Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

PEARSON, JOHN STARR

p. 924

Surnames: PEARSON, PARVIN, WRIGHT, KAHLER, SMITH, STARR, CANBY,
MARSH

John Starr Pearson, an extensive farmer of Ontelaunee township,
Berks county, who for more than thirty years has also been engaged
in the lime business, was born Jan. 1, 1843 in Maiden-creek
township, son of Mordecai Wright and Debora (Parvin) Pearson.

As early as 1682 John Pearson came to this
country with William Penn, from Chester, England, and it is
recorded that while voyaging up the Delaware river, Penn turned to
him and said: “Thou hast been the companion of my trials; what wilt
thou have that I call this place.” Pearson returned: “Call it
Chester, in remembrance of the place from which I came.” This
occurred 225 years ago. In 1683, Thomas Pearson, brother of John,
came and it is probable that he lived somewhere between Chester,
Chester county, and Gwynedd, Montgomery county. Of his children we
know of but one son: Lawrence, who is supposed to have resided at
the same place. He was married and left a son, Benjamin, who, it is
supposed, settled at or near Reading, about the year 1760. He was
married, and among his children was a son Thomas, the
great-grandfather of John S.

Thomas Pearson’s principal vocation so far as is
known was that of teacher. He married Sarah Starr, a member of a
family that was quite numerous in this section, where they were
large land owners. The farm now occupied by John Starr Pearson was
originally a Starr property, and the old home, which was erected in
1729 and stood only a short distance from the present family
residence, was razed about twenty years ago. Thomas Pearson had one
son by his first marriage: John Starr. He subsequently removed to
Maryland, where he was married a second time, and had two children:
Thomas and Sarah, who afterward came to this section, becoming well
known and highly esteemed citizens.

John Starr Pearson was a farmer, and lived to
the age of fifty years, dying in 1831. He married Mary Wright, and
reared on child to manhood: Mordecai Wright.

Mordecai Wright Pearson was born Aug. 10, 1816,
and was fifteen years of age when his father died. In 1842 he
married Debora Parvin, daughter of Francis and Susanna Parvin, of
Berkley, Pa., and died July 4, 1878, his widow surviving him until
January 1890. They had four children: John Starr; William is a
resident of this section; Susan; and Charles, who died in 1893,
aged forty years, married Beulah Kahler, of Reading, and had two
children, Helen K. (born Sept. 30, 1884) and Lawrence J. (born Nov.
8, 1888).

John Starr Pearson attended first the
subscription school of his native locality, later attended the
public schools, and subsequently entered the De Kalb Institute near
Norristown. He has been engaged in farming ever since reaching his
majority, and has also followed the lime business very successfully
since 1874, an occupation that has given him a large acquaintance
throughout Berks county.

Mr. Pearson married (first) Elizabeth Smith,
daughter of Charles and Leah C. Smith, of Sadsbury, Pa., and to
this union there were born two children: Mary m. Charles Canby, of
Philadelphia; and Edward L. died aged four years. Mr. Pearson’s
second marriage was to Maria S. M. Smith, daughter of Jesse and
Hannah Marsh, of Sadsbury, Pa. Mr. Pearson, as also his brother and
sister, continues membership with the Society of Friends, or
Quakers, and resides close to the old meeting house.

PEIFER
FAMILY

p. 1528

Surnames: PEIFER, KESSLER, GERNAND, KRICK, MARSHALL, HASSLER,
EBLING, BROWN, REIGEL, FRY

The Peifer family of Spring township, Berks county, is worthily
represented by several substantial and highly respected citizens,
descendants of the sturdy German race that has done so much for the
development and progress of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(I) Frantz Peifer was a farmer in the town of Marienberg, about two
hours from Hachenburg, Nassau, Germany. He married Elizabeth
Kessler, and they had children: Gerhart, Christ, Frantz, Martin,
Barbara and Elizabeth.

(II) Martin Peifer, son of Frantz, was born in Naussau, Germany, at
his father’s farm, July 26, 1794, and came to America with his
brother in 1818, landing at Baltimore. He at once became a
redemptioner with George Gernand, who paid eighty dollars for his
passage at Baltimore. His bondage lasted two years, and he then
worked at farm labor until in 1832 he bought a tract of thirty-one
acres, to which he added in later years. At his death he left an
estate of about $20,000. He was genuinely respected, and the
competence he acquired was the result of hard work, economy and
good management. He was a member of Hain’s Church, to which he
contributed liberally. He died Dec. 7, 1870. On Dec. 31, 1826, he
married Hannah Krick, born June 6, 1803 (daughter of Peter Krick),
who died Sept. 30, 1872. They had two children, Jeremiah and Peter.
The former, born Dec. 22, 1828, died unmarried Sept. 20, 1895, and
was buried at Hain’s Church, in the old churchyard. The parents are
also buried in the old churchyard, there being no cemetery when
they died.

