HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



593 



tion, serving as vice-president and chair- 

 man of the industrial committee of the lat- 

 ter institution for many years, and for the 

 last eight years as its president. In 1892 he 

 became treasurer and executive head of the 

 John B. Stetson Company, which position 

 he resigned after seven years of service. 

 He has also been interested in numerous 

 other manufacturing and business institu- 

 tions. He was for many years a member 

 of the committee on science and art of the 

 Franklin Institute; treasurer of the Bap- 

 tist Orphanage ; and president of the board 

 of trustees of the Baptist Memorial Church, 

 of which he and his family have long been 

 members. Mr. Search married, December 

 25, 1862, Anna L. White, daughter of Eph- 

 raim White, of Newtown, Bucks county, 

 who was born in 1841. Their only child, 

 Ida May, married Professor Howard Cliff, 

 principal of the Philadelphia Normal 

 School, now treasurer of the De Long 

 Hook and Eye Company, and has one 

 daughter, Anna Search Cliflf. 



WILLIAM L. BROOKS, connected 

 with the industrial interests of Plumstead, 

 where his ability in mechanical lines has 

 retained him in one position for thirty- 

 eight years, was born in Langhorne, Bucks 

 county, October 31, 1837. His father, Abram 

 Brooks, was born in Middletown township, 

 Bucks county, about 1814, and in early life 

 learned the millwright's trade, which he 

 followed for many years. He married 

 Lydia Vanhorn, and their children were : 

 John ; Ellen, wife of Kirkbride Larue ; 

 Elizabeth, wife of Albert Mitchell; Will- 

 iam L. ; Lydia Ann, wife of Edward Mc- 

 Mullen ; Thomas ; Henry ; Howard ; and 

 Frank. 



William L. Brooks is entirely a self-made 

 man, and through his inherent force of 

 character, strong determination and un- 

 faltering diligence has gained a good living 

 and made for himself an honorable name 

 in industrial circles. When he was only 

 seven years of age he was bound out to 

 George Ettenger, with whom he remained 

 for six years. He then went to live wath 

 Anthony Scott, and after two years entered 

 the employ of George Flowers, occup^'ing 

 that position for a year. He next began 

 learning the blacksmith's trade with Charles 

 B. Ridge, with whom he worked until about 

 twenty-two years of age. Removing at that 

 time to Doylestown, he was for eighteen 

 months employed by William Bruner, and 

 afterward worked for one vear for George 

 Brooks. The following year was passed in 

 the employ of Hiram Ely. at New Hope, 

 Pennsylvania, and, removing to Center- 

 ville. Pennsylvania, he carried on business 

 on his own account for two years. He after- 

 ward spent four years as a blacksmith at 

 Gardenville. Plumstead township, Bucks 

 county, and in 1867 came to Plumsteadville, 

 where he accepted a position with Aarou 

 Kratz as a carriage blacksmith. He has re- 

 38-3 



mained in this position continuously since, 

 working for nearly thirty-eight years in one 

 shop, and no higher testimonial of his 

 efficiency and reliability could be given. In 

 his political views Mr. Brooks i.i a stal- 

 wart Democrat, but has never sought or 

 desirfed office. 



He wedded Miss Anna R. Martindale, 

 who died May 8, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. 

 Brooks reared an adopted child, Emma 

 J., a daughter of William Martindale, and 

 who became the wife of Lewis Grierson, of 

 Philadelphia. 



JOSEPH BECK. Like many of the lead- 

 ing families of Bucks county, the Beck fam- 

 ily is of German lineage, although the gen- 

 erations represented in America have been 

 comparatively few, for John B. Beck, the 

 father of our subject, was the progenitor 

 of his branch of the family in the United 

 States. He emigrated from Germany to 

 America about 1855, and after a short 

 . time spent in Philadelphia removed to 

 Bucks county. He had learned the mason's 

 trade in his native land, but worked at it 

 for only a short time here. He turned his 

 attention to farming, devoting his energies 

 exclusively to the tilling of the soil and 

 further improvement of his home property 

 until his death, which occurred December 

 10, 1901. He had married Miss Matilda 

 Kauler, daughter of Amos Kauler, of Mont- 

 gomery county, Pennsylvania. They be- 

 came the parents of fifteen children : Cath- 

 erine, born July 3, 1861, and is the wife 

 of VVilloughby Patterson; Elizabeth, born 

 February 9, 1863, and is the wife of Thomas 

 Scullion'; Anna L., born December 16, 1864, 

 and is the wife of Charles E. Scargle ; John, 

 born December 8, 1866, died March 22, 

 1896; William A., born September 2, 1868, 

 died in December, 1885 ; George, born June 

 2, 1870; Amos, bom March 17, 1872; Benja- 

 min, born August 16, 1873, died at the age 

 of seventeen months ; Hannah, born Feb- 

 ruary 6, 1875, and is the wife of John 

 Schiele; Matilda, born October 13, 1877, 

 and is the wife of Howard Geddes ; Walter, 

 born June 7, 1879; Joseph, February 2, 

 1882; Henry, May 27, 1884; Emma, March 

 19, 1887; and Samuel Arthur, December 

 22, 1888. The parents and all of their chil- 

 dren became members of the Lutheran 

 church at Doylestown and the father served 

 as one of its elders for a number of years. 

 He took a very active and helpful part in 

 church work and contiributed generously 

 to its support. He was likewise a member 

 of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Carvers- 

 ville, in which he passed all of the chairs, 

 and he belonged to Lodge No. 447. I. O. 

 O. F., of Jamison, in which he filled all of 

 the offices. He held membership in the 

 German Aid Society of Doylestown, and 

 gave his political support to the Republi- 

 can party, holding the office of supervisor 

 for seven years. 



Joseph Beck, son of John B. Beck, was 

 born in Plumstead township, and the pub- 



