Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

NOLAN,
WILLIAM (JR.)

p. 576

Surnames: NOLAN, O’REILLY, COPPINGER, DUFFY, McDONOUGH

William Nolan, Jr., a prominent railroad contractor, residing at
Sinking Spring, was born in Reading May 4, 1874. He was educated in
the local schools, and also at St. Mary’s College, at Emmitsburg,
Md. Then he learned the business of railroad contracting with the
firm of Nolan Brothers, of which firm his father was the senior
partner, and while still under age he became a partner of Joseph P.
O’Reilly. From 1893 to 1896 they executed several large contracts,
putting up iron bridges at Reading and Harrisburg, enlarging the
waterworks and putting in the sewerage pumping stations at Reading.
From 1896 to 1905 he was associated with his brother, Charles, in
railroad contracting, more particularly for the Reading Railroad
Company, their father, William Nolan, being interested with them
from 1900 to 1902. This enterprising young firm put up all the
stone bridge work for the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad Company,
from Sinnamahoning to Weedville, a distance of thirty-two miles.
Their grandfather, James Nolan, had been the contractor for the
stone work on this same railroad for thirty miles some sixty years
before and their father for thirty-two miles, some thirty years
before.

In 1905 Mr. Nolan organized the firm of Nolan
Brothers, with his brother Edward C. as partner, for carrying on
construction work more extensively, and since then they have
successfully executed a large number of contracts. One of these
contracts, worthy of special mention, was the extension of the
Bethlehem Steel Works, which involved the excavation of over a
million yards of rock and earth on an area of forty acres; and its
execution required an equipment of nine locomotives, five steam
shovels, three hundred dump-cars, two grading machines, one hundred
horses, twelve steam drills, four miles of railroad track, etc.,
all this affording facilities for removing 150,000 cubic yards
monthly. They also built the new Sacon plant of the Bethlehem Steel
Company, the Philadelphia & Garrettford Railroad, and the
Boyertown & Pottstown Railroad.

Mr. Nolan has identified himself with a number
of the financial institutions of Reading by investing in their
bonds and stocks; but on account of his absence in giving contract
work his personal supervision he has not become connected with
their management.

In 1896 Mr. Nolan married Margaret Coppinger,
daughter of Michael and Margaret (Duffy) Coppinger, of Reading, and
by her he has two sons, John C. and Richard. Mr. Nolan’s home was
at Reading until 1898, when he removed to Sinking Spring, having
purchased a farm of fifty acres adjoining the village on the west,
along the main thorough-fare.

William Nolan, Mr. Nolan’s father, was a
successful railroad contractor of Reading. He was born in Ireland
in 1840, and married Katherine McDonough, a daughter of Dr. Charles
McDonough, of Reading. He died in 1903.

NOLDE,
JACOB

p. 600

Surnames: NOLDE, HORST, LORAH

Jacob Nolde, of Reading, has had a business career which can find
few parallels in the industrial history of Berks county. As the
head of the Nolde & Horst Company, manufacturers of hosiery,
who have established at the point one of the largest plants of the
kind in the United States, his operations bear an important
relation to the prosperity of the city. The fifteen hundred
employes of this immense concern form a large proportion of its
industrial population.

Old established families and native-born
residents of this section are so numerous that Mr. Nolde’s
residence in Reading, dating from the year 1888, seems
comparatively brief. Its influence in increasing the wealth of the
community is not to be measured by years. The profitable operation
of so large an establishment as that conducted by the Nolde &
Horst Company affects the welfare of many other lines, and the
flourishing condition of this business has attracted to the
vicinity various other desirable enterprises. Mr. Nolde is familiar
with the practical work of the mills as well as with their
management, and he deserves his full share of credit due for their
wonderful development. The manner in which he has forged his way to
the front proves him worthy of the high position he has attained.