(III) Peter Peifer, son of Martin, was born in Heidelberg township,
Berks county, April 17, 1840. He lived with and worked for his father until he was
thirty years of age, in 1870 beginning to farm one of his father’s
farms, continuing thus until 1894. On June 21, 1894, he moved to
Fritztown, where the year before he had built a nice brick house on
the Fritztown road, and there he and his family have since resided.
He owns one of the finest farms in Lower Heidelberg township,
consisting of 154 acres, well improved with a brick residence which
Mr. Peifer erected in 1886, with ten good rooms, double porches,
and surrounded by a beautiful large yard. Excellent water is found
on the place. He owns in all six farms, a total of 800 acres of
valuable land, including the original homestead near Hain’s church,
consisting of sixty acres; a farm of forty-nine acres near Sinking
Spring; a farm of 105 acres near Kulp’s Mill in Spring township
(which he bough from his son Robert L.); another of 187 acres in
the same township; and he bought the old Marshall homestead in
Spring township, consisting of 125 acres at the Cacoosing. He also
owns the Hain’s Woolen Mills, located one and one-half miles back
of Wernersville, with one of the best water-powers in the country.
The buildings are of brick, three stories high, 30X60 feet. Mr.
Peifer is one of the most substantial and successful farmer in his
section. He has, however, not confined his real estate investments
to farms, also owning six dwellings in Fritztown, which he rents.
He has 100 acres of woodland. In politics Mr. Peifer is an ardent
Democrat, firmly believing in the old Jacksonian principles. He is
a firm adherent to Free Trade doctrines, and delights in tariff
discussion, believing in a constitutional tariff which no President
need fear to sign. He is well informed, and skilled in argument. He
is a Reformed member of Hain’s Church, and has a fine lot there.

On Oct. 19, 1869, Mr. Peifer was married to Mary
Hassler, born Dec. 10, 1838, daughter of Benjamin and Sophia
(Ebling) Hassler, the former a farmer of Lower Heidelberg township.
Her paternal grandfather was John Hassler. Three children have been
born to them, namely: (1) Robert L. is mentioned below. (2) Hannah
E., born Jan. 30, 1874, married Frank N. Brown, of Fritztown. (3)
Jefferson D., born Oct. 28, 1881, is at home.

(IV) Robert L. Peifer of Brookside, engaged in
the coal and feed business, was born in Lower Heidelberg township,
Berks county, Sept. 4, 1870, son of Peter and Mary (Hassler)
Peifer. He attended the public schools of his native township and
then was employed with his father, and afterward farmed for himself
on his father’s farms in Spring township. Later he went to Sinking
Spring, where he bought the Sharman farm of forty-nine acres, upon
which he farmed two years. He then went on his father’s farm in
Lower Heidelberg township for one year; then went to Spring
township and bough one of Eli Reigel’s farms, near Kulp’s Mill, of
105 acres, and remained there until he came to his present place of
business, in November, 1908. Mr. Peifer built a brick warehouse 30
by40 feet, three stories high, and is located at Angelica and Good
streets, where he does a wholesale and retail business. He has one
of the best equipped plants in Pennsylvania, with every facility
for transferring the coal from the cars to the wagons by machinery;
a shovel is never needed except to correct the weight on the scale.
The plant cost about two thousand dollars.

Mr. Peifer married Louisa Fry, daughter of Eli
Fry, of Spring township, and has the following children: Martin,
Hannah (living with her grandfather Peifer), Emma, Peter and Jay.
Mr. Peifer is a Democrat and a member of Hain’s Church.

PEIFER,
GEORGE N.

p. 860

Surnames: PEIFER, KESSLER, MILLER, LUFT, WHITTICH, NEFF, WITTICH,
BITLER, NOLL, WEIDMAN, BOLLMAN, MOHN, DEEDS, BUSH, STETLER,
SHARMAN, HARTRANFT, WERNER, CONEAUFF

George N. Peifer, of Sinking Spring, is descended from (I) Frantz
Peifer, who was a farmer in the town of Marienberg, about two hours
from Hachenburg, Nassau, German. He married Elizabeth Kessler, and
they had children: Gerhart, Christ, Frantz, Martin, Barbara and
Elizabeth.

