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Genealogical & Biographical Annals of
Northumberland County
by J. L. Floyd, 1911
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/northumberp/floyd.html
WILLIAM J. GASS, a prominent farmer of Shamokin township, is a
native of that township, born Aug. 29, 1845, and is the only son of
Martin Gass, one of the leading citizens of this district in his day.
The Gass family is of German origin. William Gass, grandfather of
William J. Gass, was an early settler in what is now Shamokin township,
Northumberland county, and also lived in Lower Augusta township. He was
a miller by trade, and ran the old mill now owned and conducted by W. A.
Reed, at Paxinos. He hauled goods as far as Reading, Pa. William Gass
died upon his farm in Shamokin township, near Paxinos, and is buried at
St. Jacob's (Reed's) Church. He was well known in the locality in his
time. His wife, Mary (Kershner), died at the age of one hundred years
and is buried near Pottsville, Pa. They had children: Jacob, Reiley,
Martin and Kate (Mrs. Zerbe).
Martin Gass, son of William, was born in 1823 in Shamokin township,
and died Dec. 1, 1909, at the age of eighty-six. He followed farming
principally, but also engaged in boating on the canal. He was well known
in Shamokin township, being a leading member of the Democratic party,
and a faithful official of the township, which he served as justice of
the peace and school director. He married Elizabeth Persing, daughter of
William and Mary Persing, the former of whom was born Nov. 18, 1792,
and died June 18, 1881, aged eighty-eight years; his wife, Mary, born
Aug. 22, 1795, died June 4, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Martin Gass are buried
at the Blue church. They had two children, Eliza (who married J. J.
Hogland) and William J.
William J. Gass was reared upon the farm, and remained with his
father until he reached the age of twenty. He then resolved to try his
fortune in the West, where he remained three years, spending two years
of that time in the Rocky Mountain region. His experiences were varied
and interesting, but he returned to his native home and has since
remained in Northumberland county. After coming back home he was with
his father for a time, until he took the farm in the Irish Valley, in
Shamokin township, where he still makes his home. It was the old
homestead of Solomon Himmel, one of the pioneers in this region, and
here he has since worked and prospered, becoming one of the most
substantial men of his community. For about fifteen years Mr. Gass
also followed the butcher business in connection with farming,
eventually selling his interests in that line to his sons. He has been
active in local affairs, particularly in the welfare of the public
schools, having served fifteen years as school director, which office he
still holds; he has served twice as president of the school board. He
has also been auditor of his township. The high standing he enjoys among
his fellow citizens could be shown in no better way than by his long
continuance in positions of responsibility, and his influence has always
been considered a factor in local enterprises of every sort. He was made
a Mason in 1872, is a member and past master of Elysburg Lodge No. 414,
F. & A.M., and is a member of the Grange at Paxinos. Politically he is a
Democrat. His religious connection is with the U. B. Church.
Mr. Gass married Clara Moyer, daughter of David Moyer and
granddaughter of Jacob Moyer. They have had the following children:
Oswald P., who lives at Reed's station, this county; Harry S., who lives
in Sunbury; Sidney W., of Shamokin, this county, who is in the butcher
business; Lorenzo D., who is associated with his brother Sidney; Harvey
L., at home; Ursula, wife of William
END OF PAGE 251
Moody; Bertha, wife of J. Wesley Richie; and Annie
GASS. The Gass family, which has several representatives among the best
citizens of the borough of Sunbury, has been identified with that section of
Northumberland county since the founder, Jacob Goss, came hither from Berks
county, Pa., where the immigrant ancestors apparently first settled upon coming
to this country.
This family name was originally written Goss, and was anglicized to Gass
about 1800. The immigrants of this name are recorded as follows Carl Goss, ship
"Christian," qualified Sept. 13, 1749; Stephan Goss, ship "Brothers," qualified
Sept. 22, 1752; Johannes Goss, snow "Louisa," qualified Nov. 8, 1752; Johann
Kraff Goss, ship "Edinburgh," qualified Sept. 14, 1753; Johan Georg Goss, snow
"Good Intent," qualified Oct. 23, 1754.
The Gasses of Northumberland county are descended from one Frederick Goss,
who was a taxable resident of Colebrookdale township, Berks Co., Pa., in 1754.
