Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

HELDER, WILLIAM B.

p.
1090

Surnames: HELDER, LORAH, DEXAL, BURKHARD, KLINE

William B. Helder, senior member of the plumbing firm of Helder
& Burkhard, whose place of business is situated at No. 1021
North Ninth street, Reading, was born in this city in 1873, son of
Elias and Sarah (Lorah) Helder, the former of whom died in 1900,
while the latter still survives.

Mr. Helder secured his education in the public
schools of his native city, after leaving which he worked at box
making and in a hat factory for some time. At the age of seventeen
years he was apprenticed to John Dexal, to learn the plumbing
trade, and he continued with this gentleman until starting work as
a journeyman. Mr. Helder first engaged in business alone at No.
1037 North Ninth street in 1901, but four months later he admitted
Daniel Burkhard as a member, and together they have built the trade
up until it is one of the largest of its kind in the city. They
employ on an average eight men and keep a full and up-to-date
supply of plumbers’ supplies and heating apparatus. Mr. Helder is a
member of Reading Lodge, No. 549, F. & A. M.; Lodge of
Perfection; Vigilance Lodge No. 518, I. O. O. F.; and Progressive
Americans. In religious belief he is a Lutheran, while in political
matters he is independent, voting rather for the man than the
party.

In 1898 Mr. Helder was married to Miss Laura
Kline, and to this union there has been born one child: Rhea M.

HELLER, F.
P.

p. 952

Surnames: HELLER, SMITH, BRIGHT, KERN, LANCE, ENDLICH, SNYDER,
HUFF, KESSLER, ROSE, PENN, FELIX, LANCE

F. P. Heller, a prominent business man of Reading, Pa., and
president of the Board of Trade from 1905 to 1907, was born in this
city in 1834, son of George and Catherine (Smith) Heller, and a
grandson of Frederic Heller.

Ludwig Heller, the great-grandfather of F. P.,
came from Germany in 1754, and settled in reading. He was a very
prominent man of his day and very wealthy. His son, Frederic, also
a prominent business man of Reading, married Catherine Bright, a
sister of Michael Bright. Mr. Heller was a saddler by trade and
owned the properties where Krick’s Caf?the Sellers building and
Mengel & Mengel are now located. He was a Whig in politics. He
and his wife were members of the Lutheran Church and in 1794 he was
a member of the building committee which built the Lutheran Church,
corner of Sixth and Washington streets. Mr. Heller was made a Mason
in Lodge No. 62, F. & A. M., of which he was treasurer in 1796,
his grandson, F. P., being its treasurer a hundred years later
(1896). He died in 1837, aged about seventy years, the father of
sixteen children, ten of who grew to maturity, among them being
George.

George Heller, born in 1800, died in 1886. He
was educated in the schools of Reading, and learned watchmaking and
the trade of a silversmith, working at these occupations all his
life. His first wife passed away in 1837; aged twenty-five years,
leaving three children: F. P.; and Joseph and James, both deceased.
Mr. Heller married (second) Caroline Kern, who bore him six
children: Francis K., who died in the army; Charles H.; Philip K.;
Mary C.; Emily C. and Rosa A. Politically Mr. Heller was a Whig,
later becoming a Republican. F. P. Heller was first educated in the
subscription school conducted by Henry F. Felix and later attended
the common schools. He learned the watchmaking business of his
father, and this he carried on from 1857 to 1867, when he went into
the lumber business at Second and Penn streets, carrying on this
enterprise successfully for thirty years. At the end of this time
he sold out to Mr. George F. Lance. Mr. Heller with others then
organized the Central Lumber Company, which is doing a thriving
business on Walnut street. Mr. Heller is a heavy stockholder in
this company and has built many of the finest homes in the city. It
may be said that nearly all of the residences on Walnut street
between Thorn and Second streets, and also forty homes on West
Buttonwood, six on Tulpehocken and twelve on Heller streets were
built by him. Many of these he still owns. They are valuable, well
kept up and contain all modern conveniences. They are sold at sums
ranging from $1,250 to $3,000.