(II) Gerhart Peifer, son of Frantz, was born in Germany on his
father’s farm Sept. 28, 1782. He married Catharine Miller, daughter
of Johannnes Miller, and they all came to America in 1818. The
Miller family possessed some means, and paid Gerhart Peifer’s
passage. They settled at Sinking Spring, in Berks county, Pa.,
where the remainder of their lives was passed. Gerhart Peifer was a
carpenter, and worked at his trade for some time. He died May 17,
1845, at the age of sixty-two years, seven months. The children
born to Gerhart and Catharine (Miller) Peifer were: Mathias,
Daniel, Gerhart, Catharine (m. John Luft) and Harriet (m. John D.
Whittich).

(III) Mathias Peifer, son of Gerhart, was born in Germany Jan 25,
1804, and died in Berks country, Pa., July 8, 1884, aged eighty
years, five months, thirteen days. He accompanied his parents to
America, landing first at Baltimore, Md. By trade he was a
blacksmith, and he was the first blacksmith at Sinking Spring,
becoming one of the must esteemed citizens of that place. In
politics he was a stanch Republican, and kept well informed on
public affairs. He owned his own home, and at his death was
comfortably well off. He married Maria Neff (daughter of George
Neff, of Lancaster county), born Oct. 17, 18009, died Jan. 3, 1888,
aged seventy-eight years, two months, sixteen days. Both she and
her husband are buried in the United Brethren cemetery at Sinking
Spring. Their children were: John died young; Susan m. George
Wittich, of Reading; Mary m. Daniel Bitler; Daniel N. is mentioned
below; George N. is mentioned below; Reuben died young; Sarah m.
Benjamin Weidman; Lizzie m. A. I. Noll.

(IV) Daniel N. Peifer, J. R., son of Mathias, was born at Sinking
Spring, and attended the local schools. On Oct. 27, 1862, he
enlisted for service in the Union army, becoming a member of
Company E, 167th P. V. I., and at the end of his nine months’ term
of enlistment was discharged at Reading Aug. 12, 1863. For three
terms he served as justice of the peace in Spring township, and on
his removal to Mohnton was for four years a notary public. In 1905
he was elected justice of the peace, and is still serving in that
office. By his first marriage, with Sarah Bollman, who died during
his service in the army, had had two children, Reuben and Sallie,
both of whom are deceased. Mr. Peifer married (second) Mary A.
Mohn, daughter of Benjamin and Harriet (Deeds) Mohn. They have no
children. In politics Squire Peifer is a Democrat.

(IV) George N. Peifer, son of Mathias, was born in Singing Spring,
Pa., Oct. 19, 1838, and in that locality has passed his entire
life. His early education was obtained in the old eight-cornered
stone school building at the angle of the pike and the Van Reed
road. This he attended for ten years, his teachers during that time
being John Bush, Daniel Bitler and Henry Stetler. At the age of
seventeen he began to learn the blacksmith’s trade under his
father, and this trade, in connection with coach-making, he
followed for a quarter of a century. This blacksmith shop, the
oldest business stand in the village, stood half way I the road,
and was the first building in Sinking Spring within the
recollection of the oldest settlers. Mr. Peifer was successful, and
as his business constantly grew he was obliged to employ others to
assist him, part of the time having as many as ten men. In 1887 he
retired from business, and has since devoted himself to the
cultivation of his fine farm of forty acres. He resides on main
street, in the center of the village.

Mr. Peifer is prominent in Republican circles. He was his party’s
candidate for recorder of deeds in 1906, and was defeated by only a
small majority. He has been committeeman of Spring township since
1897, and he has been delegate to many conventions. At the present
time he is serving as roadmaster. For some years he held the
offices of register and assessor. Fraternally he is a member of
Knight of Pythias Lodge No. 155 (in which he is district deputy of
the Fourth district of Berks county) and of P. O. S. of A. Comp No.
282. Mr. Peifer has the honor of having been the first chancellor
commander of the K. P. lodge, the first president of P. O. S. of A.
camp, and the first noble chief of the K. G. E. castle in his
village. He was also the first presiding officer of the Brotherhood
of the Union, which was active some years ago. He has represented
all of his lodges in the Grand Lodges of the State.