He had among other descendants - these being probably sons Jacob, Martin and
Ludwig Goss, all of whom were living in Northumberland county when the Federal
Census of 1790 was taken. At that time all were heads of families except Ludwig,
who was married but had then no family. Jacob had wife, two sons and one
daughter, all the children under sixteen years of age; Martin had wife and three
sons, all under sixteen years of age.
Jacob Goss (or Gass) came from Berks county and as mentioned was settled
in Northumberland county at the time of the census of 1790, living in Lower
Augusta (now Rockefeller) township, about one mile east of Sunbury. He was a
farmer and owned a large tract (now the property of Horace Lenker). He was a
member of the Reformed Church, and he and his wife spoke German. Mr. Goss died
when about sixty-eight years old, and is buried in the old cemetery at Sunbury.
His wife, Sarah (Lantz), sister of the venerable Samuel Lantz, late of
Rockefeller township, survived him several years. They were the parents of the
following named children: The sons, Henry, Joseph, William and Martin are all
mentioned in turn below; Mary married William Kuebler; Sarah married Reeder
Campbell and they moved to Red Bank, Pa.; Eliza married Jacob Thompson; Susan
married Westley Bastian; Lydia married D. O. E. Maize.
Henry Gass, son of Jacob, born July 29, 1805, died July 1, 1897. He lived
in the Plum Creek district and is buried at the Plum Creek Church, where many
Gasses have found their last resting place. He was twice married, his second
union being to Julia Ann Conrad, who died Dec. 16, 1857, aged fifty-four years.
His son Jacob, now a venerable resident of Upper Augusta township, is living at
Hamilton; during the early part of 1911 he married Susannah (Malick) Raker,
widow of William Raker. Other sons were William and George, and there were
daughters Maria, Susan, Louisa and Harriet.
Joseph Gass, Sr., son of Jacob, born Dec. 20, 1810, was a prosperous
farmer and prominent citizen of his day. He lived in the Plum Creek section,
owning a farm of 148 acres which he cultivated profitably, of which 100 acres is
now owned by David Furman. A Democrat in politics, and prominent in the affairs
of his party and in public matters, he served as county commissioner from 1863
to 1866. He died Dec. 28, 1879. On Aug. 12, 1834, Mr. Gass married Maria Raker,
who was born Jan. 27, 1814, and died Oct. 25, 1874, and both are buried in the
cemetery of Lantz's Ger-
END OF PAGE 317
man Reformed Church, in Rockefeller township. They had children as follows:
Martin R., born July 6, 1836, died Jan. 12, 1888 (his first wife, Mary Ann, born
Sept. 20, 1835, died Oct. 16, 1862; his second wife, Abigail, died July 26,
1892, aged fifty-five years, seven mouths, eight days); Samuel, born March 10,
1838, died Nov. 5, 1901, aged sixty-three years, seven months, twenty-five days
(his wife Sarah died July 4, 1905, aged sixty-five years, four months, eight
days); Mary Ann was born July 29, 1840, and died in Sunbury Sept. 18, 1900;
Lucendia, born March 25, 1842, died in February, 1843; Joseph, Jr., is mentioned
below; Barbara A. was born Feb. 24, 1847, and died in Snyder county; Isaac, born
July 18, 1849, died Aug. 9, 1849; Rev. Richard F., born Nov. 19, 1852, graduated
from Franklin and Marshall Theological Seminary at Lancaster, and at present is
serving his old home church.
Joseph Gass, Jr., born Dec. 13, 1844, in Rockefeller township, is engaged
in farming there. He married Ruth Shipman, daughter of the late Judge Abraham
Shipman, of that township, and they have had four sons: Horatio Warren is
mentioned below; George Nevin died in infancy; Rev. Richard Ira is a minister of
the Reformed Church, stationed at Mainville; Foster W. married Rachel R. Grier,
daughter of Albert C. and Catherine (Gann) Grier, who lived in Lycoming county,
Pa., and a member of a family which numbers many ministers, doctors, teachers
and editors among its members, Albert C. Grier's father having been Dr. John
Wilson Grier, of Nippenose Valley, Lycoming county, and his grandfather a
Presbyterian minister who lived and preached at Jersey Shore for fifty years.
HORATIO WARREN GASS, M.D., a successful physician of Sunbury,
Northumberland county, was born Sept. 9, 1868, in Plum Creek, Upper Augusta (now
Rockefeller) township. He received his early education in the schools of the
home locality, later attending the Kutztown Normal school, after which he was
engaged as a public school teacher in his native county for seven years. In the
year 1894 he began the study of medicine, and in October, 1895, entered the
Medico-Chirurgical College in Philadelphia, graduating therefrom with his degree
of M. D. May 21, 1898. In June he passed the examination of the State Board and
in August began practice at Mount Aetna, Berks county, where he located Aug.