Mr. Heller has always been a very
public-spirited man, and he has always been greatly interested in
anything that has tended to advance Reading socially, materially or
financially, devoting much time and energy to its causes. He joined
the Junior Fire Company when sixteen years old, and still holds
membership, being one of the oldest in the department. No member of
any fire company is more universally respected than he. He is a man
averse to any company that tolerates intoxicating drinks among its
members. No man in the State would applaud quicker the deeds of our
brave and gallant firemen than would Mr. Heller. He has always
opposed club houses operated in connection with fire companies,
taking a stand in which many of the best citizens of Reading have
agreed with him.

Mr. Heller’s many fine qualities, and his
fitness for the position, caused him to be chosen president of the
Board of Trade in 1905, in which position he served two years. He
is a Mason, having been made such in Lodge No. 62 in 1885, and for
the past twenty-three years has been its treasurer. He is a past
master, past high priest and past eminent commander, belonging to
Reading chapter, Reading Commandery, Lodge of Perfection, and Rajah
Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Mr. Heller served as a member of the
common council from the Fifth ward and a member of the select
council, and was president of that body in 1876. He has taken a
great interest in educational matters and was a member of the
school board from the old Northeast ward, and also from the Fifth.
He has been a member of the board of water commissioners for the
last sixteen years, and was recently elected for his fifth term of
four years. He was a delegate to the county convention, and
vice-president of that body, which indorsed the candidacy of Judge
Endlich. He was one of the organizers of the present Board of
Trade.

Mr. Heller married in 1859 Rose E. Snyder,
daughter of Solomon L. Snyder, and two children were born to this
union: Kate m. W. A. Huff, of Greensburg, Pa., and has these
children, George F., William A., Jr., Rose, Edith and Catherine;
Carrie S. m. William H. Kessler, of Reading, and has four children,
Fred H., Rose C., Anna M. and Catherine. Mrs. Heller died in 1909.

Mr. Heller’s Reading home is a handsome
three-story double brick dwelling at Nos. 234-236 Penn street, upon
which site, until he bought the property in 1870, stood a one-story
stone house which had been built by his grandfather, Frederic
Heller, who bought the property from John and William Penn and
Julianna Catherine Penn and erected the one-story house for his
father-in-law, Michael Bright. Mr. Heller has also a splendid
country residence, in Muhlenberg township, adjoining the Bernhart
reservoir and the new filtration plant.

Mr. F. P. Heller is a member of Trinity Lutheran
Church. Besides being a prominent Mason, he is connected with the
I. O. O. F. and the K. G. E. He was one of the organizers of the
Washington Library, and was chosen its first president, a position
he has held to the present time — a period of forty-eight years.
He built and owns the “Brighter Hotel,” one of the most up-to-date
hotels in Pennsylvania, four stories high, 120×150 feet.

HELLER,
HENRY A.

p. 975

Surnames: HELLER, KAST, HEISTER, POTTEIGER, FINK, HEILMAN,
SPANGLER, KOCK

Henry A, Heller, one of the old and highly-esteemed residents of
Reading, now living retired at his home in the city, was born in
Reading, Dec. 2, 1825, son of William and Esther (Kast) Heller, and
grandson of Fredrick Heller. Frederick Heller was born in Reading
and owned the well known Heller’s Corner, at Sixth and Penn
streets, the present site of Sellers’ clothing store. Frederick
Heller died in Reading at an advanced age, the father of these
children: William, Peter, Jacob, George, Lewis, John and Frederick.

William Heller was also born in Reading, and his
early life was spent in clerking in his native city. He was a
leading citizen of his day and was appointed justice of the peace
for the district of Alsace, Maiden-creek and Ruscombmanor
townships, his commission from Gov. Joseph Hiester, which was dated
Sept. 4, 1821, reading: “that you shall hold that office as long as
you shall behave yourself well.’ This old and interesting document
is now in the possession of Henry A. Heller of Reading. While
serving as justice of the peace William Heller resided in
Pricetown, but after resigning from the office returned to Reading
and resumed clerking until his death, which occurred on South Fifth
street, below Spruce. In religious faith Mr. Heller was a Lutheran.
He married Esther Kast, who died at Grater’s Ford, at the age of
eighty years, six months, twenty-seven days, and was buried in
Montgomery County. He was buried in the Lutheran cemetery, Reading.
Three sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Heller, namely: William, who
died in Philadelphia; Daniel C., deceased, who married Hannah
Heller. was a well known clerk and held position under Sheriff
Potteiger of Berks county; and Henry A.