On Sept. 30, 1858, Mr. Peifer married Hettie Sharman, born Feb. 23,
1841, daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Hartranft) Sharman. To this
union have been born three sons and two daughters: John S., street
commissioner of Reading, m. Ida Werner; George S., of Reading, a
clerk for the Reading Railway Company, m. Mary Miller; Sallie m.
George Werner, of Reading; Lizzie m. George Coneauff, a blacksmith,
formerly of Lancaster county, now of Sinking Spring; Daniel M. died
young.

PEIFFER, CHARLES S.

p.
1065

Surnames: PEIFFER, SNYDER, MILLER, KREIGER, SEIBERT, RIEHL,
BATTORF, CAMPBELL, RIEGEL, FISHER, LOOSE, REITH, LEBO, LEINBACH

Charles S. Peiffer, one of Marion township’s leading business men,
who is engaged in the manufacture of cigars at Stouchsburg, was
born at Mount Aetna, Pa., Jan. 13, 1878, son of Adam T. and Emma S.
(Snyder) Peiffer.

Jacob Peiffer, also known as Johan Jacob, the
progenitor of this large family of western Berks county, was born
May 1, 1730, and died May 21, 1798, on his farm. His name appears
among the taxable residents of the Tulpehocken section of 1759, he
paying a tax of three pounds in that year. His wife, Margaretta,
was born Nov. 28, 17–, and died in Feb. 2, 1792. Jacob Peiffer’s
will, which was made ten days prior to his death, is on record in
Will Book A, page 378. His children were: Philip, George,
Margaretha, Anna Maria and Heinrich; the latter two being under age
when their father died, Simon Riegel was appointed their guardian.
Philip and George Peiffer were the executors of their father’s
estate. Philip Peiffer was born June 4, 1769, and died Feb. 7,
1850. He married (first) Margaretha Miller, and (second) Catherine
Kreiger, and had a son Philip (1802-1874, who m. Elizabeth Seibert,
Johann George Peiffer was born Aug. 24, 1771, and died April 18,
1925.

Heinrich Peiffer, great-grandfather of Charles
S., was born Jan. 6, 1782, and died April 10, 1847). He was a
farmer of Marion township, and is buried in the old burial ground
at Tulpehocken Church. Mr. Peiffer married Maria Riehl, born Oct.
12, 1777, died Jan. 16, 1837. They had children: Henry, born Sept.
25, 1804, died Sept. 7, 1867, m. Elizabeth Battorf (1807-1894), and
Samuel.

Samuel Peiffer, grandfather of Charles S., was
born Dec. 25, 1807, and died Dec. 13, 1888, and is buried at
Tulpehocken Reformed Church. He followed the shoemaking trade in
Marion township for forty years. His wife, Catherine Loose, born
Feb. 18, 1821, daughter of John and Magdalena (Fisher) Loose, died
in March, 1885. They had three children: Cecelia, who died aged
five years; Samuel H., and Adam T.

Adam T. Peiffer was born on his father’s farm in
Marion township, Nov. 12, 1853, and worked thereon until sixteen
years of age, when he learned the trade of saddler. He then resumed
his work upon the farm, where he continued until thirty-four years
of age, and in 1885 went to Stouchsburg, and has resided there to
the present time. One year after locating in that town he learned
the trade of cigar making, and since March, 1903, he has been
interested in the business with his son. Mr. Peiffer is an active
Democrat, and since 1882 has filled the office of clerk of Marion
township, being elected on numerous occasions without opposition.
He was committee man of his district for three years, and has been
a delegate to numerous county conventions. Fraternally he is
connected with the Ancient Order of Good Fellows No. 42, of
Stouchsburg; Camp No. 237, P. O. S. of A.; and Mrs. Peiffer is
connected with the Ladies’ branch of the Patriotic Order of
Americans of Stouchsburg. Mrs. Peiffer has in her possession an
ordinary walnut table, 34 X 48 inches in dimensions, which she
obtained from her father, who bought it at Peter Snyder’s sale for
twenty-five cents, this sale occurring at the time of the
remodelling of Reith’s Church. This table, which was originally
donated by one of the Reiths, was used as altar and communion table
at the first communion services in the church, and later for thirty
years was used by old Jacob Reith. This valuable old relic is 179
years old (1909) and a large sum has been offered Mrs. Peiffer for
it. Mr. and Mrs. Peiffer are members of Tulpehocken (Welker’s)
Reformed Church, of which Mr. Peiffer was a deacon for three years.
On Jan. 20, 1877, Mr. Peiffer married Emma S. Snyder, daughter of
Aaron and Lovina (Lebo) Snyder, the former of whom was a justice of
the peace for thirty years. One son was born to Mr. and Mrs.
Peiffer, Charles S.