Jacob Nolde was born in Berleburg, Westphalia,
Germany, in the year 1859, and received the excellent educational
advantages of the schools of his native land. Until be came to
America, in 1880, he was engaged as traveling salesman for a
clothing house. His first location in this country was at Stony
Creek, Berks county, Pa., where be found employment as a weaver
with Louis Kraemer & Co., with whom he continued until he
engaged in business on his own account. When Louis Kraemer &
Co. started the Nazareth Manufacturing Company, in Northampton
county, Pa., Mr. Nolde accompanied them, remaining there until the
spring of 1888, when he disposed of his interests and came to
Reading. The Nazareth Manufacturing Company were converting their
knitting-mill into a factory devoted exclusively to the production
of underwear, and Mr. Nolde purchased their seamless half hose
machinery, which comprised twenty machines and the necessary
auxiliaries. This modest equipment has proved to be the nucleus of
one of the largest and most completely appointed factories in the
country. The machines were installed in the Thalheimer building, at
No. 143 Cedar street, Reading. But within a very short time the
business outgrew these quarters, and in the spring of 1890 Mr.
Nolde found more adequate accommodations at No. 222 Cedar street,
in a building 45 x 100 feet in dimensions. While he was in that
location he admitted Mr. George Horst to a partnership in the
business, and they have been asso-ciated ever since. Purchasing the
property, they carried on operations there until the year 1892, by
which time they had reached the conclusion that it would be economy
to have a building especially adapted to the needs of the growing
industry. Consequently they invested in a lot 100 feet square, on
Moss street, beyond Douglass, upon which they erected a three-story
and basement fac-tory 50 x 100 feet. It was a model plant of its
kind in every particular, and doubtless gave the ambitious young
partners more pleasure than their mature natures have found in the
present immense factory. Their ex-pensive venture was followed
shortly by the panic of 1893, but wise administration and
indomitable effort soon made them masters of the situation, and the
new in-dustry weathered the storm with such skill that it suffered
no decline.

The firm was now finding itself in a position to
cope with the large manufacturers, and to be regarded by them as
competitors worthy of attention. Up to this time the products of
the factory had been a cheap class of goods, but when the fast
black and tan goods came to be generally favored they found it
necessary to meet the -popular demand, and in order to facilitate
their work opened a finishing establishment in Philadelphia. Mr.
Horst took charge of the new branch, Mr. Nolde retaining the
management of the Reading plant, and this arrangement lasted until
the concern was incorporated, in 1897. It had previously been
conducted on a partnership basis.

After the incorporation the Nolde & Horst
Company purchased a tract of land adjoining the first lot, 100×160
feet in dimensions, and built an extension 32×160 feet, as well as
a wing 50×100 feet, a dye-house and an engine-room. This gave them
facilities for operating four hundred knitting machines, furnishing
employment to five hundred hands. On Dec. 7, 1899 , fire destroyed
almost the entire plant only the dye-house and boiler remaining.
But this disaster in no way retarded the progress of the business.
The debris was cleared away at once, and by May 1, 1900, within
five months, the knitting mills were again in full working order,
with improved equipment, all the new machinery installed being of
the latest models. Moreover, extraordinary precautions were taken
against a repetition of the catastrophe and to insure the safety of
all employed in the building, which was provided throughout with
the most. approved fire escapes.

The steady expansion of trade has since called
for several additions. In 1903 two extensions, 60 x 32 feet and 50
x 100 feet, respectively, three stories and basement, were made. In
1905 two more of the same dimensions were found necessary, and the
same year the dye- house was enlarged by an addition 40 x 120 feet.
On the Ninth street side of the property another building, 50 x 380
feet, has been erected, increasing the floor space to the
remarkable area of 230,000 square feet–over five acres. Fifteen
hundred people are regularly employed in turning out the product of
this vast establishment, and when the addition now being made is
open the force will be increased to two thousand. There are only a
few metropolitan establishments which have a showing to be compared
with this. The output of this factory is confined to hosiery, but
the Nolde & Horst Company are also interested in another
establishment of similar nature, a large glove factory 50 x 210
feet, five stories in height, for the manufacture of silk gloves
exclusively. Moreover, since their operations have attained such
enormous proportions, they have found it practicable to extend
their attention to allied enterprises, and they are interested in
the Windsor Machine Company, manufacturing all their own knitting
machines. Excellent management in this and in other respects has
not only proved economical, but has facilitated the work in many
ways and improved labor conditions for the operatives as well as
commercial opportunities for the management.

This record of the success of the Nolde &
Horst Company and allied interests is in reality the story of Mr.
Nolde’s life. He has always been a man of action and able to attend
faithfully to many affairs, but nevertheless his ambition, his
enthusiasm and his best efforts have been devoted to the building
up of the concern of which he stands at the head. His energies have
found expression in the improvement of every branch of the
business, for having been a practical worker himself he understands
the necessities of the operative as well as the directive
department. The establishment has enhanced the industrial standing
of Reading to such an extent that it is regarded with high favor by
both capitalists and workers. Mr. Nolde is prominently connected
with two important financial institutions of Reading, being a
director of the Keystone National Bank, and the Colonial Trust
Company. His standing is irreproachable.

