Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

BOYER,
GOTLEIB

p. 661

Surnames: BOYER, KISSINGER, LINSENMEYER, SWOYER

Gotleib Boyer (deceased) will be remembered by the people of the
city of Reading, as the leading florist of his day, his stand being
in Kissinger’s Market. Mr. Boyer was born in 1824, in Stuttgart,
Germany, came to America when a young man, and passed away at
Reading in 1899.

On first locating in this country. Mr. Boyer
settled in Lancaster county, his last residence there being at
Ephrata, where he remained for five years. He then located in
Reading. where he soon established himself as a florist and
gardener, at one time operating three greenhouses. He was
considered the leading gardener and florist of his day in the city,
although at the time of his death he was conducting but one place
of business, the old Kissinger Market stand. Mr. Boyer was a true
type of the self-made man. On coming to this country he was a poor,
friendless boy, knowing little of the language and less of the
business methods in use, yet at the time of his death he left a
large and valuable estate to his widow and children. Mr. Boyer was
a member of the Lutheran Church, and a Democrat in politics.

In 1861 Mr. Boyer married Miss Rosina
Linsenmeyer, also a native of Germany, and to them were born five
children, namely: George, born April 12, 1862, of Reading; Anna, m.
to Ellsworth Swoyer, of Hoboken, N. J.; Charles, a farmer, of
Muhlenberg township and two girls, who died young.

BOYER, HENRY

p. 1524

Surnames: BOYER, KERPER, NAGLE, SHANEMAN, O’BRIEN, STROHECKER

Henry Boyer, who was one of Reading’s well known business men, was
born in that city in 1766. A butcher by trade he became at one time
a man of means and a prominent citizen, but through different
ventures he lost much of his wealth. He lived to the ripe old age
of eighty-one, dying in 1847. His wife, bore him six children, John
Henry, George, Charles, Jacob and Elizabeth; The daughter married
Abraham Kerper, and became the mother of two children: William, of
Reading; and one who died in infancy. The members of this family
were all devout communicants of the Lutheran Church, while in
politics the men were invariably Democrats up to the time of
Lincoln, when they joined the Republican ranks.

Jacob Boyer, youngest son of Henry, was born in
Reading in 1801, and received as good an education as the primitive
schools of that day afforded. He learned the butcher’s trade from
his father, and made it his lifelong calling. His wife was Miss
Susan H. Nagle, who died in 1890, at the age of ninety, surviving
her husband by nearly twenty years, as his death occurred in 1871,
at the age of seventy years, one month and twenty-eight days. The
children born to them, all of whom outlived their parents, were as
follows: Harriet, who married John G. Shaneman, and was the mother
of ex-Mayor Shaneman; Peter N., of Alabama; Mary A., Mrs. Joseph G.
O’Brien; Alvin N., of Reading; Sarah L. wife of the late John C.
Strohecker; Esther, of Reading; and Jacob N., now deceased. This
generation remained true to their early religious teaching and were
all Lutherans.

Mrs. Susan N. Boyer was the daughter of Peter
Nagle, who was the first justice of the peace in Reading, and held
that office for forty-four years. He was a prominent man in his
day, and on one occasion when General Washington visited Reading,
Mr. Nagle had the honor of entertaining him.

BOYER, JACOB
S.

p. 1254

Surnames: BOYER, BAUSHER, ZIMMERMAN, BALTHASER, GRETH, SANDS, KUTZ,
ADAM, KERSHNER, LESHER, SMITH, SUNDAY

Jacob S. Boyer, a highly esteemed resident of Berks county, who is
engaged as a sand merchant and agriculturist at the Five Locks,
south of Hamburg, Perry township, was born June 5, 1862, in Windsor
township, son of George B. and Mary Ann (Bausher) Boyer.