Charles S. Peiffer was still an infant when his
parents removed to Marion township and settled near the Rev. Thomas
Leinbach’s estate, where he spent eight years of his boyhood, and
at the end of that time came with his parents to Stouchsburg, where
he attended the public schools. He learned the trade of cigar
making when sixteen years of age, and worked at the bench until
March 4, 1903, when he engaged in the business of his own account,
and now employs fourteen hands. Most of his product is disposed of
to jobbers, but in addition to this he has an excellent local
trade, all of his goods being hand made. He manufactures the famous
“Davy Campbell,” named after Davy Campbell, a Civil war veteran,
who participated in twenty-six engagements. This brave old soldier
was very popular in Stouchsburg, and was an intimate friend of Mr.
Peiffer. The cigar at once sprung into prominence and is now one of
the best sellers in Berks county. Mr. Peiffer is prominently
identified with the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and he was
president of the third district of Berks county in 1903. He is a
member of Camp N. 237, P. O. S. of A., at Stouchsburg, in which he
has passed through the chairs; is a past grand of the Ancient Order
of Good Fellows, No. 42, of Stouchsburg; and a member of Myerstown
Lodge, I. O. O. F. He is an active Democrat in politics, and has
held a number of township offices. He attends the Tulpehocken
Reformed Church.

PEIPHER,
JACOB S.

p. 1313

Surnames: PEIPHER, KISSINGER, MARKET, FRITZ

Jacob S. Peipher, the proprietor of the Reading Scale and Machine
Works, is a man of wide reputation in his line in Reading and that
vicinity. In a section where large manufacturing concerns are so
numerous a machine and repairing establishment of proved
reliability is of the highest importance, the field being a
profitable one and the business a valuable accommodation to the
local factories. Mr. Peipher has been engaged as a machinist
practically all his life. He was born in Reading Dec. 4, 1852, son
of Jacob and Susan (Kissinger) Peipher, who had a family of six
children, four of whom lived to maturity, namely: Mary A., wife of
George Market; Jacob S.; Rosie, who was killed at Reading, on the
Gravity Railroad; and Adam, a barber, who is also deceased. The
father was identified with the lumber trade, having been manager of
Fasig’s lumber yard, in Reading. He died in February, 1861, and the
mother is still living. Mr. Peipher was a member of the Reformed
Church.

Jacob S. Peipher received a grammar school
education in Reading, and after leaving school, began work in the
humble capacity of tow-boy on the canal. Later he sold Philadelphia
and New York papers, and he also drove a horse and cart for some
time, during the Civil war. Then, at the age of sixteen, he
commenced to learn the machinist’s trade, which he completed when
twenty years old, after which he worked as a journeyman at the
Reading Foundry and for Mellert & Company. Since leaving their
employ he has been in business for himself. His first location was
on Spruce street, whence he moved to Court street, and later for a
time was at Cherry and Carpenter streets. In 1889 the business in
which he is now interested was founded, Mr. Peipher and three other
men associating under the name of the Reading Scale and Machine
Company, Limited. At present Mr. Peipher is the sole owner. He does
an extensive business in the iron foundry and machine shops,
manufacturing scales, engines, shafts, pulleys, hanger, plumbers’
supplies, boilers, tanks, stacks, and similar products, and turning
out castings of every description. In addition to manufacturing, he
maintains a completely equipped repair department, and he also
carries a line of belting, pumps and governors. Seventy hands are
employed at the plant, which is located at the northwest corner of
Front and Chestnut streets, in Reading. An excellent trade has been
built up in the various lines named, the firm having high standing
throughout this section of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Peipher married Sarah Fritz, daughter of
Michael Fritz, and the have had three children, Mamie, Edwin and
William. Mr. Peipher is a Mason in fraternal connection, belonging
to Teutonia Lodge, No. 367, and he is a member of the Junior Fired
Company of Reading.

PENGELLY,
EDWARD

p. 533

Surnames: PENGELLY, MERRIFIELD, HARNER, BOYER

Edward Pengelly, one of the substantial men of Reading, senior
member of the printing firm of Edward Pengelly & Brother, was
born in 1856, in Cornwall, England, son of Michael and Frances
(Merrifield) Pengelly.

Michael Pengelly came to America in 1866, having
previously worked as a minor in Chile, South America, for six
years. He died in Nevada City, Cal., in 1867. His widow came to
America in 1873, with two sons and two daughters, namely: Emily,
Edward, Harriet and James H. In religious belief the family are
Methodists.

