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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01145 0027
Gc 974.801 C17b
Brenckman, Fred
History o-f Carbon County,
Pennsyl vani a
X
y.
y.
y.
HISTORY
OF
CARBON COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA
SECOND EDITION
Also Containing a Separate Account of the Several
Boroughs and Townships in the County
With Biographical Sketches
BY
FRED BRENCKMAN
HARRISBURG, PA. :
JAMES J. NUNGESSER, PUBLISHER
1918
f<\\t^
Coun^V
UbratY
_ , \'1-\'liP.. 1'*
«,c.^'^'^'
TO iWr MOTHER
AND TO ALL MY FRIENDS IN
CARBON COUNTY
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK
m
Lehigh, I dream that in thy voice
I catch a tone of gladness,
That yearning love is in thy touch,
That thou wouldst soothe my sadness.
— Augusta Moore.
PREFACE.
It is to be regretted that Carbon county, rich in his-
torical materials, has no historical society.
Intimate contact with representative citizens in all
parts of the county has convinced me that such an in-
stitution would not only be welcomed but gladly sup-
ported by them.
There does not appear to be any good reason why
the organization and establishment of a society of this
nature should be further delayed, and it would afford
me great pleasure to do everything within my power
to assist in the consummation of this object.
Had there been an institution of this description
in the county, the time, labor and expense devoted to
the preparation of the present work might have been
greatly lessened, while the result might have been
more satisfactory to me and the public alike.
Every effort, however, has been made to gain all
the light possible on the subjects treated in the fol-
lowing pages, and no pains have been spared to verify
and authenticate all that has been here recorded.
Much of the matter bearing on the early history of
this general region has been drawn from among the
mass of books, pamphlets and papers contained in the
library of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. The
public libraries of the Lehigh, Wyoming and Lacka-
wanna Valleys have also been laid under contribution,
as have the files of the newspapers of this and adjoin-
ing counties, the court records at Mauch Chunk and at
Easton, and the various bureaus and departments of
the state government. But equally important with the
information derived from these sources is that which I
vii
Vlll PREFACE.
gleaned directly from the people in every section of the
county.
In view of this fact, I desire hereby publicly to
heartily thank all those who in any manner assisted me
in this undertaking.
Fred Brenckman.
HuDsoNDALE, Pa., Octobcr 5, 1912.
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
In issuing a second edition of "A History of Carbon
County," the author wishes to express his apprecia-
tion of the kindness with which the book has iDeen re-
ceived by tlie people throughout the county. There
has also been an unexpected demand for it from points
beyond the borders of the county, and it has found its
way to the shelves of libraries, historical societies, and
an occasional individual, from New England to the
Middle West.
Since only five years have elapsed since the appear-
ance of the first edition, and by reason of the fact that
the type had been held, very few changes have been
made in the book, excepting that there has been some
revision of the biographical section.
The organization of the Carbon County Historical
Society, in 1914, has aroused fresh interest in the
county's past, and has served to quicken the civic pride
and local patriotism of our peox^le.
It is largely in recognition of this revival of interest
in our local history that another edition of this l)ook is
being published.
Fred Brenckmaw.
May, 1918.
IX
CONTENTS.
I. The Indians Supplanted By The Whites. .. 1
II. Moravians Settle Carbon County 25
III. Gnadenhutten Destroyed In Indian Uprising 34
IV. Belated Measures For Defense Of Frontier 47
V. Captivity Of The Gilbert Family 62
VI. Early Annals Of Anthracite Coal 73
VII. Organization Of The County 87
VIII. Military Affairs 95
IX. Education 109
X. The Mollie Maguires 127
XI. Strikes And Labor Difficulties 147
XII. Steam And Electric Railroads 157
XIII. Banks Township, Beaver Meadow Borough,
BowmxVnstown Borough, East Mauch
Chunk Borough, And East Penn Town-
ship 167
XIV. East Side Borough, Franklin Township,
Kidder Township, Lanspord Borough, And
Lausanne Township 198
XV. Lehigh Township, Lehighton Borough, And
Lower Towamensing Township 228
XVI. Mahoning Township, And Mauch Chunk
Borough 254
XVII. Mauch Chunk Township, Packer Township,
Palmerton Borough, Parryville Borough,
Penn Forest Township, And Summit Hill
Borough 288
XVIII. Towamensing Township, Weatherly Bor-
ough, And Weissport Borough 334
Biographical Sketches 359
Appendices 597
XI
CHAPTER I.
THE INDIANS SUPPLANTED B¥ TUE WHITES.
Penn-syl-va-ni-a — what a majestic, awe-inspiring
sound the name has ! and how it taxes the imagination,
amid the changed conditions of to-day, to enable us to
realize that less than three centuries have elapsed since
the white man held any possessions among the dusky
denizens of the woods within the present confines of
this grand commonwealth.
According to their own traditions, the various In-
dian tribes inhabiting this portion of the country at
the time of the coming of the Europeans lived, many
centuries ago, towards the setting sun — somewhere in
the west of this continent. The Lenni Lenape, mean-
ing the original people, and considering themselves
an unmixed and unchanging race, determined to mi-
grate towards the rising of the sun. After journeying
across wide and trackless plains they arrived at the
Namasi Sipa (Mississippi) river. Here they met the
Mengwe, or Iroquois, also in quest of a new home to
the eastward.
Anticipating opposition from the Alligewi, a people
of gigantic form, living on the east side of the Missis-
sippi, they here united their forces. Not many days
after their union, and before they advanced, many
and mighty battles were fought. At last the Alligewi
were overpowered, and to escape extermination they
abandoned the country of their fathers to the people
of ''The New Union," fled far to the southward, and
never returned.
In dividing the conquered territory, the Iroquois
chose the lands in the vicinity of the Great Lakes and
1
2 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
their tributary streams, while the Lenape, or Dela-
wares, as they were named by the Europeans, took
possession of more southern parts, where they lived
in peace for many years.
The Lenape of the Delaware Valley were divided
into three sub-tribes. The Minsi or Minisinks, lived in
the mountainous region above the junction with the
Lehigh; the Unami dwelt upon the lands reaching
southward from the Lehigh, including the present site
of Philadelphia, while still farther south resided the
Unalachtigo, whose principal seat was near Wilming-
ton, Delaware. It was with the two latter tribes that
Penn made his celebrated treaties. The first had for
its token the wolf, the second the turtle, and the third
the turkey.
The Unami, or ''People down the river," were ac-
corded the pre-eminence, their symbol meaning the
great tortoise upon which the world rested.
The Indians were more numerous in the valley of
the Delaware than in any other section of Pennsyl-
vania ; but no trustworthy estimate of their number in
any place or section can be given. Throughout the
l^rovince they were under the domination of the Iro-
quois, the Romans of Indian civilization. The Iroquois
proudly styled themselves "The men surpassing all
others," and their superiority to the surrounding
tribes and nations was the result of union. Five na-
tions, the Mohawks, Senecas, Oneidas, Onondagas, and
Cayugas, formed a confederacy, to which a sixth, the
Tuscaroras, was later added. This was the most long-
lived and powerful union of which there is any record
in Indian history. The ])riucipal council fire was at
Onondaga, })y the lake of that name. There assembled
the chiefs, whose decisions concerning war and peace
were supreme.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3
In tlie center of Pennsylvania, at a remote age dwelt
the Juniatas. Before the advent of the white man
they were gone, vanquished, it is thongiit, by the invin-
cible Iroquois. Throughout the entire region not a
solitary wigwam was seen or war whoop heard. It
was a conquered, empty interior, used by the Iroquois
as a hunting ground.
It is not probable that this immediate region was
ever permanently inliabited by any Indian tribes. The
large rivers on the east and west afforded greater facili-
ties for rapid movements from place to place, while the
ease with which food products could be taken from the
Delaware and the Susquehanna were prime considera-
tions in the minds of the aborigines, who, as rational
beings, sought to gratify their wants along the lines
of least resistance. The valleys of these rivers also
afforded better facilities for the rude agriculture of the
Indians than did the generally wild and rugged country
lying between. While it is not likely, therefore, that
any considerable number of wild Indians ever had a
permanent abiding place within the present limits of
Carbon county, hunting and scouting parties fre-
quently traversed the region. On their way to and
fro between the Delaware and the Susquehanna, the
red men usually followed the Warriors' Path, a famous
Indian trail along the Lehigh, which was in those days
trodden by nations which tread the earth no more.
The trail diverged from the river at the mouth of the
Nesquehoning creek, crossing the Broad mountain and
the Laurytown Valley, touching the eastern border of
the present borough of Weatherly. From there it pro-
ceeded to the Indian Spring, on the line dividing the
counties of Carbon and Luzerne, whence it led to a
point near the modern village of Drums, in the latter
county. Here the Nescopeck Path branched off to the
2
4 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
westward, the "Warriors' Path continuing in a direct
line northward to the village of the Nanticokes, not far
from the site of Wilkes-Barre.
The shores of the Delaware were first visited by
European mariners in 1609. During the summer of
that year, Henry Pludson, the English explorer, having
twice previously failed, made a third attempt to find a
northwest passage to India and China. His former
ventures had been financed by English capitalists ; but
he was now in the service of the Dutch.
He sailed in a little craft called the Half Moon, a
ship of eighty tons burden. On the 28th of August,
four months and a half after leaving Holland, he en-
tered the Delaware Bay. Soon convinced by the shal-
lowness of the water that he had not found the much
sought for pathway, he returned, passed the capes,
and turned the prow of his vessel northward.
The generation which followed Hudson's discovery
of the bay witnessed the formation of various com-
panies for the purpose of colonizing the country adja-
cent to its shores and trading with the inhabitants
thereof.
For a long period little worthy of note was accom-
plished, however. Though chartered to trade with the
Indians and to colonize the new world, it seems that
the real object of the leaders of some of these enter-
prises was a colossal system of piracy on the ships of
Spain and Portugal. Actively engaged in commerce,
these nations were very successful in robbing the na-
tives of Mexico and Peru of their silver treasures.
Others," just as greedy, adopted a similar ])lan of en-
riching themselves by relieving the original robbers of
their ill-gotten plunder.
The first colony on the shores of the Delaware was
established by the Dutch in lf)"2.'), when they built Fort
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 5
Nassau, a few miles below Philadelphia. The colo-
nists grew homesick, and within a year abandoned the
fort, going to Manhattan. Thus the first attempt at
colonization on the Delaware came to a speedy end.
Half a dozen years passed before another attempt was
made to locate a colony on its shores. A settlement
that was planted by Captain David Pietersen De Vries
in 1631, was soon thereafter destroyed by the Indians.
De Vries had returned to Holland, leaving a subor-
dinate in command. Prior to his departure, a pillar, to
which was nailed a piece of tin, whereon was traced
the Dutch coat of arms, had been erected. A dusky
chief, not knowing the wickedness of taking it away,
converted it into tobacco pipes. This angered the
Dutch; and the Indians, not knowing how else to ap-
pease their wrath, killed the offending chief, and re-
turned the unusued portion of the tin. The friends of
the murdered chief resolved to be revenged. They
attacked the Dutch when they were at work in the
fields, totally annihilating them.
Before leaving Europe on his second voyage De
Vries learned of the destruction of the colony. Reach-
ing the Delaware early in the winter, he beheld the
bones of his murdered men among the ruins of the
settlement. He wisely refrained from seeking re-
venge; with smiles and presents he succeeded in re-
gaining the friendship of the Indians, with whom
peace was maintained for many years.
The government of Sweden, in 1638, established per-
manent settlements along the Delaware. Colonel John
Printz was appointed governor of New Sweden in
1642. One of Printz 's first acts after his arrival on the
Delaware was to select a site for a residence. The
place chosen was not far from Chester, on the Island
of Tinicum. Here he built a spacious mansion, which
6 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
came to be known as Printz's Hall. The Swedish gov-
ernor was a man of prodigious girth, weighing over
four hundred pounds, it is said. He bore the reputa-
tion of a hard drinker, and was a man of aggressive
temperament. The fort which he erected was below
the Dutch settlement and controlled the river, causing
great annoyance to Dutch vessels, because in i:)assing
they were ordered to lower their colors.
The Swedes joined with the Dutch in their methods
of peace and friendship toward the Indians, and their
honesty and kindness were reciprocated by the aborig-
ines.
The Swedes on the Delaware were subdued by the
Dutch in 1655, and brought under the jurisdiction of
Peter Stuyvesant, governor of New Netherlands, who,
in his turn, was conquered by the English not long
afterwards.
With the falling of the power of the Dutch, English
title to the continent was complete from Canada to
Florida.
England at this time was in the midst of that seeth-
ing religious excitement which characterized the middle
decades of the seventeenth century. Among the in-
finite varieties of sects which sprang into being during
this j:)eriod were the Friends, derisivelj^ called Quakers.
Led by the indomitable George Fox, the Friends re-
fused to conform to the established church of the
i-ealm. They would not }")ay tithes to support a religion
which their consciences could not ap])rove. They
steadfastly refused to take off their hats before magis-
trate, judge, priest, or king. Neither would they obey
any law interfering with tlio liberty of their worslii{>.
Certain peculiarities of speech and dress aided to make
the members of this sect odious to the dominant forces
in England. Next to George Fox, the most consjiicu-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. y
ous and influential person in shaping tlie character and
future of the Society of Friends was the venerated
founder of Pennsylvania, William Penu.
Penn was born in London, England, October 14,
1644, and was a son of Vice Admiral Sir William Penn,
of the British Navy. Admiral Penn owned valuable
estates in Ireland, and was prominent and influential
throughout the United Kingdom. In 1656 he moved
his family to his Irish estates, and William pursued
his studies at home under a private tutor.
When he became fifteen years of age, he went to
Oxford, and entered upon a course of study at Christ
Church College. It was at this period that he first
came under the influence of the preachers of the so-
ciety with which his name was later so prominently
identified. He was deeply impressed with the sim-
plicity and purity of the Friends' form of worship,
and he soon came to feel that the established church
was too subservient to dogma and the lifeless cere-
monies of creed.
Taking part in the religious services of the Friends,
and withdrawing from the established church, he in-
curred the disapproval and censure of the faculty, ul-
timately being expelled from college on this account.
His father, an ambitious, worldly man, was much in-
censed at William's ^'misconduct," and remonstrated
in strong terms; but, finding that his' son was firmly
intrenched in his religious '' fanaticism," he expelled
him from home. Later, the father, who warmly loved
his son, relented and sent William to France, in com-
pany with some friends of rank and prominence, hop-
ing thereby to divert the boy's mind into other chan^
nels of thought. But his sojourn in France, while
giving him the politeness and polish of French society,
did not wholly eradicate the serious demeanor which
3 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
had so greatly displeased his father. In 1666, William
was furnished with a letter of introduction to Sir
George Lane, then secretary of the lord-lieutenant of
Ireland. Here he was received with marked attention
and became a welcome guest at a court of almost regal
splendor.
During his residence in Ireland, a mutiny arose
among the soldiers of the garrison of Carrickfergus,
and William evinced so much coolheaded bravery and
good judgment in assisting to quell the mutineers that
the duke tendered him a position as captain of in-
fantry. It appears that at first Penn was highly flat-
tered by this proposal, and seemed disposed to accept ;
but after mature consideration, he rejected the offer.
Being in the city of Cork soon thereafter, he attended
a meeting of Friends, which was conducted by his old
pastor, Thomas Loe, formerly of Oxford. Penn was
greatly stirred by the discourse, and firmly resolved
from that hour to renounce worldly glories and honors,
and to devote himself to the service of God and his fel-
low-men. But he was soon called to share in the
physical sufferings of his friends, being arrested and
cast into prison at Cork. While languishing in jail
he wrote his first public utterance on the subject of
liberty of conscience. Being liberated from prison
after a time, he returned to England on the request of
his father, and was again subjected to the indignity
of being exi)elled from beneath the ]iaternal roof.
From this decision the elder Penn relented only on his
death-bed.
In 1668 Penn felt himself called to the gospel min-
istry, in which he became distinguished, both as a
preacher and a writer of religious works. Some of his
utterances gave great offense to the clergy of the
Church of England, particularly to the Bishop of
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. g
London. This functionary succeeded in securina-
Penn's imprisonment in the Tower. During his in-
carceration, which continued nearly nine months, he
wrote, ''No Cross, No Crown," one of the imperisli-
able works of prison literature, together with other
productions which have been read in many languages.
Penn was thrice arrested and twice imprisoned
after his liberation from the Tower, but remained
steadfast to the principles of universal toleration,
writing and speaking in defense of the cause which he
advocated with an earnestness and zeal which had be-
become characteristic of the man.
Penn's affections were now stirred by a young lady
named Gulielma Springett. She was herself a Friend,
and smiled graciously on her lover. They were mar-
ried in the spring of 1672, when Penn was twenty-eight
years of age.
"Those who knew him only at second hand," says
one of his biographers, "imagined that the prisoner
of Newgate and the Tower would now subside into the
country gentleman, more interested in cultivating his
paternal acres than in the progress of an unpopular
doctrine. Those who reasoned so knew little of Wil-
liam Penn, and still less of the lady who had become
his wife."
After devoting a few months to his new life, Penn
resumed his work of writing and preaching. As the
persecutions of the Friends did not cease, he was
always busy interceding for them and trying to secure
for them larger liberties. At best, however, their con-
dition was miserable.
On the death of his father, Penn came into posses-
sion of an ample estate. Among his other inheritances
was a claim of sixteen thousand pounds against the
king, his father having loaned this sum to the impe-
10 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
cimious monareli. Gradually the idea of accepting a
province in America in settlement of this debt formed
itself in Penn's mind. There he might found an
asylum for the oppressed of his own sect and of all
nations. For a long time he had waited and nothing
had been paid. As he pondered over the idea, it grew
into clearer and larger form. The experiment, if suc-
cessful, would be an enduring witness to the breadth
and persistence of the Quaker faith. Some politicians,
wiser than their generation, regarded the enterprise
as dangerous to the crown and the state. In less than
a hundred years, this utterance of mingled fear and
prophecy was fulfilled. As the exchequer was nearly
empty, Penn's request was finally granted; and the
terms of the charter were settled and signed by Charles
II on the 4th of March, 1681.
The eastern boundary of Penn's province was the
Delaware river, beginning twelve miles north of New-
castle and extending northward to the forty-third
degree of latitude. It extended westward five degrees.
The southern boundary was a circle beginning twelve
miles north of Newcastle, and continuing at that dis-
tance from Newcastle to the beginning of the fortieth
degree of north latitude, and thence by a straight line
westward to the limits of longitude already mentioned.
By a provision of the royal charter, Penn was to pay
to the king, his ** heirs and successors, two beaver skins,
to be delivered to our castle of Windsor on the 1st
day of January in every year." And this tribute was
paid by the Penns until 1780. It was also stipulated
that a fifth part of all the gold and silver ore found in
the province should belong to the crown.
Penn first proposed to call the province New Wales,
and afterward Sylvania, because so much of the land
was covered with forest. Charles prefixed the word
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. n
Penn as a compliment to Penn's father. Fearful that
the name might be regarded as a piece of vanity, Penn
appealed to the king, and offered twenty guineas to
the secretary to change it. But Charles insisted and the
patent was issued in the form which he prescribed. Four
weeks after the king had signed the patent, Penn sent
his cousin, Colonel William AEarkham, to take posses-
sion of the country, to call a council of nine to assist
him in administering the government, to inform the
people of his purchase, to settle the boundary between
his province and Maryland, to establish courts and to
preserve peace.
Besides the king's declaration, announcing the grant
to Penn and requiring all persons settled in the prov-
ince to yield obedience to him as proprietor and gov-
ernor, Markham carried a letter from Penn himself,
addressed to the people, assuring them of his sincere
desire to deal fairly and honestly by them. ''I hope
you will not be troubled at your change, and the king's
choice," said he; ''for you are now fixed at the mercy
of no governor who comes to make his fortune great.
You shall be governed by laws of your own making,
and live a free, and if you will, a sober and industrious
people. ' '
In the autumn three vessels with colonists and three
commissioners sailed from England. One of the ves-
sels was driven by storms to the West Indies, and did
not reach the Delaware until the following spring.
Penn's instructions to his commissioners related chiefly
to selecting a place for a "great town," surveying the
land, and regulating intercourse with the Indians. He
was particularly concerned that it should be a "green
country town, which will never be burnt and always
wholesome."
12 HISTORY OF CAKBOX COUNTY.
Meanwhile Perm was deej) in work on his frame of
government, which was comjoleted and published early
in the spring of 1682. This constitution, as it may be
termed, was modeled along broad and liberal lines, and
was far in advance of any similar document that the
world had vet seen.
As soon as it was known that Penn had become the
owner and governor of an American province, persons
in nearly every large town in Great Britain and in
many cities of the Rhine and of Holland, desired to
purchase land.
A German company was organized at Frankfort,
and Pastorius purchased fifteen thousand acres in a
single tract, and three thousand more within the Lib-
erties of the future city.
Many purchasers came from Liverpool and still
more from London. Having forwarded his frame of
government to Markham, Penn prepared to follow the
first constitutional seedling planted on the banks of
the Delaware.
August came before the Welcome, a stately bark of
three hundred tons, was fitted out to transport him
and a hundred fellow passengers to America. The
voyage was begun on the first of September. Soon
after starting, that dread disease small-pox appeared.
At first, the disease was mild, but before the vessel
reached mid-ocean nearly every person on board was
sick, while many died. Late in October, the voyagers
rejoiced to see the low, woody banks of the Delaware,
and nine weeks after quitting the shores of England,
the Welcome anchored at the port of New Castle. As
the ship i)roceeded up the river, the ])erfume of the air
was like an orchard in full bloom. It was Indian
summer, and the trees and shrubs wore clothed in gor-
geous colors, while many of the birds were arrayed in
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
13
bright plumage. All nature appeared to be wearing
its richest dress on the coming of the new evangel of
peace and liberty.
From Newcastle, Penn proceeded to Upland, where
Chester now is. Ere long he reached the mouth of
Schuylkill, and four miles above this point the prow
of the Welcome was turned up Dock creek, which was
deep enough to enter, besides having a low, sandy
beach, where a landing could easily be effected. Here
Penn went ashore. He was on the site selected by
his commissioners for the provincial capital. He was
everywhere received with demonstrations of joy. Penn
met the people as though they were his children, his
mild and shining face reflecting the serenity of hi&
spirit and goodness of his heart.
Markham and the commissioners had bought land
of the Indians before Penn's arrival and the process
of settlement was already going on. Plans were now
perfected for the building of the proposed city. Its
name, form, streets, docks and open spaces were put
on paper, very much as the famous ancient cities of
the east were planned by their royal builders. Accord-
ing to the provisions of this design, Philadelphia was
to cover, with its houses, squares and gardens, twelve
square miles.
Having now fairly started his enterprise, Penn
turned his thoughts to the Indians. Putting aside all
ceremony, he won their hearts by his confiding and
familiar speech. He walked with them in the forests
and sat with them on the ground to watch their young
men dance. He joined in their feasts, and ate their
roasted acorns and hominy. They called him the Great
Onas, and were delighted with his companionship.
If tradition be true, his most famous meeting with
the Indians was at Shackamaxon, or the place of eels.
14 HISTORY OF CAEBOX COUNTY.
This was a natural amphitheatre shaded by a large
elm tree, under the graceful branches of which friendly
nations had met and smoked the pipe of peace long be-
fore the lauding of the palefaces on the Delaware.
Dense masses of cedar, pine and chestnut spread far
away on every side, cut by the noble river, whose
crystal waters ran slowly to the sea.
The treaty which was there made was not fortified
by oaths and seals. On both sides it was ratified with
yea ; and unlike most treaties, this was kept.
The same year that Penn arrived, twenty-three ves-
sels brought from two thousand to three thousand
emigrants of various faiths and nationalities into the
province, most of them landing at Chester and at
Philadelphia. Some of these came in advance of Penn.
While building their homes, they dwelt in caves and
rude huts, suffering but little from hardship and dis-
ease.
Even at that early day, the population of Pennsyl-
vania was cosmopolitan in character. The lure which
accounted for this varied national representation in
the beginning of her history was the wealth of liberty
and freedom that was extended to all comers. At a
later date, the added attraction of the wealth of her
forests, fields and mines induced men from everv clime
to build their homes within her boundaries. Naturally,
from the first day of his landing, Penn found plenty to
do. Much of his attention was given to the new city
rapidly building on the banks of the Delaware. He
visited New York and its governor, as a mark of re-
spect to his friend, the Duke of York, also going to
Baltimore in a vain attempt to adjust a dispute con-
cerning the boundary line between Pennsylvania and
Maryland. He preached in semi-weekly meetings of
the Quakers, and served his term as a member of com-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^5
mittees in their work of organization. Numerous in-
dividual claims respecting land and settlers were
brought to him for disposition. In addition to the
three counties in the lower peninsula (now Delaware),
he laid out three more in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Chester and Bucks. All of these stretched almost in-
definitelv westward.
On December 6, he was ready for a meeting of the
assembly, when representatives from these six counties
were collected to perfect the government. In a brief
session of three days, held at Upland, several impor-
tant laws were passed, one of which was an act to
naturalize the Dutch, Swedes, and other foreigners.
Penn's wife being ill, and other considerations de-
manding his presence in Europe, he sailed from the
province, August 16, 1684, feeling that his "Holy Ex-
periment" was now successfully launched. In bidding
the red men farewell, he begged them to drink no more
fire water, forbade his own people to sell them brandy
and arms, and obtained their promise to live in peace
and amity with each other and with the white men.
At this time about seven thousand settlers were living
in the province. Of this number, one-third were in
Philadelphia.
The government during his absence was carried on
by five commissioners, chosen from the provincial
council.
Upon returning to England, Penn labored unceas-
ingly in the cause of freedom and religious toleration.
Many persons who had been imprisoned for their
opinions were released through his intercession. He
had always intended to return to the province, but the
course of events led him to defer another voyage from
time to time. Being left a widower, he, in January,
1696, married Hannah Callowhill, the daughter of a
16 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Bristol acquaintance of many years. She afterwards
became a prominent fignre in the affairs of the colony.
During Penn's long absence from the province,
affairs did not always run smoothly, friction in the
government and dissatisfaction among the settlers
finally making his return imperative.
He came in 1699, bringing with him his new wife,
and fully expecting to spend the remainder of his days
on the banks of the Delaware. During the ensuing two
years he was busily engaged in shaping the govern-
ment to meet the needs and demands of the rapidly
growing population of the province. Penn's first act
on assuming the government was to publish a procla-
mation against pirates and contraband traders. The
robber spirit was rampant on the seas in those days,
and the shores and bays of the Delaware were highly
favored places for these marauders of the deep, be-
cause the government, being dominated bj^ the Friends,
was disinclined to use force to capture or repel them.
Penn scarcely began to feel settled in the stately
mansion which had been built for him during his' ab-
sence, when he received news from England requiring
his immediate return. Among other things, his ene-
mies had introduced a bill in the House of Lords for
seizing his province and vesting it in the crown.
As' soon as the Indians heard that Onas was to
return, they came from all parts of the country to take
leave of him. They had a premonition that he would
never return to them, and chmg more closely to his
words because they feared that his children wouhi not
treat them in the same kindly way. Events proved
that their fears were well founded in both respects.
Penn sailed from Philadelphia on the first of
November, 1701, landing at Portsmouth six weeks
later. During his absence Parliament had tried to get
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
17
hold of his province, and though failing, had succeeded
in passing an act requiring the assent of the crown to
the appointment of a deputy governor.
Penn's closing years were spent in pecuniary dis-
tress. He had expended vast sums of money on Penn-
sylvania and on the oppressed of his sect, besides hav-
ing neglected his private affairs. To make matters
worse, he was shamefully robbed by his steward,
Philip Ford, who took advantage of Penn's confidence
to ruin him.
Several times he narrowly escaped losing title to
Pennsylvania as a result of financial difficulties. In
1712 Penn sustained a paralytic stroke, from the
effects of which he never fully recovered. He passed
away at Eushcomb, Buckinghamshire, England, on
July 30, 1718, aged seventy-four years. He was the
noblest character in America's colonial history, while
his name is justly enshrined in the hearts of men as
that of the greatest champion of human rights of his
time.
The widow of Penn became the executrix of his es-
tate during the minority of his children, and was for a
period the nominal head of the colonial government.
While she administered the affairs of the estate with
much shrewdness, the patriarchial relation which had
subsisted between Penn and his colony was at an end,
because the interest which his heirs took in the
province was of a mercenary character.
Especially noticeable was this change in the treat-
ment accorded the Indians in arranging for the pur-
chase of their lands.
The charter which King Charles gave Penn made
him the largest land owner in the world. It gave him
a legal title to 47,000,000 acres; and had he been so
minded, he might have taken forcible possession of the
1 S HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
country. He was honest and broad-minded enough,
however, to recognize the fact that while the King per-
hai^s liad a legal right to transfer the title to this large
domain to him, he had no moral right to do so, the
English claim to the territory resting on the flimsy
assertion that Henry Hudson, the discoverer of the
Delaware bay, although cruising in the service of the
Dutch at the time, was born an Englishman. Penn's
sense of honor did not permit him to wrest the soil of
Pennsylvania by force from the people to whom God
and nature had given it, nor to establish his title in
blood. He considered the King's charter aS' nothing
more than a conveyance of the right to preemption,
and by purchases and treaties secured his real title
from the aborigines. During Penn's life-time only
a small quantity of land along the Delaware had been
purchased of the Indians. It was not enough to en-
danger their means of subsistence, and if a new claim-
ant appeared from time to time, something more was
given to satisfy him, and a deed was taken from him.
According to tradition, one of Penn's purchases was
to include land ''as far back as a man could walk in
three days. ' '
Penn and several Indians started at the mouth of
the Neshaminy creek, not far from Philadelphia, to
walk out the i)urchase. They walked leisurely, after
the Indian manner, sitting down occasionally to smoke
their pipes, eat biscuit and cheese, and drink wine.
After going a day and a half, Penn marked a spruce
tree, near the ])resent site of "Wright stown, Bucks
county, informing his com])anions that the distance
traversed would give him enough land for his i)resent
needs, leaving the remainder to l)e ascertained at a
future dav.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ;j^9
This arrangement, while entirely creditable to Penn,
who did not show the disposition of the land grabber,
eventually proved ruinous to the Indians. The walk
was not completed during Penn's life-time, while the
settlers attracted to his province kept crowding
farther and farther into the Indian country. When
the Indians protested to the proprietaries that their
lands were being usurped and their hunting grounds
despoiled, they were always reminded of the addi-
tional land to which the whites were entitled bv virtue
or the uncompleted walk of William Penn, and the
treaty which he had negotiated. Matters were allowed
to drag along in this unsatisfactory manner until 1737,
when, in response to the demands of the Indians it was
agreed that the walk should be finished, and the
boundaries of the purchase definitely defined. While
negotiations were being conducted, the proprietaries
caused a preliminary or trial walk to be made to ascer-
tain how much land could be secured. In order that
the longest distance possible might be covered, axe-
men were sent ahead to cut a pathway through the
forests. The men who had held out best in the trial
walk were those selected by the proprietaries to make
the decisive effort. Edward Marshall, James Yeates,
and Solomon Jennings, all noted for their powers of
endurance, were the men called upon to make the walk.
Timothy Smith, sheriff of Bucks county, and John
Chapman, a surveyor, were engaged to accompany the
trio on horseback and to carry provisions and stimu-
lants for them. It was arranged that the Indians
should send some of their young men along to see that
the walk was fairly and honestly made.
The starting point was fixed at a large chestnut tree,
near the Wrightstown meeting-house, in Bucks county,
8
20 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
and the walkers were promised five pounds in money
and five hundred acres in land.
Early on the morning of the 19th of September, 1737,
the day agreed u])on for the walk, Marshall, Yeates,
and Jennings, their hands touching the tree, like run-
ners about to begin a race, waited for the command to
start. As the sun appeared upon the horizon, the
signal was given by Sheriff Smith, and the men
started. Yeates led the way with a light step; next
came Jennings and two Indian walkers, while ^Marshall
came last. He swung a hatchet in his hand and walked
with an easy, careless lope.
The walkers, stimulated by the promised reward
seemed untiring. The party stopped fifteen minutes
for lunch with an Indian trader named Wilson near
what is now the northern boundary line of Bucks
coimty, after which the walk was continued. The
Lehigh was forded a mile below Bethlehem, and cross-
ing the Blue mountains at Smith's Gap, near what is
now the southeastern corner of Carbon county, all
save Jennings slept at night on the northern slope. He
had given out before reaching the Lehigh, and although
he succeeded in reaching his home, which was situated
near the point where Allentown was started about a
quarter of a century later, he never fullj^ recovered his
health. Yeates collapsed at the foot of the mountain
when the walk was resumed on the morning of the
second day. When taken up he was entirely blind: he
died three days later.
Marshall, however, held out until noon, when he
threw himself at full length u])on the ground and
grasped a sa])ling which was marked as the end of the
line.
The distance covered during the course of the walk
is variously estimated, some i)la('iug it as low as fifty-
HISTOKY OF CAEBOA^ COUNTY.
21
five miles, while others aver it to have been as high as
eighty-six miles. Naturally, the Indians who accom-
panied the walkers were disgusted by the performance.
One of their number, in speaking about it afterwards,
remarked: "No sit down to smoke — no shoot a squir-
rel ; but lun, lun, km all day long. "
When the walk had been finished, it still remained
to run the line to the Delaware. The Indians main-
tained that, starting from the extreme northwesterly
point reached by Marshall, the line should be run
straight to the Delaware. Instead of this it was
slanted northward to such a degree as to take in about
twice as much territory as would have been included by
the other arrangement. Again, while the walk had
been made through Smith's Gap, terminating near the
Tobyhanna creek, on the borders of Monroe and Car-
bon counties, the arbitrary line was run through
Lehigh Gap, ending in what is now Penn Forest town-
ship, directly opposite Mauch Chunk.
The lines included nearly all the lands within the
forks of the Delaware (i. e., between the Delaware and
the Lehigh) and practically all the valuable territory
south of the Blue Ridge.
The Minisink flats, celebrated a& hunting grounds of
the Indians, were contained in that portion of the pur-
chase lying north of the Lehigh, and the aborigines
parted with these very reluctantly. They rightly felt
that they had been robbed in the whole transaction,
flatly refusing to move from the land which was now
claimed by the whites, but which they still considered
their own. Finally the assistance of the Iroquois was
asked to get them out. The Iroquois had long held the
Minisinks in bondage as women, a most humiliating
condition. Responding to the summons to come and
remove their vassals, Canassatego, the spokesman of
22 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNT!'.
tlie Iroquois, thus addressed the despairing Dela-
wares: "How came you to take it upon you to sell
lands at all? We conquered you; we made women of
you. For this land you claim you have been furnished
with clothes, meat and drink, and now you want it
again, like the children that you are. We charge you to
remove instantly; we don't give you liberty to think
about it. You are women. Take the advice of a wise
man and go at once!"
Notwithstanding their abject condition, the Dela-
wares still had a sense of wrong as keen as in the days
of their greatness; but from the imperious judgment
of the Iroquois there was no appeal. The Minisinks
sorrowfully made prei)arations to go to Wyoming, and
feeling that they would never return, burnt their huts
to signify their final departure. The message of the
Iroquois was effective; the land was given over to the
whites, and one of the most villainous transactions in
the early annals of Pennsylvania was consummated.
Thomas Penn, one of the sons of William Penn bv his
second wife, was a prominent figure in this outrage
against the Indians. Such, in brief, is the story of the
disgraceful "Walking Purchase." From this time
forth, the Delawares cherished an implacable hatred
toward those who had robbed them of their birth-right.
Years later, when the j)Osture of affairs gave them the
longed for opi)ortunity, the Delawares took their re-
venge, and the woeful destruction of human life and
property which took place on the Blue mountain
frontier was the heavy price exacted for the unscrupu-
lous conduct of the proprietaries.
The Penns acquired title to the major ]"»ortion of the
soil of the province by five great treaties with the
Indians. The last and largest ])urchase made )\v them
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 23
was consummated in 1768, comprising an irregular
belt of land extending from the extreme northeastern
to the extreme southwestern part of the province.
Usually the lines of these purchases were very vague
and ill-defined.
All, or nearly all, of the territory now contained
within the borders of Carbon county was included in
the purchase of 1749, comprising a narrow belt of land
running diagonally from Pike to Dauphin county.
This purchase was made from the Six Nations, and not
from the Delaware occupants of the soil, the price paid
being five hundred pounds.
As time passed on and as the population grew, it
began to be felt that the old system of proprietary
ownership was inconsistent with the best interests and
happiness of the people. Soon after the breaking out
of the Eevolutionary War, this feeling grew to a con-
viction.
Pennsylvania adopted a constitution in 1776, and
soon thereafter a series of acts were passed, vesting
the estates of the i^roprietaries in the commonwealth,
and the feudal relation created by the charter of King
Charles was dissolved. This action was taken directly
in response to the recommendation of the Continental
Congress, which urged all the colonies to form new
governments which should be independent of the Eng-
lish crown and foreign proprietaries. At the time the
divesting acts were passed, the proprietaries were two
grandsons of William Perm, the founder — John, the
son of Eichard, and John, the son of Thomas Penn.
The state voted them 130,000 pounds by way of com-
pensation, which was paid with interest within eight
years after the close of the war. Besides this sum, the
Penn family received additional compensation in the
24 IIISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
form of an annuity of 4,000 pounds from the British
government. Strange as it may seem, this annuity was
paid to the descendants of the founder of Pennsylvania
until recent years.
CHAPTER II.
MOBAFIANS SETTLE CARBON COUNTY.
The Christian society known as the Moravian
Brethren had its origin among the religious movements
in Bohemia which followed the martyrdom of John
Hues at the hands of the Council of Constance. Huss
was burned at the stake, and his ashes thrown into the
Rhine in the year 1415, while the history of the society
which was formed by his followers can be traced back
to 1457.
When Luther appeared, the Moravians numbered
about two hundred thousand people; but in the deso-
lating wars which followed, they became almost ex-
tinct.
Standing forth prominently among the leaders of
this society was Nicolaus Ludwig, Count Zinzendorf.
He was descended from an ancient Austrian family,
and was born May 26, 1700, at Dresden. Educated at
Halle and at the university of Wittenberg, he had
planned to follow the career of a diplomat. Subse-
quent to his marriage to the Countess Erdmuth, how-
ever, he embraced the faith of the Moravians, and re-
solved to devote his life and fortune to the spread of
the gospel. In 1722 he offered his persecuted brethren
an asylum on his estate. A number came, and thus
Herrnhut became the nucleus of a new growth. The
original Moravians were Slavonic ; the revival brought
in the Germans. Unlike many of the sects, the Mora-
vians had no distrust of learning, and they formed a
cultured, devoted society for the propagation of Chris-
tianity at home and abroad.
25
26 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Persecuted in the old world, they sought an asylum
in the new. Count Zinzendorf obtained a grant of
land in Georgia, and in 1735 a settlement was begim.
Under the leadership of Bishop Nitsehmann a church
was organized the following year. Ere long war be-
tween England and Spain interfered with the work,
and the Moravians, refusing to bear arms because to
do so was contrary to their religious principles, emi-
grated to Philadelphia with George Whitefield, the
famous preacher. They bought a domain of five thou-
sand acres at the Forks of the Delaware, and began to
build a large school house for negro children.
The land was purchased by Whitefield, but nomi-
nally it belonged to the Countess von Zinzendorf. A
question of doctrine soon caused a rupture, and the
Moravians were ordered to leave. At this stage of
affairs Bishop Nitsehmann returned from Europe and
purchased Bethlehem, an extensive tract on the Lehigh
river, ten miles south of Whitefield 's land, and the
colony again began work. Afterwards, Whitefield 's
land was also purchased, and called the Barony of
Nazareth. On this tract several settlements were or-
ganized. The expenses of emigration remaining un-
paid, the Brethren united in a semi-communistic as-
sociation, Bethlehem forming the center. It was a
communism not of goods, but of labor. Each settler
was free to choose or reject the plan, while retaining
exclusive control of his property. Particii)ants gave
time and work, receiving in return the necessaries and
comforts of life. This system was called economy, and
was admirably adapted to their ])eculiar wants. It
continued for twentv vears, sullicing to ])av the ex-
penses of ordinary emigration, to furnish the colony
with daily supi)ort, and to maintain a mission among
the Indians, besides an extensive itinerary among the
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 07
white settlers from Maine to Georgia. The Moravians
were a missionary church.
From the beginning they sought to Christianize the
Indians; nor were their efforts entirely unavailing.
Believers in peace, like the Friends, and making their
professions good by daily practices, they gained the
confidence of the aborigines by treating them with in-
flexible honesty, thus preparing the way for the ac-
ceptance of their religious teachings. For many
years the Moravians continued their work with vary-
ing success. Intemperance and wars between the In-
dians and the whites were the chief hindrances.
Count Zinzendorf came to Pennsylvania late in
1741, being accompanied by his eldest daughter, Be-
nigna. He visited the Brethren's settlement on the
Lehigh on December 24, and named it Bethlehem.
During the ensuing six months, animated by religious
zeal, he traveled through southeastern Pennsylvania,
supplying destitute and isolated neighborhoods with
the means of grace and education, organized churches,
wrote multitudinous theological papers and essays, and
preached statedly at Germantown and Philadelphia.
In June he again repaired to Bethlehem, and having
organized the Moravians there into a congregation, he
set off for a tour of exploration into the Indian countr}^,
visiting various tribes, and cultivating their friendship
and good will. At the close of 1742 he left for Europe,
where he died in 1760.
The number of Indian converts maintained by the
Moravian congregation at Bethlehem kept steadily
growing. Augmented by Mohegans from Shekomeko,
in the state of Connecticut, and Patchgatgoch, in New
York, near the borders of the first named state, their
number grew to such proportions that it was found in-
convenient to properly care for them all at one place.
28 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Accordingly, in the early part of the year 1746, a
mission was established near the mouth of the Mahon-
ing creek, on the west side of the Lehigh river.
The land thus occupied was then contained within
the limits of Bucks county, becoming a part of North-
ampton when that county was organized in 1752. At
a later date it became a part Carbon, and the settle-
ment which was there planted was the first that was
made by white men in this county. The location was
selected by Count Zinzendorf in 1742, when, in com-
pany with several friendly Indians, he ascended the
Lehigh on his tour of exploration. The land on which
the mission was established was purchased in 1745,
there being one hundred and ninety-seven acres in the
tract.
The Moravians named the place Gnadenhtitten,
meaning Tents of Grace, or, more literally speaking,
Mercy Huts. South Lehighton now occupies the site
where the mission stood, and smoke wreaths from the
tall chimneys of flourishing industries brood over the
peaceful valley where civilization gained its first foot-
hold in this immediate region of the state. The first
work done here was performed under Martin Mack, a
missionary, the white men and the Indians laboring
side by side in the enterprise of clearing the ground
and erecting the necessary buildings.
The improvements were meant to be but temporary,
])ecause it was designed from the first to locate the In-
dians permanently on the Susquehanna; the project
was, however postponed from time to time, and thus
the settlement on the Mahoning grew, and became the
seat of a most flourishing mission. The farm buildings
lay at the foot of the hill, near the creek; on its first
ascent were the huts of the Indians, forming a cres-
cent; behind these was an orchard, and on the summit,
HISTOEY OF CAKBCN COUNTY.
29
the graveyard. The latter was laid out in August,
1746. Jeannette, the wife of Martin Mack, lies buried
here, her dust mingling with that of about two score
others, both Indian and white, who died at the mission.
Each Indian family was allotted a portion of land, and
each had its own house. A little log church was built
in the valley.
On the eighteenth of August, 1746, the Indians and
the missionaries held a love feast, partaking of the first
fruits of the land and of their labor, while offering
thanks to God for the blessings that He had bestowed.
The sound of song arose from the forest hamlet morn-
ing and evening, and the labors of the day were always
begun and concluded with prayer. Portions of the
Bible were translated into the Mohegan tongue, to be
read whenever the congregation was assembled, and
devout discourses were delivered every Sunday by the
missionaries.
The holy sacrament was administered to the congre-
gation once every month; this day was known among
the Indians as ''The Great Day." Christian Ranch
and Martin Mack, who first ministered to the spiritual
needs of the congregation on the Mahoning were suc-
ceeded by others after a comparatively short period, it
being the policy of the Moravians to make frequent
changes, so that the Indians might not form too strong
an attaclmaent for their religious leaders, but learn to
place their hope and dependence on God alone.
The church built during the first year of the mission
was soon too small to accommodate the growing con-
gregation, and the missionaries usually preached in the
ojDen air, that all might hear.
Successive parcels of land were added to the original
tract on both sides of the Lehigh, until 1382 acres be-
longed to the establishment.
30 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
The affairs of tlie station being i)roniising, Bishop
Watteville went to Gnadenhiitten in 1749, and laid the
foundation of a new church, which was dedicated by
Bishop Cammerhoff on November 14 of that year.
There were accessions from Pachgatgoch and Wech-
quetank in 1747 and 1748, and from Meniolagomeka
in 1754. The last named place lay in Smith's Valley,
eight miles west of the Wind Gap, on the north bank
of the Aqnashicola, in Monroe county. The Moravians
conducted a mission here, but it was finally absorbed
by that at Gnadenhiitten, the converts being Delawares.
The congregation at Gnadenhiitten now numbered
several hundred people.
During 1754, the land on the Mahoning being imi)0v-
erished, the seat of the mission was transferred to the
east side of the river, where Weissport now stands.
The transfer was made in the month of May. The
place was called New Gnadenhiitten. The dwellings
were removed from the opposite side of the river, and
a new chapel was erected.
In the removal of the buildings, the chapel only ex-
cepted, the Indians were kindly assisted by the congre-
gations at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Christianbrunn, and
Guadenthal, who furnished not only workmen and ma-
terials, but even contributions of money.
The work progressed so rapidly that twenty dwell-
ings were ready for occuj^ation early in June, while the
foundation stone of the new cha])el was laid on the
eleventh of that month. Bishop Spangonborg preached
a powerful sermon on this occasion. The houses were
so placed as to form a street, on one side of which
lived the Mohegans, and on the other the Delawares.
The Brethren at Bethlehem took the culture of the
old land on the ^Mahoning u]ion themselves, made a
plantation of it for the use of the Indian congregation,
Teedyuscung.
From ;i Stntiic in Faifiimuiit Tark. riiil;i(lrl|ilii;i.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3;^
and converted the old chapel into a dwelling, both for
the use of those who cared for the plantation and for
the accommodation of missionaries passing to and fro
along the Lehigh.
The mission at Gnadenhiitten was connected with
that at Bethlehem by a road which was built during the
third year of the history of the first named congrega-
tion.
Among the Indians who came under the influence of
the Moravians was Teedyuscung, who was destined to
become the last great war king of the Delawares.
According to his own statement, he was born about
the year 1700, near Trenton, New Jersey. In this
neighborhood his ancestors of the Lenape had been
seated from time immemorial.
Old Captain Harris, a noted Delaware was his
father. He was the father of a family of high spirited
sons who were not in good repute with their white
neighbors. The latter named them, it is true, for men
of their own people, and Teedyuscung they termed
''Honest John"; yet they disliked and feared them;
for the Harrises were known to be moody and resent-
ful, and were heard to speak threatening words as
they saw their paternal acres passing out of their
hands, and their hunting grounds converted into pas-
tures and cultivated fields. These they left with re-
luctance, and migrated westward, in company with
others of the Turtles or Delawares of the lowlands.
Crossing the great river of their nation, they entered
the province of Pennsylvania in its forks, that is to
say, on the north side of the Lehigh, which river was
in earlier times termed the west fork of the Delaware.
This was about 1730. Finding no white men here they
lived the life which they loved so well until the advent
of the Scotch-Irish immigrants, who began to crowd
32 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the Delawares in the forks south of the Blue mountain
as early as 1735.
Count Zinzendorf 's reconnoisance in 1742 introduced
the Moravian missionaries into the homes of the east-
ern Delawares ; and from that time they preached the
gospel to them on both sides of the mountain.
Teedyuscung too heard them, first on the Aquashi-
cola and then on the Mahoning.
Impressed by the words of the plainly clad preachers
from Bethlehem, his religious feelings were stirred,
and he sought for admission into Christian fellowship
with the Mohegans and Delawares of Gnadenhiitten by
baptism.
The missionaries hesitated long before they acceded
to his request, for they tell us that he was as unstable
as water and like a reed shaken before the wind.
Hence they granted him a time of probation, and as he
reiterated his request at its close, they consented to
admit him into their communion. He was baptised by
Bishop Cammerhoff in the little chapel on the ]Mahon-
ing in 1750. The estimation in which he was held by
the Moravians is indicated by the entry which the
Bishop performing the rite made in his record :
''March 12. To-day I ba])tized Tatiush(n(Jt, the chief
among sinners."
Thus the straight limbed Delaware warrior became a
member of the Christian church. But the lessons of
the Divine Master whom he had ]iromised to follow
proved distasteful to him. Every fibre of his being
rebelled against the idea of the renunciation of self,
the practice of humility, the forgiveness of iniuries,
and the return of good for evil. These doctrines did
not accord well with the lessons which he had learned
in the stern school of nature, in which he had for half
a century been an observant ])upil.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
33
Hence he ill brooked tlie restraints imposed upon
liim in the "Huts of Grace," and resisted the influence
of the Good Spirit that sought to dispossess him of the
resentment that burned in his soul when he remem-
bered how his countrymen were being injured by the
whites, and how they had been traduced and were being-
oppressed by the imperious Iroquois, who had made
them their vassals.
The Moravians, it is true, treated the Indians justly
and fairly ; but these could not atone by their kindness
and honest}^ for the wrongs which other white settlers
along the border were daily heaping upon the aborigi-
nes against a day of terrible retribution.
CHAPTER III.
GNADENEUTTEN DESTROYED IX INDIAX UPEISING.
The crucial hour in the history of North America
was soon to strike. Although there had been no for-
mal declaration of war, the English and the French
had long been maneuvering in the gigantic game that
was being i)laYed by the rival nations for supremacy
in the New World.
The issue of the conflict which was then impending
was, after years of sanguinary struggle, determined on
the Plains of Abraham, giving to the English tongue
and to the institutions of the Germanic race the better
part of half a continent for all future time. Appre-
ciating the help which might be rendered by the In-
dians, the French emissaries, bent on territorial ag-
grandizement, made alluring representations to the
dusky dwellers of the forest, in which the prospect of
recovering their national independence and the homes
of their forefathers was flatteringly held out. The con-
fidence of the Indians in the descendants of the "good
Penn," whose memory they revered, had already been
seriously im])aired; and under these circumstances it is
not surprising that the designing French were able to
secure their allegiance and good will.
The Indians along the Susipiehanna who were favor-
able to the interests of the French looked with much
disfavor on the mission of the ^loravians at Gnaden-
Imtten. Messenger after messenger came down from
that region with sinistiM- invitations to the reluctant
Delawares and IMohegans at Gnadeuhiitteu to come u])
to them and ])lant at Wyoming. Teedyuscung liad
already yielded to the ])ersuasions of his untrained
o4
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 35
countrymen from the Minisinks, who had come to the
smithy at Gnadenhiitten, bringing with them their un-
shod ponieS' and broken flint locks, preparing for war.
They told him that the hour had come to place things
in readiness to rise against their oppressors, and they
asked him to be their leader and king. This was in the
spring of 1754. Abraham Shabash, the first of the
patriarchs, also turned his back on the whites, and the
two chieftains together prevailed upon seventy of the
'^brown hearts," as the missionaries termed the In-
dians, to remove to Wyoming, there to live neutral, or
to arrajT- themselves under their standard. Further
efforts to induce the rest of the Indians at the mission
to imitate the example of these seventy in removing to
Wyoming proved unavailing, and this roused the
hatred of Teedyuscung and his dissatisfied followers.
''Are they not our brethren, and is it not best that
they should return to their own people?" was their in-
sidious plea.
Meanwhile they and others reasoned among them-
selves : ' ' If these Moravian Indians continue at Gnad-
enhiitten they may thwart us in our plans when the
time comes to take up the hatchet ; they may become in-
formers, or they may be employed as scouts and run-
ners; and even if they hold themselves neutral, their
proximity to the settlements will embarrass our move-
ments." Foiled in effecting the coveted removal, the
chieftain spoke angrily of the Moravians, and the evil
report was spread throughout the Indian country that
the palefaced preachers from Bethlehem were craftily
holding the Indians in bondage. To render the situa-
tion of the Moravians still more trying the mission
among the aborigines was loudly denounced by that
class of white people who profited by degrading and
defrauding the Indians. These men published the mis-
36 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
sionaries to the world as an association in league with
the savages, in the interests of the French, and as de-
serving of being treated as a common enemy. Thns a
strong feeling was aroused against the Moravians.
In July, 1755, Braddock's army was disastrously
routed and almost annihilated on the banks of the
Monongahela. His defeat left the whole border of the
province deplorably defenseless, and was the signal
for a general uprising among the Indians. The Dela-
wares of the East met the Delawares of the West in
council on the Allegheny and prepared for war. They
were especially bitter in their denunciations of the
fraud that had been perpetrated by the whites in the
walking purchase of 1737. Wherever the white man
was settled within this disputed territory, there they
resolved to strike him as best they could with the most
approved weapons of their savage warfare. And that
the blow might be effectually dealt, each warrior chief
was instructed to kill, seal]:), and burn within the pre-
cincts of his birth-right, and all simultaneously, from
the frontiers down into the heart of the settlements,
until the English should sue for peace and promise re-
dress.
Teedyuscung assembled the Delawares and the allied
Shawnese and Mohicans on the Susquehanna, where a
plan of campaign was mapped out for the coming
autumn and winter.
Soon the whole frontier along the line of the Blue
mountains, extending from the Delaware to the Sus-
quehanna, was bathed in blood. The terrifying sound
of the war-hoop, intermingled with the shrieks and
groans of the dying, echoed along the border.
Sparing neither man, woman nor child, the Indians
indiscriminately killed, mutilated and scalped the de-
fenseless settlers and their families, while their humble
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
37
homes were reduced to ashes. The Indians had their
hiding place in the dark recesses of the Great Swamp,
later known as the Shades of Death, or the Pine
Swamp. Here Teedyuscung gathered together his
forces, as the tempest marshals the battalions of its
wrath in the bosom of the thunder-cloud, and would
suddenly emerge at a time and place least expected,
carrying havoc and consternation into the settlements.
Occasionally there would be indications of these im-
pending ravages that filled the hearts of the settlers
with foreboding. Perhaps the distant report of a gun
would be heard from the solitary woodland, where
there was known to be no white man ; the cattle which
had been wandering in the woods would sometimes re-
turn home wounded; or an Indian or two would be
seen lurking about the skirts of the sombre forests and
suddenly disappearing, as the lightning may at times
be seen playing silently about the edge of the cloud that
gives warning of the approach of the storm.
Many of the people, abandoning all their belongings,
sought madly to escape, only to be suddenly overtaken
in many instances, and mercilessly slain.
As winter came on, the border was well-nigh de-
populated of white people; but the Moravians made a
covenant together to remain undaunted in the place
alloted them by Providence. In so doing they acted
unwisely. For on the evening of the twenty-fourth of
November, they were suddenly and horribly aroused
from their sense of fancied security, the mission-house
on the Mahoning being attacked by Indians, burned to
the ground, and ten of its inhabitants massacred, while
another was carried away a captive.
It was in the gloaming, says a Moravian chronicler,
and they were about finishing their evening meal when
38 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the furious barking of dogs in the farm yard apprised
them of the approach of strangers.
Joachim Senseman being reminded that the meeting
house was not locked hastened thither to secure it.
This precaution saved him.
The barking of the dogs had been indeed porten-
tous; for soon after there were voices, and then foot-
steps were heard without.
Martin Nitschmann opened the door to ascertain
whose they were.
A blinding flash, followed by a terrible I'oar revealed
the hateful countenances of twelve Shawnese, painted
for war, and Nitschmann fell to the floor riddled with
bullets. Joseph Sturgis was also grazed by two bul-
lets. The door standing ajar, the attacking party
poured a random volley into the room, killing or
wounding John Lesley, Martin Presser, and John Gat-
termeyer.
Those who remained retreated preciptately into an
adjoining apartment, and from there up the stairway
to the loft, closely followed by the Indians, who raised
a terrific war-whoop.
Susanna Nitschmann was overtaken on the stairs,
and pierced by a ball ; reeling backward, she fell into the
hands of the enemy. Her piteous cries for help were
unavailing; she was bound, gagged, and given to an
attendant by her captor to grace his trium])li on his
return to his native village.
Eight persons reached the attic, inunediately barri-
cading the tra]) door at the head of the steps.
George Schweigert, a sturdy teamster, successfully
resisted the desperate attem])ts of the assailants to
force it with their hatchets and the butts of their guns.
Foiled in their efforts to reach those for whose blood
thev lhi]-sted, the Indians fired repeated volleys
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY,
39
through the floor, and some from without into the roof,
in the hope of killing or bringing to terms the unfortu-
nate beings within. Suddenly the shooting ceased.
Deep silence prevailed, while hope revived in the hearts
of the survivors.
Soon they realized the terrible fate that awaited
them. The torch had been applied, and the house was
in flames. One of the number went to the window and
shouted for help, but the only answer was the echo of
his wailing cry. Among the fated company in the loft
were three helpless and tender women, and it is re-
corded that they were long the most composed.
Anna Senseman was last seen seated upon a bed with
folded hands and upturned face in an attitude of pious
resignation. The second wa& a mother with an infant
in her arms. Wrapping the child in her apron, she
pressed it closely to her bosom and sat in silence; for
the flood of feeling and motherly affection that swept
through her heart in that moment of peril and supreme
anguish rendered her speechless. This wae Johanna,
the wife of Gottlieb Anders, the gardener.
At intervals, above the roar of the flames and the
whoops and taunts of the Shawnese, were heard the
piteous cries of the affrighted little one.
Three of the beleaguered party could now endure the
suspense no longer, and chose the desperate alterna-
tive of risking their lives in an attempt to escape in
preference to that of certain death by the horrors of
fire. The first to take the awful leap was Joseph Stur-
gis, a youth of seventeen years. Watching his chance
at a moment when the vigilance of the sentinel on
guard was relaxed, he jumped to the ground, ran for
his life and won it. He lived many years thereafter.
Susan Partsch followed Sturgis' example, reaching the
meeting place without being detected. Here she se-
40 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
creted herself for a time, leaving her covert on the
approach of the Indians, later in the evening, and mak-
ing her way falteringly down the valley toward the
Lehigh.
George Fabricius, a scholar, was the next to take the
desperate leap. He did so with hesitation, having
waited until goaded to the attempt b}'" the fierce heat of
the burning building. He fell as he reached the ground,
but sprang quickly to his feet, probably feeling that he
was safe. His hoj^es were of short duration. Being
discovered, he was instantly pierced by two bullets, and
sank to the earth.
Rushing upon him, the infuriated Indians buried
their tomahawks in his unresisting body and scalped
him down to the eyes. His mutilated corpse was found
the next day in a pool of blood on the spot where he
had cruelly met his death.
By its side, in mournful vigil, was couched his faith-
ful dog. Five of the inmates of the house on the Ma-
honing met death in the fire.
AVhen the attacking party made its first onslaught
Joachim Senseman and George Partsch, who were with-
out the house, made a brief reconnoisance of the
position, which showed them the folly of any attempt
to render assistance. They accordingly resolved to
cross the river wthout delay and give the alarm to the
inhabitants of New Gnadeuhiitten.
Their action was probably the means of saving the
life of Uavid Zeisberger, ])erhaps the most noted of all
the missionaries of the IMoravian church among the
Indians. He had reached New Gnadenhiitten from
Bethlehem oai'ly in the evening, and was preparing to
go to the dwelling house on the ^lahoning. ^Martin
Mack advised liim to wait until luorning. He started
on his journey, however, the chill autunmnl winds sigh-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 41
ing among the fallen leaves as he left his friends and
started to cross the river. Shortly afterwards a cry of
distress reached the mission house, but the splashing
of the water by his horse prevented Zeisberger from
hearing it. Mack ran to the Lehigh, where he met
Senseman and Partsch, who conveyed to him the fear-
ful intelligence of what was taking place at the house
on the Mahoning.
By this time the missionary had reached the oppo-
site side of the river, and his friends called to him to
turn back. He heard their voices, and hastened to re-
ford the stream. Soon thereafter a pillar of flame rose
in the direction of the Mahoning.
The loyal Indians at New Gnadenhiitten, upon hear-
ing the reports of the guns, and seeing the flames across
the river, when informed of the cause, went imme-
diately to the missionary in charge, and offered to
attack the enemy. But being advised to the contrary,
they fled precipitately into the woods. New Gnaden-
hiitten was cleared in a few moments, while some who
had already retired for the night, had scarce time to
dress themselves.
Having finished their bloody work on the Mahoning,
the Indians proceeded to pillage and burn the remain-
ing houses of the doomed settlement. First, the barn
and stable, and next the kitchen, the bake house, the
Single Brethren's house, the store, the mill, and, finally,
the meeting house, until the whole valley was light as
day with the glare of the conflagration, athwart which
could be seen, in bold relief, the dusky figures of the
fiendish Shawnese as they hastened to and fro in the
closing scene of this sad tragedy. When their work
was done, they gathered about the spring house, where
they divided their plunder. They then soaked some
bread in milk, feasted with blood-stained hands, and,
42 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
loading their spoils on stolen horses, they filed off
leisurely in the famous Warriors' Path that led to
Wyoming.
Their latter movements were observed by Susan
Partsch, who has been mentioned as having escaped
from the burning house, unperceived by the Indians.
She and her husband were happily re-united the next
morning, each having thought the other had been
killed.
Susanna Nitschmann was carried away a captive,
and at Wyoming Christian Indian women ministered
to her wants, and tried to shield her from a life more
terrible than death. Her captors claimed her, dragged
her to Tioga, and forced her to share the wigwam of
a brutal Indian. The horror of her situation, together
with the wound she had received, broke her strength.
She spent her days and nights in weeping for half a
year, when she was mercifully released from her suf-
ferings by death. Thus the innocent Moravians, who
had lived and labored for the good of the Indians, were
visited with a terrible punishment for the crimes that
unscrupulous men had committed against the aborig-
ines.
After the Indians had retired, the remains of those
killed on the Mahoning were carefully collected from
the ashes and ruins, and were solemnly interred. A
broad marble slab in the graveyard at Lehighton,
placed there in 1778, and a small white obelisk on a
sandstone base, erected since that date, tell in briet'
the melancholy story of (lUadenhiitten, and preserve
the names of those who fell as victims of the hate of
the Indians.
At Bethlehem the peojile had been in an agony of
suspense, for all had seen the lurid glare beyond the
Blue Ridge, made by the burning buildings, and had
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
43
known that evil news of some kind would be borne to
them in a few hours.
The unwelcome intelligence was brought to them by
David Zeisberger at three o'clock in the morning of tlie
next day, and it was broken to the congregation, which
had been summoned to meet in the chapel at five
o 'clock, by Bishop Spangenberg. On his way to Beth-
lehem, the missionary passed a body of militia, who
marched to within five miles of the scene of the mas-
sacre; but fearing an ambushment, they did not ven-
ture to give pursuit in the dark. Towards night of thn
day after the tragedy, eight white people and between
thirty and forty Indians, men, women and children,
who had made their escape from New Gnadenhiitten,
arrived at Bethlehem.
With few exceptions, the remaining settlers of the
upper end of Northampton county and along the Le-
high Valley down to the Irish settlement and below
were precipitately pushing southward into the older
and larger settlements of Bethlehem and Easton.
Naturally, they were filled with the wildest alarm, and
many were scantily clad, while all were entirely desti-
tute.
These unfortunate and panic-stricken people were
received with the greatest kindness by the citfzens of
the localities to which they fled. The Moravians of
Bethlehem kept their wagons plying to and fro between
the village and points eight or ten miles up the road,
bringing in the women and children, who had become
exhausted in their flight and sunk down by the wayside.
A few white families still foolishly persisted in re-
maining on the border after nearly all of their neigh-
bors had fled, and some of these fell easy victims tc
the strategy and hate of the Indians.
44 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNT'S
Among the families who dared to remain in their
homes after so many dreadful warnings was thai of
Frederick Hoeth, living about twelve miles east of New
Gnadenhiitten, or what is now Weissport. On the eve-
ning of the tenth of December, 1755, their habitation
was attacked by a small party of Indians, six of the
family killed, and two or three others carried away into
captivity, while the house was reduced to ashes.
The family was at supper, when a volley was fired
through the windows, killing Hoeth, and wounding a
woman. The firing continued, and a few of the inmates
of the doomed house fled into the open. The invaders
at once applied the torch to the dwelling, stables, and
an adjoining mill.
Mrs. Hoeth sought shelter and security in the bake
house, which was also set on fire. When unable longer
to endure the resulting heat and smoke, the unfortu-
nate woman rushed forth and dashed headlong into the
Poho Poko creek, where she died, either by drowning
or from the burns she had received. The Indians hor-
ribly mutilated her body with knives and tomahawks.
Three children were burned to death, while a mature
daughter was killed and scalped.
Unlike the peace-loving Moravians, who refused to
bear arms, even to protect their own lives, the members
of the Hoeth family, when attacked, made the best de-
fense of which they were capable, and one Indian was
killed and another wounded in the affray.
Innnediately following the massacre of Gnadenhiit-
ten, the company of militia that Zeisberger passed on
the way repaired to the scene of the murders. This
body of troops was commanded })y C'a])tain Hay, and
was re-inforced ])y another company under Colonel An-
derson. Ca])tain Wilson, of Bucks connty, with a com-
pany of sixty or seventy men, also marched northward a
HI9T0EY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
45
few days after the massacre. These troops were posted
at the deserted village to guard the mills, filled with
grain that belonged to the Christian Indians, from
being destroyed. They were also expected to protect
the few remaining settlers about Gnadenhiitten. A
temporary stockade was erected, and all would have
been well had the troops been officered by men experi-
enced in the tactics of Indian warfare. But this all-
important qualification was lacking, and disaster soon
followed. On New Year's Day, in 1756, a number of
the garrison fell victims to an Indian stratagem. The
soldiers, to vary the monotony of life at the fort, were
skating on the ice which covered the Lehigh. While
so engaged they caught sight of two Indians farther
up the stream, and, thinking that it would be an easy
matter to capture or kill them, gave chase. They
gained rapidly upon the Indians, who proved to be
decoys, skilfully manoeuvering to draw them into an
ambush. The fort was now some distance behind, and
a party of Indians suddenly sprang from a thicket in
the rear of the soldiers, cutting off their retreat, and
falling upon them with the fury of a whirlwind. The
soldiers were taken entirely off their guard, and being
outnumbered they were quickly dispatched. This inci-
dent had such a depressing effect on the soldiers re-
maining in the fort that many of them deserted. The
others, thinking themselves incapable of holding the
place, withdrew. This was the moment for which the
savages had been waiting. Seizing all the portable
property that to them seemed of any value, they fired
the fort, the mills and the houses in which the Mo-
hicans and the Delawares had so peacefully lived for a
time, the settlement being totally destroyed in a few
hours.
46 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
All these and countless similar acts of hostility
finally awakened many who had been temporizing or
believing that the blow would not fall on them to pre-
pare for an efficient defense. There was no further
time to be lost, because there was grave danger that
this whole portion of the province might fall into the
hands of the enemy.
CHAPTER IV.
BELATED MEASURES FOB DEFENSE OF Fr.ONTIEE.
The defenseless condition in which the border of
Pennsylvania was found at the breaking out of the
French and Indian War is to be attributed largely
to the fact that the policies of the province were
moulded and directed principally by members of the
Society of Friends. They, like the Moravians, were
lovers of peace, and it was contrary to their avowed
principles to engage in warfare. This being true, it
was natural that they did not consider it necessary to
prepare for war. Again, the duty of protecting the
province devolved solely on the proprietaries, and
until this time the government had very little to do
with this important function.
Aroused at last by the depredations perpetrated by
hundreds of scalping parties and the loud complaints
of the colonists, the assembly reluctanily enacted a
militia law. But this encouraged a non-military spirit ;
it prescribed no penalty for those who were unwilling
to enlist ; the officers were elected by ballot, inadequate
means existed for enforcing obedience ; the enlistment
of persons under twenty-one was forbidden, and like-
wise the march of men more than three days' journey
from the inhabited parts of the province, or their de-
tention in garrison for more than three weeks.
The slight value of the law was destroyed by the
preamble, which declared that the majority of the as-
sembly was opposed to bearing arms, and that a com-
pulsory militia law was unconstitutional. The law,
however, was designed to encourage and protect volun-
teer associations for the public defense.
47
48 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Later, the tardiness and reluctance of the assembly
in making provisions for the protection of the settlers
spurred the latter to make a formal protest to tli«
English king. A committee was appointed by the
privy council to investigate the truth of the charges
contained in the protest, with the result that the con-
duct of the assembly was condemned. The committee
declared that the assembly of Pennsylvania was bound
by the original compact to support the government
and protect its subjects ; that the measures enacted for
that purpose were inadequate; and that there was no
hope for more effective ones so long as a majority
of that body consisted of persons whose principles
were opposed to military service, although they repre-
sented less than one-sixth of the jDopulation.
For three-quarters of a century the Friends had
controlled the legislative destiny of the province, but
now it was to pass from them forever. For a lime
they continued to &end a majority of the members ot
the assemblj^, but those who believed in the principle
of non-resistance no longer gave the ke^^note to ihat
body.
At the time of the Indian uprising the Blue moun-
tain practically marked the limit of actual settlement
on the part of the white men. Standing, as it did on
the verge of civilization, and forming in itself a natural
barrier, it was but in accordance with reason, when the
provincial government, late in 1755, with evident re-
gret took the defense of the settlers into its own hands,
to occupy it and to there stay the further encroach-
ments of the enemy. It is well to bear in mind that
the bloody work of the Indian? was not performed by
large bodies or any numbers com])ined; neither were
the tactics of civilized warfare followed. But ])arties
of from three to ten or twenty would creep noiselessly
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
49
past alert and watchful sentries and suddenly- fall
upon tlieir unsuspecting victims, just as suddenly dis-
appearing after tlieir dreadful work had been com-
pleted, long before the alarm had been spread, and
before the most active troops could overtake them.
This required peculiar methods of defense, necessitat-
ing the erection of forts not very distant from each
other, which would occujDy prominent points of ap-
proach, and, if possible, be situated on elevated
ground, thus furnishing a view of the danger in ad-
vance. It was also important that these forts should
be convenient of access to the settlers, who might, and
constantly did, flee to them for refuge. And last, but
by no means least, an abundant supply of water nearby
was essential.
Upon the occurrence of the first ravages of the In-
dians, block houses were erected by the settlers them-
selves, or farm houses were used as such, being located
where the danger seemed most imminent, and without
respect to any general plan.
When the provincial government decided to assume
the duty of protecting the settlers, one of the first
steps taken was the appointment of two commission-
ers, who were expeced to outline a plan of defense, and
to supervise its execution. The men chosen for this
responsible task were James Hamilton and Benjamin
Franklin. Under their direction a chain of forts was
established along the Blue mountain, reaching from
the Susquehanna to the Delaware. The distance be-
tween these forts was from ten to fifteen miles, de-
pending upon the comparative situation of the promi-
nent gaps, which gateways were invariably occupied.
Sometimes the chain of defenses ran on the north side
of the mountain, then again on the south side. Fre-
quently both sides of the mountain were occupied, as
50 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
tlie needs of the pojiulation demanded. Sometimes
these forts consisted of defenses previously erected
by the settlers, which were available for the purpose,
and of which the government took possession, whilst
others were newly erected.
Among the defenses already existing when Hamilton
and Franklin began the prosecution of their arduous
and necessary undertaking was Fort Lehigh, situated
just north of Lehigh Gap, and occupying the present
site of Palmerton. Properly speaking it was only a
block house, but it commanded an important position,
and was for a time garrisoned by the provincial sol-
diers. There was also a fort erected on the south side
of the Blue mountain at Slatington, these two defenses
being but a few miles apart. The most important,
however, of all the forts along the Blue mountain, and
the first to be erected, was Fort Allen, situated at New
Gnadenhiitten, where Weissport now stands. The ex-
pediency of fortifying this location was first pointed
out by Bishop A. G. Spangenberg, then the head of the
Moravian congregation at Bethlehem, and a man of
practical wisdom. In a letter to the provincial govern-
ment, dated November 29, 3755, he gives it as his
opinion that the safety of all the settlements lying
along the Lehigh and the Delaware, even as far down
as Philadelphia, itself, depended on immediately erect-
ing a fort at this place. Continuing, he declares: '*If
the French once come and build there a fort, it will cost
as much, if T am not mistaken, as the taking of Crown
Point to get it out of their hands; foi- if they put a
garrison in the gaps of the mountains, and make there
also a fortification, you cannot come at them at all with
any great guns." In closing, he also refers to the
property of the Christian Indians remaining there with-
f)ut adequate protection, at the same time offering the
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 5J^
government ten acres of land on which to erect a fort.
The erection of a fortification at the point indicated by
Bishop Spangenberg was determined upon about the
middle of December, partly because of the valuable
property remaining there after the Moravians had de-
serted it, but chiefly because of its central and com-
manding location.
Hamilton and Franklin had ordered Captain Hay
to that point, not alone to guard the property there,
but to build the fort. The disastrous developments of
the first of January, when the Indians succeeded in
scaring off the soldiers under his command, and firing
the settlement and the stockade which had been erected,
proved conclusively that he was unfit for the duty to
which he had been assigned. Occurrences similar to
this were taking place at other points throughout
Northampton county and along the border.
Naturally this did not have a reassuring effect upon
the people. Everyone being filled with excitement and
terror, it is not to be wondered at if the settlers, under
these conditions, made unreasonable demands on the
government. To such an extent does this seem to have
been done that Governor Morris became somewhat im-
patient and discouraged. On January 5, 1756, he
writes from Eeading to the provincial council at Phila-
delphia, saying in part :
''The commissioners (Hamilton and Franklin) have
done everything that was proper in the county of
Northampton ; but the people are not satisfied, nor by
what I can learn from the commissioners would they
be, unless every man's house were protected by a fort
and a company of soldiers, and themselves paid for
staying at home and doing nothing. There are in the
county three hundred men in the pay of the govern-
ment, and yet, from the disposition of the inhabitants,
5
52 HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
the want of conduct in the officers, and of courage and
discipline in the men, I am fearful that the whole coun-
try will fall into the enemy's hands."
In casting about for a man with the qualifications
necessary to bring order and security out of all this
chaos and confusion, Governor Morris finally pre-
vailed upon Franklin himself to take personal charge
of the northwestern frontier, giving him full power to
enlist men and to commission officers. He experienced
no difficulties in securing volunteers, proving himself a
capable recruiting officer. Assembling his forces at
Bethlehem, he appointed his son, who had seen service
as an officer in the army raised against Canada, as
his aide-de-camp. It was the beginning of January,
1756, when Franklin began active operations in the
defense of the frontier. He divided the force under
him into three divisions. One detachment was sent to
the Minisink region with instructions to build a fort
for the protection of the upper part of the country;
and another was sent to the lower part with similar
instructions. With the remainder of the force, Frank-
lin determined to go to Gnadenlmtten, where a fort
was thought more immediately necessary. The Mo-
ravians at Bethlehem furnished him with the wagons
necessary to transport tools, stores and baggage. All
preparations had now been completed to begin the
march into the wilderness. Just before leaving Beth-
lehem, eleven farmers, who had been driven from their
homes by the Indians, appealed to Franklin for fire-
arms that they might return to their farms to bring
away their cattle, which, in their precipitate flight they
had left behind.
On January 15, Colonel Franklin, for that was then
his title, broke camp at Bethlehem and started his little
array on the march to Gnadenhiitten, the distance to
HISTOKY or CAEBON COUNTY. 53
be covered being thirty-one miles. The force had not
proceeded many miles when the rain began falling,
and they were thoroughly drenched. On the way, the
men were met by one of the eleven farmers already re-
ferred to, who conveyed to them the melancholy in-
telligence that they had been attacked by Indians, and
that all save himself had been killed. The guns with
which the farmers had been provided, while not differ-
ing from those that were carried by the soldiers, were
of the most ordinary sort, and the priming having be-
come wet, could not be discharged. Hence the ten men
fell easy victims to the Indians, who were better
equipped in this respect than the farmers were. But
a few miles were traversed the first day, the roads
being in poor condition, and the wagons heavy.
Franklin was especially concerned for the safety of
his men while passing through Lehigh Gap, where he
feared the Indians might be lying in wait to attempt
an ambuscade. The fate that befell the ten luckless
farmers' because their weapons proved useless when
put to the test, was not calculated to inspire a feeling
of security, since he knew that the guns with which his
soldiers were armed, being unprotected from the rain,
would probably behave in like manner, should the oc-
casion to use them at that time arise. The little army
passed through the gap unmolested, however, reaching
the home of Nicholas Uplinger at nightfall. The force
had been augmented by the accession of fifty men
under Captain Wayne on the way. The men were
quartered for the night in Uplinger 's barn.
In the morning the march to Gnadenhiitten was re-
sumed, but only a few miles were covered when rain
again began to fall. There being no shelter to look
forward to at the destination of the march, and the
soldiers being unprovided with great coats to protect
54 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
them from the elements, it was deemed advisable to
face a])oiit and return to the quarters of the previous
night for shelter. The next day being Sunday, the
march was resumed, and New Gnadenhiitten was
reached at about two o'clock in the afternoon. Before
dark the camp had been enclosed with a musket-proof
breastwork, and with boards which had been ordered
sent in advance from a saw-mill which stood where
Slatington now is. The following day was so gloomy
and foggy that it was determined no work should be
done. A temporary defense having been i:)rovided, the
next duty to be performed was to give proper burial
to the bodies of the victims of the massacre at Gnad-
enhiitten, these having been but partially interred in
the first instance. On Tuesday morning the ground on
which the fort was to be erected was decided upon,
and the men began work with a will. Seventy axe-men
dexterously felled enough trees in several hours for
the purpose in hand. The fort was one hundred and
twenty-five feet long, and fifty feet wide. First a
trench on all four sides was dug to the depth of three
feet. Then palisades or timbers eighteen feet in
length and about a foot in diameter, being pointed at
the top, were ])laced vertically in the trench until the
enclosure was complete, forming what is known as a
stockade. Each tree, when cut in lengths made three
palisades. When the stockade had been completed, a
floor or platform of boards was built all around within
at a height of about six feet from the ground, the plan
being for the men to stand on this when fii-ing through
the loop-holes, which occun-od at regular intervals in
the walls.
As was almost invariably the case in the construc-
tion of forts of this nature, a number of block-houses,
piei'ced with loo])-lioles, M^re erected within the on-
HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
55
closed space. These were intended to be occupied as
quarters by the soldiers and the refugee settlers. A
well sixteen feet deep and four in diameter, walled
with stones taken from the river, was dug for the use
of the garrison.
The fort was finished on Saturday morning, less
than a week having been required for its erection,
notwithstanding that the progress of the work was
greatly hindered by rain. The flag was then hoisted,
followed by a general discharge of the rifles of the sol-
diers, together with two swivel guns, constituting all
the artillery of the fort. The cannon were fired for
the purpose of overawing the Indians, should there be
any close hj. The defense was named Fort Allen in
honor of Judge William Allen, father of James Allen,
who in 1762 laid out Allentown.
"This kind of fort," says Franklin in his auto-
biography, "however contemptible, is a sufficient de-
fense against Indians, who have no cannon."
Considering themselves now securely posted, and
having a shelter to flee to, should the occasion de-
mand, the men forming the garrison ventured out in
parties to scour the surrounding country for Indians.
They failed to encounter any; but evidences were not
lacking that the wily denizens of the forests had been
interested spectators of the activities of the garrison.
It being winter, and the weather being inclement, a
fire was of course necessary for the comfort of the
Indians as they watched the progress of the work at
the fort. An ordinary fire, kindled on the surface of
the ground, would by its light and smoke have dis-
closed their presence at a distance. They, therefore,
dug holes of about three feet in diameter in the ground,
sinking them to the depth of perhaps four feet. Em-
ploying their hatchets they then cut off the charcoal
56 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
from the sides of burnt logs lying in the woods. With
these coals they made small fires' in the bottom of the
holes, and the soldiers observed among the weeds and
grass the prints of their bodies, made by their lying
on the ground while their legs and feet dangled over
the fire, it being an essential point with an Indian to
keep the lower extremities warm.
Franklin was compelled to admire the shrewdness
of the Indians in thus managing their fires that they
might not l)e discovered, either by their light, flames,
sparks, or even smoke. It appeared that their number
had not been great, and evidently appreciating the dis-
advantage of their situation, did not venture an at-
tack.
Franklin's next concern was to get the fort well
stored with provisions and ammunition.
This done, he received a letter from Governor Morris,
apprising him of the fact that he had called the As-
sembly, and that he desired his presence in Philadel-
phia, if the posture of affairs on the frontier was such
that he felt warranted in leaving. The other two forts,
which the separate detachments of his command had
been ordered to build, were now completed, and the
settlers of the region feeling reasonably secure in the
protection they afforded, he resolved to return to civ-
ilization, the more willinglj^, as he tells us, since Colo-
nel Clapham, an officer experienced in Indian warfare,
and who was a visitor at the fort, consented tem])ora-
rily to accept the conunantl.
Franklin gave this officer a commission, and, parad-
ing the garrison, had it read to them. He assured the
soldiers that the Colonel, who was a New Englander,
was better qualified, owing to his Tuilitary experience,
to command them tban himself.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
57
Delivering a short address of farewell and of exhor-
tation, he then took his leave, being accompanied by
an armed escort as far as Bethlehem, where he rested
a few days to recover from the hardships which he
had undergone. Just nineteen days had elapsed since
he, with his little army, had broken camp at Bethle-
iiem. for the march into the wilderness ; but during that
brief interval a defenseless frontier, which had been
almost entirely deserted by the settlers, was converted
into a defensible one. This change had been brought
about largely through the energies and good sense of
one man, whose services in this respect were later over-
shadowed by his more eminent achievements in civil
life. Once more the people could breathe freely,
though the danger had not fully passed, and it was not
until the close of the Eevolutionary War that the peo-
ple felt themselves secure from Indian attacks. Fort
Allen was garrisoned for five years from the date of
its erection, and was occasionally occupied by soldiers
after the expiration of that time. Some of the com-
panies stationed at the fort during its earlier history,
and during the period of greatest danger, served with-
out pay, besides furnishing their own arms and am-
munition.
Later, however, the soldiers who garrisoned the
forts along the Blue Eidge were provincial troops,
which, almost without exception, were details from the
First Battalion, Pennsylvania Eegiment, commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel Conrad Weisser, a gallant and
energetic officer, who for many years played a promi-
nent part in various capacities in the Indian affairs of
the province.
A marked change had now taken place in the com-
position of the assembly of Pennsylvania. In the face
of earnest opposition on the part of the Friends, that
58 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
body had enacted legislation providing for the pay-
ment of bounties on Indian scalps. Indians were em-
ployed to fight Indians ; and the cruelty of the savage
was stimulated by the promise of reward. In response
to this cold invitation to murder, a number of scalping
parties penetrated the Indian country early in 1756.
One of these bands was from New Jersey, and num-
bered one hundred men.
Soon after the inauguration of this policy by the
province. Governor Morris opened negotiations with
the Indians with a view to putting an end to the strife,
if possible. In pursuance of this object he issued a
proclamation ordering a cessation of hostilities, and
recalling the scalping parties.
Further efforts finally effected a meeting between
the Governor and Teedyuscung, the Delaware chief, at
Easton, about the middle of July. This was the first
appearance in the settlements of Teedyuscung since
he had taken up the hatchet against the whites. Ac-
companied by about thirty Indians, men, women, and
children, he stopped at Fort Allen on his way to the
conference. It was on this occasion that he first pro-
claimed his kingship. We are told that at this, and
succeeding conferences that were held, Teedyuscung
stood up as the champion of his people, fearlessly de-
manding restitution of their lands, or an equivalent
for their irreparable loss, and in addition, the free
exercise of the right to select, within the territory in
dispute, a permanent home.
The chieftain's imposing ]n'esence, his earnestness
of appeal, and his impassioned oratory, as he xilead
the cause of the long-injured Lenape, evoked the ad-
miration of his' enemies themselves.
He always spoke in the euphonious Delaware,
although he was conversant with the white man's
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 59
Speech. It would almost appear from the records of
these gatherings, that the whites artfully attempted to
evade the points at issue, and to conciliate the indig-
nant chieftain with fair speeches and uncertain prom-
ises. The hollowness of the former he boldly exposed,
and the latter be scornfully rejected; so that it was
soon perceived that the Indian king was as astute and
sagacious as he was immovable in the justice of his
righteous demands. This conviction forced itself upon
his hearers, and they yielded to the terms he laid down.
In return the Indians were pledged first to release all
the white prisoners they held.
Having been given presents, the chief departed to
arrange for the carrying out of his part of the pro-
gram. All his movements, however, were so dilatory
as to cause grave suspicion with regard to his sin-
cerity of purpose. He loitered about the frontiers,
went awaj^, and came back again.
Finally, in the early part of Augu&t, he re-appeared
at Fort Allen, where the lieutenant in command kept
plying him with rum until he was in no condition to
move away, much to the detriment and disgrace of the
province. The officer who was in supreme command of
the fort at this time was Captain Eeynolds, but he
being absent, a subordinate was temporarily in charge.
The rum which he supplied to Teedyuscung was em-
bezzled from the public stores, and was sold to the
chief. When the Delaware king came to the fort he
brought with him sixteen deer skins, which he pro-
posed sending to Governor Morris as a present, and
out of which to make himself a pair of gloves. Tlie
lieutenant ridiculed Teedyuscung for this, and told
him that one skin would be sufficient to make all the
gloves that the governor would need. The king re-
plied that this was the way the Indian spoke to show
GO HISTORY OF CAEBOA' tOLuNTY.
his genero&ity. However, the corrupt lieutenant gam-
bled all but one of the skins away from the chief be-
fore his departure.
It is not surprising to learn that under such a leader
a mutiny occurred at the fort before the return of
Captain Reynolds.
It appears that a number of the soldiers had im-
bibed too freely of rum, and grew insubordinate.
Christian AVeyrick, a corporal, was the chief offender.
He had a bodily encounter with his superior officer,
and later quarreled with the Indians who were at the
fort, threatening to drive them out.
Both the corporal and the lieutenant were placed
under arrest and lodged in jail at Easton for their mi&,-
conduct.
Captain Jacob Arndt was placed in command of the
fort soon after this incident.
Early in July, 1757, Teedj^uscung was again quar-
tered at Fort Allen, being enroute between the Sus-
quehanna and the Delaware for the purpose of attend-
ing another conference with the governor.
On this occasion he was accompanied by two hun-
dred Indians of all ages and both sexes. Upon his
arrival he informed the commandant that he expected
to stay five of six days, when he would be joined by
about one hundred Senecas.
In the Spring of 1758 Teedyuscung removed to
Wj^oming, where, agreeably to his request and the con-
ditions of treaty, a town had been built for him and
his followers by the province, in the beautiful valley
of the Susquehanna. Thus happily situated after so
many vicissitudes, he looked forward to the time when
he should be enabled to wipe out the blot which had
tarnished the escutcheon of the immemorial Lenape
ever since the Six Nations had insidiously made
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
61
women of them, years before. But his dreams were
destined not to be realized ; for here he was burned to
death on the night of the nineteenth of April, 1763,
while asleep in his lodge.
It is said that the Iroquois were the instigators of
this wicked deed, for they hated the man who testified
against their arrogant assumption, and who opposed
their lust of power. As long as he lived, therefore, he
was a standing rebuke to their designing oppression,
and although they no longer dreaded his arms, they
feared his words, which left their guilty consciences
no peace. Hence it was resolved in council that he
ought not to live ; and when the news was brought back
to Onondaga that the Delaware king was no more, and
that the lodges of the warriors had ascended in smoke,
the treacherous Six Nations exultantly celebrated
their triumph in having destroyed an enemy whose
brave spirit they had despaired of subduing.
CHAPTER V.
CAPTIVITY OF THE GILBERT FAMILY.
The memory of the horrors and barbarities which
attended the Indian uprising of 1755 lingered long in
the minds of the settlers and their families. Notwith-
standing that the Blue mountain frontier was rendered
as safe as forts and garrisons could make it, only the
most obstinate and adventurous of the pioneers re-
turned to their clearings after the first violence of
the storm had subsided. Even ten years after the
massacre of Gnadenhiitten only a handful of white
people lived in what is now Carbon county, and almost
a generation x^assed away before the ring of the axe
was again heard in the forests, and the curling smoke
wreaths ascended from the chimneys of the log cabins
of Towamensing, as this whole region was then known.
Among those whom the feeling of returning security
lured across the Blue Eidge was Benjamin Gilbert, a
peaceful Quaker, who, in 1775, located in the Ma-
honing Valley, a few miles from the spot where the
Moravians had thirty years earlier planted their ill-
fated mission. He came from Byl)erry, near Phila-
delphia, and wa& married to his second wife, who had
been the widow of Bryan Peart. Their united families
of children made a large household. The Dodsons
and a number of other families lived in the same neigh-
borhood. Gilbert erected a log dwelling house and
barns, a saw and grist mill, and for five years all went
well ; for the forest supply of timber was abundant,
while Mahoning creek ran its strong full course un-
checked by ice or drought. The mill-stones whirred
cheerily all the year round, and the sharp, grating
62
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 53
mill saw played a joyous accompaniment. In an evil
hour this scene of peace, contentment and prosperous
toil was rudely broken by the stealthy and savage in-
truder. On the morning of April 25, 1780, just a
year after General Sullivan's expedition, the family
was surprised by a party of eleven Indians, who took
them all prisoners. The names and ages of the cap-
tives were: Benjamin Gilbert, aged sixty-nine; Eliza-
beth, his wife, fifty-five; Joseph Gilbert, his son, forty-
one; Jesse Gilbert, another son, nineteen; Sarah Gil-
bert, wife of Jesse, nineteen; Rebecca Gilbert, a
daughter, sixteen; Abner Gilbert, a son, fourteen;
Elizabeth Gilbert, a daughter, twelve; Thomas Peart,
a son of Benjamin Gilbert's wife, twenty-three; Benja-
min Gilbert, a son of John Gilbert, of Philadelphia,
eleven; Andrew Harrigar, employed by Gilbert,
twentj^-six; and Abigail Dodson, aged fourteen. The
last named was a daughter of Samuel Dodson, who
lived on a farm nearly a mile away. She had come to
the mill that morning with a grist. Having securely
bound the prisoners, the Indians then proceeded to the
dwelling of Benjamin Peart, about half a mile distant.
There they made captive the head of the household,
who was a young man of twenty-seven, his wife Eliza-
beth, aged twenty, and their nine-months-old child.
A guard was placed over the prisoners while the
Indians employed themselves in plundering their
homes and packing up such goods as they chose to
carry off. When they had secured all that their horses
could carry, they loaded the remainder of their booty
upon the iDacks of the distressed prisoners. Having
finished their plundering, they began their retreat,
first detaching two of their number to fire the buildings
of the luckless captives.
64 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
From a nearby eminence called Summer Hill, the
prisoners had their last view of the spot where they
had lived so prosperously and contentedly for five
years, and as their glances lingered mournfully on the
scene, the falling roofs of the buildings sent showers
of sparks toward the heavens.
The Indians were led hj Rowland Alonteur, a half-
breed, whose father was a Mohawk, while his mother
was a French woman. Five of the band were Senecas.
They lost no time in pushing forward into the wilder-
ness, evidently fearing pursuit and retribution. The
route which they pursued led first to Mauch Chunk.
A halt was called near the point where Flagstaff Park
now is, and considering themselves comparatively se-
cure, the Indians leisurely prepared a hearty meal,
which they shared with the prisoners. Moccasins were
then made for the children, after which they resumed
their journey. Mauch Chunk creek was crossed and
the climb of the hill on the opposite side begun. This
the prisoners climbed with difficulty, and they were
permitted to rest for a brief period at the foot of
Mount Pisgah. The party then pressed on to the
Nesquehoning creek, at the foot of the Broad moun-
tain, where they halted for an hour. Here they struck
the Warriors' Path, leading toward the Susquehanna.
As the ascent of the Broad mountain was begun, Ben-
jamin Gilbert's wife was greatly discouraged and
fatigued, the unevenness and ruggedness of the path
rendering the journey exceedingly toilsome. Being
threatened with death by the Indians, however, she
was compelled to move forward with the rest. After
crossing Laurytown Valley, preparations were made to
camp for the night. The Indians secured their pris-
oners by felling a tree, in which notches were cut at
regular intervals. Having placed their legs in these
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY,
65
notclies, a pole the lengtli of the tree was placed ou
top. Across this, stakes were driven, after the manner
of an old-fashioned rail fence, other poles or riders
being placed in the crotche& of the stakes, effectually
confining the prisoners, with their backs to the ground.
In addition to this, they tied a strip of rawhide about
the neck of each of the captives, fastening one end to
a tree. Hemlock branches strewed on the ground took
the place of mattresses, while woolen blankets were
provided for covers. In this unaccustomed manner
the night was passed.
Before resuming their march the next morning, the
captors separated the prisoners into small companies,
placing a particular Indian in command of each com-
pany and spreading them to a considerable distance in
order to render pursuit as impracticable as possible.
Overcome with fatigue, the old people could not
move as rapidly as their taskmasters desired, and they
were forced to travel far beyond their strength under
penalty of being tomahawked. As evening drew near,
the parties again met and encamped. A deer having
been killed, a fire was kindled, each one roasting pieces
of flesh on sharpened sticks.
The mode of confinement the second night was the
same as before, but the prisoners submitted to it with
greater resignation than on the night previous. The next
morning again found them early on their way. During
the day's journey they passed near Fort Wyoming,
situated on the eastern branch of the Susquehanna.
The Indians observed every precaution as they ap-
proached the garrison. Lest some slight noise might
betray their presence, they carefully avoided treading
on the twigs that were lying in the path, stepping from
one stone to another, and requiring the captives to do
likewise.
QQ HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
On the morning of the fourth day of their captivity,
the prisoners were all painted according to the usages
of the Indians. Some were painted red and black,
others red, and some pure black. Among those to
whom the ebony hue was applied was the old man,
Benjamin Gilbert. This was a fatal omen, indicating
that he was considered of little value and was marked
for death. Soon thereafter the Indiane essayed to
kill him, but he was saved through the intercessions
of his wife. On the fourth of May, Andrew Harrigar
succeeded in making his escape. After a perilous jour-
ney he returned in safety to civilization, bringing the
first detailed news of the whole affair to the settle-
ments. The prisoners who remained were treated with
greater severity on account of his escape, and were ac-
cused of having been privy to the design.
For a time the Indians experienced no difficulty in
procuring a plentiful supply of food. Deer, turkey,
and fish were found in abundance, and at some of the
Indian villages which had been deserted on the ap-
proach of General Sullivan's army the year before,
plenty of turnips and potatoes remained in the ground.
The Indians were holding their course toward the
Genesee river, and after the hunting grounds of north-
ern Pennsylvania were passed, food became very
scarce, and some of the prisoners were well nigh fam-
ished. In this extremity all were compelled to depend
on wild onions and a species of root, somewhat re-
sembling the potato, which the Indians called "wliop-
panies." Benjamin Gilbert failed ra]udly on this diet
and the Indian who had him in charge, highly irritated
at his want of strength, put a ro]ie around his neck,
loading him along with it. Fatigue at last overcame
him, and he fell to the ground, when the heartless-
savage pulled so hard on the rope that he was nearly
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. Qj
choked to death. The Indian seemed determined to
kill the aged man, but his life was again spared
through the resolute entreaties of his wife.
Some of the companies were at times far separated
from the others, thus adding additional fear and un-
certainty to their miserable lot.
On their approach to the country of the Senecas,
Rowland Monteur and a number of his Indians went
abroad in search of provisions. Returning, they
brought with them cakes of hominy and Indian corn.
The prisoners were then put to work in the hot sun,
pounding hominy, which, in their enfeebled condition
was a hard task. This was then boiled and prepared
for supper. The Indians sat down to eat first; when
they had finished their meal, they wiped the spoons on
the soles of their moccasins and then gave them to the
captives, who were obliged to eat from them or go
hungry.
Subjected to such conditions, the forlorn band was
dragged, goaded and driven over the rugged region
of northern Pennsylvania, and through the swamps
and rivers of the Genesee country toward an unknown
destination.
When food was plentiful, no attempt was made to
lay by a portion toward the day of scarcity, the Indians
being accustomed to gormandize when the opportunity
of^red, and to go hungry for a long period without
repining when nothing to eat could be found. This
mode of life, however, was foreign to their prisoners,
which, together with their unaccustomed hardships
and sufferings wore them to the bone.
On the twenty-third of May, after a fearful and ad-
venturous journey of twenty-nine days, the prisoners
were brought into an Indian village not far from Fort
Niagara. They were now called upon to encounter the
6
68 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
dreadful ordeal of the gauntlet. They had been re-
lieved of the heavy loads which they had heretofore
been compelled to carry, and, had it not been for the
treatment which they knew was in store for them, their
situation would have been tolerable. The Indians
entered the village whooping in the most frightful
manner, and soon the squaws and children began to
gather, hurling clubs and stones at the heads of the
defenseless captives as they came, seeking revenge in
this manner for friends and relations who had been
slain.
Two of the women who were on horseback were
much bruised by falling from their mounts, which were
frightened by the Indians. Elizabeth, the mother, took
refuge by the side of a warrior, who, upon observing
that she met with some favor on his account, sent her
away; she then received several violent blows, and
was almost disabled.
The blood trickled from their heads in streams, and
at the sight of this the Indian women and children
redoubled their cries and the fury of their onslaught.
The warriors did not take part in this brutal affair,
except by looking on and encouraging the demoniacal
sport.
The hair of the prisoners was close crept, while their
clothes, as may easily be imagined, were in rags.
The piteous spectacle which they presented at length
moved the Indian king to put a stop to further cruelty,
telling his people that the punishment which had al-
ready been meted out was "sufficient."
These preliminaries having been carried out, as pre-
scribed by custom, the prisoners were given something
to eat, the women of the party in particular being
treated with kindness.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 59
Two English officers from Fort Niagara, Captains
Dace and Powell, came to see the prisoners, and in-
formed them that they would exercise their good offices
to prevent them from suffering any further abuse.
Soon after this a severe trial awaited the captives.
Against their tearful and unavailing protests they
were separated from each other. Some were given
over to the Indians to be adopted, others were hired
out by their Indian owners to white families, and
others were sent by way of Lake Ontario down the St.
Lawrence river to Montreal as prisoners of v/ar.
Among the latter was the venerable Benjamin Gil-
bert. He had been greatly indisposed before leaving
Fort Niagara, and his distress was increased by a
rain which fell on their passage, as they were without
any covering. They passed Oswagatchy, an English
garrison by the side of the St. Lawrence, but were not
permitted to stop here; the rain continuing as they
proceeded down the river, they landed on an island
in order to secure themselves from the weather, A
shelter was made for Benjamin Gilbert, but the rain
ceasing to fall after a time, he was again placed in
the boat, where he might be more at ease. The aged
man was, however, broken in body and mind, and he
sank rapidly under the complications of woe and hard-
ship. He died on the evening of the eighth of June,
1780, his faithful wife and two children being by his
side. In the morning the party passed Fort Coeur de
Lac, and waited for a considerable time some distance
below while arrangements were being made for the
burial of the body of the unfortunate Quaker. The
remains were placed in a coffin and hastily interred
under the wide-spreading branches of an oak, not far
from the fort. The boatmen, an unfeeling company of
four Frenchmen, would not allow his widow to pay the
70 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
last tribute to his memory, and regardless of her piti-
able plight, refused to wait.
The last nine miles of the journey to Montreal were
made by land. The women were allowed to ride in an
empty cart, which was on the way to the to^\Ti.
Arriving at Montreal, the prisoners received kind
treatment at the hands of the officers in command of
the garrison there.
A concise account of the privations and sufferings
which the family had undergone was taken down and
forwarded to General Haldimand at Quebec, who
issued orders that those who were held in captivity at
Niagara should be released, with particular injunc-
tions for every garrison to furnish them with neces-
saries on their way down the St. Lawrence to Mon-
treal. To carry out these orders, however, required
a great deal of time, and those of the family who had
been adopted by the Indians fared miserably before
they were released.
Joseph Gilbert, in particular, found the Indian man-
ner of life disagreeable. The band which held him
captive improvidently consumed their stock of pro-
visions in indulging their voracious appetites, and a
famine ensued. They were obliged to have recourse
to herbs and roots, and during a time of especial
scarcity they lived upon the carcass of a dead horse
which had been found lying in the woods. He finally
escaped, but his strength had been so greatly reduced
that he made his way to Fort Niagara with extreme
difficulty.
After many sore trials and vicissitudes, all of the
captives, excepting Benjamin Gilbert and Abigail Dod-
Ron, were happily reunited at Montreal. Leaving there
on the twenty-second of August, 1782, lliey reached
their old home at Byberry in safety, two years and five
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 'J I
months liaving elapsed since they had been rudely
driven forth into the wilderness by the Indians.
In 1785, Thomas Dodson, a cousin of Abigail, deter-
mined to go northward into the Indian country to make
a search for the missing girl.
After many wanderings his diligence and faith were
rewarded. He found her in the Genesee Valley with
the tribe of Indians by which she had been adopted.
It appeared that her return at some time had been
anticipated by the Indians, they having decided that
if anv of her friends ever came for her she should be
allowed to go.
When Thomas Dodson arrived, the chief of the tribe
was absent, and the family of which she was a mem-
ber, although loath to part with her, for they had
learned to love her, consented, and preparations were
made for her departure. A new suit of Indian gar-
ments, ornamented with beads, was made for her, and
feasts were given in her honor, at which many gath-
ered. When all was ready, with manj^ fond farewells,
the pair started. The young man had left his horse at
a settlement, a few miles away, and upon reaching the
place and applying for his property, the man in whose
care the horse had been left refused to give him up,
except upon the payment of one hundred dollars, Dod-
son did not have that much money, and was obliged to
leave the horse behind. He succeeded, however, in
making arrangements whereby they were taken to To-
wanda, and from that point they floated down the Sus-
quehanna to Salem in a canoe. There a horse was
secured from a man named Nathan Beach, and they
proceeded on their way to the Mahoning Valley, where
they arrived in October, 1786.
Abigail had been absent from home for five years
and six months ; she had lived with several different
72 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
tribes, and had learned their languages. As she ap-
proached the familiar dwelling of her childhood, she
went alone to the door. Her mother opened in re-
sponse to her knock, and then, turning to the girl's
father, said: ''Here is a squaw, and a pretty good-
looking one, too." Neither of the parents recognized
their child, whereupon she exclaimed, "Mother, don't
you know me ! ' ' Her rescuer entered the house at this
moment, and bewilderment gave place to unbounded
joy as the father and mother beheld in the comely
squaw their own long-lost daughter.
a
X.
CHAPTER VI.
EABLY ANNALS OF ANTHRACITE COAL.
The Indians who inhabited eastern Pennsylvania
knew of the existence of anthracite coal in various
localities of that section long before this valuable min-
eral, which is now one of our leading natural products,
was' discovered by the white settlers.
That the ^^ black stones," as coal was commonly
termed a century ago, were capable of combustion and
of generating heat was not known to the aborigines.
Had they been familiar with the properties of coal
and the use to which it may be put, they would have
carefully guarded the secret of its presence or loca-
tion. To have pursued any other course, as experi-
ence had taught them, would have been equivalent to
an invitation to have their lands trespassed upon or
taken away from them by the whites.
Loskiel, the Moravian historian, in speaking of the
settlement of Gnadenhiitten, relates that the Indians
of the vicinity made their pipe-heads of a soft black
stone, which was undoubtedly coal.
The Connecticut pioneers of the Wyoming Valley
were the first to learn of the existence of coal in that
portion of the region, while its presence was early
suspected on the headwaters of the Schuylkill.
Coal, in the Lehigh region, was discovered on Sharp
mountain, where Summit Hill now stands, in the year
1791, by Philip Ginter.
This discovery, like so many others which have been
fraught with great import to humanity, was purely
an accidental one, and it eventually led to a true ap-
preciation of the value of the mineral on the part of
73
74 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the general public, and to its being mined and placed
on the market. The element of romance attaches
strongly to the story of Ginter and his epoch-making
discovery. He was a hunter, and on locating among
the rugged mountains of the upper Lehigh, he built a
rough cabin in the forest, depending solely on the pro-
ceeds of his rifle for the support of himself and family.
The game he shot, including bear and deer, he carried
to the nearest store and bartered for the other neces-
saries of life.
On the eventful day of his finding coal, he was mak-
ing his way over Sharp mountain in a despondent
frame of mind. The family larder was bare, and hi&
search for game had been entirely unsuccessful. With
a drizzling rain beginning to fall, and the shades of
night forming about him, he bent his course homeward.
Suddenly he stumbled over an object which, by the im-
pact of his foot was driven before him; there was
enough light remaining for him to distinguish that the
object was black, and as it was' traditionary that coal
existed in the vicinity, it occurred to him that this
might be a portion of that "stone-coal" of which he
had so often heard.
Taking the specimen with him to his cabin, he carried
it the next day to Colonel Jacob Weiss, who lived at
what was then known as Fort Allen, now Weissport.
Taking a keen interest in the matter. Colonel Weiss
immediately took the specimen with him to Philadel-
phia, submitting it for inspection to John Nicholson,
Michael Hillegas and Charles Cist, the last-named
being an intelligent printer, who ascertained its na-
ture and properties, authorizing the colonel to satisfy
Ginter for his discovery upon his pointing out the exact
spot where the coal was found.
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. 75
Ginter readily agreed to this proposal, accepting in
exchange the title to a small tract of land, upon which
he afterwards built a mill, and of which he was unhap-
pily deprived by the claims of a prior survey.
In the beginning of the year 1793, Hillegas, Cist,
Weiss and others formed the Lehigh Coal Mine Com-
pany, but without being incorporated. They pur-
chased from Jacob Weiss the tract of land upon which
Summit Hill is now situated, afterward taking up,
under warrants from the commonwealth, about ten
thousand acres, embracing most of the coal lands now
owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
Coal was found in unmistakable quantity at the point
of Ginter 's discovery, and all that remained necessary
to the most triumphant success was a market and the
facilities of transportation. But here was the great
difficulty. The public knew nothing about the new
fuel; wood was then plentiful and low-priced, while
there was a total lack of highways or navigable streams
leading to the region. Small quantities of coal were
mined, but people were slow to appreciate its value,
and it required vigorous exertions to induce them to
attempt to use it. Its very appearance was against it,
and the majority of persons approached were entirely
incredulous as to its being anything else than a stone,
incapable of being burned by any inherent qualities' it
possessed. Not only the coal but the fact that it was
coal had to be discovered. Even as late as the year
1812, when it was sought to secure an act authorizing
the improvement of the Schuylkill river in order to
convey coal to Philadelphia, the representative of
Schuylkill county in the state senate declared there
was no coal in his district; that there was a kind of
black stone that was called coal, but that it would not
burn!
