Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

HUMBERT,
DAVID K. (REV)

p. 1226

Surnames: HUMBERT, FETHEROLF, SHOLLENBERGER, KNODERER, DELONG,
SCHAEFFER, KITTLING/KIDLING, WAGNER, SAGE, WISE

Rev. David K. Humbert, an aged retired minister of Bowers, Berks
county, was born March 9, 1834, in Greenwich township, and lived
under the parental roof until he was eight years old. At that
tender age he was hired out among the farmers of Greenwich
township, and then worked until he was twenty-two years of age. He
then clerked in Daniel Fetherolf’s store in Albany township for a
year, when he obtained employment as currier in a tannery at New
Ringgold, Pa., and remained there about eighteen months. After this
he spent some months in traveling for his health but as soon as he
recovered he began teaching at Klinesville and Fetherolfsville in
the upper part of the county, and as he accumulated a little money
he continued to study, attending the Freeland seminary for three
years.

Upon the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Humbert
was deeply in sympathy with the Union, and Nov. 12, 1862, he was
mustered into Co. I, 167th Pa. Inf., Capt. J. M. Shollenberger and
Col. C. A. Knoderer, commanding. He was first sergeant of his
company and after his term of service expired, Aug. 12, 1863; he
re-enlisted and was in service until the close of the war, when the
regiment was mustered out at the Rappahannock river. After this he
attended the Lutheran theological seminary at Philadelphia, from
which he was graduated in June 1867, and he was ordained by the
Ministerium at Philadelphia, June 17, 1867. His first charge was
the Robeson church (or Plow) at Geigertown, St. John’s at
Gibraltar, Allegheny and Wyomissing. This charge had a membership
of about 700 souls, and he served them for five years. But in 1872
he removed to Bowers to take charge of the DeLong church, with
these branches, DeLongs at Bowers, New Jerusalem, Huff’s Hill
church, St. Paul at Lobachsville and for a time St. Peter in Lehigh
county. About 1880 he gave up Hill church and St. Paul, retaining
the other charges. DeLong church added many to its membership under
his administration, and the other charges also flourished, being in
an excellent condition when he retired in 1902, owing to his ill
health. Mr. Humbert has a wonderful record. During his pastorate he
married 1006 couples. He preached principally in German, although
occasionally he gave a sermon in English. He has always been a man
of strong convictions, is pleasant in disposition, and possesses in
a marked degree the faculty of making friends. His success was
marked and he is beloved not only as an eloquent and convincing
preacher but also as a kind, true and faithful friend.

Soon after entering the ministry, Mr. Humbert
was married to Maria DeLong, daughter of Francis and Esther
(Schaefer) DeLong, and they had three children: Essie Catherine, m.
to Dr. E. D. Schaeffer, of Reading; Mary Elizabeth, a school
teacher of Royersford, Pa.; Anna Susanna, who resides at home.

Mr. Humbert has an old clock that is fully 130
years old. He bought it at a public sale at Bechtelsville many
years ago for five dollars, but he would not sell it for many times
its original price.

George Humbert, the grandfather of the Rev.
David K. Humbert, settled at Kutztown at a very early date. There
he followed the trade of a carpenter, and there he is buried. He
had three sons: Daniel; Jacob; and George, whose son, also George,
is a member of Berks county bar.

Of the above sons, Jacob Humbert became the
father of the Rev. David K. Humbert, and he was born in Greenwich
township, Oct. 22, 1798, and died at Topton, July 12, 1880, aged
eighty-one years, nine months and twenty days. His early life was
spent in Greenwich township, where he was a farmer for some years,
and he was also a school teacher and chorister at the Grimville
church for some time. His school was a paying one, as he had nearly
100 pupils on his books. At this time there were no public schools
and the private or pay schools flourished.

After residing in the vicinity of Grimville for
about nineteen years, he moved from place to place and finally
settled at Topton, where he died, and he is buried at Bowers beside
his wife, Catherine Kittling (also spelled Kidling) Humbert. She
was born April 5, 1802, and died Dec. 21, 1890, when eighty-eight
years, eight months and sixteen days old. They had the following
children: William, of Carey, Ohio; Jacob; Daniel, a soldier of the
Civil war, who was probably killed during the war, as nothing was
heard of him after its close; Charles Henry, who was wounded in the
battle of Gettysburg and died in a Philadelphia hospital; Rev.
David Kidling; Catherine, m. to Anthony Wagner, of Ohio; Mary, m.
to Abner Sage, of Ohio; Amelia, m. to Ephraim Wise of Topton;
George Alfred, who died in infancy. Jacob Humbert and family were
members of the Lutheran church.

