ìHanover Borough and Penn Township
Capt. A. W. Eichelberger
The subject of this sketch is an honored representative of the Eichelberger family. The great-grandfather of our subject. Philip Frederick Eichelberger, son of John and Maria Barbara Eichelberger, who was born April 17, 1693, in Illingen, near Sinzheim, then in the Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the Empire of Germany. He was married November 11, 1714, to Anna Barbara Doerners. On May 11, 1728, he received from the authorities of Itlingen a testimonial of his good character and honorable standing, the original of which is now in possession of Edwin S. Eichelberger, Esq., a great-great-grandson, residing in Frederick, Md. On the 22d of June. 1728, himself, wife and four children, together with thirty other Palatinates and their families, 100 in all, embarked in the good ship "Albany," and set sail from Rotterdam, Holland, for the land of their adoption. Lazarus Oxham was shipmaster, or captain. of this vessel, which landed September 4, of the same year, at Philadelphia. On September 13, 1743, he obtained a land warrant from the proprietaries of Pennsylvania for 175 acres of land in Manheim Township, Lancaster Co., Penn. Upon this tract he took his family, cleared and cultivated the land, built a house and prospered to such an extent that only two years later he obtained grants for 140 acres additional, located in Conestoga and Manheim Townships of the same county. He remained in Lancaster County until 1754, when, on April 28, 1761, he purchased a warrant of Conrad Low for 220 acres of land in Manheim Township, York Co., Penn. He died September 19, 1776, aged eighty-three years five months and two days. His remains now slumber in the historic old burying ground, about one mile north of Hanover. The children by his first wife  were Martin, Frederick, Anna Margeret (married to Vincent Keefer), Barbara [sic](married to Andrew Hoke) and Elizabeth(married to Jacob Smyser). His first four children, as above stated, were born in Germany. These children, after marriage, located in and around York.Martin, the eldest of the sons, was present at York when the town was laid out in 1741, and purchased Lot No. 120. He was one of the original members of the first Lutheran Church in York; was commissioned a court justice under King George III in 1760, the first year of his long reign, and also under constitution of 1776, being prominently identified with the early history of York. where he died in 1781 or 1782. The children of Martin were George, Frederick, Jacob, Bernard, Martin, Susanna (married to Daniel Barnitz) and Mary (married to William T. Coale). George and Jacob were prominent in collecting goods and money for the Revolutionary army. George was appointed quartermaster of the militia of York County in 1776. He was a member of the Provincial Convention, which was held at Philadelphia the 23d of January, 1776. He had been high sheriff of York under the king from 1768 to 1771. He died in York about the year 1781. Jacob was sheriff of York County, elected in 1804. He subsequently removed to Reisterstown, Md., where he died in 1832, aged eighty-nine years. Frederick, the second son of Martin. was a large land-holder. He lived in Bottstown, near York. His children were John, Thomas, Daniel, George, Bernard, William, Charles and Sarah. He died at his son's house, one and one-third miles west of York, in 1824. aged eighty-four years. Martin, the youngest son of Martin, during the Revolution, when less than eighteen, took a horse and rode to Boston, and joined Capt. Swope's company. which had left York before. He obtained a lieutenancy in Capt. Nichols' company, and on his transfer to the commissary department succeeded to the command of the company. He served with much credit during the war, and subsequently accompanied the expedition to Wyoming to repel the incursions of the Indians. He remained in the army until 1783. As a recognition of his services and exemplary character, he obtained the office of weighmaster at the port of Baltimore, which position he held for forty-five years. He died in that city October 2, 1840, in the eighty-second year of his age. Among his sons was Otho W. Eichelberger. He was one of the oldest merchants in Baltimore; was in business at No. 1 Howard Street for over fifty years. He died January 30, 1879, in the eightieth year of his age. Jesse, another son of Martin. was killed in Fort McHenry, at Baltimore, in 1814. Frederick Eichelberger, the second son of the immigrant. although born in Germany, soon imbibed the spirit of American patriotism. He lived near York, and was a justice during the time of the Revolution. The children by the second marriage of Philip Frederick Eichelberger were Adam, Leonard, Jacob (grandfather of our subject) and Lewis. Adam, the eldest, was a captain of a company of Associators of York County during the Revolution, and was also active in collecting money and supplies for the army. He was married to Magdalina Bechtel. Their children were Frederick, Michael, Samuel, Adam. Joseph, Susanna, Salome and Magdalina. He obtained possession of the homestead in 1766, which then contained 220 acres, including the mill place, which at that time was situated in Manheim but is now in Heidelberg Township, about three miles east of Hanover on the York road. The mill, which is in close proximity to the Hanover & York Railroad. is now owned by George Jacobs. In addition to the occupation of farmer, Adam was also a tavern-keeper. He was a prominent and influential citizen, and died in 1787, aged forty-eight years and seven months. The home place has been kept in the family up to the present time, and is now occupied by Charles Eichelberger, a great-grandson. Leonard, the second son of Phiiip Frederick Eichelberger, by the second wife, was a farmer. He was married to Elizabeth Smyser, and had four sons; Jacob, Frederick, George and John; and six daughters; Mary, married to Barney Welty; Sarah, to Frederick Welty; Susan, to Lewis Shearer; Lydia, to Daniel Bailey, and Elizabeth, to H. Richenbaugh. Jacob lived in York, was sheriff of York County, elected a member of the legislature in 1807 and a justice in 1829. He had three daughters; Eliza, married to Dr. George L. Shearer, of Dillsburg; Maria, to James McCosh, and Catherine, to Enoch Young. Frederick was a farmer, and lived near Dillsburg until the last year of his life, when he