8th. In 1901 he removed his office to Sunbury, where he is located at the corner
of Fairmount avenue and Market street. Dr. Gass has not only acquired a large
private practice, but other interests of a professional nature in which he has
won wide repute and high standing. He was jail physician at Sunbury from 1906 to
1908, inclusive, has been medical examiner for the Mutual Life and Travelers'
Insurance Companies, and for the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and holds
membership in the Northumberland County and Pennsylvania State Medical
Societies and in the American Medical Association. He has various social
connections, being a member of Lodge No. 22, F. & A.M., at Sunbury; of Camp No.
194, P.O.S. of A., of Sunbury; and of the W.O.W. His church membership is with
the Reformed denomination. Dr. Gass is a Democrat in political opinion, and he
takes a genuine interest in public affairs, especially movements affecting the
welfare of his home community, for whose good he has done much effective work.
His unquestioned position and strong intelligence make him an influential factor
in any enterprise which enlists his sympathies.
On June 28, 1900, Dr. Gass married Gertrude E. Kuebler, daughter of George
E. and Sarah (Fasold) Kuebler, of Rockefeller township, and a descendant of
Conrad Weiser. They have had one child, Mark Kuebler Gass.
William Gass, one of the four sons of Jacob Gass above mentioned, was a
resident of what is now Shamokin township, Northumberland county, and engaged in
agricultural pursuits, owning the large farm now the property of Alfred
Schlegel. He served many years as school director of his township, was a
Democrat in politics, and in religious matters a member of the German Reformed
Church, which he served a number of years as member of the church council. He
died March 23, 1897, aged eighty-one years, six months, eight days, and his
wife, Susanna (Strickline), born Jan. 27, 1820, died May 29, 1888; they are
buried at the Eden Church in the Plum Creek section. Their children were: Jacob,
born in 1842, who died in 1858; Joseph A.; Simon W., who is out West; Isaac N.,
of Sunbury, Pa.; Harriet A., deceased, who was the wife of Francis Campbell;
Emma J., who married John Taylor and (second) Charles Feese; and Annie E., who
married Cyrus Tucker.
JOSEPH A. GASS, son of William, was born Sept. 8, 1844, in Shamokin
township, and passed his early life upon the farm. When eighteen years old he
became an apprentice to the carpenter's trade, which he followed for five years.
Meantime, though he had no special educational advantages in boyhood, he had
improved his mental acquirements by evening study and application, and in 1862
he began teaching public school, in Shamokin township, commencing at a salary of
eighteen dollars a month. He taught thirty terms in all - nine terms in one
school, and seven terms in Snydertown borough. All his schools were ungraded,
and some idea of the amount of work expected from one teacher in those days may
be gained from the fact that he had 114 pupils enrolled in Coal township, in
1864-65; 111 enrolled in Elizabeth township, Allegheny county; and 88
END OF PAGE 318
enrolled in Snydertown borough. His school work was done for the most part in
the winter season, his summers being devoted to farming in Rockefeller township.
In 1889 he began dealing in fertilizers, being one of the first agents in his
section, and in the spring of 1898 he removed to the borough of Sunbury; where
he has since been engaged in business, being established on North Eighth street,
off Market street. There, in addition to phosphates, of which he sells about
four hundred tons annually, he is engaged as a dealer in and agent for buggies,
runabouts and wagons of all kinds, agricultural implements, steam and gasoline
engines, light plants, pumps, etc. He handles considerable International
Harvester goods, machine mowers, reapers, etc. Mr. Gass was the chief organizer
of the Augusta Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he was agent, secretary
and director for fifteen years; it has grown to be one of the large and
successful insurance companies of this region. In every way he has been a useful
and energetic man, taking an active part in the various interests and
organizations with which he has been identified. Socially he was connected with
the Odd Fellows and Encampment, the P.O.S. of A. and the Knights of Pythias,
which latter fraternity he helped to organize at Northumberland, Pa. Politically
he is a Democrat and he has served as school director of Sunbury, at present
representing the Ninth ward on the school board. He and his family are members
of Zion's Lutheran Church at Sunbury, and he has been active particularly in
Sunday school work, having served as superintendent in his country district and
in Sunbury, and he is now superintendent of the Union Sunday school at the East
End of the borough. His services in this capacity have covered a period of
fifteen or eighteen years.
