My Genealogy Hound

PERCIVAL K. GABLE, whose energies throughout his business career have been directed toward the conduct of various hotels, and who has thereby attained most gratifying success, is a representative of a family that through many generations has been thus numbered among the public entertainers. The name of Gable figured conspicuously in connection with the hotel business through more than a century, and is also found in the early annals of the state in connection with the transfer of property and the recording of deeds, which indicates that they were land owners, and belonged to the class which constitutes the substantial citizenship of a community.

It is definitely known that all of the Gables in America do not trace their ancestry to one source, for there is authentic record of the arrival of Peter and Maria Gabele in 1732, of Hendrick Gaabell a little later in the same year; of Conrad Gable in 1738; of John Philip and Johan Frederick Gabel, brothers, in 1739; Anthony Gabel in 1773. Various differences in the orthography of the name appear, as there does in the place of location of these various emigrants to the American shores.

It is to Johan Philip Gabel that Percival K. Gable traces his ancestry. Johan Philip Gabel was a son of Johan Jacob and Maria Margaret Gabel, who were residents of Rabach, in Zweibreucken, the Pfalz, Germany. There the son was born in 1698, was there reared, was married in 1735, and in 1739 came to America. He sailed on the ship “Samuel” from Rotterdam, Captain Hugh Percy in command of the vessel, and eventually landed safely at Philadelphia. He was accompanied by his brother, Johan Frederick Gabel, and the original ship list gives the age of the former on August 27, 1739, as forty-one years, and that of the younger brother as thirty-seven. Johan Philip Gabel settled in Upper Salford township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where he soon became recognized as a prominent and influential citizen. He was chosen an officer in the old Goshenhoppen church, being in 1774 one of four who signed for the Lutheran congregation a joint contract with the Reformed congregation for the occupation of the church, built jointly in that year. He is mentioned among the taxpayers of Upper Salford township, Montgomery county, in 1769, as the owner of one hundred acres of land, and his name appears among the taxpayers of 1774, where he is recorded as “Philip Gabel, Sr.,” in order to distinguish him from his son of the same name. As his name does not appear in the tax list of 1779, it is evident that he must have died between 1774 and 1779, and was at least seventy-six years of age at the time of his death. His wife, Elizabeth Catherine Gabel, was a daughter of Heinrich and Maria Barbara Culman, and was born in Greselbach, Hernbasch, Germany, August 13, 1705. She became the wife of Johan Philip Gabel in 1735, and with two infant sons, Johan Frederick and Johan Peter, accompanied her husband to America. Their other children were Johan Philip; Catherine Elizabeth, born March 15, 1741; Margaret, born June 6, 1743; and Maria Catherine, born November 3, 1744.

Captain Johan Philip Gabel, the third son of Johan Philip and Elizabeth Catherine Gabel, was the great-grandfather of Percival K. Gable. He was born in Upper Salford township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on the 27th of October, 1739, exactly two months after his parents landed at Philadelphia. He, too, became active in public affairs, and his labors aided in shaping the early policy, and in formulating the history of his community. Early identified with the Lutheran church, he became an elder in the congregation, and did much to advance the cause of the church in this locality. He became a large landowner, a successful merchant and also a noted hotelkeeper, being the proprietor of the old Gabel House in the Springhouse and Sunneytown turnpike, about two miles north of Salfordville, which is still standing. That he was married in 1766 is indicated by the inscription on his tombstone that he “lived thirty-six years in wedlock, and five and one-half years as a widower,” or a total of forty-one and a half years after his marriage, which reckoned back from the date of his death, January 18, 1808, fixes the date of his marriage about July, 1766. His wife Margaret died September 5, 1802, aged seventy-seven years, nine months and five days, according to her tombstone, which would fix the date of her birth at November 30, 1724. Captain John Philip Gabel was her second husband. She was a daughter of Nicol and Maria Elizabeth Bittel, and on the 19th of November, 1745, she became the wife of Killian Gouckler. By that marriage she had eight children: John George, John Michael, Mary Elizabeth, Catherine, John Nicholas, Anna Margaret, Christina Barbara and John Gouckler. The mother and all of the children are mentioned in the will of Killian Gouckler, which was proved September 9, 1765, his wife being designated as his executrix. He was the owner of two hundred and ninety acres of land, on a part of which still stands the old Gable House in Upper Salford. It is referred to in the will as a tract of two hundred and eighty acres, but after the Gouckler estate became the property of Captain John Philip Gabel, through his marriage to Mrs. Gouckler, and the purchase of the interests of the other heirs, it was resurveyed, and found to contain ten acres more than the will designated. The draft and a memorandum of the resurvey for Philip Gabel are now in possession of Percival K. Gable.