HUMBERT, GEORGE D.

p. 455

Surnames: HUMBERT, BIEHL, NICK, SHERADIN, WANNER, MILLER, CHRIST,
WAGNER, WALK, TADDEI, EMES, WEIDENMYER, GARRETO, PENNOCK

George D. Humbert, who stands in the front rank of attorneys at the
Berks county Bar, has resided in Reading since 1897. He hails from
Kutztown, where he was born Aug. 21, 1871, son of John Humbert, and
grandson of George Humbert, of Kutztown.

George Humbert, the grandfather, was a farmer
for some years, and later engaged in carpentering at Kutztown,
winning considerable fame as a builder of fine barns. He was the
owner of considerable real estate, all of which he acquired by his
own efforts. He married Susanna Biehl, of Richmond township, and
they had three children: Jacob, a school teacher who died in young
manhood; Edwin, who died at his home in Kutztown, about 1900; and
John.

John Humbert, son of George, was born in
Kutztown in 1832, and was reared on a farm in Maxatawny township.
As a young man he learned the carpenter’s trade, but later began
teaching in the public schools, and after some years of experience
there became an instructor in the Maxatawny Academy. His next work
was as a teacher in Prof. H. R. Nick’s Academy, which later
developed into the Keystone State Norman School. For many years he
was trustee of this school, and was most active in the best
interest of the institution having superintended the erection of a
number of its large buildings. He successfully conducted a shoe
store in Kutztown for eighteen years, and in 1878 sold out to
William Sheradin. He then devoted himself to surveying and to his
work as justice of the peace, which office he held for twenty-five
years. In politics he was a Democrat. For a number of years he was
an official in Trinity Lutheran Church. He was a charter member and
master of Huguenot Lodge, F. & A. M., of Kutztown. His death
occurred May 16, 1896, in his sixty-fourth year.

John Humbert married Elizabeth Wanner, who was a
daughter of Jacob Wanner, of Kutztown. The Wanners were an old and
honored family of Maxatawny township. Mr. and Mrs. Humbert were the
parents of five children, two of whom are deceased. The surviving
children are: Lizzie E. (m. U. J. Miller, a traveling salesman at
Kutztown); Maggie (m. Allen S. Christ, a stationer of Kutztown);
and George D.

George D. Humbert received excellent education
advantages, passing from the public schools of Kutztown to the
Keystone State Norman School, and graduating from the latter
institution in 1889, after which he took a post graduate course for
one year. He then taught school, teaching for one year in the
grammar school of Kutztown, then one year at the high school, and
for four years was principal of the schools of Bath, Northampton
county, Pa.

While at the latter place he introduced the
course of study and system of grading yet used there with great
success.

In 1895 Mr. Humbert became a law student in the
office of George W. Wagner, and on Nov. 14, 1898, he was admitted
to practice at the Berks county Bar, and he has since been admitted
to the Superior and Supreme courts. He has built up an enviable
practice and has been interested in some of the hard fought and
most prominent criminal and civil cases in the last decade. Among
these cases handled by him in a manner that has won him high repute
may be mentioned the Commonwealth vs. Antonio Taddei, Sr., in which
case he was of counsel for the defense (the defendant was charged
with killing three men on Penn street, on the night of July 3,
1901, and was acquitted); the Commonwealth vs. Emes, charged with
murder in the first degree, but convicted only for involuntary
manslaughter; Weidenmyer vs. Jackson Rope Walk, the plaintiff
receiving a verdict of $1,400 for finger torn out; Commonwealth vs.
Salvatore Garreto, who was charged with killing a state policeman;
and many others. Mr. Humbert’s well-appointed officers are at No.
40 Sixth street, Reading. In 1902-03 he was solicitor for the
County Alms House, and he has since been a popular candidate for
district attorney. He is a prominent and influential Democrat, was
chairman of the City Executive Committee, (in 1902), and also a
member of the County Standing Committee of the Fifth ward, Reading.
In the midst of his busy professional life he has still found time
to take an interest in the cause of education, and for a time was
an instructor in night school. In 1898 he succeeded his father as a
trustee of the Keystone State Norman School, being one of two
trustees from Reading, and he is a member of the Finance and
Accounts committees.