On May 28, 1873, Mr. Gass married Isabella A. Hausewart daughter of Samuel
I. Hausewart and his wife Hulda (Farley), and they have had children as follows:
Hulda Susanna, who has been engaged in teaching in Sunbury since 1895; Maggie
S., wife of George S. Conrad, of Sunbury; Harriet A., a stenographer, at York,
Pa.; Isabella M., wife of Charles Schlegel, of Sunbury; Samuel J., born June 27,
1883, who is now assisting his father; Francis C.; and Nellie P.
Martin Gass, another son of Jacob Gass, lived in Upper Augusta township,
where he was engaged in farming at the Gass schoolhouse. He is buried in the old
cemetery at Sunbury. By his first wife, Anna Hower, who was born Dec. 5, 1815,
daughter of Jacob Hower, and died Jan. 22, 1850, he had four children: Elizabeth
J. (deceased), who married William Mackert; Richard A.; Jacob F.; and George W.,
of Sunbury. His second wife was Mary Conrad, widow of Eli Conrad. No children
were born to this union.
Richard A. Gass, son of Martin, was born Oct. 12, 1845, in Upper Augusta
township, and obtained his early education in the local schools. Later he
attended Dickinson Seminary, at Williamsport Pa., and afterward taught school
for some time, in Upper Augusta township and East Sunbury borough. For several
years he engaged in the mercantile business at Sunbury, until he became
traveling salesman, being at present engaged thus for the Chase Brothers Nursery
Company. He has been selling for a quarter of a century and has been highly
successful. In politics Mr. Gass is a Democrat and has been active in his party,
having served from, 1905 to 1908 as county auditor. He and his family are
members of the Reformed Church.
In 1872 Mr. Gass married Emily A. Garinger, daughter of Charles and
Deborah (Haas) Garinger, of Sunbury, and to them have been born four children:
Laura G., Carrie D., Charles M. and Edward F.
CHARLES M. GASS, D. D. S., now engaged in the practice of dentistry in the
borough of Sunbury, was born there May 4, 1878. He received his literary
education in the public schools, including the high school, and on Oct. 1, 1897,
he entered the dental department of Pennsylvania College, from which institution
he was graduated in 1900. Returning to his home town he opened an office at No.
805 Market street, where he has since been established. He has built up a
lucrative practice and occupies creditable standing in his profession. Dr. Gass
is a member of the Modern Woodmen and of the Reformed Church.
EDWARD F. GASS, member of the firm of Wetzel & Gass, of Sunbury, the
leading electrical firm of that region, was born Dec. 12, 1883, at No. 805
Market street, Sunbury, and received his education in the borough. Graduating
from the high school in 1900, he subsequently worked for the United Telephone
Company, doing business in Sunbury and vicinity, for a period of six years,
during which time he studied the science of electricity. On Aug. 28, 1906, he
formed his present partnership with Arthur B. Wetzel, under the firm name of
Wetzel & Gass, and they do the leading business in their line in Sunbury and the
adjoining country, keeping four men regularly employed, besides working
themselves. They also carry a full line of all kinds of electrical supplies and
equipment and are up to date in everything pertaining to their business.
On Sept. 3, 1909, Mr. Gass married Frances E. Brand, daughter of William
F. and Laura (Taylor) Brand, of Sunbury, the Taylor family coming from near
Laporte, Sullivan Co., Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Gass have had one son, Charles Joseph.
They reside at No. 806 Court street, Sunbury. Mr. Gass is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America, the Americus Club and the Reformed
END OF PAGE 319
Church, in which he has been quite active, having been secretary of the Sunday
school since 1905.
Jacob F. Gass, son of Martin, was born Oct. 17, 1848, in what is now
Rockefeller township, and at an early age began clerking in the store at
Sunbury. In 1880 he engaged in the grocery business there on his own account, at
the corner of Fourth and Market streets, where the Sunbury Trust Company is now
located, but owing to ill health he gave up the business in course of time and
took to carpenter work and contracting, in which he continued until his death,
Jan. 25, 1909. He had been a resident of Sunbury for many years.
On June 8, 1880, Mr. Gass married Sarah Jane Keefer, daughter of George
Keefer. They had no children. Mr. and Mrs. Gass worshipped at the first
Reformed Church, Sunbury. In politics he was a Democrat.
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