John Jacob Boyer, great-grandfather of Jacob S.,
was a farmer and lived in Windsor township for some years. He had
five children, as follows: John R., who died at the age of sixty, a
bachelor, and who owned, tradition says, considerable land in
Tennessee upon which was found coal after his death; Jacob; Samuel;
Matilda m. Samuel Zimmerman; and Sarah, who is unmarried and lives
near Klinesville, Pa. Jacob Boyer, of this family, was a farmer all
of his life and lived in Windsor township, although several years
in early life were spent in Richmond township. He married Hannah
Balthaser, daughter of John and Molly (Greth) Balthaser, and they
had these children: Daniel; Jacob; George B.; Susanna m. Daniel
Sands, and a daughter, who married Daniel Kutz.

George B. Boyer was born Feb. 4, 1828, and died
Sept. 14, 1890. He was a farmer and stonemason by occupation, also
conducting general store business at the Five Locks, when boating
was still being carried on. He and his family were connected with
Zion’s Union Church. He served the township in which he lived as
school director for three years, and was a Democrat in his
politics. Mr. Boyer was married in 1852 to Mary Ann Bausher, born
Nov. 22, 1834, daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Adam) Bausher. Mrs.
Boyer is now living in Hamburg. These children were born to the
union: Eleanora, who was married to Bradford Sunday, and died in
1891, aged thirty-seven years; Washington F., of Hamburg, Pa.;
Jacob S.; and Andrew W., a clerk of Hamburg, PA.

Jacob S. Boyer obtained his early educational
training at home, in the local schools of Perry township and the
Hamburg public schools. From boyhood Mr. Boyer has been active and
industrious, his early years being spent as a clerk in the store of
his father. He later purchased the farm on which he now resides, on
which is an inexhaustible amount of high grade molding sand, which
he ships to points all over Pennsylvania, averaging about 170 car
loads per annum. Politically Mr. Boyer votes the Democratic ticket.
He and his family are active members of Zion’s Lutheran Church of
Perry township.

On June 8, 1889, Mr. Boyer was married to Amanda
L. Kershner, daughter of Joel and Esther (Lesher) Kershner, and
granddaughter of John and Catherine (Smith) Kershner. One daughter
has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, Essie A. The Boyer family is
on which has always stood high in the esteem of the community.

BOYER, JEROME
L.

p. 548

Surnames: BOYER, DeBEYER, KREBS, LUDWIG, McHOSE, WIMAN, GREGG,
BROWN, WHISTLER, STERNBERGH, WANNER, ANCONA

JEROME LUDWIG BOYER, who has been prominently identified
with the great iron interests of Reading and vicinity for many
years, and has gained the reputation of being one of the most
prominent directors of these immense industries, is a descendant of
one of the oldest and most honorable families of Berks county,
Pennsylvania. He was born at Boyertown, Berks Co., Pa., Jan. 19,
1843, son of Jacob K. Boyer, a distinguished citizen of the
Keystone State.

The Boyer family is of French Huguenot
extraction and was founded in America by Jacob DeBeyer, the
great-grandfather of Jerome Ludwig. He settled in Berks county and
there became a man of substance and standing and lived to the
unusual age of 103 years. His remains lie in the cemetery at
Amityville, one of the oldest graves in that scared spot.

Henry Boyer, father of Jacob K., was born in
1779, and was a pioneer settler at Boyertown, giving his name to
the hamlet, in which he built the first log house and opened the
first blacksmith shop. Here he followed blacksmithing for some
years, and he took a prominent part in public affairs. In 1824 he
was nominated by the Democratic party as their candidate for
representative and was elected, being re-elected in 1827 and 1832.
He died at Boyertown at the age of ninety-eight years, and was
buried at that place. He married Catharine Krebs, of Montgomery
country who died at the age of eighty-four years, and they became
the parents of a large family.