Mr. Humbert is a member of Huguenot Lodge, No.
377, F. & A. M., of Kutztown; Reading Chapter, No. 152, R. A.
M.; De Molay Commandery, No. 9 K. T.; Philadelphia Consistory; and
Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.; Washing Camp, No. 163, P. O. S. of
A.; Court Victory, No. 123, F. of A.; and Lodge No.115, B. P. O.
E., of Reading, of which he is Past Exalted Ruler.

On Nov. 14, 1906, Mr. Humbert married Gussie L.
Pennock, of Reading, and they now reside at No. 604 North Third
street, Reading.

HUMMA,
HENRY

p 1010

Surnames: HUMMA, HACHS, REITZ, POTTEIGER, GEHRIS, KORTENHORN,
EYRICH, HARNER, HUNTER, BAYLEY, WEST, GALLISETH

Henry Humma, who is now conducting a flourishing grocery business
at No. 1123 Walnut street, Reading, was one of the youngest
soldiers in the Civil war. He is a native of Reading, born April 9,
1848, son of Theodore and Catherine (Hachs) Humma.

Theodore Humma, a native of Prussia, Germany,
came to America in 1842, and from New York City, where he landed,
made his way to Reading. Here he foundemployment on the
construction of the Lebanon Valley Railroad and was residing in the
city at the time of his death, May 2, 1854. To him and his wife,
Catherine Hachs, were born these children: Benner, of No. 219 North
Tenth street, Reading, is a veteran of the Civil war; Lewis, a
member of Company H, 88th Pa. V. I., was killed at the second
battle of Bull Run; Henry; Catherine is deceased; John H. lives at
Manayunk; Peter is deceased; and Annie is of Philadelphia.

Henry Humma attended the public schools of
Reading, after leaving which he learned the baker’s trade, which he
followed for nine months, and then learned the hatting trade,
continuing at that occupation for sixteen years. Mr. Humma was then
engaged in the sewing machine business for two years, and on Feb.
2, 1880, he and his wife engaged in the grocery business at No.
1123 Walnut street., where they have been engaged to the present
time with much success. They erected their present fine building in
1899, and it is well furnished and stocked with a fine, full line
of groceries and notions. Both Mr. and Mrs. Humma are kindly,
genial people, and their first-class line of goods has won them a
constantly increasing trade.

Mr. Humma married June 15, 1866, Elizabeth
Reitz, daughter of Adam Reitz, and to this union have been born
children as follows: Catherine m. Clayton Potteiger, and lives on
North Eleventh street, Reading; Elizabeth m. John Gehris, and lives
at Portsmouth, Va.; Emma m. Edward Kortenhorn, of North Tenth
street, Reading; Edward J. S. is driving the delivery wagon for his
parents; Henry is employed at the Mt. Penn Stove Works; Helen M. m.
Alvin Eyrich, of near Shillington, Cumru township, Berks county;
Adam J. S. is employed at the Remppis Iron Works; Bernard H. is
assisting in the store; Gertrude V. and Viola M. are both at home;
Crisulla, Margaret and Johanna are deceased; one died in infancy,
unnamed.

