My Genealogy Hound

NATHAN CASSELL, a representative farmer of Upper Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where his extensive operations have met with a large degree of prosperity, traces his ancestry to Julius Cassell, who was for many years a minister of the Mennonite church in the Palatinate, Germany. He was a man of note and prominence, and exerted a powerful influence for good in the community. He married, and among the children born to him was a son, Hubert Cassell, whose birth occurred in Germany. In 1715 he migrated to this country, becoming the pioneer ancestor of the American branch of the family, and settled in Towamencin township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where he followed agricultural pursuits.

Joseph Cassell (grandfather), son of Hubert Cassell, was born in Towamencin township, Montgomery county, and his entire lifetime was spent in the vicinity of his birthplace. He was indebted to the common schools of his neighborhood for his educational advantages. He followed the useful calling of farming, and was thereby enabled to provide a comfortable home for his family. He married a Miss Metz, a native of Montgomery county, and the issue of this union was one son, Joseph M. Cassell.

Joseph M. Cassell (father) was born in Towamencin township, Montgomery county, June 14, 1834. He was educated in the common schools adjacent to his home, and after completing his studies became a farmer, which occupation he followed throughout the active years of his life, and for which he was qualified by experience on his father’s farm. He removed to Skippack, and later to Lower Salford township, Montgomery county, where he resided up to the time of his death. He stood high in the community, and was chosen by his fellow citizens to fill the office of school director. He was a Mennonite in religion, and a staunch Republican in politics. He married Miss Hannah Smith, of Towamencin township, Montgomery county, who is living at the present time (1904) in the city of Philadelphia. Their children were: Louise, born October 16, 1858; Nathan, November 27, 1860; Sylvester, December 10, 1862; Mary, October 6, 1864; Andrey, January 1, 1867; and Wilson, April 16, 1869.

Nathan Cassell, eldest soil of Joseph M. and Hannah Cassell, was born in Skippack township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, November 27, 1860. During his early childhood his parents removed to Upper Salford township, same county, and in the schools of that and Hatfield township he acquired a practical education which qualified him for a life of usefulness and activity. At the age of seventeen years he left the parental homestead and took up his residence on a farm in Towamencin township, where he remained until 1877, in which year he moved to his present home in Upper Gwynedd township. His farm is under a high state of cultivation, yields a goodly crop in return for his labors, and with the substantial buildings thereon, which are kept in perfect order, makes it one of the most valuable pieces of property in that section of the county. He is a Republican in his politics, but has never sought or held office, preferring to devote his time entirely to business interests. He attends the Schwenkfelder church.

In 1883 Mr. Cassell married Miss Hannah Snyder, a daughter of George and Abbie (Heebner) Snyder, residents of Upper Gwynedd township. Their children were: George, born September 24, 1884; Hiram, September 17, 1886; Alice, March 23, 1890, died in 1898; Mary E., April 19, 1893, died in 1894. Mrs. Cassell, mother of these children, died September 15, 1897. Mr. Cassell married for his second wife Mrs. Nathaniel Kriebel, widow of Nathaniel Kriebel, and daughter of Edward Seibert, of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. The ceremony was performed January 27, 1900. They are the parents of one child, Wilson, born August 14, 1902.