Sugartown. He is now some years deceased, leaving one or two daughters, who reside at West Chester. Zadok and Ruth Thomas' daughter Julia Ann married a gentleman named Galt, who died about middle life, leaving her a widow with two sons, Zadok T. and James Galt. These were educated partly at Norristown, and the former studied law with Daniel H. Mulvany, Esq., and married his sister. For many years he has resided at Reading and in Schuylkill county, and been in the employ of the Reading Railroad. His younger brother, James Galt, lives a prosperous business man at Stirling, Ill. Zadok and Ruth Thomas' youngest daughter, Maria, also married a Galt, and has a son, Azariah T. Galt, Esq., a prominent lawyer at Chicago, Ill. They also had a younger son, Z. T. Galt, who learned watchmaking.

At a very early date Zadok Thomas formed a partnership in store-keeping with William Speakman, a friend of his youth, doing business at Dilworthstown, in Delaware county, five miles south of West Chester, which firm existed over forty years, and was only dissolved by the death of Speakman. For a short time also, about 1816, Mr. T. was in partnership with David Thomas in Norristown; but afterwards for many years with his son kept the King-of-Prussia store, but some time before retiring from active business purchased a small farm on the Ridge turnpike road above Norristown, where he lived till about 1853 or 1854, when he sold it and removed into town. Shortly before this, August 5th, 1852, Ruth Thomas died, aged 87 years.

In 1831 he was elected President of the Montgomery County Bank, a post which his accurate business habits, great prudence and judgment, eminently fitted him to fill. A few years before his death Mr. Thomas united with St. John's Episcopal Church, Norristown. His mind had been keenly alive to the claims of religion for several years before, but was prevented from uniting with the Presbyterian Church, to which his eldest daughter was attached, out of conscientious scruples in accepting the whole Calvinistic creed. For a long time before his death he was feeble, but clear-headed and cheerful, and the venerable old patriarch quietly passed away December 27th,

1865, in his 92d year, and is buried in the cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church. Zadok Thomas' life was a remarkable illustration of the Bible declaration that "The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened," for from a delicate youth, by uprightness and temperance, his time was almost extended to a century.

HON. JACOB FRY, JR.

"An honest man's the noblest work of God," says Pope in his Essay on Man. Very few men, especially politicians, ever more modestly earned the title "honest" than Jacob Fry, Jr., the subject of this biography. His friends applied it to him, and his political opponents conceded it, during a long public In this respect he resembled Abraham Lincoln, who was so single-minded, and of such blended firmness and gentleness, that he neither excited the animosity of his associates on the one hand nor their envy on the other.

career.

Jacob Fry, Jr.,* son of Jacob and Elizabeth Fry, of the village of Trappe, Upper Providence township, Montgomery county, was born on the 10th of June, 1802. His family is said to have arrived in Pennsylvania from one of the German palatinates during the emigrations from 1710 to 1750.

His early education was chiefly obtained in the common schools of his native village, and much of it under the tuition of Francis R. Shunk, afterwards Governor of the State, as also he attended school in company with him, as they were neighbors to each other. In his twenty-fifth year he was married to Mary Gross, only daughter of Hon. Samuel Gross, who had served several terms in the State Legislature, and two (from 1819 to 1823) in Congress.

Jacob and Mary Fry's children were Benjamin F., born

*His father lived near him till 1852, during nearly the whole period of his public life, and having used the affix "Jr." so long, he continued to sign his name so while he lived.

March 13, 1828; Samuel Gross, January 24, 1832, and Jacob February 9, 1834. The eldest died in infancy, 1831; Samuel Gross, in Philadelphia in 1876. The youngest and only survivor of the family is the Rev. Jacob Fry, D. D., of Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, Pa.