Mr. Humma is a Republican in politics. He
belongs to St. Paul’s Catholic Church. He joined the Rainbow Fire
Company in August 1865, and is a member of the Grocers’
Association. On June 26, 1863, Henry Humma enlisted from Berks
county, to serve until the end of the emergency, and was mustered
into the service of Capt. Samuel Harner’s Company B. 42d Reg. Pa.
Emergency State Militia, Col. Charles H. Hunter, commanding. This
regiment was organized in quick response to Governor Curtin’s
proclamation calling for a number of regiments of emergency troops
to protect the State from possible invasion by the Rebel forces ,
who, after triumphs at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Va.,
were threatening the North. The 42d was stationed at Reading, Pa.,
guarding the city and its approaches during most of its service.
The officers and soldiers evinced the highest soldierly qualities,
and fully sustained the excellent record our soldiers have ever
attained in the field and camp. Henry Humma was honorably
discharged Aug. 11, 1863, at Reading, by reason of service no
longer required. He re-enlisted Jan. 23, 1864, in Capt. Samuel H.
Bayley’s Vol. Cav., Col. Robert M. West, commanding, and May 16,
1864, was transferred to Capt. Bardele Galliseth’s Company F, of
the same regiment, the 5th Cavalry, of the 65th Regiment of the
Pennsylvania line, and served chiefly with Kautz’s and Wilson’s
Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac and the James. After
his enlistment he took part in the battle of Black Water, Stony
Creek Station, Weldon and South Side Railroads, Ream’s Station,
Deep Bottom, Malvern Hill, Yellow Tavern, Lee’s Mills, Jerusalem
Plank Road, Mechanicsville, Chapin’s Farm, Darbytown Road, Boydton
Plank Road, Charles City Cross Roads, the Appomattox Campaign,
including Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks, Gravelly Run, Amelia
Court House, Rice’s Station, Burke’s Station, Appomattox Court
House (Lee’s surrender), and all of the Virginia and minor
engagements, raids, etc. He was at all times with his command, and
performed most faithful and meritorious service. While building
breastworks and engaged in felling trees in from of the same, he
cut his foot severely with an axe, but remained with his command,
and was treated by a surgeon in camp. He received his final
honorable discharge Aug. 7, 1865, at Richmond, Va., by reason of
the close of the war.

HUNSBERGER, CHARLES G.

p. 1325

Surnames: HUNSBERGER, ARMS, BICKEL, ECHER, BROWN, BICKEL, GRUBB,
ARMS, STICHTER, SPOHN, ERMENTROUT, SCHWARTZ, BEUTZEL

Charles G. Hunsberger, proprietor of one of the old and well
patronized hostelries of Reading, the “Schwartz House,” which is
located at No. 309 North Eighth street, was born Nov. 18, 1865, at
Bloomsburg, Columbia Co., Pa., a son of Henry H. and Lydia (Arms)
Hunsberger.

The Hunsberger family is easily traced as far
back as the great-grandfather, John Hunsberger, who lived in
Franconia Township, Montgomery Co., Pa. By trade he was a weaver.
In his later years he moved to Chester county and settled on the
farm that is now the property of J. F. Bickel, a son-in-law of
Henry Hunsberger. John Hunsberger had the following children:
Michael, Samuel m. Mary Echer, had children: Jesse, Samuel,
William, John and Mary: and he and his wife Mary, with some of
their children are buried in the Mennonite burial ground in East
Coventry Township. John, who never married, is buried in the above
cemetery. Henry married Sarah Brown, and they and children are
buried at Oak Grove, at Parkersford. Henry had six children:
Elizabeth, born in 1840, died in 1878, in 1868 m. J. F. Bickel;
Annie; John; Adaline, in 1887, m. J. F. Bickel; Amos and Harriet,
Dorothy, daughter of John Hunsberger, never married and is buried
in the East Coventry graveyard, at the Mennonite meeting house.
Catherine, the youngest daughter, m. Moses Grubb. They had no issue
and their ashes rest in Oak Grove cemetery, near Parkersford.

Michael Hunsberger, grandfather of Charles G.
and Henry A. Hunsberger, was a resident of Montgomery county, and
he and wife were interred in the old cemetery adjoining the
Mennonite Church, in East Coventry Township. He married Nancy
Hunsberger and they had the following children: John, Henry,
Catharine, Sophia, Sarah, Mary, Lovina and Lizzie.

Henry H. Hunsberger, father of Charles G., was
born in Chester county, Pa., in 1835, and died at Reading in
August, 1899, aged sixty-four years. In young manhood he left
Chester county and located at Pottstown, Pa., where he kept the
“Railroad House” for about ten years. In 1879 he came to Reading
and lived on North Eleventh street, and in this city he followed
the butchering business, opening the first Chicago Meat market in
that section of the city and he built up a large trade in Chicago
meat products, and was a man of considerable substance. He was a
member of the Masonic fraternity. In religious connection, he
belonged to the Episcopal Church. He was buried in the Charles
Evans cemetery. He married Lydia Arms, a daughter of Henry Arms, a
farmer of Douglass Township, Berks county. The children were three
in number, namely Henry Arms, Charles G., and Mary, m. Elton C.
Bickel.