Henry A. Heller attended the schools of Reading
at a time there were only two schools in the borough. After
completing his education he learned the molder’s trade, which he
followed throughout life, being for forty years in the employ of
the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company. About eighteen
years ago Mr. Heller retired, and since that time has lived quietly
at his home, No. 213 North Ninth street, which he erected in 1861.

Mr. Heller married (first) Carrie D. Heilman.
and to this union there was horn one son, George. He m. (second)
Susan Fink, who died Nov. 18, 1896. and was buried at the Charles
Evans cemetery. Three children were born to the second marriage:
Miss Mary E. resides with her father: Irvin F., a cigar-maker of
Reading, m. Katie Spangler, of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Ida M. m.
Howard Kock, of the Third ward. Reading. Mr. Heller voted
independently, regardless of party lines, although his father was
an old-line Whig. He is religiously connected with the Reformed
Church.

HEMMICH, THOMAS F.

p.
998

Surnames: HEMMMICH, FRITZ, WANNER, FROM, HOLLOWAY, BIEHL

Thomas F Hemmich, a well known and highly esteemed old resident of
Reading, Pa., now living retired at No. 2 North Third street, was
born April 13, 1828, in Cumru township, Berks county, son of
Benjamin and Mary (Fritz) Hemmich, and grandson of Joseph and
Margaret (Wanner) Hemmich.

The emigrant ancestor of Thomas F. Hemmich was
born at Wurtemberg, near the River Rhine, Germany, and on coming to
this country settled in Cumru township, Berks county, where he
became an extensive land owner, possessing at one time what later
became a portion of the Berks county poor farm. He and his wife
were members of the Reformed Church, while in politics he was a
Democrat. He had three sons: John, Joseph and David. Joseph Hemmich
also owned and cultivated land in Cumru township, and like his
father was very prosperous, accumulating much property. He was the
owner of a mill near the “Three Mile House,” and, in company with
his brother David, did a flourishing business, David taking care of
the Philadelphia end. Benjamin Hemmich, son of Joseph and father of
Thomas, also farmed and did carpentering. He was a very industrious
man, and was noted for his honest and upright methods in
transacting business. He and his wife, Mary Fritz, were the parents
of four children, as follows: Eliza, of Reading, married John From,
now deceased; Thomas; Annie died young. and Benjamin. The family
were connected with the Lutheran Church.

Thomas Hemmich received his education in his
native township, and until nineteen years of age remained on the
home farm. At this time he was apprenticed to the cabinet-maker’s
trade, at which he was employed for three years, and then he turned
his attention to pattern making, continuing in that line for more
than fifty years. Mr. Hemmich is also an inventor of some having
several valuable patents such as heaters, antifriction journals,
soft coal consumers, etc.

In 1850 Mr. Hemmich married Lydia Holloway, who
died in 1866. He married (second) in 1867, Sarah J. Biehl. To the
latter union were born three children: Mary J., Naomi G. and Effie
K. Mr. Hemmich is a Lutheran in religious belief. He was made a
Mason in Lodge No. 62, F. & A. M., of Reading, but later
transferred his membership to St. John Lodge, F. & A. M., when
the latter lodge was formed, being a charter member thereof. He
formerly belonged to the I. O. O. F. In political matters Mr.
Hemmich is independent in his views.

HEMMIG, FRANCIS M.

p 1013

Surnames: HEMMIG, MARSTELLAR, FIX, BOYER, LOTT, FINK, ROBERTS,
BLAND, FROM, EVANS, LUDEN, WHITMAN, GRUBER, YODER, WERNER, KRICK

Francis M. Hemmig, of Reading, Pa., was born there March 31, 1851,
son of Benneville M. Hemmig, and grandson of John Hemmig.

