political
matters he is a Democrat. He is religiously connected with St.
Paul’s Catholic Church.

,
p. 993

Surnames: GANSTER, HASSLETT, QUINTER, McELWAINE, REESER, SNYDER

George A. Ganster, who died Oct. 8, 1901, was for many years a
well-known resident of Reading, and the last five years of his life
were spent in the shops of the Philadelphia & Reading R. R. Co.
Mr. Ganster was born in 1851 in Berks county, son of Joseph and
Sophia (Hasslett) Ganster, whose other children were: William,
deceased; Lewis, a dairyman of Chestnut street, Reading; Joseph, a
merchant of Thirteenth and Cottonwood streets; Henry, a farmer of
the county; Frederick, an iron-worker; John, a paper-hanger; Jacob,
in the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company;
Mrs. Catherine Quinter; and Mary and Sophia, deceased.

George A. Ganster received a common school
education and in youth entered the employ of the William McElwaine
Rolling Mill, remaining in the same employ until five years before
his death when he engaged as a helper in the shops of the
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company at Reading. Although a
steady industrious worker, Mr. Ganster found time to do much
hunting and fishing, in which recreations he found much pleasure.
In his religious belief he was a Lutheran. He was independent in
local political matters, although in national issues he was a
stanch Republican. Fraternally he was connected with the Washington
Fire Company, as was also his son, William H.

In 1868 Mr. Ganster married Miss Emma R. Reeser,
daughter of Abraham and Senara Reeser, and to this union there were
born: William H., deceased; Emma M., who married Edward Snyder, of
Reading; Charles I. and Carrie, deceased; Hattie E., at home; and
Howard, who died in infancy. Mrs. Ganster, who survives her
husband, is an active worker in St. John’s Reformed Church, being
especially interested in missionary work. She owns some valuable
real estate in Reading, having two properties in the Sixteenth ward
and five in the Tenth ward.

GANSTER,
JOSEPH

p. 1708

Surnames: GANSTER, SCHMECK, KENNY, FARRIS, O’REILLY

Joseph Ganster who is conducting a flourishing grocery business at
Thirteenth and Cotton streets, Reading, was born May 28, 1856, son
of Joseph and Sophia (Schmeck) Ganster.

Joseph Ganster received his education in the
schools of Exeter township, also attending night school at Reading
while engaged in the shops of the Philadelphia & Reading
Company, learning the trade of blacksmith. This he followed for
nineteen years with this company, and then resigned to accept a
position as policeman under the administration of Mayor James R.
Kenney, serving three years, one month, twenty-eight days. During
this time he attended the Chester N. Farris night school, and he
then returned to the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading
Company, for ten months, having previously purchased his present
stand. On April 9, 1891, he left the employ of the railroad
company, to engage in business for himself, and his grocery store
is one of the leading business enterprises of his locality. He
carried a full and complete line of fancy and staple groceries, and
his fine quality of goods, coupled with Mr. Ganster’s obliging and
courteous manner, have won him much trade. He is a member of Grace
Lutheran Church, where he has been deacon. In political matters he
is independent. His fraternal connections are with the Royal
Arcanum and the Maccabees.

Mr. Ganster was married to Miss Lillie O’Reilly,
and to them have been born three children, all attending school: U.
Joseph, Hazel S. and William. Mr. Ganster is a good, reliable
citizen in every respect, and is considered one of the substantial
men of his community.

GANSTER,
LEWIS

p. 1516

Surnames: GANSTER, ALDMAN, TYSON, STICHTER, BUPP

Lewis Ganster, now living retired at his home on Chestnut street,
Reading, was for many years known to the citizens of the city as a
retail milk dealer. Mr. Ganster is a native of Germany, born in
Alsace April 4, 1849, son of Joseph and Sophia (Aldman) Ganster,
also natives of the Fatherland.

In 1849 Joseph Ganster came to America, being
sixty-three days on the ocean. With his wife and three children,
Willie, Catherine and Lewis, he came at once to Reading, and here
became well known as the builder of all the French forges for the
manufacture of charcoal iron in this section of the State. Mr.
Ganster died at the age of eighty years, eleven months, while his
wife passed away in her seventy-second year. Eight children were
born to Joseph and Mrs. Ganster in America: George, Mary, John,
Joseph, Henry, Sophia, Frederick and Jacob.

In religious belief Mr. Ganster was a Catholic,
while his wife was an adherent of the faith of the Lutheran Church.
Lewis Ganster received his education in the schools of Reading, and
when still a boy learned the forge man’s trade. He was employed in
a rolling mill until 1873, when he engaged in engineering at
Lauer’s Brewery, leaving this position in 1881 to engage in the
milk business, this enterprise being continued until 1901, when he
sold out. Mr. Ganster is still the owner of a dairy but engages
only in a wholesale trade. Mr. Ganster has been prominently
identified with various other business enterprises, and was for
some years president of the Ringgold Building Association and
director in the Mechanics and William Penn Building Associations.
He is a large real estate owner, having five properties in the
Tenth ward, one in the Sixteenth and one in the Second. He is a
Republican in political matters, while he and his family worship in
the Lutheran Church.