Personally Mr. Nolde is well known as a member
of the B. P. O. E. and a high Mason, his Masonic associations
including membership in Teutonia Lodge, F. & A. M., the
Chapter, the Commandery and Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He has
been twice married, his first union,. which took place in 1889,
having been to Lydia Lorah, who passed away in 1892. She was the
mother of two children, Carl and Ella, both of whom are at home.
His present wife was Louisa Horst, sister of his business partner,
George Horst, and to them have been born four children, George,
Lena, Hans and Louisa. Mr. and Mrs. Nolde are active members of
Zion Reformed Church, with which Mr. Nolde united as a charter
member. He has acted as secretary of the church organization since
1893.

NOLL, HARRY
N.

p. 1077

Surnames: NOLL, NEWMAN, UHRICHT, REED, FORRY, LEININGER, MORNIN,
HOFFMAN, SANDERS, HEFFELFINGER, AHRENS, PALM, JACKSON, HERFLICKER,
HERTLINE, SAYLOR, BOWER, GOODMAN

Harry N. Noll, a blacksmith at Mohnton, was born at Newmanstown,
Lebanon county, Pa., Jan. 19, 1868, son of Levi and Eliza M.
(Newman) Noll.

The history of the Noll family in America begins
long before the Revolution. On Sept. 21, 1751, Philip Heinrich Noll
landed at Philadelphia, from the ship “Two Brothers,” and tradition
has it that a brother Benjamin had already settled in Lebanon
county, a tradition supported by the recorded fact that such a name
appears on the tax list of Lebanon township, Lebanon county, in
1750. Philip Noll settled at Newmanstown, and both operated a small
farm and worked at his trade as a shoemaker. He lived to a very
advanced age, and his remains are buried in the village where he
lived so- long. His wife was Rebecca Uhricht, by whom he had five
children, viz.: George, a stone mason at Newmanstown; William,
similarly engaged there; Isaac; Sedock, a shoemaker at Newmanstown;
and Polly, wife of Harry Reed, of that same place.

Isaac Noll was born in Newmanstown and there
died, his life covering the span from 1809 to 1893. He was the
owner of a small farm of forty-five acres, which he carried on in
addition to shoemaking. Twice married, his children were all by his
first wife, Rebecca Forry, and numbered seven, viz.: Lydia m. John
Leininger, of Womelsdorf; Caroline M. m. Peter Mornin, a railroad
employe; Edward, a blacksmith at Richland, Pa., m. Miss Katie
Hoffman; William, of Schaefferstown, m. Miss Emma Sanders; Levi F.;
Sarah m. John Heffelfinger, a plasterer at Mt. Etna; and Malinda.

Levi F. Noll was born Feb. 19, 1834, and during
all of his active life was a blacksmith, working in Newmanstown,
Jacksonwald, St. Lawrence and Reading. In the last city he was
employed for some years by Howard Ahrens. He first located there in
1874, then spent twelve years in Jacksonwald and St. Lawrence, and
finally returned to Reading again in 1890, remaining there ever
since. He has given up his trade, but while living practically in
retirement still maintains a hold on the world of action and
business by conducting an oyster house on Locust street. He has
always been interested in politics, and for some years served as
constable of Exeter township, elected on the Republican ticket.

During the Civil war Mr. Noll was among those
who rallied to their country’s defense. He enlisted as a private in
Company F, 93rd Pa. V. I., and saw considerable active service,
participating in the battles of the Wilderness, Fisher’s Hill,
Winchester, Cedar Creek, Charlestown and Sailor’s Creek.

Mr. Noll married Eliza M. Newman, daughter of
Adam and Catherine (Palm) Newman, and to this union children have
been born as follows: Eva m. Henry M. Jackson, a machinist of
Reading; Harry N.; Isaac and Adam both died in childhood; Katie m.
Howard Herflicker, a slater in Reading; William m. Miss Rosa
Hertline, of Reading; Mary m. Samuel Saylor, of Reading; Edward
died in childhood; Walter; and two died in infancy.