(I) John Hemmig was born in Cumru township, Berks county, in 1786,
and died March 10, 1873, aged eighty-seven years. He was a resident
of Reading for many years, and there his death occurred. His first
wife was of the Marstellar family, and their children were:
Benneville, Philip, John and Isaac (twins), Amelia and Mary. After
the death of his first wife, Mr. Hemmig married Elizabeth Fix, and
she bore him Jacob, Sarah, and Magdalene (m. a Boyer).

(II) Benneville M. Hemmig, son of John Hemmig and father of Francis
M. Hemmig, was born in Cumru township, near the county line, Oct.
17, 1820, and died at Reading June 22, 1901, aged nearly eighty-one
years. He was a contractor and builder, and erected a great many
fine buildings in this city. His success was all the more
commendable in that he was left an orphan and dependent upon his
own exertions at eleven years of age. He learned the carpenter’s
trade, and followed it until his retirement seven years prior to
his death. He was a man of more than ordinary capacity and was
strictly honorable in all his dealings. In politics he was
Democrat, and served in the city council and as a member of the
school board. In religious faith he was a member of the Lutheran
Church. His remains were interred in the family lot in the Charles
Evans cemetery. He m. Sara Lott, born Jan. 19, 1823, daughter of
Jacob Lott, and she died Feb. 7, 1888. They had these children:
Susan, born Nov. 12, 1845, died Oct. 21, 1897; Mary, born April 20,
1847, married William Fink, and died Aug. 4, 1898; Kate, born Nov.
6, 1848, died May 10, 1850; Francis M., born March 31, 1851;
Albert, born Oct. 14, 1852; Kate, born March 29, 1855; Caroline,
born Aug. 26, 1859; Emma, born June 14, 1860, died Aug. 1, 1866;
Amelia, born Oct. 8, 1864.

(III) Francis M. Hemmig was educated in the schools of Reading, and
at about sixteen he left high school to learn the carpenter’s trade
from his father, and for four and one-half years he worked as an
apprentice and journeyman. In April, 1884, he embarked in the
contracting and building business in Reading, and since then Mr.
Hemmig has built about 115 dwelling houses, many warehouses and
stables, giving employment to some fourteen skilled carpenters in
addition to laborers. Among other examples of his work may be
mentioned the John Roberts building, now the residence of Robert
Bland, at No. 38 South Third street; the Isaac From building at No.
211 South Third street; the residence of Miss Jane Evans at No. 115
North Third street, and at No. 117 North Third street; No. 124
North Third street, and many others. He also built a row of houses
for William H. Luden on the east side of North Tenth street; and a
row for the Hampden Building Association, on the east side of North
Tenth street. During 1881 Mr. Hemmig was in Denver and there was
busy on a large flour mill, receiving for his services a large
amount. During this trip he made an extended journey, traveling
through some fourteen States and carefully examining into building
conditions. All of his work is characterized by its thoroughness,
and he gives it all his personal supervision and leaves nothing
undone to insure good results. His success shows that his policy is
not only an honorable one, but that it is one that pays materially
as well. In 1888 and 1889 he was a member of select council from
the Sixth ward.

Mr. Hemmig resides at No. 311 Washington street,
in the house where he was born, which was erected by his father,
Benneville Hemmig, in 1846, although Mr. Hemmig himself remodeled
it in 1907, putting in all modern improvements and conveniences and
making it one of the most comfortable homes in Reading. In addition
to his other work, from 1894 to 1897 when business was dull in this
city, Mr. Hemmig had charge of the New England Car Shops and had
100 men under him. These shops are located at East Hartford,
Connecticut.

Fraternally Mr. Hemmig is a member of the
Carpenters’ Union, the Improved Order of Red Men, Metacomet Tribe
No. 416, of Reading, of which he was a charter member, and of the
Haymakers Association, No. 416-1/2. He and his family are member of
St. James Lutheran Church. Mr. Hemmig married (first) Clara
Whitman, born April 4, 1848, and died July 4, 1889. They had two
children: Edith m. Samuel Gruber; Grace E. died in 1894, aged
seventeen years. Mr. Hemmig m. (second) June 7, 1894, Mrs. Agnes W.
Yoder, daughter of George S. and Mary (Werner) Krick, of Sinking
Spring, and widow of Reuben Yoder. Mrs. Hemmig had two children by
her first marriage, Eva and Ernest. No children have been born of
the second union.