moved to Frederick City. Md. He married Catherine Baker; was a member of the legislature in 1815-16-17. and of the senate in 1819. He had no children, and died in 1836. George, the third son of Leonard, removed to Frederick County, Md., and was register of wills for thirteen years. He married Sarah Grayson. His sons were Niles, Grayson. Hervy and Allen. Grayson was secretary of State under Gov. Grayson, and was also a member of the senate of Maryland. Edwin, son of Grayson and great-great-grandson of the immigrant, is now a lawyer in Frederick City, Md. John, the fourth son of Leonard, was a farmer and justice. He lived in York County, and was a member of the legislature in 1825. His children were John and Alexander. Jacob, the third son of the second wife of the immigrant. resided in the town of Hanover. He was engaged in farming and keeping tavern. He was married to Anna Maria Reiniker. He died in 1811. His remains were first interred in St. Matthew's Lutheran graveyard, and were afterward removed to Mt. Olivet Cemetery. He left but one son, Jacob, the father of our subject. who became quite prominent in the borough of Hanover for a great many years. He was a merchant and farmer, and kept a public house which was long known as the "stage office," now the "Central Hotel." He was the first president of the Maryland Line Turnpike Company, and was active in organizing the Hanover Savings Bank, of which he became president in 1835, and served with great acceptance for a number of years. He died in 1843. He was first married to Elizabeth Nace. By this marriage he had three daughters: Louisa, married to George Trone; Maria, to Jacob Young, and Elizabeth, to Michael Barnitz. In the year 1806 he married Miss Maria Wirt, daughter of Christian Wirt, of Hanover. By this marriage he had eight children: Matthew, who now resides in Gettysburg; Jacob, who died in the State of Alabama in 1881; Henry, a farmer, residing in Hanover; Catherine Maria, married to S. A. McCosh, died in Georgia in 1868; Capt. A. W.; Rufus, president of the Hanover Saving Fund Society; Amanda. married to A. F. Gitt, of New Oxford, and died in 1871; and Amelia, the youngest, who is now living with her brothers in Hanover. Lewis. the fourth son of Frederick, lived in Adams County, Penn. He left one son, Adam, and three daughters, all of whom are now dead. Capt. A. W. Eichelberger was born in Hanover December 6, 1819. His father gave him the advantage of the best schools the town afforded. He remained at home until May, 1838, when he was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade with Conrad Moul, at Westminster, Md., where he remained three years and returned to Hanover. In 1843 he traveled overland to the State of Georgia to visit his elder brother, Jacob. Whilst there he arranged for the shipment of carriages and damask coverlets to that State, which business he continued for several years, and subsequently purchased, jointly with his brother, the Wehadkee Flour and Sawmills in the State of Alabama, and has since held his interest in the same, except during the civil war, when the property was confiscated by the Confederate government, and returned to him after the war. From 1845 to 1852 he spent his winters in the South, looking after his interests there, and his summers in Hanover, devoting his time to farming his own and his mother's land, to making purchases for shipment South, and in drilling an infantry company of citizen soldiers, called the "United Blues." and afterward a cavalry company known as the "Fourth Dragoons." As a military officer he was a universal favorite. In his early life, was a devoted Whig, and took an active part in the political campaigns of 1844 and 1852, and took the stump as a speaker on those occasions. He is now a Republican. He has never married. In the year 1872 he, together with three other public  spirited citizens, presented the beautiful fountain which now adorns the Centre Square of Hanover, and adds so much to the attractions of the town. He is a regular attendant at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, and a liberal contributor to all objects of benevolence and charity; takes a lively interest in the public welfare of his native town, and is universally popular among his neighbors and fellow citizens. In 1853, on account of his administrative and executive abilities, he was at the age of thirty four elected president of the Hanover Branch Railroad Company, and still holds the same position, being in term of continuous service the oldest railroad president in the United States. This road was afterward, through his influence, consolidated with the Gettysburg Railroad**. He is now president of the Baltimore & Hanover, Bachman Valley, Berlin Branch and Baltimore & Harrisburg Railroad Companies, all of which are described in another part of this work. In his industrious career in the railroad business, he has constantly kept in view the material interests of his native town and surrounding country, and the prosperity of the roads over which he presides. The town of Hanover will long remember him for his industry, liberality and devoted interest in her material welfare. ì
 

**Editors Note: The Gettysburg Railroad above mentioned has significance to a McCurdy cousin of previous generations. Judge Robert McCurdy, who built the home on Carlisle Street later pertaining [perhaps unbeknownst to them] to later cousins KEITH [and  later made into the Appleford Inn of Gettysburg] , along with Josiah Benner and Herny Myers created the Gettysburg Railroad Company in 1850 and no doubt influenced the consolidation with the Hanover Branch as much as the Eichelberger above mentioned. Judge Robert McCurdy descends from our Robert McCurdy living in Adams County and present there by 1780, the Judge  being the son of our direct James McCurdy's brother William, and he was born on the homestead in 1813. The home on Carlisle street that he built in 1867,   ambitious in style and huge for its day, bankrupt Judge McCurdy and he did not long remain in possesion. Our cousin Mary [nee Swope] KEITH, who lived in the home with Uncle Jack, was Judge McCurdy's 1st cousin twice removed. James McCurdy, our direct and William's Brother, lived in a log cabin. It is likely his brother William did too when Judge McCurdy was born, being raised in style much different from his later reality.

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