76 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
The Lehigh Coal Mine Company expended the sum
of ten pounds in Pennsylvania currencj^ on the con-
struction of a road from the mines to the Lehigh, a
distance of nine miles.
After many fruitless attempts to get coal to market
over this nominal road, and by way of the river, which,
in seasons of low water, in its unimproved state, de-
fied the floating of a canoe over its rocky bed, and after
calling for money from its stockholders until calling
was useless, the company became tired of the experi-
ment, suffering its property to lie idle for several
years.
Notwithstanding the inauspicious circumstances
which involved the company. Colonel AVeiss deter-
mined that the coal should, at least, be introduced to
the acquaintance of the public. Filling his saddle bags
from time to time, he rode around among the black-
smiths of the lower country, earnestly soliciting them
to try it. A few accepted the proffered supplies, using
the coal with partial success.
In the year 1806, William TurnbuU had an ark con-
structed at the mouth of the Nesquehoning creek which
took to Philadelphia about three hundred bushels of
coal. A portion of this cargo was' sold to the managers
of the water works, located in Center Square, where
the city hall now stands. Upon trial there, it was
deemed rather an extinguisher of fire than anything
else, was rejected as worthless, and was broken up
to be spread on the walks of the surrounding garden
in place of gravel.
The company, anxious to have its property brought
to notice and developed, leased its mines' to different
individuals in succession for varying periods of years,
finally adding the privilege of taking timber from its
lands for the purpose of floating coal to market.
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 77
During the war of 1812, bituminous coal became very
scarce and high-priced. At this time Jacob Cist,
Charles Miner and John Robinson held the lease of the
mines on the Lehigh, and taking advantage of the fa-
vorable opportunity offered, made a valiant attempt
to bring anthracite into general use in Philadelphia.
They succeeded in getting several arks to their des-
tination in safety, while others were wrecked upon the
rocks which obstructed the channel of the Lehigh.
The coal was sold for twenty-one dollars a ton, but
even that high price was insufficient to fully defray
the cost of mining and transportation.
The return of peace found these men in the midst of
their enterprise, and with the return of normal condi-
tions they were compelled to abandon it because of
their inability to compete successfully with the pro-
ducers of bituminous coal.
Soon after this failure, Josiah White and Erskine
Hazard, who were engaged in the manufacture of wire
at the Falls of Schuylkill, having obtained good re-
sults in their experiments with the coal they had pur-
chased from Cist, Miner and Robinson, secured control
of the entire property of the Lehigh Coal Mine Com-
pany under the terms of a lease for twenty years.
George F. A. Hanto joined them in the venture, and
was largely depended upon to secure the necessary
financial assistance to make the property productive.
Under the conditions of the lease, it was stipulated
that, after a given time for preparation, they should
deliver for their own benefit at least forty thousand
bushels of coal annually in Philadelphia and the sur-
rounding districts, and should pay, if demanded, one
ear of corn as a yearly rental.
After these preliminaries, the next step necessary
was to procure an act for the improvement of the Le-
78 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
high river; on this project the various parties previ-
ously operating the mines had expended many thou-
sands of dollars under successive acts of the legisla-
ture.
During the month of April, 1818, White and Hazard
surveyed the river from Stoddartsville, above White
Haven, to Easton, using instruments which they had
borrowed from the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal
Company, there being no others to be found in Phila-
delphia at that time.
Following this, these enterprising pioneers began
to solicit stock subscriptions for the purpose of raising
the capital needed to carry forward the work they
were about to begin.
In view of the disastrous termination of all previous
attempts to put the property on a paying basis, the
project was generally viewed as chimerical, and they
encountered many difficulties and discouragements.
The leading capitalists of the day were appealed to,
among the number being Stephen Girard, who replied
laconically that he formed no partnerships.
Josej^h Bonaparte, in a reply by letter through his
secretary, respectfully declined joining in the enter-
prise.
One confessed, after being polite enough to listen
to the promoters, that he was unable to appreciate
their remarks ; another agreed to give them a hearing
on the subject for five minutes by the watch. Still
another appointed an evening for a conference, but,
when called upon, had gone to a party.
Finally, some were found who were willing to join
in the improvement of the river, but had no faith in
the value of the coal. Others were of the opinion that
the river improvements would never pay the interest
of their cost, while the coal business would prove
HlSTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 79
profitable. This diversity of opinion gave rise to a
separation of the two interests.
On August 10, 1818, the Lehigh Navigation Com-
pany was formed, and two months later the Lehigh
Coal Company was organized. Their combined capital
stock amounted to two hundred thousand dollars, and
White, Hazard and Hanto were the dominant figures
in both companies. Hanto was soon found to be an im-
postor, however, and after some difficulty, together
with a heavy pecuniary sacrifice on the part of the
other two, he was, during the spring of 1820, elim-
inated. Immediately thereafter the two companies
were merged, under the title of the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company. It was not until February 13,
1822, that a charter was secured.
The improvement of the Lehigh was begun at the
mouth of the Nesquehoning creek, during the summer
of the year 1818, under the personal supervision of
Josiah l^'liite. The plan adopted was to contract the
channel of the river in the form of a funnel, wherever
it was found necessary to raise the water, throwing
up the round river-stones into low walls or wing dams,
thus providing a regular descending navigation.
But it soon became apparent that the carrying out
of this plan would not insure sufficient water in seasons
of drought to float a loaded ark or boat, and the success
of the whole enterprise hung in the balance.
In this contingency, Josiah White, who was a man
of great resourcefulness and mechanical ingenuity,
resorted to the expedient of creating artificial freshets.
Dams were constructed in the neighborhood of Mauch
Chunk, in which were placed sluice-gates of peculiar
design, invented for the purpose by White, and by
means of which water could be retained until required
for use. When the dam became full and the water
80 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
had run over it long enough for the river below to
regain its ordinary depth, the sluice-gates were let
down, while the boats, which were lying in the pool
above, passed down with the artificial flood. In this
manner the difficulty was overcome.
While the work of improving the river was going
forward a wagon road was also being built from
Maueli Chunk to the mines at Summit Hill, and the
promoters of the undertaking had at their command
the largest force of men that had until that time been
engaged in a private enterprise in the wilderness of
Pennsylvania.
The line of this road had been surveyed in 1818
by "Wliite and Hazard, and is believed to have been the
first ever laid out by an instrument, on the principle
of dividing the whole descent into the whole distance,
as regularly as the ground would admit of, and having
no undulation. A pair of horses could haul from four
to six tons of coal upon it with ease.
While the descending navigation of the Lehigh was
not perfected until 1823, three Imndred and sixty-five
tons of coal was sent to Philadelphia in 1820. This
quantity stocked the market, and was disposed of with
great difficulty. The price asked therefor was eight
dollars and forty cents a ton. Two years after this
the Schuylkill region was opened, while it was not
until 1829 that the coal trade of the Wyoming region
began.
In 1821, one thousand and seventy-three tons were
sent down the Lehigh, and in 1824 the quantity shipped
by this route reached nine thousand five hundred and
forty-one tons. This year marked the turning point
in the use of anthracite coal. People were now be-
coming accustomed to the new fuel, and prejudice
against it was fast dying out.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. Qi
During 1825, more than twenty-eight thousand tons
of coal from the Lehigh reached Philadelphia, and the
trade which has since reached such enormous propor-
tions was firmly established.
The coal at Summit Hill lay close to the surface,
being simply quarried in the open until about 1844,
when, owing to the dip of the veins, the uncovering
became too expensive to be profitably conducted, and
was, therefore, abandoned and underground work re-
sorted to.
The boats used during the early years on the Le-
high consisted of square boxes, or arks, from sixteen
to eighteen feet wide, and about twenty-five feet long.
At first two of these were joined together by means
of hinges, to permit of the undulations produced in
passing the dams and sluices. As the men became
more expert in their work and as the channel was
straightened and improved, the number of sections
was increased till, finally, their whole length reached
one hundred and eighty feet. They were steered with
long oars, like a raft.
Boats of this description were used on the Lehigh
to the end of the year 1831. During that year more
than forty thousand tons of coal passed down the
river, which required the building of so many boats
that, had they all been joined in one length, they would
have extended over a distance of more than thirteen
miles.
These boats made but one trip, being broken up in
Philadelphia, where the planks were sold as lumber,
while the iron work was returned to Mauch Chunk by
land, a distance of eighty miles.
The men employed in running the boats walked
back for several years, when rough wagons were
placed on the road for their accommodation by some of
the tavern-keepers along the route.
g2 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
It soon became evident that the traffic could not be
extended as fast as the demand for coal increased
while it was necessary to build a new boat for each
load of coal that was sent down; besides, the forests
of the Laurytown Valley, where most of the lumber
came from, were fast disappearing. Under these cir-
cumstances, it became apparent that the time had ar-
rived for the introduction of slackwater navigation on
the Lehigh.
Accordingly, in 1827, the building of the Lehigh
Canal, extending from Mauch Chunk to Easton, a dis-
tance of forty-six miles, was begun. The engineer in
charge of the work was Canvass White, who had taken
a prominent part in the construction of the Erie Canal
across the state of New York.
The canal was completed in 1829, costing about
eight hundred thousand dollars. During the ensuing
quarter of a century, or until the building of the Le-
high Valley Railroad, it commanded all the traffic of
the Lehigh region, in the development of which it was
a vital factor. In 1838, under the supervision of E. A.
Douglass, the canal was extended from ]\[auch Chunk
to White Haven, from which point it was connected
with Wilkes-Barre by railroad.
From this time forth until 3862, when the upper
section of the canal was destroyed by flood, never to
be rebuilt, it carried a considerable portion of the out-
put of the Wyoming coal field.
During the hitter part of 1827, the state began the
construction of the canal along the Delaware, from
Eai^ton to Bristol. Its completion was delayed until
1831, obliging the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany to continue the use of temporary boats, which,
owing to their peculiar design, were very expensively
moved on the canal, but were the only kind that could
HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY. 33
be used upon the channels of the Delaware, which were
still necessarily used to reach Philadelphia. This seri-
ously impeded the development of the Lehigh region,
and turned the attention of persons desirous of engag-
ing in the coal industry to the Schuylkill field, causing
Potts ville to spring up with great rapidity. In this
manner the Schuylkill coal trade, thus early, out-
stripped that of the Lehigh.
During the summer of 1827, a railroad was built
from the mines at Summit Hill to Mauch Chunk. With
one or two unimportant exceptions, this was the first
railroad in the United States. It was nine miles in
length, and occupied the route of the old wagon road
most of the distance.
Summit Hill, lying nearly a thousand feet higher
than Mauch Chunk, the cars on the road made this
descent by gravity, passing the coal, at their destina-
tion to the boats in the river by means of inclined
planes and chutes. The whole of this plan was evolved
by Josiah White, under whose direction it was con-
summated in a period of about four months. The rails
were of rolled bar-iron, three-eighths of an inch in
thickness and an inch and a half in width, laid upon
wooden ties, which were kept in place by means of
stone ballast.
The loaded cars or wagons, as they were then
termed, each having a capacity of approximately one
and a half tons, were connected in trains of from six
to fourteen, being attended by men who regulated their
speed.
Turn-outs were provided at intervals and the empty
cars were drawn back to the mines by mules. They
descended with the trains in specially constructed cars,
affording a novel and rather ludicrous spectacle.
Thirty minutes was the average time consumed in
34 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
making the descent, while the weary trip back to the
mines required three hours.
The cost of transporting coal in this manner was
trifling as compared with the old plan, and the saving
thus effected benefited producer and consumer alike.
In 1830, the Rhume Run Railroad, operated on the
same principle as the other, and carrying the output of
the Nesquehoning mines to Mauch Chunk, was begun.
By the spring of 1844, the demand for coal had in-
creased to such an extent that improved facilities were
demanded for its transportation from Summit Hill to
Mauch Chunk. The idea of a back track from the
river to the mines, which had for years been contem-
plated, was now put into execution, under the super-
vision of E. A. Douglass. This required a piece of
bold engineering. In carrying out the plan, a plane
was constructed from the head of the chutes at Mauch
Chunk to the summit of Mount Pisgah, about nine
hundred feet above the level of the river. Up this
ascent the cars were drawn by means of stationary
engines, and thence allowed to run by gravity to the
foot of Mount Jefferson, six miles distant. From this
point they were raised to the top of the mountain, as
in the previous instance, traversing the remainder of
the distance to Summit Hill by gravity. The back
track was completed in 1845.
During the succeeding year, active operations were
begun in the Panther Creek Valley. The coal produced
by these mines was hoisted to Summit Hill on inclined
places, similar to those of Mount Pisgah and Mount
Jefferson. The use of a Y in the operation of the
railroad in this valley gave rise to the term '^ switch-
back," which designation has ever since been applied
to the entire system.
With the opening of the Nesquehoning Valley Rail-
road, the Rhume Run gravity road was abandoned,
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 35
while the Switchback ceased to be used for coal carry-
ing purjDoses. The latter is still maintained and is
operated under lease during the summer months for
the accommodation of sightseers.
Great as has been the improvement in the facilities
of transportation since the beginning of tbe coal trade,
there has been a still greater improvement in the means
and appliances employed in the mining of coal and in
its preparation for shipment and use.
The large body of coal at Summit Hill, lying near
the surface, materially simplified production there
during the early days, enabling teams to descend to the
quarry for their load.
In other localities, less favored, pits were sunk from
which coal was hoisted in buckets by means of a com-
mon windlass, operated by hand. Usually, at the
depth of thirty or forty feet, the water became be-
yond control, and the pit was abandoned and another
sunk.
A little later, the gin, operated by horse power, was
introduced for hoisting both coal and water, effecting
a decided improvement and correspondingly increas-
ing the output.
But the pit or shaft was soon abandoned in favor
of the drift or tunnel from the foot of hills, thus se-
curing gravity drainage, as well as the application of
that principle in bringing out the coal. For some
years the wheelbarrow was the means of conveyance
from the mines. This gave way to the mule and the
underground railroad, and the mule has now in many
instances been superseded by the electric motor.
The function formerly performed by the pick, wedge
and hammer in cutting or loosening the coal now de-
volves principally upon high explosives. The primi-
tive breaker was a sledge in the hands of a brawny
workman.
gg HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
A careful, intelligent supervision under state laws
and legally selected officials was inaugurated years
ago, and every mine in Pennsylvania is visited at
stated intervals by the mine inspectors, whose famili-
arity with mining in all its details renders them eli-
gible for their important work.
In addition to this, mine foremen and superintend-
ents are required to undergo an examination as to
their comi^etency, and the proficiency of every miner
must be legally attested.
With all these precautionary measures, many acci-
dents occur in this hazardous industry, and a trained
hospital corps is employed to render "first aid to the
injured. ' '
For purposes of inspection, the state is divided into
districts, to each of which one inspector is allotted.
Carbon county forms the major portion of the Seven-
teenth Anthracite District.
Normally this district now produces about four mil-
lion tons of coal annually, the largest individual opera-
tor being the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company,
which is credited with approximatelj^ three-fourths
of the output of the whole district.
Since the beginning of the industry, the Lehigh
region, which includes the mines of the Hazleton dis-
trict, has shipped about three hundred million tons of
coal to market.
As is well known, practically all the anthracite coal
in the United States is confined to an area of five hun-
dred square miles in eastern Pennsylvania. The total
output of the entire region thus far has been about
two billion tons, and, according to the estimates of the
Pennsylvania geological survey, at the present rate of
production the coal beds will be exhausted in less than
one hundred vears.
CHAPTER VII.
OBGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
The great county of Northampton, which in the
beginning extended westward from the Delaware to
the Susquehanna, and northward to the state line of
New York, was separated from Bucks, one of the three
original counties of Pennsylvania, in 1752.
Its territorial extent was nearly equal to that of the
neighboring state of New Jersey.
Lehigh county was set off from Northampton in
1812; influenced by that act and the hardships under
which they labored in being so far removed from
Easton, the seat of justice, the people in the more
northern portion of the valley began to agitate the
XDroject of forming another new county as soon as the
termination of the second war with England allowed
their thoughts to turn from military to civil affairs.
Several abortive attempts were made in this direc-
tion, and it was not until March 13, 1843, that the long-
desired legislation, providing for the establishment of
Carbon county, w^as secured and approved by the gov-
ernor.
As then constituted the county contained the town-
ships of East Penn, Mahoning, Lausanne, Banks, Tow-
amensing. Lower Towamensing and Penn Forest.
All of its territory was taken from Northampton
county, excepting Penn Forest, then including Kidder,
which was carved from Monroe. The boundaries of
the county still remain as established in 1843.
John D. Bowman, Thomas Weiss, John Fatzinger,
Abram Shortz and Samuel Wolf were the commis-
87
gg HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
sioners to whom Governor Porter assigned the delicate
duty of choosing the county seat.
Lehighton and Mauch Chunk were rival claimants
for the honor, the latter being selected.
The commissioners were to a certain extent actuated
in their choice by the offer of the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company to provide a suitable court house
and jail at their own expense as a special inducement to
the location of the seat of justice at Mauch Chunk.
The old stone storehouse of the company, occupying
the site of the present court house, served the first of
these purposes, while a small structure in the rear was
converted into a jail. These buildings and the ground
upon which they stood were formally deeded to the
county in 1846.
In December, 1843, the first session of court was-
held, Judge N. B. Eldred presiding, and Asa Packer
and Jacob Dinkey sitting as associate justices.
At this session, twelve lawyers were admitted to the
bar of Carbon county.
Neither the court house nor the jail were of fire-
proof construction, and both were destroyed in the
fire which devastated Mauch Chunk during the sum-
mer of 1849. Fortunately the county records were
saved.
The jail was rebuilt during the succeeding year, but
it was not until 1854 that the work of replacing the
court house was completed.
After about a dozen years the former was found to
be inadequate, and in 1869 the present prison of the
county was begun.
The court house finished in 1854 stood until 1893,
when it was torn down ])reparatory to the erection of a
more modorn temple of justice.
The Old Cofrt House at .Maicii Chink.
Torn Down in ISDo.
Cakcon (\)\\'r\ Ctuiri' lloi^i:, Mai cii Cm \k.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 39
The stone for this handsome building, which was
completed in 1894 at a cost of about one hundred and
twenty thousand dollars, was quarried at Rockport.
Bonds to the value of seventy-five thousand dollars
were issued toward defraying the expense involved in
the construction of the building, and these have nearly
all been redeemed.
Excepting the apportionment of 1873, Carbon has
always been associated with the mother county of
Northampton in congressional affairs.
In 1843 Carbon was made a part of the district
which included Northampton, Monroe, Pike and
Wayne counties.
It so remained until 1861, when Wayne was dropped
and Lehigh was added. One year later, however, the
original grouping was restored.
By the apportionment of 1873, Carbon was linked
with Columbia, Montour, Monroe, Pike and portions
of Luzerne and the present county of Lackawanna.
Since 1887, Carbon, Northampton, Monroe and Pike
have constituted what is now termed the Twenty-
sixth Congressional District.
For years Carbon and Lehigh were associated for
legislative purposes. From 1874 to 1888 Carbon
county alone was allotted two representatives in the
assembly. In the latter year the allotment of the
countv was reduced to one.
Schuylkill, Carbon, Monroe and Pike were consti-
tuted one senatorial district in 1843. In 1864, Carbon,
Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties formed the district.
Ten years later Wayne county was dropped, only to be
restored by the apportionment of 1906.
Until 1851, judges were appointed by the governor,
since which time they have been elected by the ]">eople
in the manner provided for the election of other county
90 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
or district offices. The county was in 1849 judicially
linked with Monroe, Wayne and Pike. In 1874, this
was changed to Carbon and Monroe, so remaining until
1901, when Carbon was constituted an independent
judicial district.
TEE MIDDLE COAL FIELD POOR DISTBICT.
Prior to the year 1856 indigent people in the county
were taken care of by the districts in which they lived,
the subjects of public charity being let out for care
and protection to the lowest bidder. On April 26,
1855, however, an act was passed by the legislature
providing for a house of employment for Carbon
county, and authorizing directors of the poor.
This law was left to the acceptance or rejection of
the people of the county, and, it being feared that the
new plan would result in higher taxation, a number
of the districts voted negatively on the measure. The
election took place on October 9, 1855, and there were
majorities in the affirmative from the boroughs of
Mauch Chunk and East Maucli Chunk and the town-
ships and Banks and Lausanne. The districts reject-
ing the law i^referred to continue to care for their un-
fortunate ones in the old way, while the other districts,
having accepted the law, proceeded to adopt measures
for putting it into execution.
Before the close of the year the newly-elected direct-
ors took steps to establish the proposed institution at
Laurytown, in what is now Lehigh township. The
farms of 1). J. Labar, John Toomey, and Jacob Cole,
aggregating 315 acres, were purchased at a cost of
$5,100. Other additions in acreage have been made
from time to time.
George Kline, J. II. Cha])maii and R. D. Stiles were
elected the first poor directors, while they ap]Kuuted
Jesse K. Prvor as steward and his wife as matron.
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 9]^
Temporary quarters were provided, pendAng tKe
erection of a suitable building. This was completed
and occupied during the summer of 1857, the cost being
$8,273. There were fifty-four inmates at the institu-
tion at that time.
David Petrey and wife were appointed steward and
matron, respectively, on November 1, 1857, and the af-
fairs of the district were apparently well administered,
because, while the number housed at the farm had
risen to ninety-nine, in 1861, there was a balance in the
treasury of $2,656.
In 1862, a number of the poor districts of the lower
end of Luzerne county signified a desire to unite with
the districts in Carbon county which had accepted the
law of 1855. After the preliminary steps had been
taken, a bill authorizing this union was i)assed by the
legislature, March 25, 1862. The district, as then or-
ganized, was composed of the boroughs of Maucli
Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, and the townships of
Banks, Mauch Chunk and Lausanne, in Carbon count}^
and of the borough of Hazleton and the townships of
Hazle and Foster, in Luzerne county. Later, the bor-
oughs of Jeddo, West Hazleton and Freeland, of Lu-
zerne county, were admitted to the district, while in
Carbon county the boroughs of Weatherly, Beaver
Meadows, Summit Hill and Lansford, and the town-
ship of Lehigh have been added, the whole being known
as the Middle Coal Field Poor District.
Luzerne county had been organized as a poor dis-
trict by Act of May 1, 1861, but the districts mentioned
effected their union with those of Carbon county before
any definite arrangements had been made for the build-
ing of a poor house by the Luzerne county authorities.
Commissioners were appointed to determine* the
amount that the incoming districts from Luzerne
92
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
county should pay the Carbon county district in ad-
justing the property proportionately, and the sum of
$4,500 was agreed upon. The accession of the Lu-
zerne county districts made the building of an addition
to the poor house necessary.
In the spring of 1871, a hospital, which had been
built at a cost of $15,000 was opened for use, and this
served the purpose for which it was intended imtil
the erection of the present fine brick structure, which
is valued at $40,000.
The number of inmates kept at the almshouse often
exceeds two hundred, while the district pays for the
maintenance of about the same number at various state
institutions for the insane. The real estate and per-
sonal property owned by the district is valued at about
$150,000.
Of the seven hundred and eighty acres of land com-
prising the farm, three hundred and fifty are under
cultivation. The gross value of the produce of the
farm averages about $10,000 annually.
S. W. Gangwer, the present steward, was appointed
in 1902.
The feasibility of erecting a building capable of ac
commodating the insane of the district now kept at the
almshouse and at the various state institutions has
been seriously entertained for some years. During
1910, after much wrangling as to the location of the
proposed building, steps preliminary to its erection
were taken by the directors; influences hostile to the
idea, however, succeeded in halting the execution of
the plan for the time being at least.
Tn 1911 Governor Tener ap])rovod an act of the leg-
islature increasing the number of directors of the dis-
trict from three to five and vesting the power of their
appointment in the Carbon county court, instead of
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 93
leaving their selection to the direct vote of the people,
as was formerly the case. Under the provisions of
this act, two of the directors are allotted to Carbon
county and three to the Luzerne portion of the district.
This law is looked npon with general disfavor, dis-
franchising as it does, the voters of the alTected terri-
tory, together with other objectionable features.
A neat chapel for the use of the inmates of the alms-
house was erected by Mrs. Eckley B. Coxe and her
sister-in-law, Miss Rebecca Coxe, in 1900. These
benevolent women have done much at Laurytown
toward mitigating the monotony and hopelessness
which, under the most favorable circumstances, are the
concomitants of life at an institution of this nature.
In addition to the sum expended for the maintenance
of those kept at the almshouse, large amounts are
annually disbursed by the directors in the form of out-
door relief.
The divisions of the county not belonging to the
Middle Coal Field Poor District are principally agri-
cultural sections, having a smaller number of paupers
in proportion to population than the boroughs and the
mining regions. The number of indigent people they
have to support is insignificant, and this, in a measure,
explains why these districts prefer to remain inde-
pendent, although in an instance or two their tax rate
for poor purposes is as high, or even higher, than that
of the Middle Coal Field Poor District.
The Carbon County Law Library was established
by legislative enactment in 1868. The money arising
from certain fines' and penalties imposed by the court
is set aside for the maintenance of the library and for
the purchase of books for the use of the court and
members of the bar. This library, which is under the
direction of three resident members of the bar, ap-
94 IIISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
pointed annually b}^ tlie court, now numbers about two
thousand volumes.
The Carbon County Bar Association, which is co-
eval with the count3% is a voluntary organization of
resident members' of the bar, and has not yet been in-
corporated. Until recently applicants for admission
to the bar were examined by a committee of this asso-
ciation, but this has now become a function of the state.
The Carbon Countv Industrial Societv, under the
auspices of which the county fair is annually held at
Lehighton, is the second organization of this nature
in the history of the county. The first was termed the
Carbon County Agricultural Society, which was
formed during the summer of 1858. This society con-
tinued in existence until 1875, holding a fair at Le-
highton each year. It then became financially em-
barrassed, and its property was sold on the foreclos-
ure of a mortgage. This led to the formation of the
present society, which was incorporated in June, 1875.
The fairs held by this society are attended by increas-
ing numbers with each passing year.
Drs. J. G. Zern and J. B. Tweedle, both of whom are
still living, were among the leading spirits in the or-
ganization of the Carbon County Medical Society, in
1879. This association, while not very strong numer-
ically, has done much for the advancement of profes-
sional knowledge among its members.
An aid to progress in religious channels has been the
Carbon County Sabbath School Association, which
came into being about a decade ago. This society
works in harmony with the State Sab])ath School As-
sociation.
CHAPTER VIII.
MILITARY AFFAIES.
The military spirit wliicli pervades the American
republic seems to have been co-existent with the land-
ing of the first settlers on our shores. With the excep-
tion of a few religious organizations' whose creeds
were opposed to strife and bloodshed, and the adher-
ents of which were frequently subjected to ridicule
and censure,, the principles of self-defense and na-
tional supremacy have ever been dominant.
The struggles of the hardy pioneers of this region
for self-preservation in the Indian troubles of the
early days have already been outlined.
But a handful of the most venturesome had suc-
ceeded in gaining a permanent foothold on this side
the Blue Eidge prior to the war of Independence. Not
a few of the heroes of that conflict later settled within
the present limits of Carbon county, however. The
best known among these were General Thomas Craig
and Colonel Jacob Weiss.
As a part of old Northampton county, this section
contributed its proportionate share of men in the sec-
ond war with England, while in the national emer-
gencies which have occurred since that time, Carbon
has remained true to the spirit of 1776. Never fal-
tering in her patriotism, she has responded to every
call with a heartiness and alacrity worthy of her char-
acter and fame.
The organization of the state militia was effected in
early times, and 'draining day," perhaps more fa-
miliarly known as ''battalion day," was looked upon
95
96 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
as an event of great importance by our forefathers.
But the organization, though in a measure meeting the
requirements of that period, was not in harmony with
military discipline, and a law was enacted in 1822 re-
quiring the enrollment for military duty of all able-
bodied men between the ages of twenty-one and forty-
five. Under the provisions of this measure a fine was
fixed for non-attendance at ''muster" or regularly
established drills. Beyond the point of keeping up an
enrollment for emergencies, this system was not
greatly successful.
In 1864, as a necessary war measure, the militia
was re-organized in a more systematic manner; the
state was divided into twenty military divisions, and
companies and regiments were organized, uniformed,
armed and equipped for active service as needed.
This organization was termed the volunteer militia.
Its members were largely required to bear their own
expenses, working a serious hardship to many volun-
teers. Later enactments provided that the state
should pay a portion of the necessary expenses.
By the acts of 1870 and 1874 the volunteer militia
became the National Guard of Pennsylvania, which
General Sheridan once said was the only establish-
ment of its kind amounting to anything worth while.
The number of districts had now been reduced to ten,
each division being placed under the command of a
major general.
In 1878, these divisions were abolished, the state
being constituted a single division of three brigades.
Under this law. Carbon county became a part of the
territory of the Third Brigade.
The Stockton Artillerists, of Mauch Chunk, consti-
tuted the first organized military company of Carbon
county. The company derived its name from Com-
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 97
modore Eobert Field Stockton, builder of the Dela-
ware and Raritan Canal, and commander-in-chief of
the naval forces of the United States on the Pacific
during the war with Mexico, who was a warm per-
sonal friend of Asa Packer. John Leisenring was the
first captain of the company, being succeeded by Jo-
seph H. Siewers and James Miller, respectively.
Upon the declaration of war against Mexico, the
company eagerly offered its services, being accepted
by Governor Shunk.
Prior to the departure of the men, the women of
Mauch Chunk, during the space of three days, made
them over three hundred shirts, together with other
articles of practical use. The sum of fifteen hundred
dollars, raised by voluntary subscription, was also pre-
sented to them.
The long journey from Mauch Chunk to the seat of
war was begun the day before Christmas, in 1846.
The soldiers, accompanied by a large delegation of
citizens in conveyances, first repaired to Tamaqua.
Here, much to their disappointment, they were met
by the deputy secretary of the commonwealth, who
bore an order countermanding their acceptance, with
the explanation that the command to which they were
to have been attached was already full.
Thereupon the men at once resolved to proceed to
Philadelphia and offer their services to the President.
Going by way of Pottsville, the people of that town
gave them a cordial welcome.
After remaining in Philadelphia a short time, they
were notified of their acceptance.
Proceeding from Philadelphia to Baltimore, the
men were transported from that point to Cumberland
by rail, whence the journey across the Alleghanies to
Brownsville was made in stage coaches. From there
98 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
tliey went down the Monongaliela to Pittsburgh by
boat.
On this toilsome and tedious journey the soldiers
were accompanied by Asa Packer and William Butler.
The former generously footed transportation bills
amounting to more than one thousand dollars. No
part of this sum was ever refunded to him, nor was
there any demand made for it.
At Pittsburgh the company, numbering eighty-four
men, was mustered into service as a part of the Second
Pennsylvania Eegiment.
Among the officers of the company who afterwards
became prominent were James Miller, the captain, and
Kobert Klotz, lieutenant.
Embarking for New Orleans, the troops reached
there on January 18, 1847, encamping on the field made
famous by Jackson and his celebrated riflemen. Every-
thing passed off pleasantly for a time; but later the
men suffered much from wet and cold, aggravated
by unkind treatment from the natives of the locality.
The transport ship Ocean bore them on a rough
passage to Lobos Island, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Being ordered to Vera Cruz, they landed there early
in March and were attached to General Patterson's
command. On the day subsequent to their arrival, the
men received their baptism of fire, with the ther-
mometer registering one hundred and nine degrees.
Following nearly the same route traveled by Cortez
so long before, vastly outnumbered and facing many
natural obstacles, the Carbon countv men formed a
part of the intrepid little army with which General
Scott crushed Santa Anna and ca})tured the city of
Mexico.
At the battle of Chapultepec, Captain Miller was se^
lected by General Quitman to join Major Twiggs, who
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 99
had a separate command of two hundred and forty
picked men, constituting the storming party of the
division.
In the assault which followed, Twiggs was disabled
and the command of the party devolved upon Miller,
who, though himself wounded, led the remnant of his
men into the frowning castle of Chapultepec, the last
defense of the city of Mexico. Following the lead of
Miller and his lion-hearted company, the conquering
army swept resistlessly through the San Cosme and
Belen gates, and at nightfall the soldiers of the Union
were in the suburbs of the Mexican capital, while the
war was virtually over.
In the engagement at the National Bridge, Lieuten-
ant Klotz was arrested for refusing to obey orders
when the command was given to spike cannon and re-
treat. The reply which involved him in this difficulty
was : ' ' I didn 't come to Mexico to spike cannon ! ' '
After being reprimanded, he was permitted to join his
command the next day at the battle of Cerro Gordo.
One of the Carbon county men, Samuel Horn, had
served as a drummer-boy under General Scott, then
a colonel, at Lundy's Lane, in the second war with
England, and they renewed their friendship in Mexico.
Twenty-three of the Stockton artillerists found sol-
diers' graves in the land beyond the Rio Grande.
Others were wounded and some died of disease after
returning home. Thus the fortunes of war reduced
their ranks to lesS' than half their original number.
After nineteen months of service, the survivors of
the company returned to Pittsburgh, where they were
honorably discharged.
Upon their arrival in Mauch Chunk, on July 20,
1848, they were tendered a great ovation, having previ-
ously enjoyed the hospitality of Easton, Bethlehem,
8
100 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
Allentown and many other places. The sole survivor
of this heroic band is Edward Remmel, who resides
at Mauch Chunk.
THE CiriL WAE.
During the period which intervened between the
close of the war with Mexico and the breaking out of
the Rebellion, military organizations were formed in
various parts of the county.
Beaver Meadow and vicinity was represented by the
Lafayette Guards, uniformed in the picturesque garb
of the soldiers of 1812.
At Summit Hill there was a well-drilled and excel-
lently equipped company known as the Carbon Guards,
first commanded by Captain Wintersteen and later by
Captain Connor. They wore the regular light blue
roundabout uniform of the United States Army of that
time.
Mauch Chunk had several companies.
The Cleaver Artillerists derived their name from
their captain, Oliver 0. Cleaver. They, too, wore the
regular blue of the United States Army. Subsequently
this company was named the Anderson Grays, new
uniforms were adopted, and Eli T. Connor was chosen
captain.
Patrick F. Sharkey commanded the Hibernian
Guards, or the Irish Infantry, uniformed similarly to
the Lafaj^ette Guards. Dennis McGee, the lieutenant
of this organization, during the war became a captain
in the Bucktail Rifles,
The German Jaegers had John Glosser for their cap-
tain. Adam Rose and Charles Bittner served as lieu-
tenants. These were riflemen, having uniforms of dark
green.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. IQl.
Mahoning township and Lehighton had the Scott
Rifles, wearing dark blue uniforms, and being com-
manded by Christian Freeby.
In addition to those which have already been men-
tioned, there was a company of cavalrymen, prin-
cipally from the Towamensings, commanded by John
Craig.
It will be seen from this that Carbon county was
well prepared to discharge her proportionate share of
the duty devolving upon the loyal portion of the nation
when the South resolved upon extending and per-
petuating the iniquitous institution of human slavery,
and lending willing ear to the traitorous and fallacious
doctrine of her leaders concerning States' Rights, took
the fateful and momentous step of seceding from the
Union.
The intelligence that Fort Sumter had been fired
upon spread through the country like a flame of fire.
Two days after Major Anderson's surrender, Lincoln
issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers' to
serve three months in the overthrow of the movement
of secession.
The president's proclamation was greeted through-
out Carbon county, as in every other loyal section of
the country, with one great throe of patriotism. Vol-
unteers in squads immediately began to pour into
Mauch Chunk, which soon presented the appearance of
a military encampment rather than a quiet mart of
business. " The people threw aside their ordinary vo-
cations, thronged the streets and besieged the tele-
graph offices for news, while the towering mountains
re-echoed the strains of martial music.
In the excitement of the moment, when hundreds
were ready to follow, they cast about them for a leader.
Eli T. Connor, then a young man of twenty-nine, com-
102 HI8T0EY OF CARBON COUNTY.
manding the Anderson Grays, was acknowledged to
be the man for the occasion, and to him the masses
looked for guidance. Opening a recruiting office, he,
in twenty-fours hours, enlisted three full companies of
the best young men of the county.
On Sunday, April 22, 1861, final preparations were
made by the troops for their departure for Harris-
burg early the next morning.
After parading the streets of the town, they drew
up before the American Hotel, where they were pre-
sented with a handsome flag, made by the patriotic
women of Mauch Chunk. The address of presenta-
tion was made from the balcony by Charles Albright,
who himself later entered the service and rose to the
rank of brigadier general. John D. Bertolette, then a
lieutenant, responded in behalf of the meM. He subse-
quently became a colonel, and was noted for his brave
and soldier-like conduct.
These three companies were attached to the Sixth
Eegiment, commanded by Colonel James Nagel, of
Pottsville. They saw service at Harper's Ferry and
on the Upper Potomac. Being discharged at the ex-
piration of three months, many of the men re-enlisted
for three years, or during the continuance of the war.
Three weeks after the departure of the first troops
from Carbon county, another company was recruited
and sent to Harrisburg. These men were intended for
the three months' service, but on reaching their des-
tination they were informed that no more troops would
be accepted for a shorter term tlian three years. Sub-
scribing to this condition, the comi)any became the first
thi'ee years' organization to reach the state capital.
The com])any became a i)art of the famous *' Buck-
tail Rifles," which command rendered illustrious serv-
ices in the Seven Days' battle on the Peninsula, at Bull
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 2Q3
Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and all through the long
struggle from the Wilderness to the front of Peters-
burg and Eichmond,
Pennsylvania's quota under the president's first
call was fourteen thousand men. Within ten days
from the date of this proclamation. Camp Curtin had
been established at Harrisburg, and nearly twenty-six
thousand soldiers, fully armed and equipped and in
perfect organization, were in the field. These were
principally militiamen, who were supplied with arms
and accoutrements at their homes, being thoroughly
drilled in the military tactics of the day.
The crisis having come, the public men of Pennsyl-
vania assumed the advance of the most zealous spirits
of the nation, urging the government to organize pow-
erful armies from among the loyal men who were freely
offering their services, and thus crush the rebellion
at a single blow.
Simon Cameron, of this state, then secretary of
war, recommended the raising of an army of five hun-
dred thousand men, and the use of every element of
strength within the reach of the government, in order
to speedily overthrow the power of those who sought
to dismember the Union.
Thaddeus Stevens was even more aggressive than
Cameron, since he advocated the organization of an
army of a million men, the liberating of the slaves, and
inviting them to fight for their own freedom.
Governor Curtin, the greatest of all the war gov-
ernors, was not only cordially in harmony with these
views, but from first to last grandly supported the
cause of the Union and played the part of a loving
father toward Pennsylvania's sons in the field.
104 IIISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
In honor of these statesmen it must be said that,
after many Federal reverses, their policy was at last
adopted by the national government.
The military si^irit pervaded Carbon county from
the beginning of the war until its close.
Upon the expiration of the three months' campaign
this county raised two companies for the Twenty-
eighth Regiment; four for the Eighty-first; one for the
Sixty-seventh; one for the Fourth Pennsylvania Cav-
alry; one for the Eleventh Regiment, and portions of
companies for the Eleventh Infantry, the Eleventh Cav-
alry, and the Fifty-third Regiment. Besides these,
about a company were scattered in various other regi-
ments.
The Eighty-first Regiment was recruited by James
Miller and Eli T. Connor. A& has just been shown, it
was composed largely of Carbon county men, and its
gallantry and hard service earned for it the right to
be classed among the best of the "fighting regiments"
of the Union army.
Miller, who so bravely led the Stockton Artillerists
during the Mexican war, was commissioned as its
colonel. He fell at the battle of Fair Oaks, the first
engagement in which his regiment participated. But
the spirit which he had instilled into his men lived after
him, and was an important factor in their subsequent
excellent conduct.
Upon the fall of Miller, Connor was placed in com-
mand. He led the regiment through the Seven Days'
battle, and died gloriously at Malvern Hill, just a
month after the death of Colonel IMiller.
Beginning with the Peninsular campaign, the
Eiglity-first Regiment ])artici])ated in all of the im])or-
tant l)attles and campaigns of tlio Army of the Potomac,
and fought under Grant to the fall of Richmond and
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. IQ^
the close of the war. Its exceptional record was earned
at the expense of a long list of casualties.
Sergeant Obadiah Derr, a member of this regiment,
who is still alive at Weatherly, bears the reputation
of having received more wounds than any other sol-
dier from Carbon county. He was six times severely
wounded.
When Lee made his first invasion of the North,
which was checked at Antietam, a large number of
men from this county volunteered for the emergency.
Two full companies were also organized here during
1862 for the One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment.
In the summer of 1863, when the Southern army,
flushed with the victories of Fredericksburg and Chan-
cellorsville, invaded Pennsylvania, the county sent
over four hundred men to help repel the enemy. Dur-
ing 1864, over two hundred men volunteered for one
year. In addition to this the various subdistricts of
the county paid bounties to the amount of hundreds of
thousands of dollars to other volunteers.
All told, Carbon county furnished over two thou-
sand men for the suppression of the Rebellion. This
is, indeed, a remarkable showing when it is remem-
bered that her total population in 1860 was but a little
over twenty-one thousand. Many of the inhabitants,
too, were either foreign born, or the children of immi-
grants. The German, Irish, Welsh and Scotch na-
tionalities predominated. Yet these men were just as
loyal, and fought quite as heroically for the preserva-
tion of our institutions as did those whose ancestors
came over in the Mayflower. To recount the story
of their valor in its fulness would be to recount the
story of the Civil War. They figured in all the im-
portant manoeuvres of the armies, from the pesti-
lential swamps of Virginia to the everglades of
105 HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
Florida; on raids and foraging expeditions, on the
battle front and the lonely picket line, crossing the
''dead-line" at Andersonville, Libby and Bell Isle for
prompt relief from lingering death and starvation,
vermin and cruel exposure; languishing with shat-
tered bodies in hastily improvised field hospitals ; con-
tributing their share to the accumulations from the
surgeon's knife, or breathing 'their young lives away,
far from friends and loved ones, at the isolated spot
where the fatal bullet found its mark. A few followed
the sea and faced the additional dangers of old ocean.
Of the seventy-eight officers from the county, fifteen
were killed, one died of disease, while thirty-nine were
wounded. Taking officers and men together, five-
eighths were killed or wounded.
Not only is the record of Carbon county unsurpassed
by any section remaining loyal to the Union, whether
considering the number of men furnished in propor-
tion to voting population, or their bravery and heroism
on the field of battle, but the same is true in speaking
of the health and endurance of our soldiers.
The grand record of casualties among the United
States volunteers during the war shows that double
the number of men died of disease to those that were
killed in battle.
In comparison to this the files of the war depart-
ment show that three times as many soldiers from
this county were killed in action as died of disease.
THE WAR WITH SPAIN.
The blowing-up of the battleship ]\raine in the har-
bor of Havana on February 15, 1898, and the result-
ing loss of a large proportion of her crew, it was at
once felt would make war between the United States
and Spain inevitable.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
107
Strained relations had existed between tlie two na-
tions for some time previous to this dreadful oc-
currence, owing to the attitude of the American people,
who sympathized with Cuba, a dependency of Spain, in
her struggle against the tyranny of the mother coun-
try.
When the court of inquiry, appointed to ascertain
the cause of the catastrophe, reported that the ship
had been destroyed by a mine in the harbor, and not
by the explosion of her own magazines, it was taken
as conclusive evidence that the Spanish authorities
were responsible for the horror. This conviction re-
sulted in the extinction of Spanish power on the Amer-
ican continent.
On April 21, Spain dismissed the United States
minister, breaking off diplomatic relations, which was
practically a declaration of war.
President McKinley at once issued a call for one
hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers. The
sons of the North and the South, with wonderful unan-
imity, promptly responded, and the quotas of the dif-
ferent states were filled in a few hours, while thou-
sands of disappointed applicants were turned away.
Before the land forces could be brought into action,
the Spanish fleet in the Pacific was crushed in the most
startling and dramatic fashion by the squadron of
Commodore Dewey.
Carbon county's contribution to the army was made
principally under the second call for volunteers, and
consisted of about one hundred and twenty-five men.
Most of these belonged to the company recruited by
Dr. William H. Clewell, of Summit Hill, which was
attached to the Ninth Regiment, commanded by Colonel
Charles B. Dougherty, of Wilkes-Barre. Eobert S.
108 HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
Mercur, of the same place, was the caiDtain of the com-
pany, while Clewell served as lieutenant.
The men were mustered into service in the old ar-
mory at Summit Hill, formerly the home of the Carbon
Guards, leaving for Camp George H. Thomas, at
Chickamauga, on the ninth of July. They were not
uniformed or equipped until their arrival in the South.
Nearly thirty men from the Panther Creek Valley
joined the Eighth Eegiment at Tamaqua, under the
command of Colonel Theodore Hoffman. This regi-
ment was first stationed at Camp Alger, near Falls
Church, Va.
But in a war between two nations of such unequal
strength and fitness as the United States and Spain
there could be but one outcome. After a struggle as
brief as it was futile, Spain submitted to her more
powerful rival. Thus no opportunity was afforded
the men of this region to "flash the maiden sword";
but they displayed their patriotism in responding to
the country's call.
Nearly all participated in the military parade of the
Peace Jubilee at Philadelphia in the latter part of
September, joining ranks with a host of veterans of
the Civil War.
The Ninth Kegiment was mustered out of service at
Wilkes-Barre on October 29, while the Eighth fol-
lowed suit at Camp MacKenzie, Ga., March 7, 1899.
A few men from Carbon county took part in sup-
pressing the insurrection in the Philippine Islands,
which followed American occupation of the archi-
pelago. Among the number was Captain William H.
Wilhelm, a gallant officer of the regular army, who was
killed during the month of June, 1901.
CHAPTER IX.
EDUCATION.
It is interesting in this age of free schools and gen-
eral enlightenment to look back upon the educational
facilities of our forefathers, and to consider the hard-
ships and difficulties which beset the pathway of the
children of the pioneers in their quest of knowledge.
Among the old records of the Dutch government on
the Delaware is found an account of the labors of
Evert Pieterson, who held the office of "schoolmaster,
£exton, comforter of the sick and setter of psalms."
He arrived in the colony in April, 1657, and in mid-
summer of that year was teaching twenty-five pupils.
This was the first educational institution, as nearly as
can be ascertained, in what is now Pennsylvania.
The Swedes, too, established schools in the earliest
years of their settlement on the Delaware. But these
schools are merelv historical curiosities.
The foundations of education in Pennsylvania were
laid bv William Penn. The original "Frame of Gov-
ernment" and the "Great Law," enacted in the first
year of the province, provided that "schools shall be
established for the education of the young."
Acting upon this provision, a school was opened in
Philadelphia by Enoch Flowers, in 1683, each puinl
being charged a small sum for tuition. In 1689, the
Friends' public grammar school, which afterward be-
came the "William Penn Charter School, was opened in
Philadelphia. It was not a public school, in the mod-
ern sense of the term, but resembled the so-called
"public schools" of England. It was endowed and
109
;l^]^0 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
free only to the poor, while those in better circum-
stances were required to pay reasonable tuition fees.
In the early history of the province, the schools with
few exceptions were under religious domination. The
minister was usually expected to serve also as school-
master, while much of the instruction given related
to subjects embraced in the catechism of the church.
Protestants and Catholics alike adopted this policy,
thereby establishing a strong prejudice against any
attempt on the part of the civil authorities to usurp
their functions in matters pertaining to education.
However, the number of church schools was inade-
quate, and where people lived five or ten miles from a
church, or where a variety of religious denominations
existed, schools were organized by neighborhoods.
The building of a house and the employment of a
teacher was usually entrusted to a committee elected
by the neighborhood. The money needed was raised
by voluntary subscription. These schools after a time
outnumbered those sustained by religious bodies, ow-
ing to the intermingling of sects and nationalities as
the population grew.
The provincial school house was generallj^ a rough
log cabin, and the spaces between the logs were filled
with chips of wood and plastered with mortar. The
floors were of earth and sometimes of timber, through
which snakes often crawled. Nearly one side of the
house was occupied by the immense chimney, and there
were several windows with small panes of glass. The
furniture consisted of four-legged benches made of
logs split in two and hewn to a proper thickness,
and stools and tables of the same material and work-
manship. The desks were placed against the wall,
facing outward, while seats without backs were in the
middle of the room for the smaller scholars.
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. ^11
The first regular branch of instruction was reading,
for this was preparatory to learning the catechism
and taking part in religious exercises. When writing
was first introduced it was confined wholly to boys, a&
the acquirement was deemed unnecessary for girls.
Ink was made of nut-galls bruised, to which was added
a proper proportion of water and some rusty nails.
Paper was costly, and birch bark was often used as' a
substitute. Arithmetic was taught, but without the
use of books. The "sums" were dictated by the mas-
ter and worked out on paper or bark, for blackboards
were unknown, and slates and pencils did not come
into use until after the Eevolution.
If the equipment of these schools was rude and
primitive, the instruction given was frequently in har-
mony with the surroundings.
The state, in 1776, took no ground in advance of
the church and neighborhood schools when it pro-
posed to furnish elementary instruction at low prices.
In 1790, however, Timothy Pickering, of Luzerne;
William Findley, of Westmoreland, and others, suc-
ceeded in getting the words — "in such manner that the
poor shall be taught gratis" — attached to the constitu-
tional clause on schools.
Magnanimous as the intent of the authors of this
provision may have been, it later became apparent
that the cause of popular education had not been much
advanced by the paternal attitude thus assumed by the
state.
For several decades the lawmakers of Pennsylvania
hoped to be able to secure universal education by
simply providing for the gratuitous instruction of
the poor, and long continued to make labored efforts to
that end.
212 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
For purposes of classification, the pupils' names
were enrolled as "pay" and *'})auper" scholars.
The law provided that the tuition of the latter class
should be paid by the county, whenever the returns of
the assessors showed that the parents were unable to
bear the expense. But the sense of equality that had
been engendered by free institutions was such that all
attein])ts to educate poor children at the public ex-
pense, in schools with other children or in schools by
themselves, completely failed.
The class distinctions that had been broken up in
general society could not be preserved in school. Pov-
erty could deaden self-respect in few parents to the
extent of allowing their children to attend schools
where they were certain to be looked down upon as
belonging to an inferior class. These schools came
to be despised by the rich and shunned by the poor.
Then it was that the idea arose of educating all the
children in the state, irrespective of their pecuniary
condition, at the public expense. To many well-mean-
ing people, however, it seemed unreasonable to levy
taxes for the schooling of those amply able to ]iay their
own bills. It looked to them like a blow at self-reli-
ance and paternal responsibility.
To further complicate the situation, it was claimed
that there was no constitutional warrant to appro-
priate any money except for the poor, and, hence, it
was necessary to define the term, thus emphasizing
and, to a certain extent, perpetuating the ]iau})er con-
ditions.
It was not until the supreme court of the state de-
cided that tlie constitution did not prohih'if the use
of state money for others than the poor that a way was
seen to go forward. On this negative decision is built
the whole public school system of Pennsylvania.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. H'^
The need of better and more adequate educational
facilities was painfully apparent when the "Pennsyl-
vania Society for the Promotion of Public Schools"
was organized in Philadelphia in 1827. Roberts Vaux
was the leading spirit in the affairs of this society,
which effectively agitated the question at issue, and
public meetings and memorials sprang up over the
state. This culminated in 1834 in the enactment of a
law which provided for the establishment of schools
which should be free to all.
The most influential champion of this measure was
Governor George Wolfe, the son of a German immi-
grant, of Northampton county. This, the beginning
of the common school system, inaugurated a new era
in the progress of universal education in the state.
The new law, however, met with strong opposition,
even from the friends of the system, who distrusted its
methods. But it had a fearless champion in Thad-
deus Stevens, with whom Wolfe courageously joined
in defense of the system when a desperate but unsuc-
cessful attempt was' made by the legislature in 1835
to overthrow it.
No special effort was at first made to put the new
school system in operation. The law was in some re-
spects imperfect, and supplementary legislation was
necessary to correct its weaknesses. Besides, the
question of its adoption or rejection was discretionary
with the people of each district, and many rejected it,
preferring to go on in the old way. But in 1849 the
law was made applicable to every part of the state.
The act of 1854 introduced new and important fea-
tures, while the main points of the law were left un-
changed. It created the office of county superintend-
ent of schools, authorized the levying and collection of
school taxes, and gave fuller powers generally to
114, HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
boards of directors. For the first time since the begin-
ning of the crusade for free schools, the district officers
were clothed with adequate authority to enforce the
law.
Three years later, the state superintendency of com-
mon schools was made a separate office ; before that its
duties were performed by the secretary of the com-
monwealth.
At the same time the normal school law was passed,
providing for the establishment under state aid of
institutions for the professional preparation of teach-
ers.
The system of soldiers' orphan schools established
in 1864 marked the beginning of a scheme of benevo-
lence without a parallel in the history of any other
state or nation.
Pennsvlvania furnished nearlv four hundred thou-
sand men in the war for the preservation of the Union.
It is estimated that fifty thousand of these fell in battle
or died in hospitals, while perhaps an equal number
returned to their homes greatly disabled with wounds
or shattered in health. Many left widows and children
in destitute circumstances.
The war had not long continued before hundreds of
the orphaned or worse than orphaned children of sol-
diers were reduced to want and beggary or were com-
pelled to find food and shelter in some almshouse or
other charitable institution.
It was then that the great, ])atriotic heart of Penn-
sylvaniji was moved and the plan formed by which the
children of dead or disabled soldiers were collected,
maintained, educated and cared for to the age of six-
teen years, and then placed in circumstances giving an
opportunity for a fair start in life.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. H^
This charity, if such it may properly be termed, is
said to have been suggested by the necessities of two
children who called at the executive mansion at Har-
risburg on Thanksgiving Day, in 1863, asking for
bread. Governor Curtin met them at the door, and to
his kindly questions they answered in their childish
way that their father had been killed in battle, and
that their mother had since died, while they were en-
tirely friendless and alone.
The voice of these children was the voice of God,
speaking to the noble head of the commonwealth. For
two years he had been calling for troops and urging
men to the field, and, behold, their little ones had
become beggars!
Before the coming of another Thanksgiving day
proper provisions had been made for the education
and care of this' deserving class among our people.
During the period when they were most needed, the
state appropriated as high as six hundred thousand
dollars annually for the maintenance of these schools,
in which, to-day, after nearly fifty years, about six
hundred children are still enrolled, a few of the num-
ber being from Carbon county.
Among the crowning acts to make elementary edu-
cation universal in Pennsylvania were the free-text
book law of 1893, and the compulsory attendance law
of 1895.
In the beginning the state appropriated about $100,-
000 a year to the public schools. In 1875, the amount
had risen to $1,000,000, while in recent years the an-
nual appropriation has reached the enormous sum of
$7,500,000.
The first school to be opened within the limits of
Carbon countv was that conducted by the Moravians
IIQ HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
'.n connection with Gnadenhiitten mission, which occu-
pied the present site of Lehighton.
The Indians who gathered daily for prayer in the
little chapel on the Mahoning were also taught to read
and were instructed in the mechanic arts and in
the cultivation of the soil. These efforts seemed to
be very encouraging at first, but in the course of a
few years, the land became impoverished through im-
proper treatment, and the seat of the mission was
changed to the opposite side of the Lehigh, where
Weissport now stands.
The evil fate which befell this settlement in the In-
dian uprising of 1755 brought to an abrupt termination
the work which had been so disinterestedly undertaken
and begun. From this time forth until the coal and
lumber interests began to be developed, educational
considerations may scarcely be said to have existed
in the county.
In 1837, a few lonely cabins dotted the secluded
valleys of the Lehigh. AVith these exceptions, the
whole county was a dreary wilderness. But when
the felling of the forests began, and as the demand
for anthracite coal increased with a better understand-
ing of its nature and the uses to which it might be put,
extensive improvements became necessary. Large
numbers of miners, lumbermen, various kinds of me-
chanics, clerks, bookkeepers, and common laborers
came upon the scene. Both labor and capital secured
liberal rewards, and villages and towns sprang up as
if by magic. Many different nationalities were brought
together here, while a large ju-oportion of them were
illiterate.
It soon became evident to llio ])roprietors of the
mines and lumber mills that the hundreds of children
who could neither work in llio mines nor in the mills
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. HJ
were growing up in idleness, with all its attendant
vices, and that they would have to be educated, or
these sources of wealth would become a curse instead
of a blessing to society. Accordingly, schools were
provided for some of these children. The results of
these experiments were so gratifying that within a few
years flourishing schools were found in nearly every
lumber camp and mining village in the county. The
houses were generally provided by the landowners or
the operators, and given free of rent for school \mY-
poses. The teachers obtained the right to teach in
these houses from their legal owners, or from the com-
mittees having them in charge. The instructors had
entire control of the schools, managing them to suit
their own peculiar views or whims. Tuition fees varied
from $1.50 to $2.50 per quarter for each pupil.
In 1750 an English colony was planted in East Penu
township, some of whose descendants are still living in
that locality. Eefusing to give aid to the German or
mixed schools, and being too few in number to main-
tain one of their own, they preferred to do entirely
without a school until 1817, when they succeeded in es-
tablishing an exclusively English institution. A good,
substantial stone house was erected near the locality
known as Ashfield, and a three months' term was
taught by Lawrence Enge, who was the first master of
the school. A certificate given by a later teacher to a
pupil read: "This is to certify that the Bearer
Hannah Andreas is the head of her class by good at-
tention to her book and hereby has gained the good-
will of her tutor, Andrew Cronican the 30th of Janu-
ary, 1821."
In 1820, a board of school trustees was elected at a
town meeting held at Summit Hill. It consisted of
three members, whose duty it was to provide a house
113 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
for the accommodation of those who wished to send
their chiklren to school, and who were willing to pay
the tuition fees fixed by the teacher.
After making a number of inelfectual attempts to
raise money by voluntary subscriptions to build a
school house, the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany came to their relief by erecting a building and
giving it to the board of trustees, to be held in trust
for school purposes. It was furnished ^vith long board
benches and desks, a rough board table for the teacher,
and an old stove. George Adams was engaged to teach
the school. The branches taught were reading, writ-
ing and arithmetic.
About the same time a school was opened in Mahon-
ing on the spot where Gnadenhiitten mission had been
established in 1746. The house, which was of logs,
was one story high, and was divided into two rooms,
one being used for school and the other for church
purposes. This building was furnished similarly to
that at Summit Hill. The property was owned by the
citizens of the place and was controlled by a board of
trustees. This school was kept open during the winter
season for many years, and some of the pupils who at-
tended it were obliged to travel long distances in
order to enjoy the advantages it afforded.
A school was started at Nesquehoning in 1830, being
organized and equipped similarly to those that have
already been mentioned. The branches taught were
spelling, reading, writing and arithmetic, while the
text-books used were Comley's Primer and Spelling
Book, Murray's Introduction and English Reader, and
the Bible.
Writing in the schools of this period was still done
with quill pens, all of which were prepared by the
teacher. This was quite a task, particularly so if he
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. HQ
chanced to have a dull knife and had many pens to
mend.
On visiting a school, it was not an unusual thing to
hear a half dozen urchins call out, "Master, will you
mend my pen?" Whether the master's reply would be
a pleasant ''yes," or a surly "I got no time," de-
pended largely upon the humor he was in when the
request was made.
From 1825 to 1835, schools were established in dif-
ferent sections of the county on pretty much the same
plan. When it was thought necessary to start a school,
a town meeting was called, and three or five persons
selected to act as trustees. These held their offices
during good behavior, under a sort of civil service
reform principle. The duty of the trustees was to
raise money by voluntary subscription or contribution,
select and purchase sites, superintend the erection of
school houses, and hold them in trust for school uses.
As it was a difficult matter to raise a large amount
of money for such purposes in this manner, the strict-
est economy had to be exercised, and sites selected
where they could be had for the least money, regard-
less of their convenience or adaptability.
Consequently they were mostly poorly chosen and
out-of-the-way places, hard by a public highway or
upon some waste ground that could not well be put to
any other profitable use.
The trustees did not hire the teachers. All that was
necessary for one who wished to become a teacher was
to get permission from the trustees to use the house,
arrange for pupils and fix a tuition fee. The larger
the number of subscribers, the better the returns, of
course. But it maj^ easily be imagined that the pro-
fession of teaching was not at that time exactly an
alluring one from the financial point of view.
220 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
The most famous among the early sehoohiiasters of
Carbon county was James Nowlins, a native of Ire-
land, who, in 1829, began his career as a teacher in
Mauch Chunk. The building in which he was destined
to achieve his triumphs was one of the worst type of
slab houses The furnishings corresponded well with
the structure itself, and there were no mottoes or orna-
ments to decorate the rough, gloomy walls and cheer
the minds of the pupils.
Nowlins was a man of fine literary attainments, but
was decidedly eccentric, while being a strict disciplin-
arian. His school was composed of more than one hun-
dred pupils, many of whom came long distances, think-
ing it quite a privilege to be permitted to sit under
the teachings of so great a master. All the common
English branches were taught, and some of the higher
ones, too. He would allow no dull scholar to remain
in school. When he chanced to get hold of such an
iinf ortunate one, he would tell him at once, ' ' What God
has denied you, I cannot give you ; take your books and
go home!"
The chief instrument for inflicting torture was a
short hickory club, with leather thongs fastened to one
end. These the professor called his "taws."
So deep and lasting were the impressions that he
made upon the minds and backs of his pupils with this
dread weapon that one of them, recalling his memory,
after the lapse of half a century, declared: "While T
am telling this, my back itches, and the hairs on my
head bristle up like a porcupine's quills, while the
ghost of Jimmy Nowlins, with his 'taws' in liand,
seems to rise menacingly before me."
But while Nowlins' methods would to-day be consid-
ered uns])eakal)le and doubtless result in summary
vengeance being visited upon his head, they were not
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. "[21
entirely unusual then, and in his case, at least, pro-
duced good results.
Quite a number of men who became prominent in
various fields of endeavor, owed their subsequent suc-
cess in large measure to the training they had received
in his school. It seems like the irony of fate that Now-
lins, who placed so many others on the pathway lead-
ing to success, should himself have died in the poor-
house.
The early settlers of East Penn and Towamensing
were with few exceptions Germans or their descend-
ants, members of the Lutheran or the Reformed
church. It was their custom to partition off one room
in each of their church buildings for school purposes.
And the church organist, however deficient that worthy
might be in other branches of learning, was called
upon to act as schoolmaster.
Almost without exception the German language was
taught in these schools.
When the free school law was passed, in 1834, there
were twenty-eight schools established within the pres-
ent limits of Carbon county. They nearly all belonged
to the primitive type which has already been described,
and their equipment was little in advance of that of
colonial times, while the school term was of but three
or four months' duration. "Wood, of course, was
burned to warm the buildings, and this was purchased
by the teacher, who added an extra charge to the tui-
tion fee therefor. The heating apparatus generally con-
sisted of some old cast-off stove, purchased from the
scrap-pile of some iron-monger.
The houses were either deficient in smoke-flues, or
altogether without them; hence the stove pipe had to
answer a double purpose. In order to save pipe, it
was usually made to pass through the loft floor only,
222 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
not extending through the roof, while the smoke was
left to find its way out through the chinks 'between
the logs, or be forced down into the school room.
Consequently the school room was frequently filled
with smoke, to the great annoyance and discomfort
of teacher and pupils.
This condition of affairs would sometimes be taken
advantage of by the people of the neighborhood, who
would bring their meat to the school house to get it
smoked.
Most of the districts of the county accepted the free
school law with gratifying promptness and, in 1843,
when the county was organized, all the townships
within its limits had adopted it, and the day of prog-
ress was rapidly dawning.
Mauch Chunk already had a school house which was
considered the equal of almost any other structure of
its kind in the state, and her schools were well con-
ducted. In 1844, there were three schools in opera-
tion at Summit Hill, while Nesquehoning, Rockport,
Beaver Meadow and Weatherly all had flourishing
schools.
The first triennial convention of directors met at
Mauch Chunk early in June, 1854, electing J. H. Sie-
wers, an experienced educator, to the office of county
superintendent. His salary was fixed at $400 per
annum, which was not entirely an exceptional case, for
there was but one superintendent of schools in the
state at that time receiving more than $1,000 a year.
Perhaps the princi])al reason for this niggardliness
was that the people did not generally approve of the
office, which they considered superfluous, viewing its
incumbent in the light of an impertinent, meddlesome
loafer.
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 123
But Siewers was a warm friend of the public school
system. During his term of office he did much to break
down whatever prejudices still existed against it, and
by visiting the schools, giving advice to teachers, hold-
ing public meetings, and addressing the people on the
importance of more liberal means of education,
achieved grand results.
The cause of popular education in Carbon county
was also ably championed in the early days by such
broad-minded, public-spirited citizens as R. Q, Butler,
J. D. Bertolette, Fisher Hazard, N. B. Reber, Charles
Meendsen, Paul Kresge, and others.
Thomas L. Foster, a member of the legal profession,
followed Siewers as county superintendent. Under
his supervision the schools continued to improve. He
labored particularly for the improvement of houses,
ventilation, furniture, methods of instruction, and
better classification of schools.
He was succeeded in 1863 by R. F. Hofford, a man
of solid worth, who held the office continuously until
1881. During this long period many advances were
made. One of his first important acts was to adopt
measures to secure a better co-operation of the educa-
tional forces of the county, resulting in the permanent
organization of the Carbon County Teachers' Insti-
tute in the fall of 1864. The annual gatherings of this
body have done much toward elevating the teacher's
profession and promoting the cause of education in
the county.
Upon Hofford 's retirement, T. M. Balliet, a native
of Mahoning township, and a thoroughly capable young
man, who has since become one of the recognized lead-
ers of his profession in the United States, succeeded
to the duties of the office.
124 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
At the expiration of six years, he relinquished the
position to T. A. Snyder, who served for three succes-
sive terms, studied law, and became a member of the
bar.
A. S. Beisel, who followed him, held the office until
1902, when the present incumbent, James J. Bevan,
was elected. The latter has placed particular em-
phasis upon the importance of grounding the pupils
well in English, and has done everything possible to
foster the best interests of education throughout the
county.
There are now many fine, modern school buildings in
Carbon county. Their equipment is up-to-date, and
higher standards are being established year after year.
There are thirteen high schools in the county, eight
of which are situated in the various boroughs; three
are classed as township high schools, while the two
remaining are supported by the independent districts
of Franklin and Packerton, respectively. Banks,
Mauch Chunk and Lower Towamensing are the town-
ships which have established these schools.
The large amount of money appropriated by the
state toward the maintenance of the public schools, has
aided materially in securing better salaries, wMle
resulting in legislation requiring higher training and
efficiency on the x:>art of teachers than formerly. True
as this may be generally, there are a number of dis-
tricts in the county where the pay of teachers is not
higher to-day than that of forty years ago, notwith-
standing the aid accorded by the state. The study of
agricultui'e has during recent years been introduced in
nearly all of the schools of the rural districts.
While the public schools have had such a grand
march of progress, there have been no permanently
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 125
successful attempts made to establish private schools,
or schools devoted to higher education in the county.
Park Seminary, opened at Mauch Chunk in 1832;
the Carbon Academy and Normal Association, founded
in 1853, first located at Weissport, and later at Le-
highton, and Fairview Academy, which had a short-
lived career at East Mauch Chunk, were efforts in this
direction.
Another institution of this nature was the Normal
Institute, originally known as Normal Square Select
School, located at what is now known as the village of
Normal, in Mahoning township. This school was
founded about the year 1878 by Professor Thomas M.
Balliet. It was housed in a public school building, and
was kept open during the seasons of spring and fall.
Its primary purpose was to prepare those in attend-
ance for admission to the higher institutions of learn-
ing; and a large number of young people of both sexes
from the surrounding country availed themselves of its
advantages.
When weather conditions were favorable, recitations
were often conducted after the manner of the ancients,
beneath the trees.
Most of the students were sturdy farmer boys, not
a few of whom laid the foundations of a liberal educa-
tion and a larger usefulness in the environment cre-
ated by the school. These are now literally scattered
from ocean to ocean.
After the first few seasons, the school was conducted
for the most joart by successive students and graduates
of Franklin and Marshall College. It was finally
closed during the early nineties.
The Carbon Academy, later known as the Lehighton
Academy, while not a financial success, also served a
useful purpose.
] 26 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
In addition to the schools which have already been
mentioned, flourishing parochial schools are being
maintained by the Catholic churches of Mauch Chunk,
East Mauch Chunk, Lehighton and Lansford.
A school of this description, opened in connection
with the Episcopal church of Mauch Chunk, was dis-
continued after a time for want of sufficient patronage.
CHAPTER X.
THE MOLLIE MAGUIBES.
While Carbon county, by reason of its smaller area
and population, contained fewer Mollie Maguires than
either of the neighboring counties of Luzerne and
Schuylkill, it nevertheless occupies a position of equal
importance to these in the popular mind when the
memory of the crimes and outrages perpetrated by the
members of that dark and blood-stained organization
are recalled.
It was at Mauch Chunk, after the most fearless and
resolute of the law-abiding members of society in the
coal regions had begun to despair of ever being able
to bring a Mollie Maguire to justice for the commis-
sion of crime, that the first conviction and execution
of one of this lawless and murderous band took place.
It is difficult to secure definite and reliable informa-
tion concerning the origin of this organization, the
very name of which was a reproach to the civilization
of the coal fields for more than a generation.
The nucleus of the American contingent came from
Ireland, and were closely identified with, if not actual
members of, the Ancient Order of Hibernians. It is
evident that the men who comprised this company
of outlaws were of Irish birth, and that most, if not
all of them, came here direct from the green shores of
Erin.
It appears that the Mollie Maguires were an out-
growth of the Eibbonmen, or auxiliaries of that so-
ciety. This association was formed in Ireland during
the early part of the nineteenth century for the pur-
pose of resisting landlords and their agents in the en-
127
128 HISTOEY OF CABBON COUNTY.
forced collection of rentals. As a branch of this so-
ciety, and growing out of it, sprang the men known
as Mollie Maguires; and the name of their organiza-
tion simply arose from the fact that, in the perpetra-
tion of their offenses, they originally dressed as
women. Generally, too, they ducked or beat their vic-
tims, or inflicted some such punishment as infuriated
women would be likely to administer. It is quite likely,
besides, that at some time or other they had a leader
or patroness named Mary, or Mollie Maguire.
These men came from intimate contact with the
heartless landlords and their unfeeling agents in Ire-
land, and they transferred the prejudices which they
had a right to entertain against these to the coal
operators and their subordinates in authority, the men
under whom it was their lot to labor for the means of
subsistence.
No doubt, in some instances thev suffered real
wrongs, and were treated with culpable injustice, but
it is safe to say that in the majority of cases the griev-
ances of which they complained were imaginary rather
than real encroachments upon their rights, and of
which knavish and designing wretches took advantage
in inciting to deeds of violence and outrage.
Crimes of the most shocking nature were committed,
and the perpetrators permitted, in manj^ instances, to
go unpunished through fear of a like fate being visited
upon the informer. Dastardly outrages were com-
mitted with impunity, and the lives and property of
"marked" individuals were in constant jeopardy.
Lawlessness and crime had existed in the coal re-
gion since 1848, and these earlj^ depredations were aft-
erwards identified as the work of the Mollie jMaguires,
since they then em])loyed the same methods of warn-
ing their victims as they later did. These warnings
HISTORY OF CAKBON COUNTY. 5^09
were crude drawings of coffins, pistols, skulls and
cross-bones, and vulgar notes, declaring the demands
upon the persons for whom they were intended.
They were variously signed, sometimes being given
under the name of "One of Mollie's Children," and at
other times as "Black Spots" or "Buck Shots" and
similar designations.
The society received large accessions in membership
during the early days of the Civil War, when there
was a great demand for men to take the places of
those who had so generously rallied in defense of the
nation and its institutions. Among those who re-
sponded to this demand from across the seas were the
worst classes of the downtrodden population of
Europe.
It was now becoming apparent that the anthracite
coal fields were infested by spirits the most desperate
and lawless, and, when in 1862, an enrollment for the
purpose of a draft was ordered, the formidable and
dangerous character that animated and distinguished
these men was made manifest.
Assaults, arson and murders were committed, and
the officers of the law seemed utterly powerless to ap-
prehend or bring to justice the perpetrators of these
crimes. Coal operators were ordered to suspend
operations until the discontinuance of the draft, while
mine foremen and their men were warned, at the peril
of their lives, not to overlook this peremptory demand.
Murders, incendiarism and open riots became more
frequent and bold, and but little attempt was >made
in the way of concealing these crimes. It was at first
thought that opposition to the enrollments and drafts
upon the part of this lawless element had inspired
much of the violence and crime that prevailed during
the period of the war ; but upon the termination of hos-
230 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
tilities, when crime and bloodshed were daily becoming
more rampant, the people at last awoke to a realization
of the fact that an organization existed among them
that was more formidable and dangerous than any
avowed and open foe could possibly be.
Men were sometimes killed in broad daylight ; some-
times in the darkness of night, and invariably by
strangers — persons at least unknown to chance spec-
tators, or to the parties violently put out of the way.
Suspected individuals would be apprehended, but in
the end nobody could be found able to identify the
criminals. The Mollies ruled the people with a rod
of iron. The voice of their dread fraternity was un-
heard, but its fiendish work was none the less surely
performed.
Even the political sentiments of the commonwealth
were to some extent moulded by them, and in their par-
itcular field they elected or defeated whomsoever they
pleased.
The men whose capital was locked up in the coal beds
were as obedient puppets in their hands, while there
was absolutely no security for life and property.
This was the state of affairs in the anthracite coal
regions in the fall of 1873, when Franklin B. Gowan,
then president of the Philadel]:)hia and Reading Rail-
way ComiDany and of the Pliiladel])liia and Reading
Coal and Iron Company, made arrangements with
Allan Pinkerton, head of the world-famed detective
agency of that name, to send a detective into the
haunts of the Mollie Maguires, with a view to breaking
up their organization, punishing its guilty members
and restoring the reign of law and order in that por-
tion of the commonwealth.
The man who, after mature deliberation, was called
uy)on to perform this arduous and hazardous under-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^31
taking was a young Irishman named James McParlan,
who assumed the name of James McKenna. He is still
alive, and some years ago was detailed to unravel the
mystery surrounding the murder of Governor Steu-
nenberg of Idaho, but in that case he was not so suc-
cessful as he was in exposing the Mollie Maguires and
in bringing them to justice.
Prior to his connection with the two great Penn-
sylvania corporations, Mr. Gowan had been the district
attorney of Schuylkill county, and his duties in that
position had brought him frequently in contact with
the work of the Mollie Maguires. He was, therefore,
able to render valuable assistance in the prosecution
of the task which was freighted with such far-reaching
consequences to the inhabitants of the coal regions.
McParlan was successful, at the end of nearly six
months, in establishing himself in the confidence and
good-will of the members of the society which he was
seeking to overthrow, and was initiated as a member
of the order at Shenandoah, Schuylkill county.
Not only is much of the credit for the disruption of
the Mollies' organization due to McParlan, but we are
largely indebted to him for what knowledge there is
of how its inside workings were conducted. As Mc-
Parlan learned, it was an oath-bound society, whose
members recognized each other by signs and pass-
words and were required under dire penalties to carry
out the orders of their officers and to execute the man-
dates of the body to which they chanced to belong.
They were organized in small local societies, termed
"bodies," presided over by a president, known as the
"body master." All grievances of members were laid
before the "body," and it was there determined what
measures of redress or vengeance, if any, should be
resorted to. When the object of vengeance was merely
10
132 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
to be punished or beaten, the members of the ''body"
were generally called upon to perform the job. When
there was need of greater secrecy, the members of
other ''bodies," living at a distance, were usually se-
cured to carry out the wishes of the society.
This was a rule that was nearly always adhered to
in cases where murder was intended, making the prov-
ing of an alibi, the ever ready weapon of the society
in clearing its members when charged with crime, com-
paratively an easy matter.
McParlan visited the different towns, especially the
strongholds of the Mollies, throughout the anthracite
region and laid carefully prepared plans for his peril-
ous work. He kept in almost daily communication
with Mr. Gowan at Philadelphia, who was one of the
few that knew him in his true character. The detective
exhibited industry, perseverance and determination to
a remarkable degree in the midst of surroundings that
might well have appalled the stoutest heart. His find-
ings were preserved with the greatest secrecy until
such time as the whole gruesome story could be laid
before the world from the records of the courts. This
occurred in due time, and he appeared as the principal
witness against a number of murderers who were con-
victed on his testimony and that of corroborating wit-
nesses. By three years of unremitting industry, dur-
ing which time he was com])elled to resort to treach-
ery, deceit and double dealing, he succeeded in seciir-
ing many confidences and even the inmost secrets of
those whose lives he sought, and ultimately secured at
the bar of justice.
He assumed to be one of the worst among the class
of outlaws with whom he was com]ielled to associate,
but himself always carefully refrained from the actual
commission of crime. He accounted for his abilitv to
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^^'^
live without work by telling various plausible stories,
pretending that he was a pensioner of the government
and a dealer in counterfeit money, among other things.
McParlan was very popular among the Mollies, who
seemed to esteem him all the more because he appeared
to be a thorough desperado and a polished rogue.
As to whether or not he was justified in pursuing the
course that he did, let casuists argue and theorists
quibble ; there can be no question concerning the recti-
tude of his conduct in the minds of practical men, when
all of the circumstances under which he labored are
recalled.
One of McParlan 's co-workers during a part of his
stay in the coal regions was Captain Robert Linden,
ostensibly a leader of the coal and iron police, but also
a Pinkerton detective. Together they were successful
in thwarting many a deep laid scheme for the destruc-
tion of life and property.
Among the first of the outrages attended by fatal
results within the limits of Carbon county, and charged
to the Mollie Maguires, was the murder of George K.
Smith, at Audenried, on the evening of November 5,
1863.
Mr. Smith was a member of the firm of George K.
Smith and Company, operating the mines of the New
York and Lehigh Coal Company at Yorktown.
He had given the enrolling officers a list containing
the names of the men employed at the mines operated
by the firm of which he was a member, and some of
their number had been drafted for service in the army.
This circumstance is said to have led to his assassina-
tion. He was assailed by a large body of heavily
armed men in his own dwelling and was quickly dis-
patched in the presence of his terror-stricken family.
134 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Although several persons were under the ban of sus-
picion, and were supposed to have participated in the
affair, it was impossible, until the lapse of many
years, to obtain any information as to the absolute
guilt of the mistrusted parties. Some of these were
then arrested and placed in jail at Mauch Chunk, but
were forcibly rescued a short time thereafter, at night,
by their associates in the order.
Another Carbon county affair which was charged to
the account of the Mollies, and which aroused general
indignation, was the attack made upon Superintendent
Hendrix, of the Buck Mountain Coal Company. He
was in his room at the house where he boarded in the
village of Clifton, in company with his wife, when, on
the evening of June 11, 1869, he was brutally assaulted
and beaten to the verge of death.
Over two hundred men joined in the attack, sur-
rounding the house and taking it by storm. The inter-
position of Mrs. Hendrix, who threw herself between
her husband and his assailants, taking many kicks and
blows that were intended for him, was all that saved
him from death. Mr. Hendrix was beaten with black-
jacks, pistol butts and clubs, besides receiving two
stabs from a knife.
After making a fruitless search for another intended
victim who boarded with James Harvey, a neighbor of
Mr. Hendrix, the band of outlaws then moved in a body
to Eckly, a short distance beyond, in Luzerne county.
There they proceeded to square some grudge they
had against Captain P. F, McGinley.
He bore the reputation of being a fearless, resolute
man, and armed with a magazine rifle, he awaited their
onslaught in a second story room of his home.
Breaking in the front door, the Mollies seized the
captain's father and used him as a shield while ad-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^35
vancing upstairs to attack the son, the okl man })lead-
ing piteously for his life in the meantime.
The captain managed to get in one shot, which, as
was subsequently learned, was not without effect, but
was soon overx^owered and clubbed into insensibility.
Years afterwards it was learned that the perpetra-
tors of these outrages came principally from Yorktown
and Audenried, ten miles awaj^
The unprovoked and cold-blooded murder of Mor-
gan Powell, assistant superintendent of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company, at Summit Hill, on the
evening of December 2, 1871, crowning, as it did, so
many previous and similar events, greatly exasperated
the law-abiding people of the coal region.
The murder was committed at about seven o'clock,
on the street, not more than a few paces from the store
of Henry Williamson, which place Powell had left only
a moment before to go to the office of William Zehner,
the general superintendent of the company.
It appears that one of a group of three men, who
had been seen by various people waiting near the store,
drew close to Mr. Powell from the rear, and fired a
pistol shot into the left breast of his innocent victim,
leaning over the shoulder of Powell to accomplish his
deadly purpose.
Who it was that had killed him, no one could tell.
The three men who had been seen together, and one of
whom did the shooting, were all strangers, and easily
effected their escape. Patrick Kildea, who was
thought to resemble one of their number, was taken
into custody and tried for the crime, but was acquitted
for lack of evidence.
Emboldened by their success in so many previous
outrages, the Mollies were becoming reckless, and on
the morning of September 3, 1875, enacted a tragedy
136 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
that was destined to lead to the discovery, conviction
and execution of the authors of many deeds of blood.
At the time spoken of, John P. Jones, a mine fore-
man at Lansford, spoke what proved to be his eternal
farewell to his wife and seven children, and started
toward the colliery where he was employed. He fol-
lowed a path that led from Storm Hill to the depot in
Lansford, and which he had been repeatedly urged not
to take, because it was known that he was marked for
death by the Mollies.
As he proceeded leisurely on his way, jDrobably hav-
ing no premonition of impending evil, he was over-
taken by two men, who were running as if in a hurry
to reach a train which had just arrived at the depot.
They halted when close to him, drew their pistols and
fired upon the luckless and unsuspecting man with
deadly effect.
The victim made an attempt to ward off his assail-
ants with his tin dinner pail, and as he did so received
another bullet from the pistol of one of the murderers.
Throwing up his hands, with a cry of mortal agony, he
fell upon his face, while two more leaden messengers
of death were fired in quick succession into his already
bullet-riddled body.
This tragic event occurred in broad daylight and in
the sight of a crowd of people.
The reports of the pistols brought man}^ workmen
to the scene.
The assassins had been seen retreating rapidly over
the hill, and pursuit was soon given. When the hour
of noon arrived, their capture had been effected. The
men were identified as Michael J. Doyle and Edward
Kelly, of Mount Laffa, Schuylkill county; and James
Kerrigan, bodymaster of the Tamaqua division of the
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^37
Mollies. All of them were securely placed in jail at
Mauch Cliimk.
The men were taken while resting beneath the shade
of a tree beside a spring, near Tamaqua. Kelly and
Doyle were recognized as having done the shooting,
while Kerrigan had accompanied them, but had re-
mained at a safe distance while the murder was being
executed.
No arms were found about their persons, but a little
later some officers, while making a search unearthed
three pistols and a heavy club, secreted under the trees
in the leaves near the spring where the men were taken
prisoners. One of these pistols was that known as the
"Roarty Pistol," highly prized by the Mollies, and
named after its owner, James Roarty, bodymaster of
the Coal Dale division of the society. It wa& termed
by them "the lucky pistol" and had been used at the
murder of Morgan Powell, Policeman B. F. Yost, of
Tamaqua, and others.
The arrest of Doyle, Kerrigan and Kelly was a stun-
ning blow to the Mollies, who realized that the most
desperate exertions would be necessary to save their
three comrades from the gallows and their order from
exposure and annihilation.
A large sum of money was soon raised and the best
lawyers to be had were retained to defend the pris-
oners.
John W. Ryan, Linn Bartholomew, and J. B. Riley,
all of the Schuylkill county bar, and E. M. Mulhearn
and Daniel Kalbfus, of Mauch Chunk, appeared on
behalf of the defense when the prisoners were ar-
raigned at the October term of the Carbon county
court.
To match this array of legal talent, the coal and rail-
road companies of this section of the anthracite region,
;[38 ; HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTS
all of whom were directly and deeply concerned in the
outcome of the case, authorized their attorneys to as-
sist the district attorney, E. R. Siewers, in the prosecu-
tion. Hon. F. W. Hughes, appeared for the Philadel-
phia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, General
Charles Albright, for the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre
Coal Company, and Hon. Allen Craig for the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company.
Kelly, Doyle, and Kerrigan were jointly put on trial,
entering the usual plea of "not guilty," and demand-
ing a severance, the case going over to the January
term of court.
In its far-reaching consequences to human life and
property, together with the general security and wel-
fare of society, this trial may justly be regarded as the
most momentous in the annals of the commonwealth.
The trial was begun on the eighteenth of January
before Judge Samuel S. Dreher. On the twenty-first
of January a jury had been obtained, consisting of
William Bloss, Jonas Beck, Joel Strohl, Daniel Boyer,
Jr., Daniel Remaly, Abraham Henry, Levi West, Levi
Straub, Henry Long, Peter Cushman, Thomas A. Wil-
liams, and Drake H. Liong.
Michael Doyle was the first to be placed on trial, and,
as was to be expected, the leaders of the Mollies made
great efforts to prove that not one of the three men
charged with the killing of Jones could possibly have
been present when the crime was committed, as they
had really been elsewhere at that time. But through
the effective work of McParlan and other detectives,
their efforts j^roved abortive and unavailing.
McParlan, in particular, rendered great services to
the lawyers who represented the commonwealth in
this- important trial. Mingling freely with the Mollies,
and looked upon by the members of the society, as well
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. ^39
as those outside the organization, as one of their lead-
ers, he was admitted to all their councils, even to the
consultations of their attorneys. All that he thus
learned he secretly but promptly communicated to the
other side.
The trial had not far progressed before it ])ecame
evident to the attorneys for the defense, as well as to
the assembled Mollies, that they were being betrayed
by some one whom they had thus far trusted.
McParlan's reputation as a wicked Mollie was so
well established, and so cleverly did he play his part,
that he was not at first suspected.
It was finally thought that the traitor must be one
of the prisoners on trial, and suspicion centered upon
Kerrigan. He was not slow in detecting that he was
being shunned, and that he was no longer trusted.
This change of attitude toward him on the part of his
old associates in crime, no doubt, influenced him to a
great extent in making up his mind to give state 's evi-
dence, and, by so doing, purchase immunity for him-
self at the expense of his self-respect and his fellow
criminals.
He apprised the district attorney of the fact that he
wished to see him for the purpose of making a con-
fession. After due consideration, he was accepted and
placed upon the witness stand.
Kerrigan laid bare all the circumstances and details
connected with the assassination of John P. Jones, in-
forming the court that the deed was committed at the
behest of Alexander Campbell, bodymaster of the Sum-
mit Hill division of the Mollies. The grievance against
Jones was that he had blacklisted some men who were
members of the society.
Kerrigan's confession having been corroborated, in
every important particular, by the evidence of the
140 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
other witnesses for the commonwealth, the jury, on the
first of the ensuing February, returned a verdict of
''guilty of murder in the first degree."
After this, Mrs. Kerrigan, who had interested her-
self in trying to secure the release of her husband, said
he might hang, and further, that she would not raise
her hand to save him. Henceforth he was popularly
known as "Jimmy The Squealer," and received, as
he, no doubt, merited, the maledictions of all true Mol-
lies.
During the course of the trial, McParlan made the
acquaintance of a man named Durkin, who told him he
was ready, in the event of a verdict unfavorable to the
Mollies, to blow up the court house, together with the
judges, jurymen, attorneys, officials, and innocent
spectators, boasting that he had a can of nitrogly-
cerine safely hidden away near by for the purpose.
McParlan responded by telling the desperado that
he would be very foolish to attempt to put such a plot
into execution, because he would be almost certain to
be captured and strung up by the vigilance committee
to the nearest tree.
Probably this had the desired effect of frightening
the reckless fellow, and he wisely decided to abandon
the idea.
On the twenty-second of Februarj', the Court sen-
tenced Michael Doyle to death. This was noteworthy
as the earliest conviction and disposal of a real Mollie
Maguire in Pennsylvania, and the news spread rapidly,
far and wide, striking terror and dismay into the ranks
of the organization. During the progress of the trial
the Mollies had been bold and defiant, and many of
their principal men were on the spot, expecting as they
expected to live, to witness the release of the defend-
ant. How shocking the result was to their nerves and
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. l^l
to their general composure, McParlan was among the
first to learn.
He afterwards declared that the unforeseen result
had come upon the order like an earthquake in a quiet
village.
The case of Michael Doyle having been disposed of,
Edward Kelly was next placed at the bar before Judge
Dreher. While his defense was not allowed to go by
default, the most strenuous efforts being made on his
behalf, he was also found guilty of murder in the first
degree. He then made a voluntary confession, clearly
showing that he had not been wrongfully charged or
convicted, and substantiating all that Kerrigan had
said.
Kelly explained that he did not ask for mercy nor
expect it, but, before dying, desired to purge himself
of his crime.
From facts brought to light during the trial of
Doyle, Alexander Campbell was taken into custody
and lodged in jail at Mauch Chunk. Thomas Duffy,
James Boyle, Hugh McGeehan, James Carroll and
James Roarty were also arrested and placed in the
Schuylkill county jail, charged with the murder of
Policeman Benjamin F. Yost, of Tamaqua, on the
morning of July G, 1875.
The majority of these men were residents of Carbon
county.
Campbell was arraigned for trial, charged with the
murder of John P. Jones, June 20, 1876. It was not
claimed, strictly, that he had taken any direct part in
the murder, but that he had arranged for others to per-
form the deed. One of the jurors sickened and died
during the progress of the case, making a new trial
necessary. Campbell was eventually found guilty of
murder in the first degree as an "accessory before
242 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the fact." His conviction on such grounds contained
infinite possibilities for trouble of the gravest kind,
from the standpoint of the Mollie Maguires, many of
whom, while not murderers, in the popularly accepted
sense of the term, were equally as guilty as he.
Subsequent to the conclusion of Campbell's trial, a
number of his friends within the organization, who had
been witnesses in the case, and had perjured them-
selves in an effort to secure his release, were arrested
on that charge and held for trial.
This, again, was a proceeding that appeared to have
been wholly unexpected by the Mollies, who had been
accustomed to play fast and loose with the truth when-
ever the occasion demanded.
Meanwhile, the Mollies were not satisfied that all of
the evidence upon which their partners in crime were
being convicted had been furnished by Kerrigan.
Suspicion soon rested upon McParlan, and his as-
sassination was decided upon, as a matter of self -pro-
tection, revenge, and of general policy. By his native
shrewdness and great daring he frustrated a number
of well-laid plans that had been made to do away with
him. He was also largely indebted for his life to the
unwavering loyalty and continued confidence of an old
friend in the order, Frank McAndrew, bodymaster of
the Shenandoah lodge, to which McParlan belonged.
McAndrew generously protected him at the immi-
nent peril of his own life, believing him to be inno-
cent of the charge of double-dealing. The time had
come, however, for the detective to throw off his dis-
guise, because the part which he had so successfully
played for three years was no longer possible for him.
Accordingly he appeared on the witness stand, and
the evidence he there gave resulted in the arrest and
HTSTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^43
conviction of numerous criminals who could not other-
wise have been reached by the arm of the law. His
nature naturally revolted at the idea of facing his late
associates in the order in his true colors, and it galled
him to be compelled to move about the streets of
Mauch Chunk, Pottsville and the other places, where
he gave testimony, accompanied by an armed escort.
The recital of his experiences when assuming to be a
Mollie, his almost miraculous escapes, and the tales of
horror which he told have, perhaps, never been equalled
in the history of American jurisprudence.
At the October term of court at Mauch Chunk, in
3876, the cases of John Donahue, Thomas P. Fisher,
Patrick McKenna, and Alexander Campbell, charged
with the murder of Morgan Powell at Summit Hill, five
years earlier, were called.
The men demanded separate trials, and the common-
wealth chose first to try John (Yellow Jack) Donahue.
It was clearly proven that on the request of Alex-
ander Campbell, with a promise of one hundred dollars
for the service, Donahue had selected his men at Tus-
carora, and, assuming their leadership, had proceeded
to Tamaqua, where they met Cornelius McHugh, who
conducted them to Summit Hill, where they were
joined by Fisher and McKenna. They had then waited
for their intended victim near the store of Captain
Williamson, where Powell was shot by Donahue.
Donahue was convicted and sentenced. At the Jan-
uary term of court, in 1877, Campbell, who was already
under sentence of death for the murder of John P.
Jones, and in whose case an appeal had been taken to
the Supreme Court, was placed on trial for the murder
of Morgan Powell.
Being again convicted, he smilingly inquired
whether it was proposed that he be hung twice.
244 HISTOBY OF CABBON COUNTY.
McKenna and Fisher were tried together. The
former was found guilty of murder in the second de-
gree, while the latter was convicted of murder in the
first degree.
Governor Hartranft having signed their death war-
rants, Doyle, Kelly, Campbell, and Donahue were exe-
cuted together in June, 1877, by Sheriff Kaudenbush at
Mauch Chunk. Campbell stoutly protested his inno-
cence to the last, and popular tradition has it that
before being dragged to the scaffold, he placed the
print of his right hand upon the damp wall of his cell,
which was on the first floor of the jail, vowing, as he
did so, that it should remain as a sign of his unjust exe-
cution. A figure resembling the large hand of a man,
with fingers and palm outstretched, is to this day
shown to curious visitors at the sombre jail, within this
cell, while the story of its origin is retold in hushed,
sepulchral tones.
On the same day that the four Mollies were executed
at Mauch Chunk, six paid the extreme penalty for their
crimes at Pottsville.
Two accessories before the fact in the killing of
Morgan Powell were tried at Mauch Chunk, and con-
victed of murder in the second degree. They, with
McKenna, were sent to the penitentiary, McKenna for
nine years, and the other two for four and five years
respectively.
A number of the Mollies who had turned state's evi-
dence during these trials had furnished information
regarding the identity of the murderers of George K.
Smith, of Audenried. Most of the guilty parties were
fugitives from justice.
One of their number, however, James McDaniels,
known as the ** hairy man," was arrested in Wiscon-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^45
sin, brought to Mauch Chunk, tried, convicted and exe-
cuted.
William Sharp, also accused of complicity in the
murder of Smith, was found guilty and hanged, as
was Fisher, in whose behalf great but unavailing
efforts were made by his counsel and friends for a
commutation of sentence.
James- Kerrigan, ''The Squealer," was given his
liberty, in consideration of the service he had rendered
the state. Knowing that his life would be sought by
those whom he had betrayed, he mysteriously disap-
peared, and it is said that he died a natural death a
few years ago in Virginia.
The constant strain, worry, and excitement attend-
ant, upon the MoUie Maguire trials cost Daniel Kalb-
fuss, one of the leading lawj^ers for the defense, his
life. His mind gave way, and he died soon thereafter.
During the course of their long career of violence
and carnage, the Mollies committed more than one hun-
dred murders, not to mention the thousands of lesser
crimes and misdemeanors of which they were the au-
thors.
Smarting under the stigma which the conduct of this
band of outlaws had brought upon the fair fame of
their honored organization, the national convention of
the Ancient Order of Hibernians, held at New York, in
1877, denounced the Mollie Maguires in the most un-
measured terms.
Their membership in the fraternity was also denied,
and with a view to protecting the reputation of the as-
sociation, the counties of Carbon, Luzerne, Schuylkill,
Columbia, and Northumberland were excluded, for the
time being, from participation in the affairs of the
order.
246 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
The Mollies were also scathingly denounced in addi-
tion to being excommunicated, by the leading prelates
of the Eoman Catholic Church, and by the Pope him-
self.
Many persons throughout the coal region who have
scarcely passed beyond the bourne of middle age re-
member well the reign of the Mollies. But time works
great changes within comparatively short periods in
our country, and in the broader, better light of to-day,
the hates and prejudices engendered during the night-
mare that is past are for the most part entirely for-
given and forgotten.
CHAPTER XL
STRIKES AND LABOR DIFFICULTIES.
It is to be doubted if any other industry of equal
magnitude in the United States has suffered so much
from the disputes between capital and labor as the
anthracite coal industry.
For more than sixty years the conduct of this in-
dustry has been characterized by innumerable bicker-
ings, suspensions, lockouts and strikes, with their con-
comitants of bitter feeling, suffering and pecuniary
loss, often accompanied by scenes of violence and
bloodshed.
It is only within recent years that the warring in-
terests have been drawn closer together and that, to a
large degree, stability and security have been attained.
The first attempt at organizing the miners of the
anthracite fields was made under the leadership of
John Bates, an Englishman, in 1849. The union then
formed sought to improve the conditions of the miners
by calling a strike, which was confined almost wholly
to Schuylkill county. In this strike, among the first of
a general nature to occur in America, the miners were
defeated, and soon after its termination, Bates, who
had become an object of suspicion to his fellow work-
ers, disappeared, carrying with him the funds of the
association.
Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that
the union of which he had been the head quickly dis-
integrated.
From this time forth, petty labor troubles of local
importance only continued to crop out in various parts
of the region until the Civil War was in progress, when
147
11
3^48 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
the price of coal rose in Philadelphia from two dollars
and seventy-eight cents a ton until it finally com-
manded nearly eleven dollars a ton. So many men
were needed for military and naval duties that labor
became scarce and wages correspondingly higher. It
was no uncommon thing during this period of high
prices for competent miners to earn five hundred dol-
lars a month, and they enjoyed the greatest prosperity
in the history of the industry.
But when the war ended, labor again rushed into the
coal fields, the over-supply bringing wages down from
their high former level.
Thereupon the miners organized to resist this re-
duction, brought about by the law of supply and de-
mand; but they failed, although several strikes were
declared.
Appreciating the necessity of having the workmen
knitted together in one strong union in order to cope
successfully with the power of organized wealth, the
labor leaders of the anthracite region, during the sum-
mer of 1868, formed the Workingmen's Benevolent As-
sociation, the first president and controlling spirit of
which was John Siney.
He was rather a large man, with a determined face
and bearing. While being uneducated in the commonly
accepted sense of the term, he was, nevertheless,
shrewd and able, besides being thoroughly honest and
loyal.
By his straightforward methods and his direct,
simple rhetoric he frequently put Franklin B. Gowan,
the brilliant head of the Philadelphia and Reading
coal and railway interests, on the defensive.
Before many months the Workingmen's Benevolent
Association was strongly intrenched in the Lehigh
and Schuylkill regions, virtually controlling the situa-
tion in these fields.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^49
The building up of the organization was accom-
plished, however, by a constant succession of local
strikes, parleying with ojjerators, temporary resump-
tion of work, and further strikes.
But, while the Lehigh and Schuylkill regions were
tied up hard and fast, the mines of the Wyoming re-
gion were being worked day and night, supplying the
demand for anthracite.
So Siney's men marched across country to Wilkes-
Barre and persuaded the miners there to go on strike.
In this they were so far successful that the operators
of that section agreed to an eight-hour working day,
while those of the lower fields granted a slight increase
in wages.
During the summer of 1869, the union ordered a gen-
eral suspension to enforce the demand for a sliding
scale of wages, based upon the varying prices of coal at
certain points of shipment and delivery.
After months of idleness, the men gained their point,
and operations were resumed.
Everybody now hoped for a year of peace and work
and wages; but, early in 1870, the Schuylkill operators
announced a reduction in wages; the union resisted,
and ordered another strike, which was declared oif in
August as the result of a compromise.
About this time, many of the independent operators
suffering, from the losses entailed by these conflicts,
together with the discriminations and exactions to
which they were subjected by the transportation inter-
ests, were crushed, and, to save themselves from utter
ruin were forced to turn their properties over to the
control of a few great corporations, which thereby
grew in strength and power.
On January 10, 1871, a general strike waS' ordered,
continuing until August, and shutting down practically
150 HISTORY OF CARBOX COUNTY.
every anthracite mine. It was necessary to put troops
in the field to suppress rioting and terrorism, and in
conflict witli them several strikers were killed. The
union was utterly defeated, while the men gladly went
back to work on terms laid down by their employers.
Between the strike of 1871 and that of 1875, there
was no general suspension of work, although local
troubles were constantly coming up to be discussed,
debated, and in some manner adjusted.
The conflict of 1875 is generally referred to as the
"Long Strike," and with its adverse termination at
the end of five months, what remained of the power of
the Workingmen's Benevolent Association was com-
pletely broken.
During the continuance of the great railroad strike
of 1877, there was a long period of enforced idleness
in the coal regions, owing to the lack of facilities for
transportation. This resulted in much want and suf-
fering among the miners and their families.
For the span of sixty years, from the beginning of
the coal trade, in 1820, to 1880, the anthracite industry
was dominated almost wholly by native Americans and
by the older immigrant nationalities, the Irish, Eng-
lish, Germans, Scotch and Welsh.
But toward the close of this era, if one with an eve
to racial characteristics had stationed himself at some
high point overlooking the lower or Schuylkill section,
he would have seen trinkling into the valleys the begin-
nings of a newer immigration stream, and one that in
later years became so large as to be properly termed
an inundation. These wei-o the first arrivals of tlie
Slavic and Italian nationalities.
Quietly and ])eaceably they came, and with ever in-
creasing numbers, gradually s])rcadiug over the whole
anthracite region, until, with tlu^ lnj>se of a few doc-
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. l^)
ades, they had largely supplanted the English si)eak-
ing miners.
Their presence soon wrought important and far-
reaching effects in every phase of the life of the coal
region. Coming at a time when the English-speaking
miners were disorganized and to a large extent de-
moralized as result of the reverses they had sustained
in their efforts to wrest better terms of employment
from the operators, the newcomers served to further
depress the conditions of labor and to reduce the stand-
ards of living.
Notwithstanding the apparent hopelessness of the
situation that now confronted the miners, the cause of
labor was not without its champions, chief among
whom were those of Irish nationality.
Always the first to resent injustice or oppression, the
Irish in the anthracite region, manifesting a total dis-
regard of personal consequences, have from the begin-
ning been in the forefront of every movement calcu-
lated to advance their own interests and those of their
fellow-workers.
It was in ISS-t that the Miners' and Laborers' Amal-
gamated Association was organized, and three years
later its membership amounted to about thirty thou-
*sand.
During these years, too, the organizers of the
Knights of Labor were actively at work in the anthra-
cite region, and in 1887 the two associations became
one in membership. A demand was then made for an
increase in wages, which was refused by the operators,
who also declined to submit the matter to arbitration.
This resulted in the declaration of a strike, on Sep-
tember 10, 1887, and the closing down of all the mines
of the Lehigh region.
] 52 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Temporary concessions were, however, made to the
miners of the Schuylkill region. Upon the withdrawal
of these concessions, on January 1, 1888, they, too,
joined in the strike.
Meanwhile, the mines of the Wyoming field, which
remained in operation, supplied the demand for coal.
During the long, gloomy winter the men on strike
fought heroically against want and the power of the
operators ; but their fight was fruitless.
With the coming of spring, after six months of idle-
ness, they were compelled to acknowledge their de-
feat and return to work. The adverse result of the
conflict sounded the death-knell of the Knights of
Labor in thi& portion of Pennsylvania.
After nine years of comparative peace, unbroken by
any general strike, although punctuated with unnum-
bered disputes and local difficulties, the strike of 1897
broke out. It began at the colleries of the Lehigh and
Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, in Banks township,
quickly spreading to other portions of the nearby re-
gion. An increase in wages and various other conces-
sions were demanded.
Among the principal strikers now were those classes
of foreigners who in previous years had been im-
ported to the region by the operators themselves for ,
the express purpose of enabling them to control the
labor situation.
Marching in large numbers from colliery to colliery,
they coaxed or coerced as many workers as possible
into joining their ranks.
In September, toward the end of tlie struggle, which
was foredoomed to failure from its inception, owing to
the lack of organization among the men, a band of
marching miners was fired u])on at Lattimer by the
sheriff of Luzerne county and his deputies.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3^53
More than a score of foreigners were killed, while
over fortv were wounded. This unfortunate affair led
to the calling out of the National Guard, and soon
thereafter work was resumed at the mines.
Thus every effort which had been made during the
course of a generation to permanently organize the
anthracite mine workers and to ameliorate their lot
had met with disaster.
Each defeat left them a little more hopeless, and the
conditions under which they lived and labored grew
steadily worse.
When, therefore, the region was first visited by the
organizers of the United Mine Workers of America, it
is little wonder that many miners grown old in the
anthracite fields gloomily shook their heads, predicting
that the efforts of the organizers would be of no avail.
But, in 1900, flushed with a great victory in the bitu-
minous fields, and guided by its young and able leader,
John Mitchell, this union, which then had a member-
ship of but eight thousand in the anthracite region de-
clared a general strike. This action, however, was' not
taken until the failure of every peaceable effort on the
part of the men to gain some concessions from the
operators.
While the union was not numerically strong, most of
the miners were in sympathy with the movement which
had been inaugurated, and nearly one hundred thou-
sand workers responded to its call on the first day of
the strike. Within two weeks, fully ninety per cent, of
the mine workers in the entire region were idle.
Among those who preferred to remain at work were
the majority of the employes of the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company.
And, in candor, it must be said that to a large ex-
tent they were justified, because they were not being
154 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
exploited and oppressed as were the most of their fel-
low workers in other portions of the anthracite fields.
Their course in remaining at work, however, was not
satisfactory to the men who were on strike. During
the month of September, with a view to making the tie-
up more complete, several thousand miners from the
Hazleton district invaded the Panther Creek and Nes-
quehoning Valleys by night, in order to be in a posi-
tion when morning should come, to dissuade the men
from going to their employment.
One party, led by "Mother" Jones, a noted agitator,
and many other women in carriages, proceeded by way
of Tamaqua, while another division crossed the Broad
mountain to Nesquehoning.
The last named contingent succeeded in closing down
the colliery at Nesquehoning for a single day. But the
host following '* Mother" Jones was met west of Coal-
dale by the state soldiery under Colonel O'Neil, and
was turned back at the point of the bayonet, bloodshed
being narrowly averted. The expedition, therefore,
failed of its object.
The strike occurring at the height of a presidential
campaign, strong political pressure was brought to
bear on the operators in favor of a speedy settlement.