HEMMIG, FRANCIS Y.

p 931

Surnames: HEMMIG, KURTZ, HIGH, YEITCH, WANNER, HOSHOUER, YOST,
EYRICH, BICKEL, LEINBACH, LINCOLN, DIPPERY, STEINMETZ, BURD

Francis Y. Hemmig, a well-known wheelwright of West Reading, Pa.,
is a member of a family for many years well and favorably known in
Berks county.

Johannes Hemmig, the emigrant ancestor of the
Hemmigs, was a native of Switzerland. He left his county in the
middle of the eighteenth century, and in 1759 is of record as a
resident of Pennsylvania, where he was a taxable in Brecknock
township, Berks county, paying a 5 tax. By occupation he was a
farmer, and he owned much land and stock in Brecknock township,
where he died. His will made May 20, 1776, was registered Jan. 21,
1777, the year of his death. His wife, Eva Maria, survived him, and
they were the parents of Johannes (Hans), who was willed the
homestead; Elizabeth; Anna, and Eve.

Johannes Hemmig (2) was born Nov. 2, 1742, and
died Nov. 14, 1820, aged a little over seventy-eight years. A
farmer like his father, he located in Cumru township, and there
became the possessor of 600 acres, including what is now the Samuel
Kurtz farm, the William R. High farm and a part of the present
property of the Berks County alms-house. As might be inferred he
was a man of both riches and prominence in the county. Twice
married, his three sons were the children of his first wife,
Elizabeth, who was born June 26, 1749, and died Aug. 26, 1804, aged
fifty-five years, two months. John, the oldest son, who lived in
Cumru township, married a Miss Yeitch and had three sons, John,
Joseph and Benjamin. David, owner of the Angelica Mill on Angelica
creek, married Miss Catherine Wanner. Joseph is mentioned below.

Joseph Hemmig, grandfather of Francis Y. Hemmig,
lived on the old Morgantown road, and for many years was a farmer
of Cumru township. He married a Miss Wanner, sister of his brother
David’s wife, and they became parents of children as follows:
Benjamin; Daniel; Thomas; Mrs. Isaac Hoshouer; and Samuel. Mr.
Hemmig died in Cumru township at the age of eighty years, five
months, eleven days, and is buried in the well-known Yocum’s Church
cemetery in Cumru township.

Samuel Hemmig, son of Joseph and father of
Francis Y., was born in Cumru township, Berks county. By occupation
he was a wheelwright and wagon-maker, and followed his trade in
connection with a small farm which he cultivated, in Lower
Heidelberg township. In religious connection he was a member of
Yocum’s Church, and he known as a good Christian man. He passed
away in 1881, and is buried in the Sinking Spring cemetery.

Samuel Hemmig married Mary Yost, a daughter of
Nicholas Yost, and to them were born the following children:
Martha, who died in Lower Heidelberg; Lewis, who died there;
Francis Y., who is mentioned below; Catherine, the widow of Alfred
Eyrich, who resides in Spring township; Susan, who died in Cumru
township; Lydia, who married Hiram Bickel, and resides in Cumru
township; Alice, who married B. F. Leinbach, of Bern township; and
Louisa, who married Alfred G. Lincoln, of Exeter township.

Francis Y. Hemmig attended the schools of Cumru
and Bern townships and was employed on different farms until he
commenced to learn the wheelwright’s trade with his father and a
Mr. Pifer. For five years he was thus engaged, and then he began
business for himself in Robeson township, at the “Junction House,”
in 1871, and remained there for eight years. In 1880 he located in
West Reading, where his place of business at the corner of Penn
avenue and Fourth avenue is well patronized. The two-story brick
residence in which he and his family make their home was built in
1884.

Mr. Hemmig married Catherine Dippery, a daughter
of Frederick and Catherine (Steinmetz) Dippery, and they became the
parents of the following children: Clara A. married Charles Eyrich
and they have had four children, Charles, May, Lester, and Leon
(deceased). Irwin, Frank S. and James died young.