Harry N. Noll was sent to the public schools in
Reading and Jacksonwald, but left at an early age to help on the
farm which his father occupied. When seventeen years old he took up
his father’s trade, but acquired it not from the latter but from
Wallace Eckenroth, of Gouglersville. He worked one year for William
Bachman and another on his own account at St. Lawrence. He was next
with Owen Fox at the Half Way House and after that took a position
in the Blandon Rolling Mills. On April 3, 1893, he started out once
more for himself, locating at Mohnsville, and has built up a
patronage there, the largest in that section of the country, for
people living within a radius of five miles come to him for work.
Not only is his work most satisfactory, but he himself is so honest
and upright in all his dealings, so manly in character, that he
stands high in the public respect and is very popular personally.
He has considerable influence locally in politics, and has always
worked well for his party, the Republican, which has rewarded his
loyalty by making him auditor of Cumru township, an office he
filled most efficiently for three years.

On Oct. 19, 1889, Mr. Noll married S. Laura
Bower, daughter of William and Caroline (Goodman) Bower. Mrs. Noll
has borne her husband seven children, namely: Venona May; Della A.,
who died in 1895, aged nineteen months; Paul B., who died in 1897,
aged three years, eight months; Katie V., who died in 1897, aged
fifteen months; Allison L.; Erma C.; and Debbie E. Mr. Noll, as
well as his wife, is a member of the Lutheran Church of Blandon.
Fraternally he belongs to the K. of P, No. 485, and Knights of
Friendship, No. 46, both of Mohnton; and to the P. O. S. of A., No.
230, of St. Lawrence.

NOLL,
WILLIAMHENRY

p. 1413

Surnames: NOLL, KELLER, HECKMAN, SPECHT, STEIHL, KLINE, GRING,
WEITZEL, MERKEL, DELP, HAAS, DREIBELBIS, ROTHERMEL, SCHMECK,
WELDER, WEIDNER, HAFER

William Henry Noll, a teacher residing in Ruscombmanor township,
Berks county, was born July 18, 1874, son of David K. and Elizabeth
(Keller) Noll.

Peter Noll, Sr., the great-great-grandfather of
W. Henry, was, according to the Federal census of 1790, a resident
of Exeter township, where he is recorded as having a son at home
above sixteen years of age, and two daughters. Tradition states he
had a large family, some of the children having been previously
married and having families of their own. Another son of Peter
Noll, Sr., besides Peter, was Valentine, who in 1790 lived in
Alsace township.

Peter Noll, son of Peter Sr., and also mentioned
in the Federal census of 1790, was a farmer, and lived in Alsace
township. He married Magdalena Keller, and they had children as
follows: John, Peter, Henry, Samuel, Jacob, Molly (m. John
Heckman), and Hettie (m. Daniel Heckman). Peter Noll is buried at
Spies’s Church.

Henry Noll, son of Peter and Magdalena, was born
in Alsace township, May 3, 1798, and died Nov. 25, 1883, in
Ruscombmanor township, on the farm now owned by the estate of his
son, David K., and operated by his grandson Gideon. He was a
farmer, and built the present set of buildings on his farm, the
barn in 1840 and the house in 1842. He m. Catharine Keller,
daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Specht) Keller, of Rockland
township. She was born June 5, 1803, and died aged eighty-three
years. Both are buried at Shalters Church. They became the parents
of ten children, namely: Sarah m. John Steihl; Nicodemus lived in
Richmond township; Jacob lived in Union county, Pa.; Henry K. lived
in Ruscombmanor township; Catharine m. Simon Kline, of Reading;
Elizabeth m. (first) Reuben Gring, and (second) John Weitzel;
Hannah m. Daniel Merkel; David K.; Mary m. William Merkel;
Magdalena m. Reuben Delp; and Martha m. (first) Martin Haas, and.
(second) Cleophas Dreibelbis.

