Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

KOLB, J.
ADAM

p. 1111

Surnames: KOLB, KNERTZER, SMITH, RAPP, WEAVER, CONKLIN, MILLER,
SHEAFFER, REDCAY

J. Adam Kolb, who is engaged in tin roofing, spouting, roof
painting and heater and range repairing at No. 225 North Ninth
street, Reading, Pa., was born Feb. 6, 1855, in that city, son
Christian Kolb.

Christian Kolb was born in Menzingen, Baden,
Germany, and when thirty years of age came to America, locating for
a short time in New York City, whence he came to Reading. For
several years he had charge of the tank department at the
Philadelphia & Reading shops, and he later engaged in lighter
work in the shop, the last two years of his life being spent in
retirement. During the Civil war Mr. Kolb enlisted in the Union
army, but on account of his advanced age was never called upon to
serve. He died Nov. 5, 1900, Mr. Kolb married Rosanna W. Knertzer,
who died in 1861. Eight children were born to this union, only two
of whom lived to maturity, Catherine, deceased, wife of Asher
Smith, by whom she had one son, Percy; and J. Adam.

J. Adam Kolb, the only living representative of
the family attended the public schools of Reading and the high
school. When fifteen years of age he was first employed at Hendel’s
hat factory, where he remained three years, and then went to learn
the trimming trade with William Rapp in Reading, remaining with him
six years, afterward being employed at the Pennsylvania &
Reading shops. In 1879 he went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he
was employed six months, at the end of this time returning to
Reading. For twenty-five years he was employed with the well-known
firm of Snader & Nagle, tinners of Reading, and on April 9,
1906, he engaged in tinning at this father’s old home, No. 225
North Ninth street. He does a general line of roofing, spouting,
roof painting and heater and range repairing, and employs two
skilled workmen. He is also engaged in the sale of the well-known
boat pump.

Mr. Kolb was married (first) to Annie Weaver, of
New Ringgold, Schuylkill county, and to this union there were born:
Ida E. m. Ira Conklin, of Ohio; Eva m. Charles Miller of
Wyomissing, Berks county; Carrie m. Charles Sheaffer; Margaret, and
John. Mr. Kolb m. (second) Miss Sarah Redcay, of Reading.

In politics Mr. Kolb is a Republican, but he has
never been active. He is connected with the First United
Evangelical Church. Fraternally he is a member of the P. O. S. of
A.

KOLLER, OWEN
H.

p. 1395

Surnames: KOLLER, MERTZ, HOCH, KIRBY, KAUFFMAN, BERNDT, LEIBY,
MADEIRA, PETERS, REISER, DUNKEL, FEGLER, SAILER, BURKHERT, REIDER

Owen H. Koller, one of the well-known residents of Richmond
township, Berks county, who is engaged as an agriculturist and
dairyman near Fleetwood, was born June 21, 1858, in Ontelaunee
township on one of the Koller homesteads.

Michael Koller, Jr., who was a citizen of
Longswamp township in 1759, and who paid tax in that year, is
supposed to have been the founder of the Koller family in America.
His son, John Koller, had two sons and two daughters: David; John;
Polly Mertz and Sally Ann Hoch. Of these children David Koller was
the grandfather of Owen H. He was a farmer of Maidencreek township,
where he owned property as well as a large piece of land in
Ontelaunee township. David Koller married Hannah Kirby, daughter of
David Kirby, and to this union were born children as follows:
Eliza, who married John Kauffman; Solomon; John; Hannah, who
married Stephen Berndt; Mary, the wife of James Leiby; Lydia, who
married Nicholas Madeira; and Diana, the wife of Ephraim Peters.

Solomon Koller was born Nov. 1, 1831, and
married Hettie Reiser, daughter of Jacob and Maria (Dunkel) Reiser,
their children being: Mary, the wife of Joel Hoch, postmaster at
Fleetwood, Pa.; Owen H.; Sally R., who is single and lives with her
mother in Fleetwood; Isabella, who died aged twenty-nine years;
Lena, the wife of Eugene Fegler of Lyons, Pa.; and Howard, whose
death occurred in the sixth year of his age. Solomon Koller
followed farming all of his life, and was a well known and much
esteemed citizen.