Prior to 1757 the Gouckler-Gabel estate belonged to “Jacob Nuss, late of Upper Salford township, in the county of Philadelphia,” as the old Deed-Poll recites, and this property, “a certain message or tenant plantation and two hundred and sixty acres of land situate in Salford township,” under a court writ dated March 8, 1757, was seized by James Coultas, high sheriff of Philadelphia county, to satisfy a debt of four hundred and forty-two pounds (English), one shilling and six pence, owed by Jacob Nuss to Adam Clampffer, and was bought at public sale by William Clampffer, of Philadelphia, and transferred to him February 28, 1758. On the 9th of March, of the same year, William Clampffer sold the property to Killian Gouckler, with an addition which made the tract, as found upon resurvey, to contain two hundred and ninety acres. Captain Philip Gabel not only became the possessor of this property, but also owned land adjoining which he obtained from the Gouckler estate. There is extant a deed of sale of two tracts owned by Michael Royer, one of which is described as “by late Christopher Hanckband, now Philip Gabel, the younger’s land.” On the 9th of November, 1778, he bought for nineteen hundred and fifty pounds “a certain messuage or tract of land situate on the south side of Main street, in Germantown,” in the deed for which he is described as “Philip Gabel, of Upper Salford township, Innkeeper.” On the 7th of April, 1794, this Germantown property was sold by “Philip Gabel, of Upper Salford township, late of Philadelphia county, but since the division in the County of Montgomery and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Innkeeper, and Margaret, his wife.” It is probable that what is known as the old Gabel House was built by Killian Gouckler, if not by the preceding owner, Jacob Nuss, and that Mr. Gouckler, as well as Mr. Gabel, conducted a tavern. Family tradition has it that the house was built either two years before or two years after the first church building of “Old Goshenhoppen,” which would make the date of its erection either 1742 or 1746, at any rate it has stood for more than a century and a half, a silent witness of the events which have made history, sheltering many an one whose acts have aided in shaping the annals of the state. Captain Philip Gabel prospered in his business undertakings as a farmer and innkeeper, and as opportunity afforded increased his realty holdings. In the tax list of 1769 for Upper Salford township, Philadelphia county, he is assessed for one hundred and fifty acres of land, four horses, six head of cattle, and one servant; in the list for 1774, for two hundred and sixty acres of land, four horses, four head of cattle, and one servant; in 1780 his taxable property was valued at five thousand and fifty pounds; and in 1783 he is taxed for two hundred and eighty-five acres, four horses, four head of cattle and eight sheep. He managed his business affairs in a most systematic manner, keeping a set of books, and his old ledger, displaying his beautiful penmanship, is now in possession of Percival K. Gable, of Norristown, as is the old hotel license, granted September 25, 1787, and deeds for his farm of three hundred and forty acres. Aside from his business, he not only took a deep interest in church but also in military affairs, and was captain of a company of the First Battalion of Philadelphia county militia, commanded by Colonel Daniel Heester (Heisker) during the Revolutionary war.