Jacob K. Boyer, father of Jerome Ludwig, was
born in 1821 in Boyertown, and in his youth followed farming and
engaged in school teaching. He later engaged in the mercantile
business at Boyertown, following this for a few years, when he came
to Reading and made that city his home for the remainder of his
life. During his residence there he was employed in the freight
house of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad on Eight street.
Like his esteemed father Mr. Boyer was a Democrat, and served in
the House of Representatives. Mr. Boyer died in the prime of life,
aged thirty-nine years, and his wife, who was Lucy K. Ludwig, died
in 1867, aged fifty-eight

Jerome L. Boyer received his literary training
in the common schools of his native locality, and when a boy was
employed as a clerk in a store at Boyertown. He later went to
District township, and after clerking a few years there, removed to
Reading, where he was first employed by Kline, Eppihimer & Co.,
for three years as a clerk, and later was made a member of the
firm. Staying there three and a half years, he left to accept the
position of head bookkeeper of the First National Bank, later being
made cashier of the institution, and there he remained three years.
Then, with others, he organized the Reading Fire Brick Company,
being elected president thereof, and this position he continues to
hold. In connection with this industry, Mr. Boyer has also been
identified with many other large interests, including mining and
the manufacture of iron. He was at one time manager and part owner
in the Temple Iron Company, had a charge of the E. & G. Brooke
plant at Birdsboro, and in 1880 acted as general manager of the
Chestnut Hill Iron Company, at Columbia, Lancaster country, a
position he held for four years. At present this firm is gradually
disposing of its plant, although Mr. Boyer still retains his
interests therein. Mr. Boyer was prominently identified with the
building of the Bachman Valley railroad for the carrying of ore,
and was its president for some time. During the existence of the
Citizens Bank of Reading, Mr. Boyer was largely interested in that
institution, and was one of the board of directors.

Mr. Boyer is serving as adviser of the Home for
Widows and Single Women, and during the years 1891 and 1892 he
served as president of the board of this institution. He is
prominently connected with fraternal organizations, being a member
of Chandler Lodge, F. & A. M., No 227; Reading Chapter, No.
152; Reading Commandery, No. 42; Philadelphia Consistory; and Rajah
Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. In religion Mr. Boyer is connected with
Trinity Lutheran Church, and for a period of thirty-seven years has
been an official member thereof.

On Oct. 20, 1868, Mr. Boyer married Miss Susan
E. McHose, daughter of Isaac McHose, of Reading and two children
have been born to this union: William McHose, chemist for the
Reading Iron Company, is the father of one child; Frederick Jacob
is a machinist and resides at home.

In 1892 Mr. Boyer was president of the Board of
Trade of Reading, and during his incumbency the membership grew
from seventy to three hundred. We here give his address, delivered
at the banquet held at Neversink Mountain Hotel, Sept. 29th, of
that year:

“Gentlemen: Our last banquet, held April 21st at
Mineral Springs was a success. There were present at that time
eighty members; to-night we have one hundred and thirty. At the
April Banquet we had with us Hon. Erastus Wiman, and I trust none
of us has forgotten his grand speech. Tonight we have with us Gen.
Gregg, without whom the State government could not get along; so we
have to the present, loaned him, as it were, to Harrisburg, but
expect him back to Reading at some future time. We have also
present Col. Brown, the inventor of the Segmental Wire Gun, and his
very able co-laborer, Lieut. Whistler, from whom we expect to hear.

“This Board of Trade was organized April 21,
1881. Its first president J. H. Sternbergh, Esq., is with us; as
are Isaac McHose, Peter D. Wanner and S. E. Ancona, the succeeding
and all the presidents. During the first year of its organization
the Board had 149 members. It subsequently commenced, growing
backwards, and in April, 1891, its membership was seventy. Jan. 1,
1892, we had 110 members; at this date we have 216; and on Jan. 1,
1893, we will have 300.