Owen H. Koller was educated in the schools of
his district and this was supplemented by two full terms at the
Keystone State Normal school at Kutztown. Mr. Koller has spent his
whole life in the vicinity of his present home. He has a fine farm
bounding Fleetwood borough on the north and in 1905 he built a
spacious cement block residence, surrounded by a large, well-kept
lawn, which is enclosed by a modern lawn fence. In addition to his
farming interests, Mr. Koller operates a dairy and sends a dairy
team to the borough every day, supplying the best families. He is
politically a Democrat , and served two terms as supervisor of his
township. He and his family are members of the U. E. Church,
Emanuel, of Fleetwood.

On Sept. 29, 1877, Mr. Koller was married to
Ellen Mertz, daughter of John and Sarah (Sailer) Mertz of Richmond
township, and to this union were born two children: Charles I., who
married Katie M. A. Burkhert and has one son, Paul B.; and Howard
S., who married Clara B. Reider.

KOLLER, SOLOMON S.

p. 850

Surnames: KOLLER, SUNDAY, SEIDEL, SCHAEFFER, GEBHART, EBGEL,
MILLER, HOFFMAN, LESHER, WILLIAMS, STAYER, WEIDMAN, MOYER, BITTING,
HAWLK, FISTER, SELTZER, HOLLENBACH, SHEIP

Solomon S. Koller, retired, who was a prosperous merchant at
Philadelphia for upward of forty years, was born in Berks county,
near the base of the Blue Mountain, above Hamburg, April 7, 1830,
son of Andrew and Hannah (Sunday) Koller.

Andrew Koller, Sr., the grandfather, was a
farmer in Macungie township, Lehigh county. He married Rebecca
Seidel, daughter of John Seidel, and they had three children:
Solomon m. Catherine Schaeffer; Andrew; and Rebecca m. Daniel
Gebhart.

Andrew Koller was a farmer in Windsor township
for a time, later in Perry, and died in 1862, aged fifty-eight
years. He married Hannah Sunday, daughter of John Sunday, a farmer
of Windsor, and a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of the
county. They had six children: William m. (first) Susanna Ebgel,
(second) Helen Miller; Solomon S.; Catherine m. David Hoffman; John
m. (first) Caroline Lesher, (second) Mary Williams; James A. m.
Christiana Sunday; and Abraham m. Mary Stayer. The mother of this
family died in 1891, aged eighty-three years.

Solomon S. Koller was educated in the township
school and was reared on his father’s farm until he was nineteen
years of age, when he entered the general store of John Weidman, at
Shoemakersville, and continued there as a salesman for five years.
He then formed a partnership with William Moyer, and carried on a
feed and provision business at Five Locks, on the Schuylkill Canal,
two miles above Shoemakersville, for two years, when he returned to
Shoemakersville and formed a partnership with Reuben Weidman, a
brother of his former employer, to operate a general store, but he
soon purchased his partner’s interest in the business and carried
it successfully by himself for eight years. Selling out, with the
intention of locating in Philadelphia, he went to that great center
of trade in 1865, and formed a partnership with Wayne Bitting, to
carry on a wholesale trade in salt, provisions and fish. They
located at No. 218 North Delaware Avenue, and traded under the
style of Koller & Bitting, for seven years, when he purchased
Mr. Bitting’s interest and carried on the business himself for
twenty years at the same place. Desiring then to enlarge his scope
by adding groceries, he formed a partnership with Gilbert W. Hawlk,
and they continued together for seven years, under the name of
Koller & Hawlk, when he retired, having been in business at one
stand for thirty-four years and having established a large and
flourishing trade which extended into Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Delaware and Maryland for over a hundred miles from Philadelphia.
Since 1899, he has been residing at Philadelphia, retired, enjoying
the ample rewards of a well-directed, honorable and satisfactory
business career.

In 1851, while living at Shoemakersville, Mr.
Koller married Maria Fister, daughter of Peter Fister, farmer of
Greenwich township, near Klinesville, Berks county. She died in
1856, aged twenty-two years, leaving two children, Amelia Thamsen
(m. B. Oliver Seltzer, of Hamburg) and Emma (died young).