David K. Noll, son of Henry and Catharine, and
father of W. Henry, born in Ruscombmanor township, Oct. 13, 1813,
and died on his farm, Oct. 26, 1907. He had lived all his life in
Ruscombmanor township, with the exception of four years when he
farmed in Alsace township. He owned a farm of eighty-four acres in
Ruscombmanor, which he cultivated, and on which he lived and died.
He also owned the Noll homestead in Ruscombmanor township, which
has been in the family name for over 100 years. That tract consists
of sixty-two acres, and is now rented to Mr. Noll’s son, Gideon.
Mr. Noll built the present house in 1893, and there his widow now
lives, superintending the cultivation of the farm. He was a
Democrat, and served as school director for a number of years, and
was a delegate to a number of county conventions. Mr. Noll was a
self made man. In his early life he learned the blacksmith’s trade
from Jonas Rothermel, at Fleetwood, after which was hired on the
farm in Muhlenberg two years. He then from there came to Reading,
where he assisted his brother-in-law, Simon Kline, in the
manufacturing of brick for about four years. He then returned home
and helped his father upon the farm two years, next returning to
Reading and working for the Philadelphia & Reading Railway
Company as a blacksmith, be-coming the foreman of the blacksmith
department.

In 1874 he began farming in Ruscombmanor
township, on his father’s farm as a tenant, remaining there four
years, when he moved to the farm of his father-in-law, Gideon
Keller, who died in 1878. The Keller farm became the property of
Mrs. Noll by inheritance. After ten years on the Keller farm they
returned to the old Noll homestead and lived there six years. On
March 24, 1894, they came to the present place.

Mr. Noll and his family were Reformed members of
Shalter’s Union Church, while Mrs. Noll worships in the Lutheran
faith at the same church. David K. Noll was married Nov. 24, 1868,
to Elizabeth, daughter of Gideon and Sarah (Schmeck) Keller. Their
children were: Gideon, born 1869, and now a farmer and justice of
the peace in Ruscombmanor township, m. Sarah E. Welder, and has
children–Katie E., Annie M., Maria S., and David J.; Maria
Catharine, born 1871, died 1872; William Henry; Peter Nic., born
1879, is single and lives with his mother; and John Jacob, born
1883, died 1884.

William Henry Noll was reared upon the farm, and
obtained his early education in the public schools of the township,
and later attending the Keystone State Normal school, at Kutztown.
He was licensed to teach in the public schools by Prof. W. M.
Zechman, in the fall of 1894, and taught his first term and the ten
succeeding terms at Sand Hill school in Ruscombmanor. In the fall
of 1906 he began teaching at Frey’s school in the same township. He
also owns and cultivates a tract of thirteen acres, where he lives,
in Ruscombmanor, on the road leading from Pricetown to Fleetwood,
known as the Friedensburg Road.

Mr. Noll is a good musician, at an early age
showing considerable talent. When a boy of eight years he could
play difficult music, and at fifteen began playing the
Sunday-school organ for the St. John’s Sunday-school at Pricetown.
In 1895 he was elected organist of the St. John’s Union Church at
Pricetown, and has been the organist and choirmaster ever since. He
was also the organist at Shalters Church, in Alsace township for a
period of five years. For some years he taught music.

Mr. Noll is an influential Democrat, and for
seven years was a member of the County Standing Committee. He was
active in the welfare of his party before he was of age. In the
spring of 1905 he was elected the assessor of the township, and
after serving one term of three years was re-elected by a unanimous
vote. He was a delegate to the State Convention in 1903, and has
rendered valuable services to his party in various capacities. He
and his family are members of Shalters Reformed Church.

On March 26, 1898, Mr. Noll married Mary,
daughter of Franklin and Susan (Weidner) Hafer, of Oley township.
To this union have been born three children, viz.: Elda Erma, David
Walter and Elmer Franklin.

NORTHEIMER, OLIVER L.

p.
1434

Surnames: NORTHEIMER, GARMAN, JONES, GEHRET, WABLIN, ALTHOUSE,
BEHM, KRICK, HETRICK

Oliver L. Northeimer, a contractor for stone work in Reading, is
one of the well-known men in his line, and has done much important
construction work in the city. He was born in Centre county, Pa.,
in 1866.

Jacob Northeimer, paternal grandfather, was in
his earlier life a farmer in Chester county, but later moved to
Lancaster county, and there died at the age of ninety-two years. By
his wife, Barbara Garman, who died in Reading, aged seventy-nine,
he had a family of whom are living, Andrew, of Lancaster county;
and Nicholas J.