Edward Pengelly was seventeen years old when he
accompanied his mother to America, locating in Reading, Pa. Ten
days later, Oct. 13, 1873, he entered the office of the Reading
Eagle as an apprentice, where he worked until 1880, when he was
engaged as a compositor on the Reading News, where he continued for
six years, or until it suspended. Mr. Pengelly then went West and
for a time worked at Butte City, Montana, and later at Centerville,
a suburb of Butte, where he was foreman for six months of the
Mining Journal under Mr. Penrose, who was later murdered. He then
returned to Reading, and, in company with five other practical
printers, started the Daily Telegram, retaining his interest for
four years, when he sold out and entered into partnership with Adam
G. Harner in book and job printing. They began business under the
name of Harner & Pengelly, and the partnership lasted until
1899. On May 10th of that year the present firm was organized,
under the name of Edward Pengelly & Brother, and they control a
fair share of the better class of the printing trade of Reading.

In 1893 Mr. Pengelly was married to Emma G.
Boyer, daughter of Alvin N. Boyer, and they have one daughter,
Frances Merrifield. In 1884 Mr. Pengelly became identified with the
Masonic fraternity, and is a member of St. John’s Lodge, No. 435.
He belongs also to Mount Penn Lodge, I. O. O. F. In politics he is
independent. In 1902 Mr. Pengelly enjoyed a pleasant visit to his
old home in England.

PENNEBACKER, RICHARD
H.

p. 1217

Surnames: PENNEBACKER, PENNYPACKER, HILL, HUYETT, SHOWALTER,
MASSER, STEINER, ZACHARIAS, RUNK, SODER, LUFT, BOLLMAN, DAUTRICH,

Richard H. Pennebacker, a practical farmer of Spring township,
Berks Co., Pa., died at Sinking Spring, Aug. 21, 1908, aged
eighty-eight years, four months, three days.

The name Pennebacker is sometimes spelled
Pennypacker. Samuel Pennebacker, grandfather of Richard H., was a
farmer in Schwenkville, Montgomery county, owning the farm that is
now the property of ex-Governor Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker. Samuel
Pennebacker was a Mennonite. He married and had a large family,
among his children being a son, Abraham.

Abraham Pennebacker, son of Samuel, was born at
the famous Pennypacker Mills, in Montgomery county, in 1787. He
learned the millwright’s trade, and this he followed until he was
twenty-seven years old. He then came to Berks county, and located
in Cumru (now Spring) township, where he came into possession of a
good farm of 124 acres by marriage. He also owned another farm of
123 acres, and this he had rented. He was successful, and his
neighbors held him in high esteem. He frequently served as juryman
and appraiser, and he assisted in laying out many of the Berks
county roads. He died Sept. 4, 1848. He married Hannah, daughter of
John and Hannah (Pennypacker) Hill. She was a member of the
Reformed Church, while her husband, Abraham, was a Mennonite. They
had six children: Richard H.; John died, unmarried, aged
sixty-three, at the home of his brother, Richard H.; Charles is of
Philadelphia; Abraham is of Reading; Mary A. m. the late Joseph G.
Huyett, and is now living at Wilmington, Del.; and James H., born
Sept. 10, 1837, now living retired at Edison, m. in 1863, Catharine
Huyett (born 1841) and has two children-Alice H. (at home) and Cora
H. (wife of H. W. Showalter, of New Holland).

Richard H. Pennebacker was born in Spring
township (then Cumru) in 1820. He was reared to farming in his
youth, and on starting out in life for himself, chose that
vocation, and he continued actively engaged along that line until
1886, after which he lived retired. His farm consisted of 124 acres
of land along the Wyomissing Creek. For a few years after he gave
up work he remained on the farm, and in 1890 he moved to Sinking
Spring, where he died from apoplexy. In politics he was a
Republican, and in religious connection a member of the United
Brethren Church. He married Mary S. Masser, daughter of Daniel and
Elizabeth (Steiner) Masser. She still lives at Sinking Spring. The
children of this marriage were: Adam M.; Eva A. m Charles W.
Zacharias (now deceased), and has a daughter, Mary (m. Rev. Irwin
Runk, a United Brethren minister now resident at Harrisburg); and
Sallie A. m. H. A. Soder, of Freeland, Luzerne county, and has two
children, Alberta and Florence.