Henry Arms Hunsberger, older brother of Charles
G., was born Nov. 18, 1863, at Pottstown, Montgomery Co., Pa.,
where he attended the public school and later learned the
nail-making trade. He continued to work at this trade for ten
years. In 1881, he came to Reading and became a salesman for A. L.
Stichter & Son and continued in their employ until 1886. In the
following year he became collector for the Reading Brewing Company
and this responsible position he filled for twelve years. Since
1898, Mr. Hunsberger has been salesman and collector for the
Continental Brewing Company, of Philadelphia. He is a Mason of the
higher degrees, belonging to Lodge No. 435, Reading, De Molay
Commandery No. 9, Reading, Reading Chapter, No. 152, and Rajah
Temple. A. A. O. N. M. S. With his family he belongs to St.
Barnabas Episcopal Church at Reading. He is a man of really
commanding appearance, and his business relations are those of a
man of repute. On. Feb. 11, 1892, he was married to Rosa L. Spohn,
a daughter of Daniel Spohn of Reading and they have one daughter,
Emily, who is the wife of George J. Ermentrout, an electrician at
Reading. Mr. Hunsberger resides in his fine stone residence at No.
1501 Perkiomen avenue.

Charles G. Hunsberger was reared to farm
pursuits. He was sixteen years of age when his parents moved to
Pottstown, where he worked for three years for the Pottstown Iron
Company. In 1884, he came to Reading, where he first became a clerk
at the “Keystone House,” where he remained until 1892, when he went
into business for himself, engaging in hotel keeping for seven
years at Tenth and Oley streets. In April 1899, he succeeded the
well-known host, George Schwartz who conducted the “Schwartz
House,” which was known as the “Rural Retreat,” the headquarters of
the railroaders, during their strike in 1877. Mr. Hunsberger is
enjoying a prosperous business and is a popular resident of his
section of the city. In politics, he is an Independent Democrat. He
is a member and supporter of the Lutheran Church.

On April 25, 1886, Mr. Hunsberger was married to
Emma D. Schwartz, a daughter of the late George and Rosina
(Beutzel) Schwartz, both natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs.
Hunsberger have two children, Laura M. and Mary S.

HUNSICKER,
B. F.

p. 1023

Surnames: HUNSICKER, ELY, MOORE, BYERLE, RICHWEIN, ESCHELMAN,
BRENEISER

B. F. Hunsicker, who is prominently connected with the iron
manufacturing industry of Reading, Pa., as chief bookkeeper of the
Scott foundry, was born Dec. 8, 1858, in Lebanon, Lebanon Co., Pa.,
son of David and Loving (Ely) Hunsicker.

David Hunsicker, who was a carpenter by
occupation, located in Reading in 1870, where he engaged at his
trade until his death in 1885, at the age of sixty-five years. He
married Lovina Ely, who died in 1894, at the age of seventy years,
and to them there were born five children, as follows: Clara S. m.
George W. Moore, of Philadelphia, Pa.; John E., is of Los Angeles,
Cal.; B. F., resides at Reading; Emma L. m. John F. Byerle, a
jeweler of Reading; and William H. is deceased. In religious
matters the family are connected with the Reformed Church. Mr.
Hunsicker was a stanch Republican in politics, and during the Civil
war he served as a carpenter in the Union army from 1861 to 1865,
engaged in building pontoon bridges. He also assisted to erect the
arch at Washington, D.C., under which the Lincoln funeral
procession passed.

B. F. Hunsicker was educated in the public
schools of Reading, after leaving which he entered the employ of
the Philadelphia & Reading Railway, being with that company
from 1874 until 1888, and with the Pennsylvania Bolt & Nut
Company, for two years. In 1890 he engaged with the Reading Iron
Company, as bookkeeper, and was later appointed chief bookkeeper of
the Scott works, now having an office force of five assistants. Mr.
Hunsicker is fraternally connected with the P. O. S. of A., the K.
G. E., Reading Lodge, No. 115, B. P. O. E., and the K. O. T. M. He
and his family are connected with the Second Reformed Church. A
stanch Republican in politics, Mr. Hunsicker has been active in the
ranks of his party, serving as a member of the council from the
Ninth ward in 1887 and 1888, and as a member of the school board
eight years, six years of which he was president of the board, a
position to which he was re-elected five times without opposition.

