334 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



ward attending the Sellersville high school 

 and dlso the normal school at Millers- 

 ville, Pennsylvania. He ' worked on the 

 farm during the summer, taught school 

 during the winter in Hilltown and Bed- 

 minster townships, saved his money, and 

 worked his way through the University 

 of Pennsylvania, graduating with high 

 honors in the law department of that in- 

 stitution in 1887. He registered as a law 

 student with Hon. Henry M. Hoyt, for- 

 mer governor of Pennsylvania, with whom 

 he served three years, and on whose mo- 

 tion he was admitted to practice in all the 

 county courts. He was afterward admit- 

 ted to the Pennsylvania supreme court and 

 the United States courts. He further sup- 

 plemented his legal attainments by after- 

 wards associating himself with the law 

 firm hi Arundel & Moon (Congressman 

 Reuben O. Moon of Philadelphia) until 

 he took offices for himself in the Pennsyl- 

 vania Building at Fifteenth and Chestnut 

 streets, Philadelphia-, where he is favored 

 with a large clientage. He has held var- 

 ious positions of trust, and since February, 

 1904, is serving as a member of the bor- 

 ough council. His political support is al- 

 ways freely given to the Republican party, 

 and he has actively participated in every 

 state and national campaign since 1884. 

 Mr. Heckler has traveled extensively in the 

 United States and many of the provinces of 

 Canada. He is a member of the German 

 Reformed church, to which his parents also 

 belong. Mr. Heckler is past master, by 

 merit, of the Quakertown Lodge, No. 512, 

 F. and A. M., and member of the Philadel- 

 phia Sovereign Consistory, S. P. R. S. 32d 

 degree. He also belongs to numerous oth- 

 er fraternal organizations. Mr. Heckler 

 married, 1892, Anna Elizabeth Burner, who 

 for ten years prior was a successful teacher 

 in the public schools of Quakertown. She 

 is an active member of the Lutheran church 

 and other auxiliary organizations, and is 

 devoted to all the interests and duties of 

 her home and family. Mrs. Heckler be- 

 longs to a family distinguished for five 

 generations as church-organ builders. She 

 is a daughter of Charles F. and Mary J. 

 (Speaker) Burner, of Quakertown, Penn- 

 sylvania. 



MILTON ALTHOUSE BIEHN, of 

 West Chester, Pennsylvania, was born 

 June 10, 185T, at Bunker Hill, now Rich 

 Hill, in Rockhill township, Bucks 

 county, Pennsjdvania, a son of Michael 

 Martin and Catharine (Althouse) Biehn, 

 and grandson of Abram and Mary (Mar- 

 tin) Biehn. 



Michael Martin Biehn (father) was 

 born in Rockhill township, Bucks county, 

 Pennsylvania, October 3, i8to. His an- 

 cestors were among the German emi- 

 grants who came to this country under 

 Th(imas and Richard Penn and took up 

 a considerable tract of land. They fol- 

 lowed farming and the weaving of cloth 



and carpets. On June 10, 1838, Mr. 

 Biehn married Catharine Althouse' 

 daughter of Baniel and Elizabeth (Wert) 

 Althouse, of Richland township, farm- 

 ers, and settled at Bunker Hill. Their 

 children are: Maria, born April 13 18^0 

 married, September 10, 1859, Tobils 

 Hinkle, of Bunker, or Rich Hill, a full 

 account of whom appears in the sketch 

 of Harry Hinkle; Elizabeth, born March 

 8, 1847, resides with her sister, Mrs 

 Maria Hinkle, at Quakertown; and Mil- 

 ton Althouse, mentioned hereinafter. 



Milton Althouse Biehn attended the 

 Rock Ridge public school until his four- 

 teenth year, after which he was appren- 

 ticed to learn the boot and shoe making 

 with his brother-in-law, Tobias Hinkle, 

 with whom he continued as journeyman 

 or tradesman for several years there- 

 after. In 1871 he moved to Quakertown, 

 Pennsylvania, m company with Tobias 

 Hinkle, in whose service he continued 

 there and finally formed a copartnership 

 with him in a boot and shoe store on 

 Front street. In 1874 Mr. Biehn erected 

 the storehouse now occupied by Harry 

 Wilson Hinkle, son of Tobias Hinkle, 

 and conducted business under the title of 

 Hinkle & Biehn, this connection con- 

 tinuing until the retirement of Tobias 

 Hinkle on account of failing health, when 

 he was succeeded by his sons Harry W. 

 and Nelson B. Hinkle, and this partner- 

 ship was continued until 1892. In 1893 

 Mr. Biehn moved to West Chester, Ches- 

 ter county, and established a boot and 

 shoe store in that town. Mr. Biehn has 

 been remarkably successful in his bus- 

 iness ventures, which is owing largely 

 to his close study of trade conditions and 

 the needs of his customers. His store 

 is located at No. 2>3 West Gay street, this 

 being the first one he established, but in 

 1904 he established another at the cor- 

 ner of Gay and Church streets, which is 

 managed by his son, Harry Biehn. Mr. 

 Biehn and his family are members of the 

 West Chester Methodist Episcopal 

 church, in the affairs of which Mr. Biehn 

 is much interested, serving as class 

 leader, and for nine years assistant su- 

 perintendent of the Sunday school con- 

 nected therewith. He is a trustee of 

 the Young Men's Christian Association 

 of West Chester, in which position his 

 services are highly apprecated. He was 

 formerly an adherent of the Republican 

 part}', but differing from them on several 

 issues, particularly the liquor question, 

 he thought best to cast his vote with 

 the party whose principles were more 

 closely allied with his own, the Prohi- 

 bition party. On Becember 11, 1877, 

 ]\Ir. Biehn was married to Sarah Ed- 

 wards, daughter of Benjamin Roberts 

 and Lydia (Bartholomew) Edwards, of 

 Quakertown, a family descended from 

 the early and substantial settlers of 

 Bucks county. The issue of this mar- 

 riage was: I. Nellie E., born September 