Mr. Pennebacker married Mary Elizabeth Luft,
daughter of Benjamin B. and Catharine (Bollman) Luft, and they have
two children: Mary Catharine m. Irwin A. Dautrich, of Reading, and
has two children-Harold Llewellyn and Luke Donald; and Benjamin
Luke L., for the last ten years has been a jeweler with the
Anderson Jewelry Company. Mr. Pennebacker is a Republican in
politics, and has been an active worker for his party in the
Fifteenth ward. He is a member of St. Mark’s Reformed Church.
Socially he belongs to Mt. Penn Lodge No. 65, K. P.; and is a
charter member of Camp No. 689, P. O. S. of A., Reading, of which
for four years he was the secretary.

PANNEBECKER FAMILY

p. 396

Surnames: PANNEBECKER, PENNYPACKER, UMSTAT, KEYSER, HAUSE, BERKEY,
LIVINGOOD, PANNEPACKER, BECHTEL, ERDMAN, KRAUSE, REIDENAUER,
SIEGENFUSE, TROLLINGER, CLEMMER, BAUER, MOYER, WINTHROP, LATOUR,
VAN BRAGHT

Few families have contributed to the State of Pennsylvania as many
men of sound judgment, wisdom and unselfish patriotism as that
founded in America by Hendrick Pannebecker, who was born on or
about March 21, 1674. He came to America from Flomborn, a village
on the River Rhine, near Worms. There is a reference to him in an
account book of Pastorious, on the 3d of 1st month, 1702. About
1699 he married Eve Umstat, daughter of Hans Peter Umstat, of
Germantown. They had eight children: Martha, 1706-1761; Adolph,
1708-1789; Peter, 1710-1770; John, 1713-1784 (was prominent in the
early days of the Revolution); Jacob, 1715-1752; Henry, 1717-1792;
Barbara; and one other daughter who married a Keyser.

Peter Pannebecker, son of the emigrant Hendrick,
married Elizabeth Keyser, and they became the parents of a son
William.

William Pennebecker, son of Peter and Elizabeth,
was born Aug. 26, 1740, and he married Mary Hause. They had a son
Jesse.

Jesse Pennebecker, son of William and Mary, was
born Feb. 1, 1783. He was a farmer near Keely’s Church,
Schwenkville, and is buried in the cemetery there. He married
(first) Salome Berkey, and among their children were: Jesse B.,
born in 1820; Amos; and two daughters. His second wife was a
Livengood and to this marriage were born: Moses and Elias.

Jesse B. Pannepacker, son of Jesse, was born at
Schwenkville, Montgomery Co., Pa., Sept. 23, 1820; he died at his
home in Colebrookdale township, Berks county, April 23, 1885, and
his remains rest at Fairview cemetery, Boyertown. He was a
blacksmith by trade, and for ten years worked in his shop at
Eshbach. He then spent eight years in farming at the same place,
after which he located in Colebrookdale township, where he had a
farm of thirty-eight acres, and this he cultivated from that time
on until his retirement. He added twenty-eight acres to his
original tract. His industry and good management brought him
success, and about eleven years before he died he was able to
retire and to pass his last years in the enjoyment of the
competency he had earned. As a public-spirited citizen, he was of
the front rank. His political principles were those of the
Republican party, and he ably filled the offices of school director
and tax collector. Like all his family he belonged to St. John’s
Lutheran Church at Boyertown, and he at various times held all the
offices in the gift of the Church. He is buried in the family lot
in Fairview cemetery. He married (first) Mary Bechtel, born Oct.
23, 1821, daughter of Gehart (or Gerhart) Bechtel and wife (whose
maiden name was Erdman). Both Gehart Bechtel and wife are buried in
the Mennonite graveyard at Bally. Mrs. Mary (Bechtel) Pannepacker
died Feb. 11, 1878. The only child born to Jesse B. and Mary
(Bechtel) Pannepacker was Amos B. Jesse B. Pannepacker married
(second) Esther Krause (1819-1905).

Amos B. Pannepacker, son of Jesse B., was born
at Eshbach Corner, in Washington township, Berks county, Oct. 26,
1843. He attended the old pay school held in a spring house at
Eschbach, on the John Reidenauer farm. The teachers were a Mr.
Siegenfuse and Mr. John Trollinger. Later he attended a public
school. He gave his services to his parents on the home farm until
he attained his majority, and continued working for his father
after that time until he was twenty-eight. After his marriage he
began farming for himself in Colebrookdale township, two miles from
Boyertown, on one of his father’s farms. This continued to be his
home until 1882, when he rented the farm of seventy-five acres. The
farm on which he now lives he purchased in 1894. It consists of 110
acres of fertile land, and is improved with substantial buildings,
part of which Mr. Pannepacker himself erected. He is one of the
heavy taxpayers of the township. Besides his farm he is interested
in the Clayton Creamery, and is president of the Clayton Creamery
Association. This Creamery averages about five thousand pounds of
milk daily the year round. He is also interested in the Boyertown
Candy Company, and in a number of different enterprises.

