My Genealogy Hound

JOHN S. WEAVER, postmaster of Mechanicsburg, and one of the prominent citizens and self-made men of this locality, was born Dec. 14, 1852, in Rapho township, Lancaster county, son of John and Catherine (Smith) Weaver.

John Weaver, the father, was born Jan. 1, 1817, in Germany, and coming to America, settled near Manheim, Lancaster county, about 1840. His death occurred Jan. 14, 1874. In Germany he married Catherine Smith, who was born there in 1818, and who died in 1881. They were members of the German Lutheran Church. They had a family of four children, viz: Samuel, a tobacconist of Camden, N. J.; Catherine, deceased; John S.; and Henry, of Carlisle. In politics John Weaver was a Democrat. He was an honest, industrious man, and although he never accumulated a large property, he left his family the heritage of an honorable name.

John S. Weaver grew up on his father’s farm in Rapho township, three miles north of the village of Manheim, in Lancaster county, and there he attended the public schools and assisted in farm work. At the age of sixteen years he located in Mechanicsburg, a poor but ambitious boy, and entered the shop of John Rupp, to learn the cabinet-making trade, at which he worked three years. Going then to Altoona, he remained there three years in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Later he worked for a time at his trade at Frostburg, Md., but in 1877 he returned to Mechanicsburg, and opened up a tobacco store. This he conducted until 1881, when he became pattern maker for the firm of Hauck & Comstock in their machine shops, and he remained with them until 1890.

In the latter year Mr. Weaver was appointed postmaster under the administration of President Harrison, which was a very emphatic way in which to stamp him as a man of character and reliability. This office he admirably filled until Dec. 31, 1893, when he was made deputy clerk of the Courts of Cumberland county. On Feb. 6, 1898, Mr. Weaver was re-appointed postmaster of Mechanicsburg, and on March 3, 1903, was again reappointed by the present administration. He is justly considered a fine official, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of both political parties.

On June 7, 1899, Mr. Weaver married Mrs. Ella Fowler, widow of Frank Fowler, of Camden, N. J. Mr. Weaver has been a consistent Republican all his mature life, and has been very prominent in local and State politics. Fraternally, he is a Mason, and he also belongs to the K. of P., No. 83, of Mechanicsburg, and to the Knights of Malta. Since 1879 he has been a member of the Washington Fire Company, of this borough, and has filled all its offices. Religiously, he is a member of the Church of God. Strictly a self-made man, he has honestly won all he possesses, and is a fine type of the American citizen whose roots were nurtured by German ancestry, possessing the characteristics of both nations.