William J., who is unmarried, is a wheelwright
by trade, and is well known as a member of West Reading Fire
Company, No. 1, the P. O. S. of A., K. G. E., K. of P. and I. O. R.
M. Ellen married John Burd, and they reside in West Reading. They
are the parents of one son, Francis. In politics Mr. Hemming is a
Democrat and in religion a member of the Sinking Spring Lutheran
Church. Fraternally he is a member of Charity Chamber, No. 23, O.
K. of F., Reading; P. O. S. of A. Camp No. 676, West Reading; and
the K. G. E., Castle No. 302, of Reading.

HEMMIG, HARRISON H.

p.
1334

Surnames: HEMMIG, KURTZ, HIGH, YEICH, WERNER, MARKS, BROWN, FOCHT,
HORNBERGER, RAUDENBUCH, NOSSER, HIESTER, STAFFORD, MOORE, NOLL,
TOBIAS, WEIDKNECHT, HARTZ, HILL, SCHAEFFER, SCHULTZ, BINGAMAN

Harrison H. Hemmig, a veteran of the Civil war, now engaged in the
flour and feed business at Grill, Pa., is one of a numerous family
in the state who claim descent from one Johannes Hemmig, a native
of Switzerland. Johannes Hemmig left his fatherland in the middle
of the eighteenth century, and in 1759 he is on record as a
resident of Pennsylvania, where he was a taxable in Brecknock
township, Berks county, paying a five-pound tax.

By occupation he was a farmer, owning his land.
He made his will May 20, 1776, and it was registered Jan, 21, 1777,
the year of his death. His wife, Eve Maria, survived him, and they
were the parents of Johannes (Hans), who was willed the homestead;
Elizabeth, Anna and Eve.

Johannes Hemmig (2) was born Nov. 2, 1742, and
died Nov. 14, 1820, aged a little over seventy-eight years. A
farmer like his father, he located in Cumru township, and became
the possessor of six hundred acres there, including what is now the
Samuel Kurtz farm, the William R. High farm and a part of the
present property of the Berks County Almshouse. As might be
inferred, he was a man of both riches and prominence in the county.

Twice married, his three sons were the children
of his first wife, Elizabeth, who was born June 26, 1749, and died
Aug. 26, 1804, age fifty-five years, two months. Their oldest son
(1) John, who lived in Cumru township, married Miss Yeich and had
three sons, John, Joseph and Benjamin (2) David, owner of the
Angelica Mill on Angelica Creek, married Miss Catherine Werner. (3)
Joseph, who lived on the old Morgantown road, married a sister of
Mrs. David Hemmig and became the father of three sons, Benjamin,
Daniel and Samuel. David Hemmig, second son of Johannes (2), was
born in Cumru township, March6, 1775, and died Nov. 19, 1864, in
his ninetieth year. A lifelong miller by trade, he bore a
considerable reputation in his line and became quite a landowner.
In 1812 he built the Angelica Mill, which is now owned and occupied
by Harvey Marks. His wife, Catherine Werner, was born July 17,
1783, and died Nov. 13, 1868, in her eighty-fifth year. They were
the parents of eight children: (1) Margaret, m. Philip Brown, who
at one time owned the land where the Berks County Almshouse stands.
(2) Joseph was the father of Harrison H. (4) Catherine m. a farmer
named David Focht and they were the parents of Levi H. Focht, the
well-known contractor. (4) Elizabeth m. Conrad Hornberger,
proprietor of the Leopard Hotel and also of the Angelica Hotel in
Cumru township. (5) Levi m. Miss Eva Raudenbuch. He was well-know
as a miller and farmer and died in Adamstown. (6) Sarah m. Samuel
Nosser, a farmer and a teamster between Reading and Philadelphia.
(7) Polly was born Oct. 21, 1821, at Hemmig’s Mill, Hemmig’s
Corner. In 1861 she m. Isaac Hiester, a farmer, and when left a
widow undertook to carry on their farm herself. She proved fully
equal to the task and continued it till after her eighty-sixth
year. (8) David m. Mrs. Louisa (Stafford) Moore. He ran the
Angelica Mill for twenty years, and died in Adamstown. Joseph
Hemmig was born in the old fire place of Angelica Mill, June 16,
1805. At the age of fourteen he began regularly to learn milling
and when old enough his father bought for him the mill at
Shillington, which was thereafter called the Hemmig mill. He gave
the greater part of his life to this occupation, together with
farming, and was successful in both. He was noted for his powerful
physique, and was able easily to carry a three-bushel bag of wheat
upstairs.

