My Genealogy Hound

SAMUEL YEAKLE, one of the most prominent and successful farmers of Whitemarsh township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, is the son of William A. and Caroline (Hocker) Yeakle. He was born on the farm on which he now resides, August 16, 1853. His early education was acquired in the schools of the township, he attending what is now known as the Williams school, formerly the “Eight Square” school. When he had reached the age of fourteen years, he entered Treemount Seminary, Norristown, as a student, under the tuition of Professor John W. Loch, and continued there four years, until he was eighteen years of age. On his return to the farm he continued in the occupation of farming with the exception of the years 1883 and 1884, when he was engaged in the lime business. He then resumed agricultural pursuits, in which he has ever since been employed on the farm on which his father lived. On April 5, 1904, Mr. Yeakle took possession of the coal, feed and lumber business at Fort Washington, which was previously conducted by David Knipe, and is thus employed at the present, in addition to operating the farm.

Mr. Yeakle has always been actively interested in political affairs, being prominent in the councils of the Republican party. In earlier years he served on the township election board, being judge of elections for fifteen consecutive years. He is at present a member of the school-board of Whitemarsh township, having been a director since 1892, and is the president of the board. He has been identified with many local enterprises of various kinds. He has been connected in membership with Zion Lutheran church, Whitemarsh, since he was eighteen years of age. He is a trustee of the church, and superintendent of the Sunday-school since its organization as a Lutheran Sunday-school, in 1895. He is also a trustee of the Union Cemetery, adjoining this church. He has always been deeply interested in church work.

Mr. Yeakle married, March 27, 1889, Madeline E., daughter of T. V. and Elizabeth Rhoads, of Allentown. Mrs. Yeakle was educated in the public schools of Allentown and Fort Washington. The father of Mrs. Yeakle, now deceased, was engaged in business at Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was also United States revenue collector for that district during and after the Rebellion. Mrs. Yeakle’s ancestry on her father’s side was English, and on her mother’s German, Prince Henry von Peterholz, of Alsace-Lorraine, being her progenitor. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Yeakle have one son, William R., born on the homestead, July 30, 1893. He is attending the Williams public school, in Whitemarsh township. Miss Annie H. Yeakle, sister of Samuel Yeakle, is a member of his family, and resides on the homestead. She was educated at the Williams school, and at the Millersville State Normal School.

The first of this branch of the Yeakle family in this country was Christopher Yeakle, who arrived in Philadelphia, September 24, 1734, being one of the Schwenkfelder immigrants. There is no record of his birth except that he was eighteen years of age when he came to this country, having accompanied his widowed mother, Regina. His father, who died in Germany prior to the coining of his family to Pennsylvania, was also Christopher. The son was born in Silesia, and the mother in Liegnitz, Lower Silesia, at the town of Harpersdorf.

Christopher Yeakle followed the trade of cooper at his home in Cresheim, Germantown, where the family settled. He erected a log house in 1743, which is still standing. Later he purchased the property on which is now located the Pennsylvania railway station at Chestnut Hill, He acquired considerable property, and lived to a great age, dying January 3, 1810, when he had attained ninety-one years and six months. His wife was Maria, daughter of Balthasar and Susanna Schultz. She was also a native of Germany, and emigrated with the Schwenkfelders ro America, as did her husband.

Christopher Yeakle (3) (great-grandfather) was born October 7, 1757, at Chestnut Hill. He married Susanna, daughter of Rev. George Kriebel, June 6, 1782. They had eight children, five daughters and three sons, but two of the latter died young. He lived and died on the farm inherited from his father, on the summit of Chestnut Hill, where the Pennsylvania railroad station is now located. He followed the occupation of farming, and also left considerable property at his death, which occurred July 10, 1843. The house in which he lived is still standing. The family were long-lived, he being in his eighty-sixth year at the time of his death. He was a member of the Schwenkfelder denomination, and had no special education beyond what was common in his day. He was, like his ancestors, a highly esteemed member of the community.

Samuel Yeakle (grandfather) was the youngest child of Christopher and Susanna Yeakle. He was born August 25, 1798, at Chestnut Hill. In 1823 he married Lydia, daughter of Abraham Anders. In 1824 he engaged in farming on the property now belonging to the estate of Charles A. Yeakle, in Whitemarsh township. He continued in that occupation until he retired to Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1853. He resided at the corner of Oak and DeKalb streets, in that borough, until his death, which occurred April 3, 1887. His wife died December 26, 1846. He afterwards married (second wife) Susanna, daughter of Samuel Dresher, on November 19, 1850. She died November 2, 1881. He obtained an ordinary education in English and German, and could read and speak both languages. He served for a time as a member of the town council of Norristown. He had three children, all by his first wife, as follows: William A., Charles A., and Abraham A. He was a faithful and consistent member of the Society of Schwenkfelders, diligent and frugal, his manner of living corresponding with the customs of the Schwenkfelders. He was a man of the strictest integrity, and a valuable citizen.

William A. Yeakle, oldest son of Samuel Yeakle, was born in Whitemarsh township, October 20, 1824, on the homestead. He received his education at the public schools of the township, attending the Williams school. Before his marriage he taught school at this place. He married, January 25, 1849, Caroline, daughter of John Hocker, of Whitemarsh. They had two children, Annie H. and Samuel Yeakle. Caroline, wife of William A. Yeakle, died May 16, 1857. William A. Yeakle, after his school days were ended, continued a diligent student and reader, having accumulated a large library of choice books, which is still in the possession of his son, the subject of this sketch. His religious affiliations were with the Schwenkfelders. William A. Yeakle began farming immediately after his marriage, on the farm which had been owned by his father-in-law, John Hocker, and purchased by his father, Samuel Yeakle. He continued farming at that place until his death, which occurred August 11, 1888. He was actively interested in politics, being interested when quite a young man. He was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party in 1856, when he became an ardent advocate of its principles, and was an active worker in its behalf. He was an earnest Abolitionist. He served as judge of elections in Whitemarsh township for many years. He was nominated for state senator on the Republican ticket in 1874, and was elected, serving three years, being the first Republican elected to that office under the constitution of 1873. He was a valuable member of that body. He always took an active interest in local matters, and was a member of the Whitemarsh school board for sixteen years. His action on local matters and in politics was based on the desire to be right, and when he was assured of this he was very firm in his stand, and not to be moved by any consideration.

Mrs. Caroline H. Yeakle, wife of Senator Yeakle, was a native of Whitemarsh township, and descended from German ancestry. Her father, John Hocker, was a prominent citizen of Whitemarsh. The founder of the Hocker family in this country was George Hocker, who came to Pennsylvania from Wurtemberg, September 16, 1751. He came into possession of the property now known as Erdenheim, now owned by Mr. Carson, in Whitemarsh township. His son, Martin Hocker, afterward became the owner of the farm now occupied by Samuel Yeakle, and afterwards owned and occupied by his son, John Hocker. William A. Yeakle was much interested in historical research, and was an active worker in the compilation of the volume, “Genealogical Records of the Schwenkfelders.” He worked assiduously on local history until the time of his death, in collecting facts. He wrote a history of Whitemarsh township which appeared in installments in the Norristown Herald, and was published in full in the first volume of “Historical Sketches,” published by the Montgomery County Historical Society in 1895. William A. Yeakle was for some time engaged with his brother, Charles A. Yeakle, in the manufacture of lime in Whitemarsh township, on the property which is now the estate of Charles A. Yeakle, about the years 1870-75.