John Philip Gabel, the grandfather of Percival K. Gable and the only child of Johan Philip and Margaret Gabel, was born July 29, 1768, in Upper Salford township, Montgomery county. He was not only a worthy successor of his father in business, but also developed still greater business enterprises, and became even more widely known as a merchant, hotel proprietor and extensive land owner. He, too, conducted the Gabel House, and in addition to his tavern and his home in Upper Salford he owned at the time of his death fifty-nine acres of land in Skippack and Perkiomen, a tavern and six acres of land at Whitemarsh, a tavern and twenty acres in Gwynedd, and four acres of wood land in Frederick, making a total of four hundred and forty-four acres, his estate being appraised at fifty thousand dollars. The same devoted following of Christian teachings and the same fidelity to the church that were numbered among the strong characteristics of his ancestors were also manifest in him, and he served as elder and treasurer in the old Goshenhoppen church. His death occurred October 4, 1835. His wife, whom he had married December 3, 1797, bore the maiden name of Catharine Schneider. She is a descendant of Conrad and Catharine Schneider, natives of Germany. Their son, Conrad Schneider, Jr., was born in Germany in 1699, and was married there in 1724 to Catharina Detz, who was born in that country in 1700, and was a daughter of Sebastian and Eva Detz. Conrad and Catharina (Detz) Schneider came to America on the ship “Johnson,” landing at Philadelphia, September 19, 1732. It was their son Henrich and his wife Christina Schneider who were the parents of Catharine Schneider, the wife of Philip Gabel. She was born April 5, 1776, and died February 1, 1822.

The children of Philip and Catharine Gabel were: Charles, born April 9, 1799, and died November 27, 1879; Sarah, born February 13, 1800, and became the wife of John Groff; Esther E., born May 18, 1803, and married John Smith; Philip, born April 21, 1805; Margaret, born November 17, 1807, and married Michael Reiff; Elizabeth, born July 30, 1810, and married Abraham Groff; Anna Catharine, born May 6, 1812, and married Zachariah Leidy; and Jesse.

The last named, Jesse Gable, born December 29, 1816, followed the same business pursuit which had engaged the attention of his ancestors. He was first proprietor of the Upper Hotel at Skippackville, then another lower down until about 1850, and in 1851 he built the lower hotel in the same place, this being now the Valley House. From 1868 until his death, which occurred September 16, 1874, he was proprietor of the Farmers’ Hotel at Norristown, and his life labors returned to him gratifying success. In the affairs of the community he manifested a public- spirited interest, giving to many measures for the general good his hearty cooperation and financial support. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, called him to public office, and he served as treasurer of Montgomery county from 1851 until 1853, while at the time of his death he was president of the board of prison inspectors. He was married June 18, 1843, to Mary Kemmerer, daughter of Jacob and Susan (McNoldy) Kemmerer, of Red Hill, Pennsylvania. She was born January 27, 1821, and died September 27, 1896. They had twelve children: John Philip, born January 17, 1844, died October 9, 1857; Oliver, born May 3, 1845, died May 22, 1852; Caroline, born October 27, 1846, died October 1, 1896; Catharine Ann, born May 17, 1849, died March 24, 1852; Jesse, born July 14, 1851, died February 28, 1853; Mary, born July 14, 1851, is the wife of Aaron H. Harley, proprietor of a hotel in Philadelphia, and they have six children; Emma Louisa, born April 30, 1853, died December 15, 1881; Rosa, born December 19, 1854, was married in 1878 to Hiram Pierce Beerer, and they had two children; Elizabeth, born October 18, 1856, died June 23, 1857; Allen Nelson, born April 5, 1858, died June 29, 1860; Percival Kemmerer is the next of the family; and Charles, born May 18, 1863, died October 26, same year.