He married Elizabeth Hornberger, daughter of
Conrad. Joseph Hemmig passed away Nov. 19, 1871. Their children,
ten in number, were many of them of marked musical ability. They
were as follows: Catherine, who died in infancy; Henry, who lived
only nine years; John, a retired miller, m. to Miss Sarah Noll;
William, a Reading merchant, m. to (first) Miss Eliza Tobias,
(second) Miss Rebecca Moore, and later a third wife; Harrison H.;
Eliza, who died in childhood; Franklin, a miller and farmer of
Cumru township, who was killed on a railroad, m. to Miss Sarah
Weidknecht; Cyrus, a musician at Shillington, m. to Miss Emma
Hartz; Sarah, m. to the late Henry S. Hill, a farmer of Exeter
township; and Benneville, born July 18, 1852. Benneville Hemmig
married in 1878 Miss Amanda Schaeffer, and after her death married
Miss Sabina M. Schultz, now deceased, who was a daughter of Dr.
Charles Schultz, late of Reading. By the latter he had seven
children, Bernard, Charles J., Florence M., Bessie J., Blanche H.,
Ralph H., and Paul R. (who died aged four months). The mother of
these died in June, 1900. By occupation, Mr. Hemmig is a flour and
fee merchant at Shillington, but music has always claimed much of
his attention. For thirty-two years he was organist of Yocom’s
Church, and for a long time leader of Hemmig’s Band, now the Winona
Band of Mohnton, which was organized by his brother, William, while
in it his brothers Franklin and Cyrus played the trombone and
cornet, respectively.

Harrison H. Hemmig was born at Shillington,
April 4, 1840, and was given a fair education in the township
schools, being especially proficient in spelling and penmanship.
From the time he was twelve years old till the war broke out, he
was with his father in the mill, becoming entirely familiar with
the details of the work. He enlisted, July 18, 1861, in Co. D, 3d
Pa. Reserves, as a private, and in time was promoted to be a
corporal. He was in active service most of the time till his
discharge at Philadelphia, June 18, 1864, one month less than three
years. He was with the Army of the Potomac and, June 30, 1862,
while participating in the Seven Days’ battle on the peninsula, he
was wounded at Charles City Cross Roads, receiving a gun-shot wound
in the left thigh. The next morning he was taken prisoner, and
eight days later removed to Libby prison, where he was confined
eleven days. Only the fact that he was so badly wounded saved him
from being sent to a worse fate at Andersonville. After his
exchange and recovery he rejoined his regiment, Nov. 16, 1862, in
time to take part in the battle of Fredericksburg, the following
month, under Gen. Burnside. Later, under Gen. Crook, at Cloyd
Mountain, W. Va., he received a wound in the knee from a shell and
was again disable, necessitating removal to Gallipolis Hospital in
Ohio, whence he was shortly sent to Philadelphia and there
discharged.

On resuming civil life, Mr. Hemmig devoted
himself to working on the home farm for some years, but in 1867
went into the milling business and was so engaged for twelve years.
In 1879 he started his present enterprise, established a store and
warehouse at Grill, and opened the flour and feed trade which he
has been so successfully conducting ever since. His specialty is
Hemmig’s Superior Kiln Dried Cornmeal, a high-grade product for
which there is a large local demand. In addition to his business
cars, Mr. Hemmig has undertaken political responsibilities, and has
served Cumru township very efficiently as auditor, having been
appointed one year and elected on the Republican ticket for three
more terms of three years each.

In 1879, Mr. Hemmig was joined in matrimony to
Miss Amanda Bingaman, but their union was brought to a premature
end by the untimely death of Mrs. Hemmig, May 30, 1885, when
thirty-five years of age. Mr. Hemmig, like all the members of his
father’s family, is a member of Yocom’s Church (Reformed) and he
has served in it as deacon. It is in the graveyard of this church
that the remains of his parents are buried. Mr. Hemmig is one of
the veterans of the war comprising Keim Post, No. 76, G. A. R., of
Reading.