This influence, together with a growing scarcity of
coal and the weight of public opinion, which was on
the side of the miners, finally caused the operators to
jdeld, granting an increase in wages of ten per cent.,
besides agreeing to reduce the price of powder, to pay
wages semi-monthly in cash and to adjust some of the
other grievances complained of ])y their employes.
Work was resumed on October 29 after an idleness
of six weeks.
While resulting in a victory for the men, the strike
of 1900 did not solve the problem of the proper rela-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^55
tion of labor and capital in the coal fields. It was felt
on both sides that the outcome was not conclusive, and
preparations were begun for the further struggle
which was certain to come.
The aggressive policy of the operators was evident
from the start. Immediatelv after the strike, stock-
ades were built about many of the mines, depots were
established for the storage of coal, and washeries were
opened in many places. On the other hand, the men
quickly built up a compact and formidable organiza-
tion and began the accumulation of a war fund.
The settlement which had been reached was guar-
anteed to remain effective only until April, 1901.
It was then renewed by mutual consent for another
year.
At the expiration of this period, the miners, through
their representatives, the officials of the union, de-
manded further concessions in the form of increased
wages', the recognition of their union, and a shorter
work day, together with the payment for coal by weight
wherever practicable.
The absolute refusal of all these demands precipi-
tated the greatest strike in the annals of American in-
dustry, entailing enormous financial losses, perma-
nently increasing the i)rice of coal, and inflicting many
hardships upon the miners and the general public.
On May 15, 1902, at a signal, nearly one hundred and
fifty thousand workers dropped their tools, and for
more than five months the conflict raged. Both sides
fought with unflinching determination, the foreign ele-
ment, as in the two previous strikes being particularly
unyielding.
The operators were led by George F. Baer, while the
cause of the miners was again most ably and fairly
championed by John Mitchell.
156 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Before the restoration of peace, the entire National
Guard of Pennsylvania was stationed in the coal fields.
The warring forces were finally brought together
through the intervention of President Roosevelt, while
the questions at issue were adjusted by the Anthracite
Strike Commission, by him appointed.
Under the award of this body the miners gained a
number of important concessions, and the Anthracite
Conciliation Board which is still in existence, and
which has amicably disposed of many difficulties be-
tween the miners and the operators, was established.
In compari&on with the chaos and warfare of former
years, the anthracite region has enjoyed peace and
prosperity since 1902.
The award of the strike commission remained oper-
ative until April 1, 1906, and was twice renewed for a
period of three years, though not without a temporary
suspension of work on each occasion.
In 1912, the representatives of the miners and the
operators' met on the friendliest of terms, and it was
apparent that hostility on the part of the latter toward
the union had practically died out.
Operations at the mines were suspended for nearly
two months, however, pending the formation of a new
agreement, under the terms of which the union was
partially recognized for the first time. The men also
received an increase in wages, besides gaining a num-
ber of other points for which they had contended. The
duration of this agreement is fixed at four years.
CHAPTER XII.
STEAM AND ELECTBIC BAILEOADS.
The first railroad in Carbon county, and the first of
any importance in the United States, was the Switch-
back, extending from Mauch Chnnk to Summit Hill.
As is well known, this was built as a gravity road, and
is still in existence.
The Beaver Meadow Railroad was the first within
the limits of the county employing steam as motive
power. It is now a part of the Lehigh Valley system.
The Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal Company was
incorporated on April 13, 1830.
According to the provisions of its charter, the com-
pany was empowered to build a railroad from the
Beaver Meadow Mines, in what is now Banks township,
to the Lehigh river, at, or near, Mauch Chunk, a dis-
tance of about twenty miles.
Various difficulties beset the projectors of the enter-
prise, chief of which appears to have been their own
lack of confidence in the feasibility of the undertaking.
It was not until 1833 that a definite start was made.
Canvass Wliite, who had been one of the principal
engineers in the building of the Erie Canal, and Ario
Pardee, later a millionaire coal operator of Hazleton,
surveyed the route, which followed the windings of
Beaver, Hazle and Quakake creeks to the Lehigh.
Trouble with the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany concerning tolls on the canal led to the determina-
tion on the part of those building the railroad to ex-
tend the line to Easton. The tracks had already been
157
]^58 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
laid as far as Parryville when an agreement was
reached.
The railroad was opened for transportation in the
fall of 1836, and Parryville was made the shipping
point. It so remained imtil 1841, when the memorable
freshet carried away all the bridges from Weatherly to
the end of the line, and Manch Chnnk became the termi-
nus, below which the road was abandoned.
Originally wooden rails, covered with an iron strap,
were used, and the locomotives were of the wood-burn-
ing type.
In 1860 another heavy flood occurred, carrying away
a number of bridges, together with the shops of the
company at Weatherly and Penn Haven.
The road gained rapidly in business, however, as the
mines tributary to it were developed, and it grew
steadily more prosperous until absorbed by the Lehigh
Valley Railroad in 1866.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad, which was the first to
be constructed through the length of the region from
which its name is derived, had its inception in the
efforts of a few enterprising and far-seeing men in
Lehigh and Northampton counties, while being brought
to completion and successful operation principally
through the labors and determination of Asa Packer,
its former president and the architect of its greatness.
A charter was secured on A]n'il 21, 1846, under the
name of the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Suscpic-
hanna Railroad Companj^
In Maj^ of that year the stock of the com])any was
offered for subscription; but ca])italists seemed to have
little faith in the project. Although the promoters of
the enterprise were active, it was not imtil August,
1847, that enough stock had been subscribed to warrant
a start being made. Five thousand shares had then
HISTORY OF CARBON .COUNTY. ;[59
been taken, on each of which an instahnent of five dol-
lars had been paid. At the first election of officers,
held on October 21, 1847, James M. Porter was chosen
as president.
Little had been done beyond securing the right of
way, when, on April 4, 1851, Asa Packer became a
member of the board of managers. This was just sev-
enteen days before the charter would have expired by
limitation, and soon thereafter a mile of road-bed was
graded near Allentown to forestall this embarrass-
ment. In the following October Mr. Packer purchased
nearly all the stock which had been subscribed and took
steps to obtain the additional money required to finish
the road, which proved to be a difficult task.
He secured the services of Robert H. Sayre, who had
prior to this held a responsible position with the Le-
high Coal and Navigation Company, as chief engineer.
In January, 1853, the name of the corporation was
changed to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company.
The line between Easton and Allentown was finished
and placed in operation on June 11, 1855. Two trains
were run daily between these points from that date, and
during the month of September the road was com-
pleted to Mauch Chunk.
In the beginning, all the rolling stock was leased from
the Central Railroad of New Jersey, but before the
close of 1855 a passenger locomotive and four coaches
were purchased. At the close of three months, re-
ceipts from the passenger service were larger than had
been anticipated, while the earnings from carrying
coal and other freight were kept down from the want
of cars.
Headquarters were first established at' Mauch
Chunk; but in 1856 the main offices were removed to
Philadelphia.
160 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
During the next few years a number of advantageous
traffic arrangements were made, adding largely to the
prosperity of the road.
Perhaps the most important of these was that pro-
viding for connections with the North Penn Eailroad,
oj)ening the way to Philadelphia.
Notwithstanding that the company sustained heavy
damages as a result of the great freshet of 1862, the
career of the road was one of steady growth and ex-
pansion, and before the close of the decade it had
gained control of connecting roads in the Lehigh and
Schuylkill regions and had effected an entrance to the
Wyoming Valley, whence the line was extended north-
ward to the state line of New York.
In 1866, the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad was
merged with the Lehigh Valley. This comprised the
stretch of road from Black Creek Junction, near
Weatherly, to Mt. Carmel, a distance of forty miles.
That portion of the line lying in Carbon county, and
now a part of the Mahanoy Division of the Lehigh Val-
ley Railroad, was first graded by the Morris Canal and
Banking Company, about 1837. The road had scarcely
been comjDleted and placed in operation when the com-
pany failed, and the rails were taken up and shipped to
Pottsville. The Quakake Valley Railroad, incorpo-
rated in 1857, relaid the tracks during the following
year, and the road was operated tributary to the Cata-
wissa, Williamsport and Erie Railroad for a time. Its
name was changed to the Lehigh and Mahanoy Rail-
road in 1861.
The Hazleton Railroad, connecting with the line of
the Beaver Meadow company, was acquired in 1868.
A branch extending from Lizard Creek Junction to
Pottsville was completed in 1890. The Hay's creek
'* cut-off," extending from Ashmore, near Hazleton,
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. ]^g]:
to the main line of the Lehigh Valley, below "White
Haven, was opened to traffic in 1912.
Asa Packer remained the president of the company,
though not continuously, until his death in 1879. He
lived to see the Lehigh Valley become one of the fore-
most railroads of the state, more than fulfilling his
fondest expectations, and fully compensating him for
the trials and discouragements which he encountered
in its building and extension.
Under subsequent management it was for a period
less prosperous, but in recent years its securities have
regained favor with investors.
The railroad to-day occupies a commanding position
among the anthracite coal carriers, and is one of the
leading trunk lines between New York and the Great
Lakes.
The Nesquehoning Valley Eailroad Company, the
line of which extends from Nesquehoning Junction,
near Mauch Chunk, to Tamanend, Schuylkill county,
a distance of nearly seventeen miles, was organized
on May 14, 1861.
This road was built principally to carry the output
of the mines of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany, receiving the traffic which formerly passed over
the Switchback Railroad and the gravity road from
Nesquehoning to Mauch Chunk.
It was subsequently merged with the Lehigh and
Susquehanna Railroad, and is now operated by the
Central Railroad of New Jersey.
The immediate cause of the building of the Lehigh
and Susquehanna Railroad was the freshet of 1862, re-
sulting in the almost complete destruction of the Le-
high Canal between Mauch Chunk and White Haven.
It was generally believed that the giving way of the
dams on this portion of the canal was largely respon-
X(52 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
sible for tlie ravages of the flood farther down the
valley, which led to the enactment of legislation against
rebuilding them.
In lieu of this right the assembly of Pennsylvania
granted the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company a
charter for a railroad from Mauch Chunk to White
Haven, connecting with a road which had previously
been built from the latter place to Wilkes-Barre.
Later, the company was authorized to build the road
to Easton. When completed, this railroad supplanted
the canal above Mauch Chunk, while largely reliev-
ing its overburdened condition below that point.
In 1871, the Lehigh and Susquehanna Eailroad was
leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, being
still operated by the latter company on this basis.
In 1861, a stretch of railroad was built by the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company from Hanto to Ta-
maqua. This connects with the various collieries of
that company in the Panther Creek Valley.
With a view to providing an independent outlet for
its coal to the eastern markets, this company, in 1912,
completed a line of railroad extending from Tamaqua
through the Lizard Creek Valley and on to Daniels-
ville, Northampton county, connecting there with the
Lehigh and New England Railroad. This latter road
is also controlled by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company.
The Chestnut Ridge Railway, reaching from Palmer-
ton to Kunkletown, Monroe county, was built in 1898.
It is a little more than ten miles in length, and is now
owned by the New Jersey Zinc Company of Pennsyl-
vania.
The first electric railway in the county was built by
the Carbon Transit Company, which was incorporated
in 1892. Its line originally extended from Mauch
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. IQ^
Chunk to East Maiicli Chunk. In 1901, the road was
built to the Flagstaff, and during the following year it
was constructed to Lehighton. This company has been
several times reorganized, and is now known as the
Carbon Street Railway Company.
The Lehigh Traction Company, operating a line
which passes through Jeanesville and Audenried on its
way between Hazleton and McAdoo, was chartered in
1892.
The Tamaqua and Lansf ord street railway originally
extended from Summit Hill and Lansford to Tamaqua.
It was built by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany. In the fall of 1902 the road was opened to
Mauch Chunk. It is now conducted by the Eastera
Pennsylvania Railways Company.
12
BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS
CHAPTER XIII.
BANES TOWNSHIP.
The earliest settlement in Banks township was made
in that portion which was in 1897 set off to form the
borough of Beaver Meadow. The township was con-
tained -vi^ithin the territory of Lausanne until January,
1842, when it was separately organized, being named
in honor of Judge Banks, then on the bench of North-
ampton county, of which Carbon formed a part until
1843.
The township is about ten miles in length, from east
to west, and approximately two miles in width. Its
territory comprises the top of the Spring mountain,
varying between fourteen and sixteen hundred feet
above sea level.
Beaver creek has its source near Jeanesville, flowing
eastwardly till it reaches Hazle creek, on the verge of
Lausanne township. Hazle creek rises in the north-
eastern portion of the township and flows southeast-
wardly. The two streams meet at Hazle Creek Junc-
tion, forming Black creek, which descends the moun-
tainside very rapidly on its turbulent way to the Le-
high.
The principal railroads in the township are the
Beaver Meadow and Hazleton divisions of the Lehigh
Valley. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and
the Central Railroad of New Jersey also touch the
western portion of the township, while the line of the
Lehigh Traction Company passes through Jeanesville,
Yorktown and Audenried on its way between Hazleton
and McAdoo.
167
163 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
Banks township owes its settlement and develop-
ment wholly to the underlying coal dei^osits, scarcely
any of its soil being arable.
The mining and shipping of coal being the only in-
dustry of importance, the township has a large foreign
population.
Nathan Beach, of Salem, Snyder county, found coal
in the township in 1812. The discovery was made near
the point where the Leviston station of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad now stands. A mine or quarry was
opened by Beach in 1813 where Cuyle's stripping is
now situated. The first coal produced here was hauled
in wagons to Berwick and Bloomsburg, where it wa&
used for blacksmithing purposes. As the nature of
anthracite became better understood and the demand
increased, the product of this mine was hauled over
the Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike to the landing
on the Lehigh, from which point it was shipped to
Philadelphia in ''arks," commanding eight dollars
per ton. Mr. Beach, being called upon to defend the
title to his land, in 1829, won the suit, and soon there-
after sold five hundred acres to Judge Joseph Barnes,
of Philadelphia.
The Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal Company,
soon after its organization, purchased two hundred
acres of land, located where coal had been first dis-
covered, and these workings became known as the
Beaver Meadow Mines. This property was leased to
A. H. VanCleve & Company in 1841, and was operated
by that firm until 1846. William IMilnes & Company
then worked the mines for about a year. The firm of
Hambergei' & Company then leased them and continued
operations until 1850, after which the mines were
abandoned until 1881, when they were leased to Coxe
Brothers & Company. The property is now controlled
by the Lehigh Valley Coal Company.
HISTOKY 01' CARBON COUNTY. IQQ
Coleraine colliery, now owned and operated by the
A. S. VanWickle Estate, was the second to be opened
in the township. Operations were begun soon after
the opening of the Beaver Meadow Railroad. The firm
of Rich & Cleaver held the first lease.
They were succeeded by Ratcliffe & Johnson, whose
rights were purchased in 1862 by William Carter &
Son. After some years, the property was sold to Wil-
liam T. Carter, his father, the senior member of the
firm, declining to join in the purchase because he be-
lieved that most of the available coal had been ex-
hausted.
William T. Carter died in 1893, and that his faith in
Coleraine colliery was not misplaced is attested by the
fact that its output during the years of his ownership
had made him a multi-millionaire.
Upon his death the property was sold to A. S. Van-
Wickle for a much larger sum than the elder Carter
had considered excessive twenty-five years before.
Mr. VanWickle was killed by the accidental dis-
charge of a gun he was carrying, in 1898, since which
time operations have been carried on in the name of
the A. S. VanWickle Estate. Approximately 300,000
tons of coal per year have been produced by this col-
liery since 1893. The principal work now, however,
consists in * ' robbing pillars. ' ' There are 366 acres in
the tract.
It is interesting to observe that the coal miner in
Banks township, like the proverbial ''Star of the Em-
pire, ' ' held his way to the westward.
Jeanesville, the next place to be opened after Cole-
raine, joins the VanWickle tract on the west, while
Tresckow and Yorktown, still farther west in the to\vn-
ship, were developed in harmony with the rule that has
been noted.
270 HISTORY OF CAKBOX COUNTY.
Coal was discovered in the immediate vicinity of
Jeanesville by James D. Gallup, who was associated
with the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company. The
property was bought from Joseph H. Newbold, by
Joseph Jeanes and others, of Philadelphia. The pur-
chase price is said to have been $20,000. The original
company let the land to William Milnes, in 1847, re-
ceiving a royalty of twenty-five cents per ton. The col-
liery was soon in operation, and in 1855 the royalty
amounted to $40,000. During the time that Mr. Milnes
operated the mines about 1,500,000 tons of coal were
shipped.
In 1864, Mr. Milnes ' lease having expired, the Spring
Mountain Coal Company was organized, securing con-
trol of the property. Ten years later the Lehigh Val-
ley Coal Company bought out the Spring Mountain
company, and the mines, during the ensuing twenty
years were operated under lease by J. C. Haydon and
Francis Eobinson, under the firm name of J. C. Hay-
don & Company. Since 1894 the mines have been
worked directly, though not continuously, by the Le-
high Valley Coal Company.
A large and modern breaker, handling the output
of several nearby collieries, as well as that of the
mines at Jeanesville, was erected in 1909. It is located
just across the line in Luzerne county.
It was at the Number 1 slope at Jeanesville, on Feb-
ruary 4, 1891, that the memorable mine horror, com-
monly known as the ''Jeanesville Disaster," occurred.
Thirteen men were then drowned, while four others,
after having been entombed for twenty days in this
prison of rock and water, cut off from all communica-
tion with the outside world, were brought out alive, in-
vohmtarv heroes of this industrial tragedv. The
stamina, fortitude, and endurance displayed by these
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. IJl
men under circumstances the most discouraging, we
may well believe, have seldom been equalled in human
history.
The accident was caused in unexpectedly breaking
into an abandoned mine, where a large body of water
had accumulated, and it was this merciless element
that caused all the havoc and destruction. It was
at a little past ten o'clock on the morning of the
fatal day that a blast wa& fired in a ''breast" or
chamber that was being worked by Charles Boyle and
Patrick Coll. Coll is said to have fired the shot, al-
though it seems that Boyle was looked upon as being
in charge of the work, because in after years he was
familiarly known as ''Boylie Tap-the-Water. "
After the echoes of the shot had ceased to reverl)er-
ate in the gloomy caverns of the fated mine, Coll re-
turned to the face of the chamber, and, using a bar,
began to pry down some loose pieces of coal that were
still hanging to the face. While so engaged he noticed
that the face seemed to be bulging toward him, as
though there was to be a ''squeeze" or settling. Not
liking the looks of things, he retreated a few paces,
calling to Boyle, as he did so, to make for a place of
safety. In another instant, to his horror, he saw the
whole face bristling out, and with a roar like that of a
tornado the flood was upon him. Rushing down the
slope with irresistible force the waters, in their mad
career, tore out the timbers of the mine, smashed cars
into fragments and rolled up the tracks as one would
roll up a long strip of carpet. The rush accompany-
ing the flood blew out every light save one, that of
Harry Gibbon, a driver-boy of about sixteen. Boy-
like, he had just previously pulled out the wick of hi?
lamp to an inordinate length so as to create a glare
that would outshine that of any of his fellow-workers.
272 IIISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
The mingled tide of air and water that swept some
of the men to their doom in the depths of the mine
carried others on its crest up the slope toward the
surface. Among the latter was Harry Gibbon, and
many of the survivors attributed their deliverance
from death to his light, which had enabled them to
avoid being dashed to pieces against obstructions on
their thrilling journey up the slope.
Some of the men, warned of their danger by the
terrible roar of the approaching flood, escaped by
quickly jumping into a ventilating shaft, which led
perpendicularly to the surface. Through this well-like
opening they climbed, hand over hand, and foot over
foot to the top, the flesh of their arms and legs being
painfully bruised and torn by the sharp edges of the
rocks which formed the walls of the shaft.
The news of the accident spread rapidly, carrying
grief and consternation to many hearts.
When composure had in a measure been restored, it
was found that seventeen men were missing. It was
not thought that any of them would be brought to the
surface alive. Such a thing seemed impossible. How-
ever, those in authority determined to do all in their
power to effect the rescue of anyone who in some
manner might have escaped immediate destruction.
All the available pumps were worked at top speed day
and night in the effort to empty the mine of water as
quickly as possible.
One by one the bloated bodies of the victims were
recovered. At the end of twenty days thirteen had
been brought to the surface. The mine was now
pumped dry; but four men were still missing. Never
dreaming that they might be alive, a rescue party,
headed by Su]^erintendent David MacFarlane, was
organized on the afternoon of the twenty -third of Feb-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. IJ,]
ruaiy to search for their l)odies. Scenes of wild con-
fusion and disorder met their gaze on every hand as
they penetrated the dark recesses of the mine. Heaps
of wreckage and debris, together with giant boulders,
weighing from one to ten tons, obstructed their prog-
ress. As they were making their way thus laboriously
among the ruins, one of the men thought he heard a
voice that seemed to j^roceed from the mouth of one
not a member of his party. Feeling somewhat startled
but yet uncertain, he ejaculated: "My God, I believe
there is a man alive down here!" All paused now,
listening intently, and one of the party half-heartedly
called, ''hello!" ''Hello," came the faint reply, and
the men were sure that it was not an echo. "Who are
vou?" was the somewhat tremulous demand that was
framed by the lips of the spokesman of the rescue
party. "I am Joe Matuskowitz, " was the reply,
spoken in broken English. "Wassil Finko, John Tom-
askusky, and John Barno are with me. We are not
dead, but nearly so." Words of heartfelt encourage-
ment were spoken to the four men, and the rescue
party was divided, some of the men going to the as-
sistance of the helpless and well-nigh famished miners,
while others hastened to the surface to secure medical
aid and such nourishment and stimulants as were
deemed fit to be given to men who had eaten scarcely
a bite for nearly twenty days.
The four men were lying at the highest point of the
chamber, that had been worked by Joe Matuskowitz.
They escaped being drowned by reason of the fact that
the flood poured down the slope in such volume as to
fill it completely, compressing the air in the breasts
and gangways, and sweeping on to the depths below
in the line of least resistance. As the mine filled up,
the air pressure in these confined places was sufficient
to keep out' the water.
;]^74 HISTORY OV CARBON COUNTY.
When the accident occurred, these four men, who
worked communicating breasts, came together here.
All they had with them to eat was a few sandwiches,
and after this scant supply of rations had become ex-
hausted they were face to face with starvation. The
mine was filled with sulphur water, but this, of course,
was unfit for drinking purj^oses.
By the rarest chance, however, a blast which had
been fired but a few moments before the flood came,
opened a fissure in the rocks from which a stream of
water, pure, cold and invigorating gushed forth. Of
this the men drank during their confinement, and upon
this they lived.
Under these desperate conditions they passed the
maddening and soul-trying period that intervened be-
tween the date of the accident and their rescue. The
air at first was good, but later it became very un-
wholesome, and before the rescuing party could enter
the chamber it was necessary to brush out the "black
damp" which, like a sinister XDresence, brooded there.
Wlien the intelligence began to be noised about the
grief-stricken village that the men had been found
alive in the mine, few, indeed, were ready to give
credence to the report. So certain was everyone that
they were dead that their graves had already been dug,
while their coffins were waiting to receive their bodies
at the entrance to the slope.
As the truth began to dawn upon the people, how-
ever, hundreds gathered in awe and reverence at the
portals of the mine, and until the last of the survivors
was brought to the surface, scenes were there enacted
that will live as long as life shall last in the memories
of those who witnessed them.
It was long past midnight of the twenty-third of
February when the work of rescue had been completed.
2
- y
> TS
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^75
Then it was that sixty-five miners, most of whom had
taken part in the rescue, filed in solemn procession be-
fore the residence of J. C. Haydon, being dressed in
their work clothes and bearing lighted lamps upon
their heads. There they sang a h>Tiin of praise with
deep feeling and with wonderful effect.
All of the four men recovered, thanks to their won-
derful vitality and to the tender nursing and expert
medical aid they received. Mrs. J. C. Haydon, wife
of the senior member of the firm that was then operat-
ing the mines at Jeanesville, among others, personally
ministered to the men. It was ten days before they
were allowed to partake of solid food.
Joe Matuskowitz, popularly known as ''Big Joe,"
was the only one of the quartette who declined to re-
enter the mines as a means of gaining a livelihood.
He has since said that when he descended the mine
on the morning of the disaster he weighed two hundred
and twenty-five pounds ; but the terrible ordeal through
which he passed reduced his weight to seventy-five
IDOunds. He is now a prosperous contractor and
builder at Hazleton.
The Jeanesville horror was caused by a faulty sur-
vey, made by the mining engineers.
Tresckow was the next place in Banks township
where mining was begun after the opening of the mines
at Jeanesville. The German Pennsylvania Coal Com-
pany began operations here in 1851. They sank a
slope, built a breaker, and erected a tavern, store, and
s.everal dwelling houses. After a few years the prop-
erty came under the control of Samuel Bonnell, Jr., of
New York city. He operated the mines for two years,
and then sold out to the Honey Brook Coal Company,
which was incorporated April 23, 1864. Ten years
later, the Central Eailroad of New Jersey formed the
176 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, by which the
Honey Brook Coal Company was then absorbed. There
has been no change in ownership since that time. The
coal produced at Tresckow is prejDared for shipment at
the Audenried breaker of the company. Two slopes
are now being worked, and large improvements are
promised for the near future.
The Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company also
has operations at Audenried and at Honey Brook,
the breakers being located just across the line in
Schuylkill county.
The tract of two hundred and two acres on which
the Spring Brook colliery of the Lehigh Valley Coal
Comjoany is now located originally belonged to Chris-
tian Kunkle. N. P. Hosack bought the property for
$30,000. He failed financially after a few years, and
the New York and Lehigh Coal Company secured title
to the land, being still the owner.
In the summer of 1855 James Taggart secured a
lease on the property. He sank the first slope on the
Big Vein, and in 1856 shipped the first coal from this
point over the Beaver Meadow Railroad. This slope
was drowned out in 1860, remaining idle for four
years.
A second slope was sunk in 1858, and George K.
Smith & Company leased the mines soon thereafter.
Mr. Smitli was assassinated in 18(),'>. The lease was
continued by Thomas Hull, a member of the firm, until
1868, when, becoming embarrassed, he was succeeded
by A. L. Mumper & Company. Under this firm a
breaker was erected in 1869, which was destroyed by
fire of incendiary origin, late in 1876. The loss
amounted to $60,000. The structure was rebuilt the
following year. Another breaker was built in 1875.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. l^J
In 1878 a lease for fifteen years was made to Thomas
John & Company. Thomas John was killed in a run-
away accident in 1880, and the firm was reorganized
by George H. Myers, George John and Thomas Dough-
erty, under the title of George H. Myers & Company.
At the expiration of this lease the Lehigh Valley Coal
Company began to work the mines. The coal produced
here is prepared for shipment at Jeanesville.
The Beaver Meadow colliery of Coxe Brothers &
Company was opened by the firm of E. B. Ely & Com-
pany during the early seventies. John Martyn, Sr., of
Beaver Meadow, and the late Edwin R. Enbody, of
Maui?h Chunk, were the local men interested in this
venture. This company built a large breaker, but was
not very successful. After a time they closed out their
lease to Coxe Brothers & Company, still operating the
mines. The original breaker was torn down and has
been replaced by a larger and more modern structure.
The land is owned by the Lehigh Valley Coal Com-
pany.
Evans ' colliery, located a short distance from Beaver
Meadow, near the Luzerne county line, was opened by
the Evans Coal ComiDany, headed by John D. Evans,
of Lansford. The breaker was erected in 1889, while
the first coal was shipped in 1890. This company was
not successful, and for a time the colliery was at a
standstill, the breaker having been burned down, evi-
dently by an incendiary.
In June, 1906, the land was leased by A. S. Van-
Wickle for ten years, the coal being prepared for ship-
ment at the Coleraine breaker. At the expiration of
this lease, operations were again suspended.
On October 27, 1906, the Evans Colliery Company,
of which W. E. Smith is the general manager, was
chartered, and still operates the mines. The tract on
278 HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
which the colliery is located contains 228 acres of land,
and is owned by the heirs of A. H. Eeeder, of Easton.
This completes the list of the coal operations of
Banks township. Different parties have expended
time and treasure in prospecting for coal on the Pen-
rose property, farther east in the township than any
of the openings that have been noticed, but so far with-
out success.
In speaking of the towns of this division of the
county, it has already been said that they owe their
existence entirely to the underlying mineral wealth,
and they came into being as the collieries on which
they depend were developed.
Audenried and Yorktown, adjoining each other, lie
in the western i^ortion of the township, and a small
section of the former is built across the line into
Schuylkill county. Audenried is the namesake of
Lewis Audenried, of Philadelphia, while Yorktown is
probably so christened in recognition of the company
that owns the land on which it is located, — the New
York and Lehigh Coal Company.
The postoffice at Audenried was opened on October
15, 1860, Samuel Martyn, a brother of John Martyn,
Sr., of Beaver Meadow, being the first postmaster.
The office was for many years kept in the store of the
Honey Brook Coal Company.
About the year 1870, the Rev. Daniel Durrelle was
sent to this section by the Presbyterian Board of Mis-
sions. Through his influence a congregation was gath-
ered, and a church was erected in 1872, at Audenried.
This church has now no regular pastor.
The Methodists of this region were formerly under
the charge of ministers from the Conjmgham district.
The church of this denomination was erected here in
1869.
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 179
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church was commenced
in 1873, the cornerstone being laid in June of that year.
It was completed and dedicated two years later, Arch-
bishop Wood performing the dedicatory service. The
church was torn down about 1898 and removed to
McAdoo, Schuylkill county, which is but a short dis-
tance from Audenried. The Catholic population of the
latter place now worship there.
The Welsh Baptists and the Congregationalists wor-
shiped together for a few years in the old armory
building, and later in the school house. In 1872, the
members of the first named denomination built a
church at a cost of $2,500. Extensive improvements
have since been made. It is now known as an English
Baptist church. The Congregational church has no
regular pastor.
Salem Evangelical Lutheran church was organized
in 1891, the leading spirits in the movement being Rev.
J. 0. Schlenker, then pastor of Christ church, Hazle-
ton, and Rev. George Kunkle, then of Weatherly. The
church was erected in 1893, the cornerstone being laid
on the twenty-ninth of October.
On July 10, 1871, the company which erected Hos-
ack Hall was formed. A lot was donated by the New
York and Lehigh Coal Company. The building erected
thereon, which is still standing, cost $7,500.
Tresckow, lying east of Audenried and Yorktown,
is the outgrowth of the mining operations commenced
there in 1851 by the German Pennsylvania Coal Com-
pany. Formerly it was commonly known as Dutch-
town. By many it is to-day called Park View. The
name of the postoffice, however, is Tresckow. It is a
neat village, containing many cozy dwelling houses.
The people of the place find employment at the nearby
collieries of the various coal companies. The Banks
13
180 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
township high school is located at this point. St.
Michael's Roman Catholic church was here erected in
1909.
Jeanesville, but a short distance from Tresckow,
lies mostly in Luzerne county. The place was named
for Joseph Jeanes, of Philadelphia. The village dates
back to 1847, when the mines at this place were opened.
The town has declined since the Jeanesville iron works
were removed to Hazleton in 1902.
Coleraine depends wholly on the colliery of that
name, owned and operated by the estate of A. S. Van-
Wickle. The history of this operation, which has al-
ready been given, is the history of the village. The
Independent Welsh Congregational church at this
place was one of the first in the region. It was erected
in 1848, and the people of that denomination from
places so far away as Audenried, Buck Mountain and
Hazleton formerly worshiped there.
Leviston and Coolstown are hamlets lying close to
Coleraine, occupying the site of the old Beaver
Meadow mines. The Lehigh Valley Railroad has a
station here.
The village known as Coxeville, located on the high-
way leading from Beaver Meadow to Hazleton, has
grown up since the seventies, when the colliery of Coxe
Brothers & Company, upon which it depends, was
opened.
Following the practice that prevails in most of the
coal-producing townships of the region, Banks does
not levy any taxes for road purposes, the highways
being maintained by the Taxpayers' Association, which
means the coal companies. They have found it more
economical to follow this ]ilan than to pay taxes.
Tlioro are nineteen graded schools and one high school,
housed in six buildings, in the district.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. ^gl
BEAVER MEADOW BOROUGH.
While being next to the youngest borough in Carbon
county, Beaver Meadow nevertheless enjoys the dis-
tinction of being the oldest town in the upper end of the
county. It is located centrally in Banks township, of
which it formed a part prior to its organization as a
borough in 1897. A number of citizens, headed by J.
M. Stauffer, who was then a prominent resident here,
made an effort to secure the incorporation of the town
in 1896, but the grand jury acted adversely on their
petition, and a charter was not granted until the fol-
lowing year. Mr. Stauffer became the first chief bur-
gess.
Beaver Meadow is maintained by the surrounding-
coal operations of Coxe Brothers & Company, the
mines of the A. S. VanWickle Estate, at Coleraine, a
little more than a mile distant, and the workings of the
Evans Colliery Company.
The town is situated on the Beaver Meadow division
of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, about six miles from
Weatherly, and four from Hazleton. It lies approxi-
mately fourteen hundred feet above sea level, while
Beaver creek flows sluggishly past it, parallel to the
railroad tracks. Its name was derived from the cir-
cumstance that the smooth and glossy beaver once lived
and toiled in the meadows along the creek.
The land on which the town is built was warranted
in 1787 to Patrick and Mary Keene, and later it came
into the possession of Nathan Beach, who sold five
hundred acres to Judge Joseph Barnes, of Philadel-
phia, in 1830.
The Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike ran through
the tract, and the principal street of the village, still
known as Berwick street, was built on the line of this
old highway. The first house was here erected in 1804.
182 i HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
It was of logs, and was kept as a tavern. There was a
toUgate at the foot of the Spring mountain, kept by a
man named Green.
On April 10, 1826, William H. Wilson removed, with
his family, to the place and became the landlord of the
tavern. The next arrival was James Lamison, who
built a house which he, in 1831, occupied as a tavern.
In 1833 came N. R. Penrose, a member of the family
to which United States Senator Boies Penrose, of
Pennsylvania, belongs. He became the agent of the
property of Judge Barnes, and built the large frame
building at the eastern end of the town, later known
as the "Cornishmen's Home." Upon its completion it
was occupied by William H. Wilson as a tavern. Later
it became the property of James Gowan, father of
Franklin B. Gowan, who became famous as the able
and aggressive president of the Philadelphia and Read-
ing Railway Company and its subsidiary coal and iron
company. This building was also for a time used as
a store, being owned by William T. Carter and others.
It was for many years one of the landmarks of Beaver
Meadow, and was finally torn down in 1910. Much of
the timber it contained was used in erecting new dwell-
ing houses, while some of it was sawed into proper
length for mine ties.
One of the early residents of Beaver Meadow was
Henry Brenckman, a native of Germany. He had be-
come skilled in the art of brewing beer and had ac-
quired the trade of a cooper in the Fatherland. Upon
locating in Beaver Meadow he erected a small brewery,
))robably the first in Carbon county. He personally
made the barrels which contained the output of his
plant, and kept a tavern. His death occurred in 1860.
The early growth and prosperity of Beaver Meadow
resulted from the operations of the Beaver Meadow
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 183
Railroad and Coal Company, the Beaver Meadow
Mines, where coal was first produced in Banks town-
ship, being situated about a mile west of the town.
The railroad to the mines was finished and
opened for transportation in the fall of 1836.
The machine, blacksmith and car shops of the
company were located at Beaver Meadow. The
first master mechanic of the shops was Hopkin
Thomas, a Welsh immigrant, and one of the
pioneer inventors of the Lehigh Valley. Through one
of his inventions anthracite coal was first made avail-
able as fuel for the use of locomotives. He also in-
vented and successfully used the chilled cast-iron car
wheel, as well as the most improved and successful
mine pumps and machinery of the day.
Under the supervision of Mr. Thomas, a ten-wheel
locomotive, said to have been the first of its kind built
in this country, and named the ''Nonpareil," was con-
structed at Beaver Meadow. The shops were removed
to Weatherly in 1842.
In 1848, N. R, Penrose erected a foundry here, which
he conducted for a short time, then disposing of the
property to S. W. and B. W. Hudson. In 1859, B. W.
Hudson purchased the interest of his brother and con-
tinued the business until 1865. Much of the iron work
used in constructing the Mahanoy division of the Le-
high Valley Railroad was turned out from this foundry.
After the retirement of B. W. Hudson, the shops
passed into the ownership of the Spring Mountain
Coal Company, and were torn down in 1868 and re-
moved to Jeanesville. These shops formed the nucleus
of the Jeanesville Iron Works, since established at
Hazleton, constituting one of the largest industries
of that city. Beaver Meadow was already quite a vil-
]^84 ,, IIISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
lage before Hazleton was born, and the people of the
last named place once did their trading here.
The only coal operation within the borough limits
is the Number 4 slope of Coxe Brothers & Company,
which was sunk by Jonah Rees, about 1867. It was for
a time abandoned, but during the eighties it was sunk
to the basin by Coxe Brothers & Company. It is from
the foot of this slojoe that the drainage tunnel through
the Spring mountain to Quakake Vallej^ is driven.
A postoffice was established here in 1830, with Wil-
liam H. Wilson in charge. The second postmaster was
A. G. Brodhead, who, in turn, was succeeded by Mr.
Wilson. The present incumbent is Robert Trezise.
The first school in the place was kept by Miss Lydia
Bidlack, and was opened about the year 1835. A later
teacher who served for many years was Thomas Mc-
Curly. There are now five graded schools in the town,
all being housed in one building.
A Presbyterian church was here organized about
1838, largely through the influence of A. H. VanCleve,
who was then superintendent of the Beaver Meadow
shops. The edifice in which this congregation wor-
shiped occupied the site on which the hall of the Pa-
triotic Order of Sons of America now stands. The re-
moval of the shops to Weatherly affected the congrega-
tion, and it declined. The jNIethodists subsequently
conducted services in the church, and upon the erec-
tion of a new building by that denomination, in 1874,
the adherents of the German Reformed faith found a
meeting place in the old edifice for a time.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic church was founded in
1841. The original church luiilding stood on the ceme-
tery of the parish, a short distance beyond the town
on the road to Hazleton. St. Nicholas' church, of
Weatherly, and St. Joseph's, of Laurytown, were for-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 185
inerl> missions of this cliurcli. During the pastorate
of Rev. Francis Brady, the old church was removed
to the site of the present building, which was erected
during the pastorate of Rev. John J. McEnroe. The
cornerstone of the new building was laid in 1904, while
the church, which cost about $15,000, was dedicated by
the Rt. Rev. Edmund F. Prendergast. Formerly St.
Mary's was the only Catholic church in this part of the
coal region, and the people of Hazleton, Audenried,
Weatherly, Buck Mountain, and other places journeyed
hither to worship.
St. Paul 's Evangelical Lutheran church was built in
1897. Rev. J. O. Schlenker, formerly pastor of Christ
church, Hazleton, and Rev. D. G. Gerberich, of Weath-
erly, were the leading spirits in the organization of
this congregation.
St. Peter's and St. Paul's Greek Catholic chui'ch
was erected in 1895, the cornerstone being laid during
the month of May.
The town is sux)plied with water by the Citizens'
Water Company, organized at about the time of the
erection of the borough.
Both the Anthracite and the Bell Telephone Com-
pany have lines connecting with this place. A rural
line connecting with the system of the latter company
at Hazleton was built in 1908, Robert Trezise being
the local agent.
The streets of the borough were allowed to remain
unlighted until 1911, when the Harwood Electric Light
and Power Company extended its lines to this point.
The town has a fire company, but its equipment is
meagre. Thomas Grenfell is the present chief burgess.
BOWMANSTOWN BOBOUGE.
Bowmanstown, which is a neat and prosperous vil-
lage, and which was recently incorporated as a bor-
ough, derives its name from John Deter Bowman, who
186 i HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
settled here in 1796. He was a grandson of the original
settler of that name.
In 1808, he built the old stone hotel, which is still
occujDied and which was a stopping place on the route
of the Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike.
The place attained but little significance until the
building of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, now
known as the Central Railroad of New Jersey, through
here.
About the year 1855, Henry Bowman uncovered
paint ore in the Stony Ridge, near here, and soon there-
after began the manufacture of metallic brown paint
in its dry state. Later he organized the Poco-Metallic
Paint Company, which engaged successfully in the
manufacture of this product. This company was suc-
ceeded by the Carbon Metallic Paint Company, which is
still in existence.
Henry Bowman was the father of this industry,
being closely followed by Robert Prince, who in 1858
established the Iron-Ore Metallic Paint Company at
Lehigh Gap. In 1879, the plant of the last-named
concern was brought to Bowmaustown, where, under
the name of the Prince Manufacturing Company,
headed by A. C. Prince, the business has since been
continued. This company also operates, under lease,
the mills of the Carbon Metallic Paint Company.
Sand in large quantities is found in the region about
Bowmanstown, and the quarrying and shipping of this
natural product has been carried on for perhaps fifty
years. The first to engage in this business was Jacob
Scherer.
The vein varies in thickness lictween twenty and
thirty feet, running along the north side of the Stony
Ridge. Most of tlie loose sand has been exhausted,
while that which is now being quarried is rock-like in
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^g?
texture, and grinding machinery is employed to re-
duce it and prepare it for use. About seventy-five
men are employed in this industry hereabouts.
Another product of the Stony Ridge, which is the
treasure-house of this section, is building stone. The
stone is a kind of gray granite, for which there is a
good demand.
The Bowmanstown Silk Company, employing about
fifty operatives, was established in 1909, with W. F.
Hofford as its president. These are the principal
local industries upon which the town depends, but many
living here find employment at nearby points.
A postoffice, with John Rush in charge, was opened
here in 1883. Two rural routes emanating from this
office were established in 1904. One runs through East
Penn, while the other passes through portions of Towa-
mensing and Lower Towamensing townships.
The first school in the village was opened in 1844.
The original stone building was replaced by a frame
structure in 1879. The present handsome two-story
brick building, housing all the schools of the town, was
erected in 1903, at a cost of $5,000.
The Patriotic Order of Sons of America and the
Order of Independent Americans both own large and
attractive halls which have been recently erected.
The congregation of St. John's Evangelical church
dates back more than thirty years, when meetings
were held in private houses. The present church build-
ing was dedicated in 1892.
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church was erected in
1895, previous to which time the Lutheran people wor-
shiped in the public school house.
Emmanuel's Reformed church was built in 1905,
Charles A. Butz being the first pastor. Meetings had
previously been held in the Evangelical church.
188 IIISTOR i OF CARBON COUNTY.
In 1856 a German Catholic congregation built a
church a short distance from Bowmanstown. This
building was destroyed by fire some years ago, after
which worship was conducted in the old school house.
During the summer of 1911 this building was struck by
lightning and was partly demolished, being repaired
and re-dedicated during the same season.
The only tavern in the place until 1891 was the Bow-
manstown Hotel, built in 1808, and kept for many years
by John D. Bowman and his descendants. During the
latter year, the Center House was opened by Henry
Ernst, who conducted it as a temperance house for a
time.
EAST MAUCH CHUNK BOROUGH.
The principal cause which operated to bring the
town of East Mauch Chunk into existence was the
scarcity of land available for building purposes in
Mauch Chunk proper, of which it originally formed a
part. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Lehigh
river, opposite to its sister borough, and is a town of
homes rather than of industries and business estab-
lishments.
The locality was known during the early years of
its settlement and growth as "The Kettle," a designa-
tion that had a certain degree of approj)riateness in
view of the great bowl formed by the surrounding
mountains.
rJohn Burns took up his residence here in 1824, while
John Ruddle came at a later jieriod.
The spot l)eing favorable for the location of a town,
affording a large tract of com])aratively smooth laud,
gently sloping towards the river, the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company, in 1850, laid out about sixty
CO
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w
El
IIISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. Jgg
acres in lots, which were soon disposed of at one hun-
dred dollars each.
The place grew rapidly, and additions to the original
plot were made from time to time.
Isaac Butz was the first merchant in the town; at
the expiration of five years he, in 1864, disposed of
his business to Elwin Bauer, who, after nearly fifty
years still retains it. Others, who later established
themselves in various lines of business were, Samuel
Kennedy, John Muth, Robert Bauchspies, John Dick-
man and Hoover Brothers.
The Centre House, built by Solomon Dreisbach, a
native of Northampton county, who came to this local-
ity in 1850, was the first hotel. It was kept by him for
many years.
The wharf of the Beaver Meadow Railroad and the
Honeybrook Coal Company was the town's initial in-
dustry. After the freshet of 1862, it came under the
control of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company,
being abandoned in 1887.
In response to a petition of its people. East Mauch
Chunk was incorporated as a borough on January 1,
1854.
John Ruddle, who has already been mentioned as
one of the earliest settlers, was chosen as the first chief
burgess. The original members of town council were :
Jacob S. Wallace, Lucas Ashley, Thomas L. Foster,
David Mummey, J. R. Twining and John Beighe.
A frame school house, built in the woods, where
Fourth and North streets now intersect, was erected in
1851. It was occupied in November of that year.
Ellen Thompson was the teacher in charge, while
there were twenty pupils in attendance. This was the
first school in the town. Mrs. George Barker succeeded
Ellen Thompson as teacher. In 1856, another frame
2 90 ' HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
building was erected on the same lot as the first, while
still another was opened at the weigh lock.
The old building now in use was erected in 1871,
when the schools were first regularly graded. E. W.
Young was the first principal. In 1900, the present
high school building, which is a handsome, well-
equipped structure, was built.
During the past twenty years, the educational inter-
ests of the borough have been under the supervision
of P. H. McCabe, a man of practical ideas and general
efficiency. The parochial schools of the town were es-
tablished under the auspices of St. Joseph's Roman
Catholic church, in 1874. They were first kept by
Sisters of Christian charity, who had been exiled by
the Prussian government.
The postoffice was here opened in May, 1870, with
J. M. Dreisbach, now president of the Mauch Chunk
Trust Company, as the postmaster. His deputy was
Elwin Bauer, who attended to the duties of the office.
Six churches now supply the means of grace to the
people of East Mauch Chunk :
St. John's Episcopal church was started as a mis-
sion of St. Mark's, of ]\Iauch Chunk. This was during
the rectorshij) of Rev. Peter Russell. On August 16,
1867, the cornerstone of the present church edifice was
laid by the Rt. Rev. William Bacon Stevens, D.D.,
Bisho]) of Pennsylvania. The building was conse-
crated on December 23, 1875, by the Rt. Rev. M. A.
DeWolfe Howe, D.D., Bishop of Centi'al Pennsylvania.
St. John's was organized as an independent parish on
October 12, 1891, Rev. A. A. Bresee, now of Lehighton,
being the first rector. The rectory was completed two
years later.
The Methodist Episcopal church was also founded
as a mission of that denomination in Mauch Chunk.
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. igi
General Charles Albright and R. Q. Butler purchased
the lot on which, in 1868, a chapel was erected, while
Eev. Charles Bickley was appointed as pastor. The
chapel, which has since been replaced by a larger and
more modern building, was dedicated on the evening of
December 16, 1868. A flourishing Sunday school was
at once established, constituting one of the principal
sources of the congregation's strength. C. A. Rex, the
well-known Mauch Chunk merchant, has been the su-
perintendent of this school for nearly forty years.
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church was founded in
1871, the first pastor being Rev. G. Frende, who was
then stationed at Lehighton. During the following year
he was succeeded by Rev. William Heinan, one of the
ablest and best-known members of the priesthood in
this section of Pennsylvania. He was particularly suc-
cessful as a church builder, having been instrumental
in the erection of churches in various localities. It
was under his leadership that the massive and costly
temple in which St. Joseph's congregation now wor-
ships was erected in 1897.
On September 5, 1878, the Reformed and Lutheran
people of the borough organized a union church. Prior
to this religious services had been conducted in the
public school house at Fourth and North streets at
occasional intervals for many years. The cornerstone
of the union church was laid in September, 1878. In
1893, the Lutherans purchased the interest of the Re-
formed people, since which time the two congregations
have been independent of each other. The original
building is still in use, although it was remodeled in
1905.
After the separation, the Reformed element, under
the leadership of Rev. Morgan Peters, now of Palmer-
192 . HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ton, built a new cliurch. This was erected during the
same year in which the division took place.
The Memorial Presbyterian church was the out-
growth of a mission started here by the First Presby-
terian church of Mauch Chunk. The congregation has
been on a self-sustaining basis since February 14, 1903.
Its house of worship was erected twenty years previ-
ous to that time. Eev. A. J. Wright was the first pas-
tor in charge. The church now has an active member-
ship of about one hundred and forty.
The plant of the Dery Silk Mill constitutes the
largest industry of East Mauch Chunk, affording em-
ployment to more than four hundred operatives. The
mill has been in operation for more than twenty-five
years. A. W. Leisenring was j^rominent among those
who secured its establishment.
Charles Neast & Company have also operated a large
planing mill here for years.
The Eagle Brewery was built by Easton capitalists
about the time of the Civil War. Since 1879 it has been
owned and operated by Pius H. Schweibinz, who re-
built and enlarged the original plant.
There are several smaller establishments giving em-
ployment to labor within the limits of the borough,
among the number being a facing mill, located in the
Narrows, and owned by the Lehigh Coal and Naviga-
tion Company. The power plants of the Mauch Chunk
Heat, Power and Electric Light Company and the
Carbon Transit Company are also situated in the bor-
ough.
East Mauch Chunk has two fire companies. The first
to be organized was the Onoko Hose Company, the
building of which was erected in 1890. This also is the
meeting place of town council.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 193
Edward Armbruster, son of Charles Armbruster, the
present burgess of the town, was the leading spirit in
the organization of the Fairview Hose Company,
in 1907. Both companies have fine buildings and good
equipments.
The town has been supplied with water by the Mauch
Chunk Water Company since the beginning, deriving
its light from the Mauch Chunk Heat, Power and Elec-
tric Light Company.
Since 1892 it has been connected with its sister bor-
ough by means of an electric railway, now operated by
the Carbon Transit Company. During the same year
the Progressive Building and Loan Association was
organized. This institution has been a distinct and
material benefit to the town. Many of the substantial,
and beautiful homes in the place were erected through
its agency. Charles Neast is the president of the as-
sociation, while Philip Swank is its secretary.
Prior to 1906 the town depended for banking facili-
ties upon Mauch Chunk. But on the twenty-eighth of
November of that year the Citizens ' National Bank of
East Mauch Chunk was chartered. Quentin Stemler
and J. H. Leibenguth have served as president and
cashier, respectively, since the opening of the institu-
tion, which declared its first divid^id in July, 1910.
The capital of the bank is fifty thousand dollars.
East Mauch Chunk has two burying grounds, that of
the Evergreen Cemetery Association, started in 1876,
and that of St. Joseph's Catholic church.
The first census of the borough, taken in 1860,
showed the population to be 833. In 1910, the number
had risen to 3,548. The place is divided into three
wards, of which the Third is the least populous.
East Mauch Chunk is primarily a railroad town, the
majority of its people depending directly or indirectly,
194 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
on the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Central Rail-
road of New Jersey.
EAST PENN TOWNSHIP.
The township of Penn, embracing that portion of the
territory of Carbon county lying between the Blue
mountain and the western bank of the Lehigh river,
together with a part of Schuylkill county, was set oft'
from Towamensing in the j^ear 1768.
In 1808, East Penn, AVest Penn and Lausanne were
formed from Penn township. East Penn embraced the
jDresent township of Mahoning and the greater part of
Mauch Chunk. West Penn became a part of Schuylkill
county in 1811.
In 1827 the territory of East Penn was reduced by
the setting oi¥ of Mauch Chunk township, the major
portion of which was taken from this district. Fifteen
years later, Mahoning was carved from East Penn,
since which time there have been no changes in its
boundaries.
It is bounded on the north by Mahoning township,
on the east by the Lehigh river, on the south by the
Blue mountain^ which separates it from Lehigh county,
and on the west by the Schuylkill.
Lizard creek flowing eastwardly through the town-
ship to the Lehigh, is the principal stream. The valley
drained by this stream is devoted principally to agri-
culture, containing many fine farms and comfortable
homes. The Lizard Creek branch of the Lehigh Valley
Railroad, which was opened in 1890, and an extension
of the Lehigh and New England Railroad completed in
1912, pass through the township.
The first settlers of East Penn were English people,
bearing the family names of Ti])])le, Pearsoll, Rlioads,
Johnson, Meyers, Washburn, Thomas, Custard and
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. ]^95
others. They received the grants for their lands about
the year 1750.
Subsequent to the Revolution, most of them emi-
grated to Canada, being succeeded here by Palatinates
with whom the remaining families became intermar-
ried, and, in time, by them entirely absorbed.
It was formerly believed that the Indian missionary
village of Wechquetank, established by the Moravians
soon after the destruction of Gnadenhiitten, was situ-
ated in the Lizard Creek Valley; but recent research
has demonstrated that this village was located in the
IDresent township of Polk, Monroe county.
The eastern section of the township, especially along
the Lehigh, was not permanently settled until after
1800. The western portion was settled by English and
Germans, who came in soon after the close of the war
of Independence. The locality about Ben Salem
church was the center of the settlement.
Among the best known of the German pioneers of
the township was Conrad Eehrig, whose father came
to America at an early day, locating at or near Phila-
delphia. Conrad served in the Revolution, after which
he married and built his home in the Lizard Creek
Valley. He was one of the founders of Ben Salem
church, in the graveyard of which repose his remains.
His descendants in this portion of the state are quite
numerous.
The father of the Andreas family in East Penn bore
the Christian name of Martin. He emigrated from
Alsace, on the Rhine, on board the ship "Leslie," ar-
riving in Philadelphia in 1749. He, too, served as a
soldier in the Revolution.
Jacob and Peter, his sons, jointly purchased and oc-
cupied, in 1793, what is now commonly known as the
Nimson farm, at Ashfield. Their brother, William,
14
196 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
came to the township in 1807, locating in the western
portion.
Jacob Dinkey, who in 1810 purchased the property
first occupied by Jacob and Peter Andreas, was a na-
tive of Whitehall township, Lehigh county. Removing
to East Penn, he opened a tavern, store and black-
smith shop.
Upon his farm was built the first school house in the
eastern part of the township. He served for many
years as a justice of the peace, and was in 1843 elected
as one of the first associate judges of Carbon county.
Reuben, one of his six children, succeeded his father
in the conduct of the tavern and as justice of the
peace. He was the father of Eurana Dinkey, who be-
came the wife of Charles M. Schwab, the millionaire
steel manufacturer.
Her brother, Alva, is the president of the Carnegie
Steel Company, and another brother, Charles, is the
head of the Edgar Thompson steel works.
It appears that Andrew and Charles Steigerwalt
were the first representatives of that family in the
township.
A. B. Nimson came here in 1824 as a school teacher,
afterwards taking a prominent part in the political
affairs of the county, being thrice elected to the office
of register and recorder.
Stephen Balliet and Samuel Helffrich, in 1828,
erected Penn Forge and Furnace, near the present vil-
lage of Ashfield, which was then called Pennsville.
The last-named of the partners died in 1830, after
which Balliet became the sole owner. In 1837, he es-
tablished his home in the locality and, purchasing sev-
eral thousand acres of land, started a furnace about
three-quarters of a mile farther down the mountain,
employing chaT-coal as fuel.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 3^97
Following the death of Mr. Balliet, in 1854, the fur-
nace was successively operated by Solomon Boyer,
C. H. Nimson, and John Balliet, a son of Stephen. It
was abandoned years ago.
Ben Salem Lutheran and Reformed church, the first
to be organized in the township, was founded about
1790. The first house of worship was of logs, hav-
ing galleries on the sides. It was completed in
1797 and stood until the erection of the present brick
building, in 1855. In the burial ground adjoining the
church sleep many of the forefathers of this region,
among the number Rev. Johannes Schwarbach, the first
Lutheran pastor of the congregation, who died before
the completion of the church.
The Lutheran and Reformed church at Aslifield was
erected in 1851^ being rebuilt thirty years later.
The earliest schools of the township were conducted
under the auspices of Ben Salem church, and only the
German language was taught. In 1840, the district ac-
cepted the free school law.
A postoffice was established at Ashfield about 1828,
Jacob Dinkey being the first postmaster.
After many years it was abandoned, but was re-
opened in 1883, with Penrose George in charge. W.
A. Balliet is the present postmaster. A rural delivery
route, starting at Bowmanstown, passes through the
township.
Building sand of good quality is found in this dis-
trict, and there are now several quarries in operation.
CHAPTER XIV.
EAST SIDE BOEOUGH.
East Side borough enjoys the distinction of being
the smallest incorporated town in Pennsylvania. It
was formerly known as East Haven, lying directly op-
posite White Haven on the east bank of the Lehigh
river.
It is bounded on all sides excepting the west by
Kidder township, of which it formed a part until Janu-
ary 22, 1892, when the borough was incorporated con-
formably to a decree of court. The western boundary
is marked by the Lehigh. In 1900, the year when its
first census was taken, the town had a population of
210. During the succeeding decade, this number was
augmented by but ten. There are less than forty voters
in the place.
Almost without exception the men of the village are
employed as railroaders. The Wyoming division of
the Lehigh Valley road passes through the town, while
the Lehigh and Susquehanna division of the Central
Railroad of New Jersey is on the opposite bank of the
river. The place is pleasantly situated and practically
all of the people own the homes which they occu]w.
A single school is maintained, but there is no church,
the inhabitants worshiping at White Haven.
In common with White Haven, the borough is noted
as a health resort. Sunnyrest Sanatorium, the first
private institution to be opened in Pennsylvania for the
treatment of tuberculosis, is here located.
The free hosjutal for \)ooy consum])tives was opened
at White Haven in July, 1901, the location being chosen
for its pure, bracing air, its dry soil, and its accessibil-
198
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. ^^99
ity. The success of the treatment at the free sana-
torium was so gratifying that at once there was a de-
mand for a private sanatorium.
It was to meet this demand that Sunnyrest Sana-
torium was opened by Elwell Stockdale, in November,
1901. Previous to this time Mr. Stockdale had been
the superintendent in charge of the free hospital.
The institution is situated in an attractive park,
among beautiful trees and shrubbery, and consists of
an administration building, a central dining hall, cot-
tages, bungalows, and tent houses, a nurses' home and
quarters for other employes. A dairy and a poultry
farm of more than fifty acres are conducted in connec-
tion with the sanatorium.
The institution has been successful and prosperous
from the start, its prestige drawing patients from all
parts of North and South America, and even from the
islands of the Pacific ocean. The place has an eleva-
tion of twelve hundred feet above sea level.
FRANKLIN TOWN SKIP.
As Virginia once claimed the proud title, "Mother
of the Presidents," so Franklin township is coming to
be known as the "Mother of the Sheriffs" of Carbon
county. Certain it is that most of those who have been
called to fill this office during a long period of years
have come from this division of the county.
Originally Franklin township formed a part of old
Towamensing, and in 1841, when a division was made,
it became a part of Upper Towamensing, or, as it is
known to-day, Towamensing. It so remained until
the year 1851, when it was separately organized and
the new township named "Franklin" by the court.
This designation was deemed appropriate because it
was on the borders of its territory that Benjamin
200 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Franklin erected Fort Allen as a measure of protection
for the white settlers after the Indian massacre at
Gnadenhiitten.
The Poho Poco creek, crossing Towamensing town-
ship, flows westwardly through Franklin, and at a
point southeast of Weissport turns abruptly and runs
nearly parallel with the river, its waters mingling with
those of the Lehigh at Parryville. The township is
uneven, but is well adapted to agricultural pursuits.
Many of its people, especially those of East Weissport,
Eickertsville and Phifer's Corner are employed in the
repair shops of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Packer-
ton. The old state road leading from Lehighton to
Stroudsburg extends through the district. The stretch
running from Weissport to Harrity, a distance of
about two miles, has recently been rebuilt and placed
in excellent condition.
About the year 1750 a few families settled within
the present limits of the township, but all removed a
few years later when the Indians took the war path
and bade fair to exterminate all the whites who re-
mained along the border.
It appears that the first permanent settlement in
Franklin township was made by the Solt family, and
their descendants are still to be found in the district.
Before the close of the Revolution, John, David and
Daniel Solt lived here.
John Arner was of the family who came into this
region soon after the war of Independence. The
])eople of that name have now become so numerous
that they have formed a family association, holding
annual reunions in the townshi]) that bring hundreds
together from various sections of the country.
Jost Dreisbach was also of an old family who came
to the townshi]) before 1800. At about the same time
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 201
George Walk settled on Saw Mill creek, where he car-
ried on lumbering operations for many years.
Jacob Houseknecht was a landholder here in 1781,
his farm including the present site of the Harrity
hotel.
In 1826, David Heimbach, Sr., of Lehigh county, pur-
chased two tracts of land in what is now Franklin
township — one of eighty-six acres from Martin House-
knecht, and another of forty-three from Henry
Thomas. In 1809, he had built the furnace called
''Hampton," in Lehigh county, while, about 1817, he
and his son David built a forge on the Aquashicola
creek, near Little Gap.
The next year after the purchase of this property, or
in 1827, the elder Heimbach erected on the present site
of Harrity, along the bank of the Poho Poco creek, a
furnace which he called ' ' New Hampton. ' ' He placed
his son, John, in charge of it. John Heimbach re-
mained in charge of the furnace until 1834. David
Heimbach, the elder, died at his home in Allentown
during that year, and his sons, David and John at-
tended the funeral. David at the time was the owner
of the ''Clarissa" forge on the Aquashicola creek.
Upon their return to Carbon county, both men were
stricken with typhoid fever, of which they died, — one
at night and the other on the morning of the next day.
In 1836 the property was acquired by William Mil-
ler, by whom the name was changed to "Maria," in
honor of his wife.
The furnace was operated under various owners
until January 1, 1859, when it was blown out, its fires
never to be rekindled.
The ore that was used at this operation was brought
up from the iron region on the Lehigh Canal.
202 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
James and Daniel Laury, in the year 1849, erected
a forge on Pine run, near the point where that stream
emjoties into Poho Poco creek. It was carried on but a
few years.
The history of the boat yard which the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company conducts at East Weissport
dates back to the year 1832, when Lewis Weiss com-
menced building boats on the bank of the canal for
the Morris Canal and Banking Company and the Le-
high Coal and Navigation Company.
Practically all the boats used on the Lehigh Canal are
built and repaired at this yard. About twenty men are
employed, A. T. Koch being the foreman.
The fence factory, located at Phifer's Corner, was
established by Landon B. Wagner, who still owns and
operates it. Formerly he also manufactured stone-
ware and pottery, but this branch of the business has
been abandoned.
The fish hatchery, located on a small tributary of the
Poho Poco creek, a short distance from Harrity, was
established by Charles Wolters, Sr., of Philadelphia, in
1899. Mr. Wolters has since died, and the place is now
owned by his son, Charles Wolters. This is pro-
nounced by fish experts to be the most successful hatch-
ery in the United States. Its success has largely been
due to the intelligent efforts of Henry H. Wert, who
superintended the construction of the plant and who
has been in continuous charge since that time. East
Weissport has two wagon and carriage building estab-
lishments. The first was started by Stephen Ziegen-
fuss in 1890 and is now conducted by his son, John A.
Ziegenfuss. The other is that of H. R. Kreidler, es-
tablished by him in 1892.
The first school in what is now Franklin township
was opened in 1822. Anterior to that time the children
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 203
of the district attended a school kept on the site of the
Gnadenhutten mission. The school that was then
opened, however, was conducted in the German lan-
guage, being taught by Lewis Schnell. The only books
used were the primer, the Psalter, and the Bible.
In 1827 the school was removed three miles south, to
the homestead of Rev. Charles Eickenberg. James
Kuehner and John Keifer were among those who
taught this school. The first named had a reputation
as a good disciplinarian, and is said to have laid espe-
cial stress on having the children commit to memory
hymns and prayers, which were regularly repeated be-
fore recitations.
In 1836, Towamensing township accepted the free
school law, and as has already been said, Franklin was
then a part of Towamensing.
The first public school house in Franklin was con-
structed of logs that were furnished by Daniel Solt,
having been taken from an ancient building that was
erected before the Revolution. The second building
was located at Weissport. That portion of the town-
ship lying along the east bank of the Lehigh Canal
gradually outgrew the rest of the district, and in 1890
was organized as the Franklin Independent School Dis-
trict. This district has a high school and five graded
schools. The township proper has seven school
houses, containing eight rooms.
Among the villages of Franklin township the first in
importance and population is East Weissport, which
is only arbitrarily separated from the borough of
Weissport, and to which its history more properly be-
longs. This village has many of the conveniences and
improvements of modern life. It has an excellent
water supply and is electrically lighted by the plant
of Lehighton borough.
204 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
Rickertsville is also situated on the east bank of the
Lehigh Canal. The land on which the settlement is lo-
cated was formerly owned by Joseph Wintermuth, a
brick maker. He sold eight acres, in 1864, to Emanuel
Reinhart, who, in turn, sold most of the land to J. K.
Rickert, who made a plot and sold lots that have since
been used for building purposes.
The iDrincipal cause that led to the building up of
this place was the character of the ground, it being
higher than the land about Weissport, and, therefore,
not liable to devastation by flood.
Phifer's Corner has grown up in the last quarter of
a century. It lies on the line of the state road running
from Lehighton to Stroudsburg, being but a short dis-
tance east of Weissport. It derives its name from
Alexander T. Phifer, who conducted the first store
here, and who was instrumental in securing the settle-
ment and upbuilding of the place. Most of the homes
here are neat and new, and are owned by those who
occupy them.
Harrity, about a mile farther east on the state road,
is the namesake of William F. Harrity, who was a
Philadelphia business man and a prominent Demo-
cratic leader. It was at this point that the Maria fur-
nace was located. There is now a hotel, a store, grist
mill and several dwellings in the place.
Walksville is in the northeastern part of the town-
ship. The Price Paint Company conducted an ochre
mill here for a number of years, but it was removed
many years ago.
At Beltzville, which is now the home of David Beltz,
John Bauman years ago erected a hotel, at which the
elections for old Towamensing were held. Later, Mr.
Beltz conducted a hotel and store here, but he now
confines himself to agricultural pursuits.
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 205
There are two rural mail routes through the town-
ship, both having been established on September 1,
1903. They start from the Weissport postoffice.
Gordon Kresge and Joel H. Boyer have been the car-
riers on these routes since the inauguration of the
service.
The line of the Indian Ridge Rural Telephone Com-
pany, connecting with the Bell system at Lehighton,
and that of the Consolidated Telephone Company also
cover the township.
There are at present three Lutheran, four Evan-
gelical, and one Reformed church in the district. A
union Sunday school is maintained at Walksville.
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran congregation at Big
Creek was organized in 1841 by Rev. F. W. Meendsen.
He was born in Denmark in the year 1780, emigrating
to America in 1808. He was an indefatigable worker,
and was one of the best known preachers of his church
in all Pennsylvania.
KIDDER TOWNSHIP.
strange as it may seem to-day, Kidder township,
which is as undeniably a portion of Pennsylvania as
is the land on which Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are
built, was for years claimed and actually governed by
Connecticut.
Under the terms of her charter, given in 1662, and
antedating that of William Penn by a score of years,
Connecticut claimed a strip of land as wide as herself
and extending westward to the Pacific ocean. It was
admitted by the claimant that New York presented a
barrier; but overleaping this, the strip began at the
Delaware river and embraced the whole northern sec-
tion of the state. The southern boundary line was
formed by the forty-first parallel, which crosses the
206 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
state at Stroudsburg, and this line took in all of the
present township of Kidder and a small fraction of
Penn Forest.
With this claim as a foundation, the Susquehanna
Company, numbering eight hundred proprietors, was
formed to buy of the Indians and settle a large tract
of land in northeastern Pennsylvania.
In 1753, at the treaty of Albany, eighteen Indian
chiefs, representing the Six Nations, gave a deed, con-
veying to the New Englanders the desired territory,
in exchange for a few inexpensive presents.
At that time the governor of Pennsylvania had not
acquired any title to this soil from the aborigines.
However, in 1768, a treaty was negotiated with the
Indians, under the provisions of which the proprie-
taries became possessed of the land which had pre-
viously been sold to the Susquehanna Company.
In 1774 the general assembly of Connecticut passed
an act erecting all of the territory to which claim was
laid, from the river Delaware to a line fifteen miles
west of the Susquehanna, into the county of Westmore-
land, attaching to the county of Lichfield.
The territory in question comprised about five thou-
sand square miles, equal in extent to one-ninth of the
whole area of Pennsylvania. The town of Westmore-
land, occupying the site of modern Wilkes-Barre, was
made the seat of justice for the new county.
In accordance with the acf of assembly, the governor
of Connecticut issued a proclamation forbidding settle-
ment within the limits of the territory in dispute, ex-
cept under authority of that colony.
This was followed by a similar proclamation from
the governor of Pennsylvania, asserting the authority
of the proprietaries.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 207
Settlers from Connecticut in large numbers were al-
ready on the ground and the influx steadily continued.
A miniature war followed, which centered around
Westmoreland, now Wilkes-Barre. Forts were built
and captured; prisoners were taken and held as host-
ages, the intruding offenders being placed in jail at
Easton. But the Pennsylvanians were worsted in the
encounters. Connecticut exercised jurisdiction, and the
county of Westmoreland regularly elected representa-
tives to the assembly of Connecticut.
Finally the Continental Congress prevailed upon the
contending parties to cease their efforts till a legal
settlement could be effected.
The Eevolutionary War interfered with this. At the
close of that struggle, the question at issue was wisely
submitted to arbitration, and the commission which
was appointed to hear the case unanimously decided
that the land in dispute belonged to Pennsylvania.
Thus ended the struggle which for a generation had
been in progress to determine the ownership of this
large jDortion of our domain.
Kidder township was organized in 1849 from terri-
tory previously embraced in Penn Forest, which
formed a part of Monroe county until 1843, the year of
the establishment of Carbon county. It was named
after Judge Luther Kidder, who was then on the bench.
It is bounded on the north and west by the Lehigh river,
on the east by the Tobyhanna creek and Monroe county,
and on the south bv Mud run and the Dilltown creek,
which separate it from Penn Forest.
Mud pond. Round pond, Grass lake and Lake Har-
mony, formerly known as Big pond are situated in the
western portion of the township. Black creek, Hays
creek and Mud run flow westwardly into the Lehigh.
The main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad runs
208 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
parallel to the river along the western border of the
township.
Dense forests of pine and hemlock formerly flour-
ished here ; but the district is now denuded of its heavy
timber, and it is one of the most sparsely populated
sections of the county.
Lumbering operations on an extensive scale were
begun in the forties. One of the largest of the early
landholders was Mahlon K. Taylor, of Bucks county,
who owned over six thousand acres about the mouth
of Hickory run, where he had a store and a wharf.
About 1845 he sold a portion of his holdings to Israel
Day and Samuel Saylor, of Easton, who were promi-
nent among the lumbermen of the township for many
years.
It was at one of the mills of Mahlon K. Taylor &
Company, near Saylorsville, that a large dam gave way
during a freshet in 1847, resulting in the loss of seven
lives.
Among the best-known lumbermen along Hickory
run were Isaac and Samuel Gould. A settlement, which
came to be known as Hickory Run sprang up about
their operations. A postoffice was here established,
while a Methodist church and a school house were
erected.
Saylorsville, another lumber camp on Hickory run,
was named for Samuel Saylor, of the firm of Day &
Saylor, who owned mills at this place.
Leonardsville, which to-day is only a name, grew up
about the mills of John Burke, who became the owner
of the land in the vicinity about 1850. The place de-
rived its name from William Leonard, who was the
owner's foreman.
Bridgeport dates back to 1856, when Keck, Childs &
Company began cutting timber on a tract of several
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 209
thousand acres, purchased from George M. Hollenbeck,
who had previously erected a small saw-mill at the
mouth of Hays creek.
A portion of this tract was soon thereafter sold to
Thomas Smull & Company, who built a large tannery
thereon. This plant was greatly enlarged in 1860, giv-
ing it a capacity of eighty thousand hides a year. This
was then the largest tannery in the country. The vil-
lage which was built about this establishment was
named Lehigh Tannery. A postoffice was here estab-
lished in 1866. The ownership of the tannery changed
hands several times, being last operated by I. M. Hol-
comb & Company. It was destroyed by fire in 1875, and
the supply of bark in the vicinity having become prac-
tically exhausted, it was not rebuilt. The inter-county
bridge across the Lehigh at this point was built in 1868.
Albrightsville lies about fifteen miles northeast of
Mauch Chunk, being situated on the southern border
of the township. In 1844 Joseph Serfass built a tavern
here, which he kept until 1850. He also started a store
in an adjoining building which was kept for many
years. The tavern is now kept by Herbert Getz. David
Snyder was the first postmaster at Albrightsville. The
postmaster now is Emery Getz, who conducts a store
just across the line in Penn Forest township.
Mud Run, situated at the junction of the stream of
that name with the Lehigh river, is a station on the
Lehigh Valley Railroad. Formerly there were many
saw mills along the stream from this point to Albrights-
ville.
Mud Run will long be remembered as the scene of
one of the most disastrous wrecks Tn the history of
railroading, entailing the loss of sixty-six lives, and
costing the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, on the
210 ' HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
line of which the catastrophe occurred, hundreds of
thousands of dollars in settlement of damage claims.
The accident took place on the night of October 10,
1888, and those whose lives were thus suddenly and
horribly snuffed out were chiefly residents of the Wy-
oming and Lackawanna Valleys.
On the day in question the various Catholic temper-
ance societies of the Scranton diocese held their annual
parade in Hazleton^ and excursion trains carrying thou-
sands of people from Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and near-
by towns were run over the road by way of Penn Haven
Junction to the place of the pageant.
Returning, the first train left Hazleton at five o 'clock
in the evening, and other sections followed at intervals
cf ten minutes. The first four trains reached their des-
tination in safety, while the fifth halted for a few
minutes in obedience to orders at Mud Run. "While
this train was standing still on the track near the
station, the sixth section, drawn by two locomotives
which were in charge of Harry E. Cook, of Wilkes-
Barre, and Thomas Major, of East Mauch Chunk, who
failed to see any signal of warning until too late, ap-
proached at high speed and crashed into the rear end
of the forward train with appalling results.
The coaches of the stationary train were literallv
rent asunder by the terrible impact of the collision,
while the scene of horror that ensued cannot be de-
picted. When the onrushing train came to a stand-
still, the pilot and l)oiler of the locomotive which was
leading were heaped with the bodies of the dead and
dying. To add to the misery of those who had escaped
immediate destruction in the collision fire broke out
amid the ruins of the wreck, and some were roasted
to death. Fifty-seven peo])le were killed outright,
while nine others subsequently died from their injuries,
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 211
and many were maimed for life. Thirty-six of those
killed were members of a boys ' drill corps from Avoea,
a town which then numbered but three hundred fami-
lies, and which is situated midway between Wilkes-
Barre and Scranton. The accident occurred at about
eight o'clock, while the night was intensely dark, ren-
dering the rescue of the wounded doubly difficult.
Cook and Major, the enginemen of the last section,
were nearly crazed by the magnitude of the catas-
trophe for which they no doubt feared they would be
blamed, and they spent the night in hiding in the woods.
An effort was subsequently made to fasten the respon-
sibility for the wreck upon them. They were charged
with criminal negligence, and were placed on trial at
the April term of court in 1889 ; both were acquitted.
At the time of the accident, Major was a young man
of about thirty-six years; so great was the mental
strain under which he labored, however, that when he
appeared in court at the opening of the trial, six months
later, his hair was white as snow, and he walked with
the feeble and tottering step of an old man.
Kidder township, in common with other nearby dis-
tricts, suffered an irreparable loss in the destruction
of its forests by the great fire of 1875. The fire broke
out near the mouth of Mud run on the 14th of May,
and at first burned but slowly. Eight days later, how-
ever, driven by a strong west wind, it swept eastward
into Monroe county with ruinous results, destroying
not only the major joortion of the standing timber in the
territory visited by the flames, but reducing to ashes
many homes, mills, and other improvements, besides
large quantities of logs and sawed lumber. Of the land
thus denuded of its timber, which was the principal
natural resource of the district, but a small portion has
since been improved or placed under cultivation.
15
212 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY,
Where the forests formerly stood, huckleberries now
grow in great profusion, and these are gathered and
marketed on a scale of some importance. Numerous
small birch and wintergreen distilleries have also
grown up, their aggregate output equaling that of any
district of similar size in the United States.
Game and fish are quite plentiful in the township,
the sparse pojuilation making it possible for the bear
and the deer to live here.
In 1903, the Hayes Creek Trout Company was
formed by a number of men from Freeland, Pa., and
a hatchery was established on the stream of that name,
about three miles east of White Haven. The company
owns 880 acres of land at this point. Fifty acres of
this land is covered with small ponds, and other im-
provements connected with the hatchery, while the re-
mainder serves as a game preserve.
The region about Lake Harmony has in recent years
become quite popular as a summer resort. Numerous
cottages or bungalows have been erected, principally
by people from Mauch Chunk and AUentown, while
many, lured by the cool breezes and quietness of the
retreat, spend a portion of the heated term of each
year as campers on the shores of the lake. The alti-
tude of the locality is quite high, and the nights are
always cool; the lake itself is over a mile in length,
while at some places the water is very deep. It is
drained by the Tobyhanna creek.
Kidder township has four schools, located respec-
tively at Albrightsville, Hickory Run, Lehigh Tannery,
and on Hayes creek, near the trout hatchery. There
are three taverns — the American Hotel and the Wer-
nett House at Albrightsville, and the Valley House at
Lehigh Tannery.
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 213
St. Paul's Lutheran church at Albrightsville, was
erected in 1882. Missionaries of that denomination
preached in this vicinity as early as 1847.
The members of the Evangelical church also con-
duct services here.
LANSFOED BOEOUGH.
Lansford, the most populous town in Carbon county,
is situated in the heart of the richest anthracite coal
district in the world. It is located in the Panther Creek
Valley, on the line of Schuylkill county, nearly midway
between Mauch Chunk and Tamaqua, and is reached by
the Central Eailroad of New Jersey. It bears the
middle name of Asa Lansford Foster, who was born
in Massachusetts, and who was prominently connected
with the development of the mining industry of the Le-
high region. He was the leading spirit in the formation
of the Buck Mountain Coal Company, and drove one
of the first tunnels in the Panther Creek Valley, being
one of the foremost authorities on the geology of the
coal regions. His death occurred in 1868, in the sev-
enty-first year of his age. An appropriate memorial
marks his resting place in the cemetery at Mauch
Chunk.
Lansford had its beginnings in two mining hamlets,
known as Ashton and Storm Hill, and grew up as new
operations were begun by the Lehigh Coal and Naviga-
tion Company, which owns the mines through this val-
ley. Storm Hill was so designated because a house
built in the vicinity by a man named Peter Fisher blew
over in a severe storm.
David Williams, a Welshman, who came from Hazle-
ton, and who was an expert geologist, planned and
supervised the driving of some of the first tunnels in
this section. Operations were begun about 1838.
214 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Planes were built from the valley to the mountain top
at Summit Hill, whence the coal was transported to
Mauch Chunk over the Switchback Kailroad. The first
coal was carried up these planes in 1846, but it was not
until a few years later that the tunnels in the valley
produced much coal.
The growing importance of the new mines, the build-
ing of the Nesquehoning Valley Railroad, early in the
sixties, the driving of the tunnel through the mountain
between Hanto and this place, furnishing easy access
to the outside world, all contributed to the rapid growth
of Lansford and operated to draw life away from the
parent town of Summit Hill.
During 1870-71, the construction and repair shops
and the offices of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
l^any were removed from Summit Hill to Lansford, fur-
ther emphasizing the tendency alluded to.
Land in the beginning was cheap, and lots were then
sold for one hundred dollars which to-day, in some in-
stances, are valued at more than twenty thousand dol-
lars.
Some of the early residents of the place, realizing its
possibilities and discounting the future, amassed snug
fortunes through this tremendous increase in the value
of real estate.
Those who first located here were principally of the
Welsh, Irish and Scotch nationalities; but in later
years, as in other towns of the coal regions, representa-
tives of the countries of southern Europe have pressed
in with increasing numbers.
For more than thirty-five years, William D. Zehner,
who had his offices liere, was the superintendent of the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com]iany. He retired in
1906, being succeeded liy Baird Snyder, Jr., who re-
signed early in 1912.
HISTOEY or CAEBON COUNTY. 215
During the early days the stores here were conducted
by the company, giving little scope to individual enter-
prise in this direction. With the abandonment of the
company stores, however, numerous and varied busi-
ness establishments sprang up. Among the first to
enter the field were : Albert J. Thomas, J. C. Edwards,
C. C. Edwards, A. M. Neumiller, Charles Kline, Reese
Watkins, Howell Evans, John Quinn, D. R. Davis, D. J.
Mathew, D. R. Hughes, William Y. Evans, and E. War-
ren & Company. Some of these are still among the
prominent business men of the town.
The postoffice here was established on December 1,
1873, under the name of Ashton, with Thomas W. Wil-
liams as i^ostmaster. It was thus designated until early
in 1877, when the town was incorporated as a borough
and the name changed to Lansf ord. Prior to this Lans-
ford formed a part of Mauch Chunk township. The
place is divided into three wards, named East, Middle
and West, respectively.
Since 1897 the postoffice has been in charge of Nathan
Tanner, a veteran of the Civil war. This office was
designated as a postal savings bank during the summer
of 1911. Free delivery of the mail was inaugurated in
the fall of 1912.
As in other respects, the schools of the town were
controlled by the township authorities until 1877.
The first school building to be put up under the au-
thority of the borough was erected in the Middle ward
in 1879. It is still in use, and is known as the '^high
school" building. Two buildings have since been
erected in the East ward, and one in the West ward.
The schools were but partially graded until 1878, when
L. Huber was appointed to the principal ship. He was
followed by A. G. C. Smith, now superintendent of the
schools of Delaware county. The position of borough
oj^(3 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
superintendent of schools was created in li903, with A.
A. Killian as the incumbent. Two years later he was
succeeded by E. E. Kuntz, the present superintendent.
Under the requirements of the state department of
public instruction, the high school of the place was
raised to the first class in 1903. A good library is main-
tained in connection with the school, and the physical
and chemical departments are fairly well equipped.
The parochial schools of St. Michael's (Slovak)
Catholic church were opened in 1906. They are at
present taught by seven Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
Several hundred children are in attendance.
The first attempt to light the streets by means of elec-
tricity was made directly by the borough, but the serv-
ice was unsatisfactory, while the cost was excessive, as
is commonlj" the case under municipal management.
On nights when the moon shone, there were no lights
at all, while at other times they were turned off at
midnight. Yet the cost of each light per year was one
hundred and fifty dollars.
After some years, the community grew impatient
with this state of affairs, and disposed of its plant to
the Panther Valley Heat, Power and Electric Light
Company for ten thousand dollars. This company was
chartered on February 20, 1893, and has since given
the town good service at reasonable rates. Under its
management incandescent lights were installed in the
liomes and business establishments of Lansford, and
charges were based on the quantity of electricity fur-
nished, as indicated by a meter. During the first ten
years street lights, which were now ke]it burning dur-
ing the whole of each night, were supi^lied at the rate
of one hundred dollars each by the year. At the ex-
pii-ation of this period the price was reduced to ninety-
five dollars for each light.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 217
By extending its system to other towns in the Pan-
ther Creek Valley, the company has been enabled to
give still cheaper service, and is now providing street
lights at an annual cost of sixty-five dollars each.
George M. Davies is the president of the company.
From the beginning Lansford has been supplied
with water by the Panther Valley Water Company
which is controlled by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company.
The town is protected from fire by the American Fire
Company, organized in 1887, but not incorporated until
1894.
In 1894 a brick building costing twelve thousand dol-
lars was erected by the borough. This is the home of
the fire department and the meeting place of town
council.
The municipality has always been liberal in its sup-
port of the fire department, which is well organized
and equipped with modern apparatus.
The sewer system has been extended from time to
time in keeping with the growth of the town.
Much of the revenue required in the making of mu-
nicipal improvements has been derived from taxing
the underground wealth, a source of income which but
few towns have.
The mammoth vein here is in some instances three
hundred feet thick, while shafts have been sunk to the
depth of a thousand feet without reaching the basin,
or the bottom of the coal.
Among the important factors which have contributed
to make Lansford a town of homes have been the build-
ing and loan associations, the first of which, in this
vicinity, was the Fidelity, of Summit Hill. A number
of others have followed, and all have been honestly
and successfully managed.
218 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
The Panther Valley Building and Loan Association,
now performing nseful service, was organized in 1903.
The Miners' Bank, which had previously existed at
Summit Hill, was removed to Lansford in 1880, and
was the first monetary institution in the place. The
bank failed in 1883.
The First National Bank of Lansford was chartered
in 1899. Its capital in the beginning was fifty thousand
dollars, which was doubled in 1909. The bank now has
deposits of over a million dollars, and has a large sur-
plus fund. The present building was erected in 1904.
A. J. Thomas has been the president of the institution
from the start, while W. H. Kohler and C. Fred Kline
have served as cashiers.
The Citizens' National Bank was chartered in 1903,
having a capital of fifty thousand dollars. It did busi-
ness in rented quarters until 1909, when a splendid
building, costing forty thousand dollars was built and
occupied. A surplus of over thirty thousand dollars
has been earned by the bank. T. J. Nusbaum and M.
A. Whetstone originally served as president and cash-
ier, respectively. Andrew Brislin is now the president,
while W. J. Davis is cashier.
A number of private bankers, dealing principally
with foreigners, also do a thi'iving business, while a
dime savings bank has recently been established.
The Carbon Telephone Company, having numerous
subscril)ers in Lansford, Summit Tlill and Coal Dale,
had its inception nearly twenty years ago. Originally
it was termed the Summit Hill and Lansford Tele-
•|)h(me Company. The present com))any, the stock of
which is held locallv, was formed in 1899. William
Schneider was the first ]iresident. The company's
lines connect willi those of the (\msolidated and the
Amcricjui ruioii Ich^phonc^ coiiijianies.
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HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 219
The first newspaper to be published here was the
Summit Hill and Lansford Record, first issued from
Summit Hill. It had been in existence less than five
years, when, in 1880, its owner and editor, the late
J. W. Malloy established himself in Lansford. He was
one of the best known among Carbon county's news-
paper men, and wielded a trenchant pen. His death
occurred in 1910, since which time the active manage-
ment of the paper has devolved upon William Gormley.
It was formerly Democratic, but in recent years it has
manifested independent tendencies. It is issued
weekly.
The Lansford Leader, which is also a weekly, began
its career under its present proprietor and editor, Lin-
coln Davis, in the spring of 1893. This is an inde-
pendent Republican journal. Both papers maintain
large job printing establishments,
Lansford is connected with the neighboring towns
by means of an excellent electric railway system.
This road was placed in operation between here and
Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, on October 25, 1897.
The pioneer hotel man of Lansford was George
Evans, who opened the Lansford House. He was the
father of Thomas Evans, now conducting that popular
hostelry. George H. Holvey built the Mansion House,
while the American House was built by John B. Jones,
The religious history of Lansford begins with the
Welsh Congregational church. This congregation
was organized in 1848, The church edifice, built in
1850, was dedicated on Christmas Day. The most in-
fluential person in the establishment of the church was
David Williams, who has already been refered to in
connection with the early development of the mines
hereabouts. He was a man of good moral character
and organized the first Sunday school in the place.
220 HISTORY OF CARBOX COUNTY.
This preceded the church, of which it was the fore-run-
ner, by about ten years. From the beginning, services
in this church liave been conducted in the Welsh
tongue. For nearly a generation there was no other
church in the town, and people of other denominations
worshipped here or attended services at Summit Hill
and elsewhere. The original building, which has
several times been remodeled and improved, is still
standing. The first regular pastor of the congrega-
tion was Rev. William Thomas. Rev. F. Tilo Evans
has been stationed here for more than twenty years.
The English Congregational church was organized
in 1872 in response to the demands of those who
wished to hear preaching in the English language, and
who had formerly attended the Welsh church.
The present building was dedicated in 1881 by Rev.
Henry Ward Beecher, the famous Brooklyn divine.
Many of the Lansford churches were established as
missions by the churches of Summit Hill. First among
the number was the First Baptist church, founded
about 1872. Its first building stood where the West
Ward school house now stands. In 1888 the church
was torn down and rebuilt on the present location.
Rev. Allen J. Morton was the first pastor.
In 1880 Rev. Robert H. Kline, rector of St. Philip's
church at Summit Hill, began holding services here.
The mission thus established resulted in the organiza-
tion of Trinity E])iscopal church, the cornerstone of
which was laid on Trinity Sunday, 189G. The buildiug
was not consecrated until 1899.
Mcml)ers of the Evangelical Association held serv-
ices at this ])lace as early as 1872.
A church Imilding put up in 1887 was later sold. The
T"^nited Evansrelical church was built in 1895.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 221
St. Michael's (Slovak) Roman Catholic congrega-
tion was started by Rev. William Heinan, of East
Mauch Chunk, in 1891. The building which was then
begun was destroyed by fire in 1907. Preparations
were at once made by the pastor, Rev. Joseph Kas-
parek, and his people to erect a more substantial
structure. This new building, costing one-hundred and
fifty thousand dollars, was dedicated with pomp and
pageantry by Archbishop Edmund F. Prendergast on
Thanksgiving Day, 1911.
St. John's Greek Catholic congregation was organ-
ized in 1892, when a frame building was put up. A
large brick edifice erected in 1906 was destroyed by
fire three years later. Under Rev. Gabriel Martyak,
the pastor in charge, the present magnificent building
of buff brick was completed, the corner-stone having
been laid in 1910.
The first Methodist church here stood in the woods
east of the town, later being removed to the site of the
present building, which was dedicated in 1890 by
Chaplain C. C. McCabe.
Emmanuel's Reformed church was started as a mis-
sion of St. Paul's, of Summit Hill, by Rev. A. P. Horn
in 1894. Services were first held in the Lansford Ly-
ceum.
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church came into
being during the same year, belonging to the charge at
Summit Hill, and being organized by Rev. H. D. Sie-
bott. The present building was erected in 1895.
A Sunday school which was started by Nathan Pat-
terson in 1851, and of which Andrew Weir was the first
superintendent, was the forerunner of the First Pres-
byterian church, organized in 1896. A church building
was not put up until 1901, while Rev. Alexander D.
Bateman was the first regular pastor. Both the Sun-
222 HISTORY OF CARBON COUN TY.
day school and the church have always been self-sup-
porting,
St. John's (Slovak) Evangelical Lutheran church
was started as a mission in 1903, and St. Peter's and
St. Paul's Roman Catholic church was begun four
years later.
St. Ann's Roman Catholic church was attended as a
mission of St. Joseph's, of Summit Hill, until early in
1909, when St. Ann's was constituted a separate parish,
and the present pastor. Rev. H. J. Bowen, appointed.
Ground was broken for the new church building in Sep-
tember, 1911, while the corner-stone was laid by Arch-
bishop Prendergast on Thanksgiving Day, of the same
year. The style of the new church, which is not yet
completed, is Romanesque. It is built of buff brick,
with terra cotta trimmings.
Most of the fraternal and beneficial societies com-
mon to this portion of the state have been established
here. In 1884 the Lansford Beneficial Fund was insti-
tuted by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company;
any of the employes of the company participate in its
benefits if they are so unfortunate as to be injured at
their work. The company annually contributes a cer-
tain sum to this fund, based on the jn'oduction of coal ;
the men also contribute their just proportion. Hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars have been raised and dis-
tributed under the rules governing this fund, which in
its practical workings has jiroven to be one of the
most worthy institutions.
There is, of course, little industrial activity in Lans-
ford aside from that connected with the mining and
shipping of coal. Several liundi-ed men are em]iloyed
in the repair sho])s of the com]>any, and an immense
power ])lant generates electricity sufficient for the
needs of the whole Panther Creek Valley. The manu-
St. Ann's Church, Lansford.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. OOq
facture of coal briquettes, composed of a mixture of
coal dirt and tar, intended for fuel, has also been be-
gun. During recent years the town has been benefited
by the concentration of the company's offices here,
while the opening of the line of the Lehigh and New
England Railroad to this point will further improve
conditions.
The Century Throwing Company, operating a silk
mill, located its plant here in 1904. Alexander Mc-
Lane has been the local head.
In 1906 the Lansford Shirt Factory was opened by
Wallace Drumheller and Charles K. Walton. These
are the only independent industries of consequence.
When the first separate census of the place was
taken, in 1880, the population was a little over two
thousand. It now amounts to about ten thousand.
These figures indicate the healthy growth which the
town has had. But there is promise of still greater
development, and Lansford looks confidently into the
future from her fortunate position over the richest bed
of anthracite in the world.
LAUSANNE TOWNSHIP.
Lausanne township may be likened to a fond and
over-indulgent father, who, originally rich in the pos-
session of a princely estate, has given away so much
of his substance to his children as to be himself re-
duced to comparative poverty in his old age.
It is now the most sparsely populated township in
the county, while its area is but a small fraction of that
which it contained in 1808, the year of its organiza-
tion. Anterior to that time it was a part of Penn
township, which embraced all that portion of North-
ampton county lying north of the Blue Ridge and west
of the Lehigh river.
224 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
In 1808 Perm township was divided into East Penn,
West Penn and Lansanne, the last named being the
northern part of that portion now in Carbon county.
In 1827, a small portion of the southern part of the
township was taken off to form Maucli Chunk town-
ship. In 1842 another limb was lopped off to form
Banks township, while Packer township was carved
from the dwindling territory of Lausanne in 1847. In
1863 it was further dismembered by the erection of the
borough of Weatherly, while the final slice was taken
from it in 1875, when Lehigh township was formed.
Lausanne township is bounded on the north by Lu-
zerne county, on the east by Lehigh township, on the
south by Lehigh and the borough of Weatherly, and on
the west by Banks township. It is about six miles in
length, and averages nearly two and one-half miles in
breadth. It is watered by Laurel and Hazle creeks and
by Spruce run. The character of the land is mountain-
ous and is but little cultivated. The first permanent
settlement of anj^ consequence made within the present
limits of the township was made by the Buck Mountain
Coal Company, which was chartered June 16, 1836.
Samuel L. Shober, Jacob F. Bunting, Benjamin Kug-
ler, William Richardson, and Asa Lansford Foster, all
Philadelphians, excepting the latter, who was from
Carbon county, formed the com]iany. Operations
were begun three years later, while in the month of
November, 1840, the first coal was shijiped.
The mines were located on the suuimit of the
Spring mountain, while the breaker was erected at
Rockport, five miles distant from the mines. A rail-
road, connecting the two ]>oints, was built, and the
loaded cars ran down to Rocki)()rt by gravity, ^fules
were at first emj^loyed to haul the empty cars back to
the mines; but, in the course of time, these were re-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 2"^5
placed by a four-wlieeled, wood-burning- locomotive.
This locomotive was built at Philadelphia, and was
shipped by rail from there to Tamaqua. There it was
loaded upon a heavy wagon, owned by the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Comj:>any, and hauled through Quakake
Valley to Rockport by teams. To secure the wagon
from getting beyond control while descending the hills
along the route, a cable was fastened to it, and one end
was snubbed about a convenient tree. In manv in-
stances, while paying out slack to allow the wagon to
proceed down the hills, the bark was worn from the
trees around which the cable was fastened, and years
afterwards, encircled by the rings thus formed, they
stood as mute reminders of this interesting feat in
transportation.
The breaker stood on the banks of Laurel creek,
while its machinery was driven by an ordinary, twenty-
five-foot, overshot water-wheel. With one exception,
this was the only breaker in the anthracite region, so
far as can be ascertained, that was operated in this
manner. The coal was shipped to market from Rock-
13ort on the Lehigh Canal.
The flood of 1841 swept away the canal, and it was
necessary to suspend operations until it had been re-
paired.
Rockport remained the shipping point for the com-
pany until 1862, when the canal was agatti destroyed
by flood.
Following the freshet of that year, the Hazleton Coal
Company built a railroad to the mines at Buck Moun-
tain, and it was by this route that the coal there pro-
duced was thereafter shipped. This road connected
with what is now the Lehigh Valley Railroad, at Hazle
Creek Junction, about two miles from Weatherly.
226 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
The coal company built a hotel at Buck Mountain in
1843, which was successively kept by William Koons,
James McGinty, and William Boyle. A jDOstoffice was
established at about the time of the building of the rail-
road to the mines. A store, two school houses and an
office building were also erected.
The coal produced at Buck Mountain was of the very
finest grade, and was largely used by the United States
Navy during the Civil War, because of its excellent
steaming qualities and the almost total absence of
smoke attendant upon its use. This rendered vessels
supplied with fuel from Buck Mountain less conspicu-
ous as targets for an enemy's guns than would other-
wise have been the case, also facilitating secrecy in the
movements of the ships.
Erricson's Monitor, in her crucial battle with the re-
doubtable Merrimac, carried Buck Mountain coal in
her bunkers.
The mines at Buck Mountain were abandoned on
November 28, 1883, it being the belief at that time that
the supply of available coal had been about exhausted.
The property was subsequently purchased by the firm
of Coxe, Brothers & Company for the sum of twenty-
two thousand dollars, but the mines were allowed to
remain idle, and what had previously been a thriving
town became a deserted village.
The total number of tons of coal shipped from this
place from 1841 to the time when o]ierations were sus-
pended was three million, four hundred and sixty-five
thousand. The com]mny at various times employed
from three to six-hundred men.
Buck Mountain, in the day of its prosperity, was one
of the best villages in the coal fields, and those of its
former inhabitants who still remain cherish the mem-
ory of the old spot in their hearts.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 227
The Lehigh Valley Coal Company now controls the
property at Buck Mountain and preparations are in
progress for the resumption of mining there on an
important scale. It has developed that the mines there,
so far from being exhausted, contain deposits of coal
that will last for many years.
16
[. CHAPTER XV.
LEHIGH TOWNSHIP.
A large portion of Lehigh township was originally
covered by dense forests of evergreen trees. Its terri-
tory was embraced within Lausanne township from
1808 until 1875, when it was organized as a separate
division of the county.
The Quakake creek, flowing eastwardly through the
township, empties into the Lehigh at Penn Haven.
Spruce, Laurel and Indian runs form a stream which
flows southeastwardly and empties into the Lehigh be-
low Rockport. Leslies run rises near the Luzerne
county line, and joins the Lehigh at Leslie's Run Sta-
tion, in the northern part of the township. The Broad
mountain constitutes the southern portion of the town-
ship, while the Laurytown Valley passes between it and
the Bald Ridge, which reaches across the township
from east to west.
A state road, which ran from the Spring Mountain
Hotel, in Packer township, through Weatherly, and
thence to White Haven, was the first highway of any
consequence. The next in importance was the "Wliite
Haven and Lausanne turnpike which was begun in
1840. The Central Railroad of New Jersey, formerly
the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, and the Le-
high Valley Railroad follow the Tjchigh river along the
eastern border of the township, while the Beaver
Meadow and Hazleton and the j\rahanoy divisions of
the Lehigh Valley system run through the township
on the banks of Quakake creek, connecting with the
main line at Penn Haven Junction.
228
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 229
The Moravians at one time owned a tract of timber
land where Rockport is now located. The timber on
this tract was purchased by the Lehigh Coal and Navi-
gation Company in 1824. The company erected several
saw-mills and a number of dwellings for laborers at
this iDoint. The settlement, which was situated on a
high bluff, was called Laurytown. The timber was
slid down the mountain side to the mills, and after
being sawed was rafted down the Lehigh to Mauch
Chunk and other places.
The raftsmen returned to the mills on foot, traveling
the ''Indian Path," which led from Gnadenhiitten to
Wyoming. Much of the timber that was cut in this
vicinity was used in the construction of canal boats and
other improvements incident to the operations of the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
The Buck Mountain Coal Company began the build-
ing of a railroad from Rockport to its mines, about five
miles distant, in the fall of 1839. A tunnel, two hun-
dred yards in length, from the foot of an inclined plane,
through the mountain to the river, was driven by Asa
L. Foster. The work of constructing the tunnel and the
railroad was completed in 1840, and, in November of
that year, the Buck Mountain Coal Company shipped
its first boat load of coal to Philadelphia on the Lehigh
Canal.
Rockport was once popularly known as "Grog Hol-
low," which unregenerate designation was applied to
the place in consequence of the bibulous proclivities
and general carousing of the laborers who were sta-
tioned there during the building of the canal in the late
thirties. Lumbering operations ceased here a short
time prior to the opening of the mines at Buck Moun-
tain.
O^Q HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
After the completion of the railroad to the mines,
one hundred thousand tons of coal were annually
shipped from this point until 1862.
The memorable flood of that year washed awaj^ the
canal, and the coal mined at Buck Mountain was there-
after shipped to market by rail.
The postoffice at Rockport was established about the
year 1830, Samuel Wolf, who was also a tavern-keeper
on the line of the Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike,
being the first postmaster. In 1836 he was succeeded
in the postoffice by Asa Packer, who in turn was suc-
ceeded by R. Q. Butler, two years later. It was during
the term of Mr. Butler that the name of the postoffice
was changed from Laurytown to Rockport. The pres-
ent postmaster is H. H. Sloat, who has held the office
for many years. It was during his administration that
the free delivery of mail throughout the township was
begun by the government.
Samuel Wolf kept a store at Rockport from 1830 to
1836, when he disposed of the business to Asa and R.
W. Packer, who conducted the establishment until the
completion of their canal contract. A. L. Foster also
kept this store for a short time. J. G. Eadie, now, and
for many years past, a resident of Weatherly, kept a
store at Rockport from 1866 until 1869.
Rockport, while formerly a thriving and prosperous
town, is to-day practically a deserted village. For
romantic natural scenery, however, the locality cannot
easily be surpassed, and it is yearly increasing in favor
as a summer resort. Building-stone of excellent qual-
ity abounds in this vicinity, the stone for the building
of the present court house at Mauch Chunk having been
quarried here. A Methodist church was organized at
Rockport about 1851. Bisho]^ John H. Vincent, des-
tined to achieve international fame as a Sundav school
Onoko Falls, Glen Onoko.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 231
worker and as the head of the Chautauqua Scientific
and Literary Association, j)reached in this church
when but nineteen years of age.
St. Josepli's Roman Catholic church in the Laury-
town Valley was organized a year earlier. It is under
the jurisdiction of the parish at Weatherly, and during
the pastorate of Rev. F. X. Wastl was repaired and
improved. A union church was erected at Rockport in
1894 by the members of the Reformed and Lutheran
denominations. The property is now owned by the
Reformed people, Rev. A. M. Masonheimer being the
pastor in charge.
Penn Haven was in 1838 made a shipping point by
the Hazleton Coal Company. The Beaver Meadow
Railroad was used from that year until 1852. A road
was built from Hazle Creek Bridge to the mountain top
at Penn Haven after the freshet of 1850, and the coal
was conveyed to the river by means of two inclined
planes twelve hundred feet in length. These were
later abandoned. It is at Penn Haven Junction that
the Mahanoy and the Beaver Meadow and Hazleton
divisions of the Lehigh Valley Railroad diverge from
the main line.
Glen Onoko, which has for many years been one of
the leading attractions in this part of Pennsylvania for
pleasure seekers, is situated in Lehigh township. The
improvements here were made by the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Company.
There are three school houses in the township, one
at Penn Haven, another at Rockport, and one near the
farm of the Middle Coal Field Poor District.
The Rockport Rural Telephone Company was organ-
ized in 1910, and its line, traversing the township, con-
nects with the Bell system at Weatherly.
232 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
LEHIGH TON BOBOUGH.
Before its incorporation as a borough, Lehighton
formed a part of Mahoning township, by which it is
bounded on all sides except the east, where the Lehigh
river forms the boundary line.
The first settlement here was that made by the
Moravians in 1746. Gnadenhiitten mission, which was
then established, occupying the present site of South
Lehighton. This was also the first settlement made by
white men in Carbon county, which then belonged to
Bucks, one of the three original counties of Pennsyl-
vania.
How the Moravians came to establish this mission,
the success with which their unselfish labors was
crowned for nearly a decade, and the tragic fate which
befell them when the Indians, smarting from the
wrongs and injustices which had been heaped upon
them by the greedy jjroprietaries of the province and
by the unscrupulous portion of the settlers, took the
war path in the autumn of 1755 and indiscriminately
slew both friend and foe, has already been told in de-
tail. Scarcely a trace exists to-day of this ill-fated
settlement excepting the graveyard, where repose the
remains of the victims of the massacre of Gnaden-
hiitten.
In 1794, the land on which Lehighton is built was
largely owned by Colonel Jacob Weiss, a veteran of the
Revolution, and another man, named William Henry.
It appears that thus early it was recognized that a
town would some day be built at this point, since Weiss
and Henry had a portion of the ground laid out for
that purpose. In the center of their plot was the town
square, which was reserved for ])uhlic use. A number
of lots were sold in 1794, while other conveyances were
HISTOKY OF CAKBON COUNTY. 233
made in the year 1800, but it is not definitely estab-
lished who these first purchasers were.
A bridge was built across the Lehigh in 1804, and a
road was then constructed from here to the place where
the "Landing Tavern" was later erected, at the foot
of the Broad mountain. The Lehigh and Susquehanna
Turnpike Company was incorporated about this time,
and the road opened by this company reached from
Berwick, on the Susquehanna, to Easton. There was a
great deal of travel along this route, and taverns were
established at regular intervals. Lehighton became
one of the stopping places on this road in 1809, when
John Hagenbuch built a tavern on the site now occu-
pied by the Exchange Hotel. He came from Sieg-
fried's Bridge, then known as Siegfried's Ferry,
Northampton county. For many years he continued as
the landlord of this tavern, and was succeeded by his
son, Reuben Hagenbuch. Nicholas Fuller opened a
tavern near the bridge in 1814, remaining its landlord
for a long period.
David Heller started a tannery near Hagenbuch 's
tavern prior to 1820. John Davis established a store
about this time where the residence of the late Joseph
Obert now stands.
In 1825 Daniel Snyder erected a grist mill at the
mouth of Mahoning creek. He conducted the mill for
many years. John Koons was his successor, and he
sold the property to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com-
pany. The growth of the town was slow until the
building of the Lehigh Canal through this region, in
1828-29. The canal contributed materially to the de-
velopment of Lehighton and the surrounding country.
The fertile farming districts lying adjacent to the vil-
lage were now fast growing in population and impor-
tance, and this was an added factor in the upbuilding
of the settlement.
234 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
In 1855, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was completed
from Mauch Chunk to Easton, and early in the sixties
the company established its shops and j^ards at Pack-
erton. Many of the employes at this place built their
homes in Lehighton. On March 16, 1864, the Lehigh
and Susquehanna Railroad Company, later absorbed
by the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, was
authorized to extend its line from Mauch Chunk to
Easton. With the completion of this road Lehighton
took another step forward, and on January 2, 1866, the
town was organized as a borough, John Lentz becom-
ing the first chief burgess. Ten years later, when the
census was taken, Lehighton had a population of
1,485. The place has grown steadily since that time,
and is now one of the most thriving communities of the
Lehigh Valley.