“This Board of Trade represents a city of 70,000
people. We have reason to feel a pardonable pride in our city, its
population and its Board of Trade. We have industries that we can
well foster, manufactures that we sustain and in return are
sustained by; and if we have any individual amongst us who would
make invidious and disrespectful comparisons with other cities, may
such an one’s flesh be mortified and his vanity seared, for we are
in such a prosperous condition, as I will endeavor to show you,
that none dare to molest us or make us afraid; and I can conceive
only the perfidy of man to lower the estimate of our city.

“Think of it! We manufacture stockings amounting
to $550,000 per annum. A few years ago some other cities were
making this hosiery, and all we had in the matter was buying and
wearing them, whilst some of us went about sockless. So with boots
and shoes. Our city produces $150,000 worth. The stove industry is
growing fast-the present capacity is $659,000. Cotton and silk
industries, $1,725,000. An industry in our city, of which many of
us know nothing and hear very little about, I mean cordage, ropes
and twine, goes along begging with an output of $600,000. Fire
brick and terra cotta and glass, $320,000. Fur and wool hats,
$3,000,000. This means a good hat for every tenth person in the
United States, or say forty hats for every man, woman and child in
Reading. Hardware locks, butts, etc., $1,650,000. Pig iron, plate
iron, wrought-iron pipe and machinery, $8,400,000. Iron bridge
work, beams and steel, $4,000,000. Bolts, nuts, rivets, etc.,
$1,000,000.

“The capacity of our cigar factories is simply
amazing; and had I not made a special effort to get at the facts I
would not believe it. One hundred and five million cigars in the
present capacity, some new shops now building not being taken into
this account. A number of factories turn out fine goods, $60 to $75
per thousand. Am told a fair average for Reading’s output would be
$30 per thousand. This smoke production then aggregates $3,150,000.

“Our streets and electric railways carried 3,
607,920 passengers in 1891. Gross income $225,000. For 1892 I could
not get, but am told the business on all our lines aggregates and
increase of ten per cent yearly.

“Our Trust companies show a constant and healthy
growth, and enjoy the well deserved confidence of our good people.
They show loans, $688,000; deposits, $480,000; Trust funds,
$1,248,300.

“Our eight banks will bear comparison with any
other eight banks of a city of our size. Any business man in
Reading can get all the money he wants if he presents good papers.
There is not one bank in our city but which is first class in every
particular. The capital aggregates $1,425,000. The deposits
aggregate $4,760,000. The loans aggregate $5,150,000.

“I have given only about twenty industries,
which for lack of time to collect does not cover one-third of all,
such as wagon works, red brick, cast iron pipe, and many others,
which would require weeks to get at. Yet it shows an aggregate of
over $30,000,000.

“This certainly requires a strong constitution
and a clear conscience to believe at one sitting. But, gentlemen,
this is not a theory, but a condition. I trust I have given enough
to stimulate our Committee on Statistics, who will, no doubt, give
us a full and accurate report early in 1893.

“Gentlemen, we have a grand city – a fire
department which I doubt has its equal in the world. Our business
opportunities are vast. Let every stranger who comes within our
boundaries be made welcome. Let us deal honorably with one another.
Let us hang our banners on the outer walls and proclaim our
strength from the mountain top.”

BOYER, JESSE
I.

p. 1332

Surnames: BOYER, ZIEGLER, FUREY, BEARD, JACOBY

Jesse I. Boyer, superintendent of the Scott Foundry of the Reading
Iron Company, of Reading, Pa., one of the leading industries of
Berks county, was born in 1850, in Norristown, Montgomery Co., Pa.,
son of Michael C. and Mary A. (Ziegler) Boyer.

Michael C. Boyer, who was proprietor of the
Norristown Iron works, and one of the best known iron manufacturers
of the State in his day, died in April 1885, aged seventy-six
years, having been retired for several years. He married Mary A.
Ziegler, who bore her husband ten children as follows: Jesse I.;
Catherine m. Daniel Jacoby; Wallace, a pattern maker, deceased;
Horace, a clerk; Wilson, a stone mason; Allen, deceased; Harry, a
plumber; Mary, deceased; Frank of Norristown; and Charles died in
infancy. In religious belief the family were Lutherans. Mr. Boyer
was a Republican in politics.