Percival Kemmerer Gable, born in Skippackville, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1860, pursued a public school education, and in early life developed a native talent for hotel-keeping, inherited from a long line of ancestors who had been identified with this department of business activity almost from the time of the establishment of the colony of Pennsylvania. That Mr. Gable entered upon a work for which he was eminently fitted is demonstrated by the success which has continually attended his efforts. His work has broadened in scope, his business increased in magnitude, and he has largely followed the methods of the pioneer who works upon new and original lines, and accomplishes a task which is of benefit to his entire locality. Mr. Gable first became proprietor of the Valley House of Skippack, which had been built for his father, and after conducting it for a time took charge of the Hartranft House of Norristown. Atlantic City next became the scene of his labor, where he conducted Hotel Appledore, and later he was proprietor of the Central House of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and then of the Red Lion, of Quakertown, this state, On the 13th of May, 1895, he took charge of the Rambo House of Norristown, of which he has since been proprietor, and has made it one of the popular hostelries of this part of the state, thoroughly equipped with all modern conveniences and splendidly adapted for the entertainment of the traveling public. Studying the demands of the public throughout his business career, he has become thoroughly conversant with modern methods of hotel-keeping, and because of his progressive ideas and earnest efforts to promote the comfort of his guests he receives a liberal patronage.

His citizenship is of that character which prompts cooperation in all measures for the general good, and while in Quakertown he served as president of the town council. His political allegiance is given the Democracy, and in 1887 and again in 1893 he was a delegate to the Democratic state convention. He is identified with various benevolent, fraternal and social organizations. He belongs to Warren Lodge, No. 310, F. and A. M., of Trappe; Norristown Chapter, No. 190, R. A. M.; Hutchinson Commandery, No. 132, K. T., and Lulu Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of Lansdale Lodge, No. 997, I. O. O. F., of Lansdale, Pennsylvania; Milford Castle, No. 165, Knights of the Golden Eagle, of Trumbauersville, Bucks county ; Norristown Lodge, No, 171, B. P. O. E.; Beaver Tribe, No. 62, I. O. R. M.; Norris Lodge, No. 111, Brotherhood of Union; Hartranft Conclave, Order of Heptasophs; Knights of the Royal Arch; and Camp No. 114, Patriotic Order of Sons of America. He is identified with the Newtown Masonic Relief Association, with the Deutsch Amerik; the Norristown Maennerchor, of which he is the treasurer; the Norristown Rifle and Gun Club, of which he is also the treasurer; and the Pennsylvania Gun Club. He is also connected with Beneficial Section, N. M., of which he is treasurer. He is a member of the Fairmount Fire Company, and he has deep interest in whatever tends to promote a spirit of fraternity, of mutual helpfulness and of desirable social relations among men.

Mr. Gable has been twice married. He wedded M. Levina Kohl, a daughter of John and Levina Kohl. Mrs. Gable died April 16, 1882, and the only child of that marriage died in infancy. On the 23d of April, 1885, Mr. Gable married Ella J. Kulp, who was born January 3, 1861. She is a daughter of Professor Henry D. and Matilda (Johnson) Kulp, of Lucon, in Skippack township, a granddaughter of John and Susan (Detwiler) Kolb; and a great-granddaughter of Henrich and Barbara (Hunsicker) Kolb, of Skippack, Pennsylvania. Hendrich Kolb was a son of Henrich and Elizabeth (Cassell) Kolb, of Skippack, and the ancestry is traced back still further to Jacob Kolb, who was born in Germany, May 21, 1685, and came to America in 1707. He was a son of Dielman Kolb, of Aolfsheim, Baden, Germany, who married a daughter of Peter Schumacher, who settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1685. Jacob Kolb married Sarah Van Sinterm and came to America in 1707. Mrs. Gable is numbered among his descendants in the sixth generation. By her marriage she has become the mother of three daughters: Rosa Linda, born March 5, 1887; Elsie Irene, born May 1, 1888; and Mary Kulp, born September 19, 1889. The family are members of the Reformed church of Norristown. He is thus identified with the material, social and moral development of his borough and among the popular and public-spirited citizens he is numbered.