HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



361 



ther of Joseph H. Fretz, was born in Bucks 

 ■county, Pennsylvania, September 28, 1795, 

 •died November 18, 1874. He was a pros- 

 perous farmer of Bucks county, and in 

 1827 married Miss Elizabeth Kerns, born 

 January 19, 1805. Four children were born 

 of this union. Mrs. Fretz died Januarv 

 7, 1843, and Mr. Fretz took for his second 

 wife Miss Mary Landis, who was born Jan- 

 uary 25, 1846, and died January 18. 1889. 

 Their children were : Henry L., father of 

 Joseph; John L. and William L. Mr. Fretz 

 was a member of the Mennonite church. 



Henry L. Fretz, eldest son of John and 

 Mary (Landis) Fretz, was born in Hill- 

 town township, Bucks county, Pennsyl- 

 vania, November 14, 1846. He was reared 

 and educated in his native town, and for 

 several years after reaching manhood was 

 engaged in buying and shipping stock. For 

 the past twenty years he has been doing 

 business successfully as a hotel-keeper, and 

 is now sole proprietor of the Clear Springs 

 Hotel at Doylestown, Pennsylvania. De- 

 sember 10, 1873, he married Miss Wilhelmin 

 Kline, born January 7, 1855, and their chil- 

 •dren are : Rev. Franklin K., Lutheran min- 

 ister of Grace Evangelical church of Phila- 

 delphia; Joseph H., Mary Irene, a milliner 

 of Souderton; Ida Stelle, Arthur Alonzo, 

 horse dealer of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 

 John Paul, in the employ of his brother, 

 Joseph H. ; Frances Grace, reading medi- 

 cine at North Wales ; Flora Fidelia, at 

 home ; Lydia Viola, at home ; Elsie Noami 

 and Luther Leroy, residing at home. 



Joseph H. Fretz, second son of Henry L. 

 and Wilhelmina (Kline) Fretz, was reared 

 and educated in Hilltown township, Penn- 

 sylvania. He was of a very energetic, am- 

 bitious nature, and as early as his four- 

 teenth year had started to make his own 

 way in the world. He was variously em- 

 ployed in his early life, and in 1897, having 

 saved some money, engaged in the hotel- 

 business at Unionville, Montgomery county, 

 where he remained until the spring of 1898, 

 when he went to Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 

 and there opened a restaurant on the pre- 

 sent site of the Pollock Hotel. One 3'ear 

 later, however, he sold this out, and pur- 

 chased the adjoining building, which he 

 could see presented greater advantages for 

 •opening a first-class hostelry. He refitted 

 and reconstructed this place, making an in- 

 viting spot out of an unsightly building. In 

 1900 he sold this place, and in August of 

 the same year purchased the Fountain 

 House, at a cost of $65,000. He immedi- 

 ately took charge and began reconstructing 

 the place, supplying it with all modern im- 

 provements — steam heat, electric lighting, 

 ■etc., and now has in it one of the most in- 

 viting hostelries of Bucks county. His un- 

 bounded energy and great ambition have 

 won for him an enviable place in his chosen 

 line of work. It may well be said of him 

 that he is an excellent business man. and 

 lie is counted among the most genial and 

 popular landlords of Bucks county. In 

 religious affairs Mr. Fretz affiliates with 



the Lutheran church, and politically he 

 helps support the Republican party. He is 

 identified with the Doylestown Lodge No. 

 245, F. and A. ]M.; Doylestown Chapter, 

 No. 270, R. A. M. ; St. Tamany Castle, 

 K. G. E. ; Doylestown Circle No. 252, 

 Brotherhood of the Union; Doylestown 

 Lodge, No. 217, I. O. R. M.; Lansdale 

 Lodge, O. U. A. M.; Doylestown Lodge, 

 Improved Order of Heptasophs. In Janu- 

 uary, 1897, Mr. Fretz was united in mar- 

 riage with Miss Elizabeth Zoller, daughter 

 of George and Lina (Livingston) Zoller. 

 Four children were born of this union, two 

 of whom survive : Grace and Helen Fretz. 



JACOB Y. LEATHERMAN, who for 

 thirty years has been well known as 

 an auctioneer of Bucks county, was 

 born in Bedminster township, on the 

 14th of December, 1853. At least three 

 generations of the family had previously 

 been represented in this county for 

 Jacob Leatherman, the grandfather, was 

 born in Bedminster township, at which 

 time his' father was carrying on agri- 

 cultural pursuits there. He was reared 

 to the work of the farm and throughout 

 his entire life carried on farm labor. 

 For his second wife he chose Miss Mollie 

 Landis. 



Henry L. Leatherman, a son of that 

 marriage, was born in Bedminster town- 

 ship in 1823, and became a miller and 

 farmer, following both pursuits through- 

 out his entire business career. He was 

 a member of the Old Mennonite church, 

 and a man whose business integrity 

 stood as an unquestioned fact in his 

 life. He married ^liss Elizabeth Yoder, 

 and they became the parents of five 

 children : Magdalena, the wife of Frank 

 L. Wismer; Jacob Y.; Annie, who mar- 

 ried Henry K. Gross; Sallie, the wife 

 of Joseph B. Overholt; and Henry Y. 



At the usual age Jacob Y. Leatherman 

 entered the public schools and master- 

 ing the branches therein taught gained 

 a good practical knowledge to assist 

 him in the performance of life's duties. 

 He was twenty-two years of age when 

 he began farming on his own account 

 in Bedminster township, an occupation 

 which he has since followed. He has 

 also been auctioneer for the past thirty 

 years, has cried many sales and is one 

 of the best known men in Bucks county. 

 His many excellent traits of character 

 have made him popular, and a con- 

 genial and kindly nature has endeared 

 him to many friends. He holds mem- 

 bership in the Deep Run Mennonite 

 church. Jacob Y. Leatherman was mar- 

 ried to Miss Sarah Gayman, daughter of 

 Abraham Gayman, and they had two 

 children, but one died in infancy. The 

 surviving daughter is Elizabeth, the wife 

 of Allen Rush. 