Mr. Pannepacker has been active in local matters
as a strong Republican, and for two years he served the township as
supervisor. He was township committeeman for a number of years and
was delegate to a number of county conventions. He is a member of
Christ Lutheran Church, at Niantic, which he has served as deacon
and elder, and at the present time is serving as trustee. His wife
belongs to the New Mennonite Church at Bally.

On Dec. 24, 1870, Mr. Pannepacker married Annie
Clemmer, daughter of John and Susan (Bauer) Clemmer, of Washington
township. To this union was born a daughter, Annie, who is now the
wife of Ulysses C. Moyer, the farmer on Mr. Pannepacker’s farm.
They have had two children: Amos H., who died aged two and one-half
years; and Rosa.

On Oct. 4, 1877, the anniversary of the battle
of Germantown, was held a re-union of the descendants of Hendrick
Pannebecker. The site selected was the camp ground occupied by
Washington and the Revolutionary army at “Pennypacker’s Mills,” on
the Perkiomen creek. The program on that occasion included an
oration by Samuel W. Pennypacker, since Governor of the
Commonwealth; a hymn, written by Isaac R. Pennypacker, and adapted
to Mennonite music, commemorative of Leonard Keyser, a Mennonite
martyr, who was one of the forefathers of the family, to be sung to
illustrate the first epoch; the ballad of Washington at
Pennypacker’s Mills, written by Theodore Winthrop in his novel
“Edwin Brothertoft” to be read or sung as an illustration of the
Revolutionary epoch; and “Gen. Pennypacker’s March,” by Pierre
Latour, to be played for the present epoch.

The story of Leonard Keyser as given by Van
Braght is as follows: “In the year 1527 was the learned and good
Leonard Keyser taken and condemned to be burned. As he neared the
fire, bound in a cart, he broke off a flower that grew in the field
and said to the judges, for they rode along with him, ‘If ye can
burn this little flower and me, then have ye judged aright; if not,
take heed and repent.’ Thrice the great fagots were heaped around
him at the stake and kindled. Nevertheless when they had burned
away, his body was found unmarked save that his hair was singed and
his nails were a little brown. Likewise the little flower yet lay
in his hand unchanged. Thereupon, the sheriffs cut his body into
pieces and cast them into the Inn. But a judge was so moved thereat
that he yielded up his office, and one of the sheriffs became a
Mennonite brother and ever thereafter lived a pious life.”

HYMN

When Leonard Keyser heard the cries Of grief for
martyred dead, And saw the place of sacrifice Whereto his pathway
led, He pleaded not, with useless prayer To scorning bigots near,
But plucked a flower that bloomed so fair It made the waste more
drear.

One flower that had escaped the breath That swept the withered
land; God’s symbol of a life from death He held it in his hand. “If
ye have power,” he spake, “this hour With all the fires ye light To
burn my body, or this flower, Then have ye done aright.”

His eyes upraised saw not the glare Of torch on hooting crowd But
far above the fagots’ flare A rift within the cloud -A promise sent
from God on high That hate should surely fail; No wealth could then
His power defy Nor in the end prevail.

We seek not, Lord, to know the spell That wrought Thy will divine,
We know Thou doest all things well; The miracle was Thine To cause
the bonds to fall, to take From death all trace of pain And mark of
fire, and then to make The flower to bloom again.

The fagots’ blaze like noontide hours Gave vigor to truth’s germ,
And tears but seemed the summer showers To make its root more firm.
Upon the Inn’s dark ebbing tide The martyr’s corse was thrown, A
witness of his creed he died, A faith his children own.

Upon those waves the good ships bore Truth’s fruitage to the sea
Whose surges broke upon this shore Of peace and liberty. And Thou,
O, God! whose hallowed hand Upheld the troubled sea Whereon our
sires sailed to this land, We life our prayers to Thee-

To ask that for these kinsfolk here Thou wilt extend Thy care As
when Thou mad’st the rift appear Above the fagots’ flare; We thank
Thee for Thy blessings given To all this gathered throng, And sing
Thy Praises unto Heaven In one triumphant song.