One of the leading enterprises of Lehighton is the
packing establishment of the Joseph Obert Company.
The founder of this industry was Joseph Obert, a na-
tive of Germany. He began as a butcher in 1865, soon
making himself master of a large business. In 1875 his
plant was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt and en-
larged. Mr. Obert died in 1896, and during the suc-
ceeding ten years the enterprise was conducted by his
executors. The Joseph Obert Company, of which
Charles W. Obert is president, and Henry B. Kennel 1
secretary and treasurer, was then incorporated.
The Lehigh Stove and Manufacturing C^ompany, had
its inception in 1867. The chief promoter of the enter-
prise, and the ,]u-esident of the company for many
years, was G. B. Linderman. C. O. Skeer, Robert
Klotz, William Lilly, W. B. Mack. C. W. Anthony, and
-A. G. Brodhead were among the earlv stock-holders of
the company. About one hundred men are here em-
ployed, and ''Lehigh" stoves, ranges, and furnaces find
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 285
their way to many quarters of the world. W. R. But-
ler is now the dominant figure in the affairs of the con-
cern.
Lehighton has in recent years attained prominence
in textile manufacturing, the first and largest of the
mills now located there being the silk throwing mill of
The Baer Company, situated at Bridge and S. Seventh
streets. This enterprise was established by Eugene W.
Baer at Paterson, N. J., and was originally conducted
under the title of Eugene Baer & Company. In 1898
the plant was removed to Lehighton, where the present
four-story brick building had been built by the com-
pany. In 1903, Mr. Baer purchased the interest of his
father, Jacob F. Baer, and the company was incor-
porated as The Baer Company, Eugene W. Baer, being
its president and principal stockholder. The two
upjDer floors of the building owned by The Baer Com-
pany are occupied by the Helvetia Silk Company, the
headquarters of which are at Paterson, N. J.
The Lehighton Lace Company was incorporated in
1905 with a capital stock of $150,000. P. M. Graul,
W. D. Boyer, C. J. Kistler, and M. 0. Kuntz were those
most influential in establishing this industry, which em-
ploys about sixty operatives. The president of the
company is W. D. Boyer, while P. M. Graul is the gen-
eral manager, secretary and treasurer. The plant oc-
cupies the site where Daniel Olewine, prominent in the
early annals of the town, erected a tannery in 1859,
This establishment was destroyed by fire in 1873.
The Carbon Silk Mill Company was organized in 1906
by 0. F. Acker, D. A. Rehrig, and P. F. Rehrig. D. A.
Rehrig has been the president of this company since
its beginning. From seventy-five to one hundred people
are here employed, the mill being now operated under
lease by P. F. Rehrig and W. B. Lovatt.
236 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
A smaller silk throwing mill, recently opened, is
that of Howard Dief enderf er.
The Lehighton Shirt Factory was established in 1898
by New York capitalists.
The Crescent Stove and Manufacturing Company
was organized in 1904, Edward E. Walters being its
president, and Charles H. Bower the principal stock-
holder.
The Lehighton Brick Company was formed in 1906
by Ira Seidle and Dallas Bowman. The plant operated
by this company is owned by William S. Koch, who
built it in 1899.
The Carbon Iron Works Company was incorporated
in 1911. W. S. Koch is its president.
As has already been said, the first hotel to be opened
in Lehighton was that of John Hagenbuch, in 1809.
This property changed hands four or five times until
1867, when it was purchased by Thomas Mantz, who
tore down the old building and erected the present Ex-
change Hotel on the site. He is still the owner. The
tavern erected by Nicholas Fuller in 1814, near the
bridge which crosses the Lehigh on the way to Weiss-
port was sold to George Esch in 1855. He removed the
original structure and put u]i the Valley House in its
place. This hotel has been conducted by E. W. Clauss
since 1891.
Jacob Metzgar built the Carbon House in 1842, and
opened it as a tavern under the sign of the Eagle. It
has had many landlords, and is now owned by the
David Ebbert Estate.
The Mansion House was built by J. A. Horn in 1879.
The present proprietor is A. P. Anthony.
The Lehighton ])ostoffice was established on October
], 1812, John Pryor, .Ir., being the first postmaster.
Twenty-three others have since served in that capacity.
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 237
John Davis who has already been mentioned as the
first store-keeper in the town, held the office from 1824
to 1836, when he removed to Easton, where he became
the president of the Easton National Bank. His term
of service was exceeded only by that of Thomas S.
Beck, who held the office for thirteen years, though not
successively, and by that of Henry H. Peters, who
served from 1871 to 1885.
No one knows where the office was first opened ; but
most of the postmasters kept it at their places of busi-
ness until 1898, when it was located as at present
by B. J. Kuntz.
In 1903 the only rural route beginning at this office
was established. It extends through the Mahoning
Valley. This was the first postoffice to be designated
as a postal savings bank in the Lehigh Valley, being
authorized to receive deposits during the summer of
1911.
David McCormick succeeded W. W. Eeber as post-
master in March, 1911.
A log schoolhouse opened by the Moravians about
1820 was also used for church purposes. The school
was controlled by a board of trustees, and was kept
during the winter months for many years.
A generation after the establishment of this institu-
tion, Mahoning township, of which Lehighton then
formed a part, accepted the free school system, and
other houses were erected for school purposes. One of
these was opened on Iron street about 1850. In 1853
another was built on the town square, which was used
until 1873. Another was located on Pine street.
The present high school building was built in 1873 at
a cost of $45,000. For a time all of the schools in the
borough were kept here. The First Ward building, a
modern brick structure of eight rooms, was put up in
238 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
1896. It cost $30,000. The Third Ward building, the
best equipped in the borough, was built in 1902. The
high school is an accredited "second grade" institu-
tion having a three years' course. The schools of the
borough have been under the direction of a supervisory
principal since 1908.
A i^arochial school conducted under the auspices of
St. Peter's and St. Paul's Roman Catholic church, was
established in 1869. About eighty pupils, taught by
three Sisters of St. Francis, are in attendance here.
Among the institutions of learning not having the
support of the general public, was the Carbon Acad-
emy, which was first conducted by R. F. Hofford at
Weissport. The flood of 1862 carried away the build-
ing in which the academy was housed, and during the
same year a new building was erected by Hofford in
Lehighton. In 1863 he was chosen as superintendent
of schools of the county, and some years thereafter, A.
S. Christine assumed control of the academy. Pro-
fessor Christine died in 1868, and the school was closed,
though several unsuccessful attempts were made to
re-establish it.
Excepting the Moravians, it appears that the Re-
formed and Lutheran people were the first to hold
regular church services in this locality. As early as
1800 Reformed ministers traveled through this region
and preached in the old Moravian chapel. The names
of Rev. Thomas Pomp, Rev. W. F. Vandersloot, Rev.
"William Helfrich, and Rev. Charles Becker are found
on certificates still in i)ossession of members of the
older families.
On Marcli 23, 1818, a union congregation, comi)osed
of people of the Reformed and Lutheran denomina-
tions, was oiganized. Services were held in the ^lo-
ravian chapel. After this building began to fall into
ZioN 's K*i:i''(Hv.M KD ('iiri;cii. I.i;i i ici n'ox.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 239
disrepair, the place of worship was changed to a school-
house on South Third street. It was in this building
that the first Sunday school in Lehigiiton was
organized.
Until 1838 the religious interests of both Lehighton
and Weissport centered in South Lehighton, During
the ensuing thirty years the common place of worship
was at Weissport. Jacob's Reformed and Lutheran
church was built at the latter place in 1839. This was
the mother of the churches of these denominations in
Lehighton.
Prior to 1870 a union Sunday school had been organ-
ized in a small building in the upper park. Later the
school was kept in the Iron street schoolhouse.
Thomas and William Kemmerer and Frederick Brink-
man were the leaders in this movement. This school
afforded a rallying place for the Reformed and Lu-
theran people of Lehighton. An effort was made by
these people to build a union church, but it proved abor-
tive and separate houses of worship were erected.
The congregation of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran
church was organized on January 5, 1873, by Rev. D.
K. Kepner. The corner stone of the building which
was erected was laid on the first of June of that year.
Rev. J. H. Kuder Tias been the pastor of this church
since 1882.
Zion's Reformed congregation was organized on
April 29, 1893, the meeting for that purpose having
been held in the building of the Carbon Academy. All
of the charter members were connected with Jacob's
church at Weissport prior to the forming of the new
congregation. Rev. Abraham Bartholomew was the
first pastor, serving the church at Weissport, as well.
Services were held in the academy building until
1876, when a church edifice was built. During 1902-03,
240 niSTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
under the pastorate of Rev. D. A. Winter, the church
was remodeled and enlarged at a ccst of more than
$27,000. The Sunday school of this congregation is at
present the strongest in the county. George E. Gray
has been its superintendent, since 1897.
The Presbyterian church of Lehighton had its begin-
nings in the efforts of a pious Polish woman, named
Fredericka Mi sea. She came to this country about
1825, and purchased two tracts of land from the Mo-
ravians, embracing the site of the old Gnadenhiitten
Mission, for which she agreed to pay $500.00. She be-
came inspired with the idea of building a new church
on the site of the one burned down by the Indians, and
accordingly began to solicit money. She made long
journeys through the country and visited many cities,
selling i)rints depicting the massacre of Gnadenhiitten,
the proposed church, and herself. For a time she lived
in this locality. A gentleman named George Douglass,
of New York, touched by her devotion and sincerity,
generously gave her a sum of money sufficient to take
uj) the mortgage against the property. She thereupon
executed to him a trust deed, dated November 1, 1833,
making him trustee of all she possessed, and stipula-
ting that the avails of the pro]^erty should be used for
the construction of a church at Lehighton for the use
of the Presbvterian denomination. The building was
begun, the foundation walls and window frames put
up, and the necessary lumber hauled on the ground.
But from one of her journeys ^Misca never returned.
The fate that befell her is shrouded in mystery; it is
thought that she was murdered and robbed. This
church was never comjileted.
In 1852 Douglass transferred his trust to a number
of prominent citizens of IMaucli (^hunk. A portion of
the proi)erty was sold by them, and the i)roceeds placed
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 241
at the disposal of the Presbyterian church at Mauch
Chunk, the congregation of which was then gathering
funds for the erection of a house of worshijD.
In 1870 an act of Assembly was passed enabling the
trustees to sell the remainder of the property. The
Gnadenhiitten Cemetery Association became the pur-
chaser. In 1872 Rev. Jacob Beleville, the Presbyterian
pastor at Mauch Chunk conceived the idea of building
a church at Lehighton. As early as 1859 missionaries
had preached to a small congregation here, meetings
being held in the schoolhouse on Iron street. In ac-
cordance with Rev. Beleville 's plans, the congregation
was reorganized on the 12tli of February, 1872, and the
Misca fund was transferred to the trustees of the Le-
highton congregation. A lot was procured and the
corner stone of the church building was laid on the
29th of May, 1873. It was dedicated on May 7, 1874,
Rev. C. Earle preaching the dedicatory sermon. Dur-
ing the pastorate of Rev. R. E. Reimer, who served
from 1900 to 1905, the church was remodeled and im-
proved. Rev. H. A. Smith, D.D., is the present pastor.
The peojole of the Methodist Episcopal denomination
began holding meetings in Lehighton about 1840. Serv-
ices were occasionally conducted by missionaries, but
usually the preachers came from Mauch Chunk. The
society was organized in 1865, purchasing the Carbon
Academy building, which was used until the erection
of the present building in 1883. The church was dedi-
cated on the 30th of September of that year. W. B.
Durelle was the first regular preacher.
St. Peter's and St. Paul's Roman Catholic church
was organized in 1869. Rev. G. Frende, who resided in
Lehighton and had other churches in charge, was the
first pastor. Rev. William Heinan, who later became
the minister of St. Joseph's Catholic church at East
24-2 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Mauch Chunk, and one of the best known members of
the priesthood in this section of the State, succeeded
Eev. Frende. This church was rebuilt under Rev.
Francis Regnery, the present pastor. The corner-
stone was laid on October 7, 1906. The church was
completed and dedicated on September 1, 1>907, being
blessed by Bishop E. F. Prendergast, now Archbishop
of the Diocese of Philadelphia. It cost $30,000.
The Ebenezer Church of the Evangelical Association
was organized in 1872. Services were held in various
places until 1876, when the present house of worship
was completed. The church was dedicated by Bishop
Thomas Bowman on the 21st of May of that year. The
congregation has had about twenty pastors since that
time.
The Mennonite Brethren in Christ, who have gained
a footing here came into existence in 1882. Rev. "Wil-
liam Gehman was the founder of the organization.
Bethany United Evangelical church is the offspring
of Ebenezer Church of the Evangelical Association.
The society was formally organized on October 5, 1894,
and a year later its house of worship was dedicated by
Bishop Rudolph Dubs.
Grace Lutheran church was organized on November
29, 1903, Rev. Frank S. Kuntz served as the first pastor.
A chapel costing $12,000 was soon erected, being dedi-
cated on April 2, 1905.
All Saints' Episcopal church, which is a mission of
St. Mark's church, of Mauch Chunk, had its beginnings
in 1868, when the first public service of this denomina-
tion was held in the Carbon Academy ])uilding. The
present church edifice, one of the most magnificent in
the county, was started in 1906, l)eing the gift of Mary
Packer Cummings. The corner stone was laid with im-
pressive ceremonies on October the 10th of that year
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 243
by Et. Eev. Etlielbert Talbot, Bishop of Central Penn-
sylvania. The consecration sermon was preached by
Rt, Rev. Leighton Coleman, Bishop of Delaware, on
Sei3tember 30th, 1907. It was Bishop Coleman, then
stationed at Manch Chunk, who conducted the first
Episcopal service in Lehighton. The church, together
with the vicarage, cost $50,000. Both are constructed
of graystone, quarried at Bowmanstown, while the
trimmings are of Wyoming blue stone. Rev. A. A.
Bresee has been the vicar from the beginning.
The principal burying ground in Lehighton, and the
oldest in the county, is the Gnadenhiitten Cemetery,
which has already been mentioned as the resting place
of the Moravians who were massacred by the Indians
on the evening of November 24, 1755. From the year
1820 the grounds were occasionally used as a place of
interment by the people of the surrounding country.
Fredericka Misca became the owner of the site about
1830. Since 1870 the Gnadenhiitten Cemetery Associa-
tion has been the owner.
Lehighton 's first newspaper was called the Weekly
News, started by 0. M. Boyle, in January, 1872. Its
publication was suspended in the fall of 1873. The
initial issue of the Carbon Advocate bore the date of
November 23, 1872. It was established by H. V. Mor-
thimer, a veteran journalist. P. M. Graul became
the owner of this paper in 1902. It has always been
issued weekly, and has supported Democratic prin-
ciples.
The Lehighton Press began its career on April 21,
1892, having been started by William C. Watson. On
November 16, 1896, it passed to the ownership of
David McCormick, under whose guidance it has be-
come one of the most influential and prosperous weekly
journals in the Lehigh Valley. Originally it contained
17
244 HISTOK'f OF CAEBON COUNTY.
four pages of seven columns. It has since doubled its
size. The Press is staunchly Republican.
The Evening Leader was established by George
Morthimer, a son of the founder of the Advocate, on
July 19, 1902. It is the only paper in the borough
issued daily, and is an exponent of Democratic doc-
trines.
Lehighton's earliest fire company was organized on
August 24, 1874. It had fifty charter members. H. V.
Morthimer was chosen president; C. F. Horn, secre-
tary, and P. T. Bradley, chief. Morthimer and Horn
were the prime movers in the undertaking. The latter
is still a member of the company. The borough build-
ing is occupied by this organization.
With the growth of the town, the need of additional
protection against fire became apparent, resulting in
the formation of Lehighton Engine Company No. 2.
This company was permanently organized at Hoch-
berg's Hotel on the evening of February 18, 1904.
James I. Blakslee was elected president; E. W. Moser,
vice president, and A. J. Snyder, secretary.
Soon thereafter an emergency school house on Third
street was leased and remodeled to meet the needs of
the organization. For years this company gave Christ-
mas entertainments to which the public of the region
was admitted, and large sums of money were expended
in purchasing gifts for the children. From its incep-
tion this company has reflected the progressiveness
and liberality which characterizes its president, James
I. Blakslee. Under his leadership a new fire house,
costing $18,000, was erected during 1910-11. It is one
of the model buildings of its kind in Pennsylvania. It
is of cement block and pressed brick, being two stories
high. The structure was ap])ro])riately dedicated on
February 21, 1911. The municii)ality, as such, was not
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it
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HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 245
asked for financial aid in the undertaking. Besides
the fire-fighting apparatus, this building contains a li-
brary, gymnasium and every facility for social enter-
tainment. In 1910 the company organized its own
band, and it has succeeded in taking a prize at every
gathering of firemen in which it has participated.
Following the establishment of Engine Company No.
2 the Lehighton fire department was organized, giving
executive control to a single head in the event of fire.
The chief of the department is Harry Trainer.
The first building and loan association in the bor-
ough was established about 1875, its offspring being
the Lehighton Building and Loan Association and Le-
highton Building and Loan Association No. 2. Philip
Miller was the first president of these institutions.
Both associations failed.
The Lehigh Valley Building and Loan Association
was incorporated on March 9, 1896, and has had a suc-
cessful career. Several hundred homes have been
wholly or partially built through its agency. George
W. Diehl is the president of the association, while Ira
E. Seidle is its secretary.
The First National Bank of Lehighton was chartered
on November 3, 1875, with a capital stock of $50,000.
Daniel Olewine was elected president, and W. W. Bow-
man, cashier. The institution was located in a portion
of the residence of Joseph Obert until 1880, when quar-
ters were secured in the old Stoecker building. In 1894
a brick building alongside the present location was oc-
cupied. On July 5, 1910, a new structure, costing
$40,000, was opened for business. Thomas Kemmerer
succeeded Daniel Olewine as president of the bank.
He was followed by E. F. Hofford, while John Sea-
boldt is now the head of the institution. John T. Sem-
246 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
mel followed W. W. Bowman as cashier, and Henry J.
Bretney now occupies that position.
The Citizens' National Bank was organized on Oc-
tober 29, 1902, with a capital stock of $60,000. It was
first located in the Leuckel building, near the post-
office. Early in 1910, a new building, valued at $45,000,
was completed. The capital stock is now $100,000.
Hon. C. H. Seidle, Eugene Baer and Henry B. Kennell
have been the bank's presidents, while A. S. Beisel and
A. F. Smith have filled the position of cashier.
The Lehighton Water Supply Company was char-
tered in 1889, Joseph Obert being chosen as its presi-
dent.
An artesian well was drilled at the head of Seventh
street, but the supply obtained from this source was
inadequate. A reservoir was then constructed at Long
Eun, Franklin township, about three miles from the
town. Another reservoir has since been added at this
point, besides one on Pine run. The water flows to
Lehighton by gravity. This company also supplies
Weissport and Union Hill with water.
Both Lehighton and Weissport are electrically
lighted by a plant which is owned by the first-named
borough. It was operated but a short time by the mu-
nicipality, when it was leased to James I. Blakslee,
under whose direction it has been conducted for about
a decade.
Lehighton is connected with Mauch Chunk by the
line of the Carbon Transit Company.
LOUEE T()n\iMKNS!TNO TOWNSIlir.
Lower Towamensing ranks second in wealth and
third in ]wpulation amoug the townshi]is of Carbon
county. Fi-om present indications it seems destined to
excel in both respects in the not distant future. It is
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 247
bounded on the north by Franklin and Towamensing
townships; on the east by Monroe county; on the
south by the Blue mountains and Northampton county,
and on the west by the Lehigh river and East Penn
township.
The Aquashicola creek, which rises in Monroe
county, and flows eastwardly along the base of the
Blue Ridge, emptying into the Lehigh at the gap of
that name, is the principal stream within its bound-
aries.
The surface of the township is diversified, contain-
ing a considerable portion of arable land, however.
Sand, building stone, paint-ore and slate are among
its natural products.
Originally it formed a part of Towamensing town-
ship, being separately organized in 1841.
The earliest settler within the present limits of
Lower Towamensing of whom any record remains was
Nicholas Opplinger, who established himself near the
mouth of the Aquashicola about the year 1750. The
families of Boyer, Bauman, or Bowman, Mehrkem, and
Strolil, whose descendants are still in the district, were
among the earliest settlers.
Conrad Mehrkem was a resident of the township
jjrior to 1763. He lived in its western portion, near
the Lehigh.
Peter Strohl, the first of that family of which any-
thing is definitely known, also came here about the
same time, taking out a warrant for two hundred and
forty- six acres of land, on a portion of which St.
John's Lutheran and Reformed church now stands.
John Deter Bowman, the pioneer of the family of
that name in America, became possessed of a tract of
land in East Penn township in 1760, and he and his
descendants prospered in this locality as hunters, trap-
248 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
pers, lumbermen and farmers. Henry, one of the sons
of this pioneer, settled near the point where Peter
Strohl had earlier established himself. His brother
Bernard also lived in the township.
About the close of the Revolution, when fhe Indians
no longer menaced, as formerly, settlers came in
greater numbers. At this period Jacob and Nich-
olas Snyder came into possession of several hun-
dred acres of land on the north side of the Aquashi-
cola, embracing a mineral spring indicated on Scull's
map of Pennsylvania in 1759. They built a saw-mill
on the creek, near Lehigh Gap, which remained in
operation until recent times.
The property was surveyed in 1806, when the spring
in question was analyzed by Thomas E. James, of the
University of Pennsylvania. His report, substantiated
by others, who certified to the healing properties of the
waters of the spring, led to the erection of bath houses
at this point, while for a short time the place was fre-
quented as a health resort.
In 1806, George Ziegenfuss, who pursued the voca-
tion of a miller, came across the mountains and erected
a grist mill where Millport now stands. He spent the
remainder of his life at this place, where some of his
descendants still remain.
During the year 1808, Joseph Bauman purchased
thirty acres of land at Lehigh Gap, erecting a stone
building, in which he conducted a tavern until 1814,
when he disposed of his property to Thomas Craig, in
whose possession and that of his descendants it has
been retained to the present.
The first road to be constructed through this section
was that running from Bethlehem to Gnadenhiitten,
or modern Tjohighton, where a mission was establislied
by the Moravians.
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 249
This route had first been traveled by Count Zinzen-
dorf in 1742, in which year he and his party negotiated
a treaty with the Indians on the Mahoning.
The road was built in 1747, and was used by the
Moravians until the destruction of Gnadenhiitten, in
the fall of 1755. It was traveled by Benjamin Frank-
lin and his little army when they passed through here
in January, 1756, on their way to build Fort Allen, and
was employed as a military road until 1761. Originally
running along the bank of the river, it was in some
places changed to higher ground from time to time,
in order to secure a better foundation. It became a
part of the Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike in 1806.
Another road, running parallel to the Aquashicola,
and extending eastward into Monroe county, was built
in 1756. This was a military road, connecting with
Fort Norris, one of the defenses erected by the provin-
cial government during the first Indian uprising.
The religious history of Lower Towamensing begins
at an early date. St. John's congregation, which is a
union of the Lutheran and Reformed denominations,
was organized on February 12, 1798. At this time the
society arranged for the purchase of six acres of land
from Michael Strohl, the consideration stipulated being
twelve pounds. It was not until a year later that
preparations were made for the erection of a church
edifice. Nicholas Bachman contracted to do the car-
penter work for twenty-five pounds. Hewed logs of
pine and oak were used in the construction of the
building. The cornerstone was laid on June 12, 1799,
Eev. John H. Helfrich representing the Lutheran ele-
ment, while Rev. John C. Bill participated on the part
of the Reformed people. Ten years later the building
was weather-boarded, prior to which time there had
been no heating apparatus installed. This was one of
250 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the first churclies built by permanent settlers north of
the Blue mountains. The present brick structure was
erected in the year 1862.
In the graveyard adjoining the church repose the
remains of many of the early settlers of the town-
ship. In this church, too, the first schools of the dis-
trict were conducted, being supported and controlled
by the Lutheran and Reformed denominations. But
few other schools were opened until 1838, when the
township accepted the free school system. About the
year 1852, seven stone schoolhouses were erected at
various points in the district.
A postoffice was established at Lehigh Gap in 1825,
with Thomas Craig, Jr., in charge. This was the only
postoffice in the township until 1850, when another was
established at Little Gap, under Samuel Ziegenfuss.
About the year 1819, David Heimbach, an iron-
master of Lehigh county, in association with his son
David, erected a forge on the Aquashicola, a short
distance northeast of Little Gap. Pig iron was brought
to this place from Berks county.
In 1827, David, the younger, built a furnace near the
forge, which he named "Clarissa," in honor of his
wife. Ores were brought over the Lehigh Canal from
Whitehall, being transported the remaining six miles
from Lehigh Gap to the furnace by teams. Anthracite
coal was not then considered available as fuel in the
manufacture of iron, charcoal being employed, and the
object in locating in this out-of-the-way place was to
secure a })lentiful supply of timber near at hand.
During the year 1834, the owners of tliese iron works
died, and the ])roperty was subsequently acquired by
Joseph J. Albright and others. Albright was an
ardent admirer of Henry Clay, rechristening the plant
as the ''Ashland Iron Works," after the place of ua-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 251
tivity of the Great Pacificator, in Hanover county,
Virginia.
The works were entirely washed away by the flood
of 1841. The furnace was never rebuilt; but a new
forge of greater capacity than the old was erected.
This was partially destroyed by fire soon thereafter.
The plant passed into other hands in 1851, and was
finally abandoned in 1860.
The village of Millport, which is situated on the
Aquashicola, about two miles from its confluence with
the Lehigh, grew up about the mill established there
in 1806 by George Ziegenfuss. The original mill was
destroyed by fire in 1834, being then owned by John
Ziegenfuss, a son of the first settler. The property
was then sold to his brother, George, who rebuilt the
mill, and conducted it until 1845, when Jacob Bowman
became the owner. It has passed through many hands,
and is now conducted by Charles VanHorn.
Prior to 1830, a tannery was started here by a man
named Meckle. After several changes of ownership
it came into the possession of Reuben Miller, under
whom it was thrice destroyed by fire. The last fire
occurred in 1874, after which the enterprise was aban-
doned. The tall brick stack is still standing.
The first store in the place was opened by George
Ziegenfuss, who discontinued it after a few years. In
1836, a hotel was built by John A. Ziegenfuss, who
kept it for many years. Lewis Groff has been the
owner of the property since 1872.
The postoffice here, to which the name of Aquashi-
cola is applied, was established in 1855, with Thomas
Bowman as postmaster. A rural route, running to
Kresgeville, Monroe county, by way of Little Gap,
and returning by way of Trochsville, was instituted in
1905.
050 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Stephen Lentz, about the year 1864, discovered a
slate bed at the eastern extremity of the town. Soon
thereafter a quarry was opened by the Millport Slate
Company, which was succeeded by the Brilliant Black
Slate Company. Since 1896, the quarry has been
operated in partnership by William Lewis and Walter
Bray. This is the only point where slate is produced
in the Lehigh Valley north of the Blue Eidge.
A paint factory was established in the lower end of
the village by a man named Lawrence, late in the fif-
ties. He disposed of the business to A. C. Prince,
under whom the buildings were destroyed by fire in
1881.
The Evangelical church at this place was erected in
1866. Services had been held in the community by this
denomination as early as 1842.
A chapel was erected here by the Sunday school of
the Evangelical Lutheran church, about 1892.
In 1893, George Strohl opened the Farmers' Hotel in
a building formerly occupied as a residence by A. C.
Prince.
Lehigh Gap was originally a post village on the line
of the Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike. The place is
situated at the northern base of the Blue Eidge, just at
the point where the Lehigh river begins to steal its
way through this great natural barrier. The gap,
prominently walled on both sides, forms a sublime
object of admiration, and presents to the observant
spectator one of the most beautiful prospects in all
Pennsylvania.
A well known landmark on the mountainside west of
the river is a lonely pile of rocks, whimsically called
"The Devil's Pulpit," which indignantly suffers but
a few blasted pines to shade its sullen brow.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 253
The Indians applied the name Buchca-buchka to the
gap, which, in the picturesque language of the Dela-
wares, signified two mountains butting toward one
another, and separated by a stream of water — a water
gap.
General Thomas Craig, who settled in this romantic
spot in 1814, succeeding Joseph Bauman as the land-
lord of the Lehigh Gap Inn, was a hero of the French
and Indian War, and was the first officer to protect the
Continental Congress in its important deliberations.
He also served with distinction in the war of Inde-
pendence.
Descendants of General Craig are still living at Le-
high Gap, while in each generation one or more mem-
bers of the family have taken a prominent part in the
civil or military affairs of the state and nation.
About 1830, Thomas Craig, Jr., in partnership with
Stephen Hagenbuch, opened a general store here, which
supplied the needs of the countryside within a radius
of many miles.
Colonel John Craig, a son of the founder, continued
this business until his death, which occurred a few
years ago, and it is still owned by his estate.
The old hotel is still standing, but has been kept by
lessee landlords since 1851.
In 1885, Harry Eutherford and Charles Barkley,
under the firm name of Rutherford & Barkley, estab-
lished themselves in the manufacture of metallic paint
near here. This industry is now conducted by the
Prince Metallic Paint Company.
CHAPTER XVI.
MAHONING TOWNSHIP.
Mahoning township, the richest agricultnral district
of Carbon county, was organized in 1842, its territory
being taken from East Penn.
The name Mahoning is corrupted from Malionhanne,
which in the tongue of the Delaware Indians, meant
a stream flowing near a lick.
It is bounded on the north by Mauch Chunk town-
ship; on the east by the Lehigh river; on the south
by East Penn, and on the west by Schuylkill county.
The Mahoning creek, rising in Schuylkill county, and
flowing eastwardly into the Lehigh, is the principal
stream. The beautiful vallej' drained by this stream
lies between two gently sloping mountains, the sides of
which are often dotted almost to their tops with cul-
tivated fields.
Since the first settlement of the valley, the north-
ern, or Mahoning mountain, has been referred to lo
cally as the Summer mountain, while that to the south-
ward has been called the Winter mountain, from the
position of the sun at these seasons of the year.
A portion of the present territory of Mahoning town-
ship was the first to which any title was obtained by
white men in the immediate region north of the Blue
Ridge. In 1682, William Penn deeded a tract of five
thousand acres to Adrian Vroesen, of Rotterdam,
which after several changes of ownership came into
possession of Richard Peters, of IMiiladelphia. He,
in 1745, conveyed one hundred and twenty acres of this
land near the mouth of the Mahoning to the ISforavians
254
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 255
of Bethlehem, who established Gnadenhiitten mission
thereon during the following year.
A number of settlers located on other portions of
this tract between 1750 and 1775. Most of these were
of English birth or parentage. Among the first was
George Custard, who is mentioned as having been here
at the time of the Massacre of Gnadenhiitten in 1755.
He and the few others in the neighborhood are sup-
posed to have fled after that event.
Benjamin Gilbert, an aged Quaker, and his family
came to the valley of the Mahoning from Byberry, near
Philadelphia, in 1775.
They built a saw-mill and a grist-mill on the spot
where the mill of David A. Kistler now stands.
The story of the peace and prosperity which re-
warded their industry and thrift during a period of five
years, followed by their captivity among the Indians
and the destruction of the improvements which they
had made, constitutes one of the many pathetic inci-
dents in the frontier life of eastern Pennsylvania, and
has already been related.
Upon the return of the Gilberts from captivity,
they took up their abode at Byberry, their former
home, disposing of their land here to Captain Joseph
Longstreth, who, with Robert McDaniel, replaced the
improvements which had been burned by the Indians.
Samuel Dodson and family located on land now
owned by Ira Troxel at about the same time that the
Gilberts came to the region. One of the family, Abi-
gail, a girl of fourteen years, was carried off by the
Indians with the Gilberts.
Samuel Dodson died in 1795, and was buried in the
Lizard Creek Valley. Soon thereafter most of his
family removed to Shamokin, later going to Hunting-
256 HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
ton township, Luzerne county, where their descendants
are numerous.
Among those who remained was Isaac T. Dodson,
who became a well known citizen of Mauch Chunk.
Scarcely any settlements appear to have been made
in Mahoning township between the close of the Revo-
lution and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
About 1800, however, Andrew Beck, John and Abra-
ham Freyman, Peter Musselman and Peter, Henry and
John Nothstein joined those who had previously lived
here.
John Freyman was the grandfather of William G.
Freyman, who has for many years been a prominent
member of the Carbon county bar.
The three Nothsteins who have been mentioned were
brothers. Their father, Peter Nothstein, who was a
soldier in the war of Independence, spent his declining
j^ears with them. His remains are interred in a little
private cemetery at Center Square. Henry Nothstein
built the first store to be opened at Center Square, and
in later years his son, Daniel, was a merchant here;
he was succeeded by his son-in-law, Hon. C. H. Seidle.
Among those who came to the township prior to 1817
were Abram and Jost ]\Iiller and Henry Arner. Most
of these settlers came from Lehigh county.
Jacob Fenstermacher located at New Mahoning in
1819. He opened a hotel which stood on the site of
that now kept by Thomas Beltz.
Christian Klotz, a native of Lehigh county, in 1823
built a grist-mill which was later owned by Solomon
Ploppes, who rebuilt it in 1848. This is now the prop-
erty of F. D. Klingaman.
Christian Klotz was the father of Hon. Robert Klotz,
who represented this district in the Forty-sixth Con-
gress.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 257
Paul Balliet, who was born in Alsace, Germany, in
1717, and who was one of the first settlers of North
Whitehall township, Lehigh county, was the pioneer
of the family of that name in this township. Joseph,
a son of Leonard Balliet, who had located in West
Penn township, Schuylkill county, first established him-
self on a farm at Center Square. Later, he purchased
the farm of Jacob Feller, near St. John's church.
Here his son, Nathan, lived and reared a large family.
His son, Francis S. Balliet, now occupies the old home-
stead.
Before 1825, Thomas Walton opened a store on the
farm now owned by Aaron Zimmerman, a short dis-
tance east of New Mahoning. He also established a
hotel and a blacksmith shop. The store was subse-
quently kept by Abraham Hanline, while the hotel was
abandoned.
Henry Arner, about the year 1820, began the manu-
facture of shoes to supply the miners of Summit Hill.
He was succeeded by Henry Bretney, who continued
the business until 1855.
In 1832, Henry Arner and Abraham Hanline erected
a powder mill on the site of the saw-mill now con-
ducted by Lewis Zimmerman. Between 1839 and 1841
the mill was twice blown up, and two lives were lost,
the venture being abandoned in 1854.
Another powder mill started in 1842, and conducted
by Jolin Erb, exploded several times with fatal results.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company began opera-
tions at Packerton in 1862. Prior to that time the lo-
cality was known as Burlington, and later as Dolans-
burg, after George and John Dolan, who owned most
of the land here. The place is situated on the Lehigh
river, nearly midway between Mauch Chunk and Le-
highton, being named in honor of Asa Packer.
258 HISTORY OF CABBON COUNTY.
#
Packerton is the central point of the immense coal
traffic of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and large shops
for the repair of the rolling stock of the company have
been built here. All of the coal passing east over the
road is weighed and forwarded from this i^oint.
Mauch Chunk was the shipping point of the company
until the increase in traffic made it necessary to seek a
location affording more room than that place contained.
Most of the employes of the shops and yards at
Packerton live in the nearby towns.
Packerton itself is a neat little village, built on a high
bluff overlooking the river. It has no interests aside
from those centering in the railroad.
Jamestown, adjoining Lehighton on the north, is
built on land warranted to Paul Solt, who settled in the
localitv about the vear 1780. It bears the first name of
James McDaniel, one of the earl}^ settlers. Amos Rie-
gel, a former sheriff of Carbon county, and the father
of J. A. Riegel, became possessed of most of the town-
site in 1862. He began selling lots in 1874. The place
has been principally settled bj^ employes of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad.
The first schools in the township, apart from those
kept by the Moravians, at what is now Lehighton, were
opened about 1825. Isaac Harleman, Samuel Dodson
and John Fulton were among the early teachers. Ma-
honing accepted the free school law in 18-40, or there-
abouts, and the township was divided into districts.
Packerton, having a high school, was set off as an
independent district in 1872. Jamestown also forms a
])art of this district. The brick school building situated
between these i)laces was the gift of Asa Packer.
One of the most interesting events in the educational
annals of the county was the unveiling, in 1908, of a
beautiful tablet in the school house at New Mahoning,
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 259
commemorating the patriotism displayed in the Civil
War by those formerly connected with the school.
Thirty-six pupils and two teachers of this school vol-
unteered in defense of the Union, as the tablet sets
forth. The memorial was conceived by J. F. Kressley,
one of the survivors. The New Mahoning district,
which contained less than fifty voters during the time
of the war, contributed sixty-seven men to the service
of the nation, a manifestation of loyalty which is be-
lieved to be unsurpassed.
There are now thirteen schoolhouses maintained in
the township, three of which are situated in the inde-
pendent district of Packerton.
Postoffices were formerly kept at Center Square,
New Mahoning and at Pleasant Corner.
In the old days, the mail was carried to these post-
offices from Lehighton every Saturday, and during the
evening of that day the people of the neighborhood
wended their way thither for the dual purpose of claim-
ing the weekly paper or the occasional letter, and for
social intercourse. Later the mail was delivered twice
a week, and, finally every day.
On September 1, 1903, the rural delivery system of
the government was extended to the township, and the
postoffices were abandoned. David Ebberts, who had
previously traveled twelve hundred miles a year be-
tween his home and the postoffice, was chiefly instru-
mental in getting the rural route started. A postoffice
is still maintained at Packerton.
St. John's Lutheran and Reformed church, located
between New Mahoning and Pleasant Corner, was built
in 1850. The present handsome brick structure was
erected in 1892.
Emmanuel's Evangelical church was built in 1868,
IS
260 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
A Methodist church at Beaver Kun, organized in
1881, has since been abandoned.
Christ Reformed church at Packerton was organized
in 1899, while the corner-stone of Zion's Evangelical
Lutheran church of the same place, was laid in 1901.
The telephone is just beginning to come into general
use in the township.
Not only does Mahoning township lead every other
district in the county in the number of its fertile and
productive farms, but it contains more well-kept home-
steads than any other rural section.
MAUCH CHUNK BOHOVGE.
The natural scenery surrounding Mauch Chunk,
which is the seat of justice of Carbon county, has been
the theme of admiration for many years.
Its picturesque and romantic situation in the
' ' Switzerland of America ' ' has justly brought the town
a fame which has long since spread beyond our own
borders.
The place is located at the confluence of Mauch
Chunk creek and the Lehigh river, and is almost en-
circled by mountains of towering and majestic propor-
tions.
Mauch Chunk derives its name from the familiar
conical formation on the eastern bank of the river, op-
posite the town, called by the Indians "Marhk
Tschunk," signifying Bear Mountain.
Whether this is an ujiheaval, or the beautifully
fashioned result of the action of ice and water through
countless ages, is an interesting question for the
lovers of geological controversy.
One's first view of it is like the lifting of a curtain
from a strange and magical picture. Whether seen in
summer, robed in green, or in autumn, with its dress
o
P
O
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 2G1
transformed into more brilliant hues, this mountain-
cone, with its glorious drapery, is the marvel of every
beholder.
South mountain, from the summit of which, during
the hours of the night, the lights of Flagstaff Park seem
to mingle with stars, its surface studded with ledges of
jutting rocks and strewn with huge boulders, rises
precipitately from the western bank of the river to the
height of a thousand feet. To the northward looms the
peak of Mount Pisgah, somewhat resembling a volcano,
which effect is at times heightened by the smoke emitted
from the stacks of the power house of the Switchback
Railroad, which stands upon its crest.
Between Mount Pisgah and South mountain flows
Mauch Chunk creek, which is arched over, while the
larger portion of the town nestles in this narrow gorge.
There is room for but a single street facing the river.
Anterior to the year 1818, the spot where Mauch
Chunk now stands was a perfect wilderness, covered
with forest trees and underbrush, affording a secure re-
treat and covert for the wild animals which had their
haunts in this mountainous region.
Where now is heard the cymbal clash of locomotive
bells and the richly rumbling bass of the stately cara-
vans of commerce and where comfort and refinement
dwell, silence then reigned supreme, except when
broken by the manifold voices of nature.
It had been known for years previous to this date
that the nearby mountains contained anthracite coal;
but up to the time spoken of, every attempt which had
been made to work the mines and convey coal to market
had soon proved abortive.
Now, however, the burden of the task which had over-
whelmed other brave spirits was assumed by Josiah
"White, Erskine Hazard and George F. A. Hanto, who
262 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
secured the lease of the mines at Summit Hill, and who
became the founders of the Lehigh Coal and Naviga-
tion Company.
Their efforts were ultimately crowned with splendid
success, and it was in connection with the great enter-
prise launched by these men that Mauch Chunk had its
beginnings and its subsequent development.
The work of improving the channel of the river and
constructing a wagon road to the mines, preparatory
to shipping coal to market from this point, was begun
during the summer of the year already alluded to.
The site of the town was selected from the emergency
of the circumstances.
Had it not been that the owners of the land at the
mouth of the Nesquehoning creek placed a prohibitive
price thereon, hoping that coal might be found beneath
its surface, that location would have been chosen.
The first improvements made at Mauch Chunk were
merely those necessary to the business of the company,
and were, of course utilitarian in character.
That the region was indeed a wilderness may be
gathered from the fact that when operations were be-
gun there were but thirteen houses visible from the
river north of Lehigh Gap.
The workmen, who were under the immediate super-
vision of Josiah White himself, were at first quar-
tered on scows that were moved down the river as the
work progressed.
During the first year of the settlement four hundred
acres of land were cleared, and about forty buildings of
various descriptions were erected.
Among these were saw mills, a grist mill, workshops
and dwellings.
Nicholas Brink, who had ]u-eviously lived in Phila-
delphia, was the companj'-'s steward. His wife, "Mar-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 963
garet, was the first woman to come to Mauch Chunk.
Soon after locating here a son was born to them, and
he was named Josiah White Erskine Hazard George
F. A. Hanto Brink. This being the first birth to occur
in the town, the inhabitants considered the event
worthy of public demonstration. "The forest was
illuminated with pine torches, plenty of pure old rye
whiskey was drunk, and the noise and dancing were so
great that it seemed as if the very tops of the pines had
caught the infection, and kept time by swaying to and
fro.""
This celebration was participated in by about six-
hundred men, the number then engaged in pushing to
completion the improvements which had been begun.
The only avenue of approach to Mauch Chunk at this
time was the line of the Lehigh and Susquehanna
turnpike.
The road lay along the margin of the river, and, in
passing through the ''Narrows" below the town, there
was room for but a single vehicle at a time. For years
it was necessary to take the precaution to send word
ahead to a place where such as came from the opposite
direction could halt and wait until passed.
In making his report, one who had visited the locality
for the purpose of examining into the jDracticability of
the projects under way, said : ''The making of a good
road is utterly impossible, and to give you an idea of
the country over which the road is to pass, I need only
say that I considered it quite an easement when the
wheel of my carriage struck a stump instead of a
stone!"
Many viewed with similar feelings of incredulity
the proposition that a town should be built where na-
ture seemed manifestly to have made it impossible.
264 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
But the men who had undertaken this enterprise were
of the kind whom obstacles only spur to greater en-
deavors, and the work went steadilv on.
In 1821, Josiah White was joined by his wife and
four children, and during the following year a com-
fortable house was provided for them. This stood im-
mediately in the rear of the spot where the Soldiers'
Monument has since been erected, and was surrounded
by spacious and well kept grounds.
Sixteen stone houses were completed on the lower
part of Broadway in 1823. The Mansion House was
begun at this time, and was finished in 1824. During
this year the ravine was given a further appearance of
being inhabited by the erection of nineteen log build-
ings above the place where the Town Hall now stands.
A stone grist mill was completed in 1825, while three
additional saw mills were placed in operation on the
river about the same time.
In 1827 the company built a wooden bridge across
the Lehigh, also putting up a fire-proof office building
adjoining the present court house.
A two-story stone building, which served as the com-
pany's store house, was put up in 1828. It stood on the
spot now occupied by the court house, and was donated
to the county upon its organization, being its first tem-
l)le of justice.
Men and manners were for the most part as rough as
the surroundings during the early period of the settle-
ment, as is commonly the case where hardy spirits are
engaged in subduing nature, and where the refining
influences of home and civilization are lacking.
Fights were of coumion occurrence, although the men
were not so much given to quai-roHug among themselves
as they were to waging war against the laborers of
Lehighton, with whom they frequently had sanguinary
encounters on their own ground.
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 265
The habitual use of intoxicating beverages, too, was
then approved by custom, and laboring men were sup-
plied with liquor by their employers.
Josiah White, sturdy Quaker though he was, made
no exception to the rule.
The men employed at Maucli Chunk were given their
whiskey as regularly as their meals, a man being kept
on the payroll whose sole duty consisted in dispensing
it, a "jiggerful" at a time to each man.
William Speers was the "jigger boss," and it was in
recognition of his first name that the allowances came
to be generally called "Billy cups."
Reference is made to this custom in a song which
was once locally popular :
''When old Mauch Chunk ivas young,
At noon they blew the horn,
And, gathering thick, came gangs of men.
And so at eve and morn.
With grace and promptitude and skill
They moistened lip and tongue.
And went to work tvith right good ivill.
When old Mauch Chunk ivas young."
Prior to 1832, the land about Mauch Chunk and the
improvements which had been made upon it were
owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
The town at that time contained about one hundred
and fifty buildings of every description, having a resi-
dent population of approximately one thousand people.
It had a church, four schools, a newspaper and print-
ing office, one hotel, an iron foundry and a car manu-
factory, while boat building was also carried on exten-
sively.
But above all, it was at the head of the Lehigh Canal,
and the boats which departed from this point laden
266 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
with coal wafted back cargoes of merchandise and
freight for a large extent of country.
The wild and picturesque location of the town, the
many novelties of the nearby coal mines, and the won-
ders of the Switchback Railroad, which was the first of
any importance in the United States, drew many visi-
tors to the place.
This railroad, following the same route then as at
present, carried the product of the mines to the plateau
at the foot of Mt. Pisgah, whence the coal was conveyed
by means of inclined planes and chutes to the river
below.
With its accustomed liberality, the company, in
1832, threw the town open to public enterprise, effect-
ing the sale or lease of a large number of lots, and in-
augurating an era of individual activity and prosperity.
Speaking of the pioneer residents of Mauch Chunk,
Josiah White and Erskine Hazard were chronologically
and in other respects the first. They were indeed
among the princes of pioneers, and their names are in-
scribed in imperishable characters on the title page of
the almost fabulous history of anthracite coal.
John Ruddle, a native of England, came here as an
accountant for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany in 1820. He was one of the earliest residents of
East Mauch Chunk, where his descendants still live.
Isaac Salkeld, accompanied by his family, arrived
here from Philadelphia in 1823. He was a general
foreman for the company, and superintended the build-
ing of the Mansion House, the gravity road to Nesque-
honing, and many other improvements.
For a time he had charge of the old Mauch Chunk
Foundry, one of the first in the state outside of Phila-
delphia. His son, Jacob, was for many years promi-
nently identified with the life and activities of Mauch
Chunk.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 267
George Belford, who was one of the company's first
employes, in later life became a coal operator and was
chosen as the first president of the Mauch Chunk Bank.
Others who were here as early as 1824, and who left
their impress upon the town were: Samuel Lippin-
cott, Benjamin Mears, Isaac Dodson, Abiel Abbot and
Alexander Lockhart.
"William Butler, a leading churchman, located in the
place in 1826 ; Ezekiel W. Harlan, later a coal operator
also came at this time.
Asa Lansford Foster, who achieved substantial suc-
cess in various fields of endeavor, arrived in the set-
tlement in 1827.
Joseph H. Chapman came during the ensuing year.
He was a man of many activities, but in later life had
charge of the coal shipping department of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company.
Daniel Bertsch, prominent among the early coal
operators, and in other respects, came here as a black-
smith in 1827.
John Leisenring, Sr., a native of Lehigh county,
with his family, came in 1828 to become the landlord
of the Mansion House. Later he was a merchant and
general business man. The name of his eldest son,
John, is intimately associated with the development of
the transportation facilities of the Lehigh Valley; he
also became a wealthy coal operator. Another son, A.
W. Leisenring, became a leader in the financial affairs
of Mauch Chunk.
The year 1833 witnessed the coming of one who was
destined to become one of the foremost men of his
day, Asa Packer. He was accompanied by his brother-
in-law, James I. Blakslee.
During the same year, Kobert Klotz, a native of the
Mahoning Valley, began life as a mule driver on the
268 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
towpath at ]\Iaiicli Clinnk. He was later a conspicuous
figure in the town, and represented his district in
congress.
Among the best known of the comparatively early
settlers was Colonel John Lentz, a veteran of the war
of 1812, and a native of Lehigh county. He was a
leader in the movement which resulted in the organ-
ization of Carbon county, under which he subsequently
held various offices of trust and honor, being also a
hotel keeper. His son, Lafayette Lentz, is one of
Mauch Chunk's oldest and most respected residents of
to-day.
Others of subsequent prominence who made Mauch
Chunk their home during the first twenty-five years of
its existence were: E. A. Douglass and his brother,
A. A. Douglass, the former an official of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company, and the latter a coal
operator; A. G. Brodhead, the well known railroad
man, and Charles 0. Skeer, a leader in the coal in-
dustry and in business and financial affairs.
The first mercantile establishment to be opened in
Mauch Chunk after the discontinuance of the company
store was the famous "corner store," which occupied
the site where the Navigation Building now stands. It
was originally owned by Asa L. Foster, who had for-
merly conducted the company store, Benjamin 1^. Mc-
Connell and James Broderick.
This was the principal establishment of its kind be-
tween the Susquehanna and the Delaware, and many
of the farmers of the first named region disposed of
their surplus products here, and the fact that they
received cash in exchange, instead of being asked to do
business on the basis of barter, which was then the
custom in most rural neigli])orhoods, made the market
a very desirable one to them. The store was so con-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 269
striicted that boats could be floated beneath it and un-
loaded by wheel and axle through hatches in the floors
of the building.
After a few years, Mr. Foster became the sole owner
of the establishment, and in 1837 he sold out to Asa and
E. W. Packer. They carried on the business until
about the middle of the next decade, being succeeded
by Hiram Wolf, Harry Wilbur and David Trehorn,
under the title of Wolf, Wilbur and Company.
Casper Christman, James Speer, Nathan Fegley and
Company and John Kent and Company were among
those who early entered into business in the town.
John Leisenring, Sr., was a leading merchant from
1840 until his death, which occurred in 1854.
The pioneering spirit which distinguished the build-
ers of Mauch Chunk was made particularly manifest
in the realm of invention.
John Wilson, whose trade was that of a tinker, and
who was one of the first men to come to the locality,
made the first heating stove to burn anthracite coal. It
was a plain, round, sheet-iron cylinder, with fire-door,
tearing-door, ash pit and a screen under the grate. It
also contained a j^an to receive the ashes.
Wilson, too, is said to have been the maker of the
first cook-stove successfully burning hard coal. He
was of a humorous disposition, and delighted to be
called '^ John Wulson, the tinker."
Asa L. Foster did a great deal of experimenting in
the endeavor to perfect the coal-burning stove, and
many of his ideas were utilized by John Mears, a
worker in iron and tin, who engaged in the manufac-
ture of stoves in the place.
The first attempt attended with any considerable suc-
cess to utilize anthracite coal in the smelting of iron
ore in this countrv was made at Mauch Chunk.
270 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
White and Hazard, the managers of the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company began to experiment in this
direction in 1825, when they erected a blast furnace,
together with a tilt-mill and forge on the site where the
Broadway livery and boarding stables now stand.
The knowledge they acquired was later turned to good
account, but produced no immediate results, the fur-
nace being abandoned and another built on adjoining
ground, in which charcoal was used.
In the fall of 1837, the old furnace was again jfitted
up and the experiment retried by Henry High, Joseph
Baughman, F. C. Lanthrop and Julius Guiteau. The
result encouraged them to go on with their work, al-
though they were ridiculed by old-fashioned iron mas-
ters, who affirmed their readiness to eat all the iron
that could be manufactured in this manner.
To test the matter more thoroughly, a small furnace
was built below the weigh-lock, which was completed
during the summer of 1838.
After overcoming many difficulties, the furnace was
made to produce iron of good quality, but the venture
was not financially successful.
A few years later, however, the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company promoted the building of the first
blast furnaces of the Crane Iron Company at Cata-
sauqua, where success was achieved from the start.
A foundry started by the first-named company near
the old furnace on Broadway was sold about 1830 to
John Fatzinger. He and Jacob H. Salkeld carried on
the establishment for many years.
The Mauch Chunk Iron Works, until recently owned
by the estate of W. IT. Stroh, were opened by Edward
Lippincott and Elias Miner in 1845. Formerly a fur-
nace was conducted in connection with the plant, but
this feature was found unprofitable and was aban-
doned.
T—l
z;
So
^ as
o
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 271
One of the thriving industries of Mauch Chunk in
earlier times was the wire mill established by the Le-
high Coal and Navigation Company in 1849. Opera-
tions were first carried on in the old grist mill building
on Susquehanna street, and later another building was
added. All the wire rope used by the company was
manufactured here, the process having been evolved
by Erskine Hazard. The works were closed in 1872
and the industry transferred to Wilkes-Barre.
The grist mill property referred to occupied the spot
where the establishment of the Hooven Mercantile
Company is now situated.
In 1875, Ario Pardee opened a steam rolling mill on
the corner where the Central Hotel has since been
built. Alexander Robinson conducted the business.
Among the other local industries which are still in
existence is the West End Brewery, formerly owned by
John R. G. Weysser ; the Mauch Chunk Silk Mills, and
the repair shops of the Central Railroad of New
Jersey.
Mauch Chunk was incorporated as a borough on
January 26, 1850. At that time the population of the
place was about twenty-five hundred, which included
the people living in East Mauch Chunk, which was not
separated from the older settlement until 1854. Both
boroughs were set off from Mauch Chunk township.
At the first municipal election Charles 0. Skeer, E.
W . Harlan, Joseph Bullock, Jacob H. Salkeld, Leonard
Blakslee and J. R. Twining were elected as councilmen.
They chose E. W. Harlan as burgess at their first
meeting.
Upper Mauch Chunk, constituting the Second Ward
of the borough, and occupying a natural terrace over-
looking the rest of the town, was laid out for building
purposes in 1846. The first settler in this neighbor-
07 HISTOKY OF CARBON rOUNTY.
hood was David Pratt, who lived in the vicinity as
early as 1823. Elliot Lockhart, Philip Swank, Nathan
Tubbs, Joseph Weyhenmeyer and Charles Faga were
other early residents. This section of the town has
from the beginning been principally a locality of
homes.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad, which has been a factor
of vital importance in the life of ]\Iauch Chunk was
placed in operation between here and Easton in the
fall of 1855. During the days of its infancy, the head-
quarters of the road were located here, and for many
years the work of important departments was centered
in Mauch Chunk.
The same may be said of the Lehigh and Susque-
hanna Railroad, which was built during the next de-
cade by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, and
later leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
The interests of the town are now more closely cen-
tered in the latter road than the former, since Mauch
Chunk is an important division point of the Central
Railroad of New Jersey.
Owing to the height and steepness which character-
ize the mountains of the region, and the rapidity with
which smaller streams pour their water into the river
during periods of heavy rains or melting snows, the
valley of the Lehigh is subject to sudden floods, which
have at various times resulted in the destruction of
many lives and much valuable property.
Mauch Chunk has suffered severely in a number of
these floods. It has also had one costly fire.
The first of these floods was that of June 9, 1841,
which was a disastrous one throughout the valley. Sev-
eral residents of the town were drowned, among the
number, Adam Boers and his family. Quite a number
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 273
of buildings were also washed awaj^, together with the
bridge across the Lehigh at the Mansion House.
The fire alluded to occurred on July 15, 1849, and the
business portion of the place was laid in ashes.
About thirty buildings including the court house
and jail, were consumed, entailing a loss of one hun-
dred thousand dollars.
When the flames attacked the jail, the prisoners
were set free. The fire taking place during the day
time, the county records were saved.
The freshet of 1862 was the most memorable event
of its kind in the history of the Lehigh Valley. One
hundred and fifty people were drowned, while the prop-
erty loss was almost beyond calculation. A heavy and
continuous rain, which commenced on the third of June,
caused a rapid rise in the Lehigh and its tributary
streams above Mauch Chunk. On the afternoon of the
succeeding day, the force of the flood broke the booms
in the vicinity of White Haven, thus casting adrift a
large quantity of saw-logs and other timber to pursue
an almost resistless course down the river. The dams
on the Lehigh Canal were gradually battered down,
and the pent up force thus released heightened the
intensity of the flood.
The water attained its extreme height in the neigh-
borhood of Mauch Chunk at about midnight. At the
Mansion House it rose thirty feet above the usual low-
water mark, reaching the second story of the building.
About half the buildings on the lower portion of Sus-
quehanna street were washed away. Six lives were
lost in this immediate vicinity during the continuance
of the flood, while many thrilling escapes from death
were recorded.
The most marvellous of these was that of Leonard
Yeager, who yet lives in Mauch Chunk. He was caught
274 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
at his place of business on Susquehanna street by a
sudden rise of the flood, and surrounded by wreckage
and drift-wood was swept away through the darkness.
Near Packerton he succeeded in climbing aboard a
floating canal boat upon which he rode over the town
of Weissport and on to Parryville. At the latter place
he escaped from his jjerilous position by grasping the
limb of a tree overhanging the river, making his way
back to land.
The canal between Mauch Chunk and White Haven
was almost completely demolished by the flood, and
was never rebuilt. It required the labor of between
two and three thousand men and six hundred horses or
mules during more than four months to repair the
damages to the canal between Mauch Chunk and Al-
lentown. The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company also
sustained heavy losses as a result of the flood.
In recent years, Mauch Chunk, in common with other
towns in the Lehigh Valley was several times devas-
tated by disastrous floods.
The first of these occurred on August 24, 1901. On
this occasion Mauch Chunk creek, which flows beneath
Broadway burst its confines and engulfed Jesse
Struthers, Harry Haggerty, William J. Morgan and
Patrick Johnson, who were drowned.
Another freshet visited the region about the middle
of December during the same year, destroying hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars worth of property be-
tween Mauch Chunk and Lehigh Gap.
On February 28, 1902, a veritable cloud burst raised
the Lehigh several feet beyond the point attained in
December. The l)ridge at the Mansion House was
washed away by this flood, railroad traffic was par-
alyzed for weeks, and the damage to property in all
parts of the county was enormous.
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 275
Among the institutions and utilities of Mauch
Chunk, the postoffice, established in the year 1819, was
the first. For years there were but two mails a week.
In 1829, the postal facilities had been so far im-
proved that the number of mails arriving at and dis-
patched from the town numbered thirty-eight each
week. During this year the company controlling the
Union line of mail coaches established connections be-
tween this place and Philadelphia. Another route, ex-
tending from Mauch Chunk to Pottsville, was opened
in 1831.
Erskine Hazard was the first postmaster, he being
succeeded by Josiah White. Many other prominent
citizens have held the office since their day. John
Leisenring, Sr., who was the incumbent from 1831
until 1847, and Mrs. Jane F. Righter, who was post-
mistress from 1860 until 1880, served the longest terms.
The free delivery of the mail was instituted in the
borough in 1906, and during the following year a postal
sub-station was opened in Upper Mauch Chunk. At
the same time a rural route, running through Beaver
Run and Bloomingdale Valleys was started. This
office was designated as a postal savings bank in 1911.
Asa Packer secured the charter for the Mauch Chunk
Water Company in 1849. The source of supply is the
valley of Mauch Chunk creek, and the water furnished
the town is excellent for its purity and health giving
properties.
The Upper Mauch Chunk Water Company was or-
ganized in the spring of 1872, the prime movers in the
enterprise being E. F. Luckenbach and James Ross.
James I. Blakslee was the leader in the establish-
ment of the Mauch Chunk Gas Company. The com-
pany was chartered in 1854. Its capital stock now is
$45,000, and its president is H. A. Butler.
19
276 HISTORY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
The Maiich Chunk Heat, Power, and Electric Light
Company was incorporated in 1889. E. B. Leisenring
was the first president, while "WilFiam 0. Lentz is now
the head of the company. The generating plant is run
by water power, but a steam equipment is also main-
tained for emergency purposes.
The iDioneer monetary institution of Mauch Chunk
was the private bank of Rockwood, Hazard and Com-
pany. The bank was established in 1852 with a capital
stock of fifty thousand dollars, and was in existence for
five years.
The Mauch Chunk State Bank was chartered in 1855,
Hiram Wolf being its president, and A. W. Leisenring,
cashier. Its successor was the First National Bank of
Mauch Chunk, which was organized in 1863, beginning
with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars.
Two years later its capital was quadrupled. AVilliam
Lilly and A. W, Butler originally served as president
and cashier, respectively.
Early in 1903 this bank was consolidated with the
Linderman National Bank, forming the Mauch Chunk
National Bank of to-day. This bank is a depositary of
the United States and of the State of Pennsjdvania.
It has a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, and has accumulated a large surplus. M. S.
Kemmerer is its president, while Ira G. Ross holds the
position of cashier. S. S. Smith is the assistant
cashier.
The Second National Bank of IMauch Chunk was
chartered in 1864, continuing for a period of thirty-
eight years. Charles Albright served as president of
the institution until his death, in 1880, being succeeded
by Thomas L. Foster, who had previously been the
cashier.
With the expiration of its charter, at the close of the
year 1902, this bank was succeeded by the Mauch
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 277
Chunk Trust Comi3any, the only institution of its kind
in the county. The capital of the company is one hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars, and its surplus is
equal to half that aruount. J. M. Dreisbach, who was
the last president of the Second National Bank, has
been at the head of the trust company since its organi-
zation. His son, George Dreisbach, is its secretary
and treasurer.
The banking house of G. B. Linderman and Company
was established in 1867, conducting business prosper-
ously under that title until 1882, when the Linderman
National Bank was chartered. As has been shown,
this bank was merged with the present national bank.
The first newspajjer issued here was the Lehigh
Pioneer and Mauch Chunk Courier, which was estab-
lished by Asa Lansford Foster in 1829. Its editor and
publisher was Amos Sisty, who came to this place from
Berwick. This was the forerunner of the Mauch Chunk
Daily Times and was for years the only newspaper in
the Lehigh coal region.
It had many owners, and was successively known as
the Mauch Chunk Courier, the Carbon County Transit,
the Mauch Chunk Gazette, and the Mauch Chunk Coal
Gazette.
During the Rebellion, its equipment was for a time
used by H. V. Morthimer in the publication of the
Union Flag.
The Mauch Chunk Daily Times was started by 0. B.
Sigley in 1883. In 1908 the property was acquired by
James J. Boyle, the present editor and proprietor, who
also publishes the Mauch Chunk Coal Gazette.
Enos Tolen, in 1847, founded the Carbon Democrat,
which after many changes and vicissitudes gave birth
to the Mauch Chunk Daily News.
Joseph Lynn became the owner of this paper in 1870,
changing its name to the Mauch Chunk Democrat. In
278 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
1878 E. H. Rauch started a rival paper known as the
Carbon County Democrat. After a few years the
papers were merged under the name of the former.
Mr. Ranch soon acquiring the ownership. He and his
son, Lawrence, the present owner of the Mauch Chunk
Daily News started that journal in 1893, and under the
latter, the Matich Chunk Democrat was published until
1911, when it was suspended.
The first regularly organized school in Mauch Chunk
was opened in 1821 in a log-house owned by the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company. It was taught by
Margaret Saunders, a native of New Jersey. Two
years after this, a second school was opened, which, in
later years, was presided over by James Nowlins ''The
Irish School Master, ' ' who had many eccentricities, and
who was one of the most picturesque characters in the
early annals of the town. The ''Slab School House"
was built in 1824, being subsequently lathed and pebble-
dashed. In addition to Nowlins, Amos Singley and
Joseph H. Siewers were prominent teachers prior to
the organization of the borough. In 1840, the "Valley
School House" which occupied the site of the present
high school building was erected, being then consid-
ered as a model of its kind. The juoneer school of
Upper Mauch Chunk was established about 1842.
The high school of the borough was founded in 1855,
being originally located in a building which had for-
merly belonged to Park Seminary, a private school,
which, after a short career was closed owing to a lack
of patronage. The expense of maintaining the high
school was at first equally a])]iortioned l)otwoon the
borough and those attending the school.
During the winter of 1858, a new schoolhouse was
built at the Northern Liberties, just north of the point
whore the bi-idgo crosses the river to East ^faueh
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 279
Cliiink. This was afterwards known as the "Fort
Sumter School. "
At the time of the Rebellion this little settlement con-
tained fourteen homes and two boarding houses, and
more than forty-five volunteers went forth from here
in defense of the Union. Most of these were of Irish
birth or extraction. Strangely enough, the same lo-
cality also furnished one soldier for the Confederate
armv.
The first principal of the schools of the borough upon
whom supervisory powers were conferred was Laird
H. Barber, in 1877.
Among those still living who as instructors contrib-
uted notably to the success of the schools of Mauch
Chunk, is James W. Swank, famous as a penman, now
of Washington, D. C.
The high school building now in use was completed
in 1885, costing nearly forty thousand dollars. In 1905
the Asa Packer School, in Upper Mauch Chunk was
dedicated, being furnished, equipped and decorated by
Mary Packer Cummings, the daughter of him in whose
honor the building is named.
She was the most liberal friend of the cause of
popular education in the history of the town, regularly
contributing several thousand dollars annually toward
the maintenance of the schools, besides making many
additional contributions.
The excellent equiioment and the high standard of
efficienc}^ of the educational system of the borough has
largely been made possible through her generosity.
Her death occurred in 1912.
The parochial schools conducted by the church of the
Immaculate Conception were established in 1884, dur-
ing the rectorship of Rev. M. A. Bunce.
280 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Maucli Chunk lias a very tliorough fire-fighting or-
ganization consisting of three well equipped and dis-
ciplined companies, the nucleus of which was formed
in 1833.
The oldest of these organizations is Marion Hose
Company No. 1, formed in 1853. After a short period
the company disbanded, and the citizens of the town
did fire duty without organization until 1866, when the
company was re-organized.
The Phoenix Hose Company had its inception in
1868. After some years this company also disbanded,
being re-organized in 1872.
In 1874 the Diligent Fire Company of Upper Mauch
Chunk was founded. Asa P. Blakslee is the present
chief of the fire department of the borough.
The oldest hotel in the place is the Mansion House,
which was first known as the Mauch Chunk Inn. Va-
rious additions have been built to the stone structure
which comprised the original building. Edward Kim-
ball was the first regularly installed landlord of this
famous hostelry, which in the days of its splendor was
frequented by the wealth and beauty of America.
Formerly, too, it was the anthracite coal exchange,
the operators from all parts of the hard coal regions
gathering here periodically in the conduct of their busi-
ness and for the adjustment of their affairs.
Mr. Kimball was succeeded bj'^ John Leisenring, Sr.,
who was a very ])opular landlord. The building was
owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
until 1873, when the title was vested in the Mansion
House Hotel (Company. It is now the property of D. E.
Purcell and William Dods.
Cornelius Connor, in 1833, erected the White Swan
Hotel on the site now occu})ied by the American House.
This was a frame structure, and was destroyed by the
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. 281
fire of 1849, after which event the present building,
which has since been enlarged, was put up.
One of the landmarks of Mauch Chunk in by-gone
days was the Broadway House, which stood on the spot
where the building of the Young Men's Christian As-
sociation has since been erected. It was surrounded
by towering pines, while the great rocks protruding
from the ground around its base gave it a wild and
picturesque appearance. This hotel was built by
Daniel Bertsch in 1833. It was while seated within its
hospitable portals, gazing at the terraced gardens on
the opposite side of the street, that a traveling man
once remarked : "Well, I have seen places before hav-
ing eleven-story buildings, but this is the only town
with eleven-story gardens that I have ever visited!"
The Central Hotel, which is owned by Peter Schwei-
binz, was built in 1889.
The first' religious services held in Mauch Chunk,
aside from the meetings of the Friends, or Quakers,
who were among the earliest settlers, were conducted
in the wheel-wright shop of James McCrea at the
"Bear Trap," where the opera house now stands.
The locality was thus designated by the pioneers of
the town, after the waggish remark of one of Josiah
White's workmen, who, being questioned by some
curious strangers concerning the purpose of an experi-
mental contrivance that was being tested in the creek
at this point, replied: "We are making a bear trap."
The organization which had its meeting place here
was known as a Lord's Day school, of which James
Bigger s was superintendent. From this source sprang
a neat frame church, the pulpit of which was open to
all denominations. It eventually became the property
of the Methodists, who, in the autumn of 1828, effected
282 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
a church organization. William Coder, a local
preacher, was the father of this congregation. Origi-
nally the church formed a part of a six weeks' circuit,
embracing the country between the boundaries indi-
cated by the Delaware river, Stroudsburg, the Broad
mountain and Pottsville. In 1838 Mauch Chunk be-
came for the first time a station. The present build-
ing, the third that has been owned by this congrega-
tion was dedicated early in 1874 by the late Bishop
Simpson.
St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal parish, the mother
of nearly all the churches of this denomination in the
Lehigh Valley, was organized in May, 1835. The con-
gregation had its inception in the year 1829, when Wil-
liam H. Sayre, who had come to Mauch Chunk from
Columbia county, began its upbuilding. He served as
lay reader until a clergyman was called.
In 1836 the parish was admitted into union with the
Diocese of Pennsylvania, while three years thereafter
the Sunday school was organized. The first church
edifice was begun in 1840, completed in 1845, and con-
secrated in 1852. The present building, which is de-
signed with special reference to the surrounding scen-
ery and which is one of the most beautiful and impos-
ing structures of its kind in Pennsylvania, was begun
in 1867, being consecrated two years later.
The Packer memorial altar and reredos, a costly
work of art, and the crowning feature of the interior
of the church, was erected by the family of the late Asa
Packer, one of the founders, and for many years a
vestryman and warden of St. Mark's.
The parish building, adjoining the church, which is
a model of its kind, was also built as a memorial to Asa
Packer, the donor l)eing his widow, Sarah M. Packer.
Interior St. ^Mark's Church, ^Mauch Chunk, Showing Packer
Memorial Altar and Reredos.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 283
This parish has always taken an active part in
diocesan affairs, and has manifested a lively interest
in the general work of the church.
Various affluent members of the church have left it
liberal bequests, and it now is richly endowed.
The First Presbyterian church was organized in No-
vember, 1835. During that year, Rev. Richard Web-
ster, then located at Easton, and engaged in mission-
ary work far and near, began preaching here once a
month. Nominally he was the founder of the church,
and he served as its pastor until 1856.
The first church building of the congregation was
dedicated in 1837. It was small and was built of stone,
being soon outgrown. The present fine building was
begun in 1855, and was completed and dedicated four
years later.
Like St. Mark's, this congregation has had many
prominent and wealthy families on its rolls, and they
have given freely and largely to the church and its
benevolences.
The land upon which the first church of the Immacu-
late Conception was built was acquired by Rev. Pat-
rick J. Hennegan in 1849; the erection of the church
building was begun during the following year.
The history of Mauch Chunk as an independent
parish begins with the pastorate of Rev. P. J. Coffey,
who came here in April, 1853. It was during his time
that the Asiatic cholera desolated the region. The
good priest was assisted in giving the last rites of the
church to the victims of this dread scourge by the ven-
erable Bishop Neuman, of Philadelphia, the only Amer-
ican whose name has yet been invested with the honors
of sainthood under the authority of the Catholic
church.
284 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
The cornerstone of the magnificent new church was
laid during the rectorship of the present pastor, Eev.
T. J. Larkin, on June 24, 1906; and the building was
dedicated on October 4, 1908.
The Church of the Sacred Heart at Nesquehoning
forms a part of this parish.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church was organ-
ized in 1857 by Rev. E. A. Bauer. Services of this de-
nomination were conducted in Mauch Chunk as early
as 1835 by Rev. F. W. Meendson. The first house of
worship owned by the congregation was the old stone
church which had formerly belonged to the Presby-
terians. Its present building in Upper Mauch Chunk
was dedicated in 1879.
Ebenezer United Evangelical church was built in
1895, the congregation being the offspring of the
church of the Evangelical Association, which was
founded in Upper Mauch Chunk in 1857.
Henry H. Webster, son of the founder of the First
Presbyterian church, was the leading spirit in the
establishment of the local branch of the Young Men's
Christian Association.
The present society originated in a Railroad Men's
Christian Association which was formed by Mr.
Webster in Upper Mauch Chunk in the Spring of
1878. This organization was succeeded by that which
is now in existence in 1889. The home of the associa-
tion at the time of its dedication, in 1894, was one of
the finest in the United States. The building, together
with the location, cost nearly seventy thousand dol-
lars, which sum was raised by popular subscription.
Concert Hall, or the ()]iera House, owned by the mu-
nicipality, and opened in 1882, was l)uilt jointly by the
borough and a number of public-spirited citizens. It
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 285
stands upon ground formerly occupied by the market
house and town hall.
The Dimmick Memorial Library, which contains
about twelve thousand volumes, was built from a fund
bequeathed to the town by Milton M., son of Milo M.
Dimmick, a prominent Mauch Chunk lawyer and for-
mer congressman, whose name it commemorates. The
giver died in 1886, while the library was completed in
1890. The original fund amounted to forty-five thou-
sand dollars, which sum, by judicious handling, has
now been increased to fifty thousand dollars.
Mauch Chunk Lodge, No. 76, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, is the oldest among the secret societies
of the town. It was instituted in 1842.
There are three bodies of the time honored Masonic
fraternity in the place. Carbon Lodge, No. 242, was
chartered on December 27, 1849. Lilly Chapter, No.
181, Royal Arch Masons, was constituted on December
6, 1855, being named in honor of General William
Lilly. Packer Commandery, No. 23, Knights Templar,
the namesake of R. A. Packer, was instituted Septem-
ber 28, 1866. The majority of the best men of the town
have been identified with the fraternity, and their in-
fluence and stability have rendered it prominent and
prosperous.
Mauch Chunk Lodge, No. 193, Knights of Pythias,
was organized on October 19, 1869.
Most of the patriotic and beneficial societies com-
mon to the region have also been established here.
Chapman Post, No. 61, Grand Army of the Republic,
was named for Major Lansford F. Chapman, one of
the many intrepid officers contributed to the cause of
the Union by Carbon county. He was killed at the
battle of Chancellorsville.
286 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
It was under the auspices of Chapman Post that the
Carbon County Soldiers' Monument, standing near the
court house, was erected. It was dedicated in 1886.
General Daniel E. Sickles, one of the heroes of Gettys-
burg, was the orator of the occasion.
The cemetery in Upper Mauch Chunk was laid out
in 1823 b}^ the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
It is the only burying ground in the town, and it con-
tains the remains of most of the men whose enterprise
and influence, together with the lavish gifts of nature,
gave to Mauch Chunk a celebrity out of all proportion
to her population. The cemetery is graced by several
notable examples of memorial architecture.
Mauch Chunk and its surroundings hold a perennial
charm for tourists and excursionists, who annually
visit the locality with increasing numbers. The
Switchback Railway, extending from here to Summit
Hill, continues to be one of the chief attractions. It
is operated chiefly for the accommodation of sight-
seers from May to November of each year.
Flagstaff Park, reached by the line of the Carbon
Transit Company, has in recent years become a popu-
lar resort. The name Flagstaff came into vogue about
half a century ago. At that time, upon the very sum-
mit of the mountain stood a hemlock tree, in all its
stately grandeur, imtil one day during a severe storm
it was struck by lightning, which divested it of its bark
and branches, leaving the trunk uniniured.
At the opening of the Civil War, a party of young
men nailed to this staff a flag bearing the stars and
stripes, which here remained until torn to shreds by
the bleak storms of winter. During the Franco-Prus-
sian War, some sympathizing friends imfurled tlie
Prussian flag from tlie same staff. But it was destined
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 287
to a sacl fate, for on tlie ensuing night the partisans of
the French felled the famous flagstaff to the ground.
On July 4, 1898, when the successful conduct of the
Spanish- American War was stirring the patriotism of
the nation, a cable was strung from the Flagstaff to
the summit of Bear mountain, on the opposite side of
the Lehigh, from which the largest flag ever swung to
the breeze in America was suspended. It was over
seventy-five feet long and fifty feet wide.
CHAPTER XVIL
MAUCH CHUNK TOWNSHIP.
In considering the value of their natural resources,
Mauch Chunk stands first among the townships of Car-
bon county, while in poi)ulation it is second only to
Banks, which leads by a small margin. Together with
the boroughs within its borders, it contains the richest
deposits of anthracite coal known to exist in the world.
The township was organized in 1827, its territory
being taken principally from East Penn, while a small
portion was taken from Lausanne, and subsequently
a tract of land east of the Lehigh river was added.
This addition was equal in size to about one-third
of the township as at first constituted.
The Nesquehoning creek, forming the northern
boundary, flows eastwardly and empties into the Le-
high opposite Coalport. The valley drained by this
stream lies between the Broad mountain on the north
and Locust mountain on the south. The last named
forms an angle with Sharp mountain, which extends
westwardly into Schujikill county. Mount Pisgah, on
the Lehigh, and INIount Jefferson, near Summit Hill,
tower above the summit of this mountain. The j\Ia-
honing mountain lies on the southern border of the
township. Between this and Sharp mountain Mauch
Chunk creek flows eastwardly into the Lehigh. Be-
tween Locust and Sharp mountains is the Panther
Creek Valley, where most of the coal in the township
is deposited.
The Landing tavern, situated at tlie .iuuction of the
Nesquehoning creek and the Lehigh, was the first dot
288
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 289
of civilization to appear upon this wild and moun-
tainous tract, so entirely forbidding in appearance, yet
containing a vast concealed treasure, which, when
found, brought wealth and comfort to thousands. The
spot where it stood was known as Lausanne. This tav-
ern, erected at an early period in the last century, was
the resort of hunters, surveyors, prospectors for coal,
raftsmen and the occasional travelers who found their
way into the picturesque but desolate valley of the
Upper Lehigh. It was built at about the time of the
opening of the Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike, the
line of which diverged from the river at this point, fol-
lowing a more direct course over the mountains toward
Berwick.
A man named Abram Klotz is suppposed to have
been the first landlord of this famous old tavern. For
a time it was kept by John Rothermel, father of the
celebrated artist of that name. Another landlord was
Isaac A. Chapman, who was appointed postmaster of
Lausanne in 1817. The last keejDer of the tavern,
which was abandoned about 1873, was Jacob Buss.
It was the intention of the founders of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company to locate their principal
town at Lausanne; but the owners of the land there
refused to part with it for a fair price, with the result
that the present site of Mauch Chunk was chosen.
The boroughs of Mauch Chunk, East Mauch Chunk,
Summit Hill and Lansford are situated in this town-
ship. Nesquehoning is now the only town of any great
importance in the district which has not been incor-
porated. Excepting that many of its workmen own
their own homes, most of the real estate in the town-
ship belongs to the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany, and the mining and shipping of coal is the pre-
ponderating industry.
290 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Nesquelioning is, next to Summit Hill, the oldest of
the mining towns of this company. The name is of
Indian origin, signifying narroiv valley.
The coal produced at Nesquelioning was originally
carried to Mauch Chunk on the Rhume Run gravity
railroad, along the line of the present electric road be-
tween the two places. This railroad was built in 1830.
For years mules were employed to haul the empty cars
back to the mines, being later displaced by a wood-
burning locomotive, which was brought across the
mountains from Tamaqua by teams. The gravity road
was abandoned upon the building of the Nesquehoning
Valley Railroad, since controlled by the Central Rail-,
road of New Jersey.
The first house here was built for Thomas Kelly in
1824. One of the memorable events in the early his-
tory of the town was the celebration of the centenary
of Washington's birth, in 1832. The people of Lehigh-
ton, Mauch Chunk, Lausanne and other places partici-
pated in this patriotic function, one of the features
of which was a great dinner, given at the home of N.
Allen.
This locality was at first popularly known as ''HelPs
Kitchen," or ''the Kitchen."
Packer, Harlan & Company held the first lease of
the mines at Nesquehoning, which were subsequently
operated by various firms. Since 1867, they have been
worked directly by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company.
Years ago it was thought that most of the available
coal had been exhausted, but later developments jiroved
this view to have been very erroneous, and at the
present rate of production there is still sufficient coal
remaining unmined in this district to last for an in-
definite period.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 291
The first breaker at Nesquelioning was run by water
power, and it is believed that with a single exception
it was the only one thus operated in the anthracite
region.
The mines of this section are now drained by a
tunnel four and one-half miles in length, extending
from Nesquehoning to Coalport, near Mauch Chunk.
This tunnel, which cost a fabulous sum, was begun in
1906 and completed early in 1912. It is the purpose
of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company to ex-
tend it westward through the Panther Creek Valley,
perhaps as far as Tamaqua.
The first school here was started in 1830. There
are now two school buildings in the place, one of which
accommodates the township high school. Twenty-two
schools are maintained throughout the township, and
a supervisory principal is employed.
A postoffice was established at Nesquehoning in 1838
with Joseph ]\Iinehard in charge. It was at first kept
at the store of the company operating the colliery. In
1910, the office was raised to the presidential rank.
St. Patrick's Eoman Catholic church, the first house
of worship to be erected between Mauch Chunk and
Tamaqua, was built in 1839, under the leadership of
Rev. James Maloney. For some time it was attended
by missionaries from Easton, and services were held
only a few times each year. About 1848, Rev. Patrick
J. Hennegan, a conspicuous figure in the early history
of Catholicity in this portion of the coal fields, ap-
peared upon the scene. He was at first stationed at
Tamaqua, and had a large field of labor. In 1850, he
took up his residence at Nesquehoning. The only re-
minder of this church is the graveyard which adjoined
it, in which lie the remains of many of the first Catho-
lics of Mauch Chunk, who worshipped here before the
20
292 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
organization of a church of their faith at that place.
The church of the Sacred Heart is the successor of that
first named.
The Methodist Episcopal church was organized in
1863 by Eev. Henry H. Davis. David Trevarrow was a
local preacher of the congregation. The present build-
ing was dedicated in 1890, and is a memorial to James
Meeds, a former resident of Nesquehoning, who con-
tributed liberally towards its erection.
The First Baptist church of Summit Hill is the
mother of the church of that denomination at Nesque-
honing.
St. Mary's Greek Catholic church, a handsome struc-
ture costing sixteen thousand dollars, was built in 1910.
It is a mission of St. John's church of Lansford.
For some years past the town has been furnished
with water by the Panther Valley Water Company, and
it is lighted by the Panther Valley Electric Light, Heat
and Power Company. The Tamaqua and Lansford
Street Railway was placed in operation between here
and Mauch Chunk in 1903.
Nesquehoning Hose Company No. 1 was organized
in 1009, and a substantial fire house was built in 1911.
The only industry independent of the mines is the
plant of the Mauch Chunk Silk Mill Company, built
here in 1910. Charles Neast is the president of this
company.
The mines at Hacklebernie, owned by the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company, and situated near
Mauch Chunk, were opened in the early days and o]ier-
ated by many different companies. The village that
grew up about these workings is named after a town in
England.
The output of these mines was formerly sent to
market over the Switchback Railroad, but the coal is
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 293
now carried underground to the breaker at Nesque-
honing. David Purcell and James Breslin, operating
under the name of the Hacklebernie Coal Company,
held the last lease of this property.
Hanto, located in the Nesquehoning Valley, across
the mountain from Lansford, is the namesake of
George F. A. Hanto, who was one of the founders of
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
This company is now erecting a mammoth electrical
power house at this point, which will cost several
millions of dollars. The plant, when completed, will
transmit electricity to New York, Philadelphia, and
other distant cities, the theory being that this can be
done more cheaply than to ship the coal required for
generating i^urposes.
Coalport is at the head of the Lehigh Canal, where
boats take on their cargoes of coal for shipment to
Philadelphia and intermediate places.
Little Italy, a settlement of recent growth, is sit-
uated on Locust mountain, near Nesquehoning. The
place is inhabitated exclusively by Italians.
Bloomingdale is a small farming community lying
between the Sharp and Mahoning mountains, near
Summit Hill.
PACKER TOWNSHIP.
The namesake of Hon. Asa Packer, who was then
one of the associate judges on the bench of Carbon
county. Packer township was organized in the year
1847. Like Banks and Lehigh townships, Packer was
carved from Lausanne. The Broad mountain extends
through the entire length of the southern and middle
portion of the township, while the Spring mountain
lies in the northern part. Between these mountains
is Quakake Valley, extending from east to west
294 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
through the township, and containing all the land that
is now under cultivation therein. It is watered by the
Quakake creek, rising on the Spring mountain, in the
western part of Banks township, and flowing east-
wardly through Packer and Lehigh townships to Penn
Haven, where it empties into the Lehigh river. The
Mahanoy division of the Lehigh Valley Railroad runs
l)arallel to Quakake creek through the township. A
great deal of coal and other freight from the Schuyl-
kill region passes over this branch, and formerly ex-
cellent passenger service was maintained; but shortly
subsequent to the deal whereby the Philadelphia &
Eeading Company for a time secured control of the
Lehigh Valley, the passenger service was abandoned.
Hudsondale and Gerhards are places within the town-
ship where the company maintains sidetracks or yards
for the convenience of shippers or receivers of freight.
Hudsondale was formerly known as Hartz's Station,
so named in honor of Colonel Jacob Hartz, one of the
early settlers of this locality, then one of the stopping
places on the line of the Lehigh and Susquehanna turn-
pike, running from Berwick to Easton.
That portion of this old highway leading from Hud-
sondale to Mauch Chunk was allowed to fall into dis-
repair and was finally abandoned to travel about 1885.
It is now however being rebuilt in a most substan-
tial manner, the cost being defrayed jointly by the
county and the state.
Another road, leading from Weatherly to Tamaqua,
also runs through the township.
The first settlers of Quakake Valley were Daniel
Heil and George Glaze, who came to this section in
1790. Thev came from bevond the Blue mountain, fol-
lowing a road which had been built to a ]>oint four
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 295
miles south of Tamaqua. The intervening fifteen miles
were covered on a road of their own construction.
Mr. Heil located on the farm owned by the late
Frank Billig, while the other constructed his log dwell-
ing on land now held by J. J. Gerhard.
As illustrating the hardships encountered by the
pioneers it may be mentioned that Heil carried an old-
fashioned feed cutter on his back all the way from
Dinkeyville, where he had formerly lived, to his new
home.
These men built a saw mill, the first in the valley,
providing lumber and building material for themselves
and the later settlers.
Another early settler was Jonathan Winter, who
cleared the farm on which Allen Gerhard now lives.
Stephen Gerhard, the grandfather of Jonas Ger-
hard, who, at the age of ninety, yet lives in the town-
ship, was the first of that family to locate in Quakake
Valley. He bought and cleared the farm which is
to-day occupied by William Reed. Like most of the
other pioneers of this section he came from the region
south of the Blue Ridge.
Daniel, one of the sons of Stephen Gerhard, became
the father of six sons : Benjamin, Jonas, Joel, Daniel,
Solomon, and Reuben.
Solomon was the father of J. J. Gerhard, who is now
living on the old homestead.
The first of the Hinkle family in the township of
whom any record remains bore the name of Philip.
He originally lived on the place later occupied by John
Faust, and now the property of John Bittner. From
there he removed to the Round Head.
Col. Jacob Hartz, who has already been mentioned
came to the township about 1800. He was a clock-
maker, and about 1812 built the Spring Mountain
296 ' HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Hotel, occupying the site of the present hotel at Hud-
sondale. He kept it until 1820, when he sold out to
George Kelchner.
Later he purchased several hundred acres of land
near the foot of the Broad mountain. There he built
the White Swan Hotel, which was kept by him and his
descendants for many years.
Colonel Hartz was elected sherilf of Northampton
county in 1829. He had eight children, namely : Jonas,
Susan, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, William, Abigail, and
Hannah.
Jonas became the father of Levi, Peter, George and
Abram, the latter, who lives at Weatherly, alone sur-
viving.
Levi kept the Packer House at Weatherly until his
death, which occurred about 1890.
Peter spent his entire life in the place of his birth.
An interesting story is told of a feat he j^erformed
when but a boy of about sixteen j^ears. His father
owned a powerful and high spirited black colt, which
no amount of hardship seemed able to subdue, being
in fact such a horse as was Rienzi, the celebrated
charger of General Sheridan.
With the idea in mind of curbing his spirit, Peter
was ordered by his father to ride the horse to Easton
and return, a total distance of one hundred and twenty
miles, in a single day, or else kill him. He did as had
been commanded, but fared worse than the horse in the
endurance test which his compliance made necessary.
Peter Hartz was several times elected to the office of
county commissioner, and kej^t the Sjiring Mountain
Hotel for a time. One of his daughters, INIary, the wife
of Walter O'Neill, still lives in the district.
John Wetzel was a resident of the township as early
as 1812. He located on land now owned by the Lehigh
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 297
Valley Coal Company. He was a member of the family
which produced the famous Indian fighters of that
name, men whose deeds are enshrined in the pioneer
history of the country alongside those of Boone and
Crockett. His sons were John, Valentine, David and
Aaron. A saw mill, the ruins of which may still be
seen, was built by Wetzel on a stream that has since
been named Wetzel's run.
David Wetzel reared a large family in the old log
house which his father built at the foot of the Spring
mountain.
He was of patriarchial appearance, and in his home,
dispensed the kind of hospitality that only the gener-
ous, old-fashioned country people could bestow. Much
of his substance was spent in proving for coal on lands
that he owned on the Spring mountain, and he died
with the firm conviction that the treasure he sought
existed there, but without having discovered it. Three
of his sons, Thomas, Jonas and Amos, remain in the
township.
John Faust, another patriarchial figure, came to
Packer township, then Lausanne, from Schuylkill coun-
ty in 1829. He was the father of thirteen children, and
his descendants hereabouts are quite numerous.
Ephraim Balliet, originally from Luzerne county, in
1839 settled on the farm now occupied by Arthur Bitt-
ner. He served for years as a justice of the peace.
In 1829 George and Bonneville Keim erected a grist
mill on the Quakake creek, about two miles above Ger-
hards Station. It was purchased by John Faust in
1841, and it was by him removed to its present location
near Gerhards Station, in 1849. It is now owned and
operated by William S. Dietrich.
Samuel W. Hudson came to the township in 1859,
purchasing property on which he erected a foundry
and machine shop. A saw mill, which had previously
298 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
been owned by William Koons was on the creek. The
saw mill was operated by Mr. Hudson for about
twenty years, while he conducted the foundry and ma-
chine shop until 1881. He also became owner of the
stone grist mill which was erected at Hudsondale in
1869. In addition to this he dealt in mine timber on an
extensive scale, becoming one of the foremost business
men of the county. He died January 17, 1885, and his
son, S. B. Hudson, succeeded to the business.
The firm of Hoover Brothers, headed by Elijah
Hoover, soon after the close of the Rebellion, began
the manufacture of powder in the western portion of
the township. Having had an explosion or two, they,
in 1873, sold out to the Laflin Powder Manufacturing
Company, which rebuilt the mills and continued the
business until 1878, when another explosion resulted in
the removal of the enterprise to the vicinity of Wilkes-
Barre. In 1886 the Tide Water Pipe Company erected
its pumping station at Hudsondale. This company
operates an oil line which originally extended from
Rixford, near Bradford, Pa., to Bayonne, N. J., a dis-
tance of approximately three hundred and fifty miles.
The line has recently been built westward into Illinois.
This company was the pioneer in the construction of
long distance pipe lines, being driven to try the des-
perate experiment through the discrimination prac-
ticed in favor of the Standard Oil Company by the rail-
roads. The oil, in its crude state, is pumped through
a six inch pipe all the way from the oil fields to tide
water. Hudsondale was originally the sixth station on
the line, the oil lieing forced from there to Change-
water, N. J., a distance of sixty miles. The average
quantity of oil pum])ed per day is eleven thousand bar-
rels. H. L. Brenckman is the local superintendent for
the company.
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 299
M. L. Smith, in 1887, established the Hudsondale
Ochre Works at this place. The product is red ochre,
ground exceedingly fine, and is used as a base in the
manufacture of certain grades of paint. The main
building in which the mill is housed was formerly oc-
cupied by the machine shop and foundry of S. W.
Hudson. A vein of good ochre, situated about two
miles west of the mill, supplies the raw material for
this industry. From fifteen to twenty men are em-
ployed, while the mill is kept running day and night.
M. L. Smith died in 1908, and his brother, J. Rowland
Smith, is now superintendent of the concern.
The Hazleton Water Company erected a pumping
station at Hudsondale in 1897, having purchased a
tract of eighty acres of land from S. B. Hudson. The
company has two reservoirs at this place, and two
large pumps, having a total capacity of four million
gallons daily, Torce the water over the Spring moun-
tain to Hazleton, a distance of seven miles. The plant
is now under the direction of John Scanlon.
In 1906 the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company built
a coal storage plant at the foot of the north side of the
Broad mountain, about half a mile below Hudsondale.
It has a capacity of approximately two hundred and
fifty thousand tons, and coal is stored and re-loaded
there as is expedient.
Another large storage yard of this description was
erected by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company on
the south side of the Broad mountain, near Hanto, in
Packer township, during 1908.
These are all the industries located in the township,
the bulk of the population being engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits. Most of the farms are reasonably well
kept and productive, and Quakake Valley is the leading-
farming section in the northern part of the county.
300 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Scarcely any heavy timber remains in the township,
but formerly its forests were the principal dependence
of its people. The Broad mountain which is now de-
nuded and bare, producing little but huckleberries and
scrub oak, was once covered with stately forests of
white and yellow pine ; most of this timber was sold in
the rough state for use inside the mines. Fires, which
have annually been allowed to go unchecked on this
mountain, have killed off most of the young timber.
Nearly all of the land is classed as being unseated.
Much has been spent at various times in proving for
coal on the north slope of this mountain, but always
without avail. As late as 1850, wild game abounded on
the mountain, and Samuel Young, who enlisted for the
war with Mexico, killed forty-eight deer there during
the fall before his departure with the army.
The first school house in the township was built in
1823, near the Spring Mountain Hotel. Eleven years
later the church in the western portion of the township
was erected, and a part of the building partitioned off
for school purposes, being so used until 1868. Subse-
quently a school house was built near Krop's Crossing.
The three buildings now in use stand on substantially
the same sites occupied by the original buildings.
Four teachers are employed, while the schools are
modern and up-to-date, both as regards equipment and
in methods of teaching.
The only church in the township is that which has
already been referred to as having been built in 183-4.
It was originally a log structure, and was located on
land donated by John Faust. This building was torn
down in 1868, when the present edifice was erected.
Some years ago this was remodeled and much im-
proved. It is known as St. Matthew's Lutheran and
German Reformed church.
o
X
'A
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 301
In 1905 the Bethany Union Sunday School chapel
was built at Hudsondale, where a Sabbath school has
been maintained for many years.
The Spring Mountain House and the White Swan
Hotel, both built by Colonel Jacob Hartz, have already
been mentioned. The former was destroyed by fire in
1893, being then owned by Patrick Garra, while the
other was recently torn down. Garra built a new house
on the site of the old, and this is owned by his estate.
The place kept by Charles Hinkle on the road to
Tamaqua is the only other tavern in the township.
A postoffice was established at the store of Samuel
Wolf about the year 1820. Upon his removal from the
township the office was transferred to the tavern stand
of Jacob Hartz, and the landlords acted as postmasters
until about 1858. Soon after the building of the rail-
road through the township, Hudsondale became a sta-
tion, being so named in honor of S. W. Hudson, who
then became the postmaster. Later the postoffice was
kept in the telegraph office of the Tide Water Pipe
Company. It was abolished in 1903, when a rural de-
livery route, starting from Weatherly and covering
the inhabited portion of the township, was instituted.
The Hudsondale Grange Telephone Company and
the Packer Township Telephone Company, both con-
necting with the Bell system at Weatherly, furnish ade-
quate service to the people of the township. The
former was organized in 1910, with J. A. Werner as
president, while the latter came into being during the
year subsequent. Allen Bittner is its president.
PALMEBTON BOEOUGH.
Palmerton, the youngest borough of Carbon county,
and one of the model communities of the state, is of
very recent growth. Until the autumn of 1912, when
302 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the town was incorporated, it formed a jjart of Lower
Towamensing township.
It owes its existence and its many excellencies solely
to the enterprise of the New Jersey Zinc Company of
Pennsylvania, the works of which are located near here.
Its name is derived from Stephen S. Palmer, the
president of this company.
The place is beautifully located near the western
bank of the Lehigh within the northern shadows of the
majestic Blue Ridge, commanding a view of the wild
grandeur of the Lehigh Water Gap. The southern
I^ortion of the town borders on the Aquashicola creek.
This stream was thus named bv the Delaware In-
dians, and in their tongue signified the place of fishing
ivith hush-nets.
Palmerton is on the line of the Central Railroad of
New Jersey, being one hundred and ten miles distant
from New York, and eighty-two miles from Philadel-
phia. Mauch Chunk lies ten miles to the northward.
The first white man to settle on the present town site
of Palmerton was Nicholas Opplinger, who in the year
1752 was appointed constable of Towamensing town-
ship.
It was on the farm of this German that Benjamin
Franklin and his little army were quartered in Janu-
ary, 1756, while enroute from Bethlehem to New Gnad-
enhiitten, now Weissport, where thej^ built Fort Allen.
When the Indian troubles of 1755 broke upon the
frontier, the settlers of this vicinity erected a block-
house, surrounded by a stockade, immediately in the
rear of the S}^ot where the First National Bank of
Palmerton now stands.
The land on which it was built originally belonged to
Nathaniel Irish, one of the first residents of Bethlehem,
and whose property adjoined that of Opplinger.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 303
Within the enclosure of this fortification, later
known as Fort Lehigh, the settlers and their families
gathered for protection.
Among those who sought the security afforded by
the protecting walls of this little haven of safety was a
man named Boyer and his family.
Boyer had established his home about a mile and a
half east of the fort on land until recently owned by
Josiah Arner and James Ziegenfuss, and that still held
by George Kunkel.
One day, accompanied by his son, Frederick, then a
lad of thirteen, and several of his other children, he
went from the fort to his farm to attend the crops.
The father was ploughing and his son busied himself
with hoeing, while the rest of the children were in the
house or playing nearby.
Suddenly a party of hostile Indians appeared upon
the scene, and the father, seeing them, called to Fred-
erick to run, and himself endeavored to reach the
house.
Finding that he could not do so, he ran toward the
Aquashicola, being shot through the head as he reached
the farther side.
Frederick, who had escaped to an adjacent wheat
field, was cai)tured and brought back. The Indians
then scalped his father in his presence, took the horses
from the plow, and making captives of his sisters,
started lor the Stony Eidge, in the rear of the house.
There they were joined by another party of Indians,
and uniting their forces, they marched northward to
Canada.
On the journey the sisters were separated from their
brother and were never again heard from.
Frederick was held as a prisoner among the French
and Indians in Canada for five years. Upon his re-
304 . HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
lease he was sent to Philadelphia, whence he proceeded
to his old home to take possession of the farm.
Soon after his return he married a daughter of Con-
rad Mehrkem, with whom he had four sons and four
daughters. He died on October 31, 1832, aged eighty-
nine years. His remains lie in St. John's Union Cem-
etery.
The inscription on his tombstone states that he was
born in 1732, and that he was nearly one hundred years
of age when he died. This is thought to be a mistake,
because it was admitted by his descendants that he was
but a lad when captured, and there were no Indian
troubles in this region prior to the year 1755, when
Braddock was defeated and the Indians were incited
to deeds of violence. Frederick Bover's descendants
in the county are still quite numerous.
Fort Lehigh, commanding the approach to Lehigh
Gap, and being situated at the junction of the road
leading to Fort Allen, on the north, and that extending
to Fort Norris, on the east, in Monroe county, occu-
pied a very important position.
It was garrisoned by provincial troops for a number
of years, and there were sometimes as high as thirty
men stationed there.
Nothing definite is known of the close of its history ;
but it appears to have been abandoned as a station in
1758, when hostilities had almost come to an end, only
to be again occupied in 1763, when Pontiac's war broke
out and the Indians began to make incursions into
Pennsylvania.
The last mention that can be found of it refers to the
latter year, at which time Captain Jacob Wetherhold
with a company of soldiers was posted here.
The incident bringing this intelligence to light is
decidedly to the discredit of that officer and the men
under his command.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. , 305
During the year 1760, the Moravians established a
missionary settlement among the Indians in the pres-
ent township of Polk, Monroe county, locating it on
the exact spot where Frederick Hoeth and his family
were slain in the uprising of 1755.
The place was called Wechquetank, and prospered
exceedingly for a few years. But when the Indian
troubles of 1763 began, there was grave danger of a
repetition of the dreadful occurrences of 1755. Not
only were the Moravians and their converts disliked
by the hostile Indians, but they were also suspected by
the settlers and the soldiers, who looked upon their
villages as convenient lurking places for the savage foe.
Wechquetank had several times been threatened with
destruction by the whites, and some of the more pru-
dent of the converts had forsaken the mission on ac-
count of the two-fold danger which menaced it.
Among the number was an Indian named Zachary,
his wife and child.
During the month of August, 1763, they returned to
the village for a brief visit, earnestly trying to per-
suade their friends who remained there to leave the
locality.
A woman named Zippora accompanied them as they
started on their return journey to the Susquehanna.
They stopped for the night at Fort Lehigh, and were
permitted to sleep in the hayloft of a barn near the
fort.
During the darkness they were rudely aroused from
their sense of fancied security when they were sud-
denly attacked by the soldiers.
Zippora was thrown upon the thrashing floor and
killed.
Zachary escaped from the building, but was pursued,
and, with his wife and little child, put to the sword,
306 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
though the mother begged for their lives upon her
bended knees.
It was deemed best to abandon Wechqnetank soon
after this event. The place was burned to the ground
by the whites during the fall of 1763.
The ruins of Fort Lehigh, in the form of a heap of
stones, may still be seen on the western bank of a
little stream which passes through Palmerton on its
way to the Aquashicola.
One of the first steps taken by the New Jersey Zinc
Company of Pennsylvania in locating its immense
manufacturing establishment at Hazard, about a mile
north of Palmerton, was the organization of the Pal-
mer Land Company.
It was wisely decided that the works should be erect-
ed at some distance from the point where it was deter-
mined to build the town which would be necessary for
the accommodation of its employes.
Horace Lentz, of Mauch Chunk, was appointed to the
agency of this land company, and during the year be-
ginning in September, 1897, over four hundred acres
were purchased.
Most of the land which was thus acquired by the
company was under cultivation, while the improve-
ments thereon consisted of the necessary farm build-
ings.
Those from whom the first purchases were made
were: John Craig, William George, William H. Gru-
ber, John Smith, Smith Brothers, and the estate of
Charles Straup.
The company's holdings were augmented from time
to time by additional purchases, and the present town
site now comprises about five hundred acres.
The works at Hazard, which give employment to
nearly two thousand men, wore finished and placed in
operation in the fall of 1899.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 307
Over two hundred acres are covered by the plant,
which is operated day and night.
The finished products of this manufactory are oxide
of zinc, spelter, and spiegeleisen.
Zinc ore, the raw material from which these are
made, is obtained from mines of the New Jersey Zinc
Company in Sussex county. New Jersey.
Palmerton was planned and plotted during the year
1899. An experienced engineer in the person of Har-
rison N. Blunt was now appointed as the agent of the
land company. Most of the improvements which have
since been made were carried forward under his imme-
diate supervision.
Delaware avenue, the principal thoroughfare of the
town, having a width of ninety feet and extending
through the entire property from east to west, was the
first laid out. Lehigh, Lafayette, and Columbia ave-
nues followed in the order named.
After the establishment of the streets, and before the
houses were completed, water and sewer systems were
installed.
A sewage disposal plant, modeled after the system
originated by the late Colonel George E. Waring,
formerly street commissioner of New York, was also
installed. Every precaution was observed to make the
new town sanitary and healthful. The result is that
Palmerton has the lowest death rate of any community
in the Lehigh Valley.
Not only did the company wish its employes to live
in neat, substantial homes, but it was willing to make
it possible for them to own them. Virtually it has
acted as a big building and loan association.
LTnder the plan devised in the beginning, and which
is still in force, the company requires the applicant for
a home to pay ten per cent, of the price of the house
21
308 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
and lot in advance, the company then erecting the house
according to plans approved by him.
After the house is complete and occupied, monthly
payments must be made, which are so graduated that
in three years and seven months, thirty-five per cent,
of the value of the premises shall have been deposited.
The purchaser then acquires title to the property,
while the company takes a mortgage on the remaining
sixty-five per cent., due in five years, and bearing in-
terest at the rate of four and four-tenths per cent.
In the event of default of payments, the purchaser
may under certain specified conditions return the house
to the company, and receive back the money he has de-
posited, due allowance being made for repairs, re-
newals, and the natural depreciation of the property.
Should a man die during the continuance of his con-
tract, his widow may, if she so wishes, receive back all
of the payments made from the beginning on account
of the purchase price, together with interest at five per
cent.
This plan has worked most satisfactorily and suc-
cessfully to all concerned.
Lots are also sold for cash, or on the instalment plan.
In the latter case, ten per cent, of the value of the lot
must be paid in advance, while the remainder is pay-
able at monthly intervals, covering a period of two
years.
Unlike most towns, Palmerton has been developed
in obedience to a well defined and intelligent plan.
Not only is this noticeable in the plotting and general
arrangement of the streets, but it is also true archi-
tecturally and in other respects.
The houses are all designed under competent direc-
tion, while due regard is given both to individual ex-
pression and to utility.
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HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 309
Electric lights are furnished at moderate rates,
while the Palmerton Telephone Association, which is a
sub-licensee company of the Bell system, affords cheap
and efficient service in this direction.
A little to the westward of the center of the town,
and fronting on Delaware avenue is a beautiful public
park, nine acres in extent.
This park, with its scheme of ornamentation, was de-
signed by Major Barrett, a famous New York land-
scape engineer, who died before the completion of the
work.
Many thousands of dollars have been expended by
the company in its maintenance and improvement.
One of the beauty spots of Palmerton is that portion
known as ' ' The Eeservation, ' '
Here, thirteen acres of land have been set aside by
the zinc company as a place of residence for the local
heads of its various departments.