Jesse I. Boyer was educated in the common
schools of his native locality, and entered his father’s employ
when a young man, remaining with him until the business was
discontinued in 1870. He had learned the trade of machinist, and in
1876 came to Reading and accepted a position with Miller &
Stern, which firm was later absorbed by the old Reading Iron Co. He
was later made foreman of the machine shops in 1876, continuing as
such until 1879. He then went to S. R. Seyfert & Co., at
Seyfert Station, built their rolling mills, and remained with the
firm for eight years, when he returned to the Scott works as a
draftsman. In 1890 he was made assistant superintendent of the
plant, and in 1902 was made superintendent, a position which he has
ably filled to the present time, having under his employ from 275
to 399 people. Under Mr. Boyer’s supervision this foundry turned
out a casting of 78,100 pounds, the largest turned out of any
foundry in this section if not in the State. The foundry and
machine shop also turned out, under the supervision of Mr. Boyer,
the Brown Segmental Wire Wound Gun, which was tested by the United
States Government at Sandy Hook.

Mr. Boyer married Mary Ann Furey, a native of
Norristown, Pa., and to this union there have been born four
children: Alice, m. William Beard; Jesse, a molder; Samuel,
deceased; and Nellie. In religious belief the family are
Presbyterians. Mr. Boyer is a Republican in his political belief.

BOYER, JOHN
A.

p 1623

Surnames: BOYER, BAER, JACOBY, SEIDEL, ADAM, SMITH, MOGEL,
HAUSEKNECHT, GARDNER

John A. Boyer, who for a number of year was engaged in agricultural
pursuits in Windsor township, was born June 24, 1850, son of John
Jacob and Magdalena (Baer) Boyer.

John Jacob Boyer and his wife Magdalena (Baer)
had four children, viz.: John A; Franklin m Victoria Jacoby,
deceased; Ellen has been twice married, her first husband having
been Harry Seidel; Emma, unmarried lives at home.

John A. Boyer was educated in the public schools
of his native township, and was reared to farm work. When
twenty-six years of age he married Mary S. Adam, daughter of Jacob
and Lovina (Smith) Adam, and six children were born to this union:
Laura m. George Smith; Mamie m. John B. Mogel; Mary L. m Irvin
Baer; Herbert A.; Matthias J.; and Cora Agnes.

Mrs. Boyer is a descendent of the well known and
long established Adam family in Berks county. Anthony Adam, the
first ancestor of the family in America, was a French Huguenot, and
came to this country on the ship “Snow Molly”, landing in
Philadelphia Oct. 26, 1741. He was born in 1716. Anthony Adam was a
taxable resident in Albany township in 1752. The name of his wife
is unknown, but he had four sons: Abraham, Anthony, Bernhard and
Peter.

Peter Adam, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Boyer,
became a resident of Windsor township. He was born Oct. 1, 1765,
and died July 1, 1849, aged eighty-three years and nine months. On
March 11, 1788, he married Catharine Hauseknecht, and they were the
parents of ten children, namely: Jacob; Anthony; Peter; Abraham;
John; William; George; Betzy; Hannah; and Polly.

Jacob Adam, grandfather of Mrs. Boyer, was born
in Windsor township, Oct. 18, 1789, and died Dec. 22, 1866. His
wife was Polly Gardner, born July 16, 1793, and died Aug. 7, 1874.
To them were born: Hannah; William; Heinrich; Jacob; Peter;
Benjamin; Isaac; Betzy; Polly; Lazarus; Simon; Catharine and Lydia.