On arriving at manhood the subject of our biography, having a good common school education, engaged in teaching till 1830, when Governor Wolf appointed him Prothonotary and Clerk of the Courts of Montgomery county, which post he held about four years, till the conclusion of Hon. Joel K Mann's second term in Congress, when he was nominated and elected in the fall of 1834 as his successor. At the conclusion of his first Congressional term he was re-elected in 1836, and served during the exciting times consequent upon the collapse of bank credits and the inauguration of the Independent Treasury under Van Buren's administration. Being elected as a Democrat, Mr. Fry gave his party an active and uniform support, and returned to the people at the end of four years popular with the Democracy at least, though he had sympathized to some extent with the free-trade notions then prevalent with his party at the South. He also, doubtless from convictions of duty, acted in harmony with those of Van Buren's administration who maintained that all discussion of the subject of slavery by the National Legislature was impertinent and unwarranted by existing compacts. He was present, therefore, during most of the time the Atherton rule against "agitation" and the right of petition was in force, and witnessed many a tilt between the old-man-eloquent (J. Q. Adams) and slaveholding Hotspurs, who ruled supreme at that time. Mr. Fry was present also when the great Commoner expired in his seat

From 1838 to 1853, a period of fifteen years, he was in no public employment, but attended to his store and assisted neighbors by counsel in matters of law and business. It is related to his credit in this connection that he squelched many law suits among his neighbors by bringing them together and persuading them to compromise their disputes. It is further related of him that while very shrewd and devoted to his own interests in buying, selling, and attending to his concerns, he

was never known to take advantage of opportunities for pecuniary gain afforded by office or while dealing in behalf of others. With such qualities of mind and habits of industry it is not surprising that his estate at the time of his death was considerable. It was during this long period that he acquired from his confiding friends the familiar title of "Honest Jacob Fry."

In 1853 he was elected to the lower house of Assembly, and was re-elected the next year, thus completing a legislative term according to party usage. A short time previous to this his brother Daniel, no doubt under his patronage and by his assistance, started the Montgomery Watchman, which was published at Norristown many years, and finally incorporated with the Register. It is thought that the establishment of that paper looked to the presentation of his claims for Governor as against the aspirations of Mr. Sterigere, who owned and controlled the Register. Be that as it may, in 1856, just about the time of his rival's death, he was nominated for Auditor General, was elected, and served the full term, commencing May 5th, 1857, and ending in 1860. His administrative supervision of Statefinances was, like all his other fiduciary trusts, discharged with scrupulous honesty and care.

From the close of his public life in 1860, to 1866, when he died, on the 28th of November, he was engaged in his store, thus, like an old-fashioned German as he was, ending life at work in his native village, after a long and useful career, and his remains lie buried in the cemetery of Augustus Lutheran: Church, of which for many years he had been an honored member and President of its vestry. He died of dropsy of the chest, aged 64 years, 5 months, and 18 days.

In person Mr. Fry was rather above medium height, stoutlybuilt, and of grave demeanor, which was made more conspicuous by generally dressing in black and wearing a white cravat,. thus making him resemble a clergyman in appearance. His complexion was darkly florid, with jet black hair. His air and the contour of his features bore a striking resemblance to Governor John F. Hartranft.

Francis R. Shunk, whom he greatly resembled in moral and

social traits, and the subject of our biography were life-long friends, the latter presiding over the convention that nominated the former for the Chair of State in 1844. The Governor usually spent nearly a week each summer at the house of his friend. He was devotedly attached to the doctrines and usages of the Lutheran church, and was on intimate terms with many of its most prominent clergymen. In early life, while teaching school, he was for a time organist of the church.

A vein of dry humor was natural to him, but neither sarcasm nor bitterness ever fell from his lips. The writer of these lines, though heartily antagonizing his political opinions during and subsequent to his Congressional service, had frequent interviews with him, and bears witness to the firmness yet courtesy with which he defended his own political views. His widow died in 1872.

REV. HENRY ANTES.

Religion! what treasure untold

Resides in that heavenly word!

More precious than silver or gold,

Or all that this earth can afford.-Cowper.

The subject of this biography, originally a pious layman of Frederick township, Montgomery county, was probably born/ in Germany, and emigrated to Pennsylvania during the first quarter of the last century. Church records inform us that about 1736 he was known in the upper end as "the pious Reformed layman and farmer of Frederick." Being a man of deep and earnest religious feeling, he felt a lively interest in the Germans and their descendants, who at that day had few opportunities of divine worship. Accordingly he undertook to supply the lack of a licensed ministry by gathering the people together wherever he could do so, praying with them, and addressing them on religious matters. Hence he acquired the title of "the pious farmer and teacher of Frederick."

On the invitation of John Adam Gruber, a Moravian brother,