In 1908 the company established a hospital which is
open to the public. Three years later, a large addition
was built to it.
This is the only institution of its kind in Carbon
county. It has from the beginning been in charge of
Doctor John W. Luther, and is furnished with X-ray
apparatus, laboratories, and full modern equipment.
Having made ample provision for the physical and
material well-being of its workmen and their families,
the company did not stop here.
Proceeding on a principle which is frequently ig-
nored and lost sight of, it was felt by those in authority
that corporation responsibility toward the human
beings under their charge warranted the support of an
institution that would offer fuller opportunities of life,
not only to their employes, but to their wives and chil-
dren.
310 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
Accordingly, in 1907, a sociological department was
organized and a neighborhood house established.
The children of kindergarten age were provided with
playgrounds, amusements, and instruction suited to
their understanding.
Manual training and general educational facilities
were supplied for the larger boys, while classes in
domestic science and industrial handiwork were organ-
ized for the girls.
Reading and lounging rooms for men were fitted up,
and, during the winter months, mothers' meetings, de-
voted to the general conduct of the home, were held.
As the work grew, larger quarters became necessary.
A new neighborhood house, opened during the summer
of 1911, was erected. This is now the social and civic
center of the town.
Every facility for carrying on the work which has
already been outlined is provided for in this building.
It also contains a well selected circulating library; a
gymnasium, which can quickly be converted into a
small theatre or auditorium; bowling alleys, club
rooms, with pool and billiard tables, baths, and the like,
the equal of any to be found in the Young Men's Chris-
tian Associations or clubs of the large cities.
Miss Florence Hughes, an experienced settlement
worker, and a graduate of Pratt Institute, with a corps
of trained assistants, has been in charge of the work
from the start.
Every attem]it is made to encourage individual en-
terprise, and to those desiring sites for manufacturing,
business, or residence purposes, Palmerton offers
many attractions and advantages.
A large addition to the com])auy's works, situated
east of the town, op])osite Mill])ort, has rocontly been
built, and further extensions are contemplated.
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HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. , 3X1
Palmerton is well supplied with schools, churches,
stores, and hotel accommodations.
The town grew so rapidly that the problem of pro-
viding school accommodations was a difficult one for
the township authorities to solve. In 1909, however, a
handsome brick building, housing all the schools of
Palmerton, as well as the high school of the township,
was erected. The high school was established in 1904.
The first church to be erected in this immediate vi-
cinity was that of the Evangelical Association, built in
1844, largely through the efforts of Jacob Snyder and
Jacob Bauman.
This was the mother of quite a number of the
churches of this denomination in the Lehigh Valley.
When the United Evangelical church was organized
the old building was abandoned. It is still standing
and is put to occasional uses.
Trinity United Evangelical church was built in 1896.
A union Sunday school chapel was erected by the Re-
formed and Lutheran people in 1902.
St. John's Protestant Episcopal church was given
to the people of the town by Stephen S. Palmer as a
memorial to his wife. It is a beautiful edifice, and is
constructed of native stone, having been designed by
H. J. Hardenbergh, a celebrated New York architect.
The church was dedicated in 1906,
The Roman Catholic church here was built in 1908.
The corner stone of the First Reformed church was
laid during the month of January, 1912.
Missions have also been established in the town by
the Lutheran and Presbyterian churches, and these
will no doubt become self-sustaining congregations.
The principal hotel of Palmerton is the Horse Head
Inn, a splendid hostelry, opened in 1900.
312 ' HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
The remaining hotels are the Palmerton, Waldorf,
Golden Anvil, and that until recently conducted by Cal-
vin Nicholas.
Palmerton 's post-office was established in 1900.
Prior to that date the office was located at Lehigh Gap.
During 1911, the postal savings system of the govern-
ment was extended to this place.
Early in January, 1907, the First National Bank of
Palmerton, having a caj^ital stock of $25,000, was or-
ganized. D. 0. Straup and Allen Craig have served
the institution as president and cashier, respectively,
from the beginning.
The water supply of the place is obtained from arte-
sian wells, situated on the slope of the Blue mountain,
south of town. These wells furnish about 400,000 gal-
lons every twenty-four hours.
During the fall of 1911, the Towamensing Volunteer
Fire Company was organized, with Thomas Craig as
president. A lot and building were provided by the
company, and modern equipment has been installed.
The Chestnut Eidge Eailway, extending from this
place to Kunkeltown, Monroe county, which is ten miles
distant, connects at Palmerton with the Central Rail-
road of New Jersey.
The tracks of this road have been elevated through
Palmerton.
An independent industry of the town is the silk mill
of the Read and Lovatt Manufacturing Company, es-
tablished in 1903.
At the first borough election, held in November, 1912,
Dr. John W. Luther was chosen to fill the office of chief
burgess.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3X3
PAEBTVILLE BOROUGH.
The borough of Parryville is located on the eastern
bank of the Lehigh river and on the line of the Central
Eailroad of New Jersey, about half a dozen miles
below Mauch Chunk.
The first settler here was Peter Frantz, who came to
the locality in 1780. Leonard Beltz and Frederick
Scheckler took up land in this vicinity in 1781.
Soon thereafter Scheckler and Frantz erected a
stone grist mill on the banks of Poho Poco creek, which
flows into the Lehigh at this point. This property
passed into the possession of Peter and Jacob Stein
in 1815. The latter conducted the mill, while the
former built a large stone hotel, which was later util-
ized as a dwelling house.
Upon the organization of the Pine Forest Lumber
Company, about 1836, this place was made its head-
quarters. The company owned extensive tracts of rich
timber land in the northern part of the county and in
the southern portion of Luzerne. Its mills were estab-
lished on Poho Poco creek, near the river, and the
manufacture of lumber, was carried on on a large scale.
The president of the company was Daniel Parry, and
as the settlement grew up around these mills, the place
became known as Parrysville, and later, Parryville.
In 1836, the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company com-
pleted its line to the opposite side of the river from
this place, and Parryville became the terminus and
shipping point.
The coal w^s here transferred from the railroad
cars to the boats of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company. The freshet of 1841, however, swept away
the wharves, trestle work, and chutes of the company,
together with the roadbed from Parryville to Penn
Haven Junction. The railroad was rebuilt from Penn
314 • HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
Haven to Mauch Chunk, but the stretch from the latter
place to Parryville was abandoned. From this time
forth, Mauch Chunk was the shipping point of the
Beaver Meadow Company.
New life was injected into the village when, about
1855, Dennis Bauman, his brother Henry, and others,
established an anthracite blast furnace here. This fur-
nace was run by water power furnished by Poho Poco
creek until 1857. More capital being necessary to the
proper conduct of the business, a stock company,
known as the Carbon Iron Company, was then formed,
Dennis Bauman being chosen as its president. The
new company made various improvements and in-
creased the capacity of the works. The water power
of the creek was now no longer adequate, and steam
was introduced as the motive power. An additional
furnace was erected in 1864, and another in 1869; but
the revolution which took place in the iron business
about this time and the great panic of the seventies,
which closed up nearly every iron manufacturing es-
tablishment in the Lehigh Valley, worked severe hard-
ship to the company.
In the year 1876, the property passed into the hands
of the Carbon Iron and Pipe Company, and a pipe
manufacturing department was added. The experi-
ment of making pipe out of iron direct from the cupola
was tried at this place, but without success. Large
quantities of pipe were, however, turned oiit in ac-
cordance with the established process. The works are
now operated by the Carbon Iron and Steel Company,
of which M. S. Kemmerer, of Mauch Chunk, is chair-
man. This is the only iron furnace in the Lehigh Val-
ley lying north of the Blue mountain. It is the only
industry in the village.
Parryville became an independent school district on
March 4, 1867.
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 3^5
It was incorporated as a borough early in the year
1875, Dennis Baiiman serving as its first chief bur-
gess. The town had 657 inhabitants in 1880. In 1900
the population numbered 723, but during the last de-
cade there was a falling off in the number of people
living here.
The first road passing through this locality was that
built by the Moravians in 1748, extending from Bethle-
hem to Gnadenhiitten. It was known in this region as
the Fire Line Road, and described a loop over the hills
between Parryville and Bowmanstown. From 1756 to
1761, during the time when Fort Allen was garrisoned,
it was used as a military road.
At the time of the massacre of Gnadenhiitten, a com-
pany of militia from the Irish settlement in Northamp-
ton county are said to have come in pursuit of the In-
dians as far as the hill overlooking the hollow where
Parryville now stands. Fearing to go any farther in
the darkness, they are said to have fired down into the
bushes, and to have then departed. From this circum-
stance the term ^'Fire Line" is supposed by some to
have been derived. Others adhere to the belief that the
name had its origin from the fact that the elevated
ground traversed by the road in question was em-
ployed to build signal fires upon during the Indian war
period.
The first schoolhouse here was opened about the
year 1820. Like most of the other schoolhouses erected
through the region at that time, it was of logs. The
annual term amounted to but three months. A modern
brick structure now houses the three schools of the
borough.
Public religious services were first conducted at
Parryville about the year 1840. Meetings were first
held in the schoolhouse, while Methodist ministers also
316 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
addressed meetings at occasional intervals in private
houses.
In 1863 the Methodists built a brick church which was
dedicated on the 13th of December of that year by
Bishop Scott.
The present building of the Reformed denomination
was erected in 1897, the edifice previously used having
been destroyed by fire in 1896.
There is also an Evangelical church in the town.
The Iron Exchange and the Fairview Inn are the only
hotels in the place. The latter was licensed in 1907,
having formerly been occupied as a dwelling by Dennis
Bauman. It is now the property of his son, Robert
Bauman.
PENN FOREST TOWNSHIP.
Penn Forest townshijD is bounded on the north by
Kidder, on the east by Monroe county, on the south by
Franklin and Towamensing townships, and on the west
by the Lehigh river. Prior to the year 1768 it was a
part of that vast district lying north of the Blue Ridge
which was known as "Towamensing," or *'the wilder-
ness." Being then divided, Towamensing township
contained all of Northampton county lying east of the
Lehigh, and thirty-six miles north of the Blue Ridge.
Following the War of Independence, part of the terri-
tory now belonging to Monroe county and that com-
prised within the confines of Kidder and Penn Forest
townships was set off as Tobyhanna township, which
became a part of Monroe county upon its organization
in 1836. In 1842 Tobyhanna township was divided, and
that portion of territory now contained within the
limits of Kidder and Penn Forest townships was
named *'Penn Forest." When Carlion county was
erected, in 1843, Penn Forest township became a part
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 3x7
thereof, while, in 1849, the northern portion was set off
as Kidder township. Muddy run forms the northern
boundary of the township, while Drake, Stony, and
Bear creeks are the other principal streams. All of
these flow eastwardly into the Lehigh. Wild creek
flows through the southeastern section. The Pocono
mountain traverses the township, and much of its sur-
face is wild and rough. Dense forests of pine and
hemlock formerly flourished here, and the region is
still indefinitely referred to as the ' ' Pine Swamp. ' ' In
the early days this swamp, which extends northward
into Luzerne county, was known as the "Great
Swamjj, ' ' or the ' ' Shades of Death. ' ' It received the
latter appellation after the battle of Wyoming, when
many of those who had escaped from the clutches of
the Indians flew to it for protection, and perished
within its gloomy shades. It was in this swamp, too,
that Teedyuscung and his warriors had their hiding
places during the Indian war of 1755-56.
An interesting incident in the early history of Penn
Forest township was the capture, here effected, of a
detachment of insurgents who had raised the standard
of revolt against the Federal Government in what is
known as Fries' Rebellion, which took place princi-
pally in Bucks and Northampton counties in the fall
and winter of 1798-99. This organized opposition to
constituted authority has also been variously termed
the ''Milford Rebellion," the '^Hot Water War," and
the ''House Tax War." Soon after the inauguration
of John Adams as President of the United States, on
March 4, 1797, a number of laws were passed which
were looked upon with great disfavor by many of the
people of the country. Among them were the alien
and sedition laws, and another known as the house tax
law. This last named law was a crude and ill-con-
318 i HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
sidered measure, and the efforts of the government to
enforce it met with particular opposition thoughout
eastern Pennsylvania. According to the provisions of
the act, assessors were directed to measure, count and
register the panes of glass in each and every house,
and to make their number and size the basis of a direct
tax for government revenue. Opposition to this
scheme of taxation first manifested itself in public
meetings of protest; later, threats were made, while
occasionally those who attempted to enforce the law
were assaulted and imprisoned. It appears that the
most violent and uncompromising opponent of the law
was John Fries, a Philadelphia vendue crier, who also
had a taste for soldiering and politics, and who trav-
eled about the country in pursuit of his daily occupa-
tion. Through his influence the rebellion was actually
organized in Lower Milford township, Bucks county,
on October 5, 1798, when fifty men attached their sig-
natures to an ultimatum declaring open revolt if
further efforts were made to enforce the law. There
was no response from the government to this declara-
tion of war, one of the most peculiar ever issued by
any band of insurgents in our annals. One of its
features was that every assessor doing his duty, or
attempting to do it, should be shot in the legs, taken
into custody, and fed on rotten corn. In a short time
four hundred men had flocked to the banner of revolt,
and, led by Fries, who wore a plume in his hat and
carried a sword, this army in jubilant spirits started
out in quest of United States assessors who were at-
tending to their duties. The army marched northward
into Nortliami)ton county, its ranks being swelled by
additional recruits as it proceeded conqueringly from
one neighborhood to another. Scores of citizens who
had been arrested and cast into prison for opposing the
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3]^9
"house tax law" were liberated, while the United
States marshals who had taken them into custody were
themselves jailed. Upon promising to discontinue
their duties, the officers of the law were set free.
Nearing Easton, Fries was advised to retrace his
steps, being informed that the people of Northampton
county were strong enough to resist the enforcement of
the obnoxious law without re-enforcements. Fries,
however, thirsted for military glory, and refused to
return. Moving up the Lehigh Valley, he and his men
continued arresting assessors, shooting them in the
feet and putting them in barns as prisoners. Reaching
the Irish settlement. Fries was confronted by Colonel
Thomas Craig, who had fought in the Revolution, and
who later came to what is now Carbon county. Colonel
Craig was loyal to the government which he had aided
in establishing, and he peremptorily ordered the insur-
gents to disperse. When they manifested hesitation in
complying with the request, the Home Guards, who had
seen service in the War of Independence, were ordered
to report for action. But before blood was shed, the
insurgents had separated, one portion going south and
the other making for the Pine Swamp in Penn Forest
township, where many of them were captured by a de-
tachment of General McPherson's troops on their way
from the scene of the Whiskey Rebellion in the western
part of the state. One of those taken captive paid
the death penalty,— not for the treason of which he
was guilty, but for highway robbery, a felony in those
days.
Fries and those of his followers who remained loyal
to him were pursued and taken prisoners in the lower
part of Northampton county. The leader of the revolt
and his lieutenants were tried in the United States
Court at Philadelphia. Fries was found guilty of trea-
320 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
son and sentenced to be hanged ; but bis execution was
postponed and he was finally pardoned by President
Adams. His subordinates were also leniently dealt
with.
The solitude which reigned in the virgin forests that
covered the ground now contained within the limits of
Penn Forest township was not disturbed by the sound
of the lumberman's axe until about 1835.
About this time companies were formed for the pur-
pose of removing and manufacturing the timber. Mills
were soon erected at available sites on the streams,
and around these temporary settlements sprang up.
In addition to the dwellings of the laborers, these cen-
ters of activity usually contained a store, a tavern and
a schoolhouse. During the years intervening between
1840 and 1860 most of the valuable timber was cut and
marketed, although lumbering operations on a large
scale were carried on for many years after this date.
As time elapsed, fires in the woods destroyed many of
the mills and much of the timber. Some of the mills
were rebuilt and others not, while the denuded lands
were allowed to remain desolate and unproductive.
Of the many fires which wrought havoc in the woods
of the township, the greatest and most destructive
was that which began near the mouth of j\[ud run on
May 14, 1875. The fire burned slowly for eight days,
when a strong wind came from the west, and in a few
hours mills, houses, sawed lumber and standing trees
for miles about were reduced to ruin. The ravages of
the flames were not confined to this immediate section,
the fire spreading eastward into Monroe county and
doing much damage there. This was a great blow to
the prosperity of the township, and each decennial
census since that time has shown a decrease in its
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 321
population. In 1880 the district had 653 inhabitants,
but in 1910 the number had dwindled to 417.
Much of the unimproved land now produces large
crops of huckleberries annually, and the gathering and
marketing of these berries has become a source of con-
siderable income to the people of the district. Among
the natural products of the township are building sand
and ochre.
While the large timber has now practically disap-
peared, much mine timber is still being shipped.
One of the principal points of interest in the town-
ship is the hatchery of the Penn Forest Brook Trout
Company, which is situated at the junction of Hell and
Wild creeks. This is one of the largest hatcheries of
its kind in the world, and was established in 1895 by
H. A. Butler and W. A. Leisenring, of Mauch Chunk.
The land on which it is situated was purchased from
William Sebring. Additional purchases of land were
made from time to time, and the entire tract now con-
tains several thousand acres. A portion of this has
been inclosed as a deer park. The hatchery was for a
period under the immediate supervision of Nathan R.
Buller, now Fish Commissioner of Pennsylvania, and
regarded as the foremost trout hatcher in the country.
The controlling interest in the property has changed
hands a number of times since the establishment of the
enterprise.
About the year 1861 Samuel Donner commenced the
distillation of wintergreen here. Many others have en-
gaged in this business, as well as the distillation of oil
from the birch, since that time.
The oldest tavern now in the township is the Stony
Creek Hotel, which was opened by Enos Koch, one of
the first settlers, and kept by him for about half a cen-
tury. The present owner is J. J. Smith. A new build-
322 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ing, replacing the original, was erected in 1860. About
1838 Frederick Snter opened the Hunters' Hotel on
the Pocono mountain, and on the state road leading
from Emmetsburg to White Haven. He remained the
landlord until 1850, when the place passed into other
hands. It was in this hotel that a recruiting officer of
the government was shot during the Civil War. The
shot was fired from without through a window by a
person whose identity has never been discovered. The
building is now occupied as a farm house.
The Idlewild Hotel, on the road to Mauch Chunk,
was first kept by Frank Eckhart, who secured a license
for the place about the year 1890. The original build-
ing was destroyed by fire, while the present house was
built by J. F. Christman who has been succeeded as the
landlord by W. H. Bander.
The township early accepted the free school law,
and in 1844, a year after the organization of Carbon
county, three schools were in operation. At present
there are only two, one being situated at Meckesville,
in the eastern portion of the district, and the other on
Drake 's creek, in the western end of the township.
Christ Lutheran church is the only house of worship
in the township. It is located on the road leading from
Mauch Chunk to Albrightsville, and was erected in
1883 on land donated by John W. Reed.
SUMMIT HILL BOEOUGH.
One of the most far famed spots in eastern Pennsyl-
vania is Summit Hill. It was here that the old hunter,
Philip Ginter, accidentally found anthracite coal in
1791. The town is about nine miles distant from
Mauch Chunk, and is situated near the summit of
Sharp mountain at an elevation of more than sixteen
hundred feet above sea level. This point of vantage
I
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. , 323
furnishes a commanding view of the surrounding
country for many miles, while the air, scented with the
fragrance of the verdure of the hills, is pure and in-
vigorating.
The surface of the soil here is covered with white
gravel, lending an appearance of neatness and clean-
liness to the streets of the borough not usually found
in coal mining communities.
This general locality was formerly known as the
''Old Mines," because it was here that operations were
first begun in the anthracite coal region.
It was in 1818 that the Lehigh Coal Mine Company,
the forerunner of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company, began active operations at Summit Hill, but
years elapsed before the settlement thus started pre-
sented the appearance of an established town.
One of the earliest residents was James Broderick,
who came to the locality in 1821, bringing with him his
wife, the first woman to make her home in the embryo
town.
Other early settlers were Patrick Breslin, the grand-
father of Andrew Breslin; Eobert and Andrew John-
son, and Joseph Gormley, the latter being accompanied
by his wife and nine children.
In 1826, there were but five houses in the vicinity,
while four of these were situated west of the present
site of the town. All were constructed of logs, and
that of James Lehman, a foreman, was the only one of
the five which was two stories in height.
The point where coal was first mined or ''quarried"
is a little to the southwest of the built up portion of
the borough. Lying south of Railroad street, and di-
rectly in the rear of the Summit Inn is a large bank
of clay; this was formed in layin"^ bare the first an-
thracite coal produced in commercial quantities in the
22
324 ■ HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
world. Here it was that that giant industry, which has
been such a potent factor in transforming our civiliza-
tion, bringing material comfort and greater happiness
to millions, had its birth!
Summit Hill did not begin to present the appearance
of an established town until late in the thirties, when
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company built many
houses for the use of its employes.
It was not until ten years later, however, that lots
were sold and individual enterprise was permitted to
assert itself.
Among the first purchasers of lots were : J. Edward
Barnes, Nathan Patterson, D. D. Brodhead, Jacob
Minich, Charles Hoffman, James Denton, Merritt Ab-
bott, and Daniel Minich. In 1850 Abram Harris
bought a lot upon which he erected the Eagle Hotel,
which is still standing. Merritt Abbott and Alexander
Lockhart in 1851 secured title to a piece of land upon
which they built a foundrj^ This building stood for
about twenty years, when it was destroyed by fire, and
was never replaced. The development of the mines
was naturally followed by the establishment of mer-
cantile houses and other places of business, resulting
in due time in the growth of a village of fair propor-
tions on the mountain top.
In the early days of mining in this vicinity, leasing
and the giving of contracts was practiced to some ex-
tent. Among the prominent contractors were: Asa
Packer, Daniel S. Bertsch and Company, E. A. Doug-
lass, A. A. Douglass, Holland, Barber and Company,
and Belford, Sharpe and Company. At one period the
mines were leased to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre
Coal Compan3\ Most of these contracts or leases ex-
pired in January, 1866, a few continuing a year after
that date. With unimportant exceptions, the mines
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. 305
have since been worked directly by the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company.
With the opening of the mines in the Lansf ord basin,
lying in the valley below Summit Hill, two inclined
planes were built to carry the coal from the valley to
the summit, whence it was conveyed to the Lehigh over
the Switchback Eailroad which was constructed from
this place to Mauch Chunk in 1827. The first of these
planes was placed in operation in 1846. The second
connected with the mines at Coal Dale. The building
of the Nesquehoning Valley Railroad, which was be-
gun in 1861, together with other causes, operated to
draw life from the older town on the mountain and
bestow it upon the younger rival, Lansf ord, in the val-
ley below. Upon the completion of this railroad, which
later was absorbed by the Jersey Central system, coal
was no longer shipped by way of Summit Hill. In 1870
the construction and repair shops of the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company were removed from Summit
Hill to Lansford.
The driving of Spring tunnel during the forties
marked the beginning of underground mining in this
locality.
Perhaps the most far famed curiosity of the region,
and the principal attraction of Summit Hill, is the
Burning Mine, which was discovered to be on fire on
February 15, 1859. This mine was opened in
1850. The progress of the fire has been in a westerly
direction from the town, and during the half century
of its existence it has traversed approximately a mile,
consuming millions of tons of coal in its slow but deso-
lating march. Repeated efforts have been made to ex-
tinguish this devouring under-ground conflagration,
and the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company has ex-
pended vast sums of money in that endeavor. Quite
326 HISTORY OF CARBOX COUNTY.
naturally the first attempt made to quench the fire con-
sisted in flooding the mine with water ; but, surprising
as it may seem, it was not successful, the heat being so
intense as to convert the rock bordering upon the coal
into a molten mass, which on cooling, crumbles to
pieces. The plan next tried was that of cutting off the
vein and boring holes down to the coal in advance of
the fire, and then filling these with water, mixed with
culm, or coal dirt. This scheme also proved a failure.
There being grave danger of the fire eventually spread-
ing to the mammoth workings of the Lansford basin,
turning the whole Panther Creek Valley into one vast
volcano, another heroic effort was made to head it off,
and it is hoped that this may be successful. The
method last employed was to cut a trench across the
vein and to build a solid clay barrier twelve feet wide,
reinforced on either side with walls of concrete, within
the oioening. The execution of this plan, which was
conceived by W. A. Lathrop, president of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company, involved a great engi-
neering feat, while requiring the outlay of hundreds of
thousands of dollars. The work was completed in 1910.
The origin of this famous fire is not positively
known, and the stories that are told concerning its be-
ginning are various. According to one account it was
started by some boys who were playing on the slope,
t)uilding the fire to warm themselves. In the early days
of underground mining, it was a common practice to
have a stove burning at the bottom of a ventilating
shaft in order to create a draft of air toward the sur-
face, and some well informed men hold to the theorj'
that the mine was set on fire by the accidental upsetting
of one of these stoves.
One of the landmarks of Summit Hill for many
years was the old town hall, which also served the pur-
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. . 327
pose of an armory. It was erected by a stock com-
pany, known as the Town Hall Association, which was
organized in 1854, principally through the influence of
Merritt Abbott and J. J. Wintersteen. Its walls were
of stone, and in appearance it resembled a French bas-
tile, being flanked in front on either side with towers
of solid masonry, each of which contained four long
and narrow windows.
This building became the home of the Carbon Guards,
a military company commanded by Wintersteen.
At the breaking out of the Civil War, the Guards
went to the front, but so few of the men returned that
the organization was disbanded. Later, the building
was used as an armory by Company F of the Ninth
Eegiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania. About
1890, the hall was purchased by the municipality, and
an addition was built to it for purposes of a fire house.
The interior of the structure, which stood on the site
of the present town hall, was destroyed by fire on
March 25, 1908. The stones forming the walls were
used in building the foundations of the Citizens' Na-
tional Bank of Lansford.
Summit Hill formed a part of Mauch Chunk town-
ship until January 14, 1889, when it was incorporated
as a borough. At the first election, which was held in
the town hall on the 19th of the ensuing February,
Joseph Richards, a successful business man, now liv-
ing at Slatington, was chosen as chief burgess. For
years the borough was divided into four wards, but in
1911 it was reduced to three.
The postoffice here was established on February 6,
1832, Richard Hay being the first postmaster.
A building housing all the schools of the place was
erected in 1875. This, with an addition which was
added, is still in use. Close by stands the magnificent
328 HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
new liigh school building, one of the finest structures of
its kind in Pennsylvania.
It is admirably adapted for the purpose which it is
intended to serve, and was built in 1911 at a cost of ap-
proximately ninety thousand dollars.
A new town hall, replacing that destroyed by fire
was put up in 1908. The ground floor of this building
is given over to Diligence Fire Company, No. 1, which
was chartered in the fall of 1897.
The borough is supplied with water by the Summit
Hill Water Company, which was chartered in 1876.
The principal source of supply is an artesian well in
Bloomingdale Valley, where a pumping station is main-
tained. A large storage reservoir is situated on top
of the mountain, sixty-five feet above the level of the
town. George Kline was the first president of the
water company.
A modern sewer system, costing $60,000, was but
recently built by the borough. Summit Hill has been
electrically lighted since 1894, the service being fur-
nished by the Panther Creek Valley Heat, Light and
Power Company, of Lansford. In 1897, the line of the
Tamaqua and Lansford Railway Company, an elec-
trical road, since absorbed by the Eastern Pennsyl-
vania Railways Company, was built into the town.
The principal hotels in the place are the Eagle and
the Summit Inn. The former has already been men-
tioned as having been built in 1850 by Abram Harris,
while the latter has been open for the accommodation
of the public since 1908, and is owned by T. E. Davis.
In 1873, Daniel Eveland and Robert Harris began
the publication of the Weeliy Intelligencer, the first
local newspaper. It was issued for about two years.
During the fall of 1879, J. W. Malloy and P. F.
Gildea established the Summit Hill and Lansford Rec-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 329
ord. Gildea retired from the firm in 1880, while Mal-
loy removed his printing establishment to Lansford in
the spring of 1884.
The Miners' Bank was organized in 1873, Anthony
Snyder being its president, and its capital stock being-
fifty thousand dollars. In the fall of 1880 the bank
was transferred to Lansford; it was closed in 1883,
and its affairs were adjusted by assignees.
The Homestead Building and Loan Association,
which has been remarkably successful from the start,
and through the agency of which many of the people
of the borough have become the owners of the homes
in which they live, was organized in 1893. The assets
of the association at the end of its first fiscal year
amounted to $18,130.00, while in 1911, at the close of
the eighteenth year, the total had reached $387,000.00.
Excepting a period of four years, E. E. Scott has been
the secretary of the association since the beginning.
The Workingmen's Building and Loan Association^
which was chartered in 1906, is also in a flourishing
condition.
The adherents of the Presbyterian denomination
appear to have been among the first to take up church
work at Summit Hill, and the congregation they
formed was one of the pioneer religious organizations
of the Lehigh coal field. As early as 1835, Robert
Henry, a Covenanter, organized a Bible class at the
boarding house of Alexander McLean, also a Presby-
terian. During the following year, James Edgar
settled in the community and assumed a prominent
part in the weekly assemblages, which partook largely
of the nature of prayer meetings. Among the first
missionaries here was Rev. Richard Webster, for many
years thereafter pastor of the Presbyterian church at
Mauch Chunk. During the summer of 1836, Rev. Web-
330 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY,
ster induced x\ndrew Tully, a young theological student
at Princeton to come to Summit Hill to teach school
and to organize a Sunday school. The latter was es-
tablished in July of that year, and was led for three
successive summers by the young student. Later, G.
W. Smith, of Mauch Chunk, revived the school and
served as its superintendent. The church itself was or-
ganized on April 19, 1839, and was termed the Presby-
terian church of Summit Hill and Tamaqua. It began
with twenty-eight members, four of whom resided at
Tamaqua and the remainder at Summit Hill. In May,
1844, the congregation became independent of Ta-
maqua and was named the First Presbyterian church
of Summit Hill, Eev. A. G. Harned becoming the first
regular pastor. The congregation worshipped in the
school house until 1847, when a church building was
erected. This edifice was enlarged and improved in
1872, while the present brick structure replaced it in
1895. The Sunday school, which was the forerunner of
this church, has had but two superintendents in over
sixty years. J. M. McCread}^ who succeeded Nathan
Patterson as superintendent, has served in that ca-
pacity since 1878.
Missionaries of the Roman Catholic church paid oc-
casional visits to Summit Hill as early as 1826. Sub-
sequent to 1832 the priests stationed at Pottsville and
at Tamaqua came here quite frequently. In 1849 the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company donated a piece
of land for the erection of a church and for purposes
of a burial ground. Under the leadership of Rev.
Patrick J. Hennegan the church was built soon there-
after. It was named in honor of St. Joseph. Father
Hennegan 's name is one of much prominence in the
early history of Catholicism in this region, and he
ministered to the spiritual wants of his people over a
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. , 33 1
large extent of territory. The first resident pastor
was Father Manahan, who came in 1852. During the
term of service of Rev. James Wynn, late in the seven-
ties, a handsome parochial residence was built. The
cornerstone of the present church edifice was laid on
June 21, 1881. The new church was dedicated on the
10th of December of that year by Rt. Rev. J. F. Shana-
han, Bishop of Harrisburg. St. Joseph's church is the
mother of St. Ann's, of Lansford, and of St. Mary's, at
Coaldale.
St. Philip's Episcopal church was once commonly
known as the "Bell Church," because it was then the
only house of worship in this vicinity equipped with a
bell. The first baptism recorded in this parish was
performed by the Rev. Peter Russell, September 13,
1845, although a parochial organization was not ef-
fected until November, 1849. The cornerstone of the
church building was laid on the first Saturday evening
of July, 1850, by the Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, Bishop
of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. He was assisted by
the rector, the Rev. Peter Russell. In 1882, during the
incumbency of Rev. Charles E. Fessenden, the church
was remodeled and improved. Like most churches
planted in mining towns, St. Philip's has suffered
greatly from removals. During its history many
prominent coal operators and other influential men
have been connected with this little parish.
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church had its be-
ginnings about the year 1849. Prior to that time, loyal
Lutherans walked from this place to Tamaqua every
Sunday to attend services in a church of their own de-
nomination. Upon the organization of the congrega-
tion here by Rev. Oberfeld, of Tamaqua, services were
for a time held monthly in the Presbyterian church.
Services were also conducted in the old schoolhouse.
332 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
In 1865, the Reformed and Lutheran people erected
a union church in which both worshipped until 1880,
when the Lutherans secured the old German Methodist
church, and thereby became independent. For some
years the congregation had no regular pastor, and was
served by theological students. In 1897, during the
pastorate of Rev. H. C. Erbes, the present church was
erected. The corner stone was laid on Sejotember 5th
of that year, while the dedicatory services were held on
the 12th of December.
The First Baptist church was built in 1852. This was
the mother of the churches of that denomination at
Nesquehoning and at Lansford. Its membership has
been greatly depleted by deaths and removals.
St. Paul's Reformed church was organized by Rev.
John Eichenbach. He came here from Allentown in
1856, serving the congregation for about twenty-five
years. As has already been shown, the Reformed and
Lutheran people of Summit Hill worshipped together
until 1880, a union church having been erected in 1865.
The Reformed congregation became the sole owner of
this property, upon the withdrawal of the Lutherans.
In 1904 a handsome new church was built, and the so-
ciety to-day is thriving and prosperous.
The members of the Methodist Episcopal church also
maintain a flourishing organization here.
The various fraternal and beneficial societies are
well represented at Summit Hill. The Grand Army
Post, which was organized in 1869, was named in honor
of Colonel Eli T. Connor, one of Carbon county's most
gallant soldiers in the Civil War.
Summit Hill is remarkable for the uumbei- of ceme-
teries within its borders, there being eight, all told.
This is partly accounted for by the fact that it is the
place of interment for the people of both Lansford and
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. , 333
Coal Dale, in which communities there is no suitable
site for the location of a burying ground.
St. Joseph's Catholic church has two cemeteries —
one adjoining the church and another to the eastward
of the town. The latter was purchased late in the sev-
enties.
The Presbyterian cemetery was opened at about the
time of the establishment of that church, while that of
the Grand Army has been in existence since a short
time subsequent to the organization of the Post.
The other cemeteries are: St. Michael's Roman
Catholic, St. John's Greek Catholic, Orthodox Greek,
and St. Peter's and St. Paul's Polish cemetery, all of
which are of recent date.
The romantic interest which naturally attaches to
this vicinity, as the place where anthracite coal was
first mined — the fascinating story of Ginter's discov-
ery, and the wonders of the Burning Mine — annually
draws thousands of sightseers and tourists to Summit
Hill. The majority of these travel over the Switch-
back Railroad from Mauch Chunk
CHAPTER XVIIL
TOW AMEN SING TOWNSHIP.
Towamensing township is bounded on the north by
Penn Forest, on the east by Monroe county, on the
Bouth by Lower Towamensing, and on the west by
Franlvlin township.
The Poho Poco, or Big creek, flows eastwardly across
the full breadth of the township. Pine run and Wild
creek, flowing southwardly, are its principal tributaries
within the township. The surface of the land is of a
rolling nature, and is jDrincipally given over to agri-
culture.
Count Zinzendorf, the Moravian missionary, spent
some time in this portion of Carbon county in the year
1742, when he negotiated a treaty with the Indians at
the spot on which, a few years later, the mission of
Gnadenhiittten was established.
This whole section of country was christened by him
as *' Saint Anthony's Wilderness," and it was so desig-
nated on a map published in 174-9. The name, however,
did not strike a popular chord among the settlers, and,
later, the term Towamensing, meaning a wilderness,
was applied to all that section lying north of the Blue
Ridge, and was known as Towamensing District.
In a petition for the division of the district, ad-
dressed to the Nortliamj)ton county court, dated June
22, 1768, the length of the district is given as thirty-six
miles.
In resi)onse to the prayer of this i)etition, the Lehigh
river was made the dividing line, and the territory west
of the river was organized as Penn townshij), while
that on the east retained the name of Towamensing.
334
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. , 335
After this division was made, Towamensing town-
ship embraced all of the territory north and east of the
Lehigh river, within the confines of the county.
Chestnut Hill was taken from Towamensing anterior
to the year 1783, as was Tobyhanna, at a later date.
In 1836 these two became a part of Monroe county,
while in 1841 the lower part of this territory became
Penn Forest township, which in 1843 was attached to
Carbon county.
During 1841 Towamensing was again divided, and
Lower Towamensing was set off. Franklin township
was taken from the territory of Towamensing in 1851,
since which time there have been no territorial changes.
It api^ears that the first permanent settlement in
what is now Towamensing township was made at about
the time of the Revolutionary War.
Tradition tells of a family named Abbot, which re-
sided on the banks of the Poho Poco creek, and the
members of which were cruelly massacred by the In-
dians. The luckless victims of the hate and fury of the
aborigines were buried in the ground to their knees,
while their bodies were stuck full of pine splints, to
which the torch was applied, and they were literally
roasted alive.
There is little record of the old families who settled
within the present limits of the township. Among
those whose descendants are still in the township, how-
ever, were the Strohls, the Eckerts, the Smiths and the
members of the Beer family.
In 1795, General Thomas Craig purchased the land
where Stemlersville is now situated. The old house
which he there erected is still standing; in 1814 he re-
moved to Lehigh Gap. Daniel Stemler, of Northamp-
ton county, became the owner of the property in 1829.
He became possessed of a large tract of land through
336 ; HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
additional purchases. Upon taking possession of the
property, Mr. Stemler reopened the tavern which at an
earlier date had been kept by a man named Frederick.
He built the present brick building in 1852, and con-
ducted a tavern therein until his death, which occurred
in the year 1871. It is now kept by his son, Nathan
Stemler. Daniel Stemler, in 1864, erected the building
which has since been used for the purposes of a store.
In 1866 it was purchased by Paul Kresge, his son-in-
law, who, in turn has been succeeded by his son,
Charles H. Kresge.
In 1855 a stage and mail route between Lehighton
and Brodheadsville, and touching Stemlersville, was
established. It was operated until 1911, when it was
abandoned. With the establishment of the mail route,
a postoffice was opened, with Daniel Stemler as post-
master. The office was successive!}^ held after him by
William Schoenberger, Robert Laubach, Nathan Stem-
ler and Paul Kresge. The postoffice was abolished
upon the introduction of the free delivery system
throughout the township in 1903.
Trochsville, located in the western portion of the
township, near the Monroe county line, is the namesake
of Captain Ljmford Troch, who was once the owner
of the land here.
The tavern at Trochsville was built by Jacob Rickert
about 1854. He kept it for a few years, and then sold
it to Captain Troch, who was killed during the Civil
War. It is now conducted by Joseph Schaetzel.
Lynford Troch opened a store here in 1856, while a
postoffice was established, with Troch as x)ostmaster.
The office was after a time abandoned, but was later
re-established as Carbon postoffice. John Behler
served for a time as postmaster, being succeeded by
Harrison Kunkel, who also kept the store. His son,
HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY. , 337
H. F. Kiinkel succeeded him as proprietor of the store
in 1909, and, a year later, as postmaster. With the ex-
tension of fhe rural delivery service to this locality, the
office was finally abolished in 1911.
The hotel at Seiberlings is kept by J. S. Ettinger.
A grove, which has grown popular as a camping place
during the summer months, adjoins the hotel.
On the road leading from Trochsville to Little Gap,
Peter Jones, many years ago, erected a brick house,
which he kept as a hotel. The place became known as
Jonesville. The hotel was used as a dwelling house
after a few years.
Jerusalem church, at Trochsville, was erected in the
year 1848. The society is union, being composed of
members of the Lutheran and German Reformed
churches. The present Lutheran pastor is Rev. H. E.
Moyer, while the Reformed preacher is Rev. F. W.
Smith. H. F. Kunkel is the superintendent of the Sun-
day school of this church. A Sunday school is also
maintained in the schoolhouse at Stemlersville.
This township accepted the free school law in 1841,
prior to which there were no schools in the district.
The population being scattered, nine schools, with as
many teachers, are now necessary. For the same rea-
son, Towamensing township has many miles of high-
ways to maintain.
The farmers of the township market most of their
produce at Weissport, Lehighton, and Mauch Chunk,
and many of them are up-to-date and prosperous.
The Indian Ridge Rural Telephone Company, or-
ganized in 1909, furnished local and long-distance serv-
ice to many homes in the township. Its line connects
with the Bell system at Lehighton. The line of the
Consolidated Telephone Company also crosses the
township.
338 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
WEATEEELY BOEOUGH.
The borough of Weatherly, which is the largest and
most important town in the upper j^ortion of Carbon
county, had its beginnings in the operations of the
Beaver Meadow Railroad Company. Its later growth
and development were brought about chiefly through
the agency of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, by
which the first named corporation was in 1866 ab-
sorbed. The place is picturesquely situated between
the Broad and Spring mountains on the banks of Hazle
creek and on the Beaver Meadow and Hazleton di-
vision of the Lehigh Valley system. The distance by
rail from this point to Mauch Chunk is about fourteen
miles. The incorporated territory of the town com-
prises four square miles, and is bounded on the north,
east, and southeast by Lehigh township, on the north-
west by Lausanne township, and in the west and south-
west by Packer township. It is divided into four
wards.
Formerly the town was called Black Creek, from the
color of the water of the stream on which it is situated.
Originally the dark color of the water of the creek was
due to the fact that dense forests of hemlock grew in the
swamps where the stream has its source ; but it is now
contaminated with sulphur water from the coal mines
lying north of the Spring mountain. In 1848, upon the
establishment of the postofiice here, the name of the
place was changed to Weatherly, being so christened in
honor of David Weatherly, one of the directors of the
Beaver Meadow Company, who was a watch and clock
maker. He promised to present the place with a town-
clock in recognition of the com]iliment conferred ujion
him by the bestowal of his name, Imt failed to redeem
the pledge. The warrantee owners of the ground upon
which Weatherlv is built were Samuel S. Barber and
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. , 339
Jolm Eomig, Sr. They purchased the land for the
valuable timber that stood on it. The first settlement
was made on the Eomig tract about 1825, when Benja-
min Eomig erected a saw mill and a dwelling on the
west side of the creek. The dwelling occupied the site
of Elmer Warner's store, while the saw mill stood op-
posite the Lehigh Valley depot. Benjamin Eomig
moved his family to this place in 1826. The first lum-
ber sawed in his mill was for the building of a school -
house in what is now known as Hudsondale. Soon after
1830 Eomig erected a large house on the west side of
the creek, near the ''Eocks," and securing a license,
conducted a tavern therein.
A portion of the Barber tract was purchased by Asa
Packer, and about 1835, John Smith, who was con-
spicuous among the early residents, came to the place
to supervise the clearing of the land and to take charge
of Mr. Packer's interests in the vicinity generally.
Under his immediate directions a saw mill was put up
about a mile below Black Creek Junction, while a store
was opened just across the creek from Eomig 's saw
mill. A little later than this William Tubbs opened a
tavern on the present site of the Gilbert House.
Barring the saw mill, the first attempt at manufac-
turing here was made by Samuel Ingham, president of
the Beaver Meadow Eailroad Company, and others.
They made a certain kind of locks for a time, but the
project was soon abandoned.
Black Creek could boast of but a few houses until the
completion of the Beaver Meadow Eailroad, in the fall
of 1836. It was then made the stopping place for the
heavy engines and crews of the company. The com-
pany at first located its foundry and machine and re-
pair shops at Beaver Meadow. To overcome the heavy
grade above Weatherly, two inclined planes, each about
340 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
half a mile in length, were constructed. Difficulty was
experienced in getting the locomotives up these planes
to the shops for rejDairs, and, in 1840, the shops were
removed to Weatherly. While this was detrimental to
the interests of Beaver Meadow, it gave added impetus
to the growth of Weatherly. The shops were located
near the point where the town hall now stands, and
were driven by water power. Hopkin Thomas, who
became one of the most prominent figures in the indus-
trial affairs of the Lehigh Valley, was the master me-
chanic in charge. The shops were swept away by the
freshet of 1850, being rebuilt the same year. In 1855 a
stretch of new railroad was laid from Weatherly to
Hazle Creek Junction, a distance of nearly two miles.
Upon its completion, the inclined planes were aban-
doned. The section of road replacing the planes is still
in use, and is known to railroaders as the Weatherly
Hill. It has a grade of one hundred and forty-five feet
to the mile, and has witnessed many thrilling runaways.
With the abandonment of the planes the company
moved its shops to the east side of the creek. As the
mines were developed and as railroading progressed,
the capacity of the shops was increased from time to
time, while the town grew and prospered correspond-
ingly-
Weatherly was a lydvi of Lausanne township until
1863, when it was organized as a borough. At the time
of the taking of the census of 1870, it contained 1,076
people. During the succeeding decade, the population
was nearly doubled.
Philip Iloffecker succeeded Iloiikin Thomas as mas-
ter mechanic in the machine shops early in the fifties.
AYlien the Beaver Meadow Railroad was consolidated
with the Lehigh Valley he was retained by the latter
company, spending the remainder of liis life in its
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 34^
service. Under his supervision many of the finest loco-
motives in the country were built, his name standing as
a synonym for excellence over the whole Lehigh Val-
ley system. Not only did the shojo over which he had
charge turn out good locomotives, but it also produced
good men. Those who served their apprenticeship
under him readily found employment elsewhere, and
Weatherly to-day takes pardonable pride in the success
that many of her sons have achieved in industrial pur-
suits in all parts of the country. Mr. Hoff ecker died in
1891. Another prominent figure in the town for more
than half a century was Daniel Eouse. In 1855 he was
placed in charge of the car shops here, and during
nearly two generations of service in that capacity, he
achieved an enviable reputation for mechanical and
executive ability. The car shops were totally destroyed
by fire on the morning of July 8, 1880, the work of re-
building them being completed the following year. The
train crews which carried the coal produced in the
Beaver Meadow and Hazleton region to Packerton, the
general forwarding point, made Weatherly their stop-
ping place for manj^ years. For a long time Samuel
Harleman was the dispatcher who had them in charge,
and he enjoyed equal popularity with Hotfecker and
Eouse.
Under the old regime of the Lehigh Valley, Weath-
erly was contented and prosperous. Not only was there
a great deal of new work turned out of the shops, but
the location of the place made it an advantageous point
for general repair work. The number of men em-
ployed in the various shops of the company and on the
railroad increased steadily until the early nineties,
when the total numbered over a thousand. But Weath-
erly was too much a town of one industry, and railroad
towns are notoriously unstable. In 1894, as a result of
342 ' HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
a change in management, all of the work which had
until then been done in the machine shops here was
transferred to Delano. This proved quite a blow to the
prosi:)erity of the place. Five years later, in further-
ance of the idea of concentration, the company closed
all of its shops here, besides sending most of the train
crews to other points. For a time but about twenty-five
men in the town remained in the employ of the com-
pany, and an air of depression and gloom pervaded the
place. It was not long before a large proportion of the
houses of the borough stood empty, their former occu-
pants being scattered in all directions. But while the
workmen found no difficulty in securing employment in
other fields and localities, the case was different with
the business men of the community. They could not
leave without sacrificing their investments, and made
the best of a trying situation. It is interesting to note
that during the hard times which followed, there was
not a single business failure in Weatherly, a favorable
commentary on the resourcefulness and financial sol-
vency of her merchants and men of affairs. These men
set about courageously to secure new industries and to
rehabilitate the town. The Weatherlv Foundry and
Machine Company, controlled almost exclusively by
local capital, was soon organized, and its plant put in
operation. Among the leading spirits in the launching
of this enterprise were Elmer Warner, W. P. Long, J.
C. Sendel, J. F. Kressley, E. F. Warner, Fred Berto-
lette, and others. This industry grew rapidly, and is
now one of the largest concerns of its kind in this por-
tion of the state. It employs several hundred men, and
its products go to all parts of the world. Elmer War-
ner has been the chief stockholder and general manager
of the company since its organization in 1899. About
the time of the establishment of this industry, the Le-
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. , 343
high Valley Railroad Company reopened its machine
shops here, also establishing a frog department in
another building which had been abandoned. The ma-
chine shop was again closed in 1912. During 1899 the
Allen Candy Manufacturing Company, which had been
organized two years previously, removed its plant from
Allentown to Weatherly. The output of this company
has increased from year to year. About fifty people
are employed, and the capital stock has been increased
from $15,000 to $50,000. A. H. Horlacher has been the
dominant figure in the affairs of the company since its
incorporation.
One of the industries which Weatherly had prior to
the abandonment of its railroad shops was its silk mill,
owned and operated by the Read and Lovatt Manufac-
turing Company. This mill, which, at the time of its
erection, was the largest silk-throwing concern in the
world, was completed in the spring of 1888. Jerome C.
Read and J. Walter Lovatt, both of Paterson, N. J.,
originally owned it in partnership. A large amount of
local capital was, and still is, invested in the enterprise,
however. It is still among the greatest of its kind in
existence, having 50,000 spindles and employing about
400 operatives. Most of these are boys and girls, and
many have their homes in nearby towns.
Another establishment here of a similar nature is
that of the Roscoe Broad Silk Mill. This is a silk weav-
ing mill, employing sixty operatives. The business was
started by local capitalists in 1905, under the style and
title of the Onoko Silk Manufacturing Company, and
the property was leased to the first mentioned com-
pany in 1910.
Sand in large quantities is found on the eastern
verge of the place, and the shipping of this natural
344 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
product to various points has grown to be quite a busi-
ness in recent years.
Weatherly is one of the very few towns in Pennsyl-
vania conducting a municipal lighting plant which gives
satisfactory service and is financially successful. The
streets and houses have been lighted by electricity since
July, 1889. The original outlay for this service on the
part of the borough was $16,000. This plant also fur-
nishes electrical power to the town.
A volunteer fire company was organized in 1893,
with W. B. Lovatt as chief. The borough purchased a
steamer, while a hook and ladder, together with other
necessary equipment, was bought with funds secured
through a fair held for that purpose. This company
was disrupted, and ceased to exist on September 27,
1897. A new company, known as Citizens' No. 1, was
organized soon thereafter, J. C. Sendel being elected
as its chief. E. F. Warner is the present head of the
department. The membership is limited to sixty-five.
The town hall, which is also the home of the fire depart-
ment, was erected in 1893.
Weatherly was without banking facilities until 1902,
the First National Bank having been chartered on the
28th of Januarv of that vear. Prior to this date the
people of the borough depended on the banks of Hazle-
ton and those of Mauch Chunk. The bank began busi-
ness with a capital stock of $25,000, being first located
in the Horlacher Building. So well did it prosper that
on June 30, 1903, a dividend of five per cent, was paid
to the share-holders. A handsome new building cost-
ing $15,000 was erected by the bank on Carbon street in
]907. An annual dividend of six per cent, is now regu-
larly paid. On March 30, 1911, the ca]utal stock of the
institution was increased to $50,000. It has deposits
approximating $300,000, whik^ its snr])lus and undi-
ID
A
r.
X
>
-/:
HISTORY OF OAEBON COUNTY. 345
vided profits amount to over $20,000. Elmer Warner
has been president of the bank since its organization.
Its first cashier was Ira W. Barnes, while C. F. Bretney
is now serving" in that capacity.
The majority of the people in Weatherly own their
own homes, and nearly two-thirds of the houses in the
borough were wholly or partially built with funds ad-
vanced by the Anthracite Building and Loan Associa-
tion. This institution was organized in 1882. Its first
president was A. J. Lauderburn. From the beginning
this association has been one of the most carefully and
economically managed of its kind, and it has grown in
strength and in the confidence of the people from year
to year. Its resources now amount to more than $200,-
000.
In 1841 the first schoolhouse was here erected, being
located on the hill in the eastern portion of the town,
near the site of the present building. This served the
purpose for which it was intended until 1855, when it
was replaced by a new structure two stories high, and
about twenty-five by thirty feet in dimensions. This
building cost $1,000. In 1869 it was torn down to make
way for a building costing $6,000. In 1883 a frame
building, which is still in use, was erected in West
Weatherly at a cost of $5,500. The building in the east-
ern portion of the borough, erected in 1869, and known
as the high school building was in 1903 replaced by a
magnificent pressed brick structure valued at $75,000,
being the gift of Charles M. Schwab, the millionaire
steel manufacturer. Mr. Schwab's princely gift came
as a graceful tribute to his wife, who spent much of her
girlhood in Weatherly. Her maiden name was Eurena
Dinkey. The day of the dedication of this building,
September 19, 1903, was the most notable one in the
history of the borough. Thousands of visitors were in
346 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
attendance from far and near and there was a street
parade in which many visiting bands, drum corps, civic
societies, and a company of regular soldiers, from Fort
Hamilton, participated. Mr. Schwab, accompanied by
his wife and other members of his family came from
New York in a special train to witness the dedication
exercises. Twelve teachers and a supervisory princi-
pal are employed, while the high school course requires
three years for completion.
Weatherly is amply provided with hotels. The first
license for a tavern in the place was that granted to
Benjamin Eomig in 1831. The next hotel to be opened
was that of William Tubbs, which stood on the present
site of the Gilbert House. The present hotel received
its name from Charles Gilbert, who was the landlord
from 1843 to 1848. In 1851 the Carbon House was
opened by Joseph W. Leadenham. Lawrence Tarleton
is the present owner. The Weatherly Hotel occupies
the site where the Packer House stood for many years.
The last named building was erected as a dwelling by
Aaron Grimes in 1856. It came into the possession of
Levi Hartz in 1868, and he conducted it as a hotel until
his death, which occurred about 1890. The present
building is owned by Henry Schaffer. The Verzi House
was built by Joseph Verzi in 1882. Harry Gangwer is
the present landlord and owner. Another hotel is that
of Abraham Patterson.
The first i:)Ostmaster of Weatherly was R. D. Stiles,
who was appointed in 1848. During the incumbency of
Thomas Dunn, in 1903, the only rural route starting
from this office was established. This route leads
through Packer township. James M. Dreher is the
present postmaster.
The only news])a])er pul)lished in the borough is the
Herald, which was established by H. V. Morthimer in
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 347
1880. It is issued weekly, and lias been owned and
edited by Percy E. Faust since 1886.
A board of trade was organized in 1898, and this
body has rendered valuable service to the community.
The various fraternal and beneficial societies are
well represented here. The Grand Army Post was
named in honor of Colonel James Miller, and was or-
ganized on August 11, 1882, with forty members. Not
many of these remain. A soldiers' monument, which
stands on the hill near the Schwab school building, was
erected and dedicated in 1906.
The borough obtains its water supply from the
Weatherly Water Company, which was chartered Jan-
uary 24th, 1882. The works were built the same year,
and the source of supply at first was Shep's run. In
1883 an additional supply was obtained from Penrose
creek. The water works system now consists of stor-
age and distributing reservoirs, gravity supply mains,
and a high and low distributing system. Penrose creek,
which rises in Banks township, is the principal source
of supply. A storage reservoir having a capacity of
3,000,000 gallons is situated on this stream.
Church services were first held here by the Presby-
terian denomination in the year 1838. Rev. Daniel Gas-
ton, who resided at Beaver Meadow was the pastor.
After 1841, services were usually held in the school
house until 1852, when a church building was com-
menced. The edifice was dedicated on the 9th of Octo-
ber, 1853. The adherents of the Methodist denomina-
tion and of several others also worshipped in this build-
ing.
In 1866 the Methodists erected a building of their
own. The father of this church was Rev. Emory T,
Swartz, now of Scranton. It was named the Centenary
Methodist Episcopal church, because thp year of its
348 . HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
erection was the centennial of ^lethodism in the United
States.
The corner stone of St. Nicholas' Roman Catholic
church was laid on October 25, 1874. The building was
completed during the following year. Rev. E. V. Mc-
Elhone was the first rector. This church was for many
years a mission of St. Mary's church at Beaver
Meadow, as was St. Joseph's at Laurytown. In 1902,
during the residence here of Rev. F. X. Wastl, St. Nich-
olas' was organized as a separate parish. In 1907 the
building was enlarged and remodeled. Various other
improvements of a substantial nature were made dur-
ing the pastorate of Rev. Wastl.
Salem's Reformed church was the next to be built in
the borough. The church edifice was erected in 1875,
the first pastor being Rev. J. Fuendling. He was suc-
ceeded by Rev. M. H. ]\Iishler, who served about four
years, when Rev. A. M. Masonheimer, the present pas-
tor, was called.
Zion's Evangelical Lutheran church was built in
1876. There were but thirty members at the time of or-
ganization, and for a time the church had no regular
pastor. Its first regular pastor was Rev. Lewis Smith,
who took charge on October 1st, 1883. Rev. W. Penn
Barr accepted the pastorate of this congregation in
1903. During the following year the church bniMing
was remodeled at a cost of $7,000.
Christ Episcopal church had its beginnings during
the eighties. Meetings were first conducted in Oak
Hall, where the congregation and Sunday school was
organized. Mrs. Emma J. Blakslee Pryor was one of
the most influential ]^ersons in the establishment of this
congregation. In 1888 the present church building was
completed.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 349
Betliesda Evangelical cliurch was erected in 1890 on
land donated by Dr. J. B. Tweedle and Daniel Yeakel.
The Holiness Christian Association gained a footing
here in 1896, following a series of open air meetings.
A house of worship was put up in the same year.
One of Weatherly's institutions which is believed to
be unique is the town cane, given as a badge of honor by
the people of the borough to the oldest male resident of
the community. This custom was established in 1907,
and its originator was J. F. Kressley, a former chief
burgess of the town. The present holder of the cane,
and the first to whom the honor has come, is Lewis
Flickinger, who was born in Mahoning township. Car-
bon county, on December 3, 1818. It is provided that
upon the death of the person entitled to possess the
cane, it shall become the duty of the chief burgess pub-
licly to present it to the oldest man remaining a resi-
dent of the borough. The cane is of beautiful work-
manship and bears an appropriate inscription.
WEISSPOBT BOEOUGH.
While Weissport is one of the smaller boroughs of
Carbon county, it nevertheless occupies a conspicuous
position in the early history of this portion of the state.
It is bounded on the north, east and south by Franklin
township, to which it formerly belonged, and on the
west by the Lehigh river. Like Lehighton, its sister
borough on the opposite bank of the Lehigh, Weiss-
port was first settled by the Moravian missionaries. A
portion of the original tract of land purchased by the
Moravians in 1745, and on which Gnadenhiitten mission
was established, near the mouth of the Mahoning, in
1746, extended across the river and embraced the north-
ern part of the present site of Weissport.
350 I HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
In 1754, the mission was removed from Gnadenkiit-
ten to the spot where Weissport now stands, and the
place became known as New Gnadenhiitten. While the
principal settlement was now located on the eastern
bank of the river, its parent on the Mahoning was not
entirely deserted.
But scarcely had the new commimitj^ been ushered
into being when those remaining at Gnadenhiittten were
attacked by Indians and most of their nmnber slain.
This occurrence prompted the missionaries and their
Mohegan and Delaware converts, numbering several
hundred, to desert New Gnadenhiitten, and flee to Beth-
lehem for safety.
The Indian massacre took place on the evening of the
24th of November, 1755; during the month of January,
1756, Benjamin Franklin built Fort Allen, which stood
on the present site of the hotel of that name. A short
distance to the rear of the hotel may still be seen the
well which was dug under Franklin's supervision. It
was within the enclosure of the fort, and supplied the
soldiers of the garrison with water.
Having served the purpose for which it was erected.
Fort Allen was evacuated in January, 1761, and it was
not until nearly a quarter of a century afterwards that
the permanent settlement of "Weissport was begim.
The place is named in honor of its founder. Colonel
Jacob Weiss, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, who
was a native of Philadeli)hia.
Colonel Weiss first visited the locality in 1784, and
soon thereafter purchased seven hundred acres of land
between what is now Parrj'A^ille and Long Run from the
Moravians. The land was heavily timbered and his
object in making the ]nirchase was to engage in lumber-
ing operations. He erected a log house for his own use
on the identical site of Franklin's fort, besides building
HISTOEY or CAEBON COUNTY. 35^
a saw mill and a house for the man whom he employed
as his sawyer, John Roth.
In 1785, Weiss brought his family, consisting of his
wife, two children, and his mother-in-law, to the new
home. At the time of his coming the Arners, Solts and
Hoeths were already settled along the Poho Poco creek,
several miles to the eastward, while the Dodsons and a
few other families lived in the valley of the Mahoning,
on the opposite side of the river.
The land was soon denuded of its timber, and in a
few years fields were cleared and planted. Colonel
Weiss purchased other large tracts in the vicinity, and
was engaged in lumbering on an extensive scale for
many years.
Farming proved rather an unprofitable occupation at
first, however, because the soil was rough and barren,
while frosts during the growing season, due in large
measure to the moisture of the forests, were of com-
mon occurrence.
On the night of October 6, 1786, Colonel Weiss and
his family narrowly escaped being drowned when the
Lehigh suddenly and unexpectedly overflowed its
banks, spreading all over the flats about the little set-
tlement. Near the hour of midnight the family was
aroused by the wailing cry, *'We are surrounded!"
Years had gone by since last the region had been vis-
ited by hostile Indians ; but the first thought suggested
by this signal of distress was that a war party had
fallen upon them, bent on murder and pillage.
As soon as the true nature of the situation was un-
derstood, hasty preparations were made to escape to
the nearby hills. All of the family excepting Colonel
Weiss and his wife were driven to a place of safety in
a wagon. The Colonel made his escape on horseback,
while his wife was borne to higher ground in an arm
chair by some of the men of the settlement.
352 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Near the river stood a house occupied by a man
named Tippey, his wife and two children. They were
less fortunate than their neighbors. Their dwelling
was swept from its foundations by the fast-rising flood,
and was carried away by the current. In this ex-
tremity the parents clung protectingly to the children
until the house struck a tree, about a mile down the
river, when the little ones were washed to destruction.
TijDpey and his wife caught hold of the limbs of the
tree and were rescued in a canoe by one of Colonel
"Weiss' men, who had been a sailor. This event came
to be known as ' ' Tippey 's Flood. ' '
About the year 1800, settlers began to pour into the
region west of the Lehigh, and this gave rise to agita-
tion for the construction of a bridge across the river
at Weissport. The bridge was built by Northampton
county, of which Carbon then formed a part, in 1805,
the cost of the structure being about $3,000. Follow-
ing its erection, the road leading from Bethlehem to
Gnadenhiitten, which was built by the Moravians, more
than fifty years before this time, was extended to
Lausanne, at the mouth of the Nesquehoning creek, a
short distance above the point where Mauch Chunk is
now situated. In 1808 this road became a part of the
Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike, connecting Berwick
and Easton. The original bridge at Weissport was
partially wrecked by the flood of 1841, but, after being
repaired, stood until 1862, when it was entirely swept
away. It was then rebuilt, and has since been main-
tained by the county.
In 1827, when the building of the Lehigh Canal was
begun, there were but a few houses at Weiss' ]\[ill, as
the place was then designated. It was at first x^lanned
by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company to locate
the canal on the west side of the river ; Colonel W^eiss,
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 353
however, offered the company a free right of way
through his lands on the opposite bank, and this re-
sulted in the canal being built on the east side of the
river. Weiss and his sons then made a town plot, pro-
viding for lots, streets, and a public square. About
forty lots were soon disposed of, being sold on the plan
of a lottery for seventy-five dollars each. By this ar-
rangement the holder of each ticket was entitled to a
lot, the only uncertainty attending its purchase being
with reference to its location.
The public square, which to-day is one of the chief
attractions of the place, was presented to the town by
Colonel Weiss. The building of houses was begun in
earnest with the completion of the canal through here
in 1829. The tavern now known as the Weissport
House was built in that year by Peter Snyder, and oc-
cupied by Daniel Heberling, its first landlord.
Weiss was now burdened with age and infirmities,
and the active control of his atfairs devolved upon his
sons, Francis and Thomas. The former was a sur-
veyor, doing most of the surveying in this region for
many years.
About 1832, Lewis Weiss, one of the sons of Thomas
Weiss, began the building of boats along the canal for
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company and for the
Morris Canal and Banking Company. In 1836 he
opened the first store in Weissport, continuing the
business for more than twenty years. Another store
was opened by Daniel Heberling, about the center of
the town, in 1838. He, too, remained in business for
an extended period of time. One of the successful
boat builders in the early history of the place was
Andrew Graver, who came here from Lehighton in
1836. He retired in 1877. Nathan Snyder opened a
boat yard in 1846 which he conducted until 1872. The
354 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
rolling mill established by Lewis Weiss in 1855 was one
of the leading industries of the town for nearly thirty
years. This plant, which had several times been en-
larged, was last owned and operated by William Lilly
and Company, being closed down in 1883.
Weissport has witnessed the establishment of a num-
ber of manufacturing enterprises which contributed
greatly to the prosperity and up-building of the town,
but which, for various reasons have ceased to exist.
One of these enterprises was conducted by the Lehigh
Valley Emery Wheel Company, which was organized
in 1874 with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars.
The industry had flourished in a small way some years
prior to the organization of the company. Among its
leading spirits were William Lilly, who served as presi-
dent of the company until his death, which occurred in
1893; J. G. Zern, W. C. McCormick, L. E. Wills, W. K.
Butler, and others. The operations of the company
covered a period of about twenty-six years.
The Fort Allen Foundry was established by William
and C. D. Miner in 1874. It prospered for a time, but
has now been closed for many years.
About 1890 Fred Horlacher, Charles Welters and
others formed the Carbon County Improvement Com-
pany, which conducted a planing mill, facing mill, an
artificial ice plant, and an electric light plant, which
furnished light for both Weissport and Lehighton.
The company failed after a time, and the jn-operty
passed to the control of a party of JNIauch Chunk capi-
talists, headed by James I. Blakslee. The flood of
1001 destroyed the buildings of the company and they
were not replaced.
The silk-throwing mill which is now in operation
here was established by A. L. Storms and William G.
IMillor. Miller has since withdrawn from the partner-
I-IISTOFvY OF CARBON COUNTY. 355
ship, his interest having been purchased by Nathan
Everett. This and the Eureka Manufacturing Com-
pany, a furniture making concern controlled by J. W.
Heller, represent the only industries now situated in
the town.
Many of Weissport's i:)eople are employed in the
Packerton shops of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com-
pany ; a smaller number work for the Central Railroad
Company of New Jersey, the line of which passes
through the town. Others are employed in the boat
yards of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company,
situated just across the canal in East Weissport ; some
follow boating on the canal as an occupation, while a
certain number earn the means of a livelihood in the
zinc works at Hazard.
Owing to its low situation, Weissport has suffered
severely from the floods which at various times have
destroyed life and property along the Lehigh river.
The most disastrous of these floods were those of 1841,
1862, and 1901. In the freshet of 1862 scarcely a house
in the place escaped being damaged by the water.
Eighty-nine buildings of all descriptions were then
destroyed, while wrecks of bridges, broken canal boats,
lumber, saw logs, and debris of every variety covered
the site of the town. Four residents of Weissport
were drowned in this flood. There were two floods in
1901 — one during the latter part of August, and the
other in December. Most of the place was submerged
on both occasions, and heavy property losses were sus-
tained.
The postoffice here was established in 1850, Alex-
ander Lentz being the first postmaster. Two rural
mail routes having this office for their starting point,
and running eastward through Franklin township
toward the Monroe county line were instituted in 1903.
23
.■>5() HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
AVeissport was incorporated as a borough on June
3, 18G7. The ])oi)ulation of the place in 1870 was 351).
Eacli decennial census since then has shown some
growth, and in 1910 the number had risen to 638. In
this connection it should be rememl)ered, too, that the
borough line extends only to the canal, much of the
town lying east of this in Franklin township.
Tlie first schoolhouse in Weissport was erected in
1838, its cost being $400. It stood near the river, and
was swept away by the flood of 1841. A small, one-
story octagonal stone building was erected in its place.
This structure is still standing upon its original site,
being now used as the town lock-up. It was used for
school ])ui'])oses until 1865. The old church of the
Evangelical Association was also utilized as a school-
house from 1853 to 1862, being destroyed by the flood
of that year. The present building, accommodating all
the schools of the borough, was built in 1865.
Weissport to-day has two hotels. The first to be
erected has already been mentioned as having been
))uilt by Peter Snyder, and occupied by Daniel Heber-
ling, in 1829. It is now conducted by Robert Hongen,
])eing known as the Weiss])ort House. The meetings of
town council are held here, the liorough having no
building of its own.
The Fort Allen House was built in 1857 l)y Edward
Weiss, son of Colonel Jacob Weiss. It occu])ies the site
of the old log house which the colonel erected in 1785,
and stands within the limits of the stockade for which
it was named.
One of the interesting buildings of Weissport is
Jacob's lleformed church. Before the construction of
this edifice, the (mly church building this congi-egation
has cvci' owned, the Ueformed and l^utheran people
worshi])i)ed under the trees along tlu^ Lclii^li i-ivei".
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 357
This congregation is undoubtedly an outgrowth of the
Gnadenhiitten mission, this fact having been attested
to by early residents of the place. The church was
built in co-operation by the Reformed and Lutheran
denominations. The congregations were formally or-
ganized under a tree, near the spot where the church
now stands, on August 1, 1838, under the leadership of
Rev. Cyrus Becker, representing the Reformed ele-
ment, and Rev. F. W. Meendsen, an indefatigable
worker in the cause of the Lutheran church throughout
the Lehigh Valley.
At this meeting Jacob Weiss (hence the name
Jacob's) presented a lot on which to build the church.
In addition to this he gave an acre of ground on the
hill to the east of the canal for a burial ground. The
Presbyterian denomination was also intended to share
in the gift; but the adherents of that faith forfeited
their rights by not taking part in the building of the
church, which was completed and occupied on Christ-
mas Day in 1839. The church was jointly owned until
1893, when the Reformed people bought out the Lu-
tlierans' interest for the sum of $1,300. In the same
year the congregation began to remodel the building,
which work was finished several years later.
The church is one of the few buildings of Weissport
which withstood the various floods that have wrought
such havoc in the town. The building was not yet
finished when, in January, 1839, Colonel Weiss died at
the advanced age of nearly eighty-nine years. He was
the first to be buried in the cemeterv on the hill, where
his remains repose.
Ebenezer church of the Evangelical Association
dates back to the year 1833, when the first services of
this denomination were here conducted. The congre-
gation was founded in 1835 by Rev. J. M. Saylor and
358 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Rev. Jacob Reigel. A church building was erected on
the site of the present school house, and was occupied
until 1853, when the present house of worship was
l)egun. Under Rev. Moses Dissinger, in 1870, the
church became a regular station ; up to this time it was
either a mission or a part of a circuit. The congrega-
tion was quite prosperous until the division in the As-
sociation took place; a majority of its membership
then left the mother church and built a new one a short
distance across the canal in Franklin township. Since
then the church has again been conducted as a mission.
St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church was built in
1893, the corner stone having been laid on the 6th of
Augiist of that year. The early history of this congre-
gation has already been given in connection with that
of Jacob's Reformed church.
Weissport is furnished with water by the Lehighton
Water Supply Company, while the town is also electri-
cally lighted by the plant of its sister borough.
The Weissport National Bank, having a capital
stock of $25,000, was opened for business on July 1,
1912.
Its president is Milton Snyder, while W. H. Straus-
burger is the cashier of the institution.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Biographical Sketches
Arner, Charles, Carbon county's most prominent
hotel man, is a native of Northampton county. His
grandfather, Nicholas x\rner, who emigrated to this
country from Germany, settled in Northampton county.
Pie followed the occupation of a stone mason. His
father, who also bore the name of Nicholas, was a farm-
er in Bethlehem township, and later in Forks township.
The maiden name of Mr. Arner 's mother was Eliza-
beth Eckert, who was a native of Northampton county.
Charles Arner was born on May 22, 1857. After at-
tending the public schools, he matriculated at Trach's
Academy, Easton, Pa., where he prepared himself as a
teacher. After teaching school for about six years, he
entered the mercantile business, which he followed for
five years.
In 1893, he became the proprietor of the Central
Hotel, at Easton, later conducting the Franklin House
in the same city. Early in 1910 he became the landlord
of the American Hotel at Mauch Chunk, which under
liis management has become one of the best and most
l'Oi)ular hostelries in the Lehigh Valley. This hotel
is well patronized by business and traveling men, and
it is a favorite with the large number of tourists who
annually visit Mauch Chunk.
Mr. Arner was married in 1878 to Clara Walter, of
Northampton county. Their only son, Walter E. Ar-
ner, is now located in Newark, N. J. Mrs. Arner died
in 1885, and two years later Mr. Arner wedded Lillian,
a daughter of Sydenham Stocker, of Northampton
county.
359
360 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Mr. Arner is a member of the Lutheran Church and
is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks. He is a believer in the principles of Kepubli-
canism.
Arner, William, Register of Wills and Clerk of the
Orphans' Court of Carbon county, was born at Summit
Hill on December 23, 1869. He is one of four sons of
Moses and Catherine (Schneider) Arner, both de-
ceased.
The pioneer of the family in America was Johan
Ulrich Arner, who came hither from the Palatinate,
Germany, on the ship Mercury, which reached Phila-
delphia on May 29, 1735. This early pioneer was born
in 1693, being 42 years old when landed in this country.
He was accompanied by his wife, Verona, and four chil-
dren. Johan Ulrich Arner was one of the founders of
Heidelberg church, in 1746, located in the upper ])art
of what is now Lehigh county. The records of Heidel-
berg township show that in 1762 he paid a tax of five
English pounds.
The Arners were among the earliest of the perma-
nent settlers of Carbon county, locating along the Big
Creek about the time of the Revolution. The descend-
ants of these settlers have now become so numerous
that they formed a family association, holding annual
reunions.
William Arner is a product of the Summit Hill high
school. For about twenty years he conducted a tailor-
ing establishment at Summit Hill, later engaging in
the confectionery business. He was elected to the office
of Register of Wills in 1915 as the candidate of the
Democratic party, with which he has been actively iden-
tified.
/.
^^^.£-1^
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. ^{]l
On May 15, 1895, Mr. Arner was married to Mary,
daughter of Henry Seibott, of Philadelphia. The fol-
lowing children have been born to them: Reinhold,
Edwin, Henry, Elizabeth, and Ethel.
Assmann, Rev. Joseph A., rector of St. Joseph's
Roman Catholic church, of East Mauch Chunk, was
born at Grevenstein, Westphalia, Germany, March 14,
1868. He was educated at Paderborn, Germany, and
at St. Charles Seminary, Overbrook, Philadelphia.
Coming to America in 1886, he was ordained to the
priesthood in 1894. He served successively as curate
of Holy Trinity church, St. Bonaventure church, and
Our Lady Help of Christians, all of Philadelphia.
Later he was the rector of St. Vincent's church of
Tacony. After serving St. John's church at Haycock,
Bucks county, for eighteen months, he was for ten years
the rector of the church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, at
Minersville, Schuylkill county.
Rev. Assmann came to St. Joseph's church in the
spring of 1911. During his pastorate the church prop-
erty has been improved, and a handsome parochial
school building, costing $30,000, has been built. This
is one of the most modern school buildings in the coun-
ty, housing about three hundred children, being taught
by seven Sisters of Christian Charity. Under the effi-
cient administration of Rev. Assmann, the devoted pas-
tor, St. Joseph's parish is in a flourishing condition, the
parishioners are a strong, moral force in the commu-
nity, and the carefully trained children will become the
good Christians and the useful citizens of the future.
Baer, Eugene W., one of the most conspicuous fig-
ures in Carbon county's business and industrial affairs,
is the principal stockholder and president of the Baer
;](jO HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Company, which operates a large silk mill at Lehigh-
ton.
He was born at Paterson, New Jersey, September 9,
18G8, his parents, Jacob F. and Louise (Blattner)
Baer, being natives of Switzerland.
Jacob F. Baer was born November 27, 1836, and was
educated in the schools of his native country, learning
the trade of a silkmaker under the direction of his
father, John F. Baer.
In 1856, being then twenty years of age, he emigrated
to America, hoping to find in the new world better op-
portunities for advancement and the achievement of
success than the old afforded. He located in New
York city, where for a short period he was engaged in
the silk business, later taking up his permanent resi-
dence at Paterson, New Jersey, where he prospered in
his chosen field as a manufacturer of silk, having be-
gun in a small way.
He suffered heavy financial losses in the panic which
followed the failure of Jay Cooke & Company in 1873,
and was obliged by force of circumstances to discon-
tinue operations.
For several years subsequent to this period he
served in managerial capacities in a number of large
silk mills. The year 1888 found him again engaged in
business on his own account, having established the
Helvetia Silk Mills, numbered to-day among the lead-
ing industrial enterprises of Paterson.
Jacob F. J3aer was married in 1858, his children
being as follows: Frederick A., Ralph, Eugene, Wil-
liam A., Lewis C, Anna, Louise and Rose L. Baer.
The father died on November 29. 1905.
Eugene W. Baer is a product of the ])ublic schools,
beginning his business career at the age of fourteen
as an emi)]oye of J. AValder, a mauuiacturer of silk
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3(33
mill supplies, with whom he remained for two years.
Subsequently he spent a year with the firm of Ulrieh
& Company, engaged in the same line of business, after
which he served an apprenticeship of three and a half
years with the Eastwood Company, builders of textile
machinery. From 1888 until 1896 he was in the employ
of his father in the Helvetia Mills in Paterson. It
was during this period that Mr. Baer gained the prac-
tical experience in the various departments of silk
manufacture upon which his success has been built.
The mechanical knowledge which he gained during the
term of his apprenticeship here stood him in good
stead, and being of an inventive turn of mind, he insti-
tuted various new processes and devices.
He had now come to the point at which every man of
force and originality arrives sooner or later. Serving
in a subordinate capacity was no longer congenial to
him, and he yearned to employ his energies and abil-
ities unhampered by the will of a superior. Accord-
ingly he formed the firm of Eugene W. Baer & Com-
pany, and set up a silk spinning manufactory at River-
side, one of the suburbs of Paterson.
After the business had been well established, Mr.
Baer admitted his father to partnership with himself,
and in 1898 the plant was removed to Lehighton, where
large and modern buildings had been specially erected.
This industry now gives employment to more people
than any other in Lehighton.
In 1903 Mr. Baer purchased his father's interest in
the business and the concern was incorporated under
the style and title of The Baer Company, the heads of
the various departments in the mill being permitted to
become stockholders, while Mr. Baer assumed the
presidency of the company. In 1907 a branch mill was
364 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
erected at Berwick, Pa., and this has a capacity not
much less than the mill at Lehighton.
Mr. Baer is also a partner and stockholder in the
Helvetia Silk Mills, and is a member of the board of
directors. He was chiefly instrumental in the organi-
zation of the Citizens' National Bank of Lehighton, of
which institution he was president for several years.
He resigned from this position June 23, 1910.
In December, 1889, Mr. Baer was united in marriage
to Miss Cora B. Tice, daughter of David and Elizabeth
Tice. Their children are : Cora E., Genevieve R., Rose
L. and Eugene W., twins; Carlos A. and Margie E.
Baer. All were born in Paterson excepting Margie,
who claims Lehighton as the place of her nativity.
Cora and Genevieve are now enrolled as students at the
National Park Seminary, a select school for young
women, at Washington, D. C.
Mr. Baer is an active member and liberal supporter
of the Presbyterian church.
Balliet, Dr. Calvin J., a Lehighton physician and
surgeon, is the son of Nathan and Sarah (Meinhard)
Balliet. He is one of the numerous descendants of
Paulus Balliet, a native of Alsace, Germany, who was
born in the year 1717. Emigrating to America on the
ship ''Robert Oliver," Walter Goodman commanding,
he landed on September 10, 1738, becoming one of the
pioneer settlers of North Whitehall township, Lehigh
county. He was a large landowner, and was a well-
known inn keeper, being commonly referred to as
''Bowl" Balliet, a name which, according to tradi-
tion, was conferred upon him by the Indians, to whom
he was accustomed to furnish refreshments from a
wooden bowl.
Calvin J. Balliet was born in Mahoning township on
January 11, 1875. His early training was received in
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 355
tlie common schools of that district, and at the Normal
Institute. Later he attended Palatinate College, Mey-
erstown. Pa., and the Polytechnic Institute, of Balti-
more. Entering Jefferson Medical College, he was
graduated with the class of 1897, after which he took a
post-graduate course at the Polyclinic Hospital, Phila-
delphia.
In the fall of 1897 he located in Lehighton, where he
has since practiced his profession, having built up a
good practice among the friends and associates of his
lifetime. He holds membership in the Carbon County
Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the
Lehigh Valley Medical Society and the American Med-
ical Association.
Dr. Balliet was married in 1898 to Meta, daughter of
Dennis Nothstein, of Mahoning township. They are
the parents of six sons : Herman, Henry, Calvin, Jos-
eph, Eobert and Thomas.
Balliet, Nathan M., the senior member of the law
firm of Balliet & Seidel, of Lehighton, is a representa-
tive of one of Carbon county's foremost professional
families.
Balliet is a name that has been prominent in eastern
Pennsylvania since Colonial times. Joseph Balliet,
the grandfather of N. M. Balliet, was a farmer in that
portion of the Mahoning Valley which was formerly
embraced in the territory of Northampton county, but
which in 1811 became a part of Schuylkill county. The
father of N. M. Balliet also bore the name of Nathan,
and he was born in West Penn township, Schuylkill
county. He was a farmer by occupation. In early life
he was married to Sarah Meinhard, who was born at
Nesquehoning, but spent her girlhood in the Mahoning
Valley.
366 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Their children were : Thomas M., Francis S., Tilgli-
man M., Nathan M., Andrew J., David M., Calvin J.,
Susan, Marj'', Hannah, Emma and Amanda.
Thomas was for six years the superintendent of
schools for Carbon county. Later he was superintend-
ent of the schools of Springfield, Massachusetts, while
he is now the dean of the school of pedagogy of the
University of New York. He bears a national reputa-
tion as an educator. Francis is a farmer, and lives on
the old homestead. Tilghman is a practising physician
in Philadelphia; he also holds the chair of theraputics
at Dartmouth Medical College. Andrew is an attorney
at Seattle, Washington, and for a time he held a judi-
cial position under the federal government in Alaska.
David is a traveling salesman, living at Meyerstowu.
Pennsylvania. Calvin is a physician at Lehighton,
while Susan is the wife of Edwin Hunsinger, of the
same place. Mary, Hannah, and Emma remain at
home; Amanda is married to Daniel AV. Sittler, Esc].,
of Mauch Chunk. The father of this family died in
1896.
N. M. Balliet was born in Mahoning township. Car-
bon county, on October 19, 1861. Pie acquired his
early education in tlie public schools and at the Nor-
mal Institute, located in his native township and
founded by his brother. Prof. Thomas M. Balliet. He
attended Kutztown State Normal School, and later
studied at Franklin and INfarshall College, from which
he graduated with the class of 1886. ^Ir. Balliet taught
in the public schools for a few years, after which he
became an instructor in Greek and Latin at Palatinate
College. Accepting a professorship at TTrsinus Col-
lege, he taught Latin and Roman literature there foi-
two years, during which time he was also president of
the summer school of languages at the same college.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 357
Forsaking the profession of teaching, he entered the
New York Law School, from which he was graduated
in 1895. Being admitted to practise in the courts of
the state of New York, he maintained an office in New
York city for a brief period.
In the fall of 1895 Mr. Balliet was admitted to the
Carbon county bar, succeeding to the practise of the
late Senator William M. Eapsher, and opening an of-
fice in Lehighton. In 1896 he formed a partnership
with his brother-in-law, Ira E. Seidel, under the firm
name of Balliet & Seidel, and in addition to the office
in Lehighton, they maintain a branch at Palmerton.
Mr. Balliet is a member of the board of education of
Lehighton, while he is connected fraternally with the
Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
He is a member of the board of trustees of the Allen-
town College for Women, and of the Publication Board
of the Reformed Church of the United States.
N. M. Balliet was married to Emma L., daughter of
Hon. Charles H. Seidel and his wife Kate, of Ma-
honing township, on August 6, 1891. Their children
are: Charles M., Paul, Nevin, and Katie S. Balliet.
Barr, Rev. W. Penn, A.M., pastor of Zion's Evan-
gelical Lutheran church at Weatherly, was born at
Mauch Chunk, February 16, 1867. He is a grandson of
John Barr, who was a prominent business man of
Berks county. His father was Francis A. Barr, a
merchant tailor, also born in Berks county ; his mother
bore the maiden name of Lizzie A. Helffrich, a native
of Lehigh county.
William Penn Barr is one of a family of ten chil-
dren; when he was four years old his parents removed
to Lyons, Berks county, where he received his early
education. Later he accompanied the family of his
father to the state of Delaware, and after a residence
368 11 J STORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
of five years they established their home at Elizabeth-
ville, Dauphin county, Pa. Following the trade of his
father, Mr. Barr was for a number of years a merchant
tailor, and tlien a bookkeeper. Entering Muhlenberg
College, he graduated in 1896 with the degree of A.B.
Three years later he graduated from the Lutheran
Theological Seminary at Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, and
was honored with the degree of A.M. by Muhlenberg
College. Immediately upon his graduation he accepted
a call from Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, of
Mt. Joy, Pa. After serving this congregation for four
years, he assumed the duties of his present pastorate
at Weatherly, July 1, 1903. This charge also includes
a preaching point at Lowrytown and St. Matthew's
church in Packer township ; he preaches at each on al-
ternate Sundays in the afternoon. Under Rev. Barr's
pastorate the church at Weatherly was enlarged and
rebuilt at an outlay of seven thousand dollars. The
church in Packer township was also remodeled and
greatly improved. The debt so incurred has been liqui-
dated in full, while much of the good showing that has
been made by the congregations which he serves is
due to his qualities of leadership.
Rev. Barr was first married to Miss Laura ^[. Swab,
of Elizabethville, Dauphin county, March 25, 1890,
several years before he began his career as a student.
She died on September 29, 1906, having borne him
three children: Bernice E., Margaret ^^, and Francis
A. Barr. Bernice was until recentlv located at Ches-
ter, S. C, where she ])resided over the organ of the
Presbyterian church.
Mr. Barr was re-married to ]\[arv A. Koch, of
Weatherly, October 25, 1907. She is a daughter of
Hugh Koch and his wife Fietta, of ]\[cl\eansburg,
Schuylkill county.
illSTOEY OF CAUBON COUNTY. 359
Barrington, Rev. William R., rector of St. Joseph's
Koman Catholic church, of Summit Hill, is one of the
ten children of John and Elizabeth (Payne) Barring-
ton, natives of Ireland, who emigrated to America in
1846, settling in Philadelphia.
Father Harrington acquired his rudimentary train-
ing in the public schools, completing liis education at
La Salle College, Philadelphia, and at St. Charles'
Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on May
30, 1896. After serving various churches in Philadel-
phia, he came to Summit Hill from St. Thomas ' church
in April, 1910.
St. Joseph's church is one of the oldest of the Cath-
olic churches in this portion of the coal fields. As early
as 1826 missionaries of the Catholic church from Eas-
ton, Pottsville, and Tamaqua paid occasional visits to
this locality, but it was not until about a quarter of a
century later that a church edifice was erected.
During the comparatively short pastorate of Father
Barrington many improvements have been made to the
church and the rectory. Father Barrington has not
only been the spiritual leader of his congregation, but
he has taken an active and sympathetic interest in the
temporal well-being of his people. He has won the
warm regard of all classes in Summit Hill. He is a
lover of art and is a talented musician.
Bauman, Dennis, an honored representative of one
of Carbon count}" 's pioneer families, now living in re-
tirement at Allentown, was born at Bowmanstown,
then a part of Northampton county, on April 10, 1819.
The pioneer of his family in America was John Deter
Bauman, who is known to have purchased land near
the mouth of Lizard creek, in what is now East Penn
township, Carbon county, in the year 1760. He was
one of the first settlers of Northampton county north
24
370 liJSTOKV OF CAKBON COUNTY.
of the Blue moimtains. Not only did he become an
extensive land owner in this portion of the county, but
he was also a successful hunter and trapper, as were
his descendants for several generations. He was the
father of four children: Bernhard, Henry, Mary, and
Sabilla.
Henry settled near the point where St. John's
church now stands in Lower Towamensing township,
and about two miles north of Lehigh Gap, following
farming and lumbering. His family consisted of two
sons and two daughters. Occasionally the family was
threatened liy the Indians, and in one instance the
head of the household sent his wife and children to a
place near Eastou for safety, while he remained alone
in the wilderness.
The elder son, John 1)., t1ie father of Dennis Ban-
man, was born about the year 1772. Tn 179() he settlo<l
where Bowmanstown now stands, erecting a dwelling
of logs. He became a farmer and lumberman, and.
like his predecessors, he spent much time in hunting
and trapping. In 1808 he built a large and substantial
stone house, and obtaining a license he conducted it as
a hotel until the year 1853, the time of his death. The
house was on the line of the old turnpike leading from
Berwick to Easton, and was a stopping j^lace for trav-
elers on that highway.
Mr. Bauman served as a commissioner of Carbon
county for the term of three years. He was the father
of twelve children and was res|)ectod and loved by all
who knew him. His brothei', Henry, settled on a faini
a short distance north of Lehigh (ia]\ on the east bank
of the river, where he silent his cut lie life. He, too,
reared a large family, and died at the advanced age of
ninety-two vears.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 37I
Dennis Baiiman in early life assisted his father in
his farming- and lumbering operations, receiving the
educational equipment then afforded by the district
schools, and later pursuing a course of study at a
boarding school in Bucks county, where he was in at-
tendance for two successive winters. Mastering the
art of a surveyor, he followed this as his principal
occupation for nine years, being appointed also as
deputy surveyor of Carbon county by Governor Shunk.
In 1849 he was elected to the office of prothonotary,
while three years later his conduct of the affairs of the
office was given the stamp of public approval in his
unanimous re-election. He was next chosen as one of
the associate judges of the county, serving in that ca-
pacity for five years.
About the year 1855 he became a member of the firm
of Bauman Brothers and Company, which established
and operated an anthracite blast furnace at Parryville.
Upon the dissolution of this co-partnership, of which
Mr. Bauman was the acting financial member, in 1857,
the Carbon Iron Company was organized and incor-
porated. He was chosen as its president, and was regu-
larly re-elected from year to year until 1876. The
great panic which was then in progress closed down
most of the iron manufacturing establishments of the
Lehigh Valley, and the plant at Parryville proved no
exception, the property passing to the Carbon Iron and
Pipe Company. After this Mr. Bauman spent most
of his time in looking after his private interests.
He was one of the founders of the Carbon Metallic
Paint Company, which was organized about 1867, serv-
ing as a member of its board of directors until 1902,
and being the secretary and treasurer of the company
during most of that time. He was also one of the or-
ganizers of the First National Bank of Lehighton, in
372 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
1875, being a member of its board of directors for
more than a quarter of a century, and for a time its
vice-president.
When Parryville was incorporated as a borough, in
1875, Mr. Bauman was honored in being chosen as the
first chief burgess of the town, which position he held
for several terms, finally declining further re-election,
but serving as a member of the borough council for
years thereafter. He became a member of the Mauch
Chunk lodge of Odd Fellows in 1849, still retaining his
membership, and never having joined any other lodge
or club. His partner in life was Mary, daughter of
Henry Kress, of Northampton county. Four sons and
a daughter were born to them. The wife and mother
died on March 7, 1904, and in the fall of that year Mr.
Bauman took up his residence with a daughter at Al-
lentown, where he has since remained. He has been an
earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and a loyal Sunday school supporter since 1858, having
filled many offices of honor and trust in these societies.
He is indeed a grand old man in the full sense of the
term, looking back from the eminence of years with
}>atriarclial serenity upon his long life of probity and
usefulness.
Berber, Adam, a hotel keeper of East Penn town-
ship, and a former member of the board of county
auditors, is the son of George and Kate (Kemmerer)
J^erger. His father was a native of Berks County.
Establishing himself in the mercantile business at Ma-
hanoy City, he remained there for a few years. Later
he followed the occupation of a farmer in IMahoning
and East Penn townships.
Adam Berger was born in Berks county on November
12, 1861. His early life was spent beneath the i)aternal
roof, while his educational advantages were those sup-
ipilTfVn;-
..^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 373
plied by the public schools. Reaching man's estate, he
engaged in farming in Mahoning township, later pur-
suing tlie same occupation in East Penn. In 1892 he
entered the hotel business in the latter township, where
he has since lived, excepting a residence of a few years
in Lehighton. He served one term as tax collector of
East Penn township, and is now a member of the
school board of that district.
In 1902, as the nominee of the Democratic party, he
was elected to the office of county auditor, which he
held for three years.
At the age of twenty he was married to Priscilla,
daughter of Joseph Ruch, of East Penn township.
Their children are: George V., Emma S., wife of Ed-
ward Exner, and Stanley J. Berger.
Mr. Berger is identified with the Patriotic Order of
Sons of America, the Junior Order of United Amer-
ican Mechanics, and the Order of Independent Ameri-
cans.
Bertolette, Frederick, for many years one of the lead-
ing members of the Carbon county bar, and a public-
spirited citizen of Mauch Chunk, was born near Potts-
town, Montgomery county, April 26, 1851.
The family moved to Lewisburg, Union county, when
he was quite small. He received his preliminary edu-
cation there, and entering Bucknell University, he was
graduated from that institution in 1872.
Coming to Mauch Chunk, he studied law in the ofifice
of his cousin, Colonel John D. Bertolette, who served
with distinction in the Rebellion. He was admitted to
the bar in 1874. He enjoyed a large practice, being
particularly successful as a corporation lawyer. He
took a prominent part in the famous Mollie Maguire
trials, which gave him a reputation as a criminal law-
yer. Later he defended the members of the train crew
374 lilSTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
who were charged witli the Miul Run Disaster, one of
the most fatal wrecks in the annals of railroading, and
secured their acquittal.
Mr. Bertolette was a member of the Pennsylvania
Bar Association, and attended all its meetings so long
as his health would permit.
He never sought public office ; but at the time of his
death he was burgess of Mauch Chunk, to which posi-
tion he was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of
his friend and neighbor, Asa P. Blakslee.
Every movement for the improvement and up-build-
ing of the town of his adoption always had his cordial
cooperation and support.
Mr. Bertolette was united in marriage to Louise,
daughter of Lafayette Albright, of Lewisburg, in 1875.
The following children were born to them : Helen, the
wife of Rev. A. C. Dieffenbach, of Hartford, Conn.;
Florence, who wedded H. N. Chapin, of Cleveland,
Ohio, and Walter, who died in 1914 at the age of thirty-
three.
Mr. Bertolette departed this life very suddenly at his
home on March 10, 1915, in the sixty-fourth year of his
age. As a mark of respect to his memory, all business
was suspended in Mauch Chunk on the day of his
burial.
Bevan, James J., who has been superintendent of
schools for Carbon count}' since 1902, is of Welsh
parentage, his father, William E. Bevan, having been
born in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1829. At the age
of 21 he was united in marriage to Ann Jenkins, at
Merthyr Tidvil. Shortly after their marriage the
young couple emigrated to the United States, settling
near Pottsville, Schuylkill county, Pa., where Mr.
Bevan became a coal miner. After a short residence
there, the family removed to Tresckow, Carbon county.
Vcz^rrue^ C? /Si
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 375
where the father became an influential member of the
community and a prominent factor in Banks township
politics. In 1873 he was elected to the office of county
treasurer. He died in 1884.
James J. Bevan was born at Tresckow, January 31,
1861. At the age of fifteen he accompanied his fa-
ther's family to Alabama, where the elder Bevan held
an executive position about a soft coal mine. During
his stay in the south, James was a student at the
Shelby Collegiate Institute, located near Birmingham.
Returning to the north in 1881, he was for a short time
employed as a hoisting engineer at the mines near
Tresckow. He then entered West Chester State Nor-
mal School, where he pursued a scientific course. Two
years after his graduation, this institution conferred
the degree of M.S. upon him.
During 1882 and 1883, Mr. Bevan occupied the posi-
tion of principal of the public schools of Leviston,
Banks township, while in 1885 he was elected to the
principalship of the schools of Mauch Chunk, in which
capacity he served until called to the superintendency
of the schools of the county, in 1902.
That he has filled this responsible position accept-
ably and well is attested by the fact that he is now
serving his fourth term, having been thrice re-elected
with scarcely any opposition. During his incumbency
he has had an eye single to the advancement of the
cause of education throughout the county, and he has
labored with especial diligence for the uplift of the
rural schools. He proceeds on the assumption that
the schools in towns and boroughs under his jurisdic-
tion, being governed by the principal in charge, do not
stand as much in need of supervision and encourage-
ment, perhaps, as do the rural schools, often officered
by recruits in the educational ranks, who are com-
376 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
pelled to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that
confront them as best they ma}', without the guiding
care and supervision of a principal.
Largely through his influence, agriculture is now
being taught in most of the schools of the rural dis-
tricts of the county, giving those in attendance a better
understanding of their environment and opportunities,
and tending toward the solution of the problem which
is presented by overcrowding in cities and the conse-
quent increase in the cost of living. He also lays spe-
cial stress on the importance of thorough training in
English, holding that the highest accomplishment a
boy or girl can have is to know well the mother tongue.
Mr. Bevan is now the president of the Association of
County Superintendents of Pennsylvania, and has for
years taken an active interest in the work of the State
Educational Association.
He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and is a communicant of the Presbyterian
church.
In 1889 he was married to Francesca L., daughter of
Reuben Cole, of Northami)ton county. Mary F. Bevan,
a graduate of Bloomsburg State Normal School, is
their only child.
Bittner, John C, a retired farmer of Packer town-
ship, and a veteran of the Civil War, is the son of
Martin and Eva (Crat) Bittner, both natives of Ger-
many. The family emigrated to this country about
1830, settling in Columbia county. Pa. The father
was a carpenter. Eemoving to Cressona, Schuylkill
county, the parents both died there.
John C. Bittner was born in Columbia county on
February 24, 1836. He was about eight years of age
when the death of his father occurred, and he grew
to maturity on a farm near Orwigsburg, Schuylkill
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 377
county. Learning tlie carpenter trade, he pursued his
vocation until 1864. During March of that year he en-
listed in Company I, One hundred and eighty-seventh
Eegiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, attached
to the Army of the Potomac. He participated in all
the engagements and maneuvers of his regiment from
this time forth, including the battle of Cold Harbor,
the siege of Petersburg, and the fighting about the
Weldon Eailroad, to the fall of Eichmond and the close
of the war.
Eeturning to civil life he came to Quakake Valley
and purchased from John Faust, his father-in-law, the
old grist mill now owned by William S. Dietrich, con-
ducting the same until 1869, when he disposed of the
mill to Henry Gerhard.
Mr. Bittner then devoted himself to agricultural pur-
suits, acquiring title to the farm on which his father-
in-law had settled when he came to Quakake Valley in
1829. He is still the owner of this farm, which is one
of the most desirable in the district.
On April 7, 1860, he was married to Caroline Faust,
and they became the parents of the following children :
Charles, deceased; William H., owning a ranch near
Louisville, Col. ; Allen D., living on the old homestead
and conducting the farm ; Mary, the wife of Joel Lein-
inger, of Packer township; Elvin D., a railway mail
clerk, located at Harrisburg, Pa.; Ida, the wife of
Samuel Behler, of Nuremberg, Schuylkill county;
Clara E. and Jere, deceased; Edgar, a mechanical en-
gineer in the service of the New Jersey Foundry and
Machine Company, of New York; George, deceased;
Agnes, who married Allen Gerhard; Milton, a sten-
ographer, of Idaho Springs, Col. ; Arthur, operating a
farm in Packer township; Jennie, wife of Wallace 0.
Gerhard, and Laura, who wedded Truman Musselman.
378 niSTORi' OF carbon couxty.
William, Allen, Elvin, Jere, Edgar and Milton were
all educated at the Valparaiso Normal School, now
known as Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana,
and became school teachers. All of these, excepting
Jere, who died at the age of twenty-two, married school
teachers.
Jennie attended the Polytechnic Institute, of Gil-
berts, Monroe county, Pa. She taught school for sev-
eral years, and the man whom she married had been a
school teacher.
Mr. Bittner and his family have been among the
leading spirits of St. Matthew's Lutheran and Reform-
ed church, and the Sunday school connected therewith,
situated on ground originally belonging to the old
homestead, while being otherwise influential in the
community. During his long residence in Packer town-
ship, Mr. Bittner successively filled most of the offices
in the gift of the people of that district.
Blakslee, Hon. James I., fourth assistant postmaster
general, and a prominent Democratic leader, also oper-
ating the municipal electric light plant of Lehighton,
is of Scotch antecedents, and the family from which he
springs has been identified with the interests and activi-
ties of Pennsylvania since early in the eighteenth cen-
tury.
Zopher Blakslee, his great grandfather, was a native
of Vermont, but spent the major ])ortion of his life in
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. He was a farmer
by occupation.
One of the ten children of Zopher Blakslee, James T.
Blakslee was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, February 10, 1815. About 1833 he removed to
Mauch Chunk with his brother-in-law, Asa Packer, and
for a time was a boatman on the Lehigh Canal. In
1839 he engaged in the mining and shipping of coal in
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 379
Schuylkill county. Returning to Mauch Chunk after
an absence of five years, he engaged in the preparation
and shipping of coal from the Nesquehoning mines,
worked imder contract with the Lehigh Coal and Nav-
igation Company by Messrs. Mapes, Packer & Harlan.
Mr. Blakslee assisted in the building of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad and was the conductor of the first coal
train that ran over the road. In 1863 he was appointed
superintendent of the Mahanoy division of this rail-
road, which position he relinquished to superintend the
construction of the Montrose Railroad in northeastern
Pennsylvania. He was elected president of this rail-
road in 1871. In 1878 he was elected a director of the
Lehigh Valley Railroad, and for a time was a member
of the executive committee of the board.
Mr. Blakslee was a trustee of Lehigh University, in
which position he ably seconded the plans of its foun-
der, Asa Packer.
As the candidate of the Democratic party, he was
elected to the office of treasurer of Carbon county in
1851. He was married in 1838 to Caroline Ashley, a
native of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. Their
children were: Eugene H., Alonzo P., Asa P., and
Charles A. Blakslee.
James I. Blakslee, the father of this family, died in
1901.
Alonzo P. Blakslee received his early education in
the schools of Mauch Chunk and Bethlehem. Subse-
quently he was a student in the military academy at
Eagleswood, New Jersey. In 1866 he entered the em-
ploy of the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad, which soon
thereafter was absorbed by the Lehigh Valley system.
He remained with the company as the superintendent
of the Mahanoy division until 1898, when he resigned
to become the general manager of the famous Switch-
380 JIISTURi OF CARBON COUNTY.
back Railroad, taking up his residence at Mauch
Chunk, where he also engaged in other enterprises.
Alonzo P. Blakslee was united in wedlock in 1869 to
Elizabeth Bond. Four children were born to them,
James I. and Annie K. Blakslee alone surviving. The
father died in 1911.
James I. Blakslee was born at Mauch Chunk on De-
cember 17, 1870. During his first year the family re-
moved to Delano, Schuylkill county, where James at-
tended the public schools. Subsequently he was a stu-
dent at the Bethlehem Preparatory School and at the
Cheltham Military Academy, finishing his education
at the Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
Upon leaving school, Mr. Blakslee became a clerk in
the office of the division superintendent of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad at Delano. Later he became a tele-
graph operator, and was the station agent for that
company at Delano. Entering the service of the Penn-
sylvania Railroad at Philadelphia, he soon returned to
Delano to become the yardmaster of the Lehigh Vallej''
Railroad at that j)lace.
Having previously been commissioned as a second
lieutenant in Company E, Eighth Regiment, National
Guard of Pennsylvania, Mr. Blakslee volunteered in
that capacity for the war with Spain. During the prog-
ress of the war, he was transferred to the regular army
as quartermaster and commissary of the reserve hos-
pital company, attached to the Second Army Corps.
The command to which he belonged was successively
stationed at Falls Church and Dunloring, Virginia;
Middletown, Pennsylvania, and at Augusta, Georgia.
He was mustered out on May 12, 1899.
Returning to civil life, Mr. Blakslee took up his resi-
dence at Mauch Chunk, and purchased the property of
the Carbon County Improvement Comjiany at Weiss-
HJiSTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3gX
port, consisting of various interests and industries.
The plant was partially destroyed by fire soon there-
after. It had scarcely been rebuilt when it was again
destroyed by the destructive flood of 1901. Mr. Blak-
slee then abandoned the property, and secured a lease
on ine electric light plant of the borough of Lehighton,
which he is still conducting, furnishing light and jDower
to both Lehighton and Weissport.
He made his first excursion into the field of politics
at Delano, in 1897, when he was chosen as a delegate
to the Schuylkill county Democratic convention, held
at Pottsville. He received 109 votes out of 110 votes
cast, and had the honor of nominating 0. P. Bechtel
for his last term as president judge of the Schuylkill
county courts. He was for some years a member of
the Schuylkill county Democratic executive committee,
and was repeatedly urged to accept the nomination for
state senator in his district, but declined.
Mr. Blakslee was elected chairman of the Carbon
county Democratic committee in 1905, and is still so
serving. He was elected to the legislature in 1906,
receiving 925 out of 1,030 votes cast in Lehighton, his
home town. As a member of the legislature he played
an active part in all the important measures before the
House, acquitting himself with credit and ability. He
was a member of the Democratic state executive com-
mittee for a number of years, and in 1910 was the can-
didate of his party for the office of secretary of inter-
nal affairs, but was defeated with the rest of the ticket.
Together with George W. Guthrie, Vance McCor-
mick, A. Mitchell Palmer, and others, he took a promi-
nent part in reorganizing the Democratic party in
Pennsylvania after the gubernatorial election of 1910,
when he was chosen as the secretary of the state com-
mittee. Much of his time and energy has since been
382 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
devoted to the work of this position. He was a delegate
to the Democratic national convention at Baltimore,
which nominated AVoodrow Wilson for the presidency.
Mr. Blakslee has for years taken an active interest
in the work of the Episcopal church, of which he is a
member. He has been connected with All Saints
church at Lehighton since its organization in 1902.
During this time he has also been the superintendent
of the Sunday school of this association. He is now a
member of the Sunday school commission of the dio-
cese of Bethlehem.
In 1901 Mr. Blakslee was married to Henrietta AV.
Bunting, daughter of the late Doctor Thomas C. Bunt-
ing and his wife Lizzie, of East Mauch Chunk.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and be-
longs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In 1903 he was one of the leading spirits in the organi-
zation of Lehighton Engine Comj^any, No. 2, of which
he has since been the president. j\lr. Blakslee was ap-
l)ointed to the position of fourth assistant postmaster
general by President Wilson in 1913, and is still serv-
ing.
Blakslee, William Wallace, who for nearly half a
century was a foremost citizen and successful business
man of Weatherly, was born at Springville, Susque-
hanna county, Pa., in 1821. He was a son of Zopher
Blakslee, and one of a family of sixteen children.