Jacob Adam, father of Mrs. Boyer, was born in
Windsor township Jan 21, 1816, and died Aug. 10, 1894. He obtained
a good education in the pay schools of his day, and when a young
man learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed the greater
part of his life. In 1852 he moved into Perry township, where he
lived upon his farm of 137 acres, which he conducted with his
children also working in his trade. He was a school director,
church official of Zion’s Union Church, of Perry township, and was
an esteemed man. Jacob Adam married Lovina Smith, a daughter of
Michael Smith, born Sept. 29, 1822, and she died Dec. 27, 1905.
They had five children as follows: Alfred S., a successful farmer
at Perryville, and whose land joins that of his brother Jacob S.;
Jacob S., an extended mention of whom will be found elsewhere in
this publication; Samuel, who died single aged twenty-seven years,
and is buried in Zion’s Church cemetery; Michael, who died Jan. 24,
1905, aged fifty-five years, four months and nine days; and Mary
S., who was married to John Boyer, deceased.

BOYER, JOHN
H.

p. 635

Surnames: BOYER/BEYER, HOLLOWAY, KIRCHNER, KOCH, SCHRACK, ,
HARBOLD, DARRAH, GABEL, MARQUETT, YOKUM, ROMIG, KOHLER, LUPPOLD

John A. Boyer, a substantial farmer and highly esteemed citizen of
Amity township, Berks county, and a veteran of the Civil war, was
born Dec. 2, 1842 in Exeter township, Berks county, son of Abraham
S. and Lucetta Holloway Boyer, and a member of an old and
representative family of the lower end of Berks county.

The emigrant ancestor of the Boyer family was
John Philip Beyer, who came from the Palatinate to Philadelphia in
1731, with a number of children. He settled in Frederick township,
Montgomery county, but later lived in Amity township, Berks county,
where he died in the spring of 1753, at a ripe old age. He belonged
to the Swamp Lutheran Church, and was buried by the pastor, Rev.
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, who reports the matter fully in the
“Halleschen Nachrichten.” His will is on record at the Philadelphia
courthouse, and in it some of his children are names. Among his
sons were: Jacob, the ancestor of the Boyertown branch of the
family; and Johann Heinrich.

Johann Heinrich Boyer was born in 1714, in the
Pfalz, Germany, and died May 2, 1814, in the one-hundredth year of
his age. In 1743 he was married to Magdalena Kirchner, and among
his children-six sons and one daughter-were Philip and Heinrich.

Philip Boyer, born Dec. 14, 1754, died July 31,
1832. His wife, Christiana, who was born in 1754, also died in
1832, and both were buried in the old graveyard at Amityville.
Philip Boyer made a will the year before his death, while a
resident of Amity township, and in it be mentions the following
children; Michael; Jacob, who had a son Philip; John; Peter; Mary,
m. to George Koch; and Daniel, born in 1792 who died in 1825.

Heinrich Boyer was a son of Johann Heinrich. His
wife’s name was Hannah. They had children: Jeremiah, born April 26,
1810, died March 3, 1848, and his wife Nellie, born Dec. 30, 1807,
died Dec. 12, 1883 aged seventy-five years, eleven months, thirteen
days; Anna Maria, born 1812, died 1832; and Isaac, born 1817, died
1839. All of these Boyers are buried in the graveyard at
Amityville.

Philip Boyer (also spelled Beyer), grandfather
of John H. Boyer, was a grandson of the emigrant John Philip Beyer.
He was a farmer in Exeter township. Many years ago he owned and
conducted what is now the “Stonersvile Hotel.” He was born March
16, 1775, and died Aug. 21, 1836, aged sixty-one years, five
months, five days, and was buried in the Amityville graveyard. He
married Elizabeth Schrack, born Jan. 18, 1780, died June 3, 1833,
aged fifty-three years, four months, fifteen days. They had ten
children, as follows: Mary, John, Samuel, Jacob, William, Hannah,
Isaac, Abraham S., and two died in infancy unnamed.