Nicholas J. Northeimer was born in Chester
county, Aug. 17, 1830, and attended school both there and in
Lancaster county. He then worked at farming a few years, and
finally at the age of twenty-four, began to learn the stone mason’s
trade in Chester county. On Jan. 15, 1864, he located in Reading
and was in business there till 1904, when he and his son Oliver L.,
worked for James W., another son. In 1870 he worked on the steeple
of the church at Fifth and Court streets, the oldest and largest in
the city. In the year mentioned he started for himself, and began
his prosperous career of thirty-four years as a stone contractor.
Among the many important structures on which he worked may be
mentioned the tower on the Germantown M. E. church.

Mr. Northeimer was married in 1858 to Louise L.,
born March 9, 1833, daughter of William and Emma Jones, of Chester
county. Their home is in Exeter township. Their children were:
James W., in the stone contracting business, residing at No. 547
Weiser street; Mary L. S., the wife of Wilson Gehret; Annie M.,
deceased; John E.; Oliver L.; Clara A.; Emma B.; Mrs. Harry Wablin,
of Mullins, S. C.; and Eva A., wife of James P. Althouse. Mr.
Northeimer is a Democrat in politics, is a member of St. Paul’s M.
E. Church, and belongs to the Masons’ Union.

Oliver L. Northeimer has lived in Reading from
the age of two years, and was there educated. On leaving school he
at first learned the barber’s trade and followed it a few years,
but at the age of nineteen he began working under his father, and
continued so until he started to work for his brother, James W., in
whose employ he still is.

On Oct. 17, 1900, Oliver L. Northeimer and Miss
Emma B. Behm were united in marriage. Both are members of the M. E.
Church. Mrs. Northeimer was a daughter of Jacob Behm, of
Friedensburg, Pennsylvania.

John E. Northeimer, of the firm of Northeimer
& Albrecht, practical plasterers, is a son of Nicholas J.
Northeimer. He was born Jan. 15, 1865, at Bald Eagle, Centre
county, and was only four years old when his father settled in
Reading. He attended school in the Ninth and Laurel street school
building and on leaving it took up the trade of plastering. He
began in Reading but finished in Philadelphia, where he worked two
years. Returning home he was employed as a journeyman for a time,
and then in 1896 became one of the firm of G. H. Pearson & Co.,
a partnership which continued four years. For another four he
worked again as a journeyman for Lambert & Rehr, after which,
in 1901, he went into business for himself once more, with George
Albrecht as a partner. They do a very large business, being among
the leading men of the city in their line of work, and have handled
such contracts as the large hotel, at Ninth and Penn streets,
Clouser’s Hotel, St. Paul’s Memorial School, Grace Evangelical
Church and St. Joseph’s Hospital, besides doing all the work for
the well-known builder, W. A. Sharp. In the last three years they
have plastered 200 houses for him alone. The firm employs regularly
from fifteen to twenty skilled men.

John E. Northeimer married Miss Mary Ann Krick,
daughter of Henry and Matilda (Hetrick) Krick. Four children have
been born to them, Charles Walter, James Clinton, Florence May, and
Alva Frances. The family resides at No. 32 North Tenth street. Mr.
Northeimer has been quite active in politics for the Democratic
party, was assessor of the Eighth ward for three years and also
served on the board. He is a member of the First Reformed Church.
His name is on the membership roll of four fraternal orders, the
Red Men, the Eagles, Sons of America and the Royal Arcanum. Mr.
Northeimer is a fine business man and stands well among his
associates and his many friends.

NUNEMACHER, LLOYD M.

p.
1349

Surnames: NUNEMACHER, MILLER, HENNE, RHODES, HIESTER, KEIM, WELLS,
STITZER

Lloyd M. Nunemacher, who is engaged in an extensive contracting
business in Reading, is one of the leaders in the ranks of the
Democratic party in Reading, and has been favorably mentioned as
candidate for the office of sheriff of Berks county. Mr. Nunemacher
was born Sept. 2, 1863, in Upper Bern township, Berks county, son
of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Miller) Nunemacher.