Reared and partially educated in the place of his
nativity, he remained beneath the paternal roof imtil
his twelfth year, when he determined that the time had
come for him to make his own way in the world, ^faucli
Chunk was then becoming a great coal center, and
young Blakslee, like so many other enter})rising spirits
of that day, was lured thither by the bright prospects
opening before the wonderful mountain town on the
^ {?9, /3^^c^^C^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 3S3
banks of the Lehigh. He made the journey to ^Mauch
Chunk in the fall of 1833 in company with Charles Ash-
ley and wife, a sister of Mr. Blakslee's, who brought
with them all their worldly possessions, loaded upon
a wagon to which three horses were attached. The
ambitious boy rode the lead horse the entire distance
from Susquehanna county.
Arriving at Mauch Chunk the youth found a loj'al
friend in his brother-in-law, Asa Packer, the bold and
sagacious pioneer, who subsequently became a leading
individual factor in the development of the Lehigh Val-
ley, and whose name became a household word all over
eastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Packer took him into his
home, and sent him to school. His instructor was the
most famous of the early schoolmasters of Carbon
county, James Nowlins, and under him he laid the
foundations for his life of usefulness and success.
During the boating season he was employed as a
mule driver on the towpath of the Lehigh Canal. It
was in this capacity, one starlight night, that he wit-
nessed one of the memorable natural phenomena of
the nineteenth century, the great meteoric shower of
November 13, 1833.
At the age of fifteen, having won the confidence of
Mr. Packer, he was given a clerical position in a store
at Rockj^ort, which was conducted by the firm of which
Mr. Packer was the head. He remained with this firm
until 1857, being successively located at White Haven,
Mauch Chunk and Nesquehoning, having full charge
of the store at the latter jolace for many years.
Coming to Weatherly at the expiration of this pe-
riod, Mr. Blakslee embarked in business for himself,
succeeding Richard D. Stiles, who was the only mer-
chant in the town. This venture proved a gratifying
success, and, in addition thereto Mr. Blakslee engaged
384 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
in the real estate business and various other enter-
prises. He was a leader in the establishment of the
Weatherly Water Company, of which he was the pres-
ident from the time of its organization until his death,
having also been one of the promoters of the Read and
Lovatt silk mill at Weatherly. About the year 1898
the Blakslee Store Company was organized, he being
the nominal head. From this time forth he lived in
retirement.
During his long residence in Weatherly he was hon-
ored with most of the offices in the gift of her people,
and he was associated with every movement calculated
to advance the interests of the town. He was one of the
founders of the Episcopal church at Weatherly, which
was erected principally through his influence.
On April 8, 1849, Mr. Blakslee was imited in mar-
riage at Mt. Lafee, Schuylkill county, to Miss Tamar
Beadle, an estimable English lady of culture and re-
finement. From this happy union sprang nine chil-
dren, five of whom survive : J\Irs. Grant E. Pryor, Mrs.
Harry A. Butler, Mrs. Charles W. Keiser, William
Wallace, Jr., and Rollin Ashley Blakslee.
The father's death occurred on September 26, 1904,
the result of a fall he sustained a few weeks previously,
and from the shock of which he never rallied. His re-
mains repose in Union Cemetery at Weatherly. ]\[r.
Blakslee was prominent in Masonic circles.
Blose, Fulton J., a foreman for Swift and Company
at Lehighton, and serving his second term as a membci-
of the board of county auditors, was born in Lower
Towamensing township, October 12, 1870,
He is one of the eight surviving children of Jacob
and Salinda (Peters) Blose, both natives of Carbon
(•o\inty, and whose ancestors came to this country fi-oni
(Jermanv.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 335
His first employment was with the Parryville Iron
Works, when he was fifteen years of age. Subsequent-
ly he was in the service of the Central Railroad of New
Jersey and the Lehigh Valley Railroad. During the
past fifteen years he has been with Swift and Company
at Lehighton, being the foreman of a department.
During his residence in Lower Towamensing town-
ship, he filled various township offices. He was elected
as a member of the board of county auditors on the
Democratic ticket in 1911. Four years later he was
reelected and was chosen president of the board.
Mr. Blose has an interest in the Wentz Company,
manufacturers of memorials and tombstones, of Allen-
town.
He is active in patriotic and fraternal society circles.
Blunt, Harrison N., general agent for The Palmer
Land Company, came to Palmerton from New York
in the fall of 1899, to design and construct the sewers
and sewage disposal works for the then proposed vil-
lage. Mr. Blunt was at this time associated with the
well kno^\Ti firm of engineers of which the late Col.
Geo. E. Waring, Jr., was the senior member.
In September, 1900, after completing this work, he
entered the services of The Palmer Land Company at
Palmerton, as assistant to the general agent. He was
soon thereafter promoted to the general agency, which
position he still holds.
In this capacity he has done much toward making
Palmerton the model town that it is, most of the im-
provements of a general nature there having been
made under his supervision and direction.
Bower, Charles W., one of Lehighton 's most public-
spirited citizens, an ex-burgess of that borough, and
owning a controlling interest in the Crescent Stone and
25
386 IIISTOET OF CARBON COUNTY.
Manufacturing Com})any, of wiiicli he is secretary an<I
treasury, was born at Lehighton, April 16, 1855.
He is the grandson of one of Lehighton 's pioneer
residents, Charles G. Bower, who emigrated from
AVurtemberg, Germany, to this country during the
early years of the last century. Settling in Lehighton,
he worked at his trade as a saddler and was also a
farmer. Pie was the father of ten children, his oldest
son being Charles H. Bower, who was successively a
farmer, boat builder and contractor.
Charles H. Bower was married to Matilda Savitz, of
Lehighton, where the couple made their home. Their
children were Charles and Sarah, who is the wife of
Charles Seifert, of Lehighton,
Having received a public school education, Charles
W. Bower began life as a clerk in a general store. He
was also employed in a clerical capacity by the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company at Packerton for a time.
Entering the medical department of the University of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Bower was graduated with the class
of 1880. He is also a graduate of the medical school
of the University of Vermont.
After successfully practicing his profession for sev-
eral years. Doctor Bower acquired a taste for some-
thing different, and opened a machine shop, which he
conducted for about two j^ears.
In 1904 he organized the Crescent Store and ]\rauu-
facturing Company, becoming its secretary and treas-
urer. This concern manufactures cook stoves and
ranges which find a market nearly all over the world.
The industry employs about thirty men.
Doctor Bower has taken quite an active part in
municipal affairs, and in addition to having served as
chief burgess, he has been secretary of the board of
health, of town council, and of the Carbon County In-
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 387
diistrial Society, under the auspices of which the Car-
bon county fair is annually held. He is an adherent
of the Republican party.
Mr. Bower is a member of the Odd Fellows and is
prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Lehighton
Lodge, No. 621 ; Packer Commandery, No. 23, K. T., of
Mauch Chunk; Philadelphia Consistory, S. P. R. S.,
and Rajah Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Reading.
He was married to Clara Hibbler, a daughter of Ed-
mund Hibbler and his wife Susan, of Lehighton, in
1903. They live on South First street, occupying the
house in which Doctor Bower was born.
Bowman, Maurice, a well known and public spirited
citizen of Bowmanstown, was born on October 20,
1858, in the village where he now lives. He is a direct
descendant of John Deter (Hans Teter) Bowman, who
was one of the first of the sturdy settlers to brave the
dangers and hardships of the wilderness which lay un-
conquered in what is now Carbon county. He came to
Towamensing, as this whole region was then known,
about the time of the French and Indian War.
Maurice is the fourth son of Henry Bowman, who
was one of the twelve children of John Deter Bowman,
a grandson of the first settler, who was also thus
named.
Henry Bowman was born in 1814 in the place which
has since been called Bowmanstown. He became a
boat builder on the Lehigh Canal, profitably engaging
in this pursuit for more than twenty years.
About the year 1855, acting upon the suggestion of
a man named George Ziegenfuss, he began prospecting
for iron ore in the Stony Ridge, where he found a min-
eral which, after some experimenting, proved to be bet-
ter adapted for the making of paint.
388 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
The knowledge gained in these experiments made
him the father of an industry which has since grown
to important proportions — the manufacture of metallic
brown paint. First engaging in this business on his
own account, he later organized the Poco Metallic
Paint Company, subsequently called the Carbon Me-
tallic Paint Company, which is still in existence. Mr.
Bowman and a number of his brothers were the princi-
pal stockholders of this concern.
He was also a well known contractor for many
years. After the freshet of 1841, he rebuilt a large
])ortion of the Lehigh Canal between Mauch Chunk and
AVhite Haven, while taking part in the building of
the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Lehigh and Sus-
quehanna Railroad. He was the contractor who erect-
ed the county prison at Mauch Chunk, and, in his day
built numerous houses, churches and bridges, besides
mining large quantities of coal and iron ore.
As a member of the firm of Bowman Brothers and
Company, he was one of the founders of the iron works
at Parryville. In later years he became an extensive
producer of building and foundry sand.
Henry Bowman was imited in marriage to Lavina,
daughter of Henry Peters, of East Penn township,
Carbon county, in 1844. Nine children were born to
them. The father died on October 12, 1889.
Maurice Bowman was educated in the public schools
and at the Carbon Academy, later spending a year as
a student of theology at Franklin and Marshall Col-
lege. For a time he and his brother, Fulton, engaged
with their father in the sand business, and upon the
death of the latter, Maurice and Roger Bowman car-
ried on the enterprise until 1892, when Maurice pur-
chased the interest of the other and has since conduct-
ed the business as sole owner. One of his sand quar-
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 399
ries is located at Ashfield, East Penn township, while
he operates another at Hazard. He is also a dealer in
clay and building stone.
Besides his other interests, he is the owner of the
water system of Bowmanstown, having supplied the
place with this necessity since 1892. The source of
supply is a tunnel about one thousand feet long, driven
into the Stony Ridge by his father for the Carbon
Metallic Paint Company, which formerly secured ore
therefrom. The water is characterized by its purity
and is rich in health-giving mineral properties. It
runs into the town by gravity. Altogether the system
is one of the most exceptional and inexpensive to be
found anywhere.
Mr. Bowman was one of the prime movers in the
building of St. John's Evangelical church, of Bow-
manstown, dedicated in 1892. He contributed liberally
to the project, and has been a local preacher of the
denomination for many years.
Politically speaking, he is a loyal Prohibitionist, hav-
ing served as the county chairman of that party.
In 1881 he was wedded to Clara A. Eckert, of Parrv-
ville. Carbon county. Four children begotten of this
union survive. The death of the wife and mother oc-
curred in 1902, and on March 16, 1904, Mr. Bowman
was married to Carrie S., daughter of Elijah Heisler,
of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill county. Three children have
been born to them, one of whom died in infancy.
Bowman, Penn, a leading and influential resident of
Bowmanstown, is a descendant in the fifth generation
of John Deter Bowman, who was one of the first set-
tlers of that portion of Northampton county lying
north of the Blue Ridge, and now a part of Carbon
county.
390 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
His father, Josiali Bowman, was the youngest son of
John D. Bowman, and was a great grandson of the
original settler.
Josiah Bowman was born in the old stone hotel at
Bowmanstown, builded bv his father, and in earlv life
he became the landlord of this hotel. Later he engaged
in contracting and lumbering, besides operating two
farms. With his brother, Henry, he was one of the
pioneers in the manufacture of brown metallic paint,
the ore from which this product is made being found in
the Stony Ridge, near Bowmanstown. He was also
financially interested in the iron works at Parrj^'ille,
established and originally conducted by the firm of
Bowman Brothers and Company.
Mr. Bowman chose as his life partner Louisa Berke-
meyer, of Heidelberg, Lehigh county. Their children
were: Henrietta L., wife of Lewis F. Balliet; Mar-
garet, who married Abel Boyer; Penn, Lillie Q., widow
of Harry J. Aaron, and Alton H. Bowman. Two oth-
ers died in infancy.
Penn Bowman was born at Bowmanstown, May 21,
1864. He attended the public schools and was for
several terms a student at Kutztown State Normal
School. He is also a graduate of the AUentown Busi-
ness College. For a short time after leaving school
he was employed as a bookkeeper at AUentown, but in
1889 formed a partnership with E. A. Boyer, starting
in the mercantile business at Bowmanstown under the
firm name of Boj^er and Bowman. Purchasing the in-
terest of his partner in 1893, Mr. Bowman conducted
the business as sole owner until 1905, when he, in turn,
sold out to Mr. Boyer.
He then oi)erated a planing mill for several years,
and followed the business of a general contractor.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 391
Mr. Bowman is a director of the Citizens' National
Bank of Lehigliton, being associated in a similar capa-
city with the Towamensing Fire Insurance Company.
He was one of the organizers of the Lutheran church
at Bowmanstown, and has served as superintendent of
the Sunday school connected therewith for a number of
years.
In 1889 he was united in marriage to Agnes M.,
daughter of Edward Boyer, of Millport, Carbon
county.
Bowman, Robert, a well-known Lehighton young-
man, was born there on April 15, 1884, the son of Fran-
cis and Amelia (Freeman) Bowman. He is one of the
numerous descendants of John Dieter Bowman (or
Bauman), a native of Germany, who emigrated to this
country in the year 1727, first settling in Philadelphia.
He was one of the earliest pioneers north of the Blue
Eidge, becoming a large landholder near Lehigh Gap.
His grandson, John D., built the first house in Bow-
manstown in 1796, and the town is named in his honor.
Robert Bowman was graduated from the Lehighton
high school with the class of 1902. Entering the serv-
ice of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Packerton in a
clerical capacity, he is now the chief timekeeper of the
yard at that place.
Taking an active interest in borough affairs, he was
elected to town council in Lehighton, being the presi-
dent of that body. He is also the vice-president of En-
gine Company No. 2.
]\lr. Bowman was married on December 6, 1906, to
Elmira, daughter of Jacob Snyder and his wife, Eme-
line, of Towamensing township. Their children are
Emma and Arthur.
Boyle, James J., editor and owner of the Mauch
Chunk Daily Times, the pioneer daily newspaper of
392 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Carbon county, is the son of Daniel and Grace (Hau-
lon) Boyle, and was born at Seek, Schuylkill county,
April 4, 1872. His father emigrated to this country
from Ireland in 1869.
When James was still quite young, his parents re-
moved to Old Buck Mountain, Carbon county, where
the father was employed as a coal miner, while his son
picked slate on the breaker of the colliery and during
the winter months attended the public schools. After
a residence of fifteen years at this place, the family
removed to Beaver Meadow, where Mr. Bojde received
the rest of his schooling and worked in and about the
mines in various clerical and mechanical capacities.
In 1902 he became a reporter on the staff of the
Daily Standard, the only morning paper published in
Hazleton, continuing in this position for six years. On
February 21, 1908, he purchased the journal, together
with the job printing business which he now owns.
The forerunner of the Times was the Lehigh Pioneer
and Courier, first issued on April 2, 1833, and the old-
est newspaper in the Lehigh coal region. The paper is
clean and reliable, reflecting the personality of its
editor and publisher. It is accorded liberal advertis-
ing patronage.
Mr. Boyle was married to Annie E., daughter of
Lawrence Boyce, a mine foreman of Duyrea, Luzerne
county, but formerly of Beaver ]\feadow, June 3, 1903.
Boyle, John R., a Summit Hill hotel inaii, was born
there on July 28, 188S. He is tiie son of C\)rnoiius and
Pjdith {l)aubensi)eck) Boyle. The father is em])loyed
a.s a stationary engineer by the Lehigh Coal and Navi-
gation Company. It was as an engineei' for the same
('()m])aiiy that John began Ui'o as a worker at the age of
sixteen.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 393
In 1910 he became the landlord of the Summit Inn,
which he is still conducting. This hotel is situated
close to the spot where Philip Ginter found coal in 1791,
and the famous burning mine, which is one of the lead-
ing attractions of Summit Hill, is not far away. Dur-
ing the summer months, many tourists and excursion-
ists are entertained at the hotel, which is situated
alongside of the station of the Switchback Railroad.
Mr. Boyle has made many improvements to the prop-
erty during the time he has occupied it.
On October 24, 1910, he was married to Johanna,
daughter of Jeremiah Geary and his wife Mary, of
Scranton. Their children are: James, Cornelius,
John R., and Jeremiah.
Branch, Ben, junior member of the law firm of Prey-
man, Thomas and Branch, was born at Nesquehoning,
December 7, 1884. His father, William R. Branch, who
has for years been engaged in the mercantile business
at Nesquehoning, is of Cornish descent, while his
mother, who bore the maiden name of Marv A. Ham-
mond, is a native of Wales.
Ben graduated from the Nesquehoning high school.
As a boy he worked on the breaker during the summer
months, later becoming a miner. He taught school for
five years. Entering Dickinson Law School, he was
graduated with the class of 1910, being admitted to the
Carbon county bar in October of the same year. Two
years later he entered into partnership with W. G.
Freyman and W. G. Thomas, the firm name being Prey-
man, Thomas and Branch, maintaining offices at Mauch
Chunk and commanding a large general practice.
In September, 1914, Mr. Branch was married to
Sadie A., daughter of Henry and Sallie Grow, of Le-
highton. Their children are named William and John.
394 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Mv. Branch holds mem])ership in the American Acad-
emy of Political and Social Science; the American So-
ciety of International Law; the American Geographic
Society; the Carbon County Historical Society; the
Sigma Chi Fi'aternity, and various kindred organiza-
tions. He is also one of the leaders of the Republican
party in the county. Mr. Branch was commissioned
b}' Governor Brumbaugh to receive Pennsylvania's
soldier vote in France in the fall of 1917.
Brenckman, Henry L., was born at Hazleton, Pa.,
on September 15, 1869, the son of Frederick and Su-
sannah (Bittner) Brenckman. His jDaternal grand-
father, who also bore the name of Henry, emigrated to
the United States from Germany, about 1835, settling
at Beaver Meadow, where he conducted a hotel until
his death.
Frederick Brenckman learned the trade of a car-
penter, which he followed all his life, also acquiring a
farm at Hudsondale, where he died in 1884 at the age
of forty-four years.
Henry was but fifteen when he became the bread-
winner of a family of six children and a widowed moth-
er, and he played the part of both a father and a
brother toward his vounger brothers and sisters.
In 1889 he entered the service of the Tide AVater
Pipe Company, at Hudsondale, where he is still em-
ployed as a stationary engineer. He has been the pres-
ident of the Packer township school board for many
vears, and has alwavs taken great interest in Simdav
school work. He has been the teacher of the Bible class
of the Hudsondale Sunday school for more than twenty
years, having also served as superintendent of this
organization for nearly the same ])eriod of time. It
was under his leadership that the handsome ciia])el of
the school was built.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 395
Formerly lie was the Democratic county committee-
man for his district, but in 1912 he joined the Progres-
sive movement and supported Theodore Roosevelt for
the presidency.
On September 1, 1892, Mr. Brenckman was married
to Minnie, daughter of Herman Strunk and his wife
Ellen, of Hudsondale. Their children are : Raymond,
Virginia, Lillian, Herman, Dorothy, Ruth, deceased;
Esther, Frederick and Louise.
Breslin, Andrew, president of the Citizens ' National
Bank of Lansford, and one of the foremost contractors
and builders in this portion of the state, is a resident
of Summit Hill.
His grandfather, Patrick Breslin emigrated to this
place from County Donegal, Ireland, in 1824, at which
time there was not a house on the present site of the
town, while there were but two or three dwellings in
the locality. He was one of the pioneer miners of an-
thracite coal, spending nearly the whole of his active
life in the employ of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company as a foreman. His death occurred at Sum-
mit Hill in 1865.
John F. Breslin, a son of the aforementioned, was
born at Summit Hill on September 7, 1845. He was a
cabinet maker, later becoming a contractor and build-
er. He was married to Ann, daughter of Andrew and
Susan Boyle, of Tamaqua, in 1866, who bore him four
sons and three daughters. Mr. Breslin served on the
side of the Union during the Civil War, and was an
active Democrat, being one of the most influential cit-
izens of Summit Hill. He died on September 20, 1892.
Andrew Breslin, son of John F. Breslin, claims Al-
lentown, Lehigh county, as the place of his nativity,
his parents having made their home here for a few
years. He was born on August 1, 1870, while his boy-
396 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
liood was passed at Summit Hill, where lie attended
the public schools. Under his father's instructions he
learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed until
his twenty-first year, when he entered the office of a
Philadelphia architect as a student of that profession.
The death of his father taking place a year later, he
was compelled to forego his ambition in this direction
to take charge of the affairs of the deceased, who, in
addition to his other interests also conducted an un-
dertaking establishment. This ])ortion of the business
he turned over to his brother, John J. Breslin, in 1907.
Among the more important buildings which Mr. Bres-
lin has constructed, the following may be mentioned:
The Schwab school building, at Weatherly; the Third
Ward school building, at Lehighton; the Greek Cath-
olic church, of Nesquehoning; the Philadelphia Bar-
gain Store and the Elks' Building, in Tamaqua; the
Citizens' National Bank, of Lansford; the magnificent
new high school building at Summit Hill; the public
school building of Coal Dale, and the plant of the
Freeland Brewing Company, of Freeland, Luzerne
county. He also built the sewer systems of Summit
Hill and Coal Dale, among the first of the flush-tank
variety in the state, besides the large storage reservoir
of the Summit Hill Water Company. He owns and
conducts a planing mill at Summit Hill, which is the
principal enterprise of an individual nature in the
borough.
Mr. Breslin was one of the organizers of the Citi-
zens' National Bank, of Lansford, of which he was
elected president in 1909. He was ])resident of the
town council for three years, and has served as a mem-
])er of the school board. His i)olitical allegiance is
given to the Democracy, being now a inembei- of the
county executive committee of that |)ai-iy. He is a
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 397
member of the Sons of Veterans and of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, while being an adherent
of the Roman Catholic clmrch.
Mr. Breslin was married on April 3, 1893, to Agnes
Daly, daughter of Eugene and Ann Daly, of Mahanoy
City, Pa. Their three children are : Annie, Mae, and
John F. Breslin.
Breslin, James M., a leading member of the bar of
Carbon county, residing at East Mauch Chunk, was
born at Tresckow, Banks township, on January 1,
1870. He is the son of Daniel and Ann (Gallagher)
Breslin, both natives of Ireland. His father was born
in County Donegal, August 6, 1833. Emigrating to the
United States at the age of sixteen, he located at Buck
Mountain, spending the whole of his active life as a
miner at various operations in the Lehigh district. He
was a Democrat, and took an active part in the political
affairs of Banks township and of the county at large.
Seven of his ten children, all of whom attended the
public school at Tresckow, became school teachers.
The father died at Beaver Meadow, February 6, 1908.
James M. Breslin started life as a slate picker, later
working in and about the mines of Banks township.
He taught school for ten successive terms, and choos-
ing the law as his profession, he became a student in
the office of Hon. E. M. Mulhearn, of Mauch Chunk.
Being admitted to the bar of Carbon county in October,
1897, he opened an office at Mauch Chunk, soon gaining
recognition and building up a good general practice.
Mr. Breslin has been particularly successful as a
criminal lawyer. He has defended many cases coming
under this category, and his record is one of unbroken
successes. For three years he served as the legal ad-
viser of the county commissioners, having also been
398 HISTOKi' OF CARBON COUNTY.
retained in a similar capacity by the officers of various
districts of the county.
During a period of nearly ten years, Mr. Breslin, in
association with David Piirsell, very successfully oper-
ated the old coal mines at Hacklebernie, near Maucli
Chunk. On February 14, 1899, he was married to Miss
Elizabeth Murphy, a school teacher, of Wilkes-Barre,
Pa. They have two children: James D. and Eliza-
beth, aged nine and seven years, respectively.
Mr. Breslin served several terms as a member of the
school board of East Mauch Chunk. He is a supporter
of the principles advocated by the Democratic party,
and a communicant of the Roman Catholic church.
Bretney, Clement H., the leading photographer of
Lehighton, was born in Mahoning township, Carbon
county, on September 18, 1873. He is the son of
Thomas J. and Mary (Schaffer) Bretney, both natives
of Mahoning township. His father was formerly a
railroader, and later owned a local freight and express
business in Lehighton, where he now conducts a baking
establishment.
After leaving the public schools, Clement studied the
art of photography as a private pupil under H. Parker
Rolfe, of Philadelphia. Subsequently he pursued a
general course at the Curtis-Taylor Studio in the same
city. Following this he worked with W. D. Rishel, a
Lehighton })hotographer, whose establishment he pui--
chased, and whom he succeeded in business, in 1899.
This studio was situated on the Bankway, and was oc-
cupied by Mr. Bretney for two years, when he built his
present ]>lace on Second street. Here, by painstaking
and artistic work, he has secured a large and con-
stantly growing patronage.
He is also a dealer in kodaks, and carries a large
stock of all kinds of photographic su])plies, besides
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 399
doing finishing- work for amateurs. He lias one of the
largest and best equipped establishments of its kind
in the Lehigh Valley.
Fraternally Mr. Bretney is identified with the Pa-
triotic Order of Sons of America, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of various Ma-
sonic bodies. He attends the United Evangelical
church, and is still unmarried.
Bretney, Henry J., cashier of the First National
Bank of Lehighton, is a son of Clinton Bretney, and
was born at New Mahoning, Carbon county, January
12, 1856. His father, in the early fifties, married
Amanda Meinhard, a native of Carbon county. The
family removed to Lehighton in 1861.
Mr. Bretney received his education in the public
schools of Lehighton and at the Carbon Academy,
which last named institution started many of the young
men of the lower end of the county upon successful
careers. After leaving school, Mr. Bretney learned the
trade of a coach painter, after which he entered the
forwarding office of the Lehigh Valley Eailroad Com-
pany at Packerton, serving in a clerical capacity at this
place for nine years. For four years he was employed
by the same corporation at Mauch Chunk.
On January 1, 1892, he entered the employ of the
First National Bank of Lehighton as a bookkeeper,
being promoted to the cashier ship October 1, 1908.
Mr. Bretney has served as borough auditor and as
school director, while he has been the borough treas-
urer for eighteen years. He was also treasurer of the
Lehigh Valley Building and Loan Association for
twelve years. He is a charter member of Zion's Re-
formed church, of which he is also the treasurer. Mr.
Bretney is also a charter member of Lehighton Coun-
cil, No. 370, Royal Arcanum, having served as secre-
400 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
tary of this lodge for a quarter of a century. He also
belongs to the Knights of Malta.
In 1878 Mr. Bretney was married to Mary A. Trox-
ell, daughter of Paul Troxell and his wife Mary, of
Egypt, Lehigh county. Their children are: Clara,
Charles, Bessie and Florence. Clara is a graduate of
East Stroudsburg State Normal School, and has been
a teacher in Lehighton for a period of nine years;
Charles is cashier of the First National Bank of
Weatherly, and was married to Mayme Portz, of
Lansford; Bessie is the wife of Robert R. Ash, of
Lehighton, while Florence remains at home.
Brobst, Henry J., treasurer of Carbon county, and
Avell-known in railroad circles, was born at Zion's
Grove, Schuylkill county. May 9, 1881. He is one of
the twelve children of Daniel and Matilda (Van Blar-
gen) Brobst. His father, who still lives at Shenan-
doah, followed the lumber business the greater part of
his life.
The ancestors of Mr. Brobst came to this country
from Germany, settling in Pennsj^lvania prior to the
Revolution. His great-grandfather, Valentine Brobst,
was the private secretary of Stephen Girard, the fore-
most merchant of his da}^ on this side of the Atlantic,
and the founder of Girard College.
John Brobst, the grandfather of Henry, was an early
settler of Conyngham Valley, Schuylkill county. He
engaged in lumbering on a large scale and reared a
family of sixteen children.
Henry Brobst began life as a slate picker at the age
of twelve years. At fourteen he drove mules in the
mines. Then he learned the machinist's trade, which
he followed for three years. Upon attaining his ma-
jority he came to Lehighton, where he entered the em-
ploy of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, serving
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 4OI
successively as a brakeman and a conductor. In 1905
lie sustained an injury which incapacitated him for this
branch of the service, and he became a signal tower-
man, being still so engaged.
x\s the secretary of Lehigh Lodge of the Brotherhood
of Railway Trainmen, he has been a delegate to na-
tional conventions of the order in many parts of the
country. He has been an active Democrat, and is now
a member of the executive committee of that party in
the county. For some years he was a member of the
school board of Packerton Independent District, his
home being at Jamestown.
In the fall of 1915 he was elected to the office of
county treasurer for the term of four years.
Mr. Brobst was married to Bertha Irene, daughter of
Willoughby Miller, of Berks county. Their children
are Irene and Mattie.
Browell, Joseph H., a prominent young business man
of Palmerton, is the son of John and Margaret (An-
gus) Browell, both natives of Northumberland county,
England. They were married in 1872, becoming the
parents of five children. In 1880 the family emigrated
to America, first settling at Jeddo, Luzerne county.
Pa., and later removing to Centralia, Pa. The father
was a contract miner and rockman,
Joseph H. Browell was born at the old home in Eng-
land on January 7, 1876. He graduated from the high
school of Centralia, and at the age of fourteen entered
a drug store in that town with the object in view of
learning the business. Four years later he went to
Philadelphia, where he was employed in a similar es-
tablishment, being afterwards successively located at
South Bethlehem and at East Mauch Chunk. It was
while stationed at the last named place that he was
26
402 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
licensed by the pharmaceutical examining board of the
state.
In 1901 Mr. Browell took charge of the drug store
of J. M. Hess, at Palmerton, becoming a ])artner in the
enterprise at the end of a year. Subsequently the firm
also engaged in the hardware business, and in 1909
Mr. Browell purchased the interest of his partner and
became full owner.
He was one of the promoters of the First National
Bank of Palmerton, of which he has been a director
since its organization. Every measure intended for
the welfare and upbuilding of Palmerton receives his
loyal and constant support.
In June, 1903, Mr. Browell was married to Daisy,
daughter of Luther and Alice La Barre, of East Maucli
Chunk. They have two children: Jack and Margaret
L. Browell.
Butler, Henry A., a representative ]\raucli Chunk
business man, was born at that place on January 3,
1861. His father, Alexander W. Butler, whose birth
occurred in 1822, was a native of Susquehanna county.
When a boy he came to Mauch Chunk, and by industry
and integrity he established himself in the confidence
of the community in which he spent the remainder of
his life as an honored and influential citizen. For a
period of about thirty years he was the cashier of the
First National Bank of Mauch Chunk, the predecessor
of the Mauch Chunk National Bank of to-day.
In early life he was married to Anna, daughter of
John Eichards, an ironmaster, of Weymouth, N. J.,
who was also interested for a time in the operation of
the Maria Furnace, in Franklin township. Carbon
county. They became the parents of these children :
William R., Elizabeth, wife of Hon. Laird H. Barber ;
Mary, who married C. A. Braman, of New York city;
HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY. 403
Fanuie, and Henry Bntler. The father died during the
year 1888.
Henry A. Butler gained his elementary education in
the public schools of his native town, graduating from
the high school with the class of 1879. Entering Le-
high University he completed his course in 1883 with
the degree of B.S. For a few years he was employed
as a bookkeeper by the Mauch Chunk National Bank,
later entering the service of B. F. Barger, a wholesale
dealer in lumber and grain, at Mauch Chunk, as a book-
keeper and salesman.
In 1889 he accepted a position as private secretary
to M. S. Kemmerer, for whom he also very successfully
managed the Parryville Iron Works until 1905. Since
then he has been engaged in business on his own ac-
count as a wholesale dealer in coal, maintaining an of-
fice at Mauch Chunk. He is also interested in a man-
agerial way, in a number of coal properties in the
South.
In association with W. A. Leisenring, Mr. Butler, in
1895, established the Penn Forest Brook Trout Hatch-
ery, which soon became famous as the largest of its
kind in the world. Mr. Butler was principally instru-
mental in the prosperity which attended this enterprise
during the ten years he was associated with it. He is
the president of the Mauch Chunk Gas Company, and
is one of the trustees of the Dimmick Memorial Li-
brary.
On October 26, 1887, he was married to Nellie L.
Blakslee, daughter of W. W. Blakslee, of Weatherly,
Pa. Their children are: Marion L., Alexander W.,
and Edith B. Butler. Marion is a graduate of the Na-
tional Cathedral School, of Washington, D. C, while
Alexander is a student at Lehigh University.
404 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Mr. Butler is a member of St. Mark's Episcopal
church, of Maiich Chunk, of which he has been a ves-
tryman for more than fifteen years, also being a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity. His home is in East
Mauch Chunk.
Christian, Harry A., chief of the construction depart-
ment of the New Jersey Zinc (of Pa.), of Pahnerton,
was born at Allentown on January 3, 1875. He is the
son of Thomas J. and Sarah (Hawke) Christian. The
father was a soldier in the Civil War, participating in
most of the important engagements of the Army of the
Potomac. He died in 1891.
When Harry was nine years of age the family moved
to Mauch Chunk. He attended the high school of that
town and the East Stroudsburg State Normal School,
also pursuing a course in the American Business Col-
lege at Allentown.
In 1898 Mr. Christian located at Pahnerton, entering
the service of the New Jersey Zinc Company as a time
keeper; later he was advanced to the position of chief
clerk.
He studied civil and mechanical engineering in his
spare time, and is now in charge of the company's de-
partment of construction.
Mr. Christian was elected as a member of the town
council of Pahnerton in 1913. He is also a member of
the Pahnerton Cooperative Association and various
other munici])al organizations, together with the Ma-
sonic fraternity.
He was united in marriage on June '29, 1909, to Mary
S., daughter of Rev. P. B, Ilahn and his wife Rebecca,
of R(niding. These children have been born to them:
Ruth Bridenbaugh, Louise Ilahn, and Mary Susan, who
died in infancy.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 405
Christman, David A., a former jury commissioner of
Carbon county, now conducting the Alameda Restau-
rant at Lehighton, was born near Kresgeville, Monroe
county, December 19, 1866.
He is a grandson of John Christman, while his fa-
ther was Edward Christman, both natives of Monroe
county. His mother bore the maiden name of Chris-
tiana Eckhart, being reared near Stemlersville, Carbon
county. Mr. Christman is a product of the Slatington
high school, having also attended the Polytechnic In-
stitute, at Gilberts, Monroe county. He taught school
for several years in Lower Towamensing township,
after which he was engaged as a produce dealer.
In 1893 he came to Weatherly and secured employ-
ment in a clerical capacity in the mercantile estab-
lishment of Elmer Warner. For six years he was em-
ployed as a salesman for 0. J. Saeger, a wholesale
fruit and produce dealer, of Lehighton. In 1900 Mr.
Christman purchased the Alameda Restaurant, which
he has successfully conducted since that time.
On December 31, 1887, he was united in marriage to
Mary L. Shiner, daughter of John A. Shiner and his
wife Fiana, of Slatington. Their children are : Harvey
J., Jennie E., William E., Edward H., and Bessie A.
Christman.
Harvey is employed as a clerk in the First National
Bank of Lehighton, while William is a graduate of the
Lehighton high school and of the South Bethlehem
Business College.
Mr. Christman holds membership in the Odd Fel-
lows, Knights of Malta, Red Men, and the Eagles. He
is also connected with the Germania Saenger Bund,
of Lehighton, and with the Rod and Gun Club of that
town, besides being associated with Lehigh Fire Com-
pany, No. 1. He was elected to the office of jury
406 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
commissioner of Carbon connty in 1906. He is now a
member of the Lehighton Board of Commerce.
Christman, Hiram, operating one of the finest and
most productive farms in Towamensing township, is a
son of William H. and Lavina (George) Christman.
The father was a native of Towamensing township,
born in 1834. He followed the vocation of a farmer
and was the parent of five children. He died at the
age of thirty-one.
Hiram Christman was born in Eldred township,
Monroe county, February 27, 1856. He attended the
public schools until his seventeenth year, while all of
his mature life has been spent in agricultural pursuits.
In 1883 he purchased sixty-one acres of laud in Towa-
mensing township, the nucleus of his present farm of
two hundred and fifty acres, and proceeded to clear the
ground, which was thickly covered with brush. He
there built his home, at a distance of about four miles
from Trachsville, and has lived there continuouslv
since.
As a member of the township school board ^h\
Christman has taken an active interest in the cause of
popular education, manifesting progressive tendencies.
His political allegiance is given to the Republican
party.
At the age of twenty-two he was married to Sarah
B. Strohl, a daughter of Joel Strohl, of Towamensing
township. Their children are: Harrison A., Emma
J., wife of Oliver Koons, of Philadelphia ; William H.,
Cora M., wife of John Bollinger; Eugene E., Martin
F., Sallie A., and Mamie M. Christman.
Mr. Christman and his family are members of the
Lutheran church.
Clewell, William H., a Summit Hill physician and
surgeon, and postmaster of that town, is descended
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 4O7
from ancestors who settled in Pennsylvania clnring
Colonial times. The first of his family to come to
America was Lonisa Frache Clevel, a widow, who was
accompanied by her two sons, George Craft and John
Franz. The grandparents of these boys were natives
of the province of Dauphine, France.
They were Huguenots, and u]3on the revocation of
the Edict of Nantes, they fled to Auerbach, in Baden.
It was in 1737 that the widow and her sons emigrated
thence to Philadelphia. Franz was born in 1720, while
George was six years his junior.
Being bound out to pay for their passage, then a
common practice, the family lived for a time at Oley,
Berks county, going from there to Nazareth, North-
ampton county. All are buried in the Schoenech Mor-
avian cemetery in Northampton, near Naza'reth. Franz
was the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this
memoir.
William H., son of Jacob L. and Emma L.
(Schmueckle) Clewell, was born at Nazareth on Sep-
tember 19, 1869. His father was a cabinet maker, and
he gained his early training in the Moravian parochial
schools of his native town. In 1881 the family removed
to Philadelphia, where he attended the public schools.
Learning the drug business he became a registered
pharmacist, following his calling for several years in
New York city.
At the expiration of this period he entered the
Medico-Chirurgical College at Philadelphia, from
which institution he was graduated in 1896. After
practising his profession in Philadelphia for a year,
Dr. Clewell came to Summit Hill, where he has since
lived, enjoying a large practise. He has long taken a
keen interest in military aifairs, and during his resi-
dence in New York was connected with the militia of
403 IIISTOKV OF CARBON COUNTY.
that state. During the war with Spain he recruited
and organized Company L of the Ninth Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteers, being commissioned as first
lieutenant, and serving as such until the company was
mustered out. He has since served in various official
capacities in the National Guard, and is now a first
lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps of the United
States Army.
His services were of value in the organization of
the First Regiment of the P. 0. S. of A. Reserves, of
which he is the lieutenant-colonel.
Dr. Clewell, who is a Republican, has held various
offices in Summit Hill. His appointment as postmaster
of the town came in 190G. He is a member of several
Masonic bodies, and is a Past Exalted Ruler of the
Tamaqua lodge of Elks, also being identified with a
number of other fraternal societies, and with the
Naval and ]\lilitary Order of the Spanish-American
War. He is affiliated with the Carbon County Medical
Society, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and witli
the Pliiladelphia Medical Club.
In 1888 he was married to Nellie B., daughter of
John E. and Emeline Armour, of Philadelphia. Their
onlj'- son is JoIju A. Clewell.
Cortright, Nathan D., Jr., whose family name has
been intimately associated with the anthracite coal
industry since the early develo])ment of the Lehigh
region, is a representative of one of the })ioneer fam-
ilies of the Wyoming ValFey, and of early a))pearauce
in New Nctherland.
The Cortrights originated in the old town of Kort-
rj'^k, in Flandei-s, which ])lace is cek'brated in history.
for not far from its walls was fought the famous " Bat-
tle of the S))urs." There the flower of the French no-
bility was ()V(M-thrown by the FhMiiish nruiy. laj-gely
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 409
composed of the weavers of Ghent and Biirges. After
the conflict the victors gathered up from the corpse-
strewn field some four thousand golden spurs, hence
the name which designates the bloody event.
During the early years of the seventeenth century
civil wars and persecutions devastated the land, while
the village of Kortryk several times changed hands.
Among those who left these turbulent scenes for a
haven of safety in America, was Sebastian Van Kort-
right, who embarked on April 16, 1663, in the ship
''Brindle Cow." He brought with him his family,
paying for their passage more than two hundred and
four florins, the charge being thirty-nine florins for
each adult, and half that sum for children of ten years
and under.
Among his children were two sons, Michael and Jan
Bastian. He settled in Harlem, New York, becoming
one of the most opulent men of that time and place.
From this source sprang Elisha Cortright, the great-
grandfather of the subject of this memoir, who was
among the first to settle on the rich and inviting soil
of the Wyoming Valley. During the trying scenes of
the Indian wars and the Revolution, he shared the
hardships and vicissitudes incident to that period.
Being incapacitated at the time of the battle of Wy-
oming, more commonly known as the '' Wyoming
Massacre," his brother John served in his stead and
was killed.
Isaac Cortright, son of the aforementioned, spent
his entire lifetime as a farmer on the banks of the
beautiful Susquehanna. Among his eight children was
Nathan D., the father of N. D. Cortright, Jr. Born in
Salem township, Luzerne county, February 11, 1817,
he grew to maturity at the place of his birth. At the
age of nineteen he came to Beaver Meadow, Carbon
410 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
county, aud seenred a position on the engineering corps
of Ario Pardee and J. G. Fell, engaged in the construc-
tion of the Beaver Meadow Eailroad. Soon thereafter
he was appointed as the general shii)ping and boat
agent of the Hazleton Coal Company, of which he later
became the superintendent, continuing as such until
1857, when he embarked in the coal business for him-
self, living at ]\Iauch Chunk.
He participated in the development of the coal and
iron interests of the Lehigh region, and in a more lim-
ited sense, extended his activities to the Wj^oming coal
fields. For nearly sixtv vears he lived on the same
spot of ground in Mauch Chunk. Although modest
and unassuming he was recognized as one of the most
useful and public spirited citizens of that place.
He chose as his life companion Margaretta L.,
daughter of Ezekiel W. Harlan. Her parents were of
Quaker origin, coming to Mauch Chunk from Chester
county in 1826. Mr. Harlan was associated with the
late Asa Packer in the operation of the mines at Nes-
quehoning and in a number of other enterprises.
Nathan D. Cortright, Sr., passed away on October
11, 1902.
N. D. Cortright, Jr., the second of a family of six
children, was born at Mauch Chunk, on November 24,
1847. Having attended the schools of the place of his
nativity, he finished his education at Dickinson Sem-
inary, Williamsport, Pa. He then entered his father's
office, and in 1873 was taken into partnership with him
under the style and title of N. D. Cortright and Son.
This relationship was maintained until the death of the
elder, since which time Mr. Cortright has conducted
the business under the old firm name.
He is financially interested in various mining prop-
erties, while being a wholesale dealer in coal, and he is
HISTORY OF CAKBON COUNT V. 4.] ^
the president of the Beaver Run Coal Company, oper-
ating a mine at Beaverdale, Pa., which is in the bitu-
minous region. He is also a director of the Mauch
Chunk Trust Company.
Mr. Cortright is a Republican, and served as post-
master of Mauch Chunk under the successive adminis-
trations of Hayes, Garfield, Arthur and Cleveland. He
attends the First Presbyterian church of Mauch
Chunk, of which he is one of the trustees.
On October 22, 1874, he was married to Margaret S.,
a daughter of John and Margaret (Connell) Kennedy,
of Port Kennedy, Montgomery county, Pa. Their chil-
dren are : Charles Homer, who is in business with his
father; Frank Barton and Harry Kennedy, who are
associated in the coal business in Philadelphia under
the name of the Cortright Coal Company; Edgar
Maurice, a mining engineer in the west ; Donald Nath-
an, connected with the Philadelphia Press, and Mar-
garet Kennedy Cortright.
Craig, Hon. Allen, who achieved distinction as a
lawyer, jurist and legislator, was born at Lehigh Gap,
Carbon county, on December 25, 1835. His ancestors,
who were of Scotch-Irish extraction, came to America
in 1714, locating in Philadelphia, and, in 1728, remov-
ing to Northampton county. Pa.
General Thomas Craig, his grandfather, served gal-
lantly under Arnold in the French and Indian War,
and during the Revolution he commanded the Third
Pennsylvania Regiment. Upon the declaration of the
second war against England, still hale and hearty, he
was appointed as a general in the American Army.
In civil life he followed the occupation of a farmer.
His son. Captain Thomas Craig, the father of Judge
Craig, was born in Northampton county in 1772. In
1795 he accompanied his parents on their removal to
412 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Towamensing townsliip, wliicli later became a part of
Carbon count5\ Subsequently he became a dealer in
general merchandise at Lehigh Gap, also engaging in
the lumber business.
In addition to his other interests, he conducted a
stage line making regular trips between Easton and
Mauch Chunk, being also the owner of the Lehigh Gap
Inn, which was a stopping place for travelers on the
turnpike leading from Berwick to Easton.
His military title was bestowed upon him as com-
mander of a troop of horse in the Pennsjdvania militia.
He also represented his district in the state legislature,
and was a leader of thought in his community.
His first wife was a Miss Kuntz, who bore him two
sons, Thomas and Samuel. Subsequent to her death,
he married Catherine Hagenbach, Their five children
were: Eliza, John, Allen, AVilliam and Robert.
Allen Craig was educated at the old Vandeveer Acad-
emy at Easton and at Lafayette College, graduating
from the last named institution in 1855. Choosing the
law as his profession, he became a student in the of-
fice of Hon. M. M. Dimmick, of Mauch Chunk, being
admitted to the bar of Carbon county on June 4, 1858.
His subsequent career was one of usefulness and
honor. In 1859 he was elected as district attorney of
Carbon county, which position he filled until 1S6G.
During the latter year he was elected to membershi})
in the state legislature, serving for three successive
terms. Higher political honors came to him in 1878,
when he was chosen to represent his district in the
state senate for the term of four years.
In 1870 he formed a i)artnerslii]) with James S.
Loose, of Maucli Chunk, and the finii whicli wa* then
establislied became one of the bcsl known in the legal
]irofossion of the Lehigh A'niley. Judge Craig was
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 4^3
prominent as a corporation lawyer. He was one of
the group of able attorneys who represented the Com-
monwealth in the famous MoUie Maguire trials, which
resulted in the breaking up of that organization during
the seventies.
In 1892, as the nominee of the Democratic party, he
was elected president judge of the courts of Carbon
and Monroe counties, serving until 1901, when Carbon
was constituted a separate judicial district. Hon.
Horace Heydt was then appointed to the bench of Car-
bon county, while Judge Craig was transferred to the
district comprising Monroe and Pike counties. During
the following year both were candidates for the judge-
ship of Carbon county for the full term of ten years,
Judge Craig being defeated in a close contest.
During the early years of his tenure on the bench,
he was unable to hold court to any great extent in
Mauch Chunk, owing to his previous connection as an
attorney with much of the litigation of the county. As
a judge he was fair and broad-minded. Well versed in
the intricacies and technicalities of the law, he was
also possessed of a generous fund of common sense,
upon which he drew liberally in rendering his deci-
sions, with the result that he was seldom reversed by
the higher courts.
In demeanor he was genial and courteous, which, to-
gether with his scholarly attainments, made his com-
panionship delightful.
A short period of service in a Pennsylvania regiment
during the Civil War entitled him to membership in
the Grand Army of the Republic. He was always a
favorite with the old veterans, and few camp-fires or
gatherings of that nature were held in Mauch Chunk
at which he was not present, lending eloquence and
good-fellowship to the success of the occasion.
414 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
He was one of the prime movers in the erection of
the Carbon county Soldiers' Monument, dedicated at
Mauch Chunk on September 28, 1886.
For years he was a director of the First National
Bank of Mauch Chunk, being also interested in the gas
and water companies of the borough.
Judge Craig was married in 1866 to A. Isabel,
daughter of Edwin A. and Harriet (Dexter) Douglas.
Four children were born to them : Douglas, Henry D.,
Harriet, and Gay Gordon Craig. The father died on
December 31, 1902.
Craig, Hector Tyndale, whose forefathers for gen-
erations figured conspicuously in the civil and military
annals of the commonwealth, is one of the prominent
voung business men of the lower end of Carbon countv.
He is associated with his brother, Thomas B. Craig, in
the conduct of the mercantile business, and other in-
terests established by his father, the late Colonel John
Craig, at Lehigh Gap.
Born at Lehigh Gap, October 17, 1873, Mr. Craig
received his education in the schools of Lower Towa-
mensing township, entering the employ of his father at
the age of seventeen, and growing up in the business.
He is a director of the First National Bank of Sla-
tington, and is secretary and treasurer of the Lehigh
Water Gap Bridge Company.
Mr. Craig is a "companion of the first class" in the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United
States, and is a member of the various jMasonic bodies.
He is also identified with the Odd Fellows and the Sons
of Veterans.
In 1907 he was united in marriage to Annie C.
daughter of the late James B. Roeder, who was a
teller in the Second National Bank of Allentown.
Three children have been born to them : Richard T.,
^-^^if^.u/ ^^^n:a^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 415
Rutli, and James I. Craig. They reside in the old
Craig homestead at Lehigh Gap.
Craig, Colonel John. One of Carbon county's most
distinguished native sons passed away, when on Octo-
ber 22, 1908, full of years, and leaving behind him the
record of a life of service and of usefulness, Colonel
John Craig, of Lehigh Gap, died. His ancestral his-
tory is one of distinction and of honor. From an early
epoch in the colonization of Pennsylvania, members of
the family have figured prominently in military and
civil life, and the record of Colonel Craig is in harmony
with that of his forefathers, he having served his coun-
try with loyalty and capability upon the field of battle
and in the halls of legislation, as well as through the
avenues of business activity, leading to the substantial
upbuilding and material progress of the state.
The pioneer ancestor of the family emigrated hither
from Ireland about the close of the seventeenth cen-
tury, settling in Philadelphia. Thence, in 1728, Colonel
Thomas Craig removed to Northampton county, loca-
ting in what was afterwards known as Craig's or the
Irish Settlement, this tract of land being the property
of William Penn and later that of his son, Thomas
Penn. The name of Colonel Thomas Craig appears
upon the roll of the Synod of Philadelphia for the first
time in 1731, and by it we learn that he occupied the
office of elder. As it was in the year 1731 that the
Presbyterian church was organized in the settlement,
it may reasonably be supposed that he was the original
elder.
Thomas Craig, son of Colonel Thomas Craig, was
but a lad when his father came to Craig's. During his
boyhood days he assisted in clearing the land and till-
ing the soil, and, after attaining manhood, engaged in
farming for himself.
416 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
The next in line of descent was Thomas Craig, whose
birth occurred in the year 1740. In 1771, at the break-
ing out of the Pennamite war, he was appointed to the
rank of lieutenant in the Pennsylvania militia, and
during the term of his service won a reputation for
gallant and heroic conduct. He was an active cham-
pion of the colonies from the opening of the Revolu-
tionary War, and on January 5, 1776, was commis-
sioned captain, being assigned to Colonel St. Clair's
Pennsylvania Battalion. After several engagements
in the Canadian campaign, he was promoted to the
rank of major, September, 1776, and in the summer
of the following year became Colonel of the Third
Pennsylvania Regiment of the line. He performed
meritorious service under the command of Washing-
ton in the state of New Jersey, and subsequently par-
ticipated in the battles of Brandywine and German-
town. In the storming of Fort Durkee, near Wilkes-
Barre, in 1771, Captain Craig, grandfather of Colonel
John Craig, led the van with an impetuous rush, and
gave the first alarm by springing into the midst of the
astonished multitude, when he commanded a company
under Ogden. He stepped lightly in advance of his
men, and speaking in a low tone and in friendly terms
to the sentinel, threw him off his guard, knocked him
down and entered the fort. Early in the Revolution-
ary War he led a company into service under Washing-
ton, and rose to the command of a regiment. Not
only was he brave, but constitutionally impetuous.
He was at Quebec, at the battles of Germantown and
of Monmouth, and at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.
His intrepid and humane conduct in the storming of
Fort Durkee and preserving the prisoners from slaugh-
ter won him the esteem of all. Though brave as either.
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 417
ill liis social walk he resembled Mark x\ntliony rather
than Scipio.
Having quit the tented field, he sought excitement
and pleasure amid the lilacs and roses with the blonde
and brunette beauties of old Northampton.
On the afternoon of December 12, 1777, the British
adjutant-general, who had his headquarters directly
opposite, called at the famous old Loxley house, at
the corner of Second and Little Dock streets, Phila-
delphia, and notified (Mrs.) Lydia Darrali to have fire
and candles lighted in a certain room which he had
appropriated for a council chamber there. ''And be
sure," he added, "that your family are all in bed at an
«arly hour." The Darrahs were members of the So-
ciety of Friends, and William, the husband, was a
school teacher. Lydia obeyed instructions, doubtless
with her husband's consent and co-operation, and at
the appointed hour, admitted the officers, being told
by the adjutant that he would call her when they were
ready to go. She then withdrew to an upper chamber.
Friend though she was, her heart sympathies could not
be silenced, and she trembled lest this secret council
might bring to her friends and kindred some serious
flisaster. Slipping olf her shoes and gliding noiseless-
ly down the stairs, she approached the entrance of the
officers' room, and, placing her ear against the door,
eagerly listened. At first she could only hear a mur-
mur of voices ; then ensued a long conference followed
by a deep silence, broken at last by the loud voice of an
officer reading an order from General Howe for an
attack upon Washington's position at White Marsh,
on the evening of December 4. Not waiting to hear
more she tremblingly made her way back, and had
scarcely closed the door when the adjutant knocked.
Pretending not to hear until he had repeated the alarm
27
418 insTORV OP rA[>i;ox county.
for the third time, she answered the summons, drows-
ily rubbing her eyes, as though just aroused from
sleep, and let the officers out.
It was cold next morning, and there was snow on the
ground ; but, making the excuse that she needed flour,
and could not spare the servant to go for it, Lydia se-
cured a pass and set out for Frankford, a distance of
five miles. Reaching the mill, and leaving her sack to
be filled, she speeded on until near the American lines,
when she met Lieutenant-Colonel Craig, a mounted
scout, to whom she was well known, and who inquired
her errand. As he was at the head of a company, she
answered evasively, saying she was in search of her
son, who was an officer in the American army. Then
she added in a lower tone: "I have something im-
portant to say to thee." He at once dismounted and
walking slowly beside her, received the startling in-
formation gratefully; then assuming a careless air,
bade her good-by, when she unceremoniously departed,
returning to the mill for her flour and hurrying home.
Resuming her household duties as though nothing
unusual had occurred, she waited the outcome, calmly
noting the departure of the British soldiers on the
evening of December 4; listening to the distant boom-
ing of cannon on the morning of the 5th, and three days
later witnessing their hasty return to camp, when the
generally disturbed surroundings told her that they
had been rejmlsed. Following this reverse, a cloud of
suspicion settled on the place, and strict inquisition
was made to locate the spy or traitor there. It was
whispered that he had been concealed in the Darrah
house. The adjutant-general sent for Lydia, and, lock-
ing the door, questioned her closely, but without elicit-
ing any incriminating evidence. '*Thee knows," she
said in conclusion, "that we were alone, nnd that all
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 419
but myself had retired." ''Yes, I do know," he re-
plied, after a pause. ''And you, yourself, were asleep,
for I had to rap loudly three times before I could
awaken you, and you were almost dreaming when you
came to let us out. Still it is quite plain that we were
betrayed. Strange! Very strange!" Thus Lydia
Darrah's daring deed, tradition tells us, saved Wash-
ington's army — perhaps the country — and thus she be-
came a heroine in American history.
On April 12, 1778, at Valley Forge, Colonel Craig
addressed a letter, strongly appealing for clothing for
the soldiers, this fact showing their destitute condi-
tion in that respect. In the battle of Monmouth his
regiment displayed unusual courage, which fact was
attributed largely to the coolness and bravery of their
leader, who was eminently qualified for the high posi-
tion which he occupied. After the close of hostilities,
and upon his return to Northampton county, in July,
1783, Colonel Craig was appointed lieutenant. The
following year Montgomery county was formed from
Philadelphia, and he was appointed associate judge,
clerk of courts, and recorder, all of which positions he
held until 1789, a period of five years. For several
years he was major general of the Seventh Division
of Pennsylvania militia. In 1789 he removed to Towa-
mensing township, but a few years previous to his
death, which occurred in 1832, at the advanced age of
ninety-two years, he lived with his daughter, Mrs.
Kreamer, at Allentown. His remains were interred
in Fairview Cemetery, Allentown. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Dorothy Breinig, bore him six
children : Charles, Thomas, Eliza, Mary, Harriet, and
William Craig.
Thomas Craig, second son of Thomas and Dorothy
Craig, was born at Stemlersville, Towamensing town-
420 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ship, Carbon county, in 1796. He attended the com
mon schools of the neighborhood, which in that early
dav were limited to the elementarv branches, Wolfe's
Academy, and a school in the Irish Settlement for a
few months. About 1822 he accompanied his father to
Lehigh Gap, Carbon county, where he was the proprie-
tor of an hotel in the management of which he achieved
a large degree of financial success, and subsequently
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and the
lumber business, in both of which enterprises he was
successful. He, too, was prominent in public affairs,
and in 1828 became captain of what was known as the
Troop of Horse in the Pennsylvania militia. Mr.
Craig was married twice. His first wife was a Miss
Kuntz, who bore him two sons, Thomas and Samuel.
His second wife was Catherine Hagenbach, daughter
of John Hagenbach, then proprietor of an hotel at
Lehighton. Their children were: Thomas, deceased,
who represented his district for four years in the house
of representatives, and three years in the senate ; John,
mentioned at length hereinafter ; Eliza, who became the
wife of General Charles Heckman, an officer in the
Mexican and Civil wars, and a resident of German-
town ; Hon. Allen, for many years a leading attorney at
Mauch Chunk, and the incumbent of the office of dis-
trict judge; William, a resident of Nebraska; Eobert,
a graduate of West Point Military Academy, and an
officer of the regular army. Thomas, the father of
these children, died in 1858; his wife, Catherine (Hag-
enbach) Craig, died in 1871.
Colonel John Craig, second son of Thomas and Cath-
erine (Hagenbach) Craig, was born in Lehigh Gap,
Carbon county, October 23, 1831. In boyhood he at-
tended the schools of the district, and in 1850 went to
Easton, where his education was completed at a pri-
HISTOEY OF CAEBOX COUNTY. 421
ate school conducted by Eev. John Vanderveer. He
then became connected with his father in the himber
business, and after the death of the latter, in 1858,
devoted some time to the settlement of the estate; he
also continued the management of the business. In
1857, at the age of twenty-six, he was elected captain
of a cavalry company, which position he held up to
the time of the Civil War. He was one of the first vol-
unteers in the defense of the government, enlisting
April 22, 1861, for three months' service, and was com-
missioned captain of Company I, Sixth Eegiment
Pennsylvania Infantry, which took part in the military
operations in Virginia and Maryland. On August 30,
1861, he re-enlisted, and was commissioned captain of
Company X, Twenty-eighth Eegiment Pennsylvania
Infantry, which was afterwards merged into Company
C, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Eegiment. Among
the battles in which he participated were those of An-
tietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Moun-
tain, Missionary Eidge, Einggold, Chattanooga, and
the various engagements from Atlanta to the sea under
General Sherman, including the battle of Peach Tree
Creek. Enlisting as a captain, he was promoted suc-
cessively to the rank of major, lieutenant-colonel, and
colonel. He particijDated in the grand review in TTash-
ington, D. C, and July 15, 1865, was honorably dis-
charged from the service of the United States govern-
ment in whose behalf he labored long and faithfully
during the darkest days of its history.
Eesuming the life of a civilian. Colonel Craig formed
a partnership with his brother in the general mercan-
tile business under the style of J. and "W. Craig, at
Lehigh Gap, and this business relationship continued
until 1882, when W. Craig withdrew his interest,
after which Colonel Craig became sole proprietor. In
422 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
addition to the management of this extensive enter-
prise, he was also a dealer in coal, lumber and ferti-
lizers. In 1866-67 he contracted for and built four and
a half miles of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad,
which was in course of construction at that time. In
1880 he became president of the Carbon Metallic Paint
Company, while he was a director of the First National
Bank of Slatington from the date of its organization,
in 1875, until his death. He was a shrewd and capable
business man, and all his transactions were character-
ized by fairness, integrity and justice, which was the
secret of the success he attained during his career as
a business man. He always took a keen interest in
every measure calculated to promote the general well
being of the people of his native state and of the coun-
try at large, being especially interested along educa-
tional lines. He was particularly well versed in the
early history of Carbon county and of the whole Lehigh
Valley. He was for five years a school director, served
for a number of years as postmaster of Lehigh Gap,
and from 1884 to 1886 represented his district in the
lower house of the state legislature. He affiliated him-
self with the Democratic party on attaining his major-
ity, and always supported its candidates and the meas-
ures it championed. He belonged to the Loyal Legion,
Pennsylvania Commandery, at Philadelphia; and
Chapman Post, No. 61, Grand Army of the Republic,
at Mauch Chunk.
In the fall of 1866 Colonel Craig was united in mar-
riage to Emma Insley, daughter of Philip and Hen-
rietta Insley, residents of the Irish Settlement, near
Bath, Northampton county, Pennsylvania. The fol-
lowing children were the issue of this union: Thomas,
(Uiarles, P. Insley, H. Tyndale, Henrietta, wife of T.
Griffin; Mary, Allen D., and John D., deceased.
/■^
HISTORY OF CARBOX COUNTY. 423
The body of Colonel Craig lies buried in the old
Towamensing Cemetery near Palmerton.
Craig, Hon. Thomas B., one of the members of the
board of commissioners of Carbon county, is the eldest
son of the late Colonel John Craig and his wife, Emma
(Insley) Craig. He was born at Lehigh Gap, Carbon
county, on April 6, 1867, and received his early educa-
tion in the public schools of Lower Towamensing town-
ship and in those of the borough of Slatington, Lehigh
county. Later he attended Wyoming Seminary, at
Kingston, Pa.
He began his business career in 1885, when, at the
age of eighteen years, he entered the mercantile estab-
lishment of his father at Lehigh Gap. Under his in-
struction he also became a surveyor, and has surveyed
much of the land in the locality in which he lives.
Colonel Craig becoming ill in the year 1900, Thomas
assumed active control of his extensive business inter-
ests. In 1908 the father died, and the conduct of the
estate was turned over to Thomas and his brother, H.
Tyndale Craig, who continue the business under the
style of John Craig & Company, being dealers in gen-
eral merchandise, coal, flour and feed.
Mr. Craig has inherited much of the public spirit dis-
played by his ancestors, and has for years been promi-
nent in the councils of the Democracy of Carbon coun-
ty. He served as secretary of the school board of
Lower Towamensing township for six years, and was
Democratic county chairman for four years. In 1898
he was elected to membership in the state legislature,
serving his constituents with intelligence and fidelity.
He was chosen as a county commissioner in 1911, and
has on several occasions represented the Democracy of
his native county in the state conventions of the party
and at the congressional conferences of the district.
424 niSTOEY OF carbo^j county.
Mr. Craig was one of the organizers of the First
National Bank of Palmer ton, of which he is the vice-
president and one of the board of directors. He is a
member of the Masonic order, belongs to the Odd Fel-
lows and to the Sons of Veterans, while being the pres-
ident of Palmerton's newly organized fire department.
In September, 1889, Mr. Craig was married to Lil-
lie J. Kreamer, youngest daughter of Dr. J. C.
Kreamer, of Millport, Carbon county.
Davies, George M., for many years prominently
connected with the mining industry of the Lehigh coal
region, and one of the most public spirited citizens of
Lansford, was born in South Wales, January 1, 1848.
His parents were Stephen and Sarah (Edwardes)
Davies. During his early teens he came to America,
locating at Harleigh, Luzerne county. Pa. He began
life as a slate picker, later becoming a contract miner.
For some years he lived in Hazleton, and at various
times employed a large number of men in the oper-
ations of that region.
In 1883 Mr. Davies came to Lansford, where he
achieved his greatest successes, and in the develop-
ment and upbuilding of which place he has played a
leading part. For nearly twenty-one years he worked
the Spring Tunnel mine, the oldest anthracite under-
ground operation in the country, for the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company. He also operated a number
of other colleries for the same company during the
twenty-seven years that he followed mining in the
Panther Creek Valley.
Aside from this, Mr. Davies has been a man of many
interests and activities. He was one of the organizers
of the Panther Valley Electric Light, Heat and Power
Company, of which he has been president for the past
twelve years, and was a prime mover in the establish-
^.m/^
^P^'^^/^,^^^^^^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 425
ment of the First National Bank of Lansford, being
still a director of this institution. He also assisted in
the organization of the American Fire Company and
the Panther Valley Building and Loan Association.
Mr. Davies has figured prominently in the councils
of the Eepublican party since becoming a citizen of
the county. He is familiarly referred to as the "Little
Napoleon" of Carbon county politics, which sobriquet
was conferred upon him for his aggressive disposition
and his combative abilities.
While living in Hazle township, Luzerne county, he
was chosen as assessor, being the first Eepublican
elected to that office in the history of the township.
During his incumbency as chairman of the Carbon
county Republican committee, most of the county of-
fices were turned over by the Democrats to the Repub-
licans.
In 1890 he was the nominee of his party for congress
in what was then the Eighth District. Although de-
feated, he reduced the usual Democratic majority of
eleven thousand to six thousand. He was also an un-
successful candidate for the office of associate judge
of the county. In 1892 he was elected burgess of Lans-
ford, serving for several terms. He has also served
as president of town council and the school board of
the borough, besides filling a number of other offices.
He is a trustee of the Ashland State Hospital and of
the East Stroudsburg State Normal School, while
being a member of the state commission on mine caves,
to which he was appointed by Governor Tener.
An incident which occurred during the Spanish-
American War serves to illustrate Mr. Davies' pa-
triotic spirit and his well known liberality. As a re-
sult of official red tape and confusion in the War
Department, the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment found
42(3 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
itself without tlie means of procuring rations on the
eve of its departure from Mt. Gretna for the seat of
war.
In this emergency, Mr. Davies, who was a visitor at
Mt. Gretna, generously volunteered to feed the entire
regiment at his own expense.
This incident is related by Caj^tain Baird H. Halber-
stadt, of Pottsville.
In 1870 Mr. Davies was married to Mary J. Hill, of
Harleigh, Luzerne county. They have eight surviving
children.
Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows,
and is prominent in Masonic circles. He is a member
of the Episcopal church.
Davies, Isaac M., mine inspector of the Seventeenth
Anthracite District of Pennsylvania, comprising the
county of Carbon and a portion of Schuylkill, is the
son of Stephen and Sarah (Edwardes) Davies. His
father was an iron refiner of Glamorganshire, Wales.
Born at Cwymavon, South Wales, in 1854, Isaac ^L
Davies crossed the Atlantic to New York at the age of
sixteen as a cabin boy on board the Nova Scotia bark
Kate, Captain E. J. ^lurphy commanding
Being then in quest of adventure, rather than in
search of a permanent home, he sailed for South Amer-
ica, having spent some time at Harleigh, Luzerne
county, Pa., where his brother, George M. Davies, was
located, and at other points in the coal fields. After
leading the free life of a plainsman in LTruguay and the
Argentine Eepublic for a period of nearly two years,
he returned to his home in Wales, where he worked in
the coal mines.
Coming to America for a second time, ho was accom-
panied by his brother, AVilliam IT. Davies. who is now
the division superintendent of the Lehigh Valley Coal
^. xy-^^-^^'
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 427
Company at Hazleton, Pa. At the age of twenty-five,
Mr. Davies went to Australia, where he was engaged
as a miner of both gold and coal for nearly a dozen
years. Returning to the United States in 1890, after
making a complete circle of the globe, he located perm-
anently at Lansford, Pa., where he still lives.
He became a mine foreman for the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company, and in 1907 attained to the posi-
tion which he now holds, being re-elected without op-
position in 1911. Mr. Davies is the first resident of
Carbon county yet elected to this office. He was one of
the organizers of the corps giving first aid to the in-
jured in the mines about Lansford, and was one of the
original trustees of the Panther Creek Valley Hospital,
situated at Coal Dale, Schuylkill county.
Mr. Davies is a member of the various Masonic bod-
ies, while being connected with the St. David 's society,
of Lansford, and the Episcopal church.
He was married on April 4, 1882, to Sarah, daugh-
ter of William Davies, in New South Wales, Australia.
She is a native of Blaenavon, South Wales. Five of
their eight children, George B., Minnie M., Stephen H..
Stella G., and William AV., were born in Australia.
David E., Isaac E., and Marion were born at Lansford.
Minnie is the wife of John Corville, of Wilmington,
Del., and Stella is married to Luke Yoeum, living at
Loag, near Reading, Pa.
Davis, Benjamin F., prominent in union labor circles
in the county, and a leading citizen of Nesquehoning,
was born there on June 17, 1877. He is one of the
twelve children of William and Margaret (Watkins)
Davis. The father was born in England, emigrating to
America when a young man and becoming a miner. He
served for three years as a member of Company G.,
Sixty-first Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Lifantry,
428 HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
during the Rebellion, participating in most of the im-
]3ortant battles of the Army of the Potomac, including
Bull Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The mother was
born in AVales.
Benjamin P. Davis became a slate picker on the Nes-
quehouing breaker at the age of twelve. Later he
learned the trade of a blacksmith, and followed this oc-
cupation for seven years, after which he became a
miner and followed this occupation until January, 1915.
Mr, Davis has played an active part in the councils
of the United Mine Workers since 1902, when the or-
ganization first gained a footing in the Panther Creek
Valley, being a member of the mine committee of the
Nesquehoning local. In 1914 he was appointed as the
traveling auditor of District No. 7, U. M. W. of A.,
and is still so serving.
He has taken an interest in the cause of popular edu-
cation, having served for three years as a member of
the Mauch Chunk township school board. He has long-
been a member of the P. O. S. of A.
Mr. Davis was married on December 23, 1898, to
Rena, daughter of Richard Floyd and his wife Eleanor,
of Nesipiehoning. They have two sons, Harry and
Robert,
Doak, C. Curtis, formerly Register of Wills of Car-
bon county, and a well-known resident of Mauch Chunk,
is one of the four sons of William H. and Ellen (Mc-
Connell) Doak. The father was born of German par-
entage at Rockport, Carbon county, in 1836. On the
breaking out of the Civil War, he enlisted in Company
A, Twenty-eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer
infantry, which was attached to the Army of the Po-
tomac, continuing in the service to the close of the con-
flict. He was wounded at Gettysburg and was made
lieutenant for gallantry in action. After the war ]\Ir.
l>^^Acv<;
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 429
Doak took up his residence at Nesquelioning, where he
became an extensive contractor and builder. He died
in 1902.
Charles Curtis Doak was born at Nesquehoning, De-
cember 13, 1873. Starting as a slate picker on the
breaker, he later did clerical work for the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company. After an experience as
clerk in a general store in Nesquehoning, he was a
traveling salesman for a Philadelphia grocery house.
In 1896, Mr. Doak enterted the service of P. H.
Schweibinz as manager of the Central Hotel at Mauch
Chunk, continuing in this capacity under Joseph
Schaefer until 1'908, when he was elected to the office of
register of wills as the candidate of the Republican
party. He was reelected in 1911, and is now the man-
ager of the Ortlie Brewing Company, of Mauch Chunk.
On July 20, 1911, Mr. Doak was united in marriage to
Lottie M., daughter of the late 0. B. Sigley and his
wife, Ellen, of Mauch Chunk. Mr. Sigley was the
founder and publisher of the Mauch Chunk Daily
Tunes. Mr. Doak was efficient and popular as an of-
fice holder, and he still maintains a large following
among men of all parties. He is a member of the P. O.
S. of A., the B. P. O. E. and the various Masonic bodies.
Dreisbach, J. M., a foremost representative of the
financial interests of Mauch Chunk, and for years
prominently identified with the political affairs of the
county, was born at Lockport, Northampton county,
on January 4, 1847, the son of Solomon and Mary
(Mummey) Dreisbach.
The pioneer of his family in America was John Jost
Dreisbach, who was born in Germany in the year 1721.
He sailed for this country from Cowes, England, Sep-
tember 20, 1743, on board the ship Lydia, of which
430 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
James Abercrombie, of Rotterdam, was master. His
death occurred on October 17,1 794.
The paternal gi-andfather, ]\lichael Dreisbach, was
born April 1, 1779, and died October 15, 1868. By oc-
cupation he was a wheelright, and engaged in farming.
His wife bore the maiden name of Susanna Shaffer.
Solomon Dreisbach was a native of Lehigh township,
Northampton county, the year of his birth being 1822.
He departed this life Aug. 14, 1880. He was trained
for a mercantile career, but early in life became a boat-
builder, also conducting a boatman's stable and store.
Removing to East Mauch Chunk in 1850, he built the
Centre House, the first hotel in that town. His wife
was born near Berlinsville, Pa., November 9, 1828,
being a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Master) Mum-
mey. Six children were born to them: James M..
Joseph B., Franklin A., Ellen I., ^lary XL, the wife of
Rev. William C. Shaffer, and Emma J., who married
HsiYrj Laurish.
James Monroe Dreisbach was but three years of age
when his parents removed to East Mauch Chunk. He
acquired his early training in the public schools of that
borough, later pursuing a business course at Philadel-
l)hia.
In 1863 he began life as a clerk in the service of the
Hazleton Coal Comjiany at Penn Haven, which was
then an impoi-tant coal-shi]iping point. Here he
formed an acquaintance with General William Lilly,
who was at that time in charge of the company's af-
fairs at Penn Haven, and a warm friendship sprang up
between the two which was only terminated by the
deathof the elder in 189;]. »
In 1865 Mr. Driesbach liecame the shi])]ier for
Sharpe, Weiss & Com]mny, and for Coxe Brothers and
Company, niinors and shi])i)ers of anthracite coal.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 431
Shipments were made over the Lehigh Canal from
Manch Chunk.
Entering the Second National Bank of Maiich Chunk
in the spring of 1867 as a bookkeeper, he was subse-
quently promoted to the position of teller. In 1880 he
was elected cashier of the bank, while from 18i97 until
1901 he served as its vice-president. In the latter year
he became president of the institution, serving in that
capacity until December 31, 1902, when the charter of
the Second National Bank expired by limitation.
Mr. Dreisbach was an active participant in the or-
ganization of the Mauch Chunk Trust Company, whicli
began business on January 1, 1903, the only institution
of its kind in the county. He was chosen its president,
still occupjang that position. The new institution was
to a certain degree an experiment, but under his guid-
ance it has steadily grown stronger and more prosper-
ous.
Since his boyhood Mr. Dreisbach 's life has been
characterized by sustained activity and usefulness. He
was the receiver appointed to take charge of the af-
fairs of the Miners' Bank of Lansford, which failed in
1883, and succeeded in paynig its creditors seventy-
five per cent, of the amount of their claims, notwith-
standing that it was at first thought there would be but
little left to divide among the depositors of the wrecked
institution.
Mr. Driesbach is a director of the East Broad Gap
Railroad and Coal Company, of G. B. Markle & Co.,
and other corporations. He is the acting executor of
the estate of his former friend. General Lilly, the
wealthy coal operator, and was similarly connected
with a number of other estates.
He has been a close student of political and economic
problems, always manifesting a lively interest in pub-
432 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
lie affairs. Politics with him lias beeu au avocatiou
rather than a vocation. He was, however, appointed
as the first postmaster of East ]\Iauch Chunk, having
been largely instrumental in the establishment of that
postoffice in 1870. He early became identified with
the policies and principles of the Republican party, be-
coming one of its most influential leaders in the county.
Eepeatedly serving as the chairman of the county com-
mittee, he was also frequently sent as a representative
to the state conventions of the party.
In 1896 he was a member of the National convention
which nominated McKinley for the Presidency at St.
Louis, while four years later he was again a delegate
to the convention which renominated him at Philadel-
phia.
He took an active part in securing the legislation
constituting Carbon county as a separate judicial dis-
trict, in 1901, at which time he also successfully advo-
cated the separate establishment of the offices of pro-
thonotary and clerk of courts, and of register of wills
and recorder of deeds.
Mr. Dreisbach is a past master of the Masonic lodge
of Mauch Chunk, while being a past grand of the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows of that town.
He was united in marriage to Emma Wertz, of
Cherryville, Northampton county, on November 31.
1869. Their only son, George Dreisbach, is secretary
and treasurer of the Mauch Chunk Trust Company.
Druckenmiller, Stanley F., a physician and surgeon,
of Lansford, is the son of Wilson K. and ]\fary (Grim)
Druckenmiller, of Weatherly. His father is a native of
New Tri})oli, Lehigh county, Pa,
Stanley was born at Weatherly on September 12,
1884. He graduated from the high school of that place
with the class of 1901, after which he pursued a gen-
/%46ec \)/iLcU'cJc^^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 433
era! course at the Hazleton Business College. Going
to South Bethlehem, Pa., he did clerical work for the
Bethlehem Steel Company and the Lehigh Vallej^ Rail-
road for four years.
In 1906 he entered the Medico-Chirurgical College
of Philadelphia, from which institution he was gradu-
ated in 1910. In August, 1911, after having served for
a year as interne at St. Luke's Hospital, South Beth-
lehem, he opened an office at Lansford, where he is
rapidly building up a good practise. He has already
established a reputation for skill and ability in his pro-
fession.
Drumheller, Wallace, a representative of the busi-
ness and industrial interests of Lansford, and a mem-
ber of the board of county commissioners, was born at
Summit Hill on April 1, 1860. He is the son of Nathan
and Elizabeth (Heister) Drumheller. His grandfather,
George Drumheller, was the first blacksmith employed
by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, while his
father was for years the master machinist of the same
corporation at Lansford.
Wallace Drumheller was educated in the common
schools and at the Bloomsburg State Normal School.
Learning the trade of a machinist under the direction
of his father, he later became the foreman of the shop
where he served his apprenticeship. In 1891, upon the
death of his father, he was appointed as superintend-
ent of the various shops of the Lehigh Coal and Navi-
gation Company, situated in Lansford. He continued
in this position until 1908.
In 1906, in association with Charles K. Walton, Mr.
Drumheller established the Lansford Shirt Factory,
which now employs about one hundred operatives.
Formerly he also conducted a large hardware, heating
28
434 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
and plumbing establishment, which, in 1909, he turned
over to his sons, Nathan and George.
He has been the manager of the Panther Valley Elec-
tric Light, Heat and Power Company since its incep-
tion, and is a director of the First National Bank of
Lansford. For about fifteen years he was a meml^er
of the town council of Lansford, of which he was the
president.
As the candidate of the Republican party, Mr. Drum-
heller was elected to membership on the board of coun-
ty commissioners, in 1911. He was married in 1883 to
Johanna, daughter of John Griffiths, of Lansford.
Ebbert, David, who was a foremost citizen of Le-
highton, was born in Heidelberg township, Lehigh
county, on December 17, 1842. He was the son of Jacob
and Mary (Straub) Ebbert. Educated in the public
schools, he was early compelled to make his own way
in life.
During the spring of 1863 he came to Lehightou.
serving in the employ of Thomas Kemerer for several
months. At the expiration of this period he estal)-
lished himself as a dealer in flour, grain and feed, later
also entering the livery business, which he successfully
carried on until his death.
In 1867 he was married to Hannah Hartz, a grand-
daughter of Colonel Jacob Hartz, one of Carbon coun-
ty's heroes in the war of the Revolution. Two daugli-
ters, Mary S. and Ellen J., were born to them. The
former become the wife of Edward H. Brannix, of
Philadelphia, while the latter married M. S. Jordan, of
Scranton, Pa., residing at Lehighton.
Mr. Ebbert was connected with various local indus-
tries and enterprises. For years he was director of the
First National Bank of Lehighton. His death occurred
on April 1, 1905.
David Ebbert.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 435
Edelstein, Julius, a well-known resident of Lansford,
is the son of Frfineis Edelstein, who was the proprietor
of a large landed estate in Hungary, where the subject
of this sketch was born on July 15, 1857. His mother
bore the maiden name of Bertha Weiss. The family
is noted for longevity. Mr. Edelstein 's father lived to
be eighty-four, while his paternal grandfather reached
the age of 104 years.
Julius was educated at the University of Budapest,
later pursuing a course in agriculture. Upon the com-
pletion of his studies he managed his father's estate,
which consisted of 8,000 acres of land and eight vil-
lages.
Emigrating to America at the age of twenty-three, he
spent some months in travel and then settled in Lans-
ford. For seven years he was in the employ of the Le-
high Coal and Navigation Company, while subsequent-
ly he conducted a clothing store for a period of nine
years. In 1897 he entered the hotel business, which is
his present pursuit. He has also acquired considera-
ble real estate.
Taking an interest in civic affairs, he lost no time in
being naturalized; he has been a staunch member of
the Republican party ever since he became a voter.
In 1880 he was married to Annie Loch, whom he had
known in his native land. Their children are : Michael,
a member of the town council of Lansford ; Helen,
formerly a school teacher, and now the wife of John
Davis, of Lansford ; Eugene, a graduate of Dickinson
College and now a law student at the University of
Pennsylvania, and Bertha, Francis, and Gizzela, who
remain at home.
Edwards, Philip, a veteran educator and miner, now
living at Beaver Meadow, was born in Cornwall, Eng-
land, July 19, 1839. At the age of nine, having spent
436 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
a few years in the Ludgvan parish school, he already
began to earn his own way as a worker about the tin
mines of his native country.
When twenty years of age, he emigrated to the
United States, locating in the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan, where he became a copper miner. Having
a thirst for knowledge, he saved enough from his
earnings to enable him to pursue a course at Union
Seminary, Ypsilanti, Mich.
Coming to Pennsylvania in 1866, he taught school
for thirteen years in Carbon and Luzerne counties.
For a time he was also employed in a clerical capacity
in the general offices of Coxe Brothers and Company,
at Drifton, Luzerne county. While so engaged, he did
a useful work in fitting many of the foremen and other
employes of this large concern to meet the educational
requirements prescribed by the more stringent mining
laws which had then been recently enacted. This was
accomplished through the agency of a night school
which he conducted.
Mr. Edwards has held various positions in connec-
tion with the mining industry since relinquishing his
work as an instructor, but he still takes a lively interest
in educational matters. He has held the offices of
school director and street commissioner in Beaver
Meadow, while he has been the tax collector of the
borough since 1906.
For more than fifty-six years he has been a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been a
prominent Sunday school worker. Fraternally he is
identified with the Masons and the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows.
In 1873 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to S.
Ellen, daughter of Daniel McClaiu, of Beaver IMeadow.
They are the parents of five surviving children.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 437
Ehle, William H., a tunnel contractor of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company at Lansford, was born
there on August 18, 1883. He is the son of Frederick
and Katherine (Miller) Ehle, both natives of Germany,
but residents of Lansford during the past thirty-five
years. The father is on the retired list of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company, having formerly been
a stable boss in its employ.
William became a worker at the age of nine, picking-
slate on the breaker. Two years later he entered the
mines, and was successively a mule driver, a laborer,
and a miner, being certified in the latter capacity at the
age of eighteen.
During the past half dozen years Mr. Ehle has been
engaged in driving tunnels, gangways, rock chutes, etc.,
for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, having'
from thirty-five to fifty men in his employ.
He was married on February 26, 1906, to Miss Mary
Schaefer, of Mauch Chunk. The pair have lived in
Lansford since their marriage.
Mrs. Ehle is noted for her marksmanship, being the
only woman wing shooter in Carbon county. She fre-
quently makes good scores at shooting tournaments in
competition with men, being accompanied by her hus-
band on such occasions. They hunt wild game together
in the woods, too. She is a member of the Nemours
Trap Shooting Club, of Wilmington, Del.
Enbody, Hon. Edwin R., who was one of Carbon
county's best known and most public spirited citizens,
was a descendant of Henry Enbody, his great-grand-
father, a native of France, who settled in the Mohawk
Valley about the middle of the eighteenth century.
His grandfather, David Enbody, who was a pioneer
resident of Mauch Chunk, first devoted himself to agri-
cultural pursuits near Berwick, on the Susquehanna.
438 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
He married Rebecca Turnbacli, of Sugarloaf Valley,
Luzerne county. Their son, Josiali, the father of E.
R. Enbody, was born near Berwick, in 1818, being
quite young when his parents removed to Mauch
Chunk. On reaching man's estate, he became a boat
builder on the Lehigh Canal. He served for several
years as the chief burgess of Mauch Chunk.
His wife bore the maiden name of Tabitha Bayne,
being the daughter of John Bayne, an early settler of
Mauch Chunk, and an ark runner on the Lehigh.
E. R. Enbody was born at Mauch Chunk on October
11, 1844. After mastering the elementary branches of
English learning in the public schools, he pursued a
course of study at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport,
Pa. At the age of seventeen he entered the emjiloy of
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company as a clerk,
continuing so for several years.
In 1868 he became the chief bookkeeper for W. T,
Carter and Company, miners and shippers of coal, at
Beaver Meadows. In association with John ]\[artyn
and a number of New York capitalists, he had an in-
terest in the opening and development of the mines
now operated by Coxe Brothers and Company, near
Beaver Meadows.
For eleven years Mr. Enbody lived at Weatherly.
where he was in the service of the Lehigh Valley Rail-
road. Returning to Mauch Chunk in 1884, he assumed
the super intendency to the IMauch Chunk Water Com-
pany and the Mauch Chunk Gas Company, occupying
the former position the remainder of his life.
For years he was active as a labor leader, and asso-
ciated with such men as T. V. Powderly and Henry
George. During this phase of his career, he ha<l a
hand in bringing about the adoption of the Australian
l)aIlot svstcin in Pennsvlvania.
HISTORY OP CARBON COUNTY. 439
Mr. Enbocly was elected to the office of associate
judge of Carbon county by the Democrats in 1899,
serving for the term of five years. In 1910 he was
chosen to membership in the state legislature.
Always interested in religious work, he was an elder
of the Presbyterian church of Mauch Chunk for more
than twenty years.
His marriage to Cornelia D. Brodhead, daughter of
the late Hon. A. G. Brodhead, a prominent official of
the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Mauch Chunk, was sol-
emnized in 1867. She died on September 15, 1903, leav-
ing three children: Albert B., Richard M. and Josiah
W. Enbody. The first named is road foreman of loco-
motives for the Central Railroad of New Jersey at
Mauch Chunk, while his brothers are located in New
York.
Edwin R. Enbody died suddenly at his home on May
21, 1912, having but a short time previously been re-
nominated without opposition for his seat in the legis-
lature.
Eshleman, Dr. Edwin F., a physician and surgeon
of Parryville, and treasurer of Carbon county, was
born at Seiberlingsville, Lehigh county, on July 30,
1865.
Jacob Eshleman, his father, a farmer and black-
smith, was a native of Bucks county, while his mother
])efore her marriage, was Sophia Werley.
Edwin was one of a family of six children and in
early life labored on his father's farm and at the
forge. Having prepared himself as a teacher at the
Kutztown State Normal School, he taught school for
six terms.
Entering Jefferson Medical College, he graduated
with the class of 1893. During the same year he lo-
cated at Parryville, where he has practised his pro-
440 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
fession since that time. He is the only physician in
the town, having also built up a large practice in the
surrounding country.
Doctor Eshleman has been a warm friend of educa-
tion, and his previous service as a teacher has well
fitted him for the discharge of the duties of a school
director, which position he has filled continuously al-
most since becoming a resident of Parryville. He has
also been the overseer of the poor in the borough for a
like period.
As the candidate of the Republican party, he was
elected to the office of county treasurer l)y a handsome
majority in 1911.
Fraternally he is allied to the Knights of Malta and
to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, while being a mem-
ber of the Lutheran church.
On October 31, 1891 he was married to Lizzie, daugh-
ter of Charles Sclieirer, of Mickleys, Lehigh county.
Their two children are Gerald and Grace Eshleman.
Evans, Thomas E., postmaster of Audenried, is the
son of Owen R. and Mai'garet Rosser Evans, the form-
er a native of Wales, and the latter from Schuvkill
countj^
The father emigrated to America, unattended and
alone at the age of thirteen years. He first located at
Cumbola, Schuylkill county, later becoming a mine
foreman at New Philadelphia, in the same district.
Coming to Tresckow, Carbon county, he held the posi-
tion of a mine foreman for the German-Pennsylvania
Coal Company for over twenty years. The closing
years of his life were si)ent at Nanticoke, Luzerne
county, where he died in 1890, aged (U years.
Thomas Evans was born at Cumbola on March l!7,
18()4. Four years latci- his ]iarents removed to Tresc-
kow, whei*e he attended school. At the age of fifteen he
zsi^d. J, J-ClA^A^/yy^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 44^
was given employment in the offices of the Lehigh and
Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. Subsequently he be-
came a stationary engineer, in which capacity he is still
employed by this company.
He had served both as an auditor and as tax col-
lector of Banks township. His appointment as post-
master of Audenried was made on March 30, 1899.
On June 10, 1884, he was married to Sarah, daughter
of Evan Cann and his wife Rebecca, of Yorktowu.
Their children are Olive V., Harry, Roy, Lillian and
Gordon. Olive is a trained nurse, Harry a machinist,
and Roy a plumber. Lillian and Gordon remain at
home.
Farrar, John K., an Audenried physician and sur-
geon, was born at Montreal, Canada, on November 1,
1867. His father. Rev. John Farrar, a minister of the
Episcopal church, was a native of England, and grad-
uated at Oxford. He was married to Mary King, of
Sheffield, England, emigrating to Canada about 1860.
The father died in 1905 at the age of sixty-six years.
John King Farrar was educated at Geneva College
and at the University of Virginia. Entering Jefferson
Medical College, he was graduated from that institu-
tion in 1891.
In September of that year he located at Audenried,
becoming the assistant of Dr. W. R. Longshore, to
whose practise he succeeded. He is the local physician
and surgeon of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal
Company and of C. M. Dodson and Companj^, miners
and shippers of coal, and has a large practise.
Faust, Percy E., editor and owner of the Weatherly
Herald, the only newspaper published in the upper end
of Carbon county, was born on the old Faust home-
stead, now the property of John Bittner, in Packer
township, March 28, 1868.
442 HISTORY OF carbon county.
His grandfather, John Faust, who came from
Schuylkill county in 1829, was one of the early settlers
of Packer township. He was born in 1797, and lived
to a ripe old age, being endearingly referred to for
many years as "Old Daddy" Faust.
His wife died in 1864, having borne him thirteen
children. One of his sons, Edward, who was born in
1839, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He
spent his boyhood in Quakake Valley, and on reach-
ing man's estate, was married to Elizabeth, daughter
of Ephraim Balliet, of Packer township. The family
made their home in Weatherly, where ]\Ir. Faust was
for twentv-five vears emploved as a blacksmith bv the
Lehigh Valley Eailroad Company. He died in 1897.
The future owner of the Herald attended the public
schools until his fifteenth year, when the desire to do
something practical seized him. Accordingly, he for-
sook the founts of learning and worked as a laborer
for two vears. He then entered the office of the Herald
as an apprentice, learning to set type. One year later,
being then scarcely eighteen years of age, he attained,
through purchase, the ownership of the paper and the
job j)rinting business that went with it, beginning his
career as a full-fledged newspaper man at an age when
most boys are still attending the public schools.
The Herald was started in 1880, by H. V. Morthimer,
and its early career was one of many changes and
vicissitudes. Mr. Faust became its owner in 18SG,
succeeding Harvey B. Smith, now a Philadelphia news-
paper man. Under his direction the Herald has pros-
jjered and has grown in circulation and in influence
from year to year.
It is now issued every Friday, and is always a wel-
come visitor in the many homes that it reaches. Clean,
newsy and reliable, it always reflects a si)irit of op-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 44;;
timism and good cheer. It has never invaded the pri-
vacy of the home, while filth and scandal are carefully
excluded from its columns.
In 1890 Mr. Faust was married to Eva, daughter of
John and Abigail Hoover, of Weatherly. Their do-
mestic life has been ideal and happy. Their children
are : Robert, Ruth, Ray, Edward, Grace, Burdell, Eliza-
beth and Theodore. Two others died in infancy.
Mr. Faust has filled various offices of trust in the
borough, among the number those of councilman and
of school director. For fifteen years he served as bor-
ough treasurer, while he has also been secretary of the
board of trade since its organization in 1898, and he
is the treasurer of the Anthracite Building and Loan
Association.
He is active in the councils of the Democratic party
in the county, while he and his family are members of
the Methodist church.
Freyman, Ira E., a Weatherly physician, was born
at Tannersville, Monroe county, Pa., February 17,
1880. His grandfather, Edward Freyman, whose birth
occurred in 1828, is a native of East Penn township.
Carbon county, where, for many years, he conducted a
farm. He was married to Rebecca Ruch, and their
only child was Lafayette Freyman, who was born De-
cember 26, 1851.
Lafayette Freyman was united in marriage to Miss
Rebecca Steigerwalt, of West Penn township, Schuyl-
kill county. He was a carpenter, and at the age of
eighteen entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Rail-
road Company at Packerton. Subsequently he re-
moved to Tannersville, where he found employment at
his trade. In 1882 the family came to Weatherly, and
Mr. Freyman spent all but a few of his remaining
years in the service of the Lehigh Valley company.
444 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
For a short period he had charge of his father's farm
in East Penn township. He died on October 26, 1908.
The children of Lafayette Freyman and his wife
were Harvey, Lillian, Ira and Calvin. The two first-
named died on the same day of diphtheria ; Calvin was
for some years a machinist at the Washington Navy
Yard, and is now a veterinary surgeon at Washington.
Ira Freyman received his early training in the
schools of Weatherly and Lehighton, graduating from
the high school of the last named jilace in 1896. In
1897 he completed the course of study offered by the
American Business College, of Allentown, after which
he taught school for a number of years. He was em-
ployed as a clerk by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com-
pany at South Bethlehem for a year, and then entered
the Medico-Chirurgical College at Philadelphia.
While there he was president of the athletic association
and of the Phi-Rlio Sigma Fraternity. He graduated
with the class of 1907.
Doctor Freyman served for a year as the assistant
of Dr. R. Truckenmiller, of Freeland, after his gradua-
tion, and then opened an office in Weatherly. He has
disproved the old adage that a prophet has no honor
in liis own country, because his already large practice
is steadily growing.
Mr. Freyman was married to Elva S. Hunter, a
daughter of the late J. W. Hunter, of Weatherly, on
November 24, 1905. Their only child, Gordon C, was
born March 10, 1907.
Mr. Freyman is a member of the Reformed church,
and belongs to the Knights of Malta and to the Pa-
triotic Order Sons of America.
Freyman, William G., senior member of the law firm
of Freyman, Tliomas and Branch, of Mauch Chunk, is
frecjuently referred to as the Nestor of the Carbon
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY, 445
county bar. He is the son of George and Catherine
(Kistler) Freyman, both natives of Pennsylvania. His
father was a farmer and carpenter, also conducting a
general store. He spent his declining years in Mahon-
ing township where he died in 1849.
Both Jacob Freyman and John Kistler, the grand-
parents of W. G. Freyman, were natives of Northamp-
ton county, being descended from German immigrants
who came to Pennsylvania at a very early day.
W. G. Freyman was born in Mahoning township on
July 4, 1838. He received a high school education, and
taught school for five terms. During the war of the
Rebellion he served as orderly sergeant of Company
G, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Regiment, Penn-
sylvania Volunteer Infantry. At the expiration of his
term of service he recruited a company of which he was
commissioned lieutenant; but before it was mustered
into service, the war closed, and he returned home.
Becoming a civil engineer, Mr. Freyman followed
that calling for a dozen years, also engaging in mer-
chandising.
Entering the office of General Charles Albright at
Mauch Chunk, in 1871, he began the study of law, being
admitted to the bar in 1873. Under the firm name of
Albright and Freyman, he became the partner of his
former preceptor, which relation was severed by the
death of the General, in 1880. This firm participated
in the celebrated Mollie Maguire trials.
After practising alone for several years, Mr. Frey-
man formed a partnership with James Kiefer, now a
prominent attorney of Seattle, who had been a student
in his office. Upon the retirement of Mr. Kiefer from
the firm, at the expiration of five years, Mr. Freyman
became associated with Horace Heydt, also a former
student of his, under the name of Freyman and Heydt.
446 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Later, Eugene 0. Notlistein, a nephew of the senior
member of the firm was taken into partnership, alter-
ing the title to Frej^man, Heydt and Nothstein. IMr.
Freyman had also been his preceptor.
In September, 1901, Mr. Heydt was elevated to the
bench of Carbon coimty. From this time forth nntil
the spring of 1912, when Mr. Nothstein died, the prac-
tise of the firm was conducted under the name of Frey-
man and Nothstein. Since then, Mr. Freyman has
taken William G. Thomas and Benjamin Branch into
partnership with himself. The practise of the firm,
general in character, has embraced a wide range of
important cases, and has been more extensive, perhaps,
than that of any other in the county. Special attention
has been given to questions involving original land
titles both in Carbon and adjoining counties.
Speaking of Mr. Freyman individually, he has es-
tablished a well deserved reputation as a safe and sa-
gacious counsellor, and his long experience has made
him one of the most reliable lawyers of the Lehigh
Valley.
In addition to his legal business, he is interested in a
number of industrial and other enterprises. He is the
vice-president of the Maucli Chunk Trust Company,
while being a director of the Prince Manufacturing
Company and president of the Carbon Metallic Paint
Company. A supporter of the principles advocated liy
the Eepublican party, he has never sought nor held a
political office.
In 1865 he was married to Matilda, daughter of
George Gilbert, of Mahoning township. They have no
surviving children.
Gallagher, Thomas, chief burgess of Lansford, a
leader in labor circles, and a veteran of the Spanish-
American War, is one of the eight children of Thomas
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 447
and Mary (Morgan) Gallagher, both natives of Ire-
land. The father emigrated to this country before the
Civil AVar, settling in Newkirk, Schuylkill county,
where he was a hoisting engineer. He was acciden-
tally killed in the mines in 1906, having attained the
age of fifty years.
Thomas was born at Newkirk on November 17, 1877.
When he was eight years of age the family moved to
Lansford. When he was eleven he became a slate
picker on the breaker, later becoming a miner, as he is
still engaged. He has been active in the councils of the
United Mine Workers of America since 1900, serving
for a time as the chairman of the mine committee of
his local. He has been a delegate to all the national
conventions of the organization since its establishment
in the anthracite regions.
Mr. Gallagher enlisted as a soldier in Company B,
Eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, at
the breaking out of the war with Spain, being mustered
out after ten months of service. He has been a mem-
ber of the school board of the borough ; in 1913 he was
elected to the office of chief burgess for the four-year
term.
On April 12, 1910, he was united in marriage to Cath-
erine, daughter of Neil and Mary Boyle, of Summit
Hill. They have two children, Thomas and Mary.
Gangwer, Harry L., proprietor of the Verzi House
at Weatherly, was born in that town on May 18, 1868.
He is the son of Samuel Gangwer, Sr., one of the oldest
residents of Weatherly, and the family of which he is
a representative has been established in Pennnsylvania
for many generations.
After leaving school Mr. Gangwer learned the trade
of a moulder, which he followed for about nine years
in the shops of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company
448 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
at Weatherly. Later he pursued his calling at Plain-
field and at High Bridge, N. J., and at Lewistown and
South Bethlehem, Pa. In 1904 he returned to Weath-
erly to take charge of the Verzi House, becoming the
owner of the property through purchase in 1910.
Mr. Gangwer was united in marriage to Gertrude, a
daughter of William Buck, of Weatherly, on February
1, 1894. The pair have three children : Harry L., Ed-
ward B., and Fern G. Gangwer.
Mr. Gangwer is an enthusiastic hunter and fisher-
man, and has been a loyal supporter of the Republican
party.
Garrett, John, a retired miner and leading citizen of
Summit Hill, is one of the fourteen children of Wil-
liam and Elizabeth (White) Garrett. Both parents
were born in England, where the elder Garrett followed
the occupation of a fanner. Later he went to Wales
to become a miner.
John Garrett was born in England, June 23, 1852.
He was about four years of age when the family settled
in Wales. John went to work in the mines when he
was nine years of age. After twenty years of service,
he emigrated to America, locating in Summit Hill,
where for thirtv-two vears he was a contract miner for
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Thus at
the age of sixty he had seen half a century of active
service as a miner, a record which we mav well believe
has few parallels.
Mr. Garrett was one of tlie organizers of the Home-
stead Building and Loan Association, of Summit Hill,
a model institution of its kind, of which he has been a
director from the start. He was also a ])rime mover in
the establishment of the Dime Bank, of Lansford, of
which he is a director.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 44:9
On May 2, 1874, Mr. Garrett was united in marriage
to Elizabeth P. Chapel, born in Wales of English par-
entage. They had thirteen children, of whom the fol-
lowing survive: William, John, James, Benjamin, and
Mary J., wife of Richard Waters.
Mrs. Garrett died in 1894, and in December, 1905,
Mr. Garrett was married to Miss Elizabeth Edmunds,
of Tamaqua. It is but stating the truth to say that no
name in Summit Hill is more highly and deservedly
honored than that of John Garrett.
Garrett, Joseph, formerly a miner, and now a justice
of the peace, of Summit Hill, was born at Rhymney,
South Wales, July 19, 1862. His father, William Gar-
rett, was a native of Willshire, England. His mother
bore the maiden name of Elizabeth White, being also a
native of England. The family emigrated to Wales,
where the father was a coal miner.
Joseph was a door tender in the mines at the age of
eight. When he was twelve his father sustained an in-
jury which incapacitated him, and the son w^as per-
mitted to work as a full-fledged miner to assist in the
support of the family. On Ma}^ 11, 1884, he was united
in marriage to Ann, a daughter of Isaac Williams and
his wife, Sarah, of Welsh parentage.
In 1886 they came to America, settling at Summit
Hill, where Mr. Garrett was employed as a miner until
1910. He was then appointed as a justice of the peace
by Governor Stuart. In 1911 he was elected to the
.same office for the full term of six years, in which ca-
pacity he is still serving.
Mr. and Mrs. Garrett are the parents of the follow-
ing children : Mary, wife of Thomas Thomas ; Eliza-
beth, wife of Daniel Davis, a member of the Carbon
county bar; Sarah, who married Harry Bertsch;
29
450 HISTORY OF CAEBOX COUNTY.
Thomas, and Nelson. They all reside at Summit Hill,
and the family is well and favorably known.
Gerhard, Jefferson J., proprietor of the Gerhard
Homestead Farm, and tax collector of Packer town-
ship, is a grandson of Daniel Gerhard, one of the orig-
inal settlers of Quakake Valley. Solomon Gerhard,
one of the six sons of this pioneer, was born in what is
now Packer township on May 1, 1828. He followed
farming and lumbering all his life. His wife bore the
maiden name of Matilda Romig, being also a native of
Quakake Valley. The following children were born to
them: Lydia A., the wife of David Wetzel, of Allen-
town ; Franklin B., deceased ; Ellen M., wife of Stephen
Gerhard, of Packer township; Jefferson, Wallace T.,
of Tamaqua ; Hannah M., the wife of T. L. Jenkins, of
East Mauch Chunk, and Maggie C, who married Oli-
ver Walbert, of Delano, Schuylkill county. The fa-
ther died July 26, 1910.
Jefferson J. Gerhard was born on the old homestead
in Quakake Valley on March 17, 1864. At the age of
seventeen he entered the general store of his brother
Franklin, at Weatherly, as a clerk, continuing so for
a period of three years. Returning to his old home, he
purchased the farm in the spring of 1893, and has con-
ducted it in harmony with the most approved modern
methods since that time.
Mr. Gerhard has for years been the leading potato
grower in the upper portion of Carbon county, his an-
nual crop averaging several thousand bushels. He is
also a dealer in agricultural implements, fertilizers and
farm machinery.
He has filled the office of tax collector of the town-
ship continuously since 1888, with the exception of two
terms. He participated in the organization of the
Emery Getz.
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 451
Packer Township Telephone Company, of which he is
now the secretary.
On December 29, 1883, he was married to Sophia,
daughter of John Romig, of Packer township. Their
children are: Eugene C, of Weatherly; Elmer P., de-
ceased ; Leon W., Edna R., the wife of Roland Hinkle ;
Russel G. and Alvin M.
Mr. Gerhard, in 1910, built a fine home, containing
all modern conveniences. He is a believer in the prin-
ciples of Democracy, and is a member of the Reformed
church.
Getz, Emery, conducting a general store in Penn
Forest township, postmaster of Albrightsville, and in-
terested in a number of industrial enterj)rises in that
portion of the county, was born in Kidder township,
Carbon county, October 13, 1853. He is the son of
William and Elizabeth (Serf ass) Getz, the former of
whom was a native of Chestnut Hill township, Monroe
county, where his birth occurred on March 31, 1824.
When about twenty-five years of age the elder Getz
came to Kidder township to engage in the lumbering
business, also keeping the hotel at Albrightsville for a
period of fifteen years or more. He died on Novem-
ber 5, 1910.
Emery Getz is one of a family of fifteen children,
eight of whom survive. He spent his early life in his
father's employ, and in 1888 established a store at
Albrightsville. Seven years later he removed across
the line into Penn Forest township, continuing the
business in his present location. In addition to this
he has dealt in lumber and mine timber, and has oper-
ated a plant for the manufacture of barrel staves.
He has held various offices in the gift of the people
of Kidder and Penn Forest townships, and was elected
as a member of the board of county auditors on the
452 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Democratic ticket in 1899. Since then he has twice
been an unsuccessful candidate for the nomination for
county treasurer, while receiving the loyal support of a
large circle of friends and acquaintances. He has been
the postmaster of Albrightsville for many years, also
being the owner of a fine farm at Meckesville.
Mr^ Getz was married on April 21, 1876, to Malinda
S., daughter of Paul Smith and his wife Elizabeth, of
Trochsville, Towamensing township. Their only child
is Elizabeth, the wife of Albert Henning, of Penn For-
est township.
Ginder, Philip, who was one of Carbon county's
grand old men and one of the most interesting person-
alities in eastern Pennsylvania, was a grandson of
Philip Ginder who came to America from Holland
about the year 1745, and who achieved lasting fame by
his accidental discovery of anthracite coal on Sharp
mountain, near Summit Hill, in 1791.
Mr. Ginder 's maternal grandfather was Philip Dau-
benspeck, who served as a soldier under Washington
during the Eevolutionary War.
Philip Ginder, the pioneer, had two sons, Philip and
Jacob. Philip Ginder, the subject of this sketch, was
born August 16, 1820, and was one of the eleven chil-
dren of Jacob Ginder, who, in the year 1825, came to
Mahoning Valley from West Penn township, Schuylkill
county, where he followed the business of making mill
stones and also conducted a farm.