Abraham S. Boyer, father of John H., was born in
Exeter township, June 19, 1821, and died May 2, 1905, in Amity
township, aged eighty-three years, ten months, thirteen days. In
his early years he worked as a farm laborer, but later was engaged
in farming in Oley, Lower Heidelberg, Colebrookdale and then Amity
townships, dying in Amity, as stated above. His remains rest in the
Amityville cemetery. In religious faith he was a Lutheran and he
served in the offices of deacon and elder in the Amityville Church.
In his political views he was a Democrat, and he served both as
school director and as township supervisor. He married (first)
Lucetta Holloway, born Dec. 17, 1820, died May 13, 1857, aged
thirty-six years, four months, twenty-six days. They had seven
children, namely: John H.; Charles F., deceased in infancy; Sarah
E.; Morris L. H., residing at Reading; George M. deceased in
infancy; Emma E, and Mary C. He m. (second) Harriet Harbold,
daughter of Jacob Harbold. She was born in 1819 and died in 1886.
They had two children; William, born in 1867 died in 1868 and Ann
Laura, wife of Thomas C. Darrah, a prominent man of Berks county.

John H. Boyer was reared on his father’s farm
which he left for the first time when he enlisted in September,
1862, for service in the Civil War, entering Company I, 20th
Regiment, Vol. Militia, for State defense, Capt. Frederick S. Boas,
commanding. Subsequently Oct. 23, 1862, he re-enlisted in Company
K, 179th Pa. V. I., and served nine months, and was mustered out
with the regiment at Harrisburg, July 27, 1863

After the war, Mr. Boyer became a hired man on
the William Yocum farm in Amity township, where he remained for
three years and was then in his father’s employ, on the same farm
for three more years. In the spring of 1870 he began farming on his
father-in-law’s farm in Colebrookdale township, where he was
engaged for three years, after which he returned to the William
Yocum’s farm on which he has resided for the past thirty-five
years. He lays special stress on dairying, operating this industry
with thirty head of fine cows. Since 1875 he has shipped his milk
to Philadelphia.

On Nov. 3, 1866, Mr. Boyer was married to
Elizabeth G. Gabel, daughter of David and Mary (Gabel) Gabel, of
Colebrookdale township and they had three children: Catherine,
Sarah Ellen and Charles G. Catherine is the widow of Webster
Marquett, born in 1862, died in 1898. They had the following
children: Edna M., Mayme R., Jennie E., John J., C. Earl and Mary
M., the latter of whom died Jan. 31, 1908, aged eleven years, eight
months, nine days. Sarah Ellen married William E. Romig and they
reside at Reading and have one daughter, Lena B. Charles G., ticket
agent at the South Street Ferry, Philadelphia, resides at Camden,
N. J., and has had two children, John (deceased) and Anna E.

In politics, Mr. John H. Boyer is identified
with the Republican party. He and family are members of the
Lutheran Church at Amityville. Mr. Boyer is a member of McLean Post
No. 16, G. A. R. Reading, Pa., and Washington Camp No. 213, P. O.
S. of A., of Amityville.

Morris L. H. Boyer, son of Abraham S., was born
in Oley township, July 27, 1848, and was reared upon the farm. He
taught school from 1868 to 1880 in Earl and Amity townships. He
came to Reading in 1896 where he has since lived. He is an active
Democrat, and was county auditor from 1885 to 1888; a clerk in the
county commissioners’ office from 1888 to 1891; a clerk in the
Register’s office from 1891 to 1894; and during 1894 was in the
Recorder’s office. He was tax collector in Reading from 1901 to
1907. During the Civil War he enlisted at Reading, March 10, 1865,
in Company H, 50th Pa. V. V. I., when only sixteen years old, and
was mustered out with the regiment July 30, 1865, at the end of the
war. He m. Sept. 2, 1869 Rebecca Kohler, of Greenwich township, and
they have one daughter, Cora, m. to William H. Luppold, city
assessor of Reading.

