My Genealogy Hound

ABRAM WENTZ. The progenitors of the Wentz family of Whitpain and adjoining townships of Montgomery county were among the early settlers of that section of Pennsylvania. They were of German origin. They located in Whitpain township long prior to the Revolutionary war. Abram Wentz was born on the old homestead, a short distance below Centre Square, February 14, 1827. He is the son of Abraham and Charlotte (Tyson) Wentz, daughter of Joseph Tyson, of Worcester township, well-known residents of Whitpain.

Abraham Wentz (father) was born in the building known as Wentz’s, or the Rising Sun, tavern, a Revolutionary inn dating back to 1764. He was a man of great worth, respected by all who knew him. The house in which the hotel was kept until 1867, when it was closed to the public, is still standing. It is in good condition, having been built with heavy brick walls, two- stories in height. In the days of wagon travel from the interior to Philadelphia it was an important stopping-place for teams, and was known as “the wheat market,” because the millers from along Wissahickon and elsewhere would meet the farmers there and purchase their grain. At the Wentz hotel the general elections were held from 1831 to 1867. Abraham Wentz was mentioned as an innkeeper in the list of taxables in Whitepain in 1762, indicating that a public house was kept prior to the erection of the brick building. Abraham Wentz was a Democrat in politics, and held several minor township offices. He died in September, 1870, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, Charlotte, died in December, 1881, in her ninety-third year. Her family was one of the oldest in Montgomery county, she being the daughter of Joseph Tyson. The Tysons were also of German origin, settling at or near Germantown, and spreading over the lower end of Montgomery county, where they are still quite numerous. The children of Abraham and Charlotte Wentz: Joseph Tyson, who engaged in the lumber business in his younger days, and lived retired the latter part of his life in Norristown, where he died a few years ago at an advanced age; Hannah and Mary (deceased); Elizabeth, who is a resident of Norristown; Barbara and John (deceased); Abram, subject of this sketch; and Henry, also deceased.

Colonel John Wentz (grandfather) was a leading citizen of Whitpain township. He commanded a regiment under the old militia laws of the state, and was ever afterwards known by that title. He not only stood high in military matters, but in civil office as well. He was for many years a justice of the peace, and his docket containing the record of the business which came before him is still in a good state of preservation, and is now in the possession of the Montgomery County Historical Society. His books were kept in the neatest and most businesslike manner, being a model of accuracy in every respect. He married many couples, as was the custom with leading justices of the peace in his day. His influence was exerted in the direction of discouraging unnecessary and trivial litigation.

Abraham Wentz (great-grandfather) is the person of that name who was assessed as an inn- keeper in Whitpain township in 1762. He then owned 150 acres of land. The ancestral homestead continued in the possession of the family for nearly a century and a half. The Skippack road, on which the Wentz tract is situated, was laid out in 1713. The Wentz family belonged to Boehm’s Reformed church, at Blue Bell.

Abram Wentz grew to manhood on the homestead, attending neighborhood schools, and assisting his father in farm work in the intervals of study. He followed the occupation of farming until he was about fifty years of age, when he removed to Norristown, where he now resides, having since lived retired. He is a Democrat in politics, but never sought or held office, preferring a quiet life to the excitement of political strife, except that he filled for a number of years the position of township auditor. He has been for many years a member of the board of directors of the Montgomery National Bank of Norristown. In religious faith he adheres to the Reformed church, like his ancestors. He married, April 30, 1858, Miss Louisa Castner, daughter of Jesse and Parthena Castner, well-known residents of Gwynedd township. Their children were: I. Tyson, who died in his tenth year. 2. Walter, who died in his fifth year. 3. Chester, who died in infancy. 4. Earl C., still surviving, who was born October 27, 1885.

The Castners are an old Montgomery county family, also of German descent though long domiciled in this country, Mrs. Wentz’s father, Jesse Castner, lived near Gwynedd station, and followed all his life the occupation of farming. He died September 9, 1883, in his seventy-second year. Mrs. Wentz’s grandfather, also Jesse Castner, was in his ninety-second year at the time of his death. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Castner, died in his ninety-eighth year. Her mother died May 15, 1881.