In 1857 he m. Amelia Hollenbach, daughter of
Jacob Hollenbach, a farmer of Perry township, and by her had four
children. namely: Anna Maria died unmarried in 1905, aged
forty-seven years; Jeremiah died unmarried, in 1901, aged forty-one
years; Mary Leanda died in 1875, aged four-teen years; and Ellen,
m. Jerome H. Sheip, of Philadelphia.

KOMP
FAMILY

Surnames:  KOMP, KEMP, KAMFF, DIETRICH

Three brothers by the name of Komp (also spelled Kemp) emigrated to
America from Germany, about the middle of the eighteenth
century.  One settled about Philadelphia.  Deobald,who
spelled his name Kemp, located in Maxatawny, east of Kutztown,
where he reared a large family, some of his descendants still
living in the same locality to this day.  The third brother,
Martin by name, settled along the Blue mountains in Albany, where
he owned much land.  In 1774 his name on the tax list appeared
as Martin “Kamff,” and he was assessed eight pounds tax.  He
was a pioneer settler and operated a distillery, burning much
apple-jack.The Indians for some years were friendly with him and
made frequent visits to the distillery which stood where Charles W.
Dietrich now lives.  Komp gave them apple-jack which they
liked, and they would then go to the top of the hill on the south
side of the road from the present buildings, and find great
pleasure in rolling down hill.  Later during the French and
Indian War (1756) they made frequent onslaughts upon the
settlers.  They were nevertheless fearful about a man named
Knepper, who it was said bore a charmed life, and frequently fought
them.  The Christian name of Martin Komp’s (Kemp’s) wife was
Catherine.

KOMP,
DAVID

p. 673

Surnames: KOMP, DIETRICH, PETRI, SCHWENK

David Komp (son of Martin and Catharine) lived at Charles W.
Dietrich’s present home. He owned upwards of 400 acres of land, and
was a farmer and distiller. His wife was Maria Petri (1775-1855).
They had children: (1) Reuben, born Nov. 23, 1807, died March 3,
1890; married Regina Schwenk (1817-1893). They were farming people
in Albany, and lived where their son Daniel now lives. They had
children–Daniel, William, Henry, Mary, Amanda, Lazarus and Lydia.

KOSER, RALPH
S.

p. 1677

Surnames: KOSER, BURTIF, BEEBE, RUSSELL, WIRDWELL

Ralph S. Koser, an enterprising young business man of Exeter
township, Berks county, who is proprietor of the Penn poultry farm,
situated one-quarter of a mile south of Jacksonwald P.O., was born
Aug. 20, 1876, at Pinegrove, Schuylkill Co., Pa., son of Dr. S. S.
and Gertrude (Burtif) Koser.

Ralph S. Koser was educated in the public
schools of Williamsport, Pa., where he was reared, and at Bucknell
College, from which institution he was graduated in 1896. He then
learned the jewelry business, which he followed until his
enlistment, in April, 1897, in Co. G., 12th Pa. Vol. Inf., under
Col. Beebe, with which company he served two years, two months of
which were spent in Cuba. He then enlisted in the 12th Pa. N. G. as
private, being promoted to second lieutenant, serving as such until
1902, when he resigned, and later joined the 4th Pa. N. G., as
lieutenant and later became captain. He resigned in August, 1906,
having had the distinction of having commanded the largest company
in the State.

In 1905 Mr. Koser established the Penn poultry
farm, which he has made a decided success; he gives special
attention to ducks, although he has raised many chickens, his plant
having a capacity of 20,000 fowls annually. In addition, Mr. Koser
has a tract of twenty acres of fine land, which he intends to
devote to truck farming. He is enterprising and energetic, and his
business interests are increasing rapidly.

On Aug 21, 1906, Mr. Koser was married to Clara
F. Russell, daughter of T. Frank and Nancy (Wirdwell) Russell, of
Lewisburg. Mr. and Mrs. Koser attend the Presbyterian Church.