BOYER, MORRIS
R.

p. 1172

Surnames: BOYER,

Morris R. Boyer, proprietor of one of the finest
livery stables in Reading, of which he took charge March 1, 1901,
is also serving in the position of president of the Liverymen’s
Protective Association.

Mr. Boyer agitated for several years the
movement towards the founding of a protective association for
liverymen, but until 1906 he met with many rebuffs. In the year
mentioned, however, such an association was formed, Mr. Boyer being
elected president. The leading livery men of the city made up the
combine which was calculated to protect against cut rates and
misuse of credit, and this has proved to be of more benefit than
was at first anticipated. Mr. Boyer was the first man in Reading to
equip his stables with rubber-tired vehicles, and he has recently
added a number of new vehicles, including some of the best makes in
the county. He is up to date in every respect being considered the
leader in his line in this section, and makes a specialty of
weddings, theater parties, receptions, funerals, etc., a ring on
either old or new telephone bringing prompt and courteous
attention. It has always been Mr. Boyer’s aim and desire to furnish
his patrons with the best to be obtained at prices reasonable with
the service. He has had charge of these stables since March 1,
1901.

BOYER, THOMAS
A.

p. 531

Surnames: BOYER, DICKINSON, CARL, REIGEL, LEVAN, SNYDER

Thomas A. Boyer, a well-known citizen and enterprising business man
of Reading, Pa., is a native of that city, born May 1, 1853, son of
Isaac and Mary (Dickinson) Boyer, and grandson of Thomas Boyer, for
many years a prosperous farmer of Dauphin county.

Isaac Boyer came from Dauphin county to Reading
when a young man, and was employed by a corporation as a teamster,
an occupation which he followed all of his life. In religious
belief he was a Quaker. He and his wife were the parents of these
children: Thomas A., William, Harrison, Annie (m. Jacob Carl),
Alice (m. James Reigel), Jemima (m Joseph Levan and two children
died in infancy. Isaac Boyer died in 1896, aged seventy-two years,
and his wife in 1894, when sixty-nine years of age.

Thomas A. Boyer received his literary training
in the public schools of the city of his nativity, and when a young
man was employed by the Reading Pipe Mill, with which concern he
remained for a period of ten years. In 1883 he commenced the
manufacture of rag carpets, in which he has continued to the
present time, with much success. He has a large and profitable
business, his factory being located at the corner of Pearl and
Bingaman streets, and in addition to carpets he handles rugs,
linoleums, oil cloth and art squares.

Mr. Boyer was married in 1879 to Hannah E.
Snyder, and both are valued members of the M. E. Church in which
Mr. Boyer has held various offices, while Mrs. Boyer is very active
in church work, and much interested in advancing the cause of
charity, devoting herself especially to the finding of homes for
homeless and friendless women who have passed the age of
self-support.

BOYER,
WILLIAM McH.

p. 706

Surnames: BOYER, EAVENSON

William McH. Boyer, a substantial citizen of Reading, Pa., who is
acting in the capacity of chemist for the Reading Iron Company, of
that city, was born in Reading, in 1869, son of Jerome L. Boyer.

Mr. Boyer secured his education in the schools
of his native city, and attended the high school at Birdsboro,
after graduating from which he returned to Reading, later attending
a school at Columbus, Pa. He then entered a preparatory school in
order to fit himself to enter Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., from
which he graduated in chemistry in 1891, and in August of that year
he accepted the position of chemist with the Reading Iron Company.
Mr. Boyer’s laboratory is situated at the Keystone Furnace, where
he employs on an average of four men. Fraternally Mr. Boyer is
connected with the Mason, being a member of Lodge No. 549, f. &
A. M. He is a Lutheran in religious belief, and attends Trinity
Church of that denomination.

In 1898 Mr. Boyer married Emily Eavenson,
daughter of Alban Eavenson, who is well known in manufacturing
circles of Philadelphia as a soap manufacturer, and to this union
there have been born two sons, Jerome Ludwig Boyer, 2d, and Howard
Eavenson Boyer.