Jacob Nunemacher, the grandfather of Lloyd, was
a well-to-do farmer of Berks county, and an influential Democrat.
He married Lovina Henne, and to them were born two children:
Benjamin, and Jacob, who is now living at Tower City, Pa. Benjamin
Nunemacher, an uncle of Benjamin the father of Lloyd, was a State
Senator on the Democratic ticket and served his constituents at the
State Capitol in 1868. Benjamin Nunemacher, father of Lloyd, was a
carpenter by trade, an occupation which he followed all of his
life. He died in 1887, aged forty-eight years, in the faith of the
Lutheran Church. In politics he was a Democrat. To Mr. and Mrs.
Benjamin Nunemacher were born these children: Rosa, who married
Luther Rhodes; Clayton J., a blacksmith of Reading; Katie, who
married Simon Hiester of Chester Co., Pa.; Sally, who married Paul
Keim, of Pittsburg; Charles F., in the employ of the Philadelphia
& Reading Company, Reading; John, employed with Dives, Pomeroy
& Stewart; Maggie, who resides with her mother on the old
homestead; and Lloyd.

Lloyd M. Nunnemacher was educated in the common
schools of Bern and Centre townships, and worked at farming for
four years, after which he engaged in coal mining from 1877 to
1883. In the latter year he came to Reading and apprenticed himself
to the carpenter’s trade with Wesley Wells, serving five years. He
then engaged with the Reading planing mill (Fink & Huyett), and
continued with this firm until 1899 when the business was dissolved
and since that time Mr. Nunemacher has been engaged in contracting
for himself. He employs on an average five men, but at times has as
many as fifteen to twenty men on his pay list. He is well and
favorably known in Reading, especially in the Fifth ward; where he
has resided for sixteen years, and where he owns a home at No. 233
South Third street. Mr. Nunemacher has been prominent in the
Democratic party for a number of years. He has been a member of the
school board for eight years, has served as a delegate to thirteen
county, four State and three city conventions, and has ever been
active in public life. His fraternal connections are with the P. O.
S. of A., with which he has been affiliated for the past twenty-six
years; the I. O. R. M., Juniata Tribe, No. 74; and Reading Castle,
No. 49, K. G. E., of which he is a charter member, and an officer
for twenty-one years. In religious belief Mr. Nunemacher and his
family are connected with the Lutheran Church.,

Mr. Nunemacher was married March 24, 1887, to
Miss Catherine Stitzer, the estimable daughter of Augustus Stitzer,
and to this union there have been born three daughters: Rosie M.,
Florence C., and M. Ruth.

NYCE,
PERCIVAL C.

p. 807

Surnames: NYCE, COPE, PRICE, CLEMMER, REED, ANTHONY, GOODMAN, GUTH,
TREGO, BENSON

Percival C. Nyce, who for a number of years was engaged in the
produce and commission business in Reading, is now living retired
in this city. Mr. Nyce was born Oct. 22, 1839, in Marlborough
township, Montgomery Co., Pa., son of Samuel and Eliza (Cope) Nyce.

George Nyce, grandfather of Percival C., resided
on the old homestead in Marlborough township, where he died at the
age of sixty years, his wife, who had been a Miss Price, passing
away in her ninetieth year. They were members of the German Baptist
Brethren Church. Their children were: John; Daniel; Samuel; Joel;
Jesse; Katie (m. a Clemmer); Elizabeth (m. a Reed). In politics Mr.
Nyce was a Whig..

Samuel Nyce was born on the homestead in
Marlborough township, and there followed farming many years,
removing to Reading in 1853 to engage in the produce business. He
died in 1898, in his eighty-fifth year, and his wife died in 1893,
when seventy–seven years old. They had seven children, six of whom
lived to maturity, as follows: Mary (who m. an Anthony); Andora (m.
a Goodman); Catherine (m. a Guth); Percival C.; Sylvester, and
Calvin S. The father of these children was a member of the Baptist
Church, while Mrs. Nyce belonged to the Reformed denomination.

Percival C. Nyce was educated in the common
schools of Montgomery county and later those of Reading, and as a
boy worked in the commission house of his father, with whom he
later went into partnership, this connection lasting from 1860
until 1865, when Percival C. Nyce went to Philadelphia, where be
engaged in the business on his own account. From that city be went
to New York, thence to Chicago, and later to Mount Carroll, Ill.,
whence he returned in 1873 to Reading, forming a partnership with
his brother-in-law and his brother, Calvin. In this connection Mr.
Nyce continued until ill health forced his retirement from active
life in 1888.

On Aug. 4, 1859, Mr. Nyce married, at Milton,
Pa., Cecelia E. Trego, and their son, Harry E., married (first)
Ella Benson, had two children: Percival C., Jr. and Elsie C., and
(second) m. Rosie Guth. Percival C. Nyce is a member of the German
Baptist Church.