In 1884 Mr. Hunsicker married Lydia Richwein,
born in Reading, daughter of Joseph and Matilda (Eschelman)
Richwein, and one child has blessed this union: Eda L., a graduate
of the Reading high school, class of 1903, who is now the wife of
Amos P. Breneiser.

HUNSICKER, JACOB P.

p.
1114

Surnames: HUNSICKER, FAILOR, HOFFMAN, NOLL, FRANTZ, LONG, SWANGER,
YEAGER, HACKER, RAUCH, ZELLER

Jacob P. Hunsicker, blacksmith and coachmaker at
Stouchsburg, Berks county, and one of the substantial citizens at
that place, is a native of Lebanon county, born at Myerstown, March
14, 1874, son of Elias and Elizabeth (Failor) Hunsicker.

The early home of the Hunsickers was in
Switzerland. Christian Hunsicker, the great grandfather of Jacob
P., was born in Fredericksburg, in Bethel township, Lebanon county,
and it is thought he served in the war of the Revolution. He made
his home at Hamlin, Lebanon county. Among his children were:
Elizabeth, who married Michael Hoffman, and had ten children;
Philip; and Jacob, born in 1804, who died in 1864.

Philip Hunsicker, son of Christian, was born in
Bethel township, Lebanon county, in 1787, and died there in 1871;
he was buried at Klopp’s Church, of which he was a member. By trade
he was a carpenter, and he owned a tract of sixty acres. He married
Mary Ann Noll, who died in middle age, and they had eleven
children, namely: Polly, Jonathan, Catharine, Betsy, Daniel,
William, John, Caroline, Sybilla, Elias and Henry.

Elias Hunsicker, son of Philip, was born in
Bethel township, Berks county, Dec. 4, 1836. He grew to maturity
there, and in his young manhood learned tanning from Elias Frantz,
who had opened a tannery. From 1841 to 1848 he followed that
business, and then went to Indiana, where for a short time he
worked at carpentering. Returning to Pennsylvania he engaged at
coachmaking in Berks county, and then returned to Myerstown once
more to follow the tanner’s trade. In 1864 he married Elizabeth
Failor, born Sept. 22, 1842, daughter of Godlieb and Mary (Long)
Failor, of Lebanon county.

She died Oct. 28, 1898. Their children were:
Mary Ann, who married Joseph Swanger, of Myerstown; Franey, wife of
Milton Yeager, of Millardsville; Frank, of Womelsdorf; Jacob P.;
Harry, of Millardsville; Sallie, who married William Swanger, of
Myerstown; Adam, of Harrisburg; and Samuel W., a horseshoer who is
employed by his brother Jacob at Stouchsburg.

Jacob P. Hunsicker, son of Elias, attended the
common school at West Myerstown until fourteen years of age, and
then for about three years worked at Loos’ tannery, in his home
town. He next went to Stouchsburg, and learned blacksmithing and
coachmaking with John B. Hacker. At the end of three years he went
to Boyertown, where he worked in Hartman & Strunk’s coach works
for a short time. The following year he spent at Lititz, Lancaster
county, and at its close he returned to Myerstown and assisted in
the establishment of the water company. He and his brother Harry
formed a partnership, and conducted a blacksmith shop at Prescott,
but after one year Jacob P. went to Millardsville, where he
conducted a smithy for five years. In 1900 he located at
Stouchsburg, having the preceding year purchased the property where
he now lives. There is about an acre of ground, and he has a good
business, employing two to four people all the while. He carries on
a general blacksmith business, and does all kinds of wheelwright
work.

In 1898 Mr. Hunsicker married Lillie Rauch,
daughter of William and Sophia (Zeller) Rauch, of Jackson township,
Lebanon county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hunsicker have been born three
children, namely: Edna S., Jacob W. and May E. They attend the
Reformed Church at Myerstown. Mr. Hunsicker is a member of
Washington Camp, No. 137, P. O. S. of A. He was elected and served
as judge of election in Marion township in 1908.