At the age of sixteen Mr. Ginder was apprenticed
to learn the carpenter trade, which vocation he follow-
ed for many years. Among the more important build-
ings he helped to construct was Carbon county's first
court house.
Mr. Ginder subsequently became a boat builder, and
ranked as the best on the Lehigh Canal. He became
Philip Ginder.
UrSTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 453
well-to-do, but met with a severe reversal through the
flood of 1862, which wrought great havoc along the
Lehigh, sweeping away his lumber and boat yards at
Penn Haven, and the boats in course of construction,
as well as his home at Weissport, causing a loss
amounting to thousands of dollars. Undaunted by his
misfortune, and still being in the prime of life, he im-
mediately began to recoup his losses by helping to
build the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh and Susque-
hanna Railroads into the heart of the coal regions, and
later served successively as roadmaster for both cor-
porations, retiring from active service about the year
1890.
On December 5, 1847, Mr. Ginder was united in
marriage to Rebecca, daughter of Peter Steckel, of
Egy^pt, Lehigh county. The following children were
born to them : Carlotta, widow of Thomas Brodhead,
of Philadelphia ; Sarah E., deceased, who was married
to Gr. W. Miller, Sr., of Weatherly; John, deceased;
Washington, of Philadelphia; Rosa R., wife of Frank
Snyder, of East Mauch Chunk; Eliza J., wife of John
Maltman, of Vineland, N. J. ; Emma M., wife of J. W.
Slocum, of Philadelphia; David P., of Rockport;
Thomas, deceased; Grant De W., of New York, and
Helen M. Schlauch, of Allentown.
The family lived for many years at Rockport, Car-
bon county. Mr. Ginder spent his declining years at
the home of his daughter, Mrs. Frank Snyder, retain-
ing his mental and physical vigor in a remarkable de-
gree to the end. He took pardonable pride in the fact
that one of his grandfathers was the discoverer of the
mineral which transformed Carbon county from a wil-
derness to a community teeming with industry and
happy homes, as well as adding so largely to the ma-
terial well-being and comfort of millions of his fellow-
454 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
men, while the other helped to free the country from
foreign tyranny and oppression.
Mr. Ginder departed this life on January 24, 1912,
in the ninety-second year of his age. His wife died on
May 8, 1907, aged 79 years.
Gray, George E., a leading member of the bar of
Carbon county, and a former district attorney, is a
native of Franklin county. Pa. He is the son of George
W. and Margaret E. (Albert) Gray, the former born
in Maryland and the latter in Virginia.
George E. Gray received his early training in the
public schools of Fairview, Maryland, subsequently
graduating from the state normal school at Shippens-
burg. Pa. Later he taught school and pursued a spe-
cial course at the University of Pennsylvania, with a
view to preparing himself for admission to the bar.
He studied law in the offices of Craig & Loose, at
Mauch Chunk, and was admitted to practise in 1899.
In 1900 Mr. Gray purchased the Mauch Chunk Daily
Times, and the Mauch Chunk Coal Gazette, being both
editor and proprietor of these journals for nearly ten
years. In 1908 the ownership of both papers was,
through purchase, transferred to James Boyle.
Mr. Gray was elected to the office of district attorney
of the county in 1904, being re-elected three years later.
He is well-known in political circles, and has been
chairman of the Eepublican county committee for a
number of years. His home is at Lehighton, where he
is active in various fields of endeavor.
He is a director of the First National Bank of that
place, and is prominent in the affairs of Zion's Re-
formed church, having been the superintendent of the
Sunday school of that organization for fifteen consecu-
tive years. This school is one of the strongest and best
conducted in the entire countv. He is a member of the
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 455
Masonic fraternity and of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows.
Mr. Gray was united in marriage to Anzionetta A.,
daughter of William H. and Susan Montz, of Lehigh-
ton, in 1895. Their children are : Margaret S., Char-
lotte A., and William G. Gray.
Grenfell, J. Francis, paymaster of Coleraine colliery,
owned by the A. S. Van Wickle estate, and one of the
oldest operations in the Lehigh region, was born in
Cornwall, England, on January 22, 1871.
Thomas Grenfell, his father, was a copper miner in
Cornwall, dying while still in the prime of life. In
1881 his widow, who bore the maiden name of Mary
Jane Uren, with her five children, emigrated to the
United States, establishing her home at Beaver Mea-
dow, Pa., where she reared her family.
At the age of eleven years, Francis began life as a
slate picker in the breaker at Coleraine, continuing
about the mines until his nineteenth year.
While his educational advantages were necessarily
very limited, he nevertheless made the most of his op-
portunities ; by applying himself to study at nights and
during his spare moments, he acquired the essentials of
a good English education. Leaving home he went to
Eedington, Northampton county. Pa., where he per-
formed clerical work in the general store of W. T. Car-
ter & ComjDany for a period of four years.
Returning to Beaver Meadow at the expiration of
that time, he entered the main office of Coleraine col-
liery, which was then owned and operated by the same
firm with whom he had been at Eedington, as a book-
keeper. He was promoted to the position which he now
holds in 1898.
Two years earlier than this he wedded Aurelia,
daughter of John and Mary Harvey, of Hazleton. Mr.
456 IlISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
Harvey is the superintendent of the colliery at Cole-
raine; he is noted for his large-heartedness and other
fine personal traits.
Mr. and Mrs. Grenfell are the parents of two chil-
dren — Richard, who was born August 15, 1902, and
Mary, whose birth occurred on August 21, 1908. They
are active members of the Methodist church.
While Mr. Grenfell is of a home-loving disposition^
he is also a man of public spirit. He has served as a
councilman and as a school director of Beaver Meadow.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Gruneberg", Leo C, a Lehighton business man, was
born in Klomea, Austria, of Jewish parentage in 1885.
His grandfather, Saul Gruneberg, was a noted ortho-
dox rabbi. One of his achievements was to translate
the Talmud into German. Sigmund Gruneberg, his fa-
ther, was also a rabbi.
When Leo was four years of age the family removed
to Germany, locating in Hanover, where the father was
stationed. When the boy was thirteen years old he
ran away and went to sea. A year later his father
found him employed as a waiter in one of the large
hotels of the province of Hanover and put him in a dry
goods store as a clerk. There he met Claire Monat,
his future wife, a member of a family of successful
bankers.
While still a boy, Mr. Gruneberg was w^aiter in some
of the principal hotels of New York and Philadelphia:
he also served as a steward on a trans- Atlantic liner,
and for a year he was the secretary of the German
Count Waldersee, traveling with him around the world.
For a time he was a ckn-k in a clothing store in New
York; hiter he was employed as a traveling salesman.
ITe was married in lf)07, and the following year he came
a^^^
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. 457
to Leliigliton to engage in the dry goods business. With
the help of his wife, who is endowed with good business
acumen, the Gruneberg store has prospered from the
beginning. A clothing and tailoring department which
is housed in an adjoining building has been added, com-
manding a patronage that is constantly expending.
Mr. Gruneberg takes an active part in community
and church affairs. He was one of the prime movers
in the organization of the Lehighton Board of Trade.
In 1911 he organized the Congregation Israel of Car-
bon Countj^ a Hebrew religious society co-extensive
with the county. He also organized Hebrew Sunday
schools in Lansford and Lehighton, the former being
the precursor of the Young Men's Hebrew Association
of Lansford. One of the societies he started in Lehigh-
ton is known as the Buds of Israel, the primary aim of
which is to Americanize the young Hebrews of that sec-
tion.
In 1917 he represented Carbon, Monroe, and Schuyl-
kill counties at the American Jewish Congress, held in
Washington, to devise ways and means of reestablish-
ing Palestine as a Jewish state.
Mr. Gruneberg has taken an active part in politics
on the side of better government, regardless of party.
Haberman, Dr. Charles P., a Palmerton physician, is
the son of Alfred and Rosa A. (Donat) Haberman.
The father was of German descent and followed the oc-
cupation of a farmer in East Penn township, Carbon
county, as his father, who was named Peter, had done
before him. The mother was of French descent.
Charles P. Haberman was born in Lynn township.
Lehigh county, October 9, 1877. He spent his boyhood
on his father's farm, and prepared himself as a teacher
at the Kutztown and Millersville State Normal Schools,
graduating from the latter institution in 1901.
458 HISTOBY OF CARBON COUNTY.
After teacliing school for nine years, lie Avent to
Philadelphia in the fall of 1906 and accepted a position
as a drug clerk. A year later he entered the Medico
Chirurgical College at Philadelphia, from which he was
graduated with honors in 1911. For some months sub-
sequent to his graduation he served as an interne at
the Medico Chirurgical Hospital.
He then established himself in the practice of his
profession at Weissport, soon building up a lucrative
practice. Doctor Haberman is a member of the Car-
bon County Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Medical
Society, the Lehigh Valley Medical Society, and the
American Medical Association. He is also a member
of the Knights of Malta, the Patriotic Order of Sons of
America, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
of the Lehighton Masonic lodge. He is also a member
of the Order of the Mystic Shrine. He was one of the
founders of the Carbon County Historical Society.
Doctor Haberman was married in the spring of 1915 to
Bessie, the daughter of William A. Burns, of James-
town, a suburb of Lehighton.
Harlan, George G., a prominent Mauch Chunk busi-
ness man, was born there, July 24, 1856. He is the son
of Josiah W. and Mary A. (Long) Harlan, the latter
being a native of New Jersey.
His grandfather, Ezekiel W. Harlan, was of Quaker
origin, coming to Mauch Chunk from Chester county in
1826, when the town was but a few years old. For a
time he was associated with Asa Packer in the opera-
tion of the mines at Nesquehoning. Later he engaged
in the mercantile business. He also served as a county
commissioner. Josiah, the son of Ezekiel, was a boat
builder on the Lehigh Canal, becoming a merchant as
well.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 459
George G. Harlan in early life learned the carpenter
trade, which he followed for a time, after which he en-
gaged in business as a dealer in general merchandise,
meats and provisions. He has conducted a store in
Upper Mauch Chunk for over thirty years, some years
ago opening another in East Mauch Chunk, both being
well patronized.
About sixteen years ago Mr. Harlan erected an arti-
ficial ice plant near Hacklebernie, supplying Mauch
Chunk and the surrounding towns with his product.
This plant has since been enlarged and improved and
now has a capacity of forty tons a day. The output is
far superior to natural ice in clearness and j^urity, be-
ing principally used for domestic purposes.
Mr. Harlan was married on January 24, 1884, to
Mary C, daughter of James S. Line, of Luzerne county.
Their surviving children are: James E., William E.,
and Charles D. Harlan.
Hartneady, Michael, sheriff of Carbon county, and a
prominent leader of the United Mine Workers of
America, is one of the twelve children of Cornelius and
Catherine (Gallagher) Hartneadj^, of Nesquehoning.
The father was born in Ireland, while Scotland was
the place of nativity of the mother.
The elder Hartneady emigrated to America in 1876,
being then eighteen years of age. He located at Mauch
Chunk and became a section foreman for the Central
Railroad of New Jersey. Later he was employed in
the same capacity by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company. Michael Hartneady was born at Mauch
Chunk, August 31, 1879. Leaving school at the age of
eleven, he started in as a slate picker at the Nesque-
honing breaker. He was successively a mule driver in
the mines, a laborer, and finally a miner, before he was
twenty-one.
460 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
His connection with the miners union began in 1900.
In 1908 he was elected president of the Nesquehoning
local of the union and chairman of the mine committee,
having previously served as vice-president. Four
years later his abilities as a leader were recognized in
his election as president of Sub-District No. 1, extend
ing from Mauch Chunk to Tamaqua, and comprising
what is commonly known as the Panther Creek Val-
ley, one of the most important mining sections in the
anthracite region. In this capacity he has had an ac-
tive part in many negotiations between the miners and
the operators, both locally and throughout the entire
anthracite region.
He has been a loyal, forceful champion of the cause
of his fellow workers, contributing much toward the
betterment of their conditions. He organized the first
''button strike" in the coal fields, paving the way for
the thorough solidarity and permanence of unionism
which has resulted.
Mr. Hartneady was elected to the office of sheriff on
the Democratic ticket in the fall of 1913, Carbon being
the only county in the coal region having a union officer
in this position.
Haydon, James C, who for many years was one of
the best known coal operators of the anthracite region,
and the founder of the Jeanesville Iron Works, one of
the leading industrial enterprises in this portion of the
state, is now leading a life of retirement at Jeanesville,
Pennsylvania.
He is a native of Philadelphia, where his birth oc-
curred on December 5, 1833, and he was educated at
Burlington College, Burlington, New Jersey, where
he pursued a scientific course. Subsequently to his
graduation, he assisted in the building of the North
Penn Railroad in the capacity of a civil engineer. The
PIISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 461
road, extending from Philadelphia to Bethlehem, and
now a part of the system of the Philadelphia and Read-
ing Railway, was completed in 1855.
After a year's service as an executive officer for the
Lehigh Valley Railroad Company at Mauch Chunk, he
assumed the superintendency of the Buck Mountain
Coal Company, at Rockport, Carbon county, where he
remained for a period of ten years. Here, amid the
wild grandeur of the mountains, he spent the happiest
days of his life, and he has never ceased to look back
to his residence in this lovely spot with the fondest
recollection.
The company 's mines were situated on the summit of
the Buck mountain, a few miles distant from Rockport,
from which point the coal was then shipped to mar-
ket on the Lehigh Canal. The breaker stood on the
banks of Laurel run, and was driven by an ordinary
twenty-five foot water-wheel, being, as nearly as can
be ascertained, with one exception, the only breaker in
the anthracite region employing water for its motive
power.
A breaker owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company at Nesquehoning, is said to have been sim-
ilarly built and operated, this being the single excep-
tion.
Mr. Haydon was one of the organizers of the Spring
Mountain Coal Company, which was chartered in 1864.
His associate in this enterprise was Theodore Ran-
dolph, formerly a United States Senator from New
Jersey, and the Governor of that state. This company
operated the mines at Jeanesville until 1874, when the
property was acquired by the Lehigh Valley Coal Com-
pany. Under the firm name of J. C. Haydon and Com-
pany, Mr. Haydon, in partnership with Francis Robin-
son, of New York, continued to operate these mines
4(32 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
under lease until 1894. They also operated the Glen-
don Colliery at Mahanoy City, and another colliery at
Mt. Carmel.
Aside from the coal mines, the principal interest of
Jeanesville for many years centered in the shops of
the Jeansville Iron AVorks, established there by the
Spring Mountain Coal Company. These shops were
conducted by J. C. Haydon and Company until 1902, in
which year the Jeanesville Iron Works Company was
formed, Mr. Haydon being the principal stockholder
and president of the corporation. In 1903 the plant
was removed to Hazleton, where large and modern
shops were erected.
In 1909 the works were sold to the Internationa]
Steam Pump Company, of New York, the largest con-
cern of the kind in the United States, their specialty
being the construction of both steam and electrical
pumps. The excellence of their product has long since
given the Jeanesville shops a world-wide reputation.
Mr. Haydon was married in 1858 to Ellen F. New-
ton, a native of Vermont. Her life has been character-
ized by unselfishness and generosity. She was a sister-
in-law of John 0. Cleaver, a member of the firm of
Eich and Cleaver, who opened Coleraine colliery dur-
ing the forties.
Heberling, Daniel, one of the pioneer merchants of
Carbon county, was born in Allen township, North-
ampton county, Pennsylvania, on February 10, 1801.
He was of German descent, his father emigrating to
this country from the district of Alsace-Lorraine,
Germany. When a boy, Daniel learned the trade of a
cloth weaver, and as the opportunity offered, attended
the country schools. He also taught school for a
while. In 1829 he was married to Mary Ann Leh.
Finding the weaving trade insufficient to support his
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 463
wife and growing family, he obtained employment on
the Lehigh Canal, which was then in course of con-
struction.
In the spring of 1833, ''the year the stars fell," he
and his wife, together with their child, Thomas, lo-
cated in Weissport, then a part of Northampton coun-
ty, and took possession of the Weissport House, which
is still standing, and which was at that time the prin-
cipal hostelry of the nearby locality.
There were at that time but two other houses in the
place, namely, that owned by Daniel Arner, and the
other, the home of Colonel Jacob Weiss, the latter oc-
cupying the site where the Fort Allen Hotel now
stands. Peter Snyder, of Lehigh Gap, built and owned
the Weissport House, and gave Mr. Heberling posses-
sion and a year's rent free, so anxious was he to
have a good tenant.
Mr. Heberling was landlord of the Weissport House
for three years ; but having a strong aversion to hotel
life, he moved out of the premises and launched into
the general store business on White street, Weissport.
At the same time he filled the office of justice of the
peace and squire, serving in the latter capacity for a
period of nine years. He also did considerable survey-
ing locally. He was very successful as a merchant and
had already amassed what in those days was consid-
ered a competence, when the terrible flood of 1841 de-
vastated Weissport and other places along the Lehigh
river, and swept away or ruined everything he had
in the world, save his family, his good name and repu-
tation for honesty and square dealing. Nothing
daunted, he procured a team (there being no railroads
then) and drove to Philadelphia, where he had no trou-
ble in inducing his creditors to start him anew. He
was then forty years old, but still full of gilt and am-
404 UISTOKi OF CARBON COUNTY.
bition. Gradually he recouped his losses and built up
a bigger business than ever. In addition to the general
store business he engaged in the building of canal boats
on a large scale, in which he was also very successful.
He dabbled somewhat in politics and was appointed
associate judge of Carbon county in 1848 — five years
after the new county of Carbon was formed, and held
office until 1851.
He was for many years, and up to the time of his
death, a director in the First National Bank of Mauch
Chunk. He was also largely interested in the Parry-
ville Iron Works. In 1862 Weissport was again swept
by a destructive freshet, but Mr. Heberling, profiting
by his former experience, in the flood of 1841, had built
himself a large and substantial brick dwelling and
store, which defied the raging waters, and his losses
were slight, while other houses in the town were swept
from their foundations and carried down the Lehigh.
After the waters receded Weissport was completely
covered with huge logs, which had broken loose from
the White Haven dams, being piled as high as some of
the house-tops. Mr. Heberling, with characteristic
shrewdness in the time of emergency, formed a part-
nership with Jonas Bowman, erected a temporary saw-
mill and cut up all the logs into marketable lumber, at
a considerable profit. In 1868 Mr. Heberling moved to
Lehighton, where he erected for himself and family a
substantial home, in which he resided until his death,
which occurred May 29, 1876.
His family consisted of Thomas J., James W., Dan-
iel Christian, and Edgar Allen.
The latter was drowned while a student at Lafayette
College. James, Thomas and Daniel were in their day
])rominent merchants of Mauch Chunk, the former also
filling the office of associate judge of the county, to
HISTORY OF CAEBOX COUNTY. 455
which position he was appointed upon the death of
Judge Harrv E. Packer. Thomas was elected to the
office of prothonotaiy in 1861.
There are four daughters, Mrs. F. P. Semmel, Mrs.
J. L. Gabel, Mrs. Benjamin Bertolet and ]\[rs. Lewis
B. Balliet.
Heberling", Dr. Homer, a Lehighton dentist, was born
at Mauch Chunk on November 15, 1870, being the elder
son of Daniel C. and Ellen (Struthers) Heberling. His
paternal grandfather, Daniel Heberling, was one of the
early merchants of Carbon county, while his mother's
father was James Robb Struthers, Esq., the first dis-
trict attorney of the county.
Graduating from the Mauch Chunk high school with
the class of 1887, he enrolled as a student at Eastman's
Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Having fin-
ished his course he accepted a position as stenographer
in the office of the general freight agent of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad at South Bethlehem, Pa.
In May, 1888, he entered the employ of the firm of
Whitney & Kemmerer at Philadelphia, remaining with
them for seven years. During this time he was elected
secretary of the Beaumont Coal Mining Company, of
which W. B. Whitney was the president.
Entering the Philadelphia Dental CoUlege in the fall
of 1893, he was gi-aduated from that institution in
1896. During his freshman year he retained his posi-
tion with the firm by which he was employed, while
keeping up with his classes in college. x\fter his grad-
uation he was engaged for a short time as an assistant
to a leading dentist of Trenton, N. J.
Coming to Lehighton in the summer of 1896, with no
other capital than his training, a good constitution, and
plenty of grit and ambition, he established himself in
30
466 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
the practise of his profession, gaining a patronage
which has grown from year to year.
Dr. Heberling is a member of the Pennsj^lvania
State Dental Society, the Susquehanna Dental So-
ciety, and the Lehigh Valley Dental Society. He is a
past master of the Masonic lodge of Lehighton, while
being identified with the Robert Burns Scottish So-
ciety of Summit Hill. He was the first treasurer of
All Saints Episcopal church of Lehighton. His young-
er brother James Struthers Heberling is the superin-
tendent of the William T. Carter Junior Republic at
Redington, Pa.
In 1901, Dr. Heberling was married to Katharine
Victoria, the only daughter of Dr. Jacob G. Zern and
his wife Ellen M., of Lehighton. She is a member of
the Daughters of the American Revolution. They have
one child, Jacob Zern Heberling.
Hongen, Robert J., sealer of weights and measures
of Carbon county, is the son of Solomon and Catherine
(Wentz) Hongen, both natives of Northampton county.
Until he was eighteen years of age he worked on a
farm, after which he learned the trade of a blacksmith.
On reaching his majority he came to Lehighton, open-
ing a shop at Weissport. Following his trade for
about fifteen years, he subsequently engaged in the
business of drilling wells. For three years he was the
deputy sheriff of the county.
Upon the creation of the office of inspector of weights
and measures in the county, in 1913, Mr. Hongen was
appointed to fill the position. In this capacity he has
rendered admirable service to the county, discharging
his duties without fear or favor, thus assuring honest
weight and measure to the consumer, while protecting
the reliable business man against the unfair competi-
tion of his dishonest rival.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 4.QJ
Mr. Hongeii was one of the promoters of the First
National Bank of AVeissport, also serving as the presi-
dent of town conncil of that borough. In 1915 he took
up his residence in Bowmanstown, where he purchased
the property formerly owned by Isaac Ux, converting
the same into lots for building purposes, upon which
substantial homes are being erected. He is also presi-
dent of the water company of Dushore, Sullivan county.
Mr. Hongen was married on September 13, 1885, to
Kate, daughter of Josiah Walck and his wife, Eliza, of
Franklin township. Their surviving children are as
follows : Webster J., Annie E., Mamie C, Horace G.,
Lola C. and Grace F. Hongen.
Horlacher, Andrew H., manager and principal stock-
holder of the Allen Candy Manufacturing Company, of
Weatherly, and an honored resident of that place, was
born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on Oct. 31, 1852. He
is the son of John and Catherine (Schneider) Horlach-
er, and was one of a family of ten children.
Beared on his father's farm, and educated in the
schools of his native country, he emigrated to America
in 1868, locating at Philadelphia. Here he learned the
trade of a baker, also acquiring his first knowledge of
the manufacture of confectionery.
From Philadelphia he went to Allentown, later being
employed for a brief period at Slatington, Pa.
In 1874, Mr. Horlacher located at Weatherly, estab-
lishing a bakery which he profitably conducted for
twenty-three years, when he sold his business to Harry
Yeide.
In association with A. D. Roth, E. A. Acker, William
Kohler, E. H. Bortz, and E. A. Butz, Mr. Horlacher, in
1897, organized the Allen Candy Manufacturing Com-
pany, establishing the plant at Allentown, Pa. Two
years later its location was changed to Weatherly,
468 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
where it has become an important industry, emploj^ng
many workers. The machinery of the plant is the
most modern and improved, while its output has in-
creased from year to year.
Mr. Horlacher has been the manager, treasurer and
principal stockholder of the company since its organ-
ization.
He was married on March 15, 1874, to Emma, daugh-
ter of George Koehler, of Northampton county. Their
domestic life has been ideal in its harmony and tran-
quility. Four children have been born to them: Liz-
zie S., wife of A. D. Roth; William H., Jennie M., wife
of T. C. Sigman, and Nellie F., wife of Floyd T. War-
ner.
Mr. Horlacher has been a leading member of the
Lutheran church of Weatherly almost since its estab-
lishment, having been a trustee and treasurer of that
organization for twenty-five years.
As a member of town council and in the capacity of
a private citizen and business man, he has worked
effectively for the prosperity and well-being of the
communitv in which he lives.
Isenman, Joseph H., a Lehighton grocer, was born in
Baden, near Orenburg, Germany, April 4, 1854. His
father, Severin Isenman, was an inn keeper, and was
the father of eleven children, four of whom grew to
maturity.
In 1872, being then eighteen years of age, Mr. Isen-
man emigrated to America, locating in Mauch Chunk,
where he secured employment in the foundry and ma-
chine sho]) then conducted by Messrs. Stroh and Al-
bright. A year later he entered the service of the
Ijehigh Valley Railroad Company at Packerton, be-
coming a car repairer. He remained with the company
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 459
for many years, and was finally promoted to the posi-
tion of night foreman of the Packerton yards.
In 1895 Mr. Isenman erected the building at the cor-
ner of Third and Coal streets which he now occupies,
opening a general store. Five years later he sold his
stock and leased the building to the firm of Rehrig
Bros., who held possession for six years, when Mr.
Isenman again assumed control of the business.
Mr. Isenman was married in 1873 to Veronica Lu-
henska, of Jamestown, a suburb of Lehighton. Four
children were born to them, as follows : Annie, Emma,
Agnes and Charles Isenman.
Annie is the wife of Henry Schwartz, of Lehighton;
Emma is married to William Coyle, of Tresckow, Car-
bon county, while Agnes is the wife of Charles Dierkes,
of Lehighton. Charles married Johanna Toomey, of
Bethlehem. Mrs. Isenman died in 1899.
Mr. Isenman has served as a member of the town
council of Lehighton, and was one of the organizers of
the Lehigh Valley Building and Loan Association, of
which he is also a director. Mr. Isenman is a member of
the Catholic church, while he is a supporter of the
Democratic party. He is progressive and never fails
to manifest an interest in questions affecting the wel-
fare of the commimity in which he lives.
Jenkins, Thomas L., a veteran educator of Carbon
county, now assistant principal of the schools of East
Mauch Chunk, was born at Nesquehoning, Pa., Janu-
ary 7, 1865. He is the son of Richard and Ann (Eman-
uel) Jenkins, natives of Merthyr Tidvil, Wales, who
came to America in 1841, first settling at Tamaqua,
Schuylkill county.
The father was, during the greater part of his ac-
tive life, a mine foreman for the Lehigh Coal and Nav-
igation Conq^any at Nesquehoning. When Thomas
470 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
was six years of age, the family removed to a farm in
Packer township where he grew to maturity.
He was educated at the West Chester State Normal
School and at Palm's Business College, Philadelphia.
For twenty-five years he has been a school teacher,
having occupied his jDresent position for ten years.
Many of his former pupils owe their success in life
largely to the native ability and enthusiasm which he
brought to his calling.
On April 2, 1886, Mr. Jenkins was married to Han-
nah, a daughter of Solomon Gerhard, one of the early
residents of Packer township. They have two sons,
both of whom are successful teachers. Albion, the
elder, who has had several years' experience, is a
graduate of the Keystone State Normal School and is
now a student at Columbia University. Rayel is also
a graduate of the first named institution, and is at pres-
ent teaching in the public schools of Los Angeles, Cal-
ifornia.
Johnson, John E., tax collector of Summit Hill, was
born there on January 19, 1889. His grandfather,
Henry Johnson, was born in Ireland, coming to Amer-
ica at the age of eight years. He grew to manhood at
Summit Hill and was a Forty-niner, joining in the rush
to the gold fields of California, But he returned to
Summit Hill and became the father of ten children.
The eldest of these, Harry, the father of the subject of
this sketch, was married to Mary A. Breslin, of Allen-
town. He was for a time a miner, and for twenty-five
years conducted a general store at Summit Hill. The
following children were born to this pair: John, Fred,
Harry, Anna, Maud, and Lenore.
The father died on October 28, 1906, aged forty-four
years, while the mother still lives.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 47 1
John conducts a confectionery and ice cream busi-
ness, being also a notary public. He was elected to the
office of tax collector in 1913.
John F. Breslin, his maternal grandfather, was a
veteran of the Rebellion. Mr. Breslin is a member of
the Sons of Veterans and is active in borough and
church affairs, being a member of St. Joseph's church
at Summit Hill and of Archbishop Ryan Council No.
1552, K. of C, of Lansford.
Johnson, Thomas, a member of the firm of Johnson
Brothers, conducting two of Carbon county's leading
clothing and furnishing stores, was born at Mauch
Chunk in 1876.
John Johnson, his father, was born in Ireland, emi-
grating to America in 1875, and locating at Mauch
Chunk. He was united in marriage in the late sixties
to Annie Sweeney, also a native of Erin, the pair build-
ing their home at Mauch Chunk, where they have lived
continuously since that time. The following children
were born to them: Mary, Daniel, Thomas, Patrick,
John, Joseph, James and Michael. John and the two
last named are deceased.
Thomas Johnson was educated in the parochial and
public schools of Mauch Chunk. After various em-
ployments he learned the clothing business, establish-
ing a store, in association with his brother, Joseph, at
Mauch Chunk in 1903. Subsequently Patrick and Dan-
iel were also admitted to the partnership. Honest
practises and fair dealing bringing success, the firm
opened a branch store in Lansford in 1907, this being
under the immediate supervision of Daniel and Joseph.
In 1908 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Margaret
McLaughlin, of Lansford. Anna and John are their
two children. He is a member of the Roman Catholic
church, and is identified with the Knights of Columbus.
472 lilSTOKV OF CAHBON COUNTY.
Kemmerer, Arthur, a well-known young business man
of Lehighton, was born there, April 8, 1882. He is the
son of George H. and Ella (Schwartz) Kemmerer. His
ancestors settled in America prior to the Revolution
and had a hand in establishing the independence of the
country.
Arthur graduated from the Lehighton high school
with the class of 1900. He is also a graduate of the
American Business College, of AUentown.
He worked in the office of G. B. Markle and Company,
miners and shippers of coal at Jeddo, Pa., for a year,
after which he returned to Lehighton and secured an
interest in the Lehigh Coal and Hardware Company.
A few years later he and his father gained full control
of the business, of which he is now the active head, the
firm being known as the Kennnerer Hardware Cora-
])any. This is the largest store of the kind in the coun-
ty, dealing in hardware, seeds, coal, fertilizers, cement,
etc.
In 1913, Mr. Kennnerer organized the Lehighton
Heights Realty Comiiany, of which he was made the
manager and treasurer. This company is develo])ing a
fine new residential section in South Lehighton. ^Ir.
Kemmerer was also one of the organizers of the Le-
highton Board of Trade, having served as ])resident of
that body. As a member of the Lehigliton Athletic As-
sociation, he was the manager of the baseball team of
the town for a number of years. He was a member of
the committee which had chai'ge of the erection of the
handsome new building of Ziou's Reformed church,
costing over Jf^l 25,000.
Mr. Kemmerer is a trustee of the l>ejiev<)Ient and
Protective (^rdcr of Elks, of behighton. lie was mar-
ried on (^cto))er 24, 1907, to Cai'iie E., a daugiitcr of
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 473
Harry Mock, of Jeddo. Their children are: Marion
and Harry,
Kemmerer, George H., one of the leading;- business
men of Lehighton, was born there on December 17,
1857. John G. Kemmerer, his grandfatlier, a native
of Lehigh comity, came to tlie Mahoning Valley in 1818,
settling on land now owned by Henry Smith and
Charles Lobein. The family name appears in the rec-
ords of Salisbury township, Ijehigh county, as early as
1744, when Thomas Kennnerer, who emigrated from
Wnrtemberg, Germany, took np his abode there. Mr.
Kemmerer 's great-grandfather served as a soldier
under Washington in the Revolution. Thomas Kem-
merer, formerly president of the First National Bank
of Lehighton, and twice prothonotary and clerk of
courts of Carbon county, was an uncle of the subject of
this sketch, as was William Kemmerer, who was a
]u'ominent merchant in Lehighton a generation ago.
George H., son of Theodore and Mary Anna (Hamm)
Kemmerer, began life as a clerk in a general store.
Later he learned the trade of a cabinet maker in an es-
tablishment conducted by his father, who was also an
undertaker. In 1887, in association with A. (). Swartz,
he succeeded to the furniture and undertaking Inisiness
of his father, the firm still continuing in the old loca-
tion.
In 1902 Mr. Kemmerer acquired an interest in the
Lehigh Coal and Hardware Company, now known as
the Kemmerer Hardware Company, gaining full con-
trol in 1908. His son, Arthur, is a partner in this en-
terprise.
Mr. Kemmerer was married in 1880 to Ella, a daugh-
ter of Wendell Swartz, of Lehighton. Their children
are: Ai'thur T., Esthei-, Anna, Bessie, wife of W. L. M.
Hoffman, and John G. Kemmerer.
474 HisTOEY or caebon county.
Mr. Kemmerer is a member of the Lehighton Cham-
ber of Commerce, and he and his family are commmii-
cants of the Reformed church.
Kemmerer, Mahlon S., a prominent coal operator
and man of alfairs, residing at Mauch Chunk, was born
at Cherry Valley, Monroe county, Pa., on August 27,
1843. His father, Charles Kemmerer, who was a mill-
wright by trade, was also a native of Cherry Valley,
while his mother bore the maiden name of Mary Ann
Price, being the daughter of John J. Price, an early
lumberman of that section.
M. S. Kemmerer became a resident of Carbon county
in his early youth. He was educated in the common
schools and at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa.
At the age of fourteen he began life as a clerk in a
colliery store at Summit Hill, continuing in that ca-
pacity until 1862. The memorable freshet of that year,
paralyzing the transportation facilities of the Lehigh
Valley, suspended operations in the coal regions. He
then joined an engineering corps engaged in the work
of rebuilding the Lehigh Canal.
A direct result of the freshet was the building of the
Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, the legislature pro-
hibiting the rebuilding of the canal between Mauch
Chunk and White Haven.
The engineering corps to which Mr. Kemmerer be-
longed undertook the survey of this road, and he re-
mained with them for several years in the capacity of
an assistant engineer. At the expiration of this period
he accepted a position as mining engineer and assistant
superintendent of the Upper Lehigh Coal Company, of
Luzerne county. After four years of service in the
employ of this company he began his active business
career as a member of the firm of Whitney, McCreary
,^^x^^^Ai£u^i.u^<y^^Jy
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 475
& Kemmerer, dealers in coal, the firm subsequently
becoming Whitney & Kemmerer.
In 1876 he engaged in the mining of coal at Harleigh,
Pond Creek and other collieries, achieving honorable
success from the start. He became financially inter-
ested in the Connellsville Coke and Iron Company, the
Carbon Iron and Pipe Company and the Carbon Roll-
ing Mill Company, in all of which enterprises he served
as a director. He also served as secretary and treas-
urer of the Virginia Coal and Iron Company, and as
a, director of the Alden Coal Company, of Wilkes-
Barre.
Mr. Kemmerer is largely interested in mining prop-
erties in the West, and the town of Kemmerer, Wy-
oming, is named in his honor. For years he has held
the controlling interest in the iron works at Parry-
ville. He is also the president of the Mauch Chunk
National Bank.
Governor Pattison appointed Mr. Kemmerer as one
of the commissioners in the matter of revising the
mining laws of the state. He has always upheld the
principles advocated by the Republican party, and is
a communicant of the Presbyterian church.
On December 1, 1868, Mr. Kemmerer was married
to Annie L., daughter of Hon. John Leisenring, who
was one of Mauch Chunk's foremost citizens. John L.,
Mahlon L., and Gertrude L. are their three children.
Kennedy, Thomas, president of the Seventh District,
United Mine Workers of America, comprising Carbon
county and portions of Luzerne and Schuylkill, is a son
of Peter Kennedy, who emigrated to this country from
Ireland in 1878, and located at Coal Dale, Schuylkill
county. He was married to Mary, a daughter of
James Boyle, of Lansford, in 1885. They had eight
children, all of whom are yet living.
476 HISTORY OF CARBON COL'iNTY.
The father was killed by a fall of coal in one of the
mines of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in
the year 1902.
Thomas Kennedy was born at Lansford, Novembei"
2, 1887. At the age of eleven he left school and began
his life as a worker by picking slate in the breaker.
He filled various positions in and about the mines,
finally becoming a full-fledged miner. He early mani-
fested an interest in economic problems, and at the
age of sixteen l)egan to show an understanding of the
questions affecting capital and labor.
He has attended everj^ national convention of the
United Mine Workers as a delegate since he became
seventeen years of age.
In 1908 Mr. Kennedy received a large vote for the
office of secretary of his district, but failed of election.
Two years later he was elected to the presidency of
District No. 7, and is now the youngest district presi-
dent of his union in the United States.
In this honorable position he is working intelligently
for the amelioration and betterment of the condition
of the men whose interests he represents. He took a
leading part in the conferences between the representa-
tives of the miners and the operators, resulting in the
peaceful settlement of the diiferences between capital
and labor in the coal region in 1912.
By virtue of the position he holds, Mr. Kennedy is
a member of the Anthracite Conciliation Board, which
came into being under the award of the Anthracite
Strike Commission of 1902. He was married in 1912
to Miss Helen ]\lelley, of Philadelphia.
Kistler, Dr. Grant M., a Lansford physician, is one
of the descendants of John George Kistler, who was
one of the pioneer settlers of what is now Berks coimty.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNT!. 477
Grant M. Kistler is the son of John M. and Mary
(Moser) Kistler, and was born on his father's farm in
West Penn township, Schnylkill county, xVngnst 3, 1865.
He was educated at the Kntztown and Keystone State
Normal Schools.
After teaching- school for three terms, he began the
study of medicine in the office of Dr. Charles B. Dreher,
of Tamaqua. Entering Hahnemann Medical College,
he was graduated with the class of 1889. Locating in
Lansford, he established himself in the practice of his
profession, and soon built up a good general practice.
Dr. Kistler is a director and the vice-president of
the Citizens' National Bank of Lansford. He was
married in October, 1889, to Rosa V., daughter of Reu-
ben and Caroline (Dreisbach) Ileintzleman, of Schuyl-
kill county. Their children are: Mary G., Helen C.
and John C. Both daughters are products of Kntz-
town State Normal School, and are now teachers in the
imblic schools of Lansford. John is a student at La-
fayette College.
Dr. Kistler is a member of the Carbon County Med-
ical Society, the Schuylkill County Homeopathic Med-
ical Society, and of the Homeopathic Medical Society
of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of Panther Val-
ley Lodge, No. 677, Free and Accepted Masons.
Kistler, Dr. Ralph G., a well-known Lehighton den-
tist, was born at Andreas, Schuylkill county, August
17, 1884. He is the youngest of the eight children of
David H. and Lydia (Ho])pes) Kistler, five of whom
survive. The father conducted a large grist mill in
AVest Penn township, Schuylkill county.
The family name is an old and honorable one in the
annals of Pennsylvania. The progenitor of the Kis-
tler family in America was Jolm George Kistler, a
native of the Palatinate, Germany, who on October
478 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
5, 1737, came in the ship ''Townsliead" from Am-
sterdam to Philadelphia. After a stay of ten years
in Goshenhoppen, in what is now Montgomery eoimty,
accompanied by his wife, Anna Dorothea, and their
children, he took up his residence in Albany township,
Berks county, where he spent the remainder of his life.
The vicinity was referred to as ''Allemangel," which
may be interpreted as ''All Want," being then wild and
barren.
John Kistler was a Lutheran, and served as an elder
in the Allemangel — now known as the Jerusalem —
church, located near the border line of Berks and Le-
high counties. The archives of Pennsylvania show that
the descendants of John Kistler served in the Eevolu-
tionary War; others participated in the war of 1812
and in our subsequent wars. They are to-day estab-
lished in practically every State in the Union. Many
of them have become successful business and profes-
sional men. An unusually large number are physicians
and ministers of the gospel.
Ralph G. Kistler was educated at the Berwick high
school and at the Bloomsburg State Normal School,
graduating from the latter with the class of 1901.
After teaching school for two years, he matriculated
as a student in dental surgery at the Medico Chirur-
gical College, of Philadelphia, completing his course in
1907. During the following year he established him-
self in the i)ractice of his profession at Lehighton,
where he has achieved success.
Doctor Kistler was married on September 19, 1909,
to Mayme E., daughter of Nathan Zimmerman and his
wife, Harriet, of the Mahoning Valley. They have one
son, Paul Zimmerman Kistler, aged seven. Doctor
Kistler 's father is still alive at the age of eighty-three,
residing with the family of his son. The doctor is ac-
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. , 479
tive in fraternal society circles in Leliigliton, and is a
member of the alumni association of the dental depart-
ment of the Medico Chirurgical College, being also a
member of the Susquehanna Dental Society.
Kline, C. Fred, cashier of the First National Bank
of Lansford, is the son of Charles F. and Hannah
(Hart) Kline. His father is a native of Summit Hill,
and is now a general merchant at Lansford, while his
mother came from New Jersey.
C. Fred Kline was born at Summit Hill on December
4, 1869. He attended the public schools until his four-
teenth year, when he began life as a clerk in his fa-
ther's store. During the spring of 1888 he entered the
service of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company,
becoming the chief clerk of the company. For about
ten years he also held the position of cashier of that
corporation. His duties brought him into intimate
contact with the workmen of the company, and for a
period of fifteen years he assisted in the pleasant duty
of paying them their wages.
Early in 1911 he resigned to accept the cashiership
of the First National Bank, of which he was one of
the organizers. He has been a member of the board of
directors of this institution since its inception.
Mr. Kline served as secretary to the directorate of
the Middle Coal Field Poor District for about six
years. In the autumn of 1892 he was married to Ella
C, daughter of J. B. Rickert, the veterinary surgeon
of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company at Lans-
ford. He is a member of various Masonic bodies, and
is a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Kresge, George D., a representative business man
of Lehighton, was born at Stemlersville, Carbon coun-
ty, Pa., on October 17, 1867. His father, Paul Kresge,
480 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
was a native of Gilberts, Monroe county, the year of
his birth being 1840.
On November 3, 1862, he enlisted in Company F,
One Hundred Seventj^-Sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged as
a corporal on August 17, 1863. Re-enlisting on March
7, 1865, he became a member of the Second Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, and was finally dis-
charged on July 6th of the same year.
Soon after the close of the Civil War, Mr. Kresge
took up his residence at Stemlersville, Carbon county,
where he conducted a general store and engaged in
farming pursuits. He was also postmaster at Stem-
lersville and was a justice of the peace for many years.
In 1879 he was the nominee of the Democratic party
for the office of sheriff of Carbon county, but was de-
feated by the narrow margin of fourteen votes.
Mr. Kresge was also one of the organizers of the
Citizens' National Bank, of Lehighton, and was one of
the first directors of that institution. He was married
to Mary, a daughter of Daniel Stemler, and they be-
came the parents of nine children. Mr. Kresge died
September 2, 1908, leaving behind him the record of a
life of usefulness and honorable conduct.
George D. Kresge, after leaving the public schools,
attended Broadheadsville Academy and the Polytech-
nic Institute, both Monroe county institutions. He
taught school for two years, and, in 1885, located at
Ijehighton, opening a general store, which he has con-
ducted with growing success to the present time.
Mr. Kresge has been a member of the school board
of Lehighton for a dozen years, in which capacity he
has taken an active and intelligent interest in educa-
tional work. He is also a director in the Lehigh Valley
liuilding and Loan Association. He is a member of
illSTOBY OF CARBON COUNTY. 481
the Masonic fraternity, of the Independent Americans,
and of the Knights of Malta, while being an adherent
of the Reformed church.
On November 30, 1889, George D. Kresge was united
in marriage to Glendora, a daughter of David Beltz,
of Franklin township. Their children are : Mary, Eva,
Myrtle, and Russell Kresge.
Kressley, Daniel, a veteran of the Civil War, and a
farmer of Mahoning township, was born at Lynnport,
Lehigh county. Pa., on January 18, 1844. His parents
were Jonathan and Elizabeth (Brobst) Kressley, both
natives of Pennsylvania.
When Daniel was six years of age, the family re-
moved to Mahoning township. Carbon county, where he
grew to manhood. He was one among thirty-seven, in
one manner or another connected with the public
school at New Mahoning, who volunteered in the war
for the preservation of the Union.
First enlisting as a private in Company F, One Hun-
dred Thirty-Second Regiment, P. V. I., on August 9,
1862, he was discharged on account of disability on
January 17, 1863, having been sick with typhoid fever
in a Washington hospital for nine weeks.
Re-enlisting as a corporal in the Two Hundred and
Second Pennsylvania Regiment he served until honor-
ably discharged, August 3, 1865.
Among the wartime memories which stand forth
prominently in his mind are the battle of South Moun-
tain, where he participated in a parting volley which
wrought havoc in the ranks of the enemy, and the
Bloody Lane of Antietam, where he was wounded. He
also recalls with vividness an encounter between his
regiment and the command of the celebrated Mosby,
at Salem Heights, Va., in which the Confederates were
worsted.
31
4-82 HISTORY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
After the war Mr. Kressley returned to Malioning
township, where, during the winter months he taught
school for thirteen years. Between terms he was em-
ployed as a car builder by the Lehigh Coal and Navi-
gation Com^^any and the Lehigh Valley Eailroad Com-
pany.
Since 188-i he has devoted his energies to agricul-
tural pursuits on a farm which he had previously pur-
chased.
On April 21, 1867, he was married to Mary A.,
daughter of Gabriel Dilcher. They have eight surviv-
ing children, two sons and six daughters. Both sons
are preachers of the Reformed church. Clement Dan-
iel, the eldest, is located at Higens, Schuylkill county.
Pa., while Thomas M. is stationed at Pine Grove, in the
same county.
Mr. Kressley is connected with the Lutheran church.
He is a charter member of John D. Bertollette Post,
No. 484, G. A. R., of Lehighton, Pa.
Kressley, James Franklin, one of Weatherly's fore-
most citizens and a prominent member of the Grand
Army of the Republic, was born at Lynnport, Lehigh
county, on November 29, 1846. His father, Jonathan
Kressley, who was a carpet and linen weaver, was also
a native of Lehigh county. He chose as his life com-
panion Elizabeth Brobst, who came from a family well
known in that section of the state. They became the
parents of two sons and three daughters.
When James was still a child the family removed to
New Mahoning, Carbon county, and at the age of nine
he began to earn his own way by working for a farmer.
In June, 1863, when the call was issued for volunteers
to repel Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kressley,
though but little past sixteen years of age, enlisted for
the required period of three months. Later he re-
/X.
HISTOKY or CAEBON COUNTY. 433
enlisted for three years, or during the continuance of
the conflict, becoming a member of the One Hundred
and Sixteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer In-
fantry, and serving until the close of the war. He was
honorably discharged as a sergeant in June, 1865.
Returning to civil life, he fitted himself as a teacher
by attending the Carbon Academy at Lehighton for
five monHis. He taught school for two years, after
which he came to Weatherly, where he served in the
general store of W. W. Blakslee in various capacities
for sixteen years.
In 1885 Mr. Kressley established himself as a dealer
in hardware and lumber at Weatherly, selling out the
business two years later to J. C. Sendel, and removing
with his family to Birmingham, Alabama, for the ben-
efit of his wife's health. After a sojourn of a year in
the South he returned to Weatherly, and soon there-
after purchased the general store of J. G. Eadie, con-
ducting the business for six years.
He spent a year in aiding to organize the Weatherly
Foundry and Machine Company, acting as the secre-
tary of the company, and becoming a member of its
board of directors. He was then chosen as the presi-
dent of the Allen Candy Manufacturing Company, in
which capacity he is still serving. He has given his
best efforts to the building up of the business of this
company, the affairs of which are in a prosperous con-
dition.
Mr. Kressley has been an independent in politics and
has been a leader in the movement for the abolition of
the liquor traffic. Some years ago he was elected to
the office of chief burgess of Weatherly, which he filled
for a single term. For many years he has been the su-
perintendent of the primary department of the Sun-
day school of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal
484 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
church. He was a prime mover in the erection of the
Soldiers' Monument, dedicated at Weatherly in 1906.
Mr. Kressley was united in marriage to Sallie, a
daughter of John Derr, of Weatherly, in 1870. They
are the parents of two sons, Walter and Robert Kress-
ley.
Kuehner, Eugene V., deputy clerk of courts for Car-
bon county, and for thirteen years a teacher in the
public schools, is one of the nine children of Augustus
and Christiana (Eckhart) Kuehner, of Towamensing
township. His father followed the vocation of a farm-
er, having been married in 1859.
Eugene V. Kuehner was born on March 6, 1870, in
Towamensing township; he attended the district
schools until his seventeenth year, and later attended
Muhlenberg College at Allentown, being also a gradu-
ate of Palm's Business College, of Philadelphia. In
addition to this he attended a number of select and
summer schools.
Mr. Kuehner served as a justice of the peace in
Towamensing township for a number of years, later
becoming deputy prothonotary and clerk of courts
under W. J. Zerbey in 1901. This office was di-
vided by act of the legislature during the incumbency
of Mr. Zerbey, who served three terms as clerk of
courts, but Mr. Kuehner held both deputyships until
November 6, 1909, when he relinquished his duties in
the office held by Mr. Zerbey, but continued in the of-
fice of the prothonotary until January, 1910.
He was himself a candidate for the Republican nom-
ination for clerk of courts in 1909, being defeated by
a narrow margin at the primaries, but was appointed
as the deputy of that officer in January, 1910.
Mr. Kuehner was wedded to Sabina A. Anthony, of
Little Gap, Carbon county, on October 23, 1893. Elsie
Kuehner is their only child.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 435
Mr. Kiielmer is a member of the Patriotic Order of
Sons of America and of the Independent Order of For-
esters.
During the presidential campaign of 1912 he sup-
ported the candidacy of Theodore Eoosevelt. He as-
sisted in organizing the Washington party in Carbon
county, and was chosen as the first secretary of that
party in the county. Mr. Kuehner is the Mauch Chunk
correspondent for a number of daily metropolitan
journals.
Kunkle, Harry F., conducting a general store at
Trochsville, is the son of Harrison and Amanda
(Dory) Kunkle, the former a native of Monroe county,
and the latter of Northampton. The father was born
in 1839, and when a young man engaged in the lumber
business. Later he came to Trochsville, Carbon coun-
ty, establishing himself in the mercantile business. He
served as the tax collector of Towamensing township
and as a member of the school board, besides holding
a number of other offices.
Harry F. Kunkle was born at Trochsville on May 31,
1882. He was educated in the common schools, at the
Polytechnic Institute, Gilberts, Monroe county, and at
Schissler's Business College, Norristown, Pa. After
leaving school he took a half interest in the business of
his father, acquiring full control of the same through
purchase in 1909. He was the postmaster of Carbon
until the elimination of the office in 1911.
Mr. Kunkle was married on March 13, 1903, to
Tillula, the daughter of Dennis Moyer and his wife
Amanda, of Trochsville. Stanley, their only son, was
born in June, 1904.
Mr. Kunkle is a member of the Reformed church,
and has been the superintendent of the Sunday school
of that denomination at Trochsville for several years.
486 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
He is identified with the Patriotic Order of Sons of
America, and is a believer in the principles advocated
by the Republican party.
Kutz, Wilson L., a physician and surgeon, of Weiss-
port, was born in Berks county. Pa., May 9, 1854, the
fourth son of Samuel D. and Caroline (Dry) Kutz.
He grew to maturity on his father's farm, receiving
his preliminary education in the district schools and
at Kutztown State Normal School, where he graduated
in 1870.
Enrolling as a student at the Philadelphia College
of Pharmacy, he completed his course in 1874. Choos-
ing the profession of medicine, he entered Jefferson
Medical College, from which he was graduated with the
class of 1878. After practising in Philadelphia for two
years he located at Parryville, Carbon county, where
he remained for six years.
In 1887 he came to Weissport, forming a partnership
with Dr. J. G. Zern, under the firm name of Zern and
Kutz. This partnership was dissolved after about fif-
teen years, since which time Doctor Kutz has practised
quite successfully on his own account.
In 1891 he was elected as coroner of Carbon county,
and he has held most of the offices in the gift of the
people of Weissport. He is a member of the Carbon
County Medical Society, having served as president of
that body, being also identified with the Lehigh Valley
Medical Association and the American Medical So-
ciety. For some time past he has been a surgeon for
the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
He is a member and past officer of the Masonic fra-
ternity at Lehighton, Lilly Chajiter and Packer Com-
niandery, at Mauch Chunk, and is connected with Irem
Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-Barre,
while belonging to a number of other organizations.
HISTOEY or CAEBON COUNTY. 437
In 1872 Doctor Kiitz was married to Victoria Dielil.
They have two sons, Leroy and Harry Cooper Kutz.
Larkin, Rev. Thomas J., rector of the church of the
Immaculate Conception, of Mauch Chunk, was born in
Ireland, March 1, 1864. Emigrating to America at the
age of eighteen, he matriculated at Mt. Saint Mary's
College, Emmitsburg, Md., from which institution he
was graduated with the degree of B. A. in 1884. Two
years later his alma mater conferred upon him the de-
gree of Master of Arts. He prepared himself for the
priesthood at St. Charles Seminary, Overbrook, Pa.,
being ordained May 20, 1888.
For fifteen years he served as a curate in various
churches in Philadelphia, receiving the appointment as
parish priest at Mauch Chunk in October, 1903.
The magnificent church of the Immaculate Concep-
tion was built during his pastorate, being dedicated
with imposing ceremonies on October 4, 1908. Father
Larkin has won a warm place for himself in the hearts
of the people of Mauch Chunk.
Leibenguth, James H., cashier of the Citizens' Na-
tional Bank, of East Mauch Chunk, began life as a tele-
graph operator, in which capacity he served the Lehigh
Valley Eailroad for years. His father was Joseph
Leibenguth, a native of Northampton county, while his
mother, before her marriage, bore the name of Eliza-
beth Smith.
Mr. Leibenguth was born at Cherryville, Northamp-
ton county, April 11, 1859, and was educated in the
public schools and at Weaversville Academy, North-
ampton county. Having served his apprenticeship as
a telegrajDher, he was given a position as operator for
the Lehigh Valley at Laurys, near Allentown. Later
he held similar positions under the same corporation
at Mahanoy City and at Delano, where he was in the
488 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
office of division superintendent Blakslee. During the
eighties he was made freight agent for the company
at East Mauch Chunk, in which jDosition he continued
until September, 1906, when he and others organized
the bank of which he has since been the cashier and a
member of the board of directors.
Mr. Leibenguth has been twice married. His first
wife was Julia B. Reeder, daughter of George Eeeder,
of Easton. Two children were born of this union:
Nettie Elizabeth and Lola Leibenguth. Mrs. Leiben-
guth died in 1907, and two years later Mr. Leibenguth
was wedded to Mrs. Carrie Jeffries, of East Mauch
Chunk. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and at-
tends the Methodist church.
Lentz, Lafayette, one of Carbon county's grand old
men and a well-known coal operator, living at Mauch
Chunk, is one of the descendants of Conrad Lentz, who
settled in Lehigh county prior to the Revolution. This
pioneer was a school teacher, and he died in early life.
Among his children was Colonel John Lentz, the father
of the subject of this memoir, who was born in Lehigh
county in 1793. He began life as a shoemaker, but
later became a hotel keeper. He was also a successful
contractor, and was one of the builders of the Lehigh
Canal.
While still a young man, he removed to that portion
of Northampton county which was in 1843 set apart as
the county of Carbon. In the subdivision which was
then made he was a prime mover. Having ]ireviously
served as a commissioner of Northampton county, he
was later elected to the offices of commissioner and of
sheriff in Carbon county.
Taking a keen interest in military affairs all his life,
he enlisted for service in the war of 1812, when but a
lad. Among the first to volunteer at the breaking out
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 439
of the Eebellion, he was rejected on account of his ad-
vanced age. His title as Colonel was obtained in the
State Militia. When Lee invaded Pennsylvania in
1863, he recruited a company of reserves at Lehighton,
and, as their captain, led them to Harrisburg in de-
fense of the country.
Colonel Lentz was thrice married. His first wife
was Mary Lacier, his second, Julia Winter Barnett,
widow of John Barnett, and the third Mrs. Elizabeth
Metzgar. His death occurred at Mauch Chunk in 1875
at the age of eighty-two years.
Lafayette Lentz was born of the first marriage, at
Lehigh Gap, Carbon county, in 1828. Beginning life
as a clerk in a store at Parryville, he subsequently en-
gaged in railroad construction work, being one of the
original contractors in the building of the Lehigh Val-
ley Eailroad. He also built important stretches of
the North Pennsylvania, Easton and Amboy, and Mor-
ris and Essex railroads, and was the builder of the
Vosburg tunnel, in Wyoming county.
Mr. Lentz began his career as a coal operator near
Mahanoy City, about 1869. He is now the senior mem-
ber of the firm of Lentz and Company, operating a
large colliery at Park Place, Schuylkill county.
Cheerful, benevolent, and democratic, he has always
enjoyed great personal popularity. He has been a
great lover of the life out-of-doors, and has been an
enthusiastic hunter and fisherman, retaining his vigor
of mind and body to an unusual degree for one of his
advanced years.
His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Swartz,
was the daughter of John Swartz, a farmer and inn-
keeper of Northampton county. They became the par-
ents of five children: John, James, and Lafayette,
490 HISTORY OF CARBOI^ COUNTY.
wlio died in infancy; "William 0., the manager of his
father's coal interests, and Horace De Y. Lentz.
Horace De Y. Lentz, who is a member of the Carbon
county bar, was born at Mauch Chunk, where he still
resides, on February 24, 1867. He was educated in the
schools of his native town, the Preparatory School for
Lehigh University, Adams Academy, Quincey, Mass.,
and at Harvard University, graduating from the latter
institution with the degree of B.A. in 1891.
Choosing the law as his profession, he entered the
offices of Hon. L. H. Barber and Frederick Bertolette,
at Mauch Chunk, as a student in 1893, being admitted
to the bar in 1896.
As the first agent of the Palmer Land Company, Mr.
Lentz played an active part in the establishment of the
now thriving town of Palmerton. He is a believer in
the principles advocated by the Democratic party, but
has never sought office, save on one occasion, having
been a candidate for the nomination for Congress in
the Twenty-sixth District in 1912.
He has been a consistent friend of the Young Men's
Christian Association of Mauch Chunk, and was for a
time a vestryman of St. Mark 's Episcopal church. He
is a member of the University Club of Philadelphia,
and is one of the directors of the Mauch Chunk Trust
Company.
In 1893 he was married to Jennie McCreary Alsover,
a daughter of the late Jabez Alsover, prominent in
legal circles in Carbon and Luzerne counties.
Leslie, Harry, one of Palmerton 's enterprising
young business men, was born at Towanda, Bradford
county. Pa., on August 25, 1870. He is the son of
John and Sarah (Houser) Leslie. When Harry was
eight years of age, his father, who was a locomotive
engineer, was accidentally killed, and the family re-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 49]
moved to Summit Hill, wliere, two years later, he began
life as a slate picker on the breaker, subsequently en-
tering the mines.
Learning the trade of a tailor, he pursued his voca-
tion at Mauch Chunk and other places until 1906, when
he came to Palmerton and opened an establishment,
soon attracting a large patronage. Recently he moved
into larger and more handsome quarters, where he car-
ries a complete line of up-to-date furnishing goods for
men.
Mr. Leslie has displayed his public spirit in many
ways since locating in Palmerton. He was a charter
member and the first vice president of the Palmerton
Co-operative Society ; took an active part in the organ-
ization of the fire company of the town, did much to-
ward securing the erection of the handsome new high
school building of the place, and was the first president
of the Palmerton Athletic Association.
As one of the Roosevelt delegates to the Republican
state convention of 1912, he assisted in the overthrow
of the political dynasty of United States Senator Boies
Penrose. One of the cherished momentos that he re-
tains of that gathering is the leg of a chair, which was
used as a gavel by the chairman of the convention. He
is one of the leaders of the Progressive movement in
the county.
On June 14, 1904, he was married to Stella, daugh-
ter of Luther La Barre, of East Mauch Chunk. Anna
and John are their two children.
Mr. Leslie is a member of the Patriotic Order of
Sons of America and of the Sons of Veterans.
Levengood, Prof. Harvey D., supervisory principal
of the schools of Summit Hill, is the son of Mathias
and Elizabeth (Davidheiser) Levengood, natives of
492 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Berks county, where the family has lived for genera-
tions.
The first of his ancestors to come to America was
Ulrich Leibenguth, who was born in the Palatinate,
Germany. In 1733 he took passage in the ship Charm-
ing Betsy, John Ball, master, landing in Philadelphia.
Later he went to Montgomery county, where he fol-
lowed the calling of a farmer, as many of his descend-
ants have done.
Harvey Levengood was born at Earlville, Berks
county, October 1, 1880. He grew up on his father's
farm, and was educated at Amityville Academy, Kutz-
town State Normal School, and Ursinus College.
While holding a civil service position in the New York
post office he took a special course in pedagog}^ at Co-
lumbia University.
Before coming to Carbon county. Professor Leven-
good had six years' experience as a teacher in the
schools of Berks county and one year at Mt. Hope, N.
J. In 1907 he was appointed principal of the Mauch
Chunk township high school at Nesquehoning, where he
remained for six years. He took up the duties of his
present position as supervisory principal of the schools
of Summit Hill in 1913. The schools of this borough
have in recent years become among the best and most
efficient in the county. The high school, which is
housed in a magnificent building, costing over $90,000,
is rated as first class, having a four years' course. Its
equipment is second to none in the county at this time.
Mr. Levengood was married, November 23, 1909, to
Lucy Ross Morrison, of Summit Hill. She was for-
merly a teacher in the Nesquehoning high school. They
have two cliildren: Mary and George.
Lienhard, Edward, a progressive farmer of Beaver
Run, near Lehighton, is the son of Bernhard and Ma-
Hon. William Lilly
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 493
tilda (Haupt) Lienhard. Born in Germany, tlie father
came to America in 1858, being then eighteen years of
age. He settled in Lehighton, where he followed the
occupation of a plasterer and bricklayer. He died in
1910. The mother was born in the Mahoning Valley
and still lives.
Edward was born at Lehighton on March 9, 1875.
He grew up on a farm owned by his father, being edu-
cated in the public schools and at the Normal Institute,
a school devoted to higher education, formerly main-
tained in the Mahoning Valley.
In 1903 Mr. Lienhard took charge of a large farm
owned by W. 0. Lentz at Beaver Run, engaging in
dairying and general farming. More recently fruit has
been the principal product of the farm. The orchard
consists of thirty acres, producing thousands of baskets
of peaches and many tons of apples annually. Mr.
Lienhard also operates an adjoining farm of which he
is the owner. He has served as county chairman of the
farmer's institutes since 1910, being also a member of
the State Board of Agriculture and the vice-president
of the Carbon County Farm Bureau, in the organiza-
tion of which he took a leading part. He is a member
of Big Creek Grange and is affiliated with the Knights
of Malta and the Eagles.
On December 25, 1895, Mr. Lienhard was married to
Mary A., daughter of James Schoch and his wife,
Susannah, of Mahoning township. Their children are :
Ruth E., a public school teacher, and Edna Mae Lien-
hard.
Lilly, General William, who was one of Carbon
county's foremost public men, as well as a man of
large affairs in the industrial and financial world, was
born at Penn Yan, New York, June 3, 1821. He was
descended from Revolutionary stock, his forefathers
494 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
having participated in the struggle by which Amer-
ican independence was achieved. His father, Colonel
William Lilly, left New York in 1838 and, with his
family, settled in Mauch Chunk. General Lilly was
but seventeen years of age at this time, but he imme-
diately entered upon a life of industry and responsi-
bility, being entrusted with the duties of a conductor
on the Beaver Meadow Eailroad. He also served as
the coal shipping agent of this company at Penn
Haven, which was then the head of the Lehigh Canal.
His life henceforth was one of active business enter-
prise. He soon entered into coal mining operations,
being associated with Ario Pardee, J. Gillingham Fell
and George B. Markle at Jeddo, and becoming a mem-
ber of the firms of Lentz, Lilly & Company, and of
L. A. Eeilly & Company in the Schuylkill region. He
was a director in the East Broad Top Railroad Com-
pany, in the Highland Coal Company, in the Union
Improvement Company, and in the Andover Iron Com-
pany. General Lilly was also president of the Lehigh
Emery Wheel Company and of the Carbon Metallic
Paint Company, besides holding a seat as a director
in the First and Second National Banks of Mauch
Chunk and of the First National Bank of Shenandoah.
He was also one of the board of commissioners to lo-
cate and build a state hospital for injured persons
in the anthracite region. This institution, called the
Miners' Hospital, is situated near Ashland, Schuyl-
kill county, and was opened in 1884. He was one of the
original trustees of this hospital and later became pres-
ident of the board.
While General Lilly thus bore a prominent part in
industrial and commercial affairs, he was more widely
known for his services in public life. He first came
into prominence in connection with the military estab-
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 495
lisliment of the state. At the age of twenty-one be
enlisted in the ranks of the militia, and through suc-
cessive promotions, arrived at the rank of colonel,
and was finally appointed a brigadier general.
General Lilly early affiliated with the Democratic
party, and was elected to the state legislature of
1850 and 1851, bearing such a conspicuous part in the
work of the first session that at the beginning of the
next, he became a i^rominent candidate for Speaker of
the House, but was defeated by a few votes. Urgent
business demands comjDelled him to decline a re-elec-
tion to that body.
It is related that while on a visit to Washington in
1862, General Lilly met some of the leading Democrats
of the country and became very much dissatisfied with
their views on the war. Visiting the house of repre-
sentatives, he found fifty-five Democratic congressmen
voting against a war measure of vital importance to
the cause of the Union. It was at this point that the
General parted company with his party, going over to
the fold of the Republican party, to which he gave his
loyal allegiance during the remainder of his life. He
served as a delegate at every important Republican
convention held in the state and was also a delegate
or alternate to every national Republican convention
for twenty-five years.
In 1868 General Lilly was a candidate for the guber-
natorial nomination, receiving next to the highest vote
on the last ballot. It was partly through his instru-
mentality that the Pennsylvania state constitutional
convention of 1872-73 was called, to which he was elect-
ed as a delegate at large. At this convention which
was composed of many of the most eminent men of the
state, he bore a part equal to that of any of the mem-
bers of that famous assemblage.
496 HISTORY OF CAKBON COUNTY.
General Lilly was elected as one of the congressmen
at large for Pennsylvania for the Fifty-third Congress.
As a member of that body he acquitted himself use-
fully and honorably. A forceful speaker, he cherished
no oratorical ambitions and spoke but seldom. He
was reckoned, however, among the most industrious
members of the House, and his services in the commit-
tee room were of much value.
As indicating his varied tastes and activities, it may
be mentioned that he was a life member of the Acad-
emy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, and also of
the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, besides being a member of the Society of
American Mining Engineers.
During the war he was a loyal friend of the Union
soldiers, and supported a number of the families of
his workmen who had volunteered.
He was an active member of the Masonic fraternity
for more than half a century, and held the position of
Grand Master of Pennsylvania.
He died suddenly at his residence in Mauch Chunk
on December 1, 1893, in the seventy-second year of his
age. He was preparing to go to Washington to take
his seat at the beginning of the session of congress
of that year when the final summons came.
The usual tokens of respect were paid to his mem-
ory in both branches of the national legislature, and
his demise was sincerely mourned in the community in
which he lived.
Lindemuth, Theodore, postmaster of East Mauch
Chunk, and an insurance man of that place, is the son
of Jonathan and Catharine (Faust) Lindemuth, na-
tives of Schuylkill county, Pa.
His maternal grandfather, Jacob Faust, was the
founder of the village of Barnesville, Schuylkill county,
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 497
while his father, who was a contractor and lumberman,
was the first postmaster of Mahanoy City. At that
time the town was without railroads and the mail was
carried to and from the place on horseback.
Theodore Lindemuth was born at Barnesville, Jan-
uary 2, 1855.
Leaving school at the age of fifteen, he began life
as a brakeman for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Be-
coming a locomotive engineer, he remained in the
service of this company until the strike of 1893. Dur-
ing the ensuing year he embarked in the business of
life insurance, which he has since successfully followed.
Mr. Lindemuth has lived in East Mauch Chunk
since 1882.
On January 24, 1883, he was united in marriage to
Louisa, a daughter of Charles Zellner, of that town.
His appointment as postmaster of the borough came
on February 23, 1911.
He has taken an active part in municipal affairs,
having held most of the offices in the gift of the people
of the community in which he lives. His political al-
legiance is given to the Republican party, while he is
identified with the Brotherhood of Locomotive En-
gineers and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
He is a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal
church.
Long, Dr. Wilson P., a Weatherly physician and
surgeon was born in Longswamp township, Berks
county. Pa., in 1861.
Frederick Long, his great-grandfather was a Palat-
inate immigrant. He fled from his native country to
escape from the religious persecutions of the time,
settling in Berks county on land which was deeded to
him by the descendants of William Penn, the same be-
ing now included in the township of Longswamp.
32
498 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
In this freer and more hospitable environment he
spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits,
being a man of influence in the community where he
lived.
His son, Daniel Long, who was also a farmer, be-
came possessed of the homestead acquired by the fath-
er. He married Rachel Snyder, a native of Montgom-
ery county. Pa.
David Long, one of their ten children, and the
father of the subject of this notice, was born in Berks
county in 1830. By his marriage to Floranda, daughter
of John P. Fegley, of Shamrock, Berks county, five
children were born: Mary, Celia, Amanda, Wilson,
and Malazina Long. The father of this family was
stricken with typhoid fever, of which he died in his
thirty-fourth year. Subsequently his widow became
the wife of William Butz, of Alburtis, Pa. Two of
their four children survive : Rev. Charles Butz, a min-
ister of the Reformed church, and William Butz, a
farmer, of Mertztown, Pa.
Dr. W. P. Long was less than three years of age
when the death of his father occurred, and he was
early thrown largely upon his own resources.
When he was nine years of age he was taken into
the family of his uncle, Samuel Long, of Mertztown,
upon whose farm he labored and grew to maturity.
Having gained a fair common school education, he
later attended the Keystone State Normal School.
During a period of three years he was engaged as a
teacher.
Choosing the profession of medicine, he was matric-
ulated in the medical department of the University of
Pennsylvania, from which institution he was gradu-
ated in 1886. Immediately thereafter he located at
Weatherly, establishing himself in the practice of his
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 499
profession, and soon gaining liberal recognition as
a result of his ability and skill in diagnosing and treat-
ing disease. He early discovered that a cheery pres-
ence in the sick room is an important factor in the
realm of therapeutics, and this has been one of the
secrets of his success.
In addition to his general practise, Dr. Long is the
local medical examiner for several old line insurance
companies, and is the official physician of the alms-
house of the Middle Coal Field Poor District, which
position he has filled for more than a decade.
As an aid to keeping abreast of the times in matters
affecting his profession, he has affiliated himself with
the Carbon County Medical Society, the Lehigh Valley
Medical Society, the State Medical Association, and
the American Medical Society.
Aside from his calling as a physician, Dr. Long fig-
ures actively in various phases of the life of the bor-
ough in which he lives. He was one of the organiz-
ers of the Weatherly Foundry and Machine Company,
of which he is a principal stockholder, being also a di-
rector of the company and serving as its secretary.
He is similarly identified with the First National Bank
of Weatherly. Besides this he has an interest in a
mining enterprise at Hancock, Pa., which supplies the
C. K. Williams Paint Mills at Easton with ochre, and
he is a director and stockholder of the Allen Candy
Manufacturing Company, of Weatherly.
In 1892 he was elected to the office of coroner of
Carbon county on the Republican ticket, serving for
a single term.
Being a warm friend of the public school system,
he has repeatedly been chosen to serve as a member
of the board of education of the borough, of which he
has been the president. He was chairman of the build-
500 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ing committee in the erection of the Schwab school
building.
For some years he was the musical director of the
Eeformed church of the town, of which he is now an
elder. Fraternally he is identified with the Patriotic
Order of Sons of America, the Grand Commandery of
Pennsylvania, the order of Modern Woodmen, and the
Free and Accepted Masons.
Dr. Long was married on August 2, 1886, to Clara
Boyer, of Reading, Pa. She died May 1, 1901, leaving
two sons, William S. and Albert F. Long. Both are
graduates of Ursinus College, from which the former
received the degree of A. B. and the latter that of B. S.
William is now a student in the medical dej^artment of
the University of Pennsylvania, while Albert is a
teacher at Kyle Military Institute, Flushing, Long Is-
land.
Loose, Jacob C, a leading member of the Carbon
county bar, was born at Myerstown, Lebanon county,
Pa., on July 6, 1866.
He is the son of Jacob A. and Emma E. (Spangler)
Loose, his father having followed the mercantile busi-
ness at Palmyra, Pa., for many years. Attending the
Palmyra Academy he subsequently entered Dickinson
College, where he pursued a classical course, gradu-
ating from that institution in 1887.
Choosing the law as his profession, he studied in the
offices of the well-known firm of Craig and Loose, at
Mauch Chunk, comprised of the late <Judge Allen
Craig and the late James S. Loose, an uncle of the
subject of this sketch.
Upon his admission to the bar in January, 1890,
he opened an office at Mauch Chunk, where he prac-
tised his profession for about eighteen months.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 5OI
Eemoving to Slienandoali, Va., he built up a practise
there and was elected mayor of the town. In 1897 he
returned to Mauch Chunk to become a member of the
firm of Loose, Craig and Loose. Upon the death of
his uncle, in July, 1898, the firm became Craig and
Loose, the other partner being Douglas Craig, a son
of the late Judge Allen Craig.
On November 17, 1892, during his stay in the South,
Mr. Loose was united in marriage with Alice M., daugh-
ter of Henry A. Bear and his wife, Betty, of Bear
Lithia Springs, Va. Their only son is Alan S. Loose,
born March 16, 1899. Another son, James B., died in
infancy.
Mr. Loose is identified with the Pennsylvania Bar
Association, and the Common Law League of America.
He is a member of the board of trustees of the Dim-
mick Memorial Library, and of the Odd Fellows ' Hall
Association, of Mauch Chunk, and is one of the war-
dens of St. John's Episcopal church, of East Mauch
Chunk, which is his place of residence. He also holds
the position of borough solicitor in the latter place.
Mr. Loose is a Republican. The success which has
come to him in his calling has been achieved by clean
and honorable methods.
Luckenbach, Edwin F., who for many years served
as postmaster of Mauch Chunk, where he was a rep-
resentative business man, was born near Bethlehem,
Northampton county. Pa., on October 11, 1842.
He was the son of Renautus and Catherine (Boyer)
Luckenbach. His father, who in early life had been
a blacksmith, later became a boat builder and followed
the mercantile career. His mother was a descendant of
Isaac Boyer, one of the pioneer settlers of Northamp-
ton county. Both father and mother died during the
502 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
seventies in Kansas, where they spent their declining
years.
At the age of seventeen E. F. Liickenbach was ap-
prenticed to a house, sign and decorative painter,
named Anton Goth, of Bethlehem. His apprenticeship
expired on August 3, 1862. On the same day he en-
listed in the service of the Union, being enrolled as a
private in Company C, One Hundred and Twenty-
ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. This regi-
ment was commanded by Colonel Jacob G. Frick, and
was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, becoming
a part of E. B. Tyler's First Brigade of Humphrey's
Third Division, Fifth Army Corps. Mr. Luckenbach
participated in the battles of Fredericksburg and
Chancellorsville, and on May 18, 1863, at the expira-
tion of his term of service, was honorably discharged.
In 1864 he located permanently in Mauch Chunk, at
first devoting his energies to the trade he had learned.
On January 1, 1871, he established a stationery, wall
paper and paint store at No. 61 Broadway; this he
successfully managed in connection with his other in-
terests during the remainder of his life.
In 1865 he was married to Miss Mary A. DeRemer,
a daughter of Peter and Mary M, (Quick) DeRemer.
Four children were born to them: Albert H., Hattie
L., wife of A. W. Hooke ; William F. and Charles E.
Mr. Luckenbach was one of the prime movers in the
organization of the Upper Mauch Chunk Water Com-
pany in 1872. Being elected as its secretary, he con-
tinued in that capacity for forty years. In March,
1899, President McKinley appointed him as postmast-
er of Mauch Chunk, the duties of which position he
discharged with energy and ability until his death,
which occurred on March 3, 1912.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 593
Mr. Luckenbach was at one time a member of the
town council of Maucli Chunk and served as its secre-
tary. He was also a charter member of L. F. Chapman
Post, No. 61, Grand Army of the Republic, twice
serving as its commander, while being identified with
the Eoyal Arcanum and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.
As a citizen he was public spirited and progressive,
always actively co-operating in any movement calcu-
lated to promote the welfare of the town of his adop-
tion.
As a mark of respect to his memory, all business was
suspended in Mauch Chunk on the day of his funeral.
Luther, Dr. John W., who is at the head of the
Palmerton Hospital, the only institution of its kind
situated in Carbon county, is a native of Berks county,
having been born in the city of Reading, May 21, 1875.
His family originally came from Lancaster county.
Peter Luther, a Lancaster county druggist was his
paternal grandfather, while William Behm, a Reading
hotel man, was his maternal grandfather. Martin and
Diller Luther, brothers of Peter Luther, were promi-
nent medical practitioners in Berks county.
Thomas M., the father of John W. Luther, was a
native of Reading, while his brother, R. C. Luther, de-
ceased, of Pottsville, was the superintendent of the
Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Company and
was first vice president of that corporation.
Doctor Luther is a graduate of the Reading high
school, class of 1894. After spending a year at Drexel
Institute, Philadelphia, he entered the medical de-
partment of the University of Pennsylvania, from
which institution he graduated in 1899. He then
served as interne at the Reading Hospital for nine
months, later holding the same position at the Univer-
504 HISTORY OF CAKBOI^ COUNTY.
sity Hospital for eighteen montlis. For one year he
was the chief resident physician in the same institution,
after which he practiced his profession on his own
account in Philadelphia. He was appointed instructor
in gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania and
was assistant gynecologist at the University Hospital,
as well as obstetrician at the Maternity Hospital.
In January, 1908, Doctor Luther took charge of the
Palmerton Hospital, having since been appointed as
a surgeon of the Central Kailroad of New Jersey.
When Palmerton was organized as a borough, in
1912, he was honored in being chosen as the first chief
burgess of the town. He is also the president of the
Palmerton Co-operative Association, president of the
Carbon County Medical Society, secretary of the Le-
high Valley Medical Association, and holds member-
ship in the Pennsylvania Medical Society and in the
American Medical Association.
He belongs to Slatington Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons, and attends the Lutheran church. His wife
was Aletta A. Artley, of Savannah, Ga., whom he mar-
ried in July, 1903.
Mack, William B., who was one of the pioneer resi-
dents of East Mauch Chunk, and a railroad man of
many years' experience, was born in Ulster county.
New York, September 15, 1825. His parents were
George and Margaret (Boggs) Mack, the father being
a well-known contractor.
Coming to Mauch Chunk when a boy, the subject of
this memoir began life as a printer in the newspaper
offices of that place.
His long career as a railroad man began in 1845,
when he entered the service of the Beaver Meadow
Eailroad, being appointed as its road master about
five years later. When this company was absorbed by
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 505
the Leliigli Valley lie continued in tlie service of the
latter, and in 1869 his authority as road master was
extended to include the Mahanoy Division. He retired
about 1893, after a continuous service of nearly half a
century.
When Mr. Mack built his residence in East Mauch
Chunk there were but four or five other houses in the
place. His connection with the financial interests of
Mauch Chunk antedated the establishment of the na-
tional banking system. He was a director of the old
Mauch Chunk Bank, which was organized in 1855, and
was similarly identified with the First National Bank
of Mauch Chunk and the Mauch Chunk National Bank,
of which the first named institution was the prede-
cessor. He was also associated with the Mauch Chunk
Water Company for many years, serving as its presi-
dent.
In 1859 Mr. Mack was united in marriage to Jean,
daughter of James R. and Ellen B. (Tolan) Struthers,
of Mauch Chunk. Her father was a prominent lawyer,
and was the first district attorney of Carbon county.
They became the parents of eight children, three of
whom survive.
Mr. Mack departed this life on February 16, 1911, in
the eighty-sixth year of his age.
Markley, Elmer S., a dealer in shoes and foot wear
at Lehighton, was born in Franklin township, Carbon
county, March 20, 1871.
His grandfather, Jonah Markley, was a native of
Bucks county, where he was born about the year 1800.
While still very young, he went to Philadelphia, where
he was employed as a clerk in an apothecary shop. At
the age of fifteen he came to Carbon county, settling in
Franklin township, near Walksville. He became a
cloth and carpet weaver, residing in the township dur-
506 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ing the remainder of his life. His descendants in this
portion of the county are to-day quite numerous. His
wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Walk. For
more than twenty years Mr. Markley served as court
crier of the county. He died in 1885.
Elmer S. Markley is the son of Stephen and Sophia
(Mantz) Markley. Elmer spent his boyhood days on
his father's farm, learning the trade of a shoemaker.
After a time he opened a shoe and repair shop in
Weissport, where he remained for fourteen years.
Early in 1915 he opened his present store in Lehighton.
On November 8, 1890, Mr. Markley was united in
marriage to Ella, daughter of Henry Meckes, of Al-
brightsville, Carbon county.
He served as a member of Weissport town council
for nine years, and has been influential in the councils
of the Democratic party.
Mr. Markley is a member of the Order of Independ-
ent Americans, the Red Men, and the Daughters of Lib-
erty. He was one of the founders of the Carbon Coun-
ty Historical Society.
Masonheimer, Rev. A. M., Ph.D., pastor of Salem's
Reformed church at Weatherly, is the son of John
Masonheimer, a native of the Palatinate, who emi-
grated to America in 1827, establishing his home in
Lehigh county. He was married to Barbara Rockel, a
native Pennsylvanian, and they had seven children.
Alfred M. Masonheimer was born near AUentown,
Lehigh county, October 25, 1853. Leaving the public
schools at the age of twelve years, he drove a horse
and cart about the iron mines near his home until he
reached the age of sixteen. He then attended the Key-
stone State Normal School and Palatinate College.
After teaching school for a number of years, he en-
tered Ursinus College. Later matriculating at Yale
'^l^X^'^^hM.^-^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 507
University, he was graduated from that institution
with the degree of B.D. The degree of doctor of phil-
osophy, pro merito, has been conferred upon him by
Allegheny College.
Being licensed to preach the gospel in 1880, he was
stationed for a year at Orange, Vermont. In 1881 he
accepted a call to the Weatherly charge of the Reform-
ed church, which also includes St. Matthew's church, in
Packer township, and St. John's Reformed church at
Rockport. He preaches at the two last named places
on alternate Sundays.
During his long pastorate Doctor Masonheimer has
left a lasting impression on the lives and characters of
the people among whom he has labored, his broad, sym-
pathetic and kindly nature, coupled with thorough
equipment for his work, peculiarly qualifying him for
the discharge of his duties as a pastor.
He has also been greatly aided and strengthened in
carrying out his life's work by the ministrations of a
sensible and devoted wife who always faithfully assists
him in his pastoral duties, and who is greatly beloved
by all who know her. She bore the maiden name of
Catharine Ritter, being a daughter of Jeremiah and
Lucy Ritter, of Egypt, Lehigh county. Pa. Their mar-
riage was solemnized on March 25, 1881.
Since coming to Weatherly, Rev. Masonheimer has
administered the rite of baptism to eleven hundred and
seventy persons, confirmed nine hundred and thirty-
five, and performed over five hundred marriages. He
has also conducted nearly seven hundred and fifty fu-
nerals. The total membership of his charge is six hun-
dred.
He has interested himself, too, in the business and
industrial welfare of the borough, being a director of
the First National Bank, and having a voice in the af-
508 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
fairs of the Weatherly Foundry and Machine Com-
pany, the Weatherly Water Company, and other con-
cerns.
He is a member of Hazle Lodge, No. 327, Free and
Accepted Masons, of Hazleton, and of Sodi Lodge, No.
80, Knights of Pythias, of Weatherly.
Mr. and Mrs. Masonheimer are the parents of three
children, all of whom are graduates of the Weatherly
high school. Elva, the eldest is also a graduate o^
the Allentown College for Women, and is now a teach-
er in the public schools of Weatherly. Williard is a
product of Lafayette College, and is at present a stu-
dent in the medical department of the University of
Pennsylvania. Alfred, having graduated at the Hazle-
ton high school, is now a sophomore at Franklin and
Marshall College.
Maurer, Harry M., a foreman in the employ of the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company at Lansford, is
the son of Edwin and Sarah Jane (Miller) Maurer.
His father spent his active life in the service of the
same company that the son is now serving, being em-
ployed in his youth as a brakeman on the Smtchback
Eailroad, which was then used for the transportation of
coal.
Harry M. Maurer was born in the Mahoning Valley,
May 29, 1871. At the age of sixteen he started out to
learn the trade of a blacksmith in the shops of the com-
pany with which he is still emi)loyed. In 1910 his fa-
ther was placed on the retired list, and he succeeded
him as foreman.
On June 24-, 1897, Mr. Maurer was married to Louise,
daughter of Charles Fessler, of Lansford. Her father
was one of the first engineers on the Panther Creek
Valley Railroad. Prior to her marriage she was for
eight years a teacher in the public schools of Lansford.
HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY. 509
The pair have an only son, Edwin H., who was born
October 8, 1903. Mr. Maurer is a member of the P. 0.
S. of A. and of the Tamaqua Masonic lodge. The fam-
ily attended the Reformed chnrch,
McCabe, P. H., principal of the schools of East
Mauch Chunk and one of the successful educators of
Carbon county, was born at Nesquehoning, April 6,
1857. His father was Patrick McCabe, who was born
in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1820. He emigrated to
the United States in 1849, locating in New York city,
where for a number of years he supported himself by
doing clerical work. Coming to Nesquehoning he be-
came a coal miner, which occupation he followed the re-
mainder of his life.
He was married to Mrs. Sarah Bradwell, a native
of Sunderland, England. She came to America in 1832.
James, deceased, and Patrick, were their only children.
Patrick H. McCabe received his elementary educa-
tion in the schools of Nesquehoning, and at the age of
fourteen entered the mines. In 1876 he went to Mil-
lersville State Normal School, after which he taught
school for a number of terms. Later he attended Val-
paraiso University, where he graduated in the Latin
scientific course with the class of 1883. He is also a
graduate of Eastman Business College, of Poughkeep-
sie, N. Y.
Prof. McCabe has devoted all his time and energies
since reaching man's estate to educational work. He
taught school at Coalport, Summit Hill and at Nesque-
honing, serving for thirteen years at the last named
place. For eighteen years he has been principal at
East Mauch Chunk, and the schools under his supervi-
sion have steadily increased in efficiency and excellence
during that period, the majority of the graduates lead-
ing successful lives in their various fields of endeavor.
510 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
On June 30, 1887, Mr. McCabe was wedded to Emma
Grover, daughter of Nathan Grover, of East Mauch
Chunk. A boy and a girl, both of whom died in in-
fancy, were born to them.
McCormick, David, editor and owner of the Lehigh-
ton Press and postmaster of Lehighton, was born at
Hickory Run, Carbon county, on April 21, 1873. He
is the son of William C. and Elizabeth (Arnold) Mc-
Cormick, and has lived in Lehighton virtually all his
life.
He acquired his education in the public schools of
the borough, and early manifested a liking for news-
paper work. When but a lad of fifteen he entered the
service of 0. B. Sigley, the well-known Mauch Chunk
printer and newspaper man, as an apprentice. Having
mastered the art which he chose to follow, he proceed-
ed to Philadelphia, where he was employed for a year
as a journeyman, after which he returned to accept a
position as foreman and local reporter for Mr. Sigley
After a period of two years, he was induced to take the
place of foreman for the Lehighton Press, which had
then but recently been established ; this position he held
for two years.
Having, by this time, attained a thorough and practi-
cal knowledge of the business in its various details, and
being possessed of energy and ambition, Mr. McCor-
mick, on November 16, 1896, purchased the Press and
the printing establishment that was conducted in con-
nection therewith. He immediately proceeded to build
up and improve the property of which he was now the
sole owner, and his efforts have been crowned with
excellent results. Not only has the paper been enlarged
to twice its former size, but its circulation has been
more than trebled since he assumed control.
CaPT. AViLMAM C. iMcCoK.MICK.
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. ^H
Mr. McCormick was the first to introduce the type-
setting and folding machine in Carbon county, while
his establishment has facilities for job printing that
would do credit to the plant of a larger town than Le-
highton.
The Press is issued weekly, and faithfully mirrors
the important happenings of the region in which it
circulates. The trenchant pen of its editor has given
the paper a commanding position among the journals
of the Lehigh Valley.
Mr. McCormick was appointed postmaster of Le-
highton early during the year 1911 ; immediately upon
assuming the duties of the office, his progressive spirit
was made manifest in the remodeling of the interior of
the postoffice and in the introduction of new furnish-
ings and a more modern equipment, adding to the com-
fort and convenience of the employes of the office and
the public alike.
He has been an active member of Lehighton's oldest
fire company for many years, being the treasurer of
that organization; he is also a member of the Masonic
order, of the Sons of Veterans, and of various other
organizations.
On October 14, 1896, Mr. McCormick was married
to Bertha Hollenbach, daughter of Elias F. and Mary
Hollenbach. Their children are : Robert D. and Mary
E. McCormick.
McCormick, William C, a veteran of the Civil War,
and a foremost citizen of Lehighton, was the son of
David McCormick, who was of Irish birth, but the de-
scendant of a Welsh and Scotch ancestry.
David McCormick was born in the year 1800, immi-
grating to America at the age of twenty-eight, and set-
tling in New Jersey. He assisted in constructing the
Morris Canal, connecting the Delaware river with the
512 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
harbor of New York, and was subsequently appointed
to the superintendency of the canal, which was more
than a hundred miles in length. In 1851 he came to
Carbon county, being thereafter engaged in the lumber
business. He married Marv Lockwood, a native of
Connecticut, who was thirteen years his junior, and
who bore him six sons and two daughters. The father
of these children died on March 23, 1854, while his
wife survived him nearly half a century, passing away
April 28, 1900.
William C. McCormick was born in New Jersey on
March 23, 1834. He was educated in his native town,
where he grew to maturity, and, in 1851, he removed
with the family of his father to Carbon county, where
for a short period he followed lumbering. Later he
learned the trade of a wheelwright, which he pursued
successfully for some years.
He saw service in the cause of the Union during the
Civil War under two sej^arate enlistments. He was
first a member of the One Hundred and Eighty-eighth
Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and upon re-en-
listing on March 16, 1864, was enrolled as a private in
Company G, Third Regiment Pennsylvania Heavy
Artillery, which was attached to the Army of the
James. He was soon advanced to the rank of quarter-
master sergeant, being subsequently commissioned by
Governor Curtin as a second lieutenant, with the rank
of captain, though he never served in that capacity, due
to the fact that the opportunity did not present itself
before his discharge, in November, 1865.
He was one of the number to whom was assigned the
duty of guarding Jefferson Davis during the time when
the president of the fallen Confederacy was confined
as a prisoner in Fortress Monroe. The calm resigna-
tion and lofty fortitude displayed by the former south-
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNT i'. 513
ern leader in his hour of defeat and humiliation excited
the admiration of Captain McCormick, between whom
and Davis a feeling of mutual respect and friendship
sprang up.
Mr. McCormick held most of the offices in the gift of
the people of Kidder township, where he lived prior to
his removal to Lehighton in 1876. During his resi-
dence here he also filled many positions of trust and
responsibility. He was a member of town council for
nine years, and served for the same period of time on
the school board, of which he was the president for a
time. He was elected to the office of burgess of Le-
highton in 1906. In the discharge of the various duties
of these offices, his conduct was always characterized
by progressiveness and a desire for the public good.
For more than twenty-five years Captain McCormick
was prominently identified with the Lehigh Valley
Emery "Wheel Company, which was engaged in the
manufacture of emery and corundum wheels at Weiss-
port.
He was married on August 20, 1860, to Elizabeth
Arnold, a native of Monroe county, who was born May
28, 1832. They became the parents of the following
children : Agnes, deceased ; James, deceased ; Thomas,
deceased; William, Edwin, Mary E., David, Amanda
A., and Ann, deceased. The mother of these children
died on August 27, 1880, and on December 22, 1881,
Mr. McCormick wedded Emma E. Christman. Two
•children were born of this union: Lillian and Ella
McCormick.
Captain McCormick was a member of the Masonic
fraternity, and was honored with the position of com-
mander of the Lehighton Post of the Grand Army of
ihe Eepublic. His death occurred on March 14, 1909.
33
514 HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
McGinley, John J., clerk of courts of Carbon county,
is a native of Summit Hill, where he was born on Jan-
uary 10, 1877. He is one of the ten children of Dennis
and Bridget (McCullion) McGinley. His father, who
was a miner, died in 1894 of the complaint which short-
ens the lives of so many underground toilers, — miners'
asthma.
John left school at the age of eleven years to earn
his livelihood as a slate picker on the breaker. Subse-
quently he availed himself of the opportunity of at-
tending night school, however. Having grown to ma-
turity, he became a brakeman on the Panther Creek
Valley Eailroad. Unfortunately, in 1903, while put-
ting on a brake, the chain broke, and he was precipi-
tated to the roadbed, having both legs cut off. After
many legal delays, subterfuges, and court trials, he
finally succeeded, in 1912, in placing the responsibility
for the accident Uf)on the company owning the car, and
was awarded a substantial verdict.
In 1906 Mr. McGinley was chosen as tax collector of
Summit Hill, and three years later he was elected as
the Democratic candidate to the office of clerk of courts,
which he is now filling.
He is a member of St. Joseph's Catholic church, of
Summit Hill. Of his brothers and sisters, Katie and
Edward alone survive. They live at Summit Hill,
which is also the home of his widowed mother.
Messersmith, Leonard C, active head of the firm of
Messersmith & Bro., conducting a large furniture estab-
lishment at Lansford, was born in Montour county,
July 25, 1870. His grandfather, John ]\[essersmith,
who emigrated to this country from Germany, settled
there. Leonard is the son of William J. and Elizabeth
(Hendrickson) Messersmith, both natives of Montour
county. He worked on a farm until his twenty-first
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 515
year, when lie learned the furniture business, which
his father also had followed. For seven years he was
with the firm of Gately & Britton, furniture dealers in
Pottsville.
In 1902 Mr. Messersmith came to Lansford, and in
association with George Moll and Abraham C. Messer-
smith purchased the furniture business of J. R. Hall,
Sr., the firm name being Moll, Messersmith & Brother.
Two years later Mr. Moll retired from the firm, the
brothers continuing the business under the name of
Messersmith & Bro.
In 1907 the firm occupied its present place of busi-
ness on Ridge street, which is the largest furniture
store in Carbon county. Abraham is a contractor and
builder in Pottsville, while Leonard is the active head
of the store in Lansford, which has a large patronage
throughout the entire Panther Creek Valley.
Mr. Messersmith was married on April 5, 1894, to
Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Simms, of Chicago,
but formerly of Schuylkill county. He is a member of
the Masonic society and various other fraternal organi-
zations.
Abraham C. Messersmith chose as his first wife Mag-
gie, a daughter of the late George Evans, who was the
proprietor of the Lansford House, and the pioneer hotel
man of Lansford.
Mooney, Jacob A., a Palmerton justice of the peace,
and conducting a general store in that town, is one of
the six children of William and Catherine (Moyer)
Mooney. The father was born in Bucks county, set-
tling at Little Gap when a young man, where he fol-
lowed the trade of blacksmith.
Jacob was born at Little Gap, September 12, 1872.
At the age of eight he was a mule driver on the Lehigh
canal. When he was thirteen his father died and he
516 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
at once became the bread winner of the family. He was
successively a huckster, a laborer and a farmer. In
1903 Mr. Mooney opened a general store in Palmerton,
which he sold after some years and then repurchased.
In 1913 he also engaged in the livery business. Dur-
ing the same year he was elected to the office of justice
of the peace, which he still holds. In this connection
he does a large real estate and insurance business.
Mr. Mooney has taken an active part in municipal
atfairs in Palmerton and is prominent in fraternal and
patriotic society circles.
He was married on August 24, 1895, to Sarah E., the
daughter of Eichard and Mary Green, of Aquashicola.
Their children are as follows: Edith C, William K.,
Charles E., Ealph E., Virgie M., Alice I., and Jacob H.
Mr. Mooney is a jDrogressive rather than a partisan
in politics, while exercise of the qualities of justice and
fair play has given him a foremost place among the
minor judiciary of Carbon county.
Morthimer, George W., owner and publisher of the
Evening Leader, the only daily newspaper published in
Lehighton, is a son of the late Harry Vernon Morthi-
mer, who for many years was one of Carbon county's
prominent journalists. The elder Morthimer was born
in Edinburgh, Scotland, March 17, 1828, coming to the
United States at the age of ten years, and locating in
New York city. He began life as an assistant steward
on a sailing vessel, in which capacity he traversed the
seven seas. Returning to the city of his adoption, he
entered the newspaper field, serving under Greeley on
the New York Tribune and on other metropolitan
papers. During the decade of the fifties he came to
Mauch Chunk, where he married Elizabeth Williams, a
daughter of George Williams.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 5x7
At the breaking out of the Civil War, Mr. Morthimer
enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Twelfth
Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, serving
practically through the whole war as quartermaster
sergeant. On the close of hostilities he returned to
Mauch Chunk and worked on the Coal Gazette, after
which he started a paper known as the Union Flag, a
weekly, which was subsequently purchased by General
Charles Albright and absorbed by the Gazette. Mr.
Morthimer then filled positions as reporter and editor
on various publications in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and
other towns in the coal regions. In association with
George E. Boyle he launched a daily paper in Hazleton
termed the Miners' Daily Advocate, which lived for a
number of years. Returning to Carbon county he man-
aged the Weekly News at Lehighton for a time, estab-
lishing the Carbon Advocate in 1872, which paper he
owned and published until 1902, when it was sold to
P. M. Graul, the present owner.
Mr. Morthimer was the father of thirteen children,
of whom the following survive: Harry, William,
George, Thomas, Ralph, Melville and Jennie, who is
the wife of John Lerch, of Clierryville, Pa.
George W. Morthimer was born April 2, 1866, at
Mauch Chunk, and was educated in the schools of Le-
highton, becoming a worker in his father 's office at the
age of ten years. At sixteen he had so far progressed
as to warrant his father in placing him in practical
charge of the Advocate.
Mr. Morthimer made two unsuccessful attempts to
establish an evening journal in Lehighton. For about
eighteen months he conducted the Truth, a small week-
ly, at Lehighton, one of the features of which was his-
torical and biographical sketches of local interest
518 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
tlirougliout Carbon county. It was absorbed by the
Advocate.
The Evening Leader was established by Mr. Mor-
thimer July 19, 1902, as a six-column daily, and in six
months was enlarged to seven columns. This paper
is newsy, well-edited and is popular as an advertising
medium.
Mr. Morthimer is of Democratic persuasion, and has
been prominent in the councils of his party for years.
He was elected as auditor of Carbon county in 1893,
and has served as secretary of the borough council of
Lehighton and as a member of the school board.
In 1903 he was chosen burgess of Lehighton, while
in 1909 he was returned to the same office without op-
position. Mr. Morthimer was also assistant postmas-
ter of Lehighton during Cleveland 's first term.
He is a member of the Masonic order and of the
Eagles, while he was one of the organizers of the Le-
highton board of commerce.
On December 8, 1891, he was married to Margie I.
Hunsinger, of Tremont, Schuylkill county. Guy V.
Morthimer is the only offspring of their marriage.
He is associated with his father in the conduct of the
Leader.
Mortimer, Melville R., one of the sons of Harry and
Elizabeth (Williams) Mortimer, was born at Leighton
in 1881. The father, who was born in Scotland, was a
printer and journalist of the old school, and in his
day was one of Carbon county's most prominent and
versatile newspaper men.
Melville learned the trade of a printer in the office of
the Carbon Advocate, which was owned and edited by
his father. On the breaking out of the war with Spain,
he enlisted in Company K, Ninth Regiment, Pennsyl-
vania Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel
nJ^.i::^/^i.^^^-L_
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 519
Dougiiertj", serving during the duration of the war.
Subsequently he entered the service of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad at Lehighton as a brakeman. Later
he was a yardmaster and then became a conductor, be-
ing still so employed. For a time he published the
Carbon County Mail, a weekly newspaper, at Lehighton.
He has served as a member of the borough council of
Lehighton.
On May 17, 1900, he was married to Minnie S.,
daughter of Lewis P. Schierer and his wife, Emma, of
Slatington.
Mr. Mortimer is a member of the Brotherhood of
Railway Trainmen of the Order of Railway Conduc-
tors, together with a number of fraternal and patriotic
societies.
Mulhearn, Dennis C, a Mauch Chunk merchant and
a veteran of the Civil War, is the son of John and
Annie (Sweeney) Mulhearn, both natives of Ireland^
who emigrated to this country in 1835.
The subject of this sketch was born at Mauch Chunk
on December 7, 1846, the third of a family of six chil-
dren. He early left school to become a slate picker on
the breaker at Hacklebernie, later becoming a boatman
on the Lehigh Canal.
In 1863 he ran away from home and joined Company
E, Thirty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry, becoming a drummer boy.
Being discharged from the service at the solicitation
of his parents, he re-enlisted in the spring of 1864 as a
member of the Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry,
attached to the Army of the Potomac. Sharing the
fortunes of his regiment in all its movements, opera-
tions and engagements, which included the battles of
Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Reams Station and the
siege of Petersburg, he was honorably discharged on
520 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
November 25, 1864, as a result of the exercise of the
same influence as before.
Keturning to civil life, he became a brakeman on the
Lehigh Valley Railroad. In 1867 he went west, assist-
ing in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Coming back to Pennsylvania, he was employed in
the operating department of the Lehigh Valley Rail-
road until 1880. He then established himself as a deal-
er in general merchandise in the town of his nativity,
as he is still engaged.
Mr. Mulhearn occupied his present location on West
Broadway in 1883. An old Irish lady, who was a satis-
fied customer, designated his establishment as ''Stohr
Unric," the Celtic equivalent of ''honest store." By
this name it has since been known, and the aim of its
owner has ever been that the name should be expres-
sive of the fact.
On December 25, 1870, Mr. Mulhearn was united in
marriage to Annie, daughter of James and Bridget
McBride, of East Mauch Chunk. Their children are:
John and Sarah, deceased; Edward J., Sallie, wife of
Patrick Dolan, of Hazleton; Hanna S., the wife of
Charles Scott, of Hazleton; Mary A., Bridget and
Annie, the two latter being deceased.
Mr. Mulhearn is a member and past commander of
Chapman Post, No. 61, G. A. R. He is a communicant
of the Roman Catholic church, and is identified with
the Knights of Columbus.
Hon. E. M. Mulhearn, the well-known Mauch Chunk
lawyer, is his brother.
Mulhearn, Hon. E. M. One of the most widely
known of Carbon county's native sons, and one who is
everywhere esteemed for his qualities of mind and
heart, as well as for his gifts of utterance, is E. M.
IMulhearn, Esq.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 521
He has held many positions of honor and trust with-
in the gift of the people of the connty and of those of
the borough of Mauch Chunk, where he has resided
since his birth. He is what is familiarly known as a
''good mixer," and, in his youth, had a taste for poli-
cies, which he outgrew as the years went by.
It was alone his loss of interest in this direction that
cut short a public career of unusual promise, Mr. Mul-
hearn, of his own volition, devoting his energies and
talents to his large and lucrative law practise rather
than follow the beckoning finger of ambition, which
earlier in his career pointed so unmistakably to polit-
ical success.
He is of Irish descent, his father, John Mulhearn,
having been born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1812.
His mother's maiden name was Annie Sweeney, and
she first saw the light of day in the Emerald Isle in the
year 1808.
The father emigrated to America in 1835, settling in
Philadelphia. He and his future bride did not meet
until they came to the United States. They were mar-
ried in Philadelphia in 1843, subsequent to which event
they removed to Pottsville, where Mr. Mulhearn be-
came a coal miner.
From Pottsville the family came to Mauch Chunk,
Mr. Mulhearn spending the remainder of his active life
in the capacity of a miner for the Hacklebernie Coal
Company. His wife bore him six children: Hugh,
Patrick F., Dennis C, Edward M., John J., and Han-
nah V. Dennis and Hannah still live at Mauch Chunk.
E. M. Mulhearn was born at Mauch Chunk June 15,
1849. He attended the public schools, and at an early
age picked slate in the breaker at Hacklebernie. He
also boated for five seasons on the Lehigh Canal. En-
tering Villa Nova College, he graduated in 1871. Im-
599 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
mediately thereafter he began to read law in the office
of Daniel Kalbfus, who was not only a successful law-
yer, but a forceful and brilliant orator, and who was in
demand as a political campaigner all over Pennsyl-
vania and in some of the nearby states.
Later Mr. Mulhearn continued his studies under
John C. and Edward C. Dimmick, of Mauch Chunk,
being admitted to the bar on June 20, 1873. His rise
to prominence in his profession was rapid, his standing
as a lawyer being such that when the Mollie Maguire
trials came, a few years after his admission to the bar,
he was called upon to play a leading part for the de-
fense, among his clients having been Campbell, Doyle,
Kelly, Kerregan, ' ' The Squealer, ' ' and ' ' Yellow Jack ' '
Donahue.
Mr. Mulhearn early affiliated himself with the Re-
publican party, serving successively as secretary and
chairman of the county central committee for nearly
a decade. Chosen as district attorney of the county in
1881, he was re-elected in 1884. In 1889 he was elected
to the state legislature, declining a renomination two
years thereafter.
He has been the solicitor of the borough of Mauch
Chunk for about ten years, while for six years he was
the legal adviser of the county commissioners.
On November 10, 1881, Mr. Mulhearn was married
to Mary A., the daughter of John and Mary Behrndt,
of Mauch Chunk. Their domestic life was one of hap-
piness and of mutual helpfulness. Two children were
born to them, John B. and Mary D., the wife of Walter
A. Meekins, of Wilkes-Barre.
Mrs. Mulhearn, who was a member of St. John's
Lutheran church, died on February 28, 1891.
Mr. Mulhearn is a member of the Catholic church of
the Immaculate Conception. For seventeen years he
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 50
o
has been the president of the St. Vincent De Paul So-
ciety, of this church, which has done noble charitable
work.
He is a charter member of the Pennsylvania Bar As-
sociation, and is the president of the Carbon County
Law Library Association.
Mr. Mulhearn is fond of out-door life, and he spends
his summer vacations on the banks of Lake Harmony,
in Kidder township.
