Benneville W. Holtzman, retired merchant, was born in Washington Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 12 September 1845, son of John Holtzman and Elizabeth [Warner] Holtzman.
George Holtzman, the grandfather of Benneville W. Holtzman,had a family of seven children.
John Holtzman, father of Benneville W. Holtzman, was born 2 March 1796, and died 25 April 1875. His wife, Elizabeth Warner, was born 16 March 1808, and died 13 February 1867. They had seven children, two of whom are deceased:
Joseph Holtzman, died 4 May 1857;
Hannah Holtzman, deceased, the widow of Benjamin Riegle Jr., by whom she had four children and then she married again to Daniel Carl;
Elizabeth Holtzman, married George Longabach, has five children;
John Holtzman, married Susanna Weaver, had two children, she died, and he married Sarah Schreffler, by whom he had three children;
Mary Holtzman, married Henry Bonawitz, had three children;
Susanna Holtzman, married Thomas Swab, had three children, all of whom are deceased; and
Benneville W. Holtzman.
Benneville W. Holtzman took the regular course of instruction in the public schools of his township. At the age of sixteen he entered the Millersburg High School, which he attended for three terms. He then taught school for one term in his native township, after which he attended the State Normal School at Millersville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, for one term. Returning home, he taught school for three terms at the Holtzman School House, one term at the Zimmerman School House, and later two terms again at the Holtzman School House near his home. In 1869 he removed to Upper Paxton Township and taught the Pleasant Hill School five consecutive terms. Then he taught at the Rising Sun School for five terms, then at the Pleasant Hill School for two terms more, then at the Feidt’s School for one term, after which he taught five consecutive terms at the Fairview School.
In 1877 Mr. Holtzman removed to his present homestead, which he had built the year before, and where he afterwards embarked in the mercantile business at Killinger for about eight years, then he closed out his store and spent some time in giving instructions in vocal music, which he had made his study from early boyhood. In 1892 he bought the farm of Widow Sheesley, formerly the property of the Refomed church at Killinger.
Mr. Benneville W. Holtzman was married, 2 January 1868, to Mary Wert, daughter of George Wert and Catherine [Dreibelbiss] Wert. They had one child:
Honora Hortensia Holtzman, born 19 January 1869, died 22 March 1869.
Mr. Holtzman is a Democrat. He was appointed postmaster at Killinger under President Cleveland’s first administration, was re-appointed in 1893, and still holds the same office. He had served one term as justice of the peace and several terms as assessor in Upper Paxton Township. Mr. Holtzman and his family attend the Lutheran church.
The parents of Mrs. Mary [Wert] Holtzman, George Wert and Catherine [Dreibelbiss] Wert, are both deceased. They had four children:
Delilah Wert, married to J. H. Rowe, has three children.
Mary Wert, Mrs. Holtzman;
Malinda Wert, who was one of twins, married to John E. Wiest;
Infant child, other of twins, deceased.
John George Wert, the grandfather of Mrs. Mary [Wert] Holtzman, married a Miss Miller.
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The above information was modified/edited from Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, published in 1896 by J. M. Runk and Company of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. A free download is available from the Internet Archive.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.
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Findagrave Memorial #67835548. Benneville W. Holtzman died on 5 September 1912. He is buried at Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery, Killinger, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.