HUNTER, MARTIN DETURCK

p. 885

Surnames: HUNTER, DeTURCK /DeTURK, IAGER, KEMP, LEVAN, HECHLER,
MANWILLER, KRAEMER, GREBE, LUTZ, HILL, BREIDEGAM

Among the representative citizens and prominent business men of
Lower Alsace township, Berks county, probably none is better known
than Martin DeTurck Hunter, of Stony Creek Mills, who has been
closely identified with the public, business and social interests
of this section since attaining his majority. Mr. Hunter was born
Sept. 30, 1867, in Oley township, son of Daniel Kemp and Esther Ann
(DeTurck) Hunter.

The Hunter family, which is one of the oldest in
Oley township, was founded by Nicholas and Anthony Iager, brothers,
whose name was later changed by legislation to Hunter. They
emigrated in 1738, from the Palatinate, on the Rhine, and Martin D.
Hunter is descended from both, Nicholas being the ancestor of his
grandfather, Daniel V. R. Hunter, and Anthony the ancestor of his
grandmother, Mary Hunter, born Kemp, who was a grandfather of
Daniel Hunter, a colonel in the Revolutionary army. Col. Daniel
Hunter was the only son of Anthony Hunter. DeWalt Kemp, the
progenitor of this branch of the Kemp family, emigrated from
Germany about 1720.

Isaac DeTurck, or as then known, DeTurk, who was
one of the first to take out land patents in Oley township,
emigrated to Dutchess county, N. Y., in 1709, also coming from the
Rhine. He settled in Oley township in 1711, and was the progenitor
of the DeTurck family in this section of the State. He was a
descendant of the French Huguenots. Martin Yoder DeTurck,
grandfather of Martin D. Hunter, after whom he was named, was a
great-great-grandson of Isaac DeTurck, and was married to Rachel
Levan, a descendant of Abraham LeVan, who was born in 1698, and was
one of the early settlers of Oley township, being also a descendant
of the Huguenots. Martin D. Hunter has one brother and two sisters:
Dr. Allen D. Hunter, of Savanna, Ill., and Mrs. Annie D. Hechler
and Mrs. Mary D. Manwiller, of Stony Creek Mills.

Martin D. Hunter was educated in the public
schools of Oley township and the Oley Academy, and lived on the
farm until sixteen years of age, at which time, ambitious to enter
into some business, he left Oley and moved to Stony Creek Mills,
where he accepted a position with Louis Kraemer & Co., this
place having been his home ever since. He worked his way up from
position to position, becoming shipping clerk, and later
bookkeeper, and in 1893 he was admitted into the firm, being now
associated with Louis F. Kraemer and Louis F. Grebe, the business
still trading under the name of Louis Kraemer & Co. They are
engaged in manufacturing woolens and cut up their product into
ready-made garments. Mr. Hunter was one of the incorporators of the
Stony Creek Mills Building and Loan Association, and was secretary
thereof from the time of its organization to its successful
termination in 1903. In that year the present Stony Creek Mills
Building Association was organized, and he was again elected
secretary of the enterprise, a position which he still holds. He
was assistant postmaster for a number of years, and in 1900 was
appointed postmaster of Stony Creek Mills, succeeding Louis F.
Kraemer, who resigned. He still holds this important office and in
1906 established a rural delivery route which has been successful,
and is appreciated by all the patrons of the office. Mr. Hunter was
one of the incorporators, and is now secretary and treasurer of the
Mt. Penn Suburban Water Company, which has several miles of mains
supplying Mt. Penn, Stony Creek Mills and Black Bear. He is
president of the W. A. Lutz & Co., Inc., Shippensburg,
manufacturers of clothing, and for years has been a member of the
board of managers of the Mutual Fire Insurance Co., of Berks
county. He is a trustee of the Bethany Sunday school, and was a
member of the building committee when the chapel was built, and it
was due to his influence that the chapel was erected on the site on
which it now stands. Mr. Hunter is very fond of travel, and has
visited all of the West Indies with the exception of Haiti and San
Domingo; and has been to British Guiana and the Republic of
Colombia, South America, and Cost Rica, Central America.

In 1890 Mr. Hunter was married to Sarah B. Hill,
daughter of John Y. and Angelina (Breidegam) Hill, and a member of
one of Oley township’s old and honored families. Three children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hunter: Edna M., Louis H. and Ellis
D.