Mulhearn, John B., the only son of Hon. Edward M.
and Mary A. (Behrnt) Mulhearn, was born at Mauch
Chunk, Pa., on September 20, 1882. His early educa-
tion was secured in the parochial schools of the bor-
ough, which he attended until 1899. He prepared for
college at the Swarthmore Preparatory School, finish-
ing his general education at Villa Nova.
Entering Dickinson Law School, he graduated in
1909 with the degree of LL.B.
Subsequently he lived the life of a ranchman in east-
ern Montana for a time. Returning to Mauch Chunk,
he established himself in the general insurance and
real estate business, in which he has since been pros-
perously engaged.
On November 9, 1911, he was married to Rosa A.,
daughter of John and Celia O'Donnell, of East Mauch
Chunk.
Mr. Mulhearn is a member of the Delta Chi Fratern-
ity, belongs to the Roman Catholic church, and is iden-
tified with Damien Council No. 598, Knights of Colum-
bus. He is one of the active Republicans of Mauch
Chunk, and as a member of the fire department of the
borough, holds membership in the Marion Hose Com-
pany.
Mulhearn, James T., a member of the board of county
commissioners, and a prominent Democratic leader.
524 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
was born in County Donegal, Ireland. He is one of the
seven children of Thomas and Sarah (Brady) Mul-
hearn. The father also came to America, but returned
to his native land, where he died.
Mr. Mulhearn formerly lived in Summit Hill, where
he followed the occupation of a miner for about sixteen
years. Over forty years ago he took up his residence
in Lansford, where he conducted a wholesale liquor es-
tablishment, retiring a few years ago. For more than
a score of years he was a member of Lansford town
council, and for nearly a decade he was Democratic
chairman of Carbon county.
In 1890 he was elected to the office of treasurer of
Carbon county. In 1902 he was the candidate of his
party for state senator, but was defeated. He was
elected to the office of county commissioner in 1915.
Mr. Mulhearn was united in marriage on June 26,
1879, to Elizabeth, daughter of Frank Early, of Lans-
ford. Their children are as follows : Annie, who mar-
ried Robert Canfield, of Lansford ; Thomas F., a gradu-
ate of Mt. Saint Mary's College, Philadelphia; Mary,
a public school teacher; Elizabeth, who is a trained
nurse in Philadelphia ; Winifred, James V. and Daniel.
Neast, Charles, senior member of the firm of Charles
Neast and Company, contractors and builders, of
Mauch Chunk, and a representative man of affairs,
was born in Mecklenberg, Germany, on October 2,
1851.
His father, John Neast, emigrated to this country
with his family in 1854, settling at Mauch Chunk.
Charles early left the public schools to pick slate in
the breaker at Hacklebernie, later serving as a boat-
man on the Lehigh Canal and assisting in the construc-
tion of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad as a la-
borer. Learning the trade of a carpenter, he soon be-
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 525
came a contractor and builder, which business he has
since very successfully followed.
In addition to the numerous dwelling houses which
he has erected, the following well-known Mauch Chunk
buildings may be mentioned : The depot of the Central
Railroad of New Jersey; the building of the Young
Men's Christian Association; both of the public school
houses of the borough, the Roman Catholic Church,
and the parochial school building. He also erected the
Meeds Memorial church, of Nesquehoning ; the Epis-
copal church and vicarage, of Lehighton ; the Reform-
ed church, of East Mauch Chunk, and various other
prominent buildings.
The firm of Charles Neast and Company was organ-
ized in 1902, Mr. Neast taking his sons, George and
Frank and his son-in-law, Thomas Costenbader, into
partnership with himself. In addition to its other in-
terests, the firm operates a well equipped planing mill
in East Mauch Chunk.
Mr. Neast is the president of the Mauch Chunk Silk
Mill Company, of which he was one of the organizers.
This company operates mills at Mauch Chunk and at
Nesquehoning. He is also president of the Progres-
sive Building and Loan Association, of East Mauch
Chunk, while being a director of the Mauch Chunk
Trust Company.
He is active in religious circles and is a member of
the United Evangelical church. Politically speaking,
he is a Republican.
Mr. Neast was married in 1874 to Anna, daughter of
Charles Lobien, of Bloomingdale, Carbon county.
Their surviving children are: George, Frank, and
Mary, the wife of Thomas Costenbader.
Niehoff, Paul, a Lehighton florist and public spirited
citizen of that town, was born in Saxony, Germany, the
526 HISTORY OF CAEBOX COUNTY.
son of Gustave and Anna Nielioff, in the year 1868.
His preliminary education was intended to fit him for
the practise of medicine, but his sight became defective,
and he was obliged to abandon his early ambition, de-
voting himself to the culture of flowers, in which he soon
became proficient, because his vocation was congenial
to him.
On August 27, 1891, he was united in marriage to
Miss Mary Wille, a native of the Fatherland, and soon
thereafter they emigrated to the United States, settling
in Baltimore. Within a year they took up their resi-
dence in Weissport, Carbon county, starting in with a
capital of twenty-five cents. But by loyally working
together and by giving their customers satisfaction
they soon built up a successful business. In 1897 Mr.
Neihoff established himself in a more desirable location
in South Lehighton, near the spot where the ill fated
mission of Gnadenhutten formerly stood. Each pass-
ing year has seen his trade grow larger and more valu-
able. The product of his hot houses now finds ready
customers all over eastern Pennsylvania and in Phila-
delphia and New York. He also makes a specialty of
landscape gardening and the floral adornment of public
parks.
He is strongly attached to the country of his adop-
tion and has been a tireless worker in the cause of civic
betterment in Lehighton. He is now a member of town
council, being also a member of the Germania Sanger-
bund, of Lehighton, together with many fraternal so-
cieties. Mr. Niehotf was a member of the committee
which gathered the funds and su]ierintended the erec-
tion of the handsome memorial to Colonel Jacob Weiss,
a Revolutionary hero and ]noneer settler, which graces
the public park in Lehighton.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 527
Mr. Niehoff and liis wife are tlie parents of the fol-
lowing children: Mary, wife of Warren Downs, of
Lehighton ; Paul, Margaret, William, Gustave Adolph,
Carl, Helen, and Walter.
Nuss, Lewis C, a Weatherly business man, was born
there on May 16, 1868. His father, Joseph Nuss, was a
native of Columbia county, Pa. He was a j^lumber
and tinsmith. Early in life he located at Summit Hill,
Carbon county, later removing to Weatherly, where he
spent the remainder of his active years in the employ
of the Lehigh Valley Eailroad. His wife, before her
marriage, was Matilda Walton. They became the
parents of seven sons, all of whom survive, and a
daughter, now deceased. The father died in 1904, at
the age of seventy-nine years.
Leaving the public schools in his seventeenth year,
L. C. Nuss entered the hardware and plumbing estab-
lishment of his brothers, W. A. and H. E. Nuss, as an
apprentice. They conducted their business in the build-
ing formerly occupied by the Co-operative Store, one
of the old landmarks of Weatherly. After a time they
sold out to J. P. Kressley, who, in 1889 was succeeded
by L. C. Nuss, acting individually. Mr. Nuss erected
his present substantial place of business in 1898. He
is a dealer in electrical supplies, stoves, roofing and
hardware, and his establishment is equipped to furnish
steam and hot water plumbing and similar work.
On March 4, 1895, Mr. Nuss was married to Gertrude
Koch, a native of Schuylkill county. Carden, a son,
and Doris, a daughter, are their children.
Mr. Nuss is one of the trustees of the Presbyterian
church of the borough, and he is identified with the
Patriotic Order of Sons of America and the Free and
Accepted Masons. He is a believer in the principles
of Democracy.
528 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Packer, Asa, builder of the Lehigh Valley Railroad,
founder of Lehigh University, and one of Pennsyl-
vania's foremost men of affairs, was equally conspicu-
ous for the dominating influence which he exerted in
the development and growth of the Lehigh Valley, for
his liberal public benefactions, and for those rare
personal attributes which won for him the love and
good will of his fellowmen.
Born of humble but worthy parentage at Mystic,
Connecticut, on December 29, 1805, his early educa-
tion was such as was to be obtained in the district
schools of that day and locality.
While the training thus secured might be looked
upon as a meagre preparation for the manifold duties
and demands of the distinguished position to which he
attained in life, the disadvantage under which he labor-
ed was more than counterbalanced by his native abil-
ities and his strong, virile character.
As a youth of seventeen he bade farewell to the
scenes of his childhood, and carrying all his personal
possessions on his back, set out on foot for Brooklyn,
Susquehanna county. Pa., the home of his cousin, Ed-
ward Packer. Having accomplished his wearisome
journey, the ambitious boy determined to learn the
carpenter's trade under the direction of his cousin.
Applying himself to his work with enthusiasm and
characteristic thoroughness, he soon became a skilled
mechanic.
Having completed his apprenticeship, young Packer
went to New York, where he followed his trade for a
year. The city held no fascinations for him, however,
and he returned to Susquehanna county, locating in
Springville township. There he pursued his vocation,
and on January 23, 1828, was married to Sarah M.
Blakslee. The couple soon settled on a farm. But
^^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 529
nature yielded her crops scantily, the markets were
distant, and at the end of four years they found them-
selves scarcely any better off than when they began.
During the winter of 1833, learning that there was a
demand for boatmen on the Lehigh Canal, Mr. Packer
drove to Mauch Chunk in a primitive sled, and made
arrangements to engage in this work on the opening
of navigation in the spring, after which he returned
home to close up his affairs.
As the time arrived for his departure for his new
field of endeavor, he walked to Tunkhannock; board-
ing a raft there he floated down the Susquehanna to
Berwick, covering the remainder of the distance to
Mauch Chunk on foot. He at once became the com-
mander of a canal boat, and soon gained control of
an additional vessel, which he placed in charge of his
brother-in-law, James I. Blakslee.
During the summer he brought his family to Mauch
Chunk. So well did he prosper that at the expiration
of two years he retired from active service as a boat-
man, but retained an interest in the enterprise.
Purchasing the large mercantile establishment of
E. W. Kimball, which stood on the site now occupied
by the Navigation Building at Mauch Chunk, he in-
stalled Mr. Blakslee as manager, while he himself es-
tablished a boat yard and engaged in the building of
canal boats, in which work his training as a carpenter
proved quite useful. He took large contracts for the
construction of locks on the upper section of the Le-
high Canal, extending from Mauch Chunk to White
Haven. These he completed with handsome profits in
1839.
In association with his brother, Robert, he, during
the ensuing year, began to build canal boats at Potts-
ville. This partnership was dissolved at the end of
3-1
530 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
three years. Turning his attention next to the mining
and shipping of coal, Mr. Packer operated the mines
at Nesquehoning, carrying the output to market in his
own boats from Mauch Chunk.
Success had uniformly crowned his efforts since
coming to Mauch Chunk, and he had amassed a com-
fortable fortune, when, in 1852, he began the greatest
undertaking of his career, the building of the Lehigh
Valley Eailroad. With prophetic discernment he had
long foreseen the immense possibilities of this enter-
prise, to the consummation of which he devoted years
of the most exhausting labor, being often beset by
innumerable difficulties and discouragements. After
the financial revolution of 1857 he was harassed almost
beyond endurance by the perplexities which he en-
countered in financing his operations.
But he was resolute in purpose, and even in the dark-
est hours of his financial troubles he predicted that the
Lehigh Valley Eailroad, when completed, and its re-
sources under fair development, would be the most
successful railroad enterprise in the state, and he
lived to see the fulfilment of even his highest hopes.
For fully a quarter of a century this road stood first
among the railroads of Pennsylvania in point of credit,
while enjoying the highest measure of prosperity.
Notwithstanding the many exactions and responsi-
bilities of his busy life, Mr. Packer found time to par-
ticipate actively in politics. But political honors were
thrust upon him rather than sought by him. In 1841
he was elected to the legislature, serving for two suc-
cessive terms. Upon the organization of Carbon coun-
ty, in 1843, he was api^ointed by the governor to the
office of associate judge, which he filled for five years.
Being elected to congress in 1852, he was re-elected
two vears later. In the Democratic national conven-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 531
tion of 1868, he was honored with the unanimous vote
of the Pennsylvania delegation for the nomination for
the presidency.
During the succeeding year, without seeking or de-
siring it, he was given the Democratic nomination for
governor, being defeated for this office by Governor
Geary, who was then a candidate for re-election. The
majority returned for Geary in the state was 4,596
votes, and so persistent were the supporters of Mr.
Packer in declaring that the election had been carried
by fraudulent means that a contest was narrowly
averted.
Judge Packer, as he was familiarly known in Car-
bon county, was a man of excellent presence, with a
finely chiseled face that rarely expressed emotion,
and he was very quiet and unassuming in conversation.
Prosperity is the true touchstone of the heart, and it
must be said of Asa Packer that he was not spoiled by
the possession of great wealth. He and his devoted
wife always retained the simple tastes of their early
life. She continued to the end of her days to knit her
stockings, to fashion many of her own garments, and it
was with difficulty that she could be persuaded to ride
in her own carriage. They both loved the quiet of their
home and were sternly severe to ostentatious display.
He had no taste for society, and all formal social du-
ties were extremly irksome to him.
Generous and whole-souled, however, he was the
author of countless personal benefactions, always so
modestly bestowed that the knowledge of them seldom
reached the general public. As one of the wealthiest
men of his time in Pennsylvania, he contributed to edu-
cational, charitable and religious institutions with
munificent liberality. His public spirit was shown at
the breaking out of the Mexican War, when he mag-
532 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
nanimously defraj^ed the cost of transporting the
troops sent to the front from Carbon county.
During the Civil War, when Pennsylvania was in-
vaded, many of the men in the employ of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad, of which he was then almost the sole
owner, volunteered for the emergency, receiving full
pay during the period of their absence.
One of the favorite objects of his benevolence was
St. Luke's Hospital, of South Bethlehem. In addi-
tion to the large sums which he gave to this institution
during life, he left it a bequest of $300,000 upon his
death. To St. Mark's church, of Mauch Chunk, of
which he was for forty-four years a warden and ves-
tryman, he left the sum of $30,000.
Deprived as he had been of the advantages of a
liberal education, he was desirous of affording the
youth of the state opportunities such as had been de-
nied to him, and he crowned his life in the establish-
ment of Lehigh University, which has become a fore-
most seat of scientific and technical education.
In 1865 Judge Packer purchased fifty-six acres of
land at South Bethlehem for the purpose he had in
view, besides giving the sum of $500,000. Ten years
later he added fifty-two acres to the University tract,
at which time he also erected a fine library in memory
of his daughter, Mrs. Lucy Packer Linderman.
This proved to be his last personal undertaking in
connection with the institution, his death taking place
a few years afterwards.
Under the provisions of his will, he left a perma-
nent endowment of $1,500,000 for general maintenance,
and $500,000 for library purposes. His total contribu-
tions to the university amounted to about $3,000,000,
and that institution will receive one-third of his estate
when it is finally distributed.
izS'/i^>
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 533
A beautiful edifice, adorning tlie spacious grounds
of Lehigh University, is the Packer Memorial church,
erected in 1886 by Mrs. Mary Packer Cummings, a
daughter of Judge Packer.
Mr. Packer was a member of the Masonic fraternity,
while Packer Commandery, No. 23, Knights Templar,
of Mauch Chunk, was named in honor of his son, Rob-
ert Asa.
His death occurred on May 17, 1879, in the seventy-
fourth year of his age. His widow passed away three
years later, and the remains of both repose in the
Mauch Chunk cemetery.
Mrs. Mary Packer Cummings, who was their sole
surviving child, died in the autumn of 1912. During
her life-time she contributed generously to various
worthy causes, and she left many large bequests to
Mauch Chunk and its institutions, besides lavishing
her benefactions in numerous other directions.
In recognition of her liberality and public spirit, the
people of Mauch Chunk and of East Mauch Chunk have
set aside the third Thursday of May of each year, to
be observed as a holiday, and to be known as Mary
Packer Cummings Day.
Packer, Harry Eldred, the younger son of Asa and
Sarah M. (Blakslee) Packer, was born on June 4, 1850,
at Mauch Chunk. Educated at Lehigh University,
which was founded and so liberally endowed by his fa-
ther, he early became prominently indentified with the
coal and transportation interests of the Lehigh Valley.
In 1879, he was elected a director of the Lehigh Valley
Railroad, and prior to that served as superintendent
of the New Jersey Division of that road.
Elevated by successive steps, he was elected to the
presidency of the company in 1883. Generous and pub-
lic-spirited, he manifested great loyalty and attach-
534 ' HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ment toward the place of his nativity, contributing
liberally in various ways to the betterment and pros-
perity of Mauch Chunk.
He was an active and influential Democrat, and his
popularity with all classes of citizens throughout the
county led to his being chosen without opposition, in
1881, to the office of associate judge. He succeeded his
father as a vestryman of St. Mark's Parish.
On August 29, 1872, he was married to Mary Au-
gusta, daughter of Alexander Lockhart, a pioneer resi-
dent of Mauch Chunk.
Mr. Packer's untimely death, on February 1, 1884,
in the thirty-fourth year of his age was the source of
deep regret to all who knew him. His widow died at
Pekin, China, during the spring of 1911, while making
a tour of the world.
Packer, Robert Asa, the elder of the two sons of
Asa Packer, was born at Mauch Chunk on November
19, 1842. He received a fair English education, and
began life as a member of a corps of engineers, en-
gaged in locating and constructing that jDortion of the
Lehigh Valley Railroad extending from White Haven
to Wilkes-Barre.
Beginning his career as a railway executive in the
capacity of superintendent of the Wyoming Division
of this railroad, he spent practically the whole of his
mature life in directing the affairs of various railway
lines belonging to the Lehigh Valley system.
For a time he was the superintendent of the Penn-
sylvania and New York Canal and Railroad Company,
of which he became the president in 1881. At the com-
mencement of this connection he removed to Towanda,
and later to Sayre, Pa., where he resided permanently.
He was the president of the Geneva, Ithaca and
Sayre Railroad, the Lehigh Valley Railway Company,
\ M'U^^^^pta^c .
HISTOEY OF CAKBON COUNTY. 535
running from the Pennsylvania state line to Butfalo,
and of tlie Leliigh Valley Transportation Company,
owning a line of steamers plying between Buffalo and
Chicago.
Mr. Packer was also a member of the board of di-
rectors of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, chairman of its
executive committee, a trustee of Lehigh University,
and one of the trustees of the estate of his father.
In 1883 he was appointed managing director of the
Southern Central Railroad.
He was in politics a Democrat, and while he was re-
peatedly urged to accept nominations for public office,
he uniformly declined all honors of this nature, con-
tenting himself with championing the cause of others
who advocated the principles of his party.
Possessed of a fine personality and many excellent
traits of character, he had hosts of loyal friends. He
took pleasure in doing all in his power to build up and
beautify the town of Sayre, and he was no less identi-
fied with the educational and religious improvement
of the place of his adoption than with its material ad-
vancement.
His companion in life was Emily, the only daughter
of Hon. Victor Piollet.
Mr. Packer's death occurred at his winter home,
near Jacksonville, Fla., on February 20, 1883.
Prutzman, Morris G., a member of one of Carbon
county's oldest families, is an architect, having his of-
fice in the court house at Mauch Chunk, while living in
East Mauch Chunk.
His maternal great-great-grandfather was Freder-
ick Boyer, who was taken captive by the Indians dur-
ing the uprising of 1755, being carried to Canada,
where he was held as a prisoner for five years. Upon
regaining his freedom he returned to his home, where
536 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Millport now stands, and wliere his father had been
slain by the savages.
Abraham Prutzman, the grandfather of the subject
of this notice, was of English descent, coming to Car-
bon county from South Easton, and settling on a farm
on the present site of Palmerton.
Morris G. Prutzman, son of Charles and Christiana
(Boyer) Prutzman, was born on this farm, March 9,
1865. His father was a contractor and builder.
Morris was educated in the public schools and under
a private tutor, being apprenticed to a decorative
painter at Bethlehem when he became fifteen years of
age. Following this art for a time, he later took up
architecture, under a private instructor. Locating in
East Mauch Chunk in 1897, he opened an office at that
place, later establishing himself in Mauch Chunk. He
is the only professional architect in the county, and has
made a special study of school construction. He de-
signed the first one-room school building having an
indirect heating and ventilating system, without spe-
cial apparatus, erected in this portion of the state.
The public school buildings at Palmerton and Bow-
manstown, the Greek Catholic church at Nesquehoning,
and No. 2 Fire House at Lehighton are examples of
his work, while he has designed many other public and
private buildings throughout this section.
He is the architect of the parochial school building
of St. Joseph's Catholic church, of East Mauch Chunk,
which is soon to be erected.
Mr. Prutzman was married on December 12, 1899, to
Jennie L., daughter of Conrad Ebert, of Lehigh county.
She is a graduate of the Allentown high school, and
was engaged as a teacher prior to her marriage. Allen
Ebert is their only child.
Mr. Prutzman is a communicant of the Lutheran
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 537
church, while politically speaking, he is an independent
Democrat.
Quinn, A. John, one of Lansford's best known busi-
ness men, being one of the pioneer residents of that
borough, is the son of James and Catherine (Heather-
man) Quinn, and was born at Buck Mountain, Carbon
county. May 10, 1848.
His parents were natives of Limmerick, Ireland,
where they were married. They came to the United
States in 1845, and made their home at Buck Moun-
tain, where Mr. Quinn became a miner. Of their six
children, Elizabeth and John A. alone survive.
John A. Quinn acquired his early training in the
public schools of Buck Mountain and those of Hazle-
ton; in 1872 he graduated at Eastman Business Col-
lege, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He taught school in the vil-
lage of his birth and at Ashton (now Lansford) for
several terms. Learning the drug business under Dr.
J. B. Longshore, who was then one of the most prom-
inent physicians of the Hazleton region, and at Phila-
delphia, Mr. Quinn opened a drug store in Lansford.
Disposing of this business he secured a contract from
the Central Railroad of New Jersey to build a section
of the line of that road between Eckley and Drifton,
Luzerne county.
Upon the completion of this work he went to Mon-
tana, in 1878, locating at Philipsburg, near Butte. He
carried the civil law into this border town, becoming
its first justice of the peace and teaching school there.
Returning to Pennsylvania after an interval of three
years, Mr. Quinn formed a partnership with L. P. Jen-
kins, and re-entered the drug business ; at the expira-
tion of a year he purchased the interest of Mr. Jenkins,
and has since conducted the store as sole owner. He
has also conducted an undertaking establishment for
538 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
many years, and has been interested in various other
business enterprises. He has been a director of the
First National Bank, of Lansford, since its organiza-
tion, while he is the president of the Carbon TeleiDhone
Company, and vice president of the Panther Creek
Valley Electric Light, Heat and Power Company.
Mr. Quinn bore a conspicuous and heroic i>art in the
small-pox epidemic which for a time threatened to wipe
out the entire population of Lansford in 1874. The
large majority of those who were seized with the dread
disease died, and new cases were of almost daily occur-
rence.
The people of the village were panic-stricken, and
many fled from their homes. Under the circumstances
it was naturally difficult to secure the services of any-
one who was willing to jeopardize his own safety by
ministering to the sick, and, excepting the physicians
who were on the scene, cheerfully incurring all hazards
in the discharge of their professional duty, Mr. Quinn
alone volunteered, doing all in his power to alleviate
the miseries of those who suffered from the visitation.
On his return from Montana, in 1881, Mr. Quinn was
united in marriage to Marcella F. Kennedy, daughter
of Matthew and Ellen Kennedy, of Summit Hill. The
names of their surviving children are as follows : Vin-
cent De Paul, Ellen L., wife of Jolm B. McGurl, a
Minersville attorney; Catherine B., Sidney A., John J.,
William T., and Matthew K. Quinn. Vincent has
charge of his father's drug store, while Sidney is a
student at Jefferson Medical College; John is a grad-
uate of the Medico-Chirurgical College, of Philadel-
phia ; Matthew is a student in the Lansford high school.
Mr. Quinn is an active member of St. Ann's Roman
Catholic church, while being connected with the Auxil-
1.^
f
' '^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hwnhc ^^H
VT^ffll ;^1
CaI'T. H. II. Iv'AlCli.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 539
iary Association of Eli T. Connor Post, G. A. R., of
Summit Hill.
Ranch, E. H., politician, soldier and editor, was
born at Warwick, Lancaster county, on July 19, 1820,
the fourth son of Christian H. and Mary M. Ranch.
His grandfather, Johann Heinrich Ranch, came to
America from Kohn, on the Rhine, Germany, in 1769.
He was by trade a whitesmith, and located at Lititz,
Pa., where he engaged in the manufacture of edge
tools, gun locks and coffee mills. In 1776 he was im-
pressed with the fact that an auger that would bore a
hole and at the same time eject the chips would be an
improvement on the old style "pot" auger then in
use. With this idea in mind, he invented the principle
and bit of the auger of to-day.
Edward H. Ranch was educated at Lititz, and at
the age of fourteen went to work on a farm for two
dollars a month. Soon thereafter he was apprenticed
to a cabinet-maker, named Jacob Bear, at Lancaster,
being bound to serve until attaining his majority. He
became a good workman, while Bear developed into a
severe task-master.
This led the young apprentice to run away two years
before the expiration of the time he was expected to
serve. He went to Philadelphia, where he found em-
ployment.
His father being responsible for his service, com-
promised with Bear for one hundred and twenty-five
dollars, which sum young Edward refunded in instal-
ments.
In 1840 he went to Mullica Hill, N. J., where he
worked as a carpenter. He began his political career
and made his maiden speech during the presidential
campaign of that year. He next returned to Warwick
to assist in the conduct of the affairs of his father,
540 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
while his brother Rudolph secured for him an appoint-
ment to a clerkship in the office of the prothonotary of
Lancaster county.
During the year 1846 he entered into jDartnership
with John Willard as a house painter, which continued
for about a year.
It was at this period, with Thaddeus Stephens and
others, that he became connected with what was known
as the Underground Railway.
George Hughes, a slave-catching detective had head-
quarters at Lancaster, and being illiterate, needed
some one to do his writing. Not knowing Mr. Ranch's
sentiments, he asked him to become his secretary,
which was agreed to. This gave the underground rail-
roaders certain knowledge of the plans and movements
of the slave-catchers, and it is noteworthy that during
the time this arrangement remained in force, Hughes
was unsuccessful in catching a single runaway slave.
In 1847 Mr, Ranch was a collector of toll on the
Philadelphia and Lancaster turnpike, which afforded
him an opportunity to enter more actively into politi-
cal affairs. By shrewd manipulation of a primary
election he secured the nomination of Thaddeus
Stephens for congress, saving the great Commoner
from defeat at a most critical stage in his career.
Shortly afterwards he became deputy register of
Lancaster county.
Under the leadership of Thaddeus Stephens, a com-
pany was formed in 1848 to publish a daily and weekly
newspaper as the organ of the anti-slavery element of
the Whig party. Mr. Ranch and Edward McPherson
were placed in charge of the paper, the Independent
Whig and Inland Daily, of Lancaster. This was the
beginning of Mr. Ranch's long and varied career as a
journalist. After about six years he disposed of his
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. 54 1
interest in this establishment, removing to Bethlehem,
where he founded the Lehigh Valley Times, which be-
came a Republican organ in a Democratic stronghold.
Coming to Mauch Chunk in the spring of 1857, he
purchased the Mauch Chunk Gazette, resulting in the
jDolitical revolution of Carbon county. He was ap-
pointed to the position of transcribing clerk in the
House of Representatives at Harrisburg in 1859, and
was chief clerk of the House in 1860-61. In 1860 he
was a delegate to the convention which nominated
Abraham Lincoln for the presidency.
During 1861, although still holding his position at
Harrisburg, he recruited Company H of the Eleventh
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was
appointed captain. On returning to Harrisburg he
was astonished to learn that he had been nominated
for re-election. After much hesitation he decided to
accept, on condition that he be granted leave of absence
during the session, whilst his regiment was in winter
quarters at Annapolis.
During his service as a soldier. Captain Ranch par-
ticipated with his company in the engagements of
Cedar Mountain, Thoroughfare Gap, Second Bull Run,
Fredericksburg, and in the fighting on the Rappahan-
nock. At the battle of Second Bull Run he was wound-
ed in the thigh. Soon after the battle of Fredericks-
burg he became afflicted with rheumatism, and in April,
1863, was discharged on that account. During the re-
mainder of his life he was never entirely free from
this complaint.
At the close of the war he was offered a mayorship in
the regular army, but rejected it, later becoming pro-
vost marshal for Carbon and Luzerne counties, and
participating in many important arrests of Buckshots
542 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
or Mollie Maguires, who were then terrorizing the
mining region.
Finding his printing establishment ruined and neg-
lected upon his return from the army, he did not at-
tempt to rehabilitate it, but went to Reading, where
he started the Berks County Zeitung. After a time he
concluded that he was unfitted to conduct a real Ger-
man newspaper, abandoning the venture to become the
editor of the Reading Daily Eagle.
A venture which proved a complete success was the
publication of a campaign paper called The Father
Abraham. This he conducted in association with
Thomas Cochran at Lancaster. Its circulation reached
twenty thousand copies, which was at that time consid-
ered a very large list.
After the campaign of 1868 he became the sole owner
of the establishment, conducting the paper under vari-
ous names through several campaigns.
In 1872 he joined the Liberal Republican movement
for Greely, serving as one of the secretaries of the
state committee under the chairmanship of A. K. Mc-
Clure. Four years later he supported Tilden, and pub-
lished a campaign paper under the name of Uncle
Samuel.
To meet a local political emergency, he was induced
to return to Mauch Chunk, in 1877, to take charge of
a newspaper, known as the Carbon County Democrat,
which successfully advocated the candidacy of Robert
Klotz for congress.
Having served its purpose, this paper was after a
time merged with the Mauch Chunh Democrat, then
owned by H. E. Packer, Mr. Ranch being retained as
editor. Upon the death of the former, Mr. Ranch and
his son Lawrence purchased the property. In 1892
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 543
they started tlie Daily News, later taking in R. C.
Eauch as a partner.
Soon after the close of the war Mr. Ranch began
the publication of what became famous as the ''Pit
Schweffiebrenner" letters, written in Pennsylvania
Dutch, and regularly appearing in his newspapers
until the time of his death. They teemed with homely
wisdom and subtle humor, and with many of his read-
ers they constituted the most popular feature of his
paper.
He was the author of a handbook on Pennsylvania
Dutch, a translation of Rip Van Winkle, and a number
of other publications in that dialect.
He was j^robably the first, and certainly the most
consistent, advocate of building a railroad to the Flag
Staff, now a popular pleasure resort, towering on the
mountain above Mauch Chunk, and he lived to par-
ticipate in driving the golden spike, signalizing the
completion of that project.
Mr. Ranch's most remarkable specialty was that of
a handwriting expert. He was first called in this con-
nection before a legal tribunal at Lebanon, about 1850.
His success in this instance established his reputation,
and he subsequently served in hundreds of similar
cases in various parts of the Union.
Mr. Ranch was married in 1851 to Mrs. Theresa Cle-
well, with whom he lived happily for nearly half a cen-
tury. William H., Edward C, Lawrence L., and Rich-
ard C. Rauch are their surviving children.
Captain Rauch enjoyed the acquaintance of most of
the men i^rominent in public life in state and nation
during two generations, while as an editor his name
was familiar from one end of Pennsylvania to the
other. His death occurred at Mauch Chunk on Sep-
tember 8, 1902, in his eighty-third year.
544 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
Reeves, Archie, a retired mine foreman, of Lansford,
was born at Airdrie, Scotland, August 23, 1846. He is
one of the eight children of John and Jane (Scobbie)
Eeeves. Leaving school at the age of nine to become a
worker, he finally became a railroader, and later a coal
miner in his native country.
In 1868 Mr. Reeves emigrated to America, settling at
Lansford, where he was successively a laborer, miner,
and mine foreman in the employ of the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company. He was placed on the retired
list after a continuous service of over forty-two years.
The year of his coming to America witnessed his
marriage to Jane, daughter of John Brown, of Airdrie,
Scotland. The following children were born to them:
John, Jane, the wife of Benjamin Crowe, of Lansford ;
Archie, Thomas, William, Agnes, Alice, deceased, and
Ellen, wife of Charles Manning.
Mr. Beeves has taken an active part in municipal af-
fairs in Lansford, having served as a member of town
council, the school board and the board of health. He
is one of the best known men of the older generation in
mining circles in the Panther Creek Valley. Mr. and
Mrs. Reeves have paid numerous visits to their old
home in Scotland since coming to America.
Rehrig, Dennis A., president of the Carbon Silk Mill
Company, of Lehighton, is one of the numerous de-
scendants of Conrad Rehrig, a Revolutionary soldier,
who was one of the early settlers of the Lizard Creek
Valley.
The son of George and Leah (Andreas) Rehrig, Den-
nis A, Rehrig was born in Mahoning township. Carbon
county, on November 26, 1855. He grew up on his
father's farm and at the age of thirteen began life as
a laborer at the Parryville Iron Works, then conducted
by the Bowman family. Later he went to Scranton,
^ccr^dAl,
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 545
where he learned the carpenter trade, becoming a con-
tractor and builder. For about eleven years he was the
carpenter foreman of Calvin Pardee & Company, at
Hollywood, Luzerne county.
In 1887 Mr. Rehrig took up his residence on the farm
formerly owned by his father at Nis Hollow, where he
still lives, engaging in contracting and building at Le-
highton,
Mr. Rehrig was one of the organizers of the Carbon
Silk Mill Company, which was established at Lehighton
in 1'906, being chosen ]3resident, in which capacity he is
still serving.
He was married in 1875 to Julia Elizabeth Lentz, of
Nis Hollow. They are the parents of the following chil-
dren: Pierce, Charles, Ella, wife of Frank Ronemus;
Nora May, wife of George Rex ; Bertha, wife of Irvin
Steigerwalt.
Rehrig, Pierce F., a Lehighton silk manufacturer,
was born at Nis Hollow, Mahoning township, Carbon
count}'^, on October 19, 1875.
He is the son of Dennis A. and Elizabeth J. (Lentz)
Rehrig, both natives of Carbon county. On the pa-
ternal side the family has been established in this coun-
try since Colonial times and took part in the struggle
for American independence.
When Pierce was about three years of age the family
removed to Hazleton, where they lived for ten years,
following which they returned to Nis Hollow to live on
a farm. He learned the carpenter trade, which he fol-
lowed for about six years, later engaging in the grocery
business in Lehighton for seven years.
In 1906, Mr. Rehrig joined with his father and 0. F.
Acker in the organization of the Carbon Silk Mill Com-
pany, whose plant is located at Lehighton. Four years
later Mr. Acker disposed of his interest in the enter-
35
546 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
prise, which is now owned and operated by Dennis A.
Rehrig, president, and his sons Pierce and Charles.
Pierce is the manager of the company, while Charles is
the secretary and treasurer. The mill employs about
sixty operatives.
Mr. Rehrig was married in 1900 to Emma L., daugh-
ter of 0. F. Acker, of Lehighton. They have an only
daughter, Mildred E. Rehrig.
Rehrig, Rev. W. M., pastor of St. John's Evangel-
ical Lutheran church, of Mauch Chunk, and a man of
broad public spirit and activity, is descended from
Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfather, Conrad
Rehrig, having fought as a soldier under Washington.
At the close of the war, he settled in what is now East
Penn township, Carbon county, where some of his de-
scendants are still engaged in agricultural pursuits.
The grandfather of the subject of this memoir was
named John. His farm in East Penn township, con-
sisted of four tracts, one of which originally belonged
to William Thomas, whose estate was confiscated on
the charge of treason during the war of Independence.
Subsequently it was deeded to George Crossley by
John Adams, then vice-president of the United States.
After a number of transfers, it was in 1813 purchased
by Mr. Rehrig, and he erected a log house and barn
thereon.
It was in this house that Wilson Meyer Rehrig, son
of Gideon and Susan (Meyer) Rehrig, was born on
November 16, 1853. He prepared for college at the
Lehighton Academy and in the academic department of
Muhlenberg College, from which institution he was
graduated in 1879. Entering the Lutheran Theological
Seminary at Philadelphia, he completed his course in
1882, being ordained as a minister of the Lutheran
church in June of the same year.
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 547
Immediately after his ordination he located at
Girardville, Pa., where he organized a mission. Upon
his resignation, in 1887, he had gathered a self-sustain-
ing congregation of more than three hundred members.
Removing to Greenville, Mercer county, Pa., he as-
sumed charge of a country parish, later becoming pas-
tor of the church of Thiel College, where he remained
until 1898. During his pastorate here he was acting
German professor of the college, besides being an in-
structor in various other subjects. After leaving
Greenville, Rev. Rehrig served the congregation of
St. John's church, at Sayre, Pa., for two years, assum-
ing the duties of his present charge on June 1, 1900.
He has given his best efforts and, perhaps, the best
years of his life to this congregation.
Rev. Rehrig served as president of the Wilkes-Barre
Conference of the Lutheran church for a number of
years, while he has been a member of the board of
trustees of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at
Philadelphia for about eight years. He is also presi-
dent of the Slav Mission Board of the United States,
which organization is maintained by the General Coun-
cil of the Lutheran Church.
During the month of June, 1910, he attended the
World's Missionary Conference, held at Edinburgh,
Scotland, as the delegate of the churches of Carbon
county, being accompanied by his wife, and making a
general tour of Europe.
For post graduate work in philosophy, Thiel College
conferred the degree of Ph.D. upon Rev. Rehrig, while
the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Chicago hon-
ored him with the degree of B.D.
He was married to Margaret M., daughter of Isaac
M. English, of Harrisburg, February 26, 1884. Their
548 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
two sons, John and Ralph, both died at the age of sev-
enteen years.
Rimert, Charles S., a well known general contractor,
of Lansford, was born at Sunbury, Northumberland
county, July 19, 1875. He is the son of Martin L. and
Katherine (McWilliams) Rimert. The father is a re-
tired farmer and veteran of the Civil War, living at
Williamsport, Pa.
Charles grew up on his father's farm, later entering
the contracting and lumber business. For six years
he was superintendent of the Link Belt Engineering
Company, of Philadelphia.
In 1908 Mr. Rimert came to Lansford, where he has
since been a general contractor, often employing large
numbers of men. He was elected to town council in
1912, of which body he was chosen president three years
later.
He was married to Amelia May, daughter of Captain
David Fox, a soldier of the Rebellion, of Millersburg,
Pa.
Mr. Rimert is fond of hunting and fishing and the life
out of doors. He is a member of the Forest and Stream
Rod and Gun Club; the Mountainside Rod and Gun
Club, and the Panther Valley Rod and Gun Club. He
has taken a prominent part in the affairs of the Red
Men of Pennsylvania, and he was the organizer of Ta-
hoe Tribe, No. 432, of Millersburg. His allegiance is
give to the Republican party.
Ross, Ira G., cashier of the Mauch Chunk National
Bank, and for many years prominently identified with
the financial interests of that place, is descended from
Colonial ancestors.
His paternal forefathers were of Scottish lineage,
while his father, James S. Ross, was born in Lehigh
county, coming to Mauch Chunk in 18G4. Entering
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. 549
the service of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-
pany in a clerical capacity, he, after a time became the
general boating agent of that corporation.
He was married to Flora Osmun, of Allentown,
whose father was of English extraction, while her
mother was descended from Pennsylvania German
stock.
Ira G. Eoss was born at Bethlehem, Pa., February
23, 1861. He was for a time a student at St. Mark's
Academy, at Mauch Chunk, and later, entering the
high school of that borough, he was graduated with
honors in 1879.
Beginning life as a clerk for the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company, he was so engaged for about a
year ; and, in 1880, he entered the First National Bank
of Mauch Chunk as a bookkeeper. He successively
filled the various positions in the bank, and was finally
appointed assistant cashier.
After the consolidation of the First National and
the Linderman National Banks, in 1903, under the
name of the Mauch Chunk National Bank, he was ap-
pointed assistant cashier of the consolidation, holding
that title until 1912, when he became cashier.
Mr. Eoss was married to Mary, the youngest daugh-
ter of Leonard Yeager, one of Mauch Chunk's oldest
and most esteemed residents, on October 28, 1884.
Their children are Helen, Katherine, and Ira G. Eoss,
Jr. The former is a graduate of the Mauch Chunk
high school.
Mr. Eoss is prominent in Masonic circles, being a
past officer in all the bodies of that order in Mauch
Chunk, and belonging to Irem Temple, Mystic Shrine,
of "Wilkes-Barre. He has been the representative of
Carbon Lodge to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for
a number of years.
550 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
He is a member and vestryman of St. Mark's Epis-
copal church, of Mauch Chunk, and is treasurer of the
parish. He was borough treasurer for six or seven
years, and was a member of the board of education for
a number of terms, having successively been secretary,
treasurer, and president of that body. In addition to
his other duties, he is secretary and treasurer of the
Mauch Chunk Heat, Power and Electric Light Com-
pany, and is a member of the board of directors of that
company.
Ruddle, George, who was a prominent resident of
East Mauch Chunk, was the son of John Euddle, who
emigrated to America from Herefordshire, England, in
1818. The elder Ruddle came to Philadelphia. He
secured employment with the Lehigh Coal and Navi-
gation Company, which was then just beginning its
operations, and was sent to Mauch Chunk. He soon be-
came the chief clerk of the company, or what would now
be called the auditor, so continuing until his death,
which occurred in 1866.
He was married to Ann Pryor, of Philadelphia.
Their children were: Ann, who became the wife of
Alexander W. Leisenring, and George, the subject of
this sketch.
The latter was born at Mauch Chunk, March 3, 1828.
Educated in the local schools, he served as a boy in a
clerical capacity in the old Corner Store in Mauch
Chunk.
When Carbon county was cut off from Northampton,
he was a member of the surveying corps that ran the
lines of the new county. Later he entered the employ
of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, succeed-
ing his father as chief clerk, and occupying that po-
sition until the department was moved to Philadelphia,
after the fire of .1868. During 1866 to 1869, when the
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 551
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company was extending
its railroad to connect with the Central Railroad of
New Jersey at Phillipsbnrg, he acted as cashier and
paymaster, bringing the funds from Philadelphia, and
distributing them to the contractors and employes.
After the removal of the accounting department to
Philadelphia, he became the cashier and real estate
agent of the company, which position he held as long as
he lived.
Mr. Ruddle was also the secretary and treasurer of
the Carbon Iron Company and its successors, the fur-
naces of which were located at Parryville. He was one
of the managers of the Mauch Chunk Bank, later known
as the First National Bank, and now the Mauch Chunk
National Bank, serving as a member of the board of
directors to the end of his career.
Mr. Ruddle was elected a vestryman of St. Mark's
Episcopal church in 1850, being reelected each succeed-
ing year until 1892, when St. John's church, of East
Mauch Chunk, became an independent parish. He then
became a vestryman of that parish.
When East Mauch Chunk became a borough, John
Ruddle was chosen as the first chief burgess, while
George Ruddle was elected the first secretary, the lat-
ter holding office until 1871, when he declined reap-
pointment.
George Ruddle was married on January 6, 1858, to
Elizabeth Sharpe, of Wilkes-Barre,
Their surviving children are: John; Anna Sharp,
wife of William C. Kent, of Philadelphia; Richard
Sharp; Laura Leisenring; Elizabeth Georgiana; and
Elinor Frances, wife of Rev. N. T. Houser, of Auburn,
N. Y.
George Ruddle died June 28, 1904. His widow de-
parted this life September 29, 1912.
552 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Hutter, Charles B., a well-known Lansford business
man, was born at Packerton, Carbon county, July 26,
1873. He is a representative of one of the oldest Penn-
sylvania families. His paternal ancestor, Thomas
Eutter, was one of the original settlers of Germantown,
as was Thomas Potts, from whom he is descended on
the maternal side of the house. Both branches of the
family were closely associated with Francis Pastorious,
who played such a useful and conspicuous part in the
early history of Germantown. Thomas Potts was mar-
ried to Martha Keurlis in 1699, she having crossed the
Atlantic on the same vessel with Pastorius in 1683.
Both the Potts and the Butters were Quakers.
To the Potts family belongs the credit for having
manufactured the first iron in America. Their War-
wick furnace, situated on French Creek, near Potts-
town, furnished guns and munitions for the Continental
army during the Revolutionary War.
John C. Rutter, the father of the subject of this
sketch, was born in Lancaster county in 1845. He
served in the 79th regiment, Pennsylvania volunteer in-
fantry, during the Civil War, and was with Sherman
on his march to the sea. After the war he came to Sum-
mit Hill, entering the engineering corps of the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company, of which he became the
chief. He retired in 1907 after a continuous service of
forty years. His partner in life bore the maiden name
of Ella McMurtrie. Her ancestors, who were of Scot-
tish extraction, were among the pioneer settlers of
Conyngham Valley, Luzerne county.
Charles B. Rutter graduated from the Lansford high
school with the class of 1888, which was the first gradu-
ating class of the school. Entering Lehigh University,
he graduated as a mining engineer in 1894. During the
same year he assisted in the construction of the Tama-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 553
qua and Lansford Eailroad. Becoming a member of
the engineering force of the Lehigh Coal and Navi-
gation Company, he continued in the employ of the
company until 1908. He then embarked in the whole-
sale flour and feed business at Lansford, being still so
engaged.
Mr. Rutter was married in 1908 to Mary J., daughter
of George M. Davies, one of the best known citizens of
Lansford. They have an only daughter, Anna Potts
Rutter. Mr. Rutter is prominent in Masonic circles
and a member of the Society of the Sons of the Revolu-
tion. He is a director of the Citizens' National Bank
of Lansford, and a vestryman of Trinity Episcopal
church of Lansford.
Schaefer, Joseph, Carbon county's best known hotel
man, now living at East Mauch Chunk, was born at
Easton, Pa., April 5, 1861, the youngest son of Bern-
hard and Theresa (Pfeffer) Schaefer.
His parents were natives of Wurtemberg, Germany,
whence they emigrated to the United States about
1850, their marriage having been celebrated in the
fatherland.
Joseph acquired his early training in the German
parochial schools of South Easton, subsequently pur-
suing a general business course in the city of his birth.
He was first employed in a general store at Easton,
beginning at the age of twelve years.
His connection with the hotel business of Carbon
county dates back to 1879, when he entered the service
of P. H. Schweibinz, owner of the European Hotel,
since known as the Central, at Mauch Chunk.
In association with E. I. J. Paetzel, a former pro-
thonotary of the county, he, in 1894, secured a lease of
the Armbruster House, conducting it for five years.
At the expiration of that time, Mr. Schaefer became
554 HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
the landlord of the Central Hotel, continuing as such
until the fall of 1911, when he retired, after an unin
terrupted and prosperous career of thirty-three years
on the same square.
His hospitable nature and the homelike atmosphere
which pervaded his hostelry were the prime factors in
his success.
On November 29, 1893, he was married to Annie M.,
daughter of Anthony Armbruster, of East Mauch
Chunk. They have two sons, Bernhard and Joseph. A
daughter, Marie, died at the age of ten years.
Mr. Schaefer is identified with the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, the Eagles, and a number of
German societies. His political allegiance is given to
the Democracy.
Schweibinz, Pius, for many years a prominent figure
in the affairs of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk,
was born at Dettensee, Hoenzollern, Germany, July 4,
1842. In 1859 the family came to America, locating at
Lehighton, where the father, who bore the name of
Alosius, died after the lapse of about two years.
The young man was a boatman on the Lehigh Canal
for amout ten years. In 1870 he entered the hotel busi-
ness on Susquehanna street, Mauch Chunk. At the age
of twenty-eight Mr. Schweibinz was united in marriage
to Mary Anna, daughter of Martin ]\larkle, then of
Lehigh Gap. In 1871 he went to Shamokin to engage
in the brewing business in association with his father-
in-law. Six years later he returned to Mauch Chunk
to resume the hotel business, being so engaged until
187(9, when he purchased a brewery in East INFauch
Chunk which was then operated by an Easton firm. He
rebuilt and enlarged this ])roperty, conducting the busi-
ness until 1913, when he disposed of his interests to the
Ortlieb Brewing Company.
U^UAy^ (yi^WA^xe/6^t/4€/^
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 555
Mr. Scliweibinz was a man of wide acquaintance
and many warm friendships. His public spirit and his
generosity were unbounded, while his family life was
ideal. The following children were born to him and his
devoted wife : Martin, Charles, Agnes, wife of Maurice
Eichorn ; Celia, wife of Edward Schlegen ; Anna, wife
of Joseph Sauerall of East Mauch Chunk, and Mary,
the wife of Anthony Berkle, of South Bethlehem.
Mr. Schweibinz departed this life on February 5,
1915, in his seventy-third year. His remains rest in St.
Joseph's Catholic cemetery in East Mauch Chunk.
Scott, E. E., a lawyer of Summit Hill, is one of the
leading home builders of Carbon county, having been
prominently connected with the organization of three
very successful building and loan associations in the
Panther Creek Valley section — one at Coal Dale, an-
other at Lansford and the other at Summit Hill. The
last named is the Homestead Building and Loan Asso-
ciation, which furnishes the funds for the building of
thirty homes a year on an average. It has assets of
$380,000, and undivided profits in the sum of $80,000.
It is over seventeen years old and Mr. Scott has been
the secretary for over thirteen years.
Joseph, the father of E. E. Scott, was born in Ire-
land, and emigrating to America, located at Mauch
Chunk, where, in the early fifties, he married Fanny
Crummer, also a native of the Emerald Isle. For
thirty years he served in various capacities for the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
Their children were: Joseph, who is a dentist at
Avoca, Pa. ; Ellsworth E., William C, who is a dentist
at Lansford; Leighton C, an attorney of the same
place, and Mary E. Scott, a former successful teacher
of Lansford, now a resident of the same place.
556 ' HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Ellsworth E. Scott was born at Upper Mauch Chunk,
December 23, 1861. At the age of nine years he be-
came a wage earner as a slate picker on the boats of
the Lehigh Canal at Mauch Chunk. The family moved
to Coal Dale where he followed the same occupation.
At fourteen he went inside as a door and sheet tender,
and was finally promoted to bell boy at the head of the
slope on the night shift. This permitted him to attend
the public schools for several hours each day. He
filled various positions about the mines until he became
twenty-one years of age when he went to Millersville
Normal School for a short time. After one year's ex-
perience as a teacher at Penn Haven Junction school,
he returned to the mines as a fireman because of better
pay. Three years later he again took up teaching,
having been elected to the Jamestown Grammar School
at Summit Hill, which he taught for eleven years. He
served four years as principal of the Summit Hill
schools, resigning this position to study law in the of-
fices of Messrs. Bertolette and Barber, and was ad-
mitted to the bar January 13, 1902.
Mr. Scott has been the solicitor for the borough and
school district for several years. He is a vestryman
of St. Philip's Protestant Episcopal church at Summit
Hill and belongs to the Tamaqua Masonic Lodge. He
is also a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of Amer-
ica.
He was married to Mary L., daughter of Rev. Henry
Margetts, of Cambria Center, N. Y., August 5, 1886.
Three children have been born to them: Leighton
Pearson, a Princeton honor graduate of the class of
1909, and a graduate of the law department of the L^ni-
versity of Pennsylvania, now practising his profession
in Philadelphia; Evelj^n M. F., a graduate of Perkio-
men Seminary, and now stenographer in her father's
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 557
office; W. H. Eldon Scott, attending the Summit Hill
Grammar School.
Mr. Scott was elected a director of the Citizens' Na-
tional Bank of Lansford at its organization and has
been the secretary of the board of directors ever since.
He is also secretary of the Summit Hill Water Com-
pany. He stands for every movement for the better-
ment of the town and has been connected with the pub-
lic schools for the past twenty-five years, either as
teacher, director or solicitor. It was mainly through
his grit, foresight and effort that the grand new high
school building of the town became possible. The
boys and girls of the future will have cause to grate-
fully remember him.
Seidle, Ira E., junior member of the law firm of
Balliet and Seidle, of Lehighton, is the son of Hon.
Charles H. and Kate A (Nothstein) Seidle. He was
born at Normal, Mahoning township, the home of his
maternal ancestors since Revolutionary times, on Ue-
cember 11, 1869.
Graduating from the Lehighton high school with the
class of 1884, he entered Palatinate College in 1886 ; a
year later he entered Muhlenberg, which has since hon-
ored him with the degree of A. M., graduating from
that institution in 1890.
In 1891 he went to Yale, where he completed his gen-
eral education, and received the degree of B.A. He
began his legal studies at the Yale law school, finish-
ing his course at the law school of the University of
Pennsylvania in 1895, and receiving the degree of
L.L.B. During this year he became a member of the
Philadelphia bar, and was later admitted to practise
before the Superior and Supreme courts of Pennsyl-
vania.
558 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Prior to this lie had taught school for two terms and
had served as principal of the Normal Institute for a
year. After practising his profession in Philadelphia
for a time he formed a jDartnership with his brother-in-
law, N. M. Balliet, succeeding to the legal practise of
the late Senator W. M. Rapsher at Lehighton. The
firm also maintains an office at Palmerton. In addition
to his other affairs, Mr. Seidle is the manager and
treasurer of the Lehighton Brick Company, and is the
secretary of the Lehigh Valley Building and Loan
Association, of which he is a director. He is also a di-
rector of the Carbon County Industrial Society, under
the auspices of which the county fair is annually held
at Lehighton, having served as the secretary of the
association.
For some time he held the position of postmaster at
Normal and was borough solicitor of Lehighton for
one year. Mr. Seidle is a member of the Masonic
fraternity at Lehighton, being also identified with
Lilly Chapter, R. A. M., and Packer Commandery, K.
T. of Mauch Chunk. He is a past officer of all these
bodies. His political allegiance is given to the Demo-
cratic party, and he attends the Lutheran church.
On October 2, 1900, he was married to Elizabeth M.,
daughter of Jesse L. and Amanda (Heberling) Gabel,
of Lehighton. Their only child, Louisa A. Seidle, was
born on December 24, 1902.
Serf as, Theodore A., Carbon county's leading figure
in the automobile trade, was born at Effort, Monroe
county, July 23, 1881. He is the son of Jackson and
Cornelia (Shupp) Serf as, descendants of the early set-
tlers of Monroe county. The father is a dealer in gen-
eral merchandise at Etfort, and is the vice-president of
the Security Trust Company of Stroudsburg.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 559
Theodore was educated at Perkiomen Seminary and
at Princeton University, graduating from the first
named institution in 1904 and from the latter in 1908.
At Princeton he specialized in political science, pur-
suing the course mapped out by Woodrow Wilson, now
president of the United States.
UjDon the completion of his studies, he entered the
automobile business at Lehighton, organizing the Ser-
f as Motor Company, of which he is the head. This com-
pany conducts a general garage at Lehighton, two at
Mauch Chunk, and one at Pottsville. From small be-
ginnings its business has grown to large proportions,
the sale of cars mounting from year to year.
Mr. Serfas was married on July 31, 1909, to Iva L.,
daughter of Penrose Knappenberger and his wife,
Emma, of Mertztown, Pa. She is a product of the Key-
stone State Normal School. Their children are Jack-
son Penrose and Ethel Iva Serfas. Mr. Serfas
is prominent in Masonic Circles and is a mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has
been an earnest worker in the interests of Lehighton
and vicinity, and was honored by being elected presi-
dent of the Lehighton Board of Trade. He is an en-
thusiastic and active Democrat.
Setzer, Chester G., district attorney of Carbon coun-
ty, prominent in fraternal society circles and as a
worker in the cause of popular education, is the son
of ex-sheriff Milton Setzer and his wife Hannah.
He was born November 17, 1880, one year prior to
the removal of the family of his father from Monroe
county to Franklin township, where he grew to matur-
ity and where he still resides. His early education was
acquired in the public schools of this district and in
those of Mauch Chunk, graduating from the high
560 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
school of the last named place with the class of 1899.
After serving three terms as a school teacher he en-
tered Dickinson Law School, from which he graduated
in June, 1905. He was admitted to practice in the
supreme court of Pennsylvania during the same month,
while he became a member of the bar of Carbon county
in October, 1905.
Opening an office in Weissport, he has successfully
practised his profession there since. He was elected
to the office of district attorney, as the candidate of the
Eepublican party, in 1911, by a large majority.
Mr. Setzer has been a member of the school board of
Franklin Independent District for a number of years,
acting as its secretary. He is also secretary of the
School Directors' Association of Carbon County, while
he has served as a delegate to the meetings of the
State Association of School Directors on several occa-
sions.
He is a member of the Eagles, P. 0. S. of A., 0. of
I. A., and of the Junior Mechanics; he was also state
president of the Pennsylvania Deutsch Gesellschaft in
1907.
Sharpe, Hugh J., a well-known Lansford business
man, is the third of the ten children of Charles and
Annie (Byrne) Sharpe, natives of County Donegal,
Ireland, w^ho came to America in their youth.
Hugh was born at Lansford on May 30, 1860. The
elder Sharpe was a miner, and at the age of twelve
Hugh went to work as a slate picker on the breaker.
In the course of time he, too, became a miner. Meeting
with an accident, however, he quit the mines to work in
a clothing store for some years.
In 1900 Mr. Shar]ie completed a course of instruction
in the United States School of Embalming at New
York, o])criing an undertaking establishment which he
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 561
still conducts. He is also a wholesale dealer in tobacco,
cigars, and confectionery. Mr. Sharpe was one of the
organizers of the Dime Bank, of Lansf ord, of which he
is the vice-president. He is also the owner of the Lans-
ford Opera House.
He is a charter member of Division No. 8, Ancient
Order of Hiberians, being also a member of the Knights
of Columbus and of Saint Ann's church, Lansf ord.
Mr. Sharpe was married in 1898 to Kate, daughter
of Edward 'Donnell, a public school teacher of Coal-
dale. Their surviving children are: Anna, KafTileen,
and George. Mr. Sharpe located in his present place of
business at the corner of Kidge and Spring Garden
streets in 1914, having previously been located farther
west on Ridge street. He is an active and influential
Democrat.
ShuU, Brinton M., supervisory principal of the
schools of Lehighton, is a native of Perry county,
where he was born January 17, 1873. He is the son
of David and Lea (Yohe) Shull, being one of a family
of ten children. He spent his early life on his father's
farm, attended the public schools and graduated from
Marysville high school with the class of 1889.
In 1892 he graduated from the Shippensburg State
Normal School, later taking a post graduate course at
the West Chester State Normal School, a course in the
Harrisburg School of Commerce and in Milton Univer-
sity, Baltimore.
Prof. Shull began his career as a teacher in a dis-
trict school of his native county ; he taught one year in
a village high school in Dauphin county, and then in the
high school of his home townshiii. He came to Lehigh-
ton in 1898, being first employed as a grammar school
teacher, and serving successively as principal of the
First Ward building, assistant principal, and then
36
562 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
principal of the high school. In 1908 he was appointed
to the newly created office of supervisory principal of
all the schools of the borough.
While being abreast of the times along lines of the
best thought in his chosen field of endeavor, and while
striving intelligently and systematically for the im-
provement and upbuilding of the schools under his
supervision, Prof. Shull is opposed to fads and non-
essentials in educational work.
He was married, November 28, 1907, to Carrie E.,
daughter of Eeuben Fenstermacher and his wife La-
vina, of Lehighton.
Fraternally Mr. Shull is connected with the Patriotic
Order Sons of America, Knights of Malta, Odd Fel-
lows and Free and Accepted Masons. He is a mem-
ber of the United Evangelical church.
Sinn, Francis Peirce, superintendent of the plants of
the New Jersey Zinc Company (of Pa.) at Palmerton,
was born at Germantown, Philadelphia, October 7,
1882.
He is the son of Joseph A. and Ella (Wise) Sinn.
His ancestors on both sides of the house were members
of the Society of Friends. His father is a vice-president
of the National Surety Company, of New York.
Mr. Sinn received his early education in the public
schools of Philadelphia, graduating from the Central
High School. Entering Lehigh University, he was
graduated as a mining engineer in 1904.
Having followed his profession in Mexico and the
western part of the United States for a period, he re-
turned to Germantown, and was for a short time in
the employ of the Alan Wood Iron and Steel Company.
In September, 1905, Mr. Sinn came to Palmerton, be-
ginning his service in the jolants with which he is now
connected by working in the chemical laboratory.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 563
Being transferred to the spelter department, he was
made chief of the department in 1907. In June, 1912,
he was made assistant superintendent of the west plant,
located at Hazard, and in January of the succeeding
year he entered upon the duties of his present position
as superintendent of both plants of the company, des-
ignated as east and west.
There are few greater industrial enterprises in the
state than the works of the New Jersey Zinc Company,
and the plants of the company, which are already im-
mense, are constantly expanding.
Mr. Sinn is a member of the Masonic order, of the
Chi Psi Fraternity, and of the following technical so-
cieties : The American Institute of Mining Engineers ;
The American Iron and Steel Institute ; The Mining &
Metallurgical Society of America, The American Chem-
ical Society, and the American Society for Testing
Materials. He is the president of the Lehigh Valley
Local Safety Council, which is a branch of the National
Safety Council.
Mr. Sinn was married in 1906 to Margaret Cortright
Convers, daughter of George Goddard Convers, of
South Bethlehem. Margaret Elizabeth, an only daugh-
ter, was born on February 23, 1912.
Sitler, Daniel W., a well-known member of the bar
of Carbon county, and a resident of Mauch Chunk, was
born in Mahoning township, January 28, 1867, a son
of Charles and Priscilla (Snyder) Sitler.
The father was a farmer of much native ability, and
was well-read ; having missed the privileges of a liberal
education, however, he was willing to make sacrifices
in order to make them possible to his children.
Three of his daughters became teachers; two grad-
uated from normal schools, while one of the number^
Ida Sitler, is a product of the University of Michigan.
564 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
After some preparation at the Normal Institute,
situated near his home, Daniel taught district school
for four years. Entering Williams College, Massa-
chusetts, in the fall of 1887, he graduated with the
class of 1891. Subsequently he was engaged as an in-
structor of mathematics in a private school in Phila-
delphia for a year.
In the summer of 1892 he began the study of law in
the office of Hon. James S. Biery, of Allentown, being
admitted to practise in the courts of Lehigh county in
1895. During the following year he became a member
of the bar of Carbon county, locating at Lansford, and
being the first attorney to open an office in that town.
During his residence at Lansford he served as the so-
licitor of the borough.
In 1898 he was nominated by the Republican party
for the office of district attorney, and upon his election
he removed to Mauch Chunk.
As the prosecuting officer of the county, he was
painstaking and efficient, serving a single term. Since
then he has been engaged in the general practise of the
law.
Mr. Sitler has been admitted to practice in the high-
er courts of the state, and in the district court of the
United States. He has established a reputation as a
careful, conscientious lawyer, always mindful of the
interests of his clients, while living up to the best tra-
ditions of his profession.
In 1897 he was married to Amanda, daughter of
Nathan and Sarah Balliet, of Mahoning township.
Their three children are: Helen, Mary and Charles
Everett.
Smith, Alfred F., cashier of the Citizens' National
Bank of Lehighton, was born in East Penn township.
Carbon county, on December 29, 1872.
M. L. Smith.
HISTOKY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 555
His father, Owen Smith, was a native of Lehigh
county, where he remained until his sixteenth year,
when he came to East Penn township, where he fol-
lowed the vocation of a farmer. He was married to
Sallinda Andreas, who was of English descent, and
who bore him seven sons, all of whom grew to ma-
turity. During the eighties the family removed to
Mahoning township, where the mother died in 1897,
being in her sixtieth year. The father died in 1909, in
the seventy-third year of his age.
Alfred F. Smith acquired his early training in the
public schools, later attending the Kutztown State
Normal School, and taking a course in the American
Business College at Allentown. He taught school for
three years in Mahoning township, and for a time
served as a clerk in a general store in Lehighton.
For two years he was a bookkeeper in the employ of
H. A. Buchman, of East Mauch Chunk. In 1898 Mr.
Smith accepted a position as bookkeeper and general
manager for 0. J. Saeger, a wholesale dealer in fruit
and produce at Lehighton. Following this he served as
a traveling salesman for a wholesale grocery firm, of
Bethlehem, Pa.
Early in 1909 he entered the Citizens' National
Bank of Lehighton, as a teller, succeeding A. S. Beisel
as cashier of that institution on July 1, 1910.
Mr. Smith wedded Lillie McLean, daughter of Rob-
ert McLean, of Mahoning township, on May 21, 1806.
Their children are : Ralph A. and Russel R. 0. Smith.
Mr. Smith is an adherent of the Reformed church,
while being a supporter of the principles espoused by
the Republican party.
Smith, Marshall L. Born in Chester county. Pa., in
1839, and not coming to this immediate section of the
state until middle life, M. L. Smith, who was the son
566 HISTOBY OF CAEBOX COUNTY.
of Charles and Margaret Smith, is nevertheless enti-
tled to a secure place in the list of those who left the
impress of their personalities upon the life and activ-
ities of Carbon county. He sprang from Colonial
stock, and received his early education in the public
schools of his native county.
TVhile still quite young he engaged in the milling
business for a short time. Later he read law in the of-
fice of Charles Pennypacker, subsequently chief bur-
gess of West Chester, and a cousin of ex-Governor
Samuel TV. Pennypacker, of Pennsylvania. Forsaking
the law for a business career, he opened a real estate
and insurance oflBce in TVest Chester.
In 1876 Mr. Smith engaged in the manufacture of
paint ore in Chester county, removing his plant two
years later to Lehigh Gap, and later to Slatington, at
which places he conducted his business for ten years.
For a number of years he was also interested in a
coal washery at Buck Mountain.
Li 1887 Mr. Smith came to Hudsondale, situated in
Packer township, obtaining a lease on the grounds and
buildings formerly occupied by the machine shop and
foundry of S. "W. Hudson. Here Mr. Smith made the
greatest business success of his career, manufacturing
paint ore or ochre, on quite an extensive scale. The
mill where the grinding is done has been operated day
and night almost continuously for nearly a quarter of
a century, furnishing employment to quite a number of
workers. The product is shipped principally to a sin-
gle firm, the George TT. Blabon Company, of Philadel-
phia.
About ten years after coming to Hudsondale, Mr.
Smith acquired through purchase the property where
the mill stands and the farm adjoining. He then be-
came an enthusiastic farmer, and the results of his
HISTOBY OF CAEBOX COUXTY. 557
agricultural operations were snch as to justify the
pride that he manifested in this phase of his business.
About this time Mr. Smith also acquired a residence
in TTeatherly, where he soon became a dominant fac-
tor in municipal politics. He was five times elected to
the office of burgess, and proved himself to be perhaps
the most jjrogressive and fearless executive that
TVeatherly had until then. The borough building and
the electric light plant were both erected during his
administrations, while many other improvements of a
public nature, championed by him. were made through-
out the town. He believed in the strict enforcement of
the borough ordinances and treated all classes of citi-
zens impartially and alike. He was a man of positive
convictions and of masterful personality, nature hav-
ing endowed hi m with strong combative qualities, while
he had cultivated a ready wit and a nimble tongue. He
delighted to debate on political questions, giving an
opponent no quarter, and maintaining his own position
against any odds. He was a life-long Eepublicam
Beneath a somewhat brusque exterior he carried a
heart as tender and as loyal as a woman's, being al-
ways ready to give comfort and help of a more prac-
tical nature to those who were in distress or in any
way in need of assistance. He was constitutionally an
optimist, allowing no misfortune to long overwhelm or
cloud his spirit.
Mr. Smith was united lq marriage to Mary Eliza-
beth Eeazor. a daughter of John and Jane Eeazor. of
Norristown. in 1S60. Six sons and two daughters
were bom to them: Charles TV.. Ida May. Talbot S.,
Allen H.. "William M.. Cora. Thomas E.. John M.
Mr. Smith died of pulmonary trouble at his home in
Hudsondale after a prolonged illness on February 20,
1909. beins: ased nearlv 70 vears. His remains rerose
568 ITISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
in Union Cemetery at Weatherly. All of his children
excepting Talbot preceded him in death. His widow,
patient and kindly to the last, departed this life on
July 8, 1912.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Presbyterian church,
and was connected with the Masonic fraternity at
Hazleton.
Smitham, James, one of the best equipped of the
younger members of the bar of Carbon county, is the
son of Thomas and Anna (Meese) Smitham, being of
English descent.
His father is living retired at Nesquehoning, Pa.,
where he has resided for the last fifty years.
James was born at that place on March 12, 1872,
gaining his preliminary training in the common schools
and attending Millersville State Normal School, where
he graduated in 1891. He then pursued a course in the
Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., after
which he taught school for two years at Nesquehoning.
Subsequently he enrolled as a student at Dickinson
College, preparatory to entering Princeton University,
graduating in the classical course from the latter in-
stitution in 1897.
Choosing to follow a legal career, he studied law at
Harvard and in the offices of Bertollette and Barber at
Mauch Chunk, being admitted to the bar in 1900, and
successfully practising his profession since that time.
In 1906 he was appointed referee in bankruptcy for
Carbon county, which position he still holds.
Mr. Smitham was married to Anna S. Pierce, of
Williamsport, Pa., on June 18, 1904. They have two
children, Thomas and Mary, the family residing at
Mauch Chunk.
Mr. Smitham is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 559
Snyder, John B., a veteran school teacher and a Le-
highton justice of the peace, was born in Penn Forest
township, Carbon county, May 14, 1863, He is the son
of William H. and Mary A. (Koch) Snyder. The fa-
ther, who was a carpenter and millwright, was a soldier
in the Civil War, while the mother was the eldest
daughter of Enos Koch, one of the early commissioners
of Carbon county. John Snyder, the great-grandfa-
ther of the subject of this sketch was a native of Ger-
many. He was one of the first settlers of Bushkill
township, Monroe county. His son, William Snyder,
was the grandfather of John B. Snyder.
The latter, as a boy, worked on a farm and in the
lumber woods. At the age of fifteen he went to Bear
Creek, Luzerne county, where he was in the employ of
A. Lewis & Company, a large lumber firm. He also
served as shipping clerk for the Spring Brook Lumber
Company. His spare time in the lumber woods was
spent in educating himself. Later he attended select
schools in Scranton, Lock Haven, and Baltimore. Mr.
Snyder also attended the Polytechnic Institute, of Gil-
berts, Monroe county, and pursued courses offered by
the Scranton Correspondence Schools; the Wilkes-
Barre New Century Correspondence School, and the
Dansville, New York, Correspondence School.
He taught school for twelve terms in Penn Forest
township, besides serving for years in Franklin and
Mahoning townships. During the past eight years he
has been supervisory principal of the Union Hill
schools of East Weissport.
Mr. Snyder was elected as a justice of the peace for
Lehighton in 1911 and is still serving. He has also held
various other borough offices. He is a member of the
Teachers' League of Pennsylvania, and is an active
Democrat.
570 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
On July 6, 1890, he was married to Emma J., daugh-
ter of Franklin Smith, of Drake's Creek, Carbon coun-
ty. Their children are as follows: Mary A., wife of
Henry Monk, of Franklin Heights; Anna E., wife of
Albert Neibel, of Paterson, N. J., Webster, of Provi-
dence, R. I., and Herbert.
Snyder, William F., a prominent Franklin township
farmer and lumberman, was born in Mahoning town-
ship, June 20, 1856. The archives of Pennsylvania
show that the Snyder family was settled in the south-
eastern part of the state as early as 1735. The first
comers were redemptionists, being natives of Germany.
Charles Snyder, the great-grandfather of the subject
of this sketch, served in the patriot army in the Revo-
lution.
William is the son of Nathan and Esther (Moser)
Snyder. The mother was one of the numerous descend-
ants of Burkhart Moser, who formerly held much of
the land now owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company. The Snyder family since the early days pro-
duced many gunsmiths and blacksmiths. William
learned the trade of a blacksmith from his father, and
he followed it for about fifteen j^ears, most of the time
in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. About
twenty-five years ago he succeeded his father as the
owner of the farm where he now lives, the elder man
having settled upon it in 1861. The farm consists of
138 acres. Mr. Snyder also has other real estate hold-
ings, dealing to some extent in mine timber and lumber.
He served for a number of terms as a school director of
Franklin township.
On November 20, 1881, he was married to Annie,
daughter of Owen Schoenberger, of Lower Towamen-
sing townshi]). Their children are as follows : Chester,
Esther May, Mabel, and Howard. Mr Snyder is a
HISTORY Oi^ CARBON COUNTY. 57I
charter member of Big Creek Grange. He is a Repub-
lican, and belongs to the Reformed church.
Steinheiser, Charles R., chief burgess of Mauch
Chunk and the superintendent of the Mauch Chunk
Water Company, was born at Lehigh Gap on July 23,
1861, His grandfather, George Steinheiser, was a Ba-
varian soldier in the army of Napoleon, and took part
in the campaign against Russia. He was numbered
among the thirty survivors of his regiment in the re-
treat from Moscow.
Charles Steinheiser, the father of the subject of this
sketch, fought on the liberal side in the Revolution of
1848. Emigrating to America in 1849, he settled at
Lockport, Lehigh county, following the trade of a car-
penter. He was married at Slatington to Mary A. Yost,
a native of Germany, and they became the parents of
six children, two of whom survive: Charles R., and
Mary, the widow of Henry W. Sibbach, of Mauch
Chunk.
Charles R. Steinheiser came to Mauch Chunk with
the family of his father in 1872. In 1877 he entered the
employ of the Mauch Chunk Iron Works, for which
firm he was an erecting engineer for twenty-five years.
From 1906 to 1912 he was the general foreman of tlie
company. In the latter year he became the superin-
tendent of the Mauch Chunk Water Company.
Mr. Steinheiser was a member of the school board
of the borough for eight years, and has served as the
assistant chief of the fire department of the town. He
was appointed chief burgess in 1915 to fill out the un-
expired term of Frederick Bertolette, deceased.
He was married on April 16, 1885, to Ella S. Ruch, of
Mauch Chunk. They have two children, Clinton E. and
Mabel F. Steinheiser. Clinton is a graduate of Lafay-
ette College and of Princeton Theological Seminary,
572 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
being now the pastor of a Presbyterian cliurch in Pat-
erson, N. J. Mabel is a product of the West Chester
State Normal School, and is now a teacher in the
schools of Mauch Chunk.
Stemler, Quentin, president of the Citizens' National
Bank, of East Mauch Chunk, also successful as a deal-
er in grain, feed and livestock, was born at Stemlers-
ville, Carbon county, April 19, 1870.
His father was Reuben Stemler, a farmer, while his
mother, before her marriage, bore the name of Louisa
Smith, both being natives of Carbon county. Their
children were Masina, the wife of Lewis Christman, of
Weissport ; Emma, who is married to Harry Pettit, an
electrician at Pahnerton; Elmira, wife of Pharon An-
drew, of Lehighton; Quentin, James, Charles, Wilson
and Oscar.
Having acquired a common school education, Quen-
tin was called upon, in his twentieth year, to take the
place of his father as the head of the household, the
elder Stemler having been removed by death. As the
oldest male member of the family he discharged the
duty thus devolving upon him with kindness and fidel-
ity, and when those who were younger had become self-
supporting, he came to East Mauch Chunk, where he
conducted a local express business for seven or eight
years. Later he went into the cattle business, supply-
ing the butchers of the lower end of Carbon county,
and handling several car loads of stock weekly. In
addition to this he conducts a large grain and feed
store in East Mauch Chunk.
When the Citizens' National Bank, of East Mauch
Chunk, was organized, in 1906, he became a stockholder
and was chosen as its first president. Owing to the
close proximity of the old and well-established banks
of Mauch Chunk, just across the river, many doubted
HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 573
the feasibility of establishing this new institution, but
Mr. Stemler manifested his confidence in the success
of the venture from the start, and results have vindi-
cated his judgment. The bank has grown stronger,
slowly but steadily, and on July 1, 1910, a dividend of
four per cent, on its capital stock was declared, while
a substantial amount was added to the surplus fund.
Mr. Stemler was joined in wedlock to Aquilla Beltz,
a daughter of David Beltz, one of Franklin township's
foremost citizens, November 10, 1892. Harold, their
only child, is now an attendant of the schools of East
Mauch Chunk.
Mr. Stemler is a member of the Odd Fellows and
of the Red Men, while being an adherent of the faith
of the Reformed church.
Strohl, Dennis, as his name indicates, is a repre-
sentative of one of Carbon county's oldest families,
his forefathers having been among the pioneer settlers
on the north side of the Blue Ridge, in what is now
Carbon county. His farm in Towamensing township
is one of the most prosjDerous and best appointed in
the county, manifesting every evidence of thrift and
progressiveness.
His grandfather, Nicholas Strohl, was a farmer in
Lower Towamensing township. He was thrice mar-
ried and became the father of a patriarchial family
of thirtv children. His death occurred at the advanced
age of eighty-four years.
Joel, the father of Dennis Strohl, was a farmer of
Towamensing township. In early life he married
Sarah Beer, who bore him seventeen children. Upon
her death he married Katharine Hahn, with whom he
had two children. He died March 10, 1910, being aged
eighty-six years.
574 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Dennis Strohl was born May 11, 1858, in Towamen-
sing township. He was brought np on his father's
farm, attending the district schools until he became
seventeen years of age. For five or six years he was in
partnership with his brother Amos Strohl, engaging in
the business of contracting and building. During this
period they erected many of the dwellings of the bor-
ough of Weatherly. At the age of twenty-three, Mr.
Strohl purchased 107 acres of brush land in Towa-
mensing township, and by hard labor he carved out of
this his present fine farm, upon which he has made
many substantial improvements. Fourteen acres of
the farm is devoted to a pear orchard, while sixteen
acres is given over to apple trees. For a time Mr.
Strohl also owned and operated the farm which origin-
ally belonged to his father.
He was united in wedlock at the age of twenty-eight
to Anna, daughter of William Henning, of Monroe
county. Their children are: Calvin H., Homer E.,
Florence 0., Theodore D., Pearl C, Norman C, Edna
E. and Dorothy G. Strohl.
Theodore is a graduate of the East Stroudsburg
State Normal School, and is now engaged as a teacher.
Calvin, born December 26, 1887, is one of the young-
est justices of the peace in Pennsylvania, having been
elected to that office when but a year past his majority.
He is a product of the Polytechnic Institute, of Gil-
berts, Pa., and has taught school for a number of
terms. He has served as a member of the Republican
county committee, and was a candidate for the office
of jury commissioner in 1909, for which he was de-
feated, having received a handsome vote, however.
Mr. Strohl and his family are members of the Re-
formed church.
HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY. 575
Swank, Philip R., well-known in bnilding and loan
association circles, and chief clerk in the coal traflfic
department of the Central Eailroad of New Jersey at
Mauch Chunk, is a resident of East Mauch Chunk. His
father, Charles W. Swank, had charge of the shipping
wharves of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
at East Mauch Chunk and at Coalport for many years.
Philip R. Swank was born in Upper Mauch Chunk,
March 23, 1860. His mother bore the maiden name of
Margaret Andrews.
After leaving the public schools, he pursued a course
at the Allentown Business College, where he gradu-
ated in 1877, acquiring especial proficiency in penman-
ship. He gained his first practical experience in asso-
ciation with his father in the fiour and feed business.
In 1883 he went to Towanda, Pa., to conduct a gro-
cery store, returning to his home after two years and
entering the service of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company. He has filled his present position since
1892.
Mr. Swank was one of the organizers of the Progres-
sive Building and Loan Association of East Mauch
Chunk, through the agency of which many of the sub-
stantial homes of that place and vicinity have been
erected. This association now has assets amounting
to more than half a million of dollars, and is recog-
nized by the Banking Department of Pennsylvania as
one of the best conducted associations of its kind in the
state, never having lost a dollar since it was started,
in 1892. Mr. Swank served as its secretary and treas-
urer for eighteen years, still holding the first named
office. He also assisted in organizing the Lehigh Val-
ley Building and Loan Association of Lehighton, and
the Workingmen's Association, of Summit Hill, be-
sides installing the systems of a number of similar in-
576 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
stitutions in the county, and giving his services as an
expert accountant.
He is a charter member of the Memorial Presbyter-
ian church of East Mauch Chunk, of which he was one
of the founders, acting as an elder and clerk of the ses-
sion. On March 21, 1882, he was married to Emma M.,
daughter of David Snyder, of Millport, Carbon coun-
ty. They have two sons, David Lloyd, who is a gradu-
ate of Lafayette College, now identified with the
Wilkes-Barre Eailway Company, of Wilkes-Barre,
Pa., and Charles W. Swank, Jr., a public accountant, of
New York.
Tachovsky, Joseph, a banker and business man of
Palmerton, was born in Austria of Bohemian parent-
age on August 19, 1878. He came to America while
still a boy. Educated in the public and paroch-
ial schools, he first worked in a pottery at Phoe-
nixville. Pa., where his family then lived. At seventeen
he was a clerk in a grocery store at South Bethlehem.
For four years he conducted a meat market in the
same place. Disposing of his business there, he came to
Palmerton in 1904 to become the proprietor of the
Waldorf Hotel. He also opened a meat market and
established himself as a private banker and steamship
agent. After some years he relinquished his interest
in the hotel. Mr. Tachovsky was one of the prime
movers in the establishment of the First National Bank
of Palmerton, of which he is still a director. His pri-
vate bank is one of the leading institutions of its kind
in the Lehigh Valley. The fine, modern building in
which it is housed was opened for business during the
winter of 1914.
Mr. Tachovsky has been one of the most public spirit-
ed citizens of Palmerton. He is one of the members of
the Palmerton Cooi)erative Association, and has taken
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 577
an active interest in the affairs of the athletic associ-
ation of the town. He was the leader of the movement
which resulted in the erection of the Catholic Church
of the Sacred Heart, of which he is a member, being
also the organizer of the Palmerton branch of the First
Catholic Slavish Union.
Mr. Tachovsky was married on April 15, 1902, to
Frances Viossak, of South Bethlehem.
Trainer, Harry E., a well-known Lehighton business
man, was born at Packerton, Carbon county, on October
10, 1876. He is the son of Wilson and Catherine
(Haupt) Trainer. The elder Trainer was born at
Weissport in 1854, and in early life was a boatman on
the Lehigh Canal. Most of his mature life has been
spent in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company, in the service of which he was engaged over
thirty-seven years.
After leaving public school, Harry served in various
capacities for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company for
fourteen years. In 1907, in partnership with his father,
he opened a general store at the corner of Third and
Cypress streets, Lehighton, gaining a liberal patron-
age, and being successful from the start.
Mr. Trainer has taken an active interest in municipal
affairs. He is a member of Lehigh Fire Company, No.
1, and for four years served as chief of the fire depart-
ment of the town. He is now a member of town council.
In February, 1898, he was united in marriage to
Mary A., daughter of Jeremiah Roth and his wife,
Matilda, of Lehighton. Mrs. Trainer was before her
marriage a teacher of the schools of Lehighton. The
pair have two children, Paul and Mark, both of whom
are now students in the high school.
Mr. Trainer is connected with the Knights of Malta
and with the Junior Order of LTnited American Me-
37
578 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
clianics. The family attends the United Evangelical
church.
Twining, Edgar, whose connection with the financial
interests of Mauch Chunk antedated the establishment
of the national banking system, and who was until re-
cently the cashier of the Mauch Chunk National Bank,
was born at Parryville on October 10, 1840. He was
the son of Jonathan R. and Susan (Balliet) Twining.
His paternal ancestors were Quakers, being numbered
among the early settlers of Bucks county. Pa., while
his mother was descended from Paul Balliet, who emi-
grated to America from Germany in the year 1738. He
located in Lehigh county, where he became a large land
owner and the father of a numerous progeny.
Jonathan Twining was the shipping agent of the old
Beaver Meadow Coal Company at Parryville. When
the freshet of 1841 destroyed the company's improve-
ments there, the family removed to East Mauch Chunk,
which then became the shipping point. Later the fa-
ther became connected with the Hazleton Coal Com-
pany at Penn Haven.
Edgar Twining acquired his early education in the
public schools, later studying under private tutors both
at Mauch Chunk and at Allentown. At the age of six-
teen or thereabout he began life as a clerk in the store
of Mathias Fegley at Mauch Chunk, where he remained
for a short period. After several changes he became
the weighmaster of the Hazleton Coal Company at
Penn Haven. In January, 1862, he was appointed as
a teller of the Mauch Chunk Bank, a state institution,
which was succeeded in 1864 by the First National
Bank, the predecessor of the Mauch Chunk National
Bank of to-day.
In 1893 Mr. Twining was appointed as cashier of
the First National Bank, serving as such until the ex-
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 579
piration of its charter, in 1902, when the Mauch Chunk
National Bank was organized, and he became its cash-
ier, in which capacity he served during the remainder
of his life. The duties and exactions of his vocation
left him little opportunity for other employments or
pursuits, although he was elected to the office of county
treasurer as the nominee of the Republican party in
1871. He was an executor and trustee of the estates
of the late Gen. William Lilly and Edward B. Leisen-
ring, both of whom left large fortunes.
Mr. Twining never married. For years he made his
home at the Mansion House, and during the last eigh-
teen years of his life he lived at the American Hotel.
He was one of Mauch Chunk's best known and most
respected citizens. His death, on June 5, 1912, was
caused by a paralytic stroke.
Van Dyke, Burton, a native of Weatherly who has
achieved success in the field of mechanics, is a son of
William Van Dyke, a veteran of the Civil War, and
his wife Emily, who was a daughter of Nathaniel Zoll.
Born at Weatherly on July 27, 1871, he was educated
in the schools of that borough. At the age of sixteen
he began life as a boilermaker 's apprentice in the shops
of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Weatherly, subse-
quently fitting himself as a machinist. Having com-
pleted his trade, he worked in many locomotive shops
in various parts of the country. He also served in the
capacity of chief engineer in some of the large hotels
of Palm Beach, Miami, and other winter resorts of
Florida.
In 1900 Mr. Van Dyke accepted the position of mas-
ter mechanic for the Spanish- American Iron Company
at Daiquiri, Cuba. He has since become the superin-
tendent of motive power for this company, having en-
tire charge of all its rolling stock, machinery and min-
580 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ing equipment. This is the largest mining company of
Cuba, being owned and controlled by the Pennsylvania
Steel Company. Its output is shipped to Sparrows
Point, Md., and to Steelton, Pa.
Mr. Van Dyke is prominent in Masonic circles. He
was united in marriage to Alverna L., daughter of
David Holman, of Weatherly, on November 29, 1911.
They have established their home in Cuba.
Van Dyke, Warren R., resident secretary of the
Democratic state committee at Harrisburg, and until
recently a prominent figure in Carbon county, was born
at Weatherly, April 23, 1877. He is a son of William
and Emily (Zoll) Van Dyke, long-time residents of
Weatherly, where the father was formerly employed
as a locomotive engineer.
Mr. Van Dyke is a product of the Weatherly high
school, early learning the trade of a printer in the
office of the Herald, of which paper he was the asso-
ciate editor for a period of about ten years. Kelin-
quishing his newspaper duties, he embarked in the real
estate and general insurance business, which he suc-
cessfully followed at Weatherly.
In 1905 he was elected as the nominee of the Demo-
cratic party to the office of recorder of deeds of Car-
bon county. At the expiration of his term, he was
chosen as chief clerk to the county commissioners, in
which capacity he served until the spring of 1911. He
was then prevailed upon to accept the appointment
which he is now holding, taking up his residence at
Harrisburg.
Mr. Van Dyke was one of Weatherly 's most progres-
sive and public-spirited citizens, being always found in
the van of every forward movement. He served as a
member of town council and of the school board, while
being a director of the Anthracite Building and Loan
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY, 581
Association, and of the board of trade of the borough.
As a member of the Methodist church he was particu-
larly active in the religious life of the town, also serv-
ing as the superintendent of the Sunday school con-
nected with this organization.
Mr. Van Dyke was united in marriage to Mattie,
daughter of J. W. Hunter, of Weatherly, on February
28, 1900. They have two children, Clare and Louise
Van Dyke. Philip died in infancy.
Waaser, J. E., M.D., one of Carbon county's most
prominent physicians, and formerly a director of the
Middle Coal Field Poor District, is a son of John and
Anna (Goas) Waaser, natives of Germany, who came
to the United States in 1852, settling near Orwigsburg,
Schuylkill county. After a few years they removed to
Schuylkill Haven, where Mr. Waaser was employed at
his trade as a cooper.
John E. Waaser was born at Schuylkill Haven, Oc-
tober 24, 18G9. He attended the public schools of that
town until his twelfth year, when he came to Hazleton
to live with his sister, who is the wife of Doctor Wil-
liam G. Dietz. Graduating from the Hazleton high
school with the class of 1886, Mr. Waaser accepted a
clerkship in the store of J. C. Haydon & Company, at
Jeanesville, Luzerne county, remaining there for two
years. Later he worked with a corps of civil engineers
under the direction of L. 0. Emmerich, Esq., of Hazle-
ton. In 1889 he entered Hahnemann Medical College,
of Philadelphia, being graduated four years subse-
quent to that time with high honors. After serving for
a year as resident surgeon at the Hahnemann Hospital,
Doctor Waaser located in East Mauch Chunk, and
began the practice of his profession there. He enjoys
a large practice and was successful from the start.
582 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Doctor Waaser has served as a school director of
East Mauch Chunk for two terms, and was elected to
the office of poor director for the term of three years
in 1906. He was one of the organizers of the Citizens'
National Bank, of East Mauch Chunk, being now a di-
rector of that institution. He is prominent in Masonic
circles, while being a member of several other frater-
nal societies.
On September 14, 1904, Dr. Waaser was married to
Mrs. Eebecca Morris Heraty, of Philadelphia. They
have two children, Anna and John. Doctor Waaser is
a member and vestryman of the Episcopal church, and
lives in a beautiful residence on Center street.
Walker, James, a member of the board of county
commissioners, was born near Coleraine, Ireland, May
7, 1849. He is the son of Joseph and Ellen (McClary)
Walker, both natives of Ireland. The family emigrated
to America in 1849, settling at Mauch Chunk, when
James was but a few months old.
The father spent the remainder of his life with the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. He died in
1867.
James was but ten years old when he began life as a
slate picker at the old coal chutes, one of the pictur-
esque landmarks of Mauch Chunk in days gone by.
Later he drove mules about the same operations, after
which he entered the employ of the Lehigh and Susque-
hanna Railroad as a brakeman. He was the first brake-
man to go through the Hauto tunnel. After three years
he became a conductor, continuing in the employ of the
Central Railroad of New Jersey, which gained control
of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, until 1909.
Mr. Walker was elected to the office of county com-
missioner in the fall of 1911 as the candidate of the
Republican i)arty, being reelected in 1915.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 583
He was married on December 26, 1878, to Amia Jane,
daughter of Christopher McCuen, of Philadelphia. Of
the four children that were born of this union, William
J. Walker, a machinist, of Mauch Chunk, alone sur-
vives.
Mr. Walker has served as a councilman of Mauch
Chunk, and is a charter member of Diligent Fire Com-
pany, No. 3. He is also a charter member of division
No. 153, Order of Railway Conductors, and of Com-
mandery No. 179, Knights of Malta, being also a mem-
ber of the Royal Arcanum.
He is an adherent of the Presbyterian Church, and
was one of the founders of the Carbon County Histori-
cal Society.
Warner, Edwin F., a leading Weatherly business
man, and formerly a member of the board of county
commissioners, was born in Tannersville, Monroe
county. Pa., on January 11, 1857. His paternal grand-
father, George Warner, was a native of Northampton
county, the year of his birth being 1790. He was a
cooper by trade, and he also served as a surgeon in the
war of 1812.
Peter Warner, the father of the subject of this
sketch, was born in Pocono township, Monroe county,
Pa., on Christmas Day, 1835. Early in life he learned
the carpenter trade, later becoming a cabinet maker, as
well, and following the dual pursuits for a number of
years. Subsequently he gained success as a contractor
and builder, finally opening an undertaking establish-
ment, which he conducted for many years. He is yet
numbered among the substantial citizens of Tanners-
ville, where he served as a justice of the peace for
nearly two generations. His wife, before her marriage,
was Lavina Sittler, and was born in Lehigh county
in 1832. They had four children : Edwin F., Emma S.,
584 HISTOEY OF CARBON COUNTY.
the wife of William H. Werklieiser, of Chester, W. Va.,
Elmer and Sarah, who married Woodward Kresge, of
Monroe county.
Edwin F. Warner was educated in the public schools,
learning the cabinet maker's trade and the undertaking
business from his father. In 1881 he located in Weath-
erly, founding the furniture and undertaking establish-
ment of which he is still the head, and which he has
conducted with uniform success. In this connection it
may be said that he is a graduate of Clark's School of
Embalming, together with several other institutions of
a like nature.
Mr. Warner has been prominently identified with the
various interests and phases of the life of Weatherly
since taking up his residence in the town. He was one
of the organizers of the Weatherly Foundry and Ma-
chine Company and of the First National Bank of
Weatherly, still serving as a director of both institu-
tions. He is also the president of the Anthracite Build-
ing and Loan Association, one of the model institutions
of its kind in Pennsylvania. For ten successive years
he served as a member of town council, being for a
time the president of that body. He is now the chief
of the fire department of the borough.
In 1908 he was elected to the office of county com-
missioner as the candidate of the Democratic party,
receiving the almost unanimous support of the voters
in his own community and the surrounding districts.
Packer township honored him by recording every vote
cast in his favor. It was largely due to his influence as
a commissioner that the road across the Broad Moun-
tain, connecting Hudsondale with Mauch Chunk, which
had been abandoned, was rebuilt.
Mr. Warner is connected with many fraternal organ-
izations. He is a member of Ilazle Lodge, No. 327, F.
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 585
and A. M. ; Lilly Chapter, No. 177, R. A. M., of Maiich
Chunk, and Hazleton Commandery, No. 73, K. T. ; he
also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
Knights of Pythias, Knights of the Golden Eagle, the
Improved Order of Red Men, and the Patriotic Order
of Sons of America.
In 1882 he was married to Carrie, daughter of
George Wass, of Tannersville. They are the parents
of the following children: H. Fred, Peter G. |C.,
Mayme, Carrie, Nettie and George Charles.
Harvey Fred Warner was born at Weatherly on
August 17, 1883. After completing the high school
course in his native town he attended the Hazleton
Business College, from which he was graduated in
1900. For several years he was a clerk in the office
of the master machinist of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
at Weatherly, after which he served as a teller in the
national bank of the town. He is now the chief clerk
of the Weatherly Foundry and Machine Company. He
is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Patri-
otic Order of Sons of America.
Peter G. C. Warner was born at Weatherly on May
4, 1885. Completing his studies at the high school in
1902, he went to Eckles School of Embalming, at Phil-
adelphia, being graduated the same year. Since then
he has assisted his father in the conduct of his busi-
ness. Like his brother, he is identified with the Free
and Accepted Masons and the Patriotic Order of Sons
of America.
Mayme, Nettie and Carrie are graduates of the high
school at Weatherly, and the two first named also have
diplomas from the East Stroudsburg State Normal
School. They are now teachers in the public schools.
George Charles is at present a member of the middle
class of the Weatherly high school.
586 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Mr. Warner and his family are members of the Re-
formed church.
Warner, Hon. Elmer, a prominent individual factor in
the business, industrial and financial affairs of Weath-
erly, was born at Tannersville, Monroe county, Pa.,
on April 30, 1861. The family of which he is a mem-
ber has resided in eastern Pennsylvania since the early
days of the Eepublic. His grandfather, George War-
ner, was a veteran of the second war with England,
while his maternal lineage connects him with Burk-
hart Moser, a pioneer settler in the Panther Creek
Valley, and formerly the owner of much of the valuable
coal land now held by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company. He is the son of Peter and Lavina (Sittler)
Warner, both of whom still reside at Tannersville.
After leaving school he assisted his father, who was
interested in various enterprises, for a time. Subse-
quently he opened a general store on his own account,
conducting the same for a period of about five years.
Coming to Weatherly in 1891, he purchased in bank-
ruptcy proceedings the store of David Kintz, soon com-
manding a liberal patronage. The expansion of the
business demanding more commodious quarters, Mr.
Warner built a large addition to his store in 1903, the
completion and opening of which marked a new era in
the business life of the town. This establishment is
now the equal of many department stores in the minor
cities of the state. Its stock is complete and up-to-date,
while every effort is made to satisfy the wants of the
public a fair and reasonable prices.
Upon the removal of the shops of the Lehigh Valley
Railroad from Weatherly, in 1899, Mr. Warner was
one of the leaders of a small group of men who vir-
tually saved the town from being obliterated. With
characteristic enterprise and resourcefulness he lent
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 587
himself to the organization and establishment of the
Weatherly Foundry and Machine Company, which is
now the principal industry of the borough. He is the
chief individual stockholder and general manager of
this company. Mr. Warner was also one of the or-
ganizers of the First National Bank of Weatherly, of
which he has been the president since its beginning.
He was the postmaster of Tannersville from 1885 to
1889, and was the president of the board of education
of Weatherly when the Schwab school building was
erected, having also served as the chief burgess of the
borough.
Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, and he is a member of the
Reformed church.
Mr. Warner has been thrice married. On September
22, 1887, he wedded Hattie, a daughter of David Learn.
Her ancestors lived in what is now Monroe county
during Colonial times, and they figured conspicuously
in the Indian affairs of that region. The name was
earlier spelled, '' Learner." Two children were born
of this marriage, Floyd T., who is now in charge of
his father's store, and Hattie L. The wife and mother
departed this life on April 12, 1800, and on May 2,
1892, Mr. Warner married Martha A. Kresge. Four
children, Stanley, Ruth, Grace and Jennie, were the
fruits of this union. Being again left a widower, Mr.
Warner, on November 29, 1906, was joined in wedlock
to Gertrude, daughter of Abraham and Delia Stull, of
Hazleton. Her father was formerly associated with
the firm of Dodge, Meigs and Dodge, early lumbermen
in the vicinity of Lehigh Tannery. Later he was in
the service of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Hazleton.
Mrs. Warner is a descendant of Ira Mandeville, a pi-
oneer settler of the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Warner was
58g HISTOEY OF CAEBON COUNTY.
chosen to represent his district in the senate of Penn-
sylvania in the fall of 1914.
Wilhelm, Captain William H., one of Carbon coun-
ty's most intrepid soldiers, who sacrificed his life to his
country during the insurrection in the Philippine Is-
lands, was born at Mauch Chunk, June 9, 1867, the son
of James H. and Martha M. (Weaver) Wilhelm. He
was descended from pioneer German and Huguenot
settlers in Pennsylvania. Among these were: Rev.
John Bechtel, one of the fathers of the Reformed
church in America, who located at Germantown, Phil-
adelphia, in 1726, and who is a prominent figure in the
ecclesiastical history and literature of that community ;
George Weaver, a private soldier of the provincial
forces in the Indian wars of 1756-57; and Cornelius
and Jacob Weygant, father and son, the former active
in the deliberations of the Northampton county Com-
mittee of Observation and Inspection, and of its Stand-
ing Committee of Correspondence, 1776-77, and the
latter a captain of militia of the same county, who was
frequently in active service during the Revolutionary
War.
His father, J. H. Wilhelm, was for many years the
paymaster of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company,
and was one of its most popular officials. He is spend-
ing the evening of his life in retirement at his home in
Mauch Chunk.
William Herman Wilhelm acquired his early educa-
tion in the public schools of his native to^\^l, laying the
foundation for a course of higher study at Ulrich's
Preparatory School, Bethlehem, Pa. He entered Le-
high University and was a member of the class of 1883.
In June, 1884, he was, after a competitive examination,
appointed by Congressman Storm to a cadetship in the
United States Military Academy at West Point. Here
Capt. William H. Wilhelm.
HISTORY OF CAEBON COUNTY. 589
he ranked among the first in discipline, and in several
of his studies. After the first year, and to the end
of his course, he was an officer in the battalion of
cadets, chosen from those who have been most studious
and soldier-like in the performance of their duties, and
most exemplary in their general deportment. His
genial nature and noble personal attributes combined
to make him a general favorite among his classmates.
He was graduated in June, 1888, and was commis-
sioned second lieutenant in the Tenth Infantry, joining
his company at Fort Crawford, Colorado, in the fall
of that year. During the ten succeeding years he was
successively stationed at many of the army posts
throughout the West. For a time Captain Wilhelm was
in command of the troops sent to Oklahoma to main-
tain peace and order when that territory was thrown
open to settlement.
In 1890 he was placed in command of a company of
Indian scouts in the service of the government at Fort
Eeno. A year later he was given charge of the govern-
ment schools for the Indians at Fort Lewis, Colorado,
where he remained for a short period. He was pro-
moted to the rank of first lieutenant in 1895.
Upon the breaking out of the war with Spain, being
eager to go to the front, he was appointed an aide-de-
camp to Brigadier General Snyder, United States Vol-
unteers, under whom he served with the army of occu-
pation in Cuba. Being appointed to a captaincy in
1899, he was ordered to the Philippines, where a stub-
born revolt against the authority of the United States
was in progress. Within a few days after his arrival
at Manila, he was already under fire, participating in
the hard fighting about the Zapote river. At the battle
of San Mateo, where General Lawton lost his life. Cap-
tain Wilhelm displayed conspicuous bravery, winning
590 HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
a recommendation from his superior officers, Major
Parker and General Young, for the brevet of major.
For his cool and soldierly conduct in this engagement
he was also recommended for a medal of honor.
From July until November, 1900, he was in command
of a body of troops charged with the perilous duty of
preserving the peace in the most lawless district of
Manila, in which position he acquitted himself with
signal ability. On June 10, 1901, after two years of
strenuous campaigning in the islands, he was mortally
wounded at Lipa, Batangas Province, while engaging a
force of insurgents outnumbering his own five to one.
His death occurred two days later.
Governor General Taft, with the Civil Commission,
and a large number of officers and civilians, attended
the funeral services held in Manila. His untimely but
heroic death elicited many warm tributes to his worth
as a man and a soldier from those with whom he had
come in contact in the various grades of the service.
On July 30th, the remains of Captain Wilhelm were
laid to rest with military honors at his home in Mauch
Chunk, all business being suspended in the town, while
virtually the whole population joined in doing honor to
his memory.
A battery at Fort Flagler, Washington, now bears
his name, which is also perpetuated by a suitable me-
morial in the Hall of Fame at West Point.
Xander, John A., active in industrial and borough
affairs in Lehighton, was born in East Penn township,
February 24, 1878. He is descended from English an-
cestors, and the family name was originally Alexander.
The Xanders were among the early settlers of Georgia,
whence some of them came to Pennsylvania.
Peter Xander, the grandfather of John, came to East
Penn township, where he was a farmer, from Berks
HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY. 591
county. John is the son of Charles W. and Catharine
(Graver) Xander, both natives of Carbon county. The
family removed to Lehighton when he was three years
old. Graduating from the borough high school with the
class of 1896, he subsequently attended the AUentown
Business College and the West Chester State Normal
School. After teaching school for a term, he was a
bookkeeper in AUentown for two years. For thirteen
years he was with the Lehigh Stove Manufacturing
Company, of Lehighton, of which he became the secre-
tary. He was also connected with the accounting de-
partment of the New Jersey Zinc Company at Palmer-
ton for some years.
In 1915 Mr. Xander formed a partnership with I.
Zimmerman, under the name of the Lehighton Knitting
Company, of which he is the active head. The sole pro-
duct of the plant, which is located near Sixth and Coal
streets, is underwear.
Mr. Xander has served as a member of the Lehighton
school board and of town council. He was one of the
organizers of the English Lutheran church of the town.
He is a Kepublican.
Mr. Xander was married in 1914 to Ella, daughter of
Howard Shipe and his wife, Julia, of AUentown. Their
children are : Catherine Julia and John Arthur.
Young, Dr. James H., a Lansford physician and sur-
geon, was born at Dunmore, Pa., on November 20, 1876.
He is the son of James and Lottie (Harrington)
Young, the former born in Scotland, and the latter a
native of New Jersey. The father was a mine super-
intendent at Dunmore, and at one time held the office
of treasurer of Lackawanna county.
James H. Young received his early education inTEe
School of the Lackawanna, a private institution at
Scranton. Later he attended Lafayette College.
592 HISTOKY OF CARBON COUNTY.
Choosing the medical profession, he entered the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania in 1897, being graduated with
the class of 1901.
After spending a year in his professional capacity
at the Moses Taylor Hospital at Scranton, he came to
Lansford, in 1903, as the assistant of Dr. E. H. Kistler.
During the following year he did post-graduate work
at the Polyclinic Hospital and at Wills Eye Hospital,
Philadelphia.
Returning to Lansford in 1905, he re-entered the
service of Dr. Kistler, to whose daughter, Mary, he was
married on October 9, 1907. A year later he succeeded
his father-in-law as the physician and surgeon of the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, which arduous
and responsible position he is now filling. The com-
pany's department for giving first aid to the injured is
under his direction. He is also the surgeon of the
Eastern Pennsylvania Railways Company at Lans-
ford.
Dr. Young is a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear,
nose and throat. He is a member of the Carbon County
Medical Society, the Pennsylvania State Medical Asso-
ciation, the American Medical Society, and the Medical
Club of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the
Masonic order.
Zern, Hon. Jacob Gilbert, is a native of Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania, but nearly the whole of his ma-
ture life has been spent in Carbon county, having long
since achieved prominence as a physician, and as a man
of public affairs.
He was born February 24, 1845, being a descendant,
in the fifth generation of Adam Zern, who emigrated
to Montgomery county from Germany in Colonial
times. His great-great-grandfather, Martin Sensen-
derfer, and his great-grandfather, Christian Specht,
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY. 593
were soldiers in the Eevolutionary War. His grand-
father, Abraham Zern, was a soldier in the war of
1812. His father, the Eeverend Jacob Zern, was for a
quarter of a century a well-known minister of the
Evangelical Association in the eastern part of Penn-
sylvania. Dr. Zern's mother was Sophia Gilbert, also
a native of Montgomery county. His earlier years
were spent in farming pursuits, and he attended the
public schools of his locality until he became eighteen
years of age. He then became a student at Millersville
State Normal School, after which he served for a time
as a teacher in the schools of Lancaster county. At
the age of nineteen he enlisted as a soldier in Company
C, One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Eegiment, Pennsyl-
vania Volunteers, serving until the termination of hos-
tilities.
Immediately after the close of the war he began the
study of medicine in the office of Dr. S. B. Detwiler, of
Montgomery county, subsequently attending lectures
in the Medical Department of the University of Penn-
sylvania, graduating with the class of 1868. Soon
after his graduation Dr. Zern located at Weissport,
where he was successful in the practice of his profes-
sion from the start. He lived in Weissport for twenty-
three years, after which he removed to Lehigliton. Dr.
Zern's popularity is attested by the number of times he
has been chosen to fill political office. He was elected
to represent Carbon county in the state legislature in
1878, and was re-elected in 1880.
During a part of Cleveland's first term he was post-
master of Weissport, Pa. In 1893 he was elected bur-
gess of 
