My Genealogy Hound

GEORGE B. KIBBLEHOUSE, youngest child of John and Anna (Fetzer) Kibblehouse, of Gwynedd township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, now retired from active labor, but for many years one of the leading farmers of his section of the county, was born February 6, 1837, in Whitpain township, where his parents resided at the time, though most of his life has been spent in Gwynedd.

John Kibblehouse (father) was born in Gwynedd township, of German parentage, April 3, 1800. He was reared on a farm, obtaining such education as could be had in the schools of that day. He married Ann or Anna Fetzer, also of German parentage, born December 10, 1799. Their children: Evan, born September 4, 1825; William F., born December 28, 1826; Lavina F., born April 28, 1828; John Antrim, born June 12, 1830; Ann Catharine, born December 28, 183; Eliza Jane, born February 28, 1833; George W., born November 1, 1834, died in infancy; Clement Jones, born December 22, 1835; George Berkhimer, subject of this sketch. John Kibblehouse died at a very advanced age in Gwynedd township, his first wife having died many years previously; he married a second time. He passed his later years, undisturbed by the duties of active life, a short distance above Gwynedd Friends’ Meeting-house. He was a thoroughly honest and upright man, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.

George B. Kibblehouse was reared on a farm, attending school during the winter season as was the custom for farmers’ sons. He was a pupil at Mount Pleasant, Shady Grove, and Sandy Hill schools, all in Whitpain township. He completed his school studies on reaching his seventeenth year, in the meantime assisting in the work at home. On leaving school, he went to work with his brother-in-law Joseph B. Stackhouse on his farm in Gwynedd township, remaining with him for seven years and taking much of the management of the farm upon himself. He then spent two more years in similar employment on another farm situated in Whitpain township.

Mr. Kibblehouse married, in 1866, Hannah Custer, daughter of Joseph and Catharine (Custer) Shrawder, of Lower Providence township. Their children: Joseph, born April 1, 1867, married, April 3, 1890, Mary Emma, daughter of Isaac and Catharine (Booz) Custer, a farmer of Upper Gwynedd, near North Wales, and resides in Upper Gwynedd township, being a prosperous farmer; Ralph Knapp, born August 28, 1871, married, July 16, 1894, Sarah Fry, daughter of Henry Baker and Mary Ann (Fry) Reyner, of Penellyn, Mr. Reyner being a farmer and miller of Lower Gwynedd township; John Raymond, born November 15, 1873, married, October 31, 1896, Margaret Harp, daughter of Alvin Williamson and Mary Catherine (Harp) White, and lives in Lower Gwynedd township, being a farmer; George Berkhimer, Jr., born February 28, 1876, married, April 3, 1901, Martha Brendlinger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Fox, of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, and is a farmer residing in Upper Gwynedd township; Mary Henrietta, born May 28, 1878, married, in 1897, Reuben Michael, son of Reuben and Mary (Zearfoss) Rodenbaugh, of Centre Square, in Whitpain township, the couple residing in Whitpain township, and having one child, Dorothy, born in 1897; Levi S., born August 7, 1880, is unmarried and lives with his parents, being engaged with his brother Ralph in the stone-crushing business. All the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kibblehouse are thoroughgoing, progressive and prosperous, and bear ample testimony to the value of the training they have had in their youthful years, example being added to wise precepts which were given by the parents, and proving effective in directing the steps of the younger generation aright.

In politics George B. Kibblehouse has been an active Republican since the formation of the party, casting his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, and voting for every Republican president since. He has always been an earnest worker in behalf of Republican success in the county. He has served several terms as school director, fifteen years in all, and has always felt a deep interest in educational work. He and his family are members of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran church, at Centre Square.

Mrs. George B. Kibblehouse is descended from German ancestry, at least on the father’s side, the name originally being probably the same as Shroeder. Daniel Shrawder, her grandfather, married Elizabeth Ellis, of an old Welsh family, long resident in Montgomery county. Her mother’s parents were Levi and Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Custer. The Custers and Zimmermans are both old county families of German descent, and among the most prominent and most highly respected in the vicinity. Mrs. Kibblehouse’s brothers and sisters: John S.; M. D., of Upper Providence township, Montgomery county, well known as an inventor; Levi C., deceased; Elizabeth, who married H. V. Johnson; Mary, who married Charles Evans; and Kate, who married George West.

After the marriage of George B. Kibblehouse, he rented the 60-acre farm of Jacob B. Rhoads, in Gwynedd township, living there for a number of years, and establishing his reputation as a careful and successful dairyman. For twenty- nine years he resided on what was known as the “Maple Tree” farm, which contained a hundred acres devoted principally to grain and hay. This was subsequently occupied by J. C. Walton. In 1890, Mr. Kibblehouse sold the latter to Henry G. Keasby, the millionaire Ambler manufacturer, and one of the largest landowners in that section of Montgomery county. After selling the “Maple Tree” farm Mr. Kibblehouse continued to reside there for about seven years, and also, rented two other farms owned by Henry G. Keasby. In 1894, Mr. Kibblehouse bought of James T. Lang the 10-acre property, owned from 1870 to 1882, by Ellwood Roberts, now of Norristown, who erected the original buildings on the tract, as well as others in the neighborhood, some of them in conjunction with his father, Hugh Roberts, now deceased. Mr. Kibblehouse has greatly improved and enlarged the mansion, providing it with every convenience. It occupies a beautiful slope extending beyond the Wissahickon on the State Road (DeKalb street) in Lower Gwynedd, a few hundred yards from the township line of Whitpain. The situation is high, overlooking the valley of the Wissahickon, which at this point is peculiarly endowed with natural beauty. The tract is part of a farm of 78 acres, which three-quarters of a century ago was the property of Isaac Ellis. It passed into the hands of Jacob Showaker, and was purchased from him in 1866 by Hugh Roberts and his son Ellwood. They erected new buildings ultimately at several sites, one of them being the country place of the late George Handy Smith, state senator for many years from the First district of Philadelphia, immediately adjoining the property now owned and occupied by Mr. Kibblehouse. The site is an ideal one for a quiet country home, and Mr. Kibblehouse has made the most of its natural advantages by the improvements which he has added. He finds ample work to occupy his time and attention on his farm of ten acres where he enjoys the fruits of a life that has been well and wisely spent.