Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/653

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COLUMBIA ANT) MONTOUR COUNTIES

the Mahoning I’ rcsbyterian Church at Dan­ ville, in whose work he has taken an active and useful part. Dr. Rolibins throughout his residence in the borough has been one o f its most esteemed citizens, and his labors in be­ half o f all that concerns the w elfare of the locality dcscrv'c recognition and appreciation. E M .A N U E L S I D L E R, a retired resident o f Danville, is one of Ihe oldest surviving citizens who have held oflicc in Montour county, l i e w as bom M arch 36, 1829, in V a l­ ley township, on the farm where he continued to live until his retirement, and several gen­ erations o f his fam ily have lived in Montour county. Jacob, the grandfather o f Emanuel Sidler, spelled the name S ittlcr; he w as a native of Gcm iany, and on coming to this country first settled in New Jersey. H e and his son Jacob moved to Montour county. Pa., then a part o f Columbia county, and purchased a tract of land in Valley township which later became the pro])crty 01 Emanuel Sidler, and there Ihc father carried on general farm ing the re­ mainder o f his active days. H e passed from this life at an advanced age and was buried in the grounds of the old log church in M a­ honing township. He had four children, as follow s: Philip, David. M artha and Jacob. Jacob Sidler. father o f Emanuel Sidler, was bom in 1798 iu Lehigh county. Pa., supposedly at Allentown. He Teamed the trade o f car­ penter, which he followed for some time, and then engaged in farm ing on the old home­ stead, which consisted o f 140 acres of highly cultivated land. He had come to Montour county with his w ife and father. B y Ihe lime o f his death, when he was sixty-tw o years old. he had also acquired another farm, of 2 10 acres. H is w ife, who w as Elizabeth Benfield. also a native o f Pcnnsylv.ania. daughter o f Thomas Benfield, died aged fifty-two years. They are interred in the Straub burial ground in V alley township. They were the parents of the following children: John. M ar)', Jacob, Emanuel. Sarah, l.avina, Franklin and Eliza­ beth. Emanuel being the only sur-ivor. Jacob Sidler, the father, was a strong Democrat, and served as supervisor many y e a rs: in religious views he w.as Lutheran, holding membership at the old log church in Mahomng township. Em anuel Sidler. the fourth child of the f.imity, received his education in the public schools of the home district. Farm ing w as alw ays his principal occupation, and the home place w.as considerably improved during his active years, becoming one of the mo.st desirable

country dwellings in the township. T he prop­ erly comprises one hundred acres, and Mr. Sidler still owns it, though he moved tliaicc lo Danville in 1895, since when he has led a retired life. H is son, N. E. Sidler, now operates the homestead place. On M ay 10. 18 5 1, M r. Sidler w as struck by lightning, and felt the effects o f his injury for many years. In his earlier manhood Mr. Sidler w as well known as an able administrator of public a f­ fairs, having held many oflices. H e served his township as overseer of the poor for the long period o f fifteen years, as school director fo r six years, and as township super>-isor for two years. In 1870 he was elected county treasurer, which office he filled fo r one term o f two years, and he was suliscquently county commissioner for two terms, during which period the county jail was built at D anville; be is the only survivor of the commissioners serving at that time. In political connection he has alw ays been a Democrat. H e is now treasurer of the M ontour Mutual F ire Insur­ ance Company. In 1853 M r. Sidler married Rebecca Fcn.stennachcr, who w as born in V alley township, daughter o f Abraham and Christiana Feiisiermacher. and died in 1872, aged thirty-five years. Three children were born to this union: M artha married Calvin Schultz and is deceased; Nathan Elm er, a farm er, living on the home place, married Ida M oser and has two children, Clyde and M a ry; W illiam H urley, o f Philadelphia, married P earl Fisher. M r. Sidlcr's second marriage, which took place in 1874, was to Rebecca Bright, who was bom Dec. 3. 1828. at Reading, P a., daughter o f Peter and M ary Bright, and sis­ ter o f Hon. Dennis Bright. H er father w as o f German extraction, her mother o f W elsh descent. No children have licen born to this marriage. Mr. Sidler was reared in the Lutheran Church, being confirmed in Straub’s Lutheran Churcli in V alley township, and he w as very active In that organization, holding the offices o f elder, deacon and trustee. Since taking up his residence in Danville, he has connected himself with the Pine Street Lutheran Church. JU D G E H E N R Y D I V E L is one of the sulistantial business men of the town o f Dan­ ville, where he has bce,n engaged in the same line, butchering, as employee and proprietor, since 1859. He was born in Milton, P a.. Dec. 36, 1839, son o f Joseph and .Maria (B ow ers) Divel. and grandson o f Joseph Divel. Joscph Divcl, the grandfather, w as a native