Mr. Ganster was married to Emma Tyson, daughter
of Jacob Tyson, and to this union there have been born five
children: Frances is deceased; Mary m. George Stichter, of Reading;
Emma is unmarried; Louis J. m. Anna Bupp; and Edward.

p. 1586

Surnames: GANTER, BUCHER, FAHRENBACH, BALBACH, IMPINK, MORRIS,
HEINE, GEISSLER, EICHNER, DAVIS

Joseph B. Ganter, a well known and respected citizen of Reading,
Pa., who is now living in a beautiful home that he erected in Mt.
Penn, a suburb of the city, was born in Reading, in Jan., 1864, son
of Joseph A. and Theresa (Bucher) Ganter.

Philip Ganter, grandfather of Joseph B., was
born in Thannheim, Baden, Germany, married Mary Fahrenbach, of the
same place, and they became the parents of the following children:
Francis Zavier m. to Farranar Bucher; Joseph A., m. to Theresa
Bucher; Barbara, m. to John Balbach; Carolina, m. to John Impink;
and Philip, m. to Henrietta Morris. Weary of the tyranny of the Old
World governments, Mr. and Mrs. Ganter came to this country in
1850, bringing with them all their children and also the daughter
of Francis Zavier. All are now deceased with the exemption of the
son Philip and the daughter Carolina.

Joseph A. Ganter, son of Philip, was born in
Thannheim, Baden, Germany. When he came to this country, he first
worked in a furnace in Marietta, Pa. His wife followed a year
later, and they located in Reading, Berks county, he working at
laboring and securing employment with the McIlvaine Iron Company.
Later he became a driver for the firm. He purchased property on the
installment plan, this property being one of the old landmarks of
the city, located on North Eighth street, near the junction. He
continued faithfully in the employ of the Iron Company, until he
was compelled on account of failing health to secure lighter work,
and he removed to No. 40 Hamilton street, a story and a half brick
house in that portion of the city known as Ricktown, being one of
the first to locate there. For some time it was a question with the
people whether it should be called Ricktown or Gantertown. He
opened a hotel at No. 38 Hamilton street, the only one in that
section for number of years. The business increased to such an
extent that he removed to the corner of Schuylkill avenue, Front
and Hamilton streets, and his place was known as the “Hamilton
House” until his retirement. He then removed to No. 213 North Ninth
street, where he resided until his death. He was a man of great
enterprise and energy, and was successful, adding greatly to the
development of the city in the line of building. His success was
attributed to close attention to business, and although he came to
America without means, he accumulated a fortune, and gave each of
his children a good start in life. He manifested a special interest
in his family, aiding them in business during his own lifetime,
that he might enjoy the pleasure of seeing them prosper. At
different times he would call his children together and give them
liberally of his estate, at the same time advising them how to use
it. ? one of the last things he did was to present each child with
a thousand dollars.

To Joseph A. Ganter and wife, were born six sons
and three daughters: Benjamin; Lena; Francis X.; Franklin; Rosa;
Joseph B.; Theresa; Edward now deceased; and Charles. The two
eldest, Francis and Lena, were married upon the same day, and the
three youngest, Theresa, Edward and Charles, were likewise married
at the same hour of the same day, and had single, double, and
triple weddings. Mr. Ganter in company with Gregory Heine went over
in 1872 to the old country to repair a small chapel or shrine, that
the father, Philip, who was very wealthy for his day, had built in
Thannheim.

Joseph B. Ganter’s education was secured in the
schools of Reading. When he started out in life he worked for as
little as seventy-five cents per week, changing from one occupation
to the other until he began an apprenticeship with Henry C.
Geissler, where he learned the tinsmithing trade. He then started
in business for himself at No. 201 Schuylkill avenue, and in
addition opened a hardware store, with house-furnishing goods,
which he carried on for a period of twenty years. Previous to this
he had carried on the cigar business in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1884 he
retired and began building operations with Adolph Eichner, and
April 5, 1904, the firm became Ganter, Davis & Eichner. At the
end of one year, the original firm started again and are still
doing business. Mr. Ganter is the original organizer of the
Schuylkill Fire Company, and is one of the two original members
still living.

Mr. Ganter’s success is due to his perseverance
and strict attention to business, and just dealing. In politics he
is a Democrat. He is connected with the Roman Catholic Church. He
is also associated with the Northwestern Beneficial Association;
Aerie No. 66, F. O. E.; and Harmonia Beneficial Association.